#and I think his loose style of leadership will be good for a collection of independent former captains

[scarletphoenix15]

I don't know when, I don't know how, but Law is gonna join the straw hat fleet now that the Polar Tang is sunk. Probably Kid too but definitely Law.

My ideal would the Hearts creating a subsect of the Staw Hat Fleet that's essentially like an ambulance for the rest of the Fleet. Luffy is never going to run the Fleet like a well oiled machine, I think it'll ultimately just become a guerilla force for chaos and freedom that's loosely aligned, so appointing Commanders within it he can trust to do the right thing will be essential. And Law has been set up to be that.

[pantmonger]

Cadia Stands and Cadian Honor. A double feature! Mainly because I really didn't like the first one and I don't like to rag on authors, so thankfully the second was infinity better.

My thoughts, beware spoilers: Usual Caveat: These “reviews” are just a collection of my thoughts as a fan of the game and setting. They are in no way an analysis of the literary merits of the author or the quality of the writing. Both of which I do not have the knowledge or skill to judge.

Cadia Stands

I'll be brief. I'm sure there is an audience for this book, just as I am sure I am not it.

A dry rendition of the overall fall of Cadia. A few characters are introduced who will end up being fleshed out more in later books, but who get limited screen time and little development here. For the most part the story is told as a loose collection of action vignettes.Kind of like when I was a kid and I use to edit the combat scenes from Bab 5 into a single long combat video that I thought was the best thing ever! Just not my thing now. I found it a bit of a slog.

Still there were some moments of reflective commentary that worked for me.

'“They're just dreams” Rath says again. He does not sound like he belives it himself. She looks away, and her eyes fall on the misshapen form of Hallr. She looks away again and thinks, Look what the Imperium has done to all of us'

I wondered if this was what the writer was asked to deliver, and not necessarily indicative of their usual style, so I read the 2 short stories in the Minka Lesk Omnibus, the first of which had hints of a similar style as Cadia Stands, but started to lean out of it. The second become more my speed with it being focused on individuals, their development and emotions and not jumping around so much.

Cadian Honour

I enjoyed this book a good deal more. At its heart is the story of an imperial planet, an uprising in the name of the emperor to overthrow the corrupt leadership of the imperium, and the Cadians stationed there as the shit hits the fan.

It grants an interesting look at the weird religious variants that shelter under the belief in the Emperor as a god. How every historical local genocidal zealot, is viewed as a saint, and worship of them as valid as worshipping the Emp.

How the loose form of this faith, shaped by local preachers and planetary customs makes people gullible and capable of horrific crimes (as long as doing so can be ideologically beaten into being in His name... there's that satirical commentary)

Once again this is a story of the imperium creating its own problems, being so fundamentally broken in its religious fanaticism that a confessor who has *stitched his eyes open* and is killing folks at random because he can *tell* they are heretics, , is not seen as a bloodshot red flag, but a sign of true faith in the Emperor. (You will never guess who he's been duped into actually working for :P)

This sets the stage for Sargent Lesk and a couple of other recurring characters to get the bulk of the screen time, and give me that drama and character development I so crave with my dystopian war stories. Though a weird stand out for me is just how much the Cadians are filled with no true ScotsCadien rhetoric. Cadia stands, but was an epic failure resulting in the loss of the world Cadia. Cadians are amazing soldiers, you know except for the ones being skeevy at their fem comrades, who don't want to take orders from women, are dealing drugs, deliberately disobeying simple orders to show up to parades and drills. Cept for them... Cadians the pride of the astra militarum :P As usual I'll conclude with the Imperium being aware that its broken, with some thoughts from a Cadian General. 'Bendikt cursed to himself. He had seen enough of the galaxy to know that it was the ponderous weight of the Administratum that held the imperium back, not its soldiers. But worse then that it was the corrupt aristocracy like the Richstars that fermented unrest and heresy'

[acertainmoshke]

Time Traveling Anthropologists update

In honor of having 2 people on my tag list, meaning it now meets the actual definition of a list, I thought I’d let y’all know where I am on this project.

Part 1: Actual Writing

I am deep into chapter 2. Chapter 1 covered Esther’s first day of work. We learned a bit about how the world works in the 2080’s and met her team. This book takes place almost entirely in the past, but future volumes will explore the future more. So, let’s meet the team!

Esther Dahan: 24 years old. The POV character. Esther is outgoing and a bit awkward. She can be intense and has something of a temper but cares deeply about equity. She is the team linguist, unofficial fighting/weapons expert, and generally ends up being in charge of daily life routines. She speaks 6 languages fluently but is also in charge of collecting linguistic rules for languages that no one knows today. She’s Jewish—there are no borders anymore, but her great-grandparents on her mother’s side were from Russia and her father’s family was from Israel. She’s bisexual. When not in the past, she lives with her parents because renting an apartment only to give it up every year or two would be impractical.

Tony Mourad: 24 years old. He is a bit goofier, fond of lightening the mood, but can also be genuine. Like Esther, he’s pretty loud in general and intense about things he cares about. They will become best friends over the course of this book. He is the expert on fashion, fabric, and and manufacturing history. His hobby is the history of clocks and calendars. He is Muslim and, though he grew up in LA, his family is Iraqi and his mom was born there (when it was still Iraq; the no borders thing is pretty recent). He’s gay and currently rents a small house with his brother, which his wages continue to help with when he’s gone for work.

Valentina Pérez: 25 years old. In this book she’s generally fairly grumpy, distant, and cool. There are reasons for this and they are Spoilers and she’ll be less so in the future. She mostly keeps to herself and is much less interested in the studies they’re doing than her teammates. Her job isn’t even anthropological; she’s the team scientist. This involves multiple jobs actually that they’re just lucky they have a single person qualified for all of them. Her main duties involve sending data home using the circuits in the Time Machine, doing general maintenance on it, and keeping them healthy. She is not a doctor but she has studied immunology and is in charge of vaccines, basic medical care, and the decision when a situation requires returning early for proper care. However, most of those jobs aren’t constant, so she’s always getting drawn into the work of the others and having to observe or write up things for them. She’s a lesbian, has a 2-year-old daughter, and has been married for 7 months to her wife. She’s from Cuba and learned English in college. Their office is based in New York, so their work is mostly in English, but widespread speaking of other languages is more acceptable, so around the office there are plenty of people she chats in Spanish to.

Minerva Myerson: 39 years old. Unlike the others, she isn’t new to the office but joined at its inception 6 years ago. She has been on 3 previous missions and was made a team leader when the religious studies department expanded. She’s generally good humored, charming, and has a fairly loose leadership style. She does get snappy when people break the rules that are there for good reasons, but is otherwise fairly even tempered. Yes this is a little loose and I will develop her character more soon. Her specialization is food history, including how food fits into cultural contexts and the expectations surrounding eating. She’s also formatting and compiling the ethnography, since she has previous experience. She is a black trans woman from New Orleans who lives alone with no kids so she actually does rent apartments temporarily in between time traveling. I think she’s straight, but again am still developing her character.

Chapter 2 has a time skip—16 months in their personal time and 4 months into their time traveling mission. So far we’ve explored the city of Samandar a little, markets and the walls and the way houses work. They have a fairly expositional team meeting and then, a couple days later, Esther is taken by her 3 unofficial “guides” on an expedition to meet warriors returning from the capital of Atil. Her guides are 3 12-year-old girls largely because they have the time and interest to share their lifestyle with a foreign stranger. Also because I thought it would be funny to have 9th century horse girls. So they go to the corral and discuss horse care, which I 100% made up but I think is plausible. Next the men will return and Esther will start talking to Boker largely to fact check the kids’ excited reports on the way warriors work.

Part 2: Outlining

I split the plot into 3 sections: murder, mystery, and [redacted]. I finished the outline for the first part, which actually focuses on anthropology and romance and culminates in the murder, and now I’m working on the second part. As I said before, I haven’t written a mystery before and I think some hints and evidence are going to probably be added in later drafts. I have, though, come up with the first 2 suspects and the actual guilty party. I’m just beginning to figure out who says what and what evidence they discover.

Thank you for listening if you made it to the end of this post! I just realized I haven’t talked much about it yet since I’ve been writing.

Tag list: @amielbjacobs @kingkendrick7

[vodkassassin]

world state: refresh, chapter two

Last chapter: “—From the description, it’s basically the same as the synopsis of your run of the mill VRMMORPG anime, except the virtual games are real worlds.”

“Sure, but if they’re real worlds, then what does being a Game Master mean?”

Shen Yuan grins down at him.

“Hey, Airplane,” he says. “How do you feel about being an actual god?” [Read ch. 1]

—

“Oh, yaaawn!” She throws herself back onto the plush surface behind her and stretches her arms above her head. “Man, what a chore! Hey, Dorazou, make a note to always double check the Mission Rating before accepting an Assignment in the future. No way in hell am I gonna be doing that again!”

“AwRAWRight!” The tiny avatar cheers, pumping a little red scaled fist into the air. “Reminder set! Hey, Host, if it’s any consolation, this system thinks you totally aced it!”

“Hmm,” she crosses her arms and stars at the collection of screens that have popped into existence before her. “The mission grading will be the judge of that. Let’s see, here…. Oh, awesome! I earned a double S score! You know what that means!”

Dorazou gives another little roar cheer that sounds more like a kitten's mew than anything. Ah, so cute! “Host may close her next Assignment! Congratulations!”

The agent gathers her hair up into a loose and messy bun at the top of her head, breathing out a sigh of relief. “Awesome. Let’s choose something easy, why don’t we? That last world was only an A-rank, but it gave me a lot more trouble than I bargained for. It should have been labeled at least S-tank! Dorazou, bring up all available Assignments. B-rank or lower only, please!”

“Gotcha!” The tiny dragon-themes sprite gives a little twirl, it’s clunky arms flailing adorably. “Assignment list set to: Easy!”

“Perfect, thanks! Let’s take a look, now… Otome-world…. Fantasy style cooking show star, haha. I have zero talent in that area, so please decline it for me, Dorazou…. Another Knights Order needs a Pure Heavenly Maiden for such and such ritual, ah, that honestly just sounds so sinister, decline! And here we have yet another otome assignment, damn. These things are such pests. Oh, what’s this?”

Sitting up, the agent leans in and peers closely at the screen, eyes bright in excitement. “Hey, Dorazou! This one calls for a team of agents!”

“That is correct!” Dorazou says, beaming. The dragon floats up to sit comfortably on the girl’s shoulder. “System Agents 74 and 81 have put in a request for additional manpower in the Game Master Assignment for World-120MAX. If Host accepts, she and four other agents will be tasked with working under the leadership of Agent 74 in creating and managing a Game World.”

She tilts back again, kicking her legs up into the air with some excitement. “What’s the deadline?”

Dorazou is quiet for a moment as it studies the screens. It gives a hearty cheer and pats the agent on the head. “No deadline! Host will remain on Agent 74’s GM Team until it is decommissioned by the Team itself!”

She jumps off the beanbag entirely to float up into the air, catching the little dragon sprite and hugging it to her chest. “Awesome! So it’s basically a neverending paid vacation, if we want it to be? That totally rocks! Dorazou, we lucked out with this one!”

“AwRAWRight!” The tiny system cheers, looping its scaly arms around her neck in a hug. “Is Host choosing this Assignment, then?”

“As if I’d ever turn down a chance like this! System Agents hardly ever get to work together! Dorazou, please confirm my acceptance!”

“Assignment chosen! Does Host wish to rest in the home space before starting?”

“Nah, I’m way too pumped now,” she clenches her fists and grins. “Dorazou, let’s go meet our new friends!”

“RAWR! World-120MAX loading! Twenty-eight percent! Fifty-percent! Eighty-three percent! World load complete! Entering database now!”

The agent grins as she dissolves into light. This is gonna be sweet!

—

“Nice to meet you! My name is Myra Khol, System Agent 23! I’m here for the Game Master Team Assignment!”

“The what?” The boy says, expression just positively befuddled as it has been when she’s first loaded into the world, and Myra tilts her head in slight confusion. Has this guy never met another agent before?

She hops down from the tree and steps over to him, a little surprised when he takes a step back in return. Man, this guy is shy! How cute!

“Wait a minute, did you just say ‘System’?” The boy straightens up, his eyes going even wider than they’d already been. “Does that mean you are also a transmigrator?”

“What else would I be?” Myra huffs out with some bemusement. “You guys clearly haven’t put any people in this world yet, so the only ones you’d be seeing are yourselves or another agent.”

“Agent…” the boy echoes, holding the fan up to his lips in thought. It’s an endearing gesture, something so old fashion being slightly out of place with the futuristic fantasy design of the boy’s outfit, and yet it still somehow fits him.

Myra blinks at him, and then decides to take pity. From the looks of it, this kid is a noob at the job. She remembers when that had been her. The good old days!

“Didn’t your Systems explain it to you guys yet?” She asks.

At her words, the boy’s expression darkens. “The System? No. Why would the System explain anything?”

Oh. That sounded like anger, there. Myra reaches out a hand and nervously scoots her precious Dorazou over until it’s hidden behind her back. The little dragon makes a tiny noise of confusion, but goes along with it.

The boy narrows his eyes at her action. “Speaking of systems… is that one yours?”

“Um, well,” Myra coughs. “Yes? But! Dorazou is such a sweet little thing! Wouldn’t harm a fly! Please take care of it!”

The boy looks confused. “Wouldn’t harm a fly! Have you never been threatened with Punishment Protocol?”

Myra gapes, aghast. “No! That’s reserved for triple S class worlds on the highest difficulty setting! Why would an Assignment like that be given to newbie agents?”

The boy stares at her, face pale.

“Oh.” Myra presses her hands over her mouth, staring at him in horror. “I mean, I’ve heard it happening only once. Someone being given an extreme-difficulty Assignment for their very first world. It was basically an impossible mission, but she luckily managed to complete it successfully. The Assignment Parameter glitch that led to it was suppose to have been fixed since then, though. Are you really saying…?”

The boy lets out a weak sounding laugh, bowing his head. He rubs the back of his arm across his eyes, and Myra feels something in her chest ache at the sight. These two agents… they’ve really been through the wringer, haven’t they?

Clearing her throat hesitantly, she asks, “The Assignment said there were two agents behind the request. Since you’re here, where’s your partner?”

“He’s on the other side of the Level, touching up on some persistent glitches that are occurring in quadrant five,” the boy releases an aggravated sigh. Then, he glances at Myra in surprise. “Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Shen Yuan, it’s really nice to meet you.”

Myra grins back at him, relieved. “Is it? For a moment there, I thought you weren’t happy to see me.”

“Are you kidding?” Shen Yuan laughs again, and this one is much lighter. It suits him way better than the faintly grieved sound from before. “I am ecstatic to meet you. It’s nice to know that we’re not as alone as we thought. Here, I’ll take you to my… partner. He should be about finished by now.”

Myra bounces onto her toes in excitement. She grabs Dorazou by the tail and troops after Shen Yuan when the boy turns his back and begins to walk away.

“Man, not being given a tutorial world really sounds like it sucked,” Myra says, side eyeing her new teammate as she comes up beside him.

Shen Yuan has an odd smile on his face when he replies. “It was… definitely something, yes.”

“You want me to lodge a complaint with Management?” She asks, a pinch of worry between her brows. “If all three of us do it, they’ll have to take another look at the glitch and make double sure that it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

Shen Yuan is quiet for a long while as they walk along the quaint little dirt path. The silence stretches into minutes, and Myra decides to leave him to his thoughts, because it looks like he’s pondering something pretty deep.

She busies herself with checking out their surroundings as they move along. Shen Yuan has called this area the Level, and she’s assuming it’s the first of its kind, and therefore intended to be the Starting Area for the Players when they enter into this world. She’s done her reading while loading into the Assignment, so she’s fairly confident in her ability to assist Shen Yuan and his partner with whatever sort of administration work they need help with. So far though, from what she’s seeing, the two of them are actually off to a really good start. One or both of them must have some sort of experience in world building.

What a perfect Assignment for them, if that’s the case.

Especially if what Shen Yuan says is true, and he really had suffered through a triple S class of extreme difficulty for what was suppose to be their tutorial world. He really deserves a paradisal vacation such as this, where he can recuperate from the troubles he’d faced.

“It shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” Shen Yuan finally says, voice so quiet that Myra wouldn’t have heard it if the rest of the world around them wasn’t dead silent. It seems the audiosphere hasn’t been set up, yet.

Myra glances over to her side, and finds Shen Yuan staring down at the ground with a frown on his pretty face. His hands are clenched into fists at his sides.

“You said they already patched the glitch, so it shouldn’t have happened. They — whoever they are — clearly didn’t do their job.”

Myra bites her lip, and hugs a strangely quiet Dorazou to her chest. “Yeah, so we should file a complaint, right? And we can get the rest of the team on board with it, too, once they get here. I’m sure they’ll agree, too.”

“The rest of the team?” Shen Yuan asks, frown still present. He flicks his wrist, and the fan opens with a sharp snap and a skillful flourish. Myra stares at the action in awe. So refined! So graceful! And the fan itself was exquisite.

“I’m sorry, could you elaborate on the… Assignment Parameters you mentioned before? Xiao Lei and I just needed help, and the system said we’d have it. It didn’t explain what that help was, or where it would come from.”

Xiao Lei must be the other agent, Shen Yuan’ partner. Myra files the name away and directs a bright smile in the direction of her new teammate.

“Sure thing! Basically, your request generated a new Assignment in the listings for agents. It asks for five agents to form a team directly under you and your partner, though Agent 74 is suppose to be the team leader. That wouldn’t happen to be you, would it?”

Shen Yuan blinks at her, before his frown returns in full force. It looks faintly irritated this time, and the boy calls out, “System, what is my, uh, Agent number?”

There’s a faint sound of static, before a slightly stilted and robotic voice replies, “Host is filed as Agent 81.”

Myra glances down to see a Siamese cat, tail poised elegantly in the air and ears perked upright, weaving between Shen Yuan’s every step like a ghost. The cat glances up at her and blinks it’s bright blue eyes at her with an indifferent gaze.

“Oh, is that your System? It’s so cute!” She squeals.

The cat glances away from her, and Shen Yuan huffs.

“It’s an absolute snob, is what it is,” the boy refutes.

His system doesn’t look back up, and Myra feels a little bad for it, but…. Well, she supposed, if she’s been trapped in an SSS-rank hell world for her first Assignment, she might have some resentment toward her system, too.

She clutched Dorazou to her chest at the terrible thought, and is comforted when the little dragon spite turns around to nuzzle her back. It seems she’s really lucked out, huh?

“Does your system have a name?” She asks, scratching Dorazou behind the ear.

“Does it need one?” Shen Yuan asks coldly.

Myra cringes, glancing down at the aloof-looking cat that darts between his legs. It doesn’t even twitch at the way that it’s host speaks about it, and Myra decides to change the subject least the air becomes too awkward.

“So, um, I guess your partner is the designated team leader, then!” She tries, her smile fixed in place.

Shen Yuan shrugs. He flutters the pretty fan in front of his face and holds his other arm behind his back. He looks like some sort of regal young master of an ancient dynasty, with a posture like that. Myra wonders what the setting of his last world had been. Imperial court drama, perhaps? That sort of plot was almost always a guaranteed S rank.

“It suits him,” Shen Yuan says. “He has the most experience in creating worlds, so I guess I’d follow his lead even if he wasn’t the boss. Though, I’ll definitely be there to advise him, so he doesn’t get too carried away.”

“Carried away?” Myra wonders.

“It happens, sometimes.” Shen Yuan grimaces. “If it’s true that we’ll be a team, then I’ll be counting on you to keep an eye on him, as well.”

“Yes, of course!” Myra is a little confused, but Shen Yuan obviously knows his partner best, so she’ll take his words to heart. She salutes him. “You can definitely rely on me for that!”

This gets her a faint smile, and she inwardly cheers. This boy is surprisingly difficult to get a response out of. Myra hasn’t met someone like him in a long time.

Suddenly, Shen Yuan pulls to a stop, and gestures ahead of them. “We’re here,” he says, and then sighs. “Looks like he’s not finished… I wonder….”

Myra looks ahead of them, to see a huge structure looming in the distance. The forest they’ve been strolling through has given way to an open plain, grasslands mixed with an opaque sandy desert. A few hundred meters away sits a hulking building, which in closer examination is not a building at all, but in fact some sort of autonomous being. It’s collapsed on its side, limbs askew, a central panel of its torso gaping open to allow its mechanical insides to be strewn about throughout the grass and sand around it. There’s faint noises of metal hitting against metal coming from within it, and when Myra squints, she can just make out a tiny figure perched on the very edge of the thing’s opened chassis.

Shen Yuan takes a step forward, and Myra keeps back. He closes his fan with a satisfying clack and slips it into the pocket of his shorts, and then cups his hands around his mouth. “Hey, Shang Lei! Come here!”

Oh, so the other agent’s name was Shang Lei, not Xiao Lei.

Myra pokes at her lip in thought as she watches the distant figure poke it’s head up out of the mechanical innards of whatever creature they were tinkering around inside of. Shen Yuan, Shang Lei… those names both sound pretty Chinese to her. And in Chinese, Xiao is often used as a diminutive or an endearment. So, this must mean that Shen Yuan and Shang Leo are actually very close friends, right? Myra covers her smile with a hand.

Due to context gathered from Shen Yuan's earlier words, it must also be likely that they were partners in their last world. Meaning that Shang Lei also experienced what was, in layman’s terms, called a Hell Assignment. And it is likely that the Hell Assignment was also Shang Lei’s first Assignment, given that Shen Yuan has no idea about a lot of System Agent common sense.

If they were partners all this time, if Shang Lei had previous transmigration experience, he’d have schooled his partner on it by now. And yet, Shen Yuan was ignorant of a lot of things.

Myra presses both her palms to her cheeks and sighs quietly as she watches Shang Lei approach them. Shen Yuan has stepped up to meet him, but she can clearly see the hesitant way that Shang Lei holds himself, the wary way that he eyes her. The way that he slides himself into the shadow of Shen Yuan’s barely taller stature when he realizes she’s looking back at him.

She sighs in her heart, as well, and clutches Dorazou in one arm like a teddy bear. Her system pays her on the hand.

“—apparently posted an assignment asking for other agents to come and lend us a hand.” Shen Yuan is explaining quietly to his partner — his friend. He gestures at her with a hand. “This is Myra Khol, the first one to accept the mission.”

Myra steps forward the smallest step she can take without it seeming like she’s wary of them, too. It still makes Shang Lei duck even further behind Shen Yuan. She does not let it dim her smile.

“Hi, I’m Myra, System Agent 23! I’m pleased to meet you, boss!”

Shang Lei peeks out from behind his friend with wide eyes. There’s a complicated expression on his face.

“... Nice to meet you, too,” he mumbles, and curls back behind Shen Yuan as soon as the last word is out.

That is it! Myra has decided! She will help these two to the best of her abilities, not because it’s the Assignment, but because she wants to!

Dorazou! Edit Assignment self parameters!

[[Host!]]

The dragon sprite makes a soft noise from within her grasp. She sees the way that Shang Lei’s eyes dart down to it, and the frown that graces his face as he glances shyly back toward her with an expression that almost looks faintly concerned. For her. And given the fact that it’s very possible that Shang Lei’s opinion of systems is the same as Shen Yuan’s, due to their not-so-great past experiences, the look that he’s sending her now makes Myra’s heart melt.

[[Assignment parameters, self edit mode!]]

Myra’s smile broadens.

Take care of Agent 74 and Agent 81! Priority!

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Divide”

Hello, everyone, and welcome back! It feels good to be doing some normal RWBY-ing in this strange world of ours. First, some supplementary materials.

Number One: In response to any (valid) questions along the lines of, “Hey Clyde, it’s now been a full year since Volume 7 was airing and you still haven’t answered my ask about it. Or the ones about Volume 6… what’s up with that?” I’ve created what I hope is an informative video detailing the problem:

(I assure you, the Earth, Wind & Fire was a happy accident during the screen recording.)

Needless to say, there’s a lot and I’ve known for some time now that I will LITERALLY never get through all my asks. Which doesn’t mean I don’t want you to send future thoughts in! Just know that as we head into Volume 8 territory I’ll most likely prioritize those, as well as any Volume 7 asks that aren’t woefully out of date. But I do want everyone to know that I read all the asks I receive, appreciate them immensely, and think too much about hypothetical answers, even if I don’t have time to actually write them out 💜

Number Two: There’s a bingo board this year!

Jury’s out on whether I’ll remember to update it, but at the very least this serves as a decent glimpse into my — and others’ — expectations going into this volume.

Number Three: I’ve collected a list of things I’ve heard about Volume 8 from what seem to be reputable sources. I did this because RT is developing a tendency to talk up certain points and then fail to deliver, either because something was taken out of a volume/moved to another, or because RT apparently has radically different ideas about what including something means. So this might be handy to keep on file and ask ourselves two months from now, “Did RT actually deliver on what they promised?”

Emphasis on Ruby’s leadership and how Summer’s death has impacted her

Insight into Ren and Nora’s flaws

May Merigold will supposedly have a larger part

More information about The Long Memory (Ozpin’s cane)

Theme of the volume is that you can respect someone but that doesn’t necessarily mean you agree with them

Very short timeline (supposedly just two days)

Yang in particular is very suspicious and distrustful

I was also going to include a list of all the threads that need to be continued/wrapped up, but honestly that would have taken too large a chunk off my life. Let’s just throw out the highlights:

Are we really going to have Qrow gunning for Ironwood?

Clover is dead regardless. Press ‘F’ to pay respects

Oscar bb you got shot please acknowledge this

Ozpin bb you got done dirty please acknowledge this

Penny is a Maiden now. I feel like the fandom has been sleeping on this (myself included)

Queer baiting, queer baiting… you’re on thin ice at this point, RWBY. Just skate on over to the queer snack bar before you fall straight into the lake.  

Ren spill your deep dark secret already and it had better be something more than just ‘Oh no Nora might someday die :( ’

Salem is here so how the actual fuck is the cast surviving this?

Will Ironwood likewise survive his descent into antagonism? Yes or please yes no?

I think that’s all the biggies. I strive to keep lists like this in mind while analyzing, but honestly RWBY has a hundred moving parts that are abandoned or changed or simply retconned at the drop of a hat. So an attempt will be made.

Number Four (last one I promise!): Normal disclaimers and reminders for Recaps apply:

Please don’t fill up the already full inbox with flames. It’s still 2020. No one has time for that nonsense.

There will absolutely be typos and wonky parts because I try to get these out the same day an episode premieres. I have now been working on this for ten hours, nearly straight, and have no more energy for edits. Apologies in advance and RIP to my Saturdays.

I reserve the right to use stupid GIFs and memes at my discretion.

I strive to keep my focus on recapping/analyzing but salt tends to worm its way in… If you’re a die-hard RWBY fan with little patience for criticism, let alone (at times) snarky criticism, please proceed with caution.

No wait I lied, this is the last thing:

Okay, got that out of my system LET’S DO THIS!

We start not with the episode itself but rather Rooster Teeth’s (RT’s) strange non-promotion of it. If you follow my blog you may have caught the post where I pointed out that there was nothing on RT’s website to suggest that one of their most popular shows—if not the most popular show—was premiering today. Nothing on the main page. Nothing on the RWBY page either, not unless you count the Volume 8 poster background (easily mistaken for the Volume 7 poster) and the trailer buried all the way down past Episodes, past Merch, in the Bonus Features section along with videos like Live From Remnant and the volume intros. RT… the promotion of your feature show is not a bonus. This should be front and center! Honest to god, five minutes before the episode dropped I was checking the website for a Volume 8 section, a countdown, anything that would tell me the episode was imminent without relying on fans on tumblr to keep me in the loop. We got nada, zilch. I’m not sure whether that speaks more to RT’s iffy management of the series or simply the website’s horrible design—RIP losing RWBY on Youtube—but I was surprised when I saw the episode a few minutes after 11:00am. At that point I honestly expected to hear about a dely.

So that’s the mood I entered the premiere in, but truly? We start off strong. Things take a pretty severe nosedive later on, we’ll get to that, but I was impressed with our beginning and that probably has a lot to do with the fact that we start with our villains.

We open on a Cinderella character, Cinder, and thus I’m immediately pleased that we’re getting something about her backstory after all this time. Seven years! She appeared in episode one, folks! To say we’re overdue is an understatement. There isn’t a whole lot to go on, just a younger Cinder sadly scrubbing the floor, poised under a spotlight. What we learn, or potentially learn, is based far more in cultural knowledge than this scene. We know Cinderella’s story, which includes the abusive family, the longing for more, the eventual escape, and thus we’re able to read all of that in this image, despite the image itself not telling us any of this overtly. That means we could be wrong in our interpretation, but if we’re not it’s an easy shorthand in an already packed story.

What I’m really impressed with is the sound bridge between the scrubbing and her nails on the back of Neo’s chair. Fantastic way to confirm that this is Cinder as well as showcasing just how far she’s come. The sound of her labor has been replaced with the sound of her power and given that Cinder’s power is stolen, tied to a grimm arm, the property of a genocidal maniac… that’s messed up. It’s a Cinderella story gone wrong.

So yeah, Cinder tells Neo to head straight into the creepy, grimm infested blood cloud to see Salem and Neo is like, ‘Uh… no thank you?’ lol.

RT does a good job this episode with her expressions, ensuring we know exactly what she’s thinking despite an unwillingness/inability to speak.

Poor Neo might be in too deep, but I quite like the overall atmosphere of this opening. Say what we will about Salem’s awful characterization, at least she has style. This woman knows how to make an entrance and, piggybacking off of the Apathy, RT knows how to infuse horror elements into their fantasy. The red and purple coloring of the clouds, spiked whale teeth peeking through, bright orange in the background looking like explosions… that’s all 👌 Including the intro card.

The only thing I want to gripe about is this:

I’m sorry, why does the whale grimm have landing pads? Or something like it?? The whale otherwise works because it’s poised between the natural and the fantasy synthetic. It looks like a real grimm whale on the outside, but is sporting a throne room, a control panel, and other unnatural elements on the inside. It’s a visual indicator of Salem’s ability to control and change grimm. Now though, the additions are wrong, infringing on the line between organic and tech, the line between what helps the grimm individually (giving monkeys wings) and what just helps Salem. Every other aspect of the whale straddles that line wonderfully, adding to the creep factor, like a grimm version of the Uncanny Valley: it’s not quite a whale anymore… but landing pads? That looks ridiculous. Why does Salem even have that? How many ships are her people feasibly using? Why are there five?

Take it away, please.

Cinder waltzes in like this is a normal home visit, but Neo has an appropriate ‘What the actual fuck?’ face going on.

They approach Salem on her throne where Cinder immediately kneels, greeting her with, “My queen.” I mentioned during my trailer breakdown that I think Cinder is lying her ass off here, and I still think that based on a line we’ll get in a minute, but now at least we have a sense of how she can pull this off. A woman who started out as a (presumed) servant is going to know how to mimic subservience, even if her heart isn’t in it. Salem is very good at playing the girl who will still kneel and scrub the floor for you. She will scrub the floor, she’ll do everything you want, she’ll just be plotting her own rise to power while she does it.

There’s quite a bit of interesting cinematography in this episode, not all of it good, and I think one of the mistakes is here when we get a closeup on Salem’s mouth as she greets Cinder. A closeup like that should be reserved for more significant dialogue—“Rosebud”—and yet we get this shot again when Cinder tells Emerald to be quiet. It’s awkward and coupled with the numerous eye closeups we got in the trailer, I think RT is playing a little fast and loose with the camera. Each shot should add something to the scene, not distract from it. If you don’t have a reason for including a technique like that then leave it be.

Back to the actual dialogue though. We knew that Salem knew Cinder was alive and now it seems that she just expected her to come back? I’m slightly lost. It feels like we’re missing something here. Cinder goes off to secure the lamp, fails, nearly dies, wanders on her own for months, and then randomly shows back up on Salem’s whale doorstep, yet Salem isn’t angry at all? Did she have faith that Cinder would return when she has something to offer? Did she just not care about Cinder, considering her return an unnecessary but otherwise welcome surprise? That would make the least sense given that she holds the key to accessing Beacon’s relic… but that circles right back around to why Salem is seemingly indifferent to Cinder’s comings and goings. Surely she can’t actually believe that Cinder is loyal?

“So I trust you wouldn’t return to me empty handed,” she says. Yeah, trust means nothing in this show, Salem, didn’t you watch Volumes 6 and 7? Again, I simply don’t know. I suppose I’ll just chalk it up to confidence, that if Cinder did bail Salem knew she could track her down again. Deciphering her motivations and beliefs is a lost cause when the show continually gives us so little.

The important thing now is that Cinder does indeed have an offering and you can see that Salem is somewhat surprised at being handed the relic.

Cinder, of course, takes credit for the victory and we’re given another wonderful shot of Neo. ‘YOU took it?’

Oh, Neo. Best get out while you still can.

Tyrian appears having obviously made his way to Salem’s ship sometime between her arrival and now. The exchange is pretty standard for this group. He insults Cinder for failing and needing this victory to make amends, talks about how any win against Ironwood says more about his lack of intelligence than her skill, and Cinder… doesn’t have a whole lot of comebacks, actually. I’d say Tyrian won that verbal spar, enhanced by a better use of the camera when we get his tail looming menacingly towards Cinder and Neo.

He goes on to say that Watts was a “necessary sacrifice” so, uh… I’m just going to toss out the ask I answered yesterday. Based on our intro I’d say Watts is still significant to the volume—hacking Penny is my guess—but by the end? He could be in trouble.

(As a side note: I plan to analyze the intro next week. It’s just easier when it comes first.)

Tyrian also calls Neo “little one” which I just found absolutely hilarious. In an on brand creepy manner, that is. Not that Neo couldn’t kick his ass, but there’s something wonderfully chilling about having the serial killer use an endearment towards a potential victim, one that comments on her size while he’s looming.

In contrast, Cinder refers to Neo as a “valuable asset” and we get our third mood of the episode.

Who’s going to start a Neo reaction image collection?

It’s true enough on the surface—who wouldn’t want an ally who can turn into anyone else?—but we’re still bumping up against question of why Salem needs this. She’s immortal! She has an endless army! Magic! This scene works well with a villain who needs a skillset like Neo’s to succeed, but Salem doesn’t. RT is doing a great job writing a story thus far, just not the story we’ve previously been given. This isn’t the story they set up.

This will come back up when we reach the RWBYJNOR group. Just wait.

Before that though, the gang’s all here as Emerald, Mercury, and Hazel show up, all in new outfits.

I think I like everything except for the weird Xs on Emerald’s jacket—it’s way too distracting and frankly makes an otherwise good look ugly—and the fact that she’s showing her midriff in Atlas. Hazel doesn’t have any sleeves! Oh my god, why doesn’t anyone dress for the weather in this show?

Frankly, I found their reunion to be kind of lackluster. I mean, there was nothing wrong with it. Emerald does sound briefly excited, she does run, and it’s in character for Cinder to cut her off… it just didn’t resonate with me emotionally. I thought after two volumes of thinking she’s dead, then working through the knowledge that she’s alive, that I would feel Emerald’s shock and relief more, but I didn’t. And I’m not entirely sure why. I don’t want to level any accusations at the voice acting because frankly I know next to nothing about that skill (and from what I’ve seen it’s usually praised in the fandom), but I will say that throughout the premiere I was noticing it more than I ever have before. The lack of emotion here and some awkward deliveries later, like when Yang goes, “Ruby, there is no way Ironwood will cooperate with us” and I immediately thought, “Wow, that came out stilted.” These observations stick with me because, as said, voice acting usually isn’t on my radar. It’s not something I’ve studied or had practice analyzing. If you’d never told me that Ren or Qrow’s VA changed then after a year hiatus I literally wouldn’t notice… but there’s something about this episode that didn’t sit right. Anyone else get that sense, or was it just me?

Regardless, the arrival of our other three villains really doesn’t amount to much, though I’m happy for all the Emerald and Mercury fans who get to see them in new outfits. The focus is still on Cinder as she delivers a line indicative of her true motivations: “That power will be mine.” Yeah, she’s not loyal to Salem, she’s just power hungry. Of course, Salem immediately takes note of this and raises her hand, in another nice use of the foreground, reminding her that she hasn’t given that order.

Cinder is shocked, angry even, but quickly covers it up with her “Without you I am nothing” line. If I caught it right I think she also calls Salem “Ma’am”? Hilarious. Again, skilled at playing the servant.

Also, before I forget, it’s worth noting that almost everything from our trailer appeared in this episode. Yeah, there are a few details like Nora attacking some tech and the group on their bikes, but on the whole we’ve already seen the majority of our promo material and will likely get most of the rest next week. It makes me both interested and nervous for what another twelve episodes are going to hold.

Salem opens her whale, or opens a portal type view in it, something that gives us a long-distance look at Atlas. I don’t know what exactly is going on here, but it’s pretty so I’ll take it.

She also delivers the frankly badass line, “Just because you’re more valuable to me than a pawn does not make you a player.”

She waves them all away with perfect ‘You mean nothing to me’ attitude and we sadly leave our villains.

Sad not because I don’t love my farm boy, but because things are about to get a whole lot messier.

Oscar has made his way to a camp of civilian survivors… all of whom are just hanging out in the supposedly deadly cold. Yeah, there’s a single fire, but at least four of them aren’t anywhere near it. Three of them also aren’t wearing gloves. What was that survival rate again?

A nice if gruff dude gives Oscar soup—water?—while showing off his… badger claws? I don’t know what kind of faunus he’s supposed to be, but he feels like the sort of two second, minor character who could easily become a meme lol.

Oscar thanks him (my polite son!) and hands the bowl back after a single sip. Which is impressive because I would have assumed the guy was giving me the whole bowl and just taken it. Hell, I’ve done that even when I didn’t assume it’s all for me. A Starbucks barista once approached me with a tray and a plate of samples, I knew I was supposed to take just one, yet for some reason my hand went to take the whole goddamn plate. He had to tell me off, then I was trying to explain that I didn’t actually want or think I should have eight shots of cappuccino all to myself, I don’t even like coffee, he clearly didn’t believe me… it was awkward. So good job, Oscar. You’re less awkward than me (though that’s not saying much).

Now a question, Oscar. Darling. Brilliant boy who has been through too much: why the fuck aren’t you talking to Ozpin? This will be A Thing later when he presents a lack of time to talk as justification for keeping more secrets (we’ll get to that too…) yet here is time! You’re just sitting there for who knows how long, with plenty of privacy to hide a supposedly one-sided conversation so the Mantle citizens don’t get weirded out or suspicious. Talk to Ozpin. Our headmaster gets two lines in this episode, utterly inconsequential lines like his airship scene, lines that feel like they exist to say, “See? He’s still included in the story!” even though he absolutely is not. Two volumes of mostly silence, a perfect setup to start the reconciliation process, but we’re going to put it off again?

Instead Ruby randomly and conveniently appears. I want to know how she found him. Oscar isn’t wearing a tracker. He clearly didn’t call them because he’s surprised when Ruby shows up. He fell alllllllll the way back down to Mantle and then wandered to a random part of the slums. You’re telling me they flew over the entire city—after beginning this search thinking he was in Atlas—and somehow managed to spot him from up in the air? C’mon. I would have rather had a beginning where Oscar makes his way back to the group himself, giving him and Ozpin time to hash things out.

“Need a lift?” Ruby says, eliminating that potential. Sigh.

Oscar immediately starts beating himself up when he gets onboard, saying that he “was stupid to think the General would listen.” Nah, you were stupid to buy into Ruby’s nonsensical confidence and for telling Ironwood he’s as bad as Salem. Sorry, Oscar, but everyone is written badly these days. I will, however, say that I am THRILLED at the group’s reaction to his return. Ruby says that she’s “just glad you’re alright.” Nora has a wonderfully tender moment where she hugs him gently rather than her usual glomp.

That? That added a year to my life. Everyone else seems relieved that he’s okay too, so kudos there. After four years of Oscar being an outsider in the group, this is one of the few moments that feel like he’s 100% accepted. Really glad to see it.

Now let’s see if it sticks after they learn Ozpin is back...

They fly to the Happy Huntresses’ base and I again feel like I’ve missed something crucial. When did they team up? I mean, RWBYJNOR was working directly under Ironwood up until the last hour and Robyn ran off to fight Tyrian/Clover in the last couple episodes. When did she have time to explain her (briefly) changed allegiance and why would the Happy Huntresses trust the group without that? Did Robyn share that Blake and Yang went behind Ironwood’s back for her? Do the Huntresses instinctively trust them because they’re now wanted by the military? How did they even run into each other?

Again, I think we would have been better served to have an episode before all this. Let Oscar make his way back and let the group struggle with the magnitude of their situation on the airship, before they find new allies. Transferring directly to, “They have help and a secret base and a plan in the works!” makes me feel like I missed the real premiere last week. You know, the one where Salem unexpectedly arrived and we left the group like this.

This is where we’ve ended up though. The group is cozy in this hideout, getting info from Joanna, and my only other thought is, “Why is she giving all this exposition?”  

Shouldn’t it be May? I mean, we were told that she was going to play more of a role this volume, a promise that’s pretty important imo given her status as a (so far off screen) trans character, so why not put her in the role of mediator between the Happy Huntresses and RWBYJNR? Giving her that setup as a leader among her people as well as lots of lines would be meaningful. A trans character just existing and being a part of this fight! May could obviously still fill that role—I’m well aware that we’re only one episode in—but it just seems like a missed opportunity to me. Out of all the undeveloped Happy Huntresses, our premiere focuses on the one who has the least importance to the fandom.

As said, Joanna talks a fair bit but what it basically boils down to is trying to get everyone to the crater below Atlas. It’s apparently not safe, but it’s warm, which is what matters right now.

So… let me get this straight. You want to gather everyone into a not safe crater, by leading them through an army of grimm, so that they can wait there in case someone moves the Staff, thus dropping an entire city on top of their heads? That’s the plan? Which admittedly isn’t Joanna’s fault. This is another instance of RWBYJNOR having information that a leader does not and they should really consider speaking up about it. But of course they don’t.

Also, how long does everyone have in regards to the cold? Shouldn’t there be dead civilians by now? The time it would take to find the Happy Huntresses, team up with them, get settled in the base, and find Oscar says that things should be pretty grim right now (pardon the pun), yet every non-aura user in this city seems content to just hang out in the snow. Either the cold is deadly enough to justify moving everyone to the crater, or it’s mild enough to let everyone survive this long, not both.

After hugs are given everyone obviously wants to know what happened to Oscar. His response?

“It’s a… long story. I get the feeling there’s been a few of those tonight.”

That’s a check for the bingo card! We’re halfway through the first episode and we’ve already got another secret. Yes, this is a secret. Oscar actively chooses not to tell anyone that Ozpin is back—something Ozpin himself comments on—and then skillfully draws attention away from himself with “I get the feeling there’s been a few of those tonight.” Indeed, all eyes go to Penny. Oscar’s plight is forgotten, which is what he wanted. His justification?

Ozpin: “You’re not going to tell them?”

Oscar: “You and I aren’t done talking yet.”

Along with this look.

Oscar no. There’s so much wrong with this I don’t even know where to begin. Let’s create a list.

As said, you had plenty of time to talk to Ozpin and chose not to. Miss me with this excuse.

You are now doing to your friends exactly what you and your friends did to Ironwood, which in turn is what Ozpin did to you! I can’t believe we’ve got Oscar critically side-eyeing him when they are still—still—repeating the behavior they drove Ozpin away for.

What is there to even talk about now? Oscar didn’t punch himself/Ozpin (lol) but he did steal Jinn’s name from Ozpin in the first place. You got what you wanted, drove him away, and have been lying and keeping secrets ever since. The only thing they should be talking about involves apologizing. Any further criticism—which is what Oscar’s expression and curt reply suggests—is beyond hypocritical.

Seriously, what needs to be discussed? There’s no reason not to tell the group unless Oscar wants to talk about whether they should tell them. There’s no good ending here...

Don’t you think it would be nice to know that Ozpin is back and you’ve got super magic powers while making plans to save the entire world?

This is all especially stupid given Oscar’s “Salem wants to divide us” reminder to Ruby in a moment. Oscar, you are doing the most to divide the group right now. By not forgiving Ozpin. By refusing to work with him. By keeping him secret from everyone else.

This is bad, friends, I worry for what the rest of the volume will bring…

The story is done with Ozpin for now so I guess I will be too. The group continues filling Oscar in and we get some shots of the base, including a rather prominent poster of what I assume are two Happy Huntresses. Did they die in battle perhaps?

It’s a little strange.

Oscar: “Where’s Qrow?”

Me: “Likely still making bad decisions.”

No one knows so they just drop it. Which I kind of get, only so much you can do to find him if he’s not out on the streets like Oscar, but it still reads as kind of iffy that two nieces look down at the ground for a hot second and then move on with their plans, content to leave Qrow to whatever fate befell him. In a minute we’ll see Yang firmly take Ren’s side regarding helping the people they can in Mantle, which frankly comes out of nowhere for her. I think an easy motivation would have been Qrow. Ruby wants to save the world, Yang wants to find and save their uncle, and that just happens to align with Ren’s desire to save the civilians who need immediate grimm and cold help. Don’t get me wrong, I like that there’s finally some division between the sisters, I just wish it hadn’t come about so abruptly. Ren had setup for standing up to Ruby. Yang did not.

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. Joanna lists the grimm horde and no heat as the major threats to everyone. The group agrees.

Me: What about Salem?

Joanna says that this is all doubly dangerous because there’s “no more military protection.”

Me: Oh, so now you want the military?

This is all so disjointed. Even more-so when Joanna mentions that Ironwood has stopped all evacuations to Atlas, likely due to the “hard light shields” that are the only thing standing between Salem and the city. Thing is, the show never makes this connection, I just did it myself based on this scene and the one that comes later. The show presents Joanna’s line as a pure condemnation. Ironwood won’t let more evacuees in because… he’s just evil, I guess. Yet there is a justification here, namely that continuing the evacuations even while he’s stuck without Penny leaves him wide open to a Salem attack, the death of everyone currently safe, but that argument is never presented to the viewer. I don’t need people to agree with Ironwood’s perspective, I just wish that perspective was offered as an option. The show is very good about acting like RWBYJNOR’s opinion is the only justified opinion, or simply the only opinion at all.

After everything is laid out Weiss goes, “We’re never going to sleep again, I just know it.”

I could make a crack about the lack of continuity and how the group should be collapsing right now… but that was a funny line. It can stay.

What is far more of a problem is the fact that no one is talking about Salem. Okay, that’s a lie. They do talk about her, but in a roundabout way like her presence isn’t impacting every decision they make. That’s the real issue. They’re acting as if Salem isn’t here right now, like she’s off far away, maybe approaching slowly, and they’re arguing over how best to prep the world for her eventual attack. There’s no emotion here—let alone action—to reflect that the series’ Big Bad has arrived and is poised to murder them all. Literally what is this? Ruby is yelling about warning the world and, ignoring the continued question of why that’s a good thing when the world can do nothing to stop Salem and knowledge of her continually drives people to horrible acts, she has yet to acknowledge that… she’s the world? Ruby is the world in this conflict. She, Mantle, and Atlas. Salem is here for you all. Right now. You are, this instant, in the situation you want to warn others about, so why don’t you try to do something about it? Or at least acknowledge it. Ruby wants to warn the neighborhood about a potential fire while her house is actively ablaze, and the fire could have totally killed her by now but decided not to for… reasons.

“Ruby’s right,” Nora says. They have to tell the world so “they can prepare.” How? How are they supposed to prepare for this? The story cannot continue ignoring Salem’s immortality.

“Ruby’s right,” is all Blake says and I’m starting to thinks that’s why her character exists now, to agree with Ruby. It’s great that she’s getting a little distance from Yang, but man.

As Ruby asks whether Pietro can get Amity up and running despite it not being finished (called it) we start an incredibly odd sequence of flashforwards to their individual missions. I’ve seen a lot of praise for this already and though I agree that, in theory, it’s a good way to save time, I found the actual execution to be jarring. Upon thinking back through our timeline, it became clear they were flashforwards, but while watching I thought they might be flashbacks (especially since that’s more common).

Some of the shots, like Nora’s, just look awkward when you’ve got the exact expression and pose transplanted from one scene to another, like she’s a cardboard cutout behind a green screen. To say nothing of how the flashforwards ruin any suspense (I use that word loosely) in the conversation itself. If the question is, “Will they decide to go to the military compound?” then that question is answered when we see Ruby scoping out the compound, not when the group actually decides on the course of action.

It just made an already muddled scene worse for me, so I hope this trend doesn’t continue.

And of course, Amity can be used despite all the info last volume claiming that it wasn’t finished. Pietro suddenly acts like it is finished and the only thing standing in their way is Ironwood providing access. If that were the case, he would have used Amity weeks or days ago like he wanted to! When was it finished? Not after Watts commented on how incomplete it was. When did they get back the resources they needed from Robyn? It’s as ridiculous and retcon-y as I thought it would be.

Yang points out that Ironwood will never listen to them and Ruby counters that “he doesn’t have to.” They’ll just take the access from him. Because why wouldn’t they in a series where they’ve already stolen two airships? Stealing from the super evil military that Joanna wishes were helping them right now is just the group’s go-to plan nowadays.

Pietro isn’t sold on this plan though. He lists at least three obstacles they’d need to get through “and then… oh boy, I might need to think about this some more.” “And just to clarify,” Oscar says, “This is the easy option?” Um...no it’s not? We also know there’s an access point in Ironwood’s office so… why not go there instead? They really think the Academy is less guarded than the military base? There’s a potential justification here along the lines of, “After Neo and Cinder broke into his office Ironwood will have the place on high alert,” but unless I missed it the group doesn’t assume anything like that. They just listen to Pietro point out all the ways they can’t get into the military base and jump straight to that being the best option. It feels like a transparent way to create conflict for the group. We’ll just have them taking the most dangerous route despite an easy route being offered alongside it. Why bother mentioning his office at all? Just have the access in the military base. Boom, done.

It’s that conflict and the fact that Ruby tends to hear “You can’t” and digs in her heels. You can’t go to Atlas. I’ll just steal a ship then. You can’t defeat Salem. Watch me. You can’t break into this base. Guess what I’m doing! She’s dangerous in her fairy tale, meta-driven insistence that everything will turn out her way because she wants it to.

Speaking of, we finally—FINALLY—get someone challenging Ruby. Sort of. Not actually but it’s the closest we’ve ever gotten:

Yang: “Ruby, when we came here we said we’d follow your lead… but things haven’t exactly worked out.”

Now, there are two things to take away from this moment. The first is how utterly shocked Ruby and the others are. I mean, take a look at these expressions.

Ruby straight up can’t believe what she’s hearing. Weiss put her hand to her mouth like this is the most dramatic thing to ever happen to her. Oscar looks down in a ‘Yeah, I agree but please don’t look at me and make me admit that’ way. And Nora looks indifferent in the screenshot but animated she goes sort of stern, likely pissed that Yang would dare say that given her own agreement with Ruby. This not only reiterates that Yang’s challenge came out of nowhere—seriously, how did we move from following Ruby no matter what to this? Last volume she asked a single question along the lines of, ‘You sure?’ and when Ruby said ‘Yes’ Yang was entirely on board—but also demonstrates that no one has EVER said no to her before. Ruby is amazed that someone would challenge her. The act of challenging Ruby is, in and of itself, shocking. This group has gotten so used to following Ruby blindly that the teensiest little pushback is greeted with this.

Because it is teensy. This is the second takeaway: Yang barely challenges her and that challenge leads nowhere. She doesn’t accuse Ruby of anything, she doesn’t question her continued authority, she just broadly implies that things could be better. We followed you, now things are bad, take from that what you will. It’s incredibly mild as far as criticism goes, making the shock all the more, well, shocking, but it also amounts to—wait for it—nothing! Because Yang didn’t truly challenge Ruby’s leadership. She’s still in charge, she’s still calling the shots, and they’re still listening to her. We might have gotten some change if this division had been allowed to play out, but instead Jaune comes in with a, “Let’s go for both!” solution. It let’s both groups get what they want which, in turn, releases them from the need to grapple with whether they’ll listen to Ruby when she’s advocating for something they don’t agree with. We have now lost the chance to see whether, when push comes to shove, Ren and Yang will cave to Ruby’s will or stick by their own beliefs.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s more conflict than we’ve gotten in years, but that doesn’t mean it’s particularly compelling conflict. It’s good by RWBY’s standards, which doesn’t necessarily make it good. The actual issues at hand—Ruby’s dangerous arrogance, the group’s loyalty, her choices up until now—are just swept under the rug. For all the visuals we get insisting that there’s this great divide in the group… there’s really not. Not in any way that matters.

Also, Ruby is an idiot. Okay, that was mean, but she really is in this scene. She’s actually not an idiot overall because she was written as wonderfully intelligent in the early volumes, but now? Lately? She makes me want to bang my head against a wall.

“But that’s how Salem got this far,” she cries. “By dividing us!”

Ruby… oh my god, Ruby. No one should have to explain to you that dividing people means turning them against each other, not literally dividing your team to complete separate tasks. This girl honestly thought that because there was this teensy disagreement and that half the team would complete Plan A while she and the other half completed Plan B, both of which notably work towards the goal of, “Protect people from Salem,” that this was somehow what Salem wanted. That is was dangerous. Honestly, it’s a scary look at her view of leadership too: If everyone doesn’t 100% agree with me and do what I say, that’s an objectively bad thing that the grimm queen wants, right? Does Ruby think that unification means following a single person (her) without question or variation? That would explain a lot...

The fact that Oscar needs to explain the difference to her is not good. It really doesn’t say great things about this version of Ruby. Though he was comparing Ironwood to Salem last volume, so really they should all be wearing dunce hats.

Penny offers to take the relic directly to Salem in exchange for her leaving the kingdom alone. I honestly didn’t expect that. If anyone took that risk I would have put my money on Ozpin (but of course, during all this talk of the women he knows best, he’s kept quiet). Oscar is again the voice of wisdom, pointing out that they have no reassurance that Salem will keep her word. At least Penny is thinking about Salem as a threat though, so kudos for that. When this plan is shot down she volunteers to get Ruby past the military security instead and, uh, she’s a little intense about it.

I’m not entirely sure what is going on with Penny. She disagreed with Winter but then seemed to come around to her point of view, enough to help anyway. They had another (stupid) disagreement about the value of individual lives, so that helps to explain why she’s teaming up with RWBYJNOR (if you ignore that Ironwood is also trying to save individual lives...). Did watching Fria die shake her up? Is it being the Winter Maiden that’s not sitting right? Does Penny have lingering feelings about the framing that haven’t shown up until now? Her status as a ‘real girl’? We’ve got a lot of reasons that could definitely explain this sudden need to fight, but we’re not told which—if any of these—is the driving force.  

We’re then given a lot of little details. Someone points out that if Salem gets the staff and “create[s] anything else” then Atlas will fall (so yeah, let’s move the people underneath it). We still don’t know what exactly the Staff does because “creation” is kind of broad and “powering a city to float” doesn’t seem to sit within that category at all. Pietro gives Yang the keys to his lab so they can get the bikes. We see the group dividing in the flashforwards, something I do like, especially since the show has gone out of its way to break up most of the usual duos. Nora in particular is pissed at Ren for his choice.

“Oh, I’m saving Mantle because I actually believe we can do this.”

#yikes. Well, I did say I wanted a conflict other than ‘Oh no, one of us might die’ and it looks like I got it. But Nora, the only reason you can do this is because the plot is in your corner: none of you are collapsing from two major fights, you didn’t lose your aura so the cold isn’t a danger, the military is barely a threat all of a sudden, Salem is helpfully hanging out in her whale instead of killing you, and the story decided that Amity can function so long as you all are the ones who get to use it. That’s why you can do this. Ren, who follows in-world logic and doesn’t want to risk a whole kingdom’s worth of lives on a pipe dream, thinks differently, oddly enough.

As they leave though Penny gets a call from Ironwood. I know precisely what the fandom is going to say here: “This evil man is just trying to use Penny to open the vault!” Of course he is. He needs it open to save everyone he can, Penny included. Plus the concept of “using” her is a double-edged sword. What do we think the group is doing right now? Using her to get past the security. Penny’s power is a tool any way you slice it. Granted, Penny volunteers to help the group, but notably here Ruby speaks for her. Penny seems torn and Ruby takes the scroll away with, “She’s not going anywhere until you change your mind about Mantle.”

Sorry, Ruby, but coming from you that sounds less like a reassurance for Penny and more like just an order for Ironwood. Remember Harriet? We’ll stop attacking you provided you do what we want. Ruby has yet to learn about compromises, let alone acknowledge that she might be wrong. How about you let Penny decide where she goes, especially since by all logic she should have a lot of loyalty to Ironwood. She knew him before she ever met you. She’s worked with him since she was rebuild post-Volume 3. Despite what Penny has said, if the story would just let her think about his actions for a hot second—making her the protector of Mantle, sticking up for her after the framing, sending her to the party, teaming her up with Ruby, etc.—she might realize that the ‘He doesn’t want me to have friends’ and ‘He just treats me like a tool’ assumptions are just that, unfounded assumptions. But no, Ruby speaks for them both because Ironwood is evil now.

“If she makes it through our defenses,” Ironwood says, “everything that follows will be on your hands.”

That’s true! Kind of like how it’s own Qrow’s hands that Clover died. When you insist on making a bad situation worse you hold responsibility when the shit hits the fan. You know though that Salem won’t get through their defenses now, somehow, so that there’s no chance RWBYJNOR will be blamed for it. Or, by that point Ironwood will be so crazed that anything coming out of his mouth is dismissed, no matter how accurate it might be.

We then transfer to the Ace Ops who are, despite what the fandom theorized for many months, clearly upset about Clover. Also pissed. Which they have every right to be. Their friend and leader was killed. Imagine for a moment that Ruby had been murdered by Tyrian with an allies’ help. Exactly what do you think the group would do? Swallow it quietly and get over it? Ha.

I’ve already seen some speculation that Clover survived due to details like showing us the bandage and his room being listed as for a “Patient,” but he looks pretty dead to me.

He got gutted through the chest and left out in the snow for who knows how long. We saw him slip away. Qrow screamed over his dead body. He’s not breathing now. If RWBY suddenly claims he survived this, I’m calling BS.

Most of the other visuals we get here were already dropped in the trailer. Winter is pretty injured from her encounter with Cinder, likely permanently based on her new outfit. Ironwood had to replace his arm—and I am calling BS on that “Losing his arm is reflective of him losing his humanity” commentary from RT. Please go read up on a couple decades worth of ableism in media and then get back to me.

We get Ironwood’s line about the light shields and, notably, a whole lot of empathy. Regardless of what he might want Penny for, he still called her with compassion. He’s watching the Ace Ops mourn their friend. He’s talking about protecting his kingdom. The first thing he says to Winter is, “Thank you, Winter. I don’t know what I would do without you.” Ironwood has a heart! It’s always on display, which makes this scene utterly ridiculous.

I literally don’t know how to respond to this. The gunshot made me jump, both because it’s a gunshot and because, again, what the fuck? I know I said that next volume RT might just have Ironwood descend into full villainy, shooting whoever he pleases now that he’s shot Oscar, but I didn’t actually expect them to do it. Because he never should have shot Oscar in the first place! I wanted the story to let Oscar grapple with it a bit and then quietly backtrack, acknowledging it as the mistake it was. The concept that Ironwood, empathetic Ironwood, rational Ironwood, always thinks before he acts Ironwood, let’s kids yell at him Ironwood, tried to team up with Robyn Ironwood, did everything Ruby wanted Ironwood, won’t kill Watts after he destroyed his arm Ironwood would shoot this guy just to shut him up is absurd. It was absurd then, it’s absurd now.

That being said, there’s a possibility he didn’t actually shoot the council member, but rather just (“just”) gave a warning shot down the hallway. I say this because the reactions to this are pretty tame. Everyone looks startled, yeah, but after the initial shot there’s nothing that I would expect if there was now a guy bleeding out on the floor. The council woman doesn’t scream. Winter doesn’t seem overly shocked. No one is running to try and help him. Basically, if Ironwood had just killed a political figure in front of six witnesses, entirely unprovoked, I would expect a bit more of a reaction than this. This feels far more like a, “Damn he’s not joking around, letting off warning shots to get people to leave him alone” not “WOW, our general just killed someone in cold blood!”

What I really hate though—beyond just assassinating his character—is how many fans think my friends and I are delusional for calling it character assassination at all. I hopped onto the RWBY tag for five minutes this morning and was bombarded with posts about how Ironwood needs to be murdered horrifically, anyone who likes him is sick, the Ironwood stans are as bad as Adam stans, you’re an idiot if you want him redeemed… because apparently the concept of a story writing a character badly doesn’t compute. I’m not here to argue that Ironwood didn’t do these awful things (regardless of whether he actually killed the guy or not). I’m not here to argue that they’re not awful. I’m just here to say that we never should have gotten these scenes in the first place, or if we were going to get them, we deserved an actual descent into murder at the drop of a hat territory. I’ve already explained extensively on this blog how early Ironwood was not accurate foreshadowing for this, and Volume 7 certainly wasn’t setup, but it looks like the majority of fans aren’t interested in examining whether any of this adds up. Which makes my job, as someone trying to examine this series somewhat objectively—in as much as that’s possible for any single viewer—as well as simply enjoy it as a show, really hard. It’s bad enough when a story keeps taking the characters you love and villainizing them, and doing that badly, but then when you turn to the community and see them rallying around the idea that you’re awful for being dissatisfied—you’re the bootlicker, you’re the blind stan, you can’t see what’s ‘really’ going on here… that sucks. For those of you happy and satisfied with Ironwood’s arc, that’s great! I’ve also seen a lot of posts hyping up the complexity of his character now. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying what we’ve been given and I’d never want to imply that just because it’s not what I wanted it’s somehow wrong. I’m honestly thrilled that after a year of worry so many people have adored our premiere, including this scene. I just wish that I could say RWBY had given me something I didn’t want in a persuasive manner and that the fandom as a whole was a bit more welcoming of differing criticisms.

Not that I didn’t already know the RWBY fandom had its flaws, but still lol.

That’s basically it for our premiere. Nice note to end on, huh? Our final scene is of Salem using the lamp to set her bloodhound grimm on the city. Why doesn’t she just go herself? What was she planning to do here in Atlas in the first place, considering that getting the relic was a surprise? Who knows. Little about this holds together. But we do end with another awesome shot, so small favors.

It’s always strange concluding a recap, but even more-so when it’s a premiere, during a historical moment in the U.S., amidst all the nonsense that is 2020. So for now I’ll just conclude with three quick things:

The updated bingo board will be listed at the end of each recap, provided I don’t forget about it lol. Today I’m checking off tone (not nearly enough freaking out about Salem), the team keeping secrets (Oscar), and major plot point dropped (Amity is suddenly finished). I could also probably check off the cold not killing civilians and getting Amity up and running, but we’ll see if any changes with those.

I’m including my Ko-Fi link at the end of recaps now. Not with any expectations. Not with anything resembling pressure. I thought long and hard over whether to include it at all—let alone mention it here—because I love doing these and never want anyone to feel like it comes with strings attached. But life is a little harder and weirder than it was last year, so I figure it can’t hurt. Feel free to pass on by and I won’t be bringing it up past this note.

Far more importantly: thank you for reading! :D

(Bonus 4. Editing this was an absolute nightmare — damn you, tumblr!  — so I apologize if anything is super wonky when I finally post.)

See you next week! 💜

[Ko-Fi]

[adventure-hearts]

( PART 1: DA + ASTROLOGY )

PART 2: DIGIMON ADVENTURE + MBTI 

Taichi - ESTP Yamato - INFP Sora - ENFJ Koushirou - INTJ Mimi - ESFP Jou - ISTJ Takeru - ENFP Hikari - ISFP Daisuke - ESFP Miyako - ENFP Iori - ISTJ Ken - INFJ

Discussion and Commentary below!

If you’ve read some of my previous headcanons about the MBTI, and in particular this very popular post from four (!) years ago, you may find I’ve changed my mind a lot.

An important thing about this typology (or any other one, really) is that it’s quite easy to just look into some websites and make decisions based on the keywords used to describe each type. Which is what I used to do. Keywords are helpful to help us get the “basic picture” (hence why I quote them in this post), but now I believe that you have to read actual theory in order to understand the subtle differences between each type and make more educated guesses.

Since then, I’ve been reading more deeply into MBTI and the Functions. Consequently, the way I understand the MBTI has changed significantly, and so have my Headcanons.

It’s been particularly interesting to learn about the Inferior Function, or the “dark side” of each personality type. The more I read about it, it became surprising that how it seemed to describe most of the adventure kids’ characters arcs incredibly well. This is another reason why the combination Chosen Children + MBTI is such a fascinating and fun thought exercise!

It should be noted that different authors can have widely different interpretations of types, which is why, for the sake of simplicity and coherence, I’ve only read 3-4 main sources when preparing this post. And I tried stay away from popular MBTI websites and resources that exist around the internet, most which can have a slightly misleading/superficial vision of each type. 

However, this doesn’t mean my HCs are “RIGHT” or that other people can’t have better ideas. I’m as biased about the characters as anyone else. I’d be very happy to hear alternative takes!

***

Taichi - ESTP Dominant function: Se

Flexible and tolerant, they take a pragmatic approach focused on immediate results. Theories and conceptual explanations bore them - they want to act energetically to solve the problem. Focus on the here-and-now, spontaneous, enjoy each moment that they can be active with others. Enjoy material comforts and style. Learn best through doing.

Taichi is pretty easy to type, and most ESTP descriptions fit him nicely. Thompson notes the archetype of ESTP is James Bond and Xena the Warrior Princess; I think the character of Taichi, who represents Courage, fits in the same tradition — a bold, impulsive, adventurous leader who is good at strategizing and is able to make though decisions, but is is also very charismatic and charming.  Taichi’s tendency to become thoughtful, introspective, and indecisive under stress can be explained by the inferior function, Ni.

Yamato - INFP Dominant function: Fi

Idealistic, loyal to their values and to people who are important to them. Want an external life that is congruent with their values. Curious, quick to see possibilities, can be catalysts for implementing ideas. Seek to understand people and to help them fulfill their potential. Adaptable, flexible, and accepting unless a value is threatened.

By contrast, Yamato is always the most difficult to type! I ended up using INFP rather than INFJ, because I think it makes more sense for his dominant function to be Fi (introverted feeling): “Due to the introverted nature of Fi, INFPs’ status as feelers is not always evident from without. When immersed in Fi, they can seem a bit cool, aloof, or indifferent.“ (Drenthe). This type is pretty well representative of Yamato’s caring, passionate and caring side, and especially his conflict during Adventure is beyond, his search for self and meaning. Yamato’s more critical, aggressive, angry, and impetuous side is easily explained by him falling under the influence of the inferior function of this type, Te.

Sora - ENFJ Dominant function: Fe

Warm, empathetic, responsive, and responsible. Highly attuned to the emotions, needs, and motivations of others. Find potential in everyone, want to help others fulfill their potential. May act as catalysts for individual and group growth. Loyal, responsive to praise and criticism. Sociable, facilitate others in a group, and provide inspiring leadership.

Another character who’s relatively difficult to type. I see Sora as being in the middle of many of the Preference axis, hence why I initially typed her as something pretty difference different. But now I’m pretty convinced her dominant function is Fe, even though she’s probably only 51% Extroverted. She leans more towards iNtuition than Sensing: Sora’s definitely someone who can pick up things intuitively, especially when it comes to human relationships. So, ESFJ could probably work as well, but I see her as more of an NF type than a SJ type. Sora’s tendency to become hypersensitive, stubborn and withdrawn when under stress? That’s the inferior function, Ti. 

Koushirou - INTJ Dominant function: Ni

Have original minds and great drive for implementing their ideas and achieving their goals. Quickly see patterns in external events and develop long-range explanatory perspectives. When committed, organize a job and carry it through. Skeptical and independent, have high standards of competence and performance - for themselves and others.

This is an example of how learning more about Functions made me change my mind! I believe Koushirou is the text-book definition of INTJ and the Ni function. Koushirou isn’t just someone who thinks — he creates knew knowledge and connects theoretical possibilities. One of the effects of the inferior function of this type, Ni, is an “Obsessive focus on external data”, which means that they can become obsessed with controlling small details, which is what Koushirou tends to do under stress.

Mimi - ESFP Dominant function: Se

Outgoing, friendly, and accepting. Exuberant lovers of life, people, and material comforts. Enjoy working with others to make things happen. Bring common sense and a realistic approach to their work, and make work fun. Flexible and spontaneous, adapt readily to new people and environments. Learn best by trying a new skill with other people.

Mimi is a rather obvious fit for this type, not only with her bubbly and happy exterior, but also her naïveté and compassion towards others (Crest of Purity). 

Jou - ISTJ Dominant function: Si

Quiet, serious, earn success by thoroughness and dependability. Practical, matter-of-fact, realistic, and responsible. Decide logically what should be done and work toward it steadily, regardless of distractions. Take pleasure in making everything orderly and organized - their work, their home, their life. Value traditions and loyalty.

Jou’s type seems pretty straightforward. The characteristics of this type to fit him (and the Crest of Honesty) very well. The inferior Function of this type is Ni, manifested as impulsiveness and catastrophizing — classic Jou moves whenever he looses his cool.

Takeru - ENFP Dominant function: Ne

Warmly enthusiastic and imaginative. See life as full of possibilities. Make connections between events and information very quickly, and confidently proceed based on the patterns they see. Want a lot of affirmation from others, and readily give appreciation and support. Spontaneous and flexible, often rely on their ability to improvise and their verbal fluency.

Takeru is REALLY hard to type. Mostly because, just like his brother, he isn’t as transparent as he seems. Behind that charming, open, happy façade, Takeru runs deep. I ended up choosing ENFP is described as the most optimistic of all types (Crest of Hope), and they are very charismatic and inspiring as well. The “dark side” of this type can be hopelessness or depression (see also: tri. Chapter 3!)

Hikari - ISFP Dominant function: Fi

Quiet, friendly, sensitive, and kind. Enjoy the present moment, what's going on around them. Like to have their own space and to work within their own time frame. Loyal and committed to their values and to people who are important to them. Dislike disagreements and conflicts, do not force their opinions or values on others.

Hiakri is another one whose type isn’t obvious, but maybe for different reasons than the other characters I hesitated about — we just don’t see enough of her. I think you can make a strong argument for her being an Intuitive type, but ultimately I think Fi represents her better.

Daisuke - ESFP Dominant function: Se

I know it’s reductive to say Daisuke and Taichi have different personality type, but that’s easy to understand if you see them as being in different stages of type development.

Miyako - ENFP Dominant function: Ne

I’ve always thought Takeru and Miyako are pretty alike, hence why I think they would both fit this type.  

Iori - ISTJ Dominant function: Si

Again, Iori and Jou are pretty alike, although at different stages of their personality development. I could see Iori a ISTP/ISTJ, too — to be fair, I haven’t made up my mind totally about him.

Ken - INFJ Dominant function: Ni

Seek meaning and connection in ideas, relationships, and material possessions. Want to understand what motivates people and are insightful about others. Conscientious and committed to their firm values. Develop a clear vision about how best to serve the common good. Organized and decisive in implementing their vision.

I’m just going to go and give Ken INFJ, although I’m not entirely sure it is the best fit. Ken is incredibly complex, but Ni seems to describe him fairly well. And certainly, the “dark side” of Ni, Se, can very well explain why Ken developed his Digimon Kaiser persona.

BONUS

A brief summary of the 8 Functions:

Introverted Intuition (Ni) collects conscious and subconscious information, and then synthesizes it to produce convergent impressions, insights, answers, and theories. It sees deep causes, patterns, and laws underlying sense data. It is characteristically penetrating and insightful.

Extraverted Intuition (Ne) surveys and creatively recombines a breadth of ideas, associations, patterns, and possibilities. It is characteristically innovative, divergent, open-ended, and non-discriminating. Outwardly, Ne users may present as scattered, random, quirky, witty, and ideationally curious.

Introverted Sensing (Si) retains, consolidates, and recollects historical and autobiographical information. It attends to and draws on a concentrated body of past experiences, routines, and traditions (i.e., the “tried and true”). It forgoes the constant pursuit of new or broad experiences, finding safety and security in stability and consistency. It also surveys inner bodily sensations.

Extraverted Sensing (Se) seeks extensive outer stimulation in the “here and now”—new sights, sounds, tastes, experiences, etc. It is open-ended and non-discriminating with respect to new experiences. It can also be associated with image-consciousness and observation skills, displaying a keen eye for detail. Outwardly, it may manifest as a recurrent desire for activities beyond talking (“Let’s do something!”).

“Introverted Intuition (Ni) collects conscious and subconscious information, and then synthesizes it to produce convergent impressions, insights, answers, and theories. It sees deep causes, patterns, and laws underlying sense data. It is characteristically penetrating and insightful.

Extraverted Intuition (Ne) surveys and creatively recombines a breadth of ideas, associations, patterns, and possibilities. It is characteristically innovative, divergent, open-ended, and non-discriminating. Outwardly, Ne users may present as scattered, random, quirky, witty, and ideationally curious.

Introverted Sensing (Si) retains, consolidates, and recollects historical and autobiographical information. It attends to and draws on a concentrated body of past experiences, routines, and traditions (i.e., the “tried and true”). It forgoes the constant pursuit of new or broad experiences, finding safety and security in stability and consistency. It also surveys inner bodily sensations.

Extraverted Sensing (Se) seeks extensive outer stimulation in the “here and now”—new sights, sounds, tastes, experiences, etc. It is open-ended and non-discriminating with respect to new experiences. It can also be associated with image-consciousness and observation skills, displaying a keen eye for detail. Outwardly, it may manifest as a recurrent desire for activities beyond talking (“Let’s do something!”).

“Introverted Thinking (Ti) utilizes deep and nuanced logic to examine techniques, problems, concepts, or theories. It seeks self-regulation and self-optimization through the development of personal skills, methods, and strategies. It takes a skeptical and reductive approach toward knowledge.

Extraverted Thinking (Te) uses explicit logic, including standardized methods, measurements, policies, and procedures, to make systems and operations more rational, efficient, or effective. This often involves working as part of an institution, be it corporate, scientific, academic, etc. Outwardly, Te delivers opinions and directives in a firm, direct, measured, and unemotional fashion. It may at times be perceived as harsh, tactless, or unsympathetic.”

“Introverted Feeling (Fi) explores and refines personal tastes and feelings, contributing to a strong sense of personal uniqueness. It is self-regulating and self-controlling, working to maintain inner emotional and moral order. It may also emotionally invest in a limited number of love objects, be they persons, animals, hobbies, or causes.

Extraverted Feeling (Fe) surveys a breadth of human emotions, values, and morals. It strives toward interpersonal rapport, consensus, and continuity. It can also be associated with effective communication and social intelligence, facilitating growth and transformation in others. Outwardly, it delivers opinions and directives in a direct yet tactful way, often with a sense of emotional urgency and conviction.

in My True Type, A.J. Drenth

MBTI RESOURCES

A.J. Drenth. “My True Type”

Lenore Thomson. “Personality Type”. 

A.J. Drenth. “The 16 Personality Types”.

The 16 MBTI® Types https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/the-16-mbti-types.htm

Naomi Quenk, “Was That Really Me?”

[scripttorture]

what do you know about the use of torture in the military dictatorships in 20th century Latin America? i'm brazilian, so i learned a bit about them in history classes, and i've always known they (or at least the brazilian one) used a lot ov torture

I got in contact with the asker about this to get a better idea of what they were interested in and hopefully this will answer most of those questions.

 What I know is mostly what Rejali collected in his book about this period.

 Rejali’s particular focus was on what he calls ‘clean torture’, that is torture that doesn’t leave any obvious physical marks on the victims. He’d noticed that the practice of torture seemed to have undergone a rapid, global change: scarring tortures were becoming rarer and clean tortures more common.

 Going forward it’s important to be aware that clean tortures can leave temporary marks. But they’re generally things that could come from something other then torture.

 For instance the swelling that stress positions cause is also caused by some diseases. This makes it harder for a survivor to prove they were tortured, even if they have evidence of this swelling. Because they need to prove they weren’t ill.

 A big part of what Rejali was looking at was the use of electrical torture in particular and how it spread across the globe. He maps the Brazilian use of electrical torture from the 1970s onwards but his data doesn’t seem to show a clear pattern of different devices.

 What he does show in that during the 1970s most Brazilian tortures used magnetos. In the context of torture these are usually small portable, hand cranked electrical generators. They had legitimate uses in police and military groups globally; they were often used to operate field telephones and other electrical equipment.

 Here’s a description of their use from the Franco-Algerian war:

‘Suddenly, I leapt in my bonds and shouted with all my might. Cha- had just sent a first electric charge through my body. A flash of lightning exploded next to my ear and I felt my heart racing in my breast. I struggled, screaming and stiffened myself until the straps cut into my flesh. All the while the shocks controlled by Cha-, magneto in hand, followed each other without cease.[…..] Suddenly I felt as if a savage beast had torn the flesh from my body. Still smiling above me Ja- had attached the pincer to my penis. The shocks going through me were so strong that the straps holding me to the board came loose. They stopped to tie them again and we continued.

After a while the lieutenant took the place of Ja-. He had removed the wire from one of the pincers and fastened it down along the entire width of my chest. The whole of my body was shaking with nervous shocks getting ever stronger in intensity, and the session went on interminably. They had thrown cold water over me in order to increase the intensity of the current and between every two spasms I trembled with cold.’ (H Alleg in The Question)

 By the early 2000s Brazil had transitioned to mostly using stun guns.

 Both devices can be clean but my understanding is that stun guns are less likely to leave marks and are more easily ‘explained’ as ‘essential equipment’ in a more modern context.

 According to Rejali Brazilian police torture started to the transition from scarring to clean some time in the 40s.

 In the 1930s victims were most commonly beaten, whipped and choked. There were also records of; teeth and nails being pulled out, burning with torches, cigars and electrical devices, and the use of needles.

 In the 40s they started to use elements of the American National Style at the time, possibly as a result of greater contact with American and British agents in 1943 during a large investigation into a German spy ring.

 Sleep deprivation and the ‘standing cuffs’ stress position were used when they hadn’t been before. More beatings were clean. But they also kept some scarring techniques such as burning with cigarettes.

 The later records show similar mixes of clean and scarring techniques. What stands out as unusual to me is the rapid changes in regular used techniques decade by decade.

 This might be due to changes in government, purges of torturers or just differences across a very large country. The data I have doesn’t break down the techniques by region. It’s possible that the shifts in ‘common’ techniques are actually shifts in regional rather then national styles.

 In the 60s there were reports of the following clean tortures:

Electrical torture

Near drowning (it’s unclear if this is waterboarding or holding victim’s heads under water)

Exhaustion exercises

Clean beatings

Stress positions using furniture

Temperature torture using meat lockers

 And the following scarring tortures:

Suspension

‘Pepper’, in this case by pouring alcohol in the anus

Pulling flesh with pincers

 In the 70s-80s clean electrical torture was still prominent. Other clean tortures included clean beatings (some with historical objects used during slavery), sleep deprivation, pumping and standing stress positions. Suspension (scarring) was still used and more rarely insects, snakes and drugs were used.

 In early 2000 suspension was still in use but otherwise torture was entirely clean. Electrical torture, falaka (beating the soles of the feet), exhaustion exercises, clean beatings and sweat boxes.

 Brazil does have the most well recorded example of direct torture ‘training’. In the 1960s American operatives supplied Brazil with magnetos and actively encouraged their use in torture. Rejali examines a discussion of this in N Chomsky and E Herman’s The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism. He rejects their conclusions that the US was behind the overall spread of electrical torture but accepts that in the case of Brazil particularly the US played a role in its spread and promotion. I think Rejali’s evidence is persuasive.

 Brazil in the 60s is also one of the few examples we have of torture actually being taught in a classroom style (see Langguth Hidden Terrors 1978). The demonstration included suspension, clean beating, falaka, magnetos, pumping and forced standing on sharp cans.

 Pumping is forcing a victim to swallow a huge quantity of liquid. It causes the internal organs to swell and it’s incredibly painful. It also causes diarrhoea and vomiting. It’s sometimes accompanied by beating the stomach which causes- well bluntly it causes liquid to spew out of every possible orifice. It’s incredibly messy but it also leaves no lasting marks.

 The type of suspension favoured in Brazil is something I refer to as ‘the parrots perch’. It was also used in France historically. Essentially the victim’s hands and feet are cuffed. The legs are bent in front of the body and the arms go over the knees. A stick is then put through the gap, so that it’s under the knees and over the elbows. The victim is then hoisted up and often beaten or subjected to electric shocks.

 This isn’t a recent torture but I’m unsure how old exactly it is. It was certainly used through European colonies in the Americas during the transatlantic slave trade; mostly against enslaved people.

 The kind of active training program described above seems to be very rare. In fact there isn’t any evidence that this was a regular occurrence in Brazil at the time. Rather the evidence suggests that most torture is ‘learnt’ on the job, ie by observation of other torturers.

 Brazil also provides another rare case: clearly documented evidence of the extent to which torture fractures organisations.

 This is documented elsewhere. Examination of Japanese police departments shows deskilling and there are a lot of well documented cases of torture leading to rogue groups that refuse to obey orders. But the Brazilian case is both unusually well attested and unusually extreme.

 In the 60s Brazilian intelligence units had stopped communicating and working together to the point where they were conducting active raids on each other’s prisons. Rejali quotes records of blackmail, extortion, active violence within the military, murder of fellow soldiers and finally imprisoning and torturing fellow officers.

 Here’s a quote Rejali repeats from the time ‘The torturers were going to have to be isolated, marginalised and eliminated, so as to save the Army.’

 For a more in-depth discussion of the incident Rejali references Huggins Political Policing (180, 186).

 This might give the impression that Brazil during the 60s is somehow unique in torture use. I don’t think this is the case. I think that what we have in Brazil is uniquely good quality record keeping.

 It makes it a valuable case study and comparison.

 What does seem ‘different’ about Brazil is the extent to which torture techniques have kept changing. There isn’t a sense of a settled modern ‘style’ that some countries have.

 That could be because of changes in leadership. It could be because it’s common for torturers to be periodically purged (often violently), however these purges occurred in the Soviet Union with no accompanying stylistic changes.

 It could also be because Brazil is huge. It’s possible that rather then a ‘National Style’ Brazil has several distinct ‘regional styles’, some of which are more prominent at different times or better recorded at different times.

 I hope that’s given you enough to work with, if you can I would recommend getting hold of Rejali’s Torture and Democracy. I feel like it puts Brazil in a more global context and comparison with neighbouring countries may be helpful for you. :)

Availableon Wordpress.

Disclaimer

[roseate7]

(my no good utterly pretentious reaction to Geno’s interview in Russian wherein he expresses himself in a way we non-Russian-speaking fans rarely get to see and I go into an absolute asjafjsaghjas)

I just think about how lonely Geno has been in with such a hostile spotlight so young, the kind of thing I haven’t seen since the first defectors. Growing and maturing and then attending a draft alongside another Russian phenom bred to be lauded along his journey from league to league, by comparison Geno’s own hype and success ended up on a journey that paralleled those first Russian pioneers to NHL hockey more than any other player of his generation. In particular, a stark almost flip-opposite to the one his fellow draft alumnus experienced.

The NHL that Geno had begun to dream about joining in his teens had developed a different relationship to Russian players since his very early childhood. It was a stage set almost perfectly for the star rising elsewhere who would one day become The Russian Superstar in commercial terms and popularity that not even the Russian greats before him had managed to be. What’s relevant in particular is that Ove is famously known as an un-Russian type player, and was made so more or less by design. His destiny was patently to go out and “conquer” (to use his and his press’ patter) the NHL. His playing style is much more that of a North American power forward and the C*pitals’ hierarchy that places his scoring chances as top priority is the perfect environment for his style to flourish. He is the THE superstar, even having been mentored by Fedorov during his tenure with Washington. All and sundry around Ove have been driven toward his accomplishments. (Fed himself called Ove’s style not at all typical for a Russian. Ove’s falling out with his Russian coach at Sochi in some part to this.) Btw I know tumblr tends to be hyper sensitive and reactionary about this kind of thing, so just a reminder that these are facts that are *constantly* corroborated every year by every sports pundit and player, including respected colleagues and friends of Ove’s. The overwhelming majority of C*ps fans, and the entirety of the franchise, are perfectly happy with it! And thanks to getting a Cup into the bargain, very proud to continue it. To paraphrase him, if it never breaks then don’t “fix” it!

I bring it up with regards to How Very Russian Indeed Geno is by contrast, and now especially amid the many Ov*chkin-ized Russian NHLers. It marks a turning point in how Russian players in the NHL are presented and interact.

Geno in no small way represents the Old Gods. He’s got far more in common with Alexander Nevsky than Alexander Ov*chkin, if I can be allowed to be so pretentious and very historically loose. His choice to keep the A on another C’s team rather than seek out his own personal superstardom elsewhere - which would absolutely have been the parallel to Ove’s, as their close draft class status has proven repeatedly through the years - is Russian to the core. The desire to reflect on his own position in a club in terms of broader, collective success is - albeit to a North American anyway! - achingly Russian.

The many old world fables his story resonates with come right out of Russian stories: rags-to-riches; daring defection from his home country; from “jewel in the crown” of home to persecution as a perceived traitor; dramatic arrival to his new foreign city, including the first meeting with the young phenom he had followed since their childhood; the cruel and abrupt challenge of faith in himself at his first appearance on NHL ice; from cultural and linguistic isolation to half of a dual leadership with one of hockey’s greatest players on a three-time Cup winning team. It’s all there in fascinating, ever-revealing detail.

The Russian Five were my personal fascination when I was a teen early in my hockey fan days and the mention of them in this interview reminds me of how, in just one player, I have seen that same Old Russian magic revive again. The fierce loyalty to the new guard he belongs to but that unmistakable, slightly haunted aura of traveling with his heritage in everything he does is a lot more of what I was used to seeing in Russian NHLers than the more casual, comfortable relationships Russian players have with North American media and fans nowadays. I know we all have to be cautious about the Russian Bear analogies, especially as they relate to the media- and opposition-feeding frenzy that seeks to vilify him as having some sort of pathological level of rage and lack of control. Especially when spoken at the same time as North American players with blatant anger issues are coddled into fantasies of ‘simply doing their job’ good guys or flat out victims themselves. Geno has pride and a hockey temper, but it only looks out of proportion to the average pride and pugilism of any other player targeted for aggression, by those who don’t feel that he’s presenting himself in a way that is palatable to them. Most modern Russian NHLers return home and relax into very different personalities than the big smiles, laugh-along, don’t-talk-about-anything-serious versions of themselves that keep NW fans and media happy. Even if they find themselves in the box far more often or just as much as Geno, if the public already considers them a friend then much is forgiven. No armchair psychology of “anger issues” needed, no matter how bad the high stick or how many PIM. (and I won’t even get started on who ends up staying on referees radars more often than others, because it absolutely happens but most folks stay in denial unless it serves their own purpose)

As for the nature of his pride, Geno himself says that staying on a team he believes in is worth more than his own C. It’s worth taking a cut in money to help cap space. It’s worth being on the second line, and using his intelligence and vision to work with who he’s given to form his own leadership. And that leadership becoming seen by all as an equal and vital part of the captaincy - no “alternate”. With any other captaincy than Sid’s, Geno would absolutely have left to find his own rightful dominion. But for the grace of Sid being born and made with “hockey is a team-first and team-only effort” as his defining characteristic, Pittsburgh would have lost 71 and seen him become number one elsewhere… and very likely winning his own Cups. Geno’s loyalty to the city and franchise does not at all end or limit itself to Sid, but it absolutely begins with him. One superstar’s personality kept the other on his team, and that other’s personality is why he stayed on the other’s.

The Russian Five felt like “fish put back in the water” when put together. Geno has used his own tenacity, bravery and ingenuity as a generational superstar to find a swift current with that most Canadian of archetypes, Sidney Crosby. The combined effort is perfectly fluid, perfectly aligned, with not even a faint whisper of friction or disturbance in thirteen years. There have been and will continue to be many dynamic duos in hockey: there’s a reason why this one is called unique. They’re both natural born captains and each chasing each other within a delicate margin along the record books. They absolutely work well together on the ice, but genuinely operate best when leading their own lines. Maybe psychologically there’s an argument about how much they lean on each other, but I think it’s much more to their credit to point out that Geno found himself in familiar waters with a fellow leader who shares exactly the same principles as him. Side by side, and more than once proving capable of taking the team on their own back when one is out injured.

It’s a big part of why a major club like Pittsburgh has made the often baffling decisions throughout these thirteen years to take on hard-luck cases or players nearing the back end of their careers. A team whose leadership is founded and successful on load-sharing and listening is the perfect environment for players who still have the fight and/or the skill but who have lost their way. Or perhaps aged out of their old club. All you have to do is your best and the Pens will try to find you. But if you want to be the superstar or leap ahead of the guys who’ve done more time, you won’t find any sympathy in Crosby and Malkin.

And it’s just so poetic that Geno’s story, told by himself so beautifully by himself in this interview, is one of heart and good faith overcoming adversity after adversity. And that he did it by making wise decisions for himself, while holding himself unnervingly well in response to his own feelings of guilt and responsibility. And how his success in Pittsburgh has been to make the smart decision about staying with a club because of his faith in it. And that his personal successes and pride are the result of endurance and patience rather than a succession of fireworks, or even getting the credit he deserves.

Sid absolutely represents the ‘anything is possible through hard work’ and the more nurturing side of the Pens’ leadership. But Geno is the steely resolve and quiet rumble leading to powerful force that bears aloft even unlikely rosters to their absolute best.

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(asterisks and spelling changes used because I don’t know how tumblr searches tags anymore and I’m being careful - if you still somehow found this and get huffy about what I said wrt Ove then swallow it down and move along. Nothing I said is untrue or considered an insult even by Caps hockey pundits. It’s all factual and highly relevant in terms of how NHL hockey has changed for Russian players. Don’t blame me for watching hockey for decades and stating what absolutely everyone else does, including the Caps coaching and management! Their style is not under my control lol.)

[wildlyhardphilosopher-blog]

Dog Training Northumberland | Effective Solutions

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Dog Training Northumberland | Effective Solutions

Behavioural Modification A Pet’s Breakfast Jump to Navigation When will you be able to trust your puppy to wander loose throughout the home? Scott, John P.; and John L. Fuller (1965). Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Marlo, Shelby (1999). New Art of Dog Training, Chicago: Contemporary Books, ISBN 0-8092-3170-0 HOW WE CAN HELP AS A DOG BEHAVIOURIST Horticulture · 30 April 2018 Cart Be the Pack Leader Vet Visit Program Rescue and Rehabilitate Make a lifesaving difference to animals by becoming a foster carer, donating, fundraising, joining an event, volunteering and more. Email a Friend PEDIGREE® Dry Dog Food Adult Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Flavor Locations Whether you train your new puppy or dog yourself, take classes, or hire a private trainer, some basic training tips should be tackled right out of the gate. These top 10 tips from professional dog trainers at the top of their game will help get you going. Puppy Training ⟶ The proper training of your dog will build a lasting foundation for a rewarding, lifelong friendship. Urban Dog Training can help you acquire the knowledge and skills to train your dog to become a confident, happy and well behaved companion. Home What we do Care for Animals Dog Care Dog Training Tips and Videos Blue Mountains Shelter Urns and Keepsakes A further follow-up session will allow you to fine tune the training under expert guidance. Firstly a canine health profile is required to exclude physical reasons for the dog’s behaviour. This is available through Redgum Vets. On payment of the behavioural training package, Redgum’s Amichien Bonding consultant will make contact with you to arrange a time when she can view your dog in its everyday environment. Chicken Show all Phone: (08) 8642 3308 CONTACT US Contact SitDropStay Dog Behaviour Australia on Messenger Bedding Older Puppy Training Doggy Bootcamp Place a treat in both hands. Adoptions · 30 April 2018 Animal Care amp Information Meet The Team Enforcement Rates PPGA Construction Motivating Miracles Workshop Council business, news and information Jump up ^ Slabbert, J. M.; O. A. E. Rasa (1997). “Observational learning of an acquired maternal behaviour pattern by working dog pup: an alternative training method?”. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 53 (4): 309–316. doi:10.1016/S0168-1591(96)01163-X. Charities we’re proud to donate to FAQ – The costs of veterinary care 11 References Training Advice Leashes for Active Dogs 32 Greenaway St, Bulleen – Harry Hampson Innovation and research Rally’O Training Leave it Jump up ^ Burch, Mary R; Duane Pickel (1990). “A toast to Most: Konrad Most, a 1910 pioneer in animal training”. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 23 (2): 263–4. doi:10.1901/jaba.1990.23-263. PMC 1286234 . PMID 16795731. Weekend: Which Level do I start in? Classical conditioning[edit] Goodog dog and puppy training Northern Beaches Our Infomercial 571 Montague Rd Dog training and puppy training Waiting at gate/door Turramurra Recreation Centre Location Anxiety Training Certificate III In Engineering – Maintenance – Fitting and/or Turning Our drop-in playgroups are a perfect complement to your vet’s puppy preschool class, particularly for owners looking forward to an adult dog who is comfortable, relaxed, and on her best manners around people and other dogs. Plus we guarantee puppy playgroup will be the best 30 minutes of your week – what could be better than a room full of puppies playing? Guided by a professional dog trainer, your pup learns her social P’s and Q’s while burning off excess energy in play – which means a better night’s sleep for you. Level 1 Basic Dog Manners 7 week course – Upgrade $295.00 Standard $235.00 At the request of our many dog-loving friends owners and partners across the nation, we’d like to share the following information, addressing a wide variety of dog care, training tips, and much more! Here you will find full color public information handouts ready for printing. Engineering Jump up ^ Wogan, Lisa (November 2010). “The Mirror Method”. The Bark. Retrieved 3 December 2012. Related Articles Community and education Urban Dog Training Ground Rules Report a Cruelty Case Location: AWL Wingfield, 1-19 Cormack Rd Wingfield 5013 Food & Treats Dog registration Outdoor classes will only be cancelled in the following situations: Good Leadership and Communication

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[thisdaynews]

Frank Pallone and Nancy Pelosi rein in the left

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/frank-pallone-and-nancy-pelosi-rein-in-the-left/

Frank Pallone and Nancy Pelosi rein in the left

Rep. Frank Pallone has purposefully chosen to focus on the things he thinks can actually pass his committee. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO

Congress

The powerful chairman is working closely with Democratic leaders to bottle up Medicare-for-All and a Green New Deal.

Nancy Pelosi tried to quash Frank Pallone five years ago in a nasty proxy war over the future of the Democratic Caucus.

Now, with Pelosi reinstalled as speaker and Pallone chairman of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, the New Jersey Democrat has become a key ally to contain the party’s aggressive liberal surge.

Story Continued Below

“Frank actually understands we’re the majority makers and appreciates what we bring to the table,” said Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), a member of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition who sits on the Energy and Commerce panel. “That’s very different from 10 years ago when a lot of Blue Dogs were viewed as pariahs.”

Pelosi has spoken openly about protecting the vulnerable Democrats who helped deliver the House last year. And Pallone is essentially the speaker’s enforcer at the committee, which is the first real stop for any potential action on progressive priorities like Medicare-for-All and the Green New Deal.

The partnership is a remarkable turnaround for two onetime opponents. In 2014, Rep. Anna Eshoo, a longtime liberal ally of the then-House minority leader, was running against the more centrist Pallone for a top committee post. Despite a public whipping effort from Pelosi, Eshoo fell short. It was a rare defeat in a bitter race that showed the limits of Pelosi’s influence.

The new Pallone-Pelosi alliance will be all the more crucial as the speaker works to corral her fractious House majority, which is increasingly split between a pack of outspoken progressive Millennials and a group of more than two dozen freshman moderates.

Pelosi praised Pallone’s “invaluable” leadership in a statement, adding, “From health care and prescription drug costs to climate and net neutrality, Chairman Pallone has forged consensus in committee and across our caucus to pass bold legislation through the House.”

Pallone described himself as a ���pragmatic progressive” during an interview in his Capitol Hill office and said he and Pelosi are now in lockstep.

“For the most part, we agree,” Pallone said of Pelosi. “And I’m not sure that we disagree with a lot of what those on the left would like to see, but I think that we just realized that we don’t have the votes.”

The 30-year lawmaker, who himself boasts a largely liberal voting record, dismissed the idea that he might feel pressure from the left. Indeed, Pallone has repeatedly fended off progressive demands — dismissing a special climate panel as “not necessary,” taking on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a closed-door meeting, and rejecting a liberal push to forgo contributions from fossil fuel companies.

Democratic leaders have purposefully slow-walked the progressive plans pushed by Ocasio-Cortez and others. The subject of Medicare-for-All has received hearings in three committees — but not the Energy and Commerce panel, which also oversees health policy.

And the Green New Deal, which Pelosi dismissively called the “green dream” earlier this year, is just one of several proposals being considered by a special climate change committee that has no legislative power. Pallone’s panel is taking up a major infrastructure package that addresses climate change, but it’s more modest than the Green New Deal. The House also passed legislation in May demanding President Donald Trump keep the U.S. in the Paris climate pact, after the measure cleared Pallone’s committee.

“Frank is a fair person, a good leader, he gets consensus,” said Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell, who has served in the New Jersey delegation with Pallone for more than two decades. “But he’s not going to be forced by public opinion to move in that direction or to move in this direction.”

Progressives have mostly chosen to focus on the positive, for example celebrating the fact that Medicare-for-All received a hearing in any committee even if it was clearly meant as a way for Democratic leaders to placate liberals without forcing moderates to take a tough vote they fear could cost them their seats.

But a recent battle over an emergency spending package to address the border crisis has left liberals fuming after their priorities were ignored in the final deal. Rep. Mark Pocan, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, even warned that his group might retaliate by taking a harder line on top Democratic priorities that come to the floor.

“I just think it’s hard to ask our caucus to help deliver votes to pass things,” Pocan (D-Wis.) said. “It’s just going to be a lot harder for us to care to help deliver votes.”

And Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the other progressive caucus co-chair, said liberals plan to put more pressure on Pallone specifically in the coming months.

“It’s very important, absolutely. That’s a committee of record on health,” Jayapal (D-Wash.) said of the need for a Medicare-for-All hearing at Energy and Commerce. “He has not committed to it yet but he’s a good chairman. I believe I can work with him to make it happen.”

Pallone, meanwhile, has purposefully chosen to focus on the things he thinks can actually pass his committee, survive the House floor and in some cases even be considered by the GOP-controlled Senate.

For the sprawling panel — which has a say in nearly every major public policy issue — that includes work on everything from lowering prescription drug prices and shoring up Obamacare to boosting pipeline safety and oversight of a recalled infant rocker.

Pallone has also made a concerted effort to work across the aisle, teaming up with the panel’s ranking member, Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), on legislation to curb robocalls and outlaw surprise medical bills.

And Pallone won’t rule out the possibility that Democrats may be able to strike a deal with Trump on infrastructure or prescription drugs, two areas where the president has repeatedly suggested bipartisan negotiation only to back away.

“Hope springs eternal,” Pallone said. “I do think that on prescription drugs he’s pushing Republicans in the Congress, and probably the same on the infrastructure bill. There are definitely Republicans who would like to vote for all of these things.”

Walden, for his part, said in a statement that Pallone has “a tough task keeping the socialist left at bay” and that it was “only a matter of time” before the committee held hearings on Medicare-for-All and the Green New Deal.

Pallone is easily recognizable, often spotted shuffling from a committee room to the House floor with a massive stack of loosely organized papers and file folders.

Pallone is also known for his love of Native American tribes, amassing a collection of hundreds of artifacts from across the U.S. that are on display in large glass cabinets, sitting atop his desk and hung across the walls of his office.

In interviews with a half dozen Democratic members of the Energy and Commerce panel, lawmakers also praised his consensus-driven leadership style.

Pallone met with each Democratic member of his committee early on to discuss their legislative priorities. He also has regular huddles and dinners with members to stay in touch and keep them in the loop on committee action, a rarity for many other panel leaders, according to lawmakers.

“The thing that’s great about Frank is that he really engages members,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a liberal veteran who has endorsed the Green New Deal and Medicare-for-All.

And while Pallone hasn’t been in the spotlight like other Democratic chairmen aggressively pursuing investigations into Trump, his panel has its own series of ongoing probes into the administration. A top Environmental Protection Agency official recently stepped down over ethics issues uncovered by an Energy and Commerce investigation.

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), who sits on the panel, compared Pallone’s leadership to that of her husband, the late Rep. John Dingell, who wielded enormous power as the committee’s chairman for more than a decade starting in the 1980s.

“I think what’s Frank’s trying to do is legislate the way John Dingell did and earn the middle — where you can find legislation that brings the most people together,” Dingell said.

Sarah Ferris contributed to this report.

Read More

[duaneodavila]

Put Me In, Coach

The NCAA national basketball championship is right around the corner, and another crop of student athletes will get a chance to make a name for themselves on the big stage. I’m here to talk about a different member of the team, however: the coach.

How Coaches Matter

Conventional wisdom has long held that effective coaching can have a major impact on a team’s win-loss records. For once, conventional wisdom and rigorous analysis are in agreement. For example, a pair of University of Chicago professors recently published a paper applying statistical analytics to detect the effect that coaches have in varying major sports. It’s a fun read for the casual fan, and their conclusions are intriguing.

Across the board, it appears that good coaches have a definitive impact on how their teams play and win. What’s most thought-provoking, though, is that the types of impact a coach has vary depending on the sport in question.

The college basketball coaches, for example, tend to have a bigger impact on the total amount of points scored in a game (by both teams) than they do on the difference in points between the teams. Coaches that emphasize fast-breaks and quick possessions tend to both score more and weaken their own defenses, while coaches that teach a slower style depress scoring on both sides of the court. Baseball coaches, by contrast, had most of their impact in one specific phase of the game: defense. Coaching was found to explain 28 percent of the variation between teams on how much they allowed the other side to score, a monstrous difference. Football coaches have an entirely different area of greatest impact: fumble and penalty prevention. Unlike in baseball, where coaches make their mark by making discrete, strategic, in-game decisions, NFL coaches can make big gains by instilling a culture of discipline into their teams, reducing dropped balls and lost yards on penalties.

Keeping The Talent Happy

Sports is fun and all, but I think research like this matters, even in a column focused on law firm management. Like sports, law is very much a talent game. No matter what practice you’re in, there is likely a huge pool of competition out there with your same basic skill set. The clients you develop and the firm you join are based on how well you develop your own talent. The best attorneys have the best shot of making the big impacts and bringing home the big checks. The difference between a good attorney and a great one can be the difference between a client making billions or going bankrupt. In the criminal world, it can be the difference between prison and freedom, life or death.

Talent matters in law, and talent needs to be managed. Professional sports teams manage their talent through intense one-on-one coaching by a large team of full-time coaching professionals dedicated to helping their players and their team win. Law firms tend to manage their talent with mostly full-time practioners with no formal leadership or management training.

Can you guess which one of these approaches is more successful?

Putting Thought Into Action

In law firms, “management” is not emphasized. Part of the reason is intuitive. Most lawyers didn’t go to law school to be managers. They went to law school to learn how to practice law. As a result, across the industry, it’s rare to find lawyers who are passionate about management or who are willing to educate themselves about the topic.

Another reason law firms lack significant robust management structure is that lawyers are notoriously unwilling to accept direction or coaching. It’s been well documented that, as a group, lawyers are off-the-charts on autonomy and skepticism in their personality profiles. The combination of healthy egos and the fact that partners are the “owners” of the business can make law firm leadership seem impossible.

But it’s not just personality, it’s also money. Part of the reason management is de-emphasized in law firms is compensation related. The primary driver of a typical law firm partner’s compensation is their productivity: how much business have they generated, how much have they collected as working attorneys, what is their profit margin, etc. In most firms, a partner’s performance as a practice group leader is rarely a major factor in determining their pay.

Firms get what they pay for, however, and what happens is a manager’s title largely becomes honorary. Rather than focusing on developing the talent and putting new plays together, practice groups function largely as a loose affiliation of lawyers that occasionally lunch together and go through an agenda that was prepared a few hours before the meeting.

This isn’t a failing of practice group managers — it’s a failure of senior management in creating structures and incentives to promote the development of the team as a whole.

So what are law firms to do?

Let’s Get Professional

Recognizing all of the challenges above, many law firms have tried something novel: they have started to take a cue from sports teams and good businesses by taking the full-time practioners largely out of the management equation.

I’ve long argued that law firms would be better run if professional managers, some of whom may not have JDs, play a larger role in running law firms. Although this could come in the form of a COO or a CEO, it can also take the form in more of the day-to-day management of law firms at the practice group level.

Increasingly, law firms are enlisting the help of non-lawyer professionals who can help practice group leaders do their job more effectively. The role of these practice group leaders is monitor performance of group members, identify cross-referral opportunities, create substantive agendas for meetings — essentially, everything a practice group leader should be doing but probably isn’t because they are focused on their practice. Realizing the need for professional management in law firms, many universities and law schools are now even offering degrees to non-JDs in law firm management.

Another step firms need to take is to adopt a flexible management structure. Perhaps out of an innate desire to standardize and fit everything into a neat little box, many law firms decide on a management structure and apply it across the board to all practice groups, without considering whether that management structure is actually the best one for the job. Just like you may want a baseball coach focused on defense, where they can make the most difference, you may want different leadership styles and structures at different places in your firm. It may be that a firm’s large litigation department benefits from a strong hand with unilateral authority to steer the ship, while their small IP group thrives best with decision-making by committee. Applying the same management model to all groups is convenient from an administrative perspective, but potentially disastrous in terms of actual outcomes and talent utilization.

Coaching Consciously

Biglaw managers, here’s your homework: go figure out if, and how, you’re coaching your talent to succeed. Then ask whether you chose that coaching system, or fell into it by default. I suspect the answers for many of us will be dispiriting at first, but learning our weaknesses is the first step to correcting them.

Making the conscious choice to invest in your people is always going to be the right call.

James Goodnow

James Goodnow is an attorney, commentator, and Above the Law columnist. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and is the managing partner of NLJ 250 firm Fennemore Craig. He is the co-author of Motivating Millennials, which hit number one on Amazon in the business management new release category. As a practitioner, he and his colleagues created a tech-based plaintiffs’ practice and business model. You can connect with James on Twitter (@JamesGoodnow) or by emailing him at James@JamesGoodnow.com.

Put Me In, Coach republished via Above the Law

[queenietheapprentice]

Yes, I was too lazy to draw feet and hands. Do not judge me. If you find any of my answers weird or don’t see how they relate to the story, I’ve changed some of the details (Julian’s route) to fit the background story I’ve written.

✨But I found an apprentice ask, yay✨

✨ Name: Queenie

✨ Age: 24

✨ Pronouns: she/her

✨ Sexuality: heterosexual

1. Full name✨

Queenie Maura Alden

Queenie - Queen

Maura - Beloved or great

2. Familiar✨

A crow or raven, which represents death and change. And no, I did not choose this because of Malak.

3. What type/s of magic does she specialize in?✨

Mostly elemental magic, in which she specializes in earth, sun and moon magic.

She also dabbles in healing magic.

4. Which of the major arcana best represents them?✨

The Fool, as the apprentice is the protagonist and has her entire journey ahead of her.

Also The Moon, for her creativity and big dreams, but also for her strength with overcoming madness and fear.

5. What animal best represents her?✨

The alpha wolf, for her natural leadership skills The owl, for her wit, curiosity and intellect The eagle, for her powerful and majestic nature

6. What is their Mayers-Briggs type?✨

INFJ-A

Introvert, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging + Assertive

7. Natural alignment✨

Neutral/chaotic good

8. What hogwarts house would they be?✨

Gryffindor/Ravenclaw

9. Which of the nine intelligences are their strengths/weaknesses?✨

Strength - Interpersonal

Weakness - Intrapersonal

10. What was her opinion on Asra leaving? And his gift?✨

She was crushed when he left, and she felt betrayed since he once again refused to take her with him. As she had a crush on him at the time, it also broke her heart.

Queenie was grateful that he left her his arcana, and it is now one of her most prized possessions.

11. What did she think of Nadia’s request for her to live at the palace?✨

Queenie did not like the idea of staying at the palace, she prefers living in the city. Whenever she’s in the palace, she feels uncomfortable and watched. The only room she likes is Julian’s study, mostly because of the rows of books and the large window there.

12. What are her options on the different animals she encounters at the palace?✨

Mercedes & Melchior - she thinks the dogs are beautiful and elegant, but she fears them because of their loyalty towards Lucio.

The eels - the eels fascinate her, and she’s spent many nights just watching them

13. What is her style? Day to day and when she dresses for formal events?✨

Day to day

She wears comfortable clothes that allow her to move swiftly, such as her blouse and her loose pants. She does, however, wear some accessories. Her golden chocker with stunning details, something she picked up at a market she went to with Asra. And also the ring attached to a chain we has around her neck. Julian gave it to her before she died, and it’s very important to her, even though she cannot remember who gave it to her or why.

Formal

At the masquerade she wore a navy and gold dress, along with golden heels and a gold mask with vine and flower details. She had for once styled her hair by braiding her bangs around her head and brushing the rest, making it wavy instead of a curly mess.

14. Favorite type of weather/environment?✨

Weather

She loves when it rains, especially during twilight. The streets of Vesuvia are empty, and so she can run outside and do whatever she wants without fighting the crowd.

Enviroment

She loves the forest, the shop, the beach, south end, Julian’s study and nature. As long as it’s not stuffy or sterile she can manage.

15. Prized possessions✨

The ring Julian gave her. She does not know why she cares so much for it.

Asra’s arcana, mostly because he entrusted her with it, even if it’s very important to him.

16. Does she collect anything?✨

She collects Julian’s scribbles and doodles, partly so she can tease him about them and partly because she actually thinks he’s good at drawing.

She also collects weather in tiny bottles. So far she has a rain cloud, a thunderstorm and a giant wave.

17. What first impression does she make?✨

She appears to be very stubborn-which she is. She also seems kind and shy. Once you get to know her she opens up more, but she does not say much to strangers. Many view her as powerful, as if her magic radiates off her.

18. How does she deal with conflict?✨

At first she seems almost unbothered. She does whatever’s necessary without hesitation. Then, in the aftermath, she breaks down and allows herself to react, often when she’s unaccompanied.

[sheepydrawrs]

Credit to @five5sixers for the form! [original here]

Name: Elizabeth (Lee) Cipher. (Has had countless names over the centuries, the oldest name of note being when she took the name of a Babylonian Queen, Semiramis.) Gender: Female Alignment: Neutral Good  Orientation: Pansexual Polyromantic Handedness: Completely Ambidextrous  MBTI Persona: ESTJ - A “The Executive” Western Zodiac:  Leo (sun) , Cancer (moon) , Leo (Ascendant) ((These are the closest approximations to her time of birth since no chart goes back that far. They do fit however.)) Eastern Zodiac: Dragon (water)  ((Again, approximations since years don’t date back that far but this does “fit” the best)) Cardinal Virtue: Humility Cardinal Sin: Wrath Upright Arcana: The Magician Reversed Arcana: The High Priestess Strongest Chakra: Crown Weakest Chakra: Heart Internal Temperament: Melancholic External Temperament: Phlegmatic Desired Archetype: The Magician Presented Archetype: The Hero Love Style: Storge Love Language: Physical touch Personal Merits:  Leaderly, Wise, Dedicated Personal Flaws: Single-minded, Manipulative, Secretive  

Projected Self: Lee has always, and will always, want to be seen as someone capable of great things, a trusted leader, and a steadfast ally. Since she took her curse upon herself and was bound to the mortal realm she’s wanted to be seen as trustworthy, someone strong despite her situation, and someone to look to for guidance. Her life has been devoted to protecting “her” realm and progressing her own abilities in a desperate attempt to be seen as capable and reliable, not a burden, not something to be pitied or feared. She wants people, especially those close to her, to see someone strong and capable of continuing her vigil as a protector of the realm, not a harbinger of destruction, someone who doesn’t need to watched and feared.

Subjective Self: Unfortunately being the vessel for a world ending entity has its drawbacks, most viewing her with extreme caution and mistrust. Seen as unstable due her position as a vessel, or even simply due to her... eccentric choices in lifestyle over the centuries, she is rarely trusted by the majority of those in her community and only tolerated at best when she proves to be of some use. The minority of her community, those that actually seek her company, either look at her like some larger than life figure of myth, or as something to be pitied due. Old friends slowly cut ties as it grew harder to see her, as if they were looking as some old wound instead of a woman who made a brave choice. Very few people have made it past these assumptions and remain on the outskirts of her life, either forgotten as people who have abandoned her, or allowed to view her in some mythic light because it works in her favor, only adding to her perceive aloofish nature.

Objective Self: The amount of people that Lee has trusted to bring fully into her life can be counted on one hand. She makes small, close knit families around herself as she can in each new home she claims and it is these small groups that actually see past her walls and bluster to the woman she really is, her current Chicago Team is no different. They see her as a woman who is tired, who has isolated herself in some attempt to protect those she cares for, past and present, and who despite her many flaws tries to do what she believes is best for the world. They know her to be someone who is always there in peace or in crises, but also as someone who doesn’t know how to ask for help and can be secretive instead of upfront about her goals. She’s slow to actually change her ways regardless of how easily she adapts to situational change, but who is willing to listen to different opinions if given facts spoken to on even ground.

Openness to experience: While there is very little that Lee hasn’t done at this point in her life, she’s always willing to try new things. She understands very well that you don’t get to be her age unnoticed by being unwilling to experience new things or ideas.  While content in her own sphere and enjoying having things just the way she likes them, she’s survived as long as she has by being easy to adjust to the sudden and new. In fact if someone entirely new does come along she’s actually more likely to be excited and thrilled with it than uncomfortable, always surprised when the world shifts in a way she was unable to predict or simply shifting in a way she would have never thought of in the first place. 

Conscientiousness: Lee is the kind of organized disaster that looks in chaos until you learn the system she’s using. While a stranger could walk into her laboratory or apartment and have no idea what’s going on, I mean they have a “red-string thumb-tack cork-board of magical crime” in the living room half the time so it’s hard to see how anything is orderly or how anything gets done on first glance, but Lee has a system for everything and a plan for every inevitability when it comes to a case. She’s observant to a fault and rarely has she ever forgotten or missed a detail, collecting excessive amounts of notes and tedium when she’s working, but ask her to find a single post-it note from four months back and she can point it out to you with her eyes closed. Cases and tasks are rarely ever left to fall off and most of her loose threads are often tied up by the time everything is said and done, though how neatly, or how long it takes her to make those knots, is up for debate.

Extraversion:  While Lee has made almost a career out of being a social chameleon, needing to adapt to new groups and locations in order to blend in for however long she needs to until she picks up and moves again, she actually doesn’t enjoy large groups or socializing for long periods of time. She much prefers the company of a few select individuals, usually people she can sit silently in a room and work on separate things with. Unless at the apex of a case or actively in a high-energy environment she’s pretty low-energy and prefers the quiet of long stretches of solitude, often indulging in meditation or long stretches of aimless, solo globetrotting in between cases.

Agreeableness: Lee makes the plans for a reason, she’s good at them, she’s better at them. Or at least she thinks so, she has been around for longer than some countries, she often knows what she’s talking about. But while often unwilling to flex her plans, with enough reasoning and fact checking she has been known to bend. She isn’t afraid of confrontation and she’s more than willing to tell you, and everyone else in the room, when she thinks your ideas are stupid, but given the right sounding boards and she has been known to step down off her own high horse and compromise when it comes to the good of those she actually cares for.

Neuroticism: Confident in her own abilities and her leadership capabilities, Lee rarely truly doubts herself. While she my disappoint herself in her productivity or speed in solving a case, she’s never faltered in her knowledge that she has the ability to do that task. Lee’s naturally pretty emotionally stable, all things considered for someone with a world ender in their chest and a slight tendency to set bad people on fire. Very rarely, and under very specific circumstance (when Asgard comes to town) does Lee get actively nervous or anxious about any of her business. When this does happen it’s a strange, almost terrifying shift, from self assurance and steady to anxious, uncontrolled dread that affects every aspect of her life, from productivity to magic levels. She’s killed way too many innocent cellphones from nervous magic charge when she knows Heimdallr is in town than is probably reasonable.

Objectivity: Lee trusts her eyes and her senses more than she trusts any assumption. When she can make reasonable ones given her breadth of experience, she’s more likely to throw them out the window and treat each situation as new and take in all the facts before developing a plan of action. She’s seen that the mortal world changes on a day by day bases and she takes it to heart, hearing out other people’s opinions, but reserving her own judgement until she’s collected her own facts. Perhaps the only exception to this is that she had grown to trust Harvey’s intuition often more than any imperial fact simply because of his track record of turning up right despite all fact to the contrary. This isn’t to say she doesn’t take her own feelings into account, after all, she does have a strange tendency to adopt the oddest of strays into her little families despite evidence showing it’s often a Bad Idea(TM)

Resourcefulness: Lee’s life started as a peasant in ye’ olden’ times of pre-Babylon, she’s known hardships and made a living, literally, out of finding her own way out of trouble and into the, objectively, comfortable life she lives now in the modern age. She’s quick to adapt in high stress environments and has started over from nothing more times than she has time to count. Self-sufficiency is her default setting, she’s one of those people that even without the magic if you dropped her alone in the middle of god’s nowhere with only a pocket knife and the clothes on her back she’d show up a few weeks later no worse for wear, perhaps carrying more than what you left her with. She’s quick on her feet and one of those people that can McGuyver her way out of most situations if pressed.

[thercbray]

Course Project: Hermès Textiles

During my sophomore year at FIT I took a textiles course with Professor Suzanne Cora. It was a general study of textile materials and covered factors that produce successful fabrics in the marketplace, fibers, yarns, construction, color, and finish. The final project was a practical application in which I was to look at a range of products made for the same label or retailer by selecting two different types of garments, describing them, and analyze why the fabrics were used for particular garments. The purpose of this final project was to ensure we learned the textile knowledge essential to a fashion career. The following is my submission, for which I received an A and was encouraged to send to Hermès.

Within all industries companies find their niche and can become well known for their uniqueness. Some gain notoriety for innovation, while others become leaders in their industry for providing a great value. In the technology, Apple is known for being on the cutting edge and making products that merge form and function. Within the fashion industry, Hermès is one of the few companies unanimously agreed upon as a true purveyor of luxury and artisanal craftsmanship; this French company is the very epitome of elegance and opulence. For this reason I chose Hermès for my final project.

Founded in 1837 by Thierry Hermès, his namesake company began as a harness workshop dedicated to European nobleman. His work was so astonishing he won first prize in 1855 and 1867 at the Expositions Universelles in Paris. In 1880, under the helm of his son, Charles-Émile, the brand relocated to their present day flagship at 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. From there the company began selling their products retail and expanded into other equestrian related product categories. In the 1920s the brand added accessories and ready-to-wear under the leadership of Charles-Émile’s son, Émile-Maurice. Since then the company has become preeminently known for their silks and leathers, though all of their product offerings are of the highest quality available in the market. 

Hermès is a very profitable company; even during the Great Recession (December 2007 - June 2009) Hermès posted gains in sales and profits. The key to their success is an unwavering dedication to their brand DNA and marketing strategy. The company’s target market are those with a net worth at least in the millions, though their narrowest target audience are billionaires. Their customer demands luxury, quality, artisanal craftsmanship, and exclusivity — and is willing to pay for it. The Hermès client is an individual with an appreciation for equestrianism, the arts, culture, and/or exotic destinations.

The company traditionally appealed to wealthy Caucasian women with ample disposable income to purchase their beautiful, yet conservative products.  When Jean-Louis Dumas, grandson of Émile-Maurice, took the reigns in the 1980s Hermès began to court younger women. He featured an advertisement of a woman in jeans wearing a scarf. In short: Dumas ushered in a new era at Hermès. No longer was the company just for the Kelly-toting 50 year old woman looking for a scarf to accessorize her Chanel suit. In the 21st century the company expanded their advertising efforts to 20 and 30 year olds in hopes of securing their positioning for future generations. To do this the company continues to partner with young photographers, producing graffiti print scarves, and more recently brining in designer Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski to inject a more modern feel into the ready-to-wear collection. 

Though the themes of their campaign’s change from season to season the brand DNS remains constant: their equestrian heritage and a joie de vie. This season Hermès’ instagram was flooded with short videos for their men’s campaign centered around the flânerie — more or less a French dandy — that featured interesting graphic tricks and a very carefree, relaxed, and colorful mood. This goes back to the brand’s aim of holding the attention of younger generations with quirky advertisement campaigns. 

The first garment I chose is a long belted cardigan. Featuring a three-quarter length sleeve this cardigan is perfect for the spring when temperatures tend to fluctuate. The belt adds a lovely touch allowing the wearer to decide between a more loose, almost sack like fit with the belt purely for form or even tied to the back. Alternatively, the wearer can use the belt to cinch the waist to create a nipped, hourglass silhouette. The buttons are black, which lend a streamlined and understated look. This is a knit featuring a plain weft knit construction at the body and a cable knit construction around the shoulders and back yoke, permitting more mobility and elasticity. This cardigan was fabricated in cotton and polyester. The cotton fibers appear to be two-ply allowing for a more durable product, without being too heavy so one can wear it comfortably in warmer weather. Given the manufacturer’s undying commitment to quality, this piece is likely yarn dyed. The only embellishment is the belt made of polyester with an authentic calfskin leather tip. This creation was birthed in Italy. To clean and care for this garment dry cleaning is the only recommended method. Based on the quality of fabric, which is likely a superior cotton fiber (possibly a supima cotton), the different methods of knitting (both a weft and cable knit), the artistry that went into making such a magnificent cardigan, along with the leather tipped belt, and the multiple construction methods used, this piece retails for $3,000 USD.

The fabric choice for the cardigan was a clever idea. Cotton is a very versatile fabric and easy to maintain. Known for it’s strength, comfort, and abrasion resistance this is a solid choice for a cardigan because it adds strength to the garment. Polyester, a filament or manmade fiber, is known for having very good strength and abrasion resilience — further reducing the chance of piling since it will rub against the body and chairs. This piece was most likely treated with a resin to prevent shrinkage when laundering as it is a natural fiber and therefore susceptible to shrink when cleaning. The only thing I would change is the fabrication of the belt, instead of constructing it of polyester it should have been made of leather or silk-polyester blend to further validate the price and elevate the design. 

By using superior cotton to construct this cardigan Hermès stays true to its brand identity of providing only the very best. The hand of the of this garment is absolutely divine and would meet even the most discerning client’s expectations. In my opinion the garment does justify the price as it features are higher quality fabrics and there are a very limited number available worldwide.

The second item I chose is truly a work of art. It features both a knit and woven construction in one! Made of cashmere and silk, this piece is a part of a running tradition Hermès started of creating garments that feature both a woven and knit portion in the same design. From season to season the combination piece changes to keep the collection fresh. This secret style of combing two completely different fabrics into one item is heavily guarded. Featuring an asymmetrical open in the back, this shirt has minimal utilitarian use other than to look beautiful and make it’s wearer dazzle. This work of art features two natural fibers — silk and cashmere — combined as one. The bottom or silken half of the top is a silk twill that was screen printed and dip dyed. It is apparent the silk is printed as the design on the backside of the fabric is lighter than it is on the face of the fabric. The dip dying process leaves the silk extremely soft to the touch and acts as a counterbalance to the slight stiffening of the fabric after it has been screen printed. The cashmere and silk used to make this beautiful top are both natural fibers, though painstakingly harvested to ensure no damage is done to the length of the fibers before they are assembled to make this creation. As with all Hermès items, quality is most important so this garment was crafted in Italy, though designed in France. As neither the silk nor cashmere were given waterproof finishes or treated to be washable, it is required that this top only be cleaned by a professional dry cleaners. This piece retails for $2200.

I think the selection of fabrics is absolutely genius. As a brand that is well known for it’s silks, Hermès invented a way to take something for which they are renowned and use it in other clever ways. The silk used at the bottom rather than the top allows for an elegantly free-flowing and breezy drape and the luster is opulence personified. It is possible the silk was also treated with a Schreiner calendering as it has a low, soft luster. The top half of the shirt is in a plane weave cashmere. To justify the higher price point cashmere instead of wool serves as the perfect alternative. It is has a soft, luxurious hand, is absorbent, and has body temperature regulating properties to keep the wearer as comfortable as possible.  No better fabric combination could be selected for this piece because the combination is both sophisticated enough to permit night wear yet casual enough to wear during the day. 

The use of the an actual scarf makes this garment appealing to women that may not have previously considered owning Hermès’ ready-to-wear. The use of cashmere with its butter soft hand and pleasing texture support the idea that the company only use the best materials to produce the best merchandise. The fabric choice would likely exceed the customer’s expectations as this is such a novelty piece that few would expect to see a creation so unique. Considering the cost of both their scarves and cashmere sweaters coupled with the secret construction techniques and its inherent exclusivity this retail price for this piece is definitely justified.

[kansascityhappenings]

Enough is enough: Fed-up Americans crave unity amid violence

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — She flipped through television channels and radio stations, scanning from conservative to liberal media, searching for any sign that the polarized nation had finally reached its tipping point.

For days, Elisa Karem Parker had been seeing updates in the news: A pipe bomb sent to liberal political donor George Soros. One delivered to CNN. More to former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other prominent political figures villainized by those on the right — a bizarre plot unfolding just ahead of the midterm election that will decide which party controls Congress.

“It’s like our country is becoming ‘The Hunger Games,’” Parker, who considers herself squarely in the middle of the political divide, told her husband and teenage son over dinner.

As authorities intercepted more than a dozen pipe bombs addressed to President Donald Trump’s most ardent critics — and then, on Saturday, as news broke of yet another mass shooting in America — political scientists and ordinary citizens observed again that rabid partisanship had devolved to the point of acts of violent extremism. Many wonder whether this latest spasm might be the moment that the nation collectively considers how poisonous the political culture has become and decides to turn the other way.

“If this isn’t it, I’d hate to think about what it will take,” said Parker as she cast her ballot in early voting last week in Louisville, Kentucky.

The mail-bomb plot is merely the latest in a series of stunning attacks to test how much political animosity Americans are willing to accept: the shooting of a Republican congressman at a baseball practice , the white supremacist rally that turned deadly in Virginia, the recent ricin scare-letters mailed to Trump and other top members of his administration.

On Friday, authorities arrested a suspect in the bomb probe — a 56-year-old registered Republican and Trump enthusiast who “appears to be a partisan,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said when asked about motive. By then, politicians and talking heads had already backed into the usual corners. Both parties blamed the other, and the president called for unity, then again described liberals and the media as villains. The hope Parker had that this might be a turning point faded.

Then came the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that claimed 11 lives, an attack likely to cause ugly partisan debates over gun control, hate speech and more.

“I just can’t believe the kind of violence that we’re experiencing in our country,” Pittsburgh resident Cindy Jennings said at a vigil for those targeted at the Tree of Life Synagogue. “I feel like the leadership in our country right now is just encouraging violence, and I wish that that would stop.”

The volatile tribalism now so ingrained in American life will eventually right itself, says Robb Willer, a sociology professor at Stanford University, but not until the public decides it’s had enough and stops rewarding politicians who use incendiary language and demonize the other side. It’s impossible to guess, he notes, how much damage will be done in the meantime.

“That is the question of our time: Are we going to choose to continue the war, or are we going to choose peace? And we don’t know yet what the answer to that will be, because while a majority of Americans are fed up with the extremity of our political divisions, it does feel like we’re stuck here,” Willer says. “It will get worse before it gets better.”

Animosity between parties has been growing for decades now, to the point that studies show Republicans and Democrats don’t want to date one another, don’t want their children to marry one another and don’t want to live in the same neighborhoods at a rate unprecedented in modern America. At the same time, politicians began using increasingly apocalyptic language. Willer says those two forces — the splintering of society along party lines and the ascent of vitriolic campaigning — merged to create a breeding ground for violence.

“It was simmering,” says Parker. “It’s like the gas burner was on, then Trump lit the fire.”

The president vaulted to political prominence by promoting the racist and false conspiracy theory that Obama was not born in the United States, launched his presidential campaign by calling Mexicans rapists and murderers, and routinely describes his enemies, including the intended recipients of the pipe bombs, as “evil,” ”dangerous,” ”the enemy of the American people.”

“That let loose a period of incivility, which is too mild a word; it’s potentially explosive anger that can turn into violence,” says Bob Shrum, a former Democratic strategist who last month started the Center for the Political Future, a program at the University of Southern California designed to restore sanity and bipartisanship in politics.

He’s watched with frustration as some liberal politicians respond to Trump’s presidency by imitating his divisive style. He describes it as a “cold civil war,” where people consider those who disagree with them bad, un-American — their enemy.

“Is there a tipping point? I don’t know,” he says. “I do believe we’re in a dangerous moment, unlike anything I’ve seen in my lifetime, and I’m 75 years old.”

There is little evidence the tide will turn soon.

Moderates are becoming increasingly rare in Washington, D.C., and Republicans willing to criticize Trump’s rhetoric, such as Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, are not running for re-election.

“You don’t really have those reasonable voices kind of trying to bring everybody together,” says Tom Freeman, a Republican attorney in Lincoln, Nebraska. “It’s just kind of round and round we go, and the sides just get more and more extreme, and you don’t have that rational leader in the crowd saying, ‘Hey, let’s dial it back.’ The sad thing is, if you did have that person, I don’t know that anyone would listen to them.”

The polarization is bleeding into everyday Americans’ personal lives.

Robert Major, a 51-year-old electrician and Republican from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, says he once moved because his landlord, a liberal, screamed at him for watching conservative news channels.

Meeka Grayer, a 38-year-old radio talk show host and Democrat from Omaha, Nebraska, lost friends over the divide. One conservative friend posted on Facebook about the migrant caravan heading toward the United States from Central America, parroting the president’s vilification of the group. Grayer objected and was attacked for her comments, prompting her to block her friend.

Though on opposite sides politically, Grayer and Major agree: The political climate is toxic and tiresome, but they have little confidence it will change because it’s too useful to politicians who want to stay in power.

“I think it’s time for the little guy to take control, but will that happen?” says Randy Wick, a 68-year-old Republican in Bloomingdale, Illinois, who blames Republicans, Democrats and the media for the division. “It seems like a good ol’ boys club up there in Washington. It’s all about money.”

Willer, the Stanford sociologist, says the absence of political leaders brave enough to try to steer the country onto a better path means it will be left up to voters to break the cycle. Until then, the divisions will only get deeper.

Some already casting votes for the Nov. 6 midterm election say they hope the system can self-correct. The future of the nation, the very concept of democracy, is at stake.

“America is resilient; we find a way even in our darkest days,” 36-year-old Cordell Lawrence said as he voted last week in Louisville. Lawrence described himself only as a moderate, preferring not to make public what party he leans to because he worries that could hinder personal and professional relationships.

“Maybe we have to hit rock bottom before we find how to get back up,” he said. “We’re probably pretty close to rock bottom today. At least I hope we are.”

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2018/10/28/enough-is-enough-fed-up-americans-crave-unity-amid-violence/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2018/10/28/enough-is-enough-fed-up-americans-crave-unity-amid-violence/

[investmart007]

BOSTON | Celtics hope return home can slow LeBron, Cavs in Game 5

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/fjUZbY

BOSTON | Celtics hope return home can slow LeBron, Cavs in Game 5

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics expected to see a different LeBron James in Cleveland after the Cavaliers fell into a 2-0 hole to open the Eastern Conference finals

Two games and back-to-back wins later , James has reminded everyone exactly why he’s been to seven straight NBA finals.

Boston will be back in the embrace of its raucous fans at TD Garden for Game 5 on Wednesday. But a team that has thrived on youth this postseason suddenly looks disoriented without a go-to player and opposite a more veteran squad that has found a new attitude thanks to the fuel being provided by its biggest star.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens said all you can do against James is “make it as hard as you can.”

“LeBron is the best player of this generation and he’s just maintained that because of his commitment to improvement,” Stevens said.

“He’s always been an unbelievable physical player. He’s always been a savvy player. And he’s always had, just like the natural instincts to make the right basketball play along with his tremendous skill set.”

While the Cavs are certainly feeling rejuvenated behind the play of James, coach Tyronn Lue said it hasn’t changed their sense of urgency.

“We still gotta play,” Lue said. “We have veteran guys who have been there and know what it takes, but this is a young team, a good team that’s playing at home so experience is not going to be a factor. We have to come in there and have the same mentality that we had in Game 3 and 4.”

Two games ago, the numbers seemed all on the Celtics’ side.

They had moved to 9-0 at home during these playoffs and taken 2-0 series lead, which has been a magic number for a franchise yet to surrender such an advantage during its storied history (37-0). Over the last 96 minutes, Boston has been outscored by 39 points, has dropped to 1-6 on the road and is suddenly facing a must-win game to maintain home-court advantage.

Stevens said at the start of the playoffs that he believed there was value in the greenness of a young group that had several players getting their first taste of postseason basketball. He was proven right with Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown and rookie Jayson Tatum all thriving as first-time postseason starters.

Their success had the cumulative effect of masking the absences of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. Now, the lack of an alpha like Irving capable of creating his own shot is sticking out with every 40-point game James produces.

Al Horford, Boston’s only healthy All-Star, was never a dominant scorer, but more of a facilitator who worked well in a finely tuned system.

Horford started off the series strong but his scoring and assist numbers have declined over the last two games.

Lue’s move to reinsert Tristan Thompson back into the starting lineup in Game 2 is a huge reason.

Thompson has not only helped things move better on the offensive end for Cleveland , he’s combined with Larry Nance to make things difficult on Horford. Horford had just four shots and seven points in 30 minutes in Game 3. He scored 15 points in Game 4 but was just 5-of-13 from the field with one assist.

If the Celtics are going to get back to the by-committee style that got them here, it must begin with his leadership. To that end, Horford said they’ll focus on correcting their issues, but also won’t dwell on them.

“As a group, we’re excited to be back, going back home,” he said. “Obviously we understand the challenge of it. We can’t think about the past. We just have to worry about this opportunity. We have a Game 5 at home, and we have to make the most of it.”

Cleveland is hoping James’ once quiet supporting cast continues its surge in Boston.

Kevin Love just missed his third straight double-double in Game 4 and sharpshooters JR Smith and Kyle Korver were 12 of 19 from the 3-point line in Games 3 and 4.

Korver’s efforts have stood out.

At 37 years old he was all over the court scoring in Game 4, diving for loose balls and collecting three blocks. While he anticipated being sore from all the activity, Korver said playing “fun basketball” is still propelling a guy looking for his first ring after appearing in 124 playoff games for five different teams during his 15-year career.

“There’s not many of us ’03 class guys still around,” James said of Korver. “I feel like we’re just cut from a different cloth because we’ve been around for so long. We have this work ethic and you see him every day putting in the work, putting his mind, his body into it. It’s not about his age.”

By KYLE HIGHTOWER by Associated Press – published on STL.News by St. Louis Media, LLC(U.S)