#but i dont actually want to get into any major theory crafting or anything?

[kineticallyanywhere]

I wonder if the goal behind the project that made Penny could have been to create an aura that matches Oz’s. From a reductive view of androids with aura (that they aren’t human and so aren’t “real people,” as Penny had believed of herself before Ruby), Oz wouldn't have to interrupt anyone else’s lives. Maybe he could stay “alive” in the body even if it got horribly mangled or destroyed. They could just fix the android or transfer him to a new one. Oz could look however he wanted. 

I could see how Ironwood would see subsequent experiments around that goal as a necessary... thing. Maybe he always knew that Oz wasn’t telling him everything, but he still seemed to look up to and respect him. If he put the entire project together to help Oz, it’d be an interesting way of showing that the Tin Man does have a heart; he was trying to help someone he cared about. From there, I’d be very interested in his reaction to finding out that Oz has already reincarnated. That he’s already too late. 

[alexandrasavior]

Alexandra Savior AMA !!

COMING IN HOT BITCHES!!!!

Hi Alex! How much of the instrumentation was figured out before heading into the studio? Did you just bring in bare minimum demos and then fleshed them out in the studio? Or did you have most of it prepared and just recorded it? I really loved the album by the way!

Thank you! It was different for each track. A lot of the songs I had full fleshed demos that my band and I had recorded in Portland, and Sam Cohen and I worked around those. Some of the tracks like "But You" I had some Garage band demos I made on my own that we worked around, and some of the tracks like "Soft Currents" were just raw iPhone recordings of me playing and singing, and Sam and I worked out together in the studio.

Your music has some really interesting chord progressions and melodic phrases. To what extent do you consciously apply music theory to your songwriting, and how much just comes naturally from ear and instinct?

To no extent :/ I am not super skilled in music theory, I just play around until it seems like it makes sense to me

You described your desire for Belladonna of Sadness to sound "murderous", and I thought that darkness and dangerous feeling really shone through. What adjectives would you powerfully ascribe to your sophomore album? What tonal differences were important to you while recording?

I like this question! hmmmmmm. “honest"

I'm pretty new to your music, but, everyday I can't stop myself from liking it more. My two current favorite songs are “The Phantom” and “Bad Disease”. I've seen that many people prefer other songs from the album, so that made me think. What is your personal favorite song from your new album? Thanks!

“But You”!

Hypothetical: You’re making a new album and need to assemble your dream band. Anyone dead/alive. Who are you choosing?

My best friend Emma, my boyfriend, Mel, and like my therapist

Is there anything that you do in terms of practice when it comes to vocals/guitar/songwriting to improve yourself? Interested to hear

Try to play everyday

I'd love to know if you've got any cool, hidden talents that you haven't shown in public. Also I badly want to know who's done the cover for both “Saving Grace” and “Crying All the Time”.

ME! I painted them

What are your tips for marketing your music and getting more people to stream/buy your music?

I am lucky because I have a team that guides me through social posts, and a publicist. But don't post pics of your butt

Your music and music videos have so many cinematic elements to them. Does an affinity for film influence your music? If so, do you have some favorite films you can mention?

yes! Bonnie and Clyde, Rosemary's Baby, Don't Look Now, Fargo, Daisies

I've seen a few people comparing your latest work with Lana del Rey's. Do you listen to her? Was she really an inspiration for the record?

I like Lana she's talented, I understand the comparison in some ways , people tend to compare things naturally. But, no she wasn't my personal inspiration in any conscious way

Did you make a conscious effort to distance yourself from the sound of Belladonna of Sadness with this new album?

No, I have gotten mixed feedback some people say its the exact same sound, some say it is different, I just created what came naturally to me and used sounds that I am personally drawn to.

If you were to try to make someone a fan of your music, but could only show them three of your songs, what songs would you show them?

oooooh! hmmmmm. “But You”, “Audeline”, “Crying All The Time”.

Excuse me Ms. Savior - I fell in love with your duet "We're Just Making It Worse" many moons ago. What can you tell us about that song?

Thanks! Well my homie Cameron Avery wrote that tune, he just asked me to sing on it and I was glad to!

What do you think was the biggest difference between writing The Archer and Belladonna of Sadness?

i was alone

What advice would you give to up and coming musicians in the LA scene? Any Dos or Don’ts? Thank you :)

Don’t be gross and creepy! Don't worry about that hipsta shit. Do be nice and make your own shit!

What is the most unusual thing that you do to help you write or to help you get some inspiration?

Stalk all my exes’ new gfs on insta and then eat an entire chocolate cake

Will we ever get to hear your version of “Miracle Aligner”?

probs not

When does the vinyl for The Archer ship? I am hoping to get one of you drawings with mine!

First batch tomorrow 1/17/2020. Second batch Tuesday 1/21/2020. Thank You!

I saw a clip from a concert you gave recently. It was you with a couple of bandmates singing something acapella. What's that song? Is it yours? It was gooorgeous. Any chance you're coming to Barcelona?

"The Oak and The Ash", an old celtic song. I will be playing Sala Nau May 13th!!!!!!!!

Can you talk about the differences in recording your first album while signed to a major label and this album while signed to a indie label? I know you’ve spoken about why you left Columbia, but I was wondering how your personal process differed this time around, especially with different resources and personnel?

Yeah it was a lot less pressure making this record, I had more say and more freedom of expression.

You said in an interview that you wrote the songs for The Archer on piano or guitar and brought them to the studio recorded on your phone. Would you ever consider releasing these as bonus tracks? 

I might ya! They’re probably a lot less interesting than you think

Do you have any tips on how to overcome writers block/find new ways to approach writing ? I've been struggling a bit lately... Have you been reading lately? If so, what books would you recommend ? :)

Just be kind to yourself, do what is natural, don't beat yourself up. I just re-read "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" by Otessa Moshfegh, now I am ready " Conversations With Friends" by Sally Rooney. I would recommend any Joan Didion, also I enjoy Salingers "Nine Stories"

This album feels a lot more personal than the first one. How would you say it compares in relation to how you expressed yourself as an artist?

I was very insecure while writing my first record, and I was co-writing so I used a lot of techniques to shelter my own opinions and feelings, in The Archer it was just me, so it was more of a journal entry than a big fancy record

Which artists did you grow up admiring, and inspired your style? Also, do you have any poetry recommendations, seeing how all your lyrics are poems in their own right?

hmmmm. ok Hilary Duff, Elvis, The White Stripes, Billie Holiday. Poetry: I don’t read much poetry but I like Rimbaud and Sylvia Plath

How did you feel when you found out “Risk” played on True Detective?

I cried

On Belladonna, what inspired the lyrics and melody for “Till You're Mine”? That song is always on repeat in my household.

Thanks! I would say my own insecurities and jealousy towards a specific woman in my life

Do you write the melodies as well as the lyrics or is it a collaborative effort?

For this record I wrote the melodies, lyrics, and chords for every song aside from "The Phantom" which was a collaboration with Sam Cohen.

What inspired you to make this new album?

I just make songs, and each song was inspired by something different, but mostly I needed to show people I WRITE MY SONGS

Do you have plans to sell more merch? I would really love to get my hands on signed stuff or one of your drawings/crafts.

yes workin' on merch now! <3

As a budding songwriter and musician myself is there any advice or wisdom you could pass on when it comes to making a career out of it?

I think writing as much as you can and trying to write honestly is important. I was lucky in a strange string of events that started my career, and every dream is different, but I suppose just keep writing and releasing your songs wherever you can

Often when I listen to music I tend to relate the song to places I've been to or places I'm at while listening. Is it the same for you when you write your songs? Do you think about a specific place for each song?

Yeah totally!

Would you ever be interested in collaborating with another artist on their record?

Yeah! Depends on who, I have always wanted to sing on a rap song.

Collab with Weyes Blood coming anytime soon?

i wish brah

Any tips on staying sane with dating apps?

don’t do dating apps

Romance is a topic which you touch upon in both of your albums. Do you have any words or phrases that have helped you through a difficult time, both in dealing with or exploring relationships past or present, if so what are they? What is your favorite set of lyrics ever, i.e. phrases etc.

"fuck hem he's a deck", "Kathy's Song" Simon and Garfunkel, "I Remember" Molly Drake

Do you use more real life experience or do you use more imagination/creativity when writing lyrics?

Depends how boring my personal life is at the time haha

What's your favorite Beatle, favorite Beatle album and favorite Beatle song?

Georgie boy <333333333

Are there any plans to record/release that “political song” with the violin that you played at Homiefest last year? For a third album maybe? Thanks, loved you since 2015 when I first heard that “Risk” demo for True Detective. The Archer is a masterpiece no bullshit.

maybe! lol

Where is the love for Chicago? How come we haven't had any shows yet?

Give me a break homie I don't plan this stuff! Would love to come to Chicago! It all depends on timing and $$$$

What was the most challenging song to write on this record?

maybe bad disease

Will there be more music videos?

I dont think so :/

I noticed for both of your releases, theres been a decent amount of time.. between when they were recorded and released. Have you found this frustrating more than anything or is it nice to have time to sit with the album?

Well, sometimes it is hard to move on and write more, with so much time between the final touches of the record and the actual release.... But, it ebs and flows and its out now so its no difference to me now

Who are some artists/bands that you personally enjoy listening to?

Jessica Pratt, The Jhamels, Molly Drake

You also seem like a prolific painter, who would you point to as inspiration/muse? My best guess would be Picasso.

Alice Neel 100%

When you feel like you’re stuck when you’re writing a song, what do you do to get around it?

I stop writing for a while, don't force it. Everyone's process is different so I try not to beat myself up too much about it

When Kevin Parker hit reddit someone asked him about if he can upload a new song and he did so... Can we hear a new song ?

If Kevin Parker jumped off a bridge WOULD YOU ?!

Who's your dream musical collab? If you were to make a soundtrack what director would you work with?

dream collab: Snoop Dogg, director: Quentin

Can you say a little bit about the creation of the album art? It's understated but there is definitely a mood there!

my dear friend Dana Trippe took the photos, and my dear friend Aaron Mitchell did the fonts

Noticed your music has a very “old horror movie/spaghetti western” vibe to them. Any films/soundtracks that inform your sound you’d recommend?

ooooh Anything Coen Brothers or Wes Anderson

How much was growing up in Portland an influence on your music?

I would say the rain had a lot to do with my melancholy, but also the music scene in Portland has always been very DIY and rock-based so “ guess that influenced me in some way.

What’s your favorite song of your’s lyrically and your favorite song to perform?

fave lyrically: Bad Disease, fave to perform: But You or Mystery Girl

The whole record was amazing but “Soft Currents” keyboards are really something else, are you planning to write more on the piano?

thank you! yes been writing a lot on the ole ivories

I love how a lot of your songs sound very cinematic - would you like to get into movie music in some capacity? Either scoring or soundtrack?

Awh hell yeuh

Is there a particular song that you're most proud of?

But YOu!

What would you say is your favorite guitar that you own and what is your dream guitar to own?

I am not much of a gear-head though I would love and old nylon string

Do you think that “Risk” will ever be made available on Spotify and Apple Music?

Unfortunately, because it was released on T-Bone Brunette's label, there was a legal situation that made me unable to release it separately. :/

Will you be making more of those amazingly weird embroidered underwear for your new tour? Obvs need some Savior swag on this tush.

I wish! I don’t have a sewing machine anymore but I will be selling my lil boxes online soon

Any chance for a show in Toronto? I'm a big fan, and I introduced my mom to your music and she absolutely loves you (her words) so I'd love to take her to one of your shows

hahah awh <3 None planned at the moment :(

What song on The Archer was a struggle to finish? Or were they all easy?

easy peasy lemon squeezy

Don't want to take away from your latest release (because it is an amazing album) but was there a reason you decided to not work with Alex Turner or James Ford for any of the new songs, writing or producing?

-__-

Since both your albums have been about relationships mostly, would you ever consider making a political song/album? What is your stance on that old debate?

I write what comes naturally to me

What should I name my snail stuffed animal?

gail

Why didn’t you get a proper promotional run from Columbia for Belladonna? It’s an amazing album but I just found out about you through The Archer (which is equally amazing).

I can't really say, but I don’t think I was ever gonna make the kind of $$$ Columbia wanted

Would you like to tour South America at some point in your career?

awh hell yeuh!

Is there any particular era/motive which inspires your music visuals (album covers, music videos)? All the best from Split, Croatia!

70s!

Based on your Spotify stats, what are the countries that listen to you the most?

IDK! France seems to be very supportive

Any artist that you like that you could recommend?

Jessica Pratt, Sudan Archives, Vagabon

What's your favorite thing to draw/paint?

women

Who is your favorite artist / what is your favorite album at the moment, and how would you say this impacted on how The Archer sounds? Also please come to the North of England 😂

I AM!!! CHECK MY TOUR SCHEDULE AND COME BB!! favorite album rn "The Colour Green" by Sibylle Baier

What’s playing in your head now?

the click clacking of a mac keyboard

How do you like your coffee?

a lil bit of almond milk

Will The Archer be getting a cd release?

no :(

That's all folks! Thank for all of the questions, and most of all thank you so much for listening to my songs, it is a dream come true <3 Come see me play at my upcoming shows ! Can't wait to see you there <33333 amour my homies

[comicteaparty]

January 29th-February 4th, 2020 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from January 29th, 2020 to February 4th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

Which genre is your favorite for webcomics and which is your least favorite? Why is that?

carcarchu

Romance is without a doubt my favourite genre although i do have a particular soft spot for historical series too (and if it combines the 2 that's a dream come true ). as for my least favourite i guess sci-fi, i'm really not a fan of having to remember a ton of world building details and the backstories of some sci-fi series feel like reading a textbook sometimes. also comedy can be really hit or miss for me if the sense of humour used in the comic doesn't do it for me

Capitania do Azar

Honestly I'll read petty much anything if I'm having fun, not necessarily a genre-related issue. I think nice, interesting stories can be crafted in any genres. That being said, fantasy is usually not my jam and I really like Sci-fi

Kabocha

When it comes to webcomics, I'll read a lot of stuff! But I think Fantasy and Drama have a soft spot in my heart for some reason! I really enjoy it when a creator seems to be having fun (or is aware) of how hammy their drama can be -- and fantasy can be chock full of it! (And as an aside, I love the heck outta romance when done well! A lot of webcomics that classify themselves as romances tend to be more Drama than Romance, mostly bc they don't follow the genre conventions of romance, and instead stick to a more dramatic-oriented plot structure... it's intriguing.) Anyway! I think my least favorite these days is slice of life and gaming comics. A lot of it gets really weird and overwrought and I just... I dunno, there's gotta be a draw. Gaming comics just aren't very fun to read, esp as I've gotten older. A lot of it feels like "hey here's this pop culture reference this small-ish in group gets! how funny! hahaha" or punching down, and... I dunno, I don't have a lot of time to keep on top of memes for games I don't/can't play.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I love fantasy and sci-fi, mostly because I'm a world-building nut. I want to get lost in a new place when I read. This also extends towards historical comics, but those are pretty rare. I won't lie though, I definitely fact-check historical comics when I read them, because I want to know how much I can trust the accuracy of the setting. I also tend to enjoy romance if done well, and especially when blended with other genres. IMO, romances can be kinda samey by themselves, so there needs to be some other plot outside of the characters' relationship for me to stay invested. As for least favorite genres... Definitely comedy and slice-of-life. As someone who regularly watches stand-up, I don't typically find comedy comics very funny most of the time, especially relatable gag-a-day types. As for slice-of-life, it often seems... boring to me. I mean, I might just be mentally unable to process the nuances or something, but what actually happens in slice-of-lifes? That being said, there are always exceptions to these preferences, because I have been completely turned off from certain fantasy comics, for example, and there are definitely comedies that I have enjoyed thoroughly. In the end, all that really matters is if a specific comic suits my tastes/quality expectations, genre tossed aside

Ash��

When it comes to webcomics, animal stories and fantasy are definitely my favorites. I like getting lost in a world, I don’t want to stay in my own if I’m trying to escape. Oh, also, and actually being able to read emotions. On animals, because the style and emotion often have to be pushed so much, it’s way easier on me to be able to parse expressions on an animal than a human. Might just be my autistic brain tho /shrug Also, sci fi, heavy dose of “sci” in there. If I feel like I’m learning something it makes it so much more fun. My least favorite genres are romance and historical. To be honest, I find historical pieces rely so much on the politics and the talking and the human nuance I don’t much understand in the first place that I end up getting bored or confused or both. And romance is... well, my mom constantly had hallmark movies on, so I’ve kind of grown to hate the romance genre as a whole tbh. If it’s a side piece in a fantasy, fine, okay. Too often they’re unbelievable and the couple just doesn’t have any chemistry, and I just end up not buying it, so I’d like to yeet it to the side as much as possible in most cases. Now, there are some that are exceptions, here, but they are few and far between. Somehow, LGBTA+ romance just blows past this hangup, however. I dunno, it’s easier for me to care then, it feels newer, and... well, frankly, a good deal of the time they’re written better, I dunno. So, they’re the exception to the rule.

Kabocha

Hard agree on the LGBTA+ romance -- but also other marginalized groups tend to be more thoughtful in romance and tropes they use! While there's a general sort of... uh, set of expectations as far as plot and the happily-ever-after/happy-for-now ending, it's honestly really just sort of nice to see creators be mindful about what they're making, and write stuff that isn't just the same sort of nonsense that gets marketed in the mainstream. ...Now this is making me think about how much I would love to see Courtney Milan or Alyssa Cole's works translated into comics... If they could do Pride and Prejudice, someone pls give me A Princess in Theory (Sorry, I'm... a little bit of an aficionado for the genre, particularly in romance novels)

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I was never able to get into ANY romance until I started reading some LGBTQ+ ones. I never liked the genre before then, but I think it was just because I couldn’t identify with / care about all the cishet couple represented. Once I was reading a romance I actually could connect with, it was completely different. It’s still not a genre I like to read very often because it’s so trope-heavy, though.

keii4ii

I feel like romance gets pigeonholed into a specific (and admittedly prevalent/highly visible) type, kinda like how "fantasy" was pigeonholed as Tolkienish fantasy for years and years until recently.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

As for what genres I do like, definitely fantasy. I especially like dark stories with lots of nuance, twisty plots, and some surreality. I like both high and urban fantasy, though as I get older, I lean more towards the latter. There’s someone really fascinating to me about mixing modern tech with magic and the supernatural. My least favourite (apart from most romance) is probably newspaper-style webcomics. I’m just not into that into punchline-a-strip or art art that has a Saturday-morning-cartoon feel. Not that it’s bad in any way, and I actually do have a few exceptions of comics in that style that I DO like, but it’s just not really my thing. I also can’t really get into political comics or war stories.

@keii4ii Yeah, it definitely does! And it becomes frustrating to try and find Something Different within the genre when the vast majority of it is using the same tropes and set up. I think that’s also why I’ve started leaning more towards urban fantasy as I’ve aged because a lot of high fantasy was becoming ‘more of the same’.

(says someone who creates a Tolkein-esque high fantasy comic )

keii4ii

You can still tell great stories within those prevalent types. Just gotta be mindful about choosing tropes/archetypes because they work for the story, as opposed to just going with them mindlessly. But that's not really extra work; that mindfulness is important no matter what kind of a story you're writing, IMO!

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I also say I don’t get into punchline-a-strip comedy and yet have TWO comics in that genre, so I’m kind of a hypocrite.

Oh yes, definitely! I do try to avoid or even subvert some of those very common tropes, though I’m sure I don’t always succeed! Some tropes can be very effective, just not when every story feels like you’ve read this a hundred times before with minor variation.

Kabocha

Honestly, that's one of the great things about self pub and webcomics -- you can get SO many more unique voices without the gatekeepers that traditionally held genres and markets back. Like, y'all might not have heard, but back years and years ago, Borders had someone working there at the corporate level that helped stock genre fiction -- but basically segregated POC authors from the genres that they were actually writing in. Which was a load of crap. (And that's not even getting into issues with queer media and fiction being stocked in stores or even published.) So basically in stores you'd see for a while, kind of the samey sort of stuff that you find in genre fiction -- and I think webcomics helps kind of... break out of those same sorts of expectations for various genres? It's kind of nice on the whole.

FeatheryJustice

Favourite genre of comics: Comedy and Action. If I could find Jackie Chan action and humour combo in a comic I would love the hell out of it. Least favourite: Slice of Life of the drama variety and romance variety. I dont mind if it is slice of life with action or slice of life informative because I am reading for more. If it is a romance between just two high schoolers doing nothing then I get bored. If it is two high schoolers in a slice of life but it focuses on them working on an animation together giving us animation information I would be okay with that.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Lol, as someone who makes a fantasy series that plays with the amnesia trope like it went out of style (spoilers, it did), I totally agree that fantasy and romance can be very tropey.

kzuich

I like comedy and slice-of-life. Occasionally I like drama, but only if it's mixed with comedy. Or black comedy. (Seeing a recurring theme here? xD)

Or drama. With comedy sprinkled in.

I don't know why but I've always felt webcomics were really great for comedy. Some of the funniest stuff I've read was a webcomic. Dunno why. Least favorite genre? I don't really have one. I'll read anything but those are the genres I actually -like-.

DanitheCarutor

I'll read just about anything. I love stuff with some kind of surrealistic or abstract quality to it, like Weaker Sides (https://www.weakersides.com/), Seluda (https://tapas.io/series/seluda) and Hookteeth (https://hookteethcomic.com/). I also really enjoy stuff that is sad, or deals with heavy themes due to the feeling of catharsis they give me. Sun Rising (https://tapas.io/series/Sun-Rising), Rescue Me (https://tapas.io/series/Rescue-Me) and The Dogs on the Railroad (https://tapas.io/series/The-Dogs-on-the-Railroad) come to mind. It's nice to experience difficult emotions in a controlled environment. If I had to be genre specific I would have to say my favorite is the very elusive horror genre. Love me some spoopy shit and pretty much everything else that comes with it, no matter how cheesy it gets! It sucks that horror is so hard to find in webcomics, at least for me.

Least favorite genres? Gag-a-day, slice of life and romance. I have a lot of trouble getting into comedy comics that aren't story driven, so I don't usually read gag-a-days or autobios. I will read the latter two since most of the time they're good things to read when you don't want to turn your brain off for a bit, but all three genres are honestly really boring for me. When it comes to character centric stuff I really want something like a deep character study, although I haven't had luck finding stuff like that. Romance specifically, I have a hate/I don't mind relationship with. Romantic intimacy has always been super gross to me, I hate seeing people kissing on each other in movies due to an issue with how nasty the human mouth is, and the sound makes me sick to my stomach. With comics it's easier to digest, the characters are just drawings so I don't mind seeing them get all buckwild, but it's still not my most favorite. There are occasions where I can't even read a comic due to genre vs. setting. For example (and I'm am not saying this comic is bad, I mean it has over 100k subs) A Matter of Life and Death (https://tapas.io/series/A-Matter-of-Life-and-Death). I really love the art in this comic, the setting, some of the characters and the little bits of lore I saw. But it's a slice of life-esque romantic type of comic, so the world building for this extremely creative looking setting is kinda put on the back burner for intimate scenes between the MCs. Again, this doesn't make it bad. I personally turned out not to be the target demographic because I wanted 'A' and the creator wanted 'B'. Maybe I'll give this one another glance someday to see where the story has gone, I admittedly haven't read it in a couple years so the story might have developed.

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

My fave is anything that deals in heavy lore-- most that fit the bill are usually fictional like fantasy and sci-fi, but there are always exceptions that play with some good world building outside those genres! I love to read comics that i can get lost in and want to almost research the world created-- as long as that element is balanced in a story, im usually up for anything! That being said however, my least favourite is the gag strips and strictly comedy. I haven't yet found any that have really made me read page after page since my first looksee with comedy comics (sassy creed and that super smash bros one come to mind so quite a while ago) but I'm sure if i was more diligent in searching through the genre I could find something for myself!

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I love history and sci-fi. I have a hard time getting into fiction and I like stories with a firm connection to something real in the world

kayotics

I’m a fan of fantasy stories, and I like romance sometimes as well. I don’t mind gag-a-day strips but I don’t really follow any, mostly since I’m looking for a little more meat in my story. Despite how much crossover sci-fi and fantasy have, I’m not big into sci-fi. If a story engages me in that genre, I’ll still read it, but it’s not a genre I search through. I also don’t read war comics. I have a hard no on superheroes as well, I’m just tired of them.

renieplayerone

I love anything thats a mix of SciFi and history or some other genre (its why i love blade runner, scifi film noir). Weaving history into scifi is a challenge but man does it make for really cool aesthetics and moral questions

RebelVampire

My favorite genre for webcomics is probably a tie between fantasy and sci-fi. Not only do I just personally love world-building heavy material, but I also just think webcomics is a medium well-suited to them. I kind of don't feel things like live action do those genres justice. However, webcomics have a lot of artistic freedom so art style, differing art effects, etc. can all come into play to create awe, whimsy, and a bunch of other emotions that just capture a feeling of wonder that I expect from those generes. As for least favorite genre, definitely serialized comedy - which by this I mean comics that have a story along with the comedy. For me I just...don't find a lot of them funny. A lot of the humor is a bit too trope-y for my liking or imitating comedy without really understanding why the comedy worked in the original source. So for me the jokes just rarely land even if I can appreciate the effort that went into the comics. That being said, there's always exceptions. Like http://sgkdr.webcomic.ws/ is a comic I would've initially passed just based on genre, but when i read it the humor was/is actually really smart and really creative. Just the same, there's plenty of fantasy and sci-fi comics I don't like, though this usually comes down to story execution even if I think the art is pretty to look at.

BadSprite

My favorite genres for comics are action, comedy, drama and slice of life. I'm particularly a fan of slice of life stories that take place in some fantastical world, because the nuances of the setting makes the mundane so much more interesting. Also action comedies are my jam. One of my faves being: http://paranatural.net/. I personally love how comedy is integrated into action scenes to capture the frantic nature of the situations. My least favorite genre are probably romance, it's not that I have anything against it. I just feel like there's an oversaturation of them and there's very few that brings something new to the table. Most of them feel too same-y for me.

eli [a winged tale]

It really depends on my mood~ my bookmarks are all over the place. If I really enjoy the art and the characters, I usually stay for the story. My usual go-to is fantasy, sci-fi or slice of life! I recently got into romance but I’m a bit choosey about it. I definitely echo @Kabocha ‘s statement about exploring different voices and subversion of tropes. Always eager to read tighter storylines and those that take risks in diversity. Least favourite same as @FeatherNotes(Krispy) really! Sometimes it’s funny (love strange planet) but I won’t be binging it

MJ Massey

My favorite genres of comics are fantasy, action/adventure, and romance. Especially if all three are together in one delicious package. I'll read pretty much anything but it's gotta be well paced and well written to keep me coming back

Javi

My favorite genres are action, comedy, fantasy, sci-fi, slice of life and adventure. Also anything with animal characters in it I'm already invested in it but that's just my furry brain talking (edited)

AntiBunny

I would say a broad term of adventure. Be it scifi, fantasy, road trip, or superntural I love a good adventure comic full of interesting characters and locations.

[mbtinsanity-blog]

Alright folks, it's time for a good old-fashion MBTI rant, you ready? OKAY HERE WE GO LET'S GET STARTED

So Vox put out a video who knows how long ago about how the MBTI personality test is pretty much inaccurate half the time, the theory formulators (mother Briggs and daughter Briggs Myers expanding on Carl Jung's ideas) had no formal training in psychology or cognitive behavior, the system doesn't really fit everyone, people shouldn't use the system to gage someone's professional success, and the whole thing is totally useless astrology-esque Forer Effect nonsense and should only be used for entertainment purposes.

Where do I even start here.

So first of all, they're right, your Myers Briggs personality type should absolutely not be an indicator of your professional success or leadership skills, nor should it pigeon-hole you into any particular job or role. Companies that use MBTI this way are companies I'd be skeptical of using sound practices in their organization and categorization of employees.

The thing is, there is waaay more to people than their personality type. Trying to fit someone into a "suitable" role based on the way they think, feel, and take in information is ignoring what people actually want to do or enjoy doing, which is significant data when you're trying to get someone to do a job. Just because you might be really really good at crafting/outfit-making because the way you think and interact with your environment + the culmination of your life experiences has given you the tools you need to be good at it DOES NOT mean you want to start up your own crafting business or that you want to go into fashion. It just doesn't. Yes, that's a real life example for an ENTJ in case anyone was wondering, and that also doesn't mean all ENTJs would be good at crafting or fashion design. Crafting and fashion design are activities that can play to an ENTJ's strengths (like Te, Ni, and Se), but you still need skill, experience, tools, knowledge, and interest to do them.

That said, you CAN use someone's Myers Briggs personality type to predict what they might be good at. I was playing Mario Party with a bunch of new friends and I go in knowing that my Te sucks, I have none of it, but I instantly recognized one of my friends was a Te user when we paired up for a Te-oriented mini game I'd never played before. So what did I do? I instructed him do most of the Te work and we totally owned it! Recognizing what cognitive functions people are good at does help predict what kind of tasks someone might be good (or bad) at, which is useful for anything from knowing your own personal strengths/weaknesses to effectively structuring teamwork. Even so, it's really important to consider what tasks people want to do. I know an ENFJ who is really flippin' good at math, but she also hates it. Her propensity for math might not have anything to do with her type, and her hatred for it isn't an inherent ENFJ quality either, so you can't just say "hm, well because you're an ENFJ, you must be good/terrible at math so you should/shouldn't go into a math-oriented field", we can only guess. Trying it out is really where you get to discover it for yourself! And even if you're terrible at math, that doesn't mean you can't get better at it, practice, and go into a field that uses it. You can do whatever you want to do, regardless of your type.

Once more for the people in the back: YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO, REGARDLESS OF YOUR TYPE

Okay so back to why this Vox video pissed me off. First of all, it implicitly discredits the founders, Briggs and her daughter, by stating they had no background in psychology. What's that smell you say? Why I do declare it's the pungent aroma of logical fallacy Appeal to Authority, or at least it's antithesis. What actually makes a scientist a scientist? Someone who performs GOOD SCIENCE. I cannot tell you how many "scientists" there are out there with degrees in their field of specialty who didn't practice good science. Meanwhile, people without degrees (I dunno like pea-counting geneticist Gregor Mendel and legit so many other major contributors to science without degrees in their field of contribution) who have been taught scientific principles and appropriately used them are way more scientifically legitimate to me. One scientific principle is observation, and when it comes to psychology, observation is especially key! Who cares if Briggs and her daughter didn't have the scientific background, you don't need it to be a good scientist and make legitimate observations. On top of that, they came up with a testable system, which even in fields like biology and chemistry can be challenging to develop, but in psychology it is especially not easy. So trying to discredit people’s science and their systems based on professional qualifications? Yeah no, not having it. Let’s keep going with that train of thought for a sec and touch on their feelings about astrology. Now I’ve always called myself a “sucker” for astrology, acknowledging that the descriptors do tend to be both positive and appealingly general enough to ascribe a feeling of accuracy to your specified type that isn’t based on anything real (i.e. this is the Barnum or Forer Effect). But let’s challenge that for a moment, shall we? Surely from a scientific perspective there’s no way to support astrology as being a legitimate system, right? But the answer is a little more nuanced than “astrology is illegitimate”. Astrology doesn’t have any logical basis for the associations of its types with the alignment of the stars when someone was born, but what it does have is twelve distinct and cohesive personality types.  It is not inconceivable that someone out there observed various people over time and generated 12 different personality types based on the month in which someone was born by recognizing patterns in people and then assigning those patterns to individual personalities. I’m not saying these personalities were formed with “good scientific observation,” but the system isn’t as far-fetched as it might otherwise seem. Even if it’s not a good system, it’s still worth considering seriously as a system before brushing it off as total nonsense as many are inclined to do. To do so without investigation would not, in fact, be considered “good science”. So what about the idea that MBTI doesn’t fit everyone? Well, that’s kind of the point of testing the system, isn’t it? Not everyone has to fit the system for the system to be useful, but also I personally have yet to come across someone who doesn’t possess at least one of the suggested eight cognitive functions. Maybe MBTI doesn’t work the way the system currently says it works, which is why we can modify the system if the system doesn’t hold true. Theories are flexible and subject to change! If the system “doesn’t fit,” maybe it’s not a good system or maybe that’s okay and it’s still useful. Myers Briggs has wider applications than pure entertainment, and suggesting otherwise is being narrow-minded to the scope of the system. MBTI gives us a way to talk about human cognitive processes in an accessible way.  Being able to describe some of the reasons why people get along or don’t get along and how you can improve relationships is 200% useful information that we should not just discard as flimsy entertainment.  Even if a system seems ridiculous, take it seriously and then explain your reasons for why it isn’t cohesive. Be better, Vox. Be better.

[nebulawriter]

Black Panther

WAIT BEFORE YOU SCROLL AWAY! If you like this blog, some news: I recently got a moviepass, which means I will be watching a lot more movies, I’m hoping to make it one movie per week, which means one movie REVIEW per week. I’m not sure what I want to do with television right now, though, so we’ll deal with that later. 

ANYWAY as all the early reviews have told you this was a really good character driven, socially aware, well plotted, well crafted movie. 

I mean I think it kinda had to be, right? The first major black superhero movie? Granted I only saw it a little bit ago, but it’s hard to find flaws. but I want to start with that so I can talk about the characters, since they’re the centerpoint of the film. 

I mean I guess it’s not...the most complicated plot? I’m sure that was done intentionally so they could focus on showcasing the world and the characters and everything else, but...I mean its pretty predictable for the most part. 

Tied into that there was a lot of pretty on the nose exposition? but that was needed to explain the world and properly set things up and. Yeah, it was fine. 

Oh and there was one character death that was kinda unnecessary. 

Other than that? Yeah it was pretty solid. 

Killmonger: As you may have heard, this is one of the best villains marvel has put forward. I mean, it’s not the highest bar, basically he’s hanging out with Vulture, Hela, and Loki in the “best marvel villains” tent. I will disagree with some critics that he’s the BEST part of the movie or something like that (especially with like...*gestures to all the other characters*) but yeah he has a ‘point’ and some excellent political commentary and he’s got a cool look to him. Marvel has successfully saved another ex-human torch, because he does some wonderful acting that really stands out playing against the other characters. Personally I’m not quite behind the trend to make sure villains “have a point” but “take it too far” because I feel like that treads dangerously into just having the marginalized being villains for the heroes, and then we get into the “bad” marginalized people and....okay thats a complaint for the trope in general, THIS movie doesn’t do too much to contribute to that. I mean it’s a thing but he’s still a good character and a bad...person...and I get that. Actually a part of me wants to write something up about what really ‘Made’ him a villain, because I think it was more America than Wakanda, but that might not be for me to do. 

Klaue: Andy Serkis steps out of his motion capture suit to give a....well it was still a pretty animated performance. I think if he were the ‘main’ villain he would have gotten annoying, but as a side villain he played off Killmonger well. Did not expect him to die, mostly cause I thought Marvel was gonna keep him on, but kudos, movie. Though I wasn’t happy Killmonger’s girlfriend died, that felt unnecessary.

W’Kabi & Okoye: This will probably be more about Okoye because Heck Yeah but I love the duality in morals presented with these two, especially as they’re presented as lovers. Both are close to T’Challa, but both end up betraying him for Killmonger at the halfway point (ish. Not really a betrayal. just. On Killmonger’s side) and it’s so clear that Okoye does this for her love of Wakanda, and when Killmonger did things according to the rules of Wakanda, Okoye followed him, even if she didn’t like it. Very Lawful. W’Kabi, though, wanted what Killmonger could offer, and when the chips fell, went to war over it. These two also were the leaders of the armies that fought in the finale, so it was very interesting to see these two as opposites. Also, though OKOYE!!! DAMN I LOVE HER SO MUCH!! LIKE DAMN!

M’Baku: Don’t have much to say on him, other than I guess the one thing that wasn’t predictable was the good guys coming to these guys for help, but it made narrative sense, and it was nice to see that he was just....legitimately doing what he thought was right, the traditionalist to Shuri’s progressiveness. I wonder what he thinks about the end of the movie.

Zuri: Yeah I called his death the second he was on screen. 

Ramonda: I actually called her death too, but was gladly surprised. Woo!

Everett Ross: I did not expect to like Martin Freeman in this. It’s weird hearing him with an American Accent. He might be the weakest character in the movie, but that doesn’t quite feel like a flaw, he was....a plot point. And it was nice seeing the white guy being a plot point. 

Nakia: I admit, it took me a bit to stop just thinking of her as Lupita Nyong’o, but I loved her, I loved that she was always right, I thought her romance with T’Challa was adorable, and she was badass. Absolutely the moral center of the film and I dug it. 

Shuri: !!!!!!!! The comic relief of the film, clearly more in touch with the outside world than most, but she had respect for Wakanda and traditions and such. Her dynamic with her brother was amazing (actually, T’Challa’s dynamic with all the women were amazing, but we’ll get to that) She was smart and witty and brought some great levity to the film. Plus....awesome. IDK. 

T’Challa: A solid man, a good king, I like him. I mean that was basically it was just following him as he faced some pretty damn tough decisions. And then everything went to hell in a handbasket and. Whoops. But yeah, he was awesome, and a great person to have at the center of all the wild personalities listed above. Woo!

Wakanda: What an amazing world. I know so little of African culture I can’t really speak to a lot of it but I appreciate all the touches of it, and....okay I really appreciated that the tribes were color coded that. that helped a lot. But yeah holy shit that was amazing to see. 

(Sidenote, Theory for Infinity Wars: I’m betting that inside that Comet of Vibranium that’s made Wakanda so rich is in fact the Soul Stone. That’s my guess anyway. I dunno, if I were an alien trying to keep one of the Infinity Stones away from Thanos, wrapping it in a giant ball of Really Tough Metal and launching it into space (where it might have accidentally hit a measly planet like Earth) seems like a good idea.) (But the Wakandans in their new trading initiative dug too greedily and too deep and will probably find it and accidentally reveal its location to Thanos. Whoops. Can’t wait to see all the tribes united, fighting together, WITH the Avengers) 

The Social Commentary: Im willing to put money on the idea that the mid-credit scene was written after 45′s election, because you could almost tell they were ust... desperately trying not to say the word “wall.” 

As it was, yeah, this movie was directed towards a specifically African American audience, and I say African American instead of Black here because a lot of it is focused on America’s race problems (not to say other countries around the world DONT have that, but it was very America focused, which, for a movie made by Americans, makes sense. 

Anyway, as I am NOT African American, or a racial minority of any sort, I cannot speak to this with any nuance and can just say “Good.” Like, thumbs up, with my understanding of it, I’m all in favor of black communities a) helping each other out and b) getting stronger in general. If anything, I think a lot of the white characters in the movie could have been held more accountable, and considering Ross was right there they could have done something with that. but hey, they kept their focus, I’m good.

The plot: Like I said, kinda predictable (did you really expect me to believe T’Challa was dead?) but I....don’t care. It was tight, like, no holes that I can think of though I’m sure the internet will think of some.

Oh, and Bucky’s still in Wakanda. We kinda knew that but ‘kay. 

I really want to see Luke Cage working with the New York Wakandan Outreach Initiative, and/or going to Wakanda. I just think that’d be neat.

Wait, actually, thats it. T’Challa vs. Killmonger reminded me of Luke Cage vs.....shit what was his name, his half brother. Like, finding out his Dad was Wrong and now dealing with a villain his Dad created.

Am I missing anything? I think that covers all the stuff. 

[martinmcg]

Getting Started in Public Relations

So, a few months ago a student on Middlesex University’s journalism degree approached me with some questions about how a journalism student could prepare for work in public relations. Anyone who knows me will be entirely unsurprised to discover that I answered at somewhat stupid length. I think some of the stuff here might be of more general use to those at the start of their careers (although some of it is particular to students at Middlesex) so I thought I’d put it up here.

What are the most important skills you need to work in PR?

Rather than try to answer this myself I’m going to defer to the annual “State of the Profession” report from the Chartered Institute of Pubic Relations (CIPR ��� attached, along with the 2019 “PR and Communication Census” from the PRCA – Public Relations & Communications Association) which will both give you some insight into the current state of the profession.

The CIPR report (p28) sets out the top five skills most valued by recruiters as:

Copywriting and editing

Social media relations

Media relations

PR programmes/campaign planning

Research, evaluation and measurement

Writing well, being able to write in a variety of voices for different media, and having a working grasp of grammar and punctuation are still the fundamental skills for PR staff. Increasingly, those working in public relations have shifted from being “content prompters” (encouraging others to create material) to being “content creators” and while there can be lots of bells and whistles to this in terms of production skills, the basic requirement is to be able to craft a convincing message – and, most often, that requires a skill with words. No one (almost no one, anyway) is born a good writer – writing is a muscle that is strengthened by reading good writing (and paying attention to why it is good) and practice.

There’s still an assumption amongst some – older – people working in PR that the young (being “digital natives”) have a sort of innate understanding of how social media works that older generations lack. I’ve, generally, not found this to be true (being a consumer is not the same as being a creator) but you can take advantage of this prejudice if you can demonstrate an ability to use social media effectively. Having your own accounts with strong followings and interesting content (but possibly not too interesting) will be regarded as a definite positive by many employers.

Media relations – being able to demonstrate that you understand the needs of journalists, influencers and clients and that you have the ability to develop networks, manage relationships and build contacts remains a fundamental part of the PR role. The way these relationships work is different from sector to sector (financial PR works differently from fashion PR which works differently from political PR). The old-fashioned idea of schmoozing clients over long, expenses-funded, lunches (that, on a good day, became long, expenses-funded dinners) is, in these more austere times, very sadly, largely a thing of the past. But managing professional relationships is still crucial. Some people have a natural talent for the personal connection stuff, other people (like me) have to fake it by keeping meticulous files on contacts, their interests and previous collaborations.

Programme and campaign planning is not something I’d expect a new hire to be able to manage off the bat, but it’s useful if they have an idea how planning works and how their contributions have to fit into the broader scheme of things. If you want an introduction to the theory and basic outline of planning, I highly recommend Anne Gregory’s “Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns” – they’ve just published a new edition.

Increasingly pubic relations is expected to demonstrate a clear “return on investment” to managers or clients. So, the measurement and evaluation of projects has become more and more important. In journalism – where clicks tend to be king – measurement tends to be relatively straightforward. For PR it can be more complex – since individual public relations activities are often part of a longer-term strategy. The PR industry has developed the “Barcelona Principles” (introduction here: https://www.prnewsonline.com/barcelona-principles-2-0/) and the AMEC framework (https://amecorg.com/amecframework/home/framework/introduction/) as attempts to standardise and regularise measurement across the industry – but even where these are not formally applied, it is increasingly expected that PR campaigns and individual pieces of work will have clearly defined and measurable outcomes.

Is there any advice you have for me changing from a journalism field to pr?

So, as noted above, the ability to write and to manipulate words remains a key connecting tissue between the PR and journalism industries and if you have other content creation skills from your journalism background (audio, video, social or digital media) then you will definitely be able to leverage those in the PR field.

One of the most common complaints about PRs from journalists is that they get bombarded by useless stuff that isn’t relevant to their job (https://www.prweek.com/article/1668923/pr-pros-dont-understand-story-is-say-majority-journalists) and I think this is a fair criticism of a lot of bad PR. If you can demonstrate an ability to do the research into what the journalists/influencers you are targeting need and can use, then you’ll be doing your clients a favour.

I think one of the things that most journalists don’t get about PR is that, when done well, it is (usually) a much longer term and more strategic role than journalism. Good PR isn’t just about churning out today’s story (in the form of a press release) but developing long-term approach that establishes your client in a particular niche or as having a particular relevance. So, good PR isn’t just reactive – it involves being prepared for events and having crisis plans and developing campaigns that fit into strategies that deliver results over relatively long periods. You do, sometimes, get the buzz from tight deadlines and needed to respond instantly to crises but in between it’s about creating relationships that sometimes don’t pay off for years.

Do you have any suggestions on how you stand out in the industry?

My instinctive response to this – because of my background – is don’t stand out. My experience is in PR for political/social campaigning (unions, charities, causes) and one of the mantras on that side of the industry is “never become the story” and, as such, I’m always a bit suspicious of PRs who spend a lot of time promoting themselves.

That said, I recognise that not all areas of the PR industry are like that and that you do need to build a reputation within the industry.

I’m a big believer in professional standards – I’m a Chartered member of the CIPR – which means I do my “continuous professional development” (CPD) each year and get a little badge that says (to me, and I hope to others) that I’m a good boy who takes his job seriously.

As a student at Middlesex you are automatically entitled to membership of the PRCA – you can sign up here (https://www.prca.org.uk/membership/join – make sure to use your Mdx email address). Their website has lots of interesting and useful links and (in normal times) lots of opportunities to connect with others. You can also, I think, get free access to view their online training – which is normally £200 or so a session.

I’m very sceptical about specific “networking events” as they very often attract people who only have a very instrumental view of building contacts (what can they get out of it for themselves) but – in normal times – London is great for attending industry related events where you can rub shoulders with, get to know and maybe build up relationships with people at high-levels in the industry. Again, the PRCA website is a good place to start – if we’re ever allowed to gather in the same room as other humans again. But right now it’s actually easier to attend things because Zoom calls tend to be a bit less exclusive or exclusionary and – at least for me (I’m not great at the schmoozing bit) – a lot less stressful, though clearly the intensity of engagement is lower online.

Managing your own PR persona is important. A professional website (don’t do what I do, do what I say!) that shows off your skills/abilities/personality can be useful – especially if you can keep it up-to-date with something like a blog that discusses issues in the industry. Similarly, a strong LinkedIn profile can help and good, professional social media accounts that you use to engage in discussions about the industry and build up connections (not just spam people for job opportunities).

Finally, and I say this to all my students, there’s a mindset amongst some people that you can’t do PR or show off your abilities unless someone else has given you instructions – so students sit around complaining about lack of internship opportunities or the chance to show what they can do. This is not true. I am an internship-sceptic – too many of them offer poor opportunities to learn or a real foot in the door. Rather than waiting for the perfect internship, I encourage professionals starting out to “intern for themselves” – find a cause or an issue you care about (a local charity or a community group) and volunteer. Develop a portfolio of stuff that you’ve done that shows you are a self-starter and that you have the skills employers are looking for so that you’re starting to define your future career on your own terms. I graduated into he middle of a recession in the early 1990s and spent two years volunteering – building up a body of work and contacts while doing jobs I didn’t much like (barman, supermarket shelf stacker…) – until I made my first break into working in journalism.

Lastly, is there anything I can do or read to keep myself informed?

This lot should get you started…

MAGAZINES PR Week (https://www.prweek.com/uk) is probably the key industry magazine. It’s online content is mostly behind a paywall but you can register for free for limited access and there’s the blog (https://www.prweek.com/uk/blog). I also like the CIPR’s magazine “Influence” – but the print version is only available members and the online version is relatively limited in content (https://influenceonline.co.uk/).

BLOGS Stephen Waddington is a key UK commentator and writer on PR in the UK https://wadds.co.uk/

Famous campaigns: https://www.famouscampaigns.com/

Power & Influence: https://ellaminty.com/

Comms2point0: https://comms2point0.co.uk/

All Things IC: https://www.allthingsic.com/blog/

Neville Hobson: https://www.nevillehobson.com/

Dan Slee: https://danslee.wordpress.com/

Jessica Pardoe: https://jessicapardoe.com/

Wildfire PR: https://www.wildfirepr.com/blog/

Scriba: http://scribapr.com/blog/

PODCASTS

PR Week’s “The PR Show” is a good general interest effort: https://soundcloud.com/prweekuk

#FuturePRoof Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/futureproof-podcast/id1176718600

PR Moments – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/prmoment-podcast/id1334739765

Talking points –  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-talking-points-podcast/id900363572?mt=2

For Immediate Release – https://firpodcastnetwork.com/for-immediate-release/

SpinSucks: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-spin-sucks-podcast-with-gini-dietrich/id1356305060?mt=2

PRovoke: https://www.provokemedia.com/latest/podcast

PR Resolution: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pr-resolution-podcast-with-stella-bayles/id1423627061?mt=2

Today In Focus: https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/todayinfocus

Getting Started in Public Relations was originally published on Welcome To My World

[thelocalshooter]

The Local Shooter Vs. B-LIFE

(LS) Hello thank you being apart of a great come up and welcome, may we get a small introduction for the people reading who don’t know who you are, where are you from? Who are you? And what do you do?

(B) I'm B-L1FE or B to most. I am an Indiana native but for the last 4 years I've been in the Houston, TX area. I do everything except make beats. I'm a recording artist myself, I engineer, DJ, design, visuals, animations, curate. To add to all that I'm also the CEO of my own record label, FAITH×VICTORY Records. I also am the CEO of three other companies: SupportArt which is a promotion company that also houses a collective, and MeditatedMerch which is my clothing line. There is stuff I'm missing I'm sure but I'm basically the one stop shop for good underground business.

(LS) Being a Texas native how do you feel that the music scene has impacted you and your creativeness?

(B) The scene in the H has never really impacted me much but surround regions have amazingly unique sounds that are almost nice accents to a style like mine that blends hip hop with metal and alt rock. The Dallas FT. Worth area is full of this new wave sound that people like Jah or $not really helped catapult. Then south Florida is known for the wild hype sounds they give us like Pouya. I think these regions influenced me by just kind of telling me hey its ight to let go and just be me. I used to be signed under a different stage name and to be honest it was all bullshit. All the rules and what they wanted me to be. This area in general just let the monster loose I guess you could say.

(LS) You also run a blog on your own called supportart where its a platform for many creative artist in the underground, how did that come about and how long have you been running it?

(B) We are gonna be two years old in June which is unreal. We house 20 artists at the moment including myself. It honestly all started as a group chat of artists trying to put together a collective mixtape. Most people didnt come through but it actually opened a networking portal that led us to our first client who was King Kap who at the time was signed to Quality Control. We continue to work with him to this day and alongside the leaders I make the calls with (Yung N ICy, Fat Daddy J, Psych Ward, Penny the Shabba, Waveon, wa55up, & Kaster) we just had the flood gates opened on us. Alot of trial and error but never once have we been exposed or finessed. We work hard for the underground and have new ways coming soon to showcase hidden talent.

(LS) you seem to be a jack of all trades with graphics, producing, and much more! What do you feel is your strongest creative outlet for you and why?

(B) All the other crafts came from being a recording artist. I think I truly shine there. Away from the art and visuals, I've had some pretty big accomplishments as the rapper B-L1FE. Sometimes I forget to push my own stuff when I'm so busy pushing the underground or my artists. In 2019 I dropped my first and sophomore album which did well. Underviews did an article naming me a young mogul. I made the underground freshman list which was amazing to be with the likes of GNAR, Lord Xan, 916frosty, and more. But if anything compares it's my graphic design. I've been doing design since I was 14 and I'm almost 28 now. I still have every graphic I've done and my portfolio now have close to 6000 pieces. It's the main reason I could leave the day job life behind.

(LS) You also happen to be on all major platforms with a couple single releases, where did you first find your passion for music? Also how did you know that it was going to be a career for you?

(B) My parents didnt really do much parenting but they did raise me around terrific music. I have right now I believe 83 songs on all major platforms which is quite a bit since my contract from the previous record label didnt expire until April of 2018. My parents raised me around Dr. Dre, Bone Thugs, Snoop, Nas, Destinys Child, Master P, and all the greats. So I had this around me so much at 12 I started writing structured songs and didnt even realize it. Football was passion #1 but when I decided to rescend my commitment to Eastern Michigan University, I started toying around with being in a band. After awhile my vocal cords suffered from pure metal music. So I turned to rap which was also like a hobby. Then once I began to network in around 2012 I noticed I had something alot of others didnt. So it was then I knew. The rest was waiting for the contract I signed stupidly to expire. My biggest influences would be Chronic 2001 by Dr. Dre and Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park.

(LS) Your most recent single regurgitate and there’s a single called “Welcome To Hell” which did amazing numbers on Twitter! What was the whole process behind those songs and why did you pick that specific song to shows case the project?

(B) The process behind these two singles were both random to be honest. I put out my second EP back in December and wanted to take my time on my third album so I do what I call SINGLE SZN. I drop a new song on major platforms every week. It started with my first single of 2020 which was 'Never' and 'Welcome to Hell' was the second. With that one it was Angry Orphan's concept (featured artist) and he sent me his parts and a rough idea and I thought since we both are lyrical artists let's do what Em and Royce do when they collab and take these same schemes but change our words and small parts of our flows. It made a very cohesive song. The marketing is always the same for me. I let people know way before something drops that it's coming. The main key is promoting stuff more than once. So many people drop a track, run it through some group chats for that day, and then leave it to die. You gotta keep pushing content towards people. With 'Regurgitate' I hadn't even planned a part of it. I woke up to an email from SupportArt's head engineer, Penny the Shabba, that two beats. One was the beat for that song. Wrote it in 15 mins recorded it mixed it, he mastered it while I did the cover, and within 4 or so hours a full song was ready and off to distrubution.

(LS) What’s a regular day in the life of B-LIFE? Do you wake up in the morning go to the studio? Do you wake up in the morning and start interviewing people and check on your blog? What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

(B) The minute I wake up I need a shower. Cant start the day right without it. My studio and everything is at home so I just go off my daily planner. I keep everything written down including my own personal stuff and I usually pick whatever project I really dont wanna do to start. That way I'm getting through the 'blah' jobs with full energy and the shit I'll enjoy doing I save for later when I'm drained. Usually first thing I do business wise is touch base with my team. We use telegram so we can avoid social media. We a family so they come first. Next is clients. Always touch base with any clients waiting still or people I may have had halfway to the payment phase.

(LS) juggling music, blogs, graphics, and also a clothing brand how do you know when to find time for each creative outlet? Do you set a certain schedule for certain things? Do you have a certain day for certain things how does that work for you?

(B) I wish I knew. Everyday is dedicated to everything. I didnt want to say okay Tuesday we design only covers and logos but sell 5 videos the night before that Tuesday. I ask my clients for deadlines and bundle clients I tell them the timeframes. To be honest my turnaround is so quick and I've done this for so long I do it super fast. Some AMV clients get their video back in an hour with their mind blown. I try not to look at it as such a big work load. Whenever I do feel overwhelmed then its time for like 30 mins on the xbox or a jog. Somehow I never run out of creativity which certainly helps.

(LS) What’s your main goal as far as music? Do you plan on getting signed, are you looking to stay independent? Is music even your full on passion or are you looking to stay more on the blog and manager/artist development side or what is your main goal?

(B) Main goal is to get my label signed how Travis Scott did with Cactus Jack. It keeps the artist safe and in it's own way allows you to stay independent but with proper funding. Music is the main passion. I never say I manage my artists. We push them to build their own brands and we help them with that. I'm simply just keeping a platform all about love. The rest does it's own thing all by itself. Truly amazing.

(LS) Thank you again for being a part of this great come up, is there anything else you would like for the readers to know about you? Or should we keep our eyes peeled for anything to come in 2020? What are some links that you can share were new readers can go ahead and find your work?

(B) You can find everything related to be via my linktree which is linktr.ee/lifewitha1

Album 3's first single drops May 1st and you can already pre order it on Apple Music. Its titled 'Bob Ross' and ensomber produced it. Tune in. Tap in. We out here not just for us but for everybody with the it's always love approach. Just dont get shit twisted haha. You can find me everywhere but soundcloud. Bless up everybody and much love to The Local Shooter. Houston we strong!!

The Local Shooter Vs. B-L1FE

[zamannoyon801403-blog]

Update 1.11.6 is out and there are some pretty big changes.

The first and biggest change is that they totally revamped the storage system in the game. You are now limited to only 40 storage units in total so after you hit 40, you will need to upgrade the ones you have. In order to do this, go into your chest and click on this button. These are the costs to upgrade from a small box to a chest and then to a trunk and then lastly to a rack.

Because of this they removed the blueprints for building chests and trunks.

The Max F2P Item storage before this update was 15 items x 40 small boxes 25 items x 40 chests 35 items x 40 trunks With the total storage of 3000 inventory slots

The Max item storage now is just (75 items) 40 racks also totaling at 3000 inventory slots.

This confirms  the theory I presented year-and-a-half ago that Kefir is looking for ways to encourage us to build smaller bases.

Military trunks were converted into racks The acid bath, pickup truck and Safes were not affected

Chests now have an image drawn on them to tell u what items are in them. This is kind of cool oh, but it looks kind of ugly to me so I hope someday they will allow us to turn those pictures off.

Grenades were introduced into the game and they do 200 damage To use a grenade you need to equip it in your item slot or your extra pocket if you have it. They can be found in the new locked chests and rooms that are scattered throughout the LDOE world which requires you to use the new burglar skill. The higher the level of locked chest, the better the loot, but it also requires a higher rank of the skill. If you are looking for grenades, I recommend clearing bunker alpha or the police, but locked chests are randomized so there is no sure place to find a lot of them.

The motel has 1 locked room best place to find grenades is the bunker. i found 5 grenades .... generally speaking u can find them in locked chests or locked rooms Not 100% guaranteed but very high chance -Last room in floor 4 has 2-3 grenades

They made some huge changes to the raiders tasks. Here is a list of all the new tasks you might come across. If you have trouble completing any of these tasks, be sure to check out some of my other videos. I have tutorials On the most efficient way to do almost anything in the game. - skipping the tasks cost half the original price now -spikes and chest crafting removed -New mission i found so far are: -Open 1 blue box at police station -Open 3 green boxes at police station -Kill 5 savage giants at the farm -Disassemble 3 guns at recycler -Kill the colonel at pine woods -Kill timmy the bloat in limestone cliffs -Stand 20 zombie waves at police station -Exchange parts for 5 boxes at mechanic Jane's garage - kill Alpha wolf in pine groves - kill 3 infected bulls in farm - Kill the witch - raise 3 puppies into adult dogs -kill fifty-two mike in limestone spires - clear 2/3/4 bunker floor - 3 deals with trader - get 5 airdrops - kill blind one - destroy 5 bunker turrets - open 25 chests in dangerous locations - kill 15 toxic aboms - make 5 iron hatchets - make 20 medkits - find C4 - make military armor set - make 20 iron plates - find 5 old engines - kill kowalski - kill scavenger - find (N) puppies - open farm chest

In addition to these 42 changes, I have 9 more for you.

They added the active skill button for weapons even if u dont have the active skill. If you don’t have it, you will see a little lock drawn on it

The door inside the farm house can now be opened if u have the burglar skill which means you no longer need to bring an axe.

They changed the look of the tactical backpack

Gasoline consumption when traveling in locations is half of what it used to be

They changed the shotgun active skill icon.

They added two temporary events the carnival and Lucas’ place

And lastly, they added 2 new patterns for the motorcycle.

Well. That's it guys. Hope that helps.

Level 4 Dog

There are nine skills that a dog can have and some of them are way better than others. If you do not know how to get a dog or breed dogs to a higher rank, then first go check out my other video on how to get and breed dogs. In this video, I'm covering in detail all 9 skills and strategies on how to use those skills to get a rank 4 dog as quick as possible.

The reason this is important is because if all you do is go find dogs and breed them, based on the numbers I mentioned in my other video, it will require you to find and breed anywhere from 40 to 60 rank one dogs to get 1 rank 4 dog. Those numbers could be off a little bit, but I think is is safe to say that it will take at least 30 rank 1 dogs to create one rank 4 dog.

So even if you are really active and get every puppy you can in the four ways I explained in my other video, it will still take you at least three to four weeks to get one rank four dog. In addition to that, a rank four dog only has a very slim chance of getting the true friend skill so it will probably take several months.

However, if you use the skills of your dogs to help you, you could eventually and theoretically, if my math is correct, set yourself up to where you are producing a lvl 4 dog every other week.

But before we get into that, let's go through the nine skills.

When you equip a dog with the companion skill, it gives your character a 1-5% bonus how much experience you get. Since my character is level 99, this skill is worthless to me. What percentage of bonus you get on these dogs is based on luck.

When you equip a dog with the careful skill, it gives your dog pen a 1-5% bonus how fast your dogs grow. This is an incredible buff to have active when you have a lot of puppies

When you equip a dog with the Well-Stocked skill, it reduces how much food your dog pen consumes by 1-5%. This buff can also be incredibly helpful since as I mentioned in my other video, The food intake of your dog pen can be extremely overwhelming.

When you equip a dog with the hunter skill, it gives your character a 1-5% increased chance to run into rare animals. From the picture, we can see that this includes the fox, but I would argue that this also includes turkeys and finding more puppies. I will talk about this more later on.

When you equip a dog with the Bloodhound Skill, it gives your character a 1-5% increased chance to find rare items. This is of course an amazing skill which will help us find gas tanks and electronic circuits, but this skill in particular  is not useful for helping us get higher ranked dogs.

When you equip a dog with the Witty skill, it gives your dog pen a 1-3% bonus oh getting higher ranked dogs when you are breeding. This is a key skill for the strategy I will be presenting.

When you equip a dog with the Leader skill, it gives your 4 equipped dogs 1-3 extra attk damage. I think this will be a very desirable skill when we have a lot of high ranked dogs, but when you are just starting out, it feels kind of useless.

When you equip a dog with the guard skill, that dog can attack the horde and zombies around the base.

And finally, a dog with the True Friend skill can be placed in the 4th slot letting you have more active buffs, but more importantly, it is able to travel and fight with you.

This is of course the ultimate goal, but breeding your dogs as fast as you can, will actually get you there slower. Instead, you want to be in search for dogs that have a high percentage of one of these 4 skills. If they don’t have a good percentage of one of these 4 skills, then go ahead and breed them and don’t click the inherit box so that the new puppy has a fresh new set of skills. I will explain how inheriting skills work a little later on.

The first skill you want to look for is the hunter skill. If you can find a few dogs with a decent percentage in the hunter skill, I recommend holding off on breeding them. That way when the daily reset happens at midnight GMT, you can equip these dogs as you visit your 3 airdrops. If you don’t know how to get 3 airdrops, watch my video that tells you how. Airdrops have a one of the highest percentages of a puppy spawning so having these skills active can make it even more worth your time.

However, this skill is worthless when you are not playing the game so when you return to your base, I recommend switching to dogs with the wellstocked and/or careful skills. Those two are the best skills to have for the majority of the time especially when you are not actively playing the game.

When you get back to the game and are actively playing, then I recommend switching back to the dogs that have the hunter skill.

As you start to get more puppies, you will be able to breed some of your dogs that you have been using for buffs. This is where inheriting traits is very important. When you breed a dog with a good skill or set of skills, make sure to breed them with a dog that has a bad set of skills. By clicking inherit traits on the dog that has the good skills, the new puppy will have all of the skills of that dog exactly like that dog had them; however, if the puppy is a higher rank than the parent, then one skill will be added randomly. Inheriting traits has no effect on the color of a dog. If you are breeding a dog with a rare color, you can choose to keep that rare color regardless of which dog’s traits are being inherited. When you start getting rank 3 dog’s they will have a chance to get the Witty Skill. If you get a dog with a high percentage or really any percentage of this skill, hold on to that dog even if it’s other skill are complete crap. Everytime you are going to breed other dogs, make sure that all of your dogs with the witty skill are active. This will increase those dogs’ chances of getting to a higher rank. Once you breed them, even though you can’t see it yet, that puppy is locked into a certain rank so you can unequip your dog with the witty skill.

So to recap, I am suggesting that you prioritize finding dogs with good stats on in these 4 skills. Then equipping your dogs with the hunter skill when you are actively traveling places. Equipping your dogs with the Witty Skill when you are breeding dogs. And then equipping your dogs with the Well Stocked and Careful skills at all other times. . If you continue to focus mainly on getting good stats on these 4 skills, you will eventually and theoretically, be able to get a 15-25% increase in finding puppies, feeding them and seeing them grow. You will also be able to get 9% increased chance to get higher ranked puppies. If I understand the way Kefir calculates their percentages, this will speed up the process of getting rank 4 dogs by about 60%.

[isaacathom]

thooough kevlar is supposed to stop bullets, ya. so in theory, even if the Captain had managed to get the shot off, Esther could have still been reasonably fine. understandably shaken and probably bruised, but fine. of course that also depends on what GUN the Captain actually has? like ive basically been working off something thats not remotely automatic. no burst fire. basically a semi auto. a rifle would be ideal except that the scenario is is close quarters, making a rifle pretty fucking stupid, so it has to be some sort of handgun. raising the question Why does he have a handgun if the military is expected to be at range, and how did he get the scenario to let him get so close as to invalidate his rifle?

also he probably would actually have an auto of some kind, but for dramatic purposes id rather not? simply because then its far more difficult for him to be disarmed without basically killing Esther in the meantime. if its semi-auto, then in theory he can fire one shot that misses and then be disarmed before a second bullet can be fired. if he has an auto, you squeeze the trigger and youve already launched a small volley and even if Seora bends the goddamn world to stop it, at LEAST one would likely hit Esther, not to speak of the multitude more bullets that could then be fired between the initial trigger pull and the disarm from Seora. so for dramatic purposes he cannot have an automatic. like a full auto.

which then means the actual circumstances surrounding the shot have to be changed in order for him to even be capable of using his semi auto rifle with any confidence. which works fine, i suppose. maybe the reasoning behind the military having semi autos rather than full autos is because they’d likely want to be picking off combatants at range with a /degree/ of stealth. considering in general the combatants are Blue Mages that’d be pretty important. the moment they’re alerted, you basically can’t really get them as easily. immediate dirt wall, immediate scalding hot guns, etc. toasty. so like.... i guess like sniper rifles???? except theyre just.... regular rifles..... yknow actually that doesnt make a fuck ton of sense. hold on. uh.

actually, one important thing re: guns is that they were likely invented AFTER the schism and after any fighting between the two countries. so the guns would never have actually been used for their intended purpose, that being to shoot Dusk Maidens before they can use magic. So they are unlikely to have been field tested in the practical sense. plus theres the fact that metals are rare in the Light Kingdom, so they might have been limited in terms of just how much progression they could make on this front. so since there hasnt been open warfare since like 300 years ago, the military’s non-sword equipment is probably Pretty Ordinary. technologically behind the times relative to the rest, mostly due to the structure of the kingdom separating Maidens from crafts. unlike the Dark Kingdom, which likely has a stronger technological basis, with stronger and more advanced weaponry, armor, etc, especially if its derived from metallic substances. more “organic” substances would be the realm of the Light Kingdom. so its a bit complicated. so the light kingdom probably has these older style of guns because they decided, well, the guns dont matter TOO bad as long as theyve got decent range and dont break. we’ll focus our limited metallic resources onto things like phones and shit.

meanwhile the dark kingdom would have a far greater industry for weapons, with their Warrior Maidens being Fucking Kitted Out. the actual Dusk Maidens among them wouldnt have guns (no real need, tbh) but the few human members would, they’d all have decent armor. the onl downside is that this tech is the only thing the dark has OVER the light, because they still lack in more organic resources like GD food. they’ve got a few farms clear of darkness that are responsible for a majority of organic produce, a few people manage to scrape out tiny farms in their homes, some people have come up with the idea to dig up piles of tainted dirt and place them in pots to then be cleansed, allowing them to grow shit like tomatoes or carrots or smth. meats are rare because the only consistent sources of animals are mountain dwelling, and over hunting probably already forced a few species to extinction. fish is still available on their limited coastline (the light kingdom kept almost all of the coast following the civil war) but its not ideal by any stretch and they certainly dont have ENOUGH of it.

uh shit so i guess like.... the light kingdom have great tech in terms of software and such, while the dark kingdom has stronger “practical tech” like industrial shit. we got good cars, we got good infrastructure (except in some particularly bad joints), got good weapons, etc. niice.

ok so then. light kingdom has shit guns, probably timelocked to a specific era. potentially circa a time JUST before the civil war, as that would have allowed the proto-dusk maidens to help in their creation and lay down the groundwork for their blueprint to be slowly adapted by the light kingdom. so thats like..... uh...... can that be semi auto???? i suppose with the use of magic itd be fairly uncomplicated for the advancement of tech to be faster than our own. so if the story itself takes place around 2000, even though in our world the first semi auto wasnt until the 1880s, with magic being present its not unfeasible for them to have been successfully made ~300 years ago, so the 1700s (perhaps late? or maybe just 200, so 1800s still, but earlier than us). except then following this there was the civil war and the separation of the two countries, separating the light kingdom and their human-exclusive military to these semi auto rifles that they couldnt really improve without significant expense. so theyre probably timelocked to the early 1900s? maybe up to around the M1 Garand? which is still a solid weapon, but not like, a machine gun or anything. whereas the dark could easily have continued tech progression past this point up to present day, so they’d have shit like..... uh... whats a really modern gun. idk. get shit like AR15s and M14s at any rate, or even just the AK47 (i couldnt remember that for the life of me, wild). though again, considering the fact that the majority of the military possessed magic, the extreme advancement of guns was definitely not a priority for the people, so i dont need to get /super/ modern. jsut modern enough to where you could easily fuck up a guy with an M1 Garand which wouldnt be difficult, surely. maybe even a lil further cback from the M1, w/e, shit like that.

however the lack of general gun usage from the Dark, and the general understanding from the light that their military is exclusively magical in nature (which was true for quite a while) light military protection is PURELY against magical shit. a human Warrior Maiden with a gun could very easily kill any number of light military troops, because they simply arent prepared for be fired upon. which would be a fun revelation at the climax for the Captain, when his troop headed for the castle’s main room is under a hail of fire and many of them are easily killed because No Fucking Shit, lads. meanwhile the dark military is aware of the solely human military and very capable of understanding the guns they use. they’d only need to recover a SINGLE gun from the troops (likely during the first failed attempt to recover Seora) to work out exactly what sort of defences they’d need in order to fight the light side safely, ie how many layers of the Good Stuff. really, provided the dark are prepared (they sure are) they would easily, at this stage, win a war. the only way to lose would be ambush, having their tech reverse engineered (a little tricky but technically possible) and running out of food. a quick war would easily favor them.

so then, in THIS case, that means when the Captain reaches the castle for the second time in his second brave quest to save the maiden Seora, his squad is substantially smaller than it was at the start. they specifically probably weren’t under fire, as they would have entered through the back rather than the through the dusk maiden army guarding the front gates. but its in the lead up, after the first shot WAS fired (by the light army under someones command, probably not the Captain’s specifically) that he wouldve lot a solid number. mild earthquakes, raging heat, bullets?????? the army basically served to divert attention while they dove the fuck for cover and his squad went ‘oh shit, time to go NOW’ and bolted for it. a few of them might have been shot as they ran. idk. good fun! then they get into the castle through the same entrance they used the LAST time (it was at least partially deliberately left open. there are folk waiting on the inside but theyre basically in shadows just in CASE)

so when the captain enters the room with Esther and Seora and the other small group of Dusk Maidens who are present, he is probably one of the few if not the only person in the room with a gun. his troops likely dropped theirs in the chaos (either from the quakes or the heat, or just general pants shitting terror). he’s got his gun out. everyones ready to fuck up, but noones firing off yet. he’s probably yelling something about it being Esther’s last chance to turn over Seora before more people are killed, Esther’s going all ‘yea cool but a) my troops are winning by all accounts and b) youre the idiot who didnt listen LAST time you came here! she doesnt want to go’ seora going ‘right. fuck you’ captain ‘>:o thats it!’ and then fires on Esther. Seora makes that first shot miss, but now the dusk maidens are fucking Ready to Fight and leap forward. before the captain can take a second shot at Esther, Seora and Esther disarm him (making the gun too hot to hold and then flinging it the fuck away with that Windy Business) and then that whole long fucking post from last night ensues. nice!

which is cool. but i THINK, looking at tech, the M1 miiiight be too strong for kevlar. might? im not positive. numbers are confusing and im bad at math. but i thiiiiiiiiiink its penetration velocity is too high for ordinary layers of kev. yea no theyre too high. hold up. we need to back up the semi auto time frame a little. plus, m1s can do 40-50 rounds a min, thats a few too many. oh bitch i can bring back the model 8, oh fuck yea, i love the model 8. oh perfect. mm yup thats a good one. ok so that means that roughly speaking, light kingdom gun advances stop in the early 1900s, with dark kingdom advancements continue up till around the 1950s. its a bit fiddly because the light probably did have resources left over from before the civil war that allowed them to continue development for a while, but if we basically stick to model 8 era (not 81, generally). but because the dark kingdom contained the majority of the experts (even if a number woulda eaten dust from that Dark Plague Nuke) they’re far closer to that M1 level. M1s, AKs, the fun shit, really. that shit and beyond. meaning that, in theory, sufficient layers of kevlar (approx 6-8?) could block a model 8 shot (at range, anyway) allowing for the dark to be Kitted The Fuck Out. niiiice.

i lost my train of thought because of my mum which is pretty bad because this post is incredibly stream of consciousness...... dammit.

uh tl;dr dark side better weapons, armour, and infrastructure. light side better organic industry (farming and fabrics, also glass shit). dark side has jack all food and relies on limited coastal fishing and a few specific mountain creatures plus their limited farmland.

gun? light kingdom stuck at arooooouuunnnnddd model 8 level tech. its a good gun, and it gets the job done, that job being to shoot maidens before they can fire back. it was developed before the civil war and proved instrumental in many of the fights. however, in the time SINCE then, they havent progressed at all. the dark kingdom has continued to progress, especially in terms of armour (w/ the goods like Kevlar available for all Warrior Maidens) and they have stuff closer to m1 garands. the dusk maidens dont typically use guns, but the human members of the Warrior Maidens are usually given them. for uh, obvious reasons.

unrelated aside - most of the gems used by the Light Kingdom are made of glass, due to the lack of actual gemstones on their side of the border. just sorta how it goes