#with an attitude i aspire to but can never hope to achieve

[astralnymphh]

𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐊𝐈𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐑! ★

content: prodigy!abby x nerdy!reader, childhood friends, university-based, fluff (for now), romance + tension (little bit angsty), drabble length but switching up the small caps (experimenting. heh), mainly jotting an idea, not a certified abby expert.

It was an absolute murder to discover that she could not fufill this one off her bucket list.

Fucking video gaming?

Exactamundo! Abby can outstand everybody in nearly anything, being everything from a virtuoso violinist, to a glorified part-time fisherman, and a damn gourmet chef as well. She paraded around the entire campus pursuing a name in every elective and Olympic hobby you could ever think of. Name it, chances are she's done it. Actually, more than done it, all things considered.

But video games? Guess the esteemed Abby Anderson had finally tumbled downhill and suffered defeat; looking you up out of all computer-smart people felt treasonous to her, but seemed high-priority to the eye of the beholder, the eyes in question even rolling. You don't need an in-person class course on fucking Skyrim. Look at the tutorials!

“So, how the hell do I shorten my speedrun times?”

None of it made a lick of sense. Well, the wanting to do speedruns part, you see the appeal in a medieval-inspired game. Speedrunning sucks the fun and the atmosphere out of a truly gorgeous game such as the forenamed. Yet, it's not like you haven't experimented in closed-world speedruns after immersing yourself in collecting all the achievements; Firewatch takes the cake.

But, still, coming to you—a forgotten, childhood friend whom she ghosted—makes no logical sense. Games are easy-peasy. Literal pieces of cake!

You scrunch your nose at the reclined blondie on your bed, confused. “Um, by watching a tutorial?” Almost laying back into a condescending tone, maybe even a little. “Did you even think to do that before knocking in the dead of night?” Her mordant, stick-up-the-ass kind does the same thing to you, so, you can gripe at that game all you desire.

“Hey,” she pouts, sounding out mock-offense. She scoots up from her prone position on the bed to face you—so proper. “Everything has more to it than what you see.” Sure, philosopher. “And there definitely is with video games. I keep losing. Besides, if I can't stomach skydiving or rock-climbing, then this is next on my list.”

“Pft—”

“What? You know I don't do heights.”

Oh, my god. “'You keep losing?'” Is she a prodigy at radical honesty?

Pond-blue eyes toss in a perfect, resentful circle. She scoffs, “Why do you think I came over here?” Complaining right hand flicking with attitude.

“I don't teach beginners.”

Your sarcasm flies not even an inch under her radar; it was always a retreat tactic back in highschool—when this imitative facade first hardened. “Oh, okay.” She bites you back with it too. But it never even occured to her that you might just be serving a tablespoon of teasery. Being old friends, having lonesome yearns, even stubborn prodigies can be painted in a rosy picture.

Still can see those young, faded freckles. Lovely ones.

“This was a mistake, wasn't it?” An unpleasant question. Drops from her lips almost wantonly.

It strains your chest cavity.

Is seeing her a mistake?

Not really. You hope not really. Once, there was a time where she was suddenly rude, dismissive and up every aspiring valedictorian's ass, but all paths lead back, you believe. Somewhere underneath that porcelain facade—and hot, rocking bod—is a clean crack in her over-achiever matrix; softness is bleeding out. You can see the beginning brooks of it like a kingly ichor. Possible smiles that aren't contemptuous.

What next, an apology?

“Can I at least.. say sorry, before going?”

Sorry—going? Fuck, you majorly zoned out. “What?” You loom in closer, throwing the one-brow raise. The proximity barely even occurs to you.

“For being a jerk, for blowing you off, ..” The list implies endlessness as her voice fades out. In a way, you expect her to pick up and continue. But, after the gestures and head-tilts, she pauses. Reinstates eye contact, pauses, and works her lips again. An awkward, prefacing breath skims. “And I guess, 'm also sorry for.. this?”

Before comprehension hits, it is too late. Darkly, a warmth brushes your cheek and a silence catches your lips, blocking your eyes out. It makes you feel blindsided, this short-lived kiss, one you suspend wide eyes for, tilt your neck for, accept without question. A strange deja vu rushes to your nape.

You shiver.

It even ends before you understand it, Abby pulling away with light-glossed eyes you swear are stones of aquamarine in disguise. She cracks; dints a smile in her cheek. Proud, anticipating. Having her this close made your inhales excessive; you needed all the air in the world to function right now. Deep breathing.

She smells like the outdoors.

Naturally.

“Good?” She has to reassure herself.

“Yeah,” you quickly spout, croak even. Wherever in the world your head is, it's not here. “Not really a prodigy at kissing, so..” And while it is somewhere, the remnants of her kiss are phantom. They have not stopped yet.

An amused chuckle greets in gusts across your lips, from your radical honesty, the moment itself, whatever. Crowns you the jokester anyways. “Guess we both have something to learn then.”

Wonder what future that comment entails.

[communistkenobi]

Indeed, the media tends to not notice—or to outright ignore—trans men because they are unable to sensationalize them the way they do trans women without bringing masculinity itself into question. And in a world where modern psychology was founded upon the teaching that all young girls suffer from penis envy, most people think striving for masculinity seems like a perfectly reasonable goal. Author and sex activist Patrick Califia, who is a trans man, addresses this in his 1997 book Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism: “It seems the world is still more titillated by ‘a man who wants to become a woman’ than it is by ‘a woman who wants to become a man.’ The first is scandalous, the latter is taken for granted. This reflects the very different levels of privilege men and women have in our society. Of course women want to be men, the general attitude seems to be, and of course they can't. And that's that.”

— Whipping Girl, p 46-47

I think this provides a really productive explanation for the common differences between the reactions trans men get from cis people versus what trans women generally get - we (transmascs) are pitiable misguided babies, led astray by aspirations we can never hope to achieve. This is obviously not a good state of affairs, and the “sympathy” we receive is just a pretext for cis people to extend greater control over our lives, but we are still given the benefit of doubt where our gendered “aspirations” are concerned (“of course you want to be a man! don’t we all?”), something that is never ever given to trans women

[coqxettee]

Why I love Barbie 🎀

-January 14th-

Recently, I’ve been loving Barbie. I always have done since I was little, but today I had kind of a crappy day, and if I’m honest, Barbie got me through. 😭💗 I’m a Virgo which means I overthink everything, and I spend a lot of my day worrying about the future. I am going to be an actress, so I have a tough career ahead of me and need to prepare for it every single day of my life, and having Barbie as one of my inspirations helps so much. She’s quite literally perfect, kind, always has a solution to everything and lives in a pink world, which is quite literally everything I aspire to be ☺️💗

I made a list on the reasons I love her AND how to be like the perfect princess herself ☺️🎀

Why I love Barbie:

She’s kind

She’s beautiful inside and out, and projects her beautiful heart onto others

She’s stylish! (Ofc)

Her fave colour is pink 🎀💗

She always has a positive attitude and a solution to any problem

She never gives up, even when things are really tough

She romanticises everything and has created a beautiful and successful life around her!

She always makes sure her friends and family are having just a good a time as herself

She believes in magic and miracles

She lives in a DREAMHOUSE in MALIBU?

She never lets ANYONE dull her sparkle ✨

She’s always productive and gets the job done!

She never lets jealous, or mean people stand in her way. She’s proud of everything she achieves too!

How to be like Barbie:

Create a beautiful life you love. Romanticise as many things as you can and appreciate every little, girly thing in life.

Live in pink 🎀 (It’s the best)

Never let ANYONE crush your dreams or tell you, you cannot do anything. Barbie doesn’t and she’s one of the most successful women in the world 🌸

Believe in yourself, even when it feels like the whole world is against you!

Don’t let any negative thoughts consume your whole day. Take time to do things you love and appreciate everything and everyone around you.

Be grateful for what you already have

Never give up! 💗

Wear what makes you feel happy and confident! Always look stylish, put together, classy and girly. (And pink)

Mix and match clothes. Pink on pink on pink. Accessorise with pink things and clothes

Believe in magic ✨

Spend your days being productive but make sure you put your happiness and creativity first

Believe in yourself even when no one else does

Love you all, I hope you enjoyed this 💗 - Kellen

[workersolidarity]

🇷🇺 🎆 🎉 🚨

FULL VIDEO AND OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT OF RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN'S NEW YEAR'S SPEECH 2024

📹 Official video from Russian State-News Agency Ria Novosti, subtitled with generator, and the official transcript from the Office of the President of the Russian Federation.

Full official transcript:

We are bidding farewell to 2023. Very soon it will become part of history and we will have to move forward, create the future.

We have worked very hard and accomplished a lot over the past year. We were proud of our common achievements and happy about our successes. And we were firm, protecting the national interests, our freedom and security, and our values which continue to provide us with an unshakeable foundation.

And the main thing which has united us is the destiny of the Motherland. There is a deep understanding of the utmost importance of the historic period which Russia is going through, those large-scale objectives which society is facing and the colossal responsibility for the Motherland which every one of us feels.

We are acutely and clearly aware of how much depends on us during this period, on our positive attitude, and our aspiration to support each other in word and deed.

Work for the collective good has united society. We are united in our thoughts, tasks and in combat, whether at work or on days off, displaying the main traits of the Russian people – solidarity, mercy and firmness.

I would like to address our military personnel – everyone who is on duty, who is on the front lines fighting for truth and justice. You are our heroes. Our hearts are with you. We are proud of you and we admire your courage.

I am well aware that now you feel the love of those nearest and dearest to you, the powerful, sincere support of millions of Russian citizens, the support of the entire people.

We have proved over and over again that we are able to tackle the most difficult tasks and we will never back down as there is no force that can divide us, make us forget the memory and the faith of our fathers, or stop our development.

Friends,

At all times, the New Year celebrations have been associated with bright hopes and the sincerest wish to bring joy to loved ones.

The upcoming year of 2024 has been declared the Year of the Family in our country. And a truly big family is definitely a family where children grow up, where parents are given attention, and treated with warm-heartedness and care, and where everyone loves and respects each other.

Devotion to the Motherland is nurtured via such kinship of all generations, love of home.

I would like to convey my very best wishes for the new year to all Russian families. After all, the history of our huge, wonderful and beloved Motherland is shaped by the history of each family. We – the multinational people of Russia – decide and create its fate.

We are one country, one big family. We will ensure the steady development of the Motherland, the well-being of our citizens, and we will become even stronger.

We are together. And this is the most reliable guarantee of the future of Russia.

Happy New Year, friends! Happy 2024!

- Russian President Vladimir Putin, Jan. 1st 2024.

#source

#videosource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[danbisroom]

Ep. 13 - If You Believe In It It’s Enough, You Will Find Your Way

Hello my beloved fellow souls,

welcome back to Danbi’s Room, your weekly dose of safe space. Go grab a cup of something warm and get yourself cosy.

I hope you had a chill week and that you aren’t stressing too much. Also, if you’re a Stay, I hope you were able to attend Magic School fan-meeting, whether online or off-line. To be completely honest I’m still positively speechless after watching it this morning. All I can say, putting it into words, is that I love this family.

To be completely honest, I was in dire need of some kind of booster. Yes, I do have some post-event blues, but who doesn’t? To every emotion its counterpart. Anyway…the point is that I’ve been sick lately, both mentally and physically. I’m deteriorating with an astonishing calmness. When you love people so dearly, seeing them fall shatters your heart, even when you’re 100% sure they’re going to get back up and stand even taller. My dad, who’s actually included in this group, once jokingly told me: “It’s crazy, among your friends, there isn’t even one who doesn’t have problems.”. By “problems” he meant life-crippling problems. Stuff that could potentially altogether destroy your life at any given moment. Stuff he experienced as well. There was no reproach in his voice of course. If there was any feeling it was sorrow for my friends and pride for me. I’m very grateful for that. My parents’ biggest aspiration for me is that I can help people. I know that if I suddenly changed all of my plans to help a friend out they would support me. And objectively, without them, I would have never been able to do some of the things I did for the people I love. And, most importantly, I wouldn’t be who I am, I wouldn’t think this way. I do have many dreams. I really wanna do a lot of things but please believe me when I say my biggest dream is to see my loved ones achieve theirs and be happy.

Yes, this attitude got me some fake idiots along the way, but the more you grow, the more you learn how to actually understand who’s part of your pack and who isn’t, who’s there to stay and who’s there just to offer you the opportunity to learn a lesson. I regret nothing.

Because it’s me, I am the “friend without problems”. I have the strength and the time to share heavy weights. You see, these beautiful people I’m talking about believe many horrible narratives about themselves: they assume they aren’t worthy of the love they receive, they shut their dreams off deeming them vain and vile, they silence their own voice, as if it was undeserving to move through their vocal cords, let alone be heard.

Every time I hear their inner children silently screaming I’m always on the verge of sobbing uncontrollably. I’m still sloppy in handling this, I never manage to do everything I’d like to do for my loves, but I feel I’m slowly getting better though - I used to be much sloppier in the past.

Now I just take them in. There’s a secret garden inside my soul, a happy neverland with a happy pond to watch the rays of the sun blink to the sky embroidered with pink clouds. There’s little me, happy to have all of these other kids around. The only sad memory is that the little wolf cub is trapped: he was the first to get here but he will probably have to stay forever. There’s another wolf cub now, and I hope they can become friends with time, he’s been the last to arrive so far. Then there’s a beautiful butterfly with puffy cheeks, and another puffy-cheeked sweetie with black locks, and then there’s little goldilocks me. To be fair fair there’s also another goldilocks, but he’s still a bit shy. They play together and hug each other and laugh watching sunsets. I will protect them at all costs and it’s for them that I live. I don’t care how crazy and mad this might seem. I know it’s the right thing to do. And I’m always amazed at how patient they and their adult bodies are when I crumble under my own weight. Sometimes I’m weak and despite having the world against them, they still collect my pieces, every single time.

I really can’t think of a person luckier than I am.

They don’t deserve this misery.

I’ll make the kids happy, whatever it takes.

Today’s song recommendation is L’Isola Che Non C’è by Edoardo Bennato. A childhood favourite of little goldilocks Danbi. It talks about Neverland and about dreams. Hit me up if you can’t find an English translation!

I hope you enjoyed this episode and that you have a beautiful week ahead of you!

I’ll see you in the next one, big hug!

With love, yours,

Danbi

[a-tale-never-told]

(To mod) In your opinion, how well would the cast of Brave DR: Coward's Paradise fare in the world of A Tale Never Told?

//Depends on whether how you interpret it. It's quite amusing that you decided to bring up Brave DR: Coward's Paradise specifically, because that's the first Fanaganronpa I've ever experienced, despite it being not officially completed yet.

//Personally speaking, it was the first Fanganronpa I've ever watched or heard of, and found myself incredibly immersed in the majority of the content and development regarding the web video, it's actually quite remarkable how much Gitaroo was able to make me appreciate and obtain fondness for these characters( with the inherent exception of Kazuya) from the prologue alone. When you've managed to create such a diverse cast of characters, with a variety of interesting and colorful personalities, introducing them in such a brief amount of time, yet managing to write them as if they've already received considerable amounts of development, appearing fleshed out and making us express concern over them, that's an impressive achievement and I can't commend Giataroo enough for blessing us with an awesome web video^^

//Nevertheless, it's extremely difficult and complicated as I can't accurately predict how the Brave Danganronpa cast would fare if they managed to become part of this bad situation, considering that aside from their biography cards, and what we'd officially viewed from the prologue, there's not much we can explicitly state or say about how they would realistically behave if they were thrust into an unnerving and disturbing scenario like this.

//What I can predict, though, is that their official reactions and thoughts to the unpleasant state would certainly be anything but welcoming. Frankly, it'd be something resembling a mixture of hopeful idealism and optimism clashing alongside cynical, pessimistic, apathy that would dominate the rest of the world, aside from a few key people who sincerely believe in a more positive future. In short, it would create a widening divide in the cast between those who possess some form of naivety and optimism about humanity's future, and those who are self-conceited, arrogant, or uncaring about the prominent issues that the world's currently dealing with.

//One conflict that would really become prevalent throughout this entire scenario is that Kazuya and Hiroto's rivalry would become far more authentic and heated than it originally was. Kazuya would essentially become the embodiment of everything that this world upholds, becoming far nastier, arrogantly ruthless, and just downright deplorable than his canon self. Most likely, he'd become overly disenchanted and embittered at the notion that due to the prejudiced standards of this world, he wouldn't receive the amount of popularity he originally had, due to him being unable to enter any major athletic tournaments based on racial standards.

//That is basically why he would feel the compulsive need to express his frustrations and resentment that he holds toward society for rejecting him thanks to his natural skin color, regardless if he wasn't exceptional enough for their standards, and would this justify his self-entitled, and arrogant attitude towards others, as it's a coping mechanism for him to distract him from the nightmares of living in a dystopian- like world such as this, where all of his aspirations were crushed thanks to forces outside his control.

//Unsurprisingly, Hiroto wouldn't take Kazuya's condescending attitude fondly, since he's actively making things more stressful and problematic for the rest of the group, causing an internal divide within them by promoting his ideals and just being a major nuisance to deal with. During their interaction, Hiroto looked rather uncomfortable and annoyed every time Kazuya opened his mouth to say something arrogant, even calling him out on this behavior during their conversation, saying that just because people aren't up to his level doesn't give him the right to put them down constantly and that he couldn't agree with his negative mindset.

//Obviously, the two would develop complete animosity and tense feelings towards each other, always disagreeing and bickering with one another on their ideals concerning the social hierarchy that would become increasingly relevant as the two's conflicting views of society become a source of discord and mistrust between the gang, with some choosing to believe Hiroto's worlds of inspiration, saying it's necessary to assist people in times of uncertainty and saving them from whatever threat exists, and Kazuaya's Social Darwinist belief that the "losers" in society, which is practically the rest of the lesser people of the world, deserved to be mistreated and look down upon them by the "winners", which is the more prestigious, wealthy group that he's a part of.

//In many ways, this would resemble what I'd originally believed the Naegi-Togami relationship was going to end up becoming, which it didn't. It's a shame because this idea of having a cynical yet confident protagonist going up against this pessimistic, arrogant jerk, challenging the negative stereotypes of society, aspiring to change the status of the world into a better world, and showing that in troubling times like these, it's always helpful to possess some form of hopefulness and positivity in times of bleakness and depression to keep you moving in life and remembering that life isn't always negative, and there are some bright moments in life, even if we don't notice it.

//Regarding the rest of the group's actions in this reality, I'm guessing that they'll be suffering immensely, struggling to handle whatever issue comes their way. Usually, some of the more resilient and mentally stronger ones would power their way through this, such as Goro, Rei, and Daigo, while the more fragile, timid members would be prone to collapsing underneath with having to deal with endless amounts of trauma from witnessing all of the terrible sides of humanity, but that's a long story for another time.

//Needless to say, they would've fared poorly in this timeline, only being hampered by Kauzuya's continuous attempts to show his self-superiority and views over others and his blatant disregard and contempt for those beneath him, as well as people like Mitsuba and Honaka unintentionally causing more harm than good. Except for a few people in the cast who are sharp-witted and cunning enough to get a more comprehensive understanding as to what they're dealing with and how they can approach this properly, I wouldn't be so certain that everyone in the cast would've survived the grim world of ATAT.

//But that's just me expressing an opinion. Feel free to let me know what questions you have regarding Brave DR: Coward's Paradise, since it's actually one of my most cherished fangans that I've seen in my life, and it arguably got me invested in Fanganronpas to begin with.

[buangkok]

27/2/24

Things are going south for my grades this semester. I’m late on my submissions and I couldn’t be fucked to do my online exam. I don’t know why I can’t feel like I care enough to try. Probably because the first half of this semester has been physically draining. You see, I’ve been sick since December. It’s a viral infection in my lungs that triggers my asthma. It’s been very tough. I also pushed myself to get a retail job. Bad decision. I needed to use that time to study and do my schoolwork. Now I’m stuck here looking like a complete asshole. An asshole who’s probably going to fail the first half of the semester. I wanted first-class honors for this term. I don’t think I’m going to get it. It’s a bit ambitious, yes. I think I have the intellectual capacity to achieve good grades. I don’t know if I have the discipline, though. 

Why can’t I do it? Why can’t I sit down and get my schoolwork done? Why don’t I have respect for the school? There’s no use in thinking so much about the reasons as to why things are the way they are. It just is. I’m just not used to schooling properly. It’s been years since I’ve been in this setting. I’m older, sure, but I’m not used to sitting down and writing essays. They told me that going back to school was going to be tough, but I didn’t think it would be this tough. Then again, if I can’t handle the pressures of school, I probably can’t handle the pressures of a full-time job. I mean come on, I want to be an arts manager when I leave school. I want to be a leader in the local arts industry. Do I even have what it takes? 

I’ve been wanting to go for career guidance from my school for a while now. I need help charting out a path for myself. I was able to get an internship for my summer break this year, though. I’m an ambitious person, it’s just that I don’t exactly know where to start or get things off the ground. I want to do so many things. I want to get projects off the ground. I want to be a general manager of a big theatre company one day. I want to be an arts administrator for a local government body. I want to eventually have an events company specializing in bringing the arts industry together through networking sessions. Those dreams are big, I feel. I don’t talk about my dreams publicly anymore, that’s because I have enemies who would try to thwart my efforts. This is a private blog, though - and I’m pretty sure my only reader is my boyfriend. 

I never seem to get things off the ground. There are always gaps in my plans. I also tend to over-plan and overthink. Maybe I’m scared to just get things done. I’m too much of a perfectionist. I need to get things off the ground, though. The projects that I want to do. 

For the second half of the semester, I intend to pull my socks up. I need to, if I want to eventually have good grades. No more having a job. I need to take care of my health. Eat right. Exercise. Get enough sleep. My physical health is paramount to my success. I also need to diligently do my readings and take quality notes in class. School isn't a bad thing, it's just that my attitude is bad. Whoever said that school was lame? It isn't. Learning can be quite fun. There's still hope, I can still get first class honours by the end of my degree.

I aspire to be the best version of myself, not someone else. I want to be the best version of myself, on my own terms. I got this!

[nzeikayblog]

President Vladimir Putin’s New Year Address to the Nation.

Citizens of Russia, friends,

We are bidding farewell to 2023. Very soon it will become part of history and we will have to move forward and create the future. We have worked very hard and accomplished a lot over the past year. We were proud of our common achievements and happy about our successes. And we were firm, protecting the national interests, our freedom and security, and our values which continue to be our unshakeable foundation. And the main thing which has united us is the destiny of the Motherland. There is a deep understanding of the utmost importance of the historic period that Russia is going through, those ambitious goals that society is facing, and the colossal responsibility for the Motherland that every one of us feels. We are acutely and clearly aware of how much depends on us during this period, on our positive attitude, and our aspiration to support each other in word and deed. Work for the common good has united society. We are united in our thoughts, deeds, and in battle, on weekdays or holidays, displaying the main traits of the Russian people – solidarity, mercy, fortitude.

I would like to address our military personnel – everyone who is on duty, who is on the front lines fighting for truth and justice. You are our heroes. Our hearts are with you. We are proud of you and we admire your courage. I know that right now you feel the love of your nearest and dearest, the powerful and sincere support of millions of Russian citizens, the support of the entire people. We have proved over and over again that we can tackle the most difficult tasks and we will never back down as no force can divide us, make us forget the memory and the faith of our fathers, or stop our development.

Friends,

At all times, the New Year celebrations have been associated with bright hopes and a sincere wish to bring joy to the people you love. The upcoming year of 2024 has been declared the Year of the Family in our country. And a true big family is of course a family with children, where you find care and attention, warm-heartedness and support for the parents, love and respect for each other. This kind of generational kinship and love of one’s home fosters devotion to the Motherland. I would like to convey my very best wishes for the new year to all Russian families. After all, the history of our huge, wonderful, and beloved Motherland is made up of the history of each family. We, the multinational people of Russia, shape its future.

We are one country, one big family. We will ensure the steady development of the Motherland, and the well-being of our citizens, and we will become even stronger. We are together. And this is the most reliable guarantee of Russia’s future.

To watch and listen to President Vladimir Putin’s New Year Address to the Nation in Russian language, kindly use the following link: President Vladimir Putin’s New Year Address to the Nation https://youtu.be/ttaJBLjtI88

#highlights @Everyone #NigeriaDeservesBetter #AfricaDeservesBetter

[azeez-unv]

Levels of leadership

◾️

"why can't I do this?"

"why can't I do that?"

"what's wrong with me?"

Have you ever questioned yourself with all of the questions above or similar?

You are not alone. Everyone is always asking themselves why it's so hard to develop good personal development.

If you are the one who feels this, all you need to know is to accept yourself because you are the only one who can save yourself.

• Saving your life from your lifestyle is the beginning of giving birth to a leadership quality already within you. Leaders are not born yet they are created.

• Potential is one of the most wonderful words in any language. It's optimistic. It's hopeful. It hints at greatness. It's full of possibilities. It's inside of you. How do you develop your potential? You grow.

• Growth is the only guarantee that tomorrow is going to get better.

• Know things better: Where am I now?, Where I m going ? And How will I get there?

• Sources of Leadership:

Leadership arises from being assigned to a leadership position in an organisation.

Leadership arises from leaders acquiring, engaging, and leading followers.

• What is a leadership?: Fundamentally, leadership is a relationship. Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow.

• Types of Leaderships?

Assigned and Emergent leaderships.

Leadership that is based on occupying a position in an organization is assigned leadership. Team leaders, plant managers, department heads, directors, and administrators are all examples of assigned leadership …

The individual acquires emergent leadership through other people in the organization who support and accept that individual’s behavior. This type of leadership is not assigned by position; rather, it emerges over a period through communication.”

• Ownership Confers Responsibility, Responsibility Confers Authority

• Levels of leadership:

Level 1 — Position ( Rights)

The lowest level of leadership—the entry level, if you will—is Position. It’s the only level that requires no ability or effort to achieve.

Level 2 — Permission ( Relationship)

Level 2 is based on relationship. At this level, people choose to follow because they want to. In other words, they give the leader Permission to lead them. To grow at this level, leaders work on getting to know their people and connecting with them.

Level 3 — Production (Results)

The best leaders know how to motivate their people to get things done! And getting things done is what Level 3 is all about. On this level, leaders who produce results build their influence and credibility.

Level 4 — People Development ( Reproduction)

Level 4 can be summed up in one word: reproduction. Your goal at this level is to identify and develop as many leaders as you can by investing in them and helping them grow.

Level 5 — Pinnacle (Respect)

The highest level of leadership is also the most challenging to attain. It requires longevity as well as intentionality.

The key important purpose of becoming a leader is:

It's my purpose in life to be that guide, to know the way and help you go after it. My desire is to help you develop the right attitude, discover your strengths, tap into your passion, make gains in your life like you've never seen, and become more in touch with what you're designed for so you can live a happy, healthy, and full life. That's what I want for you, and I want to help you get there. I do this for you because I am a leader in my classroom, I am a leader in my school....

[eretzyisrael]

The Ambassador from Obamastan

It was profoundly depressing to listen to the new American ambassador to Israel, Thomas Nides, speak on a webinar produced by Americans for Peace Now. Both the tone and the substance of his remarks were discouraging.

The tone expressed the arrogance that we learned to expect from Obama Administration officials, of which Nides was one. Jonathan Tobin said that American ambassadors to Israel often act more like “imperial proconsuls,” sent to give orders to the colonials, and that fits Nides. Jewish communities in Judea/Samaria “infuriate” him. Infuriate! The Palestinians, on the other hand, are merely less than perfect:

The Palestinians aren’t perfect either … these martyr payments [sic!] … have caused an enormous amount of problems … I’m working with minister Gantz and with the Prime Minister and the Palestinians to figure out how to stop it because it gives the haters – and there are haters – an excuse “well, we can’t do THIS, because they’re paying for people who kill Jews.”

So, wait. The trouble with the Palestinian Authority paying terrorists to murder Jews is that someone might cite this as a reason to withhold concessions to the Palestinians? That’s actually the problem, not the fact that they are murdering Jews? And anyone who thinks this way is a hater? I had to listen to this several times to believe that he actually said it. I was hamum, as they say in Hebrew, thunderstruck.

Nides doesn’t seem to realize how patronizing he sounds. In regard to Ukraine, he said “[Bennett and Lapid] have done everything we asked them to. They haven’t made a move without being in contact with us.” That makes me feel so … sovereign.

That’s the tone. But the substance is actually more pernicious, if possible.

Unsurprisingly, Nides wants a “two-state solution,” since that is the policy of his administration. He sees his job as removing the obstacles to achieving it, which he seems to think are primarily on the Israeli side. He is incredibly naïve about the attitude of the Palestinians, which he describes as though all they want is a little America in the “West Bank,” with 4G (or 5G!) cellular service available to everyone, with Google and Amazon opening facilities in their country, and of course “freedom” and “dignity.”

Somehow he has failed to notice that these admittedly imperfect Palestinians overwhelmingly – both the leadership and the street – reject the existence of any Jewish state between the river and the sea, and consider a two-state arrangement as only a temporary expedient on the way to “redeeming all of Palestine.” And somehow, the folks at Peace Now didn’t bring this up. They also failed to mention that a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria is, by simple geography, a deadly threat to the survival of Israel.

Nides is one of those who speak in clauses, sometimes changing track in the middle of a sentence, so it can be hard to get a coherent quote out of it. But listen to what he said about Jerusalem:

He [Biden] is fully and completely supportive of a two state solution with a divided … you know, how that’s divided, the capital, and all the conversations around, you know, what the territories look like… my job is to knock down things that make that possibility impossible … if they lose hope …

A divided what? As if we don’t know! And I like the addition of “if they lose hope,” a nod to the view that Palestinian terrorism is a result of despair, when in fact it is encouraged when they think they are winning.

I say that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, that is true, however I also say that the final status of Jerusalem will have to be decided by the parties. The reason that we [prior to Trump] never moved the embassy was to leave that open as a final status issue to be decided by the parties …

It’s clear that we are back in Obamastan now, where the aspirations of the Palestinians have equal or greater weight than the security of the Jewish state; and where Israel must pay the price for the failures of the Arab leadership. I expect to see renewed pressure to freeze construction of any kind in Judea/Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, and possibly a return to “peace processing,” whose goal is to create a sovereign Palestinian state with its capital in a divided Jerusalem.

I know I must sound like an endless loop, but we got ourselves into this situation when we allowed our country to become a satellite of the US. Jonathan Tobin suggests that the Foreign Ministry should call Nides into its office and give him a dressing down, explaining that he is not an “imperial proconsul” and that Israel is a sovereign state. But who’s kidding whom – that is very unlikely, because we are a satellite. Thanks to our over-reliance on American military aid, we are vulnerable to sudden cut-offs of critical items, as when Obama stopped supplying US-made Hellfire missiles during one of our periodic wars with Hamas in Gaza, because he thought – after hearing casualty figures provided by Hamas! – that Israel was killing too many people in Gaza. And the recent hold-up in the allocation of funds for the Tamir interceptors used by the Iron Dome system should make us think.

There is no quick solution. We can’t cut off our “golden handcuffs” all at once. It will be a long process of developing home-grown sources for military hardware and other strategic goods (food can’t be ignored, either. I was shocked to notice how much of the stuff in my local supermarket was imported from Europe). We have now been blessed with a large supply of natural gas, which is an extremely important piece of the self-sufficiency puzzle.

But we won’t arrive at our destination if we don’t start our journey, and so far, I see no movement.

Abu Yehuda

[knaite-solo]

Dear Lee - Zuko x Reader

Summary: After being rescued from prison, you discover that you fell in love with a lie.

Pairing: Zuko x DaiLi!Reader

Genre: Angst

Warnings: Swearing

Word count: 2105

“Hand me the prison keys.” Zuko ordered to the semi-conscious warden that he found in front of his uncle's cell. 

Warden Poon was barely able to open his eyes due to the hard confrontation he had with Iroh.

“But, Prince Zuko…”

“Just do it.” Zuko didn’t even try to use a calm tone this time, even threatening Poon with one of his fists on fire.

With no other choice, the warden handed the bunch of keys to the prince. He no longer wanted any conflicts, mainly because he didn’t have enough strength to do so and also because he knew that his firebending was inferior.

With the keys in hand, Zuko began his plan, starting to free the remaining prisoners from the tower. Initially, his intention was just to free his uncle, but as he had failed to do so, he decided not to let the opportunity go in vain.

Most of the people who were there weren't dangerous, but very prestigious. Big business owners, high-ranking military men, former rulers. Even his uncle was only there and not in the Boiling Rock, as he was part of the Royal Family. Fortunately, thanks to this foolish choice, Iroh had benefited from the average security prison to escape.

When Zuko finally thought he had just opened all the cells, he came across one that was different from the others. It wasn’t surrounded by iron bars, but by large metal plates with a small window in the middle, apparently where meals were placed. Not even his uncle had been put in such a bad place. Could someone really be there?

With some caution, the firebender turned the key in the lock and subtly opened the door, placing his head inside the small gap he had opened.

“Hello?”

Unfortunately, Zuko identified someone lying in the back of the dim cell. 

And that someone was you. 

But since you hadn’t responded to his call, he was uncertain if you had heard him. So, the prince decided to enter the cubicle and shook you gently, trying to awake you.

“Hey. Wake up.”

It all seemed too confusing in your head when you started to wake up. A familiar voice rang in your ears and a small amount of light illuminated the cell, but the brightness irritated your eyes since you hadn't been dealing with it for weeks.

“Hey.” He called you again and then you finally remembered who that voice belonged to.

“Lee?” You questioned in an uncertain but hopeful tone.

“Y/n?” Hearing your name coming from his lips filled you with happiness.

Without restraining yourself, you wrapped the prince in a tight hug and he reciprocated you a bit shyly since he didn't expect that demonstration of affection, much less to find you in a place like that. But you didn't care about his shyness. Just having him in your arms was good enough.

“I'm so happy that you're okay, Lee.”

You called him Lee again. After all, he was Lee to you.

For you, he was the guy from the teahouse you used to go to after your earthbending training. The guy who had caught your interest so suddenly that when you noticed you would show up to see him even when there was no reason to.

For you, he was the guy who made you laugh even when he didn't mean anything funny. He had such a weird and grumpy way of looking at things that you couldn't help but think it was cute.

For you, he was the guy who had taught you a bit of swordsmanship and when he wielded those double swords, you were even more attracted to him. He always seemed to dance with them. And he made it look so easy when you knew it wasn't.

For you, he was the guy you had your first date with. In fact, you weren't even sure if it was a date, but you always treated the memory with the amount of affection you think it deserved.

You couldn't forget when you had dinner with him and he yelled at one of the waiters, apparently a little embarrassed by a silly comment. You also couldn't forget how you tried to hold his hand and he allowed it, walking with you like that for a while. You couldn't forget the fountain where you took him to and how the candles magically seemed to light around it. It was the perfect place and the perfect time. You could almost feel that he wanted to kiss you just as much as you wanted to kiss him. And suddenly, he left, leaving you with a coupon for the teahouse he worked at.

Shortly after that small step in your relationship, you graduated as part of the Dai Li. You wished you could protect your people and you felt that that was the right way to do it. You had grown up in the Lower Ring and aspired to bring some justice to this region. It is a pity that you got it all wrong and chose the worst way to achieve it.

Before joining the other agents, you had a last cup of tea at your favorite spot. You already wore the typical Dai Li costume and you expected the farewell to be kinda hard. But to your surprise, that day, Lee didn't show up, just his uncle. You said goodbye to Mushi and asked him to deliver the message, but it always hurt you that Lee wasn't there to hear it in person.

So, you met again. And you had so much to say to your dear Lee.

“Why didn't you come to say g-”

“Not now.” Zuko interrupted you a little roughly, but it wasn’t intentional. He just was in a hurry. “I’m sorry. We need to go before they find us.”

He cautiously broke away from your embrace and lifted you, pulling you by your hand. However, you were so weak from the hard days in prison that you almost fell backward. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and held you tightly by the waist so you wouldn't fall.

“What’s wrong?” Zuko asked worriedly.

“Nothing. Let's go.”

You broke free from him politely, trying to prove that you were well enough to walk alone and get out of there on your own, but deep down, you knew it was all just a lie. You had been tortured during so many days that you didn't even know how you could still speak. You didn't even know how you could still pronounce the word hope. Perhaps it was the fact that you were from the Earth Kingdom. Your people were known for being enduring and strong and so were you. You had to go on despite everything.

“Let me help you.” Zuko offered again but you denied.

However, when you started to leave the cell for the first time in weeks, your body again lost its balance. You were so thrilled to finally be able to touch something other than cold metal walls that you didn't look at your steps. Until warm hands held you again.

“Please, I just want to help.” He practically begged this time and you could feel his hands tightening around you. 

“Fine.” You said it reluctantly, knowing that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Zuko was pleased to finally get your consent and cautiously, he put one of your arms over his neck, supporting your weight against his body. The prince could easily carry you on his back, but he knew you were a proud person and would be offended if you were treated that way. He wanted to give you the proper respect. After all, you were a fighter just like him.

“Now, can you tell me what happened?”

Zuko wanted to ask that question since he found you in that cold, dark cell. It never crossed his mind that you could be so close to him and he never noticed. And if it weren't for his change of heart, you might have rotten there and he would never know.

He wanted to know why you were in that tower since you weren’t a relatively important person.

He wanted to know why you seem to be a thousand times more mistreated than the other prisoners he had released. You could barely walk without stumbling and that didn't match the determined person he met at Ba Sing Se.

He couldn't help but look at the injured extension of your body. All he could see was a large number of bruises, burns, and marks. You looked like a macabre work of art and probably the artist of this work had a mind as macabre as.

He wanted to ask so much. Zuko was immensely concerned about your condition, but at the same time, he was more concerned with how he would say he wasn’t who you thought he was.

“Fire Nation happened.” You finally responded sarcastically. “Do I really need to tell you that, Lee?”

Zuko didn't dare to say anything. Every time he heard his false name, everything seemed to get worse. So he decided to go down the stairs with you in silence. If he could take care of your safety by pretending to be Lee for a while, then he would do it.

“Why are you wearing these disgusting clothes?” The red suit with golden details annoyed you a lot since it looked a lot like the clothes of that woman you despised so much.

Zuko remained silent. You couldn't help but be irritated by his attitude, but you knew you were dependent on him at that moment. You could either adapt to his sudden silence or return to your unhappy cell. Although even if you wanted to return, Zuko would never let you go back.

You finally made it out of the tower and your eyes shone with excitement. How long have you been since you breathe some fresh air?  You were so happy that you would have jumped, screamed, and even danced a little if some guards hadn't shown up.

You quickly let go of Zuko and placed yourself in front of him.

In your mind, you were stronger than him. You were the person who had been blessed with the ability of bending. You were also the person who had been trained to be an elite fighter and serve Ba Sing Se, even it was all a big fat lie. You couldn't change the fact that you joined Dai Li and were manipulated to do bad things, but you could use your strength to do things differently from now. And so you would protect Lee.

You took a rigid stance and levitated some blocks of earth. You were ready to attack until you hear them communicate with Lee.

“Prince Zuko!” One of them spoke up trying to communicate with the man behind you, but that didn't make any sense. He wasn't this Zuko guy.

A woman ran towards you with fire daggers in her hands, but that didn't make you back off. You knew you were superior and even if you weren't, you would force yourself to be.

When you tried to throw the rocks at her, you were stopped, with your hand being held behind your back.

Only one person would be close enough to you to act that fast.

“Lee, what are you doing?” You tried to get loose in vain. 

“I’m sorry.” Zuko whispered.

Before you could answer or try to earthbend something with your feet, Zuko threw you over one of his shoulders, almost like you were a sack of potatoes.

"Stop."

You didn't understand why he told you to stop until you realized that the order wasn't for you. He was talking with the guards.

“But, prince Zuko, she’s the Dai Li agent that princess Azula-”

“I don’t care. I’m ordering you to stop.”

You couldn't understand anything anymore. Why did Lee seem to have authority over those guards? Why weren't you being attacked? Why were they constantly calling him prince Zuko?

“I’m afraid we can’t, Your Highness.” The guard with fire daggers replied.

And then, a battle of flames started.

You were outnumbered. You knew that Lee was good with swords, but that would be insufficient. You would have to fight. Only you could defend the two of you.

"Lee, please." You practically begged, pulling his shirt with as much strength that you could. 

"I'm sorry, Y/n. For everything." And when he started to firebend, your heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

Lee never existed.

Maybe I will write a part 2 since I liked this theme so much. Please let me know in the comments  if I should continue. Suggestions for the next part are also accepted! To this imagine, I inspired myself with the song Natalie - Milk & Bone.

Request made by @bucky-blogs​ Thank you so much for requesting this!

Since English isn’t my native language, please be kind. Any criticism is appreciated.

[the-attic-writer]

Chapter 28 - “Youth as a glass prism” - is up!

Hello, sorry for the lengthy (though genuine) post.

This chapter is super super super dear to me. It's the longest I've ever written (by far! 18K what?) and it's a collection of short stories between Hilda and each soldier from Levi's squad, as she bonds with them and takes on the role of the big sister, a role she used to be so familiar with.

I... I never thought I'd have the courage to post about the fic ever again. Truth be told, I'd gotten quite embarrassed of it. But here it is, after anxious editing and re-editing, getting frustrated with it and feeling proud and then frustrated all over again. It holds many thoughts I couldn't wait to express, about youth, about inner turmoils, and, nonetheless, it's a love letter to each and every one of the squad.

Here's an excerpt from one of the short stories. If you like it, you can check out the whole story. I can only hope it will be an amazing reading experience <3

Hilda realised that her next words should be chosen carefully. Though she could feel cold shivers of restlessness running down her spine, she tried to maintain her merry attitude.

“Really now? I could talk for hours on end about the wonderful things and lessons you gave me. And still, you know what? Goals, aspirations, larger than life achievements—those are for spectacular heroes fighting spectacular battles which they win through sheer strength and will. In fiction. But real life is a different matter. We’re not meant to be heroes. We’re just meant to... ‘do our thing’, however we can. Armin, you’re sixteen—what do you think you should have achieved by now to truly call yourself worthy of living? Solving the problem of famine? Soothing the sorrow of widows? Curing each and every disease that ever plagued this world?”

The boy pressed his lips together, his lower one quivering in a pitiful attempt to fight back tears. Hilda didn’t falter, no matter how sensitive the conversation had gotten.

“Look again at the rain... think from the perspective of a raindrop. It drops, right?” she pressed her pointer finger against his forehead, making him smile once more, a frail, blink-it-and-you-miss-it kind of smile. “That’s all it does. Do you think a raindrop is aware of its purpose? Most likely not, do you agree with me? And yet...”

She pulled aside the drapes all the way through, letting the water wet even the floorboard. She chuckled with mischief.

“And yet, the lakes still hold their fish. The crops still grow and feed us. And you still giggle when you stretch your hand to feel it on your skin.”

Armin didn’t say anything else, but instead giggled like a naive child, as if willing to obey Hilda’s words. His locks were sopping wet and his cheeks were moist with both warm tears and ice-cold droplets.

[keeperofhounds]

Never Know Who’s Watching

You know who's watching, you need to all ways watch your back especially when you know you’re doing something wrong.

This is a fan work I make no profit off it. My Hero Academia belongs to its original content creators.

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The teachers looked uncomfortably at the rat, dog, bear creature at the head of the table. Nezu didn’t seem all that put off by the pair of eyes staring at him, he was after all used to it. Why wouldn’t he be? He was an animal with a quirk, after all, this was bound to cause stares. This, however, wasn’t the cause of the stares.

Instead, it was a screen with what some might consider disturbing footage of a student threatening another student with their quirk. Not to mention all the comments, who appeared to be students from the same school, classmates of both students. Only the comments seemed to be focusing on all the wrong things, in fact, it seemed to be egging on the behavior.

One comment said, ‘Looks like he’s at it again.’

‘What did that loser do this time? Can’t he just keep his head down.’

‘Some people just don’t know how the world works.’

‘Who wants to bet that he said something dumb again. LOL.’

‘OMG, that kid is still around, I swore that he killed himself.’

Normally it wouldn’t be any of the teacher's business, this wasn’t any of their students. The problem was that the tags on social media clearly stated that the abuser was going to be a student at their school. UA takes its reputation very seriously, their students and potential students represent the school with their behavior reflecting on the school. To see such awful behavior in plain view being witnessed by their own possible student just goes to show the oversight on the school's part.

 Which is why the teachers were here. To make a decision on the boy in the video's future, ironically the other student being assaulted was also an incoming student. What should they do? Changing his homeroom teacher, it looked like they would be in the same class. Place him in general studies, that way he can get his act together. This wasn’t only the principles decision to make, it is the teachers as well.

Nezu linked his paws together, “So, what should we do about this incident?”

Thirteen raised their hand, “We can place him in another department, it’s too late in the year for him to apply for another school, at least even if it’s not Heroics he can still get an education.”  

“Wouldn’t that send the wrong message though?” Present Mic said, crossing his arms over his chest, “General Education isn’t a punishment, and a lot of the time students who didn’t make the cut to Heroics go through General.”

“That’s right,” Vlad King said, “I saw his exam scores, General would be a waste for him, why not keep an eye on him, if it’s a first offense then, I don’t see why we should ruin this kid's chances at becoming a hero.”

All Might was strangely silent to the entire discussion.

Nezu listened as the teacher's debate or argue over a course of action. In a perfect world Nezu could imagine helping this child on the right path, with them being able to achieve their true potential. It’s what any teacher would want for any child. In reality, though, some people can’t be helped by others. They had to help themselves before others could help them.

“Aizawa, this young man is supposed to be your student, it ultimately falls on you to have the final if any actions should be taken.

The shaggy-haired man glared at him tiredly, to him the solution was obvious to him. He had seen many punk kids before, growing up he even dealt with them. “ We revoke his acceptance.”

The teachers stared, that was too harsh.

“What a minute Aizawa, I get the kids a little rough around the edges,” Vlad said in the kid's defense, “but there’s no need to go that far.” 

Nezu raised a paw, silencing the homeroom teacher, “Can you explain why this course of action would be best?”

“It’s because he should know better. I don’t know about his home life or what he’s thinking, but I do know one thing, his behavior is unacceptable.” Aizawa looked at the principal in the eye, “The way he acts, shows that he’s done this before and to the same kid no less. This is a grudge that should have no place in a school environment, this behavior should have been stomped out ages ago.”

Nezu took the heroes' words into consideration. He’s right, like many times. This child was another one in thousands, they are a school for heroes and frankly, despite his impressive performance, he still has a lot to learn. He just hopes that the child could use this as a wake-up call, if he still aspires to be a hero then there is no reason why he can’t apply again next year.

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Bakugo Katsuki couldn’t believe what he was reading, what the hell, right? Why was the greatest hero school in the world rejecting someone like him? The stupid letter was making bullshit claims about him being out of line or some shit like that. He read the letter:

Dear, Mr. Bakugo Katsuki

    Thank you for your response to our letter of acceptance. The Admissions Committee has discussed at length about your prospects for the upcoming academic year. It is with a heavy heart that we send you this letter.

     As you know, the Committee takes seriously the qualities of maturity and moral character. After careful consideration, the Committee voted to rescind your admission to UA High School.  

    We are sorry about the circumstances that have led us to withdraw your admission, and we wish you success in your future academic endeavors and beyond.

Yours sincerely,

Nedzu

Principle of UA High School

Bakugo exploded the stupid letter with his quirk, the fuck did they mean about rescinding his acceptance, this was complete and utter bullshit. He was leagues above everyone else with his kickass quirk and smarts. They were making a mistake if they couldn’t see the mistake they were making by rejecting him. This was shitty Deku all over again.

“Deku…” Katsuki growled, letting out a string of explosives from his hands, “it was him, it’s always him. THAT BASTARD!”

Katsuki stormed out of the house, but not before causing his mom to yell at him and him to yell back at the crazy bitch. Every time something wrong happened in his life Deku always had something to do with it. Getting accepted into UA. The sludge villain incident. Mumbling about heroes. That day in the stream. WHO THE HELL DID THAT BASTARD THINK HE IS!?

“DEKU!” Bakugo called from outside Izuku’s apartment, banging on the door, “GET OUT HERE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!”

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Unknown to the explosive teen, Izuku wasn’t home that day. It was the weekend and he was off with All Might who wanted to spend time with him for some reason. Izuku had told his mother Inko that he was meeting with a friend, who helped him train for UA which technically wasn’t a lie, but not the entire truth either. It was just luck that he missed Bakugo’s rampage.

Inko, however, was home alone and scared out of her mind. There was someone at her front door banging on it, calling out a name. Inko didn’t see much point in trying to calm down the clearly feral individual at her doorstep, so she called the police.

Inko kept her tears at bay, glad that her son was out right now, who knows what he would have done. He was a sweet boy, so he would have tried to defend her. “Hello, this is the police speaking, what is your emergency?”

“There’s someone trying to break down my door,” Inko whispered trying to keep her voice steady, flinching at every bang at the door. “He keeps calling for someone, and he won’t leave, I’m too scared to tell him he’s got the wrong house, I think he might turn violent.”

“Don’t worry, help is on the way.”

Inko dropped the call. All she could do now is wait and hope the intruder doesn’t have any quirk that might be able to break down the door.

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Back outside Bakugo could feel his anger and frustration rising, the bastard was ignoring him. Who the hell did that Quirkless reject think he was, ignoring him? Not that of it mattered anymore, all his hard work went down the drain when that letter came in. So Bakugo let loose all his power onto the poor door.

A scream was heard, from the inside of the apartment. Glaring through the hole, all the middle schooler saw an empty house, but someone was there, just not Deku.

It was probably just his bitch of a mom. Deku should have been out by now, it didn’t look like he was home. Bakugo kicked the door, he had come here for nothing.

Police sirens echoed from the entrance, along with the sound of rushing footsteps. Bakugo was met with hero rejects of police officers pointing guns at him. “Freeze, don’t move, and drop on your knees kid.”

Bakugo wasn’t stupid, he knew he was in trouble, he lost his cool and stomped to a nerds house. Bakugo went on his knees, there was no way he was going to be some villain in his story. He’ll get out of this and do what he is meant to do, he’ll win this and then everyone will be sorry.

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Tsukauchi couldn’t believe the utter garbage coming out of this kid's mouth. Who the heck did this kid think he is? In what world did causing a public disturbance and threatening a single mother would be grounds for a slap on the wrist? The kid was taking it all cooly or as cooly as he could with his poor attitude. 

This kid was angry, but this was an entire level of anger. Thank goodness the person he was looking for wasn’t home, because, from the look in that kid's eyes, Tsukauchi would have been sure that the call would have been more serious. He fears that someone could have been dead in his altercation.

The police were able to take a statement from one Midoriya Inko, who couldn’t for the life of her understand what the boy’s problem was. Inko, however, cared very little, gave her statement and left hoping to put the entire ordeal behind her. Not that the man could blame her, it looked cut and dry to him. Not to mention that the mother had filed a restraining order for Bakugo to stay away from her and her family.

There will be consequences for this, he would make sure of it, not to mention he’s glad that her son had missed the entire encounter. The detective had heard a lot about him from Toshinori and it seemed like a stroke of bad luck that the kid would have had an encounter weeks before the end of the year. The least he could do was tell Toshinori that the kid's mom was alright.

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Bakugo could only stare angrily at the entire thing. He was being treated as a common villain by people who couldn’t even cut it as heroes. He looked to the side at his “counsel”, some lawyer bitch who came in talking about how she would get the charges dropped against him. Before he could even run, her off his mom punched him over the head to shut him up and to accept her damn counsel.

Which is how Bakugo found himself staring face to face with her. A woman with a face so fake that he knew this was an act, she wanted something from him. “So, what do you want bitch?”

She smiled, “My my, what poor manners you have, how are you going to get out of this if you can’t even play the part of a troubled teen?”

“THE HELL YOU SAY!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you a plea deal and then this episode will be behind you.”

“LIKE HELL!”

The lawyer gave him a dead-eyed stare causing him to freeze, he didn’t know what it was all about, but something about her told him to shut up and listen, “I know you were just showing off your power, nothing wrong with that sweeter, but you gotta play the system, if you don’t then you end up here. Let me do all the talking and everything will be okay.”

Bakugo couldn’t help but believe her.

“Now look I’m friends with the judge, he’s going to send you to a special place where you can use your quirk all you want, as long as you don’t get cause everything will be fine, for now though,” the lawyer rummaged through her purse and placed a book in from on the restrained teen, “why don’t you catch up on some light reading.”

When the woman left Bakugo stared at the book reading the title, Meta Liberation War. 

[chokemeanakin]

question 👀 may I get a romance tarot reading? 👀 I've grown up in a Christian households so I've never done anything like this before 👀

Here you go queen 🥰👑. I totally understand about the Christian thing, my mom wasn’t too thrilled when my sister bought me the cards. But what can you do 🤷🏼‍♀️— it’s just a lil bit of fun. You can just ask whenever you want a reading 😘.

So like the others, there will be three cards. The first is you, the second is your lover, and the third is your dynamic. Let’s get into it 😗✌🏻

You:

Nine of Wands

Good and bad news. This card shows a weary man clutching onto one of the wands, looking back on the other 8 wands looming over him. It signifies that you have gone through many challenges in your life, and you anticipate more challenges to come. The good news is that the ninth wand that you are clutching is the final challenge— as soon as you overcome this test of strength and character, you should be free of your burdens.

This card indicates that when faced with conflict and adversity, you stand tall and strong. You may be exhausted, but you are resilient and will do whatever it takes to overcome. Just when you think you make progress, you feel as if you are experiencing a setback— however, this card encourages you to keep pushing, because each time you overcome, you get stronger. You are so close to reaching your goals, and if you stand firm in the face of your challenges then you will reach the finish line.

You may have people that oppose you, make things difficult for you, and attack you for what you put out into the world. They do it because they’re jealous of your successes, and they project their own insecurities onto you. You are a change-maker, a pioneer, and you have more people who support you than those who want to see you fall.

This card also suggests that you may have experienced a test of faith, and that you should set clear boundaries that you furiously protect for your safety and benefit.

Your Lover:

The Magician

This person is very much connected to the world. One hand stretches up to the universe while the other reaches toward the earth— like they are a conduit for energy into matter. The white of their robe symbolizes purity but he is cloaked in red, representing worldly experience and knowledge.

They are very well balanced. On the table before them is each symbol of tarot cards— a cup, pentacle, sword, and wand. Each symbolizes the four elements— water, air, earth, and fire. Basically, they are the Avatar.

Jokes. But this means that they have all the tools they need to manifest their intentions into being. There is also an infinity sign over their head and a snake biting it’s own tail around it’s waist, symbolizing unlimited potential. They are powerful and worldly and extremely knowledgeable. The blossoming flowers all around indicate the fruition of new ideas and aspirations.

This person has many skills, tools, and ideas that could make them powerful and strong. They are ambitious and are clear on what they want— needless to say, they have the means to get it. They are creative, concentrated, and intense. They also tend to be methodical and committed to tasks. They’ll drop anything to achieve their goals, which could be good if they are committed to you. But sometimes they may ignore you if they are preoccupied 😳. Don’t take it personally.

Your Dynamic:

Judgement

This card indicates that your relationship will be one of exploration and inner searching. Maybe you’re not exactly sure what you want yet, if a relationship is a good idea or if the person is a good idea. Maybe they have different ideas from yours that you never thought you could be able to accept before. Or maybe you just didn’t expect them to come into your life, and now that they have, you are quite taken aback.

You may be having a lot of thoughts about your previous attitudes toward relationships, and navigating this one is hard. They are different than you, as they have other interests and views, but they are patient and kind and are willing to share their experiences if you will open up with yours. Judgement, apart from the obvious implication, is a card that signifies communication. This could be bad, good, and everything in between. You will have to decide if you will accept each other, or if you are simply incompatible.

However, there is a lot of hope in this card. People come out of the grave to be judged by the angel from above, and accept their fate with open arms. Your relationship may prove to be new and exciting, and if you accept each other— differences and all— something beautiful could come from it. This card is one of rebirth and evaluation. You will learn many things from each other, and if things turn out well, it will feel like you are each other’s missing puzzle pieces.

Your relationship will heal deep wounds. You will be able to share your struggles with this person and vice versa, and find comfort in each other. You will guide and help each other. This card is about “rising together.” You will find clarity in your life, new freedoms, and growth with this person.

[tawakkull]

ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 105

Ibada, Ubudiya, and Ubuda (Worship, Servanthood, and Deep Devotion)

Although some view worship, servanthood, and devotion as synonymous, most Sufi scholars and masters say that these words have different meanings and connotations. ‘Ibada (worship) means fulfilling God’s commands in one’s daily life and fulfilling the obligations of being His servant, while ‘ubuda (servanthood) is interpreted as living in the consciousness of being a servant. Thus one who observes his or her religious duties is called ‘abid (worshipper), while one who lives in consciousness of being a servant of God is usually called ‘abd (servant).

There is another, more subtle difference between worship and servanthood. Acts of worship consist of all financial and bodily duties: those requiring sufficient financial resources and physical ability, and that are accomplished with difficulty, in fear and hope, and with the intention of pleasing God (e.g., the five daily prayers, fasting, alms-giving, pilgrimage to Makka, offering a sacrifice, and mentioning or reciting God’s Names). A servant of God, however, understands these responsibilities or acts of worship in a different manner: each fulfillment of such a duty has a deeper (inner) dimension that require a certain degree of consciousness and awareness on the part of the servant.

The deepest dimension of religious duties and demands is devotion, which requires total care and awareness. Ibn al-Farid states: The acts of worship and duties of servanthood required by every station or rank that I have reached during my spiritual journey have been fulfilled by my devotion.

Some Sufis have defined worship as the servanthood of ordinary people, servanthood as the duty required by being a servant of God and carried out by individuals possessing insight and awareness, and devotion as the responsibility of those distinguished by their nearness to God. The first group contains those striving to advance on the path of God; the second group contains those whose mental and spiritual attitudes allow them to overcome all seemingly insurmountable obstacles and diffi-culties encountered; and the third group contains those whose mental and spiritual states cause them to turn to God whole-heartedly and with a profound feeling of being in His company.

Other Sufis have summed up the above explanations in two terms: worship of the Absolute Divine Essence, and worship of the restricted Divine Attributes. The first term means always being conscious of the relationship between the Creator and created, the Worshipped One and the worshipper, the Overseeing and the overseen, the Sustaining and the sustained, and as thinking, feeling, and acting in the most profound awareness of these relationships. The second term means fulfilling one’s daily duties as required by this awareness, which causes one’s awareness to increase. Those performing these duties can be categorized by their intention, resolution, determination, and sincerity as follows: those who desire to enter Paradise, those who hope to be rescued from Hellfire, those who love and stand in awe of God, and those who feel that they must do so as a requirement of the relationship between God as the Creator (Who alone deserves worship) and human beings (created beings who must worship their Creator).

Each group has another name: traders, slaves, lovers, and the devoted or faithful. These words of Rabi’a al-‘Adawiya, a female Muslim saint who lived during the second century of Islam, are quite appropriate:

O Lord. I swear by the beauty of nearness to You that I have not worshipped You either for fear of Hell or out of the desire for Paradise. I have worshipped You because of You.

Servanthood is a cause of honor and dignity for men and women. Nothing is more esteemed and valuable than being honored with servanthood and devotion to God. Although other, more valuable ranks may be conferred for a limited time, servanthood is constant and continuous, and therefore the most valuable rank. This is why God Almighty mentioned the best of creation, upon him be peace and blessings, in the most beautiful words: There is no deity but God, and Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, as His servant, and crowned his servanthood and these blessed words with his messengership.

Also, while inviting the Prophet, the glory of humanity and the peerless, unique one of time and creation, to honor the heavens by the Ascension, [1] He began His invitation with the complimentary phrase: He carried His servant by night (17:1), thereby referring to the matchless greatness of his servanthood. This is even more meaningful, as on this occasion when space and time were almost transcended and the all-pervasive light of Divine Grace and Beauty welcomed him, God Almighty again stressed his servanthood and declared: He revealed to His servant what He revealed (53:10).

Rumi does not present himself as a saint and an individual of profound spiritual depth, but as a servant:

I have become a servant, become a servant, become a servant; I have bowed and doubled myself up with serving You. Servants or slaves rejoice when they are emancipated; Whereas I rejoice when I become a servant of You.

According to some, the following should also be considered when discussing worship and servanthood. A servant should:

– Be aware of his or her faults and worry about them even if he or she thinks that the acts of worship have been per-formed perfectly.

– Endeavor to worship perfectly, and then attribute to God whatever is achieved in the name of servanthood. Each moment of life should be spent in the awareness of his or her being a servant to the eternal Lordship of God.

– Regard all facets of existence as shadows of the Light of His existence, and never attribute to oneself the existence of anything or any accomplishment. There should be no self-pride concerning the blessings conferred, or despair concerning the withholding all spiritual gifts and radiances.

– Be aware of the honor and dignity of being attached to Him, and never imagine being honored with other kinds of ranks.

No other rank or honor is as great or as greater than servant-hood. If any rank or honor may be considered as such, it may be freedom, but only in the meaning of not setting one’s heart on anything other than God and renouncing whatever is other than Him. Those who have not made much progress on the path to God can only feel freedom, while those who have reached the destination experience it fully. I think that the true freedom to which one must aspire, one that will be appropriate for his or her grade and dignity, is this one. A friend of God draws attention to this fact:

O son! Unchain yourself and become free!

How much longer will you remain a slave of silver and gold?

Junayd al-Baghdadi warns that unless one is freed from slavery to others, one cannot attain true servanthood to God. [2] Another friend of God expresses the meaning of servanthood and freedom by advising that a servant of God should never consider others apart from God in all his or her thoughts, imaginings, feelings, and manners:

If you would like to beat the drum of honor, go beyond the wheel of stars; As this circle filled with rings is a drum of humiliation. O God! Enable us to attain to what is loved by and pleasing to You.

[1] The Ascension (mi’raj) was a miraculous event during which the Prophet journeyed throughout the realms of existence to God. [2] Al-Qushayri, Al-Risala, 201.

[lvi-o-sa]

Week 3: Day 5

Oops! The multiverse opened up!

I’ve always been a fan of Avatar : The Last Airbender before I’d stumble in the world of Yugioh Zexal & srlsly, sometimes I find so many similarities between these two that a crossover au is rlly possible. The characters for instance bears striking similarities. So here it is:

What could’ve been if Yugioh Zexal characters got transported/reincarnated into the ATLA universe.

𝙰𝚣𝚞𝚕𝚊 ↷ 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚜

Starting off with these two extremely sassy and savage teens. Both share the same sadist, cruel, psychopaths who deeply yearns for their father’s approval & love. Only, Azula led onto her despair whereas Thomas was redeemed & was able to got what he wanted.

𝙼𝚊𝚒 ↷ 𝚀𝚞𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘𝚗

Both were the eldest amongst their siblings & both always shared this stoic, steely look onto their eyes not to mention they’ve both come from very influential families & liked to act cold but is deep down caring & protective onto their loved ones.

𝚃𝚢 𝙻𝚎𝚎 ↷ 𝙼𝚒𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚎𝚕

In contrast to Mai & Quinton, Ty Lee & Trey were both the youngest on their siblings. Both were cheerful but hides deep sadness from within. Both were also similar into achieving their goals to make a difference for their family. Ty Lee wants to make her own mark as she grew up looking exactly the same as her sisters & her talent in circus were her only chance of shining on her own while Trey duels Yuma even if it cost him his crest to prove that he can bring his family back. Both were successful in achieving their own aspirations though.

𝙾𝚣𝚊𝚒 ↷ 𝚅𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚡

Now with the fathers on both sides. Ozai is known to be the “worst father in the history of fathers” as said by his son, Zuko as Ozai were a cold, sadist, power seeking & manipulative father onto his sons, heck, he even banished her wife & his son when he gets in his way. This didn’t really were the same with Vetrix. Vetrix, although manipulative & sometimes tends to be sadistic, had a perfect reason to be in this way, he is vengeful because his family is torn apart & although he used his sons as pawns, he did regretted it & seek redemption. If there’s a huge similarity between the two, it’s their antagonistic acts but what sets them apart is how they viewed their families. Vetrix got redeemed & lived a happy life with his sons while Ozai, like his daughter Azula were thrown in jail for their sins.

𝙼𝚎𝚗𝚐 ↷ 𝙲𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚢

These two, although supporting characters, almost have no difference apart. Meng loved Aang the way Cathy loved Yuma. Both were always supportive of their lovers even if it’s unrequited type of love.

𝚂𝚘𝚔𝚔𝚊 ↷ 𝙵𝚕𝚒𝚙

These two shitheads characteristics almost falls in the exact way. Sokka, in his younger years yearned to be one of the greatest warriors in their tribe, Flip on the other side, yearned to make friends by dueling. Both failed miserably by then but as time passes by, these weaknesses both made them reach their truest friends that will stick to them till the end. Not to mention both shares the same attitude of being the comic relief of their own respective bands. Both also shares this whimsical witty attitude that often led them to trouble.

𝚉𝚞𝚔𝚘 ↷ 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚔

If Zuko were a firebender, Shark was on the opposite using his water deck. However both of these two shared the same trait of being “I’m never happy” with a plastered frown or sneer onto their face. Like others, family were the ones who fuel their goals. Zuko yearned for his redemption as the banished prince while Shark wants to avenge her sister making them act like b**tch boss to everyone but deep down their kind, shy beings who get all dorky around their friends. Just like Zuko with the gaang & Shark with Yuma & company.

𝙺𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚊 ↷ 𝚃𝚘𝚛𝚒

The main character’s emotional support person, the titular “mom friend”, the fierce female in the group of her boy friends, the primary friend of the MC; I could go on and on for the list but the main point is that both served & acts as the one female who encompass everyone while going onto their journey. Not to mention both Katara & Kotori shares being the focal love interest of both MC as it has been canon that Aang loved Katara by those kisses although it was much subtle with Tori & Yuma as friends but come on, it was evident in the way they blushes everytime.

𝙰𝚊𝚗𝚐 ↷ 𝚈𝚞𝚖𝚊

The main characters for both series. These two shares almost all the same characteristics that a protagonist should have. Even their goal lies the same. To bring peace and friendship in their own ways. What’s more, both goes onto many duels/encounters & made new friends along the way that only strengthens their beliefs into achieving their utmost goal to which both did at the end. Now intriguing enough, it is funny to think that both of these shows ended with a shared stark resemblance: Aang shared the last moments of the series while standing in a balcony enjoying the view with all of his friends while the sun sets whereas it was canonically parallel with Yuma flying with all his friends enjoying theirselves also, while the sun sets onto Heartland as the series finale.

BONUS

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚕𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜 ↷ 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙰𝚛𝚌𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜

As if all those canon parallel isn’t enough, these three ladies & gentlemen poses the same way from the youngest to the oldest. Also I’d like to point out that I could definitely see the Arclights reborn genderbent now, being these ladies above. As their characteristics is just too perfect with each other. With all that power & sass together combined make them so a deadly, fearsome group.

Now, what I’ve done above is basically a canon crossover parallel 😅 to each respective characters of both shows; that perfectly resembles & act the same way. I also lowkey hoped 🤞🏻that if you haven’t watched ATLA still, I suggest you better do cause it’s a great show just like Zexal 🥰

Note: I didn’t paid much attention to the elements that they’ll have/part of but more of their humane characteristics. I believe the idea of to which element they’ll lie was free as the imagination of the readers (on how they’ll perceive them) but for me their traits was much more important as it defines who they were.

@zexalmonth