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randomfoggytiger · 2 years ago

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Arcadia Analysis: Scully Was Enjoying Herself Immensely

In this essay I will-

Arcadia is one of the most misunderstood episodes of The X-Files. It’s easy to see why: it’s one of the episodes that follows Two Fathers/One Son, making it easy to lump the characters’ intentions in with the aftermath of the “you’re making this personal” trainwreck (that is never directly addressed.) HOWEVER, this episode is completely divorced from One Son ala “Chris Carter wants his MOTW eps to be their own separate Scooby Doo mysteries.” While it is frustrating to viewers to not have continuity bleed over, (even the actors have stated they had to view each episode as a clean slate each week), it makes a lot of sense with how Mulder and Scully act throughout this case.

Furthermore, and the nail in the coffin of my assertion: Scully was having the time of her life.

“BUT HOW???” you query, “Everywhere I have looked for Arcadia discourse I have found an overwhelming amount of information and theories and fics supporting the idea that Scully was hurt, angry, and withdrawn from Mulder, using her masks and her granny pajamas as a shield against him. How could she- as your title suggests- like (let alone enjoy) her time in Arcadia???”

Very simple.

Because she did.

The tormented, bitter soul in the episode was Mulder, actually (who will be getting his own write-up soon, btw.)

Now, onto proof for you skeptics.

We first see Scully arriving with a big grin on her face. A front, you say? Perhaps....

Her expression dims somewhat when a giant basket is foisted into her hands; but it truly dips when Mulder makes his first wisecrack response about their last names. (This will be addressed later in the kitchen.)

After she is able to put the heavy welcome basket down, her expression further compounds when Mulder throws his sweater on top of it and makes a jab at the house’s cleanliness (something that will be revisited throughout the episode.)

The first time Scully rebuffs Mulder’s efforts is after he’s hammed up their relationship to Welcome-Wagon Pat and she tries to establish that she is not to be trifled with. (Mulder seems to be cooperative at first; this is, also, revisited in the kitchen.)

Mulder seems to concede with a nod that he’d laid it on too thick and she scoots back in close as they peer through the doorway at their bizarre neighbors. (It’s Mulder who moves away first.)

Once the neighbors finally leave, Mulder continues his married-life quips; but it’s Scully who ups the ante and reciprocates.

She is extremely pleased with herself, her joke, and making Mulder finally genuinely crack a smile. She is having the time of her life instead of enforcing professional distance and boundaries (which she would be if she were in self-preservation mode or still hung up over the Diana fallout.) Her wide smile that just won’t quit shows it all.

While she briefly slips into “professional-mode” when taping the house for evidence,

her whole face lights up when Mulder buzzes by to put his two cents in

and when he returns to quip once more. This time she tries, Scully-style, to conceal her grin; and is marginally more successful.

The dynamics are spelled out in the kitchen: Scully is more invested in this case and its potential, viewing Mulder’s disregard as flippancy. He denies truthfully: just “doesn’t see the point.” When he prods about how seriously she’s taking the assignment (“you just want to play house”), Scully doesn’t deny it and looks away. At his “make me a sandwich” joke, Scully takes the opportunity to enjoy chucking her gloves at his head

to decoy Mulder’s current line of attack and attempt to reestablish their normal banter. (This kitchen scene is where Mulder, however, doubles down until the finale-- which will be revisited in his own post.)

When she and Mulder examines the “blood” on the ceiling fan, she is unfazed by Mulder being in her space, and even turns further towards him.

After slinging her “poopy head” barb at Mulder (reminding him of their earlier conversation in the kitchen)--

Scully notices his distance after questioning Win. She moves closer,

and sticks onto his arm until he uses it to wrap around her shoulders.

When Win invites them to dinner, she rests her head on Mulder’s shoulder while she accepts.

and keeps it there while Win continues to talk.

At Gogolak’s, we see the bigger picture of advance and retreat.

Scully, caught up in having her fun acting the sympathetic wife, lands her hand on Mulder’s.

Then he looks her dead in the eyes until she retreats.

This is one of those moments that One Son could easily discolor. Scully is not “accidentally” betraying her interest in Mulder. She has been advancing this episode in small ways: her assertion in the kitchen about this case being as important as “aliens, tractor beams”; her sidling up next to Mulder when he isn’t being overly saccharine or cheesy; and only retreating when Mulder pokes at her deeper motives and firmly redraws their boundaries when she tries to make a deeper advance (again, another post for the future~.) Very obviously, Scully is queuing Mulder for “more”, and Mulder is retreating from and poking at her investment in this case (and potentially a future together like it.)

She withdraws because MULDER is uncomfortable, his reaction riding the fence between “ha, caught you” and “this blurs the lines too intimately.” His eyes aren’t shining and his face is dour while he maintains contact. He’s not hostile, per se; but he wants the purposed hand gone ASAP.

Scully thoughtlessly initiates again later in the conversation

but retreats once she notices,

having been slightly stung only moments before by Mulder’s unspoken barriers.

At the Shroeders’ dinner, Scully spends her time slightly annoyed at having to cover for Mulder’s cheap shots at their neighbors

but brightens when she gets to interrogate them, enjoying watching them flail at softball questions. Scully has a cheeky side, after all.

Her mood dips again when, from the corner of her eye, she sees Mulder dipping in for a cheesy smooch

which she deflects. (This makes Mulder genuinely happy since it deters them from getting into uncomfortable territory-- another post coming soon.)

Her good mood has returned by the time Mulder joins her with Mike’s drain sewer caduceus. She is completely comfortable with Mulder traipsing around her bedroom and ripping his shirt off UNTIL he tosses it in front of her face, close enough to disturb her bangs.

She retreats to the bathroom where she insists he call her by her married moniker “Laura” before stating he left the toilet seat up for the THIRD MORNING and critiquing his toothpaste techniques because they’re SHARING IT.

In a giant house where there are countless other bathrooms, these two choose to cohabitate in this one, and chose not to buy separate toothpastes when they had ample opportunity to do so previously (unless they both forgot to pack theirs and she just grabbed one in the airport... need that fic now.)

Now, the controversial issues: her nightgown and facemask.

1. Her nightgown is incredibly short (seen better when she reaches up to toss Mulder’s shirt at him.) Scully, a satin pajama top and bottoms girl, is wearing a cotton above-the-knees nightgown with a super thin robe on top. Take that as you will.

2. In the original script (shout out to @x-files-scripts), Mulder was supposed to react like he’d seen her facemask before, adding to the ambiguity of two people sharing a toilet and toothpaste. I like the creative change DD took in acting startled; and think it still works well with both Scully and Mulder’s characterization in this ep: that Scully is more annoyed that he is shocked by her domestic rituals than bothered at breaking their professional and personal boundary by displaying said intimate routine.

She continues, unfazed, to toss his shirt at him and listen to Mulder’s ponderings and theories. Her attention only halts when he pokes at her neatness, inferring by extension that he doesn’t fit in with her ways or this life (harkening back to early S6 episodes.)

The bit where Mulder taps her bed is interesting: she is pulled up short, freezing long enough to actually contemplate his offer-- you can see her weighing his seriousness and wondering if she should probe further.

And then he makes a further joke, and she realizes it’s all a fake.

That’s when she drops the “Laura” moniker and insists on being called “Scully.”

Her resigned face as he leaves is almost a carbon-copy of her response to his “this is a life” from Dreamland I.

After she returns from a trip to San Diego, Scully hears a noise and grabs a poker to confront the intruder. An interesting thing happens: the camera purposefully does an up-close on her ring while she grips the fire-poker, an unnecessary shot they don’t normally do when she grips her weapons in the past. It’s a little extra symbolism of how seriously she is taking this whole venture. Mulder, meanwhile, is never given that up-close shot.

As Mulder is showing her the tunnels in the grass, Scully is torn between interpreting Mulder’s “always” to her “do you want to hear what I think?” as serious or flippant, the only time in the episode where she looks truly peeved.

After a brainstorming session and a full day of fruitless digging, Scully softly checks up on Mulder, gentleness oozing over his potential failure.

I’m skipping the big showdown purposefully-- once again folks: another time, another post-- because it deserves a category of its own. Needless to say, it’s the worst of her’s and Mulder’s nightmares come to life.

After Scully escapes the closet, she rushes outside-- too late, as the monster is now just a heap of garbage. A perfect cherry-on-top for all her crumbled hopes of enjoying this case-- and by extension, life-- of normalcy with Mulder.

The last we see of Scully is her watching a remorseful Mulder trying and failing to fix the mailbox (see my Arcadia Mailboxes post) before she hops into the car, letting Mulder drive away. A sad little symbolism of leaving it up to Mulder to make the moves from now on as hers have failed. (This bleeds perfectly into Milagro-- when Mulder realizes that Scully LOVE-loves him-- and into The Unnatural where he is awakened to “life on this planet” and “the mystery of the heart.” But I digress.)

Up next-- Mulder’s true motives and torment in Arcadia, and the two living their worst nightmares both in one singular moment. Fun times ahead!

#txf #meta #Arcadia Analysis #Scully Was Enjoying Herself Immensely #Arcadia #xf meta #x-files #the x files #xfiles #txf meta #S6 #Analysis

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rinharu-purple · 4 years ago

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Mr. Love MC’s Choice: Gavin

We fellow producers all have our favorite LI in the game for whom we save our gems and dates, replay their chapters over and over again, sucking our bank accounts dry during the process. And that’s what makes this game so fun! However in my opinion MC’s personal choice is Gavin. I will try to explain it as thoroughly as possible in this post. Obviously they are only my personal opinions at the end of the day so please don’t freak out if you beg to differ ^_^

There are spoilers ahead and this post is a long one, you were warned!

A big, warm hug and grandious thanks to @smallersocksx for proof reading so fast and sharing her ideas! <3 </p>

Up until now, I’ve always analyzed ships in subtopics, so this time won’t be any different so I will just dive right into it:

Body Language

The law of attraction between two people in a romantic way has some thumb rules, one of them is that when you like someone then you try to touch them at every opportunity. From all of our LI’s Gavin is by far the one with the most body contact to the MC (The main story only atm, I will come to his dates in a minute ;)). I think the anime speaks for itself, in every single Gavin episode and some of other LI’s episodes (ahem…ep 10 but also ep 11…ahem) Gavin and MC are always in an embrace or a meaningful “hands-on” moment…In the game MC and Gavin are quite often touchy with each other, MC seems to not holding her hands back every time she feels like Gavin’s hurt and reflexively touches him, she is also highly concerned about his hair since every time his hair get messed up by the wind, rain or hormones (swh ;)), MC doesn’t waste any second before correcting his hair. Every reunion they have results in MC reaching out her hands towards Gavin and surprisingly never other way around. Even in a perillious moment in chapter 22 when Gavin goes completely wild and unleashes his “beast-self” the first thing MC wants to do is embrace him. In chapter 24, at the very end among all routes, MC only tells Gavin that she’s missed him and hugs him. Chapter 27...again MC wants to check Gavins body for injuries and tends to them the second they are alone in a closed room. They both yearn for each other’s touch all the way, no matter in which narrative.

If I were to start counting Gavin’s touchy touchy moments on the other hand, then we have to prepare a 4 volumes encyclopedia because that male individual is all about touching MC. Another hint for their closeness is that MC makes notes on Gavin’s scent quite often, mostly related to his jacket or his embrace and while doing it, she always uses adjectives like “clean”, “distinct” or “unique”. Again in ch. 15 she knows its Gavin standing behind her even without looking, because she senses his scent: “A scent that I��d recognize anywhere”. Surely there are many scenes, where MC holds hands with another LI or makes a remark of their scent, but they are not at the intensity or frequency level that of Gavin’s.

2. The Setting

All four LI’s are representing a certain archetypes women are usually attracted to:

Kiro is a pop idol (target audience 13-15)

Victor is the young successful businessman with a high dominant demeanour and Mr. Grey-ish attitude (target audience 25 upwards or any 50 shades of Grey reader)

Lucien is a young attractive professor with a mysterious and enigmatic vibe (target audience 20-24)

Gavin is the misunderstood bad boy (high school) and later a righteous police officer (16-19 for the bad boy Gavin and 20 upwards for the righteous police officer, special agent, military commander... a pilot?! anything including a uniform fetish)

So, in the game, Elex could take any of these paths and develop it in a way that the chosen path becomes a true love story. I gotta admit, Victor’s story comes at times very close to being one. However, his never-ending bickering and belittling in his 90% of the time cold demeanour just make him lose major points. Plus, MC mostly goes along with Victor’s tone, even though she is a kind and friendly person, she bickers with Victor not because that’s her personality but because that’s the way she can cope with him. If only he were a little bit less domineering.. Which is why I never feel like MC and Victor would belong together irl.

Seemingly Elex and Mappa take Gavin’s way imo. Because…

In the main story MC loves all of the LIs in a different way and also has romantic feelings to each one of them to a certain degree, but when we look at it closely and read in between the lines of MC’s thoughts Gavin is a little bit more romantically portrayed than the other guys.

a) First of all Gavin had a crush on MC during high school cannonically: Even though Gavin only says that it was a farewell letter, MC says once that she wishes that she could’ve read that “love letter”. I will stop here with Gavin’s feelings because this post focuses on MC.

b) MC, too, was kinda into Gavin during high school because in Episode 18, when she goes to Loveland Hugh during her farewell tour before going with her ultimate sacrifice , she remembers Gavin in intimate things like “watching his athletic body” or “wearing men’s clothes-meaning his-”. Additionally she remembers taking note of his face shining in the sun in the very back of the line during her recital. Even before it all she was specifically interested in him. Her memories with the other LI s are comprised of rather friendly moments like flying kites together but when it comes to Gavin she once again thinks about more intimate elements. Not to mention that the game gives MC a farewell with Gavin. In her final moments she only thinks that for Gavin her grievance would be the hardest. In the End of the Abyss era (ch. 15-18) MC meets all of the LIs after their changes again and reacts to all of them with joy…surely, but only when she sees Gavin hovering above her in the helicopter it is again…drum roll…drama: “The next second I saw a pair of amber eyes…shining like brilliant skies” this girl is always romanticizing Gavin.

“-Can you hear me?

-Can you see me?

-See my heart pounding again at the sight of you?” (so are you saying that your heart wasn’t pounding before? oh ok ;))

Fast forward to CH34 where MC fights Leto for the final time and remembers our guys and again, while she remembers other LIs for their sacrifices and their protection of her, she remembers Gavin's warm arms...

c)The game takes his time and turns the half of a whole chapter into a date in chapter15 Ep 1-9. There is no other chapter in the game where MC spends time with any of the other LI’s in which there is only the two of them, whereas nothing relevant to the main story happens and they share solely many sweet, romantic and almost hot (when MC tries to dry Gavin’s face in her flat and realizes that she stands way too close to him, she then prepares herself to say something, but gets interrupted by the alarm) and again, MC is getting close to Gavin, not the other way around like Lucien pushing MC against the blackboard, that little sneaky Lucien (actually I could write a post with a masterlist of Lucien’s advances to MC:D).

d) MC’s premonitions revolve mostly around Gavin (when they are not about the whole world or the black queen). Her dream about the rooftop rescue, her Room 404 dream, her daydream in the office in 6-13 in which Gavin’s suffering and from which she wakes up crying out his name leading to Willow, Kiki and Anna remark on playfully how unfair it is to dream about Gavin and disregarding the other guys. She also sees his future in episode 15 twice! If I am not mistaken, she only sees Victor’s future once in her dream and a vague vision of him in ch 18 but other than that she has no premonitions about Lucien or Kiro. Besides in the anime MC uses her power unintentionally yet instinctively twice while having Gavin in mind in episodes 5 and 8. The third time, she uses her powers in this way is in episode 11 with Victor but he is not her driving force for this but she is driven by the imminent danger they both are in and she doesn’t particularly think about Victor at this moment. In the game it additionally happens in chapter 22 when Gavin is cornered by the mechanical arms and is in a tight spot, this sight makes MC have a surge of rage and to unleash her powers in a great magnitude. Gavin is Queen’s soft spot i.e. More importantly Gavin is a constant part of MC’s future frame. She has her visions about other LI’s past but when it comes to Gavin it’s only his future. MC doesn’t have visions about Gavin’s past, like, ever. While Kiro, Lucien and Victor are stuck in their pasts with MC, Gavin has made peace with his past, is living in the present and looking forward the future (one of his best qualities imo, not being stuck in the past). Ironically, it’s MC, who’s stuck in the past in Gavin’s case.

e) I will intentionally not delve much into S2 stuff, but one thing has to be in this post…We know that in S2 MC goes back in time and relives the last 17 years. During these 17 years she makes sure to spend her high school years close to Gavin. So given the chance to rewrite her past, she would choose to make good for the lost years that she regretted dearly in S1 (she gushes out about her regrets in S2 Late Autumn Date in detail). We are yet to find out more about the nature of their relationship during high school, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a “will they, won’t they” situation. Since the game wouldn’t put any of the guys in an ex-boyfriend role, that would be the most romantic frame possible.

3. How other people see Gavin x MC

f) In CH 36, the one before CH 37, where every LI gets the same intimate moment with MC, only Lucien and Gavin are getting close to kissing her to which MC doesn't show any rejection towards... She is the one accidentally kissing Gavin btw and this is the only time before CH37 that MC either accidentally or willingly kiss any LI on his face or near his lips.

g) In S1, MC only posts two pics with the boys in her moments. One of them is a selfie with Lucien and the second one is with Gavin, hugged from behind. No other LIs ever have a moment with MC. Neither on their accounts, nor on MCs.

It is always a good indicator to look at how other characters perceive a particular ship. For Gavin and MC, it is almost obvious that once they are standing side by side, others see them instantly as a couple. Sure, at the orphanage some children ask Lucien if MC is his girlfriend or that one actress threatens MC to stay away from Victor because he’s hers (btw what happened to her?) With Gavin however, it’s practically a running joke.

As mentioned above, her once daydream in the office with Gavin shoutout in CH 6-13 drew the attention of her co-workers, leading them to mock her for thinking about him too much even though her dream was rather a nightmare. Besides, Gavin is the one showing up the most in MC’s office and he also lift her up to his shoulders once in the Visiting Hours date and Homer took a pic of that hilarious moment.

Every time MC is at STF HQ, respectively, Gavin’s co-workers or subordinates too take note of her presence and in chapter 12 they are even caught red-handed by one of the agents as MC is busy “correcting” Gavin’s hair (because see point 1). Eli seems to be aware of the intimacy between the two and even probably assumes that they’ve done the deed, because in ch 12 he is surprised to hear that MC hasn’t seen Gavin’s wound yet. He presumes that she already saw him naked…oh Eli! Season 2 has even more eminent scenes, we just have to wait and see.

In chapter 15 when they deliver Perry to the hospital, they are mistaken to be his parents by the hospital personnel not once but twice! Needless to say, they don’t find it necessary to correct the misunderstanding. I mean Perry is, what, 6…MC 22, Gavin 24 but they automatically think that they must be the parents?! Sure thats common sense- wink wink nudge nudge ¬‿¬ -

In chapter 22 Shaw makes a comment on MC willing to go to where Gavin is with a “Really, all you do is following him, isn’t it?”. He uses MC to trigger Gavin in Airport date as well.

And of course, there is Minor…The ultimate number one wingman and the most original Gavin-stan! Minor uses everything in his power to bring them together both in the main story and in dates. He even calls her Sis-in-Law in public in CH 35 which MC doesn't reject. This doesn’t even need explanation.

Last but not least:

Their couple chemistry went viral lol.

Visually speaking, when they stand side by side, for me Gavin and MC look the most like a couple (Kiro is too childish and fashion icony compared to MC and Victor is too mature and business attire-ish making him look like her uncle rather than boyfriend, Lucien is the only one besides Gavin who actually suits MC visually). I am not saying that looks are the main indicator btw so don’t lynch me please ^_^

Come to think about it, MCs life is intertwined with that of Gavin's the most. Considering how she knows his father, brother and colleagues and spends so much time in "his world" whether it's at STF or NW. In the main story MC and Gavin have their favorite restaurants (ehm it's never souvenir due to obvious reasons 😉), share the same passion for music, have many common memories from high school and most importantly their world views are very similar. Both are prioritizing others safety over themselves and are compassionate for anyone who is in need. They are both ambitious and hardworking but not to the point of being power driven. Both are humble and finding hapinness in the smallest things. Maybe that's why they say the same things simultaneously or say the things the other would say simultaneously. MC and Gavin are highly compatible and have a harmonious, healthy relationship despite the conspiracy around them.

4. Anime

Okay okay, listen…Yes, the anime wasn’t the best adaptation and many of us were disappointed by the ending (including me), still, the anime makes a part of canon MLQC universe and no Gavin-stan should complain about the anime because the anime put canonically Gavin on a pedestal. In a total of 12 episodes, all guys had 2 episodes each BUT Gavin was actually blessed with 3 episodes and so many romantic moments to count…let’s count them anyways :)

Mappa introduces all guys in episode 1 so MC encounters them all in the first 25 minutes but she first meets Gavin in episode 2 and the two spend almost the entire time of the episode together, not to mention the extremely romantic first-fly scene in the sunset. As I mentioned in point 1, MC and Gavin are always in physical contact in any given episode. Anime made sure to portray every single interaction they have romantically.

They even went so far to mix Gavin scenes in other guys episodes (he offers her a ride to work in ep 3, she has an emotional moment with him after the first shooting misunderstanding while Lucien is standing right next to her in ep 4, Gavin is the one to catch MC mid-air in ep 10, this episode ends with them in their life and death embrace falling down in dawn… and then he falls on her in ep 11).

When it’s a Gavin episode MC has no romantic scenes with any of the other guys, let alone having any scenes at all. Its only about Gavin in Gavin episodes. Also, the storyline is edited in a way that between MC and Gavin a romantic story develops. Their meet cute conspiracy, their misunderstanding with Lucien, followed by the “drop the senpai” offer and finally that 5 seconds long gaze deeply in the eyes in ep 8 while holding hands.

It is really sad that the anime ruined this development in the final episode but taking into consideration that there might be a second season, they probably chose to make the change in Gavin’s character after the NW project remarkable.

Another point in the anime is that they kinda exaggerate Gavin’s Evol a little bit. During his stand-off with Lucien Gavin’s bullet cuts through Lucien’s shield and all in ep 8,11 and 12 there is a significant emphasis on the intensity and destructive power of Gavin’s Evol. I mean, whose Evol is the most upfront one in episode 12? We see Lucien using his Evol only twice, both very briefly, Kiro/Helios/Key and Victor even have to use guns to protect themselves and/or MC. Gavin’s shown using a pistole once at the beginning, after that it’s all turbines and tornadoes and just Gavin unleashed.

I think it’s an exaggeration because in my personal opinion, Lucien is actually the one with the strongest Evol, followed by Victor and then comes Gavin. Lucien’s ability to copy an Evol is simply the strongest trait one could have, sure it comes with the downside that he then doesn’t have enough time and focus to excel in any of those Evols, Victor can literally create black holes are you kidding me?! But because his Evol has its limits it puts him in the second place. But in the anime, Gavin’s Evol is extremely powerful and destructive and they also created some really cool scenes in which Gavin uses his Evol in various styles (accelerating his bullets speed, dodging a bullet, lifting MC in any and every situation, flying- obviously- and sometimes just overpowered destruction).

But in the anime in comparison, Lucien looks like a copy-cat of Evols and Victor like someone who travels through time to find out nothing can change the course of events (on a side note I will never understand why did Mappa toned down Victor so heartlessly, he is a powerful character and has countless sweet, emotional moments with MC).

5. Dates

I left dates to the end because they are highly subjective and don’t belong to the main story. NEVERTHELESS, Gavin’s dates include here and there some hints which may indicate that MC tends to like Gavin maybe just a little bit more. I will just add it as bullet points here since I’m pretty sure that the list will be enriched over time.

Slightly drunken date: Shouting out loud in public “Gavin! I’m crazy for you!”

When the Galaxy Falls Date: “...and in that moment, I make an eternal vow in my heart. To give all the blazing love and the most endless warmth to the person in front of me. Standing on my tiptoes, I carry a heart which is filled with courage to move forward, receiving Gavin.”

2 become 1 date “No matter whether the wedding is real or fake I only want to be your bride.” Here comes the Groom event where MC had a prob wedding with each and every LI but she actually only wanted to be Gavin’s bride (obviously Gavin’s heard her loud and clear since he’s bought a gem/ring right after) and that gem is brought up in…

The Returning from Afar Date - Thank you for silently watching over my mood. Thank you for always returning to my side no matter where you go. The white muslin drifts to and fro. My heart stirs, and I gently touch the muslin in front of me. Sunlight streams in. My fingertips brush the soft white muslin, tracing the word “Gavin” on it. I turn my head to the side, blinking at Gavin a little playfully. “This word - apart from it being your name, it also has another meaning. It’s “courage”. MC getting poetic, but who wouldn’t in that date (thank you @smallersocksx for reminding me and without @cheri-translates we poor Eng-server players would be left in the dark so thank you for translating season 2 for us!!!) but than MC verbally and literally makes her feelings clear in…

Late autumn date (2nd season translation by @cheri-translates) “I close my eyes, holding onto his solid arms. I lift my head to welcome his lips, savouring his unique breath. The person in front of me has shed off the roughness of youth, leaving behind only the purity of youth. He often makes me forget that he once used to be unrestrained like the wind. He has a body that is stronger than everyone else’s, a tough soul, a will that is as firm as steel, and a heart full of tenderness – it is soft beyond compare.

I cling to his waist tightly using my calves, wanting to brand every part of him into my heart.

“I want to bear his everything.”

Gavin: “Do you like it?”

“I like it…I like it very much…I like it so much that I don’t know how to prove how much I like it” “The rest of my life is yours, The years that we’ve missed out on are also yours” (whatever I have, I will give it to you. I will give everything to you, leaving nothing behind)

I rest my case

#mlqc #mlqc gavin #mlqc haku #mlqc bai qi #mlqc baek gi #mr love queen's choice #koi to producer #studio mappa #elex #papergames #mldd #analysis #tag your otp #romance #anime couple

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sol1056 · 5 years ago

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wuxia: a general yet probably too verbose introduction to the genre, pt2

and now we get to the actual conventions -- although more accurately, these are just the ones that I either noticed the strongest or had the most difficulty adjusting to, when I was first getting into wuxia.

Not all stories have these elements, and of course in a genre as varied (and as old) as wuxia, there are twenty exceptions for every rule. What’s more, one story’s mild admonishment (”well, X is frowned on, but I guess if you’re just low-key about it”) can become the next story’s worst taboo (”omg you did X, you must be shunned! SHUNNNNNNNNNNed.”).

Like any other living genre, authors will shift/tilt convention as needed to drive a story’s conflicts.

btw, it’ll probably be a few days before I can do an introduction to MDZS, which should give time to @guzhuangheaven, @atthewaterside, @dramatic-gwynne, @the50-person, @drunkensword (and anyone else) to point out everything I misunderstood, over-emphasized, misinterpreted, or just plain missed.

--- --- --- --- --- --- ---

1. Hierarchy still matters. A student’s respect for their teacher, a child’s respect for their parents, younger siblings/students to elder. You’ll see this in how people are called (ie 3rd uncle, elder sister, 2nd brother), but this doesn’t mean everyone goes around dutiful and obedient. Err, wuxia is actually more of the opposite. I mean, a good story requires conflict between characters, and what better way than someone overturning (or at least appearing to overturn) the hierarchy?

In that vein, creating new relationships that take precedent over old relationships is anywhere from disrespectful to a full-on violation of natural law. As in, learning from someone other than your teacher, joining a new family in lieu of your birth family, running away to get married -- hell, just running away! -- are all potential sources of trouble. At the same time, wuxia has a really strong comedic streak (all the martial arts also make for great slapstick). Squabbling families with headstrong, misbehaving kids who break the rules, well, that’s a classic that can be played for melodrama, comedy, or both.

2. Swordsmanship is the pinnacle (or the most prevalent) of martial arts. The protagonist is either going to be (or end up) the best swordsman (or swordswoman) ever, or they’re going to use a weapon that’s unlike any other -- and if the latter, they’ll either be reviled for it, or lauded.

3. Despite the fact that swords are heavy and a real pain to carry around, characters carry their swords. All the time. Everywhere. In historical dramas, swords hang from belts, but not wuxia. Plus, characters will place swords on the table, across their lap, lean them against chairs, put them on the floor, and it doesn’t seem to map to whether they’re among allies or enemies, on guard or relaxing. The sword goes with them everywhere, and is always within reach. (And again, this general convention can go strict in some stories, like MDZS, where the failure to carry a sword is seen as a major breach of etiquette.)

4. The general term for ‘members of a sect’ or ‘people who study martial arts’ is ‘cultivators’. To cultivate is to grow something: cultivating [internal or spiritual] fields to gain a [skillset] harvest. Cultivation isn’t just going to the practice hall and swinging a sword three hundred times; meditation, study, even copying out texts are also ways to cultivate.

5. Wuxia characters may also be called swordsmen/swordswomen, wandering heroes, or martial heroes. If the story pivots on getting into a sect (or achieving some rank in a sect), then the characters will be considered cultivators (of a given path). If they’re introduced as just swordsmen, that seems to indicate it’s a story where sect politics plays less of a role. Or both terms may be present, to differentiate between sect-members/students versus people who defected (or are self-taught).

6. Wuxia as a genre is remarkably egalitarian. Expect women martial artists to throw down with (and hold their own against) male opponents. Learn to fear the older women in wuxia; they’re often the most dangerous. Not to say there aren’t damsels in distress in wuxia, just that there are usually as many female warrior characters, too.

If the story has multiple sect leaders, usually at least one is a woman -- and if not, one of the men is married to a woman that everyone knows is the truly powerful/skilled one. Near-equal cast percentages are common, too, both in the foreground (and not always for the sake of pairing off for romance), and in the background, when you catch shots of the rank-and-file sect members.

Basically, you can expect the average wuxia to pass the Bechdel test with flying colors. It may not always pass all the other gender tests, but conversations (and deep friendships) between female characters are usually on-screen (not just implied), and often a strong part of the storyline.

7. The super-hero-like skills -- leaping from or to an extreme height, tossing someone a great distance, getting thrown far and getting up again -- are a good map to things like gunslingers who can shoot a playing card at eighty paces blindfolded. Or Robin Hood getting a bullseye through the arrows of someone else’s bullseyes. Wuxia tends to expect even superlative skills at a beginner’s level (so you’ll see student-characters doing such), but it’s all just ways to say, these characters have studied the sword while the rest of us were waiting for the translation team to release the next episode.

8. Those skills are not magic, which occupies a different category. Whether shown or implied, wuxia’s ‘martial arts’ (if exaggerated and unrealistic) are still studied. When magic shows up, it’s often derided, because it’s a shortcut. There’s an insincerity, a kind of bad sportsmanship. The reaction in-story is much like real world reaction to athletes using performance-enhancing drugs. It’s cheating, and it’s disrespectful towards your opponents, that you refused to match their efforts with equal effort of your own.

9. Every story has its own definition of what is, or is not, ‘magic’ and thus a shortcut. Wuxia is usually pretty good about making clear what the story considers ‘orthodox’ or ‘right’: look for characters introduced as authoritative voices in the story’s world, and what they do is probably a good indication of accepted skills (that is, not-magic). Well, unless the character cackles a lot, in which case they’re probably an example of magic/unorthodox approaches.

9. Qi -- energy -- is the root of a character’s power (or lack thereof). Plenty of wuxia only reference this concept in passing, but some codify it into a necessity -- as in, some people have the ‘right’ kind of qi, and some do not. Or that it takes years to develop so the hero is permanently behind until they finally get to doing the work. Whether nature or nuture, this qi is how a cultivator can leap high bounds while the background farmer or merchant characters must scramble to find a ladder.

10. Over the years of television, ‘manipulating qi’ -- shoving energy at someone through the hands/feet, a sword, a musical instrument, something else -- has developed its own set of stylized movements. It’s a lot of arm-waving and finger twirling and whatnot (often circular). I think of it like riding an invisible bike to charge the generator; releasing it means the TV has the juice to kick on. Or the tazer can release, or whatever.

11. There are a bunch of virtues being promoted by wuxia, from a tangle of daoism, buddhism, and confucianism -- things like loyalty, sincerity, honesty, humility, respecting one’s parents (or teacher), benevolence, and justice (or righteousness). Plus a disregard for wealth or glory for personal gain.

The good (or enduring) wuxia stories seem to be the ones that find a way to make a virtue into a point of conflict -- as in, loyalty to what/who, questions of what it means to be righteous in this circumstance or that, and so on. The virtue is still at the heart of things, the conflict lies in how it’s interpreted or applied.

12. Wuxia predates Confucianism and Buddhism (and possibly Daoism), so it’s got a long history of cherrypicking to mix and match as it pleases. Some things you might see, and the influencing source:

horsetail whisks, used for purifying a space and removing evil influences, traditionally carried by Daoist priests as a sign of their rank.

an emphasis on Yin and Yang as driving opposing energies (sometimes good and bad, sometimes required to be balanced), also a Daoist concept.

most mystical elements are also Daoist influence: like qigong (coordinated posture and movement to increase/improve health, spiritual strength, and martial prowess), alchemy, astrology, etc.

mudras (hand gestures, cf Naruto) are predominantly Buddhist, meant as a way to focus oneself. When these show up in wuxia, the origin is still ‘to focus oneself’ but being wuxia, the result is usually a burst of visible power.

if a story revolves around learning to forgive/forget and to have compassion (over vengeance), that’s the Buddhist influence showing.

if filial piety, the observance of rites, or questions of ethics/morality are significant themes, that’s probably confucianism’s influence.

The lines are way blurrier than I’m going into, here. After all, the three perspectives have competed and coexisted for hundreds of years. There’s a fair bit of cross-contamination, as it were.

13. A lot of wuxia -- and I mean a lot of wuxia -- can be boiled down to coming-of-age stories: a young hero faces trials and tribulations on his (or her) way to finding a place in society. Sometimes it’s working their way up through the levels to claim the top spot; sometimes it’s being rejected from the school they wanted, and continuing to fight that fate until they’re accepted and demonstrate they deserve to be there.

This focus on younger heroes also means that wuxia is rife with idol dramas, where the majority of the cast are young/first-time actors, chosen for their looks and their similarity to the character (so as to not require too much of a stretch for them, acting-wise). On the other hand, this does often mean the pretty is almost overwhelming, since it’s looks and not long-time acting experience that set the bar.

14. Compared to other Chinese literary genres, wuxia is somewhat unique in its emphasis on individualism, but this isn’t to say you should expect full-throated american-style rugged individualism. I’d say it’s less about the individual breaking free of social rules, and more that the individual must find a way to interpret those social rules and forge a compromise between what they’re required to be vs who they want to be.

The best illustration I can think of is a parental dictate of “I want you to marry and have a family,” that sets off the story’s conflict. By the end of the story, the now-adult child realizes the message wasn’t meant literally so much as a way to say, “I want you to grow up, have a place in this world, surrounded by people who love you.” The error wasn’t in the parents’ blindness to the child’s needs, but in the child’s interpretation of the parental message.

(Unlike historical or modern dramas, which often have a lot of daddy issues -- thanks, Confucius -- wuxia is relatively free of that. Child-parent conflict is common, but truly dysfunctional on the level of modern melodramas, not quite so much.)

15. The fights are balletic and acrobatic; they’re meant as an abstract representation of a fight. You want reality, go watch an HK or Korean action movie/show. Wuxia is where you go for the twirling, the leaps, the spins, all the kinds of moves that no decent fighter would ever do, ‘cause turning your back on the enemy gets you killed -- but wuxia isn’t about that, it’s about the cool visual factor.

16. Historically and aesthetically, the costumes are closest to the Ming dynasty -- layered and belted ankle-length robes with long, flowing sleeves. Partly because the Ming dynasty seems to be a favorite setting (for whatever quality of actual time period a story even bothers to identify), but also (at least, my theory is) because those big sleeves make for dramatic gestures when swinging a sword.

17. There are newer wuxia that show some Game of Thrones influence (or, in the movie adaptations like The Four, some grimdark-slash-steampunk influences) but for the most part, wuxia is rather brightly-lit. My theory is that it was traditionally designed to be visible on (literally) smaller TVs, out in rural villages and whatnot. Frex, the darkest things get in wuxia, visually, is a day-for-night blue, since filming at night for real makes for an awful dark screen.

This is changing -- I’ve seen a lot more wuxia that are genuinely filming at night -- but the same show may also do day-for-night just cause they’re on a tight schedule and can’t sit around until it’s dark again to shoot the next scene, so they make do.

18. Older filming styles still dominate in wuxia, and the one you may notice the most is a particular move where the speaking character turns away from whomever they’re talking to, walks towards the camera, and speaks in the direction of the camera. It’s just not something people normally do, but it happens all the time in wuxia.

I think it comes from the days of only having one camera, so either you took the time to reshoot to get reactions (not really possible on shoestring budgets with tight deadlines), or you made sure the frame could include the speaker and the listeners. (Or it might be coming from the stage, where the actor must face the audience to be heard.)

The basic blocking, lighting, and so on sometimes reminds me of afternoon soap operas from the 80s, done with videotape rather than film. Not cheap so much as lower budget.

19. If you want historical authenticity, this is the last place to look. The costumes will be flashy, especially for the hero and his love interest: layered and embroidered, with modern fabrics in bright, sometimes neon!, shades and combinations (Nicholas Tse, I see you).

Older wuxia, the characters rarely got dirty, a wound from a fight was represented by a streak of clearly-fake (and somewhat diluted) pink syrup, and plenty of times a character will go through an entire battle and not even be sweaty or dirty. (Game of Thrones is changing this, too, though -- I’m seeing more dishevelment, though it’s still relatively minor compared to post-battle LotR or GoT.)

20. You can tell the budget from two things: how many costumes and how many wigs. A lower-budget wuxia (or one made at rapid pace) means characters go to bed in their day-clothes, with headpieces still on. Wigs are expensive, and a quickly-made wuxia means you get one wig, and that’s what you’re always wearing, rather than a wig for sleeping and another for waking. Same goes for showing characters in their day-clothes versus what they’d wear for night, or when relaxing, or whatever. (Or having two versions of the same costume, one pre-battle and one post-battle.)

21. About that historical bit -- at least up to the Qing dynasty, Chinese men usually wore their hair in a top-knot once they reached adulthood. Wuxia’s aesthetic is for everyone -- including elderly men -- wearing their hair mostly down with only a small top-knot to pull back their bangs. This just isn’t how anyone wore their hair, but it’s a massive visual clue that the story takes place in the jianghu, where normal society’s rules don’t apply.

22. I think I mentioned the Ming dynasty -- not sure why, but it seems to be the most favorite target. (You’d think it’d be the Qing, since they were outsiders, but nope.) The literary precursors of wuxia had a strong streak of ‘the government is corrupt and/or full of idiots, we’re better off doing our own thing over here,’ which led to various dynasties cracking down on wuxia as a kind of rebel literature.

It’s kind of ironic that wuxia’s history of overturning the natural order confucian principles (that is, treating individualism as an equal virtue, and elevating commoners to hero-status for *gasp* leaving their place of birth to wander around and do good deeds) is what made wuxia immensely popular during the cultural revolution, when China was busy deconstructing (often violently) so much of its cultural past. Wuxia stood apart, as something that had been quietly deconstructing all along, and thus shot up in popularity for finally being in tune with the zeitgeist.

(Wuxia in all its forms has always, perhaps unsurprisingly, been massively popular among the common classes. Wuxia is not, never has been, a high literary form; watching wuxia means you’re watching the latest iteration of an ancient yet truly pop-as-in-popular-as-in-common culture.)

I get the impression the chinese authorities have an uneasier relationship with historical dramas (which can walk a fine line of implying that imperial past as a good/positive), whereas wuxia’s place in the mythical jianghu diminishes its ability to threaten via social commentary. This isn’t to say wuxia isn’t in dialogue with the social and political environment in which it’s made; all literature is, by virtue of being of its time. It’s just a bit more coy about it, and its loudest political-type trait -- of dismissing the imperial system/capital as corrupt, evil, or otherwise contemptible -- fits with a desire to see the dynastic past as something to be discarded and/or dismissed, not emulated.

23. Oh, and one last thing: wuxia is very, very, very chaste. A lot of the romantic relationships are almost entirely implied -- a lot of longing looks, maybe the exchange of a significant gift, I mean, we’re talking a genre that considers holding hands to be pretty daring. I’ve seen entire series where you know those two will end up together, but if you can’t read the visual cues, you’d think they were just close friends (if not socially-awkward acquaintances).

That said, when wuxia breaks that so-chaste rule, it’s like having a table dropped on you. There’s a drunken makeout scene in The Legends that had my jaw on the table because holy smokes, that was unexpected. Mad passionate wild abandonment just isn’t a thing in wuxia.

[ETA: don’t get me wrong, wuxia in general is hugely passionate. Just not on a sexual level; it’s on the emotional level that wuxia will go to eleven, repeatedly.]

...okay, that wasn’t even in the neighborhood of brief. hell, it wasn’t even in the same state as brief, but I did warn you. Wuxia’s a huge genre, after all. An entire book might still only scratch the surface, but hopefully this suffices as a general introduction.

#wuxia #come for the brief essay stay for the dissertation #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mdzs

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ask-hunterxhunter · 6 years ago

Note

Can you please do a HC of the ideal traits (physical and mental) Razor, Pariston, and Knuckle would look for in an s/o? Thanks again AND again!

Razor

Liking sportsor at least games (such as dodgeball) on some level is a must. You don’t have to like everything, play or even be good at it, but since this is somethingRazor truly enjoys, he wants someone hecan share this with.

Creativity isalso good in his opinion. Razor appreciates people who can come up with newideas (not necessarily artistically speaking) and ways to solve problems whenthey appear. Speaking of which, same goes for determination as he doesn’t like thosewho give up easily or are not motivated, regardless of what you want to do inlife. Of course everyone feels down and there are times when things go so wrongyou feel defeated, but Razor wouldn’t stand someone who gets like this for every minor setback that happens.

Due to hiscriminal story, Razor needs someone who knows about it and can see past it. There are still people who,aware of his crimes, prefer to avoid him or still regard him as someone who maybecome violent for no reason at all. He doesn’t want pity or to be treated asif he is just a misunderstood puppy when he crosses path with someone like that,but he does need you to support him,to look at him and say, yes, he was an awful person, but that he’s changed andbecome better.

If you havesome fierceness in you, it’s a huge bonuspoint. He has nothing against the calm, sweet tempered people, but he enjoyssome “spark” so to say, especially since he is the type that likes teasing hispartner. One example is that if your first meeting is on Greed Island and whenyou’re about to play against him Razor tries to be intimidating only for you tolook straight in his eyes and openly challenge him, such as saying you’re goingto crush him, chances are he will wantto know you better afterwards (it also means he will go extra harsh on youduring the game, so you know).

Physicalappearance is not the most important thing for Razor, but while he likes short,small girls who he could easily pick up (which, honestly, is not hard. Look atthe guy!), his main preference lies with strong-looking girls.

Pariston

This isassuming this man has a type and is even able to actually care about someone…

When it comesdown to a serious relationship, Pariston wants someone who can keep up with himin some way, be in schemes/manipulation, how they respond to his behavior, etc.Whether or not the person in question is aware of his true personality is irrelevant,but the knowledge can make things more interesting in his opinion. It doesn’tmatter if you’re supporting him or against him.

If this manbecomes smitten with anyone, then he doesn’t just give up. Remember, he couldn’tcare less if you hate or love him in the end of the day, so while you may hatehim with every fiber of your being and think he wants to just make you suffer, itmay be another story from Pariston’s point of view. As such, he also preferssomeone with a high tolerance (mentally, physically and emotionally), who can takehis games kind of love in the long term without breaking easily. Now, ifhe is going to stay with the person after breaking them, it’s another story,but I’m digressing.

Pariston doesn’tlike boring people, whose actions he can easily predict. They may be fun to manipulate(especially if they know this is what he is doing), but it’s just a passing enjoymentrather than anything else. That’s not to say the person needs to disregardrules completely, for example, as knowing how to work around loopholes (or evenhaving an apparently unbreakable moral sense) can get his attention. Plus, theirreactions when he manages to make them do what he wants are far moreworthwhile.

In the matterof appearances, it’s connected to the points above. For example, someone wholooks innocent while having a sharp mind/tongue. He actually cares about looks,but not in the sense of “body type/hair color/etc”, but rather someone wholooks confident, who dresses as they feel like without being bothered by howothers might judge them. What arouses him the most about someone is theirminds, but in this case, I’m unsure we can call that a good thing…

Knuckle

Likinganimals and caring for the environment/other people already gives you pointswith Knuckle. People who protect what is dear for them no matter what happensare the kind he often ends up admiring even when they start as enemies. Simplyput, he likes people who are kind at heart and have a sense of honor, even if theydon’t show it all the time. Of course, considering their world, you may verywell enjoy fights, but there is a line between that and being a bloodthirstmurderer.

He doesn’t muchlike people who can only see things in black and white. Oh, he very muchunderstands when there are no other options but the “kill or be killed”, itdoesn’t mean he enjoys it, especially if his foes have actually good reasonsfor what they are doing (such as saving their loved ones). It’s one thing to bemerciless on your enemies when it’s obviously necessary, but take the Chimeras:Ikalgo, Meleoron, they became good friends, so Knuckle wouldn’t take it at allgood if someone generalized them as monsters.

Knuckle also wantsto enjoy the simple things of life when he can, so he wants a partner with whomhe can do so. Walking in the part, watching movies and cuddling, things likethat. While he would be okay with someone serious, I see him wanting at leastsome sense of humor in his partner (even if they show it just with him). A bitof “Ice” personality miiight bealright if he spends enough time with the person to see there is more to themand that the ice can be melted, but it wouldn’t call his attention right away…

Being aromantic, Knuckle would find his partner to be the most beautiful person onEarth no matter what. Appearances are not important for the visual, but for howthey can transmit a little of the personality. He might prefer someone shorterthan him, as it appeals to his protective side (plus, it makes cuddling betterin his opinion).

#Pariston #Knuckle #Razor #Ideal traits #Headcanon #hxh #hxh headcanon #hunter x hunter razor #hxh Pariston #romantic #hunterxhunter

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curatedjournal-blog · 6 years ago

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World Mental Health Day - Some thoughts for students

So, likelihood is you’ve seen these before or they don’t matter/apply to you BUT in the off chance that you may need to hear it today, tomorrow, yesterday or 5 years from now let me tell you a few things about self-care and dealing with ill mental health not just as a student but as a human being.

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: I have been on and off depression and anxiety meds for the past 5+ years, have been through counselling, CBT, you name it. Also, some of this may be TRIGGERING so please be kind to yourself and stop/don’t start reading it if it feels wrong or painful. Also, these are as much for me as they are for others so there’s that...

1. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Sadly, all around the world, ill mental health is misunderstood, mocked and disregarded by many. Sometimes you may not be able to find support in your family or friends. Often not because they don’t want to support you but because they don’t understand what you are going through. However, there are multitudes of online and offline communities that can help for free and with no strings attached (I don’t want to recommend any service in particular for personal reasons but Google

can be a great friend in these cases. Also, your school/uni often has free psychological support for students).

2. Stress and anxiety are more common among students than you think. The pressure can be awful and it comes from all sides - family, money, professors, yourself. It sucks. Which is why you NEED to...

3. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. Dude, self-care is everywhere these days. In a way, it almost lost it’s meaning! What is it really? Going on a shopping spree? Having a spa day? Exercising? Eating your favourite snack? Watching an episode of your fave show? All of the above? Well...

4. ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL. For me self-care is not binge watching Netflix as a way to avoid my to-dos, not letting shit accumulate, staying moderately on top of things and not kicking myself in the ass if I don’t. It’s also practicing kundalini yoga as OFTEN as I REMEMBER, journalling WHEN I feel like it, engaging in a hobby for 5 MINS to take my head of things, cooking a healthy meal IF I have time, etc.

5. SELF-CARE DOESN’T HAVE TO COST MONEY. Students are broke, we ain’t got no money (or time) for expensive massages and weekend yoga retreats. There’s so many free stuff that DOES NOT REQUIRE A SUBSCRIPTION which you can engage in to help you relax. Find a free exhibition to visit on a weekend, go to the local library and read a couple of soothing poems, go for a walk in the park (I’m a big believer in FOREST THERAPY). Also, if that’s your thing, youtube has LOTS of free self-care content: yoga classes, guided meditations, tips, soothing music...

6. If you’re STUCK IN A RUT, motivation doesn’t come, you can’t face leaving your bed because you fear something awful will happen well, I’m sorry but I’ll give you some tough love... Motivation won’t come. You have to do the thing even if you don’t feel

like it or are scared to do it. Likelihood is it’s not that big of a deal once you get started so... Take the first step (also, look into BEHAVIOURAL ACTIVATION a tried and true CBT technique).

7. EAT ONE FROG A DAY. You know that awful, anxiety inducing shit task you’ve been post-poning for ages that lingers in the back of your mind, eating at you and your sanity, neuron by neuron? Just get it over with. It won’t get any easier to do so may as well do it now and at least you can tick one off.

8. Frogs come in every size and SMALL WINS ARE IMPORTANT. Maybe your frog is making your bed in the morning or getting up before 7am or doing the dishes. Small victories accumulate and will make you feel accomplished step by step, no matter how small that step is. This can REALLY IMPROVE YOUR MOOD. Also, small frogs can easily become major frogs the more you put them off.

9. If it applies to you, TAKE YOUR MEDS and REMEMBER YOUR REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS. Many times have I forgotten to take mine or reorder them to then feel like shit and completely useless for a week. What works for me may not work for you but here are my tips anyway - keep a water bottle and your meds by your bed next to your alarm clock/phone so you take them first thing when you wake up. Keep some extra meds in your bag so that IF you forget to take them then you have them with you and can easily get on top of it as soon as you realise.

10. KEEP HYDRATED. Honestly, I get majorly moody if I haven’t been drinking enough and it’s good for you eiter way so, do it!

11. BE ACCOUNTABLE. Find a buddy to help you keep in check (if you don’t have regular medical appointments or therapy sessions). Someone who you can talk to about how things are going or share experiences. Hey, I’m here if you’re desperate for a bud!

12. TRY TO DEVELOP AND KEEP A ROUTINE. Developing new habits takes a lot of effort and time. So it’s gonna be hard and you’ll feel like you want to give up and just hide under your covers (again, I speak from experience). Try and visualise what you’d like your daily routine to be - write it down, monitor it daily and if you fail try again...

13. TOMORROW IS A NEW DAY and a new chance to do things better. Try again and again until you succeed. And don’t beat yourself up everytime things don’t go exactly the way you want them to...

14. FOCUS ON POSITIVES. Remember those small wins? Write them down at the end of the day (or simply go over them in your mind). Keep a gratitude journal - as cliche as it sounds, remembering the good things at the end of a shit day will help you go to bed on a good note. I once heard of a lady who kept a journal where she only wrote positive things - all the negative crap she left out - I think that’s a great idea and something I am eager to try.

15. DECLUTTER FOR 5 MINS EACH DAY. A clean space makes for a clean mind. I always feel more anxious and moody if my space is messy.

16. EMBRACING MINIMALISM CAN HELP. Having lots of things doesn’t equal happiness or peace of mind. Lots of things create clutter and chaos and, in my case, mind clutter and anxiety.... which is why I’m currently actively trying to be more conscious about my possessions and purchases.

17. LEARN TO SAY NO. A lot of students in this community are perfectionists, overachieving, ambitious young people. It’s very easy to be seduced by cool opportunities, collabs, requests, invitations... Think twice before saying yes - can you realistically do what you are agreeing to? Will it contribute to your anxiety? Will it truly be beneficial for you? Be a bit selfish if you have to. It’s okay to focus on your wellbeing.

18. DON’T LET IMPOSTER SYNDROME TAKE THE REIGNS. We’ve all been there: I don’t deserve this, I’m not good enough, everyone else is smarter, I CAN’T DO THIS. Yes you can! Tell that voice to shut up. Say it in front of the mirror everyday: I AM ENOUGH AND I CAN DO THIS.

19. BREAK THINGS DOWN. Instead of writing on your to do list “clean bedroom”, break it down into as small tasks as possible: “pick up clothes from floor”, “change bedding”, “organise books”, “dust surfaces”, “vacuum”, etc.

20. ASK FOR HELP. I end it as I begun it. When it gets too hard, reach out. Whether it’s a close friend or an anonymous support line you don’t have to go through it alone. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, YOUR LIFE MATTERS.

YOU ARE UNIQUE AND AMAZING AND YOU HAVE SO MUCH TO OFFER.

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nancyedimick · 8 years ago

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The Supreme Court’s double standard for qualified immunity cases

The Supreme Court at sunset in Washington. (Jon Elswick/Associated Press)

This morning, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in a case called Salazar-Limon v. City of Houston, a civil rights lawsuit in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit affirmed qualified immunity for a police officer who shot an unarmed man, because the man was allegedly reaching for his waistband. (Why he would be reaching for his waistband, given that he was unarmed, is a mystery.)

Though the Supreme Court does not normally explain its denials of certiorari, the denial prompted a couple of opinions. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, dissented. Sotomayor argued that the district court had wrongly granted summary judgment and foreclosed a trial, “disregarding basic principles of summary judgment,” which should have made “easy work” of the case.

But she also remarked on a broader phenomenon in the court’s qualified immunity docket:

Our failure to correct the error made by the courts below leaves in place a judgment that accepts the word of one party over the word of another. It also continues a disturbing trend regarding the use of this Court’s resources. We have not hesitated to summarily reverse courts for wrongly denying officers the protection of qualified immunity in cases involving the use of force. See, e.g., White v. Pauly, 580 U.S. ___ (2017) (per curiam); Mullenix v. Luna, 577 U.S. ___ (2015) (per curiam); Taylor v. Barkes, 575 U.S. ___ (2015) (per curiam); Carroll v. Carman, 574 U.S. ___ (2014) (per curiam); Stanton v. Sims, 571 U.S. ___ (2013) (per curiam). But we rarely intervene where courts wrongly afford officers the benefit of qualified immunity in these same cases. The erroneous grant of summary judgment in qualified-immunity cases imposes no less harm on “‘society as a whole,’” City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan, 575 U. S. ___, ___, n.3 (2015) (slip op., at 10, n. 3) (quoting Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 814 (1982)), than does the erroneous denial of summary judgment in such cases. We took one step toward addressing this asymmetry in Tolan. 572 U.S., at ___ (slip op., at 11). We take one step back today.

I’ve written about this phenomenon before along similar lines, first in this old blog post about the Tolan v. Cotton, the case Sotomayor mentions, then in my articles “The Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket” and “Is Qualified Immunity Unlawful?” I’m pleased to see Sotomayor on the case.

But Sotomayor’s challenge did not go unanswered. Justice Samuel A. Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, wrote an opinion concurring in the denial of certiorari. After noting why he thought the dissent’s conclusion was “surely debatable,” Alito wrote:

I write to put our disposition of this petition in perspective. First, whether or not one agrees with the grant of summary judgment in favor of Officer Thompson, it is clear that the lower courts acted responsibly and attempted faithfully to apply the correct legal rule to what is at best a marginal set of facts.

Second, this Court applies uniform standards in determining whether to grant review in cases involving allegations that a law enforcement officer engaged in unconstitutional conduct. We may grant review if the lower court conspicuously failed to apply a governing legal rule. See this Court’s Rule 10. The dissent cites five such cases in which we granted relief for law enforcement officers, and in all but one of those cases there was no published dissent. White v. Pauly, 580 U.S. ___ (2017) (per curiam); Mullenix v. Luna, 577 U.S. ___ (2015) (per curiam); Taylor v. Barkes, 575 U.S. ___ (2015) (per curiam); Carroll v. Carman, 574 U.S. ___ (2014) (per curiam); Stanton v. Sims, 571 U.S. ___ (2013) (per curiam). The dissent has not identified a single case in which we failed to grant a similar petition filed by an alleged victim of unconstitutional police conduct.

As noted, regardless of whether the petitioner is an officer or an alleged victim of police misconduct, we rarely grant review where the thrust of the claim is that a lower court simply erred in applying a settled rule of law to the facts of a particular case. See this Court’s Rule 10. The case before us falls squarely in that category.

This is undeniably a tragic case, but as the dissent notes, post, at 8 (opinion of SOTOMAYOR, J.), we have no way of determining what actually happened in Houston on the night when Salazar-Limon was shot. All that the lower courts and this Court can do is to apply the governing rules in a neutral fashion.

I don’t know who is right about this particular case. But I found Alito’s description of the court’s neutral principles of certiorari a little hard to fully accept for several reasons.

First, just two years ago, Alito seemed to say the opposite. In the 2015 case of San Francisco v. Sheehan, the court had a little dust-up about whether to “DIG” (i.e., dismiss) a case once it became clear that the central legal issue was not really presented, and the only remaining question was whether the police officers in the case deserved qualified immunity. Over Justice Antonin Scalia’s and Justice Elena Kagan’s dissent, the court soldiered on to resolve the qualified immunity issue anyway, even though it seemed to be a fact-bound determination presenting no real circuit split.

Alito, writing the opinion of the court, said this in defense of resolving the qualified immunity question:

When we granted the petition, we determined that both questions independently merited review. Because of the importance of qualified immunity “to society as a whole,” Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 814 (1982), the Court often corrects lower courts when they wrongly subject individual officers to liability. See, e.g., Carroll v. Carman, 574 U.S. –––– (2014) (per curiam); Wood v. Moss, 572 U.S. –––– (2014); Plumhoff v. Rickard, 572 U.S. –––– (2014); Stanton v. Sims, 571 U.S. –––– (2013) (per curiam ); Reichle v. Howards, 566 U.S. –––– (2012).

This sure seems like an attempt to justify the court’s special solicitude for police officers in qualified immunity cases, and indeed the Court relied on this formulation again to justify its most recent qualified immunity summary reversal in White v. Pauly.

Second, looking at the court’s recent summary reversal decisions cited by Alito and Sotomayor, the decisions seem to be just as much cases of fact-bound error correction as this one. Alito tries to differentiate between cases “where the thrust of the claim is that a lower court simply erred in applying a settled rule of law to the facts of a particular case” and cases where “the lower court conspicuously failed to apply a governing legal rule.” But the only thing really dividing these two formulations is the difference between “simple” error and “conspicuous” failure. With due respect, I’m not sure that’s much of a difference, nor one that admits of neutral application.

Third, the broader pattern of qualified immunity cases also suggests a double standard for the court’s jurisdiction. As detailed toward the end of my qualified immunity draft, in the past 35 years, the overwhelming majority of the court’s qualified immunity decisions have been in favor of officers whose immunity was denied by the lower courts. And since the beginning of the Roberts Court, the court has issued more summary reversals in qualified immunity cases than any category other than habeas cases.

Until today, I thought that the court had acknowledged and defended this double standard for qualified immunity cases, on the ground that it was really important to protect officers from lawsuits. But perhaps I misunderstood.

In any event, I am happy to see some of the justices paying attention to this issue, and I am also happy to see them agree that in principle the court’s standards for review in these cases ought to be evenhanded. I am not sure that the court’s past practice has lived up to that principle, but I hope that it will in the future.

Originally Found On: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/04/24/the-supreme-courts-double-standard-for-qualified-immunity-cases/

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wolfandpravato · 8 years ago

Text

The Supreme Court’s double standard for qualified immunity cases

The Supreme Court at sunset in Washington. (Jon Elswick/Associated Press)

But she also remarked on a broader phenomenon in the court’s qualified immunity docket:

I don’t know who is right about this particular case. But I found Alito’s description of the court’s neutral principles of certiorari a little hard to fully accept for several reasons.

Alito, writing the opinion of the court, said this in defense of resolving the qualified immunity question:

Originally Found On: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/04/24/the-supreme-courts-double-standard-for-qualified-immunity-cases/

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