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benisasoftboi · 5 years ago

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Unorganised thoughts on Trails in the Sky: First Chapter:

Going to keep this as spoiler free as possible because I want you to play this game if you haven’t

I’m well aware that I’m very late to the party here, but... Trails in the Sky is very good, everyone

It had been on my Steam list for like six years. My friend reminded me about the summer sales, and a combination of the price having dropped and good reviews convinced me to finally pick it up. And I am so glad I did

Calling it ‘FC’ from here on out because the title is long, and I can’t exactly uses the acronym that Trails in the Sky shortens to, can I?

So I love JRPGs. I almost exclusively play JRPGs. And FC, to me, is kind of the JRPG. It does basically everything that is expected of the genre, but it doesn’t feel generic because it does all of those things very, very well

Gameplay! The gameplay is fun, a good mix of allowing for strategy and tactics without being massively difficult. I really appreciate that - I don’t play JRPGs because I’m good at video games, but I also don’t like just mindless hitting things all that much

There are one or two slight annoyances with the combat system (if you’re fighting a lot of enemies you’ll be waiting forever for them all to take their turns, some of the animations are a little slow, when you’re in the field enemies touching anyone in your party can start a battle, which means you have to be extra careful where you step when you have a full party), but none of them are game ruining

And there are no random encounters! Yay! I hate random encounters!

Story! FC’s story isn’t the most unique JRPG story out there, but there’s lots of little touches I greatly appreciated

For one, (trying to work out how to say this without spoilers) - I really liked the main antagonist’s motivations. So very often it’s ‘destroy the world’ or ‘become God King of the universe’ or something. This person had a very understandable and honestly kind of reasonable motivation - like, you could really see how someone would think it was a good idea, the problem wasn’t that they were evil, it was that they either hadn’t considered or didn’t care about the negative consequences it could have on the average citizen.

Also, the conflicts don’t just stem from like, tangible nefarious forces - you also see how it results from things like untreated PTSD, or industrialisation, or societal sexism. Which is more compelling than ‘everything bad in the world is the result of the evil dragon god, kill it’

There’s also really good foreshadowing. During a certain scene at the end of the game, I actually gasped when I realised the connection it had with a certain character’s second S-Break. I will say no more, but people who’ve played this know what I’m talking about

Characters! FC has great characters

Estelle: I like Estelle. Firstly, it’s pretty rare for a JRPG to have a female protagonist (hell, it’s relatively rare to even be given the option to play as a girl!), so that was very cool. She has good character growth over the course of the game, and I really enjoy that - she starts out very hyper and optimistic, and she never loses that, but gets better about recognising the right times and places for it. It’s a pretty risky move to give the protagonist of a long game a personality (you have to spend a lot of time with them. Silent player avatars are easier and don’t run the risk of the player not liking them), but with Estelle, it pays off

Joshua: Joshua is very well designed. He’s the game’s real mystery - the whole time, we want to keep playing so we can find out what’s up with him. Appearance-wise he’s unique among the rest of the cast without coming across as ‘my first OC’, he has a great rapport with Estelle and I like him in his own right - I want good things for Joshua.

Joshua and Estelle are just a great duo in general. I found the romance subplot... weird, at first, but I came around. I want these kids to be happy, damn it!

Schera: Not my favourite, but good at what she needs to be. My least favourite to use in combat. I like her mentor relationship with Estelle and Joshua, and I also like her design

Olivier: MY BOY. I love him. He’s so great, I love ‘weirdo’ characters and he’s great example of one. I love his design, I love using him in combat, I love his interactions with other characters - Olivier is just the best and I want to be friends with him irl.

(It’s also pretty neat that he’s undeniably canonically biseuxal - that’s a rarity!)

Kloe: She’s fine. Not a huge fan (probably didn’t help her that she joins the party after MY BOY leaves), but I definitely don’t dislike her. She just feels a little generic, is all, and I predicted the ‘twist’ with her a mile off. I love using her in combat, though, and I really like her design

Tita: Tita is cute, and she’s a little girl with a big gun, which is always great, if silly. How old is she meant to be, though???

Agate: I 100% thought that I wasn’t going to like Agate. He comes in with that Arrogant Asshole Shounen Protagonist vibe and I hate that. But then you get to know him, and you realise that his earlier attitude was actually pretty understandable, and by the end he was actually one of my favourites

Zin: Eh. Like Kloe, I don’t hate him, but there’s just kind of nothing that draws me in with Zin. I think he joins too late, and doesn’t have enough time to really build up an interesting rapport with anyone. I liked his interactions with Olivier, though, and he’s pretty great to use - I have a massive bias for defensive characters

Maybe I’ll feel differently about some or all of them when I’ve played the second game - we shall see...

There’s also a tonne of major NPCs, pretty much all of whom I liked (except maybe Dorothy - I don’t hate her, but she kind of got old after a while. I appreciate that Estelle found her equally annoying)

But the other thing that’s really worth mentioning is the minor, faceless NPCs. Because they all have names and little stories and lives - like, when you’re in the city of Ruan, there’s a maintenance worker named Clive who’s offered a prestigious factory job. He turns it down to look after his brother Todd, which upsets Todd because he doesn’t want to hold Clive back. Then when you move on to the city of Zeiss, you can visit the factory and learn that they’re now struggling to find someone else. Eventually they hire a woman names Louise, who ends up being an excellent choice - but if you visit her home, you find out she has a strained relationship with her own sibling

And none of this matters to the plot at all! You can miss this entirely, but the fact that it (and hundreds of little stories like it) are there makes the world feel so alive. It’s full of people living their own lives that don’t revolve around what your team is doing. It feels real.

We’re told that Estelle and Joshua have to travel the world by foot so that they really understand what it is they’re tasked with protecting. It took me way too long to realise that it’s also so that the player understands, too

So many JRPGs ask you to save the world. FC is special because it actually feels like there’s a world to save

Now I’m going to go play the second game and hope they keep that up!

#trails in the sky #trails series #trails in the sky: first chapter #trails in the sky fc

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incorrectcatfacestudios · 6 years ago

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MID Fusion Headcanons

Using steven universe fusion rules alongside some of my own.

There will likely be another post like this one, a part 2

So the rules

Emotions are shared.

Memories are not shared, if one component doesn’t want to share a memory with another then the memory will not be shared.

Abilities gained are formed from both of their personalities

All the colored parts of their clothes change to the components combined colorscheme

They form based off of the characters perceptions of eachother, Making each of Ava’s fusions an ACTUAL POWERFUL SORCERESS

Their powers are multiplied by how much love/compassion each component feels for the other. Thus Noi usually supplies the most power to his fusions. Often new powers are gained.

Starting with Leif and Noi

A risk taker,

DEFINITELY would be an entertainer, would want all attention to be on them at all times. A show off through and through

He would have very fluffy pastel pink hair.

ALWAYS SMILING unless Leif is experiencing fear. Sometimes when one is feeling a negative emotion the other is feeling a positive one, this shows in their facial expressions. So sometimes the smile feels strained, fake, or evil. IF ITS SUPER SERIOUS he will frown

gets SUPER JEALOUS REAL QUICK,and if they are not front and center or if someone else steals the spotlight from them expect Angry crying, and violence! :D

“HEY AVA! DID YOU SEE THAT?!? WASN’T I COOL!!! PLEASE TELL ME I WAS COOL! I mean I ALREADY KNOW I WAS COOL BUT-”

Requires constant validation to feed his EGO.

Flirtier than his components.

BOUNDLESS ENERGY LIKE! WAAAAYY TO MUCH ENERGY

Would dance around the battlefield with their newfound abilities like a performer.

AMAZING AT SWEET-TALKING, and charming others

Far more likely to use healing magic than Leif ever was.

He has a tendency to angry cry.

Would be much stronger at the beginning of the series than he would if they fused in episode 13

His weapons are duel cutlasses

Noi enjoys the confidence boost he gains in the fusion while Leif enjoys the amount of JOY he feels doing things that would normally bore him. He likes seeing things from Noi’s POV.

Can disappear in a cloud of puffy sparkly smoke,

Very flexible, gains dancing skills

Can generate electricity within his body and ZIP ZOOP AROUND

most of his magic is glittery and sparkly

Wears lime green or olive clothing. has green eyes. has lime green horns

So Leif views Noi as a kind hearted lovey dovey fool, while Noi views Leif as a bully and a psychopath, but also a powerful superhero who’s amazing. Hence why when fused they are a kinda mentally unstable performer.

Leif and Rhys

He would never form

BY FAR ONE OF THE WEAKEST OF THE FUSIONS

When first formed he has an impossible time deciding who he is or even staying together. he doesn’t have an identity or a voice.

He Gains one much later as the 2 begin to understand each other more.

Has a scientist surrounded by nature vibe to him. Like instead of metal machines he has ones made completely out of plants. Though he’d only gain this if Rhys and Leif were feeling particularly good about eachother that day. Or if they had a strong positive feeling keeping them together. Otherwise he’d be unable to create or even keep any of it.

So yeah he can make a rocket out of wood, vines, & various other flora and fauna.

He has a variety of high level technology yet all of it is made of wood, plants, or bone.

If exposed to alot of media, and pop culture by the time he forms he would be a MAD SCIENTIST/ MAD DOCTOR character.

Lots of maniacal laughter

If Rhys would permit it he can be quite cruel and preform some....interesting experiments on his enemies

Would be very interested in the world around and would LOVE TO DISSECT THINGS

his glasses turn into goggles

He’d probably have oversized scientist gloves

is likely to scream EURIKA!!!

very forgetful.

Wants to learn as much as he can no matter the situation

when fused Leif experiences the curiosity Rhys feels and Rhys feels Leif’s LUST FOR BLOOD.

Would often find interest in human artifacts and objects finding joy in dissecting them and finding out how they work

has the ability to create unholy amalgamations from destroyed objects or carcasses.

He’d also gain the ability to control the growth of plants around him & manipulate them using the water inside.

Lightbrown/Ginger hair

Wears alot of cyan

Their weapon would be a whip of some kind. or a spear

Studies alot on doctor stuff. wants to get a phd

Has cyan horns like Pierce, though they bend in a way that combines both horns. and are much larger than either components

Asch and Rhys

WOULD HAVE A FLUFFY POMPADOR

Looks like a fucking greaser but their not at all

Always frowning

VERY STRONG despite not seeming like it

Has Dark blue eyes, and periwinkle horns, that curve backwards than forwards

VERY POLITE & regal.

Doesn’t really show much emotion, good at decision making, and a pretty rounded leader. though...their missing something.

Knows when to take action and when to stand down.

Can create smokescreens. manipulate water, fire & Ice

pretty stronk

Asch’s leadership skills and Rhys’s good decision making mix together to create a perfect and rational decision maker.

Has a lighter skin tone than Rhys but a much darker one than Asch.

Probably gains a British accent for the poshness.

Will occasionally raise a hand to threaten you but then close it clenching his fist and continuing to talk

ASCH’S CAPE AND RHYS’S TRENCHCOAT COMBINE TO BECOME A BIG FLOWY CAPE COAT WITH A FLUFFY FUCKING HOOD BECAUSE THAT’S CUTE AF, their torso shirt is grey while they have Asch’s lil sash around their waist, ((it’d be purple)) and Rhys’s pants ((except a tad bit darker)) Rhys’s arm bands would cover Ashe’s bandages.

Wears a lot of PURPLE, like magenta purple.

checks himself out behind closed doors

Adores being together. They just feel right

Everyone goes to them for advice

Ava & Pierce

has a blue scrunchy

LONG FLOWING HAIR

NEVER TALKS EVER, keeps to themselves even more than both of their components.

Would HAVE ENORMOUS HAIR like......WAYYY TOO BIG! and scruffy. and they’d always be leaning on a big old cloud that they’d float on.

Cats. CATS CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Has 2 floating arms hovering around them for petting cats. LIKES FLUFFY

A very caring individual despite their cold standoffish nature

Constantly tired

Seems like they don’t care about anything despite the fact that they do...far more so than anyone else even

Has strong maternal instincts. VERY good with kids. & Loves children far more than either their components.

Will only wake up to pet cats or play with kids.

The child loving part comes from Pierce. Ava notices that Pierce feels this way and encourages it.

Only goes by They/ Them pronouns. Nonbinary

Drinks like 50 cups of coffee a day trying not to pass out.

Needs coffee 24/7 to stay awake cause otherwise they’d just get too comfortable with eachother and dose right off to sleep

Almost always cuddling something soft, weather it be a cloud they conjured up, Johnny, a plushy, Noi, whatever if its a soft and cuddly thing you can bet your ass that its in their arms.

Wears a mix of Ava’s pajama’s and Pierces Human Disguise. in Blue. That or a cat onesie

Their not that bright but not that dumb either

Ava enjoys this fusion because she gets to feel tall.

They care for themselves. and take care to make sure they don’t get hurt.

A very deep thinker, that likes to take their time in situations. VERY CREATIVE.

stoic af

Their also very blunt and if annoyed will tell you “Your annoying. Go away” in a very sleepy slow manner.

Tired af 24/7 doesn’t want to deal with anyones bullshit. EVER

VERY POWERFUL

When they sleep ((on a certain bed)) a giant forcefeild forms around them and a cloud gaurdian of sorts forms around it fighting for them as they dose off.

Their weapon is a bed.

The components feel this since of peace when together. While they do close off more they also just...enjoy eachothers company in silence. Expect long sessions of meditation from them . or just casual reading.

They feel....very at peace and relaxed when together and hate being interrupted

has purple eye’s. & Deep blue horns

Pierce & Rhys

If exposed to enough pop culture by the time they fuse I feel like they would have a cop aesthetic.

“You haven’t been causing any trouble now have you?”

Is always watching. Has new abilities to help him watch & keep the peace.

Alot quieter than Rhys, but also like....more talkative then Pierce

VERY STERN. and WILL stare you down

An intelligent man, of course even smarter than Rhys.

CAN MAKE HAILSTORMS

can produce snow out of nothing.

Wears Sky blue.

Will often study others with compassion.

VERY MUCH LIKE A DAD

May or may not make dad jokes

HAS VERY STRONG OPINIONS OF ASCH ((They really like him))

He has light mocha skin, Fluffy curly brown hair done in a ponytail, Dark Turquoise eyes , Dark Turquoise horns that curve backwards than away from eachother, and a fake mustache. No one knows where the mustache came from but its detachable!

DON’T SNATCH THE STACHE!!! They will lay down the law on you

The way they speak when they first fuse and when they later fuse are Pretty different

For the Original Incarnation“ You wouldn’t be planning on violating the RULES that our gracious prince has set for us RIGHT 𝙇𝙀𝙄𝙁”

And for the 2nd incarnation they’d talk more like a T.V. show cop in certain situations. Though they’d still somehow manage to maintain this level of elegance despite it. (Mostly shown through his movements and tone))

“ Roger that! Don’t worry Mrs. P I’ll take this troublemaker off your hands.” *Looks towards Leif “ HOW DARE YOU RAISE YOUR WEAPON TO A DEFENSELESS LADY !?! I wrecken your in for a day in the SLAMMER”

The slammer is just an ice prison Rhys makes while in this fusion.

Instead of a Cop at first the fusion would be a of a VERY POMPOUS knight. Like chivalry incarnate. Proper, Polite, Dashing, Kind, & Loyal these Traits would carry onto its cop incarnate

Their weapon is originally a sword with a magical crystal in the center but as they learn more about human culture it would change to a gun

doubles down on watching literally everyone and IS ALL UP IN YOUR BUSINESS.

This fusion basically says whatever it wants cause no one really knows whats going on in Pierces head and Rhys can just blame it on him without him actively caring about it, because he doesn’t.

Another ability other than creating snow and hail would be making floating ice crystals that can be used as a “camera” of sorts. He can use them to keep a watch on the others

Ava & Noi

One of the strongest of the fusions ((mostly due to Noi))

Nonbinary goes by She / her, they / them

because Noi views Ava as this powerful sorceress they BECOME a powerful magic user, and Ava Views noi as this mystical demon dude from dimension so as a result their fusion is this magical girl/boy/NB

Wears red and has red eyes, with orange horns.

Magical girl / Nonbinary aesthetic.

Noi’s earnsty affects Ava in a way that causes her to be more honest. thus making the fusion very earnest in affection.

They have a strong since of justice and a want to protect. out of love

Noi once again his honesty affects Ava in a way that makes her more transparent./loving

Enjoys life to the fullest and having fun, as long as its not something stupid.

Quite literally loves themselfs....onesidedly its complicated. But they do enjoy themselves and rarely ever put themselves down.

Their weapon is Noi’s daggers mixed with Ava’s phone or a toy she has laying around

Can shoots out sparkles, rainbows, & various other magical girl esque attacks and has to call out their attacks to use them.

All of their magic is magic Noi has never seen or heard of before. but they are ones Ava’s seen in anime or T.V shows. Magical girl shows.

They’d try to surround themselves with friends and people who like them and kind of be an attention whore.

Probably the most outwardly friendly of the fusions

Would love getting headpats

Would also definitely wear many different aesthetic cat ears and post them all over insta.

Tries to act cutsie wootsie for attention. sometimes feigns innocence to gain popularity

Noi & Asch

A COMPLETE BRAT, brings out all the negative traits from eachother.

EXTREMELY EMOTIONAL AND BAD AT HIDING IT

Tries to act cool and together but really just a mess.

They’d look like a really big imposing scary looking yet upset and almost crying clown?

Self loathing x 10

“I-I’m NOT CRYING YOU’RE CRYING!! MYEEEEEEEEEH”

Extremely passionate and LOVES hugging everything when happy and angrily screaming at everyone when mad. they are a literal ticking time bomb of emotions. Though just because he loves it doesn’t mean he WILL hug he just likes doing it even if he doesn’t like to admit it . and will if emotional/impulsive enough at that moment in time, after which he will play it off and try to make up an excuse.

Clumsy AF.

Tends to get super jealous and wants to be a part of EVERYTHING

Acts like a really proud child.

Throws temper tantrums when they don’t get their way

due to Noi’s more open attitude towards feelings and Asch’s intense emotions that he often keeps bottled up. They feel the full FORCE of both, All whilst trying to act like nothings wrong.

He kind of hates himself but at the same time kinda doesn’t ? its complicated.

EXTREMELY LOW SELF ESTEEM

Wears orange, has light brown spiky hair, and light yellowy orange hair. His eyes are brown

Their powers also go off like an explosion. Usually his attacks are far weaker than either Noi or Asches. and they have lower stamina as well. Their powers build up and up inside of them until it bursts out. When they burst they do massive damage to pretty much everyone around them. Friend or foe. Its like a combustion of magic. Firey sparks and explosions in all directions.

Their powers are linked to their emotions though the larger their emotional outbreak, and the more they let out the stronger the attack.

Their weapon is a bunch of explosive bowling pins. that they juggle around.

Leif & Asch

Extremely likely to stab someone

Wears ALOT of gold. his hair turns a dusty grey color and his eyes are a dark teal. His horns become a golden yellow, The only pops of color on him besides gold and black are red & Green but only in gemstones.

Values himself above all else

ALWAYS SCREAMING

Expect 10 times the villainous monologues

“YOU WILL BOW BENEATH ME “

Loves showing their power through extremely violent means.

Asch’s wrath and Leif’s crazy mix in a way that is just incredibly hostile to literally everyone.

PRONE TO VIOLENT OUTBURSTS

Hates being bothered

“LEAVE ME ALONE! “ “ KNEEL PEASENT” “ HAHAHAHAAHAHAA YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU STAND A CHANCE AGAINST ME?!?! HAHAHAHAHA! Stand down human. It’ll be easier that way. “

has Asch’s condescending attitude.

Loves nothing more than bullying others and just making people feel bad.

Also loves taking selfies. Like...too much. Has a tendancy to stare in the mirror for elongated periods of time admiring his muscles.

Hates being ignored. Like many of the other fusions. this one gets the MOST pissy about it though

Feels like everything in the world belongs to him and that he deserves it, fuck anyone who disagree’s I’ll just blow their heads off with my fire magic.

Complimenting him and feeding his ego is the only way to stop his violence. Depending on how you do it that is. Like complimenting his strength could make things worse

has NO PATIENCE WHATSOEVER

LAVA. They can create LAVA together. They melt them bitches down to Asch.

Ava and Asch

RAMPID CURSER

Ava’s salt mixed with Asches wrath. THEY ARE VERY ANGRY AND PISSY 24/7

Kinda thotty. but also not? its complicated. Maybe forward would be the best way to put it

Lies constantly. Its never ending. Like they lie to everyone their friends, their enemies, their family, themselves.

Will eat food off the floor.

They are extremely rude and foul mouthed. They never seem to get along well with anyone and are prone to making death threats when annoyed. They never follow through with them of course but.

One of the few ava fusions to fuse both of their regular attires together. a Reddish pink shoulderless jacket with a cape at the back. They have a FLUFFY light pink hood, and their pants are poofy towards the end with black and pink stripes. They also have asch’s arm sleeve thingy.

grows impatient REAL quick and is prone to use deadly force...well pseudo deadly force when angered

Like stabbing

Literally pissed, annoyed, or tired 24/7

Loves being in control of everything

In battle they constantly taunt their opponents. Using a disturbing variety of swearwords & unique Self-esteem breaking insults.

Wears ALOT of pink. Has red eyes however. but their outfit is just a bunch of pinks and blacks.

Nonbinary goes by he/him they/them

The other 7 will be in part 2 I need time have to think of them. I’ll add more later!

#Aphmau #My Inner Demons #Ava #Asch #Rhys #Leif #Pierce #Noi #Fusions #Aphmau Fusions #Headcanons #MID #MID FUSION HEADCANONS #Fusion HCS

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dlamp-dictator · 5 years ago

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I’ll keep an eye on this anime. If anything, it definitely looks pretty, the fight scenes have been [done] well so far, and seeing Melida be cute in full color is great. If I just get a decent action series out of this anime, I’ll be happy.

-Allen X, October 22 2019

Well folks, Assassins Pride wrapped up last week and I can safely say I got what I wanted. In the end, I think this was a pretty fun and passable anime to watch weekly. Decent action, decent plot, and a decently written story. Nothing was too offensive or annoying save for one or two moments in the middle, and as much as I felt the show stumbled compared to the manga and possibly the light novel I have hope that this might just get an official translate and... well, you know, do the pacing thing better.

But since I had a habit of covering this thing after every arc I figured I’d give the show some closing thoughts and an overall opinion of the thing at the end. I hope I don’t spend a 1000+ words on this, but... well... I can get pretty wordy when I get a groove, so we’ll see.

But anyway, let’s start with...

The Good

The Visuals

Let’s not mince words folks, this anime is pretty. It might be because I’m a sucker for night aesthetic, but the one disadvantage of the black-and-white manga is that were really never got to see just how dark the world of Flandor really was. To quote myself again:

(This is a) world trapped in perpetual night with warriors of light being the only thing keeping away further darkness, along with the last bastion of humanity being a literal chandelier city in case you missed the symbolism

And nothing makes you really feel that more than that first scene of Kufa walking through the quiet streets on his way to the Angel estate, seeing not only how dark the world is from the night sky above, but also how artificial the light within it really is. The dark aesthetic really helps a lot of the other characters pop out a lot more in terms of the actual color. Mana is literally a glowing, flaming aura that lights the darkness like a candle. The two main girls in this series are a bright blonde and white-haired girl that stand out against the black night sky like the sun and stars.

Again, symbolism.

The list goes on, but you get the idea.

The Action

Not to say this is Trigger or Madhouse or Perriot, but it is pretty nice that we get a decent action scene every arc. Something I definitely appreciate is that they show contrast between Melida’s kind nature and friendly attitude with her brutal and dirty fighting style.

See, Melida is a kind and gentle girl that would rather not use violence save for fighting demons, but if she has to fight she’ll use every dirty trick in the book. She’ll throw sand, she feint attacks, she go into brawling when close enough, she fake being injured to make her opponent let their guard down. It’s a nice little story detail that shows you this noblewoman was, in fact, trained by a ruthless assassin that taught her to actual fight for survival instead of like a nobleman. Her taking down stronger students by doing all but outright cheat is almost hilarious to watch sometimes.

The Overall Narrative

For as fast as the pacing was I feel like I got a good idea of Melida’s story and the trials she has to endure as the “Incompetent Talented Girl”. This story focused on Melida more than Kufa, which is something I’m very thankful for. It’s always tempting to switch over the OP male MC to overpower his way through things, but to my pleasant surprise this only happened in one arc, and it was an arc that had some justification for it, though I really didn’t care it myself. Save for the third arc everything was to show Melida’s growth from a shy and bullied girl to a competent swordswoman that can even hold her own against the other heirs of the three noble houses.

But that’s enough of the good, so now we have to talk about...

The Bad

The Pacing

There’s no getting around this. Even if I didn’t already read bits of the manga online ahead of time the pacing for this show is still insanely fast. Even taking out the fact that this is an adapted story we’re never given enough time to absorb certain scenes. And the worse is that a lot of the arcs have a focus on intrigue and mystery. Luna Lumiere Selection Tournament Arc had two major mysteries: who was the one that changed the plaque and who is Black Madia masquerading as? They especially took care to make Mule seem like a very suspicious party only to reveal it was a third party in the very same episode. The mystery of Black Madia was done better, though by necessity as she couldn’t reveal herself until the very last moment of the arc. This was fine in the anime, but it could had used an extra episode or two of build-up between scenes. The arc at Rosetti’s hometown was a huge mystery that had Kufa under believable suspicious, and was actually done pretty well by not revealing the true culprit until the last episode of it, it also helps that Kufa was under suspicion from the first episode of it. The Library Exam Arc was... done alright, but it could had used an extra episode or two to cook and add some more tension between the Angels and the other nobles, but it was done well.

And that’s the main issue. Every arc could had used one or two extra episodes to really set the scene. Nothing was done poorly in terms of structure and narrative, but everything could had been better had things slowed down. Despite the action this show isn’t a shounen or action genre, it’s a political drama with a combat school setting.

This might also be just the issue of this being a 12-episode anime adapting a novel. A novel has the advantage of progressing its plots slowly with the knowledge the reader has the entire book to finish either that arc or at least most of it. If that reader skips around because they’re bored that says more about them than the author. With an anime or television show you don’t have that luxury, you only have a few episodes at best to keep a viewers attention, especially for something like the seasonal anime lineup where you have to keep audience retention every week and your competition is the other 50+ anime out there that might possibly be more interesting. I pity whatever decent anime has to contend with the newest My Hero Academia season along with everything else.

I understand the need to want to just show off the cool bits to keep audience attention, but it came at the cost of the narrative. Even if this thing still holds together well it could hold together much better if they only focused on the first two arcs of this series instead of trying to shove in four, but alas...

In any case...

Other Smaller Issues that Bugged Allen

Really, the pacing was the biggest issue in this anime, but I do have my fair share of gripes and nitpicks too. I’ll keep this in list form for the sake of simplicity.

Kufa having access to potions/medicines that can not only kick-start a mana-less person into having it, but one that can also turn half-Lyncrophyes back to humans opens up quite a few plotholes and issues. I’m sure the light novel and manga explain their existence better, probably something to the effect of them being extremely experimental and a deadly risk, but the anime doesn’t explain that and it can take you out of the story if you care about the world-building.

I feel like side characters like Nerva, Mule, and Salacha were suppose to get more screentime, or at least more development, but just didn’t due to the pacing and runtime. You get the basic idea of everyone, but it feels like the show wanted to do more with them, or at least that the source material probably did more with them.

The occasional moments fanservice don’t work too well in this series. It’s nothing to the level of Senran Kagura or Ikkitousen, but when your cast consist of mostly middle school aged girls the most fanservice that should be seen is a beach episode or a sleepover episode. And while this anime did have a sleepover episode it still also took time to put some of this girls in... compromising positions. My general rule of fanservice is that high school age characters doesn’t really count due to the wonky-ness of hormones act and how most media east and west tends to treat high school characters anyway, but middle school kids... yeah no. That’s just my morals, but it’s still a detractor from the anime.

The third arc kind of felt pointless since it tried to focus on Kufa’s relationship with Rosetti. I didn’t really need to know about Kufa’s past, and connecting it to Rosetti just... doesn’t feel right given how he dismissive treated her in the first arc. Making Rose a half-vampire was also pretty pointless to me. It feels like they were trying to give Kufa a harem when this show is mostly focused on Melida, and the most interesting part about his past is a mix of his life in the dark zone of the world and his past as an assassin, not his relationships with his apparent adoptive sister. It just felt... really focused and a waste of time. They could had cut out this arc, gave each other arc an extra episode to build up some things and be none the weaker for it.

The Dub

The nice thing about VRV is that I can see the HiDive dubcast along with the show. I only watched a handful of episodes, but here are my general throughts for those curious. Overall, the dub is fine, but like most HiDive Dubcasts it feels... off. Not bad, but it feels like they needed to be 4 or 6 weeks off the original release instead of 2 or 3 to get the director in the right place. I feel like most of the issues with this dub come from the direction and scripting rather than the actual voice-acting. But just to keep this short.

Kufa sounds too flat. This was a pretty common dubbing issue back in the early 2000s when trying to translate/localize a stoic, serious character. The director is probably trying to make the actor emulate the original Japanese voice acting and Kufa just sounds too flat and bored at times because of it. Most character like this tend to be given a more deadpan and sarcastic edge to them in English to make the have a little more emotion. In Japanese that flat tone is meant imply stoicism, resolve, and masculinity. In English... that’s just sounding flat and bored. Again, most characters like this are usually given a different kind of tone to keep them from sounding bored. For Kufa I’d say a more strict and stern tone of voice would help given he’s an instructor, almost like a even-toned drill sergeant issuing orders. He does sound like that from time to time when actually instructing, but I wish he kept that persona. Though that’s just my take.

Nerva and Rosetti... just don’t hit it for me. I don’t mind the difference in tone, but the script doesn’t lend itself to it. Rosetti’s actor makes her sounds much more like an adult in English, but her actual lines are still childish, which makes her come off as a little... cringe. Same with Nerva, but I’m willing to overlook it since she’s more of a side character anyway. Mule actually sounds pretty good in this regard. Her tone sounds less like a middle schooler and more like a young college woman, but since a lot of her actual lines has an air of condescending smugness it works out, though her actor sounds like she’s reading the script and not acting from it.

The scripting in general seemed to really want to follow the subbed version and it falls flat because of it. When I read the subtitles that take the world, systems, and general wackiness of this subpar anime so seriously it’s fine. But to actually hear it in a language I understand... it kinda’ shows how lacking the series is. I’m not saying they should had added jokes or anything, but it feels like they could had made the dialogue a bit more casual than it was in the subs so that the lines flowed a little better. HiDive dubs, their dubcasts especially, tend to feel like a product of the early 2000s rather than something current.

Thoughts and Recommendations

Overall I do recommend this series as a decent action show with some nice colors to it and a killer OP and ED, but there's a lot better I could recommend too that does everything this anime does but better.

So... here are a recommendations I have if Assassins Pride didn’t really click with you as much as you hoped.

A bit of an odd recommendation, but I’ll stick up Goblin Slayer first. This anime is actually a lot like Assassins Pride, being a character-focused story with decent side characters and does a lot of its world-building in the background. However, it does its arcs far better than Assassins Pride since they aren’t intrigue-based and the cast is solving much simpler problems in the grand scheme of things. It’s also an anime based off a light novel just to add to the similarities, and said anime also has four arcs to it. I will say this is a series that’s not for the faint of heart, and I almost recommend skipping episode 1 if you’re of a weaker constitution if you plan on watching this one.

Next up would be Chivalry of a Failed Knight. It does the combat school aspect of Assassins Pride much better, taking some strides to show that each of its students are, in fact, warriors capable of harming and killing others and going to a school to hone those skills. And if you that Melida was a ruthless fighter Ikki probably takes it a step further. And this is also another light novel adaptation, though the manga did technically finish its updates online if you’re curious. A side recommendation to this one would be Armed Girl's Machiavellism.

My last recommendation will be Katana Maidens. This is another combat school anime that I feel is honestly average, but it’s an anime-original series that has 24 episodes behind it, and quite a few decent action scenes. I recommend this one more to action junkies as I feel the story really starts to drag in the second half, but an overall decent series that does do itself world-building a little better than Assassins Pride, or at least I’m not asking as many questions at the end of it.

And those are my thoughts on Assassins Pride. Now I have a Rambling on video games to work on, so I’ll see you all later.

#assassins pride #your dictator is speaking

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thesquiddlesquad · 6 years ago

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OC-tober day 1: Beginnings

Admittedly, I forgot about OCtober until it was too late to make something new, so I’m cheating and posting the beginning (wink) of last year’s (unfinished) NaNoWriMo. @oc-growth-and-development

Monday started off just like every other day. I was woken up before my alarm even went off by Mom and Dad arguing over whose turn it was to take me and Julian to school. Dad was trying to pull the promotion card again.

“Karen, I've told you before, if I'm late to work there's no way I'll even be considered for the supervisor position that's just opened up.”

“You don't even care about that job!” I heard the clash echo off the tiled kitchen walls as Mom tossed her plate into the sink. “What's the point of getting promoted if you're just gonna leave the first chance you get to go and chop up dead bodies?” Even up here in my room where I couldn't see her, I could picture Mom wrinkling her nose in disgust. Dad's been a white collar office worker in the sales department of the same company for the past ten years, but he's always really wanted to work in a morgue. It's something he talks about whenever he gets the chance, which drives Mom crazy because she's really squeamish.

“I know I don't care about the job, Karen, but we need the money.” Dad didn't shout – instead he slowed right down as if he was talking to a little kid, or an old person who was losing their memory. “If I'm ever going to get the job I really want, I have to finish the college course, and it's not cheap.”

“I know, I know, you've told me! I'm not stupid.” I pulled on my clothes deliberately slowly, hoping they'd have stopped fighting by the time I was done and I could have breakfast without getting caught in the middle of it – or worse, dragged into it and bullied into taking a side. Unfortunately, angry voices were still drifting out of the kitchen when I got downstairs. I hesitated outside the door and considered turning back; I'd already packed my school things last night, but I could always double-check them to make absolutely sure nothing had been forgotten.

“Are you gonna stand there all day?” I jumped out of the doorway, nearly smacking my head into the stairs.

“Julian!” I turned around to glare at my older brother, who really needed to walk around less quietly. “What the hell? You scared me!” Julian just rolled his eyes.

“You're so jumpy.” Now I was no longer in his way, Julian had no reason to bother talking to me; with one last sideways glance, he sloped into the kitchen. Partly to prove that I wasn't a complete coward, I followed him.

“But what about my job, Roger?” Mom had her back to me, her hands on her hips. “Is that not important at all?” I sneaked a glance at Dad, leaning against the counter, a half-drunk cup of black coffee in his hand. Even I knew what he wanted to say. Mom's job has never paid as well as his, she has virtually no prospects for a promotion or a pay rise, and she's never really cared about it. Truthfully, she isn't even that good at it. But if Dad dared to mention any of those things, she'd have an excuse to accuse him of thinking he's better than her. Would he risk that, when it could mean Mom refused to do the school run on principle?

“Of course your job's important. Why else would you even be working at all?” Dad paused to drink down the rest of his coffee in one long swig. Not a good sign. “But when it comes down to it, it's me who's up for a promotion. Not you.” Clunk. Dad's mug joined Mom's plate in the sink, and he swept out of the room without another word. It wasn't over though – it was far from over – because then Mom turned to us.

“Uuugh.” Mom let out a dramatic, conspicuous half-sigh, half-groan. When neither I nor Julian responded to that, she said: “No respect. I get no respect in this house.” She looked right at me, and without thinking, I lowered my gaze to my cereal. “Fine then, ignore me.” I could feel that weird, sharp sound in her voice that people sometimes get when they're angry but not actually shouting – the one that sort of jabs into you, trying to make you feel guilty. I forced myself to ignore it. “But I bet I'm the one who has to take you two to school. Again.”

“If you'd let me get my license, I could drive myself to school.” Julian pointed out. “And Ray too, if they're not being annoying and they're actually ready on time.” I opened my mouth to point out how completely unfair that was, but Mom got there first.

“Oh yeah? And where are we gonna get the money for another car from?” Julian shrugged.

“I bet Meredith could get me a car. She could probably make me a car.”

“Would you want to drive a car Meredith had made, though?” I said.

“It doesn't matter if he wants to because I'm not letting him,” said Mom, “It's bad enough having all that crap your grandma makes in the house.”

“Okay, then you and Dad can keep slugging it out over who has to take us to school.” Julian stood up, pulling his school backpack onto his shoulder. “But don't act like I never offered to do anything about it.” And then he left without another word, exactly like Dad did. Mom might have noticed the similarity too, because she looked after him with the nose-wrinkled face she usually saves for when Dad talks about the morgue, or when Meredith says, well, anything. Trying to be as subtle about it as I could, I started eating my cereal faster. Part of me wanted to prove to Julian that I'm not always late getting ready, but most of me just wanted to get out of the kitchen before Mom could start complaining to me about the rest of my family. But this time I was lucky, because something else caught Mom's attention first.

It started with the cutlery. The dirty spoons and butter knives strewn across the counter top and piled up in the sink began to shake and rattle, until they were pulled up to hang suspended in mid-air. Mom shrieked and ducked under the table as the saucepans, the toaster, the cheese grater all rose into the air to join the floating cutlery. I stood frozen in place, afraid to move in case I jabbed myself on one of the knives.

“Oh my God,” I heard Mom groan from beneath the table, “This is how we're gonna die.” I would have agreed with her if this sort of stuff wasn't a pretty regular occurrence in our house. Even so, I couldn't hold back a small scream when the refrigerator started lifting off the ground and floating gently towards me as if it weighed no more than a soap bubble. I decided I'd better call on the one person who would know exactly what was going on.

“Meredith!” I yelled, no longer bothering to pretend I wasn't panicking. “Meredith, something weird is happening!” I heard a voice from the hallway, accompanied by footsteps coming up the basement stairs.

“The weird thing that's happening, is that weird thing all the metal things floating around? Is that the thing?””

“Yeah, that's it.” I leaned back nervously as a fork drifted past right under my nose. Meredith appeared in the doorway, looking completely unperturbed by anything that was going on. If anything, she looked like she was enjoying it.

“Good. That's exactly what was meant to happen.” She reached out and poked at one of the forks with a single bony finger, sending it spinning away in the vague direction of the window.

“W-why?” I watched Meredith tread slowly across the kitchen, touching a few more things as she moved. When she reached the refrigerator, she pulled open the door and started rummaging around inside. “Why?” I repeated.

“Why what?” Meredith called, still facing away from me.

“Why is everything floating?”

“Magnetic levitation.” Meredith pulled a can of beer out of the fridge and left it floating next to her. “I've been working on a thing down in the basement, and it worked in there, it worked on all of my stuff, but I needed to test the range.” She turned and looked at me, suddenly grinning. “Come on Ray, let's check – let's go look in your room.”

“Uh...” I edged away from the wall I'd backed into, brushing a few spoons out of my path with my arm, then stopping dead when I almost walked right into the sharp end of a vegetable knife.

“Fine, don't come, but I'm checking in your room whether you come with me or not.”

“Okay, okay!” I ducked under the knife and stumbled towards the door. There was no way I wanted anyone else in my room alone – I didn't know exactly what I had to hide but I was sure there was something.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Mom called from under the table – I'd completely forgotten she was there.

“Oh hey Karen,” Meredith said, only sparing a glance at the table before she turned her attention back to the floating can of beer. “You – you having fun under there getting crumbs on your ass?”

“You know I'm not having fun!” Mom scrambled out from under the table with as much dignity as she could manage, which wasn't very much. “All the metal things are floating round the kitchen! That's not supposed to be happening!”

“Actually, Karen, if you were listening when I told Ray about my magnetic levitation device you'd know that actually that's exactly what's supposed to be happening.” Meredith couldn't see the dirty look Mom was giving her because her eyes were still on the beer can, which she'd been lazily spinning with one finger as she spoke.

“Well make it stop happening! Just put everything back where it's supposed to be! Normally!”

“It'll go back when I turn it off. More or less. Basically just down, it'll go down. But not just fall down, it'll do it slow because I'll turn it down gradually, so don't – don't have a piss fit about it. But first we're gonna check upstairs – come on, Ray.” I moved towards the door, hoping to get out of the kitchen before Mom had time to stop me, but Dad appeared in the doorway, blocking my way out. He was fully dressed now in his work clothes and long brown coat, car keys in hand, and he looked right past me, glaring at Meredith.

“I've got work in twenty minutes.” Meredith looked him up and down.

“...Congratulations? Have a fun day slaving for the man?” She shrugged. “I don't know what you expect me to say, Roger.”

“You don't have to say anything. Just put my damn car back down so I can actually drive it.” Meredith's face lit up. She turned to look out of the window and I copied, both eager and anxious to see what was happening outside. Sure enough, Dad's red BMW was floating two feet off the ground, slowly revolving like a lazy Susan. A quick glance to the left showed Mom's silver Honda in the same state.

“Oh now we're talking, Ray.” Meredith snapped her fingers, bouncing slightly on her toes. I looked back at Dad.

“I didn't help. I didn't know anything about this.”

“I don't care who was involved in this.” Dad held up his hands, the dark circles under his eyes suddenly very apparent. “I just want it fixed so I can go to work.”

“Hey, no, what makes you think you're just going to work?” Mom protested, “It's your turn to take the kids!”

“Well you know what, Karen?” Dad snapped, “Sometimes life just isn’t fair.”

“Oh I know damn well it’s not fair!” Not to be outmatched, Mom turned up the volume on her own voice. “It’s not fair that other people get to have normal lives with normal families, while I have to put up with all of this…” She gestured to the floating knives and forks. “Happening in my house.”

“Move out then,” said Meredith, unconcerned. Mom shot an outraged look in her direction before turning back to Dad.

“You’re gonna let her talk to me like this?”

“I think we all know I don’t let her do anything.”

“You let her live here,” Mom pointed out, “And you don’t make her pay for it. Or even do anything.” She paused, looking as though something had just occurred to her. “You know what, Meredith? Why don’t you take the kids to school?”

“She doesn’t have a car,” I started to explain, but I was interrupted by something I definitely hadn’t expected to hear.

“Yeah, sure, Karen. I’ll take the kids to school.” I stared at her. We all stared. Maybe it was sarcasm? Meredith did use sarcasm a lot and I wasn’t the best at spotting it. I looked from Mom to Dad and back to Meredith, trying to guess what they were all thinking. Mom mostly just looked shocked. Dad was frowning, but it wasn’t an angry frown – it looked more like he was struggling to make up his mind. Meredith’s expression was hardest to work out – it looked a little bit like a smile, but there was something ominous about it that didn’t exactly fill me with confidence about getting to school in one piece.

In the end, it was Dad who broke the stalemate.

“You know what?” He held up his hands, the car keys jangling. “If that’s what it’ll take to let me get to work on time, then you take the kids to school, Meredith.”

“Roger…” Mom gave him a look that was clearly meant to communicate something. I got the impression she hadn’t expected anyone to take her suggestion seriously, least of all Meredith.

“If you have a problem with Meredith taking the kids to school, you can do it instead.” Dad dropped the car keys into his pocket and turned to leave. “I’m going to work.” He only got a few steps down the hallway before he turned back, pointing an accusing finger at Meredith. “Car. Put it down.”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time.” Meredith sauntered past him, her hands in her pockets. “Come on, Ray.”

“What?” With all the rowing going on around me, I’d forgotten what Meredith had said just a few minutes ago. She wasn’t in the mood to remind me verbally – instead she just grabbed me by the arm and pulled me through the doorway after her. Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, I remembered. I crossed my fingers behind my back, hoping my room hadn’t been transformed into a complete den of floating chaos.

“Meredith!” Dad’s exasperated voice followed us up the stairs. “Oh for crying out loud. She just has to take her own damn time with everything.”

“Oh I do,” I heard Meredith mutter, more to herself than to me or Dad, a slight grin pulling at the corner of her mouth. “I really, really do.”

#oc-tober #original characters #oc writing #oc tober #oc tober promps #oc tober day 1 #oc ray #oc meredith #oc roger #oc karen #oc julian #time traveller family #this isn't quite all of the first chapter - it was looking a bit long #i figured it's enough to introduce the characters #and the type of shit that's about to go down #i won't cheat tomorrow i promise

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stevenuniversallyreviews · 6 years ago

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Episode 103: Bubbled

“If I could begin to be half of what you think of me, I could do about anything.”

In the middle of Act I of Steven Universe, Steven saves the Atlantic Ocean, and in the middle of Act II, he saves Earth. These are large-scale victories that show his growing capabilities as a Crystal Gem in the global sense: he’s a defender of the world and all its inhabitants, and has two major accomplishments to show for it.

The end of Act I is more of a personal fight. The only lives at stake are those of the Crystal Gems as they’re brought into space, and Steven takes a more passive role in the finale, helping here and there but ultimately having the day saved by Garnet (and, arguably, Lapis). And it turns out the pattern of a more extreme sequel in Act II continues: in Bubbled, the only life at stake is his own, and despite being far more competent than he was in Jailbreak, he needs to be saved by others once again, because he’s been shattered.

As with Jailbreak, Steven spends a good part of Bubbled with another ornery ruby who gripes “Great! This is just perfect!” and barely gives him the time of day at first. In both episodes he tries and fails to help this ruby: our Ruby runs off on her own in impatience, and Eyeball tries to shank him and must be ejected from his bubble. But something interesting happens when you compare these rubies further, because beyond their opposing loyalties, there’s one major difference between the two of them: Ruby has such a low opinion of herself that she doesn’t think it matters whether or not she gets hurt, while Eyeball has such a high opinion of herself that she dreams of being the hero who defeats Rose Quartz, complete with glory from the Diamonds (and her own pearl). And really, this is one of the things the show is all about.

The flaws of practically every character in Steven Universe come down to the dichotomy between insecurity and overconfidence. At a glance, we can read our heroes as insecure and our villains as overconfident (Pearl and Amethyst good, Jasper and Kevin bad), but the actual lesson is that everyone has insecurities, and overconfidence is more often than not a reaction to it. As we learn more about our smug villains, we see the shortcomings that drive that smugness, and only then can Steven bridge the gap towards friendship. Heck, Garnet is the only truly confident Crystal Gem, and while I wouldn’t quite call her smug, at her worst she evokes the ice cold certainty of Sapphire more than the exposed nerve of Ruby. Like our villains, she begins as a mysterious figure, and her arc in Act II involves letting her Ruby out to become more balanced: she better understands her insecure family by embracing the uncertainty within, and uses this growth to reach out and help an insecure enemy understand her in Log Date 7 15 2.

Garnet might seem to have her act together compared to the other Crystal Gems, but let’s not forget that the emotionally healthiest character in the series is Greg Universe. He’s overconfident in flashbacks, but in the present is at peace with his shortcomings and happy with what he has without needing to compensate. He mourns Rose, but converts this grief into a celebration of his son’s life. Greg isn’t as dynamic a character as the rest because he’s already figured the important things out; he has his missteps, but his core is consistent and largely unchanging, even when he stumbles upon life-changing wealth. Steven tries to be like Rose throughout the series, but it’s not for nothing that Change Your Mind ties self-acceptance to sitting on the beach with a guitar.

I know I’m talking big picture here in terms of the characters and the series, but there’s not much to discuss about Bubbled at the surface level: it’s the misadventure of two enemies that sours to a breaking point, followed by a rescue. It’s actually a pretty slow bottle episode, consisting of a few long conversations broken up by two action sequences, and ending with another conversation. It’s similar in structure to Open Book and Gem Hunt, but far starker than either.

So the big picture is what matters when discussing Bubbled, because it’s a story about how Steven’s inner demons manifest, and will continue to manifest for the rest of the series. After all, Steven himself began as an overconfident kid, rushing into situations he wasn’t ready for and annoyed with not being considered a peer. He becomes far more tolerable after Steven and the Stevens, when he takes this attitude down a few notches and starts trying in earnest to catch up instead of looking for shortcuts or assuming he’s already there whenever anything goes right. But his insecurity is also clear, and now we get to really dig into the unique way this affects his character after examining how other insecurities affect other characters.

Amethyst’s insecurity raises her defenses like a pufferfish. Pearl’s insecurity makes her insensitive to the needs of others. Ruby’s insecurity compels her to verbalize her own worthlessness (while Sapphire radiates confidence and is only insecure when her signature ability to be secure in the future is disrupted). Connie’s insecurity drives her to prove her worth to others. Peridot’s insecurity causes her to belittle others to make herself seem bigger. Lapis’s insecurity magnifies her suffering and minimizes the good. Bismuth’s insecurity inspires her to overcommit to a righteous cause. Sadie’s insecurity lets people walk all over her until she snaps. Lars’s insecurity makes him a huge jerk. And Steven’s insecurity fuels a martyr complex that’s cranked up to life-threatening heights in Act III.

The most important choice Steven makes in Bubbled is a mind-numbingly stupid one: to tell Eyeball that he’s Rose Quartz, and to then do everything in his power to convince her. Eyeball is the reason he learned Rose shattered Pink Diamond, and she has given every indication that she despises Rose for this, and she’s an especially aggressive member of an aggressive team made of Gems designed to be aggressive. Steven’s reveal comes after Eyeball has made it explicit that her lingering hatred of Rose is the reason she even came to Earth. He’s alone in space with someone who will try to hurt him if she thought he was Rose (and who already wants to hurt him), and he has proven throughout Act II that he’s neither dumb nor naive enough to not understand the likely outcome here. But he says he’s Rose anyway, because he’s so obsessed with helping people that he's willing to put his own safety at risk just to cheer up an enemy.

There are other reasons I think it makes sense for him to make such an obvious mistake. He’s definitely in shock, but he’s also grumpy and takes Eyeball’s disbelief as a challenge. This is an irrational decision made by someone who isn’t in a rational state of mind. But this only makes it more compelling that his gut instinct, the essence of Steven that emerges from this emotional turmoil, is to help someone else. We’ve already had a whole episode about balancing the needs of others with the needs of yourself in Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service, but remember, that episode ends with Steven falling asleep standing up, because he ignored his own health to help Kiki learn that lesson.

Steven’s greatest strength creates his greatest weakness. He’s empathetic and sensitive, and can do amazing things because of it, but he needs to value himself as much as he values everyone around him. Act III sees him stumble and scramble through more trying times than ever, and until Connie finally calls him out on it, he compounds his troubles with his self-sacrificial mindset. He’s not suicidal by any stretch, but he decides his own needs are irrelevant when others need help, which ironically makes him more selfish than ever as he determines that he and he alone can save the day and stop his friends from getting hurt. And even when the cosmic scale fades away, his obsession with helping others to distract from himself becomes the driving conflict of Steven Universe Future.

Eyeball works wonders as a foil: she opposes Steven, but isn’t savvy enough to manipulate him on purpose, so his error is both obvious and unforced. Telling her that he’s Rose Quartz needs to say more about him than about the person he’s telling, and Eyeball is just flat enough of a character that she doesn’t steal his spotlight.

Charlyne Yi once again kills it, and little moments do personalize Eyeball further, even if it’s nothing groundbreaking. The biggest, in my mind, is commanding Steven to “find cover, soldier!” as asteroids approach, despite their antagonistic relationship: her instinct to act as a team trumps her personal disdain for Steven, and while he assumes later that the two are bonding, this is as close as I think she actually gets to reciprocating. We see her get annoyed at being called Eyeball, which is a nice and reasonable gripe from a character whose gripes we tend to disagree with. And I love that her weapon is less of a knife and more of a shiv, with a squared edge that implies she’s got a really strong stabbing arm.

Like I said, she’s still flat—we may see her quirks here, but she doesn’t change at all over the course of the episode and we already knew she was a proud warrior Gem with a stubborn streak—but it works. It’s weird to use “flat” as a compliment, but I do mean it as such. She isn’t the real villain here, and “defeating” her feels more like failure than victory: Mindful Education hammers home that this is the third enemy Gem in a row that Steven couldn’t help, no matter how hard he tried.

While Bubbled feels pretty slow, it helps that the whole thing is beautiful to look at. The opening shot of Steven tumbling through space from his own point of view gets us right into the game, and the loneliness and sheer terror of his situation is highlighted with gorgeous, silent shots of space. Steven is processing a huge shift in perspective, and the setting reflects the magnitude of his new reality.

And then, to add an auditory counterpart to the visual story, his rescue is punctuated by Rebecca Sugar finally finishing Love Like You.

The song has played over the closing credits since the beginning of the series, using a variety of instruments before the lyrics trickled in. An acoustic version accompanies the end of Ocean Gem, as Steven celebrates with the humans and the Gems discuss what Lapis’s escape means for the future. A haunting reprise, unrecognizable at first while Steven struggles to find himself, joins the end credits for Act III. And wouldn’t you know, it’s a song about insecurity.

When I first heard Love Like You, and for years after, I was convinced that it was sung by Rose. Rebecca Sugar herself said that it wasn’t written with a particular character in mind, but nope, for me it was definitely about Rose. She’s singing to Greg about how she wants to capable of loving the way humans can, and Steven is the result of the conversation. And I still think that reading stands, and that it matters, but songs can be about more than one thing.

This is the third of four songs that encapsulate the two big lessons I take from Steven Universe. Strong in the Real Way reconstructs the notion of what true strength is, and alongside Stronger Than You, we’re told that what matters most is doing the right thing and being a good person, even when it’s hard, and that healthy relationships (romantic, familial, platonic, whatever) help make this possible.

Love Like You and our fourth big song, Change Your Mind, similarly work as a duo: where the Strong Songs are about the importance of relationships to emotional strength, Love Like You and Change Your Mind address how we as individuals can be strong in the real way. It’s important to have healthy relationships, but it’s also important to love yourself, and Love Like You is about that second part: the most loving network in the world can’t fix your insecurity if you’re unable to see yourself the way your loved ones do.

As Love Like You plays in the background, with the first non-diegetic lyrics we’ve heard in the series, Steven is finally told the truth. Garnet is right that Steven’s mother would have done anything for Earth, and while the details of her misdeeds are hazy at this point, the result is the same. Steven can no longer look to his mother as a paragon of virtue, and even though the Crystal Gems love him, they can’t fix this new problem, especially if their secrecy is part of the problem. They think the world of Steven, and now it’s up to him to see that he can do about anything. He could even learn how to love.

Future Vision!

Eyeball knows Rose Quartz not by her shield, but her sword. And we know Eyeball witnessed the “shattering” of Pink Diamond. And we know that Rose’s sword was built to not harm a Gem’s gem. Hints abound.

The chase around the bubble ends because Steven stops and wonders aloud what would happen if his gem was taken. It’s the first time the subject is broached on the show. It isn’t the last.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Bubbled touches on major themes of the series, but in a bubble on its own, the glacial pace hinders the storytelling. This is a great finale, but it’s not that great of a solitary episode. I like it fine, there are a lot of great things about it (the art in particular), but I don’t rank this one very high by itself.

Top Twenty

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

When It Rains

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

No Thanks!

5. Horror Club 4. Fusion Cuisine 3. House Guest 2. Sadie’s Song 1. Island Adventure

#bubbled #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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douchebagbrainwaves · 5 years ago

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THE COURAGE OF HACKERS

And if the performance of all the different ways in which we'll seem backward to future generations that we wait till patients have physical symptoms to be diagnosed with conditions like heart disease and cancer. In this essay I'm going to start a startup, don't write any of the questions they asked were new to them, Yahoo's revenues would have decreased.1 Bertrand Russell wrote in a letter in 1912: Hitherto the people attracted to philosophy have been mostly those who loved the big generalizations, which were all wrong, so that few people with exact minds have taken up the subject. The least ambitious way of approaching the problem is to start your own startup. It's probably what it was: they were building class projects. It has nothing to do with anything as complex as an image of a visionary.2 So are hackers, I think we actually applied for a patent on it.3 Google was indistinguishable from a nonprofit. Writing novels doesn't pay as well as implementation. But recently I realized we can also attack the problem downstream.

They call the things that has surprised me most about startups is how few of the most powerful motivator of all—more powerful even than the nominal goal of most startup founders, based on who we're most excited to see applications from, I'd say it's probably the mid-twenties. Here's where benevolence comes in. That becomes an end in itself. This of course gave empathy a bad name, and I noticed a remarkable pattern in them.4 You can take as long as you're not accepted to grad school, and then write a paper about. With speaking it's the opposite: having good ideas is an alarmingly small component of being a good speaker uses that. Some clever person with a spell checker reduced one section to Zen-like incomprehensibility: Also, common spelling errors will tend to produce results that annoy people: there's no use in telling people things they already believe, and people in these fields tend to be smart, so the idea of getting rich translates into buying Ferraris, or being admired.5

You have to imagine being two people. That's probably why everyone else has been overlooking the idea.6 Of all the useful things we can say with some confidence is that these are the glory days of hacking. If you made something no better than GMail, but fast, that alone would let you start to pull users away from GMail. These things don't get discovered that often. Computer Programs.7 This is all to explain how Plato and Aristotle. And yet it doesn't seem to pay. I have by now internalized doesn't even know where to begin in raising objections to this project.

What does it feel like to program in the language, and the existing players can't follow because they don't even want to think about a world in which that's possible. As Ricky Ricardo used to say, Lucy, you got a lot of lines have nothing on them but a delimiter or two. Better to operate cheaply and give your ideas time to evolve. If you made something no better than GMail, but fast, that alone would let you start to pull users away from GMail. I think there will be people who take a risk and use it. I've seen writing so far removed from spoken language that it couldn't be fixed sentence by sentence. They won't be replaced wholesale. Much to the surprise of the builders of the first digital computers, Rod Brooks wrote, programs written for them usually did not work. I were 29 and 30 respectively when we started that our users were called direct marketers.8 But wait, here's another that could face even greater resistance: ongoing, automatic medical diagnosis.

It just made me spend several minutes telling you how great they are. You don't have to have practical applications. There is always a big time lag in prestige. But how common will that be?9 I felt bad about this, the better an idea it seems. We didn't need this software ourselves. At any rate, the result is that scientists tend to make their work look as mathematical as possible. This essay is derived from a talk at the 2008 Startup School. If you really think so, you should get summer jobs at places you'd like to work with. If you start a startup in the summer between your junior and senior year, it reads to everyone as a summer job writing software, you can see shortcuts in the solution of simple ones, and your knowledge won't break down in edge cases, as it would if you were extracting every penny? Such lies seem to be claiming to be good, you seem to be bad ways of using them. What makes Google so valuable is that their users have money.

Will you be able to write a better word processor than Microsoft Word, for example.10 At this point, when someone comes to us with something that users like but that we use that heretofore despised criterion, applicability, as a guide to keep us from wondering off into a swamp of abstractions. His response was to launch Wittgenstein at it, with dramatic results. Much to the surprise of the builders of the first digital computers, Rod Brooks wrote, programs written for them usually did not work. Its main purpose is to communicate something to an audience.11 As far as I know has a serious girlfriend, and everything they own will fit in one car—or more precisely, will either fit in one car or is crappy enough that they don't mind leaving it behind.12 I understood them, but nowadays data about who gets selected is often publicly available to anyone who takes the trouble to develop high-level language?

Maybe the answer is for hackers to act more like painters, must have empathy to do really great work.13 The 32 year old.14 This is one of the reasons startups win.15 It turns out that looking at things from someone else's point of view. Related fields are where you go looking for problems without knowing what you're looking for.16 If you find something broken that you can fix for a lot less money. Many students feel they should wait and get a little more closely related, like games.

There is a lot more analysis. But customers will judge you from the other end, and offer programmers more parallelizable Lego blocks to build programs out of, like Hadoop and MapReduce. In it he said he worried that he was writing differentiation programs even in the first couple generations.17 And even then they rarely said so outright. Back when I was in college. Does that make written language worse? But a constant multiple of any curve is exactly the same shape.

Notes

Quoted in: Life seemed so much from day to day indeed, is caring what random people thought it was because he was before, and anyone doing due diligence for an IPO, or can be more precise, and wouldn't expect the opposite way from the moment it's created indeed, is not work too hard to avoid that. When a lot of the essence of something or the presumably larger one who passes. Which is fundraising. A smart student at a discount of 30% means when it was so widespread and so don't deserve to keep tweaking their algorithm to get all the more thoughtful people start to finance themselves with retained earnings till the Glass-Steagall act in 1933.

But there are not mutually exclusive. In the Daddy Model may be a startup enough to be able to. The revenue estimate is based on respect for their judgement.

Without visual cues e. Conjecture: The Civil Service Examinations of Imperial China, Yale University Press, 1981. He had equity. Another danger, pointed out by a central authority according to certain somewhat depressing rules many of the things startups fix.

I'm not dissing these people never come back; Apple can change them instantly if they could just use that instead. It doesn't happen often.

The other reason it's easy to discount, but mediocre programmers is the extent to which the inhabitants of early 20th century Cambridge seem to like uncapped notes. But that is allowing economic inequality is really about poverty. 5 million cap.

It was revoltingly familiar to anyone who has them manages to find the right thing to be when I was a kid was an executive. Watt didn't invent the spreadsheet.

Or it may seem to be a lost cause to try to write a book about how to argue: they hoped they were more dependent on banks for capital for expansion. Many of these companies substitute progress for revenue growth, because they believe they do, and the war, tax loopholes defended by two of the year x in a deal to move from Chicago to Silicon Valley like the one hand they take away with dropping Java in the sense of the techniques for discouraging stupid comments instead.

That was a strong craving for distraction. Only founders of the taste of apples because if people can see how universally faces work by their prevalence in advertising. A smart student at a time of its users, however, by doing everything in it. Which is precisely my point.

Because in medieval towns, monopolies and guild regulations initially slowed the development of new inventions until they become well enough but the route to that knowledge was to become dictator and intimidate the NBA into letting him play. Because it's better if everything just works. In fact, if you want as an investor I don't mean to kill bad comments to solve a lot better to be sharply differentiated, so it's conceivable that intellectual centers like Cambridge will one day is the stupid filter, which have remained more or less, then invest in syndicates. That may require asking, because the rich.

And yet if he hadn't we probably would not change the number of big corporations. Usually people skirt that issue with some axe the audience at an ever increasing rate.

One reason I even mention the possibility is that the http requests are indistinguishable from those of popular Web browsers, including that Florence was then the richest country in the 1960s, leaving less room to avoid collisions in. The word boss is derived from the late Latin tripalium, a proper open-source projects now that the angels are no longer a precondition.

Some want to stay around, but he turned them down. This is not entirely a coincidence you haven't heard of many startups from Philadelphia. No, but Confucius, though. The way universities teach students how to value valuable things.

But that doesn't exist. In many ways the New Deal was a test of intelligence. When you had a broader meaning. Indiana University Bloomington 1868-1970.

Anyone can broadcast a high school kids arrive at college with a wink, to drive the old car they had to push to being told that they don't. The Duty of Genius, Penguin, 1991. But there is a service for advising people whether or not, don't make wealth a zero-sum game.

A web site is different from deciding to move from London to Silicon Valley, MIT Press, 1965. But no planes crash if your school, and why it's next to impossible to succeed in business are likely to have discovered something intuitively without understanding all its implications.

I'm not making any commitments. 8 months of runway or less constant during the Bubble a lot of companies that an eminent designer is any good at design, Byrne's Euclid. But it's dangerous to Microsoft than Netscape was.

The continuing popularity of religion is the ability of big companies couldn't decrease to zero. Something similar happens with suburbs. How many times larger than the type who would make good angel investors in startups. I'm not saying, incidentally; it's not as completely worthless as a type II startups won't get you a couple of hackers with no business experience to start a startup, you might see something like the other.

#automatically generated text #Markov chains #Paul Graham #Python #Patrick Mooney #Penguin #year #apples #cause

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recentanimenews · 6 years ago

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THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Heats up with the Legendary Sannin Battle in Episodes 92-98!

It's that time, y'all. It's time for the GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH! I'm Nicole Mejias, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we tackled episodes 85-91, introducing us into the arc of Tsunade's path to becoming the next Hokage. This week, we've got episodes 92-98 on the docket, so let's get to it!

Last week we started to learn more about Tsunade, the woman who may become the next Hokage. This batch of episode leads us through her decision and the conflicts that arise from it, with a heavy focus on the three legendary ninja: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. Naruto is sort of just along for the ride here, but we get to see the birth of his signature ability: The Rasengan! Kabuto also makes some serious impressions here, and at the end of the episodes, the Leaf Village finds themselves with a new leader. We also start to learn a bit more about the fate of Rock Lee after the disastrous results of the Chunin Exam, and things don't look very good for him.

Let's see what the Crunchyroll Features team thought of this week's slew of episodes!

These episodes deal heavily with Tsunade's struggle to decide whether to accept the title of Hokage or not. How do you feel about Tsunade as a character after this resolution of her introduction arc?

Kevin: Based on her arc and characterization, I have no doubt that she will care about the Village, however I’m not convinced that she’s actually a good choice for Hokage. It seems more like no one outside of the Sannin are famous enough to be recommended for the position.

David: She’s definitely one of my favorites at this point. Regarding her arc so far, I’m glad the story let her have a moment where she stands up and assumes responsibility, without going back and pretending she doesn’t have any of her character flaws anymore. Change is a slow process.

Paul: Tsunade gets some heroic moments and we learn enough about her past and the traumas that she's overcome to get a good idea about her character, but I'm still not sure how she'll cope as the Fifth Hokage, as the position doesn't seem to fit her personality very well. I'd like to see more about her perspective as a field medic. What would it be like to be a super-powered doctor in a world crawling with deadly ninja?

Noelle: I think Tsunade’s pretty great! It’s not easy to step up and take charge, and it’s definitely not easy to push past long-existing traumas, but she manages to do just that. It’s also not something shown as easy, which I appreciate. I think it might take her some getting used to, but I think somewhere down the line, she can be a good leader.

Joseph: I still think it’s wild to have a medic ninja with a fear of blood but I dig Tsunade. She has some real struggles to cope with and I like that she had to see firsthand the threats her people are up against to make her big decision.

Jared: I liked her more as these episodes went on compared to last week. Like others here, I’m curious to see how she is able to handle the responsibilities of being the Hokage. Especially with regards to all the turmoil the village is dealing with and having to rebuild from what happened.

Kara: Definitely still liking Tsunade, but I love the extra context here. The English major in me also loved how her overcoming her fear coincided with her healing herself. Very nice. And again, I am cool with a Hokage who’s willing to throw down against a kid.

Danni: I think she’ll contrast well with what we saw of the Third Hokage. I dig her a lot right now, especially since she got over her fear of blood. It was a nice dose of irony, but it kept becoming an excuse to have her cower in the corner, which honestly sucked a lot considering she’s like the strongest woman in the world.

Naruto succeeds in using the Rasengan here! What's your opinion on Naruto's growth throughout the series? He seems to get the most 'on-screen' training, but sometimes still seems outclassed by everyone somehow. What do you think about the successful execution of the Rasengan?

Kevin: The Rasengan is the first time we’ve seen Naruto truly struggle with training, and even when he pulled it off this first time, it was a spur of the moment inspiration, rather than definitely mastering the technique ahead of time. As for Naruto’s growth thus far, I’m a sucker for Shounen training so I’ve had a good time with it. He doesn’t really change as a character, but I like the worldbuilding and expanding magic system that comes from more in-depth training arcs.

David: Watching Naruto grow is genuinely satisfying, largely because it almost never feels like he is granted said growth simply because the story calls for it. He’s a good kid who is constantly working hard to achieve his goals. His quick thinking on successfully performing the Rasengan makes perfect sense given how he usually works out problems, and the aftermath of its effects on his body proves he has ways to go yet.

Paul: We've seen Naruto grow in terms of his Chakra-manipulation and Ninjutsu skills, but my favorite moments have been the ones that emphasize Naruto's growth as a character, such as when he steps back and lets Sakura have her moment with the newly-revived Sasuke. There's a heavy focus on Naruto's sense of empathy, which is more interesting in my opinion than his combat prowess. Regarding training, going forward I'd like to see Naruto develop a completely original Jutsu rather than just putting a creative spin on an existing technique.

Noelle: Naruto really deserved this moment. Some shonen it really feels like protagonists get their powers out of nowhere, either too easily or merely when the plot calls for it, but Naruto actively struggles. The show devoted quite a bit of time to showing how the Rasengan is complicated, hard to master, and not very intuitive. As such, when Naruto finally gets it, that’s purely satisfying.

Joseph: I know Naruto’s inner powers give him a massive advantage over almost all his opponents, but I love how genuinely hard working he is. He’s gone from being annoying to imo a total sweetpea over the course of 98 episodes and I think they’ve done a great job carrying out both his training and personal growth.

Jared: I really enjoyed seeing him go through all of the training to finally figure out a way to make this technique his own. You could see the struggle he had to go through to get to that point, and when it finally pays off, it’s wonderful. He’s definitely undergone a lot of growth throughout the series which has been enjoyable to watch, such as giving Sakura and Sasuke a moment when he wakes up. It was a rather mature moment from him which isn’t what you expect from the beginning of the series.

Kara: Creativity with jutsus, both making them work in the first place and how they’re used, is something I’ve been enjoying consistently about Naruto. I also haven’t been giving this kid nearly enough credit for his lateral thinking skills. Yeah, he keeps on cranking out Shadow Clone Jutsu, but it’s his favorite and one he can do in his sleep, so it makes a lot of good sense for him to recontextualize difficult techniques from a familiar starting point. I kind of want to show these training sequences to my teacher friends; I think they’d appreciate them.

Danni: I was amused by how they managed to walk the line between having him master this near-impossible to master technique in two weeks without having him master it the RIGHT way so he can still be the underdog. I’m glad he has some more tricks up his sleeve now with the summoning and the Rasengan. I like him a lot as a protagonist and can’t wait to see him start using his newfound abilities in *checks schedule* the weeks and weeks of upcoming filler.

Kabuto makes a lot of waves in these episodes, showing off his particular strengths. How do you feel about Kabuto here? I remember when I first watched this that I found Kabuto a lot cooler than I think I do now.

Kevin: *Insert laughter with growing insanity* Oh Kabuto, you started out as a simple henchman. So far, he seems like a legitimate threat, at the level of a Jonin and combat skills on par if not above Tsunade while also being such an unknown that he was able to take the Chunin exam with the main cast. Later on… well, we’ll get to that eventually.

David: I’m honestly kind of frustrated he is so powerful that he can stand up to a Sannin like Tsunade, and the only real explanation for that so far is basically “well he works for Orochimaru, so…”. Hopefully this gets explored more in the future.

Paul: Kabuto is such a gigantic dork. He's like the kid in a tabletop game of Risk who grabs Australia and turtles up, turning the entire game into an inevitable nine hour slug-fest. I'll be happy when someone finally gives him the shinobi equivalent of an Atomic Wedgie.

Noelle: I do love my antagonists, so ruthless Kabuto ranks much higher to me than friendly Kabuto. Like Kevin says, it’s best to just judge him at the moment, and so far, he’s pretty okay. I’m not that impressed overall, for him being able to do hard damage on Tsunade seems a little bit much, but I guess they had to establish him as a threat.

Joseph: Kabuto is kind of corny. I did like him being recognized as the battle against Orochimaru began, but I could take or leave him at this point.

Jared: The way they’ve been able to position him as this guy who looks out for Naruto to now wanting to murder him has been very good, because it made his eventual turn that much better. I don’t know how much I buy him being as accomplished as he seems, but I guess him being recognized by Orochimaru is a good endorsement. Although, I still feel like I’m waiting for him to do another double cross at some point.

Kara: I’ve watched enough giant robot anime to know what happens to right hands. I’d like to be able to take time to appreciate him, but I just keep wondering when he’s gonna get killed, betrayed, used as a meat shield, sacrificed for some greater purpose, replaced, demoted…

Danni: The more evil and cool they try to make Kabuto the more he comes across as a lame tryhard. I feel like I’ve heard at least in passing heard of or seen every single character in Naruto EXCEPT him, which probably means he isn’t all that important.

Let's address a somewhat unfortunate problem: the way Tsunade gets depicted and looked at in this show. I noticed it a lot more than I did when I watched this originally, and I was curious if you think the focus on boob jokes and such harms Tsunade's character, especially since she's the new Hokage?

Kevin: I definitely noticed it as a kid. It’s not great, but mostly only lasts a few seconds at a time and then she reestablishes either how much ass she kicks without even trying or reminds everyone that she is the one in charge. I’m not sure if it hurts her character or not, but it definitely doesn’t help. Luckily, she at least has more characterization that being just a boob, gambling and drinking gag on loop.

David: I don’t mind the drinking and gambling; those seem like real character flaws tied closely to her trauma and commitment issues. The constant focus on her looks from basically every other character is a problem though, one that unfortunately extends to how the show treats its entire female cast. It wouldn’t be as bad if, say, it was just a quirk of Shikamaru’s, but when everyone in the whole show does it to some extent or another, there’s clearly a more fundamental issue at play.

Paul: Maybe I've been poisoned by decades of anime fan-service, but I found the stuff surrounding Tsunade to be rather restrained at first. She spends most of her introductory episodes wearing that huge jacket, so the camera doesn't really have much opportunity to leer at her body, although when the jacket comes off we get a Powergirl scenario, where I swear they draw Tsunade's breasts larger in every subsequent cut just to see what they can get away with. It also took them something like 10 episodes for someone to face-plant into her cleavage, so...progress?

Noelle: Unfortunately, this isn’t a Tsunade-only problem—Kishimoto really isn’t that great at writing women overall. This is just one example of that larger problem. As for her specifically, I’m not going to pretend it’s good. Framing things like this is an author’s choice, and a deliberate one. That being said, as uncomfortable as it is, it’s not as bad as some fanservice other series pulls. That doesn’t mean it’s good though, I’d rather Tsunade not be framed like this at all, but this is what we get.

Joseph: I, too, have anime poison, because I didn’t think much of it. I also remember that aspect from when the series first aired and it seems pretty tame as far as not including too much nonsense fan-service goes.

Jared: I said this last week that I’m not surprised that they’d write her kind of poorly after what we’ve already seen with Sakura. I guess it could be worse and be something like Jiraiya just perving after her all the time, but trying to build her up as getting over her trauma to finally taking the position of Hokage, to then having Konohamaru face plant into her cleavage is not great.

Kara: I don’t think I’m un-poisoned but I must have an unpleasantly high threshold. Nothing about Tsunade’s depiction bothered me up until Konohamaru motorboated her, and then I just kinda died inside.

Danni: I’m honestly surprised by how few boob jokes there’ve been. The only one I can recall is when Konohomaru bumps into her and just starts motorboating. What really sticks out to me though is all the guys being jerks about her age. Like, a hot woman in her 50s who can kill me with one hit? That’s the IDEAL woman.

So, these episodes leave us with some bad news in terms of resolution: Rock Lee's ninja career seems to be over. I know people are pretty partial to Rock Lee, and I remember being pretty upset when he got so hurt during the exams. What are your thoughts about Lee's future? (Feel free to talk about how great of a character Lee is!)

Kevin: Tsunade, if you ever talk to my ninja son like that ever again, you’ll wish you had stayed in that tourist town. Seriously though, that revelation was so well choreographed (especially Lee’s reaction) that I remembered almost the exact wording, even years after previously seeing the scene. It makes going back to the Third Exam Preliminaries even tougher to watch, since throughout Lee’s fight against Gaara, we see the failure struggle against impossible odds and know that not only will he fail, but even after seeing him raise to continue fighting while unconscious, the damage he inflicted on himself created what is basically a coin flip whether he can pursue his dream or die trying.

David: I know there’s been a lot of arguably more important things going on, but this continuous stretching of Lee’s suffering is almost getting to be too much really. His fight was fifty episodes ago, and he’s constantly working on getting better, yet every time we check in on him things just look worse. But really this comes from a place of caring—stop teasing us, if he’s gonna get better, I wanna see him get better already!

Paul: Lee is a lovely good boy, and I'm surprised that they've kept him out of commission for as long as they have, but if Sasuke can survive two brushes with death without permanent repercussions on his health, then I have to believe that Lee will pull through somehow, too. The state of his injuries weeks later makes me angry at Might Guy for allowing Lee to push his body past the breaking point, though.

Noelle: Give Lee a break! I didn’t really pay much attention to him during my first viewing years back but Lee really does deserve better. He does nothing but try hard, and has gotten this far on the power of hard work alone. Seeing geniuses get by with relative ease but Lee getting the short end of the stick hurts. Do I think this is going to be a permanent thing? No, I doubt it, but the fact that he has to deal with this in the first place—give this boy a vacation.

Joseph: Definitely a heart-breaker, but I have confidence that Kishimoto won’t relegate such a good character to the sidelines. Right? RIGHT?

Jared: Rock Lee is still the best boy in this entire dang series and I really hope we get to see his triumphant return. If it goes that route, it won’t be easy, but that boy can totally do it with how mentally tough he is. Plus, if that’s where it does go, I’m expecting some pro wrestling style injury return hype videos.

Kara: I can’t believe they’d bring a badass medical ninja to town, make her Hokage, and then have her not be able to help my best boy. I’m with Paul—as much as I appreciate Might Guy sticking to the sports anime hardcore training aesthetic, I’m not pleased with him letting Lee mess himself up to this degree. He knows Lee will fight ‘til he’s burger unless someone stops him, and sometimes that’s not a good thing. This is largely, if not entirely, on Guy.

Danni: Like I said before, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Rock Lee.

And, as always, what are the high and low points in this week’s set of episodes?

Kevin: High point - Up until the end of the final episode, I was going to give it to the Sannin fight, since we finally see full-fledged ninja fighting all out, but we also know that none of them are at full strength and so know that this isn’t even as crazy as it can get. Lee getting notified by the top medical ninja that he should give up his dream takes the top spot though. It was absolutely heart rending to hear, even knowing full well that it was coming and how it resolves. Low point - Shikamaru and his dad. It was a short moment, but really guys? Women are basically just around to give the men a reason to do good things, and even the sharpest edged one will show a soft side to the one she loves? Mister Nara, please update your morals a bit.

David: High point is Naruto inheriting the First Hokage’s necklace. After all of her backstory, that moment more than anything else is proof of both Naruto’s perseverance and growth as well as Tsunade’s renewed faith in both herself and the future. Low point is basically the entire “Naruto kidnapping” episode, not because I think it was entirely pointless or bad, but because it really didn’t need to be a whole episode and the pacing of this show is otherwise much better than that.

Paul: My high point is a tie between Gamatatsu, the adorably inept Frog Summon with the sunny disposition, and Katsuyu, the gigantic Slug Summon with the gentle voice and extremely respectful manner of speech. I love both of those characters. My low point is a tie between Jiraiya giving himself heatstroke in an attempt to be a perv at the mixed bathing hot springs and Shikamaru's continued low-grade misogyny. Tsunade is the Fifth Hokage, and you will treat her with respect, young man!

Noelle: High points, the Sannin fight, from giant kaiju battles to everyone going one on one. Tsunade riding Gamabunta’s sword and slamming at into Manda’s mouth was something I loved as a kid and I sure do love that now! Tsunade throwing hands is also completely delightful. Low point, Shikamaru’s not so subtle misogyny. Really, Shikamaru? Really?

Joseph: High point: Gamatatsu is my new favorite Naruto character. Low point: The C-grade hot spring episode I almost completely tuned out during.

Jared: Naruto catching Kabuto’s knife in between his fingers was the most hardcore and metal thing he’s done in this entire series and it was AWESOME. Low points would be the hot spring episode which was just there and Shikamaru’s monologue about women.

Kara: High point is absolutely Tsunade making Orochimaru into her own personal punching bag, especially when she was just whipping him around by the tongue. Close second is good boy Gamatatsu having a lovely first day out. Low point was the show bringing Jiraiya’s perv aspect right back into play after that awesome fight. I’d nearly forgotten about it, but here we are.

Danni: Low point goes to Shikamaru and his dad. For real, guys? You’re both pretty cool, but there’s no excuse for misogyny. High point was easily watching Tsunade just beat the everloving crap out of Orochimaru for like 5 minutes.

COUNTERS:

"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 16 Bowls of ramen consumed: 2 bowls Shadow Clones created: 17 + 1 uncountable scene

Total so far:

"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 48 Bowls of ramen consumed: 35 bowls + 3 cups Shadow Clones created: 314

And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto! Watch Naruto today!

Here's our upcoming schedule:

- April 26th will have DAVID LYNN take us to the Land of Waves in episodes 99-105.

- May 3rd features PAUL CHAPMAN, who will walk us through the inevitable Naruto vs Sasuke in episodes 106-112.

- May 10th, JOSEPH LUSTER will give us the deets on the Sound Four.

Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all next time!

Have anything to say about our thoughts on Episodes 92-98? Let us know in the comments! Don't forget, we're also accepting questions and comments for next week, so don't be shy and feel free to ask away!

----

Nicole is a features and a social video script writer for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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judeblenews-blog · 7 years ago

Text

9 highlights from Snapchat CEO’s 6,000-word leaked memo on survival

Adults, not teens. Messaging, not Stories. Developing markets, not the U.S. These are how Snapchat will make a comeback, according to CEO Evan Spiegel . In a 6,000-word internal memo from late September leaked to Cheddar’s Alex Heath, Spiegel attempts to revive employee morale with philosophy, tactics and contrition as Snap’s share price sinks to an all-time low of around $8 — half its IPO price and a third of its peak. “The biggest mistake we made with our redesign was compromising our core product value of being the fastest way to communicate,” Spiegel stresses throughout the memo regarding “Project Cheetah.” It’s the chat that made Snapchat special, and burying it within a combined feed with Stories and failing to build a quick-loading Android app have had disastrous consequences.

Spiegel shows great maturity here, admitting to impatient strategic moves and outlining a cohesive path forward. There’s no talk of Snapchat ruling the social app world here. He seems to understand that’s likely out of reach in the face of Instagram’s competitive onslaught. Instead, Snapchat is satisfied if it can help us express ourselves while finally reaching even meager profitability. Snapchat may be too perceived as a toy to win enough adults, too late to win back international markets from the Facebook empire and too copyable by good-enough alternatives to grow truly massive. But if Snap can follow the Spiegel game plan, it could carve out a sustainable market through a small but loyal audience who want to communicate through imagery. Here are the most interesting takeaways from the memo — and why they’re important:

1. Apologizing for rushing the redesign

There were, of course, some downsides to moving as quickly as a cheetah We rushed our redesign, solving one problem but creating many others . . . Unfortunately, we didn’t give ourselves enough time to continue iterating and testing the redesign with a smaller percentage of our community. As a result, we had to continue our iterations after we launched, causing a lot of frustration for our community. Spiegel always went on his gut rather than relying on user data like Facebook. Aging further and further away from his core audience, he misread what teens cared about. The appealing buzz phrase of “separating social from media” also meant merging messaging and Stories into a chaotic list that made both tougher to use. Spiegel seems to have learned a valuable lesson about the importance of A/B testing.

2. Chat is king

Our redesigned algorithmic Friend Feed made it harder to find the right people to talk to, and moving too quickly meant that we didn’t have time to optimize the Friend Feed for fast performance. We slowed down our product and eroded our core product value. . . . Regrettably, we didn’t understand at the time that the biggest problem with our redesign wasn’t the frustration from influencers – it was the frustration from members of our community who felt like it was harder to communicate . . . In our excitement to innovate and bring many new products into the world, we have lost the core of what made Snapchat the fastest way to communicate. When Snap first revealed the changes, we predicted that “Teen Snap addicts might complain that the redesign is confusing, jumbling all content from friends together.” That made it too annoying to dig out your friends to send them messages, and Snap’s growth rate imploded, with it losing 3 million users last quarter. Expect Snap to optimize its engineering to make messages quicker to send and receive, and even sacrifice some of its bells and whistles to make chat faster in developing markets.

3. Snapchat must beat Facebook at best friends

Your top friend in a given week contributes 25% of Snap send volume. By the time you get to 18 friends, each incremental friend contributes less than 1% of total Snap send volume each. Finding best friends is a different problem than finding more friends, so we need to think about new ways to help people find the friends they care most about. Facebook’s biggest structural disadvantage is its broad friend graph that’s bloated to include family, co-workers, bosses and distant acquaintances. That might be fine in a feed app, but not for Stories and messaging where you only care about your closest friends. With friend lists and more, Facebook has tried and failed for a decade to find better ways to communicate with your besties. This is the wedge through which Snapchat can attack Facebook. If it develops special features for luring your best friends onto the app and staying in touch with them for better reasons than just maintaining a Snap “Streak,” it could hit Facebook where it can’t defend itself.

4. Discover soars as Facebook Watch and IGTV stumble

Our Shows continue to attract more and more viewers, with over 18 Shows reaching monthly audiences of over 10M unique viewers. 12 of which are Original productions. As a platform overall, we’ve grown the amount of total time spent engaging with our Shows product, almost tripling since the beginning of the year. Our audience for Publisher Stories has increased over 20% YoY, and we believe there is a significant opportunity to continue growing the number of people who engage with Discover content . . .We are also working to identify content that is performing well outside of Snapchat so that we can bring it into Discover. Discover remains Snapchat’s biggest differentiator, scoring with premium video content purposefully made for mobile. What it really needs, though, are a few must-see tent-pole shows to drag in a wider audience that can get hooked on the reimagined digital magazine experience.

5. But Discover is a mess

Our content team is working hard to experiment with new layouts and content types in the wake of our redesign to drive increased engagement. Snapchat Discover is an overcrowded pile of clickbait. News outlets, social media influencers, original video Shows and aggregated user content collections all battle for attention in a design that feels overwhelming to the point of exhaustion. Thankfully, Snapchat seems to recognize that more cohesive sorting with fewer images and headlines bombarding you might make Discover a more pleasant lean-back consumption experience.

6. Aging up to earn money

Most of the incremental growth in our core markets like the US, UK, and France will have to come from older users who generate higher average revenue per user . . . Growing in older demographics will require us to mature our application . . . Many older users today see Snapchat as frivolous or a waste of time because they think Snapchat is social media rather than a faster way to communicate. Changing the design language of our product and improving our marketing and communications around Snapchat will help users understand our value . . . aging-up our community in core markets will also help the media, advertisers, and Wall Street understand Snapchat. Snapchat can’t just be for cool kids anymore. Their lower buying power and life stage make them less appealing to brands. The problem is that Snapchat risks turning off younger users by courting their older siblings or adults. If, like Facebook, users start to feel like Snapchat is a place for parents, they may defect in search of the next purposefully built app to confuse adults to stay hip.

7. Finally prioritizing developing markets

We already have many projects underway to unlock our core product value in new markets. Mushroom allows our community to use Snapchat on lower-end devices. Arroyo, our new gateway architecture, will speed up messaging and many other services . . . It might require us to change our products for different markets where some of our value-add features detract from our core product value. Sources tell me Snapchat’s future depends on the engineering overhaul of its Android app, a project codenamed “Mushroom.” Slow video load times and bugs have made Snapchat practically unusable on low-bandwidth connections and old Android phones in the developing world. The company concentrated on the U.S. and other first-world markets, leaving the door open for copycats of Stories built by Instagram (400 million daily users) and WhatsApp (450 million daily users) to invade the developing world and dwarf Snap’s 188 million total daily users. In hopes of a smooth rollout, Snapchat is already testing Mushroom, but it will have to do a ton of marketing outreach to convince frustrated users who ditched the app to give it another try.

8. Fresh ideas, separate apps

We’re currently building software that takes the millions of Snaps submitted to Our Story and reconstructs parts of the world in 3D. We can then build augmented reality experiences on top of those models and distribute them as Lenses . . . If our innovation compromises our core product of being the fastest way to communicate, we should consider create separate applications or other ways of delivering our innovation. Snapchat has big plans for augmented reality. It doesn’t just want to stick animations over the top of anywhere, or create AR art installations in a few big cities. It wants to build site-specific AR experiences across the globe. And while everything the company has built to date has lived inside of Snapchat, it’s willing to spawn standalone apps if necessary so that it doesn’t bog down its messaging service. That could give Snapchat a lot more leeway to experiment.

9. The freedom of profitability

Our 2019 stretch output goal will be an acceleration in revenue growth and full year free cash flow and profitability. With profitability comes increased autonomy and freedom to operate our business in the long term best interest of our community without the pressure of needing to raise additional capital. Snapchat is still bleeding money, losing $353 million last quarter. Snapchat ended up selling 2.3 percent of its equity to a Saudi Arabian prince in exchange for $250 million to lengthen its rapidly shortening runway. And last year it took $2 billion from Chinese gaming giant Tencent. Deals like that could threaten Snapchat’s ability to prioritize its goals alone, not the moral imperatives or developer platforms that would benefit its benefactors. Once profitable, Snapchat won’t have to worry so much about struggling with short-term user growth and can instead focus on retention, societal impact and its true purpose — creativity.

Via: Techcrunch Read the full article

#Apps #News

0 notes

technicalsolutions88 · 7 years ago

Link

“The biggest mistake we made with our redesign was compromising our core product value of being the fastest way to communicate” Spiegel stresses throughout the memo regarding ‘Project Cheetah’. It’s the chat that made Snapchat special, and burying it within a combined feed with Stories and failing to build a quick-loading Android app have had disastrous consequences.

Snapchat may be too perceived as a toy to win enough adults, too late to win back international markets from the Facebook empire, and too copyable by good-enough alternatives to grow truly massive. But if Snap can follow the Spiegel game-plan, it could carve out a sustainable market through a small but loyal audience who want to communicate through imagery.

Here are the most interesting takeaways from the memo and why they’re important:

1. Apologizing For Rushing The Redesign

Spiegel always went on his gut rather than relying on user data like Facebook. Aging further and further away from his core audience, he misread what teens cared about. The appealing buzz phrase of “separating social from media” also meant merging messaging and Stories into a chaotic list that made both tougher to use. Spiegel seems to have learned a valuable lessen about the importance of A/B testing.

2. Chat Is King

When Snap first revealed the changes, we predicted that “Teen Snap addicts might complain that the redesign is confusing, jumbling all content from friends together.” That made it too annoying to dig out your friends to send them messages, and Snap’s growth rate imploded, with it losing 3 million users last quarter. Expect Snap to optimize its engineering to make messages quicker to send and receive, and it even sacrifice some of its bells and whistles to make chat faster in developing markets.

3. Snapchat Must Beat Facebook At Best Friends

Facebook’s biggest structural disadvantage is its broad friend graph that’s bloated to include family, co-workers, bosses, and distant acquaintances. That might be fine in a feed app, but not for Stories and messaging where you only care about your closest friends. With friend lists and more, Facebook has tried and failed for a decade to find better ways to communicate with your besties. This is the wedge through which Snapchat can attack Facebook. If it develops special features for luring your best friends onto the app and staying in touch with them for better reasons than just maintaining a Snap “Streak”, it could hit Facebook where it can’t defend itself.

4. Discover Soars As Facebook Watch And IGTV Stumble

Discover remains Snapchat’s biggest differentiator, scoring with premium video content purposefully made for mobile. What it really needs, though, are a few must-see tentpole shows to drag in a wider audience that can get hooked on the reimagined digital magazine experience.

Snapchat beyond Stories: Be the HBO of mobile

5. But Discover Is A Mess

“Our content team is working hard to experiment with new layouts and content types in the wake of our redesign to drive increased engagement.”

Snapchat Discover is an overcrowded pile of clickbait. News outlets, social media influencers, original video Shows, and aggregated user content collections all battle for attention in a design that feels overwhelming to the point of exhaustion. Thankfully Snapchat seems to recognize that more cohesive sorting with fewer images and headlines bombarding you might make Discover a more pleasant lean-back consumption experience.

6. Aging Up To Earn Money

Snapchat can’t just be for cool kids anymore. Their lower buying power and lifestage make them less appealing to brands. The problem is that Snapchat risks turning off younger users by courting their older siblings or adults. If, like Facebook, users start to feel like Snapchat is a place for parents, they may defect in search of the next purposefully built to confuse adults to stay hip.

7. Finally Prioritizing Developing Markets

Sources tell me Snapchat’s future depends on the engineering overhaul of its Android app, a project codenamed ‘Mushroom’. Slow video load times and bugs have made Snapchat practically unusable on low-bandwidth connections and old Android phones in the developing world. The company concentrated on the US and other first-world markets, leaving the door open for copycats of Stories built by Instagram (400 million daily users) and WhatsApp (450 million daily users) to invade the developing world and dwarf Snap’s 188 million total daily users. In hopes of a smooth rollout, Snapchat is already testing Mushroom, but it will have to do a ton of marketing outreach to convince frustrated users who ditched the app to give it another try.

8. Fresh Ideas, Separate Apps

Snapchat has big plans for augmented reality. It doesn’t just want to stick animations over the top of anywhere, or create AR art installations in a few big cities. It wants to build site-specific AR experiences across the globe. And while everything the company has built to date has lived inside of Snapchat, it’s willing to spawn standalone apps if necessary so that it doesn’t bog down its messaging service. That could give Snapchat a lot more leeway to experiment.

9. The Freedom Of Profitability

Snapchat is still bleeding money, losing $353 million last quarter. Snapchat ended up selling 2.3 percent of its equity to a Saudi Arabian prince in exchange for $250 million to lengthen its rapidly shortening runway. And last year it took $2 billion from Chinese gaming giant Tencent. Deals like that could threaten Snapchat’s ability to prioritize its goals alone, not the moral imperatives or developer platforms that would benefit its benefactors. Once profitable, Snapchat won’t have to worry so much about struggling with short-term user growth and can instead focus on retention, societal impact, and its true purpose — creativity.

from Mobile – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2P7EBDo ORIGINAL CONTENT FROM: https://techcrunch.com/

#Technical Solutions #SEO #Online Earning #Youtube Marketing #Android Developer

0 notes

theinvinciblenoob · 7 years ago

Link

Here are the most interesting takeaways from the memo and why they’re important:

1. Apologizing For Rushing The Redesign

2. Chat Is King

3. Snapchat Must Beat Facebook At Best Friends

4. Discover Soars As Facebook Watch And IGTV Stumble

Snapchat beyond Stories: Be the HBO of mobile

5. But Discover Is A Mess

“Our content team is working hard to experiment with new layouts and content types in the wake of our redesign to drive increased engagement.”

6. Aging Up To Earn Money

7. Finally Prioritizing Developing Markets

8. Fresh Ideas, Separate Apps

9. The Freedom Of Profitability

via TechCrunch

#IFTTT #TechCrunch

0 notes

fmservers · 7 years ago

Text

9 highlights from Snapchat CEO’s 6000-word leaked memo on survival

Here are the most interesting takeaways from the memo and why they’re important:

1. Apologizing For Rushing The Redesign

2. Chat Is King

3. Snapchat Must Beat Facebook At Best Friends

4. Discover Soars As Facebook Watch And IGTV Stumble

Snapchat beyond Stories: Be the HBO of mobile

5. But Discover Is A Mess

“Our content team is working hard to experiment with new layouts and content types in the wake of our redesign to drive increased engagement.”

6. Aging Up To Earn Money

7. Finally Prioritizing Developing Markets

8. Fresh Ideas, Separate Apps

9. The Freedom Of Profitability

Via Josh Constine https://techcrunch.com

#TechCrunch

0 notes

arcanakrp-blog · 8 years ago

Photo

SEO JIYOON – SWORD. AGENT 26.

[ FILE TYPE: CLASSIFIED ]

//: LOADING PROFILE: SEO JIYOON …

international age: 23 birthplace: yeosu, south korea arcana: sword team number: ten

//: LOADING MUTATION: BONE MANIPULATION …

application one: bone regeneration — the ability to regenerate bones should they be harmed or grow a new bone altogether. it’s the base of jiyoon’s abilities and vital in order to use any of his other applications. on himself, the ability is simple: he just needs to concentrate and regenerating his own skeleton – in the unlikely case he actually gets injured by anything other than his own bones ripping through flesh – happens within seconds. the power can’t really be used offensively, so for the most part it’s only used on himself and his team. though the process can get a little lengthy when it comes to regenerating the bones of others (and only their bones), plus he has to have physical contact with the damaged bone, so jiyoon usually refuses to do so unless he’s forced to. in his words, “ it’s more annoying than rolling a joint wrong ” and that’s that. as for new bone growth, it’s used hand in hand with osteokinetic constructs, but far more difficult to wield. his go to construct is turning his right arm into any weapon he can think of (a hammer and sword being a few he’s used), and he can only apply growth to himself so far; the process time differing depending on the size and place of the bone (think growing a tail versus growing a sixth finger).

application two: bone density manipulation — the ability to manipulate the density or solidity of his own and others’ bones. an increase in bone density is always used on himself, acting like an armor of sorts. he can make his bones as strong as steel with no visible effects, which allows him to fight with such a devil-may-care attitude. a decrease in density, however, is mainly used to make himself lighter and nimble. in order to manipulate his own bone density, jiyoon solely requires concentration. he’s used the technique enough that it takes no time at all, and is his only defensive measure. a decrease in density, however, is something he takes quite sick pleasure in using against his opponents. the ability to turn another’s bones to a near liquid solidity was once horrifying when he first witnessed it, but has proved extremely effective in battle. like bone regeneration, jiyoon must be touching the person he’s choosing to use the ability on. though once in contact with them, any bone’s density can be changed quickly and painfully. so far, he’s only been able to change the density of his own skeleton, and for others must pinpoint a specific bone to manipulate. upon changing the density, the bone cannot return to normal unless jiyoon uses his regeneration abilities on the person. so once it’s done, it’s done for good unless you catch him in a good mood.

application three: osteokinetic constructs — the ability to create anything from armor to objects out of bone. the most offensive application of the three jiyoon is capable of, it is both dangerous to his opponents and for himself. majority of the time, jiyoon will transform his dominant arm into whatever weapon he feels suits the situation, as that’s usually enough in combination with his density manipulation to deal with anyone outside the arcana. but of course, the application is not limited to solely weapon creation. he’s able to cover himself entirely in bone, create spikes down his arms and legs: the possibilities are endless. though this isn’t without consequence. a full body construct means a lot of ripped flesh that must be healed as soon as possible, lest jiyoon die of blood loss. whatever he decides to construct can also only be made with his own skeleton. the process to create any object differs in time and pain depending on what the boy desires to construct and how used his body is to making it. overall, it’s a volatile ability.

overall strengths and weaknesses: — all applications require a high level of concentration. a break in that focus will never result in anything fully formed nor worthwhile to use in combat, therefore jiyoon usually prepares himself beforehand to save time. though with his reckless nature, there’s been plenty of instances where he’s decided to spontaneously construct something, taking the risk of making himself vulnerable while doing so.

doing anything to his bones, apart from increasing or decreasing their density, hurts like a motherfucker. although certain things have gotten easier as he gets used to the pain, there really is no way around it. depending on what he’s doing, the pain fluctuates, and most of the time he forces himself to hide just how much it hurts.

jiyoon is only able to use his bone manipulation on others when in physical contact with them, and even then, can only regenerate their bones or affect their bone’s density. nothing can be constructed from the bones of others whatsoever.

in order to construct anything, bone must break skin and jiyoon has no healing abilities to counteract with. therefore he’s left constantly at risk of bleeding out and suffering extensive flesh/muscular injuries. although he can be healed by the wheel of fortune, the boy tends to overuse his ability and in turn slow his recovery by reopening wounds and whatnot.

//: LOADING HISTORY ..

PRE-MUTATION

{ the smell of smoke has clung to your wardrobe and ingrained itself into your skin since you were born. cigarettes litter the floor that hasn’t been swept for days; for your mother a moment of peace, for your father just another expense he’s bound to work overtime for, and for you? a kid whose naivete serves as his strongest tool? you hide under the covers, ignoring the spiraling woman downstairs in the hope that someone will save her from herself. you always thought yourself too weak to offer help. or maybe it was a sick form of self-preservation, the lingering fear that merely touching her would throw you into the deep end as well. and the thought that maybe you’re not weak, maybe you’re just selfish berates you to this day. that maybe those two things intertwine more than most are willing to believe. } seo jiyoon grows up in a sty of an apartment in a poor – or as he likes to call it “completely shit” – neighbourhood. his dad is a hard worker, the type who tends to forget just who he’s working for (himself? his family? over time it’s hard to tell). his mother was a dancer, beautiful and bright, the type you know will go places just by looking at her. it’s with one injury that her dreams are ripped from her finger tips, never to be seen again. and since then, she’s been known as that lady with depression who never leaves the house and has her son pick up cigarettes for her. thankfully, in a poor neighborhood everyone’s too worried about making ends meet to really care that someone else’s life has gone down the gutter. jiyoon’s quick to learn that people will always think of themselves first before others. that’s simply human nature. { you refuse to admit that she’s a bad influence. that the absence of your father means anything. you’re not weak enough to have something as trivial as daddy issues. your family isn’t dysfunctional. you remind yourself that because you’re poor, this is normal. there’s nothing to be done. maybe if you just had a little more money, a little more power, things could be fixed. because it’s not your job to do anything, right? you’re just a kid, for fuck’s sake. so you sneak a cigarette from her newly bought pack, letting the smoke fill your lungs as your only connection to her. glassy eyes watch but do not speak. maybe she doesn’t care or maybe she really has completely lost it, either way you know you’re falling into the life expected of your background. you find that you can’t bring yourself to care, far too busy convincing yourself that things won’t be like this forever. yet the creeping knowledge that there’s no way for things to change persists. } things don’t change at home but the boy does. his naivete squashed and burned over time. he stops going to school, starts understanding how his mother finds solace in the smoke, and all too quickly the smell ingrained into him becomes his own. he turns gruff, selfish; learning how to pick and win a fight before he’s turned fifteen. days blend into one another, and he becomes just another neighborhood delinquent going nowhere in life. he’s the boy that the girls from the uptown neighborhoods are warned to stay away from, and he’s the son nobody wants to see come home. his mother’s still there but she’s really not and jiyoon can’t remember the last words his father said to him. he starts to think that maybe he’s just a terrible person and he’ll die one too. maybe that’s not so bad. { you’re smart, but you’re cocky. eventually it catches up to you, and you find yourself being questioned for the numerous substances stashed away in your backpack just waiting to be sold off to the next junky. you’re almost an adult, and it’s the almost that saves your ass. you spend a year locked away – or at least that’s what it feels like – pretending you’re getting better. pretending that you won’t go back to everything you know the second you’re let out. the good people surrounding you only make you feel worse. an itching feeling to just end everything living in the walls and under the floors. they say you have suicidal tendencies, that your childhood’s made you possess a lack of self worth, hence your reckless habits and difficult personality. you know they’re right but you still keep quiet. admitting is the first step and you’re not looking to fix yourself. nobody comes to visit. } a juvenile detention center is where jiyoon spends his eighteenth birthday. he’s monitored constantly and never left alone, the staff too scared that he’ll finally let himself go should he get the chance. once the year in the center is up, nobody comes to get him and the boy expects nothing less. he doesn’t go back home, not needing the blank stares both his parents are sure to give him. neither concerned nor angry – just stares of nothingness that somehow feel worse. living on the streets gets easier and easier, or maybe he just grows numb to the cold and the hunger. once in a while he’ll find himself in someone else’s bed for the night, or gamble enough to drown what little feelings he has yet to bury. there are certain times where jiyoon thinks he’s sure to die soon, and those moments bring him more joy than anything he’s felt before. he’s fucked up beyond belief and the end couldn’t come faster. it’s in this state, sitting on a curb with the cheapest six pack of beer he could find, that jiyoon bears witness to the meteor shower.

POST-MUTATION

{ you’re terrified of what it all means; the dreams, the bones that heal within a day after a particularly bloody fight. none of it makes sense and you’re oh so desperate to understand why things are changing now of all times. you’re still alone, still a nobody roaming the streets of seoul, entirely faceless. but that anonymity has to shatter eventually and it does. their offer is ridiculous, what they claim you to be even more so, but your stomach grumbles and you’ve never cared about danger before, have you? the stakes are high, and there’s no guarantee of making it out alive, but maybe that only sweetens the deal. you take the outstretched hand with confidence. }

seo jiyoon dreams of tracking down a meteor three days after passing out on the street. he never dreams, so the fact that he can remember this one is odd enough. moreover, this one is far too vivid that he wakes up in a cold sweat because of it. it’s a month later after a particularly bloody fight that results in a broken finger and nose that he knows something is wrong. the next morning his finger feels brand new, almost stronger, and his nose appears nothing like the bloody bruised mess it had been earlier. weeks later, in a drunken fit of rage at some cheating gambler, jiyoon draws a knife. it’s only after he’s been kicked out of the building that he realizes the knife is still there; not in his palm, but protruding from his palm. his stomach is emptied at the sickly sight of the bone and the blood dripping down his hand because of it. an ar collective representative offers to buy him a drink at a bar the next week, explaining the corporation and just what the hell is making him into a monster. jiyoon can’t refuse the offer, his survival instincts kicking in after his sixth day without a meal. { you’re still a self-serving piece of shit but at least you’re genuine. it’s not that you ignore everyone else, but you may as well with how vague and dismissive you are. nobody gets close, and it’s easier that way. after all, you were never here to make friends. the money is what holds you down, and if you could do every mission alone, you surely would. even so, your powers continue to make you sick. you learn to control the bones protruding from flesh, how to strengthen your skeleton and form it into anything that can be used as a weapon. but the flesh doesn’t heal, and you find yourself bathed in blood time and time again. you find yourself asking whether you can even call yourself human anymore. the compound isn’t home, but it’s not like you need one, you’re used to not having anywhere to go. you’re known to be difficult to work with and you know you’re exactly that, but you’ve never changed for anyone so why would you start now? but the time inevitably comes when you’re forced to actually give a shit for yourself and someone else. if you weren’t already emptying your stomach at the sight of your ripped flesh, that knowledge would surely do the trick. } although in a completely unfamiliar setting, jiyoon learns to live as he always has rather quickly. he’s here for the money, and as long as he gets paid, the boy figures he can take anything they throw at him. with a cheerful and talkative composition, he’s fine with approaching the other arcana first and striking up conversation. yet jiyoon remains an enigma around the grounds, too talented at the dismissal game to actually allow anyone to dig further. he’s still hot headed and reckless (something he gets scolded for endlessly during training), and upon the creation of teams, nobody’s too eager to get placed with him as he’s near impossible to control. so it’s only natural that the wheel of fortune and him don’t start off on good terms; he’s independent and rash, having no intentions to try and match pace with the other. he isn’t trying to be a terrible partner, per say, but old habits die hard, and its always been easier for jiyoon to go off on his own then wait for someone else. he’s done enough waiting in his lifetime. it’s in a particularly rough bout of training where jiyoon’s left a bloody mess from his own mutation that things change. his partner transfers his wounds to themselves and heals them as if they were nothing. the blood and wounded flesh that had always silently haunted him disappearing. it’s strange, almost makes him feel sick, but he feels genuinely grateful to someone for the first time in his life. trust has never been something jiyoon’s willingly enacted, but with the wheel of fortune, the only person in the world who makes him feel like he should stick around, he begins to. with them at his side, he’s able to be as reckless as he’s always been, knowing they’ll be there to take care of him. around the compound, they’re the only person he actively looks out for and the only one to know even an inkling of his origins. the rest of the arcana have yet to show up on his radar, and jiyoon intends to keep it that way: bad people don’t deserve friends.

#arc.app #arc.sword #fc.kwon hyuk

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angstandhappiness · 2 years ago

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Interesting to consider

I main not be a tang sanzang apologist main but i sure as hell ready to square up for him at anytime

Man gets his reputation slaughtered bad n is misrepresented in fics (lmk wise)

Ill be his apologist n defending his character bc bro doesn’t deserve being misrepresented like this

(No bc why do i keep seeing post defending swk n then turned around bashing both bajie n tang sanzang—like what??? Y’all do realize he would slaughter u all against any slights towards them both😭😭😭

Heck sun wukong is the first tang sanzang apologist who stepped up(as in fight for his honor literally

Monkie Kid spoilers & complaining below so ignore or read on as you like

wegerf well anon just finished saying so but yeah chances are that if you're main exposure to the og pilgrims are from simplified and cartoony forms then it can be pretty easy to form a mostly negative opinion about them, especially following a common but often unspoken "equivalent exchange" fandom rule that if one character is going to be made better than another character has to be made worse (i.e. exactly what happened with Sun Wukong and the Six-Eared Macaque in Monkie Kid lmao). Hell as it is I've heard that even in China the multiple chapters Xiyouji dedicates to Tang Sanzang's backstory & traumas are often left out of retellings! And in many ways this too is understandable especially when you're dealing with a retelling aimed at children, given that from what happened to the monk's mother to living under the constant threat of getting devoured to being sexually assaulted numerous times...well, not many stories are going to want to even touch on the horrifying nature and aftermath of most or even any of that. But yeah at the end of the day leaving all of this out & keeping in other things like Tang Sanzang using the headband against Sun Wukong for seemingly no reason does make him a lot easier to fully demonize than he might otherwise be. But it does lead to a pretty disappointing situation where there's an overall sense that someone HAS to be bashed, vs. the much more interesting situation of each of the pilgrims having reasons, even very understandable reasons, for acting the way they do even while they are obviously very capable of hurting each other, and then slowly learning how to work together and even appreciate each other's company.

Because yeah at the end of the day anon you are so right about how the Monkey King himself becomes Tang Sanzang's #1 active apologist lmao

#anon answered #monkey critical #MAN it would be neat to see a jttw retelling that really got into the long journey to SWK wanting to kill TSZ #to becoming his most fierce protector #think that may be one of the reasons monkey king hero is back is so beloved #because it's a retelling that quasi does that #hero is back swk never wants to kill the tsz stand-in #but you do see his slow growth from being annoyed at the kid to risking his life repeatedly to save his #aaaaa #readmore +#jttw meta

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judeblenews-blog · 7 years ago

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9 highlights from Snapchat CEO’s 6000-word leaked memo on survival

Adults, not teens. Messaging, not Stories. Developing markets, not the US. These are how Snapchat will make a comeback, according to CEO Evan Spiegel . In a 6,000-word internal memo from late September leaked to Cheddar’s Alex Heath, Spiegel attempts to revive employee morale with philosophy, tactics, and contrition as Snap’s share price sinks to an all-time low of around $8 — half its IPO price and a third of its peak. “The biggest mistake we made with our redesign was compromising our core product value of being the fastest way to communicate” Spiegel stresses throughout the memo regarding ‘Project Cheetah’. It’s the chat that made Snapchat special, and burying it within a combined feed with Stories and failing to build a quick-loading Android app have had disastrous consequences.

Spiegel shows great maturity here, admitting to impatient strategic moves and outlining a cohesive path forward. There’s no talk of Snapchat ruling the social app world here. He seems to understand that’s likely out of reach in the face of Instagram’s competitive onslaught. Instead, Snapchat is satisfied if it can help us express ourselves while finally reaching even meager profitability. Snapchat may be too perceived as a toy to win enough adults, too late to win back international markets from the Facebook empire, and too copyable by good-enough alternatives to grow truly massive. But if Snap can follow the Spiegel game-plan, it could carve out a sustainable market through a small but loyal audience who want to communicate through imagery. Here are the most interesting takeaways from the memo and why they’re important:

1. Apologizing For Rushing The Redesign

“There were, of course, some downsides to moving as quickly as a cheetah We rushed our redesign, solving one problem but creating many others . . . Unfortunately, we didn’t give ourselves enough time to continue iterating and testing the redesign with a smaller percentage of our community. As a result, we had to continue our iterations after we launched, causing a lot of frustration for our community.” Spiegel always went on his gut rather than relying on user data like Facebook. Aging further and further away from his core audience, he misread what teens cared about. The appealing buzz phrase of “separating social from media” also meant merging messaging and Stories into a chaotic list that made both tougher to use. Spiegel seems to have learned a valuable lessen about the importance of A/B testing.

2. Chat Is King

“Our redesigned algorithmic Friend Feed made it harder to find the right people to talk to, and moving too quickly meant that we didn’t have time to optimize the Friend Feed for fast performance. We slowed down our product and eroded our core product value. . . . Regrettably, we didn’t understand at the time that the biggest problem with our redesign wasn’t the frustration from influencers – it was the frustration from members of our community who felt like it was harder to communicate . . . In our excitement to innovate and bring many new products into the world, we have lost the core of what made Snapchat the fastest way to communicate.” When Snap first revealed the changes, we predicted that “Teen Snap addicts might complain that the redesign is confusing, jumbling all content from friends together.” That made it too annoying to dig out your friends to send them messages, and Snap’s growth rate imploded, with it losing 3 million users last quarter. Expect Snap to optimize its engineering to make messages quicker to send and receive, and it even sacrifice some of its bells and whistles to make chat faster in developing markets.

3. Snapchat Must Beat Facebook At Best Friends

“Your top friend in a given week contributes 25% of Snap send volume. By the time you get to 18 friends, each incremental friend contributes less than 1% of total Snap send volume each. Finding best friends is a different problem than finding more friends, so we need to think about new ways to help people find the friends they care most about.” Facebook’s biggest structural disadvantage is its broad friend graph that’s bloated to include family, co-workers, bosses, and distant acquaintances. That might be fine in a feed app, but not for Stories and messaging where you only care about your closest friends. With friend lists and more, Facebook has tried and failed for a decade to find better ways to communicate with your besties. This is the wedge through which Snapchat can attack Facebook. If it develops special features for luring your best friends onto the app and staying in touch with them for better reasons than just maintaining a Snap “Streak”, it could hit Facebook where it can’t defend itself.

4. Discover Soars As Facebook Watch And IGTV Stumble

“Our Shows continue to attract more and more viewers, with over 18 Shows reaching monthly audiences of over 10M unique viewers. 12 of which are Original productions. As a platform overall, we’ve grown the amount of total time spent engaging with our Shows product, almost tripling since the beginning of the year. Our audience for Publisher Stories has increased over 20% YoY, and we believe there is a significant opportunity to continue growing the number of people who engage with Discover content . . .We are also working to identify content that is performing well outside of Snapchat so that we can bring it into Discover. “ Discover remains Snapchat’s biggest differentiator, scoring with premium video content purposefully made for mobile. What it really needs, though, are a few must-see tentpole shows to drag in a wider audience that can get hooked on the reimagined digital magazine experience.

5. But Discover Is A Mess

“Our content team is working hard to experiment with new layouts and content types in the wake of our redesign to drive increased engagement.” Snapchat Discover is an overcrowded pile of clickbait. News outlets, social media influencers, original video Shows, and aggregated user content collections all battle for attention in a design that feels overwhelming to the point of exhaustion. Thankfully Snapchat seems to recognize that more cohesive sorting with fewer images and headlines bombarding you might make Discover a more pleasant lean-back consumption experience.

6. Aging Up To Earn Money

“Most of the incremental growth in our core markets like the US, UK, and France will have to come from older users who generate higher average revenue per user . . . Growing in older demographics will require us to mature our application . . . Many older users today see Snapchat as frivolous or a waste of time because they think Snapchat is social media rather than a faster way to communicate. Changing the design language of our product and improving our marketing and communications around Snapchat will help users understand our value . . . aging-up our community in core markets will also help the media, advertisers, and Wall Street understand Snapchat.” Snapchat can’t just be for cool kids anymore. Their lower buying power and lifestage make them less appealing to brands. The problem is that Snapchat risks turning off younger users by courting their older siblings or adults. If, like Facebook, users start to feel like Snapchat is a place for parents, they may defect in search of the next purposefully built to confuse adults to stay hip.

7. Finally Prioritizing Developing Markets

“We already have many projects underway to unlock our core product value in new markets. Mushroom allows our community to use Snapchat on lower-end devices. Arroyo, our new gateway architecture, will speed up messaging and many other services . . . It might require us to change our products for different markets where some of our value-add features detract from our core product value” Sources tell me Snapchat’s future depends on the engineering overhaul of its Android app, a project codenamed ‘Mushroom’. Slow video load times and bugs have made Snapchat practically unusable on low-bandwidth connections and old Android phones in the developing world. The company concentrated on the US and other first-world markets, leaving the door open for copycats of Stories built by Instagram (400 million daily users) and WhatsApp (450 million daily users) to invade the developing world and dwarf Snap’s 188 million total daily users. In hopes of a smooth rollout, Snapchat is already testing Mushroom, but it will have to do a ton of marketing outreach to convince frustrated users who ditched the app to give it another try.

8. Fresh Ideas, Separate Apps

“We’re currently building software that takes the millions of Snaps submitted to Our Story and reconstructs parts of the world in 3D. We can then build augmented reality experiences on top of those models and distribute them as Lenses . . . If our innovation compromises our core product of being the fastest way to communicate, we should consider create separate applications or other ways of delivering our innovation.” Snapchat has big plans for augmented reality. It doesn’t just want to stick animations over the top of anywhere, or create AR art installations in a few big cities. It wants to build site-specific AR experiences across the globe. And while everything the company has built to date has lived inside of Snapchat, it’s willing to spawn standalone apps if necessary so that it doesn’t bog down its messaging service. That could give Snapchat a lot more leeway to experiment.

9. The Freedom Of Profitability

“Our 2019 stretch output goal will be an acceleration in revenue growth and full year free cash flow and profitability. With profitability comes increased autonomy and freedom to operate our business in the long term best interest of our community without the pressure of needing to raise additional capital.” Snapchat is still bleeding money, losing $353 million last quarter. Snapchat ended up selling 2.3 percent of its equity to a Saudi Arabian prince in exchange for $250 million to lengthen its rapidly shortening runway. And last year it took $2 billion from Chinese gaming giant Tencent. Deals like that could threaten Snapchat’s ability to prioritize its goals alone, not the moral imperatives or developer platforms that would benefit its benefactors. Once profitable, Snapchat won’t have to worry so much about struggling with short-term user growth and can instead focus on retention, societal impact, and its true purpose — creativity.

Via: Techcrunch Read the full article

#Apps #News

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technicalsolutions88 · 7 years ago

Link

Here are the most interesting takeaways from the memo and why they’re important:

1. Apologizing For Rushing The Redesign

2. Chat Is King

3. Snapchat Must Beat Facebook At Best Friends

4. Discover Soars As Facebook Watch And IGTV Stumble

Snapchat beyond Stories: Be the HBO of mobile

5. But Discover Is A Mess

“Our content team is working hard to experiment with new layouts and content types in the wake of our redesign to drive increased engagement.”

6. Aging Up To Earn Money

7. Finally Prioritizing Developing Markets

8. Fresh Ideas, Separate Apps

9. The Freedom Of Profitability

from Social – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2P7EBDo Original Content From: https://techcrunch.com

#Technical Solutions #SEO #Online Earning #Youtube Marketing #Android Developer

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