#for some other more talented person(s) to utilize as they see fit should they so choose | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theorynexus · 4 years

Text

Unrelated to the Epilogues

Apologies for not getting back to liveblogging, yet; however, that’s going to begin again with my next post. This one is simply to express some thoughts that have been kicking around in my head for a few days, which I did not get the chance to express because I was sleep deprived and then briefly sick. Namely: All weapons (or Strife Specibi, I should say) in Homestuck seem to be symbolically representative of the character who owns them to some extent. A few easy examples would be: * the Dualing Pistol (White Magnum/White Wand), which is elegant and precise, only needing to be fired once to provoke massive, impactful change, and doubly representative of Alt!Calliope’s subtle orchestration of events behind the scenes; * The Dudely [Fire]Arm[ament]s (Caliborn/Lord English’s canes/rifles), which the aforementioned doubled set is contrasted to: whilst they are equally intended to convey mastery of events (and particularly the people taking part in them), these are more brutish, and make their impact through repeated blows (a pool cue arranges things through a loud, meaningful break, and then many serious blows to follow--- and while these blows might in theory require precision in order to make the balls fall where they must, in practice, Caliborn’s talent is in ensuring that every hit eventually brings things to a favorable conclusion, rather than in the shortest route possible). Brute force methods are used to bring about the desired conclusion--- an inevitable death, generally ---and the overkill that Caliborn (the Lord of Death, in some ways) utilizes whenever his rifle’s sights fall upon a target (for it’s never a single bullet that hits) is representative of his general methodology and spirit. * Dave’s broken/mended sword, split over time, is obviously representative of his own Aspect, how it gradually affects him (time heals all wounds, as the saying goes, despite the fact that he seems to become quite incensed with it at some points, and struggles with it to the point of refusing to embrace it for a very long time), and especially how his personal history ties into his personal arc (Dave is more affected by his time with his Guardian than perhaps any other kid, despite the fact that Jade is fused with the replacement surrogate that might arguably be said to have usurped the position from her grandpa, and this is also a reflection on the Aspect of Time in his life, I should think). How Bro (Dirk) Broke his Heart, and how Dave struggled to mend it over the course of the series has been much better discussed elsewhere than I could attempt to express in the brief space I’m allotting to this discussion, here, though, and thus I shall cut this off right here, just as both brothers have a habit off symbolically cutting things off, themselves. ~~~ The train of thought that I am wanting to express herein started with a thought that caught me by surprise: I continue to have no idea what, precisely John’s Strife Specibus is supposed to represent, you see, so when I remembered that there was a method of inheritance called Gavelkind, it struck me that it could be related to this, as a pun. Unfortunately, this seems like a dead end, unless it is a very forward thinking joke about every member of his party taking up the main character mantle after he dies in the “more canon [more relevant in Dirk’s eyes]” Meat Epilogue (or, alternatively, Davesprite and Rose’s inherited self from the timeline having to clean up John’s mess after the idiot got himself obliterated in the deal he made with Typheus after Terezi tricked him). It could also be related to him forging the group through his Heir of Breath inspiration toward a path mechanic, but what are the chances of it being that simple an answer? Unfortunately, said inheritance business seemed more promising than it was, because I was initially confusing it with the Elective method of kingmaking that is to be found in German historical culture. That truly fits with who John is, and resonates with the “I’m not your leader, I’m your friend” humblepie that was served up to us (and everyone else in his party). ... This line of thinking was useful, however, because it led me to thinking about Karkat’s own weapon. Obviously, the “Heh, heh, Communism” line of thinking briefly occurred to me, but more relevantly, I thought of the reason why the sickle is used as a symbol of Communism. It is a classic symbol of the lower class--- farmers, in particular ---which hints at the very beginning to Karkat’s rather humble origins. While many people might like to think of his mutant blood as “potentially higher than fuschia,” or some such nonsense, more realistically, one has to realize that Karkat was placed in the lowest of low positions: not only was he the only member of his kind, but he would have been without a Lusus and immediately abandoned to death, if the worshipers of his Ancestor had not ensured that he had the dimmest possibility of a relatively normal life. At the same time, he wanted to defy this lowborn status and become a mighty general in )-(er Imperious Condescension’s army. While this initial spark of revolution was not much, it is representative of all that was to come-- you see, the sickle is to some extent also a symbol of revolt, and while peasant revolts would generally be brutally put down throughout history (just as the waves of opposition to the Condesce were in Alternian lore), this would not in fact be the case with Karkat, or the session that he (and Aradia) would lead. You see, Karkat’s own ideals and the weapon that represents them are but the tip of the iceberg. The Beta Trolls’ entire session was littered with themes of rebellion against the established social order, and the consequent turning of it upon its head. First and most obviously, it would be two Lowborn trolls that would come to lead the two “teams” which the session had to offer. Both of these figures acquired this position by usurping it from Bluebloods, who might traditionally have taken up this role in a circumstance where the empress-to-be didn’t show interest in leadership and the Purple Blood in the group appeared to be an incompetent, serially inebriated sack of garbage. This theme particularly shown through in [concupiscent] romance, where we saw pairings that, without exception (other than possibly the crush that Ms. Leijon bore for Karkat, which saw no fruition and arguably did not count for anything, just as Eridan’s flushed feelings for Feferi didn’t “matter” in the end, and Kanaya x Vriska, while being a borderline issue for this topic, doesn’t count either, also due to it just being a crush), all saw subversion of social hierarchy:

Equius x Aradia, Gamzee x Tavros, Feferi x Sollux {I just noticed that these relationships all have the same social distance from one another for some reason.}, Terezi x Karkat. Vriska x Tavros is one-sided, and thus debatable, but also fits this pattern, intriguingly enough. Equius was hit with this subversive force in their social lives particularly hard, possibly because he was the Heir of Void, and thus was more inundated with forces of subtext than the rest of the group [particularly since he was a failure in that role]. Not only could he not resist the drive to submit to those it was “perverse” for one of his “station” to bend the knee to, when the opportunity to truly embrace the anti-normative forces that he had been dipping into (despite his Classist upbringing) came, he was so confused and uncertain that he could not properly understand what he was being pushed to do, and the necessity of it--- and thus froze, allowing himself to be swept away by the Rage Gamzee filled him with. These themes play out in Operation Regisurp, both in name and its practical implementation. Furthermore, I have just, in the course of writing this post, come to the conclusion that this is why Gamzee had to be the final obstacle to the true end of the Beta Trolls’ session. He was a crystallized manifestation of the old regime, and its established order: Gamzee acted as a shadow of the Condesce’s will, the Hemospectrum’s implications, and the brutal reality that was Alternia. It was thus quite fitting that Karkat was the one to stop his rampage, for he was the Knight of Blood who cajoled everyone to work together as a single team, rejecting the classical restrictions that would have spelled DOOM for their party in favor of bonds beyond the literal nature of the blood that flowed through all of their veins. Furthermore, I think this is why that confrontation ended in the Shush Pap scene. Not only was it true that Karkat had literally zero percent chance of actually killing Gamzee in the fight (and a very small chance, indeed, to defeat him through violence), but this would to some extent additionally be an endorsement of the old Alternian way of life. Rather than through violence, Karkat used his bond with Gamzee to find a solution, and by this means, turned him away from his role as brutal Subjugglator--- though unfortunately this also meant that Gamzee would take a turn for the worse, becoming even more firmly cemented in his role as a servant to the Mirthful Messiah’s. ... Heading back to the meaning of Karkat’s weapon for a moment, I think that the sickle has another implication to explore: it is an implement of the harvest. Karkat initially wanted to be a sort of grim reaper, slaughtering Alternia’s foes and claiming glory for himself and for his empress. While he was correct in thinking that he just needed an opportunity to prove himself (and thus, he was embracing the symbolic “one must wait until the fruits of the harvest are ripe” implications of the sickle in his own life), the climax of this narrative arc would come when Karkat found himself at the head of Meenah’s united army of all the trolls in the afterlife and bravely charged to meet a foe he knew could destroy the soul with very breath--- and the very real equivalent of the Grim Reaper, himself ---wielding the closest thing he had to a weapon painted with the rainbow (Fuschia an Lime Green bound together betwixt bands of black and white, thus singled out amidst all the colors of the light spectrum). This was his ultimate rejection of the Alternia that was, as he challenged the hidden hand that had twisted it into the place of horror it had been; and upon the fulfillment of that destiny, Karkat would vanish.

Yet, by some miracle, this was not the end: in a place separated beyond barriers of space and time, he would awaken, and but a short time later, he would be granted the Ultimate Reward that had once been wrenched from his grasp. ....................................................................................................................... One last matter of note: It should be pretty obvious, considering the fact that universes are shaped to reflect the wills and designs of the Players involved, but I am pretty sure humans’ singularly colored blood is an explicit rejection of the hemospectrum, and the particular color that was “chosen” may very well be reflective of the important role Karkat in particular played in the session. What may not be so obvious is how fitting, symbolically, it is that it is a human that stands triumphant over the corpse of )-(er Imperious Condescension. Curse baggage aside (which still has been irksomely unexplored, to my knowledge), the fact that it is essentially the Beta Trolls’ rejection of her world order that does the empress in feels very right and, upon reflection, is quite beautiful. Obviously, there’s also a nice splash of revenge playing into that too, as visibly denoted by the weapon used and the handle wrapping, in particular. I am curious as to the implications of Roxy’s typing color being the same as the blood of said fishy tyrant, though. That, I can’t quite figure out.

#Homestuck Analysis #Homestuck Spoilers #Karkat Vantas #Symbolic Meaning #Thematic

17 notes · View notes

eveningspirit · 5 years

Text

How to Find a Balance in Representation?

Thoughts about Alex Manes being a disabled war Veteran

I’ve been thinking about writing this meta for quite some time now, but NYCC interviews and some reactions regarding disability representation and PTSD portrayal in Roswell New Mexico, gave me new angle to look at the subject.

This may be an unpopular opinion, I don’t know. I welcome discussion. I think, though, that Roswell NM is not-so-bad, actually. It’s not perfect, of course, but it’s a step in the right direction, compared to most shows. I’m not physically disabled myself, but I do have mental... let’s call it... issues (and leave it at that). But I also think that abled people can and should write (or make tv shows) about those problems and maybe at some point I’ll write why. Now, this meta is about Alex Manes though, so I’ll cut this too-long intro short. ;)

What is good disability representation, then? In my opinion, as a storyteller, good rep should do two things: 1) allow disabled people to see themselves in the character and 2) show abled viewers (readers) that the disabled are also people and normalize their participation in the society.

Perhaps it’s easier to point out what’s bad rep, then? Well, let’s see. Erasure. Magical (sci-fi) healing. Stereotyping. Labeling without actual content. Using as a prop. Using as a tearjerker. Romanticizing. Did I forget anything? Probably. Feel free to add in the comments.

Does Alex Manes fit any of the criteria above? I don’t think so and let me tell you why.

First of all, so far it doesn’t seem there will be any magical healing involved here and if there is in the future I promise you, I will stop watching this instant.

Labeling without content. Well, no? Maybe I should explain what I mean by that. There was that character, Polaris, that some of you may know from the Gifted and she was labeled as having Bipolar Disorder, but she never had any problems due to said condition. Even when her mutant powers started going out of whack, she clearly stated it’s not because of her illness. It was a simple case of "telling and not showing". In Alex’s case it’s definitely being shown, and much less told. In fact it’s never explicitly stated that he has PTSD, other than off screen, which doesn’t count. I’ll get back to it.

Erasure. That’s what part of the fandom seems to have a problem with. He was using a crutch for a while and once he stopped, it seemed his disability vanished with it (other than Tayler Blackburn’s efforts to limp, to lean on the tables and the such) – that’s the kind of comments I’ve read.

Well. No? IMO.

For starters, the show creator(s) chose a disability that’s relatively easy to deal with in an adventure show. We have to remember that this is an adventure show first and foremost, so the characters in it HAVE TO be able to participate in those adventures. Actively.

Then. The very goal of a prosthesis is to be invisible. Physical Therapy is focused on teaching the patient to acquire the gait that is as close as possible to a normal, symmetrical and fluid gait, a healthy person has. Not for aesthetic reasons, no. Because that kind of gait is more "considerate" towards the muscles and the joints of both, healthy and injured leg. And spine. And the whole body. So if we don’t see Alex’s limp, it means he’s actually learning something at his PT and he’s obeying his doctors orders. Which is good.

Also, people with a BK (below knee) prosthesis can run. That’s how modern advanced prostheses are designed, and a physically active young man, such as Alex, would certainly qualify for so called "active foot".

Then again. And let me preface it by saying that Tyler Blackburn is an excellent, fantastic actor, who can show multitude of emotions with his facial expressions and knows how to utilize body language and he’s just overall one of the most talented actors I’ve ever seen. But. Even the bestest of actors don’t work in vacuum and ultimately, they can’t work against their directors.

Tyler does the things he does in front of the camera, because he’s directed by a director. And since directors on any given tv show only come for an episode every once in a while, those directors are instructed by... a showrunner. Yes. Carina. I’m defending Carina. Because you know what? Even if she’s doing it wrong, she’s doing it. She has an actual disabled character on her show./end digression.

Of course they work together with an actor, of course an actor is allowed to have his input, I’m sure, and I have no doubts that Tyler does have ideas on how to play Alex, but what we see on screen is a result of co-operation of the actor, the director, the producer and even the people behind the scenes whose exact labels I don’t know, but, like, stunt-coordinators, those responsible for taping the huge X in a place the actor is supposed to stand, so the camera would get them right, and so on and so forth. And in the end, what we actually see, depends on how the filmed scenes are cut in post-production.

So. Not erasure. If I were to accuse Carina of something, it would be going a too realistic route.

Same goes to Alex’s PTSD. It’s shown in a too-realistic way. Let me explain what I mean based on 10-levels of pain scale, because it may apply to mental problems as well, so I (actually) know how that works.

Pain Level – 0 – self explanatory, patient feels no pain, his peers don’t see him being in any pain.

PL – 1 – Minimal – Pain is hardly noticeable. To the patient. The peers still see no pain.

PL – 2 – Mild – Low level of pain. Patient aware of it when they pay attention. The peers still see no pain.

PL – 3 – Uncomfortable – Pain bothers the patient, but they can ignore it most of the time. The peers still see no pain.

PL – 4 – Moderate – Patient is constantly aware of pain but can continue most activities. The peers still see no pain. Best friend/spouse may notice some discomfort if they’re preceptive.

PL – 5 – Distracting – Patient thinks about pain most of the time. Can’t do some necessary activities due to pain. The peers mostly see no pain. Some of them may wonder why’s that person so grumpy. Best friend/spouse asks “are you okay?”. If portrayed realistically on TV, perceptive TV viewers, or those who “know what it’s like” notice grimaces, maybe? The rest of the viewers are not likely to notice.

PL – 6 – Distressing – Patient thinks about pain all the time. Gives up on many activities. The peers notice their withdrawal, those who know about their health problems figure out it’s because of it. Best friend/spouse encourages to "get some freakin’ rest, do you want to drive yourself to an early grave?" That’s the kind of pain that’s easy to show on a tv screen.

PL – 7 – Unmanageable – Patient in pain all the time and pain keeps them from doing most activities. Peers wonder if they should visit them. Best friend/spouse keeps handing them pills that don’t actually work; they feel helpless. On TV screen this level of pain translates easily to even the most disinterested viewer.

PL – 8 – Intense – Pain so bad, it’s hard to think about anything else. Difficult to talk. Peers decide it’s better to wait it out somewhere far away. Best friend/spouse cries. TV viewers cringe. If they are whumpers they smile.

PL – 9 – Severe – Pain is all patient can think about, talking or moving are hardly possible. Peers forgot they knew that person. Best friend/spouse calls an ambulance. TV viewers sigh and say they signed up for an adventure tv show, not some melodrama. Whumpers grin and sit up straighter.

PL – 10 – Disabling – patient unable to move due to pain, may be unconscious. Peers still don’t remember. Friend/spouse sits by a hospital bed, trying to stay brave and believe it will let up. TV viewers, if they signed up for an adventure tv show, change the channel. If they are whumpers they cry their eyes out with excitement borne out of being allowed to experience pain through a fictional character, because IRL something blocks them. Or whatever.

I’m a whumper, but I’m a strange whumper. I like 3 to 6 best. Maybe because that’s where I’m mostly at? Alex Manes registers at 3-5 IMO, and that’s why I like the way his PTSD is portrayed on the show. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Now. Do we want realistic portrayal of disability?

Well, that’s the trick question. Realistic portrayal is what we see with Alex Manes, which is... not much. But the thing is, storytelling is neither realistic, nor it should be. Storytelling has to be exaggerated. So I think, that’s what the problem is with Alex Manes. He’s too realistic / not enough exaggerated.

Then again, it’s a real tight line you have to walk, not to veer into an Overexaggerated and Using as a Prop territory.

What is a Prop? I’m sure most of you have heard about “Chekov’s Gun”, but for those who haven’t, I’ll sum it up – if in one scene you show there’s a gun in the drawer, it has to fire at some point, toward the end of the story. Preferably causing damage eg. killing somebody. If use of energy to heal another person makes the healer weak, then, at some point he should expel so much energy that it... kills him. Max’s healing power is a prop. And that’s okay. If you hide a tiny drop of power enhancing serum in a drawer it should definitely come back in second season, because a vial with the serum is a prop, by definition.

If you have a disabled character on a show and his disability hinders progress of some adventure... then said disability is used as a prop.

But. Shit! That’s how disability also works in real life, you know? It freakin’ makes it impossible to do some stuff.

Where’s the right approach then?

Hm. Honestly, I don’t know, but I guess it’s mostly in the eye of the beholder. As for now, I like the way Alex’s disability and mental illness are portrayed, because I can see the nuances in all, acting and directing, and telling his story. I also liked most things Tyler said about how he feels, what he thinks about stuff happening in S2. We’ll see how that plays out, obviously, but from his interpretation? I imagine it will be as realistic and plausible, as it has been so far. So. I like it. I may commit another meta on his guilt with relation to Michael and why I think it makes sense, who knows, but for now...

Whatever you feel about it – that’s your prerogative, obviously. :) We are all allowed our own interpretations after all.

Take care,

.es

#alex manes #alex manes meta #roswell nm #disability representation #disability in media #evening metas #es metas

45 notes · View notes

harryseyebrows · 4 years

Text

Fine Line - Track-by-track rating

I’m in the mood to start shit. So here it is. My comprehensive album rating list. Rating subcategories should be self-explanatory, but I’m judging based on lyrics, how listen-able the song is overall, how interesting it is in terms of JUST sound, and crafting/production/my perceived idea of how well done the entire song is in terms of all the elements combined. Think about the effort that Liam put into his album vs. the effort Harry put into SOTT. What was written and created with intent and what was created maybe more for the sake of creating. Then, I did ACTUAL MATH and came up with an overall score out of ten. Read with caution and yell at me if you feel the need.

Golden:

Lyrics - 7/10

“I know that you’re scared because I’m so open” is fantastic and it’s great to see him literally being more open with his songwriting, but he loses some points for the general repetitive nature and more common turns of phrase.

General listen-ability - 10/10

It’s an easy song to listen to, whether you’re putting it on for background noise, listening while driving, or listening specifically with the intent of paying attention and enjoying.

Sonic intrigue - 8/10

The slower beginning and then the slam into the guitars and drums is great. It flows nicely and has a good pace/rhythm.

Crafting - 9/10

Overall: 34/40 = 8.5/10

Watermelon Sugar:

Lyrics - 6/10

Nothing particularly thrilling. It’s a generally fun song with some lyrics that are suggestive but not overtly so. Good to know that he’s enthusiastic about oral, but again, it’s not his finest lyrical work.

General listen-ability - 8/10

Another more easy listening track. Good for any time. A fun, sexy little bop.

Sonic intrigue - 7/10

The horns and bass line save this song from otherwise being a bit lackluster in terms of production, and make it interesting in a subtle, understated way that’s very enjoyable.

Crafting - 8/10

Overall: 29/40 = 7.3/10

Adore You:

Lyrics - 7/10

Kinda cliche and corny; “I get so lost inside your eyes”. Otherwise, very fun and leans heavily into a more pop lens. Makes up for it with “You don’t have to say you love me / You don’t have to say nothing / You don’t have to say you’re mine” and the “Oh honey”s.

General listen-ability - 10/10

I want to listen to this song all day every day. There has to be something in the soundwaves that’s brainwashing me. Can’t stop won’t stop.

Sonic intrigue - 9/10

At first glance (listen) it’s a very basic sort of pop song. But the more you listen, you realize that it’s rooted in a more funk-style guitar lick and utilizes synths in a way that doesn’t come off as too manufactured or ‘fake’. It’s layered; you find more and more complexity with each spin.

Crafting - 9/10

Overall: 35/40 = 8.8/10

Lights Up:

Lyrics - 8/10

The lyrical structure, if you look at it on paper, could easily be read as some type of poetry. The song opens with a question: ‘What do you mean?’ and then proceeds to offer fragments of sentences that aren’t necessarily connected, but somehow offer a cohesive picture — a message that’s still a little unclear but offers multiple interpretations in meaning.

General listen-ability - 9/10

It’s fun and boppy but also surprisingly mellow. For me personally, the tempo and bass mean that it can be hit or miss in terms of how/when I want to listen to it, but for the most part, I don’t skip it. This might also have to do with it being the first song we heard from him since HS1, and I might have overkilled it a bit.

Sonic intrigue - 8/10

It’s hard to not compare this song to his work on HS1, for the reasons above. HS1 was definitely more rock-oriented; more bare bones production and an ode to the more classic methods of music making ie singer, guitar, bass, and drums. Whereas with this song, it was essentially a complete 180 in style and production, with a little flair of R&B style music while maintaining his classic air of whimsy in both the lyrics and his less-frequently-used breathy head voice. Sometimes I still find it hard to believe that it’s a Harry Styles song.

Crafting - 8/10

Overall: 33/40 = 8.3/10

Cherry:

Lyrics - 8/10

One of Harry’s many talents is his ability to project tone with the combination of how he sings/emotes with his voice with the lyrics he’s singing. This song is no exception. It’s a sadder, more melancholic song, where he’s expressing some less-than-pleasant feelings, and you’re not only getting that from the words he’s singing, but HOW he’s singing it. It allows the listening to feel and empathize. It’s something he’s very masterful at. (See: the opposite would be something like Adore You, which under the guise of a more upbeat song, the lyrics are actually kind of sad and grovel-y)

General listen-ability - 7/10

I respect his artistic vision and the choice to include the voice note but as part of a general playlist, it can come off a little odd and out of place. Otherwise it’s very palatable. It just makes me sad, so I don’t often intentionally put it on to listen.

Sonic intrigue - 7/10

I liken this to a FTDT style song. Very raw. More singer-songwriter than pop. Some very lovely guitar playing and it’s nice hearing him sing in a register that’s been essentially neglected up until this album. But for the most part, I don’t think it’s his most interesting work. Very typical singer-songwriter guitar type song.

Crafting - 8/10

Overall: 30/40 = 7.5/10

Falling:

Lyrics - 7/10

I enjoy and appreciate his honesty, and perhaps there’s something to be said about the lack of flowery turns of phrase, but I just don’t feel like this is his most clever work. Again, great to see him being so honest, but it sounds like the extended version of If I Could Fly.

General listen-ability - 6/10

I can’t allow this to randomly come on shuffle without putting myself at risk of a depressive spiral. That’s where he loses points.

Sonic intrigue - 7/10

Every album has one, and this is it. The Basic Song. So widely palatable that it’s...boring. Shoot me, I know.

Crafting - 8/10

Overall: 28/40 = 7/10

To Be So Lonely:

Lyrics - 9/10

Currently, with just HS1 and Fine Line under his belt, THIS song is his lyrical Magnum Opus. It’s honest. It showcases an intriguing narrative. It’s clever. It’s fun. It’s a little sad. This is Harry and his amalgamation of musical influences mixed up in a bowl, poured into a pan, and baked into a perfect cake with frosting flowers.

General listen-ability - 8/10

This is another one of those songs that you can have on in the background and it fits into whatever you’re doing, or you put it on specifically to scream ‘arrogant son of a bitch’ back at him. It’s versatile.

Sonic intrigue - 10/10

The production on this song is clean but also a little rough around the edges, and I think it was done intentionally. You can hear the buzz of guitar and bass strings. There are peaks and troughs of volume. It has a sneaky little swinging beat that makes it impossible to not bop your head along with it. Again, it’s INTERESTING.

Crafting - 10/10

Overall: 37/40 = 9.3/10

She:

Lyrics - 8/10

I’m afraid to say anything negative about this song because I don’t want to be executed, but here goes. I think it offers a fun, interesting narrative on the first few listens. It’s a story; a little fantastical and sultry. But for me, it feels a bit like Woman 2.0

General listen-ability - 7/10

I have to be in the right mood to put it on specifically, so otherwise, it’s one that I won’t necessarily skip, but I prefer to have it on when I want to listen to slower music. Also kudos to Mitchell but the guitar wank at the end is just a little on the long side.

Sonic intrigue - 8/10

This is definitely a stylistic callback to the overall sound of HS1, and for that reason, I think it offers a nice bit of continuity.

Crafting - 8/10

Overall: 31/40 = 7.8/10

Sunflower Vol. 6:

Lyrics - 9/10

The story! The atmosphere! The pure, unbridled joy it offers! KISS IN THE KITCHEN LIKE IT’S A DANCEFLOOR!!!! I’m offended at how cute this song is. More men need to write songs like this.

General listen-ability - 9/10

This song instantly puts me in a happier mood. I don’t feel like a car ride is complete without listening to it at least once. It’s textural. I love it.

Sonic intrigue - 9/10

The backwards audio in the beginning. The weird bass. The vocal layering. The nonsense ad libs at the end!!!! FUN!!!!

Crafting - 10/10

Overall: 37/40 = 9.3/10

Canyon Moon:

Lyrics - 8/10

This song is deceptive — underneath the cheery, more jovial sound, it actually has some more echo-y melancholy notes — the ‘So hard to leave it / that’s what I always do’ and ‘I’m going home’s. It’s about reminiscing but still moving forward. Reflecting!!

General listen-ability - 9/10

Could easily fit in on a romcom soundtrack, and I mean that in the best way.

Sonic intrigue - 7/10

If I didn’t know that he specifically sought out Joni Mitchell’s dulcimers for this, it would feel just like any other upbeat guitar song, but I DO know his process behind it, so his score gets bumped a bit.

Crafting - 9/10

Overall: 33/40 = 8.3/10

Treat People With Kindness:

Lyrics - 7/10

Ohhh Harry Styles. He just wants people to be nice to each other! And maybe be a utopian society cult leader. It’s okay. We love him anyway. This song is full of idealisms; perhaps it’s a toe-dip into social commentary. Perhaps it’s a reflection of his own life, on dealing with friendships and loss and the overall nature of being a person. Who knows! It’s a batshit extravaganza in the best way.

General listen-ability - 8/10

If you can listen to this song without wanting to dance...you have a problem.

Sonic intrigue - 9/10

This song is all over the place but in a very thoughtful, cohesive way. It would not be the same if he sang the chorus; half of what makes it so charming is that he doesn’t, and instead, he sounds like some sort of unhinged ring-leader at the end, demanding ‘one more time’ and screaming. UNHINGED BUT MAKE IT JOYFUL.

Crafting - 9/10

Overall: 33/40 = 8.3/10

Fine Line:

Lyrics - 9/10

This song doesn’t have many lines, but the ones that do exist, are all purposeful and pack an incredible punch. It would be a disservice to him to try and pick a ‘best’ one, but ‘Put a price on emotion / I’m looking for something to buy’ and ‘my hand’s at risk / I’ll fold’ are up there as two of my favorite things he’s ever written. The repetitiveness of ‘we’ll be a fine line’ can be a little grating, but I find that to be entirely dependent on my mood, and not any fault of his own.

General listen-ability - 8/10

I put this on when I want to disassociate. Not ideal for when I’m driving down the highway, but what can you do.

Sonic intrigue - 10/10

One of the most, if not THE most, beautiful pieces of music he’s ever put out. Nothing more or less can be said.

Crafting - 10/10

Overall: 37/40 = 9.3/10

#this took me a long time to finish so you better appreciate it

13 notes · View notes

gothamloveforever · 5 years

Photo

This is the second article that Film Daily has published about Gotham.

Gotham is an innovative show based on DC Comics characters and produced by Warner Bros. Television. The Batman origin narrative helped us, as rapt viewers understand how our favorite heroes (Batman) and villains (The Joker, Penguin) came to be the way they are. It also cast a light on just how Gotham City became the wretched crime-filled cesspool we all know & love.

Despite general network issues (the old “being moved to a much worse timeslot” thing), Gotham’s fanbase managed to rally Fox into renewing the show for a fifth and final season – a whopping two seasons short of what the fanbase were promised.

Gotham certainly doesn’t have a shortage of fans or viewers but Fox, like many networks before, has been using the outdated Neilsen rating system to make decisions about shows’ popularity. Let’s be serious: who under the age of 70 actually watches live TV anymore?

Just because an episode gets a viewing figure below that of a series premiere or finale, that doesn’t mean the viewership has fallen considerably. Networks now have a responsibility to establish a dialogue with streaming platforms to consolidate more accurate figures and finally find out for themselves which are the best performers.

Because Gotham is a Warner Bros. production, not a Fox property, sadly the show was less lucrative and more expendable for the network. The show being packaged with the hot mess Lethal Weapon for advertising partnerships also didn’t do the show any favors.

We’ve got plenty of ideas on how Gotham could be saved, but today we’re focusing on what the fans think of the show. TV execs: prick up your ears. Don’t you want to help this incredibly passionate fandom with a continuation of the stories that they love? We would . . . .

These tweets have been edited and condensed for clarity. Join the campaign to #SaveGotham over on Twitter. (Tweets by Fans, under the cut.

Beatriz‏

“Gotham lost about 54 episodes of content, the character development and storylines were lost due to that, some characters had to be killed, others didn’t have the screen time they deserved. We fans were not happy about it.”

Bandi

“People say that Gotham doesn’t need saving because it’s getting an ending. This is true, but the ending we’re getting isn’t the planned one. The writers had plans for 7 seasons. That’s a lot of story left! We got 4.5 instead.”

#SaveGotham | #Gotham spoilers‏

“Gotham is such an original show. It the closest thing we got to a live action adaption of the Batman origin story universe and it’s so good!”

catherine haverty‏

“Gotham is The Coolest Show.”

Angela #SAVEGOTHAM‏

“This show has been mishandled for so many years by the network. Not only was there so little promotion,the use of a outdated & inaccurate rating system(Nielsen),but there was so much drama that went on with Warner Brothers & Fox. All this played a part in getting Gotham cancelled.”

#Gotham | Thursdays 8PM on FOX‏

“Gotham inspires such devotion! The fandom has been holding daily Power Hours on Twitter for an entire year, as of May; advocating for Gotham, writing letters and emails; utilizing other forms of social media. It’s all a labor of love! #SaveGotham”

#SaveGotham!‏

“Gotham is an exciting, daring sort of show with characters that no other show quite has. For lack of better explanation, Barbara Kean said it best on the show: It’s Gotham, baby. We’ve all got flair!”

Liz ‏

“Gotham is a show that truly deserves more than is has received. For years we’ve watched the early lives of beloved characters in the Batman universe grow into who we know they’ll become. Each of these characters are played by actors that pour their soul into their work.”

Mr. Millicent Cordelia‏

“Gotham’s provided a fresh take on the Batman mythos, created original characters of lasting merit, and re-worked minor comic characters to have major impact. #SaveGotham”

James Rankin‏

“For years, peeps have been denied a Batman TV show. Gotham was never that, but it had the makings of revealing all of the back stories. “

λουισα‏

“This show deserves better. The acting is incredible, the writing never cease to surprise, the atmosphere of the show is powerful, the fights are good, the costumes are great! It’s one of the best if not DC TV’s best show and it didn’t deserve to end like this.”

Gothambatcatfanspain‏

“We want to see development of the characters with the same actors. We love the cast, they deserve to continue.”

Svetlana‏

“Gotham is such an interesting show. I want this show to continue, I’m not ready to say goodbye to my favourite characters.”

#Gotham spoilers here | #SaveGotham‏

“Not giving the seven seasons they were contracted for…That’s unfair.”

Kate O’Riley Cosplay

“Fox and Warner Brothers were constantly fighting over because one owns the right to the characters and the other was broadcasting it and they all wanted the most out of it .”

Mr. Millicent Cordelia‏

“I never imagined Oswald Cobblepot as the most compelling character in the Bat-verse, but Robin Lord Taylor has brought him to life in such a way as to make him endearing, charismatic, terrifying, and endlessly fascinating.”

Destiny‏

“Gotham is a show that’s been pushed aside by the network one to many times and it needs to have a full story without cutting massive plot lines out, it’s insulting to the fans not to finish it off properly! #SaveGotham”

DONT LET GOTHAM END!! #SAVEGOTHAM‏

“Gotham has some of the most wonderful story telling and some amazing villains out there. Some great action too and I would love for it to continue its 7 season run like it was supposed to.”

MORDRED LLEWELYN JONES‏

“Gotham fully embraces everything that DC can offer in a way that films & even comics fail to do. The violence, grief, dark humour, love, struggle, psychology, charisma etc. It paints a beautiful picture & showcases just how much DC is capable of in a way which nothing else has.”

#Gotham | Thursdays 8PM on FOX‏

“Gotham’s production values, art direction, and cinematography are of a quality so high which is very unusual for TV. It rivals the quality that’s usually reserved for films.”

Ellen Sunden

“Gotham is a cleverly written and brilliantly acted show with top notch special effects and wardrobe designs.”

“Gotham’s Season 5 has an ultra-impressive 100% on Rotten Tomatoes…a score reserved only for the best of the best in film and TV shows!”

#SaveGotham | #Gotham spoilers‏

“Gotham is totally different from the other DCTV shows as it’s an origin story for characters of the Batman universe. It’s original, dark, funny, esgy, action-packed with some humor, exactly like the comic books. The cast is big and very talented especially Bruce and Selina.”

Tam Loves Kris

“Gotham is a home to so many quality characters that are played by a wonderful cast of people. The fans know what they want and we hope for what is right. #SaveGotham”

Angela #SAVEGOTHAM‏

“Gotham was treated unfairly, so fans have been campaigning to #SaveGotham, tweeting every single day for 10 months. We’re missing 2.5 seasons and we hope to recover them someday. The talent on this show is extraordinary to watch and hope a network can pick up the show ”

nicolle | GOTHAM SPOILERS‏

“This show is so unique and creative.”

Eoghan

“I believe it should be saved as there’s many more more stories to tell. Giving more development to Jeremiah, seeing Bruce as Batman and everyone in their future roles. I feel like Gotham is the perfect combination of The Dark Knight Trilogy And the 60’s Batman TV show. It’s great.”

#SaveGotham!‏

“Gotham is a creative take on traditional comic stories. The actors who portray their characters do so with passion and individually bring fresh, unique takes to the characters they obviously care so much about.”

shane nygmobs endgame now‏

“Gotham’s latest season currently scores 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s a unique take on the Batman mythos that’s embraced the exploration and development of these iconic characters in a prequel, which has never been done before. And yet, there is still so much left to delve into.”

E. Nygma‏

“There hasn’t been a live action Batman TV series since 1966. Put aside the format of the original series. It was revolutionary and could easily fit in today’s market! Gotham may be a prequel show, but it’s absolutely a continuation of the original series! Let it go on!”

ᔕIEᖇᖇᗩ // Gᴏᴛ Hᴀᴍ?‏

“Gotham is one of the reasons I am still here today. The cast and the fans have helped me through so much. I used to be afraid to show my love for superhero’s but bc of this show I am happy to express it. One of the best tv series there is today. And that does not deserve to go.”

lee‏

“Speaking as a lifelong Batman/DC fan Gotham has put its own unique spin on the franchise that has brought new life to the franchise and new fans. The fans want the show to continue. The creators want it. The actors want it. Gotham deserves a second chance.”

ulia‏

“This show is outstanding and it’s absolutely incomprehensible how this show was cancelled.”

Kathryn ‏

“Gotham is the only modern Batman interpretation with constantly increasing ratings, an amazing cast and memorable characters. There isnt a single character thats lacks personality.”

Space_Invader/Spoilers!‏

“Gotham is unique in every way and you can tell the people that work on it, cast and crew, love working on it. It’s in every detail of the show, in every interview they do. The deserve to grow even more.”

KatsaysNo| Gothamit‏

“Gotham has a beautiful cast and great story arcs that can still be extended, so many characters that are fleshed out and amazing to see on tv!”

Beverly‏

“At this point, Gotham would be better off on a network or streaming channel that will give it the freedom to keep making the episodes that keeps fans so loyal. Each season has gotten better. Who knows what could happen if it continues.”

Aurea‏

“I love Gotham! well-acted, visually appealing show.”

Shae Anderson

“We need to #SaveGotham because the retelling of these stories that we are so familiar with has been done so beautifully.”

simplyandsanely‏

“I’m not going to lie: I started watching #Gotham just to see what they were going to do with the Joker. But as time went on, I grew to love this show that’s helped grow so many characters in such a unique way.”

☆ sam‏

“No one has ever done a story about young Bruce Wayne growing up, no one has ever seen the backstories of villains. The characters are amazing, the actors are amazing, the fans are worldwide and so extremely passionate about this show #SaveGotham”

ρнσєиιx ‏

“Gotham went down in viewership because of the networks handling.”

charlie sora | #SaveGotham‏

“We were originally promised 7 seasons. In 2 weeks we will reach the most anticipated moment of the whole series, the arrival of Joker and Batman. But we will only have a 45 minute episode to see this happen which is extremely sad for fans.”

“We still haven’t explored major characters. This is extremely sad considering how well the writers have done.”

Brooke Brown‏

“This show just keeps getting better and better. Gotham just has so much potential that was completely wasted on Fox.”

Ana‏

“Gotham quite literally breathed new life into me with its inspiring characters and plots. The takes on the familiar Batman characters are unique and interesting, the cast is superb, and this show has a lot more stories to tell – and fans who want to see them

#SaveGotham”

Anders‏

“Gotham’s a great drama show with dark humor & amazing visual. Plus it’s great to see several lgbt+ characters in the main cast.”

Mirela‏

“I think there are many reasons why the show shouldn’t end yet and I’m sure a lot of fans have already pointed it out before.”

Scheming Minor‏

“As a lifelong Batman fan, Gotham has meant new beginnings and creative new ways to wind the mythos of Batman’s beginnings and before. It’s hard to pick where to start, but this show make me jump back into the Batman fandom after watching from S1.”

Mariah Sturtevant‏

“The cast and crew both are absolutely amazing! Everything from set to costume to music to characters is breathtaking and it makes the show truly immersive. We care about the characters because the actors make them real. That’s why it should be saved.”

Sadame21‏

“It does not deserve to end this way, at least someone make Penguin a spinoff please!”

James Gordon’s Stan‏

“It’s a show filled with mystery, interesting topics, and many characters were under developed because of this cancelling.”

Batmanfan935‏

“It is the perfect take on the Batman universe.”

Reah #SAVEGOTHAM‏

“The style is dramatic, edgy, and thrilling in it’s exposition for a new age in the Batman timeline. We’re still starving for more. #SaveGotham”

#Gotham #SaveGotham #Film Daily #Gotham article

76 notes · View notes

velveteenkinderdoll · 4 years

Text

Law Firms for Macon Personal Injuries

Explainer: A Comprehensive Guide Concerning How To Handle Automobile Accident Cases In Macon

Auto collision cases often result in serious injuries, property damage and sometimes wrongful death. Should you be the victim of a car accident in Macon, Georgia you can be helped by the legal aid and advice offered by the highly skilled auto accident attorneys with the law offices of Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C.

Our skilled attorneys can represent you while you seek compensation for damages to the car, injuries sustained in a vehicle accident or even the wrongful death of a family member in a vehicle collision. We certainly have extensive experience with handling different kinds of auto collision cases and also on contacting us, we will utilize the extensive knowledge we have accumulated while helping our clients to support the at-fault party responsible for their negligent actions.

Will I Really Need to Engage a vehicle Accident Attorney?

It is actually easy to file a vehicle crash lawsuit without the assistance of an attorney why would you need to go through the daunting process without expert legal guidance and advice? After being in an accident, you may sustain injuries that require you to take the time off to recuperate. Since you are getting better, it is recommended to let an experienced attorney handle the legal intricacies linked to crafting a car crash lawsuit and negotiate for the favorable settlement for your benefit.

Remember that when filing an individual injury claim after a vehicle accident, insurance carriers are happier when you do not have legal representation. This is simply not simply because they have your very best interests at heart. Insurance providers recognize that when you have legal representation it will be harder to offer you a raw deal when negotiation the relation to compensation. When filing an automobile crash claim, it really is best which you have our talented Macon auto collision lawyers fighting in your corner because they will bargain and negotiate fearlessly with the insurer representing the at-fault party to actually receive just compensation.

When Must I Seek the assistance of a Macon Auto Collision Lawyer?

Right after your accident, first of all , you want to do is to contact one of several experienced lawyers on the firm of Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. After contacting your attorney, they will likely advise you in your rights and the way you should proceed together with your case. Your attorney may also begin preserving evidence in the scene in the crash, contact witnesses and start crafting a formidable claim designed to actually get justice and the maximum volume of compensation to your losses, injuries and loss.

After the appearance of an accident in Macon, you should also understand that there exists a statute of limitations within that you can file a vehicle crash claim against the at-fault party in the accident.

In Georgia, if you sustain injuries inside an auto collision and they are seeking to file your own injury case against an at-fault party, you have to file the claim within a period of a couple of years. This simply means that you have to file your case before 2 years elapse in the date in the accident.

Had you been involved in an accident that brings about the death of a loved one, the statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death suit from the at-fault party is a couple of years. This means that you are able to only sue for wrongful death before two years elapse after the date of death of your beloved.

If you want to sue for damages on the vehicle, the statute of limitations is pegged at 4 years from your date from the accident.

After the statute of limitations elapses, you are unable to sue the at-fault party for negligence. Given the volume of work involved in crafting a formidable case after a car collision, it really is best that you just make contact with an automobile collision lawyer at the earliest opportunity in order that there may be sufficient time and energy to review your case, collect evidence and draft a powerful claim case.

Remember that you have different kinds of claims that one could file up against the at-fault party after an accident. When you are unsure about the particular claim to file, call our experienced Macon auto collision lawyers through (XXX) XXX-XXXX. At Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C., we all know that after a car collision you have to rest and heal. We are going to review your case, consult you at each and every stage and fight tooth and nail to actually receive justifiable compensation to assist you live comfortably.

When Should I Possess a Viable Car Accident Claim Case?

The condition of Georgia considers the fault amount of all parties involved in an accident to determine who should be held liable in a car accident case. If you were in in an accident in which the other party enjoyed a liability level that had been above 51%, then you could file a suit from the at-fault party and receive compensation for damages sustained inside an accident.

Determining fault is not an easy thing considering the many factors that have to be regarded. It is important to understand that insurance providers gauge the compensation that you need to receive after a car accident based upon your degree of fault in resulting in a car accident. To lessen the amount of compensation that you should receive, insurance providers will endeavour to heap each of the blame to the accident in your shoulders. That is why you want our highly experienced and skilled lawyers fighting to suit your needs.

On engaging our lawyers, they may review each of the facts inside your case and figure out who ought to be held liable (at-fault) for your accident. Should the insurer representing another party try to apportion blame wrongly, our attorneys will on hand to refute the false claims using the evidence that they may have collected.

Exactly what are the Significant Reasons of Auto Collisions in Macon?

Sadly, the state of Georgia is ranked fourth with regards to the prevalence of fatal auto accidents in america. A number of the major reasons for the top quantity of fatal car accidents include:

•Driving intoxicated by drugs or alcohol

•Distracted driving

•Reckless driving

•Failure to go by traffic regulations

•Driving while drowsy

•Driving in dangerous weather

•Speeding

What Are one of the Common Serious Injuries Sustained in Macon Auto Accidents?

As mentioned earlier, Macon is probably the areas in the states that has a high prevalence of fatal auto accidents. In case you are involved in the vehicle accident, the greater fatal your injuries, the higher the quantity of compensation that one could receive on filing an automobile crash lawsuit. Serious injuries usually bring about higher pay outs simply because they often require more difficult surgical procedure to deal with and a longer time period to heal.

It is important to remember that after a crash, you might not immediately feel or notice your injuries. Some injuries remember to manifest and it is vital that you get thoroughly checked by a medical expert after being in an accident.

Among the most common serious injuries witnessed after a crash include:

•Traumatic brain injuries

•Paralysis

•Spinal-cord injuries

•Scarring

•Disfigurement

•Bone fractures

•Herniated discs

•Broken necks

•Broken backs

•Internal injuries requiring major surgeries

No matter what extent of injuries that you just sustain within an accident, you still have the right to look for compensation from your at-fault party. Seeing a healthcare professional after a car accident is important given that they will record all your injuries and detail all treatments you have got to go back to shape. The medical records from the doctor who checks you out will be utilised by the insurance company when calculating the compensation that you should receive. Should your car accident case go before a court of law, your lawyer will likely use your medical records to bolster your claim case when arguing for a high compensation.

How Can I Decide on a Macon Auto Accident Lawyer?

When filing your own injury case after any sort of accident, it is very important know that the degree of compensation and results of your case will depend a lot of lot on the proficiency of lawyer. Keep in mind that your lawyer will be in control of negotiating for your compensation with the insurance company hence determining the quantity that you receive. Additionally, should your case go before a court of law, your lawyer are usually in control of convincing the jury around the liability from the at-fault party and also arguing for any favorable pay out.

Given the huge responsibility of the attorney, you ought to only engage a specialized and highly skilled attorney. The ideal attorney should have an abundance of experience in litigating in car collision claims. It is actually best that you simply acquire the help of a legal professional having proven their mettle in this brand of work by successfully getting huge amounts of compensation for clients with cases comparable to yours. Additionally, your attorney of choice needs to be good at negotiating. With regards to coping with the insurer, your attorney will be able to endure the business and acquire you with a high pay out that reflects the quantity of injuries, losses and damages that you sustained within an accident.

If you are looking to get a lawyer who fits this bill, you ought to give one of our Macon car collision lawyers at Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. a telephone call through (XXX) XXX-XXXX. When it comes to legal representation, our reputation and history speaks volumes on our proficiency. On engaging us, you will end up entrusting your case to industry experts who happen to be in a position to recover numerous millions in compensatory damages to car crash victims just like you.

#personal injury lawyer macon ga

1 note · View note

praphit · 5 years

Text

GLASS FOR YOUR ASS!

Glass for your ass!

I know, people. That was unnecessary and childish, and I'm almost halfway sorry, but it IS fun to say.

Say it with me GLASS FOR YOUR ASS! One more time, let's shout it together - GLASS FOR YOUR ASS! Yes!

I'm thinking of starting a business with that name. Idk what would actually be sold, cuz... I can't imagine that anyone would want glass literally sticking in their butt. Though... who knows what the young people are into today?? Maybe I'll sell custom glass chairs instead. Can you imagine that commercial?? "Come on down to John Praphit's Glass For Your Ass today for a free fitting."

But, no, people! This post is not about my new biz venture, but a new M. Night movie! "Glass"

He has taken some of his old twists, and brought them together in this new movie!

Twist number one: Bruce Willis - An old geezer

Come on, young ladies - follow the creepy old dude in the poncho.

The twist here is that this particular geezer is super strong. He also has the power to touch people to find out their motives (good for catching bad guys). I guess another twist would be the fact that he has been walking through the city groping people for decades and no one has reported him. He is "metoo" proof!

M. Night has a chance here for a cop show idea. He could sell this idea to Fox or someone (seems like they'd do this): A cop who always gets his man or woman, BUT he has to grope several people to do so. He doesn't enjoy it, he's simply utilizing his God-given talent. The show could be called "The Groper" or maybe not... maybe "The Geez". Yeah, that's better, I think.

The next resurrected twist on M. Night's list is Mr. Glass!

He's lookin good isn't he? It's crucial to look sharp when you're also crazy and evil.

Sam L has the power of super intelligence, and cool hair.

The twist, unfortunately, is that he is also super-breakable. He could pass gas and break a rib. They should have put that in the movie. Sam L giving a speech, then *fart* "Aaaaah! Shit! My rib! Anyway, back to my master plan."

It's just another day. The last resurrected twist is James McAvoy - aka The Horde

We can just call him "Mental Illness Man". He has D.I.D (multiple personalities)

Allow me to step on my soapbox for just one moment: I've said this before, and will continue to say it - Can someone please create a character who happens to have a mental illness, but is not defined by that illness or driven to evil by it?! PLEASE!

Ex. Let's say Dr. Susie has an extreme case of OCD. One could write her as having this illness leads her to become a serial killer. If you're messy, you've gotta go! OR - one could write her as managing her OCD, and giving others with OCD hope... now you could still have her kill people if you want, but not because of OCD. See what I mean??

Anyway... By these three twist combined, we have "Glass"!

Sarah Paulson is also in this movie.

She looks like a poltergeist in this pic. Maybe she is... ANOTHER TWIST!

I love her, btw. She is good in everything. She plays a doctor who is trying to treat these three; believing that they are suffering from delusions.

The movie does a good job of selling that all of this might be bullshit. The characters are doubting themselves. Their families are doubting them. Even I was doubting them. I started to get mad. When did "Unbreakable" (Bruce Willis' movie) come out? 2000?

If all of this is leading up to lies, that would mean that M. Night has been lying to us for almost 2 decades. That's worthy of an ass whupin if you ask me. There's another twist for you. Me tracking down M.Night to slap him around for his lies.

But, this is pretty much the movie. It's a Blumhouse production, meaning that not a whole lot of money went into this flick. Most of the scenes are shot in the clinic that those three end up in. This is a story of doubt, possible lies, Mr. Glass plotting something, and an eventual twist that you know is coming. This is all fine if this is the movie that you believe you were sold.

From watching the trailer, I thought we'd get a flick with Mr. Glass breaking them out of a very temporary sitch in the clinic, him convincing The Horde to join him, and Bruce Willis fighting for justice! - maybe even get a good love scene with Sarah Paulson.

Oh, I wish that they had promised Bruce that love scene, cuz maybe he would have tried in this movie. He's pretty much sleep-walking through this film. This is the face he's making throughout the whole picture

- the face of exhaustion and contractual obligation.

The movie comes down to Mr. Glass scheming (which is actually cool), breaks for James McAvoy to be his schtick (and it does feel gimmicky. Less like a man with an illness and more like a one man show), and plot twists that don't make much sense. There is a message of believing in yourself depsite how the world tries to suppress you. I think this message is cool, and is planted well through the film. The prob is that nothing else is planted well through this movie. Yet, I still reccomend it... I couldn't tell you why... maybe that's another twist.

It does a good job of creating anticipation, it just doesn't deliver. Like a first date that's driven by anticipation and excitement. You keep thinking it's going to be something that it never turns into - anticipation, excitement, anticipation, excitement... and then you go home confused. BUT, you don't exactly regret going on the date... i guess... idk... that damned M.Night has got me so twisted around that I'm not making any sense.

Regardless, I give this movie an entertaining D+

I still have some things to get off my chest (that'll also explain the low grade), but I can't do this without spoiling anything, so here's your chance to get away.

Surrriously

Surrrrriously

Ok (you've been warned):

1) Bruce Willis gets caught, but how?

His son is working with him (same actor who played his son all of those years ago btw). His son is his eyes. Where were those eyes when it counted? If I were Bruce, I'd ground the son. Idc how old he is now. In your 20's or even your 30's, STILL GROUNDED! - until daddy gets out of prison. And even then, there'd be a spanking.

2) Why aren't the mass murderers (Mr. Glass and The Horde) better secured?!

And that whole flashing light in the face of The Horde whenever he jumps into a dangerous personality, to change him into a less menacing one? Really?? Assuming I go with that, why couldn't he have simply closed his eyes?

3) The dumbass girl, who was The Horde's victim, whom he took hostage and was going to kill in his movie "Split" - she visits The Horde in lockup - TWICE! Towards the end of the film she puts her life at risk even more for him... WHY?!?!

4) Never trust Sarah Paulson! In most of her roles in movies or shows, she's never what she seems. This wasn't a bad thing, I'm simply voicing my mistrust.

5) The question is asked "If we DO have these powers? and it's not all delusions - Why aren't there more of us?"

Yeah... WHY?! Good question! M. Night twisted himself on that one!

6) Lastly, his master plan to show the world video evidence of these feats done:

In 2019, would we even care for that long? Not much of a master plan.

Man, Jesus could return, with us having video evidence, and He could rapture tons of people. In two weeks we'd forget all about it.

Person A: "Hey, remember when Bob was raptured two weeks ago?"

Person B: "Who? Oh yeah, Bob. Right."

Person A: "It's crazy about Satan running around melting people's faces off isn't?"

Person B: "Is he still doing that? It hasn't been trending. Have you seen this cat video?"

We are the worst!

#glass #john praphit #praphitproductions.com #movies #Movie Reviews #mr glass #m night shyamalan #bruce willis #sarah paulson #comics #superheroes #samuel l jackson #nami #praphit

14 notes · View notes

makeste · 6 years

Text

BnHA Chapter 027: The Ol’ Run and Float

Previously on BnHA: Deku won the obstacle course and made All Might proud while pissing everyone else off. Midnight announced that the second event would be a cavalry battle. The kids were told to team up in groups of 2 to 4, and that each team’s captain would wear a headband with a point value based on how that team’s members placed in the obstacle course. Deku found out he was worth ten million fucking points.

Today on BnHA: Midnight explains the rules of the cavalry battle. U.A.’s first years set out to assemble their teams. Bakugou doesn’t fucking know who any of these people are. Iida wants in on this rivalry thing too. Deku gets off to a shaky start, but actually manages to assemble probably the best team out here, thanks in large part to its abundance of girl power, but also because my bird bro Tokoyami decides to get in on this as well.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 51 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

new volume cover!! lots of kids this time! twelve of ‘em!

we’ve even got that steampunk girl. SHE DOESN’T EVEN GO HERE

this is the calmest that Bakugou’s face has been on a cover yet, I think. he’s even letting Kaminari lean all over him. he still doesn’t know how to smile, but at least he’s looking at the camera, unlike Todoroki up there in the corner

and we’ve got Ochako up there in the top left! KICK SOME ASS OCHAKO

Deku looks pretty happy and doesn’t appear to be fearing for his life, so we can confidently assume that this picture wasn’t taken during the sports fest! ahahaha

“the boy born with everything” hmm that sounds like Todoroki to me. could be Bakugou too I suppose, but right now I’m leaning more toward the kid who hasn’t had much development yet and whose mystery dad seems like he might be introduced shortly

I freaking love that... [checks the handy dandy character guide] Hagakure is on the inner cover cheerleading with these two

(ETA: I can’t believe such a cute fucking page was so ruined for me with context.)

okay I skipped past the characters cuz I already know who they are, and definitely skipped past that chapter index. here we go

seems pretty fucked up to me. do they have twists like this every year? if yes, then why do the kids who’ve watched it religiously since childhood (i.e. Deku) not anticipate that and maybe just shoot for top 5 rather than #1?

well Deku, you’re just going to have to continue to be just that damn good, I guess. you’re screwed otherwise

even Ochako omg

he’s still thinking to himself that it was just dumb luck that he came in first. by my reckoning it was actually ridiculously quick and adaptive thinking, more than a little cleverness, no small amount of physical strength and endurance, and a reckless disregard for his own safety bordering on the insane! but sure, call it luck

wonder where all of that GARRRRR energy has gone now. it’s like he was running at 300% for that entire event, and now all of a sudden he’s run out of batteries

okay here we go, some detailed rules

that’s going to be a lot of zeroes for Deku’s team

glad they designed the headbands to fasten with velcro so that these kids don’t go snapping each other’s necks

and apparently once someone grabs your headband, they’ve got to put it on and wear it themselves, so as long as time’s not up, you still have a chance to get it back

so then Deku won’t necessarily be the main target the entire time. ooh, this changes things. I like this game now

that little shithead Mineta might be a problem if his team utilizes his stupid grapes

and Tsuyu could potentially just use her tongue and be snatching up headbands left and right

apparently they’re allowed to use quirks, but not allowed to maliciously attack teams “with the intent of making them fall.” well what are the rules then. is that basically just a “don’t kill each other” rule and aside from that everything still goes? this opens the gates for some inconsistent refereeing. but I suppose these games are just an exhibition match to show off anyway, so as long as everyone gets to do that, it doesn’t matter as much who actually wins or loses

unless your name is Bakugou Katsuki and you went up on stage in front of a hundred thousand people and were all “it’s me I’m the winner”

or if you’re Todoroki “dad is watching and I just made Deku my rival fifteen minutes ago, so I don’t want to lose to him” Shouto

or Midoriya “dad is watching and I promised him I’d tell the world I AM HERE” Izuku

then you’re probably more invested in winning

so should be interesting

(ETA: actually, getting into the round of 16 really did make a difference in terms of who got drafted afterwards.)

time to start forming teams!

Deku already seems to know who he wants!

Tsuyu or Ochako, Deku. either is good. both are even better

Iida’s also fast! and loyal! (ETA: HAHAHAHA) but the second that fucker gets distracted, his weird hand gestures will get you dropped on the floor right quick

Bakugou and Todoroki would NEVER!! so let’s not even bother with that

Sero is another one like Tsuyu that would probably be really good at snatching bands

anyways, enough with the hypotheticals, let’s scroll down and see who this thoughtful young man actually decides on

heyyy. booooooo we’re cutting to the security staff

they don’t seem to be doing a very good job

wow. these guys are kind of the worst

“drag others down.” what a cynical fucking take

now they’re talking about how the cavalry battle teaches cooperation. well no shit, just like literally any team exercise ever

these are the most demotivational superheroes I’ve ever seen. the complete fucking opposite of All Might. no wonder he was so desperate to find someone with the right attitude to be his successor

WOW CHECK OUT MISTER POPULAR OVER HERE

OH NOW Y’ALL LIKE HIM, HUH. I WAS HERE FIRST

he seems to have someone else in mind maybe?

wow

“WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE”

wow Bakugou. wow. I may not know all of their names yet, but at least I know... two of their quirks

-- and actually I do know their names! Sato, Hagakure, and Mina! wow! guys! I did it!!!

meanwhile All Might’s up in the stands with his own hot fresh takes on Bakugou, which mainly consist of “he may be a jerk but he sure is talented and that sure does make him popular.” yep. are you proud. he’s still our son, All Might

Todoroki already picked a team while Bakugou was standing there trying to figure out what everyone else’s quirks even are and what exactly is this mysterious “teamwork” thing anyway

luckily he has a good friend who mysteriously loves him for some reason!

even though Bakugou doesn’t even remember his name sobbbbb

to be fair, I sure took a long hecking time remembering it myself

Kirishima is pointing out that he’s the best fit since his quirk allows him to take whatever explosions Bakugou dishes out

wow they really are compatible. this seriously could take over as my main ship, were it not for the fact that Deku has so plainly been in love with Katsuki since he was three years old

but even so! like, I’ll just nab this little KiriBaku tugboat, maybe, and let it puff along next to my main ride

incidentally, Bakugou doesn’t even know what Kiri’s quirk is

and Kiri DOESN’T EVEN SEEM TO MIND ANY OF IT

“Bakugou who should you ride?” “idk someone with a death wish cuz I sure fucking will blow them up you can be sure of that” “no!! me!!!”

that’s the pure kind of unconditional Yamamoto-esque love that can withstand whatever pain and hardship life decides to dole out. good shit

so who’s he gonna pick as his final teammate then

guess who doesn’t care who Mineta picks. me

Shouji if you agree to team up with Mineta you will be cancelled by association until the end of this challenge. it’s not your fault, it’s just the way things are

DEKU WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING THERE. YOU SEEMED LIKE YOU HAD A PLAN. THAT’LL FUCKING SHOW ME TO ASSUME YOU WOULD EVER TAKE THE INITIATIVE IN LITERALLY ANY KIND OF SOCIAL SITUATION

so then. you’re either stuck with the most desperate peeps, or your loyalest most dedicated besties

eh, I fail to see how punching something really hard one time and then having your body fall apart would inspire faith, though. please note that your fellow classmates, who have seen your quirk, are still avoiding you

oh! I see a “Deku” speech bubble though! only one non-Kacchan person here who calls him that! :D

LOOK AT YOU LUCKING OUT OVER HERE DEKU

this was seriously one of his best prospects to begin with. her quirk would help a lot when it comes to avoiding people, and with him having the highest point value to start with, they don’t really need to go after other people’s points

so if he’s teaming up with her, then Iida is definitely the best choice for a third teammate. they work well together, and I guarantee no one else has offered to team up with him yet lol. just gotta watch out for those hand gestures like I said

but before we get to that let’s just appreciate Deku’s meme face

is this face a meme. if not, my question is how could it not be

yesss. it’s all coming together now. THE OL’ RUN AND FLOAT

now they’re in the huddle and Deku’s explaining the ol’ run and float plan

but interestingly, he doesn’t intend to be the rider? he wants someone physically strong? well there are a few options then, but honestly there isn’t anyone else here who’s actually stronger than you bud

WOW now Iida’s suddenly deciding to be a spoilsport?!

YOU CAN REFUSE MY FOOT IN YOUR ASS YOU TREASONOUS CAD. A POX ON YOU IIDA!!!

apparently he’s decided to make Deku his rival too. EVERYONE, RIVALS. HE HAS ENOUGH RIVALS!!!

“ever since the entrance exam... I’ve been losing to you” well then sure as hell don’t expect it to stop now

he’s teaming up with Todoroki. wow. wow, Iida. you wanna be cancelled too because this is how you get cancelled

I’m not actually mad in all seriousness though, I just gotta protect my sweet Green Tsuna here who apparently has no Gokuderas to fall back on except for Ochako, that beautiful, rule-breaking moth

does the math actually work out so that there’s gotta be at least one person left for him to team up with?

dammit who’s it gonna be

OOOOHH

IT’S THE SMART STEAMPUNK GIRL FROM THE SUPPORT COURSE. I LIKE THIS! SHE’S A WILD CARD. GET IN HERE SUPPORT COURSE GIRL

HATSUME MEI YOU BEAUTIFUL TALENTED BRILLIANT POWERFUL MUSK OX

she says she wants to team up with him so she can be in the spotlight. see, this is what all these kids are forgetting. it’s not really about the points, it’s how well you show off what you’ve got

and she apparently wants to show off “her babies.” her inventions, I’m guessing

PLEASE JOIN US AND BE OUR WINRY ROCKBELL. BE OUR USOPP, MEI

SHE HAS JETPACKS. DEKU!!! DO IT

aww. Ochako don’t be jealous. he needs you, you’re the MVP even if no one else here knows it yet

okay so they’ve got three again. but Deku still seems to think they need one more person

“our formation’s just lacking some power...”

off he goes

who else are you gonna sweet talk into this group Deku

I should probably make a guess so that I can either brag afterwards, or laugh about how wrong I was

he keeps saying power. but most of the obvious 1-A powerhouses are already taken. Sato seems pretty tough, though, and there’s also that rock guy who is like the only guy left in the class who hasn’t done shit. and I think Tsuyu might still be available and she’s a dark horse IMO. my money’s either on her or Rocky Road

okay, this Viktor-looking guy has been making faces and mugging the camera this entire time, and now it looks like he’s actually gonna get a bit of focus here

and he’s acting like class B hung back on purpose. sure, okay. do your thing then; just don’t expect me to learn twenty more names when I only just got done with this first group after 27 fucking chapters

we’d better see who Deku picked before this ends or it’s a waste of a cliffhanger

oh good there’s one last two-page spread

Deku ended up as the rider after all huh

I FORGOT ALL ABOUT HIM! NOW I FEEL DUMB. HE’S FUCKING PERFECT, AND HE ACTUALLY AGREED TO JOIN THEM! TOKOYAMI, FROM THIS POINT ON YOU SHALL BE KNOWN AS “NEW IIDA”

THE SHADOW THING IS GONNA BE SO OP OMG. LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOO

BONUS:

“steampunk-related things” they didn’t even pretend

I’m glad Horikoshi made so many interesting female characters and went against his initial instinct to make several of them guys. class A only has six girls out of 20 people total, so it’s not quite balanced, but it’s better than there being like. four girls. and they’ve all got heaps of skill and talent, and varied and interesting personalities

so the support course peeps are basically the Tony Starks of BnHA

I am so down with this. go on and befriend Deku and make him all sorts of cool shit later on and further enrich the series with your general presence, Mei

#bnha #boku no hero academia #makeste reads bnha #lots of people in this one #midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #kirishima eijirou #uraraka ochako #iida tenya #hatsume mei #tokoyami fumikage #I already forgot that class B kid's name again #I remember his copycat quirk but no idea what he's called #and tbh I can't be bothered to look it up again lol

86 notes · View notes

hcpefulmarshmallow · 5 years

Text

V3 Spoilers under cut. Just some stuff that has been on my mind since I played the game.

Okay, so I haven’t played it as much as the first two, and I really do adore Shuichi as a character. Let me get those two things out first because I don’t want any angry people in my inbox. This isn’t to complain about Shuichi, or that V3 took things in a different direction than the first two games. The third installment in any franchise has a tough job, balancing fan expectations and keeping the spirit of the story alive enough to please people who have been there since the beginning; while also being new and exciting enough as to not feel stale, and maybe even draw in a whole new crowd. I get that. Changing up a series is not, by default, a bad thing, and I don’t want to imply that DR should have stuck with the same old formula. I’m just saying that there was one glaring misuse of the characters that lowkey sucked. And for the purposes of not writing a whole novel, I’ll probably gloss over some big, important stuff in the interests of streamlining. Please don’t be mad. This is just the impression that the game gave me.

(And yeah, I’m talking like UDG didn’t exist. I still haven’t finished that game to be honest. It’s enjoyable in it’s own merits, and I’m loving the familiar faces and all, but at times it just doesn’t feel like Danganronpa. Yeah, I said it. Maybe that’s my own problem, though - the third-person adventure/horror aspect isn’t my style usually, unless the game is something else. But I digress.)

So, onto our main point, I’m gonna come out and say it: Shuichi was a poor choice for a protagonist.

Let’s rewind for a minute to the first two games, shall we? Each cast was likable in their own ways, the different environments gave each story it’s own atmosphere while still retaining that unmistakable Danganronpa feeling. There were things we could rely on as we transitioned from one game to the other, and things we could be surprised by. One thing about DR is that it has the same trio over and over, right up until this game, where the roles are inexplicably changed. (And again, changing things up: not automatically invalid. But this was a large part of the soul of Danganronpa: the ability to feel like your ordinary self has become a part of this world of Ultimates, and the battle between hope and despair. It’s designed to make you a part of the game so you really feel the highs and lows and every little consequence; and nowhere is it as blatant as in this game, see the final trial. That’s why this change was so bizarre.)

In the first game, it was Makoto, Kyoko and Byakuya. In the second, it was Hajime, Chiaki and Nagito. Respectively, their roles were such:

Your protagonist and POV character. They were relatable in many ways: feeling out of place in the presence of all this talent to which they felt they couldn’t compare, somewhat naive, always wanting to believe the best of others, never particularly keen to put anyone to death. They weren’t unintelligent by any means, but their self-doubt and desire to keep the group as a group would hold them back from difficult deductions. This would show in different degrees and in different ways in the characters, but it was always very much there. Much like the player: we didn’t want to put our faves to death, but we didn’t have a choice. For the most part, it was the protagonist who kept that human element to an otherwise fantastical environment, full of people who were only borderline believable. They kept the story grounded, presenting it through their respective viewpoints. The game doesn’t have to justify why it has this almost fictional quality to it’s story and characters, because Makoto and Hajime have both observed that it’s almost not real. But then they get close to the other characters and form attachments, and truly become a part of events themselves, and it all feels very real. It’s through this character that our ordinary selves can truly experience a world like the one in Danganronpa.

Next, you have the two sidekicks, performing polarizing roles. All very intelligent, often figuring out the case before our protagonist. You have Kyoko and Chiaki: dropping hints, assisting us along the way, serving as a moral compass of sorts. When we feel lost or confused in the class trial, it’s this character who usually helps us find our way to the truth. And you have Byakuya and Nagito, who exist to misdirect us. Forcing us to strive to be better; rather than relying on the work others do. (And yeah, I know all these characters are deeper than that -- I’m just talking about their basic function in relation to the protagonist). This allows the POV character, and by extension us, to navigate the class trials and the moral dilemma they present, not by providing answers, but by providing growth. By the end, out protagonists have gone from feeling overwhelmed and uncertain, to being able to stand up against the mastermind, even if we’ve lost our sidekicks by that point.

Now, let’s look at V3′s golden trio. I’ve seen some debate around this but, in terms of this particular dynamic, we’ve got: Kaede, Shuichi and Kokichi. Or at least, that’s who we should have.

Kokichi is the obvious choice for an antagonistic character who forces us to up our anti a little bit. He’s constantly throwing us for a loop, constantly making things harder, but never sabotaging us to the point where the trial becomes literally impossible. Love him or hate him, he is a very good, complex character with exceptional narrative utility. I don’t think I need to go into depth with this one, because I don’t think anyone would disagree that this is his role. So moving on.

As for Shuichi, he does very much fit the description I gave above of the general layout of a Danganronpa protag: that he’s somewhat self-doubting, overwhelmed at the scope of the people he’s been put amongst, gets along with the others for the most part, doesn’t want to doubt his friends, and goes through extraordinary character growth. However, there are a few issues he has that the others do not. For starters: most of his relevant character growth in terms of what Hajime and Makoto went through happens in the first chapter. He learns from Kaede’s death to trust his own deductions and believe in his talent. He still has a lot of self-doubt, and is still very relatable, but from there, most of his story revolves around trusting others and working as a team, rather than his internal conflicts. That seems more in line with Kyoko’s arc of opening up to Makoto and letting the others in on what she learns rather than flying solo all the time; and of Chiaki’s arc of finally being able to tell Hajime the truth of who she is, and wanting to bring everyone together. Again, I’m kind of strawmanning the character here; but even if I’m dead wrong about his motivations (it sucks not being able to screenshot, you forget so much), there’s one more major flaw. His talent.

Through the class trials, our POV character goes in with about as much certainty as we have. And we, alongside them, uncover the truth of the case. We’re essentially experiencing the class trial through their eyes, experiencing being the key word here. Shuichi, however, is the smartest and most capable detective in the room, what with being the Ultimate Detective and all. The feeling I got from him wasn’t that I was solving the mystery through him, but rather that he would have all the answers at least a split-second before me, then the game just kind of waits for me to catch up. There was a lot more “I knew it!” and “As I thought!” kind of going on there, rather than “Aha! The answer can only be __!”

Furthermore, Shuichi isn’t terribly proactive. Which is fine, to an extent. The previous POV characters would kind of get thrust into situations too; but once they were there, they were an active part of events. Hajime didn’t want to go feed Nagito, but in doing so, became an active part of what was going on with his story, and learned early on about his manipulation of Mahiru. Makoto didn’t go out investigating Mukuro on his own, but once Kyoko told him about her, he used that information to his advantage, particularly in the Trials. And there were events for which they were active catalysts, too. Not too boring, but not pulling a lot of major strings, either: giving the player a front row seat to the action, letting something amazing play out for their ordinary selves to enjoy, but also making them feel like their actions matter. For Shuichi, he’s dragged into everything he’s involved in, and even then, he’s either just kind of there, present and accounted for while stuff happens; or he’s off on his own, even if someone else is physically present. For instance, when he and Kaito are investigating, Kaito might be there, but Shuichi is doing all the leg work, really. Not saying Kaito is useless, just...saying. And this is totally fine, and consistent with his character. He’s not very social until he gets to know someone well, and he’s definitely more intellectual and emotional than he is a physical being. But again, your protagonist needs to toe that line between being passive enough that stuff can still happen around them, and active enough that the player can engage with that stuff. And again: Shuichi more fits the mold of someone like Chiaki, who is often off on her own, and only intervenes in situations when she absolutely must; or Kyoko, who is also off on her own a lot, and isn’t sociable at all. In terms of free time events and stuff, I have no trouble believing Makoto or Hajime would make an effort to, out-of-the-blue, find and learn more about a fellow classmate; but Shuichi? Not so much. Again: he’s just not a person who is comfortable with other people. Which is all fine and relatable and good for him as a character. But as a POV? Sure he gets close with his little workout gang, but only because Kaito drags him along. Even Kaede spends most of the first chapter just pulling him around everywhere. After a while, all this adds up and makes you feel detached from events: less like you’re playing a game, and more like you’re watching a movie.

So we’ve established that, as far as the game goes, Shuichi is a good character but makes a better sidekick archetype than a POV protagonist. So what’s the difference between him and Kaede that makes her a great, Danganronpa-esque protag?

Well...the opposite of everything I’ve said.

For starters, her talent. Thus far, our protagonists’ talents have been generally the least impressive of the group. (Okay, yeah, Hajime was eventually the Ultimate Everything, but we only find that out at the end. He spent all game being the Ultimate Nothing, and therefore had all his relevant character growth before that. By this point, we already experienced the events of the game through him, and have already grown accustomed to the very human, very fallible, Hajime. Tell me he’s Izuru, I’m just as easily gonna see the guy who passed out on the beach but over time became a badass.) Ultimate Pianist is kind of a niche talent, but I don’t think that makes it isolating. For one, like her predecessors, her talent is utterly useless in a trial setting. Unless there were some specific circumstances, knowing how to play piano will not help her find a killer. (Technically Makoto’s luck could have been useful, but I think it’s made pretty clear he and his class passed those trials through hard work, not luck). The most important thing for a protagonist has to be their ability to be relatable by being brave and true and all that Good Stuff, not to be born exceptional. How are you going to pander to a market who is trying to escape their dull lives if all they have to escape to are people who are fundamentally better than them in ways they could never relate to? Anyway can be brave, not anyone can be Sherlock.

Because Kaede’s character was built mostly around her traits and not her talent, she’s still easily relatable. She, like us, wants the best for her fellow characters. She’s moralistic, kind, and defiant of the circumstance she’s been thrust into, all things we can aspire to. She’s likeable, but not infallible or unbelievable. She can be bossy at times, her own personal sense of justice perhaps her biggest downfall. This idea of “good/hope MUST triumph over evil/despair” which has been pushed by the game itself, is used as it’s newest protagonist’s flaw, and is a viewpoint that will ultimately be subverted in the final trial.

Kaede is, overall, more sociable and active. I buy that she spends her free time getting to know other people. She doesn’t always think with her head, and she is the type to stumble into situations by accident, meaning she’s a much more viable candidate to be just lucky enough to wind up in wacky hijinks, and just active enough to really become a part of them. Also, I’m gonna just mention the elephant in the room real quick: it sucks that the only female protagonist out of the main games had to be killed off. I liked the idea of a female protag.

Okay, I know I said it was a bummer that Shuichi so quickly moved past doubting himself and his own talent much too quickly, especially when the protags we’re used to take most of the game to do that sort of thing. Kaede doesn’t really have much self-doubt, to be honest. She doesn’t struggle with the morality of the situation she’s in: instead, her solution is simplistic and naive: “We just won’t kill. Easy.” This is a polar opposite of our protagonists, but not invalid. Remember: not all changes are bad, and this is the third installment. We expect some shakeups to the formula.

This actually could’ve been used really well, if Kaede was given more time. After her idea of “we just won’t play!!1!” is crushed and she’s forced to endure an entire class trial and vote for someone to be executed, this would’ve shattered (or at least, damaged) her pure and perfect world view. She would be forced to look inward, and question her frankly childish sense of right and wrong, which ties in so much better with the eventual themes of the final trial. Rather than seeing only good and evil, she would be forced to confront the moral grey that exists within her, and within all situations. And she would have to do so without losing what makes her fundamentally Kaede - her optimism, her strength, and her trust in others. I’ve seen this done well rarely, but most notably in characters like Penelope Garcia. I truly feel like Danganronpa could’ve pulled this off.

“But Jenny! There’s a problem!! You said that it was after the first trial that Shuichi had the development to grow into a great Chiaki/Kyoko archetype, but that only happens through the death of Kaede!!! If she survived, he would still be hiding in her shadow!!”

I’ve thought of that too. So say, instead, Kaede just comes really close to being killed in the trial. Say, the vote is split 50-50 between her and the real killer. Shuichi is the only one with the key information to sway the final voter/s, but he knows in doing so, he will condemn someone to death. He can do so and save Kaede, or close his eyes and leave it up to chance. In the end, he trusts his talent and uses what he knows to shed light on the truth. He has to come to terms with condemning someone, but he knows that he also saved an innocent person. Once again tying in so well with the final theme of how good and evil and right and wrong aren’t always distinguishable; and giving Shuichi a great character development moment that’s more than just “my girlfriend is dead so now I can grow, I’m so glad the franchise has never played this angle before or it would feel tired and kind of sexist :(”; and giving Kaede a chance to view first-hand that you can be a good person, and walk a grey line. I thought of that in two seconds. Just saying.

But anyway, that’s just one long-ass thought from someone who has played this game one and a half times. I want to play it again, and maybe I’ll change my own mind, who knows. But while I’m still of this mindset, I wanted it out there.

#meta;#v3 spoilers #( that took entirely too long to write and I can't be bothered proofreading again so..have it )

8 notes · View notes

calliecat93 · 5 years

Text

RWBY Volume 6 Season Review

It's been a Hell of a ride dear readers. From train wrecks to zombie Grimm to mech battles, Volume 6 has had many twists and turns that have held absolutely nothing back. Now that it's over, it's time to look back and answer some important questions. Was this volume good? Did it improve the problems of the last volume? And how does this volume stand against the rest? We have a lot to go over and this is already several weeks later than it should, so for the final time lets get into RWBY Volume 6.

Visuals

Do I even need to say that the animation was good? Of course it is. The animation improves with every single season, and they knocked it out of the park here. If anyone was still doubtful about the change to Maya after Volumes 4 and 5, then this will show you that they have absolutely mastered the engine. Character animation and expressions are lively and energetic, which again isn't a surprise anymore. I have nothing new to say about the general animation. It's good. Really, really good..

The backgrounds and set pieces have greatly improved. A big problem with V5 was that we were mainly restricted to Qrow's Mistral house. It's a nice house, but being stuck in one setting for so long gets... well, boring. The other settings were either ones we were now familiar with (Menagerie) or nothing all that special (Raven's camp) with the exception being the Spring Maiden Vault. But the upside to V6 being a journey based volume like V4 means that we get more settings, and all of them were good. Brunswick Farms was cold and eerie, Lil' Miss Malachite's bar very much felt like a criminal hangout, and of course the beauty that is Argus. It's a massive city clearly based off San Francisco and they DON'T use 2D stills to get the point across. We get one episode where we get to see the city in full, and it makes us engage with the location as a result. And that's not even getting into everything in Chapter 3. The sets were all visually appealing, unique, and I very much loved everything.

There's also the effects. Oh gosh, the effects. Snow is very prevalent in this volume, and it looks beautiful. Just watch the opening shots of Chapter One, the falling snow against the trees looks freakin' great. Compare the trees to the ones in Volume 1, you WILL see the massive improvements that Maya have provided. In the effects department though, Chapter 3 wins. The blue smoke effects during Jinn's flashback just look so good and really give it a mystical feel. Hell, Jinn herself looks freakin' great. Other-worldly and kind of God-like, very fitting for a being made by a God and based off a genie. Which the character designs for the new characters also look great. Salem's human form making her look like a graceful maiden in a sharp contrast to her current form, Ozma looking knightly and regal, Saphron and Terra both look beautiful and their designs say a lot about them (Saphron is a fun-loving but caring person, Terra looks a little nerdy but also mature), it's all really good and diverse. I love it!

Finally, there is the big one. The fight animation. This was by far one of, if not THE biggest complaint about Volume 5, especially with the Battle of Haven...ugh... battle. They were too slow. ‘’characters just stood around. It was clunky and un-energetic. In short, people had problems. Well, I think it's safe to say that they listened. The fights are all fantastic. Chapter One alone addressed the concerns with the train battle, going very fast, had a badass fight song, and it’s fully utilizing every character involved. Same with the battle against Cordovan, again utilizing everyone effectively and giving all the characters a moment to shine. The one on one fights, which I thought were fine in V5, are also very good. Cinder vs Neo is very fast and has Neo using her Semblance very effectively, Maria vs the Grimm and then Tock truly demonstrated Maria's past skill and managed to make one minute truly tense and engaging, and of course Bumblebee vs Adam. It was badass. The entire thing. So... while I was pretty okay with V5's fights, I think it's safe to say that they redeemed themselves here.

So when it comes to visuals, the volume was very strong. Great expressions, nice and unique designs, beautiful set pieces, great effects, and epic fights. All of the visuals looked great. I cannot think of one bad or nitpicky thing to say about it. Even the opening looked badass, but that's no surprise. Once again, CRWBY stepped it up, and they perfectly hit the mark.

Voice Acting

Before we go any further... lets go ahead and address the elephant in the room to get it over with. Lets briefly go over Vic's performance as Qrow. AKA, that guy that I no longer have any respect for. For those unaware, not long after the volume ended Vic Mignonga was fired for accusations of sexual misconduct and will no longer be involved in the series. But putting personal opinion aside and just looking at his performance, he was very good and Qrow's feelings of self-loathing and bitterness was very well conveyed. While I WAS upset at Qrow through most of it, his conflicted feelings were clear and very well acted. Vic did good, but he still utterly screwed himself and I am sure that Qrow's new VA will be even better. Alright, got that out of the way. Lets talk about everyone else now.

The cast all did a very good job. Even just the guest actors, like Colleen Clinkenbeard as Jinn and Luci Christian as Lil' Miss. They get little screentime, but they very much bring their characters to life. Coleen makes Jinn a straight-forward but playful being who is clearly amused by everything, and Luci makes Lil' Miss a very confident, very unflappable info breaker who commands respect. There's also Mela Lee as Cordovan, and she does a delightful job in making the old woman a stern, grumpy jerk who is boisterous and egotistical. You can just tell that she was having a lot of fun with her lines, haha. Lindsay Sheppard did a great job in making Saphron fun, bright, and a comforting sister figure and same for Jamie Smith as Terra.

The villains VA were very good. Not too much to say about Hazel and Watts', so lets do everyone else. This was the epic return of Tyrian, and BOOY did Josh Grelle do a great job once again at making me feel utterly terrified of the character. The guy got back into the role seamlessly and once more gave an unnerving, but fun performance. Yuri Lowenthal got to display an emotion that isn't smugness for Mercury, who finally let out some frustration and hurt over his past and circumstances. You can hear the anger in his voice when he lets it all out to Emerald, and Yuri did a great job in conveying it. In turn, Katie Newville as Emerald did a fantastic job in conveying the thief's growing fear and uncertainty over everything that just makes you want to hug her. And of course, Jessica Nigri continues to be deliciously egotistical and smug with Cinder. I wanted to kick her in the face, but I'm pretty sure that's the intention so good job Jessica!

The standout among the bad guys though is Jen Taylor. Up to this point, Salem has been in one mode: very calm and mother-like. She would raise her voice a little, but normally she remained in calm mode and that was it. This volume? Ho boy, do they FINALLY let Jen show off her talents. She NAILED every single line. The despair, the hatred, the intimidation as her calm mask slips away. Jen's performance is as heartbreaking as it is terrifying. You go from feeling horrible for her in Chapter 3, to hiding under your bed in Chapter 4. Jen got to pull the kiddy gloves off, and she did NOT hold back.

Now onto the main cast. Ren and Nora's VA's did very well especially when they comforted Jaune. Speaking of, Miles performance in Chapters 8 and 9 were just heartbreaking. You could feel Jaune's anger, pain, sadness, and finally acceptance in Miles' delivery. He did great. Aaron Dismuke and Shannon McCormick did very well when they each did their incarnations of Ozma, as well as of Oscar and Ozpin respectively. Garrett Hunter got his final hurrah as Adam and while he has been... meh at times, his final go was utterly chilling and terrifying. We also had the addition of Melissa Sternenburg as Maria, and she was just great. Maria was a super fun character, and that is very much in part due to Melissa. She was always energetic, but also greatly conveyed a sense of wisdom and experience in her delivery. She's a very welcome addition to the cast and, given her old lady roles in Nomad of Nowhere and Camp Camp, I think she has a great career as animated old ladies of Rooster Teeth ahead of her!

And finally, onto Team RWBY. Kara as Weiss was good. Nothing else to really say there. Arryn did a great job with Blake, greatly expressing her guilt, new comforting side, and fears very well. Her entire performance in Chapters 10-12 were by far the best that she has given, perfectly coming across as emotional but determined especially when she finally broke down once it was over. Barbara as Yang also did very well. Yang spent the first half very angry, frustrated, and kinda stand-offish and Barb did a great job in conveying that. She lightened up in the second half, which was nice. Her best delivery was in Chapter 12 when she truly beat Adam. Her delivery conveyed much strength, and I loved it. But I must say that the best performer by far was Lindsay as Ruby. Say what you want about the pitch, but Lindsay did a fantastic job. In this Ruby got more serious and no-nonsense, and Lindsay did a great job in making her sound much more mature and decisive but still fun and energetic. She has always done a great job, all of them have. I fully expect them to be even greater in the next volume. They all really showed how far they come, even Kara despite not having much to say aside from her being good.

So yeah, great voice acting across the board! Five stars!

Music

WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN?!

Do I need to say that all of the music was good? Is that a surprise anymore? The one thing that everyone has ever agreed on when it comes to the show is that Jeff Williams music is good. He doesn't disappoint here. His and Alex Abraham's scores are all perfect. The epic score in Chapter 3, the horror music in Chapter 6, the flute rendition of Red Like Roses and This Will Be the Day in Chapter 9, every single score was VERY good. Even the one piece done by Casey at the very end of Chapter 2 sounded great, so kudos to her on her first try~

Then of course, there are the vocal tracks. Going into each and every one in detail would take up too much of this post, and it's long enough as it is. But each of the tracks are very well performed. From the rocking opening theme Rising, to the emotional heart-breaker that is Forever Fall, to the massive 'f*** you Adam theme of Nevermore in the credits. All the tracks perfectly fit their scenes and the characters that they are meant to represent. I may do a full analysis of the songs once the soundtrack comes out. But, going off what we’ve heard of them so far, here's my current rankings of the tracks and which episode they played in:

Rising (Opening Theme)

Nevermore (Chapter 13 Credits)

Forever Fall (Chapter 9)

Miracle (Chapter 1)

One Thing (Chapter 5)

Indomitable (Chapter 13)

Big Metal Shoe (Chapter 11)

Lionized (Adam Character Short)

We’ll see if those change when the soundtrack is released. But either way, all of them are great songs that are once more performed perfectly by Casey. Her range continues to be impressive as Hell, being able to do hard metal songs like Big Metal Shoe and somber ballads like Forever Fall without skipping a beat. The girl is an insanely talented vocalist who, being a singer myself, I continue to envy but admire. Jeff of course also did great on the songs he sang in such as Lionized, as well as guest singer Adrienne Cowan in her badass duet with Casey on Nevermore. I REALLY hope that Jeff will bring her in for future tracks. And going back to Jeff, once more the writing and composition for these tracks are all badass. The fact that the man has delivered six quality soundtracks in a row that just keep escalating in quality really speak of his talent and dedication. Something that I imagine will only continue into Volume 7.

Characters

Now we get to the long part! Yay! There's a lot to talk about, but my main focus is going to be on Ruby, Blake, Yang, Qrow, Ozpin/Ozma/Oscar, Salem, Maria, and Jaune in greater detail. But first, we'll get the ones I don't have much to say on out of the way.

Lets talk about the villains first. Namely Emerald, Mercury, and Neo. They all came out much stronger in this volume. Emerald has already been the most sympathetic, and now that everything is sinking in, her being uncertain and scared is no surprise. What she mainly needs now is to both gain the courage to finally leave and finally realize that Cinder has not, and will not, ever care for her. Mercury, despite keeping up a smug front, also becomes a lot more likable. He defends Mercury against Tyrian, reveals his motivations and some of the trauma his father inflicted on him, and despite that smugness we can see through the cracks. IDK if that makes him as redeemable as Emerald, but it's a good start. Cinder... is still a heartless bitch who if anything we hate even more now, but at least she's still trying. Then there's Neo, who I found incredibly overrated in the past... and still do. But now that she has actual motivation with Roman dead and her quest for revenge, she comes across as a better character and not just some psycho girl with a cute design who's just... there. Hopefully we'll see her fleshed out more in the Atlas arc, but as someone who really didn't give a shit about Neo, I'm much more interested in her now.

The villain who came out the best however is Salem. She doesn't change or anything, but now we understand who she is and what she is after. She began as this tragic maiden, locked away until she found love. She lost that love and went through a ton of tragedy and pain all because she wanted him back. She got screwed over, but refused to accept that death happens and... it's understandable. She went to the extreme, but her past self comes across as very sympathetic and human because of how harsh the Gods are to her. Then she gets Grimmified, and she becomes terrifying. She gains a God complex, yet we see that she still has the ability to love and care as she was to her children. But after Ozma 'betrayed' her, she threw that away. Salem went from this mysterious Big Bad, to a figure defined by tragedy. Someone who went through so much torment and grief and it twisted her into a monster. But we also see that, while sympathetic, she IS still a terrifying wicked witch who will not rest until she has wiped out all of humanity and gained her revenge on both The Gods and Ozma. Those who stand in her way be damned. She's still a force that has to be stopped, but at least now we understand how she became that way.

Since we're on that topic, lets talk about Ozpin. Holy Hell... Ozpin. This guy has gone through Hell and back. We finally find out everything about the man. His past, the reason for his motivations, the reincarnation deal, his connection to Salem. The guy was just a good-hearted person who found love, died... several times, and then got roped into serving the Gods to make sure that humanity didn't die the second time. You can understand why the guy is so secretive and just how cruel his existence has been. He is an equally tragic figure... but he too has done bad things. He's lied to people, lead them to their deaths for a cause that seems hopeless, and has essentially lead people on a suicide mission. While I do have some issues with how this was played out and what the show wants us to think of Oz, he ultimately was shown for what he is: human. He isn't evil, but he's not 100% good. He's done bad things, but it's all to try and save Remnant from something unfathomable. The world broke him, and he’s struggled to save that world. But now, with everything out and all of his allies turning their backs on him, he did what he did prior to the Maidens: lock himself away from the world.

Which brings us to Oscar... and how his arc was sadly not as good as it should have been. Not that it was bad, but it... really did not get the attention that it required. But the kid's fears over his identity are understandable. Who wouldn't be terrified, especially now that he's seen how this mess happened to begin with? But even so, he still tries. He still tried to help at Brunswick, he still tried to help keep spirits up in Argus (prior to Jaune's outburst), and while I wish we SAW him come to terms with his situation, he still did and proved beneficial in the airship mission. He really has taken Ruby's advice in V5, to keep moving forward despite the fear and pain. Because even at his lowest moment and more than enough reason to just give up, he doesn't. He still has plenty of growing to do, and I imagine that he still has things with Oz to sort out, but he's shown his potential and I think that he's going to go far.

Onto JNR. Not much to say about Ren and Nora sadly. Only that Nora was at her funniest here, and their support for Jaune was super sweet and really shows the team's unity. Now Jaune.... HO BOY. We all knew that it was gonna come to this eventually. First, Jaune's really matured. Chapter One alone showed him being able to quickly go into leader mode, how he's already gotten the hang of his Semblance, and despite his fear of losing more loved ones he understands what has to be done. It was also really cute to see his interactions with his sister and him getting to be happy again... until Chapter 8 hit. Jaune finds out the truth, and he is by far the most justified in his reaction. He lost Pyrrha, his friend and mentor, because of all of this... and it was for nothing. We all know that he's been struggling with Pyrrha's death and trying to move on, and we already know that he's got issues with all of this as Volume 4 demonstrated once he came to understand just what was wrong with Pyrrha. As such, I just felt horrible for him, especially once he realized what he almost did to Oscar and how bad he felt.

But of course, the biggest step is in Chapter 9. Everything is weighing on Jaune. His guilt, his pain over his loss, his uncertainty about what to do now. Then he's lead to the memorial, and he meets who I still assume is Mama Nikos. We see him process everything as he looks at the statue, that pain still shining through. Then he and Mama Nikos talks, and he finally starts to find comfort. He remembers what a Huntsman and Huntress is supposed to do, protect others no matter the price. He realized that Pyrrha knew what was going to happen, but if she could save even just one person, it was worth it. It as hopeless, yet Pyrrha fought anyways. It inspires Jaune to continue, and to finally find peace in his situation. Will he forget Pyrrha? Never. But now that he's been able to talk to someone, now that he's been able to let it out and have assurance from Ren and Nora, he can finally move forward. Which he does, creating the plan to steal the airship, defending against Cordovan, and he seems much more serious but happier as well. The paladin has grown a lot throughout the series, going from a buffoon completely out of place to a good-hearted warrior who will do whatever he can do wherever he is. Something that he learned from Pyrrha Nikos.

Next we'll go into WBY (I'm gonna bring up Ruby in a little bit) I don't have a ton to say about Weiss. She's afraid and uncertain about going back to Atlas since... well, she'd pretty much be going back to her abusive home that she just escaped from. It's all pretty subtle, but very clear and very much build up for her upcoming arc now that they made it to Atlas. So not much going for her development wise, but still she was great in this volume. Especially when she shattered the alcohol bottle and burned the Apathy to death (seemingly anyways). As for Blake and Yang... ho boy, where do I start?

This volume is very much the next step for Blake as she tries to fix relations with her team, though mainly Yang. We see small things like her comforting Weiss after she and Yang found the bodies, which it's just sweet to see her trying to be better and there for everyone. But of course, the biggest obstacle is with Yang. The girl is trying. She tries to help Yang with her stuff, talks about how Adam made her feel powerless, tries to be comforting... even if she said the wrong thing, but still she's trying. On Yang's part, she's also trying. It's good that she's not just angry at Blake like she was the volume prior, showing that she DID take Weiss' words to heart and is trying to let Blake back in. I... have my issues with Yang, like being hypocritical of secret keeping when she's yet to talk about Raven and I really think that her anger at Oz, while justified, was uncalled for and done at the worst possible moment. That being said, we do see that she's still struggling with her PTSD, the realization that things look hopeless, and I was okay with her by the second half.

Of course the final moment for their character arcs that has lasted since the end of V3 is the final fight with Adam. Blake confronts her demons for the final time, and Yang confronts the source of her fear and trauma. Regardless of what you think of Adam, he was very much the one who brought them pain, and it was only fitting that he be the one who brought it closure. Blake already took control back from him in V5, but this is her being forced to bring it to an end and affirm her promise to never leave her loved ones again. Yang had gained back the will to fight, but now she not only showed that she had become smarter with her fighting and her Semblance usage, but had her rip control back from Adam and at last exterminate the ghost that had haunted her. As much, the two fixed the damage to their bond that V3 caused and have come out stronger and much more supportive of each other. So do I think they're officially together? Mmm... not yet. I think at this point it's gonna happen, but IDK... I think we need more happy stuff between them first. But hey, the season got me to finally subscribe to the Bumblebee ship (even if I still hate people using it to harass CRWBY) and their arcs got the closure that it needed. It left me immensely satisfied and ready to see what happens with these two next.

Onto Qrow now and I was... mixed about him. Him finding out the full story about Oz and the seeming hopelessness? Yes, his anger was understandable. What made me lose sympathy however is how he punched Oscar (yeah it was directed at Oz but IDC, Oscar still felt it) and then told Ruby to not lie to the kid about not just being another of Oz's lives. He reverted to drinking himself stupid, which nearly got everyone killed, and just quit once things got too hard at Argus. I get that Qrow's struggling and I do like that his drinking is being put in a more serious light... but it just made me lose ANY sympathy or liking to him. I got some back once he expressed fear of the kids getting killed but in many ways it's too little, too late. IDK, I just did not like him at all in this volume because of how much of a downer and hindrance he was and he never so much as said that he was sorry. He kind of acknowledged his mess ups in the end, but it just wasn't enough for me. I hope that V7 makes amends for this and overall I guess it's good that this happened now. Plus hey, I lost my sympathy for Blake in V4, then loved her again in V5 and here, so I guess that might be the case with Qrow. We'll see.

Now lets talk Maria! Dear Lord, I LOOOVE Maria! She is such a welcome addition, especially with Ozpin now out of the picture. She's wise, experienced, and takes shit from no one while also being silly, sassy, and incredibly petty. She brought a lot of much needed levity to the darker stuff, like making everyone get their acts together after the massive flashback. Really in general she was the funniest character this volume. Her “Maybe she's dead!” line got the largest laugh out of me all volume. But as I said, she's also wise. She's stern, but friendly. She's screwed up and been through Hell, which she recognizes and longs to do something to make up for it. She does what she wants, but also recognizes what's important like say... getting out of a snow storm and THEN deal with your various emotions over the traumatic flashbacks. She is a strong, experienced, and optimistic figure and very much provides the guidance that Ruby really needs. She was a delight and I assume that she's going to stick around, so yay!

Which finally brings us to by far the best character this volume: Ruby herself. This was EVERYTHING that I have been wanting for SO LONG. Last volume, I was NOT happy with how she was shafted, got the Silver Eyes ignored, and just... did nothing. It pissed me off as a Ruby fan and was the one thing I was hoping to see them make an effort to improve in this volume. Which I am very happy to say that they GREATLY redeemed themselves with her character.

This is very much Ruby's volume. She steps up as a leader, she tries to keep everyone on their feet as things just get bleaker and bleaker. She goes against Ozpin when she questions if he meant what he said about the good in humanity, and even goes against Qrow when she finally gets fed up with his quitter attitude. She comes up with plans and faces every threat, such as The Apathy and Cordovan's mech head on because hey, someone has to. With Maria around and her now starting to understand her Eyes power, Ruby shows interest in learning it. Which all of it culminates n her facing the Leviathan, knowing that her power is their only hope. She may not have killed the Leviathan, but she now has a grasp on her power and it is because of her that Argus was saved. And all of this without losing the optimism and cheerfulness that we love about her.

Many say that Ruby hasn't grown at all since the beginning, and I have to STRONGLY disagree. In the early volumes, she was an awkward girl who's goal to be a Huntress was genuine, but her view was very idealistic and naive. She wanted to be like the hero of the stories he was told of as a child, but didn't understand all the pain and regret that would come with it. She knew that bad things happened... but she hadn't really experienced it aside from losing her mom, which she was too young to comprehend fully then. But now? She understands pain. She understands loss. She understands the importance of her job and just how bad that the world can be. But it doesn't bring her down, it only strengthened her resolve. Now, in this volume, shes had to step up since people like Ozpin and Qrow are incapable of leading. She's faced threat after threat, refusing to back down until she and her friends have achieved their goals. She used to be a girl asking Glynda, a Huntress, for her autograph. Now? She is that Huntress. It's not a naive girl's fantasy anymore, it is her duty and she will do everything in her power to make things better. Because that is what she signed up for, and she will see it through to the end.

As far as characters go, this volume did very well. It brought many character arc to a close, while leaving plenty of others open. Many got new layers of depth and had questions about them finally answered after so many years. New additions like Maria and Jinn were very welcome, and the new supporting characters like Saphron, Terra, Lil' Miss, and Cordovan were just really nice and fun to have around... even if Cordovan got off far too lightly, but meh. There were some good welcome backs, like with Tyrian and of course Neo. Even if I was annoyed at some, like Yang and Qrow, overall I thought that all the characters were great and I really have a new appreciation for pretty much all of them. Excellent work CRWBY!

Story

Back at NYCC, Miles and Kerry didn't say what the season's theme was, but that it would be clear to us by the time it was over. Well... it's over. What's the theme then? How about we take a look back and find out.

The main goal of the season is for our characters to reach Argus, and subsequently get to Atlas. Seems simple enough, but of course the road has many bumps. Grimm attacks, train wrecks, corrupt authority figures, nothing was simple to get accomplished. Even worst, the team get fed up with Ozpin's secrets and discover the truth: Salem cannot be destroyed. It sends them into despair, causing them to be tired of all the bad things that have happened and keep happening. They struggle to find hope and to continue on, especially with Ozpin locking himself away and Qrow just giving up. What do you when everything seems hopeless? Where no matter what you do, nothing changes and you just keep dealing with bad thing after bad thing? Do you keep going on? Can you move on?

To quote the fourth opening:

“Do we just go home? Can we follow through? When all hope is gone, there is one thing we can do... Lets just live”

The entire volume's message is to rise up and continue on, despite the despair and fear. In the beginning, the heroes get brought down form their triumph as the Grimm attack, they get sepearted and wrecked in a snow storm, find out all of Oz;s dirty secrets and just how bad of a place they're in. Which results in nearly all of them feeling broken. They're left in the cold, ready to give up. The Apathy make sit worst, causing them all to lose the will to do... well, anything. Even Ruby, the only one still trying to keep spirits up, nearly gives in. She's tired. They're all tired. They want to just be done with it and go home.

But they can't

Soon, they find hope. Maria helps Ruby unlock her Silver Eyes. They're able to escape Brunswick and make it to Argus and find their friends. But then Cordovan refuses to let them through, breaking Qrow and soon Jaune. But that doesn't last long. Jaune finds comfort by discovering Pyrrha's memorial and is reminded of what his duty is. Oscar, despite all his fears, decides to use the time that he has left to do what's right. Ruby, fed up with Qrow's attitude, finally decides to take over and defy his wishes. They survived everything thrown at them. Despite all the odds and obstacles, they are a breath away from getting to Atlas. It is their duty to help people, no natter what. So they're going to fight. They're going to make it to Atlas. And even if Salem can't be destroyed, they will stand against her to protect all of humanity. It ultimately leads to Ruby facing down the Leviathan, both herself and everyone else refusing to leace because it’s their jobs to fight, and she’s able to defeat it through her hope and love powering her.

Volume 6's story was overall very well executed. Every episode was well paced, moved things forward in some way, and always had something to invest our time in. A big plus side to this volume compared to 4 and 5 is this time, we don't have multiple main plotlines. We have one: get the Relic to Atlas. We have subplots of course, like Cinder being confronted by Neo and the stuff with the villains, but they don't get in the way of the main story. The main story is where the focus stays and what is the most important. Nothing ever felt like it was dragged or like it was just a massive exposition dump. And when we DID get exposition, they kept it interesting like using magical flashbacks to show us what is happening, for example.

Speaking of, this volume gave us the lore dump that we have been waiting for YEARS. We finally find out the history of Salem and Ozpin. We finally understand their respective goals and motivations. We find out that Remnant was magical until the Gods left. We get to SEE the Gods. We find out why the Relics are such a big deal and what will happen if brought together. We even get to see how the moon got broken! And even then, while we don't get full on explanations on the Silver Eyes or about Team STRQ, we get at least a little bit. Enough to re-ignite investment, but they're left open for future volumes. With those revelations, it can explain even more. Like Ozpin making the Vaults so that the Relics were as secure and far away form each other as possible and how, as the King of Vale, he ended the war. So many revelations came from this volume and it left me very satisfied.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It wasn't perfect, mind you. Oscar got shafted too much and his arc felt rushed, Cordovan got off FAR too easily for her actions, and I have issues with HOW Oz's secrets came out and how we're supposed to view the whole thing. I think the girls were justified in demanding answers... but forcing them out I think was wrong. Or at least considering the circumstances, it was wrong to do then. Also, they don't really suffer any consequences for it, but we may see those pop up later. And IDK what the narrative wants us to think of Ozpin. Are we supposed to feel bad for him? Be angry at him? I guess both, but due to the lack of consequences and the outright enraged reactions from Yang and Qrow being unadressed... it feels like it's saying that the girls were correct and that Ozpin is the bad guy, even though one can make a VERY good argument for why he was justified in his actions. IDK, I don't like that the narrative was saying that getting angry and violating people's privacy was right and suffering no consequences due to it. IDK how it could have been better, but... it just bothers me.

But nevertheless, we return to the question. What is the theme of this volume? Well... judging from the plot, the opening, and how it ended, this is my answer: keep moving forward. Okay, that might seem weird. Let me explain. Everything looks hopeless and bleak. Everyone is broken down or ready to give in. But in the end, they find the will to keep going. Ruby refuses to give up. She keeps moving everyone on, rising to take charge. Jaune is broken by the revelation that Pyrrha died for nothing, but soon realizes that she did what she knew was right, and he rises back up. Qrow is at his lowest, but Ruby finally tells him that he isn't responsible for them and pulls him back to his feet. Oscar knows that he may not be himself sooner or later, but he still decides to face the inevitable. Adam comes back, the person who broke both Blake and Yang, and they rise up against him for the final time.

Look at the characters who didn’t move forward. Qrow gave up after learning the truth/once things got hard and Ozpin also abandoned his responsibility while giving into his own despair. Due to it, things got worst for them. Adam abandoned any good and righteousness that he once had, now blinded by hatred and his desire to seek vengeance against Blake. Salem is still consumed by her God complex and hatred of Ozpin, which has caused her to lose whatever humanity that she still has. Maria was once a famed Huntress, but once she lost her Eyes she abandoned her duty and is now left guilt-ridden for it. Cordovan was blinded by ego and power, resorting to VERY severe actions that cuased lots of panic/damage and initially refused to accept her fault for it. These are all people who gave into their negative emotions and either gave up, abandoned their duties, or were warped into monsters. Some pulled themselves back, like Qrow and Maria, while others like Adam died for it. They gave in to negativity, and because of it things only got worst for both themselves and for others.

This volume is about how you have to keep going and NOT give into the negativity. Yes, things may be hopeless. You may not win the fight in your lifetime. You may either do horrible things, or find out that those you trusted did. Your entire worldview may crumble apart, and you're left to deal with the despair and pain. And yes, you may very well feel tired and like the best thing to do is to give up. But you can't. Others will help you stand back up. You can help others stand up. You can face those bad things and break through them, becoming stronger and better as a result. And no matter how the world looks, you HAVE to keep fighting. Even to the bitter end. It'll hurt, but you CAN do it, and you will. Because if you don't, who will?

I think the best way to sum it up is with these lines from the volume's opening:

“The lightning doesn't take advice from anyone. The willow doesn't need to learn to stand As sun meets day, we'll find out way, And we'll catch that dream together someday soon. We're rising like the moon.”

Final Thoughts

This has become my favorite volume of the series. Yep, even above Volume 3. What more can I say? The animation was great, the music was great,t he voice acting was great, everything was great! So many questions got answered, story arcs came to a close while leaving new ones open, everything that needed to be addressed for this volume was addressed while perfectly leading us into the next one. When the finale was over, I was left immensely happy and satisfied with everything. Even my couple of issues really weren't that bad. This was a fantastic volume and really shows how far that CRWBY has come since the beginning. I am very much looking forward to Volume 7, and again thank you CRWBY for an absolutely amazing Volume.

So once again, RWBY has come to a close until the Fall. Thank you everyone who has read my reviews, and I'm sorry that this took so long. Life sucks sometimes. If you want to see more stuff from me, I'll be reviewing RvB17 when it starts on March 9th and while I'm not reviewing Gen:Lock episode by episode, a season review for it will be made once it concludes. I'm also planning to do some more RWBY stuff before V7, like some character analysis and maybe even going back to review past volumes. We'll see how things go. But I had a lot of fun reviewing this volume, and again to all of those who stuck with me, thank you. I'll see you again for Volume 7~

#rwby #rwby reviews #callie reviews

5 notes · View notes

solaciummeae · 5 years

Text

Name: Trey Riado Age: 26 Specialty: Of the traditional gifts: Telepathy but quite a gifted Telekinetic as well; his skill with telepathy is only slightly stronger than his telekinetic ability. Abnormal abilities: Healing Living Organisms; in humans both mental and physical Heritage: Synergist Home: New York Organization{s} Associated With: International House of Homosuperiors, Paranormal Defense League, Free Paranormals Society Allegiance: Bellamy Riado[@deadbeatcentral], Genevieve Knight, Marshall Quade[@deadbeatcentral], West Coast Underground/East Coast Underground Special Talents: digging deeply into the thoughts of others, reading the most difficult to recall memories even those the individual may not be able to reach themselves– blocked, repressed, or otherwise; manipulation of emotions and thoughts, ability to cause verbal & visual hallucinations so realistic the person affected believes it’s actually happening, multiple powerful balled up energy blasts for concentrated hit on several targets at once, extreme tolerance/endurance with telekinetic heavy lifting, telekinetic fine motor skills; able to break apart and put back together complex objects with his mind, healing living organisms; plants, animals, and in people both mental and physical afflictions - this ability is a mutation in his genes caused in part by things his mother– a powerful witch– did while pregnant with him, furthermore as a witch himself– gifted in an alchemy that only homosuperiors are capable of

Trey hails from a wealthy and influential family of homosuperiors. His father, Xavier, is an active member of international organizations that operate well beyond the borders of the United States. It was on some such business trip to this country that he met and fell in love with Trey’s mother Laila. She gave his father a reason to stick around and poke into the interests of the, then only beginnings of what would become Ultra.

By the time Trey was a young child, Ultra had started to rise in force. There were horror stories about young breakouts being taken from the streets-- some of them utilized as agents while others had their powers stripped altogether. For this reason, Xavier-- knowing his son would grow up to be just like himself and his wife, moved their family back to London. He was sure that they would be safer there, what with all the connections he had-- especially those longer since established and grander than the organization based in New York.

As time went on and Trey got older, his abilities came into play around the age of thirteen-- young to be sure, but for good reason. Laila Smith herself was a witch, and a damn good one at that. She was well versed in the arts of alchemy that only Tomorrow People were capable of. When she’d been carrying Trey, she’d worked some powerful magic to ensure that her child would be safe and able to protect himself when the time came.

For this reason, after Trey broke out, it became quickly apparent that there was a mutation within his genes. He exhibited an ability to heal living organisms. It started with animals, but once known, he exercised the ability to heal people as well. This gift was kept quiet, should the outside world seek to use his abilities for their own ends.

Ever wanting to help others, to make a difference in their world-- just after his eighteenth birthday-- Trey traveled back to New York where he’d been born. The dangers of the city were ever present, but being well trained, he managed to stay concealed. He kept largely to himself until by chance coming across someone like himself on the street-- one Bellamy Riado who’d been using telekinesis to steal a pineapple.

He followed him into an alley where it became quickly apparent to the other man that they were of the same kind. More than that even-- as when their eyes met a large head rush seemed to come over both of them, forced to lean over until the sensation ended. When he finally straightened up and took in the other homosuperior again, it was as if he couldn’t keep him out of his mind. Even things that he tried so desperately to hide seemed painfully obvious in his thought processes. Likewise, he found himself undeniably linked to the other’s thoughts-- as if everything were there plain for him to see.

Frightened by the turn of events, he was desperate to teleport away from the spot, even as the man-- whose name he’d come to find was Bellamy-- invited him back to his apartment. He was quick to deny the request, teleporting out to his own apartment. Yet somehow, despite the distance-- he found Bellamy still inexplicably lodged in his mind. He could see everything he did, feel his every emotion.

Trey tried everything to keep his mind elsewhere, utilizing countless distractions to seemingly no end. Finally later that night, he decided to go see him. Not knowing where he lived he, focused his energy on him, about to reach out his thoughts to ask where he was. But in that moment, his body teleported out and landed directly in Bellamy’s living room. After talking for hours, the older man insisted he stay for the night-- they were adults, they could share the mattress on the floor. This seemed fair until upon waking the next morning, Trey found himself completely wrapped up in the other, holding his sleeping figure close to himself.

This was only the beginning for them. It soon became apparent that they couldn’t stay away from each other-- and moreover that Bellamy had no desire to. The other man wasn’t like the other Tomorrow People of the city that hid in the shadows for safety. In fact, it seemed that Bellamy was entirely out of the know about the dangers for their kind. He was very much a public figure, a musical artist who performed regularly in front of large crowds.

Again, he’d insisted that Trey accompany him on some such night. But as the younger watched from the crowd, and long after at a private after-party-- he began to realize just how little he fit into Bellamy’s world. While he had plenty of his own connections-- Bellamy’s lifestyle was far different than his. He felt out of place, inadequate even. And so he excused himself to go back to the artist’s apartment where he’d been staying more often than his own for reasons he couldn’t quite flesh out.

When Bellamy returned that night it was clear that he’d had far too much to drink. He immediately picked up on Trey’s plan to leave and put whatever distance he could between them. Regardless of whatever this connection they shared meant-- he had no place here. The older homosuperior broke down, begging him not to leave, telling him ardently of just how important to him that he was.

The bond that they shared did him no favors, able to feel every ounce of pain Bellamy felt, the sheer desperation for him not to go. As such, Trey couldn’t bring himself to leave. He stayed that night after all, worried over the consequences of the binge drinking that had happened that evening. That night he watched him sleep for a long time before his mind was set that he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to leave now. And so he didn’t.

Their profound connection served only to strengthen what they felt for each other, a deep-- seemingly timeless-- love forming between them. They were rarely apart for long, and always present within each other’s minds. And as fate would have it, two years later, they would be married.

However, as happy as they were together, the outside world still held its dangers. Bellamy didn’t seem as concerned about it as Trey did, but that quickly changed. A couple years later, Trey was approached numerous times by a seemingly mysterious ally-- a former top agent of Ultra who sought to keep their kind safe from the organization.

John Young urged Trey to see reason-- that his life with Bellamy not only above ground but in the public eye was putting them both at risk. He pleaded with Trey to talk sense into his husband, that they’d be safer underground with him and those few that he’d recruited into hiding.

The couple was forced to seriously consider their options, deciding for a time to take up resident with the underground in the lair. Trey became close with John, sharing what he knew about the other organizations his family were a part of outside of the states. His every intent was to utilize those connections to help their people, despite still being so young himself.

Bellamy however, couldn’t just give up his career, having made a name for himself, even among the homosapiens. He often broke the rule of keeping ties to those outside of their small community and for that reason, the couple returned to the surface. Trey kept in touch often with John, helping him to recruit others and bring in breakouts. He was an avid member of their team, offering whatever resources he could.

When Jedikiah and the Founder began waging war on the now growing lair dwellers, Trey pooled his own connections in an effort to help the cause. However being that he was a mere 21 at the time, and with the due process of the other organizations, there wasn’t much he could do.

That is, until a year later when the Founder made an attempt to wipe out all human life. When word reached them, the were forced to consider action, but were too late to do much. Hugh Bathory’s defeat and death were met with much relief from all parties involved. The International House of Homosuperiors and Paranormal Defense League both stationed operations in the city immediately following his demise.

They aided the ever growing population of paranormals flocking to the city after the beacon had been sent out. As the underground returned to the streets, setting up safe houses, and councils-- both great organizations did their part to make sure that the Tomorrow People here, had what they needed to make for a new life.

When Jedikiah rose up to start his super soldier program, they again, worked from the inside to put a stop to his agenda. Being that he held such strong ties to the community, Trey was given a place of leadership in both organizations. Reporting directly to the higher ups, one of which was his own father, Xavier.

Since then, he’s continued as one of the members of the high council among the community, now able to access all of the resources at the disposal of the organizations his family has long since been a part of.

@cranberrybutter

#the tomorrow people #ttp #the tomorrow people rp #ttp rp #muse biography #muse: trey #bios: trey #about: trey #face: trey #verse: the tomorrow people #about: the tomorrow people #post series: the tomorrow people

3 notes · View notes

theonyxpath · 5 years

Link

So we end the year of 2018! So odd that Dec 31 is on a Monday Meeting day, so we’re really just squeaking the meeting in before everybody goes hither and yon to their New Year‘s celebrations.

Amazingly, almost everybody was there, and so I have a few points we discussed before ending this year’s worth of MMN blogs with our Onyx Path crew’s New Year’s Resolutions. Let’s get to it!

In the usual explosion of Kickstarter Updates we sent out last week, I started with a very special one to our Scarred Lands PG backers. The SL Kickstarter had an uphill climb to resolution having to recover from my good old friend Stewart Wieck’s death before the books were shipped.

So it was only fitting, and in my thinking positive, that I could announce to them that the next Scarred Lands project (and Kickstarter) would be the Scarred Lands Creature Collection for 5e and that Onyx Path would be working on the project with Handiwork Games – founded by another buddy, Jon Hodgson.

Jon and his team at Handiwork will be writing, art directing, and laying out the project, as well as running the Kickstarter, and we are thrilled to be able to bring their creative talents and energy honed after many years working for Cubicle7 to what is possibly the signature Scarred Lands book.

For those of you not aware of the history of the first Creature Collection book, it was published in an audacious move just as D&D 3rd Edition released the legendary d20 and OGL licenses. We heard that first they’d be publishing the 3e Players Guide and then later the 3e Monster Manual, and jumped in, wrote, illustrated, and published Creature Collection just before the 3e MM was released.

So, it’s a project near and dear to my heart, and I think that Jon’s crew are going to do amazing and beautiful things with it!

Changeling: The Lost 2e Jumpstart art by Tilen Javornik

Rather than boost more of our mentions in podcasts, or articles, or our Onyx Pathcast, or Kickstarters, I’m going to be pulling all those items down to The Blurbs! below, and for this next year I’ll be aiming at utilizing this space as a way to talk more directly to you about what’s up with Onyx Path.

That was how we got started with it just one day short of 7 years ago, so I’d like to get back there after this last year of reorganization.

And in The Blurbs! below you’ll already find information about our latest Kickstarter, They Came From Beneath the Sea!, which has done a lot better over the Christmas holiday than we expected, and now I’ve added a new section called Onyx Path Media for descriptions and links to the Onyx Pathcast, and other Onyx Path vids, as well as to Actual Plays, etc. from other folks enjoying our worlds.

Roll of Good Dogs and Excellent Cats art by Pat Loboyko

Herein lieth our Onyx Path crew’s New Year’s Resolutions for 2019:

From Mirthful Mike Chaney: “My big one for 2019 is to add more artists to the Ex3 pool and clear the log jam in that line’s production process so we can get 4 titles a year out for Ex3.”

From Monica Valentinelli: “I’m trying something new this year, because resolutions tend to fizzle before the first signs of Spring. For 2019, I’m changing my resolution to a one-word mantra: movement. From shipping manuscripts to rolling dice, there’s a lot of ways I can see this word applying to what we do at Onyx Path. Onwards to 2019!”

From Matthew “The Gentleman Gamer” Dawkins: “My new year’s resolution is to give a little more time to myself in 2019! My video game and reading time was way down in 2018, and I need to amend that in the coming year. Taking advantage of my leisure time rather than spending a lot of it on social media would go a long way toward making a more satisfied Matthew.”

From Dangerous Dixie Cochran: “In 2019, I want to, as Neil Gaiman said, “make good art.” More than that, I want to encourage others to make art, whether good or no. (Funny story, making bad art is the first step on the road to making good art.) I’ve always joked that I’m a support class in real life: I edit what others write, I help folks with problems, and I enjoy building people up and helping their voices be heard. I want to do more of that in the coming year. I want to work on helping people who are underrepresented into spotlights, and continue to showcase the current slate of amazing talent we have now. I want to work with amazing creators to figure out how to best polish their work, not just for them. I want to work on dozens of new and interesting and phenomenal books, and I want to see creatives in our field (and others) shine that maybe haven’t had the opportunity before.

I also want to meet more of you, the folks who keep us going. If you have live streams or events or podcasts, I want to hear about them! I also hope you come to the conventions we attend and say hello! Essentially, I want 2019 to be about community and coming together for the betterment of all parties involved. Happy New Year!”

From LisaT: “I’m going to try to establish a more permanent workspace in order to facilitate keeping better track of my broadening work responsibilities. And to establish some new skills in Excel and other programs to improve bookkeeping.”

From Jaunty James Bell, our Kickstarter Concierge: “2018 had a lot of transition for me – health challenges for my parents and new activities (and jobs!) for my children redefined my role as a son and father, keeping me busy. In 2019, I’m going to try to help family and friends as best I can, avoid the anger and despair from social media as much as possible, fall in love with each new kickstarter project, be organized, communicate clearly, and play more games!”

From Impish Ian Watson: “For 2019, I’d like to take more time to play games, and do some recreational reading. I enjoy both, but lately I’ve been spending my spare time on YouTube or whatever and not enough time with novels or game books.”

From Fast Eddy Webb: “In 2019, I resolve to make a second creator-owned property. It may not see the light of day in 2019, but I’d like to be in a place where I can start designing by the end of the year.”

From Mighty Matt McElroy: Well, Matt didn’t get me his resolution as he’s on a well-deserved and oft-postponed vacation (I hope!). So we won’t bother him, but I’ll give him an easy one based on past years’: “I’m going to drink all the coffee, and work crazy hours, and do seventeen person’s jobs.”

From RichT: “Gonna do more hands-on art and just be more hands-on with our projects this coming year. I participated in Inktober, and doing a piece of illustration a day was a marathon, but also was a joy that reconnected me to my art-creating roots.”

Happy New Year as we move into our eighth year as a company! Thanks to you all for your support in 2018 (and earlier) and talk to you next year all about our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

They Came From Beneath the Sea! (TCFBtS!) funded on Kickstarter in less than 48 hours and we’ve passed through the first couple of Stretch Goals of getting Larry Blamire to illustrate a horizontal scene usable on a screen, the beginning of a book of additional Threats, and we are rising up on the next goal!

TCFBtS! has some very different additions to the Storypath mechanics we’ll be explaining during the KS that take an excellent 50’s action and investigation genre game and turn it to 11! You can see the actual play here:

Check out the teaser:https://youtu.be/kxLydk4t76s

Hope to see you there back in the 50’s, fighting watery menaces and cracking wise!

ONYX PATH MEDIA

Illustration by Michael Gaydos

This Friday’s Onyx Pathcast features an interview with SuperFan Jacob Burgess recorded at PAX Unplugged where he and Eddy ramble on hi-lariously, for quite some time I hear, all about his Bloodlines actual plays, his writing on Book of Oblivion, and maybe some hints about what he’ll be doing for us in 2019!

https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

And Here’s More Media About Our Worlds:

The Story Told RPG Podcast have recently provided coverage of Scion Origin and Scion Hero, both of which will help anyone looking for insight into those two games. The same podcast will be launching actual plays of Exalted and Scion in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to their channels!

Origin: http://thestorytold.libsyn.com/episode-16-scion-2nd-edition-origin-overview

Hero: http://thestorytold.libsyn.com/episode-17-scion-hero-overview

The fine fellows at Caffeinated Conquests have started up the first streamed play of They Came from Beneath the Sea! Here’s the link to part one: https://youtu.be/pTpeQVIbv08And here’s the link to their Twitch channel so you can tune in to this game, and their other games, live: https://www.twitch.tv/caffeinatedconquests

The excellent team of Niveau Suivant are running a Scion actual play on YouTube and Twitch, and already have a log of videos should you wish to catch up on old episodes! You’ll need to be a French speaker for this one, or at least someone who enjoys the French accent: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWC9p0HmTWK5C6FUpBQQSZnbakH5u1cTx And here’s their Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/niveausuivant

ELECTRONIC GAMING:

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! http://bit.ly/2w0aaEW

And we’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/

And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

This week, we’re offering PDF and PoD versions of the Promethean 2e book, Night Horrors: The Tormented on DTRPG!

CONVENTIONS

Start getting ready for our appearance at MidWinter NEXT WEEK in January in Milwaukee! So many demos, playtests, secret playtests, and Onyx Path Q&As you could plotz!

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Geist2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Pirates of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Distant Worlds (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Let The Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Redlines

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

Memento Mori: the GtSE 2e Companion (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Second Draft

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Scion Ready Made Characters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion Jumpstart (Scion 2nd Edition)

Development

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Manuscript Approval:

Wr20 Book of Oblivion (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Editing:

Aeon Aexpansion (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Dystopia Rising: Evolution (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Adventures for Curious Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

In Media Res (Trinity Continuum: Core)

Tales of Excellent Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

V5 Chicago By Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)

V5 Chicago By Night Screen (Vampire: The Masquerade)

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Night Horrors: Shunned by the Moon (Werewolf: The Forsaken 2nd Edition)

Post-Editing Development:

C20 Players’ Guide (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Indexing:

Scion Origin (Scion Second Edition)

Scion Hero (Scion Second Edition)

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Dystopia Rising: Evolution – Finals coming in.

The Realm

Ex3 Monthly Stuff – more art going over to WW.

Chicago By Night – Contracting next bits.

C20 Player’s Guide – Finals coming in and going in for WW approval.

Aeon Aexpansion

They Came From Beneath the Sea! – KS ready.

EX3 Lunars – Some KS finals coming in.

Signs of Sorcery – Just need fulls to come in this week.

In Media Res – Contracted.

Hunter: The Vigil 2 – KS art in progress.

Shunned By the Moon – Awaiting notes.

Marketing Stuff

In Layout

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) – With Meredith.

Geist 2e

Proofing

Scion Hero – Indexing.

Scion Origin – Indexing.

CtL2 Jumpstart – Shutting down errata.

M20: Gods and Monsters

Pugmire Roll of Good Dogs and Cats – 2nd Proof sent out.

Trinity Core – Gathering errata.

Trinity Aeon – Gathering errata.

Ex3 Dragon Blooded – Gathering errata.

At Press

Wraith 20th – New cover proof approved. Everything else is printing.

Wraith 20 Screen – Printed.

Scion Dice – At Studio2.

Lost 2e Screen – Shipping to shipper.

Scion Screen – Shipping to shipper.

Changeling: The Lost 2e – Going out to backers. PoD proof ordered.

Fetch Quest – Manufacturing continuing.

PtC Tormented – ON SALE this Wednesday on DTRPG!

TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE:

Happy New Year! May 2019 be better than 2018 for all of you in every way!

#Onyx Path Publishing

3 notes · View notes

bongolunge5 · 2 years

Text

Upgrade Your Subsequent Workplace Lunch With These Catering Concepts

You can jazz up your Taco Tuesday by choosing a fajita bar as a substitute. Switching out tacos for sizzling fajitas can be a nice way to breathe some life into an workplace party. You can even think about including other Mexican-style dishes like enchiladas or burritos. Whatever you do, ensure you provide loads of chips and salsa for grazing. At other occasions, it's necessary to level up and develop a catering choice that brings your group together. And in knowledgeable setting, that is rarely anticipated in-office. Additionally, every family-style meal is personalized to your team’s preferences and dietary wants. In cost of the annual corporate event this 12 months and running out of catering ideas? Food is a precedence at an occasion so step up your game and keep the attendees happy by studying up on three company lunch catering ideas for the next event. We deal with every thing, from establishing your meal to packing up the leftovers. Owning a Corporate Caterers franchise provides an exciting business model without the typical hurdles and disadvantages that include working a foodservice business. Let us deal with delivering lunch to your next meeting. Hamby Catering & Events An various to local elements is local talent. Invite an area chef to design a drink in your event. If you wish to turn your dessert station right into a showcase, that is how you do it. Add 外燴 of sides like rice or fries, and you've got got the makings of a very heroic company lunch. One of the tastier outcomes of European colonialism, this distinctly Vietnamese type of sandwich marries French baguettes with southeast Asian ingredients like daikon and chả lụa . It’s been a preferred avenue meals in Saigon for the explanation that 1950s, and in current years bánh mì stands and food vehicles have turn into an increasingly frequent sight in U.S. cities. Combined with some fresh spring rolls, and you've got a wonderfully shiny and attractive mid-day meal that won’t put your group into an afternoon meals coma. Only a quantity of different times in your life will you have connoisseur meals in your honor, such as at your marriage ceremony, a retirement celebration, and probably a fiftieth anniversary. The machine can fit 2,000 pods, with a minimal order of 1,000. A three-day rental for a two-tap Pub-Hub costs $250, which incorporates supply and set up anywhere in the Orlando-Tampa space. Bold Catering & Design in Atlanta debuted a customized VIP gifting expertise tailored to give corporate prospects the identical selection of cocktail-hour favorites however from home. The field is full of a customized number of native, small-batch culinary treats and wines and is available for nationwide delivery. Pinch Food Design in New York has put a COVID-friendly spin on an interactive meals installation with a pool-party offering that’s impressed by 80’s tile and David Hockney’s artwork. Breakfast Catering Ideas Past Bacon And Eggs Instead of utilizing a standard flaky crust for your quiche and your guests find yourself wearing the crumbs, you should use a more substantial crust like that of a biscuit. Who would ever serve a personal pineapple for dessert? Look nearer, and you’ll realize it’s not a pineapple in any respect but a fantastically constructed cake with a meringue topping. This dessert is definitely going straight to their Instagram web page. Pomegranates are helpful in an array of drinks and dishes. However, if all of the foods cook dinner in the same amount of time, then start with the one that will hold up greatest. A three-course meal normally takes two hours to serve and be consumed. This can fluctuate relying on the amount of time required to serve, which is larger for bigger visitor lists. Servers will normally wait seven to ten minutes after a course has been completed to deliver out the following course. “People completely don’t want to see the identical appetizer for hours and hours, so make certain to combine it up,” says Parragué. Older visitors won't be ready to stand the whole time, so be positive to have seating choices in case they need a place to rest their ft. Free Planning Tools Diagram occasions, wow attendees, and win shoppers with free planning instruments. Until I developed this creamy vegan hollandaise sauce recipe, I by no means made eggs Benedict at home. The sauce at all times seemed too fussy to attempt in my very own kitchen. But this more healthy model comes together in a snap, and it’s perfect over gentle poached eggs, sliced tomato, and contemporary basil. Nothing beats a crisp, oat-y, nutty topping over soft baked oats and fruit. This make-ahead recipe is considered one of my favorites for serving a crowd, and it’s glorious with any seasonal fruit. Creative Providers Catering My group members requested that we use All Occasions- Bubb's specifically. Their group did everything but serve the food- we did that ourselves. The main occasion at any get together is the meals, and we can customize our menu for any sort of event, giant or small. Professional catering reduces the stress of last-minute cooking, though it's nonetheless vital to choose the right dishes in your menu. • Work with experts in wedding planning – Work with an expert wedding planner to assist you with stress-free marriage ceremony planning. Chopped olives are unfold on pieces of white fish that get wrapped in chard before simmering it in a lemony, cilantro-y sauce. Your dinner party visitors are well price the trouble of wrapping each serving. Yes, weeknight dinner events are possible—and fun! Brush thin cuts of meat with a candy and spicy marinade for a deeply flavorful grilled dinner that's ready in less than half-hour. A last-minute addition of basil pesto turns creamy risotto into the last word bowl of spring comfort for a vegetarian banquet stunner. If you’re hosting a birthday celebration and also you want to be relaxed and able to mingle freely along with your friends, go away the meals preparation to a full-service catering firm. Full service catering firm specializing in unique recipes and recent dishes. Most corporations will house ship your meal, or you probably can decide it up yourself at your comfort. Although they’re pretty sufficient to take a seat near your cake pops, they're for a really different course. These moveable pops are awfully delish though. Sandwiches don’t should be two flat items of bread on either end of something. Instead, look for methods to enjoy the portability of a sandwich without the boring predictability - like with these tapas. You could make them small, bite-sized gadgets or larger major focus wraps. Placing meals immediately on silver or ceramic platters is kinda dull. Catering Atlanta It is nearly magical how something so primary can become so advanced. Fresh Vegetables and Skewered Vegetables good for a celebration. Pricing is predicated on a hundred bites- we suggest 1.5 bites per person- please contact us for smaller teams as some have minimums required for buy. Other than Thanksgiving dinners cooked by my mom and my wife, the meals was one of the best. Too often we can get caught up in all of the details and making certain that we've a beautiful presentation without remembering the guests are the principle focus. If you invest the correct quantity of vitality and planning, then you will discover that the celebration goes on without any issues. All it takes is the best strategy, then shortly taking the proper actions. These three elements are individuals, partnerships, preparation, and planning. Copyright © 2022 Main Event Catering - All Rights Reserved. Let me begin by saying that I’ve gone to lots of weddings and usually the food is mediocre. It was so important for us to have good food and Cocktails Catering delivered just that. We had the sirloin, Tuscan chicken, penne marinara, vegetabl... We called a few totally different catering corporations during the peak of the pandemic and from the initial name we knew Cocktails catering would be the company we have been going to hire. Julie began within the hospitality industry when she was 17, and graduated from UMass in Hotel, Restaurant, and Travel Administration. She has held positions in lots of area of the hospitality trade each in the again and front of house. Julie found leading energetic groups and creating streamlined techniques was key for the company’s growing event business. Today Julie’s ardour is keeping The Barn and Fireside Catering ahead of present marriage ceremony developments and creating unique charitable and group events. Assembly Venue Dish Food & Events catered our marriage ceremony in August in Brooklyn. They did an incredible job creating a very unique menu tailor-made to the food we like and our backgrounds. Our family and friends could not stop speaking about how great the meals was, espe... I can say without a doubt that the size of your occasion will not make Dish Food & Events carry out lower than their greatest. There was SO much variety within the choices and every had their own flavors and uniqueness. As much and my fiancé and I liked what Dish offered, so did our guests! If you are on the lookout for reasonably priced and accessible chafing choices in your buffet or resort, these are the proper choices. The matte floor doesn't distract clients and it makes your meals the focal point of your buffet line. One of essentially the most standard dish shapes, rectangular chafing dishes are commonly used for entrees. Dish catered our engagement celebration for 50 people in May 2019 and we couldn't be happier. I corresponded with Allyson via e-mail initially and she couldn't have been extra helpful with planning for our event. We had an exquisite experience working with Michael and the whole group from Dish! They aren’t all the time one of the best options and are typically used out of habit and connections to the venue. Check their online critiques and analysis F&B vendors identified for excellent conference catering in the region—even if they haven’t supplied on your explicit venue. F&B operations involve the buying, preparation, serving, maintaining stock, and catering services of an event venue. Express expectations to the caterer (especially in a multi-day event) that the special meals should never be the identical for each sitting. 25 Finest Celebration Meals Recipes! Watermelon Stacks - cubes of cool watermelon topped with feta cheese and recent herbs; served in a bamboo boat with a pipette of balsamic glaze. Our proficient cooks prepare the food right in front of your visitors. From sushi to flambé desserts , your guests and your taste buds will thanks. Skewer popcorn-sized fried rooster with a small waffle sq. for a delicious taste of southern consolation food. Use meals coloring to dye the waffles for a decorative spin and don't forget the syrup. Fill your loved ones and pals up on hearty veggies with some massive, fried asparagus. Kick the presentation up a notch by serving them standing up on small pegs. They're simply as tasty as the traditional stuff, minus the mess. Include loads of fresh fruit, spices, and veggies along with different sorts of milk and yogurt. You can even offer a splash of flavorings like vanilla or caramel syrup. Let the healthy be wholesome and people who prefer a yogurt shake to go for it. If you want to give your event attendees a wholesome begin to the day, fruit platters are an ideal alternative. When served alongside complete wheat muffins, they offer immense health advantages.

#外燴

1 note · View note

brainitworkstechnology16 · 3 years

Text

Quick and Easy Fix for Adobe Campaign Classic Architect Master Certification

Mahesh Nikam: Our vision at form is to accept our AMR fleet application all production traces and hold operated by hand forklifts only in areas we specify. With a spread of AMRs we are envisioning to have a primary enviornment the place AMR consultants manage the agile with an automated adjustment system. As we grow, this role will evolve even more by way of optimizing AMR routes, co-coordinating and assisting the accomplishing of new AMRs in addition to working towards and onboarding new teams to help with the administration of this cardinal asset to form s increase.

Bryan Siegal: tons just like the training and capabilities of a motor vehicle mechanic has developed along with the evolution of vehicle technology, I predict the position of the robotic expert will alternate as AMRs turn into smarter via more recent sensors, sooner computer processing energy and more sophisticated AI algorithms. The mixture of these advancements will influence in AMRs being able to assuming greater sophisticated jobs, alive faster in teams each human and robot teams and allowing for more advantageous operational throughput.

a part of the profession path here could be starting to be from operating the robots, to learning how to without problems deploy new robots because the tools to do this develop into extra complete and attainable to employees with out superior engineering levels. The robot professional will also develop into part of the operational determination-authoritative level throughout a web site, as a result of their Adobe Campaign Classic Architect Master Certification Exam Credential there is a new position it truly is fitting an integral part of many warehouses, administration facilities and factories globally: the robotic knowledgeable. As activity shortages stress the accomplishment and provide alternation sectors, enterprise leaders deserve to recognise the cost of the robot knowledgeable and how they can help remedy these challenges.

by upskilling people to manage a crew of robots, banal tasks may also be left to the machines whereas consultants handle huge image pondering and ordinary administration of the warehouse. but where do choice makers, who regularly see a necessity but do not need abstruse skills in automation, commence searching? the place are the alternatives and what s at stake for companies that do not acclimate?

To benefit insights into these and other questions about this new position and growing to be chance, I accomplished out to Bryan Siegal, VP, consumer Success, Vecna Robotics, as well as Mahesh Nikam, form arete system supervisor, form Corp.

GN: How is the upward thrust of automation communicable some companies off protect or collapsed footed and what are some ways that you have seen groups access in the mean time of adoption unprepared for the challenges forward?

Bryan Siegal: we are hearing from most of our consumers that business has now boomed to ranges they have on no account considered earlier than and it has pushed demands past the ability of their sites. abounding accept long past to prolonged canicule and shifts. finding associates to assignment the introduced shifts is an important problem to fulfill all their appeal. These companies are caught flat footed by means of no longer having the extra skill mandatory the place they could in any other case accept literally became the change and let the robots run longer. as an alternative, they re having to shy away profits as a result of they effortlessly can not find the materials to get it carried out.

The different big element is that adopting robots takes time. alternate management have to be regarded, together with updating techniques, working towards team of workers, positive advertisement and management, and so on. So, agencies that invest early and find out how to without difficulty utilize robots in their operations accept a enormous abilities over folks that do not.

GN: are you able to describe what an inner robotic professional is and a considerable number of approaches the role can assist an organization?

Bryan Siegal: The interior robotic consultants are pals who were informed to engage with and function the robotic agile at an superior level. in this potential, the robotic skilled is the on-about-face expert guaranteeing the agile is on mission in addition to answering questions from different buddies as obligatory and dealing with any,exceptions as they arise.

past native fleet blank, the robot professional is the major factor of acquaintance for our network Operations center NOC crew who deliver x proactive remote ecology to be certain the agile is running optimally. due to this fact, the robotic expert is essential to ensure the productivity positive factors enabled by means of a agile of robots is back to the enterprise.

GN: back is the correct time in an organization s trajectory or increase to create a task like this?

Bryan Siegal: when a corporation s boom fee, capability to discover labor, or can charge structure, forces them to recognize they can t keep up with competition, they commonly come to a decision that self sufficient machine like our self-riding forklifts and tuggers are the solution. The group again creates a venture plan for roll-out and continued operations. right through that manner, they accredit a crew of robotic experts for all accouterment the fleet may be working. The robot expert performs a key role in assisting with the deployment of the agile as well as operating the fleet as soon as thoroughly deployed.

GN: Mahesh, i d like to carry your event at shape to bear here as smartly. What sort of current personnel are likely to accomplish exceptional robotic experts and how does form CORP. assist their alteration to that very new function?

Mahesh Nikam: at the moment, shape is transitioning to automatic material coping with via constructing our present group contributors focusing on forklift operation and employing their talent during this area to mildew them into autonomous cell robotic experts. We provide crew individuals with an in-abyss practicing on AMR safeguard and functionality along with hands-on practising to help extra advance their skill-set in this area. afterwards team members complete their training they then get hold of an update on their industrial vehicle license for AMR. We are looking to make certain our team is deploy for fulfillment for all building alternatives we supply at form.

GN: Bryan, how about from your point of view? What do the most effective candidates for the function accept in common?

Bryan Siegal: The most efficient candidates for the robot skilled function display a number of things: comfort working with industrial equipment, demonstrated talents alive with software, exhilaration about working with innovative know-how, and a abysmal figuring out of the everyday movement in their alive environments. exceptionally, these are individuals who wish to see the enterprise develop and succeed.

These qualifications are often discovered on the job, and candidates are often acquaintances with several years of operational experience. They can also even be authoritative stage people, but all accept an begin intellect and willingness to see new expertise aid seriously change their operations. in contrast, they should not have to be degreed engineers as we aren t asking the robotic professional to analyze and repair robotic problems. We work basically alongside the knowledgeable and through this affiliation to analyze and get to the bottom of concerns by the use of our x NOC middle. This accord is basically an,on the job working towards that propels their career forward as they develop and learn how to control these styles of methods. As this function becomes a mainstay, corporations and industries should establish the position as a proper role and a profession option.

GN: What supplies, training or skilled development-focused, can be found for would-be robot experts?

Bryan Siegal: here is an rising position angry to the deployment of AMRs. At this youth-cycle stage throughout the AMR industry, training is proscribed to at least one-on-one particularly personalized working towards with customized collateral.

That actuality observed, there are a few really expert areas the place working towards can be advisable. Robots exhaust sensors to peer the world. This includes cameras, Lidars often a rotating laser range finder, ultra-sonic latitude finders, time of flight cameras and others. knowing how these sensors assignment, and common abortion modes may also be extremely constructive in ensuring good performance of the robots.

an additional area of coaching is wireless networking due to the fact almost all robots depend on the wireless network for operation. Vecna Robotics AMRs are related to the customer s WiFi or cellular community. This is how we hold communication with the AMR. improving the robot specialists understanding of the community needs and operational ambiance will accomplish that adult a positive asset not only to us, but to the operation average.

The third area of specialised practicing that may also be valuable is round robotic safeguard. safeguard requirements for these techniques are acrimonious, and if the group of workers would not have in mind how the safeguard techniques work, it can be irritating as they ask, why isn t the robot relocating? unlike manually-operated equipment, robots are mandated to have definite angle-off distances from other altar.

tips on all of those key areas can be discovered on Vecna Robotics and MassRobotics web sites.

GN: Mahesh, as form CORP. grows and the enterprise s automation wants mature, and Bryan, because the same happens to Vecna and the organizations it helps, how do you both expect the role of robot expert to trade and evolve?

knowledge of how to obtain the most desirable results the use of the robots will be beneficial as web page changes and updates are considered.

#Adobe Campaign Classic Architect Master Certification certification course adobe campaign classic architect master certification exam prepar

0 notes

centerforhci · 3 years

Text

How Executive Coaching Develops Effective Managers and Leaders

Are you considering hiring an executive coach? Do you want to understand the benefits of coaching? Are you interested in learning how long coaching lasts, how much it costs and what to look for in a coach?

This page provides answers to some of the most common questions about executive coaching. Our goal is to give you a detailed overview and provide useful information on executive coaching. Whether you’re considering hiring an executive coach or simply learning more about the subject, we hope you find it helpful.

Table of Contents

The problem

What is executive coaching?

Who benefits from coaching?

What is the organizational value of coaching?

What are some key traits of a good coach?

How long does coaching take?

What credentials should a coach have?

What are the different types of coaching?

What’s the difference between coaching and consulting?

What is the cost?

Hiring an executive coach/company

Summary

The problem

There’s no question about it; we’re living in an era of massive distraction. Nowadays, even the most productive and effective organizational leaders are defenseless against this trend.

Life constantly throws obstacles at us. Add distractions to the mix, and it’s easy to become overwhelmed and lose sight of what’s important. Our clarity, strategy, and performance are all compromised.

So how does a manager juggle these competing demands? One way is to hire an executive coach.

What is executive coaching?

“Coaching is releasing a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them learn rather than teaching them.”

~ Unknown

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” Let’s create a clear image of what this looks like.

We’ve all seen how busy managers can get. They’re always jumping from one thing to the next to move their organization forward. As highly trained individuals, they get things done and never fear the grind.

This could be you.

The problem is not the ability to get things done. The problem is going around in circles and not achieving organizational or personal goals. As it becomes an endless loop of “just getting it all done,” executives seldom stop to consider their biggest challenges and how to solve them, which can feel extremely frustrating. That is where coaching fits in.

An executive coach can help individuals go from where they are, to where they want to go. It helps executives take their organizations to higher levels. To achieve this, however, you must define the “next level” and what it looks like.

An executive coach will not provide the answers, but rather help you discover them on your own through a systematic process. You will learn this process and continue to leverage it over and over again throughout your career, helping you unleash your own potential.

Another way to think of executive coaching is to compare it to an athletic coach, where the objective is to get an athlete to the next level. To achieve this, the coachee, otherwise known as the person being coached, must be engaged, interested, and committed. Just like an athlete who trains daily to become Olympic quality, executives must be willing to take daily incremental steps to achieve their goals. This commitment from both the coach and the coachee yields lasting results.

A coach is not a therapist, coworker, or friend. A coach is a person that a coachee can trust to tell them what they need to hear to achieve their goals.

Let’s recap. An executive coach can help you:

Achieve specific goals

Develop your capabilities and leverage your existing strengths

Identify challenges that prevent you from achieving success

See yourself and others more clearly

Communicate more effectively

Improve leadership abilities

Enhance social skills, and

Build more productive relationships

Who benefits from coaching?

First and foremost, the coachee! Coaching will give you more confidence to make empowered decisions; provide more clarity to your workforce and stakeholders; and ensure that your actions are aligned with purpose, vision, and values.

Outside of the coachee , though, organizations significantly benefit from coaching too! Research shows organizations that made coaching a priority have 13% stronger business results and 33% better employee engagement.

When it comes to business, leaders set the tone. They understand the importance of establishing a company-wide culture keen on learning and moving outside comfort zones. By working with an executive coach, you are not only leading by example and encouraging others to follow suit; you are also proving to others in the organization that personal development is important and encouraging others to take their own development seriously.

Strong coaches will challenge you to reflect and learn continuously. Look for a coach who walks the talk, meaning an individual who also works on self-development and is continuously growing as a person, professional, and coach. Coaches bring much more value to their coachees when they also continually work on themselves and polish their own skills.

What is the organizational value of coaching?

Building a continually improving organization that is solution-focused, collaborative, and results-driven should be central to every senior leader. An organization can significantly benefit by developing successful leaders and allowing the team to model leaders’ behaviors, positively affecting the entire organization’s performance.

Harvard Business Review surveyed 140 leading coaches. The research points out that most companies in the past hired a coach to advise and help fix harmful behavior at the top level. However, “today, most coaching is about developing the capabilities of high-potential performers.”

In other words, coaching adds value to busy managers who focus on developing their employee’s growth. In her article on the value of coaching, Rita Balian Allen, a Huffington Post contributor, said that organizations “appreciate the value [talented executives, leaders, and managers] bring… and would like to provide additional resources to enable them to grow and progress further.”

What are some key traits of a good coach?

Powerful executive coaches listen to their clients, have a high level of emotional intelligence, help the client utilize and leverage their own resources, and enable coachees to solve their problems. However, trust is one of the most important traits in a coaching relationship.

Trust is the core of any relationship; the one between executives and their coach is no different. If a client believes the coach can’t be trusted, the entire coaching experience will quickly deteriorate. Executives need to be confident in both their relationship with their coach and the coach’s process.

So what makes a good coach? Someone who:

Helps their coachee identify what changes need to be made so the coachee can get to the root cause of issues as soon as possible

Has a sole agenda to help their coachee become more effective

Relates to the coachee and establishes a high level of trust and credibility

Understands the coachee’s emotional and intellectual needs

Identifies where the coachee can stretch their capabilities

How long does coaching take?

Coaching is a thorough process that can range from six to 12 months, via one-on-one phone calls, video chats or in-person sessions held approximately every other week.

It’s not uncommon to start the process with a 360-degree feedback assessment (sometimes shortened to “360”) or another type of evaluation to identify the coachee’s strengths, personality, leadership styles, attitudes, and values. The 360 may include confidential interviews with employees, top management, and/or the board of directors.

After the assessment data has been collected, the coach will analyze and explain the data to the coachee. Next, the executive and the coach develop coaching goals with specific, measurable, behavioral objectives. These goals form the basis of the actual coaching sessions.

Throughout the executive coaching sessions, the coach asks questions about each of the coachee’s goals, helping the coachee see where s/he may be getting in the way of progress. Once the coachee sees the goal situation in a new light, then the coachee commits to a small step of action to achieve the goal. Over time, each small step culminates in steady progress toward achieving the goal.

The evaluation process happens after the last coaching session. In this phase, the coach and coachee analyze how the coachee has progressed since the coaching started. The coach collects data on how the sessions affected the coachee’s leadership styles and overall effectiveness in the organization.

What credentials should a coach have?

Although the executive coaching industry is unregulated, there are certified programs and specialized trainings offered by the International Coach Federation (ICF), whose sole job is to ensure high standards in the coaching profession.

Having said that, clients have to make smart decisions when hiring a coach. A few things that are important to consider is a coach’s background, education level, experience, and ICF credentials.

What are the different types of coaching?

As described by the ICF, coaching is a partnership. It is a long-term relationship and commitment built on trust between a coach and a coachee. A coach once described her objective in these simple words, “My job is to help great leaders make themselves even better.”

However, myriad types of coaching exist, from sports to public speaking. Below are some examples:

Career coaching

Career coaching is related specifically to one’s professional career. This includes coaching someone on how to approach job interviews or breaking into a new career niche.

Personal or life coaching

Life coaches help clients improve aspects of their daily lives, such as health, fitness or more personal goals.

Business coaching

Business coaching is more closely related to consulting. This sort of coaching helps a client build a small business.

Group coaching

Group coaching has many different formats, ranging from group coaching processes that are part of a leadership development initiative, to public groups bringing together individuals with a common focus.

What’s the difference between coaching and consulting?

There are big differences between coaches and consultants.

Think of consultants as people who possess specialized skills and knowledge in a particular area, and get compensated to either use those skills and knowledge or give advice.

A coach, on the other hand, works with a coachee one-on-one to establish and achieve specific objectives or goals, and then helps them arrive at the best possible solution. Jim Rohn, the American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker once said, “make sure what you do is a product of your own conclusion.” Coaches are great at helping their coachees arrive at their own conclusions, thus yielding the highest benefit for the coachee.

Still not clear? No problem, here is one last example:

Consultants, in most cases, will diagnose and perform the work based on their expertise and knowledge of their industry. Coaching’s essence lies on listening, clarifying objectives, and holding the coachee accountable for taking action.

What is the cost?

There is no set cost for executive coaching. Each company and/or coach handles pricing a little differently. Some work per hour, others per session, and some have shorter or longer commitments based on initial assessments or requirements.

Most coaches offer a complimentary coaching session or discovery session so that you can mutually assess fit. So be sure to ask for this!

If you’re interested in working with an executive coach and learning more about our process here at CHCI, please visit our Get Started page. We’d love the opportunity to speak with you directly.

Hiring an executive coach/company

When you finally decide to hire an executive coach, there are a few important things to keep in mind. First, ensure your coach adds value, has a personality that resonates with you, and is trustworthy.

A coaching commitment can range anywhere from six to 12 months. Therefore, it is important to understand what you’re trying to accomplish. What are your expectations regarding goals, objectives, and time frame? Will you be 100% committed to the process? What kind of experience do you prefer that a coach have? What credentials will you consider to be important?

These are all great questions to ask yourself before starting your research, and certainly before hiring a coach.

Being clear with the answers to these questions will help expedite your research. We invite you to consult with one of our experts on executive coaching Washington DC.

Potential ROI in hiring a coach

In 2011, Forbes contributor Matt Symonds reported that corporate America was spending over one billion dollars annually on executive coaching. A recent ICF, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and Association Resource Centre survey concluded the median coaching Return On Investment (ROI) for companies was seven times their initial investment, while 28% saw an ROI of 10 to 49 times initial investment. Nearly one-in-five indicated an ROI of 50 or more times the initial investment.

Investing in executive coaching can yield high returns. Leadership matters, and when the relationship between a coach and the coachee is built on trust and value, returns will only be higher.

Summary

We have all had coaches at some point in our lives, be it youth sports, school teachers, or even through books. The process of continually developing yourself as a person, as a leader, and as a citizen of this world should never stop.

Just because you grow up, enter the professional world and become an executive, doesn’t mean you should stop searching for another coach. Especially one who can continue to facilitate your development by helping you identify your strengths and opportunities.

But first, you’ve got to understand that coaching is a marathon, not a sprint.

Coaching is a delicate process. It may even be a time-consuming process. However, it is also customizable and well worth the overall investment because it provides a safe place for the coachee to talk about perceived shortcomings, opportunities for growth, fears, and aspirations.

An experienced, certified coach helps you leverage your gifts, overcome internal “blocks” or limitations, and take action toward success. The overarching goal when working one-on-one with a coach is to maximize your potential and create lasting change.

#executive coaching dc #executive coaching #coaching executives #benefits of executive coaching #coaching your employees #executive coach #how to find an executive coach #personal executive coach #executive coaches

0 notes

thotyssey · 6 years

Text

On Point With: Queen Robert

Hilarious, oddball antics and high-meets-low-meets-intergalactic fashions do away with the need for some funny-punny drag name for this performer. Whether she’s interjecting with a slaying quip while screening a classic film, or giving you the whole Big Ang Experience in a high stakes lip sync battle, or just being funny and fierce, this queen is giving you life. God Save Queen Robert!

Thotyssey: Greetings, Queen! How is Pride Week treating you so far?

Queen Robert: Hello! Thank you! I've been looking forward to gabbing with you. Pride has been good to me so far! It's been chaotic, but extremely gratifying, and we're only half way through! I also started bartending at the Rosemont this month, so even when I'm not out in drag I'm still out on the scene. It's an exhausting month for anyone working in nightlife.

Wow, that is a lot of nightlife. You must never see the sun!

I actually sat out at the Christopher Pier a couple of days ago while on my way back from a costume fitting. I looked like a vampire amongst all those honey-glazed hunks. I definitely prefer the light of the moon.

It's much more flattering, for sure. So speaking of the Rosemont, you just guest performed for Lucy Ball's show there last week.

I adore Lucy. She's a total weirdo. Her transformations set her apart from anyone working in Brooklyn. Did you see her Lambchop and Cryptkeeper? Incredible. Patti Spliff, another genius, was also performing that night. The three of us each have monthly Tuesday parties at The Rosemont, so it was fun to get together for a show. I did Donna Summer, farted on a cake and then pressed my face into it....because...drag.

You should do kids' parties!

So, how did this all begin... where's your hometown, and what were you into growing up?

I'm from a small town not worth mentioning, in south central New Jersey. New York was always just on the horizon, like the Emerald City in Oz. I often wonder how this all began myself. There's a few memories that come right to the surface: my first wig, a green one from Universal Studios Orlando at age 5; my first two concerts at 7, Cher and Bette Midler; religiously renting The Rocky Horror Picture Show on VHS from blockbuster at 9; my mom playing Queen's Greatest Hits in the kitchen and telling me that Freddie Mercury was the coolest man who ever lived.

I always went big for Halloween--really big, I'm talking prosthetics by third grade and gender play by sixth. Then I got into theater, film, and eventually ended up in Manhattan for college, where I was able to release all of my passions without the constraints of small town life.

Growing up, I was into everything spooky and queer that defied the norm. It wasn't a conscious rejection of heteronormativity, it was simply who I was from the very beginning. Anyone who thinks I'm new to this type of lifestyle and culture is in denial of my entire existence.

So movies were always there! Besides Rocky Horror, what are some other favorites?

Creature features will always have a special place in my heart. I find them to be a metaphor for anyone who has ever felt they had something to hide about themselves. American Werewolf in London, The Fly, Carrie, Gremlins, anything from the minds of Stephen King, John Carpenter, and John Waters. Oh, and the Chucky franchise has always been a favorite of mine. I have all the dolls.

Did you see that Carrie remake, like, 5 years ago? It was dumb. Well, there are two remakes: an early 2000's TV movie, the 2013 Julianne Moore remake, and a 90's sequel to the original. All have their charm, but the best part of each incarnation is surely the role of Margaret White, Carrie's psycho momma. Gays really seem to relate to that film, and the character Carrie. I know I did. She's the ultimate outcast who gets the greatest revenge on her abusers. My first drag performance in Brooklyn was actually a parody of Carrie, where I played both mother and daughter, appropriately set to the music of Madonna and Britney. Metropolitan [Bar] wasn't thrilled with the blood, though.

Was drag just the best venue for you to explore these aesthetics and interests, or was there something else about it that strongly appealed to you?

I moved to NYC to pursue a career in film, and while on that journey came to desperately miss performing. So, yes, drag was the best way to jump back in the performance ring while combining politics, pop culture, and aesthetics. It was hard at first to build an audience for my film work before drag. Now I'm in this creative community where anything is possible, and I can get back behind the camera and generate content that has an audience. Drag is a powerful platform, and I'm excited to see what other avenues it may lead me down.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with! Why don’t you have a wackier drag name than “Queen Robert?” I mean, it is kind of funny in a minimalist sorta way.

I get that all the time! I have a whole list of wacky drag names, and I'd love to utilize them for some more character driven work / alter egos (Gaggatha Christie is my evil twin; I keep her locked up, though).

My drag, isn't necessarily female impersonation, I have a beard, I don't wear a bra, I'm never out here trying to be "fish." I'm a camp queen, so my personality is wacky enough. I never liked my name Robert, until one day I threw "Queen" in front of it and I was like, "oh yeah, that's better!” I'm a butch queen; I embrace my femininity and masculinity. Robert is a very masculine name... but honey, I'm a damn queen! Drag for me hasn't been about inventing a new personality and a new name; it's about being my ultimate creative self.

Also, there's so many repeat names in the drag business, it's annoying to constantly have to clarify which artist you're talking about depending on first or last name. I'm the only Queen Robert: unless you wanna try to compare my name to Bob the Drag Queen--but that would be silly, her real name is Caldwell!

So, how did you begin hosting “Screen Queen” at the Rosemont?

Troy at the Rosemont took interest in my pop culture numbers and said he had a monthly slot available. Being a film buff, I naturally turned the night into a celebration of local queer filmmakers and popular movies in the LGBT community.

What’s your personal strategy of “screen queening,” particularly with the classics? Do you share anecdotes during the movie, do you wait til it’s over, or do you just let it speak for itself?

It's a fun night! I show the film early, chime in from time to time with fun anecdotes or conversation with the audience about their experiences with the film. Then we jump into shows inspired by the film. This month was Pink Flamingos, and this got filthy! Lee VaLone was licking shoes. Pepto Dismal shit eggs on a hot plate. Misty Menthol puked on Coma White. People were actually gagging. Divine would have been proud. Next month is the much more family friendly Mamma Mia.

Yikes, I can’t wait for you to do Showgirls! What have been some of the films that affected you as far as those made by local filmmakers that you’ve screened?

Joe Sulsenti's Fishy was a highlight. It's an animation starring Amanda Lepore. There's so many talented artists that I've been able to screen, I love them all. Sweaty Eddie, Chris of Hur, Amber Alert, Marcel Saleta, Miwa Sakulrat, Chris Crompton. Everybody has such a unique voice and style. It's wonderful hearing their process.

Werk! So I was in the house for the last session of the Lady Liberty drag competition at the Ace Hotel a few months ago. It was a “Snatch Game” celebrity impersonation edition, and you appeared as a clean-shaven Big Ang with ginormous bazooms! It was a hilarious and affectionate portrayal, and it got you in the top two. What made you decide to enter that completion as her? My lesbian bestie Daniella in New Jersey and I would religiously watch Mob Wives and Big Ang together. I regret so deeply I didn't go to her bar in Staten Island, The Drunken Monkey, to meet her before she passed. She's one of my spirit animals (her and Kathy Bates). Everyone said I shouldn't do her for “Snatch Game” because of Pearl's portrayal on Drag Race. But, I have been impersonating her in some sense for years, so I felt it was necessary. And I know her family saw my portrayal and they said she would have loved it. Party everyday, because you never know when you're gonna go!

Lady Liberty returns for a Pride edition this Friday to the Ace Hotel, and you’re gonna be back there too! How do you think it’s gonna go!? I think that they are expecting to get another "Big Ang" moment, and that's simply not what I have cooking. They'll be getting something uniquely me. I hope it goes well!

I bet it will!

And looking a little bit ahead, you'll be at Bizarre on post-Pride Tuesday for a special edition of Lee Valone's BEEF, with a bunch of cool people like The Brides of Burlesque, Pierretta Viktori, Devo Monique and Viktor Devonne. Have you turned it on that stage before?

I love performing at Bizarre! They really have a proper stage, which does help heighten numbers. BEEF Show is a damn riot, always diverse, always entertaining, and I'm thrilled to join this month's cast.

June 28th, you'll be throwing your wig into the June installment of the Mx Mont Rose comedy queen pageant at the Rosemont! That's gonna be quite a lineup. No spoilers, but did you know what you wanted to do immediately for that one?

Comedy is hard. There's a fine line to walk. People are very sensitive. One safe bet is to make fun of yourself. I'm hoping to give you something like the result of Joan Rivers topping Robin Williams after a drunken night at The Rosemont.

That’s all any of us want! Good luck! Anything else coming up to mention?

There's always something. Tuesday, July 3rd at The Rosemont, Screen Queen: MAMMA MIA featuring my sisters Chutney Spears, Tiffany Jones Sterling, Flower Tortilla, and Jessica Rose. [And I’m doing] FAILURE, July 5th at Bizarre.

But what's really exciting is the music video I'm directing for Crystal Mesh this summer. I'll give you a hint... there's gonna be lots of chlorine and cum.

Gag! One last question: what advice do you have for new NYC Pride-goers this week?

More glitter. Less clothes. Stay hydrated. Tip your performers AND bartenders! Have fun and be safe! Oh... and be sure your Pride merch benefits the community or a cause, and not some capitalist corporation that doesn't truly support the LGBT community!

The Queen has spoken! Thank you!

Queen Robert hosts “Screen Queen” every first Thursday at the Rosemont (10pm). Check Thotyssey’s calendar for all her scheduled gigs, and follow the Queen on Facebook and Instagram.

On Point Archives

#onpointwith #queenrobert

2 notes · View notes