#based on the character themes- a lot of ambition and a 'path' to success

[aerplain]

inktober #3

#inktober #my drawings #digital art #trying to go for a more representational/stylized thing? and practicing perspective #based on the character themes- a lot of ambition and a 'path' to success

[life-rewritten]

Lovely Writer Episode 3/4; The Discovery of Identity; Transformation, Perceptions and Hidden Ideals

Writing about this show is interesting, mostly because I have so much to say about everything. With this show it’s layers upon layers upon layers, it’s a lot of information even if it seems like a cheesy BL and like a typical storyline. The story tackles with so much irony and hints and clues to unveil and also representations of real life that takes sensitivity and time to understand and acknowledge. The show is so good already in 3-4 episodes and it’s also at times soft and romantic whilst also at times real and painful about some of the truths about society and the acting and writing industry. The director, screen writers and producers of the show have come with this ideology that they are making a BL storyline but they do not want to repeat the same mistakes as the previous, no instead they will call it out, educate the audience and also still have flawed characters learn and grow from their actions. That’s why with this show even the villains are not villains per say but humans who are forced to act the way they do to survive, they’re understandable and have reasons for why they will end up being an obstacle but also this show has no heroes, at first it seems that Gene and Sib the main characters are going to be perfect, and one dimensional caricatures that fall in love with no personality, depth or growth but actually both of them are flawed, have interesting perspectives on things, attitudes to people and ways of thinking that is vital to connecting them to where the story is going. And that’s brilliant. Whilst episode 3 is more information and outlook into the other characters as Gene deals with pressure of the industry and people and his new feelings for Nubsib, episode 4 is a softer , calmer episode dealing with Gene and Nubsib actually making their relationship mean something to the audience, showing that they could have a chance to grow a healthy, romantic love story and not the toxic, worrisome ones we feared.  And I adored both episodes. So this essay we are going to be focusing on the love story of Gene and Nubsib portrayed in these two episodes, but also how it connects to Gene’s self awareness, and also unveiling Nubsib’s character more and changing him from being seen in a sinister scary light to a soft romantic light instead.

The Price of Ambition: The Effects of Pressure

So First of all Episode 3 maps out what the writers and director want to achieve with this show. I tend to think this show becomes like a self insert for the director/writer. What they make Gene say about the way a story should be written, is also what they want to tackle and achieve with this. The nightmare scene discusses about the physical nature of BLs when it comes to NC scenes, the show mocks the lack of actually talking about the reality about what that entails by showing us Gene learn about positions and educate himself on that topic, but also it mocks the audience who expected from the books for the show to be more explicit and aggressive with NC since that’s what happens in the novel with Gene and Nubsib. Gene says in the nightmare scene that all he wants is a story that does not need that type of content to get fans but focuses on the depth of its characters, fleshing out their romance and showing why they are in love, a way to make the audience focus on the humanity of the characters as they fall in love. And that’s exactly what immediately the show starts to show, we start to immediately after the nightmare scene see Nubsib’s true colours and realise he’s not just with Gene for physical chemistry but he’s actually warm, comfortable and his love for Gene is actually quite pure and innocent despite him using inauthenticity to show it. So that’s important to think about because the next episode goes into more detail as well about these two’s romance, we start to really flesh out our characters opinions on companionship and love and we evade a NC scene by focusing on gentleness, devotion and protective love that Nubsib has for Gene as he ensures that he treats Gene properly and does the right thing and wait for consent. That’s one of the best things about this show, it will talk about the issues of BL industry but it’s not going to repeat the same mistakes its making. Yes Nubsib seems like a typical controlling, manipulative BL lead but actually he’s different and all we have to do is wait to understand why he’s hiding who he is and what his aims are. But the show is also not afraid to talk about flawed characters, and problematic actions, we may have characters that make mistakes because that’s life but they will learn from those actions. This is why I’m really in love with this show.

 Episode 3-4 also tackles transformation and the discovery and awareness of self. Especially since in episode 3 the theme is pressure, the pressure to conform which makes Hin want to start writing new BL novels like Gene did so he can get more success and notice from his writing, pressure to be something different like Aey has to do because he’s pressured to act romantic on set with Nubsib with people who objectify and sexualise them, and pressure for Gene to write more NC scenes and lose his own values and ideas on what he wants his content to be like. So there is this idea of pressure causing characters to transform and push down parts of them self.

Desperation and Transformation

I do not know where Hin is going in the storyline of course episode 4 focuses most of the story on the development and intimacy of Gene and Sib’s new relationship but in episode 3, I still feel like I could be right about Hin. Hin is a mirror image of Gene just like Aey is a mirror image of Nubsib. Both of them are exposing the hidden flaws of the characters.  The more we focus on him the more we have a storyline for him building, we’ve been told he wants to be a writer,  he’s not making money, he’s not being noticed, he has a lot of things that he wants to do but his sacrifices hint that there is a desperation in him that I think it’s really important to observe and notice that’s going to make him soon snap or act out. In episode 3 Hin mentions his new BL novel more, and he asks Gene to look into it. I do need to mention that Hin and Gene have essentially the same outline/novel idea because it’s both based on the love story of Gene and Nubsib brewing. Gene is writing about an actor and a writer falling in love with each other, Hin is writing about an editor in chief falling in love with an actor it’s really similar, like really really similar as a layout, it may be different because he doesn’t always see them but what are the odds that he is writing out the same dynamics as Gene’s new novel and asking to Gene to look at it. If the novel ends up being similar isn’t he essentially a rival to Gene? Where is Hin’s storyline going? No matter how much I want to say his journey is to write and become popular and to assert himself with his BL writing, I just don’t see it not being more important?

 All I see is a layout for Gene and him being rivals even though it doesn’t seem like it right now but for him to be like Gene you’re my idol, I look up to you and I really love you, yeah positivity, it’s great he’s inspired by Gene, it’s great that he feels these emotions towards Gene, and there’s no hostility, but I do think that if he thinks Gene is taking writing for granted, or doing something that makes him look like he’s taking that path for granted, then he would be affected, and be disappointed, and disappointment breeds resentment so I think it’s really interesting Hin isn’t being noticed by the publisher, he’s in a desperate situation right now,  pressured right now to do something good and so he’s started to start writing BLs similar to Gene, I can’t help see similarities to ideas about plagiarism, because twice they have mentioned him being immensely helpful and writing the same ideas as Gene, I can’t help notice that they’re both writing for the same publisher and one of their new books is going to be seen as more fit for the publisher, and three Tee has directed and loved characters that seem positive and obsessed with the main character only for that character to be revealed to be the obsession drove that person to villainy. Pressure and Desperation reaches a height with him, and he reacts by giving into that and being an obstacle to Gene later. I love Hin right now but I can’t help thinking he’s going to be an obstacle to Gene and Nubsib, I can’t help thinking he’s an obstacle to writing path of Gene because   he really could sacrifice Gene to become like Gene, to replace Gene, because he needs money and notoriety to make it as a  writer.  Hin also mentioning Gene as an idol is mirroring Nubsib because that’s exactly what Nubsib also sees him as, Nubsib relates to Hin, because  he understands being affected and looking up to him the same way.  Gene gives him a positive feeling and makes him want to do well, and pushes him to do more I’m guessing.

There is twice that Gene is mentioned as an idol to others, he’s an idol to Hin and he’s an idol to Aey. Nubsib does not like that Aey has read Gene’s novels, he does not like the fact that Aey seems really supportive towards Gene. One Nubsib can call out bullshit, because he’s king of faking and pretending,   and as mentioned Aey is like Nubsib’s mirror character, I think Nubsib knows how fake Aey is and he sees Aey as a rival. I really do think the mirror characters may be rivals to each other to and that’s the pattern. Two is Nubsib jealous because he thinks there’s any chance for Gene and Aey to get close? The jealousy and frustration and possessiveness he feels for Gene around Aey is something that needs to be noticed, because Sib definitely has an issue with Aey only he and Aey knows about. I don’t know why he’s so upset about Aey’s actions because he’s literally doing the same thing, he sees Gene as an idol etc, so why’s he upset about Aey unless he sees Aey in him  and that he’s just as fake as he is being. So there’s two reactions from Nubsib towards the two who mention they look up to Gene, one is jealousy and disgust and anger towards Aey and the other is support and understanding towards Hin.

In the episode where the nightmare scene talks about how Gene wants to focus on characters and not focus on the sexual relationships of the BL storyline, not focus on the toxicity of the characters but the depth and reality about their relationship and personalities, we finally get to see the answer to our question, Nubsib is 100% in love with Gene, there is no  weird scary feelings about him in both episode 3 and 4. Episode 3 exposes how he feels for Gene, his natural state and personality with Gene, even when Gene is not watching him, he’s still devoted and caring about him when Gene is sick, he doesn’t need to do that if he’s being creepy and evil and what not, every single thing he does with Gene it’s like there’s a hold on him, and he forgets where he is and it’s just filled with ultimate devotion, ultimate care, and three Nubsib is someone who cares and cherishes Gene so much that his consent is important to him. Nubsib is very practical and serious about issues with consent, even with the kiss, he ensures Gene is okay with it, even in episode 4, he struggles to not give in to Gene’s drunk demands telling Gene he’ll wait till he’s ready. He’s not forceful, he’s not controlling, all he wants is for Gene to be near him and okay.

 Now you could argue that there is a line between non consent and manipulation/coercion but I do think Nubsib was falling more into the line of coercion a little bit as first like manipulating a need for a kiss, but the most important thing that has been noticed since episode 2, is that it’s not by force, he gives Gene a lot of options repeatedly, even if he acts all sad to get guilt, or what he wants. It’s also not because he is sad that Gene is like let’s do whatever it is, it’s more like Gene sees it as opportunity to get better with his writing since Sib inspires him to write, but also he feels comfortable and safe with Nubsib. Nubsib asking for consent is something I really appreciate about him and something I like about him so much.

  Gene’s self discovery is also explored in episode 4 more when we have an episode that just focuses on him and Nubsib starting their relationship. There is a transformation of Gene who is avoidant and evasive of companionship to someone who starts to want that and see the value in that by living with Nubsib for almost a month. By the end of episode 3, his fear of vulnerability and the truth makes him regress and try to bring back what he sees as normal and get some kind of control of his environment that Nubsib has successfully invaded in.

Nubsib; The catalyst for transformation and inspiration

Nubsib causes Gene to have a transformation. Not that being an introvert is a bad thing, I’m an introvert and I also dislike always being forced to go out and hang out in large crowds. But it’s about how Nubsib’s presence is essentially making Gene become better, discover his loneliness in distancing himself from people due to his obsession and focus on writing. Nubsib makes Gene feel good and that’s why you see a difference in him from episode 3-4 after spending just almost a month with him. Even though I was confused with his transformation this episode just because he seemed more outgoing, a bit more open to people, as we see in episode 4, his work is what pulls him away from people but also it’s how he feels when he’s surrounded by people who make him feel uncomfortable. People who bring out worry, insecurity and more. He rather just focus on writing than deal with those people.

I do agree that Nubsib is invasive until episode 4 ha. Gene is an introvert. And as one the way Nubsib does invade his space was a lot, but Nubsib just has feelings for Gene, he’s a doe eyed puppy around him, he loses himself basically when he gets into caring mode with Gene, he doesn’t try to hide his support and eagerness to be with Gene and show him affection,  because it’s so automatic for him to  take care of him, protect him, treat him, because he sees Gene as a romantic partner so I do agree it is uncomfortable but that’s not the reason why Gene is even weird about it. Episode 3 and 4 is about Gene’s internalised homophobia about his sexuality. When Gene starts to put two and two about his feelings for Nubsib he explodes with anxiety and anger because he’s still struggling to accept who he is, but also he has a lot of misunderstandings and biased opinions about what being gay/queer actually means. Because of the way BL has made him view it as unrealistic, shallow, and well toxic, not that being gay is that, but he believes him ending up that way makes him like the characters in his novel, makes him be part of a world he’s seen so negatively about, something he’s trying to escape from because of seeing it as shallow and toxic. When Nubsib invades Gene’s space as well, its for positive reasons  it’s not  him purposely trying to make Gene uncomfortable, it’s to help and make sure Gene is okay, safe and cared for. So it’s not because Gene is scared by Nubsib’s actions because he’s scary but it’s because of panic and repressed feelings he’s felt for him since episode 1. So these are ways we can tell that Nubsib’s feelings under his façade is genuine, he’s just like Aey and others where they are inspired and affected by Gene.

Nubsib: The catalyst for transformation and self discovery

The past two episodes instead of seeing Nubsib being ‘shady’ just like what Gene wanted from the nightmare scene, we saw Nubsib’s good side. His genuine personality with Gene is exactly how he treats him. What I’ve decided with Sib’s character is he’s not evil, manipulative or someone so powerful he thinks he can get with everything. He’s not greedy or scary. He’s just a spoilt child. A child who wants attention, a child who feels neglected, hence he acts like how a spoilt child does, he manipulates the situation to get what he wants and is  a brat, but acts like an innocent person on the surface to get what he wants but he’s in a position of being used to getting what he wants, a position of power especially with Tum who he screams at and shouts at, that’s what a child does, just throws tantrums and make it hard for the person they know they have control over. He’s just a child who’s naïve, puppy like, who wants Gene to look at him. But he’s also spoilt because he’s in a place of privilege, so him being spoilt makes him treat others badly, but Gene makes him different, he wants to be someone better for Gene.    

As of episode 1, it has been hinted that Gene is attracted to Nubsib, he feels this inherent care for Nubsib, wants to hang around him and is also curious about him naturally. He is affected by Nubsib’s presence, and his presence  is the the thing inspiring him and makes him want to write. He’s being inspired by his real feelings but doesn’t know that because he has IH. So the question was in episode 3, as the show started to hint about it; if Gene knows about his identity and sexuality and who he is or was he learning about himself through finally falling in love with Nubsib. I thought he was learning about it but episode 4 made me think he’s known and has just been avoiding it. Gene isn’t homophobic as I’ve seen people worry he is, he has a very ignorant, uneducated, societal opinion on what those relationships is like. So Gene is like very similar to another character Tee directed Type from TharnType (before all those who detest this idea start to click of listen to the explanation),  the thing with Type was his was psychological trauma and hate and pain making him have the mindset he had, he never got to know or understand who he was because he tried hard to avoid thinking about anything to do with sexuality. With Gene, it’s his writing that makes him act sometimes homophobic, makes him overreact when there’s ideas to him being queer/gay or being in a situation like that, the way he acts is because of the corruption of the industry he has had to witness; its why he thinks its all shallow, no substance, it’s so ironic and funny to me because he’s about to find out that what these stories portray or the boys love does have substance, because now he’s falling in love, like real love, authentic love he now understands the real feelings behind wanting to write a boys love story about just two men in a relationship, he now understands the sexual attraction behind some things, why it’s just like any other novel about real life relationships, he understands why characters in BL might be more important than just what the industry is using it for.

Gene’s way of educating himself as the show goes on in this industry is so great to me and one of the reasons I adored episode 3. Opening himself, researching and trying to understand more about things is so important because

1.       He’s a writer trying to do well by this genre but he also feels uncomfortable about

2.       He’s someone represented by this genre as he is  queer character.

3.       He’s literally going through self discovery the more he writes his novel

 For example the nightmare scene in episode 3 is the catalyst of that episode. It what spirals the transformation in Gene’s character we start to see, from being withdrawn to starting to be comfortable and open. He goes through the nightmare and Nubsib shows him care when sick. (That’s what he represents to him, comfort, healing, warmth, companionship, protection). Because he feels cared for by him, he also starts to want to show the same to Nubsib to show him the same care, warmth that Nubsib was showing him etc. And because he has been holding unto his feelings for Nubsib, has been feeling overwhelmed by his fear about them, when he gets drunk to avoid dealing with him sending him away, he blurts out all he’s felt, he becomes the most truthful at that moment because he’s been holding unto all these thoughts since he first met him. But he also says to Nubsib in episode 4 that he reminds him of a lead BL character and it’s like aww he complimented his looks but the fact that Nubsib reminds him of that isn’t a good thing to Gene remember, he doesn’t want to end up like BL characters because he thinks there’s no substance, no truth, just toxicity with that situation so it’s something he panics about that it’s ironic because he’s essentially falling for someone and playing out a BL trope. 

BL: The pressure of transformation and authenticity 

Another thing meta about this show is the inclusion and mirroring of Bad Engineer the series. I mentioned in my previous essay whilst Bad Engineer is another meta call out to the industry it also could play a role as a shadowing device to show you similarities and differences between Nubsib and Aey the actors who play Kin and Bun the caricatures and characters that are exaggerated. It kind of exposes the thoughts and ideas about these two in an interesting way. Let me explain.  Bad engineer starts of with Bun being forced to get the attention of Kinn who is aggressive and seen as wanted and powerful but too scary to go near to. After he hugs Kin we already are hinted from Nubsib’s audition line that Kin could not let go of the mark Bun left on him and becomes essentially obsessive and controlling over Bun wanting to be with Bun. Okay first of all it’s already calling out and exaggerating the obsession that Nubsib seems to have for Gene, he would go to lengths to hide who he is, make up excuses to be near him and hide his power and privilege (by lying he’s poor, and about his housing situation essentially lying about the power he probably does hold over people) which is why his exact words he says to Gene in the audition is foreshadowing, he knows who Gene is before, he’s been affected by whoever Gene was to him in the past and he’s in love with him. Just like Kin proceeds become hooked onto Bun.  

 What’s really funny is that Aey is playing a character that is very vulnerable and gentle and sweet, like what is normally perceived as a typical feminine uke stereotype. It’s interesting because its because he gives of this vibes that he was chosen for this audition, but also in reality he’s wearing a mask to act like this to Gene and everyone around him especially the vulnerable act, where he makes you feel guilty for being in his way or making you feel pitiful for how he’s treated by Nubsib. The fact that Tawan (played by Mhok in the series) is a second lead in bad engineer the series and Mhok is essentially in the second lead role for Aey, he’s the one behind the scenes unrequitedly loving and caring and worrying about the main lead but is always neglected or pushed aside for the other main which is mirroring how Aey isn’t seeing how Mhok cares for him (he gets so jealous if you notice whenever he has to see Aey and Nubsib together) and is pushing him away to focus on his hunt for fame by getting Nubsib’s attention.

Nubsib has a different type of similarity with Kin. It’s how people perceive him that’s similar to how Kin is on the surface, but also Kinn is an exaggerated character, who is toxic and Nubsib as finally shown isn’t going to be toxic or problematic because the writers don’t want him to be that way. For some reason Kin is filled with anger and is aggressive and loud, Nubsib isn’t as angry as Kin but he also expresses his distaste of things when it doesn’t go his way with anger and tantrums to Tum especially because he’s a spoilt child. Kin is possessive, aggressive and obsessive and even though Nubsib isn’t like that in a large scale, he has some of those traits, he is possessive with Gene, and protective and jealous easily when it comes to him thinking something is in the way. Kin is a trope, he’s written to make fun of semes in BLs like Fighter from WhyRU, someone seen as cold and indifferent to people who is meant to be seen as rough and mean, rich, but then the story unveils a softer side when he’s with his partner later. Or Kin also reminds of toxic Kdrama male characters (its not just BL this trope is used), like Gu Jun Pyo from boys over flowers who is just like Kin because he’s rich and spoilt. The reason why Kin and Nubsib is similar is because is that Kin likes to get what he wants, he’s just as invasive, he’s forceful (though as mentioned Nubsib isn’t as problematic with this as Kin), he’s just as determined to do what it takes to get his partner. Both portray this demenour around them where they are not meant to be messed with. 

And I think that’s important about Nubsib, there’s some kind of power and control he has that makes people not mess around with him when  Gene is not in front of him, he doesn’t try to be nice or kind as he does when he’s with Gene. Things that they don’t have in common is that for Gene, Nubsib is the opposite, he’s gentle to Gene, because he’s determined to a better person to him, he’s manipulative but he’s not forceful or aggressive towards him, although he wears a mask, he’s actually authentically automatically the way he is with Gene as we have seen in both episodes. Gene transforms him; he makes him kind, caring and sweet. Gene is a prized person to him; so valuable and worthy that he doesn’t even think he’s worthy as he is for him hence why he chooses to be better with him,  he doesn’t see Gene as less than him but the others he does which is something that does need to be worked on. But if he is spoilt and privilege, if he’s been so used to people treating him this way then I can see why he can be this way. So Kin and Nubsib’s character calls out Nubsib’s flaws and Aey and Bun’s character also show what Aey wants people to view him as on the surface and Mhok and Tawan are mirroring the same roles. 

Bad engineer being written by Gene is so funny to me since all he does is like complain how much he hates everything to do with tropes like it, so there must be some kind of shame inside him for him writing it to remove pressure from his company even though he doesn’t want BL to mean that. It also again shadows Hin’s desperation as Hin takes on his own BL novel, because Gene must have been so desperate when he first wrote it because he was writing it just to also please people and be noticed as a writer more.

Lovely Writer is it obvious despite my late releases of my analysis that I am obsessed and I have high respect and love for this show? The fact that there is problematic worries in the storyline, there are flawed characters and action in the plot, but they’re so real and human. The fact that this show talks about BL, and is trying to make fun of it, call it out but then the characters in it are also falling into some of its tropes and ideas. But it does show that with love sometimes people do get into these situations even though it’s seen as problematic or weird, but it’s dealing with sexual attraction, showing instant connections and portraying passion, sometimes when people are into someone you can get crazy, possessive, sometimes you may even want to be with that person all the time. It’s really important that the show is drawing a line between what is toxic and what is not, what is romantic and what is not, the authenticity of romance vs the idealism of romance in tv shows and  books. The fact that Gene and Nubsib are falling in love with each other and are going to go through a lot together I think shows me that at the end I will also think they’re meant to be together, they’re like a realistic couple falling in love. Gene feels real to me. Nubsib feels human to me even though we’re uncovering his personality. All of the characters feel real and dimensional to me. It’s something I love about the show, it just feels so real despite being literally a BL that’s making fun of how unrealistic BLs are, it’s so real, it’s so meta, it’s so important and I really think it’s needed in this genre, and industry. I think it’s such a great, great show. I love Tee, because he’s good at directing these layered, meta, deep shows always able to provide reasons for why the story is the way it is, what its trying to show, why the characters are the way they are and make mistakes, there’s so much depth to his stories and the things he chooses to focus each time he does a show. In a way Gene’s character development and growth is so important to me because to him the BL industry and genre is bad, and the show seems like that’s what its message is as well, because that’s what his perception seems to portray only, as Gene falls for Nubsib who is literally like a trope that reminds him of the stories he seems to hate (especially when he discovers his inauthenticity) ,  as he falls in love and finds out more about his relationship, his sexuality, his identity as he starts to realise how BL should be written, why it should be created, that there can be authentic love stories in BL,  he can change what BL represents for people like him. I just think its fantastic to see him with a negative perception on writing BL to finally understanding why it should be written but it should be written in a different way, or changed to fit a different way, instead of letting corruption happen he shouldn’t give in but should try and change. He may be making fun of the fact that BL is known for its weird tropes like NC, but NC is real its just attraction between two people, as long as its not toxified or problematic its just another way people can show feelings, there’s so many het series that have NC scenes but when it comes to BL its seen as a fetish or something negative when really if done right its just two people being like normal couple and giving into their affections for each other. Yeah I think this is amazing to talk about and portray. This is one of my favourite shows right now, and I’m so eager about where we’re going with this. Because I just love the layers, the message and the story.

#lovely writer #lovely writer the series #thai bl #bl series #bl drama #nubsib #cwg #nubsibgene #march #kaoup

[thegrandkinghimself]

who is oikawa tooru?

i guess that’s a weird way to start off a post, considering just how popular oikawa is in this fandom. i’m absolutely certain that he’s still one of the most popular characters if i can take the #oikawasear trend on twitter a couple of weeks ago seriously. (i will be mourning that iwaoi is no longer the top ship in this fandom. it’s devastating to me on a personal level). and i can’t say that i’m any different, either, otherwise i wouldn’t have made this blog or this post. but i guess the reason i’ve been itching to write this is because i’ve been in this fandom--and more specifically, a fan of oikawa--for about four or five years now. i devour the content available, and i can assure you that i’ve read too many of the fanfictions on ao3 to be healthy, and never before have i seen a character whose characterization is so hotly disputed. 

and i get it. he’s a complex person. he’s kind of awkward in that there is a very clear disconnect between his outward personality and who he is alone. it’s a very hard balance to strike, especially when you consider just how much conjecture goes on in his characterization among fans and in discourse. he’s really easy to project and certain traits, correct or otherwise, are amplified based off how authors perceive him. there’s plenty of presumptions that can be made based on his on-screen actions/thoughts/beliefs that can be taken to some very logical conclusions. 

but i’ve also seen people write him in ways that don’t strike me as particularly truthful. he’s type casted into stereotypes that don’t do him justice, or made into something that is vaguely like oikawa, but not quite. in the following post, i’ll be trying to dispel misunderstandings of his character, if only for my own sanity. 

tl;dr i think that oikawa is chronically one of the most misrepresented characters in fandom and i want to fix that

exclaimer: i am solely an anime-watcher; i have seen snippets of the manga and therefore have a general idea of what is going on.

let’s establish some very very basic stuff. just to keep it simple, i’m not going to talk about anything beyond what has been published via the anime (as of season four). 

Oikawa Tooru | 及川徹 

gender: male

d.o.b.: 1994.7.20. or 20 July, 1994

height: 184.3 cm

weight: 72.2 kg

occupation: high school 3rd year, class 6

position/number: setter, 1 (captain)

here’s something that’s never pointed out: oikawa is in class 6 which, if we go off the trend of every other school in haikyuu!!, means that he is in a college preparatory class aka he’s pretty dang smart. it’s not confirmed or anything, but it a. follows the trend of every other class 6 student and b. is the highest class available among seijoh 3rd years (classes 5, 3, and 1). don’t get the idea that he’s dumb or unintelligent, or even that his strengths only lie in the classroom because that would be a gross understatement of his skills.

anywho. 

generally speaking, i like to start with the building blocks of his personality because there’s so much room for assumptions. here are the things that i think make up his core personality:

intelligence/knowledgeable: not only academically speaking, but he’s also well-versed in people. he knows how to play them--what will make someone more confident, more doubtful, what will help his teammates succeed. clearly, oikawa is very knowledgeable in human thought patterns. or he’s dedicated a lot of time to knowing them. 

loyalty: of all of oikawa’s traits, i think this one gets talked about the least, but we know it to be true. we make jokes about “you should have come to shiratorizawa” but it really shows you exactly how loyal, how much trust, oikawa has in this team that he has spent three years shaping. he never stops believing in the work that he has put in, and especially the hard work that his teammates have put into their volleyball. 

hardworking: one of the most well-known things about oikawa. most fans already know that his white knee pad is actually a knee brace. ‘nuff said. i salute you, good sir. 

insecurity: oikawa’s insecurities are perhaps his most notable trait. in a sense, he’s sort of the underdog--so good, but never quite good enough to accomplish what he’s set out to do. and we know that he’s struggled with his doubts since junior high, literally since he was 12 or 13, and that’s informed all of his character from the moment he ran into ushijima. oikawa is someone who is defined by his insecurities. 

oikawa is a lot of things. he’s introduced as someone who is very flamboyant--he’s built up by kageyama as the best setter, his senpai literally and figuratively, his initial shots are all of smug smiles and easy, unfaltering swagger in the face of this new team. even his theme, all rambunctious brass and jazzy, is meant to be all in your face, here’s the big boss! he’s someone who is petty and silly and seems to favor shallow conversation. but he’s oikawa, so there’s a surprising amount of depth in the little time that we have with him. there’s a reason that, in any other franchise, he’d probably be the protagonist.

he is someone full of contradictions. he’s childish and he spends time with a bunch of girls and is very clearly someone who likes to project a certain image of himself to the public (see: his cute lil’ humming run after his yell in s4e23 to make him seem kind of normal). but he’s also spent a lot of time with himself. in fact, if we take the few scenes we have of him alone and his bedroom (bare, spartan, meticulous) into account, oikawa actually is much more solemn and/or serious than the image he projects. he’s comfortable in the silences between all the white noise. he’s alright just being with iwaizumi. he allows himself to dwell on the past and his shortcomings, while also looking forward to the future. his ambition and passion to improve drive him, but his past failures weigh him down. they haunt him.

personally, i think that he’s naturally a pretty silly guy when given the chance. it’s not just for show. iwaizumi would even corroborate this à la oikawa’s introduction speech in s1. he likes having fun when he can with his friends. if we assume that oikawa is most himself with iwaizumi, then we definitely know that’s the case (see: “are you my mom, iwa-chan?”), and there’s nothing wrong with that. but i think that the most basic traits of his character, combined with his experiences in volleyball, have pushed him to be this person who is mired in doubt. it’s forced him to go down a path where something that he once loved for the fun of it has now become the source of his ire. it’s really just that simple. maybe in another life, things would be different and oikawa wouldn’t have to struggle as much. but that’s really just a part of the human experience, isn’t it? and, in all honesty, would we really love oikawa as much without all his vices?

and maybe this is getting into speculation, but i don’t think it’s a difficult argument to make that oikawa is really mature. he’s introspective. i say introspective because the revelations that he’s had in regards to his own strengths and weaknesses--those are things he’s had to confront and deal with since he was in junior high (starts at 12 years of age). it takes someone with a lot of maturity and self-awareness to realize those kinds of things about himself.

and he’s stronger than he gets credit for. most people depict him as a crybaby, but he’s really not. he doesn’t cry or give up in the face of ushijima or kageyama’s unfettered growth and successes, he doesn’t cry when faced with defeat. oikawa is there to support iwaizumi in his own doubt as ace, and lend support to his teammates. and oikawa doesn’t get stuck on the what-ifs or has-beens. driven by his infamous ambition, he looks forward to the future. 

it’s kind of a double-edged sword. it’s pushed him this far--he’s put in this much effort to be one of the best in the prefecture--because of his competitive spirit, but it’s also something that has caused him serious injury. oikawa’s motto (”if you’re gonna to hit it, hit it until it breaks!”) is the very epitome of this mentality. it’s a message to work hard to finish what you started, but i also think that you could interpret that hard work breaking you, too. he’s steadfast—obsessive, really—to the point that oikawa will let his passions break him before he would ever give up. it’s the point of all the strife in his life, because he would never have the problems he does if he were even a little less enamored by this sport. 

and you really have to wonder where he would be without ushijima and kageyama as his obstacles. his drive will always be there, that is an intrinsic part of him, as are the standards to which he holds himself, but you really have to wonder just how good oikawa would be if he didn’t have such direct competitors. this is an incredibly important question to ask about kageyama and oikawa in particular. yes, oikawa does loathe ushijima: for his disregard for oikawa’s decisions, for his disregard of oikawa’s loyalty, for his flippant attitude of seijoh, who oikawa has poured his blood and sweat into creating. but ushijima is an opposite hitter. oikawa is a setter. those are two very different positions with little crossover. but with kageyama--that is a clear rivalry. they push each other to be better, made all the more potent by their differences as players; one setter’s growth as a player directly impacts how the other performs in each subsequent game. seijoh’s defeat by karasuno in season 2 just feeds into oikawa’s drive for the future. he has not intention of giving up. a light was lit under him, pushing him forward, to do better, to be better. 

this is something that has been pointed out in a different analysis (linked below) but, narratively speaking, oikawa is kageyama’s foil. their interactions inform their characters and are a major cause of tension in their development. their relationship is really the most complex in the story that i have noticed, and is something that has not been appreciated enough. the iwaizumi-oikawa thing has been expounded and studied in every facet possible (i love the alexander the great/hephaestion allusions), but it’s true that kageyama has impacted oikawa the most. they begrudgingly respect each other’s talents, what it is that they bring to the court, while also envying what the other has in spades that they do not. in oikawa’s case, his strength clearly lies in his interpersonal relationships--his ability to intuit exactly what his teammates need to be at their best. kags is just a fount of overwhelming technical skill who has a really hard time getting to know those around him. living up to the standards that oikawa places on himself, in tandem with kageyama threatening his position as setter, leave oikawa floundering, fearing his own incompetence against opponents who are naturally much better than he. so he’s left with the knowledge that maybe his best isn’t good enough, but he still continues on anyway. he pushes himself past a seemingly unreachable threshold just to go toe-to-toe with this monster. it’s the purpose of his character--to tell this story of the ordinary v. the extraordinary--and it is perhaps the most relatable arc that a story like haikyuu!! can tell.

their connection naturally causes oikawa to seek out help, seen in the flashback scenes where he is talking to an unspecified coach/adult. that coach’s words then become the creed upon which oikawa plays, maybe even more than what iwaizumi has taught him, and is the final push that completes oikawa’s character arc in s2ep24. that change in mindset allows oikawa to see kageyama’s unbridled talent not as an obstacle but as a challenge. it’s very nuanced, but it makes all the difference. it’s why, following seijoh’s defeat, oikawa has the audacity to declare to kageyama and ushijima his plans for the future. in a sense, karasuno and kageyama and ushijima have won the battle but not the war. it’s the tipping point in his story and, more than anything, what makes oikawa so compelling. we have seen what has led up to the change, but now we want to know what he’s going to do to meet that challenge. what will he be doing beyond the story when he is no longer relevant to the narrative? we don’t know the details at this point, but we know that oikawa’s love and ambition for volleyball have been reaffirmed in this moment. 

but to bring it back, the kags-oiks connection also makes us question what it is we are watching, makes us as the audience think: what qualifies someone as a genius? are there any limitations to what that genius can do? what can ordinary people do in the face of those geniuses? 

these are questions that exist beyond the reality of sports and transverse into other disciplines. for me, those are very real questions that i have had to ask myself as a musician. i have dedicated nine, almost 10, years to my practice but there are still 10-year-olds who are just better at it than i ever will be. part of it is time and practice to be sure, but some of it is just innate. and i think the more appropriate version of those questions would be this: what qualifies someone as a prodigy? are there limitations for prodigies? what can we do in the face of prodigies? 

oikawa is a genius player--he knows the ins-and-outs of his sport better than anyone, and he can accomplish great feats that others in his same position can’t. but even with all that veritable experience and skill, he is ultimately still overtaken by a prodigy whose talents seem endless. it’s why he can hate ushijima but fear kageyama. one is something he can actively fight against, the other is inevitable. 

and really, i think that’s the beauty of oikawa tooru, why he’s so beloved by the fandom, even years after he has stopped being relevant to the narrative. beyond the fluff and goofiness and hijinks, there’s someone there who is really, truly, human. 

an aside with much less significance/why do people think this??

so here’s one thing: even though oikawa has fangirls, i wonder what he actually thinks of them. for one, it’s only natural for anyone to be super flattered if people think you’re hot stuff. that’s just... i don’t think he’s weird if he pays attention to them. but i think that people are conflating his being kind to them to being genuinely egotistical due to the attention. actually, i think these are opposing ideas and a contradiction of who oikawa is. when you’re an arrogant person, you think that you deserve all the attention you’re getting and you’re not going to bother with the people who worship you.

but that’s not at all what oikawa does. he’s rather kind to his fans. i would never say that he’s self-effacing, but knowing what you’re worth is different from being pompous. and think about it. it’d be a real jerk move for oikawa to not say nice things to them and thank his fangirls when they spend time, energy, and effort to make him food and see his games. he would just be a genuinely awful person if he didn’t at least give them thanks. it’d be more alarming if he didn’t talk to them, at least in my opinion. more than anything, we should consider this: why is it that oikawa has the fan club and not anyone else on the seijoh team? i’m sure a part of it is because he’s attractive and the captain of a team, but i think it’s more than that, too. we see these interactions from other perspectives, but i think that reflects more on those around oikawa than oikawa himself if they don’t understand why he acts the way he does with those girls.

another thing: i don’t think that anyone can question that oikawa is very pretty, or handsome, or whatever descriptor you would like. it’s prevalent in fandom (see: pretty setters squad), but he is also the only person in canon to be acknowledged by other characters as being particularly good-looking. maybe the miyas count at this point? i’m not sure. but i don’t really understand where people get the idea that he is particularly focused on his appearance, though. there is literally no indication of that from the material that i have seen. and maybe he uses that to his advantage with his fangirls, but i highly doubt that, in all honesty. i think that it’s fun to imagine him being into these things as a hobby, but it irks me greatly when i see that people spend time saying that oikawa wakes up extra early just to fix his hair or slather on foundation/concealer just to look presentable. 

he’s a teenaged boy who clearly has other things that worry him, he’s a full-time student, and volunteers to coach at lil tykes volleyball classroom in his free time. he wouldn’t have time to spend on his hair or makeup. and we even seen in the hanger tooru special that he even wakes up looking like that. 

he is au naturale, my friends. and we even know how little he gives thought to his own body, if you take into account his knee brace. for oikawa, his body is merely the medium through which he can accomplish his goals. we even have evidence of this when we see oikawa up all night studying karasuno game play or via his knee brace. he doesn’t know how to stop or understand when enough is enough. he breaks himself if there’s no one to watch him. 

also, just... how would makeup work, logistically speaking? i don’t wear makeup, but i’m thinking that foundation and concealer and hair product would be, um, really bad. like, it’d run down his face and stuff. also, it’d probably get into his eyes, too? seriously. i’m not against oikawa wearing makeup in the slightest cause he’d be even prettier, but we know that oikawa would absolutely not jeopardize his chances in any way. 

thank you for reading this long-winded, probably awful look into my favorite character of all time. and i do mean that. he is my favorite character in all of media. which, like, says a lot when he’s competing against the casts of a:tla, call me by your name, and my actual favorite book, the song of achilles. after all of that, if you would like another (better) analysis of oikawa’s character, i suggest this reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/haikyuu/comments/94irsi/character_analysis_16_oikawa_tooru_discussion/ 

#oikawa tooru #haikyuu #character analysis #i'm so sorry about this #i just had to get this off of my chest #thanks for coming to my ted talk

[desivision]

The Desi Guide to Binge-Watching in the Holiday Season

I remember going to watch the comedy “Luv Shuv Te Chicken Khurana” at AMC Mercado in Santa Clara California a few years back. There were 3 people in the theater that afternoon. My girlfriend and I, both die-hard Bollywood first day first show fanatics. And a white guy. The movie was a slow disappointment, but the white guy loved it. He told us that he came for the color, the song, and the dance and didn't mind if the experience may be marred by badly contexed sub-titles.

Bollywood forgets that the greater audience may be beyond the desi crowd. Some filmmakers need to start thinking about that paradigm. Every time a bhangra song plays in a club, the white people love swinging into action. Holi at Stanford is mostly white and most technology companies are hotbeds of Indian culture, led by Bollywood styling.

 As Desis, Bollywood is our expression, whether we were born in the sub-continent or not, whether we moved out of India decades ago or are fresh off the boat; we know the songs, we dance to the tunes, we dress influenced by the stars, we follow their Instagram feeds, our karaoke sessions are Bollywood the theme, our conversations are lined with famous dialogues from Bollywood movies, we line up for miles outside theaters when a Rajni movie releases, we turn up in thousands when the stars visit to perform, we represent our Desiness through a lot of nuances borrowed from Bollywood. Bollywood is a big expression. Almost 2 billion people around the world get it.

Here is our recommendation list for the Christmas holidays. Whether you are a Bollywood fan or not, the quality and expression of this content will warm you this season.

  Number 10   Haq Se

Loosely based on  Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, the depiction of the lives of 4 sisters in Kashmir during the conditions it is in is a beautifully poignant story about the aspirations and ambitions of women and the society. A must watch for beautiful scenery and excellent performances by all actors. Starring Rajiv Khandelwal. Surveen Chawla, Simone Singh, directed by Ken Ghosh, Set in the turbulent terrorist infested Kashmir, the story revolves around the Mirza sisters. In Kashmir, where the society is conditioned to be very misogynistic and patriarchal. Women are suppressed and they can't voice their opinion or create their paths. This is the story of the women who dare to. Warm Kashmir colors are perfect for your holiday binge watching. View Trailer  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orP_-9rWWy8

 Streaming on Alt Balaji

  Number 9 Inside Edge

Inside Edge is the story of the Mumbai Mavericks, a T20 cricket franchise playing in the Powerplay League. ... almost a virtue, where sex, money, and power are mere means to an end, 2 seasons of this series are a treat to watch. Created by Pawan Anshuman, starring Richa Chadha, Vivek Oberoi, Angad Bedi and Aamir Bashir, it's a perfect holiday watch for cricket fans.

Watch promo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es_cjyjeYbc

Streaming on Amazon Prime

   Number 8 Vir Das Jestination Unknown

Vir Das and his friends travel across India to find what out what India finds funny and inoffensive. It is a beautifully unscripted portrayal of the immense diversity of India through the lens of what is the most spontaneous script and reactions.

Though a short season, the entire narrative is binge-worthy and engaging. Perfect for a family binge.

View Promo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-gb-rOVLaU

Streaming on Amazon Prime

  Number 7 Sacred Games

The hair-raising plot of India's first Netflix Original is one of the highly-raved shows. The riveting cat-and-mouse game is a mixture of amazing storytelling, a fluent narrative, and brilliant acting. Sacred Games has the brilliant Nawazuddin Siddiqui playing an evil gangster and Saif Ali Khan as a troubled cop and Radhika Apte plays an intelligence officer, SG is directed by the impeccable Anurag Kashyap. PS : Not a family watch though but bingable for the holidays.

View Promo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfPJfBeDBtE

Streaming on Netflix

   Number 6 Powder

Powder is one of those underrated show which more than nine years old and a bit ahead of its time. The show aired on Sony TV in 2010 and went off the air due to poor ratings. Thankfully, Netflix resurrected it from the dusty corners and now offers it to everyone. The show follows a team of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officers as they team up to arrest a group of drug traffickers, peddlers, and smugglers. Sure, it's nothing like Narcos, but if you like those kinds of drug crime dramas, then it might be the one for you. Interestingly, this show premiered about five years before Narcos went on air.

The show brings together an amazing cast comprising of Pankaj Tripathi, Rasika Dugal, Manish Choudhary, and Geetika Tyagi.

Quite Bingable for the holidays

Promo is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7aL1FrEg14&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=KaranSingh

Streaming on Netflix

 Number 5 Mirzapur

Starring starring Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey, Shweta Tripathi, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Rasika Dugal, Harshita Gaur, Divyendu Sharma,  Kulbhushan Kharband and Amit Sial, this is a brilliant crime thriller directed by Karan Anshuman and Gurmmeet Singh. With the rivetting fast paced story of the nine episodes of Season 1, this is a sure shor binge watch for the holidays for thriller buffs.

 View Promo here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNeGF-PvRHY&ab_channel=AmazonPrimeVideoIndia

Streaming on Amazon Prime

 Number 4  Yeh Rishtey hain Pyar Ke

Out of all the sitcoms airing on Indian Television, we love and recommend this show for holiday binge-watching. Its young, uninhibited and has a surprising storyline of a young couple and an evil mom, yet there is no regular drama in dealing with the situation. The actors are well-chosen and a few episodes into the show, you will fall in love with the characters and believe their love story. You will cry with them, you will laugh with them and put on loop their beautiful moments. This is not your traditional desi serial so be prepared for a genuine breath of fresh air.

In short, you will want to fall into the love they share. Directed by Ashish Shrivastava, produced by Rajan Shahi at Directorskutproduction; the almost 200 episodes already streaming on hotstar could be your romantic holiday season binge. The actors Shaheer Sheikh, Rhea Sharma and Ritvick Arora are well cast and carry the show on their able shoulders. A must romantic see.

View promos here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQBDIonjD1k&ab_channel=StarPlus

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=vENv9EC10W4&feature=emb_logo

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD4uqqRkU2M&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=StarPlus

 Streaming on Hotstar

 Number 3 Breathe

Breathe has undoubtedly taken the Indian storytelling to another level. The plot revolves around the lives of ordinary men who are faced with unexpected situations.

Kabir Sawant, a talented officer of the criminal division, assembles the missing pieces of unrelated deaths, all of which lead him to a common suspect. It is exciting to watch how the drama unfolds between the suspect who is trying to save his dying son and the officer who is adamant to impart justice. Starring R. Madhavan, Amit Sadh, Sapna Pabbi

 Produced by Vikram Malhotra .  Completely Bingable.

View promo : https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=OstwwYcz8nI&feature=emb_logo

Streaming on Amazon Prime, An Amazon Prime Original . Watch with VPN since it is not available for USA audiences. ( for some reason)

  Number 2 Delhi Crime

Depicting the most notorious rape case in India, Delhi Crime has won major critical acclaim since it aired the first season. Its second season has also been announced after the success of the first.

It stars Shefali Shah, Adil Hussain, Rasika Dugal, Rajesh Tailang, and many other brilliant actors. The series is based on the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, which is widely known as the Nirbhaya case. A 23-year-old girl and her male friend were beaten up and brutally assaulted in a running bus near Munirka in New Delhi while they were going home after catching a movie.

The girl was gang-raped and assaulted with an iron rod, following which the pair was thrown naked and injured on the road, after which the culprits tried to run them over with the bus. Delhi Crime tells the story from the perspective of the Delhi Police and how they dealt with what emerged as the most brutal rape case ever seen in India.

This is the most riveting depiction of the horror of rape and the aftermath.

 View Promo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNuKwlKJx2E&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=Netflix

 Streaming on Netflix. A Netflix original.

Number 1 The Family Man

Srikant Tiwari is a middle-class man who also serves as a world-class spy. Srikant tries to balance his familial responsibilities with the demands of the highly secretive special cell of the National Intelligence  Agency that he is working for. While he tries to protect the nation from terrorists, he also has to protect his family from the impact of his secretive, high-pressure, and low paying job.

Gripping Screenplay, dark humor, middle-class frame of reference, Enthralling, engrossing, riveting narrative. All of what makes this Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani, Gul Panag web series such a top of the list for holidays binge. Notably, this is directed by Raj and DJ, the guys behind Stree and Bala.

 View Promo here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XatRGut65VI&ab_channel=AmazonPrimeVideoIndia

 Streaming on Amazon Prime, An Amazon Prime Original.

#netflix #amazonprime #hotstar #altbalaji #yeh rishtey hain pyaar ke #delhicrime #shaheer sheikh #familyman #manoj bajpayee #haqse #mirzapur #breathe #powder #sacredgames #virdas #insideedge

[megatentious]

Majin Tensei 2 and Shin Megami Tensei If… let’s talk about them

This past year saw the fan translation release of two 16-bit Megaten games, Shin Megami Tensei If… (lord help me if I need to type this ellipsis every time) and Majin Tensei 2. I am maybe the only person who decided to play through both of these games for the first time in English in one year, and so maybe it will be instructive to see how these two series black sheep (can you call a game a black sheep if no one has actually played it?) fit together in the context of the larger franchise. Or maybe this is just an ungainly excuse to cobble together months-old observations into blog content. Let’s find out!!

Both of these games come from a period when Atlus was still trying to figure things out from a game design perspective, testing how much they could push their console audience with PC dungeon crawler inspirations. There were no compunctions at this point about making unforgiving design choices, even in their crowning achievement mainline series games. Sometimes this worked, like the lack of guidance in Shin Megami Tensei 1 leading to perfectly tuned feelings of lonely exploration. Sometimes this didn’t quite work, like the tedious backtracking and brutally untelegraphed stat skill check requirements of Shin Megami Tensei 2. “Getting Megaten’d” is a message board expression meant to describe the sudden game overs that can occur in this series after hours of play, so it’s not as if unforgiving punishment is something that has been eradicated from the more modern games. But there’s a reason even many Megafans (yes i just said megafans, please deal with that) refuse to play anything in this franchise that released before the Playstation 2, and it’s because of choices that are perceived as promoting tedium and time-wasting. We’ve seen how this can affect their big marquis mainline successes, but what happens when you apply these principles to dicier spinoffs? Well…

Majin Tensei 2 is at least, quite conceptually ambitious. Spanning numerous worlds and time periods, showcasing political intrigue and explicitly defined characters with varying motivations, five distinct endings across light-dark and law-chaos axes, hidden events that depend on how many turns you take and which demons you have in your party, there is a lot (too much!) to keep track of. There are ideas in Majin Tensei that pre-sage much of what makes up Devil Survivor, from demon races with differing map skills to introducing demon fusion to a strategy RPG space that was mainly just Shining Force and Front Mission. In practice though, what you do repeatedly in Majin Tensei 2 is slowly s l o w l y clear fifty plus maps, maps that will occasionally provide fun challenges, but more often that not will repeat large not particularly memorable landmasses with simply hellish amounts of monsters. Seriously look at this screenshot I took, this is less than one third of the map!

There’s a reason that so many volunteer debuggers dropped out during playtesting, and there is a reason that 100% of the ones who persevered used fast forwarding emulation features to finish. This is because Majin Tensei 2’s sluggishness can be linked to the infamous Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. problem, S.T.E.A.M. being a largely unloved Intelligent Systems strategy game on 3DS that was raked over the coals in reviews for allowing enemy phases to go on for inordinate amounts of time. Majin Tensei 2 does that game one better by allowing literal minutes and minutes to pass as each enemy decides its action one by one. Do you remember that map in the screenshot above? Imagine twice as many enemies as that taking 10 seconds each to complete their own turn. Majin Tensei 2 makes it clear that you are absolutely not supposed to kill every enemy, through turn limit bonuses and appeals to your general sanity. But that still doesn’t stop the game from dumping demons haphazardly across each map in the manner of someone pounding the bottom of a trashcan to make sure every piece of refuse has tumbled out. So even if you are trying to be efficient, with each passing turn you’re going to be dealing with plenty of downtime.

So yes, the game is cruel. Just to take one example, Majin Tensei 2 spends the whole game teaching you that you need to keep someone tough at your home base even if you think you are safe, since at any moment some sort of aerial demon can sweep in from 12 spaces across the map to occupy it and end your game. And then in one level 40 chapters or so in, the game will punish you for keeping anyone behind at your home base by spawning multiple inaccessible dragon type demons who will one shot anyone who was trying to hold down the fort no matter what (did I mention that this game has instant permadeath for all demons and instant game over for any of your five human characters, five humans whom you cannot possibly level up sufficiently to all be able to survive multiple demon attacks?). Majin Tensei 2 is willing to mess with you to the extent that it absolutely wants you to cheat. After all, this is a game that in 1995, allowed you to save after every turn, which is another way of the designers telling you that savestate abuse (or in my case, copious use of the rewind button) is built into the design.

So why put up with this sort of nonsense? Well, for one, you’re dealing with the atmosphere of a 16-bit Atlus game, a combination of visuals, sound design, music and tone that is simply unlike anything else in the industry. And there is absolutely satisfaction to be found in slowly conquering the game’s maps. But those who scoff at something like, say, Soul Hackers, will find this game absolutely impenetrable, which likely means it will only ever be played through by advance Megatenists (okay i changed it to this, are you happy). Majin Tensei 2 tries to do quite a bit, switching up much even from its direct predecessor, and the play experience ends up suffering despite the ambition.

SMT If in comparion, well … If is by far the least ambitious game in the series to date. While Majin Tensei 2 lavishes you with cool unique digitized photo backgrounds, an extraordinary soundtrack with lengthy moody electronica from the late great Hidehito Aoki, and spectacular boss sprites, SMT if reuses all the most drab and uninspired wall textures from its predecessors, and offers absolutely nothing in terms of new music. Worse yet, many of the reused tracks have somehow depreciated in the conversion. Listen to the offkey shrillness of the iconic Ginza music here , seriously what did they do to it!?. If does feature some lovely new boss sprites, showcasing demons from rarer mythologies that were never again revisited (where are all my Persians at ATLUS???), but even some of the best of these are hidden in new game plus routes the average player will likely never see. The general fugliness of the overall game and relentless asset reuse gives the whole experience a very unfortunate rom-hack feel, and though it’s not hard to figure out why the game ended up this way (it was cranked out less than 9 months after SMT2) it doesn’t make things better.

I should note one important item here, however, and that is that the PSX version renders almost all of these complaints obsolete. It’s the version I first played actually, stumbling through the first few hours untranslated during a Japanese PS+ trial period. The PSX version not only offers very dramatic visual upgrades and some excellent needed remixes, there is a small measure of kindness built in for the player through the game’s Easy Mode. It’s only in this mode for whatever reason that Atlus offers a design “solution” for the most infamous portion of the game, a dungeon in which you are required to wait for hours of lunar cycles in order for students to dig your path forward. In Easy Mode the time requirement is halved for you. Behold the design advancements of the 32-bit era!

If is generally an odd game in the context of the series. There is a type of person out there who likes to call this game Persona Zero, and for people who have played the Snow Queen route of Persona One I can see why the comparison is made. But despite the initial high school setting and pseudo-selectable party members, it still feels strange and off-putting to play a Shin Megami Tensei game with almost no meaningful narrative choices (routes here are essentially locked in at the start). Guardians are seen as proto-Personas, but in this game they are earned only through dying and are associated with combinations of stat augments and skill lists that are frequently at odds with each other. What you end up with is a system that is interesting conceptually (should I die to gain useful spells at the cost of my current stats?) but unworkable in practice (it is almost never worth the steep steep battle count cost to experiment). The seven deadly sins theming is sometimes used to inform the map design and dungeon concept, but again more often than not these concepts simply lead to unfortunate tedium for the player (shout out to the final dungeon of Reiko’s route though, which very brilliantly mashes together traditional SMT dungeon design and a thematically cool map floor I won’t spoil for you).

If we look at SMT If through the prism of 16-bit Atlus design principles, having the foundation of SMT1 and 2 to work from should in theory have led the developers to refine their decisions in ways that ought to have helped the player experience. Instead, the game makes bold choices that result in remarkably less fun. For example, If understands that guns were ludicrously over-powered in 1 and 2, and tries to course correct by … making it much more tedious for the player to use guns? Bullets now cost money and can only be bought by slowly ticking up the counter to 99 one click at a time, with each bundle purchase of 99 filling up a limited inventory slot. The encounter rate is as insane as usual, Estoma takes a little bit more time to get than usual, and the game’s economy does not afford you that many useful things to spend money on in terms of equipment. Combine these three aspects of the game and every player invariable ends up large quantities of makka on hand to spend on bullets to your hearts content, and given that bullets are still far and away the best way to dispatch groups of enemies, you’ll find yourself engaging in this tedium in order to play the game efficiently.

I’ve spent a lot of time repeating the word tedium in these observations, and it’s unfortunate that this is the main takeaway most players will get from playing these two games. Both SMT If and Majin Tensei 2 devise interesting systems and then execute them as grimly as possible from a playability standpoint. There are aspects of true unique accomplishment in both games (Majin Tensei 2 has the funniest demon negotiation dialogue in the entire franchise! SMT If’s final dungeon really is super cool!) but the kind of player who is willing to experience them is essentially a rounding error. I don’t have any regret at all that I played through each of them in their entirety (FYI Majin Tensei 2 is longer than Dragon Quest 7 or Persona 5 and SMT If has a new game plus with all new dungeons that increase difficulty and dullness), but I might understand if you have regret. Then again who knows, you made it to the end of this aimless and dull writeup so maybe these games will be right up your alley! Be sure to let me know!!!

#majin tensei #majin tensei 2 #Shin Megami Tensei #shin megami tensei if #games no one has finished

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM Chapter 93 Thoughts

<20 in bold at the end.

It goes without saying that if you've not read this chapter yet, you probably shouldn't read this!

Typeset: https://imgur.com/a/cuCBt76

Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AopCejGDKMg

The ART!

If there’s only one thing I’d declare my love for, it’d have to be the art.  It brought the characters and the sense of place to life in a way I’ve not yet seen in One-Punch Man.

This chapter round, Murata did not pour his energy into elaborate backgrounds or spectacular scenes. His assistants did wonderfully at the backgrounds, particularly in showing the dereliction of City Z. So you'd think this chapter would be quick and easy to knock out? NO. WAY. Murata poured his art into detailing and delineating characters, bringing their very souls to life as we've rarely seen before. So many characters, both familiar and new. Along with the incredible character interaction, this chapter has been a real treat for the eyes as well as the mind.  

More thoughts still under the cut!

Chapter Theme: You Can't Escape the Pressure

Everyone is under pressure. It's on everyone, both that imposed by the external circumstances and that imposed on themselves by the characters. So much of the ugliness we see in the S-Class meeting comes from that pressure. I'll deal with Fubuki, Bang, King and Genos separately.

The collective pressure to prove themselves is on the support heroes. While they may be the support, their role is just as crucial and their objectives are many -- containing any escaping monsters, clearing an escape route and making sure that Waganma is escorted to safety. OneShotter definitely feels the toughness of the assignment while Needle Star focusses on the other side of the pressure: the potential reward of promotion.

Even at the top, the pressure is intense. If anything it's worse. Being based in A-City, the executives have to look at the results of their failure every single day, at the still-raw lunar landscape that used to be most of A-City. Metal Knight didn't even bother trying to fill in the larger craters, but just built road bridges over them. Sekingal may be ambitious but he has earned Sicchi's respect for not merely being the guy in the suit who sits back in relative safety while sending heroes to their doom. He's going to be there with them -- he's tied not just his reputation and career trajectory to the success of the mission, but his very life.

I don't think many people would begrudge Sekingal his ambition nor any of the support heroes for being politically shrewd in their desire for promotion. They're doing the work and taking the risks, why shouldn't they make sure to get their reward? It's people who use politicking as a substitute for doing the good work whom we object to.

Wanted: Leadership and Unity

ONE has long had a special dislike for experts without actual expertise. One of his early cameo characters was a Mr. Nanmoshirane (Mr. I don’t know) who was a pundit making useless pronouncements on the mosquitoes that had appeared over City Z. So, why is a ten year old in charge of S-Class? Because he's the best at the job and has lots ofleadership experience? HA, not a bit of it! It's because he's clever (technologically), is available, and is the only one who will speak up. 

Unfortunately, Child Emperor hasn't got the personal authority to shut down dissent and is having to rely on mollifying the egos of the other heroes to keep them all on side and focussed on the threat in front of them.   To watch the clash of titanic egos as they try to work out how best to approach the Monster Association raid is to feel for Child Emperor.  But he manages.

And then Sweet Mask appears.  As a deeply disliked and barely respected hero, his presence is unwelcome in the first instance and his insistence in not just joining the strike team but leading it started to create an ugly situation. 

Watching the S-Class meeting nearly implode into bloodshed, all I can think is with allies like this, who needs enemies? It's evident that no matter how talented the individuals are, without a sense of shared purpose around which they can rally and actual strong leadership, they're going to be easily working at cross-purposes to one another.

Fubuki: The Power of Spite

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? I guess Shakespeare knows what he's talking about -- here comes Miss Blizzard and she's looking to raise hell, both with the Monster Association and with her sister.

So much of her anger is not for the monster, Do-S, who brainwashed her group. After all, Do-S is a monster -- that's what monsters do. It's for Tatsumaki, who seriously hurt the members of her group and who has now had her dismissed without so much as a say. That's what she cannot forgive. She's taking them both on, both on a personal level and on the behalf of the group of heroes and compatriots she loves and nurtures.

While it's hilarious that she thinks of Saitama's group as her 'new' Fubuki group and is outraged at how completely she's ignored, her astuteness cannot be faulted.

Go Blizzard!

Bang: A Shabby Way to Treat a Good Man

I salute Bang's sense of responsibility in coming all the way out to A-City in order to find out what is going on, since the loss of his communicator has meant that he has no way to keep abreast of the situation. Watching Sicchi lie to Bang's face was just painful.

It's shocking how quickly narratives grow up around events. Sicchi may have defended Bang staunchly to the other executives, but he's asking if Bang let Garou go. Even Bomb is questioning Bang over it. And Bomb was there! You see how deeply this hurts Bang.

And yet, even now, Bang hasn't given up on Garou. He's jumped at the chance to 'accompany' King as he puts it in order to fulfil his duty to apprehend Garou. Maybe even to save him if he still can.

King: The Paper Tiger Becomes a Cardboard Tiger

King running away only to get himself deeper into trouble is nothing new, although it's wonderfully done here. His accidentally defusing the S-Class meeting's tension was absolutely stellar timing. And how freaky is it that even through several walls, Zombieman can hear the King engine?

However, what's new is that King can be mighty brave... so long as it's from behind Saitama. Watching King dying inside even as he puts on a brave face and says brave-sounding things has been quite the edifying development. He so wasn't counting on being bundled off to the Monster Association like a secret weapon though. Being deferred to and consulted by the other heroes was terrifying enough. The out-of-body experience he was having at the end is one for the ages. :D

You Wait Forever For A Cyborg And Then Three Come At Once

Conventional wisdom is that a cyborg is hard to kill. Defeat one, sure. Kill one, that takes some dedication. Accordingly, we see the return of Jet Nice Guy, phew! His backstory is that he won the lottery, then used his winnings on buying body modification surgery -- I'm glad they were good enough to keep him alive and that he's still got enough money (and enough desire) to return to hero work, looking better than ever. Learning that Drive Knight is also a cyborg has been awesome. Finally the question of what Drive Knight is has been settled, although the clues have been there for a while, mostly in Murata's art spreads, one of which shows him eating noodles through his mouth grille and another that shows him lounging in the swimming pool with a snorkel. His cyborg nature is why the rest of the S-Class are hoping that he may yet be alive, even if he's incapacitated.

I hope that we get to see what Jet Nice Guy and Drive Knight do. I hope the conventional wisdom isn't tested too hard!

As to the cyborg we know best, Genos, he has has gone dragon-crazy. [That said, his enabler-in-chief, Dr. Kuseno, has no right to say that it is Genos who is reckless: there's a bit of the devil in the old man too, what with putting such a badly-balanced build together for him.] I think I see the rational side of why Genos is gunning for dragon-level monsters so hard. As far as he's concerned, they're just a stepping stone in his path to strength -- huge, treacherous, bitey stepping stones, but stepping stones nonetheless. But they're rare monsters. If one pops up, it'll be assigned to Tatsumaki or a group of well-tested S-Class heroes. As a new guy who is still building his track record, Genos has no chance of being assigned one, not even to support another hero.

The conservative way to become a dragon-slayer is to painstakingly grind away, improving his proficiency with demon-level monsters until the HA is so confident in his ability to deal with them that they'd consider briefing him on joining other S-Class heroes to deal with a dragon-level threat. That'll take weeks. Genos is a little less... patient.

The Monster Association is the only place where he's guaranteed a crack at them. There are five main possible outcomes.

A: He gets killed or crippled (the scenario that literally keeps Dr. Kuseno awake). It is a risk that exists regardless of what he does -- monsters target even the most peaceable civilians. As a hero, Genos has a great big target on his back anyway.

B: He gets beaten down without taking out any dragons. Here's the thing: at the very least he's no worse off than beforeand he gets invaluable battle data to build up on. The data will help to sort between changes and strategies that were never going to work and those that might yet work with some improvement.

C: He gets beaten down but kills or critically injures at least one dragon. He gains that invaluable battle data plus a basis on which to consolidate gains. Gets a promotion to around S-10 (more likely rank 10 - 12)

D: He doesn't get beaten down and kills or critically injures at least one dragon. He can work on using data and experience to further refine the fighting platform. Gets promotion to well within top ten and to ask Saitama for his next assignment.

E: He doesn't get beaten down but doesn't take down any dragons, either. This scenario will have Dr. Kuseno sigh in relief, but it's the only really bad outcome from his perspective. He's lost data and the chance to tackle such monsters. He'll have to grind like mad and hope for another lucky break.

I rate the likelihoods of the various scenarios as A - 0%; (ONE isn't about to kill Genos over this fight), B - 60%; (no change from webcomic), C - 39%; (it's a big step up and still respects what happens in the webcomic), D - 1%; (in that case the first half of chapter 108 is redundant) and E - 0%; (don't worry boy, here be lots of dragons).

Rounding up

This may have been a set up chapter, but it was anything but uneventful. 32 people are responding to what is for most, the greatest challenge they've yet faced. Okay, one of them is Saitama and he's just wandering around oblivious to the import of anything.

I can't wait for the fights, when we see all the tensions and motivations explode into action.

<20: The keg is full of dynamite, and the fuse is lit. Bring on the explosion!

#OPM #Genos #Fubuki #Bang #King #manga chapter #meta #S-Class heroes

[annasdesignblog-blog]

Week 12 - Presentation and Reflection

Our Outcomes:

Over the Easter break, I finalised my final outcome for the group project, and edited it onto a staircase wall; this was most appropriate location I thought as the image is bound to get seen a lot, and as it represent such an important issue, this is exactly what it needs - exposure. This is my final outcome:

I’m content with my final outcome as the imagery is clear, and makes the message easily understood as it shows the potential aftermath if people don’t use their freedom and choice in the right way, and help to save the environment. I am also pleased with the outcome because I got the chance to create an artwork about an issue I care deeply about.

These are the rest of the group’s outcomes, in the following order - Alison, Karolina, Tom, Georgia and Anniko. 

I personally think we responded well to the brief as we approached the theme of ‘birdhouse’ in a different way than most groups have, and I think we’ve chosen topics that would be relatable to students, tutors and visitors - it’s important to build a connection with the audience, and that’s exactly what we’ve done. In addition, I think we kept to the guidelines we decided to work with successfully too because all images look consistent with the same style of design; this makes it clear to the audience these images all link are a part of the same project. 

The Presentation:

Originally Alison was in charge of putting together the presentation, however something came up and she didn’t have enough time so I offered to do it as I, on the other hand, had time to spare and was happy to help out. The presentation consisted of our journey throughout the project, starting at the beginning with the mindmaps and thinking of our idea, to our progress and the final outcomes at the end. I also created a script, to ensure people knew what they were saying, as well as to help out less confident speakers such as Karolina and Anniko a chance to revise what they’re supposed to say. 

The script; my parts were in green.

We met up on the 30th of April for a final group meeting – this is when I showed Tom, Georgia and Anniko my presentation and got them to help me finalise it by checking if I missed any information out. We also decided then who was saying what; we used colour coding to split the script. We decided that we each should talk about our own idea and me, Georgia and Tom will cover the rest of the dialogue. The presentation can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/11cBavW12y6W1NwXtFvS2_0RfFLb5mxvC.

The presentation took place on the 3rd of May. It was really interesting to see how everyone responded to the same brief - I particularly enjoyed the project where students and tutors got transformed into bird and dinosaur characters, and the one where the birdhouse became a safe space for anyone experiencing issues and needed a place to get away from it all. Our presentation went really well I thought - we had no errors, everyone spoke when they should have and the feedback we received was really positive with some students commenting on how they found our project inspiring and that it’s gave them a lot to think about in regards to how they treat their right of freedom. 

The group after the presentation, with our money.

Overall, I’d say we worked really well as a team; this is due to us knowing each other previously and Anniko easily being able to adapt to us too. We met up very regularly and kept each other up to date with our progress, and ensured others’ were content with our work by welcoming feedback. Although at the beginning, we were unsure of Tom’s place in the group, he really redeemed himself by showing up to all the meetings after the initial pitch, and picking out our font as well as choosing an activist himself later on. We had no tensions or arguments within the group - although sometimes the feedback when commenting on each other’s work wasn’t always positive, we ensured we gave each other constructive feedback and helped to improve someone’s work if it was needed. I enjoyed the group work, as well as the project brief as I mentioned earlier I got the opportunity to create a piece of artwork about an issue I feel strongly about, and so did the others - it felt important creating design based on real life issues and struggles. 

Review of the Module:

Reflecting back, I really enjoyed this module as I found it extremely beneficial. I loved learning about the industry in more detail because I never got the chance to do this; the things I’ve learnt have become very useful, such as finding out what the Careers & Employment Services offer which helped me to write my first graphic design CV, meeting up with a designer as I never got the chance to talk to a real life graphic designer before, and all the talks from professionals in different fields provided me with new knowledge and tips. I feel more confident about what I know about the industry now – I now know key skills employers look for from the Ian Cherry talk, how networking works and the importance of it from the Networking lecture, and have the key information about freelance work if I ever decide that this is the right path for me from the Self-Employment talk. I feel that I am a little closer to reaching my future ambitions now as I understand how to create a successful portfolio and have a good CV, and used that knowledge to create both, and this knowledge eventually helped me get the internship I was really keen on getting.

My action plan for now is to complete my summer internship as Graphic Designer with Digital Marketing Intern at Derbyshire Toy Libraries. I will use the new knowledge and skills learnt in this module and apply these to my internship; I will aim to keep in contact with the people I meet there as a way of networking and I will try to learn as much as I can about the role of a graphic designer in the industry, and apply this knowledge to my studies in my final year at university. I also want to carry on expanding my portfolio and really finding my own personal style and aesthetic, and just overall carry on working hard and staying determined and motivated as this is what got me as far in my journey as I am today. 

[the-royal-courier]

Associations of Azeroth: Harboson Company, Investing in Others for Success

By Risri Elthron

Tucked into a corner on the canal side of the Trade District is the Medical Supply store “The Vital Spice” owned and operated by Harboson Company. The Royal Courier spent some time with the owner Elstine Harboson and members of his organization to learn more about the growing business that is looking to aid with economic growth throughout the Alliance.

Entering The Vital Spice, one can see the meticulous care and detail put into organizing and maintaining the medical supply shop. The store itself is covered in plants hanging from the ceiling in various stages of the drying process - the air being influenced by the sage, mint, thyme, basil, and dozens of other herbs and flowers. The counter wielding small boxes, opened to reveal different quality bandages and medical supplies. Operated by three of Harboson Company’s employees, the store open on Saturday evenings selling and taking orders for supplies from individuals and other organizations.

Employing approximately twenty-five individuals, Harboson Company is more than just the proprietor of a shop. The company is a legal fighting force for hire, contracting out to any who wish the support of their elite team. In addition to the contract work, Harboson Company is an investment and trading organization. They look for business opportunities to help support and grow the Alliance economy.  Owner Elstine Harboson detailed their interest in investment as looking for opportunities to support new or struggling businesses. “Someone that is just interested in owning their own business, or just wants to sell products. We're very liberal and freeing; our newest client for example only provides us with ten percent of their income and some various trading restrictions when and where necessary; otherwise the store is theirs and we just help promote them and better their business.”

The well-structured family-owned company has both a merchant and soldier branch, with individuals encouraged to develop in their own skills and follow the path suited best for their interests. “The Soldiering Branch is fairly standard, a Bloodsworn acts as a General of sorts, below that is the Captains of a squad, and within that squad are members of the professional paid soldiers. -- On the other spectrum we have the Viceroy who's one simple purpose is to keep the coin flowing and expanding. Below that we have the store owners, merchants, entrepreneurs and so forth - then their employees,” Harboson explained.

 Moving up within the organization is based on merit, as Mr. Harboson explained, “We promote based on ambition and willingness to better oneself, learn, and of course lead. Everyone we have in a leadership position has been with us for a long time and served in the field - battlefield or otherwise. I can't say we really have a checklist; it's more we present the need for 'blank' position to be filled and see who steps up; we don't hold hands.”

The individuals best suited to working with the company are those who are not only hard workers but also, as Mr. Harboson described “ambitious, curious - rather than loyal, and dormant. Our end goal is to create leaders that in turn expand the business - we do well when our employees do well. So they need to have a desire to grow and better themselves, really just that burning passion to be something more.”

New employees are given a trial period to find their way within the organization. Once the trial is successfully passed, the individual is given the Harboson Contract to cement their employment within the organization, “The contract is there in favor of the employee rather than the employer; we provided monthly pay, plus a signing bonus to last you to the first pay check. Training for the work place was given for free, health insurance to pay for any medical bills within reason and that happened in service, and then of course life insurance that provided a severance pay to your family should the worse come. As we've grown and adapted into much more than just a Company that works primarily with professional mercenaries however, we've looked recently to editing the contract with updated terms.”

Joining in the discussion were Elstine’s wife Scassira, Varro Balisteri and Jarisleif, members of the Soldiering branch, and Ms. Caeliam Flamboisia. Each of the members described an organization that was professional, yet full of camaraderie that gives each of them a sense of purpose larger than themselves.

Scassira shared her thoughts on the organization, “Best, I would say is the way we do approach the other organizations such as the Guard or the like. Offering donations of product, securing business trades and deals. Ensuring our military is supplied and well nourished with medicinal items. It is a feel-good thing, I would say. As for worst, the chaos that can accompany such things as securing those deals. That includes many meetings and a long paper trail, but none of which cannot be managed. Simply tedious work, you see."

Caeliam Flamboisia who joined the company in late January spoke of her role and her thoughts in a kind voice that reiterated her words, “I help the other when they need help of a mage for anything... and because I did want to be stronger for everyone. The best part is to work with a nice company, I must say that we do have many good person here and kind people.”

Jarisleif, another longer term member and main herald for the shop, complained good-naturedly about the lack of permission to swear but that it was made up for in his opportunities to bash heads when an employee was in trouble, “ I usually just clobber things and yell in the streets to keep people coming in the shop. Best part is that Employees always get in trouble somehow so you always have an excuse to fight. Worst part is that I cannot swear whenever I want.”

Varro Balisteri, a new member, shared his specialty and his thoughts on being a part of the company, “I have a heavy hammer that tends to land on the heads of those that disrupt business ordeals. I am looking forward to my signing-on bonus. The worst bits would be...we have an -awful- time 'camping.'”

While not all the employees were available, the sense of the spirit of the organization could be felt in the room as we spoke for more than an hour. A strong proponent of working hard and achieving your potential, Harboson Company is an organization serving all of the Alliance with integrity and honor. Stop by the shop next Wednesday evening for your medical supply needs and if you’re interested in a job, speak with one of the employees for your opportunity!

(OOC:  The group is focused on realistic roleplay.  A lore friendly, and heavy roleplay guild, Harboson Company does not discriminate on roleplay experience. Elstine expressed his passion for helping new roleplayers “I also really want to stress a huge passion of mine is working with new RPers; so you don't necessarily have to be highly skilled to join; I've also taught several ESL folks, like Deccius the Brazilian; and of course. I've helped Cae out a little too - she's French, but I've dozens of RP students, a few in the guild with us.”  

Caeliam a non-native English speaker reiterated that love of the guild and its guild leader, “El is a really good teacher and I have improve a lot with him helping me!”

Elstine shared what he looks for with new members “I'm very particular with my members; we do very extensive interviews OOCly - personally I think it's way more important to have decent people OOCly than anything else. We want a family in guild, we wall want to be close, and to have a good time - and I think we have that, especially now. I think we're all really inclusive, open-minded, but also willing to work; a guild is a lot of work especially a decent one - it can't be a free ride for everyone. Some things have to be done. In short: patient, ambitious/self-starter, eager, friendly, not vindictive/egotistical.”

Varro added, “I think the major attraction to this guild is the change of pace it provides from the typical 'mercenary' guild.”

Elstine was thoughtful about the type of roleplay that is important to him, “I think it's important, and I try to stress it a lot that a lot of people can take it as... Elitism with our style of RP; and to a degree there are plenty of groups that do kinda turn their noses up. We try to act different in that as mentioned, we help new roleplayers out where we can, and try to offer assistance and just generally be welcoming to new folks on the server; it's our community, our neighborhood - we need to take care of it, not try to scare people out.  really that's kinda our selling point; I think to most of these guys they were looking for that intense, realistic/logical combat, or that non-handholding feeling on the business side. We really want you to go out and take a dive into things, learn things, and expand not only as a character but OOCly. -- I think the combat is a big draw for people though, as well as the general theme and I'd say... Extremism of the guild when it comes to business. Like, we have a legit document for the employee contracts, and business contracts - we have an orientation guide for new members that acts like an orientation guide that you'd get on your first day of work.”

Scassira added, “I have been told the 'selling point' for us is the immersive feel and realism by several people.”

Varro spoke of his experiences, while still new on this particular character, he had been a member previously and rejoined when he found a character that fit better within the structure of Harboson Company, “Well. As Elstine said earlier, there is an emphasis on realism. At least to a degree. That on top of the actual business that is being run in the background? It's nice. Most guilds usually hire 'mercenaries' to beat people up in taverns and get drunk. There is an air of professionalism to Harboson.”

Elstine added, “I think the dedication of the leadership helps out alot too; so many guilds just roll over that have good ideas and concepts, but the leadership isn't there. We've tried and tested leaders, I've been leading guilds since BC - and all our leaders have been in leadership positions, or are just hard workers.”

 The members of Harboson Company were such a pleasure to speak with. Thank you to the members who participated. If you are looking for guild focused on realistic roleplay reach out to Elstine, Scassira or Tideguard to talk about how you could fit.)

@harboson-c @scassira-harboson

#wra rp #rp #Risri #wraguild #wrapeople

[acekatherineplumber]

Let’s Talk About Nadia! (My OC)

Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with? Nope! She has a much younger half sister though

What is/was your character’s relationship with their mother like? She as VERY angry with her, which is understandable, because she thought that her mother abandoned her dad, and when you end up in foster care because your other parent hasn’t been around for pretty much your entire life, and then finding out that they aren’t really dead like you were told, being mad is reasonable. It took a lot, especially nearly killing each other, but the relationship is a lot better after all that. It had to, based on Nadia’s “career path”

What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like? Ummmm......she’s kind of responsible for his death....and she harbors a lot of guilt about that and a lot of bitterness towards him for not telling her the truth about her mom, but ultimately they had a good relationship.

Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know? She witnessed her father die as  result of her inability to control her powers. Yep, powers. There are three other girls in this story that are similar to her, and one of them knows. The other two don’t and neither does her mother.

On an average day, what can be found in your character’s bag? A notebook, pens and pencils, a necklace given to her by her mom, earbuds, a language guide to the language of her world, a wallet, tea, a book (usually historical  fiction), gum (peppermint), her phone, chapstick, and lotion that smells like petrichor

Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams? An hourglass turning over and over

Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares? A pair of golden eyes and a cell with no door and no windows

Has your character ever fired a gun? If so, what was their first target? No. Guns aren’t Nadia’s thing. She’s more of a bo staff and daggers sort of person. She finds they give her more control

Is your character’s current socioeconomic status different than it was when they were growing up? She went from a single-parent home to foster care to being an actual queen, so yes.

Does your character feel more comfortable with more clothing, or with less clothing? More clothing. Foster care is rough on her and she gets beat up in school a lot, plus when she’s doing real fighting, light layers keep her better protected

In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been? When she first saw her father’s dead body and didn’t know for sure if he was dead yet

In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been? Ironically, facing down the main villain.

Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way? Blood doesn’t bother her. It’s dead bodies that are her trigger.

Does your character remember names or faces easier? Faces

Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not? She used to be. It’s definitely a poverty thing and not having a lot that she could call her own in foster care.

Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success? Happiness, because she hasn’t had a lot of that in her life

What was your character’s favorite toy as a child? A Barbie that her father told her looked a lot like her mom.

Is your character more likely to admire wisdom, or ambition in others? Wisdom

What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before? Not willing to take direction well or trust people to do things. This definitely got her into trouble with one of the other girls that she was discussing battle strategy with.

In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism? She’s very hard on herself in every regard. She never feels like she’s good enough

If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others? She blames herself for everything

What does your character like in other people? Independence and the ability to take direction

What does your character dislike in other people? Entitlement, ignorance, and laziness

How quick is your character to trust someone else? She still doesn’t trust her own mom.

How quick is your character to suspect someone else? Does this change if they are close with that person? She’s very quick to suspect people, no matter how close she is with someone. This has gotten her in a LOT of trouble.

How does your character behave around children? She’s pretty good around children. Her half sister was born hen she as 13, and she often got stuck with babysitting duty

How does your character normally deal with confrontation? By blasting other people in the face with powers

How quick or slow is your character to resort to physical violence in a confrontation? She has been quick in the past.

What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true? She anted to go into science, but now she’s a queen, so, no.

What does your character find repulsive or disgusting? Indifference

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most comfortable.

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most uncomfortable.

In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve? She used to be extremely defensive, as, of course, a defense mechanism, but she’s been getting better. diplomacy lessons and studies have helped a lot.

Is your character more likely to keep trying a solution/method that didn’t work the first time, or immediately move on to a different solution/method? She only tries the same thing twice before moving on to a new strategy.

How does your character behave around people they like? See below.

How does your character behave around people they dislike? Nadia has a really hard time expressing really strong emotions, both positive and negative. She kind of just cuts herself from everyone.

Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status?  Protecting her status, mainly as an act of self-preservation

Is your character more likely to remove a problem/threat, or remove themselves from a problem/threat? More likely to remove herself from the problem/threat, but in order to better organize her plan of attack

Has your character ever been bitten by an animal? How were they affected (or unaffected)? Yes, she as bitten by a giant spider, I’m Jurassic-level giant spider. It poisoned her, and her blood is weird, so it couldn’t be completely extracted. It damaged/mutated her powers, and she’s the only one who knows that that happened.

How does your character treat people in service jobs? With respect. I imagine her people would revolt if she didn’t/

Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first? She knows that she has to earn everything, and expects everyone else to operate the same way. It drives her NUTS when people act entitled.

Has your character ever had a parental figure who was not related to them? Avalon, her stepfather.

Has your character ever had a dependent figure who was not related to them? Lynn and Jacob. She mentored them.

How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it? It is easy for her to say it, but hard for her to mean it.

What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them? She really tries not to think about that.

#nadia curtis #my ocs

[m15016professionalpractice]

Professional practice and research essay, by James Scurr

I have gained a tremendous insight and a more fundamental understanding of just how open the possibilities are to work in the animation industry. For example, I had originally anticipated my end goal would be to work for Walt Disney studios. To me this makes perfect sense for me as currently Walt Disney studios is still current and popular as I presume it will be in the future. Therefore, through a lot of technical ability and hard graft, I would be working amongst some of the best storytellers and animators who work in animated films.

However, through researching into their art-styles and reputation, specifically for animated films. I decided that my style and approach when demonstrated in a show reel or a cv would be far too conflicting to the style of animation at Walt Disney studios.

I have since had to re-evaluate myself as an individual animator. By that I am referring to; my style of art, my approach to creating an engaging narrative, in what medium of animation am I most adept and competent in, regarding creating a narrative, it is my current ambitions either working in a studio or becoming a freelancer is to work in storyboard artwork.

The first step in re-evaluating myself is to examine my previous work and deciding what I liked about it and what stood out. As far back as the work I produced at A-level, as it is here when the beginnings of my style emerged. During my, ‘Fine art’ classes I had to create a 14-page illustrated piece based on Mary Shelley’s, ‘Frankenstein’. I replicated the style of, Berni Wrightson in how methodical and deeply intricate and engrossed, Wrightson’s work was in the ‘macabre’. It was at this time I was becoming increasingly interested in the Gothic genre and horrifying yet awe inspiring work that was produced.

It was largely because of this reason that I wanted to work in animation in such a mature and somewhat, ‘anti-Disney’ approach. To make my ideas and designs both known and accepted into the medium of animation. Since I have started university I have adapted, grown and have become much better at learning to adapt very quickly with very powerful software such as; Adobe After effects, Nuke X, Autodesk Maya, Adobe illustrator and Adobe audition. As a result, I have managed to produce work I have never thought possible. Now of course in hindsight I have had to make numerous practices to understand the practical uses of these software’s, so I can use them better during my courses at university.

What I have found increasingly interesting on this, Animation course is the responses from animators who have found work in such a wide and interesting range of jobs within’ the industry. One man who stood out was a man called, Jake Parker, an animator who has had previous experience as an animator for, Blue Sky studios from the year 2000-2013. He has worked on 5 feature films before becoming an independent, freelance artist. To my complete surprise I found out that, Jake Parker has made a very going proposition for his illustrated works which he ha been making since 2007 as a side line to working for Blue Sky studios. He produced a comic series called, ‘Flight’, I remember distinctly that in 1 of our lectures that our class sat through a 45-minute video in which he was instructing us, if we chose to go the ‘freelance’ route that we would need to have a lot of products to show to the world to earn any royalties from. Moreover, there is a strong possibility that if my work becomes popular and people begin taking a real interest in my work and may even invest in me to continue making the content they want from me. Both, ‘Five nights at Freddy’s’ and ‘One punch man’ were independent projects and they have reached astronomical success and popularity through their own ideas and concepts. So as far as I can tell based on those 2 examples and Jake Parker’s works that he has been making since 2007. I can see no reason why this cannot be at the very least a very tempting career path to decide based on the enormous range of content I can create, including full creative control.

Now creating a show reel is admittedly going to be a difficult process, because of, not so much creating content but making it as best as I can possibly make it and condensing it down to just 2 minutes or less. The biggest problem would be choosing if there is ever any real specific theme or area of animation I want too show which demonstrates my capabilities. I knew from the beginning of my first year at university that I at some point would have to really excel at what I wanted to do when I eventually leave university. To create the best show reel I can, I need to look back even as far back as my initial concepts I had in mind but were too restricted by a lack of technical ability to create at the time.

This not only applies to the creation of just an acceptable show reel. However, learning all the technical aspects in software’s like Maya to make personal projects too submit online and possibly onto film festivals. So, I have decided to underline and choose very specifically what my main strengths are as well as my weaknesses that I need to improve upon. One of those weaknesses being mainly technical understanding beyond what I already know but will vastly improve my work when it comes to animating. I have a very good idea at this point where I can see myself in 20 years’ time based on the decisions I am making now towards my work. Either through my film work, illustrations or animation works.

Now if I was to go the ‘Freelance’ direction. I would strongly consider going in with a team of freelancers and starting a business together. Before even beginning on any project we would need to establish a code of conduct, (a policy) that allows everyone involved with to work alongside each other peacefully. This practice would also be very beneficial if we as a team were able to hire more staff. As our reputation in the industry or indeed any animation studio lives and dies on whether they are easy to work for. It’s simply a matter of principle and common sense to be cooperative and good mannered to those who work for you or vice versa. Having good company moral standards and good business ethics as far as I’m concerned must be established and laid bare before any project or enterprise can begin. Even going as far as to start a worker’s union to ensure the rights and dignity of our workers, either permanent or part-time freelance artists are withheld and are within’ the best interests for everyone. Suitable working hours, conditions, friendly atmosphere, installing confidence in staff to make them work to the best of their abilities, whether they stay with us or move onto another studio.

What I have found out to be most beneficial about this course is that. It has allowed myself to take a break from my other on-going courses and has allowed me the time to apply myself seriously and consider my options for employment after leaving university with my degree for the first time since joining university. I now have a very real grasp of what line of work there is available for me to do, either Studio or Freelance based. Furthermore, I now know through this course how to be more approachable as a potential employee. Through social media I need to show no causes for concern in possible controversial subjects or arguments. Using social media instead as a platform to promote my work better and contact students just like me using, Linked-in for contacts and Vimeo for my work.

In conclusion, through-out this course I have learned not only how to properly address myself and my work more professionally. I have also come to accept that working as a, ‘Freelance’ artist just like, Jake Parker has a lot of merit as well as an enormous range of creative freedom to make not only Animations but, Comics, Illustrations etc. This has helped me to be a lot more confident in my own decision making in terms of how I want to promote myself and my work in a more professional manner, not just in written form but on social media as well. It makes me feel more certain that I know what my contributions are going to be to the industry. As an animator or as a, screen writer, storyboard artist, illustrator, character designer or background artist. Learning how to be become employable in these fields is essential to my career.