#and how a failed child can become a very damaging and very tragic young adult

[jeremiahthefroge]

I got through highschool without ever learning how highschool football worked and then got into college and was hit with nerdy prudes must die, which takes place in a highschool with football, and now I have to google a bunch of shit to be able to write a max jagerman-centric fanfiction in which tom houston is still the shop class teacher at Hatchetfield High, and he starts to guide Max to a better lifestyle. Authorship is hell

[animepopheart]

Wonder Egg Priority, Episode 7: The Scars to Prove It (or, Love for the Moms, the Cutters, and the Drunks)

Wonder Egg Priority (WEP) has felt like the successor to Puella Magi Madoka Magica in many ways throughout its run, but in episode seven, it almost went full Madomagi by driving the stakes to their utmost height—to the death of one of the main characters. But as has been consistent with WEP, what it did instead, after some moments of true worry, is to instead deliver hope in the face of pain, resolve against overwhelming circumstances, and strength in weakness.

The series returns to Rika Kawai’s story in this episode, which starts with her turning 14. And on her 14th birthday, after leaving her hungover mother halfway asleep at the bar she works at and which they call home, Rika opens up to the rest of the girls, explaining that she doesn’t know her father (it could be any of five possibilities, or even more) and her mom won’t reveal any further information about him. As she trashes her mom, Neiru and Momoe are incredulous, which only drives Rika away from them. And though Ai goes to comfort her, Rika is in a terrible state of mind as she enters her next fight.

This was a difficult episode to watch. They’ve all been somewhat hard since the series never shies away from brutal and violent situations impacting young people, but I found myself squirming especially here as Rika’s cutting takes center stage. At one point, she decides to cut herself and it seems certain she will, before her turtle-like partner, Mannen, prevents it from happening.

Challenging, also, is how strained Rika’s relationship is with her mother, who’s life revolves around drink—alcohol both pays the bills and helps her forget how miserable her existence is. And in the midst of all the bad behavior in this episode—the usual Rika talk, her mom’s alcoholism and neglect, and the selfishness all around, one begins to feel deeply sorrowful for the Kawai women. Yes, Rika is often obnoxious, but her family life is in shambles, and she still exhibits goodness, including a curiously gentle relationship with Mannen. And Rika’s mother is a tragic figure, used by men and quite on the road to an early death, it would seem, unable to lift herself out of the gutter as she tries, in her own sloppy way, to protect and reach out to her daughter.

It’s in this hopelessness that Rika turns again to cutting, and then finds herself tempted by something even more dangerous. Her foe this time is a religious leader who led the egg, a follower who continues to believe in him, to commit suicide as a way of “connecting” with the universe (Heaven’s Gate, anyone?). Rika decries the ghoul as a charlatan, but is confronted with her own weakness when the egg shows her own scarred arm to Rika, revealing that she can tell that the latter cuts just like she did. And then she explains that Rika can be released from this pain.

The scars, evidence of what Rika does to cope with her pain, now become the weakness that they truly are, revealing how hopeless she feels, and how powerless she is against the mechanizations of her family life. And defeated, she’s about to allow herself to be killed when a surprising savior comes along—a turtle. Mannen attacks the spiritual leader, to Rika’s surprise as well, until she remembers that he has imprinted on her. Rika is Mannen’s mom, and as he did when he prevented her from cutting, Mannen is again protecting his mother.

The conclusion that Rika reaches is unusual but inspiring. She understands, in this moment, the need to protect one’s mom, finally admitting to herself in a de facto way that maybe her mother is in need of love, too. It’s funny to consider the need that mothers have for love since culturally and socially, they’re always seen as the providers of it. But of course, they need it in return, especially when they falter. My own mother is sick right now, and I think of the support I need to give her and the lack of that I’ve provided through the years.

Warning: Screenshot involving cutting after the jump.

My mother was a good one, however. Rika’s, on the other hand, has struggled with the charge, which reminds me of a story from one of my favorite books, The Ragamuffin Gospel, about another bad parent—a far worse one, in fact, and a real one. I’ll quote part of the passage from chapter seven:

“‘Our daughter Debbie wanted a pair of earth shoes for her Christmas present. On the afternoon of December 24, my husband drove her downtown, gave her sixty dollars, and told her to buy the best pair of shoes in the store. That is exactly what she did. When she climbed back into the pickup truck her father was driving, she kissed him on the cheek and told him he was the best daddy in the whole world. Max was preening himself like a peacock and decided to celebrate on the way home. He stopped at the Cork ‘n’ Bottle–that’s a tavern a few miles from our house and told Debbie he would be right out. It was a clear and extremely cold day, about twelve degrees above zero, so Max left the motor running and locked both doors from the outside so no one could get in. It was a little after three in the afternoon and…’

Silence.

‘Yes?’

The sound of heavy breathing crossed the recreation room. Her voice grew faint. She was crying. ‘My husband met some old Army buddies in the tavern. Swept up in euphoria over the reunion, he lost track of time, purpose, and everything else. He came out of the Cork ‘n’ Bottle at midnight . He was drunk. The motor had stopped running and the car windows were frozen shut. Debbie was badly frostbitten on both ears and on her fingers. When we got her to the hospital, the doctors had to operate. They amputated the thumb and forefinger on her right hand. She will be deaf for the rest of her life.'”

Max—a real person, mind you—was a successful, well-liked man, but his drinking problem led to an unconscionable decision and profound failure as a parent. And yet, this book is about grace, an idea which to humans feels unjust, but  which has the power to change hearts and tear down walls, sometimes literally.

Could Max be given grace? Could Rika’s mother? If not directly, she’s done her own physical damage to her daughter in the form of those cutting scars (difficult and perhaps triggering images below). As mentioned earlier, the egg that she’s helping knows her pain and insists that letting go of everything, including life itself, is the way to peace. After all, to a young, suffering girl, what else could these scars mean?

But in the midst of giving up, in the moment that she actually capitulates (and this episode takes you 99% to the edge, both in the cutting scene and in the apparent death scene), Rika experiences something powerful. She experiences grace.

Have you ever been challenged to forgive someone when you don’t want to, when you feel completely in the right? Maybe it’s easy for you, but perhaps it isn’t. The girls surrounding Rika experience differing degrees of this with her sometimes maniacal and often hurtful behavior. Ai forgives easily. Momoe gets fired up and then equally seeks to make peace. And Neiru…well, Neiru holds onto “justice” more than love (setting up what I imagine will be the most powerful transformation in the series of all, in true Homura fashion). But in the moment that Rika is about to give her life, the girls yell out their love for her, even Neiru, and then more profoundly, without any hesitation, Mannen puts his own life on the line to stop the death from occurring. Rika has already given up, but this turtle hasn’t—not for his mother, whom he loves very much.

And experiencing that love from a different angle, Rika is changed just a bit. She begins to see her weakness as a “mother,” failing her turtle-child, and thinks of her own mom who is overwhelmed by hurt and a failure as well. And if just a little—for as the final scenes indicate, it is just a little—the path toward forgiveness begins.

But a little bit of grace is like a little bit of a flood—its power overwhelms, and it defeats the enemy, whether that means bitterness, a physical person (or manifestation of one), or the devil himself.

When Rika returns from the event, having killed the cult leader monster, it’s interesting to note that she isn’t a wholly different person. She’s changing little by little. And her scars remain. In fact, as she admits, she probably will cut herself again. But strangely enough, those scars now represent something different. They show someone trying—failing, yes, sometimes considerably and maybe very often—but trying, and only able to try because love was shown her, and through that, she is now able to show love as well.

You may have such scars in your life, physical or emotional, battered by the world and by people. I hope that you can develop relationships that help you heal as well, and that you’ll also remember that there are other scars which are meaningful to you, but which you cannot see on your person, scars that were borne out of a desire to heal you. Christ took the piercings, on his head, hands, feet, and side, so that while your heart and flesh may be cut, your soul need not be. And through his wounds, you may be healed.

The grace offered through Christ is one that, as he explains about everlasting water at the well to the Samaritan, for now and through eternity. The egg seeks peace forever by dying, but Jesus, unlike the cult leader, died for us so that we may not have to. He took the nails, the cross, and the spear so that we don’t have to inflict pain on ourselves and receive the punishment of our actions against him and others. He is our scar.

That’s grace. That’s the power that it has. And it can reach anyone—even a terrible dad, an alcoholic mom, a tempestuous child, and, and most significantly and personally—you.

If you’re suffering and in pain, maybe self-inflicted, we encourage you to explain such to a parent or trusted adult and ask for help. It’s a difficult first step, but one that will help you begin recovering. And we also advise that you turn to Christ for help—in prayer, community, and scripture. He provides people to us that will aid us in our times of need, as well as himself and the Holy Spirit if we are believers.

Additionally, there’s a scene in this episode where triumphant, Rika concludes that cutting is okay. That’s said in the context of her moving forward bit by bit and forgiving herself for her failures, even the upcoming ones. That’s an important lesson, though we must certainly be careful not to let it be a license to continue cutting with impunity.

Wonder Egg Priority can be streamed through Funimation. Read more of our articles by signing up for our weekly newsletter.

[rvnas]

                ✈️ — ⌜   hirai   momo   ,   cis   female,   she/her⌟  ↝    have   you   heard   ?   it   seems   like   the   heir   of   the   ITO   was   very   close   to   liam   yu   too   .   they   go   by   RUNA   and   they   were   liam's   BAD   INFLUENCE   .   their   network   is   of   95M   and   they’re   only   TWENTY-THREE   …   what   a   burden   it   must   be   .   i   heard   they   can   be   very   MESMERIZING   and   DEVOTED   .   but   these   last   few   months   ,   their   VOLATILE   and   SELFISH   personality   has   been   showing   more   .   the   media   is   sure   having   a   filled   day   with   them   !    i   hope   this   road   trip   with   friends   will   help   them   .   did   you   know   that   POSING   ON   THE   HOOD   OF   SOMEONE   ELSE’S   MASERATI   ,   13   MISSED   CALLS   FROM   HOME   ,   GLITTER   RIMMING   TIRED   EYES   AND   BROKEN   MIRRORS   really   show   their   true   persona  ?   maybe   liam   was   the   only   one   who   knew   that    ...  

━  ˙ ˖  ☆     quick  stats  !

full  name  :   haruna   ito   .

nickname(s)  :   runa   ,   ru   .

age   :   twenty-three   .

zodiac  :   aquarius   sun   ,   aries   moon   (  click   !  )

spoken   languages   :   japanese   ,   korean   ,   mandarin   ,   french   &   english   .     

sexuality  :   bisexual   .

alignment   :   chaotic   neutral   .

pinterest   :   (   click   !   )  

━  ˙ ˖  ☆     backstory  !    (  tw  :  death   ,   parental   neglect   &   drug   /   alcohol   use  )

the   daughter   of   the   ceo   to   a   real   estate   &    construction   conglomerate   and   his   high   school   sweetheart   turned   interior    designer   wife   ,    runa   ito   was   born   into   money   .   they   lived   in   tokyo   ,   the   same   city   her   grandfather   had   originally   started   his   company   back   in   the   40′s   ,   and   although   ito   property   group   had   accumulated   massive   wealth   and   international   business   by   the   time   runa   was   born   ,   her   parents   wanted   to   start   their   family   where   it   all   began   .

she   doesn’t   remember   much   about   her   early   life   —   a   blur   of   employees   and   family   members   alike   ,   their   faces   often   melting   into   one   ,   as   everyone   had    a   hand   in   raising   the   young   girl   .   her   father   was   a   busy   man   ,   after   all   ,   the   parent   who   paid   the   most   attention   to   young   runa   being   her   mother   .   there’s   not   much   runa   will   remember   about   her   childhood   in   japan   but   the   lullaby   the   woman   used   to   sing   to   her   at   night   is   something   she’ll   carry   with   her   for   the   rest   of   her   life   .

a   few   months   after   runa   turned   nine   is   when   her   memories   seem   to   begin   ,   spearheaded   by   the   tragic   death   of   her   mother   .   a   heart   attack   in   the   middle   of   the   day   ,   sudden   and   unexpected   .   it   was   runa   that   found   her   on   the   floor   in   the   garden   ,   the   scent   of   roses   that   had   blossomed   under   the   woman’s   gentle   care   thick   and   sweet   .   she   was   frozen   in   place   until   the   paramedics   arrived   ,   unmoving   even   after   her   father   broke   down   in   tears   right   in   front   of   her   ,   so   still   that   the   paramedics   were   concerned   enough   they   carted   her   off   to   the  hospital   .   shock   .   it   was   shock   ,   she’d   later   learn   ,   but   runa   didn’t   think   that   word   was   big   enough   to   describe   the   way   it   felt   like   something   inside   of   herself   had   passed   along   with   her   mother   .

by   the   time   she’s   eleven   everything   had   changed   .   following   the   death   of   his   wife   ,   her   father   had   relocated   them   to   new   york   city   ,   something   the   media   would   call   a   fresh   start   but   runa   knew   was   bigger   than   that   .   he   was   running   away   from   his   grief   ,   and   although   the   man   would   never   be   the   same   he   still   managed   to   remarry   ,   now   heading   ito   property   group   in   booming   downtown   manhattan   .   two   years   later   the   couple   celebrates   the   birth   of   a   beautiful   baby   girl   azumi   ,   the   only   thing   runa   is   grateful   for   since   her   old   life   in   tokyo   .

adjusting   to   life   in   new   york   wasn’t   easy   for   runa   .   she   had   never   been   a   difficult   child    ,   but   unresolved   emotions   have   her   feeling   like   a   time   bomb   with   no   control   of   when   or   how   she’s   going   to   explode   .   the   start   of   her   teenage   years   are   marred   by   schoolyard   fights   ,    stealing   from   convenience   stores   ,   talking   back   to   adults   for   no   good   reason   .   she   didn’t   mean   to   get   into   trouble   ,   she   really   didn’t   ,   but   she   had   no   idea   what   to   do   with   all   the   hurt   inside   her   .   at   home   she   felt   like   a   stranger   —   like   she   was   just   a   guest   watching   someone’s   family   from   the   outside   .   when   her   stepmother   voiced   concerns   over   runa’s   behavior   and   her   possible   involvement   in   azumi’s   development   runa   was   branded   a   bad   influence   before   she   was   even   fifteen   years   old   .   

her   father   hadn’t   stuck   up   for   her   ,   the   man   too   busy   to   notice   his   daughter’s   suffering   or   perhaps   too   in   denial   about   his   own   to   even   acknowledge   the   way   life   was  unfolding   inside   his   household   .   he   was   distant   at   best    and   straight   up   absent   at   his   worst   ,   leaving   runa’s   stepmother   to   raise   azumi   all   on   her   own   .   the   ito’s   might   have   looked   picturesque   from   the   outside   ,   but   unbeknownst   to   the   public   eye   the   family   was   imploding   .   her   father’s   second   marriage   was   hanging   by   a   thin   thread   .   he   resented   his   second   wife   for   not   living   up   to   a   woman   who   had   been   dead   for   over   five   years   now   ,   and   in   turn   the   woman   resented   runa   for   reminding   her   of   the   person   she’d   never   live   up   to   .   the   only   control   her   stepmother   had   of   her   own   life   was   spent   making   runa   out   to   be   a   threat   to   the   safety   of   her   actual   daughter   ,   not   caring   or   noticing   the   love   and   fondness   runa   and   azumi   had   for   each   other   .

if   you   hear   something   enough   times   ,   it’s   only   natural   you   start   to   believe   it   ,   that   you’d   accept   it   as   a   truth   .   seventeen   years   old   and   runa   becomes   exactly   who   she’d   been   made   out   to   be   —   bad   .   in   a   way   it’s   almost   a   comfort   .   that   overwhelming   sensation   of   guilt   that   used   to   choke   her   after   every   outburst   was   slowly   lifted   as   she   accepted   there   was   no   use   in   fighting   to   be   good   if   no   one   believed   it   .   she   must   have   been   born   this   way   ,   every   fuck   up   a   marker   of   her   predetermined   character   .   she’d   given   up   control   ,   and   as   much   as   runa   tried   to   make   herself   believe   it   wasn’t   her   fault   ,   that   she   couldn’t   change   who   she   was   deep   down   inside   ,   she   knew   the   truth   .   she   was   taking   the   easy   way   out   .   better   to   be   hated   by   the   people   who   were   supposed   to   love   her   unconditionally   than   to   acknowledge   she   deserved   better   .   it   was   easier   to   be   reckless   and   selfish   ,   every   stunt   she   pulls   a   welcome   distraction   from   how   empty   all   the   collective   abandonment   in   her   life   had   left   her   .  

she   surrounds   herself   with   people   she  decides   are   reflections   of   herself   .   hollow   ,   impulsive   people   with   little   regards   to   consequence   .   she   gets   drunk   ,   she   gets   high   ,   she   shoplifts   things   she   could   buy   without   blinking   just   for   that   temporary   thrill   .   she   says   she’ll   try   anything   once   ,   danger   be   damned   ,   her   own   life   be   damned   .   she   shows   up   to   her   father’s   business   events   long   after   he   stops   inviting   her   ,   makes   a   show   for   the   press   when   she   openly   flirts   with   business   in   front   of   their   wives   ,   when   she   downs   whiskey   sours   at   the   bar   snap   chatting   the   whole   thing   ,   when   she   publicly   denounces   the   ito   name   to   anyone   who   stops   and   listens   .   a   whole   year   of   paying   off   cops   to   keep   runa’s   records   clean   (   for   the   sake   of   the   family   business   ,   never   for   her   )   ,   of   opening   up   about   his   daughter’s   troubled   mind   (   not   for   her   own   betterment   but   to   save   stock   prices   from   dropping   too   low   )   ,   of   hiring   a   revolving   door   of   nannies   to   keep   azumi   far   out   of   runa’s   orbit   .   the   ito’s   wait   until   she   turns   eighteen   to   properly   kick   runa   out   ,   not    bothering   to   threaten   cutting   her   off   from   her   trust   fund   because   they   wanted   her   gone   that   desperately   .

and   runa’s   happy   to   go   .   she’s   got   access   to   the   penthouse   of   every   building   her   father   owns   ,   bouncing   from   one   place   to   the   next   as   she   inevitably   does   something   to   get   herself   kicked   out   .   property   damage   ,   noise   complaints   ,   letting   just   about   anyone   she   meets   on   a   night   out   practically   move  in   rent   free   —   the   list   is   a   long   one   .   it’s   then   when   she   meets   liam   ,   and   he   quickly   becomes   the   light   at   the   end   of    a   dark   tunnel   runa   hadn’t   even   realized   she   was   in   ,   because   he’s   not   like   anyone   else   in   her   life   .   he   sees   her   .   past   all   the   fuck   ups   he   sees   her   ,   sees   that   she’s   more   than   the   unstable   party   girl   the   press   has   made   her   out   to   be   ,   that   she’s   not   the   villain   her   family   needs   her   to   be   in   order   to   feel   better   about   the   fact   that   they’d   failed   her   .   he   was   the   first   in   a   long   time   to   recognize   any   of   it   and   she   has   no   idea   what   to   do   about   it   .

 for   a   little   while   he   makes   her   a   better   person   ,   or   at   least   want   to   try   to   be   one   .   the   light   liam   radiates   towards   anyone   in   his   life   isn’t   lost   on   her   ,   but   very   quickly   runa   realizes   just   how   uncomfortable   she   is   feeling   that   warmth   ,   the   feeling   so   unfamiliar   she’s   terrified   to   bask   in   it   too   long   .   her   first   instinct   is   to   reject   it   ,   to   reject   him   and   the   friendship   he’s   offering   her   ,   to   run   as   far   away   as   she   can   from   all   of   it   .   but   she’s   selfish   ,   and   more   than   that   she’s   lonely   ,   devastatingly   lonely   that   the   idea   of   cutting   out   the   one   friend   she   really   had   was   more   than   she   knew   she   could   take   .   she   does   the   next   best   thing   —   she   pulls   him   into   her   darkness   .   it   wasn’t   too   hard   of   a   feat   to   influence   someone   who   was   used   to   having   fun   ,   especially   when   that   someone   wasn’t   one   who   liked   saying   the   word   no   whenever   someone   had   a   crazy   idea   .   liam   already   had   his   feet   in   the   water   when   it   came   to   being   spontaneous   .   all   runa   was   doing   was   pulling   him   towards   the   deep    end   more   and   more   everyday   .

it’s   a   manipulative   thing   to   put   someone   you   love   in   danger   ,   to   ask   for   companionship   on   a   stupid   stunt   because   she   knew   he’d   say   yes   if   she   said   she   needed   it   ,   to   pretend   that   maybe   just   maybe   liam   was   the   same   as   her   and   she   really   wasn’t   influencing   him   at   all   but   opening   his   eyes   to   bigger   and   better   possibilities   .   she   knew   it   ,    every   minute   of   the   day   she   knew   it   ,   but   it   wasn’t   enough   to   ever   make   her   stop   .   he   gave   her   the   acceptance   she’d   never   gotten   at   home   and   she   gave   him   excitement   but   that   didn’t   make   it   alright   .   when   she   gets   the   news   he’s   dead   ,   she’s   back   in   the   garden   of   her   childhood   home   all   over   again   .   it   doesn’t   make   any   sense   at   all   ,   and   runa   refused   to   let   it   ,   picking   fights   with   anyone   who   dared   utter   he   was   in   a   better   place   .   there   was   no   room   in   her   heart   for   so   many   emotions   ,   so   she   does   what   she   can   to   drown   them   out   ,   quiet   and   out   of   the   public   for   the   first   time   in   years   because   of   how   hard   she’s   self   medicating   .   months   go   by   before   her   step   mother   reaches   out   .   azumi   has   a   ballet   recital   on   sunday   is   all   the   voicemail   says   ,   but   those   seven   words   are   enough   to   draw   runa   out   ,   to   get   her   to   come   home   for   the   first   time   since   they’d   kicked   her   out   .  

whatever   tiny   hope   runa   had   that   her   family   had   been   concerned   with   her   well-being   was   shattered   when   she   learns   the   call   had   been   a   trick   ,   a   false   pretense   as   requested   by   her   father   .   he   had   a   proposition   for   his   oldest   daughter   which   was   really   more   of   an   ultimatum   —   runa   had   one   year   .   one   year   to   either   get   her   life   together   and   start   working   under   his  iron   fist   as   a   director   at   ito   property   group   or   be   excluded   from   his   will   and   properly   disowned   ,   never   allowed   to   be   more   than   ten   miles   from   her   younger   sister   as   long   as   she   was   a   minor   .   it   wasn’t   long   after   her   father’s   proclamation   that   runa   gets   the   invitation   to   go   on   the   road   trip   .   she   doesn’t   think   she   cares   ,   swears   she’s   not   interested   in   remembering   liam   in   the   company   of   people   who   no   doubt   had   less   than   kind   things   to   say   about   the   girl   that   was   infamous   for   being   the   permanent   devil   on   a   dead   man’s   shoulder   ,   but   a   bottle   of   the   expensive   stuff   all   to   herself   later   that   night   and   she’s   saying   yes   ,   she’s   coming   ,   because   despite   everything   she’s   sworn   is   true   about   herself   and   about   how   she   feels   she   needs   this   trip   more   than   she’d   ever   admit   .                                                                             

━  ˙ ˖  ☆     personality  +  tidbits  !

aha   ...   where   oh   where   to   begin   JSBDJWDBJW   i   feel   like   hot   mess   it   the   perfect   and   easiest   way   to   describe   her   💔😔   not   to   b   all   she’s   complicated   but   !   she’s   complicated   !!!

on   one   hand   she’s   a   lot   of   fun   ,   and   i   mean   a   LOT   like   in   a   room   full   of   people   it’s   easy   to   feel   drawn   to    her   bc   she’s   got   an   exciting   kind   of   energy   surrounding   her   .  she’s   that   type   of   person   that   you   know   you’re   gonna   have   fun   with   no   matter   what   you   guys   do   even   if   you   have   no   idea    what   kind   of   shenanigans   to   expect   because   she’s   always   doing   something   new   and   not   predictable   .   

on   the   other    hand   ?    yea   she’s   kinda   fucking   crazy   not   2   get   all   lana   del   rey   but   SJDBWJBDJWBJWD   runa   has   a   concerning   lack   of   care   for   her   own   health   and   safety   so   in   turn   she’s   not   too   concerned   abt   anyone’s   else’s   health   and   safety   ,   either   /:   she’s   just   following   the   traumatized   girl   handbook   doing   reckless   stuff   just   to   feel   something   and   all   that   jazz   it’s   all   fun   and   games   until   u   have   a   near   death   experience   jumping   off   a   yacht   super   wasted   at   a   billionaire’s   party   ...   and   even   then   it’s   still   fun   and   games   if   ur    runa   <3

mommy   issues   ?   yup   ..   daddy   issues   ?   yup   again   baby   we   got   two   for   two   😭   runa’s   desire   to   be   nurtured  and  have   someone   hold   her   face   and   say   i   care   abt   u   versus   her   attraction   to   ppl   who   literally   couldn’t   tell   u   if   she’s   happy   or   sad   fight   to   the   death   !!!   yes   she   wants   love   and   acceptance   yes   she’s   gonna   ruin   any   chance   she   has   at   getting   that   by   pushing   ppl   away   or   purposely   fucking   up   so   they   just   give  up   on   her   the   way   her   dad   and   stepmom   did   .   literally   she’s   like   i   want   to   be   loved   no   i   don’t   yes   i   do   .   don’t   .   yea   <3333 

idk   if   any   of   you   have   ever   met   an   aquarius   that   literally   makes   no   damn   sense   and   ur   just   like   what   universe   do   u   live   on   bc   it’s   impossible   to   try   and   plan   something   with   them   and   when   they   do   finally   message   u   back   it’s   asking   u   to   come   out   to   a   club   at   2   am   when   ur   already   in   ur   pajamas   but   that’s   runa   ...   except   if   u   get   out   of   bed   and   finally   show   up   to   the   club   she’s   already   gone   SJDBWJDBJWD

she’s   moody   😔   one   minute   she   can   be   having   the   time   of   her   life   and   she’s   being   really   open   and   fun   and   the   next   she   can   just   totally   shut   down   and   get   really   cold   and   bitchy   or   really   angry   and   it’s   /:   truly   not   a   good   time   !   she   really   isn’t   a   bad   person   but   she   DOES   make   lots   of   mistakes   and   if   you’ve   got   a   negative   opinion   about   her   she’s   not   going   out   of   her   way   to   change   it   or   prove   u   wrong   ,   in   fact   she’s   way   more   likely   to   prove   u   right   bc   that’s   the   easy   way   out  

super   super   devoted   to   people   she   cares   about   !   even   if   she’s   not   open   about   the   fact   that   she   cares   you’ll   know   bc   if   u   ask   her   to   do   something   or   go   someplace   she’ll   do   it   no   questions   asked   

does   anyone   rmr   that   one   tweet   where   it’s   like   “   hmu   if   ur   toxic   im   trying   to   have   a   crazy   summer   “   runa   is   both   the   person   tweeting   and   the   toxic   person   they’re   looking   for   .   duality   <3

flirts   as   easy   as   breathing   but   it   legit   means   ...   nothing   like   she’ll   just   mindlessly   flirt   her   way   through   life   just   bc   she   can   !   uses   her   pretty   privilege   for   free   stuff   despite   being   rich   .   has   never   been   in   a   serious   or   a   committed   relationship   and   she’s   not   abt   to   start   now   she’s   got   mega   abandonment   issues   to   work   on   first   </3333   is   always   down   for   a   good   time   though   runa   believes   in   whore   rights   😏😏

dresses   like   an   e   girl   even   though   she   legit   doesn’t   know   wtf   that   is   ...

can’t   stand   the   sight   /   smell   of   roses   bc   they   remind   her   of   her   mom   ): 

likes   to   make   very   large   donations   in   her   father’s   name   to   really   progressive   organizations   to   piss   off   all   the   boomer   shareholders   of   his   company   (:

has   never   used   🥺   this   emoji   in   an   not   ironic   way   her   whole   life   i   told   u   guys   she’s   CRAZY   ...   

loves   to   sweet   talk   ppl   into   getting   into   doing   wild   stuff   if   she   hits   u   up   with   a   wyd   text   IGNORE   her   unless   u   wanna   end   the   night   with   a   broken   wrist   or   a   matching   ass   tattoo    ...

who   was   that   one   twitter   girl   that   stole   someone’s   hamster   at   a   party   i   can’t   rmr   her   name   but   /:   that’s   runa   SJDJWBDWJBDJW   

lies   abt   the   randomest   things   sometimes   for   literally   no   reason   like   someone   can   be   like   hi   im   amy   (:   and   she’ll   be   like   aw   that   was   my   grandma’s   name   like   no   it   wasn’t   don’t   ask   me   why   she’s   like   that   ...       

━  ˙ ˖  ☆     wanted  connections  !  (  all  open  to  all  genders  )

okay   i   was   gonna   type   a   bunch   of   bullets   here   but   this   intro   is   literally   already   disgustingly   long   and   LATE   im   .   so   embarrassed   ...   i’m   seriously   down   for   anything   though   like   platonic   romantic   wholesome   angsty   enemies   old   family   friends   a   i   keep   calling   ur   mom   a   milf   and   u    hate   it   connection   ...   whatever   it   may   be   i’m   open   🥺  

truly   i   hate   this   life   i   wrote   a   novel   for   NO   good   reason   ...   if   ur   like   me   &   prefer   discord   for   plotting   u   can   add   me   @   glo lovecore ʕ´• ᴥ•̥`ʔ#8172   and   we   can   plot   there   💖 💖 💖   if   discord   isn’t   ur   jam   though   we   can   plot   via   tumblr   ims   im   just   gonna   be   harder   to   reach   that   way   so   it   might   take   a   little   longer   🥺   im   sosososo   excited   to   be   here   &   finally   write   with   u   all   i’m   sorry   this   intro   took   forever   !!!!    

[maleficking]

Completely Random Thoughts #2 (Continued): Acnologia Prequel Movie Headcanon Ideas (Edited)

After my last post about an Acnologia Prequel movie, I decided to go a typical tumblr poster route and bullet-pointed a list of ideas that I would personally use if I were to make this movie. The following will have slight retcons to them, so don’t be too alarmed if there is something that would change something in canon. If anyone else has any ideas for this concept, please share them. I’d love to hear what any of you have.

- To start with, the movie’s artstyle would be something closer to Phoenix Priestess compared to Dragon Cry. I have nothing against the Dragon Cry artstyle, in fact I think it looks fantastic, but I just personally prefer how Acnologia looks in the regular anime compared to Dragon Cry.

- The movie would begin with the birth of a baby Acnologia, who would be given the name “Hajimari”, which is the Japanese word for “beginning”. While initially supposed to represent the start of a new life, this name would foreshadow Acnologia’s role as the “bringer of a new era”.

- Growing up in the Hidden Land of Montes Secreta, we learn many things about Hajimari’s childhood. We learn that his father is the local medic for the village, with his wife being one of his former patients. They are both non-magical folk, as is everyone in Montes Secreta. 

- In fact, Hajimari is the only resident of the entire village to have Magic, having developed the power to use healing magic. A trait which would eventually be admired by Hajimari’s young brother.

- Hajimari actually first developed his magic power during a chance encounter with the guardian of Montes Secreta, Acnologia I. While many Dragons inhabited the village, Acnologia I served as the primary guardian and protected the humans against any threat. After a notably fierce battle, a young Hajimari would find an injured Acnologia I and helped heal his wounds with his new-found Magic.

- After this event, the boy and Dragon would become close friends. Acnologia I becoming a sort of teacher to Hajimari as he taught him Dragon culture while Hajimari served to help keep the Dragon company and helped heal wounds he attained in battles to protect the village.

- As Hajimari grows into an adult, he experiences many developments. He becomes an admirer of Dragons, gains a young brother who looks up to him,  and gains the title of “Doctor”. However, he also grows anxious about how weak his actual magic is. After failing to save someone even with his healing magic, Hajimari grew less confident of his ability to help anyone. A complex he confides with his close friend, Acnologia I.

- At this time, Acnologia I has heard the tales of wizards gaining a “Dragon-Killing” Magic and goes off to investigate the rumors. Unlike the series, however, we see what happens when Acnologia I encounters a group of Dragon Slayers who have grown mad with power. After being nearly killed by the rogue wizards, Acnologia I returns and converses with the Dragons of Montes Secreta, telling them of the kind of monsters that humans could become.

- The results are the slaughtering of the people of Montes Secreta by the very Dragons that once protected them. Among the destruction, Hajimari loses the family he once held so dear. He witnesses his parents consumed by the flames and his kid brother dies in his arms, his magic not being powerful enough to save him.

- And then the story goes as you know it, Hajimari is the lone survivor of the rampage. Looking over the destruction, he grows a hatred and lust to kill the beings he once oh so admired. For that, he needed the power to slay Dragons. As such, he heads to Ishgar to attain the power he seeks, to make all Dragons bleed.

- After a long journey, he finally makes it to Dragnof. While he’s disgusted at the idea of co-existence with Dragons, and even more so when learning he has to be taught by one, he bears with it in order to achieve his goal. While the Dragons are initially weary of the mysterious traveler, the queen of Dragnov Irene makes the decision to allow his teaching of Dragon Slayer Magic, having felt pity after hearing the tale of his tragedy. However she remained unaware of the growing darkness within Hajimari’s heart.

- To the surprise of many, Hajimari become the first and only human capable of learning a rare form of Dragon Magic known as “Spirit Dragon Slayer Magic”. A Slayer with the power to harness their own spirit in order to inflict damage to a Dragon’s very soul, hurting them in ways no other Slayer could. This magic would also allow Hajimari to consume the souls of the Dragons he killed, a tidbit that would eventually lead to him developing multiple Magic Types at a time, unknown to everyone but Hajimari.

- As the years go on, Hajimari makes a name for himself as one of the most powerful and one of the most aggressive Dragon Slayers working for co-existance. Bidding his time for when he can truly drive Dragons to extinction, he bites his tongue and continues to work with Irene’s cause. However, this form of lifestyle leaves Hajimari unfulfilled, feeling like he isn’t doing enough to avenge all of his fallen loved ones.

- Yet one day, while on a mission from Irene, Hajimari kills a Dragon chasing a girl, a young child named “Rei”. After unintentionally saving her, she begins to follow Hajimari, much to his annoyance. Admiring his strength, Rei essentially becomes a fangirl for Hajimari.

- Eventually, Hajimari begins to form a friendship with Rei, since she reminds him of how his young brother used to look up to him. They form a bond as they share their stories, revealing that Rei too experienced Dragons slaughtering her family. While some of his fellow Dragon Slayers (and even a few Dragons) would mock the “fearsome” Hajimari for taking in a kid, he didn’t care as he now had someone to protect and look after...for now.

- Everything would change, however, when Rei tragically loses her life to an ambush from a Dragon, Hajimari being too late to save her. Exploding in rage, Hajimari’s anger amplifies his magic to the point where he activates his Dragon Force for the first time and savagely rips apart the Dragon. 

- After this tragedy, Hajimari begins his true descent into madness. Becoming even more savage in his rage to exterminate Dragons and all who dare support them, no longer caring about the orders of Irene and going rogue. In this period of time is when Hajimari loses his memories, gains the title “Acnologia”, and becomes a full “Arcane Dragon Slayer” along with gaining his Dragonized Form. 

- The entire climax would revolve around Acnologia at his peak initiating the Dragon King Festival, with the onlookers including Irene, Anna Heartfillia, and Zeref. The movie ending on a shot of Acnologia atop a mountain of Dragon corpses and roaring towards the heavens proclaiming, “I AM ACNOLOGIA, THE DRAGON KING!!!” 

BONUS:

- Originally I didn’t want to make Acnologia a “Spirit Dragon Slayer” since I thought that’d be too out of place, but the appearance of a Ghost Dragon Slayer in 100 Year Quest proved me otherwise. So whelp.

- I wrestled a bit with the idea of making Rei be Sonya from Dragon Cry, adding more meaning to the Post Credit Scene. I decided against it since it would require too much retconning to actually work (Although I guess Sonya’s death would affect Acnologia slightly more after losing both his sibling and Rei in this scenario).

- Something that would definitely be in the movie would be the bitter reunion of Hajimari and Acnologia I. I’m currently on and off at thinking of having Acnologia I actually being the one who kills Rei and begins Hajimari’s savage rampage. The meeting would expectedly end with the gruesome death of Acnologia I, who would reflect on his past choices and die in shame of the kind of monster that he helped create. 

But yeah, that’s what I got so far for my Acnologia Prequel Movie idea. Please, let me know what you think of it.

[sparda3g]

Attack on Titan Chapter 124 Review

It has been a stellar year for the series. I would argue it’s the best so far. I would also argue that it will end next year with the final anime season debuting next fall. It will be fantastic. As the year coming to an end, the holidays is around the corner. For the last chapter of the year, Isayama-sensei shared his holiday spirit with his fans with more of stellar content. It may be a coincidence, but I like to think that way.

The last chapter’s effect is still jarring. I’m still blown away by the revelation. If there’s a picture that described me perfectly, it’s the chapter’s cover with Annie’s father in PATHS. Even at Marley, he felt the presence of the tyrant known as Eren, and received the message that everyone will die. Others in the crowd also felt the effect. At least they received the memo, so they can die knowing. Seriously though, the endgame is here.

The good news is, Reiner is back. The bad news is, Reiner is back. I said this because his suffering continues, now with the sight of the world’s end. If that wasn’t enough, Falco was taken away by Connie and Jean. I remember a scene where it looked like Gabi was going to get killed off with Reiner shouting and all. Of course, that would put a smile on some fans’ face. That being said, she was actually in danger, but Reiner saved her. His armor came undone once the walls were destroyed. It’s an interesting note on its own, but it’s proven later to be incredibly essential.

Poor Reiner once again failed to do something, whether it’s to prevent the world’s ending or protect the kids. I want Isayama to end his misery, somehow, someway. At least he’s not alone in suffering. Add Gabi to the mix with Falco missing and words from Reiner that pretty much say, “The world will die…forever.” I love the guy, but he’s the last person to go for comforting words. True, with Eren in control of all titans, no one can touch him, but this is such a downer.

Reiner passes out, but Gabi has acquired Eren’s special trait: refuse to quit. After all, she is drawn based on him in a way. She’s off to bring Marley’s warriors back alone. I got to credit Isayama for developing her well; growing up to a proper warrior. I know she started off really rough, but it was intentional and she has gotten a lot better for a child who was manipulated. It gets better later on as well. Plus, she took good care of Reiner with food and blanket. Can’t hate on that.

The scene with Survey Corps regroup is really good. It turns out Jean and Connie did retrieve Falco, which would be tough for Gabi. What I like about this scene is the realistic reactions and damning questions that stemmed from long-term build-up. Jean sees Eren’s action as the consequence for the world to take on Paradis Island; constantly citing them as the devil.

Have they give them a glimmer of hope, this action may have been prevented. The startling part is if the Survey Corps had a chance to prevent it. One would argue they did, but they didn’t approach to Eren in a way that would have wise him down. One would argue they did nothing wrong. I can’t really fault anyone; even Mikasa in the last chapter. It was tough to read Eren. Hell, I was trying to wrap my head around with clues and ideas on his agenda.

The sickening part is, despite the fact Eren is aiming to mass genocide the world, it will benefit Paradis Island because his friends lived there. In other words, this is “fine” for Survey Corps; technically, they don’t have to do anything. They can sit back and enjoy the fireworks with red liquid spreading. It’s crazy when you think about the genre. Shounen focuses on the theme of friendship. Eren is certainly true to the core, but never would I thought on this level of mayhem. It’s riveting to see a different exploit on the said theme.

Although I said they don’t have to do anything, there are normal titans killing their people right now. I’m not sure if we are supposed to be questioning on the thought of Eren not controlling them, but Zeke was the one that controlled them. Perhaps it’s due to royal blood that they are negated from the Founder’s control. Then again, it’s probably best to keep this in mind. After this chapter, all clues, hints, and builds should not be taken lightly. Before stopping them, they have to do something about Falco.

It’s sad to hear them talking about feeding someone like Pixis with Falco to “resurrect” them. Yes, he’s an enemy, but as a fan spectator, this blows. It heats up really quickly, because Connie now has the chance to rescue his mother. I was wondering how that subplot will play out, but this is a direction that left me shaky. I credit Armin to try to avoid a possible clash by keeping Falco alive. Eren is practically factory resetting the world, so they might as well start over “fresh.” As good that may sound, Connie wasn’t having it.

All the build-ups to Connie leads to the outburst that have him running away from his friends, taking Falco. It made sense sadly. The guy went through so many hell and back without dying. He lost friends, death or backstabbed, and the one opportunity to save his mother was about to be lost. These developments matter so much; like a video game with picking the choice to define a character’s personality. As much as I appreciate Armin, he had no rights to speak. He was resurrected, yet he’s telling him he has no rights to do that. Can’t argue a shattered man. What a corrupted world.

Although there’s a massive-sized titan army, there are normal ones causing damages. Honestly, it’s the best part; well, minus the ending. The reason is due to the old familiar nature of the series. Not to say it lost its foundation, but the familiar atmosphere is a nice callback. The terror and devastation of titans are once more pronounced in its last ride.

Yelena looks defeated with her blank expression. I had a feeling it was coming, now that her dream is shattered into pieces. I’m not sure why Zeke wasn’t controlling the titans. Maybe he’s still unconscious or just gave up altogether. In any case, she and the faction are in trouble. Speaking of faction, those who backstabbed Shadis recently are also in trouble. Karma is on full throttle; however, not all deserved.

If there are people that don’t deserve it, it would be the Braus Family. What struck me hard is the very titan that’s attacking them is Nile. It pains me when I realized who it was. He was one of the few reasonable men that were kind enough to help the enemy. Now look at him. It’s tragic. The sensation grows darker with Kaya trapped with a titan; reminiscing the scene when she lost her family. This was like a sick joke. But it’s redeemed when the scene was truly repeated.

Gabi shoots down the titan with that powerful rifle of hers. For once, I’m glad the training benefits her well. She charges right at it, aim inside the mouth, and blast the hell out of it. I have to admit, the way how she gunned it down was pretty damn cool. Sad for Nile, but it’s best to put him to sleep. The moment reminds Kaya of Sasha, when she saved her. History repeats itself in a crazy way. It speaks volume on Gabi’s action. She didn’t have to save them, but after her developments, it made sense why. It pays off well.

What I really like is how the family continues to be possibly the best family in the series. The father still cares for Gabi despite all the mishaps. I am aware that they don’t want any more fighting, but this is comforting for once. On top of that, there’s a moment when soldiers ask them if Gabi is the same girl from the opposing side, and the one that defends her is Kaya. She lies about the identity and Nicolo joins in to explain the gunfire was his action. They bought the story and proceed to protect the family. That’s rewarding in many ways.

It showcase how family can stick together, even in the darkest day. It also shows how one can forgive another. It’s something you see in many series, but this one was done well, especially when considering their age. Both are young and trying to understand the reality. Gabi learned a lot, yet still challenged on the morality. Same can be said for Kaya for she doesn’t understand why Gabi saved her. Not to mention, she did try to kill her. That could have been karma itself, but fate brought them together once again.

These kids are lost on their sense of morale. With their bloodlust thoughts or action, what does that make them? The devil? It’s normal for them to feel conflicted. Nicolo puts it best: we all have a demon inside. Call it cheesy or not, it fits well with the series’ nature. It’s not like it was said to adults, so this was executed properly. I like the moral. It’s simple but relatable and understanding.

The new cadets are about to meet their end. I know I said they are dealing with karma, but I think this was going too far. Luck has it for them, because someone arrives to save the day. Out of all people, it’s Shadis, the same guy they pummeled badly. But it’s nothing personal; what matters the most is saving lives. The man is a true trooper. To think, he recovered quickly to save those who backstabbed him. I know it was on a whim, but broken trust can be unforgiving. This moment was really nice.

I wouldn’t mind Yelena biting the dust, but lucky for her, I suppose, Survey Corps does come to rescue her and the faction. They did have a cool entrance with a nice angle shot from the inside building. Jean has become a true leader with his commands and leads. He has everyone back on their feet, rally up to fight back. The growth of these characters are paying off nicely.

The best part of this retro sensation is the action. It’s been a long time since we last have human versus titan action. This is a pleasant treat to enjoy. The Survey Corps rally up and spring into combat; just like the good old times. They may be using updated weaponry, such as spears, but it doesn’t take away the nostalgia.

The emotional set piece comes in when Pixis and others approach to Armin and Jean. It hits them with the callback to the time when Eren was positioned as the savior. They must do the only option: putting them to sleep. Before finishing them, Armin and others express their gratitude, thanking Pixis for guiding them. It sucks that he and others have to die, but it’s possibly the best sendoff or burial they can get as titans. Rest in Peace to everyone who has transformed but never forget who they were.

If there’s one person that I hoped didn’t make it out alive, it would most certainly be Floch. The amount of disappointment I felt when he reappears can’t be measured. That punchable face of his irritates me to no end. Even Jean low-key hates the fact he survived; he speaks for us fans. He’s all excited for the end of the world. All the sudden, he points a gun at depressed Yelena and order her to gather the volunteers for he will arrest them. What the hell is with him? I pray this leads to his demise for his stupidity running too deep. Whether it’s Yelena’s time to die or his, I’m ready to say, “…And nothing valuable was lost.”

I didn’t expect Gabi to reunite with Armin and Mikasa, but I’m actually happy for this development. It’s a good thing they didn’t have a fallout or any bad blood left. Despite the world coming to an end, it sure has plenty of uplifting moments from many fronts. The only downside is Falco is held hostage by Connie. I know Gabi isn’t liked as far as I’m concerned, but I do feel sympathy for her. Again, she’s a child that was manipulated coming undone but sadly caused wrongful actions. She doesn’t want to fight anymore; at the very least, reunite with Falco, who promised to be her man.

There’s some interesting notes coming from Gabi’s outburst. If Eren has become the Founding Titan, couldn’t he revert back titans to their old self? I don’t think it’s possible unless it’s confirmed one day, but if so, that is a good point. It’s pretty telling on her development when she pleads Armin to stop Eren from destruction since fighting is no good. If she was like her old self, she would be thrilled, though her family is still in peril, but you get my point. Lastly, going back to first point, if Eren can undo the effect, does hardening counts as one? This chapter is packed with greatness, but the ending is undoubtedly the show stealer.

The one point that stood out to Armin was the mention of Reiner’s armor coming undone. He remembers Eren saying all hardening will dissolved and turns out, he’s right once he reign the titans. At that moment, I was muttering to myself if this means what I think it means. For our last gift of the year, Annie has officially returned. It’s about time. What was seen as a running gag has come to an end. This is how you end the year with a bang.

What a year. In anime, it had an incredible season with the announcement of the final season. In manga, it delivered top notch quality content; keeping it strong like its heyday. Some would even say it’s even better. Regardless, it end the year with a great chapter. The nostalgic tone was riveting, the developments were paying off, for better or worse, the presentation is pretty solid with heartfelt moments, and the action was exciting. Next year already looks very promising. Here’s to the new year with possibly one last ride.

[parabcllums]

⧼    inbar lavi, genderfluid, she & they & he   /   shoot and run by josef salvat  +   a selfless heart hidden behind a bulletproof vest ; a highly literal warmth underneath impenetrable armor. impossibly dark brown eyes set into - and unmanageable curls framing - a disarmingly innocent face. a tiny and freshly polished star of david charm on a dainty chain, dirtied combat boots and an improbable amount of weapons hidden on their person at any one time.   ⧽   ━━   let me tell you a thing or two about ZIVA ORLI MIZRAHI. the THIRTY FOUR year old ( legal ) child of NICK FURY & NATASHA ROMANOFF / WARD OF SHIELD is a PROFESSOR OF STRATEGY at paragon academy and SHIELD LIAISON OFFICER & JUNIOR AGENT TRAINER, and has sometimes been referred to as THE HIRED GUN. they’ve always seemed very INGENIOUS & ADAPTABLE, though i’ve heard that they can be pretty OBSTINATE & TACITURN, too. it’s common knowledge that they have the power of ELECTROKINESIS and abilities of INNATE COMBAT & WEAPONS PROFICIENCY ; guess we shouldn’t get on their bad side, huh? redirect to her stats page HERE and check out her pinterest HERE.

     blood is blood, and what is done is done.                     blood is blood, and its BURDEN is a ( beast ).

SECTION ONE OF THREE: BULLET POINT HISTORY trigger warnings for mentions ( typically flowery language, no big details given ) of abuse, explosions, death, torture, weapons

her life began when she was six years old. this is the only truth she knows, the before a distant and increasingly faded memory. she adheres to this truth, but it has always been clear to her that while she may consider as much gospel, the agency that becomes home does NOT. there is a worry, there, about all the things she doesn’t remember, and all the things they fear she will. she’s a prisoner, in some ways, a caged bird they fear could rustle up a hurricane with one beat of two feathered wings. she’s a WARD, in legal standing, the responsibility of shield.

there is a hard to swallow truth, and there is a perfectly crafted lie. they blend together for ziva, but shield’s memory is long, and good. her mother was a seamstress ( her mother was a psychopath ) and her father was a scientist ( he was going to raze the world ). they loved their daughter ( they never should have brought a child into this world if all they wanted was to create another weapon ). they came from money, and ziva never wanted for anything ( the wealth was a wonderful distraction to the horrors buried inside that cold home, and couldn’t buy the affection that she so desperately craved ). extravagant parties filled the manor with happy music and happy faces, their circle of family and friends well trusted and warm ( secret meetings in the dead of night filled the corridors with heartless whispers, and no one dared to even try and leave ). joseph and shai and all their friends were COLLATERAL DAMAGE in the tragic, but random, explosion of november 12th, 1994 ( natasha had no choice but to pull the trigger - there was no other option, nick assured her, no possible alternative, not if she wanted to put an end to the plan and save COUNTLESS more lives ). she was left without parents, without a family, due to this random act of violence that shield could not have stopped in time, and she is turned into their ward because of it, their responsibility, for all they’d failed to do ( she was witness to it all, a tiny girl caught in the crossfire of an adult war, a liability for what she knew ).

she was brought to the states, and she was given a new life - and it comes with new papers. she was a WARD OF SHIELD, unofficially, destined to grow up within the walls of headquarters, but the names of the two agents who had a direct hand in how she came to be their responsibility filled in the blanks on an otherwise sparse birth certificate. NICK FURY & NATASHA ROMANOFF in place of father and mother. whether her name was ALWAYS ziva orli mizrahi is up for universal debate. whether she really was born in tel aviv or whether that was simply the place that her new life began and the little israeli hailed from somewhere else completely is ALSO constantly a question. she was never officially adopted, nor could they entrust her into the system so that she might have been. ziva was YOUNG, and even then in psych evaluations, struggled to recall the details of events leading up to the huge overturn of her life, details that grew foggier with every passing year and in every subsequent follow up - but shield couldn’t risk the fact that she might just talk. it was SAFER to keep her nearby.

christmas with the fury’s. her birthday with the black widow. easter, thanksgiving, the fourth of july - spent with whatever agents would take her. she might have grown to resent the constant back and forth, the never belonging anywhere other than wherever she was given a bed to stay at the time, but ziva was a CHAMELEON SOUL. she barely remembered the home she had, before ( she recalled that it was cold and that she rarely left her ROOM, amongst other, terrible things - but as years ticked by, she wondered how much she imagined and how much had a basis in truth ), and adjusted to the bouncing around better than anyone could have expected. when she WASN’T spending time with other agents, or her legal parents ( they could insist that they were neither to her all that they wanted, but there was a FONDNESS formed that blossomed into love over the many years they shared ), she was given the run of shield. she had a permanent bedroom in the temporary lodgings upstairs, decorated minimally, at first, and then decorated to EXCESS. she would eat meals in the mess hall and treat it like an ornate dining room. she would forgo watching tv in favor of observing the senior agents training the juniors in the lower level training rooms. she would entertain HERSELF by learning the ins and outs of that building, one loose ceiling panel and shaky air vent at a time.

she grew up in meetings she had no place in, the clearance level she gave herself infinite. eventually, even if she HADN’T remembered the events that transpired when she was six years old, she soon knew enough secrets and private affairs to bring the whole organization, if not the UNITED STATES as a whole, down. she crawled in airshafts. she hid beneath the board room table. she sat inside of closets until they were opened and she came tumbling out. at least ONCE, she fell through the ceiling. she was a staple part of an ever changing community, and her antics made her beloved. senior agents worried about where she was if they hadn’t seen her in a while. junior agents feared the little girl that they called the ‘GHOST’, an easy dozen convinced that she really did haunt the building.

she was given the best shield sanctioned education a girl could ask for from ages six to sixteen, privately tutored and attaining a multitude of degrees in her vast amount of free time. she wasn’t permitted attend a regular kind of high school, nor was she ever really outside of headquarters, unsupervised, so the mischief she got up to inside and the studies she threw herself into were really all she had. and in between it all, she became a shining example of what a golden girl shield agent could BE. natasha and nick taught her everything they knew, individually, allowing for her to mix two lifestyles and philosophies together to create what worked for her. a revolving door of different senior trainers woke her early each morning for gym and for lessons. it made SENSE that instead of attending a formal college - as if she ever could have - shield would accept her into the academy of operations, one of their youngest and brightest. she graduated in no time.

and she was a GOOD AGENT. the very best, even, tables turning as she came full circle from an unfortunate liability to a top tier asset. she had been essentially indoctrinated, after all - so all she cared for was SHIELD. she was a weapon of a woman, pure and simple, talents shining through the most when she was tasked with deep undercover - but the beauty of her was her versatility, as capable of long stints overseas wearing a new life as a mask as she was at joining a field team and getting the job at hand done in record time. natasha and nick had taught her WELL, and she was a credit to both of them, a once in a lifetime coming together of two legends to create ONE. and she had something else, too, something that made her even better at what she did ; hope. it was her motivation to be better, each time she went on a mission. this willingness to try and work each option rather than make the tough call, this capability of seeing the good, and the good that could exist, even if it was DIFFICULT.

back then, she was happiest. she was content with her job. she was content with her life. and she had someone to share it with, too, though at first it was once in a blue moon. she met theora trevor when she was YOUNG, is what she leaves it at, now. the truth was, she was young, but she was also in love. the first time she had EVER been, considering the minimal amount of people her own age she had ever really interacted with, before. she met theora while she was on a mission, and her first impression was that she was BEAUTIFUL. her second was that she was an absolute credit to whoever had raised her - strong willed and BRAVE. she told her she was a flight attendant, and she had to leave too quick… but she came back. over and over and over again. their relationship was on and off, but that did not say anything for how much ziva cared about the woman she had began falling in love with within hours of their first meeting.

two, almost THREE years later, she and thoera committed themselves to one another for what both thought of as good. she had told her what her job REALLY was, by then, and their relationship was the first of it’s kind that ziva had ever had. she experienced a LOT of firsts with theora, in fact. a lot of things she had missed out on thanks solely to how she had been raised, experienced with new eyes and fresh feelings with the love of her life. she had never had a real FAMILY before, and knowing she could come back to her girlfriend… well, for the very first time, ziva had something to fight for. MERE MONTHS LATER, the two married.

they were both heroes in their own right. they were both busy with their chosen lives. but there was so much love and care, there, that neither STRUGGLED - not back then. this was when ziva was happiest, she thinks now. when she was married to the first woman she had ever loved. when she was juggling the life she had been given with the life that she had chosen. they had some happy times. they had some tough ones. through it all, they had each other. and then… they didn’t. things became difficult after theora, acting in her role as hero, failed to save a GIRL. ziva couldn’t understand. she tried, but her job meant that sometimes, not everyone made it - and she struggled a lot to emphasize. she wanted to be there for theora, but the truth was, maybe she wasn’t there as much as theora NEEDED. maybe she didn’t fight hard enough. she blames HERSELF, and it’s a fair blame to put upon her shoulders - she couldn’t take the toughest time of all, and they divorced months later.

work became the most important thing in her life, once again, and ziva was happy for the distraction. she never stopped being a good agent. she never lost her edge. she was too long in the tooth, now, to allow herself be shaken by personal matters, and she continued to be a credit to the people that had raised her right up until her apparent death.

it was almost two years after the divorce, and ziva was pulled from deep undercover and sent on a MISSION overseas with a tiny group of fellow agents that she had rarely ever worked with, before. none of them KNEW they had a mole in their midst - a fellow agent turned traitor, selling shield intel to the highest bidder. the mission went sour almost immediately, the whole thing, COMPROMISED. ziva stayed with them all until the bitter, bitter end. she tried to HELP. they all did, but only one survived - and ziva, ward of shield, PRIVY TO THEIR SECRETS FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES, was the only one they wanted. she was taken captive and the area was burned, and mere hours later when the extraction team discovered the scene, bodies abandoned and a familiar set of dog tags buried in the ash, it was presumed that ziva, too, had perished.

neither natasha nor nick ever believed it. in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, they stood by the belief that they had trained ziva BETTER than that. shield gave it six months and then they officially ended any searches that had continued, holding a private funeral with an empty casket for their lost ward and a public memorial for the few she had known to pay their respects at. they emptied her locker, and the belongings inside and dogtags found were shipped to the last name on her contact list - theora trevor, ex wife. they wanted to clear her ROOM, too, but natasha fought tooth and nail to keep it as it was left. they believed she was alive, and they were determined to continue the search quietly, in private. they didn’t want her to come back to nothing.

ziva didn’t know of the sadness she had left behind. she just knew the pain of what she was living. what she went through i won’t elaborate on. the methods used in order to try and break her were archaic and CRUEL at even the best of times, and the trauma she went through at the hands of her captors will never, ever be forgotten. a strong man, ziva had once been told, could withstand WEEKS of torture before he broke. in the darkness of her damp and dark cell, she - a STRONG WOMAN - withstood months. her hope died quicker than her resolve did. she told them things, eventually. things that weren’t of importance that she hoped they would think WERE. she gave them all the inconsequential details to try and help herself, but she never gave them what they WANTED. she knew because it never stopped.

when ava was thrown into the same cell as her, ziva scarcely believed her eyes - and neither did the OTHER. after everything, she had almost started to forget that she had a life, once. had people who loved her. people who cared if she came back. she was HOPELESS, but she allowed herself the smallest modicum of it, with ava’s company, only for it to be seemingly ripped away when the other was saved and she remained, moved swiftly to a new space.

this was the beginning of the end.

back home, the world had moved on, and ava shouted BLOODY MURDER about how ziva was alive. natasha and nick had known it in their bones, but with renewed confidence, wasted no time in pulling together a small strike team and beginning the search at the vacant compound ava and ziva had been held in. it didn’t take long to trace them.

when ziva was saved - if she could even CALL it that, when death would have been a kindness - she was hours from her end. it had been two years PLUS since she had been taken, and what she had suffered haunts her to this day. but even on what might have been her deathbed, she refused the shield physicians. she refused any help, unless it came from THEORA. it was as much a new fear of everyone else as it was a want to make sure the woman she still loved - who’s face had filled her fever dreams - knew she was alive.

two years and excess. all that time. she had survived, in spite of it all, and she thought that she would be WELCOMED back - or at least given the smallest shred of respect. but ziva, cleared for active duty again within six months, returned to something she didn’t expect. the legend of shield’s ghost had turned sour. senior agents, the oldest of them all and the one’s who had been JUNIOR’S when she was growing up, they believed her. they believed what had HAPPENED. but the younger, newer, current junior agents… they BLAMED her. as the only survivor of that fateful event, ziva knew she stood equal chance of respect and suspicion, but it still stung. the younger agents believed she had sold the info herself. that it was the only explanation for her being the ONLY survivor. that, or perhaps she went rogue and killed the team herself. that, or…

well, you get the picture.

the rumor mill went WILD, and ziva, in spite of wanting to throw herself back into work, discovered quickly that she was limited, now. no one wanted to be her partner, lest she be the cause of their death, too, and no one wanted her on their team, lest what happened happen AGAIN. after months of only rare solo missions, ziva requested she be placed at paragon academy - and that, as they say, brings us full circle.

SECTION TWO OF THREE: HEADCANONS ( & SCENARIOS, WITH MANY CREDITS TO BLO )

ziva: pulling some shit. fell thru the ceiling. perhaps pranked nick fury junior agent: are they gonna KILL HER senior agent: nah that’s ziva she’s just here

little junior agents, watching in horror as nick marches her into his office. natasha is called in, it’s getting SERIOUS, they’re all literally holding their breath because she has to be leaving in a body bag. she comes out with a new spring in her step and they don’t realize until much later when chaos ensues that she definitely swiped a gun from nick’s desk while he and natasha were in the process of parenting her

junior agent: where did she come from senior agent: she’s been here since the beginning of time

senior agent: that’s the ghost junior agent: is she called that because she can kill a man without being seen- senior agent: no, it’s because we don’t know where she lives or how she gets around so quickly but she’s always right there

people genuinely believing she’s a legit ghost that haunts shield a junior agent with a lot of balls: so… how did you die… did you ingest chemicals or something… did you get phil coulsoned ziva, a young demon: the x-men killed me at least two junior agents soured against the x-men because of the avengers/x-men hate: we KNEW IT

shield: falls everyone: but what abt ziva

the senior agents have a groupchat that’s called who has ziva and it’s just a bunch of messages from people sending “me”

the junior agents have a groupchat that’s just them asking where she is at any given time junior agent: i last saw her at the coffee cart on lvl 6

junior agent: she told me my outfit was mismatched shades of lack today and i cried in the bathroom another junior agent: she stood outside and told me to go pee on lvl three because you were being a baby

junior agent: last week i got trapped in the elevator for three hours because she disabled it for laughs the same junior agent: she sat on top for the whole three hours singing sweet home alabama

ziva’s known alias’ are NUMEROUS due to her many stints undercover: however, her only known codename is ‘GHOST’. it carries with it a soft sort of nostalgia that doesn’t exist in any other aspect of ziva’s life, a reminder of who she was, and who she has always been.

her electrokinesis is not the result of experimentation done on her as a child - something her parents had hoped would turn her into the weapon they sought - but a direct result of being caught in the eye of the explosion caused by one errant bullet fired by natasha romanoff. had she NOT caused the detonation of their device, the world would have suffered the consequences of her parents convoluted grand scheme. ziva doesn’t know much, but she does now this - and as nat didn’t KNOW how near she was during the event, and didn’t until she found her the lone survivor, ziva doesn’t blame her.er parents choices. ziva doesn’t know much, but she does know this.

since being saved from captivity, ziva has been… slowly working on finding both her faith, and her identity. aside from the clothes on her back and a now worn teddy that she had been clutching, the only thing she brought with her from israel to the states was a golden star of david necklace that she had scarcely ever taken off. it was tangled with her dog tags and was amongst items given to her ex wife, and if she were aware of this, it is perhaps the only thing she would seek back.

SECTION THREE OF THREE: WANTED CONNECTIONS

professor friends ! shield friends ! friends she met while working a mission! people who still ONLY know her as her cover story - a flight attendant !

people whom she is training, now, be they shield or not. she’s willing to teach anyone to feel as if she’s doing something, so go wild !

current flings she is involved in ( any gender ) ! ex flings ! whatever u want!

ZIVA MIZRAHI, our INBAR LAVI fc is looking for her SENIOR AGENTS SHE SPENT TIME WITH GROWING UP / LIMITLESS connection who look like UTP and who are 28+ YEARS OLD. you DON’T have to contact prior to applying. ( ziva basically lived at headquarters from the time she was brought in - age six - to now, and while nick and natasha were her primary caregivers, she was often shuttled between different agents during down periods or whatnot. basically, if she for some reason couldn’t stay at shield itself, or there was a holiday - like thanksgiving, christmas, easter, her birthday - coming up, she’d be taken in briefly by a senior agent or their family and given a place to stay for a bit before such a time as she returned. )

ZIVA MIZRAHI, our INBAR LAVI fc is looking for her EX SHIELD PARTNER connection who looks like UTP and who is 28+ YEARS OLD. you DON’T have to contact prior to applying. ( five years ago, ziva was sent on a mission by shield that ended in her capture, and since the whole team she was with on that mission was killed, it was presumed that she did too. her previous partner of almost ten years moved on because that was all that could be done, and when she returned to the rumormill gone wild and a huge amount of the younger agents presuming she had been working with the enemy / abandoned her team to death, the decision was made for one reason or another that they wouldn’t become partners once more. either it was a case of they had found a new partner they were happy with, or they believed the rumors and didn’t want to work w her anymore, or they had grieved her and didn’t know how to look at her the same - the possibilities for WHY are endless, but they were definitely one of ziva’s closest friends prior, so it would b very interesting to explore what their dynamic has turned into now! )

ZIVA MIZRAHI, our INBAR LAVI fc is looking for her PERSON SELLING SHIELD INTEL connection who looks like UTP and who is ANY AGE. you DON’T have to contact prior to applying. ( they would be a shield agent, but what separates them from most is for whatever reason - be it nefarious or something closer in line with money troubles - they’ve been selling information on shield to the highest bidder. five years ago, ziva was sent on a mission with a handful of agents she had never really worked with before, and because of information that they gave - and the fact that they, or another, heavily implied that because of her shield upbringing ziva would be the one with the most intel on that team - the mission was compromised from the get go, and while ziva was captured, everyone else was wiped out. she suffered over a year at the hands of her captors and meanwhile, everyone back home fully believed that she was dead. what they did could weigh on them, or it might not. if it’s a case of something more innocent whereby they’ve needed the money gained from selling secrets, it could even be that they didn’t realize that the info they were giving was going to lead that particular buyer where it did. again, if not, it could be because they have a grudge against ziva for some reason we can talk out or smth. i’m v much into the idea of this and ! would love for it to b taken ! so pls ! do the thing ! )

[alexjenniferabeille]

Comparative Analysis Essay 10/8/19

They’re Not Lazy

We all get lazy sometimes. There’s often things we’d rather just not do, usually in favor of doing something else, but sometimes in favor of doing nothing at all. Teens especially get flak for their laziness, which makes sense as they’re growing into themselves and learning to process responsibility while managing burgeoning interests in all kinds of activities. But what happens when you regularly call out a child’s incessant laziness, and you’re wrong? You can only make such a judgement based on what you see and what you know; and what you see is a child not cleaning their room, not doing their homework, not completing chores despite multiple reminders and sometimes even threats of punishment, and what you know is that that behavior corresponds to laziness. It’s beyond time to expand that knowledge. There exists a set of medical symptoms that has its own name, separate from the disorders it may be a part of, called Executive Dysfunction. Executive Dysfunction is not something you will typically be diagnosed with; instead, it is an under-discussed piece of the puzzle of many discrete mental illnesses that too often are overlooked, especially in young people. Tragically, when you call someone with Executive Dysfunction lazy with enough regularity, it can cause internalized self-loathing, decreased self-esteem, further motivation issues, and overall increases the negativity in their lives. It’s unhealthy, unintentionally abusive, and deserves to be addressed. Because while laziness and Executive Dysfunction produce similar observable effects in one’s life—namely “lazy behaviors”—they differ significantly in terms of where the behaviors come from, how one responds to the accusation of laziness, and the means of correcting the behaviors. When these differences are successfully understood, the knowledge can allow us to protect our most vulnerable from the psychological damage that frequently comes with this misattribution of laziness.

Laziness is first and foremost a decision, one we frequently make subconsciously. Not often do we sit down on the couch with the intention to be lazy, but four episodes of Brooklyn 99 later and you’re really not feeling like getting up to make dinner anymore, so you order in instead. Simply put, laziness is an avoidance of responsibility. Whether it’s because you’d rather watch a show than go for a walk, rather enjoy the company of friends instead of cleaning, or you’d rather just plain not go to the DMV, it’s all due to choosing one thing over another, more responsible thing. Laziness is, in fact, a perfect example of what proper Executive Functioning looks like. Every healthy brain has what is called Executive Function; the ability to prioritize, begin, carry out, and finish tasks correctly is fundamental to modern life. However, there are many cases where this mental process is damaged, and these cases are considered as a group to be Executive Functioning disorders. Disorders like Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Condition, Clinical Depression, Bipolar Disorder, and many others have the capacity to undermine the brain’s Executive Functioning abilities. This appears in a great variety of ways, but for the most part it is observably similar to laziness. It impacts everyone to different degrees, and is not something anyone has control over, much as society would like us to believe the opposite.

Control is the basic, or perhaps even only building block of human behavior, or so we are led to believe. We are fed this myth by the world around us; traditional media and social media both are frequently used to characterize poor behavior, including lazy behavior, as a personal failing. If someone seems lazy, our society says, they merely aren’t controlling their behaviors well enough. They’re just not trying hard enough. As such, it is hard for many to grasp the concept that what we do is influenced by much more than just the individual decisions we make. People with Executive Dysfunction cannot overcome their deficits by sheer force of will. And unfortunately, for many, desperately trying to can feel physically and emotionally painful. When you consider a child who will not clean their room, the typical parental response is some form of discipline. For children who are merely lazy, the threat of discipline is frequently enough to get them going, to various degrees of success (children are, of course, far more complicated than the scope of this discussion is able to address). When the child is struggling with Executive Dysfunction, even the threat of discipline may not be able to unlock their ability to clean. Their brain is struggling with some part of the process—they may not be able to start cleaning of their own volition. If they can manage to start, they may struggle to stay on task. If the clutter becomes overwhelming (sensory overwhelm is a common symptom of many Executive Functioning disorders), perhaps they have difficulty navigating where to start, or in what order to clean, and subsequently shut down from frustration. For children who persistently struggle to clean their room, parents may be tempted to call the children themselves “lazy” as opposed to their behaviors. For children who are lazy, this may be a wake up call to their behavior. For children with Executive Dysfunction, this is a judgement on their character. They cannot do the task, for reasons they struggle to understand, and will internalize this characterization. Frequently, parents call these children lazy time and time again, and become frustrated with their inabilities, presuming it to be a matter of lack of control. If only their child would just try harder, if only they would just get their homework and housework done. This characterization of their struggling child shapes how the child perceives themself, and frequently leads to low self-esteem, self-loathing, and can contribute to the formation of depression, and even physical or emotional self harm. Typically, we can identify when a child is genuinely struggling with performing activities by genuinely listening to them, as Executive Dysfunction frequently causes emotional distress due to its universal impact. A person with Executive Dysfunction struggles with tasks they want to do just as much as tasks they don’t. It can be just as difficult to get up and get a snack you desperately want as it can be to do a chore (a notable exception may exist for some children with ADHD or Autism. Their Executive Dysfunction may be influenced by their interest-based nervous system).

When we listen to our youth and hear their concerns, and with an understanding that Executive Dysfunction exists, we can, as a society, begin to make changes in how we should address their lazy behaviors. Drawing on the lazy child not cleaning their room example from before, it’s often enough to use a disciplinary approach, tailored to the personality of the child. Even with a difficult child who has an attitude, it would be a matter of approach (that may even include counseling!) to get them to overcome their laziness. But when the child is suffering emotionally, discipline will serve only to make matters worse. A child who may have an Executive Functioning disorder needs very different resources, and even if a parent is not sure that this is the case, they should involve their pediatrician or look into finding a child psychologist. There are a myriad of options to aid the struggling child. Medication, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and working with the children themselves to find suitable accommodations are just a few. To use myself as an example (I have professionally diagnosed ADHD), I often find having a friend or family member in the room with me while I clean is enough to keep me on task and helps when I feel overwhelmed by clutter. Even something as simple as kindly being asked if I’ve begun to do a task can suddenly make the task feel possible. I also take medication that allows me to focus and prioritize successfully, among many other social and cognitive benefits. What had never worked, and still doesn’t work, is being shamed when I fail to overcome my own brain’s incapabilities.

We should not live in a world where “don’t shame your child,” and “listen when your child says they’re struggling” are potentially radical suggestions. As a member of a community full of late-diagnosed adults, however, I’ve seen far too many people discuss at length the kind of treatment they received from their parents (and frequently other authority figures) as children and how much damage it did to them. As a late-diagnosed adult myself, I am still disentangling my internalized shame. Calling your children lazy, shaming them for what they may genuinely have no control over, instead of leading with empathy and avoiding name-calling and blaming, does real, long-term damage that may persist throughout the rest of their life. Executive Dysfunction exists, and no matter how similar the inaction may seem, it is not laziness. Parents, stop calling your children lazy. Listen to their concerns, and if necessary, seek help. Signed, every late-diagnosed adult with Executive Dysfunction.

[pyreo]

Fixing Incredibles 2: stuff I would do

Hey wanna hear some thoughts on what I’d do to tune up a movie I found slightly disappointing? There’s three main aspects I want to deal with which are

1. badly utilised new supers 2. iffy villain motivation 3. third act was a mess

So here’s a few things I’d wanna do to rework some of that

So first off, that’s a lie, there’s really 5 things that bothered me. this should not have been an immediate sequel where no time had passed. they actually had to backtrack on the character development from the first movie to have them do the same character arcs again. Helen’s back on wanting her kids to stay away from dangerous heroics. Violet’s reward for learning to assert herself, a date with Tony, is erased and she has to win him all over again. Bob, in a weird 180 from his first portrayal where he adored spending time with Violet and Dash during his training montage... suddenly struggles with caring for them, though that’s mostly the fault of Jack-Jack’s powers manifesting. 

So firstly, I’d do what I always imagined the sequel would be and push it a few years forward. Allow it room to change. Have Violet be a college student with Tony as her longterm boyfriend. Have Dash be a teen who’s still eager to save the world, but needing to learn that no danger is better than stopping danger. And make Jack-Jack a child, still in need of supervision but not a total cartoonish liability who necessitates long sequences of adjustment to discovering his powers, again, a retread we already saw last time. Every character arc was a re-do and the constant burden of dealing with Jack-Jack really slowed stuff down. (this was my 5th thing) Fix this by skipping forward. (Also, Violet’s hero moment being... learning that she has to set personal glory aside and babysit Jack-Jack while everyone else does stuff? Are you kidding me?)

We now have a different angle on Helen’s worries - she’s not just concerned about putting her kids in danger. She acts like it, she tells them not to start jumping at the chance to get into heroism. She tells them to apply themselves in school and get normal lives too, in case it doesn’t pan out. But this feels familiar, because it’s what she said in the first movie, and it’s a front. She’s worried about her kids growing up, becoming adults - Violet basically is one - and how she can’t protect them if they move out. She pretends it’s about their powers to cover this. This also refocuses the movie’s main character arc onto Helen like it’s... supposed to be, instead of putting it on Bob’s learning to parent and accept his wife’s super- importance, because despite being framed as Elastigirl’s time to shine, it’s not her story when she doesn’t embody a change of character. It’s still Bob. 

So, those things established:

1. Better villain ideology

Revenge because supers failed to save your parents? Basic. Also not that believable, because the reason the heroes failed to answer Daddy Business’s call is that they’d been outlawed and given new lives as normal people. They could not have come to the rescue; it was illegal. And a superhero enthusiast would have known that. And, hey, ‘criminals shot our dad and then our mother died afterwards of a broken heart’? Are you kidding me? Just have them both get shot, fuck it. Stop this ‘women dying because their man tragically died’ shit. It’s getting melodramatic at that point. 

No criminals, no revenge stuff. Have the Deavor’s parents die when they were in early teens. The brother and sister had to support each other as they started to navigate adulthood. This instilled in them the philosophy that’s common to the type of silicon valley startup wizards they parody - that anyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and be hugely successful if they try hard, having come from orphans near poverty to multimillionaires. 

I want both of them, brother and sister, to be the villains together. You don’t really need to twist that. They both come off as helpful fans who want to put their money to use helping supers get back in the game. After all the biggest complaint keeping supers illegal is the property damage and lawsuits, and what fixes that? Money. They also both believe, as is Evelyn’s motivation for real, that superheroes are actually causing the public to develop dependency on them. 

I would set up the siblings as advocates of Randian objectivism in how they work. They think everyone can go from nothing to having everything. They think it’s a personal imperitive to be hard working, to contribute and make yourself a success, without relying on others. They think needing a safety net - superheroes, as a metaphor for social facilities - is a weakness that stops people from taking responsibility for themselves. I want to downplay the ‘tech company who makes tiny cameras’ thing, because that was far too modern day to fit in the 60s, and make it more about sheer money generation and the ability for the siblings to pay off debts and influence public opinion; essentially, that money can get you anything, glossing over the corrupt nature of that by claiming it’s doing the right thing to help the heroes. 

Winston still had a childlike adoration for supers as a kid, but it was killed when he grew up without parents who couldn’t BE saved, followed by extremely hard work in the financial sector, dealing with stress, and realising that he worked just as hard, but got no media acclaim, as people who just happen to have been born with powers. Both siblings invest in personal security solutions, aiming to eventually reveal a plan to put superheroes out of business by outpacing them with technology. To use the free market to provide ways that normal people can protect themselves, without becoming complacent, relying on dubious, flawed heroes, without becoming blind to danger because they expect to be saved. Their evil motto is basically ‘don’t expect anyone to save you’, putting the burden of responsibility on the individual to take care of themselves and be solely in charge of their success or failure. 

The superheroes, of course, represent altruism, saving people just because they can, just because they were given an ability and can use it to help anyone and anyone they wish. Making no judgements between rich or poor, personal backgrounds, social class... everyone can be saved just the same. 

The villains intend to gain the trust of the three main heroes - Mr Incredible, Elastigirl and Frozone - and push them into good public opinion by funding everything they do or break. Destruction is paid for, claims are settled. Heroes shouldn’t have to worry about it, they say. What they actually intend is for the heroes to become dependent on their company for money, just as they see the public growing dependent on supers instead of taking steps to protect themselves. They will set up a huge, climactic battle in the most expensive part of the city, after the heroes have been encouraged to ignore the financial cost to their feats. Then they’ll withdraw support, burying the trio in horrific debt to a level they cannot recover from, while also pushing a new line of tech solutions to make money off people’s protection. Technically, they want to help people, but they need to make sure the legal battle for supers will finally crush them out of work so they can get the maximum profit from their products. 

2. More cohesive new super team

It’s not that they were bad, I just felt it was jarring after the profiles Syndrome kept on his targets - all supers were completely normal people who happened to have abilities. The new guys were okay, but felt like oddball ideas and out-of-place mutants (the whole point is that supers are being pushed into normal lives and hiding their innate abilities. I dunno how you do that as an owl-man). I would make all the new guys young adults and teenagers. 

One, to point out the reality of the situation with supers. The new blood is going to be young. After what Syndrome did, nearly all adult heroes have been killed. I want to point out that, in order to bring back the idea of superheroism, we have to acknowledge that the ones who are going to do that are a generation down. Elastigirl meets them (we’re keeping Voyd obviously, but they’re all nervous youngsters like her, 15-22 ish). Elastigirl get confronted by her protective instinct - legalising supers means all of these kids going into danger. But, through talking with them, she realises how much it means to them, not having to hide who they are. They’re all like Voyd is. They were all shunned, pushed away, and ultimately hid their powers while feeling like absolute shit for being abnormal. There is a very clear real life allegory here. Helen realises that legalising supers isn’t just about throwing yourself into danger. It’s about allowing people to be who they are, and not shame them for something out of their control. They’re unpractised, they’re ashamed of showing their powers to her, and Helen mentally adopts every single one of them instantly. 

Helen gets a montage of training her super team to understand their powers better. She sees them become more at home with themselves after an early life full of restriction and even self-hatred. It’s not just about being cool, it’s about your identity, and Helen gets that and stops having reservations about legalising supers again. It’s bigger than her family. And the Deavors arrange and fund this, because they want as many heroes implicated as possible, they want both generations of supers wiped out and to never be able to return. Dependency is a crutch they would say, and humanity needs to learn to survive without it. We can keep Screenslaver as the fake villain setting up the big final battle, and we can keep his monologue about dependency on screens as a metaphor, but devolving into a diatribe against the nature of neglecting your personal success by vicariously watching someone else’s. 

3. The third act didn’t fit 

We already don’t have the dead weight of baby JJ crashing the pace of the story. He’s a young child, and we’re going to have Edna watch him (she can love it like she does in the movie, Jack-Jack can find her research enriching too). This time it’s Frozone, Elastigirl and Mr Incredible who get taken by mind control. The siblings are going to stage a fight between all three, pretending that superheroes are unstable, liable to turn on each other at the cost of civilian lives. That should turn the public against them for good, while causing massive amounts of damage. They use the Screenslaver persona to set up a showdown in the city, only to capture the three supers and turn them on each other. 

Not mind controlled? Elastigirl’s recruits. They just barely manage to escape it. They go to get help from their mentor, only to find the supers gone, and Violet and Dash seeing the carnage on TV and getting suited up to find out what’s going on. The kids get an introduction and team up together, heading off to stop their teacher and parents, new blood vs old guard. 

That results in six or seven barely trained supers going up against three extremely experienced ones, while they also have to try to minimise loss of life and property damage. While dealing with the trauma, for Violet and Dash, of being attacked by their own parents and not knowing why. Also, they get backup from Honey. Frozone’s wife. SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN THIS MOVIE. She was designed and then cut and that’s a TRAVESTY. She’s already popular, she was a breakout hit, let her be in this. She steps forward, no powers, regular civilian clothes, and helps the kids out with advice from the ground, picking them up when they fall, and huge vocal encouragement. She kicks ass because that’s what she fucking does. She helps direct the crowds to safety, she tells these kids to look at their super suits and believe in what they’re capable of. And it’s her who snags Frozone after his powers get strategically rebuffed, she grabs him and grabs his goggles off and fixes it herself. 

With another adult on their side and better confidence the new supers manage to pull Elastigirl and Mr Incredible back to reality too, which concludes Helen’s anxiety about their capability and the passing of the torch. They did it, they were responsible - there’s no casualties and with all their powers combined, they managed to avert damage better than Helen and Bob ever did. The adults realise that the kids can be trusted to handle heroism and Helen is super proud of her trainees-slash-children. 

That leaves the actual capture of the villains, which comes down to running from the combined might of all the supers who gradually cut down their ability to escape, culminating in Winston stopping Evelyn from getting away, and having a personal realisation. A resurgence of the boyish glee he once had for heroes stopping the villains. He foils his sister and turns both of them in, willingly, in a weird way fulfilling his dream of saving the day like his idols did. 

To round off, thanks to the rehabilitated (and not sabotaged) hero image, and the display of capability the young supers put on, supers are legalised again. Helen and Bob now work as teachers to the kids as part of a new government program to make sure kids with powers learn how to responsibly control them, Helen of course continuing her role as mentor to her massive new family, and Bob finally able to work without restraining himself. The government agrees that encouraging kids to train properly and learn how to avoid risk and costly situations is worth endorsing. Dash befriends some of the other teens in the supergroup and has friends he can push his abilities with, without it being unfair. 

Finally, it’s time for Violet to move out, because things must move on. Helen, Bob and Frozone (who gets an updated suit because come on) are accepting that they’ll eventually they’ll have to let others take their place. Violet’s going to move in with Tony and get a normal job, because she still yearns for a normal lifestyle underneath it all, but she won’t be far away and can always answer the call to join the family in the field. They all bid her farewell (”Finally maybe I can get some peace without Dash bursting into my room-” “I can run to your apartment in one minute 28 seconds, I checked!!”) but Helen isn’t worried any more, because she has renewed faith in how well her children have grown up and is accepting they don’t need has as much any more. And besides, she has tons more children who need her too and it’s up to her to help them find their true potential. 

Thanks for reading this way too long exercise in figuring out what I wanted from the sequel to one of my favourite films in the world... the original Incredibles was centred around heroes also just being human, who make mistakes and have to grow up and change, and the villain’s fanboy mentality was the antithesis to that. I would’ve wanted a sequel that understood the message of its predecessor in that people have to develop and grow, one aspect of which is letting go, but what we actually got seemed too static and unwilling to move away from what we had already resolved in the first one.

[devinsena]

The Effect Of Pornography On Families

“There is no dignity when the human dimension is eliminated from the person. In short, the problem with pornography is not that it shows too much of the person, but that it shows far too little.” ― Pope John Paul II

Pornography 101

Pornography is a phenomenon not many people are talking about, despite the epidemic running wild within the lives of our young men and women. The truth is, the majority of young people watch porn, yet few of us talk about it. Porn exists in a parallel universe, a shadowy otherworld. When anything is forced into the shadows and underground, it becomes much easier for bad things to happen, and much harder for good things to happen. The statistics within the shadow of pornography are shocking. If we take time to let them soak in, it becomes more and more clear relationships are in desperate need of saving.

Pornography is easy, accessible, impersonal, and “safe” because there is no vulnerability, love,  or fear of getting hurt. However, pornography is responsible for diminishing real romantic relationships. It is no secret pornography is responsible for wrecking marriages and families, but the saddest part is if we decide not to give pornography power, it would have none. Pornography is in such vast supply because we demand it so much. A heart change is needed to tackle this epidemic. At the root of the pornography problem lies a tragic misunderstanding of who we were created to be and what relationships are supposed to be.

Pornography is defined as: “printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate erotic feelings.” You may be sitting reading this thinking... “This problem doesn’t apply to me” or “this lady is wack, there’s nothing wrong with looking at porn… everyone does it!” or “Crap. Here we go, talking about one of my deepest struggles that nobody knows about.”

If you think that porn is not a problem, the facts say differently. Research shows that pornography consumption is linked to unstable relationships, increased risk of infidelity, and greater likelihood of divorce. While this applies to men and women, studies have found that men who are exposed to porn find their partner less sexually attractive and rate themselves as less in love with their partner. A recent study* tracked couples over a six year period from 2006 to 2012 to see what factors influenced the quality of their marriage and their satisfaction with their sex lives. The researchers found of all the factors considered, porn use was the second strongest indicator that marriage would suffer.

Pornography is much more common than we think it is. It is everywhere, and many times it pops up when you least expect it. Most TV shows have at least some type of pornographic content, and many have scenes that full-on classify as pornography. The average age during which a person encounters a pornographic image is age 11 — basically as a child — and recent reports are stating that age may be dropping to eight years old.Statistically and scientifically, pornography is very different than what you have been told. I get a clear picture of this when I go into high schools to teach sexual education in health classes (dream job, am I right?). It is in that space where I see what the majority of teenagers believe about their sexuality and their relationships. When it comes to pornography, here is a snapshot of what we are up against:

12% of websites on the internet are pornographic – that’s 24,644,172 sites.

1 in 3 porn viewers are women. It’s not just a male problem.

Porn sites receive more regular traffic than Netflix, Amazon, and Twitter combined each month.

Watching porn diminishes relationship commitment. Porn increased marital infidelity by 300%. A few studies reported in Psychology Today show that people who watched porn were more likely to engage in flirting (and more) outside their relationships and were more likely to cheat and hook-up.

50% of all adults do not think porn is wrong – and most teenagers are encouraging, neutral, or indifferent about opinions of pornography. They say it’s “not a big deal.”

Porn is a $97 billion-dollar industry worldwide - $12 billion-dollar industry in the US. That’s larger than all the combined revenues of all professional football, baseball, and basketball franchises AND more than CBS, NBC, and ABC combined.

A pastor in Cincinnati, Ohio polled all the 7th graders in his church and 100% of those 11-year-old’s admitted to having exposure to pornography.

50% of Christian men are addicted to pornography, despite knowing and believing that it is dehumanizing.

In summary: porn is running rampant in our society. If you want to get it, you could get it anytime, anywhere.  

The Impact of Pornography on Men

Habitual porn consumption causes significant loneliness and depression in men. A male with a porn habit starts to withdraw emotionally from the people around him, especially with a real-life romantic partner. Because porn does not explore ideas like the emotional give and take of love, men can also put up barriers with a partner because they feel unsure of how to connect. A sense of self-loathing, shame, and embarrassment develops. Because of the solitary online nature of porn, a male can hide it, and this pattern of self-concealment —  repeatedly doing something he is ashamed of but hiding it from friends and family —  fosters deep isolation in him. Christian men especially have a hard time talking about this problem with other Christian men, even if they are in an accountability partnership with them and trust their judgment. Pornography is extremely shameful to men who do not want anything to do with it, yet seem to be shackled to it.

Fight the New Drug is a movement dedicated to raising awareness of the pornography epidemic.

They focus on three categories of human and cultural development pornography effects:

Porn affects the brain - porn use is related to increased anxiety, depression, stress, and social problems.

Porn affects your relationships - porn use has been found to influence some users’ sexual preferences, leaving them wanting what they’ve seen on screen and significantly less satisfied with sex in real life.

Porn affects the world - among the effects of the use of pornography are an increased negative attitude toward women, decreased empathy for victims of sexual violence and an increase in  sexually imposing behavior.

Like most addictions, pornography is not an act that just affects the person who is addicted. That person’s relationships and the world around us are being shaped by pornography - and instead of talking about it and learning how we can fix it before the damage is done, we are ignoring the problem completely and refusing to even call it a problem.

The Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children both recognize that pornography is an element which adds to the serious problem of sex trafficking — an act that demeans human life to its core. Among the effects of the use of pornography are “an increased negative attitude toward women, decreased empathy for victims of sexual violence, and an increase in dominating sexually imposing behavior” (“Fight The New Drug”). If we look at reports of Planned Parenthood covering up sexual abuse and child trafficking, we see that the connection between demeaning human life and a poor outlook of sex/relationships/personhood is clearly linked.

Pornography addiction is a slippery slope; at first, it does not seem like a big deal to just pull up something on your phone with a group of friends because you are curious. Then, though, you probably will find yourself lying in bed at night when nobody knows what you are doing, and you convince yourself that one time will not hurt. Before you know it, it is an everyday thing. You plan your life around when you can disappear for 20 minutes and have a sexual release. It is a slippery slope into addiction, but that is exactly what pornography is.

The sad reality is that I have talked to so many men and women who are convinced that pornography will go away once they get married. Unfortunately, that is not how it works. Your pornography addiction will not just disappear just because you get married and you are having sex with your husband or wife. Think about it, no human will ever be able to love you perfectly. No matter how great they are or how in love with them you are, there will be times when they fail. When that happens, when you do not feel loved or treated well by your husband or wife, you will run to pornography out of habit.

Why? Because through research, scientists have proven that pornography affects the brain in the same way drugs do. Watching porn literally will neurologically rewire your brain. Pornography has a profound impact from the first time it is viewed, and eventually it causes a build up a tolerance to the graphic material being watched, developing into a craving for more and more graphic types of pornography. Users also become desensitized to real sex. After a while, all sex is interpreted as porn and for a man, all women as porn stars, not as people created by God in his image. The more someone uses this pathway, the more intense their longing for it will be. After a while, they will long for more frequent and higher levels of stimulation. Consistent and reliable evidence shows exposure to pornography is related to male sexual aggression against women.

The Impact of Pornography on Women

Women who view porn have similar pathways form in their brain; they will begin to accept that they are just objects to be used for sexual objectification and devalue themselves to fit the image of female porn stars.

Another important point is that not all porn is visual. For many women, reading books with explicit sexual descriptions can be destructive to our view of sexuality and the expectations of relationships. At one unfortunate end of the spectrum, you have some books glorifying sexual violence, brokenness, and victimhood instead of integrity and any kind of selfless, disciplined love. On the other end, women tend to turn to fictional love stories to fulfill our craving for romance because we are discouraged in our own love life and feel like “real love stories” do not exist.

There is a danger in this, though. Romance novels portray perfect guys. You know, the man that is sensitive, but also masculine. The guy who is just the right amount of protective over you, but also does not cling to you like dog fur. The guy that never checks out other girls and gets jealous when another guy flirts with you. Oh, and on top of that killer personality, he looks like a Greek god. A lot of these books have similar plots. It goes like this…girl meets hot guy, he’s rebellious, free-spirited, and falls madly in love with her, they get into a serious relationship, and suddenly he changes his ways; he becomes a sweet, sensitive guy who never glances at other women. Newsflash ladies: that is not how real-life works. The habits that a person has before you start dating them will carry into your dating relationship and then your marriage.

So, how does the innocent glance at an image or writing or video turn into a destructive addiction? Pornography addiction results from the attempt to receive intimacy without risking rejection. There is zero vulnerability, and to many, porn offers them the safest form of a relationship. Many of us deeply fear the rejection that could come with being known by another person. If someone sees all our flaws, we fear that we will not be loved. This is where pornography becomes so tempting. It offers us a way to satisfy our desire for intimacy without any of the risk.

In reality though, the shame which comes from porn fuels isolation and drives us further away from the true intimacy we are searching for. Porn teaches a lifestyle of selfishness – it gives nothing and takes everything. The best way to describe it is as a “counterfeit intimacy.” Our culture is under this deceptive impression that we can be fully known and fully loved by social media, and pornography alone is the culprit of diminishing real relationships.

More than ever, there is a deep need for sexual restoration, healing, and change in our world.

Pornography is a dehumanizing act within itself, and when you see the science behind it, the psychology that backs it, and the impact it has on real people, I do not know how we can keep saying “pornography isn’t really that big of a deal.”

Porn revenue exceeds that of the NFL, MLB, and NBA combined. It also exceeds the revenue of television networks CBS, NBC, and ABC combined. Child porn generates three billion dollars annually and the number one searched type of porn on the internet is “teen.” You say that that is no big deal? Seems like a big deal to me. So now the question — Why should you care?

If you are a parent, you should care because most likely, by the age of 11, your child will be exposed to pornography, or, sadly, may be objectified in the mind of another. If you are a spouse, you should care about what pornography could do to your partner and the impact it could have on your marriage. If you do not want to date a guy or girl that will view you as a sum of body parts instead of a person with a soul that yearns to be cared for with emotional intimacy, you should care. And if you watch porn, you should know and care what the consequences are, realizing that you are doing yourself and your relationships an immense disservice.      

Basically, if you want to build a less violent world and respect your fellow human beings, the answer is simple: start taking steps to stop watching pornography and investing in real intimacy,  instead of counterfeit intimacy. If you’re looking for some ideas on accountability and support, here are a few:    

The Fortify App from Fight the New Drug - According to their site, 88% of users report a decrease in porn usage long-term. It allows you to track areas of vulnerability, connect with others online who are on the same journey, and point you to resources specific to your situation. Plus, for every subscription, they donate money to helping teens break free from the chains of pornography - which is AWESOME! You can view a video of how the app works here: https://www.joinfortify.com/.    

Invest in a relationship with a mentor who you can confide in - We know that the majority of us struggle with porn, or are in relationship with someone who struggles with pornography, yet very few of us discuss it because it cuts us deeply.    

Covenant Eyes - With a monthly subscription, you are able to monitor your electronic devices and what they are streaming. Every week, the website sends a report of your activity to a previously selected trusted friend. This encourages ongoing conversations with trusted friends and invests in real relationships.  

The Novus Project or Harvest USA - For parents struggling to talk about pornography with their children, both of these platforms have resources that have been developed    

To be fully known and fully loved will NEVER happen through the screen of a computer - and if you are under the impression that it will, you are chasing the wind and slowly being destroyed by your pursuit.  Your relationships, love life, and sex life deserve better than any temporary pleasure that pornography whispers it can offer you.

*Source: [*] Olmstead, S. B., Negash, S., Pasley, K., & Fincham, F. D. (2013). Emerging Adults’ Expectations For Pornography Use In The Context Of Future Committed Romantic Relationships. Archives Of Sexual Behavior, 42, 625-635. Doi:10.1007/S10508-012-9986-7; Mitchell, K. J., Becker-Blease, K. A., & Finkelhor, D. (2005). Inventory Of Problematic Internet Experiences Encountered In Clinical Practice. Professional Psychology: Research And Practice, 36, 498-509. Doi:10.1037/0735-7028.36.5.498

source http://humandefense.com/the-effect-of-pornography-on-families/

[maysoper]

Wisconsin Losing Its Stripes

There's probably never a wrong time to post this, but we're getting close to a number of sports kicking off their seasons at the high school and amateur levels so it's very topical that a report out of Wisconsin came out today regarding a referee shortage hitting the sport of football in that state. What should alarm everyone reading this is that it is happening in every sport - hockey, football, soccer, basketball - where officials are being abused by coaches, players, and, most notably, parents and fans that these young officials are quitting the job of officiating. In most cases, they quit for good, and that's not a great outlook for sports that require officials to keep the games going. In saying this, let's have a discussion once more about the treatment of officials since I'm an official over the summer. Let's start with the report from WKOW Channel 27 in Wisconsin.

As stated in the report, "more than 70% of refs quit the job within the first few years. Jameson says the 2-3 year mark is typically when most hang up their whistles." That's a particularly damning statistic when you think that seven of every ten registered officials quits after two or three years due to the largest factor being abuse of officials. Wisconsin football was the subject of this study, but hockey isn't getting off easy on this page. If you're keeping up with your statistics, officials in hockey quit at an alarming rate as well. According to a 2012 report from the the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine entitled Violence in Canadian Amateur Hockey: The Experience of Referees in Ontario, the study found that more than 90% of the 632 referees who responded to the survey said they were recipients of aggression and anger. Around 46% said that referees are threatened by physical violence. Hockey Canada has approximately 30,000 officials registered to officiate minor hockey games every year, and they state that approximately 10,000 fail to return every year. In perhaps the scariest and most tragic of incidents in the last few years, a soccer referee in the US was killed when he threatened to eject a player from an adult-league soccer match in suburban Detroit in 2014. Abuse of officials is a far more common incident of abuse than one may think. Verbal abuse and physical abuse are seen at far greater instances than ever in the past, and it begs the question as to where we, as a society, began to lose our common decency to plummet towards this inexcusable behaviour? Look, I understand that one may get caught up in the moment, but being in the moment also requires a sense of understanding that there are still lines that cannot be crossed. NHL players, for an incensed as they can be, understand they cannot scream vulgarities at an official or touch an official without some sort of retribution coming their way. They're literally playing for glory and a pay cheque; you, in the stands, are simply making someone's day or life a little more difficult with the barrage of insults being hurled at them. And why? Because they missed a slash on the opposite side of the rink that your eight year-old barely noticed? I'll refer to Adam Proteau's words from The Hockey News on November 28, 2013 when he wrote,

Let me speak directly to these cretins for a moment: Look, I know you think you're sticking up for your kid or a child you coach when you unload two lungs-full of air on an official. But you’re not doing anybody a scintilla of good. You're embarrassing yourself and your child and you're damaging someone who is officiating not for money or glory, but because they love the sport. You're demonstrating to everyone within earshot of your obscene squeals that the best way to address an injustice isn't by overcoming it, but by folding your arms across your chest, sticking out your bottom lip and reprehensibly shifting the blame to a person who doesn't play for either team. In short, you're hurting hockey much more than an official ever could. So either rein in your pathetic ranting or stand outside the arena and ask one of the other parents to provide Twitter play-by-play of the game you're obviously not emotionally mature enough to watch in person. If the tone of this message seems overly harsh to you, I don't care. We've tried to go the polite route on this for years now. We've tried to connect with you by posting bluntly stated rules about your unacceptable behavior. But it's still continuing and the reasonable among us have to look at new, more effective methods to control braying and bleating from insensitive oafs whose selfishness knows no bounds. Some minor hockey associations already have parental codes of conduct as part of their programs. But if that's not enough, it's time for guerrilla war tactics on people who won't change their ways. For instance, maybe sane hockey parents have to start videotaping abusive fans and posting them online in social media forums for their employers to see. Maybe if more people faced repercussions beyond the hockey world for their actions within it, we'd force them to wise up, grow up and shut up. The choice for amateur hockey is clear: demand more restraint from all participants, or face a future where the number of officials shrinks every year until nobody wants to call a game and subject themselves to this garbage. Only by getting rude and in the face of people who get their kicks from being rude and in the faces of referees and linesmen will we do the right thing and push them out of a world they don't deserve to participate in. I'd rather have zebras making mistakes the ice than a herd of jackasses letting their mouths run amok in the stands.

I stand with Adam. I'm not suggesting to cause a confrontation with those who are overtly rude towards officials, but, as Adam suggested, it may be time to start making examples out of these people as the type of fan that your hockey organization doesn't need. Officials are there to help players get better by enforcing the rules and to keep games moving smoothly by ensuring that incidents don't spiral out of control. Parents and fans who launch a barrage of insults and verbal diarrhoea towards officials are counteracting both of those goals. As an umpire, I have made mistakes. I will fully admit I'm not perfect, and to err is to be human. If I blow a call, so be it. I'm pretty sure you're not batting 1.000 all season, so let's compare success rates if you like. I guarantee I make wrong calls far less than players hit into outs. At the very worst, I have made umpiring calls based on not knowing a specific rule as well as I should have, and that's on me to be better an umpire. I am fully aware I'm not an encyclopedia of rules, but I'll do my best to mitigate the negative impacts that may be caused by my lack of knowing every line of the rule book. The one thing I don't need help with is your "interpretation" of the rules whether I make a bad call or I make an error on a rule. You're welcome to have a discussion with me as to what I saw or my understand and/or interpretation of the rules, but yelling like a buffoon about the mistake I made from the bench or stands will only result in my patience being worn thin. I've taken my fair share of heckles, and I certainly can understand why some of these younger officials walk away from the game based on some of the stuff I've heard. Being on the other side of the coin and wearing the official's uniform, it has become very apparent that officials are doing the best they can and they rarely, if ever, are involved in the deciding plays that result in wins and losses. If you believe the officials are out to get you or your team, it might be time to look at why your team is under the microscope with the officials. Rarely do officials care one way or another who wins as long as everyone has fun and the rules are being followed. If you decide to make a mockery of the game, the other team, or the officials, chances are that your team will earn that special attention through reputation and word-of-mouth among the officials so that whatever mockery has happened doesn't occur again. I'll say it here and now: I stand with any and all young officials across the sports spectrum. I will not let fans, parents, coaches, nor players disrespect you while I'm in attendance nor will I stand for third-party accounts of abuse of officials when I hear about them. Please speak to whomever oversees the sport in which you officiate if you feel like someone crossed the line between cheerful banter and hurtful comments. You never deserve the abuse received while doing your job in keeping the games going. It's important to remember that without you, there are no games. And we clearly need more passionate, good people like yourself than the vile, disgusting people who feel it's easier to chirp from the sidelines than it is to don the stripes. Fans, parents, coaches, and players, I urge you to remember that these young officials want to keep the games going so that the next generation of players can possibly be the next wave of great officials. I was inspired by a couple of great umpires who took the time to talk with me about umpiring and why it's important as a player to get the perspective from their side of the game. I fully understand that perspective now, and I don't let a bad call or a wrong call affect me nearly as much as it did in my younger days. I encourage you and your kids to do the same when it comes to the officials in your chosen sport or your kids' chosen sports. These are good people doing a tough, thankless job, so even just a thank-you goes a long way for officials and their work. In my position, I get to chat with catchers and pitchers most often, so I do develop some chemistry with the battery just as they understand why my strike zone is what it is. What I find more rewarding anything else is the conversations that don't pertain to baseball: how was your weekend, what's new, how's the season going. I respect the trust levels that I have with some catchers who discuss everything under the sun with me as they get ready between innings, and I generally enjoy that they know that they have my trust when it comes to them making jokes and comments in jest with me. While I would never tread on that trust to sway my decisions to affect an outcome, I truly believe they understand that I will be as fair and impartial as possible. All it took for these relationships to be built is a little conversation.

We're all human, folks. No one will remember that call that I screwed up in the bottom of the third inning on July 24, but people will remember that guy who went ballistic because a ball that was pitched for strike-one was a hair outside. It's just a game, folks. No one is going to the big leagues, and your child, as talented as he or she is, has a less-than-one-percent chance of making the millionaire pro athlete ranks. What will lower that percentage even more is having a parent who is disrespectful to officials because no college, university, junior, or professional team tolerates that kind of behaviour from its fans. I'll refer you to this PSA put out by Hockey Canada as I end this article. Keep this in mind the next time you feel the urge to explode into a rage of obscenities and insults because the person in stripes did something you didn't like.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice! from Sports News http://hockey-blog-in-canada.blogspot.com/2018/08/wisconsin-losing-its-stripes.html