#it always feels insanely egotistic to think like this but I just got a text... girls help me

[lonesomedotmp3]

is anyone else scared but I'm really deadly serious this time. I've been getting vibes from my only straight male friend lately like I thought we were becoming closer friends but sometimes it's like there might be something going on??? and well sometimes I get scared. is anyone else scared.

[colbyflask]

what i am doing here

listen - or actually read because you most likely aren't listening to this. if you are listening to this, why are you using text to speech?? or am I reading this out loud in the future? is there an AI out there mimicking my voice, impersonating my likeness to make an insane amount of profit? does this mean I finally got to blow up (not in the exploding sense), and act like I don't know anybody?

this little project is more like an exercise - I've been wanting to write for a long time. but not serious writing (at least not yet) - the last time I wrote something was exactly a year ago and that was a research paper for my last grade in undergrad (I got an A, like it matters). The process was terrible. Like most of my assignments, I held off for as long as I could and panic wrote in the hours leading up to the deadline. I missed those deadlines, asked for extensions, and used the pure fury of that panic to drive the assignment to completion. I pulled all-nighters, consuming terrible coffee which made me feel worse than it tasted. I couldn't feel my legs, and my head would be pounding. I ached for sleep, but my academic writing process forbid it. While my writing usually got me the grade I wanted, I wasn't satisfied with the product I produced. I always felt like I could've done more, that my arguments were weak, like I didn't know enough to put words on the page. Despite the fact that I formulated the words after hours of research and calculated planning, it wasn't enough. I felt as if I could've been doing so much more, but I just couldn't execute it. There was no joy in the process of seeking knowledge and repurposing what I'd learned, and I began to care less and less about the topics at hand. And when most of your assignments are related your interests in your chosen specialty, let's just say the process of writing becomes even more grueling. the vicious cycle continued, and I only managed to escape by removing myself from that academic environment. I won't lie to you - I want to go back someday, but I can't do it the way I did before. I really don't think I'll make it out - so I guess this project/idea is way for me rebuild before I go back. Maybe something else will come out of it, or maybe everything will be exactly the same. I can't really say .

Writing is something that I used to enjoy - crafting little non-sensical stories that were the result of either weird dreams I had or ideas that came to me after reading a book that I loved. I never got into that whole fan fiction thing (I didn't have time and I was absolutely the type that didn't want to read something if it didn't come from the "original creator." I like to think that I've grown out of that mindset a bit, but I have yet to really read any kind of fan-fiction). I've wanted to practice writing for a while, going beyond the artificial research papers or timed assignments. I don't think I've written anything fun since the fourth grade (unless you count my dumbass tweets), and I've really lacked that kind of inspiration. I wouldn't even know where to start - what even is a writing process??? Here's what I do know - I use WAYYY too many hyphens (I had a professor call me out on it once). I enjoy using them. I like to think of my writing as listening to someone's thoughts, and the hyphens are another way to convey a pause. I also know that me and writing have had a rough relationship over the past few years, which is heartbreaking because I feel like I had the potential to be a phenomenal writer. That likely sounds egotistical, and you know what? It is. If I don't say it, who will? If I don't believe that I have the potential, why should anyone else? So there it is. I want to write, and I want to be good at it. That's why I'm here. But I can't improve my writing if I don't practice, so that's why I'm here. I'm going to write about what I want to write about, and I want to share what's going on in my brain. I want to do it on my own terms. Will people read this? Again - I can't really say. If you are reading this (because I wrote a lot - sorry), thank you. My goals here are to make this an interesting experience - I want it to be entertaining, but also insightful. I don't want you to feel like you just wasted five minutes reading gibberish. I hope you (and me) will stick along for the ride.

Something I've wanted to do for a while is write about the music I like. Like musical reviews. I have absolutely no qualifications - I just want to write about what I enjoy (or not enjoy), and I want to share that with the world. I spend a lot of my time listening to music, but it'll usually be the same thing on rotation until I feel comfortable to move on to something new. So I think that's where I'll start - writing about the music that I like and why I like it. I don't know how long it'll take me - I haven't decided if it'll be polished and proofread, or a jumbled mess (like this one). I haven't decided if it'll be one big post, or a conglomerate. And you know what? that's okay. I don't need to plan everything out. I just need to put something on the page (...or, text post in this case). So that's where we'll start - vivi vibing to vibrations (thx sofia for the name)

that's all I have for now. I'm not the most well-versed in this website, but I feel like I know enough to get me going. the rest will come. and on that note of rest, I need some.

'-V

may 5. 2023

[xoxo-teddybear]

Hey idk if I’ve asked for this before but can you do nsfw Bakugo x fem reader fic, where you do work studies with him. He’s obviously going to be a little older 3-6 years, and you two have know each other since you were kids and he’s always just been a little nicer to you and cared about you more than others, and when you are working with him you get hurt and he flips out. You’re really confused and your like “wtf why do you care this isn’t affecting your job” and he gets mad your not getting the hint that he cares about you in a “not friendly” way, he ends up tch’ing and just says frick it and confesses that he has feelings for you and you’re just like cool I reciprocate and he’s like “with”... it just gets frisky from there... Idk if this is like a thing you might be interested in writing about, but like it just an idea😃... Anyways I love your work please keep it up🥺(sorry for any grammatical errors I’m writing this at 2:30am)

What Took So Long? - Bakugou Katsuki

Bakugo x f!reader

Warnings: NSFW, f!receiving, mutual pining, angst, injury, fluff, cursing, all the good stuff

BAKUGOU”S MASTERLIST

Summary: you and Katsuki have been close friends for forever, how long is it gonna take to realize both your love is mutual?

Growing up, you and Katsuki got along really well. You knew him before he got his quirk so you got to see his non-egotistical self. You saw the him that was kind and caring and he always looked out for you, always took care of you, always was there for you. In your eyes, you thought he thought it was in a big brother kinda way. Oh how that changed once you both became teenagers.

You both made it into UA, of course at different times, but you still kept in touch. You guys hung out like, everyday! It was always wake up, FaceTime, go to school, text throughout the day, and meet and go to either your house or his. It was like there was nobody else in the world except you two.

Throughout the years, you developed a small crush on the blonde boy. What went from a small crush turned into love. To you, it was unreciprocated love. He was 3 years older than you! He had to have seen you as a little sister. It only made sense! When you came to that terribly incorrect realization, you pushed back your feelings. What you had with Katsuki was special! You’re friendship meant the world to you. It didn’t matter if you wanted more, what you had was already perfect, there was no way it could’ve gotten better than this.

—

This. These moments. These memories being made with Katsuki kept you sane. As you both cuddled up and watched a trashy reality tv show in your room on your computer, you both threw popcorn at the screen at the cringe scenes.

“BoooooOOOOO!!” You both said as you threw a handful of the buttery snack. You both laughed at the moment as you settled down again. With you both laying on each other, your head on his, while his own rested on your shoulder, you were sure both of you would get neck pains the next day.

“So,” Katsuki started up a conversation, “how’s your third year at UA?”

“Ugh, don’t get me started. Classes got crazy hard outta nowhere. BUT, lucky for me, I have a UA graduate to help me out!” You said while nudging his arm.

“No way teddy bear, you’re finishing that on your own. As a graduate, that means I don’t gotta deal with that bullshit anymore.” He said as he popped some pieces of the snack into his mouth. With that, you pouted. Something he noticed and thought was insanely adorable. He poked your plump lips and told you, “hey, I’m helping you by letting you do your work study at my agency. You’re very welcome for that.”

“Helping? Suuukkiiii, you barely let me go out and fight. How am I supposed to get experience and actually do my work study if I don’t...you know..WORK?” You whined out. Katsuki had always been avoiding this topic. Yeah, he let you get your credits by going to his agency, but he never let you do any real hero work other than paperwork. Don’t get me wrong, you loved hanging out with him as much as you could, but it was beginning to get boring not doing anything at the agency.

“Y/N, no. You’re getting enough experience. Paper work is a big part in the life of a Pro,” he argued.

“Yeah, well saving people and actually getting out there in the field is a bigger part in the life of a pro.” You rebuttled as you flopped down next to him. You looked at him with puppy eyes and he knew what was coming.

“No.”

“Pleaseee Suki!”

“No.”

“Pleaseee!!”

“Nope.”

“Sukiiiiiii!!” You whined while tugging at his arm. He sighed before answering.

“One job, WITH ME, and that’s all you get.” He said while staring at you with a stern look. You smiled and jumped in the air.

“YESSSS!!”

—

So now here you are, on job number whatever. You weren’t sure how many you’ve actually been on because ever since your first job with Katsuki was a huge success, he let you join him more and more. You were almost like a partner to him now, fighting crime together. Except this time...things went a little south.

As the villain struck you down mid air with his quirk, you fell to the ground with a now burned arm. Katsuki saw red. No fucking way. No way in HELL is he going to let some shit faced freak bring harm to his teddy bear, his world, his best friend, and the love of his life. Yup. Katsuki Bakugou fell for his best friend. But could you blame him? You knew him better than anyone else, you guys got along so well, you were absolutely gorgeous and he was sure he’d give his life for you. 100%. So when this scum bag thought he could try and ruin you, he saw red. Blasting him a thousand times over and once he was sure he was out cold, battered, bloodied, and bruised he ran to check on you.

You were sitting on the ground holding your left arm where the burn mark was. Your costume was tattered and your head felt like it was gonna blow. Katsuki came along and didn’t really help with that all too much.

“YOU FUCKING DUMBASS!” He screamed. Oh, the throbbing your head had only increased with his booming voice.

“You see?! This is exactly why I hate bringing you along! You’re always gonna get hurt!” He said as he picked you up off the ground to help you stand.

“Of course I’m gonna get hurt Dynamight, my job as a hero includes a little beating every now and then for the sake and safety of others!” You replied, raising your voice as well.

“You’re NOT a hero Y/N!” He said as he reached out for your arm.

“Yet! Not yet at least! But I will be!” You replied while pulling away from him. His eyes were shaken and it was clear he was mad. You pushing his buttons didn’t help soothe his anger either.

“NO YOU WONT. Y/N ITS SO OBVIOUS YOU’D MAKE A SHIT HERO! YOU ALREADY GOT HURT ON SUCH A SIMPLE JOB, DO YOU HONESTLY THINK ANYBODY WOULD BE WILLING TO DEPEND ON YOU FOR THEIR SAFETY?!?!?” Bakugou heard the words he said and he thought he was doing the right thing. Granted, he knew the delivery was bad, but his message was in there. He didn’t want Y/N to be hurt. If she died on the battle field, Katsuki wouldn’t know what to do with himself. Y/N can’t be a hero, for her safety and his sanity. He loved her too much to have to watch her take beating after beating. However, Y/N took it in a completely different way.

“Are you trying to say I can’t be a good hero?!” You asked filled with anger and hurt.

“Y/N,”

“It’s H/N, Dynamight. That’s the name you’ll address me as for when we’re on the job. That’s the name you’ll have to get used to because I will be a hero!” You exclaimed.

“You can’t be a hero Y/N! You’re gonna get hurt! You always get hurt! You’d be more of a burden on a mission instead of an advantage! So just stop trying ‘Cuz you’re never gonna make it!” He screamed at you. Is this what he really thought of you. That you were weak and wouldn’t be able to do jack shit? As your eyes began to water, you walked away from him in silence.

“Y/N...where are you going?” He asked you as he followed.

“Recovery girl. She’ll heal me up and I’ll be perfectly fine.” You simply stated.

“At least let me help you,” Bakugou said as he tried to reach out to you, but you only stepped away from him again, which made his heart hurt a little.

“Don’t touch me, Bakugou. I’ll be fine on my own.” You said.

“Bakugou? Who the fuck are you talking to teddy bear?” He said as he got all up in your face. You only rolled your eyes and stepped to the side. You used your quirk to get into the air and travel faster. In the dust, you left behind a confused and hurt Katsuki.

“Uhh....Okay! See you later for movie night!” He yelled out as he watched you fly off. You’d still show up, right? Yeah, you’d show. You always spent everyday together after school and work so it only made sense...right?

—

Well he was wrong. Really wrong. It’s been a week since you last spoke to him, the longest it’s ever been, and he was starting to get into a depressing cycle. Wake up, call Y/N. No reply. Get ready, spam her. No reply. Go to work, text Y/N throughout the day. No reply. Get out of work, go home, shower, eat dinner, do whatever while stalking your social media, go to bed, spam a little more, call twice more, and still. No reply. He misses his teddy bear.

Y/N doesn’t even go to her work study anymore. She’s been doing everything she could to avoid Bakugou, and he’s noticed it all too well. He still gave her the credits, he wanted her to pass of course, but he was also tempted to stop doing that just so she could show up and see him. Thankfully he didn’t.

Now here lies Bakugou Katsuki, watching a movie by himself again, hoping his crush and best friend would show up. But again, like every other night for the past week, she hasn’t shown. The end credits roll in and Bakugou sighs as he looks down, thinking back to all he said.

‘Y/N ITS SO OBVIOUS YOU’D MAKE A SHIT HERO! ... DO YOU HONESTLY THINK ANYBODY WOULD BE WILLING TO DEPEND ON YOU FOR THEIR SAFETY?! ... you’re never gonna make it!’

Bakugou flopped down onto his bed.

“Great idea Katsuki, tell your dream girl she won’t ever reach her goals. That’ll win her heart,” he sarcastically said aloud as he cringed at his own thoughts. Bakugou just let a few tears fall, before rolling over and going to bed. He had patrol in the morning, maybe it’ll get his mind off of Y/N.

—

Orrrr maybe not. Because here he was, Pro-hero Dynamight, following around his 18 year old crush as she walked home after getting some coffee from their favorite cafe. Should he have been on patrol keeping the city safe? Yes. But was he going to take this chance to talk to Y/N to fix this shit? Yes.

Once Y/N made it to her doorstep she heard a voice behind her.

“Glad you made it home safe..Maybe we could pick up on that trashy reality show now that we’re both here,” Katsuki said while trying to joke around. Y/N only rolled her eyes at the hero and attempted to put her key into the lock. Katsuki was quick to react though. He snatched her keys out of her hand before speaking again.

“Y/N please! I can’t live like this! I can’t live without you in my life. You’ve been absent for a week and it’s been driving me insane!” He said while holding onto your wrist.

“Katsuki, give me back my keys.” You calmly said.

“Y/N, just hear me out.” He also calmly said.

“And listen to you say what Katsuki?! That I’ll never be a hero? That even if I was I’d be a terrible one? That I should just give up and stop trying?! Don’t worry, I already have. So now, let me go-“ Bakugou shut you up with a kiss. You were shocked and froze up. He kissed you with such passion and you melted into it, closing your eyes and letting him hold you as he pleased. He speperated from you before speaking again.

“You are not a terrible hero. Y/N you’re one of the strongest people I know. If anything, you’d be a better hero than me...but if you got hurt, I don’t know what I would do.” He said looking down. You turned your head in confusion at his small confession.

“Katsuki?..”

“When you got hurt that day, I was livid. I almost killed that guy, just for scorching your arm. There are so many worse things that could happen to you when you do become a pro and the fact that I freaked out so bad over a little burn is insane! I just want you to be safe. I can’t let you risk your life when I need you hear with me the most...... I can’t let the girl of my dreams get hurt.” He said while placing his forehead on yours.

“When I become a hero, I’d be taking on an oath to put others before my own. And that’s what I choose to do. I’m gonna get banged up from time to time and I understand you’re worried about me, but you have to trust me when I saw I’ll always come back to you. I love you Katsuki.” With that, Bakugou slowly moved in to give you another kiss. This time, you kissed him back, letting your hands travel to his soft, golden hair as he pressed you up against the door.

You heard him unlock your door during the kiss, and as he separated he spoke.

“Let me show you just how much I love you Y/N.” He pushed open the door and continued to make out with you. Kicking the door to close it, he pushed you up against the wall. There he picked you up, and groped your ass, earning a moan from you. With your mouth open, he slipped his tongue in, tasting all of you. He walked to your bedroom, kicking open the door this time, and shutting it the same way as before. He dropped you onto the bed as you both giggled in excitement. You noticed something though. He was still in hero gear.

“Shouldnt you be on patrol, Dynamight?” You asked as he came up to kiss your neck and you pulled him in closer.

“Dynamight has something better to do right now, Teddy Bear. And you know what?” He asked while putting his face right infront of yours.

“Tell me what, hero.”

“That’s the exact name I want you screaming.” He smirked. He tore off his top and mask before taking off your own. He then attacked your breast. He pulled off your bra before taking a second to admire your perfect curves. He squeezed a mound in one hand before taking in the other one with his mouth, biting at your nipple. Leaving hickies all over your chest, he was proud to see the purple marks that now adorn your upper body. He pulled down your pants and kissed your inner thighs. Right at the center was his treat. He pulled at your panties and stuffed them in his pocket.

“Hey!” You said after you noticed what he did.

“My little souvenir. Don’t worry about it princess, I’ll buy you more.” He kissed up on your legs and saw your arousal glistening. He licked his lips as his ruby eyes dialated. He was excited. He took an experimental lick as you moaned at the feeling and he savored the sweet taste. He could help himself, he dove right in for more. As his tongue lapped up against your clit, you moaned out in pleasure.

“Mm...yess Suki! Oh fuck right there..” you said as you pulled on his hair. He smacked your thigh, receiving a yelp from you.

“That’s not my name, princess~” he smirked against your pussy. He stuck his tongue in you and you cried out even more.

“F-Fuck! Dynamight, pleasee...more!” He squeezed your ass in approval as your legs began to shake. He knew what was coming and used his fingers to rub against your bud.

“Fuck..cum for me princess, cum in my mouth and let your hero taste you.” He said as your squirted in his face and Bakugou suck your clit, collecting all your sweet nectar.

“What a good girl,” he said as he came up to kiss you, letting you taste yourself on his tongue.

“You ready for the main event?” He asked while giving you this cocky grin.

“Please..” you whined out.

“Please what, princess? You’re gonna need to be specific.” He knew what he was doing. He wanted you to beg. And you were going to do it.

“Mm..Please Dynamight! Please fuck me with your cock! Please fuck my pussy!” You begged. He smiled and smacked your ass.

“Good girl.” He said as he pulled down his hero slacks and stepped out of the material. Here he was, Pro-hero Dynamight and your now ex best friend completely stripped infront of you. His member hanging out with a hard erection and your eyes went wide at the length. He noticed this and tilted your chin up so your E/C diamonds could meet his eyes. “Don’t worry, it’ll fit,” he kindly said.

“Doubt it,” you sarcastically replied.

“Then we’ll make it fit, Princess.” You bit your lip in excitement. He pumped his cock a few times before placing the tip at your entrance. He rubbed his tip up and down you slit as he spoke.

“I’ve wanted this for so long princess, and now I’m finally gonna make you mine.” He said before he slammed in as you both cried out in ecstasy.

“Oh-oh my god..” you whimpered. He peppered your face in kisses to distract you from the pain. Once you adjusted to his size, you begged him to move.

“Please..more.”

With your permission, he began to thrust in and out of your heat, with hard, slow strokes. Both of you moaning as the sensation. The way he filled you up completely was euphoric. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, moaning into it as he picked up his pace a little more. You could hear his grunts and soft moans as he sped up, enjoying the way your pussy held him tight.

“Mm...Harder, Dynamight...F-Faster..please!” You whined. Katsuki listened, and he listened well. His strokes went deeper, his speed increased, and he fucked you harder than ever as he went up to your ear.

“Yeah...you want it harder?...deeper?....Mm fuck, faster princess? You like it rough? You like how Dynamight fucks your tight little cunt?” He asked while you cried out in pure pleasure.

“Y-yesss. Oh my god yes Dynamight. Fuck me just like this...ahhh!” Bakugou grabbed onto your ass with both his hands as he pummeled into you. You gripped his hair and he moaned at the feeling. He sucked on one of your tits as he looked at you. God, you were gorgeous. The blush that covered your face, you mouth hanging open with a slight smile as moans fall from it, and your eyes looking up like you’ve been fucked stupid.

“Oh..I’m gonna cum! Please, I’m gonna cum!” You moaned out.

“Not yet Teddy bear. Hold it,” he said as he gave your ass a hard smack and pulled out of you. You whined at the loss of his cock and looked at him with begging eyes.

“Turn around princess. I want you on all fours.” He simply said as he continued to pump his cock.” You moaned at the sight of it and smirked to yourself. He watched as you dragged your hand to your center and began playing with yourself.

“And if I don’t listen?” You smiled as you moaned at the way your fingers rubbed at your pussy. Bakugou grabbed your hand and got in your face before you could go any further.

“Then the brat who wants to cum so bad will cum for me 100 times over as her punishment.” He said as a threat but you only took it the best way possible.

“Sounds fun..Katsuki.” With that, he yanked your hand away from yourself and flipped you over before slamming back into you from behind and smacking your ass again and again.

“Ohh fuck...Ah...you think you’re funny, huh y-you brat? Let’s see how funny you are when I fuck you so dumb the only thing you’ll know is my name.” He said as he pounded into you. Your cried were muffled as you screamed into the mattress.

“Don’t do that, princess, I wanna hear your pretty cries,” he said as he yanked your hair, lifting your head up. He grabbed onto your neck and kissed you as you both loudly moaned into it. He squeezed your neck ever so lightly but tightly as he placed his forehead on yours to look down at where you both meet and become one. He sped up at the sight.

“I bet you love this. I bet you love having Dynamight’s cock deep inside you. Can you feel me? Huh? Feel me in your guts? Feel my big dick deep inside you?” He asked as he looked back at you.

“Y-Yesss! Oh f-fuck...ohhh so big!” Bakugou smiled at your comments and felt you squeeze around him.

“S-shit...you gonna cum? Gonna come on this big dick?” He asked as his hand traveled to you pussy, rubbing at your clit.

“Do it! Do it now, cum on my cock!” You squirted around his cock and Bakugou continued to fuck you through your orgasm and you cried out, and your upper body fell to the mattress. His hands grabbed at your waist as he pounded your pussy. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and bit his bottom lip as he threw his head back moaning out.

“Fuck! Ohh f-fuck, I’m gonna cum. You want my cum princess? Can I fill your pussy with my cum?” He asked while looking down at you. You had little tears poking at the ends of your eyes due to the mass amount of pleasure and Bakugou came at the sight. His thrust stopped as his hips met your ass in a final push, while his cum went deeper into your pussy, filling you to the brim. You both cried out as he finished and he kept himself in there for a little until you both caught your breath. He kissed up your spine to your cheek as he pulled out and layed down next to you.

As he pulled you closer to him he could hear your soft voice.

“A-amazing...Suki.” You said as you nuzzled into his neck. He only smiled as he realized you forgot.

“I hope so, cuz we’re not done teddy bear.” He said while smirking. Your eyes went wide as you looked at him in shock.

“Your punishment. Remember? I want you cumming on my cock a 100 times over. I don’t even want you to be able to walk for the next week.” He said while looking you right in his eyes. You took on his little challenge and straddled his waist before pumping his cock a few times and hovering over it. He watched the whole thing and licked his lips at you.

“Fine then Dynamight,” you said as his hands traveled to your hips. “Show me what you got,” you said as you slammed back down on him releasing cries from both you and him. This was gonna be a fun, long night.

—

After rounds 2, 3, 4, and 5, you both lie on your bed completely fucked out as you held onto each other. Bakugou was contempt as he held you under his chin and thought you were asleep. You were only resting your eyes with a soft smile on your face. Bakugou kissed the top of your head before softly speaking.

“I’m so sorry for everything I said teddy bear. You are the most amazing person in the world. I just don’t want you to be hurt. I wanna protect you for the rest of my life. I love you with my everything and I really want you to officially be mine. When you wake up, I’m gonna tell you all of this.” Bakugou sighed. Now it was your turn to speak.

“You don’t have to wait Suki,” you softly spoke as Bakugou looked down at you in shock. “I already heard it all, and I want to officially be yours too.” You said while looking right at him.

“Heh..I thought you passed out,” he teased.

“Well then I guess you’re not as good as you thought, Dynamight.” You teased back.

“You tryna say I didn’t fuck you good enough princess?! Cuz I still got enough for one more round that’ll be sure to shut your mouth real quick!” You only laughed at his little outburst.

“I’m good Suki. Trust me, you did more than enough.” You said.

“You’re damn right. And by the way you were screaming my name, I’m sure of it.” He proudly stated.

“Shut up,” you rolled your eyes and softly spoke. You both gently laughed at the teasing and embraced each other once more, but this time a little tighter.

After a few peaceful moments of silence, you heard him speak up.

“So..you’re being serious about really wanting to be mine..right?” Bakugou asked with worry laced in his voice.

“Of course I’m serious Suki. I don’t wanna be anybody else’s but yours.” You said in the cutest voice. Bakugou blushed at the confession.

“Ok then teddy bear. You’re mine now, and I’m never gonna let you go again.” He whispered. “I love you Y/N.”

“I love you too Suki.”

—

“WHERE WERE YOU?!?? A BANK WAS ROBBED, MULTIPLE PEOPLE WERE MUGGED, AND 2 VILLAIN BRAWLS BROKE OUT ON YOUR PATROL MAN!! ARE YOU GOOD?!?” Red riot screamed into the phone.

“Yeah, yeah I’m good. I’m great actually, a lot of good stuff happened on my patrol.” Bakugou said as he drank from his glass of water.

“Dude. Seriously?” The red head said in disbelief. What could possibly make up for all the crimes committed on his best friend’s watch?!

“Seriously. Gotta go, talk to you later shitty hair.” Katsuki said as he hung up the phone. As he finished cooking, he brought two plates of food to the couch for Y/N and himself. He had to carry Y/N there.

“What was all that about?” Y/N asked as she took a sip from her cup and turning away from the trashy reality show you both were watching.

“Just another reason why you’d make a better hero than me, teddy bear.” You awed at the compliment and cuddled into him. If only you knew how serious he was being.

Kirishima would know. For he was the one running around like a mad man trying to stop all the crimes committed due to his best friend being absent thanks to his horny desires.

A/N: YAYYY MY FIRST REQUEST! I really enjoyed writing this one and I’m sorry if it wasn’t exactly what you were looking for. I’m hope you enjoyed it tho! Feel free to drop more request for me to do!💗🧸

P.S. New series coming on the way!

[hqbaby]

𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 | 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐞𝐬 (𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐢 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐚 𝐱 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

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(written portion! you can find a summary at the bottom if you have difficulty or simply don't feel like reading large chunks of text<33 word count: 709)

> all i want

everybody's always looking at me from afar.

It had only been less than four months since your life changed... for better or for worse, you couldn't really say.

When things were just starting out, you thought that moving to Tokyo would be the hardest part of it all. While you loved your music, you never would have thought that you would leave everything you knew for it. But that's what you did.

In all honesty, it wasn't as bad as you thought. Your brother made sure you knew absolutely everything that happened in Miyagi. He called you every night for the first few weeks to tell you who was doing this, who was doing that, and who was doing who. Iwa, Mattsun, and Makki sent memes and messages to the group chat for hours on end everyday, your friends kept in touch and called you when they could, and even some of the classmates you didn't know so well in your time at Seijoh reached out and congratulated you for signing the record deal.

When you started school at Nekoma, you found yourself in the same math class as Kuroo. At first, you thought he was the most intimidating guy you'd ever meet but, after working with him on a project, you learned just how much of a dork he really was. He introduced you to the volleyball team and you all became fast friends (which wasn't a surprise. You'd always seemed to click with volleyball players, whether it was because of your twin brother's endless commitment to the sport or your natural affinity to its players remained to be seen).

And, of course, there was Taki.

i can't help, it i was always meant to be a star.

Meeting the other artists signed to your record label was quite an experience. Because Symphony Studios was big on the pop music scene, all of their artists were egotistical divas who couldn't care less about a "budding indie singer-songwriter" like you.

Well, everyone except for Taki.

Just a year older than you, Taki was the only one of your labelmates that actually seemed to show any interest in you and your music. He was kind, in spite of the "bad boy" persona that he wore on stage and he had you believing that he actually cared.

In a month, you became an official item and both your PR teams were ecstatic. The good girl/bad boy image that you held as a couple was a landmine of all sorts of PR stunts. From you turning into a more "edgy" artist to keep up with him to him becoming "soft" just for you, there was so much to say without either of you saying anything at all.

The constant headlines surrounding your relationship catapulted your career beyond your imagination. You were the shiny, new thing in music and it was insane just how fast you were able to rise to your fame. The media was on you endlessly, asking you about your music and Taki and anything and everything they could manage to slap a byline under and call it news. It got annoying at times but you didn't really mind. At the end of every tiring day, you could come home and fall asleep in the arms of someone you loved, and that was all that mattered.

Until you started to wonder if he actually loved you back.

all i want is you now. oh, i wish that i could read your mind.

It didn't take you long to realize that he didn't.

i'll keep my composure and act like i'm over it, like everything's okay.

When you told him that you wanted to end things, he laughed. It wasn't a mocking laugh or anything of the sort. He was genuinely amused.

He reminded you that he was still the bigger star between the two of you and he would have no trouble snuffing you out. And you didn't want that.

Did you?

why don't you love me? i know that i'm worthy.

So you stayed, thinking maybe if you showed him just how much you loved him, he would realize that he loved you too. And everything would be alright.

on the inside, i just wanna cry. it's not right.

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: In the time between the prologue and meetings, Y/N adjusts to Tokyo life and finds the sudden change surprisingly easy to manage. She starts dating her labelmate Taki after he shows interest in her and their relationship catapults Y/N into stardom. After a few months, Y/N realizes that Taki does not love her and she tries to break things off. Taki forces her to stay by threatening her career and Y/N finds herself in a terribly one-sided relationship.

a/n: and that's it the second update of the day! look out for the interhigh parts in the coming updates and, as always, this has been a blast<33

taglist: @phieaa

☏ 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬

[itsakpopalypse]

Nakamoto Yuta  Astrology Ask: How he loves

“That“Hello!  Can you please do an astology post about hpw yuta from nct 127 loves ? With all the fluffy and nsfw details included ? I loved the ones yo did already and I was wondering if you’re interested in look into his chart? Thank you 😊😊🌸” - @marinemousemarie

A/N Of course I am happy to! Thanks again for your patience !!  ALSO THIS HAIR IS KILLING ME ON HIM OML   thank you for your request!!!

what is he so perfect for????

Alright !!!!

Yuta’s chart is HEAVILY water influenced

which right off the bat means he is very in touch with his emotions

His SUN AND MOON AND VENUS AND PLUTO are in Scorpio

someone help me I am c o m p r o m i s e d

that is so daddy 

so even though he HAS these very deep emotions, he will still come off as mysterious and likely has a wall up

Scorpios exude sex appeal honestly I knew his sun was Scorpio but he makes so much sense with his moon there too 

His rising is Capricorn (by estimation)

so he is likely really thoughtful and analytical too, especially when you first meet him and a very, VERY hard worker

he even REALLY fits the physical description of a Scorpio honestly

his north node is Libra so even though he has a lot of Scorpio (typically a less social sign because they tend to be a bit... suspicious)

he probably desperately needs a tight knit group around him he trusts,and leans on them only when he feels he can’t handle it alone

 also his trine is at 90 degrees between sun and lilith so he is COMFORTABLE with the darker sides of his personality

he probably revels a little bit in the parts of his nature that stir him

..... i’m going to let you deduce what I feel about that until we get under the cut cause uh

a bitch is shook

so SUN in Scorpio means he is quieter at first, tends to ask more questions instead of revealing his own feelings (which are there and are strong)

puts off a really entrancing seductive mystery that draws people to stare and commands attention on it’s own

MOON in Scorpio means INTENSE 

Lunar Scorpios can cut right through anyone’s bullshit

there’s no point in faking emotion around him he is going to know immediately 

and have you ever seen such intense side eye from another sign???

They are incredibly all or nothing. if you are in their good graces they respect you and will show it 

if you lose that respect it is GONE forever

they are also courageous and tend to be on the cutting edge of fashion and social issues he has a golden heart and a steely gaze oh lort 

his mercury is in Libra which is the best place for that sign tbh

the negotiation skills this man would have is uncanny

tbh this makes me feel like he has the silverest of tongues

between Scorpio’s natural affinity for privacy and mystery and Libra’s skill with mediation, he will be effortless at wrapping someone around his finger

has a very solid sense of justice though, so it will only be used for good 

desires someone to sharpen his mind on

wants to be able to verbally spar and debate- always done in a friendly way though!

Mars and Jupiter in Sagittarius  so he is the kind of person who wants to travel, is governed by a strict moral code all his own

and really just wants to enjoy the experiences of life 

these things can impact his desire to settle down however so his focus has to be on a relationship part of his life before he lets that happen.

his VENUS being in Scorpio well.

that’s ah. the exact opposite of his mars and Jupiter tbh

so they balance out a bit, but basically his venus says “when you are ready to settle down you settle down, and you don’t mess around.” 

they are loyal and sensual and they need emotional connection that goes both ways

they LOVE commitment and they expect FULL devotion

they wanna pick you apart and know every little thing about you because they want to fill all your cracks with little pieces of themselves so that you are hooked and sticking around

wow 

but they aren’t fully forthcoming with their own emotions

with his Mercury being Libra if you can GET him to talk, it’s fine because he will express it well

but you will have to be fantastic at deciphering different emotions in his eyes

there’s actually a lot of Capricorn in his chart, so even though he has a lot of Scorpio ( a very self sufficient sign)

he also probably has a few places where he can be a bit harder on himself and a little self defeating

he probably won’t need MUCH encouragement though, considering the really active fire sign in his Mars 

in relationships this boils down to 

you meet and he seems very withdrawn

polite but there’s a mystery behind his eyes you can’t quite pin down

no matter how much he likes you, he will not tell you 

no he will hint by initiating really subtle flirting

you’ll find him guiding you by two fingers on your low back, a gesture of helpfulness that will linger a few seconds too long

prolonged eye contact from across the room that drives you insane because you can’t figure out what it MEANS

the raise of one brow if you say something that he considers a little flirty back

he wants the push and pull to see if you are really interested  

after some playful non verbal flirting he will probably make sure you know he thinks you’re attractive more explicitly

his mars is Sagittarius so he will frame it casually but he would really need you to know

so say you dressed really nicely

he is going to make sure you get a compliment from him

“That fits really nice.”

and you will thank him only to realize he’s smirking and you know it is more than a basic compliment he is low key dirty okay

He’d be the type to have someone else invite you to a group gathering and then monopolize your time 

he would ask you a million questions about yourself until he knew you better than you do

and then he would flirt more

as he drank more his compliments would get softer and more kind and less borderline sugestive

and that’s how you know he genuinely likes you 

like he’s tipsy and it’s “You’re so sweet and I like being around you.”

“why won’t you ever rub my head like you rub Mark’s?”

“Why do you laugh at all of Johnny’s jokes and not mine?”

“I really just wish you’d love me too.”

and you’re like   👀👀👀👀👀👀

AW YUTA YOU’RE A SECRET SOFT

he will deny it like... one time and then he will cave hard

might lay on you and play with your hands while he talks about what he likes about you

and you’re in shock because he rarely speaks about how HE feels and usually only asks you things

and you realize his feelings are real and you finally just say “If I’m so great why won’t you date me?”

and he will 0.0 

because why didn’t sober him think of that ???

he did but also he doesn’t want you to know how MUCH he did you feel me

so he will just be like “okay, then it is what we’re doing now.”

and you expect him to forget but the next day he is at your house with flowers and he wants to do cute shit

domestic shit like changes your name in his phone to a shit ton of cute emojis

listen

will

spam you 

with love via text while he is away

just one after another of CHEESY ass heart and flower pictures

and the most adorable good mornings and goodnights and every meal time he texts to be sure you’re eating

is genuinely so sweet and open with you once you are together

loves to lay in your lap and stare up at you 

run your hands through his hair while you do what a dream though

back hugs!!

front hugs!!

he wants

HUGS

how precious I 

AIGHT STRAP IN CAUSE THIS CHART IS SMH

18 + below the cut let’s get spicy

CAN HE NOT

you don’t understand I am incoherent

GUYS THIS CHART

remember  THIS “  his trine is at 90 degrees between sun and lilith so he is COMFORTABLE with the darker sides of his personality “

GUYS

i usually don’t agree when people insist someone IS a specific roll in the bedroom but

Yuta is a whole dom

HE SAID IT FIRST HOW MANY TIMES HE GOTTA SAY IT

Comfortable with his darker sides... comfortable with his kinks

willing to explore and not in the SLIGHTEST concerned about what society thinks

if he likes it he tells you and you guys will decide if it’s something you wanna do

ALL THAT SCORPIO. Sun, Moon, Venus,and pluto all being in scorpio I mean this dude I FUCKIN CAN’T

 Scorpio is known for being passionate, sensual and incredibly unrelenting 

a bit egotistical about their abilities

not in a bad way, in a “I got this and I will show you that I do”  kind of way

which 

whew

Yuta stop that’s hot

This is not romantic sex

this is not lovey dovey handholding sex

Yuta FUCKS

He wants you incoherent and lost in pleasure

he wants to dominate you and watch you beg

listen he really loves the power rush that comes with it

maybe choking look don’t kill me he strikes me as a choking type

Libra mercury so his dirty talk is ALWAYS ON POINT AND EXACTLY WHAT YOU LIKE

seems like the type to be a LITTLE into degradation

I’m sorry look I don’t mean anything too serious

just “You’re a slut for me aren’t you? Such a good girl all day but you can’t wait to spread your legs for me?”

that kinda stuff

TEASING

Orgasm control/Denial

TEEEEASING

Toys

holds a vibrator to your clit while you beg him to stop

finger fucks you while he does

Maybe a sir/daddy kink 

the type to buy you a “collar” made of diamonds and smirk every time someone who doesn’t know compliments it

public RISKY BEHAVIOR

“Don’t cum and don’t let anyone know and I will reward you at home.”

while he fingers you under the table

thinks it’s funny if you have minor slip ups

fast, accurate strokes that leave you seeing stars

sometimes deep, soul shakingly slow strokes that roll your eyes back into your head

scratch his shoulders he likes that shit

spanking and biting are definitely a yes

aftercare is SO SWEET

cuddles you and shhhhh’s you

strokes up and down your arms with his fingertips

lays your head in his lap and smiles softly at you

asks you what you need to calm down

wraps you in the softest robe or blanket

makes you feel safe and loved

tells you how well you did 

a good boyfriend wow

here you go !

thank you for your patience !!

I hope you enjoyed it !!

[thebeautyoffandoms]

heya!! can i get an hq matchup? for starters my pronouns are she/her, i am bisexual, my personality type is INFJ. Im a ambivert, i do come off as outgoing however I do get easily drained from social outings and prefer to stay at home JDJDK but if I'm feeling down for a party then hey it is what it is. I am very organized, I hate messiness, I like keeping my area clean, I like my room to smell good, I like it to incorporate my cutesy side like Cinnamoroll, Sailor Moon, Rilakkuma, etc. I am very kind to others, I try my best to make everybody smile and if a friend needs help im always there doing my best. My cons are, I can be impatient, if something isn't coming out as to what I want it to be, or if I keep facing crossroads I cope with it very negatively, i tend to get frustrated easily. Another con of mine is, i lose interest very quickly in others, if you do one thing wrong i automatically don't like you 🥱😂 i guess i have "high" standards. For looks, i could care less, as long as you take care of yourself, and you have a very interesting personality. I tend to look for humorous individuals who have confidence, but aren't egotistical. Things I need in a partner is honesty, commitment, thoughtfulness and someone who I can rely on, also humor. My turnoffs are definitely liars, bad hygiene, snobby people, and ungrateful people. I also forgot to mention, I like ambitious individuals who are intelligent, intelligence is *chefs kiss* and someone who has wisdom, someone whose mature but then they can act goofy. My Hogwarts house is Ravenclaw. My hobbies are singing and performing, cooking, spending time with my pets, going shopping with friends, collecting cute merchandise, daydreaming,, and for music I like, I LOVE R&B and pop xP. THANK YOU SM!!!!!

Hello! You are so very welcome, and thank you so much for requesting!! Sorry it took so long, but I hope you enjoy it!!

For you, I feel like Kiyoko Shimizu would make a lovely match!

From the beginning, Kiyoko was never opposed to being your friend. She was always kind to you, and really appreciated your kindness to not only her, but everyone around you. To those close to her, it wasn’t much of a surprise that the two of you started dating, although she had to get a lot of reassurance that you weren’t straight before she was able to accept her crush on you. It was almost like slow burn, plus it was obvious to some close people that the feelings were mutual. No matter how obvious it was though, Tanaka and Nishinoya did take a while to adapt to it. I personally see Kiyoko as an ambivert as well, so your two personalities go together nicely. She’s also amazing at coming up with date ideas/spots for however your feeling. Want to get out, but not sure you can handle a lot of people? Covered. Think you can handle a crowd? Covered. Want to stay home? Did and done. Honestly, just tell her what you’re up for and she’ll come up with something. Like you, she isn’t big on messes either. Her house and room are always neat and organized, and she honestly really appreciates that yours is too. Despite having dealt with teenage boys, their messes (and how bad they end up smelling) sometimes can get a bit much for her, so you’re like a breath of fresh air. Literally- you smell so much better than the boys and the gym, so she could never get sick of how nice you smell. She also tries her best to always smell nice, so there’s no worries for you either! Your cuteness compliments her seriousness to no end. Seriously, even the boys point it out constantly. If they were to ever catch you two out, you probably wearing something cute and girly and Kiyoko wearing more womanly clothes, they’ll probably tease you and compliment you two. Tanaka and Noya may have a fit though- by then, they may understand why the two of you are together, if only because you guys compliment each other inside and out. The biggest difference between you and her are your levels of patience. She’s used to waiting, staying long after school, and watching the boys have to slowly learn moves as some fuss about not being able to get it. Kiyoko figures that you could maybe end up learning patience alongside her, but she also understands when you grow impatient and/or frustrated. In those moments, she’ll let you take a break from whatever it is, and maybe even try her hand at it while you’re gone. Once you’ve calmed down, Kiyoko will do her best to talk you through whatever it is, and give you her best advice. Once the boys figure that you easily grow bored of people (or… one boy figures, and has to point it out to the rest) they don’t really worry, and you shouldn’t have to either. While not an insanely out-there or humorous individual, Kiyoko certainly has a personality and sense of humor of her own. Plus, according to any person who knows her, Kiyoko is perfect- if you need convincing of it, all you’d have to do is mention it to someone working in or alongside the Volleyball Club. Kiyoko works hard and has high standards for herself, she always hopes to never disappoint anyone, and you’re now one of her top people she hopes to never let down. Kiyoko is the queen of looking fabulous and being grouped into “she must be confident.” While she doesn’t dislike herself, she’s certainly not egotistical, and isn’t very confident all the time either. She doesn’t have issues with wearing what she likes and confronting others, it’s mainly the issue of having all eyes on herself. Despite having many people interested in her because of that, she wouldn’t dare dream of leaving you. Once establishing the relationship, she believes that both of you should be honest and willing to help and rely on the other whenever they can. As I said, Kiyoko is a firm believer in honesty in a relationship- but that also applies to everyday life. While the way she gives her honest opinion can vary from blunt to slightly sugarcoated, she only wants to give the truth. Lying honestly makes her feel bad, and she’ll think about it until she admits whatever it was. To reiterate another thing, her beautiful outside doesn’t just come naturally. Sure, some of it is, but she also takes very good care of herself. Kiyoko will tell you day in and day out that she’s thankful for you. Even in good-night texts, she adds that she’s thankful for however you’ve helped her today. On top of that, while not overly determined or psyched, she is ambitious and has a lot of her future planned out. She’s willing to work for that future of course, and doesn’t expect to do anything less than push to achieve those goals. Parts of achieving those goals do play into her grades, so she does work hard to keep them up. While she’s mostly mature in public, and a lot of the time in private, Kiyoko does have a softer, less serious side. She also has a good sense of humor, and you should expect her to crack jokes with a slight smile before glancing at you expectantly from the corner of her eye. If you laugh, that’ll only encourage her to lighten up more. On another note, should you ever do performances or sing for her, Kiyoko will be your #1 fan! She supports you all the way, and will watch you with a loving glint in her eyes. She also enjoys your other hobbies and doing them with you. Expect her to offer you cookbooks wanting to make something to eat with you, buy your pet something to wear or play with (although animals aren’t her favorite things, she mainly enjoys the look on your face), or even show up saying that she just got payed and was wanting to go to your favorite store. Kiyoko simply admires you, and is happy as long as you are <3

[suicidalcatz]

DOG DAYS ARE OVER : CHAP 13

Pairing : Jake Kiszka x reader

Genre : College AU

Previous parts : Prologue, Chap 1, Chap 2, Chap 3, Chap 4, Chap 5, Chap 6, Chap 7, Chap 8, Chap 9, Chap 10, Chap 11, Chap 12

Masterlist : here

AN : The bitch is back, it’s me, I’m the bitch. How are you ? Good I hope! In this chapter, you go back to school, reunite with the boys, and Josh has plans for the lot of you. I’m having troubles writing these days, so forgive me if I’m a bit late starting next week, I’ll do my best. I have plenty of ideas, I just feel like I’m writing like a 8 yo these days, you know ? So we’ll see. Thanks for your support, feel free to message me anytime or send me anon stuff !

Chapitre 13 : What happened ?

Christmas Holiday wasn't that soothing. Teachers didn't care about it, and gave us a substantial amount of homework. Snow refused to fall, letting the outside air dry and the days getting darker and darker. All my friends were with their families anyway so there wasn't anything to do except staying warm at home, stuffing my stomach with food and listening to the everlasting rerun of Home Alone while painting quietly next to the heater. Despite the weather it was comforting. The whole place smelled like food, and each and every houses in the street shined in the night with vibrant lights. The boys had both texted me with greetings and pictures of their colorful tree, letting me take a peak at their home, like a peeping tom trying to get a glimpse in between the curtains. A member of their family must've taken the picture because the twins were posing next to the huge tree, wearing their traditional ugly sweaters as Josh had mentioned before. Jake was holding Josh on his shoulders, purposely looking silly with a big toothy grin on his face, while Josh was dangerously reaching out to put the golden star on top of the highest branch, looking like he was screaming when the picture had been taken.

It had been a week and I missed them already. And the thought of getting them presents was knocking more and more at the door of my mind. We didn't live in the same city at all afterall so we sure didn't have the same souvenirs... Lost in thought, I played with Jake's rings, idly making them turn around my fingers as they were too big for them. The boy had forgotten them at the top of Mandy and I's fridge after our paint fight. When I saw they were still where he had left them, the urge to take them with me to play with them at all times was too big for me to resist. Removing one from my index finger, I studied it, enjoying the way it rolled between my digits. Of course I'll give them back to him, but in the meantime maybe that'll help with the Christmas present...

Coming back to school after the holidays was always a challenge, but after New Year's Eve it was even worse. We all went back two or three days sooner in order to unpack, get re-accustomed to living in the dorms and finish our homework, for some of us who had more space to work here than at their home. Even with the only presence of the dorms' residents, campus looked like a scene from The Walking Dead, and the twins were no exception. They already seemed to enjoy booze a little too much for their own good on a regular basis, so I didn't even wanted to think about how they partied for New Year's Eve. Despite their excitment to see us again when we met in the morning, Josh still looked slightly drunk, and Jake had purple bags under his eyes like he didn't sleep in years. Everybody melted together in a tight group hug, Mandy by my side and a twin on each of my shoulders, exchanging « I missed you »s and « Happy New Year »s. They didn't let us any time to recover though, as Josh had the fantastic idea to organize a private Christmas party in his room. Jake blinked at him, looking like he didn't know about it in the slightlest until just now.

- I really missed ya, y'know ? So I thought we should arrange a party, just for us.

- Should we exchange gifts ?, asked Mandy.

- I already have some for you, shrugged Josh as if it was normal.

That info made Jake's eyebrows rise so much they nearly disappeared in his hairline, further proof that he was learning that at the same time as we were. Mandy, on the other hand, was now stressed out because she had no idea what to give them. Man they were already tiring me and school hasn't even started yet.

Jake accompanied us downtown to shop, trying to be discreet everytime something behind the showcase of a store piqued his interest, while Mandy directly asked him what he wanted and which gift Josh would like better. That's how I found myself between these two, not having found the good timing to tell them I already had gifts for the lot of them. At some point I had try to offer Josh my help with the decoration of the room but he heavily insisted that he handled the situation before dismissing me. The boy looked way too excited and it only meant two things ; either his family spiked their cookies or he had an idea in mind. I had a bad feeling about this.

- Mama, can you come here a sec ?

In the paved road, Jake stood in front of an illuminated jewelry store, beanie in head and hands buried in his jacket pockets, asking for me to come closer with a movement of his chin. We both glanced at Mandy who was nowhere to be seen, probably visiting a store and browsing everything that was on their shelves.

- What do you think ?, he said while keeping his eyes on a cute necklace.

It wasn't an expensive jewelry store, and it didn't look like the others either. Nothing in gold or with diamonds, instead they seemed to specialize in stones and cristals in all their forms. Following his gaze, I found resting on a rack a small purple pendant made of a stone I didn't recognize hanging on a silver chain.

- I think it's beautiful.

- Yeah ? Come, let's try it on you so I can have a better idea.

A rush of warmth surrounded us as soon as he pushed the door open, making the bell attached to it ring, announcing our entrance. Stones of every color from every country decorated the shelves, either mounted on jewelry or unembellished, resting on baskets and sorted by genre. Jake was quick to explain what he wanted once the seller came to us, letting me no time to play with agates and reading their properties. With great care, she took the collar out of its rack and waited for me to open my jacket, showing my bare neck for her to attach it around.

- It looks pretty, she said in a half-sincere, half-selling tone.

Two pairs of eyes were scrutinizing me as I stood unmoving with a uncomfortable smile on my face, not really knowing what to do. Did it gave him a better idea of what it'd look like on Mandy ? Or was I just standing there looking like a fool ? After several seconds of watching my bare neck, Jake finally nodded.

- Yeah, it'll look good on her. I'll take it. Can you go out to make sure she's not coming our way, doll ?

Obliging, I found my way on the street again, crossing it as I buttoned my coat, catching a glimpse of Mandy's silhouette in a clothing store, way more crowded than the shop I was just seconds ago. Waiting in line to checkout and giggling excitedly, she showed me the colorful knee socks she had found for Josh, as well as a bottle of aged honey whisky for Jake. I rolled my eyes at that. Weren't they drinking enough already ? However, she was spot on, I was sure the boys were gonna love their gifts. Queuing was always a pain, fortunately for us now that the holidays were over, people had fewer reasons to shop and sales had begun, which pushed Mandy to drag me to the nearest shop to buy a dress for our get together tonight. Unsold sparkly New Year's Eve dresses were all over the place, cheaper than ever, and what my roomie believed was a golden opportunity. And maybe she was right, I mean even between friends, it was still a party, and I enjoyed being dressed accordingly to where I was going, even if Josh didn't specified a dress code (thank goodness). The sun was already setting by the time we got out of the store with huge paper bags around our arms, only to find Jake at the other side of the road chatting with two girls. Mandy frowned at that.

- Since when does he have other friends than us ?

- MANDY !, I exclaimed while smacking her arm. Maybe they're from his class or something, I don't know. Should we join them ?

- Why wouldn't we ?

Without further ado, she crossed the paved avenue and in a heartbeat, was already making conversation with the girls while I dragged myself to the small group, not really wanting to meet them. One of them was all smiles and laughs and kept putting her hand on his arm which made me both pissed and uneasy. Part of me knew he was taken anyway so I didn't care, but apart from this limited portion of reason, every other fiber of my body got shaken by a sudden wave of jealousy at how close to him they were standing. My only need right now was to grab his arm and pull him away from those two. The most unreasonable and egotistic part of me even screamed that if I couldn't have him then no one could. This one represented only a mere percent, as I wasn't insane and knew it was all jealousy talking. The thing with Jake is that you could never know if he was interested or flirting back because of the Kiszka Gene. Even if he wasn't as flamboyant as his twin who acted like flirting was as vital to him as breathing, he still had that charming aura, with his smirk, low voice and light chuckles.

- Will you play again ?

- I don't know, replied Jake honestly, but we'd love to !

Noticing we were waiting for him, the brunette excused himself and we all grabbed a Uber to go home. So this was the reason why they were fawning over him. Maybe it was naive but it never occured to me before that this could have been the aftermath of their concert. Yet it made perfect sense, they were gifted, handsome young men, how could girls not hit on them ? Especially after that guitar solo. And while it made me nervous, I was also overcome with a sense of pride. They were becoming popular on school ground, will probably make a ton of friends now, Josh will find someone to love, that is if he wanted to, and it was just the beginning. More festivals were awaiting  them, and with their talent they could no doubt play in bars too. I knew they wouldn't replace us or forget about us, even if a tiny sentiment of dread kept creeping its way to my head making me think that, maybe, they'd find some more interesting people to hang out with.

Taking this very seriously, Josh denied any of us the entry to his room, texting Jake to hang out with Sam and Danny, and us to wait for his signal. Poor Jake couldn't come with us because we had to change and wrap our gifts, which we did rapidly in order to be ready when Josh called, but the man took so long we were half lying on the kitchen table for an hour when my phone rang and he shouted excitedly in my ear, making me lose 70% of my earing ability in the process.

Rummaging noises came from the other side of the door when we stood there waiting in front of it, Mandy sometimes knocking to make sure everything was alright before Josh replied screaming it was FINE.

- What the hell is he doing, I giggled, planting a Christmas tree ?

We burst out laughing imagining it before realization came to us and Mandy knocked some more,  this time both with urgence and anticipation asking him to open the door. They were both yelling through the it by the time Jake arrived, already chuckling at the sight, a colorful paperbag in hand.

- What's going on here ?

The instant he stepped into my field of view my eyes instantly followed every one of his movements, completely captivated by the sight. He looked stunning, less pale than this morning, with his hair brushed and neatly resting on his shoulders, wearing a black striped suit that matched the shape of his body, making him look taller, slimmer. Before Mandy could explain what was happening, Jake took in the sight of us, in party dresses, looking positively surprised. The boy turned to me, studying the details of my face and makeup, then the classic little black dress I had put on.

- You look very pretty.

He didn't say it out loud, and Mandy didn't notice because she was back to her shouting anyway, letting me startled and stupefied, mouth agape. The heat that came rushing to my face made me snap out of it and a shy « thank you » escaped from my lips, face looking the over way. As a new habit, my fingers rubbed together in order to make the rings turn around them, and it's how I realized I wasn't wearing them because I had to give them back to Jake. His brother took this opportunity to slam the door open, interrupting me at the same time. Big smile on his lips, he looked good in his dark slacks and navy blue shirt that for once was buttoned up. Always the charming one, Josh complimented us on our dresses and hair, looking at it carefully and asking us to come in first, taking us both by the hand. It looked... fantastic. Little « woah »s were murmured as we entered the unrecognizable room. Scented candles were spreading a sweet and spicey perfume in the air. The walls were decorated with shiny stars and socks full of candy canes. Light strings glowing dimly crossed the room, hanging from the ceiling. A big Christmas tree had found its place in a corner, near the desk now full of pastries and bottles of various rather posh alcohols like champagne and wine. Slow Christmas songs played faintly as background noise and the kitchen table had been moved to the bedroom, where Josh's presents were already waiting patiently under the tree to get unwrapped. I couldn't believe my eyes, nor that the boy would put so much effort into this party.

Mandy sniffed the air.

- Did you cook ?

- Yes I did, please have a seat.

The cheerful boy excused himself before disappearing into the kitchen, his movements being followed by distant rattling noises while we did as ordered. Noticing the petticoat of my dress getting caught in the edge of the chair, Jake pulled it for me, like a true gentleman.

- I swear I don't know what got into his head, he mumbled while unbutonning his suit jacket. He's been really gleeful all week end. I have no idea what's cooking and won't ever be in peace until I find out.

It made us three laugh but Jake had a point, I noticed that Josh was way too joyous all of a sudden and doubted it was solely from the pleasure of our reunion. The curly haired boy was so excited he almost tripped on the carpet while carrying the mashed potatoes bowl, and I could see Jake's stress level rise in the corner of my eye, from where he sat next to me completely still. Even though Josh had planned enough food to feed an entire regiment and always insisted to fill our plates, we had a pleasant dinner. It was no surprise the Kiszkas were chefs now, the meals were as good as in a restaurant, and the bottles Josh chose to accompany them matched perfectly, creating great combinations of flavors. We were just tipsy enough for our cheeks to color, giggling excitedly together, screaming and messing around, playfully teasing or mocking each other. Despite the good natured atmosphere, I could sense that Jake was forcing it just a tad too much. His toothy grins fell quickly every time he thought no one was watching, and when he took a sip of his glass of wine the dark bags under his eyes made me worry a bit. His face was still very pale and when he wasn't beaming it looked like something entirely else was on his mind, and not something positive judging by the number of times he got lost in thought during a conversation.

By the time Josh brought the cake to our table we were half dead, stuffed to the gills, all groaning in chorus, pain settling in our stomachs just by imagining having to make more room in there.

- Can you guys give me a hand to clean this mess ?, asked the older twin.

- Yeah of course !, Jake and I replied at the same time.

- Can you wash the dishes while Mandy and I clean and push back the table ?

Without further ado, we took the remaining dessert plates to the kitchen, letting water fill the sink while Jake removed his striped jacket, rolling up his sleeves to his elbows before taking place next to me and grabbing the sponge. And while at first we were playing with water and splashing each other with it in a childish manner, the room became rapidly quiet. It's when I witnessed Jake rubbing the same dish for several seconds, completely disconnected from reality, that I stepped in.

- Tell me.

Seemingly remembering where he was but not completely knowing what he missed, the brunette sent me a lost look.

- « I can see there's something bothering you », I mimicked with an overly rough voice, remembering the time he said the same thing to me few weeks ago.

- It's nothing.

Now that made me frown. Even someone who didn't know him could tell by his somber attitude that something was up. Carefully placing another glass on the shelf, I wiped my hands and turned to him.

- Did something happen during Christmas Holiday ? You barely talked about it. Oh, or are you too shy to tell me how your date with Mina went ?

Even if it pained me to evoke this topic with him, talking about something that he loved was my best shot at making him cheer up. However, my jiggly eyebrows and mischevious elbowing were a total failure.

- It's over.

Refusing to look me in the eye, Jake cleared his throat, casually grabbing another fork as if it didn't matter at all and we were just discussing the weather. That made me froze.

- What ?, was all I could muster, voice now low, barely audible.

The boy sighed, probably recalling the memories, speaking with an artificial tone as if he already told this story too many times.

- We went to the restaurant and she told me we needed to talk. That she couldn't be with me anymore. That she felt we were growing apart from each other. That every time I was with her, I wasn't really there, and that we had less and less things in common. Basically that I'm a shitty boyfriend that doesn't have any time for her, and she left before even ordering anything.

His hands tightened around the hem of the sink, and I was now the one being uncomfortable, shifting uneasily and scratching the back of my arm. Of all the things he could've told me, I wasn't prepared for that. Jake looked crestfallen, and I didn't know what to do or say to make him feel better. Carefully, I placed a supportive hand on his back, rubbing small circles on the fabric of his shirt, trying to meet his eyes as he kept his head subbornly fixed on the sink before him.

- Hey, I said in the softest tone I possessed. Maybe it's not the end, you know ? Maybe it was just in the spur of the moment and she'll change her mind.

What was I even doing ? Shouldn't I be happy about it ? A lot of people would've been but... I was at this point where seeing him smile, whatever it took, was far more important to me than my personal interests. Jake didn't tense nor tried to get away from me, which was a good sign. The boy simply shook his head, lips a tight line, before our eyes finally met.

- No, she's right. It was over way before that. And I feel stupid for not realizing sooner.

- You're not a shitty boyfriend, Jake. I'm sure you're the best out there.

I wasn't certain we were still on that, but I felt like it was important to point this out. There was absolutely no way I'd let him believe that, or even look down on himself. No way. As his way of saying he got me, Jake offered me a heart warming smile, completely turning to me now while I retrieved my hand off his back.

- I'm not that sad y'know ? I had plenty of time to digest the whole situation and rationalize it. But I gotta admit I like the attention. Won't you rub my back some more ?

As backup to his words, the boy pointed his back my direction, a smirk adorning his features. That earned him a splash of water in the face. I couldn't believe he would tease me in a situation like that ! I was dead serious and concerned about him, yet he found the way to make us both laugh and play with bubbly dishwashing water again, splattering everything on the kitchen counter and dishes we just wiped. It felt good hearing him laugh again, cackling like a maniac while I tried to take shelter behind an open cupboard. His white shirt was completely damp and see-through, pants wet and hair a mess. It didn't take him long to take me out of my hideout though, purposefully pressing his soggy shirt to my dry back, making me screech. Never knowing when to stop, Jake also took great pleasure in messing up my hair, before our shared hilarity made him slip on a patch of water and fall gracefully on his ass. A whole second passed where we studied each other to make sure no one was hurt before my roaring laughter took over me, one arm around my painful stomach and the other pointing at his now completely soaked butt on the ground. Before I knew it, a vengeful Jake had already dragged me in his fall, drenching my dress in dishwashing water. We were still playfully hand fighting when Josh's frame at the door coughed loudly. We both froze in place, shooting our heads to him, Jake lying on the floor with my wrists still secured between his fingers and my face almost completely covered by hair. The sink water was still running, water was everywhere even in some cupboards, the dishtowels were ruined, and the kitchen looked like a typhoon had just visited the place. Eyebrows raised high and arms crossed over his chest, Josh looked like a father who'd just witnessed his two kids wrecking havoc at home and was thinking hard of a way to punish them.

- Mandy !, Josh called behind him. You were right, they ruined the kitchen !

- Told you, they did the same to ours with paint, came Mandy's reply in the other room.

A sheepish grin spread on both of our faces, and Josh couldn't contain his, shaking his head in disbelief. He disappeared into the bedroom after telling us to clean our mess, because it was what we were supposed to do in the first place, leaving us sitting face to face in a puddle of water, still giggling like children.

[treebitchevan-blog]

Prince Charming {Jared Kleinman Imagine}

woooo i stopped procrastinating this imagine holy shit!! just a warning:it has a bit of a buildup, but some fluffy jared in the end. i hope you enjoy it!! feedback is much appreciated, and requests are still open!

Warnings: swearing, a really shitty stepdad, and the slightest mention of sex in the last sentence

Requested:Yes!

Word Count: 1050

Parents often times suck. When your mother marries an egotistical douchebag, they can be even worse. Y/n had been living with her mom and Sean for around 5 years now, But she and Sean had been butting heads since Y/n had introduced them to each other. Sean was your stereotypical asshole stepdad. At first he tried to be her friend, Making the whole “i’m not trying to replace your dad speech” but Y/n could easily see straight through him. Sean was shallow, but Y/n did her best to put up with him, for her mother’s sake.

“Y/n, get over here.” Sean bellowed, making Y/n jump. She walks over to the kitchen table, where Sean is looming over the table. He smacks a printout of Y/n’s grades onto the table. “Are you fucking stupid?” He spits, demanding eye contact with Y/n. “How the hell do you have a C in Calculus?”

Y/n sighed. “It’s one C Sean. Plus, the quarter just started. I can bring it up.” “Why are you acting so lazy? I swear, that boy you’re always hanging out with is changing you.” Sean rolls his eyes. He was talking about Jared. Y/n’s boyfriend. He had never liked Jared, he’d often blame him for “dumbing Y/n down” Even though Y/n reminded him everytime he brought it up that Jared was, in fact, in higher level classes than her. But Sean never believed her, and frequently tried to convince Y/n to dump him for a “real man.”  

“You need to tone down that attitude, young lady.” Sean warned. Y/n kept quiet, she’d learned over the years that it’s better to ignore him, rather than get into another screaming match. “Did you hear me? Listen to me, Y/n.” His tone proceeded to get more angry. Y/n once again ignored him, continuing the path to her room. “Y/N M/N L/N, DON’T YOU DARE WALK AWAY FROM ME WHEN I’M TALKING TO YOU.” Sean yelled, stomping toward Y/n. She was growing more and more angry by the second. Her body we becoming increasingly hot, and hands starting to shake. Praying her mom would come home and break this up, she turned into her room, slamming the door.

Not even two second later, her door swings open, revealing a very angry stepfather.

“You listen to me when i speak to you.” Sean sneered, picking up a small trinket Y/n’s dad had given her. “Don’t touch th-” “You listen to me when i speak to you, Y/n” He bellowed, tightening his grip on the small, porcelain toy. “You aren’t my fucking father, you prick.”  Y/n stammered, just wanting him to put down one of the only memories she had left of her biological father. “Can you just leave me the fuck alone? Don’t touch my shit, Sean.” Y/n lunged for the small object, clasped in his hand. He flung his hand up, obscuring it from Y/n’s reach. “You need to respect authority, kid. This? This isn’t your priority right now. Maybe think about giving me respect and then maybe you’ll get it back. Got it?” The man sneered. “You fucking asshole, give it back. Now.” Tears were brimming at Y/n’s eyes, not caring about anything but that trinket. “Seriously? You’re crying over it? Jesus Christ, here.” Sean tossed the toy, a bit too aggressively, seeing as it smashed to the ground, completely shattering. Sean couldn’t understand why you were so heartbroken by it, and shuffled out of her room, slamming the door on his way out.

Y/n sat, dumbfounded , tears streaming down her face, desperately trying to find all of the smashed pieces of the cherished toy. Wiping the tears from her eyes, picks up the remaining pieces from the ground and placing them on an empty spot on her dresser. She opens her phone, texting Jared

To: JarBear: come over. now. Please. I’ll explain when you get here. Window is unlocked.

From: JarBear: omw. Love you.

10 minutes pass, and Y/n hears stumbling and a few “goddamnits” from outside her room, noticing her boyfriend’s immense struggle. Y/n shuffles over, helping her boyfriend through the window. He dusts himself off.

“The insanely cool Jared Kleinman has arrived, and he brought gummy bear- who made you cry and why are you crying.” Jared’s usual bouncy tone quickly changed, holding her close, a look of intense concern spread across his face. Y/n leads him over to her dresser, showing him the remnants of the porcelain heart her father had given her when she was younger. Y/n looked at the shattered bits, staying silent, Jared grasped her shoulder, pulling her in for a hug. Y/n mumbled into his chest. “Sean” She pulled away, leading him to her bed. “You know, i’d kill him if i wasn’t so afraid of him. I may be insanely cool, but he’d probably break me in half.” Jared chuckled, trying to make Y/n feel slightly better. “Just hold me.” Y/n sniffed, cuddling into Jared’s chest, grabbing a fistfull of gummybears Jared had offered her.

Eventually she explained to Jared what had all happened, He listened intensely, cracking jokes every now and again in attempt to make her smile. He couldn’t stand when Y/n wasn’t happy. He adored her smile too much.

“Plus, all he’s been doing lately is be on my ass for having AVERAGE GRADES. AVERAGE JARED. I HAVE A C IN CALCULUS.” Y/n exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. Jared laughed. “Okay, now i definitely have to kill him. The only person that should be on your ass is me. He playfully poked her butt, kissing her forehead in the process.

“Perv.” Y/n giggles, leaning forward to kiss jared. “I really appreciate you coming over here, though.” Jared leans back, wrapping an arm around Y/n. “Who wouldn’t possibly risk being murdered by a big scary stepdad, just so his beautiful girlfriend would feel better? I mean, c’mon Y/n, You gotta give me some points for that.”

Y/n smiled. “Alright, alright, i get it prince charming, Thanks for rescuing me. Now come here and let me make it up to you.”

[thatsbrookie]

Hey guys!

Long time, no Tumblr, eh? Well, I still get on Tumblr very regularly. Reblog stuff, giggle at memes, creep on people.. But never really text post anymore. I’m just so tired lately. So tired. Being alive for 26 years is EXHAUSTING, lemme tell ya.

I wanna give a life update, but it’s been SO LONG since I’ve given an update, I don’t even know where to start, I feel like I’m going to be all over the place.. So, excuse me if the organization of this post is garbage. 

First, my job. Oh. My. God. 

When I first started, it was a lot. Long hours, hard work, weekends, nights, holidays. Ya know, typical restaurant job. It’s what’s to be expected when getting into the culinary career. You have to be kind of insane to want to be a chef.

Then, after being there for a couple months, Cassie and Davin offered me a promotion to kitchen manager/ catering director. I thought about it for a bit and accepted. I’ve always really liked the idea of catering and learning more about the business side of running a restaurant/catering business. Everything was going well until November. People started emailing and calling the restaurant for us to cater and/or host their Thanksgiving and Christmas parties. Great for business, but fuck it got CRAZY busy REALLY fast. Especially in December. We were booking parties left and right, at least one a day for 5-6 days a week. Trying to organize, plan, manage and execute that many parties, that fast was by far the most stressful thing I have ever done in my life. Not just me though, everyone was stressed. We don’t have a large staff. It’s very small actually, smallest restaurant staff I’ve ever been apart of. So we were all severely overworked and on the verge of a breakdown. I keep using past tense. I didn’t quit or anything.. Cassie and Davin decided everyone needed a break. We closed on Sunday December the 22nd, and won’t open again till January 2nd. A very very very very very much needed break.

I have gotten very close with my coworkers. I mean, how could you not? Working 50-60 hours a week together.

There’s Meghan. But her nickname is Saucy/Sauce. I won’t explain why that’s her nickname, but it’s a super cute story. Anyway, Saucy is awesome. It’s been such an amazing time working with her and getting to know her. We have a lot in common. She’s quickly become a very good friend of mine. We were actually texting earlier today about meeting up for drinks later. Since this break has started, we haven’t seen each other. It’s weird to not see her for this long. I’m having Sauce withdrawals. Lol

There’s Ian. He’s a newer addition to the kitchen. He started working with us late October. When he first started, he was pretty quite and a bit standoffish. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about him. But it wasn’t long before he came out of his shell. He is SO FUNNY, I swear. He and I have a crazy similar sense of humor. There have been multiple shifts I’ve left with sore ribs from laughing so hard with him. He’s great and I've really enjoyed getting to know him

There’s Cassie and Davin. Good God. I could dedicate a whole separate text post to them.. Seriously. I might do that one day. I could write a book on all their shit..

Cassie and Davin own the restaurant. Cassie is... I have such mixed feelings about her. She can be absolutely INSUFFERABLE some days, but I seriously admire her. She is one of the toughest, most hard working people I’ve ever known. I’ve yelled, cursed, SCREAMED about how angry she makes me, but also literally driven out at 11 PM to go get her crackers, nausea meds, and Gatorade when I found out she got food poisoning.  

Davin, on the other hand... Getting to know him has been one of the biggest displeasures of my life. He is... Just so.. Manipulative, cruel, negative, egotistical. You may think I’m being a little harsh, but trust me..

I have very seriously considered quitting my job multiple times because of him. But my love for Sauce, Ian, Cassie and the restaurant keeps me there. Saucy has actually tried to quit before because of him, but ended up staying (Long story). Ian has said that if he knew who Davin was before he started, he never would have even put in an application. Cassie has the worst of it. They live together. I can’t imagine...

They have a daughter together and stay together for her and the restaurant. They date other people on the down low and practicality hate each other. It’s such a weird situation..

Okay. Enough about my work.

Greg and I are going up to Grand Rapids, MI on the 29th! I’m SO excited! Every year Greg’s friends Ryan and Gabby host a 4 day long New Years gaming party. We weren’t able to go last year, so I promised Greg that this year we would go for sure. We are leaving on the 29th and coming back on the 2nd. I’m so excited to get away with him for a while. We have both been working SO HARD, it’s going to be so nice for us to have some time away together. Greg is excited to see his group of friends again. I am too! It’s been too long 

I love him so much.

We had such a nice Christmas together. Just he, the animals and I. Super chill and low key. Our mini Christmas tree, mimosas, a huge breakfast, naps, video games.. Only thing I’m disappointed about was the weather. Christmas Eve and Christmas it was rainy and in the 40s. What the fuck? Being in Iowa now, I was looking forward to having snow on Christmas for the first time in my entire life... Christmas comes and it’s suddenly significantly hotter than it’s been in weeks??? Excuse me..? Rude.

Well, Greg has been over on the other couch taking a nap while I’ve been typing this and it looks like he’s starting to wake up. Plus I’ve been writing for so long, I’m beginning to grow weary.. So, Imma wrap this up

It was nice giving a life update! Wayyy overdue! 

See ya later, alligator! 

Happy Holidays! 

[fitnesshealthyoga-blog]

New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/a-qa-with-maty-ezraty-on-the-state-of-yoga/

A Q&A With Maty Ezraty on the State of Yoga

Maty Ezraty is a true leader in the yoga community, and has seen an evolution in how the practice is taught. Here are her thoughts on leadership and integrity.

Christopher Dougherty

Maty Ezraty was just 23 years old when she opened the original YogaWorks in Santa Monica, California. Her vision was simple but revolutionary: She wanted to create a yoga school that offered a diverse, high-quality selection of classes to appeal to a wide array of people. It was 1987, and yoga studios typically only offered one style of yoga. But Ezraty had been influenced by both Iyengar and Ashtanga Yoga, so she knew the benefits of studying several methods.

YogaWorks quickly became the school Ezraty had set out to create, offering more than 120 classes per week, serv-ing more than 700 students per day. She also trained many of the yoga teachers we seek out today, including Kathryn Budig, Annie Carpenter, and Seane Corn. Although she sold YogaWorks in 2004, Ezraty still teaches around the world and is considered a true pioneer in the yoga community. Here, she gives her perspective on leadership: How she approached it, the potential risks of commercializing yoga and glorifying practitioners on social media, and how all of us can learn to be leaders in our own right.

Thanks for watching!Visit Website

Thanks for watching!Visit Website

Thanks for watching!Visit Website

See also The Future of Yoga: Maty Ezraty’s Musings on the State of Yoga Traditions in Modern Times

I definitely didn’t set out to be a leader when I opened YogaWorks. I created it because I fell in love with yoga, and I felt that yoga had a place in the world for helping and—this is going to sound corny—to create world peace. I wanted people to see that yoga could be for everyone. People tell me that YogaWorks was a catalyst for a lot of what is happening now in yoga—the popularization of vinyasa flow. I personally don’t think of it that way. The original YogaWorks classes weren’t flow classes. There was no linking of poses, no music. The original method was a mild Iyengar class with more heat. At some point, some teachers were influenced by music, and they brought it in and it stuck. But it was not the vinyasa flow that people associate with yoga today.

When I started YogaWorks with Alan Finger, I was a baby teacher; I never thought of myself as a head teacher, that’s for sure. I also felt very strongly about YogaWorks being a school, not a studio. I always believed that if you had a good school with good teachers, the business would come along. I wanted to be a facilitator for the yoga teachers. There was a fair bit of hand-holding and guiding certain people to become who they are today. I thought of myself as a conduit.

I always wanted to see teachers become their best. I had a motherly role with some of them. For so many yoga teachers, their students tell them, “You’re great, you’re great, you’re great,” and they don’t have a true mirror. I had my teachers’ best interest in mind—always. I wanted the best for them and the yoga, and I think I was pretty good at giving honest feedback. I was able to take teachers and draw out their talents.

I even played that role with some very big yoga teachers out there. I’m talking about more-senior teachers than me! They would come in for workshops and I would need to discuss with them what didn’t work, the reasons why, and how to change it. For example, if teachers had negative attitudes toward other lineages, I would have to say to them, “Look, you’re in an eclectic school. It’s fine if you don’t agree with this, but there is a way to disagree that is pleasant.” Or, if a workshop leader had an attitude of scolding in the class, I would address that.

The teachers who were open to hearing feedback and weren’t egotistical? I think we accomplished things.

See also 5 Signs You Have a Yoga Teacher Who Empowers You

Every yoga school or studio needs to have a yogi in the house—someone with the courage to keep to a yoga vision. I think this takes someone who lives their yoga and will say, “Yes, this could make money, but no, it isn’t yoga.” I fear that’s not happening now. These days, if you don’t have a webpage and you’re not on Instagram, you’re not going to get the same kind of opportunities. This is not right.

If you have a yogi in the house and they see talent in a teacher, that teacher should not have to be pushed into being on social media if it doesn’t fit them. You need someone in charge who is working on a spiritual path, has done readings and research, has a practice, and is rooted in the principles of yoga—not in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I), but in the essence of a yogic lifestyle.

Maty Ezraty in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I).

Christopher Dougherty

It disturbs me when I see people taking pictures of themselves doing yoga at the beach. It worries me. I could go outside right now—it’s beautiful here in Hawaii—and I could walk on my land and pretend that my life is perfect. But in reality, I’m human—and I have all kinds of things going on that are not perfect. I could use my environment to completely create something that’s not real and to hook people in a way that makes them feel like their life is not as good. It’s a fantasy, and that’s what worries me. Instead, people need to get off their asses and study yoga.

It is a shame that social media is causing certain teachers to become popular. I think more often than not, those are not the best teachers.

I don’t think we have a lot of mentors in the yoga world. And we’ve had some problematic leaders. We don’t have the kinds of leaders in the yoga world that they have in the meditation world. We don’t have a Jack Kornfield. We don’t have a Joseph Goldstein. We don’t have all the monks who are teaching incredibly good, solid philosophy. The meditation world has been able to take the philosophy and bring it down to everyday life, and I don’t think many of us in the yoga world have managed to do that with our texts, like Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.

The meditation world is rooted in the Four Noble Truths and the teachings of the Buddha, whereas yoga is rooted in asana—and that’s a problem. We are losing a lot of people in yoga because we’re in the fitness realm now. My gut tells me there is enormous attrition at yoga studios because moving from one pose to another with rock-and-roll music is not really everyone’s idea of learning about themselves. The meditation world is also less competitive; more about community. I remember first going to Spirit Rock six or seven years ago. Someone asked about where else to go to meditate, and they were free in giving so many other options. It was such a lesson for me. I thought, Wow, this is generosity, and I don’t know if I’ve always been there. This is what we need to be doing in yoga.

See also Want to Thrive as a Yoga Teacher? 5 Tips from a Yogi Who Cut Through the Competition with Grace

I think we lack master teachers who are really ethical; what we’ve got now are asana teachers who are pretending to be masters. There is no yogi in the house who says, “I believe in this class; I’m going to support it; I’m going to educate the students that come here about the greater yoga.” Essentially we need yoga schools, not corporations. That doesn’t mean we can’t do some of the stuff that is popular now, but students have to understand there is more. Schools need adult-yogi supervision—someone who demands respect and who has a bigger vision of what it means to have a yoga school. I heard that Mary Taylor tells her students that their students are not clients. When you are a client, you get what you want. A student needs to arrive to class ready to receive what the teacher is ready to give them, as long as the teacher has the right qualifications.

There may be a role for overarching leadership in yoga, but we’re not there yet. We’re looking for leadership in social-media personalities, publications like Yoga Journal, and conferences, which are all about numbers and not necessarily about teaching. I think there are some good yoga teachers out there—Judith Hanson Lasater, Donna Farhi, and John Schumacher, for example. They are out there. They don’t necessarily all agree, but I think they are rooted in a deeper sense of yoga. These are the people who should be sitting on boards and leading. It doesn’t mean that we negate the new vinyasa flow–music stuff. We can include it, but we also need to educate the yoga community that there are more possibilities. Right now, we give an insane amount of power to Yoga Alliance. I am sure it does some good things, but I think it is also responsible for some ill information. You do not need a yoga credential to be a good teacher.

Maty Ezraty has seen a real evolution in the art of teaching over the years.

Christopher Dougherty

If we’re giving the message that you can take a 200-hour training and be a teacher—and at 500 hours you can train teachers—we have a problem. If you’ve been practicing yoga for four years and you’re charismatic, that doesn’t mean you’re ready to teach teachers. It’s true that I started very young and fast. I’d been practicing for four years before YogaWorks and teaching for two. But the difference was that I thought of myself as a baby. Even now, I’ve been teaching yoga for 31 years and I barely feel ready to teach teachers.

It has taken time for me to let go of YogaWorks. I felt that the people who bought it—white, male, corporate America—weren’t wise. When I sold YogaWorks, there was not one yogi or female on the board of directors. They didn’t understand what it was; but they thought they did. (It has since gone through another sale, and I don’t know the new owners.) At the same time, I was very young when we started, and I know I didn’t have enough business skill. My issue was that I took things personally. Sometimes I felt like a trashcan—people just threw their trash at me. But had I understood, had I been more solid within myself at the time, had I known what I know now, I could have kept it and moved it in the right direction.

Pattabhi Jois used to always say, “Yoga is bigger than we think, and it will survive.” Yes, but making sure that we emphasize looking inward, quieting, taking time, and observing takes a yogi in the house. It takes having someone to fight for yoga—not just for the bottom line.

See also The 7 Most Powerful Cues a Yoga Teacher Has Ever Given Me

About the Author

Andrea Ferretti hosts the Yogaland podcast and is the creative director at Jason Crandell Yoga Method. When she’s not cooking or doing yoga, she hangs out with her six-year-old daughter. jasonyoga.com.

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[hekate1308]

Renunciation

Things are slowly heating up. Enjoy!

“So I’ve been working“ Claire says instead of a greeting when he picks up.

Cas is immediately worried – he of all people should know some hunters tend to run into dangerous situations without thinking of consequences first – but he’s learned that she won’t respond well should he choose to express this, so he asks “On what?”

She chuckles.                                                                                                                

“I can tell you’re freaking out. Don’t worry, I’m safe and well. Listen. Since you obviously don’t want me on the front line, since you didn’t even tell me someone’s trying to kill all of you, I thought I could do some... campaigning.”

“Campaigning?”

“Yeah. I talked to Jody. Turns out not those she and others contacted are standing behind you – “

“We are aware, but we think that with the support we have – “

“I get that, but it’s always better to have more friends, right?”

She pauses, probably for dramatic effect, as teenagers are wont to do.

“So I have been talking to their kids – well, of those who have them, anyway.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Look, Cas, it’s easy. Being neutral is fine and all, but you can’t ignore planned genocide forever, not even if you’re a hunter who only sees black and white. You might be able to contradict your peers, fine enough. But if a nice young girl befriends your nice young girl and your nice young girl learns the truth about the Winchesters she’s only ever heard crazy stories about before... you guys are legends, by the way. It’s insane.”

“We do our best” he deadpans, hoping it will get a chuckle out of her. It does.

“So eleven more hunter families at the east coast are keeping their eyes open.”

“Claire, that’s... thank you. I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just stay safe, alright? And invite me to the wedding.”

“Dean and I aren’t en- oh. That was a joke.”

“Getting better all the time. Talk to you soon, Cas!”

“Take care of yourself, Claire.”

He will be eternally grateful for the bond he’s developed with Jimmy Novak’s daughter. He sends a short prayer of thanks to his father before he goes to tell Dean and the others of the newest developments.

They’ve developed a routine of sorts. Dean jokingly refers to the room next to the library they’ve filled with the information their contacts give them as their “war room”. Usually at least one of them can be found there at this time of the day.

He enters to find Mick checking out their map of the west coast. He’s busy circling towns he considers as probably desirable for the Men of Letters to stay at. They’re too smart to risk being taken down in one swoop.

And yet that’s exactly what they are planning. The Men of Letters don’t know how far their network reaches, thanks to Crowley having used the loopholes the spell he was under allowed and them feeding him false information during that time.

That reminds him –

“Have you seen Crowley?”

He wasn’t at breakfast today for the first time since Rowena lifted the spell, and according to Dean, the talk they shared last night was “intense”. Maybe Crowley needs some time for himself.

Cas a feeling how this story will end.

He’s already lived through it.

“No. But I don’t think he’s in trouble. The Men of Letters know better than to try something that already failed.”

He nods, noting that Mick doesn’t bat an eyelid anymore when he mentions his former employers. He’s found a place for himself in their midst remarkably quickly.

Certainly faster than Cas ever decided he wished to stay with Dean.

“Cas? Are you alright?”

He blinks.

“Yes. I just... remembered something.”

Mick grimaces.

“I know how that feels like.”

His phone rings and his face lights up. With a polite excuse, he brushes past Cas.

And the former angel knows exactly how this feels like, he reflects with a smile.

Falling in love.

He’s aware that... problems may arise with the budding romance they’re witnessing. Mel is a water wraith, a creature meant to live for centuries, and she does not possess the luxury that Cas had. She can never become human.

But then, she wouldn’t if she could. Mel is her own spirit, she is one with her element. She knows what she wants... and for the time being, it’s Mick.

Cas hopes their friend won’t get hurt.

Dean comes into the room.

“Hey. Mick’s busy talking.”

He grins the easy, happy grin Cas has gotten used to ever since they set off on the road together, and as always, his heart skips a beat.

“Claire called. She has been “campaigning”.

Dean chuckles and kisses him.

“Should have known she wouldn’t stay put. So what did she say?”

When Cas is done bringing him up to speed, they hear the tell-tale heavy steps of the golem.

Dean smiles.

“Aaron got a little distracted by the Hebrew section of our library today. Apparently he already found three texts he believed were no longer available.”

“Crowley really stocked it well” he responds. “By the way, have you seen him?”

“No. Don’t expect to. Trust me, he just needs some time alone, is all.”

He relaxes. Dean knows Crowley well. If he says there’s nothing to worry about, there isn’t.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” he asks Aaron and Matan after they’ve come in.

Aaron grins speepishly.

“Sorry. But the text I found may give me some close how to unravel their necromancing spell once and for all...”

“Don’t be sorry, that’s great news.” Dean nudges him. “Cas here has some too. His kind of-daughter has been working for us.”

“Not my daughter, Dean.”

“Close enough.”

“She’s yours too, then” he teases him, his beloved blushing and looking away.

He’d make a wonderful father, Cas is sure. Dean is great with children.

And perhaps, who knows, once things have settled down...

He doesn’t allow himself to dwell on the thought.

After Sam has joined them and Mick has come back from his phone call, still smiling happily, everyone except Crowley knows about the newest development.

He saves them from trying to contact him by crashing into the war room a moment later.

“What the – Crowley!”

Dean hastens to help him up.

“You alright? Were the Men of Letters – “

“No” he admits, grimacing. He doesn’t appear to be injured, although his suit is dirty and torn.

“Demons.”

“Demons? Don’t they know better than to attack you?”

Crowley dis- and a moment later reappears with a glass in his hand.

“That’s better”. He takes a huge gulp.

“I went to Hell. I figured if I could get enough support, I might be able to break the wardings as I did before.”

“What happened?” Cas asks.

“Turns out, the reason I saw no one during my last short visit is that they are not exactly keen on my leadership.”

“We knew that before” Dean comments.

“Yeah, and you’ve always been able to reel them in, right?”

“Not this time. Turns out...” he trails off.

It’s Matan who guesses the answer.

“Your true face has changed.”

Crowley nods.

“Your – what does that mean?” Dean demands at the same time as Sam requires, “Was it the spell?”

Crowley shoots him a look that’s... almost offended.

And Cas understands.

All the time he had under the spell to think about what he wants and where he belongs, his talk with Dean, his admission that he hates Hell...

“No it wasn’t” he says simply.

Crowley nods.

“I’m afraid yours truly has become too good to lead Hell.”

“So what happens now? Is there someone else?”

He smirks.

“No, don’t worry. The Princes and Knights of Hell are either uninterested in taking over or dead. And there is no one around who could do what I have done. They wouldn’t even attack me. They’re scared of the changes the golem’s noticed.”

“But then why...” Dean gestures towards his suit.

“Using that to tell them what I thought of them once and for all might not have been the best idea” Crowley admits.

Dean groans.

“You didn’t.”

“Can you blame me? They’re all these whiny, egotistical, annoying sons of bitches who can’t understand why they haven’t taken over the earth despite being dumb as bricks!”

“Tell us how you really feel. You got away okay, right?”

“Yes. They tried, but most were still too scared to do anything, and I’ve still got my powers.”

“So you’re not the King of Hell anymore?” Aaron asks.

“I have resigned.”

“Pah”. Dean shakes his head, taking Cas’ hand. “A honorific can easily be bestowed. You’ll always be King to us, right guys?”

“Definitely very... kingly” Cas lightly agrees.

Now, dirty and hated by demonkind, more than ever. He almost wishes he were still an angel so he could see the changes in Crowley’s soul.

He squeezes Dean’s hand.

Almost.

“The royal family has got nothing like him” Mick says.

“A reformed demon is worth all of Hell” Matan announces.

Sam actually raises his hand for a fist bump, which Cas can see surprises Crowley.

Yes, they’ve changed a lot since the King of Hell first showed up and helped him and Dean deal with that dragon two years ago.

“Sadly this means I won’t be able to break through their security” Crowley explains, downing his glass.

“We’ll just have to find another way, then”. Dean turns and looks at Matan.

“I assume you can break Brits as easily as Nazis?”

“Of course. I can do anything my rabbi orders me to.”

“Requests. What he requests” Aaron is quick to correct him.

He was hesitant about the whole aspect of ownership from the first, Dean told Cas.

“So, what are we going to do now?” Sam asks. “According to Lizzie, they expect more reinforcements”.

“Quite frankly, I’m tired of these bastards running around our country. I think it’s time we throw them out.”

“Alright then, time to attack. I can get behind that” Crowley replies.

“Yes, there’s just...” Dean trails off.

Cas is still holding his hand. He can guess what his beloved will say next. He’s been thinking about it ever since Rowena left.

“I think we should try and talk to Mary again”.

“What?” Sam splutters. “Dean, she called you a monster! She’s not interested in – “

“I am not saying we should give her a get out of jail free card. Hell, I’m not even saying call her Mom and try to grovel hoping we can somehow get her back. All I’m saying is we try to reach out and explain to her what we’ve been doing one last time, without giving anything away, of course. And if she still insists that all monsters must be eradicated and that I am one of them... That me and Cas and Crowley are monsters, than that’s it. One more chance to listen. That’s all she gets.”

The brothers share a long look.

Eventually Sam nods.

“Alright. Just one more try. And if she doesn’t want to listen...”

“She’s going down with the rest of them” Dean finishes.

[tragically-broken]

Coffee Stains pt.4

Ship: Feysand  Type: College AU Word Count: 1,559

  Thank you all so much for your feedback! 

*BOOM BOOM BOOM*

Feyre woke with a start; what the hell was going on?

“Feyre it’s me. Open this door right now before I burn down this entire building!”

“Nesta?” Feyre rubbed the crust from her eyes and glanced at her phone: 2:34AM

“Would you hurry up already?”

Feyre scampered on cold feet to open the door.

“I thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow night?” Feyre slurred, still confused what exactly was going on.

“Change of plans. Turns out Elain enjoys the company of muts.”

“Elain got a dog?”

“Worse: A boyfriend.”

Feyre huffed a laugh pulling the covers back over her legs.

“And to make matters worse her new mut has friends.”

“Oh on….she didn’t try to set you up did s-“

“THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT SHE TRIED TO DO!”

Feyre rubber her temples.

“Oh my gods it’s too early for this.” Feyre sat back and took a deep breath knowing Nesta was about to go on a rant.

“I mean who does she think she is??? I fly all that way to spend time with her and what does she do? She leaves me behind to entertain her strays while she flitters off to have a picnic with her mushy boyfriend! And of all the people to leave me with: that BASTARD, SORRY EXCUSE FOR A-“

“Nesta, quiet down you’re going to wake the entire building.”

“Whatever, I’m exhausted anyways. Those egotistical, cocky, know-it-all bastards just about drove me insane.”

“Do you think I could get the whole story sometime when the sun is up, and I don’t have an exam in five hours?”

Nesta let out an exasperated huff and threw herself on the bed.

“Fine. Goodnight.”

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*

The alarm clock bleeped 6:30 over and over again until she gained the strength to turn it off.

She glanced over across the room at her sister. It always shocked her how neat of a sleeper Nesta was. Her hair was always in a high pony-tail, her back always turned away from the rest of the room, the sheets were always tucked in, and her whole body was straight and still as a statue under the covers. Meanwhile, Feyre’s bed looked like it had been through a tornado. She had always been a wild sleeper, even before the nightmares…..

There was no time to dwell on the past with an exam waiting. She scampered around the room collecting a pair of black leggings and what she hoped was a clean long-sleeved tee-shirt. Looking at her appearance in the mirror she cringed. Bad hair day. After rummaging around her room she found a tan baseball hat that would have to do. She just hopped she wouldn’t run into Rhys until she had a chance to-

*Knock knock knock*

Feyre grabbed her back pack and flashcards before running to answer the door. Who in the world would be knocking this early?

She swung the door open to find a smiling Rhys standing with two cups of coffee and a brown bag that had to be the source of that wonderful smell.

“Rhys, what in the world are you doing? You don’t have class until noon.”

“I know, but what kind of guy would I be if I didn’t bring the most beautiful girl on campus breakfast before her last exam?”

“Definitely not as good as the guy who does…” Feyre smiled

“Good gods your georgous. How can someone look this good at 6:45AM? Really Feyre, you must tell me your secret.”

“Oh please, I look like a wreck and you know it- wait did you say 6:45?!”

“Yea bu-“

“I gotta get going, my exam starts at 7:00 and Mr. Pilch doesn’t accept late students.”

“Ok here take your coffee and I will walk you swiftly to class.”

Feyre took a sip from the cup as she made her way down the stairs.

“Ick! Do you not believe in sugar?”

Warm laughter echoed in the stairwell.

“I thought you might say that.”  He snickered taking the cup from her and pouring four sugars inside.

“I need at least six…”

“Six??? Have you ever heard of diabetes?”

“Shut up and pour.”

Rhys chuckled “As you wish Feyre Darling”

“What’s in the bag?”

“Oh yea I almost forgot I bought you a muffin.”

“Is it-“

“Chocolate chip? Yes, yes it is.”

“Uhg, you’re an angel.” Feyre said as she snatched the brown bag from his hands and dug into the warm chocolatey piece of heaven

“MMMMM this is divine! Here, try it.” She held a piece up to his mouth.

They were only a yard away from her classroom when he took a bite from the piece she held out to him. His lips brushed up against her fingers. That one brush of his lips was all it took for her to remember all the sweet and persistent kisses they shared Halloween night.

“Mhm I did do well.” He mumbled through his full mouth.

“Thank you so much for this; it was incredibly sweet of you.”

“Not as sweet as that so called coffee you’re drinking.” He said smirking

Feyre laughed and kissed his cheek.

“Go kill that exam Darling.”

Feyre rolled her eyes and made her way to the door looking back at him over her shoulder.

He waved and turned away giving Feyre the perfect view of his glorious backside.

 Feyre didn’t know it was possible to be so drained from one exam; she was in desperate need of a nap.

As she was dragging her body towards her room when she heard yelling.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

Was that Nesta? Feyre stumbled closer.

“You darted off so fast you forgot your wallet! What was I supposed to do?”

“You know there’s this magical thing called a MAILBOX!”

“Well excuse me for thinking you wouldn’t want your driver’s license floating around in the mailing system!”

“JUST LEAVE!”

“I just got here!”

“WHAT DO Y-“

“HEY!” Feyre yelled, approaching the open door.

“What in the world is going on here?”

“Nothing. This brute was just leaving…”

“Oh, don’t even try to act like you didn’t miss me sweetheart.” The handsome stranger smirked.

“And who are you exactly?” Feyre demanded

“He’s no-“

“I’m Cassian, but those who know me call me Cass. Nice to meet you, Feyre?” Cassian extended his hand.

“Yea, that’s me.” Feyre shook his hand reluctantly

“It’s a real pleasure to finally meet you in person.”

“I can’t imagine Nesta talks about me that much.”

“Yea she’s real spit-fire, but you already know that.” He chuckled

“Yes I am well aware…” Feyre smiled back

“Ok, not that I’m not enjoying this quality bonding moment, but it’s time for you to leave.” Nesta pushed Cassian towards the door.

“See you at dinner sweetheart!” Cassian mumbled before the door slammed in his face.

“Would that happen to be a “stray” from Elain’s?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Ok, fine. But he sure is handsome…..”

A pillow flew at Feyre’s face before she could stop it.

“Hey!” Feyre chuckled

“I don’t want to hear another word about that brute.”

“Alright ok, just chill I need to take a nap.”

 When Feyre woke from her nap it was 8:00pm…..whoops she over slept big time. She picked up her phone when she noticed a text.

Rhys: What are your feelings about Chinese food?

Feyre laughed silently to herself. She liked where this was going.

Feyre: My stomach growled just thinking about it!

Rhys: Great! Would you like to order Chinese food to my place?

Feyre’s mind ran a thousand miles a minute. His place? Did this mean he wanted them to- well of course she wanted to too- but what If it’s too soon? Of course it’s too soon. She wasn’t the type of girl who slept with someone after only a cup of coffee and a measly muffin! Besides, she wasn’t ready. Not after….she just wasn’t ready, but a girls gotta eat right? Crap- she’s waited too long to respond.

Feyre: Yea Chinese sounds perfect, send me your address :)

Oh gods what should she wear? How does she act? What will happen if he tries to take the next step, but she’s not ready? Would he ever speak to her again? He’s a nice guy he would never do that, would he?

Feyre took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror: the perfect definition of a mess.

She decided to keep the leggings because they’re comfortable enough to lounge, but thin enough if he touched her thigh she would no doubt feel it. She tried on a creme tank top, but exchanged it for a deep green short sleeve top that fell to her mid-thighs because she felt too exposed.

She dabbed her favorite lip gloss on her pink lips and swiped some mascara on her lashes. She backed away to look at herself. She knew she was a pretty woman. She’d been told enough times, but she couldn’t help but feel insecure at her reflection. She mumbled to herself how ridiculous she was acting and grabbed her purse and phone before she could chicken out. As she made her way towards the door she noticed a sticky note: Gone to dinner, don’t wait up –N

It looks like both of the Archeron sisters were in for an interesting evening….

I’m thinking about adding a Nessian side fic to go hand in hand with this one…. If that’s something you’d be interested in please let me know! 

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga features... ******THE BEST OF 2016 SERIES****** ***************:: #4 ::*************** ****PEOPLE OF EARTH // TBS // S1**** People Of Earth (S01E10) Snake Man & Little Guy Airdate: October 31 - December 19, 2016 Ratings: 0.683 Million :: 0.30 18-49 Demo Share S1 Average: 0.768 Million :: 0.32 18-49 Demo Share S1 High Overall: 0.913 Million :: 0.34 18-49 Demo Share S1 High 18-49: 0.821 Million :: 0.36 18-49 Demo Share **********SPOILERS BELOW********** 'People Of Earth' is one of the most deceptive shows on television... As I've stated many times in different ways, it's jam packed with raw human emotion but it's shell is candy coated with funny looking aliens and humor at every turn... Its a comedy, it's a drama, its a romance, it's a mystery, it's also a unique character piece for quite a large ensemble cast. That's exactly what makes this show unique and that's exactly what makes it a great candidate for the #BestOf2016 series. The mother ship has already announced it was coming, both the audience and the aliens have known for 4 weeks... Yet emotions have run so high within the oddball conglomerate of aliens that they literally let it slip right past them... Specifically Jeff, who has been the workhorse of the bunch throughout the entire series. In a showdown at Gina's house between Jeff (as controller of Nancy's faculties) and Jonathan, we learn through Jonathan that Jeff has made destroying Gina his sole mission because he and Kurt had an interspecies love thing going on. Jeff has been using Nancy to manipulate Richard to get into StarCrossed, and Richard believes he's in love with her (and apparently that all women may possibly be in love with him)... The whole following her and witnessing the literal blowout between Nancy and Jonathan was hilarious and recovering from the explosion and seeing Jonathan with much of his lizard face exposed validates much of his insanity... And will surely make him much more smarmy and unnecessarily egotistical for S2... Basically Richard x15. The big revelation comes in the form of our two main protagonists, Gina and Ozzie, who through Gina's experimental therapy she long abandoned after pushing a patient to his death brings out the mother load of revelations... Gina herself was at a crossroads, she had lost touch with what made her happy, she was quite literally a bird afraid to fly. I think she just needed someone to 'need' her back to life, and that surprisingly turned out to be Ozzie. They stop by to invite Gerry in on the process, but Gerry is stone cold... He's literally given up on his dreams, it almost broke my heart (and it would've, if it wasn't for what happened at the very end). So through this hypnotherapy and Ozzie's recounting of his experience as a child, they realize that they are both 'lifers'... But the show gives us even more... The entire StarCrossed group are lifers, they have been subjects of this alien coalition for over 30 years, as shown by a flashback including all of the members (except for Gerry, of course) in their young forms on a ship being monitored, sitting in the same circle they have been sitting in for years, unknowingly through Gina's group. Damn that's a bombshell! Then we have Don & Kelly and Doug & Chelsea... Both couples have seem to go as far as they can in what would normally be doomed relationships. Don attempts to distance himself from Kelly telling her he has to go to Iceland to take care of his sick mother... And Doug draws a line in the sand with Chelsea stating priests can't be with married women, but you can't fight love and you certainly can't fight becoming a bit more human when your constantly surrounded by them... Just like they say, 'If you hang around the barber long enough you're going to get a haircut.' I guess the same applies for keyboarding priests and women whose marriages are on the fritz... Because before we know it, Kelly & Don are on a plane headed towards Iceland (to see Don's sick mother that doesn't rly exist) and Doug & Chelsea are straight going at it and letting their love muscles pump. Fuck it, right? That leaves us with Gerry & Yvonne... Oh and Jeff too, because his other arc was just him controlling Nancy so he's still back on the ship. Jeff is notified the mothership is docking and he's freaking out... He goes to welcome his people but all we get it a door opening and a 'Who the hell are you?' Scandalous! Obviously Yvonne is now taking Gerry seriously after he's gotten his life together and is waiting at a diner. He texts he's almost there and you immediately know... He won't be making it. His car immediately comes to a stop on the same fateful Beacon road where unexplainable things keep happening... And the happening that Gerry has always wanted to happen... HAPPENS! Yes!!! Gerry is being taken... I'm happy for the dude as he's thrilled too... But I gotta tell ya, I'm a little worried. Who's taking him and why? After all Jeff greeted total strangers when the mother ship arrived. Who ever has arrived hasn't had over 30 years of Earth experience and probably has no understanding of that word that kept popping up throughout the entire series... Empathy. Guess that's a story to tell when the time comes for S2! We've been watching a series of arcs intertwine and build and build and build... They all manage to pay off in some way in 'Snake Man and Little Guy', yet the series puts more questions and weird possibilities in place going forward without anything really feeling like a cliffhanger. I gotta tell you, the writing has just been outstanding from top to bottom, and that's not a blanket or empty statement. It's true, all of these things are going on at once, we still get a satisfying ending, and it promises to give us even more in an already clenched S2. Just a year ago I never thought I would've said this, and it's funny because I just had a conversation with someone where I admitted that I have got to stop saying never, but TBS Network is on FIRE!

[cedarrrun]

This master teacher and founder of YogaWorks has seen a real evolution in the art of teaching over the years. Read on for her thoughts on the art of leadership.

Maty Ezraty is a true leader in the yoga community, and has seen an evolution in how the practice is taught. Here are her thoughts on leadership and integrity.

Maty Ezraty was just 23 years old when she opened the original YogaWorks in Santa Monica, California. Her vision was simple but revolutionary: She wanted to create a yoga school that offered a diverse, high-quality selection of classes to appeal to a wide array of people. It was 1987, and yoga studios typically only offered one style of yoga. But Ezraty had been influenced by both Iyengar and Ashtanga Yoga, so she knew the benefits of studying several methods.

YogaWorks quickly became the school Ezraty had set out to create, offering more than 120 classes per week, serv-ing more than 700 students per day. She also trained many of the yoga teachers we seek out today, including Kathryn Budig, Annie Carpenter, and Seane Corn. Although she sold YogaWorks in 2004, Ezraty still teaches around the world and is considered a true pioneer in the yoga community. Here, she gives her perspective on leadership: How she approached it, the potential risks of commercializing yoga and glorifying practitioners on social media, and how all of us can learn to be leaders in our own right.

See also The Future of Yoga: Maty Ezraty's Musings on the State of Yoga Traditions in Modern Times

I definitely didn’t set out to be a leader when I opened YogaWorks. I created it because I fell in love with yoga, and I felt that yoga had a place in the world for helping and—this is going to sound corny—to create world peace. I wanted people to see that yoga could be for everyone. People tell me that YogaWorks was a catalyst for a lot of what is happening now in yoga—the popularization of vinyasa flow. I personally don’t think of it that way. The original YogaWorks classes weren’t flow classes. There was no linking of poses, no music. The original method was a mild Iyengar class with more heat. At some point, some teachers were influenced by music, and they brought it in and it stuck. But it was not the vinyasa flow that people associate with yoga today.

When I started YogaWorks with Alan Finger, I was a baby teacher; I never thought of myself as a head teacher, that’s for sure. I also felt very strongly about YogaWorks being a school, not a studio. I always believed that if you had a good school with good teachers, the business would come along. I wanted to be a facilitator for the yoga teachers. There was a fair bit of hand-holding and guiding certain people to become who they are today. I thought of myself as a conduit.

I always wanted to see teachers become their best. I had a motherly role with some of them. For so many yoga teachers, their students tell them, “You’re great, you’re great, you’re great,” and they don’t have a true mirror. I had my teachers’ best interest in mind—always. I wanted the best for them and the yoga, and I think I was pretty good at giving honest feedback. I was able to take teachers and draw out their talents.

I even played that role with some very big yoga teachers out there. I’m talking about more-senior teachers than me! They would come in for workshops and I would need to discuss with them what didn’t work, the reasons why, and how to change it. For example, if teachers had negative attitudes toward other lineages, I would have to say to them, “Look, you’re in an eclectic school. It’s fine if you don’t agree with this, but there is a way to disagree that is pleasant.” Or, if a workshop leader had an attitude of scolding in the class, I would address that.

The teachers who were open to hearing feedback and weren’t egotistical? I think we accomplished things.

See also 5 Signs You Have a Yoga Teacher Who Empowers You

Every yoga school or studio needs to have a yogi in the house—someone with the courage to keep to a yoga vision. I think this takes someone who lives their yoga and will say, “Yes, this could make money, but no, it isn’t yoga.” I fear that’s not happening now. These days, if you don’t have a webpage and you’re not on Instagram, you’re not going to get the same kind of opportunities. This is not right.

If you have a yogi in the house and they see talent in a teacher, that teacher should not have to be pushed into being on social media if it doesn’t fit them. You need someone in charge who is working on a spiritual path, has done readings and research, has a practice, and is rooted in the principles of yoga—not in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I), but in the essence of a yogic lifestyle.

Maty Ezraty in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I).

It disturbs me when I see people taking pictures of themselves doing yoga at the beach. It worries me. I could go outside right now—it’s beautiful here in Hawaii—and I could walk on my land and pretend that my life is perfect. But in reality, I’m human—and I have all kinds of things going on that are not perfect. I could use my environment to completely create something that’s not real and to hook people in a way that makes them feel like their life is not as good. It’s a fantasy, and that’s what worries me. Instead, people need to get off their asses and study yoga.

It is a shame that social media is causing certain teachers to become popular. I think more often than not, those are not the best teachers.

I don’t think we have a lot of mentors in the yoga world. And we’ve had some problematic leaders. We don’t have the kinds of leaders in the yoga world that they have in the meditation world. We don’t have a Jack Kornfield. We don’t have a Joseph Goldstein. We don’t have all the monks who are teaching incredibly good, solid philosophy. The meditation world has been able to take the philosophy and bring it down to everyday life, and I don’t think many of us in the yoga world have managed to do that with our texts, like Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.

The meditation world is rooted in the Four Noble Truths and the teachings of the Buddha, whereas yoga is rooted in asana—and that’s a problem. We are losing a lot of people in yoga because we’re in the fitness realm now. My gut tells me there is enormous attrition at yoga studios because moving from one pose to another with rock-and-roll music is not really everyone's idea of learning about themselves. The meditation world is also less competitive; more about community. I remember first going to Spirit Rock six or seven years ago. Someone asked about where else to go to meditate, and they were free in giving so many other options. It was such a lesson for me. I thought, Wow, this is generosity, and I don’t know if I’ve always been there. This is what we need to be doing in yoga.

See also Want to Thrive as a Yoga Teacher? 5 Tips from a Yogi Who Cut Through the Competition with Grace

I think we lack master teachers who are really ethical; what we’ve got now are asana teachers who are pretending to be masters. There is no yogi in the house who says, “I believe in this class; I’m going to support it; I’m going to educate the students that come here about the greater yoga.” Essentially we need yoga schools, not corporations. That doesn’t mean we can’t do some of the stuff that is popular now, but students have to understand there is more. Schools need adult-yogi supervision—someone who demands respect and who has a bigger vision of what it means to have a yoga school. I heard that Mary Taylor tells her students that their students are not clients. When you are a client, you get what you want. A student needs to arrive to class ready to receive what the teacher is ready to give them, as long as the teacher has the right qualifications.

There may be a role for overarching leadership in yoga, but we’re not there yet. We’re looking for leadership in social-media personalities, publications like Yoga Journal, and conferences, which are all about numbers and not necessarily about teaching. I think there are some good yoga teachers out there—Judith Hanson Lasater, Donna Farhi, and John Schumacher, for example. They are out there. They don’t necessarily all agree, but I think they are rooted in a deeper sense of yoga. These are the people who should be sitting on boards and leading. It doesn’t mean that we negate the new vinyasa flow–music stuff. We can include it, but we also need to educate the yoga community that there are more possibilities. Right now, we give an insane amount of power to Yoga Alliance. I am sure it does some good things, but I think it is also responsible for some ill information. You do not need a yoga credential to be a good teacher.

Maty Ezraty has seen a real evolution in the art of teaching over the years.

If we’re giving the message that you can take a 200-hour training and be a teacher—and at 500 hours you can train teachers—we have a problem. If you’ve been practicing yoga for four years and you’re charismatic, that doesn’t mean you’re ready to teach teachers. It’s true that I started very young and fast. I’d been practicing for four years before YogaWorks and teaching for two. But the difference was that I thought of myself as a baby. Even now, I’ve been teaching yoga for 31 years and I barely feel ready to teach teachers.

It has taken time for me to let go of YogaWorks. I felt that the people who bought it—white, male, corporate America—weren’t wise. When I sold YogaWorks, there was not one yogi or female on the board of directors. They didn’t understand what it was; but they thought they did. (It has since gone through another sale, and I don’t know the new owners.) At the same time, I was very young when we started, and I know I didn’t have enough business skill. My issue was that I took things personally. Sometimes I felt like a trashcan—people just threw their trash at me. But had I understood, had I been more solid within myself at the time, had I known what I know now, I could have kept it and moved it in the right direction.

Pattabhi Jois used to always say, “Yoga is bigger than we think, and it will survive.” Yes, but making sure that we emphasize looking inward, quieting, taking time, and observing takes a yogi in the house. It takes having someone to fight for yoga—not just for the bottom line.

See also The 7 Most Powerful Cues a Yoga Teacher Has Ever Given Me

About the Author

Andrea Ferretti hosts the Yogaland podcast and is the creative director at Jason Crandell Yoga Method. When she's not cooking or doing yoga, she hangs out with her six-year-old daughter. jasonyoga.com.

[amyddaniels]

Master Teacher Maty Ezraty on the State of Yoga Right Now

This master teacher and founder of YogaWorks has seen a real evolution in the art of teaching over the years. Read on for her thoughts on the art of leadership.

Maty Ezraty is a true leader in the yoga community, and has seen an evolution in how the practice is taught. Here are her thoughts on leadership and integrity.

Maty Ezraty was just 23 years old when she opened the original YogaWorks in Santa Monica, California. Her vision was simple but revolutionary: She wanted to create a yoga school that offered a diverse, high-quality selection of classes to appeal to a wide array of people. It was 1987, and yoga studios typically only offered one style of yoga. But Ezraty had been influenced by both Iyengar and Ashtanga Yoga, so she knew the benefits of studying several methods.

YogaWorks quickly became the school Ezraty had set out to create, offering more than 120 classes per week, serv-ing more than 700 students per day. She also trained many of the yoga teachers we seek out today, including Kathryn Budig, Annie Carpenter, and Seane Corn. Although she sold YogaWorks in 2004, Ezraty still teaches around the world and is considered a true pioneer in the yoga community. Here, she gives her perspective on leadership: How she approached it, the potential risks of commercializing yoga and glorifying practitioners on social media, and how all of us can learn to be leaders in our own right.

See also The Future of Yoga: Maty Ezraty's Musings on the State of Yoga Traditions in Modern Times

I definitely didn’t set out to be a leader when I opened YogaWorks. I created it because I fell in love with yoga, and I felt that yoga had a place in the world for helping and—this is going to sound corny—to create world peace. I wanted people to see that yoga could be for everyone. People tell me that YogaWorks was a catalyst for a lot of what is happening now in yoga—the popularization of vinyasa flow. I personally don’t think of it that way. The original YogaWorks classes weren’t flow classes. There was no linking of poses, no music. The original method was a mild Iyengar class with more heat. At some point, some teachers were influenced by music, and they brought it in and it stuck. But it was not the vinyasa flow that people associate with yoga today.

When I started YogaWorks with Alan Finger, I was a baby teacher; I never thought of myself as a head teacher, that’s for sure. I also felt very strongly about YogaWorks being a school, not a studio. I always believed that if you had a good school with good teachers, the business would come along. I wanted to be a facilitator for the yoga teachers. There was a fair bit of hand-holding and guiding certain people to become who they are today. I thought of myself as a conduit.

I always wanted to see teachers become their best. I had a motherly role with some of them. For so many yoga teachers, their students tell them, “You’re great, you’re great, you’re great,” and they don’t have a true mirror. I had my teachers’ best interest in mind—always. I wanted the best for them and the yoga, and I think I was pretty good at giving honest feedback. I was able to take teachers and draw out their talents.

I even played that role with some very big yoga teachers out there. I’m talking about more-senior teachers than me! They would come in for workshops and I would need to discuss with them what didn’t work, the reasons why, and how to change it. For example, if teachers had negative attitudes toward other lineages, I would have to say to them, “Look, you’re in an eclectic school. It’s fine if you don’t agree with this, but there is a way to disagree that is pleasant.” Or, if a workshop leader had an attitude of scolding in the class, I would address that.

The teachers who were open to hearing feedback and weren’t egotistical? I think we accomplished things.

See also 5 Signs You Have a Yoga Teacher Who Empowers You

Every yoga school or studio needs to have a yogi in the house—someone with the courage to keep to a yoga vision. I think this takes someone who lives their yoga and will say, “Yes, this could make money, but no, it isn’t yoga.” I fear that’s not happening now. These days, if you don’t have a webpage and you’re not on Instagram, you’re not going to get the same kind of opportunities. This is not right.

If you have a yogi in the house and they see talent in a teacher, that teacher should not have to be pushed into being on social media if it doesn’t fit them. You need someone in charge who is working on a spiritual path, has done readings and research, has a practice, and is rooted in the principles of yoga—not in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I), but in the essence of a yogic lifestyle.

Maty Ezraty in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I).

It disturbs me when I see people taking pictures of themselves doing yoga at the beach. It worries me. I could go outside right now—it’s beautiful here in Hawaii—and I could walk on my land and pretend that my life is perfect. But in reality, I’m human—and I have all kinds of things going on that are not perfect. I could use my environment to completely create something that’s not real and to hook people in a way that makes them feel like their life is not as good. It’s a fantasy, and that’s what worries me. Instead, people need to get off their asses and study yoga.

It is a shame that social media is causing certain teachers to become popular. I think more often than not, those are not the best teachers.

I don’t think we have a lot of mentors in the yoga world. And we’ve had some problematic leaders. We don’t have the kinds of leaders in the yoga world that they have in the meditation world. We don’t have a Jack Kornfield. We don’t have a Joseph Goldstein. We don’t have all the monks who are teaching incredibly good, solid philosophy. The meditation world has been able to take the philosophy and bring it down to everyday life, and I don’t think many of us in the yoga world have managed to do that with our texts, like Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.

The meditation world is rooted in the Four Noble Truths and the teachings of the Buddha, whereas yoga is rooted in asana—and that’s a problem. We are losing a lot of people in yoga because we’re in the fitness realm now. My gut tells me there is enormous attrition at yoga studios because moving from one pose to another with rock-and-roll music is not really everyone's idea of learning about themselves. The meditation world is also less competitive; more about community. I remember first going to Spirit Rock six or seven years ago. Someone asked about where else to go to meditate, and they were free in giving so many other options. It was such a lesson for me. I thought, Wow, this is generosity, and I don’t know if I’ve always been there. This is what we need to be doing in yoga.

See also Want to Thrive as a Yoga Teacher? 5 Tips from a Yogi Who Cut Through the Competition with Grace

I think we lack master teachers who are really ethical; what we’ve got now are asana teachers who are pretending to be masters. There is no yogi in the house who says, “I believe in this class; I’m going to support it; I’m going to educate the students that come here about the greater yoga.” Essentially we need yoga schools, not corporations. That doesn’t mean we can’t do some of the stuff that is popular now, but students have to understand there is more. Schools need adult-yogi supervision—someone who demands respect and who has a bigger vision of what it means to have a yoga school. I heard that Mary Taylor tells her students that their students are not clients. When you are a client, you get what you want. A student needs to arrive to class ready to receive what the teacher is ready to give them, as long as the teacher has the right qualifications.

There may be a role for overarching leadership in yoga, but we’re not there yet. We’re looking for leadership in social-media personalities, publications like Yoga Journal, and conferences, which are all about numbers and not necessarily about teaching. I think there are some good yoga teachers out there—Judith Hanson Lasater, Donna Farhi, and John Schumacher, for example. They are out there. They don’t necessarily all agree, but I think they are rooted in a deeper sense of yoga. These are the people who should be sitting on boards and leading. It doesn’t mean that we negate the new vinyasa flow–music stuff. We can include it, but we also need to educate the yoga community that there are more possibilities. Right now, we give an insane amount of power to Yoga Alliance. I am sure it does some good things, but I think it is also responsible for some ill information. You do not need a yoga credential to be a good teacher.

Maty Ezraty has seen a real evolution in the art of teaching over the years.

If we’re giving the message that you can take a 200-hour training and be a teacher—and at 500 hours you can train teachers—we have a problem. If you’ve been practicing yoga for four years and you’re charismatic, that doesn’t mean you’re ready to teach teachers. It’s true that I started very young and fast. I’d been practicing for four years before YogaWorks and teaching for two. But the difference was that I thought of myself as a baby. Even now, I’ve been teaching yoga for 31 years and I barely feel ready to teach teachers.

It has taken time for me to let go of YogaWorks. I felt that the people who bought it—white, male, corporate America—weren’t wise. When I sold YogaWorks, there was not one yogi or female on the board of directors. They didn’t understand what it was; but they thought they did. (It has since gone through another sale, and I don’t know the new owners.) At the same time, I was very young when we started, and I know I didn’t have enough business skill. My issue was that I took things personally. Sometimes I felt like a trashcan—people just threw their trash at me. But had I understood, had I been more solid within myself at the time, had I known what I know now, I could have kept it and moved it in the right direction.

Pattabhi Jois used to always say, “Yoga is bigger than we think, and it will survive.” Yes, but making sure that we emphasize looking inward, quieting, taking time, and observing takes a yogi in the house. It takes having someone to fight for yoga—not just for the bottom line.

See also The 7 Most Powerful Cues a Yoga Teacher Has Ever Given Me

About the Author

Andrea Ferretti hosts the Yogaland podcast and is the creative director at Jason Crandell Yoga Method. When she's not cooking or doing yoga, she hangs out with her six-year-old daughter. jasonyoga.com.

[remedialmassage]

Master Teacher Maty Ezraty on the State of Yoga Right Now

This master teacher and founder of YogaWorks has seen a real evolution in the art of teaching over the years. Read on for her thoughts on the art of leadership.

Maty Ezraty is a true leader in the yoga community, and has seen an evolution in how the practice is taught. Here are her thoughts on leadership and integrity.

Maty Ezraty was just 23 years old when she opened the original YogaWorks in Santa Monica, California. Her vision was simple but revolutionary: She wanted to create a yoga school that offered a diverse, high-quality selection of classes to appeal to a wide array of people. It was 1987, and yoga studios typically only offered one style of yoga. But Ezraty had been influenced by both Iyengar and Ashtanga Yoga, so she knew the benefits of studying several methods.

YogaWorks quickly became the school Ezraty had set out to create, offering more than 120 classes per week, serv-ing more than 700 students per day. She also trained many of the yoga teachers we seek out today, including Kathryn Budig, Annie Carpenter, and Seane Corn. Although she sold YogaWorks in 2004, Ezraty still teaches around the world and is considered a true pioneer in the yoga community. Here, she gives her perspective on leadership: How she approached it, the potential risks of commercializing yoga and glorifying practitioners on social media, and how all of us can learn to be leaders in our own right.

See also The Future of Yoga: Maty Ezraty's Musings on the State of Yoga Traditions in Modern Times

I definitely didn’t set out to be a leader when I opened YogaWorks. I created it because I fell in love with yoga, and I felt that yoga had a place in the world for helping and—this is going to sound corny—to create world peace. I wanted people to see that yoga could be for everyone. People tell me that YogaWorks was a catalyst for a lot of what is happening now in yoga—the popularization of vinyasa flow. I personally don’t think of it that way. The original YogaWorks classes weren’t flow classes. There was no linking of poses, no music. The original method was a mild Iyengar class with more heat. At some point, some teachers were influenced by music, and they brought it in and it stuck. But it was not the vinyasa flow that people associate with yoga today.

When I started YogaWorks with Alan Finger, I was a baby teacher; I never thought of myself as a head teacher, that’s for sure. I also felt very strongly about YogaWorks being a school, not a studio. I always believed that if you had a good school with good teachers, the business would come along. I wanted to be a facilitator for the yoga teachers. There was a fair bit of hand-holding and guiding certain people to become who they are today. I thought of myself as a conduit.

I always wanted to see teachers become their best. I had a motherly role with some of them. For so many yoga teachers, their students tell them, “You’re great, you’re great, you’re great,” and they don’t have a true mirror. I had my teachers’ best interest in mind—always. I wanted the best for them and the yoga, and I think I was pretty good at giving honest feedback. I was able to take teachers and draw out their talents.

I even played that role with some very big yoga teachers out there. I’m talking about more-senior teachers than me! They would come in for workshops and I would need to discuss with them what didn’t work, the reasons why, and how to change it. For example, if teachers had negative attitudes toward other lineages, I would have to say to them, “Look, you’re in an eclectic school. It’s fine if you don’t agree with this, but there is a way to disagree that is pleasant.” Or, if a workshop leader had an attitude of scolding in the class, I would address that.

The teachers who were open to hearing feedback and weren’t egotistical? I think we accomplished things.

See also 5 Signs You Have a Yoga Teacher Who Empowers You

Every yoga school or studio needs to have a yogi in the house—someone with the courage to keep to a yoga vision. I think this takes someone who lives their yoga and will say, “Yes, this could make money, but no, it isn’t yoga.” I fear that’s not happening now. These days, if you don’t have a webpage and you’re not on Instagram, you’re not going to get the same kind of opportunities. This is not right.

If you have a yogi in the house and they see talent in a teacher, that teacher should not have to be pushed into being on social media if it doesn’t fit them. You need someone in charge who is working on a spiritual path, has done readings and research, has a practice, and is rooted in the principles of yoga—not in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I), but in the essence of a yogic lifestyle.

Maty Ezraty in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I).

It disturbs me when I see people taking pictures of themselves doing yoga at the beach. It worries me. I could go outside right now—it’s beautiful here in Hawaii—and I could walk on my land and pretend that my life is perfect. But in reality, I’m human—and I have all kinds of things going on that are not perfect. I could use my environment to completely create something that’s not real and to hook people in a way that makes them feel like their life is not as good. It’s a fantasy, and that’s what worries me. Instead, people need to get off their asses and study yoga.

It is a shame that social media is causing certain teachers to become popular. I think more often than not, those are not the best teachers.

I don’t think we have a lot of mentors in the yoga world. And we’ve had some problematic leaders. We don’t have the kinds of leaders in the yoga world that they have in the meditation world. We don’t have a Jack Kornfield. We don’t have a Joseph Goldstein. We don’t have all the monks who are teaching incredibly good, solid philosophy. The meditation world has been able to take the philosophy and bring it down to everyday life, and I don’t think many of us in the yoga world have managed to do that with our texts, like Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.

The meditation world is rooted in the Four Noble Truths and the teachings of the Buddha, whereas yoga is rooted in asana—and that’s a problem. We are losing a lot of people in yoga because we’re in the fitness realm now. My gut tells me there is enormous attrition at yoga studios because moving from one pose to another with rock-and-roll music is not really everyone's idea of learning about themselves. The meditation world is also less competitive; more about community. I remember first going to Spirit Rock six or seven years ago. Someone asked about where else to go to meditate, and they were free in giving so many other options. It was such a lesson for me. I thought, Wow, this is generosity, and I don’t know if I’ve always been there. This is what we need to be doing in yoga.

See also Want to Thrive as a Yoga Teacher? 5 Tips from a Yogi Who Cut Through the Competition with Grace

I think we lack master teachers who are really ethical; what we’ve got now are asana teachers who are pretending to be masters. There is no yogi in the house who says, “I believe in this class; I’m going to support it; I’m going to educate the students that come here about the greater yoga.” Essentially we need yoga schools, not corporations. That doesn’t mean we can’t do some of the stuff that is popular now, but students have to understand there is more. Schools need adult-yogi supervision—someone who demands respect and who has a bigger vision of what it means to have a yoga school. I heard that Mary Taylor tells her students that their students are not clients. When you are a client, you get what you want. A student needs to arrive to class ready to receive what the teacher is ready to give them, as long as the teacher has the right qualifications.

There may be a role for overarching leadership in yoga, but we’re not there yet. We’re looking for leadership in social-media personalities, publications like Yoga Journal, and conferences, which are all about numbers and not necessarily about teaching. I think there are some good yoga teachers out there—Judith Hanson Lasater, Donna Farhi, and John Schumacher, for example. They are out there. They don’t necessarily all agree, but I think they are rooted in a deeper sense of yoga. These are the people who should be sitting on boards and leading. It doesn’t mean that we negate the new vinyasa flow–music stuff. We can include it, but we also need to educate the yoga community that there are more possibilities. Right now, we give an insane amount of power to Yoga Alliance. I am sure it does some good things, but I think it is also responsible for some ill information. You do not need a yoga credential to be a good teacher.

Maty Ezraty has seen a real evolution in the art of teaching over the years.

If we’re giving the message that you can take a 200-hour training and be a teacher—and at 500 hours you can train teachers—we have a problem. If you’ve been practicing yoga for four years and you’re charismatic, that doesn’t mean you’re ready to teach teachers. It’s true that I started very young and fast. I’d been practicing for four years before YogaWorks and teaching for two. But the difference was that I thought of myself as a baby. Even now, I’ve been teaching yoga for 31 years and I barely feel ready to teach teachers.

It has taken time for me to let go of YogaWorks. I felt that the people who bought it—white, male, corporate America—weren’t wise. When I sold YogaWorks, there was not one yogi or female on the board of directors. They didn’t understand what it was; but they thought they did. (It has since gone through another sale, and I don’t know the new owners.) At the same time, I was very young when we started, and I know I didn’t have enough business skill. My issue was that I took things personally. Sometimes I felt like a trashcan—people just threw their trash at me. But had I understood, had I been more solid within myself at the time, had I known what I know now, I could have kept it and moved it in the right direction.

Pattabhi Jois used to always say, “Yoga is bigger than we think, and it will survive.” Yes, but making sure that we emphasize looking inward, quieting, taking time, and observing takes a yogi in the house. It takes having someone to fight for yoga—not just for the bottom line.

See also The 7 Most Powerful Cues a Yoga Teacher Has Ever Given Me

About the Author

Andrea Ferretti hosts the Yogaland podcast and is the creative director at Jason Crandell Yoga Method. When she's not cooking or doing yoga, she hangs out with her six-year-old daughter. jasonyoga.com.

from Yoga Journal http://bit.ly/2V5mlhA