#applied leadership training

[murgaliciousdefinition]

Nobody cares and I talk to myself on here but I (very very recently) got a promotion to a supervisory engineering position and I successfully defused a really bad situation at work today. Literally went from two guys yelling and swearing at each other with accusations to a quiet (if still tense) actual conversation with everyone participating. I'm so fucking jazzed, I got a huge confidence boost out of how I handled it!! I'm taking down toxic work environments one week at a time apparently.

[border-collie]

I really think so many dog trainers should be paying more attention to some of the newer human behavior stuff coming out. Like sure, it isn't a 1-1 transfer, but it's not hard to make the leap between them and figure out what does transfer.

[ellesimsworld]

Medical School Student Mod | Sims 4

Requirements: 

EP01: Get to Work EP08: Discover University XML Injector by SCUMBUMBO

Have you ever wanted your Sims to go to medical school before entering the doctor career? Or maybe your Sim just wants to go to medical school for the hell of it! Well in my pursuit of adding more gameplay mods to my save for better storytelling, I created this medical school student career track! I made this career available for Teens-Adults.

Applying to Medical School

Even though the medical school track, is technically a joinable career, I still wanted to create the opportunity for your Sims to apply to medical school! Applying will take about 3-4 hours and will cost them §500.

Medical Institutions:

Your Sim will be randomly placed at one of the following medical institutions:

-The Landgraab School of Medicine -University of Britchester School of Medicine -Foxbury Institute of Medicine and Health Sciences -Plumbob Center of Medicine -Newcrest Center for Medicinal Sciences -Komorebi Institute of Medicinal Studies -University of Willow Creek, Goth School of Medicine

Again, their placement will be randomized. If you want your Sim to work at a specific medical institute, you can quit and rejoin the career until you get your desired one.

Pay: Your Sims will be unpaid until they become an intern (Level 5). For the first four levels, it is up to you to decide how (or if) your Sims will make simoleons. I recommend the Unlimited Jobs mod by TURBODRIVER, which allows you to have multiple jobs at a time. You can check it out here if you like.

Career Track

This career track comes with 9 levels:

Preclinical Med Student I: (§0)

Starting your journey into the medical field, you're diving into basic sciences and learning the foundational concepts of medicine. It's a challenging start, but with hard work, you'll build the knowledge needed for your future career.

Preclinical Med Student II: (§0)

With the first year behind you, you're now diving deeper into complex medical subjects. Balancing intense coursework and initial patient interactions, you're beginning to see how your studies apply to real-world healthcare.

Preclinical Med Student III: (§0)

Transitioning from the classroom to clinical rotations, you're getting hands-on experience in various specialties. Your understanding of medicine is growing rapidly as you apply your knowledge to real patients under supervision.

Preclinical Med Student IV: (§0)

In the final phase of your medical school journey, you're solidifying your skills and preparing for the next step. As you complete your rotations and apply for residency programs, you're focused on becoming a competent and compassionate doctor.

Intern: (§10)

Welcome to the first year of residency! As an intern, you're now a doctor, responsible for patient care under the guidance of senior physicians. The hours are long, but each day brings invaluable learning experiences and growth. Junior Resident: (§15)

With a year of internship behind you, you're now taking on more responsibilities. Your confidence is building as you make more independent decisions and start to specialize in a particular field of medicine.

Senior Resident:(§20)

Nearing the end of your residency, you're a seasoned doctor with a wealth of clinical experience. You're mentoring interns and junior residents while honing your expertise and preparing for the final stages of your training. Chief Resident: (§25)

As the chief resident, you're a leader among your peers, coordinating the residency program and ensuring the smooth operation of the team. Your skills and leadership abilities are put to the test as you balance administrative duties with patient care.

Fellow: (§35)

Specializing further, you're now a fellow, focusing on a particular area of medicine. This stage is all about mastering your chosen field, conducting research, and becoming a true expert before transitioning to an attending physician role.

Hours:

The hours for this career track are LONG! Again, I wanted to add as much realism as I could. So, expect your Sim to be gone for practically the entire day! They most likely will come back home with a tense/dazed buff.

Skills and Objectives The major skills your Sim will be focusing on in this career are Logic, Writing, Handiness, and Research & Debate. Your Sims objectives are essentially to progress these skills to the required levels.

Computer Interactions and Rabbitholes: There is a separate in-game pie menu for Medical Students on computers. This comes with nine (9) new interactions and rabbithole activities for your Sims!

The time for each activity varies; but expect your Sim to spend HOURS doing most of them lol (for example, the Medical Conference may take 3-4 hours, and going to Clinical Rounds may take 5-6 hours. For rabbithole activities, your Sim will go to the computer first, before leaving. Also be ready to spend some simoleons on activities such as paying tuition, going to conferences, and textbooks (SEE BELOW)

Textbooks:

What is medical school without textbooks...and expensive ones too?! I added four (4) new textbooks. They total to about§500.  They're also located under the Emotional category since they give your Sims a Focused buff, which can help them build their skills.

Lot Traits:

For those who want to take their gameplay up a notch, I created a Medical School Lot Trait. But because we don't have medical school lots in game, if you plan on building a medical school for your Sims, it will most likely have to be on a generic lot.

Buffs: Several buffs come in game with the various interactions! Here is a quick snapshot of a few:

Trait & Conversation Topics: Lastly, I also created a CAS trait for your Sims who are/ or want to become medical students. This trait comes with basic wants such as wanting to go to the library or researching something on Simpedia. The trait itself should be in the Lifestyle category.

Also, Sims with this trait will have the following conversation topics available to them:

Important:

Please make SURE that you have the XML Injector installed; and that you have script mods enabled. Also try not to separate package and script files or place script files more than 2 folders deep!

Known Problems/ Conflicts:

As of now, there are no reported conflicts or problems with this mod. Feel free to join the discord to let me know of any issues that you detect.

Update Log: 5/17/2024

As requested, I added the postgraduate positions such as interns, as well as junior, senior and chief residents, and fellows. I also added pay for these levels.

5/21/2024 MOD IS CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED (WITH MORE GAMEPLAY FEATURES 😊) BECOME A FREE PATRON OR PAID MEMBER TO GET UPDATES!

5/22/2024 Additional gameplay features were added. If you downloaded the old files before on this date, PLEASE DELETE, AND REPLACE WITH THE NEW FILES.

T.O.U.

Please do not claim this mod as your own. Please do not upload this mod to any other websites. Please let me know before translating this mod.

FOR DOWNLOAD AND MORE INFORMATION, visit my Patreon.

elle.

[joyceaila]

ICT COMPETENCY STANDARDS FOR PHILIPPINES PRE-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION

[9jacompass]

Apply Now: 2023 McCain Global Leaders Program For Young Leaders [Funded To The United States]

Apply Now: 2023 McCain Global Leaders Program For Young Leaders [Funded To The United States]

Are you a character-driven leader working to advance democracy, human rights and freedom? Do you want to gain experiential learning experience? Then apply for the McCain Global Leaders Program 2023. The program is designed to advance each Leader’s personal and professional leadership journey and impact by providing training, resources, and access to highly relevant regional and global networks…

[theotterpenguin]

How LOK Fails to Do Katara Justice (part II)

In part one of this meta, I explained how Katara's character received the worst treatment in Legend of Korra compared to the other members of the gaang, and the sexist writing of lok!Katara so that she is only defined by her relationships to her husband and children. In the second part of this analysis, I will explain how the common arguments that are used in defense of LOK's poor writing do not provide an adequate in-universe explanation for Katara's drastic change from ATLA.

Defense of lok!Katara seems to boil down to three main points: 

1) The “leave it to the kids” excuse: Katara is from the previous generation so she shouldn’t be expected to be involved in the plot - it’s time for Korra’s team to have a turn.

2) The “old lady” excuse: Katara is too old to be fighting wars or getting involved in international politics.

3) The “people change” excuse: Katara’s character, personality, and goals would change over time because she’s older now.

I would be willing to accept these excuses under the condition that they are also applied to the other members of the gaang. Ignoring the fact that the Order of the White Lotus is literally a bunch of old guys fighting in wars in ATLA, if Toph and Zuko are also portrayed as too old to be fighting and leaving all their problems to the next generation to fix, along with Katara, it wouldn’t be as much of a problem. If Sokka, Aang, Toph, and Zuko are all portrayed as having different goals and motivations and characteristics than when they were younger, along with Katara, then again, it wouldn’t be as much of a problem. (It might be bad writing, but hey, at least it’s bad writing applied equally to every character). 

The problem is that it’s only Katara’s character that takes a complete 180 from how it was set up in ATLA, it’s only Katara’s character that is too old to fight to defend her family, it’s only Katara’s character who leaves all her problems to the kids and stays completely uninvolved from the geopolitical conflicts brewing around her.

 Returning to our original three excuses, let’s see how well they match with rest of the gaang’s portrayal in LOK:

1) “Leave it to the kids” excuse: 

I will be leaving Sokka and Aang out of this since they are dead at the time of the show (though it should be noted that flashbacks show both of them being heavily involved in global leadership roles and managing political conflicts). 

This excuse is not even close to applicable to Zuko. As soon as he finds out Zaheer has escaped from prison, he flies off on a dragon to check the other prisons. He warns Lin to look after Korra, but this doesn’t stop him from investigating with Tonraq on his own, without Korra and co's involvement. As soon as he hears his family may be in danger, he flies off on a dragon to protect them.

This excuse doesn’t apply to Toph. She does state that she agrees with Katara that it’s time to leave things to the kids, but her actions say differently. As soon as she finds out Suyin has been captured, she immediately attempts to find her - on her own, without consulting with the younger generation. When she realizes Suyin has been moved somewhere else, she works together with Korra and co to save her family - twice actually. She also involves herself in Korra’s life by helping her train and recover from her PTSD.

Meanwhile, Katara does nothing when her home is dragged into a civil war, does nothing when her family is kidnapped, and does nothing when a bloodbender is using his abilities to oppress others (despite being the one to outlaw bloodbending).

2) “Old lady” excuse:

Again, also not applicable to Aang and Sokka because they’re dead at the start of the show.

This excuse does not apply to Zuko whatsoever. He never mentions that being old prevents him from fighting or getting involved in the political conflicts that arise. He has no problem fighting Ghazan during the Red Lotus prison break-in and has no problem riding his dragon. He stays involved in international relations despite being “retired” from his position as Fire Lord - helping to track down the Red Lotus, attending important international events, and holding meetings with leaders of other nations (Tenzin, Raiko, Tonraq).

Toph tells Korra that her fighting days are over due to having back problems, but has no problem fighting Korra during training and easily takes out Kuvira’s army. 

Katara never fights during the entire show. And as far as I can remember, she never waterbends at all beyond healing on a few occasions.

I feel like it’s important to note that both excuses 1 and 2 are never even mentioned in regard to Zuko (or the Order of the White Lotus) - it’s only Toph and Katara that seem to be “too old” to fight and have to leave everything to the kids. Toph’s actions don’t align with her words, unlike Katara, but it doesn’t change the fact that these excuses are unequally applied to old women in Legend of Korra compared to the old men in Legend of Korra (and ATLA). Good old misogyny at work!

3) “People change” excuse:

Sokka: Begins his story in ATLA as son of the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, desperately trying to fill his father's shoes when Hakoda goes off to war. He becomes the defacto leader of the gaang over time due to his fondness for schedules, his leadership abilities, and analytical thinking skills. Despite being a nonbender, he held his own with his trusty boomerang and strategic thinking. Ends his story in LOK having taken over from his father as Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, putting those leadership skills to use. His intelligence and strategic thinking made him an ideal candidate to be a Representative for the Southern Water Tribe on the Republic City Council, as he could be trusted to make smart decisions that were the best for his tribe. He was even elected chairman of the council due to these skills. A statue was built in his honor, which included his favorite boomerang.

Zuko: Begins his story in ATLA learning to heal from his father’s abuse and, in the process, slowly comes to understand the evils of Fire Nation imperialism. He replaces his father as Fire Lord and vows to start a new era of peace and harmony, ending the war and the Fire Nation’s colonialism and imperialism. He also vowed to work together with the Avatar to maintain balance. Ends his story in LOK having achieved peace and prosperity in the Fire Nation again. Turned previous Fire Nation colonies into the United Republic of Nations - meant to be a safe haven for anyone, regardless of nationality or bender status - by working together with Aang. Fights against the Red Lotus to protect Avatar Korra and his family. His statue, in contrast to Ozai’s former statue, is one representing peace and hope.

Toph: Begins her story in ATLA rebelling against her strict parents, who are overprotective of her due to her blindness. She learns to rely on and trust others over the course of the series, realizing that accepting help from others doesn’t mean she’s weak. She enjoyed pulling scams on naive civilians in the show using her earthbending seismic abilities and participated in the Earth Rumble in her youth. She also invented metalbending and worked as Aang’s earthbending teacher. Ends her story in LOK having created a metalbending academy to teach others the bending speciality, along with establishing the first metalbending police force. Metalbending is shown as having made significant contributions to technological innovation and progress in the avatar world. Helped to train Korra while she’s recovering from the her capture by the Red Lotus. Though she liked breaking the rules when she was younger, she found it more fun to be the person in charge of the rules - leading her to become Captain of the Police Force. Still suffering the consequences of poor parenting as a child, she became an overly-lenient parent, leading to problems with her daughters. She states that her fighting days are over, but still seems to enjoy fighting Korra.

(As a side note: I do not agree with how the writers chose to take Toph’s story. Do I think they should have - and realistically, could have - gone in a different direction that did more justice to Toph’s character? Yes. However, I also see how it could potentially be possible that she became a cop and uninvolved parent based on her background. I don’t like it, but I can at least see some logic behind her storyline - unlike Katara’s. If anyone feels differently, I'd love to know your thoughts.)

Aang: Begins his story in ATLA learning to become the Avatar by mastering all four elements, mastering the Avatar State, and acting as a bridge between the human world and Spirit World. Struggles with being the sole survivor of the Air Nomads and attempting to keep his culture alive. Works to keep balance in the world among the four nations by defeating the imperial Fire Nation. Ends his story in LOK having achieved his goals as Avatar, successfully keeping peace amongst the four nations and establishing the United Republic of Nations as a sanctuary for all, no matter nationality or bender status. Considered a spiritual leader and successfully kept peace between the spirit world and human world. Had an airbender child and airbender grandkids, traveled the world to spread his culture, including building a temple on Air Temple Island in the United Republic, and other characters repeatedly state that for his entire life, his dream was to revive Air Nomad culture. 

Katara: Begins her story in ATLA trying to master her waterbending abilities, trying to teach herself on their journey. Views waterbending as a way to connect with her culture. She challenges the Northern Water Tribe’s sexism for the right to learn how to fight. Famously declares, “I don’t want to heal, I want to fight!” Passionate about standing up against injustice - causes a prison riot through an inspiring speech she gives, dresses up as a Fire Nation spirit to heal sick villagers, and goes after her mother’s killer. She is forced to bloodbend, a traumatic experience for her. Teaches Aang how to waterbend and is eventually bestowed the title of “master waterbender” by Pakku. Occasionally heals others when they get injured, but main focus is on development of her waterbending fighting abilities. Ends her story in LOK known as the best healer in the world, but fails to heal Korra and Jinora. Spends her time during the civil war on the sidelines, healing the injured. Marries and has kids with Aang. She’s lonely and her family doesn’t visit much. No known achievements beyond outlawing bloodbending (which she is somehow able to do without holding any political titles beyond that of the Avatar’s wife).

Hopefully it should be clear that Sokka, Aang, Toph, and Zuko's characteristics, goals, and motivations don't change as drastically as Katara's do. The writing of Katara in LOK did a disservice to her character. I've always deeply admired Katara for never failing to stand up against injustice, for her empathy and kindness even for those who are different from her, and for her determination not to let patriarchal norms define what she can and can't do. While LOK's portrayal of other characters provides a glimpse at how their character arcs in atla influenced the way they shaped the world, we never get a glimpse of the original Katara - only a lackluster imitation of someone with the same name.

If the Avatar franchise continues to expand with more post-ATLA content of the gaang as adults, I certainly hope Katara's characterization is improved.

[chrollohearttags]

foot locker manager!sukuna x executive black!fem reader

content warning: banter, reader is kind of bougie, sexual tension, finger sucking, oral/fingering, hate fucking, panty stuffing, throat training, cumshot, pet names (miss, sweetheart, baby), Sukuna has an accent (he gives me Houston idc 😫)

.･*:｡.･*:｡.･*:｡.･*:｡.･*:｡.･*:｡.･*:｡.･*:｡.･*:｡.･*:｡.･*:.･*:｡.･*:｡.･

sukuna, who had been working within the mall for a few years now, had worked his way up to manager of the Foot Locker within it.

sukuna, who never took life too seriously, applied the same approach to his leadership style. His store was by far the most fun in the district. Always blasting music..bumping everything from Moneybagg to DMX (and trust, he knew every word).

everybody wanted to shop at his location. The men saw him as their homeboy; talking about basketball and women as he helped them find the perfect pair shoes to compliment their fit. And the ladies because the handsome, hilarious manager makes them smile. Greeting them with a ‘miss’ or calling them ‘gorgeous’. Smooth and fast talking, laying the charm on thick.

helping single moms find their babies the perfect shoes or the kid going to state championships the perfect basketball sneaker.

“Little man starts second grade this year. We gotta have him looking right.” “You’re going to state this year, bruh. Can’t be playing on worn out shoes. Trust me, did that and almost threw the whole tournament for us. I’ll use my discount, don’t even worry about it, lil bro.”

sukuna, who was always laced; Diamond stud earrings, a gold watch, matching necklace and the latest sneakers. Tattoos littering his muscular forearms and chest. Not to mention his signature Dior scent. Looking good and smelling even better. Any girl that he had come in contact with instantly folded at the slightest bit of flirtation. All the Sephora and Victoria’s Secret Workers were in love.

“Good morning, ladies.” “Girl, that’s Ryo I was telling you about. He fine ain’t he?”

every woman except the newest regional manager, (y/n) (l/n). Who was notorious for your no nonsense attitude and authoritative style was shocked to see how he ran his store and even more so how he greeted you as if you weren’t his boss.

“How we doing, miss? Can I help you find sum’?” “Yes, the manager. Ryomen Sukuna? Is he the one who runs this location?” “You’re in luck, baby. You’re looking at him.”

sukuna, who carried on with business as usual, watched you give glances and eye tolls as you jotted down notes on your clipboard. Strutting around in that short pencil skirt, tight shirt and tall heels. Wet and wavy flowing down your back and face done up. He hadn’t seen a bitch as bad as you in a long time, if ever.

sukuna, who couldn’t help but to stare and ogle as you followed him around the store. Completely puzzled by how someone so fine could be so damn mean..listening to you spout off orders about how this shelf should be organized and how that display was against regulation. And especially how the music was distasteful.

“No disrespect, miss. But I run this store so let me do my job and stay out of the way. I do the best numbers in the district every month, I don’t see the problem.” “You won’t be for long if I have anything to do with it. This is a business, Mr. Sukuna. Not a nightclub.”

the week went on with you monitoring the store and making notations for final review. And after almost seven days together, you were at odds and each others throats.

(Y/N), who was taking notes and auditing in the office during closing when you were interrupted by an irate Ryomen.

“Yes, Mr. Sukuna. Can I help you?”

sukuna, who had spent years building a repertoire with his customers, was upset that a lot of loyal buyers refused to come back until the ‘mean bitch’ was gone.

“You’re ruining my store, that’s what! When the hell are you leaving?” “Correction, I’m fixing this mess and you better be grateful because corporate is two seconds from getting your ass out of here.”

the two of you got into a bit of a quarrel, resulting in rising tensions..in more ways than one!

sukuna, who had you cornered against the desk couldn’t help but to laugh at the stark difference in your height. Especially when you began to rant and rave about how unprofessional he was.

sukuna, who had seen your type before and knew exactly what you needed to quell that horrible temper, ran a finger underneath your chin and tilted your head up mid sentence. Causing you to stutter over your words and become flustered.

“Why don’t we stop all of this fighting and settle it then? Tell the truth..you don’t really want me fired, do you?”

sukuna, who puts that charm to good use by mumbling into the crook of your neck..moving his hands up your body and smirking against your ear. Seeing as clear as day how much you liked it.

“What are you trying to do, bribe me?” “Bribing only works if I want something out of it. I’m just tryna’ make you feel good, sweetheart.”

sukuna, pulling you into a deep kiss, shoves his fingers into your panties and works you around on the tip of his digits as the two of you make out. Making certain that the door was bolted and the store was empty so that no one could disturb him or what he was about to do.

sukana, who had you exactly where he wanted, sets you atop his desk, pulling your skirt down and panties to the side. Only after you got him out of his shirt; admiring that sexy body and countless tattoos..along with the third leg he was hiding behind his work pants. Playing with it as he kneels down to devour your pussy. Working his thick fingers around in that juicy cunt, lapping up juices and letting them dribble down his tongue.

“Oh fuck…”

sukuna, who lets you suck his fingers clean as he slides inside of you, starting off with slow thrusts because he knew you couldn’t take it all at once. Watching it press into your skin.

sukuna, who had a week’s worth of tension and lust built up took out every bit of his frustration on you..pounding your shit into oblivion.

“Ah shit! Right there, Ryo..fuck that pussy. Take it!” “That’s it..that’s why you need, baby. That lil’ attitude fucked out of you. Some of that good dick, isn’t that right?”

sukuna, amazed by how creamy you got for him only a couple strokes in couldn’t restrain himself or his strokes. Making you tug your own panties between your teeth and bite down to withstand it as he folded your legs up.

sukuna, who had enough of your bitching, decided to put you on your knees and fuck your throat. “Much better use for that pretty mouth, don’t you think?”

making you touch his abs with his forehead by the time he finished.

sukuna, unable to hold back, painted your face and titties with a warm stream of nut, releasing loud groans with it..really loving when you proudly put it on display with your tongue out and a smile.

sukuna, who kisses you after filling your mouth up, knows that he doesn’t have to worry about losing his job or you after this. Knowing you’ll keep the dirty little secret as long as you can come back for another ‘inspection’..anytime you’d like.

[junosmindpalace]

i find discourse around the rdr women so...fascinating and infuriating at the same time. because a lot of the time it doesn't seem like rdr fans want to apply the same level of complex analysis to the women like they do for the men, but when they do, it still doesnt seem all that well-intentioned or that it does right by their characters.

this is a very long analysis/spam/defense so be warned :,)

even though the majority of sadie's character revolves around the fact she not only lost her home and her husband and was thrust into a new life of crime, but was actively struggling with robberies BEFORE the events of the game, people instead choose to focus on whether or not she had feelings for arthur or whether he actions in the game were actually impactful. she helped saved abigail and john when no else would, she fought alongside the men against the army, she helped john set up a stable life, she helped rob the payroll train, helped ensure colm’s death, she fought alongside arthur TIME AGAIN and took over in a leadership role when half the gang was absent in the guarma chapter. to say that she did nothing more except “be badass” undermines all of these contributions to the story that she was either at the forefront of or helped bring to fruition.

in my opinion, abigail is the EASIEST character to defend out of any of the women, and yet somehow she receives the most backlash from dudebros. I lose ten braincells every time i have to read a theory post over whether or not she slept with other camp members besides john, whether or not she was a rat, and about how much shes a nag. the woman has not known a moment's rest in her entire life. by the age of eight she was working in a cathouse. she was a child prior to then scrapping whatever money she could earn at her young age in saloons and dive bars as a woman and child just to survive as a orphan. jack's birth was clearly not planned, and she has voiced multiple times her grievances at the circumstances of his upbringing. everything she does is for a better life for her son: a life she never had. her constant nagging to get john to man up and be a father is for her son's benefit, not her own. she even says so herself when she tells him that she doesn't mind if a relationship between them doesn't work out, but to at least try being there for jack. she can't work a job because she is a mother living a life of crime and danger; she can't afford to leave the camp and her son unsupervised. she still does her share around camp. why would anyone blame her for not wanting to return to a life that has made her miserable, especially now that she has a child who she wants to model a good life for? many people seem to somehow also forget that she herself was a child when she gave birth to jack; only 17-18. she is 22 in the game in a bad situation with the father of her child and financially. she is doing her best to raise her son when she is not fully equipped to do so. how can anyone even blame her for being skeptical of john when hes affectionate in the epilogue when for so long hes been distant? she does not even ask much of john--just to be there for him sometimes, and to live honestly. she is also incredibly kindhearted. comforting other women in the camp, offering a listening ear, taking care of john when hes injured. she puts in her share of effort when it comes to finding a job in the epilogue and maintaining beechers hope.

molly is a young woman who is presumably incredibly far from her home where her family is, and trying to navigate a way of life completely unfamiliar to her. her stuck up nature comes not only from the way she was raised, but also dutch's uplifting affection and presumed lovebombing in the early stages of their relationship. shes even been suggested to be somewhat sociable until dutch and her became somewhat of an official item, in which she grew somewhat of a bigger ego with a mentality that she was his right hand. she deeply depended on dutch for her stability in every way, and its evident in her eventual spiral. she hated being seen as weak and pitiful as somewhat of an outsider among outsiders. she seemed to be close to no one besides dutch, who repeatedly cut her off when she attempted to talk to him about her growing feelings of anxiety, paranoia and sadness. the loss of the one thing that had built her up, coupled with immense tragedy she just wasnt used to, and desperate for a semblance of respect and dignity that she had presumably been all too accustomed to, of course she was going to come off brash and confront dutch about his distant, high and mighty attitude. it's why by the end, she doesnt care if she is killed: there is nothing left for her. karen's comment about her pretending to rat them out for the sake of attention is also interesting in terms of their relationship and parallels, which i dont see ANYONE talk about.

karen very clearly struggles with...a lot. she has even said so herself when talking with molly. she struggles to accept help, evident in pieces of dialogue where she brushes off concerned gang members about her drinking (mary-beth, arthur, javier), and when she seems somewhat ashamed and embarrassed having to have been rescued by arthur in the valentine mission (SAYING EXPLICITLY "i dont much like being saved"). she struggles with believing people have good intentions/feelings toward her, illustrated in the way she's constantly rejecting sean, yet seemingly disappeared further down the bottle after his death, and her conversation with mary beth and tilly about the world having no equal and fair place for women. her negative experiences in the world as a woman could also influence her view of the world, perhaps being why she finds herself somewhat hostile toward feminist mindsets and why she, for a while, enjoyed the outlaw lifestyle: it was her little slice of freedom. her hatred for the rich can also be because she has experiences as a poor woman, perhaps some direct experiences in which rich people have negatively impacted her life. though molly and karen don't get along through most of the game, karen actually tries to step in and help her near the end, and its this action + defending her after her death that shows she was sympathetic toward her situation and on some level able to relate to it, both craving some kind of love beyond superficial things.

@/cryptidcr3ature said it very well in a post i reblogged recently: mary is essentially "her brother's keeper and her father's caretaker". she herself lives somewhere middle class with traditional notions of the time impacting her views on arthur's lifestyle and anything below those middle class standards being deemed as socially unacceptable (which is evident from the very first letter mary sends to arthur, in which she seems confused on what a polite term would be to refer to prostitutes, who were obviously thought very lowly of in the time). i also don't think its fair to criticise her condemnation of arthur's lifestyle when pretty much all audiences, contemporary and not, including members of the gang, acknowledge that it isnt anything pretty. killing is not fun. running from the law is not fun. mary was not only influenced by her father's views of arthur (a person that, despite being horrible, she still deeply loves), but looking after her own family, herself, and arthur's wellbeing when she ended their relationship + suggested they run away. she had given him an opportunity at compromise. perhaps the first time, scared and unfamiliar with his lifestyle, she had offered arthur an ultimatum: her or his outlaw life, but later was willing to also leave behind her brother and father, two figures that tie her down and make her life more miserable than need be despite loving them very much, in order to settle somewhere with arthur and start over. her asking for arthur's help comes from a place of desperation and excuse to allow herself some semblance of stability when she hadn't had it; at least not since her mother and husband passed. if arthur refuses to help her, she is incredibly understanding and sympathetic. she does not lash out. if arthur does help, she is immensely grateful, and even tries to bond with him despite their years apart.

this post isnt to excuse some of their more negative behaviours and aspects of their characters'-- but im saying that they deserve to be fairly treated and analyzed just like any of the rdr men. many of them are young. many of them have unique challenges as women. that isn’t to say the men have it easier, but their struggles and less prettier aspects of their characters are always met with more sympathy than the women. why do arthur and john get passes as reformed absent fathers and criminals? why does sean receive sympathy when karen rejects his pushy advances? why does hosea get a pass at being better than dutch when he still groomed younger members of the gang for a life of crime alongside dutch? why does dutch get a pass by having his downfall be justified by tough circumstances? lets just be fair

[touristclass]

Are you in? Will you help inspire transgender inclusion?

On an individual basis, it is important to understand, value and seek out the inclusion of trans women. Sharing this knowledge, support and encouragement with others is key.

On an organizational or group basis, there are many ways to ensure the needs, interests and aspirations of trans women and girls are valued and included. Through actions in such areas as:

forging trans women's economic empowerment

recruiting, retaining and developing diverse talent

supporting trans women and girls into leadership, decision-making, and business

designing and building infrastructure meeting the needs of trans women and girls

helping trans women and girls make informed decisions about their health

involving trans women and girls in sustainable agriculture and food security

providing trans women and girls with access to quality education and training

elevating trans women and girl's participation and achievement in sport

promoting creative and artistic talent of trans women and girls

addressing further areas supporting the advancement of trans women and girls

Not to leave trans men out, of course. Because they are vitally important, too. The focus of this blog being transgender women, this is why posts like these are phrased in this way. But the same principles apply to trans men and to the entire LGBTQIA community as well.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Thinking about Bsd Mori's speech on leadership. And applying to Beast Dazai as in Beast he is the Port Mafia Boss.

According to Bsd Mori, a leader is "both the head of the organisation and it's slave. They develop their subordinates and place them where they fit best. And if necessary they use and dispose of them.

For the sake of the organisation they take on any act of barbarism with zeal. That is a leader, all for this city. All for the organisation and the protection of this beloved city."

Beast Dazai does not fit this ideal for what a leader should be.

Because yes he uses and disposed of those around him. Yes he abused and trained Atsushi to be strong.

But Beast Dazai never acts for the organisation. Everything he does is for his own personal motivation and plans.

He wants to protect this world and this city, but only because it's the world in which Oda writes in.

Never does Beast Dazai care for what his actions will have on others nor his own organisation.

He's head of the Port Mafia for his own goals and once those goals are complete, he leaves them without a leader and scrambling for guidance.

He should never have been in charge of anyone and I take this as proof.

Hell bsd Dazai shouldn't be a leader either, he's not as bad as Beast Dazai but that does mean he's any better in the role.

Might wanna leave the leadership role to the true successors of the organisations, Kunikida and Chuuya because they do a much better job.

[compacflt]

If you want, and only if you want to, could you explain about making Logistics a big part of Ice's career path? Not only did fit so well with your Ice's characterization, it was just so neat I've made it my HC for Ice's career path.

yes!

I got REALLy deep into the defense policy weeds in this post so I’m putting a cut to save people’s dashboards

1. when i was rewriting chapters 8 &9 last winter i did literally the bare minimum of research about the current set of high-level officers. the commander of the pacific fleet at the time had previously been the director of pacific fleet logistics ordnance & supply. So that was easy to yoink. a proven chain of succession.

2. but also: it fit ice’s (or his alter ego admiral Kazansky’s) neat, orderly, effective, collected, strategic characterization. And as professional tactics go, there would be no better promotion for a high-level officer looking to take over the fleet than DFLOS. understand the fleet by the numbers, you comprehensively understand the fleet.

3. In terms of secret-keeping logistics, ice is supposed to be kind of the best. like, because of his logistical thinking, he & maverick get away with it. Or that’s how I would’ve written it if I were a little smarter. Obviously in practice a bunch of people find out so it’s not great. but the navy AS A WHOLE doesn’t find out.

4. The field of military logistics is rigorously bureaucratic, boring, soulsucking, selfdefeating, notoriously corrupt, and yet entirely necessary for the military to succeed at any level (in the very first draft of WWGATTAI i included a famous US marine corps maxim that most people have heard at some point: “amateurs talk tactics. professionals talk logistics.” but that was literally the only good thing about the original chapter 6 which got entirely rewritten a month after i published it). So logistics as a field of specialization fit in perfectly with my secondary character thesis that rising through the boring bureaucratic ranks of the Navy sucked all the humanity & will to live out of ice one day at a time.

a couple related interesting things that I’ve never talked about on this blog & might never get the chance to again:

a) ice canonically joins the navy as a fighter pilot & ends his career as a glorified bureaucrat. that sucks. obviously the struggle to rise in the ranks is a notoriously cutthroat, political, sleazy business (you do not get to the top of the United States Navy by being nice to people), but i would also not be the first person to say that—for exemplary officers—leadership is an EXPECTATION that can counterbalance someone’s natural drive to excel, if that makes sense. You get promoted because you’re good at something (flying), but you get promoted away from the thing you were good at. There is an extent to which you have to fight for a promotion—but there is also an extent to which commanders above you pick you for the job, suck you up along the pipeline. Loss of agency—a major major component of joining the military—does still apply to upper-level officers.

B) to that end, i am reminded of one quote from Todd Schmidt’s 2023 book “Silent Coup of the Guardians: US Military Elite Influence on National Security.” This is an Army training & doctrine commander speaking: “the military has a lot of two- and three-star senior leaders that were confident, charismatic commanders at the O-6 level. But that’s the end of the story. One in fifty, maybe one in a hundred, truly have what it takes to operate successfully at the strategic level and make a real difference for their service. The problem is that they all tend to think that, since they have stars on their shoulders, they’re the one.” —I’ve been writing ice as “The Chosen One,” the officer unicorn, for two reasons: one, it provides him cover for his illegal relationship (and also asks an interesting chicken-egg question: does he get away with his rlnship because he’s so good, or is he so good JUST to get away with his relationship?); and two, he’s “the chosen one” in canon, i.e. he already has four stars in canon: canonically he is not a mediocre officer. But most officers (cough cough maverick) are not cut out for high-level leadership.

C.) in Thomas E. Ricks’ book “The Generals,” Ricks argues that (at least in the Army) mediocrity in the general/flag officer ranks is unfortunately by design. In WWII, if you were a mediocre officer, you got relieved! You got fired! It’s part of why we won: merciless culling of the general officer ranks! But between WWII and Korea, officer relief began to be associated with shame & wasted resources. Mediocre officers got promoted anyways. The military elite pipeline sucks mediocrity up the chain of command. Ricks blames this issue for (at least the Army’s) shit leadership in every post-WWII war, including but most especially Iraq and Afghanistan. There’s no penalty for mediocrity. That in turn reflects on military strategy (mediocre strategists at the helm) & the outcome of every military foray (mediocre outcomes).

D) additionally. There’s a whole neverending debate in the field of civil-military relations (an extremely interesting field of study btw) about the corporatization of the military—lots of high-level talk over the years of “running the military like a business.” If you get kinda into defense policy like me (am i still antimilitary? Idk! but i CAN easily tell you i am against the navy’s littoral combat ship program! It sucks!) then you will know that the navy is struggling right now on a lot of different fronts (procurement [shipbuilding esp. is a disaster—ford-class carriers are under budget though 👍🏽], recruitment, theatre prioritization, general preparedness, readiness against major adversaries [China in particular]). Simply, the navy is pretty mediocre at the minute. I talk a big game about ice being COMPACFLT & SECNAV, but if those are true, & if he “exists” in our current timeline, or even canon timeline (COMPACFLT in 2020), then he’s complicit in a lot of why the navy is sucking ass right now. He didn’t do his job very well. LOL. So, because I love (especially my version of) ice too much to see his legacy suffer, I am stating for the record that my timeline is a different timeline where ice saves the navy from itself and fixes all its issues & solves all its problems & makes it the pride of the armed forces & the tip of the spear of American defense :) because I said so

E.) unrelated but important. It sounds obvious but it must be said. Ice dies on the job in TGM canon. To the extent that in earlier drafts of the script, not-his-sister-Sarah even points out to maverick that ice is still active duty, in the same breath as she tells him ice is sick again. (A wise move to remove that line.) ice does not resign his commission. Ice does not retire to spend time with his family at the end of his life. Ice dies as commander of the pacific fleet. He dies on the job; he dies FOR the job, bureaucratic as it is. If you were wondering why I wrote ice so dormantly suicidal, it’s because canon (i argue) has made it clear that—since the second ice signed up to be a fighter pilot during the Cold War to the second he died active duty—ice has ALWAYS been ready and willing to die for his honorable Navy career.

[ivystoryweaver]

The Only One - A Poe Dameron Story

Episode 1

Fic Masterlist || My Masterlist next->

Overall Fic Summary: You are a computer technician, relatively new to the Resistance. Despite your sunny demeanor, the Resistance is your last hope. Orphaned and homeless, you hide a secret you hope no one will ever discover, because if they did, you would be truly alone, with no place even in a band of rebels.

Pairing: Poe Dameron x female original character. Fic is written in second person, but the female "you" has a name; OC is neurodivergent* (see disclaimer at the bottom of this post)

Word Count: 1.7k

There will be some other oc's too because I don't feel like messing up Jess and Snap, along with familiar faces like Leia.

Overall fic content: Acquaintances to friends to lovers, slow-ish burn, fluff at first, angst later. The fic will get a little darker later, but won't go way off the rails from the tone of the first chapter.

Overall fic warnings: ableism, bullying, mentions of death, some violence though not pervasive throughout, past trauma, some cursing, there will be intimacy, but not terribly explicit.

NOW...

When Poe Dameron set his mind to something, there was no stopping him. Most people knew this about him, and found his tenacity somehow endearing. Or at least useful as a Resistance commander.

This quality of his was sometimes applied to personal relationships as well. When Poe wanted something...or someone, he was typically pretty determined to win them over, or fall flat on his face trying.

The thing of it was, he rarely had to try very hard. His boyish charm, easy good looks and innate charisma only heightened the appeal of his natural leadership and magnetic personality.

As if the deck wasn't stacked in Commander Dameron's favor enough, he was actually good at everything. Despite his slightly shorter stature, he was the fastest, the most energetic, the hardest worker, the first to finish anything, and hands down, the absolute best pilot most members of the Resistance had ever seen.

To top it off, he was just a nice guy. Friendly, witty - he had a way of making everyone feel like they belonged, as if they mattered not only to the Resistance, but to him personally. He never forgot a face, or a name.

Everyone wanted to be his friend, to have his approval or attention, and most people wouldn't have minded more than that. They either wanted to hang out with him, sleep with him, or at least learn something from him.

Which is why nearly every person on base found themselves befuddled when he ordered a round of drinks, boasting about his date...

...with you.

"Her?" Dane, a lieutenant under his command, and one of his closest friends, questioned.

Poe's dark eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Yes, her."

Dane's skeptical gaze landed on his partner, the two of them exchanging curious glances.

"You're serious," Dane went on, running his hand over his bluish-grey chin. "The computer tech girl who's always around the hangar, talking all the time."

"Dane, come on - "

"All. The time," Dane continued, ignoring his best friend. "I swear, you get her started on circuitry or - or - "

Poe silenced him with a glare.

"My point is...you like to talk, Poe. You really do."

Knocking back the end of his drink, Poe rolled his eyes. "And?"

"And...I don't think you'll get in your daily quota of words if you get this girl started on...basically any topic."

"He's right, Poe," Dane's partner Jalen nodded. "She hyper-fixates."

"So?" Poe shot back.

"So once she gets started, you'll never hear the end of it," Dane supplied, signaling to the server for another round.

"Will I ever hear the end of this?" Poe ground out, pushing his chair back and standing up.

"Come on, I'm ordering another round," Dane complained, motioning for his best friend to sit back down. "I'm just trying to save you some trouble."

"Mm, how's that?" Poe groaned. "Because I have training first thing in the morning."

"Just one more drink," Dane pleaded, "And if I can't change your mind about Miss Awkward, then - "

"Miss Awkward?" Poe questioned, leaning back down over the table, but refusing to sit.

"Yes! She is totally awkward. And kind of rude."

Poe rolled his eyes again, straightening back up. "She's not rude. She's...sweet."

Dane almost spit out his drink, once again, side-eyeing his partner. "Sweet? Maybe try Lira in the med bay. I bet she's real sweet, if that's what you're looking for."

"It's not," Poe shrugged. Besides, he already had a...thing with Lira-in-the-med-bay. She was gorgeous, sure, but not sweet. "Look, I have long day tomorrow, ending with a date," he concluded, tiredly. "So I'll leave you to make your judgments."

Despite the protests of Dane and Jalen, Poe trekked back to his room, only a little annoyed by those two. Dane generally meant well, but his opinions often landed on the judgmental side. He should have known that Dane would make assumptions about you - most people did.

You were chatty - Dane wasn't wrong about that. And you did, from time to time, have a tendency to rub people the wrong way. In fact, Poe, in small part, did ask you out one day just to get you to stop talking.

He chuckled to himself, remembering the first time he met you.

THEN...

You were fiddling around with the computer system of his beloved X-wing and he mistook you for a mechanic. Without thinking to introduce himself, he rattled off few things wrong with his baby, expecting the typical, 'Sure thing, Commander Dameron.'

Instead, your adorable head popped out of his cockpit, face scrunched in confusion. Your wide eyes blinked rapidly, hair piled up in twin buns on top of your head.

"That's not my job. You might want to try a mechanic," you bluntly stated, your mouth already running away with you before you could stop to focus on who was addressing you.

Nodding his head slowly, Poe regarded you with a smirk on his face. "I'll take that into consideration." He started the climb up the ladder on the side of his ship so he could have a proper conversation with you. As he did, he quickly found out you needed no invitation at all to start talking.

"Good. Because I'm not one," you forged ahead, the way you were prone to do. "A mechanic, I mean. I'm a computer tech, so I only work on computers. I mean, that's what computer techs do, so it would only make sense that I would fix your computer and not all those other problems you just listed to me without knowing who I am, or what I do. Which, by the way, that list of problems sounded pretty long - I don't really think our best pilot should be flying around in a ship that - "

"You think I'm our best pilot?" Poe questioned, hands resting on his hips as he chuckled in amusement.

"Of course," you nodded quickly, standing up to your full height in the cockpit. It was then that Poe really got a good look at you. Aside from the cute buns on top of your head, a row of silver earrings lined one ear, top to bottom. You wore a standard issue Resistance uniform (or the best the ragtag Resistance could muster these days) in all its drab browns, and on your back, perched a light grey backpack.

While he took in your appearance, you were already off and running, explaining something to him about his ship's targeting system.

"...because then you would try to fire on the First Order and might end up shooting half the fleet out of the sky!" You concluded with a boisterous laugh that ended with a little snort.

Narrowing his eyes, Poe extended his hand, a smile of intrigue tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I'm not sure how I've missed meeting you. I'm Poe Dameron."

You completely forgot to shake his hand. You didn't really touch people. It was kind of gross and personal. Besides, you were a little dirty from a long day of work that may as well have been mechanical, despite your protests that you were only a technician.

"Of course you're Poe Dameron," you shrugged, ignoring his extended hand, reaching, instead for the straps of your mini backpack that dropped down to about waist level. Poe would come to find this was a soothing habit of yours. You would tug and twirl your backpack straps so often that the ends frayed.

"Everyone knows who you are, Poe," you forged ahead, realizing your blunder in addressing your superior (a rare realization for you). "I mean - Commander Poe. I mean Dameron. Commander Dameron."

Blowing out a quick breath, you shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, I'm new here, so I don't always call everyone the right thing, and I don't have a title myself. I'm just Elia, so, you know, that's easy to remember...just Elia."

Poe actually found himself laughing, returning his hand to his side since you clearly had no intention of shaking it. "It's nice to meet you, Just Elia," he teased...but his smile faded a little when he noticed you didn't take his meaning.

"Oh, it's not 'Just Elia', it's only Elia," you corrected, talking demonstratively with your hands. "Well, not 'Only Elia' - I mean, my name is Elia by itself. I'm Elia."

Grinning, Poe nodded. "Yeah, I got that. Elia. It's a pleasure."

"Thanks," you affirmed, brushing a loose strand of hair out of your eyes. No matter how tightly you tucked your hair buns every morning, several strands always worked their way loose throughout the day, especially when you were fixing computers on ships.

"So...what's going on with my ship? Is she gonna be ready for the next mission?" Poe questioned...

...and experienced his first complete informational download from your mouth to his ears. You explained to him, in excruciating detail, every facet of what had gone wrong with his computer system, including the targeting system. He tried his best to keep up, but you lost him after a while.

Still, it amused him that another being in this Resistance could probably out-talk him. Poe was always chatting with one person or another, being a lively conversationalist and friends with everyone, so in a way, it was...nice to listen.

"I think..." he slowly nodded, playfully stroking his chin as if deep in thought, "I'm pretty sure you lost me seven paragraphs ago. But thanks for fixing her."

"It's okay," you shrugged, oblivious to a comment that many others might have taken as an insult. "Not many people understand computers the way I do. You're smart at other things, I bet. Like flying, right? I've seen you do some crazy stuff."

"Are you calling me computer dumb?" Poe attempted another joke, but once again, you missed his meaning. Sometimes jokes did that - flew right by you, because you were so literal.

"I don't know, are you computer dumb?" You challenged, still fidgeting with something or other down in the cockpit. Craning your neck back around to see him, you grinned. "Most people are."

Poe left that first encounter with you a little weary, mildly bored, and terribly intrigued. He found you a little odd, but extremely adorable. Something about your twin hair buns, little backpack, intelligence and bluntness piqued his interest. Although he couldn't honestly say he was interested in a date from day one. That came later.

next->

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dividers by saradika

I understand that the term "neurodivergent" or "neurodiverse" is incredibly broad, I am leaving it up to each reader to fill in whatever gaps they wish. I am speaking from experience here. In the case of this story, I think you'll see some of the OC's habits/traits pretty quickly: info-dumping, rambling, speaking bluntly, missing social cues, being literal/unable to discern sarcasm, or sometimes unable to tell if someone is joking. Fidgeting, having a slight aversion to touch and certain textures. Extremely intelligent. If this characterization is offensive to anyone, I apologize. I am happy to hear your thoughts on it.

Poe Dameron Masterlist

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[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

What is the FFA and why is it such a threat to the Sharing?

[Context: this post.]

The Future Farmers of America is a nonprofit youth organization that teaches leadership, trade skills, animal husbandry, etc. They do volunteer work and applied job training. Not every teenager in Iowa is a member, but it's a considerable subset. And if The Sharing rolled up to Iowa, especially in the 1990s, then most people's reaction would be "looks like a crappy FFA knockoff with 0.01% of the scholarship opportunities. I'mma just... not join that."

[shamandrummer]

What Shamanism Is Not

When people ask me if I can define what shamanism is, I like to begin by defining what it isn't. Sometimes it is easier to contrast something with what it is not than to define exactly what it is. So in that vein, shamanism is not:

Religion. It is important to highlight that shamanism is not a religion, which involves a set of organized beliefs, practices, and systems that most often relate to the belief and worship of a controlling force, such as a personal god or another supernatural being. In an organized religion, belief systems and rituals are systematically arranged and formally established, typically by an official doctrine (or dogma), a hierarchical or bureaucratic leadership structure, and a codification of proper and improper behavior. Unlike religion, shamanism has no dogma, no religious hierarchy, and is a cross-cultural tradition characterized by direct revelation and hands on experience. Shamanism is based on the principle that innate wisdom and guidance can be accessed through the inner senses in ecstatic trance. No intermediary such as the church or priesthood is needed to access personal revelation and spiritual experience. The essence of shamanism is the experience of direct revelation from within. Shamanism is about remembering, exploring, and developing the true self. Shamanism places emphasis on the individual, of breaking free and discovering your own uniqueness in order to bring something new back to the group.

Psychology. Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychologists endeavor to understand the motivations and intentions inherent within a person's mental and emotional behaviors. It does so by uncovering the hidden agendas and issues at play in a persons actions and choices. Shamanism acknowledges the value of the psychological perspective, however, it does not seek to understand a person's underlying issues and intentions. That is best left to trained psychologists. Indeed, from the shamanic perspective--which is to say a soul-centered perspective, rather than a mental perspective--it is understood that the inner state of the soul is expressed as thoughts, feelings and emotions in the outer, physical realm. The mental and emotional conditions are but the symptoms or manifestation of the inner state of the soul. Shamanism is a paradigm of self-empowerment, which enables people to engage the soul in ways that foster its growth and evolution.

Metaphysics. Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the fundamental nature of reality and being. The perspective of metaphysics is that everything has a function or purpose and its essential nature is to grow and achieve its purpose. It explores abstract concepts such as cause and effect (karma), the nature of time, the existence of God, the meaning of life, the relationship between mind and body, and the existence of free will. Unlike metaphysics, shamanism is based in personal accountability without the imposition of an all-powerful God or theoretical universal laws that dictate the circumstances of our lives. Shamanism is premised on spiritual sovereignty free of karmic reward and punishment. When presented with a situation, shamanism never endeavors to find what the lesson is, understand its purpose, or comprehend the meaning. Instead, practitioners seek to apply their knowledge and skills to resolve the situation. Practitioners employ time-tested methods for altering consciousness to find clarity and solve problems.

What Shamanism Is

Shamanism is a cross-cultural, spiritual path practiced in every continent of the world. It is the most ancient and most enduring spiritual tradition known to humanity. It predates and constitutes the foundation of all known religions, psychologies and philosophies. It originated among nomadic hunting and gathering societies. These ancient shamanic ways have withstood the tests of time, varying little from culture to culture. Over thousands of years of trial and error, primal peoples the world over developed the same basic principles and techniques of shamanic power and healing.

Shamanism represents a universal conceptual framework found among Indigenous tribal humans. It includes the belief that the natural world has two aspects: ordinary everyday awareness, formed by our habitual behaviors, patterns of belief, social norms, and cultural conditioning, and a second non-ordinary awareness accessed through altered states, or ecstatic trance, induced by shamanic practices such as repetitive drumming. The act of entering an ecstatic trance state is called the soul flight or shamanic journey, and it allows the journeyer to view life and life's problems from a detached, spiritual perspective, not easily achieved in a state of ordinary consciousness.

The shamanic practitioner traverses the inner realms in order to mediate between the needs of the spirit world and those of the material world. It is an inward spiritual journey of rapture in which the practitioner interacts with the inner spirit world, thereby influencing the outer material world. From a shamanic perspective, all human experience is self-generated. Experience is shaped from within since the inner world is a microcosm of the outer world. Each human being is a hologram of the universe. Essentially, we are the universe experiencing itself in human form.

[howlingday]

tragic backstory (tm) au) ozpin finally gets to show up merlin as the wizard mentor to a inspiring king who is also a symbol of hope. granted jaune has no real authority since the council does everything nor does he wish to take over but ozpin knows exactly what jaune needs.... no not actual training in the basics of combat to act a a foundation to his greater feats, that's rediculous! no he needs PHENOMENAL ACTING TALENT!!!!!!!

time for everyone's favorite cinnomin role to come back and help jaune decide on a persona and how to play it!

Original Cin-Cin

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

Ozpin: How was your mission, Mr. Arc?

Jaune: Uh, great! Really great! Definitely didn't say or do anything wrong.

Ozpin: I'm glad to hear it, since Springtime's current headmaster is a dear friend of mine.

Jaune: O-Oh, really?

Ozpin: Yes. In fact, I was just in contact with him recently, and he said-

Jaune: (On the floor) I'm sorry! I didn't know that the microphone was on!

Ozpin: ...You caved much faster than I thought. Is that really how a king should present himself?

Jaune: Again with the king stuff? (Stands up) Sooner or later, people are going to figure out I'm not a king.

Ozpin: Indeed. Just someone who got extremely lucky and famous.

Jaune: More unlucky...

Ozpin: And infamous. As I recall, that was how you referred to yourself when being introduced.

Jaune: Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess I did do that.

Ozpin: Indeed you did, and it was enough to get people talking. To get people thinking. Everyone now knows who you are, or has at least heard of you.

Jaune: Yeah. And now my family's getting harassed every day and I can't do a thing about it.

Ozpin: Sadly, no. It is one of the many flaws of being famous, and infamous. But the people need leadership, Mr. Arc. As the adage goes, sometimes you have to fake it until you make it.

Jaune: What about after I make it?

Ozpin: Then you'll be on your own, in a way. You'll be in a position where your faking no longer applies, and you'll have friends you can rely on to help you however they can.

Jaune: So I just have to keep pretending I'm someone I'm not? Just this... fake king guy?

Ozpin: Well, if you'd like, I can assign you a... shall we say "outsourced tutor" to help you build your confidence?

Jaune: An outsourced tutor? What do you mean?

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Yang: You sure you don't want to come down and see Cin-Cin?

Blake: I'm sure. From what Jaune's told us, she's still nervous around Faunus, so I'd prefer to not do anything that would upset her while she's visiting.

Yang: Alright. I'll try to record as much as their sibling bonding as I can. Just for you.

Blake: (Smiles) Thank you.

Weiss: Ruby, what do you think? Blue earrings, yes or no?

Ruby: Wow... You're asking for my opinion?!

Weiss: Don't make me regret asking you.

Ruby: No, no! You can trust me! Um, uh, well, uh...

Nora: I dunno why you're so concerned about her. Doesn't she already not like you?

Weiss: Which is exactly why I'm trying to show her my better qualities!

Emerald: But wasn't one of the reasons she doesn't like you is how superficial you are?

Weiss: ...

Weiss: (Crouches in a corner) I just can't win, can I?

Ruby: Ah! B-Bestie!

Ren: Nora, are you upsetting Weiss again?

Nora: Maaaaaybe?

Mercury: Nice goin', Em. Brutal honesty wins again.

Emerald: Was it really that brutal? I was just asking a question.

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Jaune: So it's just the four of us, huh?

Yang: Almost like we're our own team, huh?

Ruby: What would we be called? R-Y-P-J? Rip J? Uh, R-P-Y-J, Rippage? R-J-Y... Uh, what was the other one?

Yang: P.

Pyrrha: ...Were you talking to me?

Yang: Nah, I was answering Ruby. Also, pretty bold of you to assume you'd be the leader, Rubes.

Ruby: Why not? I like being a team leader.

Jaune: That makes one of us. I was already barely scraping by as a team leader, and now I have an even bigger team to take care of.

Yang: He said, already months into his role as super leader of his own super harem team.

Ruby: Yang!

Yang: I'm kidding! ...Mostly.

Jaune: What are you- Oh! There she is! Cin-Cin! Over here!

Cin-Cin: ...Hi, Jaune.

Jaune: Hi.

Ruby: ...So, was the, uh, flight okay?

Cin-Cin: It was fine. Can we hurry up and go to the headmaster?

Jaune: Oh, uh, sure.

Cin-Cin: (Walks ahead)

Jaune: (Following behind)

Yang: Wow, she's...

Ruby: Kinda mean?

Pyrrha: Distant?

Yang: I was going to say, "she's not happy to be here," but I guess those work, too.

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Velvet: (Reading)

Fox: Hey, Velvet?

Velvet: Hm? What's up, Fox?

Fox: Uh, just wondering, but are you and Cardin... y'know?

Velvet: (Blushing) W-What do you mean?

Fox: Well, it's just, you and him are getting along and actually talking to each other, so I was wondering...

Velvet: We're just friends, Fox.

Fox: Oh, okay. Just friends. That's good. Good, good, good.

Velvet: ...Is there something wrong with us being friends?

Fox: No, no, it's great, but, uh...

Velvet: ...Did Yatsuhashi put you up to this?

Fox: ...No?

Velvet: Coco?

Coco: He did, Bun-Bun.

Velvet: (Sighs) Why is he so against me and Cardin being friends?

Coco: You mean besides the obvious?

Velvet: He's changed since his first year!

Coco: Which ended a few months ago.

Velvet: (Pouts)

Coco: (Sighs) Fox, could you give us the room, please? And tell Yats I wanna talk to him, too.

Fox: Sure. (Walks out)

Coco: Velvet, listen, I know you like the guy- And before you start, yes, I know it's more than just being friends, but you can't expect your closest friends, us, forget about all the crap him and his cronies put you through. The teasing, the ear-pulling, (Lowers glasses) the comments?

Velvet: I... I didn't forget, but...

Coco: We're all just worried about you, okay, Bun-Bun?

Velvet: ...Okay. But can I please stop having you all mother hen me?

Coco: Only if you stop making us worry. Oh, and don't forget our trip to the mall coming up this weekend.

Velvet: I won't.

Coco: Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got me a gentle giant to talk to.

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

Cin-Cin: Again. Who are you?

Jaune: My name is Jaune Arc.

Cin-Cin: Who are you?

Jaune: My name is Jaune Arc. I am the new king of Vale.

Cin-Cin: Who?

Jaune: My name is Jaune Arc. I am the King of Vale. I am the hero of Mallet.

Cin-Cin: I don't know who you are, but you're not convincing anyone. Who are you?

Jaune: My name- Cin-Cin, do we have to-

Cin-Cin: Stop! If you want people to believe you, you have to believe it yourself. And if you want to believe it yourself, then you have to know what you're talking about. So who are you?

Jaune: Who am I? I'm Jaune Arc, the only son of the Arc family and the older brother of Cinnamon Arc. That's who I am.

Cin-Cin: (Turns away, Facepalms) I can't believe you said that with a straight face.

Jaune: (Thinking) Ugh, I probably sounded lame to her.

Cin-Cin: (Covering her cherry face, Thinking) He sounded so cool and confident!.

Pyrrha: Do you think it's going well?

Weiss: Hard to tell... Then again, this is Jaune we're talking about.

Pyrrha: What do you mean?

Weiss: Ever since we learned about his past, he's been adamant about denying it, and yet everything he does contradicts what he says. And that's not including the specifics on what he does.

Weiss: One evening, he's embarrassing the Schnee Dust Company, and the next day, he's besting the leader of the White Fang, only to then go on to lead an amalgamation of two huntsmen teams with no confidence, and emerge from the first joint mission with a massive internationally observed Grimm kill near single-handedly! Nothing about him makes any sense!

Pyrrha: Well, for as long as I've known Jaune, I've found the easiest answer is the most simple one.

Weiss: And that is?

Pyrrha: He's just Jaune being Jaune.

Weiss: Hm... (Looks to Ruby)

Ruby: You can do it, Jaune! Here, try this! (Pulls out paper crown) It's not real, but it'll get you in the right mind thing!

Weiss: I think... I know what you mean.