#while this can obviously be beneficial in some ways like getting feedback

[foreverppl]

I so appreciate authors who really stick to their guns both in terms of characterization and overall narrative decisions.

[whentherewerebicycles]

some work thoughts:

i just met with the director of another unit to discuss this faculty development project i want to make happen next fall and she was enthusiastically on board. i wasn't sure what the answer would be when i made the ask (she's a nice person but i find her tone kind of hard to read over email) so that was a nice surprise! she had great feedback and helped me decide on a model, and now we are both moving forward with getting our respective units on board and sourcing funding before we start planning. whoohoo!

this person works in a different unit than me under a grand-boss who i really respect and think is very effective at managing her people. whenever i get to spend time working with people in that division it makes me kind of sad, because her teams always seem really happy and fulfilled in their work and are given a lot of autonomy to actually do their work, and that makes me realize anew how dysfunctional the environment is in our division and how different this job could be if we were housed elsewhere. but it's also, in other ways, like a breath of fresh air, because it reminds me how unnatural the cramped, defensive, micromanaged, fearful, intensely reactive way we are forced to work is. i think that a certain person in my office is deeply insecure and deeply fearful of being judged by others, and they end up making everyone else feel that way too - like, sometimes i get really in my head about approaching other people outside my unit about collaborating on projects because i have this idea that they're going to tear my ideas to shreds or be really critical/mean or just not want to work with me for some reason. but that has literally NEVER happened when i actually get out of our physically & emotionally isolated work space and start engaging with other people. people are generally quite kind and they engage with you thoughtfully and they want to figure out how to collaborate on mutually beneficial projects that serve students.

idk in my 20s i did a lot of journaling on here about unlearning shame reactions, and i remember writing a lot about how shame feels like being curled up in the fetal position inside the isolation of an imaginary bunker, with your hands in fists and your jaw clenched so tightly, because when you live in shame you live in this state of being perpetually braced against a blow that you fear will shatter your ego and annihilate you. and that might seem like dramatic or heightened language but i genuinely think that is what shame feels like in your body, just that state of constant tension and animal fear and that blind primal need to try to shield yourself against what's coming. and unlearning shame or coming out of shame was, in my 20s, very much a process of like... learning how to physically and emotionally relax into my own body/mind, learning how to not fear emotional closeness with people, learning how to trust that if you let someone in or if you reached out to someone else that would expose a vulnerability, but that this person would not weaponize that vulnerability against you. i have really put in the time (years and years) to work through all that and am fine now but it's funny how situations that seem totally disconnected can reactivate some of my old shame triggers. dumb workplace dynamics seem like they should be totally separate from the emotional baggage of other areas of my life! and yet when i interact with someone who has obviously been shamed (based on their intensely fearful, reactive, defensive, clenched-fist-and-jaw behavior) and now regularly weaponizes shame in their own interpersonal relationships with others, i find that i can really easily slip back into that shamed posture myself without realizing it and it takes me a while to physically register the tension in my body/mind and be like ohh dude i'm in my professional workplace and in my mid-30s and yet i have somehow become The Shamed Child again.

ANYWAY this all a very roundabout way of saying that: when i half-slip back into Shame Mindset again it makes me increasingly less willing to seek out the very interpersonal interactions that would most help dispel the shame feelings. and i need to remember that. like when R is dedicating herself to making me feel like all of my ideas are trash that might be the moment where i most need to go out into the world and share that work with others and get thoughts from people who are not in that weird shaming/shamed feedback loop. i think i sometimes enable her to isolate me by reacting in shamed child fashion instead of reacting in professional adult in the workplace fashion. just something i want to keep thinking about.

[exchangell]

Hi! im Mortis from your server and I had a simple request :]

Do you have any advice for descriptive writing? Also I love your writing!

HEY MORTIS!!!

i suppose it's hard to say for certain, and again my words here won't be the be-all and end-all: there's a lot of different ways that people go about it. i'll give you a list, though:

i tend to avoid repeating words in the same paragraph unless there's a specific stylistic reason for it (so if i'm using repetition to drive forward a point)

it's a super corny and overdone piece of advice, but 'show dont tell' is really good. after a while it kinda becomes baked into your brain to the point that you don't really think about it- it just feels natural

try reading a LARGE variety of literature. that can range from different genres/publishing methods (e.g fanfics)- a nice part of writing is seeing how people's writing styles vary, especially given that not everything is everyone's cup of tea. it's not a necessary thing here, but just being able to read different things and sort of subconsciously pick up on things genuinely helps so much beyond belief- and if you have a list of your favourite authors, reread their stuff and see if there's stuff stylistically that catches your eye

think through a variety of different language techniques. start out simple with similes and metaphors, and see where it takes you

again, it's all about getting into a practice of it over a long period of time until it feels almost instinctual- it's been a while (10 years) since i started writing longer works/short stories, and it's obviously always resulted in more bad works than good ones- just treasure them and accept that they exist. it's all about building up on yourself and trying new things until you find a way that works for you. like i said, after a while it becomes second nature, but that differs for everyone- i do english literary tutoring, and a general thing i've noticed with my students is that it's always most beneficial to go with what you'd want to read yourself as opposed to what you might think others might like. some may like it, some might not- it's all about you writing for yourself and an audience who'll surely enjoy reading it. just making sure that you like it, alongside maybe asking others (both writers and non writers) for feedback always goes a long way!!

i feel like i rambled too long here but i hope this is helpful, if not pls lmk, i'm always available! this is a huge honour to have been asked THANK YOU SO MUCH 🙏

[troglobite]

so i guess after 13 eps let's do it. at this point in the campaign:

fjord: insecure but faking it to make it bc, somehow, he has the most social grace out of the entire group. he's the defacto Face, but has some imposter syndrome about it, and is ABSOLUTELY lying and hiding stuff and pretending like he's not so that he can have a leg to stand on to criticize the others and offer feedback, and not be accused of pot-kettle-black.

jester: the, perhaps naive and mischievous, moral compass of the group. she never minces words. why not just say what you mean? she understands lying for ulterior motives, but fundamentally, she doesn't understand why you would lie if not to gain something specific. she likes fun and goofiness, and sometimes needs a context/reality check, but she's capable and can handle herself. early on, she hides the insecurity by being colorful and friendly and confident and silly. she's never had to make friends before, so her only experience is with the traveler and adults while an itty bitty child. so she's new to all of it and doing her best, while using that "childish" wisdom to call the others out on their bullshit.

molly: too detached from anything to properly care. thinks he's figured it all out, but claims that he would never think/say that abt himself. thinks he's enlightened bc he's just had to move on from the mystery of crawling out of a grave with absolutely no memory of having ever EXISTED before that point. learned everything he knew from circus people, who, bc they have to be insular and work as a team, taught him specific skills--which he wields well. but he thinks that's all he needs and that he has the ability to criticize others he sees as lacking. it's not a confidence issue w him, it's that he's so detached from everyone/everything except yasha.

beau: the world's biggest motherfucking asshole and bitch combined. REFUSES TO LISTEN TO ANYONE. she'll only hear what she wants to hear--and what she wants to hear basically always justifies what she already thought and was already going to do. and what does she usually think and do? that everyone else is shady and untrustworthy, and she's going to interrogate them for information that she can use to her own benefit in the future. her brashness is in response to being made to feel less than, of course, and being treated so terribly. it's not fake necessarily, but it's amplified as a defense mechanism. she's just like this, yes, but not necessarily a terrible asshole.

caleb: keeps everything close to the chest bc he has been BURRRRNED before (pun absolutely intended). the only trustworthy person in THE ENTIRE WORLD, to him, is nott, bc she has nothing to gain from betraying him. the way the world sees her makes her safe and easy to read. their intentions may be hidden from each other, but only insofar as specifics. he wants to be deliberate and careful abt everything, bc he wasn't in the past and it destroyed everything. and the brashness and judgment of his compatriots seems idiotic to him in this context. as far as he's concerned, he would prefer to go it alone, and is only here so long as it's beneficial to him. he might like them, but he does not care for them.

nott: obviously hiding her biggest secret, but she doesn't want pity or condescension. she's been berated and mistreated her entire life, she's been tricked as gullible and stupid and worthless. she's an alcoholic w extreme PTSD (i mean, they all have cPTSD or PTSD to some degree--hence why she and caleb get along so well, tbh--their traumas overlap so cleanly) who has one goal in mind. but that goal scares her so much that pursuing it is complicated. the only person she likes, beside caleb, is jester--bc jester doesn't lie. she's honest and kind and sweet. jester would've stood up for nott/veth when she was being bullied, and helped her pull a prank on them, too. the rest may as well be the ppl who've harangued her her entire life. so she's going along w it bc, like caleb, it's CURRENTLY mutually beneficial.

and i wish we had seen enough of yasha for be to say anything abt her :( alas!!!

i can't wait to see what they do with yasha in the animated series, actually. much like what they did w pike, i'm HYPED.

[historicalfightingguide]

"Laura Decker on What it Takes to Be a High-Level Fencing Referee"

"EPISODE SUMMARY

Our guest today is Laura Decker, one of the top fencing referees in the country and regularly chosen to officiate at the highest levels of national and international competition.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode of First to 15, we're joined by Laura Decker, one of the top fencing referees in the country and regularly chosen to officiate at the highest levels of national and international competition. 

She was recently the lone American referee at the 2022 Fencing World Championships in Cairo, Egypt.

Laura graduated from Caltech, where she was the first female fencer from that school to qualify for the NCAA Championships. She still competes in saber alongside her role as one of the world’s most respected officials.

In this episode, we asked Laura how she became a referee, how she keeps her officiating skills sharp and the "feedback" she gets from coaches and fencers while refereeing. 

Read a transcript for this episode"

"In each episode, we’ll talk to someone interesting within the fencing world, including young fencers just learning the sport, coaches, experts from outside of fencing, fencing parents, referees, Olympians and Paralympians, and many more. Ready? Set? Fence!"

So while this podcast is obviously geared directly towards olympic fencers the fact is that most historical fencing referees and judges can find a lot of information here useful. It's worth listening to, especially for those who haven't even considered judging or those who're new to it, albeit I do think even more experienced folks may find plenty of useful reminders within it if nothing else.

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[weebsinstash]

As someone who reads a lot but has no experience writing myself I didn't notice any drop in quality. It seemed to be the same level to me and I particularly enjoy your characterization of mic and aizawa as well as the added depth from the scene between mic and the repair guy. However if I HAD to give a criticism the part about the guy from when reader was young felt a little too long, the same could kinda be said for the exposition about the mom but that felt important enough to the readers persona that it was necessary. These aren't really that bad but its just a personal opinion!

I still absolutely loved the chapter though it was a delightful treat that I thoroughly enjoyed reading!

Maybe that was the part that one person didnt like, the exposition stuff? I really wish they had left a little more constructive criticism besides just telling me straight up "this should have stayed in your drafts, youre out of practice and i can tell" because how tf am I supposed to catch my mistakes and improve without good feedback 🥺 everyone has different standards for what they read so feedback from all different kinds of people could really be beneficial...

Anyways!

So while it was kind of an exposition/info dump, the part with the Reader having an inappropriate relationship with a stranger online specifically a male one is actually relevant to several things, which if it hasn't been apparent due to the fact he's never been mentioned, Reader's father was not present in her life, and not because he's dead or anything (it really isnt a massive spoiler to tell you guys he was just a deadbeat and Reader's mom had full custody and he kind of just pissed off and will make a brief unimportant cameo in the next installment of the series which will in fact be the last one, at least so is the plan). As someone with personal experience, you grow up as a young girl without a father and it can give you extremely different perspectives on men, especially when there has been abuse, and it can make you EXTREMELY VULNERABLE to positive male attention. It's to sort of establish a pattern of Reader needing a form of external acceptance and validation and how she has her own trauma and mental health struggles, especially in regards to men.

Like idk child abuse or being sexual with a kid tw but I remember when i used to go on Justin TV as a minor like idk probably 15 or 16, there was a streamer I would watch sometimes, his username was Tekker or something, and he eventually started getting flirty and stuff with me and in hindsight he was definitely uh a creep. I was a minor and he knew that and he'd be livestreaming him playing like resident evil and he'd like make jokes about, God what even was it, giving me anal as a punishment for being a smart-ass with him because you know obviously anal isn't, for everyone lmao and can hurt and like WOW

But even with those massive red flags I really liked the positive attention he gave me, like it legitimately got me flustered when I sent him my picture and he said I was beautiful and he would call me jailbait 💀 like I bought a microphone to chat with this dude and would play games on stream with him 💀💀💀 this is a subject I have personal experience with. It's kind of to establish Reader had Some Issues that leave her vulnerable to being manipulated by men and also making poor choices because she has deep abandonment issues and needing to be accepted and loved. So now, as it stands, she is slowly becoming complacent to her situation, especially when you also tackle that with the realization that if she were to get free she would go right back to a way of living that was legitimately making her miserable and suicidal

Like for real the planned ending I have for this story is probably going to make a decent number of you go Oh Honey Why Would You Do That :C

It's fucked up, but for Reader there are actually many benefits to her captivity and you couple that with her captors being excessively supportive and affectionate with her and you have a kidnapping victim slowly falling in love with her captors and saying "im a stupid idiot and I'll never have anything better and no one will probably love me like they so, and I'm a loser anyways, so I guess I'm just fucked, I probably deserve to die anyways, who cares what happens at this point, im too tired and apathetic to fight anyways"

Of course the fate of Reader's mom, which is kind of glaringly obvious tbh, but the exact details of what I will call The Mountain Incident are to be revealed in probably the next chapter or two? It's kind of just sadness porn but, it's another layer to why Reader kind of just fell apart and dropped out of Hero School and was too unable to handle the stress to work. Because realistically she experienced something extremely traumatic and had no support system while basically pushed into the deep end of being fully self sufficient and she eventually just burned out trying to do everything on her own, and then you have Mic and Eraser to the rescue to forever further skew her feelings of "see I'm helpless and stupid, I can't take care of myself, I should just let them make the decisions for me"

But yeah, thanks for submitting your feedback, it means a lot! General reception has been really nice so far and it's so nice to see how excited everyone is for an update and I'm looking forward to hopefully getting more things out soon! I'm just trying to even think of how many chapters are left? We're on 7 right now, so, hmm... at the current rate... I'd say... maybe 4 or 5? And then after this story is finished, I think the best course of action for the final part is that i write a significant portion of it before I upload anything so then that can combat being stuck in a plot hole and putting things off haha. Anyways thanks again!

[mint-yooxgi]

{4} - Obsession

Yandere AU - Part of the EXO Obsession Series

Genre: Mature, Horror, Angst

Pairing: EXO OT9 X Reader (with a particular focus on X-EXO)

Words: 2,939

Warnings: This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

A/n: Next update is here!!! Ouuuu! I’m excited, and I can’t wait for you all to see what I have planned. I know I say that every time but I'm serious. I know the general direction I want this story to go in, but with each chapter, I can add something new to the plot line, and I really hope you all like it! Things are about to get heated, hehehe... As always, feedback is greatly appreciated, I hope you enjoy!

Previous ~ Next

The next few days at the compound pass by with slightly higher tensions than usual. Everybody is on high alert for any activity regarding the clones whereabouts and plans. You can tell your strike team is especially weary of you, them wanting to make sure one of them is with you at all times in case something happens.

It’s early in the afternoon when you’re walking back to your office from lunch. You can hear soft voices coming from inside your office the closer you get, and you tense slightly. The clones wouldn’t be dumb enough to come to you while you’re at the compound, would they?

Opening the door to your office cautiously, you feel your shoulders relax as you see Minseok, Kyungsoo, and Yixing all stationed around your desk, talking with each other.

“What seems to be the problem, boys?” You quirk a brow, shutting the door quietly behind you as you move to take your seat at your desk.

“They have some questions for you since I wouldn’t answer them for them,” Kyungsoo sighs, leaning against the table you have at the side of the room while both Yixing and Minseok take the seats on the opposite side of your desk.

“Yeah?” You turn your gaze fully to the men across from you. “What’s up?”

“Since Kyungsoo won’t tell us anything, or even comment fully on the matter, we’ve decided to come ask you,” Minseok begins.

“Ever since a few days ago, when you told us all about how the clones came to see you at your apartment, Minseok and I have taken the liberty to observe your strike team closely,” Yixing continues. “We’ve noticed some things.”

You nod, waiting for them to continue. If they can point out things you’ve yet to notice, that will be a great help to you in figuring out things, especially involving the clones.

“First, we’ve noticed how they all seem rather protective over you,” Minseok says, maintaining eye contact with you in hopes to gage your reactions. “If one of them isn’t with you, another will be quick to take his place. In fact, we were surprised when you entered your office alone just now, for we were expecting at least one of them to be with you.”

“Second, whenever two or more of them are in a room together with you, the one who is closest to you receives cautious looks from the others,” Yixing adds. “Sometimes said member will receive harsh stares, borderline glares, if they make you laugh or smile in front of the others. So far, the worst looks we’ve seen have come from Baekhyun and Jongdae.”

You hum in thought, slowly nodding your head along with what you’re being told. It’s nice to have an outsider’s opinion on how your strike team interacts with you. You can’t keep your eyes on them at all times, and it would be beneficial to have people you can actually trust looking out for you. There’s no three people you trust, or rely on, more than Kyungsoo, Minseok, and Yixing.

“At times it would seem as if they are jealous of one another,” Kyungsoo chimes in, arms crossed in front of his chest as his face reflects minor amusement. You two share a look.

“Exactly,” Yixing nods in agreement. “Baekhyun seems to tense the most when another person touches you. Chanyeol tenses when someone makes you laugh. Jongin when someone compliments you. Junmyeon when you call someone else’s name but not his own. Sehun scowls when you smile at someone who is not him, and Jongdae seems to not like it when you discuss strategy with others, though we’re still trying to figure him out. If any one of them is best at hiding their emotions it’s him.”

“Hang on, you just said he has some of the worst glares towards the others though,” your brow furrows in confusion.

“That’s true, his eyes can look quite deadly,” Minseok confirms. “However, he rarely shows them. Doesn’t make them any less powerful when he does, though.”

“Which is why we’re concerned,” Yixing continues to say, and you notice Minseok nodding along with him. “We’ve tried asking Kyungsoo what’s going on but he won’t tell us anything, and when we do get something out of him, he just tells us to ask you.”

“Hence why we’re here at the moment,” Minseok states, leaning forward in his chair to rest his elbows on his knees. “We need to know, is there something going on between you and your strike team that you’re not telling us? Cause from the looks of things, they all seem to be infatuated with you.”

“As your friends, and teammates, we’re concerned,” Yixing voices, brow furrowed in a slight frown. 

You can see the concern etched onto both of their faces as they stare at you. Meanwhile, Kyungsoo just looks amused at this entire situation, lips quirked into a slight smirk as he continues to lean against the table. You let out a sigh.

“That’s the thing,I can’t give you a direct answer because I don’t honestly know myself. There’s nothing like that going on between my strike team and I, but I also have a hunch that they’re all fascinated with me in some way, and not in the traditional mentor-pupal way,” you say, leaning back in your chair. “I’ve already discussed this with Kyungsoo, but here’s everything you need to know.”

With that, you jump into the full explanation of what happened the other night at your apartment with the clones, as well as everything you’ve come to learn about them. Both Minseok and Yixing remain silent as you explain. You trust them enough to let them in on this, and to keep this to themselves.

“The only reason I didn’t tell you yet was because I didn’t want to get you guys involved in case things went south. So far, only the four of us know the full truth, and I’d like to keep it that way until I can figure out what to do with both my strike team, and their clones,” you explain, closing your eyes briefly as you rub your temples. “I don’t know what to expect from their clones, nor the lengths they’re willing to go yet. The last thing I need is to create more tensions between them, and have the squad fall apart.”

“I think we can help with that,” Minseok grins.

“How so?” Your eyes narrow slightly in curiosity.

“We’ll keep an eye on your strike team when you can’t, and then report back to you with what we find,” Minseok says, quirking a brow in your direction as he sees you thinking things over. “That way we can keep an eye on them for you when you’re not around, and possibly gather more intelligence on this entire situation.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Kyungsoo voices, pushing himself off the table in order to stand between both Yixing and Minseok with his arms still crossed.

“We’d have to set up meetings to discuss this, maybe once or twice a week, so that way we can fill you in on everything new we discover,” Yixing adds, but before he can continue, you’re speaking.

“Let me think about it for a day,” you tell them, and visibly see them all furrow their brows in confusion. “Getting you three involved means putting you in danger, and the last thing I want is for any of you to get hurt because of me.”

It also mean admitting to them that you’re not staying with Kyungsoo at the moment, but you have a feeling they’ve already gathered as much.

“That’s really considerate of you, as always,” Yixing smiles.

“But we don’t want you having to handle this by yourself,” Minseok adds.

“Besides,” Kyungsoo hums, “you could use all the help you can get.”

You remain silent for a moment, mulling it over in your mind, weighing the pros and cons of them aiding you. Obviously they can’t be with you all of the time, but knowing that when you’re here at the compound, you have three extra sets of eyes watching out for you does lift some of the weight off of your shoulders. What do you have to lose?

“Okay,” you nod once, firmly. “I agree. It would be nice having some help figuring everything out. However, we still need to discuss when and where we’ll be meeting, since it’s risky always meeting up in my office on the regular, especially with everything going on.”

As if to prove your point, a faint knock is heard on your office door before Jongdae is peeking his head into your office. From the faint shadows you can see on the wall behind him, you can tell he’s not alone.

“Is this a bad time?” He asks, eyes scanning over each of your faces briefly before his eyes lock with yours. You can see the subtle twitch of his eyebrow in annoyance.

“No, not at all,” you reply, lips quirking slightly in a small smile as he pushes the door open to reveal both Junmyeon and Sehun standing behind him. You turn your attention back to the three men in front of you, “we’ll continue this discussion later.”

With a nod from the three of them, they begin to make their way out of the room, the new arrivals taking their previous positions in front of your desk. As soon as your office door closes behind the last person out, Junmyeon turns his attention to you.

“What was all that about?” He inquires, brow quirked in questioning.

“Oh nothing,” you brush him off with a wave of your hand. “Just talks about some equipment upgrades, is all.” You hear them hum, but you can tell Jongdae and Junmyeon aren’t convinced. “What is it you three wanted to talk to me about?”

The conversation with the three of them passes by fairly quickly for you, that you barely remember everything that was discussed. You’re a little frustrated that your meeting with Kyungsoo, Minseok, and Yixing got cut short, but you know there’ll be plenty more to come. You just need to figure out a way to meet up without it becoming suspicious.

You’re currently resting on your couch in your living room, thinking over different plans. You could have them meet with you at your house, for you know it’s not bugged, nor does anyone else know where you actually live. However, that means letting Minseok and Yixing in on your little secret. Meeting in a public place is too risky, plus you don’t want anyone overhearing the conversation. If you were to do it over video, there’s a chance of being hacked, too. 

You frown, frustration clear on your features. You can’t seem to figure out what the best option would be, and at the moment, you’re leaning towards housing the meetings here, in your own home. At least you’d know nothing could go wrong, and you could always just move again if anything were to happen. You just hope that whatever you decide to do, is the right decision.

Peering outside your window, you see that the sun has long set. The only light in your house comes from the artificial glow of your lamps. Sitting up with a sigh, you figure you might as well try to get some sleep tonight in order to face the challenges you know will make an appearance tomorrow.

Moving around your house, you make sure to turn off all the lights and set the alarm for the evening. No harm in being extra cautious. Once you’re ready, you tuck yourself into bed, laying on your back and staring at the ceiling. You can tell this will be a restless night, for your thoughts are running wild. You have yet to fully accept the fact that despite them not being honest about it, your strike team fancies you, and you don’t know how to feel about that. One might say you’re in denial.

Soon enough, the morning rolls around and you manage to pull yourself out of bed after an extra hour of sleep. Some mornings, as captain, you’re allowed to come in later than everyone else. You’re just glad it’s one of those mornings now.

Grabbing your phone you see a bunch of missed calls and notifications from your strike team, as well as Kyungsoo, Minseok, and Yixing. Clicking on Kyungsoo’s messages, your brow furrows as you read them over.

Kyungsoo: (Y/n), there’s been an emergency at work.

Kyungsoo: Not a mission, but something bad happened overnight.

Kyungsoo: Call me as soon as you see these.

Without giving it another thought, you rip off your blankets while pressing to call Kyungsoo. You quickly move around your room to get ready as the call connects. It only rings once before you hear his voice.

“Where have you been, we’ve all been worried sick,” he scolds you, and you let out a small huff. You can tell he’s moved away from the others, otherwise he wouldn’t sound so worried.

“Good morning to you, too, Kyungsoo. I slept pretty shitty, thanks for asking,” you retort with a slight roll of your eyes before steeling your resolve in the next moment. “What’s going on? My phone is notification city this morning.”

“There’s been a break-in at the compound,” he gets right to the point and you freeze momentarily. “That’s all I’ll say for now, but get here as soon as you can.”

“Fuck- okay, I’ll be right there,” you respond, hanging up in the next second to focus on pulling on your clothes. You have a feeling this break-in relates to the clones, and an unsettling feeling builds in your gut.

Hopping into your car once you’re finished getting ready, you speed to the compound. You barely make it ten steps through the door when both Sehun and Baekhyun are surrounding you.

“Where were you?” Sehun asks, voice firm as he walks beside you.

“Yeah, and why weren’t you answering your phone?” Baekhyun reprimands you.

“I was sleeping in, I had a rough night,” you reply gruffly.

“We thought you would have come to work with Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol’s voice sounds from your left and you notice he’s joined the three of you.

“I told him to go ahead without me, but I didn’t think something like this would happen,” you sigh, shaking your head slightly.

Reaching the main area, the three of you quickly make your way over to where everyone is standing, looking over some files on the table.

“Brief me,” you command once you reach the edge of the table.

All eyes turn to you now, as you wait for someone to start speaking.

“The compound was broken into last night,” Junmyeon begins to say.

“Yeah, that much I know,” you nod. “What are the details?”

It’s at this moment that you notice both Jongin and Jongdae are missing from the table.

“It looks like both Chen and Kai broke in last night and stole some of our supplies,” Minseok says. “Both Jongdae and Jongin are in for questioning at the moment, hence why they’re not here.”

“Yeah, took my favourite pair of rapiers,” Baekhyun mumbles.

“Along with some tracking equipment and tech supplies,” Yixing frowns at him.

“You don’t think-“

“That’s exactly what we think,” Chanyeol confirms your thoughts by cutting you off.

“It’s what I would do,” Junmyeon admits, and you notice the other three nodding along with him in agreement. “Infiltrate and gather the best supplies to get the target.”

“What else?” You question, exhaling a long breath as you close your eyes briefly.

“They broke into your office,” Kyungsoo states and your eyes fling open.

“They did what?” Your harsh gaze meets Kyungsoo’s and he simply raises a brow at you.

“It doesn’t look like they took anything though,” Baekhyun adds, moving over to place a reassuring hand on your shoulder.

However, before he can make contact, you're turning around and speeding down the hallways until you reach your office. Flinging the door open you rush inside, the others following close behind. Rummaging through your bottom drawer, you pop the hidden compartment to pull out a small locked box.

You briefly make eye contact with Kyungsoo as you enter your code to unlock the box. Only two other people know the combination to this box besides you, and one of them is standing in this room.

You can feel the curious stares of your teammates on you as you take a deep breath, preparing yourself for the worst. You hear the lock click open.

Ever so slowly, you open the lid to the box and your breath hitches in your throat. With wide eyes, you pull out a small piece of paper.

Your hands are shaking a you slowly unfurl the note. Whether it’s from anger, confusion, or from being this upset, you do not know. Once it’s opened, your eyes scan the words written on the page.

We’re taking this to ensure your motivation. If you want it, come and claim it.

Throwing the note onto your desk, you stand up quickly, your desk chair slamming into the wall behind you from the force. Your hands grip the side of your desk so hard, you swear you hear the wood crack slightly from the pressure. There’s only one other person who knows of this box and of its importance to you. Your breathing picks up as a fire lights behind your eyes, his name passing as a growl from your lips.

Jongdae.

[selfhelpskillss]

Make Him Worship You Review: Should You Read It Through?

While many people turn to others for relationship advice, Self Help Skills would like to read books or watch programs about love and life, then get some lessons for myself. And recently, I have just digested an exciting online program named Make Him Worship You by Michael Fiore. It is beneficial, so I can end up reading this Make Him Worship You review.

Keep reading if you also want your lover to love and respect you more.

About Make Him Worship You Program

Make Him Worship You Michael Fiore

Written by a man – to be exact, an expert in the field of relationship and sexual psychology, the Make Him Worship You program with six modules will tell you, from a male perspective, how to seduce a man and make him crazy for you.

Believe me; the program will entirely change the way you take steps forward in your relationship because you now get a chance to see exactly what might happen in his little mind. Then, he will never see any women more attractive than you.

Some Interesting Information about Michael Fiore

Here is Michael Fiore

Micheal Fiore, as I mentioned above, is an expert in great modern relationships. He describes himself as blunt and funny – and most noticeably honest in giving you advice.

He is the author of various popular books and programs such as “6 Simple Tricks To CRACK THE MAN CODE And Get Any Guy To Open His Heart,” “Make Him Beg To Be Your Boyfriend,” or what we will discuss further here.

Some might even have seen him on “The Rachael Ray” show where he introduced his famous “Text The Romance Back Program” and gave many useful couples techniques.

For now, he is living in Seattle and working hard on the useful program “Make Him Worship You” and his publishing platform “Digital Romance.”

You can have a look then.

The Kind of Make Him Worship You

What is included in the program?

Rather than being a book, I must confirm that “Make Him Worship You” is a program, to be exact – a guide, with six modules in the forms of worksheets, materials, and also videos.

Even more, there are some additional bonuses in the packages that are also very helpful to check out, including:

​When To Sleep with a Man: Exactly for those who wonder what the right time to sleep with the man after the first date is?

Unstoppable Confidence: One of the essential qualities of any dating is confidence, which creates the first impression. Then, in this bonus material, you can hear Michael and the fellow expert Griswald’s candid discussion.

The Good Girl’s Guide to Texting Dirty: The author published one of the best-sellers on Amazon, Text The Romance Back Program. Thus, you can definitely learn some useful texting techniques to blow the mind of any guys.

Sometimes, you will also have an extra Man-Melting Backrub or Make Him Beg to be Your Boyfriend. It is based on the promotion offered by the author.

Anyway, you will never get bored with the program. Sometimes, you can lie on the bed and check online tutorials when you wait for your partner, or you can even put on the earphones and hear Michael Fiore share about his experience and useful relationship techniques.

The Content of The Program

Now, get insight into the main content of the Make Him Worship You program. It is divided into six modules; each focuses on different aspects of your male lover’s romantic psychology. Hence, it is supposed to help you understand him better.

No need to check all the modules in a linear. Rather than that, you can start with any of the following topics you might be interested in.

Introduction and the lies you’ve been told about men

The book starts with correcting the misconceptions and misunderstanding of you about men. Instead, Michael Fiore reveals the opinions about romantic relationships and sexual attractions from the view of men.

In the end, it is more important to accept yourself and some negative expectations so that you can become more self-confident in a relationship.

What men mean by I Love You

To make him worship you, you should never be misled by him. Then, you must know whether your partner really means it when he says, “I love you.” In this part, you can understand how a man delivers a deep feeling.

For example, the man often finds himself hard and confused about his real emotion, so communication is usually tough at the beginning.

The secret emotional life of men

Again, I have to confirm that men have a hard time honestly expressing their feelings as someone said this “Men are an ocean of feeling, but we hardly see no drop out of them.”

Thus, it would be great to see the relationships in the men’s pressures, from his life, work, and even your relationship. Take a masculine man, for instance. Showing any vulnerability and softness is against impressions and characteristics that others often put on him. All of those negative experiences can make them afraid of opening.

Accepting Yourself

The next module is about you.

This is tightly knit with the confidence that I mentioned earlier. Then, you must realize and accept both the good and bad sides of yours regarding life, in general, and romantic relationships, in particular.

After that, it is recommended to have forgiveness on your soul so that you will feel the life much less stressful, and you can also quickly move on to new relationships.

More importantly, you decide whether he is worth it or turns out to be an jerk. Real-life examples are available for your reference. Have your red flags and be ready to kick him out of your life forever if he is not well-worth your time, let alone your love.

Feeding his masculinity

While most women desire to be loved and treasured, most men are ready to give them so. They like to be a provider and also a protector when you need it. Hence, always tap into such desires and make your man more confident about himself.

Excitingly enough, Michael Fiore emphasizes the high-testosterone and some proven techniques that can also help to win over your man. Say, it would help if you increased the intimate touching and hypnotic kissing to build the partner up and drive him to do as you desire.

Communication and getting what you want

Never skip the last module, which includes a series of advisable and actionable communicating strategies to persuade him to follow your desire, even in the most difficult or misunderstanding situations.

We all know that miscommunications or toxic questions can end up a broken couple.

How Much Is The Program?

It is around $37 the latest time I check the official website of the digital “Make Him Worship You.” It is not expensive at all, considering how much time and effort the author put into all resources of the program. Truth be told, the price is just as much as the cost of a chocolate bar, and you can get a secret sauce to your relationship.

In case that you just are not satisfied with the techniques suggested by Michael Fiore, you can request a money-back within 60 days.

No worries.

What I Like and Less Like about “Make Him Worship You”

Positive as the Make Him Worship You program review is, I still have some comments to make the guide more realistic and actionable.

Pros:

Written by a man, especially – an expert in relationships

Easy to follow content with specific examples

Diversified on the presentation methods to avoid boredness

Very affordable to get useful advice from experts

Money-back guarantee, so no worries if it does not work

Five bonuses included in the package to understand him better

Cons:

Cheesy and overly-sober language

Possible inward reflection (it’s hard to admit our mistakes!)

Only the digital version available

Michael Fiore Make Him Worship You Reviews

Want to hear feedback on He Will Worship You reviews from other consumers?

Then, I would like to summary some here.

From Jude Paler

She highly praises the program for its step-by-step guide that is immediately applied to almost any case. Far from being theoretical or philosophical, the advice of Michael Fiore is practical!

From Lakeport Chamber

“Make Him Worship You” program, in the Lakeport Chamber’s opinion, is an online relationship. It is helpful as the title. All techniques are easy to implement, as well.

Last Verdict – My Overall Opinion

The Make Him Worship You review above is shown. Those who claim to Make Him Worship You scam obviously have never read it through yet. In fact, the program has a beneficial content that is broken down in easy-to-follow modules. However, the reader should not be stressed too much about self-reflection and get depressed. Instead, take good care of yourself, win over the male partner, and make him worship you to the end.

Credit by: https://selfhelpskills.net/make-him-worship-you-review/

[thedmo]

5 Challenges Facing Tomorrow`s Content Marketer

Over the previous few years, content advertising and marketing has confirmed time as well as time once more to be extremely converting and also successful ... if it is done properly. Unfortunately, lots of groups get captured up in the struggles and also challenges along the road that they cannot make significant progress.

In order for material advertising and marketing to make any influence, there are three crucial goals that it need to accomplish:

·         generate leads

·         provide beneficial content

·         build brand awareness

Any obstacles that are standing in the method of achieving these jobs need to be taken head on.

Tomorrow's material online marketers do face fairly a list of challenges, yet that does not suggest their task is difficult. Let's talk about the sector's top five, in addition to remedies to any problems that you and your group might encounter.

1. Making Distinctive Content

The sheer amount of daily web content that is released online is blowing up. All of us know the figures: in simply one min, 400 hours of video clip are published to YouTube, 3 million Facebook messages are shared, and also 3.6 million Google searches are made. Each and every single day, 2.6 million article are published on WordPress alone. This trend is revealing no signs of reducing whatsoever. As time goes on, these numbers will likely be much more remarkable (or intimidating).

With a lot sound being made in regards to contending material, advertising and marketing groups have to find specific ways making their messaging stick out amongst the crowd, leading 44% of advertising teams to agree that ordering their client's interest is more challenging compared to ever.

The finest method to develop unique content that your audience yearns for is by really listening and providing exactly what they want. You need to understand just how your audience is consuming web content, and also which formats as well as subjects they will in fact pay focus to.

According to HubSpot's research study, customers are much extra likely to inspect out videos, social media blog posts, and research material, while blog sites as well as lengthy kind content have a tendency to be skimmed over. Data such as this ought to be taken into account by your groups, especially if they are aiming to broaden their web content repertoire.

Many marketing experts have likewise discovered that examining out online forum conversations associated to their market's specific niche, on areas like Reddit as well as Quora, is one way to find the questions and conversations their target audience is already having.

Comments on blog sites as well as social media sites blog posts are another superb source for content concepts because it reveals you precisely what your visitors are thinking as well as claiming regarding your organisation. See what sort of material spurs conversations as well as address visitor inquiries with genuine understanding in future posts.

The finest method to capture an audience is by using something distinct that they haven't listened to or seen prior to. This is where several online marketers fall short. Whole lots of content that is released is simply a new take on the same old tale, and also very couple of magazines provide anything of value. Your group's web content should matter as well as it ought to offer something they can't locate elsewhere. This could be comprehensive coverage, professional viewpoints, a specific tone, instructional web content spelled out in an easier method, or whatever else your firm concentrates on. The point is that your group locates its specific niche, comprehends its audience, and provides quality over quantity.

2. Providing Personalization

Making your viewers or audiences really feel special is an excellent means to obtain them to convert into a consumer. 75% of consumers are a lot a lot more eager to purchase from a business that uses an experience that is provided precisely to their demands or desires.

Providing individualized content appears to be a substantial obstacle for material marketers, and many are still missing the mark. This job could be rather challenging, specifically for companies with large audience demographics. It will likely require some outside-of-the-box reasoning, yet the incentives are rather remarkable.

Take interactions company O2's tale as an example. They wished to make their online advertisements a lot more details as well as appropriate to audiences that were spread around the nation. They tracked consumer information and created place details ads that included directions to the local O2 shop. Each ad likewise compared with the customer's position along the sales journey with customized offers based upon the client's choices or needs.

The outcomes? 128% higher click prices at virtually half the price each order as previous ads.

Obviously, the key to customization is accessibility to customer data. Consumer accounts have to be tracked for details that can be tied to your content marketing strategy. In order to do this, marketing teams need to not just have the best information collection tools in area, yet they likewise have to recognize ways to tactically utilize it for this purpose.

3. Building Genuine Partnerships

Given the growing convenience of ease of access, producing collaborations with influencers, or other names within a market, is a material fad that will certainly proceed to create as time takes place. Throughout 2017, search queries for "influencer advertising and marketing" enhanced by 325%!

Content advertising is often extremely concentrated on promoting items, services, competence, as well as highlighting various other companies. It can be easy to seem overly-promotional, specifically with the raising popularity of paid influencers who will certainly say anything to obtain a paycheck.

Remember, web content advertising and marketing is everything about brand building, 63% of consumers concur that their assumption of a brand is positively influenced when the firm offers meaningful or valuable web content. Brand name credibility is vital to customers, as well as they are more probable to buy from companies that are transparent as well as honest with them.

To ensure this sort of joint messaging stays genuine, see to it that your business just functions with brand names that relate to your audience. Seeing eye-to-eye, being honest as well as open, and producing material that benefits everybody will communicate a credible message to everybody that can be found in call with it.

If you are working to advertise a product, make sure the partner actually attempts it out, tracks the results, records the experience, and shares truthful reviews. When functioning with influencers, give them a specific degree of innovative flexibility for the material, rather compared to offering them a precise, word-for-word script.

In order for material advertising and marketing to earn a significant perception, the message needs to be authentic, fascinating, and also pertinent. Shateringly apparent self-promotion or paid advertising will switch off many clients that are searching for sincere feedback and also insight. By concentrating on thought leadership, educational material, with simply a scattering of relevant brand mentions, your initiatives will certainly go much additionally with a target market than in-your-face advertising.

4. Accurate ROI Measurement

While numerous things in material advertising adjustment, something has stayed the same: several marketing professionals still have no suggestion ways to properly track their content's ROI. Every year, failing to properly determine results remains on top of the listing of content marketing professionals' largest challenges.

The finest rule of thumb when it comes to ROI measurement is to make use of a mix of tools that give your team with a 360-degree view of the results. Google Analytics is an excellent starting factor, of training course, but if your group is using video clip material and social media sites, better analytical software application can help. Facebook insights as well as Twitter target market analysis offer a far better concept of social results, while tools like Toggl could help to determine video engagement.

While the task of gauging ROI may be difficult, it is definitely necessary if a business is going to get anywhere with this sort of advertising. This is one location where dipping right into the budget plan for more exact monitoring software program or additional logical training may be required, particularly if your team is battling to understand consumer data.

The key is knowing which metrics use when it comes to material, as well as ways to review between the lines for the most pertinent insights.

5. Making Material Relevant to Your Audience

The concept of "audience relevance" and exactly what it implies for your brand is altering by the min. The challenge of meeting this need is one that will always be present.

It is extremely simple for content marketing professionals to obtain bound in the stress of producing content on a constant basis to fit a limited timetable. It could be even easier to lose sight of who you are actually composing for. Each item of material should belong and a purpose in helping customers along the purchaser's journey from beginning to end.

As marketing teams create a growing number of content, it is essential that they continually get to recognize their audience. Consumer targets might alter as time goes on, or as a business gathers extra data. Marketers need to likewise bear in mind that not every piece of web content needs to put on the business's audience as a whole. This false impression can result in bland, general material that gives little to no value or a scattered message with little focus.

First, your team needs to collect precise target market evaluation for targeted content inspiration. Many resort to web site analytics, but sources like social listening, A/B screening, and even analysis of your rival's clients can give much deeper insight.

Once your group gathers the information factors they require, the most effective way to call down on the distinct classifications of consumers is to create precise personalities. Have a look at past customer data and develop a story from the info. Undergo questions like these:

·         What do your most important consumers look like?

·         Can you create lasting partnerships or is it a one-and-done type of deal?

·         How do they usually react to email marketing, long-form web content, or social posts?

Answering these type of inquiries helps your team get involved in the mind of the consumer to identify their preferences as well as priorities.

'Terrific Material' - from Motto to Competence from Rohan Ayyar

Getting as well involved the procedure of pressing out content merely for the sake of checking it off the order of business will help no person. Neglecting your target market is the most convenient way to quit an effective material advertising and marketing approach in its tracks. By defining your exact target market, your advertising group will have the ability to strategize the correct tone, keyword phrases, topics, as well as systems that will do ideal with various segments.

In Conclusion

Content marketing has plenty of challenges. Besides discussing its effectiveness, marketers enjoy to discuss simply exactly how challenging this approach could be. Each distinct trouble additionally comes with unique services. This kind of advertising and marketing is not easy, however with some research, effort, and vital thinking, your team could get over any type of challenge along the way.

source: 5 Challenges Facing Tomorrow`s Content Marketer 

[penguiduck]

The Relationship Between Readers & Writers: A Day in the Life of...

Introduction | Part 1: What is this Relationship? | Part 2: Creating Motivation and Appreciation for Readers | Part 3: A Day in the Life of… | Part 4: Creating Motivation and Appreciation for Writers: Perspectives | Part 5: Creating Motivation and Appreciation for Writers: Implementation | Part 6: How to Write the Best Feedback |  Part 7: Where Does This Leave Us?

Not to veer too far off course, but I want to provide a bit of perspective regarding how writing fits into my life because I often get “update soon!” requests in comments on my works.  In some ways, these requests are flattering because readers wouldn’t make them if they didn’t enjoy my works.  

At the same time, however, writing is not as easy as snapping fingers at a blank document.  It’s not a spoonful of sugar.  Every piece of writing I post requires careful planning and forethought, and then the actual effort of curating the experience I wish to share on the page.

Though my life is relatively uneventful, it’s still busy, filled with work, chores, and other obligations.  Writing is only a small sliver of it, as much joy as it brings me.  This also means that whenever I do take the time to write and share my writing, I appreciate feedback from readers, that my work is enjoyed and that the hours I’ve spent working on a project are well-worth the while.  A simple gesture from a reader shows that my efforts are acknowledged.

Obviously, not all writers will share similar schedules, but I think an understanding for the time and care creators dedicate to their craft is vital -- once that understanding is achieved, appreciation can be elevated.

I will detail my typical pre-COVID-19 schedule down below:

7:00 AM: I wake up and get ready for work.

7:30 AM: Work begins.

4:30 PM: I head home, often staying late to finish up tasks for the day.

4:45 PM: I am home.  I play with the dogs, water the garden, and do some basic chores.

5:30 PM: I train my younger dog.  He is an anxious mess and requires consistent conditioning and training.

6:00 PM: I make and eat dinner with my husband.  We usually watch something on Netflix, Hulu, or Youtube while we enjoy our meal.

7:00 PM: We walk the dogs.

7:30 PM: We return home and feed the dogs.

7:45 PM: My husband and I have a bit of time to ourselves.

8:15 PM: My husband gets ready for bed.  I perform a second round of training for my dogs, or perform some sort of husbandry, such as nail clipping, teeth brushing, or ear cleaning.

8:30 PM: I call my mom to say hello.

8:45 PM: I shower.

9:15 PM: I use this time to write and/or do some art.  I sometimes bake for work events for either me or my husband.

11:15 PM: I get ready for bed and prep the dogs for bed.

11:45 PM: I am usually in bed by this time.

(For a lack of better word, my weekends are a crapshoot, so I won’t even bother describing them.)

As you can see, I probably have about two hours of real free time in the evenings per day, leaving little time for rest and relaxation.  The rest of my schedule is filled with other responsibilities.  I choose to write because I enjoy it and I like giving others an opportunity for a bit of happiness.

Because of the amount of time, dedication, and care I pour into my craft, I sincerely value any feedback my readers give me.  I’m sure other writers feel the same way.

With this in mind, the next chapter of this essay will be spent exploring ways that readers can show appreciation for writers online, increase motivation, and how simple gestures can nurture a relationship that is both beneficial and wholesome for both parties.

This is also posted on AO3.

[meta-shadowsong]

On Change for the Jedi Order

Specifically in Relation to Nontraditional/Latecomer Students

So, there’s a commentary that’s been floating around lately, that examines whether the Jedi Order/culture should change purely because of Anakin’s issues integrating (and later issues as an adult, some of which are related). And if that were the question, then the answer is probably no--as these commentaries have pointed out, the vast majority of Jedi don’t have that kind of trouble and are, so far as we the audience can tell, happy/fulfilled. Or, if not, they’re willing and able to depart under peaceful circumstances. And, as has also been pointed out, if they did adapt to the changing galaxy in the ways that fandom, with its external viewpoint, would suggest, who’s to say Palpatine wouldn’t be thinking five steps ahead of them and have a contingency plan in place? (The man does love his contingency plans, I gotta say.)

These are valid points, particularly in terms of some of the doctrines/requirements placed on adults/full Jedi (i.e., no marriage, etc.) that tend to catch a lot of criticism, but I feel like there’s a piece missing from this conversation. And that’s a consideration of other nontraditional/latecomer students (and/or nonstudents who are rejected for being too old), aside from Anakin. Because, from where I’m standing, the evidence indicates that the traditionalist Jedi Order, as it is at the fall of the Republic, is not super great at helping them integrate.

Before I get into my actual examples/analysis, I want to say that I don’t think this is from a lack of compassion or effort on the part of the Order. I do believe that, once a nontraditional student is accepted, they are given support in terms of that integration. I just don’t think it’s very effective support, because I don’t think that the Order, as it stands at that point, is very well set up for it.

Second, I want to say that the reason why this matters is that there’s a not-insignificant implication that not all potential candidates are identified within the acceptable age range; and therefore some unknown, and possibly significant (in proportion to the size of the Order itself) number of people are actually affected by this policy. I’ve touched on this before, but the fact that Palpatine (who comes from a) a Republic sector capital, b) a culture that highly values children, and c) parents with means) is never identified indicates that there are some significant gaps in the search process; probably particularly for populations that are more likely to slip through the cracks in a society like the Republic (i.e., the deep underlevels of Coruscant; remote farming/mining communities that are essentially Space Appalachia; etc.)

I should also mention, as a caveat, that we unfortunately have very few examples of nontraditional students within canon, so it’s admittedly not the greatest sample size in the world--I came up with five, which I will discuss at some length. But the sample sizes for any discussion on this subject are pretty small (I think we have personal information/significant canon detail on maybe a hundred members (i.e., ~1%) of the Jedi Order of this period?), so assumptions have to be made regardless. The way I’m defining my five examples is that they are students who came to the Jedi Path later than the traditional Order would typically allow, and they were trained/raised by Jedi Masters who were themselves traditionally trained (so far as we know).

Okay. Moving on.

So, the five nontraditional students we see in any detail are Anakin, Rael Avaross, Luke, Ezra, and Ventress.

With Anakin and Rael, we see a failure to adapt to the culture. Again, this is despite a genuine effort given on the part of their teachers. Admittedly, I’m less familiar with Rael, since I haven’t gotten around to reading Dooku Lost myself, but I’ve read enough excerpts and analyses that I feel like I have a general idea of what’s going on. Basically, my understanding is that he has some of the same issues Anakin has, relating to the family he left behind, and wanting things that are out of step with Jedi values. And, yes, at least with Anakin, Palpatine’s manipulations play a role in that. But the fact that he’s not the only example indicates (to me, at least) that it’s not the only factor in play here.

Obviously, this disconnect does not in any way excuse what Anakin (or Rael) later does, when he comes to a crisis point. I’m not trying to say that.

What I am trying to say is that I think this is an issue of conflicting expectations, and a fundamental miscommunication/disconnect despite genuine effort, particularly in the early stages, that leaves nontraditional students with a shaky foundation even if/when they find workarounds to appear like things are on track. Because the fact is that the Jedi Order typically takes in very small children, who can absorb most of these cultural norms essentially by osmosis, through a combination of infant neuroplasticity and the Force. An older child needs a different approach, and I’m not sure that the Jedi Order actually has the tools it needs to adapt their teaching style effectively to those circumstances. Especially when trying to integrate someone into a close-knit, fairly isolated/insular culture, which is difficult for an outsider/newcomer under the best of circumstances, on top of the new modes of behavior/emotional processing/etc. And, given how few nontraditional students there are, this is definitely a factor.

So, then it becomes sort of a feedback loop--older/nontraditional students have trouble adapting, which means the Jedi Order is less likely to take them on in the future, which means any they do take in have further troubles, etc., etc. Legends sort of indicated how this cycle started; canon has not; but frankly it’s a chicken-and-egg situation as of the period we’re talking about. Once that cycle does start, it’s hard to break.

Which brings me to my next set of examples, and the reason I think this is at least in part an issue in the Jedi Order’s teaching style.

Luke and Ezra are also nontraditional students, who are taught by traditionally-trained masters. And they are both successful.

And maybe, in part, that comes down to some quirk in personality that they share that Anakin and Rael don’t. But there’s also the fact that (due to genuinely horrific circumstances; and I will interrupt myself here and now to say that, while I do advocate for change on this particular issue, I don’t think the catalyst for change had to be, let alone should have been, what it was; but in canon, it was a catalyst for a change in approach), their masters had to adapt traditional teachings and values into a somewhat nontraditional framework. One reason I lean more towards the second/change in approach as the stronger factor--and, granted, we don’t have many specific examples to cite; plus they don’t fit technically my established definition--is that Luke’s new Academy would pretty much have to be all nontraditional students, and, so far as I can tell, the vast majority of them seem to have been successful, or on their way there, until Kylo Ren happened.

So, that leads to the conclusion that there’s an issue in how traditional Jedi Order teachings/teaching styles work with nontraditional students. Meaning, the Jedi Order of the late Republic era has difficulty in adapting said styles to the needs of the few older candidates they do take in, though not for lack of trying.

At this point, I’ll interrupt myself again to say that adjusting these practices might have an impact on the children who are brought in at a more typical age, and there’s possibly a balance to be struck between the needs of those students and the needs of these others. The way the culture is structured now does seem to be beneficial for the majority of students brought in the usual way, and fixing this flaw might open another, which might be more detrimental in the long run. And if there were any viable alternatives for training and support, that would be the end of it, as far as I was concerned. But the fact is--there aren’t. Pretty much all other Force-adepts we see seem to be closed ethnoreligious groups (or Sith). So I think an increase in flexibility in the early-stage teaching style/age limit for adoption is actually of a net benefit. Whether or not any changes are made to the broader framework/culture past that period, which is a separate discussion.

And that brings me to Ventress, my final example, who is much more complicated and harder to discuss due to several key pieces of evidence that are missing.

Where does she fit into all of this?

The implication in her flashbacks seem to be that she does pretty well with Ky Narec, who--without the same awful circumstances pushing his choices--adapts and uses a non-traditional/one-on-one approach with her, rather than trying to bring her to the Temple and integrate her into the culture right away.

Of course, there are a couple of issues with this. One, Ventress falls apart when he dies, so his approach also clearly had some flaws. Two, her memories may not be the most reliable/she might not be a super reliable narrator. Three, we are missing so much information about how and in what order everything went down.

First, why did Ky Narec make the choices he did? One explanation is that he had no way off the planet/no long-range communications and couldn’t contact the rest of the Order. I find this hard to believe for two reasons: how did Ventress then get offplanet after he died; and how did she get onto the planet in the first place? Someone there has a connection with the wider galaxy, and if Ky Narec really wanted to make contact, I’m sure he could’ve found a way.

So, why didn’t he? Was it because he knew Ventress was too old, and he felt he lacked the standing/social or political capital to convince the Council to accept her anyway? Was that assessment accurate on his part? Alternatively, did he think he could get her accepted, but felt that some training on their own before trying to integrate her into the broader culture was the better approach; and then he died before he could complete that process? Was he already thinking about leaving (as did the Lost Twenty), and she was what pushed him to actually take that step? I’m sure there are other possible explanations, but those are the ones that jump to mind.

Second, what did he tell her? What were her expectations for if/when they finally made contact with the Order? Did he warn her that her training was unauthorized and the Order would not accept her (whether or not that was actually true)?

Third, what did she actually do when he died? Did she try to reach out to the Order? Did she assume that there was no point? Did she reach out to her sisters on Dathomir? (From what I recall, most likely not, but it’s been a while since I watched the relevant TCW episodes.) Did she go straight to Dooku?

Fourth, when she did finally contact Dooku, was she seeking him out as a former Jedi who might have some understanding and compassion for her situation, or was she seeking him out as a Sith Lord/Dark Side adept? (Unless that’s actually covered in her flashbacks as well; again, I might be misremembering/have forgotten.)

So…yeah. It’s really hard to evaluate this question fully without more information on how everything with Ventress went down. But all the other evidence does indicate a disconnect.

I guess my point in all of this was…no, it’s not right for an entire culture to have to change everything for one person. But on the other hand, there’s something to be said for a test case/case study that draws attention to an existing flaw in the structure. And Anakin, while the most visible, isn’t actually the only one here.

Also...on a more general note, cultures are dynamic. They do change over time. Sometimes very rapidly, when change is forced by external pressures, sometimes more organically, by gradual internal shifts. So, the implication that the culture of the Jedi Order should remain exactly as it is as of the late Republic because that’s the best possible way for it to be, no matter how much the broader culture of the galaxy and/or their role in it might shift, feels…a little off to me. Especially since the war itself was already an impetus for change. The postwar Jedi Order was almost certainly going to be somewhat different from the prewar Order; how drastic or subtle that change would be without Anakin making all the wrong choices is a little harder to determine. And--look, I know I’m citing Legends here, because canon has yet to provide deep (i.e., 100+ years pre-TPM) backstory, but some of these things already have shifted over time, in response to both internal and external pressures. The age limit for taking in initiates/apprentices being one of them.

...but I’ll admit that that last paragraph may be me misinterpreting/reading too much into some of the posts and my There Is No One True Way button getting pushed again whether or not it’s merited in this case XD

Anyway, tangent aside, I just wanted to highlight why I feel this particular issue should be addressed, even if the expected cultural norms/code of conduct for Jedi who have integrated into the culture remain the same. Because, yeah, those seem to work out for most members, and the option to leave is there for those who have issues.

But the problem of latecomers/nontraditional students, particularly when there aren’t really any other options available to them for training and support, and there are an unknown (but possibly significant, in proportion to the size of the Order itself) number out there, is still a Thing.

((Also, one last tangent re: why this matters/is a Thing…look, applying IRL issues/politics/history and so on to Star Wars can be a weird/hinky/YMMV thing, apart from certain direct/explicit/obviously intentional parallels, and in general I try to avoid doing it--and, like, earlier today, I had to stop myself from going off on a long tangent about the Constitutions of Clarendon and Thomas Becket on a semi-related post about Ahsoka; if I want to do it, I can--but given the issues older kids/teenagers have being adopted IRL, and given the idea that baby Jedi are essentially adoptees, the fact that older kids are excluded is a little…yeah.))

[alicepink-me]

The New Guardian

Story Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng is an adult in the real world, guarding the Miracle Box in Master Fu's place. She's in love with Chat Noir, but refuses to tell him her feelings. New holders appear to fight the duo and shake up their lives. Marinette makes a tough decision about her future as Ladybug.

Chapter 14: The Trial

Marinette was sat down in a chair at a small table. Two guards stood behind her. As her eyes scanned the room, Mantis surprisingly disconnected her chains and cuffs. The entire council sat at a higher crescent shaped table across from her, looking down on her. The room was a mock of an actual court room. Mantis rolled up the chains and hooked them back on his belt.

"Seems you trust me more in this room." Marinette said, showing her wrists.

"You're powerless, so what can you do in here? You can't run now." Mantis said, walking to his seat. "You probably noticed your weakened state in that room. As a defense mechanism, we decided to weaken you so that even if you somehow stole your miraculous back, you could not transform."

"You all might be overreacting just a little bit" Marinette said. "It's not like I have access to it."

Mantis dug in his pocket. "No, but we do." He pulled out the familiar black and red box.

Marinette sat straight. "And why are you telling me its location in your pocket? I could fight you for it right now. Why risk such power?"

"Would you be so stupid to challenge us?!" One of the woman shouted. "You're just as dumb as I thought."

"You can't defeat us, Marinette, so there's no use." Mantis said, sitting down as he shoved the box back in his pocket.

"Do I at least get an attorney for this whole trial?" Marinette asked, leaning back. Her thoughts were slowly aligning.

"Of course not, you don't deserve one!" The other woman objected.

"Now now, Rain, we don't have all day to bicker with her." One man said.

"I don't care, Amethyst." Master Rain huffed. "She's an entitled brat." Marinette rolled her eyes.

Mantis held the bridge of his nose. "Alright already! Saber, would you care to proceed?"

"Gladly." A man stood up with a piece of paper. He shot a snarky glance at Marinette before looking down. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng you are here today to stand trial in front of the grand council. You have been accused of a series of crimes, including, unfit possession of a miraculous, abuse of power on many accounts, and failure to cooperate with your superiors." Marinette's mouth fell open. "You may object or add to any of these accusations to better our discussion. We, the council, will decide on a punishment and future for your miraculous that we see fit."

"First order of business." Another man stood up, adjusting his glasses. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng is the most famous Ladybug miraculous holder, stationed in Paris, France, given her miraculous at the age of thirteen. Her guardian was Master Wang Fu, since passed, who studied at the temple until age fourteen. Fu fled to Paris where he later handed out miraculouses, starting with the Ladybug and Black Cat, to teenagers for them to fight a villainous threat to the city who possessed a miraculous himself."

"Is everything correct so far, Ms. Dupain-Cheng?" Saber asked.

"Yes." She agreed.

"As everyone knows, guardian training is not a simple class that you can pass at age fourteen, so Wang Fu had actually cheated the system." The man continued. "He failed a short test and caused the complete destruction of this temple as well as everything inside of it. Instead of fixing what he started, Fu ran away without completing his own training, taking an entire Miracle Box with him, and he left the downfall of our nature behind him. Two miraculous were lost that day, which were later used against Paris, France, resulting in the need for two heroes, including yourself, Marinette. You should have never received a miraculous in the first place. If it wasn't for your guardian's complete and utter incompetence, you would never have been in this situation."

"Do you agree, Ms. Dupain-Cheng?" Amethyst asked.

"Not really." Marinette shook her head.

"That doesn't surprise me." Master Rain snarled.

"What's the issue?" Sabor asked.

"Master Fu was told to leave the temple." Marinette said, Mantis holding his breath. "When the damage had spread too far from Master Fu's sentimonster, one of your own instructed him to take the box and run before he was crushed with everything else. Master Fu told me he never understood why he was the one to be freed, but he imagined that his Master had entrusted him to bring everyone back. Eventually Master, Chat Noir, and I did restore the temple and everything inside of it. We succeeded." Marinette leaned forward, glaring. "And as for my superhero status, I was amazing." The crusty, old women scoffed. "I was needed from the very beginning aside from the whole Hawkmoth and Mayura incident. You may have forgotten, but I didn't just protect Paris from those two. The Star Five, several bandits and burglars . . . everything. Master Fu even sent Chat Noir and I to Algeria then Egypt for a week to fight a trio of villains." Marinette squinted. "Are you taking notes? You really should be taking notes. This is important stuff that you need to remember, especially since I'm part of your students' curriculum now. You might as well teach them the truth."

"How dare you!" Rain shouted, standing and slamming her fists on the desk. "None of us would ever dare let an immature student achieve such power without proper training! How dare you make such accusations about our roles at our own academy! How dare you promote your missions to us!"

"Rain!" Amethyst stood, giving her a stern look. "We must remain calm."

There was a pause and a moment of silent rage between the two before they sat down. Saber took a deep breath. "Auror, continue."

The man flipped to his next page before reading on. "Alright, objective two. Unfit possession of a miraculous." He took a deep breath. "As mentioned before, Wang Fu had not received proper training himself, so his disciple wouldn't even come close to a real master. Marinette has insisted that his teaching was beneficial, but her points are controversial. Marinette has been at the academy for two weeks now and has shown significant improvement, but no matter her training, she will never reach the potential of every other holder or guardian."

"Marinette has received some training from Fu, even if it's incomplete, but are you sure she isn't able to catch up?" Saber asked. "A few of her trainers have sent positive feedback."

"But the point of this academy is to catch the children at a young age and before they ever form attachments to people or places." Master Digit spoke. "Marinette received unnecessary power at age thirteen whereas most students may receive one after graduation at eighteen and with over a decade of training. Besides her immaturity and lack of skill, Ms. Dupain-Cheng is quite popular in France, resulting in her several ties to important people, including celebrities like Jagged Stone and Gabriel Agreste. If she were to slip up once, that news would practically be broadcasted, risking all of us and exposing her own life to the world. Our sole purpose of raising them young about this is to prevent our students from creating relationships like those." He sighed. "So considering that, if Marinette keeps her miraculous, we are all in danger, not matter her experience or strength up to this point."

"I agree." Rain nodded.

"What if Marinette were to cut those ties?" Mantis asked, forcing the conversation on. "She could completely rehabilitate her life here. She has already moved here to train for at least a year without any communication with her past. With her well improvement and good behavior, Marinette has already taken steps to enhance her future. If we give her a chance, she might surprise us all."

"How could you say that?!"

"How dare you?!"

"She could do better!"

"Marinette is practically a child, so it's hard to tell."

"She won't ever be right for the job and you'll never convince me otherwise!"

They all stood, screaming at each other. Their arguing was comical.

Marinette looked confused, her squinted eyes moved between each of them. They were too hard to read as a whole. They weren't completely against her, mostly Mantis, but they were extremely fired up screaming about her. If she was lucky, they wouldn't agree on her punishment in the first place or maybe she can make a quick exit while they argue. Although, she'd need to make it past security. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long either way.

"Let's just skip to her punishment!" Marinette blinked and straightened as she heard that. The room fell silent. Rain spoke. "I think we have plenty of evidence to convict her."

"That seems fair." Amethyst agreed. "After all, we're only adding to the case against her by continuing."

Auror looked over his papers, adjusting his glasses. "That appears true. Several pieces of information are repetitive throughout her crimes. Marinette has committed several injustice acts, but they have also been done over again and again during her time as a holder. Adding on would just give more examples of her mistakes."

"I'm usually against rushing such decisions, but maybe it is time to decide on a punishment." Digit said.

"How can you possibly say that?!" Mantis questioned. "This trial is hardly finished. This isn't-"

Saber held up his hand, stopping him. "Obviously we must put forth the most thought in her punishment because it will affect the rest of her life, but what do you have in mind, Rain?"

. . .

Mint placed her hand on the stone wall, feeling the room on the other side. "Now Ginger." She spoke, concentrating harder.

Ginger extended her leg in front of her, drawing a line straight back. She drew another mark perpendicular to it before bursting into a pirouette. Her shoes began to glow as she stopped and drew a circle around the edge with one foot, staying centered and balanced. Ginger closed her eyes, grabbing Lavender and Mysteria's extended hands.

"Multiply and magnify." Ginger spoke, a copy of the floor's mark appearing on their hands. "We're linked. You can now use your power infinitely for the next ten minutes." She opened her eyes, turning to the others. "I'm sorry I could only increase two of your powers. I'm new at these spells." Ginger apologized.

"We all have our own limits." Mysteria said, putting her hand on Ginger's shoulder. "Some of us train to increase our uses of our miraculous before our transformations wear off and Lavender has only worked up to three, so your helped was needed and appreciated."

"You did alright." Mint said. "We should be fine as long as Lavender does his part."

"I just wish Magenta was here. It's just not the same to be fighting on a team without her." Ginger sighed.

Mint exhaled. "Well I wish Sage was here as well, Ginger, but they were both sent on separate missions when we got back. And this isn't exactly an approved mission on our part, but working with new teams is an important skill to have."

"I know." Ginger said.

. . .

The elders had been huddled together for the past fifteen minutes, leaving Marinette to sweat over their possible decision. She was going to run while their backs were turned, but she remembered the two guards that were standing behind her. An escape from this room was near impossible and she had no idea if the council had some hidden powers that they'd fire at her if they became suspicious.

"Alright." Auror turned around, adjusting his glasses before keeping his hands behind his back. "Ms. Dupain-Cheng, we have come to a decision." Mantis leaned his forehead against his hands. "From here on out you will never possess a miraculous and that includes that Ladybug one you specialize in. The Miracle Box will be returned to us and you will never see it again."

"What?!" Marinette yelled, standing. "You can't be serious!"

"Sit down, Ms. Dupain-Cheng." Saber ordered.

Marinette complied.

Auror continued. "After the miraculous are out of your life, you must completely seclude yourself from any memories of them. Your memory will be erased of course, but you must be relocate to a new country, possibly continent, as well."

"No! I am not doing that!" Marinette yelled, standing again. "My memories are mine and Paris is my home! I won't leave!"

Saber glared at her and before Marinette blinked, the two guards forced her back in her chair, keeping her locked in place for the moment.

"It is inevitable, Marinette." Auror said blankly. "You must forget anything and everything to do with miraculous or this temple. You will live a normal life in another country, to be determined later. Just think on the bright side. You can leave all magic behind you to have a husband and create a cute little family without the stress of our lives."

"No!" Marinette struggled against the guards. "No . . . "

"I'm not finished." Auror stated. "There are a few more-"

"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir shouted before destroying the back wall of the court room in front of Marinette.

Marinette saw two shadow figures through the dust and rubble. The council began to panic, but form fighting stances at the same time.

"Freeze!" Mint declared, a mist rapidly flowing into the room.

"Mint?" Marinette mumbled.

Marinette definitely couldn't see anything now that she was blinded and a few of her senses were dulled, but she didn't care. Chat Noir and Mint were here and probably others as well. Marinette covered her ears. If her hunch was right, Lavender could be here, or maybe another miraculous involving the sense of hearing. It'd be best of her to wait for Chat Noir to find her or to finish their plan.

"Sleep!" Lavender shouted.

Marinette didn't hear, but she felt several body sized thumps on the ground that made her jump. The mist whooshed back to Mint, disappearing. Marinette blinked her eyes, regaining her sight. The council was spread out around the room, passed out on the floor, along with the guards. Marinette looked up to see Chat Noir, Ginger, Lavender, and an unknown blue hero standing before her.

Marinette smiled. "You all came for me."

"Did you expect us not to?" Chat grinned, a feeling of relief in his heart.

"No, I trusted you." Marinette looked at each one, stopping at the blue hero. "Who are . . . "

"I'm Mysteria." The heroine smiled. She wore a royal blue, skater dress with a halter neck. She had black spandex leggings, blue ankle boots, and wore white gloves. Her hair was halo braided and she had a lacelike, royal blue mask. "But you know me better as April."

"April?" Marinette mumbled.

Chat Noir eyed the small, black and red, octagonal box on the floor. He walked over and picked it up, prying it open. Two spotted earrings laid inside. "Your miraculous." He said.

"Chat Noir!" Ginger yelled, dragging a body. "Give Marinette her miraculous so you guys can get out of here. This is all new to Lavender, so we don't know how long his power will last on them."

"Got it." Chat turned back to Marinette. "You okay?"

Marinette formed her hands, ready to catch. "Yeah, I'm fine." Chat Noir tossed the box to her and walked back to the others for their plan. Marinette opened it and beamed at the sight of her kwami flashing out. "Tikki . . . I missed you." Her eyes began to water as she put the earrings back on.

"I missed you too, Marinette, but I think we need to save the chit-chat for later." Tikki looked at the bodies lying on the floor.

"You're right." Marinette agreed. "Tikki Spots On!"

Chat Noir and Mint pulled the last remaining council members and security guards along the wall. A loud bang was heard, causing Chat Noir to stop and Mint run into his back.

"Must you stop in front of me like an idiot?" Mint snarled.

"Sorry." Chat anxiously rubbed the back of his neck. He turned to where the sound came from and saw Ladybug had jumped on top of her table. She was wiping away her tears. Something was off. "Ladybug?"

The other heroes stopped to look at her. Ladybug lifted her head, staring blankly at them. "What do you want, Chat Noir?" She asked bitterly.

Chat inhaled. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Why do you care? It's not like we're aren't friends." Ladybug glared.

"Why is she acting like this?" Mysteria asked. "Wasn't she smiling like two seconds ago?"

"Obviously her boyfriend here did something wrong." Mint crossed her arms.

"But I-"

"He's not my boyfriend." Ladybug replied. "He's an enemy just like you three are." She launched her yo-yo, Chat Noir deflecting it off his baton. The heroes took a step back.

"Marinette . . . " Mysteria squinted her eyes, focusing.

"We aren't your enemy, Ladybug." Chat pleaded. "We're partners."

"I would never choose to side with a stray like you!" She yelled. "And I most certainly won't let you convince me otherwise!"

Mysteria held her breath. "She's . . . "

"I am not your teammates, but I will take your miraculous!" Ladybug pointed at them. "You all have committed acts against this temple and you will be punished!" She grinned. "Each of your miraculous will soon be mine." She laughed. Chat Noir looked horrified.

Mint felt the change in the room. She crouched and placed her hand on the floor. She felt Mysteria's heartbeat change. "You're focusing." Mint analyzed. "Do you see something?"

"Is she spelled?" Chat asked.

A flash of red flickered over Ladybug's eyes. Mysteria gasped. "I think her miraculous is."

"They did something to it?" Mint asked.

"The council can easily do a spell on a miraculous." Lavender spoke. "They know these powers inside out and know every secret we don't. I'm assuming they've thought ahead partially and spelled the Ladybug earrings incase Marinette were to retrieve them again. Even if they lost, her punishment would still be served."

"What punishment?" Chat asked, staring at Ladybug who kept nightmarish eye contact with a smile. She was really trying to haunt him.

"To destroy and forget us." Mysteria answered. "Marinette has been turned into a killing machine. She can achieve their dirty work for them in the case that they aren't present to do so."

"You all are adorable." Ladybug gushed. "I wish I had the power to minimize you and use you as my puppets or maybe place you in a snow globe, but . . . that's not as fun as killing you."

Chat saddened. "Ladybug . . . "

"Don't act like you know me, alley cat! I will kill you!" Ladybug leaped forward and kicked him in the stomach. She grabbed his face and held tight as she pulled him to eye level. Her smirk grew. "We won't ever be friends." She gritted her teeth. "I'm only a nightmare to you."

[perkdistrict]

Get more followers on Facebook in 2020

Easy steps to get 10000+ Auto followers on Facebook    

 With the constant changes in Facebook algorithms, it’s becoming harder and harder to survive on  BOTS . The algorithms are on a constant lookout for suspicious activities and boy, are bots suspects. With bought followers, you risk penalties from Facebook and at worst a ban may occur. This will limit your accounts’ potential to get more followers on Facebook.

 Facebook Automation is the most successful way of getting more followers on Facebook. How? Well besides automation you need to ensure you have great content that is captivating to your target audience. So let’s get the steps right.

  Content creation   The key to developing a superb Facebook page and scaling your business to greater heights is to post content that genuinely interests your customers or clients. By providing valuable information to your readers you will build a stronger relationship with current and prospective customers. Take time to see what other people in your niche are doing. Let’s face it, in whichever area there’s got to be someone else who is doing it better than you. So follow the trend and find a means to leveraging the content for your page. Post a variety of content, i.e press release, high quality, and relevant photos and videos and so forth.

  Allow fans to post on your wall   In a bid to get more followers on facebook, It’s very important to allow users to post on your wall, infant its the whole idea of having a fan page. this allows you to get valuable feedback about your brand and ensure necessary adjustment and improvements are made.

  Call to action button   Call to action buttons are customized URL buttons that redirect users to a website or blog. this enables them to get more detailed information towards your brand. this way you are able to drive valuable traffic and enhance your market reach. they include ‘book now’, ‘learn how’, get it now’ and so forth.

  Improve Your Facebook Organic Reach    

 The Facebook Organic reach is the number of unique Facebook users you can reach with your Facebook content for free and not as a result of ads.

 When you post something on Facebook, your content will be displayed only to some of your followers (people that liked your Facebook Page) or friends. It will not be visible to all your fan base, but to a certain percentage, depending on your organic reach. Your organic reach is therefore based on the number of engagement you get on your post as well as the amount of other competitive content that tries to out win your fans at the same time.

 Your organic reach is calculated based on the engagement you get on your posts. As well on the amount of other competitive content that tries to win the attention of your fans at the same time. First, you need to make sure your engagement rates are as high as possible. Lots of engagement translates into great content, and great content is highly appreciated by Facebook’s algorithm.

 And second, you need to schedule your posts and try to avoid the “peak hours” – when everybody else is posting their own content. But of course, you also need to take into consideration your followers’ time zone and their online habits (when they actually show up to read their feeds).

 READ ALSO:   How to make money on Tik Tok in 2020  

  How then do you achieve this?   Alright, now that we have the content right, let see how we can set up a Facebook   automation software   and get more followers on Facebook. While there are numerous tools in the market for this function, I personally use JARVEE due to its numerous features, ease of use and its affordability.

    JARVEE    is an intelligent tool that mimics normal human behavior and runs on autopilot. This is to say that, after successfully setting up, you sit back while  JARVEE  does the job for you.

  PS also automates   Instagram ,   Quora  ,  Twitter  ,   Pinterest  , Tumblr, LinkedIn, and Youtube as well 

    Go here and download a free trial    of this advanced social media automation tool for free. The trial period is 5 days which is time to test and review its benefits (No credit card details required)

  Once you’ve registered and installed the tool, use the details sent to your email to log in to the app.  Here you are going to add your Instagram account (s)-depending on the downloaded package you can automate as many Instagram accounts as possible.  To add your account on  JARVEE , click on  SOCIAL PROFILE  on the left Menu bar.  Now click on  ADD PROFILE  and select  FACEBOOK     Facebook automation and what the tool will do for you    

 JARVEE will help you interact with your audience with a powerful set of Facebook automation tool. These tools are specially designed to plan, manage and analyze all your social interactions. If you’re into Facebook marketing JARVEE is the tool for you. It will grow your business with  real Facebook followers. 

  Posts Scheduling   With JARVEE you will be able to create month-long content and schedule them for automatic posting at times when your fans are most engaged. Furthermore, they will be posted at a specific time of day such that you fans know exactly when to expect your post.

 You can schedule the posts on your personal accounts, Facebook pages or any group you can post to.

  Auto-hashtag keywords   JARVEE  will allow you to set up niche-oriented keywords that are eventually converted to hashtags once your posts are published.

  Campaigns insights and statistics   JARVEE will provide you with statistics and insights for your strategy. This data is essential in evaluating the extent to which your strategy is working. obviously if it isn’t you save time by adopting a different one. This is a key tool in ensuring you achieve audience reach and eventually get 10000+ Auto followers on Facebook.

  Find Groups and Pages in your niche   Using intelligent algorithms, JARVEE has the best  group finder  around. Using group finder, you are able to search for thousands of groups that are unique to your target niche.

  Join/Un-join Groups in your niche   JARVEE allows you to join the groups that you have been able to derive from the group finder option. You then have the discretion to automatically un-join the ones you find useless and retain the beneficial ones.

  Ignore Groups   This tool has an option to ignore groups that you don’t wish to interact with. These are ideally competitor groups or other groups that are detrimental to your account in any way.

 Make sure you never interact with certain groups, be it your competitor’s group or your school’s classmates group.

  Auto-Share posts on your Groups   You will also be able to Auto-share your Facebook post and attain maximum reach for your brand by sharing them on other groups that you are a member of.

  Schedule posts from RSS feed   RSS stands for  “rich site summary.” At its heart, RSS is just simple text files with basic updated information — news pieces, articles, that sort of thing. That stripped-down content is usually plugged into what is called a “feed reader” or an interface that quickly converts the RSS text files into a stream of the latest updates from around the web. JARVEE will allow you to import high-quality content from this source. You are then at liberty to schedule the post on your Facebook page.

  Auto-Invite friends to your groups    Tired on inviting your friends to all of your groups, well this tool has you sorted, it will automatically invite them to these groups and enhance your brand identity. 

  You can also Auto-accept new members to your groups. 

  Auto-Invite friends to Pages/Events   JARVEE allows you to automatically invite friends to your pages/events. This way you have a substantial audience to your events. That’s not all, your page will also grow faster.

  Auto-Comment and Like   The tool will do the commenting and liking for you in various pages, groups or walls. This will trigger a domino effect on your account growth and bring you closer to getting 10000+ Auto followers on Facebook.

  Auto-Accept friend requests   Save yourself tremendous time by the auto-accept friends feature on JARVEE. You can use this time to focus on content creation or other issues.

  Auto-Reply to new messages   JARVEE comes with an auto-reply feature. This is especially useful when you are not online all the time. JARVEE will respond to all your message. This feature is enhanced with the use of creative SYNTAX to avoid monotony. You afforded some time to come back later and continue the conversation at your convenience.

  Send Friend Requests   JARVEE will use intelligent algorithms to extend friend request to people in your unique niche. This will further the objective f getting 10000+ auto followers on Facebook. Targeting will greatly increase the chances of these request being accepted because you are reaching to an audience which is interested in your content.

  Contact other people in your niche   Search for people in your niche that are interested in your business and contact them using JARVEE. This is a well known Facebook marketing tactic and one of the most efficient methods to expand your reach and increase your traffic and sales. With JARVEE you will find and contact niche-specific real people.

  Auto-Unfriend Tool   When the circumstances deem it necessary, set JARVEE to automatically unfriend people that do not add value to your business.

  Auto-Change cover photo   It’s important to update your cover photo at least once every two months to keep your page   fresh  . When you upload a new cover photo it will also be posted on your timeline, giving your page greater visibility.  Again JARVEE has you sorted, you just need to create multiple cover photos and JARVEE will automatically rotate them.

  Bump your group posts     Bump   is an online slang term for the practice moving a post to the top of a discussion thread, increasing a message or thread’s status and visibility. JARVEE will periodically do this for your posts ensuring they stay relevant. You avoid posting the same content multiple times which is quite frankly annoying.

  Birthday Tool   It’s a bad social signal when you fail to wish your friends the best of wishes on their special day. wishing them is actually an indicator of your cohesive bond. Its however human nature to forget and this doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t like these individuals. JARVEE developers had this in mind while coding the tool. Set these functions on autopilot, again with creative use of the  spintax  feature.

  Spin syntax   Spintax is the format (or syntax) that is used by various software spinners and article submission sites that create or use spun articles. There are various spintax formats depending on what software/services you use. This feature on JARVEE will ensure unique messages are published on each account response.

  Proxy Support   JARVEE supports the use of proxy, you can run each individual account on a separate proxy. This will greatly enhance privacy and security for these accounts.

  Better Account Management   With JARVEE you can set up custom sleep times for your Facebook accounts, randomize and limit the number of posts per day.

 This will ensure a more human-like behavior and reduces the risk of Facebook restriction.

  Turn Off Group notifications   If you’re into a lot of groups you’ll probably get flooded with all those group notifications, reduce the noise by turning them off automatically.

https://socialtipster.co/how-to-get-10000-auto-followers-on-facebook-in-2019/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-get-10000-auto-followers-on-facebook-in-2019

#SEO #entrepreneurship #branding #startup #webdesign #marketingtips #contentmarketing #onlinemarketing #seo

[writingwithadinosaur]

“Lost Battle.” - Oneshot

“Lost Battle.” - Oneshot

My Masterlist - Here

Kingsman Masterlist - Here

My Tag List - Here

Eggsy Unwin x Reader

Word Count: 2,051

Key: Y/N = Your Name, H/C = Your Hair Color, E/C = Your Eye Color

Warnings: (TRIGGER HEAVY! PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION) Self Harm, Depression, Anxiety, Addictions, Negative Thoughts,

Summary: A bad mental breakdown leads you to lean into your addictions again, causing the downward spiral to continue. A oneshot that shows that support can mean the world to someone who has to focus on individual battles that add up in a massive internal war.

Author’s Note: This is a very selfish piece. My mental health has not been in the best shape as of writing this and it's been affecting my life more than I’d like it to. I wrote this in the middle/after breaking down on the phone to @witchymarvelspacecase the other night. I actually ended up using some parts of our texts in this story. This story is personal and what I wish could happen in real life after relapsing.

If you are struggling with anything, please reach out and talk to someone. Even just shooting someone a text message can be super beneficial in the end. And if you feel like you don’t have anyone, my messages are always open. <3 

If you would like to be tagged in any of my future pieces, check out my tag list above and let me know! And as always, feedback is greatly appreciated!

<3

- DreaSaurusREX

There was no way you’d be sleeping at a normal hour tonight. Just like how your sleep schedule had been for the past two weeks. Late nights, barely any sleep, and for no reason. You were tired, but your brain wouldn’t stop reeling.

You fucked up. You fucked up. Goddamnit you’re such a fuck up. Everyone else is moving along and you’re still stuck. You can’t even get up and shower. Goddamn piece of shit.

You needed to get up and shower. You needed to eat. You needed to clean. You needed to do a lot of things today. But you ended up trapped in your comforter for a majority of the day thanks to the jagged claws, and life-sucking fangs of your mind until it was close to midnight.

You spent all day in bed? Sure, you went up and got around a little bit today. But what progress did you make? You’re still a goddamn mess.

Negative thoughts like that shouldn’t get to you. You know they shouldn’t, but here you were: Laying in your bed, listening to those thoughts, trying to figure out what to do next that didn’t involve your vices: Painkillers and razor blades.

You had talked to Merlin about taking some time off for personal reasons after breaking one of your clean streaks the night before. He agreed to it, not bothering to ask any further questions, and pretending not to notice the bandage around your wrist.

Your boyfriend, Eggsy, was sent on a mission while you were on leave. He should be back home within the next day or two, but there was no way of knowing for sure. You knew you could talk to someone at HQ if you needed to, whether that be Merlin or Harry or one of the medical professionals they had connections with. But you already felt like enough of a burden to everyone in Kingsman.

Taking a week off because you can’t keep your shit together? Wow. And they picked you to be a part of Kingsman? You somehow passed the tests? How? Maybe you should just save them the trouble and just leave. They’d all be better off without you.

You couldn’t stop the tears from flowing at that thought. You felt the thought coming, but still didn’t brace yourself enough for the impact it caused. You sobbed into your blanket, feeling nothing but sadness and numbness.

Why couldn’t you be normal? Why couldn’t you get a grip on yourself?

Everything was a blur as you untangled yourself from your sheets and found the shoebox under your bed. You lifted the top off and found what you were looking for: silver kisses and painkillers.

You slid against the wall and found yourself on your floor, fiddling with the thin metal at your fingertips. Before your thoughts could get any louder, you pressed the blade to your arm and left a horizontal line in its path. Letting out a shaky breath, you leaned your head back against the wall and closed your eyes, focusing on the stinging sensation on your arm. Without even looking, you began to cut again and again. Soon enough, you had a collection of lines on your arm, all of them with beads of blood in different stages of coagulation, stinging as you moved.

Stinging. You could feel it. You felt the dried tear tracks on your cheeks. You felt the AC coming from the vent across the room. You weren’t quite as numb as earlier. You had hoped that this would have silenced or even lowered the volume in your brain, but it ended up doing the opposite.

Holy shit… You really are pathetic. Relying on this shit to help you? How the hell is slicing yourself open supposed to help you? And let me guess, you’re gonna down some of those pills to make you forget the damage you did?

Sure enough, you grabbed for the pill bottle and downed three capsules with some water. Wishing tonight would quickly end with some sleep. But then you thought of something new to set you off:

What is Eggsy going to think? Yeah, he knows about your stupid addictions, but just think of how disappointed he’s going to be when he sees this shit.

You felt the tears welling up again. Eggsy shouldn’t have to deal with this.

Staying in your leggings and t-shirt, you slipped on your shoes, grabbed your cardigan and purse, ignoring the blood that was staining your sleeve, then walked out the door with no actual destination in mind.

~~~~

Eggsy’s mission had gone unbelievably well. It was a quick and easy interrogation and take down. Letting him come home earlier than expected. As soon as he got off the plane, he met up with Harry and Merlin for a debrief before he could go home and see you.

Thankfully, the cameras in Eggsy’s glasses caught the entirety of the mission, so there wasn’t too much for the men to discuss. After Harry dismissed everyone and said goodnight, Eggsy walked to Merlin.

“Where’s (Y/N) at? Thought she’d be part of the meetin’.” He looked around the room once more to make sure he didn’t somehow look over you.

“She asked for a few days off. I gave her a week as of the day before yesterday.”

“Oh.” Eggsy was a bit confused. You never asked for days off. Even when you were obviously sick. There was one time you had managed to come into HQ with no voice and a killer cold for half a day, avoiding everyone until Harry saw you and sent you home.

“Has she been alrigh’? Everythin’ fine between you two?” Merlin spoke in a hushed tone as to avoid anyone else from hearing.

“As far as I know, yeah. Why? Did she say something to you?”

“Actually quite the opposite. She didn’t say much of anything. I am concerned though. I don’t know if it’s anything related to her asking for a break, but she had a bandage around her wrist before she asked for time off. And there is no record of her going to medical before leaving.”

“Shit!” Eggsy sighed. Eggsy knew exactly what happened. He had been there to see the aftermath of a few of your breakdowns that ended with breaking your clean streaks. But you had just celebrated 6 months of sobriety from both of your addictions. Which meant that this break could be more dangerous than the usual.

“I’ve gotta go! Be on call if I need help!” Before he could get the last word out, Eggsy was running through the doors, yelling for other agents to move out of his way as he raced home.

~~~~

There was a small pier at the edge of a pond that was always vacant. It was a 20 minute walk from your flat if you took shortcuts. You hadn’t planned on ending up there, but you were glad you did. It was calming. You sat at the edge of the dock, leaning against one of the vertical posts, laying your arm on one of the horizontal beams. The location was the perfect mix of city noises and soothing waters.

Once you were comfy, you brought your knees up and relaxed your carved up arm on top of them. You rolled up your sleeve a little bit to see the lines in the moonlight. You could still feel the stinging, but not as much as when it was fresh.

So what’s the plan now, dipshit? Yeah you’re feeling shit again. But what now? You’re just gonna try and disappear? You work with, and date a spy. You can’t just run away. He’s going to--

Before your thought could go further, you were crushed by two familiar arms wrapping around you.

“Fuckin hell!” Eggsy was out of breath and you could hear the panic in his voice. “Thank fuck I found you.”

What the fuck? He’s not supposed to be home yet? But… SEE! You made him worry! You fucked up again! This is why you will never be--

You felt to guilty. Sobs punched through your chest and tears poured out of your eyes. He kissed the side of your head and moved you into his lap. You slowly wrapped your arms around him and buried your face into his shoulder, letting every last ounce of tears you had leave your system.

“Shh.. It’s alright, luv. I’m here. Whatever happened, you’re not dealing with it alone. Shh… Please breathe, babe. Breathe with me, yeah?”

He took exaggerated breaths to help you catch on to the pattern, until your breathing started to get back to a semi-normal state. He leaned back and looked at your face. His hands gently cradled your cheeks, wiping away the tracks that your tears had left. He kissed your forehead before speaking again.

“Whatever’s goin’ on, it is not the end of the world. You have been in this position before and you made it out. And I’m not letting you give up. Not that easy.”

You let another couple of tears slide down your cheek only to meet Eggsy’s thumb. You leaned your forehead on his and took a shaky breath before struggling to speak with your raspy voice.

“I feel like a fuck up. Everything got to be too much. I was numb and didn’t even think before getting back on this shit… I thought I was getting better but--”

“But you are gettin’ better! Maybe not as much as you’d like, but progress is progress!”

“I relapsed. I broke both clean streaks.”

“Yes, that sucks. But you can’t be angry with yourself. Try to be patient.” He lifted your head so you could see his serious, but kind green eyes. “We both know how far you’ve come. And we both know how far you still have to go. And you won’t ever be alone. Not while I’m around.”

A small smile grew on your lips. The first real smile in a while. Eggsy grinned and leaned forward to leave a gentle kiss on your smile.

“I don’t know if there is really a way to ‘get over’ any of my bullshit.”

“Even if there ain’t, I’m always gonna be here to help the best I can. I love you, (Y/N). And I want to be a part of your life. All of it. The good times, the borin’, the frustratin’, the rewardin’, the worst. All of it.”

You didn’t have any more words to say. Instead, you leaned to his lips and kissed him. He kissed back, holding onto you as if you were going to turn into ash and fall from his embrace. Eggsy’s pocket buzzing broke your kiss. He pulled out his phone and held it to his ear, not letting his sturdy hold of you lessen.

“Yeah. She’s safe. … Mhmm. … I’ll let her know. Thanks for everythin’, Merlin.” Sliding his phone back into his pocket, he stood up and held his hands out for you to grab. You took them and relied on him for support until you got some energy back in your system.

“Merlin was worried about you. He may not show it, but he actually cares about you. More than he cares about me I bet!” You chuckled at the last part. “He just wanted to make sure I found you. He also extended your time off. You just gotta let him or me know when you want to come back and he’ll arrange it.”

“Thank you, Eggsy.”

“No worries, luv. Now, let’s go home, get cleaned up, and get some much needed sleep.”

Within an hour, you were in bed with Eggsy. Your back against his front and his strong arm draped over your waist, reassuring you that he wasn’t going anywhere. Your arm was cleaned and bandaged properly thanks to Eggsy’s help. Most importantly, you both were finally feeling the wave of exhaustion taking over, letting you both drift off to sleep.

As you closed your eyes, you began coming to terms with the fact that this was going to be a war, not just a single battle. And there would be some battles that you would lose. But you didn’t have to fight this war alone. And eventually, you would come out on top.

Tags - @melconnor2007 @ashenfallsof @geeksareunique @all-by-myself98 @witchymarvelspacecase @theeactress @thomasstanleyhoelland @white-chocolate-mocha-fan

[onlinewizards]

How to Start Blogging for your Business

Firstly, it needs to be explained that there is a difference between blogging for your business and being a Blogger. Blogging for your business is a marketing tool, that if done well, can drive a tremendous amount of traffic to your website. It is how you can build authority, reputation and a following. It is where you can showcase your expertise in your industry and really shine as an expert in your field. A Blogger is someone who blogs to make a living, or in some cases, blogs part-time or as a hobby. So, with that in mind, if you are blogging for business then you also need to have other marketing tools in place, like a website, social media strategy and an audience. There is no point spending time writing, editing, formatting and publishing a great blog post if there is no one to see it and nowhere to share it. Don’t think that by posting a blog that people will miraculously come to your website and see it. This is not a case of “build it and they will come” because sadly they will not.

1. Setting up your blog Free Hosting You need somewhere to host your blog. We advise that it should be on a website. You can use free blogging sites like Blogspot, Blogger and Wordress.com (be aware there are WordPress.com and WordPress.org) but at the end of the day you have nowhere to drive your traffic to and the content is not yours. You are using someone else’s platform and at any stage, they can shut you down (it does happen!) AND as a business owner, none of these platforms looks professional. Self Hosting You can set up a WordPress site yourself, but you will also need to be self-hosted for the same reasons above. It is possible to set up a simple website for your blog and organise your own hosting for a reasonably cheap monthly fee, BUT you will have limitations. You will also need to buy your domain name. Once you have done that and set up a self-hosted site, you will need to get onto WordPress.org (for self-hosting) and set up your account. There are other things to consider as well like organising your SSL certificate, for a secure site, and then choosing a Theme (what your site will look like), customising your new website and installing plugins. Plugins are what gives your website functionality. Obviously, this is a simplified, general overview. It can be a fun process for those that are tech savvy but frustrating for those that are not.

Professional Website And for those of you who are not tech savvy (like me) then I suggest you have someone build a website for you. I know that involves cost, but some web developers have no upfront fees and ongoing monthly fees instead AND provide great training and support. There is only so far a business can go using free products. There is some great stuff out there but all free products and services are limited and they will only take you so far. Look I’ll be honest. As a business, you probably should have a good website. It’s like your shopfront for those that actually can’t see your shopfront (or business). There are some businesses who can happily run without one, but then we cannot recommend blogging as an effective marketing tool. Blogging is only one aspect of your marketing and to work well needs to be part of a larger marketing machine. You need to ask yourself what you want to get out of blogging. If the reason is to get more business, then you really need to be directing your customers somewhere. Without it, it’s like finding customers who would love to eat at your restaurant and you not actually having a restaurant.

More about Setting up a Blog Here are some great articles for setting up a Blog - The Biggest Mistakes New Bloggers Make and Revealed: 19 Things to Know Before Starting a Blog in 2017 Granted these are written by bloggers, but they are filled with relevant information that you should at least consider. 2. Writing, Formatting and Publishing your blog post You need to write a blog post. Once upon a time, a post of around 350 words would have been fine. Jam a photo at the top and you were good to go. Well not really, but that’s what a lot of people were doing. But blogging has grown. Now a blog post less than 1000 words are not really going to cut it. Ideally, a blog post should be around the 2000-word mark. There are other ways of blogging that would be more simplified than this – curating, round up posts and lists to name a few. But like any good blog there should be a variety of different posts to look at and if all you have to offer is curations of other people’s posts then your audience will move on pretty quickly and your expertise will not shine through.

Add Value to Your Blog Posts Your posts need to be of value to your audience. You can’t talk about your product, service or shop all the time. To be frank with you, people don’t care. What they do care about is what your product, service or shop DOES for them. Does it solve a problem? For example, if you are a café and specialise in organic food people would love to hear about your suppliers, or if you grow your own produce or how it is beneficial to their health by eating organic food. They most certainly don’t want to hear about how good you think your café is, or how many people you have coming through the doors. They want to know about customer experiences, from customers. If you are a web developer people don’t want to hear about how you build websites. They want to know how the traffic to their website will be engaged. How they can market to their customers even better and get further reach online. They want to know how they can get people to sign up to their database or if it will be easy for customers to navigate around the website. And in travel people don’t want to hear about travel tours. They want to be inspired to travel to destinations they haven’t heard about before and to learn how they can do this easily. These people are happy to hear what the destinations are really like. Like everybody else, they want to know whether their dream of travelling could actually come true. Formatting Blog Posts Once you have written your epic blog post it will need to be formatted on your site in a way that engages with your audience. People’s interest is short and large blocks of text will turn them away. It looks dull and boring. Break up your text with headings. People scan these to quickly gauge whether they are interested in the post. Use shorter sentences and more spacing than you usually would in a normal typed document. And break up your text with images. The more the better. BUT please, please, please use clean, sharp images (edit them if you have to) that are relevant to your blog post. And make sure they are the correct size. If you use images that are large your site will be very slow to load. And as we have covered, people have no patience and will be gone in a flash. Images We need to talk about images. It has just been talked about the quality of your images. They need to be excellent. And the size needs to be correct. What you also need to know is about Copyright. You cannot just see an image on the internet, save it, and use it. YOU CANNOT DO THIS! Just because it is out there doesn’t mean you have the right to use it as you please. Violating copyright is a biggy. If you want to use someone else’s image you need to get their permission and then give them credit. If you need an image and don’t have one of your own, there are sites like Pixabay (and you can use Canva too) where you can download them for free. While we are talking about copying, you cannot copy someone else’s text either. You can certainly quote them using the appropriate format, and then link to their article, but never copy.

3. Adding a CTA (Call to Action) to Your Blog Posts What happens after someone reads your blog? Is there somewhere at the end they can opt into a newsletter? Are you giving away something for free (this is called a lead magnet) so they really want to enter their name and email onto your database. It only has to be something simple (but valuable to your client). And please don’t think that a “Call me on blah, blah, blah” is going to cut it. People have short attention spans and the more you make them do like call, leave a message, spend time searching for your business because you are hard to find, means they will not stick around. Trust me they will move on very, very quickly to the next business that has everything set up. Lead Magnets and Opt-Ins What is the point of someone reading your blog if there is nowhere for them to go afterwards? Nothing to do. What if they want to read more? You need to be building an email list and your blog is the perfect opportunity to do that. Make sure that every blog post you do have some sort of opt-in where your customers can enter their details in return for something of value (free giveaway, amazing newsletter) and in turn be added to your email list. If you think that getting them to call you is all you need, you also need to wonder, why would they call you? Because you wrote a blog post? Can they see images of your products, services, shop in your blog post? Can they read customer reviews and recommendations? These are things you would have on a website or the very least, reviews on Facebook. Ask yourself why would a customer call? If the roles were reversed, would you? Being in business is hard. You need to develop a thick skin, but what you need to learn most of all is honesty. Honesty with yourself. You need to learn to look at your product, service or shop and see it through another person’s eyes. It can be hard, and criticism or negative feedback can be difficult to deal with, but if you start to see it for what it is, a way to improve, then it can be the most valuable tool you have.

Image courtesy of DigitalMarketer 4. Marketing Your Blog OK so now you have written your blog, uploaded it and formatted it on your website (or blogging platform). You have added great images that make it pop and added your call to action so your readers can opt-in to your database. You can optimise it for SEO, but that’s a plugin you are going to have to upload, and maybe better to keep that for another post. Now what? Social Media Marketing Strategy Blogging should only be one part of your marketing strategy. In fact, you should have a number of things in place and they should all work and compliment each other. All business owners should have some sort of Social Media strategy. SOCIAL MEDIA IS WHERE YOUR AUDIENCE IS HANGING OUT! Now I don’t mean to shout, I just wanted to get my point across. It makes my hair curl when I hear people say, “I don’t need social media for my business”. Why? Is it doing so well without it? I mean you need to have been hiding under a rock to not notice the shift in how we all use technology. Over 75% of my traffic on my travel website come from Social Media. 75%!!!! And over 50% of all people are viewing it from their mobile phone. So that should tell you something about social media and technology. My target audience for my travel business is women aged between 40 – 65. So, in finding the right social media platform I finally turned to Pinterest after I stubbornly clung to Facebook for years. 80% of Pinterest users are female. And the age of my target audience accounts for 62%. Clearly, I need to be on Pinterest. Not only should you share your blog posts on your social media accounts over and over again in a well-planned out schedule, you can gain comments and engagement regarding your post. Add in platforms like Medium and Twitter and you can start to gain some reach.

Image courtesy of Leverage New Age Media Facebook At the very least you need a Facebook Business Page. At the very least! Don’t make people jump through hoops to find you. Don’t just have a location page on Facebook. It has absolutely no information. Use your Facebook Page like you would a shop front. Social Media should be used in the same way as your blog, to share valuable information.

Social Media But using social media is another kettle of fish again. To start, look at some of the businesses you follow or look them up (those businesses that are similar to yours). See what they are doing. What kind of information are they sharing? How are they engaging their audience? A lot can be learned by watching those who are successful. Don’t think you are so unique you don’t need it. It would be a rare business that would not benefit from social media. Building an Email List Another part of your marketing strategy should be building your email list. In fact, I would recommend you do this first. These people will have opted-in to your database because you offered them something they liked. Or they saw something on your website or social media platforms that they liked. And then you can market (email, send a newsletter) to these people, who you already have a relationship with, and tell them about your latest blog. Creating Content for Your Blog But remember if all you are doing is selling, selling, selling they will unsubscribe. You need to be sharing information that is of value. For example, if you are a boutique hotel, talk about the area you are in, about the activities that are available, even the weather at different times of year and the benefits of visiting at those times. I could go on forever with ideas, but then I am a bit of a freak when it comes to thinking up ideas for my blog. You can get our 3 Steps to Creating Unlimited Content here. You could, in fact, ask your audience. The people already on your email list. Ask them what they would like to hear more about. What would help them plan their stay with you? Maybe you could do a restaurant review of the area, or cafes, or picnic areas. Are you starting to get my drift? Create a marketing strategy. For example – Publish the blog post on the website. Share it across all social media platforms you use (at different times). For platforms like Pinterest, to make it really work you will have to have a pretty clear strategy and use an app like Tailwind to help you. I couldn’t do what I do on Pinterest without it. And it has been worth every cent I pay for it. At the end of the day, you may have thought I will blog and people will come. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. Small business is hard. Like everything worthwhile it takes work. And consistent effort. And time. I was publishing two blog posts per week (now only one) and using a good Pinterest strategy for six months before I even saw any results. Oh, and if you didn’t read between the lines above, one blog post a month in this day and age is not going to cut it. 5. Create a Blogging Schedule You will need to dedicate time to your blogging. Once a month or even less is not going to be of any use. Even if people love your stuff, by the time you publish a new one they will be gone and onto someone else. I would suggest twice a month to start with and build to at least one per week. And they need to be quality.

Keep Going and Be Consistent Blogging is not for the faint-hearted. You are wasting your time unless you dedicate yourself to this. But like any new task that can seem overwhelming eventually, it will become easier. And there is a lot of information out there to help educate you. If you come up with something you just can’t work out, look it up. There are a lot of good content marketers out there sharing their knowledge for free. You can learn a lot, you only need to look, and put in the time. Read the full article

[meditativeyoga]

Yoga for Osteoporosis - An Interview with Loren Fishman, M.D. and Ellen Saltonstall

Osteoporosis is among the most extensive persistent conditions in the Western hemisphere. Exactly how does yoga aid counteract the impacts of bone loss and osteoporosis? In this interview, Dr. Loren Fishman as well as Ellen Saltonstall, co-authors of Yoga for Osteoporosis, discuss the outcomes of Dr. Fishman's research on yoga for weakening of bones and also a few of the factors to consider and also precautions for individuals with osteopenia or osteoporosis taking into consideration a yoga exercise technique.

Eva Norlyk Smith: You have written a book on Yoga for Osteoporosis and have conducted a major study on the bone-building benefits of yoga exercise on osteoporosis. What made you curious about this subject in the firsts place?

Loren Fishman: Weakening of bones is just one of the most widespread chronic conditions in the Western hemisphere, and it's tough to overemphasize its wellness results. Weakening of bones influences 44 million Americans. That's over half of everyone over the age of 50. It is HALF of all ladies of whatever age and also 25 percent of all males. It influences over 200 million individuals worldwide. So this is big time.

Osteoporosis creates a million fractures every year, many of which are vertebral fractures and also regarding 300,000 are hip cracks. We worry so much concerning bust cancer in females, however, in actuality the risk of a hip fracture is equivalent to the combined threat of bust, uterine and also ovarian cancer cells. And also it's not simply women who go to threat. For men over 50, although we listen to a great deal regarding prostate cancer, guys over 50 are in fact extra likely to have a hip crack than prostate cancer.

Fully 25% of the individuals that have hip fractures pass away. One more 25 percent go into an assisted living home never to leave, so fifty percent of people who acquire a hip crack have an extremely significant life change.

Eva Norlyk Smith: Exactly how does yoga aid counteract osteoporosis?

Loren Fishman: Well, let me count the methods. Most individuals have heard of Wolff's regulation: The architectonic, the architectural assistance of bone, follows the lines of pressure to which that bone is exposed. When bone cells get stimulated via being compressed or turned or extended, they generate more bone mass till that bone gets solid enough, to withstand the pressure. At that factor the pressure no more distorts the bone, and the bone-making cells quit making much more. What a remarkable feedback system. In weakening of bones, the bones flex much more, so pressure is a lot more efficient in boosting the cells to earn bone.

In short, like weightlifting, yoga works by worrying the bone. Yoga stimulates the bone with isometric tightening at almost every possible angle for long periods of time.

Ellen Saltonstall: Just what is usually overlooked in contemporary weight-training workout and absolutely when assessing the impacts of weakening of bones medications, is that there is a difference between framework as well as density. Dexa scans will obtain a measurement of thickness, yet they inform us absolutely nothing about the framework of the bone. Dense bone mass by itself doesn't always supply protection against cracks, unless the bone fibers are laid down in such a way to offer better toughness, the bone mass is not mosting likely to be very stable It resembles the distinction between a pile of steel light beams and also the George Washington Bridge. A bridge has been prepared by designers, so the light beams, when assembled, produce an efficient, completely incorporated framework, which could sustain significant quantities of weight-- because of the toughness developed by the structural interconnections.

In short, thickness as well as structure both issue for bone health. Sadly, we don't have hassle-free means to determine the structure of bones as of. We do have straightforward means to gauge the density. The weakening of bones medicines do function, they lower the danger of crack considerably, but the functional limitations of simply developing bone mass without correct structure and also stamina are completely ignored.

Loren Fishman: Yoga helps grow bone mass, however because yoga exercise positions draw and stretch the bones from every conceivable angle, yoga also might stimulate the development of a bone structure that has the ability to withstand better amounts of pressure, as well as several kinds of challenges.

As we talk about in our program, there countless various other crucial methods which yoga advantages individuals with weakening of bones, such as boosting equilibrium, muscle strength, series of motion as well as control, while reducing stress and anxiety. These are other vital advantages of yoga for people with weakening of bones since they each help in reducing the risk of falling.

Eva Norlyk Smith: Several yoga educators and yoga specialists run under the presumption that twisting postures must be stayed clear of by individuals with weakening of bones. Yet, you claim that spins are fine, also essential for people with weakening of bones. Might you clarify on that?

Ellen Saltonstall: It holds true that numerous people believe that twists are contraindicated. However, we have actually found that spins are extremely beneficial and also bring little bit, if any, danger. Spins provide such an in proportion stress to the vertebral body that it's not a crack risk. As well as though doctors caution their clients with weakening of bones never ever to do any type of turning, there seems to be no actual proof that spins are negative in and of themselves.

Of course, if you're turning and also lifting something at the exact same time, it's a different story. However, yoga exercise spins, as I stated, provide such a balanced stress, we feel that gentle, supported twists are risk-free to do as component of one's yoga exercise practice. And also they are crucial, because they give such a total stimulation to the vertebral body.

Loren Fishman: If you have certain various other back conditions, like a herniated disk, twists can be a problem. If all you have is weakening of bones, there's almost no other way of developing strength and promote bone development than revealing that vertebra to some stress. We do have to avoid forward flexes in individuals with weakening of bones, as well as the side bends they can do are limited. So benting the vertebra is just one of minority ways to obtain all the vertebrae under some compression and also promote bone growth in the vertebrae. This is extremely important, because a lot of weakening of bones fractures take place in the vertebrae.

Over the last Ten Years, we have given yoga techniques including twists to lots of, many individuals, normally over the age of 65, nearly all of which have actually had significant osteoporosis. This has been well over 30,000 hours of yoga. There hasn't been a single incidence of crack, Actually, nothing bad has actually taken place. We have not had one point go incorrect. This is something that both yoga teachers and yoga practitioners need to know.

Ellen Saltonstall: Obviously, the secret to getting the advantages of yoga is to make sure that the yoga exercise positions are performed with proper placement. Every joint in the body as well as every part of the body has an optimum placement as well as this is a clinical procedure. There are several yoga exercise designs that highlight this accuracy of alignment. If the joints are straightened effectively, not only do you obtain finest stimulation of the bones, however you have better equilibrium also. So one instance is the tops of the arms as well as the tops of the legs, i.e. the upper arm bone and also the thigh bone, both return in the outlets of the joints and also when they are rooted securely in the outlets of the joints, the congruency of the joints is better, it's stronger.

Another example of an alignment that we usually make use of is that the breast bones raises, and also this stops that stoop ahead pose that is generally seen in weakening of bones. So those are just 2 instances of placement, certainly, there are a great deal of alignment-based directions that we provide when instructing individuals with osteoporosis that are vital to obtaining the most effective, as well as best, results. For people with osteoporosis, just practicing yoga, without appropriate focus on alignment, could not be such a good idea.

Nothing in this meeting ought to be taken as clinical suggestions. Osteoporosis is a severe condition, always consult a doctor about any kind of medical concerns as well as before beginning any type of workout regimen.

Dr. Fishman is an M.D. as well as an Iyengar-trained yoga exercise teacher, along with the managing companion of Manhattan Physical Medicine and also Recovery. Ellen Saltonstall is an author, a yoga exercise specialist, a senior accredited Anusara yoga exercise instructor and also she holds a master's degree in the area of healing motion education.