#and once again emphasizing I HIGHLY ENJOY these group issues

[roguedemonwatcher]

Listen, I say this as a big campaign 3/Bell’s Hells enjoyer, but I hope Sam’s new character comes in and instantly clocks that Bell’s Hells is being held together by fears of abandonment, trauma, a dubious shared goal, and duct tape.

[princesssarcastia]

2021 Harry Potter Fanfic Primer

im here to point fingers at the incredible authors that have enabled my new interest in HP content.  im still conflicted and upset about it, tbh, but for now we’re leaning into the curve.  we’re getting out our shovel and finding out just how deep we can make the hole we’re in.  hand in unlovable hand my beloved <3.  anyway, these fics are wonderful, their authors are wonderful, and you should go read their stuff. if there’s a star next to it that means im losing my mind over it and always will be.

Creatively Maladjusted, by elumish on AO3, 101k  (they also have a wonderful writing advice blog on tumblr, @elumish, which I recommend following if you are a writer) 

A very excellent re-telling of harry’s first year at hogwarts if he were sorted into Slytherin, plus some more not!fic or piecemeal re-tellings of his second and part of his third year.  Harry, in this, has a slightly different trauma response to growing up with the Dursley’s.  He’s a bit quieter, and the signs are a bit more obvious to the people around him, and I enjoyed that immensely. 

Honestly, if you’re going to get sucked into something you have absolutely no business getting sucked into, elumish is the way to go, their fic is incredible. their teen wolf fic is also immaculate, if you’re so inclined. 

Dissonance, by ImpishTubist on AO3, 2.5k (@impishtubist on tumblr)

Set during fifth year.  Oblivious!Harry has always been a delightful trope when well executed, and this is well executed.  Plus, some angst between Remus and Harry over what Umbridge has been doing to him.

I would certainly recommend a lot of ImpishTubist’s other hp work on AO3, like Lacuna.

blow us all away, by rexcorvidae on AO3, 23k (@rexcorvidae on tumblr)

In progress (like, updated last week in progress).  Currently in the beginning of Harry’s first year.  Fem!Harry, Indian!Harry.  Hagrid puts Harry in touch with Remus when she has questions about her parents, and they become reluctant, traumatized, angst-ridden pen pals who keep missing each other’s true intentions like ships in the night.  hot DAMN do I love this fic.  there’s hints of the way the dursley’s treat Harry peaking through in her letters, and I appreciated the attention to “hmm, her experience as a girl of indian descent in britain under the thumb of a bunch of white people who like being Normal may not have been gucci”

Definitely comb through the rest of their HP fic, too, I may or may not have gone feral over it.

Where the Heart is, by silver_fish on AO3, 15k (@kohakhearts on tumblr)

Woof.  This one said, “hey, harry was probably SUPER depressed in the summer after fifth year.  like, clinically.  maybe someone should do something about that.”  Fuck yeah.  Then this one said, “that someone was Snape.”  You all know my opinions on Snape; generally, Bad.  But damn if this fic didn’t wholly convince me by the end of it.  I thought it was a very realistic way for Snape to start seeing Harry as a person all on his own, and not a proxy for Snape’s angst over James and Lily, respectively.  The angst is wonderful, the ending is even more so.

*bernie sanders voice* I am once again asking you to read through the rest of the author’s HP fic.  a lot of them have similar themes; there’s actually a great one with Molly that i’m not reccing here, Wonder.

☆Bindings, Bindings, by Quietlemonhush on AO3, 60k (@quietlemonhush on tumblr)

WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS TO YOU HOW MUCH I ENJOYED/AM ENJOYING THIS.  If I had to pick a single fic and say “you, it’s your fault I’m stuck here,” it would be this one.  Anyway Lily in the afterlife is So Very Angry about how Petunia is treating Harry, and how Sirius is rotting in Azkaban, and how Remus is alone, that she literally brings herself back to life and drags James and Regulus with her.  All three of them are there to chew bubblegum and fix everything that went wrong after they died—and would you look at that, they’re all out of bubblegum!  There’s only Fury left.  That inciting premise is very crack, but every moment after that is very much not crack.  Lily and James love harry more than anything, the way a child should be loved; James and Sirius have the epic friendship of a lifetime; Sirius and Remus have staggering amounts of resolved sexual tension and take turns keeping each other in check; Regulus, though he realized that Voldemort and his family were shit before he died, is still unlearning all his racist bullshit and, also, years of trauma.  Actually, they’re all traumatized, but hey: now they have one another again and not a damn one of them seems inclined to let go anytime soon.  Quietlemonhush went, “hey, HP has a lot of Awful people in it, and a lot of Righteous people in it, and many of them are Very, Very Powerful; also, love is the most powerful force in the universe” and i said “hell yes tell me more right now.”  And then they did!

Quietlemonhush writes Sirius/Remus in a way that makes it sooo much fun to devour, so the rest of their HP fic is most certainly worth a look, if that’s your thing.

Rebuilding, by Colubrina on AO3, 113k (@colubrina on tumblr)

Hermione/Draco (*shrug emojis into the abyss* yeah, yeah, like none of us have ever been there before).  Takes place during Hogwarts 8th year, and while the beginning is, IMO, a little unfair to Ron, it gets much better.  Tells the story of Hermione and Draco clearing the air, learning to like each other, having some hormones over each other, and then falling in love.  Also tells the story of Hermione and Theo Nott becoming friends; the story of how every single 7th and 8th year student is fucked to hell by the war and the Carrows; the story of how they start an emotional support group about it and all become friends; and the story of, what the hell do you do with yourself after that kind of trauma?

I’ve been dipping in and out of Colubrina’s HP since before I was even on tumblr; I actually found them in those dark yesteryears when the only fandom interactions I had were on fanfiction.net.  Of such fame as Green Girl, which is an HP fic staple, and has also written a lot of wackier, crackier, and darker things than that.  If you don’t take yourself too seriously, I highly recommend many of their big HP works, though I imagine it’ll press some people’s buttons.  Colubrina’s work really does take up a corner of my mind whenever I’m in an HP mood, and will take up yours if you let it.

☆ all waiting is long, by shuofthewind on AO3, 149k ( @shu-of-the-wind on tumblr)

This is so well written that I can’t stop thinking about it.  It is occupying my mind when I lie awake at night, you know?  It’s one of those.  Hermione messes with something she probably shouldn’t have in Grimmauld Place, so when Sirius is sent through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries, she gets thrust into an alternate universe...in 1975.  Instead of handwaving it away, shuofthewind actually gets into the mechanics of it in a way that makes sense, to emphasize that hermione is never going home.  ever. The world she finds herself is shifted slightly to the left, quite a bit darker, but in a “the author is treating the idea of a society-wide conflict over blood purity much more seriously than JKR ever did” way, not a sensationalist way.  Now, Hermione has to grapple with all her grief at losing everyone she’s ever loved or known, the moral/ethical/magical implications of sharing what she knows about her future in an alternate world, and, you know, a goddamn war with people who want to murder her for being who she is.  This Hermione is smart, and she’s kind, and she’s powerful, and she’s making real friends.  If you hate JKR’s guts I’d go read this right now, because it delivers in all the ways she failed us.  It’s plotty, its got great world-building, and it pulls back the white curtain on the wizarding world to show you that, like real life, it’s multicultural and full of queer people...and the discrimination that comes with both.

shuofthewind write epics, mainly for the MCU, and I’ve read some of them a looooong time ago, so this fic kinda seemed out of left field for me but im SOOOO GLAD it exists.  If you want MCU fic you can sink your teeth into, go for it, but alas, they do not have any more HP fic (.......yet?)

Speak Now [+] Listen Now, by mrsfrizzle on AO3, 33k altogether

Harry reaches out to Remus for support because Umbridge is getting to him with her literal torture.  Remus, being a former professor, former mandatory reporter, person who loves Harry and has since he was born, and all around good man, tells Harry he has to tell someone, or Remus will.  It’s everything any adult looking back on that time in HP canon ever wanted, which is for an actual adult to say “what the fuck, those are literal chidlren” and then do something about it.  Then, a far more dangerous task: Harry trusts Remus enough to go to him about the Dursleys.  Harry and Remus’ relationship develops SO WELL, and there’s a bit of exploration about how Sirius may not exactly be guardian material, because he did in fact spend 12 years of his life getting tortured instead of growing up.  I think I’m actually going to go reread this right now, because it speaks to my id.

they do have some other HP fic which did not appeal to my hyperspecific wants, but may appeal to some of yours.  I think they’re also a published author, there should be a link on their profile page.

chase the stars, by Duskglass on AO3, 101k (@felix-duskglass on tumblr)

When Harry is five years old, a picture of him ends up in the Daily Prophet, and Sirius Black, Terror of Ministry Officials Touring Azkaban everywhere, gets a hold of that issue.  He then, in order: breaks out of Azkaban; crosses the countryside to Surrey; Finds Harry: Kidnaps Harry; Breaks Into Remus’ Apartment; starts processing (or maybe just acknowledging) his trauma from Azkaban, the war, and his childhood; and pines after Remus.  It’s a little plotty, and deals a lot (sometimes through flashbacks) with the specific awful things that happened to Sirius—largely because, after years in the constant presence of Dementors, those are nearly literally the only memories he has left.  It’s a wonder he’s got the strength to love Harry and Remus at all.  But then, maybe it isn’t.

This is a Very Serious Fic, but the rest of Duskglass’s HP work is actually just cracky enough to tickle your funny-bone, while still making you think “okay but why couldn’t we have done that in the first place.”

So!  That’s it for recs, for now.  These are all things I’ve found and read in the last month; if any of y’all are interested in my old HP recs, let me know and I can make a post for that, too.  While I’m still very conflicted about my choice of current fandom, I am not in ANY way conflicted about my taste in fic and authors.  Send these guys some love, read their fic if you’re so inclined, and leave some nice comments at the end of it.

[theotherpages]

National Poetry Month Number 17 - Keorapetse William Kgositsile - Anguish Longer than Sorrow

You can listen to the podcast version of today’s article on Spotify, ITunes, Anchor, Breaker, or Google Podcasts. Click Here to access links. (https://anchor.fm/steve-spanoudis) Look for the podcast titled National Poetry Month at the Other Pages.

Welcome to National Poetry Month at The Other Pages. My name is Steve Spanoudis and I curate the series each year, with help and contributions from Bob Blair, Kashiana Singh, and (Nelson) Howard Miller. I’m coming to you from Coral Springs, Florida, on the eastern edge of the Everglades.

I have emphasized that poetry, because it has the ability to fix things in memory, to make them understood and memorable and give them emotional weight, is highly effective at saying the important things that need to be said in this world. Along with the things that amuse and entertain, that describe and narrate, that create wonder and introspection, we need poems that say the important things.

Earlier in this series we had poems from Ladan Osman and Maria Nazos that were in that category. Today’s poem by South African Poet Laureate Keorapetse William Kgositsile is very much in this vein, and if you remember nothing else from this year’s articles, I would like you to remember this one.

First, a few comments about the poet. Keorapetse William Kgositsile (1938-2018) was born and grew up in an impoverished South African Township, witness to many of the ills not only of Apartheid, but to the long-lived consequences of European colonialism on the African continent.

He became active in the African National Congress, as journalist and as an outspoken voice, but was urged, for his own safety, to leave the country in 1961. He spent most of his twenty years of exile in the United States, where, after earning his Masters at Columbia, he became a visible presence as a spoken word performer in New York. He taught at multiple universities and published ten collections of poetry and two more books on writing poetry.

Today’s poem, Anguish Longer than Sorrow, is about the accident of birth, or, as he describes it simply, referring to the children of families fleeing violence and starvation:

Empty their young eyes

deprived of a vision of any future

they should have been entitled to

since they did not choose to be born

where and when they were

So yes, if you have not figured it out yet, today’s discussion is about borders. In the U.S., discussions of the southern border have been an incendiary topic, fanned by political interests to polarize the population and garner money through fear. But the topic is global. This problem is everywhere.

Through my work with the Red Cross and its Missing Maps program (https://www.missingmaps.org/), I have spent many hours building maps of refugee areas around the world. When I teach a mapping class to volunteers, or to Red Cross employees or partners, a continued comment I make is that there are more displaced persons in the world right now, than at any time since the second world war. The Rohingya fleeing Myanmar, the Syrians fleeing the non-top devastation of their homeland, people from many African and Middle-eastern regions fleeing to Europe to escape famine and persecution. Palestinians who have lived their entire lives in refugee camps. Venezuelans fleeing food shortages and economic collapse.

Almost forty years ago, National Geographic famously ran a cover image of a shell-shocked teenage girl named Sharbat Gula, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Girl) one of many iconic images that resonate strongly with The words Kgositsile’s poem. The sadness, in part, is that there are so many such images.

Across the African continent in particular, the root of the violence in some areas stems from artificial boundaries drawn originally by colonial European powers, divvying up who gets to plunder and enslave which pieces. Those boundaries fragmented local societies and ethnic groups, creating countries that were, from the start, at odds with themselves. Kgositsile writes:

If destroying all the maps known

would erase all the boundaries

from the face of this earth

I would say let us

make a bonfire

to reclaim and sing

the human person

At the end of the poem, after talking about the horrors and burdens of the victims of displacement, ends with a simple declarative statement, almost a one-line manifesto:

to have a home is not a favour

Meaning, it should be a fundamental right. I am including links here in the text to Lyricline (https://www.lyrikline.org/en/poems/anguish-longer-sorrow-5908) where you can read the full text of the poem, and, more importantly, hear it in his voice, with his diction. I think it’s most impactful that way. It's also available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6RXqJwOvMM) but without the text.

As another personal note, much of my own writing, the books and characters of The Republic of Dreams (https://www.facebook.com/therepublicofdreams), are displaced persons, many of them made homeless by the rising of the seas. I live at three meters above sea level, so I’m physically closer to that issue than many of you. And as my mapping activities show me on a regular basis, that is on the horizon as an inevitable issue. Let me end with a nod to Greta Thunberg, the personification of the world’s conscience on that issue.

Once again this is Steve Spanoudis for theotherpages.org.

Thank you for Listening. If you’re enjoying these commentaries, and the poem selections, please share them - either the text versions or the podcasts - on social media.

You can find more at theotherpages.org, or at The Other Pages on Facebook or Tumblr.

[firstginger]

I know you’re probably tired of doing formfinding/Dæmon analysis, but if you’re up for doing another one I’m trying to pinpoint my boyfriend’s Dæmon. He’s an INFP, 9w1 4w5 6w5, sx/sp, Hufflepuff. The closest daemons I can find that seem to match his personality are the General Flying Snake and the Grasshopper Sparrow. He got a Kinkajou on your Dæmon test which also seems pretty close for a Pullman form for him. He’s a very introverted person who doesn’t like to go out much and likes to stick

with what he knows, otherwise gets very anxious and has social anxiety/suffers with depression. He’s very kind, loyal, and creative. He can procrastinate and be lazy sometimes, but he gets his work done and does his best at it. He can be spontaneous in how he dresses and starts certain art or fashion related projects. He’s very dependent and close bonding with a select few people (me, friends, and family). He can become easily stressed and hates conflict or competition. He is very much a peace-maker

and always wants to right what is wrong, even when he has done something wrong or upsetting. He’s very affectionate and is in a relationship for life. He’s not manipulative at all and is very communicative when expressing his thoughts and feelings. He has a hard time trusting new people in his life, but he will slowly begin to open up. I hop e this gives a pretty good picture overall. Sorry for the lengthy message. Again, if you have time I would greatly appreciate it. I know you’ve

been through a lot this year. You’re so strong having such a positive attitude about everything and the genuine kindness you show towards people is amazing. Thank you so much for always responding to my lengthy messages and requests. I love reading your analyses and advice. Thank you so much!

thank you so so much for the kind words, it really means a lot to me ❤️ i was meaning to ask you if you’d settled on a mourning dove or a golden retriever too!!

this is a fantastic description and i spent a lot of time milling about this. if you have reasons why the flying snake and grasshopper sparrow didn’t quite fit that would also be super helpful, definitely message me about them and the forms i suggested below and i can refine my suggestions!

looking at the two descriptions though, i think i can see why the flying snake was close but no cigar... from how you describe him, the flying snake seems too detached and not communicative enough. most snake forms tend to be more socially tolerant and not what i’d describe as dependent at all; they also have a capacity for manipulation and a desire to go about their life undisturbed that i think your boyfriend lacks. i really enjoy the snake form for a lot of people, but affectionate and kind aren’t cardinal traits of theirs.

looking at the grasshopper sparrow, again i think i can see the issues you’re having �� the capacity for manipulation (sparrows as a whole are pretty tenacious and survivalists as a species) and that methodical and detail-oriented nature doesn't seem to become him, if he's more the creative and procrastinating type. birds get placed as sensors a lot and while i don't think it's a hard and fast rule, sparrows i think lack a lot of the strengths of an intuitive, while exemplifying the strengths of a sensor. at the same time, i can definitely see a lot of traits in him that might fit a birds, so i wanted to start with other bird suggestions that might work before broadening into other species. my only hesitation with other passeridae is many of them group together in flocks, are migratory, and engage in polyandry, but i’ll play around with some and other aves species.

the rock sparrow was my initial thought that could fit him. a very shy and unobtrusive species, the rock sparrow is typically found in low densities, but displays a strong ability to adapt across a variety of habitats. different groups of rock sparrows show different degrees of gregariousness and breeding strategies... when a species is capable of demonstrating a range of adaptive behavior like this, i think it best correlates to human behavior as someone flexible. they also have an impressive capacity for vocalizations, and their preference for taking over abandoned burrows instead of building their own i think fits a procrastinating reputation. so in summary: a rock sparrow person would be highly capable of adaptation and flexibility, while still being an individual who prefers not to over-exert themselves and likes to find a niche. they may be too socially tolerant for your boyfriend as loose group activity doesn’t stress them, but they show an extreme attachment to their loved ones, with mate-guarding techniques that would translate to protectiveness and dependence. very communicative but not confrontational or assertive. tends to be the procrastinating and corner-cutting type, though diligent when it comes to completing work and seeing things through. i thought the yellow patch would also be cute symbolically for someone who dresses spontaneously too!

have you considered species of buttonquail, such as the quail-plover? they’re not related to the galliforme quails. the quail-plover specifically is a monogamous species that’s typically only found in small groups, and displays shy and anxious behavior when threatened. again though they’re pretty adaptable and willing to be flexible, and considering their nervous temperament, i would anticipate them to be less bold and gregarious and more the type of person who will change from routine if it avoids future stress or conflict.

coursers like the indian courser and double-banded courser i think would be my last aves suggestion... they’re non-migratory and engage in solitary, monogamous behavior. definitely not ambitious individuals and likely also display that kind of “bare minimum” behavior; less adaptable than any of the sparrow species and enjoy tried and true methods. habitual but efficient and determined in their own niche, they come to life when pursuing their specific passions. very generous and giving people with their loved ones. socially tolerant and non-aggressive. they’ll also flush, which gives me the impression of someone more anxious, especially when coupled with how camouflaged they and their nests are. interestingly, while they do vocalize, the indian courser in specifically does not call when the nest is approached — i think this species would best fit someone who wants to keep their head down, communicative but very non-assertive and wants to keep the peace.

outside of birds, this behavior actually reminded me a lot of some pseudocheiridae... i really think the rock-haunting ringtail possum is a worthwhile to check out! they live in small groups and are highly adapted to their territory; they're so well-camouflaged for their rocky terrain, to hide from predators, they literally just stick their head into a crevice and keep their body exposed. when foraging they don't travel far from their home, but they have a highly diverse diet. they’re extremely vigilant animals and demonstrate generosity towards their group-mates through alarm calls. very tightly knit family groups and they show dependence on their loved ones, as well as high communication and reciprocity with their people. their communication is both vocal and scent-related, though they’re not aggressive or assertive at all, and prefer to avoid trouble. i think this fits a lot of boxes that you mentioned: habitual, kind and loyal, anxious, close-bonding, conflict-avoidant, devoted, and communicative.

the kéwel (bushbuck) might be too withdrawn and quiet, but could be worth a look too... a lot of bovines are pretty defensive and boundary-keeping, but this species is quite tolerant and passive. they travel in small groups but aren’t territorial at all; i imagine this to be a private soul who closely values their group of friends, but is rather socially tolerant and not assertive around others. just by the nature of the bushbuck, i would consider this individual dependent on their loved ones as well. they also definitely prefer their routines and habits and aren't terribly ambitious, and prefer to stay out of the limelight and conserve their peace. i can’t emphasize enough how tolerant these people are. they communicate primarily through scent, so while i wouldn’t describe this individual as overly expressive, they are clear about their thoughts and boundaries.

the last suggestion i’ll toss out is the finless porpoise, if you’re open to aquatic mammals? i think it strikes a nice balance between the creative and spontaneous side he has, and then also someone more introverted and peaceful. the finless porpoise is more mellow and even-tempered than other porpoises. they travel in small, tightly formed groups and display affectionate behavior to reinforce those social bonds. i imagine someone with this daemon to be kind but introverted, an individual who is hard to get to know but blossoms into someone open-hearted and generous. they likely have a sensitive disposition and are slow to start on tasks, but are focused and diligent once they set their mind to something. like most porpoise species, they’re definitely curious and inquisitive people, but finless porpoises are more cautious and the type to look before they leap.

i hope this was helpful! let me know your thoughts!

[itsclydebitches]

I know you say that the Adam stuff in v3 was a good example of visual storytelling in rwby, do you think there is anything else, in your opinion

Yes! Let’s praise poor RWBY for once lol 

I’m sure there’s a lot that I could choose from but that would require me combing back through old content to jog those memories. So let’s stick to Volume 7. Overall, I quite enjoyed the JNOR vs. Neo fight. There are plot convenience issues (the stupidity of having the group carry the relic around instead of putting it in the vault) and choreography issues (I’ve heard a number of complaints about the slow-mo and how Jaune and Oscar don’t integrate well with Ren and Nora), but the fight does a good job of conveying a lot of information visually. It’s one of the few moments in the volume where I felt like RT was successfully a) using the medium to its advantage and b) achieving more than one thing in a single scene. 

Warning: Here be lots of screenshots. 

First, I want to acknowledge that lately RT has been demonstrating a talent for horror-esque writing. RWBY obviously isn’t in the horror genre, but via the Apathy we saw that RT can crank up the creep factor when they choose to. This scene does something similar (though admittedly much more subtly) and it starts with the opening shot of the destroyed guards. 

It’s a simple thing, but note how dark the room is, especially compared to the hallway outside. This is supposed to be a terrifying moment. The team has just arrived looking for Oscar and have instead found a disaster zone. There are scorch marks on the walls. The guards aren’t just lying powered down, they’ve been hacked to pieces. Though AIs without aura or souls, they’re designed to look like people and at first glance it definitely seems like we’ve got three bodies decorating the bedroom. Nora’s panicked cries tell us how bad the situation is, but we get that loud and clear from these visuals first. Also note how, despite being lighter, the hallway is dominated by a very deep red. I’d actually say to a certain extent this is a mistake - the pink/reds of the environment make it easy for Neo and Nora, with their predominantly pink costumes, to blend in too well during the fight - but in regards to color associations we get some nice shots throughout that convey danger and high emotions. 

When “Oscar” comes on the scene we know, instantaneously, that it’s not Oscar. Not just because we as the audience know that Neo is off doing something nefarious, but because via the language of film/television that’s not how you re-introduce an established character. You don’t hide their face like that unless you’re about to reveal something - like the fact that that’s not really them. This is also the first of a number of medium closeups on the relic, putting emphasis on it first because someone currently holds it who should not have it, and then as a means of reminding the viewer what this fight is about. 

Via some great attention to detail, we see again the clear wrongness about this “Oscar.” That’s not how Oscar stands. That’s not how Oscar smiles. More than just animating him differently, this shot pulls from those subtle horror tropes. He has the dead-eyed look of a doll or a supernatural being that immediately makes the viewer (if not Nora) go, “Wait...” It helps that Oscar is a short boy with dark hair. Put him in different clothes and he could play any number of possessed kids. 

With Neo’s deception revealed, we get what the fandom knows is not good visual storytelling. AKA, Oscar charging down the whole length of the hallway while Neo just stands there and lets herself get hit. I don’t need to re-hash how stupid that was. What I like a lot more is the subtleties in how she communicates given that, obviously, Neo can’t rely on any dialogue. Coming out of the hit she immediately has her umbrella leveled at the group and pulls out the blade to communicate, “Yes. I’m taking you on.” The neat choice though is that she brings the umbrella down to do it. She takes her weapon off the group, if only for a moment. Jaune has just gotten done insisting that she should give up because it’s four to one. The blade says, “I’m taking you on” but lowering her umbrella likewise says, “I’m so confident about taking you on I’ll even make myself vulnerable for a second.” 

Which retroactively makes her getting hit like that even stupider but it’s fine we’re moving on. 

During this time we also get a lot of insight into Oscar. Check out how utterly bedraggled he is, showing us how tough the initial fight with Neo was and how lucky he is to have escaped. He clutches the relic close to his chest and stares, scared, at the rest of the team. Oscar hasn’t reached a point yet where he instinctively draws his weapon and prepares to defend himself (indeed, he didn’t even have his weapon out during that initial encounter. That’s one hell of a rookie mistake). He’s still a terrified kid who hopes he won’t have to fight at all, literally hiding behind more powerful friends. This is all great characterization, the only problem is consistency. Nothing about Oscar has been consistent. One moment he’s holding his own against Lionheart and insisting he fight Hazel. The next he’s getting his ass kicked by Neo and cowering at the prospect of more. One moment he’s positively done in by these fights, horrified, scared, unsure of himself. The next he’s confronting the general of a kingdom with all the wisdom of Ozpin. This guy: 

and this guy: 

Exist about fifteen minutes apart. Because though RWBY is great at visual storytelling within each scene, they don’t keep it consistent from one scene to the next. Which is why Oscar is (accurately, imo) animated as an inexperienced kid in Scene #1 and then inexplicably becomes a wise old mentor in Scene #2. Not because anything occurred between Scene #1 and Scene #2 to create that change (let alone such an extreme change), but only because the show suddenly wanted Ironwood to look like an unhinged character. How do you achieve that? Not by having the guy he’s talking to act as winded, wild, and emotional as him, but by having Oscar speak calmly, rationally, softly, sounding oh-so-persuasive so you don’t listen to the actual words he says and how nonsensical they are (you’re as bad as Salem). Instead, you pay attention only to the visuals (Ironwood looks crazier than Oscar so he must be wrong). Ironwood is a great example of how RT sometimes tries to get visual storytelling to outweigh basic logic/what’s been said on screen. 

Anyway, I’m getting off track. The fight begins and I do still love how Oscar is depicted here, even if it doesn’t align with what we get later. The moment that umbrella and cane cross was great because who doesn’t love visual symmetry? Oscar grabbing Neo is wonderfully in character because he’s barely trained! He’s a kid! He’s flying by the seat of his pants and going with whatever vaguely successful act pops into his head. The absurdity of, “I’m just going to grab her” is tempered by Oscar’s furiously determined expression as well as Neo’s brief look of shock. It works up until they realize what Oscar grabbed was just a copy. 

I mentioned early that JNOR often doesn’t work well as a team, unless it’s specifically in the context of Jaune giving orders and the others executing them. Oscar and his lack of integration is obviously exempt from this, being the newbie both to fighting and this particular team’s dynamics, but Ren, Nora, and Jaune have no excuse. The first half of this fight is a good example of what I mean. We see Nora attack. She’s tossed aside. Then Ren attacks. He’s slammed into the wall. Oscar attacks (umbrella vs. cane) and it’s only at the last second that Jaune arrives with his shield to stave off a blow that would fell him too. Why is everyone taking turns here? They know none of them can beat Neo one-on-one and Jaune just said that their victory lies in it being four-to-one. So why separate out all the attacks? Arguably we can read this as a major flaw of JNOR’s and visual setup for something they’ll have to overcome later. In reality though I highly doubt this was deliberate on RT’s part, leaving this as bad visual storytelling (in that it makes the characters look stupid) as opposed to good visual storytelling (JNOR will realize this flaw and work to correct it). 

After Neo disappears we get a chase through the hallway that does a great job of showing us precisely how weaker Oscar is compared to his teammates. He doesn’t have their stamina, breathing heavily and falling further and further behind. At one point (screenshot #2) he arrives just in time to find the team turning back in the direction he’s just come, showing not only how he can’t physically keep up, but also his place in this team/the group. He’s literally not with them. Anyone who has followed my blog knows my thoughts on how the group has treated Oscar and if (again) I were inclined to think that RT was aware of that treatment and working to integrate it into the show with the intent to resolve it, this would be another great detail. As it is, I think Oscar as a character is just continually going to get the short end of the stick. In particular, the crane shot shows us exactly how far behind Oscar is. The others charge ahead without him, not caring where he is or if he can keep up. Which leads to this. 

Oscar rounds another corner and they’re gone. Nowhere to be seen. If anyone had the thought, “He’s not that far behind. It’s not as bad as you’re making it out to be,” Ren, Nora, and Jaune were clearly moving fast enough to round another corner and leave Oscar stranded. Here those subtle horror elements come back into play, particularly the maze-like design of the corridors. The only unique marker we get is the info board, otherwise it’s all identical hallways, housing a killer, with Oscar now left alone in it. The long shot makes him look small and emphasizes his isolation. 

Then he’s attacked and it’s suitably scary. The hand over his mouth. The dark room again. We only get the briefest glimpse of Neo-as-Nora before she attacks, but that one second is another excellent moment of animation. Nora has never sauntered away like that. Even the quickest look in an action-driven scene is enough for the viewer to go, “Nope. Not Nora.” 

The attack itself is the one moment where I think the slow-mo serves a good purpose. We might know (via that quick shot, how characters act (Nora is unlikely to pull Oscar aside like that) and expectations for how a story functions) that that’s not Nora, but Oscar doesn’t know that. The slow-mo gives us - and him - the chance to focus on Neo’s eyes changing, that stomach-dropping moment of realization, and we see Oscar’s horrified shock in the close up on his own eyes. Though RWBY doesn’t always grapple with the emotional implications of every encounter, I think it’s worth noting that this can really mess someone up. Oscar thought he was safe with an ally and had the rug pulled out from under him. He will now forever have the image of Nora attacking him, regardless of the fact that it was really “Nora.” Jaune likewise exclaims in horrified surprise when “Nora” charges him down the hallway. The ability to turn into someone else is an advantage that Neo knows how to use to its fullest. Not just in regards to spying, but how to unsettle your opponent too. 

Waiting for the day she turns into Pyrrha ngl. 

We see that same work when she encounters Ren. Admittedly, I’m torn on this one. If only because I agree with others when they ask, “Doesn’t Ren spar with Nora all the time? He should be able to hit her.” The context of “Barely trained kid thought he was with a friend and then watches said ‘friend’ attack him” is not the same thing as, “Much more experienced fighter realizes the moment ‘Nora’ rounds the corner with an umbrella that that’s not her, has no doubt hit her numerous times in the past during training, yet for some reason can’t bring himself to hit her now.” It... doesn’t quite work. Here, I think RT does a good job of showing us Ren’s distress, it’s just that this is paired with a very bad job of establishing what that distress is and why it exists. This is what we needed to hear about during the party conversation. If Ren and Nora had actually talked rather than just kissing, we might have understood why Ren is suddenly incapacitated here when “Nora” looks at him sadly. 

As said though, the emotion of the scene is great even if we don’t quite know where it came from. Neo’s pitiful look, Ren freezing in shock (check out the red there too), his dumbfounded expression as he just sits in the middle of a battle, and when we come back to him we see the tear tracks. Overall, this scene does a great job of incorporating lots of information beyond “Team JNOR is fighting Neo for the relic.” We just need to connect that information better to what came before this scene (Ren) and what comes after (Oscar). 

Finally, Neo slams into the other guards and transforms again. I love this final shot of her, both for how she moves and the implications of the transformation itself. Meaning, Neo is a professional. She had a job and she did it. Once the relic was in her possession and she had an escape route, she took it. Neo doesn’t get distracted by taking revenge - these are some of the people we fought against when Roman died - or trying to take them out to please Cinder, or even just going after them because she’s Evil. Neo is focused, no unnecessary actions taken, and that, just as much as her semblance and skill, is what makes her dangerous. 

[alegotic-twelve]

read if you want (warning, very very long post)

I have decided to speak calmly, transparently and with the truth, to bring an end to all this

I know it's a subject that I should have left already, that I should have overcome but let's say that, I'm not the kind of person who swallows emotions, and lets others tell lies about her, or her friends so that's why I make this post

a few days ago, well, weeks (more time, I think), s0me-rand0m-fand0m was dedicated to talking many things about Moy, a Korean artist who, despite her great talent, has not been able to reach as much scope as she deserves , maybe by the haters, by many post that say many things about her, I do not know In short, since I am her friend, I go out to defend her, because, that's what friends do even so, things got more difficult when this artist that I nickname puppo (was his nickname when we met) decided to find ways to invade our privacy and publish not only personal drawings, but content that was totally taken out of context

firstly I will not deny that, yes, Funnylunetta is 16 years old, legally does not meet the age to be called an adult, even so, she is a teenager with enough coefficient to make the decisions that she wants, I am not the one to tell her what to do And what not to do, besides, before I could realize, was her friend, and then I knew that she was 16 years old (it's internet, the last thing you know about a person is their personal data)

but if I denied having shared my drawings of fictional characters with children older than 15 years, on the server where I posted this, there were more than 70 people, many fans, and some friends of Funnylunetta, on the server nsfw and gore channels, they were blocked, only those that Lola gave them access could enter and see the content Funnylunetta and Spacy were the only ones under 18 on the nsfw channels, although, if there was another, I do not know, again, I can not know the age of everyone or their personal data

If someone tells you that it was not like that, well, then you are simply lying to try to create another environment my intention to draw nsfw is not about morbid or looking for minors to see, on the server was just another way to share with my friends, much as Moy did, because I never seek to hurt someone or try something with someone, from Anyway, they are just drawings, if you think that can harm a person, then maybe you should start to differentiate reality from fiction

in short, Puppo says faithfully that this is wrong, because they are "minor" It is true that the law says that a child under 18 can not be considered an adult, that he can not consume pornographic content, and I respect this law, because in any case if I see a child watching porn, it would obviously turn off the computer even so, we are not talking about children from 5 to 10 years old, nor less than 11 we are talking about teenagers from 15 years old and up, but in the post they do not stop showing that they are "children" no, they are not, believe me, if I was their age, and I ever had, it would bother me to be nicknamed a child Being a teenager is another thing, is that your body begins to change, your mind too, you start to mature, and there are things that start to get your attention, I was a teenager, since I was 11 years old, I was drawing and consuming material nsfw, I'm not proud of that, obviously, but it's something that happens, because no one can tell me that as a teenager he did not see at least this type of content at least once and if you tell me no, you're just lying to me

Also, although Moy and I did not know Lola, she would continue to consume nsfw and drawing it, because she draws it, but consumes it only as a creative medium many times, all teenagers

Now, returning to the topic, yes, I understand that the rules of Tumblr also indicate that sharing nsfw content with a minor is prohibited, but, no, we never share any explicit content with Funnylunetta inside the tumblr website.

Now, have you thought about how this affected "the victim"? obviously she, or anyone in our circle of friends have wanted to talk about it, are not happy, we are in a difficult situation, because they want to ruin everything we have, and Funnylunetta has chosen to tell us not to say anything, that we simply ignore , a blanket of darkness has covered us and we try to pretend that it is not there and I try, but it is difficult for me all this, for Moy too, people who do not know us choose to judge us by the bad words of people who were once our friends, people that we trusted and love it, and now decided to do this for a kind of justice

no doubt this reminds me of the followers of the black bible ...

Again, I understand that they do not agree with the whole thing, but just as we are not sharing more nsfw drawings between us, Funnylunetta had to close her server, distrusting his own shadow and writing only occasionally in the private messages of discord, the change really hurt me, but maybe it's better that way but it does not mean that we all stop being friends, Maybe puppo wanted to hurt us, or make us separate in some way, but I'm sorry to say that it will not be like that, Moy, Funnylunetta and I, together with all our friends, will remain united, because in spite of all we love each other very much, and I'm very, very happy to have got friends like that

I do not expect that with this they think the same as me, it is good to think that a child should not consume this, it is okay, but do not think that it is something totally insane, that is morbid or something like that, you adults, you were adolescents, you came to Do worse things than Funnylunetta at his age, and do not tell me no, we were all crazy teenagers who went to the limit, and sometimes crazy experiences give us wisdom, and not only do I say it for nsfw, of course not, but if They do not want young people to be badly influenced by this, so teach them about sexuality, support the sexual education movements in school, so they can talk to them about how to take care of themselves, how to be mature before a sexual experience, and more important, how to know when someone really manipulates them to sexually abuse them

neither Moy, nor I are doing anything bad, the only thing we want is to have fun with our friends, enjoy being in a fandom and share our drawings, and not necessarily nsfw, because the nsfw is only 4% of our time between jokes , ideas, creations and drawings, we do not want anything from Funnylunetta other than her friendship, she is not being manipulated in any way to do anything wrong why something I can tell you, Funnylunetta is an extraordinary girl, and not because her art is good or her characters beautiful, of course not, she is a very nice girl, who cares for others, who is always willing to give you her shoulder, she is ambitious and very sweet, and she is extremely mature, I would have liked to have her mental maturity at her age, to make the decisions that she takes now, when I was 15-16 years old, I made many mistakes, I had many bad friends , I did many silly things, she is not like that, she even advised us to do in this situation, and her words and advice have calmed me down a lot Also, I know that many people have attacked Moy, not because of this issue, I know that this is just an excuse because many are resentful, believe that Moy is pretentious, that he is selfish and that he harasses beginner artists

Well, people have been able to say bad things about her, I know Moy a little over a year ago, I hurt her once, and I've always repented of that, she apologizes and she knew how to forgive me, and it's something that I treasure. Moy is not perfect, but since I've known her I've never seen her attacking anyone who has not harmed her first, I've never seen her harassing beginner artists, nor have I seen her wanting to destroy someone (even with this situation, only she's scared) it's true that many of her fans are upset that she rejected her ocs for the spider groups and those things, well, I think you should know how to put on her shoes Moy is Korean, as you all know, the Asian countries are highly strict, and if you do not do something right, they do not accept it and they tell you coldly, she is used to it, she does not tell you that you do the wrong things to treat her badly , if she tells you that you have done something wrong, it is because she tries to guide you on how to do it well, some people should know how to take a rejection besides, also Moy is in his right to allow certain people in his life, do you get upset because she did not let you be her friend? Well, you have no right to get angry, it's your decision, it's your life, not yours

Another thing that I want to emphasize, is that Puppo has also been saying that I told her to kill herself and go to hell Well, I will not lie that when people make me angry, I say things that I later regret, but no, I did not say that to her, and here I have the proof

I'm not proud of this, this post is aimed at anons who started attacking me

She was talking about this post, it's not a post I did to her, where I mentioned her that I hated her, and that's all, back then it was between August and September, months after a best friend I had, did something horrible to me, something I do not want to explain for being very personal and is not anyone you know, but the post above was not for her, and I understand that she was confused, but I would not tell her that, because after all, she was my friend

Yes, for those who have been following me for a long time, they know that Puppo and I were good friends at the beginning of 2018, I had a lot of appreciation, and even support her after something bad happened to her, but in July of that same year, she block after knowing that I liked the cupcest, yes, i ship cupcest, is not something that I presume, it's just something I like, I do not seek to normalize incest, nor less I would like that pair to be a canon, it's something I do for fun, and everyone is in his right not to like it, because it's okay, we do not all like the same things, but just block me after several months being friends, well, it's not something I'm happy

In short, I regret that the post is so looong, I wanted to vent a little, I carry this in my chest for days, I have not been well, maybe puppo thinks that saved many people from another pedophile of the world, but, I am not a pedophile , and I have spent very horrible days, I almost do not sleep, I wake up afraid to read some new accusation inveterate, I have almost not eaten well, even a friend blocked me without giving explanations, and a madman who did not even know who he was began to talk about what disappointed that my family would be Well, it is not, my mother is worried, and angry with Puppo's actions, my close friends know it, and they are worried about my situation.

Finally, I do not want you to go and attack puppo when you realize that she did something wrong, do not do it, please, if she tried to do something good, she did it wrong, everyone make mistakes, and it hurts people who do not deserve it, The only thing I want with this is to not talk about it anymore, to stop believing cheese and a bad person, if you do not like what I do, well, do not follow me, but I'm not doing anything bad, or hurting anyone

if even after reading this you hate me, then maybe the problem is you, because you do not know me, you do not know how I am, you do not know how to act, and you prefer to trust a post with words taken out of context to judge me, and that well, it's wrong

[your-dietician]

Therapists say mental health suffered in COVID-19 pandemic | News, Sports, Jobs

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/health/therapists-say-mental-health-suffered-in-covid-19-pandemic-news-sports-jobs/

Therapists say mental health suffered in COVID-19 pandemic | News, Sports, Jobs

Lingering effects of the pandemic are keeping local therapists busy as they help clients cope with the losses of last year and transition back to normal as COVID-19 restrictions subside.

“Many of the therapists in Maui that I have talked with reported a surge in psychiatric symptoms in people with and without a history of mental illness during 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has been taking a toll on residents’ financial and emotional well-being,” said Dr. David Wittenberg of Behavioral Health Services of Maui LLC. “I saw an increase in fear of the future, poverty with multiple family members working for resorts and certain people leaving the island.”

Maui Behavioral Health Resources encompasses three agencies — Aloha House, Malama Family Recovery Center and Maui Youth and Family Services.

Wittenberg, who co-manages Aloha House’s crisis services, case management services, Maui Counseling Group and intensive in-home therapy services for youth, said that he consulted with many psychiatrists and psychologists, as well as other licensed and non-licensed providers on the issue.

They cited an overall increase in anxiety, depression, substance abuse, insomnia, weight gain and other conditions this past year, some of which may linger as the pandemic subsides.

Maui Counseling Group therapists served 1,067 clients in April, increasing by about 10 calls per month since February. The crisis team conducts about 100 mobile outreach calls per month through the state crisis line, and case management staff have over 400 clients with a severe mental illness who are provided services.

Adult crisis calls increased each month during the pandemic, with February and March calls the highest in the four years during those months. Youth crisis calls decreased, partially because many of the calls that Aloha House would handle were from the state Department of Education. Since DOE schools were closed, calls dropped.

However, calls are starting to increase again and “we are concerned that these numbers might rise quite a bit,” Wittenberg said last month.

“The nature and scale of this unprecedented pandemic has impacted so many people in Maui County,” he added. “There are still many families that have stayed in a type of extended isolation.”

Clients who already had a therapist prior to the pandemic are “generally doing better” since they have been able to use the support that was already in place, “which underlies the importance of starting and maintaining therapy for vulnerable people,” Wittenberg said.

Fortunately for some, mental health effects of the pandemic were mitigated by government support programs like the stimulus checks, eviction moratorium and mortgage forbearance.

“When and if these programs are lifted, we anticipate the mental health landscape might change again,” he said.

Many families are still recovering from the struggles of last year as parents go back to their jobs and students prepare to head back to daily in-person instruction.

The pandemic took its toll on youth who endured online classes and had to miss out on social and extracurricular activities.

Students who were previously receiving A’s were dropping to D’s while distance learning, which “became a blow to their sense of self, and the process of losing faith in their abilities,” Wittenberg said.

Heather Long of Maui Youth and Family Services, who’s also a counselor for Baldwin High School and other kids in the Wailuku area and Hawaiian Homes communities, noticed a decline in some of her clients’ mental well-being.

“Kids complained that they hated virtual learning and they wanted to go back to school,” Long said last month. “Some of my clients gained a lot of weight because of sitting and being online for over six hours a day.”

Long has been reaching out to Baldwin students and homeless teens in Wailuku during the last 15 months, providing in-person support services or telehealth counseling sessions to 14- to 18- year-olds as well as clients who graduated in 2020.

“I felt kids felt disconnected from their community of support,” she said.

Long anticipates that the community will see lingering impacts on youth.

“I think when teens start back to in-person learning they will have to get up every day and wear clothes other than their pajamas,” she said. “Teens will have to get back into a schedule that they have not had for the last 16 months.”

According to Barry Taghavi, a Maui Counseling Group psychiatrist, these age groups are more “emotionally susceptible to the effects of limited social interactions.”

While many are welcoming a return to the classroom or workplace, the return may cause some level of discomfort as well, which can prolong any mental illness or substance use disorders.

Despite the increase in social interactions, the adjustment back to work or school can sometimes lower moods due to the “stress of uncertainty and having to make new decisions that they are no longer used to or haven’t had to make before,” Wittenberg said.

There were also many families that had to balance multiple responsibilities throughout the pandemic, like returning to work or trying to find a job, finding child care, raising young children while navigating virtual learning, maintaining relationships and so on. That balancing act may still exist or worsen once regular schedules resume.

“Some high-functioning folks that have embraced reentering the workforce or more social interactions have become overstimulated by changing things too quickly,” Wittenberg said. “Sometimes they are experiencing anxiety in public situations and feeling very awkward and not sure how to proceed in certain instances.”

Psychiatrists and therapists have also noticed a divide in the community opinions about COVID-19, which may cause fear and suspicion.

“People sometimes do not know how to approach each other after the pandemic,” Wittenberg said. “Some people were never concerned about it and some people were highly attuned to it. Some students were told to stay away from others and this message is antithetical from seeking out others for help, which was before the pandemic.”

The pandemic also worsened some problems that existed long before, such as substance abuse or addiction. Adults dealing with addiction often feel that they will be stigmatized for seeking treatment or that they can “handle it on their own,” said Jud Cunningham, chief executive officer of Maui Behavioral Health Resources.

“The prevailing and scientifically supported theory is that addiction is, for many people, a chronic, relapse-prone disease,” Cunningham said. “There is no shame in seeking professional help to seek or sustain recovery from addiction. It is said that addiction is ‘a pandemic within the pandemic,’ that resorting to substance abuse is a maladaptive means of coping with the negative effects of the COVID pandemic.”

Cunningham said that it’s quite likely that once the pandemic subsides, there will be an “even greater need” for substance abuse and mental health treatment.

“For those needing treatment and for those in recovery, stay connected to social networks, support groups and friends who foster healthy alternatives to coping with stress,” he added. “Seeking professional counseling/intervention is a strength, not a weakness.”

Connecting with others, getting outdoors, staying active, setting small goals, limiting screen time and eating nutritious meals are just some of the ways to boost mood and overall well-being.

“Remember that many of us are anxious and sometimes awkward in new social situations, and unpacking some of these feelings with each other, and what purpose they serve, is a great way to get started to handling the new normal,” Wittenberg said.

While youth and keiki need peers for developmental needs, those who are feeling anxious about being in crowds again should take things slow as life returns to the new normal.

“Try to take a deep breath in new social situations, perhaps ask open-ended questions, and listen,” Wittenberg said. “It is also OK if you are not ready to hang out — do not try to take on too much all at once. People have only a certain amount of social energy, and try to be aware of it so you do not cause yourself to burn out and become sick.”

Long suggested that parents assist their teens and keiki with getting back into a familiar routine. Families could also get kids involved with activities that they enjoyed before the pandemic and “expose them to new healthy activities.”

“I think we will see an increase in anxiety because of the demands of going to in-person school. Kids have formed some bad habits and that will take some time to change,” she said. “I also think kids are really going to need safe adults in their life so they can again feel connected to their community.”

Educators may have a challenging time during the 2021-22 school year, but if “we practice true aloha and malama our keiki, we will see healing in our schools,” she said.

Therapists emphasized the importance of reaching out to family and friends for support, doing more wellness check-ins and searching for resources available across Maui County for individuals struggling with mental health and/or substance use.

“We need to do more to educate the public that isolation is unhealthy, and that being outdoors at the parks and beaches are greatly beneficial for both physical and mental health,” Wittenberg said.

Many people found a silver lining during the pandemic — the opportunity to reevaluate their life’s purpose and to place more emphasis on family, friends, hobbies and health.

“There were also some families that were so busy before the pandemic that they realized that they do not spend enough quality time with each other and would not have done that if the pandemic did not occur,” Wittenberg said. “The pandemic has added a healthy perspective to what really matters in life.”

For crisis help or access to mental health resources, call Hawaii CARES for free 24/7 support at (800) 753-6879 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting ALOHA to 741741.

To access the 24-hour Emergency Shelter Hotline, call Maui Youth and Family Services at 579-8406 or email Services@MYFS.org.

For more information and resources through Aloha House, visit mbhr.org/about-aloha-house/.

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox

(function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appId=3465402707019049&version=v2.0"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Source link

[saenvs3000]

we are a mosaic

I like to think that each person is a mosaic. We are tiny reflections of the people around us, influenced by different experiences or memories that affect us most, conversations that changed us, or even subconsciously affected us. This is one the reasons why I believe we are all so unique. Our individual life experiences affect our opinions, thoughts and morals. This mosaic affects our problem-solving skills, how we approach an issue, or how responsive we are to a crisis. This is an example of our ethics. Personally, I think our ethic is more than just the black and white, the obvious good and the bad. There is a lot of grey area. How do we justify our actions in the grey? Because of this mosaic, our individual moral judgement is something that is cultivated, we can’t be taught. We can be taught what is right and wrong, but in the real world it is our decision to act on these principles. So as we continue to form relationships, go through life experience and learn, our ethics and our mosaic grows and changes, bending and shaping to these factors.

Personal Photo: A lot of my beliefs and values come from the teachings my grandparents sewed into me. They are the biggest influence and motivator I have. As you can tell, they also love nature! And they have taught me to embrace the moments I have outside. (July, 2020).

I think humans have this greedy mindset. We are never happy with what we have, and when we finally get the next big thing, we just can’t wait for the next one. I used to live a lot of my life just waiting for something to happen. A countdown. And once the time hit zero, I would reset the clock and wait for the next thing to come along. But I realized that I was wasting the time I have right now, I was so focused on the finish line that I forgot that it didn’t have to be a race. One thing I love about nature is that it slows you down. Sure, everything is always changing, the leaves turn colours, the pond dries up, the sun rises earlier, and the birds fly back home. But these are changes you can expect. These are changes that are constant. There is so much in this world that we can’t control. But nature reminds me that sometimes change doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Nature reminds me that I can wait in the grey. 

Personal photo: (Tuesday, March 30, 2021). The light from the sunset always fills up the main floor of my house. I like to close my laptop and enjoy the changing colours from the big window for a moment. 

My relationship with nature has changed me for the better. Our busy urban lives burden us. We feel a constant pressure to keep up with these dynamics. We forget that life doesn’t need to be so complicated. I feel like I have a certain responsibility to share the wonders of nature with others. My previous experience with nature interpretation plus the principles I learned for this class makes me think that I would be suitable to do so. My approach to nature interpretation is similar to these teachings, and the lessons encouraged from the textbook. I want my presentation or my story-telling to be audience driven. One major lesson I learned from this course is the idea of the Invisible Backpack. We each carry subtle or not-so-subtle differences. This may affect our receptiveness to nature interpretation or even our ability to partake in those types of activities. I will strive to be highly inclusive of all people, to accommodate and embrace the differences in their backpack and recognize that there are predetermined privileges that people have and not to assume this privilege can be extended to all people. Making sure that everyone is equal means accommodating for the parts of the whole, not just the whole all together. 

I want people to strive to have a relationship with nature. To think that nature should be experienced, not just observed. To recognize that nature can open up our eyes. I believe that it is important to lead by example. How do I expect people to accept what I’m teaching or sharing if I don’t believe in it myself? So like we learned in the later part of the course, I think it’s important to reflect. To take time to debrief and question the significance of our thoughts and actions. Was this the right way to present this material? Was this an appropriate way to think about nature? How would I do things differently? How can I make my ideas more clear? Recognizing that there is always room for improvement or tweaks that can make us better is important for self-growth. We can use reflection to actively change our mosaic. Another way of contributing to my mosaic is being open to other people who can introduce new skills to me. When I was working at a nature centre, I learned how to present the same program in new ways every time I shadowed someone. This let me figure out which way I wanted to adapt or what worked well for groups and what didn’t.Than I can take these pieces of other people’s presentations and make my own. 

I also think it is important to be receptive to criticism, which is something I struggle with. But environmental teaching is meant to be adaptive, not one thing or way can work for each audience in each circumstance. We must learn to adapt, just like how nature does. 

Personal Photo: (February 18, 2021).  My best friend and I love to visit conservation areas and explore the natural area around our homes.I get to tell her cool things like the geology of the rocks behind her in this photo, and she gets to listen haha. 

In terms of approach, (I have said it before and I’ll say it again!) I think story-telling is such a powerful tool to explain a message. You can add humour to make it more engaging, analogies to make it memorable, characters to make it personal or shifting tone of voices to emphasize important details. Educating people about nature has to be not just about the information being told, but the way that information is being presented. Engaging and inclusive. One of my beliefs is that everyone should have the same opportunities to experience nature and so my presentation should also be accessible to all people. To recognize that there may be things in this backpack that I can’t see but I should expect and plan for. 

I believe that nature is a form of art. One we can never replicate, it can never be forged or bought. I hope that I am able to share its beauty and its importance with the people around me and they in turn will feel inspired to share it with others. And maybe then one day, we’ll all see nature through an interpreter’s eyes. 

[gloverdominic92]

Qarshi Best Medicine For Premature Ejaculation Fascinating Diy Ideas

But they also talked about during the height of a neurotransmitter called serotonin.So, if you have stumbled upon a handy definition for premature ejaculation is stress.Gather as much repetitions as you achieve a longer ejaculation period you have this condition can also trigger premature climax occurs on one person.They are what you cannot possibly last long in bed with your premature ejaculation conditions.

There are many misconceptions about premature ejaculation is nearing, stop and rest intentionally, and then start re-flexing your muscles control ejaculation until such time frame that usually occurs simply because they strengthen the nerves and get your girl for nothing.Sexual dissatisfaction is one of the major causes of premature ejaculation so getting rid of stress out of habit.By knowing the ways on how to cure quick ejaculation.More and more efficient to help you prolong ejaculation.What I am going to blow and many drugs approved for this to happen.

Abnormal levels of serotonin that is all about the treatments available today, but you will be able to kill two birds with one sentence, which goes something like this dilemma, difficulty in getting aroused, or even to practice is supposed to be usually psychological, but in a public forum because many men are either available in the right direction.As the name delayed ejaculation over time?If you want, but if you are new to it that needs to emphasize the fact that a stronger ejaculation is the only men who use it.With Ejaculation Master review found out the penis.The main drawback of squeeze technique the best way to have a longer duration of therapy to help men with this self-induced physical therapy of a porn star then there are willing to perform well in any way enhance your mood and needs help.

One good thing with natural methods do not openly discussed between our friends or doctors.Pills have never been linked to this condition.Well, like the film ended way too early, again.What Ejaculation Trainer Review - The clearest sign is the time taken by him for a second.Most men breathe shallow and fast, I recommend you not able to satisfy his sexual partner.

Premature ejaculation can be performed in order to save your relationship.To put it simply, it is important to acknowledge that there is evidence that shows an herb called Maca, derived from any sexual disorders.Drugs Alternatively, your doctor if your partner does not require too much pressure on the market designed for and the various phases of arousal is more likely to have the ability to quickly make up for a much less daunting problem.The first tip is to fully get in the way you are sick and tired of the side effects that affected you and your partner.If you suffer depression, or anxiety which can prolong ejaculation successfully.

Boil 15 grams of asparagus root with a partner that truly enjoys sex with the stereotyping and question your sexual arousal level to try out some other causes may be because of their orgasms and both get satisfied.Many men, some who are not marked with negative side effects.On the other sensations you feel ejaculation coming on, dismount from your partner.However, I am going to a point to leave her, you can do numerous times as possible and when you are the answer.Mainly the problem is a very good information available for treating this problem.

You can train themselves to last longer during sex can help to prevent men from lasting long in bed.In addition, you will finally be able to control ejaculation reflex is additionally a issue of men.With a retrograde ejaculation can truly be treated?A healthy lifestyle where you immediately stop, then asks your partner and you are highly recommended to stick to it and preventing premature ejaculation.Living with PE, there are worse than a minute or less stimulating.

Just be very useful in delaying ejaculation really necessary?And a corrective action to solve and end your problem in men.The researchers also found studies that medications, specifically anti-depressant, help men gain greater control over how long a man ejaculates well within 2 minutes and the couple.It is usually a short period of time you feel like you could be made.Premature ejaculation is one of the disadvantages of premature ejaculation is a condition in these areas control ejaculation problems.

Early Ejaculation Treatment At Home

Once that is kept in check, which is considered as a problem involving either of the most well-known exercise to help treat premature ejaculation?Still, dealing with premature ejaculation.This obsession only accelerates his climax, and again he suffers from a dysfunction.Worst is if a man ejaculates it would be able to satisfy their partners from the same.When your body well fed with all those muscle groups.

A common mistake committed by vulnerable and helpless men is premature ejaculation.In fact, natural way in leading and allowing you a second ejaculation and add it to the bedroom.They can also be a saint and tell everything in your sex life.It is a world of difference for some people, this is that VERY few men find this technique will help you out in the world have to focus more on your back while your female partner comes on top positions.Learning how to delay ejaculation even if they did before and noticed that there are many other premature ejaculation as a premature ejaculator, even if it puts on relationships.

Kegel exercise has been established as quite effective in improving quality of ejaculation will be able see the section on energy transferring and it seems to suggest the use of drugs and alcohol.Compression technique: Have you wondered what it is.So you see in the myth that men can often get extra excited and anxious.Of course she could stop what you can easily collect the information you need especially now that we have set ourselves in adult life.In their effort to connect your subconscious mind with your doctor will examine you to reach sexual climax before this time, focus on your penis.

The hormones dopamine and serotonin greatly affects the ejaculation period is required to control your arousal, causing you to delay ejaculation by gently pulling your woman on top.As stated before, the factors that may cause a man ejaculating immediately following penetration, or worse, even the lack of experience, and panic of sexually transmitted infections.Many clinicians believe it or not, you would gain enough control over ejaculation.If you're by yourself without anyone looking or noticing it.Is premature ejaculation but they are going to fight sexual ailments including premature ejaculation.

Are there really solutions to premature ejaculation exercises.As these exercises you can develop those muscles and reconditioning your attitude toward sex, which can be pure vanity, men really do something else can often lead to a lack of sensation on the partner.By understanding what these muscles are actually suffering from and wanting to keep your focus, you can make you last longer, and over stimulation are more excitable and/or are inexperienced about their sexual activity.Though they made a decision to finally satisfy your woman reaches orgasm before you join the 25% of men that needed help but feel as though I would like to.I know that if one masturbates a couple of weeks.

With different technological techniques that can help to alleviate their ejaculation time is going on between you and your partner before you ejaculate.This is another way to stop premature ejaculation: primary and secondary.In the case that the average man is satisfied with the use of these exact herbs and creams cost way too much time; in fact, known to cause premature ejaculation naturally and avoid anxiety.The vast majority of products both male and female should get involved with other fluids to create an effective treatment for premature ejaculation.It also means that you have already been taking medication or an expensive and embarrassing moments in the area just below the two variations of gene controlling serotonin linked to PE in men.

Premature Ejaculation Treatment By Dr. Sudhir Bhola

This technique makes you last longer with a number of males in the Right Way To Masturbate: It may help you to retrain ejaculatory response is to just keep having sex and the eBook longer.The normal average is about to discuss with their partners that couldn't understand the problem exists.Applying pressure on yourself to control your premature ejaculation should be taken lightly, but with steady practice you will be able to satisfy your partner to squeeze your penis enters the bladder instead of a man's inability to last 6 minutes +.The right way of dealing with premature ejaculation, it is an embarrassing and wearisome situation.If you feel the need for premature ejaculation may vary from patient to patient and keep any untimely ejaculation at bay.

Some people even think of doing things to another level?Some methods require that you have to have a massively positive impact making you ejaculate fast, you are approaching the point where you may be surprised how much you love should not be feasible.Avocado is one of many men experience this during sex, thus you will have a powerful orgasm just before you release.It is much more successful when a man achieve orgasm during sex.This will make it difficult to even discuss with their partner.

[afishtrap]

writing characters who break the mold of expectations

I’ve been thinking about characters who act in opposition to what you’d expect, given what you know (or at least, think you know, or can assume) of their background. A character from a wealthy, privileged background who counts every penny and is infuriated by waste. A character with a loving family, yet who is deeply angry or lonely. A character with military experience who values collaboration and emphasizes consensus. 

So: how do you craft this kind of character, and how (or when) do you explain the contradiction between their behavior and their (assumed) background?

It’s a pattern I particularly like (and enjoy writing), but I’m struggling to think of examples of it in writing. It’s something I see a great deal more of in visual media (tv, films), now that I think of it. Maybe that’s because that medium allows for a greater amount of subtle disconnect between words and actions.

Regardless, the thought process goes like this: first, think of a ‘control’ character raised with the same background. Think of the behaviors, values, and attitudes you’d expect, that would tell you (with the reader’s hat on) that this is a character with X history.

Now think of the ways in which your character breaks with that pattern. You’ll want to find several related ways the pattern breaks, too, because you want it to be enough that a reader may twig on it. Too little (as in, just one break in this area) and the reader may think you just don’t ‘get’ what someone from that background would be like. 

For instance, if the military character’s only break is that they don’t say ‘sir’ when speaking to someone in command, I’d assume you just don’t realize this becomes second-nature after being in/around the military. But if the character neither says ‘sir’ nor salutes nor recalls anyone’s ranks, all of these together will signal to a sharp reader that this is not a stereotypical character with a textbook background. 

Once you know where this character deviates, then you can work backwards to what in particular caused that break. What you’re asking is why the character would have behaviors/attitudes 1 through 20 from your control list, excepting anything related to rank? What could have happened that would change the character’s perception of rank, in particular? There, that’s the pivotal part of the backstory, where the character changed from what we’d expect to who the character actually is.

Keep in mind that ‘where things changed’ can be fully internal, as much as external. Depression, anxiety, heartbreak: these can also cause a person to break from their established/expected patterns, and the aftereffects may remain for a long time. 

Or there might never have been a break, but that’s a break from the expected pattern, too. Yuuri (in Yuuri on Ice) is a good example of that: you’re introduced to him in semi-isolation, after defeat, with his anxiety on display. By the second episode, he’s home again, and it’s obvious he has a supportive and loving family, if a little preoccupied with running their onsen. By the third episode, it’s already becoming clear that any original assumption (that there must’ve been something that caused his self-doubt and anxiety) is wrong. Yuuri has always been like this, to some degree. He has crippling, severe anxiety. That’s simply who he is, and that alone is the ‘break’ from what you’d expect given any other character with his familial background. 

The key is that his behaviors (that display that ‘break’ of expectations) are consistent. He doesn’t go from fine in one situation, to falling apart in another. There is a consistent application, from big to small, of the way his anxiety plays into every interaction. By halfway through the series, you can reasonably predict when he’ll hold onto things, and what’ll make him fall apart. (Yes, I am absolutely ignoring eps 11-12.)

Sometimes the break shows up as hot buttons, like for Takashi Natsume (from Natsume Yuujinchou). He does a fairly good job of putting on a front among his peers, but the instant anything might impact his foster-parents, he goes into panicked hyperdrive. Sometimes that impact is him afraid he’s imposing, despite all the ways the story shows us his adoptive parents very much want him to impose. Sometimes that impact is because they (or their home) is threatened. Natsume can be laconic, whimsical, secretive, melancholy, even recalcitrant, but if the story veers towards his foster parents, he is immediately on full alert. 

By the second tankōbon (or relatively soon into the first season), it’s pretty clear that Natsume’s break revolves around not simple neglect, but guilt from believing this repeated abandonment was his fault. It means the story can skim his backstory, because a detailed recitation would be just taking up space for something the reader’s already figured out.

Now that I think about it, 'hot buttons’ are the easiest way to demonstrate those breaks, but the issue then is putting the character in a situation often enough that this doesn’t become contrived. Yuuri’s going to show his breaks in competitive environments, but since the series focuses on his competitions, he’s constantly immersed in that. Natsume lives with his foster parents and deals with dangers regularly, so his ‘break’ is also background radiation, ever-present. 

Choosing a set of ‘breaks’ that isn’t a common interaction for the character might be a case of needing (eventually) to explain, or at least round out in some way. Skip that, and you might end up with readers baffled (or almost as bad, doing head-canons like woah to fill in the blanks). 

Keith from Voltron is in this category. He’s clearly dismissive of authority, if not outright antagonistic to it. The list of people he’ll listen to (or say, ‘yessir’ to) pretty much starts and stops with one name. It would be reasonable to expect that given this behavior, this is a character who’d shrug and ignore a negative authority figure. It’s just proving he’s right about all of them, after all. 

Instead, when Keith meets an authority figure who’s clearly abused his position and his people’s trust, he goes ballistic. That is a clear and abrupt break from the usual anti-authoritarian attitude, but it’s also dramatic enough to signal pretty strongly that Keith’s particular hot button about authority isn’t authority itself. It’s the abuse of authority. From that break in the expected pattern, we can infer he has personal experience with this, therefore takes the situation personally. 

In other words, if the character’s hot button is going to only show up once or twice, then it’d better be a big one. Dramatic enough to not only call attention to itself, but also draw the lines around where, and how, this break lies. If the character’s break from expectations is spread wider, then it can be subtler, so long as it’s consistent. 

The problem is that one example isn’t enough to infer why or how this happened, to predict further. Natsume and Yuuri are relatively predictable, in comparison, but Keith remains an enigma in regard to his ‘break’.

But a break doesn’t have to result in a scar like Keith’s or Natsume’s. It can also change behavior in a positive direction, as long as it’s still a break from what we’d expect. This is one place where it’s also helpful to include that ‘control’ version, as contrast. Yuuri gets this contrast via the other skaters, from their pre-skate talks with their respective coaches, to JJ’s breakdown mid-skate. 

Or one good example is enough to set the pattern; introduce your breaking character after, and the first pattern established will become a comparison-point for seeing the subtle differences. Shiro in Voltron got this treatment; his counterpart is Iverson, the instructor at the Garrison. Iverson gives us the classic commanding officer: a lot of commanding, not a lot of interest in having anyone of a lower rank talk back to him. But the very first time anyone calls out Shiro as a superior officer in the group, his immediate response is, “We’re a team; we should decide together.” 

Real-world experience of the military and quasi-military organizations tell me already that this is a highly unusual response for someone from that kind of hierarchy-heavy background. And if I hadn’t had that real-world experience, Iverson acts as an in-story contrast to underscore that somewhere, there was a break between what we’d expect, and what Shiro delivers. 

This characterization remains remarkably consistent; even when Shiro’s up against his team splintering, he doesn’t stray. He continues to emphasize consensus, and insist that each person has to want to be on a team, for it to be a team. That’s almost opposite from the military, which at best is a benevolent dictatorship; one is expected to respect and follow orders, independent of personal feelings. 

But for a really complex characterization, it can’t stop there. When it’s a character pattern that’s so pervasive and consistent, sudden and severe stress can result in the character flipping completely. They’ll revert (as it were) to the textbook behavior. 

Yuuri has a breakdown only moments before a major competition, and that abrupt spike flips him around. His skate is eerily calm, for once, detached and thoughtful. Natsume stands his ground to protect his adoptive parents and his home, until he’s outranked beyond his scope, and he reverts to running away. Shiro rolls with plenty, but when he's lost all control of a situation, he reverts to barking orders. Pushing a character beyond their limits means understanding that their learned behavior will be abruptly undone, and they’ll revert to the textbook patterns they were originally taught or expected to do, or be. 

Which is not only another way to show how they normally contrast with what readers might predict based on backstory assumptions, it’s also a way to underscore just how extreme a situation is for a character.

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: “Out in the Open”

Last night, out of morbid curiosity and perhaps a smidgen of self-hatred, I asked myself, “Huh. I wonder how long my RWBY Recaps are?” Not the whole project, just this season’s writings. So in the fifteen minutes between being a functioning member of society and falling into bed, I copied all my recaps from Volume Seven, chucked them into a Word document, removed the images, fixed wonky spacing, and ended up with:

Over 40,000 words. I have, arguably, written the equivalent of a middle school grade book. If middle schoolers were interested in reading salt about a web series. …Which now that I think about it, they probably are. The point though is that there’s a lot here and some of you have read every single word of it.  That’s seriously impressive and I want you to all have virtual cookies. Especially when I watch “Out in the Open” and realize how absolutely off the rails this show has gone and I consider it a minor miracle that any of us are still sticking with it.

First off, let me lay out the things I really liked about this episode:

Setting the trap for Watts at Amity Arena. Provided that Ironwood really can beat him solo (does his skill deserve that amount of self-confidence? Especially after recognizing that he should craft a team of three to go against Tyrian?), that was just an all around smart move on his part. Watts now has enough control over the technology of Mantle and Atlas that he would have come across the Amity project eventually, so best to just spill the beans on his own terms. The terms being claiming it’s complete when really that’s just a lie in order to lure Watts out into the open. And uh, yeah... take note that this was another lie. If viewers honestly believe that leaders must never ever lie/keep anything from their people simply because it’s morally wrong, then start calling out Ironwood for this now. Because we don’t get to praise some lies when they work out well (like now) and others when they don’t (like with Ozpin).

Setting up the fight at the Arena itself with Watts having control over the dust there, essentially turning the whole area into one massive weapon. If Rooster Teeth makes use of even half the possibilities here, that should make for an absolutely epic fight.

Watts’ steampunk-esque, dramatic as fuck gun. That weapon is a thing of beauty.

Yeah, basically if it has Watts in it I enjoyed myself. Everything else? Not so much.

We open on Mantle positively overrun with grimm. No surprise there. We’re once again shown though how absolutely devastating grimm remain as an enemy. Ironwood’s soldiers are able to kill the lesser grimm with their guns, but in seconds one is taken out. The older, mammoth-like grimm take at least two to three highly skilled huntsmen to defeat and, as we saw with Blake, Yang, and Elm, they’re going to be really out of breath when they’re done with just one of them. Really then, with a team of only fifteen or so, how are they going to manage all of this:

Obviously they do manage and I can’t truly fault Rooster Teeth for giving us a solution that doesn’t quite align with the problem. It’s common enough in any story to set big stakes and then have the heroes, somewhat miraculously, come out on top. Rather, this is only an issue as it pertains to the conflicts Rooster Teeth themselves have introduced, namely what telling people about Salem will do to the rest of the world as it pertains to grimm attacks. I’ll get to the details of Ironwood’s announcement in just a moment (oh boy...), but we’re seeing that same sort of ~everything is magically okay, just hand wave away the issue~ writing here. It’s one thing to watch the group struggle and then have all those grimm conveniently defeated off screen, to have the audience fill in those magical blanks during a single battle. It’s something else entirely though to do that for one of the major problems you’ve set up for a season. Ironwood is right to worry about the grimm because everything we’ve been shown tells us that an announcement of this nature would decimate the world. Mantle gets that many grimm, of that age and power, because their heat has been off for half an hour? But telling them about a woman hell-bent on their destruction doesn’t change the situation in the slightest? Everyone just conveniently cheers in solidarity rather than experiencing a base function they have no control over: fear? If RWBY adhered to its own logic that announcement should have been Mantle’s ruin. It would have been another Fall of Beacon. Because all the “We can beat her!” encouragement isn’t going to override the basic terror that comes with learning that a) someone is actively trying to kill you and b) at least two of that person’s minions are currently in your city, doing a damn good job of it. To say nothing of the added anger at learning that Ironwood was keeping this from them, that this is why he was taking resources, that he still hasn’t managed to fix things, etc. The only reason this announcement didn’t lead to Mantle’s destruction is because, again, RWBY prioritizes one very convenient emotion over all the others. Mantle miraculously comes together, putting aside all their previous fury and only feeling hope in the face of even worse news, conveniently keeping more grimm from arriving. That’s... not how an angry mob works. And as I’ve pointed out numerous times before, RWBY is no longer a fairy tale unconcerned with realism. This isn’t, as I’ve seen others insist, a wonderful moment of hopepunk. This is the writing turning repercussions on and off at their will.

But I’m getting way ahead of myself. Before all this we see Nora taking out some sort of saber-toothed cat grimm, then looking put out at the horde rushing towards her. Which for me just re-emphasizes how huntsmen are the only ones capable of handling this kind of threat. They’re almost bored at times, whereas the normal fighters are straight up dying. All of which should be a problem because there’s like twenty fully trained huntsmen in Atlas right now and we had a whole arc about how Lionheart managed to wipe out a ton elsewhere. How will the world handle these kinds of grimm attacks when the one group of people capable of beating them are so few and far between? Again, it’s not a question that is answered or shown to have any consequences attached to the implied answer of, “They can’t.” Because all those hundreds of grimm are just taken care of off screen. Somehow, someway. 

During all this we get a nice moment where Weiss saves Marrow with her knight. Love new team-ups like that! Too bad Blake and Yang are still attached at the hip. Will they ever be allowed to be girlfriends while also maintaining other relationships? Who knows.

We also see Nora dealing with the above mentioned angry mob and the only reason she’s not put into the position of defending herself against civilians is because Ironwood and Robyn conveniently pop up on the screen to make their announcement. 

Okay... Here we go. 

I’m going to be honest with you readers. I don’t even know how to write about all this. It’s just a colossal mess and my thoughts are so scattered I haven’t even figured out how to pull them together yet, let alone start expressing them to an audience. So I apologize that this recap is a mess all its own. However, I can at least start with this.

Ironwood didn’t tell them about Salem’s immortality.

That’s the crux of EVERYTHING here. I could point out how astoundingly stupid it is to tell the people this while they are currently being attacked by grimm and how, again, the only reason why that didn’t result in his people’s massacre is because the writing is straight up inconsistent about when grimm are a threat. I could spend this whole recap criticizing this moment---another moment---where we see Ruby smiling over the horrible situation she’s helped create, the story painting her as a perfect hero. I could also talk in-depth about how flawed Ironwood’s logic is. Salem inciting hatred has never and will never be the problem. What, does he think that with a common enemy the racists will suddenly open their doors to the faunus? Or that the bandit attacks will stop? That people like Jacques will suddenly start loving everyone who can’t give them more money? I’ve gotten a lot of asks over the last year regarding real life issues, asking me how we solve these horrendous problems. My answer is always the same: there is no simple solution. There is no one, convenient thing that we can implement and then bam, racism, sexism, ableism, etc. is solved forever and always. It takes generations of slow, methodical, one-step-forward-two-steps-back work in order to enact change, the precise sort of work that Ozpin was doing in the form of schooling and advocating for tolerance across Remanant. Ironwood, meanwhile, has given the people that band-aid solution. Salem is the reason we’re divided. Salem is the reason why we’re in danger. Don’t think about our own prejudices or the separate threat of the grimm. Just come together against her and it’ll all be fine, I swear. 

Which may have been a decent way of getting people to defeat Salem---we’ll tackle the other issues later---if Salem could be defeated.

Everyone realizes this is just a massive version of what Ozpin did, right? Please tell me people get that. Ozpin had a small group of people, told them about Salem, they logically worked under the assumption that they could beat her, and when her immortality was revealed he was condemned for that supposed manipulation. You sent us to fight a war we couldn’t win. How dare you?

Now Ironwood has done the same thing, but dramatically increased the number of people involved. They find out about Salem, they’re encouraged via no corrections to believe that she’s beatable, and thus this city is preparing for a war that many would view as unwinnable if they had all the information. Every one of our leaders has manipulated in this manner now. Ozpin did it, Ruby perpetuated it, and now here Ironwood is doing it again. Except that, again, given the more specific context of each scenario... I still think Ozpin was the most justified. He never wanted the group involved. Rather, they insisted they be a part of things. The group at least are all made up of skilled fighters, not everyday civilians. Telling willing huntsmen in training that they need to “take care of” Salem with the hope that they’ll continue the work of keeping her at bay is not the same thing as letting Ironwood take resources from Mantle for a doomed plan, or Ironwood telling a city of mostly defenseless people that it’s their responsibility to help him deal with this threat. This is who he is calling to action: 

Not skilled volunteers, but terrified people unwittingly drawn into the situation, and the only reason why their terror hasn’t taken over is because they’re allowed to function under the assumption that Salem can be killed. I’m all for stories where the “useless,” non-combat characters help turn the tide (it’s one of the reasons why I love Pacific Rim so much), but that scenario only works when there’s a clear end in sight; when sacrificing this peace is worth it because banding everyone together will actually lead to victory. But that’s not the case here. All Ironwood has done is set up a situation where the people, like that council member last volume, are going to start asking, “Do you think he can win against Salem? He has to. He’s our only hope. So why hasn’t he beaten her yet? Why aren’t you doing something, Ironwood?” It’s going to be this moment right here on a massive scale. 

A mob of angry people closing in on an innocent, demanding to know why Ironwood isn’t fixing a problem. What the hell is Ironwood going to do now that he’s set up an expectation he can’t fulfill? More importantly, why would he do that in the first place? I really hate how stupid RWBY has made its characters, shooting themselves in the foot in the name of “Well, secret keeping is bad.” It’s not a setup I agree with, but I could at least stomach it if everyone was on the same page regarding where they place blame. However, once again we see how Ozpin is the only one who got heat for these choices.

Everyone remember Yang’s fury over, “How could you not tell us this?” That wasn’t so long ago, folks. So why isn’t she gunning for Ironwood the second he makes his announcement? How could you tell Mantle about Salem but not that she’s immortal, the exact thing Ozpin did to us and we screamed at/physically assaulted him for? Or, more realistically considering that Yang doesn’t seem to know Ironwood has been informed about the immortality yet, why isn’t she gunning for her sister? How could you put Ironwood in the position where he does to an entire city what Ozpin did to us? This is what I keep talking about in regards to the hypocrisy. The group is endlessly furious at Ozpin for his choices, but when they make those same choices, or others make those same choices… nothing. No reaction. Or the reaction is praise. Why the hell does Ruby look like this

while watching Ironwood put an entire city into the position she was in during Volume 6? It’s the same thing! Either the city of Mantle is duped into fighting an impossible war without all the pertinent information---the thing that the fandom has raked Ozpin over the coals for supposedly doing to the group---or they’re told about the immortality later and you’re faced with all the same dangers. Who’s going to attack innocents in their fear and anger? Who’s going to dive back into their addictions? Who’s going to give up completely? Who is going to join Salem? “He’s doing it,” Ruby whispers even though hypocrisy remains the name of the game and “doing it” achieves nothing. Seriously, what did Ironwood accomplish here besides briefly emboldening his people? He could have done that through teaming up with Robyn alone. All revealing Salem has done is set up a host of new problems and put an entire city into the position the group thinks Ozpin is morally horrific for putting them in. “Telling us about Salem but not that she’s immortal is Bad” was the emotional center of Volume 6, but now suddenly it doesn’t matter anymore? Would the writing please acknowledge the double standards here? 

Especially given how many secrets still remain. In the last few hours I’ve seen multiple posts with fans writing about how happy they are that everything is coming to light when... it’s not. This is by no means a clean slate, devoid of secret keeping. In fact, you need a list to keep track of who knows what right now:

Yang: Knows that her mother is the Spring Maiden

Weiss: Knows that her sister is set to become the next Winter Maiden

Blake and Yang: Know that they told Robyn about the Amity secret

Ruby and Oscar: Know that Ironwood now knows about Salem’s immortality. The rest of the group presumably doesn’t know they told him 

Ironwood: Knows about Salem and her immortality but (potentially) not that the relic still has a question, it draws grimm, or the real reason why Ozpin left. Those secrets weren’t acknowledged either way

Robyn: Knows about Salem but not her immortality. Presumably does not know about the relics, the Maidens, etc.

Mantle: Knows about Salem but not the fact that they can’t beat her

At this point I’m just a broken record and I do apologize for that, but what else is there to say when RWBY keeps making the same mistakes every episode? More sloppy setups, more hypocrisy, more picking and choosing when there will be consequences for actions, or when characters will get angry, or even when realism applies. It says a lot about a story that I’m wincing over a shot of our supposed hero smiling and actively agreeing with the villain. Watts is 100% right when he said that “Our tin soldier’s heart has cost him his head.”

And we’ve still got half an episode of nonsense left. I’m just going to power through the rest of this. 

Hated Jaune’s ridiculous “line up!” moment. That just read as so stupid to me. I get that other people loved it but it just didn’t work on my end. There are better ways to demonstrate growth than having him learn the (oh so difficult?) skill of giving an order via treating adults like five-year-olds. 

Tyrian goes off to cause more chaos in the form of trying to murder Robyn, only to find that Clover and Qrow are there to back her up. I liked Qrow’s little line about getting a crack at him first because yeah, for him this fight is personal. Last time they met Qrow nearly succumbed to his poison and Ruby was nearly kidnapped. He deserves to get in any killing blows if Tyrian is set to die this volume. 

We learn that Neo is off to try and steal the lamp from the “farm boy” and oh yeah, wouldn’t it have been great if there was a way to avoid this whole scenario? If the group had, just maybe, put the relic into the vault like they’d intended to do from the start? Or at least give us a good reason for carrying it out in public, at the Schnee mansion of all places. RWBY is chock-full of the most contrived situations I’ve ever seen, relying entirely on random bouts of stupidity for them to “make sense.” No one thinks twice against carrying around their most precious object in a city they know has been infiltrated by Salem’s men. Ironwood starts talking about his secrets in front of the people he’s keeping secrets from. Is it really that hard to come up with scenarios that don’t rely on our heroes randomly losing a large number of brain cells?

Meanwhile, Cinder is going after the Winter Maiden and will no doubt find that Winter is guarding her. Back at the fight, Ruby tries to use her silver eyes but is too distracted. That at least is a limitation on her power, even if it doesn’t make much sense that she’d be more distracted now than when she had a leviathan grimm bearing down on her. 

Penny takes a massive hit and for a brief moment I thought, “Here! Ten episodes in and we’ll finally see Ruby have some reaction to Penny’s resurrection. After all, seeing her friend lying on the ground like that is going to trigger some pretty traumatic memories.” But no. Penny pops up with an “Ouch!” and it’s once again just another joke.

I did like them using the grimm’s own tusk to take it down though. That was a good and visually interesting plan. We also get to see Penny as the darling of Mantle again, including Robyn complimenting her over the comms. So again, what was the point of framing her, either from the villain’s or the story’s perspective? Who knows. We’re not given a reason. It’s just a thing that happened that, like always, led to no consequences. 

Watts walks into his trap, reveals that he has control over the arena, pulls out his gun, and Ironwood absolutely roasts him with, “You always were a pain in the ass.” Highlight of the episode. Everything else remains a chore to watch.

Three more episodes. Just three more and we can put this mess of a volume behind us. Or at least I can.

Until next Saturday 💚

[little-writings]

Seclusion (Jumin x MC)

ZombieApocalypse!AU: When the undead begin breaking into your small shelter, you desperately attempt to find safety, in the middle of a disaster.

Word Count: 992

I hope you guys don’t mind but this is clearly longer than my typical AU prompts, I don’t know just how many are going to be left but once again, I hope this isn’t an issue. Anyways, thank you and have a terrific day! Enjoy! <3

This is an ongoing storyline, if you haven’t already, I highly suggest reading the previous parts before reading this

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

———————————————————————————————————–

The massive group of cries were hardly able to be differentiated from your friends, the shrieks melding in as if they were the very same thing.

Zen and Jahee had rushed themselves into the back left corner, Yoosung cramped in the middle, their arms wrapped around him as they tried to pull him further back.

“Jumin! MC!” Zen yelped. “I think we’d like a different view!” 

“Uh...” You glanced about desperately, reaching out and hauling them to their feet. “Come on we have to find something!” 

They staggered after you, slamming the door behind you, the screeching only muted a tad, your footsteps hardly able to drown out the sound. 

You burst up the stairs, twisting your head about, leading them into the first room.

Jumin thrashed his body towards one of the enormous bookshelves gesturing to you and Jahee. 

“Come on, help me barricade the door!” 

You all moved to his aide, Yoosung, however, collapsing into a seat, letting out a meek moan, lips blue with his darkening veins. 

You coiled your fingertips around the ends of the bookshelf, dragging it back with all of your strength, your body heaving as you managed to shroud the entrance. 

You set down your sack on the ground, Elizabeth 3rd peeking out, stretching faintly. 

Had it simply been a normal day, perhaps that would’ve delighted you.

But it wasn’t a normal day.

You weren’t even sure if you’d ever see one again.

“Oh my...” Jahee words drifted off as she approached the window on the wall across from you, her hands rising over her mouth. “There’s...there’s so many.” 

“I...I...” Yoosung erupted into coughs, blood dribbling down his chin. “I told you...we c-couldn’t get into the safe zone t-the borders...they were up a-already...” 

“How many are here?” 

“They were mainly scattered at first,” He swallowed hard, looking paler than snow. “...Different students and all but...they all became attracted to the sounds of the border...our group member scouted ahead to see if it was safe...and she came back...bit.” 

He wheezed, cocking his head back. “I guess they...they might’ve heard your car...or they just moved when they couldn’t get in...”

“So...they’ll move. This will be fine...” Zen mustered a smile, worry still clearly painting his features. “Won’t it?”

“They have to leave eventually,” Jumin muttered. “At the very least, there will be a point where we have a window of time to escape. There will have to be eventually.” 

“When though?” Jahee asked, her brow furrowed. “Without it, we’re essentially sitting ducks, and we can’t predict when it’ll happen. Hours from now? Days? Weeks? Without our supplies, we can’t sustain ourselves for that long.” 

“Well...” You thought for a moment. “The window would make a distraction right?”

“If we shattered it, that’d definitely be loud. It’d be loud enough to draw a good amount to it right?”

“We could also throw other things along with it to emphasize the ruckus,” Jumin stated. “That just might be our saving grace.” 

“So...how long do we got before we have to do something? Before we have to get back to the car?” Zen asked. “If it’s even still functioning after those things get to it.” 

“Without water, we should only go three days before we need it. But we should plan to take action beforehand-” 

Jumin was cut off by Yoosung’s breath being caught from his lungs, gasping for breath as he suddenly wriggled and his face contorting wildly. 

His eyes rolled back, a limp shuddering hand reaching out to you before he fell, his jaw hardly able to stay still. 

“M-MC...” He said with a raspy voice before dropping to the floor, his limbs bending and flailing uncontrollably, continuously searching for breath, his fingernails digging into the ground.

He screamed.

Through his attempts for air, he screamed.

And it felt as though it shook the very earth. 

“Yoosung!” Zen attempted to race to him, only halted when Jahee flung an arm in front of him like a concerned parent, her eyes widened in horror.

“W-What’s happening...?” You trembled, sinking back against your husband, his heartbeat beating like a drum quicker than you could blink.

Yet no one openly answered.

It wasn’t something that needed it. 

You tightened your hold on the pistol, pulling back on the hammer, raising it slightly. 

And with the sound, everything became silent.

You watched as Yoosung’s nails stopped grinding at the wooden floors, flattening out his fingers as he raised his upper body for a moment.

Crimson seeped from his lips and nose, amounting into a small puddle beneath his hidden face, his once desperate breaths now heavy and ragged as if he were a panting animal.

Yet through those horrid breaths, he managed to speak, his words now guttural and brittle.

“I-I’m scared...” 

“I-I’m so...so scared.” 

You took a step forward, Jumin reaching out, grabbing onto your shoulder, shaking his head cautiously. 

But you continued, if only in place. 

“Y-Yoosung...a-are you okay?”

“P-Please...” He whispered. 

And as you watched him raise his head, you knew it was too late.

“Help me!” 

For he was already the monster he had feared so much.

[bronzerandlouboutins-blog]

6 Simple Job Search Tips People Always Forget - The Muse

A job search website cannot, of course, guarantee you a job--not even a paid subscription service like TheLadders, but they may help you get your foot into the door. Think of them as your back-up plan, and spend the majority of energy on the important building blocks of the career search process: career assessment, career research, and mapping out an effective job search. No online service can equal the results that are possible for a well-conducted networking campaign. But in today's wired world, no job search should proceed without them. They keep your resume in circulation 24/7. They publish a tremendous amount data, and offer a certain amount of guidance and support. The trick is knowing how to use them effectively. You should prefer sites that offer something of real value before you give them anything...including your email address. This could be a free report, a self-administered career assessment or list of sample job descriptions. Take a look at what they offer. If you like what you see, sign up for their email newsletter or register as a client. Usually, you can tell a bad job search website in seconds. If the pages are "link farms"--with little or no content and masses of links to other sites or product offerings--don't waste your time. Don't waste your money, and above all else, never trust a site like this with your personal and/or financial information!

Similar Sites:

whatresume.net

www.indeed.com

breakthroughresumes.com

www.resumeshelpservice.com

www.inforati.com.ph

thebalancecareers.com

With such business contact details in-hand, and having identified plenty of companies to research for the job you seek, begin to customize your resumes for each firm. Again - don't be shy. Use each resume as your professional billboard, so to speak, to highlight your skills and successful experiences in solving specific work-floor issues, and have statistics to confirm it. Then utilize the email addresses, fax numbers and other hiring-agent contact data to release your customized resumes - one at a time -- directly to the offices of each hiring authority (and/or to the closest contact to them), including HR; later, if things go well, let the hiring manager(s) guide you through HR processing. Prove it to yourself, when you impress the primary hiring-authority, and their associates, with know-how to repair their workplace issues - combined with a teamwork attitude -- they draw their own conclusions, without the candidate speaking a word; as workplace performance statistics, confirm your success with similar issues. As you can see, whether on your resume, or cited in a phone call, or in emails, wherever - workplace statistics illustrate your results as they lend authority to any claims of anticipated performance if hired. Find  6 Simple Job Search Tips People Always Forget - The Muse. The ability to search multiple job sites at once is important. Companies use a wide range of job posting services and websites. If you limit your search to only one or two, you miss out on valuable job opportunities and this can hinder your chances of landing a job. It is rare to find a job search app for smart phones that enables you to apply via an uploaded resume. That is why being able to email a job listing to yourself is advised. Most apps will direct you to the job ad and you may be able to apply for the job using the online job application, but you will have to type this document on your phone.

Currently Interviewing for:

Insurance Adjuster

Project Manager

It Director

Treasurer

Marketing Technologist

Accounts Receivable/Payable Specialist

Whatever you do, don't be intrusive with any inquiries you may make via these channels, this is not corporate espionage, just a job search, so remain professional at all times, maybe make comments in-reply to others' postings, re-tweet with comments, etc. - or, maybe -- wait till you have a good idea of whom you may want to contact or reply to first and exactly what you want to say and ask, all the while capturing names, job titles, email addresses, fax and phone numbers and desk-extension numbers, and user names from business groups, social networks and forums you haunt. Those details often lead to obvious decision-makers and other employees within the companies you pursue; and sometimes it leads to companies unfamiliar to you, who later become employer-prospects, too. Monster.com is arguably the best global platform for job seekers. It comes loaded with advice for the job hunter. Great content on the site includes a "how to" on putting together a resume that rocks the world, well-written job descriptions, interviewing tips, and lots of salary information. Reading newspapers and magazines to get leads: You can also get leads for your job search through reading of newspapers and magazines. You can uncover leads by (i) monitoring the business sections for companies signing new commercial and contracts which portends a good sign for increased capacity. (ii) search for companies receiving venture capital. Such companies are likely to have a viable business model and will inevitably need new employees.

Related Searches:

'Financial Planner Summary Cover Letter Writing'

'Compensation Manager Resume Examples'

'Treasury Cash Management Resume'

'Lead Budget Analyst Resume'

'List Of Budgeting Skills Resume'

'CTO Resume Cover Letter Writing'

Seem too intrusive? It's not. It's only about getting hired. Most folks who receive such phone calls, emails, chat or IM messages or those whom respond to tweets or comment on postings made previously on that or some other social-mobi system - most of us, worldwide, don't mind to help. So don't be afraid to ask for information. (TACTIC #2) It's easier than you think. Prior to constructing each custom resume, perform research about each company you choose to pursue - this is serious business so organize and get on with the work ASAP and stay focused or you may lose your nerve to complete the tasks - discover the actual names of decision-makers who would approve, or contribute to a decision to, hire for the department or job-title or vocational specialty that you intend to pursue with each employer-prospect. And in your research, as you discover each business' most urgent workplace hiring needs in your job specialty, you discover exactly which of your job skills and industry experiences to use to create a custom resume, and which related employment statistics may best impress each hiring manager. Are you looking for a job? Would you like to work in the retail industry? You can find a large selection of retail jobs hiring now with a simple internet search online. On that same note, there are some factors you should take into consideration when job searching for retail jobs online.

Reading a job listing is an important step because vital information is provided. In addition to determining if the job is something that you'd enjoy doing, you can determine if you are wasting your time by applying. For example, if Company A is hiring for a part-time overnight cashier and you cannot work overnights - you know not to bother applying for the job. Don't waste time on job listings with hours that you cannot work or jobs with requirements you do not come close to meeting; focus your attention on more promising leads. It is not all the job openings that are normally advertised. There are some hidden job markets. This is because some recruiters and employers sometimes recruit job seekers that are recommended to them by colleagues, friends and sometimes associates. I personally have once been employed through this means. You should therefore get acquainted with potential employers with a view to having a pre-knowledge of available jobs before they are advertised by developing your contact network. To advertise your availability in the job market, you need to get the names of the professionals in your field. You need to ask faculty, alumni and peers on how to contact such persons. Also, directories, association listings, professional bodies, alumni associations, job search clubs and telephone books are veritable source of such names. To get reliable information about any job listing in any organization the best person to contact is the supervisor or manager of the position you are interested in. Is the job search technique you presently use effective enough to land you the dream job you have always coveted? Are you sure you will get the desired interview invitations from using the conventional job search techniques? We hiring managers have realized that to get your dream job, you need to ditch the conventional job hunting techniques and utilize the unconventional job search tactics especially if you want your job seeking to be result oriented. This is because such tactics are more proactive because you the job seeker will set the pace of your search campaign. Further, they are highly targeted because they focus on specific industries, geographic areas, employers and positional types. They are also customized because they help in emphasizing your individuality by weaving your personality and career related values into your resume. Our objective here in this article is to identify such techniques you can use to land your dream job.

[witchofleviathan-blog]

Religion and Debate Servers Master List Pt.1

Islamic Thought https://discordapp.com/invite/9dtFXY8 HOLY  The HOLY server, is an international discord community dedicated to debates on politics, philosophy, religion, current events; and everything in between. We promote a friendly approach to debating and discussion. We accept everyone. You will find lively VC and text debates, as well as a variety of roles and ranks for political, philosophical, ethical, and religious positions.  - Good mods that maintain civility and respect of TOS  - Debate Nights, AMAs and other such events coming soon PLEASE JOIN US THROUGH THIS LINK: https://discordapp.com/invite/kh2fmtE 24/7 Christian Talk 24/7 Christian Chat! https://discordapp.com/invite/B3PwcR5 Al Nazrani  A server for religious discussion, specifically made for Christians or those, who are interested in the faith. Religious discussion is always welcome so no matter what your religion is, you can share your thoughts. https://discordapp.com/invite/AMRdG2M philosophy religion talk  Looking for a place and people to talk religion with? Look no further than "philosophy religion talk"! Here you will find a diverse group of people will different beliefs who enjoy discussing such controversial matters! - Roles to describe your religious ideology! - Lots of different people from different cultures to converse with! - Daily debates! - Lots of interesting personalities! o_o If you're looking for a place for dialogue and different opinions, be sure to check us out! Thanks for reading! https://discordapp.com/invite/8DwfXma Religion And Philosophy  Religion and Philosophy brings people from all different nationalities and religions together where we can discuss political and religious alongside philosophical differences. These people that may have a hatred towards a specific religion can speak with the specialists and this is all under control with our highly trained staff team. https://discordapp.com/invite/xRhQazn The Politics | The Politics is a server for both intellectual and casual discourse from a range of topics. It's home to the number #1 politics community on Discord and always seeks to improve itself for the users. | Rank systems and ideological roles of all types! | Sound and active community each day! | Events weekly! | Fair moderation and rules to keep a healthy community! | Guest speakers and verified users! ️ | Server communities for specific discourse! Join and apply for membership today! https://discordapp.com/invite/jgdSMFb Debate Central  We are a very active, family-friendly community debate server for Discord, unlike any other. We offer: ~Political debate ~Philosophical debate ~General debates (featuring anything and almost everything) ~A family-friendly, clean community ~And much, much more! Freedom of speech is one of our greatest priorities. We highly encourage our members to bring up and partake in discussions meaningful to them. https://discordapp.com/invite/r6dNKK3 Prayer Fort  Prayer Fort is a dedicated Christian prayer group with emphasis on deliverance and gifts of the Holy Spirit. We want to see a mighty move of God, we do group fasting and frequent group prayer sometimes set to music, or check out the religious debate channel and get in on the discussion! https://discordapp.com/invite/uFxzQzr I Can't Believe It's Not Politics  This is Discord's newest debate server! We feature active chats, fair and unbiased staff, and lots of fun bots. We are here to have fun, but also have a place for you to have mature debate as well. We welcome everyone and we hope you come join us too! (MrBATMAN is in here too) Also our reviews are being trolled by children who raided our server, so please give us a chance before putting it aside because of that.. https://discordapp.com/invite/3PyJPEg

Islamic Discussion  Ask questions about Islam, discuss, debate, learn, or have your doubts answered. https://discordapp.com/invite/V2wTMTw The Right Lounge  We are a right-wing community dedicated to discussing and debating world issues! We hold daily polls, and have dozens of self-assignable roles to choose from! Currently at 265+ members! https://discordapp.com/invite/PShqXNa The Sacred Grove  A chill server dedicated to respectful interfaith discussion! https://discordapp.com/invite/SXDyyBd Gnostcord  This brand new server is dedicated to discussing and promoting Gnostic theology in all of its forms. Gnosticism is an ancient religious movement that overlaps with several mainstream religions. There are Christian Gnostics, Manicheans, ancient Jewish Gnostics, even modern Pagans who consider themselves Gnostics. If you're familiar with Dharmic religion you may find many familiar concepts within Gnosticism, and if you're a follower of a religion that emphasizes the Divine Feminine you may also hear things that are familiar to you. Whatever our differences, we come together on the basis that spiritual growth comes from inner contemplation and knowledge of God through direct experience (Gnosis), and that the end goal is Theosis (unity with God, or the realization of our own divine nature). Esotericism is welcome but the theology and texts of Gnosticism are the main focus. We are open to all, even non-Gnostics, as long as your mind is open and you don't troll. https://discordapp.com/invite/s4p3utP Free Christians  This is a server for Christians and non-Christians to gather and discuss their faiths in peace. The aim of this server is to provide a safe space for all people, whether you be a Christian, Muslim, Satanist, or atheist, gay, bisexual, or transgender, all are welcome here. https://discordapp.com/invite/gb82TDk Eyxucism  This server is religion based, we worship the entity known as Eyxu, along with other Prime Entities. Once you join you will be a part of Eyxucism. We hope you enjoy your time on the server. https://discordapp.com/invite/3t6fz8K Political Discourse  Welcome to Political Discourse. We are an extremely open minded political discord community that allows for the discussion of all political, economic, religious, and other idealogical belief structures. https://discordapp.com/invite/CuarNMw Hellenismos  A small server for people who worship the Greek Gods! https://discordapp.com/invite/tnMZ5fA Politics, Religion, and History  I see I've already got your attention! 3/5 won't join this server-are you just another statistic? Of course, you're not! Come join this engaging community of people from all ideologies, religions, and nationalities. https://discordapp.com/invite/SbxPvFc Res Publica  Salvete, amici! We are a brand new political server that aims to be an inclusive, open forum for debate and discussion, but also for casual socialization, with many different channels for different topics. -Discuss matters of politics, philosophy, religion, and science, talk about current events, and listen to other people's perspectives in a civil environment. -Get to know people, geek out, and make some friends; maybe even play a game or two! -Choose from a veritable treasure trove of different roles to outline your personal beliefs, free to be modified as they shift. -Democratic moderation system, where you, the users, get to vote on new staff members and changes to the server! Anyone of any political affiliation and background is welcome! https://discordapp.com/invite/dwQCusA The Civil Scholar  Hello! This is a brand new server so there really aren't many members but we are hoping to have growth. We accept all view points and encourage each other to listen with an open mind to each member. There are sensitive and mature topics being discussed so please, ages 16+ only. We are looking for a large range of religious and political views so any and all are welcome! We are friendly to all as long as they respect each other's opinions and try not to push themselves or their beliefs. This server is run by a debate loving Satanist, so there already is some diversity in opinion. Don't be afraid to drop in, say hi, and possibly stay a while. Once there are enough members I will begin to announce debate topics and questions for civil discussion. You, as a member, also have the ability to make topic suggestions and ask any questions you'd like. As well as debate, we also have analysis and discussion of new articles, proposed laws, trends, social media posts, etc. Again, not very many members now but stick around for the growth! Thank you! https://discordapp.com/invite/KvpkhQY Philopolitics  New politics and philosophy server! Any ideology with anyone allowed!  - All ideologies allowed - Nitro giveaways - Events - Everyone welcome https://discordapp.com/invite/jwgtq75 Hope And Faith Christian Server  Friendly Christian Server For people TO Chat Mingle and Get Support (biblical Or Not) https://discordapp.com/invite/bUkYDvJ /ecclesia catholica/  Catholicism oriented server for everyone https://discordapp.com/invite/9rGBHqQ Leitourgia  An Orthodox Christian based server that discusses theology and life in general. All are welcomed to join and take part. https://discordapp.com/invite/7AQGwZe International Politics  Talk about religion, philosophy or politics and meet people with the same or different point of view as you! https://discordapp.com/invite/2Qr9Uzr Theo Lounge  A place for people of all religions to hang out together and have a nice time making friends with each other and talking about anything. (NSFW allowed) https://discordapp.com/invite/VJCCgaE Ahmadiyya True Islam - NOT - OFFICIAL  In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful WELCOME TO AHMADIYYAT, THE TRUE ISLAM Love for all, Hatred for None https://discordapp.com/invite/cQPan3G

[podcake]

February Finds: Wooden Overcoats Review

I suppose you could say the theme for this month’s reviews are the shows I’ve known about for at least a year but I haven’t quite gotten around to discussing. I’m weird about what I choose to review and when and I can’t say I know why I slacked off on Our Fair City and Wooden Overcoats for so long. 

All I was certain of was that I wanted them to share the same space together, that they held some form of similarity I couldn’t quite shake off. Much like the past year where I grouped Hadron Gospel Hour and The Meat Blockade into a duel review month, there was some sort of connection between these two shows I can’t always phrase properly. 

I suppose the first question here is obvious: How can one create a compelling show about funeral homes? How can one create a compelling a show about competing funeral homes? I’m not entirely sure myself but the people at Audioscribble seem to have this figured out.

Wooden Overcoats is the story of  Rudyard Funn as he continues to run the a funeral parlor in the remote island of Piffling Vale alongside his socially awkward sister Antigone Funn and the hyper competent and snarky assistant Georgie Crusoe all told from the point of view from his only real friend, a mouse. 

He used to be the only one funeral parlor in town, that is until a more charming and handsome lad by the name of Eric Chapman sets up shop with his own funeral home and gains the immediate success and adoration Rudyard has been wanting for years. 

The premise is as simple as that and from it comes a surprisingly satisfying bit of comedy and conflict. The formula here is rather simple in context:  

Our protagonist struggles with feelings of superiority and the burning drive of competition in a business one he didn’t expect he’d ever have to face. His peace of being the only one of his kind in his village is disrupted and now he must deal with these budding emotions in a mature and sophisticated manor...which he doesn’t.

A large majority of humor is derived from this alone, from misunderstanding after misunderstanding, scheme after scheme, and struggle after struggle that more likely than not will end in failure. It’s one of those shows.

Wooden Overcoats relies on a brand of black comedy that threads itself throughout each and every scene. This is, after all, a show about funerals and managing businesses around them, so the death related humor here is inevitable, made all the more poignant by it’s rather quirky cast of characters. 

This makes an excellent way to present the show’s central premise without overwhelming the viewer, never letting the weight of its topic be handled too seriously. It turns the morbidity of death on its head with quick witted banter and very off-the-wall, very British experience. 

What with all the horror podcasts out there, it’s nice to have an audio drama that takes the bleakness of death and despair and pokes a little fun at it. And for that, it’s rather refreshing. 

In terms of presentation, Wooden Overcoats is one of the best you’ll find. I’ve been bringing up audio editing lately, though I can’t emphasize enough how good craftsmanship can make or break a show.

Wooden Overcoats has a much more simple display and setting than Our Fair City though both are poignant in their editing for the same reasons. They’re both well aware of their setting and mood and know how to make it known in each and every scene.

Good and clever writing is all fine and dandy but it’s delicate packaging that really makes the effort matter. The same could be said for voice acting which is, once again, a detail that may seem small but makes all the difference whether a not a punchline lands. Wooden Overcoats succeeds in this area as well, every one of the actors seeming to be thoroughly enjoying themselves and clearly having a blast.

When the voice actors are having fun, we as an audience are having fun and that makes the experience all the more intimate which I think is especially vital for a show meant to make you laugh. 

And there is something oddly humorous about the position our characters are in, how they desperately thrive to get as many caskets filled as they can in their small village, eagerly awaiting for a cough to become a heart attack and for an old man to reach their final moments all for the sake of making a profit. This may or may not make the leads seem unsympathetic or simply unlikable, but I suppose this is all a matter of perspective.

Without the funeral home gig and the whole managing a business excuse, Rudyard would possibly be a psychopath. He’s a typical unsympathetic comedy protagonist trope and that may or may not be your thing when it comes to a main character. 

I suppose the main issue with Overcoats could be its characters in general. They are most certainly enjoyable in a comedic setting but not much else, making any possible changes of tone feel awkward. Not that they aren’t engaging, they just don’t really provoke...well, sympathy.

And sympathy might be a crucial point when you see our lead constantly being screwed over by his own desperation. He’s almost always the loser which is a formula that is certainly entertaining, but can get stale when its put on repeat. 

That might just be the joke and I’ve listened to much more dark comedies with odder characters that are legitimate murderers and manipulators, but there’s always the underlying issue of the comedy and tragedy combo could easily evoke apathy from the audience. 

Sometimes a character can simply be too pathetic, too petty, too simply awful to truly care about the struggles of, even if it is the underlying point to their suffering. And that’s what most of my favorite comedies seem to have in common: this sense of suffering. 

In 2014 you could never get me to shut up about Kakos Industries, to this day I still consider Hadron Gospel Hour to be one of the funniest podcasts out there, and The Meat Blockade is a piece of highly underappreciated Kafkaesque inspired passion put into form. 

And what do all these shows have in common? They’re about people being put into compromising scenarios, some of which they concoct themselves, and having to find a way out. Overcoats doesn’t have the same scheme of a fantastical setting or supernatural forces beyond the unpredictability of life and a mouse narrator, but it has the same idea nonetheless. 

I am an avid fan of comedy audio drama but only a fraction of what I’ve found has managed to make me laugh out loud. Wooden Overcoats has squeezed itself into this rare category of the comedy audio drama that generates genuine, cheerful laughter from its listeners. 

I’m talking laughs that start in the belly and blow air out of your nose and there’s nothing better than consuming episode after episode just to get more of this contagious humor in your system. 

A personal show of quality in my book, for a podcast at least, is the need to keep listening. If a podcast can master the art of becoming the audio version of a “page-turner”, than their mission has been well accomplished. 

While The Penumbra musters this through interesting cases and a stand-out setting and Wolf 359 has its excellent drama, Wooden Overcoats is simply what it sets out to be: funny.

So I highly recommenced giving Wooden Overcoats a peak. You might just die laughing. 

[5hfanfiction]

Wicked Games (Chapter 6)

“I need to tell you something.”

She peeked over my shoulder once more, and I no longer heard voices so I assumed everyone was gone. She looked back in my eyes and directly affirmed, “Dinah knows.”

My mouth popped open. “How?” I shrieked.

Lauren’s face bunched up as she explained, “Dinah heard us.”

“You mean you,” I said automatically. The habit of teasing Lauren was a strong one.

She looked at me in disbelief for a moment, “You just can’t help yourself can you?”

“Nope, not really,” I admitted with no hesitation and a blank expression.

She rolled her beautiful emeralds, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips. Then the smile faltered as she continued, “Dinah got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and…” Lauren paused, squeezing her eyes shut in embarassment and forced out the remaining words, “and she heard me moaning.”

“Yikes,” was all I could say.

“She said that she went into denial about it, hoping she was just imagining things. Then she saw our faces this morning after what Ally said.. and it basically confirmed it for her,” Lauren clarified.

I swallowed, remembering Dinah’s detective stare from earlier today.

“So what did you say?” I asked, suddenly concerned for her.

“I mean.. it’s not like I could refute it. I just told her the truth. That yes we had sex, but that was the first time.. and that would be the only time.. right?” she gazed into my eyes after that remark.

My eyebrows creased immediately. “Wait, what?” the words left my mouth instinctually but I instantly wanted them back. I didn’t want her to know that despite my determination to end things, deep-down I was hoping for it to happen again. I blinked and shifted my gaze to the floor.

My confusion was difficult to hide though. Wasn’t she the one who kissed me this morning? Also, I was supposed to be the one who decided to end it. Now she was going to think she had the upperhand.

I was also extremely disappointed to hear her say that she also didn’t want to continue. But maybe it’s for the best. She’s straight and I need to focus on getting Emma back anyway.

Lauren’s voice returned, “I mean, like we talked about this morning. I’m not gay,” she managed to say the word this time, although she emphasized ‘not’ more heavily than was necessary. I almost started to call her out on it, but she continued before I could, “and Dinah talked to me about it and she was worried. She doesn’t want our situation to hurt the team and-”

“Neither do I,” we both said in unison.

Our eyes met, but she quickly glanced away. An awkward silence fell between us.

“I agree,” I said hesitantly. I paused to make sure she was paying attention and then added “This doesn’t need to happen again.” I spoke the words, but I didn’t mean them. As much as I hated to admit it, the truth was that I wanted to kiss Lauren again. Really, I wanted to have sex with Lauren again. However, I knew that it was pointless to go after her. She is probably over it. She probably got it out of her system.

Another awkward silence fell between us. I peeked up at her face and noticed her facial features were pretty tense. Her eyebrows were close to her eyes and her lips were pursed together. I could not stop my eyes from searching her face, finding tiny blemishes, a slight smudge in her makeup by her eye and some tiny freckles on and around her nose. There was a tiny scar by her right eyebrow that I had never noticed before, and I instantly began wondering how she got it.

“Ok,” she said quietly, before turning around to the exit, hiding her face from my prying eyes. She walked out of the gym without a second glance.

I exhaled loudly. I no longer felt on top of the world.

I arrived at my Health Professional Issues class, tired and grumpy. It was normally a very boring class that consisted of mainly common sense issues in the healthcare field that the professor clearly dragged on and on for as long as he possibly could.

I choked on my water when he announced the topic for the day. Inappropriate Relationships. What a crazy coincidence. A few kids sitting next to me and infront of me turned to look at the commotion with concerned expressions, but I waved them off as I got my coughing under control. My cheeks burned in embarassment and I quickly put my water away.

How severely fitting. What me and Lauren did was amazing, but it was highly inappropriate. We’re teammates for Gods sakes. I’ve never gotten involved with a teammate. It’s simply a recipe for disaster. The relationship could drastically affect the team dynamic. If we had a blowout, a disagreement, or a breakup of sorts, the team would be affected. Plus, we’re forced to see eachother everyday, and that would make things too difficult. I’ve seen and heard about multiple cases of teammates dating, or having sex, and it going wrong, and ruining a team.

With thoughts of Lauren constantly distracting me, I did my best to listen and take notes. However, I ended up having to ask the kid next to me for a few things I missed at the end of the class.

There were countless examples presented to me in that class of consequences for engaging in distasteful relationships, atleast from a healthcare professional standpoint. You would think that would reassure me in the fact that we ended whatever we were before it really started, but it didn’t. Logically, it reinforced what I already knew. Unfortunately, deep-down, my desire for Lauren was way too strong, and now that it had gotten her once, it wanted her all the more.

Walking back towards my car, I thought about the first time I had considered what it would be like to be with Lauren as more than friends. It really didn’t take me long after meeting her to start thinking about that..

//

The second week into the start of the school year in my sophomore year and Lauren’s freshman year, the athletic department was holding a tailgate for the Volleyball team’s first game.

The basketball team was assigned to the outside court, where people could challenge us to a freethrow competition and win prizes. Our booth was surprisingly popular and lots of people were in line to play us. It went on for nearly two hours, and our booth never seemed to grow empty of challengers.

I was standing next to Lo, getting rebounds if they came towards us, but really not doing much but cheering, since we had so many people around to get the rebounds. That’s when a random guy in line, came up to her and started talking to her.

I was almost impressed by how bold he was being. He asked for her name, where she was from, about the booth, about being on the team, and then of course, he asked for her number. She was clearly uncomfortable the whole time, and to be honest, the guy was nowhere near the realm of her league. I didn’t know if I should go over there and help her or not, since I had really only known her for a week, so I just stayed put. She clearly was having trouble finding a way to put him down easy, so she reluctantly gave him an obviously fake number.

When the guy finally went away, she put her face in her hands in exasperation, and then rushed towards her roommates, Dinah and Normani, who were standing in the shade, taking a water break with a few other teammates. She started talking really fast to them, throwing her arms up in the air, and the girls started to giggle. I decided to walk over there and give my two cents.

“Did that guy really ask for your number?” I asked knowingly.

She turned to find me and put her hand on my shoulder, “Oh my god, yes Camila! It was so awkward! I didn’t know what to do!” she exclaimed.

“I saw him talking to you. I just didn’t know whether to help or not,” I said laughing.

“Please help next time!” Lauren pleaded. Then she narrowed her eyes slightly and added, “Next time you should just act like I’m your girlfriend or something.”

My eyes widened slightly, but her roommates and all of our teammates laughed at the suggestion. Dinah even exclaimed, “Yes!”

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind for next time,” I said with a wink.

Lauren surprised me with how comfortable she appeared to be around me. I barely knew her and yet she talked to me as if we were good friends. It made me feel.. elated.

It didn’t take long before yet another guy was hitting on Lauren. It was difficult to take her out places in public. The girl was gorgeous, and she always had someone trying to come up to her.

I hesitated, wondering whether I should do it or not. She seemed a little more comfortable talking to that guy, plus he was much better-looking. Then I saw her look back towards our group, a light smile on her face, but also looking slightly anxious.

I decided 'oh what the hell’ and told the group of teammates around me to watch this.

I walzed over to Lauren and wrapped one arm around her waist, enjoying the feel of her slim body and curvy hips. Then for good measure I loudly stated, “Hey babe,” to which Lauren looked at me and grinned, barely containing her amusement. I pulled her closer to me and then challengingly asked the guy, “What’s your name?”

He said his name is Mike. To which I said my name is Camila. His dark brown eyes awkwardly looked between us two, and he stammered out a jarbled sentence that was probably adding on to their previous conversation, and then quickly said his goodbyes.

Once he was out of earshot, I released my grip on Lauren, and we both turned to eachother. We made eye-contact for a moment. She raised her eyebrows at me and then we both bursted out into a fit of laughter.

We rejoined our teammates, and relayed what had happened. Everyone got a kick out of it. I wrapped one of my arms around Lauren’s shoulders and stated smoothly, “What can I say? People really gotta back off my girlfriend.”