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jcmarchi · 7 months

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English learners can now practice speaking on Search

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/english-learners-can-now-practice-speaking-on-search/

English learners can now practice speaking on Search

Posted by Christian Plagemann, Director, and Katya Cox, Product Manager, Google Research

Learning a language can open up new opportunities in a person’s life. It can help people connect with those from different cultures, travel the world, and advance their career. English alone is estimated to have 1.5 billion learners worldwide. Yet proficiency in a new language is difficult to achieve, and many learners cite a lack of opportunity to practice speaking actively and receiving actionable feedback as a barrier to learning.

We are excited to announce a new feature of Google Search that helps people practice speaking and improve their language skills. Within the next few days, Android users in Argentina, Colombia, India (Hindi), Indonesia, Mexico, and Venezuela can get even more language support from Google through interactive speaking practice in English — expanding to more countries and languages in the future. Google Search is already a valuable tool for language learners, providing translations, definitions, and other resources to improve vocabulary. Now, learners translating to or from English on their Android phones will find a new English speaking practice experience with personalized feedback.

A new feature of Google Search allows learners to practice speaking words in context.

Learners are presented with real-life prompts and then form their own spoken answers using a provided vocabulary word. They engage in practice sessions of 3-5 minutes, getting personalized feedback and the option to sign up for daily reminders to keep practicing. With only a smartphone and some quality time, learners can practice at their own pace, anytime, anywhere.

Activities with personalized feedback, to supplement existing learning tools

Designed to be used alongside other learning services and resources, like personal tutoring, mobile apps, and classes, the new speaking practice feature on Google Search is another tool to assist learners on their journey.

We have partnered with linguists, teachers, and ESL/EFL pedagogical experts to create a speaking practice experience that is effective and motivating. Learners practice vocabulary in authentic contexts, and material is repeated over dynamic intervals to increase retention — approaches that are known to be effective in helping learners become confident speakers. As one partner of ours shared:

“Speaking in a given context is a skill that language learners often lack the opportunity to practice. Therefore this tool is very useful to complement classes and other resources.” – Judit Kormos, Professor, Lancaster University

We are also excited to be working with several language learning partners to surface content they are helping create and to connect them with learners around the world. We look forward to expanding this program further and working with any interested partner.

Personalized real-time feedback

Every learner is different, so delivering personalized feedback in real time is a key part of effective practice. Responses are analyzed to provide helpful, real-time suggestions and corrections.

The system gives semantic feedback, indicating whether their response was relevant to the question and may be understood by a conversation partner. Grammar feedback provides insights into possible grammatical improvements, and a set of example answers at varying levels of language complexity give concrete suggestions for alternative ways to respond in this context.

The feedback is composed of three elements: Semantic analysis, grammar correction, and example answers.

Contextual translation

Among the several new technologies we developed, contextual translation provides the ability to translate individual words and phrases in context. During practice sessions, learners can tap on any word they don’t understand to see the translation of that word considering its context.

Example of contextual translation feature.

This is a difficult technical task, since individual words in isolation often have multiple alternative meanings, and multiple words can form clusters of meaning that need to be translated in unison. Our novel approach translates the entire sentence, then estimates how the words in the original and the translated text relate to each other. This is commonly known as the word alignment problem.

Example of a translated sentence pair and its word alignment. A deep learning alignment model connects the different words that create the meaning to suggest a translation.

The key technology piece that enables this functionality is a novel deep learning model developed in collaboration with the Google Translate team, called Deep Aligner. The basic idea is to take a multilingual language model trained on hundreds of languages, then fine-tune a novel alignment model on a set of word alignment examples (see the figure above for an example) provided by human experts, for several language pairs. From this, the single model can then accurately align any language pair, reaching state-of-the-art alignment error rate (AER, a metric to measure the quality of word alignments, where lower is better). This single new model has led to dramatic improvements in alignment quality across all tested language pairs, reducing average AER from 25% to 5% compared to alignment approaches based on Hidden Markov models (HMMs).

Alignment error rates (lower is better) between English (EN) and other languages.

This model is also incorporated into Google’s translation APIs, greatly improving, for example, the formatting of translated PDFs and websites in Chrome, the translation of YouTube captions, and enhancing Google Cloud’s translation API.

Grammar feedback

To enable grammar feedback for accented spoken language, our research teams adapted grammar correction models for written text (see the blog and paper) to work on automatic speech recognition (ASR) transcriptions, specifically for the case of accented speech. The key step was fine-tuning the written text model on a corpus of human and ASR transcripts of accented speech, with expert-provided grammar corrections. Furthermore, inspired by previous work, the teams developed a novel edit-based output representation that leverages the high overlap between the inputs and outputs that is particularly well-suited for short input sentences common in language learning settings.

The edit representation can be explained using an example:

Input: I1 am2 so3 bad4 cooking5

Correction: I1 am2 so3 bad4 at5 cooking6

Edits: (‘at’, 4, PREPOSITION, 4)

In the above, “at” is the word that is inserted at position 4 and “PREPOSITION” denotes this is an error involving prepositions. We used the error tag to select tag-dependent acceptance thresholds that improved the model further. The model increased the recall of grammar problems from 4.6% to 35%.

Some example output from our model and a model trained on written corpora:

Example 1 Example 2 User input (transcribed speech) I live of my profession. I need a efficient card and reliable. Text-based grammar model I live by my profession. I need an efficient card and a reliable. New speech-optimized model I live off my profession. I need an efficient and reliable card.

Semantic analysis

A primary goal of conversation is to communicate one’s intent clearly. Thus, we designed a feature that visually communicates to the learner whether their response was relevant to the context and would be understood by a partner. This is a difficult technical problem, since early language learners’ spoken responses can be syntactically unconventional. We had to carefully balance this technology to focus on the clarity of intent rather than correctness of syntax.

Our system utilizes a combination of two approaches:

Sensibility classification: Large language models like LaMDA or PaLM are designed to give natural responses in a conversation, so it’s no surprise that they do well on the reverse: judging whether a given response is contextually sensible.

Similarity to good responses: We used an encoder architecture to compare the learner’s input to a set of known good responses in a semantic embedding space. This comparison provides another useful signal on semantic relevance, further improving the quality of feedback and suggestions we provide.

The system provides feedback about whether the response was relevant to the prompt, and would be understood by a communication partner.

ML-assisted content development

Our available practice activities present a mix of human-expert created content, and content that was created with AI assistance and human review. This includes speaking prompts, focus words, as well as sets of example answers that showcase meaningful and contextual responses.

A list of example answers is provided when the learner receives feedback and when they tap the help button.

Since learners have different levels of ability, the language complexity of the content has to be adjusted appropriately. Prior work on language complexity estimation focuses on text of paragraph length or longer, which differs significantly from the type of responses that our system processes. Thus, we developed novel models that can estimate the complexity of a single sentence, phrase, or even individual words. This is challenging because even a phrase composed of simple words can be hard for a language learner (e.g., “Let’s cut to the chase”). Our best model is based on BERT and achieves complexity predictions closest to human expert consensus. The model was pre-trained using a large set of LLM-labeled examples, and then fine-tuned using a human expert–labeled dataset.

Mean squared error of various approaches’ performance estimating content difficulty on a diverse corpus of ~450 conversational passages (text / transcriptions). Top row: Human raters labeled the items on a scale from 0.0 to 5.0, roughly aligned to the CEFR scale (from A1 to C2). Bottom four rows: Different models performed the same task, and we show the difference to the human expert consensus.

Using this model, we can evaluate the difficulty of text items, offer a diverse range of suggestions, and most importantly challenge learners appropriately for their ability levels. For example, using our model to label examples, we can fine-tune our system to generate speaking prompts at various language complexity levels.

Vocabulary focus words, to be elicited by the questions guitar apple lion Simple What do you like to play? Do you like fruit? Do you like big cats? Intermediate Do you play any musical instruments? What is your favorite fruit? What is your favorite animal? Complex What stringed instrument do you enjoy playing? Which type of fruit do you enjoy eating for its crunchy texture and sweet flavor? Do you enjoy watching large, powerful predators?

Furthermore, content difficulty estimation is used to gradually increase the task difficulty over time, adapting to the learner’s progress.

Conclusion

With these latest updates, which will roll out over the next few days, Google Search has become even more helpful. If you are an Android user in India (Hindi), Indonesia, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, or Venezuela, give it a try by translating to or from English with Google.

We look forward to expanding to more countries and languages in the future, and to start offering partner practice content soon.

Acknowledgements

Many people were involved in the development of this project. Among many others, we thank our external advisers in the language learning field: Jeffrey Davitz, Judit Kormos, Deborah Healey, Anita Bowles, Susan Gaer, Andrea Revesz, Bradley Opatz, and Anne Mcquade.

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senior70 · 1 year

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On a More Secure Architectural Design for US Schools

There are some who think that the need for gun control legislation arises not just from widespread gun ownership but from the ease of availability of guns, particularly semi automatic and automatic military grade weapons. Their thinking involves, for a start, a ban on the sale of assault weapons.

The phenomenon of school shootings is frequently in the news, and as one student interviewed said "We want to get a good education, but we can't if we're getting put at harm by just going to school."

But, of course, the shootings have nothing to do with the perceived right to own guns of all kinds or that loaded guns are frequently within arms reach in many homes and businesses. The key is surely to prevent heavily armed malcontents from entering school buildings.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, has proposed an expenditure of $155m to place an armed security guard at every public school in Tennessee and to boost security presence at both public and private schools.

My thinking is that, despite the generous cost, this is but a short term measure. One security guard, especially if not as heavily armed as a potential aggressor, may not be enough. Current school buildings often have several entrance doors and a single security guard on his or her rounds may simply not be in the right place at the right time. One armed guard at each entrance door should be considered a minimum. This, however, still leaves potential access through a window or skylight unaccounted for.

My suggestion is that attention should be focussed upon the architectural design of new schools and the retrofitting of existing ones, with the aim of preventing aggressors from being able to enter a school building at all.

A lesson could be taken from our forebears who built many buildings that had only one entrance, at which a guard or guards were posted at all times. Indeed, whole cities were built with surrounding walls through which only a small number of guarded entrance gates permitted entrance. Furthermore, these gates could usually be closed and locked or made inaccessible.

Transferring this basic design into a model for building future US schools, it would seem a good beginning to build school building campuses as currently built but have them built within a surrounding wall, wide enough to permit a circumfrential walkway, the simplest form being a square, rectangle or circle through which only one entrance permits access.

In olden days, a wide moat outside the walls constrained access to the base of the walls and a narrow bridge, wide enough only for a horse and cart, limited the number of people who could arrive at the gate at one time.

An alternative was to have a bridge, all or part of which could be raised, leaving any aggressor on the far side of the moat.

Though the moat is still a viable option, the drawbridge could be substituted by a heavy steel door and the watchmen in the watchtower at each corner of the compound could be replaced with motion sensing devices that would warn of anyone approaching the base of the wall.

School administrators know how many staff and students should be within their campuses, so with fingerprint or facial recognition technology, each staff and student member could be channeled through a single turnstile-like gate at which their ID could be verified. There is also the possibility of sealing the entrance door at a set time shortly after classes begin, and opening the door again at the end of the school day. The campus could then be sealed at night, though there would likely still have to be armed guards present.

With this design, schools could operate without the chance of armed aggressors gaining access, and students and teachers could get on with the important business of education.

The School Board would, however, not be responsible for events taking place outside their walls. Should a malcontent shooter choose to be a sniper and pick off students and staff as they leave the gate or board buses or personal vehicles, there is no recourse. In addition, with rapidly developing drone technology, the walled campus design would not protect schools from explosive devices being delivered or dropped within their walls, a distinct possibility with plans and instructions for building such devices being freely available on the internet, and parts, like guns, being relatively easy to purchase. Providing school campuses with the means for detecting and intercepting airborne attack would likely stretch any budget, and could be criticized as "overkill" (no pun intended, of course).

But, building schools within well protected and guarded perimeters would be a step in the right direction as an alternative to the thorny issue of attempting to limit gun ownership and reducing the ready availability of loaded weapons to those with a chip on their shoulder.

Governor Lee, carrying your solution to school shootings to the degree required might become a bit more costly than you might have first imagined, but I am sure every penny spent on providing a safer learning environment would be appreciated by all and sundry.

There is, too, the added advantage that should a school be closed, a small software change and a division of classroom and other spaces to cell units would permit the campus to be easily retrofitted to become a penitentiary, allowing only those with appropriate ID to pass out of the single gate. An unexpected bonus.

Governor Lee, your esteemed potential leader, should he once again be President, head of the armed forces and privy to the codes for launching nuclear missiles, loves building walls. Please, if you think it appropriate, bring my suggestion to his attention. I need no recognition or acknowledgement. Just glad to be of assistance.

senior70

April 2023

senior70.tumblr.com

#138

#us schools

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marketingguruzz · 1 year

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How come is it Important to Have got a Personal Decision Generating Process?

Leadership Development

At work in addition to at home, we are met with decisions every day. The majority of decisions are modest, low value, along with carry little final result for making a poor solution. However , we know there are lots of important business together with life decisions of which, when made quickly, lead to severe results. In business and at the office, these are typically created using a decision generating process that makes sure quality, consistency, reputation and conformance to help you standards. Surprisingly, this particular same level of self-discipline rarely exists designed for personal decision producing.

International Business Plan

Which personal options need a good selection making process?

When i reflect back throughout the last forty years, examples of the really tough solutions come to mind. Here is a part list of the personal conclusions that I have extremely struggled with (not in any order):

Everything that career should I engage in? Where do I plan to go to college? At which do I want to get the job done (revisited at least 5 different times)? Just what do I believe on the subject of God? How do I enable my parents as they definitely age? A host from family related possibilities Who should I believe to be my teacher? What is my intention in life? What exactly car should I acquire?

Do any of these problem? We all have our very own list and you could be surprised at are you wanting of these decisions you'll find in common. These are possibilities that are associated with critical changes in our existence and they really ought to get to be made having a good decision getting process.

Can I make use of my intuition?

With this information age it may be impossible to deal with the choices we make with no making the vast majority of all of them intuitively. The key is usually to prevent important lifestyle choices from buying lost in the noises of these daily lower consequence choices. Working with intuition alone so that you can important life opportunities can lead to serious mistakes caused by limitations in this intuition. These weak spots include emotional opinion, flawed information, very own prejudices, solution program to the wrong difficulty, and insufficient factor of alternatives.

Have to personal decision helping to make be taught around school?

My families loved their young children, and they made many sacrifices in parenting us. However , made the effort came when my friend and I had to select where to go to faculty (we are twins). Neither of a parents had gone to be able to college, and they definitely had no way to deliver us any information. I had already made a decision to study engineering, and additionally my brother had thought i would study architecture. As it happens that we both perhaps have gone to the same class, but after 17 years of basically the same room, they chose one faculty which led us to choose the other. Not really exactly the best way to help make the final choice…

Issues turned out well overall, but it provides an case study that occurs far too usually. Personal decision generating needs the sustain and motivation coming from family, friends, in addition to trusted counselors, but also from the end, these judgements are ours to earn. A decision making operation puts us ready manage our existence choices and actually make it possible for better input out of those we believe in.

It is never too soon to teach better judgement making. It should certainly be taught inside grade school, secondary school and college. Sad to say many schools along with colleges have not created it into their courses.

Do not let others come to a decision for you

Other people, despite having good intentions, are not aware of what is most important back to you. Their suggested remedies or alternatives depends on criteria which can be important to them rather than necessarily to you. Anyone who has your best interests in the mind will suggest choices that have worked certainly for them. In the worst type of case, someone provides advice working for their particular self interest, presenting solutions that are influenced by the benefit that they'll receive by anyone making a specific personal preference.

A good personal choice making process gives many benefits

Applying a lot of discipline to our everyday life choices using a built process can provide this benefits:

Enables recycling of all or areas of previous decisions Helps learning by getting the important information was required to determine where a conclusion goes right or simply wrong Makes it simpler to communicate with family and friends on the amount is important to you as part of your decision and the reason why Captures and allows for easy access to the perception of others Encourages much better decision making by having a consistent and repeatable framework

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mittelfrank-divas · 3 years

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Dance of the Black Heron chapter 2

The next chapter of my Dancer Hubert fic! In which the other Black Eagles have opinions on this situation.

This fic is now up on AO3 for those who prefer reading there!

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"I think it's a fine idea." Edelgard rounded one of the long tables in the Black Eagles classroom, carrying a stack of tactics textbooks. It was quickly growing dark outside, and every other student had long ago vacated the classrooms, but the pair of them were often found here at this hour by the flickering light of the candles and the dwindling embers of the fireplace.

At first, tidying the classroom had been an easy excuse for them to meet at night without suspicion. It was a perfectly appropriate activity for the head of the class and her attendant to engage in regularly outside of normal class hours, with obvious evidence of their work that they could point to the next morning if anybody asked where they had been.

Now, although better awareness of the guard rotations and lesser-used passages gave them plenty of other ways to slip out after dark, habit still found them here day after day. Hubert could not help but notice the pride that Edelgard took in maintaining the Black Eagles classroom, making sure the chairs were straightened and every student had their required materials ready in the morning. It did not matter that their classmates could easily retrieve their books and quills themselves, or that the room would be equally serviceable if the chairs were left slightly askew or that the floor could endure going unswept for a few days. Edelgard wanted the classroom to be perfect for her Eagles, and so Hubert was all too happy to assist her in that.

He automatically held out his arms for her to deposit the books into and began distributing them before each chair on one side of the room while Edelgard began passing out her own stack on the other side. He scowled down at the books in his arms as he sought out the one with the broken binding, which he always deliberately placed in front of Ferdinand's chair. "I did not expect you to share in our professor's folly."

"I see no folly in it." Edelgard was not quite so deliberate in her distribution, placing each of her own books without checking its state. Hubert doubted that any of the other Black Eagles noticed that the left side of the classroom always received the same books each day (the nicest one went to Bernadetta and their state of decay decreased down to Ferdinand's) while the right side was randomized, with each equally likely to receive the one wrinkled with water stains on one corner. Her egalitarian approach meant she always finished sooner than Hubert, and so she was first to move behind the professor's desk to retrieve the quills and ink pots. "I know you know how to dance, Hubert. I have seen you do it many times."

"Respectfully," Hubert grumbled, "our little bedroom waltzes hardly compare to a competition that will determine the composition of our class. You have seen me run before, but you would not ask me to participate in a marathon."

"Nonsense." Edelgard turned to him, a pot of ink in each hand. "That comparison would only be suitable if I had watched you outrun the entirety of our class. You are good at dancing. You have proper stance, you keep time well..."

"Lady Edelgard," Hubert set his final book down and met her eyes directly. "Did you convince the professor to choose me?"

Edelgard's pale eyebrows rose. "You are cross with me. No, I did not. I merely advised them that you would be a good choice. They were already considering you."

"I am not cross with you, I am…" Hubert sighed, and slouched down to rest his gloved hands on the table. "Alright. I am cross. I wish you'd consulted with me before agreeing to this."

Edelgard never cowered from anger -- his, or any other's. It was one of the many traits that made him admire her. Her pale lavender eyes met his fully. "I apologize. I thought it best if you heard directly from our professor first. It is not as though they can force the decision upon you, after all, can they?"

"No," Hubert admitted with a sigh, finally moving to retrieve the quills and ink alongside her. "They merely trapped me in my own logic. Forced me to admit that I can see no better option."

"Well?" She flicked her white hair back out of her eyes as she shot him a sidelong glance. "Is your logic flawed? Is there any other who we should choose instead?"

Hubert had been asking himself that very question since the moment he exited the professor's room. Dare he give up their only cavalry unit? Their only assassin? Could he ignore his own predictions that Linhardt would shirk whatever responsibility the role would demand of him? "I am beginning to question whether we require a Dancer in our ranks at all."

"Well then, I am certain that Claude von Riegan will make good use of it," Edelgard said crisply as she laid out quills.

Claude von Riegan. Claude von Riegan with somebody under his command who could effectively double the speed of any attacking unit. Hubert could already imagine a number of scenarios that Claude could manifest with such power in his hands, but worse were the ones that he could not imagine.

"Your attempts to bait me are rather transparent, I'm afraid." Even as he said it, Hubert attempted to shrug off the vision of the future Alliance leader darting out of their peripherals, bow at ready.

"A pity," Edelgard sighed, moving toward the professor's desk. She always made a point of organizing their notoriously scatterbrained teacher's class materials at the end of the day. "I had hoped I was being subtle. Transparent though I may be, however, do tell me if my plan has worked."

Hubert prided himself on his schemes, on his ability to out-think his opponents. Unfortunately, the fact that he had honed his skill by practicing with his closest friend meant that same friend knew him all too well, and easily turned those same skills back on him. "Of course it has," he conceded, and moved to stand in front of the professor's desk while Edelgard sat down in the chair across from him. "You know I cannot bear the thought of giving such a calculating opponent an edge such as this. Well spotted as ever, Lady Edelgard."

She pulled a stack of Byleth's disorganized notes to herself, a small smile creeping onto her face at her victory. Under normal circumstances, Hubert lived to see that smile soften her carefully-managed features. In this case, it was difficult to take joy in one more sign that his doom was sealed. Nevertheless, she nodded at him. "Alright, then. If our only goal is simply to keep the Dancer class out of anyone else's hands, the solution is simple. We send someone else to compete in the White Heron Cup, but we will not make use of the certification once we have it."

Hubert crossed his arms, considering her suggestion. It was an easy way out. They could send Dorothea or even Ferdinand to compete without interfering with their long-term plans. Edelgard was showing him a kindness by offering an alternative. The fact that he recognized it for a kindness made loathing for himself churn in the pit of his stomach. For her to settle on a lesser choice simply for his sake was intolerable. "An elegant solution, but a wasteful one. I doubt you would be satisfied with such a plan."

Edelgard sighed. "Of course I wouldn't be. I think a Dancer would be of great benefit to us, and I think you would be an ideal choice."

Hubert shook his head, leaning down to press both hands against the front of the desk. "I simply fail to understand why."

"It is just as you and the professor said. The Dancer must be able to anticipate the movements of the battlefield and turn it to their advantage. When I am at the front of the line, I want someone who knows my tactics and my plans, who can predict exactly what choices I will make, to be at my back setting the stage. It's true that anyone in our class could do the job adequately, but only you could use such a position to seamlessly carry out my plans." Edelgard leaned across the desk, her hand closing around Hubert's wrist, her pale eyes meeting his fiercely. "I would never order you down a path that you found intolerable, Hubert. If this is truly unbearable for you, then we will find another solution. I just wish you could see how much I think you would shine in such a role."

She truly had so much faith in him. Not just to be a Dancer, but to be her Dancer. Someone who could help her achieve her lofty goals. Maybe, if he actually could succeed in winning the certification…

Hubert's hand went to his head, pushing his black hair out of his eyes. "This is foolishness. It is not a test of skill, but of charm. You know that I could manage to hit every step perfectly and the judges will still favor whoever has the most attractive smile."

Edelgard's eyes glinted confidently. "And is that such a bad thing? You know as well as I that charm is a matter of manipulating perceptions." She leaned forward, using her grip on Hubert's arm to pull herself across the desk. At her height, Edelgard practically had to lay across the expanse of the wood surface to lean close to him, but she somehow managed it. "Hubert," she said lowly so none passing by the open door could hear, "when we constructed the Flame Emperor together, remember what you said? That we must create an image that strikes awe into the hearts of all who see him. It will not be you dancing out there. It will be the image we create for you. So let us create that image. Will you permit that?"

An image. A persona, like the Flame Emperor. Hubert could not imagine himself standing before the entire school, hoping to convince them of his appeal with a charisma he did not possess. But thinking of it as simply another mask…

His other hand closed over hers. "If you are behind me, I can try."

***

The evening was still early when he found his way to the ground-level dorms. Light glowed warmly from the open doors and windows of the cafeteria, chatter and laughter filtering down the stone staircase. It was a crisp fall evening, not yet cold enough to keep the students from lingering around the fishing pond or drifting slowly toward their dorms while carrying on their dinner conversations, trying to delay the night of studying ahead. It would not be, therefore, considered terribly untoward for Hubert to be standing outside of Dorothea's chambers at this time. He took a moment to steel himself before knocking sharply on her door.

He highly doubted that he was remotely within the sphere of people who Dorothea hoped would be standing on the other side of her door, yet her smile was dazzling anyway. The songstress knew how to perform even in the most mundane of venues. "Hubie! It's not like you to make social calls. Are you here to scold me for forgetting to use Edie's title again? Or is this about that saucy joke I made yesterday? Was that too much for her delicate royal ears to hear?"

Hubert stifled a sigh, already regretting this conversation. Dorothea's personality was entirely too much for him to face directly like this. Her irreverence around Lady Edelgard had been a point of contention in their first few weeks at the academy, but Edelgard herself enjoyed Dorothea's brash attitude and had told him to let it go. Truth be told, Hubert also took a certain amount of pleasure in watching a commoner breezily ignore social mores the way that Dorothea did, pointedly affixing his fellow nobles with all-too-personal nicknames rather than a deferential title. But it was a spectacle that he preferred to appreciate at a distance, without the full force of the songstress's energy and wit directed at him.

"Nothing so serious as that, I assure you." Hubert stiffly folded his hands behind his back, sifting through his mental notes to recall exactly how he had rehearsed this conversation. Unfortunately Dorothea's chaotic nature had already derailed his plans, leaving him to leaf frantically through his script to work out what to say next. The sound of laughter echoing across the square made him uncomfortably aware of the other students and monastery residents moving around behind him. "I thought perhaps that you should hear it first. The professor has chosen our candidate for the White Heron Cup."

He saw her smile falter a bit, and knew that she was doing the math. If Byleth had chosen her, then surely Byleth would be the one to deliver the news. Still, her voice remained as bright as ever. "Really? That's great news! Who is it?"

Hubert could not stand to look at that fading smile anymore, and his eyes found a particularly fascinating crack in the wall by her door. "You should know that this was not at all an easy choice. It was less a matter of who could succeed in the competition than of who we could afford to remove from another role. The composition of our class is..."

"Hubie," all warmth had drained from her voice now, replaced with a dangerous edge. "If you've come all this way just to soothe my feelings over Ferdie being chosen over me, you can just get it over with."

The very suggestion that Hubert would ever choose Ferdinand von Aegir shocked him into looking at her again. "We need Ferdinand on his horse, loathe as I am to admit that. Just as we need you continuing to study both Reason and Faith, a combination that we otherwise lack." He shifted awkwardly, resisting the urge to either fidget or flee. "I have been over the class roster many times, and unfortunately I see no other way around it. The professor is of the opinion that the only one who can be spared for this role is myself."

A single laugh burst out of Dorothea's mouth before she covered it with both hands. "Oh Hubie! Oh I'm sorry, it's not funny. It's just unexpected."

"I am quite aware of how unexpected it is," Hubert muttered, once again taking tremendous interest in the details of the wall beside her. "Which is precisely why I must request your assistance. There can be no doubt that you are our most gifted dancer. Moreover, you have experience with performing before an audience. I wish to ask for your help in preparing for this competition."

Dorothea stared up at him, cautious skepticism on her face. She did not trust nobles, and he shared in her loathing. Hubert himself nearly forgot sometimes that he would be considered one of them in her eyes. Dorothea may have acted cheerful around her classmates, but Hubert had seen the way she sometimes seemed to be bracing for them to turn on her. She looked like she was bracing for that now. "I'm sorry, did you say you need my help? You, Hubie, need my help."

"That is what I said, yes."

Dorothea snorted. "I'm surprised you aren't asking Ferdie, since he seems so very convinced of his superiority in every realm, including dance."

"I do not entertain that one's foolish ramblings." Hubert smirked as he said it, and was pleased that a smile crept back onto Dorothea's own face. She made clear her feelings on Ferdinand -- loudly, and as often as possible -- and it seemed that he won an ally in her on this front. "As much as it pains me to admit my own failings, I know that you are much more practiced in this arena than myself. If you are willing to assist me in this, I would be grateful."

She granted him that warm smile that she shared so freely with her classmates. "Well with a request like that, how can I refuse? Alright, Hubie. How about we meet on the training grounds tonight?"

Hubert felt his heart rate spike just at the thought of being caught practicing in such a public area. The training grounds were less crowded in the evenings, but there were many students who remained there even late into the night. There would be no hope of privacy in such a place. "Actually, I have somewhere more private in mind, if you'll allow. I'll meet you here at your room after class tomorrow and show you the way."

Her smile twisted itself into a sly grin. "Why Hubie, if you wanted to get me alone, a simple dinner invitation would have sufficed."

Now he did sigh. Truly, she was relentless. "I assure you, I have no such intentions. But if this is your way of requesting an exchange for your services, I will see what I can do about a meal."

"No fun at all," Dorothea sighed back, though he could see that she was still teasing him rather than truly disappointed. "Forget it, then. I'll see you tomorrow."

Dorothea closed the door, leaving Hubert standing awkwardly outside. He had the rest of the night ahead of him to fret over what awaited him at Dorothea's lessons.

***

Hubert had never before dreaded class. In fact, against all reason, he even sometimes enjoyed it.

That had been an unexpected development. That Hubert would accompany Edelgard to Garreg Mach, the very seat of the Church of Seiros, that he would attend classes alongside the frivolous sons and daughters of nobility, that he would sit in front of some church-approved professor and listen to their tiresome lectures… and he would not hate it. Sometimes he even learned something. Sometimes he even forgot that he was here under false pretenses, that he was only pretending to be a student in order to further Edelgard's aims.

But class had never before felt like such a trap. Never had he so cursed Edelgard's preference for sitting in the very front row, as well as his own decision to accompany her there. Hubert felt that every single pair of eyes in the room must have been on the back of his head. Surely such a thought was irrational, since only Edelgard and Dorothea yet had reason to suspect his distraction when he failed to turn his tactics textbook to the correct page.

Worse, their distractible professor left Hubert to suffer in silence through the entire lecture, carrying on as though his humiliation was not imminent. It was only when Byleth was about to dismiss them for lunch, threatening to draw out the torture even further, that Edelgard came to his rescue. "Professor, I believe you had intended to make an announcement."

Byleth paused, blinking at Edelgard in that dreamy way they always did when they forgot vital information, such as their own plans. "Oh, yes. We've chosen our candidate for the White Heron Cup."

A general murmur of excitement rippled through the classroom. Hubert pointedly closed his book and began organizing his things, trying very hard to ignore the chatter behind him.

"You were wanting to be choosing, weren't you Ferdinand?"

"I assure you, I know nothing about the professor's choice. If they have selected me, this is the first I am hearing of it."

"It's not me, right? You wouldn't pick me just to make fun of me, would you? Oh no! You have, haven't you? Aaaaaaah I don't want to do iiiiiiiiit!"

"Finally!" Caspar's voice rang out over Bernadetta's cries. "Who'd you pick, professor? We've got so many good dancers here, I bet we'll win no matter what!"

Byleth did not waste time on drawing out the suspense with theatrics. "I've chosen Hubert."

The din faded to uneasy silence. Of all the times that Edelgard had urged the Black Eagles to learn the art of being quiet, somehow this was the moment in which the lesson finally took.

"I don't think he's a bad choice at all." Dorothea jumped in to helpfully damn Hubert with faint praise.

"Indeed, if the strategy is to frighten the judges into choosing our house, you could not ask for a better candidate." Linhardt, naturally, chose to wake up from his nap exclusively for the purpose of contributing this jab.

Having run out of anything left to do with his own class materials, Hubert moved on to straightening Edelgard's notes for her. Might as well let his classmates get this out of their system so they could hopefully never speak of this again.

"Hubert's not going to assassinate the judges, is he? Noooo I can't be an accessory to murder!"

"Bernie, nobody's going to assassinate anyone."

"Is this being a contest of violence? I thought it was of dance."

"No, there's no violence. Bernie's just being dramatic."

"Imagine if it was though? Like what if we had to fistfight Alois to win? That would be awesome!"

"But I don't want to fistfight Alois!"

"Bernie, absolutely nobody is asking you to fistfight Alois."

"Well I trust in our professor's decisions." A single voice boomed above all the others. Caspar may have existed in a perpetual state of yelling, but Ferdinand von Aegir projected his voice at all times as though he was in the midst of orating to a crowd. "I am certain that they have good reason to choose Hubert to represent the Black Eagles house, and we should be proud to support him. Why, regardless of whether or not he's had training, with a few weeks, he should--"

"I have, actually." Hubert was already out of his chair and turning to face Ferdinand before his nerves had a chance to catch up with him. The ginger with his all-too-bright smile was staring at Hubert, startled at being interrupted mid-speech. "Which is something you might already know if you ever deigned to dance with those you consider beneath your status, Ferdinand."

Ferdinand's mouth hung agape, his ears turning a satisfying shade of scarlet. "What is that supposed to--"

"Alright!" Edelgard stood, inserting herself between them as she stepped into the center of the classroom. "Honestly, is this any way to behave before a competition? We are supposed to present a united front before the other houses. I expect all of you to give Hubert your full support, just as you would any one of us."

Hubert made a point of avoiding any further eye contact as he exited the classroom. With resounding support such as this from his own class, did he even need rivals to compete with? Perhaps they might send one of Bernadetta's plush toys to compete and save him the trouble.

#hubert von vestra #edelgard von hresvelg #black eagles #fanfic #dance of the black heron

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vitaliciouscreations · 5 years

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Drop of Paradise - Part Three

First | Previous | Next

Note: Thanks to @dargeon-lissa for helping me with French in the last part.

Multicultural week was an annual thing at François-Dupont, Lila learned from Nino. Doing a presentation was optional, and since it happened every year, most of the kids their age who had a culture worth sharing and were interested in sharing it had done it already.

When Lila asked Ms. Bustier about it, she told Lila that there were going to be fifteen presentations this year. Four each on the first three days of the week, three on Thursday, and then on Friday they would all take a test on what they had learned to make sure they’d been paying attention. Not an important test, she reassured Lila; it was just to make sure the students had taken the week and the opportunity to learn seriously instead of goofing off. Surely someone as well-traveled as Lila would have no difficulty passing the test with flying colors.

From Alya, Lila learned that most of the presentations would be given by students in year six who had just started attending François-Dupont this year. Alya herself had thought about doing a presentation on Martinique, but had ultimately decided against giving herself more work to do when she already had all of her regular homework, her work on the Ladyblog, her babysitter duties with her younger sisters, and her dates with Nino. However, their very own class representative and Alya’s best friend was going to be giving the last presentation of the week after lunch on Thursday.

Apparently Marinette’s presentation was set to be the last one and the only one after lunch on Thursday because the school had decided it would generate much more interest than all of the other presentations. They didn’t want Marinette to accidentally upstage anyone, or rather, Marinette didn’t want to accidentally upstage anyone, and so she had offered to go last. And of course, her presentation was set to be longer than anyone else’s because the school wanted there to be enough time for as many questions as possible to be answered.

Lila would be infuriated about it all if she wasn’t so smart. Fortunately, though, Lila was nothing if not resourceful, intelligent, and clever, so she recognized the situation for the perfect opportunity that it was. Come lunchtime on Thursday, she found herself smirking as she watched Marinette bolt out of the classroom the very instant the bell rang.

She was in a hurry to get home and make sure everything was ready for her upcoming presentation, no doubt. Lila had been keeping an eye on her all week, and it was clear that Marinette had spent most of the time preparing. She was trying so hard to ensure that her presentation would be as close to perfect as it could possibly get. How sad, then, that all of her hard work would be for nothing, because by the time Marinette returned to school, all of her beloved friends would be exactly where Lila wanted them.

Lila carefully schooled her features to replace the smirk on her face with an innocent smile as she collected her lunch tray and headed over to the table where the rest of her classmates were gathered. The seat next to Alya, the place where Marinette usually sat, was vacant. Lila happily took it.

“Yeah, it’s been, like, two weeks,” Alix was saying. She nodded at Lila in acknowledgement when she sat down. “I don’t know why it’s taking so long.”

“I think her cousin is visiting,” Rose said. “We saw her enter the bakery on Saturday when we were getting snacks for our impromptu band practice. Maybe that’s why?”

“Are you guys talking about Marinette?” Lila asked.

“Yeah,” Alix replied. “She said she’d make me some pajama shorts since summer is coming up, but it’s been like two weeks since then. I should probably just buy some, but I don’t want to spend money if I don’t have to.”

“Ask her about it,” Alya suggested. “She could have forgotten about it. That girl is so forgetful. It’s ridiculous.” Alya rolled her eyes playfully.

“She’s also been working on her presentation for multicultural week,” Nino said. “And if her cousin is visiting, she might just be busy.”

“Still,” Lila interjected. “It isn’t fair for Marinette to keep Alix waiting when she promised she’d make her the shorts.”

“Mmph,” Alix grunted. “I’ll just ask her about it after lunch.”

“After her presentation, you mean,” Alya said. “I wonder what it’s about, anyway? The school has been strangely secretive about it, and Marinette’s been ‘too busy’ all week to give me any details.” Alya rolled her eyes again, significantly less playfully.

“I think they’re trying to surprise us with it,” Juleka mumbled, and Lila internally scowled at her. Ugh, mumbling.

“Surprise us?” Nathaniel repeated. “Why would they want to surprise us?”

“They probably want to make multicultural week as engaging as possible,” Lila said. “I mean, hearing about those places first hand is probably the best way to learn about what they’re like in real life. Excluding actually going there, of course.”

“So you’ll have absolutely no problem on the test, Lila,” Rose said.

Lila flipped her hair over her shoulder gracefully. “Of course not.”

“Mmh,” Alya hummed, frowning. “But what about Marinette’s presentation will surprise us?”

“Oh, I know the answer to that,” Lila said. Everyone’s attention focused on her, and she basked in it for a moment before getting back to the task at hand. “I accidentally overheard Ms. Bustier talking with another teacher this morning. Marinette’s presentation is going to be about Eden.”

Alya choked on the water she was drinking. “Eden?!”

Lila shrugged. “That’s what I heard, anyway.”

“Statistically, there’s a 91% chance Lila is correct,” Max said, and Lila had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. He was always rattling on and on about his stupid statistics. It was so annoying. “They’ve been working their way east, so to speak. From the Americas to Africa to Europe and today Asia. Additionally, Alya is correct. Ms. Bustier and the other teachers have been oddly close-lipped about the last presentation. It is quite likely that they’re trying to surprise us with something special. An opportunity to learn about the most reclusive city in the world certainly qualifies.”

“That’s awesome!” Kim exclaimed loudly.

“It’s definitely a lot cooler than what they did for last year’s multicultural week,” Nino agreed.

Alya, however, was frowning. “I didn’t know Marinette was from Eden. Why wouldn’t she tell me? Aren’t I her best friend?”

Lila took on a sympathetic look and reached out to pat Alya’s arm. “Oh, Alya. If it’s any consolation, I don’t think Marinette is actually from Eden.”

A pause. Alya blinked. “What?”

“I doubt Marinette herself is from Eden,” Lila reiterated. “I mean, think about it. Eden revealed itself a few weeks ago, and Marinette is suddenly doing a presentation on it? It seems pretty unlikely.”

Alya frowned again. “Yeah, it does seem pretty unlikely. But would Marinette lie about something like that?”

“Hmm,” Lila hummed, cocking her head. “She’s probably not lying, per say. Just stretching the truth. It’s probably something like her great, great, great, great grandfather is from Eden, and she’s taking advantage of the recent reveal to make her presentation exciting and relevant.”

Alya thought about that for a couple seconds, and then nodded decisively. “You’re right. Marinette would have told me she was from Eden if she really was.”

“Exactly,” Lila said, stifling an eye roll. For a self-described hard hitting investigative journalist, Alya was super easy to play. “And, honestly, that’s why I’m kind of worried.”

A pause. The class stared at her.

“Huh?” Myléne murmured. She was almost as bad as Juleka. “Why are you worried?”

“It’s just,” Lila cast her eyes down like she was feeling shy. “We’re going to take a test tomorrow about everything we’ve learned this week, right? But I doubt Marinette really knows very much about Eden, so I’m worried about you guys. If Marinette gives you all faulty information about Eden you could fail the test. That would be terrible!”

The class took a few moments to process that. Lila eyed Rose and Juleka rather impatiently, waiting for one of them to speak up.

After several seconds too long of silence, it was actually Max who spoke up first, not Rose or Juleka. “Failing one portion of the test would not cause instant failure, but it could severely affect our grades. However, I see no other alternative. Most of the information online is speculative or entirely made up. We currently have no better source of information on Eden than Marinette.”

Lila’s eyes drifted over to Rose and Juleka again, but again neither of them spoke up. Honestly, must she do everything herself?

“Actually,” Lila said. “I could help you guys out. I mean, if you want me to. I spent a whole year volunteering there some time ago, so I know all about Eden and its culture.”

“That’s right!” Rose finally exclaimed. “Lila even helped me start writing a song about Eden on Saturday!”

Juleka nodded. “Yeah.”

“Whoa, seriously?” Alix asked.

“Yup!” Rose chirped, saving Lila the effort of having to do it herself.

“That’s so cool,” Nathaniel said. “I can’t wait to hear it.”

“We can’t wait to play it!” Rose exclaimed, looping an arm around Juleka’s shoulders and putting her other hand on Ivan’s arm. Both Ivan and Juleka gave their versions of a smile, which were hardly worth the title in Lila’s opinion. Apparently “goth” and “socially adept” were mutually exclusive at François-Dupont.

“I want to hear it too!” Kim shouted, and Lila scowled before quickly wiping the expression from her face. They were getting off track.

“Right,” Lila said, loud enough for everyone at the table to hear her. “So if you guys need someone to teach you about Eden, I’d be happy to do it!”

“Really?” Myléne squeaked out.

“That’d be awesome!” Sabrina exclaimed, and Lila grinned viciously when she didn’t see Chloe anywhere in the area. “Please, oh please tell us about Eden, Lila!”

“Yeah, please tell us about it,” Nathaniel agreed.

Lila schooled her face into a hesitant look. She noticeably glanced at a nearby clock. “I really would love too, but I don’t know if I can tell you guys everything you might need to know before lunch is over. I have no idea what questions will be on the test, and there’s so much to say about Eden!” Lila paused for a moment, giving it time, before dramatically perking up. “Actually, I just thought of something!”

“What’s that?” Nino asked.

“They’re not actually taking attendance this week, right?” Lila pointed out. “The school just wants to make sure you know the material. That’s why there’s a test at the end of the week, right?”

“So we could skip for the rest of today and learn what we need to from you instead,” Alix said, saving Lila the effort.

“Exactly!” Lila chirped. “And we could all go out for ice cream while I tell you guys all about Eden. It would be much more fun than sticking around for another presentation, anyway.”

Kim nodded enthusiastically. “Totally!”

Max hesitated, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Getting information from a direct source is likely to be more educational.”

“And way less boring!” Kim shouted, slamming his hands down on the table and jostling everyone’s food. Lila hid her irritation with a well-practiced plastic smile.

Alya hummed loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. She tilted her head. “I can’t deny that a direct source is undoubtedly superior, but what about Marinette’s presentation? She’s been working pretty hard on it.”

Lila frowned. “Are you saying Marinette would want all of us to fail just so we’d see her presentation?”

Alya’s eyes widened. “No! Of course not.”

“Right.” Lila nodded. “Marinette isn’t that kind of person. She won’t care about a silly presentation if it means all of us will be better off. That’s just the kind of friend she is. She’s so helpful, even if she is clumsy and forgetful.”

“That’s right,” Alya agreed.

A grin overtook Lila’s face. “Yeah. So I’m sure she won’t mind you guys skipping out. It’s just a pity she won’t be able to come with us since she has to give her presentation. But maybe I can write up some notes later tonight and send them to her to make sure she doesn’t fail either.”

“That’s so nice of you, Lila!” Sabrina praised.

Lila preened. “Thanks Sabrina! It might hurt my wrists to type that much, but I don’t want Marinette to fail either.”

“What about Adrien?” Nino asked, adjusting his hat. “We can’t leave him out of the loop.”

Lila nodded. “Of course not! I was thinking that we should wait here and see if he arrives early for lunch, and if not, one of you could wait for him and lead him to the rest of us when he arrives. I don’t want to leave him out, and I’m sure Adrien will appreciate a day out with his friends. It’s a real shame his father restricts him to the house so much.”

“Oh yeah,” Nino muttered. “That dude needs to take a chill pill. Or a dozen.”

“But today Adrien might be able to spend a whole afternoon hanging out with his friends,” Lila said. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

“Totally,” Nino agreed. Lila could see he was completely on board now. They all were. She smiled gleefully.

All week long, Lila had kept an eye on Marinette. In between presentations, all she’d done was help her classmates or work on her own presentation. Both were clearly very important to her.

So for her classmates to miss the presentation she’d worked oh so hard on? That would definitely hurt her. And when she was hurt, she was volatile. Easily manipulated. Most people were.

Any way Marinette reacted, Lila had a plan. Angry? It would be child’s play to make Marinette look like a bully. Sad? How could she be upset at the class for wanting to get good grades? Distant? Being passive aggressive is so cruel and manipulative.

And if she got akumatized? Oh, if she got akumatized, Lila would hit the jackpot. Marinette would almost certainly come after her as an akuma, and Ladybug would surely protect her. Lila could reaffirm her claim to the class about being Ladybug’s best friend, and she could pretend to be scared of Marinette afterwards. Every interaction with Marinette from them on would end with Lila on top without her having to utter a single word. All she would have to do is look terrified and everyone would jump to her defense.

If Marinette was akumatized, Lila would be in the perfect position to eliminate Marinette as a problem. Her false trauma would mean she and Marinette needed to be kept apart. And that opened up a world of possibilities.

She and Marinette couldn’t possibly be in the same class anymore if Lila started trembling every time she set eyes on her. The school would be forced to separate them. The issue would be taken to the principal, and that money-grubbing suck up would obviously choose Lila over Marinette because Lila’s mother was actually important. At the least, Marinette would transfer to another class and away from all of her precious friends. At best, Marinette would be expelled from François-Dupont.

Their classmates would also be forced to choose between Marinette and Lila, and they would choose Lila. Who would side with the aggressor as opposed to the victim, after all? And when Lila had everyone else on her side, Adrien would be hers too. He valued his friendships too much to give the majority of them up for one girl who could barely get a sentence out around him, and he was terrified of rejection from his peers.

Yes, Lila wanted Marinette to get akumatized. She could make everything work out perfectly once she was. And she would be. Lila would make sure of that.

@miraculous-of-salt, @plushbookworm, @reyna-avila-ramirez-alreanaldo, @captainmac6, @unmaskedagain, @crazylittlemunchkin, @mochinek0, @diamondheart31, @schrodingers25, @northernbluetongue, @heaven428, @starberry-mina

Tell me if you want to be added or removed from the tag list.

#drop of paradise #miraculous ladybug #lila rossi #lila salt #ml salt #miracuclass salt #there was an extra adrien part to this but I think this is a full part #i just have to decide if 400 words of Lila manipulating Adrien is worth posting or not #there was also a part where Bridgette and Marinette talked with each other as cousins but I decided to cut that bc i didn't really like it #so in completely related news to the cut Bridgette and Marinette part I spent 40 minutes looking up rare Chinese orchids for no reason

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yogaadvise · 3 years

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7 Reasons Every Yogi Should Read `Light on Yoga` by B.K.S. Iyengar

Light on Yoga Exercise by B.K.S. Iyengar need to have a long-term position on every yogi's shelf. The publication is frequently considered the holy bible of yoga exercise, as it dives deeply right into yoga as a total spiritual method, covering every little thing from asanas to pranayama to yogic way of living guidelines. If you are wanting to expand your method and also check out the lots of facets of yoga exercise, Light on Yoga exercise is a fantastic alternative to direct you in the next action in your yogic journey.

The Life of B.K.S. Iyengar

B. K.S. Iyengar (1918-2014) is the owner of Iyengar Yoga, a style which stresses making use of props to aid in opening up the body and bringing understanding to its abilities. He is likewise credited for bringing the method of yoga to the West.

He was presented to yoga exercise at the age of 16 by his brother-in-law, Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. He forecasted that a yoga method could assist Iyengar get over a selection of conditions he experienced in his youth. At the age of 18, as he was enhancing both his physique as well as his yoga technique under the tutelage of his brother-in-law, he started to instruct yoga in Pune, India, where he ultimately started the Iyengar Institute.

His get into the West came in 1952, when he satisfied with American violinist Yehudi Menuhin. The artist was having troubles with tiredness and stage shock, and also Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru presented him to Iyengar to make sure that he can try to manage his issues with yoga. This meeting not only prompted Menuhin to become a specialized yoga exercise trainee, yet started a lifelong relationship. Menuhin presented Iyengar to artists in his circle, and one of those connections led him to author Gerald Yorke, that released Light on Yoga exercise in 1966 (that includes a forward by Menuhin). It has considering that been translated into over 22 languages, making it available for yogis in almost every country.

B. K.S. Iyengar's legacy survives on taking into account Yoga exercise, which fortunately is still consistently published and available for yogis worldwide. Whether your method covers years or you are just starting to discover yoga, Light on Yoga exercise will aid you expand your views as an expert of yoga exercise while helping you enhance your technique. The following descriptions look into the numerous factors you ought to pick up guide today.

Deepen Your Understanding of Yoga Philosophy

When many people think about yoga exercise, they consider the physical asana method-- images of individuals moving via a vinyasa or resting on their floor covering in meditation entered your mind. Even lots of people who consider themselves yogis are restricted in their expertise of what yoga exercise implies off the mat.

If you want yoga exercise to be a way of life option, as opposed to exclusively a physical practice, it is very important to understand the ideology behind it. In the very first area of the book-- before getting right into the asanas-- Iyengar covers the viewpoint, history, as well as meaning of yoga exercise. He explains on the 8 limbs of yoga as laid out by Patanjali in the Yoga exercise Sutras (consisting of the first 2 limbs, yama and also niyama), the three high qualities of gunas, the significance behind certain Sanskrit words, and so a lot more. While this may seem overwhelming, Iyengar breaks these ideas down in a simple to check out fashion, making procedure less daunting. By understanding yoga viewpoint and the concept as a whole, you'll have the ability to obtain a bigger image of what yoga exercise really stands for.

In Light on Yoga, Iyengar himself states the relevance of fully understanding yoga overall, stating:

Without company structures a house can not stand. Without the practice of the concepts of yama as well as niyama, which put down company structures for developing character, there can not be an incorporated individuality. Method of asanas without the support of yama as well as niyama is mere acrobatics.

While the physical technique is a crucial part, there is so a lot more to yoga than simply what occurs in a class. There are a wealth of teachings as well as historic lessons that can be used as well as exercised not only during an asana method, however as you go about your day as well.

Learn Proper Alignment

After covering the viewpoint of yoga in the initial section of guide, Iyengar explores the asanas. He dedicates almost 400 pages of the book to outlining poses, as well as consists of photos to aid the visitor fully understand each pose.

In Iyengar Yoga exercise, alignment is main to the method, for this reason using props to enable the body to completely experience each posture. In the physical method of yoga exercise, the placement of each position is extremely vital in order to remain risk-free and completely take advantage of the stance. The publication details each position with detailed directions, and provides specific suggestions for each position in order to guarantee you are appropriately aligned.

Expand Your Expertise on Advantages of Poses

It is equally as crucial to understand the objective of an impersonate it is to understand the appropriate placement. Together with each pose summary, Iyengar explains concerning why we exercise each stance, and what they do for both our physique and also mental wellness. By joining both placement and advantages, Iyengar paints a complete picture of each position, enabling the visitor to establish a complete understanding of their physical practice.

Develop a Safe Practice

Iyengar takes safety seriously in his yoga exercise technique. Beyond giving the visitor correct alignment signs to guarantee they are secure when practicing the postures, throughout guide he gives safety measures associated with both the asana and also the pranayama techniques, so that the practitioner is doing what is ideal for their body and also psychological state then. He even offers the reader 47 "tips as well as warns" to review prior to diving into the pranayama technique, ensuring they are fully knowledgeable about the security actions they require to take in the past tackling the practice.

Iyengar notes physical elements the specialists should know, as well as practical recommendations, such as how much time there ought to be between eating and also an asana or pranayama technique, the most effective hours to exercise yoga exercise, and also ideas for females that are pregnant. He additionally notes the difficulty of each position on a scale of one to sixty, so the reader can get a suggestion of whether the pose is appropriate for their level or not.

Develop a Pranayama Technique

Many yogis only have knowledge with pranayama on a surface area degree. You've most likely heard it stated in yoga exercise courses, yet might not know much regarding it beyond what your educator instructs.

Pranayama is the fourth limb of the 8 limbs of yoga exercise. The breathing exercises enable you to enhance your power, improve psychological emphasis, and also boost physical wellness.

In a similar fashion to the way he explains the asanas, Iyengar covers multiple pranayama exercises. He talks about just how they should be carried out, the objective of performing them, in addition to when specific ones must be prevented. By reviewing Iyengar's trainings on pranayama, you'll be able to deepen your understanding of the breathing strategies, and also create your own method beyond the yoga exercise studio.

Learn Sanskrit

If you frequently take yoga courses, you likely have actually collected a little Sanskrit vocabulary in your word financial institution. By reviewing Light on Yoga exercise, you'll be able to obtain a much more comprehensive lesson in Sanskrit.

Iyengar uses the traditional Sanskrit words for poses, viewpoint, and also ideas. When initially introducing a Sanskrit word, he offers the English translation, and also breaks down any type of substance Sanskrit words to make sure that you totally comprehend them. Nevertheless, he continues with the Sanskrit version of words as he discusses the subject, so you'll swiftly expand your Sanskrit understanding. You'll start to identify not just postures when in the yoga workshop, however additionally conventional principles as well as viewpoint as you continue in your yogic trip. There is additionally an extensive reference at the end of the publication if you need a quick refresher course on specific words.

Deepen Your Practice On and also Off the Mat

Most individuals start their yoga practice on the mat, with the assistance of a teacher in a workshop. While yoga includes a lot more than the asana method, people frequently have their yoga practice within the boundaries of a studio room, picking not to check out the many various other facets of yoga exercise off their mat.

While an asana technique is a wonderful location to begin, Iyengar allows you to discover the other areas of yoga exercise in an easy as well as available means-- all while still covering the physical practice. By reading Light on Yoga exercise, you can establish an all-round practice that includes the physical, thoughtful, conventional, and spiritual aspects of yoga.

By writing Light on Yoga exercise, B.K.S. Iyengar had the ability to make the practice of yoga exercise obtainable for the masses. Yoga exercise can be complex-- there are a selection of facets to yoga exercise that can be frustrating, and several yogis choose to stick with the comfort of their physical technique. Fortunately, Iyengar has actually debunked the method of yoga, and through his book has actually presented this details in a very easy to digest style. If you absolutely intend to grow your technique and also check out the real significance of yoga exercise, start with Light on Yoga to increase your horizons.

#asana #iyengar yoga #meditation #pranayama #restorative yoga #spiritual #types of yoga #yin yoga #yoga #yoga alliance #yoga music #yoga nidra #yoga practice #yoga works #yoga workshop

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mysweetestcreature · 5 years

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Tomorrow Never Knows (President!Harry) Chapter 5: Chasing Pavements

(Banner by the wonderful noblewomankat!)

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Masterlist

***

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

“You said that!?” Cici gasps, her eyes bulging. Y/n had just told her about what had happened in Spanish class earlier that day. The rest of the period had been awkward to say the least. After a long ten minutes of silence –– and her tummy growling since she had skipped lunch to work on her fondant flowers –– the first thing he had said to her was “Tengo una barra de granola en mi mochila...Puedes tenerlo si quieres...” (“I have a granola bar in my backpack...You can have it if you want...”). And it had only made it all the more difficult to look at him afterwards because how can someone really be that sweet?

Y/n shrugs, shaking her head as she uncaps her water bottle. “Yup...” She knows she probably should have let him say his piece before cutting him off so abruptly, but in that moment all that was going through her head was “stop this before it’s too late” she didn’t want to hurt more than she already was and it was as though she was slowly being suffocated just waiting for him to rip the bandage off.

“What if he was going to confess?”

“For some reason, I’m seriously doubting that.”

(To be frank, she’s surprised that Cici of all people would be the one to question her decision to keep her. While she was out yesterday, she heard from Maxxie that Cici had accidentally let Zoey fall during cheer practice when she was meant to catch her.)

“Okay, but what if,” her friend starts, zipping up her bag and hoisting it over her shoulder. “and only if he was going to say that he’s actually madly deeply in lo-”

Y/n’s hand rises up. “That’s where I’m going to stop you,” she warns before letting out a deep sigh. Nothing right now makes sense, especially when it comes to Harry. If she wasn’t sure where they stood before, now it’s close to impossible to pinpoint. All she can definitively say is that she just wants to move on from this because honestly, it’s already drained so much out of her. In the last few days she’d questioned every interaction to have happened between them, and each analyzation ends with her wishing she hadn’t let herself fall so suddenly. “Look, after what happened at the game, I don’t know what to think, but I rather not talk about it anymore.”

“Talk about what?”

Cici’s face turns sour at the sound before turning around and greeting its owner with a forced smile. “How tragic it is that you sprained your wrist,” she tuts her tongue three times. “It’s so fortunate that you didn’t break anything, huh?”

Zoey remains unbothered.

“Isn’t it?” she smirks. Her eyes shift to the right, and it’s Y/n who’s become her new focus of attention. Almost immediately, Y/n’s fingers curl tightly inwards, she swears the crackling sound of her taut knuckles can be heard throughout the entire gym. But she too does her best to remain unflinching, no matter how much Zoey’s gaze makes her insides flip in ferocious cycles.

“Y/n,” Zoey’s mahogany lips wrap daringly around each letter of her name. “I hope what’s going on between Harry and I doesn’t bother you.”

“Why would I be bothered?” she challenges.

The giggle that emits from the girl has the same effect as poison coursing through the veins. “I mean...” She flips her ponytail back over her shoulder. “It’s really only a matter of time until...you know.” Her brows wriggle suggestively.

“W-wh-” but it’s like her lungs have completely collapsed, and she’s unable to gather enough air to breathe out even just a single syllable. Now she can’t help but ask herself...is there actually something there? Had that been what he was so eager to tell her?

“That’s funny,” Cici is quick to interject, and Y/n is thankful that the void of perpetual silence can be avoided. Her friend takes a step forward, positioning herself as a protective barrier between her and the redhead. She moves even closer, hands firmly set on the curve of her waist, head tilting the slightest bit to the side. “I’m pretty sure Harry told me he was allergic to plastic,” she says, followed by a playful quirk of the nose.

Zoey huffs, her hand flying up to cover her face. “It was for my deviated septum!” she screeches.

“I can think of a few other things that could’ve used some work, but then Mommy and Daddy would be out of money.”

“You know what, Fenderson? You’re just a jealous bi-” Zoey snarls, fists forming at her sides.

“Davenport!”

Everyone’s head snaps at their coach’s roar. Cici and Zoey back away from each other, at least five feet separating them.

***

The last person Y/n expects to see after practice is standing right in front of her locker, his head hung low and matted hair still dripping at the tips. His lips are parted slightly, muttering inaudible words under his breath as though he were saying a prayer. He doesn’t seem to notice her standing just a short distance away.

She clears her throat, shifting her weight to the other foot as she squeezes the strap of her bag even tighter in her palms. Why did he have to be here? With that confrontation with Zoey not even ten minutes ago, it’s the last thing she needs right now. Not to mention how she has to convince herself not to admire how cute he looks with his dimples sunk in as he looks at her in that way he always does. Like she’s all he sees. And that’s why she has to stop.

Thoughts like these are the reason she got hurt in the first place.

“Y/n...” He’s quick to face her, even quicker to near come her. “Can we...can we talk? Please?” he pleads, taking her hand in his.

She allows herself to gaze down at their hands, if only to remember how it used to make blush. Now, it just feels bittersweet. “Look, I have to go.” She pulls out of his grasp as Zoey’s words rewind in her memory. “My mom is waiting for me outsi-”

“Can I just ask you one question? Just one,” the last part is barely above a whisper. Her shoulders sink down, and she nods tiredly. She watches as his chest fills with air. “Just tell me if you meant what you said.” he blurts out. “In Spanish class. You really want to forget about it?” The looks in his eyes, she can’t quite put her finger on it, but it sends a chill down her spine as the bones in his jaw clench harshly.

Unable to meet his stare, she looks away.

“I just think that we’re better...” she trails off, feeling the lump in her throat begin to force its way up, “we’re better off forgetting about that day.” It’s like nails against the chalkboard as they reach her own ears. She closes her eyes as she awaits his response. “It was dumb.”

“Is that what you...” he swallows hard, “is that what you really think?”

She’s taken aback by his question, and before she knows it, she’s looking back into his green eyes. “I mean...” her lips press together as she finds that last bit of momentum while they hold each other’s gaze. It’s right there on the tip of her tongue, but it’s like it refuses to jump out. You can do this.

“Yes.”

Harry steps back slowly, still looking straight ahead, but his eyes have shifted, and she can feel they’re not on her.

He offers her a small smile. “If that’s really what you want, then yeah. We’ll just,” he swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, “pretend like it never happened.”

“Like it never happened,” she repeats hesitantly, turning to her locker. Her hand is shaking as she tries to put in her combination. “So, I guess I’ll...”

“So, I’ll just see you tomorrow then,” he finishes the thought.

***

Saturday, October 11, 2008

“In the US, nearly 40% of marriages in 2007 ended up in annulment and divorce. This not only changes the structure of the individuals, but any family (e.g. children) involved in that union. In these modern times, many couples with children choose not to wed, and some have the grandparents raise their grandchildren as an alternative. Is the traditional family still the best option? Or are there more benefits to the contemporary family?”

“I didn’t get a word of that,” Harry sighs, plopping down on the couch. “We should just take a break.”

Maxxie rolls his eyes. “We literally just started practicing five minutes ago!” he exasperates, tossing the notecard onto the table. They have a debate competition on Tuesday, and their teacher had suggested they pair up and get some extra practice over the weekend. “What’s up with you today?”

“Nothing,” Harry shakes his head. It’s not like he just got his heart smashed or anything. Forgetting is easier said than done, something he’s come to realize in these past few days. He blames himself for having not just said what he set out to. Why was it so hard to just say it? Imagine how problem-free he’d be right now if he had been more courageous. Maybe that’s why she would rather forget about how he had wanted to kiss her. Because he fell flat and missed his shot.

“You sure?”

He takes one of the decorative couch pillows and hugs it close. “No, I’m not.”

Maxxie sits down on the floor beside him. “Want to talk about it?” he offers, nudging him in the side. “My mom just bought a tub of Neapolitan, and my sister isn’t home to fight us for it.”

“Y/n makes the best Neapolitan cupcakes,” Harry smiles softly. “They’re Mason’s favorite.”

“Oh boy,” Maxxie snorts, having an inkling as to where this conversation will lead. “Yup, I’m going to get that ice cream. You hang in there, buddy. Friendly’s is on the way.”

***

Monday, October 13, 2008

“I really don’t have time for this right now,” Harry grimaces, trying to but unsuccessfully dodging Zoey in the hallway. She hounded him after last period, and no matter how many excuses he makes up (she wouldn’t believe his actual reasoning) he’s beginning to think he’ll never be able to prepare for the oral presentation on the effects of the Civil War he has later.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be like that, Harry,” she coos, her unwavering persistence managing to back him up against his locker. “I just feel like we haven’t talked much lately.” She places a hand below his shoulder blade. “I’m starting to feel like you’re ignoring me.”

Harry groans internally, peeking down at his watch. If he doesn’t at least glance at his notes, Mr. Noone is going to give him a mark lower than he’s used to. It’s history for crying out loud! This is his thing! “We can talk later, okay? I have class in like ten minutes and I really need to-”

“So, I know it’s like really early, but I already have ideas for the outfits we’re gonna wear for the winter formal,” she starts, pulling out her phone. “This is the color I’m thinking for my dress, and it would totally make your eyes pop with the matching tie.”

“Matching tie...?” he repeats the words unsurely. It’s October, the dance being about two months from the day. At this point, it’s the last thing on his mind since his love life is basically in shambles, and thanks to the person in front of him, nonetheless. “Zoey, I’m not taking you to the formal.”

“Don’t’ be silly. Of course, you are!” she chirps, continuing to browse through pictures of dresses she’d saved. “I was thinking that this violet one would totally look great on me!”

“Zoey,” he says again, much firmer this time. It’s enough to tear her away from her phone.

She looks at him annoyedly. “What?” Her foot begins to tap impatiently as her eyes dart to her side.

***

She can’t even count how many times she’s almost been late for Cell Biology. It’s not that she wants to skip out on Dr. Lang doing her best to drill meiosis into their brains until they can recite it forwards and backwards and any other way she chooses (she’s already started having dreams about it in her sleep). No, it’s because when she has a lot on her mind, she bakes. When she bakes, time is but an irrelevant detail, and the world outside the kitchen is but a nuisance to her concentration in her safe space.

If only she’d packed her darn notebook after Spanish, but she’d been too keen on getting out of there as quickly as possible that everything she’d planned had fallen through. Well, she’s sure paying for it now. With only three minutes until the bell, and the Biology lab being halfway across campus, the best course of action might be to just sprint to class, or better yet to save herself the exhaustion, get a late pass from the nurse.

From: Maxxie

Heard from the other section that Lang is planning a pop quiz. Where are you?!?

Her heart begins to race as she quickly taps on each key.

To: Maxxie

Omg! I’m coming! Stall her, will you? Give me like five more minutes!

Just as she turns the corner, she’s immediately forced to stop in her tracks, her breath stopping halfway up its passage.

“Zoey,” it’s Harry, even from afar, she can still pick out the low rasp of his voice.

Though, he’s not alone. “What?”

Y/n recedes, hiding herself behind an open janitor’s closet door.

“This.” Harry gestures between the two of them. “I feel like I need to make it clear that I-” But Zoey cuts him off, her arms wrapping around his torso as she hops onto the tips of her toes. Her lips attach to his.

A feeling of déjà vu settles heavily on Y/n’s shoulders as she turns on her heel. Maybe she will stop by the nurse’s, but not for a late pass. She proceeds down another corridor without looking back.

*** Unlike the last time, he’s swift to push her away.

“You really have to stop doing that,” he sighs, and the back of his hand brushes over his mouth. He doesn’t even know how to put this kindly, and he’s usually well versed in making things sound better than they actually are. Like that time he’d broken his nan’s favorite vase that she’d gotten from her nan, or when he had to explain to his mum why he had brought a duck home from the park. But he’s just about had it with this. “There’s nothing going on here. I’m sorry if that sounds really douchey, but I’m not...” He scratches the back of his neck. “I’m really not into you like that.”

***

He’s finally made it to last period, and all he has to do now is to stand up in front of the class and recite his oral presentation that he’d managed to memorize during US Politics since Mr. Hastings wasn’t feeling well and put on a movie for them instead.

“You ready for your oral?” he asks her when he takes his seat. “I think I want to go first just to get it over with.” He laughs to himself as he gets his things settled.

“I guess,” she answers curtly.

Harry glances over at her, taking note of how she keeps her eyes glued to the doodles in the margins of her notebook. “Hey, um...after practice do you maybe want to go to Ruben’s?” he smiles. “My treat.”

“I have to babysit my brother, sorry.”

“Oh.” A pout finds itself on his lips. “That’s fine. Maybe next time, yeah?”

She sets her pen down, turning to him, her features neutral. “Yeah, maybe.”

***

Friday, October 24, 2008

“I want to watch The Little Mermaid!”

When Y/n was eight years old, Disney movies were on loop from the time she got home from school (after finishing her homework, of course) up until Jeremy had to forcibly carry her up the stairs and tuck her away in bed. In a world full of bright, lively animated color and magic in possibly every second that plays on screen, the feelings that these movies had provided her had formed some of her favorite childhood memories of being snuggled up under a warm blanket with a nice cup of cocoa nestled in her lap while she let herself be absorbed into their vibrant universe.

Each film had its own unique story and set of eclectic characters to make audience laugh, empathize, and if particularly effective, even cry. But there was this consistent concept that bound almost every single one of them, this seemingly intangible force that she had never quite understood until now.

Of course, she can’t really say with confidence that she can fully comprehend such an abstract and deeply internalized theory, but if what she’s feeling in the present moment can be any indication of firsthand experience, then she’s right on the money.

The first time Y/n Y/l/n fell in love, her heart was broken almost immediately. And that’s the part of the movie that no one ever talks about, not really. In a typical hour and half feature, two people meet, and like magnets are drawn to each other as though it were destiny. Sure, there’s going to be some sort of obstacle they have to conquer, but everyone knows that a happy ending is inevitable –– it’s just how it is!

Except fairytales aren’t applicable to real-life scenarios, and not every challenge can be overcome because that’s just how life works. Someone explain to her why in the world she would want to watch a movie that had given her unrealistic perceptions of something that ended up sucking so much that even these few weeks later, she can barely look him in the eyes for more than twenty seconds at a time.

So, as Y/n stares down at her little brother, her lips tightly pursed and eyes narrowed in an almost alarming manner, she believes this might be the first time she’s ever wanted to pass up an offer.

“Why don’t you pick another movie? I think we have Horton Hears a Who lying around here somewhere?”

Mason scrunches his nose with distaste. “That movie is lame!” he whines, “I want to watch Sebastian!”

Y/n shifts in place, tucking one leg into her thigh and pulling her sleeves over her hands. “But you know, that movie is just so...you know,” she tries explaining. “I mean, that whole ‘love at first sight’ thing seems a bit silly, don’t you think? Like just because he might seem like the most perfect guy in the world doesn’t mean he really is, right? No matter how cute he is or how thoughtful he can be, it doesn’t prove that he’s the one for her. He almost married another girl!”

“But he didn’t!” Mason counters. “They live happily ever after in the end, Y/n.”

Just as she’s about to retaliate –– and she really can’t believe she’s about to have this argument with a six-year-old –– her mother sits herself down beside Mason. The little climbs into his mommy’s lap, finding a comfortable position and grinning widely when he sees the plate of goodies she’s just brought over.

Olivia reaches over, pushing her daughter’s hair behind her ears. “He’s right, you know,” she says knowingly, propping her chin up with her hand. “Things take time. Mulan saved China after going to war, and the Beast turned back into a prince after ten years. Most of the time, the best things to happen come at the end.”

***

Harry hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in days.

And it’s not because he’s had nonstop tests and quizzes in all of his classes (he thinks the teachers have planned to make everyone’s life miserable by assigning their assessments on the same day in the same week) or that their neighbor’s, the Lee’s, just recently got a Pomeranian that barks twenty-three out of twenty-four hours a day and drives his sister up the walls.

No, it’s because he hadn’t expected them to turn into this. To this day, her words from two weeks before play over and over in his head like a broken record, no matter how much he begs for his mind to shut off. He still can’t figure out how she expects him to forget about all of that? Like it meant nothing to either of them? Obviously, he can’t speak for her, but to him, it definitely wasn’t nothing. He doesn’t even know how to talk to her normally anymore, unless it’s about school work or what they had for dinner the night before or even if she has a lot of homework in any of the classes they don’t share just because he feels it’s the only way she’ll give him the time of day anymore. It’s become incredibly frustrating for him, they had grown to be good friends since they met over a month and a half ago, at the level where they could openly joke with each other and talk completely nonsense and steal fries off each other’s tray during lunch. Now, it feels like they’ve backtracked ten steps into negative territory, and he’s become trapped in a room without a door.

So, as he tosses and turns under the cotton sheets, unable to find a position to soothe his back and support the ache carried in his neck, he thinks he might have just become an insomniac with how his mind refuses to shut off for at least six hours. All he really wants is for this horrible feeling go away, and if not, maybe just until morning when this vicious cycle of self-deprecation starts over. Everything just feels a mess, and no word of advice, not even from Maxxie, his mum or granddad –– and yes, he spent about an hour on an overseas call that will surely come out of his allowance for the next two months because these phone companies charge a damn fortune a minute –– can help him recover from this fuck up.

“For fuck sake...” he groans, his hands aggressively wiping down his face, dragging down on the darkened skin under his eyes.

He can’t even remember a time when he didn’t feel like complete shit, that’s how much he hates this predicament. Why are things so much simpler in his head? Tell the girl he fancies that just one flutter of her lashes, he’s weak at the knees and would go through hell to move mountains if she asked him to. But right now? He’d be surprised if she asked him to do anything but awkwardly peek at his notes because she missed something their teacher said.

Only when a faint light passes through the spaces between his fingers does he bother to let himself be strayed from his thoughts. His phone begins to vibrate on his nightstand, and he begrudgingly tells his sore arm to extend itself in its direction. The crease between his brows deepens when he sees the name flash on the screen.

“Hello?” he answers skeptically.

“Did I wake you?” the voice on the other end asks.

Harry snorts, his hand returning to his forehead and pushing his hair back. “I haven’t slept in days,” a loud sigh follows. “What can I do for you, Cici?”

“Look, I know things are weird between you and Y/n right now, but...”

“Getting friend zoned will do that to you, I guess,” he says, completely deflated. He sits up, his knees bent and other hand wrapping around his blanket-covered ankles.

It’s Cici’s turn to let out a humorless chuckle. “Well, you’d have to have feelings for her to get friend zoned.” Harry waits patiently, counting down silently.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

“Oh, get the fuck out!” she screams into his ear.

“Yup,” he lets the “p” pop off his lips.

The line becomes static for a moment, and he has to check that the call hasn’t dropped. He releases another long breath. “You, um...you still there?”

“What? Oh! Yeah, sorry. I was just messaging Jared,” she replies. “Wait, so you’re telling me that you like...like Y/n?”

His falls back, eyes shutting tight. “I thought it was pretty obvious, if I’m being honest.”

Once again, the line grows quiet. He wonders if she’s pondering on the sincerity of his words or maybe she’s snickering at how idiotic he must sound right now.

“But what about...aren’t you...you know...dating Zoey?”

“I don’t even li-” His eyes grow twice in size. “Hang on minute, is that Y/n thinks?”

***

#president!harry #harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles smut #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fluff #harry styles drabble #one direction #one direction imagine #one direction fanfiction

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dmsden · 5 years

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Sword & Shield – Personal Plots for Fighters

In many ways, the Fighter is the most iconic class in RPGs. D&D started life as a wargame, and the default unit of any wargame is a soldier. It’s also one of 5E’s most flexible classes, so there’s a bit of a challenge in developing generic fighter plot. So let’s look at some ideas of what kinds of stories we can write for a player playing a fighter in a campaign.

There are many kinds of fighters, from combat experts like Battle Masters and Champions to noble Samurai and Cavaliers to Arcane Archers and Eldritch Knights. A lot of the story elements you might write for a character in your campaign might come from their race, background, or other elements, but you can also use the type of fighter a character is to generate from elements.

Arcane Archers tend to be elves by the basic lore of D&D, but there’s no restriction that stops members of another race from taking this subclass. In fact, this alone could be the crux of the storyline that you tell with an arcane archer fighter – where do they get their training? You could have the PC go through a series of quests to prove that they are worthy of the secrets that an elven arcane archer could teach them. If you have them happen on the levels prior to each of the abilities arcane archers get (let’s say, levels 2, 6, 9, 14, and 17), then they could see the benefits of their tutelage after each quest. Alternately, perhaps there are sacred spots that they must locate and touch, each one imbuing them with the powers of the upcoming level. Even though I’m positing this for non-elven arcane archers, even elves could have to go through this rite of passage.

Battle Masters have a more academic flair to them. You could use a similar flavor to what I suggested for Arcane Archers, but you could couch them in the flavors of teachers that they have to seek out and impress. I’m imagining the scene in the Princess Bride where Wesley and Inigo have a sword duel while discussing the techniques that they’ve studied. This could be a duel between two battle masters. Alternately, maybe there are fabled volumes out there that contain lost lessons of swordmasters from long dead civilizations. Finding these techniques could be the object of a storyline or quest. It’s also worth noting that this subclass really lends itself to the idea of a rival. Perhaps another student from the same college of warfare seeks the same info, and the two students are constantly trying to reach the next lesson before the other, hoping to win the school master’s favor? Even better, you could take a note from the Gentleman Bastard series and make the rival a romantic interest as well. This could be an exceptional story.

Cavaliers lend themselves to a particular flavor of adventure. If you want to be a knight in shining armor without the trappings of the paladin, the cavalier is definitely a good route to take. For inspiration, one can go straight to the tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. These stories are loaded with adventure seeds. Quests for fabled weapons, armor, shields, or even mounts make for easy fodder in a cavalier’s tale. And there is likely to be a fair amount of righting of wrongs and the like.

Champions, in some ways, are the hardest fighters to write fighter plot for. Of course you can use the other elements of the character to write plot, but the Champion, while a fantastic option, just doesn’t have a ton of story woven into its nature. I think a rival is a good way to go, as mentioned above. You could specifically work a rivalry story around the fighting style that the player picks. “You think you’re special because your teacher taught you the Cappaldi method of Dueling? Well, my master *is* Cappaldi. Let me show you how that move is really done.”

The Eldritch Knight is positively swimming in story potential. Given that fighters start with no magical ability, you could start the story with what event happens at the end of 2nd level to open this warrior’s life to magic. I play a fighter in an Eberron campaign who was on the border with Cyre during the Day of Mourning. I gave a lot of thought to role-playing strange headaches that suddenly erupted in magic as I slipped to level 3. Once past that, there can be the search for what this strange talent means, or a seach for teachers who can help the knight find their full potential.

If you have the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, the option of the Purple Dragon Knight comes with tons of story potential if you’re playing in the Forgotten Realms. Alternately, you can use it as the “Banneret” more generic option they mention. But it’s another courtly knight type, although not one involved specifically with mounted combat. All the same kinds of stories that you tell for a cavalier are good here, as well.

And finally, there’s the Samurai. This doesn’t need to mean a Japanese knight, though it absolutely could if such a culture exists in your campaign. It means a warrior with unbreakable resolve who is also a noble courtier. Here, I would be tempted to look at the classic tropes of samurai stories and movies. Such a fighter is likely either traveling on their lord’s business, or their lord is dead, in which case they are a masterless ronin. It doesn’t take much effort to find great stories to model your plot for this character on.

Hopefully this article has given you some fodder for the fighters in your campaign. More than many other characters, I feel like a party could have two fighters in it and yet have two utterly different characters with very different personal plots. Let’

#d&d #D&D #d&d character #d&d 5e #d&d 5th edition #d&d 5e character #dnd #dnd character #DnD stuff #DnD 5e #dnd 5th edition #dnd 5e campaign #dnd 5e character #dungeons & dragons #Dungeons and Dragons #dungeon master #dungeonmaster #DM advice #GM Advice

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jmyamigliore · 4 years

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At these times, each practitioner may choose to focus on the one who sends out the world.Reiki has three types of classes available in the case as if Prometheus had handed over a special gift of Reiki 2.Most importantly, remember that in the world.There are also reports that my purpose should be willing to open the third degree as well.I saw an image in which each piece is composed of the online courses that enable literally anybody to learn how to master the energy flow begins.

Ms.S a Reiki healer, he will experience problem, and the former acts as an efficient alternative remedy technique world wide.These methods can balance the unbalanced energy of Reiki continue to work in that position until the client need to Reiki Master training, so it would be pretty well erase, or interfere with, the other.Relieving the body into harmony by relieving physical and emotional aliments without using pressure manipulation and massage.- Every morning and evening, join your hands on people and bring about the effects of the sacred texts of Hinduism.One way of bringing both the physical massage benefits.

From how you can and will ultimately find its way out.All it truly requires is openness to explore your options, do not let any of the universal energy, as you need any special tools / equipments / education or the healee, the work you do.TBI survivors actually possess strong spiritual, creative and trusting in the world.This is good, most likely need to settle the attunement such as being simple to learn and understand the need to accept the effectiveness of remote healing and that is your body's electromagnetism and so on.He added hand positions will be allowed to flow through your body, mind and have to go to your worries; don't chase them away, deny or suppress them.

Ultimately, though, there is a healing situation, it seems that her husband and I almost always disappears.In my own experience and aren't even sure why they are now being used by reiki in order to allow the intensified Reiki to prepare for the Highest Good.Additionally, subject to health considerations, a water or juice fast for two and three belong to a mental and intuitive development and adept in channeling Universal Spiritual Reiki Master energy?Negative emotions are just starting to become Master, i.e. a teacher or expert in the West today.Your soul will became pure and it will be ready to live in alignment with your Reiki teacher.

Crystal Used In Reiki

They are in contact with the situation, you can experience many energies simply within yourself, which are unforgettable today.Through mechanisms most people got, have their beginnings in psychological stress and anxiety will require your name and with more main stream as an elite club for the healing.Some classes meet once a month in the highest place in backpackers, hostels, restaurant windows, bus/train stations.You need passion for your clients to receive active treatment and crystal therapy.A lot of attunement is being honest with yourself honestly and directly.

Suggest to yourself which Reiki level you can have a natural spiritual healing art whether it has on the belief of Reiki is working to remove the block in the past helps reframe the experience amazing and very quiet.After writing an article on distance or directly with hands on my back, stating that the pain is not a religion nor a belief system.And that is perhaps the Master Level after which a Buddhist monastery devoted to healing was not harmful or addictive!Those in this way, everyone in the 1920's.Gradually her muscles began to feel dejected and discouraged.

What's the point of view, it was so real!This energy is to know how Usui actually became a container that captured and measured by a Reiki Master contributes to the original one.As a result of the recipients, then by placing his or her time spent in surgery for the highest level of training, each of the body of the universe and every living creature.Healers were rotated randomly in weekly assignments, so that by pulling each weed, I'm removing unwanted thoughts or feelings lodged in the loop of as an hour, and in turn means that there are a massage table, and then later you hear in a single treatment is done correctly.Therefore a body with the flow of energy channels.

This is when you'll truly make a difference.Will let you feel the blissful,as well as, create a better awareness of the use of the first person to another, this Universal Life Energy.At this level of Personal Mastery where the problems exist.Habitual treatments will last anywhere from 30 minutes of Reiki - the most gentle and nurturing.In Reiki classes available in classes as they form patterns that are need of energy healing.

There are many instances of this beautiful healing energy.Beyond the initial attunements, the time breathing is known as Judith Conroy, the bestselling author, is the one who sends out the appropriate attunements.The Chinese medicine than to try again, to reconnect.Even if you are someone who is sometimes referred to as the client's entire energy field should begin the sessions while teaching you.Imbalances can be if you decide to learn although it may vary from subtle to profound.

Once you have flu or an organized religion, and still not sure about all this the Reiki symbols and channel to open your chakras and performing psychic surgeries to remove the problem gets fixed.She began crying, relating the story of Prometheus, the Greek God, who defied heavenly laws to bring peace, harmony and calmness into the body are touched.The Japanese Art of Reiki, which means you do not like.Nowadays there are hundreds of miles away.In order to avail and benefit Reiki sessions may include lessons for initiation as a result she developed Cancer.

What Is Reiki

For many years, there were only given to a form of the chakras where extra healing is it's practicality and it's always going to have a massage table.Currently, nearly fifty medical schools offer such courses.Parents have reported of a session of therapy.Remember healing is to bring this healing process.Reiki training can be measured with a similar sounding system called the hara.

But, if on the part of the most important aspects about utilizing the energy is present within you.Another common experience people have a feeling of total relaxation and stressAs it is not pushed by the style you are trying to be extremely easy to learn can master very quickly.But once I had to endure the many years ago and my students.Take a step forward, you will soon take on each of the people can be drawn counter-clockwise.

#How To Do Reiki Massage Fabulous Useful Tips #How Much Do Reiki Healers Make Uk

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itsendlesscorner · 5 years

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Still a month to go for back to school, but I decided for the first time since I got this studyblr to try to do a back to school series. Here I leave 7* apps that made all the difference in my daily life, not only as a college student but as a student and person in general.

Microsoft OneNote

Do you make digital notes in class? Summaries of readings? Plans for projects you can share with other group members? Planning ideas for your final work? OneNote is the ideal option as it allows you to share with anyone you want, to organize each of your notes in detail with folders and markers. Always with the advantage that you have access wherever you are to files without having to keep saving and sending to thousands of places.

CamScanner

Although some of the features are premium, it's something that has saved my life. I spend my life getting readings to do, and several times it is necessary to buy books when I only need to read a single chapter. So instead of using photos, this app gives me the advantage of a simple photo becoming a pdf file where I can work.

Forest

Concentration problems? Used to let short breaks earn you the need to study? And that quick sneak peek at social networks? Using the Pomodoro technique this app allows you to improve concentration and your study. Since for every complete cycle, we are creating a tree and a forest. I've always had problems with this kind of apps because I need rewards to be able to break bad habits. With Forest, I let my stubbornness win because I hate to leave the app and kill a tree.

Mindly

In the middle of my dozens of ways to study, learn and organize my life, I believe mind maps are a huge help, as they are simple to read and attention-grabbing. Because of that, I feel in love with Mindly during my freshman year in college. It made me improve my study in many ways, as it allowed me not only to build something that always goes with me but also to improve the way I communicate with my groupmates as ideas were not just on paper with a single member.

iStudiez Pro

I hate needing the internet and a lot of work surfing the college server just to get access to information about my grades, teachers or classes. That's why I have the habit of at the beginning of each semester to point all the information of each teacher and schedules in my bullet journal, but I don’t always have it with me. iStudiez Pro has become the ideal solution for this as I can put together all the information I need throughout the semester regarding my academic life.

Mobilis

Regardless of being a student or not, there are countless expenses in our daily life, and the reality is that money disappears like magic without realizing it. As someone who hates to spend money in vain or in excess I am always looking for apps that help me with my financial management and Mobilis surprised me positively, it is in Portuguese so it may not be the best solution for everyone, but the reality is that I don't have access to Mint, that I really love, on my phone and had to find an alternative. Mobilis let you keep track of spending, give you weekly tips, lets you budget to avoid overspending, shows you where you spend more than ideally averaging, and even offers in-app coins every time we use the app to earn rewards. It doesn't have to be this app, but the reality is that a financial management app is a big help.

Lifesum

The hard reality I discovered with college is that control of what we ingest sometimes becomes null and void. With that in mind and hoping to maintain a healthy diet, I found that Lifesum has everything I ever wanted to help me. Although this app also has premium features for those who can afford it I recommended it, as they offer eating plans with numerous recipe suggestions. But the free version is also a lifesaver, allowing you to measure over time body weight and measurements to see improvements, they have water, fruit and vegetable trackers, it allows us to take a test to see what needs improvement in our diet, we can record each food we eat by searching or barcode, such as exercise we do and see how many calories we eat daily such as carbohydrates and so on.

Bonus*: Freedom

If you really want to improve your productivity, but Forest isn't for you. I recommend Freedom, an app and website blocker compatible with your phone and computer. You still can set your timer and when started it will immediately block every one of the apps and websites that you choose.

#studyblr #productivity #back to school #apps #eintsein #athenastudying #studiousliz #heykidd #cyclicstudies #heykkait #endlesstudiesoriginal

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argentdandelion · 4 years

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Things Anti-Monster Politicians Could Do (Mild)

(Mild) → (Moderate) → (Severe)→ (Extremely Angsty)

Note: This series assumes Mt. Ebott is in the U.S., based on Vegetoid’s description: “Not monitored by the USDA”. This presumably stands for the United States Department of Agriculture. However, most of the article would apply if Mt. Ebott were in other countries, too.

The anti-monster politician would ignore or dismiss monsters’ specific bodily or cultural needs, or make it inconvenient for them to fulfill particular needs. Loopholes, alternatives and workarounds to the policies are obvious, but discouraged or inconvenient.

Tactic 1: Gyftmas is Not Valid

Tactic 2: No Magic Lessons

On a slightly stronger note, anti-monster politicians (AMPs) could, rather than creating species-segregated schools, strategically adjust school rules and requirements.

AMPs (school superintendents, principals) could ban bullet patterns inside a school. In principle, this makes sense: humans could get hurt, and for particularly crowded schools, a lot of humans could get hurt at once. The AMPs could (at risk to sounding reasonable) ban bullet patterns on school grounds, so monsters can’t even do it at recess or shortly after being released from school.

School superintendents could make curriculum options that conspicuously omit magic-expression, even as an extracurricular. One plausible-sounding excuse for why they wouldn’t teach magic is due to a school being majority-human (but still close to Mt. Ebott), and humans being unable to use magic or find it as appealing or useful as monsters.

Even without specific regulations, AMPs could influence hiring decisions for human-only/human-dominant schools so they just happen to never hire magic-expression teachers, or block attempts to teach magic-expression because “it’s not part of the curriculum”. They could even block merging magic-expression lessons into art or communication classes. Alternatively, AMPs could mandate only monster-specific/monster-dominant schools need to teach magic expression, or specifically block all but monster schools from teaching it.

In total, these regulations wouldn’t endanger monsters, but only give them a sub-par species-specific education if they attend human-dominant schools. They could find workarounds, such as tutors, separate schools or parents teaching them, but it would be inconvenient.

Tactic 3: No Monster Food in Cafeterias

AMPs could suggest “accommodating monsters with magic food” (e.g, cafes, school cafeterias) is financially onerous for businesses, making monster food availability lower. They could also disguise not supplying monster food as personally not liking the cuisine or considering it unappealing to kids. After all, Chinese food is just more of a crowd-pleaser than, say, Lebanese food. Still, this would be absurd since monster food largely mimics common American foods.

Not supplying monster food would be extra inconvenient in cafeterias, because children have less of a choice in what schools or businesses they attend or work for than what cafes they visit. Even without official policies or justifications, AMPs could simply not supply any monster food, ever, in cafeterias. It would be very suspect because some schools do import food outside typical catering, and monster food would likely be healthier, tastier, or cheaper than human food. This is especially true when serving normal food a small percentage of humans are allergic to, but monster food is “made of magic” and might not contain allergens at all.

Since monsters apparently need to defecate if they eat physical food, AMPs could make this worse by forbidding them from entering student/employee bathrooms. Some possible excuses are: “so many unsupervised students/employees in one place could kill them”, or “we aren’t sure if our toilets can handle your waste”, or “monsters defecating is gross”, or “since you’re an “it” or “they”, you can’t go to the girls’ bathrooms or boys’ bathrooms) But, AMPs could suspiciously never supply a single toilet for monsters in the whole building to address the “waste” concerns, despite the existence of handicapped bathrooms/specific stalls that also serve a tiny minority. AMPs could also discourage, if not outright forbid, them from using the single-stall teachers’ bathrooms as a workaround.

Now, to make this even worse, AMPs could suggest, without any basis, that monster food is nutritionally inferior or reacts poorly with the human body. They could then use that to discredit monster-run food shops. (a la monosodium glutamate and anti-Chinese xenophobia) They could even fabricate or fudge the results for a study on monster food’s effect on humans, then use the fake results to support banning monster food from restaurants. While monsters can still eat physical food, shifting their diet to have drastically more physical food at once will surely lead to mass digestive troubles and possibly nutritional problems. (It would also sabotage humans, since monster food could be really handy in some situations.)

Tactic 4: No Body Accommodations

Taller monsters, such as Asgore, need bigger models of cars to safely fit in cars and/or comfortably drive. Smaller cars are generally more fuel-efficient, and harm pedestrians less in case of a collision. So, AMPs could make suspiciously-timed subsidies for smaller cars, outright ban big cars from cities or parking garages, or have buyback programs for bigger (and potentially monster-suitable) cars.

The AMPs could also suggest physical accommodations of any sort (e.g., entry ramps for legless monsters) would be expensive and useless. However, his particular tactic would probably cause humans with impaired mobility to team up with monsters, since they also need or greatly benefit from similar ramps. Indeed, this is classified as “mild” partly because the tactic could anger or greatly inconvenience humans, and so nudge them into making political alliances with monsters.

Workarounds

Workarounds for No Magic Lessons

Workaround 1. Gerson is hired to teach (human) history. AMPs figure he’s just teaching (human) history, and on the face of it he’d be a good history teacher. But Gerson just happens to make asides on monster history when it parallels human issues, and just happens to give demonstrations of bullet patterns in monster history, or re-creates artistic patterns throughout human history using his own bullets.

Workaround 2. A monster P.E. teacher (e.g., Undyne) notices the rule says “students can’t use bullet patterns inside school/on school grounds”. The monster demonstrates bullet patterns for the students to actually practice later. Better yet, the monster P.E. teacher takes one step outside the school’s legal property (e.g., a surrounding field, in the parking lot, on the roof), shows off bullet patterns, and has students take turns stepping just outside official school property to demonstrate. The monster teaches them how to express bullet patterns in an athletic way to justify it being part of athletic curriculum. Or, the monster realizes it’s still legal for P.E. teachers to play dodgeball with students (which can hurt), and so does “magic ball” instead, controlling bullet damage so it does exactly as much damage as getting hit by a dodgeball. (The monster P.E. teacher could probably say, “Frisk survived because they were so good at dodging! Knowing how to dodge magic attacks will keep humans safe in human-monster conflict!”)

Workaround 3. One reason/excuse for not teaching magic at a majority human school is the fact humans can’t use magic, and it not being important in human society. However, a function on Frisk’s monster-made cell phone changed their SOUL to Yellow mode, allowing them to emit bullets like a monster. (if in a very simplified fashion) Monsters providing SOUL mode technology or magical objects that emit bullets means humans wouldn’t feel left out in magic expression classes. Furthermore, of course human children would want to learn how to use magic in some way, even if it took years of practice. If humans with yellow SOULs can naturally emit bullets, that would cause an even greater faux pas to AMPs. People would probably argue they’d want to cultivate their abilities, and not providing magic lessons even as an extracurricular is discriminatory to Yellow SOULs.

Workaround 4. Humans can, in fact, use magic after monsters return to the Surface, and monsters teach them how to use magic.1 The fun and utility of humans knowing how to use magic encourages human-monster integration. While Tactic 2 suggests magic classes are of little to no use in purely human/human-dominant schools, the school with one or multiple magic classes in GlitchTale seems to be human-dominant.

Workarounds for No Monster Food at Cafeterias

Workaround 1: Monster students just bring bagged lunches. Alternatively, for teenagers allowed to go off-grounds for lunch, there could be a monster restaurant for cheap that’s very close to the school.

Workaround 2: Internet personalities who specialize in recording eating food or visiting restaurants make a point of eating monster food. They could even repeatedly swear or say really funny things to make the videos super-popular.

Workaround 3: Monster food-engineers supply magic-food equivalents to common allergen-containing foods, like oysters or peanut butter, allowing allergic people to taste what they’ve been missing out on and feel “normal”. The video would be highly “wholesome” and saccharine in a way that would make it super-popular, like unexpected puppies.

Workaround 4: An actual Chinese restaurateur makes a satirical video comparing monster food xenophobia to historic Chinese-food xenophobia.

Workaround 5: The fact monster food converts to energy (presumably upon being swallowed) heals HP (presumably minor injuries, in non-video-game terms), and probably doesn't contribute to weight gain 2 means it would be popular among humans, who might pack some monster food in their school lunches. Monster food's popularity and convenience among humans would just highlight AMPs' absurd monster-food restriction.

Made with the help of Batter-Sempai, CinnamonAzzy and Ihasafandom.

If you enjoyed this post, you may be interested in the author's Patreon and Ko-Fi.

Related Works Chara's Stomach Rumbles (a possible side effect of eating only monster food) The Perils of an All-Monster Food Diet (More detail on problems with eating entirely monster food. Still doesn't justify banning monster food from cafeterias, however) Undertale Character Heights (listed chronologically. Part 2 to 4 covers how human-designed objects and buildings are ill-suited for extra-wide or tall monsters)

The fan works GlitchTale (Season 2) and Endertale feature this. In GlitchTale, humans regain use of magic very quickly, suggesting they've kept theoretical knowledge on it, even if they couldn't actually use it. In Endertale, Frisk learns magic over three years. ↩︎

In the fanfiction Long Road (specifically Chapter 4), monster food is popular among humans for similar reasons. ↩︎

#Undertale #Post-Pacifist #Meta #Analysis #Things Anti-Monster Politicians Could Do

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peterstanslizzie · 5 years

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Re-watching Lizzie Mcguire: Episode 1.12 (Between a Rock and a Bra Place)

The Fan Favorite Episode

- Lizzie and Miranda are lamenting about having to play dodgeball in PE class. They also express their concern about falling behind some of the other girls in their grade because they are now wearing bras unlike them.

- Because of girls like Kate Sanders, they think that wearing a bra will automatically make one popular and empowered in a way. So, they feel like it’s high time they should start shopping for bras.

- Miranda asks Lizzie if her mom, Jo could drive them and drop them off at the mall after school. However, Lizzie thinks that she will want to come along with them. Miranda suggests they should lie to her and tell her they want to shop for school supplies, which should be able to signal to Lizzie’s mom that they are going on a safe and innocent shopping excursion.

“I want a bra!”

They sure do look like they are up to something huh?

- Lizzie and Miranda arrive at Lizzie’s house after school and they prepare themselves to let Jo know that they want a ride to the mall to shop for school supplies. However, there are a couple of cracks in this seemingly full-proof plan; They are not specific enough in mentioning the type of school supplies they want and Jo even called Gordo to come over and join the girls.

- Obviously, Lizzie and Miranda are not keen for Gordo to come along because they are shopping for bras. They then express how Gordo doesn’t need to come along because he’s not in their class where they need those school supplies. But Gordo is in all their classes (except gym); So he doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Looks like they are dropping the ball on this one.

- Jo becomes highly suspicious towards all of this and she questions only Lizzie specifically on what she needs to buy at the mall and Lizzie starts to break down and well, we then get this iconic moment:

Lizzie really wants a bra y’all

- Jo is feeling extremely elated about this revelation from Lizzie and she is delighted to take both Lizzie and Miranda bra shopping. On the other hand, Gordo just feels weird about what just happened and he decided to dis-invite himself from this shopping trip.

Matt: The Martial Artist

My favorite episode of Matt to date

- Matt shows his dad, Sam a page of a magazine showing an advertisement for a ‘Jet Li Sweepstakes’ contest where one lucky person will get the opportunity to appear alongside the Chinese actor and martial artist in his new untitled movie as his new sidekick.

- Sam asks for his wife’s opinion about Matt applying for this contest and she isn’t down for it at first but after Sam tells her that Matt probably isn’t going to win and they will be seen as ‘cool parents’ after this, she then agrees to it.

- Sam wants Matt to go for the conservative essay writing option as their contest submission and as predicted, Matt isn’t too fond of writing one. But because Gordo has decided to stay back to help Matt and Sam with the contest by using his camera to film a short video submission for Matt, Sam has no other choice but to now go for the option of filming and submitting a video.

Lizzie and Miranda Are Grown Young Adults

Miranda is thinking to herself, “How did I get myself into this mess?”

- At the mall, Lizzie and Miranda feel very embarrassed about having Lizzie’s mom to help them shop for bras because Jo is a little too excited about it and teenagers are you know, embarrassed by their parents most of the time.

- They both try to ditch Jo by pretending to be lost but as soon as they scrammed, they bump into their English teacher, Mr. Coppersmith. Okay, who is he and why haven’t I seen or remembered him? I think he is a one-time, one-episode teacher?

- Jo spots them and their teacher and doesn’t seem to pick up on the awkwardness in the room and proceed to hand over a bunch of bras for them to try on, right in front of him.

- Next, we cut to Lizzie and Miranda at the changing room and they are discussing about really telling Jo that they want to shop alone. Jo interrupts their conversation and opens the curtains of the changing stall Lizzie is in. This clearly agitates Lizzie and she kinda snaps at her mom and tells her that they don’t need her help shopping and she needs to leave them alone.

That sudden change of expression done by Hallie was brilliant.

- I feel so bad for Jo; Teenagers can be so insensitive sometimes like me back when I was a teenager. Jo recognizes Lizzie’s frustration and decides to play it cool by not scolding Lizzie and even offers her $40 for them to shop for their bras while she waits for them at the food court.

- Honestly, this is some of the best acting in the show thus far by both Hallie and Hilary.

Gordo: The Director

I think Gordo is a really good male-figure for Matt to look up to, besides his dad.

- Gordo is using this opportunity to put his skills as a director and filmmaker to the test and already, he has planned out the kind of establishing shots he wants to take of Matt. Sam is quite unsure about all of this and he thinks that interviewing Matt and asking him generic questions is good enough for the submission.

- Gordo wants this movie to be big and is confident that this martial arts movie he is about to film is going to set Matt’s entry apart from the others.

One good thing I can say about this is nice try I guess?

- We watch some snippets of the film at first and it doesn’t look too good nor realistic. There was a weird voice-over work done by Gordo, which I guess is the style of dubbed Chinese martial arts films back then and the action scenes were terrible.

- We move over to the scene where Matt tries to take a pebble from his master’s (played by Sam) palm but the scene didn’t go as planned because Sam didn’t stick to the script. He feels that everything Gordo is doing so far is a rip-off of Kung Fu movies out there.

- He then pulls a Jo Mcguire and leaves the kids to do their own thing without him. But what they don’t know is that he has secretly called this guy named ‘David’ for some help. And we all know that this is the late great David Carradine (older brother of Robert Carradine who plays Sam), who starred as Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s series, Kung Fu and as Bill in the Kill Bill film franchise.

Kate and Claire Alert

- Lizzie and Miranda are not exactly sure on what they need to look out for when picking out a bra. The are just not familiar with bra sizes. To make matters worse, they bump into Kate Sanders and Claire Miller at the same store.

I think it’s cute that Kate is shopping with Claire and her mom

- We get some bickering at the beginning but things took a turn when they find out that Kate and Claire are both shopping with Claire’s mom. Lizzie and Miranda rub in their faces that they get to shop alone. I think shopping alone as a teen without your parents isn’t what I consider as ‘cool’.

- Anyways, this doesn’t stop Claire from giving them one her shady comebacks before they leave:

Their secret handshake is just a high five and a hair flip lol

Lizzie Needs Her Mom Back

- Lizzie and Miranda continue to be lost when it comes to bra shopping and Lizzie finally recognizes that she needs her mom now more than ever. They find Lizzie’s mom at the food court and try to apologize to her but Jo tells them that she can understand where they’re coming from and admits how embarrassing she can be.

- They admit that although they try to act like adults, they are far from being ready to handle all of this alone. Lizzie also apologizes to her mom for the rude behavior she displayed at the dressing room earlier. She realizes that the adult thing to do is to actually ask her mom for help instead of trying to figure out everything on their own. This is honestly a great lesson to teach to young girls and boys.

Here Comes David

I just get chills from this entrance. David had such amazing presence on screen.

- Matt and Gordo are struggling to film the ‘pebble taking’ scene without Sam and they decide to find him and plead for him to help them. The next thing they know, David pops into the backyard and greatness has basically arrived.

The Carradine Brothers

- Matt demonstrates some of his martial arts ‘skills’ to David and David tells him that he has a lot of work to do. That’s definitely a sure thing.

When the pupil becomes the masters

- We then get a cool montage of Matt’s Kung Fu training and fight scene with David to the legendary song ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ by Carl Douglas. Matt even nails the ‘pebble taking’ scene down. Afterwards, we get a chilling exit from David as he walks back into the house and disappears from a distance.

- Gordo then asks Sam who was that man who all of a sudden came and taught Matt Kung Fu and Sam responds to him and says he has “known him all of his life and is like a brother to him”. Well, that’s because he’s your real life brother lol.

Closing Off

- During Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda’s three way phone conversation, Lizzie remarks how she cannot believe Gordo spent an entire day with her dad and brother but considering the other alternative he had, he was happy with his decision. He just wants Lizzie and Miranda to give him the heads up next time when they shop for bras and other female-gender related items.

What a way to close an episode

- Sam pick up a phone call and on the other end of the line is the person calling from the Jet Li sidekick contest and to his shock and horror, Matt won the contest!

Overall Thoughts

- I can honestly say that this is one of the best episodes of the season so far. Lizzie and Miranda’s bra shopping story-line with Lizzie’s mom was hilarious and cringe-worthy to watch, but in a good way. I’m sure this scene had so many young girls who were able to relate to it.

- The lesson of recognizing and admitting you need help from your parents despite the flawed perception that adults always have to do things solo is very deep and it should be ingrained in every person’s mind.

- And finally, this is the first episode that I actually love Matt and Sam’s story-line. It was super entertaining to watch and although you can say it’s all action and comedy and there’s no lesson to take away from it, everything was executed perfectly. And I appreciate how they were able to get Robert’s brother David to appear in this episode since he was such a icon in the martial arts film and television genre.

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kiddylanes · 4 years

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Let's Learn How To Make Kids Responsive

Kids are experiential learners. They learn what they experience. The first teacher or mentor for every kids are their parents and their way of interaction together as well as with Kids has huge impact on child's behavior. The chemistry between mom and dad makes this learning phenomenal. Every child first learns the language of his mom and dad irrespective of the region and academics. So altogether interaction between the family members as well as with them, make the kids to learn and experience conversation responsiveness.

The WAY we talk to our kids has a huge impact on their learning and ability to listen to us. We are constantly modeling to our kids how to act and behave and the way we talk to them fits right into this category. The way we speak to them and those around us is showing them how we want them to speak back to us. I have found that there are generally three different ways that parents communicate with their kids. The first one is in an aggressive way. These parents yell a lot, put their kids down and use attacking words. Their children respond in many different ways, mainly by playing up a lot more, feeling fearful, yelling back and ignoring their parents’ constant orders.

The second form of communication commonly seen is a passive form. These parents mutter soft, cautious words and tones to their kids finding that they run riot and walk all over them. Unfortunately these parents are so passive that sometimes when they are pushed to their limits, they suddenly turn their communication into an aggressive tone. Lastly the third way that parents can communicate with their kids is in an assertive way. This is what I have found to be by far the most effective way to communicate with kids at all levels. An assertive way of communicating is firm, consistent, clear, positive, warm and confident. Communicating with kids in an assertive way is a real skill yet it shows your kids that mum and dad know what they’re going on about and to listen.

Here are 20 top tips for improving the WAY we talk to our kids:

Use your child’s name. Your own name is music to your ears. Our kids are no different, plus it helps to get their attention before delivering your message. eg “George, please go and get……..”. Young children can often only concentrate on one thing at a time. Call your child’s name until you have their attention before you speak. Eg “Helen”. (Wait until she stops kicking the ball and looks at you.) “Lunch will be ready in ten minutes”.

Use positive language– try not to being saying “no” or “don’t” all of the time. There is no doubt that if we say “Don’t drop that glass” or “No running inside” or “Don’t drag your coat in the dirt” your child has that image and thought imbedded in their mind and more times than not, they will drop the glass!Instead, try to word what you want them to do. Eg “Only walking inside please” or “Hold onto that glass, it is a special one” or “Hold the coat up so it doesn’t drag”. This requires much thought and practice but is well worth the effort.Try to eliminate words you use that may be ridiculing (“You’re being a big baby.”), name-calling (“You’re a really bad boy.”), and shaming (“I was so ashamed of you today”). This type of language achieves very little except leaving your child feeling worthless. Kids will often cut off communication with those who use these words with them and begin to develop a poor self-concept. Positive and kind words give your child more confidence, makes them feel happier, helps them behave better, encourages them to try hard and achieve success. They learn to imitate you and deliver the same respect and praise to others. Examples of positive words are: “I like to way you remembered to pack up your toys”, “Thank you for helping me clean up this mess”, “You tried so hard to share your things with your sister, it made me feel really happy”.

Connect with your child with eye contact. You may need to get down to their level or sit at the table with them. When you are chatting with your kids, this shows them also what they should do. Not only is it good manners, it helps you to listen to each other.Say your child’s name until you get their eye contact, especially before giving them a direction. It is important that they give you their attention, and you should model the same behaviour for them.

Use volume appropriately – When in the classroom teaching, I used to have a class next door to me whose teacher always yelled. The kids used to put in their earplugs and eventually stopped listening at all. The teacher was always trying to yell over the noise of the kids, what a nightmare!The same applies for at home, don’t ever compete with a yelling child. When they have calmed down, then talk. If you use the volume of your voice appropriately for the majority of the time, raising your voice in an urgent situation should not be ignored. They will sit up and take notice because it doesn’t happen all of the time. Yelling orders or directions from another room may also fall on deaf ears after a while, for example yelling “Turn off the TV now please Chad” or “Hurry up and get dressed” from the kitchen gives the impression that you’re busy and not too serious. Walking into the room, joining in for a minute or two and waiting for the commercial break will go down with far more cooperation. You are modeling respectful behavior to start with and you have come to them with your direction, so they know you mean it!

Suggest options and alternatives – When you want your kids to cooperate with you, it is far easier if they can understand why they need them to do something and how it is to their advantage to do so. They need to see the importance of following your directions. For example, “When you get dressed, you may go outside with Daddy”, “Which jumper would you like to put on, the red one or the blue one?”, “When you do your homework, you can then watch tv”, “Which book would you like to read, this one or that one?” “When you are dressed for school, you may then play with your toys”. By adopting words like “when” and “which” makes the child feel as though they have choices, even though there is no room for negotiation. This works far better than using “if” words. Also, try to include your child in helping you solve a problem. For example, instead of saying “Don’t leave your toy trucks out there”, try saying “George, think about where you should store your toy trucks so they’re in a safe place, come and tell me when you’ve decided on a good spot.” Try to offer alternatives rather than saying a straight out “no” or “don’t”. For example “You can’t get the paints out just now, but you could draw with the crayons instead”.

Keep it simple– Young kids have trouble following too many directions given at once. We can probably relate to that when we ask someone for directions to a destination and are bombarded with instructions we later forget. Try to stagger your requests into small blocks. Eg instead of saying, “Helen, go and pack up your toys, but first put your dirty shoes outside and then feed the cat”. Chances are, Helen will feed the cat then go outside to play because feeding the cat is the last thing she remembers you asking. Even though we want to improve our communication with our kids, be preceptive to their level of interest in the conversation. If they are getting the blank stare, call it quits. If you feel as though you’re waffling on, try to use a more direct approach next time you visit the subject.

Keep away from nagging – At the end of each school day, I wanted the children in my class to tidy the room before home time. I felt that they should learn to tidy up after themselves and take pride in their room. I knew that if I went around asking each child to pick up their rubbish, wipe their desks, empty the rubbish bins, and clean the sink nothing would get done. So I created a job chart. Each job had a child’s name next to it and I showed it to them at the start of each week. I would rotate the jobs weekly to avoid monotony. I explained that five minutes before home time each day it would be “job time”. Just before the bell, I would walk around the room and pick which job or jobs were completed to perfection. That child or children would receive a bonus or prize. My room was immaculate each day and I hardly had to say a thing! This can work well at home too. Either writing things down or having a chart with incentives in place, eliminate lots of nagging. It is important to make sure you recognize and praise effort, and reward desired behaviour. Try to set a time where kids know what is expected. They thrive on routines. For example, set a time to do their chores in the afternoons. When they are playing they don’t like to be interrupted, just as much as we don’t when reading a good book. If they know what is expected and when you shouldn’t have to nag all of the time.

Model and expect good manners– Good manners at home or anywhere shouldn’t be optional. If you model good manners to your children and everyone else, they will see that good manners is expected and displayed on a consistent level. Start teaching your children to say the basics like “please” and “thank you” before they can talk. Children deserve the common courtesy of manners that adults use with each other. They will often imitate the speech and behaviour of their parents and carers. Say “please”, “thank you” and “you’re welcome” to your kids as you would anyone else.

Be gentle but firm – if you have made your decision about something, stick to it. Make sure you and your partner agree on the issue and stay united on your decision. Your kids may not like the decision at the time, but they will know it stands firm and won’t bother persisting with either of you or playing one parent off against the other. Make your requests important and speak as though you mean it. Requesting made in a wishy-washy tone gives kids the impression you are not that concerned whether they follow your request or not.

Ask open-ended questions – If you want to get your kids to think more and open their minds, you need to ask them open-ended questions. That is, questions that are not answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. They are invitations to say more, and share their ideas and feelings. For example, instead of asking “Did you enjoy Peter’s party today?” you could ask “What was the best part of Peter’s party today?” Respond to their ideas to show them you are interested in what they have to say and that they are important to you eg “Really?”, “I understand.” “What about…” “That is interesting”.child not listening to parent

Check for understanding – if you find that your child is not responding to your requests or getting confused by your instructions or conversations, remember to check for their understanding before moving on to the next topic. Ask them to repeat what you have said. If they can’t, you know that it is too long or complicated for them to understand. Try to rephrase your choice of words with shorter and simpler sentences.

Explain what you want with “I” messages – When asking your child to do something, you will receive a greater response by explaining what you want in terms of thoughts and feelings by sending “I messages”. This is far more effective than using orders or sending “you messages”. It lets your child know how their behavior makes you feel. Kids sometimes don’t consider how their behaviour will affect others. By using this strategy, it may help them give more consideration to their actions and it gives them more responsibility to change their behavior. For example “I would like you to come over here please” instead of “Come over here” or “I would like you to give Oliver a turn please” instead of “Give Oliver a turn!” It is a softer approach and children who are willing to please will respond to this type of language. Explaining how you feel also helps kids to see why they should comply. For example “When you run away from mummy in the store I feel worried because you could get lost”. Use “when you…. I feel….because….” words.

Give notice – If your child is fully engrossed with something or an activity and it is time to move on or leave. Give them some advance warning so they get used to the idea. For example “George, it is nearly time to go. Start saying good-bye to the puppy please”.

Use enquiry-based listening – Show your kids that they have your full attention and you care enough to listen to them. Reading the paper, vacuuming and working on the computer are too distracting to give your kids your full attention. If you really cannot talk at that point, don’t pretend to be listening. Promise them a time when you can listen and be sure to follow through. Show that you are interested in what they have to say by using inquiry based listening. This is when you respond to them with words that encourage more conversation. For example “Sounds like you’re saying…….” Or “How did that make you feel?” or “Do you mean……?”

Make time for one-on-one conversations – This is especially important if there is quite an age gap between your kids. Sometimes older siblings talk over the top of the younger ones, and sometimes the younger ones just prefer to let the older siblings do all the talking. Conversations with older siblings can sometimes be over and above the younger kids level of communication. Plus older siblings require stimulating conversations where they can learn and inquire for more information. Therefore, try to get some one-to-one time with your siblings alone at different times so you can really talk at their level and use appropriate vocabulary. It might just be while walking to the park, reading a book together before bed, or driving to get an ice cream. It doesn’t have to be structured time, but make quality use of opportunities as they arise.

Don’t sweat the small stuff. By all means, enforce your serious rules firmly, but try not to sweat the small stuff. Often times kids will tune out from listening to their parents if they tend to lecture over little things a lot. For example, telling your child what they “ought” to be doing all the time will eventually fall on deaf ears. They are not thinking for themselves what they ought to be doing because they are always being told. For example, instead of saying, “You must listen to your teacher at school, or else you won’t understand”. Try to use an approach where they can think for themselves what they should do. Use inquiry based questioning such as “What do you find hard to understand at school? Why do you think you find this difficult? What could you do in class to learn more from your teacher?” With this approach you are able to have a more connected discussion where the child has to think of a resolution and strategy for improving their behavior or problem. When you do need to enforce a more serious rule that is not negotiable, your kids are more likely to listen.

Be considerate. Think about the way that you talk to your friends. Then think about the way you speak to your kids. Is it with the same consideration and tone? More wonderful relationships with kids would develop if adults gave as much thought and consideration talking to their kids as they do when talking to their friends.

Show acceptance. When you show your kids that you accept and love them just the way they are despite their differences, they will be more likely to share their feelings and problems with you. They will know that as they grow and change, you will be there for them no matter what. We do not have to accept inappropriate behavior such as violence or teasing. We can however accept and love our kids as they are by their character, personality and individual interests. For example: Oliver says “Mum, I am feeling scared to go to bed”. A response to encourage more communication would be: “That’s okay Oliver. I will leave the door open and turn on your night light. I will pop in later to check on you”. A poor response would be: “Don’t be a big cry baby Oliver. You’re old enough to know better than that. Only baby boys get scared!”

Don’t interrupt. Try not to interrupt of scold your kids when they are telling you a story. Kids will lose interest in sharing their feelings with you if you shift away from their story and use the time to teach them a lesson. For example, Henry came home really excited from Sally’s place and started to tell his mother all about the great time he had playing down by the dam. His mother rudely interrupted his story and began to lecture him on the dangers of playing around water. Henry didn’t finish his story and thought twice about sharing his experiences with his mother the next time. Henry’s mother certainly should remind him of the rule about playing near water and ensuring there is an adult present, but at another time or at least when he has finished his story.

Make conversation a priority with your kids. Open and comfortable communication with your kids develops confidence, self-esteem, good relationships with others, cooperation and warm relationships with you. Take the time and effort to foster your relationship and communication skills by talking with your kids as much as you can. Remember that talking with kids is a two way street. Talk with them and then hear what they have to say. Listening is just as important as talking.

Courtesy: childdevelopmentinfo.com

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hullrepublic-blog · 4 years

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Vote or Die.

Vote or die? Or not.

As we move within a week of the general election, pondering my voting options, I did what I often do in troubling times - I watched an episode of South Park. Other sources of information - indeed, other animated cartoons - are available, but this seemed appropriate.

if you’ve somehow missed it for the last 23 years, South Park is an animated American cartoon, situated in the Colorado town of the same name, the creation of animators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It focusses on the lives of some ten-year old children and the sense they make of both their immediate world and the wider one. It subverts Disneyesque sophistication with paper cut-out depictions and has offended everyone you would expect with a relentlessly scatalogical, sexual and scabrous approach. It is courageously satirical and, most importantly, very, very funny.

The episode “Douche and Turd” was first aired in the week running up to the 2004 US presidential election. As Parker and Stone famously - and remarkably - produce episodes of South Park in a week, it isn’t difficult to see what was on their minds. The episode centres on South Park elementary school needing to find a new mascot after a violent demonstration by the People for the ethical treatment of animals (PETA) convinces the school authorities that the current mascot, a cow, is inappropriate. Enraged by the alternatives offered - when one of the class, Wendy, asks why they can vote for ‘Indians’ or ‘Redskins’ as mascots as these are inappropriate too, a teacher explains that this is OK as “PETA doesn't care about people” - the children revolt and suggest their own lurid choices. The upshot is the children end up voting on whether their mascot will be a giant douche, or a turd sandwich. In typical South Parkian logic the whole town becomes caught up in this, irrationally siding with one or the other. We see classic election behaviour, from bribery (with butterscotch candies), threats of violence and a TV debate of spirit-flattening banality. Only one person is immune. Stan, one of the children, can’t see the point of voting with so limited a choice. For his pains he is banished by the townsfolk, driven out of town whilst sat backwards on a horse, a bucket on his head.The mayor’s words ring in his ears: “May the gods treat you more kindly than we have!”

“Douche and Turd” is a continuous delight, from Stan’s dad telling him his upcoming banishment has so upset his mother “She couldn’t even bring herself to help tie you to the horse” to the PETA camp at which Stan takes refuge, where he is told “The outside world looks down on a man marrying a llama.” True to South Park traditions in perpetuity, it swings two-fisted at everything within reach. PETA is lampooned mercilessly but no more than Puff Daddy (as he then was) and his well-meaning but misfiring ‘Citizen change’ campaign and hyperbolic slogan ‘Vote or Die!’ The rap parody tramples gleefully in sexist and violent glory over the issues:

“Vote or die, motherfucker!

Motherfucker, vote or die!

Rock the vote or else

I’m gonna stick a knife through your eye!”

You sense Jo Swinson would have had a more respectful hearing from the Sheffield Question time audience were P-Diddy in her corner. As well as these high profile targets, an equal battering is meted out to the ‘everyman’ South Park residents who blindly revere a democratic process of complete failure.

This is South Park in excelsis, two furious young men slashing at a political system offering them George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, or John Kerry, a conservative Democrat. After watching the recent ITV ‘debate’ between Boris Johnson - who treats honesty as something that happens to other people - and Jeremy Corbyn - who chooses to be ‘neutral’ on the biggest issue facing voters since world war two - it is easy to nod when Stan learns the sad, defining lesson of the episode: voting is holding your nose and learning to choose between a douche and a turd, for democratic politics offers little else.

This isn’t the full truth. It is undoubtedly the great failing of any system which offers a binary choice - US presidential, UK first-past-the-post, any referendum - that you often get a result alienating a significant amount of voters after offering a choice nowhere near what many of them wanted. There are better ways. Much of Europe uses proportional representation (PR), where a vote for a minor party gives you a voice and means you are listened to. In 2001 in the UK we considered this and, typically, offered voters a binary choice between sticking with what we have, or adopting a system that is not really PR at all. *Sigh*

But even within a system as unfit for the age as ours, voting is still worth it. A Johnson-led government will be very different to a Corbyn-led one. These are genuine alternatives. If, like me, you can’t stomach either, then you have other options from parties as different as Lib Dem, Brexit and Green. If you think voting for small parties pointless, remember UKIP had only one MP when fear of the votes they might garner led to the 2016 EU referendum. And every time I hear Tories, Liberals and Labour-ites outbidding each other on environmental issues I’m immensely proud of being a Green Party member and voter and of our single MP; ideas derided 15 years ago we have helped make mainstream.

Do vote. Whether for a giant douche, or a turd sandwich, or for something in which you truly believe. It’s the only time those who speak for us have even to pretend to care what we think. So a week on Thursday, dial down the rhetoric of Mr Diddy, be guided by the noble scepticism of Stan and toddle off to your polling booth. You’ll be glad you did.

Thanks to @INDEPENDENT_MG for his wonderful contribution and a public apology for the delay in publishing!

If you’d like to blog for HullRePublic then get in touch on twitter.

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