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shinydelirium · 3 years

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MLQC Season 2 Chapter 15 (Kiro’s Chapter) Part 3 [Land of Map Country] Translation [CN]

I’ve mentioned before in an earlier post about how s2ch15 is the BEST Kiro chapter I have ever read so far in MLQC. This part 3 is the start of it all.

Thanks again for helping @link4eva

***Once again DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE SPOILED!!!***

Enjoy~

For the previous translation of Chapter 15: Part 1, Part 2.

[Land of Map Country]

The footsteps behind me suddenly sped up as if they were close. I stepped forward without hesitation and quickly jumped into the tram.

The tram closed its doors at the same time and started to move.

I looked out the window behind me with lingering fears but saw no one.

Kiro: Don’t worry, he can’t catch up to you. This is a superhero’s car.

Kiro seemed to read my thoughts and comforted me in a relaxed voice.

I steadied my breathing, looked around the car, and found that the monitor on the roof was lit with red dots, so I turned off the map and waved to it.

MC: Thanks for all the help, superhero!

Kiro: Eh? Wasn’t that already obvious?

He deliberately dragged out his words to show disappointment which made me instantly laugh.

Kiro: I thought you would make a long list about how you really feel right now.

MC: True emotions can be said face-to-face.

Hearing my words, Kiro was silent. After a long time, he laughs and replies to me in a low voice.

Kiro: I’ll remember what you said.

Kiro: I have controlled the route of this tram and it will bring you safely to my side.

Kiro: Next, Miss Chips will have a good rest in the car and she will arrive at her destination soon.

“Soon”…

I was taken aback for a moment and felt a somewhat uneasy.

Do I really want to see Kiro? Why did he hide during this time?

I glanced out of the window and the fog blurred the boundary between heaven and earth, looking chaotic and at a loss.

To this day, I still don’t know why Kiro suddenly put on the “Helios” mask, but I am quite sure what must have happened.

He is like a Rubik’s cube, its colors shuffled with different secrets scattered on each side. ***Sidenote: What an absolutely perfect analogy to describe Kiro!***

No matter how hard I try, I can’t put together a complete Kiro.

He seemed to have carried many secrets and heavy responsibilities from the beginning.

I know that everyone has secrets and they don’t want to show them to others.

He didn’t want to tell them, so I didn’t ask.

Because of an adult’s self-righteous maturity and tacit understanding. Because he is afraid of touching the corners he does not want to touched….

Because I am afraid of being hated.

And in this way, it seems that the distance between us is gradually drawn further.

I took a deep breath and decided to abandon those inexplicable adult principles and looked at the surveillance with a sincere expression.

Even if he will be hated, I have to hold on tightly to his hand.

MC: Kiro, I miss you very much.

MC: Although I don’t know why you left suddenly, but now that you found me, I’m really happy.

MC: In fact, I have been looking for you all this time and I have been looking forward to seeing you.

MC: No matter what happens to you or what you become, I don’t care.

MC: To me, a healthy Kiro is the most important thing.

There was silence over the collar. After a long time, there was small, low voice.

Kiro: MC, I….I miss you too.***Sidenote: WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! TAT***

Kiro: I have also been looking forward to meeting you at that time. You may not believe it but I missed you much more than you can imagine.

His voice is very soft, but I can hear it very clearly.

During this time, the tram came to a halt slowly and I found that it stopped at the door of a department store near the city center.

Kiro: MC, go to the underground parking lot.

His voice was muffled and a little nostalgic.

Kiro: You can just follow the No.2 safe passage and go down. The signal in the underground parking lot isn’t good…..I’ll have to cut off the communication for now.

MC: Okay, I’ll go in right away.

Kiro:…Mm. Miss Chips, goodbye.

Kiro: Also, to “see” you again, I am very happy.

As soon as his voice fell, the collar was completely silent. My heart felt a little strange but I quickened my pace nonetheless.

Maybe he listened to what I said just now.

Thinking of this, I started running, wanting to see him even sooner.

Running out of the safe passage, I saw a figure standing at the door.

MC: Kiro!

I ran and leaped forward. The figure paused, then slowly turned around, revealing a sharp profile—

At the moment I met his eyes, my footsteps became slower and slower, and I finally stopped in the open space a few meters away from him, unable to smile.

MC:….Helios.

Helios looked straight at me. The indifference between his brows and eyes made my heart feel weak.

Why is this happening?

He clearly said just now, “I’m looking forward to meeting you.” Is it a temporary remorse? Or can he only face me in this way?

I couldn’t hold his cold gaze and lowered my head in a daze.

That invisible line seemed to have shown up again, between me and him.

No wonder his tone was so helpless and low just now. No wonder he never mentioned meeting with me.

He still remained in the circle of the map and refused to come to me.

Helios looked at me, concealing the complex emotions in his eyes and his mouth became a sharp thin line.

Helios: From the look on your face, you really don’t want to see me.***Sidenote: DAMN!!! TALK ABOUT A COMPLETE 180 JUST LIKE THAT!!!***

I took a deep breath, smiled and raised my head.

MC: How could that be! I think it’s a coincidence, Helios, meeting you here like this.

No matter what kind of him, he is him. If Kiro only wants to face me in this way, then I will do so with sincerity.

He turned and strode towards the depths of the parking lot but something seemed to flash in his eyes.

I ran to keep up and walked to his side.

He didn’t wear a collar, so he should be a “human” card. I deliberately kept my distance from him to avoid accidentally touching him.

MC: Helios, where are we going?

Helios: It’s “I”, not “we”.

MC:…..

I frowned but since he didn’t flat-out refuse me, I just assumed he accepted that I would act with him.

Soon we walked into a fire control room.

Helios stopped in front of an unremarkable wooden door in the room. He took a key from the door frame and opened the wooden door.

Behind it seems to be a utility room. The space isn’t large.

MC: What are we…”you” doing here?

Helios: Last time you said that you want to investigate the hunter game and the lighthouse. Are there any results?

MC:…..

MC: Helios, the conversation should be about you and me, not selectively ignoring each other’s problems.

Helios: Let me ask again, what is the relationship between the hunter games and the lighthouse?

I calmed down my emotions and explained my conjecture about their relationship based on the overall situation.

He listened without saying a word and squinted when he heard that the hunter game might be related to opening the lighthouse.

Helios: According to you, the hunter game relies on powerful Evol energy fluctuations to open the lighthouse.

MC: Yes.

Helios: How did you open the lighthouse last time?

MC:….. After being pricked, there was a “click” and I fell.

He frowned and looked at me with a confused look.

Helios: Describe all the events that occurred at that time.

Helios: Start from when you squatted by the stone slab.

MC: Were you close by?

My eyes lit up and looked at Helios. Hearing my question, he instantly stopped.

Helios: Don’t ask boring questions, just say it.

MC:….I just squatted there, carefully looked at the slab for a while, then reached out and touched it.

MC: It’s like it was alive and then I found a cut on the palm of my hand and my feet lit up.

MC: Then I felt the ground under my feet moving along with the sound of gears turning and I fell.

MC: And then, I met you.

He raised his eyebrows, showing a familiar expression of disdain.

Helios: Blindly feeling your way around without knowing what’s hidden, how foolish.

MC: It was just a matter of trial and error.

***Sidenote: Had to look these above quotes up online cuz Google Translate wasn’t making any sense and found out it was an idiom. Basically, Helios thought it wasn’t wise for MC to just reach out and touch things without knowing what would happen afterwards. I hope I interpreted it right***

He ignored me, turned around and took out a sealed test tube container.

Helios: Reach out your hand.

I do not know why he said this.

He took out the knife he carried close to his body and quickly cut my finger with a sharp movement. I didn’t even feel any pain.

Helios: Drip the blood in by yourself.

MC: …..

Although I was very confused, I obediently dripped the blood from my finger into the glass test tube according to his instructions.

Worried that it wasn’t enough, I squeezed my finger a little bit harder.

Helios: What are you doing?

He snatched the test tube, furrowed his eyebrows and stared at me.

MC: What? Didn’t you say to drip blood into it?

Helios: …..

Maybe it was my very calm attitude that made him speechless, but his mouth was slightly open and he didn’t say anything.

In the end, he just lowered his head and opened the paper bag in his hand, took out the iodine and band-aids from it, and threw them to me.

MC: You forgot again. No matter what you say or do, I trust you.

There was a momentary pause in his fingertips, trembling slightly. He didn’t speak but he knew what I was talking about.

Whether you are Kiro or Helios, yes, it’s all the same to me.

My heart will always trust you unconditionally.

Helios watched in silence as I bandaged my finger, took out a small knife, turned the hilt and handed it to me.

Helios: Keep this with you.

I looked at the heavy knife which made me feel somewhat distant but familiar.

A long time ago, I also received this knife.

Many things are like a circle. I thought I had walked for a long time, but I found that I had come to a certain corner where I had left.

MC: Is this kind of self-defense alone really enough?

Helios: No need to repay me.

I quickly took the knife and saw him turning around to leave the room and I hurriedly followed after him for a few steps.

He stopped, making me pause mid-step, then he put his hand on the doorknob, horizontally in front of me.

Helios: Stay in here, I put enough aerosol in it.

MC: If you’re going to solve the hunter game, I can help you.

Helios: I said no need.

Helios: I will end this game in my own way.

He didn’t give me time to speak and took a big step back, closing the door of the utility room with a “bang”.

“Click--”

The door was locked.

-End of Part 3-

Continue to Part 4

#mlqc spoilers #season 2 #translations #kiro #helios #I'LL NEVER STOP PRAISING HOW AMAZING THIS CHAPTER IS!!!#Just beautiful writing and use of words #I WANT MORE CHAPTERS AND DATES WRITTEN LIKE THIS!!!#PRETTY PLEASE

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stoiicist · 4 years

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character study: reyna ramírez

— basics.

▸ is your muse tall / short / average ?

she’s just under 6′ she’s my tall girl and i love her so fucking much.

▸ are they okay with their height ?

totally! i don’t doubt she could be just as intimidating and commanding if she was average height, but having a few extra inches on most people definitely helps. it also gives her some advantages when it comes to fighting, so there’s that.

▸ do they spend a lot of time on their hair / grooming ?

reyna is my fav femme lesbian. she’s busy as hell running camp and looking after a hundred and some half-godly teenagers, but she still makes a point to put time into her appearance. she’s super into skincare, to kind of balance out how frequently she wears makeup. she has her daily/nightly routines and is committed to them with the exception of when she’s on quests. reyna is also dedicated to hair care; her hair is almost always pulled back in a braid, but it’s sleek and shiny and she’s very mindful of the products she uses because she wants to keep it healthy. also, reyna with her hair down is an absolute wonder to behold.

▸ does your muse care about their appearance / what others think ?

she’s in a position of great power; naturally reyna cares about her appearance. she cares immensely because she knows that her appearance is a reflection of the legion as a whole. she knows she has so many people looking to her, expecting so much from her and if she falters for a second, they’ll eat her alive. so in relation to her position as praetor, it’s important that she look and act the part of strong, unshakable leader. it’s important for morale and maintaining authority. she couldn’t care less if people disagree with her/don’t like her ideas/don’t like her/whatever else they make think about her, so long as they listen to her.

— preferences.

▸ indoors or outdoors ? outdoors. ▸ rain or sunshine ? sunshine. ▸ forest or beach ? beach. ▸ precious metals or gems ? metals. ▸ flowers or perfumes ? perfumes. ▸ personality or appearance ? both. ▸ being alone or being in a crowd ? being alone. ▸ order or anarchy ? order. ▸ painful truths or white lies ? painful truths. ▸ science or magic ? science. ▸ peace or conflict ? peace, thought it’s a rarity. ▸ night or day ? day. ▸ dusk or dawn ? dawn. ▸ warmth or cold ? warmth. ▸ many acquaintances or a few close friends ? a few close friends. ▸ reading or playing a game ? reading.

— questionnaire.

▸ what are some of your muse’s bad habits ?

by far her worst habit is completely shutting down the minute her emotions get too messy to understand. when they can’t be tucked away neatly in a box, it infuriates her to no end so she pushes them away. out of sight, out of mind, you know. and she flings herself into her work as a distraction, which is another bad habit of hers, overworking. it’s leftover from when she was running camp jupiter by herself and had so much on her plate and felt she had no one to really turn to. also i don’t know if this counts as a bad habit, but reyna is competitive as hell and can get a little too into what’s supposed to be friendly competition.

▸ has your muse lost anyone close to them ? how has it affected them ?

for demigods, it’s a fact of life; you’re going to lose people you care about, people who are close to you. reyna has a handful of people she considers “close” and she’s fortunate enough that they’ve all managed to ( sometimes narrowly ) escape death. but she is constantly losing comrades and even worse, reyna often feels directly responsible for the lives lost. she’s the one leading them into the battle. she’s the one calling the shots, choosing tactics and making the big decisions. every death of every solider in the legion falls on her shoulders and it weighs down on her like a ton of fucking bricks. never mind the fact that they are all children. she’s leading children to their deaths and she can barely be considered an adult herself. i think overall, it’s made her into a very self-sacrificing individual. she puts the needs of others far above her own and she’s more than willing to take on dangerous tasks in place of others. but she also recognizes that, as a leader, this is her duty. and she bears it, so others don’t have to.

▸ what are some fond memories your muse has ?

finding camp jupiter. after passing up the amazons and the chance to stay with her sister, after going through lupa’s trials, even the difficulties to adjusting to life as part of the legion, reyna finds it all to be worth it. the moment she realizes she wants a home more than she wants power or family or control, more than she wants anything else, and finding that home in new rome is one of the happiest moments of her life. being elected praetor is a fond memory, as well; it speaks volumes that she was voted into the position by her peers despite only being part of the legion’s ranks for a few years. despite the circumstances, reyna definitely looks back on her date walk with annabeth around new rome very fondly. maybe it was a bit tenuous, but annabeth basically poured her heart out to reyna who just got to sit and listen to another girl with too much on her shoulders, someone she could really relate to.

▸ is it easy for your muse to kill ?

the amount of times reyna in the fucking books is like “we should’ve executed this kid it’s a shame he got away” or “let us execute you it might solve the problem” and just. the fact that she killed her father out of rage because she thinks he killed hylla........... leads me to believe that, yeah, it’s not difficult for her to kill when she sees the killing as just. she doesn’t kill for the sake of killing, without reason. reyna firmly believes in justice and sometimes death is the suitable punishment. maybe it’s harsh or cruel, but it’s also kinda the roman way. and reyna kills monsters without batting an eye, so.

▸ what’s it like when your muse breaks down ?

it’s all done in private. reyna will keep it together right up to the moment she’s finally alone, and only then does she let it all out. only then does she allow herself a reprieve from that mask she wears so well, allows herself to be weak for just a moment. it’s a lot of fingernails digging crescents into the palms of her hands, hot tears streaming silently down her cheeks, jaw clenched so fucking tight she should be worried about breaking her teeth. hands shaking as she rubs her temples and fingers through her hair. and then there eventually comes a point where the dam breaks and she just starts... fucking sobbing. and she’ll just cry until she’s tired herself out and falls asleep with aurum and argentum curled up next to her. this made me really sad to think about i hate this actually.

▸ is your muse capable of trusting someone with their life ?

to some extent, she has to. she much more used to having people put their trust in her, to being the pillar that everyone else leans on, but everyone has to trust someone. and it definitely takes a while for reyna to trust someone with her life. it takes time, it takes an individual proving that she can trust them. it’s not very easy to earn her trust, even with her dogs there to alert her when the truth is being told, but it’s possible. reyna is just accustomed to the politics of CJ being a den of fucking deceit and she’s felt abandoned by very important people in her life that it really takes a lot for her to trust someone to such a huge extent.

▸ what’s your muse like when they’re in love ?

there’s this... change in her disposition, you can tell she’s a lot more content. more relaxed, not so uptight. she’s not running around camp all starry-eyed and silly, but she just seems to be more at ease. getting to show someone the parts of herself that are usually kept hidden, getting to be tender with someone, it elevates reyna to this level of happiness she’s never had before.

she’s a distinguished lesbian, disaster adjacent so she’s still beyond awkward at times especially during those first few weeks. love, like everything else, has a learning curve. but reyna eventually figures it out, finds how love and maintaining a relationship fits into her routine, and she surprises herself with how much of a romantic she really is. there’s a balance to be kept; she’s still praetor with a boatload of responsibilities, but the reality is when reyna is smitten, there’s very little she won’t do for her gf.

tagged by : @sunbruise <3 tagging : anyone who wants to!!!!

#& we are the stories we tell ourselves ( headcanon. )#& the shenanigans are through the roof ( dashboard antics. )#this was so fun and intriguing..... everyone should steal this from me

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rainbowfox20 · 5 years

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Tips from Maddy

Hey there.

So the other day I was having a conversation with one of my coworkers who was talking about her weight loss journey and how she was going about it and immediately I was getting warning signs all over the place simply because I have been through exactly what she is going through and I wanted to help inform her on what can possibly happen if she continues the way she is right now. I had told her a few good tips and tricks which was a lot of information to process so she asked if I could writes this all down for her to which I happily agreed to do.

As I was writing this I realized that this information could be super helpful to others out there who are dieting and wanting to lose weight. I am no expert in any sense, I’m still learning things out myself and seeing what works but I have learned a lot over the past couple of years.

So, here I am giving my tips to you guys. I hope that you learn something from this and if you can share this so others can see and learn as well that would make me so happy.

Again please keep in mind that I do not have any qualifications, this is all my own personal experience and what I have learned from seeing many doctors, specialists, naturopaths (I have seen way too many people to help me seriously)

Everything that I have written on here are things that I have learned over time as well as try them out myself and see what works for me. Please keep in mind that there will be some things that will help and other things that won’t. I’m always more than happy to discuss anything if you have any questions if something doesn’t make sense or you’re curious about more information.

Typically, when I talk about my diet, I don’t necessarily mean being in a caloric deficit but more about what I eat and my lifestyle in general. I’m not the type of person to eat less to lose weight, I’m more about eating good healthy foods and exercising the right amount for my body to handle without pushing it to the edge. I’ll give you my basic rundown of my history a couple years ago and what I learned from it.

Around three years ago I decided to change my diet and my overall lifestyle. I was 21 years old and weighing around 64kg. Keep in mind around the time I decided to change my eating habits was when I just came back from a holiday in Korea and Malaysia and boy I did not hold back on eating while away. I was young and used to a diet where I ate what I wanted and didn’t think much of it but over time as I got older I noticed that I wasn’t really recovering as quickly after eating junk food like I did when I was a teenager in high school.

Growing up I was never fat or obese in any sense. I was fit, I played hockey and karate and I would happily enjoy sports during school and enjoy walking, riding, anything I felt like I wanted to do. I was never really interested in being super skinny, I had a little fat on my tummy but it never really bothered me until after I finished high school. That was when I became more aware of how other people would look at me, make comments about my body and thus making myself become more aware of my own body.

When I was 21 I didn’t think that “Oh my god I am so fat and imperfect I need to fix this!” it was “I want to change my eating and just become healthier overall” and so I started to change things bit by bit. I cut things out that I knew my body couldn’t exactly handle such as gluten and dairy and noticed changes in my body such as my face was clearing up of pimples and acne. I was losing weight little by little which at the time made me really happy as it was something that has never happened to me before. That is what lead me down the path that I wish I read the warning signs early on but because I had this goal of ‘you must lose a certain amount and then you will be successful’ but didn’t notice how toxic it became.

I became obsessed with exercise. I would go to the gym 5-6 days a week as well as do 2-3 spin classes as well as 2-3 karate sessions each week, on top of working at a restaurant which is a physically labouring job. Yes I lost weight over time and I didn’t think it was bad simply because it was small amounts every month, ranging between ½ - 1kg every month.

Over roughly one and a half years I went from being 63kg to 53kg. I was the lightest I had ever been, and the strongest I had ever been however things caught up to me very quickly. There was a certain point probably one month after I turned 22 when I started to notice my hair falling out. I didn’t think anything of it and just thought “Oh I have long hair and it happens” which was true but I would wake up every morning with hair all over my pillow and sheets, brushing my hair it would come out and throughout the day strands would fall out. I had always had thick hair so I didn’t really notice it until a lot had come out. By that point I had become lethargic and tired all the time, I would struggle to climb a flight of stairs and I could see that my body was taking a big step backwards.

This was when things went really bad.

I had denied it over and over, never daring to say that I have body image issues and everything was falling apart because I wanted to hold onto this little moment that I had worked so hard for was slowly slipping out of my grasp and I tried so desperately to hold it close to me.

Everything came crashing down so quickly I didn’t know what to do.

Over a period of 3 months the muscle that I had built over a year was gone, I had gained around 7kg and I was severely depressed with health issues I didn’t know how to deal with and am still dealing with to this day.

I’m telling you this not to frighten you but to let you know that this can happen if you are not careful when you diet, if you ignore what your body is telling you and keep pushing yourself to that point that you cannot return from. I had screwed up my metabolism, was close to being diagnosed with chronic fatigue and had to deal with the fact that the body I had a few months ago was gone and that I had/have body image issues.

I am someone who is not afraid to talk about my past and I’m willing to talk about myself and my experiences if it means that I can help someone else.

I have come across many people who do all these fad diets and starve themselves which I didn’t go to any extremes but I did limit what I ate at times which is what would have been one of the factors that screwed up my metabolism and caused my body to just go screw you I’m going into survival mode.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to lose some weight and wanting to be fit and strong because that is what you like and you want to feel that way, I’m all about being fit and healthy but you have to make sure that you do it in a safe manner. Do not expect for weight to come flying off and that it will stay that way because boy oh boy that is not the case. It is something that you have to work at all the time, it’s a lifestyle. This is why I like to endorse a healthy lifestyle change, not just diet for a bit and enjoy how you look for a short amount of time.

As I said when I started back then I made small changes such as eliminating certain foods which is a great way to start. Going online and reading all these articles about how to lose weight and doing particular exercises to lose a few kilos is very confusing and quite honestly overwhelming so keep it simple.

One of the important things is that you need to learn about food and not be afraid of it. You need to figure out what your body can tolerate and what it can’t. It’s all trial and error but you will learn over time what is acceptable. Food is energy, the more energy you have the more you can do but the less energy you have the less your body will tolerate. Don’t think that eating an apple in the morning and going throughout the rest of your day on just that single apple will do you any good, quite honestly it will do you more damage not to eat.

If you deprive your body of food your body will go into survival mode and hold onto body fat. It goes into this defensive mode to keep your body alive and if it means storing fat because it can’t trust you to feed it then that is what it will do. Naturally it will eat away at your muscle as well so it’s important to feed your body!

I highly recommend eating a good breakfast, having a decent lunch and eating a small dinner. The reason behind this is because when you wake up in the morning this is when your body wakes up from its rest and will start to get to work. Breakfast literally means to break your fast. Fasting is when you don’t eat for an extended period of time so to break your fast you need to eat. Tada Breakfast!

Many people find that they aren’t hungry in the morning which can be due to a few reasons. One they may have had a large or late dinner and so they aren’t hungry due to that. Maybe they are used to not eating in the morning however they find that they will eat big meals for lunch and dinner or they will tend to snack a lot during the day.

You want to eat like a king for breakfast, eat like a prince for lunch and eat like a princess for dinner.

Meaning eat a big meal in the morning, eat a good meal at lunch and then have a small meal for dinner.

Dinner is the last meal of the day and most of the time after you’ve had dinner you’re going to wind down, enjoy Netflix and then fall sleep. You’re not doing much after dinner, all depending on your life and what your job entails, but for most people night time is time for rest and sleep. The last thing you need is for your stomach to be hard at work breaking down a giant meal that you shoved its way because you didn’t eat enough during the day.

Another thing I want to stress is how much you chew your food. Holy cow I wish I knew this ages ago and it makes such total sense but no one told me before!

Your stomach has acid in it which helps break down your food, more so it’s designed to really break down meats and proteins due to these foods being tough to digest and so it takes longer to breakdown. Fruits and vegetables take a small amount of time and energy to digest but honestly your stomach and digestive system will thank you for chewing your food properly.

I am someone who has working in the hospitality industry for around 8 years and a lot of the time it involves having to shove food down your throat if you want something to eat and continue on with your work as you don’t have time to properly sit and have a meal and you have customers to tend to so of course during these times I have developed a bad habit of chewing my food lazily and swallowing it almost whole but until recently I have been actively trying to change this.

Keep in mind I can eat a lot if I want, and when I say this I mean when I don’t chew and break down my food properly. If you talk to any of my friends they can vouch for me, a lot of the time they question how I can fit so much food into a small body and I would just shrug and say that I’ve always had a big appetite, which is not a lie. Ever since I was little I could fit a lot of food into my stomach but keep in mind I’ve always been an active person so naturally I burn more fuel and so would eat more.

Now that I am more aware of how I chew my food I have learned to slow down when it’s possible for me to do so and really chew my food before swallowing. From this I have noticed that I feel fuller and I’m not eating as much as I used to which makes sense as I have this tendency to overeat but that was simply because I would shove food into my mouth so quickly that my stomach wouldn’t be able to tell me when it was full until it was too late.

So, CHEW YOUR FOOD!

If you’re noticing that you’re not having much energy it means that you’re not getting enough food into your body or that you’re not eating the right kind of food.

Your body needs 11 essential amino acids which in turn makes another 11 non-essential amino acids. These make your DNA and RNA which are the building blocks of life.

These 11 essential amino acids cannot be made naturally from the body and the only way you can get these is through food. I cannot tell you which food hold what properties, this is where you need to do your own research and learn what you can have and what works for you.

I know that for my body I need a 50/50 diet that consists 50% protein/meat and 50% vegetables. This is how my body works, which would be due to my background and heritage but that’s another thing in itself which I could talk about but I am still learning myself so I do not have enough knowledge about it to discuss it. You need to learn what works for you, everyone is different and you cannot do a certain diet that someone else can do because their body may work differently than yours.

I suggest doing the elimination process where you take a specific food such as bread and eliminate that from your diet for about 2-4 weeks and just take note of how you feel. You can eat how you normally eat just take out that one item and then once the 2-4 weeks are done you can try that food again and then see how your body reacts. You’ll be surprised what your body can tolerate after a while. There will be times during this process where you have such strong cravings for specific foods which will make things harder but you need to try as hard as you can not to give in. Most of the time you will stop craving these certain foods after 2 weeks, sometimes it will take longer but again it all depends on you and what your body is like.

Once you’ve tried doing this this is when I suggest going through your notes of what foods you can and can’t have and then create somewhat of a diet plan based off of this to create food that you can eat that will be sustainable. Remember this is a lifestyle change, you want to be able to do this for the long run.

Another thing is enjoy yourself. Please don’t restrict yourself of life’s pleasures. If you want to have chocolate then have it but I suggest doing so in small doses and less often. I tend to have a cheat meal/day one every two weeks. Sometimes it can be once a week, sometimes it can be once every three to four weeks. I honestly go on what my body tells me.

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. It will tell you what it wants.

If it wants to rest, let it rest. If it needs more food, maybe because you’ve been exercising more, then eat more. If you’re really craving a specific food then have it, as long as it’s not every single day it’s not going to hurt.

During a lot of dieting phases we tend to have a weak moment and then we punish ourselves by either pushing our bodies to do extra work at the gym and exhausting ourselves and becoming miserable, or we binge and give up completely. Do not let these moments get to you. Easier said than done I know but we are human and we need to be kind to ourselves.

Another thing I want you to keep in mind is treat yourself kindly. Let me ask you this question. Everything that you tell yourself would you tell it to a friend?

Let me give you an example.

A lot of us who are dieting or look at ourselves in the mirror and notice all the imperfections in our bodies will tend to put ourselves down and we let it happen. We say to ourselves that we aren’t good enough, I am fat, I’m not muscular enough, I’m not good looking, my stretch marks are ugly, etc.

How would you feel if someone said these exact same things to you? I’m pretty sure it’s easy to say that you would feel like crap. So why do we let ourselves say/think these things about ourselves?

Here’s another question. Would you say those exact same things to your friends or family? I’m pretty sure the answer to that would be no.

You know that saying things like that would be hurtful to anyone, so again why do we let ourselves say these things to ourselves.

When it comes to exercise I suggest it’s a good idea to see a personal trainer who can set up a program for you. They will adjust it to what suits you but be honest and tell them whether the program is too much or too little, they are there to help you.

Also when it comes to exercise if you’re wanting to gain muscle you need to eat more protein. It’s pretty simple. You cannot create something out of nothing so if you don’t have extra protein in your body to help build extra tissue in your body then your body will eat away at the muscle you have. Also keep in mind the more muscle you have the more energy you will burn throughout the day so lifting weights and gaining muscle is honestly one of the best things you can do when it comes to “dieting”.

There is no way you’re going to become a beefy body builder unless you’re going to the gym every day and following a strict diet plan, so don’t stress about that. Again enjoy your exercise and try something new and fun.

I’ll quickly recap everything because there’s a lot I went through so here:

- Don’t be afraid of food

- Food is fuel = energy

- CHEW YOUR FOOD

- Try eliminating food from your diet

- Enjoy yourself: have a cheat meal/day every now and then

- LISTEN TO YOUR BODY: it will tell you want it wants

- Be kind to yourself: don’t run yourself into the ground

There is still so much that I am learning, I am no expert in any sense so don’t expect a miracle from what I’ve told you. This is what I have to offer and I hope it helps in any way, big or small.

#maddy's tips #writing #my journey

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dyingfangirl · 5 years

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I’ve gotten an insane desire to do a playlist write-up in the style of Critical Role so here it is.

Maighread Allanach is the character I’ve played longest, and the group I play with are the most lovely people and so this is mostly for them, but if you’d like some insight into my dnd character here you go!

Don’t Ask Me Why by Great Caesar Maigh's song for her parents. Maigh's dad was raised noble, and her mom was but she was the youngest so she could really do whatever she wanted with her life. They did run off for a while, but then Maigh's grandfather got sick so they went back home and settled down. They dreamed of a happy life and a healthy family and Maigh was conceived. I edited Maigh's backstory a little bit after I heard this song for the first time and made the night Maigh was born very stormy and troublesome for the midwives to make it to the home, but her parents had each other and everything turned out okay.

Trouble by The New Respects But then Maigh discovered her magic, which does run in her family a little bit but she's the first Sorcerer. So little Maigh caused a bit of trouble and couldn't control her powers. Cue fear and ignorance and lakeside life at age 8. She still doesn't like the trouble of her powers but she has learned through trial and error that she can minimize the effect on her allies, but the whole party is learning that they're beginning to toy in some criminal and otherwise untrustworthy groups that are bringing trouble right back into her life.

Storm King by Big Tree Maigh joined her mother on one of the excursions to the nearest town (selling the things that come from their little lakeside cabin/farm and buying things they can't get there) and she discovered truly how much she was missing. She found a job posting for mercenaries to work for the militia and hasn't been home since.

The Fall by half•alive Something about Maigh made her afraid to trust the group. The Fall is about falling in love, but when you're someone who doesn't really experience romantic love, and the only love you've ever known is from your parents, anyone else is awkward and strange.

Feeling Alive by Earl St. Clair This is the moment that she learned these are The People (TM). She had such a calm and peaceful lakeside life before she got curious, and then meeting these people has made her feel alive in a way she hasn't ever before.

3am Bounce by No BS! Brass Band Maigh's battle song. It has the fun and mildly carefree nature that Maigh has, and a light amount of chaos. I thought that an instrumental song would be a better fit because Maigh, being a Wild Magic Sorcerer, has so much chaos surrounding her (especially in battle when she's constantly casting spells) that having lyrics would be too much chaos. I also had a lot of trouble finding songs for Maigh that when I heard this song it was perfect for her.

South Wind by Akira Kosemura So many of Maigh's songs are about the love and trust she feels for her party. Such a large part of her is really experiencing the world for the first time and being in awe and excitement of the adventures they're going on, but a small part of her just wants some time to settle down and just spend the days together without constant threat and danger surrounding them.

Technicolor by SAINTE Maigh used to have blue skin (perks of being a sorcerer) so putting Technicolor was funny for that reason. She definitely does not want all these adventures and powers to be a dream. A good portion of the party has spells, and half of us are primarily spellcasters so it makes for quite the rainbow battlefield. Is this battle song part 2?

Gorgeous by X Ambassadors She's learned to trust her party and they've made her feel welcome in the world, when (through fear and ignorance) she never felt that way before. Now her whole goal is making her party feel the way they make her feel. And also I couldn't go without putting an X Ambassadors song on the playlist. We are young, we are free / Like renegades, like James Dean / Beat the drum, sing off-key / You set me free, you set me free

Capable by The Wild Reeds Maigh is 20 (which I forgot, I thought I made her 18 lol) and so when people meet the party and see a 20-year-old Human girl who doesn't wear anything fancy with everyone else they don't expect her to be the main talker (hell yeah 19 charisma). Maigh can let that get to her a little bit, but she knows that she only needs to stick around (and get more magical items). She has seen and been through so much for being so young that it doesn't matter to her anymore.

Family by Mother Mother Out of game, it has been 10 months since we started playing. In game, we've been a party for 3 months (it feels like, feywild swampy caused a 6-month jump) but they've been through so much that she's already become so ride or die for these people. Out of game, the last level up (or maybe 2) she's grabbed some more spells that give buffs to the party rather than straight up damaging the enemy.

Foreigners God by Hozier As of writing this, this song is for a very recent session. Something the party had been hired to do was purify and return temples of an old and mostly dead god back to working condition because they had been corrupting the lands surrounding them. Maigh isn't really a worshipper of any specific god(s), but when you fall unconscious and fail 2 death saving throws and then your tressym and wizard are dead within 12 seconds of each other, felled by wraiths within one of these temples you feel like you have to start believing in something. A good place to start is "a foreigner's god", AKA your cleric (and her god).

Good for Goodness by Brittain Ashford Throughout it all, Maigh just wants to do good in the world. Keep the love for the people she cares about. She only hurts things that deserve it. She knows that she could make a mistake in that, but she accepts her mistakes and will do her best to not make those mistakes again.

To the Displacer Kitties/Gal Pals of Unknown Alliance you're the best DnD group a girl could ask for and I hope that having this insight makes you cry (not really) and I love all of you so much. <3

#displacer kitties #gal pals of unknown alliance #dungeons and dragons #Maighread Allanach

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primrose-path-of-dalliance · 6 years

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Lotor’s end (?) in s6

i gave in to my terrible impulses and wrote a three-part essay about lotor. it's literally >9k and i ignored all of my other projects for this for over a week. rip.

in these three posts, i talk a lot about lotor from a sympathetic pov. so if that's something that makes your fandom experience uncomfortable, go ahead and ignore this post because it's not for you. stay healthy, and i can only promise you that i hold lotor accountable for every shitty thing he's done (especially when it comes to withholding info from allura because seriously, what bullshit). on the other hand, if you are a person who hates lotor as a piece of evil garbage because ???? fandom and purity culture thought it would be a great idea to hate him without looking very hard at the work the writers put in to make him more complex than the actual pure evil bastard zarkon himself that we already have... i challenge you to read on. do it. i dare you. (at the very least so you might hate him with a better understanding of why.)

so tl;dr: this is the "in this essay i will" meme followed through, if i started talking about how lotor's not a pure evil bastard and is instead the perfect example of a protagonist gone sour through 10,000 years of poor coping choices, oppression, and a lot of actual resentment, as well as a neat talk at the end where i break down lotor's breakdown.

toc 1: i shake out some salt and talk about the altean colony | 2: i question why people keep insisting lotor was "evil all along" | 3: i talk about my favorite parts of lotor’s breakdown

i take a lot of my knowledge and inspiration from @radioactivesupersonic, who writes some awesome meta. (seriously, thank you clockie. you are amazing.) so while i might specifically cite posts of his throughout these three posts, expect his ideas to be everywhere lol. please check him out if you have the time, he's much better at this meta thing than me. (for safety purposes, i'm gonna disclaim: i did not consult with him on anything. so while i synthesize with a lot of his stuff, my thoughts are not necessarily his and i take full responsibility for that shit.)

anyway, i don't make meta posts a lot nor have any good idea of what a good structure for one would be. so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

"even after season 6, you still like lotor?"

fuck yeah my pal.

"but why? he's clearly terrible and evil! he killed thousands of alteans and said he was going to conquer the universe, destroy voltron forever, etc.!"

i mean, yeah. but i'm gonna soapbox for a second.

number one: nothing precludes me or anyone else from loving the shit out of an evil character. we're not personally invested in the story in the sense that we have real stakes involved. they're fictional characters, and we are the audience. nothing they've done has any bearing on our reality (barring general patterns that can be established by media as a whole) and therefore it's not our moral responsibility to throw down terrible judgment on a person who isn't real, even if they've done horrible shit.

i'm not saying one can't acknowledge or dislike a character who's a bad person. lotor himself has done terrible things, and if you could not give less of a fuck about him, that's highkey your prerogative and i champion your freedom to have your personal preferences.

but we're not the characters who live in that world. we're spectators to a fictional story, and one thing that means is that we have no obligation to anyone to personally hate a villain, no matter what they've done because put simply, nothing they've done is real. no one has ever been harmed by a singular fictional villain.

the purpose of the villain and their actions is not to be hated by the audience, but to help tell a story. hopefully, they're also helping to paint a picture of the variety of people, perspective, and experience in a respectful manner.

there's a strong trend in fandom now toward purity culture, where we're expected to hate anything that isn't perfect, and that's such a goddamn lie. nothing is perfect. nothing ever will be. we can't reasonably expect that level of performance from content creators.

and what does "perfect" even mean? social justice is an extremely nuanced topic, colored by individual perspective on what's right or good. there's never going to be an ideal piece of media that hits every spot perfectly because there are an infinite number of spots, and what they are changes in importance with every person.

so when it comes to storytelling, we need to focus more on what's practically possible. what's practically admirable. for me, ideally, that's "what have they accomplished? is this story illustrating the richness of human (or alien) experience? and how?"

this includes villains.

number two: i don't believe lotor is a villain in the sense that he's Evil or even necessarily irredeemable. from a personal perspective, i'll direct you to this post (link), which basically sums up my view on forgiving people who've done bad things. but from the third-party perspective as well, lotor isn't someone to find reprehensible or evil—at least, not to the level a lot of other people seem to be compelled to. let's break this down into more questions.

"lotor has killed people for his own personal gain! abused countless alteans, who already experienced a genocide!"

(allura is right there with you guys.)

yes, he did. i don't deny his crimes a single bit. the personal gain point may be arguable, but it still doesn't really make it better.

firstly: this is also addressed to those people who are stalwartly defending lotor's goodness by saying that romelle must have been lying. i haven't read any of the posts myself and only heard some of the points secondhand, and that is because the theory sounds like a load of bollocks (link).

this isn't something out of character for lotor, as much as i might want to believe so. it's really, really not, and i fully acknowledge that. we already know that lotor will do anything to survive if he finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place. that was what happened to narti.

lotor does have good morals. he has an absolute shit ton of them that, honestly, i don't know how to explain in detail without making this post twice as long as it's already going to be. he cares about individual life. he campaigns for conservation. he values people's cultures and would much rather work alongside them than dominate them. he's not cruel or sadistic like many of his peers in the galra empire, and he favors those who are discriminated against. and no, i don't believe any of these were an act. i can point to word of god for the most supportive proof—that "part of Lotor, a portion of Lotor, maybe all of Lotor, is coming from a very genuine place" (link).

(if you want deeper explanations about why these conclusions are accurate, please check out my #voltron meta tag and @radioactivesupersonic. especially him.)

but as it's been established, lotor is willing to break his morals if he feels he's faced with an ultimatum: survive, or die. victory or death.

"but that's a galra chant! he said it during the trials at oriande, and he was unworthy because of it. doesn't that prove he's really selfish at heart and will destroy anything if it means he gets what he wants?"

no. and also another no.

those two links go to really good arguments against that line of thinking. but let me sum it up: lotor has lived 10,000 years with an abusive father in an empire that considers his half-galra status lesser and despises his altean blood especially, and spent much of that in disgraced exile.

"victory or death," to him, doesn't mean that it would be better to die than to accept a loss, as when it's used by his galra peers; it means that he has to win, or else he is left to the mercies of his foes. and none of his foes have ever been merciful. he can never trust that one will ever be.

survival is lotor's most important victory in an empire that has been either apathetic to his existence or outright antagonistic. it represents his entire struggle of living—that he has to stay alive in order to win, and to a lesser extent, that staying alive in his universe is winning.

of course, lotor has larger motivations than merely surviving that he will protect just as ruthlessly. from a general perspective, one can hardly blame him for that. surviving isn't exactly living and being happy, especially in a universe that oppresses people like him, and he wants an escape from the corner he always seems to find himself boxed in. to a slightly lesser extent, he wants to create an escape for the countless societies oppressed under the empire as well. that's where his desire for infinite quintessence comes from.

"so you're telling me that he felt trapped in a corner and forced to break his supposed morals to use countless numbers of his own people as a fuel source. how the hell does that make sense? what trapped him? didn't he have other options? and how does this justify what he did?"

i'm not claiming that lotor was justified in any way. that is a fair grievance for people to have, and frankly, what he did was horrible and ugly and made victims of an already fragile colony, including romelle and her family. understanding the 'why' of what someone did is, shockingly, not the same as justifying them. (and i don't believe people look for the 'why' enough, when understanding the 'why' is an important step toward preventing the 'what'.)

maybe lotor had other options. there's not a lot of exposition that happens in this show, in-story or in interviews or otherwise. there isn't enough information about the canonical process of quintessence collection, or about quintessence in general, to say for certain if lotor could have done something less egregious in his treatment of the altean colony.

either way, he had to harvest quintessence. the likely possibility as to why? the galra empire was limiting his resources, both because he was an exile and because he knew they (particularly haggar) might be watching, and he couldn't let them piece together his plans to usurp power. he needed quintessence in which he controlled every part of the creation process, and he needed to hide as much of how he was using it as possible. the easiest way to do that was for him to get his own source.

contrary to that assertion, i don't believe lotor first created the altean colony with the intention to use them as a quintessence farm. i believe he genuinely cared about preserving what was left of altea, similar to how he cares about preserving culture in general. this would be consistent with his previous characterization as well as lm and jds's assurances that he was coming from a genuine place. most importantly, even according to romelle's story, the second colony is never depicted as an idea lotor conceived from the start. it came much later, after the first colony was well-established.

it's likely that lotor originally had other sources of quintessence, since throk mentioned his possession of multiple colonies in s3e1, or that he hadn't yet come up with his plans in their entirety. maybe haggar or zarkon caught wind of certain plots and thwarted them, destroying his sources in the process. (we certainly get the impression in s3 and s4 that lotor coming up with rebellious plots isn't a new thing to either of them.) maybe his ambitions and travels gradually revealed themselves to need more quintessence than he'd expected. purchasing quintessence from any suppliers would have required an income, a relatively time-consuming and unreliable endeavor that might not have gotten him much in exchange. any quintessence supplies he might have acquired using his identity, if he could acquire any, would almost certainly have been monitored—how much he took, where he received them—to the point where use of them would be incredibly risky. he might have also morally disliked using empire-produced quintessence, since they would've been harvested using empire methods (i.e. "caring about colonies whomst?"). at least with his methods, he would know he wasn't destroying them without regard. either way, whatever previous sources of quintessence he had became too limited an amount for his operations. he needed more.

i get a strong impression that people don't understand what he could be using quintessence for. but we see it everywhere in the empire, in voltron, and in the castle of lions—it's the primary energy source of vld's world that powers machines, fuels ships, assists in experimentation, heals injuries, even prolongs life. nothing else compares. lotor wouldn't have needed it personally for the latter purpose, but one can't exactly travel the universe on an empty tank. without quintessence, he would've essentially been dead in the water. additionally, considering that the quintessence shows up in places not explicitly related to lotor, the fact that we see galra soldiers accompanying lotor on the altean colony when we know he was in exile, and the amount of resources he must have been supplying to the colony in secret, it's also possible he was using it to bribe people into doing things for him and staying silent. it probably would've been effective; it's described as an especially powerful form of quintessence, and he was the only source.

anyway, lotor needed quintessence he could control entirely without having to fear discovery and subsequent destruction. the altean colony was his only colony that he could be reasonably certain the empire would never find. and in true lotor fashion, the first defense he asserted was that he saved what was left of altea from the empire, despite the horrendous crimes he was committing, and could now stop his quintessence farming with his access to the quintessence field. technically, we don't even know whether all of the alteans taken to the second colony are dead (link). the man romelle saw there was still in the tank, as many others must have been.

lotor might have been planning to eventually heal them by using the quintessence field. of course, even if that's true, lotor still took away years of their lives, lied to them and their families, and drained them to near-death. the experience must have been traumatizing. and who knows how well they would be able to recover, if at all. it's little comfort.

(editing, i feel compelled to plug this analysis by @radioactivesupersonic of lotor's arc and relationship with allura as a vampire story because it's interesting as hell, pounds out what i've just said further, and is something i read prior to writing this up so i may have unconsciously stolen from it. (i can only promise that i completely forgot about it until i went looking for all my links rip.))

nevertheless, lotor's first priority for the altean colony was always to preserve them—even if he eventually, essentially started treating them as a renewable resource with his farming's effects on the survival of his people and culture as environmental impacts. make of that what you will.

"if lotor is such a decent person who loves altea and wants to end the galra empire, why didn't he team up with voltron from the beginning? he was around before season 3! why didn't he show up earlier?"

that, my friend, is a good question i've puzzled over too. i have an answer.

number one: lotor has been in the habit of effectively working on his lonesome for about the past 10,000 years and canonically displays a wealth of paranoia and trust issues. teamwork isn't usually the first idea that comes to mind to someone like lotor.

number two: we get a very dramatic hint toward this in the climax of s6 (can't wait until we reach that part!), as well as during his invasion of puig in s3, but i believe lotor didn't have much confidence in voltron's capabilities during the period of s1 and s2 or for some time afterwards. he's a very cautious and careful player, learned from millennia of working against the interests and conventions of an extremely powerful empire.

and if we all remember correctly, voltron lost 10,000 years ago. granted, alfor sent the lions away rather than risk zarkon gaining control of the black lion, but it was still him and the other paladins against zarkon. victory should've been within reach, and yet they lost. so 10,000 years later, voltron appears to have returned, and none of those fears have been assuaged. who are these random newcomers to pilot the lions, and how could they possibly succeed where the original paladins didn't, when they don't even have the might of armies behind them? zarkon could still retake control of the black lion. additionally, lotor's own feelings towards voltron (and symbolically, king alfor) as a savior are extremely complicated. (you cannot believe how excited i am to talk about that. just wait.) he's not going to risk everything he's worked for on a wild card he's incredibly unsure will manage to make a dent. it would even make zarkon stronger if they lost, and therefore his father, one of the people he most wants to avoid the attention of, would be coming after them in a frenzy.

even after the s2 finale where voltron critically injured zarkon, he finds them insufficient. they create the coalition, yet he can essentially retake puig in the span of an hour with a team of five attackers.

clearly, they still weren’t well-equipped enough to stand against the galra empire. it would be in lotor's best interests to avoid voltron like the plague unless he was certain they wouldn't be crushed. so he did just that.

i suspect that before the voltron coalition grew into its own, lotor was planning to independently start a coup of some kind. it would've been pretty easy with unlimited quintessence. but after he was declared an enemy of the empire to be killed on sight, when voltron had gained significant strength and organized rebellion against the empire alongside liberated planets became a genuine and effective possibility, he joins them—right after their surprise attack liberates a full third of the empire and shocks the galra off his trail. the coalition was finally a basket he felt secure putting some of his eggs into.

(part 2)

#voltron #voltron meta #vld s6 #lotor #readmore #long post #prim post #prim says some things

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allenmendezsr · 4 years

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Qigong For Happiness, Health And Vitality

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vowel-in-thug · 7 years

Note

i am going to be greedy and ask you for 45 share the synopsis of a story you work on that you haven’t published yet and 46 share a scene of a story that you haven’t published yet and 48 three spoilers for whichever yet unpublished fic you are working on that you want to talk about and also for #50 i am SUPER curious if you have any headcanons about silver's awful past that had/has him so fucked up, poor guy. you don't have to answer all of these i know i asked a lot :)

my own headcanons for silver are morbid ...i've never shared them with fandom cause they are prob triggering as shit and obviously silver did not(at least in the show)have a happy ending to his story which is bullshit when i think about what happened to him in my head before he ever met flint /madi .Also there is a fic on a03( Apology by Wind_Ryder is the coda)where the author put silver working in the coal mines and he suffered as an orphan in that kind of place would. that story rang true too.

wow! Okay let’s look at all this.

45 share the synopsis of a story you work on that you haven’t published yet

summaries are usually the last thing i think of but this one spoke to me before i’ve even finished reading it.

“a s3 au where miranda lives because life is short and fuck y’all i do what i want.”

6 share a scene of a story that you haven’t published yet

now i’m not gonna post a WHOLE scene because, hey long, but here’s the opening:

When he opens his eyes, he sees the sunlight rocking steadily on the wooden ceiling. He tries to lift himself up onto his elbows, but he can barely manage an inch, gasping at the pain.

“Shhh.” A hand on his shoulder makes him jump -- or makes his heart jump. His body can’t do much more than twitch at the contact. “Lie back now.”

He obeys, and now he sees the sunlight on the ceiling and Mrs. Barlow. Equally pale, equally blinding, swaying with the ceaseless sway of the ship.

Her dress is torn, far dirtier than when he’d last seen it. She’s wrapped in a blanket, which doesn’t quite hide the bloodstains or the sling on her left arm. There’s a long scrape on her chin, but her face is washed and cleaned of any make-up. Her long hair is down.

She looks just like every portrait of Mary that Silver has ever seen.

48 three spoilers for whichever yet unpublished fic you are working on that you want to talk about

well since the last two ones answered the miranda fic and i don’t want to give EVERYTHING away, and i just answered this about the next smallpox fic, i’m gonna do you dirty and talk about the next NOIR fic, which i haven’t forgotten about!

1. An arrest is made.

2. The boys wear tuxedos

3. Turns out Silver can still dance with a wooden leg, if they’re dancing real slow.

50. open question to the writer - silver headcanons

i’ve never read that fic, but it sounds appropriately tragic :(

so i’ve answered this before, sort of, here. (also specifically orange!silver here) and i kind of say it there, but i think all of these are true and none of them are true. some of them could apply to fics i’ve written, some could apply to canon, some apply to stories i’ve never written and want to but never will. they probably all contradict the stories i’ve written, but i feel like that is also true. silver’s own headcanons for himself contradict themselves.

i think he likely suffered abuse as a young child, and was made to feel unloved and unwanted by an adult meant to care for him. and i think he likely escaped that situation and is very proud of that fact. proud to know he can rely on himself. but i don’t think he escaped and immediately had a nice life. i think he probably was met with all the hardships, injury, hunger, abuse, misdeeds, horror that comes with living the life of a poor and lonely boy. but it’s important to remember how he is when we first met him.

we know he’s survived abuse, but when we first see him, he is a healthy (dare i say STRAPPING) young lad with a decent enough job on a relatively respectable merchant ship. he’s alive and, most important, he isn’t broken by whatever may have happened to him. we know he was abused, and we know he’s a survivor. but i think how he survived is very important to his psychology. every trial he likely faced just kept on proving more and more that the only person he can trust is himself. no one else. he has no need for other people because they’ve only ever harmed him. he has no need to help his fellow man when pirates come a-calling, because when has his fellow man ever helped him? never, that’s when.

so when he finally, FINALLY, meets people he can rely on, everything inside his head just goes fucking haywire. though i don’t believe there isn’t a happy ending for silver. he’s never broken. he’s a survivor. and if you want to believe THAT TRASH aka treasure island as canon or whatever, you can picture silver escaping with only a bag of the treasure he promised to try and find for flint and madi and furiously trying to come up with a story that doesn’t involve a snotty little brat named jim whatever outsmarting him for the money

#i love my boy okay he is happy right this very minute #hey look it's my suffering #Anonymous

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mama-m1na · 4 years

Text

The Kiss of Death: Chapter 3

~~~III~~~

Drip.

‘Oh god, why did this have to happen to me?’

Drop.

‘I just wanted to be happy for once, is that too much to ask for?’

Drip.

‘I should have known it was. This always happens.’

Drop.

‘Nothing good ever lasts in my life.’

Drip.

‘I’, destined to die alone, miserable and forgotten.’

Drop.

‘Oh god, Umi, Haru, and ryoto! They don’t think I actually killed their mother… Do they?’

Drip.

‘Kerstin, Sam, Tijarah, Chloe and the others… I wonder if they heard about this yet… Probably not considering I don’t hear any screaming from outside yet.’

Drop.

“...”

“God, why does this happen to me?!” the ravenette screamed through her sobs as she lie, curled up as small as she could make herself, in a corner of her isolated stone cell.

“I just wanted to be happy, please,” she whispered through the tears as what little light there was reflected off of the golden ring on her right hand, “Someone, anyone, just save me from this hell!”

Six hours had passed since Rhamina Miyu, dubbed the Witch of Lemuria, had been arrested at her home and brought into a lone cell deep within the castle dungeons.

She had been crying for hours, her head hurt, her stomach ached from hunger, and she was extremely dehydrated, but it just wouldn’t stop.

The ravenette actually thought herself to be quite lucky that she was put into solitary since no one could see her pitiful state of being, nor could anyone hear her wails of complete and utter despair.

When the female heard the lock of the door click, she immediately curled up further in an attempt to disappear into nothing causing the chains around her wrists and ankles to rattle.

“Rhamina?” a familiar voice asked once the door had creaked open, “Is that you?”

The door closed behind the figure as they stepped forward to set something down next to the female’s form before kneeling behind her.

“Hey, Rhamina, I need you to unball and look at me, okay?” the voice requested, earning a small nod from the older female who slowly did as asked.

When Rhamina looked up at the figure who entered the cell, she saw that it was Haru, dressed in all black with dried tear streaks leading down her face with eyes still red and puffy.

She must have just recently stopped crying, but Rhamina did not blame her in the slightest.

If her actual mother was as nice as Queen Meiko, then maybe she would have been more upset than she was when her mother died.

“We all know that you didn’t do it, Rhamina,” she whispered upon embracing the ravenette in a much needed hug, “My brothers are trying to sway my father into letting you go.”

The female only nodded in response, not trusting her vocal chords to be able to convey any of her thoughts at the moment.

“Here,” the brunette said with a large smile as she slid a tray with food and a cup of water to the older teen, “If you’re getting out of here then you need to be alive, right? … Sorry, that was too soon.”

Haru bit her lip as she looked over to the female who was slowly eating what was given to her.

She still had stray tears dripping down her face and her form was still shaking, still getting over her panic attack as she tried to keep herself as healthy as she could.

It was scary to see the ravenette in this state: glassy eyes, messy hair, dirty clothes, refusing to speak, and just plain lifeless.

It was as if there were a demon looming over her, just draining the teen of her life and Haru hated it.

She had seen this form of Rhamina before and she never wanted to see it again.

That’s right, Haru had seen this when her mother first brought the ravenette back home.

She remembered first seeing the war torn, emotionless ten-year-old, Lemurian girl and thinking she was a ghost that had followed her parents back from the land of demons.

However, she realized there was more to Lemuria as the girl began opening up to the royal siblings and their mother, revealing her kind and mostly bubbly personality.

Rhamina taught the three royal children about the Lemuiran culture, land, and lifestyle; proving to them that many of their previous assumptions about the island peoples were wrong.

Although in many cases she kept her dead face, intimidating anyone who didn’t know her, those who were close to her got to see every piece of her easy to read person and they all felt lucky to be able to do so.

Although one royal’s mind could not be changed and that was the mind of Haru’s father, King Armadeyus III.

It made the princess’ blood boil to even think about her tyrant of a father in that exact moment in time.

His wife had just died, been murdered in the night by someone that had easily slipped into and out of the castle, yet he felt nothing, not a note of sympathy as he instead celebrated his ‘victory’ over the ‘Lemurian witch.’

He didn’t even attend the queen’s funeral that morning.

The people of the kingdom forgave him as they thought that he was just emotionally torn, but Haru knew better, he didn’t care and that was unforgivable.

Haru’s mind was brought back to reality by the soft tones of the ravenette’s cracking voice.

“I’m sorry what?” the sixteen-year-old asked, refocusing on the female in front of her who just brushed some hair out of her face.

“I said, I’m sorry about your mother,” Rhamina spoke once again in a raspy voice, her throat feeling extremely raw and sore, “Out of everyone in this world she did not deserve it. May the gods allow her a safe journey to the afterlife.”

“Thank you for the support, Rhamina, but what matters right now is getting you out of here,” Haru replied as she stood with the tray in her hands, “I’ll be sure to visit later, so stay strong okay?”

With that statement the princess exited the cell with a bright smile on her face, but Rhamina knew better than that.

She could see the pain riddled in her gaze, the fear painted in her very being, eyes are the windows to the soul and Rhamina knew to always look and understand. It was how she could see everything.

‘This wouldn’t have happened if you had just died back then. All these people are hurting because of you and you alone.’

‘... I know… You don’t have to remind me… I know…’

Once again the ravnette was left alone in the dark cell, only lit by a single magical tool hanging by the door.

She was no longer crying but all she felt was despair as a sense of familiarity arose from her current situation.

‘Why is it so cold?’ she asked herself as she tucked her body into a corner far away from the light, ‘i haven’t been cold since…’

“That’s why this feels so familiar,” the female chuckled to herself as she rested her head on the stone wall behind her, “I’ve been through this before, haven’t I?”

Immediately, memories of the war in her homeland flooded her head; her parents leaving to fight, receiving the two flags instead of their bodies, her only friend promising to come back after helping his family, the screams of all those she killed for getting too close to her home, walking around the dark halls of the stone temple all alone as she wished for someone to hold her, hiding in the corner of her room when a group of Ukaidian High Knights and Royal mages surrounded the temple, wishing for death as she collapsed in front of all of them after she had exhausted her energy and the will to keep fighting.

‘No,’ Rhamina thought, shaking her head, ‘things are different now. I’m not a pathetic little child and I actually have people to support me now. I’ll be fine.’

Three more hours passed before the door opened again to reveal a seventeen-year-old male with long disheveled hair.

“Umi,” smiled the ravenette, honestly too tired to do anything else other than stand up as the male ran over to pull her smaller form to him.

“Rhamina, I’m so sorry,” he said, voice cracking as he buried his face into her hair, “This should have never happened to you or anyone for that matter.”

“My father is completely delusional and insistent that you were the one who killed mother,” he continued pulling back to let the ravenette see his tears of stress and frustration, “But we all know it wasn’t you. I know it couldn’t be you because I walked you home last night.”

“Umi, Hun, breathe,” Rhamina spoke, placing a hand on his shoulder while using the other to tilt his chin so he looked at her, “I know it seems like the world is falling in on itself right now but I need you to breathe, okay?”

Taking a few moments to do as the ravenette suggested, the silver-haired prince took a few deep breaths before attempting to fix his hair somewhat.

“Better?” Rhamina asked with soft eyes as she wrapped her arms around his form, drawing random shapes into his back.

“Yes,” the male whispered as he gladly took in the warmth that the eighteen-year-old offered, “Thank you.”

“I wasn’t able to talk father into letting you , but Ryoto and I have convinced the king to let you have a formal trial tomorrow afternoon,” Umi explained as he pulled back, still intertwining his fingers with the ravenette’s.

“There,” he continued, bringing a hand up to cup her cheek, “we can prove your innocence to my father and everyone else who doubted you.”

Simultaneously, both teens leaned in to share a kiss, but something about this one was different.

Through the sign of affection, Rhamina could feel multiple things from her partner; fear, desperation, and passion.

The two parted briefly to catch their breaths and the prince used the female’s distracted state to pin her to the ground, earning a squeak of surprise from the ravenette.

“Umi-” she started, but was quickly silenced as the male’s lips were quick to cover her own, one hand placed on the ground next to her head while the other intertwined their fingers once more.

This slowly escalated a bit further before a guard called for the prince from the other side of the large metal door.

“Prince Umi, your time is up!” called the male voice, causing the prince to sigh as he got up and helped the female to her feet.

“I have to go, but I promise that I’ll protect you no matter what,” Umi whispered before laying a kiss on the ravenette’s forehead,” I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Rhamina replied with a small wave as the male left, her cheeks still warm from their moment, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Umi.”

And just like that Rhamina Myu, the sole guardian of the Lemurian’s sacred temple, was left alone in the belly of the kingdom that hated her the most.

It was hard to sleep that night as the teen was left alone to her thoughts in an unfamiliar place with an uncomfortable cot and an aching stomach as the only thing she had eaten that day was the meal Princess Haru had brought for her.

Soon enough the time for her trial came and Rhamina had just finished the mall meal of stale bread and water given to her when the door opened.

“It’s time, witch,” growled the guard, prompting the girl to follow the man wearing light armor with the kingdom’s crest over his heart.

As the girl rode in the cage on wheels to the courthouse, she saw and heard various half-Lemurians and even full Lemurians from outside the capital lining the streets, much to the chagrin of the noble Ukaidians living in the capital, shouting slander in their native language at the Ukaidians that guarded and drove the cart.

‘No, go home,’ the ravenette thought as she locked eyes with a young Lemurian child who was filled to the brim with a seething rage, ‘You’re all in danger here. Can’t you see that?’

‘Of course they do, but do they care?’ she thought as they arrived to the courthouse to see that it was surrounded by more of the foreign people, ‘no, we never do. Lemurians are too stubborn for that.’

“Hindi it patas!” Rhamina heard a Lemurian woman exclaim, “Pinatay no aming reina para lang ma-frame mo ng babaeng ito!”

As she was led into the courthouse, the teen heard more screams like this and smiled a little, knowing the king was probably enraged with the turnout of all the Lemuirans in his precious capital.

“And entering is Rhamina Miyu, the Witch of Lemurai, the accused,” announced a woman towards the front of the courtroom at the podium as Rhamina walked into the room, still dressed in her nightgown from two nights ago.

Standing on her side of the room were all of her friends, teammates and all three of the royal children.

As she stood at her seat, Umi placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder with a confident smile on his face.

“This really has caused quite the stir hasn’t it?” chuckled Rhamina in an attempt to calm her own racing heart.

“Of course it has,” Kerstin spoke from right behind the eighteen-year-old, “All of our fellow jungle ‘monkeys’ know that this is all just some racist bullshit.”

“All rise for the arrival of the judge!” announced the same woman at the podium as the double doors opened.

‘No,’ the ravenette thought with wide eyes as all hope for a fair trial left her being, ‘it’s over, I’m going to lose everything right here.’

“Judge Noir Lucifer!” the woman proclaimed as everyone behind the ravenette cried out in protest.

“This is bullshit!” Joel exclaimed as the judge took his seat, overseeing the courtroom in its entirety.

“This mother fucker isn’t even a real judge!” Sam exclaimed from beside Kerstin, “he’s only a man persuaded by greed not the evidence!”

The infamous judge sat with a smirk on his face as the ravenette began to shake, tears streaming down her face.

He was known in all of Ukaidia as a monster for he would do anything, sway the favor to anyone as long as they offered up something of his interest in return. A true incarnate of greed.

“Father, how could you?!” Haru exclaimed as Umi embraced the girl’s shaking form, the golden ring on her finger glinting in the light.

“I only promised the demon a trial nothing more and here she is receiving one,” Armadeyus cackled with a cruel smile on his face, “Who said anything about it having to be fair? Everything is fair in the eyes of law.”

“We’ll be fine,” Ryoto said as he placed a hand on the teen’s shoulder, “Even he can’t do anything too drastic with all the people crowding this area. It would just be asking for full on rebellion.”

Rhamina nodded in agreement as the judge called for silence, but she couldn’t stop the overwhelming dread that was suffocating her.

The trial was going terribly, just as the ravenette predicted with that man serving as her judge.

She was barely allowed a chance to speak or even defend herself and when she did speak, they either cut her off or twisted her words into something completely obscure and different.

It was as if all of the opposing side only had selective hearing, only hearing what they wanted to hear as the rest, including the truth, was filtered out of their minds and tossed away.

Frustration was quickly building in the side of the defendant as they could tell they were quickly losing with no way to earn back what time they had lost.

The whole trial was obviously rigged against them and they didn’t know what else to do other than act silent or act with violence which would only lead to even more problems, so they grit their teeth as they tried to come up with better options.

Unfortunately, these ideas never came to them.

Meanwhile, the crowds of Lemurians outside were soon joined by rivalling crowds of Ukaidians, almost starting a riot in the streets of the capital that were pretty much ignored by the knights in light of protecting the courthouse where all four of the remaining royals were in, completely disregarding their duties of protecting their own people.

How far they have fallen to just let this violence in their own home pass.

When the judge called a ten minute recess, the ravenette was led to a private room where she immediately crumpled to the ground and broke down into tears.

‘This is all too much!’ she thought grasping at her chest as her breathing became heavy and labored, ‘what did I do to deserve this? I just wanted to live happily for once dammit!’

Much to almost everyone’s frustration, the guard in front of her door would not let anyone else into the room, so once again, the ravenette suffered alone in an unfamiliar place with no source of comfort.

At the end of the recess, the ravnette was led back to the courtroom, eyes bright red with tear streaks streaming down her cheeks.

“Hey, Mina, don’t worry, everything will be fine,” kersting whispered as the ravenette took her seat, “This will work out, it always does.”

It was true. In the past everything managed to work out for the teens in the end and Rhamina could sense no lie in her sister’s words; however, she couldn’t bring herself to believe in them this once.

The darkette truly believed that the eighteen-year-old would be walking out of that courtroom as a free woman.

However, one look at the cruel smirk on the judge’s face and the ravenette knew even if she had a bribe larger that the king’s, her fate was already sealed.

More time slowly passed as they tried to build their argument which kept getting swatted down by haughty Ukaidian nobles and lawyers.

They kept getting cut off or just plain heckled which was not shut down by the judge, but whenever they tried to make a logical argument the judge silenced them in favor of listening to more stories weaved together by the side of King Armadeyus III.

‘This is all bullshit. Can they just shut up for once and let me talk?’ the ravenette asked with frustrated tears in the corners of her eyes as she dug her nails into the bare skin of her thighs, ‘Why are all noble people like this? Just shut up already!’

Two more hours passed before the trial was finally at its end.

“And may the accused step forward to deliver her closing statement?” asked the quite annoying Ukaidian woman who had originally announced their entrances.

Standing from her seat and moving to the center of the floor, Rhamina looked the judge in the eyes before opening her mouth to speak.

“I know my words will be ignored, but I have nothing else to say other than I did not kill Queen Meiko,” the teen spoke as evenly as she could manage, “Yes, I do use the ‘Kiss of Death’ however, I have never used it to end a life. I have multiple accounts of me being at home when the queen with killed, making it impossible for me to be the killer, thank you.”

Before the female could even make it back to her seat, the large crack of the gavel hitting wood echoed throughout the room.

“With all the evidence presented to me today, I find the defendant, Rhamina Miyu, guilty on the charges of murdering our beloved Queen Meiko and bewitching all three of the royal children,” Judge Noir Lucifer announced, effectively angering half of the room.

“She didn’t bewitch anyone!” Umi roared, bolting up from his seat before he was quickly restrained by both of his siblings and silenced by the gavel once more.

“As punishment for her crimes, the witch will be set to burn at the stake tomorrow at dusk,” finished the judge.

Rhamina stood frozen in her spot as she became unaware of all the chaos that broke out around her.

Her vision started to blur as the only thing she could hear was the rapid beating of her own heart in her ears.

She was only brought back to reality when she was harshly thrown to the ground, only held up by the painful grip on her hair.

“You will pay for taking the life of our queen,” hissed the knight above her before bringing down his blade, slicing through the long, raven locks the teen took such pride in.

No longer held up by the painful grip of the knight, Rhamina fell forward to catch herself on her forearms.

“Don’t touch her!” Umi screamed reaching for Mjolnir as two knights hoisted the girl up by her upper arms.

“Umi, you have to calm down,” Ryoto said through gritted teeth as she along with Haru struggled to hold their brother back, “We can fix this but you have to act civil.”

“Civil?! This is far from civil in the first place, Ryoto!” barked the silver-haired prince as the ravenette was led back into the cage/cart, the remnants of her hair left in the center of the floor of the courtroom.

Haru bit her bottom lip as she and her siblings walked out to their carriage, seperate from the father’s, air too thick to even breathe.

‘This isn’t fair,’ the brunette thought as she looked out the window, thinking back to the moment the ravenette broke.

‘Fate is cruel,’ Rhamina thought as she watched her fellow Lemurians break into a riot, being held back only by the royal mages.

‘So he’s trying to spread a message to everyone with my execution, is he?’ she continued to silently think to herself with her dead expression, ‘To Ukaidians, he says we are the root of all evil. To Lemurians, he says that he will never change his ways. To both, he says that he has the ultimate power over everyone and everything.’

‘Fine then,’ Rhamina thought as she grasped at her now short, choppy locks, ‘If you wish to play this game, then I’ll play along.’

‘I’ll send my own message with my death. Lemurians will not be quieted by petty threats, we will fight until our very last breaths.’

By the time the cart arrived back at the castle, mages had to be stationed at the castle borders to erect a magical barrier as multiple Lemurians retorted with magic of their own.

“Those animals are quite annoying, aren’t they?” Armadeyus asked as he watched multiple elements clash with the barrier, “It would be much easier to just dispose of those disgusting things all at once.”

“My king, your message will not be spread if you killed them all,” a hooded figure said as they stepped out of the shadows, “Just let them tire themselves out. You must trust me when I say the death of that single Lemurian will bring you eternal and absolute rule.”

“And how exactly can I trust your words, Jester?” the king asked as a bright red spider crawled up the figure’s neck.

“Have I ever lied to you before, My king?” the figure asked with a cheshire grin as they tilted their head to the side.

Back in her cell, Rhamina sat curled up in a corner with hands over her ears as the thundering sounds above reminded her of times she so desperately wanted to forget.

The only difference, this time she had no way to run as her death was certain.

There was no way out of this one.

Feeling a chill run down her form, Rhamina looked at the relic displayed on her hand and was immediately reminded of two pairs of eyes.

“Umi, everyone, I’m sorry!” she cried, hugging herself tighter, “I’m leaving again and I didn’t even say goodbye. I’m such a horrible friend!”

As her thoughts began to spiral, it became harder to breathe and her chest began to hurt before she screamed, “I don’t want to die!”

Outside her cell, multiple guards stood on watch, making sure no one got near, especially the royal children.

Umi sat in the corner of his trashed room, papers and furniture strewn everywhere as a result of his rage.

Tears streaked down his face as he thought of how in the span of four days he would lose two of the most important people in his life.

He tried to sneak into the dungeons, but not only was security increased, but his every move was being constantly monitored by the new mage who refused to show their face.

“I’m sorry, Rhamina, I’ve failed you again,” he whispered as he slid down his wall, “I couldn’t protect you.”

Meanwhile, those in the Royal Band were gathered in the music room, buzzing with anger at the results of the trial.

“That wasn’t even a fucking trial!” Sierra screamed from her sport next to Joel as Chloe and many others stood crying, “It was a screw over the Lemurian who did nothing fucking wrong festival!”

This statement earned roars of agreement from the instrumentalists and members of the color guard before someone spoke up.

“Well, what can we really do about this?” Justin, a Ukaidian male asked, “She’s an overall good person and a member of the band but the king will probably have barriers around her tomorrow too.”

“So are you just saying we stand there and do nothing while she’s fucking burned to death? Is that what you’re saying, Justin?!” Joel asked as he stalked over to the taller male.

“All I’m saying is if we’re doing anything we need to think first,” the male defended as a large chunk of the band stared at him with anger written within their eyes.

“I know, but we can’t just stand there and do nothing!” Sierra exclaimed in a fit of rage.

“Actually we might be able to do just that,” Tijarah spoke for the first time since the trial as she wiped tears from her eyes, “When we were younger, her magic would act out on its own, sometimes when she felt strong emotions.”

“What do you mean?” a random flute player asked as all attention was brought to the dark skinned teenager.

“If she’s put under enough emotional stress, then her magic might just be able to save her,” Tijarah suggested as she wiped away even more of her own tears, “It has happened before in the past.”

“And what if it doesn’t?”

Before anything else could be said, Krystal and the band director Underwood, walked into the large room, both obviously upset.

“Moms! Were you able to see her?” Kerstin asked with a large sliver of hope within her voice.

“No,” Underwood answered as the color guard instructor began crying once again, “They aren’t even letting members of the royal family in to see her.”

“This whole situation is so stupid,” she continued with strain in her voie as she brushed her hair out of her face.

Somewhere off the coast of eastern Ukaidia a single ship floated atop the dark blue waters, guided only by the light of the stars.

“Upon one summer’s morning, I carefully did stray,” sung a male voice, “Down by the walls of Wapping where I met a sailor gay.”

“Conversing with a young lass who seemed to be in pain,” he continued as the waves brushed against the ship, “Saying William when you go I fear you’ll ne’er return again.”

“My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold,” his golden eyes looking up towards the sky, “There is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold.”

“From Town Hill to Blackwall I’ll wander, weep, and moan,” his haunting voice rang out, “all for my jolly sailor until he sails home.”

“My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold,” he sung, “there is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold.”

“My father is a merchant, the truth I now will tell,” he continued as the breeze blew through his black dreadlocks, “and in great London City in opulence doth dwell.”

“His fortune doth exceed 300,000 gold,” the small rocking of the ship not phasing the male at all, “And he frowns upon his daughter who loves a sailor bold.”

“A fig for his riches, his merchandise and gold,” the male sung as his eyes drifted shut, “true love has grafted my heart, give me my sailor bold.”

“My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold,” he continued as a dark green aura formed around him, “”There is nothing can console me, but my jolly sailor bold.”

“Should he return in pov’rty from o’er the ocean far,” as his locked began to float softly, “To my tener bosom I’ll press my jolly tar.”

“My sailor is as smiling as the pleasant month of May,” he continued as his eyes snapped open, revealing the golden eyes of a serpent, “And often we have wandered through Ratcliffe highway.”

“Many a pretty blooming young girl we did behold,” the male sung as streamed of water jetted up from below, “reclining on the bosom of her jolly sailor bold.”

“My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold,” he continued as the water defied gravity, “there is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold.”

“My name it is Maria, a merchant’s daughter fair,” the water danced around the male as he walked towards the bow of the ship, “And I have left my parents and three thousand pounds a year.”

Looking out to see the lights of other ships ahead, the male smirked before continuing, “Come all you pretty fair maids, whoever you may be, who love a jolly sailor that plows the raging sea.”

“While up aloft in storm, from me his absence mourn,” the water began to move sporadically, “and firmly pray arrive the day he’s never more to roam.”

“My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold. There is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold.”

As the male ended his song, another male with a saber at his side approached him saying, “Captain, all preparations are ready and our men at their positions!”

“Well then what are we waiting for?” the golden eyed male asked, the water around him buzzing in excitement, “They were nice enough to throw us a party. It would only be appropriate to make a grand entrance, right?”

“Yes, Captain!”

At that moment, all lanterns on the ship lit up and the ocean rose to form a wall of water behind it.

‘I promise I’ll find you, one day.’

~~~Fin. Chapter 3~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Song Used: My Jolly Sailor Bold - Unknown

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#The Kiss of Death #Chapter 3 #Original Story

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dfroza · 4 years

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True Justice and peace.

this is what beautiful earth cries out for from its sacred ground.

and we see it in Today’s reading of the Scriptures beginning with chapter #2 of the book of Habakkuk:

I will take my place at the watchtower.

I will stand at my post and watch.

I will watch and see what He says to me.

I need to think about how I should respond to Him

When He gets back to me with His answer.

Eternal One (to Habakkuk): Write down this vision.

Write it clearly on tablets, so that anyone who reads it may run.

For the vision points ahead to a time I have appointed;

it testifies regarding the end, and it will not lie.

Even if there is a delay, wait for it.

It is coming and will come without delay.

“Look at that man, bloated by self-importance—

full of himself but soul-empty.

But the person in right standing before God

through loyal and steady believing

is fully alive, really alive.

“Note well: Money deceives.

The arrogant rich don’t last.

They are more hungry for wealth

than the grave is for cadavers.

Like death, they always want more,

but the ‘more’ they get is dead bodies.

They are cemeteries filled with dead nations,

graveyards filled with corpses.

Don’t give people like this a second thought.

Soon the whole world will be taunting them:

“‘Who do you think you are—

getting rich by stealing and extortion?

How long do you think

you can get away with this?’

Indeed, how long before your victims wake up,

stand up and make you the victim?

You’ve plundered nation after nation.

Now you’ll get a taste of your own medicine.

All the survivors are out to plunder you,

a payback for all your murders and massacres.

“Who do you think you are—

recklessly grabbing and looting,

Living it up, acting like king of the mountain,

acting above it all, above trials and troubles?

You’ve engineered the ruin of your own house.

In ruining others you’ve ruined yourself.

You’ve undermined your foundations,

rotted out your own soul.

The bricks of your house will speak up and accuse you.

The woodwork will step forward with evidence.

“Who do you think you are—

building a town by murder, a city with crime?

Don’t you know that God-of-the-Angel-Armies

makes sure nothing comes of that but ashes,

Makes sure the harder you work

at that kind of thing, the less you are?

Meanwhile the earth fills up

with awareness of God’s glory

as the waters cover the sea.

“Who do you think you are—

inviting your neighbors to your drunken parties,

Giving them too much to drink,

roping them into your sexual orgies?

You thought you were having the time of your life.

Wrong! It’s a time of disgrace.

All the time you were drinking,

you were drinking from the cup of God’s wrath.

You’ll wake up holding your throbbing head, hung over—

hung over from Lebanon violence,

Hung over from animal massacres,

hung over from murder and mayhem,

From multiple violations

of place and people.

What use is an idol shaped by its maker?

It is nothing but an image cast in metal; it teaches deception.

For a foolish idol-maker puts faith in his own creation,

a god that cannot speak.

Woe to him who says to a block of wood, “Wake up!”

or to a silent stone, “Arise!”

Are inanimate objects your teachers?

Look, it may be covered in gold and silver,

But there is no breath of life inside.

But the Eternal One is in His holy temple.

Let all the earth keep silent in His presence.

The Book of Habakkuk, Chapter 2 (The Voice / The Message)

A chapter accompanied by Today’s reading of Proverbs and Psalms for january 3 (Proverbs 3 and Psalm 3) and the 14th day of Winter (Psalm 14)

[Proverbs 3]

My son, always remember what I have taught you; keep my instructions dear to your heart.

If you do, they will be your guide to a long, healthy, prosperous life.

Stay focused; do not lose sight of mercy and truth; engrave them on a pendant, and hang it around your neck; meditate on them so they are written upon your heart.

In this way, you will win the favor of God and others, and they will think well of you.

Place your trust in the Eternal; rely on Him completely; never depend upon your own ideas and inventions.

Give Him the credit for everything you accomplish, and He will smooth out and straighten the road that lies ahead.

And don’t think you can decide on your own what is right and what is wrong. Respect the Eternal; turn and run from evil.

If you depend on Him, your body and mind will be free from the strain of a sinful life, will experience healing and health, and will be strengthened at their core.

Pay tribute to the Eternal in all of your affairs. Honor Him with the best of what you make. That way you will prosper to the fullest and have plenty of food to eat and wine to drink.

My son, do not ignore the Eternal’s instruction or lose heart when He steps in to correct you;

Because the Eternal proves His love by caring enough to discipline you, just as a father does his child, his pride and joy.

How fortunate are those who discover Lady Wisdom and those who understand her ways!

For her worth is greater than the most expensive prize you could win. Her profit is greater than the finest thing you could buy.

No gem is more precious than she is—your most extravagant desire doesn’t come close to her.

She holds the secret of a long life in one hand and riches and fame in her other hand.

Her ways are pleasant; all of her pathways are peaceful.

She is like a tree that produces a satisfied life for anyone who can wrap their arms around her; happiness waits for any who hold her tightly.

It was by wisdom that the Eternal fashioned the earth and by understanding that He designed the heavens.

Through His knowledge, the deep was divided into seas and sky, and the clouds understood when to let down the morning dew.

My son, never lose sight of God’s wisdom and knowledge: make decisions out of true wisdom, guard your good sense,

And they will be life to your soul and fine jewelry around your neck.

Then each one of your steps will land securely on your life’s journey, and you will not trip or fall.

Your mind will be clear, free from fear; when you lie down to rest, you will be refreshed by sweet sleep.

Stay calm; there is no need to be afraid of a sudden disaster or to worry when calamity strikes the wicked,

For the Eternal is always there to protect you. He will safeguard your each and every step.

Do not withhold what is good from those who deserve it; if it is within your power to give it, do it.

Do not send your neighbor away, saying, “Get back with me tomorrow. I can give it to you then,” when what he needs is already in your hand.

Make no plans that could result in injury to your neighbor; after all, he should be more secure because he lives near you.

Avoid fighting with anyone without good reason, especially when no one has hurt you; you have nothing to fight about.

Do not envy someone who profits at the expense of others or copy any of his tyrannical ways,

For crooked people are detestable to the Eternal, but those with integrity receive His counsel.

His curse lingers over the wicked and their families, but He forever favors residence of those who do what is right.

God treats the arrogant as they treat others, mocking the mockers, scorning the scornful, but He pours out His grace on the humble.

In the end, the wise will receive honor, but fools will face humiliation.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 3 (The Voice)

[Psalm 3]

Covered by the Glory

King David’s song when he was forced to flee from Absalom, his own son

[The Humbling of a King]

Lord, I have so many enemies, so many who are against me.

Listen to how they whisper their slander against me, saying:

“Look! He’s hopeless! Even God can’t save him from this!”

Pause in his presence

[The Help of God]

But in the depths of my heart I truly know

that you, Yahweh, have become my Shield;

You take me and surround me with yourself.

Your glory covers me continually.

You lift high my head when I bow low in shame.

I have cried out to you, Yahweh, from your holy presence.

You send me a Father’s help.

Pause in his presence

[The Song of Safety]

So now I’ll lie down and sleep like a baby—

then I’ll awake in safety, for you surround me with your glory.

Even though dark powers prowl around me,

I won’t be afraid.

[The Secret of Strength]

I simply cry out to you:

“Rise up and help me, Lord! Come and save me!”

And you will slap them in the face,

breaking the power of their words to harm me.

My true hero comes to my rescue,

for the Lord alone is my Savior.

What a feast of favor and bliss he gives his people!

Pause in his presence

The Book of Psalms, Poem 3 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 14]

God Looks Down from Heaven

For the Pure and Shining One, by King David

Only the withering soul would say to himself,

“There is no God.”

Anyone who thinks like this is corrupt and callous,

depraved and detestable, devoid of what is good.

The Lord looks down in love,

bending over heaven’s balcony,

looking over all of Adam’s sons and daughters.

He’s looking to see if there is anyone who acts wisely,

any who are searching for God and wanting to please him.

But no, everyone has wandered astray,

walking stubbornly toward evil.

Not one is good; he can’t even find one.

Look how they live in luxury while exploiting my people!

Won’t these workers of wickedness ever learn?

They don’t ever even think of praying to God.

But just look at them now, in panic, trembling with terror.

For the Lord is on the side of the generation of loyal lovers.

The Lord is always the safest place for the poor

when the workers of wickedness oppress them.

How I wish that Israel’s rescue

would arise from the midst of Zion!

When his people are restored,

Jacob’s joy will break forth

and Israel will be glad!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 14 (The Passion Translation)

to be concluded by the paired chapter of the Testaments with Habakkuk 2 as the 7th chapter of Acts that outlines Hebraic History and God’s seed of rebirth for all who will “believe...” as told by Stephen at a time when some people chose to hate him for what he shared, with Stephen ending as a martyr for Love:

[Stephen, Full of the Holy Spirit]

Then the Chief Priest said, “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Stephen replied, “Friends, fathers, and brothers, the God of glory

appeared to our father Abraham when he was still in Mesopotamia, before the move to Haran, and told him, ‘Leave your country and family and go to the land I’ll show you.’

“So he left the country of the Chaldees and moved to Haran. After the death of his father, he immigrated to this country where you now live, but God gave him nothing, not so much as a foothold. He did promise to give the country to him and his son later on, even though Abraham had no son at the time. God let him know that his offspring would move to an alien country where they would be enslaved and brutalized for four hundred years. ‘But,’ God said, ‘I will step in and take care of those slaveholders and bring my people out so they can worship me in this place.’

“Then he made a covenant with him and signed it in Abraham’s flesh by circumcision. When Abraham had his son Isaac, within eight days he reproduced the sign of circumcision in him. Isaac became father of Jacob, and Jacob father of twelve ‘fathers,’ each faithfully passing on the covenant sign.

“But then those ‘fathers,’ burning up with jealousy, sent Joseph off to Egypt as a slave. God was right there with him, though—he not only rescued him from all his troubles but brought him to the attention of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He was so impressed with Joseph that he put him in charge of the whole country, including his own personal affairs.

“Later a famine descended on that entire region, stretching from Egypt to Canaan, bringing terrific hardship. Our hungry fathers looked high and low for food, but the cupboard was bare. Jacob heard there was food in Egypt and sent our fathers to scout it out. Having confirmed the report, they went back to Egypt a second time to get food. On that visit, Joseph revealed his true identity to his brothers and introduced the Jacob family to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and everyone else in the family, seventy-five in all. That’s how the Jacob family got to Egypt.

“Jacob died, and our fathers after him. They were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb for which Abraham paid a good price to the sons of Hamor.

“When the four hundred years were nearly up, the time God promised Abraham for deliverance, the population of our people in Egypt had become very large. And there was now a king over Egypt who had never heard of Joseph. He exploited our race mercilessly. He went so far as forcing us to abandon our newborn infants, exposing them to the elements to die a cruel death.

“In just such a time Moses was born, a most beautiful baby. He was hidden at home for three months. When he could be hidden no longer, he was put outside—and immediately rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter, who mothered him as her own son. Moses was educated in the best schools in Egypt. He was equally impressive as a thinker and an athlete.

“When he was forty years old, he wondered how everything was going with his Hebrew kin and went out to look things over. He saw an Egyptian abusing one of them and stepped in, avenging his underdog brother by knocking the Egyptian flat. He thought his brothers would be glad that he was on their side, and even see him as an instrument of God to deliver them. But they didn’t see it that way. The next day two of them were fighting and he tried to break it up, told them to shake hands and get along with each other: ‘Friends, you are brothers, why are you beating up on each other?’

“The one who had started the fight said, ‘Who put you in charge of us? Are you going to kill me like you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’ When Moses heard that, realizing that the word was out, he ran for his life and lived in exile over in Midian. During the years of exile, two sons were born to him.

“Forty years later, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to him in the guise of flames of a burning bush. Moses, not believing his eyes, went up to take a closer look. He heard God’s voice: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Frightened nearly out of his skin, Moses shut his eyes and turned away.

“God said, ‘Kneel and pray. You are in a holy place, on holy ground. I’ve seen the agony of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their groans. I’ve come to help them. So get yourself ready; I’m sending you back to Egypt.’

“This is the same Moses whom they earlier rejected, saying, ‘Who put you in charge of us?’ This is the Moses that God, using the angel flaming in the burning bush, sent back as ruler and redeemer. He led them out of their slavery. He did wonderful things, setting up God-signs all through Egypt, down at the Red Sea, and out in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to his congregation, ‘God will raise up a prophet just like me from your descendants.’ This is the Moses who stood between the angel speaking at Sinai and your fathers assembled in the wilderness and took the life-giving words given to him and handed them over to us, words our fathers would have nothing to do with.

“They craved the old Egyptian ways, whining to Aaron, ‘Make us gods we can see and follow. This Moses who got us out here miles from nowhere—who knows what’s happened to him!’ That was the time when they made a calf-idol, brought sacrifices to it, and congratulated each other on the wonderful religious program they had put together.

“God wasn’t at all pleased; but he let them do it their way, worship every new god that came down the pike—and live with the consequences, consequences described by the prophet Amos:

Did you bring me offerings of animals and grains

those forty wilderness years, O Israel?

Hardly. You were too busy building shrines

to war gods, to sex goddesses,

Worshiping them with all your might.

That’s why I put you in exile in Babylon.

“And all this time our ancestors had a tent shrine for true worship, made to the exact specifications God provided Moses. They had it with them as they followed Joshua, when God cleared the land of pagans, and still had it right down to the time of David. David asked God for a permanent place for worship. But Solomon built it.

“Yet that doesn’t mean that Most High God lives in a building made by carpenters and masons. The prophet Isaiah put it well when he wrote,

“Heaven is my throne room;

I rest my feet on earth.

So what kind of house

will you build me?” says God.

“Where I can get away and relax?

It’s already built, and I built it.”

“And you continue, so bullheaded! Calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears! Deliberately ignoring the Holy Spirit, you’re just like your ancestors. Was there ever a prophet who didn’t get the same treatment? Your ancestors killed anyone who dared talk about the coming of the Just One. And you’ve kept up the family tradition—traitors and murderers, all of you. You had God’s Law handed to you by angels—gift-wrapped!—and you squandered it!”

At that point they went wild, a rioting mob of catcalls and whistles and invective. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, hardly noticed—he only had eyes for God, whom he saw in all his glory with Jesus standing at his side. He said, “Oh! I see heaven wide open and the Son of Man standing at God’s side!”

Yelling and hissing, the mob drowned him out. Now in full stampede, they dragged him out of town and pelted him with rocks. The ringleaders took off their coats and asked a young man named Saul to watch them.

As the rocks rained down, Stephen prayed, “Master Jesus, take my life.” Then he knelt down, praying loud enough for everyone to hear, “Master, don’t blame them for this sin”—his last words. Then he died.

The Book of Acts, Chapter 7 (The Message)

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imperfectfools · 6 years

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Phoenix as a changeling, maybe?

(( OOPS I DID ANOTHER RAMBLE. UNDER THE CUT IT GOES ))

I was thinking that too, but definitely more Changeling: the Dreaming, than the Lost. The nature of the Lost is a bit too dour for Phoenix I think. Phoenix is a happy art law boy.

Unfortunately, I don’t have my copy of the rulebook with me, but wikis & the internet exist so let’s see what I can come up with from that.

He’s definitely in the Seelie court 100%. I’m thinking perhaps Eshu for his kith. The Eshu are like travelling bards and Phoenix was an art student. I would say perhaps his chosen profession of defense attorney may lead to a bit too much Banality, but we still got some Ace Attorney elements in this setting so I think he’ll be fine.

This is quoting a wiki but I can almost guarantee it was plucked out of the book itself:

Birthrights:Spirit Pathways - Eshu have an amazing sense of direction and exquisite timing; they always seem to arrive at their destination at the most opportune moments. The path an Eshu follows is always the most interesting route possible, filled with danger and challenge. Seelie triumph righteously over adversity.

FrailtiesRecklessness - Confidence and curiosity are inborn traits. Eshu cannot resist a challenge, gamble, or quest if there’s a way to come out of it alive. They’re not stupid–they won’t take on suicide missions–but they do believe their luck can carry them through any hardship.

Changeling Phoenix is a bit more optimistic through all his court adventures, not as ready to think of a setback as the end. By some horror he is a hair more reckless, but no less durable. I imagine changeling Phoenix would have perhaps taken Manfred’s assertion of the trial finishing in 3 minutes as a challenge to do just that - and get that Not Guilty verdict.

His Seelie Legacy is definitely that of Comrade, like come on. And it is his Dominant Legacy no fucking question.

You value friendship above all other things and strive to prove yourself worthy of other people’s trust. Other values may be important to you, but you place your personal connections above all other considerations. You are willing to face almost any danger to aid friends in need, even if they do not always do the same in return.

Quest: Gain Willpower every time you aid a friend by risking your own interests.Ban: Never terminate a friendship, even after your friend has violated your trust.

His Unseelie Legacy is harder to pin down, but I’m thinking maybe Pandora

Like Pandora, you just can’t seem to keep your box shut. You open your mouth, and trouble flows from it in great crashing waves. You just can’t help yourself. You love to get someone in trouble by revealing their secrets for them. Furthermore, your curiosity often overcomes you, especially if you have been forbidden to go somewhere or do something. The more someone insists that you shouldn’t do something, the more it makes you want to do exactly that.Quest: You regain Willpower whenever you survive something dangerous that you were strictly forbidden to do or warned against.Ban: Never keep a secret; never obey an order.

Like y’all remember how in pretty much every case in the first game Phoenix went up to the culprit & told them what he was going to do AND what proof he had??

Changelings and vampires do not have an inborn animosity, but the long life of a vampire can make them prone to routine and therefore Banality. I imagine once Phoenix reconnects with Miles, though, he does his best to bring a healthy dose of chaos and light. Though the reminder of beauty and life and vitality Phoenix exudes sometimes pains Miles in ways hard to describe.

They both find some humor in their respective situations; who would’ve thought neither of them would end up human?

Changelings are not terribly trusted by Garou in general, but Maya and Phoenix get along well and are just as close here as in canon.She still acts as Phoenix’s defense assistant. Maya is more open about her connection to Phoenix because of how outside the fae are from the Weaver and Wyrm, but even this association leads to whispers and concerns. The fae are alien and various tribes have been slighted by them in the past.

But Maya remains firm in her support of Phoenix. Though she realizes his ties with Miles could unravel a whole bunch if anyone found out. Still, she won’t tell Phoenix what to do and is ready to face the consequences of their mutual connections to vampires should they come to light.

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foursprout-blog · 6 years

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147 Women Share The One Thing They Really Love About Themselves

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/happiness/147-women-share-the-one-thing-they-really-love-about-themselves/

147 Women Share The One Thing They Really Love About Themselves

iStockPhoto.com / Anne Baek

1. “My heart. It’s been broken, hurt, but still works!”

2. “I feel pretty without makeup on.”

3. “My laugh. I love it. I can get a whole room laughing if I start to laugh.”

4. “My ability to laugh at the smallest and silliest things, to look at the world on brighter perspective than it actually is, and my hair.”

5. “Last night, I was feeling lost. I’m 42, starting life completely over. And you know that moment you look in the mirror and wonder who it is staring back at you? So I sat down and wrote out everything that knew about myself. Positive, currently, physically, struggling, feeling…It helped me center myself again.”

6. “My height. I’m super-proud of my height. When I was a li’l girl, I always thought of it as my disadvantage; well, people made me feel so. But as I grow older, I realized that people are just envious of it (or in other words, they just couldn’t stop comparing, complaining and having enough working brain cells to say nice things, just because they were born to be less tall). I believed everyone should be proud of who they are and what makes them beautiful.”

7. “My ability to still get up daily and do stuff although I suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and barely feel like moving. I do it all for my two beautiful children and my husband.”

8. “I love my cooking skills! No matter if I’ve had it before, or even if I like it, I can get down in the kitchen and it’s so relaxing for me.”

9. “My strength to push on….My ability to see and laugh at the slightest things….Plus I never give up….Always know my today is beautiful and my tomorrow is super-amazing…”

10. “I love so many things about me. My curves, my eyes, my thighs, my butt, my height. I’ve gotten so much better at loving myself since I’ve started trying.”

11. “My curiosity and open-mindedness. If you’re a different faith—teach me about it. Different language—I want to try to speak it. Different culture—immerse me in it. Different sexuality—share who you love with me. Different body than mine—laugh at my able-bodied self as you write your name with your feet. Stereotyped—share with me and break the mold.”

12. “Um. Well. I’m 31 & have three kids, never exercise and have managed to stay relatively on the small side so I guess that’s pretty cool. Thanks to my mom for the good genes? “

13. “I think it’s my self-awareness. It leads me to my intuition and so it makes me better read between the lines when others tell me something about themselves.”

14. “My accomplishments. A lot of times I feel down and lost and wonder what I’m doing with my life. But if I stop and take a moment to think about it, I realize I’ve done a hell of a lot for only being in my 20s. I’ve lived in two countries, visited a whole lot more. Gotten my bachelor’s and master’s. And I didn’t drop out or give up when things got rough. I didn’t become a druggy or an alcoholic; my worst addiction is to books and sweets. I might have put on a bit more weight than I’d have liked in the last few years, but I’m in a healthy weight range and my overall health is decent enough. I might not always like the way I look, but even if I had the money I’m not sure I’d actually change anything. I am just me. I don’t need labels or to live up to others’ expectations and I live for myself. It doesn’t matter if I’m single or that I’ve been back in the states for a few months but haven’t started working yet. I deserve a break and I feel more mentally stable than I did for a good while. I might not always remember this right away, but I am awesome. And all of you are awesome, too. It’s so easy to focus on the negatives, but if you just stop and think the positives can always be found.”

15. “My legs! They keep me walking and hold my body up. Some people just don’t know what they have until it’s gone or they have it and are unable to use them.”

16. “My optimism! When things go wrong, I try and put it in perspective and say, ‘If that’s the worst thing that happens today, it’s a good.’”

17. “I love how I see the light even in the darkest hour. I love how I see people on the inside and believing that there are still some good in this chaotic life. How I manage to survive in spite of all the apocalyptic events that this cruel world has given me. I love how I see more clearly, how I am blessed to have all those people in my life that stayed by my side through thick and thin. I love being alive. And I am very much thankful to our Lord for the gift of life and for his unconditional love and understanding.”

18. “My hair. I hated it growing up and was bullied a lot. Kids would pull on it or throw things to make them get stuck. It was horrible. In my 20s I learned to love it, since not everyone has curly hair.”

19. “My strength, not physical but emotional, spiritual. I refuse to be beaten down, I always find the strength to get back up and carry on.”

20. “For now, I love my spirit and everything about myself and that I’m passing it along to my children. “

21. “My level of tenacity; the desire to ‘keep plowing the fields,’ even after all that life’s thrown my way. I was a born fighter and I’ll never go down without one.”

22. “The fact I can laugh at myself even during hard times, accepting how I am now and the progression path in still on, how much love and care I have to give.”

23. “I love me some good laughter. I love my body. I love the way I can crack jokes and make people laugh. I love how I am strong-willed to do things perfectly although it makes me beat myself down if I don’t. I love my natural hair it gives me so much life.”

24. “Eyes that turn from deep blue to deep green, I sing and dance like I was born to do both; I think of everything as a blessing or a lesson these days, and I’m finally starting to love my body inside and out.”

25. “I love the fact that I can have a random conversation with a stranger and we both end up a little bit more cheery.”

26. “I like how strong I’ve been the last few years, how creative I am with my acting and how wise I am for my age.”

27. “I worked really hard over the past two years to lose 50 pounds and keep it off. I love that I am tenacious and determined. When I want something, I get it. I’m proud of how I look and I feel confident in my body now.”

28. “I can get really happy at the smallest of stuff. I guess that’s a plus. And I smile literally all the time. A little more than others when I don’t have resting bitch face on. Guess that’s amazing.”

29. “My eyes, my sense of humor, my appetite, my compassion toward others.”

30. “I love when I can throw some jokes and people laugh with me. That feels so great.”

31. “My eyes, they are a unique green. I also love that I am an empathetic, I’m caring, loving, and a good friend. People feel calm and happy around me, so they are always open and honest.”

32. “I really like my (slightly) sarcastic sense of humor and how well I can get along with others because of it.”

33. “I am a great confidant have always kept my friends’ secrets for them and have always been proud of myself for that.”

34. “I can actually say 4 for the first time… 1… I love my eyes. 2… I love my hair 3… I love my legs 4… I love my face without makeup And I’m still learning to love more about myself.”

35. “My humor and my face…I like my face a lot except that I don’t seem to have eyelashes without makeup on lol.”

36. “My self-esteem., I worked hard to accept the way I look and now I love every bit of myself. Stretch marks and everything. They are a part of me.”

37. “My determination to not quit even when life knocked me down hard. Because I know after every thunder and rain…the sun arises!”

38. “I like all I have done in my life…I like my strength, my ethics. I like my thinking…I like what I did wrong and what I did right.”

39. “I love my resilience in trying to make the world a better place in being a kind person whether I get the same in return or not.”

40. “My sense of humor, I’m hilarious. I’m cool, I’m beautiful, sexy, kind, wise, smart, attentive, not pretentious. The way I enjoy life as it comes…And I can keep going on. I’m in love with myself!”

41. “Always positive! Accepting what comes and allowing it to leave when it’s time.”

42. “At 49 I still look young, even I been through many trials in life. IDK, maybe I laughed at them while dealing with them.”

43. “I am goofy. Way too goofy. I sometimes get in trouble because of it, but nonetheless I still love it about myself.”

44. “I am kind and I have strong moral convictions. I am also not easily swayed by money or material things.”

45. “Despite feeling anxious and overthinking things, my way of finding solutions to the problems that I put forth onto myself or others do.”

46. “My eyes. My hair. My nose. My tattoos. My legs. My ass. My sarcasm. My mother instincts. There’s so much I like about myself.”

47. “I’m a jack of all trades, so people can depend on me.”

48. “My ability to go for days without human interaction.”

49. “My caring, loving and all-round great personality.”

50. “My skin, my hands, my sarcasm, my personality, I can go on but I’d sound like Kanye.”

51. “My butt!!! It’s always there to support me when I need it—after 18-hour days of craziness.”

52. “My compassion, but even though I feel for others, I need to remember to take care of myself.”

53. “My sense of humor. Finding something comical just about everything.”

54. “I love myself for being optimistic.”

55. “My ability to persevere in the most challenging of times.”

56. “My being bubbly and my chubby cheeks—ha-ha if it’s only one then just my being bubbly ha-ha.”

57. “Despite people constantly letting me down all my life, I still have a loving and trusting heart.”

58. “My ability to find humor in almost any situation. I crack myself up sometimes.”

59. “The fact that I always bounce back no matter how hard life kicks me down.”

60. “My ability to talk to others and be positive for them. “

61. “My frequent self-imposed mandate to stay calm in every situation even if inside my mind is a constant chaos.”

62. “My ability to eat a whole large pizza even being 5ft tall and 110lbs.”

63. “My confidence and my attitude toward life!”

64. “I am truthful and honest.”

65. “I’m soft and squishy and perfect for snuggles.”

66. “I can love unconditionally and care for people.”

67. “I like that I don’t take things too seriously.”

68. “I love my ability to distance myself from people or situations that I don’t find worth wasting my time on.”

69. “I like me being weird. It means I’m unique. It means I’m different and I love anything that’s weird.”

70. “My caring heart for my family and my love for my pets.”

71. “I’m a little crazy! But it’s fun—most of the time! “

72. “I’m always rooting for the underdogs; I make friends with the quiet ones in the room first.”

73. “I’m empathetic without trying…and my freckles.”

74. “My calm nature. Life is too sweet to stress yourself.”

75. “My intelligence. And my eyes. And fuck anyone who says otherwise.”

76. “I am a fighter. A resilient one.”

77. “My love of reading. Both of my toddlers are now very interested in books.”

78. “I like my empathy. I feel for other people deeply.”

79. “My stubbornness.”

80. “My resourcefulness. If I need something to happen, I find a way to make it happen.”

81. “Most of all that I’m confident, positive, independent & spiritual.”

82. “I enjoy being able to have nonverbal conversations.”

83. “The fact that I can usually stay positive even though I struggle with depression.”

84. “My witty personality and my kind heart!”

85. “I am incredibly smart and successful as a result.”

86. “Absolutely, positively no filter.”

87. “My ability to understand people and genuinely take an interest in them.”

88. “My hair. It’s just fun. It never does what I want, but it makes me look good every time.”

89. “I like that I can be alone and still be happy. “

90. “I can find happiness easily.”

91. “My eyes, creativity, perseverance, intelligence, thighs.”

92. “I love all of me, I am beautifully and wonderfully made by GOD.”

93. “My determination to do whatever it takes to care and provide for my children.”

94. “My ability to relate to anyone and genuinely listen…”

95. “I can down a bottle of vodka without dying.”

96. “I wear what I feel comfortable and confident in even if other people don’t like it.”

97. “My ability to bounce back stronger from deficit.”

98. “I try my best to be patient and helpful.”

99. “My passion in bringing out the best in people.”

100. “My strength and capacity to endure.”

101. “How I don’t hold grudges against anybody.”

102. “I’m optimistic and never even realized it until others mentioned it. I give myself hope.”

103. “My determination and my ability to control some certain things in my life and around me even at my young age.”

104. “Strong woman after all and will always stand up, head held high. Will always forgive and love.”

105. “I can cook and love entertaining and doing what I can for my friends. I’m kind and thoughtful.”

106. “My ability to still care about you even when you don’t care about me.”

107. “That I can sometimes see the good or have an understanding in different situations.”

108. “My courage to love even after being left heartbroken so many times.”

109. “I genuinely care about everyone even if they don’t feel the same.”

110. “Even though it can get me in trouble and hurt, my huge, caring heart.”

111. “My eyes and my mother instincts.”

112. “I have a big heart. I forgive easily and I think that’s my weakness as well.”

113. “I can make people laugh with my corny jokes and sassiness.”

114. “My will to fight everything that comes my way. I just don’t give up easily.”

115. “The way I respect the difference in opinion.”

116. “Is it wrong the fact I love my weight? Well, I’m overweight and confident enough to love it.”

117. “My huge heart. Also hate myself for the same reason.”

118. “I know how to make people comfortable and have a good time no matter what kind of person they are!”

119. “I love, I care, I trust a lot…I provide spiritually positive waves to those next to me.”

120. “My ability to see the good in every bad situation or person.”

121. “I take care of myself.”

122. “I am pretty without contour and a whole bag of makeup.”

123. “My luscious hair and my obnoxious laugh.”

124. “My style, my sense of humor and my personality.”

125. “My wit, intelligence, honesty, and my smile. I’m kind, thoughtful, and generous too!”

126. “My compassion toward others.”

127. “Being resilient.”

128. “Being independent.”

129. “People seem to open up to me. “

130. “My innate optimism.”

131. “My drive to self-improve.”

132. “My positive outlook in life.”

133. “My crooked tooth.”

134. “I love my dimples!”

135. “My ability to laugh at myself!”

136. “My compassionate, elastic heart.”

137. “My integrity.”

138. “My creativity.”

139. “My big hazel eyes.”

140. “Being an idiot. I like being an idiot to the man I love.”

141. “My determination.”

142. “My love for people.”

143. “A good listener.”

144. “I do what I want to do.”

145. “My fingernails.”

146. “I am a strong and independent woman.”

147. “I forgive people easily. Even an asshole.”

#Happiness

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purpletidalwavebouquetlove-blog · 6 years

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Vegetarian Diaries: February workout playlist

Hey beautiful’s,

So I am back with another monthly playlist blog, and for this one, it’s going to be kind of long because I did just purchase an album, so just bare with me.

So, for song #1 I have hailey steinfeld’s “let me go,” and how I relate to this song is my dad abandoned me back in 2013 and I have no kind of contact whether that’d be talking to him on the phone or just going to see him in general. There is literally no contact between us and it’s been that way for almost 5 years, but it’s fine because I am doing just fine without him.

So, for my bonus song of the month, I actually purchased an album. Yes, I purchased the NF “Perception” album, and yes I know I’m a late bird, but that’s okay, especially when you don’t have the money for the longest time. So, just bare with me.

So, my first favorite song off of this album is “Intro 3.” This is one of my favorites because the bridge reminds me of how angry I was at my dad when he first abandoned me. When I mean angry, I wanted to choke him, throw him over a table, I just wanted to kill him so bad, but that’s why I recommend yoga videos to you guys because it helps with that peace of mind, plus at the end of the day it’s not going to matter what they’re up too, or what they’re doing. All that matters is you, your health, your happiness, and how much you love yourself because if that person that hurt you was standing right in front of you, would they regret hurting you?

My second favorite song off of his album is “10 Feet Down.” I like this song because the former pastor of my church described us as we’re all alcoholics whether we’re underaged and don’t drink yet because of it, or we are and we choose not to drink even if we are because it’s disgusting and very bad for us in general. You’re probably like, “what do you mean?” And, what I mean by this is, we all have our Jack Daniel’s moments where we just give up and say, “I’m done,” and we just wallow in sadness like an alcoholic. Trust me, when I say don’t give up no matter what you’re going through because you will always make it out of the storm alive, and I say this because at one point I did give up, and how I did this was I would lay in my bed for a few days at a time, cry, and chow down on a whole family sized bag of Doritos, and I started to have heavy bleeding from my period at only 13 years old. I went to the doctors and they drew some blood and if you read my last blog I had a bad Body Mass Index and a fatty wax caused from high cholesterol in my blood vessels causing the blood to stop right in front of it, and I would’ve died if it would’ve reached my heart at 13 years old, so I’m telling you guys, despite trials and errors of life, do not give up. Love yourself, take care of yourself, and take care of your bodies.

My next favorite song from his album is “Dreams.” I like this song because despite our most broken moments in life, when you look in the mirror at the end of the day when you’re brushing your teeth or washing your face for the night what do you see? Do you see a person chasing after your dreams? Because the most important thing if you are not happy is doing something that makes you happy.

My next favorite song is “Let You Down.” I like this song because despite me loving myself and my body, I am not perfect and I still have moments of grief about my dad abandoning me that comes over me sometimes, however I choose that peace such as meditation or yoga to really help me give me a peace of mind in those moments, and it’s what helps me choose love over grief.

My next favorite song is “Destiny.” I like this song because I’m graduating soon and the most important thing after you graduate is to have a destiny, stick to it, and go after it.

My next favorite song is “My Life.” It’s my favorite song because it reminds me of me and my brother’s relationship. We’re very close and probably will stay that way until one of us dies, and it just reminds me of that.

My next favorite song is “If You Want Love” because it just reminds me of love, especially hard, tough, stubborn love is not always going to stay, and you will have to go through a painful battle if it chooses not to stay.

My next favorite song is “Remember This,” and I love this song because there is a line that says, “say goodbye to the old me. We ain’t friends anymore. You don’t know me,” and this line is so powerful because it is important to constantly shed your old altar ego because if you don’t you’ll just have a bunch of demons dancing around in your head, so always shed your altar ego off.

My last and final favorite song from this album is “Lie.” I like this song because I had a crush last year that played me so hard. He was texting 3 other girls at the same time he was dating me. Ladies, if he is texting other girls while you’re still getting to know him, leave before you get into a serious relationship because he’s just being shallow and it will leave you broken, and ya’ll deserve to be happy.

Moving off of the “Perception” album. My next favorite song is “Rockabye” by Anne-Marie. I like this song because my mom sacrificed so much for me as a single mother after my parents got divorced and it just reminds me of that and I cry almost every time I hear it.

My last and final favorite song is a bonus song, and that’s “Soldier” by Fleurie. I love this song because we are all soldiers fighting our own battles. It’s just a matter if we make it about alive or choose to remain defeated, and I would never choose that on anyone because it is absolutely devastating to see someone who feels so defeated.

That’s it for today’s blog. I will have a link to each of these songs on my page, so if you want to check them out go ahead, and maybe it’ll inspire you to want to add them to your workout playlist.

Remember beautful’s

Spread Kindness In An Unkind World.

Until next time,

Stay healthy.

😘

#spread kindness #stay healthy #love yourself

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faithfulnews · 7 years

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Kaepernick's Confusion: LGBT and Islamo-Leftist Values Aren't Exactly Harmonious

Colin Kaepernick's website helps to explain a lot of the misguided confusion and misunderstanding surrounding the NFL anthem protests. In a previous post, I outlined five reasons why the NFL protests are illogical. And in this post, I'll highlight the ideological self-contradictions of Kaepernick's activism. In the Gospel of Mark 3:25, Jesus states, "If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand." (NIV) If the foundation is self-contradictory, any doctrine, movement or activism based on that foundation is bound to ultimately bring about chaos and discord. Islamo-leftism is self-contradictory. Self-gratification and altruism are self-contradictory. And highlighting wanted criminals and murderers as role models is not a good place to begin for offering role models to troubled inner-city youths. In searching for some kind of foundation of thought or virtue at Kaepernick's website, there is nothing to find. The "About" drop-down tab of his website menu offers an image (webclip pictured) with one sentence of a description: "THE MISSION OF THE COLIN KAEPERNICK FOUNDATION IS TO FIGHT OPPRESSION OF ALL KINDS GLOBALLY, THROUGH EDUCATION AND SOCIAL ACTIVISM." Likewise, the "About" page at his 'Know Your Rights Camp" offers a one-sentence description: "OUR GOAL: To help build a stronger generation of people that will create the change that is much needed in this world." While these sound like positive missions and goals, there is no actual information on how to "properly interact with law enforcement in various scenarios." and the outlining of basic constitutional rights, as suggested by the page on the youth camp. It is only by digging deeper that one can try to determine what "self-empowerment" means politically for Colin:

"KNOW YOUR RIGHTS CAMP is a free campaign for youth fully funded by Colin Kaepernick to raise awareness on higher education, self empowerment, and instruction to properly interact with law enforcement in various scenarios." Rather than providing any practical information on legal rights, there is a list of 10 personal "rights" that were borrowed from the Black Panthers: 10 Points 1. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE FREE. 2. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE HEALTHY. 3. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE BRILLIANT. 4. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE SAFE. 5. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE LOVED. 6. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE COURAGEOUS. 7. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE ALIVE. 8. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE TRUSTED. 9. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE EDUCATED. 10. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. The Nation explains: "The free breakfasts and the 10 points both derive, intentionally, from the political legacy of the Black Panthers. I spoke with Ameer Loggins, a young writer and PhD candidate at Cal-Berkeley who helped develop the Know Your Rights curriculum as well as the ten-point plan. “This is an extension of the Freedom Schools of the civil-rights movement, the Panther schools, and all non-institutional educational programs that go out into the communities." The original Black Panther Ten Points of "What We Want Now!" include both communist and racial affirmative action ideals: 1. We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black Community. 2. We want full employment for our people. 3. We want an end to the robbery by the Capitalists of our Black Community. 4. We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings. 5. We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present day society. 6. We want all Black men to be exempt from military service. 7. We want an immediate end to POLICE BRUTALITY and MURDER of Black people. 8. We want freedom for all Black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails. 9. We want all Black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their Black Communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States. 10. We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace. The idea of Communism is clearly shown within the Black Panther points. A brief look at history will show that the most oppressive and deadly regimes in history were communist ones. So the roots of Colin's fight against oppression is not backed up well by history. Though the Black Panther's goals were mainly communist and unrealistic, at least there were specific goals in mind. Colin's points are more misleading than anything. If a young person believes that every person he meets must love him because he has a perceived human right to be loved, then there will obviously be a lot of disappointment. The deeper problem is that Colin apparently does not have any cohesive foundation for his activism. He appears to be promoting basic moral relativism, which is a recipe for personal disappointment and for chaos in society. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a strong and cohesive foundation in the teachings of Christ. In order to be considered valid, activism should probably be based on objective principles and truth, not merely subjective desires and wants. both ML King and Christ emphasized the need for our actions to be based on a strong foundation: "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." (Matthew 7:24 NIV) The main problem is that the ideological foundation Colin is presenting for his movement is at best non-existent and at worst harmful to children and to society in general. If we understand that we have God-given value, we will not be needy of affirmation from others and seek a Black Panther "right" to be affirmed and loved by others. The basis of activism in Christ is the altruistic love of God based on God's powerful good nature, as ML King apparently understood: "Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. ... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that." The examples of activism in Scripture show an attempt to "respect the position while opposing the principle" - and the NFL anthem protests are a big failure in this regard. Colin apparently isn't interested in any Christian principles when it comes to activism. Let's look at the basic problem of Islamo-leftism. While at his linked websites there is no mention of the great strides won by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. based on the altruism outlined in scripture, of which there is plenty of material to draw from, there is a promotion of Malcolm X and his biography is given to all the students, as The Shadow League outlines: "After the camp, Kaepernick gave out back packs that contained ancestry kits and a copy of the Autobiography of Malcolm X. It seems that the moment that Kaepernick realized that he hadn’t had knowledge of self was similar to the experiences Malcolm X had in prison when he converted to Islam, which is detailed in his autobiography. “For me the growth in my knowledge through some of the research my woman helped through,” Kaepernick told the campers. “I was able to identify myself with my community. With my lady, I was able to trace my ancestry and my lineage back to Ghana, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast. My existence wasn’t a slave. I was an African man. I was from a culture of kings, queens and pharoahs.”"

The promotion of Malcolm X as a role model is essentially a promotion of Islam, which Malcolm X held as the basis of his beliefs. While Colin is, on the one hand, promoting Islam through this role model, he is also promoting LGBT rights through another role model, Assata Shakur. This woman, who is presently a fugitive wanted by the FBI, has had approximately 25 alias names and was involved in a number of serious crimes: “Between 1973 and 1977, in New York and New Jersey, Shakur was indicted ten times, resulting in seven different criminal trials. Shakur was charged with two bank robberies, the kidnapping of a Brooklyn heroin dealer, the attempted murder of two Queens police officers stemming from a January 23, 1973 failed ambush, and eight other felonies related to the Turnpike shootout.” Despite her criminal behavior, she is basically treated as a hero by Colin Kaepernick and his money has been donated to a charity named after her. Colin Retweeeted a happy birthday message to Assata confirming his personal approval. What is perhaps the deeper irony, though, is that the non-profit organization that he donated to, Assata's Daughter's, is a strong promoter of LGBT rights, as noted at their "Our Politics" page of their website: “We fight for gender self-determination and all other forms of self-determination.” There is a strong sense of denial by leftists when it comes to the fact that Islam and LGBT rights are mutually opposed to each other. But denial will never change this fact. Colin has apparently just signed a book deal for $1-million with Random House. Before Kaepernick writes his million dollar book I pray that he will be able to answer life's million dollar question: "What is it really all about?" I pray that Colin does some research and soul searching and comes to realize that there can only be one true and logical foundation for a correct worldview. And if he is promoting two opposing ideologies then there is something seriously wrong with the foundation of his own worldview. The focus on historical slavery today in the US is not just a focus on race, but also economic oppression. And the idea that everything is about class struggle is the foundation of Marxism. This is one reason why some believe that the exploitation of the history of slavery is being used intensely right now in the US in order to lay the groundwork for African Americans to be used as tools in a civil war in America to change it from a capitalist to a communist form of government. The phrase “Islamo-Leftism” was coined in France based on the exploitation of the left and Islam for the sake of a broader political revolution. For those familiar with the push for global governance, this exploitation makes sense.

The answer is not in more social programs or agitating people to protest, the answer is in knowing God personally and coming to know our God-given value in him that no one can take away or threaten. The answer is to become healed from racial bitterness and all of our pain by the presence of Christ and to let all of our burdens and wounds be placed on Christ and the cross as we are encouraged to do in scripture. And if there is a conviction to promote civil rights and laws that prevent racism, then get involved politically and offer real goals for the community, not just ideological confusion. Tags: the basis of Kaepernick's activism, Kaepernick's view of life, Kaepernick's new book deal with Random House $1 Million, Kaepernick's donation to LGBT group

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atttitudeofgratitude · 7 years

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FRIDAY!, July 14th, 2017

TODAY I CAN: - [x] Daily Word WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF GOD. - [x] LOVE ❤️ It's not raining! Mornings with Houston 😇 and R ❤️ - [x] Meditate 😌💨 - [x] Journal 📚📖🖊📝 - [x] COLORING!🖍 - [x] GLUTES 1 - [x] GLO 🔆 - [x] Happier 2017! - [x] MOVE 🏃🏼‍♀️😍❤️ Be Brave! Take a second to celebrate the fact that this run is whatever you'd like it to be. Dance it out on street corners or take in the scenery. Run with joy and gratitude. 🎶🙏🏽🙌🏽✝️🎶👯 - [x] DANCE!👯 - [x] RUN 🏃🏼‍♀️😍❤️! - [x] Daily Word - [x] JOURNEY ** NOTE FROM MUM 😇💛✨👯 - [x] Articles - [x] Pictures - [x] Podcasts! Side Hustle, Running Vegan radio - [x] Instagram 1 - [x] The Word for you today! "YEAH BABY!" - [x] STRENGTH 💪🏽 ** I AM STRONG 💪🏽 - [x] STRETCHING - [x] YOGA 🤸🏼‍♀️ HEADSTANDS! - [x] GLUTES - [x] FOAM ROLLING ** I think I'll just be happy today From Ms. Coller!❤️😊💛✨ - [x] Find yoga! Thanks, prayers are always good. I am doing fine, just waiting to get even better. Love you, poppa It seems like the absolute perfect fit for you and your high-energy, never-ending positivity. Your posts always make me smile when I see them. — Rowan!💜 - [x] Shower - [x] Find yoga! - [x] EAT - [x] 3:00 CLASS! CANCELLED! - [x] Wipe out shower - [x] Laundry ✔️✔️ - [x] Water plants - [x] Mail - [x] Newspaper - [x] Garbage WALKS!, Productivity! - [x] RTA Article! HOUSTON HOME 😇😊💛💙✨ Dinner with family!❤️💛✨ - [x] DISHES WALK WITH HOUSTON😇💛💙✨ - [x] STABILITY BALL WALK OUT 😊 - [x] Tomorrow! - [x] BE GRATEFUL 🙏🏽🙌🏽✝️ - [x] LOVE MYSELF 😍❤ AIR RELAX, journaling! GOD GOD's WORD - [x] ZEPHANIAH 3:17 - [x] SLEEP 😴💤 Equality WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF GOD. Physicists tell us that every particle is connected to every other particle in the universe. The same is true for humanity. Nobody is separate or set apart. No one is superior or inferior. We all come from the same Divine Source. The inner light that births us and sustains us also unites us in a spiritual purpose, which is to grow and change and be. The essence of every soul is revealed as our inner spirit in which we are all one. How can we best access this God-oneness, which guides and heals? When we take a moment to focus on the heart, we find our connection to every other soul. In our oneness with God, we find our oneness with every other soul along the path of life. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and ... your neighbor as yourself. —Luke 10:27 Be Brave! Take a second to celebrate the fact that this run is whatever you'd like it to be. Dance it out on street corners or take in the scenery. Run with joy and gratitude. - [x] Happier 2017 Questions to Ask Yourself Gifts play an important role in our relationships with other people. * What's the best gift you've ever given? Received? * Do you like to be surprised by a gift, or to get something you've asked for? * Do you like getting gifts — or is it not very important to you? * Are you good at choosing gifts for other people? Some people have a real gift for gift-giving. - [x] Journey Praying in Any Season Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Scripture says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (Jas. 1:17). That verse doesn't mean that only the gifts that are good and perfect in my eyes are from God. Rather, everything He allows into my life (including disappointment and pain) is a good and perfect gift, coming from my Father of insight and understanding, who knows what is ultimately best for me. How I want a simple, childlike faith that honors God as Lord over every good experience and yet trusts Him during the hurtful experiences, too. Can you thank your "All-Knowing, All-Loving Jesus" for whatever He brings into your life today? Trust that as you walk into it, He is right there walking into it before you. Thank You, Lord, that You see the tears of a disappointed heart about to learn to trust You more. 5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;  you make my lot secure. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;  surely I have a delightful inheritance. 7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;  even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;  my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,  nor will you let your faithful[a] onesee decay. 11 You make known to me the path of life;  you will fill me with joy in your presence,  with eternal pleasures at your right hand. — Psalm 16:5-11 As I fall more in love with Jesus, I pray my expression of joyful worship will be pure and exuberant ... ! In Colossians 3:13 we read, "Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive." * And, perhaps most important, pay attention to how you feel throughout. The body often sends signals when something is going right or wrong. It’s our job to tune in to them. * Remember that no diet approach is magical. What matters is what works for you. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He loves us. He loves you, and His love is poured over us in abundance when we are in a trial. "Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts." -‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119:2‬‬ ** The more you glow, the more others glow back. From early on, social conditioning tells us that by dimming our glow others will like us more; @We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? ACTUALLY, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do...And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." ~Marianne Williamson  ✨Don't cap your radiance any longer! unlock your glow to its full brilliance 🙏 Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. — Marianne Williamson ** WELCOME TO THIS MOMENT "Life is simple. Everything happens for you, not to you. Everything happens at exactly the right moment, neither too soon nor too late. You don't have to like it... it's just easier if you do." 💛✨🌎 "Whatever is overflowing within you will spill out when you are bumped." ~Indian Proverb  Let's all do the external world a favor, and fill up our inner reserves of peace, happiness, love, caring and compassion... YOUR HEALTH IS AN INVESTMENT, NOT AN EXPENSE I can't even count how many times Ive heard women say "its too expensive" in relation to health and fitness whether it be the gym or a PT or something in between. However, I have also seen some of the same women then go out and buy themselves something expensive like a dress that they only wear ONCE. Your health is an investment and it is the longest term investment you can make.... you may not see results immediately, but what you are doing now, your future self will thank you for! Don't ever expect anyone to do the work for you. The only person who can change you, is you *** Very grateful we are alive, healthy and together Today God is with you "But they were not able to recognize who he was." Luke 24:16 TM When you face a crisis, it’s easy to lose perspective. It happened to two of Christ’s disciples on the Emmaus Road. Discouraged about His death, they were “going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their…questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was” (vv. 14-16 TM). When you take your eyes off Jesus, you start to feel helpless about your situation. Dr. Michael Youssef says, “Facing a major crisis, I tend to be the kind of person whose vision becomes blurred. My perceptions are shot. My contemplations are one-sided. I often shut out the very people who can deliver me, just like those two disciples…Their vision was blurred about the person who was walking with them and talking to them. The one whose death they were mourning was alive…but they didn’t realize it because their focus was on the wrong thing.” But everything changed the minute they recognized Jesus. “Within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There…the two…told…how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along…and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread” (vv. 33-35 NLT). Note the words “within the hour.” In an instant, they went from fear to courage, pain to joy, and despair to hope. Paul wrote, "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (Ephesians 1:18 NIV). When you stop focusing on the problem and fix your eyes on Jesus, you get 20/20 vision and you’re filled with hope.

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imreviewblog · 7 years

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12 Daily Habits Of Exceptional Leaders

One of the most popular Dilbert comic strips in the cartoon’s history begins with Dilbert’s boss relaying senior leadership’s explanation for the company’s low profits. In response to his boss, Dilbert asks incredulously, “So they’re saying that profits went up because of great leadership and down because of a weak economy?” To which Dilbert’s boss replies, “These meetings will go faster if you stop putting things in context.”

Great leadership is indeed a difficult thing to pin down and understand. You know a great leader when you’re working for one, but even they can have a hard time explaining the specifics of what they do that makes their leadership so effective.

Great leaders change us for the better. They see more in us than we see in ourselves, and they help us learn to see it too. They dream big and show us all the great things we can accomplish.

Great leadership is dynamic; it melds a variety of unique skills into an integrated whole. Great leadership is also founded in good habits. What follows are the essential habits that exceptional leaders rely on every day. Give them a try and see where they take your leadership skills.

1. Effective Communication

“The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.” —Joseph Priestley

Communication is the real work of leadership. It’s a fundamental element of how leaders accomplish their goals each and every day. You simply can’t become a great leader until you are a great communicator.

Great communicators inspire people. They listen. They create a connection with their followers that is real, emotional, and personal, regardless of any physical distance between them. Great communicators forge this connection through an understanding of people and an ability to speak directly to their needs.

2. Courage

“Courage is the first virtue that makes all other virtues possible.” —Aristotle

People will wait to see if a leader is courageous before they’re willing to follow his or her lead. People need courage in their leaders. They need someone who can make difficult decisions and watch over the good of the group. They need a leader who will stay the course when things get tough. People are far more likely to show courage themselves when their leaders do the same.

For the courageous leader adversity is a welcome test. Like a blacksmith’s molding of a red-hot iron, adversity is a trial by fire that refines leaders and sharpens their game. Adversity emboldens courageous leaders and leaves them more committed to their strategic direction.

Leaders who lack courage simply toe the company line. They follow the safest path—the path of least resistance—because they’d rather cover their backside than lead.

3. Adherence to the Golden Rule +1

“The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become.” —Jon Wolfgang von Goethe

The Golden Rule – treat others as you want to be treated – assumes that all people are the same. It assumes that, if you treat your followers the way you would want a leader to treat you, they’ll be happy. It ignores that people are motivated by vastly different things. One person loves public recognition, while another loathes being the center of attention.

Great leaders don’t treat people how they themselves want to be treated. Instead, they take the Golden Rule a step further and treat each person as he or she would like to be treated. Great leaders learn what makes people tick, recognize their needs in the moment, and adapt their leadership style accordingly.

4. Self-Awareness

“It is absurd that a man should rule others, who cannot rule himself.” —Latin Proverb

Contrary to what Dilbert might have us believe, leaders’ gaps in self-awareness are rarely due to deceitful, Machiavellian motives, or severe character deficits. In most cases, leaders—like everyone else—view themselves in a more favorable light than other people do.

Self-awareness is the foundation of emotional intelligence, a skill that 90% of top performing leaders possess in abundance. Great leaders’ high self-awareness means they have a clear and accurate image not just of their leadership style, but also of their own strengths and weaknesses. They know where they shine and where they’re weak, and they have effective strategies for leaning into their strengths and compensating for their weaknesses.

5. Passion

“If you just work on stuff that you like and are passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” —Mark Zuckerberg

Passion and enthusiasm are contagious. So are boredom and apathy. No one wants to work for a boss that’s unexcited about his or her job, or even one who’s just going through the motions. Great leaders are passionate about what they do, and they strive to share that passion with everyone around them.

6. Humility

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” —C.S. Lewis

Great leaders are humble. They don’t allow their position of authority to make them feel that they are better than anyone else. As such, they don’t hesitate to jump in and do the dirty work when needed, and they won’t ask their followers to do anything they wouldn’t be willing to do themselves.

7. Generosity

“A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.” —John Maxwell

Great leaders are generous. They share credit and offer enthusiastic praise. They’re as committed to their followers’ success as they are to their own. They want to inspire all of their employees to achieve their personal best – not just because it will make the team more successful, but because they care about each person as an individual.

8. Infectiousness

“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” —Reverend Theodore Hesburgh

Great leaders know that having a clear vision isn’t enough. You have to make that vision come alive so that your followers can see it just as clearly as you do. Great leaders do that by telling stories and painting verbal pictures so that everyone can understand not just where they’re going, but what it will look and feel like when they get there. This inspires others to internalize the vision and make it their own.

9. Authenticity

“Just be who you are and speak from your guts and heart – it’s all a man has.” —Hubert Humphrey

Authenticity refers to being honest in all things – not just what you say and do, but who you are. When you’re authentic, your words and actions align with who you claim to be. Your followers shouldn’t be compelled to spend time trying to figure out if you have ulterior motives. Any time they spend doing so erodes their confidence in you and in their ability to execute.

Leaders who are authentic are transparent and forthcoming. They aren’t perfect, but they earn people’s respect by walking their talk.

10. Approachability

“Management is like holding a dove in your hand. Squeeze too hard and you kill it, not hard enough and it flies away.” —Tommy Lasorda

Great leaders make it clear that they welcome challenges, criticism, and viewpoints other than their own. They know that an environment where people are afraid to speak up, offer insight, and ask good questions is destined for failure. By ensuring that they are approachable, great leaders facilitate the flow of great ideas throughout the organization.

11. Accountability

“The ancient Romans had a tradition: Whenever one of their engineers constructed an arch, as the capstone was hoisted into place, the engineer assumed accountability for his work in the most profound way possible: He stood under the arch.” —Michael Armstrong

Great leaders have their followers’ backs. They don’t try to shift blame, and they don’t avoid shame when they fail. They’re never afraid to say, “The buck stops here,” and they earn people’s trust by backing them up.

12. A Sense Of Purpose

“You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.” —Ken Kesey

Whereas vision is a clear idea of where you’re going, a sense of purpose refers to an understanding of why you’re going there. People like to feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves. Great leaders give people that feeling.

Bringing It All Together

Becoming a great leader doesn’t mean that you have to incorporate all of these traits at once. Focus on one or two at a time; each incremental improvement will make you more effective. It’s okay if you “act” some of these qualities at first. The more you practice, the more instinctive it will become, and the more you’ll internalize your new leadership style.

Please share your thoughts on exceptional leadership in the comments section, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

Want to learn more from me? Check out my book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://bit.ly/2pO00F7

#Healthy Living - The Huffington Post

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