#i can only exercise when the exercise is secondary to some kind of activity with visible progress that makes sense to my brain.

[esleep]

i am so tired of being out of shape but i have no idea how to fix this. someone should invent exercise that doesn't make me want to shoot myself in the head.

[minimalist-language-learning]

My language learning journey

Hi! I'm Anja, a language learner and manga artist from Germany. This is my first post here, so I think I should start with some information about myself:

I speak: German (native), English

I'm currently learning: Japanese

Paused languages: French, Russian

Other hobbies and interests:

creating manga (you can find my artist accounts here)

reading manga (mainly shonen)

nature

video games (e.g. Assassin‘s Creed Origins / Valhalla, Ghost of Tsushima, Cyberpunk 2077, Control)

reading different kinds of books

history & archaeology (especially ancient egypt)

For those who are interested, here is a summary of my ups and downs as a language learner:

How I improved my English unintentionally

English is not my native language (I'm sure I make mistakes ^^;). I learned the basics at school which means: vocab lists, grammar rules and exercises, listen to English spoken by non-native speakers (teacher and classmates) and only sometimes by native speakers (audio CD). I had no access to novels, websites or other interesting things in English. And I was fine with that. At that time, English was only a subject in school.

After graduating, I became interested in Japanese. I found some german online forums where other learners of Japanese shared their experiences. Unfortunately, most of the users were very narrow-minded. They persisted, that their way of learning is the only "right" way. I never liked black-or-white-thinking and so I left these forums.

I've found a more open-minded forum and some blogs. These were in English, but I came across many different ideas and methods. It was a bit difficult at first because I never read "real" English before. But I concentrated so much on the content, that everything else became secondary. 

At this time, the new episodes of my favorite TV show weren't available in German. So I watched them in English even though I had nearly no experience with listening to native speakers. There were things I couldn't understand, but I didn't care. I was able to watch this show quite comfortably which was all I wanted — reaching a high level in English was not my goal, after all.

Watching my favourite show, reading articles about interesting topics or reading novels in English were never learning activities to me. The purpose was to learn something other than English or to simply enjoy the content. The language was only a tool, not a study object. 

While doing this, I never thought "So many unknown words… I should use Anki to learn them". After learning the basics at school, I just started reading and listening and ignored most of the unknown and unimportant parts. Only when I felt that I really need to know a certain word I looked it up. These texts or videos weren’t study objects. After reading/watching them I moved on. Without realizing it, English became part of my life. 

Today, reading and listening to content in English feels natural to me. There are words I don’t know and I make mistakes, of course, but I'm fine with that.

The learning mindset is actually a learning barrier

In the case of Japanese, I always tried to understand as much as possible, looked up many words, put sentences into Anki and things like that, because many methods recommended that. I thought that otherwise my Japanese won't improve.

Ironically, even after so much hard work and after trying out so many methods and techniques my Japanese was by no means as good as my English.

I was stuck in a "learning mindset" which made it difficult to just enjoy the content as I did with English. I wasn't able to focus on the content. All I saw were unknown words and phrases. It was like a curse.

Don't get me wrong: Good advice is useful, of course! When I come across an interesting approach or tip I try it out to see if it works for me. But my mistake was to believe that I only had to follow someone else's way of learning from A to Z and I would get the same results in the end. It never worked this way.

That's why I encourage everyone not to follow blindly other methods and their creators. There is no right or wrong. Combine whatever works best for you and trust your own intuition. The most important thing is that you enjoy what you are doing.

Combining minimalism with language learning

After worrying so much about language learning, methods and my Japanese, I discovered minimalism and was completely fascinated. 

Generally, minimalists don't keep things that make them feel unhappy, that are no longer useful or causing distraction. It depends on the person, how their minimalist lifestyle looks like. And this is also true for language learning.

This mindset was a great inspiration for my current way of language learning. I only use Anki to review kanji, for example, because this works best for me. But whenever I use it for vocabulary/sentences, it feels so meaningless to me compared to reading a good book. I can't use Anki for vocabulary longer than a few weeks, but I feel always relaxed when I read a book in Japanese.

That's why I decided to just look up certain words, write them down and move on. Maybe other methods are more efficient, but I prefer learning words in their natural context. This is what I enjoy the most.

How my Japanese improved (finally)

For a long time, I felt like I hit a wall. My Japanese didn’t seem to improve. Then I focused on extensive reading and read several books in Japanese that were not too difficult at my current level (e.g. volume 1 - 4 of 『ハリー・ポッター』 and 『天気の子』 and other manga and light novels).

This helped me a lot to improve not only my reading speed but also my vocabulary. I had so much fun reading these books that I read between 20 and 40 pages a day (sometimes even a bit more on the weekend).  My listening comprehension stagnated for a long time but thanks to reading it now improves slowly but steady.

The more I understand the more I enjoy listening. Lots of reading helped me to increase my vocabulary and to get to the point at where I can process spoken Japanese much faster than before. 

It feels strange sometimes. For a long time, it was normal to me that I understand not more than single words or very common phrases. Listening felt like a waste of time. Now I can roughly follow the story of some audio books, for example. Even small improvements like this give me a big motivation boost!

Switching to extensive reading had also a positive effect on my self-confidence as a language learner. I’m more aware about what kind of content I need at my current level and choose my reading and listening material accordingly. I will read more and more difficult books to increase my vocabulary and to get used to more complex writing styles. It should be a bit challenging but not overwhelming.

Up to this point, I've read 78 books in Japanese so far. 27 of these were novels, light novels or non-fiction books; the rest were manga. According to 読書メーター, I've read around 18.242 pages in total. 

Now

It took me a long time but today I don't care so much about efficiency and speed anymore. I just want to enjoy what I'm doing. I have still a long way to go, of course. But even though I don't understand everything I enjoy reading in Japanese so much! And I hope to further improve my listening comprehension so that I can comfortably understand audio books and podcasts.

My main activity is still reading books and other content but I also do light grammar study now. In my experience, you don't need to memorize grammar rules but a good foundation is important to understand more complex content and to build correct sentences yourself. That's why I think that grammar is not your enemy but a useful tool.

Lots of text, sorry. ^^; I hope it was interesting to some of you.

Please note that I write about what works for me and share advice based on my own experiences. If you have a different opinion or if you use other methods, that's absolutely fine. Do whatever works for you.

From time to time, I'll write posts about my recent language learning activities and thoughts.

[philcoulsonismyhero]

Hey! I'm really excited that there are two butch characters in Red Shift Blue Shift, what are their relationships to each other and to the larger lesbian communities around them? Also, are there any trans women or transfeminine nonbinary characters in the cast, or in your other projects? (I tried sending an ask to the comic blog, but I couldn't find the option.)

Hey! (Turns out we hadn't switched asks on for the comic blog, thanks for pointing that out, the option should be there now!)

Oh I'm so glad you're excited about there being multiple butch characters in RSBS, that was something that was really important to us to include when we were building our cast. I'm very fond of them both, they're a great time.

It's hard to say too much about their relationship to each other without getting into spoiler territory, but Kamari is something of a wildcard character. She's working for a cause of her own, something that's sometimes at cross-purposes to the main team, which Georgie is part of, so there's a bit of plot-relevant antagonism there, at least in a big picture sense. It takes a wee while before Kamari interacts directly with any of the main team, although she'll be hanging around the edges of their activities and playing a major role in the other main thread of the story. Georgie and Kamari will end up connected eventually, although how is spoilers, but I can say that they're one of the (many, many) pairs of narrative foils in the comic. The story is going to be split into two major threads, the blue thread following Dan and their team, and the red thread following our masked antagonist and their allies, and Georgie and Kamari are one pair of characters that in some ways mirror each other across that divide and end up having an impact on each other over time as the story unfolds.

Which kind of links in to the next part of your question - Kamari, at the point we find her in the story, is quite isolated from anything really in the way of broader community. She did have that, once, and she doesn't anymore, and the story there is a big part of her character, along with where she ends up going from there. Georgie, on the other hand, is probably the most social of the main team, barring maybe Max. When she's not out on missions, she's a regular in her local queer community, especially the lesbian bars, and she's got at least a few amicable exes in that community and amongst her law school cohort. She's a gregarious, friendly sort of person, and the sort that tends to adopt any young queer people in her vicinity, so aboard the team's ship she's definitely something of a Cool Queer Aunt.

Speaking of Max, I'm not sure transfem is the term ey'd personally use, but ey're definitely the cast member with the most fem elements to their particular flavour of nonbinary. Gender presentation is something fun to em, and ey're pulling from a bunch of different directions when it comes to eir personal style.

As for the rest of the cast, we're still building out from our main ten, but the intention is absolutely to include trans women and transfem folks, both human and robot. Now's probably the point to admit that our jokey working title for the comic is 'Butches In Space', because it is a bit of a self-indulgent exercise in including all the butch and transmasc and agender characters that we almost never get to see (and especially don't get to see interacting with each other). Ultimately you've got to do what appeals to you, personally, with a project, but that doesn't mean that we're not going to make sure that the rest of the world of RSBS is suitably full of all different kinds of folks. Obviously it's really important to include transfem folks in a story that's using a lot of transphobia metaphors, since they're unfortunately one of the groups that's targeted the most. There's a lot of significant secondary characters that we've still only got rough sketches of roles for, like assorted family members and other agents and various folks relevant to different cases, and I'm sure a bunch of them will and up being transfem once we get to know them better. We're planning on having a lot of fun with gender stuff amongst both the humans and the robots.

Also, one last fun note about Kamari and Georgie - there aren't going to be any active romance plots in the comic, it's going to be a very aro sort of story, but like I mentioned above re: Georgie's various exes that doesn't mean that the characters that aren't aro don't have relationships in their pasts. Without spoiling Kamari's deal, I will say that Pearl from SU was one of the characters that partly inspired her, so read into that what you will. And, in the course of the main story, Georgie and Kamari's dynamic when they do end up face to face might be the closest we get to writing flirting. We thought it would be fun to leave a little bit of room for shipping, if a hypothetical reader is that way inclined, even if the main story isn't going to feature any romance arcs and will be more focused on the platonic side of their dynamic. And it was something of a deliberate choice to have the only canon-compatible ship amongst the main cast be a lesbian one, since fandom is after all a bit notorious for ignoring them.

[fireemblems24]

Fire Emblem Engage 24 - End

Spoilers below the cut. These last chapters aren't as good as the rest of the game because I'm not a fan of the new character.

Alear is meeting evil!Alear. Is she seeing the past or? OMG a random time travel plot 😭 why . . .

And why is evil!Alear giving her life story to regular!Alear? The heroes and villains both act so nonsensical in this game.

Aww, Alfred got to say how badly he worried over Alear.

OMG NOOO. NOT A-FUCKING-GAIN. I'm NOT fighting the 4 wolves AGAIN. Please, no. Please, I'm begging.

Oh, thank God, Alear is sending Zephia away.

I wish Veyle would just shut up.

God, this plot has gone off the deepend though. Alear died twice and came back to life twice. There was a failed Hail Mary to try and get me to care about the Wolves. And not time travel because time travel I guess?

So I saw that Veyle and Alfred both had the blue speech bubbles over their heads and figured the other royals would, but only those two got it. Alfred got a little "official" moment over all the other royals and it makes my shipping heart happy. He's worried about the Alear of 1000 years ago. He's a sweetie.

This level only existed for the chance to talk to the other Alear. I'm not too mad about that. I actually really like Alear.

More Zephia. Why. I guess it gives Sombron someone named to talk too. I'd rather the red!Alear though.

Aww, we get to see Lumera meet Alear. Ok, I more than accept this chapter now. I still think the time travel is stupid as fuck, but I'll accept it anyways because I liked getting to see this stuff.

Bunet wants to lick the boulders to see how they taste. Something is wrong with this man.

Seadall seems low-key into Rosado, as he finds him amazingly attractive lol.

Lumera is a zombie thing, right?

I'm guessing Alear managed to act on her own will as corrupted, but Lumera can't because of who summoned them?

Man, and this game had avoided characters doing stupid shit for the sake of drama, but leave it to Veyle to fuck that up by going off on her own.

If she's on the map by herself, so help me God... she can die

Shoutout to Kagetsu, Goldmary, and especially Alfred for forming a little line and holding out against a million reinforcements. Alfred must've killed like 50 enemies this chapter while I picked off all the buddies around Lumera.

Alfred MVP. Deserved. Boy put in the work.

Lumera is such a Fire Emblem parent she out Fire Emblemed all the others and died - TWICE!

This must be so awkward for Veyle.

I think it's cool Alfred is in this scene. I think he's pushed just a bit over the other royal and does feel the closest to a "cannon" love interest for Alear - though I feel the most "cannon" is probably platonic with Veyle.

I feel proud of myself. I'm down to 0 coins and 0 silver. I used it all up nicely.

The men of Firene are prone to fatal illness - Alfred, his father, and Mauvier's father (per his Ivy support)

Alfred's A support with Veyle fucking hurts knowing what I know, talking about how he KNOWS exercise won't really make the problems go away, that it's just about giving yourself a break to avoid getting crushed by what worries you. It's such a simple conversation, except that it's coming from Alfred. Who we know is actually talking about dealing with his terminal illness and also proves that a lot of his behavior is a conscious choice. I think between this and his crit quotes actually being quite serious means he's not truly an empty-headed guy who's nice because he's just that innocent or dumb, but that's he's more self-aware than characters like this usually are and actively choosing to be friendly and kind to everyone. I think learning that is what launched him to my favorite. It's hard to dislike "human golden retriever" characters that aren't annoying, but it adds such an interesting secondary level when you know characters are purposefully and consciously choosing to act this way, and even MORE great when the characters have actually been through some shit and rather than letting the world turn them bitter are choosing to be gentle. It's also why Lucius was my favorite for so long (though, he's more uber pure rather than hyper loyal/friendly) and honestly Dimitri too since he eventually actively chooses to act as a savior king and let go of hatred. I'm just - such a sucker for characters like this.

The Emblems aren't returning, I'm betting. Yep. Man, I'm going to cry seeing all my old protagonists fading away. If that happens. Why is Alear the exception though?

Kinda cool that Sombron offered to just leave, but Alear said fuck no. We really needed another backstory. /s They should've spaced this out a bit more. I also love how he's just chatting with us about it too.

So, who's his Emblem? This guy is beyond obsessed. (Emblem of Foundations - DLC Wave 2? Who could it be? Alm, Eliwood, Seliph, Elincia, Rhea, and Azura are the key missing characters)

Feels bad. Diamant, Ivy, and Alfred got to show up at the very end of that cut scene, but not Timerra. I feel the Solm royals got shafted.

Do we not get the Emblem rings in the final fight? That would suck. That also seemed anticlimatic as a parting. It is cool that, once again, Alfred got the dialogue to represent the royals.

Seeing all the lords get summoned again did things to me. Not gonna lie. I've loved some of these characters for over half my lifetime and seeing them all just lined up like that. 😭

Alear ended up being a lot cooler than I expected.

Ok, I figured Sombron would do something after taking him down at first because that was too easy.

Luna + Critical is one hell of a drug. Alcryst was going to do a measly 3 damage to Sombron but did 51 instead.

Alfred engaged with Alear did the final hit. Seemed thematic. All the favoritism I poured into him returned ten-fold. I know he's not the best unit in the game, but he was the best unit for my playthrough at least. Maybe the RNG was kind to me too.

It wouldn't be a final Engage chapter if we didn't have something taking forever to die.

I don't want to see all the previous protagonists fade away 😭

Ah, fuck, they're doing it one at a time. Why. 😭😭

Alfred got MVP the most. Followed by Chloe. Alear, Katstsu, and Alcryst also got MVP a good number of times. Though, if I stuck Lyn on Alcryst earlier, he probably would've gotten it way more.

Alright, guys, I finished it!

I'm a bit bummed they didn't list the characters in order of least to most used. It's always fun figuring out who's #1, but oh well.

I also REALLY miss paired endings. The solo endings were fine, but still bummed about that. Cool that Sedall and Yunaka are basically cannon though, with their endings matching and being in the same image. It's also going to be impossible for me to "marry" anyone BUT Alfred because of this. His paired ending is a thousand times better, but I also ship Alear and Alfred pretty hard.

I loved all the art at the end too. Alfred planting flowers was too precious. Hortensia visiting her father's grave, the only sad one, only for the next image for Rosado and Goldmary joining her made me so happy. They were all pretty good and seemed to take the character's personality into account.

So my favorites were: Alfred, Ivy, Alcryst, Celine, Chloe, and Alear. Though, there's a lot of characters I didn't see a lot of supports for and didn't use. Fogado seems like so much fun, that I'll have to use him next time, for example.

The only one I didn't really like was Veyle, but I hate her brand of moe and brainwashing so . . . Louis is also low-key creepy, but IDK if that'll stay if I see more of his supports or not.

I will get the DLC, but not sure when. This game is a lot of fun to play, so I definitely want the extra content.

Overall, the plot is basic and stumbles when it tries to be more complex, the characters are mostly good, and the gameplay is fantastic. I really enjoyed it. Only time will tell where it'll fall.

[celiaelise]

Coming to the conclusion that I've almost certainly had (at least!) moderate anterior pelvic tilt since at least high school, but quite possibly my whole life! From what I read, it's kind of a miracle my lower back only hurts on rare occasions or in certain postures, instead of, like. All the time. But I also think I may be programed to ignore some pain entirely?

Like, there have been times where I've had menstrual cramps, but the only way I know is from secondary things, like irritability and vague discomfort. But then I take ibuprofen and those things get better! So i think pain was happening, but I just wasn't feeling it? Idk.

Anyway, apparently the anterior pelvic tilt is probably also the reason that my quads have literally been tight for as long as I can remember? Which is interesting. That's not an exaggeration, lol. I've long ago accepted that I was never going to fully stretch or massage them out. But it doesn't hurt, or anything.

Actually, it could also probably be connected to me walking on my toes as a kid, (*cough* undiagnosed autism) and maybe even my general clumsiness? It'd be interesting to see how much changes, if I'm able to address issue.

I guess it might be hypocritical of me, to consider how to fix this one specific thing, when I don't even get in regular exercise on a normal basis, and this week I've been struggling just to eat and sleep adequately. 🙄

The stuff I read said the problem could be caused by lack of strength in the core or glutes, possibly from inactivity. Which I could see being the issue NOW, but in high school I was actually very active, at some times doing both dance and marching band, and I know this was already happening then. (I remember noticing that it was uncomfortable to lay on my back with my legs straight, at, like, 16.) So I think it's probably more just a case of "this is just how my body ended up shaping itself" 🤷🏻‍♀️ Well, plus band and dance may have actually encouraged my toe-stepping tendencies.

This actually probably partly explains the, frankly, bizarre shape my feet grew into. Bunions, very wide in front, and very narrow heel, like it's trying to disappear. Kind of rhombus-y.

Anyway, it's already morning, and I should at least pretend to try and sleep.

[thepolyamorouspolymath]

On a mission to improve myself. It's been 5 days and I'm already bored of it lol. But let's run it down bc I have a planner -- several bc B got sick of me going "I made planning errors, I need a new one" (they are being repurchased for other things one can use a dated calendar for -- one is acting as a diary of sorts, when I note something I've done improving, I write it on that day. The other will get turned into a meal/exercise planner. If there's a third, I'll turn it into a household chore book. Slap some different paper glued to the covers to tell them apart and bam.)

Ok, so I like magic. No I'm not looking for opinions on magic -- some people find mass soothing, I'm more of a loner, it suits. So I'm structured around that.

There is a master list of things to change, which require inspired action as well as saying the words. It is LONG, so I'm only going to get into now.

Working on healing my relationship with sex, and going boy sober for a bit until I do.

Getting back in shape. Now I know the mere topic brings out all the people who think they get to tell me how to feel about my body (y'all fatphobia and shaming people for wanting to lose weight are the exact same thing.) Because of this I'll explain, though I do not owe one -- my body has been the same shape and size virtually my whole life since puberty and this does not feel like it belongs to me. And it's no one's business but mine. I'm doing a few minutes of exercise every hour or two and trying to eat natural foods. Also mean to take a walk every night and work on adopting what I'm told is a European approach to portion -- the first tastes are the best, then you're not savoring, just finishing. Those two aren't there yet. Also will join a gym at some point but way not there yet.

Shadow work twice a week. Right now I'm just using my triggers and trying to integrate them. Can't tell if I'm making progress.

Trauma work twice a week. The first session went very well, the combination approach I designed working exactly as expect, though I want to add in vagus nerve work to help regulate the body as I'm releasing trauma.

Confidence. I'm starting with general confidence. Hypnosis and NLP techniques, though also incorporating some do it scared techniques once a week where I basically set myself up for a low stake rejection or loss to basically adapt to it as not a big deal.

Forgiveness, for myself first. I write letters to myself at least every week showing compassion and understanding.

Stirring reality. Admittedly action on this is rather impossible. Basically it's just making everything more changeable and it's my job to grab those chances. There's a job I might get which would hopefully count.

Now, I'm planning for the future tasks, such as stockpiling books on interpersonal communication, resiliency, education (parts of mine are lacking), planning weekly outing to do SOMETHING outside my comfort zone. Also looking for other activities, like sticking to a schedule, meditation of counting to 100 until I can do the whole way mind blank, forcing myself to just sit and watch a movie without a secondary thing, picking up new skills (languages, though I need to settle on one and want a digital piano really bad to try, also more dance, pottery, that kind of thing).

It is thoroughly exhausting. However, I have faith that at the end of 12 months -- my next birthday -- I will be a significantly improved human.

I'm also working on business stuff -- at how to start a coaching business the way I want rather than conventional wisdom. Yet more modalities I can draw on over time, like archetypes and superconscious shifts.

And I'd love a day off, but most work is weekly, so can't miss lol.

So yeah... not super exciting, unless you all want to hear the neat psychological machinery I'm building for various issues (and it is neat.)

If you do, drop me a message! We'll chat about it. Also if you happen to be a branding or marketing expert or great at social media and want to work for shares in a start up lol.

Sorry to disappoint but there's probably not going to be exciting content for awhile, just my political opinions. (Though I am get boudoir shots by the absolute best on 9/8... God knows what I'll wear or what vibe but hey it's a good chance to take a leap!)

[scripttorture]

(Villain story PT 1) My story is about two enemies/villains. Character A is tortured by B as punishment for harming a friend of B. A escapes and tortures B for retaliation (other people who have been wronged by character B also help character A do that). A and B are not directly involved in each other's tortures but they know who is responsible for their punishment. Later, A and B come closer to each other's side and start to compromise their politics. They also come closer as people.---

(Villain story PT 2) They also come closer as people. They realize they think alike. They don't have regrets about the torture they did to one another but they don't want to repeat it. Later there is some atonement for their actions. I am doing the trope "enemies to friends" but with both characters having a twisted mentality (aka "it's fine if you come closer to your torturer").  (Villain story PT 3) However, I don't imply that torture is something light or harmless or that it's natural for someone to be kind to their torturer. i also don't try to excuse the actions of the torturers.I am worried if with this story I present torment in the wrong way. Any commentary or advice? Thank you!

-

OK I think I understand what you’re going for here.

 I’m going to start off by saying that I don’t think there’s anything wrong in writing ‘bad’ characters. Or characters who believe in stuff that’s awful, stupid or just plain wrong. If you want to write unhealthy relationships, characters making bad decisions or characters having rare/unusual responses there’s nothing inherently wrong with that.

 The issues come when we start teaching people these things are ‘normal’, that survival should look a certain way or that a particular kind of trauma ‘wasn’t that bad’.

 Sometimes that stuff can be very subjective, so this is always a learning process.

 But this isn’t about telling people to stop writing particular plots or characters. It’s about the problems that come when fiction is the only source people see for something real and complex and misunderstood.

 I don’t have a problem with authors breaking from reality; it’s called fiction for a reason. The problem is when we present a potentially damaging fiction as fact and do so in an environment which makes finding the facts almost impossible.

 I talk about what is or isn’t realistic often because I think it’s important that we understand the reality. We get better stories when the writers are aware of how and where they’re deviating from reality. We get more compassionate stories when writers take the time to think about what those breaks from reality imply.

 I don’t think you’ve chosen a plot that’s inherently torture apologia but it could stray close to some of the common misconceptions about torture. And you’ve recognised that, which means you’re thinking about it critically. That’s a really important step.

 First off in this kind of scenario it’s worth distinguishing the torturer from the person who ordered torture.

 You’ve made it clear that neither of these characters actively tortures the other. They order it but it isn’t even clear if they’re in the same room when the abuse takes place. And I think that gives you a lot more leeway.

 I don’t know of a single case where a survivor and their torturer (ie someone who directly, actively tortured them) became friends or had any sort of positive relationship afterwards.

 There are abuse cases where the survivor and abuser have gone on to have a healthy and mostly positive relationship afterwards. It’s rare*, but it does happen.

 The thing is abusers usually have an established prior relationship with their victim. Torturers don’t. The most I’ve found is a couple of cases where they were vague acquaintances before hand; I’ve yet to find a case where torturer and victim were actually close beforehand.

 What I’m saying here is that generally there isn’t a reason for survivors to want anything to do with their torturers in any capacity. And there are a lot of good reasons for them to not want to be near their torturer.

 There aren’t a lot of accounts of survivors encountering their torturers afterwards. The ones that I have found-

 Well Fanon describes one that happened in his hospital. Both torturer and survivor had a panic attack. The survivor ran into a bathroom and tried to commit suicide.

 Hospital staff managed to convince both of them that they were mistaken about who they thought they saw (a decision Fanon justified as being the only way they could continue to access the treatment they needed). They rearranged the schedules to make sure they never encountered each other again.

 I’ve read more recent accounts that were by survivors. Most of them seem to be describing panic attacks or at the very least, extreme distress on the part of the survivor.

 That’s partly in response to the torturer in a way that’s beyond the control of both individuals. But it’s also partly because of the attitude torturers typically seem to have to their own crimes.

 I’ll pre-face this by saying we really need more research on torturers. At the moment there isn’t a lot in the way of good quality long term studies. Based on the information we have now torturers seem to struggle to understand the scale and impact of their crimes. Some of them do express regret. Some of them will admit that what they did was wrong.

 But they might also say (example taken from one of the survivors accounts and paraphrased) ‘Well I served my time in jail so you shouldn’t have a problem with me any more. I have as much right to be here as you do.’

 As you might imagine this sort of attitude and lack of understand tends to make a healthy or positive relationship less likely.

 As I said, I never heard of a case where a survivor and their torturer had a positive relationship afterwards and I think that it’s extremely unlikely.

 But the survivor and the person who ordered torture… that is potentially a different story.

 People who order torture usually aren’t present when torture occurs. They don’t exist in the toxic torturer sub-culture these organisations have. They are not typically at risk from the torturers in their organisation. And since they don’t typically witness torture they’re not going to develop the mental health problems torture typically causes.

 And because they’re not typically present when torture is actually happening there’s less chance that a survivor is going to feel triggered by their presence. They might blame them, they might hate them. But the visceral response they have when seeing their torturer doesn’t seem to be there, as far as I can tell from what I’ve read.

 I think that difference, that distinction, gives you a fair amount of leeway. Because a person can know, logically, that the head of the organisation that tortured them is ultimately responsible for their torture and still not have the same level of emotional response or distress.

 Because they weren’t part of the toxic sub-culture torturers create in organisations, a person who ordered torture is less likely to have the same attitude towards their crimes. I can’t say for certain that they’d have greater insight or perspective into what they did; there’s even less research on them then on torturers.

 But I think they’d be able to denounce, regret or move away from torture with less personal risk. They’re not going to lose their whole social circle for saying torture should stop. And they’re unlikely to be physically attacked by their peers for it.

 I still think that gaining that insight, that understanding of the scale and impact of their crimes, would be difficult and unlikely. But my instinct is that it would be more likely in someone who is at a remove from torture then in someone who was actually a torturer.

 Showing that torture is serious is more about how you portray the effects then how you have the characters’ relationships developing. It’s about showing consistently showing the effects symptoms have on the characters’ lives.

 Having more survivors then just these two characters could serve to highlight that this relationship isn’t usual, as well as underlining that people’s responses are very varied.

 If you make the effort to show, consistently, that both the main characters and any secondary survivor characters are effected by what they went through then you should avoid downplaying the damage torture causes.

 You’ve probably already picked out the 3-5 symptoms you want your main characters to experience. Decide what those problems look like for them and show those problem consistently even when the character is improving.

 The story I’m writing at the moment has a character with a minor brain injury and part of the symptom set I gave him involved having lower inhibitions. Which in this character looks like a complete lack of brain-mouth filter, he says what’s on his mind constantly. And he does get better at managing his disability through the course of the story but he still says the ‘wrong’ thing constantly. Which in turn impacts on his ability to relate to other people.

 That’s the sort of thing you need in order to show the effects are serious: a commitment to showing them all the way through the story.

 For instance if one of the characters has severe anxiety that gets set off by crowded spaces, improving and managing that condition might look like:

Rearranging their schedule to avoid places at the most crowded times

Medication to reduce the effects of panic attacks

Constantly using breathing exercises in crowded spaces (and possibly sounding a little strange when they talk as a result)

Sending other people to potentially crowded spaces in their place

Putting off or cancelling things if a place seems too crowded for them

Taking the rest of the day off to recover after going somewhere crowded

 Any of those might lead to the net result of less panic attacks and overall improvement. But they’re still working around a serious condition. The fact the character has to make these adjustments constantly in their life means the condition is still there and still serious.

 The rest of this is probably less about the overall themes or plot and more about how it comes across when it’s written.

 I can’t give you a roadmap to a perfect story that no one will ever take issue with. That does not exist. Because every individual reader will bring something different when they sit down to read and they will take something different away too.

 Getting beta readers can help with this, and help build your confidence. I’ve found in person (or in these days over skype) writing groups to be really useful.

 You’re trying to do better and that is the main thing. You’ll learn in the process of writing this story and what you learn can feed into the next one.

 This is a complex topic you’re tackling and your fear is natural. Do everything you can to do it justice, but give yourself permission to be imperfect. You’re only human. I assume.

 I think the main thing to consider here is whether you’re portraying what happens with these characters as ‘normal’ or not. Because however you look at it this is an unusual outcome. I think you know that and I get the impression from the ask that you’re not trying to portray this as the ‘usual’ or ‘correct’ response. You’re just trying to tell a story that interests you using an unusual response. Nothing wrong with that.

 Implications and atmosphere can be hard to get right. They take practice. Having someone else read over the story can help confirm that scenes are coming across the way you intend them to.

 Once again I think having other examples of survivors will help you avoid any suggestions that survivors ‘should/naturally are’ kind to the people who ordered them to be tortured. Showing symptoms consistently should also help you avoid excusing the torture. Especially if that effects the relationship that’s building between these two characters.

 Take your time. Take breaks. Read your own writing critically and think about what you might be implying with each scene. Get second opinions to make sure it’s coming across as you’d like it to.

 I hope that helps. :)

Available on Wordpress.

Disclaimer

*The fact that it can happen is occasionally used to encourage victims to stay in dangerous situations on the off chance they might be able to ‘fix’ their abuser. This is, of course, dangerous rubbish.

[dgcatanisiri]

The thing it always always ALWAYS comes back to is the fact that it’s no one source that is responsible for the lack nor capable of fixing it. It’s all a bunch of issues in society proper and the industry culture. Videos games will always be written from the perspective of straight people, and almost inevitably straight men. Film is from the perspective of the male gaze. The world we lives in will assume straight until proven otherwise.

And because straight is “the default,” it is what gets catered to, with any claim to the contrary, any attempt to say “hey, what about [queer identity]?” these big chains can argue “not worth the time/effort/money!” Because pure numbers say that’s a valid excuse. Because they can make more money just accepting homophobia than pushing against it. Because pushing against it is “risky,” and, well, we can’t push people too much for something they’re “not ready” for.

Even when people on the chain WANT to do more, offer more... They’ll get pushback. Like, I legit, 100% believe that sacrificing bi!Jaal on the release of Mass Effect Andromeda was part of a fight to keep Suvi a lesbian - we KNOW that it was a fight to keep her from being made bisexual, I buy that the ground of “one of two bisexual men” was given in order to keep the lesbian representation. It’s a shitty situation and a shitty choice that shouldn’t have been forced in, but I damn well believe it happened.

Or with Voltron - I do not give a damn about the dumpster fire that fandom is, I guarantee that Adam being killed off was part of the terms that they had to agree to just to get it to air, get a gay relationship in a cartoon that is primarily oriented to children. Look at all the fights that creators in Legend of Korra, Adventure Time, Steven Universe, She-Ra, etc. have had to go through - and remember that it’s NOT the same thing for gay guys in action-adventure series, that there has NOT been that kind of breakthrough in M/M relationships and portrayals, and yes, this IS a different track to run through, because, put simply, lesbian representation is not the same thing as gay male representation. Similar, yes, and there’s an umbrella they’re both under, but they’re not the same - as much as you’ll find a queer person who celebrates any win under the queer umbrella, they will still have that wish that there was also a win for their SPECIFIC identity.

This is the inherent flaw of grouping so many identities under the same umbrella - we all rely on each other, sure, but at the same time, just because it’s a queer win, that doesn’t make it a win for every individual letter under that umbrella. It’s not always your mirror you’re seeing, and as much as you can be happy that others get their representation, human beings will always have that egotistical part that goes ‘well what about MY needs?”

I’ll also guarantee that there was an active play for Shiro/Keith (like, LOOK at their interactions and tell me that there isn’t SOME kind of significant bond being established that is outright groundwork for a relationship) and THAT had the kibosh put on it as well - that the active choice on the part of some executive, be it Netflix or other producers was that Shiro could be gay, but they could not have two gay lead characters, and that’s why Shiro marrying random extra happened.

Because I don’t think that it’s actively bigotry that drives these kinds of choices. It IS homophobia, implicit homophobia, the kind that says it isn’t worth fighting for or dealing with the inevitable headaches when the conservatives get in an uproar. No, it’s simply that... They don’t want to deal with that headache. They know it’s going to create blowback from the idiots, and while they understand that those people aren’t really worth endorsing, it’s just a lot to deal with so how about instead we NOT?

Because to them, it’s all hypothetical. It’s all an intellectual exercise. It’s a headache to deal with these people who aren’t really worth listening to, but we still depend on their money to turn a profit and keep our jobs, so it’s just easier not to rock the boat.

Meanwhile to the queer people they are denying representation, it’s our LIVES. It’s our mirrors. And often, that is the difference between life or death. That’s not exaggeration. If you never see yourself reflected in your media, if you only ever see yourself in the secondary roles, never the hero... It damages you.

Like, I’ve reached a point where, if for no other reason than sheer spite, I intend to keep kicking. But... It does wear on me. It gets me down. To know that even the scraps that I find are the result of long, drawn out fights that started with the full meal - and then, because the scraps exist, I KNOW there’s some pencil-pusher going over the results of everything related to this content by whatever metrics they have, just LOOKING to use the scraps as justification for why the numbers came up short and that’s why they won’t include more scraps again.

And this just. keeps. happening. It’s every time that the representation COULD be there, every time it’s SORT OF there, but clearly grudging, every time that the only reason we get queer representation is because the developers don’t want to bother with the coding to lock off certain romances by gender, not because it’s cared about, every time that the developers and creators have to go to the people who pushed for this and say “I’m sorry, but I lost the fight, and if we don’t cut it, they will.”

It doesn’t change. We’re about a decade and a half from Jade Empire, the game that gave me so much JOY in being able to play a gay male character in a video game and see a gay man as the hero. We’re about a decade out from Korrasami. And what are we really getting as different? Okay, video game characters don’t have their sexualities so blatantly hidden - I don’t have to turn down every female love interest in order to get the male love interests to even ask if I’m interested. Okay, we’ve seen the progression of Korrasami to Bubbleline to Ruby/Sapphire to Lumity, but these are still moments that basically cause the network to pull the plug.

Y’know, sure, I’m still going because of spite. But that’s beyond cold comfort when it comes to how I look at the amount of books, movies, TV shows, and video games and still don’t see myself in there.

[divorceadvocatesinbangalore]

How to select pleasant divorce advocates in bangalore courtroom

Job at a PSU is the very last dream of  check this  someone with little ambition, one who's check this  satisfied with little paintings, no competition and foolproof job safety. However for the reason that the median age of the Indian populace is within the early 20s so the opposition for each put up each seat could be very stringent. Thus it permits if you could piggyback on a excellent university or college. PSUs recruit human beings through either a written check (open the employment newspaper and you'll find out myriad of jobs with their examination schedules) OR thru direct recruitment from campus. The profits are remarkable right here in PSUs with lot’s of privileges.

It is honestly useful to choose the sector of regulation in the 4th Year of your law college (like, securities regulation, tax, IP regulation, Litigation and so on.) and artwork excellent on that. After deciding on the precise field, start interning in agency/ advocates and senior advocates who deals only with that detail so you can sharpen that skills by way of way of the prevent of the 5th yr. This will will let you crack an interview with out troubles and fetch a assignment proper after college if you hone the expertise properly. Avoid deciding on awesome fields as it will stress you out and you could become with nothing reachable.

If you are from a tier II law college and now not from a tier I law school in India, don’t get disheartened. Life is simple (no longer very easy) in top three regulation faculties in India, however for rest of the law school, it most effective relies upon on the student and his/her competencies. If the pupil is skilful, hardworking and devoted, the university in which he/she is analyzing will not rely.

Top Law Firms In India

Law is the set of legal regulations created via the authorities in a rustic or a certain network to put in force order in the society.Without regulation, chaos and ailment could have dominated the lives of people. So, learning law is quite like mastering concepts, and is taken seriously in every united states of america.

In India, the constitution includes of chapters, sections, and sub-sections of guidelines which take pretty some efforts to have a look at. Indian college students can pursue the route for studying regulation after finishing their senior secondary tests.There are a whole lot of front checks which you can deliver to pursue law from your selected university.The regulation direction generally takes 5 years to complete. After finishing so, college students try and each get a technique inside the authorities place or private regulation corporations.

Law Firms In India

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. This firm is actually one of the maximum important regulation groups in India. It has seven workplaces all in the course of the u . S ., which is probably located in number one cities inclusive of New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Gurugram.Shardul S. Shroff is the government of the organisation. The agency has implanted a a hit global client base with over 110 partners everywhere in the international.

This whole-issuer regulation company is famously stated for its capability to permit business employer and the functionality to provide modern answers. The company has these days received the celebrated pick out of “Innovation in Legal knowledge”.

Trilegal India

This regulation company has greater than 3 hundred legal professional personnel throughout four offices in Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Gurgaon.The company may be very well known for its services in issues related to real property, infrastructure, electricity, technology, and facts era-enabled services.The corporation physical activities prison movements to be taken at the same time as entering into a joint assignment commercial enterprise in India. The business enterprise gives career possibilities to talented prison experts in one of the many exercise regions available. They offer a appropriate environment for analytical thinking and research on a specific depend.

Khaitan & Co.

This is one of the oldest law companies in India which has one hundred fifteen companions. The enterprise business enterprise became determined through way of Late Debi Prasad Khaitan in the year 1911.The exercise areas of the enterprise embody Banking & Finance, Capital markets, Competition regulation, Corporate, Dispute Resolution, Energy, Hospitality, Infrastructure and Resources, Environment, Intellectual belongings, Funds, hard work and employment together with other fields which encompass taxation, era, media & telecom.The company has many recommended customers and has previously received the prize for the excellent law corporation of the twelve months.

Sagar Associates

This is one of the essential regulation companies in India with over greater than three hundred legal professionals.They have 80-six companions and places of work in the course of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi.The firm excels in supplying felony advice and services to international and home customers. They do offer legal answers in selected areas of practice with a stable emphasis on ethics.They personal a few well capable companies who can offer the nice satisfactory of offerings to be had. The headquarter of this law company is in Gurugram, Haryana. It have become determined in 1991 as a small partnership firm and when you consider that then, it has multiplied into an professional group.

DSK Legal

This is a full company younger but drastically certified regulation corporation determined in the yr 2001. After almost two a long term, the enterprise has been a success in constructing a top notch reputation in fields of company and business offerings, actual assets, taxation, and dispute decision.They have workplaces in Mumbai and Delhi. Strict requirements are maintained via the organisation to contain customer confidentiality. Guaranteed results are introduced primarily based at the services in time and recorded costs to keep transparency inside the method of hard work.

AZB & Partners

This corporate law company has locations for the duration of Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, and Pune. They are experts in areas of preferred corporation problems, Banking and finance practices, dispute resolution, actual assets, opposition law, capital markets, finances, and opposition regulation.It has extra than ninety partners and become based with the aid of Zia Mody in 2004. It has obtained recognition global for its work and turn out to be ranked as number one amongst the Indian Law Firms in the yr 2017.The corporation takes duty for domestic in addition to international clients.

Anand & Anand

This regulation corporation belongs to the batch of every different of the oldest law corporations in India. With some of approximately  hundred personnel, this enterprise has an area of facts in contentious and non-contentious IP, sports regulation, taxation, copyright, trademarking, licensing and border enforcement.It has eighteen companions and has offices in Mumbai, Noida, Delhi, and Chennai. This company is diagnosed as one of the exquisite IPR law corporations in India.The agency has a key hobby location in innovation and offers creative solutions to one of a kind elements of dispute which they manipulate.

[sunmaylight]

Red Hood Crossover Idea

Katekyou Hitman Reborn x Red Hood 

Lightning Guardian Jason Todd whose Sky is Byakuran.

Main Points (aka incidents where Jason uses/learns about Flames):

Jason has unlocked Lightning Flames while he was on the streets before Batman took him in. He kept the Flames a secret because he has seen kids who flaunted Flames around taken off the streets before Batman or Robin could save them. They wouldn’t have noticed either because all of the kids who have been taken are kids like himself, orphans who live on the streets.

When Bruce adopted Jason and trained him to become the next Robin, Jason tried to tell Bruce about the abductions happening right under Batman’s nose yet he doesn’t believe him. So Jason goes off on his own to gather proof for him. 

Jason stumbles upon the Vindice on pure accident as he witness a man from an unknown Famiglia get captured with chains and dragged into a portal. One of the Vindice sees him and senses the Activated Flames on him. The Vindice warns Jason to not get involved before vanishing through the same portal. When Jason come back home, he doesn’t bring up the abduction problem and it’s forgotten by Bruce.

As Robin, Jason sometimes sparks Lightning Flames while fighting. Batman barely notices and if he does, he brushes it off as something Alfred and Dick added to the Robin suit. The sparks die down as Jason learns control over them.

In ‘Death of a Family’, Jason sparks Lightning Flames every time he is tortured by the Joker. The longer it happens, the weaker his Flames become until he ends up a slightly less bloody mess than canon. 

The explosion still happens and Bruce is too late to save Jason. The two might have gotten a few more words spoken to one another, but Jason inevitably dies in the end.

The revival scene happens with the addition of lightning hitting Jason, ‘reigniting’ his Flames so to speak. Though with his catatonic state on the streets, he is sparking Lightning Flames like a broken faucet when he runs into danger.

When Jason is taken into the League of Assassins, he is a walking Pikachu with the Static ability activate for the first month. It made training Jason more of an exercise that by the end of it, all of his trainers have a slight resistance to electricity.

Talia found out that Jason stop shocking everyone with his Flames when he is in the library. He is then placed near the library until he stopped shocking everyone with his Flames. After that, Jason underwent training and was assigned babysitting duties for Damian. Though if he is too stressed out, he will start shocking people again

After some time, Jason is dumped into the Lazarus Pit. His Lightning Flames became chaotic when he exited. It is constantly tethering the lines into Discord that it is maddening. The only ‘good’ thing that came out of that experience is Jason awakening Cloud Flames as his secondary Flames.

Jason is then sent into the All Caste training route, but this time with Flame training. He learned about Flame Lore and everything that a Flame Active person should know as well as how Flames are connected to the Mafia.

Then canon happens until he reaches Gotham. Jason bumps in to Byakuran while he was scouting the area seeing what changed while he was gone. After their first encounter, Byakuran has latched himself to Jason like an annoying octopus. Essentially making it harder for Jason to do his work in his quest for revenge.

Their first meeting involves Byakuran annoying locals in Crime Alley, Jason being the unfortunate soul to stumble into said alley, a knife, some blood, and the loss of a marshmallow deluxe dessert.

What Jason doesn’t know is that his Flames are subconsciously reacting to Byakuran’s Sky Flames and Byakuran’s Flames in return. Poor Jason doesn’t know why Byakuran forced him to be his tour guide and dragging him to random restaurants/cafes in Gotham. All he knows is that Byakuran will get a cavity or cardiac arrest if he isn’t there to stop the man from consuming so many marshmallows.

Also his tethering Discord Flames feel the most stable around Byakuran that Jason doesn’t realize he tries to seek Byakuran out every time he goes out.

Jason finally enacts his plans from ‘Under the Red Hood’. Everything happens accordingly until the bomb goes off. Bruce tries to shield Jason from the explosion. Jason uses his Lightning Flames to protect both of them from the blast. 

(Did Jason die at the end of that???) 

Batman leaves the scene of the explosion to take Joker back to Arkham. Byakuran heads to the explosion site and finds Jason. He takes Jason back with him to Italy. Byakuran’s Guardians and subordinates are not surprised by this. 

Jason wakes up to the sight of Byakuran and learns that Byakuran is a Mafia Boss. He is somehow convinced to have a partnership with Byakuran’s Famiglia in exchange for more Flame Training and being provided with a Flame Ring. 

Jason: “No Byakuran. I will not make you another marshmallow parfait.” 

Byakuran: “My, my. How cruel of you to do this to a Mafia Boss, Speedwell”

Jason: “What did you call me?”

Byakuran: “Nothing.” :)

Jason leaves Italy to try and reunite with his family in Gotham with a nickname, a group of people who would welcome him again and a shiny new ring with a big green gemstone and wings on it. 

Jason does not know the significants of this Ring. His Flames calm down though. There is still some Discord in them, but significantly less than before.

The reunion goes as well as expected of DC canon. Jason as Red Hood forms the Outlaws and gets caught in all kinds of adventures. Takes his group to Italy to visit Byakuran at least every other month if he can with both groups of Outlaws. He doesn’t get why they are weary of Byakuran. Sure he is a Mafia Boss, but he has been more helpful to Jason than harmful.

Circumstances of canon happen that lead to Jason heavily injured and kicked out of Gotham. This makes his Cloud Flames rage because Crime Alley is his territory. Batman doesn’t get a say in it after neglecting this place.  

When Jason wakes up after RHatO #25, his Flames are reacting wildly. Lashing out at anything and everything until Byakuran calms him down. His Flames calm down and stabilize enough that the two Harmonize. Jason is told the truth about his Ring and accepts the Guardian position, but not joining the Famiglia. He is interested in contracted work though, as long as he doesn’t harm kids.

Byakuran gets a complete set of Guardians and his threat level is raised, but not really since Jason isn’t around Byakuran like his other Guardians. Jason takes in Byakuran’s Lightning Guardian position and shakes things up in the superhero world as a vigilante that no one knows the real identity of with his new name given to him by his Sky, Speedwell.

Speedwell has a similar MO to Red Hood, but different enough that no one will notice unless if they compare the two side by side. 

Jason as Speedwell gets teased because his name is also known as Veronica Persica. He knows this and reacts accordingly, but overall doesn’t care because it is a name that is solely his. There is no one who had this name before him. A clean slate where he can make a name for himself with no burdens and comfort that there are people who are genuinely there for him

[akathecentimetre]

Hey there, so I really like history as a subject, and I'm pretty good at it. The thing is, I don't know what my career options would be if I studied it, or if I would be able to make money. My parents are heavily discouraging me from taking it as a major. As a 'historian' in training' what's your take? Thank you

Hi there! Sorry for the delay, ‘tis the hectic season…

Oh man, I have so many thoughts for you. Full disclosure: this is something I have worked on a LOT over the course of my graduate career both at my uni and on a national level; most of my advice, however, comes from a PhD candidate’s perspective and may not be directly helpful to an undergraduate, and I should also emphasize that everything I can say on this is very firmly based on the U.S. market only. That being said, a lot of what I can say can be universally applied, so here we go - 

The number of history undergraduates in the U.S. has plummeted in the last decade or so, from it previously being one of the most popular majors. There are many interacting reasons for this: a changeover from older to younger, better-trained, energetic professors who draw in and retain students has been very slow to occur, partly because of a lack of a mandatory retirement age; the humanities have been systematically demonized and minimized in favor of the development of STEM subjects, to the occasional benefit of students of color and women but to the detriment of critical public discourse and historical perspective on current events; with many liberal arts colleges going under financially and the enormous expansion of academic bureaucracy everywhere, resources are definitely being diverted away from social and human studies towards fields which are perceived to pay better or perceived, as mentioned in the article above, as being more ‘practical.’ (We do need a ton more healthcare workers/specialists, but that’s a different conversation to have.) But now I feel like quoting a certain Jedi Master: everything your parents say is wrong. Let’s dive into why being a historian is a positive thing for you both as a person and as a professional - 

You will be a good reader. As you learn to decipher documents and efficiently and thoroughly read secondary literature, you will develop a particular talent for understanding what is important about any piece of writing or evidence (and this can go for visual and aural evidence as well). This will serve you well in any position in which you are collecting/collating information and reporting to colleagues or superiors, and evaluating the worth of resources. Specific example - editorial staff at publishing houses either private or academic, magazines, etc. 

You will be a good writer. This will get you a good job at tons of places; don’t underestimate it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been astonished (not in a punitive way, of course, but definitely with a sense of befuddlement) by how badly some of my Ivy-league students can write. Good writing is hard, good writing is rare, and good writing is a breath of fresh air to any employer who puts a high premium upon it in their staff. History in principle is the study of change; history in practice is presenting information in a logical, interesting, and persuasive manner. Any sort of institution which asks you to write reports, summaries, copy, etc. etc. will appreciate your skills. 

You will be a good researcher. This sounds like a given, but it’s an underappreciated and vital skill. Historians work as consultants. Historians work in government - almost every department has an Office of the Historian - and in companies, writing company histories and maintaining institutional archives. A strong research profile will also serve you well if you want to go on to work in museum studies and in libraries public or private/academic. As a historian, you will know not just where to find information, but what questions you have to ask to get to the answer of how to tackle, deconstruct, and solve a problem. This is relevant to almost any career path. 

You will provide perspective. Historians react to current events in newspapers and online - not just on politics, but culture as well (my favorite article of this week is about the historicity of The Aeronauts). Historians act as expert witnesses in court proceedings. Historians write books, good books, not just meant for academic audiences but for millions upon millions of readers who need thoughtful, intelligent respite from the present. Historians work for thinktanks, providing policy analysis and development (a colleague of mine is an expert on current events of war in Mali and works for multiple thinktanks and organizations because of it). Historians work for nonprofits or lobbying groups on issues of poverty, environmental safety, climate change, and minority and indigenous rights. In a world when Texas school textbooks push the states’ rights narrative, historians remind us that the Civil War was about slavery. Historians remind us that women and people of color have always existed. In this time and world where STEM subjects are (supposedly) flooding the job market, we need careful historical perspective more than ever. We need useful reactions to the 2016 election, to the immigration travesties on display at the southern border, to the strengthening of right-wing parties in Europe - and history classes, or thoughtfully historical classes on philosophy and political science, are one of the few places STEM and business students gain the basic ability to participate in those conversations. [One of my brightest and most wonderful students from last year, just to provide an anecdote, is an astrophysics major who complained to me in a friendly conversation this semester that she never got the chance to talk about ‘deep’ things anymore once she had passed through our uni’s centralized general curriculum, which has a heavy focus on humanities subjects.]

You will be an educator. Teaching is a profession which has myriad challenges in and of itself, but in my experience of working with educators there is a desperate need for secondary-school teachers in particular to have actual content training in history as opposed to simply being pushed into classrooms with degrees which focus only on pedagogical technique. If teaching is a vocation you are actually interested in, getting a history degree is not a bad place to start at all. And elementary/high schools aside, you will be teaching someone something in every interaction you have concerning your subject of choice. Social media is a really important venue now for historians to get their work out into the world and correct misconceptions in the public sphere, and is a place where you can hone a public and instructive voice. You could also be involved in educational policy, assessment/test development (my husband’s field, with a PhD in History from NYU), or educational activism. 

If some of this sounds kind of woolly and abstract, that’s because it is. Putting yourself out there on the job market is literally a marketing game, and it can feel really silly to take your experience of 'Two years of being a Teaching Assistant for European History 1500-1750’ and mutate it to 'Facilitated group discussions, evaluated written work from students [clients], and ran content training sessions on complex subjects.’ But this sort of translation is just another skill - one that can be learned, improved, and manipulated to whatever situation you need it to fit.

Will you make money? That’s a question only you can answer, because only you know what you think is enough money. That being said, many of the types of careers I’ve mentioned already are not low-paying; in my experience expertise is, if you find the right workplace and the rewarding path, usually pretty well-remunerated. 

Specific advice? Hone your craft. Curate an active public presence as a historian, an expert, a patient teacher, and as as person enthusiastic about your subject. Read everything and anything. Acknowledge and insist upon complexity, and celebrate it when you can. 

And finally - will any of what I’ve said here make it easy? No, because no job search and no university experience is easy these days. It’s a crazy world and there are a lot of awful companies, bosses, and projects out there. But I do very firmly believe that you can find something, somewhere, that will suit your skills, and, hopefully, your passions too. 

Resources for you: the American Historical Association has a breakdown of their skills-based approach to the job market, reports on the job market(s) for history PhDs collectively called ‘Where Historians Work,’ and a mentorship program, Career Contacts, which could connect you with professional historians in various workplaces. There is a very active community of historians on Twitter; search for #twitterstorians. For historians who identify as female, Women Also Know History is a newer site which collates #herstorian bios and publications to make it easier for journalists to contact them for expert opinions. ImaginePhD provides career development tools and exercises for graduate students, but could probably be applied to undergrads as well. The Gilder Lehrman Institute is one of the premier nonprofits which develops and promotes historical training for secondary school teachers and classroom resources (U.S. history only). Job listings are available via the AHA, the National Council on Public History, and the IHE, as well as the usual job sites. And there’s an awful lot more out there, of course - anyone who reads or reblogs this post is welcome to add field-specific or resource-specific info. 

I hope this helps, Anon, or at least provides you with a way to argue in favor of it to your parents if it comes to that. Chin up!

[santodomingos]

          ╰   *   BIOGRAPHY  ━━  APPLICATION  ━━  TIMELINE                                 ━━  WANTED CONNECTIONS .

BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME. Bellamy Santo Domingo.

MEANING. Fine friend, handsome companion.

REASONING. The name was hand-picked by his grandfather, before his passing. He gave no explanations, but a small poem was written in his notebooks regarding this particular name.

NICKNAME(S). Bell, Bee, Bella, Santissimo (with teasing undertones).

ALIAS. Benvolio.

BIRTH DATE. 8th of October, 1994.

BLOOD TYPE. AB-.

AGE. Twenty four.

ZODIAC. Libra sun, Scorpio moon, Pisces rising.

GENDER. Agender. He doesn’t speak much about this, however, as he was raised in a very traditional and conservative family.

PRONOUNS. He/him. Bellamy has a feeling he’d be more comfortable using “they/them,” however, since he fears possible reprimands, especially from his father, he only ever attends to these pronouns when around people he considers safe.

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION. Panromantic.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION. Demisexual.

NATIONALITY. Italian.

ETHNICITY. Spanish, Japanese, Indigenous Brazilian.

RELIGION. Roman Catholic, with some Zen Buddhist influences.

CURRENT LOCATION. Verona, Italy.

LIVING CONDITIONS. Bellamy lives in a comfortable but rather small apartment in the San Zeno neighborhood, close to the Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore.

AFFILIATION. The Montagues.

THREAT LEVEL. Moderate to high. Proceed with caution.

BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN. Verona, Italy.

SOCIAL CLASS. Upper class.

EDUCATION LEVEL. Law Bachelor (University of Verona), currently studying for a Master’s Degree, with a specialization for International Law (started in the University of Rome, will conclude it in the University of Verona). Has presented many international symposiums, for his extensive research in the field. Has a summer course in the Hague Academy of International Law and many academic honors tied to his name.

FATHER. Celestino Santo Domingo, another generation of the family raised for war. Often called the best torturer inside the Montague ranks, he has served Damiano and his name since he was only a teenager, and became known as Lo Sciacallo di Verona. The Santo Domingos also have a traditional vineyard  &  winery, to cover most of their shady dealings, and are well respected amongst the townsfolk.

MOTHER. Cordelia Asahi Santo Domingo, née Oliveira. Daughter from an immigrant family, ended up in the mob to try and pay off her parents’ debts. Cold and ruthless, was mostly known for being a strong tactician. 

SIBLING(S). None. Cordelia went through a second pregnancy when Bellamy was five to six years old, however, she ended up having a miscarriage. This was very hard on both of his parents, and was one of the reasons why Celestino hardened up his up-bringing of Bellamy.

BIRTH ORDER. Only child.

CHILDREN. None.

PET(S). A calico cat Bellamy himself rescued named Lucky. She is partially blind. 

OTHER IMPORTANT RELATIVES. Balthazar Santo Domingo (deceased) and Reyna Santo Domingo, née Salazar, grandparents from his father’s side. Francisco Oliveira and Ayumi Oliveira, née Yamamura, grandparents from his mother’s side. His father has at least three siblings, and Bellamy has plenty of cousins.

PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIPS. Bellamy has never dated, although his father did try to make him date one of his friends’ daughter. Other than that, he has maintained a clean record, although he has had some romantic encounters that never went much farther than a few dates.

ARRESTS? None, although he has both run from the police  &  rescued some of his friends from it quite a few times.

PRISON TIME? No.

OCCUPATION & INCOME

PRIMARY SOURCE OF INCOME. Montague soldier and bodyguard.

SECONDARY SOURCE OF INCOME. Research scholarship.

TERTIARY SOURCE(S) OF INCOME. Family funds, originated from the vineyard and winery, from which Bellamy takes a small percentage of. He saves them up and applies them as he sees fit. Bellamy also gathered some income from publishing articles.

SPENDING HABITS. Bellamy hardly ever spends his money on himself. He has very little physical belongings, excluding his books. He only splurges on his loved ones and, even then, he is more particular to meaningful gifts, no matter how small. 

SKILLS & ABILITIES

PHYSICAL STRENGTH. 8/10. Bellamy has been trained in martial arts since he was a child, and he is constantly exercising (it shows).

OFFENSE. 6/10. As much as he knows how to cause damage, this is merely a matter of preference, as Bellamy tries to avoid direct and immediate action, to not cause much harm to himself and others.

DEFENSE. 9/10. This, again, is the result of his ideological vision for peace. He much rather stay on the defensive, and he is good at being a shield.

SPEED. 7/10. He is a big guy, there’s only so much he can do. 

INTELLIGENCE. 8/10. Bellamy, albeit raised in a family of warriors of the best kind, also has a tactician as a mother, and was gifted with the soul of a philosopher. He has above average intelligence, can self-teach himself anything he puts his mind to, and is quick to analyze a situation.

ACCURACY. 7/10. His aim wavers, although not by lack of training. His father is very pushy with gun use, but Bellamy is not very fond of it, by the surprise of many. If he is forced to use a gun, he goes for non-fatal, but incapacitating, shots.

AGILITY. 8/10. His background as both a dancer (yeah, that’s a secret) and a martial arts connoisseur has provided Bellamy a lot of grace in his movements, and he has a good control over his body.

STAMINA. 9/10. Intense training since childhood does pay-off. He can go all night long, baby :eyes:. 

TEAMWORK. 7/10. I mean, listen. He can work well in groups, but people tend to underestimate him and the way he does stuff a lot, which can be quite annoying to Bellamy, especially if we’re talking life-threatening situations. As long as you trust his abilities, he can work well with you. 

LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN. Italian, Portuguese, Japanese (his first languages, proficiency), Spanish, French (mild proficiency), Latin, Classic Latin, Greek, German, Dutch (self-taught, he can understand and read, but not speak them very well).

DRIVING. He can ride both cars and motorcycles, having one of his own. He can manage to change tires and doing basic repairs, if needed be. His mother taught him how to jump start a car.

SWIMMING. Bellamy loves to swim, and it remains one of his favorite activities to this day.

PICK A LOCK. One of the first skills his father taught him.

FIGHTING. Judo, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Aikido.

SKILLS. Combat knives, stealth, negotiation, diplomacy, basic medic skills, knowledge of the law, parkour.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

FACE CLAIM. Marlon Teixeira.

EYE COLOR. Caramel.

HAIR COLOR. Brown.

HAIR TYPE/STYLE. Long hair, often messy. Bellamy doesn’t cut it often.

VOICE. Bellamy has a deep, comforting voice, best described as the perfect timbre for singing lullabies or reading poetry. He is a baritone.

GLASSES/CONTACTS? Bellamy uses reading glasses, as not to strain his eyesight. 

DOMINANT HAND. Naturally, it was his right hand. However, his father made him train both of them for combat and shooting purposes, so he is now ambidextrous. 

HEIGHT. 184cm or 6 feet.

BUILD. Athletic, with well-developed muscles, since he has been physically active since his childhood.

SKIN TONE. Bellamy has a healthy tan, which gives him a golden glow.

TATTOOS. He has one tattoo, and it is very well hidden on the side of his hips (yes, it’s a secret. yes, it’s thexy).

PIERCINGS. None.

MARKS/SCARS. Bellamy’s whole body is covered in scars, both big and small, from strenuous training, abuse, and self-harm. 

USUAL EXPRESSION. Bellamy is often serious, but he can easily soften up his expression as soon as someone searches for an emotional response from him. He smiles easily, although these are not his most honest expressions.

CLOTHING STYLE. Bellamy has a very simple and modest style, with functionality being the key element. His wardrobe is filled with neutral colors.

JEWELRY. He wear a ring his grandmother gifted him at all times, but in a necklace. Bellamy also always carries his grandfather’s rosary with him.

PERFUME. He doesn’t use any, but his shampoo smells strongly of vanilla and strawberries.

DIET. Bellamy tends to skip some meals, as he often doesn’t take care of himself very well. His diet, however, is very healthy and balanced. He avoids red meat, often eating only fish. He does have a big sweet tooth, but he is pretty good at controlling himself.

PHYSICAL AILMENTS. None, but he has a slight bone malformation on his left hand that has been corrected with surgery.

PSYCHOLOGY

JUNG. INFJ, the Advocate (Ni - Fe - Ti - Se).

ENNEAGRAM. 9w1, the Negotiator. Tritype: 925. 

MORAL ALIGNMENT. Neutral good.

ARCHETYPE. The Caregiver.

TEMPERAMENT. Melancholic.

ELEMENT. Earth/water.

PRIMARY INTELLIGENCES. Verbal-linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal.

VICE. Envy.

VIRTUE. Temperance.

APPROXIMATE IQ. 124.

MENTAL CONDITIONS. Chronic depression, insomnia.

SOCIABILITY. Bellamy is very approachable and is also a great listener. He won’t often start interactions, but he knows how to navigate through people and the way to get to their hearts.

EMOTIONAL STABILITY. Moderate to low. Bellamy is way too good at repressing his own emotions, but this often leaves him spiraling after some months.

ADDICTION(S). He isn’t the type of person to be easily rendered by addictions of any kind, as he tends to be very careful with most things. Bellamy smokes, but even then, his packs of cigarettes often take months to finish.

DRUG USE. Bellamy uses sleeping pills with some frequency, and he is now taking Fae’s Blood as well, in order to fight his smothering feelings of depression and hopelessness. 

ALCOHOL USE. Bellamy does not drink often, as he has a very low alcohol tolerance. He only drinks alone in his apartment, while reading a book and getting ready for bed, or in the company of people he really trusts.

PRONE TO VIOLENCE? No. Bellamy opts for violence as a last resort, although he does have certain berserk buttons that can make him act differently.

MANNERISMS

SPEECH STYLE. Bellamy is very careful with his words, weighing them in before anything rash can come out of his mouth. He is never loud, and tends to approach most conversations with a persuasive tone to it, often offering a compromise to easily gain over others. He is very empathetic in handling information people offer him.

QUIRKS. Drinks tea after every meal. Can only sleep well if he has someone by his side (when he doesn’t, he hugs a plush bear he got as a gift many years ago). Has extremely quick reflexes and doesn’t take very well to sudden and abrupt approaches.

HOBBIES. Reading, swimming, painting, horseback riding, cooking, chess, gymnastics, running, learning new languages, going to museums and art galleries, dancing.

HABITS. Goes to church at least three times per week, although he often doesn’t attend masses anymore. Doing stretches and yoga once he wakes up and before bed. Drinking tea after every meal. 

NERVOUS TICKS. Bellamy has trained himself to become unreadable, but he still messes around with his hair, depending of the situation at hand.

DRIVES/MOTIVATIONS. To keep his loved ones safe and protected.

FEARS. Being worthless, unloved and abandoned. Seeing his loved ones die or get harmed. Failing to meet up his family’s expectations and subsequently disappointing them.

POSITIVE TRAITS. Wise, protective, loyal, diligent, nurturing, humble, just.

NEGATIVE TRAITS. Self-sacrificing, insecure, passive, repressed, can have sudden outbursts of emotion, hypocritical, self-destructive.

SENSE OF HUMOR. Bellamy doesn’t often cracks up with laughter, and he is not one for sarcasm, either. He has a subtle sense of humor, you could say, and he only lets himself go and enjoy some fun when feeling absolutely safe.

DO THEY CURSE OFTEN? Not at all. Bellamy is very polished in his speech, and he is a wordsmith of sorts. He will hardly ever curse.

FAVORITES

ACTIVITY. Horseback riding.

ANIMAL. All of them. Bellamy is just a big animal lover.

BEVERAGE. Red or rosé wine.

BOOK. Persuasion, by Jane Austen.

CELEBRITY. Bellamy knows absolutely nothing about celebrities, and I mean nothing.

COLOR. Regarding clothing, Bellamy prefers neutral tones (white, grays, and browns, especially). In general, soft orange is his pick.-

DESIGNER. He is a thrift shopper! No money to expend on futile things, especially for himself!

FOOD. Sukiyaki.

FLOWER. Sunflowers.

GEM. Moonstone.

HOLIDAY. Easter.

MOVIE. Princess Mononoke.

MUSICAL ARTIST. Chopin.

SCENT. Spices, herbs, natural scents in general.

SPORT. Fencing.

WEATHER. Soft rain in a warm day.

[allthebluepens]

EU study tips

BEFORE YOU START STUDYING

Plan

1. You have to be clear about how you are going to use the time. The first thing is to plan and decide what you are going to learn and how much time you are going to spend.

2. You should study as much as you need without leaving a subject or problem half-way through, so that you can study a different subject. Otherwise, what you learn will be so confusing that it will be the same as not having studied at all.

3. Make a list of all the activities you will do that afternoon. It's a good idea to have a daily study schedule, but one that is realistic, given your abilities.

4. Arrange the activities. Which one should you start with? Some experts advise starting with what is easiest for you, to encourage you to keep studying. Others say it's better to start with the difficult subjects, and get them out of the way as soon as possible. You choose, based on your own experience.

5. The schedule should be flexible and prepared for the unexpected. It will help you not to accumulate backlogs.

6. Don't forget to include time for rest and leisure in your schedule.

NOTES

Take note of what matters

7. When taking notes, try to listen to everything the teacher says.

8. Stand close, as you will be in a better position to see and hear.

9. You should pay close attention at the beginning of the class. This is the moment when the teacher gives a general idea of the subject.

10. Adopt a good posture in the chair. It will make it easier for you to attend and therefore understand the class.

11. While you are taking notes, you should discover which ideas are main, secondary or anecdotal.

12. If the teacher says something is very important, highlight it. It's very possible that you'll fail the exam.

13. Leave space or margin for later notes.

14. If there is something in the explanation that you didn't catch, leave a space to complete it at the end of the class.

IN FORM

Mens sana in corpore sano

15. To study well, it is as important to be in good physical condition as it is psychic.

16. A balanced diet is recommended, rich in phosphorus, calcium and vitamins: vegetables, fish, milk, eggs and fruits. Remember that food is your gasoline.

17. Do not overdo it with copious meals. A heavy stomach will prevent you from studying.

18. It is advisable to eat small amounts, but several times a day.

19. Sleep between 7 and 9 hours. Rest is essential to study.

20. If you are one of those who are stressed and want to guarantee a peaceful sleep, take a warm bath before dinner or bed.

21. Deep breathing exercises are also relaxing.

22. Regular physical exercise is another good practice against stress.

23. Stimulants should not be taken for study purposes. Caffeine-rich drinks, such as coffee or cola, can make you nervous and have the opposite effect to what you want.

THE SCHEDULE

Get organized!

24. Get used to having a fixed study schedule.

25. Take 5-10 minute breaks every hour.

26. It is recommended to study from Monday to Saturday from 2 to 3 hours a day.

27. Manage your study time well. Time is difficult to control and is easily wasted on unproductive and aimless tasks.

28. Use Sundays for leisure and hobbies.

29. Don't leave studying to the last minute. Haste does not help learning. Start preparing for the exams from the beginning of the course.

PLACE OF STUDY

Everything in its place

30. Always study in the same room. It will help you concentrate.

31. The study place should be airy and well ventilated.

32. There has to be an adequate temperature. Not too cold, not too hot.

33. Study in a room without noise. In any case, soft music.

34. Make sure there are no distractions such as television, radio, games, cell phone or table decorations.

35. The work table should have all the necessary material for study.

36. The light should preferably be natural, if not white or blue. It should come from the side opposite to the hand with which you write.

37. It is advisable to use a light bulb with a blue 60W bulb. In the rest of the room a dim light.

38. The table and chair should be in line with your height.

39. The chair should be comfortable, but not too comfortable and with a backrest.

40. The trunk should be stretched out and the back should be supported by the back of the chair.

41. You should be about 30 centimeters from your notes or study book.

THE TIME OF STUDY

It's time to study

42. It's important to be determined when it comes to studying. You have to be aware that it is a job that has to be done and it is better to do it with desire and joy.

43. First look at the lesson.

41. Separate the parts that make up the topic.

44. Look at the drawings and graphics.

45. Try to relate that topic to previously acquired knowledge.

46. Make an initial synthesis of the topic.

UNDERLINED

Highlight what's important

47. Try to understand the subject before you start to underline.

48. The underlining is a critical selection. You must highlight the main ideas.

49. Underlining must make complete sense.

50. Underline the main ideas with red or double line.

51. Underline with blue or single line the secondary ideas, examples and data.

52. It is not advisable to use more than two colors.

53. A vertical line in the margin means that the whole paragraph is marked.

54. Other signs that you can use are rounding, for numbering or classification; box, for statements, name or key dates; question mark, when there are indications of error; exclamation mark, to check a statement; period, when you have to complete other readings

55. It is advisable to underline between 25 and 30% of the text.

DIAGRAM

Organize the ideas

56. Arrange in a logical way the main and secondary ideas underlined.

57. Classify them according to your criteria.

58. Use your own words. It will be easier to memorize later.

59. First of all, be brief, short, precise and clear sentences.

60. Try to say everything important in the least amount of space possible.

61. The outline should have a clean presentation.

62. You can use the symbol of the arrows as a link

63. You must make a title that summarizes the content.

64. Divide the subject into three or four sections that collect several main ideas and that hang the secondary ones.

65. Leave spaces in the margins for later notes.

66. Use the same indent for the same sections.

67. There are several kinds of diagrams: numerical (number only), mixed (Roman numerals, upper and lower case letters, numbers...) and the synoptic table (of graphs or keys).

68. Use the synoptic table for dates, names, quantities...

SUMMARY

Keep it short

69. This is usually done after the underlining and study of the subject.

70. It should be done by trying not to look at the notes.

71. It should be brief but with all the main ideas.

72. Then you must read it carefully with the original text to complete what is missing.

REVIEW

Ensures that what is learned

73. It consists in mentally repeating the main ideas of the underlining or outline.

74. This should be done with the books closed and notes put aside.

75. It should be checked with the notes.

76. This step must be repeated until the outline is memorized and you are sure that you know the subject.

77. It is recommended to carry out all the good practices that we have commented on. Last-minute binges do not work. You must use your memory in the days before the exam, mainly to memorize the schemes.

REST

Recharge batteries

78. When it's time to rest, leave the room where you study. Relax, eat something, talk to someone, take a walk, or do anything else that is not related to studying. In this way, you will avoid mental fatigue.

EXAM

The moment of truth

79. It is important to go in good physical and mental condition.

80. Get a good night's rest. Get at least six hours of sleep.

81. Go with all the necessary material.

82. Before the exam, take a few minutes to relax: take a deep breath, close your eyes... It will help you control the natural nerves at the beginning of the exam.

83. Always listen to your teacher's instructions before and during the exam. They are important.

84. Take an overview of the exam to organize your time.

85. Spread out your time and questions.

86. If you see a question you don't know, don't be nervous. Save it for last.

86. Ask the questions you know best first.

87. It is important to take into account what kind of exam you are going to have (development, test type...) and what the teacher wants (conciseness, clarity...)

89. Read the questions carefully to find out exactly what they ask.

90. Remember to highlight in your exam what the teacher has highlighted in class.

91. Answer the question. Don't leave by the hills of Úbeda.

92. To do developmental exams: outline the points you want to cover on a separate sheet of paper.

93. Don't answer like a telegram, and don't roll up too much.

94. Review the entire test before handing it in, noting spelling mistakes, omissions, essays. It is just as important to know as it is to look like you know, and teachers take this into account when scoring.

95. Check the back for more questions. You wouldn't be the first one who, in a hurry and nervous, leaves a question he knows unanswered, simply because he hasn't seen it.

96. Take care of the cleanliness, the handwriting and the presentation. It is essential that the teacher understands you.

WHAT IF, AFTER ALL, I FAIL?

98. Don't worry, you can learn from your failures too. Reflect and try to find the reasons why it happened.

99. If it was your nerves that played a trick on you, you know, practice relaxation techniques and put away the exciting drinks.

100. If the reason for your failure was that you didn't study enough or in the right way, plan better and start studying now for your next exams. Take into account what you failed at, so that you don't fail again, and use these tips when you get lost.

[strad-214]

Saturday, 06/13/2020 Teaching/Learning:

“There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge.”

-- The Jedi Code

“A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.”

-- Master Yoda, Star Wars Episode V, Empire Strikes Back

 On this subject, in general, I can say with confidence that I am somewhat of a proficient. I am currently attending college in the efforts of becoming a music teacher. It’s been a very long and difficult journey for me, full of self doubt, wandering thoughts and disassociation, with my fiancée sometimes being my only comfort and relief for many years. But now, my goals are on the horizon, I stand firm in my beliefs, and when I look behind me at the journey it took to get here, I marvel at my progress and am proud… despite the sub-par attitudes concerning my progress by my fellow teacher candidates. I am reminded of the Legends story of Obi-Wan leaving the Jedi Order and returning to the Jedi Order. The novels of the Jedi Apprentice Series, written by Jude Watson, describe the stories of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s partnership, rocky as it is, and the difficulties that Obi-Wan had with overcoming his shadows to become a Jedi Knight. Obi-Wan and I share that altered rout kind of path on our careers, our mentors taking extreme pride in our progress simply because it was our progress, and yet our peers believed we could do better, be better, and should change our routs. And yet, those who are most important to our success believe we are models of our fields… something that makes me want to cry whenever a professor expresses that view to me, just because I have suffered so much at my own hands and have come so far… But enough of my self-promotion, let’s talk about a Jedi’s Education.

First, it would be prudent to discuss some finer points of education as a whole: the highest level of learning, according to Bloom’s Taxonomy, is “Creation”. We as people learn best by sitting down and doing things, not by memorizing information out of context and repeating that information back. George Lucas—a savant of the education field himself, believe it or not— once described the best way to learn how to make a shoe. If you were a shoe maker’s apprentice, your master would give you the materials necessary to make the shoe, and send you to the corner of the shop to attempt to make one. You will fail, dozens of times, but, with every failure, you learn more and more how to not make a shoe. In doing so, you inadvertently become an expert on what it doesn’t take to make a shoe; therefore, every time you do make a shoe, the shoes you craft will be perfect. It is up to the master to take the results of your labors and criticize it so you can learn what you did wrong, what changes you need to make, show you how to make those changes, and give you more time and resources to try again. This is the perfect learning environment, because, by jumping to the creation level, you must already apply all the other levels: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, and Evaluating, in that order from the bottom up. You need to remember the instructions you were given and all the other roadblocks you have arrived at already, you need to understand what those instructions are supposed to mean at this juncture and why those various roadblocks occurred, you need to apply what you already know to make progress based off of those instructions and those other failures, you need to analyze your progress based off of your previous attempts to make adjustments, then evaluate your work based off of that analysis, and now you have created a shoe. This hierarchy is the same model basically used by every master-apprentice pairing throughout known history, and can be applied to a classroom as well if the teacher constructs their lessons properly… but we won’t get into that here, I could easily write 5 pages on that alone. Let’s just focus on master-apprentice situations, since that is the majority of the instances we get in Star Wars. I will be most exclusively drawing on my personal experiences as a teacher in training and The Jedi Path.

According to The Jedi Path, Youngling Initiates are organized into Clans that act as their families. These Clans all have similar personalities and ambitions. They attend classes together and learn from each other as they go. The morning classes are for studies of the Force, followed by politics and history, and finally physical training in the afternoon. On top of this, they must meditate at least five times a day on the subjects they have been studying. I would’ve swapped the morning instruction for the afternoon instruction—the Force in the afternoon and the physical exercise in the morning—due to the fact that we all tend to crash in the afternoon. But, perhaps this is to build that impossible endurance that Jedi seem to have. And studies on the Force and its application are very important for the Jedi; perhaps doing those studies in the morning is more affective since this is when we tend to be more motivated to work (once awoken properly). The many facets of the Force that they study will go into my next essay: The Force, which happens to be the first of three pillars of learning the Jedi classify their education by.

This model of learning is similarly based off of a secondary school system: multiple classes scheduled at specific times of day and independent study hours to be pursued on the students’ time. Applying this kind of system to students so young will immediately instill an early sense of responsibility and self investment in the disciplines being delivered. They will have been rushing to get where they go on time since they can remember, they have been independently pursuing their fields of study outside the classroom for long periods of time, multiple times a day since they can remember. This isn’t the worst way to instill a deep root of responsibility and desire to grow early on, so long as the classes are long, varied in instruction, and the students don’t have to change the classes too many times. If the classes are too short, constantly changing rooms and teachers—say, every 30 minutes or so like in High School— and are static in the lesson delivery methods, there will be a drastic loss of information. In our public school system in America, students need consistency in their routines to retain knowledge, which is part of the reason why we don’t consistently change classrooms until later years. At this age range, 3 years to 12 years, we stay in the same classroom for the majority of our day, save for meal times, recess, and extracurricular activities such as gym, art, and music. That’s four different class changes provided you only have one extracurricular class a day. According to the Jedi Order model, there are only three classes and five independent study sessions. Those three classes are all required and the students are expected to meditate on their own time at least 5 times a day. Let’s assume that the three classes do not add up to the amount of time as a 6-7 hour school day, that would be ludicrous, even by Jedi standards. Let’s say more or less, that the classes are about an hour and a half long each, with time in between for meditation, studying, and food. There would be plenty of time throughout the day to get done all that an Initiate would need to get done: Meditation, study, and calisthenics including lightsaber practice. This also provides a variety in activities that will keep the Initiates engaged and focused. Speaking of the latter, a Jedi Initiate only practices the First Form of lightsaber combat, the Shi-Cho or the way of the Sarlacc. This is the most basic of swordplay that the Jedi practice, a foundation upon which all the other forms are taught. As a musician in training, nobody understands having foundations better than I. If you can’t play a simple major scale on your instrument, you can’t hope to perform a whole concerto—a major solo work written specifically for a proficient to show off their expertise. Similarly, if you can’t parry a simple horizontal slice, you can’t possibly practice Form II, Makashi or Form III, Soresu, the first of which focuses exclusively on saber to saber combat and the second of which is a form meant for defense against multiple enemies or to fend off an aggressive attacker until an opening is discovered. Being an Initiate is all about the basics, so let’s now talk about the advanced methods: being a Padawan.

After an Initiate passes their Initiate Trials, showing that they have their basic understanding of Jedi discipline, a Knight will select an Initiate to take as a Padawan Learner. Their apprenticeship will be more like the one of the shoe makers I described earlier. The Knight will provide instruction and exercises for their Padawan to practice on their own time. The Padawan will practice, demonstrate what they have learned, and the Master will provide feedback for the Padawan to analyze and evaluate their own progress with. They will also practice techniques in applying the Force and saber cadences together, so the Padawan can get used to training at an advanced level and learn about how a Knight trains. The Padawan will also go on missions with their Master and watch how they take their role as a Peacekeeper in the Galaxy. Learning by example is one of the best ways a student can perceive what their end goals should be for their own progress. Eventually, once a Padawan has gained enough mastery of their skills, their Master will take them to Ilum to create their own lightsaber (as mentioned in my previous essay, and according to original canon). At this point, the Padawan will have learned all the skills they need to learn and must now focus on refinement. The Padawan  will be taking more lead in missions, acting as an equal to their Master as opposed to just their student, and showing true Mastery of all the abilities a Jedi should have: diplomacy, swordplay, applying the Force to themselves and to the world around them, true compassion, and inner peace. It is at this point that the Padawan is put through the ultimate gauntlet: The Trials, of which there are five, each just as important as the last. First, The Trial of Skill: this is not necessarily a test of mastery, for Jedi never really considers themselves true masters of anything, but it is a test of Control; control over their abilities to use their lightsaber, to apply the Force, and to withstand calisthenics. Next, The Trial of Courage: there are many times a Jedi will face odds that even a full fledged army would be doomed to fail at. It is not that a Jedi must overcome these impossible odds, but that a Jedi must not waver before them, and that their fortitude stand firm in the face of them. The Trial of Insight: a Jedi must be able to see beyond the many illusions the Force can provide, and even the illusions of diplomacy and deception. The Trial of the Flesh: Jedi carry the whole Galaxy on their shoulders, a great burden to be sure. They must be able to withstand anything and keep moving, be it physical or emotional. And finally, The Trial of the Spirit, Facing the Mirror: The Force is always with a Jedi… the whole Force, the Light and the Dark. There will be many times a Jedi must face their faults, their inner most desires, even be human enough to hate and become frustrated. But when brokering a peace treaty that could lead to war if handled poorly, prejudice must be set aside, fear must be extinguished, doubt must never come to mind; these are the paths to the Dark Side. The Dark Side is always with them, like a shadow they cast as they stand basking in the light. You see, despite all their training, Jedi are just as imperfect as the rest of us, and because of all that training, that fact is difficult to see, yet it is nonetheless true. A Jedi must accept themselves for who they are, all the good and the bad, and admit that they will never grasp true understanding of the Galaxy until they are one with the Force. Once they do, they have all that they need to be a Jedi Knight.

You see, a Jedi Knight—or even a Jedi Master—need not be the most skilled with a blade, the best diplomat ever known, or be strong enough in the Force to move an entire planet. They simply need to have total control, be courageous, mindful, enduring, and they need to know themselves, just like Obi-Wan, a man who left the Jedi Order, defied the powers at be at many junctures, and often failed in the face of his tasks and yet, is considered to be a model Jedi… This is just like me. I was never the best trumpet player… or the most tasteful person ever. I’ve been a snot, a downright brat, most of my childhood, using that as my shield against my bullies and often turning that shield into a weapon on the people who actually cared for me. I often didn’t know the difference… no, I wouldn’t see the difference. The problem was, the other trumpet players in my high school days were so bad at playing that I was the best… but as soon as I went up against somebody who had real drive and conviction, I was abysmal. So, I never knew where to turn or what to do. Take all that into account and add that I lost my music program and my teacher like many other schools did at that time… I was full of hate and I held a grudge against many people for a very long time. I fought it, with all that anger, and the result was I lost all my face at that school and the new Band Director—who I can say with confidence and clarity, really was a pretty bad teacher—took away all my standing in the music program. When I graduated and left my broken program behind, I wandered around a county college for four years, trying to find somebody who understood, trying to make some real progress on myself and on my skills as a musician. I was really, truly lost. I didn’t want to be so angry, I wanted to be better, I wanted to grow but I just didn’t know how. By then, another far better Band Director took over my school’s Band Program and I finally went to him for help… boy did he kick my ass. I thank him every day for it. He showed me just how pointless being so upset was, that if I really cared so much about the music programs of the future, I needed to stop dwelling on all that I grieve for and simply do something about it… and I really did start to become a good trumpet player. I finally got to the four year school I wanted to go to, I saw that meeting your idols isn’t always a good ideas, I stood firm against the tides that would’ve ripped a younger me apart, and, most importantly I joined a music fraternity full of wholesome gentlemen— who are not the best musicians I have ever met, but are very upstanding, compassionate men— that taught me good principals of neighborhood, humility, and charity… all my anger and rage melted away… I saw myself for who I really was, I saw my drive and my desires, I saw all that had happened to get this far, and for the first time in my life, I was alright with all that… I faced the Mirror… I’ve been going to college for a total of eight years, next year will be my ninth and final year. After I graduate, I will be a certified K-12 Music Teacher, like I’ve always wanted to be. Just as despite all his failures and setbacks, Obi-Wan was able to ascend to a height of Jedi standards the likes of which many Masters have never achieved, just because of his perseverance alone and his ability to admit his faults, embrace them, and keep going.

Scene: Star Wars, Clone Wars, Season 5, Episode 15: “Shades of Reason”, Maul murders Duchess Satine

Obi-Wan: “You can kill me, but you can never destroy me. It takes strength to resist the Dark Side, only the weak embrace it!”

Maul: “It is more powerful than you know—“

Obi-Wan: “—and those who oppose it are more powerful than you’ll ever be!”

 I hope you gained something from this. Enjoy the rest of Jedi June.

May the Force be with you.

@jedijune

[starlingsrps]

leo kelly character dev.

BASIC INFORMATION

full name: leonard harris kelly

reasoning: nope. none at all. he wishes.

nickname(s): leo and you should really only ever call him leo

preferred name(s): leo

birth date: september 2

age: thirty

gender: male

pronouns: he/his

romantic/sexual orientation: heterosexual

nationality: american

ethnicity: caucasian

current location: los angeles, ca

living conditions: look, he's got an obscenely large whiteboard and a bed. the rest is willa's call.

BACKGROUND

birth place: boston, ma

hometown: marblehead, ma

places lived: cambridge, ma; houston, tx; los angeles, ca

social class: upper middle

education level: degrees in astrophysics from MIT; post-grad research at NASA; currently fourth year phd student at caltech in astrophysics

father: martin kelly

mother: elise kelly

sibling(s): charlie, 28; emma, 25

birth order: oldest

children: no; not violently opposed to the idea but also not super anxious for it to happen. he can wait.

pet(s): nah

other important relatives: legions of cousins on both sides

current relationship: just moved in with willa james so it's going great.

OCCUPATION & INCOME

primary source of income: student stipends

secondary source of income: research

content with their job (or lack there of)?: it’s pretty great, as long as he doesn't think about the student loan payments when this is all over.

past job(s): he's taught and he's researched. he has not done much else. like he bussed tables at the yacht club in high school?

spending habits: god, the budget spreadsheet. it lives on google docs and he does look at it while out sometimes.

most valuable possession: all in his noggin but mostly his external hard drive.

SKILLS & ABILITIES

physical strength: decent.

defense: he’s just going to walk away

speed: fast

intelligence: disgusting. he skipped a year and a half of h high school, does the sunday new york times crossword in pen, and has done extensive work at nasa but still cannot be left unsupervised when he's high because he will let a squirrel in the apartment to hang out.

accuracy: dead on but the rat bastard knows how to use physics to his advantage.

agility: nimble af

stamina: boundless

teamwork: bossy. very bossy.

talents: teaching, vision, and spatial reasoning. he fit all of his belongings in a hatchback to move in with willa.

shortcomings: when he's dumb, he's real dumb.

language(s) spoken: english, some mandarin he picked up from his roommate at MIT

drive?: yes and prefers it to most things, even in la. plenty of time to think and listen to podcasts and think.

jump-star a car?: yep

change a flat tire?: yep

ride a bicycle?: yep

swim?: yep

play an instrument?: nope

play chess?: yes but he hates it

braid hair?: nope

tie a tie?: yep

pick a lock?: yep

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

face claim: grant gustin

eye color: brown

hair color: blue

hair type/style: short, longish on top.

glasses/contacts?: glasses 75% of the time, contacts the 25% of the time he feels like it

dominant hand: right

height: 6'0

build: just a bean pole man

exercise habits: pushups help him think and also keep him awake.

skin tone: fair

tattoos: nah

piercings: nope

distinguishing features: he's very limb-y in general and has pretty eyes

usual expression: neutral

clothing style: he's a basic bitch - sweater, jeans, t-shirt. do not make him think any harder than that. he would 100% let willa dress him tbh.

allergies: wicked seasonal allergies

diet: nothing super out of the ordinary but he does skip meals pretty frequently if he's working on something that needs his full attention.

physical ailments: —

PSYCHOLOGY

enneagram type: 5 - the investigator

moral alignment: lawful neutral

temperament: melancholy

mbti: intp

mental conditions/disorders: little stressy, little depressy.

sociability: introvert

emotional stability: p steady

phobia(s): unexplained explosions, drowning

addiction(s): nah

drug use: if leo wants to drive out to joshua tree to get high and camp at every midterm and end of semester, that is his business.

alcohol use: eh, sure.

prone to violence?: nope.

MANNERISMS

speech style: nothing he'd consider extraordinary

accent: nope.

hobbies: reading, puzzles, walking

habits: he has a lot of routines just to make things more efficient but it's all so boring.

nervous ticks: cracking his neck

drives/motivations: professional success, personal satisfaction

fears: mostly drowning

positive traits: confident, analytical, enthusiastic, brilliant, honest.

negative traits: brutally honest, absent-minded, imposter syndrome, prone to dropping horrifying facts about the universe in casual conversation.

sense of humor: dry

do they curse often?: oh yeah

FAVORITES

activity: problem solving and hiking

animal: dogs

beverage: leo is aware of what all of this red bull is doing to his organs. he doesn't really care.

book: pretty much any mystery.

color: red

designer: what does willa think he should wear because he just bought a four pack of hanes t-shirts at target and doesn't know

food: can he eat it while walking? cool give it to him.

flower: he enjoys plants

gem: eh?

holiday: the fourth of july - the kellys are the kind of white people who go to the cape every year for the fourth and he'll haul ass back from california for it without question.

mode of transportation: walking but la is terrible for it so he'll drive HE GUESSES.

movie: disaster movies. all of them. the worse the better. the more tenuous the logic surrounding the physics the better.

musical artist: elton john

song: if he says "rocketman", you'll assume he's being sarcastic but he is not.

scenery: the desert at night. STARS.

scent: sea air and willa.

television show: the x-files

weather: summertime - he's a lizard and soaks up heat and sun.

vacation destination: the cape and joshua tree.

ATTITUDES

greatest dream: he's really hoping to go to work for nasa once he has his phd in hand, as far as professional dreams go. personally, he's plotting out a proposal to willa.

greatest fear: open water

most at ease when: problem solving and sitting quietly..

least at ease when: leo is confident in a way that he is seldom not at ease in any situation. i hate him.

biggest achievement: he has a good reputation in his field and is well respected but he has also perfected the art of the grilled cheese.

biggest regret: nah.

top priorities: willa, career.