#and you lack any semblance of critical thought or reasoning ability

[rapdogmon]

Nah fr I wanna see what delusional moron thinks the fault is on people who’s concerned is anti-genocide and not the campaign completely neglecting the democratic voter base in favor of trying to win a handful of votes from people who will NEVER vote for them.

holy shit kill yourself actually

[itsclydebitches]

FNDM: Powerlevels are just a mechanic for video games, what really matters is what the fight accomplishes!

Also FNDM: Ironwood struggled beating up that twig Watts, what a weak loser lol.

I’m not going to pretend that I wasn’t a little surprised when the story started setting up a Watts fight, just because of the long-standing implication that he was just the tech dude, but at least (to my recollection) RWBY never included things that outright steered us away from that idea. That’s my problem with Maria suddenly busting out moves against Neo. She’s animated as this hunched, slow-moving, cane-needing old lady who gets to be pushed through the snow because she can't possibly walk that far. She’s been traveling with a group that continually enters combat situations and never once, prior to now, helped them out. She’s supposed to be Ruby’s mentor, but never offered to train her. All of this, combined with the show not treating her skill reveal like a deliberately hidden twist—there are no nearby allies to exclaim in shock, no lines from Maria explaining why she’d keep this hidden—makes the writing feel inconsistent. Watts though? It works. He is primarily the tech dude, but that doesn’t eliminate other skills, and because he’s the tech dude no one expects him to act otherwise unless that’s necessary (like being unexpectedly cornered by Ironwood when he went to do sabotaging tech things to Amity). And he’s not been around for most major battles (like Haven) rather than deliberately sitting them out for unestablished reasons. The Watts vs. Ironwood fight is one of the best we’ve gotten in years and I think that’s partly due to how they’re balanced. Both possess aura that allow them to accomplish incredible, physical feats. (Skinniness/bulk means nothing in a world where magic is the linchpin of all battles. Ruby is a "twig" too.) Both—we thought at the time—lacked a semblance. Both use guns for a long-range fight. And though Ironwood undoubtably has more experience, what with being a huntsmen and general, Watts levels that playing field by using technology to his advantage: manipulating the tower and, eventually, catching him in a trap. Honestly, this fight makes the most sense since Qrow had to step in and help RNJR against Tyrian!

Putting aside that double standard though—which just exists to dismiss any unwanted analysis of Ironwood: don’t think about the show and criticize it, but if you do “read into” things the only possible conclusion here is that he’s incompetent—I’m always surprised that fans don’t get that we should have both power levels and fights that accomplish something for the story. This is a battle webseries. If there’s no sense of who is stronger than who and how we measure that, then there’s no growth for the characters to undergo and no stakes for us to get invested in. What if I went, “In Volume 9 Cardin somehow shows up and single-handedly kicks Ruby’s ass”? If the reaction to that is disbelief to any extent—but Ruby is a prodigy! Cardin was a joke character not meant to be very strong! He couldn’t land a hit on Pyrrha! He hasn’t spent the last five volumes honing his skills through deadly combat!—then congrats, you’re invested in RWBY’s power levels and are actively looking for details to support your understanding of it. No fan actually wants a fighting show without some understanding of who is stronger than who and why that’s the case. How detailed an understanding each fan will want varies (a lot), but without some kind of framework, it’s just a senseless free-for-all.

However, a good power level system shouldn’t limit the author’s ability to use fights for a greater purpose in the story, it just requires utilizing aspects of a fight outside of that power. There are things like luck. Mistakes. Strategy. Priorities other than winning, etc. How many times has Goku, clearly the strongest person on the battlefield, been (temporarily) defeated by his overly trusting nature? Or, in one memorable case, a heart condition? How many times has he defeated other, stronger opponents through one particularly good idea—such as holding Raditz so Piccolo can blast through both of them? Moments like these are compelling because they tell us something about the character’s personality (trusting), their priorities (backs down now that a friend is threatened), or what they’re willing to sacrifice (their life). With a bit of thought and creativity, any weaker character should be able to beat a stronger opponent, especially in a team-based show. RWBY has the general idea in places… just not the execution. Yang’s recent fall remains the easiest example. Having her love for Ruby resulting in a “fatal” blow is the exact kind of situation I’m talking about, it’s just that the episode speed-rushed that conclusion and tried to explain too much with a single sword slash. If Yang had been allowed to fight for a long time, if we saw her aura get low/break, if she was still awake when she fell, if all her teammates tried to help her, but a series of events prevented her from getting to safety… that moment would have been great. The author just needs to put in the work to make that unexpected win or loss believable.

Funnily enough, I think Volumes 7-8 did the best work here in regards to Ironwood. I believe that a general and member of Ozpin’s inner circle is skilled enough to personally join the Battle for Beacon. I believe that he and Watts were fairly even until Watts springs a trap and I likewise believe that someone as determined as Ironwood could pull his arm out to win. I believe that when it’s five on one, even a fighter of his skill will, likely, lose if the fight is drawn out and he fails to come up with a quick-fix way to win. And I believe that he could go toe-to-toe with Winter up until she’s imbued with magical powers that result in a K.O. There are details that are lacking at times—giving Ironwood that ridiculous gun, being inconsistent about exactly how powerful Maidens are compared to average fighters—but on the whole his fights make sense in a way many others in RWBY don’t nowadays. Which is just one reason why many fans are frustrated. There was so much good attached to Ironwood’s character. I don’t mean morally good, I mean good writing: a complex personality, difficult decisions, cool combat, fights that felt fair and earned and exciting in their believability. Tossing all that away for the nonsense we got later—Ironwood randomly wants to bomb people now, Ironwood has a clunky gun-gun that makes his combat look stupid, etc.—is, in some ways, worse than just getting bad content from the get-go.

RWBY needs a clear hierarchy of power and the creativity to make outcomes surprising anyway. It also needs the willingness to stick to what its established, rather than tossing it away in the name of a new goal. Ironwood is a larger, non-combat example of what you've referenced, anon. The writers wanted to accomplish a secondary villain... so they got rid of all the work they'd done with his character to get that, while simultaneously failing to do new work to explain this unexpected change. It's the "Yang taking a deadly blow for Ruby is a great idea, but how it was done isn't believable" expanded to an entire volume. And now we're left with many fans who are eager to buy into the message RWBY landed on—Ironwood is irredeemably evil and that's all there is to say on the matter—resulting in this intense desire to reframe everything he's ever done as evidence for that conclusion. Nothing from past volumes is allowed to be nuanced, heroic, or even just cool anymore. Ironwood had one of the best fights in recent years? Nah, now that he's a bad guy that fight is actually just evidence of how incompetent he is. Power levels don't matter when their existence would lead to a critique someone doesn't want to hear; they definitely exist when it makes characters a fan doesn't like look bad. A very versatile system!

[giantsreach]

part of having written carver since like. 2013/14 is that i can never remember which topics i’ve posted meta on but i’m pretty sure i haven’t discussed his banter with fenris in-depth on this blog yet.

i think something that rubs me the wrong way about the way carver and fenris often interact in fan work is that there tends to be an underlying and fundamental misunderstanding about why carver approaches fenris in the manner he does. i’ve seen a lot of carver talking out of his ass to fenris for no reason other than a ) he thinks he knows better, and/or b ) his overly critical eye wants to fault-find. + he’s annoying or smth to that effect. 🙄

these interpretations tend to neglect the actual driving force behind carver interacting with fenris in the first place, and that’s that carver has had little exposure to other warriors. apart from his time in king cailin’s army, he was peerless ( literally ) in his field, and only interacted with his fellow swordspeople when they passed through town via the imperial highway. 

now, there is aveline, of course, but the writing makes it clear that aveline takes on the role of yet another older sibling ( or family of a similar, authoritative position ) in his life, and as such, doesn’t quite qualify as a peer in the traditional sense.

this likely isn’t the most flattering way of phrasing it, but carver wants friends. people who he can relate to, who share his interests and background, who find him as compelling as he finds them. carver may seem prickly or sullen in act i ( and he certainly is at times ), but he’s also experiencing two-prongs of isolation:

     1 ) cultural, as a fereldan refugee in a city-state that doesn’t try to hide its hatred of foreign asylum-seekers, and      2 ) mundane, as a displaced young man who has never quite fit in at home nor in any village they've settled in, and who has recently lost the family member closest to him, and who watches his surviving sibling pick up new companions left and right as if it’s not at all difficult.

cut to fenris, who is a consummate swordsman. and while carver is initially on edge because he's under the impression fenris could pose a threat to hawke, once the tension is dispelled, he's far from opposed to fenris's presence. if anything, carver is eager for his approval. fenris is, aside from aveline, the only warrior carver gets to spend any considerable amount of time with, and he's singular in his skill and ability. it's plain to see why someone like carver, starved for peers, would want to establish some kind of rapport with someone as exemplary as fenris.

the problem is, naturally, that carver — nineteen and having never learned to read socialize properly, due in equal parts to growing up sheltered as well as having poor self-confidence — cannot stop himself from saying shit that is so mind-blowingly stupid, that it is a wonder fenris was as forbearing as he was. i'm talking about:

Carver: So... this master of yours wants your markings back? Skin and all? Fenris: So his hunters told me. Unwillingly. Carver: So why not cover them up? Wouldn't that make you harder to find? Fenris: Let them come. I am not one to hide. Carver: Still, if it were me— Fenris: It's not. ─────── Carver: So you've really never thought of hiding from those hunters? Fenris: To what end? Carver: So you could, I don't know, have a life? Fenris: What life do you have? There are no hunters after you at all.

i feel like it should be obvious why these banters are in bad taste, so i won’t go into detail to lambaste carver over his blatant ignorance. the dialogue is proof itself, especially considering how little of fenris’s experience carver ( or anyone else for that matter ) can truly comprehend. 

what i will do, true to form, is explain that no, carver did not just pull that suggestion, careless as it was, out of his ass. while hawke may or may not do their best to lay low as an apostate, potentially choosing to engage then-knight-captain cullen over the unjust treatment of mages depending on player discretion, carver has internalized how malcolm guided the family. his father taught them to keep their heads down and be prepared to hit the road in case the circle caught scent of them? then that must be the best way to approach it. emotional neglect unfortunately primed carver to idealize and adopt malcolm's choices and general philosophy. this carries over even to legacy, where, regardless of carver's current character arc, carver will agree that malcolm was correct to keep secrets.

so there's fenris, right, who carver believes is in a position similar to that which the hawkes have been in. carver, attempting to help ( as he is wont to do ), wants to share what had worked for them in attaining a semblance of normalcy, not realizing or considering that that is not fenris's foremost goal. hiding is not a one-size fix-all solution, but carver hasn't expanded his horizons well enough to grasp that fully yet.

then there's largest contributors to my secondhand embarrassment in da2:

Carver: You're very different from other elves. Fenris: Oh? You know them all? Carver: No. I just... you look different. There's no denying that. Fenris: It is what I am. And unlike the problems you claim to have, I really did have no choice. Carver: Do we know anyone who isn't brooding every hour of the day? Fenris: Like attracts like, it seems. ─────── Carver: You know, Fenris, I have a tattoo. Fenris: You have a what? Carver: A tattoo. A lot of us got them before Ostagar. It's a Mabari. For strength. Fenris: Does it curse you with the ability to reach into a man and tear out his insides? Carver: Uh. I can make it bark. Fenris: Please don't.

i’ll start with the second one first. at its heart, the tattoo banter hearkens back to the fact carver wants to feel like he has something in common with someone. yes, it is cringe. but it’s also misguidedly sweet, and on top of that, it’s something carver also tries to do with merrill, who carver arguably has the friendliest dynamic with out of hawke’s crew. 

Carver: Your people came a long way Merrill, but I like to think that we have Ferelden in common. Merrill: I never saw Lothering. Did you walk as much as we did? Probably more, you didn't start with halla. Our ship stunk. Carver: Your ship? Merrill: There was something foul in the hold. I can still smell it. Carver: Oh, well, that must have been unpleasant. Merrill: It was. Did I miss something dirty again? Carver: No.

speaking of parallels, the “you’re very different from other elves” dialogue mirrors this one with merrill:

Carver: So, you're not like a lot of other girls. Merrill: No, I'm an elf. Carver: Right. Alright then. Merrill: Oh, did I miss something dirty? Carver: What? No! It wasn't dirty. It wasn't anything.

yes, i took 42069 points of psychic damage from reading that too. but the main takeaway from this is that carver is trying, poorly, to make the two people he thinks he could be friends with feel like they’re special. ( you know, like how carver wishes he was. lol. ) to disastrous results. but i think it’s more than worth mentioning that the intent behind his conversation-making is never once condescending. 

and it’s not like carver lacks self-awareness, either. after he becomes a warden and returns to the party for mark of the assassin, he admits he lacked polish.

Aveline: I'm glad you found a place with the Wardens. Carver: Well, it's not the city guard, but it'll do. Aveline: Carver... it wasn't the place for you. Carver: No, it's all right. It is. It cost a lot, but I get it. I really was a bit of a tit those days, wasn't I?

Carver: So, we're lost. Varric: Just like old times. Carver: Maker, I hope not. I was an ass. Varric: (laughs) Fair comment, Junior. All right, let's get this done.

and specifically to fenris:

Carver: Orlesians. Can't build a hallway without turning it into a maze. Fenris: Keep going. I'm sure your training will kick in any moment. Carver: Still don't like me? I've tried to change. Fenris: You have. Now you're dangerous. Let's move.

i don’t know how to end this nearly 1.5k meta, so tl;dr i guess

[mbti-mom]

Myers Briggs Cognitive Functions (How To Figure Out Your Myers Briggs Type)

It’s been awhile since I posted on here, but I wanted to post something that would be helpful. Often on the internet I see a lot of misconceptions about the Jungian cognitive functions, so I wanted to try and create more compact summaries of the functions as Jung described them. I’m currently waiting for my WikiHow article on how to figure out your cognitive functions to get approved (if it ever will), so for now I’ll just write out what I wrote for the article here.

I also added some extra notes for beginners on the bottom if you are completely new to typology and confused about what any of this means.

Without further ado, I’ll now get into the summaries.

Introverted Feeling. Jung describes introverted feelers as 'Still waters run deep' type of people. They are quite silent and inaccessible, and can be rather difficult to understand. They often act childishly or banal, and sometimes quite melancholic. They don't tend to shine, and rather keep a type of concealed air about themselves. They don't wish to change others or affect others and don't care to impress. People see them as having a sense of indifference or coldness to their behaviors. They prefer not to be emotional, but their emotions often end up infiltrating their unconscious mind. People may see them and not think that they are feeling, but their feelings are intensive rather than extensive. They develop into their depth. When they try to express sympathy, it often looks like coldness despite their intentions, due to it doing nothing visibly. They may express their aim in inconspicuous ways, preferring to put their passions into things silently. Due to this, this type may often be drawn to the arts. This type of person may particularly draw in extraverted types of people. When they are unhealthy, they may become mischievously cruel or unscrupulous in their ambition.

Extraverted Feeling. Jung describes extraverted feelers as people who follow the guiding lines of their feeling. Their personality often adjusts to external conditions, such as the people that they are talking to. Their feelings correspond with objective situations and generalized values. They often have requirements for the people that they tend to date, and these tend to be things that can be measured on an external level. People who value this function highly often repress their logic to make room for their feelings. This does not mean that this person does not think logically at all, and they could easily think a great deal. They just prefer to use their feelings as a guideline and use their logic to back up what they feel. This type of person would be described in the phrase "I cannot think what I don't feel."  When this individual is unhealthy, they tend to become a servant to their feelings. These people may have the most obsessive and hideous thoughts during this time, which breeds even further doubt in them therefore furthering the control of emotions onto them.

Introverted Thinking. Jung describes introverted thinking types as being influenced by their subjective logical ideas. They will follow their ideas internally, seeking to understand their logic with intensity. This person may have a distinct feeling that they only matter in a negative way. They often will have an indifference to objective sources and prefer to stick to their subjective ideas. With this person, everything about them externally remains concealed. Their judgment appears cold, obstinate, arbitrary, and inconsiderate, simply because they are less interested in the objective reality than the subjective thoughts. Courtesy, amiability, and friendliness may be present in their behaviors, but they often display this with uneasiness. When it comes time for them to transplant their ideas into the world, they merely expose them and are annoyed when their ideas fail to thrive in objective reality. This person often lacks practical ability, and may even have an aversion to practical matters. If in their eyes their idea seems subjectively correct and true, it must also be in practice, and others have to bow to that truth. Hardly will they ever go out of their way to win anyone's appreciation of their ideas, especially if it be anyone of influence. At their unhealthiest, they may allow themselves to be exploited in negative ways if it means that they can continue their internal pursuit of ideas. Their convictions may become rigid and unbending, and they may become incredibly isolated and dependent on their internal world.

Extraverted Thinking. Jung describes extraverted thinkers as people whose constant aim is to bring their total life activities into relation with their intellectual conclusions. These intellectual conclusions are always oriented by objective facts or generally valid ideas. This type of person gives the deciding voice to objective reality, not only to themselves but to people around them as well. They determine good and evil through this measurement, as well as beauty and ugliness. All is right that corresponds with this formula, and all is wrong that contradicts it, and everything that is neutral to it is purely accidental. The person who refuses to obey this law is unreasonable or immoral in their eyes, and without a doubt has no conscience. Purely ethical aims may lead these individuals into critical situations, which sometimes have more than a semblance of being decided by quite other than ethical motives. These people may find themselves in deplorably compromising situations, or in dire need of rescue in this case. Their resolve to save often leads to them employing means which only tend to precipitate what they most desire to avoid. At their unhealthiest points, their desire to advance the salvation of man is so consuming that they will not shrink from any lying and dishonest means in pursuit of their ideal. They may neglect their health in pursuit of their ideals, even neglecting their family or the people that they care about. They may also become incredibly dogmatic, to a rigid extent.

Introverted Sensing. Jung describes introverted sensing as a type characterized by their peculiarities. They are an irrational type, as they are guided simply by what happens to them. They may stand out by the calmness and passivity of their demeanor, or by their rational self-control. They may have an illusory conception of reality, and in the worst-case scenario may even reach a complete inability to discriminate between reality and their subjective perception of reality. Due to their lack of knowledge of objective reality, they can often appear quite strange and odd in character due to their differing perception from objective reality. When others treat them badly, they may prefer to take a position of stubbornness and resistance than to full out aggressiveness. At their unhealthiest, they are incredibly aware of every ambiguous, gloomy, and dangerous possibility in their reality.

Extraverted Sensing. Jung describes extraverted sensing as a type characterized by their attentiveness to reality. Their sense of objective facts is extraordinarily developed. Their life is an accumulation of actual experience with concrete reality. This person does not believe themselves to be subject to sensation. They would actually ridicule that statement as being inconclusive since, from their standpoint, sensation is the concrete manifestation of life. Their aim is concrete enjoyment in objective reality, and their morality is similarly orientated. For in their eyes, true enjoyment has its own special morality, its own moderation and lawfulness, its own unselfishness and devotedness. This person may have little tendency for either reflection or commanding purpose. When they wish to create in objective reality, they do so aiming to fill their senses. They may be incredibly good at putting together aesthetics, or creating great sensational experiences. At their unhealthiest, they become crude pleasure-seekers or unscrupulous hedonists. They don't see reality as a beautiful thing anymore, but rather something to use to solely feed the endless need for new sensations. They may become incredibly jealous individuals running off of high anxiety. They may even turn morbidly primitive, or extremists in behavior.

Introverted Intuition. Jung describes introverted intuition as producing a peculiar type of person. This person may be a mystical dreamer and seer on one hand, and a fantastical crank and artist on the other. There is a general tendency of this type to confine themselves into the perceptive character of intuition. The intensification of their intuition naturally often results in an extraordinary aloofness of the individual from tangible reality, they may even be a complete enigma to their own immediate social circle. If they are an artist, they reveal extraordinary, remote things in their art. Their art may be lovely and grotesque, or whimsical and sublime. They may have visions, where they think to themselves "What does this thought mean for me and the world? What emerges from this vision for me and the world?" The pure intuitive who represses judgment will never meet this question fundamentally, because their only problem is the how of perception. They concern themselves with the meanings of their visions, and troubles less about its further aesthetic possibilities than about the possible moral effects which emerge from its intrinsic significance. At their unhealthiest, they may become quite impulsive, and struggle with unrestraint. They may also have issues talking to people about their visions, as they are often arguments without convincing reason.

Extraverted Intuition. Jung describes extraverted intuition as producing a person who is always aware where possibilities exist. They have a keen nose for things that have a promising future. They can never exist in stable, long-established conditions because they are always looking for new possibilities. Stable conditions often feel suffocating to them. They take on new subjects with extreme enthusiasm and intensity, only to abandon them cold-bloodedly and seemingly out of nowhere. As long as a possibility exists, this person feels bound to it. They have their own characteristic morality, which consists in a loyalty to their intuitive view of things. At their unhealthiest, they may rely entirely upon a perception of chance and possibilities. They may become incredibly attuned to hazards in their life. They may also become a hypochondriac as their fears and phobias increase.

What do I do now?

Order your functions. You will now need to order your functions from most used to least used. You will want to choose one thinking function, one feeling function, one sensing function, and one intuition function. Then order these based on the amount that you use each of them, from most to least.

In Jungian cognitive functions, there is a rule that each function in your stack has an opposite opposing it.

These opposing functions are thinking & feeling and sensing & intuition. Each person will have one of each function, and they can only have two introverted functions and two extraverted functions. You can't have two extraverted opposing functions, nor can you have two introverted opposing functions. You also can't have two extraverted functions paired right next to each other, or two introverted functions paired next to each other.

An example of this would be the function stack of ISTJ: They lead with introverted sensing, then their auxiliary function is extraverted thinking, then their tertiary function is introverted feeling, then finally their inferior function is extraverted intuition.

Another example is the function stack of ENFP. They lead with extraverted intuition, then their auxiliary function is introverted feeling, their tertiary function is extraverted thinking, and their inferior function is introverted sensing.

Remember that lesser valued functions will not be as apparent in your life. A high introverted thinking user may not relate to the extraverted feeling description of preferring emotion over logic, and that is to be expected. The function you value less is often suppressed for the greater function until you learn to use them in harmony.

Know the names of the cognitive functions.

Each function has a name as well as an abbreviation that is commonly used.

Introverted Feeling, also commonly referred to as Fi.

Extroverted Feeling, also commonly referred to as Fe.

Introverted Thinking, also commonly referred to as Ti.

Extroverted Thinking, also commonly referred to as Te.

Introverted Sensing, also commonly referred to as Si.

Extroverted Sensing, also commonly referred to as Se.

Introverted Intuition, also commonly referred to as Ni.

Extroverted Intuition, also commonly referred to as Ne.

The Types:

ISTJ - Si-Te-Fi-Ne

ISFJ - Si-Fe-Ti-Ne

ESTJ - Te-Si-Ne-Fi

ESFJ - Fe-Si-Ne-Ti

ISTP - Ti-Se-Ni-Fe

ISFP - Fi-Se-Ni-Te

ESTP - Se-Ti-Fe-Ni

ESFP - Se-Fi-Te-Ni

INTJ - Ni-Te-Fi-Se

INFJ - Ni-Fe-Ti-Se

ENTJ - Te-Ni-Se-Fi

ENFJ - Fe-Ni-Se-Ti

INTP - Ti-Ne-Si-Fe

INFP - Fi-Ne-Si-Te

ENTP - Ne-Ti-Fe-Si

ENFP - Ne-Fi-Te-Si

Learning how to narrow types. If you find that you have a function stack that is oddly laid out, such as Ni-Ti-Fe-Se, determine the closest likely type. In the case of those functions, the closest match would be INFJ. In the case where you relate to two extraverted functions of opposing function groups, you must determine which of the two you relate to more. For example, if you relate to both Te and Fe, try to narrow down which you think describes you better and choose the introverted function for the other one.

If you need any further help, feel free to shoot me an ask at any time.

[shimzus-a3]

@kainan​ asked — willow + violet + goldenrod + hibiscus + hollyhock. last but not least [insertflowername]: do it [redacted] ?

willow :   how does your muse handle sadness   &   depression ?

once upon a time i wrote a headcanon about how shimizu handles stress , and i think a lot of the same coping mechanisms she uses to handle moments of overwhelming pressure apply regardless of if that pressure is stress / sadness / depression. i note that shimizu is the type of person who likes having some semblance of control around her surroundings , because she thrives in routine / order / security. that means for abstract stressors or emotional pressures , it’s harder for her to find something to lock into securely. usually , to cope , she finds something tangible that she can anchor herself to. in japan , the idea of ‘ seiso ’ ( 5s system ) is taught to young children as a way of keeping their surroundings clean and functional. it’s the reason why schoolchildren are made to clean their own classrooms at the end of the day , and is used to justify productivity as a direct result of a clean workspace. shimizu tends to follow seiso in times of stress by cleaning her room / cleaning her house to transfer her thoughts from abstract emotional focuses to more tangible , physical focuses. 

i also noted in that headcanon that if she’s stressed , she’s unlikely to share it with others. shimizu is deft at side-stepping or brushing away other’s concerns , or even down-playing them ( in the way she does in a hq extra when takeda finds her sick and tells her to go home , but she assures him she’s fine and can continue helping the team ). she’s highly reluctant to talk about her feelings even if prompted to by a close friend , so working through stress / sadness / depression is much like an inner battle than one she’s likely to work through with a friend. 

she probably broods and is much quieter than usual , and excuses herself from spaces earlier than the majority so she has time to herself. she doesn’t cry very often , but if the cause of her sadness / depression was powerful enough then she might as a cathartic release. but mostly , i think her focusing on cleaning / doing tangible tasks is what helps her redirect her focus into something productive and grounding.

violet :   how does your muse respond to betrayal ?

it really depends. at first , i want to say that she doesn’t respond to it well. much like semi , one of her major character flaws is that she’s quick to judge people and to form opinions of them immediately. but she’s also more lenient than him when it comes to adapting her opinions of people. for example , she disliked tsukishima and kageyama at first— tsukishima because he really seemed to disregard everyone else’s efforts on the team and was very unsportsmanlike , and kageyama because he too was unsportsmanlike at first and treated others poorly. however , the longer they were on the team , the better shimizu began to think of them. they became teammates rather than new , troublesome first years , and she started to overlook their rocky start. so while she’s quick to judge , under the right circumstances she can learn to rewrite those judgments. 

when it comes to betrayal , she’s probably much the same way , but a bit more critical. despite how cold she can come across as , she has more empathy with close friends than one might assume , and if the betrayal is due to that friend being in a hard spot , then she might understand. of course , it would take her a long time to work through her own thoughts and come to an acceptance of any apology , but it’s not as if she’d never get there. more than anything— and as unfair as it is— because shimizu is quite judgmental at first , the betrayal would sting immediately and the empathy would take forever to work through. it would probably fall upon the ‘ traitor ’ to come forth to shimizu with an explanation and apology. she can’t read minds and won’t know what the person was thinking , and she’s not confident enough in her own ability to understand others , so it really needs to come straight from the mouth of the other person for her to begin her process of acceptance.

goldenrod :   does your muse believe in luck or fortune ?  why or why not ?   where do they believe these things come from ?  

not really , no. her family follows a mix of shintō and buddhist traditions , because while her maternal family is shintōist her father is buddhist. but they’re not necessarily a religious family , and shimizu isn’t pressed to say that she believes in the gods. in fact , when the third years go to the shrine for new years and they pray to the gods for success , shimizu cuts them down by saying the gods won’t help them win. in this little headcanon here i talked a lot about how shimizu addressed her surroundings at face value , and that her success in track and field wasn’t really tied to anything otherworldly. rather , she only focused on the things she could see / touch / hear. to me , this means that she’s more of a realist than an optimist who looks towards luck or fortune. you can’t count on those types of things to consistently help you , which means that they probably don’t really exist. instead , we have to take in the things around us that we can see and feel and rely on those. and overall , shimizu’s concerns are not with luck and fortune but on seeing challenges and tackling them with as much effort as possible , not about winning or losing. 

hibiscus :   how does your muse view the gentler ,   daintier things in life ?   as things worth preserving   &   caring for ,   or things only bound to wither   &   disappear ?  

she’s not a romantic and she’s not a pessimist , either , so shimizu probably ranks somewhere between these things. there are simple things she really appreciates in life , and in many of my threads i focus on those things because shimizu doesn’t talk / express her thoughts outwardly , but her appreciation for small insignificant details is a persisting feeling. she’s not pressed to want to protect them or to feel disappointed when they disappear ; there’s always a balance , and when one disappears she probably finds something else to appreciate. for example , she likes her family’s garden outside their teahouse because it’s beautiful and peaceful , but when she moves out into a home of her own she probably finds things that she likes about that space , too.

in japanese there’s a difficult-to-describe term called wabi-sabi , which is essentially like finding beauty in small , imperfect , fleeting things. it’s why tea house flower displays are asymmetrical and the style of japanese pottery that highlights cracks with gold glaze is so popular. shimizu appreciates wabi-sabi in life but doesn’t put too much emphasis onto it. but things like an ugly cat or mismatched socks are peaceful sometimes , and shimizu has no problem ( in all her silence ) pausing to give them a brief thought and a feeling of pleasant satisfaction.

hollyhock :   how strong is your muse’s sense of ambition ?  what’s something they strive for in life ? 

compared to her team , who she watches grow in ambition , shimizu is not very ambitious. she’s the type of person who goes with the flow and accepts where life takes her , even if it’s not somewhere particularly glamorous. during track and field , she thinks about how it would be nice to succeed , but she knows her own limits and doesn’t feel ambitious to be the best despite her lack of innate talent. 

at her core , i think shimizu is just looking for a comfortable life where she’s able to find things that bring her joy. she doesn’t care so much about money or fame , but maybe being able to settle down with someone and to pass the days feeling comfortable and loved would be nice. 

that being said , she has a great respect for people who are ambitious and work towards their goals. that’s insanely attractive to her and she finds that those types of people , if humble and hard-working , make the best / most outstanding types of citizens. 

insertflowername :   do it [redacted] ?

yes. under the right circumstances it does.

botanical headcanons ,

[chrysocomae]

"The Inside and the Outside Don’t Match

One beautiful woman I know said she feels like Pigpen with a little cloud of dirt around her all the time. This poignantly demonstrated to me the difficulty women have of integrating opposite images into one self-concept. In addition to the gap between what you feel like inside and what other people see, there is also a gap between the ideas someone has inside and what one is able to verbally express. It is painful to have wonderful thoughts with no way to organize or express them. It is as if the ideas of these women are padlocked shut, like having a beautiful car but no keys and no gas—all dressed up and no place to go. Many of my clients express what one woman summed up as follows: “It’s as though I have a symphony inside me, but all that comes out is a plunk on a broken-down old piano.” One more discrepancy in these women’s lives is between their level of academic or professional achievement and how they carry out the details of daily life. I once went over to a woman friend’s house who was “AD/HD with a Ph.D.” She was standing frozen in the middle of her room, staring blankly at a tangled web of clothes and clutter. She had absolutely no idea of how to proceed to clean up the room. Another women client of mine has just passed all the requirements for her Master’s degree, but she forgot to file the papers that would have allowed her to graduate. For all these women such difficulties often unfortunately wipe out any sense of their real achievements. As we’ll see later, the goal for women is to understand and hold onto opposite ideas about themselves at the same time. These problems are often invisible, and even when there are visible signs, the level of internal difficulty is invisible. Since it is the daily tasks that are hard for the AD/HD woman, the routine ones that no one likes to do, it’s even more difficult for anyone to understand that this is more than what all women struggle with.

Until recently, no one ever heard about the neurological issues that cause AD/HD symptoms. No matter what conventional advice she hears, she’s still not able to maintain any semblance of order in her life. As long as there are no other answers out there, she will continue to feel depressed, hopeless and fall back into the three “I am’s,” described in the next section.

I Am Incompetent

Women with these kinds of difficulties incredulously ask, “How do other women do it?” meaning life. They look at women who are able to lead regular, consistent lives as if they’re from a different planet. They just can’t fathom it. As Hallowell and Ratey say in Answers to Distraction, “They just don’t have the equipment” because “the AD/HD brain lacks the internal organization that naturally leads most people to structure their lives.” As one client of mine said when it finally dawned on her that her friend had free time on the weekends, “You mean this woman doesn’t have six months worth of unfolded clothes piling up around the house? She doesn’t have stacks of unopened mail to wade through or unpaid bills to confront? You mean she’s not constantly worried that the phone or electricity will be turned off or that the rent check will bounce?” For these women, it’s unimaginable that these things don’t happen to other people.

Unless and until they’ve truly integrated the belief that this is part of the AD/HD, that it is the way they’re built, and this is part of a disorder, they will continue to feel very confused and attribute their difficulties to some immaturity or lack of character.

Two reasons these women feel incompetent are as follows: ​​

- They only compare themselves to non-AD/HD women ​​

- They feel that there is absolutely no way they can keep up with the demands of life.

I Am Immature

Many women ask, “When will I ever feel grown up? When will I get over this? When will I stop being so irresponsible?” They berate themselves because the discrepancies between their levels of abilities and their difficulties are so much larger than average. Despite great maturity and competence in other areas, some parts of their lives do match this same level. It is difficult to accept this in oneself or in one’s partner as anything other than being stuck in childhood or still acting like a messy, irresponsible teenager. As we saw when we looked at the kind of discrepancies an individual with AD/HD struggles with, we can understand why it’s so easy to attribute them to a character flaw, and not just by others, but more significantly, by adults with AD/HD themselves. Even after diagnosis, without successful treatment these kinds of negative self-concepts are difficult to erase. I once heard Dr. Ned Hallowell say that he doesn’t think that balancing your checkbook should be the measure of whether you’re mentally healthy. In the same way, I feel that women have to understand that being able to keep your house a certain way or staying organized a certain way isn’t the sign of whether you’re grown up or mature. Is it a sign of maturity to be able to see if you’re blind or walk if you have a broken leg?

One professional woman said in an interview, “I feel like a stupid jerk. I feel like a two-year-old.” She berates herself with criticism for not being able to manage the details of her household or her business anywhere close to the way her other friends or associates do. She asks herself the questions, “Why can’t I get it together? Why am I so undisciplined? Why do I say I’m going to do something and then can’t do it? I Am an Impostor Many women feel that no matter how competent others think they are, or no matter how much they achieve, they are really just fooling everyone. This stems partly from the large disparity between their inner and outer worlds.

Other people often see the real competence of these adults but don’t see the conflict inside. They don’t see the “mess” in other areas of their lives or how hard it is to achieve that outer picture. These women often believe they are fooling anyone who thinks well of them because without any warning the switch inside their heads could turn off and their feelings of inadequacy would be exposed. They worry that they won’t have enough time, that their systems won’t work, or that people will drop in unexpectedly. Any minute things could fall apart. This accounts for the sense of impending doom that often is reported. Even if the achievement for these women is real, it feels tenuous and scary to them; they still feel like impostors. One person describes this inner/outer disparity as “the counters are all clean, but the inside of the drawers are a mess.” This is a great metaphor for the exteriors that women often present while experiencing the interior feeling of messiness, disorder, and confusion.

Instead of taking credit for their “clean counters,” they just feel that it’s a cover. Even when they do take a risk, and let down their mask by letting people know what’s going on inside, they are met with disbelief, invalidation, or ridicule. The irony is that the more they achieve and the better they do, the less people are inclined to believe them, and the more they feel forced to then stay in the closet."

- Sari Solden, Women With Attention-Deficit Disorder

Part II is posted here.

[eljackinton]

Final Thoughts on Greedfall

Greedfall popped up on my radar last year when people began mentioning that it had been a while since we had last seen a Bioware style RPG. In recent years story heavy RPGs have tended to come in two varieties: Massive open worlds, or Baldur's Gate style throwbacks.

It wasn't long before people started talking about Greedfall for another reason: It's rather insensitive take on colonialism. In both instances enthusiasm for Greedfall was tempered. It was a worthy effort to try and rival something like Dragon Age, but it had too many problems to succeed.

Still, with no Dragon Age or Mass Effect game currently on the horizon, and nobody else trying to contribute to the genre in that way, I knew I was going to find myself playing Greedfall eventually.

Let me be clear, I absolutely think RPG fans out there should play Greedfall. Problems or not, I have to applaud Spiders for at least attempting to make a game nobody outside Bioware (or even in Bioware these days) is trying to make. I'd absolutely be up for seeing a sequel, and I hope some modest success can put pressure on EA to let Bioware get back to regular releases again, or encourage other studios to try something similar.

With that out of the way, I want to talk about what I liked and what I didn't, but first, we have to talk about...

Greedfall's one big problem.

Greedfall is a story about colonialism that has nothing to say about colonialism. It takes place in a fantasy world where an island is sort of, but not quite, being colonised like the Americas were. The game skirts the line between how much it resembles this. The natives of the island are not Native Americans, but they're not not Native Americans either. The game wants to ask the difficult questions about expansion and coexistence, but then wraps it all up with mealy-mouthed 'can't we all just get along' platitudes.

Greedfall's idea of colonialism is about as complex as Disney's Pocahontas. It's a world where bad things only happen because of bad individuals. It it wasn't for the craven or immoral there would be peace on the island. Colonialism is capable of being benign.  The game constantly pushes this idea at you, and makes it super obvious that when the time comes to nominate who will be the next high king, the candidate who wants to drive the colonists off the island is treated as one of the bad choices (or 'less good' if you're being charitable.)

Despite the name being Greed-fall, greed and the nature of it are barely explored. The colonists are on the island searching for a cure for a plague. The Bridge Alliance is driven by scientistic discovery, Theleme is driven by religious conviction. The faction the player represents, The Congregation of Merchants, is probably the one most motivated by monetary gain, but they, ironically, feature so thinly in the plot that they might as well not be there.

Over the last few years, culture and society has began to look at colonialism with a more critical eye. The fact that Greedfall failed to consider this shows both a profound lack of imagination and ambition. Better writers than I have already discussed whether this makes the game mildly insensitive or outright offensive, but it's undeniable that it's a problem and it's a dead weight at its core.

What I liked

- The gameplay and game feel was all great. Combat felt smooth. Magic and technical abilities never felt redundant and always added a new dimension to the fights. Firearms felt powerful but never overpowered. There was never a point in the game where I felt overwhelmed.

- There was no 'busywork' sidequests dragging the flow of the game down. There is exactly one 'collectathon' side quest and it's short and easy to ignore. You manage to see all of the world simply by following the quests, meaning it's hard to miss anything significant.

- Collecting resources goes seamlessly with travel and you always have an abundance of resources for crafting and alchemy, which is as easy as 'do you have all the components.' No multi-part crafting or blueprints required.

- The writing and the dialogue was all really steller. At critical points in the game I got really drawn in and could feel the weight of the steaks.

- The characters were a joy to hang around with, chat to, and discover their past. The romance was heartfelt. The side quests were all interesting and cool.

- The visuals were beautiful and parts of the game really made me want to go off and explore.

- Great soundtrack.

- I liked how you could only learn so many abilities over the course of the game. This is a character system where you're either going to be a specialist or a jack of all trades. I don't like it when RPGs essentially give you enough skill points to unlock everything because it just robs the player character of their own unique flavour.

What I didn't like

- The pacing was a real mess. We spend far too long in the starting port that it kills all momentum. The whole story lacks direction for most of it, and any semblance of a plot only really begins two thirds of the way through the game, This was a game that really struggled to make me want to find out what happens next. This is particularly weird given how well the actual dialogue is written.

- The world-building is also implemented poorly. There are whole chunks of the world and backstory that are not elaborated upon. The factions all lack depth and dimension. The game fails to utilise the companions as a means to flesh out the factions they come from. It's hard to appreciate a 'new world' when we don't really know anything about the old one.

- The story brings up ideas and does nothing with them. The fact that (spoilers) the player characters is revealed to be the child of a native adds nothing to the story. The reveal that there was a secret former colony on the island adds nothing to the story (spoilers end.)

- There's not enough variety of environments. Every sub-map blurs into another after a while, even the cities from supposedly vastly different nations have identical architecture styles. It's a crazy big mistake that the HQ of every faction is just the same building template with the textures swapped.

- You can't really impress a personality upon the player character. The game really needed some dialogue choices that added 'sarcastic' or 'frustrated' options. While there are choices the player can make, the personality of the plater character is pretty much set in stone.

- There really wasn't enough content to justify the romances. It basically boils down to about three or four conversations. There's no chance to flirt, or have a bit of back and forth. You just complete the companion quest and then 'romance now?' A missed opportunity.

So all in all, Greedfall is not a prefect game. It's got a lot of problems and a big one in particular, but, again, I applaud the effort. I'd like to see a sequel, and I'd like to see more studios taking chances like this.

[rwby-redux]

Deconstruction

Worldbuilding: Semblances I

Remember in the Worldbuilding: Overview when I called Semblances magical? Technically speaking, that’s not actually true. The fact that I have to even qualify that statement tells you just how much of a headache RWBY’s magic system—excuse me, pseudo-magic system—is in practice. Unlike the last topic (Aura) where I focused on just one critical flaw, today we’re going to cover as many of those flaws as we can. Given the huge number of talking points we’ll be discussing, Semblances is going to be split into two parts.

You might want to get comfortable; we’re going to be here for a while.

Let’s first start by establishing what, according to canon, a Semblance actually is. If Aura is the manifestation of the soul, then a Semblance is the form that manifestation takes. Broadly speaking, a Semblance is a skill or ability that transcends the normal biological limits of what a person is capable of—a superpower that’s uniquely-tailored to its user. Despite taking on a wide array of forms and functions, all Semblances share six basic traits:

A Semblance draws upon Aura as its source of power. When this fuel source is depleted, a person can no longer use their Semblance, and must wait for their Aura to regenerate before it can be used again.

The specific ability or nature of one’s Semblance is alleged to be an expression of the user’s personality/character/soul.

Overuse of a Semblance can adversely affect a person and cause physical side effects, such as fatigue [1], headaches [2], or fainting [3].

Semblances can interact with Dust in such a way that their skills are augmented, resulting in the temporary acquisition of new subskills or secondary characteristics.

Through training and regular usage, Semblances can gradually become stronger or more advanced.

The intensity of certain emotions, such as stress, panic, despair, or rage, can cause a person to subconsciously activate their Semblance.

Your first reaction when reading this list might’ve been, “Oh, you mean like the Quirks in My Hero Academia.” Now, I’ve never personally watched the show or read the manga, but after briefly consulting the Wiki page I can safely confirm that yes, Semblances are very similar to Quirks. However, given my lack of familiarity with My Hero Academia, I’m going to avoid drawing too many comparisons between the two. This is partly because I don’t want to provide incorrect commentary on a franchise I know little about. The other reason? The longer I read the Wiki page on Quirks, the more embittered I become toward Semblances and the wasted potential they have by comparison. I’m already biased; I don’t need any help in that arena, thanks.

I think the best way to discuss all of the various flaws with Semblances is to break this topic into two parts, and deal with the meta and in-lore aspects separately.

Meta, Production, and Development

When I started doing research for this topic I went on the RWBY Wiki to track down sources and dates, as one typically does when preparing to excavate a salt mine. I knew what a Semblance was, but I decided that, for the sake of empirical evidence, that I needed to have a reference for that definition. (And a good line of defense against potential critics. It’s hard to argue with primary sources.) Fans can give a definition when prompted, but I’m willing to bet most of them couldn’t name the episode where we first got that information. That’s all right; I couldn’t either. In fact, the more I thought about it, the weirder it seemed that I couldn’t pinpoint the exact episode, let alone the volume, where Semblances are first explained. So I did some digging.

Here’s what I found:

The first time Aura is explained on-screen is Volume 1, Episode 06: “The Emerald Forest - Part 1.” This exposition is delivered to us by Pyrrha, whose explanation serves as a learning moment for us, the viewers, and Jaune, the audience-surrogate character.

The first time the word Semblance is mentioned (not explained, mentioned) is Volume 1, Episode 14: “Forever Fall - Part 2.” Take a moment to let that sink in: we’re fourteen episodes into the series, and despite seeing multiple characters use their Semblances on-screen, we still haven’t been told what these powers are. I think some viewers were able to extrapolate what our cast was doing based on a sense of genre-savviness, but that’s really bad. As a writer, your job is to find a way to organically explain the core aspects of your story. I know that CRWBY tried to use Jaune to fulfill this role (but why that ultimately failed to work is a discussion for another day), but even then, it shouldn’t take fourteen episodes to start addressing major worldbuilding elements.

At this point you must be wondering, okay, so if Aura didn’t get its first proper introduction until episode six, and Semblances were only namedropped at episode fourteen, then when were they properly explained? At least somewhere in Volume 1, right?

Would you like to know the answer?

The first time Semblances were formally explained was in World of Remnant, Episode 4: “Aura.” The fourth episode of this spin-off series debuted on November 14th, 2014. The fourth World of Remnant episode aired a month after Volume 2 ended. To give you some context, the very first episode of the main series aired on July 18, 2013, and the first episode of Volume 3 was released on October 24, 2015.

It took twenty-eight episodes, a runtime of 04:26:04, and a full year before we finally had an answer. An answer that was delivered in a spin-off series meant exclusively to supplement crucial worldbuilding and lore.

Do you see how fucking insane that is? How badly do you have to fail at writing to not explain to your audience one of the fundamental aspects of your story? Not only does this not make sense from a writing perspective, but it makes no sense from a development or production standpoint, either. At the time, Kerry Shawcross was an editor for Red vs. Blue Season 9, while Miles Luna was the writer for the Red vs. Blue miniseries Where There's a Will, There's a Wall, and co-writer for Red vs. Blue Season 10. While Monty Oum himself wasn’t necessarily a writer, he was part of a three-man team that together did have a background in writing and editing. (Mind you, neither of them are necessarily good writers, but it’s still better than nothing.)

To reiterate: There were three creative leads working on this project. Three. How is it that none of them, at any point during production, noticed this massive flaw with their story?

I don’t work for Rooster Teeth (obviously), and I’m therefore not privy to any of the decisions that were made behind the scenes. Whether the focus was more on animating RWBY than emphasizing the worldbuilding, whether the lighthearted tone made the team think that exposition wasn’t as important as being entertaining, whether there were deadline crunches and budgeting constraints that limited the quality of the final product.

While we can’t decisively say why this is the case, we can see how these choices had major consequences for RWBY’s plot—not just in retrospect, but going forward as well. Next time in Part 2, we’ll cover topics that focus more on the lore of Semblances than the storytelling nitpicks, and discuss how those oversights impacted the series.

-

[1] Volume 3, Episode 12: “End of the Beginning.” During Salem’s monologue, Glynda can be seen using her Semblance to try and reassemble a storefront in Vale’s shopping district. Eventually, she tires from overuse of her Semblance, and the building collapses back into debris while Glynda hunches over gasping.

[2] Volume 3, Episode 7: “Beginning of the End.” Immediately after Yang is framed for attacking Mercury, Emerald complains about a headache from casting her Semblance on two people simultaneously.

[3] Volume 5, Episode 14: “Haven’s Fate.” When Yang claims the Relic of Knowledge and returns from the Vault, Emerald conjures an illusion of Salem. Performing her Semblance on nine different people at the same time consumes what little energy she had left, and causes her to pass out. Hazel has to carry her while he and Mercury flee from the battle.

[insomniblaque]

I’ve been thinking about romantic love for a little while now. Well, mostly romantic, but in general I’ve been contemplating my relationship with men and where love fits in those relationships. I’ll be honest, romantic love hasn’t manifested itself in the way I’ve seen other people experience it. I’ve never been in a mutual relationship with someone I’d call a partner, I haven’t been intimate with a person long enough for that part of a relationship to materialize, and I’ve been thinking a lot about why that is, and the role I’ve had in perpetuating that experience. When I was first trying to learn what love was supposed to look like, around middle school I’d say, I wanted to blame myself and relatively superficial factors based on some of my most intimate insecurities — how I felt about my body, my skin, my hair as the reasons why boys didn’t come flocking to me. I blamed things that are uniquely tied to what I looked like. The way I saw love being expressed to other girls — girls who were taller, lighter, skinnier, with less acne molded my expectation of what men wanted and fueled the insecurities I had because they seemed to be everything I wasn’t. While these thoughts existed and played a role in how closed off I was to the idea of professing my intense like for men, they didn’t stay for long, mainly because of the relationships I had with men at that time. My father always made it a point to affirm my worth. My father loved my smile, my gap, my violet gums, my cheeks and voice and never forgot to remind me of how special and beautiful  I am. He would jest about when I would bring a boy home often because “there was no way they weren’t asking to approach me” because I look the way I do. My friendships with mostly boys around that time also offset some of that insecurity because I had friends who not only valued me as a person but appreciated me for things I didn’t necessarily notice in myself like my wit, sense of humor, ability to listen and call them out on their shit.

Over the years, I’ve gone through different phases of trying to redefine my insecurities for myself but ultimately so that I wouldn’t let these self limiting beliefs stand in the way of the potential relationships I could develop. It started with my face. The ugly duckling years of middle school prompted my first interests in learning about makeup so that I could distract people from what I didn’t want them to see.  It evolved into a genuine appreciation of the art and eventually a form of therapy for me. I loved beautifying myself for me -- a stray compliment (though I didn’t know how to accept them) also contributed to the boost in dopamine but ultimately, it was the agency of being able to do something only I knew how to do at the time that added to my confidence. Next was my hair, I think I was the most insecure about that for the longest time. My sister always had thicker, longer hair than me and my worth — especially in a deeply Caribbean household felt tied to how manageable and beautiful I could be and hair was the first indicator of that. When relaxed, my hair was thin, uneven, and barely scraped my shoulders. In high school, after having skipped a couple of relaxer sessions before the first day of my sophomore year, I chopped it all off with kitchen scissors. I remember wanting to see if I could feel beautiful without hair and that would be the “social experiment”. Learning to love the hair that grew out of my head at any stage and detaching the value of my beauty from it was not what I thought I was doing that day at 15, but looking back my confidence grew over time from this dissociation. I was just a year and a half early from the boom of natural hair journeys and big chops of that era (yes, if you haven’t noticed I am ahead of my time in a lot of ways lmao) where other women and girls were also expanding their definitions of self-love via their hair and that also made me feel more confident that I can be all of myself around anyone. Hair no longer was a contributing insecurity for me. Recently, I did another dramatic chop, rooted more in an existential crisis, but it also kind of reminded me of the first — how I could still see myself as beautiful without relying on the factors that are called conventionally beautiful. Last, was my body. I had been prone to unhealthy habits rooted in my poor body image for as long as I could remember like restricting meals, unsustainable diets, even at one point abusing drugs (long story) to try to shave off of a few pounds or to try to find the semblance of abs under all my stomach fat. This insecurity was the hardest to shake. Looking at old pictures of myself these days baffles me because when I was trying my hardest to lose weight, I was probably at my skinniest. I didn’t begin redefining my body image until I got to college and needed to find a way to curb the freshman 15. A friend introduced to weightlifting our freshman year and all I can remember is how powerful it made me feel. The simple movements of a squat or a deadlift wasn’t what brought the thrill, it was the amount of weight I could hold in my hands for an extended period of time, the mass I could move that made me feel like if I could do that then I could do anything. Fitness in the form of weightlifting where I was tracking progress with what I could do and not how I looked like really helped me redefine the boundaries of my body. I still struggle with body image every now and again since I’m still very far from a set of well defined abs and too many things jiggle without my permission most times and I think it will always be a work in progress for someone like me who’s intrinsically a perfectionist but the frame shift I have experienced since has empowered me in ways that I never thought would belong to me.

Now back to men. I think it was around this time last year that I started taking a critical look at why I was the way I was where men are concerned. It was at the height of my dad’s battle with cancer and I was ini school failing and riddled with guilt about it. The first real idea of what a relationship would look like for me also came up in my thoughts. A guy , the topic of many stories and a couple of playlists, who I had a lot of respect for but for all intents and purposes didn’t reciprocate that respect in the ways I felt I needed kept coming into my mind at that time. We had a relatively complicated history spanning almost ten years now and it was the kind of connection that I didn’t want to bring with me as powerful as it was. The back and forth took me back to a place where my insecurities were the root of my worth and validation and that was no longer my truth. Some part of me really wanted to believe that we were the kind of people who would always find our way to each other and I held a lot of love for him. But given the place I was an in at the time, I felt like I was on the road to losing some of the most important men in my life and I wanted to do as much that was in my power to curb that by questioning the love l held for all the men in my life. So I sent some letters and one of them was to him. Disclaimer, I was really embarrassed by the letter and even more embarrassed that I sent it to his school email so he had no choice but to read it. But in this letter, I thanked him. I thanked him for seeing me— all of me when I felt like nobody did but also told him that I needed to cut the ties that attached my sense of self to how he saw me and felt about me considering he was one of the first people to admit to seeing me in a romantic context. We were becoming adults, diverging paths and still something in me was holding out for him and I knew I needed to work on letting that go. It took me a week to write that letter and another week and some liquid courage to send it to him. I wrote a couple of other letters, mailed some, kept others. Overall in this exercise, I realized the lack of emotional vulnerability I have always struggled with, the coldness as a defense mechanism that I was comfortable using and the sense of security I felt from the validation of my father and my best male friends all fueled the way I shot myself in the foot when it came to letting new men into my life. Fast forward, my father has passed, this man is back in my life in the context of a healthy friendship and I am working on the final frontier of emotional vulnerability so that whatever the next romantic experience that comes my way, I won’t run from it. I made this with all the men I’ve loved in mind, my daddy, my best friend, the first person I said I love you to and meant it, a person who I’ve recently resigned myself to just get to know as opposed to making advances on and every situation I have yet to encounter where the male half of our species is involved. This is to all the men I’ve loved before, will always love, and hopefully will learn to love. Enjoy it.

[alexsmitposts]

From Orwell to Huxley: Grim Prospects of Truth-Telling Scroll through NEO’s website and you will realize that we have been honest in reporting the problems the world faces on a daily basis.  The articles are straightforward: real issues, real people, and real insight. While we are steadfast in our reporting, more and more journalists are being subject to the most severe form of censorship, some have taken to – self-censorship in order to avoid the wrath of the powers that be. Such arm twisting by the authorities is nothing but a frontal attack on any semblance of a free media. It is even worse than that—people, in general, are so skeptical of anything written or reported by the mainstream news nowadays. Things have gotten to the point where they don’t believe anything that the MSM says, however, the unfortunate part is that now the lines between mainstream and independent media has also started blurring, with more and more independent media also falling in step with the official government line. I have a distant relative who now says that she refuses to watch or read any news from any source since it is all propaganda, and this feeling of discontent is becoming widespread. Mark Twain once said, “If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re mis-informed.” But the wise Mark Twain could also not imagine the dystopian world we live in today, where the only alternative is not to read anything and not to trust anything, as much of news has been turned into mindless entertainment. We know what is happening to Julian Assange, and that is no longer real news, at least for most viewers and the MSM. His ordeal, first at his Embassy holdup after jumping bail, and then being turned over to UK authorities is just the start of another horror story. Given his deteriorating health his stay at the prison is putting his life at risk, and even UN Human Rights experts have warned of his health complications. All that is happening now was predicated by earlier writers. Hence it is time to revisit a bit of ominous literature, as it is not as if we were not warned about what to look forward to in the future. “Brave New World” vs. “1984” – which won? The BBC did an excellent adaptation of “Brave New World” many years ago. I don’t think it survived on tape (it was a few years before the VCRs became ubiquitous). I was able to find one that is close, with Aldous Huxley, an interview with Mike Wallace back in the late ’50s which describes the enemies of freedom in the United States. My first reaction was that of surprise as all that was described seemed so true even in today’s context. He had been able to accurately describe how various bureaucracies, technology, and propaganda methods work in tandem to create a false narrative and distract the people from more real and pressing issues. From his description it becomes clear that the methods being used today to distract us are the same that Hitler used, only now they have become more effective. To compare and contrast, George Orwell’s “1984”, and Alex Huxley’s “Brave New World”—they both predicted different visions of a dystopian future. What has emerged now is a combination of the two takes on what the future holds, or at least that is what the situation looks like as of now. People say we are more Huxley than Orwell, but there are some Orwellian methods too, at least for journalists and whistleblowers. Orwell saw a world where fear was used whereas Huxley perceived a world where we will be manipulated in other ways—more effectively and willingly! It is so very true that Truth has become Treason with the torture of Julian Assange. The powers to be would like us not to consider him a journalist. Truth has never been well received by governments who want to hide it, at any cost, even at the expense of fundamental principles of the founding fathers. But the situation is getting grim day-by-day now. So, where does that leave us? The lesson to others is clear: challenge the global US military empire and you will be destroyed. Politicians are acting as bullies like George Orwell predicted… perhaps. Huxley’s “Soma” drug is allegorical to how people are drugged by devices and perhaps some actual drugs. In Enemies of Freedom Huxley is exposing how free choice, the rational side of man are bypassed – and how the democratic process is circumvented and efforts made to eliminate what would be informed and free choice. Huxley dives deep into the forces that are taking away freedom, including electronic devices, overpopulation, and materialism. However, the greatest threat is over the organization of society and the lack of “thinking beings.” The system, including how education is allocated makes sure that those who question the most are afforded the least conducive environment for learning. Madness in Method But there are better ways, for instance, aversion conditioning is how “Brave New World” has prevailed over “1984.” Low levels of education, distractions caused by cellphones and mindless computer games, and various forms of modern-day “Soma” are all tools in the hands of governments to keep the minds of the and people distracted and to keep them calm and mindless.  What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be only a few left who would want to read one, or at least have the inclination and time. Younger folk have been manipulated into relinquishing virtually any right or privilege as long as they can still keep their video games and smartphones. “Brave New World” depicts a society that bears more than coincidental resemblance to our society today (watch CNN and Anderson Cooper to get a better idea). But the “Powers That Be” would also prefer that we live in the “1984” society, and they are trying their best to plunge us into that darkness by attacking journalists who describe inconvenient truths. Huxley summed it up best: “By means of ever more effective methods of mind-manipulation, the democracies will change their nature; the quaint old forms— elections, parliaments, Supreme Courts and all the rest—will remain. … Democracy and freedom will be the theme of every broadcast and editorial. … Meanwhile, the ruling oligarchy and its highly trained elite of soldiers, policemen, thought-manufacturers and mind-manipulators will quietly run the show as they see fit.” The comparison is made to radio and television fodder “new devices” and now all that he predicted – subliminal projections contained within films. Once you establish the utility of something that is known to work, you can be certain that the technology of it will steadily improve. How can we preserve the integrity of humans in an age when we are being persuaded below the level of “choice and reason” – not only in how we think but even in our choices for political office. It is no longer a matter of making an intelligent choice for one’s self interests, but falling prey to the manipulations of [MSM] and the manipulations of consumers by Madison Avenue. A democracy depends on the individual voter making an intelligent and rational choice for what he regards as his enlightened self-interest in any given circumstance. But attempts are being made to bypass that “rational choice” by appealing to unconscious forces below the surface – below the level of choice and reason. But that is not happening anytime soon but at least we have a modern version of soma with PR, mind control and a new generation of prescription drugs. Soma can even compete with religion; it takes away bad experiences and makes us all happy and content. All that was written as fiction is now a reality, even genetically engineered babies and a society driving by never-ending consumption. In the quest for the most modern devices, people have become hooked to a reality that does not exist. It is this generation of low castes who are proven to be clueless and preoccupied with promiscuity that paints anyone who speaks in disapproval as intolerant. Society has been transformed into “a pre-ordained caste system ranging from a highly intelligent managerial class to a subgroup of dim-witted serfs programmed to love their menial work; and of soma, a drug that confers instant bliss with no side effects.” That drug comes in many different forms – mostly ignorance and is distributed by the manipulated media and corrupt advertisers. And let us also not forget why it is no longer even necessary to burn or restrict books. As we learned from the newest release, at the movies, of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 –very few among us are actually interested in reading book or truthful news anymore and fewer, in any case, have the critical thinking abilities to understand their true meaning. “We are not born equal but must be made equal by the fire!”

[alligaytorrr-reviews]

A Retrospective on Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies

               Being someone whose online presence began in 2006, gaining a peripheral knowledge of the Ace Attorney series was unavoidable. Still, I knew relatively little for quite a while: I knew that there were attorneys, and that two of them were named Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth; I knew (from the many memes) of “Objection!”; and I knew that at one point, Phoenix cross-examines a parrot. This, along with its popularity in general, was enough to give me a mild interest in the series, but not one strong enough to inspire me to ever make the effort to try it out, at least not until that effort became considerably easier with the release of a free demo for Dual Destinies on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. Everything about this demo instantly endeared the series to me: the immediately charming characters, the excellently funny writing, and the series’ hallmark rush of endorphins from uncovering a lie and watching a cornered witness squirm. I had been in the market for something new to play, as I would shortly be spending three months studying abroad and knew in my down time I’d want the comfort of sitting in bed with my 3DS, and this demo solidified Ace Attorney as that something new. Being about to leave the country, I unfortunately had no time to track down a physical copy of the then-nine-year-old first game in the series, limiting my selection to what was available through the 3DS eShop: Dual Destinies.

                Dual Destinies, being the fifth main entry in the series, is by no means an entry point. But it was mine, and I fell in love with it. My first playthrough was overwhelmingly positive. I was enamored with everything about it, completely surprised to learn that beneath the often wacky exterior, both of the characters and the plot, there was a real depth to the game. I even considered it among my top ten favorites of all time. Later in the year, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy would release on the 3DS eShop, and I would also acquire a copy of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. Through playing them, I would learn that this depth is the core of the series’ identity – that is, fun, lighthearted, and clever murder mysteries hiding truly emotional storytelling and excellent character arcs. I would also learn that all of those games were better at this than Dual Destinies, as my second playthrough of it was overwhelmingly unremarkable. My third playthrough, just recently completed, seemingly confirmed this and resulted in a 3,500 word critical essay exploring how the game shoots itself in the foot by attempting to do to much and succeeding at none of it. Yet, unbelievably, as I spent this time elaborating on my negative feelings, I found I had more to say about my positive ones. This doesn’t mean the game doesn’t do too much, because, oh, it does. But there’s just enough good in Dual Destinies that the end result is not one that entirely fails to succeed at what it attempts, just one that fails to capitalize fully on its potential.

               To understand Dual Destinies, it’s necessary to understand where the Ace Attorney series stood just before its release. The original trilogy of games is frequently and rightfully lauded for its stunningly well done ending, which manages to neatly wrap up major plot points and give nearly every character arc a satisfying conclusion – namely, that of main character Phoenix Wright. For all intents and purposes, Ace Attorney could have ended right there, and series creator Shu Takumi indeed intended as much. When it was decided that a new game would be produced, however, Takumi smartly breathed life into it by introducing an almost entirely new cast for what became Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney: newcomer lawyer Apollo Justice, along with a new investigation partner, detective, prosecutor, and… Phoenix Wright. Phoenix’s inclusion came at the insistence of Takumi’s colleagues and against his wishes, but I’m of the opinion that the final product works. Thanks to a seven-year timeskip, the game avoids stepping on the toes of his character arc from the original trilogy while managing to still do interesting things with him. His role as mentor to Apollo creates a fine (if not strictly necessary) through line for the series, and the overarching plot of him having been set up to lose his attorney’s badge and working to prove his innocence is a good one. Some complain that Apollo himself never really does much in the game, and this isn’t an inaccurate assessment, but a protagonist whose agency is constantly usurped by people with a better grasp of what’s going on is a great setup for interesting character development. Only, the game never really feels like it’s making that point (and, spoiler alert: Dual Destinies does nothing with that, specifically, either). Rather, the problem is not that Apollo lacks agency in and of itself, but that he lacks agency specifically because at the end of the day, this is not his game – it’s Phoenix’s.

               It’s for this reason – that Apollo Justice is not really a story about Apollo Justice – that Dual Destinies raises eyebrows with its first moments. Granted, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is not so much about Phoenix as it is about Miles Edgeworth, but unlike Dual Destinies, its sequel, Ace Attorney: Justice for All, doesn’t immediately introduce a new playable character. This character is Athena Cykes, a fledgling attorney who stands out well enough, being more energetic and chipper than Phoenix or Apollo. The setup for this case, Turnabout Countdown, is one of the more interesting for an introductory episode: a courtroom has been bombed, Apollo’s injuries sustained in the bombing make him unable to lead the case at the last minute, and Athena is thrust into the courtroom alone with her childhood friend’s freedom on the line. The game uses the same shortcut as it has in Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice to help the player connect with Athena (that is, making her terribly nervous) and as a whole, she’s a fine character. It’s nothing about Athena herself that causes unease – it’s the fact that her existing at all begs the question of whether or not Apollo with get justice (pardon the pun) in this game, and if Athena is doomed to suffer the same fate that he did in his debut. The game spares no time compounding these fears, as Athena, struggling in court, is soon saved by none other than Phoenix Wright, who takes over as the playable character halfway through the episode. Not even a full episode into the game, it begs the question of how it will manage to be all that it wants to be: sequel to Apollo Justice, introduction of Athena Cykes, and return of Phoenix Wright. Already, it feels like Apollo has been shoved aside for Athena, who is soon shoved aside for Phoenix. The game will eventually do interesting things with all three, but it never quite assuages the suspicion that it could’ve done better had it narrowed its focus.

               Turnabout Countdown now moves Athena into her alternate role as co-counsel (and investigation partner in later episodes), which causes the unfortunate shelving of Trucy Wright, whose relationship with Apollo after the previous game had plenty of unexplored territory that this game is uninterested in touching. For this loss, Athena offers something to gain: the Mood Matrix, this game’s new gimmick. This is a step up from Apollo’s Perceive ability as it involves some amount of critical thinking, but not much. The Mood Matrix is an admirable attempt to innovate and provide new gameplay for trial chapters, but unfortunately only seldom amounts to more difficult thought processes than “a witness wouldn’t normally feel happy when something bad is happening” and “a witness wouldn’t normally feel surprised when nothing surprising is happening.” Additionally, the explanation for how Athena makes it work is a bit goofy – it relies on her “special hearing” and “listening to a witness’ heart,” which feel like clunky ways to describe hyper empathy. Coupled with the sensory overload she’s described as having experienced as a child, it seems obvious Athena could be autistic, but the game doesn’t confirm this, which is a missed opportunity, especially when it results in such awkward ways of describing her “special ability.” The Mood Matrix has no penalty for wrong answers, so in the few instances where there’s a semblance of a challenge to these segments, a guessing game suffices, which doesn’t help it feel like any more of a worthwhile addition to the game. While on the topic of penalties, this episode provides the first opportunity to experience the excellent quality of life improvement to Game Overs, no longer bumping you back to the last save point, but simply starting over from the point where the player failed. Having to hold the B button to skip through a mountain of text you’ve already read has always been more of an annoyance than a fitting punishment. The penalty system is effectively meaningless because of this, but it can still serve as a personal measure of skill, which is ultimately for the better.

               The Monstrous Turnabout turns the clock back to show how Apollo (playable this time – a relief) and Athena first meet. Like all “filler episodes,” this provides an opportunity to enjoy some character interactions and have their personalities shine. It feels the most like it belongs in a sequel to Apollo Justice out of any episode in the game, starting with Apollo and Trucy taking a casual trip together, before Apollo is once again turned into errand boy, tasked with tracking down new hire, Athena. The fact that Phoenix has been traveling and looking out for new recruits is a nice detail that fits well with the mentor role he took on in Apollo Justice, and as Ace Attorney has always had a found family aspect to it, seeing the Wright Anything Agency expand is welcome. Plus, Apollo and Athena play off each other well, so though it’s unfortunate to see Trucy out of the spotlight, this episode is an overall win in terms of characterization. The case itself, despite featuring the novel premise of a murderous yokai, is mostly unremarkable. It, like all second episodes, begins the inclusion of investigation chapters, which are disappointingly neutered in this game. While other entries have occasionally whisked you away to your next destination, much of where to go and who to talk to was left up to the player. This game constantly ferries you around to exactly where you need to be, which may have been an attempt to streamline and avoid frustration, but ends up robbing the player of a sense that they’re leading the investigation on their own. None of this is helped by the fact that the Examine option is now restricted to only vital areas, especially a shame because all the scenes in the game are beautifully rendered and look great with the 3DS’s stereoscopic 3D turned on too. This case is also the first to show off the new Revisualization mechanic, which tends to come at the end of a case where a previous game would have had a character talk through “turning the case around” and is a fun way of adding visual flair to those moments.

              The most important contribution from this case, though, is the debut of new prosecutor, Simon Blackquill. As with every prosecutor following the first game, he’s equal parts actual character as he is gimmick. This time around, the gimmick is that Blackquill is a convicted felon, standing in court with shackles and having to rely on his pet hawk to deliver evidence and harass others in the room, as opposed to, say, a whip or a cup of coffee. It’s a fun new idea, and the moments where he inevitably breaks out of his shackles in each episode are consistently entertaining. He’s additionally accompanied by his minder and new detective for the game, Bobby Fulbright. It’s unfortunate to not have endlessly unhappy, but always amusing Ema Skye return from Apollo Justice, but Fulbright is a solid replacement. His “commitment to justice” schtick is grating, but in a good way, making him sufficiently annoying but easily enough manipulated into being valuable for the defense’s investigations.

              Now is the best time to talk about the DLC case, since after the second episode is the best time to play it. For Ace Attorney’s first foray into paid DLC, this is definitely a success. It enriches the main game, but the five episodes that comprise Dual Destinies are by all means a complete story on their own. For its price and length, it’s certainly worthwhile, especially given that Turnabout Reclaimed is the best case in Dual Destinies. It tells the story of Phoenix’s first case after regaining his attorney’s badge, so I’ll take this opportunity to say that this is a great plot point. The ending of Apollo Justice hinted that it would happen, and it just feels right to see Phoenix back in his iconic blue suit (especially with a spiffy update that helps sell his role as an older, seasoned mentor). As with everything in this game, though, it feels like a plot point that would have been better served by having more time and focus devoted to it, rather than sharing the stage with the development of two more protagonists. Ignoring that, it’s an excellent case on its own. Taking on the defense of an orca in court feels like only a logically step for Phoenix, and in an obvious callback to one of the best moments in the first game he even cross-examines the whale, though an earlier fake-out where you can either request to do the same, only to have your request shot down by the judge, or choose the correct option and have the judge express surprise that you didn’t make the request, cheapens its impact a bit. Sasha Buckler, the second defendant in the case, is the most likeable defendant in the game (besides Athena, anyway), and Marlon Rimes is the only culprit with any degree of pathos this time around. A revenge plot against a whale is a little silly, but at least it’s something, and it’s nice to see Rimes’ coworkers sympathize with his grief and welcome him back to the aquarium openly. More than the rest of the game’s episodes, it feels like it tells an impactful story on its own, something that makes for the best Ace Attorney cases. Pearl Fey also makes a return here, with welcome confirmation that she and Phoenix have remained friends over the eight years since her last appearance, but her personality is bafflingly untouched despite having last been seen as a nine-year-old. Considering the traumatic events she experienced at the end of Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, this is disappointing. Truthfully though, exploring her character any further would have only made an already-bloated game feel even more stuffed.

              Periodically, Dual Destinies has been making references to the so-called “dark age of the law.” This is ostensibly a major plot point, but in practice is more the vague idea of a plot point. The game cites the fact that a felon is serving as a prosecutor as evidence of this “dark age,” but this fails to sell the idea well when Blackquill doesn’t particularly stand out among the series’ existing cast of equally wacky prosecutors. It also claims that Phoenix’s case at the center of Apollo Justice’s story, where he presents forged evidence, helped usher in the “dark age,” which at least means that these two games have something to do with each other, but Phoenix never appears to feel any responsibility for this until the end of the game, so it too falls flat. The only time the game actually properly shows what this “dark age” entails is during Turnabout Academy, which is the episode’s strongest point. Professor Aristotle Means, with his “the ends justify the means” preaching, feels like an embodiment of actually tangible ramifications of the “dark age.” That attorneys shamelessly forge evidence to win their cases is bad, but that Means is successfully indoctrinating high school students into his mindset shows the sorry state of the Ace Attorney world’s legal system far better.

              Means is instantly hateable, and his ideological differences with victim Constance Courte make him particularly suspect, but the writing does a good job of forcing doubt that anyone could have done it but Juniper Woods, Hugh O’Conner, or Robin Newman. The case constantly jerks you around as the three friends pile lies upon lies in their attempts to take the fall for each other. This is never as emotionally impactful as the game desperately hopes it is, but it makes for a fun case where it’s hard to find your footing, and it’s satisfying when you prove they’re all innocent and get to take down Means, the true culprit. This is chronologically the first case where Athena leads the defense, though it feels as though the themes and character beats could have been the culmination of her character arc. Means frequently sowing doubt in her that she’ll be able to save all three friends without resorting to his underhanded tactics is a fitting challenge for her as a brand new lawyer. It makes for great character development as she remains determined to do things the right way and proves her capabilities to herself when she succeeds.

              The game now moves on to its penultimate case, though in actuality The Cosmic Turnabout and the next, Turnabout for Tomorrow, are one large case cut in two. The only notable parts of The Cosmic Turnabout specifically are that it’s the second instance of a bait-and-switch where one lawyer (Apollo this time) starts out the case only to have Phoenix come along and take over, which is frustrating even if it makes sense for story reasons, and the reveal at the last minute that Athena is the only suspect that fits your argument, which is an excellently disheartening moment. Besides those points, these two episodes are best talked about as a whole. Wrapping up the game, they attempt to do nearly all of the legwork for character development, which is far from a new occurrence in Ace Attorney, but no finale has ever had three attorneys and a prosecutor to tackle all at once. Despite this, it’s a great case that, through what could only be a divine miracle, manages to do all of this to some satisfactory degree, though it begs the question yet again of what it could have accomplished if only Dual Destinies would ever stop trying to do so much. In a way, it’s a microcosm of how the game holds itself back.

              Turnabout for Tomorrow begins with an investigation chapter featuring Phoenix and daughter Trucy. This is wonderful – Phoenix has always felt like he fit the role of a dad since as early as Justice for All, but it’s nice to have this dedicated father/daughter bonding time, something that hadn’t happened yet. They eventually come upon Apollo conducting his own investigation, having taken a leave of absence from the Wright Anything Agency to pursue the killer of his friend, Clay Terran, alone due to his personal connection to the case. This is the game attempting to provide a backstory for Apollo, but for the most part, the game is content to do little more than say that Apollo did indeed have a friend named Clay, show a brief flashback of the two as middle school students, and hope that it suffices. It doesn’t, but it serves as an excuse for Apollo to potentially be at odds with Phoenix, which provides decent drama and facilitates good development later in the episode. At this point, Trucy decides to stay with Apollo because she’s worried about him, which is an appreciated reminder that the two have a meaningful relationship, even if the rest of the game doesn’t care to explore it, but it does unfortunately cut short the time Phoenix gets to spend with her.

              After this, Phoenix returns to the office alone for one of the best moments in the game. He’s lost the trust of one of his employees and his own argument in court helped implicate the other in a crime. It’s a low point, by his own account the loneliest he’s felt since the start of his career, until he finds a letter from his friend and former assistant Maya Fey, reminding him that even without anybody physically by his side, he’s not truly alone. It’s a moment that could only happen to Phoenix now, as he reminisces about years gone by and reflects on how he’s handled his role as a mentor, which is what makes it so spectacular. It feels like proof that there are still interesting things to be done with the character. The strength of this scene is dampened a bit when it turns out that Maya’s letter doubles as an excuse for Pearl to show up. Having Phoenix investigate on his own, determined to do right by his employees, could have been powerful, but Pearl is here instead, presumably for no reason other than that fans like Pearl. Soon after, another familiar face returns, in the form of Miles Edgeworth. This is more forgivable, as it makes sense that the chief prosecutor would involve himself in a case concerning an international spy, and he’s a more fittingly challenging final opponent for Phoenix than Blackquill would have been.

              The investigation ends with Athena producing five black Psyche-Locks, a moment that feels like a genuine defeat. Despite spending the game with her, she’s still a relatively new character that the player doesn’t really know too much about, and it’s hard not to question if she may have just been responsible for her mother’s murder after all. It’s a fantastic setup for the excellent trial chapters making use of Edgeworth that follow it. Somehow, after all these years Ace Attorney has never managed (perhaps intentionally) to unseat Edgeworth as the prosecutor who is most in control and confident, and the way that he constantly turns Phoenix’s logic back around to prove his own assertions creates a lot of tension between the player’s attachment to Athena and uncertainty about the truth. It’s a direct reflection of Phoenix’s feelings, and it’s times like this where the player’s and the player character’s emotions are in sync that are Ace Attorney at its finest. The focus of these chapters is an exploration of Athena’s past and her trauma, which isn’t the most nuanced, though probably best for a game that wants to stay mostly relatively lighthearted. Besides, it’s already heart wrenchingly painful to watch her have what appears to be panic attacks throughout the game. The bulk of Athena’s character development comes from this, with Phoenix helping her to overcome her trauma. It’s good enough, but for a playable character, it feels like too much of this development comes at the hands of Phoenix powering through the case to uncover the truth. It feels more befitting of a supporting character, which Athena is not.

              Prosecutor Blackquill also receives his backstory here, revealing that he intentionally accepted a false conviction for the murder of Athena’s mother in order to protect Athena as well as the evidence that would help him take down the elusive true culprit. His concern for Athena makes him an immediately more likeable person, and his method of laying in wait for seven years to take down the criminal who wronged him draws obvious parallels to Phoenix and Kristoph Gavin in Apollo Justice, which sets the stage well as the two work together in the final chapter to put an end to the “dark age of the law” that their cases ushered in. The parallel, and even Phoenix’s culpability for helping cause the “dark age,” is never elaborated on as much as it could be, but this conclusion ties together Apollo Justice and Dual Destinies with an overarching plot that works. At this point it’s also revealed that the real Bobby Fulbright is dead, and has been impersonated by the spy and murderer of Athena’s mother known as “the phantom” all along. This twist isn’t particularly impactful as it doesn’t recontextualize much about Fulbright’s behavior aside from his willingness to help the defense.

              None of this, however, comes before Apollo gets his development too. This sequence is excellent, which makes it something of a tragedy. If Apollo’s arc had been laid out more gradually and his backstory fleshed out more, rather than it all coming at the tail end of the game, this might have been even more powerful. Still, what’s there is great: this is Apollo’s moment to decide what being a lawyer means to him, and it helps to define him more clearly as a character apart from Phoenix. This is Apollo’s answer to Phoenix’s Farewell, My Turnabout from Justice for All, which is to say it pushes his beliefs to an extreme and challenges him to reexamine what he stands for. For Phoenix, his unwavering belief in his clients is put to the test when he learns that he’s defending an unquestionably guilty man, forcing him to learn to balance that belief with the pursuit of the truth. For Apollo, his endless pursuit of the truth narrows his view to the point that he doubts even his own friend’s innocence, something he shows he desperately doesn’t want with the best line in the game: “It’s fine, Mr. Wright… even a bluff would suit me just fine…” This singular moment does more for Apollo’s character than the entirety of his own game and the rest of Dual Destinies, and it’s ever so satisfying.

              It was at this point when originally writing this essay that I realized I had made a terrible, terrible mistake. I had set out to discuss every way Dual Destinies sets itself up for failure in its lofty hopes of doing more than it was capable of, yet as I went through, case-by-case, and examined what worked and what didn’t, I discovered that there was a solid story here and that each of its protagonists is developed – if only a little. Originally, I had thought Apollo got the short end of the stick, receiving only one case that didn’t contribute to any sort of character arc and a paper-thin backstory. What I didn’t see was that the game does manage to use it to facilitate some amount of meaningful growth, even if it comes at the very end of the game. I started to think that maybe Athena was the worst off, and given that she’s supposed to be a main character on par with Phoenix or Apollo, I’m inclined to maintain that view, but as a character, divorced from expectations, her story is a touching one. And as for Phoenix, the game shows that his continued relevance has value.

              With one final, fist-pumping-ly exciting triple objection from our lawyers, Dual Destinies just about reaches its end and demonstrates what the game is really about. To some extent, it’s the continuation of Apollo Justice, challenging Apollo to develop as a lawyer. To some extent, it’s the introduction of Athena Cykes, exploring who she is and how she comes to stand confidently in court. And to some extent, it’s the return of Phoenix Wright, as he learns to serve his role as mentor and right the wrongs of his past. Maybe it should have been only one of those things – a more focused story might have made bigger strides for the characters’ development. But above all, Dual Destinies is a story of all three as a team. Unlike how Apollo Justice centered Phoenix over Apollo, no one character outshines both the others this time; each character’s growth is built off their relationships with the each other. Regardless of if this was the right direction, it was the direction nonetheless. In the end, for all its unused potential, Dual Destinies is at the very least, an Ace Attorney game through and through. The themes of discovering who one is and figuring out what one stands for are as present as they’ve ever been, even if they don’t get exactly as much time and attention as they deserve. The game is overly ambitious, certainly, but it crams enough goodness to just barely make it work – that, if nothing else, is an admirable feat.

[sunaddicted]

Lilies 1/2 (nygmobblepot, tw: mentions of past child abuse)

Once again, with his heart full of dread, Oswald realised that hadn't paid a visit to his mother's grave in months; falling from his throne and the subsequent struggle to claw his way up to the top - a viciously painful cycle he had went through a little too often for his tastes - had driven his mother's memory to the back of his mind, shadowed by more immediate problems that required his attention unless he wanted to join her in the afterlife.

Which he highly doubted it would have made his mother happy - Oswald could imagine her gently scolding him for having such morbid thoughts as if she was standing next to him, her fingers petting through his hair stiff with pomade.

Still, it didn't erase the fact that he was a terrible son and guilt tied tight knots of his squirming insides, making Oswald feel nauseous just at the thought of his ungrateful behaviour: he should have been able to spare a few minutes for the woman who had raised him in a house that, while poor and lacking when it came to the most material things, had always been full of love and acceptance.

Gertrud hadn't batted an eyelash when he had tentatively implicated that he wasn't remotely interested in those scandalously painted women she was afraid would take her son away from her.

She hadn't tried to drive his most flamboyant habits out of him, teaching him instead how to style his hair and put eyeliner on without poking his eye out.

Despite being unable to afford it, his mother had fought with Oswald for months and taken up all the odd jobs she could to persuade him to stay in high school until graduation.

And Oswald knew that she deliberately had chosen to never speak out aloud about his unsavoury career of choice: she wasn't a stupid woman - a little untethered sometimes, but far from obtuse.

His mother had been a rare breed, as plenty of Oswald's acquaintances had showed him: it seemed that too often the love of a parent was denied to children who were different.

Freaks.

Oswald knew that amongst them, he was one of the few who could boast about having had an happy childhood and nurturing parents - even his father, who he had met too late to form the deep bond he had with his mother, had loved him despite his plentiful flaws.

He also recognised that it probably was the reason why he had the slightly unhealthy habit of collecting unique people that had only known hatred in their lives to give them a semblance of a family to count on - a support network of sorts. The fact that his kindness - not that he purposefully broadcasted it as such: he needed to be feared and respected, not regarded as some sort of mothering figure by all the villains around town - was repaid with loyalty, it was an added bonus that he obviously wasn't going to turn down, seen as most of them had abilities that helped Oswald to keep his hold onto Gotham's underground firm and tight.

Oswald shrugged on his coat and went to the kitchen where he could hear the steady murmuring of Fries' voice talking science to Martin; he hated to interrupt the tutoring sessions, but he had quickly learnt that the boy would restlessly look for him around the Manor and become antsy when he couldn't find him: when Oswald realised that Martin probably acted out of fear of being abandoned once again, his heart had done a little painful summersault and he had promised himself to always warn him when he was going out.

Silently leaning against the doorframe, Oswald took a few seconds to admire the scene playing in front of his eyes: Victor Fries was surprisingly good with children - or maybe he just particularly liked his ward - and, apparently, also very good at explaining maths without being boring if Martin's captivated and focused expression was anything to go by.

He cleared his throat, smiling as he limped up to the table to squeeze Martin's shoulder "I'm going out for a bit"

Immediately, Martin retrieved a discarded scrap of paper with a big question mark doodled on it - the symbol briefly made the blood in Oswald's veins freeze before he realised that Martin must have used it to ask questions to his impromptu teacher to better clarify a piece of information - and thrust it in Oswald's hands. They had both been working on sign language, learning it together in the evenings after dinner, but Martin still hugely preferred to use his notepad.

"To the cemetery" Oswald answered, handing back the note "I'll be back in an hour or so"

/Can I come?/

"Aren't you in the middle of solving a problem?"

"It's fine, Oswald" Victor reassured, fingers already quickly gathering their notes to put them away until the next lesson "He's been coped up inside the whole week: take him out for a bit of fresh air"

/So?/

Oswald wanted to argue that a cemetery wasn't the best place for a child for a trip but relented when he looked down and saw those big brown eyes studying him hopefully, waiting for an answer "Alright, go get your coat" Oswald relented with a sigh "How is he doing?" He turned to ask Victor, peering down at the neatly scribbled notes.

"He's a sharp kid" Victor answered "I'm still not sure about homeschooling being the best option but he's not going to have problems passing his examinations"

"I know, I have a bunch of geniuses teaching him" Oswald retorted with a proud smile.

"He needs to interact with his peers, Oswald"

The smaller man sighed "And I agree but he needs to build up his confidence first" he pointed out "I'm not going to send him to school before I'm sure he won't let himself be bullied"

"I suppose that's true" Victor admitted, bringing the conversation to an end when he heard the distinctive pattering of excited feet running over the parqueted floor "Well, I'll see you later. I'm leaving your notes on your desk, Martin - work on the problems we haven't solved today"

Martin signed a quick 'thank you' before he tugged on Oswald's coat, clearly impatient to get out of the house - even if that meant taking a walk amidst graves.

"We're going, we're going" Oswald reassured, rolling his eyes fondly as he led him to the limousine and opened the door for him "Don't squash the flowers" he warned, settling next to Martin's quietly comforting presence.

***

Edward had always been a creature of habit, routines were so deeply ingrained in his brain that, with their disruption, his thinking process halted and he felt like a fish out of water - choking on thin air, gills gaping obscenely in a gain vain attempt at survival; it was in those moments that his mirror self had used to take control, the Riddler slipping through the cracks as sleek as an eel to ensure that Edward Nygma didn't do anything idiotic while weighed down by panic.

Not that the Riddler had been any less fixated on patterns - otherwise, Oswald wouldn't have been able to play him so well, predicting his actions with with almost clairvoyant ability. No, the only difference between them was that the Riddler handled the unexpected better than Edward Nygma did and managed to fiction even when their safety net was snapped.

"Are you hoping that taking up old habits will dislodge the psychological block that's keeping you from using your brain to full potential?" Lee inquired, frowning; Nygma's reasoning made sense - proving to the man that he wasn't actually stupid, if only he bothered to see- but she did worry about what the other man's emotional instability could push him to do.

Living in the Narrows didn't mean that she suddenly condoned criminal activity and she wouldn't turn a blind eye to her patient going on a murderous rampage just to kick his brain into working like it used to. Lee was slowly growing fond of Edward - it rankled her: he had killed one of her friends, after all - but she wasn't yet so fond that she wouldn't hand his arse at the GCPD if he started spilling blood.

"It can help people suffering from memory loss"

"You don't have memory loss" which had been one of the first signals that had made Lee suspect that Edward's damage had been more psychological rather than physical; it didn't make sense that Nygma would loose something as significant as his intelligence but had retained every single one of his memories up to the moment when he had been iced over by Fries. Various tests and scans had proved her right "What did you have in mind?" She asked, noticing the defeated expression on her patient's face.

Edward immediately brightened at the question: doctor Thompkins wouldn't have asked for further clarification on his plan, if she had thought that it was completely stupid; it almost made him feel like his old self "Something small" he reassured "But on which I truly relied on to calm down whenever I felt particularly under pressure"

"Such as?"

There came the embarrassing- and potentially dangerous - part of his plan "I used to bring flowers in Gertrud's grave, every other Thursday" he admitted. Even after discovering Oswald's betrayal - even after shooting him off of the pier - Edward had kept visiting Gertrud Kapelput with a handful of the whitest lilies he could find, critically inspected to ensure that there weren't any brown speckles to blemish the petals.

It genuinely was surprising that every single florist in Gotham hadn't banished him from their shops.

There was no need to know Penguin particularly intimately to immediately link that name to his mother and Lee's frown deepened as she shook her head, lips slightly parted as she looked for the right words to tell Nygma that he couldn't possibly go on Oswald's mother's grave "Really?" She blurted out instead.

Much to her chagrin, Lee was endlessly fascinated by Edward's conflicting behaviours: he claimed that he wanted to destroy Oswald, take everything away from him in retaliation for ruining his last shot at having a normal relationship, but then he had also admitted to using drugs in order to hallucinate his former best friend and have a chat with him whenever he needed moral support or was feeling lonely - and now she discovered that Edward brought flowers on Gertrud's grave.

It made absolutely no sense.

Unless her little theory was right.

Edward flushed a bright pink "Really. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son"

"Have you just quoted the Bible to prove your point?"

"Ezekiel 18:20. My parents were very religious" Edward offered as an explanation, dismissing her slightly teasing smile and stared at her with a resolute and serious glance. He needed something more than the puzzles and exercises she gave him to train his mind; they stressed and depressed him, made him wonder about whether he'd been an idiot all along - a lying cheater, just like his father had claimed him to be for his whole childhood.

Maybe he had deserved every hard punch against his heaving ribs, every sharp lash of the belt to his quivering back, every cigarette butt burning the tender skin of his inner arms.

No, he couldn't afford to let such doubts take root in his head: Edward Nygma knew he had been abused by his parents, he knew it hadn't been his fault if they hadn't loved him because he was a little odd.

"Nygma, are you alright?"

Edward took a deep breath, fingers pressing down his lowered eyelids "I need to do this" he just said, trying not to sound too desperate.

"Breathe"

"I am breathing"

Lee rolled her eyes, somewhat fondly even as she still recognised the usual feeling of annoyance that Edward would have managed to awaken even in a saint "Do it properly" she retorted with a gentle murmur "I didn't mean to discourage you from this plan" on another plan? Sure "But.."

"But?"

"Two conditions"

That didn't sound too bad, he could deal with two conditions; Edward nodded, eyes following doctor Thompkins as he forced the ferocious thoughts spinning in a whirlwind in his mind to slow down "Alright"

Pleased, Lee leaned back against her chair "I'm coming with you and we won't go until we have Oswald's schedule pinned down to a reasonable level of accuracy"

Edward shook his head "He doesn't plan this sort of things" which had always drove him insane to no end: how could someone as powerful as Oswald stand to live his life in such a.. disorderly manner? Didn't he understand that structure was needed to manage his time as best as possible, avoiding waste? Apparently not, Oswald had always been adamant about the importance of... improvisation.

Edward wrinkled his nose at the thought, just as if he had tasted something that had gone off.

"Then we'll have to go when it's most unlikely that he will do so" Lee insisted; hadn't Nygma been purposefully rallying the Narrows up against Penguin with his little comedy act, maybe she wouldn't have worried so much about the two of them meeting on Gertrud's grave - on the contrary, she would have hoped for such a thing to happen so that, helped by the tenderness of the moment, they would finally talk and stop their ridiculous pining before they became the city's laughing stock.

Because Penguin was still so painfully in love with Edward - had someone of Oswald's goons actually believed the whole "out of revenge" spiel when he had let his enemy go? - and to anyone who bothered to look past Edward's rantings about how much he hated the other man, it was so clear that he still cared.

Personally, Lee thought they just needed to be honest with themselves and pull their heads out of their asses.

Not that she was going to be so blunt: she didn't even think Edward realised that it was alright being bisexual and being attracted to both genders - and it wasn't a realisation she was going to help him to have, he had to work it out on his own.

"Doctor Thompkins?"

"Sorry, I was distracted" Lee apologised "Could you repeat that?"

Edward scowled in annoyance; it already was difficult to string sentences up together sometimes, the least his doctor could do was listening to him without zoning out after thirty minutes "I said that Oswald is too unpredictable - even going out at night, which logic suggests to be the most unlikely time of the day to find him bringing flowers on his mother's grave, wouldn't work since he's quite the nocturnal creature" between working at the Lounge until the wee hours of morning and his insomnia - they had shared many cups of tea in front of the fireplace whenever they had found one another wandering around the Manor, sleep eluding them both - it wouldn't have surprised Edward if Oswald picked a ridiculously late hour to visit his mother "Why are you so concerned about us meeting? I'm not worth wasting any time on, now that I'm stupid"

Was it dejectiom that Lee could detect in Edward's voice? "Is that the reason behind your taunting?"

Edward gritted his teeth, voice leaving his mouth through them in a hiss "No, I'm not begging for his attention"

Except that he was. Lee sighed but let the subject drop, not wanting to make the other man even more upset than he already was "Alright"

"Alright?"

Lee nodded "Alright. When do you want to go?"

A sheepish smile slowly appeared on Edward's lips, dimpling his cheeks at the corners "Now? I already have picked the flowers up"

[itsclydebitches]

The lack of action from our "heroes" is eerily similar to a Nostalgia Critic sketch I saw when I still watched his show. The idea was that to parallel what was reviewed in the episode, Fantastic Four, where the heroes barely did anything for most of it, Doug and his friends got superpowers and only choose to sit on the couch and watch Netflix while the world is under attack. The only difference is that was meant to lampoon the movie, and wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

Massive replay incoming! I haven’t seen the Fantastic Four, but I do still have a lot of thoughts on this choice and how badly it came across... 

Though we can absolutely debate the merits/detriments of having 3/4ths of your title characters keeping to the sidelines while the Big Bad is here, I 100% believe that this could have been improved immensely if RWBY a) were more consistently written and b) allowed its characters to tackle conflicts central to what’s currently going on, not conflicts made up just for the sake of having a conflict (Yang randomly fights with Ruby, Ren has criticisms and then never brings them up again, etc.) 

So what do I mean by this. I mean that the fandom isn’t necessarily wrong to argue things like, “RWB needs to be there to help Nora and Penny” or “They need time to regain their aura.” The problem is that the show never established these needs as necessary. The viewers have simply assumed those needs are there and judge the group’s actions accordingly. But for those of us asking questions like, “But how does Ruby standing by the window benefit Nora?” or “How long does it really take them to regain their strength?” we’re never given answers and thus are left with the belief that these needs do not exist and the group’s choices are not justified. It becomes, as you say, akin to a parody. 

So how do we fix this? By having the show acknowledge those questions and provide believable answers. A few minor tweaks might include: 

Having someone ask how long they’re just going to sit there. Let another character argue that they need to rest up before they do anything else. They can’t help others if they’re collapsing themselves. Then, keep these limitations consistent across the volume. In the last episode, Ren was suddenly using his semblance again, despite his aura breaking with very little time having passed between the two moments. So if he only needs a tiny chunk of time in horrific conditions to recover, why does team RWB supposedly need the whole day and night in complete safety, with heat, food, etc.? If “We have to recover” is meant to be a justification, show us elsewhere what lacking that results in: Ren, Jaune, and Oscar do not get their aura/energy back, they’re making mistakes, at the end of their rope, and generally not functioning because look, their conditions are so much worse. This is why a mansion break is necessary. 

Have the group actively be trying to solve their problems. We didn’t start with “Someone needs to watch over Nora” we started with “Nora is incredibly injured and needs help”... but no one ever tried to get her help. Have them cycle through and reject some possibilities. Then have Weiss think of calling Klein and approach Whitley to see if he knows how to contact him. There, your protagonists are active and Weiss is helping to repair this relationship. As it stands, the group appears content to continue sitting around while Nora suffers, despite knowing she needs medical attention. We know, emotionally, they’re not actually content, but that’s what the actions imply. Where’s the scene where Ruby frantically asks May if the Happy Huntresses have any doctors and is it possible to bring one here? Where’s Blake hesitantly asking if it’s worth going back to Ironwood to get her help? The fandom assumes that sitting in the mansion = devotion to helping Nora, but we don’t actually see them trying to help Nora. Not in any meaningful way beyond putting cold towels on her head. What are they willing to risk and sacrifice for their teammate? Because sitting drinking tea while they hope things will magically fix themselves doesn’t convey much. We’re not talking here about how much the fandom assumes the group will do for Nora, we’re talking about what their actual actions read like. 

Establish then why it takes three powerful fighters to watch over one unconscious woman already being cared for in a comparatively safe environment. The fandom acts as if Nora is a target when she’s not. No one is explicitly after her. If anything, given the initial assumption that the Hound was after Ruby as a SEW, she puts Nora in more danger by hanging around. Have the group debate the merits of being here to defend her if, by chance, something happens vs. putting their skills to use during a battle where very few huntsmen remain. 

This debate should include the fact that half their team is missing. Not gone, missing. Last RWB saw they were going down to Mantle to help with general needs and low-level grimm activity. Now they’ve been MIA for hours. Blake, as the assumed love interest, and Ruby, as the sister, should be particularly desperate to find out what’s happened to Yang. If the group has to stay in the mansion for plot reasons, have Weiss talk them out of running into Mantle without a plan. What if what happened to the others happens to you too? The point is, May shouldn’t be the one concerned about the rest of the team and May shouldn’t be the one out looking for information. 

Let the group actually decide something for once. Show us that they were going to help Mantle or Atlas and then, oh no, Penny interrupted those plans. As it is though, that scene frames it like Ruby will happily continue hanging out in the mansion until something else  — something more dangerous than May’s demand to choose  — forces her to take action. Indeed, that’s precisely what happened with the Hound. 

Have Weiss or Blake begin to question why Ruby isn’t doing anything. Weiss has a whole conversation with May about how she wants to protect her home now. Blake is all about faunus rights and protection, with a whole faunus population freezing to death down below. Have one of them threaten to walk out, or actually do it with a, “You don’t need me to watch Nora sleep. I’m going to go do what I can.” These characters are supposed to be people with differing motivations and goals, yet whenever that should matter they’re suddenly happy to follow Ruby, even if by all logic there should be disagreement. 

Have Nora wake up and tell them to do something other than waiting by her bedside. Let her be the one to get them back on their feet, showing them that she’s fine  — she will be fine  — and imploring them to help even though she can’t right now. 

Explain to the audience what the group plans to do with all these civilians once they’re in the ships. Are they coming to the mansion? Try to fly them out of the kingdom? This is the one thing they’ve done since Amity and we’re given no indication what the actual plan is, let alone any debate about its merits. 

Have Ruby be the one to see Penny in her controlled state, not Whitley, and give us some insight into what that means for her. I’ve likewise seen a lot about how Ruby doesn’t just need to look after a sick Penny, she needs to be there to protect Penny and others from her... but does Ruby even know what’s going on? Penny clash-lands without an explanation, she’s busy with the Hound, Whitley and Willow see her heading to the vault, the Hound knocks Penny out, Ruby is distracted by reunions and Ironwood’s threat. The imagined scene where Ruby learns what’s happening to her friend and weighs the dangers of leaving a controlled Penny alone in the mansion are just that: imagined. 

That’s really just a small sampling of options here. As said, there are plenty of ways to tweak this plot to make the heroes seem far less passive than they come across here. The fandom often claims that those who criticize this plot-line don’t understand “show don’t tell.” Meaning, RWBY supposedly showed us something rather than telling us in a hand-holding way and we just didn’t understand it. It becomes more of an insult than an argument, the claim that RWBY wrote something nuanced, it’s not their fault you couldn’t grasp it. But it’s not that we missed the answers here, they simply don’t exist, and the fandom has made up their own answers instead, mapping it onto the canon and assuming that’s what RT intended all along. One individual’s ability to come up with a answer does not mean the story actually gave one, it just means we’re all writing RWBY fanfic in our heads while we watch the show. 

And this is by no means an isolated incident. It happens every episode. Our latest bout of headcanons has come about due to the questions, “Why does kinetic energy only hurt grimm?” and “If it only hurts grimm, why was Hazel supposedly destroyed?” Each viewer is providing a different answer  — “Kinetic energy is different in this world,” “It has to do with the amount of dust in Hazel’s body,” “The blast went in one direction, towards Hazel, and decimated everything in its path, but the aftershocks only hurt grimm”  — all of these complicated, unsubstantiated, and ultimately noncanonical explanations... rather than just saying, “Yeah, it doesn’t make sense based on what the show has told us.” The mansion issue is just a particularly egregious example because we recognize that there’s a major problem with taking your main characters out of the action like that. Yet rather than acknowledging the problems with the writing, many fans are determined to fill in those answers themselves until it makes sense. And it does make sense! So many of these explanations would work, but right now they do not exist within RWBY. If we’re supposed to have an answer like, “The group knows they need to go help, but they’re just too traumatized and exhausted to do it. They know it’s wrong, but they can’t move” then tell us that. Show us that. Make it clear for the audience what the takeaway is. Because when you leave it entirely up to viewer interpret, you might indeed get a lot of “They’re just traumatized and need a break” explanations... but you’ll also get a lot of, “Wow, they’re a really cowardly and callous group, huh?” explanations too. One half of the fandom shouldn’t be mad at the other half for interpreting a completely subjective plot-line differently from them, everyone should be mad that our writers didn’t bother to include the canonical explanations from the get-go. 

[knightofbalance-13]

Welcome to Reality

http://dudeblade.tumblr.com/post/165307951521/is-remnant-stupid

How many times are we gonna go over this?

First, let’s do the big stuff.

Almost all of which will bite you in the ass.

All abusers should not exist. They shouldn’t exist in the real world, but the reason they shouldn’t exist in Remnant is because abuse breeds resentment, fear, sadness, and hurt. Emotions that we are told would attract grimm. Why would an abuser do this if the risk of a giant murder bird coming in to eat you is likely?

Because Grimm would hunt down the people being abused and the abusers are psychopaths so they aren’t a target. Likewise, why should they abuse someone when they could get killed in their sleep? because human beings and our reality isn’t rational so why should Remannt be any more rational than our world?

Racism shouldn’t exist. Much like abusers, it really shouldn’t exist in the real world, but in this world, racism would breed resentment, fear, sadness, envy, and hatred. Why do that if doing that to an entire minority race would cause a giant armored gorilla to come by and rip you in half Mortal Kombat style?

Why would you devalue someone because of their skin color in real life? Because you’re irrational and things like that don’t apply to irrational people.

Shrinks should be more valued than Hunters. I mean, it would be better to PREVENT the grimm from coming in the first place with some good psychology rather than having a bunch of glorified exterminators kill them off? What, do these guys not understand what attracts grimm? I’d rather have my emotional issues be solved rather than have it build up so that a two-headed snake can try to digest me.

Because Grimm are only ATTRACTED to negative emotions and they’ll still attack people. Not to mention Shrinks don’t always work and people won’t always admit to having problems or needing a shrink despite the emotional problems this will cause because PEOPLE ARE NOT RATIONAL, especially the people you are explaining.

Now for the little stuff.

Which will bit you the ass even moreso. Yes, it is possible.

Cardin would have been morally right if he had just outed Jaune from the beginning. Jaune’s lack of experience and competence is not only putting himself in danger, but his whole team as well. I don’t give a shit if he’s a “Good Tactician™” or whatever, but Jaune’s lack of combat abilities would get him and his team killed sooner rather than later. Instead, Cardin bullies Jaune, which leads me back to my rant on how this would breed resentment yadda yadda yadda You know the drill by now

Of course: Everyone not Jaune right, Jaune wrong. Excluding the fact that the same can be said for Ruby and her reckelssness and her immaturity and her lack of experience and amplified by her sister Yang being around as well as her uncle and especially her father constantly worrying about them being killed like SUmmer but I don’t hear you saying that at any point.

Jaune is in the wrong for melting that stuff down to upgrade himself. Instead of going to my usual tirade though, I have a screenshot of how I perceived Jaune’s actions that’s from another post of mine here.

I also have a post I cvan reference (http://dudeblade.tumblr.com/post/163800343229/i-hate-jaune) proving any opinion you have on Jaune is disbarred due to bias against him personally and any opinion on any male characters disbarred due to sexism.

Follow-up Question: Why does nobody think about Pyrrha’s parents?

Because if they are so stupid to have lost all of their daughter’s stuff while she was gone, so selfish they sold it or so blind they didn’t think to keep anything then they don’t really deserve it.

Qrow calls his own niece either “a Liar, Crazy, or both” when she was tricked into kneecapping Mercury. Real Uncle of the year material there, Qrow. What’s next? - You use your other niece as bait for a deadly agent of Salem - Oh wait that actually happened. Why are the adults all assholes in this world?

A. He was stating teh proof that was there and there is no otehr rational explanation.

AndB. He clearly didn’t know about Tyrian. Although has a dick so it should be obvious you would try to portray as bad.

Ironwood doesn’t take Weiss into child custody. He’s seen what pressure Weiss is under in her own home. Winter has surely told him about what Jacques does to them to keep the family under his thumb. Why doesn’t he take action? - He has two seats on the council, it shouldn’t take that long, and considering that child abuse might breed negative emotions… Well, you saw my comments about abuse earlier in this post.

Except Jacques is the richest man in Mistral and there is nothing saying that Ironwood has authority over child services and if he failed, Weiss’ abuse gets worse. Also, how does Ironwood know? He has never been in the same room as when Weiss and Jacques talk, Jacques is subtly abusive in public and people don’t exactly talk upfront about this.

Ozluminati sends the drunkard whose semblance is BAD LUCK to guard a person of importance. Was Ozpin TRYING to get Amber killed? I mean, you can’t have a person with super speed to guard Amber so that if she gets in trouble, the guard can rush in to save them? You can’t have a sniper keep watch from a distance, and pick off opponents who would kill her? Why the drunkard whose semblance is the causation of bad luck to those around him?

A. Because Glynda is teaching in one of the most, Ozpin is running a school, Ironwood is running a school AND a miltary and Leo is runn9ing a school. Qrow literally has the most time.

B. Who is this person with super speed? Can they be trusted? Are they stronger than Qrow? Can a sniper be trusted and would a sniper be effective due to Aura? See, you don’t answer YOUR questions.

C. Wow Dudeblade, I thought you were critical bt you’ll take Qrow haing bad luck at face value when any evidence for this is cirtcumstantial at best? ALmost like you only do it to bitch about it.

Winter should have taken Weiss away from Jacques. Winter knows full well what her father can and will do to Weiss. Why doesn’t SHE take Weiss away from Jacques? She’s got the power to do so! She’s a legal adult, she has a high rank in the military, she can afford Weiss’ living expenses! Why can’t Winter help out her sister? Is she selfish or something?

Because Jacques is richer, more powerful in a legal systemn, could manipulate Winter since he also abused her and Winter has nio proof. You know, like how child abuse works in real life.

Why didn’t Ilia just pass “Color Change” as her semblance? - It probably wouldn’t have been that hard,and she could have offhandedly mentioned that maybe, a faunus once saved her life once when she was younger so that she could have an excuse to sympathize with them? - This makes no sense at all as to why she couldn’t have kept her cover better. For a chameleon, she does an awful job of blending in.

No, you just don’t pay attention: You cannot accidentally activate a Semblence and Illa’s color change is inherent in CHAMELOENS as a sign of EMOTION: This shit isn’t a Quirk, stop acting like it is.

Why do Raven and Qrow play the Pronoun Game? All Qrow had to say was either “Yes” or “No” to Raven’s question,and she would have answered his. But no. Mr. “I’m using my niece as bait” has to try to take the moral high ground over Raven and lecture her about ‘family’ and crap. While, y’know, USING RUBY AS BAIT!

A. You’re lying and trying to paint a MASS MURDERER as a good guy.

B. Raven was also dancing around teh subject and used her own daughter as leverage and unlike you, I can provide proof in the fact that Raven never visits Yang, outright spat in her face and only pressed Yang when she could be used to control Qrow.

C. So...why aren’t you criticizing Raven for mass murdering people and abusing her daughter? Let me guess: She has a vagina and thus your sexist ass ignores her.

RNJR doesn’t take any kind of transport to Mistral because of reasons. Despite the fact that they’re trying to get to Mistral ASAP to warn them. And since Ren and Nora decided to NOT say something like “Hey, this place is dangerous, we should find a different way around or get through as quick as we can.” Then they waste a bunch of minutes against the Nucklevee. With his stupid noodle arms, and ability to make buildings and other structures relocate themselves. Maybe that’s how it killed other, more experienced hunters. Whenever one of them found cover, Nucky would use it’s structure relocation powers and make that cover disappear.

A. https://youtu.be/IZKpkzPIRlw?t=16m42s

B. Trama nor is it shown that the Nucklevee was near by until it was heading towards Kuroyuri and they were informed about the Nucklevee.

C. ANy proof it can do that? Becuase not only is this a baseless accusation, this has no point in what you are saying. Of course, peopel could give you teh benefit of the doubt...but between your apparent sexism and you’re lying: It’s safe to assume you said this because the writer’s are male and you wanna put in Ad Hominin.

Salem only sends one goon after the dreaded “Silver-Eyed Warrior.” She has a guy who gave her a tough time when all he was doing was stalling, a person who can alter one’s perception, a bunch of other fighters, and an army of grimm at her beck and call. Goddamn villain stupidity.

A. Gee, not like they killed those so called “dreaded” warriors before...

https://youtu.be/IZKpkzPIRlw?t=3m45s

Huh, almost like you ignore facts to suit your narrative.

B.  What other fighters? Mercury and Emerald would be fucked against RNJR due to their new abilities, everyone else is doing their own work: What “fighters” are you referring to? And the Grimm? Why not wlak up to Ozpin and his allies and say “HERE”S THE TRHEAT I’M TRYING TO ELIMINATE”?

C. Yeah...this is just like getting a hold of the world’s most powerful warrior, having her in the palm of your hand and the  not doing anything Oh wait, Korra did that. ALl the fucking time. And I do believe that in Storm Hawks, Piper has let t5he main villianess go due to their bonds before.Yeah, almost like youy are setting an unaturally high bar for RWBY.

Darwin. Award.

Every single person in Remnant is gunning for a Darwin Award. Like, only our ‘main’ protagonists are somewhat smart, and even then, Blake thinks that just putting on a disguise is going to distract from the fact that she shares the same last name as a previous WF leader.

Everyone on Remnant is an idiot.

Just like our world where the examples you pull exist here. And whil;e you can point at Grimm, I can point at Dust and Aura and the three would counterbalance each other. So Remnant is no more unrealistic than our world with the same flaws and the same actions. ALmost like humans can’t remove themselves from their own experiences and being is the ENTIRE POINT OF A SHOW.

God, no wonder you suck at writing: You’re too obsessed with faulty logic.

Either that, or the writers are making this up as they go along. But that would be insulting the original writers. And we can’t be critical of people who are ‘trying.’

Yeah, lying and being sexist and being bias and setting unnatural high standards and ignoring facts is not being critical. My proof: This entire post.

[zodiacspot]

Horoscope - March 11 2017

Aries Horoscope

(Mar 21 – Apr 19)

You prefer to be left to your own devices today so you can make some headway on your daily list. You're trying to keep yourself busy because someone's mixed messages are too much to decipher. The moment you think everything is normal, an odd comment or behavior makes you question the situation. Looking for a logical answer probably won't get you anywhere when things seem stranger than fiction. Let go of the need for conclusive evidence and continue to make progress in other areas. Be so busy improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

Taurus Horoscope

(Apr 20 – May 20)

You're willing to push yourself to the limit with your long-term aspirations in mind. Time and energy seem a worthy sacrifice today when you feel like you're on the verge of a major breakthrough. But a misalignment between the willful Sun and cheerful Jupiter warps your perception, tricking you into believing your gas tank is bigger than it is. By all means, put in the work necessary to move closer to your dreams; but set a reasonable daily goal before you run yourself into the ground. Shakespeare wrote, "To climb steep hills requires a slow pace."

Gemini Horoscope

(May 21 – Jun 20)

You feel like a true visionary as your pool of ideas appears to overflow in a sparkling deluge. It seems like success is just a matter of picking a professional prospect and throwing yourself into it, letting your natural ability to think on your feet fill in any gaps. Annoyingly, the prudent Virgo Moon will not allow you to jump into just anything without having some semblance of a plan. Although holding off to double-check under the hood is restrictive, you'll be happier overall if you pay attention to the voice of reason in the back of your mind. Ben Franklin wrote, "Caution is the parent of security."

Cancer Horoscope

(Jun 21 – Jul 22)

You genuinely want to be the best person you can be now, but you may idolize an ideal until it becomes untouchable. Theorizing about your future inspires you to grow, but discontent sets in when you believe you can't possibly catch up with your vision. You could worry so much nothing gets done, thinking of all the things you can't do yet. Simply introducing more organization and intention into your everyday routine stabilizes your life and enables you to proactively manage your schedule. Michael Altshuler wrote, "The bad news is time flies; the good news is you're the pilot."

Leo Horoscope

(Jul 23 – Aug 22)

A sincere fascination with your feelings arises when you plumb the depths of your heart. You may feel the urge to communicate your revelations to someone, as if they're more real when acknowledged by another. While opening up can be a healthy practice, you might divulge more than necessary as exaggerating Jupiter feeds compliments to the illuminating Sun in your 8th House of Deep Sharing. What seems like an earth-shattering epiphany today could seem like business as usual tomorrow. Preserve your dignity by thinking twice before spilling the beans.

Virgo Horoscope

(Aug 23 – Sep 22)

You're running a tight ship because you want every little thing in its place. You could be trying to impress a special someone by making sure everything is perfect. But what seems like a gleaming example of the ideal relationship or person may not be as exalted as it seems today. Micro-managing your every move only makes things uncomfortable when the object of your affection turns out only to sparkle when the light is just right. Loosen your grip and remember that nothing or no one is without flaw. Leo Tolstoy wrote, "If you look for perfection, you'll never be content."

Libra Horoscope

(Sep 23 – Oct 22)

You're looking forward to some downtime after a recent flurry of hard work. But as much as you want a bit of privacy to recharge, you keep your nose to the grindstone, hoping someone will validate your fatigue and congratulate you for your efforts. Perhaps it's time to ask why you're seeking outside approval. The truth is that you don't need a reason to take some time off; put your guilt aside and place yourself first on your list. Ovid wrote, "Take rest; a field that has rested yields a bountiful crop."

Scorpio Horoscope

(Oct 23 – Nov 21)

You believe that your latest creative endeavor will be one for the books. It seems like you managed to funnel your secret ideas into a poetic rendering, and you're sure everyone will marvel at your success. However, if your friends aren't overly enthusiastic, you may get irritated with their lack of interest. In reality, you're extremely critical of both your audience and yourself right now. Nevertheless, your creations have value even when they're not rushed to a gallery for exhibition. Robert Fry wrote, "Art is a passion or it is nothing."

Sagittarius Horoscope

(Nov 22 – Dec 21)

You're convinced that nothing can go wrong today as long as you maintain a high level of optimism. Success seems inevitable when you feel like all your bases are covered and you have a rich network of connections to boot. But you may be overestimating just how much your friends will come through for you in a tight squeeze. You must be able to depend on your own resources and knowledge instead of assuming your social net will always be there to catch you if you make a mistake. Although meticulous planning isn't your first choice now, ample preparation solidifies the future you want.

Capricorn Horoscope

(Dec 22 – Jan 19)

While it's true that advancement toward your goals begins with a single thought, it takes more than speaking your convictions to make them real. Viewing your objectives all in a row makes you feel like you're halfway there already, but an excessive Sun-Jupiter misalignment could be distorting your depth perception when it comes to your career aspirations. Keep going in the right direction, but hold off on assuming your level of progress until another day. Zig Ziglar taught, "There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs."

Aquarius Horoscope

(Jan 20 – Feb 18)

Every time you think about your latest hypothesis you become more excited about its potential. But at the same time, your infatuation with your scheme could simply be a way to avoid some nagging doubts. Those thoughts that go bump in the night are just the fussy Virgo Moon in your 8th House of Self-Analysis clamoring to get your attention. You must acknowledge your feelings now, because they don't actually threaten your project like you think they do. Your fears are just paper tigers once you face them.

Pisces Horoscope

(Feb 19 – Mar 20)

It feels like it's up to you to make it or break it right now, and the pressure is getting to be too much. While you always want to keep your options open, sorting through so many possibilities can be a burden. You may turn to a close friend for advice, but when they don't have the answer you want you might snap at them out of exasperation. However, you can't expect an immediate solution to your current problem. Cut yourself some slack before your exasperation gets the better of you. Saadi wrote, "Have patience; everything is difficult before it is easy."

Source : Rick Levine

Read more about your horoscope here

[yangingaround]

“Temper Tantrums“

okay so Tai compared Yang’s semblance (and her use of it) unfavorably to a temper tantrum and basically treated her like she gets on like a reckless idiot when she uses it

which doesn’t follow how things went down at all in her previous fights

but first let’s get into what her semblance actually is because that’s what’s really unclear

Yang’s semblance is that she builds up energy for every hit she takes, and that boosts her strength. we see similar semblances with Adam and Nora. the visible tell when this is in use is that her hair starts glowing (according to the commentary for volume 2), to indicate energy build up - it’s based in damage, not rage

here’s the thing - in the fights Taiyang cites? (all two of them, because that’s a pattern, sure) this never happens - hell, she doesn’t even get hit that much or that hard by Neon, and while she does take a few hits from Mercury (most of the time she was trying to dodge), it’s never enough for her to resort to that element - in fact, we only see that happen three times over the course of the entire series, the Yellow trailer, 2x04 and 3x11 (so in order; a demonstration of what she can do, she would’ve literally died if she hadn’t used it and finally, she didn’t have any other options and it was a highly tense emotional situation, ‘taking a step back’ and looking for another route could’ve gotten Blake killed and Yang isn’t that cold)

so what does Yang use in those fights? her fire ability, which does tie into her anger, but seems to function almost entirely separately from her semblance (it has different tells - red eyes like her maternal family -who also have strange abilities- and flames in her hair on occasion - and she doesn’t need to take damage to get into it, as seen in the numerous non-combat situations she’s brought it out in. she does use it in conjunction with her charge thing, probably because taking that much damage would piss anyone off) - and in those situations? in the Mercury fight all she does is fight more ferociously and ends it reasonably quickly. in the FNKI fight, she doesn’t come across anything like how Tai is framing her

when she finally lets loose with her anger after Neon’s constant pestering frustrated her (we see in 1x07 that she can get frustrated when too much is going on and seems to impair her ability to process things), she stops trying to catch up with and brute force the fight with Neon, instead resorting to ranged attacks to scatter Flynt and Neon (and used previously unseen fire streams, which are incredibly fast, in order to break up the arena with craters - a feat matched in the tournament only once, by Nora, who was fully charged, jumping from height and behind a hammer. Yang had been slapped about with a glowstick and was firing these things from her hands - and if she can do that just by getting angry, then that’s more reason it’s not part of her semblance, if she can dish out that kind of destructive capability without needing to get punched through reinforced concrete, then the charge thing is redundant). she then took on Flynt and Neon separately and defeated both with shots from her gauntlets - she’s also not that tired out afterwards (nor is she in the Yellow trailer, 1x06 or 2x04, the latter of which she should be given what happened to her, or in 3x06 - both the volume 3 examples have her pausing to take a breath but that seems more like she’s cooling off than because she’s tired), so Tai’s point there is invalid too (as is his ‘think before you act’ thing because she was playing tactically there)

so ‘relying’ on her semblance wasn’t really what’s happening when a) her semblance wasn’t in use and b) what was in use supplemented her fighting the way everyone elses does - and we’ve seen her fight without using it too, 2x11 against Neo (because she was surrounded by Dust crates, using her abilities, and even her gauntlet shots if she didn’t have a clear shot away from the crates, could’ve set them off and killed everyone); Yang’s biggest problem in that fight was that Neo is small and quick and Yang had been on the go all day and hadn’t slept for much of the night - she was the only one not shown sleeping at all - Yang even manages to catch up with Neo’s fighting style and grabs her, but Neo turns it around and knocks her out (helped because Yang’s already exhausted by that point) - possibly because continuing the fight would’ve led to Yang getting in a decent hit

it almost seems like Tai’s trying to invalidate/lessen her victories by treating her like she’s... well like she’s Ruby, who is reckless and more reliant on her semblance. Yang brings out her stuff towards the end of fights as a trump card and usually as a last resort, she doesn’t go into a fight and spring it right away, and she still doesn’t seem to use it terribly often, certainly not more often than any other character

it also seems to be knocking on her tendency to get angry which... isn’t necessarily a bad thing (she never lashes out, see 1x08 and 2x06, she gets angry and even taps into her fire thing, but no one gets hurt; even her shoving of Blake is very light and done to prove a point that Blake’s run herself ragged - if Yang wasn’t in control of herself there, we saw how immense her strength is at the beginning of the episode, she would’ve put Blake through the desk without much effort. in addition, 1x08 and 3x05 show that when she gets understandably frustrated, she actually has trouble focusing at all; releasing it benefits her more than bottling it up and suppressing it does), especially as the one time she’s gotten in trouble because of it is due to a trick taking advantage of a built-up perception of her (in tournament match-ups that were more than likely rigged to build that perception more), and so the criticism comes off as shaming her for a flaw she doesn’t actually have

i’m hoping this is deliberate misdirection - with Tai being an audience surrogate, making assumptions because he wasn’t paying attention/didn’t have all the info

i mean, Yang, from the start, has been associated with the message that she’s more than what’s going on on the surface (which is all anyone seems to focus on with her; even Tai is primarily focused on her arm and the way she fights, her issues and PTSD have gone unaddressed and he didn’t do much to help when she had an attack)

“Scathing eyes ask that we be symmetrical, one sided and easily processed. Yet every misshapen spark's unseen beauty is greater than its would be judgement."

the symmetry thing is obviously brought into play in 3x11, as basically a reminder of this, and right now i think we’re seeing the ‘would be judgment’ that she’s going to prove greater than - especially as nothing he said was really fully complimentary, and even when comparing Yang favourably to Raven, he didn’t go into specifics on her own merits and wasn’t looking at her for much of it, which makes his “i’m proud of how much of her i see in you” come off as slightly disingenuous

plus what he does compare positively doesn’t exactly ring true - like especially with “her ambition, her dedication to whatever cause she thought was worth fighting for” - that doesn’t line up with Yang’s self-admitted lack of motivation and how she always ‘goes with the flow’ (and indeed, only ever went along with what everyone else was doing - protecting her loved ones is the only thing she really dedicates herself too and that’s not really a ‘cause’). i think Tai may be projecting a little