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bestworstcase · 2 years

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Additionally to Cinders rebellion vs Oscar’s growing resignation, there is also the contrast between Salem and Ozpin: Salem could treat Cinder better, but Ozpin has no choice in the eventual assimilation of Oscar. (Like, it's explicitly said it can be slowed down by not using magic, but not stopped. And, as far as anyone knows, it's not like Ozpin can leave. Both Salem's and Ozpin's behaviours are also very much mirror how the Gods treated them.

if i were talking about the involuntary soul parasite reincarnation thing i would have said so. ozpin can't remove himself from oscar's head, but he does get to choose how he acts.

initially, their dynamic is characterized by oscar begging to be left alone, for ozpin to stop talking to him and stop telling him what to do, and ozpin blithely ignoring that—for all that his sympathy is genuine, he's nonetheless consistent in using that feeling not to comfort but to dismiss, to argue, to cajole. "i don't want this," oscar says, and ozpin's answer is always "i'm sorry, but you don't get a choice." you have to go to haven. you have to uphold my responsibilities because they're your responsibilities now. you have to sacrifice everything—but don't think of it as sacrifice, think of it as an opportunity for greatness. you didn't want to spend your whole life on a farm anyway, did you?

and you can't get upset with me for reading your thoughts, because they're my thoughts now too.

he lies to oscar as much as he lies to anyone else, and when oscar threatens the secrets he's keeping, ozpin forcibly resists oscar's effort to regain control—if he could have fully suppressed oscar then, he would have, and we know that because he tried to. he doesn't treat oscar like a successor; he treats oscar like an extension of himself.

then he seals himself away, which leaves oscar free to process... all of this. and while there are subtle signs of oscar continuing to assimilate ozma's memories and ozpin's perspective to some degree throughout this time, oscar also really comes into his own in v6-7—oscar emerges and flourishes in ozpin's absence, even as bits and pieces of ozma's past lives, including ozpin, are integrated into his psyche. he becomes more confident, more courageous, more certain of himself, more committed to trust and honesty—and in every respect, increasingly less like ozpin.

it feels... telling? that the first genuine conversation oscar and ozpin have after ozpin returns involves oscar expressing this feeling—that he's become more himself without ozpin—and ozpin gently dismissing it as merely an illusion. i also don't think it's entirely coincidental that ozpin spends a significant chunk of the volume after this point alternately trying to convince oscar to let him take control or else do things that will accelerate the merge, like using magic. ozpin isn't... malicious, exactly, but he is deeply uncomfortable with not being in control. that's why his lack of trust in oscar, and his ultimate decision to acquiesce when oscar asks for trust, is the fulcrum of his character arc in v8—and an exact reflection of salem's "i've realized it's all my fault" thing with cinder.

the contrast here isn't that salem could choose to do better and ozpin has no choice; salem is cruel and exacting, but ozpin is no less ruthless than she is. he just goes about it much more subtly and is, frankly, the better manipulator by a wide margin. and the shifting dynamic and balance of power between ozpin and oscar in v8 very precisely mirrors the paradigm shift between salem and cinder; i think ozpin's change of heart is a lot more likely to be immediately genuine than salem's is, but i have the same questions about him that i do about salem—how far is he willing to change? how much is he able to change? to what lengths is he willing to go to follow through on his words with actions, to challenge his own habits, to relinquish control, to be vulnerable even when it's hard?—because their circumstances are broadly similar.

and like, while salem is going to have this external pressure to change in the form of cinder's ongoing and escalating rebelliousness in conjunction with salem's obvious determination to keep cinder on her side without squashing the rebellion—hence tacit permission granted in 8.14—for ozpin the more genuine desire to change and the much more prominent and genuine care he feels for oscar is going to be up against the temptation to just... wait it out, until there isn't enough left of oscar to demand change. the longer ozpin hesitates the less pressure there will be on him, because oscar's dissolving whether they like it or not and oscar has already kind of just accepted that he's going to die sooner or later, and the only way to truly prevent that from happening is for them to be separated, which is something that ozma... to all appearances has never seriously considered before, even when he had all four of the relics at his disposal.

#rambling here but like #ozpin is gentle. that doesn't mean he's good or kind.#and if there's a silver lining to salem's cruelty #it's that she doesn't try to pretend she *isn't* cruel #she's... not quite honest. but she's not duplicitous #ozpin's manipulation is so much harder to see #because he cloaks it in gentleness and sympathy and regret #so cinder rebels. and oscar becomes resigned

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meruz · 3 years

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once again i am answering asks in a big compilation post. included is... gotham, patrick stump, tips about drawing backgrounds, tips about drawing in general, links to my faq, and infinity train

like.... the tv series? No... I’ve drawn dc comics fanart before, though. But it’s been years since I’ve been really into it. I like jumped ship like 10 years ago when the New 52 happened LOL.

AFJHDSLKGH I’m sorry I (probably) won’t do it again??

Actually full disclosure I have a truly cringe amount of p stump drawings/photo studies in my sketchbook right now LOL. He’s just fun to draw... hats, glasses, guitar, a good shape... but I don’t think I’ll rly post those until I can hide them in another big sketchbook pdf.. probably Jan 2022. Stay tuned........ (ominous)

(ominous preview)

These are all sort of related to backgrounds/painting so I grouped them together even though they’re pretty much entirely separate questions.... ANYWAYS

a) How is it working as a BG artist? Is it hard? What show are you drawing for?

I think you’re the first person to ever ask me about my job! Being a background artist is great. It’s definitely labor intensive but I think that could describe pretty much any art job (If something were rote or easy to automate, you wouldn’t hire an artist to do it) and I hesitate to say whether its harder or easier than any other role in the animation pipeline. Plus, so much of what truly makes a job difficult varies from one production to the next, schedule, working environment, co-workers etc. But I will say that I think while BGs are generally a lot of work on the upfront, I think they’re subject to less scrutiny/revisions than something like character/props/effects design and you don’t have to pitch them to a room like boards. So I guess it’s good if you don’t like to talk to people? LOL

A lot of my previous projects + the show I’ve worked on the longest aren’t public yet so I can’t talk about em (but I assure you if/when the news does break I won’t shut up about it). But I’m currently working on Archer Season 12 LOL. I’m like 90% sure I’m allowed to say that.

b) ~~~THANK YOU!! ~~~

c) What exactly do you like to draw most [in a background]?

@kaitomiury Lots of stuff! I really like to draw clutter! Because it’s a great opportunity for environmental storytelling and also you can be kind of messy with it because the sheer mass will supersede any details LOL.

I like to draw clouds... I like to draw grass but not trees lol,,, I like to draw anything that sells perspective really easily like tiled floors and ceilings, shelves, lamp posts on a street etc.

d) Do you have any tips on how to paint (observational)?

god there’s so much to say. painting is really a whole ass discipline like someone can paint their whole life and still discover new things about it. I guess if you’re really just starting out my best advice is that habit is more important than product. especially with traditional plein air painting, I find that the procedure of going outside and setting up your paints is almost harder than the actual painting. There’s a lot of artists who say “I want to do plein air sometime!!” and then never actually get around to doing it. A lot of people just end up working from google streetview or photos on their computer.

But going outside to paint is a really good challenge because it forces you to make and commit to lighting and composition decisions really quickly. And to work through your mistakes instead of against them via undo button.

My last tip is to check out James Gurney’s youtube channel because hes probably the best and most consistent resource on observational painting out there rn. There’s lots other artists doing the same thing (off the top of my head I know a lot of the Warrior Painters group has people regularly posting plein air stuff and lightbox expo had a Jesse Schmidt lecture abt it last year) but Gurney’s probably the most prolific poster and one of the best at explaining the more technical stuff - his books are great too.

e) Do you have tips for drawing cleanly on heavypaint?

@marigoldfool UMM LOL I LIKE ONLY USE THE FILL TOOL so maybe use the fill tool? Fill and rectangle are good for edge control as opposed to the rest of the heavy paint tools which can get sort of muddles. And also I use a stylus so maybe if you’re using your finger, find a stylus that works with your device instead. That’s all I’ve got, frankly I don’t think my drawings are particularly clean lol.

f) Tips on improving backgrounds/scenes making them more dynamic practicing etc?

Ive given some tips about backgrounds/scenes before so I’m not gonna re-tread those but here’s another thing that might be helpful...

I think a good way to approach backgrounds is to think of the specific story or even mood you want to convey with the background first. Thinking “I just need to put something behind this character” is going to lead you to drawing like... a green screen tourist photo backdrop. But if you think “I need this bg to make the characters feel small” or “I need this bg to make the world feel colorful” then it gives you requirements and cues to work off of.

If I know a character needs to feel overwhelmed and small, then I know I need to create environment elements that will cage them in and corner them. If a character needs to feel triumphant/on top of the world then I know I need to let the environment open up around them. etc. If I know my focal point/ where I want to draw attention, I can build the background around that.

Also, backgrounds like figure compositions will have focal points of their own and you can draw attention to it/ the relationship the characters have with the bg element via scale or directionality or color, any number of cues. I think of it almost as a second/third character in a scene.

Not every composition is gonna have something so obvious like this but it helps me to think about these because then the characters feel connected and integrated with the environment.

Some more general art questions

a) Do you have any process/tips to start drawing character/bodies/heads?

I tried to kind of draw something to answer this but honestly this is difficult for me to answer because I don’t think I’m that great at drawing characters LOL. Ok, I think I have two tips.

1) flip your canvas often. A lot about what makes human bodies look correct and believable is symmetry and balance. Even if someone has asymmetrical features, the body will often pull and push in a way to counterbalance it. we often have inherent biases to one side or another like dominant hands dominant eyes etc. you know how right-handed artists will often favor drawing characters facing 45 degrees facing (the artist’s) left? that’s part of it. so viewing your drawing flipped even just to evaluate it helps compensate for that bias and makes you more aware of balance.

2) draw the whole figure often. I feel like a lot of beginner artists (myself included for a long time) defer to just drawing headshots or busts because it’s easier, you dont have to think about posing limbs etc. But drawing a full body allows you to better gauge proportion, perspective, body language, everything that makes a character look believable and grounded.

Like if you (me) have that issue where you draw the head too big and then have to resize it to fit the proportions of the rest of the body, it’s probably because you (I) drew the head first and are treating the body as an afterthought/attachment. Sketching out the whole figure first or even just quick drawing guides for it will help you think of it more holistically. I learned this figure drawing in charcoal at art school LOL.

oh. third mini tip - try to draw people from life often! its the best study. if you can get into a figure drawing/nude drawing class EVEN BETTER and if you have a local college/art space/museum that hosts those for free TREASURE IT AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT, that’s a huge boon that a lot of artists (me again) wish they had. though if youre not so lucky and youre sitting in a park trying to creeper draw people and they keep moving.. don’t let that stop you! that’s good practice because it’s forcing you to work fast to get the important stuff down LOL. its a challenge!

b) I’ve been pretty out of energy and have had no inspiration to draw but I have the desire to. Any advice?

Dude, take a walk or something.... Or a nap? Low energy is going to effect everything else so you gotta hit that problem at its source.

If you’re looking for inspiration though, I’d recommend stuff like watching a movie, reading a book, playing video games etc. Fill up your idea bank with content and then give yourself time/space to gestate it into new concepts. Sometimes looking at other art works but sometimes it can work against you because it’s too close.

Also something that helps me is remembering that art doesn’t always have to be groundbreaking... like it’s okay to make something shitty and stupid that you don’t post online and only show to your friend. That’s all part of the process imo. If you want to hit a home run you gotta warm up first, right? Sports.

I should probably compile everytime i give tips on stuff like this but that’s getting dangerously close to being a social media artist who makes stupid boiled down art tutorials for clout which is the last thing i want to be... the thing I want to stress is that art is a whole visual language and there are widely agreed upon rules and customs but they exist in large part to be broken. Like there's an infinite number of ways to reach an infinite number of solutions and that’s actually what makes it really cool and personal for both the artist and the viewer. So when you make work you like or you find someone else’s work you like, take a step back and ask yourself what about it speaks for you, what about it works for you, what makes it effective, how to recreate that effect and how to break that effect completely, etc. And have a good time with it or else what’s the point.

for the first 2, I direct you to my FAQ

For the last one, I don’t actually believe I’ve ever addressed artwork as insp for stories/rp but I’ll say here and now yeah go ahead! As long as you’re not making profit or taking credit for my work then I’m normally ok with it. Especially anything thats private and purely recreational, that’s generally 100% green light go. I only ask that if you post it anywhere public that you please credit me.

(and I reserve the right to ask you to take it down if I see it and don’t approve of it’s use but I think that case is pretty rare.)

a) @lemuelzero101 Thank you!!! I haven’t played Life is Strange but actually that series’ vis dev artist Edouard Caplain is one of my bigger art inspirations lately so that’s a really high compliment lol. And yeah I hope we get 5-8 too...!

b) Thank you for sticking around! I’ve been thinking about Digimon and Infinity Train in tandem lately, actually. They’re a little similar? Enter a dangerous alternate world and have wacky adventures with monsters/inanimate objects that have weird powers... there’s like weird engineers and mechanisms behind the scenes... also frontier literally starts with them getting on a train. Anyways if anyone else followed me for digimon... maybe you’d like Infinity Train? LOL

c) @king-wens-king I’M GLAD MY ART JUST HAS PINOY VIBES LOL I hope you are having a good day too :^)

a, b, c, d) yessss my Watch Infinity Train agenda is working....

e) aw thank you!! i think you should watch infinity train :)

#ask #trying this new thing where i tag people in the body of the post instead

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sugar-petals · 4 years

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Please do a tarot reading on bts personality? Thank you

if we’re talking personality, it’s time for the big guns. i promised i’d use this deck to an anon, today we’re doing a shaman soul reading.

Jungkook: THE RAINBOW

A sign that the end of the storm is near. This card is truly blessed and imbued with great innocence because that’s exactly what Jungkook is. It’s the “everything is alright” signal: The rainbow symbolizes completion of the soul in the Himalayan region where shamans consider rainbows a bridge to the afterlife. Believe it or not: What we see as JK is the last incarnation of his line. His journey is basically complete (!), it is whole. He’s found what we will all find and the end which is a state of profound happiness. There’s a reason why he brings so much ease, fun, and talent everywhere he goes. That sense of lightness and positivity is deeply embedded in him. Brightness, bubbliness, fleeting moods but always optimistic. His personality is all about joy and the feeling of soaring high. It’s not a farce we see on camera, he really is like that. What I noticed is. Since we see a colorful bird dashing forward on a ray of light, I believe JK is headed somewhere blissful, and he’s headed there fast. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, pretty much. Not just the shamans in Nepal consider the rainbow as an arch, Norse ones do, too. The Bifröst bridge connects Midgard to the Æsir. Jungkook has a sort of divine connection going on. That’s why his personality is dignified. Bifröst is translated to ‘shimmering path’, that he got famous was destined from the beginning.

Hoseok: THE SWEAT LODGE

Hey, Mama. I am not surprised that this card is all about a connection to mother earth and all things maternal. The hut — and the ritual that is behind it — is essentially an image for the womb. Hoseok is looking for that warm and cozy feeling in his life. That tells you a whole lot about the personality we rarely see on stage, it’s a much calmer state. The act of sweating disperses old habits and bad thoughts, this is precisely what he seeks. That blissful, protected place/state of being attracts him, or rather, draws him back into his past. His character is so youthful and cheery because he longs for a space like the sweat lodge that leaves you relaxed, drained from the weight of the world, and without sorrows. What he longs for is purity. He’s let go of demons and phases in his life he’s grown out of. His goal is to feel renewed and being without baggage. Note also that the sweat lodge is a community place. He is deeply social, it’s not an act. Hoseok aspires to be a nurturing figure in the future, and peace is very important to him.

Jin: TAMING THE WIND

Think about it: Something as dynamic as air representing Jin makes a lot of sense. He might be a fire sign, but air is nonetheless strong in him. He is a person who is self-directed and cannot be grasped at any time. Air does what it wants, and few other forces can stop it. On top of that, wind is malleable. It can be completely still, gently blowing, come on strong, or be a flat out hurricane. The different levels of intensity are all present in Jin’s character. As in, he can be the introvert of all introverts only to turn into extroversion embodied. The card tells us about just how versatile he can be. That he will achieve more consistency in the future is represented by the act of taming: Yes, he will settle. Visually, the feather is the most important part of this card. It symbolizes a holy dedication to life and distributes smoke during shaman rituals. It can also be interpreted as a pointer when you’re in alignment. So, I’d describe Jin’s character as something that dispels the old to bring about harmony. Thus, he is wild and tame alike. Very interesting duality.

Namjoon: THUNDER

Next to Jimin’s card, this is the most powerful one I pulled. If you’re familiar with The Tower in tarot, THUNDER is similar. Especially in its spiritual weight. Thunder always hails of new things coming. Namjoon is that kind of vanguard. Even his voice booms like thunder man, that’s no coincidence. That he’s the leader of one of the most famous boy groups on this planet means something dramatic and big coming our way. At his core, he is revolutionary. Namjoon is Namjoon because of his message that’s loud, terrifying to great many a hater, and a call to awakening. I am certain he is on his way to enlightenment, I’m not kidding. Because think about, thunder comes first, then: lightning. It describes his personality progression well: Namjoon did a full 180° in the last years. He did all of his shadow work. This card always says a person is about to fulfill their purpose, so he’s currently at the very brink. He is scared to the core but knows that he’s destined for great things. Like buffalos storming ahead, he is unstoppable just like that. It’s because of him that the game changes 😊

Yoongi: THE PRESENT

Beside the literal interpretation of Yoongi being a present to this world which truly is the case, this card also means unconditional offering in a general sense. You’d think it’s his wonderful music that he has gifted us. The meaning of the card says otherwise, things go deeper, it’s about something that is not material in nature. Only true love and true feelings can fully belong to a person and they can give them as a present. I think this is what Yoongi’s personality at its deepest level is about. He is a generous man. Who is more giving than someone so dedicated and full of tender emotions. The card is also a signifier of gratitude, and I think Yoongi truly is thankful. The winged woman shown on the card lifts up the sun, which tells me Yoongi wants to uphold joy and that he was sent to us as an angelic, radiant being. Lil’ cherub he is. The card is colored in such a bright yellow and orange way, I think he could be a kind of light worker, even, if you’re familiar with this concept. What Yoongi’s aim is at its most basic level is to gain access to the happiness of life. And he wishes so dearly we experience it, too. I need a moment.

Jimin: THE INCA CROSS

Ooof. Oh shit. This card is a massive fucking deal. I’m stunned every time I see it. It has a huge wtf factor. A simple but overarching symbol. To shamans, the Inca Cross symbolizes all directions and dimensions coming together. It even connects the Underworld with the Gods themselves. It also has a hole in the middle, allowing us to travel to a different perspective. It tells me Jimin is the one holding everything around him together with his personality. He is that cross, a compass basically. He has access to greater wisdom. The Inca Cross is a big leap, this is what Jimin essentially is. What he exudes propels us forward and unites us. He can make people change their mind and direction in life. He is only halfway aware of that skill. I wouldn’t mess with him either way, he is the true axis of Bangtan. The crucial (=cross-like!) one, even Namjoon said that. Now what’s also important is not just the cross itself but also the color. It is made of solid gold, a very warm tone. His charm and soothing character is innate to Jimin, and that is a regal feat. It’s very important that he knows his worth, that is the crux —cross— of the matter. Now this is where it gets really metaphysical: That the Inca Cross bridges the lower, middle (Human), and upper realm to shamans in Peru is no coincidence. It tells us Jimin was sent from a place that is not this, aka the middle world. I think even people who are not into spirituality can feel that. He is either a saved soul from the Underworld so this is his first incarnation after a long time or he was sent from the Gods. Because the cross connects all worlds, it could even be both at the same time. And since the Inca Cross allows dimension and time travel (!)… maybe he can do even that. This card is telling me the wildest shit.

Taehyung: HEART OF SKY

During the last tarot readings I drew The Empress for him several times, the energy is no different here. This card has Queen of the Night type of imagery. It’s a very dreamy, whimsical woman immersed in melancholy, dressed in lavish garments. It’s not hard to see the parallel to Taehyung’s character. He is just as nostalgic and concerned with all things that bring more beauty to this planet. That is his purpose. I repeat: Taehyung is here to spread the fine things in life to bring us sophistication and wholesomeness. The Heart of Sky is quite possibly the card most connected to creativity and love. It encourages the one receiving it to paint. We know he’s already an artist at heart, the shaman cards know it, too. Heart of Sky means to pour out your emotions. And to show all your talents in a gorgeous way. The card is just… spot on. Nighttime plays an important role in this illustration, Tae is more Moon than Sun in personality. He’s in tune not just with his divine masculine, but also feminine. Perfect balance. The Heart of Sky carries with it a strong ethical component also, that means Taehyung is figuring out his intent very often. He’s a benevolent person, a creator. A good person, a benevolent heart. He wants the best for everyone, you and me, anybody.

Bangtan: THE SUN

I also pulled a card for the personality of the group as a sum. THE SUN is pretty straightforward: BTS are luminaries, a figurative giant. A super-star. Shamans connect the sun to male energy so the allegory fits, there’s a bright and positive masculine quality in their work. BTS are a hot topic and the energy is high. Sometimes even overpowered because their solar pizzazz is so ardent — burning out is the #1 danger here. That’s why the members connected to the moon and night (Joon, Tae, Yoongi, to some extent Jimin) are so important to balance everything. Passion, humor, creativity, playfulness are always around when BTS is near. The sun is at the center or the universe and widely seen, the group indeed takes that center spot right now. Many other life forms depend on the sun, revolve around it, BTS and their light are needed. If they fall, a system collapses. The card tells us they are currently at their zenith, truly radiant now, soaring like the winged spirit on the card. Also, to state the obvious: Come on, who’s the sun of BTS? Hobi’s personality sticks out the most, reflects back to the group dynamic. This is his card and time to shine. He makes or breaks the deal and the cards know it. He sets the tone.

bighit: THE JAGUAR

I wanted to see what the personality of bighit as a whole is, too. Unsurprisingly — what came out is an animal who’s a roaring force to be reckoned with. The energy is a lot more competitive and serious compared to The Sun. I find it convincing and see why these cards came out: Lighthearted group, big business company. Now, the Jaguar has a dark side as well as extreme advantages. He sure doesn’t look like the scariest animal ever, but being on top of the food chain allows him to do whatever he pleases: He’ll never be prey. On the other hand, he is protected because he’s so strong. Bighit does have that quality of being untouchable. Much like the jaguar, it’s an undertaking that operated in the shadows for long. We know that Bang PD claims to have the secret success formula and isn’t as public as say Lee Soo Man and JYP. There is a component of mystery, and the other companies are careful because of it. On the light side, BTS certainly have powerful and rational guidance. To give an analogy from the jungle book: Bighit is like Bagheera, the voice of reason, infusing BTS with strength and knowledge.

if you like my readings, support your local tiger on ko-fi 🐅

#holy moly jimin's card #bts #bts tarot #bts shaman reading #tarot #anon #bts oracle cards #bts oracle reading #cub mail 🐅

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hellyeahomeland · 4 years

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“Two Minutes” | Directed by Tucker Gates, Cinematography by Giorgio Scali

[This week remained hectic as heck so we are keeping the more casual format. --Sara]

Sara: Opening (or closing) with a Carrie mirror shot is classic Homeland and I love to see it! She looks very tired. I hope when the series is over, Carrie takes a long nap. But not, y’know, the LONG long nap.

Gail: If this shot is a look into her current emotional state, which I think it most definitely is, she looks tired but determined. She hasn’t been out of that rehab center for very long, you have to wonder how her medications are working, because it’s clear she isn’t getting enough sleep. But good God--Claire Danes is gorgeous!

Gail: When I watched this scene I had a few realizations. At first I thought the red thing in front of the water glass was a pill but when I zoomed in it looks like floss. Then it occurred to me that we haven’t seen Carrie taking her meds or listening to jazz this season. This version of Carrie seems very stripped down (no pun intended). No mentions of seeing her family or FaceTiming Franny either. I don’t know what any of this means yet, but pointing it out for future context.

Sara: Floss? Whoulda thunk? I love this very obviously photoshopped (or whatever the video equivalent of that is… CGI?) scene of “mourners” gathering outside the White House.

Gail: I loved this opening shot of Max with his back to us... much like the donkey at the end of the episode, he has the flight recorder strapped to his back via a backpack and he treks uphill. I love the pop of color from the flight recorder and Max’s backpack in this desert-like scene. The importance in this shot is all about knowing where the flight recorder is and less about who is carrying it. Although I’m sure everyone joined us in a sign of relief to see Max still alive!

Sara: Chekhov’s flight recorder! I’m thinking of other significant objects on the show (like Brody’s vest), but none have gotten the attention that this dang flight recorder is getting. Also, Max writing his name in sharpie on his backpack is big younger child energy.

Sara: As someone who wears glasses, I really admire that Max is always, without fail, wearing his. No matter how sweaty he is. I love you, Max!

Gail: It is very interesting how every time Saul is kidnapped, his glasses are taken from him, but Max gets to keep his (for now at least?). Maybe there is a metaphor there about how Max isn’t losing sight of the bigger picture?

Sara: IJLTP, and it’s the first of a few POV shots this week. Max really is like an audience stand-in and this makes it even more literal.

Gail: IJLTP too! Such a great shot.

Sara: They had a shot very similar to this in Keane’s speech from “Paean to the People.” I really love how you can see how very manufactured this all is. Not that any of us need to be reminded of that…

Gail: The focus of this scene starts with the people behind it. I love that, because while the President is what the people are watching, he’s getting his cues and information from everyone else. In “Chalk One Up” we saw the theater of the peace announcement. Here we see the theater of the new president making his first speech. It’s all just words until the intentions behind them are realized.

Sara: Some of the keywords here:

Bust

MARTA (the “mass” “transit” “system” in Atlanta… where my Atlanta homies at?)

Body scanner

Narcos

Influenza

Plot

Gail: If these keywords are a part of the search for Max, shouldn’t his name be on it? Or American? No wonder Carrie was pissed! Get with it, Lonnie!

Sara: I know this is a stunt double, but it’s still meant to be Carrie, and Carrie riding this motorcycle so awesomely is one of the most badass things about her. We have no choice but to stan.

Gail: What a cool payoff to all of the scenes and allusions of Carrie leaving the station undetected. Girl is resourceful, no doubt.

Sara: Are these wide shots so that Costa Ronin, who is apparently nine feet tall, and Claire Danes would both fit in the frame? Also, “I just like how he leans.”

Gail: I think the shot might be indicative of their power dynamic. But I agree with you, Yevgeny’s consistent nonchalance is such a great character detail.

Gail: Interesting that by the end of their scene, Yevgeny sits down, making his body language less threatening. He enjoys these games with Carrie a little too much for my liking.

Sara: That smirk…

Sara: The framing here is really interesting. G’ulom sitting casually while Saul and Scott Ryan stand stick straight, almost obediently (ironically), is really striking. G’ulom has these almost angelic white curtains behind him while Saul and Scott are cloaked in shadows.

Gail: This feels different from Yevgeny’s casual nonchalance. I get the sense here that G’ulom is sitting out of lack of respect for the people standing before him. G’ulom turned his back on platitudes the second he turned his back on Ambassador Gaeto in the opening of “Chalk Two Down.” He only stands at the end of the scene to exert his power over Saul and General Ryan.

Sara: And then this shot, which is incredible. Centering G’ulom in the frame really emphasizes his power.

Gail: Such a great POV shot to see Saul and General Ryan’s reactions to G’ulom.

Sara: ...and I love the specific choreography of Saul and Scott both exiting so that their bodies are hidden behind G’ulom. I feel like Homeland doesn’t do shots this stylized that often so when they do it feels all the more impactful.

Gail: I find it so interesting that G’ulom has turned his back on the audience too.

Gail: I love the glimpses of the relationship between Mike and Jenna. Is this how Saul and Carrie started out?

Sara: Oof, ya think? I didn’t even think about their relationship in that context (maybe because the age gap is not as great) but now that you say it... I find it a really interesting way to shoot this, almost like we’re eavesdropping on them eavesdropping on Carrie. I love when Homeland returns to themes of surveillance.

Sara: Why onions? Because we’re peeling the layers of this story. (I’ll see myself out.)

Gail: OMG, Sara! You are right, they are onions! I’m ashamed to say I thought they were beets. (Thanks, Dwight.)

Gail: When Fibrooz, Max’s captor, reaches for Max’s wrist in this scene, I thought he was going to unlock the cuffs. Doesn’t bode well for Max that this guy is all about making a buck.

Sara: Major Carrie in “Why Is This Night Different?” vibes. The framing is almost identical. This continues some of the role reversal of Carrie and Max this year.

Gail: I love the details in this shot and the one of the market shelves. It looks like a random assortment of remotes and calculators and jars on shelves, but it’s actually very organized.

Sara: Are they selling remote controls without the TVs that they control?

Sara: Chekhov’s flight recorder strikes again! Sorry, I have nothing intelligent to say about the device of this damn flight recorder because I find it so freaking hilarious.

Gail: I love how we are seeing the journey of this flight recorder and all of the different people who are getting their hands on it.

Sara: This show is really making me feel sympathy for Haqqani, which is completely wild. Look how he’s softly dressed in the light here. Total character rehab happening this season on all fronts. Numan Acar has infused him with a real weariness and softness that’s added so many new layers to what was once just a classic villain.

Gail: I agree, Numan Acar has done an outstanding job with his portrayal of Haqqani. The writers approach to softening him has paired wonderfully with the direction of the show and has led to great shots like this of Haqqani, the man and father.

Sara: Gail pointed this out on the podcast. As the conversation progresses and Hayes veers off script he literally turns away from Linus. Subtle but effective. The use of body language this season has been pretty great.

Gail: The choreography has been fantastic, I agree. Wellington has ditched his suit and has rolled up his sleeves. His calm demeanor and thoughtful counsel that we’ve come to know about him is clearly about to be tested.

Sara: IJLTP.

Gail: When one door (seemingly) closes, another one opens.

Sara: IJLTP.

Gail: The blue lights behind her are gorgeous.

Sara: “CATASTROPHIC ERROR”

Gail: The details! And much foreshadowing!

Gail: Things start out friendly and at a distance and then we rapidly move into tighter shots as Mike reveals to Saul just how bad the optics are for Carrie right now.

Sara: This is such a lovely shot and I love all Homeland rooftop scenes. Sometimes Carrie’s smoking, sometimes she’s having a panic attack, sometimes both things are happening at once. See how I turned this into a thing about Carrie?

Sara: I don’t know if this is a new choice by Claire, but recently I feel like Carrie has a habit of literally turning away from difficult conversations. Anyway, this Carrie/Saul scene was incredible.

Gail: There has been a subtle shift to her personality this season. It must be hard to face her new reality and looking at Saul has to be one of the more daunting reminders of what it used to be.

Sara: It struck my while watching (and rewatching and rewatching) that Saul is literally the only human on the planet who could have this conversation with her. He knows when to push and when to relent, when to raise his voice and when to lower it. He really does manage her. Likewise, she knows when and where to strike. It goes without saying that Claire and Mandy are incredible here. This scene is really a testament to how invaluable the foundation of watching two characters (and actors) develop a relationship, in real time, over ten years, is for the audience. It massively enhances the performances and the dramatic weight of the scene.

Gail: Sara!! You are buying into my Ivan/Saul convo theory (from “A False Glimmer”)!! I agree with everything you said and would add that with all of that being true, Saul can’t possibly think Carrie is getting on that plane back to rehab willingly.

(Sara: Guess he should have gotten the handcuffs then...)

Gail: What a stunning shot. I gasped when I saw it. Not because Haqqani was turning himself in. That I expected. But how Carrie witnesses it and reacts to it. The last time Carrie was that close to Haqqani she almost shot him. I Khan’t believe how much things have changed.

Sara: Gail, khan you not? Anyway, I agree, it’s a stunning shot. I can’t properly articulate why I love it so much so: IJLTP.

Sara: I know the show did something like when Carrie woke up from being drugged in “Why Is This Night Different?” I won’t check, because I don’t care to revisit that episode ever again. Gail, can you verify?

Gail: They did and it was eerily similar. Big difference though: Quinn was saving/protecting Carrie and Fibrooz is most definitely not doing the same for Max.

Gail: The bookend to the opening scene with Max. The flight recorder has made its way into another backpack, heading up a mountain. I LOVE the color in this scene and how the flight recorder is on a JOURNEY.

Sara: Quite possibly the funniest scene on this show ever.

Gail: This spy is heading into the cold...

Sara: “Carrie, no!” … “CARRIE YES!”

Gail: Yevgeny’s (partly faux) nonchalance (he sneaks a peek!) and Carrie’s focused stare say so much without saying a word. No looking out the window for Carrie this time, we know where her mind is at.

Sara: Carrie stares straight ahead. Yevgeny can’t help but turn and look at her. Truly iconic. I know I say that about everything, but this really is I-CON-IC!

#homeland #homelandedit #in the director's chair #two minutes #*#by: sara #by: gail

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hollywoodx4 · 5 years

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You all asked for another set of my trash human Hadestown hot takes so.....

I think maybe I should just start from the beginning and go from there, and sprinkle some details in when I think about them. And since you’ve mentioned before that detail is a good thing, I’m going to try really hard to articulate the 500 versions of “I can’t” and “She did that” and “UM” and “GIRL” Also as always, I apologize, but this is honestly a lot of Eva and Reeve heavy content. I love all of the cast, they are all so phenomenally talented and wonderful, but as usual my mind has chosen to hyper-focus on two things so this is what it is.)

(So. I’m thankful for this platform because before my notes were ALL “Um” and “Girl” and now you guys are motivating me to actually write what I’ve been thinking about non-stop all day on my one hour of sleep. So. Thank you! I went about labeling every song-and I actually end up having thoughts for every one, because I went back and listened through and wrote down what I could remember/the things I thought were relevant for the people that won’t be able to see it outside of the boot that literally everyone but me has at this point).

This is only act I. This is a loooooong hot take. This is a lot of Eva and Reeve specific commentary. This is just a lot of commentary. I think it’d be cool/beneficial/whatever to listen as you read? LOL thanks for coming to my actual, legitimate 5 page essay on Act I.

So. My overarching thought of the night (and, actually, I think I mentioned this when I was there two weeks ago too) is that Eva has been playing an incredibly soft Eurydice lately. Compared to when I was there for previews in April, or even back in August, it seems like each time I’ve gone back she just gets softer and softer, and it’s made me so incredibly happy to see her characterization grow. I do see Eurydice as someone who has been through a lot, and does have that tougher skin, and I think that Eva does a fantastic job in representing that in Any Way the Wind Blows. She keeps her voice strong and consistent, and has this look on her face that’s a cross between worry, wavering confidence, and just this tough shell of a girl who’s trying not to look like she’s given up. And this works so incredibly well when she meets Orpheus. Because I’m telling you, the flip in her demeanor happens in the most noticeably beautiful way during Wedding Song. But first, let’s talk about the fact that I’m not sure who decided that it’d be a good idea that Eva play with fire during this song, and aesthetically it’s just such a MOMENT to see Eurydice looking bored, head down on her arms on the table, eyes wide and uninterested/exhausted/hungry as she runs each of her fingers through the flame (and, at times, pauses to inspect the finger she’s just put into the fire, rub it against another finger or the table, and then begin her game again) I don’t know why this has become one of my favorite things about the staging but? I imagine this being something Eurydice just does sometimes to keep herself from thinking about how hungry she is, and it becomes a habit so that in the iteration where they both make it out of Hadestown and live happily ever after Eurydice just does this one time and makes poor Orpheus jump out of his skin worried that she’s somehow going to send herself back down by doing this. Because they still are walking on eggshells about the fact that they made it out and here she is playing with fire, LITERALLY. Okay, moving on....

So. What I like about Wedding Song live is that her speaking voice just. It’s a bit higher, softer. She still carries the teasing tone, but there’s just this incredulous lift in “is he always like this?” and a lot of laughter in “Oooh, he’s crazy.” and Reeve plays Orpheus so sweet and innocent that you can’t help but feel bad for this bumbling idiot stumbling over himself at this beautiful girl sitting there looking completely cool and collected. But. There’s a beautiful thing about the composition and balance Eva is able to maintain in that you can see that Eurydice is openly intrigued, but keeps herself guarded in a playful sort of way. Almost like she can’t keep herself guarded and wants to let her guard down. Her smile kills me over and over again during this scene. Again, Eva’s Eurydice has turned into quite the small, beautiful romantic and I just am so in love with everything that she has subtly changed and morphed, the girl is an absolute QUEEN.

Also, I can’t go any further without saying a big THANKS to Eva for making me cry the SECOND I heard her start to sing Any Way the Wind Blows and just continue that train all night long. What a fucking night.

Okay, so my favorite thing about Epic I is the sheer power that small boy Orpheus has in singing his la laas for the first time. I remember distinctly having the most goosebumps the first time I witnessed this back in April, and every single time it just. Leaves me breathless. And I think now that it’s been a few times, the goosebumps come from knowing how significant this melody will be throughout the show. But Reeve’s facial expressions as he sings them? Make you believe that la is the most important syllable in the dictionary. He closes his eyes and just feels the music and plays his guitar and he is just so phenomenally talented that WOW. Also my favorite small part of this song is that during my favorite line “with them the cycle of the seed and the sickle, etc.” he spins in circles while playing and singing and just. It’s the smallest amount of choreography that feels the most necessary, as if it’s Orpheus becoming so enraptured with the music that he has to move! And it’s in the middle of the tables that are in the “bar,” with the workers and Eurydice looking on and watching him tell this tale. It all feels so incredibly genuine-it makes you believe that Orpheus singing to the workers is something they’ve witnessed, almost something they look forward to when they come to the bar. I think it has to do with the fact that they’re all just watching him, intrigued but also settled in? As if this is routine, this is comfort, his songs are meant for them and for this little community he has. Even when he plays the first note of the Epic they’ve settled in and are sitting up watching him and listening intently. It gives his character a lot of soft power and dynamic without having to say anything, establishing him as an integral part of this life without so much as a word.

Uhhh Living it Up On Top is just my most favorite feel-good bop. Why? Because of the ensamble. Watching them dance is a blessing. It honestly feels like watching a fucking family reunion freestyle dance party every single time. You can physically see and feel how close this cast is; they make faces at each other, they laugh, and also this instrumental break included the Eva Noblezada booty drop which is EVERYTHING. And she also did a full leg extension kick this time which. Girl. Save some talent and cuteness for everyone else. I also find it extremely appropriate that during all of this kickass dancing and partying our boy Orpheus in all of his gangly, limbly qualities can be found sort of flitting around the stage, taking Persephone’s coat, then Eurydice’s, then putting things away and moving around giving out the cups to toast- like. It’s lowkey established in this scene that he’s 10/10 not the cool and effortless one in this relationship and is the cute small boy child. And I don’t know if that’s because I think that Eva’s really cool and charismatic and Reeve is a bit more shy in a crowd situation, but that’s 100% how this comes off to me/how I perceive the characterization and I’m here for it. And when the line “to the patroness of all of this, Persephone” came up Reeve was like 10 octaves higher than the cast recording, all squeaky and flustered. And then between that and his next line, he took a breath and smiled the big stupid baby Orpheus smile that makes him so charming-if you weren’t rooting for him before now you’re messed, but after the smile? And the high-toned, flustered rambling toast? Makes it impossible not to love him. (Also “to the world we dream about…” is my most favorite Hadestown quote so. I choked because every time I hear it, especially as genuine and sweet as Reeve says it as he looks out at the crowd, and then at the audience, is just. It makes you feel the reality that this show crosses with its messages and its story as a whole). And then after they drink their toast they all sputter and cough, and then the ending when they all sing “HOW ARE WE LIVING IT” it literally is so powerful and dynamic, I love this ensemble so fucking much. Their energy truly fuels the show. We are blessed.

OOOOHKAY CHILDREN BUCKLE UP FOR ME BEING DECEASED. Because All I’ve Ever Known? Um Eva, what the fuck? In a good way. In the way that the second she started singing I started crying immediately. Because I’ll say it again, she’s just become so soft and romantic that I can’t even handle it. The distinct memory I have from this song (where I literally almost hit my cousin because I went from heart-eyed staring with no breathing and my head in my hands like the stupid hopeless baby lesbian that I am to breathing everything in all at once and coughing a BIG cough of just. Literally just love.) During “You take me in your arms, and suddenly there’s sunlight all around me” Orpheus holds Eurydice with her back to him, and she opens her arms and sings about the sunlight. And I fucking SWEAR TO GOD the smile on her face. Like. Big, wide, eyes closed, you’d 100% fall in love with her the second you saw it too. I don’t know how you couldn’t. She just looks so incredibly happy and peaceful and this is the moment she completely drops her guard (although I’ll say that I believe a lot of it is dropped earlier along. But this moment is a transcendental experience) OH ALSO during the violin instrumental she literally does this like. Handstand split Over Reeve’s head that is so poetically beautiful (that entire choreography is, like. It really just makes the love feel so incredibly palpable, and the fact that this is the turning point of moments where suddenly there are NO MOMENTS where they’re not all over each other is just. It’s a moment.) And then they kiss and it’s flawless and I sob profusely at how beautifully done this entire choreography/moment/existence of two souls happens.

Way Down Hadestown also includes two of my favorite moments; Amber Gray dancing with her body at a 90 degree angle, head looking at the floor, and Orpheus and Eurydice peacing out and sitting to the side sharing a bar stool unable to keep themselves away from each other. Which. Is everything to the point where I literally told my cousin to watch them during this song. Because. His ear kisses (which. I hyperventilated about for like 3 paragraphs back in the beginning of October) are SO MUCH (so tender. So soft. The brushing back of the hair over her ears and the soft spoken words and the head on her head make me want to careen into an abyss and fall in love immediately) but I love them with all of my heart, he is so soft and gentle and it literally feels like such a moment being intruded upon that this is the way these two characters were meant to be played and I will accept nothing else. Also, Eva’s little minor chord, jazzy vocal moment during the last “way down under the GROOOOOOOUND is so beautifully done, I can’t believe she exists and just acts like it’s not a big deal that she can just. Be that good. And I also love the way that this moment is staged; Hades and Persephone are standing on the center turntable, and at those last few “way down, Hadestown, way down under the ground” after “kind of makes you wonder how it feels,” right when it kicks back into the faster tempo the turntable starts to descend. And there’s some fog, and they all stand and watch them go under the ground, and when Eurydice sings the last “way down under…she moves closer to the now hole in the ground and looks deeper, as if she’s so curious as to what is going on.

A Gathering Storm/Epic II I just like that in the OBC recording, Eurydice sounds kind of salty when she says “well, until someone brings the world back into tune, this is how it is.” But I think that it’s perceived more as a kind of matter-of-fact thing, as if watching Persephone descend has brought her back into her shell a little bit, set off some anxieties. She shrugs her shoulders and looks complacent, as if to tell him without as many words that she’s done this before, this is old news, this is going to happen. And when he says “he came for her too soon,” it’s rushed and quiet, but frantic, as if the entire weight of the situation immediately has been cast on his shoulders. And for the most part, that’s all I’ve got for him. The real superstar in this scene is the fucking imagery used to introduce the workers, and the symbolism of the workers AS THE WALL. So, when he says “With a million hands, he built a wall” the workers ascend from the center turntable in that really tight knit formation we’ve all seen pictures of and it’s just. Watching them in their uniforms come up as he’s talking about this big, brilliant wall and the workers begin to move in unison, then begin their chanting???? The lighting changes, the entire feel changes just based on the workers chanting and really having this ferociously unified choreography. And the most intense facial expressions ever. And they move from the center turntable to the outsides, and then fucking Hades and Persephone come up when the transition happens to Chant and it’s. All you need to completely transform a set is the lighting change, the workers, and the turntable. It’s the most incredible thing to witness this and feel like you’re in a completely different place.

Also, I just always feel for Eurydice in this moment. Because. She’s trying so hard to communicate with Orpheus, who’s standing at the bar stool they’d had their moment at during Way Down Hadestown writing this song, and you can see that she’s trying to be supportive but when she says “is he always like this?” it’s just. Exhaustion. And she says it so much more quiet and defeated than she does on the OBC. It’s heartbreaking. Because at the same point you’re watching Orpheus struggle to write this song, closing his eyes and tapping his feet and just trying to feel and let that feeling translate him into the rest of this song but it just won’t come, and you can see his growing frustration in his furrowed brow and his closed eyes. What I noticed is that during Eva’s little solos “Trying to trust that the song he’s working on is gonna shelter us…” / “I’m trying to believe that the song he’s working on is gonna harbor me from the wind” She hasn’t gone up on the last little phrase like she does on the OBC, which is one of the things I find to be so powerful on the OBC. And it’s still beautiful, but I’m wondering why she’s seemingly been choosing to go down instead of have that little moment of vocal power. OH ALSO. When she says “Give that back! It’s everything we have!” Her voice was BROKEN. And by that I mean she sounded so worried and devastated that. It just. Her voice was cracking as she pleaded for the fates to leave her alone and it was so immensely wonderful, but heartbreaking. Because as she struggles with the fates and their winds, and they rip her possessions from her one by one, she shrinks further into herself as she tries to buck up and continue fighting. But you can see as each thing gets taken (her backpack, her coat, etc) she grows more and more devastated and frightened. And then when they take her jacket, and she has nothing left, and she sings “SHEEEELTER US, HAAAARBOR ME!” She’s on her knees with her head in her hands, rocking back and forth and it is torturous to witness because you just want to cry for her. And Eva’s such a fucking powerhouse that you can feel the raw emotion, the fear and the devastation, and it just consumes. It’s amazing to be broken by Eva Noblezada over and over again, and that’s what she does this entire show. She is phenomenal.

Hey, Little Songbird is a song I don’t really have a lot of notes for. But the one note I do have is that Patrick Page makes everyone so in awe and also slightly frightened or incredibly woke (the amount of small whispers in the audience that compare him to a certain man of political power are to be expected, but always are significant) He also just. Skeeves me out so much in this song, and Eurydice is so broken already that it’s kind of like. She’s resigned and having trouble making sense out of anything that life has just thrown at her, and she keeps going to hold herself because she’s cold and hungry and tortured, and she just. Honestly, she makes the choice seem like one that Eurydice had to make because she looks so lost and hungry and upset and unable to hold herself up anymore that the choice doesn’t seem like a misguided one.

When the Chips are Down If I could have as much talent in my body as these girls have in their pinky finger I’d be set for life. Also, now’s a good time to mention that I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Jessie Shelton step in as a fate and it just. It was a wonderful experience, that girl is incredible. I saw her in August as Eurydice and she did a fantastic job (my only note back then had been that her chemistry with Reeve hadn’t been as strong, but I loved what she did with Eurydice-making her more badass and thick-skinned and over-it and also I genuinely don’t think that the Reeve-Eva chemistry can be matched.) But the flawless nature of these three souls singing together and just. Being the shit-eating-grin, fun to fuck you up, take no prisoners voices inside of your head? It just furthers the interpretation that they are the voices in your head amplified, because while they’re sort of doing their mockery of Eurydice/pushing her for her choice/etc. she covers her ears at one point they’re taunting her and it just. It feels to me as they’re pushing her around that they’re the personification of the battle inside of her heart as well, and she can’t escape the turmoil.

Gone, I’m Gone Me crying because I knew Wait for Me was coming so I was digging through my bag for my tissues and gently laying some on my cousin’s lap. (she hadn’t done a full listen-through of Hadestown before either, so I just. Gently prepared her for what was to come without saying a single word.

Wait for Me Okay, how detailed can I go? I don’t know how to fully capture the immense, all-encompassing, my heart is literally stopped inside of my chest but also full-on beating heavy as possible feeling. The second the first notes started the tears started pouring. I have such a fond memory of seeing this for the first time that every time afterward, I just. MY body kicks into this mode of complete and utter captivation. I’m also an empath so getting to experience a room full of people on the edge of their seats, dead silence, utter captivation and zero breath…..I will never forget this feeling. When I saw Hadestown back in April while it was still in previews, this song was given a 3 minute standing ovation….everyone was just struck and unable to handle the raw emotion. And it still rings true to this day-I was clutching my tissue with such force, watching the lights swing and the workers and their lamps through my tears. The most powerful moment is when the workers come out with their headlamps, and it gets dark-you wonder where you’re being transported to next. It’s a tethering atmosphere. And then, when they plug the lamps in and send them up? When the lamps begin swinging and their lights swing over the audience, casting this brilliant movement and shadow into the air? It holds so much mystery and hope and it gives off this incredible, indescribable power. And the power of the chorus singing along with him? It doesn’t feel like they’re the workers singing along. It feels like Orpheus’s love is so strong and so powerful that the workers are actually just his voice amplifying and exploding and CAREENING AND CREATING ALL OF THIS FUCKING POWER FROM HIS SONG AND HIS LOVE. And also, during the la la las around 1:40 on the OBC recording, when it gets soft and quiet, that’s when the lamps go up into the air, and there’s a rumbling and some fog and the set sort of opens up to reveal sections of bright lights that glow warm, and red. He’s opening the fucking stone wall with his song, people, and it’s the most brilliantly moving staging I have ever seen. Again, you don’t need one million props to captivate an audience. It’s the way the story is told and the music is composed and everything working together. I love this. I love that nothing distracts from the moment, that the las and the workers elevating his voice and the movement of the set and the lights and the fog all come together as one coherent set piece instead of parts of a working machine. It feels so natural that you believe that Orpheus is actually opening the wall with his voice. This piece of theatre is so transcendental that you forget that you’re not actually there. Props to Reeve Carney for existing because the way he performs this song is just so captivating and pure, and you can see the desperation in his eyes but you can also hear it in his voice; it’s more strained (not in a bad or unhealthy way at all, I just mean that it’s like. The culmination of his efforts from the Epic and how hard he was concentrating have elevated his power and he’s just fully unleashing it) You can physically see what I believe-that this strain, this hurt and this hope and this desperation are what lead him to opening the wall. He was able to do it because as he was singing, he was clearly just hurt and so damn determined that he just. He had this red-cheeked, hard-lipped expression while he sang and his body (which I lovingly describe as gangly and limbly) is just. In a power stance. Like. You fully believe in the power of this man during this song, he gives it everything and he is a good portion of the reason it carries its power so immensely through the audience. There’s not a dry eye in the house after. And what I love is the collective, disbelieving mumblings of “oh my god” or “wow” or “he’s incredible” that echo through the room as the applause happens (and lingers, and lingers, until Why We Build the Wall cues us to take a fucking breath) (and the subsequent chatter of people basically asking if what they just watched was real, unable to not mention it during intermission).

Why We Build the Wall This is another one of my all-time favorite Hadestown songs. It just hits so hard. And for a while in the very beginning, I wondered why they didn’t end Act I with Wait for Me. I understand now. I don’t think I fully appreciated this song during my first few listen-throughs, and possibly not even after the first time I saw it. I think that this song deserves to be there because while Wait for Me has a lot of emotional lift and power and just pure mass to it, Why We Build the Wall holds its power differently. It makes the audience kind of shift in their seats, come back to the world we are in, kind of step back from the beautiful show of powerful love and hope and dedication that is Wait for Me and remember that oh, this is what’s going on on the other side. This is the man that’s trying to take everything away from Orpheus. And Patrick Page is such a gently commanding presence during this song-he is strong, and powerful, but in a way that feels scarily easy to him; like he is so confident in his power that it translates to this easy, call-and-response conversation because he knows his workers have no choice but to answer him and to appease him. Also the workers? In this song? Are a sheer force of nature. They look to the audience as they respond to each phrase Hades sings with these set-in-stone, serious, hardened expressions that match each other, and are perfectly in-synch. That’s what terrifies me about the Workers, is that they are so in tune to each other that it truly is like watching a wall, or a well-oiled machine. They do such a beautiful job in creating this sense of unease that this song was absolutely meant to be the ending of act I; they drive you to tears and ferocious emotion with Wait for Me, but they keep you unsettled and uncomfortable and stirred by Why We Build the Wall. And that, my friends, is why this musical was nominated for and won so many Tony’s. Because of it’s ability to make you feel, to ponder and to talk and to interpret. This show is so unique, and wonderful, and full of incredible things that I am always just in awe of it every time I see it.

Carry-Over notes: I skipped around a lot of my notes from the night of the show just because I couldn’t fit the less articulate with my actual thoughts post-show. I listened to the entirety of Act I while doing this, and took notes to the best of my ability and what I could remember.

· Eva Noblezada is such a soft human being, she is a treasure to this earth and I fully support everything she’s done with Eurydice thus far; soft doesn’t mean weak, and she translates that really well to the way she chooses to carry her. She is a strong woman, but she is so fucking in love that she is also so soft and pure. But you still wouldn’t fuck her up ever

· A good chunk of my notes from that night are about how Reeve singing the la laas in Epic I is a transcending experience, and how his soft and genuine and gentle expression made me break down immediately, and it can be felt in your soul.

· I also mention about 100 times that Reeve is 10/10 the only boy who has my heart because he is so artistically passionate and just really really fucking good at what he does (and so, so soft especially in the Orphrydice moments and what I’m calling his making Orpheus canonically obsessed with kissing Eurydice’s ear/side of cheek/neck it is THE SOFTEST MOST PURE THING)

So sorry. This is the longest of ramblings. But you asked for details and honestly I’m really excited to be able to have these long ass notes to save and keep with my playbills to show in the future with my kids or the patrons of the Broadway themed café I want to open when I’m a mid 40s lesbian with a wife and maybe some adopted kids.

#hadestown #like #i mean you can read this #i know it's a LOT #but I have a lot of feelings on Hadestown and I'm actually glad you all suggested I do this #just know that I'm not writing another dissertation in November #my notes will go back to incoherent flailing

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levicollins95-blog · 5 years

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Simple Approaches to Prepare for UPSC Current Affairs

The Best Way To Handle Current Affairs for Civil Services: Are you currently trying to find advice on current affairs for upsc ? Appropriate, you will get the most effective answer here. Recently the importance of current affairs has proportionally increased with the analytic development of issues as well as with the increased weightage of setting and science. There is no specific trend in which UPSC has asked questions from current events. Their volatile character could be thought from last year report where many direct questions from current events were picked.

Current Events plays a key role in all the three phases of UPSC planning, especially in the Mains and Interview. It covers a wide selection of matters which overlaps with the CORE matters like Geography, Polity, Economics, History and Dynamic topics like environment, technology and technology. Henceforth, it is hard to categorize issues below a particular heading/topic. Here is the purpose, why most of the aspirants are of the notion that, not many questions have already been requested from current activities in the recent years (from Prelims perspective).

To create in more quality with this part, we would illustrate with several examples. Now every candidate who aspire to become an IAS or IPS Official and want to get ready or get yourself ready for UPSC Civil Service Examination might know the significance of current affairs and just how much weightage provided for current functions in the prelims and mains exam. So, Continue reading to learn more about how exactly to examine current affairs for UPSC prelims & mains. For the data, This is actually the number of these crucial events or affairs :

1. which become the headlines of the magazines and editorial are written. 2. which may have a negative/positive consequences on the society. 3. which remain in subject or debate in society and persons for an extended time. 4. which discover a special interest in reputed magazines for a lengthy time. 5. which may have a quality to make examination oriented records below national/international dilemmas and Bilateral Relation.

Don't allow any institute or anyone inform you usually! Reading the paper EVERYDAY is essential for the preparation. I browse the documents each day for the small amount of time I'd for my preparation. After I decided to appear for the examination, the first step I needed was to sign up to the Hindu and consistently dedicate two hours day-to-day in examining it conclusion to end. I think, reading the report yourself not just helps in greater retention, it also ensures that you will be finding your way through the Mains simultaneously.

My habit of examining the documents was a great help not merely in the Prelims but in addition throughout the answer writing in Mains. I would remember details and numbers from the news headlines that I'd study and applied that in questions wherever I'd small information to frame an effective answer. Also the editorials were of great aid in composition form questions. Therefore my most significant advice will be that you begin studying the paper from the day you determine to seem for the examination, and read it everyday in order to not need backlogs.

Easy Methods to Make for UPSC Current Affairs

One has to be clear about their purpose while reading the news. While you might know which piece of news is worth addressing, you have to also have the ability to dissect the news headlines to determine the areas you will need to retain. While I did so see the documents earlier in the day also, it had been more of a relaxing task and no exercise. Like if I was examining about a scheme, I didn't trouble concerning the Ministry which was employing it or the number of districts it had been to gain etc. I would only be aware that this kind of scheme existed.

But after I began the prep and had the prior year's documents, I knew what precisely to consider in an item of news. That know-how is an essential part of examining the paper. Aimlessly reading the entire report is futile and is likely to be counter-productive. So have the prior year's papers and realize the structure of the questions, then read accordingly. Also, adhere to the syllabus in front of you in order to avoid deviating and losing time.

Also in the event that you sign up for a newspaper, it removes the necessity to make notes on current affairs because most of it is covered by them. I built notes initially however seen that the journal had previously looked after that task for me. I did produce records next but only as factsheets listing important systems for rapid revision during Mains.

Taking an on the web quiz/test day-to-day at night was another important element of my current affairs preparation. I'm glad I used that habit as it served me consolidating and cementing all that I'd read throughout the day. It ensured that I kept more and forgot less. You can find sufficient everyday checks available on the web that you can subscribe to.

I observed the news headlines of all days within my preparation. Rajya Sabha TV was my personal favorite for its simple and unbiased content. I made it a point to watch the debates on this system RS Vishesh. They helped me understand more things in lesser time and were an excellent source of info on burning issues. I applied to view TV throughout dishes to save lots of time.

A lot of instances you should come across fixed parts of one's syllabus in the news. For example, the headlines of a bi-election or perhaps a new countervailing duty required on an item of import. All the instances it will be for topics like polity and economics, so do keep an eye out for such media articles as they might be combined with a static notion and requested in the paper.

Give current affairs its due value as it today forms an important percentage of the paper. So hold abreast with this adjusting development and devote adequate time to it. Whilst it is neither recommended or probable to examine each issue each and every day, current affairs is definitely an exception. The only way to ace it's to follow the news headlines, not need backlogs and get revision tests. Do not get bogged down by the total amount of time it will take to consistently browse the paper. It'd take me 2-2.5 hours initially but gradually I surely could bring it down to 1 hour through the Mains and 45 moments throughout the interview preparation period. As you hold studying, you'll realize that many of media is a follow-up of the pre-existing one. Therefore it will take you reduced time once you become standard at it.

If you wish to prepare for current affairs , you need to visit our internet site at drishtiias.com to get current affairs. They're the perfect easy ways to get ready for current affairs section of UPSC Syllabus for Civil Solutions IAS Exam, follow these often to obtain an upper hand in that area. Thank you for study our material, hope you all success to prepare for UPSC Exam.

#upsc

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roominthecastle · 6 years

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“Anybody can become angry, that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way, that is not within everybody’s power, that is not easy.” - Aristotle, The Art of Rhetoric

Well, look at that ancient Greek dude rolling out a pitch-perfect summary of - what I currently consider to be - Liz’s core issue on TBL. My core issue is that I cannot keep things brief, so I’ll poke this some more bc damn S5 was so much better than I expected, and it left me with an urge to try and sort this canon mess into sth I can swallow.

What’s the deal with Liz, why is her relationship with Red in such a terrible shape at the end of S5, and why is that a likely promise of better things to come?

It’s possible to look at this deterioration as a more or less continuous (organic!) process that reaches back at the very beginning; a process to which both characters have contributed their fair share over the years and now they are reaping the consequences and setting themselves up for a potentially healing collision.

I. Liz has narcissistic traits. Red is a natural born charmer with closely-guarded secrets and a pervasive guilt-complex. Putting them together is like putting mints in a bottle of coke: even on a perfect sunny day it's the kind of fun that leaves a mess.

II. Liz’s traits are amplified by Red’s behavior and Red’s behavior is warped by Tom’s presence. When Red scales things back (i.e. stops going on guilt-trips whenever others don’t feel like facing the consequences of their actions), it only makes things worse. This is the dark side of their intense "lock and key" dynamic, the deep angst pit that has been fore-fronted since S3B due to a rapid sequence of betrayals Red suffers from those closest to him. Tom triggers both empathy and repulsion in him, which in turn feeds his self-hatred and prompts him to keep enabling Liz out of guilt, creating an unsustainable bubble that finally bursts in S5.

III. The current name of the game for Liz is repression and denial, for Red it’s still obsession and rumination. At any given time Liz works off of a partial image of him, which is less about him keeping things from her and more about her purposefully ignoring parts of him in a misguided and doomed attempt to keep an illusion of safe simplicity (she does this with Tom, too). Meanwhile Red displays clear signs of compassion fatigue, which comes with its own destructive habits and distortions of reality.

IV. Sprinters are bad at running marathons. This simple truth has been a background tension factor in the Red/Liz relationship from the get-go. It’s mirrored in Red’s earlier troubles with Madeline and in Liz’s “Tom problem”. It keeps them united yet out of sync, which leads to misunderstandings, doubts, and quite a lot of friction.

more on these behind the cut:

I. Liz has narcissistic traits. Red is a natural born charmer.

Liz has a narcissistic streak and a tendency to delude herself as a messed-up coping mechanism, all of which she voices right off the bat in the pilot episode when Cooper asks her to profile herself (and to give us a brief intro to the character). These manifest chiefly as

(1) angry, aggressive outbursts (2) a sense of entitlement/egocentrism (3) blame-shifting

and she displays these traits to varying degrees throughout the show.

Now add to these the standard “Reddington Effect” that gets pointed out by other characters, articulating what Liz has been feeling since day one:

“There's no one on earth who can make a woman feel like the center of his universe more than Raymond Reddington.” (204)

“I was star-struck. It was exciting and captivating and... it consumed me. My work, my marriage.” (411)

We can also witness this "soft power” in action when Red approaches Zoe, Berlin’s daughter, to use her against her father. We can see how easily he can charm and pull people in to get what he wants. Sometimes it hilariously backfires - as it should - but that’s beside the point rn. The point is, Liz seems to receive this standard treatment, too, and she’s immediately, intensely receptive to it.

We can see both the positive (fascination-attraction) and the negative (rejection-aggression) side of this chemistry early on. She gets exposed to Red’s regular charm routine but it’s ultimately a v different experience because what those women quoted above don’t know (and what Liz still doubts) is that with her, his feelings run very, very deep. She is both the means and the end, the journey and the destination. Neither can walk this road without the other but walk it they must.

II. Liz’s traits are amplified by Red’s behavior and Red’s behavior is warped by Tom’s presence.

Thank God I have Tom, because with you, I never know what to believe. I have never lied to you. How the hell would I know?

Red’s secretive, seductive, guilt-ridden behavior feeds Liz’s narcissistic impulses.

(1) His ingrained "I will never tell you everything” ground rule regularly forms a volatile mix with her proneness to irritability and anger. There are countless examples of this (often understandable) reaction with a wide range that goes from a raised voice to actual physical aggression.

(2) It also clashes with her belief that she's automatically entitled to be told everything, regardless of the possibility that knowing might not make much difference to her but could get others killed, or the fact that she’s often careless w/ sensitive info and sometimes straight-up ignores the answer anyway.

This is an irresponsible and wasteful way of going about getting answers. Wanting to know doesn't entitle anyone to know. It's not at all surprising that Red - whose very life depends on carefully calculated discretion - is rarely fully forthcoming. Still, this is a major source of friction, esp as it seems to run counter to him telling her how special she is and treating her as such with a consistency that most well-adjusted people would fall for. A narcissistic personality like hers stands even less chance. This triggers jealousy and possessiveness very early on, and later engenders a full-blown expectation that when push comes to shove, he would always put her needs above anybody else’s, including his own. This (partially conditioned) expectation is in play e.g. when Tom re-enters her life and also when he violently leaves it again.

(3) Red is also burdened with a lot of chronic guilt which makes him an easy target for blame-shifting by those select few he loves. He often allows Liz to push blame on him for things he is not responsible for and he suffers in silence because “in his heart, he knows he must pay”. This also enables her to delude herself into thinking that he's indeed the unified source of all her problems, which makes her receptive to Mr. Kaplan’s terrible Solution to Nothing that targets him as such. Red has branded himself a “sin eater” and this gets taken full advantage of in a way that veers into emotional abuse. It paves the way for Operation Possum and its fallout that ripples across the next two seasons.

These 3 major negative “lock and key” interactions combine and reach a very unhealthy peak in S3/B. Liz’s thoughtless, pointless fake death stunt pushes Red to an edge he barely manages to pull himself back from, and it throws a wrench in the delicate cogwheels of their relationship where the degree of functionality and “healthiness” has always hinged on proportionate reciprocity (of good and bad alike). The faked death plan is - among other things - so disproportionately cruel and so exceptionally dumb and pointless, it unhinges this interplay.

It shakes Red from his grief- and guilt-induced stupor and cracks his habit of putting Liz on a pedestal. In S4 it is now Dembe who gets to be referred to as the "light in the darkness", which, given the changed circumstances, is a much better arrangement for both Liz and Red. Red would never ask anyone to carry this burden but the truth is, he needs someone like that by his side to keep him from falling to pieces. Dembe is a centered, reliable, well-adjusted person who can carry this heavy weight. Liz can't and she shouldn't, either. Now Dembe needs to be the lighthouse keeper as they navigate their stormy relationship.

On top of pulling Liz from the pedestal, Red also begins to scale back his willingness to play buffer and absorb blame. He pushes back against the kind of behavior he partially conditioned and enabled. He refuses to give in to Mr. Kaplan’s absurd and reckless vendetta that still targets him as the “root of all evil” in Liz’s life. He refuses to keep serving as a scapegoat for Tom’s failings and Liz’s self-imposed blindness, but the most significant “slight” contributing to the big fracture in his relationship with her is his refusal to share the secret of the bag.

“That’s why you’re here. That’s… Not to help me, not to avenge Tom’s death, but to help yourself and get your precious secret back.”

It is less about the secret itself and more about Red prioritizing it above her. She is jealous again but this time it is not directed at a person but at his “precious secret” that ultimately separates him from her, and once again it masquerades as projected and misplaced anger stemming from her deeper desire for their relationship to be close and genuine.

We have been here before when the Fulcrum surfaced:

"That's why you came into my life then. And that's why you're here now. Not because of me or who I am to you, whatever connection we might have, but because of some... object. Some thing."

and after her name gets cleared in S3/B:

I thought maybe after all we've been through the past three months that you might want to take a break. It's a mythic battle, and it's not anywhere close to being over. It's your battle, not mine.

and then again with the bag of bones. “Not me but” is the underlying issue that gets to her in each of these instances and it always manifests as anger.

From her warped perspective (warped by pain, confusion, and narcissism) he is deeply hurting her and taking everything from her to keep himself safe and cozy. It is the complete betrayal of her (partially conditioned but still unreasonable) expectation that he’d always put her and her needs first. In her eyes, this is again proof that their relationship, just like the one with Tom, has been a mere tool, a manufactured illusion, which - coupled with the impostor reveal - must truly mean Red never really cared for her at all.

But her assessment is once again dead wrong because she refuses to take a careful look at all the available information in proper context - a broader context where her personal issues are not the only ones of importance and where Red not bending to her every wish, esp those that make him deeply miserable or an instant murder victim, is not a sign of lack of genuine feelings but of a healthier attitude. She is also projecting anger at her own dishonesty with herself on him, and while it worked back when Red was receptive to it bc it was conducive to his self-flagellation, this messed up coping mechanism is finally breaking down, too, due to his increasing resistance and the multiplying events that signal he was never that alleged single source of evil.

"We want the same thing."

Indeed. It's the need underpinning Liz's anger, the same one Red has already articulated, albeit indirectly: "an inextricable intimacy and a commitment." Liz uses anger to express this, Red uses fish stories and Tom.

We were both half right. Together, we were right.

Liz sees Red's commitment forever lying elsewhere: with his precious secrets. Red sees Liz's commitment tied up in her relationship with Tom even after his betrayal, even after his literal death. They’ve been longing for the other to break away and commit, but this longing still manifests indirectly and out of sync: she pulls Tom between them like a guardrail (and DG, too), so Red flees into his “work” as a defensive response, which she interprets as lack of genuine interest and withdraws further into safe denial, and we have a vicious cycle on our hands. Despite all that, she still wants him to give up his secrets and he still wants her to give up her fixation on Tom. It’s no accident Red is so captivated by her when she describes her fantasy to him. It’s v much his, too.

But they both feel betrayed right now and both cling to their respective security blankets: Red to his secrets, Liz to her anger.

III. The current name of the game for Liz is repression and denial, for Red, it’s obsession and rumination.

Liz's remark about Red during her therapy session is telling and relevant here:

"Some of what he's done is unimaginably bad. But some of what he's done for me is unimaginably good."

She has been privy to many good things Red has done for others (hell, an entire county once) but those are not factored in when she evaluates his "goodness". No, this is about her and again, it produces only a partial image. It is a good start to say to an outsider that they don’t have the full picture of who he is (or can be) and therefore their understanding is skewed. However, the same goes for Liz and she refuses to accept that her POV is limited, too, and that she is complicit in it being so. DG is a prime example: she is handed a DNA test and everything that contradicts the result is pushed aside at once. The same happened when Tom told her he was a changed man: she ignored the contradictions, so she could have the illusion of stability. Red withholds information but it’s Liz who blatantly lies to herself about many things.

But back to the quote above: so only what Red does for her is weighed on the scale of goodness. Only that defines his moral character. It is decidedly untrue but again it's a manifestation of possessiveness and something Red partially conditioned in her in moments where e.g. he says saving her helps him live w/ himself (104) or where he implies that being with her allows him to become less of a monster (209). As a result, he is reduced to something less but something confined to her, something conveniently simplified that - depending on her need - is easier to either embrace or scapegoat. When he goes along with what she wants (whether it is actually good or not), he is a welcome, positive presence. When he refuses her (no matter how justified or necessary it is), he is deemed toxic and gets rejected. But after Tom inserts himself back into their lives and after the fake death betrayal, Red seems to have less and less willingness to silently confine himself to her whims and wishes, and they finally reach a breaking point in S5.

Fans on both sides of the "why does Red care so much about Liz" fence focus heavily on love as his primary drive, and label the nature of the R/L relationship accordingly: parental and romantic respectively. What else could explain such grandiose display of unconditional love other than being related or being in love? To quote Red, "perhaps there's a third option." There is and despite it being on full display (or maybe because of it since the show has conditioned us to assume a convoluted mystery everywhere) we often overlook its importance:

With Red, guilt is the operative word. This is the governing emotion right next to love (a more recent development) to which many of his grand gestures are anchored. The pervasiveness of guilt in Red's life is pointed out several times in the show, most notably in episodes 104, 216, and 319:

“The farmer, who is no longer a farmer sees the wreckage he's left in his wake. It is now he who burns. It is he who slaughters. And he knows, in his heart he must pay.”

“The truth of it is, once you start down this road there's no logical place to stop. For the first few years, it may work. You'll draw some measure of virtue from being her invisible benefactor. But that won't last. It's all a fraud. That it's really not about her at all. That it's all about you. And you're just going through the motions to salve your own guilt. All the money, all the time and effort, all the favors in the world cannot possibly equal what you took away from her. Everything else is just a nice gesture.”

“It was a Hobson's choice. There was a woman and her child. Both were doomed. Both would die. I could either save one or lose both. I chose the child. It was the worst thing I've ever had to do in my life. Worst thing by far. I was arrogant. I presumed that there was an order to things, that there was... that if I nourished and protected and taught the child, she would be safe and happy. And she was neither. No matter what I tried to do, all I brought her was misery and violence.”

In each, the debilitating nature of guilt is given emphasis, the symptoms of which are exhibited by Red throughout the show. Chronic guilt can be an extremely powerful drive. As Red notes, "once you start down this road there's no logical place to stop". He genuinely believes he owes Liz an immeasurable debt and that nothing, not even wrecking or even giving his own life for her, could make up for it. If we look at his behavior from this perspective, the primary answer to why he is willing to go to such great lengths for her becomes obvious. He loves her, too, of course, but love is - as noted above - is a more recent, healthy development, and it still has to co-exist with deep-seated guilt that keeps it in a toxic choke hold. This combination is the main reason why he cannot deny Liz anything (see: Tom) and why he's so vulnerable to blame shifting. When someone believes they deserve to be used and punished by the one they also come to love more than anything, the danger of abuse skyrockets, too.

Guilt-driven gestures, no matter how grandiose, are ultimately selfish and fake, as Red observes. But after he finally meets her, love starts creeping into the picture, shifting their dynamic and imbuing it with something real and selfless. And Red starts pushing back a little now where Tom is concerned. This sprouting, deepening love, however, gets badly trampled on when the guilt-trips and betrayals come. Red endures them because guilt says "you deserve it", but it no longer has quite the same hold as it once did. Heartbreak is a somewhat sobering experience but until the still unknown source of his guilt is uncovered and addressed, his relationship with Liz, his love for her, cannot reach genuine fulfillment.

IV. Sprinters are bad at running marathons.

Red and Liz want the same thing (as we have established above) but she is impulsive and wants it now whereas he is wary and plans long-term.

“I can’t tell you what I’m gonna want 10 years from now. Even a year from now. I just know what I want right now.”

Liz is no fan of delayed gratification. She has wants and she wants those satisfied "right now" even if it means she has to trade a more secure, more enduring yet still unavailable future (Red) for a readily available present of poorer quality (Tom). The former requires hard work (of the sweat, blood, and tears kind), honest self-evaluation, careful planning, and lots of patience. The latter is just easy and right there, so she cuts straight to the finish line, then it all promptly comes crashing down on her.

This is what happens after her exoneration in S3B. She goes to Red but instead of some quality personal time, he acts prickly and distant, then whips out a giant map to show her how just much hard work still needs to be done before Odysseus can even consider returning home. Her response? She rejects it (and him with it) and goes straight back to Tom. He promises to give her everything she wants right there and then at a discount. She only has to bury her head in the sand regarding a couple of things and since Liz is prone to self-delusion and denial by default, she jumps at the opportunity. This is where her relationship with Red begins to go off the rails.

“Circumstances are far more complex than we ever imagined. I’m betting on the long play. The future.”

Red plays the long game when it comes to the most important things in his life, and he doesn’t shy away from torturous self-examination and self-denial to secure enduring results and a better future for those he loves. Liz’s relationship with Tom was a sprint with many corner-cutting and the inevitable letdown. They had a short present, but no future. With Red, there is a future still but Liz has to run a marathon to reach it and being a sprinter, she struggles a lot.

But she is not the only one struggling. Red is still traumatized by the loss of his family, which makes him instinctively reluctant to try to settle down again. Those who inflicted that debilitating loss still represent an active force in the world (see: the map). The longing to settle down is certainly there. It’s a dream he shares with Liz. They practically wish upon it under the stars while “Our House” is playing, but on top of his guilt and grief, the circumstances seem to be forever against him, so he doesn’t dare actively push for it like she does (he even rejects Agnes at first). He redirects his focus to the “job” to try and create a safer environment and maybe a future opportunity. This folds back to the marathon approach that Liz rejects at first but now, after Tom's demise, she must face. She vows to destroy Red but I don't think it will be a literal destruction. Deep down they still want the same thing and even though they have yet to admit it openly, they want it with each other.

Their time spent on the run in S3/A is immersed in the theme of a shared home. Liz and Red seek refuge in a theater where the stage is set as a home. This is where Liz tells Red about her fantasy and this is where Red immediately retreats behind a wall when he realizes that Liz will be pulled back into Tom's orbit.

“I’m not interested in what you want. I’m interested in what you deeply desire. I can sense that death and vengeance aren’t what drive you, Elizabeth. Or feed your soul. [What does?] A lost world, I suspect. Another life. If you can’t face your truths, I can’t be of service.”

The Djinn makes a clear distinction between “what you want” and “what you deeply desire”. It is echoed in the tension-filled dream Liz has where Red removes Tom from the picture just when he is about to spill a secret (nice piece of foreshadowing btw), then stalks up to her bed and asks her the same thing - not just what she wants but what she really wants. This image of Red stepping up as a sexual-romantic partner after her husband’s demise is shoved deep down in her subconscious. It is one she is not yet ready to face, but it is there - the option of making a home with him, an option he, too, keeps at arm’s length due to past trauma and present circumstances, and it adds even more tension to their interplay.

This exact type of unresolved tension has already popped up on this show when Madeline Pratt re-entered Red's life w/ some grievances.

"Florence was everything, our way out, a fresh start. But to you, it’s all just a job."

She feels betrayed and played for a fool because Red chose to continue living his danger-magnet criminal life, prioritizing it over her and their intended home.

"They used Pratt as bait, faked the kidnapping in order to bring Red into the Kings’ custody."

Later on, counting on his savior complex, she lands him in hot water to get even. She stages her own kidnapping and lures Red into a trap set by an enemy with a score to settle. If it sounds familiar, that’s because we see something similar play out between Liz and Red. It’s low-key in the background during S3-4 (w/ the whole home theme) and gets kicked into high-gear in the S5 finale (when Liz thinks he played her for a fool so he can continue living his criminal life):

We were out. You said the ship we were on was headed to Spain. Change of plans. Because? Because after far too much time playing defense, today’s the day we switch to offense.

They could get away and start a new life but Red refuses to quit his "mission". As mentioned above, he tells Liz they still have a lot to do and her reaction is disappointment, and when Tom offers her everything Red is not yet able (to go away and start fresh), she accepts. And this is when their downward spiral begins in earnest and all the accumulated hurt peaks in S5, in Liz's very Madeline-esque plan to fake a kidnapping and lure Red to one of his enemies for some answers and score-settling (the same business the Kings were into w/ their illicit auctions):

If you’re gonna tell him you hurt me, he’s got to believe you. You knew Reddington would come for you. He got to do what he always does: try and save me.

Indeed. And he is about to confess his greatest secret to save her life when they get interrupted and an alternate solution presents itself. He kills Sutton, takes the bag and leaves. Liz vows to destroy him after this and I think she is right. Raymond Reddington needs to die for good this time. He needs to die so the man behind that mask can finally emerge. He needs to die so Liz can finally face and understand the full picture.

Red’s guilt feeds on the secrets he keeps and Liz continues to cling to her anger because these secrets are a wedge between them. The murky past and their distorted perception of it (Red's warped by guilt, Liz's scrambled by memory manipulation) hold them and their relationship hostage, so it must be disclosed and sorted for both their sakes. The second chance will not come until this happens. When it does, I think it will be the most cathartic moment in the history of this show.

This collision course is their way back home.

#long post #the blacklist #lizzington #(not too much i was trying really hard to keep this from turning into a shipper fantasy blueprint)#(emphasis on trying)#speculation #musings #q

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isangstyfluffathing · 6 years

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Character Analysis: Lü Meng

Koei seems to be making an effort to make him a little less bland. I commend them for that.

Okay, so I know Lü Meng has always been boring in the games. I know. But I love historical Lü Meng so much I couldn’t help but want to play his story.

Appearance:

The perfect mix of strategist and warrior, with armored and robe pieces. Whoever made the decision to let his hair down in 6 is my hero. There’s nothing to say, except I would sell my soul for Lü Meng. He’s beautiful.

Weapon:

Lü Meng is one of those lucky guys with a consistent weapon since pretty much the beginning. It’s a simple, but effective weapon. Lü Meng isn’t one for sparkles and flair, it’s much easier to stab someone and move on, he’s got better things to do. But he also has a really cool spin/juggling move in 9 that he shares with Huang Yueying.

It’s nothing special or fancy, but it doesn’t have to be. A guy in armor rushing at you with a large sharp blade is scary enough.

Also he killed Guan Yu (In the Wu route, Xiahou Dun kills Guan Yu in the Wei route) and that was cool looking. Even if you like Guan Yu, you have to admit Lü Meng was cool.

Personality:

I had some trouble discerning his personality, in actuality. I genuinely enjoyed every bit of Lü Meng in his story, and yet, by the end of it, I couldn’t pick out any defining traits. Is this a bad thing? Well, let’s look at some examples.

Huang Zhong has a very defining, singular trait of old. It’s not well written and it’s really boring. On the other hand, Dian Wei has the defining traits of loyalty, strength, and bravery. He’s a simple, but good character.

Defining traits aren’t necessary for characters, but every single person has some sort of personality of some sort, and I had trouble identifying Lü Meng. But I shall try.

Lü Meng is definitely a bit of a stickler for rules/orders. Not as nuts as Yu Jin about it (But no one is as nuts as Yu Jin about rules) but Lu Meng’s introduction involves him yelling at the Wu recruits for not bowing to Sun Quan when he arrived. He doesn’t threaten to execute them though, so that’s a good step.

He doesn’t hesitate to follow through with plans and expects his subordinates to follow his instructions, but is also open for criticism. He’s not very good at dealing with chaos, such as when Qiao Xiao decides to follow Zhou Yu onto the battlefield and Lü Meng has to chase after her, or most of Ling Tong and Gan Ning’s bickering.

Still, Lü Meng is a level-headed, intelligent man with good intentions and methods. He works to keep peace between his own fellow warriors (see: Gan Ning and Ling Tong) and is working to build peace in the land with the help of Lu Su and Lu Xun. I wouldn’t call Lü Meng entertaining or particularly interesting, but he doesn’t have to be. He’s still a solid, likable character.

Also Koei has been putting him in leadership positions that give him spotlight (Especially at Fan Castle and the like, of course), and I am quite happy.

Interactions with other characters:

Lü Meng has a wide variety of interactions, which pleases me. The majority of his dialogue falls to Gan Ning, Ling Tong, Lu Su, Lu Xun, and Sun Quan.

Gan Ning and Ling Tong are pretty much never seen without each other, because for some reason their character arcs revolve solely around each other (And Lü Meng I guess). As a result, when Lü Meng talks to one, he’s talking to the other. He spends most of his time with them as a neutral party, trying to keep peace between their constant hostility to each other and being pleased when they can work together. They also have a habit of calling him “old man”. Lü Meng is not pleased by this. Because he is not old. It brings a bit of amusement in his interactions, if that’s what you’re looking for. And despite their teasing and badgering of each other and Lü Meng, it’s kind of sweet to see how they get so concerned when Lü Meng is giving them a final speech as he’s dying. They’ve gotten attached to him- And I could see it as an amusing father-sons dynamic.

Lu Su, Lu Xun, and Lü Meng share a common goal: Bringing peace to the land by serving Sun Quan. Their talks are mostly serious (Though to be fair, they are serious people), and there’s no fun per se in them, but there’s a nice teacher-student dynamic. Lu Su has Lü Meng as an underling, Lü Meng has Lu Xun as an underling. Just like Lu Su before him, Lü Meng doesn’t want his student telling anyone he’s sick. Lu Su and Lü Meng are quite alike. I really like the whole parallel thing between the three of them.

To my surprise, Lü Meng’s final cutscene didn’t feature Gan Ning and Ling Tong like I expected, but Sun Quan. Now, Sun Quan And Lu Meng do talk, quite a bit, but it’s a simple leader-subordinate relationship. I never really thought of them to be friends, but I was just an oblivious nut. Lü Meng is pushing himself too hard to help Sun Quan succeed, to unite the land and bring peace. Sun Quan just wants Lu Meng to succeed, but to not overdo it and be careful. I get the feeling that Sun Quan would like to be closer friends with Lü Meng but is unable because they’re both so busy. Despite this, Sun Quan seems to genuinely care for Lü Meng and it’s clear that in his ending, Lü Meng doesn’t want to die, he wants to help Sun Quan achieve his dreams.

How this character could be improved:

Actually, I’m kind of at a loss here.

Lü Meng is not a perfect character. I can’t just say “nope, he’s cool” like I did for Zhang Chunhua and Liu Shan. But I don’t have a laundry list of improvements like for Bao Sanniang and Cai Yan.

Lü Meng is just... average. He’s good, but not great. The thing is, I can’t quite place why. Maybe it’s the fact that his friendships are harder to see? Maybe it’s his more subdued personality with less defining traits? His design is awesome, his weapon is great, but there’s just something... missing.

I guess it’s because we don’t know much about him in the game. What are his dreams, besides bringing peace? Who does he care for or love? Why did he choose to serve Sun Quan? He’s a badass and I love that, but who is he?

Hmmm.

Oh yeah, and his whole “I decided to pick up studying while fighting and become a double badass” thing is mentioned like, once.

#lu meng #dynasty warriors

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marchersamuelsen50-blog · 5 years

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Motorsport Supervisor Assessment.

If you're a normal GTA Online player you'll wish to obtain directly in to those 30-player deathmatches as well as nationalities, thus right here is actually a step by step guide to transferring your character off one console to yet another. And just when on-line social pc gaming goes to its height by means of the desktop computer as well as laptop computer monitors around the world, our experts are launched to the iPad. Most likely to iTunes and conserve a data backup from your phone's information to your pc by choosing Back Up Now. Social media is actually the media (web content) that you post - whether that is actually a blogging site, online video, slide show, podcast, e-newsletter or an e-book. Because this is actually the final ranking in the social web link, you could technically choose any dialogue alternatives you would certainly such as, but there are actually still some which provide points, as signified below. Yet due to the fact that nearly every Site now shows advertisements and given that some add networks are actually so prevalent, they can track and videotape a significant piece from your Net utilization. Adam Ostrow, managing editor and also elderly vice president of web content, Mashable speaks to Vadim Lavrusik, reporter system manager from Facebook, concerning exactly how the social media network's new attributes may assist journalists. Due to the fact that Reddish Crucible Firestorm is actually a big video game (Charts, Video Quality, and Attributes) Internet Web browsers like Web Explorer and Firefox can certainly not handle loading and managing the activity adequately. Among the inquiries is, Is there a way to distinguish merely performing challenging estimation coming from being actually absolutely smart?" That is actually kind of the outdated stating, The climate possesses a mind of its very own." That's sort of an inquiry from, Is actually that merely pure, earliest animism, or even exists, in reality, at some level some science to that?" Considering that the computations that are going on in the fluid dynamics of the weather condition are actually actually certainly not that various from the sort of calculations that are taking place in minds. A riches from alternative control choices likewise take a simpler user interface so the thrills of genuine video games are accessible to mobile players unaccustomed to face-buttons as well as d-pads. There are 3 means in order to get activities right into the emulator - whatever you select, perform remember that installing ROMs is illegal and Wallet Gamer carries out certainly not pardon pirating. Social media plays an extremely notable part in helping folks size up the incentives as well as company slant that companies deliver to a brand-new solution when you think concerning this. The recently repositioned provider is actually targeting its own products specifically toward Chinese-speaking households in the U.S.-- accurately the people which could profit from the Netflix of China" information service that's been creating for a long time. Due to the fact that creators, the really good headlines is that who utilize social networking and various other APIs to act on account from consumers are called for to enroll a distinct application identity with each company, abuse is simply squashed by the service operator. Remote cleaning is a crucial protection device that enables you to erase the information on a dropped ipad tablet if and when it connects to the Internet.

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Coming from a handful from nerds and also academics at colleges that began sending emails and generating the very first sites to your pet's traveling blogging site: there was actually never ever a solitary main authority that coordinated the Net. The USA results in this discussion through trumpeting Web independence as well as the perks of a much more decentralized approach to Net governance. Violet amount floor tiles may additionally be come back to the correct square as well as held till required. WhiteHat Pilot shuts out openings whereby very most destructive internet sites contaminate your personal computer. I'm finally benefiting myself, doing work in factors that I experience proud of. I've being dissatisfied many of my lifestyle, throughout my twenties (I have 34 currently) I had plenty of amount of money and also I just squandered that in bad habits because I experienced vacant daily. When I would, this was more compared to a years back partake the institution pc lab, building roads, taking care of areas and acquiring taxes. There are actually two points all professionals seem to share in these times: smart devices as well as LinkedIn profiles. If fitnesswelt-de.com is low good enough and you stay in a getting involved condition, there are also an amount of plans that offer affordable high-speed Internet solutions. I needed to reactivate my computer after pairing with the phone to ensure the LockItNow plan can see those COM port the phone was actually utilizing. This piece from advice is actually actually essential so feel free to heed. Social network is NOT a program resource. Social updates is actually a warm place and also it has actually been for pretty some time, with well-known startups consisting of Flipboard, Rhythm and a wide variety of others vying for that sought after location on your iPhone or apple ipad house screen. You would certainly anticipate to see a lot from sequels in the graphes to create on previous excellence if the free2play activities are actually thus much exciting to participate in.

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tomfooleryprime · 7 years

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Adding to canon is not the same thing as destroying canon

At San Diego Comic Con, we learned that Sonequa Martin-Green’s character, Michael Burnham, is Sarek’s adoptive daughter. The second I heard the news, all I could think was, “Let the hate begin.” And boy, did it ever.

I understand the disappointment, particularly with fan fic writers who invested a lot of time and effort into crafting stories that fit neatly into canon. Amazing how one sound bite can bulldoze right through decades of widely accepted fanon, huh?

Let’s be real, those little behind the scenes moments are almost the entire point of fan fiction: some of us like something so much, we like to imagine all the things the writers didn’t tell us, but now Michael Burnham has come along like a square peg in a round hole, rendering countless stories AU that previously adhered perfectly to canon. Some of mine included.

But fanon isn’t canon. One might say, “How come we’re just hearing about this now?” Surely Spock would have mentioned having an adoptive sister? But would he? Would he though?

No one had any idea he was engaged to T’Pring until the Enterprise showed up to Vulcan on Spock’s impromptu wedding day in the TOS episode, “Amok Time.” What was it he said when Lieutenant Uhura asked who the lovely woman on the viewscreen was?

If you watch closely enough and get creative with your interpretation, I swear Christine Chapel mouths the word, “bullshit.”

And no one knew that Spock had a strained relationship with his father until that time dear old Sarek hopped on Enterprise for the Coridan admission debate in the TOS episode, “Journey to Babel.” Kirk urged Spock to go down to the planet and visit his family before they left orbit, and what was Spock’s reply?

I can’t think of a better example of where Spock made Kirk look like a total asshole.

I can maybe understand that he never brought his father up in typical conversation, but one would think once they received a mission to pick up Ambassador Sarek from Vulcan that Spock might have mentioned, "Yeah, it's no big deal or anything, but he's my dad." But of course not. Of course it would be "logical" to wait until the last possible moment just to amp up the cringeworthiness. And then there’s the fact that Kirk had known Spock for decades before finding out he had a half-brother named Sybok in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

You would think Kirk would be used to Spock family bombshells by now.

So if anything, the idea that Spock had a secret adoptive sister actually feels more in keeping with canon than going against it. Given the weight of the evidence, I wouldn’t be all that shocked to discover he had three step mothers, a couple of wives, a brother-in-law who worked in engineering, and a whole herd of secret love children drifting around out there. I mean, it happened often enough that even Saturday Night Live parodied it.

Spock-O could have been real and you know it. So yeah, there are worse things that could happen to the fandom than Michael Burnham.

The other thing is, as viewers, we tend to get into the habit of thinking that if a character doesn’t specifically address something on screen in front of other characters, other characters are in the dark along with the viewers. Like if a character didn’t explicitly announce some detail about their personal life to the world, not only did it never happen, it never could have happened. And that’s just silly. Think about this: Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew spent five years together on that mission, and we only got to view a little less than 66 hours of it. So imagine all the conversations in the mess hall we as viewers missed out on. Did anyone flip out when it was revealed that Dr. McCoy had a daughter in The Animated Series? You would think he would have mentioned her in The Original Series, no? Maybe he did, but the viewers just weren't invited to that conversation.

Going back and adding to canon is not the same thing as destroying canon. Star Trek, particularly The Original Series, was always more focused on exploring the galaxy and meeting new civilizations – its primary purpose wasn’t to flesh out complicated life stories for each of the main characters. When you think about it, there’s so much we don’t know about Spock’s upbringing or Sarek and Amanda's origins. Almost everything we do know about this family comes from two episodes – “Journey to Babel” in The Original Series and “Yesteryear” in The Animated Series.

I think because we spent more than five decades without any concrete ideas of how Sarek and Amanda met, what Spock’s formative years were really like, or how their family dynamics worked, we just filled in the blanks for ourselves. But fifty years is a long time for the lines between canon and fanon to start getting blurred.

So I’m actually tickled pink at the thought that Spock had an adoptive sister, not furious that they’re "corrupting" more than fifty years of canon. It would be tampering with canon to claim that Spock never existed, that Chekov was a flower child, or that Starship Troopers is actually some kind of prequel to Kirk and the starship Enterprise, but writing in a sister for Spock where one previously didn’t exist isn’t quite the same thing.

Would you like to know more?

The writers of the show are just doing what we as fan fic writers do all the time – filling in the gaps. You’re definitely allowed to feel however you want to feel about it. And I do understand a lot of the dismay and shock. It really sucks to pour your heart and soul into something, polishing it for months or even years until it’s perfect, and then have Michael Burnham thrown into the mix and it almost feels like a bad Photoshop job over your favorite family portrait, ruining your origins fics for Sarek/Amanda or Spuhura or Spirk or Spones or Spotty? (Is that actually what the Spock/Scotty ship is called?). It’s perfectly acceptable to say that Michael Burnham’s existence has ruined your perception of canon, but I don’t think it should be confused with ruining actual canon.

And worst case scenario… fanfic writers will just do what they’ve always done: include disclaimers explaining how they hate certain aspects of canon so they just plan to completely ignore it. That’s their prerogative, but I often find it disappointing. I see it with Sybok in Sarek/Amanda fics all the time. Many people prefer to just write him out, and while it is tempting to pretend like The Final Frontier never happened, I’ve always included him. I think it does reality a huge disservice to cut him out, and I think it will be just as bad to do the same thing to Michael.

People get hung up on the idea that Spock was so lonely and misunderstood, but what about the loneliness that Sybok must have felt, having his mother die and going to live with a human step-mother, a half brother, and a father he barely knew, if he ever even knew him at all before his mother’s passing? I loved Sybok’s addition because he helps represent the complex reality of blended families. Between Sarek, Amanda, Spock, and Sybok, I think that family was rife with loneliness and misunderstanding long before Michael Burnham was written in.

I think Michael, if I understand her story correctly that she’s an orphan who was taken in by Sarek and Amanda, only serves to add to the rich tapestry of Spock’s unique family, and it certainly seems as if she'll fit right in with the other misfits in Sarek's brood. A human wife, a moody Vulcan son from a previous relationship, a half-human son from his current marriage, and now an adoptive human daughter. I feel like that’s a true picture of a modern family in all its messy and complicated and beautiful glory.

People like to romanticize the idea of a “traditional” family, but I like the “messier” version so much more. I think it actually fits in better with Spock’s character. I’m sure there are some who will ask, “But then how can you explain why he would say he felt so lonely growing up if he had not one but two siblings?” I also imagine many of those people were raised as an only child.

We don’t really know how much of an age gap exists between Spock and Sybok (or between Spock and Michael Burnham), but just imagine for a second that you’re Spock, and you have an older brother who’s constantly disappointing your father with his talk about emotions and a human adoptive sister who’s constantly struggling to fit in on Vulcan too. It might be easy to feel like an afterthought at times, especially because Sybok is fully Vulcan like Sarek and Michael is fully human like Amanda and you almost feel like something “other.”

Not that Spock feels of course. No, he would “never” do that. But I look forward to seeing how this all plays out and I sincerely hope people give her a chance (canonwise and fanonwise) before dismissing her altogether because she “ruins” Spock’s “traditional” nuclear family.

During the Comic Con panel, producer Alex Kurtzman insisted they have a good canon explanation for why Spock never mentions Michael. He was quoted as saying, “We’re aware [of the situation]. You’ll see where it’s going, but we are staying consistent with canon.” So I’m inclined to keep an open mind and see where they take it before dismissing it outright for being “too ludicrous.” Spock always held his cards close to his chest where his family was concerned, and weirder things have happened within the Trek universe. Give Michael Burnham a chance.

#star trek discovery #star trek discovery release #dsc #comic con #michael burnham #canon vs fanon #canon compliant #long post #meta

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personalcoachingcenter · 3 years

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The Brain and System Based Executive Coaching

New Post has been published on https://personalcoachingcenter.com/the-brain-and-system-based-executive-coaching/

The Brain and System Based Executive Coaching

Research Paper By Marco Paracciani (Executive Coach, THAILAND)

Background

My target audience is busy executives who want to develop themselves into the best they can be, for themselves, for the teams they lead, and for the organizations they work for. They tend to be driven individuals used to fact-based problem solving, data-driven decision-making, and to use evidence to underpin critical investment bets. Coaching is often used as a valuable resource for the development of these individuals thanks to the patronage from corporate HR teams and/or senior executives who have had positive coaching experiences.

Nonetheless, there are still concerns, resistances, and maybe myths that hinder the adoption of executive coaching as a powerful talent development tool in many organizations and cultures. One of these myths is that executive coaching is the ‘arm of last resort’ for an executive to address behavioral issues(before more serious decisions are taken) and that it has no real scientific basis to justify its claim to fame. This is despite very substantial research studies published by reputable publishers over the last decades on the psychology, sociology, and physiology of coaching and its benefits, not to mention the many works undertaken by scores of reputable researchers around the world to study the effectiveness of the many coaching frameworks and models.

Hypothesis

I hypothesize that a scientific and factual basis to the coaching practice might prove effective in enhancing the acceptance of executive coaching as a powerful organizational and talent development tool within the corporate world across continents and cultures. The assumption behind this hypothesis is that corporate professionals’ concerns about coaching’s real effectiveness can be allayed when executive coaching is underpinned by a logical and science-based approach so that corporate talent investment decisions – in terms of time and money–can allow executive coaching to be more widely adopted.

In this context, this research paper aims at researching how both neuroscience-based coaching and systems thinking as tools to deliver a fact-based and powerful coaching experience.

Neurosciences and Executive Coaching

Over the last two decades, neuroscience has made giant leaps thanks to significant advances, among others, in medical digital imaging technology. This progress has allowed the medical community a much deeper understanding of the brain’s functioning which has brought about challenges to many of the previously well-accepted theories about the functioning of the organ we call the brain. One key concept – now widely researched and accepted – at the heart of neuroscience-based executive coaching, i.e. neuroplasticity(1):

Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity, or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. These changes range from individual neurons making new connections, to systematic adjustments like cortical remapping. Examples of neuroplasticity include circuit and network changes that result from learning a new ability, environmental influences, practice, and psychological stress.

Neuroplasticity studies demonstrate (2)(3)(4) that the adult human brain is not at all hard-wired once adult age is reached but actually evolves continually during the human life span responding to the stimuli the individual’s lifestyle events provide. There are actually several ways in which this plasticity can manifest itself, such as structural neuroplasticity, functional neuroplasticity, and – within the latter – several activity-dependent plasticity methods, such as the brain’s ability to increase or decrease the firing power of its synapses (synapsis plasticity) and its ability to regulate the excitability of its neurons (intrinsic plasticity). Neuroplasticity is therefore a form of systemic intelligence, the intelligence of the intelligent organ one might say, as it allows the brain to optimize its own response to the circumstances, stimuli, and traumas it receives.

From a coaching perspective, this is extremely relevant and powerful. The question is then how to best harness this systemic intelligence of the brain for the benefit of the coachee? The answer to that question is revealed by many studies and researchers’ testimonials (5)(6)(7): the single most important trigger for a healthy adult brain’s neuroplasticity is in fact attention, our own conscious attention.

Acting like a spotlight on a theatre scene, our attention can trigger neurological brain plasticity if applied consciously and consistently over time. Attention is what enables learning as it fosters those neuroplastic responses that create, with time and effort, new neurological connections and ‘brain maps’ in our minds that can then be recalled instantly and represent our ‘knowledge’. This process applies to new physical or manual skills we might want to acquire (e.g. skiing, carpeting, baking, pottery, painting, music playing, etc) as well as to new intellectual skills, such as a new language, a new profession, or new behavior.

In summary, attention enables neuroplasticity which in turn enables learning. Nothing earth-shattering one might say, as we know it from childhood that if you pay attention you learn faster. However, as our brain swims in a chemical solution, hormones have a huge impact on our thoughts, behaviors, and actions, hence our ability to consciously orient our attention can be significantly impaired or enabled by the nature of the predominant ‘cocktail’ of hormones present at a given time. So, where it gets interesting is when one realizes that attention can not only be oriented to enable learning but to a certain extent also to create the right hormonal environment required for positive and powerful learning to take place. Attention thus can bring about learning and shape the learning environment as well. Quite remarkable and useful to know, when you are dealing with stressed-out, driven executives who often have to deal with huge professional pressures, conflicting life demands all while battling their own emotions and demons.

As a result, since 2006 neuroscience-based coaching theories and practices have started to emerge, develop, and get established (8), providing new perspectives on how coaching can effectively enable sustainable and permanent behavioral changes in individuals. They can become a powerful force for executive coaching to be broadly accepted as a respected talent / organizational development tool across continents, cultures, and customer clusters, i.e. not just medium/large corporations but also entrepreneurs, start-ups, and gig-economy professionals. Its beauty relies on its scientific underpinning which guides and informs the coaching process with the ultimate aim to help ‘hardwire’ the desired changes, behaviors, or beliefs, hence facilitating the truly transformational change of individuals and organizations.

Systems Thinking and Executive Coaching

While neuroscience indeed informs the coach’s practice for the benefit of the executive, the coach can hardly ignore that the coachee is much more than just an individual looking to improve his/her professional trajectory. S/he is a complex human being, with unique personality traits, history, needs, and emotions, whose professional trajectory deeply depends not just on his/her professional performance, but on several interdependencies with broader ‘systems’ (9), and thus by how theses ‘systems’ can be considered in a management application, as defined by Peter Senge in 1990 with his seminal work “The Fifth discipline”(9)(10)(11). Such systems would include, at least, the following areas: the executive’s work community (company culture, individual dynamics, etc), his/her personal and social relationships, his/her business’s industry regulations, and his/her country of residence laws, rules, and habits. Let’s look at these systems briefly from inside out to explore their interdependencies with the coachee.

Personal system: each executive has a unique personal history that has shaped the values, behaviors, ambitions, and his/her overall character. The influencers can be endless and represent an intricate ‘system’ that can have a direct bearing on the executive’s behaviors. Besides, each executive will have a private life with its all-important relationships, which further enrich and inform the executives’ personal system. The coach needs to understand the dynamics of this system to properly support the coachee.

Social system: as any social being, the executive needs a network of social relationships to be balanced and thus at his/her best at work. These relationships can be very diverse and touch very diverse aspects of the individual’s persona: love, friendship, religion, sports, culture, fun, and more. The coach needs to consider their impact on the coachee’s professional life and evaluate through the coachee if and how the system can be optimized.

Work system: this is a large system that includes the executive’s professional relationships, the company culture, it’s spoken & unspoken values, and codes of behavior. The degree of alignment between these values and behaviors with the executive’s own values and behaviors does have a direct impact on the executive’s effectiveness and hence needs to be explored and understood by the coach.

Industry system: any industry the executive operates in will have a bearing on the business and hence on its executives. The industry rules, regulations, and governing bodies are a powerful system the coachee needs to be aware of and possibly tap into. Country system: as complex as it might be, this is the ultimate system that needs to be reckoned with, by both coachee and coach. It’s culture, rules and behaviors will inevitably impact the executive’s work, relationships, and ultimately his/her success.

As mentioned before, this is not an exhaustive list as there can be other systems that have a material relevance on the coachee, however, it is sufficient to assert that the success of an executive coaching program cannot be lasting and transformational unless it has properly embedded the interdependencies between the coachee and his/her relevant systems in its deployment. The coachee is de facto at the center of a complex network of systems that do have a material bearing on the executive’s professional life and it is here where systems thinking, and coaching, intersect.

Neuroscience-based coaching and system thinking can thus inform each other, allowing the coach to fully comprehend and support the coachee. A perfect example is how the executive responds (or reacts) to an occasion in which a system presents a sudden challenge that could be perceived as a threat and thus trigger a ‘fight or flight’ reaction instead of a more pondered conscious response. These occasions abound in everyday executive life and could come from a variety of sources, such as unforeseen events, challenging behaviors, negative results, or simply unexpected circumstances. The SCARF Model (12), developed and administered by D.Rock’sNeuroleadership Institute, helps executives and coaches to understand the individual’s sensitivity to 5 areas: status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness. Awareness of such sensitivities is a useful tool for the coachee to recognize patterns of behaviors that are related to these social sensitivities, thus – with time and the coach’s support – improve his/her effectiveness by moving from reaction to response.

Conclusion

This paper asserts that the brain & systems-based executive coaching – i.e. brain’s neuroplastic properties combined with the systems thinking management theory – can provide a factual backbone to further the adoption of executive coaching practices across cultures, geographies, and types of organizations. While both disciplines are highly complex and require a high level of professional competencies to be fully understood and mastered, brain & systems-based executive coaching does not need to be as intimidating as a concept as it might sound: the fundamental principles are intuitive enough to be understood and embraced by all professional stakeholders, as long as their principles and their relevance to the executive world are clearly, simply and openly communicated. That’s the job of us executive coaches.

References

(1) Neuroplasticity

(2)Maguire, E. A.; Frackowiak, R. S.; Frith, C. D. (1997). “Recalling routes around London: Activation of the right hippocampus in taxi drivers”. Journal of Neuroscience, 2007.

(3) “Michael M. Merzenich | Scientific Learning”. Scientific Learning Corporation. 1997–2009.

(4) David H. Hubei & Torsten Wiesel, 1981 Nobel Prize winners

(5) Daniel Amen – The most important lesson from 83,000 brain scans, TEDxOrangeCoast, October 16, 2013.

(6) VeerlePonnet – Using insights of neuroscience to improve teaching and learning, TEDxPatosdeMinas, Nov 12, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmAuawoYnUk

(7) Dr. Kelly Lambert – Improving our neuroplasticity, TEDxBermuda, Feb 3, 2020

(8)The Systems Theory and Systems Thinking

(9) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation, Peter Senge 1990

(10) Peter Senge: “Systems Thinking for a Better World” – Aalto Systems Forum 2014

(11) The 11 Laws of Systems Thinking and Stakeholder Engagement, Thought Exchange, Jamie Billingham

(12) The SCARF Model, David Rock, The Neuroleadership Institute

(13) The What, Why and How of Brain-based Coaching, Dan Beverly, 1 January 2015

(14) David Rock, Quiet Leadership (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), Mental Energy and Physiological Energy – Art Markmann, Feb 12, 2015

(15) No Pain, No Brain Gain: Why Learning Demands (A Little) Discomfort, The Science of Work, by Mary Slaughter and David Rock, 18 Apr 2018

Original source:

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modestmondays · 7 years

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one of the most important money-makers for kid-centered media is merchandise, right? so i do wonder about this. because as far as i can tell, su is genuinely very popular and is consistently one of the most talked about shows on online platforms like tumblr, but the thing is, i don’t know if that’s true for the product-selling side of it. for some perspective - i live in norway. there are some cartoons you *cannot* avoid in nerd stores, like adventure time. at first i thought maybe su was "too

new” to have that status, but now that’s happened to rickand morty, which is newer in terms of being “big” online. so i wondered aboutdemographics - maybe rick & morty is more popular among the “typical” nerdy+ gamer demographic (teen boys) - but i visited america and saw that actually,there IS a lot of su merch being prominently sold, so i wonder two things: isthere any way to know whether the su merch is doing *well*, and is there anyway to know whether it’s doing well *internationally*?

as popular as su is in the US, i’m not sure whether that’strue elsewhere (and i’ve heard that that actually matters to CN US, and is partof why they still have certain shows that aren’t huge ‘talkers’ nationally, butsell merch and do well elsewhere). i certainly love SU, but from what i can tell,it’s not… actually a household name among nerds here, and it’s hard to findany merch… so i do wonder if being big in america and online is enough,though i agree there aren’t warning signs yet

I was actually in Denmark recently for a cousin’s BarMitzvah, and I can anecdotally confirm that Rick and Morty is waaaay morepopular in your part of the world than I expected, although kids there had heard of StevenUniverse too. The Szechuan Sauce nonsense shows that R&M already has a strongUS fanbase as well. I think the US R&M fanbase is a bit older, it’s not reallya “for kids” show here. But either way, it’s certainly a closer fit for the nerdy/gamerdemographic than SU is, on both sides of the Atlantic. I’d expect to findR&M stuff at comic book stores, Gamestop, that kind of place. And whilethose places may have SU comics/toys, I think you find more SU merch at Barnes &Noble, Hot Topic, and other non-geek stores.

I’m definitely seeing a lot of SU merch here, and it feels likethe quantity and scope are both increasing (strongly suggesting that salesnumbers are good), which is a big part of why I’m not worried about thefinancial future of the show. But it’s interesting that you’re not seeing thatinternationally.

edit: this got really long, so I’ll put the rest under a cut.

I tried to do some research. The CN website was totallyunhelpful because it has zero business info, just stuff for the target audience,which is kids (although I did see that the volleyball game is finally up!), and moving up thecorporate chain to Turner didn’t help, since CN is too small a part of theirbusiness to get much press.

But some more searching took me to http://www.licensemag.com/license-globalwhich was more helpful. Here’s some CN articles/press releases that I foundinteresting. I’ll pull out some key highlights.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/cartoon-network-has-something-everyone(June 2016)

A big push for CNE moving forward will also be for theseries “Steven Universe.” Created by Rebecca Sugar, “StevenUniverse” follows the misadventures of Steven, the ultimate “littlebrother” to a team of magical guardians of humanity–the Crystal Gems–asthey band together to save the universe.

The series premiered on Cartoon Network in November 2013,but now is beginning to be supported by more robust offerings at retail.

“We’ve seen a huge pick up for ‘Steven Universe,’”says Yoder. “It’s one of those brands that has always rated reallywell–there is such a rich mythology within the storytelling–but it just took alittle longer for fans to really get to know the characters.”

According to CNE, theseries is a top performer on the network, coming in as the top grossing seriesper episode, and will now be expanded with a consumer product program.(emphasis mine)

Twenty-five-plus licensees have been tapped to expand thebrand to accessories (Accutime, Buckle-Down, Hot Properties and HighIntenCity), apparel (Bioworld, Underboss and Mighty Fine), gaming (USAopoly),home décor (Surreal Entertainment and the Northwest Company), novelty toys(A&A Global Industries, Funko, Just Toys International, Phat Mojo, ToyFactor and Zag Toys), costumes (Rubie’s Costume Co.) and more.

CNE will also leverage show creator Sugar for a publishingprogram with Penguin, and Boom! Studios will launch comic books and graphicnovels.

The products will sit at mid-tier retailers and hit shelvesin time for back-to-school, with stores such as Kohl’s, J.C. Penney and Searssigned on for inventory. Yoder says the program will expand to mass retailersand reach further into the kids’ demographic next year.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/cartoon-network-energizing-evergreens(February 2017)

“The network has done a great job not just saying that wecreate multi-platform content, but actually doing it,” adds Yoder, who has beena member of the CNE team since 2006 and reports to Cartoon Network presidentChristina Miller. “We are giving our fans true multi-platform experiences, sowhile we are creating linear content, we are also offering additional contentspecific for CN apps as well as evaluating how we expand with SVODopportunities and how we support kids creating their own content.”

As Cartoon Network is responding to the changing dynamics oflinear television and kids’ viewing habits, the network is still deliveringstrong ratings and viewership, which bodes well for its brand licensing group.

CNE is a well-recognized global licensor, ranked No. 30 inthe world, according to the Top 150 Global Licensors Report published annuallyby License Global, reporting $2 billion in retail sales of licensed merchandiseworldwide.

While the challenges facing the rapidly changing traditionalkids’ TV sector have been well-documented, Cartoon Network has several keypoints of differentiation, including a well-established audience, the abilityto promote its shows, development of content across different platforms andstrong evergreen properties.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/portfolio-programs(July 15, 2017)

“The idea of putting together long-term portfolio dealscame about rather organically,” says Christina Miller, vice president ofconsumer products, Cartoon Network Enterprises, which has inked multi-propertydeals with Mattel, Hallmark, and to a lesser degree, FunKo Toys.

According to Miller, “There were two primary reasons wechose to explore this strategy. First, Mattel and Hallmark are leading licenseesin their respective fields, and we have solid relationships with each.Secondly, our shows receive a good deal of cross-viewership, so kids who watch'Fosters’ are likely to stay and watch 'Billy & Mandy,’ and so forth. Wedecided, rather than spend time looking for individual licensees for eachproperty, it would be more efficient to have a single company developingproduct for all properties that target ages 6 to 11.”

Not to mention, she adds, “it fosters a strong creativerelationship between our creators and artists and their design teams.”

Hallmark’s vice president of licensing acquisitions, KarenMitchell-Layton, agrees, adding, “The multi-year, multi-propertyarrangement will allow us to spend time and creative energy in not onlycreating products for today, but also to take an innovative approach as thecharacters and storylines evolve.” Under its agreement with CartoonNetwork, Hallmark now holds the exclusive licensing rights in the U.S. andCanada for a range of everyday and seasonal social expression products,including greeting cards and party-supply items. “Social expressions is anincredibly extensive category,” says Miller, “so we’d like to spendmore time on the creative and less on making multiple deals, which ultimately willlead to better, more sophisticated products. Similarly, the Mattel deal coversmultiple toy and games categories including vehicles, action figures, playsets,roleplay, board games, puzzles, and youth electronic items.” While Mattelnow has a first-look option on all newly created original series andprogramming, Miller is quick to point out that existing relationships such asBandai’s master toy deal for “Ben 10” will remain untouched.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/cartoon-network-bolsters-experiential-initiatives(October 2017)

It takes more than great content to create a devoted fanbase, and Cartoon Network is putting fandom front and center to keep fansdeeply engaged with its properties.

“At a corporate level, Turner has put fandom veryfirmly in the center of our global strategy. We don’t talk about audiencesanymore, we talk about fans and fandom,” says Johanne Broadfield, vicepresident, Cartoon Network Enterprises EMEA, a part of Turner Entertainment.“For the past 18 months, we’ve been all about a 360-degree brandexperience.”

Putting fans at the heart of the business ups a property’sgame by fueling growth and fan commitment. In creating a foundation based onstrong core content, Cartoon Network is building its brands out to engage fanson a deeper level with a wide and varied set of temporary and permanentexperiences.

“We’re creating authentic, personal experiencesspecifically designed for fans of each brand to interact with the properties innew and unique ways,” says Broadfield.

Far from a one-size-fits-allapproach, Broadfield says the company is designing experiences tailored to eachbrand and its retail partners so that activations are meaningful and connectwith fans in a personal way.

Some analysis:

First, I don’t know how much to read into the lack of SUmentions in the later articles. It may not be one of the top sellers, but thatdoesn’t mean it’s doing poorly. “Top grossing series per episode” sounds prettygood, although they did see it as slower to grow on the merchandise side. Theymay be going for a similar slow burn internationally? I know the dubs arepretty far behind in some countries, and especially for younger kids, they’regoing to need the show in their native language. This would also hit stuff likecomics and books pretty hard. The Answer is a wonderful kid’s book, but it’sonly available in English.

Second, it looks like a lot of the licensing agreements areboth broad and exclusive, so if some of those retailers are US-only, so is themerch. Are Hot Topic or Funko international things? If not, then some of thetoys and clothing won’t be available—which exacerbates the previous problem,since toys and clothes could otherwise be sold to kids who aren’t nativeEnglish speakers with no trouble.

It seems like app and mobile tie-ins are a big part of theirholistic approach, and SU seems to be fine on that front. There’s hugeengagement from the fans across multiple platforms, although I’m not sure how much of that is from kids.

The last part, about unique fan experiences, made me thinkof Estelle’s “Stronger Than You” performance at SDCC. They went all out withthat one, giving out “Made of Love” t-shirts, reserving and decorating the stage, and gettinga huge crowd of fans together. They gave away more of those promotionalt-shirts during the panel at NYCC, too. I think they realize that the SU marketis there, and they’re doing a good job of engaging with us, even though we mostlyaren’t “boys age 6-11”.

Demographics may be a challenge, since CN was, up until recently,all about the boy’s programming (old Turner press releases emphasize thatsuccess). They’re branching out into other target demographics with shows like the PPG reboot or R&M, but it may beharder to nail down the SU fanbase into an easy target demographic. But they’re finding various ways to “engage” us(read: sell us stuff we want), and I hope that’ll continue.

I guess that didn’t really answer your questions, but hopefully it’s interesting anyway! It might be possible to get more specific sales data by reading SEC filings or calling them, but I don’t want to do that.

#steven universe #Cartoon network #faelapis

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buzzbest · 4 years

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Dating Mistakes To Avoid for Happy Relationships!

Falling crazy with someone may be a wonderful feeling which will only be topped by the sensation when that love is mutual. Starting a replacement relationship is extremely exciting! However, even with such hit or miss matter as love is, there are still some rules to follow.

After all, dating is one of the foremost powerful sorts of human communication. Hence, to form it fruitful and happy, you would like to know the fundamentals of human relationships. Here are some mistakes to avoid for happy relationships.

1-Making your partner the middle of your universe

The first thing on this list of dating mistakes people should avoid securing a cheerful and long-lasting relationship may appear to be a touch bit strange to some. one of the arguments against now is that once you are genuinely crazy with an individual, you would like to take a position all of yourself into the connection. you would like to become “the one” so you set all of your time and energy into making that relationship work.

However, this is often not how healthy and happy relationships work. Of course, if you're going out with someone it's essential that you simply pay enough attention to them, also as their needs and needs. Nonetheless, it doesn't mean that they need to exchange every single other person and relationship you’ve had in your life before you met them.

Abandoning your social circle for somebody is toxic and incredibly detrimental to you. the rationale for this is often that by focusing an excessive amount of on your lover, you'll lose those bits of character that people fostered in you. it's likely that by only ever hanging out together with your spouse, you'll adopt their personality features and become a version of them. While this is often cute to some this is often not great in the least. It can even cause a possible break-up.

The best thanks to explain the correlation between beginning to resemble your lover and them losing interest in you is this:

When the 2 of you meet and begin to urge to understand one another better, each of you're an individual of your own. and that they fall for that person! If you ultimately lose all of your unique traits and switch into their mirror reflection, they're going to be less intrigued by your existence.

Also, thereto, it's incorrect to place your significant other’s needs above your own. While it's a crucial feature of a cheerful relationship to understand the way to compromise, you ought to not ditch your comfort when dating someone. don't cancel plans you've got made with someone and wanted to attend to only at your partner’s whim.

It is understandable that after going out for a short time people merge their social circles. They introduce one another to their friends and blend and match the friendship groups. this is often absolutely normal. an equivalent way to pay some little extra attention to your partner and selecting them before people is normal.

You just got to remember to not limit yourself to only that one person by crossing everyone else out of your life and abandoning your hobbies or goals that make your life a touch happier and fulfilling.

See Also: 6 Essential Steps For Overcoming Codependency

2-Trying to avoid arguments by bottling up your emotions and feelings

Another big mistake tons of couples make that hinders them from having a cheerful and healthy relationship is avoiding arguments.

As weird because it may sound, the thought of arguments being unacceptable during a happy relationship is wrong. the reality is, arguments are often incredibly useful and healthy, and even take your relationship to the subsequent level!

It's far better for your couple dynamics if both of you voice all of your concerns and talk them out, albeit that would potentially cause a heated conversation. If you discuss everything that bothers you at the time and let your partner realize your view of things, they're more likely to supply evidence of their actions and subsequently suggest an alternative model of behavior that might satisfy you both. After all, your lover is probably going not a psychic and can't possibly skills you are feeling about certain things unless you explicitly tell them.

Alternatively, if you select to not express your disagreement and dissatisfaction just because you'd much rather swallow that rather than spending a few hours understanding the matter, you're certain a hugely delayed scandal. it's attribute to accumulate all the unresolved conflicts and suppress feelings rather than truly letting them go. Unfortunately, there's a limit to the present.

Eventually, there'll be a thing, and sometimes the tiniest one, which can push you over the sting and cause you to burst. Naturally, this may have an adverse effect on your relationship and can likely end during a few days of not lecture one another.

3-Ignoring red flags

Despite there not being a particular timeline for dating mistakes, this error is more relevant to those relationships that are still early, where people are still going to know one another.

When you are only starting dating someone and still get butterflies in your stomach just from brooding about them, it's usual to idealize them in your head. Obviously, you're still new this person and can't possibly realize all their annoying little habits that are only identifiable to the people they accept. To you, they seem to be perfect. And this is often, indeed, an exquisite feeling! However, this is often exactly where the danger of ignoring a red flag comes into the scene.

Unfortunately, people crazy tend to not concentrate on the items that they are doing not like. Instead, they prefer to specialize in what's good about their lover. However, this will be extremely detrimental to the end of the day. If you would like to be during a happy relationship, you would like to be with someone who you're compatible with and who fits you well. If someone doesn't, they're probably not meant for you. it's wrong for you to think that you simply can “fix” them, and make them good for you.

What you would like to try to do is to note all the red flags as they are available and terminate the connection as soon because it becomes unacceptable for you.

See Also: 10 Red Flags to think about Before Getting Serious during a Relationship

4-Not establishing clear boundaries

This mistake links back to the primary point on this list since they're closely connected. In fact, not establishing clear boundaries often becomes the explanation for falling into obsessive behaviors and that specialize in your partner an excessive amount of.

This is why you would like to recollect that the 2 of you're to not be indivisible. it's okay if both of you've got your own space which the opposite one wouldn't violate. it's okay to possess some privacy, and it's to not foster any jealousy or secrecy. Privacy in relationships doesn't equate to secrecy. Privacy is required to be ready to be your person and isn't associated with you having secrets from your partner.

Besides, thereto, it's undeniable that the planet of dating is wide and varied. It means different things for various people. Everyone has their very own understanding of what's acceptable during a relationship and what's best to be avoided. it's important for the 2 of you as a few to decide on what aspects are okay with you, and which of them cross the road for you.

All in all, you would like to remember the very fact that despite being together, both of you ought to remain your separate entities.

5- Comparing your current spouse to the relationships you've got had within the past.

They say, your current self is made from your dreams and aspirations, your thoughts and your past. When it involves dating, however, it's best that you simply keep your past out of the equation.

Of course, it's completely normal to recollect some bits of your past relationships and respect the teachings you've got learned from dating those people. what's not adequate, however, is consistently comparing and contrasting your current partner to your exes. Not only that's irrelevant, but that also makes your spouse doubt your feelings for them since it looks like you're not over that person you dated before them.

Besides, you ought to also remember that no people are often precisely the same.

Therefore, you'll not be ready to have an equivalent experiences that you simply went through within the past.

If you would like to possess a cheerful relationship, it's pivotal for you to recollect that each relationship maybe a clean slate and you've got to treat it intrinsically. sleep in the instant, and appearance up to the items you'll undergo together with your current partner as against reminiscing over the things that you simply and your ex shared.

6-Lacking within the communication department.

This perhaps might be one among the first and worst mistakes people in relationships make, lack of communication between partners. the reality is that any relationship, including a romantic one, is supported by human trust and communication.

By dating someone, you give that person access to your heart and allow them to be your companion through thick and thin. However, even then they are doing not have access to your brain and can't possibly know what exactly is on your mind. And neither are you able to.

As it has been discussed previously, you'll save your relationship by arguing as which will assist you to express your feelings and let your partner know what you’re thinking. However, it's not necessarily negativity that you simply got to express. Relationship may be a continuous communication process. it's helpful when two people mention their thoughts and concepts.

The worst thing that one can do when dating is assuming what their partner means. And act supported those assumptions. which will instantly worsen your relationship and convey it to a logical end. it's essential that you simply discuss everything that must be discussed.

Moreover, it's also important for you to not only hear your partner but also hear what they're saying. Often, we comply with have a conversation yet we are still not able to communicate. that's ineffective and doesn't give any positive results. That only ever leaves both parties unhappy and annoyed with one another. Therefore, to speak together with your spouse successfully, you would like to truly trust what they're saying and provides them the advantage of the doubt.

7-Spending insufficient (or too much) time with one another

Something tons of couples are guilty of isn't having the ability to seek out the proper amount of your time to spend with one another. Both insufficient and excessive amounts of time spent with one another are often harmful to the connection and result in dissatisfaction from both parties.

When you aren't investing enough time into your relationship and find yourself being too distant from your spouse, you risk losing the reference to them. While it's a gradual process that takes tons of your time to completely happen, it's likely to be irreversible. Once you lose touch together with your beloved, you'll find it extremely difficult to reconnect.

Therefore, it's important to schedule your life in such how that the 2 of you'd have a while to roll in the hay with one another and just have some quality time together.

At an equivalent time, however, it's vital that you simply don't overdo it. Being together all the time are often rather negative for your relationship. It can cause the aforementioned dating mistakes like making your partner the middle of your universe and your boundaries being blurred out.

To put it simply, albeit you're keen on them tons, being together an excessive amount can cause you to get bored of them or maybe make them start aged your nerves. it's important to possess a chance to require small breaks in some time spent together, so you'd have an opportunity to start out missing one another then have an outburst of oxytocin once you finally see each other!

8-Going together with your brain and not your heart

At last but definitely not the smallest amount, love is an incredibly complicated concept. While scientists claim that love is just a sequence of chemical reactions in your brain, actually, it's such a lot quite that! Love is wonderful in its spontaneity and unpredictability. and therefore the worst thing you'll do when dating somebody into a cheerful relationship is to undertake and calculate it.

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