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mypoisonedvine · 3 years

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Seeing Red | bodyguard!Bucky Barnes x reader (part 7)

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6)

series summary: bucky used to brag that he didn’t have a celebrity crush, or really care about famous people at all, which is what made him the perfect person to start working for a celebrity like yourself. except, of course, it’s just his luck that he’d fall for you.

word count: 2.5k

warnings: um just implied smut and fluff and a reference to bdsm I guess?? but it's pretty chill overall

Liked by starkcosmetics and others

y/n.y/l/n okay first of all, it takes an act of god to get a picture of this guy smiling, but it’s always worth it. he really changed everything for me and I can’t thank him enough for that. so happy ❤️

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caroldanvers 😍😍😍

flowercrowny/n oh my god this is so sweet i’m gonna cry

1 HOUR AGO

He smiled as he stared down at the post you’d made, remembering how much effort you’d put into finding the perfect picture (in your opinion; he thought he looked kinda dopey in it) as well as writing and re-writing your caption.

The speed at which your post gained likes and comments was inconceivable to him; even more impressive was the speed at which gossip rags were picking up the story. Sure enough, his phone’s alerts to new headlines about you were not only going off like crazy, but had started to include news about himself as well.

Y/N Y/L/N Shocks With Romantic Instagram Post, Confirms Dating Rumors

You’ll Never Guess Which Hollywood Starlet Is Dating Her Driver

Who is James Barnes? Everything We Know About Y/N Y/L/N’s New Beau

Skimming one of the articles, he was impressed at how much information they’d managed to get without actually getting anything from you or him. Born in Brooklyn, disabled Army veteran, worked a list of odd jobs before becoming your driver and bodyguard. ‘No social media presence, prefers to keep a low profile’ one of them said; you can say that again, Bucky chuckled to himself when he read it.

He found another from People and didn’t particularly appreciate that it spent half the time going through all your past exes and rumored partners (turned out ‘rumored’ is a fancy word for ‘a bunch of fans deluded themselves so hard that it somehow turned into news without any proof necessary’). But he still smiled when he got to the part that was actually about you and him.

‘The relationship is pretty new but they’re so happy together,’ a source close to the couple reported.

Close indeed; that statement came from your publicist, who he’d never even meet.

‘He’s a very private guy and she’s got this huge following, so they’re sort of an odd couple in that way, but she knows her fans are respectful and will let them have their own life outside of the spotlight.’

Bucky wasn’t sure that the respectfulness of fans was such a given here, but he hoped you were right. To be fair, they’d been very sweet on your original post insofar.

However, when he scrolled to the bottom of the celebrity magazine articles and realized they had their own comments section, he discovered that they were a little less forgiving than the ones on your Instagram.

Is this the best she thinks she can do? So sad tbh :(

a military guy…. yikes, she could get any guy she wants and she goes for a murderer.

He looks like a hobo that found a coupon for a free haircut lol

I don’t buy it, I know she’ll always love Pietro!

Pietro being your former co-star that so many of your fans were convinced was actually your soulmate. From what he’d heard from you, those speculations had made things so uncomfortable between the two of you that it killed your friendship. Those were nothing, though, compared to the comments about someone you actually had dated.

she’s obviously not over sam… they were so good together

He’d better watch out for her ex, he still likes tweets about her and they have so much chemistry

Wait, she’s not still with Sam Wilson?? I could’ve sworn they’d been dating for, like, five years.

You were scrolling through your phone with a smile as you walked past where he was sitting on the couch, and he just couldn’t help himself from asking even though he knew it wasn’t the best idea. “Do I need to worry about this Sam thing?” he blurted out, trying to play it cool and not sound too anxious. “People are really obsessed with you two…”

“Sam and I…” you sighed, staring off into space for a second. He made himself anxious imagining what you were thinking about in that moment. “I haven’t talked to him in… years? I think it’s just because our relationship was so public that people are still talking about it. And it had a lot of gossip material— we did a movie together, people thought it was sweet that we got together during production, it was great promotion for the picture… and from the outside, we made a lot of sense for each other. But he has his own problems. I loved him, but… he wasn’t ever going to be a one-girl kinda guy.”

“But you’re not just any one girl. You’re… you know, you,” he emphasized.

“You’ve been reading too many headlines,” you shook your head as you sat down beside him. “Please don’t turn into one of those guys who thinks of me as a celebrity first. Before that—” you pointed to your own name where it was bolded on his screen in the trending topics page of Twitter— “was popping up on movie posters and in gossip magazines, it was just my name. And I’m not perfect. Not even close.”

Bucky sighed and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into him and holding you tightly. “And before I knew you were famous, or rich, or incredibly talented, I was totally obsessed with you just for who you are.”

“You’re too fucking amazing,” you sighed as you held his face and gave him a gentle kiss— the kind of kiss that instantly melted his heart and banished his worries. When you pulled back and looked up at him with a smile, it was like everything else just… faded away. “Don’t read the comments, okay? None of them matter.”

He smiled and brushed his thumb over your cheek, overwhelmed by not only the softness of your skin but of your spirit as well. In all his life he’d never been handled so… gently, with so much care. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” he mumbled, not even really realizing he’d said it aloud until you gave him a beaming smile.

“I can’t believe you’re my boyfriend,” you giggled pridefully.

“Seriously? I can… very easily believe it,” he scoffed.

“I just mean… you’re so…” you searched for the words. “You’re actually good to me, that’s the thing. I’m not used to that.”

“You deserve the world,” he assured. “I’m just gonna keep trying to give you as much of it as I can find.”

He watched his hand trail over your face, down your neck and to your chest where he played with the hem of your t-shirt.

"It's odd to know there are millions of people who are jealous of me,” he admitted quietly, remembering some aggressive comments from some very angry dudes who had apparently also watched your nude scene a few too many times.

"Do you like it? Do you like how it feels to know you're making them angry every time you touch me?"

"Couldn't care less," he refuted. "Nobody else matters when I'm touchin' you."

“Do you maybe wanna… touch me a little more about it?” you smirked, opening your legs slightly in invitation.

“Always.”

Bucky had, thankfully, not let the newfound fame get to his head. In fact, he had demanded that the two of you hunker down in the house, since he feared that going out would lead to being recognized. What he apparently hadn’t anticipated was that that might not be enough.

“Will you get that?” you requested when the gate buzzed, too wrapped up in the book you were reading to answer the intercom.

He hopped up and held down the button to communicate with the gate speaker. “Who is it?” he asked.

“I’ve got a delivery from Anjappar Chettinad on 23rd?”

Bucky didn’t even reply before hitting the green button and granting access to the driveway. BEEP BEEP BEEP! you heard the gate signal its opening, and the car pulling around up to the door. Bucky didn’t open it until there was a knock, greeting the delivery guy with a smile and the necessary cash.

“I’ve got a lamb korma, hyderabadi mutton dum biryani and an order of— woah,” the man suddenly stopped, staring at Bucky’s face. “Are you—?’

“Hungry? Yes,” he frowned.

“You’re the guy dating— holy shit, congrats man,” he beamed, smacking Bucky on the shoulder pridefully before leaning in with a mischievous smirk. “Say, is she a freak or what?”

“She is,” you piped up from the couch, making both men turn their heads; but one was chuckling while the other looked mortified. “You better not have forgotten my paneer pakora or I’m gonna chain you up and whip you.”

“Uh, I— no, I got it right here,” he promised weakly, handing the bag over to Bucky and starting to dash away before Bucky grabbed his arm, making the smaller man whimper fearfully.

“You forgot the money,” Bucky reminded him gruffly, stuffing the bills into the driver’s front pocket.

Finally, he let go, and the delivery man instantly pulled away, rubbing his arm and looking a bit like a kicked puppy as he went back to his car and drove away.

“You didn’t need to scare him that bad,” Bucky chuckled.

“I could say the same to you! Grabbing somebody with the metal arm like that will put the fear of God into them pretty fast.”

“I didn’t mean to grab him that hard,” he admitted, examining the prosthetic hand as he came back to the couch with the bag of food, handing it to you while he focused on watching his motorized fingers curl and uncurl. “I think I need to get this thing recalibrated… it’s been bugging out lately.”

“I dunno, it was working just fine last night,” you smiled, remembering how delightfully cool those fingers felt inside you.

Bucky seemed to miss it entirely, though, as he stared off into space. “I can’t believe I got… recognized.”

“You’re a star,” you winked. “And not just with random delivery drivers. I’ve had a lot of press requests, everybody wants to be the first one to get nice pictures of us together— we’ve had a dozen event invites as a couple.”

“Seriously?!” he scoffed, snapping back to reality slightly enough

“Yeah, and look what came in same-day mail this morning!” You leaned over to shuffle through the mail on the side table before finding and handing him a letter in a gold-embossed envelope, watching him read what you knew was inside.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association extends an invitation to Y/N Y/L/N and James Barnes to the annual Grant Banquet in support of the Young Artists Fund.

“It seems like a good first event for us,” you explained. “Relatively small and low stakes, it’s for a good cause…”

“Are you sure I’m ready to be, you know… seen? By people?”

You scoffed, hardly believing how insecure he could be sometimes. “You look great, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Will I have to talk to anybody other than you?” he asked, grimacing as if that were a form of brutal torture.

“Probably,” you admitted.

His frown deepened. “What if I say the wrong thing?”

“I’m not that worried about you,” you smirked. “You’re a lot better at this stuff than you think you are.”

“I don’t have anything to wear…”

You smirked, a little too proud of yourself, when you remembered the email your publicist had forwarded to you just this morning. “Hugo Boss will pay you $1500 to wear one of their suits on the carpet.”

“They’ll pay me to wear free clothes?” he repeated with wide eyes.

“Yeah, that’s one of the cooler things about fame,” you laughed. “I make a grand every time I wear this watch outside!”

“I guess I should send them my measurements then…” he trailed off. “Any chance I can get in on that watch deal?”

“No, but you can make $50 by getting papped at Jamba Juice.”

He paused for a moment, scratching the back of his neck as he thought. “Is the smoothie comped?”

“I don’t know. Do you want me to ask?”

“...kinda…” he admitted with a shy smile.

“Well, I will, and I’ll RSVP to this invite saying we’ll be there next week,” you decided as you started to open up the food, but Bucky stopped you by reaching for your hands.

“Are we really doing this?” he asked.

“If you want to,” you mitigated.

“Of course I do. I guess I have to accept that you’re actually willing to be seen with me,” he chuckled. “It’s just sort of hard to believe.”

You leaned in and kissed him; it was meant to be a casual, reassuring peck but he held you closer and you melted into him, moaning softly at his touch as you started to climb into his lap.

“The food’s gonna get cold,” he reminded you with a mumble against your lips.

Unfortunately, your literal hunger was a bit too strong to ignore, even with the growing intensity of a metaphorical hunger for Bucky. “Alright,” you relented, getting off of him and returning your attention to the meal on the table. “Just know that I really, really want to be seen together, in public, just in case anybody missed the news about us already. I’m not embarrassed by you or afraid you’re going to do something dumb. I…”

One of those words that can’t be unsaid started to bubble up in your throat and you coughed, banishing the thought.

“I really like you. I think we have something special.”

He smiled gently, giving you one more kiss on the cheek. “I think so, too.”

Since this was slightly less of a big deal than a premiere or press tour, you had managed to convince your styling team to let you dress yourself, which was why he was laying on the bed and talking to you through the bathroom door while you put on your gown.

“Do you want me to hire a new driver?” you prompted him, voice muffled slightly as he imagined your head covered in the fabric, trying to navigate through the dress. “I don’t want you to feel… I don’t know, like a servant?”

“A servant? You’re still paying me,” he reminded you. “You are still paying me, right?”

“Yes,” you laughed, “but still, I would hate it if you felt like staff. You’re my boyfriend!”

(His heart still fluttered every time you said it.)

“No new driver,” he decided. “I can drive just fine, and considering how things went between us… let’s not open the door for anybody else,” he smirked, making you laugh in that way you did when he made a stupid joke but you still liked it somehow.

“Okay, sure, but what about being my bodyguard? Is that too weird?” you continued.

“God no,” he scoffed, “if anything I’m gonna be better at my job than ever. As your boyfriend, keeping you safe is my job, but since keeping you safe was already my job… it’s, like, doubled-up now.”

He lost his train of thought when you opened the door.

“How do I look?” you asked as you stepped in and gave him a spin in your new dress. Your whole body was draped in red silk, with the exception of your back which was almost entirely exposed, as if it were begging him to run his fingers down your spine.

“Like everything I ever wanted,” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

And it was so odd that you questioned his desire to drive you, because those moments where he could steer with one hand and rest the other on your thigh, when he could catch a glimpse of you looking out the window at the city rolling by, when he got to listen to you ramble about something to kill the time during a drive; those were his favorite moments, and he wouldn’t trade them for anything.

After a relatively brief trip, you arrived at the venue, and all of a sudden he was doing what he’d fantasized about more than he’d like to admit: escorting you down a red carpet. It was almost overwhelming— yelling, chattering, reporters speaking into camera, flashes going off in every direction—

“Hey,” you whispered, bringing your hand up to his cheek and instantly taking all his attention.

“Hey,” he returned.

“Just follow my lead,” you instructed.

“That was the plan.”

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n

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datingtipsformenexpert · 3 years

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Learn How to Make Women Sexually Desire You

Most men want to impress women with tangible things like their appearance, wealth, and other accomplishments.

They can impress a woman, but it's not enough to make her fall in love with you. Women's attraction psychology differs greatly from that of men.

Most men find it difficult to flip the script because they base their decisions on logic rather than emotion.

Women, on the other hand, are more emotionally aware. How she feels about you will heavily influence her decision.

To know how to make a woman want you, you must first understand your current relationship.

It's significant because you'll be working with the intensity of your attraction to the woman.

1. Maintain your self-assurance.

One thing to remember about relationships is that women will always treat you the way you treat yourself and allow them to treat you.

When a guy is crazy about a girl, it is common for him to lose himself in a relationship. A woman can exploit this as a flaw.

And getting her to want you will be difficult when you are on the defensive.

Your worth is what will entice a woman to want you. When you are confident, it is simple to set boundaries and demonstrate your self-worth.

A woman will test you to determine your worth and confidence as you get to know each other.

Maintaining your confidence will demonstrate your worth and inspire the woman to want you. Women are always looking for high-quality items that are available in limited quantities.

2. Instill confidence and comfort.

When trying to impress a woman, most men adopt a personality that they believe she will enjoy.

However, not being your true self can cause you to be inconsistent in subtle ways that make you appear dishonest or cunning.

That can cause a woman to doubt herself and fortify her defenses.

Building trust with a girl can result in a powerful emotional connection.

The girl will feel at ease around you, which may encourage her to open up. The woman will develop an emotional attachment to you.

The emotional connection will inspire her to put her trust in you. That is enough to entice a woman to want you.

3. Recognize what the woman desires.

Relationships are meant to be a two-way street. You want the woman for what she has to offer, and she likes you for what she receives.

Understanding her desires puts you in a better position to understand what she requires.

Desires can make a person vulnerable and trigger a daring personality in order to achieve what one desires.

Once trust and comfort are established, a woman will easily open up to you. You can investigate her sexual, emotional, and physical desires in a man.

A woman will desire you because she feels complete when she is with you. Emotional dependence is not a bad idea if you want a girl to have a strong desire for you.

4. Create a strong emotional bond.

Women are more drawn to what emotionally appeals to them.

Developing an emotional connection with a woman you desire will make you indispensable.

The woman will also find you more appealing because people who are attracted to them tend to overlook flaws.

A strong emotional connection can give the impression that it is ‘Us versus the World.' That can create a powerful force that pushes a woman to want you.

You can gain access to a woman's inner circle if you form an emotional bond with her. Women want men who they believe understand them.

You understand her emotional attachment to things, and thus her decisions and reactions.

She'll want you because you're the only one who seems to understand her.

5. Make your intentions known.

One common mistake that men make is pretending to be the woman's friend with no expectations of romance.

That's how you end up in the friend zone of the woman you're after. Making your intentions clear from the start removes uncertainty.

That gives you plenty of time to build trust and comfort. You'll pique people's interest in that direction. Knowing that you are sexually attracted to her will cause her to reconsider whether she wants you sexually.

Because the chances of rejection are slim, she will feel at ease investing her emotions in you.

The clever part about making your intention known early on is that it shows you whether you have a chance of success or not.

6. Make the lady feel special.

The first strategy for attracting any woman is to make her feel good.

When a woman is happy, her confidence in you grows. Because of her newfound confidence, she will begin to dare herself, and you may be the primary beneficiary of her daring self.

A woman who feels special when she is with you will always want to be with you. This has the potential to foster and strengthen strong emotional bonds.

Giving a woman your undivided attention is the first and most effective way to make her feel special.

It doesn't matter if you've just met her or if you've known her for a long time. Paying attention to your woman will cause you to notice the smallest details about her.

You'll be able to understand what she's saying even if she doesn't say it (most women communicate in this manner, especially when they're experiencing negative emotions).

7. Create a future together.

Love and romantic relationships are portrayed in the media as the most blissful things on the planet. Relationships are difficult, and sometimes love alone is insufficient.

A woman will want you because she cares about you and sees your potential. Making a future together can show her your potential as well as what she might miss if she lets you go.

When planning a future together, the key is to understand what the woman wants.

If she is family-oriented, you can imagine your family together and discuss what you both want.

The woman will associate you with accomplishing that aspect of her life, which can be a powerful motivator for her to want you.

8. Display your vulnerable side to her.

Some men have mastered the art of capturing women's attention and interest with heartbreaking stories. Sad stories expose your frailty.

When you are experiencing or discussing your vulnerability, you are subconsciously submerged in the emotional wave that it generates.

Women, on the other hand, have high emotional intelligence and can relate to or try to feel what they are feeling.

A woman may desire you because she knows she will make you happy again.

Most women have a messiah complex, which is why they believe they will be the one to change a guy.

There is, however, a fine line between making her want you and making her feel sorry for you.

Exhibiting too much vulnerability may make you appear unstable to someone else in your life.

She will feel sorry for you, and you may find yourself in the friend zone. To entice her, strike a balance between vulnerability and strength.

9. Demonstrate your enthusiasm and daring spirit.

Attracting a woman is the simplest way to make her want you. Women are drawn to men who are enthusiastic about their lives.

A girl will feel secure in her desire for you because she knows you will be passionate and enthusiastic with her.

Her perception of how you will treat her can set off a chain reaction of thoughts that can lead to a strong attraction.

Her mind isn't sure if she's experiencing what she's thinking.

Even if you haven't done much together, she may be drawn to you subconsciously.

The benefit of being passionate and adventurous in life is that there is always something new to do.

10. Become her means of escape

One of the most effective ways to get a woman to want you is to become her escape.

When a woman is experiencing negative emotions, it can become overwhelming.

Building an emotional connection and trust with a woman can lead to her confiding in you. She'll want to share the good, bad, and ugly news with her.

That is a strong indication that the woman has developed an emotional dependency on you. That can easily be used to pique a woman's sexual interest and make her want you.

Give her a safe space where she can express herself without fear.

She'll associate you with her peace if you become her escape.

She'll feel safe and at ease around you, making it easy for you to escalate and turn the tables.

You'll also get her because you'll know too much about her once you become her escape.

The most important bargaining chip is information.

If You Want To Learn More How To Make Woman Desire You You Make Her Obsess Over You Click Here

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wanderchyld · 4 years

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PBIO/IOTNBO theories

This is long so bear with me.

FYI, I watch the show on Netflix and while English is my first language, I know Chinese and Korean, so sometimes I ignore Netflix’s subs or (they tend to miss some nuances, not just for IOTNBO, heh) or change to Chinese subs for fun. If I quote anything, it might be a mix of Netflix’s subs and my interpretation.

There were 2 women in the Go household.

Moonyoung’s house had a group of dolls consisting 1 male doll (Go Daehwan), 2 female dolls (Do Heejae and ???) and 1 smaller female doll (Moonyoung).

There were 2 women that allegedly died: 1 in the basement, 1 in the lake.

I know there’s a "Moonyoung has a stepmom" theory going around, and a lot of fairytales have stepmoms. But I think there is a possibility that the other woman is Do Heejae’s sister. Why?

Welcome to Oz

Every episode’s theme is tied to a certain story. However, there’s one story present in the show almost every episode, yet it was never explicitly mentioned; and that is The Wizard of Oz.

The current mystery around Do Heejae, Moonyoung’s mother, must be related to her novel, which is titled Witch of the West’s Murder. There is no way the novel was named after The Wizard of Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West for no reason at all, so this story has to be the the drama’s overarching theme. (I can also confirm that it’s the basis of the books’ content after reading the few pages they flipped on camera.)

Plus, the disgusting book reviewer from ep 2 mentioned that you can tell a lot about an author from their writing. So what does Witch of the West’s Murder tell us about the mysterious Do Heejae?

This story has multiple variations but I refer mostly to the 1939 film (the most popular adaptation) and the Wicked musical.

Who are our witches?

The Wicked Witch of the West (WWOTW) and Wicked Witch of the East (WWOTE) were sisters. This may be linked to the 2 women in the Go household mentioned earlier. The 2 women may be Do Heejae and her sister, and my guess is that the Head Nurse is the sister.

WWOTE = Moonyoung’s mother, Do Heejae

Known to be beautiful => multiple mentions that Do Heejae was beautiful, portrayed as feminine (often associated with beauty)

Used sorcery to control people => obsessive control over Moonyoung

Infatuated with Tinman before he became Tinman => she married Go Daehwan, so….

Caused Tinman to be without a heart => maybe she caused Go Daehwan a mental breakdown that landed him in the psychiatric hospital

Died from a house falling on her = died under a house => died in the basement, which is where? Under a house!

WWOTW = the woman in the lake aka Do Heejae’s sister, who might be the Head Nurse

Known to be a tomboy => Head Nurse has tomboy tendencies

Saved Tinman from losing his heart => Taking care of Go Daehwan in the hospital

Melted in contact of water => died in the lake, and Do Heejae loves to sing "Oh My Darling Clementine" which is about a woman drowning in a river

Who is Dorothy?

After WWOTE died, Good Witch of the North (GWOTN) gave Dorothy WWOTE’s ruby shoes, which WWOTW coveted, and told her to follow the yellow brick road to find the Wizard of Oz. Coincidence with the red shoes Moonyoung wore and the hospital’s brick path in ep 2 despite being linked to a different fairytale? I don’t think so! By now, we would have known that IOTNBO doesn’t do coincidences.

So Moonyoung is Dorothy. Not just because of the shoes. Firstly, what did Dorothy want the most? To return home. Just as how Moonyoung wants a warm family or home, they needed a sense of belonging.

Secondly, Dorothy was pointed to as the person who killed the 2 witches. While I’m pretty sure Moonyoung didn’t kill any of these 2 women, it’s almost definite that she’s related to or perhaps the very reason of their deaths.

The murder of the Witch of the West

Then what was the sister coveting? Go Daehwan? Her sister’s newfound wealth after marrying Go Daehwan? Or Do Heejae's attention (since Do Heejae loved Moonyoung to the point of obsession, her obsession may have ruined the sisters’ relationship)? (Thank you @honeyohhon for this.)

GWOTN described WWOTW as "worse than the other," so if this direction is right, Do Heejae's sister wouldn’t just sit back and accept it. She would be vengeful and put up a fight with Do Heejae. This might explain why she ended up in the lake, and why the Head Nurse, who comes off as an easygoing person, barely interacts with Moonyoung and even seems a bit cold to her (though Moonyoung doesn’t like to socialise lol). And Moonyoung doesn’t recognise the Head Nurse as her aunt because Moonyoung was always kept in the house.

Therefore, my take is that Do Heejae's novel is not about murdering Kangtae’s mother like some theories I’ve seen (she did write a few volumes before she killed Kangtae’s mother). It’s about Do Heejae killing her sister aka Head Nurse. And with all the foreshadowing and the mention that the novel had not been completed, both women might be alive………....????!?!!??!!???? Idk man 🤯🤯🤯I’ve no idea where Do Heejae would be.

Anyway, The Wizard of Oz doesn’t just apply to the 2 women in mystery. In IOTNBO, we also have our own tinman, scarecrow, lion and wizard.

Go Daehwan the tinman with no heart => no soul

Sangtae the scarecrow with no brain but is just young and naive => has a developmental disorder and infantalised by almost everyone

Kangtae the lion with no courage => ’nuff said

Director Oh the middle aged wizard who is "a good man but a bad wizard" and gave Tinman, Scarecrow and Lion what they needed => helping them as the director one way or another

Park Ok Ran the messenger

She’s definitely a red herring. Likely a pawn. WWOTW did have winged monkeys to do her bidding. Being the head nurse of a psychiatric hospital, Do Heejae’s sister/Head Nurse has easy access to the mentally unstable patients and their files. She could have conditioned the patients into certain behaviours or to do things for her. Perhaps she conditioned Kang Eunja in ep 5 and 6 into mistaking Moonyoung as her daughter? And Park Ok Ran?

Park Ok Ran had just begun reading the novel’s first volume in ep 5, the day after Go Daehwan choked Moonyoung. I really don’t think that’s a coincidence. By ep 7, she was at volume 9.

While she took volume 9 from the library herself, what made her start reading the books in the first place?

It seems like she received the first few volumes with cue cards like Sangtae did, judging by the cue cards kept in her copy of volume 3 (an earlier volume). Get this: she possessed a copy of volume 3 even when she left the hospital in ep 10 but the library wasn’t missing any volume when she went to get volume 9 in ep 7. 👀👀👀

She used to be a theatre actress, and she seems clear that she’s not Do Heejae but a fan. Perhaps she received a role to play and the director communicates with her through the cue cards?

Kangtae also found her notebook, which seems to be a study of the books. I can’t read them because the shots aren’t very clear and it doesn’t help that the handwriting is a bit inconsistent. I then tried to compare her handwriting with the cue cards Sangtae received, and it is possible that his cards were not written by Park Ok Ran. I could be wrong because cursive vs neat handwriting? Ugh, spare me.

ETA: @annerossee mentioned that ep 13′s preview had Kangtae showing Director Oh the cue cards and Director Oh told him not to trust anyone. Seems like he recognised the handwriting.

If I’m right, then Park Ok Ran was simply passing the message to Sangtae. She was the last person to have the library’s copy of volume 9. And the volume Sangtae received in ep 10 was NINE. 👀

End.

Any thoughts?

I actually have have more theories on Moonyoung, her dad and Sangtae but this post is already quite a lot of work 😅Maybe tomorrow.

#psycho but it's okay #it's okay to not be okay #kim soohyun #seo yeji #oh jung se #kdrama #my brain has died.

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traceecalifornia · 4 years

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Reviewing Cult Classics

In Discussion: Little Shop Of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors has always been one of those films that screams, “I made this movie in two days,” with its overly dramatic acting, cheesy set design, and seemingly outlandish plot.

At the time of its release back in December of 1986, the production saw poor numbers, pulling in a mere $39M at the box office after being allotted a $25M budget. It’s quite possible that the audience believed they were buying tickets to a funny star-studded film. However, Little Shop of Horrors is no ordinary musical comedy. The production tackles domestic violence, homelessness, greed, and begs to question how far one would go to achieve fame and wealth.

(GIF courtesy of MyLittleHorror.tumblr.com)

I don’t know about you but I stan any movie that can take on this many social awareness topics, while Tichina Arnold, Tisha Campbell and our good sis Michelle Weeks bop us into the next scene.

(Photo: Unrealitymag - GIF: Giphy)

On the surface, Little Shop is a movie about Audrey II, a human eating plant from outer space, an unlikely hero in the form of Seymour Krelborn, a helpless shell of a woman (Audrey), a sadistic dentist named Orin Scrivello, and a money hungry flower shop owner, Mr. Mushnik.

Seymour grew up a poor orphan who no one ever noticed, but is eventually taken in by Mr. Mushnik, and given a job at his flower shop in the Downtown Los Angeles district called Skid Row. His co-worker, Audrey, is a timid and flamboyantly dressed woman who secretly harbors a reciprocated crush on Seymour while in a relationship with heartless Dr. Scrivello.

One day, Krelborn buys an unusual plant from a nearby merchant and decides to nurture it in order to maintain his newfound popularity, but soon finds out that it requires more than plant food, water and sunshine. This strange organism feeds on human blood.

Naturally, Seymour feeds the evil boyfriend to the plant and allows it to eat his jerk of a boss right before destroying it and riding off into the sunset with his crush. Don’t get me wrong, that premise is wildly entertaining, but it’s not all there is to the story.

When we actually take the time to dive into the characters themselves, we find that Seymour has an unhealthy obsession with achieving a level of wealth and fame that will ensure no one ever overlooks him again. He is small in stature and often a victim of bullying by his boss and others alike until he is presented with a choice.

Feeding Audrey II means the lives of others matter less than his desire to be seen and wanted. Much like some of us who would do anything for a like on Instagram, justifying even the harshest of actions, Seymour began to believe that what he was doing wasn’t so bad. After all, the finely oiled machine needs blood and we have more than enough.

As we move on to the woman who inspired the name of the plant, Audrey, we are immediately introduced to the black eye she has received the night before from Dr. Scrivello, thus defining our character as a domestic abuse survivor. Throughout the film, she expresses that her loneliness is why she stays and allows this predator to act out his sick and twisted fantasies, although it often leaves her broken and bruised.

Unfortunately, it isn’t uncommon to come across people who choose to place themselves in toxic and embarrassing situations in the hopes that the person they are trying to impress sees them, or maybe even sends a friend request. The need to feel loved by others, as counterfeit as those feelings may be, is an all consuming emotion that walks a fine line.

If Audrey had known she was enough, or at the least, made the decision to slide into Seymour’s DM’s, she could have felt more in control of her life and went after the happiness she deserved. How many of us are chasing the wrong attention?

Little Shop of Horrors is shot on a set designed to resemble Downtown L.A.’s Skid Row, a sector in Los Angeles known for its overgrown homeless population. In fact, it houses one of the largest stable homeless populations in the entire U.S. On any given day, a drive down Skid Row will reveal entire families living in tents and freeway underpasses on the street. People of all backgrounds can be found settled in this location and setup in communities, while living everyday life without access to proper food, shelter, and medical care.

Little Shop sheds light on these devastating circumstances, and the endless grind others face just to make a meaningless existence during the film’s musical number, “Skid Row (Downtown)”.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from taking a look back at Little Shop of Horrors it’s that the movie definitely brings so much more to the table than we thought.

Cult classics are appreciated by a smaller audience because they often represent an underrepresented group, and contain a message that may not be immediately recognized. Either way, we are thankful that these projects exist as they challenge our current way of life, expose the truth, and force us to take a good long look in the mirror and decide whether or not the beast we have become so accustomed to feeding is really ourselves.

Check out the official trailer for Little Shop Of Horrors below and join the conversation!

#little shop of horrors #little shop #cult classics #movies #reviewing cult classics #audrey 2 #broadway #Tracee California #classic cinema

9 notes · View notes

ladybuvelle · 5 years

Text

DJ Sona/Modern HCs

As a near newborn she was found abandoned in one of Tokyo’s myriad of alleyways. The places are packed so dense with people and businesses and yet no one noticed her because she couldn’t cry. By the time someone found her she had to be put in intensive care and it was touch and go for awhile. It’d be months until she could be fostered and later left to live in an orphanage.

Though a little smaller than children her age and unable to speak, Sona was a fairly happy child and a brilliant mind - if a bit anti-social. She struggled making connections with people, made all the more difficult due to her disability, and would rather spend her time reading or watching cartoons or playing alone.

She learned to read and write very early on. Many gadgets passed through her hands to try and make communicating easier for her, but it wouldn’t be until cellphones, and then quickly smart phones, reached their peak of accessibility.

Internet access opened her world up tremendously. Sona found it much easier to socialize and communicate with people on the equal terms of texting and chatrooms. Which lead to learning all sorts of new things and cultures and hobbies.

As a teen she spent more time outside the orphanage trying to find a way to support herself. Her online experiences and connections helped boost her confidence and she met up with some of the people she’s made contact with. Not all of them were nice, but some presented unique opportunities.

She bought her own keyboard after only having a kid’s toy one for years. With online videos and tutorials she was able to teach herself how to play music. Not always proper “songs”, but that felt less important to her. Sona enjoyed the improvisational quality of sound and the way synths could bend sounds and transform them on the fly. She started modding it soon after.

An American woman named Lestara Buvelle found Sona through her YouTube channel. The videos were crude, being filmed on cheap cafe webcams with the sound quality equally as terrible, but it’d still managed to go viral with how many people had gathered behind her to listen and record their own videos with their phones. Contact was made and they began talking back and forth for some time. Lestara sent her money to buy better equipment and Sona began earnestly learning English.

Eventually Lestara formally adopted Sona and helped her move to the states. She was an extremely wealthy heiress to a long line of art lovers and philanthropists, owning a dozen galleries across the country and the odd music venue or comedy club here and there. Unmarried and childless, Sona was the daughter she never knew she was meant to have. By all accounts the two loved one another very much as mother and daughter.

With greater access, money, and newfound clout, Sona went from simple, cheap modifications to working with equipment easily worth a couple thousand grand. And still she modified everything to better suit her needs. Working with some of the best and most respected names in the business of electronic musical equipment she started the “ETWAHL” project; a massive module both capable of amazing sound manipulation but in itself a complete entertainment machine. Sona wanted the entire package of practical technology and performance tech. She would be able to perform literally anywhere without compromising one aspect over the other. It would make every performance unique.

As the prototype was finished, an accident tragically took the life of Lestara. Faulty wiring was the culprit. The exact details of the event are only really known to Sona, but it threatened to entirely kill her career before it’d really started. She had to take a personal hiatus from any and all social media and the press, cooping herself up in her mother’s condo.

For close to a year she had entered a deep depression, only seeking help on the insistence of close associates and what few friends she kept. Soon she was treated for PTSD and social anxiety disorder (a previously undiagnosed condition she’d been living with). She takes medication but she’s very quiet about this part of her life.

Down the line she adopted a cat to help with her loneliness and mental health. It’s helped. His name is Clef.

Eventually she decided, as a way to cope with her anxiety but also fulfill her need to perform, to adopt the helmeted persona of “DJ Sona”. The costume allows her a kind of anonymity in the moment, even if everyone already knows who she is and what she looks like. It also plays into the performance aspect of it all. Her suit and helmet work with the ETWAHL. When she takes it all off she can be her normal self again.

Because of early health problems as a baby Sona is a little particular about what she puts in her body. If she doesn’t get a certain amount of veggies and fruits she gets anxious about getting sick. ... which makes her sick because she gets anxious.

Online she’s very bright and happy and even a bit sassy, but in person she’s much more reserved. She avoids eye contact a lot. It’s easy for her to “fake” a better attitude through texting but hard if she can’t. Like anyone else she has good days and bad days. Sometimes she pushes herself if she feels it’ll make someone else happy or if it’s for their betterment. She can be kind of a mom.

She loves magical girl stuff, cute mascot characters (ex: Hello Kitty), soft things, plushies, pastels, baths, and sweets. Especially with fruit.

She didn’t really have dairy growing up before coming to America. Now she’s kind of obsessed with it, but worries it’s making her fat.

#headcanon #dj sona

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black---likemysoul · 5 years

Text

World Happiness Report explained that they are happy with their jobs?

Did you know that almost half of employees surveyed by the World Happiness Report explained that they are happy with their jobs? Are you currently employees one of them?

SHRM quotes that worker turnover costs just as much as 200% of an employee's salary. Since unhappy employees are more likely to search for another job, that can be costly for your business! Thankfully, there are ways that you can help to improve employee pride and relationships within your company.

Promote Communication and Immunology

Open dialogue and clear communication is critical to improving employee relations. It provides many advantages.

Fantastic communication can help to prevent worker confusion and unnecessary strain. It can decrease friction between employees, especially employees and management. It can help to set clear targets and expectations.

Provide a way for employees to communicate grievances and to solve a conflict. They must have a way to express themselves publicly and without fear of retaliation. That does not mean that employees should have the ability to gripe to the whole office, but there should be someone or a procedure where a worker can gripe.

Employees should also have the ability to ask questions and explain ideas. New policies, procedures, or expectations, including job expectations, should be communicated both verbally and in a written format. This permits employees a way to discuss and explain expectations, in addition to a resource to find clarification. While some learn best through written words, others learn best by hearing and doing.

Another crucial to communication is to be more transparent. Employees who believe that their supervisors are all open, honest, and trustworthy are far more likely to be less stressed and happier at the office.

Focus on Company Missions and Values

Most men and women want to be a part of something larger than themselves. This remains true of younger employees. Millennials have a great desire to be socially responsible and to benefit the planet as a whole.

These feelings are positive for your company. You can access them by sharing with your own employees your company values and mission. Instead, successful businesses have a reason behind why they do what they do. Your company fills a need that has been unfilled before. You have great hopes and ambitions for how you'll help more people. You have goals and dreams for your business. Share them.

What induced you to come up with your business? Why did you sacrifice many nights and additional hours to make success?

Share with your employees your core values such as honesty, service, or quality. These values help employees to feel as though they are a part of something significant.

Help Workers to Feel Valuable

Regardless of their actual quality of work, most employees feel proud of the discipline and results. Because of this, appreciation for a well-done job does more to motivate than criticism. But, it can be human nature to focus on the negative aspects of employee efficiency.

Instead, try to concentrate on the 9 things done correctly, instead of the 1 thing done wrong.

Check out these suggestions to helping employees to feel precious.

Say thank you for large and small things. It can vary from a simple thank you card to verbal appreciation.

Tell employees they are valuable. They will need to hear it. Letting them know when they handled a situation along with a client well can help motivate them to do it again.

Public recognition is a massive motivator for certain personalities. Plus, it's the additional advantage of showing that your company values and aims are significant!

Inspire and Reward

Look at creating employee goals with employees instead of handing them down. Invite employees to establish stretch targets: goals that are difficult but attainable.

The goals must be tough and measurable. These targets, written by employees have led in Google tools that we now take for granted. These include a new search engine and Gmail (as a searchable email). Thoughts were brought by employees that altered the face of Google for the better.

Your employees frequently have insights or ideas that can make a difference in their efficacy or in the organization's success. Tap into those ideas!

An additional way to inspire employees is to reward them. Consider having a gold, silver, bronze incentive for a variety of achievements of worker goals. Otherwise, you might end up in a similar scenario with Wells Fargo, in which corporate aims conflicted with corporate values and incentives won out.

Offer Career Development

Even lower-level employees can benefit from growth. Most individuals are happier when they have a goal or a dream to work toward. Think about the career path for your rankings. Think about the skills and newfound abilities your employees have.

Whenever possible, make the most of worker skills by adjusting their functions. This will help your worker to further develop skills and will bring added value to your organization.

Rotational training can cross-train employees to fill numerous roles. Tuition reimbursement or certificate programs can also help employees to progress in their career goals.

Boost Healthy Work/Life Balance

This can be especially true once you have virtually poured your life's blood and passion into your business's success.

However, employees who feel encouraged at home by their companies create a greater sense of devotion. It is not coincidental that a number of the very sought-after employee benefits include things that provide for a better work/life equilibrium. These advantages include flexible work schedules, paid time off, work from house ability, or health benefits that support family life.

But, it is not about the benefits. The attitude of your supervisors, when faced with employees' personal issues, will make a difference. Although employees often value the opportunity to work at home, this does not mean that you should ask them to take work home. Instead, work from house capabilities usually means the ability to work at home during a usual work-at-work day.

Managers can be supportive when employees will need to take off time. (even though they must also be trained on watching for worker requests that indicate potential FMLA use too.)

Use Software to Streamline Redundancy and Eliminate Mistakes

Implementing programs and applications can make a difference in worker relations. That's because it helps to automate and improve communications. Project management software make it easy for supervisors and staff members to find out what is required on a job and whose responsible. Messaging programs can make communicating instant and prevent the strain from obsessive extended discussions that frequently happen face-to-face. If you liked this article and you would like to obtain more information relating to this article then kindly visit us at Certifind.

By implementing the proper software, you can eliminate redundant jobs from employees and tap into their creativity instead. This also eliminates redundant timesheets data entry by payroll employees.

Other jobs can be streamlined. Through an employee portal, employees can view pay stubs, W2s, and request time off. They can update personal information and view the employee handbook.

Consider, the stress your employees survive when a key individual takes time off or stops unexpectedly. Make certain you have a process down that's listed key procedures. Software permits the reassignment of authority and makes this simpler.

Lastly, software will help you to stay compliant. Non-compliance carries several unintended effects. It causes undue strain on employees during investigations, potential gossip and negativity, and bad public standing. As soon as an employer endures standing reduction, it causes poorer relations with employees because they are more likely to feel as though their participation does not make the planet a better place. They are more likely to be unhappy with their work and more likely to jump on the bandwagon of dissatisfaction.

Conclusion

If you're feeling overwhelmed with these steps, don't worry. Implementing even one or two of these tools can allow you to improve employee relations. The most cost-effective will be to implement software tools. Many of these tools are free or they make more than their cost. Give us a call to discuss a number of these or fill out the form below.

What do you think?

2 notes · View notes

girl-meets-thrones · 5 years

Text

Did you realize that almost half of workers surveyed from the World Happiness Report

Did you realize that almost half of workers surveyed from the World Happiness Report explained that they are pleased with their jobs? Are you currently workers among them?

SHRM quotes that worker turnover costs just as much as 200 percent of an employee's salary. Since unhappy workers are more inclined to search for a different job, that can be costly for your business! Happily, there are ways that you can help to improve employee relations and satisfaction within your business.

Promote Communication and Immunology

It provides many advantages.

Good communication can help to avoid worker confusion and unnecessary stress. It can decrease friction between workers, especially employees and management. It can help to set clear goals and expectations.

Provide a way for workers to express grievances and to solve a conflict. They need to have a way to express themselves openly and without fear of retaliation. That doesn't mean that workers should have the ability to gripe to the entire office, but there ought to be someone or a procedure where an employee can gripe.

Employees should also have the ability to ask questions and clarify ideas. This allows workers a way to discuss and clarify expectations, as well as a source to find clarification.

Another crucial to communication will be more translucent. Employees who feel that their supervisors are open, honest, and trustworthy are a lot more inclined to be less stressed and more happy at the office.

Concentrate on Company Missions and Values

Many people want to be part of something bigger than themselves. Millennials have a fantastic desire to be socially responsible and to benefit the planet as a whole.

These feelings are positive for your business. You can get them by sharing with your own employees your business values and mission. Your company fills a need that has been unfilled before. You've got great hopes and ambitions for how you'll assist more people. You have goals and dreams for your business. Share them.

What caused you to come up with your business? Why did you sacrifice many nights and extra hours to make success?

Share with your workers your core values like honesty, service, or quality. These values assist workers to feel like they are part of something significant.

Help Workers to Feel Valuable

Regardless of their actual quality of work, most workers feel proud of the discipline and results. Because of this, appreciation for a well-done job does more to motivate than criticism.

Instead, try to concentrate on the 9 things done right, instead of the 1 thing done wrong. Many experts suggest providing 2-3 positive points of feedback for every 1 thing of criticism and some experts suggest 5-6 advantages to every 1 negative.

Check out these suggestions to helping workers to feel valuable.

Say thank you for big and tiny things. It can vary from a simple thank you card into verbal appreciation.

Tell employees they are valuable. They need to hear it. Letting them know when they handled a situation along with a client well can help motivate them to do it again.

Public recognition is a massive incentive for certain characters. Additionally, it has the added benefit of showing that your company values and aims are significant!

Inspire and Reward

Look at creating employee goals with workers instead of simply handing them down. Invite employees to establish stretch goals: goals that are difficult but achievable.

The goals must be tough and measurable. These goals, composed by workers have led in Google tools that we now take for granted. These include a new search engine and Gmail (as a searchable email). Ideas were brought by workers that changed the face of Google for the better.

Your workers often have insights or thoughts that can make a difference in their efficacy or in the organization's success. Tap into those thoughts!

Another way to inspire workers is to reward them. Consider having a silver, gold, bronze incentive for a variety of accomplishments of worker objectives. But, ensure that these incentives align with your business worth. Otherwise, you might wind up in a similar situation with Wells Fargo, in which corporate aims conflicted with corporate values and incentives won out.

Offer Career Development

Even lower-level employees can gain from development. Many people are happier when they have a goal or a dream to work toward. Consider the career route for your rankings. Consider the abilities and newfound abilities your workers have.

Whenever possible, take advantage of worker abilities by adjusting their roles. This will assist your worker to further develop abilities and will bring additional value to your company.

Other thoughts include offering a mentorship program which pares workers to higher-skilled counterparts. Rotational training can cross-train workers to fill numerous roles. Tuition reimbursement or certificate programs can also help workers to advance in their career objectives.

Promote Healthy Work/Life Balance

This can be particularly true once you have virtually poured your life's blood flow and passion into your business's success.

However, workers who feel encouraged at home by their own employers create a greater sense of devotion. It's not coincidental that some of the most sought after employee benefits include things that provide for a better work/life equilibrium.

But, it is not all about the benefits. The attitude of your supervisors, when faced with employees' personal dilemmas, will really make a difference. Although workers often value the opportunity to work at home, this doesn't mean that you ought to inquire to take work home. Instead, work from home capabilities usually means the capacity to work at home during a usual work-at-work day.

Managers can be supportive when workers need to take off time. (Although they must also be trained about watching for worker requests that signal potential FMLA use too.)

Use Software to Streamline Redundancy and Eliminate Mistakes

Implementing systems and applications can make a difference in worker relations. That's because it is helpful to automate and improve communications. Project management applications make it easy for supervisors and team members to find out what's required on a job and whose responsible. Messaging apps can make communicating instant and avoid the stress from obsessive extended discussions that often occur face-to-face.

By implementing the proper software, you can eliminate redundant tasks from workers and tap into their creativity instead. Consider just how much 10 minutes of filling out a weekly timecard turns into 520 minutes every year. Instead, employees can clock in automatically. This also eliminates redundant timesheets data entry by payroll workers.

Other tasks can be streamlined. Throughout an employee portal, workers can see pay stubs, W2s, and request time off. They can update personal information and see the employee handbook.

Consider, the pressure your workers survive when a key individual takes time off or quits unexpectedly. Suddenly workers are scrambling to reestablish processes or to gain access to critical systems. Make sure you have a process down that has recorded key processes. Software allows the reassignment of authority and makes this easier.

Lastly, software helps you to remain compliant. Non-compliance conveys several unintended consequences. It causes undue stress on workers during investigations, potential gossip and negativity, and bad general reputation. As soon as an employer accomplishes reputation reduction, it causes poorer relations with workers as they are more inclined to feel like their contribution doesn't make the planet a better place. They are more inclined to be unhappy with their employment and more inclined to jump on the bandwagon of dissatisfaction. Also checkout our blog Certifind for more information.

Conclusion

If you're feeling overwhelmed by these steps, do not worry. Implementing one or two of these tools will help you to improve employee relations. The most cost-effective is going to be to employ software tools. A number of these programs are they make back more than their price. Give us a call to discuss some of these or fill out the form below.

What do you think? Did I miss any important steps?

1 note · View note

drugscoffeepizza · 5 years

Text

Nearly half of employees surveyed by the World Happiness Report explained that they are happy with their jobs?

Did you know that nearly half of employees surveyed by the World Happiness Report explained that they are happy with their jobs? Are you employees one of them?

SHRM estimates that employee turnover costs just as much as 200% of a worker's salary. Since unhappy employees are more likely to search for another job, that can be expensive to your business! Happily, there are ways that you can help to improve employee pride and relationships within your business.

Promote Communication and Immunology

Open dialogue and clear communication is key to improving employee relations. It provides many advantages.

Fantastic communication can help to avoid employee confusion and unnecessary stress. It can decrease friction between employees, especially employees and management. It can help to set clear targets and expectations. For more info checkout Certifind.

Provide a means for employees to express grievances and to resolve a conflict. They must have a means to express themselves openly and without fear of retaliation. That does not mean that employees should be able to gripe to the entire office, but there should be someone or a procedure where an employee can gripe.

Employees should also be able to ask questions and clarify ideas. This allows employees a means to discuss and clarify expectations, as well as a resource to find clarification. While some learn best through written words, others learn best by hearing and doing.

Another key to communication will be transparent. Employees who believe that their managers are all open, honest, and trustworthy are far more likely to be less worried and more happy at the office.

Focus on Company Missions and Values

Most people want to be a part of something larger than themselves. This remains true of younger workers. Millennials have a great desire to be socially responsible and also to benefit the planet as a whole.

These feelings are favorable for your business. You can access them by sharing with your employees your business values and mission. Your organization fills a demand that was unfilled before. You have great hopes and aspirations for how you will assist more people. You have goals and dreams for your business. Share them.

What caused you to come up with your business? Why did you forfeit many nights and additional hours to make success?

These values assist employees to feel as though they are a part of something significant.

Help Employees to Feel Valuable

Irrespective of their actual quality of work, many employees feel proud of their discipline and outcomes. For this reason, appreciation for a well-done project does more to inspire than criticism.

Instead, try to concentrate on the 9 things done right, instead of this 1 thing done wrong.

Have a look at these tips to helping employees to feel precious.

Say thank you for large and small things. It can vary from a simple thank you card into verbal appreciation.

Tell employees they're valuable. They need to listen to it. Letting them know when they handled a situation or a client well can help inspire them to perform it again.

Recognize high achievers. Public recognition is a huge motivator for certain characters. Plus, it's the additional advantage of showing that your organization values and aims are significant!

Inspire and Reward

Consider creating employee goals with employees instead of simply handing down them. Encourage employees to set stretch targets: goals that are difficult but attainable.

The goals have to be tough and measurable. All these targets, composed by employees have led in Google tools that we now take for granted. These include a new search engine and Gmail (as a searchable email). Thoughts were brought by employees that changed the face of Google for the greater.

Your employees frequently have insights or ideas that can make a difference in their efficacy or in the company's success. Tap into those ideas!

Another means to inspire employees would be to benefit them. Consider having a gold, silver, bronze incentive for a variety of achievements of employee goals. But, make sure that these incentives align with your business worth. Otherwise, you may wind up in a similar scenario with Wells Fargo, in which corporate aims conflicted with corporate values and incentives obtained out.

Offer Career Development

Even lower-level employees can benefit from development. Most individuals are happier if they have a purpose or a dream to work toward. Consider the career route for your rankings. Consider the skills and newfound abilities your employees have.

Whenever possible, make the most of employee skills by adjusting their functions. This will assist your employee to further develop skills and will bring additional value to your organization.

Rotational training can cross-train employees to fill multiple roles. Tuition reimbursement or certificate programs can also help employees to advance in their career goals.

Promote Healthy Work/Life Balance

On occasion, it can be easy for you to forget that employees have private lives that take priority. This can be particularly true once you have nearly poured your life's blood flow and enthusiasm into your business's success.

However, employees who feel supported at home by their companies develop a larger sense of loyalty. It's not coincidental that a number of the very sought-after employee benefits include things that provide for a better work/life balance. These advantages include flexible work schedules, paid time off, work from home skill, or health benefits that encourage family life.

But, it's not about the positive aspects. The mindset of your managers, when faced with employees' personal issues, will really make a difference. Although employees often value the opportunity to work at home, this does not mean you should inquire to take work home. Instead, work from home capabilities usually means the capacity to work at home during a normal work-at-work day.

Managers can be supportive when employees need to take off time. (Although they must also be trained on watching for employee requests that signal potential FMLA use as well.)

Use Software to Streamline Redundancy and Eliminate Truth

Implementing programs and software can make a difference in employee relations. That's because it helps to automate and enhance communications. Project management software make it effortless for managers and team members to find out what's required on a project and whose accountable. Messaging apps can make communicating instant and avoid the stress from obsessive extended discussions that frequently occur face-to-face.

By implementing the proper software, you can eliminate redundant jobs from employees and tap into their creativity instead. This also eliminates redundant timesheets info entry by payroll employees.

Other jobs can be streamlined. Throughout an employee portal, employees can view pay stubs, W2s, and request time off. They can update personal information and view the employee handbook.

Consider, the pressure your employees endure when a key individual takes some time off or stops unexpectedly. Suddenly employees are scrambling to reestablish procedures or to gain access to critical systems. Make sure that you have a process down that's recorded key procedures. Software allows the reassignment of authority and makes this easier.

Lastly, software helps you to remain compliant. Non-compliance conveys several unintended consequences. It causes undue stress on employees during investigations, possible gossip and negativity, and poor public standing. When an employer accomplishes standing reduction, it causes poorer connections with employees because they're more likely to feel as though their contribution does not make the planet a better location. They're more likely to be unhappy with their employment and more likely to jump on the bandwagon of dissatisfaction.

Conclusion

If you feel overwhelmed by these steps, do not worry. Implementing even one or two of these tools will help you to enhance employee relations. The most cost-effective is going to be to employ software tools. A number of these tools are they make more than their price. Give us a call to discuss a number of these or fill out the form below.

1 note · View note

creditwire90 · 3 years

Text

Altering Trends In Japanese Popular Culture

During the Edo period from about 1603 to 1867, those personifications resulted in monster-like characters dubbed yokai, which emerged first in local tales earlier than changing into part of Japanese folklore. They could seem as anything from a sentient broom or shoe to a completely invented creature. About 20 years later, the 1986 movie Gung Ho directed by Ron Howard reflected a very different view of Japan. 眼科診所 ’s about an American auto plant taken over by a Japanese company and the tradition clash that erupts over their differing views of labor. The Japanese characters are practically automatons, obsessed with effectivity and order, reflecting the prevailing image of Japan as a mechanized producer of cars and electronics. Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization is the only concise overview of Japan’s phenomenal impression on world pop culture obtainable in English. Surveying Japanese forms from anime and manga to monster motion pictures and Hello Kitty products, this volume is an accessible introduction to Japan’s pop creativity and its appeal worldwide. She found a live-action superhero sequence in the fashion of old Japanese monster films, called Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The show—a co-production of US-based Saban Entertainment and Japan’s Toei Co.—was a part of a combo of 1990s hits that helped cement Japan’s new reputation. Planning A Trip To Japan A search of the sub reveals that not all trips with youngsters will go as planned — and, in some cases, a baby's wants could cause a visit to finish early. Remember, "touring in Japan" just isn't as tough as "traveling in Japan with youngsters." Located in the stunning metropolis of Fukuoka, Umi no Nakamichi Kaihin Koen is a must if you’re trekking by way of the southern end of Japan. This sprawling 4 km (2.5 mile)-long park was essentially built for household getaways. The park houses an amusement park, flower backyard, zoo, a stack of sports fields and lush grassed areas for picnics making it a really versatile choice. If the little ones are susceptible to getting tired legs from strolling, you can even hire a bike on the entrance gate and explore the park via its network of biking trails. If you'll be able to stand one other theme park, Space World, a few minutes' stroll from Kokura Station, presents diversions for youths of all ages with the usual curler coasters and amusement rides primarily based on area travel. A wider selection of amusement parks and theme parks around Japan could be found on our amusement parks web page. Shokudo and other casual eating places also are usually fairly family-friendly; nevertheless, there is plenty of variation, and drinking places would possibly turn into smoky or rowdy later within the evenings. Don't plan anything strenuous the primary day, however do stroll round to soak up your new surroundings and to assist modify your body clocks. To assist get your bearings and introduce your children to Tokyo's magnitude, head for Shinjuku's 45th-floor observatory in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office for eye-popping views. Tokyo Hotel for Family of 3 – Good Location Hi David, thanks for a really helpful link. I’m touring to Singapore in two weeks and have a cease over flight in Narita. So we’re thinking to look around the town for 2 nights. What To Purchase In Tokyo Some daruma are offered with clean eyes that should be filled in when targets are set and fulfilled. Women’s yukata are often brightly patterned and made of cotton. Like kimono, you can find affordable used ones at thrift shops and flea markets, although you can get new ones from UNIQLO for about 3500 yen / $35 USD. Now, if you want to drape your self within the elegant fashions of Japanese tradition, I’m not here to cease you. Matcha is a finely-ground powder made from the dried leaves and stems of a selected inexperienced tea plant. Unlike tea luggage or free leaf, matcha is mixed with scorching water immediately within the consuming cup. It types a green, earthy brew with a slightly textured consistency, and its flavor is bound to conjure up recollections of traveling Japan. Tsuko-tegata 通行手形 or “wooden passports” symbolize an historic customized in Japan. During the Edo interval, journey between the totally different regions of the nation was strictly monitored. You can purchase a model new stamp e-book at many stationery shops, and most massive shrines and temples promote them on the goshuin counter. Between the beautiful cover and the method in which it charts your distinctive journey, goshuincho are among the many greatest souvenirs from Japan. There are entire outlets devoted to stationery, from Tokyo’s well-known and long-standing Itoya to Kyoto’s trendy ROKKAKU. Department shops and selection shops like Don Quijote additionally promote a range of notepads, letter paper, and even fancy sticky notes. Kintsugi kits, quality stationery and craft supplies, and wonder products could be purchased here, among the many long record of issues. You can discover Tokyu Hands at main places such as Shibuya, Shinjuku and beside Tokyo Station. “Omiyage” (お土産) are typically superbly wrapped meals that represent no matter area they had been purchased in. Hello Kitty and her lovable companions are in these retailers all over. And these official shops devoted solely to Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters are inclined to have the most important choice and the most restricted edition goods. There are several stores in Tokyo, as well as the store that is celebration of Hello Kityy theme park referred to as Sanrio Puroland. This is a superb place to buy a mess of souvenirs at great prices. Japanese Restaurants Close To Me (Incidentally, we crowned a slurp king ourselves once we named one of the best ramen eating places in America.) But what makes a spot stand apart? What makes it probably the greatest Japanese eating places in America? If you do not discover what you want then it's possible to order one thing. The first kind is a small counter restaurant with a few tables. The menu is broad—chicken katsu curry, salmon sashimi, maki rolls that sport various levels of flair—and friendly servers maintain water glasses stuffed and don’t dally with the verify throughout lunch hour. Sushi will be the jewel of Japanese dining, but there's much, much more to the island nation’s celebrated cuisine. The desserts aren't any less ingenious with mocha being a perennial favorite amongst diners. These conventional eating places serve Kaiseki meals, which is a multi-course dinner. Every visitor will take pleasure in a starter, a number of primary dishes, Shokuji , and a dessert. Often Kaiseki consists of greater than ten dishes and is commonly served in a Japanese type room with tatami flooring and a low table with cushions name zabuton instead of chairs. You may also discover a chair back with out legs so you probably can rest your again.

Hot Spring For a very calming experience, Yumori no Sato can’t be beat. Located in a quiet residential neighborhood near Jindaiji Temple in Chofu, there are many timber and nature surrounding the spa. Yumori no Sato presents a free hourly shuttle bus to and from Chofu Station, or it’s a few 20-minute walk from the station. As steam rises from the inky depths of the outside hot spring, I dip my hand in to watch it rapidly disappear underneath the coffee-colored water. The credit card offers that seem on the website are from credit card firms from which ThePointsGuy.com receives compensation. This compensation could impact how and where merchandise appear on this website . Meaning “Milky White River” in the Ainu language , the realm of Noboribetsu Onsen was first found and frequented by the Ainu for its healing properties. It’s additionally known as the department retailer of the recent springs, as you can find seven various kinds of minerals, and due to this fact seven different sorts of scorching springs. 1.You can completely take pleasure in a spacious bathtub, which can make you feel rich and relaxed. You wouldn’t need to be sitting round amongst different people’s hairballs, would you? Communal bathing doesn’t precisely sound interesting to most gaijin , however in Japan it's a beloved a half of traditional tradition. Nevertheless, the foundations of etiquette are the same for each onsen and sento, so with your newfound expertise you’ll have the flexibility to tackle any bathhouse with aplomb. An precise onsen , this monumental bath and spa complex close to Arashiyama is nicely worth the trek. [newline]The baths and saunas are nice and the restaurant is amazingly good. It’s a common courtesy to look away from others when taking a public tub. Some ryokans permit you to reserve the baths for personal use upfront of your keep. Top 14 Japanese Festivals And Celebrations This colorful competition takes place on May three and 4 within the metropolis of Fukuoka in northern Kyushu. Ho-Taiko Hanami Gyoretsu" (Toyotomi Hideyoshi's cherry blossom-viewing parade) is held on the second Sunday of every April. The Atami Plum Garden Festival is annually held from mid- January to early March with hundreds of visitors attending the festivities. Dosojin Matsuri is amongst the three biggest fireplace festivals in Japan and is annually held on January 15. Please bear in mind that the gross sales deadline is usually 1 month ahead of the festival. Nada no Kenka Matsuri , Matsubara Hachiman Shrine, Himeji. 助聽器 shouldering moveable shrines jostle each other as they try to indicate their skill in balancing their heavy burdens. Anyone can join in this tug of warfare with the world's largest rope (186m/619 ft.), once held to welcome Chinese ambassadors. Mifune Matsuri, Arashiyama, on the Oigawa River outdoors Kyoto, is when the days of the Heian Period are reenacted by some 20 boats and folks in costume. This pageant extols the thrill of sex and fertility , featuring a parade of giant phalluses, some carried by transvestites. You can learn all about this, the historical past of plum blossoms, and one of the best ume festival locations in our information to Visiting Japan to View the Plum Blossom. Osaka is well accessible from a quantity of main cities utilizing a Japan Rail Pass. Festivals are sometimes primarily based around a particular occasion, with leisure, food stalls, and carnival games. Some are based around temples or shrines, others embody hanabi . There are a wide range of quite a few native festivals in Japan as a result of almost each shrine celebrates certainly one of its personal. Both festivals are equally worthwhile, showcasing the inimitable yatai, together with a magical evening procession on the first night of every festival. However, during matsuri festivals, the streets are lined with food stalls promoting special types of seasonal snacks with vary from festival to competition. 雙眼皮 , or matsuri (祭り), in Japan are common occasions. In Tokyo, there are well-known festivals that you must go to while you’re there in spring. Spring in Japan is well-known for the total bloom of sakura (桜; cherry blossoms). 9 Japanese Museums You Possibly Can Tour Nearly The headquarters for Toyota’s factories is situated in Toyota City,AichiPrefecture. The Toyota Kaikan Exhibition Hall which is also in Toyota City has exhibitions of the latest safety-conscious know-how, starting from the brand new expertise for automobiles such as hybrid cars and fuel-cell automobiles. At the Virtual Factory, you can learn about things such because the manufacturing facility manufacturing course of via videos. Though the movie portion of the museum cut up off last yr to type the National Film Center, the Crafts Gallery is still a short walk away. While the slick triad of art museums in Roppongi fills up throughout peak occasions, a visit right here tends to be way more relaxed; even on weekends, long lines are uncommon. That appears to swimsuit the guests simply fine—the works here invite leisurely contemplation. The National Art Center in Roppongi is designed by Kisho Kurokawa and is Japan's largest exhibition house. The National Art Center is built on the old site of the University of Tokyo's Institute of Solid State Physics , and is a serious presence in establishing Roppongi as Tokyo's most cutting edge area. Chichu Art MuseumThe Chichu Art Museum, designed by renowned architect Ando Tadao, is a very special modern artwork museum built mostly underground into a hillside overlooking the southern coast of Naoshima Island. Open since 2008, this modern pictures gallery runs a program of frequent common exhibitions, normally lasting a week or two, of member artists. Part of the Bunkamura art and culture complicated, the ground-floor gallery holds around thirty exhibitions a 12 months in various genres. This small two-room gallery situated subsequent to the MOMA Store focuses on modern Japanese art, and it is typically price trying out when you happen to be passing by. Japan Journey Nanbo Kokusai Mura is their lodge and seminar home, 200m from the seashore in southern Chiba. It is the house for firm retreats, children’s scouting journeys, sports activities group’s staff constructing journeys, school outside schooling actions, family or club “getaways” and much more. IZU OSHIMA is a superb place for teenagers in a very pristine location! Izu Oshima emphasizes the out of doors experince and the sporty aspect of issues. Ryoan-ji Temple is probably the most famous , and we loved the gardens at Kennin-ji and Kodai-ji . At Entoku-in we had the prospect to create our personal miniature backyard. Zen Buddhist temples often characteristic kare-sansui or dry landscape gardens produced from rocks and gravel rigorously raked into patterns that suggest rippling water. Fushimi Inari is considered one of the high vacationer attractions in Japan and will get incredibly busy, so I extremely suggest arriving before 7 am or after 8 pm to avoid the worst of the crowds. It may not be the most effective espresso on the earth, however Simon liked the comfort of being ready to decide up a can of scorching espresso anywhere, particularly on cold mornings once we had a prepare to catch. His favorite was Tully’s—he found the extra frequent Boss coffee somewhat gross. The bay is legendary for pearl cultivation, and countless oyster rafts may be seen floating on the water. There are additionally sightseeing boat cruises that provides visitors a more in-depth view of the smaller islands across the bay. There are a large number of lakes in Japan together with caldera lakes, subterranean lakes and lagoons. Lakes are inclined to have lots of lovely scenery nearby and are well-liked for hiking, especially during the autumn color season. The cruise is popularly mixed with a journey on the Sagano Scenic Railway. There are many rivers in Japan, and a few of them may be explored by river cruises. Tokyo Nightlife The most typical value for a hour was a thousand yen or about $11-$12 a individual. You could possibly be lucky and discover a place where a all-you-can-drink or eat deal is featured. Tokyo has the highest quality of meals on the planet, that's why you have to visit at least one of its many izakaya's to strive a bunch of authentic Japanese dishes, like Eihire , Sakura and Yakitori . Visit izakaya's Umiya or Sumire in Shibuya to get pleasure from these dishes. If you make new friends in Tokyo, you will ultimately be requested to be added to LINE. Various theaters are active in the evenings performing conventional Japanese music, dance and/or Noh theater, . It is home to a great variety of bars, one of the best of which appear to be located on Kiyamachi Street, which, while smaller than New York’s forty second, avenue has usually been compared to it. These bars are generally the place many of the youth population hangs out and thus, the place most of the “in crowd” would go to be able to have an excellent time. Once the shopping malls shut for the night, the various eating places and pubs in the Ginza neighborhood take their flip within the spotlight. While there are nightclubs within the area, many of those bars and pubs have a more informal ambiance. For those who want to expertise a more refined and chic tackle Japanese night time life, a trip to Tokyo’s Cotton Club might be the right answer. Another distinctive and spectacular approach to benefit from the evening surroundings is to take a helicopter experience over the city. A additional alternative could be to take a boat cruise and enjoy the waterfront scenery. 7 Finest Japanese Fish Markets Although highly seasonal , it's extensively generally identified as the most effective flea market in Tokyo, so you might consider taking a break from sakura viewing to shop. Around 200 to 300 vendors arrange shop right here, so you may definitely have your work cut out for you, whether you store valuable kintsugi or followers and different artwork from before World War II. The bidding process will begin in summer time 2018, and already a quantity of corporations have shown curiosity in forming consortiums for bidding, together with French and Spanish corporations. Sendai International Airport in Miyagi Prefecture was privatized in July 2016, and began turning a profit whereas serving a document 3.4 million passengers in the first yr. They try to higher join airport to other transportation means to make it as gate approach to Tohoku’s different regions to additional improve the airport use. [newline]Although the variety of foreign tourists in Tohoku has returned to pre-3.eleven stage in 2015, Tohoku has the least quantity of overseas vacationers in Japan. To overcome the situation, its six prefectures and local municipalities are working together to advertise the Tohoku area as entire, pooling finances and human resources to draw more overseas guests mainly from Asia. The Kyushu/Yamaguchi region of southwestern Japan consists of seven prefectures on Kyushu Island and Yamaguchi Prefecture on the southern tip of Honshu, with a combined inhabitants of about 14.5 million. The region's roughly $450 billion financial system constitutes Japan's fourth largest financial middle, representing about 10% of nationwide GDP, which makes it one of many thirty largest economies on the planet . This area is traditionally often known as Japan's gateway to Asia and enjoys intensive historical, cultural, and trade ties with continental Asia, notably South Korea, China, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan. What better method to learn about a local region than visiting its native farmers market? Browsing through the stalls, you may get an opportunity to see what sorts of produce the realm makes a speciality of, and will be able to mingle first-hand with local farmers and shoppers. Consider budgeting time during your journey to visit one of the markets beneath. Less a traditional market and extra a buying road in the vein of Nakamise, Harajuku's Takeshita-dori is nonetheless top-of-the-line places to buy in Tokyo that's not a mall or department retailer. [newline]After having fun with this insanity, cross the street to Harajuku Station, which is one of the best vantage level from which to photograph the calamity. 42 Crazy Fun Things To Do In Japan Other diversions right here embody the Solamachi Mall on the tower’s base, with 300 restaurants and outlets, together with a newly opened Pokemon Center selling character goods. This museum portrays what life was like in shitamachi more than one hundred years in the past. Traditional toys and video games are available for guests to play, and volunteer guides are keen to supply insight into the shitamachi lifestyle and stand prepared at no cost excursions. Using a spread of digital resources, you can now get plenty of journey concepts and experience some of Japan’s most enjoyable attractions on-line, which can help you plan your journey and determine what you wish to see in person. Some of the categories of data that we collect in connection with the supply of our Services or by way of the employment software process may represent special classes of private knowledge . At Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., our mission is to offer superior cruise vacations for our visitors. We encourage you to carefully read the privacy coverage of any website you visit. The tour begins in Osaka, the place there is loads of free time to explore the city. The tour then moves on to Kyoto, the historic capital of Japan and residential to thousands of temples and shrines. The Cherry Blossom and Gardens tour is operated through the restricted cherry blossom season in Japan to see Japanese gardens at their most lovely and experience the beautiful nature of Japan. The shinkansen is then used to travel to Kanazawa and expertise a unique, extra historical aspect of Japan. Kenrokuen gardens and the Higashi Chaya district are well-liked conventional sites in Kanazawa that are generally missed by excursions. Sidewalks in Japanese cities are sometimes sloped in path of the road, which might make touring a straight line troublesome for wheelchair users or people with vision impairment. LGBTQIA+ identifying vacationers are unlikely to encounter violence, outright hostility or overt discrimination in Japan. However, conservative values about queer sexuality and non-binary gender expression are widespread, particularly outside massive cities. Sex that takes place between consenting adults of the same gender is legal, though same-sex marriage isn't. For environmental causes, try to use a refillable water bottle quite than shopping for bottled water. In Japan, bathrooms vary from high-tech bidets to standard western-style flushable bogs to squat bogs, that are nonetheless frequent outside the city. Sometimes you might need to pay for toilet paper, which may normally be bought from a vending machine close by. Anderson Japanese Gardens It leads to a standard Japanese Garden gate that provides a glimpse of the wonder inside before visitors cross the brink. The Japanese Garden Society of New Orleans after a few years of effort has created an authentic Japanese Garden in the Botanical Gardens of New Orleans City Park. The backyard additionally provides elevated awareness and appreciation of Japanese tradition, aesthetics and love of nature amongst all individuals within the New Orleans area. There are eleven lanterns in the garden, all being stone aside from one which is concrete. The five-story pagoda lantern located on the north hill was donated by Lodi’s sister metropolis; Kofu, Japan. The Park has a renowned lily assortment, and is distinguished by its big transparent Tropical Dome that forms the focal point of the Park. Tottori Prefectural Flower Park presents different faces of seasonal magnificence all year spherical, and with absolutely covered walkways for enjoyment in any weather. Ritsurin-koen in Takamatsu in Shikoku is taken into account considered one of Japan's best gardens. This sixteen ha strolling backyard is laid out on a grand scale however it's also contiguous with a range of low, forested hills conveying the impression that the garden is countless. Here you’ll find lots of Tokyo’s primary museums, like the Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, National Science Museum, and the National Museum for Western Art. The park is also residence to Ueno Zoo, residence to 2 lovable giant pandas. The Japanese have taken their love of rising issues and their realization of man’s union with nature and refined them in the great point about their gardens. The purpose of a Japanese Garden is to current pure forms and to create a tranquil beauty that leads the customer from everyday life to a calm, serene, reflective communion with nature. Garden Club Volunteers are vital to help maintain the botanical gardens in Point Defiance Park. Regardless of your expertise, if crops are your ardour, we’d like to have you be a part of us in nurturing ours. We are a promoter and steward of this evolving metropolis and its progressive values, which have the power to rework the vacationers who visit us. Round out your floral explorations of the Rose City with a visit to Southeast Portland’s lush Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. The park boasts more than 2,500 rhododendrons, azaleas, with blooms from late February -June. Japan Temples & Shrines After this event, they may start disassembly of the old shrine, and can depart simply a little doghouse-sized structure in its place for the following two decades. This shrine has become a preferred place to hope for the return of your cat ever since internationally famend jazz pianist Yamashita Yosuke prayed right here for his lost feline good friend. Miraculously, some say, his beloved cat returned safely the subsequent day – after being gone a full 17 days! Even before that occurred, although, this place was meant to honor cats, who were seen as protectors for the silkworm business since they're the pure predator of the rats who threatened the worms. To today, people buy ema and hold them on the shrine to wish for his or her feline companions. This shrine dedicated to Inari is an extension of the well-known Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine in Kyoto. With so much to see and do in Japan, we’ve picked 10 of the most thrilling activities to do in your journey to experience it like a local. The shrine is a focus for the Hakata Yamakasa Gion Festival, and portable shrines that are carried as floats may be seen right here. Kushida Shrine in Hakata, Fukuoka, is a colourful and storied shrine with a 1,300-year-old historical past. Omikuji or paper fortunesIt’s price looking for out shrines in Kyoto, although most aren’t as well-known as the temples, as they're usually free, very colourful, and the rituals are fascinating to observe. Kyoto has many incredible Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples and this is among the causes it tops our record of one of the best places to visit in Japan. Buddhism was brought from India via China and Korea within the sixth century. The fundamental philosophy is that struggling is inherent in life and that one may be liberated from it by cultivating knowledge, virtue, and focus. There are so many temples in Kyoto that it may be overwhelming deciding which of them to visit. My advice is don’t attempt to do it all and to mix a few well-liked temples with quieter, less well-known ones that you can take pleasure in without the crowds.

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The Kingdom of Thornvale: Stone and Gold

The month of Lamashan, 4711

Near the beginning of Lamashan, the Lords call for the annexation of lands east of Haven, in the foothills of the mountains near the potential quarry site. In addition, they announce the annexation of lands north of Haven, near the gold mine. With a huzzah, the villagers of Haven cheer as surveyors head out to grid and mark the territories for Thornvale.

Early in Lamashan, Evrin heads off towards Restov carrying a number of personal letters from various Haven villagers for delivery. The brisk autumn weather seems to be setting in a little early this year, but for those that enjoy the changing seasons, the journey is a pleasant one.

Arriving in Restov, Evrin is struck by how distinctly different the city is from his last visit. The normally teeming streets are nearly devoid of men of fighting age, and instead are filled with women, children, or the elderly. Arriving at the Aldori Academy, he spends some time reviewing the progress of the young students there. Several show promise, though none have hit puberty yet. A quick meeting with the headmaster grants Evrin access to the small, dusty library to search for manuscripts on siege warfare. After spending hours pouring over novellas and biographies of daring duelists, endless debates on heavy vs light armor preferences and benefits, and detailed discussions on the finer points of sword balance and construction, he is able to find something useful. A single, very old, very delicate scroll case contains some antiquated schematics for the construction of some simple weapons: ballistae, battering rams, siege towers, catapults. The headmaster, seeing the find, permits Evrin to 'borrow' the manuscripts for copying, to be returned at some later date. It is obvious that the old swordsman doesn't much care about the topic.

Stopping by a few favored watering holes to pick up copies of the Quill before ending up at the Marching Mustang, the halfling quickly discovers that nearly all fighting age men ( and far too many boys, according to their mothers) have headed north, where conflict between Rostland and the Surtovan forces has been far more fierce than many foreigners would know. Though most commoners seem to swear outright war is happening, the more astute among them point out a distinct lack of any news from the nobles; you know how them nobles love they proclamations! winks one bartender. Nearly all of them complain about shortages of one thing or another, and how all the good stuff they load up on wagons headed north, including the bulk of the fall harvest. Focused on such things close to home, finding widespread news of the other expeditions is turns up very little.

Stopping in at various magic shoppes, Evrin sees that the commoners aren't lying about shortages. Most shelves lie barren, with the normal selection of healing balms, salves, and curatives entirely missing. Even simple items like bandages look small and utterly overpriced, though the more affluent shops still have some inventory in other alchemical items ( acids and the like). Evrin is able to pick up the scroll case left at one of the shoppes over a year ago, but the wizards' ramblings about the bone of a Naga strike him as confusing and nonsensical.

*** Saryn's presence in Haven continues to enliven and uplift the town. The crowds for his evening performances grow ever larger, and have expanded to include some dancing for those who desire. The elf Lord begins hosting small dinners for various townsfolk, inquiring about their lives and desires. Most of the people tell very similar stories - they want something to call their own: land or a business; they want to be able to raise a family in safety; they want to leave the conflict and strife of their former lives behind. Nearly all of them speak of building their own home, or raising children, and describe a sense of pride and community around what they have helped build here in Haven so far.

A few stand out as different: Cedrin speaks of fulfilling his duties as aide-de-camp, and helping the lords manage their responsibilities to the kingdom. Herr Brasse seems more obsessed with creating the perfect brew than anything else. Ardberg reveals that he, like Arna, desires to see the lost dwarven clan restored. Lady Garess, while passing through Haven for supplies, admits to a feeling of searching for something she can't quite pinpoint. An occassional commoner here or there speaks of a newfound faith in Erastil.

A private visit from Mikmek ( as official envoy of the Chief Sootscale) reveal that the tribe is still very weak and limited in number. Though Kobolds grow quickly, it will still be some time until they can properly defend themselves; The Chief is concerned about open conflicts that could result in the deaths of more Sootscale Kobolds, and would seek to avoid them if at all possible. Those concerns aside, the tribe has been diligently expanding and reinforcing their home in preparation.

Odis of Blackstag arrives by canoe a few days after being summoned. He appears stressed, discussing the responsibility he feels to care for the families of his fallen brothers-in-arms, as now more than ever they look to him to make decisions. He is concerned that the reduced hunting and trapping will diminish the fur trade with Mivon, or that the distant city may make moves to enforce some long-standing bounties on the villagers. He has concerns about the village being mostly women and it's ability to defend itself should the need arise. He's worried about the lights across the lake on Candlemere Island. When asked about direction, he thinks that anything the Lords can do to help Blackstag feel more connected to the kingdom as a whole would be good. He hopes there is something that can be done to help alleviate the feeling of isolation they have in the absence of their menfolk, and the growing sentiment that Blackstag is unimportant.

Corax bluntly states that his main issue right now is a bottleneck around exporting. Haven has been a good customer, and some trade with Varnhold has borne fruit, but by and large they are small potatoes. He could easily produce more timber, but getting it to major cities is a challenge. A complete route to the major cities would benefit all. He inquires (again) as to the existence of other reports of something wandering the forest.

Melianse happily meets Saryn on the banks of her pool, she chats for a bit on small talk. She does know Tiressia, saying she can be a force of nature if riled up, and is glad to hear of the slaying of the scythe tree. She is able to travel to Haven, though it has become a little more crowded (with people) than is her preference. When the topic turns to the woman-creature in the old elven tower, Mel shuts down, saying very little and sinking into her pool as if to hide. Mel quickly relates a story of the woman being the Dancing Lady, a once-lovely fey who roamed the lands in the time before the men came. The Lady had ensnared a male with her sensual dances, and somehow this angered a powerful foe who imprisoned her in the tower for eternity as punishment. Sensing she has perhaps said too much, Mel sinks below the surface and disappears, leaving a trail of bubbles in her wake.

Time with the owlbear and the wyvern goes really well, and the creatures are clearly bonded. You're not sure they are old enough to fully internalize the lessons on food choice, but there are positive signs. The owlbear cub in particular seems to have a growing preference for cooked food. As always, the curiosity of the local populace remains high, leaving many observers for outdoor trainings sessions, but most are too cautious to approach.

*** Arna engages in a long and extended meeting with the People's Council, as Odis makes an impassioned plea for the pier at Blackstag, including some expressions of the preferential treatment of Northern Thornvale and Haveners compared to Southern Thornvale and Blackstag. That night, Arna arranges for a dinner with commoners and announces that Ardbeg has advanced from apprentice to journeyman stonemason after all of their joint efforts on the Armauk memorial. Over ales she also says that she is going to approach the Lords to suggest Ardbeg be made in charge of the eventual quarry site as well.

The next day Arna approaches the Lords with Odis. She recommends Ardbeg for management of the quarry site, and expresses her desire to return with Odis to Blackstag. She feels her skills could be better used in Blackstag and she is also closer to the ruins “Tar Greyforge” she has taken to calling it invoking the dwarven word for ‘stronghold’. Arna plans to return to Haven for council meetings, and emphasizes her desire to explore with the Lords still. She plans to repair the great door at Tar Greyforge and survey and map the area surrounding as well as she intends to winter there. She will also come if summoned by the Lords, and asks permission to inquire of Haveners desiring to join he to Blackstag or even Tar Greyforge.

Heading to Blackstag with Odis, Arna sets about seeking for some potential apprentices and workers. Unfortunately, pickings are slim, with many of the menfolk either too old or too young, and so many of the womenfolk busy with daily activities of hunting, cooking, and fishing. Worse yet, Arna overhears a quiet discussion among some of the hunter-women regarding areas of the Narlmarches to avoid, due to the growing presence of a heavy, acrid fog permeating the wood. ***

Karis spends many mornings working with his wyvern hatchling, developing a growing trust between them. The creature seems to have overcome some of its initial hesitancy from earlier, and now an attachment seems to be deepening with the Eldarin.

Approaching Tesh'lahi and Lady Garess, Karis opens discussions to offer them positions within his operations. Lady Garess politely refuses, though you sense a touch of noble superiority and perhaps a disdain for that line of work in the tone of her voice. She states that she has dedicated herself to traveling the roads of Thornvale, bringing Desna's aid and blessings to those who journey upon it, and wishes not to leave the country. Tesh'lahi, however, appears flattered, then excited at the opportunity, and accepts immediately. Calistria would favor this, don't you think? she asks.

Travelling to Blackstag, Karis spends time watching and evaluating the villagers there. Most of the women seem very attached to community, and there is a growing effort among them to build back what they have lost with the death of their menfolk. However, one orphan child, a young lad of 8 or so, seems particularly adept at evading detection, sneaking food, dodging chores, and the like.

Returning to Haven, Karis passes by Candlemere island, perhaps a little closer than usual. Nearing the shore, he once again sees faint lights flickering up near the rise and the tower ruins, and decides perhaps discretion is the better part of valor for now.

*** Stonewalker spends bits of his time walking about town, offering to lend a hand fixing and repairing broken things. The commoners seems somewhat surprised, but accept the help nonetheless. In addition, the gnome creates numerous fliers advertising his search for apprentices, posting them everywhere about town and asking guards, traders, and innkeepers alike to distribute them. Some folk, particularly the guards, seem annoyed by the order to hand out fliers, but obey the newly appointed Lord nonetheless. The fliers however, have their intended effect, and the gnome is soon overwhelmed by mothers bringing their children to be chosen as apprentice. A flood of younglings parades through Stonewalkers residence, and it quickly becomes apparent that none of these have any particular aptitude for much in the form of knowledge or wisdom.

With a slight delay due to the flood of would-be child apprentices, Stonewalker convenes his first meeting of Thefina, Ardbeg, Quill, and Odis. The meeting is a cacophony of ideas and items Haven needs. Ardberg argues strongly for a proper quarry, stone defenses around the town, and the need for horses to transport such large amounts of stone. This leads to a discussion of the town not having a stable, nor a reliable source for trained, domesticated horses. Quill, for his part, is willing to shoe the supposed herd of horses, but comments that he needs to import iron and steel from Restov at the moment - a difficult task as shortages of such materials have recently left him working with scraps. In fact, he would need a proper forge to even begin to do that amount of work - something the town does not yet have. Furthermore, Quill laments the poor quality of the militia's weaponry and armor, and thinks something should be done about that as well, but not after a proper barracks has been established, and maybe even an armory and training grounds. He muses that perhaps the old Stag Lord's fort may be repurposed for this. Thefina points out that Haven has a solid supply of wood from the Corax timber site, but no school for its youth, no library for learning, no facility to craft ships for the lake ( and no skilled people to do it!). Odis sighs, and falls into a mini-speech that appears to have been repeated many times - how Blackstag both feels disconnected and IS disconnected from the rest of the Kingdom, how it could benefit from the development of piers or docks to take advantage of opportunities on the lake, how he fears for it's defenses, slumping trade. He ends with a sarcastic chuckle - and how could I forget a drunk giant?

Though his conversations with various Havenites throughout the month, Stonewalker documents important locations around the region as told by the people living in town. This, in addition to the extensive work done to survey the region as well as annex portions of it into Thornvale proper, helps establish a comprehensive map of the area, though there is remarkably little interest among the commonfolk in the so-called Cartographic Society.

Near the end of the month, Stonewalker ventures out on a quick tour of the region, he stops by Madame Beldame's hut to drop off some small foodstuffs, joins Saryn for a quick visit to Melianse's grove, and stops over in Tiressia's grove to trade friendly greetings. Then, he heads up to the gold mine to speak with master Malum about his gold mine. The young fellow scowls at the return of the gnome, but is not surprised to hear of the claiming of the surrounding region into Thornvale. Malum states that he will pay his fair share of his taxes in exchange for being left alone to run his business.

The end of the month brings the successful return of the two annexing parties, replete with detailed maps of their respective areas.

Turn 15; Neth, 4711 AR

Petitions:

Arna and Odis petition the Lords to begin the construction of piers in Blackstag.

Oleg and Grutzner petition the lords to allow Thornvale to once again celebrate the Night of the Seven Veils on the 23rd of Neth.

A sealed envelope bearing the markings of Lord Megar Varn of Varnhold arrives, seeikng to discuss matters of extreme importance. The Lord Varn requests a meeting of Lords at the border pass as soon as possible, and cautions against the possibility of spies in Haven.

Edicts:

You may issue two (2) edicts for the month of Neth

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emfedorchuk3p18 · 4 years

Text

Media Fandom and Audience Subcultures (Week 9)

Fans seem to have gotten a bad reputation in the past. From being cast as obsessed and crazed, as we can see in the episode entitled “Chris Cross” in Family Guy, where Stewie and Brian become so obsessed with Canadian songwriter Anne Murray that they almost kill her, to stereotypes of the “sweet but socially awkward fan” (Sullivan 192) that we see from Steve Carell’s Star Wars obsessed performance in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Fans have always been cast in an interesting, yet negative and judgemental, light. But as scholars looked deeper into the inner-workings of these fan cultures, they found that fans were far from the awkward, crazy, and delusional audiences that we had once pegged them to be. “Fandom was more than simple enthusiasm for a TV program or film: it was a form of collective interpretation of popular culture that created a powerful sense of group cohesion” (Sullivan, 194).

With the emergence of Web 2.0, the opportunities for fan groups exploded. Getting in contact with likeminded people who enjoyed the same TV shows or movies as you, is now as simple as typing into a search bar. Online fan-fiction sites, discussion boards, and fan conventions are all more easily accessible than they were in the past, and becoming a part of a community of people who are just as passionate as you is actually a doable task. Because of this newfound sense of community, fans are now able to “offer direct challenges to existing authority” (Sullivan, 196) whenever they see fit, and this means that fan groups might actually have a standing chance when they’re up against media companies and producers.

An example of this can be seen in the whirlwind of displeasure that came after the ending of Game of Thrones, a massive HBO fantasy series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, based off of the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. The entirety of season eight was met with extremely harsh backlash from fans, with many people taking to Twitter to express their disappointment. One individual mourned the sudden character change in their beloved Daenerys Targaryen, with a Tweet stating “The one I saw tonight was not my Dany. That was not the character I fell in love with that had a beautiful development through the first six seasons. Dumb & Dumber you killed my favorite character without even killing her physically, hope ur happy now” (@lattainpolvere) to others being more to the point and stating, “That was not it.” (@youngsinick) Because of this immense backlash, a fan petition was circulating, pleading for the showrunners to reshoot the final season (Gardner, 2019). The change.org page dedicated to this re-do said that they wanted to “remake the Game of Thrones season 8 with competent writers”. Adding, harshly, that “David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have proven themselves to be woefully incompetent writers when they have no source of material (i.e. the books) to fall back on” (Dylan, D. 2019). If that’s not passion than I’m not sure what is. 1 789 678 people (and counting) have signed the petition so far, but so far no action has been taken, although the backlash did prompt Beinoff and Weiss to announce that they will no longer be making a Star Wars movie trilogy, most likely due in part to fans no longer trusting the duo with another massive franchise (Harrison, 2019). These fans felt “so connected to the narrative that they develop a sense of ownership over the text” (Sullivan, 198) which sparks emotional responses in fans who think that they, and the characters of the show, deserve better. Some fans even believe that they could write a better ending to the show, one that ties up loose ends but also doesn’t lose the essence of the characters in the process. This “places these audience members on a head-on collision course with the producers and copyright holders” (Sullivan, 198) who own the show in a literal sense. So what is a fan to do? Some take to various platforms to share their ideas, such as Reddit. A user by the name of u/alvarosas32 posted their ideas in a post titled, “5 Possible Different Endings for Game of Thrones”, where comments discussing the ideas followed. Other ideas occurred in more traditional sites, such as on fanfiction.net.

Another example in which these Game of Thrones fans work to express themselves is through conventions where fans can gather, dress up, and meet other fans and creators. The latest convention is entitled, “Con of Thrones” and is advertised as a three-day celebration in Orlando that is “the largest-ever Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire convention” (https://www.facebook.com/ConOfThrones/). These types of events are becoming commonplace within our society, where events such as Comic Con, Vidcon, DragCon and more are all popular and sought after events. Although it may be argued that these events still have a certain element of judgment surrounding them, we have come a long way from the harmful characteristics that many used to associate with fan culture. But with these events comes inevitable issues of the “darker side of fan identity and group cohesion” (Sullivan, 209). Groups tend to “create exclusivity and difference in order to enhance its self-definition and to give it purpose and coherence. In this respect, fan cultures are no different from the mainstream in the sense that fan groups will often create clear boundaries between casual fans or enthusiast and ‘real’ fans” (Sullivan, 209). This causes certain fans to feel socially discriminated against if they are of a different class or social background. When we get into events such as conventions, big money normally has to be spent. When you think about the travel that it takes to get there, the money spent on costumes, the money spent on food…it tends to add up. But only the “true” fans and said to attend these events. This makes the concept of “escaping into the world of popular media” at odds with “escaping the systems of discrimination and power that define the society at large.” (Sullivan, 209).

Fan culture is truly a fascinating concept in our new era, with audience members blurring the line between solely viewer and producer. Audience members are not afraid to express their displeasure with certain choices of media companies, and now have the tools to express themselves in a manner that is heard in meaningful ways. It will be interesting to see how audiences progress even further down the road, and the influence that they will have over decision making in the entertainment industry.

“Chris Cross.” Family Guy. Fox, 2013. Television.

D, Dylan. “Sign the Petition”. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.change.org/p/hbo-remake-game-of-thrones-season-8-with-competent-writers.

Gardner, A. (2019, July 22). “The 'Game of Thrones' Cast Got Super Candid About the Final Season's Backlash”. Retrieved from https://www.glamour.com/story/game-of-thrones-cast-backlash.

Harrison, Mark. “Game of Thrones, Star Wars and the Showrunner Backlash”. (2019, November 1). Retrieved from https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/284182/game-of-thrones-star-wars-and-the-showrunner-backlash.

@latteinpolvere. May 12, 2019, 8:05pm. Retrieved from: https://twitter.com/latteinpoIvere/status/1127771792368635906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1127771792368635906&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.harpersbazaar.com%2Fcelebrity%2Flatest%2Fa27447877%2Fgame-of-thrones-season-8-episode-5-reactions%2F

“Orlando Con of Thrones Facebook page”. Accessed Tues. Nov. 19, 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/events/orange-county-convention-center/con-of-thrones-2020/517897152358343/

Sullivan, J. L. (2019). Media audiences: effects, users, institutions, and power. Los Angeles: SAGE.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Apatow, Judd. Universal Pictures, 2005. Film

u/alvarosas32. “5 Possible Different Endings for Game of Thrones.” Posted 6 months ago. Retrieved from: https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/bh6zlk/5_possible_different_endings_for_game_of_thrones/

@youngsinick. May 12, 2019, 7:22pm. Retrieved from: https://twitter.com/youngsinick/status/1127761029415559168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1127761029415559168&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.harpersbazaar.com%2Fcelebrity%2Flatest%2Fa27447877%2Fgame-of-thrones-season-8-episode-5-reactions%2F

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swimintothesound · 7 years

Text

Mumbling Music, Soundcloud Rap, and Feeling Like an Old Man

I never thought I’d be “over” a genre within the space of a year. My obsessions tend to be longer-lasting, or at the very least, something that I can return to later even if it’s solely for nostalgic purposes. After “discovering” hip-hop in 2015 I quickly gravitated towards the “trap” subgenre whose outlandish figures like Young Thug and Future provided a much-needed break from the years of straight-laced and hyper-earnest music I’d been listening to most of college.

In addition to trap’s personable artists, the subgenre has managed to become one of the most popular and dominant sounds over the past several years. This combination made the scene feel communal and accessible as it grew to become an undeniable a part of the cultural zeitgeist. In fact, hip-hop is part of the cultural landscape now more than ever as artists are propelled to success by internet memes which has led to a “look at me” mentality.

In 2016 a distinct new class of rapper began to emerge who utilized the path that had been paved by their trap forefathers to carve out their own niche and fortify themselves as the “next generation” of hip-hop. This group of (then) up-and-comers included people like Lil Yachty, Desiigner, and 21 Savage who quickly earned the derogatory label of “mumble rap,” a name inspired by the MC’s apparent lack of technical proficiency on the mic. These rappers took cues from people like Young Thug and Future (who are also often lumped into this group) but remain distinct for a few reasons. One: almost all of these artists blew up while still in their teens. Two: almost all of these artists used SoundCloud as a platform in their rise to prominence (paving the way for future artists). Three: Many of the most popular “mumble rappers” also happened to be members of the XXL 2016 Freshman Class.

This inclusion in XXL is the most important commonality to note because it elevated the genre instantly and placed these artists squarely in the spotlight. As these rappers gained popularity and publicity over the summer of 2016 many people criticized the freshmen class for their evident lack of technical skill. It quickly ballooned to a genre-wide discussion about what these rappers “brought to the table” if they were eschewing the things that were typically used as barometers of quality within the genre.

I’ve already put my flag in the ground on the topics of lyricism and proficiency in hip-hop in this post from last year on the importance (or lack thereof) of lyrics. In retrospect, comparing these rappers to groups like Sigur Ros may have been a step too far, but I still stand by the overall sentiment of the post.

Now, I hate to sound nostalgic for something that’s only a year old, much less hoist up these artists who I ultimately think are just okay… but these mumble rap artists were significantly better than what we see coming out of the scene a year later. Thanks to the 2016 Freshman Class, hip-hop became an ongoing debate of “style versus substance,” and we’re only now seeing the implications of this shift a year after the emergence of mumble rap with the birth of a brand new scene. But before I get into that, let’s take a look at two specific artists from the mumble rap movement to help us make a direct comparison.

Two Sides of the Same Sound

Lil Uzi Vert is a Philadelphia-based rapper who first made waves in 2015 with his third mixtape Luv is Rage. In 2016 he rose to prominence thanks to his fourth mixtape Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World which birthed two singles, ended up going gold, and solidified him a place on the 2016 XXL freshman list. In 2017 he’s reached unprecedented heights thanks to a (bad) verse on Migos’ quadruple platinum “Bad and Boujee” which paved the way for his own (much better) track, the monumental "XO Tour Llif3.” Tour Lif3 was originally uploaded to Soundcloud as a throwaway track and has since become a breakout phenomenon going x3 Platinum in 6 months, proving both the popularity of Uzi and cementing the platform as a viable test for mainstream hits.

Moving onto another “Lil” rapper from the same scene: Lil Yachty is an Atlanta-based artist who originally broke through in 2015 with what everyone presumed was a one-off viral hit “One Night.” Within a year his next hit “Minnesota” was being played on Drake’s radio show and he caught fire. This platform brought Yachty a newfound audience which elevated his just-released Lil Boat mixtape and propelled him to the forefront of the hip-hop stratosphere.

I chose to highlight these two because they became symbols of the mumble rap genre within the space of weeks. And while they’re often lumped together, they oddly represent two opposing sides of the same sound. So why these two guys? Aside from their inclusion in the 2016 Freshman Class, they both blew up at the same time, dropped high-profile mixtapes within a month of each other, and use many of the same tropes within their music. I also believe one of the more silly reasons these two were lumped together was because of their hair.

It sounds stupid, but Lil Yachty’s bright red braids and Uzi’s ever-changing dreads became emblematic symbols of the mumble rap movement. Most of the 2016 class had a unique look, but these two stuck out like sore thumbs with their distinct and brightly-colored mops. What’s more, these two rappers specifically started challenging hip-hop norms by disregarding classics and even going as far to state that they are “not rappers” but instead preferring to be labeled as “rockstars.” For better or worse, they became symbols of the new school: two figures that stood in direct opposition to the traditions of the genre. It’s easy to see why they sparked debates, spurred controversy, and turned off old heads the world over in 2016.

There was a clear line being drawn in the sand over the 2016 Freshman. One side saw this crop of artists as energetic, hair-dyed teenagers with little artistic substance beyond the beats they were rapping over. Meanwhile, the other side saw this scene for the fun, carefree, and easily-digestible entertainment that it was intended as.

If it wasn’t apparent by now, I’m fans of these artists, and I resented the fact that these 18-year-olds were being cited as the “downfall of hip-hop” as if their very existence was an offense to the genre’s history. I’ll admit that it took me some time to come around to each artist, but Uzi and Yachty’s 2016 tapes quickly became some of my favorites that year. With upbeat, colorful, summery songs, these artists were just teenagers, but there is a time and place for the type of music they were making.

I was decidedly on the side of these artists. I didn’t see these guys as the "end of hip-hop" that so many classic rap fans were quick to decry them as. I’ve already linked this previous post on why a lack of substantive lyrics doesn’t equate to lack of substantive music, but The Needle Drop’s Anthony Fantano explains this subgenre’s appeal well in this video where he draws a comparison to this new sound and the punk mentality of the 70’s. These artists became unwitting figureheads for a movement that they didn’t necessarily even create, but their music doesn’t invalidate traditional hip-hop or threaten other artist’s artistic output.

At the end of the day, Yachty and Uzi are two musicians are working towards very different visions with Uzi representing more of a moody, rock-inspired crooning emo trapper and Yachty being more of an upbeat goofball “bubblegum trap” artist. They got judged unfairly, lumped into the same group, and became polarizing figures within the matter of a few months. But on a more positive note, they engaged and energized the younger generation, which led to hip-hop becoming the most popular genre in the US for the first time ever. Their techniques and approaches to music also paved the way for a new type of rapper who took their styles and carried them to their logical extremes. That brings us to 2017.

Mumbles Begat Soundcloud

Compared to this innovative wave of energy that we saw in hip-hop last year, 2017 has felt like a step backward in many ways. We’ve had fewer projects from bigger names, and less “movement” in the genre as a whole. I’m also willing to admit this perceived drop-off in quality could be chalked up to personal bias because, while I feel less enthused by the genre, hip-hop as a whole has still experienced a major influx of activity this year. The problem is its momentum that’s hyper-specified and that I feel absolutely no connection to.

I’ve never wanted to be the old guy who doesn’t “get it” yet, within the space of a year I feel like I’ve already crossed over into old man territory. A year after the rise of the “mumble rapper” we’re now witnessing the birth of a new class of artists dubbed the “Soundcloud Rapper.”

One major artist to blow up from this scene is XXXTentacion. I first became aware of his existence in early 2017 as he was gaining rapid popularity online while behind bars after being arrested for assault at 18 (you read that right). Between Lil Wayne’s infamous stay in prison to Max B’s recent memed-out sentence, rappers are no stranger to trouble with the law. XXX was let out on false charges (which I don’t buy) but I’m willing to (again) admit personal bias because I find the assault of a woman more heinous than simple gun charges. This controversy was a bad way to first hear about an artist and left me with a negative first impression of both the artist and the “scene.”

Around this same time, a Georgian rapper named Playboi Carti released his eponymous debut to surprisingly-high reviews. While not technically part of the same subgenre, Carti’s “Magnolia” blew up inexplicably, earning him a platinum and granting him access to high-profile collaborators the genre over. Carti’s music is similarly lacking in substance the same way that Uzi and Yachty are, so I can’t fault him for that. What I can fault him for is featuring on two and a half separate tracks this year in which his contribution is solely ad-lib-based. God knows I’m not against ad-libs, but it’s incredible to watch someone make a career being propped up by decent beats and more talented artists as they shout “what?” in between each of their bars. Oh and Carti was also taken into custody for assault in 2017 as well, only to be let off a month later.

Despite the public and controversial beatings, Both XXXTentacion and Playboi Carti have enjoyed success and made it onto the XXL Freshman 2017 list, ensuring them both a moderately-successful career. Comparing these two freshmen with the two I highlighted from the 2016 lineup provides a stark contrast between one group of mumbling trap artists and the second group of women-beating teenagers. Even setting aside the quality of their music, elevating and rewarding the abhorrent behavior of the latter two is undeniably a step backward for the genre. And as I’ve been editing this piece, TV’s Eric Andre has publicly spoken out against these artists citing a similar concern.

The Dregs

Now we move onto the two artists that inspired me to sit down to write this post in the first place: Lil Pump and SmokePurpp. These two Florida-born rappers are making music in the same style as XXXTentacion with distorted blown-out bassy instrumentals and loud aggressive chant-like vocals. Pump blew up several months ago on the back of the mindlessly-repetitive “D Rose.” The track, which finds Pump explaining why his expensive watches make him feel like Derrick Rose, was uploaded in late 2016 and has since garnered almost 30 million plays on Soundcloud. There’s honestly very little else to say about the song beyond that.

Critics and journalists took note of this subgenre’s meteoric rise in popularity and began writing Hunter S. Thompson-style gonzo journalism pieces about the scene including this one from Rolling Stone and this incredible write-up by The New York Times. I’d had these articles saved to my Pocket for later reading, but it wasn’t until I stumbled across a Noisey interview whose title was so great that I willingly dove into it.

The article in question “Reading This Interview with Lil Pump and Smokepurpp Will Make You Stupider” is a particularly glazed-over interview with the two Floridians in which the interviewer searches desperately for any semblance of a deeper purpose to these two artists. Their answers, relegated mostly to single-syllable words half-formed sentences, quickly revealed that there is no deeper level to Lil Pump and Smokepurpp. They’re not in search of anything, not inspired by anything, and their self-described “ih-norant” music is their artistic end-all be-all.

Now, look. I listen to a ton of stupid music, some of it just as “ignorant” and turnt up as this, but this new wave of music feels so baseless and devoid that I don’t see any silver lining to it. In fact, I write this primarily from a “worried mother” type perspective because these kids are fucking sixteen. Lil Pump (born August 17th, 2000) was admitted to the hospital following a lean scare just ten days before his birthday. XXXtentacion (born January 23rd, 1998) has (aside from the assault charges) put on a litany of violent concerts including fist fights, two-story jumps, and barricade collisions. I’m not the first to speak out against these artist’s carelessness, and I have a feeling I won’t be the last.

It’s music that trades out the bare minimum artistry that was there before for pure adrenaline and shock value. And again, maybe this isn’t “for me” and that’s why I don’t get it. If anything, these artists are simply a logical continuation of the mumble rap scene taking visual, musical, and artistic queues from the generation immediately before them. And Desiigner and Lil Uzi Vert have pulled equally-dangerous stunts at their shows… but it’s interesting to watch this progression take place so rapidly over the course of a calendar year.

And to circle away from the onstage antics and back to the music: I'm not saying Yachty's music is high art. It's still pretty dissonant, off-putting, and even bad on a technical level. But what Yachty traded those qualities out for is a unique sound and image based around himself. It may be discordant music, but it retains an undeniable sense of bright fun catchiness. Meanwhile, I feel like this new crop of artists retained that similar lack of technicality but traded out any sense of fun for pure adrenaline.

I don’t know where all this is headed. I do think it’s exciting that all this has happened within the space of a year, and it just goes to show how quickly the hip-hop genre is evolving and shifting. Maybe it’s just part of a bigger splintering and within a few years, we’ll have all these subgenres of hip-hop with dozens of artists occupying each well-defined niche with their own space carved out. I fully expect many of these guys to fall off and fade into obscurity soon (or at the very lease encounter more trouble with the law) but overall I think this energy bodes well for the genre. I just don’t want a teenager to die for it.

As long as young people continue to be inspired they’ll continue to innovate and push boundaries. I may not like the music, but I’m always in support of innovation. I sincerely hope I’m still on board for the next “wave” of explosive creativity in music, but I also know I will hit a point in the future where I just stop “getting it” and I accept that.

I don’t necessarily resent the scene, the music, or these artists. I think some of their extracurricular actions are deplorable and shouldn’t be celebrated, but that’s really about it. I see the appeal of the music, but I also know that it’s not for me. If anything, it’s exciting that real, young, independent musicians have the ability to build as much of a platform as more established artists, but sometimes that fan base is built on the back of shitty behavior that nobody should emulate.

It’s also interesting to watch the “gaze” of hip-hop move so quickly from one crop of artists to the next. It seems that nobody gets to spend much time on the throne, and now the artists that were exciting last year are practically legacy acts by the scene’s standards. It’s weird when the “primary focus” (or at least most explosive scene) of a genre is one that I fundamentally disagree with on nearly every level, but again, maybe I’m just turning into an old man.

I can’t think of any other way to end this besides words of hesitant encouragement. I want kids to keep innovating and scaring the adults (and 24-year-olds) by blazing their own trail. There’s something admirable about a sixteen-year-old throwing a song up on SoundCloud and becoming a certified star months later… but when it breeds violence and drug abuse I’m decidedly against it. It’s a fine line, and I respect everyone’s freedom/artistic choices/blah blah blah, I just wish everything was more positive.

So keep it up I guess. We’ll see where this scene goes. Who knows what the next year’s hot topic will be. For the time being, keep doing you. Just don’t do anything too stupid.

#trap #hip-hop #soundcloud #soundcloud rap #mumble rap #lyrics #ignorant #mixtapes #lil pump #smokepurpp #xxxtentacion #playboi carti #xxl freshman #xxl freshmen 2017 #xxl freshman 2016 #lil yachty #lil uzi vert

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