#this is perhaps influenced by the last three months i spent listening to tides of history | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lo-55 · 3 years

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Revel Ch. 14

Revel

Notes:

Vague nsfw in the start of this chapter, but it's nothing explicit. Just a couple of dorks trying to bone.

The first time Tori convinced Katakuri to lay with her was something she would never forget.

It took a lot of coaxing and promises and careful touches from the both of them. He was skittish still, no matter how many time she told him she thought he was lovely, no matter how many kisses she lay upon his skin.

She understood. He had never touched another woman, and they had been wed nearly three years before she had him on her bed, stripped bare for her soft hands and sweet lips to glide across his skin.

She was careful with him, and he even more so with her. It was a night they would never forget, if only because Tori had spent half of it breathless, her face red and tears in her eyes.

All because she tried to take the reigns, and straddle him, but she was so eager she overshot and ended up tumbling ass over end, off of her husband, off of the bed, and onto the floor where she stared up at his shocked face through her thighs dropped around her ears.

She couldn't help it.

She started laughing.

He picked her up off the floor, and she caught her breath and prepared to guide him inside her-

But made the mistake of looking him in the eye.

They stared at each other and Tori’s shoulders started shaking. Katakuri put his hand over his mouth, muffling the gruff laughter that matched her helpless giggling. She clung to his chest, and tried to calm down, but after that every time they made eye contact she fell apart again.

The end of the night found her laid across his chest, still giggling like a loon but more than satisfied. She knew she would be bruised in the morning and Katakuri had deep scratched down his back, but they’d had fun and that was the important part.

When they woke in the morning Madelle was standing outside the door, with a letter in her hand. It wasn’t from her sister, but it was about Gemma nonetheless.

Gemma, her younger sister, the youngest of all of them, was also the first to conceive.

Tori looked from note to Madelle and handed it back.

“Excuse me,” she said brightly. “I’m feeling competitive.”

She shut the door and went back to bed, with no intention of sleeping.

Three months afterwards found Tori and Katakuri dressing in their room for one of Big Mom’s Tea Parties. This time it was Oven being sent to the altar, to secure another alliance with an up and coming big shot that Tori didn’t even know the name of. Only that those particular pirates were making enough waves to warrant being welcomed into the fold.

Tori still wasn’t sure why she had been brought in. Her island was, still, nothing particularly special to Big Mom, and Katakuri’s ignorance led her to believe that no one off the islands knew the Enchantress existed.

Those were questions for another day.

As it was Tori was searching her mother's old chest, the one she had been given when she visited Soldano last. At the very bottom was the jewelry box.

Inside there was a string of small pearls. They were pink, almost red in their vibrance and Tori tugged them out to wear around her throat.

Only, the clasp caught on the velvet lining of the box.

Tori’s brows furrowed.

She gave a careful tug. She didn’t want to break the necklace. Or the box. But what could it be caught on?

Tori followed the clasp until she wiggled her nail in the small gap it had created. She pulled until there was a strange click and necklace popped free. More than that though the lining lifted away to reveal a small hollow. And, inside of it, a red key.

Tori lifted it carefully out of its hiding space, turning it over and over in her hands. It was heavy and smooth. She couldn't figure out what it was made of. Some kind of metal, but it was tougher than anything else she’s seen. It had no give at all.

A black lock and a red key.

And here she had the red key. What were they? Where was a lock, and why did Ziani want it so badly? If they found out about it, would they come after her? Would they threaten Tori, her handmaids, her husband?

Katakuri could demolish all of them but Tori…

She touched her stomach, where it was only just started to curve under the weight of a new life.

She couldn't endanger her child. Not until she had more information. Their islands history was one that filled with bloodshed, murdered queens and poisoned kings, all from people vying for power. She was not fool. Tori understood exactly how dangerous the world was.

Tori put the key back in place, pressed the lining back until it clicked, and donned her pearl necklace.

It hung like a circlet of blood around her neck.

“We’ll need to figure out what kind of name we should give them,” Tori mused, staring out at the sea. She rested her head on Katakuri’s chest, listening to even pull of his breaths, unobstructed for once. They stood on their balcony in the dead of night, where no others would both they or see his face. Tori still thought he was lovely.

“What do you mean, ‘what kind of name’?” He asked, stroking slowly through her long, sea dark hair.

“Well. I suppose it’s not so complicated outside of my isles. But I am of Imperia and Soldano. I’m a ‘Di Imperia’, of Imperia, because I’m the princess. People without titles have their first name and family name, and in Soldano is there’s enough old families and things are so complicated that there’s three names. The Tria Nomina .”

“Three names,” he repeated dubiously. “Like the ‘D’?”

“Maybe,” Tori shrugged. “I couldn’t say for certain. I’m not a historian.”

“No, you’re a polymath.”

“And you are a flatterer.”

“If I can be. Would you give your daughter three names?”

“I might give your son three names,” Tori elbowed him lightly. “We don’t know what it’s going to be. Anyways. There the praenomen , the nomen , and the cognomen . The praenomen is the personal name, to differentiate between members in a family. Katakuri, Lola, Cracker. All of you Charlotte’s, but all of you different.”

“So it’s a fancy word for a first name,” he concluded.

“Mhmm. Exactly. The nomen is the last name. You all come from the same ancestor. You all came from your mother. Charlotte. And the cognomen , that’s a way of distinguishing branches in a family. My mother was Dolce Regina Genova, but her cousin was Chiara Regina Violante. Both from the Regina family, but from different branches.”

Katakuri squinted at her, his ever curved mouth twitching.

“I think,” he said slowly, picking her up easily by her hips. “That you fancy people enjoy making things needlessly complicated.”

“It’s all about power and inheritance. Our power comes from our bloodlines. Without being able to trace those back directly to the people who owned the land, who ruled the country, we lose our influence,” she admitted. He wasn’t wrong.

“Your power is your own,” Katakuri corrected. “You push back the tide itself, if you put your mind to it. You are brave enough to speak for my sister. You are foolish enough to speak against my mother.”

“Flatterer,” she leaned up to kiss him, feather soft. “You think too highly of me.”

“Perhaps.” He turned and caught her mouth in a slow kiss. “You will never stop surprising me, will you?”

Tori smile at him in the dark. “I’ll certainly do my best not to. Good surprises only.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Katakuri threatened.

Tori grinned against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

This life wasn’t perfect, but she had found her happiness. She had her crown and country. She had her husband and her handmaids. Very soon, she would have her first child.

Tori took Katakuri’s hands in hers and pulled him close, letting the crash of waves be their music as she dragged him into a messy, wild dance.

All she could do was revel in what she had.

End Revel.

#one piece #one piece fanfiction #katakuri #charlotte Katakuri #katakuri x oc #oc #victoria di Imperia

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robin-blogs · 3 years

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25.02.2021 - Thursday Lecture, Environmental Art

This week’s Thursday Art History Lecture was about Environmental Art and how artist’s use this connection with nature by using natural materials along with historical relations to art and the environment to create their pieces. Environmental artists additionally often work with the earth as a medium along with the systems and processes that come along with using this medium. Throughout this lecture I learnt about how to identify the history of the different ways that artists have interacted with the natural landscape as a way to create a strong meaning throughout their art. Along with demonstrating my awareness of artists who are seen as influencers within the area of environmental art. Throughout this lecture I will also be commenting on how I analyse some of the ways environmental art is used as a political statement, including cross-cultural theory and notions of cultural identity.

When listening and writing about this lecture the only thing I could think about was the plants I’ve been growing over lockdown and how they have helped me cope with stress. I’ve been heavily researching into different families and species of house plants to learn more about them and its something that’s been incredibly cathartic for me. I want to further this idea by making some pots for my plants as I have been propagating them// growing new plants from leaf cuttings. Additionally, I have been watching a pottery show which has made me increasingly intrigued by the medium of pottery. On one of the episodes the contestants were encouraged to create Greek-style pottery, which I already felt incredibly exited for as I have always adored the general style of the Greeks, especially when it comes to their pottery. I remember a while back I was in a charity shop when I came across a Greek inspired pot painted with a black background and orange-gold figures around it. At the time I really wanted to buy it and I now regret not doing so as it would’ve made a beautiful pot for a plant such as Ivy for how it would overgrow down the sides of the pot. Although, I did take a picture of it, I want to try and find it again so when I make a pot I can paint it with the same design as a kind of homage to the original pot I wanted to get. Considering I don’t have a pottery wheel or pottery clay with a kiln, I won’t be able to make a pot in the traditional sense. I will instead be using air dry clay by using the ‘coil method’ in which you roll out the clay into a long coil// snake and then layer it on top of itself in a circle to form the shape of the pot, in which you then blend the sides together to make a solid wall. I also have a range of plastic pots which I will be adding to the insides of the pots so when they have the plants inside them, they have correct drainage to prevent them from getting root rot as a result of waterlogged soil. I will be incorporating these pots by coiling the clay around them and allow them to stay there while the clay dries to assure they will still fit once the clay has cured fully. I will then fully seal the clay to prevent it from collapsing and becoming moist as a result of the water and soil from the plants. I will be doing this by testing a range of different materials on cured air-dry clay such as gloss varnish, clear resin and a range of both indoor and outdoor varnishes to see which is best and most cost effective for coating my pots. Overall, I’m incredibly exited for this project and I feel it was heavily inspired by the content of this lecture as it helped me learn more about environmental art and how I could even go into perusing it myself in the future someday.

Spiral Jetty – Robert Smithson – 1970, Utah

The first piece to be shown within the lecture was spiral Jetty by artist Robert Smith in 1970. To create this piece he used rock, earth and algae to form the ground that formed the shape of a spiral within the water as the earth was lifted to be in view above the water. Although, the amount of the piece that would be visible depends on the tides and waters. It was slowly deteriorating from the waters so it was rebuilt with earth for it to be clearer seen for exhibitions. However, to get to this spot to create the piece, Robert had to take a three day walk across the dessert which was a very hostile environment to have to walk through. To him, the walk is much a part of the artwork as the work itself.

Wheatfield: A Confrontation ((1982)) – Agnes Denes

The next piece to be shown within the lecture was a piece called Wheatfield: A Confrontation by artist Agnes Denes in 1982. Denes bought a lot in lower Manhattan and planted golden wheat. She cleaned area in the lot and covered city streets with two truckloads of soil and it took 4 months to grow the wheat. After the wheat was fully grown and harvested, the 1000 pounds of grain was shipped to help towards world hunger. This piece was created to make people rethink their priorities and consider thinking more about the environment and what we can all be doing to help thousands in the world who are staring just by planting something as simple as wheat in empty unused lots. Although when creating this piece there was a limited time frame from having to sustain it as a result of the tarmac below. I personally loved this piece as I have recently started to grow my own foods and herbs as a way of becoming self-sustaining. So far, I have grown chives, parsley, coriander, thyme, rocket and basil all within my own room while being in lockdown. Along with growing my own foods and herbs I have also been growing a wide range of plants, some of which are great for purifying the air which I felt was a very key aspect considering I don’t go outside as a result of lockdown too. I hope to grow more foods and herbs in the future as it gets into spring, summer and autumn. A plant in particular Id love to get is a citrus tree, since they don’t grow to a full size and you can always prune them to keep them small and manageable. This would be a very effective and sustainable way to grow my own fruit that I could use all year round, whether its to make smoothies in summer or some cosy pies in the winter.

Sun Tunnels ((1976)) – Nancy Holt, Utah, USA

The next piece to be talked about was a piece called Sun Tunnels by artist Nancy Holt in 1976. This cultivated experience allowed you to see the earth and landscape through a new lens and enabled you to see things in a new way. This piece featured 18-foot-long tubes that perfectly frame the sunrise and set throughout the summer and winter solstices as they were all placed within a large field in Utah. Throughout each tube there were perforated holes so the constellations could be seen projected inside as shadows. Holt spent days sleeping after work to capture the results of the lights and shadows cast at different parts of day and different times of year.

Marsh Ruins ((1981)) – Beverly Buchanan

The last piece to be shown was a piece called Marsh ruins by artist Beverly Buchanan in 1981. Women of colour were excluded from second world feminism and any traction within the art world. A group of slaves committed suicide to escape the camps they would’ve been put in had they been caught. Buchanan decided to plant a range of foliage as a way of questioning if that area of land could be cleansed of the past atrocities. When hearing about this piece I found it to be incredibly impactful and inspiring. Although my own life experiences aren’t near as devastating as those who had to resort to suicide as a result of fear, I still connect areas of land// certain places to my own experience of trauma and abuse. This made me think of the time before I came out as trans to my mother and I was talking to her in the kitchen about something, and it somehow delved into an argument where the last thing she said was “you’re not my daughter”. The one area of the kitchen reminds me of when she said that and how much it affected me. I think it would be intriguing to create work based around this, whether it’s a series of photography pieces in which I place a group of my plants as a way of attempting to cleanse the land similarly to Buchanan’s work. Although another idea I had was to take a photo of the area and then draw over it as a way of showing how the memory still resides there even when it happened years ago. Perhaps I could take the picture from my perspective at the time as I was smaller, and I wasn’t as tall as I am now. I could also play with this concept by having the perspective pointed upwards, as if I’m looking up at my mum even though she isn’t there to represent the flashbacks I have.

Overall, I found this lecture to be incredibly inspiring and certainly helped me learn much more about an art movement I previously had no real knowledge of, especially considering the artists connected to the movement. Furthermore, this lecture helped me connect the work I am currently doing now with my plants and helped me connect it all to an art movement which I personally found to be fascinating that the small simple things I’ve been doing during lockdown can really start to have a positive impact if I use them in the right way.

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fantazeerps · 5 years

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No More Mistakes

Rey was tuning his violin for the fourth time in as many hours when he heard the soft shff of the tent flap opening. No clank of armor, no heavy footsteps, no immediate, enraged ‘REY!’ greeted his ears. That eliminated almost everyone, except for...

“Yes, Bon?” He asked, not turning around to face the papercraft goblin. He focused his effort on twisting the peg just slightly, and running the bow across the strings as he listened for the smallest imperfections.

“So the sacrifice thing is a bust.” Came the reply. Rey didn’t need to see Bon to know that the goblin was standing stock still in the middle of the floor, just staring into his back. He could feel the little bugger’s gaze on him, like a fly. Or a beam of sunlight. It took him a few seconds to remember what Bon was even talking about, taking about halfway into his next sentence to recall talk of demonic allegiance and ritual bloodletting. “Zokai said no. Tsagani said ‘under no circumstances.’ Then she tried folding me into a paper airplane.”

rrrrrrrnnnnt

Rey muttered a G-rated curse under his breath, the chuckle that had slipped out drowned by the sound of the bow raking awkwardly over the strings. Now he had to make sure none of them had come loose again. “What about everyone else?” Never let it be said he didn’t support people’s hobbies.

“Does it matter?” Rey felt the goblin’s gaze move off him as the little thing wandered over to his ‘bed,’ the collection of loose papers and scrolls taken from all over camp. A nest, more like. “Zokai runs the place, and she said no. I don’t think she’ll let me transform them, either.” His voice was flat, but Rey could hear the disappointment. Rey knew the frustration, perhaps better than anyone. Whereas Bon had dealt with it for only a few days, Rey had been suffering a lack of progress on anything but his songwriting for weeks. He’d been ordered to stop testing his spells after the third fool ran screaming into the desert, and had been essentially twiddling his thumbs since then.

He plucked the string he’d been tightening. Better. Ran the bow across it. Perfect. Now for the others.

“Transform?” That was new.

“Yeah.” He heard Bon sit up in his pile, and knew in an instant he’d opened a floodgate. He braced himself for the tide. “There’s a demon called the Rutterkin. Its bite is poisonous, and anyone that dies while poisoned becomes a Wretch. Not really strong, but useful for...”

Rey half-listened, focusing instead on getting the other strings perfect. In a way, he was glad that someone was actually talking to him in a way he could understand. On the other, it was about something he only moderately cared about. Still, Bon rattled on, undeterred by the fact the conversation had been one-sided. “... told Saffron about it but he only seemed interested in the bargaining-with-a-lord part. Can’t blame him, it’s a good idea if we could pull it off, but getting into contact with any Lord I’ve read about would take time and resources we don’t have. He did bring up the possibility of working with Mar’rak, though.”

Rey’s finger stopped its slow descent down the string. “Did he now.” Have you gone crazy too, inventor?

“Yeah. I wish I could have been here to actually study the thing so I could figure out if it’d be a good idea or not, but apparently we’re leaving in like two days.” Flat tone, prickled by frustration again. Rey almost felt sorry for him.

“it’s an idea.” Rey piped up, now sitting up a bit straighter, his tuning halted entirely as he stared down at the instrument, “And a possibility.” He felt that soft pressure on his back that told him Bon was staring at him again. “Mar-mar’s been free for nearly a month, and hasn’t made any progress out of the wasteland... He’d probably jump at the chance for assistance.” And better us than the gnolls.

“... yeah. Everyone else seems bent on shoving him back in his cage, though. If that’s the case, I could probably find a way to siphon his power.” Rey heard that book of his crack open, each turning page accompanied by a flurry of hushed whispers, “With the knowledge Alexius has, it should be easy to figure that one out. All the benefits with no chance of being backstabbed.” Bon muttered something else, but Rey didn’t hear. His focus was elsewhere, in a haze of irritation.

Alexius. Rey set his violin down, and stared at the wall as though willing it to vanish so he could gaze forlornly into the horizon. That lich seemed to have everyone at its defense. Celos, Vastalin, Akumu, Ziskudar, all wrapped around its bony fingers, ready to shield its with their own bodies if it needed. Three weeks they had spent with this creature, coming back and spinning a tale of a time anomaly. Ridiculous. He’s seen strange things, done more, and believed in many, but he knew of spells like Modify Memory and Geas, and personally knew the power of Suggestion, Charm, and Dominate. It would be child's play for a creature like Alexius to seize control of his allies.

... He had checked them for those spells though, most of them. Scooter could rot in the thing’s dungeon believing it to be the God’s gift to the world, for all he cared, but everyone else? Dispel Magic brushed against nothing. Even if it had failed against the magic, he would have still felt its presence there. They couldn’t be getting controlled directly.

He thought he was being paranoid, thought he was dwelling on it too much, but then came his talk with Celos. Poor, dear Celos. A wreckage, stripped bare of his elegance by whatever events had happened in that tower. The man nearly broke down in tears talking about how he’d ruined Alexius’ life. And then there was Akumu, stoic and stonefaced as he ever was... Until he talked about Alexius. Softened expression, softer tone. He even referred to the lich as an example of what humanity should strive for, in that he was trying to undo his mistakes.

And then there was Ziskudar, deep in thought and planning, hunched over maps and seeking to end her conversation with him as fast as possible, ignoring his jabs and needles and brushing him off with a wave rather than a threat. She even allowed him the last word in their little spat.

The people he knew weren’t acting like the people he knew. Not controlled, but definitely influenced by something the lich had done. They had to be.

“Hey.” At some point, Bon had drawn closer. He could see the soft red glow of the goblin’s eyes in the corner of his own vision. “You listening?”

“Barely.” His answer was itself answered with a frustrated exhalation. “... Something about backlash with your power siphoning idea.”

“That’s about it, yeah. Alexius’ wife exploded when he messed up last time, but I think if I could convince him to write down how the ritual worked, I could find out what went wrong, correct it, and perfect it.” The glow on the wall vanished, and more whispers filled the air as Bon flipped through his book. Celos’ warning came back to mind, of the dangers of pushing Alexius. “I only saw it twice, but through my detection I got a good enough look of how the spell flowed with the...” The damn lich just kept coming up, but Rey found a bit of catharsis in how the goblin explained the situation; without care or compassion, treating everything and everyone around him like a resource. It was an admirable trait, one Rey tried to emulate with questionable success. Even now.

“Bon.“

“Eh?”

“Do you believe Alexius will help us defeat Mar’rak?” A question he’s asked five times, now. The tiebreaker.

“...” A pause in the endless banter as the goblin mulled the question over. Rey already knew what Bon would answer... But he just needed reinforcement. He needed to hear it and hope the words would give him the final nudge he needed. “Probably not. Guy’s biggest goal right now is to die, so he’ll likely fling himself in the thing’s path just to get obliterated. I’m hoping he’ll at least teach me to summon Spectators before then.”

Rey’s shoulders slackened. Tasked with finding a weapon to beat the demon, and they failed. We don’t know if he can be beaten.

They failed.

But it solidified his decision. It was all he needed to hear. Rey stood in one smooth motion, tucking his violin away into the haversack at his side. He’d packed everything he’d need for a lengthy journey ahead of time. Days ago, in fact. Before they had returned.

I won’t.

“Second question. You know Phantom Steed, yes?” He’d been puttering around for too long, hemming and hawing about the decision, the pros and the cons, the costs and the benefits.

“... Yeah?”

“I’d like to make a suggestion, then.” No more of that. No more holding himself back. No more being held back. No more being stifled.

I’m sorry, Celos.

#Story Time #About Rey #About Bon #The Crackling Forge Crew

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namisashimi · 5 years

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369: ‘Suffering is always by my side.’

source. profile by danneergou (丹尼二狗) for pentaq. images by yan wendi (梁文迪) and yicun (一村).

translator. in a rare moment of free time, i had the chance to watch IG vs. TES in the LPL regional finals; there was something so quintessentially LPL and yet so captivating about a team of rookies taking on the reigning world champions and the chaos that ensued. pentaq has always written these complex, sympathetic and yet strangely bittersweet portraits of LPL players and their struggles in pursuit of a dream, and this one is no different. i hope you’ll enjoy this one.

369 made a motion like climbing a mountain. "I don't know. But I will always be climbing, and I will always be moving forward."

What does the LPL stage mean to a professional player? Only just eighteen, 369 has yet to find time to think about this. All he knows is that ever since he joined TOP's LPL team last November, his life has been like riding a bullet train. Those things he once dared not even imagine - one by one, they have become reality.

"One day, I will be a professional player," 369 once boasted to his classmates; at the time, he was still a student and his account 菜鸟 (t/n: 'noob') was only Gold. Many years later, when he found himself standing on the Demacia Cup stage for the first time, looking at the tide of people below him, letting the audience's cheers for their opponent IG crash over him, "If these people were cheering for us, wouldn't that be even better?"

To listen to those cheers, he has already given up much. He said goodbye to his best friend, took on more stress and frustration, and faced his own inner demons head-on. Throughout this process, suffering has been his constant companion.

"When you play professionally, in a hundred days, maybe ninety-nine of them will be losses. And only in an hour of that one remaining day will you taste success." Little P, a coach for the academy team who watched 369's journey from the LDL to the LPL, felt that this was a road every player must walk. "All kinds of negative feedback are entangled with a player's career. For many of them, even up until they retire, they will have no way to understand this."

To an outsider, he might already seem gifted with extraordinary luck - he only spent one season on the academy team before being promoted to the main team. In the spring split, he was already a starting player; they finished third in the regular season, fourth in playoffs, and earned the chance to represent LPL at Rift Rivals. At only eighteen, this boy already had a chance that could change his life - but he had no time to celebrate; he had to hurry to the next battlefield.

"If I think about it, I've lived eighteen years. All the previous years were plain and faint; it seems only this one has a spark of light."

one. giving up, holding on.

No matter what, 369 has always said what he thought - even if, in that moment, it felt like everyone else was standing against him.

This was how it seemed in July 2018, the first time Little P saw him. At the time, Little P was the assistant coach for TOP's main team. Once, he and the team visited their academy team KOF to do a review of one of KOF's games.

During their analysis, this kid who always had something to say came to his attention. "To be honest, his analysis of the game was correct, but whether the team should prioritize top lane or bot lane was a stylistic decision, not one with a right or wrong choice. They were not trying to solve a problem, but rather having a debate."

What Little P remembered most from that day was how 369 kept asking him, "P Bro, do you also think this is correct? Do you agree with this?" While he noticed his strong desire to win, Little P also felt that he "relied too much on what others thought of him."

A little while later, Little P was transferred from the main team to KOF, and thus became 369's in-game mentor. But the first to have noticed 369 was Guo Hao, the TOP manager who instigated this transfer.

In April 2018, even as the main team played against Snake in Chongqing, Guo Hao elected to go to the LDL student and watch KOF. Because some impressive plays caught his eye, this player who went by 369 came to his attention. "The impression he gave me was someone with meticulous mechanics, who had guts and didn't panic. Even when left with a sliver of health, he would still use his positioning to juke skills." At that time, Guo Hao thought - this kid might be it.

Back then, 369 had only just joined KOF. Born in 2001, he grew up in Henan with his grandmother and little sister. His family and childhood experiences made 369 more independent, yet also more vulnerable to social influences. In the third year of middle school, he found he couldn't keep up with his studies, so he wanted to go to a vocational school. He thought to himself, "This way, at least I'll have some skills to support myself with." Afterwards, he went into a four-year automobile repair program, which included a guaranteed job assignment after graduation.

Attending vocational school really just meant he was playing League of Legends in a new location; he "felt that [he] couldn't see any hope." If he had followed this path, perhaps in four years he really would've become an auto mechanic.

Once, another player added him as a friend and told him that if he changed his ID to a certain name and played every day, they would pay him 30RMB a day. 369 was delighted to hear that League of Legends could earn him money and pay for more of his netcafe fees. "I had always felt quite disappointed in myself growing up, but playing this game, I suddenly had a reason to feel proud." At that time, he was around Diamond on Ionia.

Before he joined KOF, 369 had been a part of two different academy teams. One was LGD; the other was VG. Both experiences ended with little gained. While he as at LGD, he felt that "the team's attitude was very negative at the time," and after losing to ME in Hero of Cities (t/n: qualification tournament for LDL), he "didn't want to play any more." As for the half year he spent at VG, he once again used the term "couldn't see any hope" to describe it.

Always unable to see hope, always choosing to leave, and always reluctantly returning - this summarized the beginning of 369's career. After leaving VG at the end of 2017, he suddenly realized that he had been on the road to becoming a professional player for a year and a half, yet he had nothing to show for it. He felt that in that time, he "hadn't worked hard enough, wasn't determined enough."

So when he joined KOF, he gave himself two objectives. The first was very difficult - in July, before his birthday, he would reach Challenger; the second was even more so - to make it to LPL. At the time, 369 had better teams to choose from, but KOF's then-manager told him, "As long as you have the strength, then you will have opportunities." In the end, he chose to remain with KOF.

When he joined the team in April, 369 was remarkably hard-working and self-disciplined. He would get up every day at eight or nine in the morning, and play until one or two the next day. "Every time I lost, I would start looking for my own mistakes instead of being stubborn." By June, 369 had successfully made his way to KR Challenger, accomplishing his first goal. After reaching Challenger, he didn't play at first for fear he'd drop back down, but under his coach's encouragement, he broke into the top 50.

As the 2018 LDL season began, 369 was in perfect form. Combined with good results in scrims, he was full of confidence.

On June 29, in their first match, KOF lost 0:2 to SHA. On July 1, KOF once again lost to ME. On July 14, even after adjusting their team, KOF once again lost 0:2 to VTG. What followed was only another string of losses. Only after a month had passed did KOF finally earn their first best-of-3 victory. In the fourteen games of the summer season, KOF only won three matches.

In their first loss, what left the greatest impression on their ADC Photic was how after they left the stage, 369 tore off his glasses and squatted on the ground, not saying a thing.

As the season progressed, the pain of losing grew greater and greater, and 369's solo queue rank dropped from Challenger back to Diamond I. Once again, 369 almost gave up. As the summer season grew to a close, 369 and Photic returned to the base after one of their games and went upstairs to their room. The lights were off, and in the abject darkness, 369 called out Photic's name and asked him what he should do. As Photic was momentarily stunned, he continued, saying that nothing would keep him going, and he wondered if he should just retire and do something else.

"Are you stupid? There must be something wrong with your head." That night, Photic sat 369 down and ruthlessly poured chicken soup into his soul.

In the end, the person who truly changed 369 was their manager, Guo Hao. On August 25, Guo Hao and the TOP team arrived ahead of time to prepare to face Snake in Chongqing. Before their match, the main team used the second floor of KOF's building to practice. Meanwhile, the academy team gathered on the first floor, and Guo Hao had a simple chat with them about their plans for the future.

Guo Hao's words were very direct. He said to the entire academy team, "If any of you want to play in LDL next season, if any of you just want this salary, or if any of you think you should receive a bonus just for doing well in LDL, then you are not suited to be a part of our team." Then, he pointed at the second floor, where the main team were practicing. "Your goal is to defeat them, to get them kicked. After defeating them, then defeat the people they couldn't defeat. If any of you don't have this goal, then talk to me. You can leave the team now."

As he said that, 369 was sitting in the spot closest to Guo Hao. When he finished, tears were already in 369's eyes. "Those words must've hit home with him. Guo Hao had said some things he had always believed, but never dared to say himself," Little P recollected about those events, which he was also present for. Seeing 369's strong reaction to his words, Guo Hao invited him out of the building to have a one-on-one chat. What left the strongest impression on Guo Hao was that the moment 369 left the building, he hit the ground and started to cry again.

"At the time, I asked him what was going on. He said that previously, everyone would always say, Bai Hao (t/n: short form of 369's name, Bai Jiahao), you play so well. Next season, you'll definitely be on the main team. They all thought he could make it, and he even had this hope. But throughout this entire split, he's performed exceptionally poorly, he hasn't been able to climb in soloq, he hasn't even been able to learn new champions. So he felt he already had no chance."

In that moment, Guo Hao saw this child in his most vulnerable moment. He thought to himself about how moments ago, this person had been in tears at his very words, and he felt like this attitude "couldn't be faked." So Guo Hao chose to say something to 369 which, in retrospect, he realized were quite extreme words.

"If in this academy team, even you cannot go to LPL, then no one can."

two. friends, partings.

In the middle of 2017, a Jiangxi youth who'd made it to Masters on Summoner's Rift received an invitation to try out at OMG's headquarters. His father, who worked far away in Zhejiang, was worried, so he accompanied his son to Shanghai. The first time he saw the way the esports club looked in real life, the youth thought, "So cool."

The two weeks of his tryout at OMG passed quickly. Apart from his regular ranked games, he played eight scrims, losing more than he won. On the final day, one of the staff members told him to return home and wait for further instructions. At the time, he didn't realize this was a polite way of rejecting him. After he went home, his father showed him a conversation with the team, where they suggested that perhaps he should finish high school first. That night, he lay on his bed sadly, thinking to himself - perhaps it was better to work hard and study instead of thinking about this.

In the end, he still didn't "come to his senses." In the following year, as his rank grew better and better, while studying he secretly prepared his resume behind his parents' backs and sent it to the various large esports organizations.

It was only in March 2018 that the boy finally got his chance - his resume came to the attention of team manager for KOF. His mother and grandmother were firmly against interrupting his studies, but in the end, they were convinced by his father. His father, who was still working in a distant location, told him over WeChat that since he had chosen this path, he must keep to it and not give up halfway.

At the end of March, this boy came from Jiangxi to Chongqing and thus, officially began his professional career. A few days after he arrived, a plump little guy showed up at the organization. His first impression of the newcomer was that he was "straightforward." Since he was a newcomer as well, he was a little shy, but the other boy was exceptionally enthusiastic and greeted everyone. Later on, the two of them would sit next to each other.

This youth was Photic, and this late-arriving little plump guy was 369. In the following days, the two would become each other's best friends.

from left to right - photic, guo hao, knight9, and 369.

"At school, friendship is commonplace, but for professional players who have entered society, it is far too precious. Some players only treat each other as colleagues, while others think of it as just playing together, so there's no way to really become friends." In Little P's eyes, the way Photic and 369's personalities complemented each other allowed them to become friends. "Professional play isn't just five people playing in a five-stack together; it's five brothers-in-arms living together. If under these circumstances, you cannot find a connection with people, then it must be very lonely."

Friendship between boys often begins with rivalry - comparing their scores, comparing their records, comparing even the time they woke up. Every time 369 made a particularly stellar play, he'd ask Photic, "Isn't that impressive?" Photic might agree, but he would always respond, "Anyone can do that as long as they have hands."

Of course, they were also companions. The summer of 2018, Chongqing was so hot that "even wearing t-shirts and shorts, it was still unbearable." Every day, after they finished their practice at 5:30PM, Photic and 369 would always go to the nearby store to buy cold refreshments. The trip wasn't particularly long, and so as they walked, they would talk about their games and their lives, and then with 3RMB ice creams hanging from their mouths, they would return to continue practicing. When they finished practicing at midnight, the two of them would walk back to their room together. Before they slept, they would chat a little more; as for what they talked about, it didn't even matter to them.

That season of the LDL, KOF didn't perform particularly well. For these newcomers to the professional scene, facing the stress of a losing streak, those 3RMB ice creams and their nighttime boasts became one of their few good memories.

On September 2, KOF finished their last match in Chongqing. Photic and 369's first LDL season clocked in at 3-11, second from last in their region. After the regular season, the organization gave the players some time off; the main team got two months while the academy team got one and a half.

Before their vacation, 369 asked Photic if he were going home. Photic said he would not - he wanted to use the break to practice a little more, play a little better. At the time, he had never been Challenger in KR solo queue, and he set that as his goal. When their vacation began, 369 returned to Henan, and Photic remained at the headquarters. "I felt that if I went back for these two months, then perhaps I might disappear entirely."

He didn't expect that a few days later, 369 would suddenly message him on WeChat and tell him that he was coming back. "At that time, I was really lost. After thinking hard at home for a few days, a few things suddenly became clear to me. I wanted to come back and do them immediately." After he rushed back to the gaming house overnight, 369 spent his vacation practicing with Photic. After waking up at noon, they would train into the early morning; they'd play a few other games and then sleep. The next day, they'd start it all over again. Since there was no housekeeper to cook for them, they ordered take-out every day.

Putting aside everything to focus on the game for a month was practically a formative experience for these two teenagers. During that time, Photic often snuck peeks at 369's rank, trying to judge what the other's skill was like in the end. "He would never peek at mine, because I didn't have as much LP as he did." After half a month, Photic was still a few hundred LP away from Challenger, while 369 had brought himself back from Diamond I to Challenger.

Since a few staff members were still working during the holiday, their coach Little P learned about what was going on. When the vacation ended and they were organizing the team, the manager Guo Hao received a message Little P sent him of 369's solo queue rank - 700LP Challenger. He looked at the attachment and replied to Little P: "How about we let him come up?"

In November 2018, 369 officially received a training invitation from the main team; he had finally accomplished the second goal he'd set when he joined KOF. The day he left, he woke up early to pack his bags, then boarded a plane from Chongqing to Shanghai. On the afternoon of that same day, Photic woke up and looked at the bunk below him. His friend's bed was still there, but the keyboard and mouse on the practice desk had vanished. In that moment, he truly knew that 369 had left.

A few days ago, 369 had told him that he would be going to the main team, but Photic had thought it a joke, that it was just a lie for himself. When he realized all of this was reality, he could not stop himself from crying in front of his good friend.

"I am very happy you can play there, but right now, I really cannot be happy."

three. pain, change.

For 369 to go the main team, Photic's inner thoughts were in turmoil.

On one hand, he felt forlorn and lonely; he missed having a friend to talk to every night before bed. On the other hand, when he saw 369's excellent performance in the 2018 NEST tournament, he felt that he "had to play better in order to meet with him again." According to coach Little P's observations, after 369 left, Photic became much more focused.

On the other side, after coming to Shanghai and becoming a part of the main team, 369 was now experiencing something completely different. When he first arrived at the gaming house, Guo Wei assigned 369 and midlaner Knight9 to the same room, hoping that 369 would pick up on Knight9's focus and determination to improve.

Soon after, the "placement test" arrived. When the team attended the end-of-year 2018 NEST and Demacia Cup, 369 suddenly discovered that the teammates surrounding him were much stronger than he'd had before. He practically "lay down and got carried," and without even knowing how, he put up a good scoreline.

A greater stage brought more fans and more attention, and 369 began to secretly use Weibo to upvote the comments saying he performed well. One thing led to another, and when Guo Hao found out about it, he practically laughed until he cried. Later, he and 369 talked, and the other said, a little embarrassed, "Hao Bro, I might be a little overconfident. If you see me being too proud of myself again, please tell me."

Since they were in contact with the main team, after 369 left, the academy coach Little P would often tell Photic, who was still at KOF, what was happening to his friend. In the 2019 spring season, Little P told Photic, "369 cries quite often there." Near playoffs, Little P told him, "Recently, 369 has gone mental boom."

"That kind of mental boom was the beginning of suffering," 369 reminisced. From before the spring playoffs, to playing IG there, to once again meeting IG in the summer split, to being benched at Rift Rivals, to finally being benched against LGD in the regular season - 369 traced such a path. "If I said that perhaps there were twenty things that caused me pain this year, then maybe seventeen of them were in this timeframe." Later, because he'd dwell on the mistakes he made because of his despondent mental state, he couldn't sleep at night; he'd go to bed at 2AM and perhaps only fall asleep at 4AM. "Useless." He used this kind of language to describe himself.

From when he officially joined the main team to after the spring season, 369 and manager Guo Hao had more time to talk. They often chatted whenever they had time, and once they got started, they could go on for a few hours. From his chats with 369, Guo Hao got the impression that this child was rather "lonely."

"This kind of 'loneliness' doesn't mean that others weren't treating him well, but rather that he - how to put it - that he didn't entirely consider himself part of the team." Guo Hao recalled that once when they were talking, he told him two lines from On Chao Cuo. (t/n: a mildly famous text by Song dynasty statesman Su Shi.) The first was, "From ancient times until now, all those who have accomplished great things had not only talent, but also an unbreakable will." The second was, "Those would would call themselves gentlemen, who seek extraordinary success, must not think too much of themselves." These two lines and their meanings were the principles Guo Hao wanted 369 to realize.

The academy coach Little P had similar thoughts. After getting to know him, he realized that when 369 made some decisions, he would sometimes unconsciously try to protect himself. "When he was in the LDL, there was a period of time when he dropped from Challenger to Diamond I. Then, he told me he didn't want to play, because he was afraid that he would show unfavorable results on stage."

From despondence to pain, and the ensuing decline of his condition - this all reflected in his scorelines. In the spring playoffs match against IG, 369 played two matches before being switched out. "It was as if the barrels had exploded."

At Rift Rivals, however, 369 faced one of LCK's best toplaners, Nuguri. He had the advantage in the laning phase but could not capitalize on it once teamfighting broke out. Nuguri was an opponent he had always wanted to surpass, but during the spring split, Guo Hao had used Nuguri as an example to bring up a question: if Nuguri were so good, then why was their other toplaner, Flame, given the chance to play and even win?

After playing DWG and finishing the day's matches, their head coach BSYY returned to the scrim room to decide who would play the next today. In that night's scrims, the toplane player was Moyu - and without scrims, there were no games to play.

To help the main team prepare for Rift Rivals, Little P was transferred from KOF to the frontlines in Seoul. The day 369 was benched, Little P sat with him and watched all the games. What he remembered most from that day was that once, 369 patted him on the shoulder, said "P Bro!" and then sighed deeply.

"Honestly, sometimes you can't blame the players. He made it this far by doing things this way, so if you want him to change right away, that's practically impossible. You have to slowly find that balance. I think through this process, he can replace some parts of himself that aren't so good, and thus become a more excellent person and learn what it means to truly be a team." Seeing how 369 sighed to himself, Little P didn't offer him too much comfort, but simply told him, "Don't worry. This experience will be very valuable. But next time, if there's another chance, you must take it."

After Rift Rivals, Little P went back to KOF to continue his work with the academy team, but he continued to observe 369's LPL games. In the following games in the summer split, when he saw 369 choose counterpicks and choose strategies that would not put undue stress on his teammates, he felt very pleased.

"People have to experience things to learn." 369 didn't regret what he went through to gain this experience. "Even if I don't regret what happened, it still feels like a pity. Because I didn't do well, we didn't go further. If I had played better, perhaps we had a chance to make it to the finals."

four. epilogue.

After the new year, TOP's academy team moved to Shanghai; they were now in the same district as the main team, only five minutes away. Starting from when they moved until now, 369 of the main team and Photic of the academy team have met seven or eight times. The two of them go out for dinner and watch movies; each time, it's always 369 who takes the initiative to invite Photic. "To players on the academy team, the main team is something almost sacred," coach Little P said.

Guo Hao still talks with 369 from time to time, but now he more often takes the role of listener. Since he was a little overly strict with 369 before and noticed he was starting to evade questions, Guo Hao chose to take a different approach and allow the other to speak more.

Back to 369 - the last time I saw him, he seemed very calm, especially when talking about those things he'd experienced this past year that he wasn't entirely satisfied with. "If you asked me how I felt a year ago, maybe I would've had a lot to say, but now, after going through so much, it almost seems like none of that has left a serious impression on him." To him, 2019 can best be described as 'full;' it's as if even before the wounds from the previous fight have healed or he had a chance to look back, he found himself thrust into yet another battlefield.

And so it goes for most professional players. As Little P put it, those are the "negative feedback loops that follow their entire career." "Some things never really leave you; they will always accompany you, but you must hope you will not be affected by them. So it all depends on if you have a way to face them, if you have a way to become friends with yourself."

Did 369 find that? Perhaps he did; perhaps he is still on the road to doing so. When asked how he sees the things he experienced, he said they were "very interesting." "It's like if you talk about something sad that happened to you during school now, you will feel like it's very interesting. That pain no longer seems as deep as it once was."

And when asked how he felt now, he made a motion like climbing a mountain. "I don't know. But I will always be climbing, and I will always be moving forward."

#league of legends #source: pentaq #tes #i always feel that lpl rookies rarely get recognition #partially because there's so many of them and many of them don't make it in the end #and partially because there's so little information out there about them #so i'm really really glad pentaq writes these pieces so we can learn more #no tragic ldl tale will get me to displace cool in my heart though

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michaelmikkelson · 6 years

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8 Ways Retail Apps Can Capitalize on Q4 Investment in Q1 of the New Year

The 2017 holiday season saw mobile shopping surpass desktop for the first time in history. It’s safe to say the trend will continue, and an investment in strong mobile experiences like retail apps will be more important than ever for retailers.

But this post isn’t about the importance of retail in mobile shopping—you already know that. :) It’s time to discuss how retailers with mobile apps can make them most out of their investment in Q4 acquisition by keeping people happy and engaged in Q1 of the new year.

First, let’s examine how consumers use mobile apps during the holidays. Based on a recent Apptentive survey, the majority of consumers (88%) use retail mobile apps, and 65% of them plan on using them for at least some of their holiday shopping. What’s more is that 10% of respondents planned to use mobile apps for all of their holiday shopping. That’s a huge opportunity for retailers, which drives changes to customer acquisition and loyalty strategies prior to the holiday shopping season. When more money is spent to acquire new customers and to turn them into loyal customers around the holiday season, the potential for higher churn is present in the following quarter.

Understanding what mobile shoppers value in retail apps is of equal importance, not just for the holiday season, but for the entire year. Redeeming in-store discounts (29%), price comparison (25%), and viewing a product’s rating and reviews (20%) topped the list for our respondents. Searching for new products, earning rewards points, reading about a product’s features, and ordering out-of-stock items are also top-of-mind for mobile shoppers.

Now that we’ve covered the possibility for high churn and what consumers care about when using retail, let’s talk about how retail mobile teams can effectively combat Q1 churn and get more out of their Q4 investment. Here are eight tips to get you thinking about how to improve your strategy.

1. Connect offline and online experiences

The importance of a positive mobile customer experience extends beyond purchases in the app. Apptentive’s recent survey found 55% of people who use retail mobile apps have used them to browse, then purchase in-store at least once in the last month (we call this “app-rooming”). Not only does the mobile app experience need to be a standalone experience, it should also connect seamlessly with consumers’ physical experiences.

For retailers, a surge in app-rooming not only offers a new way to connect with customers, but another avenue to help drive in-store foot traffic. In-store commerce and m-commerce are both important revenue opportunities for retailers, and a rising tide through app-rooming will help float all ships

2. Surprise and delight

Whether the customer is engaging for the first time or is one of your loyal customers, sending a Note to your customers can be used to reward loyalty and boost retention. Notes enable you to engage customers who have completed a set of in-app activities.

Perhaps your customer made their first in-app purchase and you’d like to reward them with a 20% coupon off their next purchase. Notes are a great way to keep customers engaged and, as we learned above, to address the customer’s desire to redeem discounts through the mobile app.

3. Make mobile purchasing easy

The ultimate goal for retailers is to increase sales. Reducing friction in the path to purchase is a common sense strategy to influence sales by enabling customers to get what they want, when they want it, with little interference. Mobile can play an integral part in reducing friction digitally and physically.

If the payment process is cumbersome, customers are more likely to abandon their shopping cart. Retailers that make buying easy, such as Amazon’s one-click shopping experience, reap the (monetary) rewards. Amazon has created an easy checkout process that only requires customers to hit one button to complete their purchase.

4. Share positive ratings and reviews

Many retailers (especially those with brick and mortar locations) can benefit from making it easy for their fans to share their positive reviews on Google Places, Yelp, etc. In-app engagement can help you prompt fans to rate your business through the app, rather than simply prompting them to rate the app itself in the App Store.

By using a Note coupled with Apptentive’s Love Dialog, you can understand whether or not customers love your business. If they answer yes, prompt them to leave a review that shares their experience. If they say answer no, connect them to a person or feature that can take their feedback so you can understand why. As always, you can deeply segment customers into cohorts before prompting for reviews with a Note.

And remember: App ratings still matter. A lot. Here’s what our research on App Store ratings shows about affecting conversion.

5. Improve in-app search

Customers open retail apps with a purpose: they’re looking for something specific, or they’re just interested in browsing. While it’s often overlooked, search plays a big part in helping consumers find what they’re looking for. A dismal search experience can lead to churn and loss of revenue. According to Google, mobile search is a key signal that consumers are interested in buying. They found 92% of consumers who searched for a product on mobile made a related purchase.

A study by RichRelevance found that 83% of US consumers said a search box is “important” or “extremely important” to them while shopping, and 76% of consumers said they “always” or “often” use the search box. This is important to note, because 35% of shoppers said they’re dissatisfied with search results on mobile. Even more telling is 38% of shoppers complained they receive worse search results when shopping on their mobile device than they do on their laptop or desktop. Retailers, listen up: Don’t underestimate the power of search.

6. Let feedback drive your product roadmap

Thinking about feedback and new feature development in the context of identifying your fans first, and then learning from them, is an accelerant to roadmap development. As we’ve already discussed, a positive outcome of identifying your fans is identifying the people who are most likely to say great things about you in the App Store and who’ve already raised their hand and said, “We love this brand.”

Consider using in-app surveys to gather feedback on a new feature, open-ended text fields to learn more about an in-app engagement experience, or proactively reach out with in-app messages to encourage customers to engage. These insights should inform your product roadmap and rally your development team around a single point: the customer. If you allow customers to help you prioritize, you can bet you’ll be closer to delivering a great experience than you would be doing it on your own.

7. Proactively give loyal customers tools to deepen their relationships

Loyal customers are in a league of their own. If a customer says, “I’m a huge fan. What you’re doing is great. You allow me to complete the task I came to complete, and I enjoy using your app,” that’s the best case scenario. Building loyalty may not be easy, but it’s always worth it, especially as loyal customers have a very different path that you can take them on.

Let’s say you are a retailer with multiple different shopping apps. When you know that somebody is a huge fan in this scenario, the loyal customer might not know about the other experiences they might love, and it’s up to you to proactively lead them in the right direction to improve their experience.

The best way to give your customers a positive experience? Communication. Reach out, engage them, and make them feel valued. And in fact, we’ve found that simply interacting with customers, proactively and respectfully, can increase three-month retention by as much as 400%.

8. Acknowledge mistakes

Unfortunately no one is perfect, and on the rare occasion that something goes wrong in your app (it crashes, something doesn’t load, a payment doesn’t go through, etc.), sending a Note to apologize to your customers can go a long way. In fact, Apptentive’s research shows that 51% of customers who have a negative experience will respond positively if the company directly addresses the issue. A Note can be a great temporary fix before your next app release.

In order to launch an acknowledgement Note, we encourage our customers to identify common issues within their apps and target events to them. A Note can help explain to your customers that you know of the problem and are addressing it.

Make the most of your Q4 investment in Q1

You’ve already spent resources investing in customer acquisition and loyalty strategies in Q4. Don’t let your foot off the gas in Q1, or your hard work might go to waste.

Here at Apptentive, we focus on helping our customers drive engagement, gauge customer sentiment, and deliver customer-centric mobile experiences. We want to help you make the most of your Q4 opportunities this year based on learnings from our Fortune 100 retail customers. To learn more, reach out to our team at [email protected], or request a demo to see what Apptentive’s customer engagement suite can do for you.

The post 8 Ways Retail Apps Can Capitalize on Q4 Investment in Q1 of the New Year appeared first on Apptentive.

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infinitehive · 7 years

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Inspiration

Haven’t written for a while because I’ve either been relaxing or going at full tilt busy getting new records ready for your ears, but I thought now, with all the negativity in the world, would be a good time to write something a little more positive.

So I meet new and original-sounding bands all the time now, which is great, because growing up I only had Top Of The Pops, radio or magazines to tell me and my friends what music was happening, but this was driven by fashion. Independent or local music scenes were invisible to me back then, even when “indie” became the new “pop” in the 90s.

Then the popularisation of the Internet and fast connections meant as a music fan, I could gorge on all my favourite stuff really easily. I had made mix tapes as a youngster on my “ghetto blaster” (ask your mum) to listen to wherever I went with my “walkman” (ask your dad), so I already had a taste for eclectic playlists and embraced mp3 players as the next step in musical enjoyment.

But something went wrong for me in the mid-noughties. You can have too much of a good thing, the access to “every single record/song ever” is too mind-blowing to conceive and a quick press of “shuffle”on my iPod classic in 2006 would take a listener on an incredibly complicated and potentially uncomfortable journey. No matter how amusing it sounds, you cannot enjoy going from Britney Spears to Napalm Death to Saint-Saens on the same bus journey.

And managing 5000 songs, some of which require text edits in your database of choice (iTunes in my case) became an arduous task. The 90s indie band “Suede” for instance, are called “The London Suede” in America, so in some cases (I still don’t know how this happened) I ended up with two copies of the same songs, or albums, or lost things entirely due to an exercise in alphabetisation. Massive Attack collaborate with several artists on their albums, so many of their songs are categorised as “Massive Attack featuring _ _ _ _”, so if I wanted to listen to a random mix of their entire repertoire, it was a chore to set up. I was working on databases by day, then doing god damn homework on my music collection at night! Suddenly my linear 90s mixtapes seemed idyllic.

Then there are the artist disputes with the gatekeepers to this brave new world. One of my favourite bands, Tool don’t put their records on iTunes or Spotify, which has become the de-facto tool for my daily consumption. When Prince died, the first thing I wanted to do was listen to “Purple Rain”, except he isn’t on Spotify either (well, one song is). And while I have no time for Taylor Swift, I can sympathise with those who do when they can’t listen to her on that medium either. There are ways around this and I am not the type to sit and mope, but faffing about downloading, or ripping mp3s, naming all the tracks, organising them on your computer, backing them up, copying them onto your phone, setting up playlists and then remembering to charge your wireless headphones still eats up valuable life seconds. Isn’t this supposed to be the age of convenience? No wonder so many of us turned to piracy since 1999.

Basically, I got bored with music. I stopped listening to my old favourites, there were very few new releases that excited me and I went from being an avid buyer of new music and classic re-releases to being someone who was disillusioned with the whole thing.

It’s fair to say the situation I list above is veering us into the negative, but for good reason, because I present unto you a solution: those local and independent bands I mentioned earlier? They cannot wait for you to hear what they are up to. When I discovered Somaesthesia and campaigned to sign them to Infinite Hive, I was vaguely familiar with some of their influences and had heard of others, but perhaps didn’t have songs by the artists they were inspired by in that collection of 5000 files on my dusty old iPod, so having heard their record on the band’s Soundcloud and deciding that yes, fucking yes, I want to release this, I spent some free time investigating their suggestions. Since then, I have absorbed Cult Of Luna, Meshuggah and Gojira, who are all great fucking bands. But this was no revelation, in the last few years running Infinite Hive, working with bands like Three Days From Retirement had got me into the post-rock scene and now I regularly listen to Tides From Nebula, Tidings and Kapil Seshasayee. Bryan Donoghue got me into Jake Bugg, the nutters in DUNT will bore the ears of anyone who wants to hear about Lagwagon and Pennywise, their guitarist Cab, who joined my band MEOW is a massive fan of Melt Banana and Mr. Bungle, so am I!

And setting up gigs for the bands is a joy as well, they shine me onto up and coming acts who they either know, or listen to themselves, who have just as much to say and new takes on classic tropes. In the next few months, Matty & Floody, who have been organising shows in Edinburgh under the Infinite Hive banner have unearthed some absolute gems: All The Best Tapes, Draws Creature Mask, Sapien and Our Smallest Adventures are all being added to band bills and playlists as I write this.

I like to have a handle on where a band is coming from, what they aspire to, not just from an arty-farty point of view, there are practical reasons, like is what they are doing actually original, or if I put this out, is someone going to accuse of ripping someone else off?

Fortunately this doesn’t happen with bands on Infinite Hive, they all look forward, not back. Join us.

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