#“it can only be induced through inventive selling”

[cantsayidont]

June/July 1971. A vital aspect of Jack Kirby's original Fourth World books is that they were, for all their strangeness, often urgently topical. There's no more forceful example than THE FOREVER PEOPLE #3, which introduces the sinister Glorious Godfrey, preacher of the church of Anti-Life. Godfrey was inspired by Evangelical preacher Billy Graham, and Kirby's feelings about him were not subtle:

Oof. A crowd of blank-eyed, self-stigmatized believers, eager to surrender their individual will in pursuit of scapegoats upon whom to vent their rage. As we'll see, this is a call and response, part of a sermon by Glorious Godfrey:

In later, non-Kirby appearances of Godfrey and the Justifiers, DC has presented Godfrey as having supernatural powers of persuasion and the Justifier helmets as electronic mind control devices that can immediately overcome the wills of even determined anti-authoritarian types like Oliver Queen. Kirby walks a finer line in this story: Godfrey is using his high-tech pipe organ (pictured above left) to drive his believers into an ecstatic frenzy and "stimulate the brute instincts." However, everyone in his church is there because they believe in his horrifying message: "Life will make you doubt! Anti-Life will make you RIGHT!"

As for the Justifiers, the helmets in this story don't work by Mad Hatter-derived mind control circuitry, but by something much scarier: the promise of power in anonymity.

Godfrey's Justifier captain, for one, may be a dupe, but he's clearly not mind-controlled:

Godfrey's facial expressions in this story make the skin crawl. Look at his unctuous smile, full of utter contempt! Kirby, who watched a lot of TV while drawing, had undoubtedly seen Billy Graham's televised sermons, and the revulsion he obviously felt is palpable here.

This is a harrowing story — the Justifiers murder, bomb, burn books, and round up whole neighborhoods of "Others" to be carted off to concentration camps run by Darkseid's henchman DeSaad — but perhaps its most unexpected twist is the revelation that at the end of the day, Godfrey is really just a huckster. He sells Anti-Life, but not only is his pitch not driven by the supernatural force of the will-destroying Anti-Life Equation Darkseid is seeking, Godfrey doesn't really even believe the Equation exists.

Kirby draws an important contrast between Godfrey's church and the Source Wall on New Genesis, where Highfather receives the word of the Source directly, written in fiery letters by the disembodied hand of the Uni-Friend. In THE NEW GODS #1, Orion declares, "The moving hand appears! The Source gives us the irrevocable counsel!" Highfather corrects him, saying, "But it does not decide! The right of choice is ours! That is the Life Equation!"

The central conflict in Kirby's Fourth World saga, then, is not good versus evil, or belief versus nonbelief — it's choice versus subjugation, Life versus Anti-Life. Those who would remove or willfully abandon that choice are servants of Anti-Life. This is something later writers have dropped or obfuscated (particularly Jim Starlin, who can't resist filtering Kirby's Jewish ideas through his own lapsed-Catholic world view), but it's the conceptual spine of the Kirby stories.

[genderlessghoul]

I've been wanting to do this post for a while now so here is EVERYTHING I CAN TELL YOU ABOUT THE GHOULS' IMPERA COSTUMES.

Buckle up because I have a LOT to say about those, this is gonna be a very long one.

The costumes were designed by B Åkerlund, a Swedish costume designer who's worked with Ghost since at least Meliora (that's as far back as I was willing to scroll on her Instagram page lol). B Åkerlund has also worked for many other musical artists such as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osborne, Blink 182 and Hollywood Undead (information from her own website)

The masks were made by Bob Basset, a visual artists who works a lot with leather. I find his work fascinating, you can look him up on Instagram (nsfw warning, there's a few naked ladies).

Fun fact! The horns are real cow horns. That's the reason some of them have gold tips, to hide the imperfections that come with working with actual horns.

He does have a shop where he sells his items, there's a mask there very similar to the Impera ones. You can also buy Papa's batwings if you happen to have 2500$ lying around!

The jackets are made on the same model as one of Papa's. The back is decorated with a spine-like design made from leather and cording. It's adorned with a few of our classic Impera buttons. Some of the hems were left raw and some deliberate weathering was done to make it look old and worn.

Fun fact! The shoulder pieces are not sewn into the garment, I would assume for easier cleaning. I don't know if they're held by strong magnets or snap buttons.

The vest (my beloved 😩) is made from flocked velvet in a paisley pattern, the front hems embellished with satin piping. It closes in the front with custom metal clasps that are riveted into the garment. The D parts are attached with what seems to me like wide elastic, which would lessen the pression on the clasps when moving around a lot. The back is made from two different types of fabric, I'd have to touch it to be able to tell you what they are. I assume the panels closer to the sides have some mild stretch to them. The top of the shoulders are decorated with Impera grucifix patches.

The shirts were not custom made for the ghouls, altho they were altered. The original shirt in the vintage painter linen shirt from Punk Rave and it is still being sold. Some of the cuffs were altered, removing the ruffles for some of the ghouls, but not all. They were removed for Dew, Mountain and Phantom, Aether's didn't have them either. As far as I can tell, all the ghoulettes still have them.

An unfinished piece of linen serves as an ascot, that piece is decorated with a metal devil skull. The colour of the skull doesn't appear to be consistent between each ghoul, Dew's looks gold almost bronze while Phantom's is a silver-like colour.

Another modification is the buttons, a small portion of them were removed in favor of our Impera buttons. Some of the ghouls have more buttons replaced than others, which is still a mystery to me.

The pants are called Jodhpurs, they were invented in the 1800s as horse riding pants. The wide part at the hips and thighs allowing for better movement. The ones the ghouls wear don't reach all the way to their ankles, they stop a bit past the calf muscle, hidden by the boots. (Yes, the ghouls are effectively wearing capri pants)

The boots are motorcycle riding boots, decorated by a grucifix. Like the shirt, they can still be bought online through the All American Boots website, altho the price tag is... Headache inducing to say the least.

The cape is a piece of costume that was only briefly worn on stage by the ghouls, Aurora being the only one who still wears one. I would assume it gets in the way of playing very easily. The cape itself is made of two fabrics, a light blue satin and a dark grey suede. The two pieces are not sewn together at the bottom, they move freely from each other. The cape is attached on the left shoulder with a harness piece that has one strap across the chest, decorated with a metal buckle, and one under the armpit.

Aight that's it for me, have a nice day byyyyye!!

[shapeshiftersvt]

Cryptid Collection Spotlight: The Squonk

We're going to be spending this week infodumping about the six cryptids we chose to feature in our Cryptid Collection! We'll be posting about the lore and origins, our thoughts, experiences, and relationships with all of these cryptids, and we encourage folks to share their own!

Today we're talking about the most #relatable cryptid, the Squonk.

👣The Cryptid Collection 🗺️Cryptid Travel Posters 👥Cryptid Binders & Sportsbras 🧵Cryptid fabric designs

Much like the Jackalope that we spotlighted yesterday, the Squonk is a creature from tall tales of the previous centuries.

Descriptions of the Squonk nearly all originate from the same source. Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods was a 1910 collaboration between William Thomas Cox, Minnesota's first State Forester and Commissioner of conservation, who wrote the text; Coert du Bois, US Consul and forester, who drew the illustrations; and George Bishop Sudworth, Chief Dendrologist of the Forest Service, who created the Latin classifications. In the introduction, Cox claims that the fantastical field guide was born out of a desire to preserve some of the tall tales invented by lumberjacks and the stories they told about them around campfires "to regale newcomers and frighten people unfamiliar with the woods". The guide details twenty creatures from heavily wooded regions all over the US. There on page 31, between the Hodag of Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the Whirling Whimpus of Tennessee, lies our friend, the Squonk.

Later texts inspired by Fearsome Creatures expanded on the lore, describing, among other things, a mass migration from its original widespread territory that resulted in the evolution of webbed toes, but only on its left feet; wax and hair-covered ears; crooked yellow tusks; and asexual reproduction through cell division. But Cox's original, much more straightforward description, seems to have truly stood the test of time.

The Squonk, like many regional cryptids, has a fairly small territory, being limited to the hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania. Cox claims that those familiar with the Squonk describe it as being "the most morbid of beasts". These days, we might interpret that to mean a fearsome creature that lurks in the darkest, thickest part of the woods, hunting unsuspecting lumberjacks who unknowingly wander into its territory and toying with them the way a cat toys with a mouse. Quite the contrary, though, the Squonk is described as morbid because of its constant weeping, the source of which is the skin which hangs off of it in wrinkles as if it were a piece of much too large clothing, and its many warts and moles.

While the Squonk is most active during the twilight and dusk hours, it can also be found traveling at night. In fact, Cox relates that "frosty moonlight nights" are the best conditions for Squonk hunters, as it doesn't like to move much at all on those nights, and its tears flow more slowly. Why might slowly flowing tears be an advantage, especially when the trail those tears leave behind in the Squonk's wake are an easy way for hunters to track it? Why, because the more scared the Squonk is, the more tears it cries, and likely it is to be completely dissolved by those tears.

In fact, this curious characteristic is described in the only encounter related by Cox:

Mr. J. P. Wentling, formerly of Pennsylvania, but now at St. Anthony Park, Minnesota, had a disappointing experience with a Squonk near Mont Alto. He made a clever capture by mimicking the Squonk and inducing it to hop into a sack, in which he was carrying it home, when suddenly the burden lightened and the weeping ceased. Wentling unslung the sack and looked in. There was nothing by tears and bubbles.

It's probably fairly obvious why an inherently queer company selling garments intended to relieve body dysphoria would relate to a creature like the Squonk, which is so uncomfortable in its own skin that it simply can't stop crying. But we're certainly not the first to feel empathy and kinship with the Squonk. In fact 2024 marks the second annual Squonkapalooza in Johnstown, PA, hoping to "turn those frowns upside down. Spreading the love of the Squonk might cheer them up."

Which is fair! I think that if most of us discovered a festival organized and attended out of pure love and empathy for us we'd probably feel a little bit better about ourselves.

[hareofhrair]

Hare's Isekai Quest - Ascendance of a Bookworm

Recently I saw a post about female led isekai series and I decided to make a list and read some of them. I started with Ascendance of a Bookworm since I got the impression it was well liked and the premise of a book lover getting isekai'd to an fantasy world and making it their quest to increase literacy seemed really compelling to me. I think the series is complete, but I only read up to halfway through part three of four. I would have liked to have reviewed the whole thing just for fairness, but at the beginning of part three, the available english translations became so bad I was struggling to continue following the story. I'd also sort of stopped enjoying it very much by that point so I didn't see a reason to continue struggling.

A quick summary - A woman who loves books more than anything is crushed by a falling bookshelf and wakes up in the body of a five year old in a fantasy world. She's appalled to find herself a commoner in an illiterate agrarian society and decides to invent printing so that she can be surrounded by books again. Unfortunately, she's not only a child but also incredibly weak and sickly, able to do very little on her own. Gradually she makes progress by relying on other people and eventually builds a relationship with a merchant to begin selling the things she remembers from her previous life while working towards the goal of eventually printing books. When she turns seven it's discovered that she has an abundance of magical energy (which is part of what causes her sickly condition) and she's forced to become a priestess at the local temple, where she continues running her printing workshop and also takes over an orphanage. Conflicts with people who want her knowledge and magic power lead to her being adopted into the nobility, and also taking over the temple entirely after the temple head becomes her enemy. Still at seven, she's basically a bishop, running several workshops, and two orphanages. All of which is a distraction from making books, which is still all she cares about.

Overall, my impression of the story was that it's mostly mediocre. It's generally inoffensive and kind of bland. I get the feeling that at first (up to the end of part two) maybe it was trying to be a slow kind of relaxing story, making progress gradually over time without a lot of action, but I'm not sure it succeeds. I think mostly it just feels like nothings happening most of the time. It doesn't really get a plot going until the end of part two, and it comes at the cost of basically abandoning all the characters and progress made before that, since it's all now irrelevant.

The art is competent, but doesn't stand out at all. It looks like stock anime style and doesn't ever really push things. There's no stand out visuals or panels to speak of.

It's difficult to judge the writing too much since I was reading a translation, but it seemed weak at first and got gradually worse. It felt like a lot of things happened "just because" rather than following organically from the premise. The main quest for printing gets sidelined with increasing frequency as things go on in favor of political drama that's very superficial. A million characters are introduced and then generally fall to the side with nothing to do. Characters that were incredibly important throughout earlier parts all but vanish.

One thing I struggled with was the main character's motivation. She's supposed to love books, but she seems to love them in an abstract way I can't understand. She wants to collect a lot of them, but she doesn't care what they're about. She loves the action of reading, but she'd be just as happy reading a phone book as a novel. It made me feel like maybe the author had never actually met someone who loved reading. Her personality is also somewhat inconsistent, going from fainting at the sight of a pig being killed to nearly murdering a guy through magically induced heart attack with zero qualms. She's sweet and innocent sometimes, then cold and calculating when the plot needs her to be.

It's a personal gripe, but I also didn't like the capitalist, profit motivated approach to things, or the reverence it seems to have for the idea of nobility. Monarchist vibes.

And finally, the almost inevitable question with manga (particularly wish fulfillment isekai), "how much did the author's weird fetish get in the way?" There wasn't too much of that thank goodness, but where it does pop up it's... distressing. One of the main character's attendants at the temple is an eight year old orphan who's been previously living with the head of the temple, declares her goal is to be acknowledged as his mistress, and when asked about her skills sits on an adult man's lap in a very suggestive manner saying this is basically all she's good for. It's later made clear that this is common for the orphans living in the temple. Everyone, including the main character, just seem to accept this and handwave it without really batting an eye, with the main character later saying something about that "just being normal here" after a joke is made about her being in a relationship with an adult man. Fortunately, it doesn't come up a lot, but boy is it Present.

In conclusion, I can't really recommend this one. The pace is very slow, the premise starts out improbable and gets more ridiculous over time, and it's all kind of a let down compared to the promise of the original idea. Makes me want to write my own version.

4/10, generally inoffensive but unmemorable

[omdhatuayurveda]

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[partsaps]

Carrier HVAC parts

Carrier is a global leader in providing air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration solutions. It was started with the invention of air conditioning units by Willis Carrier in 1902. Carrier's services and products will increase your building's comfort and efficiency. Carrier is an American corporation based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It founded in 1915 as an independent designing and manufacturing heating, ventilating, and air conditioning unit. The company also expanded its business to the manufacturing of refrigeration and food service equipment, fire, and security technologies.

Its HVAC segment features industry-leading technologies to increase comfort, productivity, and performance. This corporation drives the future of smart, sustainable buildings from their best-in-class equipment and services to innovative controls as well as building automation systems.

Carrier offers heating and air conditioning solutions and controls for all buildings. Moreover, their services including design, installation, and maintenance for both residential as well as commercial buildings. As a leading manufacturer in residential/commercial HVAC systems, its home comfort will bring quiet, energy-efficient, and consistent climate control products.

Carrier refrigeration brand provide several products and services that are designed to effectively and reliably maintain the freshness of your food. They also, ensure the quality, safety, and appearance of perishables for the transportation, food processing, food services, and pharmaceutical industries.

Carrier HVAC equipment for commercial and residential applications include air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, boilers, geothermal heat pumps, and many more. Along with the HVAC products, the company also produce parts and accessories to keep their equipment operating efficiently.

Moreover, they sell these Carrier HVAC parts through many resellers/ distributors. So, whether you are using Carrier equipment, you can buy Carrier parts from your near distributor.

PartsAPS is also one of the resellers of Carrier Parts. Our in-stock items include Carrier furnace parts, Carrier air conditioner parts, Carrier draft inducer motor, and many more. Our team focus on customer satisfaction. So, we always try to provide you original reliable parts only. Therefore, trust us and buy your required Carrier Parts from the PartsAPS store.

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[metamatar]

Becoming yourself is not a growth process but a surrender of possibilities that we learn to regard as egregious, unbecoming. “Being yourself” is inherently limiting. It is liberatory only in the sense of freeing one temporarily from existential doubts. (Not a small thing!) So the social order is protected not by preventing “self-expression” and identity formation but encouraging it as a way of forcing people to limit and discipline themselves — to take responsibility for building and cleaning their own cage. Thus, the dissemination of social-media platforms becomes a flexible tool for social control. The more that individuals express through these codified, networked, formatted means to construct a “personal brand” identity, the more they self-assimilate, adopting the incentive structures of capitalist social order as their own.

...

Self-invention in social media that is perpetually in search of “feedback” is really just the production of communication, which gives value not to the self but to the network that gets to carry more data (and store it, and sell it).

Actual “self-invention” — if we are measuring it in range of expressivity — appears more like self-dissolution. We’re born into social life and shaped by it; self-discovery may thus entail a destruction of social bonds, not a sounding of them.

Barthel lauds the “demos, experiments, collaborative public works, jokes, notes, reading lists, sketches, appreciations, outbursts of pique” that are “absolutely vital to continuing the business of creation.” But the degree that these are all affixed to a personal brand when serially broadcast on social media depletes their vitality.

...

Social media structure creative effort (e.g., Barthel’s list above) ideologically as “self-creating,” but they often end up as anxiety-inducing, exposing the self’s ad hoc incompleteness while structuring the demand for a fawning audience to complete us, validate every effort, as a natural expectation. Validation is nice, but as a goal for creative effort, it is somewhat limited. The quest for validation must inevitably restrict itself to the tools of attracting attention: the blunt instruments of novelty and prurience (“Kanye West in a balloon chair”). The self one tries to express tends to be new, exciting, confessional, sexy, etc., because it plays as an advertisement. Identity is a series of ads for a product that doesn’t exist.

The process can’t quell anxiety; this kind of self-expression can only intensify it, focus it onto a few social-media posts that await judgment, narrow it to the latest instances of sharing. Social media’s quantifying metrics aggravate the problem, making expression into a series of discrete items to be counted, ranked. It serves as the infrastructure for a feedback loop that orients expression toward the anxiety of what the numbers will be and accelerates it, as we try to better those numbers, and thereby demonstrate that the self-monitoring is teaching us something about how to become more “relevant.”

...

It’s hard to escape the idea of a “connected world” all around you, and there is no denying that being online metes out “connectedness” in measured, addictive doses. But those doses contain real sociality, and they are reshaping society collectively. Whether or not you use social media personally, your social being is affected by that reshaping. You don’t get to leave all of society’s preoccupations behind.

...

Pretending you can avoid these social aspects of life because they are supposedly external, artificial, inauthentic, and unreal, is to have a very impoverished idea of reality, of authenticity, of unique selfhood.

The inescapable reciprocity of social relations comes into much sharper relief when you stop using social media, which thrive on the basis of the control over reciprocity they try to provide. They give a crypto-dashboard to social life, making it seem like a personal consumption experience, but that is always an illusion, always scattered by the anxiety of waiting, watching for responses, and by the whiplash alternation between omnipotence and vulnerability.

[faustandfurious]

Is it weird to say it seems like the "identity" marketing techniques are especially dangerous to neurodivergent people (I can only speak from the perspective of ADHD/autism/OCD/BPD, other people like schizo-spec people may feel differently)?

It's just, especially in my personal experience identity is so both transient and ... I can't think of the word but vague I guess? Like I don't have a strong grasp on my personal identity so I cling to stuff I can use to define it. It's why I like microlabels so much, because they pin down bits of the butterfly swarm in my head neatly to a corkboard (though that's an imperfect analogy because labeling aspects of myself doesn't hurt me or those parts of me). Saying "I'm nonbinary, pangender, genderfluid, with xenogenders" sounds to a lot of people like label collecting, but to me it's just making my personal self more concrete. That's leaving aside the fact that due to mirroring I often feel like a metaphorical chameleon.

It's why I try at least to be careful about more material identities. I don't always succeed (I collect Rainbow High dolls and not being able to do that permanently would be really hard) but if I can say "I like x piece/series of media, that's who I am RIGHT NOW, but I can let go of that at any point if this thing becomes unhealthy" then I've noticed it creates some distance between my core identity and the "stuff I like" outer ring which ... yeah idk my point kinda got lost here in between "I do like identifying by some of these things still but I'm careful about it" and "I worry that as a neurodivergent person I'm especially susceptible but that doesn't change that desire. Sorry X')

Yes, this is an excellent point. Not sure if the BPD you mention is borderline personality disorder or bipolar disorder (I've seen it used for both, though technically it should only be used for borderline to avoid confusion), but if it's borderline, then experiencing instability in your identity/sense of self is one of the core symptoms, and as you describe, external identity markers can help when it comes to coping with the confusion around who you really are.

Bipolar disorder may also come with shifts in perceived identity correlating with depressive or (hypo)manic episodes, and then there is the added component of the (hypo)mania induced need to start new projects or re-invent yourself, and the lowered threshold for uncritical spending of large amounts of money.

ADHD and autism may indeed leave you susceptible to marketing that targets your current hyperfixation or one of your special interests.

That being said, a lot of the people I've seen buy into these lifestyle/identity marketing gimmicks are also (as far as I know) pretty darn neurotypical. The thing with having a diagnosed mental illness or neurodivergence is that it might even make you extra aware of your own susceptibility to these things, since you're perhaps already in the habit of distrusting your knee-jerk reactions and cognitive biases. For some people, neurodivergence comes with a side of nonconformism, which may either make you more resistant to conforming to some marketed identity, or make you more susceptible to subculture/counterculture identity marketing.

So really it can go both ways, and for everyone, neurodivergent or otherwise, the important thing is to take a step back every now and then and question their own assumptions, biases and actions. We are all, to some extent, products of external factors, our environments, our interests. The core identity is a work in progress, it's something you develop through lived experience and in interaction with others. And it's alright to hyperfixate, alright to focus on the things that really interest you. Just remember to question whether your purchases are motivated by genuine interest or need, or by some industry or corporation trying to sell you a particular lifestyle.

[cherriesink]

Takeuchi - Murmurs

Murmurs are snippets of character reflection earned by increasing Explore Points during Exploration. They usually include 6-7 monologues about other characters and 3-4 monologues about things important to the specific character.

These lines are taken straight from the English translation of the game, so fair warning of bad grammar.

About Yatsufusa “According to my statistics, older vampires tend to rank above C-Class... Presumably, D-Class and under end up dying. 

But it’s a shame with Yatsufusa. Because he is a C-Class that has all the potentials to fight in a battle. Yet, he cannot demonstrate that in a different way than Kurusu can’t. 

It seems he occasionally uses the umbrella I gave him... He’ll end up hurting himself if he carelessly swings a sword since he has never trained for it. And he will break it if he uses it with all his strength. I can’t let a civilian hold a sword anyway. So, an umbrella was the best solution.

...Oh! I have an exciting idea that improves his umbrella. Haha, this will help him even if he’s not a good fighter...”

About Kurusu “Kurusu is very intriguing. He is the strongest vampire in Japan! How is he different from other vampires?! Unfortunately, current science does not allow me to analyze blood at a micro-level... In that case, I must invent a machine that can. I’d love to improve Kurusu’s abilities from an A-Class to S-Class and above through my inventions. 

If Colonel Maeda who is a human can defeat unranked vampires, then that means dynamic visions can be improved through training. This then leads me to the question- do I use a drug or machinery to improve his speed and muscle strength...

But Kurusu must improve his speed of judgement more than anything. That, I cannot help him no matter how great I am. It probably comes from his kindness. But, oh well. I’ll let Colonel Maeda deal with that.”

About Maeda “Colonel Maeda is certainly an intelligent person. A true rationalist and finds the best course of action in an instant- because how else can someone decide to amputate their right arm after being bitten by a vampire before the poison enters their system? The surgery went well because he was in luck with a series of events. His wound was a clean-cut, he was able to stop the bleeding, and the fact that Code Zero has plenty of blood supplies for us vampires...

I’d say he was still lucky to survive despite having an aftereffect due to hemorrhage of the heart. I must say he is an astounding human being since his combat skills are still the same where he is capable of beating vampires to death with his prosthetic arm.

Ah- that reminds me that he asked me to fix his arm. What next functions should I add next?”

About Yamagami “Yamagami is the best to experiment on. I wonder what will happen... if I can make him strong enough so he can fight with my inventions? Alas, the greatest assassin will be born! We vampires cannot detect ones that rank below us- they appear like an ordinary person to us.

Yamagami on the other hand is capable of detecting every vampire out there since he is unranked. Which makes him the best candidate to become an assassin sneaking up on vampires from behind! I must conduct every experiment on Yamagami then! It will become a revolution for us vampires if the experiment succeeds.

However, there is just one problem... Yamagami’s personality is not ideal to become an assassin...”

About Suwa “We did not have any vampires that specialized in combat at the time when Code Zero was established. That is why we induced Suwa into our team. I knew the moment I heard the rumor about a vampires that hunts other vampires that he will join our unit.

One of the reasons was that I heard he was alive even before the Edo period... He must be clever if he managed to survive hundreds of years since it is not easy for vampires to survive such a long period.

Secondly, we carry the same goal if he enjoys hunting vampires, whatever his reasons may be. Back then, vampires in the Imperial Capital shivered when hearing “Vampire Hunter.” It’s very promising if that “Vampire Hunter” joins Code Zero.

His body was of a child’s, so his arms were too short for Japanese swords. That is why I made him two daggers.”

About Defrott “I wonder if Defrott will allow me to study his blood... We don’t have any blood samples of S-Class vampires nor any data yet. But he’s not the type that goes with “Please” and “Thank you.” After all, I do not want to die either.

...All I want is to conduct my research peacefully. No need to panic or rush. It’ll become available someday. I can get close to the birth of vampires- if I can learn about S-Class vampires. When, why, and how did we derive...? The only thing we know is that the oldest vampires on the recond spoke ancient Greek... Were they the first? Or did vampires exist long before that, but the records got lost...

It is a mystery how humanity began, but it is even a bigger mystery how vampires started. Was it a strain that occurred during the evolution process. Or mutation... Some call it evil or the devil’s doing. However, I do not believe in unscientific things.”

About Tenman-ya “Come to think of it, our relationship with Tenman-ya has been going on for quite a long time. Considering Colonel Maeda’s personality, there is no way he will miss a vampire’s nest like them...

But perhaps they’re untouched because of the amount of information they’ve accumulated about vampires since the Edo period and the fact that they’ve been confining vampires that are in the Imperial Capital. 

As far as I’m concerned, it’s a give-and-take relationship since they refer me to wholesales to sell my drugs I invented. The vampires referred through Tenman-ya are all clean and diligent. Some practice Western medicine like me so it helps. 

It appears vampires fight all year round when just looking at Code Zero, but the one that avoid battle are the ones that live long. Tenman-ya supports those vampires.”

About the Experiments “There are three ways to kill a vampire. One, have them fight a vampire that outdo them. Very primitive method. Two, make them powerless through science. What we are currently doing. Three, obtain strength that overthrows higher rank vampires through science. This- is our homework.

Creating heavy firearms is easy, but we are dealing with swift subjects... Even unranked vampires may be described as “...at lightning speed” to an ordinary person. 

Thus, I am working on a drug that improves our physical ability... I mixed some into Yamagami’s food the other day, and the results were quite surprising. It was as if he got drunk. I thought I developed a drug that makes the world seem slow, but Yamagami said “The world is spinning! You blockhead!”

My work is trial and error. Well, I do have plenty of time.”

About the Past “I never would’ve imagined that I would end up being a serviceman when I was just an ordinary human being working at a pharmaceutical company. It all happened when the military authorities asked me to research a certain blood sample. I accidentally exposed it to sunlight without knowing that it was vampire blood. The flask exploded from the boiling blood...

Luckily, I did not die from the poison and gained a brain that never degenerates. It was pure coincidence, but I was lucky indeed. I can come close to the secrets of this world with an eternally young brain. 

I don’t mind not being able to walk under the sun. I was in the lab day and night in the first place. Not feeling time or seasonal changes aren’t important to me. I don’t care much about food either. 

Research is my life! I am the happiest vampire on Earth!”

About the Side Job “Code Zero hardly has any budget for R&D... But we aren’t a special unit that simply gathers vampires for combat. Weak, domestic ones can benefit from my drugs and put up a decent fight with the ones ranking above them. I believe- that is the purpose of our unit.

Colonel Maeda couldn’t care less about the name of the unit. So I named it “Zero”- implying “Starting everything from zero.”

Either way, you need money to experiment. That is why I sell my inventions beneficial to humans to department stores and medical institutions made in the process of my vampire studies. The profit I make all goes to my research. Every purchase helps us foster future vampires.”

[matildaofoz]

Memento Mori Pt 3. (Michael Langdon x Fem!Death!Reader)

You reached the courtyard of Kineros Robotics in record time, Michael hot at your heels.

“Can you walk a little slower?“ Michael complained, walking quickly beside you to keep up despite his long legs. You weren't lying when you had told him that you were on the clock.

„No can do, kiddo. Now come on, use those wonderful legs of yours,“ you threw at him over your shoulder, your hands searching for the car keys you had stashed in one of the conveniently hidden pockets of your dress without slowing down. Why weren't those a thing yet when humanity had invented every other type of useless thingamabob and yet pockets on a dress were blasphemous, you wondered. The intricacies of humankind often evaded you. The fingers of your right hand grazed the keys in your pocket and with a satisfied smirk you pulled them out.

“I'm not a kid, you know. I'm the Anti-,“ Michael began, irritated.

„The Antichrist, yes and you were born exactly when, 2012? You may not look it Michael, but in the grand scheme of things you're barely an amoeba,“ you interrupted him, not in the mood for any more temper tantrums. Without having to look back at his face, you felt the anger rolling off him in waves. He really was not used to being treated as anything less than the son of Satan. If he wanted you to lick his shoes, he was sorely mistaken. If anything, he should be on his knees before you, praising the universe for having sent you in his hour of need.

Continuing to ignore a seething Michael, your eyes zoned in on your newest toy. A 1965 Black Ford Mustang Convertible with bright red leather seats. Seeing as you were all things considered an ancient being and material things meant positively nothing to you, you did have two weaknesses. Fast food and fast cars. You liked to think that it was due to the human form you took, your immense power being pressed into the confines of a limited body and your patient nature being expressed in a rather paradoxical instant gratification. Thankfully, you couldn't gain any weight nor die in a car crash, remaining ever the same, and so you chose to indulge yourself at every given opportunity. Soon enough, those fleeting pleasures would come to an end. Might as well enjoy it while you could.

You skipped over the curb to the driver's side, admiring the way the inky paint coat glistened in the late afternoon sun, not a speck of dust in sight.

Michael came to stand by the passenger door, now more confused than angry. He was ever-changing, you mused.

“Did, did you sell your soul to my father too?” he asked, mustering the convertible before his eyes searched your face.

“No, Michael,” you chuckled amused. H really didn't know the first thing about the Apocalypse or his place in all of this. Maybe there would be time to give the boy a lesson, but not until you had had a good meal.  

“I think I'm out of your dad's league if we're being honest. I am more a collector of souls myself. Your father or God don't actually hold the monopoly even though that's what they like to tell everyone. Tell you what, over dinner you and I will take a little trip down memory lane,” you explained, watching him with intent.

“Liar,” Michael said lowly, processing your words. His icy blue eyes narrowed at you. You could feel his power trying to claw at you, yet it felt distinctly like a kitten lick.

“Oh please, Michael, I don't lie,” you retorted unaffected, your hand grabbing the door handle and sliding into the seat, grabbing the pair of sunglasses on the dashboard and putting them on before looking at Michael, your fingers drumming on the steering wheel. This was not going nearly as well as you had planned and if you wanted to keep the plan you had set in motion rolling, you would undoubtedly need to change course, despite the fact that you loathed having to do so. Death be damned, you thought.

“I don't like repeating myself, Michael. I don't owe you any answers but perhaps I'm growing soft and the fact that you are left to your own devices, trying to figure out the single most monumental task on this rock hurtling through space has me feeling a little...sympathetic,” you stated, leaning over to push open the passenger door as a sign of goodwill.

“Tell you what, you can ask me all the questions you like, deal?”

Michael contemplated for a few seconds. He didn't like to admit it but so far he hadn't been the one to come up with any good plans that didn't involve The Omen 3 plot and his father had been absent throughout his accent so far. He didn't trust you or anybody bar Ms. Mead and yet you presented an enigma to him, one he needed to crack open. He was brilliant at problem-solving and he would solve you too, he thought to himself, a little grin creeping into the corner of his mouth. His invisible claws retracted.

“Deal. But I get to ask as many as I want,” he replied, pulling the door open all the way and plopping himself into the passenger seat beside you, arms crossed over his broad chest.

“Fine, a deal's a deal,” you groaned only halfheartedly, shooting him a grin of your own as you fired up the engine and pulled out onto the road. You really did have your work cut out for you. Lucky for Michael, he was so easy on the eyes that you didn't mind as much as you should have. You pressed the 'on' button of the radio and stifled a laugh at the song that had just started playing:

I see the bad moon a-rising I see trouble on the way I see earthquakes and lightnin' I see bad times today

Don't go around tonight Well it's bound to take your life There's a bad moon on the rise

°°° 20 Minutes later, you pulled into a parking lot, turned off the engine, hopping out of the car, and came around to Michael's side to take an unneeded but deep breath, filling your lungs with crisp evening air and the distinct smell of desert. The sun had just begun to set, a slight chill setting in and the last remaining rays illuminated Michael's blond hair in a way that reminded you an awful lot of his father before the fall. You let your gaze wander over his sitting form for a second, before lightly slapping the arm he had draped over the side of the car, lost in his own thoughts.

“Come on, Angel, we're here,“ you chided playfully, knowing it would rile the blonde man up unnecessarily. On cue, Michael's gaze shot up to meet your own, nostrils flaring at the more than holy pet name.

“Don't call me that! I'm anything but that!“ he bit out but couldn't keep the blush from creeping up his neck. He didn't like the way you made him feel. Weak and unsure of himself. No power he had encountered could match his, not even Cordelia's and then you came along. As if he wasn't already feeling insecure enough, even after having massacred the witches and warlocks, you only added to the sense that he hadn't yet achieved what he was meant to do, or be where his father expected him to be. Sensing his unease, you tussled his locks with your left hand, pulling him out of his self-induced reverie.

“There is nothing a good cake can't fix, Michael. Trust me,” you smiled at him, hoping he would pull himself together and get out the car. At the word cake, he did perk up, finally glancing behind you to look at where you had taken him.

“The Cheesecake Factory, really?” he looked up at you quizzically, disbelieving. If you were in fact Death, and he wasn't yet sure you weren't lying to him despite your overpowering aura, shouldn't you be dining in some high-class restaurant on the other end of town where they didn't even have prices on the menu?

“Are you food shaming me?” you retorted, one eyebrow shooting up.

“Err, no. It just doesn't...suit you,” Michael replied, his right hand coming to massage the back of his neck, embarrassment evident at his remark.

“Wouldn't you like to know what does and doesn't suit me. If you must know, it's kind of my thing. Don't ask me why but I just can't keep my hands off sweet things,” you explained, winking at him and only adding to his embarrassment. Before the Antichrist could slide any further down your passenger seat and be swallowed whole by the ground, you opened his door and gestured for him to get out.

“Relax. You clearly don't know how to take a joke. Come on, I can smell the cakes from here.” You turned on your heels, cape dress swishing behind you as you made your way across the parking lot to the entry. You weren't quite sure your words were meant as a joke but that was a heart-to-heart you'd have with yourself later. The only sweet thing on your mind right now was cake and soda. The slam of the car door indicated that Michael had managed to detach himself from the red leather interior and he jogged up beside you, matching your stride.

“I hope you're hungry. I'm paying,” you said, smiling with glee and making Michael chuckle. Another thing to add to your slowly growing list of likes about the spawn of Satan, you noted to your dismay.

°°° You placed the fork neatly back onto the now empty plate, devoid of even the smallest crumb, that had held an entire ultimate red velvet cake, groaning blissfully. Eyes closed, you swallowed down the last bite. Opposite you, Michael had stopped eating his pasta dish some time ago. When you had said that there is nothing a cake couldn't fix, you had meant an entire cake after all.  The hunger you felt whenever you were in a human body was not easily satiated. Something that Michael or the waiter were clearly not prepared for. Both had been watching you for the last 5 minutes, jaws slack, as piece after piece traveled on the fork and into your mouth.

“That was positively delicious,” you hummed, casting a glance at Michael, fork suspended in mid-air.

“W-would you like anything else, Miss?” the waiter stuttered, taking your plate and admiring it as if it were a rare antiquity.

“Oh no, I think I've been quite naughty enough, don't you think?” you giggled, reaching for the Fanta and taking a large sip.

“Michael, you've hardly touched your food,” you noted, your voice rousing the young man out the trance your display of gluttony had placed him under. He cleared his throat, putting the fork down, adjusting his seat on the table.

“I'm not hungry anymore.”

“Oh, ok, well in that case we'd like the bill please,” you addressed the waiter with a satisfied grin, gulping down the last remnant of orange soda in your glass.

“Hey, you said you'd answer my questions! I knew you were a liar!” Michael intercepted, trying his best to keep his voice down.

“ I don't lie, Michael. You chose to watch me enjoy some cake instead of asking questions, didn't you?” you countered, your elbows coming to rest on the table, fingers intertwining. His anger and frustration bubbled to the surface once again. If he weren't the Antichrist, you were sure he would have a heart attack by the time he hit 30. His body tensed at your statement of truth, eyes squinting menacingly at you. Yet you were right, he had been so busy watching you, he had forgotten all about the myriad of questions buzzing in his mind like moths around a flame. His eyes fluttered shut briefly, gulping down the rage that threatened to burst out his chest. You watched as the blonde man tried to gain back his composure, your finger coming to run along the rim of the empty glass in front of you.

“Michael,” you demanded. His eyes opened to meet your own and you could see his restraint hanging by a thread in them. He did have a temper and you didn't want him setting fire to your favourite restaurant just yet.

“I'm in a good mood tonight. Instead of just answering your questions, I would like to show you something that will answer almost all of them. A deal is a deal,” you tried to reason. Michael mulled your words over in his head, sizing you up while doing so.

“Oh for goodness sake, Michael! I'm not trying to manipulate you. I'm trying to help you!” you exclaimed, exasperated at his hesitance and mistrust. While you knew his beginnings on this earth weren't exactly peppered in love, warmth and trust, you couldn't afford him seeing you as the enemy. Neither could he.

“If you don't believe me, take a peek. Make it last, this will be a one-off,” you encouraged him, an invisible finger beckoning him closer and allowing him limited access to your mind momentarily. Michael's mind pushed through your doors, grazing, flitting over millennia of memories before you let him look at your core.

No lies, Michael, you see?

You eased him out and sealed the doors shut tightly once again, leaning back in your chair, the restaurant coming back into focus.

“Here's your bill, Miss. Thank you for stopping by at the Cheesecake Factory tonight,” the waiter had brought you the bill. Wordlessly, you handed him a 100$ bill, nodding your head briefly at him to suggest that he could keep the change and waited for Michael's response.

“Ok,” Michael finally replied, rolling his head on his shoulders, resulting in a gratuitous cracking sound. You weren't sure if he was entirely satisfied with your show of goodwill. Not that it mattered.

“Let's take a walk,” you suggested, getting up without even the slightest hint of a stomach after decimating an entire cake. Michael's eyes never left you and the enigma you were to him just became a lot more enticing. A boyish smirk crossed his face as he stood up to walk in front of you. At the exit, he held open the door.

“My, my Michael. Didn't take you for a gentleman,” you chuckled, gracefully pushing past him and into the cool night air.

“My Ms. Mead would expect nothing less of me,” he offered, not bothering to hide his Cheshire cat smile. You had allowed him access to your mind and the things he saw, he desperately wanted to see again. You were like a box of confectioneries to him. For once in his life, his pride and ever-growing sense of entitlement took the backseat.  He felt like he had finally met someone of his own caliber and the feeling was exhilarating to him. You weren't his father but you were the next best thing and best of all, right in front of him.

Tag List:

@sexwon131​ @leatherduncan​ @rocketgirl2410​

[clydewinter]

Animona Series: Animona Self-Service Console

Welcome to the Animona Self-Service Console, powered by Anima Technologies! Please take note that your transaction with this machine will be recorded to improve our services.

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17 years ago, a team of scientists led by Dr. Lois Jean successfully developed a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. It was regarded as an astounding medical breakthrough. Over the years, Dr. Lois Jean and her team continued developing the cure to make it more potent yet muchmore affordable to the masses.

During their continuous research and experiments, Dr. Lois Jean accidentally developed a procedure that can extract a specific memory from a person, living or dead, as long as their brains are still intact and transfer it to another living person's brain. The extracted memory is what we know today as Animona.

Animona is a composition of brain cells that is carefully extracted and processed for surgical transplant. Hence, Animonas cannot be copied or duplicated. Once a person undergoes memory extraction to be converted into an Animona, that person loses that specific memory.

The discovery and development of Animona led to another medical breakthrough that cured most neurological conditions such as PTSD, depression, schizophrenia, and many more.

With the success of this medical advancement, an eccentric engineer found an opportunity to make Animona available and affordable to the masses. Thomas BelClement, an engineer and the CEO of BC Industries, believed that Animona is a gift to humanity and should be made accessible to everyone.

Thomas BelClement approached Dr. Lois Jean with a proposal that will make Animona globally accessible and affordable. The two agreed and their agreement led to the establishment of Anima Technologies.

Working together, Thomas BelClement was able to invent the first machine that can extract and install Animona from and to a person without undergoing major brain surgery. The machine is called an Animover.

The product was a huge success and in 6 months since it’s launch, Anima Technologies have already sold an astounding seven million Animovers globally in the service of hospitals, clinics, and rehabilitation centers. This made Anima Technologies the most valuable company in the whole world a year after its conception.

Today, Dr. Lois Jean and Thomas BelClement are still working hard together in developing new ways to make Animona much more accessible and affordable to the masses. Just 5 years ago, Anima Technologies invented a cheaper non-intravenous means to intake Animonas in the form of a capsule. This, however, is limited to shorter memory durations only.

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To date, there are two ways of installing Animonas to your brain; via the Animover or by intaking Anicaps.

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The Animover is the first invention by Anima Technologies that omitted the requirement of brain surgeries when transferring Animonas between two persons. The procedure only included the person you will extract memories from, the person where the memory will go to, and the assistance of an expert medical practitioner that has undergone training in operating an Animover.

First, the two patients will have to be induced with anaesthesia and fall into a temporary and controlled coma. Then, the medical practitioner will inject a long but very thin needle on both of the patients’ heads. Once successfully injected, the medical practitioner can prompt the Animover to operate.

The medical practitioner will then navigate through the person’s memory through the Animover for extraction. Once confirmed, the brain cells related to that memory are then extracted from the person’s brain and into the Animover. The machine will then process the extracted brain cells and convert it to an Animona. After 15 minutes of processing, the Animona will then be installed into the other person’s brain. During installation, the receiving person will experience the memory like a vivid dream. After the procedure, the person from where the extraction happened will no longer remember the extracted memory. The receiving person will then wake up and have the extracted memory stored in their brain.

Total time to complete the procedure: 30 to 45 mins depending on how far and how long the memory is from the extracting end.

Accuracy: 99.9998% accurate memory.

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Anicaps are an innovative breakthrough in Animona technology. An Anicap is a capsule that has a specially formulated Animona inside. Unlike the Animover, Anicaps does not require a machine to install an Animona to your brain. You only have to orally intake the Anicap and almost instantly, you can experience the memory that is stored in the Animona.

Extraction of the Animona for the Anicap remains the same as the Animover. Only the receiving procedure differs.

However, unlike the Animover procedure, Anicaps are not capable of storing Animonas that have longer memory durations.

Total time to complete the procedure: Almost instantly.

Accuracy: 95.72%.

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Since the founding of Anima Technologies, Animonas have been globally accessible and much more affordable. Animonas are not also limited to medical use. Some people use Animonas for recreational activities. (The legality of recreational use of Animonas varies from local governing bodies. Please check with your local government about using Animonas outside of prescription.)

Recreational use of Animona

You can enjoy the benefits of Animonas from recreational activities. For example, when Animovers first launched commercially, people who had acrophobia (fear of heights) had Animonas of skydiving memories installed to their brains. This helped them experience skydiving without having to actually jump off from a plane.

Paraplegic patients also enjoy the recreational benefits of Animonas. Those who can no longer move their limbs can stimulate muscle motion by installing Animonas that have memories of intense activities like those of athletes.

If you want to relive a memory, that is also made possible, thanks to Animona technology! You can have a specific memory extracted from your brain, process it into Animona, and reinstall it again so you can relive that memory as if it’s happening at this very moment.

Lifestyle

Many people have lived very interesting lives, went on daring adventures, or had one-of-a-kind memories that only they can experience. Thanks to Animona, you can experience those memories, too.

There are auction houses that specialize in Animona bidding. The Animonas that go to auction houses are usually extremely rare memories or memories from very famous people. The most expensive ones are the Animonas that involve memories of dead famous people. Thanks to the people who preserved his brain, Albert Einstein’s memory when he discovered the final formula of his famous Theory of Relativity sold for 2.5 billion ABC (Absolute Currency) just 2 months ago.

Many people consider specific memories inside Animonas as an art form. As such, there's a huge market of collectors aiming to have exotic and rare Animonas as part of their collection.

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Below is the projected timeline from Anima Technologies:

2055 - Release of Animover IX; faster processing, 100% memory accuracy, AI-operation

2057 - Release of Anicaps Ultra; 100% memory accuracy, extended Animona

2063 - Launch of Aniboost; New product, daily maintenance for brain health, development of photographic memory

2075 - Animona’s 50th Year of Discovery, Launch of Anifinity; Constant brain cell regeneration, projected human lifespan to increase up to 185 years old.

2077 - Discovery of extracting memories from DNA; Animona’s exclusive independence from brain cells.

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Performing Advanced CT Scan. This will take a few seconds.

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Scanning.

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Scan complete.

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Advanced CT Scan Results

Name: Marcus Orponta

Age: 34

Occupation: Military Veteran

Brain Health: 16.4%

Detected illnesses: PTSD (Severe), Anxiety (Severe), Insomnia (Severe), Chances of Stroke (Very likely), Dementia (Severe)

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Since your brain health is below the federal government’s approved threshold, your results have been automatically submitted to the nearest hospital. Please proceed to [Dr. Lois Jean Medical Hospital].

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[boscorogersofficial]

How To Make Use Of Trustpilot Review Information

If you're a business that accepts online reviews, then you are aware of how dangerous feedback can be. Reviews from customers can vary from the glowing to the absolutely scathing, and all in between.

It can be hard to determine how your company is performing when it comes with the star rating system. Reviews usually contain both positive and negative comments and a star rating system can be difficult to discern which aspects are working and what can be improved.

Trustpilot is an online review platform was the inspiration behind the launch of Review Insights. The new feature makes use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology to provide companies a more thorough look at their customer feedback and help them understand the meaning of it all.

Feedback The good, the bad and ugly

Zachary Pardes is Trustpilot North America's director of communications, advertising and marketing. He said that Review Insights allows businesses to be more inventive and agile, to gain deep insights into their products, business and processes, which they may not have otherwise.

Pardes said that companies should be ready for all kinds of feedback, either good or not. Negative feedback can be beneficial when it is handled constructively and used to resolve issues. Related: Learn how responding to reviews can benefit your business.[Read more]

He added that although a lot of 5-star reviews are wonderful, they don’t have any significance for a company striving to improve itself. And customer feedback is an excellent way of inducing these improvements. Every business should never stop learning. If you're done learning, you're failing.

How do you use Review Insights

The company says Review Insights is particularly easy to use, particularly when you're already set up on the Trustpilot platform. You'll need to become a member to take advantage of Trustpilot's latest feature. Once you've done that, you will want to start collecting reviews through Trustpilot to establish an inventory of data that for the AI can study. In cases where you require to find out details on trustpiot review, you've to check here at Tp Reviews site.

Establish an Automated Feedback System

An CSM and integration manager within the company will ensure everything is set up for you. Pardes recommends using Trustpilot's Automated Feedback Service, which sends out email invitations after customers have made a purchase. This allows you to gather feedback from the vast majority of your customers.

Keyword tagging

It's not advisable to take this step until you've gathered a base review collection. The next step is to create keywords tags. Next, you must figure out the kind of information you need and what you'd like learn from your customers.

When you get started be sure to be clear about your goals, and then highlight areas that are hindering your improvement. That way, he or will be able to set you up for success.

Let's say, for instance the possibility that you observed customers experiencing issues with online payment. To help you understand the issue, you can tag keywords your customers might use to refer to online payment.

Use feedback effectively

Building a successful business, you must be constantly improvement and learning, and you can't improve when you don't know the things that aren't working. Customers' feedback is only so valuable as the actions you do when you receive it. Business owners who are smart will look for ways to gain an advantage every time they can.

Sites to read customer reviews

Trustpilot is not the only platform small businesses can use to gather reviews of their products or businesses. Small businesses that only sell on Amazon can take advantage of its built-in reviews system. There's Angie's List, Foursquare, Facebook, Choice, Consumer Reports, Yelp, Google My Business, TrustRadius, Glassdoor and many more. These sources can offer a glimpse into the thoughts of your clients. But, not all of these sources offer separate analytics to help you comprehend the opinions of your customers.

Trustpilot is a platform that collects reviews from consumers, is located in Denmark. It allows companies to collect customer reviews through a third-party rather than through their own websites. While the basic version is free, the paid version allows you to make custom review invitations. The company claims 1.2 million new reviews are published every month.

Tpreviews is an alternative platform. It also has a review analytics and monitoring tool. It can be used by businesses to identify positive and negative reviews patterns and track the progress you make in improving your product or reviewing competitor products.

No matter what method you employ to collect feedback from customers It is crucial to spend the time and take note of what they have to tell you. You can then utilize that information to grow your business.

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Dr. Pete Larson

Dr. Pete Larson runs Dagoretti Records now, he’s gotten there by an unusually long and winding road. Earlier in his career, Larson fronted 25 Suaves and Couch and ran BULB records. He also trained as an epidemiologist and spent time in Kenya studying the transmission of malaria. While in Kenya, he developed an interest in a lute-like eight-stringed instrument called a nyatiti and studied it with the master player Oduor Nyagweno. All these interests collide in a striking first album from Dr. Pete Larson and His Cytotoxic Nyatiti Band, where the nyatiti “cuts through a haze of electric rock distortion, pinging rhythmically and restlessly against floating euphorias of ululating vocals,” per Jennifer Kelly’s review. Here he lists some favorites from several continents.

I have been asked to create one of these lists for Dusted and here’s what I came up with. Making these lists is kind of difficult. I have a hard time remembering what I’ve been listening to at any moment, but here is a collection of old and new that get frequent airplay in my home. I play a Kenyan lyre, so this heavily leans toward lyre and harps and East African music in general, with some other choice cuts thrown in.

Musicians Of The National Dance Company Of Cambodia — Homrong (Real World Records)

I think I got this record (CD) back in the early 90s when I was selling music to Caroline Records. A friend sent me a box of CD promos, most of which wasn’t very interesting, but fortunately, this one was included. I don’t really know anything about Cambodian music, but for some reason, this collection of mid-tempo Cambodian court jamz plays every couple of months. Lots of weird sort of lurching rhythms and chorus singing with an erhu like instrument over it. A great listen.

Maleem Mahmoud Ghania w/ Pharoah Sanders — Trance of the Seven Colors

The Trance Of Seven Colors by Maleem Mahmoud Ghania w/ Pharoah Sanders

Trance inducing this is. Maleem Mahmoud Ghania is (was) one of the 20th century masters of Moroccan Gnawa music, a sort of spiritual, bass-heavy, rolling kind of music of Morocco. Any recording by Maleem Mahmoud is going to impress, but this mash of up of Gnawa with the great Pharoah Sanders is another level. If you are familiar with Gnawa music, it is a little disorienting to hear Sanders howl over the slow burn trance jamz but you are quickly drawn into what a perfect matchup this ended up being. Released on CD in the 90s, it fortunately has finally gotten a proper vinyl release.

Momoyama Harue — “Lullaby for the mother demon’s baby” (桃山晴衣* ‎– 鬼の女の子守唄)

I was playing the shamisen for a while (a three stringed lute from Japan) and found Momoyama Harue as part of my research. Shamisen is kind of a folky instrument for drinking parlors and entertainment of old Japan. The instrument and the music was nearly dead but saw a revival in the 1960s, similar to folk revivals in the US that brought the banjo back. Momoyama, however, was kind of an outlier, more arty than folky, and more poetry than song. Rather than box the music in an imagined past or try to hopelessly smash it into amplified rock music, she pushed it forward, blending it with ambient synth along with Indian and Middle Eastern musics. One of her best collaborations was with the great Egyptian oud player Hamza el Din that was nearly dead until the 1960s. All of the songs on this record are haunting (as the title suggests), but these tracks with el Din are truly singular. I have been searching for a vinyl copy of this record for years; one day I’ll get lucky.

Lucas Odote — “J. Oreng”

Nyatiti Singles Volume 1 by Lucas Odote

I spent several years in Kenya learning to play the nyatiti, an eight stringed lyre historically played by a group of people in an area around Lake Victoria. I also spent time collecting records, searching for hours in dusty boxes for Kenyan traditional music records. One of my best finds was at Jimmy’s Records in Kenyatta Markets, this record by the great Nairobi based nyatiti player Lucas Odote. Most nyatiti records are just a guy playing solo and more ethno than funky. But this one seems to be Lucas teaming up with what I think to be Nairobi funksters, the Loki Toki Tok band. At least that’s what I can guess. My copy is beat to hell. It took some doing to get some sound out of it, but this is one of my faves in my collection.

Siti Muharam — Siti of Unguja (Romance Revolution On Zanzibar)

Siti of Unguja (Romance Revolution On Zanzibar) by Siti Muharam

I swear I saw Siti Muharam sing on the deck of a hotel bar while vacation in Zanzibar several years ago. I can’t be certain, but I am pretty sure it was her singing for the band I saw. The traditional form of Taarab music is something to be experienced. Taarab music comes from the Arab coast of East Africa, and is this fantastic mix of local feel and Arab sounds, overlapped with heart wrenching songs of lost love and longing. I think there are some foreigners involved in this production, but this is an excellent document of Taarab music at its best.

Grandmaster Masese — “Orogena rwa Baba”

Grandmaster Masese: New African Soundz Singles No.1 by Grandmaster Masese

It might be gauche to put records from your own label on a list like this, but I am first a music fan and second a musician and third a music seller… so this one stays. G-master is a friend of mine from Kenya and one of the best humans I know. One of just a handful of people who play the Obokano, a giant 8 stringed lyre that emits an unforgettable sub-bass buzzing sound and this was his first release in the US and one of my favorite records ever. We recorded this in his kitchen in Nairobi with just a couple of mics over dinner. G is a cool guy. You should listen to his music.

Yagi Michiyo — Seventeen

Yagi is another Japanese musician who specializes in what one would think is a “traditional” instrument, but who brings much more to the table than one would expect. Yagi is a koto player by training. You have probably heard koto in the background music for scenes of Japan in American movies. The version you hear there is mostly lifeless and flat, kind of like a plastic chair in the corner. Yagi, however, plays the 17 string bass koto, invented in the 1920s or so, to try and give new life to the instrument. Yagi creates weird percussive, dissonant music that I can’t really get enough of.

Asnakech Worku (featuring Hailu Mergia) — Asnakech

Asnakech by Asnakech Worku

Asnakech Worku was a lot of things; pioneer, actress, but most notably a female Krar player. Certainly there might have been other female Krar players in Ethiopia at the time, but Krar players are mostly men. The Krar is a lyre from Ethiopia, mostly played with one hand, though there are several playing styles out there. Worku plays haunting sounds on her Krar on this record, backed up by famous Ethiopian keyboardist Hailu Mergia, who really needs no intro.

Ogola Opot — “Domtila Ogola”

This will probably be the only 78 on this list. Ogola Opot is considered the grandfather of the Kenyan nyatiti, coming to prominence in the 1960s and 70s, and creating the genre we know as Siaya style “traditional nyatiti.” If someone asks me what nyatiti music sounds like, this is probably where I would have people start. I include this first because it is a great record and second because it was my holy grail for a while (though I always have new holy grails) and managed to find a pristine copy for sale from a place in France recently. I am not going to say how much I paid for it.

Sosena Gebre Eyesus — S/T (Little Axe Records)

Sosena Gebre Eyesus by Sosena Gebre Eyesus

I bought this record off the net because I am a huge fan of Begena music, this haunting, trance inducing music from Ethiopia that appears to be the go-to for Ethiopian Christians… but this record explained nothing of that. Just a picture of a lady with a begena and no other info…. It took me a while to put together what the record was and where it came from, but the sounds contained within are impeccable. Just 40 minutes of weird undersea tones on a giant bass lyre.

[desiraypark]

When the Sun Sleeps in Canto Bight [7]

Previous Entire Work CHAPTER PLAYERS Kylo Ren, Leader of the Knights of Ren The Knights of Ren Enric Pryde, Sheev Palpatine’s right hand Sheev Palpatine, leader of the Palpatine Gang Rey Vale, Sheev’s granddaughter Ruby Girard, The Beautiful Singer Crystal Canon, Ruby’s roommate CHAPTER CONTENT Some Language; a little fluff; possessiveness (or signs of it?) Word Count: 1,973

With his Knights behind him, Kylo Ren walked into the Death Star Club. Kylo never really paid attention to how establishments looked, but this place was drab. Old wallpaper practically peeling away. Lit with what seemed like the first light bulbs ever invented, and from what they could tell from the lobby, filled with people who probably remembered the block when it was “nothing but trees”. They approached the hatcheck girl. “Mr. Ren?” the blonde asked before they could even speak. “Yeah,” Kylo responded, leaning on her counter. “Mr. Palpatine has been expecting you.” She picked up a phone and rotated the dial, eyeing Kylo seductively as she did so. He smirked and laughed in his mind, and in his mind only. “Mr. Palpatine’s guests are here.” A tall, grey-haired man with icy blue eyes led the Knights through the club, out a back door, through an alley, and into a small office building behind the club. Kylo took everything in. It was a long fucking walk, but he understood its purpose, and was actually impressed. Precautionary. They’d probably stalled many a person with this trek.

Sheev Palpatine was seated behind a heavy walnut desk, and a dark-haired woman sat on the other side. She turned around at the sound of footsteps and quickly rose to face the guests. Her hand instinctively rested on her skirted hip. “Kylo Ren...” Palpatine said with lifted arms. “I see you brought the whole gang.” Kylo stepped to Palpatine and kissed his hand. Then, he looked the young woman up and down. She scooted away and stood at the old man’s side. Then, she let her hand from her hip. “Nice to see you, Vic,” he said.  “Likewise, Sheev.” “Young Ushar. Not so young anymore, huh?” Ushar grunted. “No, sir.” “Is this little Rey?” Vic asked. Rey pressed her lips together in a reluctant smile. She nodded. “Hello, Mr. Arden. Long time no see.” Her eyes fell back on Kylo. Annoyance filled her irises again. “May I sit?” Kylo asked. “Yes, yes. Everyone take a seat,” Palpatine said. “Thanks, Enric.” The man who’d led the Knights into the office nodded and stood at the door. The Knights exchanged pleasantries with Palpatine and an awkward Rey, before Palpatine finally asked to speak with Kylo alone. “I’m just going to cut to the chase, son...” Palpatine started. They sat in another office with only a banker’s desk lamp illuminating the room. He’d left only about an inch of space between the door and its hinge. “I’m not getting any younger. My gang, we’re all a bunch of old fellas. No young guys. So, having said that, I want to make you a proposition.” Kylo leaned back in the leather seat. “What kinda proposition?” “I’d like to retire in a few years. I don’t know when, but soon. I want to see the world. Lounge by an ocean. Go on a safari. Go fishing and smell the fresh air atop some mountains...” Kylo’s heart began to thump with anxiety-inducing impatience. He swallowed and shifted in his seat. “I’ve done well, I think. Made good money. Haven’t run into too much trouble. Taken care of the...situations...that have caused me trouble. But that’s been rare, surprisingly.” “Uh huh,” Kylo interjected, hoping to rush him along. Palpatine straightened his spine. “Well, young Kylo...I’d like for us to partner up. Merge, if you will. Work together and split the profits...” “Why didn’t you merge with Ren?” Kylo shot at him like a ping-pong ball. Palpatine huffed and smirked. “Reese wasn’t too keen on working with others. And...I think my affiliation with the police gave him reservations.” “So, he didn’t trust you,” Kylo concluded. “What makes you think I would trust you?”   Palpatine shrugged. “I’m an old man who chews tobacco twice a day and has to carry a fucking inhaler when the weather is too hot, or too cold because I have the lungs of a damn newborn.” He laughed sorrowfully at himself.

“I have nothing to gain from fucking you over.”

Kylo leaned back in the seat again and looked into Palpatine’s eyes--searching. Wondering. Curious. “When I retire,” Palpatine continued. “I want to put my businesses into trustworthy hands. I like you, Kylo. You’re loyal. You were loyal to my cousin. You’re loyal to your guys...” “Don’t you have kids?” Kylo asked. “Why can’t you pass the business down to them?” Palpatine rose from his seat and walked to the window. “My ex-wife kept my children as far away from the business as possible. They don’t want anything to do with it. They’re all adults with grandchildren of their own, now. Living in weatherboard houses with picket fences.” "Is that girl in there your daughter?” “My granddaughter.” “Why won’t you let her take over?” Kylo asked. Palpatine whirled around to look at him. “Do you think it’s proper to let a woman go into this business?” “Nothing we do is deemed “proper”, Mr. Palpatine.” “Hmph,” Palpatine grunted.

“Nonetheless. I don’t want to make a target out of my own granddaughter. She’s good with numbers. In fact, she’s been quite the asset these last few years. But it would be irresponsible of me to put her in such a dangerous position.” Palpatine sat back down.

“But anyway. You’ve got the guts and the brawn, Kylo. Reese always spoke highly of you. You’re young and burning with passion. A little temperamental, he said. But you’ve got something that not too many people in our industry have. That Organa blood...” Kylo felt his eye twitch.

“Why, if I were the descendant of Organa family, I’d own nightclubs, bars, hotels, restaurants, and even fucking beauty parlors if I could.” Kylo’s leg began to bounce, but he rubbed his knee to self-sooth. “I appreciate the high praise, Mr. Palpatine. And the offer. But, I just ain’t that interested in partnerin’ up with anybody.”

He rose from his chair. “I like what the Knights of Ren have goin’ now. Everyone is taken care of. We don’t need more. Too much more puts too many eyes on you.” “I disagree,” Palpatine responded. He rose from his chair, as well. “But I respect your decision.” He shook Kylo’s hand. “But I want you to know that I’m not sharing this offer with anyone else. If you ever change your mind, and as long as I’m still alive, the offer will remain on the table.” ______________________ “May I help you?” Crystal asked. She blew cigarette smoke through the side of her mouth. “Is Ruby home?” Kylo asked. “Kylo?” Ruby called. Crystal looked over her shoulder, and reluctantly widened the wooden door. Kylo looked her up and down, then sauntered into the living room. Something good was cooking on the stove. “What are you doing here?” Ruby asked. She wore an apron over a green dress and a scarf on her head. Suddenly conscious of her appearance, she touched her hair and cringed at the feeling of her scarf. “I came to see you,” he said. He walked to her, wrapped his arms around her waist and yanked her close, but Ruby winced in his embrace. “Kylo, this is Crystal. Crystal, Kylo,” she said hastily. He smirked and pulled away, catching the hint. Then, he turned to Crystal and tipped his invisible hat. “Pleasure.” “Hmph...” Crystal responded. She exhaled smoke and disappeared into the kitchen. “Crystal can you turn the pot off?!” Ruby called. “What’s wrong wit’ her?” Kylo asked. They heard the click of the oven’s knob. “She doesn’t like you,” Ruby whispered. She peeked at the kitchen’s entryway, then stood on her tiptoes. She planted a kiss a Kylo’s lips. “Mmm...” he said, licking his lips.

He pulled away and looked around the living room--the old sofa, the rug; the vases of flowers in various places.

“Not too bad.” “It’s not bad at all,” Ruby responded, putting her hands on her hips. “I can give you better,” he said, eyes falling back on her. He watched her walk toward, then pass him to her sofa. She took a seat. “I can give myself better.”  Kylo eased down beside her and pulled her legs onto his lap. “I can give it to you quicker.” Ruby laughed and shook her head, unable to shoot something back at him. “What do you want, Babydoll?” he asked. He ran his fingertips up and down her bare leg. “What do I want?” she repeated, hoping for clarity. “Yeah. What do you want in this life?” “I want...” Ruby started. Kylo was watching her attentively--and it made her nervous. She drew in a deep breath.

“I want to sell so many records and do so many gigs, that I make enough money to not only get myself a house on a hill, but get my parents one, too.” “What else?” Ruby shrugged. “I don’t think I want anything else.” “I can give you that if you let me. That and more.” Kylo’s fingers moved up her legs and rested on her thigh. “Kylo...?” Ruby mumbled. “Hmm?” “Are you being serious with me right now?” she asked. “Yeah, I’m bein’ serious.” “No, I mean. Are you just foolin’ around, or are you serious about me?” Kylo’s eyebrows furrowed. “Yes, I’m fuckin’ serious about you. Where the fuck is this comin’ from?” 

“Can you stop saying fuck?” Ruby asked through clenched teeth. “Babydoll,” he started, rubbing her thigh. “The moment I stepped into that fu--into that restaurant, I knew I wanted to make you mine.” “Yours. Like a possession.” Kylo took in her face. Her eyes and lips were steady. She wanted clarity, he knew. She wanted to know exactly what he wanted from her. Maybe “make you mine” wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but it was what he felt. He wasn’t a “love at first sight” kinda guy. He was barely even a “love” kinda guy. But he was a “listen to your gut” kinda guy--and his gut told him that the girl on that stage was his wife. “Well, I ain’t got no problem bein’ yours, too,” he said. Ruby gazed upon his eyes, noticing that the apartment’s light illuminated the true color of his irises. She could hear Crystal’s spoon clinking against her bowl in the distance. “A man like you doesn’t belong to anybody, Kylo." “No, I belong to you. I go all my adult life never feelin’ anything for anybody. Then I walk into the Galaxy, and boom, all of a sudden I’m feelin’ butterflies and shit? Shit like that don’t happen for no reason.” Ruby sighed and looked straight ahead, staring at nothing in particular. “We barely even know, each other, Kylo. This is some heavy talk.” “Well, all I know is what my gut tells me. My gut told me the moment I saw you, that you was my wife. And my gut is always right.” Ruby looked back at Kylo and just shook her head in shock. It was a good shock. Emotion was overriding logic. She didn’t think Kylo was lying to her at all.  “And I know you want me, too. I know you feel what I feel,” Kylo continued. “You’re just too busy tryin’ to figure out somethin’ that’s already figured out.” Kylo watched Ruby’s chest move up and down. He heard the air each time it left her nostrils. “I’m not supposed to trust men like you,” she said. “And you ain’t supposed to be wearin’ lipstick and goin’ to picture shows and singin’ about things that ain’t about the gods, but you do all of that anyway, don’t you?” "You would throw that back in my face,” Ruby mumbled jokingly. Kylo smiled and ran his hand back down to her legs, and right back up to her thigh. Ruby watched each movement, then looked back into his eyes. “You wanna stay for dinner?” she asked.

[michaeldempsey]

Being Known is Being Loved

Years ago a friend of mine had a dream about a strange invention; a staircase you could descend deep underground, in which you heard recordings of all the things anyone had ever said about you, both good and bad. The catch was, you had to pass through all the worst things people had said before you could get to the highest compliments at the very bottom. There is no way I would ever make it more than two and a half steps down such a staircase, but I understand its terrible logic: if we want the rewards of being loved, we have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known. 

- I Know What You Think of Me by Tim Krieder

We have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known.

This line, which came from a 2012 New York Times essay, then became a meme in 2018, always has resonated with me. The core idea of the essay could be summarized in an equally as powerful statement brought forth by another Tumblr user:

Being known is being loved.

Both statements frame a visceral feeling that is hard to properly explain but is almost immediately understood in the comfort and complexities of knowing someone, and the emotions that come from that journey.

To know someone is to understand their inner workings. It is to know the foods they hate, the ways they deal with stress, the goals they have, the secrets they keep, the time they spend, and hundreds of other smaller things that define someone, and your journey with them as you get to each other's cores.

If you’ve ever loved someone, Natasha’s writing will make you feel this deeply:

“i know your pizza order” “you have freckles on your ears” “you make this face when you’re tired” “you order green tea on a good day black on a bad day” “you always make that face before you try something” “the tips of your ears turn red when you’re angry” “i knew you’d say something” “you must be exhausted to miss the class” “your favorite pie is pumpkin, right?” “i know your phone number, don’t worry” “you miss me, i can tell” “you fiddle with your pens when you’re bored” “you don’t like converse unless they’re high tops” “your favorite cereal is cinnamon toast crunch and you first ate it when you were 8”

The fog of being known, & volatility

I sometimes think about knowing someone as a Fog of War map. For many parts of someone, there are areas that you uncover and don’t expect to change, ranging from seemingly inconsequential preferences to deeper personal values to lifelong pursuits. And then there are parts of people that do change, and these more volatile areas you have to revisit, check in with, and explore to continually know...and to continually love.

As we uncover more of this map, “mortifying” really is a perfect word to describe how we feel about being known in the 21st century. The satisfaction, emotional exposure, and time investment that comes from being known is non-trivial and high risk. It requires you and another person to embark on a journey together that theoretically is high ROI, but more likely, just high volatility.

Over the past 10 years, a lot of the dynamics have changed surrounding what it means to be known, for better or for worse. Especially this year these dynamics of what we qualify as "knowing" someone has been top of mind for me across both personal and professional contexts.

Our world has turned into one that inflates to a minimum viable aesthetic. We want to show a version of ourselves online that is most attractive, most agreeable, most interesting, and most admirable. Perfect pictures, curated stories, high level tweets designed to garner likes and RTs, and a catering to the masses of our minimum viable audience. This is the seemingly agreed upon dominant strategy whether seeking influence, capital, or something else.

We string together fragments of various selves, but rarely do we see the entire self, because what’s the incentive? There’s just too much risk in being known. By being somewhat known we are effectively minimizing some of the beautiful human volatility I mention a few paragraphs above.

Maximum vulnerability = maximum volatility = maximum upside.

(tweet source)

In investing, higher volatility usually equates to higher possible returns. In today's world of online expression, we settle for lower expected value, market-level outcomes so as to not ruffle any feathers and not take any outsized risk. We're basically hoping to allow people to know us enough so that they include us in their passive index of humans they hold in moderate regard, like that vanguard ETF that their finance friend told them to buy and never think about until they were 60.

As I write that sentence, I think that perhaps we go back to the parable of humans being viewed as commodities or indexes. We can debate this at a societal level but on the professional side, I think this is entirely true within my bubble of venture capital and startups.

When we think about the products that venture capital firms offer the talking points are either the people (which partner do you work with) or the capital. The capital is a commodity today. This pushes seed round dynamics into sprints measured in days in order to get to a decision of who to partner with for the next 7-10 years of your company. One could make the argument that founders should take their time and be more intentional, but let's be real, that isn't net dominant for a founder or their highly optimized process.

As an industry we like to equate picking a co-founder to marriage and draw similar comparisons when picking a lead investor/board member. Despite this, we have yet to figure out the solution for understanding these relationships in a newly compressed timeline outside of social capital (how does an investor reference), shotgun weddings (was great to meet you yesterday, give me the highest price and get out of my way), and brand network effects (firm > people). But this information is sparse and humans are....say it with me...VOLATILE. So you never really know.

This insight is what led various VCs to become content marketing machines in order to increase exposure and surface area. I heavily adapted this playbook early in my career (as many have) and it certainly helps people get to know you...sorta. I should say, it gets people to know a part of you.

And I feel like we've conflated the idea of knowing someone with having an idea of someone. You can't know someone after 9 days (if Kopelman is correct) but you can get maximum context by understanding the corpus of their being on the internet...or at least that's the best attempt I can muster up in my reality.

My reality is that I can't buy my own bullshit/sell my soul enough to tweet out tech proverbs or repurpose old parables for likes. My reality is that I don't have the skill to transactionally aggressively network and I can't sustain the energy from social interactions to exponentially scale deep connections to the tune of 25+ meetings/week I care about. So instead, my only option to be loved is to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known. To wear my heart on my digital sleeve, a proverbial sleeve that's threads are made up of a sum of all of my writing, social media accounts, in-person interactions, and more, not just a curated feed of minimum viable story filled with dopamine-inducing 280 character lines.

I write about the areas I care about, founders I partner with, my struggles with my industry, my lessons of growing up, my allegories for friendship or love, all to be known. I tweet to be known, I joke to be known, hell I sing to be known.

And in writing this my only goal is to express my disinterest in what passes the bar today for "being known" in our communities, and to ask others to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known.

So here’s my sleeve where you can start to get to know me. I look forward to descending the staircase together.

(this Image 2x for thumbnail purposes)

[ichor-hunter]

Hephaestus

Hephaestus Blood Code- Rin Murasame "A blood code received from Murasame. It holds her passionate will to support allies who throw themselves into difficult battles and watch over them with a smile when they come home. This code focuses specalizes in dexterity based weapons and uses devious Gifts to toy with the enemy."

Introduction to Blood Codes and Rin

Blood Codes are the abilities imbued within a Revenant's Blood. Each Blood Code is unique to each Revenant that resides within the Gaol of the Mist. Once a Revenant has awakened from their slumber after the BOR parasite has been placed in them, the blood takes on a Code which I believe derives from the characteristics of that Revenant.

I'd like to think Rin is either a first/second generation revenant. She's burdened by the decisions she's made in the past that made her reluctant to battle. She replaced her unwillingness to go to the front lines by handling the support side for everyone at Home Base and always exudes a cheerful personality for the crew to come home to.

Greek Mythology

Rin's blood code is based on the Greek God Hephaestus.

Hephaestus is a Blacksmith and a fire God known for his creations of many different things. Hephaestus was notably a secondary God in various mythologies and the only pertaining role he did have was his revenge against his mother Hera, who claimed to have hated him, called him ugly & deformed after birth. He was tossed away from Hera but the gods Thetis and Eurynome rescued him.

As for the revenge against Hera, he created a golden throne and Hera was so enthralled by the creation that she immediately wanted it for herself. The minute she sat on it, she was trapped by invisible cords that refuse to let her go free. Hephaestus was the only one that could see these cords and the other gods begged Hephaestus to let Hera free but he refused until he got drunk by Dionysus, the god of wine and vegetation.

Hephaestus is also famously known for being the creator of Pandora, after being commanded by Zeus. Pandora was created after inducing Prometheus' punishment for stealing Hephaestus fire from his workshop.

Similarities between Rin and Hephaestus

Hephaestus was known for his creations in his workshop. He provided armour and weapons to many famous heroes and gods. Rin is relied on for handling maintenance, upgrades and selling new Blood Veils and weapons in her workshop.

Hermes, Davis' blood code is also a sibling of Hephaestus. Of course, we don't see them interact in the game even though their stations are right next to each other. Presumably, they both get along since I assume Davis also gets his weapons tuned by Rin.

Since Louis' blood code is Prometheus and Prometheus was the one who stole fire from Hephaestus' workshop along with the knowledge of metalwork, these Greek Gods only interacted indirectly through those instances. Louis and Rin do get along in the game and they both support each other while Rin looks forward to the reports from him, Louis trusts her with managing his weapon, bringing new material and other things relating to Rin's workshop.

Eva's blood code is Harmonia but the relationship between Harmonia and Hephaestus is completely different from Rin and Eva in the game. Hephaestus gifted Harmonia a necklace and the lore of Harmonia's story is called: Harmonia's necklace. The necklace caused great misfortune for Harmonia but it grants the wearer eternal youth. Hephaestus gave Harmonia the necklace out of spite of her mother Aphrodite who cheated on Hephaestus with Harmonia's father Ares. However, as we can see from cutscenes, Rin sincerely cares about Eva, especially when Eva left Home Base not knowing the depth of her condition and felt upset about not being able to keep a good eye on her.

Rin's has the blood code Hephaestus while Mia holds the blood code Artemis. These Greek god and goddesses are siblings, and while they don't interact much in Greek Mythology, it's understandable that Rin has taken a shine to Mia. Mia was able to fit in at Home base with Rin around and I think Rin is just as excited to have someone who is close to her age that she can befriend.

Hephaestus was known for his supposed 'deformity' but from how I'm seeing it,  Rin doesn't have any physical deformity. She wears her purifier mask everywhere but we learn from the artbook that it's due to her handling weapons all the time. Working with BOR parasites and queen blood metals would probably emit some miasma or toxins in the air.

Then there's Rin's name in battle "Yaksha" or in other words demon. With Hephaestus' nature in Greek Mythology, the Yasksha part of Rin's background would relate to Hephaestus' spiteful nature against other gods that did him wrong. Rin doesn't exhibit Hephaestus' true nature but can easily reveal those characteristics during battle only. With Rin, she feels guilt with the things she was incapable of doing but Hephaestus' didn't deal with those kinds of emotions.

However, with the strong battle experience Rin displayed in her memories, she has that advantage over Hephaestus'. Hephaestus' as I have read, hasn't fully immersed himself into battle, he's more of a support for battle providing weapons, shields, and armory to the other gods (along with his knowledge of fire and metalwork). Rin in the past showed the opposite of that. While she is now gotten comfortable being in the support role and acquiring the knowledge and proficiency of helping other Revenants, she doesn't carry any grudges, unlike Hephaestus.

Hephaestus was more along the lines of deception with the mythology behind Harmonia's necklace, Pandora and the golden throne for Hera. We see those traits being exploited more within Rin's Gifts for her blood code. "Uses devious Gifts to toy with the enemy." Several of Hephaestus' creations were for deviousness and or weakness for the gods he gifted his creations. While there's not much connecting lore between Hephaestus and Rin, the one major common trait they share is that they're both seen with a hammer in their workshop.

Hephaestus' Gifts

Avance-Increases the amount of ichor gained from drain attacks. Pioneer's Guidance-Makes Gifts easier to master.

Hephaestus was always finding the best of ways to master and perfect his creations over all things, including the creation of Pandora.  These two Gifts are from Hephaestus' subconsciously ingrained mindset to perfect his works. - Inhibit Resistance- Increases inhibit resistance. Inhibit Removal-Cures you and your partner of inhibit. Use to block the effect before being afflicted.

These inhibit preventative Gifts is based on Hephaestus' defiance against certain Gods. He would conjure up an invention or a certain craft that would end up leading to the other's downfall.

- Swift Destruction-Increases damage dealt in proportion to your mobility. Vanishing Hollow- Dodge attacks by transforming into mist. Countermeasure- For a limited time, dodging enemy attacks generates projectiles that attack the enemy. Evasive Snare-Dodging enemy attacks generates projectiles at the cost of ichor that attack the enemy.

These Gifts aren't as much related to Hephaestus since he didn't participate in battles. These correlate more towards the gimmicks of his creations. There's always an intriguing pro or con towards his creations such as the chair for Hera so these Gifts could translate from his creations rather than Hephaestus' power prowess. - Flames of Rage-Manipulates ichor to create a trap at your feet that immolates assailants. Dancing Blaze-Fires a ricocheting bullet. These Gifts related to Hephaestus' proficiency over Fire. He utilizes fire in his workshop for his creations or makes creations that would cause a cursed effect on it and the bearer of it which links to the Flames of Rage gift. Or the Flames of Rage could also reference Prometheus steals his fire.

Concluding Thoughts

Rin's Blood Code Hephaestus is aligned with her role at Home Base rather than the lore behind Hephaestus. She brings a lot of cheerfulness to the harsh world they live in. It makes sense why she doesn't fight anymore, but I hope there is some kind of development where she'll grow out of the fears of abandoning her comrades. I'm sure she'll play some sort of bigger role based on the true ending but for now, Rin deserves all the happiness in the world and I'm glad she was created differently from her Greek God counterpart.