#and while still in the situation and therefore unable to fully process it

[purpleandstarlight]

A-and then *hic*...he said...*sob*...he said "You're always right Ciel. There was no Father Christmas. That's why...I'm sure there's no such thing as God either."

[yuurei20]

Translation from Twisted Wonderland the 2nd novel: Overblot Aftermath

"'I see… understood.'

It is difficult to gauge the masked headmage’s expression, but it is Leona whose thoughts are somehow even more unreadable. There is neither anger nor regret. It is as though he had been possessed by a spirit, and it has since been exorcised.

‘Therefore, Savanaclaw Dorm’s participation in the tournament is hereby forfeit, and you will be considered disqualified. Additional consequences are to be decided after all victims’ statements and requests have been taken into account. Is that clear?'

Riddle and Jack watch, in silence, as Leona nods his agreement. Even Ruggie bites his lip in resignation.

The atmosphere is heavy, despite how the string of so many incidents has now come to a close. For all that he despises conflict and for all that it has finally been resolved, Yuuya takes no pleasure in the moment.

So much harm has been done. The injured people, the uproar of the procession, Leona’s overblot—he cannot help but wonder if it all could have been prevented. He and Grim were the first ones to hear about the situation from the headmage. Perhaps there was more they could have done.

Out of everything, the thing that concerns Yuuya the most is Jack. While it did turn into a confrontation with his own dorm, for more than a few reasons he seemed to have been looking forward to the spelldrive tournament more than anyone.

Yuuya remembers how Jack’s eyes had sparkled while he described Leona’s prowess on the field. The tournament will proceed properly, just as he had hoped. But Yuuya feels terrible that Jack himself is not to be a part of it, despite all his anguish and hard work.

Yuuya glances to his side to see Jack wearing a stern expression. It is unlikely that he would be open to receiving sympathy. Knowing this, Yuuya cannot bring himself to speak.

‘Now then, let us head to the infirmary.’

While the headmage attempts to aid him, Leona shakes him off. Several times he fails to rise to his feet, bracing himself with both hands upon the ground—it is an unbearable sight.

Unable to watch any longer Jack opens his mouth, but before he manages to speak there is a different voice, from far away.

‘Everybody hold up!’

‘Hm? Ain’t that Cater?’ Grim squints into the clear blue sky.

Cater is on a broom, and headed straight for them. Behind him there are others coming into sight as well, with Trey in the lead. The shadowy figures grow larger as they approach.

And it seems that Trey has yet to fully recover from his injury: he takes Cater’s hand and gingerly dismounts from his broom, wincing slightly. His ankle must still be paining him."

[copytradingsoftwareforindian]

Is Copy Trading a Good Investment? Pros & Cons Explained

Copy trading is becoming more mainstream in the way that people, especially those who have just started trading, enter the financial markets. Copied trades of those who know very well about trading ensure that even those who have no or little knowledge of trading are exposed to the markets. But the big question is: is copy trading a good investment?

Let's break down the factors when considering whether copying trades is right for you.

Advantages of Copy Trading Ready Access to Expert Knowledge The biggest strength of copy trading is that the trades of many experienced and performing traders can easily be mirrored. This also benefits those unable or do not possess the time as well as other skills to read the markets firsthand. By thus copying the expertise of professional market analysts, such profits can, in theory at least, become achievable that individual would not succeed in earning using their own techniques.

Automation Copy trading is highly automated in that once your account is created, trades are copied automatically. This saves much time since you do not have to position trades or continue to analyze markets.

Learning Experience While you are copying the other traders, you can watch their strategies and decision-making procedures as well as techniques of risk management. This helps you learn in the process. Copy trading can be very diverse as you will be copying various traders who apply different strategies and have varying risk profiles. It may thus reduce risk, since your investments will be spread over various asset types.

Drawbacks of Copy Trading Risk of Losses Like any other type of investment, copy trading entails risks of losing. You might be copying the successful traders, but their performance may not continue forever. Markets are unpredictable and do not work according to their previous success record. Therefore, you should know the risk factor.

Dependence on the Trader Copy trading puts one's trust entirely in the chosen trader. Should the strategy chosen fail, the individual will experience losses equivalent to that trader. Before selecting a trader to follow, research that trader very carefully, since any risk exists in such situations.

Limited Control Although you can control the size of your investment and a few other variables, you're still dependent on another person's strategy. You may not always agree with their approach or be able to make adjustments in time.

Fees and Costs Some copy trading platforms charge fees for using their service, or traders might take a cut of the profits. It's important to fully understand the fee structure and make sure that the potential returns justify the costs.

When is Copy Trading a Good Investment? If you are a beginner, copy trading is very apt since it is suitable for a person who doesn't have experience with trading but still wants exposure to the markets. It is a platform without extensive knowledge.

If You Don’t Have Time to Trade: For busy individuals who don’t have time to monitor the markets constantly, copy trading can be an excellent solution. Once set up, it can run in the background, automating your trades.

If You’re Looking for Diversification: Copy trading can be a way to diversify your investments across different assets or trading strategies. This can help manage risk by spreading your exposure.

When Might Copy Trading Not Be a Good Investment? If You Want Full Control: If you like to have complete control over your trades and investments, copy trading might not be the best for you because you are relying on others' decisions.

If You Have a High Risk Tolerance: If you can take on a higher risk level and manage your trades, then copy trading may limit the potential returns it can give since it relies solely on copying strategies from other traders.

Overall, copy trading is an excellent investment opportunity for those people who have not traded before or do not have a significant amount of time to invest in trading. Other people would appreciate this for achieving diversification in their investment. However, understand the risks, and past performance should not be solely relied on; instead, perform due diligence when choosing traders to copy, fees, and other possible downsides.

As companies like Combiz Services Pvt Ltd continue to improve their advanced copy trading solutions, this process is made more accessible and easy for all types of traders. Properly applied, copy trading is a powerful way to amass wealth, but it must be approached with caution and an understanding of its risks, like any investment.

[regular-health-check-ups-matter]

What is CPR and what happens inside the body when it is performed?

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure predominantly used to restart a person’s heartbeat and breathing after either or both have stopped functioning. It requires giving the ailing person strong, rapid pushes to the chest to keep the blood moving throughout the body. It essentially also involves blowing air into the person’s mouth to help with breathing and send oxygen to the concerned persons lungs.

One is generally required to complete 5 sets of 30 chest compressions within the time of two minutes. If one is unable to perform mouth-to-mouth compressions, they should continue performing continuous compressions at a rate of about 100 per minute.

During a cardiac arrest, the heart is unable to pump blood to the rest of the body, including the brain and lungs. Without adequate attention, the ailing person’s death can occur within minutes. CPR as a process therefore imitates the heart’s pumping action by using chest compressions. These compressions support the body’s natural blood circulation throughout.

The procedure is performed as there is generally still enough oxygen in the blood to support the brain and other vital organs for a few minutes.

In the 20th century, internal cardiac massage was a common method used for patients suffering with a cardiac arrest. This usually involved a doctor cutting open the chest, reaching in, and squeezing the heart with their hands. However, in the modern medical world, thanks to the CPR technique, the chest compressions mimic the heart’s pumping.

Each of the hearts four chambers has a valve. Once the blood leaves one of the chambers, it is on a one-way trip around the body and is only allowed back in after that journey is fully completed. While in the CPR procedure one might not be pumping the heart directly during compressions, but may be able to squish these chambers or generate enough pressure to eject some blood that would not be otherwise moving, it’s also important to allow the chest to recoil

In cases of a cardiac arrest, time generally plays a crucial role when it comes to saving a person’s life during cardiac arrest. The survival chances are very less likely if an electric shock is not given on time. People around the ailing patient should pay cautious attention to indications like chest pain during physical activity and report it to the doctor on time. Hence, timely treatment is quite important which increases the chances of survival.

India is predicted to have the highest number of cardiac deaths by 2030 in the world with virtually every fourth death occurring due to Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), as reported by leading cardiologists. Heart related issues are a serious threat that seems to be putting the country facing a severe health crisis. Preventive measures even though a must, are at the moment not adequate enough to address the ever-growing situation and hence a basic understanding of the CPR technique is a must for all.

[ismybloodholyenough]

While I think these are excellent points and very well stated, I think it’s important to consider how old Jinx is in all of this.

In act I of s1, Powder is about 10/11. That’s such an important age in terms of brain development, it’s right at the beginning of puberty and the mind is still fairly impressionable. Powder’s last memory of Vi is her screaming in her face and telling her she’s at fault for Vander’s, Claggor’s, and Mylo’s deaths. Powder ADORED Vi in act I. Imagine being 10/11 and your older sister, who you look up to in every way, is telling you this. Now she’s confronted with the fact that not only are her adoptive family dead, but that it’s her fault. So of course Powder clings onto the first thing that she thinks will bring her comfort, Silco.

Silco then has all the tools in place to manipulate Powder into becoming Jinx. Throughout the 7ish year time skip, Jinx has already gone through so much trauma that her brain development is severely affected and likely delayed. So when Jinx asks Silco things like “why did my sister leave me?” etc, it’s very easy for him to turn Jinx against Vi. Jinx has not yet developed abstract thinking and therefore CANNOT think outside of herself. To her it seems very obvious that the people who have hurt her did so out of malicious intent.

So from act II s1 and on, Jinx is about 17/18. In her mind, Vi hates her and always has. Vi is essentially her scapegoat so that she doesn’t have to face her own guilt. Of course Jinx would completely ignore Vi’s mental health. It never once crosses her mind that Vi was lashing out rather than intentionally hurting her in act I.

As for confronting pitfighter Vi, Jinx has now had quite a bit of time to reflect on her actions and she finally feels responsible for something now (Isha). Jinx is starting to get a better understanding of Vi, but also recognizes that Vi is actively destroying her own mental and physical health. I’m not sure that Jinx necessarily ignores Vi’s mental health. I think it’s much more complex than that; Jinx still has no idea how to rebuild her relationship with Vi. As much as she’s grown since meeting Isha, she still has a lot to learn, and she’s still very young. She approaches the situation in a way that feels safe for her: snarky and humorously. Jinx very much has her guard up around Vi for almost all of s2, up until the jail scene.

Now, Jinx is hit extremely hard by the loss of Isha. She’s finally confronting her own guilt directly because she feels completely responsible for Isha’s death. And now Jinx is starting to wonder if Vi ever felt this way, ESPECIALLY because Jinx is in Stillwater the same way Vi was. All of the parallels are striking her and she’s completely spiraling. When Vi then visits Jinx, she’s had a lot of time to do nothing but think and blame herself. She remembers how she felt as Powder, having just killed her whole family, and she thinks that the only thing she’s good at is hurting the people she loves (which is also something she said to Smeech, she just hadn’t fully internalized it yet).

Her process of growth is very understandable when you take her brain development into account. While I think that yes, Vi absolutely deserved better, so did Jinx. I honestly think that Jinx’s sacrifice for Vi gave the perfect message. It’s her saying “I forgive you” while at the same time being unable to forgive herself.

There really is something about how people view mental health, especially of arcane characters.

The way people say vi is a horrible sister because she fucked caitlyn instead of immediately running after jinx(one jinx locked her in a jail cell. And two she didn't know anything about jinx being suicidal). You are an omnipotent viewer, learn what that means.

But the interesting thing is, nobody talks about how little care jinx ever had for vi's mental health or well being. Vi gets out of prison after being locked in there as a kid, after watching her sister blow up her entire family, only to be thrown into a whole different nightmare with said sister. Jinx was really just like; no sis you can't have anything. Not the family and not the girl(this is a joke but yk...). And then when jinx does see Vi spiraling and being a pit fighter, again jinx can't give half a rats ass to take that serious.

But I guess if somebody isn't actively trying to off themselves then their mental health doesn't matter?

So yeah, Vi deserved better than to have the only person in her life be the sister who didn't give half a wink about her mental health 90% of the show. Vi deserves someone who's going to be soft and gentle and understanding with her.

Can't convince me that Caitlyn isn't good for Vi. Proof is in the actions and the way Cait actively feels continued remorse and empathy for Vi's pain. Letting her mother's killer go was probably the hardest thing she had to do, but losing Vi would've been harder, and she chose Vi without hesitation and without being asked.

[craftysuitgoatee]

15 Best Pinterest Boards of All Time About Buy Anadrol online

If some one has acne, they have a lot of spots on their face, neck and body. Acne is very common among teenagers. It is the most unfortunate situation for the youth to have stubborn case of acne on their face. For, that is the stage of life, when they like to be not only healthy but much more attractive and presentable!

Common skin problems related to acne include skin rashes; popping of blackheads, whiteheads and nodules in the form of pimples and acne; and formation of dry, oily areas and reddish-brown blotches on skin. Greasy and spicy foods can also cause acne prone skin.

Healing Buy SSD Chemical Solution in USA of the acne lesion is not the end of the problem. It is the beginning of a new series of problems, to solve which a lot of patience and understanding is required. Repeated trips to the clinic of the dermatologist are necessary thus.

The post inflammatory effects caused by acne are part of the skin’s natural healing process. Medication and practices in vogue can only help facilitate this healing process. Laser therapy, in the treatment of acne, is still at the kindergarten level. Researchers and scientists in this area are themselves confused a lot, and so far, unable to arrive at definite conclusions. Their problem is also the same as faced by the specialists of acne treatment in other branches of science.

No single treatment is right for everyone. Type of skin varies from person to person. The topography and skin texture of each person is different. Therefore, the person who opts for and the person who gives treatment, both have to be realistic about the results, while tasking up the option of laser treatment.

Two types of acne patients are likely to opt for laser therapy. One, those who are interested in getting rid of the scars, pimples or whatever it may be, on emergency basis and secondly those who are willing to wait but wanting to have a permanent cure. The typical side effects that go with other systems of acne treatment are applicable to laser therapy as well. The damage is likely to be caused by the laser system that is still in the stage of research and development. Well, no one should be in a hurry to own it.

Laser treatment specialists are also fully aware of their own limitations about the present status of this system. Proper skin care will still remain a problem even after you get rid of the unwanted part of the skin. Improved tissue metabolism that will boost the blood flow to pores, causing them to open, is the only answer. e researchers are not themselves convinced about the efficacy of laser treatment, how can your dermatologist advise you to go fort it? Even if he does, you please be guided by what you have decided for you!

[bb-editing]

ROXANA (Chapter 71)

*E/N: Oh my god... they're finally reunited.

–––

It was a harsh climate, with severe, freezing winds and constant blizzard attacks. The night that seemed eternal had passed, and the first of morning light shone over the desolate and charred land.

A carriage wheel stumbled over a stone, and Roxana’s body jolted up, waking her up in the process. She rose from a deep slumber, raising heavy eyelids.

At first, the dimness of the carriage interior made her think it was still night, but when she blinked her eyes wider, she noticed a sliver of light leaking through a crack in a curtain in front of her.

The carriage shook again, and rays of light came crashing through the window. This isn’t my room. This is a carriage. This thought startled her slightly.

“You’ve woken up.” A low voice echoed over her head; Roxana inhaled sharply and jumped upright. At the same time, however, the carriage rocked again and she lost her balance, falling forward.

An arm wrapped in front of her waist, pulling her closer and back onto the seat.

“Be careful.”

Roxana turned toward the stranger; red irises met golden- “Cassis,” she whispered unconsciously. She was unable to grasp the situation.

She moved her stiff neck, searching for anything in her environment to jog her memory and recall something- anything- about last night’s events, but she only felt a headache building up.

“It may be better to lie down and rest longer,” Cassis murmured gently. Was it his soft voice or his partially shadowed face that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand so tall?

She felt as if the person beside her wasn’t the true Cassis. She attempted to put some distance between their bodies by pushing away from him. His grip slackened in response, and her head felt more clear. It seemed like she had been lying on his lap until recently.

“What happened?”

Why was her voice so tight and dense? Perhaps it was because she’d just woken up, but her throat was tingling as if she had just spoken for the first time in a few days.

“Why am I here? Why am I with you right now…?” She was half asking him, and half asking herself.

Suddenly, she remembered her parting words to Jeremy, and her head became sore. Despite the partial darkness of the carriage, my eyes had accustomed to it and was therefore able to search Cassis’ face for a response.

“Just focus on resting for now,” he said. “You don’t have to think about anything else.”

His next words made me doubt my ears. “It’s taken you three days to regain consciousness- barely- so it’ll probably take much longer to fully recover your energy.”

* * *

The carriage had stopped moving a while ago, and now Roxana was alone in the compartment.

I’ve been unconscious for three days?

Roxana wondered if she had overworked herself. She had given herself many things to worry about before leaving Agriche, after all, though her mind was so foggy that she couldn’t bring herself to remember all of them.

She moved over slightly to the right, pulling open the curtains to look outside. The sunlight pierced her eyes once again; she flinched, narrowing them.

Once her vision had adjusted, she spotted light grey shadow- no, a falcon- landing on Cassis’ arm.

It seemed three years was longer than she’d expected- it was enough time for a boy to mature into a man, and for a person, once familiar, to become unfamiliar.

Cassis was now much taller, with much wider shoulders and firmer arms. Not to mention his face, which was now masked with a cold energy. He had now become more like an adult, more like his father Richard Pedelian. Perhaps it was his aura, rather than his appearance.

A man approached Cassis’ side; he sported brown hair and an eye patch. It appeared to be the same man Roxana had purposefully misguided at the Agriche border three years ago. And yet, you’re still alive.

Cassis appeared to repeat the information tied to the falcon’s leg to his new companion.

At this sight, Roxana immediately lowered her hand from the curtain and swung open the carriage door, braving the stark difference between warm carriage interior and harsh exterior winter.

Outside, there were more people outside than she’d expected. Some were repairing weapons, tending to horses, or practicing sword strokes. Others were on lookout.

Most stopped what they were doing at my entrance, and the surroundings quickly became quiet. The instant attention was slightly burdensome, but Roxana didn’t mind too much. She was more concerned with the fact that she’d just walked into the heart of a Pedelian camp.

[johannwolfgangvongoethe]

organizing care + being a legal guardian + struggle tweeting irl

enstars thought collection below. i dont know how we got here.

anyway, so this is a post where i talk about my vague ideas on whats up with kanames health and care situation. like, legally speaking.

(spoilers for everything surrounding kaname, obbligato specifically)

basically. i am an avid tatsumi and himeru enjoyer and healthcare business and law is? my hobby? idk if you can call this a hobby? so i have been absolutely obsessing over every little throwaway line we get about how kanames long-term care is organized. because depending on who is currently responsible on paper... that could really influence a lot, right!!! since right now kaname is unable to make health decisions for himself.

we all know (ore-)himeru is going through a lot and the possibility of an added responsibility and financial burden of a guardianship on him is something that is very interesting to me.

point of the post so this post isnt much about existing laws (as they are extremely complicated, even if youre native to a region and language), i mostly want to discuss what we know and the possibilities and the mental burden of carrying legal responsibility on top of internal emotions (grief, guilt, loneliness, despair and hopelessness, possessiveness even, and whatever else himeru has going on).

its smth that strongly gnaws on you. i think everyone who ever had to apply for care/benefits will know how horrible of a process it is.

boring health stuff i tried to look up japanese law surrounding how long-term payment and guardianship is organized and who qualifies for both. i am german so obviously most of my knowledge only concerns the legal situation here, unfortunately. i am Assuming enstars just follows the laws of irl japan and as such at least a considerable chunk of financial burdens should be lifted by the countries mandatory insurance.(70%) BUT the long-term intensive care situation for people under the age of 40 is murky (relevant long-term care laws exist for the elderly and aim to provide financial relief. but idk how theyd handle the case of a teenager, especially one that, we can assume, used to be in the foster system. the jpn foster system is its own can of worms) no surprise, disability/care related payment plans for young people, esp those who have never been employed or paid into insurance, are always like. ridiculously convoluted. sometimes nonexistent. so who knows which laws specifically affect kaname here.

(ore-)himeru mentions him still being at a hospital (in romantic? date chapter 5) so that is a vital clue that this has not been outsourced to some other care facility. so i wonder... how expensive is this currently. must be intense. i am just willing to bet his legal guardian (will get to this in a second) has to make financial efforts, on top of the papers and forms and emotional burden that such an arrangement brings with itself. additionally, its somewhat obvious but ill specify it anyways: we are talking about a full-time in-patient situation. (ore-)himeru mentions the circumstances of kanames current health in chapter 1 of the epilogue of obbligato. (while not fully comatose, kaname is not lucid. he does some vocalizing sometimes but communication is not possible.)

so. HiMERU and all that makes you wonder... are the himerus connected via guardianship. we know from obbligato that kanames mothers is dead, he grew up alone (the tojo family not being in the picture, apparently), and while their father is alive, he was not in a position to care for either of them himself, health-wise. (and financially, i am willing to bet) so, responsibility would just jump to the next relative; that being the adult brother. young adult who barely made it back to the country! but working and adult and insured nonetheless, therefore qualifying.

i would assume (ore-)himeru did not need to step up/wasnt really in the picture either (at least health system databases might not have been aware of him) but he visits him in the hospital. even before that, he attempted to become at least somewhat involved in kanames life by his rough attempts to coach him. and most of all, you know how much kaname means to him. i am just going to assume he claimed him.

and like, thats a shit situation for someone in their early 20s (or however old he is). that would be horrible for anyone in a more stable situation at a more established age.

the emotional baggage of it all. not only have you just met your half brother and just gotten around to the idea of having family, you instantly get it taken from you again. the loss and grief and guilt must be unimaginable.

(ore-)himeru has.... unbelievable issues when it comes to... his attempts to prepare what he thinks would be an ideal life for kaname. whether in hope of one day handing it over or just as a sad tribute to what could have been or an attempt to keep “himeru”, the artistic vision, alive. however much of this is happening in what percentage and on what conscious level.

so to the urge to make “himeru” famous, this would add the absolute need to make himeru famous as a source of steady good income. of course (ore-)himeru is desperate to do well out of pride and love but financially and on paper he would be responsible for two people, adding to the pressure to be as successful as possible.

(additionally, while it does not justify (ore-)himeru’s actions, himeru also dodged a public scandal by staying an idol and performing as per usual. there were no news about an idol being beaten and staying unconscious and that by itself provides protection from the public for kaname. especially since his family is infamous to begin with. i wonder how much this would have mattered.)

matching themes? personally as a disabled person, as far as guadianship and custodianship goes, i have a lot of feelings. we all experienced it when we were younger and probably felt powerless in front of our parents sometimes. so experiencing this in your adulthood is GUTTING. yet, it can be absolutely necessary. and while guardians and custodians are often looked down upon, a lot of them are family members with their heart and mind in the right place, who make good decisions for someone they love. it cannot be underestimated how much paperwork and exhausting+annoying communication with your insurance provider goes into it.

so between this and (ore-)himerus behaviour in general i see a lot of matching themes.... mostly control and perseverance and, ofc, a certain flair of being very very condescending towards the person you are supposed to protect. after all, kaname cannot make any decisions right now, not about his health or “himeru”. and perhaps one day maybe his state will change and he will suddenly be more aware of his surroundings and forced to confront what happened without his influence. and he will find that his brother made responsible comprehensible decisions when it comes to his health but, without any need or agreement, took extreme liberties when it comes to his name. they are both important parts of him and (ore-)himeru having that double responsibilty and going wild with it is scary to me. and probably also scary to him. but he is too deep into it at this point.

idk. does any of this make sense. is this interesting. personally, the added layer of pressure and drama is interesting to me. to me its like... it supports all the themes we find in himeru anyway and makes his struggles worse, it just neatly fits into place.

personal related kaname thoughts will the story ever make him more lucid? who knows! i am terrified, personally, of the possibility.

enstars has its fair share of insensitive to offensive writing and i cannot imagine this going well. i cannot imagine them writing this in a way that is respectful and includes a realistic rehab process that restores a realistic amount of physical and neurological functions. especially since... not gonna lie guys. at this point. idk how much quality of life kaname can regain in his current state.

+the added trouble he would get in because (ore-)himeru, essentially, stole his identity is straight up infuriating. i dont think i have to mention this. where do you even start and TRY to live a normal life after this shit.

and thats sad. bc i love kaname dearly. he is an extremely silly, bratty, lovable character to me and i want the best for him so i have these horribly detailed harsh expectations. maybe it will never happen and ngl, that would be perfectly fine with me, too.

disclaimer etc etc i dont know shit about the japanese health system and if you somehow happen to know how intensive long-term care for an underage person that grew up in the foster system would be financed (like, who is responsible??!?!??!?!) please let me know >:) i love learning about health systems. a lot of the stuff i wrote above is just really basic common sense, i just wanted to talk about it.

[eclipsednodes]

SHADOW WORK SIMPLIFIED

What is shadow work?

If I had to describe shadow work in one word, it would be introspection. Introspection is the examination of your own mental state and is necessary in order to learn more about your fundamental nature. Although it may sound off-putting and even scary at first, shadow work is a necessary component in the process of healing. We all have aspects of ourselves that we’ve rejected and hidden away out of fear. Through shadow work, we’re able to reflect on our thoughts, emotions, and habits so that we can find the root cause of our suffering and heal ourselves. By reincorporating those aspects of ourselves that we’ve denied, we feel more fulfilled and can begin to love ourselves fully. 

Where does shadow work come from? 

The concept of the shadow self comes from Carl Jung who believed that our shadow self is the subconscious aspect, or “dark side”, of our personality that our conscious ego doesn’t identify with. However, I would like to clarify that “dark” does not imply or equate with bad. That which resides outside of our consciousness can be either good or bad, but aren’t inherently reflective of our value or “goodness” as a person. 

Although these repressed aspects of ourselves can manifest negatively, it isn’t because those parts of us are “bad”, but that the process of repression is inherently painful and toxic. This is reflected by Jung when he states, "Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.” He believed that until we’ve merged our conscious and subconscious selves, that our conscious would be “the slave of the autonomous shadow”. This is due to the shadow self overwhelming our conscious selves by falling victim to our own self-imposed traps. 

Through assimilating this shadow self, not over-identifying with it, Jung believed we go through the process of enantiodromia, thereby integrating the subconscious by reincorporating our shadow selves into our personality and allowing us to solidify ourselves through wholeness. He best described this by stating "assimilation of the shadow gives a man body, so to speak.” However, don’t fall into the misconception that shadow work is a short-term practice. Shadow work is a continuous practice and integration of the shadow self is a will take place throughout your life.

How do I do shadow work?

In the last question, I identified that practicing self-reflection is a key component of shadow work, but what does that mean? What am I supposed to be reflecting on? Well, the first thing that you should focus on is being present throughout the day. Identify feelings that come up throughout the day and observe them objectively. What situation or interaction triggered these emotions? How did I react to those emotions? Were my emotions controlling me or was I in control of my emotions? Why did this situation or interaction cause me to feel this way? How did I cope with those feelings (self-harming, lashing out at others, communicating my feelings, journalling, etc.)? Did I punish myself for getting upset? If so, why? 

There are numerous ways to reflect on your feelings and experiences in order to get a better understanding of yourself. Through evaluating how you react to situations, which situations upset you, and how you managed those feelings, you’re able to build the foundation to understanding your emotions and bridge the gap between your subconscious and conscious mind.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll find that the emotions you feel in the present are reflective of unhealed emotions from your past. Perhaps the reason you feel that you’re unable to set boundaries as an adult is because as a child, your parents never respected your boundaries by going through your phone or diary, yelling at you when you said no to a request, forcing you into situations that made you feel you had no choice. 

By identifying the root cause of your emotional pain, you’re able to address it in the present and heal from the trauma. The simplest way that I’ve found to address them is through journalling. You can purchase a physical journal or even use your notes app, either way, you’re writing out your feelings and reflections to gain deeper insight. It’s important to remember that this looks different for anyone and that the best way to approach shadow work is by doing what feels most natural! You can choose to stick to self-reflective journal prompts, vent about whatever is upsetting you, write letters to whoever has hurt you, etc. Ultimately, you can guide yourself based off of what you feel you need and where you are in your journey.

What parts of yourself do you find yourself rejecting the most? Many of us have experienced the pain of rejection in some aspects of our lives and sometimes, it’s incredibly painful and leaves us with long-lasting wounds. We end up going through our lives carrying baggage that we don’t even know we have! Many times, I’ve found myself wondering why I felt so repulsed by aspects of myself and why I felt so strongly that they needed to be locked away forever. I couldn’t allow myself or others to see my truest self, my whole self, out of fear. I was scared of being rejected, shamed, humiliated by the people around me. I was scared of hurting other people by being myself and of being hurt by others. That’s no way to live, is it? When we tell ourselves that aspects of ourselves aren’t good enough, we end up going through life devaluing ourself. We’ve broken our own trust by rejecting ourselves, we’ve told ourselves that we aren’t good enough or worthy of love. In shadow work, you’re called to go inward and unpack everything that we’ve kept hidden for years and sometimes even decades. 

Bring the parts of yourself that you’ve repressed to the surface and nourish them with love, allow yourself to see that ALL OF YOU is deserving of love and support. For you, that could mean unlearning your unhealthy beliefs about food or eating, allowing yourself to be emotional around the people you love (despite how much you were told that you were too emotional, a crybaby, too sensitive in the past), allowing yourself to relax without feeling guilty about not being productive because you recognize your needs (even though you feel your sense of worth is tied to being productive at the cost of your own health).

Common misconceptions about shadow work?

Shadow work is evil or bad, the shadow is evil or bad 

The purpose of shadow work is healing through working with your subconscious to release repressed aspects of yourself and heal from painful, traumatic experiences. Your shadow side is simply your unconscious and to believe that it’s bad is to believe that you are bad. It’s merely the part of yourself that you aren’t aware of consciously and shouldn’t be feared. 

Certain emotions are “bad”

When you let go of the idea that emotions are either good or bad, you’ll allow yourself to just be and stop putting so much pressure on yourself to feel “good” all of the time. Happiness isn’t a constant state of being so stop expecting to be all of the time, we have a range of emotions for a reason so stop being ashamed of them. Your feelings are natural and if you feel like they’re out of control and something to be ashamed of, there is nothing wrong with that! It’s okay to feel like your emotions are controlling you because that isn’t permanent. Your feelings aren’t permanent and are completely manageable with proper guidance! The reason you feel like your emotions are controlling you is because you probably don’t have the knowledge to cope with them in an effective and healthy way. It’s helpful to sit with your emotions alone and look at them objectively without placing any judgement on them, this will help you calm down and assess your feelings. From there, you can identify what you need to relax and recover as well as acknowledge to yourself that your feelings are natural. When you stop categorizing your emotions as bad, they’re no longer shameful to experience and therefore you can see with better clarity how to cope with them and move on.

I’ve already released it so…

Why am I still upset?

Why does it still keep popping up in my head?

Why haven’t I moved on?

Why am I not making progress?

With the rise of self development and spirituality, I find that more and more people are rushing to complete their healing. Healing is a continuous, life-long cycle and not a destination. Putting the pressure on yourself to reach the place of ultimate healing is not only toxic, but it impedes your ability to actually heal anything. Healing is about love, compassion, and patience and it’s not going to happen according to a timeline. Allow yourself the time to experience your emotions, see them objectively, forgive yourself and others and move on without the pressure of expectations. 

 Another reason that you could be experiencing this is that despite the work you think you’ve done, it hasn’t been sufficient. I’ve found that a lot of journal prompts provided online are surface level at best and can be more pacifying than revealing. If you’re not feeling anything while doing your inner work, you’re not doing it correctly. Ultimately, this is about uncovering what makes us UNCOMFORTABLE and moving through those feelings. When you allow yourself to experience the sadness, hurt, anger, and/or frustration than you’re telling yourself that these feelings are okay and don’t need to be suppressed. The reality is that no matter what you’re feeling, you are allowed to experience those emotions and it’s only human! Unfortunately, many people associate lower vibrational emotions as bad, but this is a huge misconception! Telling yourself that anger, sadness, etc. are “bad” implies that you shouldn’t experience these emotions and that you have to get rid of them which is not only wrong, but unhealthy. There is no right or wrong emotions so don’t buy into the belief that you should feel a certain way, simply allow yourself to be and you’ll find that it’s much easier to navigate your emotions and needs. The only way to make it to the other side is by wading through the water, be patient and know that you’re feeling exactly what you should be. When you stop censoring yourself, you’ll discover a newfound sense of freedom and wholeness. 

 If you find yourself circling back to certain topics, for example, your ex-boyfriend than perhaps there are triggers in your environment that remind you of the situation, you have more that needs to be addressed that you may not have been ready for or aware of previously (hence why shadow work is a practice that is ongoing), or they’re representative of a deeper issue that you’re repressing. Whatever the cause is, the same methods as earlier will apply and can be discerned through your own intuition. 

What are some basic journal prompts that I can do?

What feelings come up when you think of ____?

How did that experience make you feel emotionally? How did it make you feel about yourself? How did it make you feel about the other person or people?

Write a letter to yourself, your inner child, the people who’ve hurt you, and the people you’ve hurt. Express how you feel honestly, without holding back and then forgive yourself and the other person.

If you could say anything to yourself or another person for closure, what would it be?

How have these situations and experiences impacted your mental health? How have they affected your belief system about yourself, other people, and the world?

What about yourself are you ashamed of? What about yourself are you embarrassed of? What about yourself makes you angry? What do you regret? Why do you feel this way about yourself and where do these feelings stem from?

What makes you feel most alone? What makes you feel most loved? How can you incorporate that knowledge into your life to make it better?

What’s the most hurtful thing someone has said or done to you? Why did it hurt you so much? How does it still affect you now? How can you heal from it and allow yourself to move on?

What do you need to forgive yourself for? What do you need to forgive others for?

Where do you feel you lack security in your life? Why? How does this impact your life and your relationships?

This is a list of generic prompts for you to start with, but feel free to message me if you need help with more specific topics or I can make another post altogether for journal prompts.

[jd-loves-fiction]

Kiss Cam

➤ Atsumu quickly regrets inviting you and his brother Osamu, whom you’ve been crushing on since highschool, to one his games once the kiss cam lands on the two of you and he has to witness his friend and brother swap spit onscreen.

➤ genre: fluff

➤ wc: 2k

➤ warnings: 

➤ 🌑 I actually don’t know if there are kiss cams in volleyball games but oh well😅

You understood the thought process that led to the situation you would soon have to confront.

You understood why Atsumu did it and why he didn’t think twice about it.

But it really wouldn’t hurt him to learn how to read the room, but more importantly, your tone of clear distress.

“Look, I’m sorry, didn’t think it’d be a problem. And I still kinda ain’t seein’ the problem?” Atsumu said, sounding genuinely confused, which would’ve made you pity him in any other situation because he truly seemed lost, but not in this particular case.

“Ok, you didn’t think it’d be a problem. And now you know it is! Can’t you do anything to change it?” You were practically pleading, pacing back and forth nervously across the length of the stadium’s bathroom.

“I thought ya got over him!” He said, clearly frustrated. “Nothin’ can be done now. Yer just gonna hafta sit with him. Or ya can just go home, if ya want. Wouldn’t hold it against ya.” He spoke over the phone.

Your shoulders dropped. There’s the pity.

“No. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t even be calling you just before the game. I’ll be fine, just focus on winning, alright?” You sighed, defeated.

“’s ok, nothin’ like a lil needless argument to warm up and get the blood pumpin’.” He chuckled, relaxing once more, judging by his voice.

You checked yourself in the mirror again, fixing any stray hairs and wishing you had put more effort into your appearance. If only you had been warned that you'd be sitting next to your highschool crush, Miya Osamu, who you definitely still had feelings for, in the VIP section--

That's enough. No reason to be thinking about that. No time either, as you were already approaching your seat when you came back to your senses.

It had been so long since you'd last seen him. You thought that maybe your memory betrayed you and he wasn't nearly as attractive as you remembered him to be, or perhaps he wouldn't age well. All those possibilities were proven to be completely incorrect the moment you spotted him.

Gone was his warm grey hair, now replaced with his natural black, his shoulders seemed even wider (which didn't seem possible at the time) and he seemed leaner, not at all out of shape but not as filled with muscle as before. It suited him.

You wondered for a moment if he even remembered you (you'd be quite hurt if he didn't) let alone as vividly as you remembered him.

Did he remember you as the shy girl from his class who didn't fall at his brother's feet (and instead fell at his, but he didn't know that) and instead chose to befriend him and find her way into his circle? Did he remember what you looked like? The jokes you made behind Atsumu's back? The lunchboxes shared? How he always seemed to want a pice of yours more than any other, despite the deliciousness of his own? The little game you started where you would try to get him to laugh with the dumbest of methods because you were curious on what his laugh sounded like and why he didn't show it more often?

Did he remember you at all? Sure, those memories seemed significant enough, to you, because you were smitten with him.

He, on the other hand, had a hoard of fangirls waiting on his neck and call much like his brother, and various girlfriends (if the rumors were to be trusted, which they usually weren't, but it had to be true, with everything he had. The body, the face, the personality, the humor).

Sure, him and Atsumu didn't befriend a whole lot of girls, but there were at least a few. Would he confuse you with one of them?

"Y/N?"

Before you could step all over your own heart once more with worst case scenarios, already thinking about turning back and leaving, you heard his low voice call out your name, slow and unsure.

He blinked at you for a moment, wondering if his eye betrayed him, until you waved shyly at him while approaching. His pout immediately turned into a small and soft smile that made your heart flutter.

"Hi! Haven't seen you in a while!" You greeted amicably as you sat down next to him, mentally struggling to come up with topics to discuss. If you remembered correctly, he was never one for small talk, and nothing would be worse than silence right now.

"Right back at ya! How've you been doin'?" He asked politely, still smiling at you. You don't remember seeing him smile for this long (genuinely) before. Oh God, his smile is so cute--

"Oh, nothing much. Looking for a job at the moment." You said dismissively, mentally scolding yourself for making yourself sound so uninteresting. Osamu didn't seem fazed though.

"Well, I'm probably gonna need some help durin' the summer. So, if ya need a part-time job while in Hyogo or something, come by my shop: 'Onigiri Miya'. Sure Tsumu's told ya about it already though, heard y'all kept in touch." He offered, successfully managing to seem calm and collected despite the excitement he felt at the possibility of spending time with you, doing what he loves. That and hide the envy he felt for your having kept in touch with his brother and not him, but then again he could've been the one to reach out so he didn't really blame you.

"Oh! Well I am planning to pass through... Maybe I'll take you up on that offer." You smiled, ignoring how easy it was to talk to Osamu. Who the hell would talk about a summer part-time with their highschool crush after however many years it's been? You two apparently.

But it was nice. Everything about Osamu was nice.

"But honestly, it's real nice to see ya again. Ya look great, I mean it." He said softly, hoping you hadn't noticed the way his eyes had roamed your figure for a moment when he saw you.

You blushed, looking away in response and giving his a meek 'thanks', acting like a highschool girl with a huge crush all over again, but then again, what really had changed?

"You don't look so bad yourself." Was all you managed to say before the game was announced to be starting soon, followed by the fans' loud cheers.

You and Osamu traded comments and jests, poking fun at people in the audience as well as some players (mostly Atsumu), and even though it seemed childish, it made you feel like a highschooler again. Actually it seemed to almost transport you fully onto a very specific day.

You remembered that day quite clearly, for whatever reason. It was during your first year, Osamu had injured himself and had to sit out of a practice match that Inarizaki had against another school. Atsumu (or was it Osamu? You couldn't remember exactly) had asked you to come see the game and "cheer him on". Truth be told, he knew that you wouldn't be doing any of that, and in a way he was glad you wouldn't.

As you entered the gym, you noticed Osamu right away, sitting dejectedly on the sidelines, on the bench, seemingly unbothered and uninterested, but by the grip he had on his shorts and the light tapping of his foot in the floor, you could tell it wasn't so.

The team all knew you by this point, so the coach simply nodded at you as you entered, headed straight to where Osamu sat, eyes wide and glued to the match in front of him, passing in front of him purposely to bring his attention towards you instead.

You placed your bag on the ground before sitting next to it, receiving an odd look from the younger twin.

"Why're ya sittin' on the floor?" He asked as you simply smiled. "Why do you look like you're plotting a murder?" You asked bluntly, to which he gave you a surprised but impressed look, shaking his head and motioning for you to sit with him.

"I'm not. Now come sit with me. Bet it's cold there." He tried tempting your but you merely shook your head, staying where you were.

Reason being that 1. Yes, you were close to most people on the team but you weren't part of it and that's what the bench was for and 2. You had a plan.

"What kind of face do you think that middle blocker's gonna make when Suna spikes?"

"Well..."

You remember making comments about both teams and laughing quietly amongst yourselves, and with where you sat, Osamu had to lean in your direction to hear what you were saying, therefore taking at least a little of his attention away from the game so that he didn't stomp through the floor in restlessness.

The halftime interval was announced finally, each team taking the time to recover some of their strength.

One of the huge screens situated at the edges of the stadium switched on, showcasing a vignette in the shape of a pink heart with the words 'Kiss Cam' at the top, the camera attached settling on two people making them lean towards each other to do as the screen indicated while the crowd cheered.

"Wait. Atsumu told you I was coming? Why? And why didn't he tell me?" Osamu shrugged at your question, seemingly not privy to his brother's thoughts on the matter. Which was a lie.

Atsumu had told him because he knew of his crush on you, and saw this little encounter as the perfect way to 'rekindle the flame' as he put it, as if you were some old couple who were simply bored of each other and not too young adults hopelessly head over heels for the other but unable to make a move.

As you tried to wrap your head around Atsumu's reasoning (useless, knowing him), Osamu took notice of a camera preparing to settle on your position.

Both of your faces appeared onscreen inside the (to some) dreaded pink heart, the crowd cheering once more as you looked around yourself, confused, until Osamu pointed you in the direction of the screen and watched as your face became beet red, before you hid it in your hands.

So that's what Atsumu meant when he told him to 'take any chance to make a move if he got one', the bastard. Osamu glanced briefly at his brother below, looking at his stupid smirk and dumb thumbs up of encouragement. He set this up.

As Osamu turned to you, so pretty, so cute, an image he could never truly erase from his mind fully since highschool, he realized that this was his chance. And he had to just man up and take it. Not repeat the same mistake.

The black haired man placed a gentle hand on the back of your lowered head, ignoring the way the crowd roared louder, and leaned towards you as you raised your head to look at him, being met by his face mere centimeters away from yours.

He looked at you in concern, wanting to make sure that you truly wanted this as much as him.

And you, realizing that fuck it he looked like he wanted it as much as you and you really had nothing to lose, leaned forward to meet him halfway as the crowd's ruckus crescendoed one final time.

The exchange must've lasted maybe a full minute, if that, but it seemed so much longer to you. It seemed like an eternity before you felt his soft, flavoured lips meet yours in a shy kiss, sweet but hesitant. Exactly like two highschoolers would do after confessing.

You parted after a moment, timidly opening to your eyes to check Osamu's expression, only to find him smiling as giddily as you felt inside, hand still steady on your head, simply cupping it and not pushing.

Spurred on by his clear excitement, you leaned back towards him, joining your lips passionately with your eyes closed as the cheering faded from your ears, solely focused on the feeling of Osamu's lips against your own, slow but firm.

As you parted, looking away from each other shyly, you both caught a glimpse of Atsumu, gagging down by the benches.

He was obviously happy for his brother and friend, but he would've preferred to not watch as they locked lips as passionately as they did.

[emsartwork]

thoughts on each of the enchantix arcs?? any ways you'd improve upon them if you were to rewrite the series??

Yeah! long post ahead sry

So enchantix is earned by the fairy sacrificing themselves for another person (this means possible death or something like bodily harm), the fairy’s core resonates with the person they save. A fairy’s first Enchantix transformation is incredibly powerful as the Fairy’s core reaches its (safe) maximum magic production level, many times the sacrificial injuries are healed in the process of transforming, this only happens the first time though. The closer related the fairy and person are the easier it is for the core to resonate (hence the “someone from your realm” thing”). 

Aisha is pretty much like canon, her eyesight was cursed by Valtor but there was a three day time limit before it became permanent. Aisha very consciously chose to heal Queen Ligea instead of herself, losing the Queen of the forces on the front line of Valtor’s attack/the omega portal would have completely crippled both Land and Sea Kingdoms, resulting in Andro’s destruction. Aisha’s choice resulted in her first Enchantix transformation right before the curse’s time limit was up and it was removed in the process. 

Stella is also very similar, after the whole party on Eraklyon goes to shit she throws herself between a rampaging wyvern and her (still cursed) father, she sustains a shield as long as she can but does get knocked around. Her Charmix runs out of time and her final push of magic puts the wyvern into unconsciousness, but not before its poison tail slices into Stella. Stella collapses and her fairy form flickers out before the dust settles and her Enchantix starts, ceiling close to Stella as she transforms weakens the mind control on Radius but doesn’t fully remove it. 

Musa is a tad different, Galatea is captured by the Trix, her magic is briefly bound by Darcy’s, and is forced to show them Alfea’s Sanctum She’s still able to use Vibratones to get a message to any Melodian students in the school (its a biological feature and not a magical one). Musa picks up on it and goes after them.The Trix grab what they need from the Sanctum (powerful magical items mostly)  In trying to get a now unconscious Galtea and herself to safety, Musa’s wings are frozen and shattered leaving them trapped in the Sanctum. Darcy and Stormy use a soul convergence to cover their escape and it spreads dark lighting/fire through the Sanctum. When the Soul Convergence reaches them, Musa uses the last of her disrupted magic to create a barrier for Galatea. The Soul Convergence’s lighting strike hits Musa square in the chest and her heart stops. Her Enchantix is triggered despite her wing-core loop having been broken, the transformation restarts her heart and allows her to put up shields until the rest of the Winx reach the Sanctum and defeat the Soul Convergence and put out the fire. 

Flora is very similar to canon, Trix blast at her little sister forcing her into the Black Willow Pool (a natural source that appears as a tree and “not-water” on Lynphea known for its regenerative powers when used in extreme moderation, full submersion is super dangerous and unpredictable) Flora creates a barrier around herself and Miele as the pool drags them down. The pool is eating away at Flora’s barrier so she desperately pushes Miele and the barrier towards the surface leaving herself behind. As Miele breaks through the surface of the pool one of the other Winx grab her out onto dry land. Flora’s Enchantix is triggered and pushes the effect of the Pool away as she transforms, rising unharmed to the surface. 

Tecna is, well, Tecna. As the portal to Omega on Andros starts to deteriorate, Valtor's leftover influence makes it difficult to reach the portal. The Winx join Aisha and the forces of Teredor and Neptune in trying to reach it without killing the merfolk and other soldiers who have been cursed. Aisha and Tecna reach the portal as it’s starting to turn in on itself, which would create a massive black hole swallowing both Omega and Andros’s entire solar systems. Tecna runs a quick analysis and comes to the conclusion that it needs to be manipulated from inside the portal for it to stabilize, but it could swallow whoever goes in. Aisha is ready to do just about anything, but Tecna stops her, saying she has a duty to stay with her people as a leader, while Tecna herself isn’t that pivotal so risking her life is the more logical choice. The rest of the Winx/some of the other forces reach the portal as Tecna steps into it. From the outside, the portal flashes green and is briefly covered in wire like magic before disappearing and closing forever (que grief). Tecna on the inside, is unable to stabilize the portal enough to like, actually make it work again, but is able to shut it down. In any other circumstance Tecna would have disappeared along with the portal, but triggering her Enchantix allowed her to push through the portal as it was closing, leaving her alone on Omega but alive. 

Bloom’s primarily problem is that she doesn’t want to put herself in risky situations because it could jeopardize her quest for her parents, and that she is intensely SEEKING Enchantix, meaning anytime she tries to save someone, she isn’t doing it out of a genuine desire to save someone but to further her own goal. Even from the beginning, Bloom is obsessed with Enchantix, and bears resentment towards her friends who earn it before her, feeling like she’s not a “true fairy” and therefore has lost her sense of identity(kind of how she was in the first season). She goes to Pyros(an island on Magix) to reclaim her sense of identity and self confidence. Bloom uses her intense willpower, and her Dragon Fire (unintentionally) as a cheat code to force herself into transforming into a “Enchantix-esq” form, meaning she looks the part, can blast large amounts of magic in attacks, and her wings are more stable, but she does not have working fairy dust,(miniaturizing is dumb and cancelled they just use a shrinking spell that leaves their magic level intact) and she cannot withstand large amounts of foreign magic the way the rest of the Winx can in Enchantix. She actually defeats Valtor by literally ripping his Dragon Flame spark out of him and leaving him kinda “comatose”. She doesn’t use fairy dust or the water stars as she literally CAN’T hold a water star without INTENSE negative effects. She does earn her Enchantix for real in the Lost Kingdom Movie by sacrificing her body and soul, letting Daphne use her spirit form to destroy the Ancestral’s tethers in Obsidian; saving her plant/people/parents. Her first Enchantix transformation has enough boosted power with Daphne and the Dragon flame to push everybody back to Domino. Bloom herself is still super drained afterwards.

[seven-oomen]

Please talk about Noah! Your takes are super interesting and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!

(hope you're having a nice day!)

Alright then strap in! Because I am about to tell you why I think Noah Stilinski is;

A. Bisexual

B. Has the inattentive type of ADHD

Let’s begin!

First off, I think Noah Stilinksi is a bisexual man who has a preference for feminine presenting people. (As one would typically see women dress/appear in western society.) I don’t particularly have evidence for this, I tried scouring S3 to find clues of it, but honestly, I think this is just one of those, I headcanon it and therefore to me, it is true. If you have a different opinion, then awesome, you do you. 

I mean there are some looks between him and Chris Argent that can be interpreted as interested, but you’d have to look very closely. For now, it’s just one of those things, to me it’s like that, and I have fun with it.

Like father, like son right? Except Stiles would be more on the 50/50 scale of bisexuality where I think Noah is more on the 70/30 scale leaning towards feminine people.

As for his ADHD, I did find a lot of clues and tidbits there, so: 

Notice how the sheriff is frequently standing with his arms crossed as if he’s either trying to protect himself (trauma-based) or trying to keep himself from moving too much (ADHD based). This would also explain why the sheriff is often seen standing too still. He also tends to talk with his hands, which is another thing a lot of ADHD people have in common. Though to be fair a lot of NT people do this too.

However here in 3x01 we see the sheriff fully focused on this person while they’re trying to work something out.

Then the next second, Melissa enters the hallway and Noah’s undivided attention is suddenly on her, he barely remembers to utter out an excuse me before addressing Melissa. And he does it as if every neuron in his brain is suddenly focused on her. “Oh hey, Melissa!” 

*Brain switch. Undivided attention is now on Melissa.*

This is a form of hyper-focusing, and if you’ve been trained from a young age you do this while making it look NT-passing. You mask it. I do this. People with ADHD-C or ADHD-I that have a basis in trauma tend to this in my experience.

Like Stiles tends to do, the sheriff too, is moving around fidgeting in the blurry background. He’s talking faster than he can process which is picked up on by his stutters. While he’s trying to figure out a resolution to this conflict. 

You can also tell that there might be some RSD at play here due to the fact that he seems very keen to keep the peace in the scene and wants everyone to get along and let’s keep everyone around me chill. This may not seem like a stereotypical ADHD thing to do, but it’s very common in ADHD-I types.

In the scene with Deaton that he shares in this episode, as well as numerous scenes with Stiles and other characters. You can always see him thinking, you can practically see the wheels turning in his head as he tries to make connections and tries to focus on what lies ahead of him and what people are saying to him. 

Sometimes he successfully succeeds in listening and processing. You see this by his frowns, little head movements. But as soon as those arms cross or his frown deepens you can tell someone is trying to flip the switch, but the light’s not turning on. The information isn’t being processed by his brain. He’s trying to defend himself.

Again, this is a typical thing for someone with ADHD-I who’s been trained and has had extensive therapy to cope with his symptoms. For a while and for general conversations/problems, you are capable of holding the thread. When things get complicated, that’s when you start to see the thread unraveling in Noah’s head.

In 3x02 there’s a moment of impatience as he wakes the boys up but also clearly a look on his face that says a few things.

1. Omg Stiles has done it again.

2. Look at the state of this room where do I even begin? I don’t know, so I just won’t bother.

3. Oh no I have absolutely been here and now I have to deal with my son being in this state too.

So he does the most logical thing to him, he doesn’t deal with it. Just his executive dysfunction going off and thinking; nope I’m not dealing with this, I need to get work, I don’t have time to sit down (hence the mug in his hands.) Man is probably running late already and only now waking the boys up because he realizes they’re A. still in his house. And B. not off to school yet and he needs to get going too.

He has a moment like this in multiple episodes where his impatience and incapability of dealing with a situation in front of him causes him to physically drag Stiles away and using too much force to do it. Though judging by Stiles’s reactions, and the way he relaxes after being grabbed, the sheriff seems to realize how hard he is grabbing and eases up every single time.

And that seems like a little detail, but not knowing your own strength is also a thing that can correspond with ADHD. (Though it can occur in NT people and other conditions as well. Or generally, be caused by anger.) But for the sake of this essay or meta, I will attribute it to Noah having ADHD.

In 3x09 Stiles finally clues him in on what’s happening in Beacon Hills and we can clearly see that he’s struggling to process everything. One could attribute that purely to; 

1. Noah is trying to come to terms that supernatural creatures are real and this would be a lot for anyone to process. Which is a fair and a totally valid assumption.

2. However, we see signs of Noah already starting to believe something is up from the very beginning. There’s always been a side to the sheriff where he was willing to believe or give people the benefit of the doubt when it came to the supernatural. Like in 3x03 when he tells his deputy: “She saw something.”

This leads me to believe that the real matter at hand is that Noah simply can’t process all that information at that time and he needs a few days to think it over in order to do so. Which could be a sign of a processing problem due to ADHD. (Although as I have pointed out, it could also be interpreted as an NT just getting a lot of crazy information at once. Take it as you will.)

In 3x07 Stiles and Scott argue over whether or not to tell Noah what’s going on with the sacrifices. Stiles points out that they shouldn’t because his father is completely overwhelmed.

This can be attributed to several things and interpreted in different ways. Let’s lay down the most obvious one; the sheriff has no idea what’s going on, he has the FBI on his case, and multiple murders on his hands and essentially a serial killer. All of these on their own are enough to be overwhelmed by, yes.

I choose to interpret it as a combination of all of these factors combined with an inability to process this much information or information in general. Which is another symptom of ADHD-I.

We also hear him frequently telling Stiles and the other kids to ‘go home, get to class, go to school.’ Basically what he’s doing in moments like this is 1. looking out for them. 2. Unable to cope and process with all the information he’s been giving during that time and instead of lashing out at the kids, he tries a coping mechanism that’s called divert or redirect. Where you try to redirect people/thoughts/object into a direction or thought process that’s far more manageable to you. 

Which is something that I’ve been taught to do myself in therapy. And that is why I think it’s something Noah has been taught to do as well. Either in the Army/Police Academy. or during therapy sessions.

Now, this is what I like to call Noah’s; I’m trying to process what you’re trying to tell me face. And so far, I’m keeping up. You see the pursed lips, the frown on his face, the slightly squinted eyes. He’s focusing on what Stiles is trying to tell him.

Here he is looking away for a second, processing, trying to manage information. We see him frown further, his lip tensing further, he has to try harder.

He’s processing, processing, he blinks. And then this is the face he pulls right after the blink.

The frown has deepened, he's still following Stiles for now but you can see he’s starting to lose the train of thought here.

Stiles keeps explaining, pulls out the chessboard to explain what is going on.

And Noah has completely lost his train of thought. He has no idea what Stiles is saying to him anymore and no way to process all of the information that Stiles is giving him after this moment. He gets impatient, is annoyed at the things Stiles is telling him. That is because he’s emotionally, and physically overwhelmed. 

He deals with a lot of things in his job and he always seems utterly exhausted because of it. I think that is because his job is exhausting. But I also think it has to do with Noah not being able to filter sounds, stimuli, the inability to process things like an NT. I think Noah suffers from a high level of empathy, this combined with sensory processing issues results in someone who’s constantly trying to filter them out and failing. Resulting in chronic fatigue, turning to other means of dealing (Alcoholism), impatience, etc.

He also seems to have trouble regulating his emotions, as we see with his frequent snaps and jabs at Stiles but he also seems to try and be better about it and regret it when he does snap. We also know that in order to numb his pain and his emotions Noah turned to Alcohol to cope, as sad as it is, this is common in people with ADHD. Who often turn to substances to cope with their symptoms and their inability to regulate themselves, anything to numb all the feelings and their own shortcomings. Noah seems to have fallen into that trap too.

-

I think my favorite moment in this scene comes right after with this face:

And the question of; “Why is Jackson the Kanima?”

Which tells me a few things.

1. After everything, that’s the first question he truly asks as he leans back and tries to process things.

2. This may point to an inability to prioritize tasks/thoughts, which is another symptom of ADHD-I. Which for Noah seems to occur when he’s not on the job or with people he trusts and doesn’t have to mask for. (He does this too when he asks Derek at the station; “But if he doesn’t have a mouth, how does he eat?”) Suggesting that this is a more regular occurrence than we see on the show.

And at this point, I can no longer concentrate on this since I’ve lost my hyper-focus. But I think I managed to compile a pretty decent list.

And that is why I think Noah Stilinski is Bisexual and has ADHD.

Tagging: @mostly-vo1d and @artemisa97 since they are usually involved in these things too. You don’t have to respond of course, but if you feel up to it, join in.

[regular-health-check-ups-matter]

What is CPR and what happens inside the body when it is performed?

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure predominantly used to restart a person’s heartbeat and breathing after either or both have stopped functioning. It requires giving the ailing person strong, rapid pushes to the chest to keep the blood moving throughout the body. It essentially also involves blowing air into the person’s mouth to help with breathing and send oxygen to the concerned persons lungs.

One is generally required to complete 5 sets of 30 chest compressions within the time of two minutes. If one is unable to perform mouth-to-mouth compressions, they should continue performing continuous compressions at a rate of about 100 per minute.

During a cardiac arrest, the heart is unable to pump blood to the rest of the body, including the brain and lungs. Without adequate attention, the ailing person’s death can occur within minutes. CPR as a process therefore imitates the heart’s pumping action by using chest compressions. These compressions support the body’s natural blood circulation throughout.

The procedure is performed as there is generally still enough oxygen in the blood to support the brain and other vital organs for a few minutes.

In the 20th century, internal cardiac massage was a common method used for patients suffering with a cardiac arrest. This usually involved a doctor cutting open the chest, reaching in, and squeezing the heart with their hands. However, in the modern medical world, thanks to the CPR technique, the chest compressions mimic the heart’s pumping.

Each of the hearts four chambers has a valve. Once the blood leaves one of the chambers, it is on a one-way trip around the body and is only allowed back in after that journey is fully completed. While in the CPR procedure one might not be pumping the heart directly during compressions, but may be able to squish these chambers or generate enough pressure to eject some blood that would not be otherwise moving, it’s also important to allow the chest to recoil

In cases of a cardiac arrest, time generally plays a crucial role when it comes to saving a person’s life during cardiac arrest. The survival chances are very less likely if an electric shock is not given on time. People around the ailing patient should pay cautious attention to indications like chest pain during physical activity and report it to the doctor on time. Hence, timely treatment is quite important which increases the chances of survival.

India is predicted to have the highest number of cardiac deaths by 2030 in the world with virtually every fourth death occurring due to Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), as reported by leading cardiologists. Heart related issues are a serious threat that seems to be putting the country facing a severe health crisis. Preventive measures even though a must, are at the moment not adequate enough to address the ever-growing situation and hence a basic understanding of the CPR technique is a must for all.

[sevenstarsinning]

Summary: Raditz loses his mate when Planet Vegeta is destroyed and finds himself working alongside Prince Vegeta. When he comes to Earth to recruit his brother, he’s dealt another devastating blow when Goku refuses to join and leaves him near death. He’s found by a human and attempts to adapt to life on Earth.

Ch.1 - Ch.2

Chapter 3

Raditz

Raditz stared back at you with murderous intent. A human questioning his worth? That was something he could not stand for.

But as you went back to tending to his wounds, not disgusted or berating him further, something occurred to him. Humans were weak, that much was obvious. But the weaker ones weren't cast aside as nothing. In the very short time he spent in West City before tracking down Kakarot, he saw it first hand. The weak were not treated as less and the strong as more.

His eyes trailed down your body, fully taking in your appearance for the first time. He found you pretty, for a weak human, anyway.

He did feel slightly bad about destroying your house but your attitude made him not care as much as he should've.

"Sorry about going off on you," you finally spoke, as if you were reading his mind. His brow furrowed, curious if you really were a mind reader.

He arrived on Earth with very little information about it's inhabitants. For all he knew, that's exactly what you were, a mind reader and all of his deeply guarded secrets were wide open for you to invade.

After you finished patching him up, he watched as you examined all of the damage the crash had caused. Your entire bedroom was gone, replaced by his pod. The bathroom across the hall was salvageable but still a disaster. Half of the kitchen was collapsing but, luckily it was the side opposite the major appliances. Overall, the damage could've been much, much worse.

"Hey, Raditz, can you lend a hand? I need to get this at least partially closed up before the storms start tonight," you called from the kitchen.

Raditz reluctantly agreed, at least it would distract him. He helped close up the open spots in the walls with tarps and plastic sheeting from the shed. It wasn't perfect but it would keep most of the rain out.

"I guess we're leaving the pod here for now," you said, examining what was essentially a UFO.

Raditz watched you take in every detail of the pod you could while you circled around it. For him, there was nothing extraordinary about it because he was used to seeing them and traveling in them only when absolutely necessary. But to you, he imagined it was something quite remarkable based on the childlike wonder you displayed while you ran your fingers along the edge of the door.

He held his hand up to a scanner to the left and the locks disengaged. The door slowly lifted revealing the inside.

"Okay, totally thought that was just a window," you admitted before stepping forward to take a peek inside.

"It's very small compared to the other transports we have... had on our planet," he corrected himself without considering the ramifications. All he could do was hope you didn't catch it.

Right when you turned your attention to him, he braced himself for a marathon of questions. But they never came. You merely looked at him with an expression he wasn't entirely familiar with. You seemed... sad. But that couldn't be right unless you really were a mind reader.

"Do you mind if I check out the inside?" You asked, turning your head back to the pod.

"Don't press any buttons." His tail uncoiled from his waist and moved slowly back and forth behind him while he watched you explore. He tried to keep his mind as clear as possible in case you were listening in.

When you sat down in the plush seat, you looked up at him and immediately screamed when you saw the furry brown appendage. His tail puffed up and whipped around wildly.

"What!?" Raditz looked around for whatever threat nearby that made you let out that god awful sound.

"Is that a tail? I thought it was some kind of ridiculous furry belt." You took a deep breath and calmed your nerves while his tail went back to it's normal amount of floof.

"A furry belt... why would I wear something like that?" He asked, puzzled by the odd assumption.

"Dude, you're wearing a battle speedo, a furry belt is not that far out of the realm of possibility."

"A battle speedo? Are you still speaking this planet's language?" He asked, brow furrowed while his tail darted back and forth.

"It's called English, it’s not the only language here, and yes, I'm still speaking it. That little piece of spandex covering your... " you trailed off and gestured towards the middle of his body, "that whole area is pretty much a speedo and you said you're a warrior. It is, therefore, a battle speedo," you explained.

"Step away from my pod, you can't be trusted if your mind conjures up those sorts of ridiculous things," he chided, ready to close his pod up and ban you from it for making a joke about the remainder of his Saiyan clothing.

"Whatever, big guy. I need to call the insurance company and get screwed over on this claim anyway." You brushed past him to the living room and made yourself comfortable on the couch.

By the time you got off the phone, you were seething. It turned out there was no fine print in your insurance premium about losing part of your house to a space pod. Most of what you were saying went over his head. He had no idea what insurance premiums were and considering the way you were acting about it, he didn’t care to find out.

"This is perfect, I have no idea where I'm going to sleep or how the hell I'm going to fix this." You crouched and leaned against the pod. Fighting off anxiety was a lot more difficult than it should've been. It had a way of swallowing a person whole and plunging them into darkness.

Going against everything his own brain was screaming at him, he sighed, "you can sleep in my pod."

"Thanks, but where are you gonna sleep?" You asked, looking down at the shredded hunk of springs and memory foam that used to be your bed.

"In my pod, obviously. You're not foolish enough to think I'd leave you alone in there, are you?"

"Come again?" You asked, eyebrows raised as you regarded him.

"It's just sleeping, human. What's the problem?"

"Sleeping next to random strangers you found in a field isn't exactly safe for females here."

"It's cowardly to attack while someone is asleep or unable to defend themselves." He felt a twinge of guilt saying that, he wasn't afraid to fight dirty if the situation called for it.

"I guess if you were going to hurt me you would've done it by now. It's not like I could fight you off, even injured." You stood and looked around for something to keep you occupied before the stress did you in.

The sun lowering in the distance turned the sky into a tapestry of pink and orange. Raditz was sore from his rib injury but he was still determined to keep himself distracted by helping you move some of the bigger things in your house. He wasn't sure what compelled him to do it. He had zero interest in befriending humans, you were no exception.

Sometime after midnight, Raditz retired to his pod. You opted to give the couch a try and see if it could work as a bed for the time being.

He climbed in his pod and engaged the locks. It was far too soon to be back in the cramped space but it was at least a piece of home. The only piece he really had left. His armor was broken along with his body and he was stranded on a planet meant to be a quick stop on his journey.

Everything changed so drastically in such a short amount of time that he barely had a moment to process all that he lost when Planet Vegeta was destroyed.

His chest ached when memories of her played through his head. That was the biggest question that needed answering. How was he supposed to continue without his mate? Their bond was stronger than it had ever been last time he saw her. And then she was just gone, dust spread among the space in which his home planet used to reside.

A tap on the door was a welcome reprieve from the thoughts that haunted him. He blindly hit the side panel to open the door for you.

"So, I'm terrified the roof is gonna collapse on my ass," you announced. Without a word, Raditz scooted as far to the left as he could and put his massive hand out to help you climb in. The two of you kept your eyes on one another as he pulled you in to settle next to him.

The same expression from earlier returned to your face. You looked at him as if you could see past all of the bullshit and right into his mind. But it was more than that and it finally clicked in his stubborn head. You weren't reading his mind at all. You recognized his overwhelming sadness because it was in you too.

[craftysuitgoatee]

15 Weird Hobbies That'll Make You Better at Buy PCP (Phencyclidine) in europe

If some one has acne, they have a lot of spots on their face, neck and body. Acne is very common among teenagers. It is the most unfortunate situation for the youth to have stubborn case of acne on their face. For, that is the stage of life, when they like to be not only healthy but much more attractive and presentable!

Common skin problems related to acne include skin rashes; popping of blackheads, whiteheads and nodules in the form of pimples and acne; and formation of dry, oily areas and reddish-brown blotches on skin. Greasy and Buy DEXEDRINE in USA spicy foods can also cause acne prone skin.

Healing of the acne lesion is not the end of the problem. It is the beginning of a new series of problems, to solve which a lot of patience and understanding is required. Repeated trips to the clinic of the dermatologist are necessary thus.

The post inflammatory effects caused by acne are part of the skin’s natural healing process. Medication and practices in vogue can only help facilitate this healing process. Laser therapy, in the treatment of acne, is still at the kindergarten level. Researchers and scientists in this area are themselves confused a lot, and so far, unable to arrive at definite conclusions. Their problem is also the same as faced by the specialists of acne treatment in other branches of science.

No single treatment is right for everyone. Type of skin varies from person to person. The topography and skin texture of each person is different. Therefore, the person who opts for and the person who gives treatment, both have to be realistic about the results, while tasking up the option of laser treatment.

Two types of acne patients are likely to opt for laser therapy. One, those who are interested in getting rid of the scars, pimples or whatever it may be, on emergency basis and secondly those who are willing to wait but wanting to have a permanent cure. The typical side effects that go with other systems of acne treatment are applicable to laser therapy as well. The damage is likely to be caused by the laser system that is still in the stage of research and development. Well, no one should be in a hurry to own it.

Laser treatment specialists are also fully aware of their own limitations about the present status of this system. Proper skin care will still remain a problem even after you get rid of the unwanted part of the skin. Improved tissue metabolism that will boost the blood flow to pores, causing them to open, is the only answer. e researchers are not themselves convinced about the efficacy of laser treatment, how can your dermatologist advise you to go fort it? Even if he does, you please be guided by what you have decided for you!

[tanadrin]

Notes on some Rare Economic Systems (That Do Not Work)

1.

A little more than two hundred years ago, the state of Kezaria was rapidly changing, but straining against a patchwork of antiquated laws supported by a corrupt government. The Kezarian parliament was filled with representatives of rotten boroughs, its aristocracy refused to endorse any kind of political reform, and its population was moving from the countryside to the cities as enclosures on the one hand and the growth of the urban economy on the other conspired to convert the country from an agrarian economy to an industrial one. Eventually, protests broke out which threatened to become a real revolution. Terrified of the consequences of such a revolution, the State Council of Kezaria forced through a series of reforms that included, among its provisions, a regular cash disbursement for the relief of the poor. As all this happened before Speenhamland, a prejudice against such a program had not yet been established in Kezaria, and the State Council was desperate for anything that would keep the government from being overthrown.

Incidentally, it worked, and though initially considered a minor provision, direct poverty relief became a cornerstone of Kezarian government. As the country moved further in a socialist direction–now through gradual reform aided by democracy, rather than revolution or the threat of revolution–this provision was expanded, and eventually enshrined in the Kezarian constitution. But some thinkers still considered the economic system fundamentally unjust; redistribution, they said, was not enough. It was still possible that wealth should be unequally amassed, that the resources of each citizen should be too different in magnitude, and therefore some would have unelected power over their fellows; and a state that was a democracy worthy of the name should make all its citizens equal in matters of money as well as law. And so in due course, all income *outside of* the Kezarian basic income was banned.

This is the Kezarian system as it stands today: each month, an account in every citizen’s name is reset to 2,000 Kezarian lions–although the lion no longer functions as a true currency, the name is retained for the sake of historical continuity. The lion may be spent, but not accumulated: an excess of lions, as well as a dearth, is wiped out at the end of each calendar month. As accounts may be held only by natural persons, no business has a single swan (the Kezarian cent) to its name, except what its managers and executives might pool of their common monthly resources. Transaction taxes are very high–as much as 20 or 30 percent of any purchase–in order to keep the lion in circulation, but nobody much minds, as they are not really losing any money in the long run.

The inconvertibility of the lion means that, naturally, tourism is nearly nonexistent in Kezaria, and all imports must be purchased by the state and imported using its foreign currency reserves. But the Kezarians seem content with their system, for they can look around at their neighbors and friends and politicians–all the people who *really* matter, after all–and be confident that no one is doing much better, or much worse, than them.

2.

Miskando is perhaps unique in the world for being a modern, industrialized, and prosperous gift economy.

Miskando has few laws, not because its people are of an especially libertarian bent, but because informal rules in Miskandese culture to an unusual degree. Whereas the British have no need of a written constitution, because convention governs their parliament so strictly, the Miskandese have little need of written laws, because contravening the rules of polite society is unthinkable. Such behavior puts one in the same category as a child, imbecile, or foreigner; and if you truly do not know how to behave in a given situation, well, Miskandese bookshops do a brisk trade in manuals of etiquette, and the most popular section of the newspapers is invariably the one given over entirely to advice columns.

The commercial storefront in Miskando is in fact an evolution of the private home; as such, there isn’t a strict distinction between “house” and “shop,” and one observes the niceties of calling on a friend or acquaintance when one enters a shop, even if the proprietor is totally unknown to them. If you need something–a new hat, perhaps, or a week’s worth of groceries–the custom is that you wander into a shop and look about for a little while. The shopkeeper or the clerk will ask you if they can help; you must refuse at least once. When they insist (as they invariably will), you will begrudingly admit that there are one or two things you might want, and after a little back-and-forth and some polite chit-chat about the weather, you will gather the items on your list, enquire after your interlocutor’s health and the health of their children, and then depart.

The provision of services, even complex ongoing services, is furnished in much the same way. A bilateral relationship must be carefully cultivated between members of two different firms; as a rule, favors are exchanged, rather than contracts being made, and are never quite repaid fully: to do so would be to formally disobligate someone, and thus to end your relationship with them. This is seen as a terrible snub when it occurs between individuals, and when it occurs between businesses is usually due to one party incurring the other’s greatest displeasure

.Outsiders attempting to do business in Miskando have generally found the process bewildering, even those from politeness-heavy societies. The Miskandese, for their part, have adapted fairly well to commerce with other nations; after all, if they have need of hard currency, they usually have a friend who owes them a favor that they can ask.

3.

In Gharat, all money is in the form of immense bronze pillars.

Long ago, it is said, the people of Gharat exchanged certain standardized, useful goods, like knives or wool cloth, whose value was widely agreed upon. These eventually gave way to the ancient Gharat knife-currency, a chunk of bronze of a fixed weight whose resemblance to the older medium of exchange was only passing. The real value was in the metal itself; and because of its weight, large amounts of these heavy pieces were often bound together to prevent theft.

One day, a thoughtful merchant had the bright idea of simply melting all his bronze into one enormous mass, which he could simply leave outside his house–after all, it was impossible to steal. Many others began to follow suit, and some began to craft the displays of their wealth into more elaborate shapes, and eventually, the tradition of the bronze pillar currency was enshrined. It didn’t matter that it couldn’t be transported; after all, the metal wasn’t *used* for anything anymore–the Gharati had by this time moved on to iron tools. And (so the Gharati held) assiduous recordkeeping meant that it was always widely known who owned what pillar, even if the pillar in question happened to be three provinces over.

The centralization of the Gharati nation in the 18th and 19th century and the codification of Gharati customary law necessitated the establishment of a centralized record of ownership of the pillars; and it was eventually discovered, to the horror of the nation’s leaders, that the records of ownership were, in fact, a contradictory mess. They *could*, perhaps, be sorted out, and the spurious claims distinguished from the genuine ones, but to do so would be to devastate the wealth of the nation: multiple ownership of the same pillars more than quintupled the country’s GDP, with some particularly contested pillars being owned by as many as fifty people. Perhaps they could keep the situation a secret; but if word ever got out, they feared, there would be chaos and riots as a result.

The solution came from Gharati religious law, which had always been rather more concerned with metaphysical matters over practical ones. One object, the scriptures said, might really be two, depending on how you look at it; so the Gharati lawmakers simply proclaimed all claims of ownership that had existed on a certain date, a few years previous, to be valid; and any *appearance* that one pillar might be owned by more than one person was, in fact, an illusion of the material world. Really, these were multiple pillars that happened to be superimposed on one another. They might *literally* be made of the same particles of metal, but they were *conceptually* distinct. There was some grumbling when this was announced–but no one wanted to risk losing the lion’s share of their net worth overnight, so it was quickly accepted.

Yet despite proposals, the Gharati have never made the shift entirely to a pillar-backed paper currency, or to a fiat currency entirely. After all, they say, money ought to be something *real.* A bronze pillar has mass and heft; and thus, it is possible to imagine, it had real value. To abolish the system entirely would simply turn the idea of money into a farce.

4.

Clasimarion is, its inhabitants say, the most perfect place of liberty to have ever existed–even if they are all slaves.

The island of Usvasaari was settled by Tiravec peoples from the south, who founded the city; Clasimarion was a prosperous trade republic in its middle years, but declined as the mercantile empires around it grew, and its once-vaunted navy was unable to secure its trading rights by force. When the Third Bull Government was overthrown, a new order was proclaimed. The constitution consisted of a single line: “The forceful interference with an individual or their property may be met with force.” The state was abolished; henceforth the Clasmain common law of property was supreme.

Despite the cynicism of foreign observes, Clasimarion did *not* immediately collapse into anarchy. No warlord rose to power, no neighboring state invaded, and, for a little while, life continued much as it had before, without the burden of taxes or unnecessary bureaucracy. The former merchant-lords of the city managed their holdings without outside interference now, and any petty squabbles that might result in violence between their private mercenary corps did not interfere with life in the rest of the city.

This state lasted about thirty years. One day, a certain Orsil San, the last of an old Clasmain family now living abroad, discovered that according to ancient Clasmain law, his quintuple-great-grandmother had at one time owned all of the northern peninsula of Usvasaari, the very land on which Clasimarion was built. What had been thought freehold title, converted to allodial title at the time of the revolution, was in fact only on an indefinite lease to the government; and, the deed said, should the institutions of that government be dissolved, “all land, chattels, movable and immovable goods, and any other right of property within that domain, not held by persons outside it, shall revert to the San family."

This meant that all Clasimarion was the property of one man. And worse: because Clasmain common law had never abolished the condition of slavery (though it had been centuries since it had been practiced), and that slaves could not own property, all of the *inhabitants* of Clasimarion were his property as well, to dispose of, with absolute rights, as he wished.

And Orsil San did wish. He sold the deed to an overseas company, a fortune-cookie company called Voystaykan & Son, and retired to a dissolute life that ended when he fell off his yacht and drowned. Voystaykan sent a delegation to Clasimarion, contracts in hand, and all of the most eminent jurists of the city agreed with doleful solemnity: Orsil San had the right, and the contracts were valid. To rebel, to attempt to rescind the contract, to appoint a parliament or king to change the law, would be an intolerable violation of the constitution, an affront to the most deeply held principles of liberty. The entire city submitted without a fight, and became the property of the newly-rebranded Voystaykan Company.

The Company is not cruel. It knows that morale is important to get the most out of its property. The people labor by day, singing their work-songs and shanties, and they retire in the evening to adequate meals within their barracks. They have their games and celebrations. Life in Clasimarion is well-ordered, and peaceful. But the will of the city’s managers is an iron law. The CEO of the Company, like a distant god. The company’s property may supplicate before it; they may beg and plead and weep, but the law of that country is clear: they are objects of another’s rights, not agents of their own. They may hope, and they may dream; but their labor does not cease, and their fate is not their own to determine. And they may gaze out over the cold waters that surround Usvasaari, but they cannot leave. For what would they be then, but thieves stealing themselves away? To do so would mean that they despise that most important right of all, the right to property. It would mean that they hate justice and law and liberty above all. And whatever else it may be, Clasimarion is free.