#but our ability to do and see things outside of the *norm* is special

[starry-blue-echoes]

So you know that moment when your brain starts on idea on a whim only then it spirals way out of control

……..what am I saying that’s literally the entire reason this blog exists aNYWAYS TIME FOR ME TO TALK ABOUT THE EMPORIO AND GIORNO FIC IDEA I JUST MADE IN THE DMS WITH MY FRIEND

So it’s Post-Part 5 and 6 Everyone Lives, and Emporio is living his best life outside the prision. Still figuring out the logistics, but he lives in Florida with the rest of the Green Dolphin Gang + Jotaro and his life is going remarkably normally. He’s enrolled in school, part of a baseball team, is making friends, getting therapy with the help of the Speedwagon Foundation, getting used to Weather Report The Stand, and all in all living his life happily

So naturally this means shit starts to go side ways

so long story short...... Emporio gets a bit Kidnapped :)

I'm still working on the how, but the why is because the people in question wanted to do some...... experiments with some Stand Users, and a quick breaking into the Foundation revealed a kid who had not one Stand, but two. And think of the scientific possibilities for this, after all who knows what impacts this could have on his biology and the results they could find :)

so yeah, he gets yoinked, possibly in the middle of the night so no one would notice until morning

But shifting over to Italy...... Giorno is not happy. Stand Users have been going missing for weeks and he and the rest of the gang are getting rather annoyed at how few leads they're finding. Eventually it gets bad enough that they end up setting traps with bait to try and find them

and who's the bait you might ask? Our good old GioGio

...... well, okay technically Bucciarati was bait too because the both of them would have the best chance at escaping if needed, but Giorno is the only person who actually gets taken. The plan had been one of them gets yoinked, they get to wherever the base is, and then the rest of the gang tracks them with Moody

and unfortunately for them, there was one thing they hadn't predicted: the kidnappers having a Stand Blocking Drug. After all, as we saw in Part 5, Stands do have a biological aspect to them, so theoretically with enough testing, it could be possible to make a drug with blocks or at least severely weaken it

and unfortunately for Giorno, because of Requiem Nonsense his Stand Things are WELL outside the norm and he ends up being noted as a Priority experiment

just like a little Emporio :)

so after a brief bit of time spent in the main HQ area where the rest of the captive Stand Users were sent, Giorno ends up being shipped off to a...... special location where the Important experiments are kept...... albeit there's only him and Emporio here at the moment (however I'm not ashamed to admit I'm SO tempted to throw Koichi in here too because in that universe he is the first and only known User with an Acts Stand)

and the two talk. Emporio explains everything he's learned about the place in the days/weeks he's been here, how things work and what to do, and together the two begin planning their escape. At some point Giorno would likely quietly explain to him how he has a friend with a "tracking" Stand, just to give the kid a bit of hope, but they both know they can't rely on Giorno's friends to get them out

and it's....... not great, honestly. Emporio luckily had the sense to lie about what Weather Report did. All the Foundation's records had listed were "ability to replicate various weather phenomena" so Emporio was able to fake being really unskilled with it and only managing some clouds, a bit of rain and small gusts of wind. Unfortunately, this just means the science people were doing what they could to try and "train" Emporio to see just what Weather could be capable of

maybe they escape, maybe they get rescued, all I know is that when this is over Weather Report is going to do some very well deserved smiting and Emporio gets some mafia uncles :D

[horizon-verizon]

[HotD] Helaena and Alicent’s Relationship: Evidence of Neglect and Abuse

CW: Domestic Abuse 

Helaena is our sweet, mythic Cassandra, but in her feudal, martial, patriarchal society and in the Red Keep's court, she is likely just too “odd”.

Since she doesn’t appear to interact with anyone in court and those courtiers would have seen her mumble under her breath, playing with creepy-crawlies most of the time, she undoubtedly would have been seen as either crazy, feeble-minded, or defective. Which has interesting implications for her relationship with Alicent.

Signs of Mental/Emotional Abuse (LINK)

being emotionally upset or agitated

being extremely withdrawn and non communicative or non responsive

unusual behavior usually attributed to dementia (e.g., sucking, biting, rocking)

nervousness around certain people

an individual's report of being verbally or mentally mistreated

Traits of Abusive Behavior from Parents (LINK)

Continually ignoring or rejecting a child

Physically or socially isolating a child

Forcing a child to do things by scaring them

Exposing a child to domestic violence

Constantly criticising, humiliating or blaming a child

Constantly swearing, yelling or screaming at a child

Making a child feel different from other family members

Telling a child that they’re worthless, unloved or not enough

Withholding love, support, praise or attention from a child

Bullying, teasing, insulting or belittling a child

Having unrealistic expectations or unreasonable demands of a child

Not allowing a child to explore, express themselves, learn or make friends

Treating a child badly because of things they can’t change (eg. disability, gender, sexuality)

Threatening abuse or threats to harm loved ones or pets

Alicent's Characterization

Show!Alicent is one of the many women of the ASoIaF universe whose close family member uses their body's reproductive abilities for their own ambitions and against her will.

But Show!Alicent is the example of that woman who doesn’t resist against most patriarchal expectations and standards of moral femininity--unlike the gender nonconformists Daenerys, Rhaenyra, some of Cersei, Arya, Brienne, etc. All women who, it must be noted, dressed and/or acted outside of the norms of Westerosi standards for (noble)women even when they were children and teenagers.

Yes, even Cersei, the woman who constantly uses Lannister specialness as a way to access that martial power that men receive and direct in this world, rejects anything remotely feminine if it doesn’t lend to this access, and thus becomes blind to her own faults and weaknesses. This looks like nonconformity, but of the self-destructive and abusive kind. Yet, she also puts pressures on her own daughter, Myrcella, to conform to the patriarchal standards of femininity, which Myrcella resists.

Show!Alicent is clearly more like Cersei in this last aspect, when episode 6 shows us Alicent grabbing Aegon’s face and yelling into it about him being the challenge to Rhaenyra’s claim and how Rhaenyra will definitely kill him if he doesn’t work with/stand untied with Aemond against Rhaenyra’s children. Alicent wants Aegon to consider Rhaenyra a bigger threat than she is, and when he doesn’t she lashes out against him.

Show!Alicent is a person who demands conformity to the feudal standards of gender expression from herself and from others. She wants "perfection".

Helaena can never conform to the standards due to her visions, mumbling, fixation on bugs (before she becomes a mom but too late because everyone in court would have seen her as weird), etc. Some of us may like Helaena for basically exposing Aegon and for being the least hateful or power-seeking of all the characters, but in the context of feudalism and the environment she would have grown up in, she would be seen as just defective.

Thus, Alicent definitely can't even begin to understand her, let alone respect her boundaries. She would see Helaena as someone either needing "fixing" and try to make her act more like she strived to when she was younger. (Not that we get to see how Alicent reacted to Helaena after she had her, because of the time jumps.) That is, of we have a consistently wrotten Alicent character.

Mother and Daughter Don’t Get Along

Since we don’t get scenes of events between the 5th and 6th episodes due to the massive time jump, the audience is forced to evaluate Alicent and Helaena’s relationship in just two episodes (6 & 8). On one hand, I think is unfortunate because Alicent and Haleana get only 3 scenes together where we could have had more to better answer the questions I have about Alicent, Helaena and Aegon [II]. At the same time, I think the show also is trying to let us know that their relationship is one that is one of silent resentment and ignorance with how little to two actually speak and understand each other.

Helaena becomes a Cassandra figure in the show, where she sees future events, talks about them in language that’s more poetic than colloquial, and gets ignored by her entire family. It looks like she’s usually on her own with small objects of her interest: the small knitting kit and her bugs. Her brothers talk about her while right next to her in episode 7 while she mutters about threads and the coming civil war. Viserys is nowhere to be found near her, nor do we ever see him talk to her or about her. Otto seems much less stern, intimidating and looming towards her than he is with Alicent, but it still seems indulgent and condescending (episode 8). And Alicent doesn’t seem to really know what to do with her in any of the scenes they have together.

Images Credit: criston-cole @ tumblr

Phia Saban, the actress playing Helaena, plays her as at least neurodivergent and maybe autistic. And the refusals happen when Helaena is trying to tell Alicent about her visions. We get scenes where we’re made to wonder whether it’s just autism, autism and non abusive emotional distance built from very different personalities, or if it’s autism and abuse that makes Helaena refuse Alicent’s touches. 

Helaena does let Alicent touch her in episode 8 when she enters Aegon’s room after Alicent lectures him for being so openly promiscuous. However, that touch recives no real reciprocation (HBO, “Lord of the Tides”, Episode 8: 24:50). 

We may argue that is just an autism thing, but autism is on a spectrum of behaviors and manifestations. Not all autisitc people reject all sorts of touch.

And the reason why I think that Helaena doesn’t want Alicent’s touch specifically is because she was much more receptive to Jacaerys Velaryon in episode 8 where they dance together than she ever was to Alicent, her own mother.  

Images Credit: mercymaker @ tumblr

Helaena w/Others Besides Alicent

I don’t think that it’s just Helaena being an autistic person who experiences an aversion to touch even from family members. Because, an autistic person who does have this aversion is not going to accept touch and physical interaction form either family or almost strangers, and Jaecaerys is less family-by-blood than Alicent is. He also doesn’t appear close to Helaena and didn’t seem to have grown close in the same spaces while he lived in King’s Landing.  We don’t get even one interaction between them when he lived in the Red Keep. He also has apparently been in Dragonstone with Rhaenyra and Daemon for the past years between episode 7 and episode 8, away from King’s Landing, being even physically further from Helaena than he was before. 

Obviously he would have at least said some words to her or have been near her for a few hours at some point in the past, but there’s no indication that they ever spent time together openly and intimately to have grown any sort of bond. Alicent would have had much more opportunity, even with her possible household duties as a married royal/noblewoman/queen.

We don’t get to see how Helaena regards Aemond’s or Otto’s touch, but seeing as Otto isn’t much of a toucher himself and Aemond looks more focused on training with Criston and on Alicent, I doubt they have much of a strong relationship themselves. I believ that this was intentional on the part of the writers, to show only fraught interactions between Alicent and her kids. Even that moment of episode 9 where Alicent nonchalantly calls Aegon an “imbecile” for doubting her love for him we learn that aegon feels unloved and has for his entire self-aware life. There has to be a reason as to why, that sort of feeling doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. And in comparison, the show shows us that Rhaenyra’s kids and stepkids aren’t distant, scared of her, nor Daemon.

The greens however have multiple instance of that happening.

As for Aegon, they managed to produce three children (Maelor should appear by the next season), at least having sex twice to have them (Jaehaerys and Jaehaera are twins canonically. I assume that in the show they are still twins). And she had them very quickly after she married him. Plus, in episode 8, as she talked to Baela and Rhaena about the good and bad of marriage, she herself reveals that she doesn’t get to see Aegon often, implying that there is a standard of intimacy in that Aegon never met because he doesn’t work to build bonds of love between them both because Helaena is another way for him to not have a choice in when Otto/Viserys arrange their marriage AND because he doesn’t think anyone really loves him. Similar to Daemon not wanting to marry Rhea Royce but forced to at 16 for political/economic advantage of his superiors. (Digression: Perhaps they also thought that it would be good for him, since Rhea could count as an heiress.)

There is therefore a quiet loneliness with the imposed solitude there, and which I think she has learned to live quietly and ignored or side-eyed since her childhood. 

Alicent’s willingness to put herself before her firstborn doesn't erase the pattern of neglect and abuse done.

[nissakii]

Significance of “Madness” in anime

We’ve already established in other posts about significant emotions and concepts in anime or specific media before. The Significance of losing or the one of visuals and metaphors in Haikyuu!! are some of those I would love to mention here, but today we shall delve into a broader topic that goes more along the lines of Makii’s thrilling post about Danganronpa and the Significance of Despair.

Today, our topic of interest is madness.

To ease your mind, in this post we will be talking about the representation of insanity and madness in some anime characters and how that reflects on the story and ourselves as an audience.To make one thing clear, a lot of the times we see overexaggerated versions of unstable characteristics in anime that aren’t realistic.

This is in no way a discussion about actual mental illnesses and not a professional approach to analysing them to our real life standards, but maybe a start to an interesting discussion about how we portray and handle what one may colloquially call “craziness”.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s start!

Artists, and no matter for example if they write or draw, use their platforms to deliver messages in cryptic ways. As humans, we have the innate ability to look at something and consume the facts through entertainment which makes us crave new media to follow and analyse.

We love to question things instead of just taking them as they are, and that is why most writers out there will play around with the perception of their audience.

You may be familiar with the common question that ghosts through your head as you enjoy the latest episode of your favorite anime.

Why did he do that? Is she a traitor? What makes them think that way?

Although one might always do it consciously, we most definitely analyse whatever media we consume and decide for ourselves if it is important enough to keep in mind for future reference.

What the writer or founder of the anime ultimately wants from the reader is a reaction.

No matter what they intend to do with it, if they enjoy the viewer getting excited or traumatised is not of importance, but a reaction is evidently one of the goals. 

And as strong emotions always evoke an even stronger reaction, anime characters are often very idealized and have ideologies that make them want to do one particular thing.

Be it save the world or destroy it, we focus and look at these characters and root for them if they give us a reason to do so. 

Both sides of good and bad can have deeply rooted admiration drawn out of us, and it sometimes doesn’t even matter because the more interesting part is the lovely grey area in between. 

We need a balance of good and bad to enjoy both.

Empathy makes us viewers want to relate to the characters, and if the author gives us the possibility to learn why someone does something, it gets harder and harder to dislike them. That’s why tragic backstories and flashbacks are such an overused tool in anime, because with the extreme behaviour some characters show they also need equal amounts of redemption.

We attach ourselves emotionally to characters depending on our personal tastes as well.

If someone likes and relates to a strong and independent protagonist who would drop anything for the sake of justice, you will find a lot of resembling characters in shounen for example.

On the other hand, if a darker or more obsessive character manages to take over a special place in a viewer’s heart, putting them on a pedestal gets more and more interesting, because you’re not supposed to.

Contrary to that, characters with insane or dark personality traits are often very popular, again tracing this back to human instinct of emphasising with wronged characters and curiously inspecting the fully deranged ones.

As this isn't something that should be put into vague concepts, we’re instead going to look at examples of characters and entities that are seen as ‘mad’ and how they’re interpreted.

It’s not just about villains being unreasonably immoral in this post, as we look into what madness entails and how it's shown, we also have some examples of corruption to look at.

So of course there are the typical evil-thinking evil-doing villains out there. 

Some of them have an actual backstory to make them more realistic and believable, some others are just pure evil. While they are often called mad for their actions to achieve their goal, the reason why they are put into that light is the stark contrast between the protagonist and the villain.

If the protagonist loves to save people and always has a smile on his face, of course he will differ from his counterpart when he finds out that his methods are a bit more vicious.

The protagonist perceives the villain as insane most of the time, but what does the viewer think?

We seek to look not only at characters that are enjoyable to watch, but also try to find similarities between us and them or draw lines in their behavior to understand them better. As mentioned before, empathy plays a huge role here as well, since whatever happens in anime doesn't have actual repercussions, we can forgive characters more easily. 

For example when they are taken by Insanity as a side effect rather than being insane due to trauma, we often get an 'ally turned traitor' trope through hypnosis or brainwashing, which is just as interesting to look at. 

If a person did something horrible under the influence of something they had no control over, are they still to blame? 

Does Insanity only involve a separate entity that comes from evil, or are we also looking at the gradual descent into darkness when life just isn't the same anymore? 

Insane and with no fear: Soul Eater

A great example of how insanity plays with characters be they good or bad is Soul Eater. 

With a premise that one needs a sound mind and body to inhibit a sound soul, we obviously know that people close to becoming Kishin-eggs will have a rotten soul drenched in bad deeds, but what about the good guys? 

In this instance we have a lot of different types of madness and insanity that touches multiple characters at different times, and by far the most drastic would be the black blood. 

The black blood being a synthesized weapon form of blood that can change form and harden into shape, is a weapon made by Medusa and introduced for the first time with Crona. He was melded together with Ragnarök as a weapon and used the black blood in his proficient fighting style. 

Soul Eater as well as Maka and other characters later come into contact with the black blood, and the consequence of the immense strength that comes with it is debilitating madness. 

As explained in the anime, the madness makes one deny the soul of oneself and others and takes away your fear. Now with no fear present, the person exhibits extremely erratic behavior and is not scared to hurt others or themselves.

This is an insanity that shows how essential a person's fear is, shown by Maka in one of the latest episodes when she fights Asura. The fact that she learned how to accept her own fear and realise that humans need it to survive is why insanity in Soul Eater is merely a concept to differentiate between what is human and what is Kishin. 

A Kishin kills and murders with no fear of anything. 

A human protects and masters one's own fear. 

The power hungry insanity: Hunter x Hunter

In Hunter x Hunter we have a lot of characters that don't exactly fit the norm of human action. 

With people like Chrollo, Illumi and even Chimera Ants there is enough crazy to go around. 

Still, the character we shall delve into to look at a different kind of instability is none other than Hisoka Morow.

Yes, in comparison to black blood madness Hisoka is an actual human being with no known influence outside of his own intellect. The contrary to another weapon or entity making someone insane is being shown in this anime.

Hisoka is just insane. 

We have no means to see if there is anything that might have caused Hisoka to be the way that he is, but what we do know is that his character is almost too nonchalant for his own good. 

His goal is to accumulate power and fight others that he seems worthy, as that is what attracts him. No person is spared if he believes he found a worthy opponent he will make that clear to them and pursue them passionately. 

We could rule that the clown is just eccentric, but with the given information from the anime he definitely had some sort of mental difference next to his peers. Harming himself holds no problem to him, and his behavior is deeply rooted only to suit himself. He has no self-preservation except for when he needs to accomplish something, and he even enters the spiders just to get close to Chrollo. 

Now we see a single person carry themselves throughout a story only to achieve one thing: a good fight. 

After having looked at these two examples of insanity in anime, let's look at how that insanity can be portrayed visually. 

A famous way to show someone's psychosis is the “Kubrick stare”. A directorial technique that got named after the director Stanley Kubrick who used a forward tilt of the head with eyes locked onto the camera to show the actors of his movies at their peak of madness. It became a very popular stylistic device and is used still very often in modern movies.

The character is supposed to look menacing, evil-plotting and absolutely unhinged.

Such devices, if used often enough, automatically invoke the message to the viewer.

If you’ve seen the Kubrick stare once in a psychotic character, you will definitely associate it with the same derangement again.

In anime we have a similar thing, and you might be aware of this already.

Familiar with the ‘eye angle just before a character goes insane’ meme?

It’s a running gag that shows multiple characters such as Asura from Soul Eater, Pain from Naruto, Light from Deathnote and Jason from Tokyo Ghoul in a frame where you can only see their eyes and it somehow looks extremely grotesque as if they were looking into different directions with their eyes.

As much as it is a joke, it is a perfect example of something extremely similar to the Kubrick stare used in anime culture. It goes so far that if any anime watcher would see a new character look like in a frame, one would assume they were about to go crazy.

Even Oikawa Tooru from Haikyuu!! was shown with a Kubrick stare in the last moments of the second Seijoh vs. Karasuno game, when his desire to win overtook him with incredible force.

Without loss there naturally can’t be any wins, and without sadness there will be no joy in laughter.

We need the different depictions of what one might call madness, to fill our stories with nuance that relies on our reality.

Be it an unknown entity, hunger for power, lack of fear or the good old fashioned thrive for world domination.

Madness is just another part of what we call life, and to be honest in healthy doses and for effect why not enjoy it in anime?

Now, do you guys know any other characters or concepts in anime that would be worth mentioning? I would love to see them in the comments! 

Until then, stay sane!

-Nissa

[aro-comics]

Fashion Analysis (Part 5: Aromanticism & Fashion?)

[Note: This post is a part of a series analyzing self-expression, fashion, aromanticism, and how they interact with other parts of identity. For full context please read the whole thing!]

Aromanticism and Fashion?

Now that we have gone through LGBTQ+ History with fashion, and the importance of self expression - I think we’re in a good place with all this context to discuss how aromanticism and fashion can intersect. (and again, as a disclaimer, all of this is purely speculative!). 

Personally, I think there may be a few philosophies on how Aromanticism and Fashion may interact. You can look at it a few different ways, either considering the influence amatonormativity may have on our methods of dress, but also the context in which Aromantic communities are forming (online). 

On the influence of Amatonormativity

Up until this point I’ve been side-stepping the consideration of amatonormativity – but it does impact self-expression, I think, and it’s worth discussing it’s relation to aromanticism.

I had a discussion with one of my aroace friends about the idea of wanting to avoid “attention” in the romantic and/or sexual sense growing up. There is an inherent tie-in with wanting to appear desirable (as shown in the beginning of the comic, and also reinforced through many pieces of popular media), with romantic outcomes. In both of our experiences, I believe it made the idea of being seen as conforming to beauty norms an uncomfortable activity. 

And looking back to lesbian fashion history too, we can see this subversion of heteronormative expectation is tied into a lot of their community’s means of dress. Which leads me to wonder - will we also see this with an emerging Aromantic sense of fashion? How could this impact clothing choice, and general expression as it relates to an amatonormative society? 

I want to note that personally, outside of professional contexts, I like to dress femininely in a subversive and “alternative” way. I LOVE the idea of being hyperfeminine as a performance, being a living, breathing, work of art, while simultaneously creating an aesthetic that would not consider “attractive” in an amatonormative context. And another aroace friend has confirmed feeling this way with me too! She mentioned she likes to dress in a way that will make women go “wow, we love this outfit” but at the same time cause *conservative straight old men* go “what are you wearing” (to paraphrase our conversation). 

I think some good examples of this from my personal experience would be the following:

1. I love aggressive, graphic liner - generally makeup is thought of as something that feminizes the face, something that softens. But I also like to use it to create the angles and shapes that adorn my face, something abstract for the sake of being beautiful. Like mentioned before, I don’t want to appear romantically attractive to anyone, and I think that for me, at least, this is a part of using femininity to subvert these expectations. 

2. I love ethereal-looking, avant-garde sheer dresses, not in the sense that they could be romanticized, but in the way they again make me feel detached from the idea of beauty for the sake of appealing to anyone else. Instead, for me it feels like beauty as a wild, untameable form of nature and being. 

But … maybe I should mention the unconventional tastes are partially tied to the fact I spend a lot of time in creative spaces because of my degree, and overall I am exposed to more diverse ranges of self-expression to begin with! Either way, though, I am curious what other aros have to say, so feel free to let me know your experiences with this. I’d love to provide an update with thoughts from other aros! 

Forming Community Online and its Possible Impacts

The online nature of the development of Aro Culture leads me to wonder if this medium of interaction will influence the development of our fashion, much like how it influences the development of fashion overall.  For example, with tiktok, the app is often credited for its major influence on modern fashion trends (and leading to the emergence of microtrends). 

Most visual designs are being affected by the way social media algorithms work too. The “allegria style” created by facebook, otherwise known as the “flat gangly limbed drawing style beloved by tech companies”, has exploded in popularity. Regardless of how one might feel about the widespread adoption of this style of illustration, it’s clear that it has significant advantages that have led to its popularity, one of which is its ability to be “consumed” or visually understood at high speed due to its graphic nature and simple design. Basically, when people look at things on their phones, and they’re scrolling quickly, they’re more likely to understand what they see and interact with what they see if it’s easy to visually “read”. And I truly believe that this is influencing most forms of design, including fashion (which subsequently, will influence aro fashion). If you’d like to learn more about this subject, sources 14, 15, and 16 provide more insight into how social media algorithms have influenced design and visual culture at large. 

I think another factor to consider here is the effect of seeing the whole world at once - having the influence of all different media, visuals, and pop culture at the same time has created a very unique environment for development. As one example, the wider aspec communities have developed with the existence of our flags (which are purple and green centered for ace and aro respectively). This would be knowledge that wouldn’t be so easily spread through the whole community in a pre-internet era, and I personally (THIS IS ONLY MY THEORY) feel this is part of the reason there is a far stronger connection to these colours within aspec culture. It’s something that unifies us and was one of our first introductions to the community (since most of us probably looked up the definition of aromantic, or asexual, online), and I think for this reason these colours hold special significance and are present in a lot of of our means of self expression and communication with other members of our community. 

Obviously, the formation of symbols and ways of self-identification will occur anyway (many symbols exist for other members of the LGBTQ+ community too), but I do think being online has a particular influence on the ways community symbols are communicated, and create a different context in where these cultural symbols take shape.

[Note from Author: For Part 6, click here!]

[amyscascadingtabs]

expecto patronum

Post-The Fugitive. Jake and Amy talk Harry Potter, patronuses, and love.

✨read on ao3  ✨ 

“Hey, babe, I’m home!”

The door makes a distinctive clicking noise behind Jake as he locks it. It’s only one of the many sounds he’s getting used to; his new home is full of them, and they’ve become much more noticeable now that he’s here every day. He’s known his way around this apartment for a long time, but living there, permanently, is different. It’s a good kind of different, though. 

“In here!” Amy shouts from her – from their – bedroom, and Jake hurries to hang up his jacket and bag before going to greet his girlfriend. 

    He’s coming home late tonight. A questioning at work dragged over after a surprise confession, and as exciting as those are, Jake’s bitter over missing dinner and Property Brothers with Amy. He half hadn't expected her to be awake still, but once he was finally free to text her that he was on his way home, she replied straight away to tell him she'd be waiting. Rosa had teased him about how wide he’d been smiling, but Jake hadn’t found it in him to care. 

Amy’s laying on her stomach in bed with a thick book leaned against the pillow, resting her chin against one hand as she reads and holding up the cover with her other. Jake recognizes the book; it’s Prisoner of Azkaban, the third book in the Harry Potter series. He was reading it himself a few weeks ago.

“Ah, Harry Potter. Good choice.”

Amy closes the book against her index finger and looks up at him. “Yeah, you inspired me. How was work?”

“We got a confession,” he grins. “It was dope. Guy just started rambling, pretty much told us his whole life story for some reason, and now we have him. I even got to call the victim’s mom, tell her the news.”

“Sounds like a good day, then.”

“Yeah. Missed seeing you, though.”

“You see me all the time, babe. We live and work together.”

“I know, so it makes me feel even weirder when I don't!”

Amy laughs, letting out that adorable chortling sound he only ever hears when they're alone. Then she looks back to her book, scooching closer to her preferred side of the bed, and Jake takes that as an instruction to change into pajamas so he can join her. 

Any regular night, he would probably have taken time to shower and brush his teeth first, but it's been a long day. He simply undresses instead, smirking as he notices Amy’s subtle side glance when he takes off his shirt. This, these small moments of appreciation between them, is yet another one of the parts he loves most about sharing a life with her – it’s nearly midnight, he’s exhausted and he remembers Amy mentioning starting her period, so sex is almost guaranteed to be off the table – but she still makes him feel attractive, makes him feel confident and wanted. He never realized how much that being an equal exchange meant to him before their relationship.

   “So,” he asks her, “where are you up to in the book, then?”

“Almost finished the whole thing,” she says, looking very proud of herself. “I’m at the time-turner chapter. Harry thinks he saw his dad cast a patronus from the other side of the lake, but then he realizes just saw himself.” 

“Man, that part was so sad.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah!” Jake huffs, crawling underneath the covers. “I just… felt for him, you know? He wishes he could meet his parents, just once, even if he knows it's impossible. He wants this family he never had.”

“It makes you realize how in the end, he's just a kid. A brave kid, but a kid.”

“A kid in desperate need of therapy.”

“Amen,” says Amy, flipping a page. “Hogwarts mental health services do seem to be severely lacking. Did you know the dementors were inspired by the author’s own experiences with depression, by the way?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Dark creatures with the power to bring out all the worst memories in your head, making you feel like you’ll never be happy again. Like you can’t even remember what it’s like. And the only way to defeat them is to hold onto the very happiest moments of your life and create a shield out of them.”

“Kind of deep for a kid's book,” Jake reflects, and Amy nods. 

“Maybe. But it's not pushed on them, either. It's a way for them to understand, without knowing that they're understanding. I always loved that about the Harry Potter books,” she says, a sudden dreamy look in her eyes. “They're just… intelligent.”

   Jake means to agree with her, but then his body remembers he's been at work for the entire day, and out comes an embarrassingly big yawn that makes Amy laugh. 

“Long day? I can read to you if you want.”

“Dreamgirl,” he mumbles. Amy rolls her eyes, but then she reaches out to pull him closer, her left hand running through his hair as she holds the book with her right, and he can see her smiling.

   Jake's not sure how long she's reading for. He loses track of time, but frankly, he doesn’t mind. Amy's reading voice is low, peaceful enough to relax him but varied enough to entice him at the same time. Her fingers keep brushing through his curls as she reads, tracing soft circles on his scalp. He listens to her read the part where Harry and Hermione fly on Buckbeak to rescue Sirius, and it doesn't matter that he read the book himself just a few weeks ago, because he could listen to her voice forever.

   He gets to do that now, he realizes, because they live together now. It may only have been a week, and not completely without its challenges, but it already feels like one of the best decisions of his life. Even though they were spending almost every night together before as well, there’s something special about coming home and Amy already being there. Not because they’ve made specific plans for her to be, but because that’s the norm, because home is the same place for the two of them now. There’s something intimate about getting to share a routine with her, working out a system for who gets the bathroom when in the morning, adding stuff onto the same grocery list. Even seeing his t-shirts next to hers in the dresser puts a smile on his face in the morning. It feels grown-up, and it feels stable, and it feels right. 

    He wonders sometimes if he could have imagined this the night she knocked on his door to tell him screw light and breezy. Honestly, he probably could have, even if he was too proud to admit it to himself in the beginning. But after a year and a half of dating, of which six excruciating months were spent apart (and hopefully no more will ever be, he thinks), Jake couldn’t care less about pride. He loves Amy Santiago, and he wants to spend all the time he can with her, give her everything and share his life with her for as long as she’ll let him. That, if anything, makes him proud. In any case, it’s like he said that first night undercover as Johnny and Dora – there’s really no one else’s opinion he cares about more than hers. 

    Amy finishes the chapter, reaching for a bookmark before putting the book on her nightstand.

“There,” she laughs. “That’s your goodnight story.”

“Mm, one more chapter.”

“Mm, no. It’s late, babe.”

“I have a question,” he says then, knowing it’ll garner her attention and give him some more treasured quality time before they really have to go to sleep. Amy raises an eyebrow and shakes her head lovingly at him, but then she nods. “Harry’s patronus is a stag, right? Like his dad’s animagus form. And in the fifth book, Hermione has an otter, and Ron some kind of dog.”

“A Jack Russell terrier. Yeah, why?”

“How is your patronus determined? Like… how does it know?”

“It’s supposed to reflect your innermost personality,” she answers, not missing a beat. “It represents something about you that makes you who you are. Something that gives you strength, I would say. So for Harry, that would be the thought of his parents fighting for him.”

“I like that,” Jake says. “A lot of things in that universe are just grossly poetic though, aren't they?”

This makes Amy chuckle. “Very true.”

“What do you think yours would be?”

“Oh. Hmm.” She presses her lips together. “I don't know. What do you think?”

“We could find out,” He grins, reaching for his phone. “I’m sure there's a BuzzFeed quiz.”

      He's right – and although Amy rolls her eyes at him at first, they end up having a laugh at the quiz, picking the options they think best suit the other one and shrugging when the results suggest Amy’s would be a horse, and Jake’s a stag.

“The descriptions are pretty accurate, though,” Amy says, reading from Jake’s phone. “Brave and fearless, and your greatest asset is your ability to love. Sometimes you get a bit hot-headed and impatient –” Jake fake-gasps. “– but your friends are your source of peace, getting you through the good and bad.”

“I still think it should be a ninja turtle,” he mutters. “But yours is true, too. Loyal, smart, underrated badass.”

“It just gave us the same patronuses as Harry and Ginny.” Amy smiles. “They do get together later, so I guess that works.”

“Spoilers! I haven’t gotten to that part yet!”

“Oh, come on, it’s really obvious.” She kisses the pouting grimace off of his face. “Different question. What memory would you use to cast your patronus?”

“I have thought about that,” he confesses, blushing. “It’s a three-way tie. The first time you told me you loved me. That evening when you stood outside my door and told me you wanted to be with me, for reals. Maybe even our first date, after the bet. All of those, together… I think they’d make a damn good patronus.”

“Wow.” Amy almost looks taken aback, like she wasn’t expecting that moment of sincerity. “I’m surprised you didn’t just say the first time we had sex or something.”

“Would you have wanted me to say that? Wait, is that yours? Santiago –”

“Oh my god, obviously not –”

“Obviously? Wow, hurtful, much –”

“Just let me finish!”

“Title of –”

“Stop!” Amy’s shaking with laughter, holding her hand on top of his mouth just for a second. “Stop, stop. What I meant to say was that it’s the same for me. That’s what I’d think of, too.”

“Even the bet? Even though you lost?”

“Yes, babe. Even though I lost.”

“So it wouldn’t be the first time we had sex, then.”

She smirks. “We’ve had better since.”

Then she leans over him, and her lips are on his, insistent but soft at once. His heartbeat’s speeding by the time she pulls away, and it satisfies him to see that her face is a little flushed, too. 

“For the record,” Jake mumbles as she rests her head on his chest after, “this, right here – would also work for a damn good patronus.”

“Oh, yeah. No dementor would stand a chance.”

“Mm. You’re a nerd, but I love you.”

“I love you, too. Goodnight, babe.”

“Goodnight,” he whispers, wrapping his arms around her and allowing himself a brief moment to revel in the feeling that’s started growing in him recently.

Forever, this could be forever.

[twstarchives]

Azul Ashengrotto・Voice Lines

Additional Voice Lines

Beans Camo event card

Scary Dress event card

School Uniform - R

Unlock Card “I will support you to the best of my ability, so that you may enjoy your school life here!”

Groovy “Board games are good brain exercises. Would you like to play one?”

Home Setting “Let’s make today count.”

Home Transitions “The students of this school are truly diverse in terms of personality. I’d like to have a great circle of connections.”

“Falling asleep during class is nothing for you to worry about. I will help you before your test. For a price, of course.”

“Now, for today’s board game club activities... What? Did you think ‘Boring!’ to yourself just now?”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Were you looking for me? If you’d like to discuss your troubles, I can always make arrangements for that.”

Home Taps “I pride myself on the trust my professors have in me. Above all else, I am very dedicated.”

“School friends are really just like schools of small fish. Come graduation, they all go their separate ways.”

“I heard you singing in music class just now... Heheh. No, I’m sorry; you do sound very nice.”

“I wish they’d label how many calories are in each dish in the cafeteria. It makes keeping count so difficult.”

“Is there something strange about me? I thought I studied the fashion norms on land well enough.”

PE Uniform - R

Unlock Card “I don’t necessarily hate Flying class. My broom just doesn't always cooperate with me.”

Groovy “Let’s try to work our hardest.”

Home Setting “I’m not that fond of exercising on land.”

Home Transitions “I’m not ashamed of the fact that I’m not good at sports. You have your struggles too, don’t you?”

“You only have two legs and yet you can walk that fast...? You really are good at this.”

“There’s no harm in looking like you’re trying hard. It gives off the impression that you’re committed and worthy of respect.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Flying class is almost starting. You always look like you’re having so much fun.”

Home Taps “Coach Vargas was just appalled by me again. If only I were in the water, I could... no, that would still be a problem.”

“I do a light muscle workout everyday. I also make sure to eat in moderation. It’s important to take care of your body.”

“It sounds so obvious, but floating in the water and floating in the sky really are nothing alike.”

“Sports on land make you sweat, and it’s so uncomfortable. ...Right now I’d like nothing more than to plunge into the ocean.”

“Are you trying to mock me? I’ll accept your offer as-is, but expect to have it returned it to you two-fold.”

Lab Coat - SR

Unlock Card “Please leave everything to me. Brewing potions is something I’m very confident in.”

Groovy “I’ll give you some tips for your experiments. Of course, the price would be... Heheh.”

Home Setting “I enjoy classes where the results are very clear.”

Home Transitions “I like experiments. As long as you just follow the instructions, you won’t run into any surprises.”

“There’s a full selection of rare ingredients to choose from here. What a wonderful school this is!”

“Ahh... If only you had my notes, you’d be able to finish all of those assignments in the blink of an eye... Are you interested?”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Please leave the alchemy to me. Churning out riches is one of my specialties. Of course I’m talking about the experiment.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “Even the smallest speck of dust bothers me. ...Why are you looking at me like that? Please, enough with your games.”

Home Taps “Feel free to come speak with me if you ever find yourself unable to find the lab materials you need. I have my ways.”

“Your stomach hurts? I’ll steep some herbs. There’s a brew I’ve been wanting to try out.”

“I’m very particular about my writing tools... It needs to feel a certain way when I sign my papers.”

“Grim is a strange creature. ...Why don’t we try teaching him some tricks? Oh, for no particular reason.”

“You don’t need to keep coming in here; I can see just fine. These goggles have prescription lenses.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “Turning one madol into a hundred is just another component of alchemy. Would you like to try?”

Ceremony Robes - SR

Unlock Card “‘Azul can make any of your wishes come true.’ ...Would you like to see whether or not these rumors are true?”

Groovy “Presentation is important for negotiations to proceed smoothly.”

Home Setting “Do you wish to hear my advice as well?”

Home Transitions “Only the wise should be the ones leading the herd. Don’t you agree?”

“I’ve come up with a plan for an event involving the Ramshackle Dorm; please take a look at it...”

“In a few moments I’ll be starting my lecture on ‘Efficient Study Methods.’ I’m grateful to say we have a full house yet again.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “The teachers hold Octavinelle students in high regard for being so well-mannered. I’m proud that our students are so exceptional.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “It’s nice to take time off like this every once in a while. ...Truthfully, I’m not at my best when there’s so much activity around me.”

Home Taps “These ceremony robes are much better than any business card. You get all kinds of wishful eyes on you just by wearing these outside the school.”

“I’m having others take care of setting up for the ceremony. My job is acting as the brains.”

“Maybe I should tighten my belt a little... I prefer having a tight figure.”

“Dark, confined spaces put me at ease. I like clothes that come with hoods.”

“You’re so loud. No one likes a lot of blabber.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “Instead of an amulet, it’s better to keep your favorite coin in your pocket.”

Dorm Uniform - SSR

Unlock Card “How lucky you are to have been able to meet someone as kind as me!”

“Balancing this student life with running the Mostro Lounge is something I’m enjoying very much.”

Groovy “Welcome to Octavinelle! We’re always happy to have those like you here.”

Home Setting “If you ever need a consultant, I’d be happy to speak with you anytime.”

Home Transitions “My students become very reasonable with me the moment I put on our dorm uniform.”

“I always put on my right shoe before the left on the mornings of a battle. You could say it’s superstition... Yes, exactly that.”

“I picked out all of the furniture used in the Mostro Lounge. Isn’t the atmosphere just wonderful?”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Helping others is what I live for. As dorm leader, I’ll support every one of you as best as I can.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “Should you have a wish you’d like me to grant, you’re welcome at the Mostro Lounge’s VIP Room anytime. What do you say about coming over now?”

Home Taps “Jade is a very capable assistant. I wouldn’t have chosen him as the vice dorm leader if he wasn’t.”

“They say the Sea Witch had infused a spiral shell with her own magic. Maybe I should modify the pin on my hat that way as well.”

“Floyd’s mood swings are unbearable to deal with, but I have faith in his power when the time calls for it.”

“You smell something nice? Oh, that must be my cologne. It’s one of the small pleasures I have while being on land.”

“Oh, please don’t interrupt me right now. I’m busy totaling the sales for today.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “Why don’t you work a shift at the Mostro Lounge sometime? The staff meals Jade and Floyd make are simply the best.”

Duo Magic Azul: “Riddle, let’s run this exactly by our plan.” Riddle: “Azul, I’ll put my trust in you this time.”

Birthday Celebration Outfit - SSR

This card was only obtainable during Azul’s birthday event (Feb 22 - Feb 28, 2020).

Login on Birthday “I’m honored to hear that you’ve remembered my birthday. However, unfortunately I don’t accept one-way gifts... But if you insist, please come order today’s exclusive special meal at the Mostro Lounge; I will be joining you.”

Unlock Card “Those who owe me debts are welcome to come today. Let’s all enjoy the party together.”

“I would like to express my utmost gratitude to everyone who congratulated me. That is the courteous thing to do. Isn’t that right?”

Groovy “Thank you for your birthday wishes. I will make sure to show my gratitude appropriately, so please stay tuned.”

Home Setting “There is such odd—er, interesting clothing on land.”

Home Transitions “The staff at my family’s ristorante sent a group photo of them along with their gifts. I’m glad everyone is doing well.”

“A gift doesn’t have to be an object. Letting me listen to your worries is enough. Come, don’t be shy!”

“Heheh. For my birthday, I decided that I will eat as I please without worrying about the calories.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “I’m glad my birthday is here. In the business world, you’re looked down on just for being young.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “The Mostro Lounge offers a coral-themed birthday cake. You absolutely must order it for your birthday!”

Home Taps “Idia gave me a board game I’ve been interested in recently. I cannot wait to beat him when we play.”

“Every year on my birthday, Jade and Floyd pull a prank on me. Honestly, what will I do with those two...?”

“When I invited Jamil to my party, he grew suspicious and asked ‘What’s the catch?’ ...And here I only want to get along.”

“Coach Vargas saw me in this outfit and said ‘Let me give you a special flying lesson for your birthday!’ I had so much difficulty running from him.”

“You brought me food again? ...Is that your way of saying I look like I eat a lot?”

Home Tap (Groovy) “I’m always looking for business opportunities at parties, but for today alone, I think I will just enjoy myself as the star.”

Duo Magic Azul: “It’s an honor to receive a birthday wish from you, Malleus.” Malleus: “My best wishes, Ashengrotto.”

Tutorial “Lurking over there is quite rude. Come, I'll show you around.” 

Lv Up “This is just... spectacular!”

“What do you think about my brilliant progress?”

“I’m not done yet... Heheheh!”

Max Lv Up “Ahh... I can feel the power rising in me... I’d like to keep doing business with you from now on.”

Episode Lv Up “A kind soul like you might be an easy target at this academy, don’t you think? If you ever end up in a bad position, do pay me a visit. You won’t regret it.”

Magic Lv Up “My magic power has grown so advanced; I’d like to put it to good use. I would never want to let talent go to waste.”

Limit Break “More... I want more power. Do I look like the kind of man who would be satisfied with this?”

Groovy “I’m feeling good today. I think now would be your chance if you have anything you want from me.”

Lesson Select “Are you tired of your classes? I recommend thinking of it as a game of scoring points from your teachers.”

“I’m fully prepared for any class. Pick whichever one you like.”

“Depending on the price you pay... I could help you study for today’s quiz.”

Lesson Start “Let’s do our best.”

Lesson End “Were you able to see how brilliant I am?”

Battle Start “You poor, unfortunate souls!”

Battle End “Well, you certainly tried your hardest.”

Other

Profile Quote “I’d be more than happy to help you. Now, just sign this contract.”

January 2020 Trailer “If you want to cross the bridge, you’ve got to pay the toll. That’s only natural, isn’t it?”

Countdown Poster “Helping unfortunate folk like yourself—that’s what I live for.”

Login Bonus Greeting “You are surprisingly quite diligent. I, too, enjoy working so steadily.”

Player Birthday Wish “Happy birthday! Today is a special case, in that I will grant you one single wish. ...Of course this isn’t a business deal. I’m only investing in your future self.”

Easter Eggs from The Little Mermaid:

The men up there don’t like a lot of blabber

Poor Unfortunate Souls

Helping unfortunate merfolk like yourself; that’s what I live for

If you want to cross the bridge, my sweet, you’ve got to pay the toll

[calligraphist-artemisia]

Soul of a Lion (Chapter 7)

Sequel to The Smallest Blade.

Summary: After the Red Lion steals them away from the Marmora base and takes them through a wormhole, Shiro, Keith, Katla, and Lance find themselves in front of a majestic castle with nowhere to go but inside. The events that unfold while they’re there will change the fate of the universe.

Also posted on AO3 under the username “kishirokitsune”.

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

7 | Message in a Bottle

Cenalenaex’ye – The Altean Colony

Curtis found Veronica standing near the village limits, staring up into the sky while she clutched a rune stone to her chest, her expression one of guilt and sadness. It wasn't hard to guess why.

He approached from an angle, giving her ample opportunity to see him coming.

“Do you think we made the right choice?” Veronica asked.

“I don't think we truly had any other choice,” Curtis responded calmly. “Lance was going to be chosen no matter what. At least he was prepared for what he might face when he went in there, and he has a way of contacting us when he's able to.” He gestured to the device that Veronica was clutching in her hands. “It's still active, so that's good. It passively charges whenever an Altean holds it. That means Lance is still alive and he still has it with him.”

Veronica relaxed slightly, though her worried expression remained. “But why hasn't he sent us a message? Could he have gotten caught?”

It was a possibility that Curtis hadn't wanted to voice, though it was one he'd thought about quite a bit. He knew that Veronica wasn't asking because she wanted to hear all of the theories he had about what was happening. She wanted reassurance.

“I doubt that Lotor would have let him keep the stone if he was caught. He wouldn't want to risk Lance being able to contact us. The last thing he wants is for us to be fully aware of what he's doing or to have proof of it to convince others,” Curtis said.

“And you're sure Lotor can't recharge the stone?” Veronica asked, not for the first time.

Curtis shook his head. “I never told you but Iverson was the one who helped me test it and he wasn't able to keep it charged, so I doubt it would work for Lotor either.”

Iverson was an older Altean in the colony, but one whose family was relatively new. It meant his blood was a little more mixed and he still displayed a few traits of the Eisal people of Wikeis, which also meant he had more difficulty using his Altean abilities. He also happened to be one of the only elders who was suspicious of Lotor's actions and was the one who secretly taught Veronica and Curtis everything they needed to know in order to prepare for their rebellion.

Veronica slowly breathed out and loosened her grip on the rune stone. “Lance is alive... but why hasn't he sent us a message? And don't say that you don't know! I know you have ideas!”

Curtis had been about to say that he didn't know because that was the truth: for all of the ideas that he had, there was no way of knowing which one was true and he really didn't want to worry Veronica with all of the options. But there was a look in her eyes that told him she wouldn't let it go until she was satisfied with the answer.

“If we go by the assumption that he hasn't been captured by Lotor or any other Galra, then he's most likely in a place where he feels it's too dangerous to send a message,” Curtis said.

“It's just so hard not knowing,” Veronica murmured, tilting her head back to stare at the clouds in the sky.

Curtis stood there with her as reds and oranges began to overtake the blue of the sky and dusk settled in.

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

Blade of Marmora Headquarters

Kolivan sat, stern-faced and back straight at his desk in his office, with Antok standing as ever at his side, mask firmly in place. They were waiting on the newest report on all transmissions sent over Blade channels from the past few quintants, with special care taken to seek out any sent through older channels or with unusual encoding.

The door opened and Colleyn stepped into the room, closely followed by her mate, Samvil. Her green-ringed antennae stood up straight, quivering slightly in anticipation as she came to a stop a few feet from Kolivan's desk. “Have you heard anything yet?”

“We're still waiting for the report,” Antok answered for Kolivan.

Colleyn's antennae drooped, her mouth falling into a disappointed frown as she stepped off to the side to quietly wait. While Colleyn was visibly dismayed by Antok's response, Samvil frowned in thought, his tail curling slightly as he held back his frustration over the situation.

“You're checking all of the sub-frequencies?” he asked. “Even the ones we don't use anymore?”

Kolivan nodded. “We are looking into every possible avenue. I assure you both, if any of them have sent a message then we will find it. I am almost certain that the reason for the delay is because I assigned young Mattox to help with the search and he swore to leave no stone unturned.”

Colleyn's light brown eyes widened in surprise. “Matt is here?”

“He was due for a quick stop on his way to his next assignment. I happened upon him during that time and requested he be allowed to stay and help,” Kolivan said. “Once we have the information we need, Antok will personally escort him to where he needs to be.”

It wasn't something Kolivan normally did. The Blade of Marmora ran as smoothly as it did through careful timing and strategic movement and operating outside of those norms carried a risk with it that was rarely worth it. It was irresponsible of him to use his authority as leader to search for three missing members of their organization, but he couldn't bear the thought of losing his cub because of some ancient lion-shaped weapon. Whatever the cost turned out to be, he would gladly pay it.

Kolivan closed his eyes.

How much would he sacrifice to try and keep Keith safe?

The sound of the door unlocking was the only warning they received as Mattox shoved his way inside, speaking before it was fully open. “I have it!” he shouted as he rushed to Kolivan's desk and all but shoved a tablet into his hands. He was shaking with adrenaline, the soft lavender fuzz covering his skin standing on end.

Kolivan calmly accepted the tablet and turned it so he could view the screen. “Tell me what I'm looking at, Mattox.”

Mattox nodded. “It was a faint signal that was picked up yesterday but dismissed because it's a long-wave frequency that we don't use anymore. I thought it seemed suspicious, since it definitely follows some key patterns, so I looked into it and this is what I uncovered.”

“And you're certain it's from them?”

“One-hundred percent,” Mattox said, his eyes gleaming. “It's a double-encryption using Blade wording when there's a risk of others receiving the message, mixed with the secret code that Katla and I invented when we were kids. If you tap here you can see what it really says.” He reached out and prodded a button to the side, which shifted the screen from displaying a series of numbers to a message Kolivan could actually read and understand.

Red needed to get away for a while, so we went with her. I know it's a surprise but don't worry because we're alright. We'll let you know when we're on our way back.

Love, S.K.K.L.

It was simple. Rudimentary. And yet told Kolivan everything he needed to know.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he passed the tablet to Antok, who handed it to Colleyn. He surmised that the Red Lion let down her barrier after months of silence, allowing the four of them inside before taking off from the base, overriding the hangar doors to do so. It was just as much of a surprise to them – they hadn't meant to leave without saying something – and they couldn't establish full communication because of something and would send another message once it was safe to do so. The fact that they used a long-wave frequency meant that they were a significant distance from the base and wanted to ensure they received it.

“She's alright. She's really alright,” Colleyn murmured, tears filling her eyes.

They were alright.

“What do we do now?” Samvil asked once he had also gotten the chance to read the message.

Kolivan stood. “We carry on as we always have. There is nothing more that we can do until they contact us again.”

And when the cubs did send a new message, they would be ready.

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

The Castle of Lions, Arus

Lance laid in bed, his back to the door as he stared at the rune stone given to him just before he left home. The true color of his skin looked foreign to him after seeing it as a shade of blue-violet for so long and he clenched his fist to make sure it really belonged to him. He sat up with a huff, cradling the rune stone in her palms as he debated what he should do next.

After his escape from Lotor's ship and his crash-landing on the planet full of silver plant-life, but before he was found by Keith, Lance tried to reach out to his sister and warn her about Lotor, only to find that his rune stone was damaged during the crash. There was a dent in the side that went through one of the runes, making the light for it flicker now and then. It made him wish that he'd paid more attention whenever Iverson showed them how to fix things around the village, but at the time it hadn't felt like it was worth it. Why did he need to know when there were others who were so much better at it?

He could probably ask Katla to fix it. Even if it was tech she wasn't familiar with, he bet that she could figure it out in no time. And he did trust her with it.

Lance ran his thumb over the symbol for 'home' that was carved into the top.

It was time for him to decide what to do.

Regardless of how he felt about the other Alteans, it was clear they would be staying and working with them, which meant that he needed to try and put aside his personal feelings rather than keep locking himself in his room. But that also meant having a difficult conversation with Hunk. About feelings. Which meant he needed to figure out how to word things in a way that wouldn't immediately offend Hunk.

He was also about to spend hours alone with the princess in order to discover some invisible link between him and one of the Lions, which made him so anxious that he caught himself daydreaming about running away into the Arusian countryside and trying to live on his own.

Lance couldn't do that. Not only because Keith would hunt him down and drag him back to the castle, but because staying was his only chance to save his family.

What he needed was a plan: a simple one.

Step 1: Make it through his session with Princess Allura without completely messing things up.

Step 2: Ask Katla to fix his rune stone.

Step 3: Talk to Hunk.

Three simple and easy steps.

Okay, maybe they were more simple than easy.

Or just simple.

Lance groaned in misery as he let himself fall onto his back, the bed shifting slightly beneath him. He held onto the rune stone for a moment longer before hiding it beneath his pillow for safekeeping. It wasn't until he rolled over onto his side and began to reach for the blankets that he realized he wasn't completely alone.

Climbing up onto the edge of the bed closest to the wall were three little mice – all of whom began squeaking in a way that could only be delight as they approached him.

“Uh, hi?” Lance said in confusion. He sat up once again as a fourth, much larger, mouse appeared, hoisting themselves up over the edge before joining the others in excited squeaking. They reminded him strongly of the ones they roamed the village, with their pretty coats and friendly natures. He couldn't help but smile as he held out his hand and the smallest of them sniffed his fingers before hopping onto his palm.

A rush of homesickness threatened to make tears fill his eyes.

“You guys are pretty cute,” he said softly. “You can stay here as long as you want. I can make you a little bed, help you get some food. What do you say?”

The small one nuzzled his finger and he took that to mean “yes”.

[johannas-motivational-insults]

Adora might be autistic too

Alright, most people in the SPOP fandom agree that Entrapta is autistic, as her coding is extremely obvious. However, some of us also believe that our beloved protagonist Adora is on the spectrum as well. She comes off as quite the aspie, and while Asperger’s is no longer a diagnosis in the DSM-V (but is in other manuals), it falls under the blanket diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and its diagnostic criteria is still useful in analyzing people for signs of the disorder. In analyzing Adora’s character I will refer somewhat to both disorders, with the understanding that Asperger’s is a specific manifestation of ASD.

I would like to preface this by saying this is a headcanon and people are free to disagree with me. Some of these characteristics I’m going to bring up could also manifest because of her very sheltered upbringing in a cult-like atmosphere or mental illnesses such as anxiety and complex PTSD (both of which she arguably has). I am autistic myself, so obviously I am inclined to interpret these symptoms this way, but to each their own. It’s also worth noting that Adora has a lot of symptoms that cross over with AD(H)D, a cousin disorder to ASD, and it’s totally possible she has both.

In any case, there is now enough evidence hinting at Adora’s neurodivergence (especially now that the Rebel Princess Guide has been released) that I feel the need to explain this theory in detail instead of just occasionally mentioning it. So here goes...

She’s naive/easily manipulated

This one doesn’t really need explaining, we’ve all seen it. Adora assumes people are telling the truth because why would anyone lie to her? That is such a relatable spectrum feel. She was handily brainwashed by Shadow Weaver in the Horde, while some of the others didn’t seem to swallow the propaganda so easily. This is of course partly because of the special attention and affection Adora got from Shadow Weaver, but she had to be vulnerable to manipulation in the first place for it to work.

Later, she trusts Huntara easily in the Crimson Waste despite Bow and Glimmer’s warnings about her questionable character. Adora happily follows her into a trap even once Bow and Glimmer tell her they're going the wrong way, reasoning it’s probably a shortcut rather than reevaluating her misplaced trust. This can be partly explained by how she‘s gay af for Huntara, but still.

(Interestingly, the episode cuts straight from this moment to the obviously autistic Entrapta going against her own friend's advice and refusing to give up on the portal machine despite the obvious warning sign of Hordak’s violent dismissal. Parallels, much?)

Her difficulty understanding other points of view

A lot of Adora’s conflict with Catra is predicated on misunderstandings, and she has a hard time understanding the effects her actions have on other people, Catra in particular. For instance, she misunderstands Catra talking about ruling the Horde together as being purely about power, while Catra’s actual goals are safety and Adora’s companionship. That miscommunication is not just Adora’s fault, but it illustrates that she has difficulty understanding other people’s needs and motives without being explicitly told.

This isn’t just a problem with Catra, either. In general Adora has a difficult time understanding other’s motives and feelings. For instance, she doesn’t understand Glimmer’s insecurity over Bow’s friendship with Perfuma at Princess Prom, and she can’t fathom why Entrapta would choose to work for an evil faction, going so far as to assume she must have been brainwashed into it. This is because, just like with Catra, she doesn’t understand that some people’s priorities are not the same as hers.

Autistic kids tend to reach developmental milestones at different times than neurotypicals, sometimes being way ahead and other times falling behind. One such marker that is usually slower to develop and often stays impaired is theory of mind, our ability to a) understand that other people have different perspectives and b) understand those perspectives. Adora’s difficulties being able to put herself in someone else’s shoes definitely lines up with this symptom.

She’s clumsy

For someone so athletic, Adora sure lacks coordination. This is a commonly cited symptom of people with Asperger’s, though it shows up in people with other forms of ASD too. In general, autistic people often have difficulty with fine and/or gross motor skills, and this can lead to being accident and injury prone. According to Catra in 3x05, Adora bumps her head a lot. That may have just been a callback to 1x01, but either way clumsiness has been part of her characterization since the beginning, one of her many loveable, adorkable qualities.

Her lack of social and self awareness

Adora can be painfully oblivious to her own inappropriate behavior. There’s several examples of this throughout the series, one of the more costly ones coming at Princess Prom. Shocked by Frosta’s youth, Adora fails to register how maybe this (in front of Frosta, with all eyes on her) is not the time to remark on it. She immediately realizes this was the wrong thing to say (or at least not something she should shout), but that small delay causes both her and Glimmer a lot of embarrassment.

Part of the issue here is that she loses control of her volume, which in itself is a common problem for those of us on the spectrum. This isn’t the only time we see her have this problem, either, and it’s amplified (tee hee) when she’s drunk/infected.

More generally, one of the funniest examples of Adora’s poor social awareness comes when she barges into Huntara’s flirtation with the bartender in the Crimson Waste. She’s so focused on her task of recruiting Huntara that it doesn’t even occur to her that this is an intimate moment and intruding would be rude.

In the Rebel Princess Guide Adora also says she wishes Queen Angella would let her make some adjustments to the uniforms of the Bright Moon guards, which implies she tried to make these suggestions already. Maybe she figured She-Ra could suggest anything, but as both a newcomer and a royal subject that’s a bit of a faux pas. Chances are, that went right over Adora’s head.

She can’t read a room to save her life (literally)

This is another, more specific aspect of social awareness. Adora has difficulty picking up on the implicit rules (social norms) when she enters unfamiliar situations, and has a tendency to step on toes because of it. She also doesn’t understand when her friends try to nonverbally communicate what she’s doing wrong, and nonverbal communication deficits and problems with social awareness and insight are two major symptoms of ASD. One specifically listed example is “difficulties adjusting behavior to suit social contexts”, including:

Lack of response to contextual cues (e.g. social cues from others indicating a change in behavior is implicitly requested)

Unaware of social conventions/appropriate social behavior; asks socially inappropriate questions or makes socially inappropriate statements

Here’s a couple specific example of times where Adora misses or misunderstands nonverbal cues to change her behavior:

At her first Rebellion meeting she doesn’t realize that maybe she shouldn’t sit in the special-looking chair, and doesn’t clue in that that’s why everyone is freaking out.

In the Crimson Waste, Glimmer responds to the growling bar patrons surrounding them by suggesting that maybe these aren’t the kind of people they should be asking for help, but Adora persists. She jumps up on the bar and makes a speech trying to get directions (which is socially inappropriate for the context as well as dangerous), somehow missing all the scowls from the patrons as well as Bow and Glimmer’s wild gesturing.

Panic over unfamiliar social situations

Adora’s anxiety about going to Princess Prom could be attributed to many things, not just a spectrum disorder. Her obvious anxiety, for one, though to be fair there’s a high comorbidity between the two disorders. In any case, it seems the unfamiliarity of the situation is a sticking point for Adora in particular, while Bow and Glimmer are nothing but excited for their first ball.

Adora’s anxiety seems to stem mostly from being overwhelmed by the prospect of entering a new social situation with a whole bunch of unfamiliar rules to remember. She’s still learning behavioral norms outside of the Horde, and this is a huge jump up in terms of difficulty for her fledgling social skills.

To cope with her stress she goes overboard trying to prepare by making a conspiracy board of sorts, flash cards, and an obstacle course. And at the ball itself, it seems like she’s even rehearsed how to behave.

This probably isn’t only relatable to autistics, but it’s very relatable to us. Creating and rehearsing behavioral scripts is a common strategy to avoid embarrassing ourselves in public. Unfortunately, as we saw above, this works for about five seconds before Adora botches the whole thing by commenting on Frosta’s age.

Extreme stress over details

In general, Adora is a very anxious, perfectionistic person who hyperfixates on details, a very autistic trait. As mentioned above, this is wonderfully illustrated by her overpreparation for Princess Prom. She’s broken down the overwhelming list of rules in the invite into categories to make it more manageable, gone into detail categorizing people’s relationships to each other, and learned trivia about the guests in order to feel more prepared. Yet, somehow she missed the important fact that the hostess is only eleven years old.

Unfortunately this hangup doen’t only affect her, but also her friends and allies. The overarching theme in “Roll With It” is how debilitating Adora’s anxiety and perfectionism can be. Her eye for detail and ability to see flaws in plans is actually very valuable, but she gets so hung up on every possible thing that could go wrong that she can’t accept imperfect solutions with calculated risks.

Her propensity to be overwhelmed by too much information (like with the Princess Prom invite) shows up here too. Adora grows more and more frustrated and overwhelmed as more princesses join the planning session, adding more variables to deal with and more people to manage. She begins lashing out and shooting down every possible solution that doesn’t satisfy her need for perfection immediately. Her behavior looks like it may be headed for a meltdown until it culminates in an epic rant revealing all her anxiety and how it ties into her insecurities about her own imperfection.

Thankfully her friends are able to reassure her that she has support and doesn’t have to be perfect, but it’s an ongoing battle, one we already saw her struggle with in “Flowers for She-Ra” and “The Battle of Bright Moon”. It’s a strong tenet of Adora’s personality that is proving difficult to shake.

What she misses about the Horde

The recently published Rebel Princess Guide contains a list by Adora of things she misses about the Horde, and this list screams neurodivergent. I’ll go through it point by point, since there’s a lot to unpack here.

THINGS I MISS ABOUT THE HORDE

1. I miss the rigid schedule. It never changed, and I always knew what to expect.

Ritualistic behavior and an insistence on sameness are often seen in individuals with ASD. In fact, it’s a major symptom. Many of us have diifficulty adjusting to changing schedules, changes in diet, or even minor changes in our environment (such as placement of objects, boy do I have stories there). We need warning when things are going to change, and even if we know it’s coming it’s still a struggle to adjust.

2. I miss the constant sound of machines and whirring. In Bright Moon, there’s always music playing, or people laughing, and birds singing. It’s nice but it makes it hard to focus!

Autistic brains process sensory information differently from neurotypicals, that’s basically our disorder at its core. Over or under reactions to sensory input are common and in fact considered a major symptom, and this entry of Adora’s specifically refers to difficulties with sensory filtering. We have a hard time filtering out information that’s irrelevant to our current task, which makes us easily distractable.

3. Believe it or not, I miss my hard cot in the barracks. My bed in the castle is way too soft!

This ties into both the insistence on sameness and sensory issues.

4. Catra… sometimes.

This isn’t autistic, it’s just gay.

Speaking of which...

She’s gay

Adora's relationship with Catra has always been queer-coded, but any doubts about her sexuality were dispelled in season 3 by the way she fawns over Huntara like a baby gay over her gym teacher. Her obvious queerness might seem unrelated to the topic of autism, but those of us within the community can attest there’s probably just as many queer people among us as there are cishets. It’s so notable that there has been quite a bit of scientific research confirming people with ASD are more likely to be LGBT and gender atypical and exploring the cause of this link.

(This needs no proving at this point, but enjoy these gifs anyway...)

In conclusion

Overall, there’s a lot of hints and circumstantial evidence suggesting Adora could have ASD. Was this the creators’ intent? Hard to say. Adora is the protagonist and one of the most developed characters, so she’s definitely not a cardboard cutout or checklist for ASD symptoms (compare that to Entrapta, a secondary character whose behaviors can often easily be attributed to autism). It’s totally possible the creators just characterized her as naive and awkward and obsessive without realizing the implications of that cluster of traits together.

Regardless of authorial intent, it’s perfectly valid to look at Adora and see representation of the ASD community. The groundwork is there. And if someone else looks and doesn’t see it, or sees something else causing this behavior, that is also fair. No one is forcing anyone to accept this headcanon (or at least they shouldn’t be), but in return please don’t disparage it. Even if she is not autistic Adora is definitely autistic-coded, and we could use some more heros with the disorder, given how we’re mostly relegated to being villains and anti-heroes (not that there’s anything wrong with us filling those roles sometimes, but a little variety would be nice).

Adora is often referred to as a dumbass, but she’s actually quite intelligent, just sometimes slow to understand how she should act and how people feel. Still, she tries her hardest, just as she does with everything else. Adora is heroic and compassionate, even if she sometimes struggles to understand others. When autistic-coded characters are so commonly portrayed as cold and unforgiving, Adora is a sorely needed exception.

[backbracebruin]

I have been sitting on a photography project idea for quite some time, and have been a bit more motivated to pursue it based on encouragement I had been receiving lately from a professor of mine. Since the inception of this project sprang forth from my usually addled brain, a lot more projects like it have cropped up in the art world and on social media. Not just professional photographers, but everyday folks sharing pictures of themselves going about their days and doing the things they normally do. They just happen to be using their disabled bodies.

As my mental and physical disabilities have fluctuated over the years - from rendering me completely non-functional to me having the ability to participate in the world in my own capacity - I've thought about the way the world perceives my abilities. I think a lot about how others are perceived, as well. I have friends and family who have mental disabilities, some with physical; others with both. I notice that there is a grace afforded to those with visible physical disabilities, but that it often comes accompanied by pity and condescension. When you're struggling with a mental disability - or any other "invisible" disability - you're more often met with invalidation or outright denial that you are disabled, because obviously all disabled folks use wheelchairs and walking canes and other clearly apparent assistance devices.

Long before I received my diagnoses and started collecting my SSDI and living off my Medicare, I grew up being very close to family members who have/had apparent visible disabilities. The individual who had the biggest impact on my life, especially in terms of how I grew up knowing to have compassion for people who have different abilities than myself, is my aunt, who is featured in the photo above. The photo depicts her rolling down a pathway in Glacier National Park - one of the hundreds of stops on our four month long cross-country trip back in 2008 - arms outstretched and showing not a care in the world. She is the nexus for not only this project, but for my ongoing learning process of how to treat and think of others and myself.

I'd notice that people would feel entitled to grabbing her wheelchair if she was pushing herself while we traveled and a particularly stubborn curb appeared. I remember the incredulity in one person's voice when I rolled her chair to the driver's side of her car and as she slid in on a special board for transferring, they said, "You can do that? You can drive like that?"

I know many people are either under or ill-informed, and they perhaps do not understand the implications of their words or actions. I'm sure many think that they are being helpful by grabbing someone's chair (for clarity: No, you are not, unless explicitly asked to do so. Otherwise you are grabbing what that person considers an extension of their body). I know that when people have marvel in their tone at a disabled person's ability to do things that they themselves as an able-bodied person can do, it is again, just their woeful ignorance of the lives that we as disabled people lead. I think it’s a safe generalization that, because we are human after all, we have our “good” days and our “bad” days. 

A disable individual's "good" days and "bad" days may look radically different from what we consider the norm. But despite how we may categorize a given day, we still must find ways, however minute, to function in our own microcosm and the world at large.

I have had this post in my drafts for weeks now, unsure of how to summarize this concept and what I might intend to do with it. With the very recent personal news that my own disabilities are going to put me on a different path than even I had accounted for, I'm thinking that I will very seriously try to undertake this endeavor. It will be an outlet for me to continue to explore my passion for photography and my all-consuming desire to meet new people and listen to their stories and understand us all better. Covid is still a large-looming presence, and the state of affairs here in the U.S. and abroad never seems to be getting better. Even so, I think I am going to try to find safe ways to venture out and engage with others and capture how people live their lives and adapt despite whatever "limitations" they have been presented with.

I need to ruminate on this more, obviously. That includes whether I would start a separate blog or Instagram or something for photos. Also how comfortable I feel sharing photos of myself. It kind of feels like I have to? I don't know.

But if anyone has read this far and would like to offer feedback on the idea or even go so far as to discuss potentially participating in this if it comes to fruition, it would be greatly appreciated. Honestly, any input is welcome, and from anyone. I certainly would like to hear from people with disabilities who want to see themselves represented in ways we're not always used to; but also from able-bodied, healthy, and/or non-neurodivergent folks who maybe want to understand experiences outsides their own.

[humanresourcemanagementthe]

9 Proven Human Resources skills Employers Are Seeking

Having a role in the HR department is not for everyone. You have to make tough decisions like firing and hiring, taking care of employee welfare issues, and handling company-sensitive information, which isn’t easy! It’s always essential that you know what will be expected of you before starting an interview process with your potential employer because they may already know more than enough about this job.

Pursuing an HR career is challenging but rewarding work. Being responsible for hiring and firing decisions, keeping watch over employee welfare, and handling a company’s most sensitive information isn’t easy work.

You feel like you’re up to the challenge but want to know what exactly will be expected of you so that it’s easier on your interviewers who may have inside knowledge about this position (and vice versa). This preparedness is essential because if they see right through any falsehoods or gaps in your resume, then there might be no chance at all!

It’s time to get your resume in shape! We know this process can be laborious and daunting, but it doesn’t have to take too long. Here are the top 9 Proven Human Resources skills employers seek out when hiring human resources professionals:

9 Demanding Human Resources skills

Many people might not think about how vital HR skills are when interviewing for a job. Moreover, since many jobs involve some human resources, having good knowledge in this field can be beneficial during the interview process. One way that you could represent your abilities is by listing each skill on your resume or CV as an accomplishment- something specific that you did well enough to impress employers who may have questions regarding the area from which they wish more information after reading over what has been written so far in your application materials.

1. Employee relations

Employees are the backbone of any prosperous business. Having a professional in HR helps create satisfying work environments for employees and employers alike by resolving employee concerns before developing into more severe problems. This is such an important area of HR, and it’s integral to maintain employee satisfaction through handling labor disputes as well managing benefits packages—it all boils down to managing conflict and advocating successfully on behalf of both employer and its employees; so that everyone wins!

How to highlight it as a Human Resources skills: As a professional mediator, conflicts between individuals are the norm. It’s essential to empathize with both sides of an argument and find common ground so that everyone is satisfied in some way, at least – even if it means sacrificing something from your side. A good negotiator needs patience, sound judgment, the determination under pressure (and sometimes coffee!), and those all-important soft skills like empathy and listening for understanding before speaking up/acting out.

2. Onboarding

Employee turnover is an expensive, time-consuming process for employers. Onboarding new hires can help reduce the cost of having to find and train replacements again and again constantly. But this takes some finesse; it’s not enough to hire someone at random who might be qualified in their field—they need a welcoming environment that will encourage them to settle into their position long-term with confidence.

This means developing an onboarding program that includes social aspects such as making sure they have friends on day one (not getting stuck eating lunch by themselves) or learning about company culture through orientation sessions where they are taught how things work around here without being given overly detailed information too early, so everything doesn’t seem overwhelming from the get-go!

How to highlight it as a Human Resources skills: Share specific examples of how you helped someone feel at home or make a transition. One example could be helping an unfamiliar co-worker learn about the company culture and “fit in” by initiating conversation, sharing personal stories with them, inviting them to family gatherings outside of work hours (to foster deeper relationships), etc.

3. (HRIS) Human Resources Information Software

HR Payroll Systems defines HRIS (human resources information system) as “an intersection of human resources and technology through specialized software.” This allows management processes to occur electronically, making the workload lighter with less time spent on tedious tasks. These tools vary from organization to organization, but most offer core functionality that helps organizations run smoothly without any hiccups in efficiency or productivity.

How to highlight it as a Human Resources skills: It can be tricky to find the accurate software for this role if you don’t have experience with an HRIS before. If you do, it’s a good idea to mention what kind and how well versed in it you are so that we know where your strengths lie. However, those who lack experience will need to show their enthusiasm by demonstrating knowledge of other similar software programs and tying them into why they want the job quickly!

4. Performance management

Performance management is an essential skill to master because it improves employee effectiveness, and company goals are often accomplished. Performance managers must set expectations for employees, monitor their performance, develop the employees’ ability to perform at a level desired by the employer (arranged in advance), and rate each employee’s performance according to their assigned rating scale on company standards.

In addition, communication skills are essential when communicating with others about possible changes that might need to be made due to poor ratings or other factors affecting job satisfaction, not to create unhappy workers who no longer want what’s best for themselves or their organization within.

Sophie Lhoutellier, HR manager at Badger Maps, says that it’s essential for you to have excellent listening skills and empathy if you want to pursue an HR career. However, I wish more applicants would show these qualities because people tend to forget how they’re here; first of all, just listen to what the employees need. They should also be proactive with any issues or ideas to improve this company even better place than ever!

How to highlight it as a Human Resources skills: Talk about any of your reading, training, coaching, or any other experience of training someone else. Think about the time when listening to what someone said helped you solve the problem. Highlight these experiences in your resume and be prepared to discuss them in a way that shows you are open, tolerant, and versatile.

5. Teamwork and collaboration

“HR professionals are the key to success for any company because they find and create the best workplace possible. Finding collaborative team members who believe in our mission is critical but difficult,” says Vicki Choi of Course Hero’s HR department.

Though it might seem like teamwork would be a given in this field where people work collaboratively with one another day after day, those top-five skills on job postings that companies need? Collaboration tops them all!

It is not surprising that HR professionals face the pressure of changing their mindset to fit in with a company’s needs. However, when thinking about what they want for themselves, Lhoutellier says, “I wish more applicants would be oriented toward change and growth instead of just working within existing processes.”

How to highlight it as a Human Resources skills:  Cooperating in HR often means working with professionals from many various departments, some of which might be outside your wheelhouse. Therefore, it’s essential to know what you don’t know and be willing to learn. For example, if the health insurance company is experiencing an issue or something goes wrong on their end that affects all employees’ premiums—whether it’s a good thing or bad–you’ll need this skill set so you can work alongside them accordingly and fix any issues as soon as possible!

“We don’t want someone who is just going to be a cog in the machine, but rather an individual that can show their personality and intelligence. Candidates should come prepared for interviews by practicing common interview questions, so they know what types of answers are expected.”

6. Scheduling

Employers want HR applicants with scheduling skills because many posts require juggling and prioritizing projects on a team or company calendar. Therefore, it’s essential to create a plan that allows everyone to achieve their goals while also accommodating personal obligations like family, school finals, and sports games-whatever are most important in your life!

How to highlight it as a Human Resources skills: Ask yourself if there has been any significant event where plans needed coordination across several days or weeks leading up to the date of execution – such as planning for a wedding day, school projects, or even exploring Poland with family on vacation abroad!

7. Customer service

Employers are continuously searching for new ways to increase productivity. However, the fact of the matter is that many people in HR cannot do their jobs effectively without having good customer service skills, so it’s no wonder why human resources professionals spend a lot of time resolving workplace issues and navigating through conflict situations.

A recent article from Joe Campagna, owner of My Virtual HR Director, discusses how being a “people-person” isn’t enough to handle discipline, mediation, or even receiving complaints effectively; you must also have strong management and leadership abilities.

How to highlight it as a Human Resources skills: Lhoutellier strives to hire people with a passion for helping others. She looks for candidates who have volunteered their time or offered some form of mentorships, such as coaching or tutoring.

8. Project management

HR professionals are often in the middle of a project, not just day-to-day administrative duties. For example, they might be writing a handbook or installing a new performance management system which can range anywhere from HR information systems (HRIS) to employee survey projects.

How to highlight it as a Human Resources skills: A small project is an excellent milestone to include on your resume because it shows that you can work with deadlines and produce quality results. Mike Campagna says, “HR isn’t the picnic department; it’s the productivity department.” He argues that if an organization cannot rely upon its human resources team to make managers accountable for goals or ask tough questions about errors in production, then there may be no point in having them around.

9. Worker’s compensation

One of the most significant parts of HR is to ensure that employees who are hurt or sick on work-related incidents will be taken care of. In addition, they need to plan for what actions and compensation can happen following state and federal laws, understand the workers’ rights regarding occupational diseases based on those guidelines, know how to help their employees navigate the claims process, and assist them in getting back into employment shape.

How to highlight it as a Human Resources skills: In any workplace, an injury can be a tense time. For those who haven’t had experience before with worker’s compensation, try to show your ability in being professional and compassionate when it comes to conflict.

The importance of soft skills can’t be overstated because they go hand in hand with every task that professionals undertake during their day-to-day work life like resolving issues respectfully while handling sensitive information or interviewing potential candidates confidentially without any bias whatsoever; all this strengthens Career Boosters mission statement: “To help people find their best way forward by providing excellent service.”

To read more about Worker’s compensation from here: Compensation and Benefits

Technological aptitude: It’s A Bonus skill

Technology skills are on the rise among employers. With more and more technology-specific jobs cropping up, it’s essential to stay informed about what is happening in this industry, or you risk being left behind as others take over your job description.

For example, data analysts must be able to analyze large amounts of information quickly; virtual reality adaptations opens new opportunities for HR departments who want their employees happy by using VR environments that simulate company work experiences before they even walk through the front door – these are just a couple examples of how skilled tech workers have an edge when entering into today’s workforce!

HR applicants need to have a love for numbers, projections, and analysis. Many HR professionals make all kinds of decisions without looking at the data – their job revolves around theories and politics. Winslow says many candidates get lost when he brings up data analysis or projection in an interview conversation.

How to highlight it as a Human Resources skills: A great thing to include certificates in the course of data analysis. Be sure to read what is happening in the industry and what technologies are activating the trend. Winslow says, “New employees should be up-to-date on the latest HR trends. “Big data, gamification, virtual reality in HR – it’s already here.”

The top ten most in-demand Human Resources skills are listed below. If you’re looking to elevate your career, these all are the top demanding HR skills that will help get you there faster than ever before. We hope this article has given you a better understanding of what it takes to succeed in HR and why we can offer opportunities not found elsewhere in our field. Now it’s up to you to take action on how you can use these skills at work today! What do you think is the best way to achieve those goals?

Please visit to read more articles: The HRM Expert

[dailyaudiobible]

08/03/2021 DAB Transcript

2 Chronicles 33:14-34:33, Romans 16:10-27, Psalm 26:1-12, Proverbs 20:19

Today is the 3rd day of August, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible, I’m Brian, it is always great to be here with you today as we do what we do and take another step forward together through the Scriptures. So, let's dive into that, we’re in the book of 2 Chronicles in the Old Testament, which we will finish up soon. And today, in the New Testament, we will conclude the letter to the Romans. We’re reading from the God's Word Translation this week, 2 Chronicles 33 verse 14 through 34 verse 33.

Commentary:

Okay, so we are definitely reaching the conclusion of 2 Chronicles and we did conclude the letter to the Romans today. One of, if not the crowning jewel from the pen of Paul anyway, where the claims of sin in our life are explained and the fact that Jesus opens up salvation to anyone and everyone who will believe and live into it, whether Jew or Gentile, is unpacked. The fact that we are all reborn into something new that God is doing in this world, in which Jesus was the firstborn, is unpacked. And this puts us all on level, like a level playing field. We are all lucky. We are all fortunate to have this rebirth and we are all equals in Christ, one in Christ. No one’s better than anybody else and no gifting is better than anyone else's, we’re all here with a purpose. These things have been explained and unpacked before our very eyes, as we've read through the book of Romans. And it’s really impossible not to at least look at what Proverbs is telling us today because it's talking about gossip and gossip is such an insidious thing, like it seems like it's not. But people are talking about each other behind each other's backs, like continually as even a part of our cultural norms and yet when have you ever found out that there was gossip going on about you and that ever produced something good in you? When, for that matter, have you ever perpetrate…like have you ever passed around gossip? Get together with some friends have some coffee and then sort of just eat one of your other friends behind their back for lunch just having conversation; what you think this, what you think their thinking what…oh well, I heard this and you just keep going and going. Do you leave a conversation like that is feeling the joy of the Lord in full inside? And even if you could say “yeah, I feel pretty good,” how would the person that you have been gossiping about feel, were they to hear the conversation that just happened. Gossip is…it's just in the dark behind the scenes and it divides, it brings division, it's divisive. The counsel of the Proverb is “do not associate with a person whose mouth is always open, that person goes around telling secrets,” according to the Proverb. And this is pretty straight up right? It's not like it's…we got a sit here and ponder what's really being said, we've all experienced gossiping, we’ve probably all participated in gossip. What kind of time and energy would it free up if we just didn't participate? Even if we took a week off just to test, just see what kind of difference that would make, especially if we’re kind of habitual and that's what we do is gossip. We’ll be incredibly hard pressed to find any mention of gossip in the Scriptures in which it's a good thing and that anything good comes of it. But we see from the council of the Scriptures is that our words matter. They have the power of life and death. And if we’re gonna use them in some sort of dark way, than some sort of dark thing is going to happen. And at minimum, it's worth considering.

Prayer:

And so, Holy Spirit come, come into that. Come into the things that we let fly out of our mouths. The things that have been born in our hearts before they ever were formed into words and communicated. The things that have been swirling around in our minds before we ever send them. We need You in those places before these things are ever forming, before he ever…well, before we ever go around as a gossip and tell secrets, so that we are a person that shouldn't be associated with because our mouth is always open. That’s the council from the Scriptures from the Proverbs today. May that sink into us, may it change us we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it's the website. It’s where we find out what's happening around here and all…all of us be familiar with the Community section of the website or app for that matter, because well, in the Community section, that's where the Prayer Wall is and that is where it lives, and it is always happening. People are praying for one another. People are asking for prayer. And there's always a place to reach out and so definitely check that out in the Community section, the Prayer Wall. There are also links to different social media channels where we’re we are participating in. So, that is also a good thing to know, so check out the Community section on the app or on the website.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, as we move through this year, as of said many, many times, we wouldn’t be moving through the year, or around any Global Campfire if we weren't in this together. So, thank you, thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com or if you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner. Or the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996 Springhill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app which is the little red button up at the top. Or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today, I’m Brian, I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Prayers and Encouragements:

Hi DAB family this is Tammy from the Outerondex. I want to thank everybody for your prayers. I'm smiling again, I still have tears here and there but I’m smiling again and I just want to thank you all for your prayers and your continued prayers. I’m still in remission, praise God. I’m calling because I’m asking for prayers for a special friend. She’s 50 years old and she’s got a lot of mental health issues and she’s a cutter. And she just recently had…my husband and…she lives in across the country and my husband and I have offered for her to move in. She lives, she lives alone, her daughter is grown up, her parents live this side of the country, the East coast. But she just feels very alone. She says that she believes in God but I don’t know if she really knows the relationship you have with God when you become saved. And, she says that she has her, she prays to God and she asks God to forgive her but she just recently, her daughter told her she didn’t want to talk to her anymore and her relationship with her father is strained. I’m running out of time here. She’s a cutter and she cut herself and ended up having to get 19 stiches and, on the outside and two on the inside. And I want to help her and I believe God spoke to me tonight and told me to reach out to all of you. And maybe with all of us praying we could help her and maybe you can help me to help her. So, I love you all I pray for you all and God bless you all and please keep Christie in your prayers. Thank you, bye.

Hi DAB family. This is Praying Momma from SOCAL. And I really need your prayers. I just read my daughters journal and it said that she was suicidal and that she didn’t fear death and she is just going through a lot so I’m just crying out to you all because I know you pray and I believe that God hears my prayers right now. But He’s also hearing us together. I’ve appreciated all of you that have called in and everyone that prays for each other. Very thankful for you all and I’m thankful for you praying with me for my daughter Lauren. Lord, I just lift up Lauren to you right now, it’s 2o’clock in the morning and my heart has just been woken up to pray over her and her mind and her thoughts. In Jesus name, by the power of invested in us in the blood of Jesus, You’ve given us that power to come against any spirit that is just coming against my daughter. And I’m thankful for all of those that are praying with me over her mind, her heart, her spirit, her purpose and that her ability to know you Lord. Open up her mind to you Jesus. And come in and show her how much you love her. Thank you DAB family for praying. Thank you for praying over Lauren. I love her so much Lord and I know that You love her. Thank you.

Just wanted to take this time to, you know reach out to that Lady in regards to her daughter dealing with anorexia. And I just want her to know that you know that I called in the other day to Alberta from Tampa in regards to me, dealing with you know, depression and just had to call in again and you know just let her know that the mind you know, tries to take control of us and I’m learning that you know that the devils a liar and to just keeping having faith. And everyday is a new step and just have faith that you know, mentally your daughters gonna you know get better. Just want to thank you guys for just giving me hope every morning, you know, I feel like, I live double lives right. I work 9-5 very professional, successful individual. But when I get home it’s just like that’s when you know, I just deal with this. And just trying new different things and just having you guys every morning just gives me hope. And you know, I just, I’m a man of God and I just want to thank you guys for giving me hope every morning and Brian just being there and we all doing together as a community as a family. And you know, that individual that called in, the way he prays, the way he was talking in regards to the other day about the individual being charged and just the way how you guys teach me how to pray different and how to just open to God and just have faith. Let’s all just have faith. Hopefully, everything been changed. And I love you guys and I look forward to, just hopefully one day meeting everyone.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. I have a prayer request this morning. My daughter-in-law has a niece from a broken family who’s given up on life and tried to commit suicide unsuccessfully. When they revived her she was angry and started screaming that she just wanted to die. It just breaks my heart. My son and his wife have agreed to take her into their home and try to help her. They have a six-year-old little girl and a four-year-old little boy of their own as well. I'm just asking for prayer for them. I know this is a big thing, they're taking on and I just ask God to give them wisdom and guidance and protection. Please pray that their niece thrives in this new environment and accepts them into her life and that everything goes smoothly. Pray for protection over their own children as well. As they open their home to help their niece. I know it will be a rough road ahead. They’re Christians and they attend a church that offers a lot of support. Their niece is coming from a northern Pacific densely populated area to an entirely different rural Midwest dry climate. She's leaving behind a mom and stepdad who have had past drug abuse and a little sister and half-brother, a dad and a stepmom, a boyfriend, grandma, an aunt and an uncle. She's a beautiful young girl who has totally lost the will to live. She needs Jesus and to be surrounded by people who care more about her than themselves to help her find meaning and value in herself. Thank you. Your prayers are coveted.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. This is Dr. John in Illinois. I had just heard Susie from Colorado. She has a mission in Haiti and I guess I would move most specifically because she is a missionary somebody that has served, and I don't recall how many years that she said 29 years maybe, but she's weary, she's exhausted. And sometimes it is hard. It's easy to say don't grow weary in well doing, sometimes is hard to limit so I just want to lift up Susie right now and Jesus name Father would You just provide cover for her, provide restoration for her heart. For her spirit, for her flesh, and Lord bless her because of her service and again doing what she is, she's caring and loving and providing for orphans, those that have no others. So, Father I would ask in Jesus name that You would meet that need. Father, because I know that You can. I know that You are able and Father, I lift up this loving heart from St. Louis and she's desperately crying out for her children Lord and all of us that have kids and grandkids know the fear and the desperation when your kids are sick or there are other issues. We do all we can in our power to try to help, but more importantly Lord, we have to depend on You and I guess we should seek You first in all that we do. So, I'm again I'm asking that we pray we seek God for this mother and his father, for this child, and there's a lot like them. So, I ask you Lord, would you do that, would you step in, would you make a way? And Lord we thank you.

[actualbird]

nobody asked but i think hanso, brynn, and xandra from neopets’ comic “the faeries’ ruin” are queer | a 1.8k presentation i am presenting to my friends at an online party on the 19th, but you guys get early access because for some godforsaken reason, you like this content from me

Good evening class.

Last last time I attacked your dashboards with a long post, I discussed Neopets that would benefit from therapy. I’m sticking with my Neopets shtick but in a funkier Pride flavor. In this post, I will be discussing why the three main characters of Neopets’ “The Faeries Ruin” are queer. 

So what is “The Faeries Ruin?”

“The Faeries Ruin” was a Neopets plot that ran through January of 2011. Plots can affect the website's appearance, services, and gameplay, and this plot was most notable because it turned all the Faeries of Neopia to stone. 

Quick crash course on Neopets lore, for those of you who don’t know anything about it: Neopets are the main population of the planet of Neopia, but they share the world with other creatures as well. One of these creatures are Faeries, magical beings who can be benevolent or malevolent. Majority of them are good, and can be visited to receive gifts, abilities, new appearances, better stats, etc. Faeries are the most powerful creatures on Neopia. With the Faeries of Neopia turned to stone, all Faerie run services, from games to shops, were suspended because. Well. It’s hard to run a business when you’re stone. 

“The Faeries Ruin” had an accompanying quest to play through, items to collect, puzzles to solve, and most important to our discussion, is the accompanying comic to read.

“The Faeries Ruin” comic is 17 chapters plus an epilogue. You can read the synopsis on the slide, and the story follows Hanso, a thief, Brynn, a guard, and Xandra, a scholar, who are all investigating the curse put on the Faeries.

A lot happens in the comic. Really, a LOT, so I don’t have time to summarize it for you. If you’re curious, you can read the plot here, and I’ll explain plot stuff as it becomes relevant to our discussion, but what’s really important are the characters. 

These three in particular, Hanso, Brynn, and Xandra, are who I will be focusing on from the queer perspective.

But because I aim to be inclusive, before we dive into calling Neopets characters queer, we need a quick crash course in ‘queer’ definitions. 

This is just so that we’re all on the same page. (Also so that I can use the readings I got from the queer theory class I was in last semester.)

Alex Pilcher in the Introduction of “A Queer Little History of Art” gives the word “queer” three definitions. First is the simplest, the word “queer” can act as an umbrella term for anybody who is not straight or cisgendered. The second definition is “queer” as an identity in itself. Instead or in addition to using sexuality or gender labels, one can opt to identify as queer and that does away with any hierarchies or too small definitions that may bother other people. I, for example, am bisexual, asexual, and nonbinary. However, that’s kind of a mouthful, and sometimes I don’t want to explain every facet of my identity. So sometimes I just tell people I’m queer, and fuck them if that’s confusing, it feels good for me. The third definition of “queer” is what I will be referring to quite a lot of times in this discussion, “queer” as a deviation from the norm. This is a callback to the word’s more archaic use, meaning odd or strange. What is “queer” then is what goes beyond or resists against society’s expectations.

Queer Theory is a huuuuuuuge academic genre, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. But we’re on a schedule here, so let’s queer some goddamn Neopets.

First, we have Hanso. 

His Neopets species is an Ixi and he is a young rogue/thief. He knows Brynn because he’s a very shitty thief and he constantly gets captured by her. His personality is self centered and egocentric, but deep down, he has a heart of gold, even if his morals are a little skewed. 

Also I think he’s bisexual. Why? 

As a rogue/thief, he is outcasted by society, a type of queering from the norm. He is only accepted by those like him, which symbolically is parallel to how queer people often find other queer people to be with. Aside from Brynn, nobody trusts him. They think him to be a liar and a cheat, and this, I think, is parallel to the unsavory trope of the “untrustworthy bisexual.” Much the same way bisexuals are often told to “pick a side”, Hanso has both a desire for good and a desire for mischief, a duality that confuses other Neopets, and makes them wary of him.   

Hanso is bisexual. And he isn’t sorry about it.

Next up we have one of my early childhood crushes. Brynn.

Brynn is a Kougra, a feline like Neopets species. She is a guard/soldier from the land of Brightvale. She knows Hanso because she keeps catching him, he’s a terrible thief. Her personality is one dominated by courage and a duty to Neopia’s safety.

And I think she’s also bisexual, but more interesting to me her queer expression of masculinity.

Jack Halberstam, a transgender man, wrote a book called “Female Masculinities” prior to his transition (I mention this because I know a lot of you may be wondering why a man gets any say about women’s issues, but I think this is a special case and that his views are still valid.) Halberstam, in his book, posits the concept of masculinity divorced from maleness. What this means, in simplest terms, is that masculinity is not something inherently male, just predominantly male. A female masculinity is thus outside of the norm, and a unique and queer expression of gender.

Concepts related to masculinity are things like power and rebellion. Strength, force, will, that kind of stuff. When we remove these things from maleness and allow femaleness to have these concepts, one of the results is tomboyism. The phenomenon of tomboyism is when a girl, usually young, exhibits masculine qualities. The thing about tomboyism is that it is reluctantly permitted during childhood but less expected as one grows older, the assumption being that a woman will submit to the societal expectations of what a woman is “supposed to be.”

I cannot find any canon sources to say that sexism is a huge problem in Neopia, but gender roles are still present. While we don’t see Brynn’s childhood in “The Faeries Ruin”, it doesn’t take much to imagine that her peers would be surprised with her choice to join the Brightvale Guard, a traditionally male pursuit. And yet she does it. She works hard and becomes such a good soldier that she aids King Altador himself during the story, that King Altador trusts and respects her opinions. Brynn rebels against society’s standards and asserts her own power.

Her personality exudes masculinity as well. Throughout “The Faeries Ruin” she is often dominant over the course of investigation, taking initiative, sometimes omitting truths for the greater good, and generally holding her judgement in high regard. 

Her choices, especially in regards to her relationship with Hanso, is also something of note. Brynn is the one doing the catching and Hanso is the one being caught, an interesting subversion of expected gender roles. I will admit now that I have been withholding some information. Hanso, later in the plot of “The Faeries Ruin”, admits that he wanted to get caught by her as often as possible so that he would have an excuse to see her. Brynn did not know this, but I see it as a Hanso recognizing Brynn’s power and masculinity. I see it as a very romantic submission of Hanso to Brynn. 

So Brynn is bi, because I say so. And she expresses masculinity in a unique, queer, and female way.

Now, before we move onto the last character, Xandra, I need to talk to you guys about Brynn and Hanso’s relationship. I think it is very good, it was one of my first OTPs, and here’s three reasons why it’s a good ship.

Reason 1: They’re both queer, so like, it’s better than the usual M/F couple. Bi people have more genders they’re attracted to, so the person they do end up choosing had to be better than literally everybody else. We can rest assured both of them are good eggs that are compatible with each other.

Reason 2: Their relationship over the course of “The Faeries Ruin” is that of the “enemies to friends to lovers” trope. Which, HELLO? GOOD SHIT? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP? THE HOSTILITY SLOWLY GIVING WAY TO RESPECT? THE RESPECT TURNING INTO ADMIRATION? Your honor, it’s delicious.

Reason 3: This reason is an NSFW concept, so if you don’t wanna see that, just Ctrl+F to the phrase “This brings us to our last character, Xandra” to skip it. We good? Everybody continuing to read wants to see this? Okay.

BRYNN TOTALLY PEGS HANSO. Like, I don’t have any sources, but by this point in the presentation, I hope I’ve established myself as an expert authority, and I hope you just believe me. She has the sword, in this relationship. Both literally and metaphorically. She pegs him and her strap is huge.

This brings us to our last character, Xandra.

Xandra is a Xweetok and also a magic scholar. She studied under Fyora, the Faerie Queen, and helps Hanso and Brynn with their investigation of the faeries’ petrification. She’s a lesbian because I say so, but uhhhhhh…

She’s also evil. Towards the end of “The Faeries’ Ruin” it was revealed that Xandra was the one who petrified the faeries all along. So yeah, she’s evil, buuuuuuut she’s super queer about it. How? Well, the answer lies in her motives.

The reason why she petrified the faeries was because she wanted to start a new Neopia without them. She believed that the faeries were hoarding power instead of using it to truly help Neopians. She actively wanted to destroy not just the faeries, but a symbol of power and control that arguably rules the world she lives in. She criticizes against that which controls the social expectations, and this criticism and questioning benefits the marginalized, the queered from the norm. Her intention was to create a kind of utopia free from a governing body that holds all the power. That’s pretty damn queer.

Honestly, I’m a little pissed she was branded as evil for this, but it was revealed that when the faeries were petrified, their good magic was gone and left Neopia vulnerable to evil magic shadows and Xandra didn’t really care. So uh, she had good and radical queer motives, but she went a little bonkers with power. I still love her though. 

So, Xandra is pretty awesome, I hope she gets therapy then attends a Pride protest. She would totally be there reminding everybody that Pride started with riots. Also she loves women.

Thank you all.

(Read my other off the shits analysis essays at actualbird.tumblr.com/tagged/nobody-asked-but! If you have a request or suggestion for an off the shits analysis essay I can write, send me an ask!)

[welcometomy20s]

May 22, 2021

Making everyone into VTubers is the only way to save our society.

To explain, I’ll start by talking of the middle class. There are two ways to create a middle class, one is through new industries and innovation, creating a bunch of small firms and companies, therefore providing mobility and growth. The other is through stratification. Existing industry basically acts like an accordion and stretches itself and absorbs whatever leftover working people that happens to be around.

This creates a special kind of middle class called managerial class, this has several knock-on effects, like massive increased demand for higher education, and increased instances of depression, OCD, ADHD and autism. Why the second part is our next step.

There are two ways one can feel the value of labor, one is just doing the labor, that intrinsically creates a feeling of value, clearing a field or plies of paper is satisfying. The other way is that you receive profits that you can send on whatever you fancy. This is how a capitalist feels a value to themselves. But people in the middle cannot have either. They don’t usually get profits, or make their living through investments, but they don’t see the fruits of the labor, because their fruit goes through a proxy of other workers and even then one would see that proxy through abstract figures and numbers.

Hence, these people get no sense of worth in their daily work. Since they are deprived of their sense of worth, they have a hard time maintaining one, and that’s good for the capitalist, since their job is pushing people to do what the capitalist wants, and not necessarily what they want. Not having a sense of self is a good benefit for the upper class. Hence, people would be directed towards the removal of executive functioning, which is a key feature of things like depression, OCD, ADHD and autism.

Stratification, which creates the managerial class, actually does not create growth. There isn’t really new stuff being created, just old stuff going through more steps. It might look like the economy has grown, but only the norm of the economy has grown, and not the cardinality, and we want the cardinality of ideas to grow instead.

To do that, we need innovation, but how to do that when most people that can possibly be capable of innovating have been socially excised of the ability to create effectively? Well, it seems like the way most people find creativity is through art, surely you feel the glut of podcasts and etsy stores and VTubers (along with streamers in general), since that is currently the most accessible way of creating innovation.

And unlike the current tech innovation, these innovations are synergistic. Synergistic innovation helps foster other industries and create new ones. Cars, for example, need roads and gas stations, and perhaps things like drive-in theaters and roadside attractions can be created to accommodate the new innovation of cars. There we see cars have created or helped foster several industries.

Compare this to the modern computer. Have you seen those visuals where there are a bunch of things in a desk, doing certain specific tasks, which gets consolidated into a laptop or an iPad? Well, each of those objects had an industry behind it, which was all assimilated into one industry of creating iPads. Social media also has consolidated innovations from others and also co-opted them. Many of the innovations like Uber or WeWork limits its potential synergistic nature by way of control. WeWork are basically rentiers, and so they survive by feeding off people who are innovating. Uber discourages competition and workers are given a lack of compensation that permits them to innovate outside of work. These companies make people rely on them, rather than the other way around. For your company to survive, you have to work with Google or Facebook, but Google and Facebook are fine without any of you. This asymmetry stifles innovation.

But VTubers are definitely synergistic, it inspires others to create new artworks, which in turn, helps them develop their own artwork that might get remixed by others still. Cover is hiring a bunch of animators and other artists as the company tries to expand beyond their current business... and so on. I have been hoping there could be a new creative middle class, which would definitely withstand whatever the AI has in store, as long as people still believe in humanity, as well as being incredibly synergistic.

Perhaps the new influx of VTubers is the turning point, or at least an additional piece of the picture. Which is why making everyone VTubers is the only way to save society.

[archteriorbd]

6 Skillsets That a 3D Visualizer Should Have

3D visualization is an equivalent for PC-produced symbolism, 3D delivering, 3D illustrations, and so on These expressions allude to the computerized strategy for building up some graphical substance material with the guide of the utilization of 3D innovation.

This better science has then ended up being a vogue in a definitive few years, and offices that utilization it to their advantage get a higher danger to beat their opposition. Current 3D visualization has progressed into genuine science, and it is presently the most conceivable option for offices that are looking to advance their computerized content.

Set forth plainly, 3D visualization endorses you to make top-class advanced substance material that current clients settle on when sorting out their buys. Accordingly, it plays out a basic situation in the domain of forefront undertaking and showcasing.

For what reason is this fundamental for a 3D visualizer?

Since these masters need to have a definite arrangement of capacities to precisely answer to the interest and supply alternatives that will make them incredibly serious.

Realizing how to utilize a product program like CAD is essentially one of a huge number a 3D visualizer wishes to help vivid 3D visualizations. They need abilities that will allow them to mix every masterfulness and specialized expertise.

We should perceive any reason why 3D visualization things these days and what capacities a 3D visualizer need to have nowadays.

The meaning of 3D visualization

Customary pictures used to be the significant ability to become noticeable substance material for promoting and publicizing. While pictures regardless have an unmistakable locale in the venture business, it has quietly offered a path to its advanced ascendant — 3D visualization.

This contemporary thought of the work of art requires specialized and innovative abilities. 3D visualizers utilize computerized hardware, for example, Cinema 4D, Maya, and Autodesk 3ds Max to make huge and vivid visualizations that can be utilized all through a few businesses.

A 3D visualizer takes almost the indistinguishable technique to their work as a picture taker. The two of them utilize the CAD reports from designers, or they make a 3D life-sized model of an item, and afterward, they set up advanced conditions, lights, and cameras to get the ideal effect and satisfy the customer's necessities.

3D visualization is entirely tantamount to photography, a few the main contrasts. The clearest one would be the level of adaptability that 3D visualizers have. One more noteworthy differentiation would be the phase of control. That aside, most promoting and publicizing and advertising you see these days are made with 3D visualization. For more information click here

At that point, there is an upward bump of noticeable substance material on the web. We really parcels stay in an obvious world. That is really because of the real 3D visualization innovative expertise affirms master craftsmen to make uncommonly photorealistic renderings rapidly.

Current and better-advanced gear empowers these craftsmen than altogether control each component of 3D visualization. Hence, 3D visualization is currently existing in observably a ton in every industry, going from style, drug, clinical, and engineering to auto, customer item, and others.

In this manner, the first and most fundamental component a 3D visualizer should perceive comprises of expertise about the basic elements of a 3D visualization:

● Photorealism

● Shadows and light

● The furnishings

● Flora and fauna

● People

How about we dive further into our work necessities for a 3D visualizer.

3D visualizer set of working responsibilities

The chief jobs and commitments for a 3D visualizer comprise the possibility to catch and deal with CAD. They need to furthermore be able to utilize insignificant portrayals to life-sized model and direct tasks and work with various 1/3 occasions cooperatively.

Contingent upon the organization, 3D visualizers are furthermore needed to work on a stroll through and delivering on visuals projects, advanced camera activity, lighting, finishing, opening up, and building 3D displaying.

Since there is a need for completely photorealistic pictures, 3D visualizers must have the possibility to make hugely photorealistic liveliness, display visuals, inside, and outside. They must be competent to utilize an assortment of renderers as well.

A portion of the basic capacities include:

● Excellent composed and verbal discussion abilities

● Professional honesty of the least demanding level

● Ability to work together with various group people and be proactive on-request

● Organizational abilities

● Multitasking abilities and unreasonable phase of responsiveness to tight cutoff times

● Ability to deal with more than one tasks

● Being aware of the best in class sketch patterns

● Creative reasoning

● Autonomous work and stepping up

● Being genuinely adaptable, a profitable, present-day with great critical thinking abilities

● Being educated

● Dedication to personal growth, advancement, and learning

● Exceptional interest in detail

In light of this, how about we cowl positive capacities that each 3D visualizer should have in their armory.

1. Amazing insightful abilities

Besides the evident preparation and programming program taking care of, a 3D visualizer must have exquisite scientific abilities.

For what reason is this significant?

Basically, because of the reality, they will be needed to utilize the plans conveyed via the client to create pictures. Accordingly, 3D visualizers need to have spectacular logical capacities to verify they don't leave out any little print and necessities made with the guide of the customer.

A craftsman should also make a qualification between liveliness, displaying, delivering, 3D visualizations, impacts, and designs.

2. Information about various businesses

Since 3D visualization is quite wished today, a 3D visualizer needs to have in any event a basic comprehension of various businesses, the progressing patterns, norms, etc. It can help them to find some work a decent arrangement extra without any problem.

All the more significantly, the additional you appreciate and work with various enterprises, the higher data and extra significant ability you have. That is how you will be fit for current the most progressive choices and assume open air the container.

3. Lights and shadows

The higher the mastery you have about lights and shadows, the higher the impacts you produce. The interest for the most photorealistic 3D visualizations is developing as time passes.

On the off chance that you see how to play with shadows and lights, you have some distance higher probabilities of working in the undertaking based on your personal preference. As indicated by most 3D visualization experts, the ability to expertly control these two elements is especially pursued all through various ventures.

4. The ability to utilize more than one computerized hardware and programming

There is a lot of interesting programming program gear that 3D visualizers use. The most utilized ones are CAD, Blender, Photoshop, Corona, and 3ds Max. On the off chance that you are essentially a novice, we support starting with Blender. It's the most proper gadget for amateurs.

On the distinctive hand, it is also an attractive longing if you are a specialist, as it's open-source 3D programming. All things considered, pay interest if you decide to utilize Blender as this present program's biggest disadvantage is exceptionally confined interoperability with CAD programming.

SketchUp is moreover an extremely popular gadget among 3D visualizers. All the more significantly, it has all the basic things included; it is lower estimated and exceptionally viable.

5. Remarkable verbal trade abilities

This goes for really a ton for every individual who wishes to end up being appropriately at what they do, notwithstanding, it, specifically, goes for 3D visualizers. So parcels depend upon the right correspondence. Since a 3D visualizer is needed to work with now not exclusively their gathering people, notwithstanding, various studios and 1/3 occasions also, discussion and conversational capabilities are an absolute necessity.

We previously began the meaning of insightful capabilities in expressions of understanding of the customer's prerequisites. Since 3D visualization is utilized all through numerous one-of-a-kind ventures, a 3D visualizer must be in a situation to keep a fine discussion with all staff worried about an undertaking.

Each man or lady stressed will have their thoughts, necessities, interests, and concerns. A 3D visualizer must be effective in talking these musings into a huge absolute that will bring about the necessary item.

In a particularly confounded workspace, discernibly a lot of the entire accomplishment of an assignment depends upon the capacity to impart. Add diverse delicate capabilities, for example, collaboration, persistence, critical thinking, and you have a predominant blend.

6. Imagination and Artistic abilities

3D visualizations are shockingly imaginative. 3D visualization requires a craftsman to be somewhat profitable and inventive, as pleasantly as imaginative. It's ceaselessly about developing something new, something this is nevertheless concealed.

If you can make top-class 3D visualizations, you have significantly higher probabilities of transforming into a present-day 3D visualizer. Hence, you should be exceptionally creative with regards to innovative abilities; a specialist should be in a situation to attract straightforward portrayals to current their thoughts.

Utilizing innovative ability is essentially one aspect of the coin, notwithstanding, being in a situation to draw something yourself can exclusively add to your stockpile of abilities.

Conclusion

While every one of these capacities sounds like they are actually hard to obtain and accomplish, the sum is reasonable if you have the legitimate thought for it. Everything begins with straightforward arrangements and schooling.

If need any architectural help or any architecture service. Visit our site 👉architectural 3d visualization

[wolfandsheep200]

Chapter Three: Thieves, Black Spots, Ice Cream, and Lost Souls.

Neopolitan held out her hand palm facing upwards. Levitating a mere three inches above her hand. Was the harden spitting image of an item Cinder Fall had tasked her with acquiring. An item Cinder herself had stated as being the all important cornerstone piece nessary for allowing themselves back in the good graces of her superior. An item of immense value. Which Cinder had only referred to by name once. She had called it The Relic of Knowledge.

For Neopolitan getting her hands on the Relic hadn't been easy. In fact she had gone to some extreme lengths. Just to lay her well manicured fingers around the genuine article. If she were to list, (out of order mind you) the redundant number of obstacles placed in her path to success. She would begin her retelling of events. By drawing attention to the fact that she had to topple. Three of the best and brightest, up incoming fighters, that the Kingdoms of Vale and Atlas had to offer. Along with outwitting one individual. Which Roman would have labeled a complete unknown. Dubbing him with a personal nickname such as Wild Card. Wildcard's skills were to put it politely, not as polished as Neo had been expecting. However, to Wildcard's credit there had to be something special about the young lad. Seeing as how the Military Atlas Leader, General James Ironwood, would have personally been required to recognize the protector of an item holding such significance value, that people were willing to murder each other. Just to get their hands own it. Yes, from Neo's point of view something was off about the whole situation. Why had Ironwood allowed a novice anywhere near such an important item of interest. True the lanky farm raised youth had scored a hit on one of her illusions. Yet that alone didn't qualify him to be the one assigned to carry and protect an item of important significance, from all comers. When Neo had knocked and then entered Wildcard's personal quarters. She had expected at least to be assaulted by two plain clothes, fully trained Huntsman's. Providing personalized security detail for the item and its holder. Instead, what she got was a handful of annoying soldiers and a few mechanized assault droids. Maybe, Ironwood had reasoned that the item of intrest. Would be safe enough with the minimal levels of security inside the building. Because of the heighten levels of security Located on the buildings outer perimeter. Neo had no way of confronting Ironwood and confriming her suspicions. At least the guards stationed outside had been the capable sort. What gave Neo the advantage in sneaking past them. Was simply the fact she had been anticipating their presence. If a person knew anything about military law and Neo had become an expert. Then that person would understand how the Military was going to act. In accordance with Atlas Military doctrine. The outside of any building in which an item of specialized intrest and its assigned Guardians are to be housed. Will be discreetly guarded and observed by members of the Atlas Military. Along with at least two teams of veteran combatants rating no less than the rank of marksmen. These teams will be assigned from the specialized police unit know only as Swat.

In securing her assignment Neopolitan had fascinated herself. For just one individual hurtling over all those obstacles would have normally bordered on the impossible. What made her the exception to all things that are believed to be impossible. Besides her radiant features, was her timing. The facts didn't lie. At the same time she had needed access to the building the Relic had been housed in. The Sister City to Atlas. Know as Mantel, had been hit by an invasion of ruthless man eating monsters know as The Grim. Otherwise gaining entrance to the building without being questioned or observed in some manner. Would have been a task next to impossible. Thankfully with the Grim holding everyone's attention. All she had to do was simultaneously watch both entrances to the building. Waiting patiently until her target approached. Her target in this case being a certified Atlas special operative and veteran Huntsman Phillips Hauntance. Neo spotted Phillips walking towards the building. And knew instantly what was about to happen. Phillis had been sent to move the item and its Guardian from one location to another. It was a standard act of Kingdom etitic, to perform such a move in a crisis. All Neo had to do then was cut Phillips off at the pass. Use her abilities to Lure Phillips into a fight away from prying eyes, Attack, defeat, and dispose of Phillips before anyone could catch on that something had gone awry with Phillips's mission. Assume the Huntsman's identity. Flash Hauntance's confenscated security badge and gain entrance to the building. Later on if she ever retold this story she'd say it was as simple as pie.

Cinder Fall stood at the meeting spot waiting for her newest hired hand Neopolitan. The four foot nothing scrapper had become the newest addition to her ever growing arsenal of misfits and outcasts. Neopolitan had previously been associated with the late Crime Boss of Vale, Roman Torchwick. Irate with herself Cinder drove the toe of her high heeled combat boots into the concrete beneath her feet. She hated waiting. Waiting gave a body too much time to be alone with their thoughts. Probably the reason most police department detectives used it as an effective tactic. A detective would leave a suspect isolated in an interrogation room for hours on end before breaking up the silence and monotony with a barrage of rapid fire questions. Unfortunately for Cinder right now her consciousness was playing the role of the detective. Asking herself questions she prefer not to answer. Questions such as. How had Ruby Rose known excatly where to be? Making it possible to insert herself driectly into Our plans. Sure one could argue Ruby had seen the display of powers from somewhere inside the city and come running. Yet, Cinder couldn't believe that the girl had seen the fight, made her way across the city to the building Cinder was fighting in, gained access to said building. Made her way to the top floor and all within the matter of twelve minutes or so. Even for one with her kind of speed it just It couldn't be possible and Rose had accomplished this very feet with a Schnee in tow. How?

Cinder's one and only real weakness the girl with the Silver eyes. Who was somehow the only person she had been forbidden to harm by Salem. Cinders leader. "How had she failed again? It made no sense. How!?"

How had she let that little Demon spawn cost her everything. First the child had taken her eye. Then Her Aunt Raven had snatched away her opportunity at obtaining the Spring Maidens powers. And finally like pouring salt into a open wound. The Little Red Hooded Demon Child had robbed her of a glorious victory. Killing General Ironwoods favorite special operative, dismantling the world's first synthetic child again, and claiming the Winter Madiens powers all for herself. It was enough to drive her into doing something reckless. Hearing the noise of someone's footsteps approaching Cinder turned around. Neopolitan was standing there like a magician taking a slight bow after a performance. The multi toned girl held one hand extended away from her with the palm facing upwards and there hovering inches above her hand was the very item Cinder has sent her after. The relic of Knowledge.

"Perhaps things are starting to look up." She thought. "In any case that will be prize enough to get me integrated back into Salem's good graces." Acting swiftly to maintain the illusion of still being in control. Cinder turned and began walking towards Neopolitan in one swift motion she blew by Neo snatching the hovering Relic. Not stoping to explain herself, Cinder headed in the direction of their stolen airship. That the two women had stashed on the outskirts of town. When they arrived in Mantle.

Angry with Cinder for the lack of praise for her success. And irrated with Cinder for the ruff handling of such a delicate item. Yet somehow interested enough to desire to see what happens next. Neopolitan silently fell into step behind her new employer.

Several hours later, felling white knuckled and several centuries older. Neopolitan with Cinder Fall. Landed atop a massive flying Grim beast. Neo couldn't believe what she was bearingwitness to. An enormous estate. No a Castle just sitting atop the ginormous creature. Cinder however was acting as if flying direct into a hail storm of Man eating monster's, in order to dock with a creature that could in all likelyhood sallow them, the vessel the two women had arrived in and the factory, the ship had been produced in. Was somehow the norm and Neopolitan needed to get with the program. Neo felt overwhelmed she had never in her wildest dreams believe she'd be taking in this much information all at once. It was a little much.

"Come on." Cinder said, as she exited the ship. "And stay close to me. None of these creatures know not to harm you, yet. And we'd hate for there to be any accidents."

Cinder wouldn't have to tell Neo twice. Everywhere Neo's eyes landed there was a hundred modes of instance death tracking her every movement. Cinder was headed for the door as a broad shoulder man easily four times Neo's size stepped around the corner of the building. Blocking their path.

"Hello Cinder." His voice was low toned and soft. Neopolitan took notice as Cinder Fall straightened herself to full height.

"Hazel."

Neo, who had spent more than her fair share of time. With and around the criminals of Vale. Had absorbed through osmosis most of their worst traits and several of their bad habits. Found herself with no other choice except to notice the way in which. The muscles in Cinder Fall's only flesh and blood arm contracted and tightened. As Cinder spoke the walking pile driver's name.

Neo had picked up this perception to read body language from a tall thin sort of man named J. Farneey. Mr. Farneey who regularly rented out one of the top suites inside Junior's Night Club. Had spent several evenings stressing to Neo the importance of picking up on such human behaviors. Farneey had liked the suites provided at Junior's because of how the upstairs room's were sound proof. Which made the perfect place for Farneey to conduct his business. One night while at Junior's Neo hadn't been felling particular well. All the noise seemed to be gettin to her. So Roman had sauntered over to where Mr. Farneey had sat alone drinking and ask J. "If they could get a card game going in his sweet." J. Farneey had only to take one glance in Neopolitan's direction to see that her face and body language were off. Looking back at Roman he accurately gauged. The question Roman had been actually asking. Spinning around on his bar stool. He looked directly at Neo.

"Is that right little lady? He asked. Would you like to get out from under all this noise? Neo "Nodded her head." In response. Wondering how Mr. Farneey had known and like that a sort of friendship had spawned between them. On nights Roman was conducting his own business downstairs at Junior's Club. Neo would be upstairs catching lessons in edict. From Mr. Farneey. When not working J would sit in a dyed red, hidebound leather reclining chair for hours. Watching from behind that big one way mirror in his suite. He's eyes missed nothing. He would make a game of it taking a shot each time the parties down below made a spectacle of themselves. Pointing out all sorts of microscopic details to Neo. That until that moment, Neo had never really payed attention to before. For instance, the way that someone would sit side stool at the bar or how a younger person would hold their glass while working up the courage to approach someone. To ask for a phone number or a dance. Mr. Farneey would go on like that for hours giving Neo an inside view into his world. Explaining ever details of his interpretation of what someone was thinking. And often enough he would be immedately proven right. One time Neo had told Roman about her experience and Roman had encouraged her to spend time with Mr. Farneey saying.

"I'm glad you two are getting along so well. Old Farneey's a master in the field of human behavior. That's why I try to play cards with him every chance I get. Everytime J beats me. Yet, evertime I receive an education. Or become aware of an exploitable weakness in my personality. You should take this opportunity to learn everthing that you can from him. It will benefit you in ways you never dreamed possible. Later on"

Right now that knowledge was benefiting her much more than was possible. She now knew that Cinder, a woman who had a semblance of her own, magic powers and the ability to create weapons from glass. Felt wary and uncomfortable around this big bruiser.

"Tryian beat you back by a couple of hours." He said something about. "Taking the children and going back for Watts."

"Where's Watts?" Cinder asked.

"Currently locked up. Inside Ironwoods Jail." Hazel replied. "He allowed himself to get caught." That way we'd have a man inside of the city. That can use the confusion of the invasion to get close enough to Pietro mainframe to rewire the Pollidena girl's hardrive. Once we've manipulated her cognitive reasoning compasator. The robot should have no problem fighting for our side. After everything we've pulled off. I'm looking forward to watching Ironwood's creatively acquired toy. Turn against everything it's been programmed to protect. Just as the city's begun to place their trust in their leaders." Hazel's voice grew distance. Then added. "For Watts this act of vengeance. Against those who stole from and shunned him, will be the proverbial icing on the cake."

"Hazel." Cinder spoke suddenly, placing one hand on his arm. "Don't ever worry, I'm certain you'll avenge your sister's memory."

"Thank you Cinder, that means a lot."

Outside Cinder was all cool and calm demeanor. Internally she couldn't believe what she just heard a few hours ago. She had felt like a failure. Kicking herself for missing an opportunity to harm the little synthetic. Now she realized that she had actually been done an astronomical favor. Her comrades had figured out a way to control the animatronic child. Cinder smiled as the words came pouring out.

"Then you're going to love what I have to tell you." Reaching into her bag Cinder produced the Relic Neopolitan had acquired. Showing him their success in one hand Cinder announced their failure. The robot's our new winter Maiden. The machine has the powers and I have our first relic. Hazel's eyes lit up upon seeing the relic. "That's incredible." Now all that's left to do is for Tryian's to free Watt's and myself to murder Ironwood. His eyes lit on Neo as if seeing her for the first time.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Neo cliped her parasol to her belt and began singing with her hands.

"Her name is Neopolitan." Cinder said explaining for her. "She has a little trouble speaking."

"I'm pleased to meet you." The big man said extending fourth one hand in Neo's direction. Neo uncertain in how she should react. Bodly reached out a hand of her own. Which immediately vanished inside Hazel's grasp. Swallowed whole in the firmest handshake that Neo could ever remember receiving. Was this really the way, a person working for Salem's. Was supposed to react? Shouldn't this man be upset that Cinder had brought another henchman here with no warning.

"There's coffee and refreshments inside." Hazel half heartledy gestered towards the door. Speak with Emerald and she'll see to finding you some lodgings.

Neo "Nodded her head in response and rubbing her stomach. Before Cinder and herself proceeded inside. As the two women entered through the Castle's main hall they could hear the distinctive sound of combat. The very distinctive sound of gunfire. Both women paused and listened. Somewhere inside the estate a battle was taking place. Cinder swore loudly as something Hazel said clicked into place. "Tryian had said something about taking the children and going back for Watts." If Tryian had tried to tell Mercury to do anything. Mercury would have told him. Where he could stick that tail of his and Tryian wasn't the kind of person to take sass well. Cinder had just made it aroud the first hall when she heard Mercury's voice screaming in anger. "I'm just giving you a moment to get your affairs in order. Use that time to make peace with your godess. Then I'm coming back to finish this and you.

Author's note: I hope you have enjoyed reading this free chapter. As much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Chapter Three: Thieves, Black Spots Ice Cream and Lost Souls.

This has been a Wolf and Sheep production.

[ivy-miranda-2390]

In Defense of Anakin Skywalker (and Hayden Christensen)

I grew up with Star Wars, my whole family loves Star Wars. I was 8 when I saw Episode I and afterwards, I was completely immersed in the Star Wars universe. Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi was probably my first fictional boyfriend and I'm unashamedly still in love with him too.

Episode II: The Attack of the Clones came out when I was 11 and so naturally I was excited to see the continuation of the Star Wars prequel universe. However, nothing could have prepared me for the absolute utter gorgeousness of Canadian actor, Hayden Christensen who was cast to play the adolescent Anakin Skywalker.

My memories of first seeing Episode II are fond because I got to see the movies with my older siblings while on vacation in Myrtle Beach. It was probably my first experience of being accepted among my older adult brothers and sisters or the feeling of 'grownupness' as I like to call it.

So Attack of the Clones has always been an special film to me because I saw it at a time when I was no longer being viewed as a child, but as a growing teenager.

It's also why I've always been rather defensive of the film too. While the film was titled Attack of the Clones, it may as well have been re-titled, "Attack of Anakin Skywalker (and subsequently, Hayden Christensen)". For over 20 years, there has been an absolute and indescribable hatred of Anakin Skywalker and many people blamed both Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen's supposed poor acting as the result of a badly done Anakin.

And to be honest even though I had a massive crush on Hayden Christensen and was hardly a movie critic at the time, I felt that at times that Anakin could have been better acted. However, I was young and didn't care about the script or the acting. Yet, for years I constantly defended, Attack of the Clones, Anakin Skywalker and Hayden Christensen. Partly due to nostalgia, partly to being a teenage girl and most of all partly to do with understanding the character of Anakin as being misunderstood, misinterpreted and not being treated as an adult by the elders in his life.

Did Anakin have problems? Yes.

Were most of these problems his fault? No.

Did Anakin ever try to fix these problems and better himself? Everyday of his life.

He had nothing, but he gave everything

 The prequels were written as a timeline of a boy's journey from goodness into darkness. Anakin's life is a story arch of sacrifice and redemption. Life has not always been good to Anakin. He was born a slave with no father. He was raised in the strong love of wonderful mother Shmi Skywalker. While Shmi may have been scared and confused as to how she conceived a child without a man, she raised her son in love and simple contentment.

Chances are Anakin and his mother probably faced terrible abuse in their time as slaves and more than once, Anakin may have been separated from Shmi as leverage for greedy slave owners. Although a slave, Anakin was never a victim. He may have been physically owned, but his heart and mind were free. He was his own person, always thinking outside of the box, building, creating, questioning everything and everyone. Not to mention a little wild and rather reckless.

Even as a child Anakin was a little strange to people. For a slave to have such a hopeful and positive attitude may have seemed bizarre to outsiders, but that was just the norm for him. Shmi once remarked that her son knew nothing of greed. For a boy raised with nothing, all he had were his talents as an inventor and growing pilot. And he used his talents for other people. He built C-3PO to help his mom, he entered the podrace to help Qui-Gon Jinn, he always gave without any expectation of being thanked.

A spirit that refused to surrender

After Anakin is freed and sent to train as a Jedi, that wild spirit was still intact. Much to his by-the-book master's dismay. Anakin didn't have the opportunity to grow up in the strict Jedi Temple that was built on order, rules and tradition. As a child, Anakin was use to being himself and not fitting into anyone's mold. His original dream was to be a pilot, not a Jedi. No one asked him if he wanted to be a Jedi, no one asked him if he wanted to be trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi.

While Anakin may have been grateful for both opportunities presented to him, overtime he may have seen this new life as not to different from the one he left. A life run by others. Telling him what to do, where to go, how to dress, how to behave. He survived as a slave because he dared to dream and imagine and refused to be defined by others.

Now he's thrown into a culture where individuality is looked down upon. He lived through the stifling Jedi order because he still held onto those qualities. He was going to be himself on his terms. He would nod his head and say yes when he needed to, but off the clock he would live by his own rules. Something that Obi-Wan and the Jedi order could not understand. And Anakin is getting frustrated by this.

So now we get to Attack of the Clones (and the Attack of Hayden Christensen). Critics came down hard on both Anakin and Hayden. Constantly complaining about Anakin's constant complaining, his tantrums, broodiness and being a crybaby about everything. Critics blamed the disaster of Anakin Skywalker on the terrible miscasting of Hayden Christensen. The only redeeming quality Hayden Christensen had that saved him was the fact he was so easy to look at.

For years, fans were desperate to know who Anakin Skywalker was. And so the pressure to deliver a good character that could measure up to the icon of Darth Vader may have seemed insurmountable. And so when people got this confused, overemotional 19 year old, who has no experience in love or sex, but is madly in love with a beautiful young women; and who wants to be respected in a highly established culture, without losing himself or conforming, well people were just disappointed. The disappointment can be explained in one of Anakin's most famous lines.

"HE'S HOLDING ME BACK!"

He, being George Lucas who was holding back Hayden's actual talent to create a good three dimensional character. Plus his bad script writing. Poor Hayden was just made to read lines on a page and somehow make this sad character somebody that people can root for. Unfortunately fans and critics ate him alive. It's only in recent years that people have begun to realize that they were blaming the wrong person. And by blaming Hayden, they were completely misunderstanding Anakin as a character.

His most beautiful gift, his most fatal flaw

Of all of Anakin's gifts, his ability to love deeply was probably his most profound and his most dangerous. The Jedi Temple forbade romantic attachments to others and for good reason. When you become attached to or love someone beyond the boundaries of platonic friendship you become afraid of losing them. The end of my review for the Star Wars prequels sums it up the best:

In The Phantom Menace, Yoda warns Anakin about the dangers of being afraid. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. Anakin's most beautiful attribute is also his most fatal flaw. His ability to love deeply. Yet, if you love someone you will always live in fear of losing them. Anakin was created by darkness, but raised in the light of his mother's love. His own love was made manifest by Padme and then by their unborn child/children. However, Love no matter how strong can be weakened and even be destroyed by the evil of fear. If the prequels taught anything about life, it taught how fear (even in its smallest form) can be be our most detrimental enemy. Living alone in fear and not seeking help is a signing of our own death warrants. What might have happened if Anakin had gone to Obi-Wan and seek his help? Would things have been different? The prequels were not meant to tell a happy story. They were written as a timeline of a boy's journey from goodness into darkness. No, they don't have the silliness or humor of the Originals, because there is nothing humorous about someone's self-destruction. Yet, the story of Anakin Skywalker's transformation had to be told in a way that was real and heartbreaking. To take Darth Vader and make him a human who could feel and understand and love could be an insurmountable task. Yet, you only need to watch his death scene at the end of Return of The Jedi to see that the humane part of Anakin Skywalker had always been there. The prequels were made to be built on that final scene of redemption and human love. A husband's love to save his wife became a father's love that could overcome darkness and hate. An extreme love that defied fear and held on to hope. That was the love of Anakin Skywalker.

Anakin could be a bratty and immature young adult. However, to only base a character by his few annoying flaws is overlooking the bigger and better picture. Anakin was an outsider his whole life and yet that never seemed to bother him. He never cared about fitting in. He was content being himself and he refused to let Obi-Wan or the Jedi Order or even Padme change him. He held onto who he was for as long as he was able to. Then the tragedy of losing his wife changed that. The indomitable spirit wasn't broken, it was destroyed. Anakin re-entered a life of slavery for over 20 years.

And he was ultimately freed by one person. An orphan who once had nothing but a talent as an inventor and dreams of being a pilot. A young Jedi with an unbreakable spirit that refused to surrender to evil or fear or pain or loss. A son who loved his father so deeply that he would fight to the death to free Anakin Skywalker forever.