#i largely owe them that. cooperating and spending time with them and engaging in what matters to them.

[anaalnathrakhs]

btw my mom said it. she said it to me looking me in the eyes. i told her about how difficult it was for me to get through those family reunions, and she admitted it was very important to her, important enough that she was just going to do it anyway.

#i know there are compromises out there #and i'm not going to live w them my whole life so i'll be out fairly soon all things considered #and i'm trying to be understanding when people's priorities aren't the same as mine #but i uh. would be lying if i said it doesn't hurt a little wittle bit. #i'm gonna keep handling it because i've been an asshole to my parents for long enough #i largely owe them that. cooperating and spending time with them and engaging in what matters to them. #but then she's says things like ''but whenever you move out you'll still be part of the family and invited if you want uwu'' #it's just ?????? okay thanks ???? perhaps you could also try seeing things from my point of view perhaps???? #it's all circling back to that. they have a very weird way to ''help'' me #throwback to them trying to cure my depression with amusement parks #when i would have liked a little less of that and a little more help and understanding #it feels like they're trying to put bandaids on a cancer #''you don't ask for help'' okay no help is coming. i am not being helped. #the system can't help me cause there's no damn beds no damn professionals no damn time to help everyone #the people around me can't help me because it's not their job or within their wheelhouse to help me #and they've got their own shit to deal with #on that note #i was discussing stuff with my mom #and i mentionned it was indeed pretty difficult to manage your time when you had to deal with school and friends and your parents #and she was like ''deal with your parents???? what do you have to deal with????'' #oh i don't KNOW maybe that i'm officially an associate of my dad and i have to help out w events and some accounting #or maybe i have to pay back the fucking years i spent being an ungrateful child now i do everything you expect me to and it's exhausting #maybe that you constantly remind me i am living in YOUR house by touching my shit instead of letting me deal with shit at my own pace #maybe the fact that despite everything i care about you and i want us to have a good relationship and that takes WORK and i'm exhausted #maybe the fact that you keep giving me advice that is unproductive misguided misunderstanding etc etc #and cold comfort after you did something you knew to be difficult for me #how you keep encouraging shit that i don't want and am unhappy with because it's the ''normal'' way #how you raised me from childhood to be an empty shell in a family of empty shells #broadcasting my misery #vent

[writerpeach]

Roommates: Part One

IZ*ONE Hyewon X Male Reader

7813 words

Categories: smut, oral sex,  detective! hyewon

18+

---

Read on AFF

Read on AO3

"Please come in."

The second meeting with Detective Kwon was eight days after the first. Thankfully, you were there under much more pleasant terms, trading being led in handcuffs to roaming freely, greeted with smiles, and offered coffee.

Instead of being tossed inside a windowless cold room, you were meeting Detective Kwon in her personal office, quite the inverse of scenery. Greeting you with a welcoming smile instead of threats, she offered a seat and you sat down, scanning the awards on her walls, the various cabinets, and files as you spotted a small piglet plush resting on one, not bothering to mention it. 

You felt comfortable. You weren’t being yelled at or questioned, and you certainly weren’t fearing for your life or freedom. The detective engaged in polite conversation, her friendly tone putting you at ease as she inquired how you were handling the change of being on the opposite side of crime.

Detective Kwon had been promoted due to your cooperation, earning the rank of Chief Superintendent. Changing into a more supervisor role allowed her to command her team more efficiently but still allowed herself to do what she was best at, getting information out of uncooperative suspects in any way she knew how.

Eunbi had a different look since you last saw her, chopping her hair short which gave her a more youthful and vibrant look. 

“You look good, detective,” you complimented, earning a blush from the sharply-dressed woman across the desk. 

“Thank you. You know, we really owe a lot to you,” she said in earnest. 

“I didn’t do much, detective. It turns out you can be a very convincing woman.”

“You gave us valuable information that would have taken us weeks to find.”

Shuffling around papers and organizing a dossier Eunbi looked up and her expression softened.

“But we still have a lot of work to do to take down your former boss. The Goda clan is in shambles. We’ve made several arrests lately, we have them on the run.” 

“That’s wonderful to hear. To tell the truth, I was never comfortable with some of the things I saw during my time as a clan member. It still keeps me up at night.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. What you’re doing has been very helpful, we couldn’t have done this without you.”

“If that asshole gets locked up then it’ll be more than worth it.” 

“Now, there are still a few high ranking members we don’t know the location of,” Eunbi said and slid three pictures across the desk, two men you recognized and one you didn’t. 

“Is there anything about them you can tell us?”

You studied their pictures before speaking. ”Never met this guy. These two were the boss’s right- hand men. When he needed someone taken out, a business shaken down for protection money or anything else that he didn’t want to dirty his hands for he used them as his errand boys.”

“Do you have their names?”

“Afraid not. I was too low down the totem pole to really know them.”

“That’s fine, we’ll work with what we have and I’ll make sure our investigation team makes this their priority. It might take longer but we’ll find these thugs.” 

Eunbi smiled. It was different talking to her like this, cooperating with her, and not being threatened to spend the rest of your life behind bars. 

“How are you holding up? This can’t be easy.”

“Like I said, some sleepless nights. A lot of looking behind my shoulder, thinking someone I swore loyalty to is coming after me. This is all I’ve known for most of my life, so being on the other side of things is hard to get used to.” 

“That’s understandable. The monitoring app we installed on your phone tracks your location with pinpoint accuracy as long as you allow us to. If you ever end up in trouble you know how to activate it right?”

“I do, thanks, Detective. Let’s hope I never have to.” 

“Yes, let’s hope. The sooner we can get these scumbags off the streets, the better we’ll all be.” 

There was a sudden knock on the door that broke the tension.

“Come in!” Eunbi said. 

The door gently swung open and in walked a petite girl, blue mixed into her dark bobbed hairstyle. “Sorry to barge in, boss.” 

“It’s quite alright, Detective Miyawaki. You wouldn’t interrupt without a good reason.” 

“We’ve got new leads on potential suspects. A stolen vehicle was spotted downtown in an abandoned warehouse, it appears it was used in last month’s weapon smuggling ring that was shut down.” 

“And you’re sure they’re still there?” 

“According to our surveillance, no cars have been in or out of the warehouse all day. There could be underground tunnels but that’s highly unlikely given the layout of the building .” 

“Excellent work, Detective. Put out an APB immediately.” 

“Right away, boss.” 

The young girl bowed politely and left the room.

“We’re getting closer with each day thanks to you,” she said with a mild sense of relief in her voice.

“You have a good team here it seems.” 

“It gets pretty stressful but they’re wonderful and I couldn’t do my job without them. Between forensics, our investigation team, and our computer analysts, there's about twelve of us working non-stop.”

“Impressive.” 

“Now, I do need to talk to you about the security detail we promised you.” 

“What about it?” 

“As you can tell, we’re swamped. We need all the men and women we have working around the clock. At this moment we don’t have the resources to monitor who may be looking to harm you. We’re looking into a third-party security service to protect you but getting approval at a time like this is no easy task.”

“That’s really quite alright. I don’t leave my house much these days, and I have cameras all over my house.”

“No, it’s not, it was part of our terms and I won’t fall back on it. I can offer you an alternative, your safety is a necessity not just as part of our case against the Goda clan.” 

“An alternative?”

“Yes,” she responded, pushing a button on the black phone on her desk. “Detective Kang, can you come to my office, please?” 

Seconds after the door opened, and in walked an incredibly attractive woman with purple-dyed hair tied in a loose ponytail, dressed formally in a white shirt and gray jacket and almost as busty as Detective Kwon. She took a seat in the wooden chair next to you.

“This is the guy, Detective Kang.”

“Ah, so you’re the reason why we’re putting all these jackoffs in prison? It’s very nice to meet you,” she said, extending her hand and shaking yours gently. 

“Nice to meet you too, Detective.”

“Oh, you can just call me Hyewon,” she said with a shy smile.

“You see Detective Hyewon is the second-best detective here. She works really hard, she’ll be sure to surpass me soon.”

“That’s not likely boss. Nobody can interrogate like you can.”

Eunbi proudly smiled and quickly changed the subject. “Now, while we’re unable to offer you the protection we promised, we have an offer that’s a bit unorthodox.” 

“How so?” you said with a puzzled look. 

Hyewon spoke up. “We can’t monitor you 24/7 at this time but in lieu, I can offer you a safe place to stay.”

You furrowed an eyebrow in confusion.

“As I said, it’s a bit unorthodox but given the situation, we believe it’s a good compromise,” Eunbi said. 

“You see, I have a spare bedroom that’s just collecting dust. Equipped with the latest home automation, reinforced windows, and a 24/7 monitoring system. My house is very secure and located away from all major parts of the city.“

“That’s a generous offer but I don’t need a babysitter.” 

Eunbi laughed. “We’re not saying you do. These men are out for blood and we don’t know who might show up to confront you. Like you said you don’t get out much and Hyewon can do most of her investigative work from home. It’s a temporary solution, you shouldn’t be there for more than a month.”

“Along with my elite detective skills I spent two years in culinary school, I can cook as well as I can catch criminals,” Hyewon added nonchalantly.

“We won’t force you to live there of course, but you would be safer than at your own home.”

The two detectives looked at you, anticipating your answer. You gave it a moment to ponder over. 

“I’ll give it a shot.” 

“Thank you. Your safety is our number one priority.” 

✦✦

Moving to a new place even temporarily with someone who was a complete stranger was a bit awkward, to say the least. You only brought essential items over to Hyewon’s place, surprised by how large it was and grateful for two separate bathrooms. 

It was an understatement to say it was strange living with a beautiful woman you had just met. It took an entire week to adjust to the complicated situation, but each day that passed you both opened up little by little. It turns out Hyewon wasn’t lying, she was a fantastic cook and you had a multitude of things you shared in common. 

The first week went by quicker than expected. Awkward exchanges of quiet good mornings gradually turned into full conversations, sharing stories of being on opposing sides. 

Hyewon had plenty of tales to share of her short two year career - ranging from month-long investigations to chasing after suspects, to seeing a dead body for the first time. Hyewon shared the unexpected frustrations of being considered the prettiest woman in the station and having to prove that she wasn’t hired for just a pretty face.

After helping her clean up the intricate feast that was a most delicious breakfast, she took a seat on one of the kitchen island stools, refilling her coffee.

“I have to head into the office today to help out our team with some investigations. I’ll be working late most likely. You have both of our numbers if you need anything though, okay?”

“I’m not a puppy, I can survive one night,” you teased.

“I know, I wasn’t insinuating you were...” Hyewon replied as her awkwardness returned, her embarrassment strangely cute.

“The fridge is full of groceries but I didn’t have time to cook anything, sorry.” 

“Don’t be. I’m not that bad a cook myself, It’ll be fine. I’ll hold down the fort.”

“Okay. Call if you need anything.” 

✦✦

Hyewon’s spacious two-bedroom house felt rather lonely without her in it. You caught yourself talking a little too much to her living room virtual assistant, the eerily human voice being the only human contact you had that night meant it was time for something else. 

Heading to the fridge to grab a soda you conducted your own investigation of your own, having free rein of the house you gave every room except her bedroom a look, well decorated with light red and pinks everywhere.

After watching a couple hours of tv and making a quick meal you decided to sleep early. In the morning Eunbi wanted you to come in and sign a few affidavits and you wanted to be fully prepared for that process. 

When you woke up that morning something felt different. You didn’t quite know what time it was, but judging through the light shining through the sheer black curtains of your room it had to be at least 6 a.m. 

As you struggled to adjust to consciousness, you couldn’t help realize the obvious weight and pressure on your body. Your vision cleared, and the unmistakable purple hair snuggled against your chest belonged to a feminine figure that could only belong to one woman. Hyewon. 

While you enjoyed the comforting warmth of her body, you weren't sure what she was doing on top of you. She felt your movements and stirred awake and you were about to get your answer. 

Hyewon lifted her head off of your chest, realizing where she was but not looking any less confused. 

"Good morning?" you said, just as confused as her. 

"H-hi…” she sleepily said. “I can explain…I think..."

"Take your time," you said.

Hyewon gathered herself and laid down beside you flat on her stomach. 

"We had a late night and we didn't get much done yesterday. Our leads ended up as dead ends, so I didn't get home until around 2 am."

"Sounds rough."

"I washed up and going to my own bed seemed so lonely, and your door was open and well...your bed looked so welcoming and inviting. I only laid down for a few minutes but I guess I fell asleep and ended up on top of you and so here we are."

“Sure was an interesting way to wake up.” 

"I'm so sorry,” she said as she buried her face in her hands.

“It’s not that big of a deal, Hyewon. It’s all cleared up now so I understand. I’m just sorry I woke you.” 

"You didn't wake me. Well, part of you did but.."

She hesitated. "I felt something poking me when I was on top of you," Hyewon blushed. 

"Oh god. Now I'm the one who should be sorry."

Hyewon giggled. "Is this the famous morning wood I've heard about? There's nothing to be sorry for..."

"Have you not-" 

"Had sex before? I'm not a virgin, I've just never slept with a man before.”

“I see. Do you not like men?”

“I”m not against sleeping with men, I just haven’t had good experiences. Women are gentle and their skin is so soft and they smell amazing.”

“All of that is definitely true.” 

“I’m just picky I guess. Meanwhile, Eunbi will sleep with anyone who will put their head between her thighs.”

“I bet that’s a very long line of people.”

“It is. I was at the top of it.”

“You were?”

“She...she was my first. I’ve only slept with a few women after her, and we still fool around from time to time when work doesn’t keep us busy.” 

“And here I thought my morning wood was over.”

Hyewon blushed and covered her mouth, hiding against the mattress.

"I'm really sorry, I-" 

"There's nothing to be sorry for. It happens…” you said embarrassed. 

“I just like having someone to talk to in the morning,” Hyewon said. 

“I do too.”

“Would you be okay…” she hesitated. 

“With sharing the bed? I don’t mind.” you interrupted. “It’s plenty big for two people.”

“No I-I mean if y-you don’t want-” 

“I don’t mind at all, Hyewon.” 

Hyewon paused. “I probably snore though. And some days I’d have to get up before you do, I’d hate to wake you. “

“I’m a really heavy sleeper,” you said, trying to deflect her excuses. 

“If you really don’t mind, then I’ll sleep here too. My room does get rather lonely…”

Sharing a smile, the thought of sharing a bed with Hyewon made your sudden arrangement more enjoyable. 

“I can sleep away from you or put the pillow on the other side of the bed.”

“No, that’s not necessary. Just sleep how you always do.” 

“Okay,” you agreed, settling your agreement.  

If Hyewon snored in her sleep, you never once heard her. Keeping things casual, you told each other good night and good morning, sometimes both and sometimes neither depending on if your schedules met up. 

Hyewon’s sleep attire went from long sleeve pajamas and pants, and as she became more comfortable with the situation she herself became more comfortable and more casual. 

Ditching pajama pants for shorts, long sleeves to tank-tops, and eventually settling on oversized shirts enough to cover her up. Except for the time it didn't and you got a glimpse of her cute butt and the black pair of boyshorts underwear she didn’t know she was showing off. 

You had reached the third week of living with Hyewon, and you were as comfortable with her as being in your own skin. Sharing a bed wasn’t as complicated as you thought, although there certainly were moments where a leg brushed up against your own and vice versa. Avoiding physical contact completely was impossible though and you didn’t think much about it.

“Good morning,” Hyewon sat as she sat up, yawning widely and stretching her arms high up. You turned your head to the side to greet her. 

“Morning. Heading into work today?” you asked sleepily. 

Hyewon shook her head and messy violet hair went everywhere. “Eunbi has a bunch of interrogations scheduled, so unless she needs me for something I’m staying here.” 

“A nice relaxing morning then.” 

“Mhmm. Want breakfast?” she asked, throwing her side of the covers off and standing up, doing a quick stretching routine.

“Breakfast sounds great.” 

Lifting your head up you realized you weren’t the only thing that had woken up, gritting your teeth and laying your head back down. 

“I’ll...meet you at the table.” 

“Morning wood again?” she teased.

“Yeah...You know too much about me now.” 

 You were more than thankful the blankets weren’t thin. You waited for Hyewon to leave the room so you could make a beeline for the bathroom, but instead, you saw the wheels turning in her head. 

“Do you want me to help?” she asked as innocently as she had just asked about breakfast. You nearly choked. 

“Help…? You repeated, making sure you weren’t hearing things. 

“You’re always hard in the morning. I’ve felt it poking me in the back, and I know how annoying it must be to wake up throbbing like that.” 

“H-hyewon I-”

“It’s not a big deal,” she smiled as she threw herself at the covers. 

You still couldn’t believe it.

“I’ve jerked off a guy before. He finished in like twenty seconds so I never got to enjoy it.” 

“You’re that good, huh?”

“I’m definitely not,” she laughed. 

She tossed the covers off, leaving the sight of you pitching a tent through your boxers in plain sight. 

“You poor thing,” she said as she stared at the huge bulge poking through your underwear.      She took a breath as she grabbed the top of your boxers and slowly pulled them down, revealing your needy cock that throbbed as it was released. 

Her eyes went wide. “You’re really big,” she said, not wasting time as she wrapped her slim fingers around your length, forming a tight fist and began slowly stroking. 

You moaned at her touch. Her hand was cold which brought a different yet pleasurable type of sensation. “Hard like a rock,” she smiled as she continued pumping and you quickly began leaking all over her fingers. For someone inexperienced, it felt good, but you’d have to try really hard to screw up a handjob.

Hyewon looked at the clear liquid coating her fingers with a curious look.

“So much precum,” she said innocently as she licked one of her fingers clean, waiting a second to form an opinion. 

“It tastes good.” 

“The real thing tastes better.”

She blushed. Tightening her grip, she quickened her strokes as she settled on a rhythm and looked up.

“Does this feel good?” 

“It feels great.” 

Hyewon’s innocent eyes as she jerked you off was such a bold contrast. The last woman who had touched you was Eunbi, a master of teasing and anticipation. Hyewon’s straight to the point was a nice change.

“How long does it usually take?” she asked, genuinely curious. 

“To cum?” 

“Yes.” 

“It depends on a lot of things. Who’s doing it, what they’re doing, how they’re doing it…”

“Am I not doing a good job? You didn’t cum yet,” she said, feeling concerned.

“No, you’re doing great. There’s not a lot of stimulation with a handjob, so unless you really know what you’re doing it’s gonna take a while.”

“Anything I can do to make it feel better?” 

“Do you have any lube?” Hyewon shook her head disappointed.

“That’s fine. You can spit on it.” 

Hyewon listened and did as told, letting saliva drip out of her mouth she spat multiple times on your cock. The friction felt better instantly. 

“Anything else?” 

You were already at this point, might as well up the ante.

“You could uh. Take your shirt off?” You said, testing her reaction. You waited nervously. 

Hyewon thankfully didn’t seem to mind. She grabbed the hem of her large black overshirt and lifted it over her head. There wasn’t a bra on underneath to cover up her pale chest. She had the same pair of underwear you had seen that one time. Her breasts were big, not as big as Eunbi, but still sizable and the perfect shape with perfect pink nipples. Her stomach was toned and tight, Hyewon’s body was downright delicious. 

“Holy shit.” 

Hyewon smiled. “You like my body?” 

“I do, you're pretty hot, Hyewon."

She smiled and kept stroking and you couldn’t peel your eyes off her delicious tits. So large and round, you wanted to dive in immediately but didn't want to get greedy. 

After just a few minutes you felt your abdomen tightening, subconsciously fucking into Hyewon’s fist, drooling at her newly exposed tits. 

“Fuck, I’m close,” you moaned, leaking even more.

“You’re going to cum?” 

“Y-yes,” you replied. 

Hyewon gripped harder and stroked fasted, encouraging your release with her eyes focused on your cock, anticipating your release. You were almost there, staring at her beautiful tits bouncing in time with her strokes, waiting for your climax to arrive. With a forceful grunt, you exploded in her hand, hips jerking and groaning loudly as you released and coated her fingers with your hot seed. She kept pumping until you were drained, keeping notice of your sensitivity as she winded down her movements to a halt. 

She looked on in surprise as her fingers were covered in your stickiness. She grabbed a tissue to clean herself off, but not without giving one of her messy fingers a sample. 

“You’re right, the real thing does taste better.” she smiled. “Now let’s get some food in us.” 

✦✦

There was a surprising lack of awkwardness around the table as Hyewon served breakfast. Scrambled eggs, both sausage, and bacon cooked to perfection as per your request. She knew you needed a little extra energy after draining your stamina. 

“How is the case proceeding? Any closer?” you asked, not wanting the conversation to steer towards what had just happened. 

“Things are complicated. We’re finding it harder to apprehend the suspects we need, they’re on the move constantly. They know we’re onto them but we don’t have the resources to send more teams.” 

“They own so many businesses they could practically hide anywhere in the city, sadly,” you said.

“This is so frustrating,” she said. “But we have to move forward, taking any steps we can. I’m going to be spending a lot of time at the office next week.” 

“I’ll take care of the house, it’ll be in tiptop shape.” 

Hyewon nodded. “You’ll also have to take care of morning wood on your own, mister,” she teased.

“Back to the old ways then,” you sadly said.

Hyewon paused as she finished her eggs, chewing carefully as she formed a thought. 

“I feel bad. Although, you know I kind of liked it.”

“Liked what?”

“I... liked jerking you off. Feeling how hard you were, hearing you moan when I touched you. I felt something...seeing you throbbing when I made you cum.” 

Hyewon’s typical blank expression morphed into a deadly smirk. 

“I can see why Eunbi likes her job so much. That feeling of control is just...intoxicating.” 

“Do you like taking control, Hyewon?” you asked. 

“In my job absolutely not. But in the bedroom...I don’t know yet. Maybe.” 

“We’ll have to do some investigating then.” 

“Guess we will.” 

✦✦

 You didn't see much of Hyewon that week as expected. Your sleep schedules never synced and you ended up fast asleep alone before her, usually waking up to an empty bed. 

"Long day?" 

"Long week."

Hyewon didn't follow up on the conversation that night, drifting away to sleep. Over the weeks of becoming familiar with each other, you had gotten closer with Hyewon, both figuratively and literally. There was something that was never spoken about but you often woke up with an arm or leg draped over your body, or her chest pinned to your back. You certainly didn't mind the welcome intimacy. 

During a rather peaceful sleep, you felt something jolt you up. 

"Were you asleep?" she asked. 

"No, I wasn't," you lied. 

"I can't sleep," she frowned. 

"Too much on your mind?

"I guess. What do you do when you can't sleep?"

"I lay there for a few minutes and try to relax. If it doesn't work warm milk usually does the trick," you said. 

"We're out of milk," she pouted. "Any other ideas?" 

"Honestly when I really can't sleep I just jerk off. Puts me out like a light."

Hyewon felt her cheeks flushed as she hid her head in her hands. 

"I can leave the room if you want..." you said. 

"What for?" 

"So you can…you know."

"Touch myself?” She said innocently. “I've never given myself an orgasm. I just let Eunbi do everything for me."

"I see," you said as you formed an idea. 

"Can't you just do what Eunbi does to yourself?" 

"I don't think it would be the same."

"Well, I'm out of ideas then. Unless you want to call her in the middle of the night."

"She'd kill me."

Hyewon huffed in frustration. You were fresh out of ideas and sympathized with her. Looking over her it was kind of cute how frustrated she was, bundled up neck-deep under the covers as she watched the ceiling fan, trying to do anything to fall back asleep.

She turned onto her side, her doe eyes facing you. “Can you help me?” 

“Help you what?” 

“Help me fall asleep…”

“How do you want me to do that?”

“Ah, don’t make me say it.” 

You smiled. “Do you want me to give you an orgasm, Hyewon?”

“Y-yes... If you don’t mind...” 

“Not at all.” 

You threw the covers and sat up, making your way to her position. Hyewon had on a black cotton t-shirt which you lifted up enough to see her hips. Her underwear was pink and lacy, covering up just enough of her skin to still be sexy enough. 

“Can I take these off?” you asked. She nodded and lifted her butt. You grabbed the top of her cute underwear and began to slowly pull it off her hips, peeling it off her body and down her smooth long legs.

Hyewon nervously kept her legs locked together, but after seeking her approval you spread her thighs and revealed her beautiful pink pussy. Kissing up her inner thighs you heard her gasp as your lips made contact with her soft warm skin. 

“Your body is so amazing,” you said as you planted more wet kisses on her pale thighs. 

“T-thank you. It’s not as nice as Eunbi, I wish I had her figure,” she said sadly.”

“It’s not a competition. I’m sure you have things Eunbi is jealous of.” 

“I-I guess so.” 

Not wanting her to be down on herself anymore you interrupted her and licked up and down her thighs, painting them with long swipes of your tongue. She whimpered. 

“O-oh, fuck…” 

Making your way in between them, you kissed her center before running a finger through her folds, watching the way she looked.

“You’re wet.” 

“I-I can’t help it...” 

You started warming her up by licking up her pink slit, giving yourself the first taste of her pussy, and inhaling her aroma. You explored her folds with your tongue, cleaning off her juices until you reached her clit. You blew a puff of hot air against it and she whined. 

“You have such a pretty pussy,” you said, and before she could respond you swirled around her hardened clit, running circular patterns along it before taking it into your mouth and sucking.

“Ahh!” she moaned. You continued to eat her out, tasting her juices and licking everything up as her warm thighs wrapped around your head. 

Buried against her crotch you went wild, tasting all of Hyewon’s delicious sensitive pussy, suckling on her clit wildly as she squirmed and moaned. 

“Fuck, you’re so good at that. No wonder Eunbi likes you.”

You kept the pressure on her clit, suckling hard and you brought a finger inside her cunt, and then another, curling them and finding her spot immediately. Hyewon’s hips bucked as she moaned loud, as you licked and sucked everything that leaked out between her luscious legs, feeling her body trembling and reacting to everything you did. 

“Oh god, oh god! I’m going to cum!”

Looking up straight at her buried in between her heavenly thighs, you licked and sucked up her clit, and Hyewon came almost right away, making a mess on your face. 

Slowly removing yourself from her pussy and licking your lips, helping her ride out her orgasm, caressing her thighs as she came down from her high, panting, and still seeing stars. 

“Hol- wow. You’re really good with your mouth.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to sleep now?”

“I will...but I don’t want you to go without returning the favor.”

“I’ll be fine,” you said. 

“You made me feel so good though, I just want to do the same,” Hyewon protested

“I don’t want to keep you up.” 

“You won’t.” 

“I can just go jerk off in the bathroom, it’s no big deal.”

“You don’t need to do that. After what you just did for me I want to help you too,” she said.

“Besides, I’m already half-naked,” she said as she pulled her shirt off, letting you see her wonderful full breasts for the second time. 

“Now I’m fully naked.” 

You felt the throbbing in your crotch as your eyes focused on every inch of her body. 

“You don’t have to get naked to give me a handjob.” 

“A handjob? You deserve much more than a handjob.” 

“What do you have in mind?” 

“I want us to both be tired at the end of this,” she smirked. 

You had established Hyewon as the innocent and naive type, and while you were mostly spot-on seeing this side of her changed that. 

Hyewon gestured for you to lay down and you took her former position, adjusting the pillows to your liking. Taking a kneeling position, you spread your legs for her, the anticipation high already.

She lingered there for a moment. Her face stayed blank, the same way it had the first time you met her. It gave you the chance to admire her face, her pretty brown eyes, her cute nose, and cherry red lips, lips that you didn’t realize were so plump and kissable. 

“Are you going to keep your shirt on? It’s only fair I see you naked too isn’t it?” she asked. 

She had a point. Grabbing the collar of your shirt, you lifted it over your head and tossed it off the bed, 

“Now we’re talking,” she said, biting her lip. “You have a really nice body as well.” 

Staring just a little longer than you expected, Hyewon’s view went to your crotch. 

“What do you want me to do?” she asked. 

“You’ve never given a blowjob before?” 

She shook her head disappointingly. “Jerking off that one guy is the only experience I’ve had with men. And now, you.” 

“Just do what you did that one morning, but add your tongue and lips. Be careful with your teeth though.” 

She nodded in acknowledgment. “I've seen porn. Just suck it right? Like a popsicle?”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “There’s more to it than that, but yeah.”

“What do I do to get you hard?” she asked. 

“Well, I’m halfway there, just rub it through my boxers.” 

She followed your instructions, using her hands to create friction through your crotch awkwardly. It was cute how clueless she was about this. 

Hyewon’s eyes opened wider and within a matter of seconds before a bulge had formed.

“That didn’t take long,” she smiled and knew how to do the rest. Tugging your boxers down, she left you in the same state of undress as her, your cock twitching as it was freed to meet her. 

She did the same thing she did before, albeit with more confidence this time, wrapping her cold hand around your shaft and keeping a tight grip. Using smooth movements she stroked slowly, the now-familiar pumping motions becoming more natural. 

Using the earlier example a bit too literal, licking up and down one side of your shaft like it was an actual popsicle. It looked awkward but didn’t stop from feeling good. She did this on all sides, and you directed her to move her tongue lower, helping her figure it out one step at a time. 

“You’re getting it,” you praised her, as she continued lathering up your shaft. 

“Go lower,” you told her and she got the message, licking your balls with shallow swipes of her tongue, causing you to groan. 

“They’re sensitive right?” she asked. 

“Very, so you have to be careful,” you replied. Hyewon nodded cutely.

“Put your lips around the tip, start out gently. That’s the part that feels the best.” 

Licking a little more she traveled up until her mouth found the tip of your cock, eyeing your length. When she was ready she licked her lips and wrapped them around your swollen tip, hollowing her cheeks as she started sucking gently. You let out a deep breath and a moan immediately, the softness of her plump lips indescribable as they surrounded your cock. 

“Like this?” She asked as she carefully sucked, trying to keep her teeth out of the way as she drew out your pleasure. 

“Yes, that’s perfect. Feels so good already.” 

Feeling proud, Hyewon took more inside her mouth, almost reaching the middle of your shaft as she activated her gag reflex. 

“Don’t take it all at once,” you warned. She looked so damn pretty giving you head. Innocent Hyewon with her lips all over your dick, it was a wonderful sight, even the first few inches inside her mouth felt absolute heaven. She got used to it little by little, knowing where her limits were as she bobbed her head up and down, keeping her eyes dead centered on you. 

“Your lips feel amazing. You’re a natural at this,” you praised, the warmth of her wet mouth driving you insane. Maybe it was the porn videos, or maybe she just had a gifted talent, but what she was doing to you felt so fucking good. Her lips were perfect for giving head, their plumpness sucking the life out of your cock as her throat made loud slurping sounds, infinity pleasing to your ears. 

“You can use your tongue too,” you suggested, and after a moment you felt her wet tongue splashing against your underside, causing even more pleasure.

“Fuck.” 

You leaned back against the pillows, closing your eyes and listening to Hyewon’s mouth slurping your dick, her warm lips doing their work. You’d have to train her to deepthroat at some point, but if she was already this good at sucking you off you were in for a treat. 

Hyewon took you rather deep, gagging herself a few times before pulling her mouth off and stopped, stroking your length. 

“You okay?” you asked.

“Mhm. I don’t want you to cum yet.”

She had a determined look in her eyes and you could tell she wasn’t ready for things to end. 

“I want us to feel good. At the same time,” she said.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ve never felt a dick inside me. That changes tonight,” she said, growing more confident. 

“Not even a toy?” 

“No. Eunbi doesn’t want to use them, she thinks I’m not ready yet. But I am.” 

“If you say you’re ready then you’re ready.” 

“I am.” 

With her expression determined she and straddled your lap, giving you even more time to stare at her naked body. 

With her warm thighs on each side of your waist, Hyewon grabbed hold of your cock and lined it up with her entrance. Her pussy was so pink, just as pretty as she was and plenty wet. She carefully lifted herself up, and with very delicate movements she lowered herself onto your cock, both of you gasping as she was penetrated for the very first time. 

“Shit,” she moaned, the new sensations so overwhelming to her. 

“Take your time,” you said, watching carefully and caressing her thighs. She sank down a little deeper, gritting her teeth as a mixture of pain and pleasure hit her all at once. Her pussy squeezed your shaft tight, almost painfully so even guided by her intense wetness. 

“How’s it feel?” you asked. She looked unsure.

“I-I don’t know yet.” 

Hyewon moved her hips back up until she was almost empty, moving back down and you watched as the tip of your cock disappeared inside.

Giving her time to adjust, you let her do everything, only taking you as deep as she felt comfortable with. 

“You’re so fucking big. I feel so stretched already,” 

“So tight, Hyewon. You feel amazing.” 

“That’s good right?” she asked. 

“Yes. You’re even tighter than Eunbi,” you admitted, not that you would tell anyone else that. 

Hyewon braced herself by holding on to your chest, carefully trying to position herself. Once she slowly adjusted, her hips began moving, and she began riding you. 

“So damn big,” she repeated. “Eunbi must love this.” 

She moved slowly at first, hips gently moving up and down, letting herself feel that intoxicating stretch. The pain had subsided and she only felt pleasure, moaning softly already. Her walls tightened more and more as she took you deeper inside her, leaving a trail of slick covering your cock to aid in penetration. 

“You feel really good inside me,” she said, at first not letting more than half of your shaft inside her pussy, trying to control her breathing. 

Hyewon carefully found a rhythm, riding with a slow but constant pace, her tits gently bouncing with every movement. You couldn’t stop staring, mesmerized by the way they jiggled, adding to your arousal. 

“You really like my tits don’t you?” she asked.

“Of course. They’re perfect.” 

“You can touch them if you want,” she said. 

“Oh I’ll do more than just touch,” you replied, and she beamed, giving the go-ahead. Running your hands up her tight body and feeling her soft pale skin you grabbed a handful of them, groping them as you felt her tight pussy lips squeezing your cock. You didn’t need to compare them to anyone else, they were perfect as is - soft, heavy, and delicious. 

She rode a little faster, moaning louder as you buried yourself in her scrumptious tits, sucking on her tits and feasting on them, being careful to not overstimulate Hyewon. 

“You’re so wet, Hyewon,” you said, watching her slowly fall apart. She replied in groans and moans, taking as much inside as she could, relaxing herself.  

“I’m going to feel this in the morning,” she said, lips curling as she pushed herself all the way down, impaling her pussy to the hilt. 

“Oh god!” she moaned as she bounced up and down, riding faster with all of you inside her tight cunt. You wanted to feel all of her body, wandering your hands around her delicate soft skin as you settled on her ass. Plump and tight, you squeezed it, still letting her do the work. 

“Fuck, oh fuck! I think I’m going to cum!” 

“Then cum for me, Hyewon.’

“I-I will!” she said, louder than expected. Bouncing her ass on your cock she leaned backward, supporting herself on your thighs as she exerted more energy in her hips. 

“Oh fuck yes, I’m gon-” 

Not even able to finish her sentence, her body lost control as she came violently, rolling her hips as her tight pussy pulsated around your cock and you felt a wave of juices drowning your cock. Her pace slows down significantly, trying to ride out the first orgasm she’s had that wasn’t a woman's fingers or tongue and the pleasure is so intoxicating to her that she might pass out. 

“H-holy shit,” she said, as she looked up for the first time in several seconds, almost embarrassed by how loud she was. Her eyes were fully glazed over after her orgasm and her pussy felt even tighter and wet around you, but she had just enough strength to keep her hips moving. 

“You need to cum too,” she said, regaining her senses as her whole body leaned forward, pressing herself against your body and you unexpectedly felt her soft lips against yours. 

“That’s for making me feel so good,” she smiled, running a hand through her hands, returning to her past pace.

“Now I want this pussy to return the favor.” 

With a tired gaze on her face, she bounced again on your cock as you kept your hands around her waist, feeling the sweat misting across her perfect skin. You wanted to freeze the moment in time. The way she moaned with every thrust with that pretty voice, how wet and tight she was, the way her supple breasts bounced deliciously, it was all incredibly arousing and yet too much at the same time. 

“I’m gonna cum too,” you blurted out, words becoming difficult to use. Her eyes lit up. 

“Good. I wanna see how much you can fill me up.” 

Her lewd words and the way her wet pink flesh squeezed your cock made it impossible to hold on, giving a few more thrusts as you buried yourself in Hyewon’s tight pussy. Lustfully staring into each other's eyes, you throbbed inside her and groaned her name loudly as you began filling her hole up, shaking as you emptied wave after wave of plentiful thick seed deep into her cunt. 

Once her tight pussy milked you of everything, giving Hyewon every last drop she collapsed on top of you, the warmth of her hot sweaty body and her weight comforting yours. 

“It’s so warm,” she said, gasping and panting in your ears. She rested there for what felt like hours as you both tried to breathe normally again. Heaving panting filling the room as Hyewon used your chest for leverage and gingerly lifted herself off of your cock, decoupling your tangled bodies. 

You watched together as the mess you left inside her slowly leaked out of her pussy, a steady thick stream of hot cum the was the evidence of the intense pleasure she had given you, dripping down her thighs and splashing against the bedsheets. 

Hyewon’s chest is still heaving, her purple hair out of place as she tried to catch a deep breath. She looked at your depleted cock and the combined juices still left on it and instinctively grabbed and took it back into her mouth, sliding it down her mouth as much as she could to clean it off, before using her tongue to do the rest.

“I’m going to need to taste a lot more of this.” 

With her stamina used up, she crashed, her skin kissing yours as her wonderful breasts pressed against your chest as if she were using your body as a pillow. 

“That was amazing.” 

“Are you okay? You rode my dick so well.” 

“I...I’m good. I could use a shower, but I can barely move.”

 “Probably be worse in the morning.” 

“Then I’ll deal with it in the morning,” she said. Her final words before she drifted off, tired, her naked body still rested on yours. It wouldn’t take before you followed, sharing one of the most peaceful nights in some time. 

You woke up restful and full of energy for once, Hyewon was surprised to see you wake up a few minutes after she did. 

“You’re up! Good morning,” she sweetly said.

“Good morning, “ you replied. 

“Sorry if I snored.”

“I didn’t hear you if you did.”

“Are you heading into the office?” 

“Yes. There’s been a big break and we have the advantage for once. Eunbi needs the whole team to be there.” 

“Want breakfast?” she asked, not bothering to put on pants yet.

“I do, but I have everything I need to eat right in front of me,” you boldly said.

Hyewon blushed. “You’re feisty this morning.” 

“When do you have to be there?” 

“In about an hour.”

“An hour is a lot of time,” you said.

“I know that look…”

"I don't know what you mean by that." 

"I'm sure you don’t…" she said as she plopped on the bed on her stomach, bare feet up in the air. 

“I wouldn’t mind one for the road. It’d keep me in a good mood all day.”

“Don’t want you to be late though.” 

“I do have to still shower and get ready, but I’m sure Eunbi won’t mind if I'm a few minutes late...”

“We’d save some time if we just went straight for the shower.” 

Hyewon looked flustered.

“And water,” you added. 

Hyewon pondered, sitting up. “My shower is rather big, so you’ve sold me,” she said, removing what little clothes she had left on and gestured to you to follow her, not that you needed any instructions to. 

She liked the water as hot as it would go. Her body was beautiful naked, but as water flowed down her chest and onto her flushed skin, matting her dyed hair to her gorgeous features. it enhanced her naked body even more. Hyewon came on your cock as you fucked her from behind and pressed her against the cold shower tile and she finished you off on her tits, carefully away from the water to make sure you got a chance to savor your handiwork. 

Drying her hair off and deciding on what to wear, Hyewon’s phone rang. 

“Detective Kang speaking.” 

“Yes, boss. He’s right here.” 

“Understood. We’ll both be there.”

Tossing her phone onto the bed she took a seat and finished dressing as you waited for her explanation. 

“We’ve made an arrest on one of the Goda clan’s lieutenants and we have a potential lead on the patriarch. Eunbi wants you to be there to give any assistance and make sure he doesn’t escape.” 

“Why me?” 

“You know the way they operated and any potential backdoors they might exploit. We’re looking for any and every advantage we can use. Your knowledge of their operations will be a powerful ally at this point.” 

“I’ll do what I can, I can’t promise I’ll be useful.” 

“That’s all we’re asking. Now let’s get going, I’ll let Eunbi know we’re on the way.” 

#izone smut #hyewon smut #male reader #hyewon #izone #reader insert #kpop fanfic #kpop fanfiction

[andypantsx3]

in cinders | 1 | considerations

pairing: Todoroki Shouto / Reader

length: 24,362 words / 9 chapters

summary: You’re just trying to fairy godmother your best friend into a happily ever after. If only the prince would stop hanging around and cooperate.

tags: cinderella AU, prince!Shouto, romance, misunderstandings, reader-insert

warnings: aged up characters, eventual smut

It was the deep of winter when the castle exploded into preparations. Prince Shouto would have twenty-one winters at the end of the season, and word throughout the servants’ halls was that the king sought him a princess. The castle was overflowing with the appropriate requisitions for a winter masquerade; fanciful game, yards of brightly-colored silks, and all manner of gifts pouring into the palace halls like water burbling from a spring.

You liked looking at the gifts as they piled up the hallways, petting the wild furs and soft silks with a covetous appreciation. Best of all were the books, stacked up in the corridors until they towered in tall, unsteady cliffs. You liked running your fingers over their freshly-inked covers, enjoying the rustle of the pages and the crackling peel of the spines as they opened. You wondered if the prince would ever have time to read all these, wondered what knowledge could be gleaned from their soft pages.

Not that you would find out, seeing as you couldn’t read.

There was, of course, no need for a kitchen girl to know her letters. Your duties included much more enthralling pursuits, like cleaning vegetables and scouring pots, and the very engaging task of fetching hot water for tea and washing. It wasn’t as if the mop and bucket would ask you to recite your alphabet.

The work did come with its benefits, however. You spent a fair amount of time smuggling pastries into your skirts to be delivered later to all your palace favorites; Hagakure in the laundry room, and Ashido in the cramped workrooms of the seamstresses’ offices which were always spilling with bright fabrics and delicate threads. You occasionally snuck a sweet cake into the hands of Denki Kaminari as he patrolled the courtyards, brimming with good cheer.

The major benefit of your work, however, was that it left plenty of time for gossip with your best friend Ochako.

Which is what you were doing the morning where it all started.

“Can you imagine?” Ochako asked, bouncing a little and accidentally slopping water over the sides of her bucket. “What it must be like to go to a ball!”

You side-eyed her. You didn’t have to imagine, considering you had been wrangled into carrying plates at the last mid-winter ball. Balls were, in your opinion, just an excuse for nobility to get drunk and behave badly. Last time, you’d nearly run yourself dry spitting in every goblet you ferried to Duke Shishikura’s table after overhearing his remarks on the shape of another serving girl’s backside.

Still, you hated to discourage her.

“It sounds great, Ochako,” you said, hoisting your own water bucket against your hip and spinning to return to the castle, “it must be a lot of fun.”

She scrambled after you. “All those handsome men and pretty dresses!” she said, “I’d wear a pink one, floofy like Lady Yaoyorozu does. With little pink ribbons on it.”

You could picture her, the rosy hue of her dress matching her always pink cheeks, spinning circles in a ballroom.

“And dancing!” she exclaimed, catching you up and bumping her shoulder against yours. “I wish I knew how to dance. Those girls always look so elegant when they twirl like that. How do they know where to put their feet?”

She continued as the two of you passed into the shadow of the castle courtyard, ducking into a small door to the servants’ halls, “And the food! We work all month preparing for the feast, it would be so nice to eat some of it!”

Now that you could get behind. Weeks out, provisions had already begun to arrive and you’d caught yourself mooning over the sweet nuts and berries, the colorful spices imported from the border kingdoms. You’d have to be more careful with how much food you pilfered this time around, as plenty of servants were sure to be doing the same.

“I’d bet it’s amazing,” you conceded. “I would eat a thousand platefuls and spend the whole evening by the refreshments.”

Ochako laughed. “You wouldn’t dance?”

The two of you turned into the large, drafty passageway that led into the main kitchens.

“I’d leave that to you,” you said, grinning. “You’d be the most beautiful girl at the ball, in your pink fluffy skirts. Your dance card would be full within minutes.”

A snort, echoing in the open passage, startled you. You whirled, finding Kamiko Ito behind you.

“Maybe if she was the only woman under sixty in attendance,” Kamiko quipped.

You glowered. Though she looked just like an angel with her glossy hair, big eyes, and full mouth, Kamiko was bad news. She was a chambermaid, one level above you in the servants’ hierarchy, and she never failed to make you feel it. She wielded her station like a sharpened sword, needling at you--though mostly Ochako--simply for the pleasure of seeing someone bleed.

“Fuck off, Kamiko,” you growled, moving to block Ochako from her view.

“Feeling brave today, are we, Y/N?” she hissed. “I would hate for the housekeeper to find out you’ve been running your mouth again.”

You grit your teeth. The last time the housekeeper had caught you swearing at Kamiko, you’d been lashed three times and given a week of extra duties, swilling the floors with lye long after the other servants had gone to bed and scraping the ashes out of the kitchen fireplaces. You’d spent the better part of the week with soot staining your cheeks and layering in your hair - too tired to even wash up before falling straight asleep the moment you made it back to your bed.

“Leave Ochako alone,” you groused, hating the way your voice forced itself into a more medial tone. You’d only just gotten all the soot out of your pillowcase and blanket.

Kamiko smirked. “Or what, cinders?”

Fortunately, you were saved from responding by the sound of heavy glass breaking in the kitchens beyond. You wheeled around, taking Ochako by the arm and dragging her into the kitchens.

“Y-your highness!” The cook’s normally deep voice was reaching a squeaky register you’d never heard him hit before. Rikido Sato was normally placid and calm, only ruffled when a dessert didn’t turn out the way he’d wanted. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Over Rikido’s burly shoulder, you could see the tall, lean form of Prince Shouto Todoroki, looking entirely out of place in the chaos of the palace kitchens. Beside him, his tousle-haired attendant Izuku Midoriya glanced around brightly, as though cataloguing every detail before him.

At Rikido’s feet, the shattered remains of a pitcher littered the floor.

You set your bucket down and moved to get a broom, going to your knees in front of Rikido to swipe the shards into a dust pan.

“My apologies for startling you,” the prince spoke in a deep, even tone. Even from your angle at Rikido’s feet, you could see how much more handsome he’d become since the last time you’d spotted him.

Having spent most of your life in service at the castle, you’d seen plenty of the young prince. Most of your sightings had been during his gangly teen years, when he’d spent the majority of his time out in the courtyards, learning the swords and the bow from the guardsmen. He'd trained hard for someone who - it was rumored - could bring down an entire fortress with the deadly combination of fire and ice magic that roiled within him. It was clear now that he’d grown plenty in the years since, his form broad-shouldered and strapped with lean muscle, hinting at the promise of power. The only admission to the boy he’d been before was that distinctive mop of red and white hair, his piercing heterochromatic eyes, and the scar that circled his left eye like one half of a masquerade mask.

“I came to make a request for the ball,” Prince Shouto continued, “for those cold noodles you served at the summer festival. You, ah--you don’t usually make them in the wintertime, so I thought…”

He trailed off, looking uncomfortable. He’d probably never had to ask for anything in his life before.

Rikido swept into a hasty bow, almost knocking straight into you as you climbed to your feet. “Anything, your highness! We will be sure to serve cold soba at the feast!”

The prince’s gaze flicked over you as you stumbled back behind Rikido, dustpan clutched in your hands. Beyond him, Midoriya seemed caught on something behind your left shoulder, mouth agape a little. You glanced quickly behind you, finding Ochako, eyes fixed resolutely to the kitchen floors, pink deepening her already rosy cheeks.

“Thank you,” the prince said, slowly. “You must be quite busy already. I shall take my leave.”

He leaned forward, executing a bow, though not nearly as deep the one Rikido still held. With that, he turned and swept from the room, his green haired valet hobbling alongside him to keep up.

Even after his exit, a ringing silence muffled the kitchens. It was likely that many of the servants here had never even seen their prince before, as royalty rarely made their way into the cramped passages and drafty rooms of the servants’ quarters. Even you could admit that Prince Shouto must be overwhelming to look at for the first time if one had not had the experience of seeing him as an awkward teen.

His very presence was latent with quiet command, and he was so very handsome.

“My god, he is so very handsome,” Ochako squeaked from behind you.

You turned to her. Her cheeks were still flush with pink and her water bucket was loose in her arms like she’d almost forgotten it was there.

Rikido finally swept out of his bow to look at her, and you laughed.

“He’s something, alright.”

Ochako blushed even deeper. “His eyes! And that hair - so ruffled. I wonder if it’s as soft as it looks.”

You thought back to the prince. His hair had seemed orderly enough to you, maybe a little windswept from the cold, but to each their own, you guessed.

Before you could respond, Kamiko swanned her way into the kitchens, bumping Ochako as she passed. “Not that you’ll ever find out, kitchen wench.”

She strode off, button nose pointed in the air, so much like the ladies whose rooms she cleaned. You felt an irritation rise within you as you watched her retreating figure. Where did a mere servant even get such a high and mighty attitude?

Ochako let out a heavy sigh. “I suppose she’s right. What business would I even have with him? He’s so far above me.”

Your notorious temper flared a little hotter at that. Kamiko was a toad. Ochako was sweet and kind, and deserved anything she wanted, whether it was a pink fluffy dress and an evening at the ball, or her soft-haired fantasy prince. You had no doubt that given an opportunity to speak with her, Prince Shouto would fall all over himself for her pink-cheeked charm. Any man would be lucky to be spared a moment of her time.

You gave her a considering look as you picked up your water bucket, and she stared back nervously. There might be a way to get her her evening at the ball. If you played your cards right, there might even be a way to get her her prince.

In your mind, a plan began to form.

You were going to teach Kamiko a lesson, even if you had to bathe in cinders to get there.

#fanfic #todoroki shouto #todoroki x reader #bnha #todoroki shouto x reader #boku no hero academia #bnha x reader

[jinjojess]

One of the main things I get asked about or have mentioned to me is why I don’t as zealously translate things on my blog anymore.

There’s a lot of reasons, some of which I’ve addressed in the past, but they’re kind of persistent issues that don’t only affect me. They affect just about every other fan translator that I’ve had the pleasure of working with and they’re why you don’t tend to see the same people stick around for a long period of time.

This is going to come across as a vent-type thing, and it isn’t aimed at anyone in particular, but just at certain trends in fandom and social media spaces in general, so I’m not calling anyone out or anything.

Like I mentioned before, you tend to notice that a lot of people who translate things for a particular fandom will drift away after a certain amount of time. This isn’t an accident, nor does it necessarily need to be an eventuality. Some people will always move on because they lose interest in the source material, but I’m not talking about that today.

Reason #1: Work and Real Life

The biggest, most persistent issue for me is my job. I work long hours, I have a two-hour commute on a train each day, and my work is very stressful and demanding. Would I rather be translating? Hell yes! Can I support myself doing translations for free? Hell no!

When I was doing really hardcore translation stuff, it was basically me not sleeping. That was a thing I could do because my hours were shorter then and I got long breaks throughout the year. I was home and in my house by 18:30 every night which meant I had way, way more free time than I’ve had in the last couple years.

I’m not in school anymore, nor do I work part time, nor am I figuring things out at my parents’ or anything. I’m also getting older and more tired. That means I can’t afford to be translating a bunch of text for free and sacrificing all my free time and time to sleep. It’s a little unfair to expect me to compete with pro translators, people who work part time, or are in university, or NEETs who happen to be doing translation stuff.

Reason #2: Lack of Motivation/Lack of “Customer Loyalty”

I was going to call this “lack of reward” but there is an inherent reward to doing this kind of work and lots of people have been very vocal and kind about their gratitude, so it’s not necessarily that you never are rewarded.

However, I do need to address the elephant in the room.

Fandom is a fickle and impatient creature. It doesn’t care about quality, it cares about speed. The second biggest reason I don’t try to keep up the pace I was going at a few years ago is because there’s really not any strong motivation to do so aside from my own pride and a handful of people.

Let me try to explain what I mean: when you’re cranking out translations quickly, before anyone else has touched anything, then people will respond well. They’ll reblog your posts, donate small amounts of money, draw you fanart, send you nice messages. The second you stop cranking things out as quickly though, all of that dries up. Yes, a core group of people will stick with you, but the majority of the fandom just kind of moves on and latches onto whoever’s faster.

And it’s frustrating. It’s annoying that I can spend hours and hours and hours putting something together, only for it to get like 50 notes. My DRT summaries have been read by countless people, but the posts themselves have less than 10 notes in most cases. 

People don’t really appreciate that translation is ultimately a creative act--it’s not just a mechanical process of Language In > Language Out, it require you to be creative in your word choices. Also they don’t appreciate the hidden work, like all the money spent procuring the original source material (which I always tried to do since I prefer to be self-reliant like a dumbass), or the formatting, or the TIME. 

Meanwhile, people will reblog visual art that looks similar with no qualms, but if it’s a long translation, they won’t even bother to read other interpretations, much less spread them.

People remember the names of visual artists, and will promote them and yell about how they need to be paid and whatnot, but they don’t tend to remember the names of people who translated things. Fandom just doesn’t do that. Unless you stay relevant and in the public eye as it were, fandom at large doesn’t remember the people who did seminal translations of works.

They don’t have to, of course, but I gotta admit that it doesn’t really make me want to pour hours of my own limited free time into working on something that no one will care about or remember I did after the fact.

Reason #3: Cutthroat Tactics

As you can imagine, when speed is the only thing that matters, the situation turns toxic real quick. While you’ll meet a lot of other great translators, and everyone I’ve personally worked with has been fantastic, but I think the incident that best shows off what I mean is what happened with Yaz and someone taking his raws to release their own version before shslscans did. That happens all the damn time.

While a certain group of people will cooperate and try not to step on others’ toes or be respectful (the reason why I never finished kamase-megane’s DRK1 translation), there will always be other people who just jump in and do stuff and don’t even recognize you--they can’t, because if they do, they run the risk of people going to read your stuff instead of theirs, and as we established, the fandom will only read one translation and nothing else.

There’s also the issue of the audience themselves, who will do things like nitpick everything you post if they don’t like it (which happened to a friend of mine, who ended up having people attack them because their interpretation of the vaguely worded source text didn’t line up with what they wanted to hear). 

There are also people who very clearly want to use you for their own advantage. You can always tell who these people are, because they will be up in your face and promoting you left and right until you need to take a breather, at which point they will drop you like a sack of potatoes and heavily promote someone who is doing the thing they want, but faster. They will also not circle back around and promote your version once you finish it.

The fandom will take your scans and your translations and use them without credit, gaining way more notoriety and attention than you ever could on your own (this happened to me last year on Twitter, where someone took a photo and translation I uploaded to my blog in 2014 and used it to garner LOADS of attention--while the Tumblr post that talked about the tweet credited me, the original thief never did, despite me politely asking).

Fandom will also turn their nose up at anything that isn’t a word-for-word translation. My summaries for the side novels are extremely detailed and I end up translating large passages anyway, and STILL people bitch that they won’t engage with summaries because they’re inferior. r/choosingbeggars much?

Part of the reason that no one remembers the translator or sticks with them if their pace drops is because there’s an unspoken expectation that the fandom is owed the translations. It doesn’t matter who they come from, but clearly someone has to do it, because it’s just a thing that fans are entitled to. That’s mind-boggling to me, who grew up with fan translations as the only way for me to experience a LOT of foreign language media. No one owes you translations of things as soon as they’re released!

Finally, it’s difficult to get your work even seen, because the market gets so saturated; all of the aggressive self-promotion often ignores what other people are doing, either because of sincere ignorance that your stuff exists, or because they’re intentionally ignoring you to make themselves seem like the only option.

Conclusion:

This is not a DanRon fandom problem; this is a fandom problem, full stop.

I can’t tell you what to do, or how to engage with fan translators and their work. This is more just a vent about things that irritate me about the whole scene and to explain why I don’t update as quickly or as often these days. 

I do still want to get my version out there, and I will still do it--I was doing side novel liveblogs and summaries before anyone paid attention to my blog and I will continue on after--but I do ask that maybe you be patient, or you try reading different translations of the same thing to appreciate the various approaches. Remember who translates what and makes sure that you always credit and source. Reblog translation posts, don’t just like them. 

Basically, treat us the way you treat visual artists.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to all the folks who have stuck with me through the years. Everyone who sends me nice asks and who has sent me art or liked or reblogged my posts, I appreciate all of that. You should be the norm, but you aren’t, and so I really love you guys. I’ll have some stuff for you very soon!

#long post #vent #translation #fan translation

[thenoodlesadventures]

Got some good pictures of the Noodle a couple days ago! It was the first sunny and dry day we have had in a while so we spent a few hours at the park and he found a ball!

I have really been thinking about how I am training and the techniques I WANT to use versus the ones I have been PUSHED to use by people I have been training with. So naturally I started testing. What does my dog really know in the absence of pressure? How does my value hold up under distraction without the threat of correction for a wrong choice? I am not happy with the answers that I have and have decided to largely put aside any sort of sport/trick training (aside from what he needs to get his mental energy out) and really focus on my relationship with my dog and getting some focus back without pressure. Most competitions require nothing more than a flat collar collar to be worn so it is useless if my dog can only focus under threat of pressure and my heel position has no value. I absolutely hate that some of my foundation with this dog is built on the overuse of tools that are made for very specific purposes. This overuse means that a lot of his behaviors crumble when these tools are absent. I do know that some of his intense distraction is from being a puppy/teenager (and not really knowing how to regulate his feelings yet) and I need to be careful to not put him in situations that are so intense he cannot learn from them as I move forward in relationship building and focusing exercises. The first things I will be working on are heeling on a flat collar and refocusing with distractions.

UPDATE: i was scrolling through the early posts on this blog and wow guys. Just wow. I remember i felt so disheartened when i posted this. Like i had failed my dog. Just really let him down and damaged him beyond belief. It was at the point where he would growl at me if i had to lean over him because he was so concerned because of the shit they had me doing. To some extent i did fail my dog. He had to go through all of that bullshit for me to learn how to advocate for him (and myself) and i will spend the rest of my life making that up to him. Every dog i own after him will be trained and raised differently because of him. However i did not completely fail my dog. Because i did stand up for him and his well-being, to myself and to the people i trained with. I will never do something another trainer told me to with my dog ever again without fully evaluating the impact that it might have on him. I will also do my utmost to approach training with him 1) in the most considerate way possible and 2) as a partnership. I owe him far more than that but this is what i can give him since i cannot take back anything that has already been done and i can only work with the dog that i have in front of me. Could i have had a drastically different dog in terms of confidence and reactivity/adjustment if i had supported him the way he clearly needed when he was younger? Yes. Is that the dog i have now? No.

So it has been a while since I posted this and let me tell you, we have come a long way. I still loose my patience/temper ever now and then because it is such an ingrained reaction at this point, but it is a rare occurance. My dog will actually wrestle with me now without getting so aroused that he bites me too hard. He has not growled (always because I walked towards him too quickly or something equally scary) at me in I do not know how long. His resilience to frustration is higher and we have actually had a few shaping sessions because he is willing to just offer behaviors now (i think he was too afraid of being wrong before to try anything new)! He actually is enjoying mimicry now which used to stress him out. He can informal heel without pressure in a variety of environments and on any flat collar. He is able to re-engage in a variety of environments too! We still have a ways to go before i call this one done but we sure as hell are getting there.

My list of things to do is smaller and in the absence of pressure I can actually see some things he was having issues with that I previously could not see because he was stressing low so often. Like he has a reactivity issue (which fluctuates wildly but with a strong relation to how much exercise he gets). He has a confidence issue. His relationship with me had been crumbling but is now strong enough that if he is nervous or suddenly frightened he comes over to me and stays there until he is calm and then goes back to investigating. Other things we have made progress with are dremeling with his consent, getting calm baths (he flips a shit over running water so he now gets legitimate baths lol), blow drying with consent, tooth brushing with AND without consent (cause some things still need to be done lol), ear cleaning without consent (we are working on the WITH consent part but that is going to take a long time), and touching him with consent and with descriptive signals (so i will tell him "face" before i pet his face and if he moves away then i do not pet his face and i do not ask again).

It is incredibly clear that he feels a hell of a lot more comfortable with me and that this has generalized to other people as well. He has always been a social dog but he is very sensitive so he used to not know what to do with his feelings about that. Now he just gets crazy excited to see people he knows and i love that for him. I have also found that i have a passion for training cooperative care behaviors and working with consent-based training! It really has been a journey to this point but i am excited to continue it with him!

Happy training!

#thenoodle #dog training #ecollars #reward based training #i am just super frustrated with how my mentors have been pushing me to train #there is a lot of anger in what they do #and i am really not okay with that #like no one learns anything when their teacher is angry #i would rather my dog make the choice i want him to make #because i made that choice more valuable than the other ones available to him #i want him to choose correctly because he wants to #not because he is scared of being wrong #pics

[relationshipsshrink]

The Unique Complexity Of Working With Divorcing Clients: Emotions On The Edge

When clients seek out the help of the Collaborative team, it is at a time of deep emotional trouble, a time when most feel they have lost their center of gravity. As such, working with divorcing people presents numerous challenges to the team. In a large part, these challenges are the result of the clients’ needs to spend significant amounts of total talking time centered on their personal problems. According to Doane and Cowan, Interpersonal Help-Giving of Family Practice Lawyers, in the American Journal of Community Psychology, 1981, clients can spend nearly 40 percent of their time focusing only on their emotional needs. Learning to work effectively with clients’ heightened states of emotionality can be one of the most challenging lessons for the Collaborative team.

How often do Collaborative professionals find themselves, despite their best efforts, tripped up by their own reactions to their clients? It is not unusual for members of the Collaborative team to find themselves feeling resentment, fear, guilt or perhaps just strong feelings of identification and sympathy with their clients’ pain. Some of their clients’ childlike behaviors and the often inappropriate thought processes brought on by the crisis of divorce can even cause them to question whether or not they have the proper strategies to advocate effectively for them.

The open and often unconstrained nature of clients’ struggles during divorce leads to discernible and, to some extent predictable, reactions on the parts of both clients and Collaborative professionals, often referred to in psychology as transference and counter transference. In order to maintain a steady and beneficial working alliance with clients, it is necessary for the team to recognize the relationship between their clients’ behaviors and their reactions to them.To remain unaware is to risk mismanaging their professional role.

Clients Emotional States During Divorce

Impasses in the divorce process can arise from several psychological sources: clients’ unresolved emotional issues and clinical disorders. At such times, focusing only on the facts of the case will do little to help the client move forward. Collaborative professionals must recognize the inseparability of clients’ psychological states and legal tasks in order to successfully engage with the client.

Divorce is a mine field that can cause clients to regress and to behave in immature ways that are far from normal behavior patterns.In her book Crazy Time, Abigail Trafford concludes that the more the client understands the “crazy times,” the more likely they are to recover. The same can be said of the Collaborative team; the greater their knowledge of their clients psychological states, both normal and pathological, the more competent they are to help the client make the shift from the emotional aspects to the legal aspects of divorce. It is important to be able to differentiate between the client’s needs for help and the common transference patterns seen in their childlike and unrealistic demands, inappropriate decisions and over dependence.

In an earlier newsletter, I spoke of divorce as the death of a relationship and the necessity of mourning that loss in order to move forward as a single person. Throughout the divorce process, it is common for clients to express their raw feelings of grief, which are likely to include feelings of anger and depression. Collaborative team members frequently find themselves in the cross hairs as they become misguided targets of some of these feelings and displaced frustrations.While each divorce is unique,there are some prevalent and identifiable themes that are likely to emerge on the client’s emotional map. The first of these is failure. Most people experience their inability to succeed at sustaining a marriage as a form of failure. Next are rejection and abandonment.The client’s self-esteem is likely to take a major hit when left by a spouse or when they feel they are abandoning their parental responsibilities. Another pattern commonly encountered is helplessness; often, clients feel they have lost everything in the divorce, including control of their own lives.Finally, fear of aloneness is universal; clients cannot imagine life on their own or ever partnering again.

While divorce itself can cause psychiatric disorders, in some cases psychiatric disorders may have existed prior to the divorce and, perhaps even contributed to it. If these disorders become an obstacle to effective team work and successful outcomes, outside psychotherapeutic intervention may be necessary. Common clinical disorders which may cause complications during the legal divorce include; depression, anxiety, substance abuse, physical abuse, and personality disorders. (The DSMIV,Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, is the primary reference for learning about these disorders.)

Collaborative Team Members Reactions To Their Clients Emotional States

The pressing and intrinsic nature of problems and stresses that divorcing individuals face,coupled with their need to talk about them throughout the legal work, thrusts Collaborative team members into a help-giving role. Most recognize the importance of listening to their client’s stories and the need to be supportive and sympathetic. That does not mean, however, that they feel comfortable or effective managing their client’s personal problems while effectively keeping their eyes on pressing legal tasks. After all, most Collaborative professionals are neither diagnosticians nor mental health providers.

In his article Effectively Representing the Unreasonable Client,”The American Journal of Family Law,” 2001, S. Portnoy identified several characteristics of the “unreasonable” client. Portnoy defines such clients as those who lack the ability to engage in rational thought because they are caught up in their own intense emotions, as so often occurs during divorce. Portnoy maintains that client’s out-of-control affect compromises cognition and leads to childish acting-out during divorce. If these behaviours are not handled properly, it is extremely difficult to keep the professional relationship on track.

The power of counter transference in working with divorcing clients cannot be over-emphasized. It is relatively easy for team members to develop personal perceptions and feelings about clients, which in turn can create blind spots in dealing objectively with them. These reactions can range from warm feelings and concern to harsh feelings of disapproval and distaste in response to the sometimes grossly inappropriate and immature behavior of the client.

Some of the more common feelings and reactions to clients include: a sense of grandiosity in response to the client who repeatedly tells the professional how wonderful they are; a need to goout of one’s way for a client due to feelings of guilt over the fees they are charging; the female professional who is uncomfortable confronting a client who is out of line; the male team member who encourages their clients’ dependency needs because of a sexual attraction. What about the client who adopts the role of the dependent child or the helpless victim? Or the one whose self interests and greed are played out when dividing the marital assets? The list goes on and on.

Strategies For Dealing With Clients Appeals For Interpersonal Help

Like it or not, the Collaborative team is involved in their client’s personal problems. Indeed, the “chemistry” of the Collaborative team/client relationship almost demands that it will happen.

Therefore, it is vital that Collaborative professionals learn techniques that can be used to:

Attain maximum cooperation with their clients.

Help clients manage their heightened emotions and unrealistic expectations (transference).

Assist clients introducing their acting out and misusing their team as targets for their fantasies.

Help team members to contain their feelings (counter transference) in order to maintain a professional relationship.

The following suggestions are likely to promote successful legal outcomes and satisfied clients.

Understand that clients regard divorce in emotional, not legal terms. The goal is to understand the client’s psychological state and to know how to use it to promote the best legal outcome. The goal is not to help the client deal with his personal feelings.

Recognize client’s distortions. Clients project onto the team member’s feelings and traits that will serve their psychological needs (i.e. to be taken care of) but are not based on reality. Confront the distortions and bring the client back to the real relationship.

Allow a controlled amount of emotional ventilation while maintaining structure. Know when to bring the client’s attention back to the issues.

If the structure is not enough to contain the client’s feelings and impulses, it may be necessary to refer the client for counseling to a psychotherapist who understands divorce.

Maintain enough psychological distance to be able to listen closely to the client. Empathy is important but over-identification with the client will interfere with neutrality. Boundaries between client and team must be clear.

Accept feelings towards clients as inevitable. The Collaborative professional shouldn’t react behaviorally to them, rather use them as data to understand the client and restore focus.

Maintain a neutral and non-judgmental stance when confronting clients.

Conclusion

The Collaborative team owes it to themselves and to their clients to be continually alert to both transference and counter transference processes, to make use of them when they enhance understanding, and to respectfully set them aside when they threaten to interfere with good legal judgement.

It is my sincere hope that all information on my website provides you with content that inspires you to enhance your relationships. These materials are not intended to be a substitute for my counseling services. If you are ready to make that leap, please click here to set up a complimentary consultation.

#family counseling #relationship counselling #couple counseling #divorce counseling #marriage counseling

[multipleservicelisting]

Who is Jonathan Braun? Trump’s Last Minute Pardon Still Faces Accusations of Violence

President Donald J. Trump’s late-night commutation of a 10-year prison sentence being served by a drug smuggler named Jonathan Braun made the action sound almost routine. The White House said only that upon his release, Mr. Braun would “seek employment to support his wife and children.”

What the White House did not mention is that Mr. Braun, a New Yorker from Staten Island who had pleaded guilty in 2011 to leading a large-scale marijuana smuggling ring, still faces both criminal and civil investigations in an entirely separate matter, and has a history of violence and threatening people.

According to lawsuits filed in June against Mr. Braun and two associates by the New York State attorney general, Letitia James, and the Federal Trade Commission, Mr. Braun helped start and worked as a de facto enforcer for an operation that made predatory loans to small-business owners, threatening them with violence if they refused to pay up.

Federal prosecutors for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan also have a continuing investigation into that operation, a person with knowledge of the investigation said Friday.

As recently as two and a half years ago, Mr. Braun was accused of throwing a man off a deck at an engagement party. Federal prosecutors said in a court proceeding that he threatened to beat a rabbi who borrowed money to renovate a preschool at his synagogue. “I am going to make you bleed,” he told the rabbi, according to court documents, adding, “I will make you suffer for every penny.”

How much Mr. Trump and his aides knew about Mr. Braun’s past and his current legal troubles is not clear. In its announcement of the pardon this week, the White House appears to have substantially overstated how much of his 10-year sentence Mr. Braun had completed, saying he had served five years when he had only reported to prison a year ago. (The White House announcement also misspelled his first name, calling him Jonathon.)

Mr. Braun’s family had told people it was willing to spend millions of dollars for lawyers and others to try to get him out of prison, according to two people who have been in contact with the family members in recent months.

No one registered under federal lobbying laws to make Mr. Braun’s case to the Trump administration, though registration would not necessarily be required for legal representation. The White House announcement of the wave of 143 pardons and commutations early Wednesday, just hours before Mr. Trump left office, did not cite anyone who had backed the commutation of Mr. Braun’s sentence.

The lawyer Alan M. Dershowitz, who represented Mr. Trump in his first impeachment trial, said he “played a very limited role” in Mr. Braun’s clemency push, “almost exclusively” advising his father about the clemency process, and was paid “a very small amount of money” for his assistance.

Mr. Dershowitz said he believed Mr. Braun’s argument for clemency was “meritorious,” because Mr. Braun cooperated with prosecutors “for a good many years, and was told that his cooperation would be recognized and he didn’t get that recognition.”

His case is the latest evidence of how far the pardon process under Mr. Trump had strayed from the rigorous Justice Department guidelines and screening that previous presidents had largely relied on for clemency recommendations.

“Jonathan Braun has threatened small-business owners with violence, death and even kidnapping,” Ms. James said. “A federal commutation will not protect Mr. Braun from being held accountable in New York for the civil charges against him.”

Interviews and court documents paint a portrait of Mr. Braun as a major drug smuggler who once beat one of his underlings so badly with a belt that Mr. Braun told others he had left the victim “black and blue.” In another instance, he threatened violence against a woman who worked for him who was threatening to cooperate with prosecutors.

In response to questions about the pardon, Mr. Braun’s lawyer, Marc Fernich, declined to discuss how Mr. Braun had gotten his case in front of White House officials or who had represented him. But Mr. Fernich praised Mr. Trump’s action.

“Mr. Braun’s 10-year sentence was grossly unreasonable — an extreme statistical outlier — on the facts and circumstances of his case,” Mr. Fernich said in an email message. He said he applauded Mr. Trump’s “courage in correcting what was a grave injustice.”

A spokesman for Mr. Trump did not return an email message seeking comment.

Mr. Braun was indicted in 2010 and entered a plea deal in the drug case the next year after initially fleeing the country for Canada and Israel before turning himself in. He was not sentenced until 2019 and did not have to report to prison until last January.

While free on bail after his guilty plea but before reporting to prison, he plunged into a new enterprise, helping run an operation that made loans to small-business owners at extremely high interest rates. According to the suits filed last year by Ms. James, the New York State attorney general, and the Federal Trade Commission, Mr. Braun regularly threatened those who had trouble repaying the loans.

“I know where you live.” Mr. Braun told a small-business owner who he claimed owed him money, according to court documents filed by Ms. James.

Mr. Braun told the business owner he knew where his mother lived.

“I will take your daughters from you,” he said, according to the suit.

Mr. Braun is accused in the suit of telling another business owner: “Be thankful you’re not in New York, because your family would find you floating in the Hudson.”

Previous presidents relied on a Justice Department screening process for pardons that ensured they were being given in an evenhanded way and that those with money and connections were not receiving preferential treatment. But Mr. Trump largely disregarded that process and wielded his clemency powers unlike any previous president.

The Constitution gives presidents the ability to issue pardons and commutations, a brake on the criminal justice system and a way to show grace and mercy. But Mr. Trump doled out clemency to friends, allies, donors, witnesses who did not cooperate with investigations that involved him and his campaign, and those who could help him politically.

“When the Justice Department process is short-circuited, and there’s insufficient vetting — if you don’t take the time to look at someone’s history and potential other exposure — this is what you end up with: a process that appears corrupted by money and influence,” said Daniel Zelenko, a white-collar defense lawyer at Crowell and Moring and former federal prosecutor and enforcement lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The full story of Mr. Braun’s arrest, indictment and sentencing spans a decade and, according to prosecutors’s statements in court and filings in his case, often unfolded like a crime thriller.

In 2009, agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration raided a house on Staten Island that Mr. Braun’s drug trafficking network used to stash large stockpiles of drugs. Mr. Braun, who was in Florida at the time, learned from his underlings about the raid.

Immediately, Mr. Braun rented a car and with at least one associate drove 25 hours to the New York border with Canada.

“In the dead of night, dressed entirely in black and utilizing a motorless boat, Braun was ferried across the river into Canada, and remained there for several months, hiding out in one of the properties owned by his Canadian associate,” according to court documents filed by the Justice Department.

Clemency Power ›

Presidential Pardons, Explained

President Trump has discussed potential pardons that could test the boundaries of his constitutional power to nullify criminal liability. Here’s some clarity on his ability to pardon.

May a president issue prospective pardons before any charges or conviction? Yes. In Ex parte Garland, an 1866 case involving a former Confederate senator who had been pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, the Supreme Court said the pardon power “extends to every offense known to the law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission, either before legal proceedings are taken or during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment.” It is unusual for a president to issue a prospective pardon before any charges are filed, but there are examples, perhaps most famously President Gerald R. Ford’s pardon in 1974 of Richard M. Nixon to prevent him from being prosecuted after the Watergate scandal.

May a president pardon his relatives and close allies? Yes. The Constitution does not bar pardons that raise the appearance of self-interest or a conflict of interest, even if they may provoke a political backlash and public shaming. In 2000, shortly before leaving office, President Bill Clinton issued a slew of controversial pardons, including to his half brother, Roger Clinton, over a 1985 cocaine conviction for which he had served about a year in prison, and to Susan H. McDougal, a onetime Clinton business partner who had been jailed as part of the Whitewater investigation.

May a president issue a general pardon? This is unclear. Usually, pardons are written in a way that specifically describes which crimes or sets of activities they apply to. There is little precedent laying out the degree to which a pardon can be used to instead foreclose criminal liability for anything and everything.

May a president pardon himself? This is unclear. There is no definitive answer because no president has ever tried to pardon himself and then faced prosecution anyway. As a result, there has never been a case which gave the Supreme Court a chance to resolve the question. In the absence of any controlling precedent, legal thinkers are divided about the matter.

Find more answers here.

Mr. Braun then fled to Israel where he took refuge for several months, hoping to avoid being apprehended as he continued to run his drug operation from an encrypted Blackberry phone, the documents say. In the fall of 2009, Mr. Braun returned to the United States, where he was arrested and jailed.

When he was indicted in 2010, he was charged with operating a marijuana ring that was one of the major distributors in New York City, smuggling in and selling $1.72 billion worth from 2007 to 2010.

“It is neither an exaggeration nor hyperbole to state that the defendant and his criminal enterprise generated illegal proceeds exceeding the gross domestic product of a small country,” the Justice Department said in a 2010 filing.

His lawyers sought at that point to convince a judge to release him on bail but prosecutors successfully kept him in jail, laying out how Mr. Braun had told others that he planned to flee the United States if he was released on bail.

“Braun specifically told a cooperating government witness that he would ‘never do time in jail,’” prosecutors said in a court filing. “Braun went on to explain that ‘for 10 grand, I could get a fake passport’ and be ‘on a beach somewhere where there is no extradition,’ still ‘making money.’”

In arguing that Mr. Braun should remain in prison, the prosecutors laid out a gruesome episode in which he beat a younger man working for him who had been given the job of guarding $100,000 worth of marijuana being kept in a house in California.

After Mr. Braun learned that the marijuana had been stolen, he called the man and demanded he give him $100,000. The man refused. Mr. Braun and one of his enforcers booked flights to California, arriving there the next morning. They broke into the house where they found the man in bed.

“Braun then took off his belt and proceeded to viciously whip his worker with the belt,” the court documents say. “At one point, the ‘kid’ tried to get away from Braun, but Braun’s enforcer pushed him back down onto the bed so that Braun could continue the beating. In Braun’s own words, his brutal assault left the ‘kid’s’ entire body ‘black and blue.’”

Mr. Braun pleaded guilty in 2011 to two counts of conspiring to import a controlled substance and money laundering. As part of his plea, prosecutors allowed him to be released on bail and live at home while awaiting sentencing. His sentencing was delayed repeatedly.

Legal experts and defense lawyers say that defendants are typically on their best behavior when they are out on bail and awaiting sentencing. But Mr. Braun continued to flout the law, according to the suits later filed against him by the New York State attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission.

In 2018, Bloomberg News wrote a series of articles about how Mr. Braun had emerged as a leading short-term lender to small businesses. While structured to try to avoid usury laws, the rates Mr. Braun changed were as high as 400 percent a year. The New York attorney general’s office opened an investigation in response to the articles.

The next year, a judge held a sentencing hearing for Mr. Braun on the drug trafficking charges. At the hearing, prosecutors laid out two recent episodes in which Mr. Braun had violently assaulted others. One allegation said that Mr. Braun had thrown someone off a two-story balcony at a Staten Island engagement party in the summer of 2018.

The other allegation related to how Mr. Braun had lent money to the Brooklyn rabbi for the preschool. The rabbi had fallen behind on the payments and Mr. Braun reportedly threatened to beat and humiliate him.

“I am coming to Crown Heights,” Mr. Braun said, according to a lawsuit filed by the synagogue. “I will hang papers all over the lampposts in Crown Heights stating that you are a liar and a thief. I am going to tell people that you are running an illegal operation and a scam.”

Fearing the rabbi would be attacked, the synagogue wired Mr. Braun $1,000 and hired a lawyer. In a subsequent call between Mr. Braun and the lawyer, Mr. Braun called the lawyer a profanity, according to the suit filed by the synagogue.

Shortly after Mr. Braun’s commutation was announced, Mr. Dershowitz said he received a call from Mr. Braun and his father.

“Everybody was very grateful. There were a lot of tears going around,” Mr. Dershowitz said, explaining that the father called again on Friday before the Jewish Sabbath. “And he said he is going to continue to call me every Shabbos, so I should expect a call.”

Kenneth P. Vogel and Ben Protess contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy and Kitty Bennett contributed research.

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[newstfionline]

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Rent and debt problems (WSJ) A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that outstanding rent debt in the United States will hit $7.2 billion by the end of 2020, and without additional stimulus spending Moody’s estimates that it could hit $70 billion. They estimate that 12.8 million people will owe an average $5,400 from missed payments, which is significantly higher than the 3.8 million homeowners foreclosed on from 2007 to 2010. Across the U.S., 30 million to 40 million people face possible eviction once moratoriums expire.

A Divided Nation Agrees on One Thing: Many People Want a Gun (NYT) In America, spikes in gun purchases are often driven by fear. But in past years that anxiety has centered on concerns that politicians will pass stricter gun controls. Mass shootings often prompt more gun sales for that reason, as do elections of liberal Democrats. Many gun buyers now are saying they are motivated by a new destabilizing sense that is pushing even people who had considered themselves anti-gun to buy weapons for the first time—and people who already have them to buy more. The nation is on track in 2020 to stockpile at record rates, according to groups that track background checks from FBI data. Across the country, Americans bought 15.1 million guns in the seven months this year from March through September, a 91 percent leap from the same period in 2019, according to seasonally adjusted firearms sales estimates from The Trace, a nonprofit news organization that focuses on gun issues. The FBI has also processed more background checks for gun purchases in just the first nine months of 2020 than it has for any previous full year, FBI data show. “The year 2020 has been just one long advertisement for why someone may want to have a firearm to defend themselves,” said Douglas Jefferson, the vice president for the National African American Gun Association, which has seen the biggest increase in membership this year since the group was formed in 2015.

The ‘Right to Repair’ Movement Gains Ground (NYT) If you buy a product—a car, a smartphone, or even a tractor—and it breaks, should it be easier for you to fix it yourself? Manufacturers of a wide range of products have made it increasingly difficult over the years to repair things, for instance by limiting availability of parts or by putting prohibitions on who gets to tinker with them. It affects not only game consoles or farm equipment, but cellphones, military gear, refrigerators, automobiles and even hospital ventilators, the lifesaving devices that have proven crucial this year in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, a movement known as “right to repair” is starting to make progress in pushing for laws that prohibit restrictions like these. The goal of right-to-repair rules, advocates say, is to require companies to make their parts, tools and information available to consumers and repair shops in order to keep devices from ending up in the scrap heap. They argue that the rules restrict people’s use of devices that they own and encourage a throwaway culture by making repairs too difficult. They also argue that it’s part of a culture of planned obsolescence—the idea that products are designed to be short-lived in order to encourage people to buy more stuff. That contributes to wasted natural resources and energy use at a time when climate change requires movement in the opposite direction.

Peru’s Machu Picchu reopening Sunday after pandemic closure (AP) Except workers repairing roads and signs, Peru’s majestic Incan citadel of Machu Picchu is eerily empty ahead of its reopening Sunday after seven months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. The long closure of Peru’s No. 1 tourist draw, which has hammered the local economy, marks the second time it has been shut down since it opened its doors to tourism in 1948. The stone complex built in the 15th century will receive 675 visitors a day starting Sunday, the director of Machu Picchu archaeological park, José Bastante, told The Associated Press. The site is accustomed to receiving 3,000 tourists a day, though it recently passed regulations limiting visitors to 2,244 visitors a day to protect the ruins. Still a large number given experts belief that in the 15th century a maximum of 410 people lived in the citadel on the limits of the Andes mountains and the Amazon.

Evo’s return (Foreign Policy) Evo Morales will return to Bolivia on Nov. 9, the day after President-elect Luis Arce is sworn in. Morales’s return will come just over a year after he was forced out of the country. An outstanding arrest warrant for sedition and terrorism issued for Morales was annulled on Tuesday, paving the way for his return. Meanwhile, hundreds of supporters of the right-wing opposition marched on a military barracks on Tuesday asking for “military help” to stop the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party from regaining power.

New protests loom as Europeans tire of virus restrictions (AP) Protesters set trash bins afire and police responded with hydrant sprays in downtown Rome Tuesday night, part of a day of public outpouring of anger against virus-fighting measures like evening shutdowns for restaurants and bars and the closures of gyms and theaters—a sign of growing discontent across Europe with renewed coronavirus restrictions. It was a fifth straight night of violent protest in Italy, following recent local overnight curfews in metropolises including Naples and Rome. All of Europe is grappling with how to halt a fall resurgence of the virus before its hospitals become overwhelmed again. Nightly curfews have been implemented in French cities. Schools must close at 6 p.m. Schools have been closed in Northern Ireland and the Czech Republic. German officials have ordered de-facto lockdowns in some areas near the Austrian border and new mask-wearing requirements are popping up weekly across the continent, including a nationwide requirement in Russia. Yet in this new round of restrictions, governments are finding a less compliant public. Over the weekend, police used pepper spray against protesters angry over new virus restrictions in Poland. Spanish doctors staged their first national walkout in 25 years on Tuesday to protest poor working conditions. In Britain, anger and frustration at the government’s uneven handling of the pandemic has erupted into a political crisis over the issue of hungry children.

Cake Lady helps wounded soldiers heal, one treat at a time LONDON (AP)—David Wiseman heard Kath Ryan before he met her. He was at the far end of Ward S-4 at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham when shouts of “Cake Lady’s here! Cake Lady’s here!” began rolling through the room full of wounded soldiers, bed by bed. Who was this Cake Lady, he wondered, until he saw a middle-aged woman in a “strange dress” pushing a trolley and handing out cake. “When all you’ve seen is doctors and nurses and the odd relative, it was just a bit of an assault on the senses,” Wiseman remembered. “And she was doling out hugs and, you know, cakes. … She just brought joy into that place.” Since 2009, retired nurse Ryan, 59, has made some 1,260 visits to British hospitals, bonding with the patients as she fed them an estimated 1 million slices of cake. But Ryan brought more than treats. She brought herself—bubbly, irreverent, and fearless. As she could see that most of the injured were in a terrible state, she never asked, “How are you?” “I would go in with the trolley and apron and stand at the end of the bed, and say, ‘Can I lead you into temptation this evening?’” Ryan recalled. “Straight away, they would scream laughing.” One soldier got into the spirit and asked, “What’s on offer, love?” “Anything you want,” Ryan replied. “As long as it’s legal, moral, and on the cake trolley.”

With eye on China, India and U.S. sign accord to deepen military ties (NYT) India and the United States signed a pact Tuesday to share geospatial intelligence, paving the way for deeper military cooperation between the two countries as they confront an increasingly assertive China. The agreement will give India’s armed forces access to a wealth of data from U.S. military satellites to aid in targeting and navigation. The two countries signed the accord in New Delhi during a visit by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper a week before the U.S. presidential election. The agreement is the latest example of how India and the United States—the world’s two largest democracies—are drawing closer together to respond to the challenge of China’s rise. For India, that challenge is no longer theoretical. In June, India and China engaged in their deadliest clash in more than 50 years high in the mountains near the unofficial border between the two countries. Twenty Indian soldiers died, while the number of Chinese casualties remains unknown. India and China are still locked in a dangerous standoff, with tens of thousands of troops preparing to wait out the harsh Himalayan winter.

Typhoon, landslides leave 35 dead, 59 missing in Vietnam (AP) Typhoon Molave set off landslides that killed at least 19 people and left 45 missing in central Vietnam, where ferocious wind and rain blew away roofs and knocked out power in a region of 1.7 million residents, state media said Thursday. The casualties from the landslides bring the over-all death toll from the storm to at least 35, including 12 fishermen whose boats sank Wednesday as the typhoon approached with winds of up to 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour. Vietnamese officials say it’s the worst typhoon to hit the country in 20 years. At least 59 people remain missing in the landslides and at sea. The toll may rise with many regions still unable to report details of the devastation amid the stormy weather.

Scale of Qatar Airways scandal revealed (Foreign Policy) Female passengers on “10 aircraft in total” were forced into invasive physical examinations at Doha airport on Oct. 2, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Wednesday, as the Qatari government apologized publicly and began an investigation into the incident. The women were removed from flights after a newborn baby was found abandoned in one of the airport bathrooms. The Transport Workers’ Union of New South Wales, whose members service Qatar Airways planes in Sydney, condemned “the brutal attack on the human rights of Australian female airline passengers” and is considering industrial action in response. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison pledged a “further response” after reviewing the results of an investigation. He told reporters, “As a father of daughters, I could only shudder at the thought that any woman, Australian or otherwise, would be subjected to that.”

Australia’s second-largest city ends 111-day virus lockdown MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)—Coffee business owner Darren Silverman pulled his van over and wept when he heard on the radio that Melbourne’s pandemic lockdown would be largely lifted on Wednesday after 111 days. Silverman was making a home delivery Monday when the announcement was made that restrictions in Australia’s second-largest city would be relaxed. He was overwhelmed with emotions and a sense of relief. According to the Victoria state government the lockdown changes will allow 6,200 retail stores, 5,800 cafés and restaurants, 1,000 beauty salons and 800 pubs to reopen, impacting 180,000 jobs.

Nigeria considers social media regulation in wake of deadly shooting (Reuters) Nigeria’s information minister said “some form of regulation” could be imposed on social media just a week after protesters spread images and videos of a deadly shooting using Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Images, video and an Instagram live feed from a popular DJ spread news of shootings in Lagos on Oct. 20, when witnesses and rights groups said the military fired on peaceful protesters. The protesters had been demonstrating for nearly two weeks to demand an end to police brutality. The army denied its soldiers were there. Social media helped spread word of the shootings worldwide, and international celebrities from Beyonce and Lewis Hamilton to Pope Francis since called on the country to resolve the conflict peacefully. Information Minister Lai Mohammed told a panel at the National Assembly on Tuesday that “fake news” is one of the biggest challenges facing Nigeria. A spokesman for the minister confirmed the comments, and said “the use of the social media to spread fake news and disinformation means there is the need to do something about it.”

#headlines #news

[lostinthewinterwood]

Hetswap 2020

Hey there friend!  Thanks for creating for me. 

Sorry this letter’s late—it includes the general likes and fandom-specific notes that my signup is tragically lacking.

My other exchange letters can be found here, and all the fandoms I’ve linked have fandom-specific request tags too.  I’d be happy to get treats in any medium.

 General DNW non/dub-con; non-canonical major character death; heavy angst; hurt no comfort; on-page deliberate self-harm*; on-page suicide; smut; gore; grimdark; complete downer endings; character bashing; incest; cringe comedy; a/b/o; mpreg; graphic eye trauma; graphic hand trauma; issuefic; unrequested full-setting aus; unrequested identity headcanons; a focus on unrequested romantic relationships**. *I don’t include things like, say, punching a wall in a fit of emotion under this. however, something like cutting would not be appreciated. **canonical levels of canonical ships are perfectly fine; background non-canon ships that I haven’t dnw’d are okay too.

  General Likes

– I really like plotty fics

– Secret identity and disguise shenanigans, the more layers to them and more absurdity the better.

– Crossdressing for whatever reason and gender disguises, also for whatever reason, though not as a kink—that I enjoy less.

– A focus on family and/or friendship, especially characters realizing they’re not nearly as alone as they think they are, and just generally characters who like each other and enjoy spending time together

– Found family; families of choice

– Character studies

– Worldbuilding

– Canon-divergence AUs and missing scenes; things set pre- or post-canon; wriggling into canon and poking at it to see what it spits back at you, if that description makes any sense at all.

  Art Things(??)

I’ll be real here, I’ve never requested art before; I don’t really know how best to prompt for it.  I like a lot of different styles, though, so—if you matched on art or want to make art, just, do your style?  I’m sure I’ll like it!  For the visual media, definitely don’t feel pressured to stick to the canonical art style if you don’t want to.  Seriously—digital, traditional, some combination—you do you.

As I, again, don’t really know how to prompt well for art, I haven’t given art prompts even where I’ve requested art.  Don’t feel pressured to try to work any of the proposed scenarios into your art, though if you feel inspired by them that’s great; just give me the characters together, however you think best—that will be enough.

  Podfic

My only podfic-specific comment is that I do generally appreciate not having very sudden volume shifts, especially from quiet to loud, as I like to listen on headphones.  Apart from that, again, go with your style :D

   Original Work

·        Male reforester who's planted thousands of trees/Female dryad of the new forest

·        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl/Female Student Warrior Disiguised as a Boy

·        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl/Female Fellow Student Mage

·        Runaway Princess/King of Thieves

·        Sheltered Prince/Roguish Female Thief

·        Teen Girl Medium/Ghost of a Murdered Detective Helping her Solve the Case (OW)

·        Teenage Supervillainess with a Secret Identity/Teenage Superhero with a Secret Identity

·        Teenage Supervillain with a Secret Identity/Teenage Superheroine with a Secret Identity

·        Fanfiction

 This isn't a hard-and-fast rule, but I'd rather all the human characters in relationships be at least fifteen, and I'd rather not have a very large age gap (say, >5 years) if one of the characters is underage. (For the medium/ghost, you don't need to keep it that small; just maybe don't draw too much attention to it and/or make her an older teenager lol).

fandom-specific dnw: predatory manipulation between characters in the relationship in service of the relationship--if, for example, the superheroes/villains are manipulating each other for non-relationship things and such that's okay, but i'd rather both parties in any of the ships be interested in the romance of their own accord.  Additionally—this isn’t in my signup—please don’t have characters react to any gender-disguised characters (or characters in general, but it’s most relevant to them) in transphobic or transphobic-adjacent ways (i.e. none of the characters are requested as trans, but I still wouldn’t want to see the kinds of comments people make about trans people aimed at them).

  Reforester/Dryad—I really like, idk, the vibe I get off this one—it’s got a very nice atmosphere?  I don’t really know how better to say it, I’m sorry.

 Student Mage/Student Warrior; Student Mage/Student Mage—obviously I love identity and disguise shenanigans; it always struck me as tragic when I was younger that there were all these stories about girls disguised as boys, but no one ever seemed to do the reverse?  Hence prompts such as these.  I’d love an identity/gender reveal, or maybe a post-reveal setting; I’d really rather not see them engage in any kind of serious romance without both of their genders being accurately known to the other, though flirting is definitely okay, as would be a date or two.  It’d be fun to go with some variety of mutual pining pre-reveal though, that could make the reveal all the sweeter.

 Runaway Princess/King of Thieves; Sheltered Prince/Roguish Thief—these seem to be mirrors of each other, somewhat at least; how does a royal meet a thief?  Does our princess find herself in the criminal underworld when she runs away?  Does our prince have a burglar appear on his balcony, or does he perhaps meet a girl at a masquerade who’s no noble and instead a thief?

 Medium/Ghost—lots of fun shenanigans you can go into here! What kind of case are they working on? How does a relationship work, when one of you is alive and the other isn’t?

 Supervillain(ess)/Superhero(ine)—love me some superhero identity shenanigans. Do they know each other in their normal lives?  Are their identities secret from each other, or only the world?  How do they first fall for each other—were they friends in their normal lives and enemies in masks?  Is this enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, or maybe something in-between?  How do they reconcile a romantic relationship with one being a hero and the other a villain?

    Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure

·        Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel (Cartoon)

·        Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Stalyan (Cartoon)

·        Fanfiction

 Eugene/Rapunzel—they’re adorable.  I love them.  Give me more—a moment in their lives?  Something in the year before the series starts; something post-canon?  Or maybe glimpses of them on the road?

 Eugene/Stalyan—I will admit that this certainly isn’t my endgame ship for this canon, but I’d really love something pre-canon, when they were engaged or dating—what was their relationship like?  How did they interact with each other and the world?  Maybe a heist fic; that could be fun.  My interpretation from what we get in canon is that their relationship wasn’t necessarily the healthiest (healthy relationships don’t usually lead to one getting left at the altar, after all) but it didn’t seem to me that it was necessarily abusive; I’d appreciate it if it was kept out of the actually abusive zone.

    Hanging Out with a Gamer Girl (Manga)

·        Terazaki Kaoru/Takekawa Izumi (HOwaGG)

·        Terazaki Kaoru/Ousaka Nanami (HOwaGG)

·        Fanart

·        Fanfiction

·        Podfic

 Fandom-specific dnw: sexualization of Kaoru’s crossdressing, full justification of Kaoru’s fears re: Nanami’s dad

 Kaoru/Izumi—they’re both cute; they have cute interactions; give me more of that?

 Kaoru/Nanami—I, admittedly, don’t usually ship these two—but I love their friendship.  Give me more of that, show me how it becomes a romance?

 My typical DNW for unrequested setting aus does not apply here; if you want to write an au and want some ideas, I requested several in my AUEx letter.

    Tortall – Tamora Pierce

·        Stiloit Tasikhe/Varice Kingsford

·        Kaddar Iliniat/Kalasin of Conté

·        Roald II of Conté/Shinkokami of Conté

·        Fanfiction

 fandom-specific dnw: characters in the political marriages hating being married to their spouse throughout the fic--they can start off with reservations or not liking it but i'd really rather end with them at the very least liking their spouse.

 Stiloit/Varice—they had quite interesting interactions, the few times they got the chance; Varice is a bit young for him in Tempests and Slaughter, but say he didn’t die—say he was alive still when she grew up a bit more—what does their relationship look like?  What changes in the wider story, if Stiloit doesn’t die, if Ozorne doesn’t become quite so close to the throne as young as he does?

 Kaddar/Kalasin; Roald/Shinko—these are both political marriages between characters who either seem to like each other or like they’d have a reasonable chance to like each other; what does marriage look like when you came into it as a diplomatic thing rather than falling in love?  How do they learn about and come to care for each other?

     Revolutionary Arc – kitsunerei88

·        Aldon Rosier/Francesca Lam (Revolutionary Arc)

·        Aleksandr Willoughby Dragic/Fei Long Lin (Revolutionary Arc)

·        Fanart

·        Fanfiction

 Aldon/Chess—they do not have enough fluff or gentleness in the story right now; I’d like some more, please.  Maybe post-war, with Chess off at muggle university—how does Aldon do with living properly in the muggle world?  What do Chess’s classmates/friends think of him?  I would also happily accept fluff/soft things set in the universe of Blake.

 Alex/Fei—they haven’t ah, interacted ever in canon that I recall, but they seem like they’d fit together well, if only for a little while—is this a wartime friends-with-benefits?  Maybe post-war?  If you go with the friends-with-benefits take here I wouldn’t necessarily mind a bit of smut, as long as it’s not only smut—please no PWP.

    Rigel Black Chronicles – murkybluematter

·        Arcturus Rigel Black/Pansy Parkinson (Rigel Black Series)

·        Remus Lupin/Rispah Cooper (Rigel Black Series)

·        Fanart

·        Fanfiction

 Archie/Pansy—so.  Archie’s quite attached to Hermione right now; but he’s also fourteen.  Not all romantic interests people have at age fourteen stay strong; I’d rather not have a hard break or too many hard feelings between him and Hermione, and I think he’d be interesting to see with Pansy.  As for Pansy herself—she seems to be too close to Rigel as a friend to seriously consider him as a partner, but she did seem potentially interested in Harry at the Gala—perhaps she’d also be interested in Archie, when she gets to meet him properly.  Maybe this is a post-reveal thing; perhaps in trying to get to know the real Black heir she falls for him?  I don’t know.

 Remus/Rispah—this is admittedly partly my inner Song of the Lioness fan coming out, but I’d love to see Remus learning more about the Lower Alleys and what goes on there, and conversely bringing Rispah more into his world too.

#hetswap #exchange letters #requested: art #requested: podfic #requested: fic #requested: original work #requested: rapunzel's tangled adventure #requested: hanging out with a gamer girl #requested: tortall #requested: revolutionary arc #requested: rigel black chronicles

[ledenews]

Derrel Isler - Living the Dream

A career in sales is not for everyone. Those that are successful exhibit a number of similar traits that make them effective in their chosen profession: work ethic, people skills, knowledge of product, an ability to read the room and put people at ease, to name a few. If that’s the case, Wheeling native and Longwood, Fla., resident Derrel Isler was, to borrow a cliche, born for this position. In fairness, Isler was born for a number of different career options. He’s a rare combination of a person whose high level of intelligence is matched by both his work ethic and ease with dealing with all types of people. Affectionately referred to as "Big D" by friends and colleagues alike, Isler grew up on Bow Street in Wheeling along with his parents and brother. He finished in the Top 15 of his class at Wheeling Park High, was a Summa Cum Laude Honors College graduate in electrical engineering from WVU, and the owner of an MBA from Charleston Southern University. He’s also a U.S. Navy Veteran.

The Move Around

He’s lived in South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina and now Florida since leaving the Ohio Valley, working his way up the ladder wherever he went. But when Big D took a position with Dell in 2007, then his stock, and financial portfolio, really started to expand, as did his family. He married, had three loving children, and did his best to find that work-life balance between Sales Engineer and father and husband. Isler battled through the hardships of divorce, but he and his ex-wife found common ground in co-parenting their three children, and both are stronger for it. When he’s not in Dad mode, Big D enjoys the fruits of his labor. He’s a man who enjoys the finer things in life, but doesn’t flaunt it and hasn’t allowed his success to go to his head. He’s still the same smiling, easy-going guy he’s always been. Such a personality warrants a large friend list, and Isler keeps in touch with them all. He has an active presence on social media, whether it's Facebook, Twitter, or the (Insta)Gram. He engages his friends in thought-provoking questions, humorous queries, and it’s not uncommon to see him posting a photo, feet propped up on a lounger near his home’s in-ground pool, cigar in hand, just enjoying the day. He’s the perfect example of a home-grown success story that’s never forgotten his roots and doesn’t hesitate to return home to catch up with family and friends.

Those who grew up with Isler would agree he's the same guy today that he was when graduated from Wheeling Park High School back in the late 1990s.

After graduating from WVU with honors to enlisting in the U.S. Navy, was that part of the plan, or did you consider going into the service first and then college?

I finished my second year at WVU, and I never thought of going into the service. But I kept receiving emails from recruiters promising all these great things if I joined. I knew I had options after college, so why did I need to consider the military? Finally, I saw a flyer in the dining hall that made me say, ‘Okay, let me see what the catch is.’ The catch was I HAD to finish one of my majors in two years (I wanted electrical and computer engineering, which would have taken me another three years). If I passed all of the interviews, the fitness test, and the background check, I would be made active duty immediately. I did all that and became an E-7, or Chief, in the Navy at 20 with zero experience. I was originally supposed to be a submariner, but during my senior year I asked to switch to become an instructor at the Nuclear Power School in Charleston, S.C. After I was graduated from college, I received my commission and went off to Officer Indoctrination School in Rhode Island; I then moved to Charleston. Joining the Navy is one of the best decisions I ever made because I learned so much from that experience.

You've experienced success at every level and in multiple sectors, and overcome life throwing you a few curve balls. Where did that sense of drive and work ethic come from, and do you credit that and anything else for helping you push through the tough times?

Where did I learn to hustle hard? My father. He still is a hard working-man to this day. Seeing him work so hard and grind for our family is where I get my work ethic from.

You were always willing to put in the work to climb the ladder. How did that attitude or focus change or shift any, upon the birth of your daughters and finally your son?

I strive for balance and to ensure my family is taken care of. When I don’t have my kids, I make up for it by traveling to visit customers, staying in the office a few extra hours, and I'm always willing to jump on extra tasks that need done. What drives me is my desire to give my kids a better life than I had. I had a great childhood and my parents busted their tails to provide for me and my brother. I want to do the same for my kids.

Divorce is never easy, but you're balancing a successful career and still spending a good bit of time with your children. How difficult is it to make that work, and what allows you to do so?

Well, I say it first starts with the woman I co-parent with, my baby momma. In all seriousness, I could not have the focus I need to at work if she didn’t consistently hold it down when she has the kids. When I have the kids (40-60 arrangement), I go into Dad mode. I do not have any family around, so I am on point for school drop-off, pick-up, homework, after school activities, you name it. It is a lot to juggle at times, but I have coworkers and an employer that values work-life balance. But how did I/do I get through hard times? Many bottles of scotch, good music, and amazing friends! I had the luck and pleasure of meeting a friend in Orlando that is also from the Ohio Valley. We immediately connected by reminiscing about DiCarlo's Pizza, Coleman’s Fish Market, and all of the things that make “home” amazing. She’s been a big part of helping me cope with some of my harder times down here. I owe a lot to her.

When he does have free time, Isler enjoys hitting the town with good friends and enjoying the fruits of his labor. He works hard and plays hard.

Finally, your job could provide even greater financial reward if you were able to significantly increase your travel availability, spend more time on the road. Do you ever regret having to dial it back, or have you struck the perfect balance? Also, how cooperative was the company in allowing you to do so, given your success rate?

As far as climbing the ladder goes, I had the desire to get into management. That was pre-divorce. After the divorce, I put that on hold in order to focus on raising my kids and maintaining my sanity. I still don’t think that management is for me, but I can see myself taking on more global responsibility in my current role. Once I am an empty-nester, my passport is going to get a lot of use! I love what I do, so I really didn’t “sacrifice” much there. I am lucky enough to wake up every day eager to go to work and help my customers. Read the full article

[klaineanummel]

just a kiss on your lips (in the moonlight) 2/6

After months on the road in search for his future husband, Kurt Hummel has finally found somebody he can see himself spending the rest of his life with. The only problem? Blaine isn’t the one being presented to Kurt; it’s his older brother.

A love story told in stolen moments.

Here is chapter two! I'm not too sure when I'll be posting chapter three, but I promise it'll be soon :)

Mention of past seblaine in this one! Oh, also, I know this is set in medieval times, but it's sort of an au of medieval times (similar to how my ANWTK verse was set in an au of medieval times, though obviously this is a different universe than that one was), so some of the phrasing may not be completely medieval-y historically accurate. But, you know, neither was men marrying each other.

Hope you enjoy! See you all soon :)

Read on AO3  |  Read Chapter One

There are so many people standing by the banquet table that Kurt hopes he will be able to get lost in the mayhem.

He told Mercedes that morning that he didn’t think any of the men he’d been presented with were going to work out. Prince Cooper seemed vainer than any of the previous men who’d attempted to impress him with their accolades, Baron Kiehl kept finding reasons for his hands to travel down to Kurt’s ass as they danced, and Marquis Gilbert and Duke Crawford did not seem at all interested in getting to know him in the slightest. He had to admit, the final two were a welcome relief from Prince Cooper and Baron Kiehl, but still did not help him in his search for a husband.

Of course, what he didn’t mention was how he had found somebody he was interested in; he just wasn’t one of the men who’d been presented to him.

“Just keep an open mind, okay Kurt?” she’d requested in her best Royal Advisor voice. “This is our last stop. If you don’t find your husband here, you know your father is going to have to resort to an arranged marriage, which I know neither of you want.”

Sometimes Kurt hated that Mercedes was the royal advisor who requested to go along on this journey with him. Sure, she was the best royal advisor his father had, but she’d also been a close friend to him since his early teenage years, and so having her there as an advisor and not a friend was strange.

“Hiding again?” a voice pulls him from his thoughts, and Kurt spins quickly to find Prince Blaine smiling at him, a plate full of food in his hands.

“Am I that obvious?” he can’t help but ask.

Prince Blaine shrugs. “Only to someone who is hiding as well.”

Kurt raises an eyebrow. “And why are you hiding again?”

Prince Blaine’s eyes widen slightly. “You… you haven’t heard?”

Kurt shakes his head. “Is it scandalous?”

Prince Blaine bites down on his bottom lip, drawing Kurt’s attention to it. God, but his lips are gorgeous. It takes everything in Kurt not to lean down and capture them with his own in that very moment.

“Follow me,” Prince Blaine says, voice lower than before. He squeezes past Kurt, then starts to move toward the entrance to the ballroom. Kurt hurries to follow him, heart pounding rapidly in his chest.

He glances around every now and again, but if anybody notices him making his escape they don’t comment on it. Soon enough, Prince Blaine is leading him out the front door and down the large hall, gesturing at him to be as quiet as possible.

They reach a smaller door a bit down the hall, and Prince Blaine opens it carefully, gesturing for Kurt to enter. He does so quickly, and soon he finds himself in a small reading room, with a low ceiling and several stacks of books surrounding two large chairs.

Prince Blaine shuts the door behind them, though he stays by it instead of instantly turning toward Kurt.

“What’s wrong?” Kurt asks when Prince Blaine remains by the door for over a minute.

Prince Blaine turns toward him slowly, cheeks red. “I don’t usually do this,” he admits, voice soft. “Run off with men I barely know.”

Kurt chuckles, falling into one of the chairs. “I’m very honoured to be the exception.”

Prince Blaine’s lips curve up into a small smile, and he goes to sit in the other chair. “You should be.”

“So,” Kurt says, not wanting silence to take over again. “Now that we are properly hidden – I believe I was promised a scandalous story?”

Prince Blaine sighs, leaning back in the chair, his smile falling from his face. “Right,” he says, voice quiet. “To be honest, I’m surprised you haven’t heard. My reputation is quite famous throughout Westerville.”

“A reputation, huh?” Kurt leans forward, intrigued. “Good or bad?”

“Depends on who asks,” Prince Blaine admits.

“I’m asking you.”

Prince Blaine holds his eye for a moment, and then looks away. “It’s neither, because it’s not even true. Not fully, anyway.”

“How many more vague answers are you going to give me before I actually hear this story?”

Prince Blaine shrugs. “It’s a rather personal matter. Forgive me for being reticent.”

“I understand,” Kurt says. He presses his lips together, thinking. “Perhaps if I shared a personal story with you?”

Prince Blaine glances up, the hint of a smile coming to his face once more. “You would embarrass yourself just so you can hear the story behind my widespread reputation?” He glances at the door and says, “You know you can just return to the party and ask anybody there. They all know.”

“Well, firstly, who said the story I’m going to tell is embarrassing? And secondly, I want to hear the story from you, not somebody else. It’s about you, is it not?”

Prince Blaine’s smile widens slightly. “Okay. But I want an embarrassing story. It’ll make me feel better.”

Kurt smirks. “I have no embarrassing stories.”

Prince Blaine snorts. “I don’t believe you.”

Kurt laughs. It’s more genuine than any of his laughs over the past six months. “You’re right not to. Alright,” he leans forward slightly. “An embarrassing story, you say?”

“Please,” Prince Blaine says, gesturing for Kurt to continue.

Kurt thinks for a moment. Although it isn’t true that he has no embarrassing stories, they are few and far between. As the heir to the throne of Lima, he’s rarely been held responsible for any untoward actions, which hasn’t left him much room for embarrassment.

“Oh,” he says, finally landing on something. “I know. When my brother, Finn, was born, I became incredibly jealous of all the attention he was receiving. Because my father already knew that I would never marry for heirs, everybody knew that it would be Finn’s child who inherited the throne. I don’t know why that made me so irrational, as I’ve always known that I did not want children, and for that to work I would need a sibling who could carry on the royal line.

“Anyway, I was irrationally jealous, so I began to hide his toys. My father and step-mother believed that he was throwing them away, or destroying them somehow, but could never find where they ended up. It didn’t really make any trouble for him, as they simply continued to buy him new ones, but it gave me a strange sense of pleasure.” Kurt shrugs. “Thinking back on it all, it was a rather immature thing for me to do, especially considering how little harm it did, and how silly my jealousy was.”

Prince Blaine’s smile has grown as Kurt speaks, and by the time the story is done he is full out grinning. “You stole your baby brother’s toys?” Kurt shrugs again, chuckling to himself at how ridiculous he was. “And… how old were you when you did this?”

“Ah, yes, this is the truly embarrassing part. I was sixteen.”

Prince Blaine bursts out laughing at that, and Kurt cannot help but laugh along.

“Okay,” the Prince says between laughs. “That is rather embarrassing.”

“I know, I know,” Kurt says, laughing as well. “Of course, I love my brother dearly now. He’s five and an absolute terror, but I love him.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that your toy hiding days are behind you.”

They continue chuckling, and Kurt waits for their laughter to die down before he says, “So, that’s my embarrassing story. I believe I was owed a scandalous story in return?”

Prince Blaine becomes seriously rather quickly. He breathes in deeply and says, “Yes, I suppose I did promise.” He settles himself better into his chair, then says, “It’s not actually that long of a story. I was engaged to be married, but the engagement was broken off because of my supposed infidelity.”

Kurt’s eyebrows raise quickly. “Oh, my.”

“It wasn’t true,” Prince Blaine hurries to say. “I wasn’t unfaithful. I actually… I really loved the man I was to marry.” This last confession comes in a whisper. “But he saw me one day at the stables, chatting with one of the servant boys. He got it in his head…” He shakes his head as he trails off. “He felt betrayed, and no matter what I said he wouldn’t believe me. It barely took a week for every noble in the kingdom to know why our engagement had broken.”

“Blaine, I’m… I’m so sorry.”

“He’s the reason I’m hiding,” Blaine says. “My father informed me last night that he would be arriving for the festival tonight. He wanted me to attempt to patch things up, but… well, Sebastian wasn’t exactly interested.”

Kurt leans forward in his chair. “Forgive me if this is an insensitive question but – well, does it really matter? I mean, aren’t nobles in Westerville expected to engage in pre-marital sex?”

“It depends on who you are,” Prince Blaine says. “I may be a prince, but I am only ninth in line for the throne. Sebastian is the second son of the King of Carmel. He is of higher class than me, and therefore if he had committed the infidelity it wouldn’t have mattered. But as it was me…”

“Prince Sebastian Smythe?” Kurt asks, eyes widening in surprise. “You were engaged to him?”

“You’ve met?”

Kurt nods. “When I passed through Carmel. I wasn’t being presented with either son, but I thought it would be rude not to at least stop in for a night on my way through.” He presses his lips together. “He didn’t seem particularly kind.”

“He used to be,” Prince Blaine says. “When we first became engaged he was the kindest man I’d ever met. Now… Well, quite frankly, I could have lived without seeing him again.”

Kurt watches him carefully, sees the pain that is so clearly embedded in his eyes. “I would never do that to you,” he says, unable to stop the words when they come.

Prince Blaine looks up, surprise written all over his face. “Which part?” he asks softly.

“Any of it,” Kurt says.

They stare at each other for a moment, until Prince Blaine looks away. “That’s the reason I don’t usually do this, you know,” he says, voice quiet. “Run off with men; especially ones I barely know. I may not be marriageable anymore, but my reputation still matters.”

Kurt’s eyes widen at that. “Wait. You’re not marriageable? Because of a false claim of infidelity?” He shakes his head. “That doesn’t seem right.”

“No,” Prince Blaine says. “It’s – well, it’s only partially because of that.” He glances at the door, as though afraid somebody might enter. “The truth is, I may not have been unfaithful, but my relationship with Sebastian wasn’t… pure,” his cheeks flush dark red as he says it. “Not many high-ranking nobles want to marry somebody that has already been had.”

“That seems unreasonable,” Kurt says, the need to defend the Prince bubbling inside him rapidly. He, for one, had never held virginity as a necessary trait in a future spouse. He hadn’t been expected to wait, so why should he expect that of his husband?

“It’s just the way things are,” Prince Blaine says, with a shrug. “I knew nobody would want me, so I requested to be trained in running the Southern estates. The woman you briefly met last night, Santana, her mother is Duchess Lopez, and she has been running the estates for many years now. She has done a wonderful job, but I know my grandfather is looking forward to having an Anderson in charge once more.”

Kurt sags in the chair, trying to process all this information. “Is that why it’s your brother that has been presented to me, and not you?”

Prince Blaine shrugs, not meeting Kurt’s eye. “He wanted to, and I didn’t. I didn’t think you would want me.”

I do, Kurt thinks, watching a blush spread over Blaine’s cheeks. I want you more than any of the men who have been presented to me throughout this entire journey.

“I see,” Kurt says instead.

They fall into the silence Kurt was so eager to avoid, Kurt staring at Blaine and Blaine adamantly looking at the ground. It’s so unfair that a man like Blaine, so kind, so honest, so trusting, should be forced to a life of loneliness because of something that isn’t even true.

“We should probably return to the party,” Blaine says, still refusing to meet Kurt’s eye. “Sebastian has already been running his mouth all night. I’m sure he’ll have a lot to say about my disappearing for so long.”

“If he says anything to you, you come straight to me. He may be third in line for the throne of Carmel, but I am the Crown Prince of Lima. I’m sure I can get him to shut up for at least an hour.”

Finally, Prince Blaine meets his eye. “You would do that? For me?”

Kurt smiles, warmth filling his chest. “Of course.”

They stand at the same time, heading for the door. Kurt’s heart is pounding in his chest as they go, desperate for the Prince to know how little this story changes Kurt’s opinion of him.

When Prince Blaine places his hand on the doorknob, Kurt places his own on the Prince’s other hand. He uses it to tug the Prince toward him, slotting their lips together entirely too easily.

Prince Blaine’s lips feel just as wonderful as he imagined they would.

He breaks the kiss mere moments after it began. His eyes flutter open to see the Prince staring at him, amber eyes wide in surprise.

“Thank you for sharing your story with me, Your Highness,” Kurt says softly. “I feel incredibly honoured.”

“Of course,” Prince Blaine says, voice breathless. “You can… just Blaine is okay.”

Kurt smiles. “Only if I am just Kurt.”

Blaine looks over his face, then nods. “Just Kurt.”

“Just Blaine.”

Blaine continues to stare at him for a moment, then cups his face and brings him in for a longer, slightly more passionate kiss. It feels wonderful, better than any other kiss Kurt has ever experienced, and he cannot help but whimper when Blaine pulls away.

“Right,” he says, his voice ragged. “We should return.”

“We should,” Kurt agrees, even though all he wants is to sit back down on the chair, pull Blaine into his lap, and kiss him until the sun rises.

Blaine nods. “Right,” he repeats, and finally opens the door.

Kurt encourages him to go ahead, not wanting to spawn any rumours should they be seen returning to together. Blaine agrees and hurries ahead, leaving Kurt alone in the small room.

He smiles, the memory of Blaine’s lips so fresh against his own. He can barely even remember why he was trying to hide in the first place.

Next Chapter

#klaineanummel fic #klaine fic #klaine au #klaine #datshitrandom #multi chapter

[mounicalucia-blog]

The Unique Complexity Of Working With Divorcing Clients: Emotions On The Edge

When clients seek out the help of the Collaborative team, it is at a time of deep emotional trouble, a time when most feel they have lost their center of gravity. As such, working with divorcing people presents numerous challenges to the team. In a large part, these challenges are the result of the clients’ needs to spend significant amounts of total talking time centered on their personal problems. According to Doane and Cowan, Interpersonal Help-Giving of Family Practice Lawyers, in the American Journal of Community Psychology, 1981, clients can spend nearly 40 percent of their time focusing only on their emotional needs. Learning to work effectively with clients’ heightened states of emotionality can be one of the most challenging lessons for the Collaborative team.

How often do Collaborative professionals find themselves, despite their best efforts, tripped up by their own reactions to their clients? It is not unusual for members of the Collaborative team to find themselves feeling resentment, fear, guilt or perhaps just strong feelings of identification and sympathy with their clients’ pain. Some of their clients’ childlike behaviors and the often inappropriate thought processes brought on by the crisis of divorce can even cause them to question whether or not they have the proper strategies to advocate effectively for them.

The open and often unconstrained nature of clients’ struggles during divorce leads to discernible and, to some extent predictable, reactions on the parts of both clients and Collaborative professionals, often referred to in psychology as transference and counter transference. In order to maintain a steady and beneficial working alliance with clients, it is necessary for the team to recognize the relationship between their clients’ behaviors and their reactions to them.to - Registered at Namecheap.com remain unaware is to risk mismanaging their professional role.

Clients Emotional States During Divorce

Impasses in the divorce process can arise from several psychological sources: clients’ unresolved emotional issues and clinical disorders. At such times, focusing only on the facts of the case will do little to help the client move forward. Collaborative professionals must recognize the inseparability of clients’ psychological states and legal tasks in order to successfully engage with the client.

Divorce is a mine field that can cause clients to regress and to behave in immature ways that are far from normal behavior patterns.in - Domain Name For Sale | Undeveloped her book Crazy Time, Abigail Trafford concludes that the more the client understands the “crazy times,” the more likely they are to recover. The same can be said of the Collaborative team; the greater their knowledge of their clients psychological states, both normal and pathological, the more competent they are to help the client make the shift from the emotional aspects to the legal aspects of divorce. It is important to be able to differentiate between the client’s needs for help and the common transference patterns seen in their childlike and unrealistic demands, inappropriate decisions and over dependence.

In an earlier newsletter, I spoke of divorce as the death of a relationship and the necessity of mourning that loss in order to move forward as a single person. Throughout the divorce process, it is common for clients to express their raw feelings of grief, which are likely to include feelings of anger and depression. Collaborative team members frequently find themselves in the cross hairs as they become misguided targets of some of these feelings and displaced frustrations.While each divorce is unique,there are some prevalent and identifiable themes that are likely to emerge on the client’s emotional map. The first of these is failure. Most people experience their inability to succeed at sustaining a marriage as a form of failure. Next are rejection and abandonment.The client’s self-esteem is likely to take a major hit when left by a spouse or when they feel they are abandoning their parental responsibilities. Another pattern commonly encountered is helplessness; often, clients feel they have lost everything in the divorce, including control of their own lives.Finally, fear of aloneness is universal; clients cannot imagine life on their own or ever partnering again.

While divorce itself can cause psychiatric disorders, in some cases psychiatric disorders may have existed prior to the divorce and, perhaps even contributed to it. If these disorders become an obstacle to effective team work and successful outcomes, outside psychotherapeutic intervention may be necessary. Common clinical disorders which may cause complications during the legal divorce include; depression, anxiety, substance abuse, physical abuse, and personality disorders. (The DSMIV,Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, is the primary reference for learning about these disorders.)

Collaborative Team Members Reactions To Their Clients Emotional States

The pressing and intrinsic nature of problems and stresses that divorcing individuals face,coupled with their need to talk about them throughout the legal work, thrusts Collaborative team members into a help-giving role. Most recognize the importance of listening to their client’s stories and the need to be supportive and sympathetic. That does not mean, however, that they feel comfortable or effective managing their client’s personal problems while effectively keeping their eyes on pressing legal tasks. After all, most Collaborative professionals are neither diagnosticians nor mental health providers.

In his article Effectively Representing the Unreasonable Client,“The American Journal of Family Law,” 2001, S. Portnoy identified several characteristics of the “unreasonable” client. Portnoy defines such clients as those who lack the ability to engage in rational thought because they are caught up in their own intense emotions, as so often occurs during divorce. Portnoy maintains that client’s out-of-control affect compromises cognition and leads to childish acting-out during divorce. If these behaviours are not handled properly, it is extremely difficult to keep the professional relationship on track.

The power of counter transference in working with divorcing clients cannot be over-emphasized. It is relatively easy for team members to develop personal perceptions and feelings about clients, which in turn can create blind spots in dealing objectively with them. These reactions can range from warm feelings and concern to harsh feelings of disapproval and distaste in response to the sometimes grossly inappropriate and immature behavior of the client.

Some of the more common feelings and reactions to clients include: a sense of grandiosity in response to the client who repeatedly tells the professional how wonderful they are; a need to goout of one’s way for a client due to feelings of guilt over the fees they are charging; the female professional who is uncomfortable confronting a client who is out of line; the male team member who encourages their clients’ dependency needs because of a sexual attraction. What about the client who adopts the role of the dependent child or the helpless victim? Or the one whose self interests and greed are played out when dividing the marital assets? The list goes on and on.

Strategies For Dealing With Clients Appeals For Interpersonal Help

Like it or not, the Collaborative team is involved in their client’s personal problems. Indeed, the “chemistry” of the Collaborative team/client relationship almost demands that it will happen.

Therefore, it is vital that Collaborative professionals learn techniques that can be used to:

Attain maximum cooperation with their clients.

Help clients manage their heightened emotions and unrealistic expectations (transference).

Assist clients introducing their acting out and misusing their team as targets for their fantasies.

Help team members to contain their feelings (counter transference) in order to maintain a professional relationship.

The following suggestions are likely to promote successful legal outcomes and satisfied clients.

Understand that clients regard divorce in emotional, not legal terms. The goal is to understand the client’s psychological state and to know how to use it to promote the best legal outcome. The goal is not to help the client deal with his personal feelings.

Recognize client’s distortions. Clients project onto the team member’s feelings and traits that will serve their psychological needs (i.e. to be taken care of) but are not based on reality. Confront the distortions and bring the client back to the real relationship.

Allow a controlled amount of emotional ventilation while maintaining structure. Know when to bring the client’s attention back to the issues.

If the structure is not enough to contain the client’s feelings and impulses, it may be necessary to refer the client for counseling to a psychotherapist who understands divorce.

Maintain enough psychological distance to be able to listen closely to the client. Empathy is important but over-identification with the client will interfere with neutrality. Boundaries between client and team must be clear.

Accept feelings towards clients as inevitable. The Collaborative professional shouldn’t react behaviorally to them, rather use them as data to understand the client and restore focus.

Maintain a neutral and non-judgmental stance when confronting clients.

Conclusion

The Collaborative team owes it to themselves and to their clients to be continually alert to both transference and counter transference processes, to make use of them when they enhance understanding, and to respectfully set them aside when they threaten to interfere with good legal judgement.

Visit - https://www.drdeborahhecker.com/blog/how-client-s-emotions-can-interfere-with-sound-legal-resolution

#couple counseling #coupletherapy #individualcounsling #divorce counseling #marriage counseling

[anna-2807]

When clients seek out the help of the Collaborative team, it is at a time of deep emotional trouble, a time when most feel they have lost their center of gravity. As such, working with divorcing people presents numerous challenges to the team. In a large part, these challenges are the result of the clients’ needs to spend significant amounts of total talking time centered on their personal problems. According to Doane and Cowan, Interpersonal Help-Giving of Family Practice Lawyers, in the American Journal of Community Psychology, 1981, clients can spend nearly 40 percent of their time focusing only on their emotional needs. Learning to work effectively with clients’ heightened states of emotionality can be one of the most challenging lessons for the Collaborative team.

How often do Collaborative professionals find themselves, despite their best efforts, tripped up by their own reactions to their clients? It is not unusual for members of the Collaborative team to find themselves feeling resentment, fear, guilt or perhaps just strong feelings of identification and sympathy with their clients’ pain. Some of their clients’ childlike behaviors and the often inappropriate thought processes brought on by the crisis of divorce can even cause them to question whether or not they have the proper strategies to advocate effectively for them.

The open and often unconstrained nature of clients’ struggles during divorce leads to discernible and, to some extent predictable, reactions on the parts of both clients and Collaborative professionals, often referred to in psychology as transference and counter transference. In order to maintain a steady and beneficial working alliance with clients, it is necessary for the team to recognize the relationship between their clients�� behaviors and their reactions to them.To remain unaware is to risk mismanaging their professional role.

Clients Emotional States During Divorce

Impasses in the divorce process can arise from several psychological sources: clients’ unresolved emotional issues and clinical disorders. At such times, focusing only on the facts of the case will do little to help the client move forward. Collaborative professionals must recognize the inseparability of clients’ psychological states and legal tasks in order to successfully engage with the client.

Divorce is a mine field that can cause clients to regress and to behave in immature ways that are far from normal behavior patterns.In her book Crazy Time, Abigail Trafford concludes that the more the client understands the “crazy times,” the more likely they are to recover. The same can be said of the Collaborative team; the greater their knowledge of their clients psychological states, both normal and pathological, the more competent they are to help the client make the shift from the emotional aspects to the legal aspects of divorce. It is important to be able to differentiate between the client’s needs for help and the common transference patterns seen in their childlike and unrealistic demands, inappropriate decisions and over dependence.

In an earlier newsletter, I spoke of divorce as the death of a relationship and the necessity of mourning that loss in order to move forward as a single person. Throughout the divorce process, it is common for clients to express their raw feelings of grief, which are likely to include feelings of anger and depression. Collaborative team members frequently find themselves in the cross hairs as they become misguided targets of some of these feelings and displaced frustrations.While each divorce is unique,there are some prevalent and identifiable themes that are likely to emerge on the client’s emotional map. The first of these is failure. Most people experience their inability to succeed at sustaining a marriage as a form of failure. Next are rejection and abandonment.The client’s self-esteem is likely to take a major hit when left by a spouse or when they feel they are abandoning their parental responsibilities. Another pattern commonly encountered is helplessness; often, clients feel they have lost everything in the divorce, including control of their own lives.Finally, fear of aloneness is universal; clients cannot imagine life on their own or ever partnering again.

While divorce itself can cause psychiatric disorders, in some cases psychiatric disorders may have existed prior to the divorce and, perhaps even contributed to it. If these disorders become an obstacle to effective team work and successful outcomes, outside psychotherapeutic intervention may be necessary. Common clinical disorders which may cause complications during the legal divorce include; depression, anxiety, substance abuse, physical abuse, and personality disorders. (The DSMIV,Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, is the primary reference for learning about these disorders.)

Collaborative Team Members Reactions To Their Clients Emotional States

The pressing and intrinsic nature of problems and stresses that divorcing individuals face,coupled with their need to talk about them throughout the legal work, thrusts Collaborative team members into a help-giving role. Most recognize the importance of listening to their client’s stories and the need to be supportive and sympathetic. That does not mean, however, that they feel comfortable or effective managing their client’s personal problems while effectively keeping their eyes on pressing legal tasks. After all, most Collaborative professionals are neither diagnosticians nor mental health providers.

In his article Effectively Representing the Unreasonable Client,“The American Journal of Family Law,” 2001, S. Portnoy identified several characteristics of the “unreasonable” client. Portnoy defines such clients as those who lack the ability to engage in rational thought because they are caught up in their own intense emotions, as so often occurs during divorce. Portnoy maintains that client’s out-of-control affect compromises cognition and leads to childish acting-out during divorce. If these behaviours are not handled properly, it is extremely difficult to keep the professional relationship on track.

The power of counter transference in working with divorcing clients cannot be over-emphasized. It is relatively easy for team members to develop personal perceptions and feelings about clients, which in turn can create blind spots in dealing objectively with them. These reactions can range from warm feelings and concern to harsh feelings of disapproval and distaste in response to the sometimes grossly inappropriate and immature behavior of the client.

Some of the more common feelings and reactions to clients include: a sense of grandiosity in response to the client who repeatedly tells the professional how wonderful they are; a need to goout of one’s way for a client due to feelings of guilt over the fees they are charging; the female professional who is uncomfortable confronting a client who is out of line; the male team member who encourages their clients’ dependency needs because of a sexual attraction. What about the client who adopts the role of the dependent child or the helpless victim? Or the one whose self interests and greed are played out when dividing the marital assets? The list goes on and on.

Strategies For Dealing With Clients Appeals For Interpersonal Help

Like it or not, the Collaborative team is involved in their client’s personal problems. Indeed, the “chemistry” of the Collaborative team/client relationship almost demands that it will happen.

Therefore, it is vital that Collaborative professionals learn techniques that can be used to:

Attain maximum cooperation with their clients.

Help clients manage their heightened emotions and unrealistic expectations (transference).

Assist clients introducing their acting out and misusing their team as targets for their fantasies.

Help team members to contain their feelings (counter transference) in order to maintain a professional relationship.

The following suggestions are likely to promote successful legal outcomes and satisfied clients.

Understand that clients regard divorce in emotional, not legal terms. The goal is to understand the client’s psychological state and to know how to use it to promote the best legal outcome. The goal is not to help the client deal with his personal feelings.

Recognize client’s distortions. Clients project onto the team member’s feelings and traits that will serve their psychological needs (i.e. to be taken care of) but are not based on reality. Confront the distortions and bring the client back to the real relationship.

Allow a controlled amount of emotional ventilation while maintaining structure. Know when to bring the client’s attention back to the issues.

If the structure is not enough to contain the client’s feelings and impulses, it may be necessary to refer the client for counseling to a psychotherapist who understands divorce.

Maintain enough psychological distance to be able to listen closely to the client. Empathy is important but over-identification with the client will interfere with neutrality. Boundaries between client and team must be clear.

Accept feelings towards clients as inevitable. The Collaborative professional shouldn’t react behaviorally to them, rather use them as data to understand the client and restore focus.

Maintain a neutral and non-judgmental stance when confronting clients.

Conclusion

The Collaborative team owes it to themselves and to their clients to be continually alert to both transference and counter transference processes, to make use of them when they enhance understanding, and to respectfully set them aside when they threaten to interfere with good legal judgement.

Read more at https://www.drdeborahhecker.com/blog/how-client-s-emotions-can-interfere-with-sound-legal-resolution

#Divorce Counselor #Couple Counselor #Relationship Expert #Divorce Counseling #Couple Counseling #Individual Counseling #Online Relationship Counselor #Online Relationship Counseling

[turtle-paced]

ASoIaF Re-Read: The Princess in the Tower, AFFC

Well...someone asked for it, and this time I actually managed to follow through. Pardon the roughness; I’ll probably do this for other chapters in future and no doubt I’ll get more practiced and organised.

This chapter deals with the aftermath of the failed Queenmaker plot. Arianne is imprisoned, her co-conspirators scattered. The first half of the chapter shows us the brutal effectiveness of solitary confinement in breaking someone down; the second Arianne’s long overdue confrontation with her father, climaxing with the reveal of Doran’s own bloody plans for the Lannister regime.

The Princess (Alone) in the Tower

Upon her capture, Arianne expects to be taken to face her father’s justice in public. Instead, she is sent to solitary, comfortable confinement. Physically, Arianne’s cell is positively luxurious. She has carpets and a featherbed and a privy as nice as anyone can expect in this setting, red wine and clean water, books and a cyvasse table, her own (fine) clothing, and some of the best views in all of Dorne. But the door is “closed and barred,” her exploration of the cell takes “less time than it would have taken her to lace a pair of sandals,” and for a woman who wondered on her way up the stairs if one of her cousins would be in the cell, “she had no one to play [cyvasse] with.”

Arianne is further left in a state of ignorance as to the duration of her captivity. Her demands to see her father are met with silence. More importantly, none of the servants or guards attending her will speak to her. “None of them had a word for her, nor would they deign to tell her what was happening in the world outside her sandstone cage.” While in confinement, she is denied full knowledge of the consequences of her actions, with the servants refusing to tell her of the hunt for Darkstar or even if Myrcella survived. She is also left unsure of her eventual punishment, and fears that she’s been locked up only to be taken directly to a wedding to a man she finds unsuitable.

This is very hard on Arianne, who has in previous chapters been established as an extroverted, social woman who relies a great deal on her peer support groups. She underestimates how effective this tactic of imprisonment is at first. “Is this my father’s notion of torment? Not hot irons or the rack, but simple silence? […] He thinks he is being subtle when he is only being feeble.” Yet despite her vow to use the solitude to strengthen herself, within days she’s hanging out the window shouting her throat raw in the hope her cousins will answer her, and trying to escape from her cell.

Eventually she attempts to escape her confinement by charming one of her servants into taking a message for her, using that servant’s attachment to one of her friends as a lever. (Notably, Arianne secures Cedra’s agreement to take a message first, and only then thinks about to whom she might send that message.) This effort is unsuccessful.

After a while, Arianne understands. “By that time, the princess would have welcomed the touch of a hot iron, or an evening upon the rack. The loneliness was like to drive her mad.” It’s only when she breaks, spending all her time in bed and refusing to eat, that her father at last sends for her, by way of Areo Hotah. And one of the first things she thinks is, “He was talking to her.” Ow, man. In case we failed to get this point, Arianne also thinks “for the first time I am frightened of my father” and “I must throw myself at his feet and beg forgiveness, or I may never hear another human voice again.”

It is frankly impressive that Arianne bounces back enough from this experience enough within a few minutes of her supervised release to argue with her father and insist on her legal status and rights.

The Failed Plot

Arianne is distraught by the plan’s failure, her concern with her co-conspirators’ fates as much as with her own. As we are told barely a paragraph into the chapter, “She was less certain whether she would forgive herself.” The guilt of her failure eats at her almost as much as her loneliness, to the point where Arianne thinks “I deserve a headsman’s axe for what I did, but [Doran] will not even give me that.”

It is Arys Oakheart’s fate that she is most upset about. As soon as Arianne is alone, she weeps for him. At this point, she is still coming to terms with her own responsibility for his death. “I never told you to, I never wanted that,” she thinks. The following morning we see her engaged in a bit more denial: “Someone told, someone she had trusted. Arys Oakheart had died because of that, slain by the traitor’s whisper as much as by the captain’s axe.” Yet even this formulation of events cannot absolve Arianne of culpability - someone Arianne trusted told. “Anger was better than tears, better than grief, better than guilt.” She knows she did Arys wrong in a manner that substantially led to his death, but cannot yet face it entirely.

And it is all too apparent that Arianne did Arys wrong. She spent half a year seducing him, and when she succeeded, led him to believe that they would be able to marry if he cooperated in their plot. She was aware of Arys’ shame and discomfort with their affair and used it to further her own ends. Unethical behaviour to say the least, and Arianne at last wonders whether that shame was a contributing factor in his decision to suicidally charge Areo Hotah.

Myrcella’s maiming falls into largely the same category of grief and guilt. We learn that she was badly injured when Darkstar attacked her, and last Arianne saw her, she was “too weak to sit a horse,” and her eyes were “bright with fever.” Later in the chapter, we learn that Myrcella lost her ear and has significant scarring on her face. Arianne maintains a level of distancing herself from responsibility regarding Myrcella. “If Hotah had not interfered,” she says.

Yet this constant appeal to her lack of malice only goes to show how acutely she is aware that her actions resulted in the disaster. Arianne knows that lack of malice is the only thing she can plead in her own defence.

We learn quickly that Darkstar escaped to do more mischief in places unknown, probably posturing dramatically the whole way. Arianne thinks that he must surely have fled Dorne. (He’s totally still in Dorne.) Doran describes Darkstar as “the most dangerous man in Dorne,” in a sentence that sounds suspiciously like GRRM talking up this character. (If someone’s going to say “I am of the night,” that character better have dramatic flair to equal Batman, is all I am saying.) In terms of cyvasse imagery, Arianne links her inquiry about Darkstar to the heavy horse piece.

The other co-conspirators, apprehended at the same time as Arianne, were separated from her and initially sent to Ghaston Grey, “a crumbling old castle perched on a rock in the Sea of Dorne, a drear and dreadful prison where the vilest of criminals were sent to rot and die.” Arianne protests this, assuming full responsibility for the plot. This position she maintains through her confrontation with Doran. Doran opts for leniency, though he “might have had their heads off.” He quietly exiles most of Arianne’s friends, taking hostages and money in Garin’s case, giving Ser Andrey an honourable post guarding Arianne’s mother aaaaaaall the way in Norvos, and arranging a marriage for Lady Sylva.

Once the conspiracy is over and the conspirators dealt with, Doran and by extension Arianne must still deal with the fallout. Balon Swann was dispatched from King’s Landing, and now Doran needs an explanation for Arys’ death and Myrcella’s maiming.

Myrcella, alive and recovering, must be persuaded to hide the truth. Arianne is the only one with the ability to persuade her, and so, Doran has need of Arianne.

Someone Told

Arianne obsesses over this question for the bulk of the chapter. She told only people she trusted, and yet, her father knew her plans and stopped her with relative ease. “Someone told, someone she had loved. That was the cruelest cut of all.” She works through the possible suspects, and cannot believe that any of them would inform on her save Darkstar and possibly Ser Arys, and yet has to admit to herself “it made no sense for Dayne to be the traitor.”

When she at last gets to confront her father, the issue is one of the first she brings up.

“I want to know who informed on me.”

“I would as well, in your place.”

Doran refuses to tell her, saying “until such time [as she discovers the traitor’s identity on her own, she] must mistrust them all,” and “a little mistrust is a good thing in a princess.”

It’s my opinion that the specific identity of Arianne’s traitor is by far secondary to the broader point Doran makes - and to Doran’s own failings in the control of information.

Just as we see the consequences of telling the wrong person in the aftermath of Arianne’s failure to crown Myrcella, we see the consequences of failing to tell a right person as Doran describes his own plot to crown Arianne. Arianne was vital to Doran’s plot, the coin used to re-bind houses Martell and Targaryen in the first iteration of the plan to restore the Targaryens to the Iron Throne, yet Doran did not keep his legal heir apparent in the loop.

He explains this: “Arianne, your nature...to you, a secret was only a choice tale to whisper to Garin and Tyene of a night.” But what was true when Arianne was ten, twelve, fifteen, was not reevaluated when Arianne was eighteen, twenty, twenty-three. Instead, Doran kept quiet to protect Arianne, seven years a woman grown, while telling the far younger Quentyn. He quite simply did not risk give Arianne the chance to prove herself that he risked giving Quentyn. Even as Doran’s health deteriorated and in spite of Viserys’ death, he does not tell Arianne anything that the future ruling Princess of Dorne might need to know. Doran himself acknowledges the failure, saying that he “kept [Arianne] ignorant too long.” And then at last the plan comes out.

Arianne’s Family

It is stated outright in this chapter that Arianne loves her cousins. Somewhat worryingly to those who recall Areo Hotah’s take on the Sand Snakes (and especially Maester Caelotte’s concern that Tyene would assassinate her own uncle in his own home), Arianne’s favourite is Tyene, and considers her “the sweet sister she never had.”

She also seems to have enough fondness for Ellaria to shout for her as well, when the stress of confinement gets to her.

Furthermore, it is stated outright that Arianne is not close to either of her brothers. “Quentyn was off at Yronwood, and Trystane was too young.” Quentyn in particular she has little affection for. As she describes in her impassioned speech to Doran, “he looks like you, he thinks like you,” as reasons for parental favouritism. She regards Quentyn as competition for their father’s love and for inheritance of Dorne, an idea developed in her earlier chapter. It’s on the backburner here, as matters with her father come to a head.

Doran’s Family

In this chapter we continue the comparisons between Doran and Oberyn. The compare-and-contrast is again instigated by Doran himself, when he says, “My brother loved the fight for its own sake, but I only play such games as I can win.”

Fittingly, with this reveal that Doran literally only plays to win, we also see that Doran, no less than Oberyn, has been intent on revenge for what happened to Elia. “I have worked at the downfall of Tywin Lannister from the day they told me of Elia and her children. I had hoped to strip him of all that he held most dear before I killed him,” he tells Arianne.

We also get a glimpse at Doran’s history with his wife, as he speaks about meeting her in Norvos. At the end of the chapter we see how that relationship soured - when Doran wanted to send Arianne to Tyrosh, Mellario threatened self-harm, and we hear the echo of her words when Doran describes this as “stealing” another of Mellario’s children.

Doran knows Areo enough now to be able to say “Areo will recall the day,” he met Mellario, only to be proven immediately correct. Also note Areo’s response - the prince, my lady. Areo’s got a professional distinction between Doran and his wife.

Arianne and Doran

We see almost immediately that Arianne is clinging to a certain impression of her father: “he does not have it in him to be so cruel.” This image of her father is one she relies on, as she is confident in her ability to sway her father’s soft heart. “When he saw tears rolling down her face, he would forgive her.”

This is immediately undermined by her interaction with Areo Hotah, as Arianne tries a very similar tactic. “You have known me since I was little,” she says, appealing to the same sort of tender feelings in Areo as she plans to appeal to in her father. In response, Areo’s expression is “stony” as he tells her “What you meant does not matter, little princess […], only what you did.”

The solitary confinement was Doran’s idea, as we learn when Arianne arrives back in Sunspear. She is told she awaits her father’s pleasure, and we get this brief exchange:

“I want to speak with him.” “He thought you might.” Ser Manfrey took her arm and marched her up the steps…

Doran, though he does not know his daughter’s motivations, understands her methods and the punishment that will work best on her. Arianne has been thoroughly anticipated in this regard. Later, when Arianne attempts to send a message calling for her rescue via one of her servants, it is discovered almost immediately.

As mentioned above, Arianne expected to see her father shortly after her arrival in Sunspear. The first morning, she prepares to meet him by wearing the most revealing clothes she can find, her explicit intent with this to force Doran to see her as an adult. It’s clearly not the most mature way of accomplishing this objective. Arianne wants a reaction from Doran more than anything else. But while wearing clothes Daddy would disapprove of for no other reason than that Daddy would disapprove of them is not mature (“if I must crawl and weep, let him be uncomfortable as well”), the fears she’s dealing with are logical. Even the fact that she chooses to deal with them by accentuating her mature sexuality is understandable. As we learn later, Arianne believes her father intends to skip her in the succession - and this fear was only bolstered by his apparent refusal to make her a suitable matrimonial match. Between patriarchy and politics, Prince Doran Martell is supposed to consider his daughter and heir as a sexual being, and arrange a marriage for her. This he has not (publicly) done.

Arianne’s lack of suitable suitor is a point of anxiety for her. Marriage “was what princesses were for, she had been taught.” The rest of the line of thought isn’t hard to reason out. If princesses are for marrying, and she’s not married yet, what sort of princess is she? Clearly not good enough. On her own initiative, Arianne attempted to seduce Renly (who was “more bemused than inflamed by her overtures,” and we all know it’s not just because Arianne was “half a girl” at the time), and attempted to go to Highgarden to visit Willas Tyrell.

Yet there was a message for Arianne in the books she was left in her confinement. Doran did not give her books for her entertainment, nor religious texts on penitence - he left her histories both secular and religious, geographies, annotated maps, legal studies particular to Dornish law, and a large book on dragons. The sort of books a ruling Princess of Dorne might do well to learn from, in other words. Especially a ruling Princess of Dorne who might be dealing with a Targaryen dragonrider. Arianne wants Ten Thousand Ships and/or The Loves of Queen Nymeria. (It’s pretty clear who Arianne’s heroine is.)

What Arianne absolutely will not do, however, is kneel to her father. Even fearing that she may never hear another human voice again, she “could not bring herself to kneel and beg as she had planned.” She seats herself across the cyvasse table (positioning herself as his opponent) and when he says he did not give her leave to sit, she sits anyway, and dares him to have her whipped. It’s pretty well summed up by the single line: “The princess refused to be cowed.”

For all their conflict is central to the entire Dornish plot, it is also clear how much Arianne loves her father, and, ultimately, that her father loves her in return. The thought that he might forget her causes her pain. The sight of him suffering from gout makes her heart go out to him. He found himself unable to act preemptively against her, and very much recalls the little girl who ran to him with skinned knees. He starts to reveal his plan when Arianne asks, almost in tears, “What did I ever do to make you hate me so?” Her disappointment in him hurts them both.

A Failure to Communicate

To which Doran replies, “I never hated you. […] Arianne, you do not understand.” There is no triumph in this moment, only Doran’s grief as he at last appreciates how his own caution has damaged his relationship with his daughter.

The central problem between the two is indeed a lack of communication. These two characters, thanks to that lack of communication, simply do not understand each other at this point. Doran still sees Arianne as a little girl (not only does he refer to her as such, he is visibly discomfited with Arianne’s admission that she seduced Arys); Arianne has no appreciation for long-term plans and the appearance of weakness. As Arianne left Doran out of her plot, Doran left Arianne out of his.

Arianne is under the impression that her father wants her disinherited or dead, as she makes clear when she tells him “I want my rights.” She is convinced that Doran sent Quentyn to Essos to hire sellswords to ensure Arianne never inherited. She’s wrong, but not without reason. Having admitted that when she was younger, she intercepted one of her father’s letters to Quentyn, which read in part, “One day you will sit where I sit and rule all Dorne,” she does not let the matter lie. She pursues and questions Doran’s thin attempts at evasions.

Doran is so used to secrecy it takes him a while to get revealing his own plot. He starts with “I had other plans for you,” continues with “you were promised,” and “the pact was sealed in secret.” This is all super vague and unhelpful to Arianne (and the audience), but here GRRM’s need to ramp up to the big reveal and his characterisation of Doran as overcautious and reticent align beautifully. One gets the impression Doran simply wouldn’t have revealed as much without Arianne and the emotional confrontation between them forcing his hand.

It took that much to get them to communicate honestly, and even then, he gives the final line of the big reveal “as if he were afraid someone might be listening.”

Revenge

Throughout the Dorne chapters of AFFC, we have seen the recurring, intensifying calls for Doran to demand action from the Lannister regime, who killed Elia Martell and now are being blamed for Oberyn’s death in Tyrion’s trial. Doran, who has to this point given the impression of all-encompassing passivity, here reveals that as opposed to his public acceptance of the narrative where Oberyn was lawfully slain while participating in a trial by combat, he fully believes the Lannisters murdered Oberyn.

“Your brother went to King’s Landing in your place, and they murdered him!” “Do you think I do not know that? Oberyn is with me every time I close my eyes.”

Doran’s subsequent assessment of Dorne’s chances against the Iron Throne in war demonstrate that he has thought about the matter. He knows the spin he and other rulers of Dorne have encouraged since the Young Dragon’s conquest of Dorne: “It pleased us to water the seed [Daeron] planted and let our foes think us more powerful than we are.” He also knows its limitation: “Valor is a poor substitute for numbers.” Which leads him to the conclusion, “Dorne cannot hope to win a war against the Iron Throne, not alone.” The qualifier “not alone” is important. Doran, and GRRM, are planting the seeds of an imminent reveal. Then, when Arianne mentions that Doran has always had the patience and forbearance of Baelor for the Lannisters, Doran outright contradicts her, providing no details.

We get the big hint relating to the nature of Doran’s plan when Doran tells her, and the audience, the means by which Arianne’s intended died: a pot of molten gold. Arianne doesn’t know yet, but readers might well remember the fate of Viserys Targaryen. If they didn’t, well, Arianne’s not done questioning Doran. Eventually, she prompts him into at last stating what “our heart’s desire” is, the plural “our” used for maximum effect.

Doran hands Arianne a cyvasse dragon and says “Vengeance. Justice. […] Fire and blood.”

Without using the word Targaryen or the name of any Targaryen, Doran/GRRM just revealed a Dornish plot spanning more than a decade to restore the Targaryens to the Iron Throne. It’s such a good reveal, capped off by such a good line. Motivation and goal in four words.

Yet all of this is preceded by Doran’s blunt admission of failure in the matter of Arianne’s plot - a failure which is likely to be in miniature the fate of his grander plans, showcasing his own critical flaws as a schemer. Doran waited too long, trusted too little, and just as he was accused of throughout AFFC, was too passive, and left too much at the mercy of other actors. It’s the same with Arianne as it will probably prove to be with Dany.

Unresolved Issues

Someone told.

Where is Darkstar? (Who cares about Darkstar?)

When will Balon Swann get to Dorne? Will Myrcella lie to Balon, and if so, will her lies pass muster?

The role of the Sand Snakes is also left hanging. They are imprisoned but not dead, clearly being saved for something else.

Most importantly, even as the chapter closes the understanding between Arianne and Doran is not complete. Doran misjudged in his methods of revealing the Targaryen restoration plot to her; “Dorne will be yours,” he said, “Your brother Quentyn has a harder road to walk.” He makes rule of one of the Seven Kingdoms sound like a consolation prize. Even his framing of Quentyn’s journey as a tale of knightly valour (“to retrieve our heart’s desire”) puts him at the centre of the family’s narrative in this grand scheme. Arianne’s feelings of exclusion from the central political business of her family have been key - now she knows she had a vital role and it is no longer necessary. Arianne’s relationship with Quentyn is left largely unexamined in this chapter, and just as largely unresolved.

Food porn

Kid roasted with lemon and honey. Grape leaves stuffed with raisins, onions, mushrooms, and peppers. Figs, olives, peppers stuffed with cheese. Spiced eggs.

Clothing porn

A simple gown of ivory linen, with vines and purple grapes embroidered around the sleeves and bodice, without accompanying jewellery.

#ASoIaF #asoiaf reread #arianne martell #a feast for crows

[jacknicholson1963]

Risks or rewards? The Royal Navy in the South China Sea

HMS Sutherland, currently in Australia and on a tour of the Western Pacific, will conduct a Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea at some point before she returns home. Sister ship HMS Argyll, will also be sent to the region in the later part of 2018. Here we examine the context and motives for these deployments.

Welcome to the most disputed waters on the planet

Under the normal United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) every nation has the right to claim an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) out to 200 miles from its coast. Where the EEZ overlaps with another nation, a maritime boundary that divides the territory in an equitable manner is usually agreed. The EEZ gives the right for that nation to extract mineral and natural resources but it does not have sovereignty over the waters, which are open to all shipping. Only the waters that extend 12 miles from an inhabited coast are sovereign territorial waters.

The South China Sea (SCS) is undoubtedly a major potential flashpoint for future global conflict, with six nations making complex and competing for claims over a series of islands and overlapping EEZs. The SCS competition is the most extreme example of growing global tensions over exploiting the oceans as populations expand with an insatiable demand for resources. SCS sea is a tempting prize, rich in oil, minerals and fishing grounds. Optimistic Chinese estimates suggest there are 125 billion barrels of oil and 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that could be extracted. Control over these waters also amounts to enormous strategic power because nearly a third of world’s maritime trade, estimated at around £3.8 trillion per year, is carried on ships passing through the SCS.

Territorial claims in the South China Sea. Note the huge red loop that denotes the Chinese claim. (Click for enlarged version) Image: deedavee via Flickr.

Scattered across the SCS are many inhabited islands and reefs of which China has made absurdly inflated claims of ownership. The claim is based on a historical document with little validity, the so-called ‘9-dash line’ which encircles almost 90% of the entire SCS, extending up to 1,200 miles from the Chinese mainland. In a ruling ignored by the Chinese, an international tribunal unanimously rejected the claim as unlawful. Even if China owned these rocks, because they are uninhabited, they would come with no associated territorial waters or EEZ. This is a very different scenario to, for example, the dispute over the Falkland Islands which has had an indigenous population, loyal to Britain, since 1833.

China already has a legal EEZ of 877,019 km2 but claims a total of 3,000,000 Km2. Further claims over islands in the East China Sea are putting it in direct conflict with its oldest rival, Japan. The Trump administration is pursuing a tough stance with China and nations in Asia are increasingly polarised. Some are aligning with China while others are joining ‘the quad’ which includes the US, Japan India and Australia in an alliance specifically to contain China. The UK has long-established ties with these 4 nations and is committed to the upholding of the ‘rules-based-order’ which inevitably put it at odds with the world’s newest superpower.

To complicate matters, in the last decade China has been reclaiming land around strategic islands and reefs and constructing ports, air bases, radar installations and barracks. At what must be enormous expense and inflicting considerable environmental damage, this foothold allows China to claim they are now ‘inhabited’. The vast militarisation project is now effectively a fait accompli, which no one has been able or willing to prevent. These bases offer control of the seas around them as ‘unsinkable aircraft carriers’ and surveillance outposts, putting at risk any naval force that should enter the SCS, even before taking into account the threat from the aggressively-expanding Chinese navy.

Winning the global power competition

The Chinese military has grown rapidly with modern equipment, much of which is derived from a programme of cyber-theft, reverse-engineering or purchasing the best foreign technology. It is not that the Chinese are incapable of innovation, just that if you are in a hurry to catch up and overtake your rivals it is quicker and easier to copy, especially if intellectual property is carelessly made accessible.

Apart from aircraft carriers, the PLAN is about to eclipse the US Navy in major surface combatant numbers.

Able to throw huge manpower and financial resources at any project, China’s totalitarian state can build up its military largely free from the constraints of public scrutiny, health & safety, workers rights or the effects of ‘pork barrel’ politics which slow democratic nations efforts. Even if Chinese defence spending figures were reliable, it makes comparisons with Western nations meaningless as they clearly get far more for the same money. Efficient Chinese shipyards are churning out modern warships for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) at a rate no one can compete with. While the US Navy is spread across the globe, for now at least, China keeps most of its naval forces closer to home with an overwhelming concentration of available firepower in the SCS. China has also built the largest Coastguard fleet in the world, now numbering over 1,000 vessels of various sizes. Some are heavily armed and it these vessels, rather than the PLAN, that have been involved in deadly confrontations with fishermen in disputed waters.

HMS Sutherland is the first RN visitor to Pacific region since HMS Daring in 2013. Warship arrivals in Sydney, Australia are always photogenic.

Ambassadors for ‘global Britain’

A Royal Navy visit to the Pacific region has many benefits. Part of the reason HMS Sutherland’s is in Australia is to display British anti-submarine prowess and equipment in an effort to persuade the RAN to purchase the Type 26 frigate design. The broader remit is to promote British diplomatic and trade interests in the region. Often dismissed as just an excuse for a cocktail party, receptions, presentations and meetings held onboard visiting warships can do a great deal to assist British interests and prestige through personal contact and dialogue. As Britain loosens ties with the EU, its political, commercial and military relationships in the Far East have greater importance, the RN is a vital ambassador as ‘brand Britain’ attempts to extend its reach.

The UK has long-standing ties with nations in the Pacific, particularly with Commonwealth nations and signatories of the five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA); Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore. There is no binding obligation to defend each other like in NATO, rather a loose agreement to cooperate and consult each other in the event of aggression by another nation. Occasional visits by UK warships should not be mistaken for a signal that the RN can make a major contribution to the balance of forces in the region. The RN is simply too small and has higher priority commitments elsewhere to maintain a significant permanent presence. There is, however, great value in conducting naval exercises together, sharing ideas, doctrine and intelligence.

Britain certainly owes the United States a debt of gratitude for their wholehearted assistance in regenerating UK carrier strike capability. Some have suggested that sending more UK warships to the Pacific is a way to thank the Americans by endorsing their stand against China. From a military standpoint, a more effective way for the UK to assist might be to relieve the pressure on US forces by concentrating on containing the Russian threat closer to home or shouldering more responsibility in the Middle East.

Tweaking the dragon’s tail

Speaking while the ship was alongside in Sydney Australia, Commander Canale, CO HMS Sutherland said “I have to get from one part of the world to the other, by doing so I have to transit through the South China Sea — what I can say is whatever I choose to do will be in full compliance with international law,”

Like any warship passage through the SCS, HMS Sutherland is likely to be closely monitored by the Chinese. It is not clear if she will simply pass through or deliberately sail within 12nm of claimed ‘territorial waters’ belonging to one of the new artificial islands. US Navy destroyers have conducted several such legal FONOPs which drew stern rebukes from Beijing and heightened tensions. The Global Times which is a mouthpiece of the Chinese government has already advised Britain “should behave modestly when passing through the South China Sea.”

So far the Chinese have not reacted to any US Navy FONOPs with force. Despite their objections, they recognise that conflict in the SCS could cripple trade flows and devastate the world economy in which they have so much invested. For all sides, the stakes are high and the presence of single warships in disputed waters can be seen as about making a statement and unlikely to provoke shooting. The UK government does need to consider how it should react if, for example, the Chinese were to despatch coastguard ships to obstruct or interfere with the passage of HMS Sutherland. Alternatively, China may do nothing, recognising that valuable trading relationship with the UK is more important.

In 2016 UK exports to China were worth £16.8 billion while imports from China were £42.3 billion. For post-Brexit Britain looking to expand trade outside Europe, relationships with China have increasing importance. China’s neighbours face a similar dilemma, on the one hand, they need to protect their sovereignty in the face of military expansion, and on the other must remain engaged with Beijing, a primary commercial partner.

Further RN deployments in the SCS could have unintended consequences. China is making deals to gain access to a string of naval bases across Asia, Africa and into the Mediterranian. The PLAN already has the ships and ability to conduct replenishment at sea. With several aircraft carriers under construction, China will soon have the capability to project naval power on a global scale. How would Britain respond to a future FONOP by a Chinese carrier battle group in the North Sea? A scenario where the Chinese supply heavily subsidised warships and military aircraft to Argentina is not inconceivable.

Boris goes large

On 27th July 2017, speaking in Australia about the South China Sea The Foreign Secretary said: “One of the first things we will do with the two new colossal aircraft carriers that we have just built is to send them on a freedom of navigation operation to this area”. As most would recognise, not every pronouncement made by Boris Johnson is sensible or practical and his speech has the feel of off-the-cuff policymaking. Once fully operational, the QEC will certainly be powerful levers for government that will make a statement wherever they go. For that reason alone, where and how they are deployed should be considered especially carefully. Sending a carrier to the SCS is a bigger step up on the scale of escalation than the passage of a frigate and could to provoke a bigger response.

There is a plan for HMS Queen Elizabeth to conduct a ‘global deployment’ as soon as 2021 which could include a transit of the SCS.  For the transit of the SCS it must be hoped that US, and possibly Australian warships, may be added to the carrier group. QE is due to achieve Initial Operating Capability (Carrier Strike) in 2020 and by the following year, the number of F-35Bs available to equip the carrier would probably be a maximum of 10-12. The embarked F-35Bs will not yet be equipped with a full range of weaponry which has to be integrated over a period of several years. There would also have been a relatively short period for the ship’s company and aircrew to build up experience of fixed-wing carrier operations.

It must be assumed HMS Queen Elizabeth would be accompanied on her 2021 global deployment by at least one Type 45 destroyer, a frigate, an RFA and possibly an SSN.

Looking from a naval perspective, in 2021 QE will be a high profile target but not in the same league as a US aircraft carrier, both in terms of the power she can project or possessing the same level of self-protection. Students of Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu will note that he advised: “avoid strength, attack weakness”. Events in the next 3 years may be difficult to predict, China will undoubtedly an even stronger naval and military power but whether Boris Jonson will still retain a position of influence is less certain.

Efforts to encourage nations to adhere to international law should be applauded, appeasement can be a dangerous policy that pushes problems into the future. At the same time confronting an adversary where they are strongest may not be sound strategy or in our national interest. History tells us that Royal Navy warships deployed to the other side of the globe have achieved both incredible successes and suffered bloody defeats.

Consideration of what measures the UK may take to influence events in Asian waters should be planned with the exceptional thoroughness and be commensurate with our true naval strength.

    Related articles

How China’s Growing Naval Fleet Is Shaping Global Politics (Bloomberg)

Down Under, But Not Out – UK Defence in the Asia Pacific Region (Thin Pinstriped Line)

South China Sea no place for foolish adventurism (Chinese Morning Post)

Britain’s new aircraft carriers to test Beijing in South China Sea (Guardian)

from Save the Royal Navy http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/risks-or-rewards-the-royal-navy-in-the-south-china-sea/

#Save the Royal Navy

[relationshipsshrink]

The Unique Complexity Of Working With Divorcing Clients: Emotions On The Edge

When clients seek out the help of the Collaborative team, it is at a time of deep emotional trouble, a time when most feel they have lost their center of gravity. As such, working with divorcing people presents numerous challenges to the team. In a large part, these challenges are the result of the clients’ needs to spend significant amounts of total talking time centered on their personal problems. According to Doane and Cowan, Interpersonal Help-Giving of Family Practice Lawyers, in the American Journal of Community Psychology, 1981, clients can spend nearly 40 percent of their time focusing only on their emotional needs. Learning to work effectively with clients’ heightened states of emotionality can be one of the most challenging lessons for the Collaborative team.

How often do Collaborative professionals find themselves, despite their best efforts, tripped up by their own reactions to their clients? It is not unusual for members of the Collaborative team to find themselves feeling resentment, fear, guilt or perhaps just strong feelings of identification and sympathy with their clients’ pain. Some of their clients’ childlike behaviors and the often inappropriate thought processes brought on by the crisis of divorce can even cause them to question whether or not they have the proper strategies to advocate effectively for them.

The open and often unconstrained nature of clients’ struggles during divorce leads to discernible and, to some extent predictable, reactions on the parts of both clients and Collaborative professionals, often referred to in psychology as transference and counter transference. In order to maintain a steady and beneficial working alliance with clients, it is necessary for the team to recognize the relationship between their clients’ behaviors and their reactions to them.To remain unaware is to risk mismanaging their professional role.

Clients Emotional States During Divorce

Impasses in the divorce process can arise from several psychological sources: clients’ unresolved emotional issues and clinical disorders. At such times, focusing only on the facts of the case will do little to help the client move forward. Collaborative professionals must recognize the inseparability of clients’ psychological states and legal tasks in order to successfully engage with the client.

Divorce is a mine field that can cause clients to regress and to behave in immature ways that are far from normal behavior patterns.In her book Crazy Time, Abigail Trafford concludes that the more the client understands the “crazy times,” the more likely they are to recover. The same can be said of the Collaborative team; the greater their knowledge of their clients psychological states, both normal and pathological, the more competent they are to help the client make the shift from the emotional aspects to the legal aspects of divorce. It is important to be able to differentiate between the client’s needs for help and the common transference patterns seen in their childlike and unrealistic demands, inappropriate decisions and over dependence.

In an earlier newsletter, I spoke of divorce as the death of a relationship and the necessity of mourning that loss in order to move forward as a single person. Throughout the divorce process, it is common for clients to express their raw feelings of grief, which are likely to include feelings of anger and depression. Collaborative team members frequently find themselves in the cross hairs as they become misguided targets of some of these feelings and displaced frustrations.While each divorce is unique,there are some prevalent and identifiable themes that are likely to emerge on the client’s emotional map. The first of these is failure. Most people experience their inability to succeed at sustaining a marriage as a form of failure. Next are rejection and abandonment.The client’s self-esteem is likely to take a major hit when left by a spouse or when they feel they are abandoning their parental responsibilities. Another pattern commonly encountered is helplessness; often, clients feel they have lost everything in the divorce, including control of their own lives.Finally, fear of aloneness is universal; clients cannot imagine life on their own or ever partnering again.

While divorce itself can cause psychiatric disorders, in some cases psychiatric disorders may have existed prior to the divorce and, perhaps even contributed to it. If these disorders become an obstacle to effective team work and successful outcomes, outside psychotherapeutic intervention may be necessary. Common clinical disorders which may cause complications during the legal divorce include; depression, anxiety, substance abuse, physical abuse, and personality disorders. (The DSMIV,Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, is the primary reference for learning about these disorders.)

Collaborative Team Members Reactions To Their Clients Emotional States

The pressing and intrinsic nature of problems and stresses that divorcing individuals face, coupled with their need to talk about them throughout the legal work, thrusts Collaborative team members into a help-giving role. Most recognize the importance of listening to their client’s stories and the need to be supportive and sympathetic. That does not mean, however, that they feel comfortable or effective managing their client’s personal problems while effectively keeping their eyes on pressing legal tasks. After all, most Collaborative professionals are neither diagnosticians nor mental health providers.

In his article Effectively Representing the Unreasonable Client,”The American Journal of Family Law,” 2001, S. Portnoy identified several characteristics of the “unreasonable” client. Portnoy defines such clients as those who lack the ability to engage in rational thought because they are caught up in their own intense emotions, as so often occurs during divorce. Portnoy maintains that client’s out-of-control affect compromises cognition and leads to childish acting-out during divorce. If these behaviours are not handled properly, it is extremely difficult to keep the professional relationship on track.

The power of counter transference in working with divorcing clients cannot be over-emphasized. It is relatively easy for team members to develop personal perceptions and feelings about clients, which in turn can create blind spots in dealing objectively with them. These reactions can range from warm feelings and concern to harsh feelings of disapproval and distaste in response to the sometimes grossly inappropriate and immature behavior of the client.

Some of the more common feelings and reactions to clients include: a sense of grandiosity in response to the client who repeatedly tells the professional how wonderful they are; a need to goout of one’s way for a client due to feelings of guilt over the fees they are charging; the female professional who is uncomfortable confronting a client who is out of line; the male team member who encourages their clients’ dependency needs because of a sexual attraction. What about the client who adopts the role of the dependent child or the helpless victim? Or the one whose self interests and greed are played out when dividing the marital assets? The list goes on and on.

Strategies For Dealing With Clients Appeals For Interpersonal Help

Like it or not, the Collaborative team is involved in their client’s personal problems. Indeed, the “chemistry” of the Collaborative team/client relationship almost demands that it will happen.

Therefore, it is vital that Collaborative professionals learn techniques that can be used to:

Attain maximum cooperation with their clients.

Help clients manage their heightened emotions and unrealistic expectations (transference).

Assist clients introducing their acting out and misusing their team as targets for their fantasies.

Help team members to contain their feelings (counter transference) in order to maintain a professional relationship.

The following suggestions are likely to promote successful legal outcomes and satisfied clients.

Understand that clients regard divorce in emotional, not legal terms. The goal is to understand the client’s psychological state and to know how to use it to promote the best legal outcome. The goal is not to help the client deal with his personal feelings.

Recognize client’s distortions. Clients project onto the team member’s feelings and traits that will serve their psychological needs (i.e. to be taken care of) but are not based on reality. Confront the distortions and bring the client back to the real relationship.

Allow a controlled amount of emotional ventilation while maintaining structure. Know when to bring the client’s attention back to the issues.

If the structure is not enough to contain the client’s feelings and impulses, it may be necessary to refer the client for counseling to a psychotherapist who understands divorce.

Maintain enough psychological distance to be able to listen closely to the client. Empathy is important but over-identification with the client will interfere with neutrality. Boundaries between client and team must be clear.

Accept feelings towards clients as inevitable. The Collaborative professional shouldn’t react behaviorally to them, rather use them as data to understand the client and restore focus.

Maintain a neutral and non-judgmental stance when confronting clients.

Conclusion

The Collaborative team owes it to themselves and to their clients to be continually alert to both transference and counter transference processes, to make use of them when they enhance understanding, and to respectfully set them aside when they threaten to interfere with good legal judgement.

It is my sincere hope that all information on my website provides you with content that inspires you to enhance your relationships. These materials are not intended to be a substitute for my counseling services. If you are ready to make that leap, please click here to set up a complimentary consultation.

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