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sanemisstalker · 9 months

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Incel! Gyutaro, but it's a modern western college! au and you whip him into shape real fast. My ex won't talk to me, so I'm very much fantasizing about a man that will be obsessive over me ---> gyutaro NSFW

CW// Fem reader / AFAB genitalia / Breasted Reader / INCEL MENTALITIES : Sexism, Poly Hate / BDSM dynamics/ Implied ED (Gyutaro is a gym junkie who should definitely be eating more) / SH / Men's Mental Health / Inconsistent POV because I'm writing this with my hand down my pants (I am joking)

PART TWO <-

-You go to community College with him. He's some fucking dude in your necessary math course they wouldn't let you drop. He sits next to you in the booths.

-He's not awful looking. He's got some weird scars across his face, but like, they're kind of artsy. They add a flare the guy would be lacking otherwise.

-His vibe is a little... weird. He doesn't talk in class ever. You see him around campus and he doesn't seem... at all versed in social interaction. You once watched him get into a fight, which was a little sexy, but since it was with Tengen Uzui, your eyes were much more interested in the latter.

-Gyutaro is used to that though. Never being the one looked at. Typical of women like you. You're always frothing at the mouth over fucking Chad's like Tengen- He got it. Tengen was built, strong jawed, and just reeked of sex appeal wherever he walked. He always had the glaze of one of those five sluts he hung out with on his lips-

-Tengen was lucky. He's apparently been training since he was young- to look like a Greek God and all. Gyutaro spent the first years of his life fighting to survive in a hospital, and then every year after fighting to live in his home safely.

-and girls like you- sluts like you were always going to favour Tengen. Always assholes.

-After that fight, you began speaking to Gyutaro. You didn't come onto the topic immediately- you didn't want to pry- So You'd mention his shirt.

-'Is that Death Cab For Cutie?' His heart dropped when you spoke. He didn't even register you were talking about his shirt.

-'Are... Are you talking to me?' He'd croak. His voice was quite nice. Soft, but low.

-'Yeah- Your shirt? That's... That's death cab for cutie, right?'

-'Y-Yeah.'

-As classes rolled by, you came to understand that Gyutaro was a very... disturbed individual. Aside from being generally jumpy and odd, his moral opinions specifically toward women were less than desirable.

-You came to know of his opinions toward Tengen as well. The level of insecurity dripping from every word was palatable... even through the venom.

-He called women 'femoids' and constantly tried to express that Tengen had been given a bigger genetic stick in life. You could never decide if he was referring to Tengen's dick or not.

-You were different, though, He'd assure. You always got what he was saying. Even if you were just letting him mindlessly ramble about his awful, borderline questionable mentalities.

-with said mentalities, you began to realize that Gyutaro was a very easy man. An incredibly easy man. Who was incredibly attracted to every woman he met- but especially you.

-'Gyutaro, have you ever slept with anyone?' You'd ask one day, on the way to the cafeteria. On the few days he chose that over the gym, he'd walk with you. You worried about him, occasionally.

-The question would visibly startle him.

-'I-No. I'm - ha- I'm not... Why?' He'd cut over his own words, face burning.

-'Just curious. You seem all cool, like you get around.' You'd melt a little at that prideful look on his face. How absolutely smitten.

-Maybe the power went to your head, but you began to seek little moments of affirmation from Gyutaro. You'd bend over, a little too close to him- The chronic porn addict. Knowing what it did to him.

-You'd always compliment his shirts- All of his bands incredibly main stream despite his insistence that they weren't.

-You remembered the noise he made when you grabbed his arm in class, once. The teacher had decided to round up the class grade- just barely passing you- and you turned and clung onto his arm, and it was almost like he choked.

-'Hey, Gyutaro, can I come over and study?' You'd pose one day. His face would turn red, a hand flying to his scarred wrist. He itched the skin off- almost always raw.

-'To my- my dorm?'

-'Mhm.'

-'My room isn't-' He'd pause. 'Why? What do you want?' His emotions would flit, unsure of your reasoning. You'd roll your eyes.

-'To hang out? You know? On the one night a week we don't have homework?'

-'Aren't you going to go... party? You do every other weekend.' You found the tang of malice on his tongue adorable. Irritating, but adorable.

'One, I don't party every week. Two, I think you'd be fun to hang out with. What, am I not pretty enough to bring back to your roomate? Am I not allowed in the great and powerful lord Gyutaro's room? ' You'd taunt.

-'N-no. You're pr- no I-'

-'Cool! You live in the good dorms, right?'

-Gyutaro did live in the good dorms. He was also very lucky to be in a one man dorm. Apparently his old roomate, Akaza, had moved out to join a frat.

-Not that you could tell it was a good dorm. The thing was filthy. It smelled like hell, too. Like Gyutaro.

-'I'm sorry for the mess.' He'd grumble. 'I get really busy...'

-'You're fine. Are you a PC gamer?' You'd point to his massive set up.

-'Y-yeah.'

-'Thats cool- ooooh, a Scott Pilgrim poster. I love that movie.' God, you just knew everything, didn't you? All the things girls weren't supposed to like. Gyutaro had been fantasizing about this very moment since you bothered to open your mouth at him. He guessed his work outs had been paying off.

-'Yeah its a good comic, too.'

-The conversation would sway too and frough. Not every really finding a groove. A girl in his room, and he could barely speak to her- you decided to take drastic measures.

-'Hey, Gyutaro, do you want to like do something? Like... a game.' You'd ask, turning to face him.

-'I- um- I have some two players-'

-'Not a game like that.' You'd laugh. He'd quirk an eyebrow. 'I'm like... horny. Like a party game'

-If you'd suddenly fired a gun next to his ear, the effect those words had on Gyutaro would've been the same. He gaped at your bluntness.

-'You're horny?'

-'Yeah... I want to do something... Dirty, I don't know.' You jerked the air off.

-'A-are you gonna leave?' He'd ask, sounding pathetic. 'Do you need me to leave?' What a dumb question, he realized, the second it left his mouth. This was his home, why would he let you jerk off-

-'Do you want to watch? It'd be rude to make you leave.' You completely understood the absurdity of the words coming from your mouth. Every word made Gyutaro's face twist into something akin to... excited disgust. It was fascinating.

-'W-watch?' He didn't understand why he stuttered so much around you.

-'Yeah... Watch? We don't need to like- play like... strip poker or anything. I just want to do something raunchy.'

-'We-we're not dating. You should do that with your boyfriend.'

-'Gyutaro, you know I don't have a boyfriend.' You'd remind. 'Are you scared?'

-'I'm not scared- I-'

-'We're adults. We can do what we want.' His traditionalist mindset was wanning by the word. He wanted you something awful, and here you were, offering to... touch yourself infront of him-

-He'd been leaning on his bed, and you began to creep forward.

-'Do you have any toys?'

-'You mean like vibes?' If his voice wasn't cracking, it was dry. Painfully so. 'I-'

-'Any you haven't put in you?'

-'I'm not into that.' He'd defend. A lie. A painful lie at that. 'I-'

-'Into what?' You'd bring your hand toward the edge of his shirt. He'd begin shaking under your touch. 'No bandaids over your nipples?'

-You'd been so kind and casual to him thus far. Always appreciating his bands and asking about his games. You're eyes had never even fixated on his birthmarks- He never expected you to actually like him-

-'I-I'm not some... some freak.'

-'You think I'm a freak for being into that?' His heart would ache at the sigh in your voice, guilt growing in his stomach as your hand left. 'Sorry, I guess I'll just go back to my dorm.'

-As you turned to leave, Gyutaro would scramble off the bed, eyes blown wide. His foot would knock into an empty can on the floor, and He'd probably tip over some of the comics on his nightstand.

-'Wait-wait!' He'd step over a pile of clothes, and begin rummaging around in the drawer behind his bed.

-His thin hand would come back with a small pink vibe- attached to a thin white wire. You could barely fight back the evil grin on your face as he resurfaced, face just as pink as the vibrator.

-You feigned needing help onto his bed, just so he'd pick you up and set you there. His tenseness was comedic. As you fully situated yourself, Gyutaro just stood, hands in his pockets-

-'Well, come on?' You ushered, nodding to the space between your legs. Gyutaro looked to the spot and then back to you.

-This couldn't be real. You couldn't be fucking real. Even as you spread your legs infront of him, revealing your dripping fucking pussy-- it could not be fucking real. It was too pornographic. You couldn't be serious- Any second you'd snap your legs shut, realize how fucking disgusting he was- how worthless and weird- and you'd spit on him, get up, and leave-

-But you didn't. You pressed the vibe to your clit and Gyutaro watched in awe as your pussy clenched around nothing. Begging, pleading for a cock to fill you, just like all the forums said it would.

-You swore you heard him whimper- gasp- Feeling all powerful under his watchful eye. You were very pleased to find he was bulging through his sweats, a small wet patch already forming.

-He wouldn't be able to get over how fucking wet you were. How good your pussy responded to the vibrations, how good you looked when you craved dick-

-'You should... Your hard on looks like it hurts.'

-Fuck, everything hurt. Your voice made his balls ache, begging for release. He didn't want to cum so early- Didn't want to be a minute man infront of you.

-You wanted him to cum early so bad. His dick had already soaked through his sweats with pre- you knew you could get him worse.

-'Gyutaro, can you- Can you finger me?'

-So fucking cruel. So fucking evil-

-You knew he'd be no good. Too rough and fast, but to your surprise, he shook his head. Very admant.

-'Why not?'

-'I- my hands are gross.' He'd whisper. The poor thing sounded close to tears. He wanted to finger you so bad, but he was all to aware of the cracks and scabs along his knuckles. 'I don't want to get you dirty.'

-'Do you have gloves?' You were surprised by the desperation in your own voice. Fuck.

-'L-like latex?'

-'Mhm'

-Gyutaro had cleared the bed and rush to his bathroom, yanking the gloves from the medicine cabinet. You heard the faucet start, and then a crash and a bang-

-And then Gyutaro was back infront of you, one hand covered with a glove. And he smelled like cologne. You held back a laugh.

-He shivered at the way your pussy sucked his finger in. And then a second not even a minute later.

-'It hurts... You should get on top of me. It'll help.' You reasoned.

-Gyutaro watched you with wide eyes as he bent down next to you, the curve of his wrist allowing him to begin an all too gentle thrust into your pussy.

-His face was right by yours, drinking in the sight of you growing heavy eyed and huffy with awe.

-He picked up his speed. Fuck- you were a real doll, alright. So fucking perfect. All for him. All his- you were his, he decided, deluded by the intimacy of the situation.

-You weren't going to be allowed to go anywhere with any other man- ever again. Nobody else could see this. Nobody was going to see you cum other than him, make you cum, other than him.

-'You keep going just past it-' You'd groan with frustration.

-'Past- What?'

-'I need you to- my g-spot you keep hitting everything but it-'

-His face would turn bright red at the critique.

-'Your g-spot?'

-'Of course you wouldn't know what that is.' You'd snark, reaching down to grab his wrist. His jaw would tighten as you began to guide his hand in and out of your pussy, back arching as he grazed a textured part of your walls.

-He felt like a dildo, an object for you to chase your high-

-Gyutaro came before you, his free hand rushing to try and prevent it, but you'd feel him shiver and hear a soft-

-'Fuck- fuck!'

-And you' look to see a wet patch on the crotch of his sweats. It looked like he pissed himself, the stain starting at least midway down his thigh-

-You imagined such a gigantic load being forced past your cervix. His cock had to be huge- fucking huge- with enough cum to spill for days after.

-'I'm-I'm cumming-' You'd squeak as the vibrator paired with Gyutaro's shame sent you spiraling. His head would snap up to watch-

-You'd leave with nothing but a thanks, and a small comment on how he needed to clean his room - The look of shock on his face borderline second orgasm worthy- He'd already gotten hard again. He wanted to go- wanted you.

-But he'd get a text from you later that night. You'd be at a party- like he knew you were supposed to be.

-'Lol' would accompany a photo of you in a slutty little dress next to Tengen Uzui and those three bimbos always by his side. It would dock his confidence, send him spiraling- panicking-

-But it'd be there...a thin little wire peaking out from between your thighs.

-You'd send him your address and hope he'd have the balls to do something about it.

#demon slayer x reader #demon slayer smut #upper moons x reader #upper moon smut #gyutaro x y/n #gyutaro x reader #gyutaro smut

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dropoff99 · 1 year

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Reminder for those in their first read through:

Jordan is a firm believer in an unreliable narrator. I’ve been seeing some absolutely WILD takes on on certain characters that I can only assume are from people that haven’t hit later books yet. Most characters have a number of things they won’t admit to themselves, even within their POVs. Some are thinly veiled so you identify them early, others are not and are often a product of that character not knowing themselves or others very well yet. Also when Jordan felt a character had a wrong impression of someone, he felt that it shouldn’t be corrected unless they saw direct evidence to contradict their views on other characters. And while characters certainly miscommunicate It’s not always because Jordan wanted to stall the plot, he just legitimately wanted flaws in the way they thought and understood what was going on in the world.

My POV reliability ranking is below (yes there are spoilers in regards to large character beats but no plot) ranking on how intellectually honest/reliable WoT characters are within their POVs. Note it doesn’t mean I think the people at the top are always right, just that you can trust their internal narrative as being consistent with how they really feel and their read on others is somewhat accurate. Additionally I only ranked the EF5 and some other big characters. If they aren’t on here it has nothing to do with how reliable I believe they are, just that I didn’t rank them.

One last thing: I legitimately love the tool of an unreliable POV character. It allows you to adds depth, intrigue, and unpredictability. It is not a coincidence that the bottom 3 of this list are my favorite characters of the series.

1 Egwene - controversial I know but her time with Gawyn/Wise Ones reveal this the most. Additionally she has a self-awareness about her dynamic with the rest of the cast. Rand and Nynaeve really stick out in this regard. she figures out their dynamic with her a lot quicker than they do. She is generally a step ahead of others and accurately portrays what she sees and experiences IMO.

2 Thom/Lan - their POVs reveal their motivations pretty clearly and they also are very consistent across the series. Additionally their analysis of other characters is really helpful due to general knowledge of the world. I put them behind Egwene because Jordan is very stingy with their POVs.

3 Min - she is the most openly conflicted of the main cast (especially regarding Rand). But I can’t put her reliability as high as the others because Jordan intentionally obscured her interpretations of her visions for obvious reasons and that is such a big part of her character that it drops her.

4 Perrin - as internally honest as they come (especially his guilt) outside of his love interests but this is a HUGE blind spot for him.

5 Rand - despite what some would say on this topic, it’s not so much that he lies to himself, but there are specific and intentional inconsistencies that are plot related. Additionally, the pressure Rand is under definitely clouds his judgement throughout the story but this is usually apparent to the reader.

6 Moiraine - her internal conflict about her schemes/plans as well as her habit of obscuring the truth places her outside of the top 5 but I generally think her POVs are incredibly revealing about what she thinks/feels when you do get them.

7 Elayne - I know you might be thinking… how is she this low? But I believe she lies to herself (even if thinly veiled) on many occasions, especially how she feels regarding her family and close relationships.

8 Mat - the guy is genuinely just a compulsive liar. He lies to himself and others routinely throughout the story. The amount of times he says “this is the last time I (insert any particular thing he does regularly)” even within his POV is astounding. But he does this in such a predictable rhythm that you get used to it very quickly. Also his read on other people within the story is at times so outlandish that you can’t believe he really thinks what his internal dialogue is saying.

9 Aviendha - absolute lunatic internally. I love her to death but what she truly believes is often hidden early on in her POVs and because she comes from such a unique culture Jordan intentionally makes her evaluation of any given circumstance a little confusing. The only reason I would rank her above Nynaeve is because there are legitimate plot mysteries that Jordan did not want to unveil with her early on making her less reliable, which isn’t the same thing as what happens with Nynaeve.

10 Nynaeve - I really don’t want to say much about this because I believe her POV is actually done brilliantly in a lot of ways, it just makes for a frustrating read before you understand her. But to put it simply she is not honest with herself generally and you have to rely on Jordan’s prose and her literal actions to know how she truly feels.

#the wheel of time #robert jordan #mat cauthon #egwene al'vere #rand al'thor #moiraine damodred #perrin aybara #fantasy #aviendha #elayne trakand #nynaeve al'meara #lan mandragoran #thom merrilin #min farshaw

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euphorial-docx · 10 months

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Hi Mary i think you have very exceptional taste in movies, music art in general. I wanted to ask you whether you could share what are your few favourite movies and series that you could recommend (besides bones and all, that I know you love and I am already obsessed with) hope your having good calm time and enjoying the summer

hi! thank you very much! and i love that it’s a Thing that i love bones and all. i’m very happy to be branded by that movie lmao.

here are all my favorite movies and shows (separated), and the reasons why i love them because i cannot help myself from sharing my opinions <3

my favorite movies:

hellboy (2004, dir guillermo del toro) — i watched this movie with my dad often as a kid. guillermo del toro blends so many genres into this movie without it feeling inconsistent, and the production, costuming, and hair and makeup is just gorgeous. i feel this is a criminally underrated comic book adaptation.

waves (2019, dir trey edward shultz) — this movie is something else in a great way. i don’t think i’ve ever seen a movie structured, edited, and shot like this. the use of screen resolutions and the camera work make it very visually interesting the entire way through. the acting is also phenomenal (and it’s the movie that made me fall in love with taylor russell)

juno (2007, dir jason reitman) — another one from my childhood. there’s something so cozy about this movie to me. the actors are great, the dialogue can be both hilarious and heartbreaking, and it’s generally cute a little story.

20th century women (2016, dir mike mills) — i feel like this movie’s selling point is it’s plot. it’s set in the 70s about a single mother in her late-50s trying to raise her son, so she enlists two other women to help influence her son to be a good man. it’s just… so good. i want more people to see this movie. it shouldn’t be forgotten.

rhymes or young ghouls (2013, dir jeff barnaby) — it’s been a while since i’ve last seen it, but i first watched because it has one of my favorite actors it (devery jacobs— you will see her again here) but it quickly became a movie i’ll never forget. there are few movies about indigenous people, and even fewer that handle their trauma in a respectful and caring way. this movie is about indigenous people, by indigenous people, for indigenous people, and it’s great and it’s beautiful and it’s sad and it’s horrific and it certainly doesn’t fall into the “racist redemption” bullshit. not at all. this movie sheds light on a history that i was never taught about, and that i’m sure many people still don’t know about. this movie is an important watch, in my opinion. TW for residential schools, racism, rape, and abuse, so definitely be mindful of those topics.

moonlight (2016, dir barry jenkins) — one of the best coming of age movies ever made. all three acts are perfect. i don’t think there’s a single thing i don’t like about this movie. i genuinely can’t think of any flaws. it’s visually beautiful, the acting is beautiful, the dialogue is beautiful— everything is beautiful. deserved the oscar and more. a review of letterboxd sums my feelings about it up perfectly: visual poetry with the emotional depth of the fucking ocean itself.

aftersun (2022, charlotte wells) — this movie really feels like observing real people. it’s like watching home videos of a parent and kid on vacation. you can tell this story is so personal and so real, and the actors are incredible. it’s slow and melancholic, but it’s not boring and it keeps your attention. i was expecting to relate to the preteen girl, and i did, but i wasn’t expecting to relate to a single father turning 31. great movie. glad to see it get some light at the oscars this past season.

spider-man: across the spider-verse (2023, dirs joaquim dos santos, justin k thompson, kemp powers) — i don’t wanna spoil anything, but oh wow. oh wow.

everything everywhere all at once (2022, dirs the daniels) — instant classic. i’ve never been one for action/comedy/kung-fu movies, but this one’s blend of those genres and its imagination and humor and big heart make it something unique. it’s high energy, always interesting to look at, the costuming and hair and makeup are cool as fuck, and the acting is phenomenal. deserved to sweep at the oscars, and anyone that tells you differently is a loser trying so desperately hard to be different. don’t be different. love everytbing everywhere all at once. it deserves all the love.

and now…

my favorite shows:

mr robot (2015-2019, created by sam esmail) — my absolute favorite show ever made. it’s so hard to describe this show to other people, but you just need to watch it. it’s so precise in its decisions and so thoughtful with every single scene. the quadrant framing of the cinematography shows you the tone of the show and makes you feel what the characters feel in such simple ways. it’s truly stunning and the unraveling story is so intricate and infinitely layered. i feel this show’s message only resonates more as time passes. it’s scarily realistic.

game of thrones (2011-2019, created by david benioff, db weiss, george rr martin) — i’ll address the obvious: the ending sucks. the cracks in the show start to show in season 5, begin to crumble throughout 6-7, and complete breaks in season 8. BUT! seasons 1-4 is some of the best television ever made. the characters are multidimensional, the story is carefully crafted (thank you, george rr martin), and actions have consequences. even though the ending sucks, the beginning is well worth it.

house of the dragon (2022-current, created by miguel sapochnik, ryan condal, george rr martin) — yes, it’s a spin-off of game of thrones, but you don’t need to have seen game of thrones to watch house of the dragon. so if you don’t want to suffer through game of thrones season 8, just watch this prequel! it has everything i loved from season 1-4 of games of thrones but with a bigger budget. it’s great. i have hope that it will get even better.

the last of us (2023-current, created by craig mazin and neil druckmann) — my favorite video game ever made turned into one of my favorite shows ever made. the last of us was in good hands. as a fan of the games, i was beyond satisfied with what hbo did. It captures the heart of the story while also expanding on things us gamers never got to explore much. it’s everything i could’ve asked for in an adaptation. patiently looking forward season 2– you can’t rush greatness. and i already waited half a decade between the first game and the second. i can wait a year or two for the second season.

deadly class (2019, created by rick remender and miles orion fieldscott) — it’s a high school for assisins. what else do you need to know? seriously though, i love this show. it unfortunately got cancelled, but i think it’s great just in its one season. the music is good, the acting is good, it balances wit and existential drama. it is pessimism wrapped in a creative bow, and i love it and am forever wishing i got to see a season 2. i’m holding out hope rick remender can get another shot at adapting it in some way in the future. also check out the comics! they’re great too.

the walking dead (2010-2022, created by robert kirkman, tony moore, charlie adlard, and (formerly) frank darabont) — this one might be biased. i grew up watching this show, i still love this show. i have walking dead posters and played all the games and even have twd socks. i just love the walking dead. of course it has zombies (that look great, by the way; makeup killed it), but it’s also a very good inter-personal drama. it loses its footing around season 6 and stumbles a bit through 7-8, but season 9 finds its balance again and brings back everything i loved about the show. whether or not you like zombies or hate them, give the walking dead a chance. i really think it would surprise a lot of people.

reservation dogs (2021-current, created by sterlin harjo and taika waititi) — here is that devery jacobs i promised. this is a coming of age comedy about teenagers on a oklahoma reservation who steal, rob, and save money with the hopes of moving to california. it’s hilarious, but it also touches on many issues the indigenous communities face— namely suicide. you can tell the people on camera and behind the camera love this project, and again it’s a show made by indigenous people, about indigenous people, for indigenous people.

ok. i think that’s it! there all the film that i love. i hope y’all check some of them out because they’re all pretty good :)

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2day4u-2morrow4me · 1 year

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Your post about Chuuya falling for Rampo’s bait? I can totally relate. Chuuya is my favorite character, and I have been pretty sad with the way Asagiri keeps portraying Chuuya, there is an inconsistence in how he treats his character that annoys me to no end, Chuuya don’t deserve a half assed baked plot, he is smart, the most powerful character, and Asagiri keeps nerfing him in the most ridiculous ways possible, making him look like he is dumb and that the only times that he can or not shine is when he is with Dazai, and this makes me extremely angry, because Chuuya is one, if not the most, complex character in the series, hell, he has two novels to himself! But just because he is a “villain” and not the protagonist you have to keep ruining his image just because of the plot? Even when there were other ways? If you read the manga, you know that Asagiri again did this kind of think with Chuuya and oh boy, I’m at my limit, if you create a character as powerful as Chuuya, you must know how to deal with him without killing his history, personality and core. Sorry if there are any mistakes, english is not my first language and this topic makes me really frustrated, because I really, really love Chuuya.

****warning vague manga spoilers ahead. I tried to keep it fairly lowkey****

Finally I'm reaching my people. Knew I wasn't the only one who is fed up with this (pardon my language) bullshit (sorry if the swearing makes u uncomfortable I have no filter I try but it helps me get my point across)

You are absolutely right my man. Asagiri pulls that shit where he has Dazai walk all over him in the Lovecraft fight, have them share a touching trust moment, then Dazai ditches him. Then pulls a complete 180 and writes Stormbringer detailing this epic backstory about how powerful he is and all the people he meets and loses and the battles he overcomes and then fucking chapter 101 happens and Chuuya is apparently weak and just a tool in that Dazai bullshit.

I truly don't think Asagiri has a lot of villain/hero stuff because the "villains" are also compelling and loyal and the "heroes" have complicated pasts and aren't complete saints(and for that Asagiri will be a fantastic author) But if that is the case then why is Asagiri always putting Chuuya down. I have no idea what Asagiri is doing with Chuuya. I have in fact read the manga and I hate hate hate hate how it is going. fingers crossed that Asagiri/Dazai have an actual plan to fix that nonsense.

All in all Asagiri wrote a really compelling character with a fanastic backstory, incredible power, and a personality people can relate with(who me?). I have connected with Chuuya a lot(ask me about the ways I relate to him istg. if I tried to list them all right now this would definitely be rambling.) I just wish I could see the character more, especially in a more flattering light, instead of put next to people like Dazai and Fyodor(cough cough literal fucking geniuses cough) so that he looks stupid.

There aren't any mistakes I don't think. You probably speak English better than I can and it is the only language I speak lol. I will rant to you all day long about Chuuya and how my boi deserves better. thank u for the ask, I love an excuse to rant(with that being said sorry for all that ranting. I can be extra my bad.)

#Chuuya asks #Chuuya episode 35 #Chuuya deserves better #I love ranting about my boi #ty for the ask <3 #sorry for rambling

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tothedarkdarkseas · 1 year

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the thing that irks me about murdoc being put into the dom top role is: most often the people that do it, idealize him as being Powerful and Confident and Badass. as if, he couldn't be all that to them if he were a bottom. the "idiot", "sweet boy" 2d takes the bottom role most often than not. which is a stereotypical way of thinking.

and it could lead to a way more hurtful mindset.

especially because half of the top murdoc/bottom stu fans romanticize the abuse of power within the relationship already. ive seen countless fics back in the day of murdoc taking advantage of a comatose stu, or of just a vulnerable stu in general. and it's really really weird, assuming the writers most of the time are very young. it makes you worry.

obviously not every fan that likes a top murdoc is like this. but ive seen many throughout the years. and i wish those people would just reflect on it a little bit more.

anyways. murdoc is an overly confident asshole that can take it up the ass like there's no tomorrow. and i think that's wonderful.

I can get in a bit of trouble when the topic comes up and I'd very much like to avoid that, but you know I'm also terrible about keeping schtum on top Stu opinions--

Most of the fandom does tend to have the opposite preference from me and I know many lovely people with it, so this isn't meant as blanketed slander. But concerning a good bit of content from years back I do think there's a level of... disengaging from the things said and done by Murdoc or Stu, particularly in those earlier funnier phases, and it's in service of fitting a pre-determined box for them that is learned via fan culture or pop culture, most often the former. "This is how you ship two boys," is the unspoken thought, "you know which is which when you look at them," and it's missing the fact that they are men, older and weathered and addled, and they are rockstars, and they are addicts, and they are two impressive if crooked things alone and they are, to an incredibly grim point, one more impressive and more crooked thing together. At least, I think it is more rewarding to see it that way. That is just my personal experience as someone who has hung around past the median timeframe for Studoc writers, and as someone who adores the characters, truly adores discussing them (to embarrassing extents) and truly cares about doing it to the best of my ability.

The fun, frustrating and compelling thing about Studoc is that there really can be five or ten different versions of them and their dynamic, because the source material is so sporadic and inconsistent and spread across dozens of sources; there isn't a streamlined script for the episodes and a clear character arc being pushed over the series, because it simply doesn't exist in that format. We do not all have identical experiences with them. So to that end, I understand why most fans don't see them the same way I see them. I understand why fans may hate my stuff, or why it makes them uncomfortable or unhappy, or why it just isn't gratifying enough to be worth the time. It hurts, but I understand why it happens. The part that's a little more taxing is that for the entire history of the fandom, there has been an overwhelming push for assigning gendered roles and then entire personalities based on sexual position-- whether the dynamic surrounding that sexual blueprint was soft or rough, tender or violent, those roles often looked almost identical, like somehow this was the line that couldn't be crossed. There are times where that becomes the thing that defines them: not who they are, not how they talk, not where they've come from, not their shared history or aspirations or dating pool or household or addiction or any number of factors, but simply Daddy and Bimbo. Whether that content makes someone happy or has a right to exist or not isn't really what I'm seeking to comment on, but... it saddens me when I see artists and writers who are creating something different but inevitably seem to, in my opinion, buckle under the disbelonging and discard their original interests in pursuit of community and validation (and I can't fault them for this, fandom exists to alleviate the loneliness and be shared) or phase out of the fandom entirely because of that distance. It isn't worth the effort when the crowd doesn't want it. I get that too.

Sorry, I know this got off the rails, haha. I'm really not trying to ostracize folks for liking a dom Murdoc. It just isn't my preference and I think his character is so much fun as a foulmouthed egoist speedfreak who loves the feeling of his face pressed into the carpet. I enjoy it so thoroughly, I really can't help but want everyone to try a bite. (And Stu-- well, I am Actually Insane about Stu and the potential his character has and how absolutely every detail adds to that, that much is evident from the blog, so you know what I think already!)

#but i sincerely do wish to not stir up drama on the blog so please try to see this in good faith #long post

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nancy-plays-dutp · 2 years

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Theme in Code: Whalefall

Aight, lets talk about Code: Whalefall and Theme. I really think this story had so much potential, and just wasted it all. I will be discussing various theme inconsistencies; if you saw the story a different way you are valid, and feel free to tell me about it! Keeping in mind that this story was very confusing to read I'd like to establish that if I get any of the actual facts of this story wrong, then that's still a fault of the narrative for being unable to get its point across. There were lots of plot threads that to my recollection were left hanging, so if they were resolved and I just missed it then that is also bad and absolutely was not a good resolution. But I honestly think a lot of the stuff was just dropped. Trigger warning for discussion of suicide, ableism, human experimentation on children, child abuse, and slavery. This is going to go through the entire story, with very many spoilers, so I'm going to put most of it under a cut. This will also mainly just discuss theme; my other thoughts about this book are found in this review. If you haven't read it but you're okay with spoilers (and I don't really recommend playing this story or feel like the element of surprise is important, but its up to you) then feel free to read on!

The premise of CW has the amnesiac MC searching through an unfamiliar sci fi world for clues about her past. This isn't the most original of concepts, but it can be done well and lead to very interesting stories.

There are three types of enhanced humans who are introduced. Cyborgs are humans with electronic enhancements, binoids are robots made to be as human as possible (with implanted human organs), and androids are robots that look like humans but are still robots. There are also just ordinary robots, which do not look human and have programming and serve different tasks. Now, any piece of sci fi that introduces robots automatically introduces questions about what it means to be human. Usually it allows for themes of free will and choice to be explored, as well as nature versus nurture. Are you who you were born/ created to be, or are you who you choose to be? What does it mean being able to choose? If robots tend to have personalities and free wills then it starts to become an allegory for enslaved minorities who are viewed as "less than human." It can also be common for sci fi narratives to discuss disability, as cyborgs could be viewed as humans with advanced prosthetics, and many robots are written to have characteristics that are also common in people who are neurodivergent (such as not understanding sarcasm, talking with mainly facts, inability to process emotions, and awkwardness in social situations). Whether a narrative does these themes justice is an incredibly complex topic and one that I am not discussing today. I am simply pointing out the themes that usually happen in sci fi stories with the elements present in CW.

Is it possible for a story to have these elements and not discuss these topics? Absolutely! CP30 didn't have an existential crisis about free will in A New Hope. But CW sets itself up to discuss these themes by constantly reinforcing narratives about control and autonomy, and technology versus nature.

This is most obvious with the MC, who in the first chapter is imprisoned and wears a "white jacket", a high tech suit that controls her actions and prevents her from taking any action to free herself, and its stated that this jacket was used on people undergoing cyborg experiments. The binoids that help her are not free agents, and are "employed" by the lab (but no clarification is given about what choice they have in this employment, nor what benefits and payment they receive). Although these are institutes dedicated to the creation and study of cyborgs the scientists and managers in charge are all non enhanced humans, with cyborgs working under them.

As for androids, the most impactful character we meet in the narrative is Yukari, who works as a dancer in a hidden theatre. She appears kind and caring, and the MC frequently points out that she has no real feelings, and can't be trusted, and is not actually human. In response Yukari agrees with this and alludes to a past where she was treated as an object, and not being a "real person."

With that kind of setup I expected her and the MC to realize that in the ways that matter Yukari is a person and deserves to be treated as such. She as written as well as any other character, with dreams and desires and motivations to match, and thus to the reader she is a person. This makes the conclusion of her arc that much more disappointing.

The story reveals that Yukari is an android assassin, who is currently hiding out in this theatre as a dancer. Yukari does not appear to enjoy her career, and indeed seems haunted by it and wishes that she didn't have to kill people. She expresses a desire to protect the MC and keep her from being hurt, and repeatedly begs her to run away with her to somewhere far away where their pasts can never catch up with them. Her dancing career is entirely unrelated to her assassin career and she appears to have taken it on out of genuine enjoyment of the art; the circumstances surrounding who her owner was and how they feel about this job are left very unclear. At the end you find that Yukari has destroyed her energy core (the heart and mind of an android) in an attempt to resist being controlled. I believe she was ordered to kill the MC, and her resistance cost her everything. We actually get an album picture of this, with the caption "Only Choice- we can't choose how our journey begins, but we can choose how it ends."

Thematically, this shows that Yukari had a self beyond her programming and orders, and fought to preserve that. It has her as a tragic figure, with an oddly fumbled death. All of this conflict happens off screen, when it would have been a more compelling story if you'd actually gotten a chance to be present during this struggle and try to save her. Of course I would have loved a path where you could actually save her, but if the storytelling demanded it she could also have been left with just a tragedy. Having all of this struggle happen offscreen detaches it from the player and makes it feel incidental that you were there, like you're looking into a story that you don't belong in. This is made worse by the fact that the MC recovers very quickly from this death and doesn't remember Yukari after that stage, and none of her experience really impacted the end of the game or any decisions or beliefs the MC had. There is no reflection on Yukari having free with and making a choice to defy her programming, or any awareness of what this could mean for androids at large if they can feel emotions and want to make choices but are enslaved to the will of their owners and treated as objects. It makes Yukari a baffling figure because she doesn't really add anything to the story, being either an obstacle who attempts to keep you from the main plot or an incidental anecdote where you see things happen to her but ultimately fail to have any actual affect on her life, and she on yours. Every stage with Yukari could be replaced with very little consequence, as the only plot point she serves was letting you hide in her theatre, which easily could have been just an abandoned hiding spot.

As an aside, I suppose there's also one point where she releases you from prison, but there's nothing about that scene that guarantees it needs to be Yukari. I don't remember it ever being explained how she got in, and while it could have been her security clearance another character could have easily "hacked the system" to get in. In essence her character could have meant a lot, but ultimately lacked a resolution and had no impact on the main character arc or storyline.

This is made all the worse by the inclusion of the binoid characters. As robots with human organs and thought, they are regarded as "more human" than androids. We don't get to know any binoids very well, as they serve to mainly feed us meals and deliver instructions while we're at the main labs, and honestly could have easily been androids. Worst of all is at the very end of the story, when the MC has destroyed project cyborg and is escaping the ruined lab, there's a brief scene where she comes across a group of binoids who are sitting around in the collapsing building. She urges them to get out but they tell her that they can't, because they are binoids and their programming keeps them here. They seem to be quietly grieving their fate and happy for those who got out. And here the MC delivers a baffling speech about how the binoids are simply hiding here waiting to die because they're afraid to live without instructions. Since all the scientists are dead they have to start making choices for themselves and don't want to, which is also why they chose to work here for so many years. So to reiterate, the MC tells a group of characters who are often read as an allegory for slaves that they are only in this position because they choose to be, and can simply break out but are too scared to. And their response indicates that she's CORRECT, as they talk about how scared they are of living their own lives. Not only is this strange given the allegorical implications of binoids, but it also directly contradicts Yukari's death. If they could simply "choose" to not follow their programming, why did that same decision destroy Yukari? Could she also have chosen to not be an assassin, and just decided to die? I suppose that's the difference between an android and a binoid, but no such difference is ever present in the narrative. And what does that mean, if some people are born just wanting to be servants while others don't but can't escape that fate without dying? It's a thematic mess, and the kindest thing to do is just assume that it doesn't mean anything. The androids and binoids are just window dressing and have nothing to do with the narrative themes of the story. So lets look at our main cast for our themes.

Roni should have been in the main cast so I'm covering him here. He's a small spherical robot sent by Z to help you. He takes the R2D2 approach to robot characters, as in he never expresses a sense of self and is simply there to help you. At one point in the story the MC discovers that Roni is actually being controlled by a human, which is played as a huge betrayal, and then we never learn who was controlling Roni. And just to be clear, the robot didn't do anything. Somebody else said "you know there's a person controlling the signal of that robot" and that was the betrayal, not some action Roni took to hurt you. So the betrayal is explicitly misunderstanding that Roni was not being controlled by a human, but without any kind of reveal there is no resolution for that. So I suppose the frustration could be the fact that the MC didn't know, which would lead to a broader theme of secrets. Lets explore that one!

Both of the love interests, Z and Mitchell, are keeping secrets and information from the MC. You have no memories at the start of the story and gradually uncover them, and there are multiple points where you have to lie and hide your mission from a companion so they don't just leave you behind and go to complete your mission for you. This serves to actively rob you of your agency, since you're reliant on these other characters to explain what's happening and you also can't rely on any of them to help you make a decision. The MC's meltdown appears partially influenced by frustration over this lack of information and trust from those she's come to rely on.

This is the part where I'm supposed to tell you how this is resolved. I have some bad news instead. The story decides to reveal that there is somebody speaking to you from inside your mind compelling you to be upset, and if you give in to that voice you go berserk and "lose control to your programming." This is never explained in the route where you resist the voice and decide to not kill everybody. Then the story just continues on to its end. The characters express that they care about you and then you can pick to go off into the sunset with Z, Mitchell, or Roni. Never at any point does the MC bring up the lack of information and how that affected her agency. It's partially acknowledged in the Roni ending, when the MC states how she's now comfortable with not knowing everything and needing to discover her life, but she was only not comfortable about that when she was also being used as a pawn by others, or being trapped and physically unable to seek answers! She actually spent a while hanging out in the theatre with Yukari and seemed pretty content with not knowing about her past, and only left when people started hunting for her.

Is this theme hidden in the past that she discovers? If you take a specific route Mitchell tells you that your mother was involved with an incident where a meteorite exploded and infected people with Element Q, which gave them superpowers but also cancer and killed everyone. But your mother was pregnant with you, so you survived and were born. And your father is a lead scientist at the Cyborg project who was searching for a way to make sure you won't die, so you went to a planet with a different time flow for 10 years your time and grew up while he researched things, and now you're back. Apparently Mitchell wanted revenge on him so that's why he kidnapped you, but he's changed his mind. So to summarize, everything that is special about you is because of events you had no control over that happened before you were born. You have no relationship with your parents and don't even seem to express a need for that, as the MC expresses fondness for her grandfather who raised her. You also lived for an entire decade on another planet, and either regain no memories of this place or find none of them important enough to recount. This backstory is a muddled mess that delivers absolutely no character; you made no choices that brought you here, and have all the value of a highly sought after family heirloom lamp.

This could be rectified if the MC reacted in some way to this throughout the story. During the part where you meet up with the roving bands of Rough Riders, the MC could ponder joining them permanently and living life on the road, with no rules or expectations and nobody to control her. She could actively express a desire to leave this planet behind and seek a way to return to her homeworld. Or she could be curious about this place and seek to gain new skills, like hacking or mechanics, that could help her here. She could even take a side in a huge conflict that splits the world, since we're introduced to several.

The story shows us the Oasis, which is a place where technology is banned. Robots and cyborgs are not permitted, and the MC notes that this is the only place with children. People talk about the Oasis saving them from the evils of a society filled with technology. The story also states that most children are created in a lab called the Nursery, because the human birth rate has dropped (the cause of this is contested in the story and is never resolved). Perhaps the MC could think of the ways that technology controlled her and decide that the Oasis is the right place to live; by contrast she could think about Z and Roni, a cyborg and android, who helped her, and decide that the people are unfairly prejudiced against technology and seek to resolve this. Neither thing happens. She ends up being vaguely suspicious in the same way that she is of everyone, as in expressing distrust but rarely letting it affect her actions or deciding on her own course of action. She stumbles across the titular plot, Code Whalefall, meant to assassinate the leader of the tech city, but the actual objective is to destroy the lab (including the Nursery) and thus the MC decides that maybe she should try to stop the devastation of the entire human race.

Lets take a look at the two villains we're given in this plot. We have Mr X, the scientist head of the corporation and a shadowy figure. He remains that way to the very end, because the confrontation with him doesn't even have a proper sprite. He gives a speech about transferring his mind into a computer and then vaporizes himself and is never mentioned again. Ms Marsh is the villain we have more interaction with; she used to be a scientist at Zeta labs, but after her adopted son was killed in an experiment she went mad with grief and decided she needed to destroy all science.

Is the lesson here that technology is good or bad? Because the MC never takes a side. At the end of the story you're met with a choice to help Z destroy the Project Cyborg lab or help Mitchell save the tech in it, and you decide on a compromise of destroying equipment and keeping the data, and running experiments with oversight. So there is no clear answer here, only a grey area, which wouldn't be bad if your MC didn't happen to start in that grey area. Neither Z nor Mitchell ever expresses any change in their beliefs about the value of technology. And the baby thing is not mentioned again either beyond saving the Nursery. In Mitchell's path you decide to name the babies together because he'd only given them numbers, which honestly sounds pretty dystopian to me. But we're never given a resolution on this, nor on what will happen to the Oasis now that their leader has gone mad and absconded (I think she was thrown out and then she was killed but its honestly hard to remember), nor on what the research for Project Cyborg will be used for now.

There is one more thing that could be a theme in this story, and that is trauma. Both your companions have gone through awful things in their past that have shaped their life, from Z feeling regret for being unable to protect you and your grandfather to Mitchell witnessing cannibalism on the streets as people starved. This leads Mitchell to kidnap you and seek revenge, while Z... protects you, which I suppose is meant to be a bad thing but nothing bad comes of it. One could argue that towards the end Mitchell becomes more optimistic about human life, hence naming the babies, but it certainly doesn't feel like that was a character arc you helped him go through considering how you barely talked to him about his beliefs outside of a setting where he was actively holding you captive. Most of this change took place while you were at the Oasis and he wasn't even there.

In the case of Z this actually ties into the one traumatic memory the MC recovers, of the death of her grandfather in a fire that appears to have been started by Z. He doesn't give a straight answer until the end of the story, when he tells you how your grandfather had taken Z in but made him promise to destroy the lab and all his work if the government ever showed up. And as if in a comedy movie, guess who immediately shows up and forces Z to torch the place. Despite his best efforts the grandfather perished in the flames. The story makes you go through a "character arc" of forgiving Z for his actions, but given how vague your memories were in the first place and how Z has literally done nothing but help you I had a hard time believing that the MC was really betrayed by him. But she acknowledges her grandfather's death was not her fault, letting go of her trauma. While Z... does not change. I guess he doesn't have a character arc, unless it was learning to tell you what happened, but since he doesn't really give a reason for not telling you and that's never discussed it's not much of a character arc.

Ms Marsh is a more compelling character for recovering from trauma, since it makes her want to destroy all of humanity, but then she's defeated. I suppose the MC could be set up as a foil to her, but their situations are incredibly different. Ms Marsh was a scientist conducting experiments on children who'd been taken from an orphanage, and she happened to grow fond of one of them who was then killed and refused to face her mistake, deciding that technology must be to blame. There is objectively nothing the MC could have done to prevent the death of her grandfather, nor did she take any action that lead to it, and she doesn't even blame herself for it. Is the foil Z? But once again he's a child who cannot be held responsible for the situation, who did exactly what the trusted adult in his situation ordered. He absolutely could be traumatized by this because he blames himself, but the story never resolves it. There's never a moment where he decides to live for himself and forgive himself for what happened, and his entire life still revolves around protecting the MC to make up for the past.

Not to mention how trauma is actually used as a positive thing in two other plot points in the story. The first actually happens with Z, as he was being made into a cyborg and had to watch his friend be murdered in one of the experiments which was the catalyst for him becoming the most powerful cyborg in the world. It's stated that this trauma allowed him to "break through his human limitations" and "upgrade" his mind as well as his body, and he's continually acknowledged as skilled and capable explicitly because of this trauma. The argument of these scientists is that the pain these children were subjected to was worth it because of the results of the cyborg project, and this is never something discussed in the narrative. In this case Z did not overcome trauma and that was actually good for him.

The other case of this is Cora, a side character who you meet in the Oasis. She's a young mother who is non-verbal, reportedly as a result from trauma from her life before the Oasis. Yet when the Oasis becomes evil her baby is stolen from her, which makes her angry enough to start speaking again so she can give the MC some exposition and help her escape. Which to me is insulting both because I was very excited to have a character with a disability be treated with respect and instead got a magical cure of the power of motherhood, and also the MC had absolutely nothing to do with this. It was just a coincidence she happened to be around to witness it. But the idea that Cora was able to overcome her trauma with more trauma just doesn't sit right to me.

Cora, when combined with Yukari and the binoid problems we discussed earlier, seems to indicate that one can just choose to overcome trauma if they care enough. And maybe that's the lesson of the story. Yukari and Ms Marsh didn't care enough to overcome their difficulties and so they died, while Cora did so she can talk again. The binoids need to care otherwise they can't overcome their programming. Z cared about his dead friend but apparently didn't care enough about telling you the truth. And because Mitchell fell in love with you and now cares about things he's willing to give children names instead of numbers. If you can't tell, I'm not a fan of this conclusion. Which is also because it doesn't even make sense. The MC cares a whole lot at the start of the story about uncovering her past, which leads to nothing. She actively can't overcome her difficulties with the power of caring a lot, and neither could Yukari or Z, which you could probably tell from this conclusion making them terrible people.

Ultimately Code Whalefall baffles me because not only do I not understand the theme, I can't even tell which theme they were attempting to go for. Every theme they bring up or establish is directly contradicted or offered no resolution, making me think I was reaching when I saw that theme in the first place. But what are we left with? An MC who took down two powerful leaders? Is the lesson that leaders are terrible people? But you immediately appoint Mitchell to lead the labs, so I guess leaders are good as long as they're people you trust, which is an incredibly simple theme that we didn't need a three chapter book to explain. Is the theme about being your own person? If you look at just the MC deciding to not care about her past then maybe, but that's not something seen in any other part of the story, and is actively contradicted by Z's resolution of continuing to live for you. The theme isn't even about being open to discovery and learning things about a new world, because most information is not learned at all, and what little information they get has little to no impact on anything.

I do think this story could have been good, if they'd just picked one theme and expanded on it instead of trying to fit in as many elements as possible. For a story that was so long they sure did fail to explain so much, and the pace was terribly slow. Agency and meaning had all been stripped away, leaving nothing but an empty shell in desperate need of some drastic rewrites.

#code whalefall #dutp cw #dress up time princess #code whalefall crit #this got so long #i just feel so many things about this story #its so rare for me to put a book down and go 'so what was the point'#but that happened to this one

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video-production-leeds · 3 months

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Let The Cameras Roll! Why Use Health and Safety Video Production?

What is the importance of using health and safety video production ? Video is one of the most effective ways of providing a safety induction and training, and interactive elements like quizzes and decision-making choices can reinforce learning and knowledge retention. The most frequently requested type of project for our video production company is the creation of occupational health and safety videos. As award-winning experts in this space, we at Shot Blast Media have learnt quite a few things from designing these video productions and animations for a variety of different businesses across the world. The main point is that a business cannot put a price on safety. The organisation’s workers must come first, and, if staff do not understand how to ensure both their physical and mental health at work, they should not be allowed on site. During 2022–23, 561,000 working people sustained an injury at work and 875,000 workers suffered with work-related stress, depression or anxiety in Great Britain, according to HSE statistics. These figures illustrate the vital importance of prioritising the health and safety of employees, contractors and visitors to ensure the success of the business. But how can an employer achieve this? Well, a good place to start is to create and use a safety training video that is engaging, memorable and specific to the organisation’s line of work. A comprehensive video training programme (such as an induction video), can support an employer’s efforts to create and maintain a safe working environment by teaching workers and site visitors about the hazards they will encounter, the safe working practices and procedures to follow, and the organisation’s expectations in terms of safe behaviour, known as the ‘safety culture’. Safety training videos can cover a variety of topics, such as hazard identification, emergency procedures, the correct use of equipment, and best practices for specific tasks. Unlike traditional training methods – such as handing out written manuals or delivering verbal or ‘slide-based’ presentations – videos can effectively illustrate potential hazards, correct working procedures and emergency protocols. The visual aspect of film and animation enhances comprehension and knowledge retention among viewers, leading to better adherence to safety guidelines, which of course is crucial. Also, when companies rely on traditional methods of training, key messages can often be forgotten or missed, and this creates ambiguity and inconsistency. However, with video the employer has peace of mind that all bases have been covered, creating consistency in messaging and reducing the risk of any misinterpretation. An effective health and safety video can also contribute to cost savings for a business in the long run. This is because using a well-designed video to deliver effective training can reduce the risk of accidents, injuries, and equipment and property damage arising from poor understanding of hazards and risks. In turn, this will help to avoid expensive insurance claims, higher future insurance premiums and productivity losses due to business interruption that are an inevitable consequence of accidents and incidents. Also, by investing in ongoing education delivered through video-based training, a business can demonstrate its commitment to employee health, safety and wellbeing, comply with its legal duty to provide suitable safety training to workers, and minimise the stress and anxiety that inevitably arise in the event of accidents, near misses and injuries at work. This is important because it is estimated that the total cost to Great Britain of workplace injuries and new cases of work-related ill health stood at around £20.7 billion in 2021/222. Induction videos Health and safety induction videos are an incredibly popular communication tool among our customer base. In essence, an induction video provides key information to new employees, contractors and visitors on the safe working procedures to follow. In fact, it is crucial – and a legal requirement – that all new starters are provided with a suitable and sufficient health and safety induction, covering areas such as the risks and dangers and how to avoid and mitigate them. An induction should also cover the emergency and fire procedures in place and for some workers, will also set out the steps they must follow when undertaking specific tasks, such as rules on safe working at height or process safety procedures on hazardous industrial sites. Video is an ideal tool for delivering a safety induction, especially if the viewing of the video by the individual (such as on a computer, tablet or mobile device) is combined and connected to a computer or cloud-based learning management system (LMS). Integrating the induction video into an LMS allows the employer to quickly and automatically check that workers have watched the video and have therefore completed the training. If the video is integrated with the employer’s LMS – or forms part of an e-learning video or e-learning course – interactive questions and quizzes can be used throughout and at the end of the video to check workers’ understanding of the information they have watched and listened to. Even if an employer does not have their own LMS, videos can be hosted on the company’s website or intranet in an area that is only accessible by staff. A video-based safety induction can also result in time and cost savings, since it is almost always quicker and easier to deliver the information via a video link or a video within an LMS system than organising and delivering a face-to-face induction. Tips on producing a video As a leading producer of videos for industry, we have a few top tips that we use in order to produce the most logical and effective safety training videos for our clients. Our first tip is to think about the narrative and key messages that the video needs to provide. It is crucial to draft and develop a clear, concise and engaging script that sets out and presents the key points workers need to take from the video. There are also a variety of ways of delivering the information, such as using voiceover, on-screen text, or simply visuals, so it’s important to consider what form of presentation will best suit the message to be conveyed and the audience. If using a voiceover, it is essential that it is easy to understand. For example, for a significant number of site workers in certain industries, English is not their first language so it may be necessary to keep the messaging simple or the voiceover may need to be delivered in a language to suit the workers’ nationalities. It may also be necessary to ensure the information can be understood by people with disabilities – such as including a sign language interpreter for people with hearing difficulties. The crucial point to remember is that everyone working for the business needs to understand the health and safety rules, so the video presentation format needs to be inclusive and suitable for all. Graphics and animations can also be used to make the information being presented more distinct, colourful and intriguing, increasing the viewer’s stimulation, concentration and therefore knowledge retention. We also recommend providing a summary of the main safety points at the end so that all the risks and dangers that have been covered are clearly summarised in a final, quick reminder. Using company branding, colours, logos and fonts can also reinforce the visual connection between the company and the safety behaviours it expects from staff. We recommend that a video is designed in a way that represents the business clearly and is personal to its staff and reflects the corporate culture. It is therefore crucial that the video is customised and tailored to the company’s specific risks and sets out exactly what is expected of staff, as this will make it clear to employees, contractors and other visitors that the business is serious about health and safety hazards in the workplace, and expects everyone to take them seriously. Using real-life incidents It is also common for safety videos to provide information and learning points based on incidents that have actually happened in the company’s (or industry’s) day-to-day work. The idea is to remind other workers not to make the same mistakes and understand how to learn from the mistakes of others. One way of doing this is to use dramatised footage where actors play out and reconstruct the circumstances of an accident in an engaging way. Also, 2D or 3D animation can be used to create reconstructions of accidents, and animation offers the bonus of allowing the animator to create any environment, character, process or scenario to convey a certain message, while ensuring no one is put at risk during filming. A blend of 3D animated film, standard film and voiceover and/or a presenter can provide an in-depth account of an accident, without putting anyone at risk while filming a full reconstruction. Animation is also ideal for showing site structures and access points, and providing maps, layouts and directional information for areas like safe working zones. One popular way of engaging the audience during a video is by using interactive elements. Interactive training videos are increasingly popular as they require the viewer to think about and interact with the information provided – for example, by answering a question. This boosts learning and knowledge retention because the individual is required carry out an action, rather than simply watch the film or animation. An interactive video usually consists of two parts. The first is the content itself, which may be in the form of a live action video, animated video or simple animated slide format or a mixture. This part normally contains the learning points and educational material the employer wants the audience to follow and understand. The second part features the interactive elements, where the user has clickable tasks and actions as a result of watching the video. For example, there may be things like hotspots where the user clicks in a certain area of the video to read or watch further material, questions where the user has to select an answer in a multiple-choice format, decision-making scenarios, simulations, and ‘branching’ narratives that allow viewers to make choices and see the consequences unfold in real-time. Interactive videos allow for personalised learning experiences as viewers can navigate through different paths based on the choices they make or their knowledge levels. The learning path while interacting with the video can therefore differ depending on the interactive choices the user makes, and will ensure that each employee receives tailored training suited to their specific needs and level of understanding. Interactive videos are highly engaging, and the interactive nature of answering questions and making decisions means users usually retain more information from the training. Real-life scenarios This year, we’ve worked on an increasing number of health and safety videos for businesses across the world. One of our latest was a ‘live-action’ safety video for the international electricity generating company RWE, featuring real-life safety scenarios, including a hard-hitting accident in a workshop. The video featured both actors and real workers, and a professional special effects make-up artist created life-like wounds using prosthetics to bring home the consequences of the accident. For this project, we worked closely with Gareth Colven, engineering lead at RWE, and we even managed to create a fantastic behind the scenes video from this shoot, which is available to view on our YouTube channel, to show businesses how to create realistic accident scenarios for their own video productions. After the shoot, Gareth explained that while “developing the idea, we knew we wanted to make a video, but we weren’t sure exactly what we needed, so it was really easy via video calls and other communication methods to sit down with the team that we were going to use across the country and thrash that out and get a storyboard together quite quickly. “In just over a month, we went from a position of just having a vague clue about what we wanted to do, to having something that’s really special and I’m going to be really proud of.” In conclusion, producing and using a health and safety training video can be an indispensable tool for businesses seeking to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of their workers and workplaces. By leveraging the power of visual storytelling through videos, organisations can effectively communicate vital information related to workplace safety, while engaging employees in an interactive learning experience. For more information see: shotblastmedia.co.uk T. +44 (0)113 288 3245 Read our debut in The British Safety Council magazine . Your Industrial Story Starts Here Press the button. Make the call. Transform your media. +44 (0)113 288 3245 [email protected] Contact Us

#Health and Safety #Video Production #What's New

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madhukumarc · 10 months

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Why Blogs Fail?

Blogging can be a great way to share your thoughts, expertise, and insights with the world. It can be an incredibly rewarding endeavour too.

However, not all blogs are successful. In fact, many blogs fail for a variety of reasons. To assist you for better planning, the key factors are discussed in this post.

"Do you know? - 77% of internet users read blogs" - Writesonic

Why Blogs Fail?:

Here are the top 7 reasons why do blogs fail, and that requires careful consideration from anyone planning to blog:

1. Lack of a clear niche: One of the main reasons why blogs fail is because they don't have a clear niche or target audience.

If you're writing about too many topics or not targeting a specific audience, it can be difficult to attract and retain readers.

Be aware of who you are focusing on when blogging and for what purposes, as this will reveal your future content creation strategy.

“Find a niche topic that is narrow enough to whittle down the competition, but not so micro specific that you write yourself into a corner” – Google for Creators

Choosing a successful niche:

2. Poor content quality: Content is king when it comes to blogging, and if your content is subpar or uninteresting, readers will quickly lose interest.

Make sure to focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that adds value to your readers.

Focus on the aspects your intended audience or reader wants to have from your blog post especially, the problems or pain points you are trying to solve for them with it.

Make blog posts that are easy to read by having them proofread and grammatically checked.

“AI content quality is already seen as really good. 65.8% of people think AI content is equal to or better than human writing” – AuthorityHacker’s AI Survey 2023 Report

Demonstrate E-E-A-T in content quality:

Image Source - Ahrefs

3. Inconsistent posting schedule: Consistency is key when it comes to blogging. If you're not posting regularly, readers may lose interest or forget about your blog altogether.

Make sure to set a schedule and stick to it as much as possible. In the initial days, aim at publishing blog posts at least twice a week and increase to at least 4-6 per week.

Additionally, a blog's performance and audience engagement aspects can also be used to determine or adjust how frequently blog posts can be published. In other words, make your visitors or audience remember your blog.

“The bloggers who publish two to six times per week are 50% more likely to report strong results (Orbit Media)” – Ahrefs

4. Lack of promotion: Even the best content in the world won't get noticed if you're not promoting it effectively, because the competition is getting more and more intense.

Make sure to share your blog posts on social media and other relevant platforms to attract new readers. Take advantage of content repurposing strategy to make the most of it.

In other words, content distribution is crucial to getting more people to view it.

“People don’t consume media in silos, so it’s important to distribute your content in multiple formats across multiple channels” – Search Engine Journal

5. Poor website design: A poorly designed website can be a major turnoff for readers.

Make sure your blog site is easy to navigate, has a clean layout, and isn't cluttered with ads or other distractions.

Making it mobile-responsive and mobile-optimized gives it good momentum to rank and also to engage readers more effectively, which many blogs fail to do.

“50% of consumers think that website design is crucial for a business brand” – HubSpot

6. Not engaging with readers: Building a relationship with your readers is important for the long-term success of your blog.

Respond to comments, ask for feedback, and engage with your audience to build a loyal following. This might also apply to platforms where you share blog posts.

If you give people what they want, they'll probably share your blog posts with their networks, boosting your reach, visibility, and results.

“Your fans want to engage with you, you just have to invite them! Prompt your audience to respond to your content with a call to action” – Google for Creators

7. Not SEO optimized: This factor has a strong push and cannot be disregarded.

Indeed, numerous studies have revealed that a significant portion of blogs fail to effectively address this particular issue in a timely manner, especially when it comes to adapting to changes in search engine algorithms.

Furthermore, though blog post content must be created from the perspective of the user needs (also known as "people-first content"), SEO strategies must also be applied to optimize it for better ranking potential in the search engine result pages [SERPs].

In fact, half the fight won in the SEO game is a deeper focus on keyword research and updating to content over time.

“If your home page is the front door to your business, SEO is the highway customers must travel to get there” – Conductor

Pro-Tip: Elevate your blog's chances of success by harnessing the power of generative AI, that makes it easier to produce original, high-quality content and will probably resonate with your blog's readers.

“In the AI Age of search, merely matching your keyword to a search query is no longer enough. Google is now able to understand your site and the content of your pages in deeper ways that allow it to do much more sophisticated matching or content to a user’s intent, search journey, and more” – seoCarity

Image Source - HubSpot’s The State of AI Survey 2023

In conclusion, there are many reasons why blogs fail, of which the aforementioned ones have the greatest impact on its performance.

But by focusing on creating high-quality content [aligned with search intent and user needs], promoting effectively, and also engaging with readers consistently, you can increase your chances of success.

Also remember that, building a successful blog takes time and effort, in fact, not an easy job, but with persistence and dedication, you can create a thriving online business presence.

Here's related information that might be also useful to you - Blogging and Content Writing [Trending FAQs]

#blogging #bloggers #why blogs fail #content marketing #high quality content #blog post #content writing

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eurydike-on-media · 11 months

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United Nations Environment Programme’s Instagram needs to do better.

Maybe you've come across the UNEP before, but to quote them, they are "the leading global authority on the environment" and their "mission is to inspire, inform, and enable nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations" [1], and indeed their Instagram page compliments this to an extent.

They do share inspirational stories and inform with recent data. However, they completely lack brand identity, leading to their posts feeling inconsistent. There is no instantaneous recognizable detail to their individual posts that immediately informs you that this is the UNEP, a reliable source for environmental information. In an era of doom scrolling and fake news, shouldn't the UNEP do what little effort they can to ensure their over two million followers are at least registering their posts to be from them?

In the below screenshot of their most recent posts (as of 9 June 2023), how many different fonts do they use across posts? How is it that World Seaweed Day and World Food Safety Day look wildly different as if created by different accounts? It is likely that the team working on marine information differs from the food safety team, however that is where brand identity must unite. The topics at hand are already a vast range, should there not be a consistency to pull it together?

I'd love to see this Instagram page improve it's brand identity given that the UNEP does incredibly important work which may be going unrecognized and under-appreciated as such. Strengthening the instant recognition that a post is from the UNEP would greatly benefit them in that their audience may actually pause to read their posts if they know the source is such a reliable and globally unified one.

Finally, I'd like to acknowledge that their website has a beautiful brand identity within the UN aesthetic, so my belief is not that they have no awareness of brand identity, they simply have not found a way to pull from that insight and extrapolate it towards their instagram page.

Ideally, this is the sort of project I would like to work on in the future as a (science) communicator. In essence curating content and creating an identifiable brand in everything from font to writing style such that important messages may be received well by the audience. It is a shame to be overlooked over something as adjustable as aesthetics.

#UN #United Nations #UNEP #United Nations Environment Programme #Brand identity #branding #identity #Environment #Environmental stories #Education #Environmental education #Social media #Instagram #Meta #Eurydike's #Eurydike on media #IG

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thebiodesignblog · 1 year

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Design Bloom - Web Case Study

https://www.designboom.com/

Design Bloom is an incredible source of information, filled with innovation and design inspiration. This source is highly credible, with 23 years of research and reporting on design and industry events, and acts as the world's first online magazine. The platform has over 3.5 million readers globally.

The website home page has an almost endless scroll feature, which showcases recent content productions and articles. The website menu features various drop down pages, where the first drop down bar in the menu ‘since 1999’ links the audience to content surrounding ‘architecture’, ‘design’, ‘art’, ‘technology’, ‘interiors’, ‘watches’, ‘topics’, ‘contribute’, ‘readers’ and ‘advertise’ pages. This site therefore covers a very broad scope of topics. Other pages in the menu include ‘video’, ‘competitions’, ‘product library’, ‘shop’, and ‘socialize’, which when hovered over reveals a subset of pages, including Design Bloom’s social medias, an ‘about us’, ‘contact us’, and ‘newsletter’ pages. The website also has a search feature to directly find what you are looking for.

I really like the websites design archives page, which showcases a large variety of design projects, stories, features and interviews from across the globe. I also really like the shop feature, for users to browse new innovative design products of all uses. The search bar is also a really useful feature, as there is so much content within the site. I would like to adopt and implement different concepts from these features on my own website.

Although I believe the content is great, and the website hosts some valuable features such as the ability to contribute, shop and browse, the broad scope of the website and high number of features appears excessive, nonsensical and ill-conceived. There are various technical design flaws and user experience issues which I have noted, including the inconsistent typeface, busy layout, lack of negative space and confusing page navigation. I also dislike the logo, style guide and neon yellow color palette used, which I believe is incongruent to the subject matter. Overall, I believe Design Bloom is conceptually valuable, however it is poorly designed and attempts to do too much, to the point it manifests as random topics and ideas meshed together. Identifying these drawbacks will help me avoid these mistakes in my own media output, to create a user-friendly, professional website which is niche and focused.

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niebuhrcarstensen5 · 2 years

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falkenbergfalkenberg87 · 2 years

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ostrich birkin 13

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How to Spot a Fake Hermès Birkin Bag The iconic Birkin bag is far coveted — and infrequently copied. Find out the way to tell the actual deal from a convincing fake. Of course, you don't have to fret about this on 1stDibs, the place each Birkin is highly vetted. Even so, Birkin and Kelly purchases are often capped at a quota of one Birkin or Kelly per “semester” or six months. VIP’s may often be allowed to surpass this quota. These rules are identified to vary incessantly at Hermes. Ostrich and other exotic baggage will usually be provided to VIP’s only. HERMÈS 30 Cm Birkin Black Ostrich, very uncommon to search out. Hermes doesn't produce a lot of black ostrich Tonal Stitching Rose Gold Hardware Black Chevre Lining Absolutely Gorgeous bag t...

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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None of them liked Ironwoods growingly tyrannical actions, it's the whole reason Ruby lies to him, he looked shady as hell. They are shown very clearly uncomfortable with what he's turned Atlas into in the First episode. It's just that at the end of Volime 7 he crossed the line.

The key words there are “first episode.” I’ve mentioned on other posts that if the plot had simply continued the forward momentum of the group being disgusted with Ironwood’s choices and working against him (hiding out in the city, gathering like-minded allies, etc.) then we would have been golden. Ironwood is Volume 7’s antagonist. There, done. The problem is what starts in the second episode. Our basic events are as follows:

The group (and audience) learn that Ironwood has arguably justified reasons for everything “shady as hell” that he’s done. The embargo? They are at war with Salem and people have been stealing resources since our introductory trailers (Blake). Soldiers in the streets? That first episode showed that grimm are attacking defenseless civilians and, if the soldiers hadn’t been there to fend the grimm off prior to Penny’s arrival, they likely would have died. Taking resources? That’s to re-establish global communications and enact a plan to stop Salem for good, freeing the world from the danger she presents.

However, they’re still morally gray choices which our group could have opposed… but they didn’t. They join Ironwood as public allies (standing with Clover and Penny against Robyn), as Inner Circle allies (they learn all of Ironwood’s plans—and we learn that he never lied to them), as huntsmen (it’s his power as general that gives them their licenses), and as fellow soldiers (they are indistinguishable from the Ace Ops in the missions they conduct). Now toss in a bunch of other connections like living in his academy, taking his weapon upgrades, and carrying the Relic. They might not like his actions, but they’re certainly doing everything possible to support and reap the benefits of them.

Ruby does lie to him… which two in the group oppose (however lackluster that was). Yang and Oscar both question the wisdom of doing the very thing they punished Ozpin for. Ren also develops a strong (if quiet) alliance with Ironwood that will carry into Volume 8... until his semblance changed and he forgot about it.

During all this there are efforts—mostly through Nora—to condemn Ironwood for his choices. How can you continue to hurt the people like this? Same answer as above: because he believes a short-term struggle is worth the long-term victory. Nora doesn’t agree… but Ruby, the leader, does. She pushes Ironwood to finish Amity somehow.

Which is an incredibly strange stance to take considering she knows that amassing a world-wide army will not defeat Salem. If the group wants Ironwood to stop hurting Mantle, all they have to do is tell him that Salem is immortal… but they don’t. They let him continue under this false belief, despite having more information about this war than he does and despite that information being the key to stopping the harm he’s enacting.

The arc of the volume is not the group choosing to trust Ironwood and then realizing he actually isn’t trustworthy, it’s the group (or rather, Ruby) deciding not to trust Ironwood and then realizing he is trustworthy. We get that climactic scene of Ruby and Oscar simultaneously realizing they should tell him about Salem and Oscar apologizing for keeping that secret in the first place.

Note that this occurs after they’ve talked him into telling Mantle about her. So not only is the group not made up of mindless subordinates being ordered about by a powerful general—it’s their advice Ironwood listens to—but now they’ve put an entire city in the position they were in during Volume 6. We’re told, via Ozpin’s arc, that telling people about Salem without including the issue of her immortality is a horrific thing to do. Those like Qrow have supposedly “wasted” their lives fighting an impossible war and the fandom has argued strongly that Ozpin has manipulated everyone involved in this fight by not giving them the full picture. Yet now, the group has spent months keeping that information from Ironwood when his questionable choices are based on that ignorance, and they’ve talked him into telling half his population that Salem exists and they should rise up to fight her… but not the pesky detail that she’s immortal. They did to Ironwood and all of Mantle exactly what Ozpin did to them.

Immediately after hearing that they’ve kept this secret from him the entire time they’ve been here (which he takes very well) Ironwood captures one of their main villains, loses his arm in the process, learns that two in the group have outright betrayed him to a political enemy, learns that despite all their best efforts Cinder has just waltzed into his office, learns that Salem herself is on her way and their defenses are already gone, knows that everyone is exhausted from a major battle… so when he decides to take all of Atlas, the majority of Mantle, and the Relics/Maiden they have to try and get out of Salem’s reach… Ruby says no. What’s her plan? She doesn’t have one. You’re just not allowed to leave.

The problem with the writing is it wants us to believe two contradictory things at once. Looking back, Ironwood is meant to be seen as an unambiguously bad guy in Volume 7, which we know because of scenes like Winter’s fight wherein she condemns him for everything he did in Volume 7, not just Volume 8 stuff like threatening to bomb Mantle. Yet at the same time, we’re simultaneously meant to believe that the group is made up of unambiguously good people who function as direct contrasts to Ironwood. Given what we got, these two things cannot coexist! Either Ironwood was a good man who the heroes backed for an entire volume and there’s no acknowledgment of that, or Ironwood was a bad man… who the heroes backed for an entire volume and there’s no acknowledgment of that either. If the group’s defense is, “We knew he was shady as hell. We knew what he was doing was wrong. We knew he was the bad guy here… but we still helped him maintain power, forward his plans, and reap the benefits of the flawed system for months on end”… that’s really bad. “I supported, assisted, and benefited from the guy who was shady as hell, but that’s fine because I felt uncomfortable about it the whole time” is not the hot take the fandom wants it to be. We cannot make these broad, sweeping statements about how the Atlas military—merged with its huntsmen—is an Evil Thing and then show scenes like, say, Jaune using his military grade huntsmen license to convince a bunch of civilians to follow his evacuation plan. The heroes cannot be Good and Pure while supporting the supposed villains and their systems; or, the villains cannot be purely Bad and Evil if they’re supported by the heroes.

The reality is that RWBY is badly written and this sort of simplistic, inconsistent writing doesn’t lend itself to a topic as complex as this one. To be frank, we don’t even know enough to make informed decisions about these actions because the world building is nearly nonexistent. What are these “resources” and how are the resources to patch a hole in the wall the same as the resources used to make Amity Tower into a world-wide communication device? How much power does Ironwood actually have and what other decisions has he made that impact Mantle? We never hear about any policies to explain things like the poor conditions, or the slum areas with the faunus. Why are the civilians so against the soldiers patrolling when we don’t see them abusing the public in any way, but we do see the grimm threatening them on the regular? Why does Ruby want Amity built so badly—willing to hurt Mantle to do it—when she knows a bigger army isn’t the answer/that telling people about Salem has almost always led to panic and betrayal? Is there really any difference between huntsmen and soldiers here? And if the answer is, “Yes. Huntsmen aren’t beholden to any power. That’s a good thing because following orders is Bad. They do what they think is best” than what are we supposed to make of someone like Rhodes who, apparently, did what he thought was best? If he’d been beholden to some superior there might have been a system in place to help Cinder. As it was, he was left to his own devices and a lot of fans are furious with the solution he, as one flawed individual, came up with. We simply don’t have a good picture of this world and when we do, things constantly contradict. It’s good for huntsmen to make their own choices, but only when Ruby does it, not Rhodes. It’s bad for heroes to keep the Salem secret and tell lies to their allies, but only when Ozpin does it, not Ruby. It’s bad for someone to try and save who they’ve got, but only when Ironwood does it, not Ruby, who apparently left Atlas after failing to create portals for her Uncle, Robyn, the Ace Ops, Pietro, Maria, and an entire army.

The way that the fandom gets around these problems—because too few are willing to just acknowledge that they are problems and RWBY is shoddily written—is by simplistically comparing RWBY’s military to a real world one. I cannot tell you how many posts I’ve come across that amount to, “Imagine thinking the teenage girls are the bad guys when a military general is right there, being a military general 😒 ” Those posts imply that fans like me are too stupid (too brainwashed, too close to “bootlickers”) to be critical of the military, but I assure you, that’s as far from true as can be. Those posts are trying to conflate real life politics with a fantasy story whose world looks nothing like our own. The is not a question of being critical of the military, it’s a question of being critical of RWBY as that fictional text… and that fiction never established any of the military problems we deal with in the real world. It might have (very easily), but it didn’t. Is Ironwood leveraging his people to conquer others or go after wealth? No, his world has literal, unambiguously evil monsters to fight. Does he amass power out of a desire to control the people? No, he lays out his exact thoughts on how these measures will help protect against those monsters and a witch. Does the military abandon its soldiers after war, leaving them with few resources and fewer prospects? No, we never see anyone struggling in that manner and one of the most prominent tragedies—Yang losing a limb—is answered by Ironwood personally sending a replacement to her home. Is the military at least built around propaganda, painting civilians an inaccurate picture of Freedom and Glory to convince them to fight? No, we see no propaganda, Ironwood—since Volume 2—has been focused on replacing people with robots and our entire story is built around one child’s desire to fight the exact same battle. Why do you want to be a huntress, Ruby? Because I want to help people! And that goal is never painted as a naïve outlook that Ruby becomes disillusioned with. Posts like the one mentioned above bank 100% on the reader mapping real life military criticism onto RWBY… rather than actually looking at the world RWBY built, what choices the characters make, the amount of information we’re given (little), and whether that in any way reflects our current, political problems. It doesn’t.

I’m never going to pretend there weren’t problems with Ironwood’s decisions. In fact, I love that this was actually a conflict in Volume 3 that gave both sides a fair shake: is it better to scare people and have an army at the ready to defend them, or is it better to keep them in the dark and potentially be defenseless? Ironwood’s kind heart bumping up against extreme measures is what made him compelling, especially when the story was having him grow in the “right” direction (AKA, listening to Ozpin). His treatment of Penny is another big issue, creating a whole ass person to serve as a military defense tool. That’s horrifying! So he’s absolutely had his problems long before the writing had him turn into a trigger-happy murderer, but part of the issue here is that the writing doesn’t acknowledge those problems in other characters. If Ironwood is “shady as hell” for forwarding a military agenda and using military resources… then so is Ruby, the leader who backed that for months. If Ironwood is “shady as hell” for funding the creation of a person to defend his kingdom… then so is Pietro, the scientist who not only built Penny, but came up with the idea in the first place. He’s not some defenseless victim who was forced by the evil Ironwood to create something morally reprehensible, he suggested it! The same way Winter wasn’t some defenseless victim who was forced by the evil Ironwood to go along with these plans. She supported them, agreed to be his Maiden, and was the first to suggest martial law! Yet Ruby, Pietro, Winter and their like are all presented as unambiguously Good People, whereas Ironwood is presented as the unambiguous Bad Guy—and when a lot of fans went, “But you’re not writing him like a Bad Guy? Especially when we compare him to the heroes?” we got his sudden, OOC murder streak in Volume 8. But it doesn’t work. Either the group is made up of morally gray/bad people because they did the things our antagonist Ironwood did, or Ironwood is not the morally gray/bad person the show insists he is (prior to Volume 8) because he did the same things as our heroes. You cannot give us that plot, those choices, that agency and insist on both at once. This problem has existed ever since we got an entire volume about how simplistically evil Ozpin is for keeping this secret… only for Ruby to immediately turn around and keep it herself, with no acknowledgement that either a) Ozpin wasn’t the bad guy then or b) Ruby is as bad as he is. But the show wants Ruby to be the Good Person in every situation, no matter how much she models her behavior after those she deems her enemies, and Ironwood’s arc only increased that problem tenfold.

#rwby #mymetas #tempoaryblogformightyjensblog

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voltimer · 3 years

Text

'The Magic of Johto's Level Curve'

(or, 'a leisurely analysis of the singleplayer balance of Pokemon GSC and HGSS')

The Johto games - especially HeartGold and SoulSilver - seem to have a very good reputation. Some often put the aforementioned HGSS into their top 3 or describe it as the core Pokemon experience. I personally agree with this sentiment and HGSS is either #2 or #1 depending on my mood (it usually competes with Black 2 and White 2).

Despite all its praise though, there seems to be an incredibly consistent point raised against it: the level curve. I see it described as unbalanced, janky, and generally bad.

There are two main problems people tend to cite. First is the level progression in Johto itself, with Gyms 5, 6, and 7 not exactly being a smooth progression upwards and then Team Rocket's Archer and the 8th Gym having a notable level spike compared to those last three. Wild Pokemon levels are also usually a lot lower than the major boss fights they are ahead of, making raising new 'mons harder and grinding for boss fights longer. The other problem is Kanto, whose problems can essentially be said to take Johto's levelling issues and ramp them up. The jump from fighting Blue to the Elite Four rematches and Red is also very significant.

What I'm not going to do here is refute that the above isn't true - these level scaling inconsistencies are certainly present. It's also very different to the vast majority of main series entries, whose level curves are more linear and gradual. Gens 5 and 7 even have a feature which multiplies exp gain based on how much lower or higher you are than the Pokemon you defeat which in a way acts like a rubber band around each game's level curve, ensuring you can catch up easily but not go too overlevelled either. Playing GSC and HGSS when the rest of those entries are like that is a bit jarring. Pokemon is so well-known for having quite a formulaic design across its main series and when compared to that formula with regards to level progression and the like, the Johto games do seem a bit off-colour.

What I am going to do though is try to explain why this so-called bad level curve is at the very least not actually that bad, or, if I can convince you well enough, that the Johto games actually have a unique and (what I call) magical singleplayer game design not properly replicated in any other entry. It goes to the core essence of Pokemon's theming, and it fits with the fact that Johto's narrative also happens to put the most focus on those themes than the rest of the series.

When I say the core essence of theming, I mean the very basics of every Pokemon adventure: you, the player, leave home to go on a journey around your region, meeting various people and overcoming various challenges along the way together with your partner Pokemon. Challenges you overcome are all thanks to the bonds you share with your partners and how you raise them with love and care. As you get older, this is the sort of thing in Pokemon that you probably end up taking for granted. It's typical "power of friendship" stuff, and most people will tend to come to conclude through learning about the game mechanics that this sort of thing is superficial and that stats are all that matter in the end. The more modern Pokemon games also have such a big focus on larger-than-life stories with big climaxes featuring the box Legendaries that it's easy to lose this basic level, down-to-earth narrative theming.

Johto is significant for not having any larger-than-life aspects overshadowing its core. Instead, the core takes centre stage. There is no real overarching story besides your adventure. Team Rocket's antics take a sub-plot role but in the end act as a foil to your story, being one of the more major obstacles you overcome. Catching Ho-oh or Lugia is no cataclysm either, but rather a reward for your achievements throughout the game and thanks to your good and pure heart - recognised by the Legendary in question. Moments throughout the game like how you deal with the situation at the Lake of Rage, or the Dragon's Den trial where you're asked questions to test your ideals as a trainer (which, of course, you pass with flying colours) all contribute to this core as well.

The way Professor Oak congratulates you after defeating Lance ties the knot perfectly on the main campaign:

"Ah, <player>! It's been a long while. You certainly look more impressive. Your conquest of the League is just fantastic! Your dedication, love, and trust for your Pokémon made this happen. Your Pokémon were outstanding, too. Because they believed in you as a Trainer, they persevered. Congratulations, <player>!"

These are just examples of the main story events, though,and Johto has a lot more than that. The region is filled with things to do beside the main campaign - Berries/Apricorns, Pokegear calls, the Ruins of Alph and other optional caves, the Bug Catching Contest, and (in HGSS) the Pokeathlon and Safari Zone, just to name a few of the more notable ones. Tama Hero's review of Pokemon GSC talks a lot about this and it's well-worth a watch even beyond the section describing the games' breadth of side content.

Tama Hero also touches upon the supposed level scaling issue, and her response to the complaints is that there is a "sprinkling" of opportunities for small bits of exp gain throughout the game which should help you stay on track in most cases, and where you can't match levels, you can outplay your opponent.

I certainly agree with the latter. It always feels entirely possible to beat bosses at a level deficit throughout Johto. The Johto League is one of the key cases where you'll probably end up at level disadvantage, but I've consistently been able to defeat it with a team of lv 40s on average (so nearly 10 levels behind Lance's peak), and I'm pretty certain that my not-even-10-year-old self did so as well, even though it took me many, many attempts. From various people I've talked to and bits of let's plays I've seen over the years, this seems to be the common experience too. I think only a minority of people have had to grind to match Lance's levels in order to beat him at all. Granted, it might take you a couple of tries at that level disadvantage (or a great couple of tries more, like little ol' me), but that's surely not an unreasonable expectation. The concept of getting stuck at a difficult stage in a game could be called a universal one, and I think most people agree that it's always pretty satisfying to finally surmount a challenge like that. This can even be said about other Pokemon games - Kanto, Hoenn and Sinnoh also all have large level spikes at the end. In fact, at least when it comes to the end of the maingame, I'd argue Hoenn and Sinnoh have a larger level spike than Johto, but they're not considered impossible or anything

Regardless, though: it's certainly possible to win difficult battles in Pokemon at a level disadvantage. Tama Hero argues that the strategy required to do so isn't something the game teaches you very well, but I think this is a tad pessimistic. In the end I think that most wins will just come down to understanding of more fundamental skills that you've probably learned through the course of the game naturally - using type matchups (gyms are all type themed), using moves with stat changes (the earlygame is full of moves like Growl and Tail Whip), using status moves (no doubt you're going to see the effects of Paralysis and Burns throughout the game at least), and apt use of items (bosses always use potions and often use held items). Players also have more control over the battle than the enemy, with the default Switch mode and a huge amount more items available. It's true that the games don't teach you the deeper, untold mechanics very well, but learning about those only unlock even more ways to succeed for the numbers-minded veterans.

On the topic of those deeper, untold mechanics I also want to talk about something which Tama Hero doesn't mention at all - Effort Values, or EVs. Most of you reading will probably know about these by now, but for those who don't, EVs are hidden values which can increase a Pokemon's raw stats by a certain amount based on the other Pokemon they defeat. They were present in a slightly different form in Gens 1 and 2 in the form of "stat exp" but the premise was the same: your Pokemon grow twofold when you defeat Pokemon, by gaining visible exp for levelling up and visibly gaining stats every time that exp bar fills, but also by gaining stats little by little every time they defeat any Pokemon. Your Pokemon's EVs weren't visible to you in-game until Gen 6 with the Super Training graphic, and numerically weren't until Gen 7 where you can press X on the Pokemon's stat screen to show what are called "base stats".

EV optimisation is crucial to competitive play because the stat boosts they give are quite significant. Competitive players will "min-max" spreads, putting as much as possible into 2 stats to maximise strengths and not wasting any on stats they aren't making use of. In maingame playthroughs, though, EVs will usually end up being a balanced spread because you'll invetivably be facing a variety of Pokemon with different EV yields throughout the game. EVs can also be increased with the Vitamin items (Protein, Calcium, etc.) which you find a handful of throughout the game (and can buy at a premium) and can be used to manually raise EVs, though only to a certain point.

In Gens 3 and onward, a Pokemon can have up to 252 EVs in 1 stat, and 510 in total. At Lv 100, 4 EVs in a stat grant 1 point extra to it. For the singleplayer campaign the conditions are a bit different, but if we assume as a standard that by the Elite Four your EV total is maxed out and you have an even spread, your stats will all be up to 10 points higher than they would be without EVs. In Gens 1 and 2, you can actually max out all of a Pokemon's stat exp values but you're unlikely to cap them all for a good while beyond the maingame so we can consider them about the same as in the later gens for this.

But why is this important?

Firstly, the difference EVs make in the above scenario account for what is usually about 5 levels' worth of stats. Depending on your exact distribution, it could be a couple more or less levels' worth in each stat but the bottom line is that they make your Pokemon's strength higher than it may seem based on level alone.

This means that the wild Pokemon grinding that is criticised for being too tedious in Johto as a result of low levels is also better than it seems because even when you don't level up, you're gaining EVs for every one of those you defeat. The stagnant levels in the midgame of Johto also contribute more to your Pokemon's growth than it may seem from the slow level gain. The Pokegear rematches which you gain access to after defeating Team Rocket before Gym 8 may also be a little infrequent, but they also very often give you Vitamins afterwards to add to all of this.

Secondly is what seems to be a fairly unknown fact: in-game trainers do not have any EV spreads. Thanks to the work of speedrunners, we have exact data of enemy trainers' Pokemon to show this. Trainers do have IV spreads based on their "AI level" (more 'advanced' AI levels will have up to 30 IVs across the board) but the difference near-perfect IVs will have on their Pokemon is not as great as the combination of random IV spreads and relatively balanced EV spreads yours.

That 10 level deficit vs Lance is suddenly more like 5 in practice. Some of his Pokemon also happen to have pretty high stats naturally in Gyarados and the Dragonites, and the level deficit will still be slightly present, but once we factor in strategy again, you can abuse their type weaknesses and make good use of items, status and whatever else have you to swing the odds in your favour.

The only way you can find out anything about EVs in Johto is from a NPC in Blackthorn City who gives your Pokemon the Effort Ribbon if they have reached their total of 510, and the only practical way for a player without the technical knowledge to have achieved this is to have spent time throughout the game doing lots of little bits of training - in other words, putting in the effort - to have incidentally capped their Pokemon's EV total. It's only fitting that you find this NPC towards the end of the Johto campaign because it's likely that by this point a couple of your team members will be eligible for the ribbon.

This finally ties back to the point of core theming. EVs are an invisible stat giving your Pokemon an extra edge over their in-game opponents, or, at worst, one closing a gap in strength between them, as a result of all of the time you've spent raising those Pokemon throughout the game. In other words, EVs are essentially the statistical representation of the "dedication, love, and trust" you have for your Pokemon which gets you through seemingly difficult challenges. Levels, then, are only a surface representation of your Pokemon's strength: they create the feeling of an uphill battle, but you can win against the odds by believing in yourself and your partners. It's probably exactly what you thought as the naive and uncynical child playing through a Pokemon game for the first time, and probably one of the ways you made such fond memories of it. In hindsight, this is definitely how it was for me. It is a sort of magic, really.

There is still a big Red elephant in the room, and I do think that the level gap between the end of the Kanto Gyms and Red is maybe too hard to go and beat immediately after even with the power of EVs and such, but Red is by all means a superboss and final challenge of the Johto games, and I don't think it's unreasonable to have to grind for a while to build up for and to finally be able to take his team of Lv 80s on. The same can be said about the Elite Four Rematches in this game and others, Steven in Emerald, or that one Barry fight in Platinum if you do decide to beat the E4 rematches 20 times to make his levels nearly match Red's. If you're setting out to fight a superboss like this, the grind is part of the prerequesites. It's definitely still possible to beat someone like Red with a 10 or even 20 level deficit if you play well, though. I admit, I haven't beaten Red in a long time, but I have beaten Emerald Steven with a ~15 level gap before. Tama Hero also said she has beaten Red with a team of level 50s in Crystal in the review.

I said before that the other games in the series haven't replicated this sort of thing as well. Gen 5 was the beginning of a marked shift away from this design, with its overarching story-driven style and a change to exp gain which would honestly be incompatible with the level curve in Johto. Gen 6, whilst returning to the exp system without level deficit multipliers, saw different means of statistical representations of the 'dedication, love and trust' trio in Pokemon Amie, which can break the game almost as much as the Exp Share when enough Affection is built up. Gen 7 brings back Gen 5's exp system whilst retaining the Exp Share and Affection systems, and actually ends up even diverging from the EV design which went before by having in-game trainers and Totem Pokemon with competitive, min-maxed EV spreads from as early as the Trainer's School. Whilst I am yet to play Let's Go and Sword and Shield, their Exp system with a 'permanent Exp Share' of sorts makes it a huge amount different and from what I've seen and heard, overlevelling is quite easy despite the game being designed around the feature. I really hope that Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl at least return to Gen 6's exp mechanics, or better, reunite us with the held-item version of the Exp Share which doesn't make me feel like I'm cheating whenever I use it.

Before I go too off-topic, though, I should probably return to the original thread of this post to make some concluding remarks. What can't be denied that the way GSC and HGSS are designed may not be for everyone. I know for sure that a lot of people prefer to be able to breeze through a Pokemon game at a brisk pace without many roadblocks, but as someone who in recent years has come to appreciate much slower-paced and immersive singleplayer Pokemon playthroughs, I can't help but love the way GSC and HGSS are designed in the way I've explained, or appreciate their unique identity amongst the rest of the series. Coming to think about this has also shed light on why I adored HeartGold as much as I did when I first played it way back 11 years ago. I poured hours and hours into the game, and as a result, its magical design put me under its spell.

_____________________________________________________________

Though I linked to the references I did use when they appeared, here they are again. Do check them out if they're of interest to you!

Tama Hero's GSC review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgtMVKP2T6Y

speedrun.com trainer data for HGSS: https://www.speedrun.com/pkmnhgss/guide/k2zij

speedrun.com trainer data for SuMo: https://www.speedrun.com/pkmnsunmoon/guide/d2683

Tama Hero (YT) is one of the few people I know who actually makes longer-form Pokemon analysis content besides Aleczandxr (also YT), who whilst not being a 'PokeTuber' has made some brilliant analyses of storytelling through setting in Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto, and just recently, Unova. I did not refer to them here but I can highly recommend their content, at least.

Thank you very much for reading to the very bottom here. This is my first time writing something like this and I appreciate it.

#voltimer longpost #pokemon #gsc #gen 2 #gold and silver #crystal #gen 4 #heartgold and soulsilver #analysis #hgss

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whattheflameo · 3 years

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Lin healing the bonds with her family hc?

Ohhhhhhhhhh anon you have opened up a WHOLE can of worms I have extremely strong feelings on this topic and most of them can be summed up with Lin Beifong is the Epitome of the older sibling parent trope. RANT INCOMING

Lin choosing to forgive Suyin has almost nothing to do with Suyin’s “apology” (or lack thereof). It occurs solely because Lin actively decides to be the better person in their relationship. She decides that having her sister and her niblings in her life is worth more to her than her grudge and her hurt. Which is saying something, because damn can Lin hold a grudge.

Su isn’t going to apologize; its not in her nature at all. She genuinely doesn’t recognize the need for apologies in anything. She doesn’t give them and never expects them from others. Lin knows this and decides to move on anyway.

Su did write Lin a letter asking her to come talk. Actually, she wrote several. Lin never opened a single one, determined to keep herself from getting hurt again. Its easier, especially when Su isn’t in front of her, to convince herself she doesn’t care.

Despite everything, Lin still hopes the best of her sister. Finding out that she changed her ways after being sent away, stopped with the petty crime and actually made something of herself, built an entire city and raised a pretty great family, comes with a level of relief- even if it wasn’t her to help Su see the error of her ways, at least Su was able to do so.

Lin doesn’t trust Su as far as she could throw her, especially after Su lies to her face to send Korra after Aiwei. She doesn’t trust Su to choose her to save over literally anyone else, and to be honest she has the older sibling complex that she just doesn’t have as much faith in Su’s bending skills as her own. That’s why her “I love you,” before drawing P’li’s fire sounds so much like a goodbye.

Speaking of differences in skill level, that fight between Lin and Su? Buckle your seatbelts motherfuckers I have THOUGHTS. Yes, its one of the most badass fights in the entire series, imo, but I’m gonna be real here. Su was winning. She had Lin on the defensive almost the whole time. But Lin was also at about 40% health- run down, emotionally strained, off-kilter from acupuncture treatment (which I agree with @dont-blame-it-on-the-kids was DEFINITELY not in Lin’s best interest that doctor was 100% paid off by the red lotus), and Su is taking advantage of it. If Lin had been at 100%, even like 60%, she would have WIPED THE FLOOR with Su and Su’s dancy-ass bending style. But she still held her own, even though she was literally breaths from passing the fuck out. Did you SEE some of those hits? There’s one in particular where Su hits her in the gut with a rock mid-air that physically couldn’t not have broken several of her ribs. Su’s behavior in this fight absolutely incenses me like how dare she fucking do that I JUST

All this being said I do really love Su as a character I promise.

Su’s base character hasn’t changed, but after going through the Red Lotus and Kuvira together, Lin does recognize that she’s changed in some important ways. She’s still self-oriented, but she’s not the selfish, bratty teen she was when she scarred Lin for life.

Likewise, after seeing the permanence of Lin’s scars and spending more time with her sister, Su realizes that she’s really hurt Lin. She sees how terrible she’s been to this woman who is willing to give her own life to protect everyone around her, Su especially, and actively tries to make up for it. Like I said, she doesn’t apologize with words, but tries to prove to Lin through her actions that she is going to be there for her. And the fact that Lin’s arm flickers toward her weapons whenever Su loses her temper? Su is so disgusted with herself over it that she nearly throws up the first time she thinks about it.

They’re not best friends, but they do become close. Both of their personalities mellow out with age, and they’re more understanding of each other. Su becomes someone Lin is able to talk to about some personal things, if not the extremely deep stuff. They have wine nights and Su sometimes sleeps over if she gets too tipsy. They both act a lot younger with each other, and Su is one of the only people who can snuggle up to Lin and get away with it.

Unless one of them is actively concealing their emotions (its usually Lin), they can read each other like an open book.

Lin remembers all of Su’s favorite foods and colors and activities and songs from childhood. Su realizes that she hardly remembers any of Lin’s and has a guilty meltdown to Bataar over it. He suggests that she pay really close attention to remember them now, and Su makes it her personal mission.

Despite having confronted her feelings of abandonment by Toph ages ago, Su can see that Lin not only feels abandoned but also feels like she’s the one who let their mother down, that the break in their relationship is her fault, not Su’s or Toph’s. She knows how glad she was to have Toph back in her life, even if inconsistently, and sees how much Lin wants their mother’s approval and marches into the swamp (and that’s saying something for Su, who isn’t exactly fond of gross swampy things) and drags Toph out to force her to some of Lin’s award ceremonies or other events, including her wedding to Kya. Lin doesn’t know it was Su’s doing.

“Mother Lin may have said she doesn’t hate you but she deserves more from you and spirits help me you are going to say the words “I am so proud of you” to her or I WILL tell Wing and Wei where to find you-”

Basically, Su’s main apology to Lin for all the years of pain and hurt she’s caused is to kick Toph’s ass into repairing at least some of their relationship. Its the most truly selfless thing she’s done in possibly her entire life, because she never tells Lin.

To be clear: NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF LIN HAD NOT ACTIVELY CHOSEN TO SET ASIDE HER PRIDE AND HURT AND FORGIVE HER SISTER. LIN WAS THE CATALYST- SU WOULD NOT HAVE PUT IN WORK TO EARN HER FORGIVENESS IF LIN HADN’T GIVEN IT TO START WITH. Su’s behavior in Zaofu was utter bullshit, it was not worthy of Lin’s forgiveness. She literally showed up and immediately drove a wedge between Lin and some of the most important people in her life, said horribly mean things to Lin, and used Lin’s illness as an advantage to beat the shit out of her. But Lin, strong, selfless, badass, incredible Lin who is so much more empathetic than anyone in that show gives her credit for, looks at all of that and forgives Su anyway. Its not unconditional, like I said the level of trust isn’t bone deep, but she does the legwork. And you know what, Lin deserves to have family that cares about her in her life. Her niblings adore her, and she eventually believes that Su is genuinely there for her. I will die on this hill.

I know this probably came across as incredibly disorganized and rambly. I’ll talk more about Lin’s relationship with the metal clan kids and/or Toph in another post because I recognize that I’ve gone down a fuckin rabbit hole but I have extremely strong opinions on Lin’s relationship with her sister.

#asks #lin beifong #suyin beifong #thats our lin #but shes a Cool Matriarch™️#do I have a little sister who reminds me of Su to a fuckin T?#am I projecting our relationship onto theirs?#oh most definitely #would I forgive her for just about anything if I saw she had made something of her life and was trying to do better?#yea #should i have to?#no #should lin have had to forgive su?#nope #lin is the ultimate Older Sibling as a Parent trope #she would do just about anything for su #I have SO MANY WORDS ON THIS OK #THIS DOESNT EVEN SCRATCH THE SURFACE #god sorry I super went off

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