#and then being upset when that has consequences. the lack of foresight with both of them is making me insane | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

tsu9live · 3 years ago

Text

Before I start, this is in no offence to anyone else’s opinion. You are all valid and probably make more sense than me. This is a bit of a rant and then a short character study.

Warning: This got too long.

I tend to come online for manga updates and ended up reading through opinion posts because I am a curious cat. Most of the time I come across really well-thought out posts, really valid points. But then MHA is also a soap opera/family drama where the main character is not supposed to have any progress in his story unless its to bolster or move along the other favs . But then they shouldn’t be bolstering his story either because why is a story about Deku’s journey all about Deku?

But then there are people who are happy Deku is finally edgy and they want him to wipe the floor with his classmates who love him and are willing to fight him if only to get through to him. So there are both extremes and honestly there is validity in all these thoughts because despite the writer’s intentions, a reader brings the story to life.

I personally hate making my own predictions because most of the time I feel it ruins the experience of reading a work for me. I go in with different expectations and when the story goes a different way I don’t enjoy it as much but I feel its more my fault.

So I do understand and respect the difference of opinion because there is no fandom without discourse.

In my opinion though, this Deku solo arc was a long time coming and I think Horikoshi has handled it really weird. I’m still trying to understand what he wants us to think about.

A story about heroes and putting your life on the line for someone else is controversial, but, I thought it was a given. Recklessness had been part of Deku’s character but an overly-cautious character would do nothing. Deku’s lack of self-preservation wasn’t unnatural for a hero, he rushed in to save Bakugo from the slime-villain when Pros stood by putting himself at risk but it spurred AM to act. Katsuki experienced it as well during the war arc, when his body moved to save Deku.

Going to Kamino to save Bakugo was suicidal, reckless and potentially flawed but story-wise it made sense. How is hero-work anything than risky? Kirishima and Todoroki initiated it.

Disclaimer: Deku, Bakugo, Uraraka, Momo, Toga and Shigaraki are characters that are very dear to me because they have had me extremely invested since the beginning of the story. This is my personal opinion, flaws, rant... basically me working through my feelings about this manga I had been obsessed with recently.

1) There is an opinion where Bakugo had a right to be upset/angry/bully Deku because he wanted to be a hero but did nothing for it. Firstly, I don’t understand the need to justify his behaviour when he himself has expressed regret on it. People want others to move on from the “go jump off the roof comment” but won’t stop talking about how everything about Bully Bakugo was justified. Deku was weaker, but he had the same dreams, dreams that were the basis of their friendship earlier on. Regardless of how Deku wanted to achieve them, Bakugo had no right to keep trying to stop him from doing so. No, 5, 10, 14 year old Bakugo did not do so because he had the brilliant foresight that Deku would be self-sacrificial and it was for his sake, he was an angry kid and Deku was a timid, wannabe that confused him, intimidated him even. Taking out his anger was a way of working through those feelings. He was in Deku’s words “a punching bag”. In a world where the powerful reign, Bakugo couldn’t understand how a quirk less, weak little boy could think he could stand shoulder to shoulder with someone as gifted as Bakugo. Yeah, society is very much to blame. The change and maturity Bakugo goes through where he is humbled by a cast of amazing hero students who are just as gifted yet with inspiring personalities and then traumatic consequences of being kidnapped, watching his hero use the last of his powers to hold back a great evil, having that fight with Deku where he bared himself open, failing the licensing exam, training with todoroki, the internship... the war has changed him in a way that has brought out his full potential as a hero and a person. There is a lot to admire about him yet I see so many people fixate on headcanons that glorify his every action/word instead of praising the amazing person he has become/how well written his growth has been.

2) “Deku wanted to be a hero and he did nothing for it”. “He could have been a quirkless hero like Batman.” Listen, the story is about AFO vs OFA first and foremost. Hori has done a good job of worldbuilding and adding a cast of interesting characters that its easy to forget what the main plot point of the story is. But it really is about a weak/timid boy who was born with a sort of handicap who dared to dream to be someone strong enough to have others rely on him instead. A lot of the times people want to become something they feel they needed, someone who gave people hope just by existing. Its natural for someone who is ‘considered useless’ to want to be the most useful person ever. His mother didn’t believe he could do it, Bakugo told him repeatedly he shouldn’t even try, everyone else made fun of him, and his hero gave him a wake-up call, no... you can’t be a hero without a quirk. Deku studied heroes and quirks all his life, hoping he’d find something that could work for his advantage. Not every hero relies on physical strength, their bodies are adapted to the nature of their quirks. Deku’s analysis, quick-thinking and impulsive nature is what helped him progress even after getting the quirk because he didn’t gain control until really late. People act like he was handed power, seem to forget he has just learned to use it without consequences. His studies of quirks also made him the best candidate to get new quirks, quirks that he has learned to utilise as tools quickly and efficiently. He was doing what he thought was going to help him become a hero without guidance, without backing and constant discouragements. Its admirable and relatable. If you don’t relate to him that’s fine, your life was different.

Batman was loaded. Deku is not an inventor. The Editors shot that idea down because it would not have survived in a genre where power fantasies are the main hooks. Aizawa, sure he’s training Shinso because he sees his potential now but he would have either expelled Deku/moved him to General studies on that first day for scoring the least in that test. He changed his mind not because of Deku’s quirk but because of Deku’s ingenuity.

When Deku did find his guidance, he tried to do years of work/training in a short period of time. He acknowledges how far behind he is, that the rest are leagues above him and all he wants is to be able to stand side by side with those incredible people and he would go to all lengths to do so. DEKU has never said he wants to be the number one hero. He always says he wants to be one so reliable he saves people with a smile and later on, he wants to be a hero that can save without having other people worry about him. Bakugo works hard, he’s not just exceptional he works hard for it, all of 1A do but saying Deku does nothing when he is constantly shown, studying, training his body, understanding his shortcomings and working on it is just petty. You don’t like him because of his saviour complex, newsflash, that is a hero thing. Hero course is about that, Deku’s is just highlighted because of how often he gets hurt. How can you be a Todoroki stan and hate Deku (although to be fair its your right, I��m just making a point), the kid saw Shouto and decided that it was more important for Shouto to stop hurting and gave him a hell of a fight. I still remember Shouto’s smile, it gave me goose bumps.

Deku’s lack of self-preservation is a part of his programming so much that he hasn’t noticed it yet. Deku broke his bones, but he didn’t realise the permanent damage. When Deku got injured with Muscular, he was never intending to fight him alone. He wanted backup, his phone was broken and he wanted to get Kouta out and tried but Muscular gave him no opening. He was driven into a corner and fought his way out. Like Aizawa said, “He got that injured because he has no intention of dying.” Before rushing to find Bakugo, he informed his superior first, knowing she can spread the message.

The fight with Stain, he messaged his location to all his classmates, didn’t intend to fight Stain alone, just defend Iida long enough for help to come along. Fight with overhaul, he just wanted to get Eri away and when he understood Eri’s power, he gave her the opportunity to fight back against her oppressor by teaming up with him, keeping her secure with the cape made out of Lemillion’s hair. During the whole fight he was present-minded enough to take the fight away from civilians and managed to prevent damage and casualties. During Natsuo’s rescue he played support.

During the war arc, he realised with despair that Shigaraki was coming in all his destructive glory for him and tried to stop him before but he didn’t object to Bakugo joining him. In the movie Heroes Rising (the initially planned ending) he willingly gave OFA to Bakugo, because he trusts him with his life, and was willing to be quirkless again if that’s what it took to keep the kids safe, and himself and Bakugo alive. Its mostly been good decisions on his part.

Its the war arc that’s been his downfall. Watching his childhood friend/rival almost die, his best friend, his mentors almost die while he could barely hold Shigaraki back set off a fight or flight response in him. The seriousness of how Shigaraki came for him and left such death and destruction in his wake because he was not strong enough and AFO is a monster and the sight of Shigaraki and the reality of his situation pushed him down the current path. His solo arc started well because constantly training in the field has helped him master his quirk, and he had the backup of the vestiges who trained and guided him in learning to use it as a toolset instead of a one-punch solution. Then coming face to face with the flaws of hero society and the power, manipulative nature and destructive intentions of AFO has prepared him emotionally. He is not acting like AM, he hasn’t in a while. He is acting like NANA and i don’t blame him because she’s in his head. No adult stopped him from doing this, instead using him as bait to lure out the league.

When they started realising he’s spiralling out of control, that’s when they realised they messed up.

He’s running on adrenaline/fumes alone and I think he’s actually terrified.

“AFO is OFA’s responsibility” “Tell the world I am here” “You’re not as strong as me yet,” “You are not a worthy successor”

Deku isn’t self-centered and but I agree with the screw loose comment (its years of “you are useless, not good enough, not worthy and I bet a dozen or so concussions, bloodloss, dehydration lol). I know Bakugo means well and that’s how he talks. At the moment, he’s probably the only one whose sole goal is Deku’s survival. Deku’s like a wild animal, terrified, lost and as always backed into a corner. AFO has him where he wants him and I am curious to see how class 1 A are going to get through to him. I don’t want them to fight, all those fanarts of Bakugo reaching his hand out to Deku and then maybe punching him in the face would have been a lot better then the mocking (the slow clap was a little triggering for me) but again maybe it just bothers me and Deku needs it. I’ll just have to wait and see. Deku and his class together would be an unstopabble force and I am waiting for that to finally happen.

P.S. Class 1 A looks so mature, everyone going crazy about Bakugo and his tie and I’m here like, look at baby Kirishima and his roots <3

I’m sorry if I gave anyone a headache lol.

#bnha spoilers #deku #personal rant #character study #midoriya izuku #bnha 319 #mha

13 notes · View notes

frickengreenfrickyeah · 6 years ago

Text

An Irreverent Intro to the Iliad

A/N:I’ve taken the introduction to the Lombardo translation and condensed it. Any time I says something to the effect of “don’t quote me on this” that means I’ve added my own analysis or thoughts that I cannot back up in any way, so don’t, like, put it in an essay if you don’t plan on doing your own research.

Anyway, you don’t care about that stuff, you came here to read about the Iliad.

It’s really fricken long, so, for the sake of mobile users, everything’s under the cut except for this:

“Rage. Bitch, lemme tell you about the time that Achilles fucked over the entire Greek army by Rage-quitting.”

Timeline for the Noobs

Ten years ago:

Aphrodite bribes Paris so she can win a beauty contest between herself, Athena, and Hera. Paris’ reward for his ‘heroics’ is Helen

(There’s probably an essay’s worth of symbolism you could dig into here, what with the goddesses all representing different priorities: erotic love, wisdom/justice, and familial duty. I wonder what Paris’ choice reveals about his character?)

There’s some disagreement about whether or not Helen when with Paris willingly

Seeing as literally no other woman in the Iliad (and maybe the entire Cycle? Don’t quote me on that) willingly went with her kidnapper, I’m calling bull on that. Do with that what you will.

Menelaus gets really mad that Paris stole his wife, so he rounds up the Greek army, and they go to war. (It’s worth noting that Athena and Hera are both on his side here.)

Present day:

Agamemnon(Boo), Menelaus’ brother kidnaps a girl. Then he has the balls to get upset that the girl’s father called Apollo’s plague down upon the Greeks until she’s returned

Achilles points out that Agamemnon’s being a dick and people are literally dying because he won’t let go of one girl. Agamemnon says, “Fine. If I have to give up my lady-war-prize, I’m taking yours as recompense.”

Achilles allows Agamemnon to take his girl, then Rage-quits. As consequence, people die.

Hypocrites. Hypocrites everywhere. If you wanna analyze that for an essay, I think there’s plenty to talk about.

The Theme Worth Giving a Shit About (Because it Drives the Narrative)

Heroes risk their lives on the battlefield in exchange for Prizes

Ie. riches, bitches, and clout

Honor <--> Shame is how they judge the value of others and themselves. Honor wins Prizes, Shame loses Prizes

3 Characters Worth Giving a Shit About (Because They Explore the Aforementioned Theme)

Achilles: Main character. Rage is his thing. Also, pouting.

His honor is insulted by Agamemnon(Boo) taking away Briseis, his lady war prize. Since war prizes are how their society rewards heroes for risking their lives, Agamemnon is basically saying he doesn’t care of Achilles dies or not.

And that hurts Achilles’ feelings because he knows he’s gonna die. There’s a prophecy about it.

The only reason he’s fighting is because society conditioned him to believe that Prizes and eternal glory were worth dying for.

Now that he doubts everything he knows, he refuses to fight for the Greeks.

The entire poem is the consequences of his Rage-quit

Agamemnon: fuck this guy

He loses his lady war prize, so he takes Achilles’. Because short-sighted spite is the best motivator.

He and Achilles start the poem in the same place, believing that material goods should equally compensate a loss. Achilles is the one who learns that that’s not how that works.

Agamemnon starts as a dick and ends as a dick. Google Iphigenia if you want to learn more. And that shit he pulls with Cassandra? Major dickbag. Fuck this guy.

Hector: The Trojan hero, and honestly the only likable guy here.

He is Achilles’ foil.

Just like Achilles, he’s separated from society - but, unlike Achilles, it’s not because he rejects their values. It’s because he never questions them.

He’s basically the perfect hero, and he suffers for it:

His son is scared of his war helmet

He can’t stay closer to home to fight defensively because that’s ‘shameful’

And he can’t even stay in the city that long on his breaks because wine and women are too tempting.

Side Characters to Maybe Give a Fuck About

Patroclus: The most important of the supporting cast, and he’s only in it for, like, maybe a book

Achilles’ BFF and probably more

(Read: Definitely more. If you listen carefully, you can hear me chanting OTP OTP OTP every time you open your book.)

He is Achilles’ double

He never doubts society but supports his bestie’s midlife crisis anyway

His death at the hands of Hector symbolizes Achilles’ death because he was wearing Achilles’ armor at the time

Achilles causes Patroclus’ death btw

When he Rage-quits, he asks Zeus to help the Trojans (because short-sighted spite is the best motivator). Patroclus goes to help the Greeks wearing Achilles’ very recognizable armor, causing Hector to target and kill him

His death redirects Achilles’ Rage at the Trojans instead of the Greeks

Diomedes: a badass fighter

Greater Ajax: a badass fighter

and (I think) the guy who talks sense into Achilles at some point

Ajax the Lesser: a badass fighter (are you sensing a theme in these characters?)

Odysseus: the only smart guy here

The Odyssey is about him btw

The Trojan horse was his idea, according to the Aeneid (and maybe other places? But definitely the Aeneid.)

WTF is an Epic Poem Anyway?

Epic Poem: recounts events with far-reaching historical consequences, sums up the values and achievements of an entire culture, and documents the full variety of the war

Basically, if “’Murica, Fuck Yeah” sums up America, then the Iliad sums up Ancient Greece

(Actually, Hamilton is a better comparison, but I needed to make a joke. Fite me.)

That “full variety” thing is why Book 2 and a couple other places just list off a bunch of ships or leaders and their dads. That shit is boring. Skip it.

But also, that ‘full variety’ thing is what makes other parts of the story so interesting. Homer will sum up a dude’s life story right before he kills them or some shit. It magnifies the scale of the narrative by showing how insignificant one person’s experience is - no one person can stop the war.

That’s what makes Achilles’ story even more powerful --> because his impact on the war is significant. His Rage controls the ebb and flow of it.

He can’t stop the war though. No one can.

The Gods are Petty as Fuck

Homeric gods look/act like humans, but they’re different mainly because of two things:

1. They can’t die.

That means they treat the events of the war less seriously than the mortals do.

2. The gods know about fate

To the modern reader, it seems like the humans have no agency, but that’s not really the case

Knowing fate is a bit like knowing the plot of a movie. It gives insight into a character’s actions that would otherwise seem random.

By reading this poem, you’re basically a god. Don’t let it go to your head. (But, hey, there’s a reason I’m majoring in this shit)

Bards like Homer would more directly be gods because they changed and adapted the story as they told it, just like the gods influence human actions in the story.

Don't quote me on that tho

Character choices are usually doubly motivated - by the human, and by the gods

Ex: Achilles chooses not to kill Agamemnon because Athena tells him not to.

This is personifying the literal thought process he had so that the reader understands what’s going through his head.

Fate doesn’t force anyone to act out of character --> fate is the consequence of their life choices

The gods not caring about death and his own lack of foresight is what Achilles messes up on

He asks Zeus to help him get revenge on the Greeks because he assumes Zeus cares about that sort of thing, but Zeus is bigger than that.

That leads Patroclus’ death, btw.

The “Enduring Heart” Shit

Achilles is really butthurt that Agamemnon wronged him

The lesson he has to learn is that even if material goods can’t make up for losses, there’s no other option --> you can’t bring people back from the dead, so you have to move on

That’s the Enduring Heart shit

also, if you abstract that concept it sounds kinda like entropy to me (Don’t quote me on that tho)

He learns that lesson by feeling pity for Priam (Hector’s dad) instead of perpetuating the Rage Train

And, hey, that Enduring Heart shit is a lesson that all of us could take to heart. None of us want to die, but it’s gonna happen. Maybe that’s not fair, but throwing a temper tantrum isn’t going to change anything. Really, the only way to avoid being miserable is to embrace our mortality so we can appreciate life while we have it

don’t quote me on that tho

In a nutshell, Achilles has to accept his mortal-ness. Otherwise there’s a lot of unnecessary suffering.

That’s why we don’t need to see him die in the Iliad even though everyone makes such a big deal about the prophecy about his death. His journey was completed as soon as he found pity in himself instead of Rage - essentially rejecting the godly side of himself (oh yeah, I forgot to mention. His mom is a goddess) and embracing his mortality.

because gods don’t have to deal with death, they can Rage all they want, remember?

Also, if he never dies, he can’t be reunited with Patroclus.

OTP OTP OTP

You could probably write an essay about how Achilles died as soon as Patroclus did.

Honestly Boring Historical Context (That might be interesting if you’re a nerd like me?

The poem was basically historical fantasy even when it was first written. There are gods and super strength and shit

Greek History Over-Simplified: The Mycanaean Period was prosperous but ended suddenly. The Dark Ages of Greece followed, and we don’t know much about what happened during that because they forgot the written word was a thin.

The events of the poem probably take place during the Mycanaean Period because they use bronze weapons.

But warfare is described from more of a Dark Ages perspective. Like, they don’t use chariots the right way

Which suggests that chariots were part of the source material, then the Dark Ages made people forget how they were supposed to be sued, so the bards just kinda made shit up to explain their presence. (Don’t quote me on that tho)

The Oral Tradition of the poem means that this story was told thousands of times over hundreds (thousands?) of years. So the narrative is hones at shit.

it has the sculpted body of an Olympic athlete. Each muscle toned to do a specific job and everything works perfectly together to accomplish the sporty feat of interest. Every verse is packed with character, setting, plot, and cultural significance

Except for that Catologue of Ships shit. Boooo boring ships.

There were probably lots of other versions of the poem, but Homer told it best. His version was written down as soon as the written word was (re)invented

Side Note that wasn’t in Lombardo’s Intro

The Iliad and Odyssey are both parts of a larger body of work known as the Epic Cycle

(The Aeneid is basically Caesar Augustus-insert fanfiction at that, btw. Virgil was a satirical fanboy and I’m living for it.)

Characters and events are introduced with the assumptions that the reader already knows their importance

But we only have fragments of the rest of the Cycle today because it was either never written down or the manuscripts were lost

I’m looking at you, Burned Library of Alexandria

*sad fiddle music plays in the background

Videos That I Learned Shit From (Only, like, the first two links are relevant to the topic at hand, btw)

Basic Plot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faSrRHw6eZ8

More about the Epic Cycle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3bn0eKt4Rw

Iphigenia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifFsKCrH3GM

Oresteia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kpGhivh05k

The Odyssey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-3rHQ70Pag&index=4&list=PLDb22nlVXGgfwG1qbOtNgu897E_ky_8To (Also, this story is my favorite of the Epic Cycle)

The Aeneid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRruBVFXjnY&list=PLDb22nlVXGgfwG1qbOtNgu897E_ky_8To&index=5

Ancient Greek History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzGVpkYiJ9w&index=2&list=PLDb22nlVXGgexsbafIwirG6Tk9uww9dSW

And, yeah, these videos are all from the same channel. I’m a basic bitch and a ho for not leaving my comfort zone. Fite me.

Honestly, if anyone has other sources, let me know. Youtube history/video essays are my shit.

I hope this was helpful.

#iliad #literature #irreverent synopsis #i really like green but thats not the topic at hand #epic cycle #Achilles #Achilles and Patroclus forever #intro to the iliad

44 notes · View notes

journeysintowebcomics · 7 years ago

Text

Worm Liveblog #44

UPDATE 44: The Mastermind and the Hero

Last time Taylor had taken a decision on what to do now that her former plans of betraying the Undersiders were revealed. She doesn’t want to be a hero, returning to the group is not an option...what is left? She took a decision, which isn’t mentioned here, so it’s going to be interesting and a surprise. Let’s continue with the intermission to finish this arc.

The moment I read the first sentence of this intermission I know it’s going to be good.

Coil held firmly to the philosophy that one couldn’t be too paranoid.

Coil, huh. Rather fitting for him to be the focus of this intermission, given the circumstances. He’s a rather important character right now, this is a good chance to see more of how he thinks and behaves. Besides, he’s interesting, and his power is one I have a lot of curiosity for. I already have high expectations for this interlude!

There are two realities right now, no indication on which one Coil will choose in the end. To make optimal use of his power – I think – he is in rather different situations, almost opposite to each other. In one he is at his hideout, with all those soldiers. In the other he is with what I imagine is his civilian identity, going to work and living in a neighborhood that’s not as flooded as the rest of the city. I see, I see. Hm.

To all appearances, he was an ordinary man leaving for work. His identity, fabricated, was complete, a real job at a real company, records going back ten years in health, taxes, dentistry, house payments and more.

How odd...so he had to fabricate an identity, huh. I wonder why he had to do that? I mean, before he got his powers and all, I suppose he had an identity, didn’t he? Could it be Coil’s civilian identity is thought to be dead? Or in prison? Or in any other circumstances that would make it really inconvenient for his real name to be revealed? There must be something going on here...but I’m not sure what it could be. Maybe it’s just his paranoia. He said it, you can’t be too paranoid.

Coil’s favorite henchmen were those who had, hm, a hook, a vice or something they needed on a primal, desperate level. Thanks to that kind of thing, it was easier to obtain their loyalty, since he could provide what they need. I suppose those are the perks of being hella rich and having a power like his, that he has ways to give those people what they want.

Well, they were the Travelers, Creeps and Grues of the world.

I wonder what he offered to the Travelers and Grue? Maybe the reason why the Travelers were nomadic is because they were looking for something, and they finally have the chance to obtain it thanks to Coil? That’d explain why they’d stick around. And Grue...well, my thought is that it could be related to his sister. He would do anything for her.

Coil puts on his costume while on the back of a van a person known as Creep will drive. They’re going to the construction site, to the hideout. He is considering ditching his civilian identity and sticking to the Coil identity permanently. I don’t know, wearing that costume 24/7 has to get uncomfortable at some point. Hah! Okay, no, for real, people may notice the civilian identity disappearing, perhaps? Well, maybe not, if he doesn’t socialize much and has an isolated lifestyle. He seems the kind of person that’d have that kind of lifestyle.

Coil’s underground base had fallen just beyond the scope of the massive lake in the middle of downtown. Had the crater extended another forty or fifty feet, it might have done more than crack the interior walls, cost Coil months of time rather than days, hundreds of thousands rather than thousands.

Lucky guy. Well, maybe it’s for the better. If the base had been affected more, Dinah could have been in danger.

Speaking of Dinah, the first thing he does is go see her and ask what seem to be routine questions: if there will be trouble during the next hour, and if there will be trouble before lunchtime. Both answers are met with rather low percentages of trouble, so he deletes the reality where he stayed up all night gathering information. Ah, so that’s how he does it...interesting. As soon as he deletes those, he divides reality again.

He often wondered if he really was creating the realities, or if it was solely in his perception, foretelling futures to the extent that they hinged on his actions. He’d asked his Tattletale, and she hadn’t had an answer for him.

Who knows. In my opinion, it looks more like the second possibility. It’s not that I think it’s impossible for someone to be creating split timelines and all that, it’s more like...I think if a new timeline was created, other stuff would change other than what Coil affects with his actions and plans, it’d all divert more than it does according to this power. I think it’s more like foresight depending on his own actions.

He also ensures his actions in each timeline differ a lot. I suppose that’s smart, it helps know what would happen depending on drastically different actions. Here he divided the timelines. In one he goes with his captains, in the other he surveys the base.

He owned the company that had built the underground shelters in Brockton Bay and neighboring cities. Hiding the details on his base in construction was a matter of intercepting information at the right time and place, paying with his own money rather than the city’s, controlling what was reported and to whom.

He owns that company? Well! That explains how he managed to hide this secret base without anyone noticing. I suppose he’s adding the same protections the rest of the shelters have – and more than that, because I bet he’s giving his own base perks the other shelters don’t have. Making it sturdier or something.

The Travelers’ room is ready, there’s even a containment facility for…uh…I forgot her name, dang. You know who they’re referring to. The worse she feels, the stronger her powers are, if I remember correctly. It’s no surprise a containment facility is needed for her. At least the rest of the Travelers are here to keep her more or less calm and as harmless as possible.

One of the reasons why he makes timelines so different is because he doesn’t like to talk with important subordinates without having a…failsafe, a reality to escape to just in case something goes wrong. The information stays, and none of the consequences happen.

Now that I think about it, what happens if Coil dies in one of the timelines? Is it deleted automatically and all returns to the one he is alive in? Does the timeline where he died continue intact? I wonder…

Okay, I didn’t expect to see background information on this Mr. Pitter guy. His is a rather tragic backstory, he was an exemplary nanny until he tried to divorce and his former wife ruined his life. Coil made that wife disappear, and that bought his undying loyalty. Not so tragic anymore! But hey, he is perfect to deal with Noelle’s complicated situation. Noelle, that’s her name. I won’t forget it ever again.

Once Mr. Pitter sadistically wakes up Trickster after just three hours of sleep, Coil takes the reins of the situation.

“Thank you,” Coil replied, “I would like to speak with your friend, downstairs. Past experience has suggested this works best if you act as an intermediary.”

I don’t know, I think that’s bound to upset Noelle, even if Trickster is here. This is going to be rather delicate. Not that…Coil will be in trouble, if talking with Noelle goes pear-shaped, he can go to his other timeline.

“Nothing definitive. I had intended to introduce Tattletale from the Undersiders to this situation, ask her for her opinions. That is, if she doesn’t already have some idea of what’s going on. Either way, her talents might turn up some details we have missed.”

“Had intended? I take it that she can’t, now, because of what happened at the hospital?”

“Something like that. She’s informed me that there’s currently difficulties within her group and requested that I not distract her or give her tasks until things have been settled ‘one way or the other’. Her words.”

I think Trickster will have an idea of what Tattletale meant. He was there when the events of that chapter happened, recording it in his phone, he may be aware of Skitter’s alignment and can imagine they’re trying to deal with her. Heck, I wouldn’t blame him if he thinks ‘one way or another’ is an euphemism for ‘we’re giving her brand new cement shoes’. Not that anyone in the Undersiders would want to do that.

Okay! Meeting Noelle won’t be as risky as I thought it’d be! They can do it from outside the vault, there’s an intercom there. Noelle shows her face, it’s obvious she isn’t having a good time. The construction noise may have made her antsy, so she was locked here, and she doesn’t like it. Hm. I hope this room is soundproof – what am I saying? Coil isn’t stupid. I bet it is soundproof!

Noelle sounds rather coherent. That may be a good sign. She is lonely, she can’t call anyone – well, she can, but she thinks Trickster and Oliver are busy all the time (she may or may not be right) and Mr. Pitter is a creepy man. I mean, if he gave Coil pause then yeah, he must be really creepy. His lack of reaction here doesn’t cement him as the poster boy of kindness and personality.

Huh. So...what Coil promised in exchange for the Travelers’ cooperation was to fix Noelle? That’s a really tall order.

“You’ve been working on that for a month now!” She began to shout, which only added to the gravelly quality of her voice, “Fix this! Fix me! You did this to me, Krouse!”

Oh man, that sure is opening a can of worms! Let’s see...by Krouse she means Trickster, because Coil says Trickster is not to blame. Then could it be possible Trickster accidentally triggered Noelle’s awakening? Did he cause her trigger event? That’s my theory here, that something he did made Noelle gain the powers she hates so much. In that case, is Trickster taking her with them because he feels guilty about it, perhaps? Come on, give more details!

No details. Coil gets rid of this reality, having confirmed Noelle is getting worse. He positions himself into the reality where he is going with his captains.

Okay, Coil seamlessly gains consciousness about what happened in the other timeline, without reacting not even a little bit! I wonder how it felt the first few times? How did he find out how his power works? Golly, there are so many details I want to know and no time to get them. I think that says a lot about Mr. Wildbow’s writing, that it makes me keep wondering about stuff, and it’s not because plot holes or anything like that, it’s because it’s so interesting and it also makes me wonder how the characters react.

Coil uses his knowledge to good use. Trickster shall sleep, Noelle will be given double rations so she has nothing to complain about – except, you know, that she isn’t getting any better. And, just in case, the vault will be reinforced. Another door, mostly. Yeah, he had said Noelle was getting worse, didn’t he? This is an obvious precaution.

Better ask Dinah the usual questions. Routines are important. The numbers haven’t changed at all, but there are new questions here, so it’s not like this is a repeated scene. Interesting questions, right here.

“The chance my grand plan is a success, ignoring any uses of my powers?”

“Seventy two point two zero zero two one percent.”

And that is without using his powers? Wow, Coil’s work has been really effective! It’s not a hundred percent, and there’s no reason for him to ever stop using his powers – percentages can change at the drop of a hat, we already saw that – but this is a good way to measure his progress.

Interestingly enough, the number was better than it had been before Leviathan attacked.

Hmmm...maybe that’s not so surprising. Someone among the capes who died may had the potential to be a significant player in any way to try to stop Coil. Kaiser is my first thought, but it could have been a hero, many died, including local ones.

Coil also tries to find out the odds the Undersiders’ problems will be resolved. When that turns out to be too vague, he asks if they’ll be standing by his side when he succeeds or fails.

“Sixty five point six. But they aren’t all the same Undersiders.”

Without Skitter, then? If so, then Coil’s success/failure will arrive in matter of days, or Skitter will have to take a hella long time to reconcile with them or do...whatever she wants to do.

“One more question. What is the chance that I find a remedy to the Travelers’ circumstances? To one decimal point?”

“Nine point five. Candy?”

A full seven percent lower than it had been before the Endbringer attack. Had a crucial individual died or left the city? Or was his running theory correct? Was there a reason Leviathan had come here, beyond the chance to attack a city already under siege?

Seven percent?! Their odds were already worryingly low, and now they’re even lower! Wow. Noelle’s odds are looking awful. There’s no way Coil is telling the Travelers this – not that he’d have a reason to talk about Dinah to them. But still...the Travelers’ patience may have a limit. If they see no progress, they may decide to leave Coil. That’ll impact his plans somehow, won’t it?

It was hard to ignore the reality, that Leviathan, from the time he arrived, had gradually moved closer and closer to this location, where the girl had already been ensconced. The Travelers had even picked up on that, called him, worried.

...when it’s brought up like this it’s impossible it was just a coincidence. Leviathan was going to get Noelle? What for? I think that’s the important question here, why he’d try to get to Noelle. Is she like a beacon, or is her power somehow attracting Leviathan, or...hm. Depending of what’s going on, there is a chance Leviathan may return in the future again, then? I don’t think this city can withstand another attack from Leviathan.

Seven percent lower. At what point did earning their loyalty fail to be worth the resources he was investing?

When they start failing or they start having serious doubts about you being able to help, of course. What’s hard to know is when it’ll start happening.

His plans are going so well he can almost taste victory. This all has been years of work, it started with gaming the markets, and kept going from there, having to be patient.

It had certainly been an expensive talent. Even with his ability to game the markets in a way that clairvoyants and precognitives couldn’t detect, it had taken him years to pay it off. A maddening, frustrating endeavor, when he had already been thinking of plans he wanted to set in motion, having to postpone them. And he still owed a favor, even now, up to a week’s services. He couldn’t be sure if he was powerful and secure enough to fight back if they demanded too expensive a price, or too much of his time at a point critical to his plan.

It sounds to me like there’s someone else above Coil, someone who...I’m not sure of the implications here. It kind of sounds like he was given this power, but I’m not sure. Those would be quite meaningful implications.

He can’t get impatient now, nor he can indulge himself in his vices, not when he is so close to victory. And that’s the end of this interlude. That was quite the interesting glimpse into Coil’s way of working! I’m glad this exists. Great! He’s turning out to be every bit as twisted as I expected, maybe even more. There always was this continuous feeling of malice in his actions. I mean, it’s pretty obvious he looks only his own success, isn’t it? Improving the city and all that...that’d be more like an afterthought, that’s what I have thought for a long while.

So, there’s a new arc coming! Ninth arc, it’s titled ‘Sentinel’. Let’s get it started!

Okay, I have read a few paragraphs and I can already see Worm has taken a sharp left turn, so to say. This reads almost like an intermission, but it's a normal arc. Huh! When I was saying things were going to change, I didn’t mean even a change in the point of view character, Mr. Wildbow! I can’t even tell yet who this person is supposed to be, hm...a male character, arriving to the city. Can’t tell alignment yet.

Stainless steel handles on the doors. He put his hands on the painted surface instead, pushed them open, and then held one of the doors open for the cart. He was distracted enough that he almost didn’t notice the group waiting for him.

The group consisted of a squad of PRT officers with their regular assortment of nonlethal weaponry and a large woman with a bleached blonde bob.

A group of PRT officers, and the woman here says she is glad he arrived. So this guy here isn’t a villain or someone to be imprisoned. Does that mean we’re stepping away from the villain protagonist thing? That’d be a shame, I thought that was pretty fun.

He glanced quickly at her hand, checking there were no rings, then shook it. “Thank you, ma’am. Director Piggot, I’m assuming?”

Ah. He’s meeting Director Piggot right after arriving! This guy must be a rather important person – and young, too, judging by what happened with his luggage a moment ago.

It seems things aren’t getting much better in Brockton Bay after Leviathan’s attack. Anarchy reigns. People who were frustrated and living from paycheck to paycheck are now...well who knows what they’re doing. Nothing good, Piggot’s words make that much clear. Riots, perhaps?

“Are you ready to take command of the local Wards?”

I must say, I’m surprised at the risk Mr. Wildbow is taking! We go from a wannabe hero turned villain, to a cape that’s going to be the leader of the Wards. That’s rather different from what I have read so far in this story! I wonder if it’s just for this arc, or if it’s a more permanent thing?

Leaving that aside, since this person will lead the Wards, that means he is a teenager. Alright!

“Good. The team here is smaller than your old team in Boston. It currently consists of Clockblocker, Vista, Kid Win and Shadow Stalker. We had two members die in the attack, and a third left with his family when they evacuated.”

Rest in peace, Aegis and Gallant. Also, Browbeat wasn’t mentioned, so he may have been the one who left with his family. It was Browbeat, right? Or maybe I’m getting him mixed up with another cape? There are so many that even with my notes I have a bit of a hard time keeping track of what each one does and who they are, hah.

The Director took the hand of a uniform inside the helicopter, stepping inside, and Weld followed her up, refusing a helping hand. The helicopter shifted slightly with the addition of his six hundred pounds of weight.

Oh hey, it’s Weld! The one who can absorb metals! And he...weighs six hundred pounds, apparently. Must be all that metal piling up, somehow. That can be quite the problem in everyday life, no elevators or anything like that. Weld seemed like a rather decent person, if I remember right how he behaved last arc. Nice!

Since he will lead the Wards, Piggot makes sure he at least knows the terminology everyone uses to classify capes.

Mover, Shaker,

Brute and Breaker.

Master, Tinker,

Blaster and Thinker,

Striker, Changer,

Trump and Stranger.

I’m pretty sure I received a message explaining each one of these in a word or two, but it seems I lost it somewhere in my website. I really should have tagged it or at least add it to my notes. Way to go, me.

Most are self-explanatory, but I’m not sure what a Shaker, Trump or Stranger do. I suppose I’ll find out the more this story continues, especially now that I’m reading from the point of view of someone who may use those classifications.

Weld is classified as a brute and changer, because he is rather tough and he can change. Simple enough! These classifications were originally aimed at villains, not at heroes, but now they’re used for everyone. Talking about these classifications is a chance for Piggot to introduce a new Ward.

“Right. This potential recruit is tentatively marked down as a Tinker/Mover. It isn’t unusual for powers to emerge in the wake of an event as serious as this. For this reason, we keep careful track of things to see if we cannot detect any new parahumans. This young man has been observed in the south end, moving at over a hundred miles an hour with the assistance of a mechanical suit. His inclusion on a local team would help fill gaps left by the death of Velocity, a local Protectorate member, and Armsmaster’s retirement.”

Tinker/Mover...so, invention and ingenuity, and skills that allows them to move with ease. Did I get it right? I suppose capes like Velocity are classified as Movers, so I think I got it right.

Leaving that aside...so Armsmaster is retired. Or...”retired”. I’m making the air quotes with my fingers, yeah. It’s a bit vague, this doesn’t tell much of what happened to him. I suppose that they’d all like to spread the word Armsmaster retired instead of whatever happened to him. Maybe he is in the Birdcage. It’d be awful PR if word gets out about what Armsmaster did.

“Others may make themselves known, and we will approach each of them in turn. To help fill the gap in the meantime, Flechette is arriving from New York.”

That’s a familiar name. She was fighting Leviathan too, wasn’t she? My readers were right, Mr. Wildbow doesn’t introduce names randomly! Weld knows Flechette already, they had a playful rivalry. Piggot takes her role as a humorless boss to the upper limits and doesn’t appreciate the inherent humor in this turn of fate. Will it kill you to show even a little bit of mirth, Piggot? Then again, I suppose you need a stern hand when you’re dealing with a bunch of overpowered teenagers.

“Clockblocker and Vista are your best assets. Clockblocker is a Striker 7 with touch-based time-stopping. Vista is a Shaker 9. Large scale spatial distortion.”

Okay, I wasn’t getting right the Striker denomination! I wasn’t sure what kind of label would fit Clockblocker, but Striker wasn’t one I ever considered would be correct. Vista is a Shaker...hm.

“Kid Win is a Tinker 4. Guns and antigravity devices, primarily. Shadow Stalker is more ambiguous. Breaker 3, sublabels are Stranger 2, Mover 1. Her particular nature as a ‘breaker’ makes her superlight, semi-gaseous, transparent and capable of passing through solid surfaces.”

Tinker, yep. Breaker...another one I kind of misinterpreted. Shadow Stalker’s Stranger status doesn’t shed any light on what it means, unfortunately for me. The Mover part kind of fits what I had already said, though. I’ll take what I can get.

“Then the top priority as far as opposition goes is… the Archer’s Bridge Merchants? Superpowered drug dealers. A Shaker 2, Tinker 2/Mover 3 and a Shifter 4. These aren’t big numbers. Am I missing something?”

The...the Merchants. They’re the top priority.

...

...well alright! Piggot was right, this city is going straight to hell!

The reason why they have acquired so much power is because they have become a rallying point for a lot of people. ‘Have-nots’, as Piggot says. I suppose that after Leviathan’s attack, the number of have-nots increased a lot. Desperation is a rather powerful force.

The Merchants took over the Docks, and their forces increased at breakneck speeds, recently they have started attacking infrastructure and hoarding arriving supplies. It sounds like most of these forces are civilians, who I’m willing to bet don’t have the strength or skill to fight a cape. It’d be an unfair battle. Perhaps aiming for the Merchants themselves may be good?

Speaking of the consequences of Leviathan’s attack, Empire Eighty-Eight is gone, it divided into two factions.

“One of two major offshoots of the Aryan villain group, Empire Eighty-Eight, which fell apart after the death of their leader, Kaiser. Fenrir’s Chosen are led by Hookwolf. Violent, utterly merciless, and reveling in the current chaos.”

One offshoot is violent and with brute force, the other is more diplomatic but no less despicable. Unfortunately for Brockton Bay, Hookwolf’s faction has a lot of parahumans. I don’t think Hookwolf has any of the traits that made Kaiser a dangerously competent leader, but sometimes brute force can be enough to tilt the scales on your favor. Purity and her faction aren’t faring very well in their diplomatic plans, the Protectorate have rejected every offer of help they did, and Weld is forbidden of accepting anything from her.

“Noted. Let’s see… Coil, powers unknown. The Travelers have high ratings on their powers, but their crimes are low end, pretty much. There’s the Undersiders… three Master classifications in one team.”

They have no information on Coil. He’ll be pleased. In fact, I bet Coil already knows. But hey, the Protectorate are aware of his existence, that’s a start. The Travelers’ classification isn’t told at all and seem to be considered low-priority. Even though the Undersiders have three Master parahumans – Taylor, Alec and...Rachel? I think, yeah – they’re also low-priority. If I had to guess, I’d say Coil prefers it this way.

Faultline’s Crew are pretty much a nonentity. I still want to see more about them.

Onto more mundane matters. Weld will attend Arcadia High School. The teachers have been informed about his nature. What Piggot isn’t sure about is how other students will react to Weld. It’s not like everyone will know he is a Ward, so—

Weld looked down at his hands. His body, from skin to hair to bone, was all metal and alloys of varying types. “I’ve dealt with it before, I’ll manage.”

...oh. Okay. Looks like...even when he’s not actively being a hero he still is made of metal. Alright! That’s...that kinda is the type of detail that’d be nice to know much earlier, Mr. Wildbow. No wonder he weighs so much! And it’d be rather difficult for anyone at school not to know he is a Ward. This kid here...it’s impossible he has a private life.

Each Ward receives an allowance and a salary that gets added to a trust fund. Weld’s room has been examined and confirmed not to have any exposed metal, because when he touches metal his body immediately bonds to it, forcing him to absorb it or shed a part of himself. Sounds rather inconvenient, yeah.

The reason why Piggot and everyone else bother to accommodate Weld – and other capes, I suppose – is because they want to help society and the world accommodate parahumans better. Now that’s unlikely. With so many different types of parahuman powers, with so many villains and heroes, it’d be impossible to create a world where parahumans can be fully integrated, no matter how many accommodations are made. Honestly, it seems to me the most parahumans can aspire to is to be treated like heroic figures. That’d give them the love and appreciation of the public. Other than that...yeah, civilian identities will be needed.

Piggot shows a rare moment of empathy when she accepts not to slightly demean the director of parahumans matters in Boston, because he is a father figure to Weld. Nice! And then back to Piggot’s theories on what to do with parahumans and society. One word: PR.

“As the number of parahumans first became clear, a long-term plan was established. In the early phases of the plan, much effort was dedicated to setting up the Protectorate and Wards, ensuring the public had heroes they could look up to, likable faces, likable personalities. Merchandising, interviews, tv shows, music, movies and more were all encouraged and supported with the idea of building up this image. Law, policy and rules for the official groups were all shaped with the idea of gradually building confidence in heroes.”

All this sound like long-term plans. But yeah, the early phases were to introduce parahumans as heroes the general public could rely on. It doesn’t sound too different from what’s done with comic book heroes and the such, just that instead of promoting a fictional character as rolemodel and helpful to society and people, these are real capes people can see and find out about. In other words: it’ll be much harder than promoting any old comic book hero.

The next part of the plan is to promote the existence of rogues, parahumans who aren’t affiliated to heroes or villains, they just go on with their lives and powers. It’d be easier to integrate rogues if you didn’t arrest and send them to the Birdcage like you did to Canary, guys. I can’t imagine rogues and society will feel very encouraged if something like that is known around.

This is a sensitive subject, slow to advance, as major corporations are particularly litigious when parahumans get involved. In simple terms, the big businesses do not want people with powers affecting the status quo, and it is very easy for them to derail years of work with one bad media campaign targeting parahumans.”

“I see,” Weld commented. He didn’t like that in simple terms bit of what she’d said. Too many people implied he was stupid because he was strong. But could he really speak up about it, when he couldn’t be sure if her choice of words came from an offensive or judgemental perspective? Or was he being overly sensitive?

I think that fits under ‘overly sensitive’, but it’s understandable and he shouldn’t be blamed for that. I think I’d be a bit bristled, yeah.

“-but you have fans, and people are interested in you. You get higher ratings for your interviews than even the average handsome hero gets. You’re second most popular for team leaders for number of youtube videos, possibly helped by a briefly lived internet meme featuring your face, and you have a blemish-free record, both academically and in your two years serving as a part of the Wards.”

You know how odd it is to see something like ‘hey, the number of YouTube videos about you means you’re popular, and there’s also this meme with your face, way to go’ in a superhero story? These are the wonders of the modern world. I suppose it’s no surprise Piggot talks about it. The Protectorate and the Wards seem rather focused on positive PR and all that. Of course she’d be happy to see someone who is in good standings with the public. Not that good PR will replace skill and leadership. His bright future will have to depend on how good he does with this Ward team.

Weld is an eager beaver, charming!

“One. I was hoping to arrange interstate training sessions with the New York and Boston Wards groups. As far as I’m aware, the local team doesn’t do this. They barely have regular situation training.”

Sounds like a decent proposal as long as those other teams have a teleporter cape to bring them all to Brockton Bay. Piggot doesn’t consider it necessary or a priority – and she tries to fight, but Weld is assertive and argues he is willing to deal with the paperwork and the reports. Nice! He’s already taking leadership and doing stuff that hasn’t been done before! He’ll have a bright future if he continues like this.

It’ll have to be done during their free time. Good luck convincing the rest from joining you, buddy. I doubt heroes have much free time, they may be reticent to let it go, no matter how fun whatever you have in mind will be.

Once they arrive, Piggot offers to go introduce him to everyone, he decides to go by himself because Piggot isn’t known for her friendliness and good standing with the Wards. Good decision…I thiiiink…? Arriving to the right place was simple enough. The team is all there, with their masks off. Time for the first impression! A greeting, received with the usual tepid salutations any teenager would give. It may be because they’re tired, though. Vista is injured, too.

“From everything I’ve heard, you guys are an excellent team, and I hope I can do you justice as a leader. It’s my hope that we can improve on a winning formula. I’ve talked to the director about some special training-”

“Training?” Clockblocker interrupted, “You just lost me.”

Whooops! That went by like a lead balloon. It’s not that everyone here hates training or anything like that, it’s just that the current times aren’t going to give enough liberty to have fun like Weld wants to. Not that he had time to explain what he had in mind. Pessimism is heavy, even Shadow Stalker feels the riots and disturbed civilians are going to be a permanent fixture. They even have anecdotes about what’s going on out there. It’s every bit as dire as I feared.

“Pull a fifteen hour patrol out there, then come back and talk to me about hope,” Clockblocker spoke. “You know, I could almost play along. Go with the blind optimism, say yippee to training. But you don’t even mention the guy you’re replacing? A few words for the dead? It’s a matter of respect, bro.”

He’s got a point there. It’d have been respectful to say a few words. Nothing fancy, something like ‘I know I won’t ever be able to truly replace your former leader’ may have worked. Not that…it’s particularly poignant. I doubt there’s really a right way to bring up this topic.

“I didn’t mean to dismiss them or their sacrifice. I just didn’t know them, and-”

That right there just made me wince. Bad move, Weld, it kind of implies you need to know them in order to give a few words of respect. It makes you look a tad standoffish. This guy is ruining the first impression already, and it’s not like he’s doing that on purpose. No surprise Clockblocker gets angry and goes out, making a point to turn his back to Weld before addressing the rest. Nobody else is even trying to pay attention to him, agreeing on what they’ll do during the next few hours.

Vista actually tries to be kind with the new guy, telling him everyone is just tired and that maybe Clockblocker simply didn’t give him enough time to mention Aegis and Gallant. Weld proceeds to ruin this lifeline by saying:

“Right,” Weld replied, feeling lost, “Aegis and Gallant. They’re the ones who died?”

He didn’t shove his foot in his mouth, he unhinged his jaw and swallowed his whole leg. Man, dealing with the Wards during the city’s awful situation and while everyone is tired will truly be a test of character. Good luck, Weld, you’re going to need it. He immediately starts studying the stack of files Piggot gave him, and that’s where the chapter ends.

Well this sure is a change of pace! A new point of view, from the diametrically opposite faction to the Undersiders. It’s good to see how the hero side is faring under the strain of Brockton Bay being a disaster zone, that gives a whole new perspective to this place and its problems. He’s going to have such a hard time I already feel pity for him.

I’ll continue next time.

Next update: next time

#worm #worm liveblog #story liveblog #book liveblog #liveblog

17 notes · View notes

shamrockcommunity-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Defining the Successful Community

Below is the text of an article that I wrote for Community Bulletin, CAI Oregon’s online magazine, in 2015. A successful community can be defined in many ways, and the leadership of each must define what success looks like for them. This article explains some ways to go about that and things to ask yourself as a leader/manager of a HOA community.

Here is the link to the online version of the magazine, which I encourage you to read through all of the great material found in the Community Bulletin. If you aren’t familiar with CAI Oregon, you can find more information about this organization at www.caioregon.org.

Jed Spera

Defining the Successful Community

by Jed Spera

As appears in the CAI Oregon Community Bulletin (October 2015)

If you have sat on a homeowners’ association board, you are well aware of the (hopefully only occasional) frustration that comes with a Board meeting where two of your fellow board volunteers are having a verbal knife-fight over a decision. Having made up your mind long before the meeting ever started, you are only half paying attention to the discussion, likely doodling something on the inch-thick mound of paper that you have in front of you, or discreetly trying to signal your community manager or Board Chair to make this tedious exchange end…

As you sit there waiting, you wonder why you volunteered to be on the Board anyway…was it for the excitement of the Board meetings or the glory that comes with being on the Board? Obviously not. You wanted to make a difference, right? You thought maybe, just maybe, the great ideas you had for your community would have a place to take root and grow when you joined the Board of Directors.

And has that happened? Despite the tedious meetings and struggle to be heard, your participation has improved your Association; made it better for everyone!

….Maybe?...

…even just a little…

How do we know that the decisions we have made by being on a Board has had a positive impact on the community? Or rather, how do we know that what we have done has made our community a success? Is your community successful because everyone knows all their neighbors, has great block parties, and everyone’s children are best friends?

And that is the ideal we all strive for, correct? We all want a quiet little community, where the buildings look brand new, the landscaping mimics the gardens at Versailles, and there are absolutely no rules violations because everyone follows every rule without question. We’ve all imagined that if we just had that, everything would be great and those Board meetings would be a half hour long and would primarily involve the consumption of wine and good conversation.

And that’s probably not a realistic way to look at success.

So what does a successful community look like and how does it get there? Does a successful community have a look, or is it defined another way? Cautionary anecdote says to never judge a book by its cover; is anyone able to attribute success solely on a drive through the community and a glimpse at the interactions between its community members?

In his articles entitledThe Secrets of Successful Communities, Ed McMahon (not the guy that brings giant paper checks to your door) has a list of seven characteristics a successful community should hold:

1. Have a vision of the future

2. Inventory community assets

3. Build plans on the enhancement of existing assets

4. Use education and incentives, not just

regulation

5. Pick and choose among development projects

6. Pay attention to community aesthetics

7. Have strong leaders and committed citizens

Let’s look at each of these individually and mull over them a bit more. Mr. McMahon was writing about communities in a larger sense (towns, boroughs, etc.), so we can exam how a community association Board might attempt to evaluate its success on these terms.

A Vision of the Future

What would you expect your community to look like 5, 10, or 20 years from now? If you continue on the path you have with maintenance, how will your buildings appear? What type of ownership do you have? Families? Young couples? Retirees? What new facilities will you have, if any? What improvements are needed?

As a Board, have a plan for what your community will look like in the future, both in terms of the facilities and your community’s demographics. This will help you plan your community’s long term goals. What facilities need to be improved in these time frames? Does your community require additional facilities like a club house, pool, or fence?

And as you consider your strategic goals, don’t forget to consider your Board of Directors; recruitment is a huge issue for most Association’s and its one that most Association’s do not think about until a crisis occurs (e.g. that Board President of ten years has just sold his condo, or you are losing two of your three Board members and no one wants to be on the Board).

Strategic Planning is a tool that absolutely every community should be using to create a policy about long term planning.

Inventory Your Community Assets

If you don’t have a reserve study and maintenance plan that includes a list of the common area and limited common area components of your association, you have already failed. There is a reason that most states are requiring reserve studies for homeowner’s associations; if you don’t know what you have, how can you possibly make informed decisions about what you need to do to maintain it?

Additionally, know who lives in your community. Your community’s population is another asset, and if you don’t know how many people actually live there and what needs they have, you will never be able to make a decision about the needs of the community in an informed way.

Build Plans on the Enhancement of Existing Assets

How often have you heard someone in a Board meeting lament about the lack of initial planning and foresight by the developer of your community? “They should have known we would need more parking spaces!” “What were they thinking when they planted so many trees in this small area?!?” This list likely goes on and on for your community.

And while those laments may be valid, they also don’t help solve the problem. If you have too little parking, find ways of using what you do have to its maximum potential. If you lack usable common spaces, find resources for your community to use other spaces. No community was planned perfectly; part of the responsibility of the Board is to find ways to maximize the resources the community already has. If you don’t know how to do that as a Board, hire consultants that can assist you so that you can tell your community members that you made informed, well-researched decisions to address their concerns in a way that doesn’t over-extend your Association’s budget or resources.

Use Education and Incentives, Not Just Regulation

You have all heard it before… “You catch more flies with honey.” So why do we forget this when it comes to our communities? If you have a rule that is being broken on a regular basis, or one that seems to particularly upset your community members, consider how you can meet the needs of the Board while also meeting the needs of your owners. Did your Board clearly and concisely delineate the reasons for the rules? Is your Board communicating regularly with its members about the consequences of rules violations? Has your Board followed the procedures for the violation process and have you communicated that process in a clear and concise manner?

And don’t forget to reiterate why it’s a good thing to follow the rules. Most people will respond positively when they feel their needs are being heard; clearly communicate with violators how having these rules meets the needs of the community (and what that need is), and why breaking rules impedes meeting those needs.

Reciprocally, evaluate the need of the violator and what needs they met by committing the violation. This may be an opportunity for your Board of Directors to consider changing a policy that can ensure both needs are met.

And don’t be afraid to incentivize sticking to the rules of your association. Consider providing a rules violator with lowered rules violation assessments if they correct an action in a timely fashion. But don’t forget that whatever incentives you provide, they should be delineated in a policy so that it is done in an equitable fashion and in a manner consistent with the legal requirements for the rules violation process.

Pick and Choose Among Development Projects

Your community is never going to be successful if it caters to every request from a homeowner or goes bankrupt doing every project it wishes to do. You probably can’t replace the roof, paint every building, overhaul the landscaping, and have a community barbeque all in the same year, even if that is what your community members want.

Prioritize projects by having set criteria for evaluating requests and needs. Maybe you utilize a system that gives priority to the projects with the highest impact. Or you may prioritize by cost. Whatever criteria you choose, be sure that you clearly define the criteria and follow it so that community members do not feel like a decision was made subjectively. And most important of all, be sure that the criteria you use is communicated to your community clearly.

Pay attention to Community Aesthetics

This is another no-brainer. No one wants to live in an ugly community. In fact, its likely that a major factor in a person’s decision to move to your community was based on how the community looked. Your Board may want to prioritize the aesthetics of your community by allocating additional time and funding to facility upkeep (especially projects that increase the beauty of your common areas and facilities), landscaping, and cleanliness.

Part of your community’s success will be defined by how quickly its members can sell their homes, so give proper consideration to requests of homeowners that are selling. Your community may even go so far as hiring a consultant or realtor to share their thoughts about the potential roadblocks your community may have to attracting new homebuyers.

Have Strong Leaders and Committed Citizens

This is perhaps the most important characteristic. Your Board should prioritize recruitment and retention of volunteers for committees and the Board. Burn-out is a big problem with associations that rely on volunteers to govern and handle aspects of the day to day operations of your community (this is especially true for self-managed associations). Be sure that you are not over-extending any single volunteer or relying too heavily on their participation. Additionally, always be thinking about recruitment and how you can encourage new participation.

Part of your Association’s success in this area will come from having proper policies and procedures, and be sure your Board is in alignment (i.e. be sure your Board has strategic goals that everyone has agreed to, even if individual members do not always agree on the decisions).

These tools help set goals so that as a Board, you can plan for the continued success of the community you represent. Maybe you have additional characteristics you judge your community by; there is no right or wrong here. As a Board, you should come together to decide how you will define your success and by what factors you will measure that success. And once you have decided, don’t forget to continue to look at your goals on a regular basis, or set a policy for measuring your success that is reviewed frequently. This will guide your daily operating decisions, as well as your long terms goals and strategies to ensure you remain successful.

For more information about Ed McMahon, and to download his full article on the Secrets to Successful Communities, follow this link: http://plannersweb.com/2013/07/the-secrets-of-successful-communities-part-1/

0 notes