When you come up with the coolest concept except you can't let yourself think abt it because you have a major essay due in 3 hours 😡😡😡😡😡

Anyways. EMBASSY DAY AT THE THEMYSCIRAN/AMAZON EMBASSY. YOU SEE MY VISION

Stop Calling Him ‘Horace’! - Eugene Fitzherbert Appreciation Week | Day 7: Birth Day

Sooooo.... Basically, I planned to have this pretty little fanfic finished up for today, the final day of Eugene Appreciation Week. This fanfic is extra-special, specifically it features our Eugene at ages we’ve never seen him in canon. Allow me to sum up this “plan” of mine in one word: HAAAAA!!!! Suffice it to say that although fanfic is very old-hat to me (I’ve been writing it since 1991, fgs) the world of fic-blogging is still relatively NEW to me and several of my fics and headcanons that I’ve released the past several weeks are needing to connect and soon, otherwise the whole convoluted, many-headed Medusa won’t wind up making any sense at all. I’m not exactly certain how it’ll all come together yet but I have to say that getting to spend the past week with all of you fellow Fitzy enthusiasts on Twitter and Tumblr has been some of the BEST DAYS EVER that I’ve experienced on the internet in my entire online life!!!! (And I’ve had an internet presence since 1991!!!) You’ve injected me with serious shots of Inspiration Elixir and I’ve had soooo very many ideas pass through my mind just over the past 7 days that I can’t possibly hope to catalog all of them. I haven’t felt quite this inspired in, well, YEARS.  I’ve enjoyed the heck out of sharing and exchanging headcanons, theories, ideas, essays, and even artforms. I’ve had a Tumblr account for more than ELEVEN YEARS and yet this is the first and only time I have consistently blogged and reblogged over the “heart-stopping” a time-span of 7 months **gasp** now (and counting). I’m a member of a couple dozen fandoms at least and this is the ONLY ONE that has consistently captured my interest AND managed to not scare the shit out of me so badly that I have to go and hibernate my account for the next, y’know, 3498349540 months. Until yet another worthy obsession captures my interest..... but Tangled the Series is still burning the brightest and I REALLY need it to right now, tbh. So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everybody with whom I’ve interacted on this....I have health issues that cause me to transpose and forget names. But if you wish me to personally tag you, please tag THIS particular post and I shall tag you when I have actually finished this particular scene sequence featured in THIS ficlet. So now!!!!! Without further ado, I shall give you a teaser of the drabble-turned-ficlet-turned-short-story that will eventually feature the actual Birth Day of one Eugene Fitzherbert!!! Click the keep reading link below to see the remaining text. =)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Edmund knew from the beginning that Alexys did not like the name “Horace”. At the time, the king had told her that it was family tradition that the first-born son should receive a strong family name. Despite her pointed protests, he was utterly immovable on the subject.

The more Alexys’s belly grew, the more her dislike for that name swelled too. Shouldn’t she have a say in their child’s name, given that she was putting in all the work of keeping him healthy and strong, so to speak? Shouldn’t her family names count as possibilities too? Unfortunately, Edmund’s childhood largely consisted of his father and grandfather basically hazing him into believing that he had to “take command” of virtually any subject matter, in practically any situation. As a result, he thought of just about everything in militaristic terms. Over the past 4 years, Lexy had slowly and subtly molded her hot-headed young 20-something husband toward different healthier, less uptight ways of handling life and looking at various situations.

They had finally settled on a great couple synergy and got along very well -- except for the times they had an ongoing argument, that is. And this was definitely one of those times.

“I don’t understand why you won’t see reason, Edmund!”

“Because it’s more than just a name, Alexys! It’s a birthright. It connects him directly back to us and these names might very well be the most important gift we could ever give to our children!”

“You don’t think I know that?? Just as sure as I know this child is a boy, I am equally certain that he will not live a traditional royal life. And his name must reflect that!!”

Apparently, entertaining the possibility that any son of Edmund’s wouldn’t want to grow up a devoted soldier completely servile to the Moonstone wasn’t a possibility he was ready to face. Alexys watched as Edmund drew in a long breath, held it, his face turning interesting colors. Slowly his hands balled into fists and rather than saying anything, he exhaled one very pent-up breath and stomped out of the room. She had never before seen him so agitated. Although she also sensed the naming subject wasn’t at the core of his ire that day, she never brought it up again. Alexys hoped that whatever it was eating at him, Edmund would be able to solve it by the time their child came. And that would happen any day now.

Alexys wanted so much to tell Edmund about the beautiful vivid dreams she’d been having about their future child the past few nights. But he’d been increasingly preoccupied, sullen, and distant over the past month. It was most unfortunate and Alexys was as yet at a loss of how to help him. Now....while it’s true every good mother believes their child to be exceptional, Alexys knew that their son was destined to shatter tradition. For the first time in millennia, she knew without doubt that he would be the one to bring light to the Dark Kingdom. 

One of her dreams began with a small boy, age 4 or 5, who had floppy brown hair and very expressive round eyes just like Edmund. In the dream, Alexys and the boy were standing on a trail near the edge of a narrow rock crevasse....a location that somehow seemed familiar to Lexy....but she couldn’t quite place it. The little boy smiled up at her cherubically and reached out a chubby little hand toward hers.

“Play?” he questioned sweetly. He was happily bouncing on his feet, very subtly heel to toe, and even when he was in one place he barely stood still.

“Yes, of course!” Alexys replied, grinning in awe at this absolutely beautiful dream-child her mind was currently conjuring. She gathered up her long skirts and petticoats in her left hand and took the little boy’s offered hand in her right. As they walked, she noticed a small mole at the base of the boy’s neck and it matched exactly the one that Edmund had, only in miniature. So her suspicions had been confirmed; this was indeed their son.  They approached what Alexys recognized to be a very-scaled-down version of The Great Tree....and the crevasse was apparently a much-scaled-down version of the gorge which held the actual Great Tree. Even though it wasn’t the real Tree, it still possessed a very substantial and robust trunk. It was about 30 feet high and could easily withstand the weight of a couple dozen grown adults, if they ever had the inclination to climb this dream tree from within my own mind, Alexys thought wryly. As they reached the ground level of this miniature Great Tree, the little boy let go of her hand and latched onto the tree base itself. He turned back to her and said, “Play?” again while pointing upward. Bounce, bounce. Instantly, Lexy’s mothering instincts came out. “Uh, little one, I don’t think it’s safe to climb--” but it was clear the little boy wasn’t really listening to her. And even faster than a real toddler could climb, he scrambled up and out of her reach in a flash, giggling with childish abandon. She kept pleading with this child to stop and to come back down instead, that he might get injured, but he clearly had no intention of heeding her. Not only that, she didn’t even know his name. One thing was certain -- he definitely did not answer to ‘Horace’. Poor Alexys hoped this nightmare of a fearless toddler wasn’t an omen of things yet to come.  She fleetingly considered just tearing off her petticoats and skirts to climb and then realized it wouldn’t matter anyway; she was nearly nine months pregnant and thus not climbing anything that day. “Look!” She suddenly heard the little boy’s voice again. This time, he was speaking from some 30 feet overhead through the tree boughs. Alexys moved away from the Great Tree’s base to a better vantage point further out from the trunk. Shielding her eyes from the sun, the queen looked up at the tree to see that the little boy was now pointing out toward the opposite direction of the crevasse from where they originally came. In the distance, she could see what looked to be a miniature version of the impassable mountain range between the Dark Kingdom and the Great Tree. Just beyond was Black Crystal Valley and in the center of the valley, an exact copy of The Dark Palace, only much smaller. What happened next was nothing short of absolute surreality on toast. “Look!” said the little boy’s voice again, still giggling as he climbed even higher until it looked like he was physically standing on the canopy leaves of the fake Great Tree. Lexy’s breath caught in her throat as this little boy reached up and plucked a literal piece out of the sun -- yes, he plucked a PIECE out of the actual SUN -- straight out of the actual sky. The light emanating from the Sun and the Shard he had in hand didn’t seem to be affecting the little boy the way it was affecting Alexys. She was shielding her face from its overpowering brightness when suddenly, the little boy wasn’t in the tree canopy anymore. In the blink of an eye, he was standing miraculously in front of her. Alexys blinked incredulously and tried not to yell aloud in shock due to being so startled. She failed at not yelling, but at least the little boy didn’t appear to notice. Next, this little boy held out the Sun Shard toward Lexy. He must’ve done something to help it because now she could look toward its brilliance without being blinded.  “You can finally see my friend!” her boy said happily. Bounce, bounce. “We hug her!” he continued, holding the glowing object against his heart, rocking back and forth a few times. “And we kiss her,” and he gave the Shard his sweet toddler kisses. “And we be very soft,” he toddler-whispered, demonstrating deft touch through voice as well as action.“Now you!” he insisted, his pudgy hand offering the Sun Shard to her. Bouncy, bouncy, bounce. “I -- I don’t know. Won’t it burn me?” This dream had already gone so warped, she didn’t feel too weird for asking. Lexy was somewhat concerned with accepting the offerings of a toddler but he didn’t appear to be covered in slobber or any other mystery substances, thank goodness. Neither did the Shard. “Burn you?” the child echoed. He suddenly burst into giggles and said, “Silly Mama.” Lexy’s breath caught in her throat. Mama. He actually said it! How her mother’s heart fluttered. This….this interaction required something extra special. She oh-so-carefully got down on her knees (no small feat in her condition) so she could be level with her son. “Yes, your mama can be very silly sometimes,” Lexy acknowledged. Then she pointed toward the Shard in his hands and said, “Will you show me how?” Instantly, he came to her and passed the precious glowing object to Alexys. “Hold her here,” instructed her little boy, pointing toward his heart. Lexy was surprised to discover that the Shard wasn’t a shard at all -- and while it was very warm to the touch, it wasn’t burning hot. Pliable with only mild bit of give to it….rather like warmed sealing wax without the tackiness. Upon tucking the glowing object next to her bosom, Lexy looked upward at her boy and said, “and now I…” “Cradle,” followed by his rapid rocking back and forth motions. Bouncy-bounce bounce.  “Of course,” smiled Alexys, who had arranged both her arms to cradle this golden drop of sunlight. “Is that what you are now? Not a Shard -- but a Drop of Sunlight?” She was now talking to this object but again didn’t feel one bit silly for doing so. It seemed….alive, somehow. Slowly, carefully, she rocked back and forth while on her knees. “Sing, mama!” prompted her little boy, who was excitedly bouncing on his toes and clapping his chubby hands. A time-honored German lullaby sprang to mind and as she sang the words, the longer she sang, something rather remarkable happened. As Alexys looked down in her arms, she could’ve sworn she saw a ghost of an image, not more than a sparkling golden shadow really, of a completely different child in her arms. Only this child was much tinier and younger than the boy. This was an infant, a baby girl, one with remarkably long flowing golden hair. She appeared to have even more hair than her toddler son. By orders of magnitude more. Disembodied babygirl giggling and babbles filled the air around them. “You see her now!!!” Her little boy was more excited than ever! He clearly knows! Lexy could hear the rhythm of his feet in front of her. Bounce-bounce-bouncy bounce-bouncy-bounce. Alexys was afraid to look away, lest the wispy golden dust in her arms blow away before she could get her fill. “Who is she?” questioned Alexys in awe. “She is our friend. She is….Sun...shine. Yes. Sunshine,” the boy confirmed, tilting his head to one side as he spoke, as if he were listening for something only he could hear. ......to be continued!!!!......

I’m graduating on Saturday so I decided to create a notable moment's bulleted list thing that ended up being 2k. It’s more of a diary thing, but it was fun to write, so I’m gonna post it here. Feel free to ignore or read haha

Notable Moments:

Freshman year fall semester: My IR professor asked if anyone knew what countries were involved in the Truman Doctrine. I raised my hand and said Turkey and Greece, knowing that answer because I wrote about the dumb fucking thing in my IB HL history final. She then proceeded to say: “No one in all my years of teaching has ever answered that question correctly.”

Freshman year spring semester: I had to take a course to fulfill my science requirement and decided to take this evolution class. On the first day of the class, the professor said that attendance and participation mattered and then proceeded to never take attendance/ask anyone’s names. I was shy and never spoke in class, but I made up for it by emailing the dude like all the time asking questions. One day in class, near the end of the semester, I decided to raise my hand to answer a question. He looked at me and said, “Yes, Maddie?” The rush of euphoria that he knew my name was unmatched. When it came time for finals he then sent me an email saying I didn’t have to take it and that I already got an A in the course. Thank you Dr. Fong. Also on one of the tests where there were multiple-choice answers he just had like. Italian jokes for choice d on every single question. Still have no idea what that was about.

Freshman year spring semester: I decided to check up on someone’s hetalia blog who I followed during high school and found out we were going to the same college. We then became friends asljfdafa

Freshman year spring semester: My roommate one day fainted in the bathroom and the on-campus medical place was closed so I decided that we should go to the hospital. Turns out she had brain bleeding so thank god we went. What stands out about this day however is that it was 0º outside without wind-chill, and when I was running back and forth from our dorm to the hospital I saw sorority girls outside in mini-skirts fucking chanting. 0º degrees!!! Also, my roommate ended up being okay haha

Freshman year summer: I will still never forgive my co-worker Steve at my summer job. I was working outside and then walked into the cafeteria and the bastard was playing “it’s a small world” over the radio and humming along. Who the fuck does that and is not a psychopath???

Sophomore year fall semester: Someone decided to check up on my hetalia blog after I was complaining about my Chinese homework and they found out we went to the same college. We then became friends too asldfkaf; Thanks hetalia

Sophomore year fall semester: So my freshman roommate, after the hospital incident, decided not to return back to my university in the fall, so I got assigned a random roommate. Well, multiple. The first one dropped out before the semester even started, the second one was my roommate for 3 days and then just left abruptly and left me her fridge, and then the third one showed up near the end of Fall semester. She was also never really in the room ever. Also the dorm was worse than my freshman one and faced a dumpster so fuck that place.

Sophomore year spring semester: This was now my fourth class with my German professor. We were getting closer. I somehow let it slip once I was writing/editing a story (AWH and DFU *coughs*). She gets excited and tells me I should show it to her. I do briefly, thinking this will be the last of this. (Spoiler: wait)

Sophomore year spring semester: I get an F in a class

Sophomore year summer: I do an immersion program in Beijing to better my Chinese where I was doing like 10 hours of work every day and Oh Boy™ where do I start:

I was in a class with two other people. We had three rotating professors and one one-on-one professor. We got one of the professors fired. 两个周老师 I’m sorry but you sucked

Also the professor we got fired, he was our speaking class’s professor, which all of us sucked at the most so that didn’t help. The class was intended to give us practical vocab, but because we were all beginners in Chinese it was really hard to remember words. To combat this we would chant some words as if we were in a cult. 护发素 （hùfàsù）and沐浴液 (Mùyù yè) shampoo and shower gel, we would chant often because it was all fourth tones. The professor picked up on this, and when my one classmate saw him for the last time, the professor looked at him from across the hall as he was packing up to leave, and said in a solemn voice to him “Mùyùyè.” Brain stumbled back to class in pure confusion.

Moving on, well you see, I’m a hetalia bitch. Turns out, there was going to be a hetalia only con in Shanghai while I was in China! Naturally, I decided I had to go. However, there were many obstacles I had to accomplish to get there, and at any given point anything could go horribly wrong.

First, I had to purchase the tickets for the actual event and to do such I had to enlist the help of one professor. Yeah, that was embarrassing. Also, there was a problem with the tickets, so she typed up a response that I was supposed to show to the con organizers when I got to the event.

Then, I had to purchase my train ticket. Thankfully, there was a place on campus at Peking University, so I found my way over there. I somehow managed to order both a going-out and return ticket without any English, and the high I felt after I left the store was unreal.

Two weeks later, it was time to go. After classes ended on Friday, I took my suitcase I brought with me and headed to the subway to navigate it by myself for the first time.

First, another important detail. I had no cell service. I was dumb and never got a cellphone plan, so I had no cell service at all until I got to my hotel room in Shanghai after a long subway ride/like 4+ hour train ride. Honestly, I forget it might have been longer.

After jamming myself into the subway for like an hour, I get to the train station, and I’m completely lost and have no idea where to go. By some miracle, I finally figure out I have to go upstairs and find my train and get on the stupid train

On the train, I sit next to some businesswoman. A stewardess comes by and I try to ask in Chinese if I need to show her my passport. She shakes her head. The businesswoman then compliments my Chinese and I try to sputter out a sentence to her. She then smiles and proceeds to speak perfect English.

Finally, late at night, I arrive in Shanghai. Still no wifi or cell service, mind you. I have to wait like an hour for a cab while illegal taxi drivers tried to prey on me, the only foreigner, to go with them

At like 1am I get to my hotel room. After connecting to the wifi, ready to settle down, my phone starts freaking out. My roommates living with me in China, my Chinese professor I was living with, and my parents were all wondering where the fuck I was and if I was okay. I had to reassure all of them. Turns out, I find out months later, my mom was having a nervous breakdown that I was dead. My dad had to call the fucking train company and keep asking and asking until he found someone who spoke English so they could tell him the status of my train. ^^;

Anyway, now it’s Saturday! And now I have to get to the hetalia con. I have the address and some pictures and the typed up note from my professor. First, the cab driver proceeds to drop me off at the wrong location. I wandered around like a lost idiot, wondering if I would ever make it, when I spotted two girls about my age. I followed them and by some miracle, they were going to the hetalia con too

By this point, I am drenched in sweat. It was 100º. I get into the building and see a bunch of girls my age all dressed up in cosplay. I had to awkwardly walk up to one of the event organizers who was dressed up as England and attempt to speak to her. I was the only white foreigner there, and naturally, some people were looking at me strangely, which I understand. After I showed her the note from my professor, though, the very nice girl lightly touched my back and handed me a ticket to get inside. I still kind of have a crush on her

Okay, finally, I’m inside. And there’s rochu merch everywhere. You bet your ass I buy a fuck ton of rochu merch. I am great at pointing at things I want and forking over money. People are still looking at me strangely.

I leave feeling victorious. A year later, when I join a Chinese tumblr-esque website called LOFTER, I post a selfie of myself with my finished hetalia fanfic series. I then have people proceed to tell me they RECOGNIZED ME from the hetalia con in Shanghai

I then managed to get back to Beijing on Sunday without dying. I had to wait like 2 hours for a cab

Hetalia haunted me throughout this study abroad like at a party one dude asked if I liked hetalia because aph America was on my phone case, and like dude, I was trying to seem like a normal person there, fuck you

Junior year fall semester: Probably one of my hardest semesters for the sheer amount of essays I had to write every weekend. My computer also decided to break during finals. It also broke during finals spring semester freshman year and fall semester sophomore year. I wish I was joking

Junior year spring semester: I decided to study abroad in South Korea. Things to note:

I had this one class about Korean history. I barely paid attention in this class; mostly I used it to do the readings for the class so I wouldn’t have to do it at home or edit my hetalia fics. Sometimes, the professor would write things down on the board, though, so whenever he did that, I would quickly jot the information down. Fast-forward, one day, the professor asks a question that I know he wrote down on the board last class. I have the information! Since no one else is raising their hand, I decide to do it and answer the question. He then nods and says, “Very good. Did anyone else know that answer?” He was met with silence. “No one? Only her?” Silence. He then proceeds to yell at the rest of the class for five straight minutes while I sat there like o_o. Once he calmed down he asked me to repeat my answer, told me “I’m glad you were being diligent,” and then went back to teaching. The following classes he would smile at me while I would sit there and wonder what dumb fucking luck led me to getting on his good side.

My professor for my Korean government class asked to talk with me after class about my paper and she bought me a “vanilla cookie bubble tea” and that thing was fucking God-like. I treated myself to it all the weeks following asdkfjlafa

The first week I came to Seoul there were no classes. I had no idea what to do with myself. My host mom offhandedly mentioned the first day I moved in that there was a mountain nearby that you could climb. I then proceeded to climb that mountain the following day, completely not expecting to climb it. I just found some like 60 year-old-Korean tourists and followed them and suddenly I was literally like scaling a mountain in a dress.

A Korean guy who I constantly had to friend-zone took me to the North Korea border one time for a day trip, and I was utterly baffled by the theme park that was there. My mom also freaked out about me supposedly going to North Korea and randomly texted me at one point asking where i was. I had to awkwardly inform her that I was in class.

I learned no Korean in Korea and was petrified at going to restaurants by myself. One day, though, I finally gathered up the courage and used my shitty ability to read the alphabet to order bulgogi. It took me repeating myself 3 times but finally, the waiter understood what I wanted and a rush of euphoria surged through me in that moment

Senior year fall semester: I was somehow coerced into showing my German professor my hetalia fanfic again, and she then actually read WDWW and is working on showing it to a German film director she knows ^^;;;

Senior year spring semester: I got an internship that led to me finally seeing the inside of the Japanese Ambassador’s residence I walked by every day, so that was really cool! I then proceeded to have a conversation with a lovely older Chinese man, who interviewed me the day prior (and didn’t give me the internship T__T) about my hetalia fanfic, because he wanted a fiction writing sample from me and that’s what I had so I sent it, and it was just really odd.

Said internship also caused me to be on a float in a parade which was exhausting

 I also saw the Fruist Basket premier in theaters, which is a goddamn highlight

And despite the F I got sophomore year I’m now graduating with honors :-)

1-50 for studyblr (all or nothing motherfucker ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°))

I owe you my life anon I wanted to answer these 

What year are you?Third-year as of summer 2018

What’s your major/what do you think you want to major in?Double major in Political Science and History

If applicable, what is your thesis about?                                                        n/a

Do you think you picked the right major?                                                      For sure. At first I was uncertain in my choice bc I switched quite a bit in my first/second year bw English and History, but then I realized that English classes were making me dislike my relationship w/ literature. I love my poli sci and history classes 

Ultimate educational goals?                                                                                 Getting my PhD in International Relations but i have no job to pay for it 

Career goals?                                                                                                         Working with an international organization like the UN or the IMF

Do you think your goals are realistic?                                                                 Certainly. They may be difficult to reach, but they are within my grasp so long as I keep working towards them. 

What classes are you taking right now?                                                             Canadian government/politics, introductory political theory and a comparative history class on race relations in the US and SA                                      

Favorite class out of everything you’ve ever taken and why?                          Introduction to international relations parts 1 and 2, I took them both in my second year back to back (one in the fall, the other in the winter) while I was still in the political science minor. I loved this class for several reasons. First, the content was so interesting that reading the textbook was never a chore and I was always in the first row of the lecture hall ready 15 minutes before classes even started. Another reason I liked this class was bc I had a really good experience with the ta who was my tut. leader in both semesters - there is only one other ta that I’ve had who has been that phenomenal in their teaching. This ta along with another prof have been really influential in my learning and I don’t think thank you will ever be enough for what they both did.  It was actually through these classes that I decided to major in poli sci bc I loved it so much. 

Least favorite class ever and why?                                                                       An Ancient Greek history class bc it was at night and the prof had us read exclusively from a sourebook and his slides sucked.                                

Current favorite class and why?                                                                          Canadian government, I’m learning a lot of cool stuff about my country that high-school teachers never did justice to. Also the prof is really enthusiastic and it’s contagious. 

Current least favorite class and why?                                                                 Political theory… it’s not that I hate it, but some of the texts are really difficult to read at times. Lectures are fun though, the prof really knows how to keep an audience engaged.                                                                                   

Favorite STEM field?                                                                                            I took an anthropology class in first year and loved it, the tutorials were really interesting bc we actually got to handle bone material!! It was nothing like humanities tutorials where you discuss and debate. A fun experience overall and I loved learning about the science parts too even if it was a little complicated sometimes…                      

Favorite humanities subject?                                                                               Political science, hands down. 

Class that you’ve always wanted to take but never had the chance?              I want to take a class on ethnic conflict and security, but it’s a 4th year class and i don’t have the prereqs (yet!) 

Do you use caffeine and if so how much daily?                                                 Never, unless Coffee Crisp counts 

What’s your preferred method of taking in caffeine?                                         ^ see above answer                                                                          

Have you ever tried study drugs?                                                                        Nope, not a huge fan of supplements like that.  

Are you a homework-in-the-morning kind of person?                                       Homework whenever I can type of person                         

Do you listen to music while you study?                                                            Used to, but now it distracts more than anything so I’ll put on some ambient noises or just work silently. 

Crowded area or quiet place?                                                                               Quiet place, but one that has people in it so I feel obligated to work 

What’s your preferred writing implement?                                                          bic gelocity 0.7 black and blue pens. i cannot write w/o them but they run out so fast.                         

Do you need to work out before you can study well?                                        work out??? haven’t heard that term in years 

Describe your perfect study environment.                                                          Idk the specifics, but good lighting, nice temperature, a rolling chair and a high desk i guess? 

Are you procrastinating right now?                                                                     Not really, I have time before assignment deadlines roll in. 

What was the last thing you procrastinated?                                                     Reading Thomas Hobbes Leviathan, the language was too complex and I shied away from it 

Are you a perfectionist?                                                                                        Not really, you make a mistake and you move on, I find that studyblr aesthetic notes are counterproductive 

Do you like easy classes or do you feel bad if you’re not working hard?       I don’t think there is such thing as ‘easy’ classes, it depends on what an individual’s strengths and weaknesses are. That being said, I had a light course load for a first year class where the prof felt bad for assigning us 10 pages of reading a week when another prof was assigning 80-100.    

Are you a good test taker?                                                                                    Most of the time, but with essays, I need to write outlines or I lose my train of thought and get frustrated and anxious about the time and my argument. 

What are you the proudest of out of all the assignments you’ve ever had?   A paper I did for my critical writing for history class 2 semesters ago, I contacted that professor regularly and was in her office all the time working with her to keep making it better and when I saw my final grade of 38/40, I cried with happiness. 

Do you talk to your teachers/professors a lot?                                                  Oh yeah, I’m that student who stays after class, spends half the time at office hours, asks questions during class, you name it. Professors are people too, just really accomplished people. Also they’re pretty cool and they want to see you succeed. 

Describe your favorite teacher/professor and why you like them.                   Okay again not a prof, but this person is training to become a prof and i truly hope he’s successful for several reasons. He has a lot of cool book recs both academic/non-academic, calls out the bullcrap that is academic writing, genuinely goes above the paygrade to make sure that students succeed and most importantly, is enthusiastic about the content himself. (press f to pay respects) 

Describe your least favorite teacher/professor and why you dislike them.     Hnghhhh there was these 2 profs who taught intro ir part 1 and one of those guys was an absolute loser, he constantly made holocaust jokes and other tasteless comments and when i went to talk to him about my final paper, he told me that i’d look like someone who might like to write mine about is/s like ://. never told that prof anything about my academic interests so shut your mouth 

Have you ever thought about becoming a teacher/professor?                         A few times, but I don’t think I could do it. I’d be one of those rambling profs who never end up finishing their scheduled content. 

Most profound thing ever said to you by a teacher/professor?                         Not a prof, but a ta once said that my ideas were worthy of respect and that i shouldn’t feel the need to apologize for contributions (ta: you are valid me: holy fuck i’d die for you) 

Best feedback you’ve ever gotten on something academic?                            Best feedback I’ve ever gotten was on a paper I wrote for my ir class in the first semester where i had a lot of pitfalls in my argumentation style so when i wrote one the next semester w/ the same ta marking it, i got a better mark bc i incorporated that feedback. 

Worst study habit and how are you working on it?                                            My worst habit is lacking discipline and I’m working on it by trying to stick to schedules so I can fall back into routine and ultimately be on top of things 

Are you an in-class fidgeter?                                                                                moment of silence for all the pens i’ve dropped while twirling them/taking them apart. 

How’s your handwriting?                                                                                      pretty neat, not to brag. but apparently my f’s are jumping off the lines practically. 

Write “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” and post a photo.         sorry, too late for that I’m headed to sleep soon. 

Neat or messy notes?                                                                                            A weird combo?? Like messy enough that you have arrows sticking out from all corners and sometimes things are disorganized, but the writing itself is usually very neat unless i’m tired. 

A lot of notes or the bare minimum?                                                                   A lot, for me, the slides are the skeleton and the meat comes from the prof’s mouth. 

Post a photo/scan of your notes from your favorite class.                               I think I uploaded them to my side blog?? anyway it’s late now so can’t do that 

Are you a doodler?                                                                                                I used to be, but I cut the habit bc sometimes I miss key info if I’m not paying attention. 

Post a photo of your doodles if you have any.                                                    lol i used to post a lot under the tag naailah draws 

Do you have pre-test rituals and what are they?                                                Making sure I have more pens than I’ll ever need and checking the ink refills to ensure there’s enough. 

Are you a tangent-question asker?                                                                      Yup, there’s no such thing as a dumb question. Unless it’s answered on the syllabus. That’s a dumb q. 

Do you make jokes in class?                                                                                Sometimes. I’ve cracked some awful puns in my comparative poli class once and the prof’s mic picked up on it bc i sit at the front so you have a room of 200 or so students hearing me laugh about poverty and i swear it sounds bad but it was not as bad w/ context. 

How many hours do you spend on academics per day?                                   A lot… most of my time is spent on studying/procrastinating on it 

What’s something more important to you than school?                                    Life after school and making a real impact in the world, whether it’s small-scale or large. 

Interview with Piyush Choubey about preparing POLITICAL SCIENCE OPTIONAL FOR IAS MAINS

The issue of selecting optional subject for IAS exam is a sensitive one as selection of right optional is the key to success. The issue had been discussed again and again but its relevance is eternal. Many more freshers join the race every year and they should be enlightened because selection of right optional subjects it the first step to success. DR Piyush Choubey highlights the preparation strategy for Political Science option for IAS examination.

 Interview with Piyush Choubey about preparing POLITICAL SCIENCE OPTIONAL FOR IAS MAINS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=293&v=rz9M-oVDrnA

 1. What are the basic criteria’s of choosing an optional subject? What are the major advantages of political science ?

 The basic criteria to choose an optional subject is simply based on two considerations. First, the subject should evoke interest in the aspirant and secondly it should have maximum convergence with GS syllabus so that optional preparation should rather help in GS preparation instead of reducing time for the latter. This is one of the most beneficial aspects of Political Science since it has direct overlap of nearly 40% with GS syllabus and overall convergence is more than 65% of whole GS syllabus. Once a student has finished Political Science preparation, he is already prepared content wise for the whole GS-2 paper and needs to only practice answer writing as per the tone and trend of questions. Political science covers topics included in Prelims syllabus with weightage of nearly 8-10 questions and keeps the aspirant updated about events of national and international importance till the personality test stage. Its presence at every stage of examination ensures that it is more of asset than a burden on GS preparation.

 2. International Relations is one of the most dynamic portions of UPSC syllabus. How will you suggest students to prepare for this section?

International relations requires a holistic understanding of the events and issues at global level and rote based approach is simply not useful and in fact counterproductive. Good marks in this section both in GS and in political science can only be attained with ability to interlink various international developments with each other. This should be accompanied by a comprehensive study of nature of foreign policy of the key players like India, Russia, USA and China. Students need to develop their knowledge by regularly reading journals, newspapers and IR magazines. Relying only on study material available in the market or one or two books will simply not develop the depth and flexibility needed to score good marks. An understanding based approach on IR will also help a lot in Essay and Personality test where aspirants own analysis of international events will be required. My advice is to students is expand their sources of study and always try to keep a balance between factual and analytical content. It is very essential for students to have some idea about the history of events in a region in order to understand the present behaviour of players in the region for example West Asia, Central Asia and Africa.

 3. What is the best strategy to deal with the Political Science since it has a good combination of both static and dynamic aspects in both papers?

Political Science contains static portions such as Political thought and theories of IR along with very dynamic portions like Indian Government and Politics and International Relations. Most students spend a majority of their time and effort in preparing the static aspect especially Western Political thought. Students need to give equal importance to all the sections and keep in mind the dynamic nature of Paper 2. One needs to focus on the pattern of questions being asked and figure out the most important topics especially in case of IR and IGP. Students need to compulsorily include views of eminent thinkers and scholars in all the papers and need to avoid their own views. Also answers in IGP and IR section need to have a good balance between factual and analytical content. For static portions related to Thought and Theory, a good understanding of the concepts is much more essential than simply mugging up the content. Consulting good books for each part of syllabus along with IGNOU study material is a must. Answer writing practice based on strictly timed tests is indispensable for success in Political Science.

 4. What specific advice will you give to beginners and experienced candidates separately? What should be one's approach if he/she wants to score above 300?

 For Beginners

 Beginners should not jump directly to readymade material available in the market. Instead they should avail expert guidance available and also refer to at least 2-3 good books on each part of syllabus. Once they have developed a basic understanding of the syllabus then they should start answer writing practice and get their answers evaluated by expert faculties. One to one discussion with teacher on structure, flow and organization of answer is crucial for new aspirants. Rushing through syllabus should be avoided and one should focus more on quality of understanding than completing syllabus in a short span of time.

 For experienced candidates

 Aspirants who are aiming to increase their scores further should first join a good test series program which provides them quality and timely evaluation, something which can be done only by experienced faculty. Based on the evaluation, the aspirant needs to identify his/her particular areas of strength and weakness and work accordingly. Personal guidance and interaction is very crucial at this stage since I have observed that for experienced candidates it is seldom the problem of content, instead it is the poor structuring and presentation which is resulting in low marks. Aspirants at this stage need to master the art of knowing what to include in their answers and what to avoid. Instead of searching for new sources of content, one should focus on improving one’s problem by regular answer writing.

How to get more than 300 marks?

 Getting marks above 300 requires a consistent and disciplined approach towards the syllabus. Comprehensive coverage of syllabus instead of selectively picking topics from syllabus is the first step. Even less frequently asked topics should be well prepared. Frequently appearing questions should be prepared well in advance. One needs to rigorously follow a good test series and should aim to for consistent improvement in his/her scores as the series progresses. Early start to preparation and long exposure to examination pressure via writing tests along with following the suggestions provided by faculty after evaluation of each test will certainly help in this.

 5. What mistakes do you think aspirants should avoid while preparing for this subject in particular?

Some of the common mistakes that I have observed among majority of aspirants are:

 a. Too much emphasis on Western political thought, sometimes at     cost of even whole Paper 2.

 b. Underestimating the importance of Indian political thought     specially thinkers like M.N. Roy, Aurobindo and Ambedkar.

 c. Unnecessary reliance on notes available in the market and not     referring to standard books and IGNOU study material. This results in     aspirants being unprepared in scenarios where UPSC opts for a dynamic and     unconventional pattern of questions.

 d. Not paying enough attention to views of scholars and     commentators, and instead using their own views in answers.

 e. In IR, over reliance on routine content and not being updated     with recent events of geo-strategic and geo-political importance. Lack of     inter-linking and holistic understanding in IR results in below average marks.

 f. Lack of factual date and examples in answer especially of IR     and IGP and providing a generic analysis when the question is on a very     specific issue or topic.

 g. Finally, lack of answer writing practice and in depth     discussion and feedback from expert faculty resulting in lack of     improvement in weak areas.

6. At last, how exactly can an aspirant gain also in General studies from his preparation of political science? 

Aspirants generally make the mistake of dealing with prelims, Mains and optional preparation separately.  Political science has the unique merit that its preparation provides rich dividends even at the prelims stage unlike any other optional. I always advise students to study Indian Government and Politics simultaneously with preparing Indian polity section. This not only ensures that there is no duplication of efforts and wastage of time but it also keeps the momentum going on since the knowledge of actual events of Indian politics keeps the interest of the student alive in Indian constitution as well. Exactly same strategy is suggested for IR section i.e. a common content based approach towards IR questions in Prelims, GS Mains and Optional. In fact , it is highly advisable to wrap up one’s Pol Science syllabus before jumping completely into GS preparation since this ensures that the student is already quite familiar with at least 65% of syllabus and his/her GS-2 paper for Mains is also covered beforehand. With so much convergence between GS-prelims , GS – Mains and optional, the only thing needs to be taken care of is modulating one’s knowledge as per the type and word length of the question asked.

7. What exactly is your teaching approach towards the subject and how is it any different from other guidance available in the market?

Over last few years, I have interacted with thousands of students personally including some of the top-rankers and based on this interaction I have developed a very dynamic and student centric strategy of guidance. My intention is always to ensure that each student receives a guidance which is intrinsic and unique to his/her problem and not a generic bag of tips and tricks. I do not adhere to the strategy of selective teaching (something becoming more common day by day) but I rather focus on complete and comprehensive coverage of syllabus which simply each and every topic no matter how small or easy, should be taught in a detailed and lucid manner in the class.

Then it is followed by in-depth discussion on complicated issues and questions where I actively encourage students to develop their independent opinion and I keep correcting them in a friendly manner as they progress. Though this is a tiresome process for me as a teacher, but this ensures that my students are ready in the examination against even the most unpredictable and dynamic questions. Since their learning has been shaped by articulated debate and discussion, their answers always show a balanced viewpoint, something indispensable for getting good marks.

We at GS-SCORE have a very capable and experienced content development team and every year we keep on revising and updating our content as per the dynamic nature of question paper. In spite of my high academic credentials, I still take out some time every day to study the subject’s latest developments and I always ensure that I am well prepared for any doubts raised by students in the class. I ensure that as the class proceeds, students are regularly given practice via class tests and their given a feedback on their performance on one to one basis.

As a teacher I always make an endeavour to develop ability in my students to interlink various topics in all sections of syllabus. This ability is suitably tested by our Test series program where students are thoroughly evaluated only by me not only on their content but also on their structuring, presentation and organization of the answer. Any student who requests a one to one interaction is also provided the same by Institute. Overall, my approach is balanced mixture of interaction-based teaching, careful monitoring of progress of students along with personal and detailed guidance for answer writing.

Piyush Choubey is a renowned faculty who teaches POLITICAL SCIENCE for IAS EXAM AT GS SCORE, an  institute for civil services preparation based in Delhi.

https://iasscore.in/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=293&v=rz9M-oVDrnA

https://www.jagranjosh.com/articles/interview-with-piyush-choubey-about-preparing-political-science-optional-for-ias-mains-1558095046-1?source=hp_ad

I do need to have Some words, because I have many thoughts and emotions and I need to talk about the ONE THING about this dang game that I need to talk about.

SPOILERS FOR KINGDOM HEARTS 3 ARE BELOW - I WILL TRY TO KEEP IT VAGUE BUT THERE ARE! SPOILERS! HERE!

THE THING ABOUT THIS GAME IS

first of all, I have done nearly a complete 180 on my initial impression of this game. Yesterday I finished San Fransokyo, and was confused as to why I didn’t get automatically dumped back onto the world map, and assumed that it was because some Plot Things were going to happen so the game wanted to let me save (I was VERY RIGHT about THAT). 

Buuuuuuut I really thought there had to be a whole lot more game left to go? I knew that that was the last of the Disney worlds that I knew of that were in this game, and I knew that oddly, at least going by what the game told me with the world logos showing up at the end, that I wouldn’t be going back for a second visit to any of them. But I assumed? That there still had to be a Lot left from there

and to an extent, yes, there was, but goddamn, when that big big Heartless fight, a bigger badder version of the 1000 Heartless battle, that HAD to be the halfway point of the game, right? 

And I think that’s why I came away last night when I finished the game, feeling kind of disappointed. In a very odd way that I couldn’t put my finger on. The game was so much shorter than I was expecting it to be - which, in retrospect, isn’t really all that true - my final playtime on that first file was about 30 hours (granted, that included lots of pausing and staring at the screen in silence and not-silence during many a cutscene (especially one that happens not long after big big Heartless fight (you know the one))), and for comparison, my 100% Jiminy’s Journal file on KH2 is only 35 hours. So it’s not even that it’s a ridiculously short game, although it certainly felt that way and that might be due in a big way to just how much cutscene there is in that game because holy fuck it is A LOT. I am reasonably sure that KH3 is at least 50% cutscene. 

ANYWAY. So the point is, I finished KH3 at around 3am, and cried a whole lot, and then slept. And then I woke up oddly early this morning, and my weird takeaway from the ending was still there - that vague disappointment that I Could Not figure out - but I went ahead and jumped back in because I hadn’t unlocked the secret ending yet, so that’s what I spent my morning doing (AND HOO BOY)

and now, that I’ve been thinking about this game all day, and have had time to let it all sink in, the further I get from that initial takeaway the less disappointed I am. Like, in terms of comparison, I don’t know that anything can beat KH2 - it is essentially a flawless game as far as I’m concerned, so it would be very hard for this to even come close - and I think that’s where that vague disappointment came from, because as much as I tried to convince myself that I had pretty realistic (read: no) expectations for this game, after 13 years it was kind of impossible not to and BOY THIS POST GOT LONGER THAN I THOUGHT AND I’M NOT EVEN TO THE POINT YET

All of that to say, I. Love. This. Game. I have a few issues with it, mostly pacing-related, but overall, it’s a goddamn solid game, and a goddamn solid conclusion to this monster of a saga that we’ve all come to know (sort of) and love (and also today I discovered that there was some Shit I Did Not Know about KH which is WEIRD AS HELL FOR ME but that’s neither here nor there)

So WHY am I typing this goddamn essay of a ramble, why did I feel that my initial opinion of “HEY IT’S GOOD” is worth shouting into this random void (besides well I kinda want to be able to remember my initial impressions word-for-word when I go back and reminisce about this game’s existence)?

IT IS BECAUSE I AM SALTY AS HELL

ABOUT THIS ONE THING

THIS ONE THING

AND THAT THING

IS

Hey.

Square Enix.

Hey. Kingdom Hearts writers? Nomura? Whoever is responsible for these kinds of things? 

What the FUCK is it going to TAKE for you to treat Kairi as more than a GODDAMNED MACGUFFIN

I’m so FRUSTRATED ABOUT THIS

DDD came out in, what, 2012? And I mean even further back than that we got to see her fight with a Keyblade in goddamn 2006 in KH2! We’ve been teased for over 10 years with the possibility that Kairi will actually become one of the fighters, or at the very least, that she’ll at least get to become an ACTUAL CHARACTER rather than just always being the Thing that Sora Has To Save (because I’m not saying! That she has to be able to fight! To be a good character! I’m just so sick! of the way these games treat her!)

Like, I don’t even really have any kind of strong emotional attachment to Kairi. She’s not one of my favorite characters (which is not to say I don’t like her, I definitely do, there are just a lot of characters that I LOVE very much which kind of outshines her). And I can almost forgive that she’s kind of just going to be the damsel in distress at least once a game because that’s just How It Be.

But this fucking game gives her the WORST TREATMENT in any KH game. By fucking far.

So her and Axel/Lea get to have their off-screen training montage, which, is awesome! Hell yeah! You have no idea how FUCKING PUMPED I was when we first got that trailer with those two! The entire time I saw the first cutscene with them, I spent the whole time just excitedly clapping and yelling “BEST FRIENDS”! Granted, I kind of wish that all didn’t take place Entirely off-screen, but I mean I don’t know where it would have fit so it makes sense anyway.

SO WE HAVE THIS SETUP that these two get to be the last of the seven, which, hell yeah! 

AND THEN,

these two prove to be The Most Useless characters in the game.

And I wish I could phrase that better! Because it sounds like I am throwing my ire at the characters, when OH BOY NO

It’s definitely not quite as pronounced with Axel (which, hm, wonder why (”do you have any idea how popular I am”)) but both of them serve essentially no purpose at all - to put it simply and vaguely, they get benched. 

But Kairi gets it Worst of all. THREE SEPARATE TIMES (maybe more? that’s just off the top of my head) an enemy is attacking her, and she just STANDS THERE

she doesn’t even HAVE A KEYBLADE IN HER HAND

and so THREE SEPARATE TIMES a different character jumps in front of her to take the hit/protect her

And I’m so! Befuddled!! By this!!! We were goddamn led to believe that her and Axel had this great training, that like, yeah, they’re still new at this, so they’re gonna screw up, but they’re at least decently competent! At least enough that we feel confident enough to bring them into this Big Ass Battle! 

So WHY, WHY is Kairi the one that has to draw the Cutscene Plot-Convenient Incompetence stick EVERY SINGLE TIME

HEY THERE ARE SLIGHTLY LESS VAGUE SPOILERS BELOW THIS JUST A WARNING

THOUGH HONESTLY I don’t even know if I can call it a fucking spoiler because it’s just so. unsurprising.

So, well, here we are, Kairi gets kidnapped. Again. Wouldn’t be a KH main title if it didn’t happen at least once yeah? That’s, fine. I guess. Whatever, we need to raise the stakes. What pisses me off is HOW it happens! Because it happens in the exact same goddamn way as KH2, where, 

OH NO the villain has grabbed me by the wrist!

The wrist! My weakness zone!

I am completely unable to break free! Of this inescapable grasp! Of my wrist!

Even while I am literally holding a Keyblade in my hand, and also am surrounded by SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE THAT COULD MAYBE STEP IN AND HELP!

Alas! My wrist! Remember me as I was!

Like. Come on.

KH2, I could kind of write it off, at least a bit, as a limitation of the graphics/animation/whatever. But GODDAMN the animation and EVERYTHING in this game is SO EXPRESSIVE AND IMPRESSIVE and that is in fact one of my favorite things about this game (like DUDE the convo between Vexen and Demyx is pretty much one of my favorite scenes ever) and holy FUCK this post has gotten out of hand

The point of that is that there’s just no excuse for why the Patented Wrist Grab should work again. Especially since it’s leading into something else that happens near the very end that I’m also kind of salty about? But a bit less in that I at least realized on a rewatch Why it happened and it wasn’t the initial reason I thought. My whole thing is, Boy These Villains are Definitely Very Powerful and that Sucks, and if this is just to be a “hey we can render you completely powerless and destroy you at any time” then why does it ALWAYS have to be Kairi that gets shafted. This game did her a terrible terrible disservice and that’s honestly my biggest (and only actual one that I can think of) issue with KH3. 

And I do sound considerably angrier about this than I actually am. Because like, it is a video game, and I know that writing is not going to be perfect or completely match up with what I want it to be, and that’s fine. I just wish I didn’t have to continue being constantly disappointed with how Kairi’s character is treated (re: not a character at all especially the further we get into these plots).

BUT BOY HOWDY WHAT A FUCKING AWESOME GAME