#i can do it.... i will carry on with reduced activities and not doing physical therapy but moving a bit will be good for me.....

[universalitgirlsblog2]

💗🍥GOOD POSTURE💗🍥

💗As I mentioned in my last post , a good posture will make you look more confident , graceful and elegant.

🍥If your posture is poor, your muscles need to work harder to keep your upright. Some muscles will become tight and inflexible. Others will become inhibited. Poor posture can make your lungs less efficient, cause back pain and tension headaches. It can also influence your emotional state.

💗If you are sitting , your neck should be vertical , and shoulders should be relaxed. Your knees should be relaxed. However If your posture isn't great , REDESIGN your environment.

🍥If you have a good posture , you will feel and appear confident , be more energetic , boost your productivity, improved blood circulation and digestion and reduce back pain.

💗Dear peachie made a video on good posture, she said that you are not ugly , you just have a bad posture. I will summarize that video in this post .

🍥Good posture is not only beneficial for physical health but for your appearance and self - confidence too. It shows the world how you feel about yourself. It can enhance attractiveness and the aura we exude. Aura is the quality which makes you stand out in the crowd.

💗TYPES OF POOR POSTURE

(A) Foward head Posture

The head appeared to be positioned in front of the body. Working for a long time infront of the computer , having a bad posture while sitting or standing or reading a book with your head down for a long period of time. All of these can form forward head posture. This can easily cause your trapezium muscles to become larger , thickening your upper back and cause a hump on back of your neck . It can cause neck and shoulder pain too .

To know if you have forward head posture , take help from family and friends or take a picture of yourself when you are doing your usual activities. Observe the position of your ears , shoulders and waist. If these three points are not positioned in the straight line , chances are high that you are leaning forward.

(B ) Hunchback

It is caused by weak muscles in back which occur due to slouching , hunching while sitting infront of TV or carrying a heavy backpack. To know If you have a hunchback:

Stand against the wall

Look at the distance between the most concave space behind the neck and the wall

Less than 3- 5 cm is relatively mild.

If you can do this effortlessly , it means that hunchback issue is just a matter of poor habit.

Tilt your head up in order to keep it against the wall.

Spine alignment issue.

Seek professional medical advice.

( C) Rounded shoulders

Resting shoulder position that has moved forward from the body's ideal alignment . Any activity which causes to look down can cause slumped shoulders. To know you have rounded shoulders

Stand in a regular posture and let your arms hang by your side.

Thumbs are pointed in toward your body and your palms are facing backwards .

The correct position is that the thumb should be pointed forward with the palms facing to the sides of the body.

(D) PELVIC TILT

Direction that the pelvis is tilted towards in relation to the body. The common pelvic tilt is faced by the majority is anterior or posterior pelvic tilted.

To know that you have anterior pelvic tilt.

Pelvic is titled forward

Frequently seen in people who sit for prolonged periods of time or are inactive.

To know that you have posterior pelvic tilt .

Pelvic is tilted backward.

Caused by poor hip and back strength.

🍥CORRECT YOUR POSTURE

(A) Shoulder and neck area

You need to be extra mindful to correct your posture and slowly replace the poor postures with the good ones!

Keep your shoulders open. Anterior region of our elbow should position to point forward.

Elbow joint is rested at side of your waist

Anterior region of your elbow is positioned to face forward.

Forearm swings slightly while you walk.

To sit with correct posture

Fold your body forward and place your bottom to the far back of the chair.

Scoot yourself a little to the back to ensure that your bottom is touching the back of the chair .

Sit up with your back straight and your shoulders back.

Your back will be fully supported by the chair . You will be able to sit in this posture comfortably for longer hours.

( B ) Back

Keep your back straight to avoid slouching.

Head, torso and both legs lie on the same axis when viewed from the front.

Head , shoulders, pelvis and ankles should be aligned to one another.

Shoulder blades are lowered towards the center of the back , keeping your back tucked together.

Keep your chest open and contract your glutes slightly while keeping your back straight.

Keep your knees side by side .

Point your toes in the 12 o clock or 1 or 11 o clock direction.

💗BE MORE ELEGANT

Seol Hyun is known for her perfect posture. She exudes charm and confidence.

To walk elegantly:

Raise one of your feet to take first step.

Your legs form one triangle shape.

Imagine yourself walking on a straight line , you walk with keeping your knees close to each other.

Kick the other leg out forward , keep yourself walking on a straight line .

Make sure the gap between your knees is close to each other.

Put your foot infront of other and place your foot to the ground .

Ensure both legs are straightened.

The front leg is extended, while the hind leg is pinned firmly to the ground.

Raise your leg and repeat the same steps again.

To walk stairs elegantly

Keep your upper body upright .

Step on the next staircase by focusing the weight on your toes.

After the front foot is stepped on the staircase and completely straighten out , take the next step.

To walk down stairs elegantly

Don't lower your head , instead lower your eyes to check on the placement of eyes.

Make sure you keep your back straight and extend your leg that will land on the next stairwell.

Dear peachie good posture video link- click me

🍥TIPS BY SONG JIA TO GET GOOD POSTURE

💗EXERCISES TO GET A GOOD POSTURE

You can do these exercises by Emi Wong to get a good posture.

I hope this post helped you !

#self concept #affirmations #it girl #glow up #dear peachie #song jia #good posture #beauty tips #girlblogging #girlblog #girlboss #this is a girlblog

[over-particular]

a very personal evening checklist

ʀᴇᴍɪɴᴅᴇʀ → It takes an average of 66 days to create or change a habit. Don’t give up now!

☐ Take off your shoes when you get home. According to several studies, the sole of a shoe can carry hundreds of thousands of bacteria. In a biblical passage, God is said to have spoken to Moses in these words: “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Isn't that what the safety and comfort of a home means to us? A sanctuary for the soul? Taking off one's shoes is just the smallest sign of reverence. For this very reason, I try to keep my environment as clean as possible.

☐ Fulfill your commitments. Study, finish your work or respond to the last emails of the day. I don't get changed until I'm done. This is an important part as it allows me to ease my mind about the duties I know I am handling. It's hard for me to relax knowing I have a something to do.

☐ Disconnect, break away from screens as early as possible. Try to get away from the constant attention and energy demanded by our electronic gadgets. Blue light causes your brain to believe that it's still daytime, resulting in a reduction of the production of melatonin. In other words, your brain starts working to keep you awake. For those of you who are curious, I don't watch television, as I don't have one.

☐ If possible, be physically active. Walk for 20 minutes, do some yoga, use the exercise bike or go to the gym. Remember that cleaning is a double-duty activity. It's a great way to get you to move. Try to establish a physical routine: depending on your needs, try to stick to a program of one, two, three… or six sessions a week. If you really don't have time, focus on walking to get to and/or come back from work.

☐ Wash yourself. Again, everyone has a different approach to it, depending on their resources and organization. Science recommends taking a shower in the evening, because during the day we accumulate many bacteria, viruses and parasites that affect the regeneration of our skin. During the night, our skin has plenty of time to regenerate. (It is important to remember that taking two showers a day is not recommended: first, because it destabilizes your skin, which has not fully regenerated, second, because it is aggressive for sensitive skins and third, because it is not very nice to Mother Nature.)

☐ Get comfortable. Except for events or evenings when I'm not home alone, I prepare my dinner and enjoy it in my sleepwear.

☐ Prepare a light dinner. Avoid all forms of stimulants such as caffeine, sugar, energy drinks. Try to have an early dinner. I know this is cultural (coming from a family where dinner is served around 8 or 9pm), but a light, early dinner will help you sleep better, have better digestion, boost your metabolism and reduce your blood pressure.

☐ I also use this time to enjoy the presence of my loved ones or to think about calling them, or sending them a message… because they represent a real emotional support for me. Studies have shown that spending time with friends and family contributes greatly to happiness. Among other things, it reduces anxiety, increases productivity and improves mental health.

☐ If you have time, take care of yourself. Follow your skincare routine, even if it's as simple as applying a moisturizer and using deodorant, as it is for me. Remember to brush your teeth. Use slippers at home. Slippers are great for protecting your feet from the cold and keeping your blood flow from slowing down.

☐ Like with my morning routine, I exercise my mind, my faith and/or my creativity for a few minutes. I think it is as important to lighten your mind as it is to exercise it. Here again, I pray for a few minutes. I also write a few notes about my day in my journal. I have developed a sort of obsession with diaries from past centuries and the desire to record intimate details of our lives… and it is true that I harbor the hope that someday I will look back at my writings, much later in life, and find a sort of comforting nostalgy in them. Reading is also one of my favorite hobby. I often fall asleep while reading.

☐ Plan the next day as best you can. I know that some people find it very helpful to prepare their lunch, outfit and/or bag for the next day. This is the time to do what feels right for you. As for me, I just set my alarm clock (If possible, get an alarm clock that is not your phone.)

☐ Determine a time to go to bed and stick to it. If it takes a while to fall asleep (this obviously does not apply to people with sleep disorders...), I invite you to hang out in bed with a book or some relaxing music. I guess I'm pretty harsh, because when this happens, I prefer to condemn myself to boredom, in the dark and in silence. I think it works for me.

I'm so glad that my morning routine inspired many people. I just wanted to come back to something that I feel is very important: Life is made up of countless unexpected events. The world is not all black and white, but is composed of a multitude of shades. This means that none of your days will ever resemble the other. Be flexible and forgive yourself: lists are only there to help us organize this immense chaos that is life. Sometimes, self-care also means allowing the unplanned: a rest, or a change of plans. Again, this list is intended to be personal. Feel free to rewrite it!

#self improvement #motivation #that girl #weight loss #evening routine #discipline #inspiration #self care

[audhdnight]

Btw, if a disabled or mentally ill person (or honestly just anyone who’s really burnt out and exhausted with life, such as caregivers) tells you that they have to use disposables to clean and function in their day to day life, and your response is anything remotely like “well you’re a horrible person because that plastic you just used is killing the planet” I need you to know that you are ableist, classist, and just a shitty person, and I hate you.

Yes, I know that using paper towels and Clorox wipes is not as sustainable or healthy for the ecosystem as just using regular towels and rags. However, I am fucking exhausted all the time, and if I use regular rags, I will not have the energy to clean them. They will sit in my kitchen and get moldy and have to be thrown away anyway. And then my family is living in unsafe conditions because we’re breathing mold spores.

Additionally, we are fucking poor. We don’t have a washer and dryer. If I want to do laundry I have to load it all up in my car, drive across town to the only laundromat, spend most of my day switching things over and waiting for machines to open up, spend about thirty bucks (probably more, because the dryers are shit and never actually dry things on the first cycle), load everything back into the car, drive back home, and then sort and fold and put away everything I just washed.

That is not feasible most of the time, because I am disabled, I don’t have that money to spend, and I am the primary caregiver for our baby who has extreme sensitivities to changes in our routine. I can’t just take him to the laundromat with me, and I don’t have anyone to watch him while I go. Most days I’m not physically capable of carrying baskets of laundry to and from my vehicle. And again, we can not afford the laundromat. Anything that I can do to reduce the amount of laundry we need to wash in a month, I’m going to do.

All of this to say, please for the love of god consider that there are literally thousands of reasons someone might not be doing “clean living” or choosing the most eco-friendly option all the time. We can’t all cut out disposables. I already feel guilty enough that I can’t just function like a normal person, you do not need to butt in and make it worse.

If your activism for the environment and the earth goes so far as to make you apathetic to the struggles and needs of the real actual people around you, you need to reconsider where your morals lie.

(It’s also worth noting that every regular person on the planet together does not generate ANYWHERE NEAR the amount of plastic and toxic waste in a year that mega corporations do in a matter of weeks or months. I’m not saying that the average man doesn’t need to make as many good and healthy choices as they are able, but seriously, most of us are not the real issue here. Go fight the logging and fracking companies killing the ecosystem. Go attack the capitalist mega-corps like Walmart and Amazon and Disney and Apple that discard so much plastic they are almost single-handedly killing the oceans themselves.)

#ableism #classism #ecofriendly #global warming #environmetalists #disability #plastic waste #recycling #things that fucking matter #burnout #mentally tired #mentalheathawareness #chronically ill #text post #nightramblestm

[probablyasocialecologist]

If high-income countries are to decarbonize fast enough to stay within their fair-share of Paris-compliant carbon budgets, then urgent climate mitigation tasks – like building renewable energy capacity, insulating buildings, expanding public transit, innovating and distributing more efficient technologies, regenerating land, etc – need to happen very quickly. This “green production” requires mobilizing massive amounts of labour, factories, materials, engineering talent, and so on.  In a growth-oriented scenario, this is difficult to do because our productive capacities are already devoted to other activities (activities that are organized around profit and which may not contribute to social and ecological objectives). So we need to either compete with existing forms of production (for labour, materials, energy etc, which can drive prices up), or otherwise increase total productive capacity (i.e., grow the economy).  This cannot be done at just any desired speed.  Under these conditions, there are very real physical limits to how fast we can decarbonize.  Scaling down less-necessary production solves this problem, not only because of the two benefits indicated above, but also because it liberates productive capacities (factories, labour, materials) which can then be remobilized to do the production and innovation required for rapid decarbonization. For example, factories that are presently devoted to producing SUVs can produce solar panels instead. Engineers that are presently developing private jets can work on innovating more efficient trains and wind turbines instead. Labour that is presently employed by fast fashion firms can be liberated to train and contribute to installing renewable capacity, insulating buildings, or a wide range of other necessary objectives depending on their interests, through a public job guarantee program linked to green public works. This helps us rethink a longstanding question in ecological economics. Some ecomodernists have in the past argued that it is easier to achieve green transition in a bigger economy than in a smaller economy, because it means we have more capacity to devote to green production.  But this fails to grasp the nature of the problem. Yes, a bigger economy may have more capacity, but in a growth-oriented scenario that capacity is already allocated.  In this respect bigger economies face the same problem as smaller economies.  But a degrowth scenario is not a “smaller economy” (i.e., a low-capacity economy).  It is a high-capacity economy which is reducing less-necessary production, and therefore is suddenly endowed with spare capacity that can be redirected for necessary purposes.  This is a unique situation that carries significant potential: it enables acceleration in the speed of green production and innovation at a rate faster than what can be achieved in a growth-oriented scenario.

#jason hickel #degrowth #ecomodernism #climate change #decarbonisation

[elvearryn]

Yeah everyone talks about the angst of Nikolai actively stabbing Fyodor to death

But no one talks about the angst of Nikolai needing to dispose of the body, or anything to do with the body in fact

The killing would be quick, impulsive, leaving little to no room for emotion. But the aftermath?

Just think

Option A. Leave the body to rot in place, Nikolai would have to physically tear himself away from his dearest friend, to bleed out as he turns and walks away. I do not think Nikolai will have the strength to do this, as much as he loathed his love, letting it go is not something he - just as human as the rest - would be able to do.

Option B. He disposes of the body, now I don’t think he’s terribly sentimental but he certainly wouldn’t dump the body in the middle of the road to be found. Yet, all the other options are horrible in their own right.

Burning? Nikolai would have to light that match, he would have to set the body of his most intimate friend aflame and watch as it slowly turns to ashes. He would be able to smell the stench of burning flesh, knowing it’s his love that is on fire and being reduced to pieces

Dumping in a body of water? Look me in the eyes and tell me Nikolai would be able to gut Fyodor and dump his remains in a lake. Or tie him to a rock and throw it over the edge of a bridge, watching it sink below the surface, knowing that he was the cause

Burial? You’re telling me Nikolai would have to drag or carry Fyodor’s bleeding corpse to a place where he can rest in peace? That’s just… so… so!!! Can you imagine the trail of blood that would follow them? All whilst Fyodor continued to bleed? Nikolai would have to dig a grave, and gently place the body in the ground, only to then cover it up and say goodbye forever

These two got me fucked up beyond redemption

#fyolai #oh look elve has lost it again #the cause? bsd. #what did you expect

[muzzleroars]

If Gabe is Hell's favourite angel than does that mean V1 is the Terminals favourite? Like while Hell is concerned with the narrative torment, the pain, the breaking down of the very essence of god's light the Terminals are like 'this is V1 it is blue and has the highest damage output :)'

I could imagine they were betting on who would win their bouts in Gluttony and Heresy (Hell was absolutely surprised that V-'won' when millions of other machines fell to Gabe before it and that it kept winning. the Terminals were just glad to be finally validated in their betting choices)

Neither expected that the third time, love would win. and that they would come to respect each other's picks.

sjdhfsdfgb hell being the guy with a purebred dog that's won the show circuit while the terminals have a feral cat they found under their porch IS the exact correct read lmaooooooo

i definitely agree that v1's win is probably as shocking to hell as it is to gabriel, even as it awaited v1's arrival with excitement - the terminals have been following this one closely and they've been chattering on about it with increasing enthusiasm in the short time since it came to hell. they're SURE this one will at least make it past gabriel, but hell refuses to give them a free pass - either it defeats him or its progress stops here. the terminals grumble a bit, but determinedly still place their bets on their favorite; v1 will succeed, they say, v1 will best a supreme angel and lead the rest of the machines deep into hell. hell figures this confidence is mostly wishful thinking as there's terminals locked far down into its depths rotting away with no physical contact, no active role in their little game. but one thing is interesting here in that v1 has shown itself to be exemplary if not too special, while gabriel has been growing numb to his work for years under the council. v1 is fresh, it's violent and tearing its way through every enemy it meets with surprising, efficient cruelty unseen in the machines beforehand....and gabriel is a divine warrior reduced for so long to "fighting" hordes of insects, his tactics and movements now routine, uninspired. so. will v1 actually surprise it? will it wake up gabriel who's been burning out in far less spectacular fashion than hell had hoped?

and then something...strange happens.

the terminals are proven right when v1 bests gabriel in gluttony, he falls to the floor and he's unable to keep fighting, bled too much to let his wings carry him. hell is astounded and the terminals celebrate (especially the ones past gluttony, they're FINALLY a part of this!!!) but even more intriguing (to hell, at least) is the fallout this causes. what will heaven do to its brightest angel, its judge of hell, an archangel favored by all who know him? what will that angel do to himself? for the terminals, this marks v1 as near unstoppable (and, if the prime soul fights are considered canon, they know there is truly nothing that can stand in its way); it will unknowingly, uncaringly, spearhead the charge of their machine army into each layer of hell. and when it clashes again with gabriel in heresy, both they and hell fall quiet as they wait to see if the apostate can take back everything he's lost...though the terminals are merely waiting for the win, for the incredible recording this will be. their confidence is rewarded again and hell feels the shift fully this time, that something has come into it that god couldn't have created. gabriel has fallen, the prime souls are falling, demons, husks, and other machines can't stand a chance. it must do more, it must apply true, agonizing pressure to the terminals' favorite to see just how much it can take before it breaks...and the terminals welcome that challenge. they will supply v1 with increasingly terrible firepower to fight against it, and they believe it will outdo even hell's worst.

the pivot NEITHER see coming is. how gabriel actually comes back to it. hell had seen his wings burst into their colors of ecstasy and the terminals had seen v1 ignore its programming to let him live twice...but their bloodthirsty bets are put on immediate hold when their next encounter supplies. peace. communication. gabriel sheathing his swords and kneeling to show v1 his intentions. and v1 responding in kind, drawing no weapons as it curiously closes the distance between them. and it all plays out in front of them, an angel who found himself again through the machine and the machine that was finally able to have a self through the angel. it's utterly perplexing, the terminals having no idea what this could mean for v1's continued march and hell not knowing if it should delight in gabriel's complete fall into blasphemy or if now must prepare for a much, MUCH more difficult endgame than just squaring off against v1. ether way....this proves entropy in creeping too through the halls of hell, and neither computer nor divine logic can stop it

#OK this was the ask i initially went insane on BUT i realized it was. a tangent!!! #and i actually DID want to talk about hell and the terminals much more #so a separate post about gabe's psychology will be the first answer i gave lol #(i'll post it later tonight waaa) #but i rewrote it to actually answer this more properly and also have fun giving a much more terminal/hell pov #IM mentally ill #either way thank you anon you exploded my mind /pos #cake answers #terminals #hell #gabriel #v1

[freevoidman]

I think the reason why I dislike Jaune so much just as a character is because I FEEL like the show wants him to be a narrative foil to Ruby, in a way. They’re meant to show two different sides of leadership and how each one affects their teams, they both set out at Beacon at the same time with similar-yet-different first starts (Ruby has to deal with in-drama with Weiss and, later Blake and her status as a faunus/ex-terrorist while Jaune faces out-drama in the form of Cardin). I really don’t think that the show would keep Jaune here for this long if he wasn’t supposed to serve a purpose for Ruby, the (supposed) main protagonist of the show.

But... at every point the show undercuts this narrative foil idea by having Jaune get the most active development. Jaune has the clearest motive for going after Cinder (and, by extension, Salem once he learns of her existence) post-Beacon while Ruby has the general goal of “help people.” Jaune’s grief hyper-fixates on Pyrrha, so Ruby’s grief over Pyrrha is incredibly underdefined and vague, and she doesn’t seem to care about Penny because the authors know Penny will return in V6/7 so... why have her grieve at all? 

Despite Penny having a stronger relationship with Ruby, it’s Jaune that has to kill her, despite the fact it makes less than zero sense for him to do so. The reason seems to be that the writers wanted both Ruby and Jaune to be grieving and have this idea of them dealing with it in different, unhealthy ways, but what ends up happening is that Ruby’s grief feels muted while Jaune’s is explosive and gets far more attention. Couple that with how no one seems to really pick up on how badly Ruby is doing, but they notice Jaune is dealing with a lot of shit, and Ruby gets drowned out again.

This is a cycle that constantly repeats itself. Grief and revenge are two of the strongest character motivators in writing, because they are two of the strongest forces that can drive a character to do something. And damn near every time, the writers have given that to Jaune. 

Ruby and Jaune mourn the same, specific people, but Jaune is almost always given the stronger scenes about missing them. His feelings about their passing are shown more clearly while Ruby seems to never get a moment to, or it’s reduced to a motivational speech (and don’t tell me this is Ruby “sweeping it under the rug,” because whenever she has a moment to grieve, some other character says or does something to quash it [Jaune interrupting her worries about dragging people along, Oscar flipping out about having new responsibilities, a grimm attacks, etc.])

Hell, it’s even gone so far with the villains the characters are meant to care about. Ruby should be directly contrasted with Cinder--she sees Cinder kill Pyrrha, she has several encounters with Cinder pre-Beacon falling, Cinder hates her for the physical damage Ruby caused--but the story lets Jaune be the one to constantly fight her! Ruby never fights Cinder one-on-one, it was Jaune in V5, it was Jaune again in V8 as the last one standing.

And then, Ruby’s direct antagonist switched to Neo, because Neo definitely hates Ruby over Roman’s death. That’s how she’s introduced in V6 to Cinder! She wants to kill Ruby, that’s the whole reason why she’s ganged up with Salem. Neo was placed as a higher threat than Cinder while they were fighting on the portal bridges, Neo has been on a revenge quest the entire time in the Never After, and she goes so far as to brutally torture Ruby, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

And, now that Neo has (supposedly) succeeded, and Ruby is dead? Who takes Ruby’s place immediately once Neo’s possessed by the cat?

Mother.

Fucking.

Jaune.

The conflict between Ruby and Neo carries over to Jaune and the Cat in the most literal sense possible, with the cat possessing Neo’s body. What ends up happening is that instead of acting as a narrative foil, Jaune becomes the protagonist. It’s really god damn telling that Ruby took nine volumes to get this significant an arc, but even then, it’s still undermined by Jaune! Frankly, Ruby’s arc is also undercut by her ability to recognize her flaws before she kills herself.

Ruby’s growth this volume is from committing suicide. After being tortured. She didn’t come to this realization herself, she was pushed into it (though she had clearly internalized at least a few things from her trauma, ie telling Little to leave because she’d get Little killed = Ruby believes the people she meets are doomed to die from being near her) and now she is, quite literally, being forced to change! Even if Ruby decides in the next episode that “hey, I’ve decided that I’m Ruby Rose, I don’t want to change by the blacksmith, I want to change on my own” that wouldn’t matter: she’s been pushed into making a decision no matter what, and she will change from this decision, no matter what.

Meanwhile, Jaune is confronted with his own trauma, how he’s harmed others because of his trauma, and accepts this on his own. Yes, WBY are there to help him, but ultimately he comes to this realization and accepts it with minimal outside help. 

RWBY has always had a problem clearly defining it’s protagonists. Though I’m giving them a lot of credit with the narrative foil idea, when you look back at V1, it’s really hard to not see the writers struggling to keep the team in focus without drifting heavily towards Jaune and Pyrrha, at the very least.

I’m going to be real here: as of writing this, it’s unclear whether Jaune has “ascended” or died. iirc he’s just fallen after taking a VERY heavy hit. If I had a choice here, I would kill Jaune. I truly would. Not out of hate or spite, but because every single volume he has undercut the main cast, repeatedly, to the point where he’s no longer a “narrative foil” to Ruby, but instead he’s the protagonist of the tale, with Ruby being a showman to lure audiences in.

Ruby hasn’t been a protagonist in a very long time. She has struggled to fit the role of a protagonist, and WBY as deuteragonists, ever since the show started airing, because RWBY keeps introducing more side characters, and have the side characters interact with Jaune and the others, or everyone as a collective group. It’s infuriating, because I want to see Ruby grow on her own power, but every time that possibility is there, Jaune takes it, and I’m tired of it.

#rwde

[cryingyetcourageous]

Headcanon: Essential Tremor

One of my favorite ways to make headcanons is to overanalyze canon and keep extending it to realistic conclusions. Like, Raivis shakes a lot. He's the only one I'm aware of where, rather than it being for a quick bit joke, it carries on and is seen in many interactions, even being acknowledged by other characters. It could easily be dismissed as "lol, lil scared guy is shaky, haha, he's so nervous" but guys-

He has also, canonically, had his spine crushed so severely that it's stunted his growth. Dude has nerve damage. Can you imagine what being pushed down on for centuries to the point of reducing someone's height by no less than 10 cm would do to the central nervous system? He's not scared all the time: he's got an injury-induced disability (not that shaking solely due to mental illness would be any less valid; Anxiety is a diagnosis, not a moral failure).

So, I carry that further-

In a situation like that, it makes sense that heightened emotions would worsen symptoms, but it probably wouldn't be limited to anxiety: being excited/happy or angry would exacerbate it, too. Any swing of the pendulum away from "neutral/calm" would excite his nervous system and make the shakiness more noticeable, as would physical activity. He's just as likely to shake when he's excited to see an old friend again as he is when an asshole driver nearly hits him as he's crossing the street. Positive emotions can be just as strong and, technically, just as disruptive.

But he's also found ways to manage, some healthy, some less so. At home, he probably uses a lot of wooden, metal, or plastic dishware. Personally, I lean towards him preferring wooden for bowls/plates and reusable plastic for cups... but he still has ceramic mugs. He will risk them shattering because it feels wrong to drink tea in anything else, and besides, he gets free mugs from events all the time.

He writes a bit more slowly than some people, and rather than fighting himself on trying to make smooth, coherent lines/curves, he instead "sketches" his letters. Multiple short strokes. He's tried typing instead, but for him personally, that's slower. For particularly long meetings, he does his best, but usually gets copies of notes from Liet or Eesti. (He used to make audio recordings, but between the background noise of people speaking over the presentations and the security risk, that's not a great option.)

For hobbies, he's found work-arounds. Playing the kokle is the one that took the longest to adjust to since it relies so heavily on fine motor skills, but because his tremor is usually rhythmic/consistent, he's learned to work with it so long as he doesn't play for too long, which tends to make it more exaggerated and less predictable. Crochet and knitting are much the same - short sessions with breaks. Singing isn't too affected as long as, again, he doesn't overdo it. Other hobbies aren't really impacted much.

I usually write him with a stutter, which is less because of nerves themselves and more because his voice wavers and, when it does so, he has a habit of trying to say the word/syllable again. Some sounds are more difficult than others, like "y". I don't know how to explain it except that y moves from one part of the mouth to another, and that "movement" gives a lot of room to extend too far. It also tends to be worse at the beginnings of sentences or directly after pauses. When he's really deep in thought and sort of thinking outloud, he stutters less because he's too distracted to notice his voice wavering. When he's more excited, positively or negatively, it often worsens because he's trying to get this thought/idea/feeling across and is more aware of every little "slip up" in his delivery, more likely to stumble over himself.

He's noted to have an alcohol tolerance that should be physically impossible for someone his size (40 "glasses" of alcohol. It doesn't specify kind, but regardless, that would give someone his size a BAC of 1.74 [beer] to 13.95 [spirits]). It's not a stretch to think of it as self-medicating, both in response to mental health because he has put up with so much shit jfc give him a break and also because alcohol is... a depressant! Alcohol is proven to reduce essential tremors. However, this is a very shitty fix because alcohol withdrawals significantly exacerbate them, so it's not great.

Anyways thanks for coming to my TEDtalk

#About Raivis #hws latvia #Canon: *one throw-away line about crushing* #Me: Do you mean a realistic explanation for multiple character traits? #I feel like nation healing is much like nation aging: not that reliable/consistent. Will he heal from this? Probably. #How long will it take? What national status/events will impact it? Who knows! #It definitely isn't as bad as it used to be but whether that's from physical recovery or adapting to it is impossible to say. #hetalia latvia #has rotted my brain for 13 years now #hetalia headcanons #i suffer

[earthnashes]

This sounds really selfish of me, but I love that you are so proactive with getting/being healthy.

I'm not sure how that'd be selfish of you to say, but thank you! owo

It took me a while to get to where I am now, and it had to start mentally first; for me personally I hit a point I couldn't carry on the way was; I basically hit my rock bottom. I was always so angry and tired and I got fucking sick of feeling that way, so I went and got me a therapist. And it was embarressing and hard, opening up to a stranger, but I'm very glad I did. I still have regular appointments but they've been reduced to once a month instead of once a week. I don't think I'd ever go back to not having one honestly.

Halfway through that came the physical part. I started realizing how much I missed being able to move, to be strong. So I took my ass to the track and made myself commit to walking 3 days a week for at least 10 minutes. For accountability I had to bring back a rock from the track, and I could only grab it after I did my due diligence. It would only count if I followed through regardless of what I felt that given day.

That eventually snowballed from 10 minutes to 30, then 30 to an hour, then a gym membership. And once I got my gym membership did start working on my nutrtition. Specifically, being more concious of how eat (like working on stopping stress eating for example) and what I eat, and cooking more often. Started with cooking once a week, now I cook every day for nearly every meal. Started tracking my calories and weight regularly and basically worked at making food a normal part of my day like it should be; I used to feel guilty eating foods but not anymore. I still do eat out but no where near as much, and it's for pure enjoyment and not because it's my main means to eat.

Being as healthy as you personally can be is never easy, mentally or physically, because it calls for the willingness to change not just habits but your overall lifestyle. It isn't something you can achieve idly, it takes active and concious choices and a lot of willpower because motivation is a fickle thing and should never be used as your sole means of getting you to do something.

But anyone can do it. Everyone can. What my healthy looks like is a lot different than someone elses, but the process of getting there is relatively similar: trial and error. Gotta fail to learn how to succeed, but ya also gotta be ready to try again after you fail.

Sorry for the longwinded thing but yeh! :)

[coochiequeens]

It is reasonable to think a man saying he wants to be a single father because he doesn’t want a relationship should prompt some investigation by someone expert in child welfare about his emotional capability to parent alone.“

Infertility can be deeply painful. There is a lot a compassionate society can – and should – do to make fertility treatment available to those who can be assisted to have a child with medical intervention. Few would disagree though that there are ethical boundaries to this, shaped by children’s interests, not just adult desires.

Last week, the Law Commission drove a coach and horses through that moral frontier – which it framed as an overdue modernisation of the law – by publishing draft proposals to reform the UK’s surrogacy framework. Implicit in them is the, I suspect controversial, assumption that a single man seeking to have a child alone through surrogacy, because he doesn’t want or can’t maintain a committed relationship, presents no greater moral quandary than a couple seeking IVF. How controversial is anyone’s guess: the Law Commission hasn’t canvassed public attitudes.

Surrogacy is the practice of a woman conceiving, gestating and giving birth to a baby – using her own or donor eggs – for another couple or individual who can’t do so themselves. The UK is one of few countries in which it is lawful. There are important safeguards intended to guard against exploitation: surrogates can only be compensated for reasonable expenses, to try to ensure their motivations are altruistic, not financial. The surrogate is legally the child’s mother until the intended parents are granted a parenting order by the family courts, if and only if they deem it is in the child’s best interests.

Surrogacy remains small-scale in the UK: just 300-400 orders are granted a year, limited by the number of women who want to become surrogates. But in countries like the US and Georgia, where commercial surrogacy is legal – where economically vulnerable women can be paid to carry a baby and surrogacy is governed by legally enforceable contracts that the UN special rapporteur on child exploitation says constitute the sale of children – it is bigger business. In contrast, the UK legal framework tolerates surrogacy but does not actively encourage it.

The Law Commission has recommended wholesale reform that makes the surrogacy process more akin to IVF. It proposes a new “pre-conception” pathway, governed by a surrogacy agreement, in which the intended parents automatically become the legal parents of the child at birth unless the surrogate withdraws consent before birth. The family courts will no longer oversee these arrangements unless the surrogate applies for a parental order in the first six weeks after birth. Instead, surrogacy will be pre-approved by surrogacy agencies, in the same way fertility clinics sign off on IVF. The commission makes sweeping – but unevidenced – claims that this is in the best interests of children and that because it reduces uncertainty, it will increase the amount of surrogacy that happens in the UK by discouraging people from making use of more exploitative regimes abroad.

There are some positive aspects to the proposals: tighter regulation of expense payments to avoid surrogacy being commercialised through the back door; everyone involved would have to undergo counselling. Children would have the right to access information about their surrogate in the same way as those conceived using donor sperm or eggs.

But in adopting a starting point that surrogacy is just another form of assisted conception, the Law Commission has gone beyond its remit. It reduces pregnancy to a process, a transactional exchange of body fluid between a woman and a foetus rather than a relationship between a mother and the life she is nurturing physically and emotionally, that there are ethical considerations involved in breaking at birth, regardless of the desires of the individual adults involved. It is for us as a society to decide whether we want the law to actively encourage rather than tolerate this, not for the Law Commission to make recommendations without even exploring public attitudes.

The Law Commission report is peppered with imagined case studies that invoke sympathy: straight couples where a woman can’t carry a pregnancy and gay male couples who see surrogacy as their only way to have a biological child. But a better ethical test is the men who openly say they want to become fathers through surrogacy because they would rather be single parents. There would be few barriers to them doing so.

This encapsulates the extent to which the Law Commission proposals are catering to the desires of adults with a vested interest in surrogacy – however valid their reasons – over and above child welfare. It proposes a light-touch welfare check as part of the pre-conception pathway, but this would rely in the main on potential parents self-declaring issues of concern and would be carried out by surrogacy agencies that though not-for-profit would still have an interest in making surrogacy happen; the Law Commission itself suggeststhat private fertility clinics can set up not-for-profit “arms” to act as surrogacy agencies. It explicitly declines to say that the person legally responsible for these checks should have knowledge or experience of child safeguarding. These surrogacy agencies would supposedly be regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which lacks meaningful expertise in child welfare. It is all jaw-droppingly naive.

The counter is that there are only light checks for women and couples conceiving through IVF and nothing for people who become parents naturally. But surrogacy is the only route through which a single man as a sole parent can create a biological child.

Gestation is a natural if not fail-safe form of safeguarding in a world where a minority of men are responsible for almost all physical and sexual violence and men on average pose a different risk to children than women. This isn’t to say some single men who want to go it alone might not make good fathers – single men can and do adopt successfully after robust welfare checks – but that it should be harder than getting signed off for IVF.

It is reasonable to think a man saying he wants to be a single father because he doesn’t want a relationship should prompt some investigation by someone expert in child welfare about his emotional capability to parent alone.

At the heart of the Law Commission proposals is the assumption that surrogacy should be made cleaner to the benefit of the adults involved. But surrogacy is inherently messy, uncertain and ethically complex, because no one has a claim to a baby they haven’t given birth to purely on the basis of genetics and pregnancy cannot be reduced to a transaction.

The Law Commission loftily calls for the government to “endorse these essential reforms”. But on an ethical issue such as this it is vital that politicians consult the public rather than taking direction from a legal body that has grossly overstepped its remit.

 Sonia Sodha is an Observer columnist

 This article was amended on 5 April 2023. In an earlier version the writer commented that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) “has no expertise in child welfare”. This has been amended to “lacks meaningful expertise” to make clearer that, while the HFEA has a statutory function in overseeing “welfare of the child” assessments required of fertility clinics, this is the writer’s assessment of the agency’s overall expertise in child welfare and safeguarding. The name of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has also been corrected.

#Biological children are not a right #Anti exploiting women #Babies are not commodities #UK #best interests of the child

[arlechinav-blog]

(Bes, Egyptian god of goofy dances & protection. Never underestimate the apotropaic power of being a dancing doof.)

Trancework: Learning About Magic Floppy Time

Trancing is a natural physiological response to repetitive actions. Whenever you fall into a familiar task (such as reading, driving, or certain physical chores), your brain will automatically reduce energy expenditure which results in “trancing.” Trancing is the brain’s way of conserving energy by tuning out excess stimuli. The rest of the world will seem to disappear and you may feel like you have lost time.

The phrase, “I could do that in my sleep,” is a pretty good descriptor for physical tasks that make you trance.  Trancing is a thing that you have probably done naturally without ever studying it. It is easier to do than whistling or snapping your fingers, which are learned behaviors. All you need for trance to occur is to settle into a familiar task with a hypnotic beat. This is why the number one trance experience people have reported to me is always driving in the rain. All the right ingredients are right there, it is practically inevitable. 

While trancing is a natural, unlearned physiological response, there is still a lot to learn about it. You can experiment with it--and many of you already have--to take it further. Because it is an automatic physiological and neurological response, all cultures that have a trance tradition do it within the same spectrum of ways. Percussion, chant, and movement are the core basics to reproducing the response and you can even train yourself to do it OR train yourself to control when you do it. 

A beginner’s first challenge is to get into an altered state on purpose and then to do it reliably. After a few months of doing it regularly, purposeful trance becomes as easy and unintentional as breathing. Then the real fun can begin. 

Trance Dancing

I often refer to trance dancing as magic floppy time (similarly, I will refer to making trance music as magic boom-boom). This is to reinforce the idea that this is supposed to be fun and relaxing. It can be really intense stuff but joy is what carries you through it, what sustains it.

Trance dancing goes beyond the sort of trance you can induce by driving in your car on a rainy day or getting lost in a good book and there is a physiological reason for that. The movements associated with traditional Mediterranean dances all involve disruption of the body’s equilibrium which causes dizziness. Adding constant motion that disrupts your body’s equilibrium to a basic trance will induce a deeper trance--one that is not so easy to break or snap out of. It will also cause a lingering after effect with prolonged activity. One that I refer to as trance drunkenness. 

Elevation changes, turning the head from side to side, spinning in circles, rocking back and forth, jumping up and down--these are all examples of movements that induce and hold a deeper altered state. Set to a good rhythm, of course.

Because it is a strenuous physical activity, there are certain ways of handling a trance dance in progress and for ending one safely. The dance is desirable because it helps facilitate the altered state in a fantastic way but if the dancer isn’t being guided by someone who knows what they are doing, it can be a rough experience. Even potentially injurious. So even though anyone can trance naturally, once these things enter into the neighborhood of coordinated effort, it is better to learn how to do it responsibly and safely.

First of all, clear your trance space. Remove all sharps, breakables, and anything you wouldn't want to whack into while dancing around wildly. This includes candles, folks. I know that in certain circles the idea of doing any kind of ritual activity without burning candles is positively blasphemous but I promise it is the way to go--especially if you are experimenting with this alone. Which, you should try to have a buddy with you, watching over your safety anyway but I know you are going to do what you are going to do. Just be careful and think ahead.

Secondly, set out a rug or a gym mat that will constitute your trance space. I don't recommend using a yoga mat or a blanket because those can get tangled up as you move around. It should be something that isn't going to move that you can feel with your other senses. This is your happy trance zone. Take some time to move around on it with your eyes closed, just familiarizing yourself with the boundary and getting comfortable with it. Feel the edge with your foot. Tape the edge down if you can. If you are using a rug, wear socks and something that covers your knees to prevent rug burns on the tops of your feet and knees. (Ask me how I know! *sob*)

Now, right before you pop some good magic boom-boom music on, take a minute to do some fun visualization. Everything off the rug is now lava. Yep. Lava. If you step off that rug, you fall in the lava. Once that music starts and until the music ends, everything off the rug is Lavatown. That rug is your safe space. Stay there. Now you should be good to have your magic floppy time.

Tips

As a word of advice, pick your trance clothing carefully. Make sure it is comfortable, covers what it needs to, and won't fall off your body without constant adjustment. Nothing will pull you out of the vibe quite like feeling your clothes going on a grand adventure without you. I have been doing this for a long time so if this ever happens to me I just wish them well and move on with life but vanity and modesty can be a hurdle so I want you to be aware of this in advance.

The other thing I would suggest is removing all jewelry--or as much as you can. Especially necklaces and rings. Those will smack you in the face, tangle in your hair, and fly off your fingers. And I know that some people feel ritually nekkid without their jewelry but I promise it will become annoying very quickly. I use henna, body paint, and embroidery to accomplish the same thing. First time I had a chunky necklace hit me in the tooth or I had to spend an hour trying to track down where my wedding ring had gone, that was it. Never again with that.

#trance work

[ladyofluxure]

Leveling up: Step 1

• Solve my unhealthy relationship with food & lose weight

Hello, girls! I am a companion and an SB. I’ve been in the business for a little over a year and the money is good. I’ve saved up more than I ever thought could’ve been possible in this last year. I love my life but I know very well that it could be WAYYY better if I decided to seriously dedicate myself into changing from the inside out.

The biggest issue that I currently have right now is my weight. I have a bad relationship with food and I tend to eat A LOT when I’m not hungry and not the healthy stuff. The consequence of that poor behaviour is that I am obese. I am well built and carry most of my weight in my ass, thighs, hips and boobs.. but I still don’t feel good about myself and I feel like it’s just getting worse.

I’ve lost weight in the past but always ended up gaining it back. That being said, when I lost the weight, I’d always feel better about myself and look extremely alluring. Thus, my desire to get back in shape.. also, I know damn well I’ll make way more money afterwards hihi

My Goal #1 is to have a normal relationship with food - eat when I’m hungry and not think about it when I’m not - and as a result, LOSE WEIGHT!

How? I’ve done so many diets and workout plans that were not sustainable for me. Right now, I just want to embrace a new lifestyle and do things that I actually enjoy and know that I will be able to keep up for the long run.

First of all, I know that I have to change my way of thinking around food and all the beliefs that I have about myself. I decided to hire a life coach/therapist who specializes in relationship with food to help me with my limiting beliefs and toxic thoughts regarding food and myself - I will be starting my session with her in October 3rd for a total duration of 10 weeks!

Secondly, I definitely have to make it a habit to be active daily. Not necessarily workout in the gym until I’m about to pass out but just to make sure that I get my body moving on a daily basis - ex: long walks, dancing, yoga, etc. With how out of shape I currently am, my goal for right now is to do daily walks of 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Of course, I have to start paying more attention to the quality, the quantity and the frequency of what I eat. I tour a lot because of my job so I order in more than I wish but that being said, I could still order a salad or something healthier than pizza and Chinese takeout.. Also, I was fat before I even started touring as a companion so it’s not even an excuse. Many girls travel the world and don’t gain a pound. I just need to follow my hunger cues and stop eating when I’m not hungry. Especially snacking at night. My goal is to make sure to eat fruits/veggies every day and to cut out refined sugar - chocolate is where I lose control.

The book:

I read « The Obesity Code » by Jason Fung and it was a great book to understand how insulin plays a huge role when it comes to losing/gaining weight. The key notes to weight loss are basically:

- Fasting is very important

- Reduce your consumption of added sugars (replace them with fruits, dark chocolate 70%+)

- Reduce your consumption of refined sugar and grains (flour & refined grains)

- Moderate your protein intake

- Increase your consumption of natural fats

- Increase your consumption of fiber and vinegar

To summarize this post:

My #1 priority right now is to take care of my mental & physical health so that I can lose the weight that is currently making me extremely unhappy and self-conscious.

To do so, I hired a life coach and will start sessions with her so that I can learn how to cope with my feelings other than to eat my heart out.

On top of that emotion/mental journey, I am also dedicated to a healthier lifestyle which will consist of intermittent fasting, reducing my consumption of refined sugar, eat more greens and be more active on a daily basis❤️

Stats

Height - 165CM/5’5 

BMI - 35

My weight on September 16, 2022: 96.25KG/ 212.19lbs

My current thoughts 💭:

Identity change that I am adopting

- I am a woman who only eats when she is hungry and stops as soon as she is no longer hungry

- I am a woman who is athletic (exercise daily)

- I am a woman who takes care of herself (daily hygiene routine, good sleeping pattern, grooming)

What plan I will be following for the next month:

1) Intermittent fasting - Follow hunger cues and only eat when hungry + no food after 8PM unless going out

2) Reduce consumption of refined sugar and replace it with fruits + reduce consumption of refined grains

3) Daily exercise - long walks or gym

4) Drink lots of water and green tea 🍵 💧

My goal for October 16, 2022 is to weigh 90KG.

*I will be doing a monthly update and let you guys know how I’ve been doing for the past month to keep myself accountable xx

#level up journey #hypergamous lifestyle #healthyjourney #black girl luxury #weight loss

[compassionatereminders]

wanted to reach out with some tips for dead on their feet tired from their first job anon- from another chronic pain haver who used to work food service! Sorry if some of this comes off as lecturing, mostly just trying to share stuff I wish I had learned earlier.

it's totally normal to be tired after 5 hours of strenuous activity, especially if that's the longest you've worked so far and it's on top of a general increase in shifts! no matter what position you work, food service is hard physical labor that is tiring.

also pain can add quite a lot of fatigue! you might be more tired than your coworkers because your body is dealing with more. pain is often inflamation response, which is taxing on your body in multiple ways.

Managing and minimizing your pain can go a long way to help you work sustainably, also! I don't know if you have any diagnosis or treatment for your pain, but definitely keep that up if you do (and look at seeing a doctor if you don't and are able!! it is not normal to be in pain daily, esp as a teen). Make sure you understand and use any ergonomic working positions and how to lift and carry things safely, these can make a huge difference. when in pain it's hard to not slump or lean into bad positions, but it's important to build the strength to do tasks sustainably. doing something wrong enough once can really injure you, but repeatedly doing something wrong can lead to needing months of physical therapy too. also, antiinflammatory meds like ibuprofen or naproxen are good to use to treat soreness but also help prevent inflamation while working, so taking them preventatively may help. Its common for people with chronic pain to need to take meds like those, and sometimes things like Tylenol in addition, daily to be able to manage pain and prevent worse flare ups (tho again should have doctor to talk about pain management with!) Personally I use naproxen (bc it lasts 12 hours) and Tylenol together to help manage my pain.

finally, especially for foot/ankle/calf pain: COMPRESSION SOCKS. you can get like sports ones and even those will help a LOT. they reduce and prevent inflamation, while adding some gentle support to your joints. also even cheap sole inserts to help add some padding in your shoes can help a lot (most non slip shoes suck with having any padding). compression and support garments can be lifesaving in general and there are a lot of different kinds, but I think basically everyone who works on their feet can benefit from compression socks.

Thank you for stepping in! I don't work and I have never dealt with chronic pain, so I didn't have much to say on either of those topics

#chat with kat