#regardless of the performers each and every adaptation offers something interesting

[teafiend]

These two will never not make me squee ✨🥰☺️ And Brother Jing, you never fail to make me swoon over your dull, bland coolness 🫡✨ Thank you 👏🏽🙏🏽

[shardssystem]

Lore24 Compilation - January

From the beginning of the year, I felt an interest in doing a writing challenge of some sort, but a NaNoWriMo is a bit of a tall ask considering work schedule and everything. I’d seen people doing the #Dungeon23 challenge, and that was interesting, but outside my area of expertise. And then I found a blog post about #Lore24, and shared it with a friend in a similar situation.

The idea is, that for each day of the year, you write something about a TTRPG setting (or similar), in order to help expand on concepts. Doesn’t need to be exceptionally detailed, but the idea is to work on vague ideas and solidify things for worldbuilding. I chose Matea, a D&D homebrew setting that had been kicking around in my head for a while. A post-apocalyptic world that was previously as advanced, if not more so, than real life 21st century Earth. When the magic sustaining their technology failed, the world fell into ruin and had to rebuild the hard way.

I thought it would be handy to keep every entry compiled in one place, so here are the entries for January. Original posts can be seen on our Mastodon.

Let me know if there’s anything that you like or even if it inspired something of your own!

1 - Matea, as we encounter it, is a world on the brink of change. What was once a world of technological marvel and magical prowess now finds itself with one of the primary rules of the universe fading. Where both schools of arcane and divine magics helped create a utopia, its wielders struggle to achieve even a fraction of the same skills. If a spell works at all, it is drastically weaker than in history. A worldwide collapse of magitech left the survivors in ruins, unable to adapt.

2 - In the beginning, the Father tried to make the world alone, every attempt failing. The Mother came to him, offering her aid, and so Matea was born. When the first of their creations died, neither could cope, so the Daughter was born to handle the grief and anger. Seeing her good work, the Mother and Father birthed a Sister. Without a domain of her own, she engineered a war to fight against her family; tearing open a rift for devils to pass the barrier and lay waste to creation. Seeing the potential for their work to be undone, the family fought back by creating the angels. The war raged, until the Brother was born to guide a peaceful resolution; quelling the Sister’s rage by suggesting domains she would take over, while he would take the load of the more civil aspects that grew from a progressing society that his elders had not foreseen. The Sister acquiesced, having a duty at last. And so a harmony was established.

3 - Dwarves (name pending) are the progenitor race/species/ancestry (specifically to spite the endless fantasy worlds that start with elves), and are hatched from eggs. Not conventional eggs; more a cocoon of mud and other related materials. They can have a minimum of one parent, and no functional maximum, though after 20, some serious identity issues arise. Prospective parents will start rolling their egg like people do with snow, while performing a ritual of offering to the Father.

4 - Dwarven children are born with a full grown beard, regardless of their future gender presentation. This assists with the development of musculature, though hinders their growth. You can typically tell the age or experience of a dwarf by how worn/damaged their beards are, as they are made of stone. Though some choose to damage their beards personally, for their own reasons, the effects are no less permanent. Some view their beards as a sign of a pact made for their creation.

5 - Elves (name pending) evolved from dwarves when (the story goes) one wished for the ability to fly, being jealous of birds. More long of limb than their traditional counterparts, the elves of Matea are feathered, have the ability to glide until their elder years where they achieve full flight, and prefer to make their nest homes atop the mountain peaks of the world. They still hatch from eggs, but their material choices are less earthy; more grasses and scrub.

6 - Perhaps the hardest hit by the loss of magitech, the Gnomes (name pending) of #Matea seek immortality through their creations, owing to their nature of existence. In their original development, a flaw in the process led to them being primarily formed from sand. This resulted in their lifespan averaging three years before they almost literally fall apart. The Warforged and Autognomes (names pending) are their primary legacies; though they seek further.

7 - Though they do not know it, Tabaxi are among the most powerful beings of #Matea, as they are connected to the universe through some strange magic unknown to others. The first Tabaxi dreamt itself into existence after people began telling made up stories. From there, they dreamt their family into existence, and opened a gate into the realm of the Fey. As they unknowingly created more and more however, their ability to do so dispersed and diluted among each of their number.

8 - During the Family War, the need for frontline forces presented itself to the then-forming nations of the world. Pressed for time, they hurried the process and took shortcuts, incorporating living beings into the mix instead of asking spirits. Thus, Goblins (name pending) were born. With a lower half reminiscent of arachnids and other insects, their quick deployment and ability to traverse a variety of surfaces without issue was key to victory in a number of skirmishes.

9 - Tortles (name pending) once held political sway over the seas and ports of Matea. Unfortunately, during an exceptionally tough harvest year and dire situations, they were discovered to be delicious. Following a terrible, bloody uprising, they are now extinct, remembered only through archaeological evidence and museum pieces.

10 - Tieflings and Aasimar (names pending) are the descendants of the devils and angels left behind after the war, closed off from their home realms. Comparing to their multiversal counterparts however, on the whole, it is tieflings that are respected, and aasimar that are viewed with suspicion. This comes from the direct aftermath of the rift being sealed. Cut off from the influence of the hells, the remaining devils felt remorse (natural or otherwise; scholars don’t know) and vowed to repent for their misdeeds, which carried through to their descendants. Tieflings tend towards contemplation and helpfulness. On the other side, the angels were mournful and angry about the loss of their divine grace, traits that modern aasimar bear. As such, they tend towards fits of rage and melancholy in equal, unpredictable measure.

11 - The world of Matea is in a binary star system. Thaus, the Star of Wonder, and Flaun, the Star of Hope dance around each other in an eternal 3-beat waltz leading religious scholars to point to it as evidence of the Father and Mother’s joint efforts in making the world. The stars eclipse three times during the day, two hours after sunrise, midday, and two hours before sunset. These hours are marked by the religious orders and observed in all variety of different ways.

12 - To contrast the twin suns, Matea has a single moon, which is home to the Elemental Plane of Earth. Once upon a time, spellcasters could simply travel to Pio but with magic fading, the only remaining path is via Sou’dare, the great geyser. Travellers are to bathe themselves in its waters, and perform a specific ritual to activate the latent magic in the spring; firing them towards the moon in a dramatic jetstream of water.

13 - The Elemental Plane of Air has no fixed location, and can be accessed from anywhere in the world. One must be EXTREMELY precise with the incantation however, as the ritual is centered around collecting fruit oils, anointing yourself with it, and setting yourself on fire. A successful ritual will transform your body temporarily and painlessly to ash, to be carried into the planar winds. An unsuccessful ritual just turns your body to ash the painful way.

14 - The path to the Elemental Plane of Fire was once sealed, but is now open to all, though perhaps not the most accessible. Rakhada’s Folly, also referred to as The Fall, created a spiraling crater that intersected with planar boundaries. The journey must be undertaken on foot, to acclimate to the heat over a timeframe of six weeks. Those wishing to expedite their journey must be immune to flame and possess the power of full flight, or face the firestorm at the crater’s centre.

15 - Getting to the Elemental Plane of Water is all about timing, but otherwise simple. It’s merely a little absolutely terrifying. During the Second Step, or the second of the three eclipses per day, the winds at the top of Mt. Sanmaya (the tallest peak on Matea) pick up and become almost unbearably strong. One must align themselves to the correct direction and jump from the mountain, fighting the winds. If successful, they will be blown off the peak, plummeting into the waters below, and transferring the planar boundaries. If unsuccessful, the same thing occurs, but without the transfer, dashing the bodies of prospective adventurers on the rocks among the waves.

16 - Though magic is weakened and fading throughout Matea, the island of Paana-Dûl is abundant with mana crystals, allowing magic to work not only as it used to, but in some cases better. Because of this, the use of magic on the island is reserved exclusively for healing. The crystals feed on the remains of one of the great dragons, Ibu the Profaned, spreading slowly like a fungus, though they are more easily formed nearer the corpse.

17 - The magitech age of Matea kicked off with the discovery of manasteel: metal pulled from the earth with magic, weaving into it and reinforcing its strength. Known for being hard to work with, skilled smiths wasted little time in using it for all manner of inventions. From buildings and bridges, trains and aircraft, even personal devices of all kinds, manasteel was the backbone of a dawning golden age.

18 - At some point during The Fall, the prison island of Dosoga was lost; taken by an impenetrable bank of mist and fog. An entire population of inmates, their guards, and even a number of small villages designed to support the facility, spirited away. There are reports recently of fog that drifts across the oceans, seeming never to settle in one place for long. People have investigated, only to come back, changed in a number of ways. Those that return (as not everyone does) undergo a complete behavioural overhaul. Their personalities become wildly different, they do not respond to their own names, and some seem confused to the point of madness at their own bodies. Information to the reasoning behind this change is lacking, save for a single report that claims that one returning adventurer, declared herself to be a convicted man historically to be executed, and noted as inappropriately touching her own skin.

19 - Historical records state that the last known Warden of Dosoga Penitentiary was infamous for his brutally strict adherence to the law, but fairness in administering the applicable penalties. Inmates were suitably cared for, unless they broke the rules, in which case punishment was swift and hard, though only as to the letter of the law. People of the time saw it as an acceptable alternative to capital punishment, though not much is known about their rehabilitation success.

20 - Though unimportant at the time, the once-small town of Dun has claimed the title of nation capital city, primarily due to its fate during and immediately following The Fall. No one remembers the original name of the settlement, but records show how it got its current name: When the great floating cities began their final, disastrous descent, the town was written off by people in power; declared not worth the time to evacuate. Done for.

21 - What elevates Dun above other towns and villages is that the floating citadel of Silwa’na crashed directly on top. Though obviously devastating for those unable or unwilling to attempt to leave, the survivors inherited a treasure trove of remnants from the citadel, greatly accelerating their rebuilding efforts and post-Fall discovery.

22 - The gods serve several domains, each with their own rituals and rites.

Father: Life, Light, and Nature.

Mother: Arcana, Knowledge, and Order.

Daughter: Death, Grave, Tempest, and Twilight.

Sister: Trickery, War, Blood, and Fate.

Brother: Forge, Peace, and City.

Each is referred to by their title; you would, for example, pray to the Father of Light, or the Daughter of the Tempest. While you could offer a generic prayer and ritual, you would get better results by being specific.

23 - The day of Rakhada’s Folly is remembered as the day when the great citadels fell from the sky, when airships dropped suddenly, when buildings of all kinds collapsed without warning. But all these events are due to a single, common cause: The unweaving of manasteel. The backbone of society, industry, and technology on Matea drained itself of magic, literally unravelling from any shape it had been forged into, ushering in a terrifying new dark age.

24 - Many of the great citadels had the misfortune of falling while over land, resulting in catastrophic injuries and damage. However, the city of Gunsul fell while over the deepest part of the oceans, and sunk to the bottom. People claim that due to this, the inhabitants survived, though altered, and the city became corrupted by the depths. Children are cautioned with tales of the Gunsul Deep Dwellers, who will come and kidnap them for their mischief.

25 - With magic weakened, the people of Matea sometimes turn to alternate sources for power. And while they are also subject to the fundamental rules of the universe, there are those that answer. The One Below is an entity that has been named by various cults as someone or something to serve in return for magical abilities. Many rumours exist about the true identity of The One Below, but none have proved factual to date.

26 - Counter to The One Below, there are also groups dedicated to The Watcher On High, another unidentifiable source of power. Whereas the cults of The One Below are recorded as committing crimes of varying magnitudes, those pledging to The Watcher On High appear at least to be involved with charitable endeavours and community involvement. While not officially sanctioned, many places will turn a blind eye to the actions of Watcher pledges.

27 - The Brightfields, analogous to the Feywild in other parts of the multiverse, is the domain of fanciful creatures of all shapes and sizes, including the Eladrin and Fairies (names pending). Ruling over the land, atop a golden throne of pure majesty is the Bright Lord, Colin McDaniel. Claiming to be from an unknown village known as “New York”, he has made a name with his experience as an “electrician” to introduce a number of ideas to the Brightfolk. But there is a downside…

28 - When night falls in the Brightfields, unpredictable and inconsistent though it be, the land and its inhabitants change, becoming dark reflections. This is The Nowhere Between. The Absent King awakens, and Colin becomes imprisoned, as per his (potentially unwise) pact. Travellers from Matea who find themselves Between at nightfall are also altered to suit the darkness. From palace to ruin, from garden to grave, from throne to cage, from light to dark. Such is The Nowhere Between.

29 - Though the Great Rift is long sealed, there still exists the vestiges of strength in the Northern Reaches, for those brave, reckless, or desperate enough to seek it. Ta’terra, the source of infernal energy, and the ancestral home of the Tieflings (name pending), is ruled by Maag, Mistress of Pain. Though her influence is waning, rumours persist of promises of riches beyond dreams for those who wish to bend a knee.

30 - Not all adventure promises reward, monetary or otherwise. Hard to find, and harder to leave, the Endless Asylum tempts you to stay within its labyrinthine halls, rooms containing the damaged and lost, taking more and more of you until you join them. Not a place to be taken lightly, or without thorough preparation, very few explorers have ever returned to tell of it, and none of them remotely whole of mind.

31 - While you can, of course, attempt to cast spells, construct sigils, or otherwise use magic in any fashion you desire, you run the risk of it failing. The weave of mana literally unraveling before your eyes, if one could visually distinguish it. Not so with a mana crystal. By crushing one in your hand during the casting, you unleash the dormant magic within to supplement and amplify your efforts. Be warned though, there is no way to ration the crystals’ power. It’s all or nothing.

[jumponthevapestore]

Everything You Should Know About Bar Juice 5000 E-Liquid

Most of the people today indulge in vaping in order to satisfy their orientation. Vaping is safe and smooth for this reason, the number of users getting increased day by day. Since, there are several innovative vaping products have been produced by different manufacturers, it is quite interesting to use the Bar Juice 5000 E-Liquid that delivers unparalleled experience to the users. Here is the features of this outstanding product.

Bar Juice 5000 E-Liquid is a demonstration of the skill involved in creating flavors. There is something for every palette among the wide variety of flavors, which include everything from traditional tobacco to exotic fruit blends and rich sweets. Every flavor profile is meticulously chosen to provide a complex and multifaceted taste experience, guaranteeing that each puff is a sensory adventure. Bar Juice 5000 has you covered whether you like strong, intense flavors or something more understated. Your search for the best vape kits UK ends right at this e-liquid where you can get your preferred flavor with pocket friendly price.

Bar Juice 5000 is unique because of its dedication to excellence. This e-liquid guarantees a smooth and reliable vaping experience because it is made with just the best components. Rich and genuine flavors that perfectly capture the essence of the ingredients make for an incredibly fulfilling experience. Bar Juice 5000 is a dependable option for vapers who expect perfection from their e-liquids because of its commitment to quality control.

The Bar Juice 5000 E-Liquid is made to work with a range of vaping devices, including sub-ohm tanks, pod systems, and conventional vape pens. Because of its adaptability, vapers of all skill levels can use this e-liquid and enjoy the amazing flavors that Bar Juice 5000 has to offer. The performance of this e-liquid is constantly amazing regardless of your preferred configuration. In addition to tempting your taste senses, Bar Juice 5000 E-Liquid also grabs your attention with its chic packaging. Each bottle's striking and colorful graphics capture the essence of the flavors inside. Bar Juice 5000 is more than just an e-liquid—it's a statement piece thanks to its elegant packaging, which elevates your vaping collection. With IVG 2400 Disposable Kit, it will be quite easy to get the right flavor that can match all your vaping expectations.

[the-insomniac-emporium]

Mia Deserved Better: An Analysis of RE8's Themes/Symbolism

Foreword: I would like to thank @lepusrufus for posting about both Mia and Miranda, and at one point directly saying that Mia deserved better, which is a large part of what caused me to start examining her role in the canon story. Now, I will say that this post, like some of my previous explorations of Village (such as my attempt to determine Donna's age), will not be the best organized. My ADHD makes such things rather difficult for me. However, I have tried more than usual, and have broken up this "essay" into several distinct sections. Still, I am worried that my thoughts will not be as concise or coherent as they were inside my head.

Under read-more for length and spoilers for RE8: Village.

Introduction:

Village is, inarguably, about parenthood. Is it a horror game? Yes. Is it also science fiction? Also yes. But is it still, at its core, a story, and therefore contains imagery, symbolism, and themes? Yes. Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with Mia deserving better. My proposal is as follows: While Village is overall about parenthood, it is more about motherhood than fatherhood. Furthermore, Mia's background + actions from the previous game tie her story directly with Mother Miranda's, making their potential interactions massively important to the story... and could have served the theme beautifully. The missed potential in her involvement in the story is honestly a little bit absurd.

Now, let's examine each of the Four Lords + their sections, as the beginning of analyzing the game's theme.

Lady Dimitrescu + Castle:

Ah, perhaps the clearest (albeit unimportant) bits of theme within the whole game. We are immediately presented with another parent, with three daughters she loves very, very much. Initially they work as a team to capture Ethan, easily overpowering him. When they do split up, each still has dialogue regarding their family members. Each of the daughters expresses a desire to be like their mother/make their mother proud. Lady Dimitrescu herself gets very upset every time one of her daughters perishes, and delivers some important dialogue about this in her final confrontation with Ethan.

To paraphrase, Lady D says that Ethan has done something unforgiveable, caused damage that can never heal, and deserves to die before his daughter. That last part is interesting, in the sense that Lady D seems to believe that outlasting your own child is a fate so terrible that she would not wish it upon anyone, including the person who killed her daughters.

Throughout her dialogue and actions, Lady D serves as an important figure of a living mother. What do I mean by that? Well, the only other mothers we see in game are Mia and Miranda. The former doesn't show up until almost the end of the game (seeing as the "Mia" at the start is not actually the real Mia), while the latter does not have a living child, and her behavior has (presumably) changed quite a bit since that loss. As Ethan goes through Castle Dimitrescu, he watches (he causes) Lady D to go through what Miranda did all those decades ago. When we see her loss, when we experience her loss, it is something we connect with, even comparing it (as Lady D does) to Ethan's loss of Rose.

For the more visual side of symbolism, we can turn to Lady Dimitrescu herself. She is very tall, is visibly older than the majority of the Village cast, and has a fairly classic (old-school) motherly look. Everything about her reinforces her position as an example of a mother, especially when she's with her daughters and becomes such a strong figure of protection. Her height allows her to seem the caretaker for her children, even though they are scary/intimidating in their own right.

Donna Beneviento + Waterfall House:

Yes, the baby/fetus/monstrosity is part of this. No, it is not the only bit of thematic work in this section of the game.

To begin, you can find out that Donna is officially the adopted daughter of Mother Miranda. Her birth parents are dead, implied to be from especially tragic causes (more than is the norm when it comes to "orphan making"), and she has suffered greatly from it. We see that she has been seemingly neglected by Miranda, and is incredibly isolated. The tragedy of her loss, along with the consequences presented by it, are something to keep in mind further down the road, when we inevitably deal with Ethan's own death.

One of the consequences of the environment Donna was raised in is, arguably, her reliance on Angie. While interpretations of their exact relationship (aka how much control Donna actually has at any given point) vary, the two very clearly have something akin to a mother/daughter vibe. Alternatively an older sister/younger sister sort of thing. This shows in the way that Donna holds/carries Angie, as well as the contrast in their demeanors. Moreso, the fact that Donna gave a part of herself to create Angie is almost enough to make the symbolism nonnegotiable.

We also see that Donna has a strong understanding of family/family dynamics, through the way that she uses her powers to manipulate Ethan. She dissects his connections to Mia and Rose, taunts him with the lengths he's willing to go to save his child, then shows him a grotesque version of parenthood: The aforementioned fetus monster. Does the monster represent Ethan's fears, or Donna's?

What if the monster is how Donna sees herself, in some way, perhaps thinking that it's her fault her parents died? Bit of a stretch, but it's not a keystone of my theory, so I'm just throwing it out there. We could, however, go a step further and ask ourselves if Donna has noticed the way Miranda neglects her, and the fetus monster is how Donna thinks Miranda sees her. A baby, true, but grotesque, so terribly imperfect compared to her "real daughter" (Eva, obvs).

Regardless, the monster presents an ugly side of parenthood. It shows us the blood, the hunger (with the way it repeatedly attempts to swallow Ethan whole), the wailing. If Lady D shows us the love of parenthood, the bond, Donna in turn shows us the hate, the misery. Everything that one must endure to reap the rewards of family.

Lastly, we get one last bit of symbolism with Donna's death: We play a game with Angie. A childhood classic, hide and seek. Ethan chases her down repeatedly, stabbing away, seemingly only hurting the doll. But what happens when he kills Angie? It turns out that he killed Donna. You kill the child, you kill the parent. A reinforcement of the connection that comes with parenthood, along with another notch in Ethan's family-murdering belt (not saying that he's the "true antagonist" or anything, just keeping track for one of my later points).

Moreau + The Reservoir

Let's get the worst possibility out of the way: Moreau, weakest and sickest of the four lords, lives in a reservoir, where he is relatively safe. To defeat him, you have to drain the water, forcing him onto dry(ish) land. Paired with the main ideas of his section (which I will detail after this nightmare), one could theorize that he's meant to represent birth itself. Again, he's safe in his ("womb") water, and becomes vulnerable when he leaves (like a fragile newborn). Kinda gross, in my opinion, and also not a strong enough connection for me to care much about. It was merely an interesting (albeit horrifying) enough thought that I felt it warranted sharing.

Moving on to the big stuff with Moreau: He's a baby. Evidence: Whiny, has difficulty moving around, struggles to adapt to his growth, throws up a bunch, loves his mother very much, cries for his mother when he's in trouble, etc. Although Mother Miranda does not care for him, he clearly cares for her, and plays yet another role of an abandoned child (like Donna). Without Miranda there to protect him, he perishes terribly, crying out for someone who does not care to answer.

Hearing him cry out for Miranda, over and over, only for her to continue ignoring him is a key piece in the build-up to our confrontation between Ethan and Miranda. The game, in many ways, centers around the comparison between the two. In my humble opinion, Mia should have been involved in this comparison, as opposed to supplying the solution to the result of said comparison. Yes, I know that was a lot of words that don't mean much yet, but trust me, I'm getting there.

Heisenberg + The Factory

Ironically, of the four lords, Heisenberg is the most similar to Mother Miranda. In his massive factory, he is alone except for his numerous experiments, the results of decades of playing God. In comparison to Ethan + Mia, Heisenberg represents artificial parentage, or more accurately, the artificial creation of "life". While the others Lords also performed experiments, they used living subjects. Heisenberg instead chose to use corpses, which he then "brought back to life" with cybernetics + his powers, a somewhat futuristic version of Dr. Frankenstein.

Together, Miranda and him show a rotten side of parenthood (whereas Donna + Moreau showed us the uglier side of the children themselves). To put it simply, they are bad parents. They throw their "children"/experiments into the fray, uncaring, using them as pawns for their own greater gain. The most important part of this is that Heisenberg offers to "help" Ethan: By using Rose as a weapon. In his act of refusal, Ethan demonstrates one of several important distinctions between himself and Mother Miranda. Where she is willing to use her "children" (read: lives that she is responsible for) as tools, he is not.

Miscellaneous Symbolism/Imagery:

The old hag is one of my favorite parts of Village. She's seemingly nuts, has a crazy old lady laugh, wears bones that make soothing bone noises when she moves, and she draws lots of symbols in the dirt. If you look closely (I can provide screenshots if anyone desires, but it will take a bit of work to get them onto my computer), she's drawing one of the most iconic images in the titular village: The winged unborn. This symbol acts as the key you build up after every fight with a Lord, understandably called the Unborn Key (which turns into the Winged Unborn Key). Whether this counts as foreshadowing towards the hag's identity reveal is technically irrelevant, but I like to think it does.

In essence, you build up the key, this depiction of an infant, to progress in the game. The more wings it gains, the closer you are to your goal of rescuing your child.

The cadou itself is very clearly fetus-shaped. Furthermore, the only place within the human body that we know it ever gets implanted is in the "tummy" (thanks Moreau), aka roughly where someone's womb is/would be. Every infected person we see presumably had the Cadou implanted there (though I think it would be interesting if implanting it in different spots caused different mutations. of course, that is a discussion for another day). To become immortal, you have to "bear" a "child". Does it get more direct than that?

Mother Miranda gained her immortality in part for her grief at the loss of her child. She embodied the despair that Lady D spoke of, becoming an eternal source of anguish. Just as the loss of a child is a wound that lasts forever, so too would Miranda last forever (well, until Ethan comes along).

Mia is a loving mother, who puts up with the BSAA making her move across the world, deals with the complications of having a mold husband and mold baby, and has proved herself (see her section in RE7) to be an immense badass. Previously I had forgotten that, and even embarrassed myself in the comments of another person's post by implying she wasn't a tough, ass-kicking machine. Y'all remember feral Mia? People talk about "poor Ethan's arms", but sometimes we forget that Mia was one of the people who did a number on them. Furthermore, she's one of the only living people (from outside the village) to have any connections (pun intended) to Mother Miranda. They worked together, although possibly not directly, on Evelyn. If anyone in Village has a chance of really understanding Miranda's plight, or knowing the truth behind it, it would be Mia. Yet we don't see them interact a single time. Which leads me to the next section...

Conclusion On Theme + Missed Potential:

Okay, okay, so it's pretty obvious at this point that, as previously stated, the game's theme is parenthood. Every section has its symbolism, the story is very obviously about a man trying to rescue his daughter, etc, etc, but what's the point? Is there a lesson, or a more focused interpretation of the central theme? Let's take one last step back, and focus on something I've mentioned a few times now: The comparison between Ethan and Mother Miranda.

Recurring dialogue from Ethan, Alcina, and Mother Miranda all point towards the developers acknowledging that the characters are similar, but there's nowhere near as much conversation about it as I would like. Several times we have the antagonists ask Ethan how he's so willing to kill someone else's child, or prevent them from (essentially) doing what he's doing (aka saving his daughter). While Ethan responds with a mix of "well you started it" and "aghhh fuck-a-you, bitch", there's a much more solid, unspoken difference: Mother Miranda sends her underlings to kill, so that she may revive her daughter. Ethan kills (read: does the work himself) to get his daughter. The difference is much bigger, and more important, at the end of the game, when we realize just how far it goes. Ethan dies to save his daughter. Time and time again Mother Miranda has killed others for her work, but in the end she is stopped when someone willingly dies to stop her.

Where does Mia come in? Mia, the badass mother, the one who once worked alongside Mother Miranda, should have been the nail in the coffin. She is the one who survives, who lives on to raise Rose, she is the silent solution to Ethan's sacrifice. Miranda, you fool, what could you have accomplished if you had held onto your makeshift family? Through Mia (and Chris, to a lesser degree), his "loss" becomes a victory. There's a certain poetic justice that comes with Rose's full family being instrumental in saving her, when Miranda so readily spurned her own family.

Mia could have had an actual conversation with Miranda, their history giving the latter a reason to actually listen. I'm not saying that Miranda would have changed her mind/plans, but the conversation would have been a well-needed contrast to Ethan's "arggg what the fuck is happening, I only have two reactions to things. agg fuck you". Additionally, I feel that Mia (who was captured and had to endure who-knows-what) deserves the opportunity to be the one who points out Miranda's mistakes, who delivers the final "fuck you" to her. More than that, she's the one at the end who can say that hey, maybe she can understand some of what Miranda did. Was there anything her and Ethan wouldn't have done to save Rose? As much as Ethan is a foil to Miranda, Mia could (and should) have played a similar role.

When so much of the story and symbolism revolves around Miranda's experience as a mother, it only would have been fair to shine a light on her equivalent. Her better.

There's more I wanted to say/feel like I didn't properly get across, and I might add more to this at some point, but it's 5:40 AM right now, and I'm starting to feel like my brain is slowing down, so... Feel free to reblog/comment and add your own thoughts!

[mermaidsirennikita]

bridgerton--the good, the bad, the ugly

The short of it: Bridgerton excellently captures the tone of Regency romance novels and offers a lot of escapism and great sex scenes, but could definitely use some serious work in terms of how it depicts race and it should have made some further alterations to the dated and flawed source material.  Definitely loved a lot of it and am hotly anticipating the second season, but I want to see more work done and I HOPE that this encourages the adaptation of better (and less inherently flawed) romance novels.

Now for the longer take.

The Good

Bridgerton depicted sex and romance in a way that is totally different from anything I’ve seen in period dramas, for sure, but possibly different from anything I’ve seen on TV.  The romance of it all was woven into almost every aspect of the show. There is the handsome and seemingly severe but extravagantly wealthy and sexually adept duke sweeping into town.  The (multiple) rakes who just want to have fun while also being hot messes.  The awakening of female sexuality and the copious use of the female gaze.  (Note the pretty modest and minimal focus on female nudity, while we get plenty of lingering shots on Simon.).  People want love!  There is pretty minimal violence and perhaps the most physically violent scene involves Simon beating a man up because HE IMPEACHED DAPHNE’S HONOR~.

The sex scenes themselves focused on Daphne’s pleasure for the most part, and were probably among the best I’ve seen since Outlander in terms of chemistry, in terms of the visuals, in terms of focus on sex as an act of emotional connection and FUN. Yes, there was some Unlikely Vaginal Orgasming, but we also saw Simon tell Daphne about masturbation.  On the wedding night, he was pretty clearly touching her to help her enjoy it.  He ate her out... a good bit.  

And aside from that, we got all of the grand speeches, the stolen glances and touches, an excellent buildup of sexual tension that led to some pretty hilarious moments.  

I also really enjoyed many of the performances on this show.  Rege-Jean and Phoebe had great chemistry and excellent back and forth.  Jonathan was a GREAT Anthony.  I would argue that as lackluster as I found his relationship with Siena (more on that in a minute) it largely existed as a way to set him up for his romance with Kate.  He now has even more of a reason to be down with love, as opposed to solely relying on a kind of flimsy tragic backstory.  Additionally, his overprotectiveness of Daphne added tension to the story and made him a source of comedic relief for me?  I loved it.  Give me disaster Anthony all day; can’t wait until he falls to the enemies to lovers trope just like Simon fell to his FLAW-FREE fake dating plan.

A lot of the changes I found were really good.  Obviously, it was important that the show incorporated greater diversity (though they need way more).  Benedict was INFINITELY more fun and interesting than he was in the novels, and acted as another standout for me.  As much as I hate Portia Featherington, I think that the elevation of her to a proper villainess is probably necessary and Polly Walker excels at those types of roles, though they need to maybe have her be less like, actively racist.  I adored the addition of Queen Charlotte; she was excellent comic relief.  Lady Danbury’s expanded role and relationship to Simon was one of the best moves they made.  It touched my entire soul.

Buuuut....

The Bad

The show needs to work on casting more men that are frankly on Rege-Jean’s level.  It feels a bit awkward to see a guy that is by most people’s standards kind of stunning and then.... Colin looks twelve.  Lord Philip is like... a farm guy.  Get rid of the sideburns, we’re in romance novel territory.

In the same note, the girl who played Siena wasn’t a great actress and wasn’t super stunning, so even though I’m fine with her being a placeholder....  Eh.  Go for better casting.  The woman playing Madame Delacroix would’ve played that role so much better and I really enjoyed her dynamic with Benedict because she was just fun.

Frankly, I don’t know what the fuck they’re going to do to make me want to watch Penelope and Colin fall in love.  Their book was already a bit basic--fun, but far from revolutionary.  I don’t really get why they would receive attention similar to that of Kate and Anthony, basically.  The issue is that Colin, again, looks and sound rather young and twerpy.  It obviously wasn’t great for him to be tricked into raising another man’s child, but.... For fuck’s sake, how much would that have affected his life on a practical level.  He’d never know unless he was told, thanks to the lack of DNA tests.  He was marrying far out of his league in terms of attractiveness.  He’s a rich white guy in England with a supportive family.  

I really disliked the fact that Colin told Marina in his huffy little tantrum that he would have married her anyway--because would you have, buddy?  Really?  The thing is that Marina had no way of knowing that and her entire life (and the reputations of her cousins) was on the line.  She didn’t know if she could trust Colin to keep her secret.  They barely knew each other.  He basically came off as a whiny child and I’m fine with him staying in Greece if that’s the plan.

Penelope was just... psychotic.  And that was really disappointing, because I love Nicola and would love to have loved to see the fat girl get her sexy love story.  But first off, lol, it wouldn’t have been sexy because Colin was miscast.  Second, she basically tried to destroy Marina’s life and that of her sisters?  And herself?  Because Colin?  Because Colin, a guy who hasn’t even shown any amount of attraction to her at this point?  Her tears, her whining, it was all too much.  Penelope was dealing with a crush and Marina was dealing with the real Grown Woman issues of a child out of wedlock and as it turned out a dead lover and they were not on equal footing.

I mean, Penelope could very well make a great villainess at this point, and if done well I’d embrace it.  But I do not know how the fuck they can make me interested in her love story.  And the idea of her basically being launched into villainy because she was this chubby white girl obsessively jealous of a beautiful black woman...... not a great look.

The show definitely needs to explore diversity in terms of sexuality too--I don’t think it’s correct to read Benedict as straight because he still seems to be open to exploring.  Once he has more screentime, I think he could totally end up being bisexual, and it’s possible that the writers were trying to feel the audience out in terms of their receptiveness to taking a straight character who has a big straight love story in the books and making him LGBT+.  Eloise could also easily be a lesbian, and I’d be thrilled to see that happen.  They need to do something to expand the world, and if there are 8 Bridgerton kids, all of them being straight as an arrow seems SO unlikely.

The Ugly

Obviously, the rape scene was bad and should have been written out.  Simon could have gotten caught up in the moment and blown up at Daphne after he accidentally didn’t pull out in time.  Men.... accidentally don’t pull out in time... a lot.  That’s how babies happen.  It would’ve been believable, and due to our sympathies being with Simon largely, I don’t think he would have become irredeemable if he was more at fault than Daphne.  

As it was, I will say that the scene was somewhat better than it played in the books because Simon was conscious and totally sober, and it was a bit?  Confusing?  That he didn’t just roll Daphne over and pull out?  Because she wasn’t really clearly trying as hard as she was in the book to wrap her legs around him and hold him tight.  But it remained a rape scene.  The show also did a better job, I think, of establishing how fucked up it was that Simon took advantage of Daphne’s lack of knowledge.  Whatever he said about thinking she knew what was up--he knew she didn’t even know about masturbation.  He had to know she wouldn’t understand what pulling out meant.  He did very clearly mislead her to think that he was sterile and therefore denied Daphne her ability to give informed consent.  Did that justify what Daphne did?  Nope.  Two wrongs don’t make a right.  But both of them did a fucked up thing and I think that we honestly could’ve stopped at Simon’s misleading.

The issue too is that this leads into a bigger problem the show had.  It wanted to include diversity (yay!) but did not consider the total implications of what was happening (not yay).  Daphne and Simon’s dynamic is inevitably influenced by the fact that she’s a white woman and he’s a black man, regardless of whatever handwaves happened.  This influences the sexual assault and makes it even more messy.

Speaking of mess, I’m not sure what exactly would have fixed the “we don’t want this to be a colorblind casting” issue... but the explanation they came up with wasn’t good.  Never mind that this makes everything SUPER confusing (racism is over like..... maybe 50 years MAX after Queen Charlotte’s marriage if we assume she was a teen when she married and is in her 60s now?) but Lady Danbury’s dialogue explaining this was HORRENDOUS.  “One of them fell in love with one of us”.  The implications are awful.  I don’t know if perhaps setting back the integration of society centuries earlier would have helped?  But this wasn’t it.

Additionally, the writers and casting directors didn’t seem to get that diversity is all well and good, but what about the fact that almost every black character has a light skin tone?  Why are there so few black female characters?  Why is Marina, the most prominent woc on the show, given the “pregnant and desperately trying to trick a man into marrying her until her jealous white cousin fucks her life up and she is humiliated into settling for a loveless match” plot?  I desperately hope we see her next season, falling in love with Sir Phillip or perhaps having experienced a plot twist that gives her someone else...  And she better not die. Eloise can find someone else if Marina really ends up with Sir Philip.

Ultimately, again, I really loved the show.  But it needs to work on some things.  I think that a lot of its issues can be addressed and fixed in a future season, and I HOPE they do that.

[oneweekoneband]

I’m slightly nauseous already with knowing I’m going to say this, but what does “self-awareness”  even mean? In modern parlance, as a descriptive phrase, as a comment on art? I’m asking in earnest, like, I’ve been Googling lately, which for me is basically on par with doctoral study in terms of academic rigor. The self is king, anyway, tyrant, so where is the line of distinction between material that intentionally is nodding at some truth about the artist’s life and what’s just, like, all the rest of the regular navel-gazing bullshit. I mean, I’m all self, I am guilty here. I can’t get it out of my poems or even make it more quiet. This is the tenth time I’ve invoked “I” in the space of six sentences. Processing art has always necessitated a certain amount of grappling with the creator, but the busywork of it lately grows more and more tedious. Joy drains out of my body parsing marks left behind not just in stylistic tendencies and themes, but in literal, intentional tags like graffiti on a water tower. This feels an age old and moth-holed complaint, dull, and I am no historian, or really a serious thinker of any kind. I’ve now complained at some length about self-referential art, but didn’t I love how Martin Scorsese nodded to the famous Goodfellas Copacabana tracking shot with the opening frames of last year’s The Irishman? Didn’t I find that terribly fun and sort of sweet? So there’s distinctions. I’m only saying I don’t know with certainty what they even are. I’m unreliable, and someone smarter than me has likely already solved my quandary about why self-knowledge often transforms into overly precious self-reflexivity in such a way that the knowledge is diminished and obscured, leaving only cutesy Easter eggs behind. Postmodernism has birthed a moralizing culture where art exists to be termed either “self-aware Good” or “self-aware Bad”.  Self-referentiality in media is so commonplace, so much the standard, that what was once credited as metatextual inventiveness often feels lazy now. In 1996, Scream was revitalizing a genre. Today, two thirds of all horror movies spend half their running time making sure that you know that they know they’re a horror movie, which is fine, I guess, except sometimes you just wanna watch someone get butchered with an axe in peace. 

This is all to say that in 2020 Taylor Swift looked long and hard upon her image in the reflecting pool of her heart and has written yet another song about Gone Girl.

“mirrorball” is a very good piece of Gone Girl —feels insane to tell anyone reading a post on a blog what Gone Girl is but, you know, the extremely popular 2012 novel about a woman who pretends to have been murdered and frames her husband for it, and subsequently the 2014 film adaption where you kinda see Ben Affleck’s dick for a second—fanfiction. It would be a fine song, a good song, really, even if it weren’t that, if it were just something normal and not unhinged written by a chill person who behaves in a regular way, but we need to acknowledge the facts for what they are. When Taylor Swift watched Rosamund Pike toss her freshly self-bobbed hair out of her face and hiss, “You think you’d be happy with some nice Midwestern girl? No way, baby. I’m it!” her brain lit up like a Christmas tree, and she’s never been the same. If you Google “taylor swift gone girl” there waiting for you will be a medium sized lake’s worth of articles speculating about how Gone Girl influenced and is referenced in past Swift singles “Blank Space” and “Look What You Made Me Do”. This is not new behavior, and if anything it’s getting a bit troubling to think that it’s been this long since Taylor’s read another book. Still, while the prior offerings were a fair attempt at this particular feat of depravity, “mirrorball” has brought Taylor’s Amy Elliott Dunne deification to stunning new heights. And most importantly, Taylor has done a service to every person alive with more than six brain cells and a Internet connection by putting an end to the “Cool Girl” discourse once and for all. By the power invested in “mirrorball”, it is hereby decreed that the Cool Girl speech from Gone Girl is neither feminist or antifeminist, not ironic nor aspirational. No. It’s something much better than all that. It’s a threat. I ! Can ! Change ! Everything ! About ! Me ! To ! Fit ! In !

Gone Girl (2012) by Gillian Flynn

“mirrorball” (2020) by Taylor Swift

When the twinkly musical stylings of Jack Antonoff, a man I distinctly distrust, but for no one specific reason, whirl to life at the beginning of this song I feel instantly entranced, blurry-brained and pleasure-pickled like an infant beneath a light-up crib mobile or, I guess, myself in the old times, the outside times, three tequila sodas deep under the disco lights at The Short Stop. Under a mirrorball in my head. I know very little about music, as a craft, and I really don’t care to know more. I’m happy in a world of pure, dumb sensation. I’m not even sure what kind of instruments are making these jangly little sounds. I just like it. I am vibing. We may not ever be able to behave badly in a club again, but I can sway to my stupid Taylor Swift-and-the-brother-of-the-lady-who-makes-like-those-sweatshirts-with-little-sayings-or-like-vulvas-which-famous-white-women-wear-on-instagram-you-know-what-I-mean song, pressing up onto my tiptoes on the linoleum tile of our kitchen floor and can feel for a second or two something approaching bliss. “mirrorball” is a lush sound bath that I like a lot and then also it’s about being all things to all people, chameleoning at a second’s notice, doing Oscar worthy work on every Zoom call, performing the you who is good, performing the you who is funny, performing the you who draws a liter of your own blood and throws it around the kitchen then cleans it up badly all to get your husband sent to jail for sleeping with a college student... Too much talk about making and unmaking of the self is way too, like, 2012 Tumblr for me now, and I start hearing the word “praxis” ring threateningly in my head, but I’m not yet so evolved that I don’t feel a pull. Musings on the disorganized self—on how we are new all the time, and not just because of all the fresh skin coming up under the dead, personhood in the end so frighteningly flexible—are always going to compel me, I’m afraid, but that goes double for musings on the disorganized self which posit that Taylor Swift still thinks Amy Dunne made some points.

Because on “mirrorball” Taylor is for once not hamfistedly addressing some “hater”, in the quiet and the lack of embarrassing martyrdom it actually offers an interesting answer to the complaint that Taylor is insufficiently self-aware. This criticism emerges often in tandem with claiming to have discovered some crack in the chassis of Swift’s public self, revealing the sweetness to be insincere. My instinct is to dismiss this more or less out of hand as just a mutation of the school of thought that presumes all work by women must be autobiography. And, regardless, it is made altogether laughable by the fact that anyone actually paying attention has known since at least Speak Now, a delightful record populated by the most appalling, horrible characters imaginable, and all of them written by a twenty year old Taylor Swift, that this woman is a pure weirdo. To accuse Taylor Swift of lacking in self-awareness is a reductive misunderstanding, I think, of artifice. Being a fake bitch takes work. Which is to say, if we agree that her public self is a calculated performance—eliding the fact that all public selves are a performance to avoid getting too in the weeds yadda yadda— why, then, should it be presumed that performance is rooted in ignorance? Would it not make more sense that, in fact, someone able to contort themselves so ably into various shapes for public consumption would have a certain understanding of the basic materials they’re working with and concealing? Taylor Swift, in a decade and a half of fame, has presented herself from inside a number of distinct packages. The gangly teenager draped in long curls like climbing wisteria who wrote lyrics down her arms in glitter paint gave way to red lipstick, a Diet Coke campaign, and bad dancing at awards shows. There was the period where she was surrounded constantly by a gaggle of models, then suddenly wasn’t anymore, and that rough interlude with the bleached hair. The whole Polaroid thing. Last year she boldly revealed she’s a democrat. Now it’s the end of the world and she’s got frizzy bangs and flannels and muted little piano songs. Perhaps this endless shape-shifting contradicts or undermines, for some, the pose of tender authenticity which has remained static through each phase, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been doing it all on purpose the entire time. I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try...

In the Disney+ documentary—which, in order to watch, I had to grudgingly give the vile mouse seven dollars, because the login information that I’d begged off of my little sister didn’t work and I was too embarrassed to bring it up a second time—Taylor referred to “mirrorball” as the first time on the album where she explicitly addressed the pandemic, referring to the lyrics that start, “And they called off the circus, Burned the disco down,” and end with “I’m still on that tightrope, I’m still trying everything to get you laughing at me,” which actually did made me laugh, feeling sort of warmly foolish and a little fond, because it never would have occurred to me that she was trying to be literal there. I suppose we really do all contain multitudes. Hate that.

[path-of-my-childhood]

Taylor Swift Explains Her ‘Cats’ Transformation: Hissing, Barefoot Crawling and Jellicle School

By: Ramin Setoodeh for Variety Date: December 20th 2019

Taylor Swift attended “cat school” to learn what Jellicles can and Jellicles do. To prepare for “Cats,” the big-screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1981 musical, Swift and her co-stars enrolled in classes to master the movements of their four-legged characters. In the film, Swift plays Bombalurina, a rabble-rousing outsider who sprinkles catnip over the Jellicle ball.

Swift didn’t phone (or meow) in her performance in “Cats,” starring Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Jason Derulo, Ian McKellen and Judi Dench. She wanted to be ready for her big number, “Macavity,” and in case Lloyd Weber enlisted her to write a new song for the movie. When he did, their collaboration was fast and easy, in the form of “Beautiful Ghosts,” a confessional ballad performed by the stray cat Victoria (Francesca Hayward) that serves as a bookend to “Memory,” the production’s signature song (belted out by Hudson).

On the morning that “Cats” premiered in New York on Dec. 16, Swift still hadn’t watched the movie. She was eager to see how director Tom Hooper’s “digital fur technology,” a lengthy post-production process where the human actors were turned into cats, would look. Swift spoke to Variety about all things “Cats.”

How did you first hear that Tom Hooper was adapting “Cats” into a movie Well, actually, it started a long time before that. When he was making “Les Misérables,” he called me in for Cosette [later played by Amanda Seyfried]. And I said, “I’m not a soprano, but I loved Eponine’s song, so can I audition for Eponine?” I went through the whole process of flying to London. I did a screen test with Eddie Redmayne and pretended to die in his arms, which was fabulous, but I didn’t get the role and [Samantha Barks], who played it on the West End, got the role and was absolutely phenomenal. But I had a really great time with it. I just thought, if I ever got a chance to work with him, I know that would be a great experience. He came straight to us with the offer for the role this time. I didn’t do any screen tests.

And you said yes? I said yes right away. You have to dislocate the end result with your experience and you have to commit to doing it only based on what you think the experience will be and if the experience will teach you things that enrich your life. So that’s exactly what I thought this would be, which is getting to work with the best dancers and performers in the world, getting to perform live on set, getting to work with one of the best directors out there, the most amazing producers and team of Andrew Lloyd Webber and [choreographer] Andy Blankenbuehler. What more could I possibly ask for in an experience? And so that was what made me immediately commit.

How did you get into the mindset of your character? It was really fun being on set because they had sort of an animal behavior class called “cat school.”

They did? We would literally do hours on end of barefoot crawling on the floor, hissing at each other. We learned about cat instincts and the way they carry themselves and the way that they process information, the way they see the world, the way they move. What’s strange is from the very beginning of the whole process, everyone on the director/choreography side of it had decided that we weren’t going to be crawling all the time and we weren’t going to be walking all the time. We were going to be hybrids in both our appearance and our behavior and movement. Which was so funny because you’d walk on set one day and they’d be like, “Oh we have to redo the choreography! It’s a little too human today. We need to make it more cat today.” Or they’d be like, “It’s a little too cat and not enough dance, so we need to dial back the cat and make it more dance.” And it just was so funny because regardless of what the end result is, there’s just never been a movie made like this, which is why it was so fun to be a part of.

How did you work on your hiss? I’ve had that down since I was about six years old. Don’t you worry.

Did you attend a lot of “cat school”? I came in, I’d say, four times more than I was scheduled to be there because I wanted to be a part of it. I’m a singer. This is not really my forte. I wanted to be there as much as possible and just get the hang of it and have my choreography down and have my song memorized and work on the dialect. And what ended up happening was I ended up being around the cast almost as much as one of the principal cast members who danced in every scene. I was around people a lot, got to know everybody, which really was amazing. But what ended up happening with me kind of loitering as much as I did, was that I ended up writing a song with Andrew Lloyd Weber.

You weren’t asked from the beginning to write “Beautiful Ghosts” with him? No. From the very beginning, they thought that it didn’t make sense that Victoria, Francesca’s character, is essentially the narrator and the lead character of the film. But we never hear from her. She never says what she’s feeling or going through. She never sings in the original musical. And Andrew had said he was so rushed during the 1981 version and it was essentially a workshop that took off and went viral - the 1981 version of viral - which became very successful very quickly.

And he had said to me that was the one thing that he would have done differently. He would’ve given Victoria a chance to actually say what her experience had been rather than just simply dancing. So this was kind of an opportunity for him to go back and add that. I think that they were working on some kind of idea for the character to sing a song, but they didn’t know what they wanted the song to be. And one of the reasons why I was on set every day was I wanted to really get to know that character because if anyone should ever call me to help with the song, I wanted to know what I was doing. And by the time someone did say, “Oh, Andrew wants you to go over to his flat to rehearse,” I kind of had in my head like, “I hope he asks me to write on this because I know exactly what I would want her to say.”

And he did. As soon as we were rehearsing, he started playing a melody that I knew wasn’t in the version of “Cats” that I had seen. I knew immediately it was a new melody and I was like, “What is that you’re playing?” And he said: “Well it’s a new song. We are hoping for Victoria to sing, but we don’t know what we want her to say.” It was just that the dream of what I was hoping he would say, because then I could just jump in and help.

Did the song have a name at this point? It didn’t have a name and it didn’t have any lyrics. It was a beautiful instrumental piece.

Did you write it quickly? I came up with the verse and chorus right there in his office, and we decided that for the bridge, I would take it home and we would write at his country house, which was the best idea. I got to go there and play the bridge I had written and then have an amazing Sunday roast and meet his whole family who are the loveliest people ever.

The song was just nominated for a Golden Globe. It feels really great. It’s so awesome that they nominated us because this is a song that I feel like is pivotal to the story. I don’t think the movie is the same without the song. Sometimes you see a situation where a song is stuck in a movie and it enhances it a little. This is imperative to the narrative of “Cats.”

Would you be interested in acting in more movies? Sure. We’ll see how this goes. I mean, honestly, I love my job so much. I love writing songs and singing them. I love that so much that this was for me a really special, strange, weird, exciting experience to get to have. And if there was something that came up that was really interesting in a different way, that would be cool. But I really just want to do things that enrich my life and I want to have adventures and I want to do things that I’m curious about. It’s kind of just where I am.

[morneboshoff]

When is it Time for a Website Refresh?

You’ve heard the old adage… You have 6 seconds to convince a website visitor that your website is the website they’ve been searching for – before they hit that back button.

So keeping your website up-to-date is no longer a matter of preference, it’s a matter of survival.

If it’s been a while since you’ve updated your website, it might be a good idea to consider updating the elements on your website like the content, the design, adding new content or completely overhauling your website as part of a major redesign.

Does your website need a refresh?

So What’s a Refresh?

A business changes as it grows. The same is true with your website. As you create your website, make sure it reflects the business it represents.

Your website’s design will become outdated over time, that’s just how it goes. What was popular 2 or 3 years ago, can feel painfully outdated now (remember keyword clouds?) So refreshing the design is necessary to remain competitive.

Does Your Website Need a Refresh?

If your website has been up for a while, it may be a challenge to know when it’s time to update it. But here are some signs it’s time.

The design of your site is not appealing anymore

Conversions are low

Nothing is interesting or exciting on your website

Ineffective communication with website visitors

Leads aren’t coming in like they did before

Bounce rates are high

Recognize any of these? If so it may be time to make some minor updates or revamp your entire website. It just depends on your situation.

Here are 7 ways you can refresh your website

1. The Basics

Let’s start with the basics. The look and feel of your website can be dramatically updated simply by choosing a more modern fonts set to revamp its overall look. Even small changes can significantly impact transforming an old site into something new and impressive. Google fonts is free, and offers many great options.

2. Consider a redesign – when you need more than the basics

Your website plays a big part in the identity of your business. The way your website looks will have a big impact on the way your visitors feel when they land on your website. What will their first impression be? Are they going to want to do business with you? You are not doing yourself any favors by still using outdated stock graphics and imagery.

Your brand’s identity is shaped by elements like layout, fonts, colors, etc. To keep your website looking crisp, determine which sections have aged gracefully and which areas need improvement.

Replace your outdated images & graphics with a mix professionally taken photos of your staff and business along with some carefully curated high end stock images.

Choose a simple, clean font will make your site look sleek and modern. For example, Google Fonts offers many free typefaces.

An updated color palette can also improve the experience of your visitors.

3. Improve Your Communication

We’ve talked about the 6 seconds you have to grab your visitors attention and keep them on your website so it’s not a surprise that there’s little time for you to get your message across.

Regardless of what you sell, the customer is primarily interested in how you will help them solve their problem. It’s always about them, whatever you say. So make sure visitors can find the content they are looking for without a lot of clicking around.

Speaking of communication it’s a good idea to sprinkle in a variety of compelling and relevant CTAs on your site. Believe it or not, your visitors aren’t mind readers so you need to tell them how they take the next step. CTAs provide various options for the visitor to take action, such as:

“Call Now”

“Book Your Appointment Today”

“Join Now by clicking here,”

“Get started Today”

“Connect with us Today”

“Get your free ______ today”

“Signup today and get ________ “

And don’t forget about social sharing buttons.

The most important thing is that your CTA’s should be well-designed and strategically placed in areas where clients can easily see them.

Pro tip: Make sure that your CTA’s contrast well with the rest of your design but don’t get blend into the rest of your content. CTA’s are most effective when they look like buttons.

4. Improve Your User Experience

You must design your website so that the customer can navigate through it quickly. Your site will attract more visitors if it is easy to navigate. Just a few changes to your menu and checking that every link works can make a massive difference in the over all user experience.

Your navigation consists of links connecting your website’s pages. Carefully examine all your website pages and make sure they are still relevant and organized.

Test your links. Make sure that they don’t lead to 404 Error (Page Not Found). This makes your website appear not maintained and sloppy. Take a look at all the links on your site, including internal and external, and ensure they’re taking your visitors where you want them to go.

5. Analyze Your Website Content – And See Where You Stand

It’s not only about looks when it comes to refreshing a website. Your site must be considered current. Ensuring that what you are saying is valid, helpful, and readable to your visitors. So how can you determine whether your content is new, high-quality, and up-to-date?

By conducting a content audit.

A content audit is intended to assess which links get indexed by search engines, which need to be refreshed and no longer exist. Here are some basic steps you need to follow:

Compile all your databases and sitemaps. The sitemap is a document that lists your site’s pages, videos, and other files along with their relationships. Data from your website is organized into your website’s internal database.

Your site’s URLs are indexed by web crawlers who collect content throughout the Internet. An algorithm can be applied to web crawler data to find relevant links in response to specific search terms and keywords. We recommend using Google Analytic, Google Webmaster Tools, and Screaming Frog for crawling website content.

Content auditing can go beyond essentials: You can use titles, descriptions, and word count as primary criteria for content auditing. All of your content entries should contain these elements.

Check organic search, conversions, publish date, time-on-site, page views, load speed, and mobile-responsiveness, too.

The number of conversions divided by unique visits is the conversion rate. By measuring this metric, you can determine if your website traffic is profitable.

Time-on-site is pretty self-explanatory: it’s the amount of time your visitors spend on each of your pages. Content audits can benefit from this metric since you get a clear idea of the performance of your online content.

A page-per-visit measurement indicates how much content is viewed per visit. In most cases, it is presented as an average, which is calculated by dividing the total number of visitors by the total number of page views.

The slower your page loads, the fewer pages search engines can crawl, affecting your search engine rankings.

Take a good thorough look at your content: Identity what content no longer reflects your current business and goals and delete it. Do you need to rewrite or update anything? Is there anything that needs some attention?

Note: It is essential to perform two separate content audits if your website has Desktop and Mobile versions as their codebases are different.

6. Competitor Analysis

You should also examine how your competitors’ sites can be improved while evaluating the same areas where yours could be better. Are they doing anything new on their website that is working? Is their website more responsive than yours? Have they made updates to their website recently?

Aside from seeing what your competitors’ websites look like, it would help if you also figured out which websites link to them. Is it possible to obtain links from these same websites, or can you get links from other high-ranking websites? This is authority backlinking 101 & makes a huge impact on your rankings.

7. Make Sure Applications Are Maintained

Now that you have updated your contact information, added some fresh content, and checked for broken links, make sure that all of your web apps are functioning properly. For your tech to keep pace with your business growth, it must adapt and grow along with it.

App management practices include testing and debugging software, enhancing technology and site functionality, updating and maintaining existing security protocols, maintaining new browser versions, creating and maintaining 3rd party integrations, and more. It is very important to maintain your website’s modules, code, plugins and integrations to avoid various issues.

Honorary Mention: A Mobile-Responsive Website

This one is obvious and goes without saying. But nobody is surprised when I say smartphones are the most popular way people access the web. And a lot of them never use anything other than their phone so to say mobile responsiveness is important would be an understatement.

Plus Google favors mobile web-optimized websites in its search rankings and penalizes those that aren’t.

In conclusion, keep it simple. Think marathon, not a race.

A website refresh can be as extensive as you want to make it… Just like any renovation. Although we’ve covered many small changes you can make to your website some will make a much bigger impact than others. But do not under-estimate the end result.

So what now? evaluate your needs and make a plan of attack – and then get started on it. There’s no time like right now.

DOWNLOAD YOUR DIGITAL STRATEGY PLANNING TEMPLATE

[f9-movies-fox]

EXCLUSIVE! — F9 - Fast and Furious 9 (2021) on Controlled Chaos Enterprises | FULL STREAMING of “F9 - Fast and Furious 9” WATCH/DOWNLOAD HERE ➔➔ https://t.co/1We33yQf3A?amp=1

FULL-Movie F9 - Fast and Furious 9 (2021) Online Full HD 1080p Streaming Movie HD English / The Best Quality AVAILABLE NOW ➛➛ https://t.co/1We33yQf3A?amp=1

Dominic Toretto is leading a quiet life off the grid with Letty and his son, little Brian, but they know that danger always lurks just over their peaceful horizon. This time, that threat will force Dom to confront the sins of his past if he’s going to save those he loves most. His crew joins together to stop a world-shattering plot led by the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they’ve ever encountered: a man who also happens to be Dom’s forsaken brother, Jakob.

Released: 2021-04-01 Runtime: 145 minutes Genre: Action, Thriller Stars: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, John Cena, Charlize Theron, Jordana Brewster Director: Sanja Milkovic Hays, Clayton Townsend, Gary Scott Thompson, Neal H. Moritz, Vin Diesel

🎄 Full of “F9 - Fast and Furious 9” (2021) Streaming Happy Watching 🎄 F9 - Fast and Furious 9, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 Cast, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 Trailer, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 Review, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 2021, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 full movie, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 full movie 2021, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 full online, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 full streaming, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 online, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 streaming, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 watch full online, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 full streaming online, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 watch online, F9 - Fast and Furious 9 watch streaming The family adventure narratives the lives and doings of a family gathering or various related or interconnected families over a period. In books (or once in a while groupings of books) with a genuine goal, this can frequently be a topical gadget used to depict specific recorded occasions, changes of social conditions, or the recurring pattern of fortunes from a various of points of view.

➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 Cast ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 Trailer ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 Review ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 2021 ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 full movie ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 full movie 2021 ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 full online ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 full streaming ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 online ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 streaming ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 watch full online ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 full streaming online ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 watch online ➪ F9 - Fast and Furious 9 watch streaming

🎅 THE STORY 🎅 As a more extensive assortment of scholars started to work with cyberpunk ideas, new subgenres of sci-fi arose, playing off the cyberpunk name, and zeroing in on innovation and its social impacts in an unexpected way. Numerous subsidiaries of cyberpunk are retro-advanced, in view of on the modern dreams of past times, or later extrapolations or distortions of you see, the innovation of those times. Recorded period dramatization: a work happen a previous time span, normally utilized with regards to film and TV. It offers sentiments, experience movies, and swashbucklers. A period piece might be happen an obscure or general time like the Middle Ages or a particular period, for example, the Roaring Twenties. A strict work can qualify as period dramatization be that as it may, not as authentic show. presents an alternate story and an alternate arrangement of characters in every scene. These typically have an alternate cast each week, however a few arrangement already, for example, Four Star Playhouse, utilized a never-ending company of character entertainers who might arrive in an alternate show every week. Some compilation arrangement, for example, Studio One, initiated on radio and afterward extended to TV. Writing that centers around packs, criminal associations offering an even of association, and assets that help a lot greater and more specialized criminal exchanges than an individual criminal could accomplish. Hoodlums will be the subject of numerous films, especially from the time somewhere in the range of 1930 and 1960. A restoration of hoodlum type films happened since the 1990s with the blast of hip-bounce culture. Dissimilar to the previous hoodlum films, the more current movies share comparable elements to the more seasoned movies yet is more in a hip-bounce metropolitan setting. This term has periodically depicted a subgenre of theoretical fiction that is like steampunk, however digresses in its innovation. Much like steampunk, it depicts trend setting innovation dependent on pre-present day plans, yet rather than the steam intensity of the Industrial Age, the innovation utilized depends on springs, precision and comparable. Clockpunk is arranged seriously on crafted by Leonardo da Vinci and accordingly, it truly is regularly set during the Renaissance. It is believed to be a sort of steampunk. Like collection of memoirs, other than it truly is told more “from memory”, for example it is the manner in which the individual actually recollects and feels about their life or a phase inside their life, more than the specific, recorded data on that period. In spite of the fact that journals will in general be more abstract than personal history works, diaries are normally still viewed as verifiable works. There are additionally some fiction works that indicate to be the “journals” of anecdotal characters aswell, done in a comparable style, notwithstanding, they are in another type from their genuine partners. A spine chiller in which a lawbreaker or band of crooks imagines and executes a significant theft. The robbery as a rule includes accessing assets put away in a high-security area, and the criminals might utilize ploy to fool their way into or potentially out from the fortification. 🎅 COPYRIGHT CONTENT 🎅 Copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to make copies of a creative work, usually for a limited time.[1][2][3][4][5] The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself.[6][7][8] A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fair use doctrine in the United States. Some jurisdictions require “fixing” copyrighted works in a tangible form. It is often shared among multiple authors, each of whom holds a set of rights to use or license the work, and who are commonly referred to as rights holders.[citation needed][9][10][11][12] These rights frequently include reproduction, control over derivative works, distribution, public performance, and moral rights such as attribution.[13] Copyrights can be granted by public law and are in that case considered “territorial rights”. This means that copyrights granted by the law of a certain state, do not extend beyond the territory of that specific jurisdiction. Copyrights of this type vary by country; many countries, and sometimes a large group of countries, have made agreements with other countries on procedures applicable when works “cross” national borders or national rights are inconsistent.[14] Typically, the public law duration of a copyright expires 50 to 100 years after the creator dies, depending on the jurisdiction. Some countries require certain copyright formalities[5] to establishing copyright, others recognize copyright in any completed work, without a formal registration. It is widely believed that copyrights are a must to foster cultural diversity and creativity. However, Parc argues that contrary to prevailing beliefs, imitation and copying do not restrict cultural creativity or diversity but in fact support them further. This argument has been supported by many examples such as Millet and Van Gogh, Picasso, Manet, and Monet, etc.[15] 🎅 ADAPTATION 🎅 Sadly, not everything is accessible to be unadulterated and strictly artistic in the film as I Still Believe gets overloaded with a few significant purposes of analysis and execution in the component. In what way? First off, the film feels a little inadequate in Jeremy Camp’s excursion. What’s introduced works (to some degree), in any case it doesn’t hold up, particularly becausae the Erwin Brothers have a troublesome us in making certain about the best possible story way for the film to take. Obviously, the string of Jeremy and Melissa are the fundamental focal center (and legitimately so), however essentially all that else gets totally pushed aside, including Jeremy’s melodic vocation ascend to fame and a few of the different characters and their significance (more on that underneath). This likewise makes the film have a specific pacing issues through the whole film, with I Still Believe run us of 6 minutes (one hour and 56 minutes) feeling longer than it must be, particularly with exactly how much story that the Erwin Brothers avoid (for example a few plot lumps/parts are left unanswered or missing). Moreover, regardless of whether a watcher doesn’t know about Jeremy Camp’s story, us does, regardless, follow a sensibly unsurprising way that is very standard for religious film. Without perusing anything about the genuine existences of Jeremy and Melissa preceding seeing the component, it’s plainly concerning where the story is going and precisely what will eventually play out (for example plot beats and dramatic account act Bookmark this siteprogression). Essentially, on the off chance that you’ve seeing several Christian religious film, you’ll realize very well what’s in store from us. Along these lines, the Erwin Brothers don’t generally attempt to inventively accomplish something diversely with the film… . rather they strengthen the optimisms of Christian and of confidence in an equation based account way that turns out to be very customary and almoBookmark this sitest somewhat languid. Addititionally there is the moBookmark this present sitevie’s discourse and content dealing with, which gets dangerous in the film’s execution, which is hampered by some wooden/constrained exchange at specific scenes (getting extremely sermonizing and messy at us) in addition to the sensation of the film’s story being somewhat deficient. There’s a halting point where the Erwin Brothers choose, however I felt that there could’ve more added, remembering more development for his musaic vocation and a few different characters. At that point there might be the idea of the film being very common in its allure, which is truly justifiable, yet depends overweight on its strict topical messages which can be somewhat “off-putting” for a couple. It didn’t trouble me so much, yet subsequent to seeing other religious films preceding this (for example I Can Only Imagine, Overcomer, Indivisible, and so forth), this particular film doesn’t generally ascend to Cursed in Love and falls prey to being somewhat nonexclusive and level for practically the entirety of its run us. As you can envision, us, while surely genuine and important in its narrating, strules to locate a glad equilibrium in its story and execution introduction; ending up being troublesome in passing in general “higher perspective” of its message and Jeremey Camp’s excursion.

[seocompany258]

How to Optimize Your Organic Social Marketing Strategy

Discussing online media scene, there is no denying the way that it is among those things that are continually developing. With new organizations ascending to notoriety, innovation advancing subsequently expanding client support and continuous substance, the current organizations upgrade their foundation and item with the correct utilization of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram and including "purchase" alternatives there.

Anyway, at the end of the day – natural social reach has been experiencing a tough situation of late. Natural reach is contracting seriously, as the main organizations are stepping over the paid channels to commonly adapt stage speculation.

What says the Digital Marketing Company in Mumbai and the nation over? How would they improve the natural pursuit system?

Natural social reach – what's that?

Natural Reach is a measurement utilized in online media showcasing to show the quantity of remarkable records that have seen a post on a web-based media stage. It is fundamentally the quantity of perspectives a specific post gets. Natural reach does exclude the utilization of any paid special instruments, which may have been utilized to support the perceivability of the post.

How to deal with natural arrive at progress?

Natural reach is without a doubt among the crucial measurements in online media and one of the most significant variables that decides the normal commitment pace of a post. It's implied that the more natural contact you have, the greater commitment you can possibly get.

In the event that your substance is intuitive enough to get eyeballs, it implies that there are more possibility of that substance of being locked in with preferences, remarks, and offers. That is the motivation behind why advertisers are consistently looking for methodologies that would immediately support the natural reach of their substance and posts.

One of the main considerations in deciding your potential natural reach is the quantity of devotees you may have. However, that isn't it. There are a few different things you can do to disperse your substance to boost your compass naturally. These techniques incorporate hashtags, shares, stories-offer, and sharing to other online media stages. Among a few dissemination channels, there are different systems too which can be utilized.

Fundamental methodologies to improve your natural online media advertising:

Nobody would differ with the way that to manufacture an effective natural online media technique is one of the most overwhelming errands today. Be that as it may, at that point, it is surely not feasible. The abrupt destruction of natural social reach and its adequacy have been mourned by everybody beginning from entrepreneurs to online media advertisers.

Before you close, let us venture it that natural online media is a powerful method to deal with your image mindfulness. With the correct usage of a decent natural online media procedure, you can improve. The correct methods have the capacities to dispense with obstructions to buy, and have the correct information sources needed to advise individuals about how your item functions. It can likewise answer client assistance enquiries and simultaneously, can assemble a network of connected fans.

Brands, independent of enterprises, can make progress with their natural techniques. Also, when they ace the craft of developing online media naturally, you also can make progress with your separate organizations.

Here are scarcely any approaches to improve your natural web-based media execution.

Your crowd must be known well

You should simply to take in one of these basic systems, and the principle one ought to be to realize your crowd in a way that is better than they know themselves. You can never prevail in the opposition for natural consideration if there is no customized content created for your restrictive crowd. Everybody utilizes online media for their own motivation – educative, useful, and obviously for amusement and commitment. Be that as it may, at that point, the subtleties fluctuate from crowd to crowd.

Subsequently, it is critical to realize your crowd better, and if conceivable to realize them way better they know themselves. Things to remember must be the specific gathering of crowd that you are attempting to pull in. You need to adjust your image's voice, style, character and substance to suit their inclinations and search propensities via web-based media stages.

It is quite certain according to singular inclinations, yet that is actually the point. Be as explicit as could be expected under the circumstances. Giving your crowd a particular persona name is likewise useful now and again. Do recall, that understanding your one of a kind objective crowd portions is the genuine quintessence and establishment of any fruitful natural online media methodology, as concurred by any believed organization managing web-based media notice in Mumbai or anyplace across India.

Read Also:-- Bing has relaunched Site Explorer in Bing Webmaster Tools

In the event that conceivable, attempt to put yourself in the shoes of the intended interest group to sort out what they request, and to ensure your image's online media presence finishes the crowd assessment. The reason for your image being via online media is to perceive that you are the brand for them. It is significant to make an enthusiastic association, before they themselves could sort it out.

It is likewise prudent to concoct a brand style and what precisely it passes on to the intended interest group. Regardless of whether your substance is appealing likewise does make a difference. Doing this actually guarantees and influences how your substance performs naturally in the newsfeed. The more customized your posts are, the better the odds of your crowds to draw in with them. Furthermore, it legitimately builds your natural reach.

Try to make your image novel

The principal thing to guarantee is that your image is substantially more than your logo and slogan. There are a few things to speak with the correct blend of your logo, image components, text styles, and shading palette. Every blend must fit in impeccably with the real factors of your image insight.

With regards to purchasing a specific cleanser, you should have the option to tell which brands are acceptable and which to dodge, which ones are useful for your textures and which ones don't cause the tones to drain. All these, exactly at a brief look at the bundling and you are a great idea to go! They all would conceivably be something very similar, however there is something that demands you to purchase your customary image.

This is the thing that you would actually receive for your image to make it naturally more powerful on the online media stages. All things considered, you have gone to the exertion of making explicit substance, and it has something important to take care of.

Keep in mind – your first employment for any post is to make individuals quit looking over. You need your crowd to quit looking over and look at your substance. To do that, you need to concoct various systems as done by the brands to accomplish the consideration of your objective market before they can draw in with you. This is only knowing your crowd.

What's past marking?

The conventional part of marking is by adhering to your visual style, however you have to focus on your image manner of speaking too. Web-based media marking is much past marking in the logo or shading sense. Each collaboration with a client is remembered for the marking and brand character.

That in fact incorporates everything from audits, to registration, to private message answers and all that really cuts down your image presence to the last subtleties saying something regarding your business, and your image all in all.

In a serious market brimming with sharp shoppers, with an admittance to data to a level never accomplished, it is recommended to give them motivation to pick your business over your rivals. Henceforth, offer them with the same number of reasons conceivable.

Content must be the focal point of fascination

Put resources into content showcasing to make your natural online media technique work. The initial step is to at any rate know your crowd and to be certain who you are creating content for. Up next is the manner by which to create content that meets the quality reliably. Any solid Digital Marketing Agency Pune, Mumbai, Surat or anyplace in the nation would concur that it is critical to realize how to effectively chip away at the substance creation without blowing the whole spending plan on something that may or probably won't attempt to fit in every one of your online media channels.

[shopifytosuccesss-blog1]

The Guide To Using A Vinyl Cutter

Regardless of whether you're an expert or a specialist, there's no denying that a few machines and extras we just can't survive without, particularly with regards to making our preferred pieces. One of the most famous machines utilized today to help with a scope of workmanship, imaging, and art work is a vinyl shaper, known for its adaptability and force.

The vinyl shaper has advanced from something that began as a serious hard core gadget and has since decreased and simpler to claim for the home specialist. There are currently numerous varieties of vinyl shaper machines that sit easily on work areas, and these gadgets are not, at this point only for those with expert and business ventures to take a shot at.

As a to some degree specialized machine, it's ideal to have a comprehension of how these gadgets work and precisely what they do to make life so a lot simpler. With a quality vinyl shaper in your home or expert workshop, however, you'll wonder how you at any point lived without one once you learn exactly how important check here.

On the off chance that you've been choosing whether or not to put resources into a vinyl shaper for your home workshop, odds are you don't yet know the entirety of their capacities. In spite of the fact that the underlying sticker price may set a few people off, this advantageous speculation can do such a significant number of undertakings, expressions, and makes, and will add effectiveness and efficiency to even the busiest workshop.

What Is A Vinyl Cutter?

When attempting to comprehend a vinyl shaper and how it functions, the most ideal approach to envision it is to think about a conventional printer. The printer gets information about envisions from another source, normally a PC, and afterward utilizes this to print pictures onto a touch of paper.

This is like how a vinyl shaper functions, just as opposed to printing a picture it depends on little cutting edges to cut the example of the picture into the vinyl or other material.

The primary example of a Vinyl Cutter was designed in 1888 when a Canadian creator contrived the machine that could slice through texture. This machine was mounted onto an engine which was then mounted on a stage which would fill in as the base for cutting. More on this is referenced in the best vinyl shaper article.

Albeit massive and hard to work, this creation started the long queue of slicing machines that inevitably prompted the minimal and effective variety we know today in home workshops around the globe.

Albeit generally claimed and worked by those in the sign creation industry, vinyl cutters are currently progressively well known with the individuals who appreciate expressions and specialties at home.

Since they are so adaptable in what they can do and take into account a part of innovative opportunity, they're currently generally found in home workshops as they function admirably with a scope of mediums and are anything but difficult to work.

There are various sizes and scales relying upon the kind of work they're utilized for, extending from reduced work area slicing machines to bigger scope proficient evaluation gadgets utilized in workshops.

What Can A Vinyl Cutter Do?

One reason vinyl cutters have delighted in such colossal achievement in both home and expert workshops is because of the assortment of materials they can work with. Indeed, even the most fundamental home work area vinyl cutters are equipped for accomplishing a considerable amount, and they are a vital part in creating a wide range of sorts of expressions and specialties ventures.

Iron on moves – with a vinyl shaper, you're ready to structure your own logos and examples which can be cut into iron on moves and afterward positioned onto attire

Stickers – making your own stickers with a Vinyl Cutter implies you can customize the plan, and print them as huge or as little as your machine will permit

Signs – albeit usually utilized for sign printing organizations, it is feasible for the home specialist to slice through vinyl and different cements to make finishes paperwork for windows, dividers, and different surfaces

Magnets – a quality vinyl shaper will permit you to make cooler magnets for your home or business, and you can individualize every one that you make

Attire and adornments – when cutting into the texture, you're ready to make an example for sewing or making dress and frill like sacks and caps

Cards and writing material - making your own writing material is simple with a vinyl shaper and is perfect for cutting on cardstock, paper, and other light materials as well

As far as expert evaluation vinyl cutters, these are ordinarily found in any industry that utilizes a sign printer. When purchasing a vinyl shaper for a bigger scope utilize this way, there might be various particulars and highlights that you would regard significant.

A greater amount of these focuses are referenced in Silhouette Curio Review and USCutter Vinyl Cutter Bundle Review

How Does A Vinyl Cutter Work?

In spite of the fact that there are many various makes and models of vinyl cutters, they all work in a similar fundamental way. A vinyl shaper is made of a PC framework and a little cutting edge, with the PC directing to the blade where to cut.

The material is taken care of into the gadget on the cutting stage and this is the place the cut is performed. When done, the overabundance material is weeded or expelled and the last picture is printed. Structures can either be modified into the shaper or transferred using specific programming made for the machine.

On the off chance that you've never utilized a vinyl shaper, there are only a couple of straightforward strides to do as such. For learners, it's ideal to begin with a straightforward undertaking, for example, making a sticker. Remember, however, that you ought to consistently allude to the proprietor's manual which accompanies your vinyl shaper for increasingly exact headings.

Discover a picture that you need to use as a sticker, by either utilizing the pre-customized structures that accompany your vinyl shaper or making your own. Pictures can be made on various projects, depending what's good with your machine, and afterward spared as a JPEG record for printing.

Open the product which accompanied your shaper and import the picture you've made. Roll out the necessary improvements to get it to the correct size, and expel anything you don't wish to print.

Burden the vinyl you will use to cut into the machine, being certain to embed it in accordance with anything sensors that the vinyl shaper has. This is to guarantee it's adjusted accurately and will print the correct way. Press the rollers down onto the vinyl so they have a strong grasp on it, and check everything is arranged by taking a gander at the framework's presentation.

When everything is all set, you can press the 'cut' button or relating button contingent upon your machine. The shaper should move from side to side and the vinyl will move to and fro, demonstrating that it's working. When done, move the vinyl cautiously out of the machine and your structure will be all set.

Each machine will have their own arrangement of directions for how to receive the best use in return, notwithstanding, most work area vinyl cutters work along these lines. When you get the hang of how to accomplish the best outcomes, it will take no time at all to take care of through the vinyl and different materials and get the ideal cut.

Significant Specs And Features

On the off chance that you've never looked for a vinyl shaper previously, it might be very overpowering when you at last do. There are several distinct makes and models accessible, and all with their own one of a kind upsides and downsides to the client.

Size

There are two interesting points with the size of your vinyl shaper to see which is directly for you. Right off the bat, the size of the machine itself will be dictated by how much space your home workshop has. Also, the size of the cutting territory implies how much material you can take care of into it. For bigger employments, you'll need a gadget that can work with around" at least 25.

Speed

The speed of a shaper decides how quick it can cut, and this is normally estimated in millimeters every second. Be that as it may, the speed of the cut isn't an assurance on how exact it is, so don't consider this the most significant element when looking.

Memory

The memory of the vinyl shaper's PC is answerable for putting away past structures, and once in a while holding the pre-modified examples and plans that the maker transferred. These gadgets can frequently associate with a PC which can store the significant subtleties, so it's not generally significant.

Sharp edge Force Or Pressure

The power and weight of the sharp edge are significant for deciding how exact the cut will be, and the kinds of materials it works with. For home use, the power isn't as pivotal as it would be for an expert workshop shaper which is being utilized the entire day and for mass undertakings.

Cutting Capabilities

The capacities of a vinyl shaper allude to the various materials and surface it works with. In spite of the fact that called a vinyl shaper, these machines are really intended to slice through things like texture, color, move material, cardstock, and paper. In any case, consistently allude to the manual of your particular machine to perceive what it works with best.

Optic Eye

This is a laser pointing gadget that permits your machine to form cut. Shape cutting is perfect for use with materials, for example, iron on moves, as it permits you to remove the abundance and simply leave you with what's required for your structure. This can offer up to 0.1mm of exactness which makes it the most exact cut accessible.

Scanner

Only one out of every odd vinyl shaper accompanies a scanner inbuilt, be that as it may, most present day ones do. This empowers you to make a drawing which is then checked into the machine, and afterward used to cut into your preferred material. Scanners are estimated as far as DPI which shows how high the goal will be

Filtering On Vinyl Cutter

At last, finding the best vinyl shaper for your home workshop will rely incredibly upon the kind of undertakings you'll be utilizing it for. Somebody who makes signs and stickers expertly will have various necessities to somebody who makes iron on moves for no particular reason, so you ought to have your very own smart thought prerequisites before you e

The Importance Of The Vinyl Cutter's Motor

One of the basic highlights to consider in a vinyl shaper is the engine, as this will hugy affect how it capacities. There is frequently banter about whether stepper or servo drive engines are best in a vinyl shaper, yet each has their great and terrible focuses.

Essentially, a servo engine is much the same as an ordinary engine which has an encoder circle on the back. This plate is normally perused by an optic and it has a brake in it as well. As the engine turns, its position is perused by the encoder circle and afterward breaks or stops the pole as required.

A stepper engine is worked by various magnets that are cut up into various segments. These magnets pivot as they are beat, and can reach up to 200 steps for every unrest relying upon the engine.

In spite of the fact that it may sound muddled, there are a couple of basic ways that one may be better than the other. The greatest bit of leeway to utilizing a servo engine is that they're far calmer than a stepper.

While this probably won't be a serious deal in an expert workshop setting with other hardware running, it's a main consideration to consider when buying a home workshop Vinyl Cutter.

The stepper engine isn't without its points of interest, however, with the principle one being their exactness when working with more slender materials.

While the facts confirm that a servo engine may be best with thick materials like those over 0.03", actually very few home workshops will utilize a work area machine for this thus a stepper engine will give you a progressively precise cut.

Prior to settling on your choice, you'll additionally need to consider the expense of fixing the engine should anything turn out badly, so you should factor in the cost and accessibility of parts. For little work area vinyl cutters it will be most straightforward to supplant these under guarantee, so guarantee you are secured for breakages and deficiencies with the gadget's engine also.

The Top Manufacturers Of Vinyl Cutters

In spite of the fact that there are many distinctive vinyl cutters out there, only a couple of these are trusted and solid brands. For the home client particularly, you have to search for a brand that is known for making imaginative and effective machines, as there's nothing more terrible than getting your new vinyl shaper home to discover it can't address your issues.

Here are only a couple of the top makers of vinyl cutters, and how they stand apart from the rest.

Roland

Known by anybody in the matter of plan, workmanship, and innovation, Roland has a talent for making machines that are perfect for the home and expert workshop. A Roland vinyl shaper will consistently include inventive viewpoints, and be made with the most elevated of value.

Cricut

This brand is known for making only a certain something, and they do it particularly well. The Cricut vinyl shaper comes in a wide range of structures, and every one of them has been explicitly intended to suit nature they're in.

Regardless of whether it's a little scope work area machine or something bigger and business, Cricut can assist you with being your imaginative best with gadgets that are easy to use and simple to work.

Outline

Adored by expressions and artworks lovers the world over, Silhouette is known for making imaging and printing machines that are best utilized at home. The scope of Silhouette vinyl shaper gives the home client a straightforward and simple approach to get inventive, with a lot of machines, instruments, and embellishments that can assist you with accomplishing your enthusiasm.

GCC

Making everything from cutters to etchers and printers, GCC is no more bizarre at creating machines for the home and business. GCC vinyl shaper gadgets are both of all shapes and sizes, contingent upon your requirements, and highlight the most recent imaginative programming. Regardless of whether you're an expert sign producer or home specialist, GCC has a shaper out there for you.

Sibling

The vast majority would have claimed a Brother item eventually, because of this present organization's proceeding with advancement in all computerized and imaging gadgets utilized for the home and office.

The scope of Brother vinyl shaper machines is structured mostly for home use and accompany other implicit capacities, for example, scanners and printers so you can get more from simply the one machine.

Upkeep For Your Vinyl Cutter

As a ground-breaking machine that you've put away cash and time buying, you need to be certain you're thinking about your vinyl shaper as well as can be expected. Albeit the majority of them are secured by a liberal guarantee, there are a few things you can do to guarantee you get the most life out of them and that they remain working as well as could be expected.

The sharp edge of your vinyl shaper is the most significant part, as it depends on this to play out an accuracy cut. Continuously check your sharp edge to check whether it's giving indications of obtuseness or wearing, as you'll have to supplant it as required to guarantee it's cutting just as it ought to be.

The slicing strip runs corresponding to the sharp edge and should be supplanted if there are indications of noticeable cuts. Keep this strip liberated from residue and trash so it works its best else it will make a rough way for your shaper.

Routinely wipe down the outside of your machine to get dust far from the catches and littler parts. Clean the edge and cutting edge holder after each couple of employments to expand their life too. Pressurized air is perfect for getting into the little splits and fissure, being mindful so as not to do any interior harm.

 If you should have a good idea of your own requirements visit to  https://areviewguide.com/

Never play out a cut outside of the rules else you can harm the machine and edges. On the off chance that you do harm it because of exceeding the rules, there's a decent possibility your guarantee will be void and you should pay for an entirely different machine.

Similarly as you would with any electronic gadget, be mindful so as to get them far from water or open windows. Keep the soil and residue out, and change the edges as required, and you will be remunerated with a high performing vinyl shaper that goes on for a long time.

End

There aren't numerous machines nowadays that offer the flexibility of a vinyl shaper, and they're an unquestionable requirement have for any individual who appreciates expressions and artworks at home. Regardless of whether you need to make another shirt, cut some refrigerator magnets, or make your own line of stickers, there isn't a lot of that this helpful machine can't do.

A vinyl shaper works similarly too with vinyl, stickers, move sheets, cardstock, paper, and texture, so this machine will just go the extent that your creative mind will take you.

[dharc16]

Hey there my fellow Christian Witches

Here is something I’d like to share with you, fellow pagan witches and wiccans, if you find this interesting or at least intriguing, please take it into consideration.

Six Mistakes New Witches Make

Witchcraft is not easy.

Personally, I think the biggest mistake is thinking that it is. Not in a rocket science kind of way, but difficult in the way that cooking is difficult, and vastly underestimated as well. It's complicated, it cannot be learned solely through books, and sometimes stuff goes wrong when it worked fine the fifteen times you did it before.

I don't say that witchcraft is difficult to frighten you, but to empower you. Going into something you think is easy unprepared is the quickest way to land yourself on your ass. Approach your opponent or situation with respect and sense, and you'll get much further regardless of your abilities. But there are a few mistakes that I see over and over – and have made myself. Once I stopped doing these things, my skill – and therefore results – improved dramatically

The Most Common Mistakes New Witches Make...

BELIEVING THAT SOMETHING IS TRUE JUST BECAUSE IT'S IN A BOOK

Books are not the font of all wisdom. Not only can they be misleading or inaccurate, but they can be outright lies instead. Especially when it comes to religious or spiritual beliefs where you don't have to back up your claims to get big deals with publishers. I'm no book burner, but there are some books out there that you should steer clear from. Sometimes because the information contained in them is false, whether by inaccuracy or deliberate bullshit.

There are also some books which have some crap information in them, but also have some things worth reading. There are also some books that you may want to pick up at a library since the author is less than polite to certain people, but had some good things to say about certain aspects of witchcraft. You might want to avoid these books entirely, on principle. That's up to you.

You may also want to read everything to make up your own mind – and I applaud that. The reason why I may nudge newcomers away from certain books or authors is purely because of the pervasive idea in a literate society that just because something has two covers and spine means it's true, correct, or moral. It does not. Read what you want, but read it with a pinch of salt. Check facts across different authors. Read book reviews, and talk to other witches (or followers of whichever spiritual path) online, or in-person.

OVERLOOKING LOCAL RESOURCES IN FAVOR OF FANCY TOOLS

It's usually far cheaper to use local resources. You should cleanse whatever you purchase anyway, whether you purchase you candle for $1 at a dollar store or $8 at a metaphysical shop.

There is no plant or rock or thing on Earth that doesn't hold some magical value. The ones that are most commonly used for magic are commonly used because they are easy to use, widely available, offer perhaps more power, or yes, because it's easier for someone to make money from them. Don't get caught in the trap of thinking that just because everyone else is using it, means you have to. Dragon's blood too expensive? Find a local alternative. Can't get local lavender? Something growing in your neighbour's hedge might do the same thing.

Get yourself a field guide and start working out what does what. Loads of online groups will help you with identifying the magical uses of most plants and rocks, and you can fill in the blanks buy dialing backwards from what the plant actually does naturally. Sweet smelling flowers will bring affection. Thorny plants will cause harm or bring protection. You'll also get the benefit of connecting with the environment you’re part of.

NOT RESPECTING THE BASICS

Shield. Ground. Center. Cleanse.

However you do them, whatever you call them, don't skimp on the basics. Make sure you are physically and spiritually clean, that you are protected, that you have your feet on the ground and that you sit within yourself, balanced. The basics might be boring, but they're essential. TRUST ME, I’ve found out the hard way on this one.

NOT TAKING NOTES

If I could only choose one mistake on this list that I wish I never made, it would be this. Take notes of EVERYTHING you do – ESPECIALLY when you do it for the first time. Even if you're throwing together a quick money spell – what did you do, and when? What was happening in your life – how were your emotions? Were you ill? What were the planets doing? What ingredients did you use?

Having a good record will not only mean you don't forget what spells you've done, it also means that you won't work against yourself. It means that you won't forget you did a love spell four years ago that you never actually dispelled … and you won't spend months wondering why certain things aren't going to plan. It also means you know what spells did or did not work, and you can easily start picking out WHY. Did your protection spells fail when you used bramble from a certain area? Well, now you know and you can switch it up.

WISHING INSTEAD OF WITCHING

Wishes are magic – but they're unspecified, and rarely work. Make sure that you use specific timeframes and requests, and that you back yourself up with power gained from other sources where you can. Make sure that your plants and rocks aren't countering each other. Open and close your ritual space, if that's a thing you do, and call upon whoever you think may help.

Perform spells, don't daydream about what you'd do better. Even spells done purely with the mind – manifesting, to give it another name – work better when you do it correctly. Give magic the respect that it deserves – you don't throw uncooked carrots into a stew and expect it to taste nice, right?

NOT WORKING CHRISTIANITY INTO YOUR MAGIC

This is an easy one as a Christian Witch. There is endless information on spells and other witchiness out there, but as Christians we have the added benefit of our faith! We can sometimes forget that this can be our greater source of power. It’s super-empowering to adapt the myriad of spells we find into our craft, but don’t forget to intertwine your faith into your craft! I try to mesh prayer, psalms, etc. into every bit of magic that I can. When you do, you increase your power exponentially, all the while getting deeper in touch with and increasing your faith!

Inspired by an article from Siobhan Johnson.

[missstormcaller]

CAN’T FEAR YOUR OWN WORLD Vol. II Part 11 Full Translation

This is part 12 on the app 1/2.

Chapter 11

Destruction.

That was the form of death 'they' governed.

'They' were slaves driven by an incessant destructive impulse, existing whilst embracing this paradox in which they would repeat the cycle of destruction because they sought liberation.

'They' are the ones who once contended for the rank of '6'.

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

Luppi Antenor.

The personalities of the two were completely different on the surface, but at its roots flowed the magma-like emotions which they both had in common.

In the past, Luppi had attained the 'Sexta' numeral replacing Grimmjow who had made an error of judgement, and in response, the Espada who held the 'Octava' numeral uttered this: —— "I reckon the aspect of death you symbolise is the same as Grimmjow's. That is why, you were chosen as successor out of the other candidates who were present like Dordoni or Cirucci." —— "I won't let you tell me that I haven't a clue what I'm talking about you know? You are only able to make a connection to something in the form of destruction. If one were to say that the hole bored into us Hollows is what we lack, then you, no, the two of you, can only fill that hole by means of destruction." —— "That you loathe Grimmjow from the very depths of your heart, it is mere repulsion for your own kind." —— "It doesn't matter, you are the one who is legitimate Sexta now. You should treat him with compassion." —— "Well, if you end up killing him inadvertently, then I will have his corpse put to good use. Therefore, you can sate your own appetite with some peace of mind." —— "As long as you bear that № 6, you will always take the side that offers you 'destruction' after all."

Rukongai Now that Aizen has left Hueco Mundo, and the significance has long since faded from the Espada numerals —— for 'them', it is only the aspect of death known as "destruction" that remains. "Hahaha! You realise I won't let anyone get in my way? Because I'm going to demolish you, eight versus one!"

Swinging his eight tentacles which had been reduced to shreds, Luppi scattered spurts of his blood whilst delivering a flurry of blows at Grimmjow. Having taken a form that was reminiscent of a beast by performing Resurrección, Grimmjow continues to beat back the turbulent barrage of assaults which were accompanied by physical blows, slashing attacks and even the occasional Cero, using only the claws on both hands as well as his own Cero. "tsk… The likes of small fry won't even be able to leave a scratch on me, guess I won't find any sort of amusement in killing you." "If that's the case, why not do me the favour of dropping dead while you're busy getting bored?" As Luppi enclosed Grimmjow with four of his tentacles from top and bottom, left and right, from the remaining four he unleashed a Cero fused with his own blood. Counter to that, Grimmjow daringly juts forward and slips through a gap between the tentacles. "But, I have reason to kill you asshole." Then, slashing away the Cero that was fired from those remaining four tentacles using his own claws, Grimmjow came prowling towards Luppi. "…*gasp!*" "Any fool who looks at me with mocking eyes, I don't give a damn who they are, I'll beat the crap out them!" And thus, he attempted to drive the well-honed claws of his Zanpakutō into Luppi's chest just as he had done in the past. —— "…Got ya." Smiling fearlessly, it is Luppi who advanced forward without pause, and deliberately let the claws sink into his own abdomen. " ! " "You'll beat the crap out the guy who mocks you Huh? Oh my, what a coincidence." He didn't just offset the attack from his vitals which were being targeted, rather, as though an insectivorous plant was devouring its prey, Luppi wrapped his eight tentacles around both himself and Grimmjow. —— "I intend to do the same, Grimmjow." In a gesture that compromised his own body, Luppi fires a volley of Cero at Grimmjow. "…As if I'd let you!" At the same time, Grimmjow instantaneously draws in a sharp breath, he spews an explosive roar woven with Reiatsu, and to top it off, from the armour on his arm which was free, Grimmjow launched hooked claws containing a mass of Reiatsu —— Garra de la Pantera.

Both of their attacks intersect, explosive flames and sprays of blood blanket the vicinity around the pair.

"They sure are making a damn mess of things. Geez, battles between fellow Hollows can get awfully wild huh." As the blast from the explosion raised a cloud of dust and deprived them of their field of vision, Ginjō who was covertly observing the progress of battle muttered this to himself. Tsukishima who was standing beside him began to pose a question. "I believe Ginjō tends to be quite reckless too though?" "Don't talk nonsense. I always put safety first don't I?" "If you say so.… That aside, it's only a matter of time before they reach us." "…Yeah. Well, when it comes to that, there's no knowing what may happen." Even as Ginjō kept his eyes trained on the battle between the fellow Arrancar, part of his cognition maintained vigilance against the Shinigami who was heading towards this place, as well as the other presence who appears to have joined up with him. "It's time, we should get down to business about whether or not we want to consider briefly retreating.… Even if we take advantage of the confusion, should we be careless enough to get caught in the crossfire it's likely we'd wind up getting eradicated in the blink of an eye."

"…tch. That move just now… you really thought that would work on me." What came into sight after the dust clouds had settled, is Luppi, tentacles torn to shreds even more so than before and blood streaming from his mouth as he smiled wryly. Although he indicated no signs of disarray with his tone, Grimmjow had also sustained injuries all over his body. "That's my line, your sturdiness is fodder to me. Regardless, this ends here." Grimmjow then clicked his tongue as he flashed a grin, with that he began to charge Reiatsu into the claws of both hands in order to deliver a finishing blow. However —— "…tch. That move just now… you really thought that would work on me." "……?" "…tch. That move just now… you really thought that would work on me." "Hey asshole, you touched in the head or something? What are you saying…?" In puzzlement Grimmjow questions Luppi who repeated the same words, but then —— "……!?" Taking notice of the fact that his Reiatsu, which should have been gathered in his claws, was actually being reset, he came under the illusion that some strange event had occurred. "That move just now, you really thought that would work on me." . . . "you really thought that would work on me." . . . "thought that would work on me." . . . "on me" . . . "me" . . . "me" . . . "——" . . . "——" While he listened to the words of Luppi which were being made to repeat, he was seized by the sensation that all the nerves in his body was in a state of paralysis ——

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mention it? The spray of my blood which you are completely soaked in, has been infused with a special poison." In response to Grimmjow who suddenly fell to his knees, Luppi spoke with a smile that was a mixture of innocence and indifference. "I don't understand the mechanism very well myself, but perhaps by seeing the past, it is simply your consciousness that repeats the same moment in time over and over again? Apparently it's quite a frightening poison that ends up paralysing one's whole body during the process." As Luppi himself also staggered with his injuries, step by step he drew closer to Grimmjow. He knew that by the hands of Kurotsuchi Mayuri, the poison had been embedded in both his body as well as the others. To go even further, it's effectiveness has actually been proven through a zombie Matsumoto Rangiku who did battle against him. Although he made a gamble as to whether or not this would also hold true for Hollows, with convincing speculation that the poison had probably been adapted to this situation too knowing Kurotsuchi Mayuri, he adopted a battle technique which involved deliberately dousing the enemy with his own spurts of blood. "A-HA-HA… though it's not like me at all, using a method like this that is…" Aiming a mocking laugh at himself who taken a course of action which entailed the acceptance of Grimmjow's honourable defeat, Luppi stared down towards Grimmjow. "Well, I guess it's because you've made it possible for me to truly feel alive for the first time in a long while…. I'm very grateful to you for that, Grimmjow.… I'm still going to kill you though." Then, with Reiatsu charged in each of his eight tentacles, Luppi prepares to fire a "Gran Rey Cero" from every single tip. However, it was at this point when something unexpected occurred.

Grimmjow who should have fallen victim to a complete paralysis of his body, slowly began to rise from his spot. "What the…?" "tsk… You really got me good huh…Luppi!" "Damn… why!? How are you able to stand up!? This is the very poison that even those captain class Shinigami were helpless against!?"

"Hn. That Arrancar, he has a resistance?" Kurotsuchi Mayuri who was surveying the situation from a distance, whispered to himself with great interest.

"A resistance? To the captain's poison?" When Akon who remained at the Technological Development Department inquired over the communications, Mayuri explains the situation in a mixture of idle complaint against Luppi. "Good grief, what an imprudent fool. Without me to set a point in the past to return to, the chemical agent cannot demonstrate its full potency I tell you. Well, even barring that, I have implanted an abundance of other varieties of paralysis poisons too." As if to indicate a great fascination, Mayuri scrutinized Grimmjow's Reiatsu data whilst muttering to himself. "Apparently, he was at the receiving end of some particular kind of poison, and he managed to survive in that condition. I wonder what kind of toxic substance it was? Very intriguing indeed."

Having almost been poisoned to death once in the past via an ability belonging to the Quincy known as Nakk Le Vaar, Grimmjow has developed a strong tolerance towards poisons by undergoing said experience, although, even he himself was not aware of that fact. In truth, if Mayuri had been by his side, then it's likely he would have immediately 'tuned' the drug thereby nullifying Grimmjow's tolerance, however with the poison merely being sprinkled by Luppi it could never deprive bodily functions, so much so that it was possible for Grimmjow to still be standing on his own two feet. "That was some sly move you pulled on me don't you think? Whatever. If an asshole like you wants to kill me, then you'd better use all the tricks you've got." It's not the case that the effects of the poison were nonexistent, and his physical condition should be approaching its worst, nevertheless, Grimmjow flashed a ferocious smile and grew all the more battle hungry. "Because I'm going to take them all in one go and smash them up along with that smug face of yours." Observing that savage appearance, Luppi who was irritated by the fact that his opponent had stood up, quite conversely regains his composure. "Ah, sure enough, things like poisons don't suit my character. I'm no Szayelaporro." Rotating his eight tentacles which had been reduced to shreds, he began to accumulate his Reiatsu once more in order to unleash "Gran Rey Cero." "It's fine by me, Grimmjow. Bring it on." With a fiendish smile similar to that of his opponent's surfacing on his face, Luppi recites to Grimmjow his own intent to kill in a coarse manner of speech that was quite out of the ordinary for him. "You still… won't be able to shatter me from the front like before!" A "Gran Rey Cero" octet. Sensing that an unprecedented attack was imminent, Grimmjow also attempts to engage his opponent with a technique that could counteract that attack. Desgarrón.

Grimmjow processes the Reiatsu density which even exceeds that of "Gran Rey Cero" on the tips of both sets of claws, taking the form of huge sharpened claws they begin to stand towering over the surroundings forking to the left and right of his body. It is not clear which side would emerge more formidable, but there appeared to be no doubt that the environs would be blown to smithereens with the impact of the Reiatsu either way. "Oh crap this isn't good. Retreat." "What the hell is up with that!? Do they intend to swallow us up with them too!?" Ginjō and Candice raise their voices at the same time, together with their respective companions they began to make a retreat from the two Arrancar, but then —— 'The one' who came flying in by moving into their position, darted between Grimmjow and Luppi, the Reiatsu at the scene instantly descends into chaos. " !? "   " ! " With their concentration disturbed by the change of Reiatsu, Luppi and Grimmjow temporarily halt the exercise of their techniques. "……Who the heck are you?" Confronted by Luppi who posed this question without relinquishing the hold he had on the Reiatsu which was charged to fire a Gran Rey Cero, the strange mass of Reiatsu which came barging in, opened its mouth to speak. "Ouch-ouch-ouch-ouch… just as I thought, I'm no good at landing huh…" After muttering to itself in a demeanour that disregarded the atmosphere of the scene completely, 'it' introduced itself whilst flashing a smile that held not even a shred of malice towards Luppi. "Oh right! I'm Ubuginu Hikone! Tokinada sama has instructed me that… err… I came here to see Grimmjow san." In response to Hikone who made this assertion with a nonchalant air, Luppi looks at Grimmjow through eyes mixed with bewilderment. "Uhh… is this kid, like your backup or something?" "That's not how it is." Flatly denying the statement, Grimmjow fixes a glare at Hikone. "…I mean, I don't remember introducing myself to you that last time. How the hell do you know my name?" "That's right! Tokinada sama kindly informed me! You are the 6th Espada right!?" Hearing those words, Luppi narrows his eyes ever so slightly. Meanwhile, as if to indicate that he no longer cared for neither the Espada nor the number 6, Grimmjow reacted to the other name that hung among those words. "Tokinada huh? You mentioned the same damn thing the other day. Is that the name of the Shinigamis' boss?" Suddenly, a different voice could be heard coming from behind Grimmjow. "You've got it wrong fool. He's a big shot alright. But our leader is unmistakably Kyōraku san." "You're that damned…" What appeared there, was a blond haired Shinigami wearing a captains' Haori above a standard Shihakushō. Though both his hair and garments were completely different, Grimmjow immediately recognises who this individual was. "This Reiatsu… I remember. You're the bastard that poked his nose into the death-match between me and Kurosaki in the Human World." "You must be mistaking me for someone else." "Was that supposed to be some kind of joke? And what the hell are you anyway? Are you that brat's guardian or something?" "I thought I already told you.… 'What's it to you?' right?" "So you are the bastard from that time after all huh?" Grimmjow who had heard the same remark a few years ago, spoke words of delight after giving a click of his tongue whilst his lips contorted fiendishly. "Ha! To think that the punks I wanted to beat to death would willingly come to me one after the other! Now if that kurosaki asshole were to show up next, things would be perfect!" However, Grimmjow's hopes were swiftly dashed by Hikone. "Kurosaki Ichigo san won't be coming." "What's that?" Brushing aside the hostility of Grimmjow who was glaring daggers, Hikone continues to speak in an unperturbed manner. "Because kurosaki Ichigo san should be busy in the Human World right about now! Apparently he is putting up a fight by risking his own life all for the sake of his sisters! Isn't that amazing!? I respect him a lot for that!" At those words, the blond haired Shinigami also raised his voice in puzzlement. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up rug-rat. How can you be so sure of such a thing? What's going on with Ichigo?" But before Hikone could respond to that, Grimmjow had moved into action. He shoots a Cero in each direction; towards the blond Shinigami on his left hand side, and Hikone and Luppi to his right. "That was close! What's the deal!? Your opponent right now is that Ferris Wheel over there!" In response to the Shinigami who uttered this complaint as he evaded the attack by a hair's breadth, Grimmjow sneered with his canines bared. "Don't play dumb with me. I was planning to slaughter the whole lot of you anyway. Does someone have a problem with that?" "Just now, did you just call me a Ferris wheel…?" Luppi who had promptly defended against the Cero using his tentacles, fixed a piercing glare at the Shinigami and Grimmjow, but then he notices the presence of Hikone who was stood in the middle. —— Hn? —— This kid didn't even try to dodge the the attack, and yet, how is it that the kid is unharmed? At that point, an unsettling chill shot down Luppi's spine. And Luppi wasn't alone. Grimmjow, the blond haired Shinigami, and even as far as the Quincies and Fullbringers who were quietly observing the situation from a remote position; beads of sweat began to seep through the palms of their hands after they had all sensed some sort of mighty pressure. "…Hey, this brat… seriously, what in the hell is it?" At Grimmjow's query, the blond Shinigami shakes his head as he replies. "Even if I knew, I wouldn't be telling you… though frankly, I'd like to know for myself." What entered their vision, was a Zanpakutō. The sword which had been unsheathed by Hikone before they knew it, had a curious expression of colour as though it was being filled in with a white light rather than radiating an intense white on its blade. It is different from Sode no Shirayuki which was entirely pure white from blade to hilt; looking at the 'white' that was wrapped in some sort of ominous air, the Shinigami and Quincies felt a sense of primordial fear, likewise the Arrancar and Fullbringers felt a sense of primordial affinity. "This presence… it's Hollow, isn't it?" With some annoyance Grimmjow answers Luppi who had inquired of his enemies in spite of himself. "There's no mistaking it. That brat's Zanpakutō is one of us. It even opened up a damn Garganta last time." "Hikone right… That Zanpakutō of yours, what is it?" —— If my eyes are deceiving me, I'd be fine with that. —— But a moment ago, didn't that Zanpakutō just swallow up the Cero? There are several known Zanpakutō capable of absorbing Reishi based attacks, such as "Arazome Shigure". However, the one revealed just now appeared to be in a class quite different from those. Through Hirako's Reikaku, it felt as though the Reiatsu of the blade itself had ingested the Cero's Reishi, like a creature in the flesh sipping from a body of water. Upon hearing Hirako's question, Hikone innocently begins talking with a glad-looking smile. "Oh, why don't I also introduce it to Hirako san! It was given to me by Tokinada sama, it's my Zanpakutō!" "Given, you say." When Hirako puzzled over which point he should retort, a voice that caused him further bafflement echoed across from Hikone's hands. "…How deplorable." "Hn?" "I would never have guessed that the Reiatsu of my brethren who have broken their masks, would only amount to this level." That —— was a remark intended for Luppi and Grimmjow, cast from the Zanpakutō itself. "I wonder what Baraggan is doing now? Has he been sealed away like me?" For a moment he considered whether Hikone's voice had changed, but Hirako instantly rejects the notion. Because a Reiatsu intermingled in the very voice which caused a tremor in the atmosphere, and it carried within it a pronounced Hollow nature. "What the heck is that Zanpakutō!? Did it materialize or something!?" "Silence, Shinigami. I am not a Zanpakutō. I am… I am…" The voice of the Zanpakutō which tried to reveal its name broke off, it switched to a voice brimming with a deeply held resentment. "Blast… those wretched Shinigami, they… to my name…" "…What in the world? The sword just pulled a one-man comedy routine, and it's not making me laugh just by how creepy it is." Away from a dumbfounded Hirako, Grimmjow and Luppi each raise their voice in protest. "What is that windbag suggesting?" "Either way, can I take it that it picked a fight with us just now?" The pair's bloodlust turned towards the Zanpakutō which appeared to have scoffed at them a moment ago —— or rather, towards this Hollow-like thing. "Uh-oh! My apologies! This one only recently became capable of talking, but I'm afraid it has a sharp tongue…!" Hikone meekly bows in apology, but before long the child uttered a strange narrative which lit up its whole face. "However, if you take offence, then I will gladly fight you with all my strength!" "Say what?" "Because this time for sure, I'll show you that your hearts can yield, I'll make you recognise me as king! Please look forward to that! I'll do my very best!" After naively speaking words of provocation, Ubuginu Hikone recited aloud words that sought to release the Zanpakutō, or rather, something that resembles a Zanpakutō.

"Okuri Shiruse* —— Ikomikidomoe" (*TN -- Send them to their burials and engrave them in memory —— Ikomikidomoe)

At the same time, Reiatsu gushed forth like a tornado, it became an eerie partition which confused light and shadow in a disorderly mess and eclipsed the area surrounding Hikone. "……!?" Having once confronted Hikone, it was Grimmjow alone who had noticed the 'abnormality'. —— What the hell is going on? The release call is different from last time…. The release call he had heard in Hueco Mundo were the words "orbit the stars". What the Zanpakutō had demonstrated on that occasion, was an ability in which the blade would transform into a Hollow-like arm, and mow down all enemies within its vicinity through independent actions. It was a simple power yet one of unmatched brutality, in the end, it came to be that several Vasto Lorde class Arrancar had forced the sword into a retreat after overcoming its power with some effort. However, it wasn't just the words of the release call that is different. —— Is it just me or is the Reiatsu concentration also on a completely different level compared to back then…!? With his suspicions remaining unsullied, the Reishi tornado dissipated after a few seconds had elapsed. —— As they raised their eyes to the thing that had emerged from within it, all those who happened to be present at the scene were left equally as speechless as the other.

"…What the heck, is that?" Even from the position of Ginjō's group who had decided to maintain a distance for the time being, it could clearly be seen. Rather, it's better to say that it would probably be quite difficult for them to miss it. It may have been a familiar spectacle as far as the Shinigami and Arrancar are concerned. Because in terms of size, that is when speaking with regard to this kind of scale, it has been proven in the past to manifest beyond the scope of normal standards and such examples can be found in the being known as Hooleer - an aggregation of Menos Grande characterised by its single eye, or the rage empowered Espada - Yammy Llargo. However, even after taking that into account, if one considers the fact that 'it' can maintain a Reiatsu density comparable to that of a humanoid Vasto Lorde, then it's possible to say that 'it' is evidently an abnormal being. Visual perception and Reiatsu Chikaku - the being that constricted everything in this double sense, tread firmly on Soul Society's soil whilst inhaling the last vestiges of the tornado. The creature was larger than the ordinary Menos Grande, and it took a form that was both grotesque like an Adjuchas and beautiful. Moreover, it was possible to identify that the Shihakushō clad child who had made an appearance only a short while ago, was the one riding on top. "…That's no ninja's ōgama*…… it's probably too dangerous to be kept as a pet." (*TN -- an ōgama is a giant toad, this line is a reference to a toad riding ninja in Japanese folklore based on the tale "Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari") Meanwhile, the Quincies were also left bewildered after seeing the enormity of strange-looking creature. "…That thing over there, it's bigger than that werewolf's Bankai, the one who defeated Bambi, don't you think?" "There's something more worrying than that…" In response to Candice who spoke as if in disbelief, Meninas gave utterance to one particular inkling of suspicion. "Yeah, I'm aware of that." As she broke out into a cold sweat, Candice assembled words that followed up from Meninas' own. "The little Shinigami-like brat riding on top… why the hell is it all mixed up with that guy's Reiatsu?"

"…It seems they have taken the bait." With a broad grin playing on his face, Kurotsuchi Mayuri mutters to himself. Then, whilst operating the communications device fitted to his ear, he issued a set of instructions to NaNaNa Najahkoop who was stationed in separate location. "It's time you played your part. Using one of your few redeeming qualities, you should be able to lay their souls bare." "Few you say, isn't that a little uncalled-for… well, I've accomplished what's been asked of me I'll have you know…. Have you had your sights set on that weird brat and the monster rather than the Fullbringers, from the very beginning?" "It's only natural that an analysis of Fullbringers would also be among my objectives. Strictly speaking, carrying out a study of that 'patchwork' over there was planned a little later. However, I didn't expect that the bait would be taken so easily…. I wonder if a situation that required an urgent response arose, or if I should consider that they had been deliberately sent out whilst knowing it was a trap." Mayuri then narrows his eyes, a sneer worked its way to his face as he utters the name of a certain man. "If it's the latter, then you have gravely underestimated me…. Tsunayashiro Tokinada."

[womanvinyl]

Best iPhone and Android Apps to Learn Music During Self Quarantine

As the inescapable COVID-19 doesn't appear to end soon, self-isolate has become the need of great importance. When all else fails, compromise is unavoidable and social removing is by all accounts the correct weapon to throttle the pandemic. 

I would lie on the off chance that I said that I didn't locate the social separating odious given that spending time with companions and shopping have for some time been my preferred guilty pleasures.

In any case, with time, I have made harmony with confinement, finding approaches to remain negative (no more +Ve welcome) and all the more critically keep myself engaged by gushing a boatload of entrancing recordings and satisfying the fantasy about learning music.

With a large group of cool music learning applications within reach, the disengagement has unexpectedly ended up being a surprisingly positive development. 

On the off chance that the since a long time ago appreciated wish of acing music despite everything makes you insane, it's an ideal opportunity to investigate the best iPhone and Android applications to learn music during oneself isolate.

Best iPhone and Android Apps to Learn Music (2020)

They state, "All around started is half done." Therefore, several convenient tips about getting a decent beginning would be the correct approach.

All in all, How to Get Started with Music Learning?

These music learning applications for Android and iOS accompany an organized program so you can start on the correct note, with the correct harmony, and obviously with the correct pitch. 

Much the same as an individual mentor, the application will keep a nearby watch on your advancement and offer the required input to enable you to improve. 

That is not all, it likewise offers some pined for remunerations to prop your adrenaline up. All in all, what's preventing you from choosing a guitar or a piano and singing out your main tunes?

1. Yousician

For getting a decent hang of music, I would prescribe you to begin with Yousician. The application covers a few prominent perspectives including piano, guitar, ukulele, bass, and singing and can fill in as a music instructor in helping you ace the little-known techniques. 

Likely the best part about this application is the capacity to let clients play a great many tunes on the genuine instruments. Furthermore, with moment criticism on the precision and timing, it keeps you on target.

Planned by master music educators, the educational plan includes bit by bit video instructional exercises with the goal that you can watch them and learn at your own pace. 

Along these lines, regardless of whether you are an amateur, moderate or as of now into the propelled phase of learning, it can end up being very useful to you. On all, the interactivity where you can bolt horns with your companions in a week after week challenge brings a lot of enjoyment into learning. 

Along these lines, odds are entirely high that your high pitch will keep on searching for enhancements.

2. Vanido: Learn to Sing

On the off chance that you are eager to ace singing with constant visual input, "Vanido" can be the correct solution to your desire. The application offers a completely customized music learning involvement in day by day exercises. 

As each activity is objective based, you can rehearse it to improve each critical viewpoints like head voice, chest voice, and adaptability. 

Much the same as an individual guide, the application likewise offers the required tips with the goal that you can support your planning and furthermore make sense of when you will in general go off the pitch.

Another office where Vanido has admired the undertaking to me is following advancement. Along these lines, you can remain on top of it with how well you are performing and furthermore track down the deficiencies that are forestalling you. 

To bring increasingly enjoyment into learning music, you can set testing objectives and back yourself to accomplish them. Thinking about these apparent highlights, Vanido can without much of a stretch have a special interest of being a top music-learning application for iOS.

3. Piano – Play Unlimited Songs

For the people who have an immense inclination for piano, this application is by all accounts a go-to stage. Highlighting a tremendous index of tunes, you can pick your main tunes to play from an assortment of kinds, for example, rock, pop, kids, pop, rap, and that's just the beginning. 

As the new melodies are included normally, odds are quite high that you will consistently have something out-of-the-crate to give it a shot. Not simply that, you can even welcome your pals for a carefree duel and part with your best to run with the title of things to come musician.

One of my top picks of this application is the capacity to play a melody at the favored trouble level, for example, amateur, middle of the road, and progressed. 

From what I have encountered, it makes a smidgen simpler to become familiar with the subtleties of the piano. In light of your objective, you can rehearse harmonies at your own pace and make cool music. 

Concerning the principles, it's as clear as it can ever get. Essentially, the better you perform at playing tunes, the more scores you get. What's more, with the high scores come a huge amount of worthwhile prizes!

4. Piano Academy

One more application that can let you ace the piano at your own pace. The application accompanies an overly convenient touch console with the goal that you can get the genuine inclination. 

In addition, it brags one the biggest libraries of instructional exercise recordings which can assist you with rehearsing hypothesis subjects like staff, harmonies, notes, and then some. Civility straightforward clarifications, getting a decent grasp on each note shouldn't be a major inquire.

Another component important is the genuine sheet music that lets you work on playing an assortment of tunes and that too with the ideal adaptability. 

Every once in a while, the application continues offering tips to improve your aptitude and furthermore dispose of the blemishes. 

In any case, what makes it a cool music learning resource is an extraordinary assortment of fun games that are intended to prepare your faculties like melodic hearing, hand-coordination, and your feeling of mood.

5. Learn Guitar with Uberchord

On the off chance that guitar realizing is the thing that you are after, you shouldn't neglect to evaluate this application from Uberchord. What makes it stand apart is a very much organized educational plan that shows harmonies, rhythms, and tunes in a deliberate way. 

Including admirably more than 200 titles, the application has got you completely secured most definitely. Furthermore, with an exceptionally responsive instrument close by, you can play guitar to your heart's preferring.

For better control, gain proficiency with each part independently. Furthermore, when you have a decent hang of the entire tune, go for the full drill. As you progress, the application adjusts to your taste and furthermore offers tips to enable you to improve. 

Because of the better knowledge, you can without much of a stretch detect the zones which need more consideration. 

Realizing that finger amendment assumes a crucial job in acing the guitar, the application offers visual input also. More or less, Uberchord can be an incredible resource for learning the subtleties of the guitar.

6. Understand Music

On the off chance that improving the music sight-perusing is the thing that on the highest point of your brain, look no farther than "Read Music". The application may appear to be really light yet accompanies many exercises to let you practice a few crucial perspectives including mood, melodic and then some. 

Since each activity is reduced down, you won't think that its intense to save time for it in any event, during frenzied calendars. Along these lines, I don't expect additional reasons for not having the option to find your diversions.

Being objective based, each activity puts exceptional accentuation on improving explicit parts of music sight-perusing. 

One of my preferred highlights of this application is a pleasant assortment of melodic perusing practices for piano and consoles as they make learning music a delight. Additionally, there are likewise some very much created practices for improving the capacity to perceive notes in the staff.

7. Flowkey

At the point when you have the advantage of a major library with a wide scope of melodies, piano learning turns into a treat. Stacked with an advantageous assortment of tunes, Flowkey vows to be a top wagered for tenderfoots or the individuals who need to learn piano without managing complexities. 

Even better, the application works with both a genuine piano and console, which is decent from the adaptability perspective.

As somebody who consistently wants to have clear guidelines, I have discovered Flowkey's library of instructional exercises extremely noteworthy. 

Guided by experts, they center around each inconspicuous angle and furthermore offers the alternative to pick the ideal level: apprentice, halfway, and master level. 

Adhering to the set principles and clear directions, you can arrive at your objective or besides become the most looked for after piano player in your town.

8. Justin Guitar Beginner Lessons

There is a ton to like right now application. As a matter of first importance, the application gives a completely organized course intended to instruct essential guitar harmonies, strumming designs, finger picking designs, capo, harmony changes, scales, and guitar tabs. 

As an amateur, you will discover the course very supportive. Under the genuine guitar mentor Justin's direction, you can finish in excess of 50 exercises.

Highlighting a self-appraisal framework, the application makes it entirely easy to follow guitar enhancements. 

Concerning the melody assortment, the application has taken a gander at standard to me civility an arrangement of more than 1000 hit tunes. In this way, regardless of whether you need to tune into exciting music or get the flavor of mark music, it can satisfy the charging.

9. Music Theory with Piano Tools

Do you think that its somewhat hard to get it together of music hypothesis? In the event that indeed, I would prescribe you to give a shot to "Music Theory with Piano Tools". 

The application centers around showing the center ideas of music in an enjoyment way. Along these lines, you can get past the exercises effortlessly and that too without extending your brain. 

Moreover, it additionally offers a superior method to learn both the major and minor scopes and their modes. With the valuable music notes and interims, it causes you practice easily.

10. StarMaker

For all the energetic music darlings who try to be the following enormous stars in the music business, StarMaker could end up being a distinct advantage. Definitely, you got that directly as the application flaunts in excess of 50 million clients all inclusive and accompanies a mammoth assortment of both global and desi melodies. 

From Ed Sheeran's "State of You" to Bellie Ellish's " Bad Guy", it has you completely secured. In this way, you can look over an assortment of melodies to chime in with the moving verses.

All things considered, the story doesn't end there as it likewise offers some helpful apparatuses to let you alter your chronicles. What's more, with astounding voice impacts at the removal, you can add the x-factor to your melodies so they can stick out. 

For progressively fun, you can two part harmony with your preferred craftsmen or companions and offer the accounts on person to person communication stages, for example, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook. 

Gracious indeed, in view of your presentation, the application likewise positions you on the worldwide leaderboard, which could constrain you to sing karaoke melodies easily.

[jazzviewswithcjshearn]

Gig Review:  The David Matthews Trio at Birdland, NYC Wednesday August 14, 2019

David Matthews Trio at Birdland Jazz Club: August 14, 2019

David Matthews: piano; Eddie Gomez: acoustic bass; Steve Gadd: drums.

Set 1: SIR, Come Rain Or Come Shine, Comin’ Home Baby, Round Midnight, Get Over It, A Felicidade. The Meaning Of the Blues, Funky Groove, I Love You.

Set 2: Identical to above.

Power trio.  That is the word to describe the heady threesome of pianist/arranger David Matthews, known for his work with James Brown and staff arranger at CTI Records from 1975-1978,  bassist Eddie Gomez, and the man who changed the game in rock, pop, and jazz drumming, the legendary Steve Gadd.  The group entertained a packed house at Birdland on Wednesday, August 14th, 2019, the second night of a week long engagement. Very rarely do all star trios deliver on the level exhibited this evening.  With nearly 5,000 recordings (!) shared between the three men, it's a shining example of how  musicians both known for making music regardless of stylistic concern can offer the precision from years honed in the studios to create engaging, chance taking performances in the moment.

David Matthews (not to be confused with Santana keyboardist David K. Matthews, or jam band idol Dave Matthews) may have been the least known of the three, but his work is well known and regarded among the die hard music public.  Born in Sonora Kentucky, his mother was a piano teacher,  his father a minister, and  the eventual keyboardist grew up playing trumpet, and French horn.  The young Matthews had a casual interest in piano fascinated by harmony however due to a birth defect, his right hand and leg never developed fully and  realized years later his natural aptitude for the instrument.  He gained fame for being James Brown's arranger during 1970-74, and replaced Bob James as staff arranger at CTI, where he scored a massive hit with an adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune in 1978.  For the past six years, Matthews has resided in Japan where he has garnered massive success on his own as a film composer, and musician, leading the Manhattan Jazz Quintet from the mid 80's that also included Gomez and Gadd.  Among the many credits Matthews has garnered; composing the music for the classic anime Battle Ship Yamato, as well as for commercials and film.

What was most remarkable was how in tune the trio was with each other. Very clearly many eyes in the room (yours truly included) were there for Gadd, because seeing him in a jazz club setting is a rarity.  The drummer spent most of the evening playing brushes, and the dynamic control was something to behold.  Even with brushes, his sound filled the room.  As the first set kicked off shortly after 8:30, Matthews gingerly made his way to the piano sat down and commenced with “SIR” the title track of their new album.  His right hand lay supine on the keys, fingers vertically resting against the ebony near the Yamaha inscription  occasionally only accenting chords with a pinky or thumb. His left hand tore into it's sinewy funk, darting blues drenched phrases.  Gomez followed suit with a solo equally in the cut as it was acrobatic.  Gadd took the final solo turning the club into a masters' level clinic in groove, his phrases perfectly shaped dashing off cross sticked signature para diddles with the flair of a daredevil. The jovial Matthews remarked between tunes what a pleasure it was to play in New York with two fantastic musicians, and that he was so used to addressing audiences in Japanese it felt odd to speak English!  He has toured the country countless times, before moving there in the past half decade.

As they came down to a simmer for the classic standard “Come Rain or Come Shine”, the pianist dove into the tune's rich harmonic possibilities underneath the drummer's pillowy brushes.  Mel Torme's “Comin' Home Baby” offered the chance to get deep in the funk once more, both sets' had versions just as engaging, but in the second Matthews' debt to the gospel tradition really showed with some rolling Bobby Timmons like figures.  The true highlight of the first set was a  composition the pianist explained was something he came up with while watching videos of Gadd on Youtube and simply titled it “Funky Groove”.  Not only did Gomez have an explosive solo, showcasing his guitaristic post Scott LaFaro technique, but Gadd once again demonstrated why he inspired several generations of drummers as an innovator: the relative brevity of his solo  summoned an entire drum corp, completely in the pocket-- everything completely meaningful.  

Nuance was something all three men shared, the joy of making music.  Hearing Gomez live is a much different experience compared to on record.  His tone is much fuller and bigger in person, and no matter how dazzling his solos became, it was all in service of the music. The bassist was well featured on “Round Midnight”, richly leaning into every phrase.  The famous interlude being inserted only at the close of the piece.   Gadd's gargantuan swing with sticks on Cole Porter's chestnut “I Love You” brought things to a satisfying close, his endlessly inventive solo brought forth a roar from the crowd.   Every note Matthews played was filled with meaning, with joy and gratitude for life. The amount of resourcefulness beyond limitation was especially inspiring, specifically from the vantage point of a fellow disabled person who has similar right hand limitations and also primarily uses their left hand to achieve tasks.  This is a band not to be missed.

Photo credit (c) Mayumi Nashida.

[theonyxpath]

Eric Zawadzki here. As there seems to be a lot of interest in the Clades, I thought I’d share a bit more about these. To that end, I’ve provided the introduction to Clades, most of the write-up for the Mutant, and the current version of one Mutant Variation – Rapid Healing. A usual caveat applies: This game is just entering the first round of playtests, so things (especially mechanical things) could change.

Clades

Origins are how you went into the Divergence; Clades are how you broke. Which of the five Clades a Deviant belongs to depends on how her mind and body adapted to the process that fractured her soul.

While individuals within each Clade transformed along similar pathways, every one of them is unique and carried specific variances into their transformation. The Divergence brought the inevitable conclusion that the human subject would be altered into something inherently inhuman, either through dying or breaking and accepting becoming one of the Remade. While the outcome was unavoidable, the specifics were never certain. Despite any similarities that may exist in appearance, function, or powers of Broken within the same Clade, every transformed is unique. Each survived the Divergence in their own way and came into their Variations and Scars as individuals. No one within a Clade need have consistency or predictability with their peers.

Every Deviant has three Adaptations – two as a function of their Clade, plus Stubborn Resolve (p. XX), which is universal to all Remade. However dissimilar various Broken are, the Adaptations denote shared experience in surviving the horrors. For some Remade, the fact that others share their Adaptations is the only comfort they have in knowing they’re not alone.

Cephalists: The minds of these Psychics lashed out at the trauma of their Divergence, reshaping themselves as their souls cracked and giving them power over the world through sheer mental will, beyond anything a Baseline would understand.

Chimerics: Also known as Hybrids, these Remade combine human and foreign species to try and gain the best of both worlds. Hybrids may incorporate animal organs, plant genes, hastily attached limbs, or play host to voracious pathogens and parasites to merge human and other and see what results.

Coactives: The Infused blend the intangible with the solidity of human flesh. The precise power bound to the Broken that shattered her soul could be nearly anything. One harnesses deadly levels of electricity or radiation while another channels angelic light or demonic darkness. The intangible source is irrelevant to belonging to this Clade, only that the human controls it.

Invasives: The Cyborgs gained power as their flesh grew around invasive, inanimate matter, taking it in and incorporating it to be one with the human. Some Invasives benefit from shiny technological marvels while others make do with tarnished jury-rigged devices, but gadgets aren’t the sole province of this Clade. Magical artifacts, alien devices, and other exotic materials bonded with human meat also mark Invasives.

Mutants: Something in the genome of the Grotesques rebelled at the horror of the Divergence, rejecting whatever was trying to force change by responding with a change of their own. As the Mutant’s soul cracks, his body becomes something more, something with the ability to refuse the alternative insult to his flesh.

Classifying the Unclassifiable

Conspiracies focus on Clades because it gives some predictability to the Divergence, but this is far from perfect. It may be somewhat logical to think that slicing open a subject and surgically implanting mechanical parts produces an Invasive, but the victim’s body may reject the cold metal and latch onto the warm electricity inside the machines, becoming Coactive, instead. Or some quirk of genetics may force her body to violently destroy the foreign substances and rewire her Mutant physiology to be inimical to all machines. The stimulus of the Divergence is impersonal, while the response of Clade is nothing but personal.

Clades are not truly random, as statistical clusters do exist. The individual subject is important but not the only factor. Divergences appear to follow certain trends based on the events that brought about the rupture of a Broken’s soul. As an example, overcharging energy supplies — even with ephemeral energies poorly understood by science — while performing procedures may help skew results towards producing Coactives. Implanting living biological material is best suited to achieving a Chimeric result, just as grafting machines to human flesh most often gives an Invasive, when it delivers anything at all.

Progenitors who work under controlled conditions tend to have some level of repeatability to their methods, or at least try to limit the variables as much as possible to channel the results down the pathway they desire. To help deliver the control they so desperately crave, conspiracies specializing in producing certain Clades may use psychological profiling and genetic screening to identify those subjects with similar characteristics to what has previously yielded favorable results. What worked to make one subject of given background and health characteristics may work on another.

Despite these efforts, the Divergence is more art than science and any method can just as easily result in psychic Cephalists or genetic Mutants instead. Overall, Progenitors know every population has its outliers, and statistical anomalies exist. Sometimes, accidents just happen. Ignorant bystanders or isolated observers in the right place at the right time can undergo the Divergence as readily as carefully prepared subjects. In the end, which Clade a Deviant joins depends largely on the physical, mental, and spiritual state of the transformed herself.

Mutants: The Grotesques

Adapt and survive.

Every Mutant is a miracle, a statistical anomaly that, by rights, should have died as a result of the Divergence. Somehow, they didn’t. Their body rejected the cybernetic implant, or transplanted organ, or infusion of exotic energy as though allergic to it. Then it went a step further, transforming into something that would never suffer another such incursion. Unfortunately, this aggressive immune response still splintered the Grotesque’s soul.

The Mutant can endure almost any environment, for a time. Grotesques only rarely encounter situations that they can’t adapt to overcome. If a Mutant doesn’t have what it takes to thrive at that moment, she can change herself and triumph. If the Grotesque needs some advantage to save the day — or tear down a conspiracy — she will adapt and make it happen. These changes carry a cost — always a cost — but many Mutants are willing to pay this price if it advances their cause.

Welcome to the Freak Show

Mutants embody humanity’s adaptability to overcome any situation, including the Divergence. Regardless of whether the Remade was willing and prepared for the transformation, something within her genome refused to obey. Her body changed to survive, developing its own way of coping, and rejecting what was on offer.

Most Progenitors agree that this surprising immunity has roots in some quirk in the Grotesque’s DNA, but they argue vociferously over whether it would have occurred in the face of a different Divergence trigger. In short, no one knows with certainty whether the Mutant’s genes would have reacted the same way to a nanotech injection as it did to the implantation of a unicorn’s heart, or even whether the heart of a lion would have succeeded where the unicorn’s heart did not. Genetics might predispose a person to mutation, but it is equally reliant on the much less likely possibility that she is exposed to a Divergence-triggering stimulus that will unlock this potential.

Inhuman Resources

The very adaptability that refused compliance is what conspiracies want with Mutants. Every loyal Grotesque is a wildcard giving power to the conspiracy. Rivals may plan for attacks from many fronts, but they can never fully prepare for the Mutant dedicated to the conspiracy’s disruption or destruction. This unpredictable power makes Renegade Mutants just as terrifying to the conspiracies they’ve betrayed. Even Mutants who have worked within a conspiracy for years as Devoted could return for vengeance from any direction and despite the obstacles placed in their way.

This risk and uncertainty prompt smart conspiracies to approach identified Mutants carefully. Recruiters would rather proffer the carrot than the stick, enticing the Remade to join on her own terms, and under what she at least believes is her own free will. The cost of keeping a Grotesque onside and at ease is usually far less than forcing her to comply. Among several conspiracies, Mutant assets enjoy a freedom unmatched by other Clades, and coexist with the organization as a valued freelancer or consultant rather than a slave. The main question is how long can the Mutant turn a blind eye to the treatment and propagation of other Broken in the conspiracy’s clutches before her maladjusted conscience realizes the truth of her ‘business partners’?

Mutant Variations

Mutant Variations penetrate the Deviant’s anatomy down to the cellular level. Grotesques suffer frequent comparisons to cancers, for their most common capabilities are disturbing perversions of normal bodily functions, and they are the Clade most prone to fatal deterioration due to Instability.

Rapid Healing (• to •••••)

Subtle Discrete, Perpetual

The Deviant’s body works tirelessly and unerringly to restore itself.

This Variation must be Persistent. This Variation cannot heal damage caused by Scars (such as Perilous Variation) or Adaptations (such as Adrenaline Surge or Overclock).

At Magnitude •, the Deviant’s natural healing times are halved.

At Magnitude ••, the Remade heals one bashing damage per turn in action scenes and heals all bashing damage at the end of each scene. This also removes minor ailments such as colds, food poisoning, or sprains.

At Magnitude •••, as Magnitude ••, but the Deviant also heals all lethal damage at the end of each chapter. This also cures most diseases and purges the Broken’s body of toxins.

At Magnitude ••••, as Magnitude •••, but the Deviant instead heals one bashing or lethal damage per turn in action scenes, heals all lethal damage at the end of each scene, and heals all aggravated damage at the end of each chapter. This also regenerates damaged or destroyed limbs and organs, eliminating relevant Persistent Conditions such as Blind or Crippled.

At Magnitude •••••, as Magnitude ••••, but the Deviant is nearly invulnerable to death, except as the result of Instability. Even if decapitated, dismembered, or incinerated, his body still makes itself whole. After being killed, the Broken’s body can remain inert for as long as his player wishes, such as to wait for enemies to leave the scene or until he is no longer immersed in a vat of strong acid. When he rises from the dead, the Deviant heals points of aggravated damage equal to Scar Power.

The Coactive Symbiote doesn’t remember the assassination missions her body carried out on behalf of her old employers because the spirits they coaxed into possessing her never let her — at least not until she convinced one to help her escape (Amnesia; Persistent).

The Invasive contains powerful nanites capable of rebuilding his body from a fragment, if necessary. They have done her mental health no favors, however (Murderous Urge, Persistent).

The Mutant possesses regenerative abilities that would make a starfish jealous. Although he heals quickly, he also feels pain more keenly (Fragility; Persistent).