Xemnas was very powerful and had a lot of control. He could wipe them out himself. I really am not buying this. Also they were pretty devoted to his cause, whatever it was and I think it had to do with either dealing with doing something about a situation in BBS time that is unresolved or dealing with a future boss that is outlined in Coded. Hey again lol Axel was an anti-hero. Riku was an anti-hero. The definition of anti-hero is a person that falls to the wayside and does some bad things but later turns good and tries to make up for the past deeds and also becomes essentially a hero. It's a former villain turned good. The Org was not this at all. Robin Hood, V for Vendetta, Zorro etc - These people were all in their fictional settings (which in some cases were also real settings) doing things to make the oppressed people's lives better. They were considered vigilantes and in the case of V, a terrorist. They were all freedom fighters, taking from the rich or destroying things of the rich, and giving to the poor or fighting for freedom from evil tyrants. They weren't really anti-heroes. They would be called heroes, though by those they opposed, villains. In the tales though, it is assumed most people call Robin Hood, V and Zorro and others like that 'heroes' doing deeds under necessity. It's one of those 'law' versus 'justice' issues and the heroes are following justice while the tyrants make bad laws. Magneto - He has been both an anti-hero and a villain. He becomes a villain every time he tries to destroy humanity and proclaim mutants are above and superior to humans, which causes a problem. When he comes down from this to accepting not all humans are out to rid the world of mutants and sees that they aren't all bad is usually when he's an anti-hero. William Wallace - William Wallace is a Scottish person who led a resistance against the occupying forces of England because the people did not want to be ruled over. This was during the Wars for Scottish Independence. He was never an 'anti-hero'. He was a hero to the Scottish people who were fighting for freedom. The British may have looked at him as an enemy but he was never a 'villain'. The American Revolutionaries - They fought for freedom from England as well, not wanting to be under the King and paying ridiculous taxes when they had done much to try to leave this behind. Also, many of these revolutionaries were Scottish though it gets downplayed, and from other areas that were oppressed. They weren't 'villains'. They were on the other side of a war. The Murieta Brothers - You mean Joaquin and his 4 other compatriots I take it. To many people he was considered a Mexican hero while to the opposite side he was considered a ruthless vigilante and murderer. Considering Mexicans were vastly abused, mistreated, written out of claims of territory, taxed ridiculously, and starving, he turned to a life of crime along with others, stealing cattle/horses, committing robberies and murdering. The legends after his death (if he did die there because no one was sure if the head was truly his or not at that time) make him more out to be an anti-hero than he was when he was hustling, stole 100k and murdered some 19 people. No one can validate for true if he ever became an 'anti-hero' or not though certain occurrences within a newspaper by John Rollin Ridge of a tale of the man did occur though whether Joaquin had anything to do with those things is debatable. So really he and his brothers aren't really what I'd call anti-heroes unless the 2nd part after he allegedly 'died' has any validation. Prior to that he and the other 4 were out for themselves and did not go about spreading the wealth around. Francis Drake - Drake was a privateer, so in other words, a pirate that worked for the British. He was technically an anti-hero if you consider that he was once a pirate that became commissioned by the British and later would lead second in command against the Spanish Armada. I'm sure the Spanish wouldn't call a privateer of Great Britain an anti-hero or a hero, but this is in the eye of the beholder. Privateers were sometimes worse than pirates who had no allegiance to nations. Depending on where you are from and your POV the people you mentioned above, some could be labeled as anti-heroes or they could be labeled as traitors or villains. However, history itself with investigation can reveal a lot. Darth Vader - Anakin was whiny, emo, out of control and not listening to reason. He fell to the wayside because he did not bother to tell the JEDI of his situation with Padme but was instead elusive even with Yoda, when describing the scene. He had no proof a 'dream' would come true and yet in the end the dream did happen because he made it occur. He was his own worst enemy because he was impatient, wanting more than he should have and fell for plots. When he became Darth Vader, he stopped feeling all of these things since all that Sidious did basically and he himself did as a pawn, was not needed. He was a shell of his former self and though he had great qualities once, it took his son to bring those back out and find a reason to fight for good again. Rambo - Rambo was a war veteran charged with going and saving soldiers who were POWs. He had some issues and all but I would consider him more an anti-hero as he did find his path and way. I don't consider him a Darth Vader sort at all. Cloud - Cloud Strife was never really a -bad- guy. He worked for a bad corporation at one time but never did anything major even and well, that was the type of work that was available to young men. He was never an anti-hero really. Zack, whom he got memories from for the SOLDIER deal, was more an anti-hero than Cloud was. Ghost Rider/Alucard/Spawn/Venom - I can put these guys together and some of the others you mention. Ghost Rider and Alucard were as they were and decided to go against the evil above them. This can be said about Dante too. Spawn had a life and then died, being put in the same situation then as GR and Alucard. Venom was Eddie Brock who did some stupid things and then wanted revenge for it, got Venom and well, went out being a criminal, but turned things around too. All of these guys in my book would be anti-heroes because they each spent time as villains and then became better. The Org did NOT do this. There is nothing showing that the Org were -ever- going to be good guys and they were out for themselves. I'd put these guys up in the other group more than this one. Riku - Riku was a good kid and was destined to be the Keyblade bearer. However, Xehanort's Heartless convinced him to open the heart of his world just as Xehanort had discovered he could do on Hollow Bastion. Riku thought it would take him to another world and well, he was duped. Riku, even at his worst was really someone who was falling to Darkness, like Anakin was, but Sora could have well, been more perceptive too and said something. Riku never really trusted the Dark Council. He was just desperate to save Kairi and felt very misplaced when Donald basically told Riku he could not go with them. Maleficent played on Riku's insecurity and Ansem played with his desperation. In the end of KH, Riku turns things around, finds himself and also fights against Ansem, letting Kairi and Sora's other pals get out of Hollow Bastion. He then is thrown to Darkness and later coaxes Sora to keep up the fight. He remains in Darkness without so much as a complaint. In CoM, he fights for his body and control and has matured quite a bit and also fights for his life against the Org. He refuses to be manipulated again, and he also refuses it when DiZ comes along and tells him things. He is definitely an anti-hero and could have been the hero had his destiny to be the Keyblade bearer not been known by Heartless Ansem. Roxas - Roxas was hard to say whether he's a hero or not really. He did not really do anything for anyone else and wasn't given the real chance to. He fled the Org to get away though which clearly could make him an anti-hero because he didn't like what he was doing and wanted answers as to why he had the Keyblade and was having weird dreams. He did try to help out his friends in the fake Twilight Town and he does get sent after Heartless with the Org, but it is doubtful Roxas fully understood everything that was planned either. He was a tool and when he ran off, their attentions turned back to controlling Sora. I'd say though that in the end he was probably an anti-hero since he did decide to go back to Sora in the end even if they fought later. He found out why Sora fought, which was -for his friends- and he realized it wasn't all about him. So, really, Roxas since he merged back etc, yeah, he'd be an anti-hero after some thought. I would not have really ever considered him a villain though. In his case, he was just working for the wrong side and since he had no memories of who he was, it kind of leads one to not class him with the rest of the Org. Axel - Axel is an anti-hero easily. He does acts to catch others in the Org of conspiracy and acts on them. He also tried to do things out of selfishness to get Roxas back, and also under the threat of his life being taken if he failed to either bring Roxas back or kill him. However, he turns around and apologizes etc after helping Sora. That pretty much sets him as he was. I can't say though he'd be in the Darth Vader scenario except for relation to how he dies because he was not particularly emo and just was essentially a wild card. The people you mentioned, many of them did -good- things after a period of doing wrongful things, or were suspected of change. Being a hero is from day 1 you are a person that does good stuff and people acknowledge and believe it's good and in their favor etc. Being an anti-hero is being either a fallen hero that gets back up to do it again or being a villain that turns hero. Being a villain usually means you are the bad guy that is trying to destroy things, oppress people, or murder etc. Seeing as the Org -never- did anything to show they were heroes in any regard from the beginning, they cannot be heroes. The only beings they could be 'heroes' to were the Nobodies and it is clear that the other Nobodies were all under Xemnas and assigned to members of the Org. They were used as cannon fodder and how many 'higher Nobodies' had been changed to Dusks, we may never know. Something tells me the life of a Nobody wasn't that great. Especially with how some of the Org tormented others, dominated over things, manipulated people etc. I'd think they really could not care either way to call Xemnas or any of the Org as heroes at all. It's likely the other Nobodies weren't going to get in this deal of getting their Hearts back either and if everyone did, Xemnas would have some way of controlling them, probably by linking the Hearts through him and having control of his pseudo KH. I really do not see them as being free, including the Org members. Perhaps at one point -some- of the Org before they joined the Org were 'heroes' but it is clear they all were not in this tale. The Org could not be said to be anti-heroes except for Roxas or Axel. They are the only two that showed any kind of depth beyond a selfish 'why can't I have my heart' stuff. They did things for -other- people and even gave up themselves. None of the other Org did it. They were selfish and it was clear that some of the Org were more loyal than others. If Xemnas was not as tough as he was, he was in charge of a bunch of sociopathic people that had NO conscience or caring and he'd have fallen. Vexen and Marluxia both were doing investigations and trying to figure out how to get rid of Xemnas and both were perhaps even more psychopathic in nature. Xemnas was a fanatic and he had to ensure control. Those who were loyal knew better than to do anything else. Xigbar may have been someone that wasn't such a bad guy at one time since he's supposedly in BBS but we'll see I suppose. The Org though can't be anti-heroes because they never showed that they were rising to be -good- and help others over themselves. Even if their cause was not so bad, their deeds were horrendous. Villains - Yes, this is what they are. Whether they are 'misunderstood' villains or not, they are still what they are. They murdered, they took advantage of others, they manipulated, they abused and tormented, they oppressed, they spread fear etc. Whether or not we feel sorry for them because they have a condition that has to be considered when tacking on an 'evil level' to them or not, they still were the bad guys. Yes, I do agree with you on some points, mainly on Demyx, that Sora did not have to call him out and could have let the wussy run and maybe he'd have changed, but again, after fighting him once in which he could have died, what's to say it wasn't just better to get rid of this guy and get it over with? Demyx also had total control to run away. So, he made his choice to go with a reaction instead. Sora could have said the same crap to Saix and Saix would have just laughed and dark portaled. Demyx would not have gotten in any more trouble than other Org members would have for taking off when they did. So really, even though I do agree that Demyx may have been one of the only ones other than Axel that was salvageable and Sora kind of blew it there, I do see that Demyx is also responsible. As for any of the others, as much as I thought some were cooler than others, I don't see things changing for them unless the whole story of CoM or KH2 was rewritten without Xemnas, Saix, Xaldin, Marluxia and Vexen in it. Those were the worst of the Org with no conscience at all, presumably.
Her Keyblade appears to have a keychain though in pictures close up.
The explanation for this is still in the air. It's either one of two things. 1. It was a pseudo-Keyblade that Riku made for her by connecting to her Heart to design one somewhat off the principle of the Dark Keyblade but obviously intended for more pure and better purposes so she could defend herself or... 2. He found the Keyblade and gave it to her. If he did find it, it might have been at Hollow Bastion since many things of the Keybladers were there, or he found it perhaps on Maleficent's world. Then again, this is speculation. It did have a Keychain on it but she also didn't call it forth and just Sora, Riku and Mickey used their Keyblades to open the door to face Xemnas so it's not clear if it was a temporary Keyblade or a real one that she just didn't feel secure using. In the end though, those are really the only two options I see as plausible out of any theories posted or what has been shown already. Perhaps we'll find out more on if it's a pseudo blade or a real one. A big clue would be if she uses a Keyblade in KH3. Perhaps either Coded or BBS might show the blade. We can hope.
Sora and Riku went as far as they could to the beach and were stuck where they were. Riku said that if they were to stay they could guard Darkness from others abusing it. Sora agreed to that. Basically, they were both trying to make the best of a situation of being stuck in Darkness because neither could just leave. They had to get the bottle which Riku passed to Sora and it made the Light doorway for them to pass through back to home. Before that, they had no options. The lines are this: So, you see, at first Riku is disappointed that there might be nothing else for them, but then he comes to realize that they can protect the Darkness from being abused by others and that the others on the Light side would be safe. Sora agrees to that because as the situation was, they were going nowhere.
Xaldin, Xemnas and Saix. I am not sure how anyone thinks Saix was justified in what he was doing. He was colder possibly even than the other two, torturing Sora and feeding off the emotions it caused Sora to experience. Saix was more Xemnas's right hand man than Xigbar seemed to be. Again, the plans of Luxord, Xigbar and Xaldin to corrupt beings and change them to powerful Heartless was an ongoing plan and not just something thought up out of the blue. The Org was very precise and it often took Riku to point out the scenarios to Sora through his means and also to pull Sora out of spots he was trapped in. Whether or not you believe they moved about other Heartless or want to pin it all on Maleficent and Pete who were laughing stocks the whole game, it doesn't matter. What does is that there is PROOF that the three made the large Heartless which were doing a lot more and also proof enough that Saix could control the Heartless at Hollow Bastion and did so. The situation was Demyx was nothing of consequence. As said formerly, Demyx was nothing big to the Org and did not really hold major plot development in anything. Axel had the mission of either converting Roxas back to the Org or was ordered to -destroy- Roxas. Demyx seemed to fill that spot afterwards when Axel betrayed the Org because he would not complete the mission and instead sought to bring Roxas back. It is possible that Demyx could not discern Sora from Roxas and so he was following the orders formerly that Axel was, but he was out to take him down. If not to kill him, to take him back to the Org, which ultimately could have spelled serious trouble as well. Sora did not start the war. Xaldin's attack on Beast was truly the worst thing to happen at the beginning of the game and this was prior to Demyx. Also, Demyx doing his game there in the Underworld..if you lost you died. It was obviously -not- a thing to take lightly, so Demyx did his own wrong and the orders that Axel had would seem to have fallen to Demyx. I can pretty well be assured that Xaldin and Saix were a lot more important as was Xigbar and Luxord. Demyx was doing menial tasks. There is never once declared a point where the Org says anything like 'Sora is fighting us and caused the scenario to turn so let's take him out now'. In fact, Saix asks Xemnas if now they can stop playing games and do the real plan and Xemnas affirms it. They were done -using- Sora and his use was no longer necessary as the KH there was filled to what it needed to be. And yes, Sora did kill Luxord. It wasn't like Luxord wasn't expecting and wanting the competition though. They were out to kill Sora but each was also playing a sort of game with it which should say that they were overly confident they could get rid of him and they failed. King Mickey did tell Sora that this was how the Org at the castle would fight. For people so ticked off at Sora, they were weren't taking things very seriously if they could afford to just play games to kill him off and also not a single Org member ever brought up anything about poor Demyx. So really, they had this stuff planned and believed most likely Xemnas could and would bring them back. After all, at the end of the game even, Xemnas was using their weapons and such against the two boys. They weren't really dying like normal people would as in 'this is the end', or quite a few weren't. The only ones who acted that way more were in CoM because the chances of Xemnas bringing back traitors was pretty darn slim. Larxene when confronting Sora kicks him first so hard he falls back. She also tosses Repliku aside and mocks Sora saying Repliku is a fake and says how Namine was used. She had been goading him all along because she is a -sadist- and enjoyed making him suffer. She brought that combat on herself with the mockery and the first blow. Marluxia - Marluxia lured Sora there to use in his elaborate plan to wipe out Xemnas and take power for himself. He was a serial killer that had no conscience and merely was out for power. He had no purpose other than seeking power. He hid behind a girl and was a coward, used replicas etc. He brought the fight to himself and had to die to be stopped from his schemes. Vexen - Sora wasn't trying to -kill- Vexen. Vexen was there and probably going to vanish again after he said words to Sora about how they didn't need him because the Org had Roxas. However, Axel, on order of Marluxia to 'kill the traitor' did him in before Vexen could declare anything. Sora fought to defend himself. Axel - Axel challenged Sora the first time. The second time, Marluxia framed Axel insisting he was going to cut through Namine to get at him. Sora and his 'defense of all wussy girls' took a stance against Axel then because Axel didn't dispute the fact and Marluxia held Namine and left. Axel faked his death. It was a lame fight that probably did not need to happen but it was over a girl. Too many guys will have that flaw. Due to the fact Sora did not really remember the Nobodies from Castle Oblivion but Riku did, Sora was not really knowing anything. If anything in some cases, he may have been acting out of instinct of both himself and Roxas. Yes, they were using him. That's the whole point of the plot in a nutshell. So what if he'd kill Heartless regularly, sending their hearts back to the "TRUE" Kingdom Hearts? They go back to the cycle that way. Going to this faux place to support a group of zealot fanatical people that were taking the Hearts of many people to exist themselves was wrong and defies the purpose of a Keyblade Wielder. These are Hearts of countless people being used who did not have to perish in the first place, let alone the fact they would not go to where they were -supposed- to go. Zexion, Vexen and Lexaeus were using Riku and did try to destroy him once they figured out he was not going to go along with their plans. Vexen makes the Replica after stealing Riku's persona and fighting style. Riku did not really deal with him so much after that. The Org could not convince him to do anything against Sora and so used the Replica instead. Also, the way they tortured Repliku was horrible. Whether he had a 'synthetic' heart or not, he has to be the most tragic character in that story or probably any of the KHs. Riku and Roxas are pretty well debatable who would go for second. Note, both Riku and Roxas wanted nothing to do with the Org. Lexaeus did go to destroy Riku and bring out the Darkness. Zexion sensed early on that Riku smelled 'like the Superior'. They knew he had something bad in him and went on to keep terrorizing him. Lexaeus died for trying to kill Riku and get the being inside out. He won to get Ansem (Xehanort's Heartless) out but also perished easily. Zexion was out to destroy Riku. There was no intentions AT ALL of using Riku at this point. He was mentally assaulting him using Sora's image to call him a betrayer and was beating him down physically because Riku would not strike back. Namine saved Riku by showing him it was an illusion and that Riku could use Darkness in the same way Zexion was, to sniff out the foe and attack directly. Zexion had all intentions to kill Riku who did less than Sora had. Riku was attempted to be a tool and when he proved he would not bow down and give into Darkness, they tried to destroy him and take what they wanted. End of story here. In quite a few ways he had it harder than Sora, contending with the Org and also Ansem. I don't see this as happening. Xemnas was a power freak. Axel did not want to go -kill- Roxas and he was threatened to be turned into a Dusk. The Nobodies of CoM had reasons to fear Xemnas and wanted to take him out while he slept. Both Marluxia and Vexen were delving into the affairs of Xemnas. Zexion wanted no real part in it and it was probably because he knew it was folly and just going to turn out bad. I don't see the Org as being let to just go off and do whatever because Xemnas was their fanatical leader and they were going to follow, whether they liked it or not. He needed them and exerted a lot of control. The Org top members all had a plan before they became Nobodies. They did betray Ansem the Wise and knew it. Perhaps we will find more on why they did this in BBS and 358/2 Days but still, even though Ansem turned into a very vengeful man, his whole world was destroyed by what they did and so were tons of lives; all because the top members who would lead the Org would not listen to him and stop an experiment that he was sorry he ever started. He was not a perfect man, but no one is. In the end, he apologized for his deeds and you can even see he's tired and just wants things to be made right at TWTNW. He realized his errors and the same cannot be said for an Org member except for Roxas and Axel. I find it funny that DiZ gets no pity but the people going around causing massive damage to many places out of personal advancement and a bunch of sociopaths get far more. The Org was cool but eh, even again if I sympathize with their problems, I cannot justify how they were going about resolving them. Not once did the Org ask anyone for -help- or want an alternate solution. They made the war. Not Sora. This is the point right here. You even call them -villains-. You -can- feel sorry for their plight and condition. Anyone probably could. However, would you still not -try- to stop Darth Vader or Magneto? It pains Professor X every time he has to go against Magneto but yet he still does it because he knows he has to. If no one stopped the Org, they were a serious problem and you can't tell me you expected them to just be content etc and stop what they were doing if they became 'real'. Also, all those Hearts that were stolen from other people needed to go back to the cycle. It's like stealing souls and using them...that's not the least bit disturbing? Note in KH2, Sora isn't going around with the jovial "Ha-ha!" and such as he strikes things. He's a lot more serious and it would just be really disturbing if he was doing the kiddish stuff of prior. You are right. These aren't the typical slap on villains that we just automatically know to just get rid of. There is a sympathy factor there. However, whether or not you feel sorry for them, there is still nothing saying they were going to do good. The only emotions Xemnas seemed to want to feel were hatred and anger etc. I trust that guy as a whole being to destroy what's left and he's the leader. I collected various quotes from your posts to not go over the same things repeatedly that you two have been going over so apologies if it seems to waver around some. I was surprised to see this still going but apparently a lot of people really feel Sora was such a jerk. I just can't. I know that even though I'd have more intelligence and perception than Sora, it seems pretty obvious that the Org were not going to sway and that's the reason they needed stopped. It's not because they were -Nobodies-. It's what the Nobodies were doing.
I laughed at the video and yeah, I do not like Scientology for what it does to people's minds and all. Seeing how Tom Cruise even has turned so weird and John Travolta is also with it...it gets some good names but they do such nutty things now and then. However, I see the same sorts of nut jobs that believe in God and I find that to be just as fake and ludicrous. Many religions are corrupt with people stealing money from others to get things for themselves and I feel the world would be a better place without imaginary deities or aliens or whatever. The Bible is just as hokey to me in every way and can be disproved just as much as Scientology can. However, at the same time, even though I feel that religion is a hindrance to mankind's development, I also believe in the right to believe in what you want to so long as it is not harming others. If people want to be foolish and give away money, change their whole mindsets and what not, well, it's their personal choice. So even as I laughed and a part of me was totally saying 'hooray, someone get rid of it', the other side had to say that it isn't right to do. I'm pretty well torn thus on what I feel at the moment. It was an interesting video and the links to download the Scientology stuff do work still. Good post.
1. Leave it alone - Yeah, most of the time if you just walk off and ignore it, bullies get bored and go off to do something else because you aren't affected. This can fail though with people that want to find what buttons to push that set you off so this doesn't always work, but a majority of the time it can. There are some people out there who like to torture others so this though the best option at first sometimes proves really difficult to follow. 2. Fight back (kick their ass) - If someone -hits- you, well, you may have to hit them back; especially if they seem like they aren't going to stop. However, kicking their ass if you are at school is a bad thing to do. It gets you in as much trouble as the bully and sometimes the bully and his/her friends might be there declaring a 'truth' that gets you suspended instead. Bullies seldom attack people alone and go after 'unpopular' people because they can get away with it. They have cronies to back their stories up so this isn't always the wisest choice. I do think if you are hit you should stand your ground if you can but don't do more than they do because this has an ugly way of turning around on you and it can make you out to be a bully too. 3. Frame them - This just starts a war between people and can cause worse aggression to follow. Since schools don't tend to expel someone unless he/she is really obnoxious, that person is liable to come back and with a vengeance. Especially knowing they were framed will also cause the person problems who did it. If it is also proven the bully was framed, the school is no longer going to trust the word of that kid who did it. I would say not to do this and keep your integrity if you can. No reason to lose your moral code to get petty revenge on someone. You want them to stop; not lower yourself to their expectations. 4. Do not tell teachers - If it's just petty stuff, I wouldn't tell a teacher but if you are getting plagued and all, why would you not? There's a way to sound like a 'whiny baby' and 'ruin your rep' versus being informative and wanting someone to stop being a moron so you get assistance. Teachers can help some and perhaps even if they can't do anything else, they can offer a student advice on what to do about a bully. They deal with this stuff all the time and if someone actually goes to a teacher that is trusted and asks what to do, teachers often take the scenario more serious because it's not just whining; it's wanting a solution. This shows the teacher it's a serious thing and if no help is provided, things could turn ugly. It also lets a teacher know to watch that bully. Telling the teacher, I'd advise, should be done with some confidentiality as in trying to get the teacher after school or on a break, but this is an option that should not be ignored. 5. When they are not paying attention, hit them, and run away - Why? That will just be having the same results nearly as framing the person. You are playing with fire and dancing away with it. It will just cause more problems than not. If a bully hits you, you may just have to hit them back, but a hit and run tactic seems pretty lame to me. I've never done it and couldn't see why to bother except to not get caught by teachers. I would advise against doing this kind of behavior as it makes you again, into doing bullying tactics yourself and you want the bully to stop; not become a more serious threat. After all, if you rile the bully up that much, you have to be alone sometime and will run out of running room. They will find a way. 6. Make they're girlfriend/boyfriend hate them for being a bully - If the boy/girl is with the person any way, the likelihood chance that he/she knows the partner is a jerk is probably known. If not, I suppose if you are actual friends with that person, it wouldn't hurt to say 'your boyfriend/girlfriend is being a real jerk to others so watch yourself'. However, if you aren't a friend, the girl/boy probably isn't going to listen to you any way and if he/she tells the partner bully about the convo, again, you risk more problems your way doing passive aggressive behavior that just irritates anyone. The problem is with the -bully- so going and bothering someone else is going to just make things very bad. If you are already being picked on by some jerk, it should tell you that obviously you are not above such things and your reputation is around average, like most others. If you handle a bully the wrong way, your reputation is going to be shot and most of the suggestions you gave on how to deal with bullies makes a person aggressive in ways that will just make their lives worse. No one likes a 'snitch' but at the same time if someone asks for help on how to deal with a bully, that is just commonsense. When people forsake commonsense for 'popularity' that is not even going to last once you graduate high school, that is just ridiculous. You want to get rid of bullies, not become one and not get them more ticked off at you so more people hop on the bandwagon and someone falls under. School doesn't last forever and enduring it can be difficult. Sometimes 'snitching' is something that must be done. We are talking about here how people are 'hurting' others and sometimes even really wounding or messing them up. Best ways to deal with bullies is have self confidence to know you do not deserve that treatment and stand up for yourself. If you require help, ask parents for information, ask a trusted teacher for advice. Try to make friends and keep them and be an amiable person because sometimes if bullies are seen going after the 'nice' kid, this can tick off other people and they will get involved to say back off. If a bully bothers you, tell him/her directly 'Back off'. If you are assertive and do not scream at them, yell at them, or act like you are scared, generally this will work. If one hits you hard, you are left with the choice of walking off and reporting it or hitting the person back. Don't let them see you hurt if you can help it. You don't want to show weakness. Telling others to 'some' is a weakness, but again, it depends on the reason and how you go about it. Don't be afraid to get help if you are being overwhelmed. That -is- what the help is there for.
I'd say the WBC deserves to be shot, but I suppose that would make me just as much an extremist as they are. They really do need to just be told to shut up and the public should stop giving these nut jobs so much attention and tell them to go home because they are disturbing the peace. If someone dies, jeez...let the family and friends and people who liked the person pay their respects! What a disappointment. I bet those same people protesting would threaten to kill anyone and mean it if someone ruined one of their holy funerals of their beloved innocent people. They really should have to be removed from this scene. Also...as others mentioned, Heath was a straight guy. He took a role that was difficult and stretched his skills and did it obviously so well that he's gay to these dorks. Even if he was gay, the acts of the WBC should be ultimately condemned. Extremists suck. I'm glad that at least we will get to hopefully see him in the Dark Knight movie as his parts were all filmed. I also enjoyed A Knight's Tale, though nothing else he did really stood out. I didn't really have an interest in seeing Brokeback Mountain since cowboys are not my thing, but I've seen A Knight's Tale quite a few times and it's such a classic cult sort of film anymore. I do wonder if this was suicide or accidental overdose or what. The news is not yet clear on the results but what a shame. He seemed to finally be getting roles he actually wanted.
Well, the reason people agree here, PAW is because no one is saying humans suck and we hate humans, which often seems to be your message. Humans can be bad and definitely can be classed as the most dangerous of animal species, but at the same time they are one of the most potent species to aiding other species and doing good deeds. It really depends what sort of person or group you are dealing with. The pessimism you have about humans, despite you being one, really is a let down and surely you shouldn't feel all people are so bad. Give us a break sometime. =:/ It's always easy to look at the bad stuff some people do but it would really help your case if you ever listed the good things some others do. We are not all mirror images or else you would not be here now because the way you see people is only as destructive. We'd all be dead.
Due to the fact children are not of -one- religion, to assume that children should be taught sex before marriage is a sin is kind of wrong. The point of sex education is not to make children have sex. It is to understand that kids get caught in predicaments where something sexual may happen and shouldn't they -know- what is going on? Also, some kids are going to have sex no matter what. The strict rules of the Dark Ages and Puritan times didn't stop the sex without marriage or adultery. So if people are going to do things, they are. I think most schools try to say abstinence is the best policy so that kids can avoid diseases or getting hurt emotionally etc but at the same time, understanding sexual things can help them as they grow. Hormones for kids are a tricky thing and kids do start experiencing hormonal changes at any time around 10 years old on up. Most do not experience things prior to that but some kids have been known to at age 8. There are preschoolers that masturbate but don't know what it is they are doing, and that's both girls and boys. I do think that 8 years old is a bit young to be teaching kids about sexual intercourse, but I do think it can help to explain to kids what some parents refuse to about if someone does something to them that feels wrong etc and what to do. Also, there are some 8 year old girls that have started periods, though the number is low. So an easy light course without the condom stuff, birth control etc is well, fine by me. At 10 to 12 years old though, kids are going to be hitting puberty more. If there were not boys or men that hit on girls of this age...well, the lessons of sexual safety wouldn't be needed, would it? Girls hit puberty earlier than boys so they are often the ones in more of a situation to have something happen to them from older people or curious boys who want to just 'see things' and understand why Julie one year is flat as a pancake and the next year has some perks. Sex education is not about teaching kids to just go and have sex. It's about knowing when a sexual situation may be arising, how to deal with your hormones, such as taking a cold shower, if you do have sex, what can you do so it's not full out sex, and also if you go all the way, what should you use to prevent STDs. It also teaches about STDs that can be passed on and to notice them so if a kid has symptoms, or as an adult the person has symptoms, they can go get treated. In the end, this isn't about -kids- having sex. It's about teaching kids so that they know into adulthood. The choice to have sex is a persons. The knowledge though of what happens ahead of the marriage room, a rape or molestation, diseases, childbirth, sexual frustration and ways to cope etc though seems pretty helpful for the person to have and carry with them throughout their lives. If you are religious and feel sex is a sin before marriage, you are fully obligated to make that choice. No one is going to say as a teacher 'go have sex'. If they do, that's pretty demented.
I have seen affirmative action work and I've seen it fail greatly. It would be nice if employers were not such jerks and that men and women of any ethnicity with the right backgrounds and skills could get the job and at equal pay, but eh, it doesn't happen. This is a fact. I've known women that had more skill than men hired for jobs but because they were women, they weren't considered for the position even as they wished to advance and not be stuck at low level employment. I can also note where this has happened to men of other ethnicities. However, I've also seen affirmative action backfire and people who -were- capable of the jobs got turned down to put some woman or non-Caucasian male in the position who was either lazy and didn't want to do anything while others covered for the person, or just was totally not having the skills for the job and so useless. I've seen this more with women truly than with men of different ethnicity where good women and men are passed over so some good for nothing girl can have a position and then the men around her will ensure they get the job done and the girl is eye candy for the government so that it can be verified they put a chick there. I have seen sometimes where men get the bias based on discrimination by 'race' but really, more often than not it's because of the way they dress and act. It's not always true but to me it's seemed that way as I've worked with more 'ethnic' guys than women. Also, I've noticed that sometimes they hire an 'ethnic woman' to take care of two things at one time. The attitudes of these employers is that women are pretty useless, so the women that will work, get their hands dirty, climb things etc have no way to prove themselves because ditzy women with no clue get put in positions and men automatically assume they must cover for them. This can also apply to men of ethnic difference but as I said, lately it seems to me more women get crapped on. The other problem with affirmative action is some people KNOW that they should get the job after doing a headcount of how many women or ethnic people there are and so they push the issue while they fully intend to be lazy and not be worth a crap. I've seen Affirmative Action work, but really, not as much as I'd like to say. More often than not it seems to me employers and employees have learned to cheat the system and instead of getting those who deserve the jobs the chances, it seems lazy bums or under qualified people get them, which totally berefts the point of Affirmative Action in the first place and makes men of ethnic background and women of any background seem stupid so other employees have attitudes and predispositions to hearing any others say anything good. It really is a shame to me that employers can't be more looking passed skin color or gender but it's also a shame there are people out there who are either not Caucasian or women who would rather abuse a system and get paid for it while others that would work hard are denied. I am almost to the point of thinking Affirmative Action needs dropped because I've seen this happen so much it's pathetic but at the same time, there is still a need as some people who will work do get these jobs and without the chance, would they have? Someday I hope stupid racial and gender profiling and prejudice will fall to the wayside so that the right people get the right things and also the 'race card' stops getting used so much. It's a two way street and getting abused and it's actually one of those things that can sadden me, but many people don't want to look at it. This was a great question really. =:)
I never said that someone should hit a child because of an action alone. If talking and comprehension works, by all means that is the approach that should be taken. However, some kids just look at you like 'not another lecture' and roll their eyes at you. This includes children that really lack any sense of benevolence to others and sometimes hurt others or do things like trying to set things on fire, torture animals etc. Also, those kids who gripe they want crap in the supermarket and grab candy, kids that try to walk in the street unsupervised at young ages, kids that cuss out older people for no reason etc. You do need to measure things out in what you do and walk away if discipline is just going to be a parent venting. I was physically abused as a child and not the 'abuse' that people go on often about today, though real abuse does happen, so I don't want to make it sound like a dying thing. I was smothered with pillows, punched, kicked, grabbed around the neck, banged into walls and the floor, tables shoved into my ribs and I have a scar on my face from my mom tossing me into a vacuum cleaner with an off/on switch and the reason was because I was jumping on the bed at 5 years old. I do not believe in -abuse- to any level. However, I can say that though my mother abused the crap out of me, I was only ever hit by my dad 3 times and each time I totally knew I deserved it because I was not paying attention to him and giving him a tude. I deserved what I got and that discipline did make me better and realize I should not do the acts because they were wrong. For most things pertaining to my father, I listened because he was level headed and stern when he had to be but never over the top. I totally stopped paying attention to my mother at age 12 because she simply could not physically really harm me anymore. Her words still were painful as she told me she wished I was never born etc. So really she made me have a lot less respect for her than I did my dad, who knew to deal with me firm when he had to and to talk to me a majority of the time. You are absolutely right when you say discipline should be dealt with understanding. That was not my point at all. The deal was that the person was not looking for ways to cope and instead just blaming things on others. There are children out there who are actually seriously abused and there is a difference. Sadly, the children who actually get it often are not seen that way and the children who want more attention instead get it. Children who get beaten on till they see speckles before their eyes don't say things to others until years later when they have gotten free of that. I know that is true for me and several others. A smack on the butt or hand isn't going to scar a kid as bad as something worse that could happen because the kid doesn't want to listen to reasoning and thinks it's for nothing of a cause of attention.
No problem =:) Thanks for explaining more as well. Here's a bit more of the POV. The deal in the end is that Roxas was a lot more selfish than Sora was and he was not as nice. His selfishness is what prompted him to say "What do you fight for?" to Sora...and when he peers down at Sora with his friends underneath him in the mural...he says "Now I understand". That is why I don't think Roxas really understood to fight for -friends- or that they were that important until gone. He only seemed to largely understand about fighting for himself and what he wanted. He wanted friends but truly he appeared to have no idea what for possibly other than they were nice to have around and talk to etc. That's the whole point of that scene to me. So Roxas is cool and all, but to me, he's just as naive as Sora is, just in a different way and if I were going to pick between which would be the better friend, I'd go with Sora. Also, on the immature note; Roxas is too. After all, he beat the tar out of a computer and threw temper tantrums, storming even as he was losing and well...just being a brat. His fighting also was terribly aggressive and people like to say Sora is the Nobody hater, but Roxas to me seemed to hate anything that opposed him enough to vanquish it. He took things way too seriously. Violent natures to me are generally pretty childish. I suppose childish is in the eye of the beholder. Also, to others, there is nothing saying Riku and Sora cannot double wield. Roxas only ended up with two Keyblades because of his connection to Sora and Sora's connection to Riku and Kairi. I would believe if Roxas knew how to do something, there's a very good chance Sora knows how to because where was he going to learn it from? We could say Ven, but Roxas's whole fighting style without two Keyblades mirrors Sora's exactly. I doubt he learned it from the Org as in 358/2 Days he's only wielding one Keyblade for most of the time it seems. Sora just hadn't had a situation similar to Roxas's to have two Keyblades form.
In the real Ansem Reports, Namine was said to be formed after the Dark Keyblade was used. If it was before that, at the time of the Secret Cave and all, then DiZ is wrong in his statement. Also, the Kairi at the doorway was just basically her Heart. Her body probably already had gone through the doorway, I think. As for Namine drawing Sora, yes, she did draw Sora to the Castle Oblivion which was because of her link to him and the fact she didn't want to be alone there at the castle. She wasn't sure why though she was linked to him.
Hmm...well it would be difficult to add more Square-Enix really because as others said, some characters really do look like others in FF games. Also, I think the characters of Sora, Riku and Kairi, and the others that are humanish, the Moogles and all are meant to be the new FF sorts of characters going through Disney worlds to give it that affect of new realms. Going through FF realms, as fun as it might be for some of us, would well, force Square to do stories on those worlds after the games or during them...and then if it is during a game, say like in FF 7, it's as Cloud is going to Nibelheim etc...it would just mess up the continuity of the original game. If it was after the games, I could see it but even then, it seems rather difficult with how many characters have been crossed-over to Kingdom Hearts as cameos. I think it's better as it is with the main characters going through Disney worlds because it's far easier to mess with Disney movie history and yet look cute than to dive in and mess with FF worlds and have fans being far more **** about it. Do you really want Donald and Goofy pairing up with Cecil? I just don't think it would work so well.
I don't think I see a theme park for it, but it would be cool if Disney did open up a ride or section for Kingdom Hearts. They do have the rights to use the Disney characters, of course, and Sora, Riku and Kairi by agreement so maybe some ride and seeing the characters there would be possible.
I think the very last two sentences are the reasons I don't believe in religion and am glad to not do so. I am rather happy to take responsibility for my own deeds and it encourages me to do the right thing because I know I am in charge. I seriously got tired of hearing so many people use excuses for things and think part of the reason things fail so badly at least in the U.S. is because people are always blaming something else than themselves. If we took more responsibility, said we did something, felt sincere and apologized and moved on, we'd also accept more that others make mistakes too and well, we'd just stop believing that some demon or devil or God is the one to point a finger at for things that are natural in ourselves. It's very hard to fix yourself if you think something else is at fault. Saying that, I don't think any deity that would be wished to be worshiped as good would do such things as set people up for failure and all, and if I were to ever believe in God, I'd have taken the Deist approach that if it's there, it isn't involving itself in what people do. It just is there. I do study Buddhism and can say I connect to it well for the mental disciplines I've learned, as well as Shaolin, but although I believe in spiritual energy, I won't declare I believe in any deity because I can't prove it or not. If there was a god out there that punished people with storms and mayhem and then expected devout followers though, I certainly wouldn't worship it and would rather be struck down.
If you are at TWTNW, best place to level up Valor is there with all the Heartless around in the streets. You only need to hit them to get points to level up so it's easy. Another place that was easy was the hallway at Disney Castle when the Heartless were there, or go to Beast's Castle and run from downstairs to upstairs, most of the time I went to Beast's room and used the save there, then just went out of the world, went back to the parlor and did that for a while. Wisdom is also best here at TWTNW in the streets because killing Shadows is less time consuming than killing other stuff and there are droves of them. For Master, Beast's Castle is a great place to go to and Christmas Town has a lot of orbs there you can collect. If you level up the forms decently usually Final Form happens any time after Roxas's battle. It is random so it can take a while, but I usually tended to get Final Form after going to TWTNW and leveling up the forms there on the streets and using the Summons too. I don't know if it's a glitch in the game but when I level up the Summons and switch to the Drives etc to raise them both some, Final Form tends to hit faster for me.
That's really sad. To think they found each other and yes, I can see how twins could be drawn to one another and well this could happen. I hope they both are alright and still talk to each other and can move on. I also appreciate the fact that the government isn't just giving out their names to everyone and hopefully they can move somewhere and people just leave the two have their lives and not go on about it. It would suck for them to be bothered by this anymore than necessary. I hope it doesn't also prevent either one from marrying other people and having relationships. This is just one of the most awkward situations that could ever happen and people joke about it in movies and I laugh but wow...it's just tragic to see it really happen. I do think the laws for siblings at least to know of each other is important. Even if you don't want the kids to know the adults who kids were taken from or something, at least let the siblings be knowing of the others. Yeesh, what a stupid thing to have happen that could have been prevented just by saying that the kid had a twin.
Yeah, the Baby Boomers are a really big problem as older people live longer and well, there are many of them. There are a lot of older people 60+ years of age and we are going to feel the weight as these people are moving to Social Security etc and there are not enough people younger than that to support them and our jobs and income to living income necessity do not equate. Many people really did lessen how many children they would have and so we are just tremendously outnumbered and the job market sucks. Jobs that paid well went to other areas to get cheap labor and well, China and other places are now doing better economically but we're getting screwed over. Sure, we get some stuff for cheaper, but if we have no good jobs, how can we keep affording even that? There are quite a few problems, but I'm not sure we'd go into an actual Depression. We are definitely in a Recession and with the baby boomers especially, as much as I hate to pin things on people -living- we are going to have some troubled times. What's ironic is that most people 60+ helped us get into this crappy situation in the first place with all of their bad corporate deals and all, but again, I don't want to be a jaded jerk who points and says 'this is all your fault'. So we younger generations are paying for it and I just hope we'll be able to come up with some brilliant ways around this dilemma to keep us all safe and not find ourselves living in the streets. I think it's possible, but we need to all start paying attention to who we elect into office etc and also start encouraging more businesses to remain in the U.S. We really need an overhaul of some departments and to start paying attention to detail because in the next decade we are going to feel the weight even more.
