#but i will say that if i were introduced to the franchise via the newer books

[e-adlirez]

Why are you this ick about the friendship things in the books? I mean, for a book series that aimed for preschooler shouldn't it be expected for the books to have a lot of corny messages about friendship and love? Like, I feel like you gave way too many expectations for a silly kid series

Okay yeah that's fair, maybe my expectations for the series is holding the bar a bit high, and it might just be a me thing (I could never get into MLP for the life of me)

But hear me okay

The reason I don't like the power of friendship being mentioned in the books is because it clashes with what I've seen of the series so far.

See one thing the books did very well was allow you to imagine that the girls are grown-ass adults in university. They are very good at selling the bit that the girls are adults, without infodumping the crap out of it. For the best look into how this is done, see graphic novels 1-4, as well as the main books that were done in the older artstyle. The way the books are written allows you to really believe these girls as grown adults-- there are occasions where the books' age sticks out a bit... too much, but most times, it's smooth sailing, and the girls are very believable as adults.

Case and point: I got into the books when I was eight years old, and one thing I appreciated and still appreciate about the older books is the fact that the immersion is on-point. The books are rated 6-10, but only in terms of the language level (it's short and easy to read is what I'm saying). The plots of the books are well-written, and most importantly, the books do not treat you like a kid as you're reading. You'd be surprised how valuable that is nowadays,,,

Even the friendship bits in the older books worked hard to sell the bit in a way that it fits with how the stories are written, which is very grounded and realistic, actually (minus the cheese puns):

The girls gave Thea a fancy jade and called her "the keeper of our friendship"? Friendship bracelet logic, which is a very valid logic. Colette's cousin mentions the girls' friendship? Well yeah, it makes sense in that scene because she's hosting a fashion walk, and the girls literally carried and were kinda the reason why Julie's finals project wasn't completely scrapped; that part where the friendship bit is mentioned is literally the perfect moment for a cheesy-ass speech. (There's a really good one in non-English Shipwreck too but that's a story for a whole 'nother day.) The way the plots are written is very down-to-earth and grounded, and the inclusions of the friendship bits back then reflect this. This was the way the bar was set for me, and thus it's how I judge the later books.

As the series progressed, things got more explicit with the age range. Nothing atrocious, but you could tell things were getting more and more openly kid-friendly. You know it's progressed when more than a handful of people mistake them for being highschoolers instead of grown-ass adults in university.

There is still action, and there is still adventure and shenanigans that you get fully immersed in, but if you're like me, you would be happily immersed in the adventure, trying to solve the mystery alongside the girls, but also hoping and praying to your holy deity of choice that a friendship bit doesn't come up in the year of our Lord 2024.

Only to die inside when it is brought up and the delivery sounds so blatantly sugary it can give you a cavity. The kind that hurts to see stick out like the sorest thumb.

So yeah, my standards might be high, but my standards are high because I've seen the series reach that bar before, and I know they can do it again. I am mentally ill for this franchise dammit /affectionate

[thefloatingstone]

MST3K Recommendations for people who’ve never watched it

So if you’re somebody on the internet under the age of 22 there’s a chance you may have HEARD people talk about Mystery Science Theater 3000 or “MST3K” for short, and may even know exactly what it is, but you’ve not watched it and have no idea where to start. Or if you’ve never heard of it, this is me telling you you should probably watch it.

In the early to mid 2000s, when the only people on the internet where nerds and teenagers who were nerds (like literally. I have no idea how to explain to the Today’s Kids(tm) that the internet use to ONLY consist of nerdy people and fandoms. None of this “Influencer” shit.) Anyway, back when the internet was just nerds, before video was easily available, MST3K was still being talked about via audio clips, usually made by holding microphones right up to the TV, and when youtube launched in 2006, some of the very first videos were MST3K episodes cut up into 10 parts (because originally you couldn’t upload videos to youtube that were longer than 10 minutes and they had to be 240dp). And before google bought youtube, you could find full, complete episodes of MST3K on Google video.

It’s kind of a staple if you’re a nerdy internet person, and you’ll probably see it get referenced by fandom people and youtubers in their late 20s a LOT. Or use some of the things MST3K introduced in their own videos (like the Stinger after the credits for instance)

So MST3K is kind of essential viewing imo. And luckily, because of the nature of the show, unlike... basically EVERYTHING tv related, sharing links of MST3K is actually actively and honestly encouraged by the show creators.

The show ran from 1989 to 1999, changing from airing on one channel to another as it went (I’m not American so I never caught it on TV). And at the end of literally every single episode throughout its entire 10 year run, you would see this after the credits;

The show actively encouraged its audience to tape the episodes to video and share those videos with friends and family. This is because the show was never about “building a franchise” or becoming monetarily valuable for its creators, but it was about people actually watching the show. Even to this day, with copyright claims and “Subscribe to our streaming service to watch this show” running rampant, MST3K continues to be a show whose prime focus is to get people to watch it. (unless you want to buy it on DVD in which case the prime focus is for you to be rich to try and afford them because they’re like $70 for 4 episodes).

As such, some episodes are available for free on the MST3K official youtube channel completely for free. Some episodes you can buy from the Rifftrax website (which is where the show creators now work, doing basically the same thing as MST3K minus the puppets and host segments unfortunately) but I would be honestly shocked if ANY episode is unavailable online because sharing the episodes is.... just kind of the point of the show? I literally managed to find each and every one in 2008 (although that dark drive doesn’t want to work with my newer laptop so I might have to download all the episodes AGAIN. Thanks Technology...)

But if you’re somebody who has NO IDEA which episodes are “the good ones” or you just want to jump in and watch but you’re scared you’ll get a complete dud as your first experience and then not know what all the fuss is about, or you just want to know some good episodes to watch, I decided to throw together a list, along with links.

And with that VERY lengthy intro out of the way, here we go!

In no order

The Touch of Satan Year: 1971 S09E08 Host: Mike Mads: Pearl, Brain guy and Bobo

Despite the movie title there is no Satan in the film. A baffling movie where a good looking “All American Boy” named Jodie drives through a small town while road tripping from Texas to San Fransisco. There he meets a really pretty girl named Melissa who lives with who she claims is her mother and father on a walnut farm, as well as her insane grandmother. For seemingly nonsensical reasons (other than he’s attracted to Melissa) Jodie decides to spend the night at the farm. Eventually he gets pulled into the family curse and learn just who Melissa really is (It’s not Satan).

The movie is incredibly stupid and WOULD be pretty bland if not for the absolutely ridiculous dialogue, bizarre little details you can’t help but focus on (why a Walnut farm? Why is the father always so sweaty??) and just how.... 70s everything is.

Mike and the bots are super on point with their jokes, and it has a few of my favourite jokes and host segments in it.

https://youtu.be/ZebKhabJItE

Gamera Year: 1965 S03E02 Host: Joel Mads: Dr Forrester and TV’s Frank

Look. If you’re gonna watch MST3K you’re gonna have to watch a Gamera movie eventually. And since I could literally put ANY of the Gamera films here, I’m gonna start with the first one. Especially since the following Gamera movies the host and bots have running jokes and references to the first films.

Gamera is a Japanese Kaiju movie franchise originally created to compete with Godzilla. And completely misses the point of Godzilla. Whereas Godzilla was originally intended to be a metaphor of Atomic weaponry and Japan’s national wound following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki... Gamera is about a giant flying turtle monster who is friend to all children.

....and I friggen LOVE Gamera. It’s because of MST3K’s episodes that I ended up buying a DVD boxset of every single Gamera movie. It’s good stuff. Start with this episode and watch the others as you go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rly_1NPCXAM

Pod People Year: 1983 S03E03 Host: Joel Mads: Dr Forrester and TV’s Frank

This is MANY people’s favourite episode in the whole show, and was my favourite as well until I couldn’t pick a favourite any more. However this is the only episode of the show where I had to pause it the first time I watched it at one part because I was laughing so hard.

Originally intended to be an alien slasher movie, the producers asked the director Juan Piquer Simon to include a subplot where a cute child makes friends with one of the aliens so that they could market the movie as an E.T. rip off (E.T. had come out the year before) If you think this would make the tone of the movie confusing where half the aliens are killing off teenagers and half the aliens are being friends with a small, badly dubbed child... you are absolutely right. But it’s the Host segments and jokes within the film that make this one of the top 5 best episodes in the whole show, if not top 3.

It is the episode that people will most commonly reference even 30 years later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCl2ZNkfnS8

Jack Frost Year: 1964 S08E13 Host: Mike Mads: Pearl, Brain Guy and Bobo

One of the many badly Russian films that deserved much better than the shitty dub they got. I was THIS CLOSE to putting “The Day the Earth Froze” here instead, but I felt Jack Frost is the easier watch of the two (however I do recommend checking out The Day the Earth Froze as well).

Honestly, this film isn’t that bad at all. It’s shitty dub is a shame but even with the silly voices and calling Baba Yaga “The Hunchbacked Fairy” for reasons I will never understand, the film is actually pretty charming, and if I had it on video as a kid I probably would have really liked it.  It’s a classic fairy tale about a pretty and kind young girl who is treated badly by her stepmother and stepsister, but she finds true love in a handsome prince who had been turned into a bear until he could learn humility. Also Jack Frost is there (I have no idea who he’s suppose to be in the original language of the film and I doubt its Jack Frost). The movie is innocent and weird and overacted and the main character of Nastenka is so pretty and big eyed and innocent it’s an easy target for jokes on just how silly and whimsical everything is. The jokes are never outright mean spirited or nasty, just in line with the whole silly movie, and honestly this is a great episode to introduce your kids to the show as it’s not scary and doesn’t have any gore (like some of the other films showcased)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVpOaeBtr7w

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies Year: 1964 S08E12 Host: Mike Mads: Pearl, Brain Guy, Bobo

Yes. That is the real title of the movie. And it is also the most exciting thing about it. This movie is..... incomprehensible, to say the least. I am only BARELY aware of what the fuck it’s even about. There’s a fortune teller on the amusement park wharf? And I remember a terrifying robot monkey asking people to buy tickets, and the main character (I use the term loosely) becomes evil? I’m sorry but this movie is so cut to ribbons in editing and has so little dialogue it’s barely even a movie. It’s held together by the thinnest threads of recurring images. However, unlike some of the other episodes in MST3K with the same problem of barely being movies, I find the jokes by the hosts land much better and they’re not in as agonizing pain as “The Beast of Yucca Flats” which I still consider the worst movie I have ever seen in my life.

I have no way to describe this movie. It’s not even crazy enough to garner enthusiastic “this movie is batshit insane” praise. Watch this one for the jokes by the hosts. And for the title so you can tell people “I watched a movie called The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jLGqN3XG-Q

Eegah Year: 1962 S05E06 Host: Joel Mads: Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank

Ugh. This movie. Ok. “Starring” Arch Hall Jr. who was a sort of actor and one of those 60s “teen heart throb” singers before boy bands became a thing after the Beatles. He never made it super big, but it was considered a big selling point to films he was in (he went on to being an airline pilot and good for him). This movie is about him and his girlfriend his girlfriend’s father finding a giant caveman in the desert outside their town (in a cave which is NOT made of burlap sacks). The giant caveman falls in love with the girlfriend and follows them to the suburbs.

It’s not the most remarkable movie MST3K ever did. It’s not the best movie they ever did nor is it the worst movie they ever did, but for some reason this film has a tendency to stick in people who watch MST3K’s minds. Maybe the jokes are just THAT quotable, but for whatever reason, it’s one of the staple episodes to watch. And hey, at least the movie is WATCHABLE. MST3K went on to reference things in this film for the rest of the show’s history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvFBKsW3Aew

Santa Claus Year: 1959 S5E21 Host: Mike Mads: Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank

A Mexican movie about Santa Claus and his friend Merlin who live on the moon and watch the children of Earth through a telescope to make sure they’re all being good. We focus on the devil Pitch who is sent by Satan to make children misbehave, most noteably a 4 year old girl named Lupita who is from a poor family and wishes she had a pretty doll to play with, and a rich little boy who wishes his parents would spend Christmas with him.

This movie is.... weird. In case the whole “Santa and Merlin are friends and live on the moon” thing didn’t already tip you off. The movie’s pretty harmless overall but it’s just WEIRD. Santa’s castle on the moon is full of children from all over the world wearing the most stereotypical clothes of all time (Japanese children in full kimono, American children all dressed as cowboys, African children dressed in tribal clothes etc etc) and they.... I think they make the toys? I’m not sure. Santa’s reindeer are terrifying wind up toys who laugh maniacally when they’re turned on. There’s a giant mouth on the wall that’s part of Santa’s computer? And an ear that can hear what all the children are saying on earth or something?

It’s just... it’s bizarre. And an excellent episode to watch for Christmas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTWs3zvz1z4

War of the Colossal Beast Year: 1958 S03E19 Host: Joel Mads: Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank

I am recommending this one not actually for the movie itself, but for the short which plays first, which is “Mr. B Natural” and which is easily the best and most referenced MST3K short in the whole show.

It follows a little boy who wishes he was cool. He’s visited by Mr. B Natural, the spirit of music. Mr. B Natural is played by Betty Luster and is a bizarre character in himself, being completely androgynous and using male pronouns while being played very obviously by a woman with a very obviously female voice. Mr. B is presented as a sort of pixie character and possibly meant to be like the stage version of Peter Pan which is also traditionally played by adult women. The episode of MST3K aired in 1991 LONG before the concept of Non-binary was even a thing. As such MST3K plays along with the weirdness that is Mr. B, using only male pronouns for him and addressing him as a man, while also commenting on how attractive he is.

Mr. B teaches our little boy main character that if he wants to be cool he needs to buy a trumpet and join the school’s band, and goes on to be one of the most beloved MST3K “characters” who they often keep making references to and who shows up in the host segments now and then as a cameo.

Oh. And then there’s a movie following the short that’s a sequel to another movie. It’s about a man who keeps growing larger and larger in size but the bigger he gets the more he loses his intelligence. It’s directed by the notorious “Bert I. Gordon” whose movies are always more vehicles for cheap special effects than story, plot or characters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRL8umsMe28

Squirm Year: 1976 S10E12 Host: Mike Mads: Pearl, Brian Guy and Bobo

I am a little biased towards Squirm because I’m pretty sure it was the very first MST3K episode I ever saw (not counting the short “Are you Ready for Marriage?” which was the first anything MST3K that I saw). But even if it wasn’t I think Squirm is still a great episode to check out, and it comes with the double whammy of having the short “a Case of Spring Fever” in front of the film which, if they had the short in an earlier season, would definitely have become a running joke throughout the show. Sadly They only aired it here in the 10th season, but even being in the last season, it’s one of the show’s most famous shorts they’ve done.

As for the film, it’s actually pretty great too. It takes place in Georgia and is SUPER southern to a point of coming across as a parody almost. Our main character is the boyfriend of a local girl, a “city boy” who she met antiquing (a hobby they both share and talk about a lot throughout the film). However, a powerful electrical storm struck the small town a few nights ago, and as a result, it has turned all the earthworms underground into blood thirsty, violent predators (without actually growing in size). The movie is a silly and ridiculous B-Movie, but honestly a LOT of the effects are pretty damn impressive. Before he made it big in Rocky, Sylvester Stallone really wanted a role in the film but didn’t get it. All the worms in the film are real, and bought from the bait and fishing industry. So many worms were used in this film that they completely used up the entire New England’s bait supplies for the whole year following the shooting of the film.

Erm... so don’t watch it if you’re squeemish about bugs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3msPmLpLTUM

Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders Year: 1996 S10E03 Host: Mike Mads: Pearl, Brain Guy and Bobo

omfg this movie X’D this fucking movie.

Ok. So what kind of movie do you expect with a title like that and if I tell you it starts off with a grandfather telling his grandson a story about how Merlin’s magic is real and has come to benefit mankind and help others?

You’re probably expecting some whimsical fantasy low budget Princess Bride knock off, right? This is exactly what the film THINKS it is, too. It THINKS it’s a magical child friendly story about magic and Merlin and him and his wife running a shop that sells magical items to better the lives of others.

So it’s kind of a fucking problem that the stories in this movie are based off of Stephen King horror Novellas!!!

And that’s basically all you need to know about why this movie is kind of a disaster. It thinks it’s an all ages magical romp when in reality it’s a horrifying double feature of pet deaths (warning for a dog dying in the second story) an abusive husband (warning for domestic abuse in the first story) and demonic powers.

Also, despite the film being made in 1996, the second story uses footage from the director’s earlier film “The Devil’s Gift” which was made in 1984. As a result, despite the 1996 release, the child in this part of the movie is playing with Star Wars toys and wearing an E.T. shirt through most of it.

This movie also has one of my favourite jokes by Mike right at the end of the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Q-RuAx4V4

Ah crap that’s already 10 movies and I haven’t even mentioned “Werewolf” or “Puma Man”. dkfhskdhfks Go watch Puma Man and Werewolf!! They’re great!

and finally, special mention;

Manos: the hands of fate

Year: 1966 S04E24 Host: Joel Mads: Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank

The great grandpappy of ALL the MST3K episodes. Of all the episodes they’ve ever done and all the movies and shorts they ever covered, Manos is the one that crawled under the skin of the hosts and the audience the most. Many people say it’s the very worst film they ever did EVER. As I said, I personally think the Beast of Yucca Flats is much worse if only because it’s painfully boring, but in terms of sheer “this is so fucking bad I can’t even process this”, I guess Manos wins. Being terrible because you’re boring is one thing. Being terrible because you’re completely batshit insane is another.

The story BEHIND the movie Manos is fascinating. Made when the creator of the film made a bet with a friend that he could make a movie despite never having done anything with film before, he went ahead and did it, with a screening and a premiere and everything. The actor playing Torgo was high on LSD the entire time of filming. The Camera used to shoot the film got so hot they could only film 30 seconds for each scene before they had to cut to a new one. The entire movie was filmed without sound and dubbed afterwards. The actor who was going to play the main character broke his leg before filming started and had to be replaced last second.

The movie is indescribable. It is PAIN and it is SUFFERING and it is BAFFLING and you should really build up a resistance to bad movies before attempting to watch this episode. I do NOT recommend starting your MST3K viewing with this one. But eventually, if you like MST3K, you’re gonna have to watch it. There’s just no escaping it.

The only way I can properly explain what Manos is like is to quote Crow who comments in the opening credits (which the film but forgot to put the actual credits over) “Every frame of this movie looks like someone’s last known photograph.”

And that’s it. That’s the whole movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ5baft7Kv0

I forgot to add my links!

⭐️Patreon⭐️ Or consider ☕️Buying me a Ko-fi ☕️

[tenchiforum]

For the first time ever, the Toonami versions of OVA1/2, Universe, and Tokyo are available online! On their respective archive.org pages you can access each episode easily.

Watch now: OVA1/2, Tenchi Universe, Tenchi in Tokyo.

For users who keep up with contemporary anime communities, we also have an upload for the entire run available on Nyaa.

It’s been quite a journey in getting these episodes from analog to digital. If you’re interested in reading about the process of how these almost lost-to-time edits came into our hands and how we’ve gone about preserving them before the tapes rot, then sit back and enjoy the story below!

Part 1: Toonami – A Love Story.

Tenchi Muyo! and Toonami are tied together like the red thread of fate often times referenced in many East Asian myths. For those who aren’t aware, Toonami was a programming block on the Cartoon Network channel. Starting in 1997, it did one thing for anime that no other channel in the English-speaking world had ever done: showcased anime during “PrimeTime” (In North America at least, this was 4pm to 7pm Eastern Standard time). Before the internet, having this block of time meant having the most eyes on your product, meaning exposure was huge. Oftentimes whoever got on this block, regardless of the channel, was “made.”

However, it wouldn’t be until mid 1999, with a soft-rebranding, a new host, and an almost entirely anime-focused block, that Toonami would take over the world.

And on July 3rd, 2000, an entire generation was introduced to Tenchi Muyo! for the first time.

- The now legendary two minute Toonami promo.

Thanks to the efforts of Jason DeMarco, Sean Akins, Gill Austin, Sean Polinski, and the rest of the Toonami crew, the “Toonami generation,” still to this day, is the largest block of Tenchi Muyo! fans. Whether it was Toonami US, UK, or Australia. Tenchiforum is a testament to this fact. I personally would not be here were it not for Toonami, so to say that fans of Tenchi Muyo! hold Toonami in a high regard is an understatement.

I had always wanted to somehow, some way, get the Toonami version of Tenchi up for everyone to see again, but my old Toonami VHS recordings were long gone, and I figured trying to piece together the Toonami version from other people’s tapes would just be too hard with how many episodes were broadcast, that was until… 2012

In mid-to-late 2012, I found out that Pioneer actually released a home video version of what was shown on Toonami. It was simply released as “Tenchi Muyo!” in those big, white, clam shell VHS cases (that most people probably remember for old Disney movies). I felt as though I had struck gold! I was able to get a hold of the first two OVA, and was able to rip them to my computer.

- Vol. 1 & Vol. 5 of “Tenchi Muyo!” – No distinction was made that they were separate series.

Though I was high on my endorphin-induced nostalgia, I ran into a couple of unforeseen problems.

First and foremost, the equipment I was using was not great. I used an old StarTech composite to USB dongle and the software that came with it. While this isn’t necessarily bad at first glance (it doesn’t support Windows 10), I had no experience whatsoever in the field of digital transfer. While I think my rips were okay for the time, I knew even then that they were too low of bit-rate and the quality of the rips suffered for it.

Because I also had no VCR at the time that had S-Video output, I was only able to output from composite, which meant the whopping 240p equivalent VHS tapes look fuzzier than they probably should. (I realize that VHS is technically an analog format, meaning that a 1:1 equivalent digital representation is hard to pin down or that someone might argue that it did technically output 480i over composite, but basically it was 240p.)

Another problem was the software itself, I had no idea about Virtualdub, AmaRecTV, or other helpful capture software, so I only recorded at a lower bit-rate, again producing an inferior quality rip.

I also ran into the problem of showcasing the videos. Funimation (who now owns the vast majority of the Tenchi Muyo! franchise in North America) had finally started really cracking down on people uploading videos to Youtube. Even though my videos were not completely the same, the algorithm immediately flagged and blocked them. This led me to uploading the videos to Facebook. I had to cut them in half because of Facebook’s restriction to roughly only 12 minutes of video. Somehow in the process, some of the videos had audio drop out for a minute or two, and for some the audio dropped out completely.

Arguably the biggest blow though, was when I learned that this set of Toonami tapes was incomplete. Pioneer stopped producing the Toonami version for home video after they finished releasing Universe. Meaning, the only way to get the Toonami version of Tenchi in Tokyo, was hope that someone, somewhere,  had taped it 11 years earlier.

While Tenchi in Tokyo has been getting more appreciation from fans as of late – thanks in part to most newer entries in the Tenchi OVA sucking harder than a vacuum – in the year 2000, it was the black sheep of the Tenchi Muyo! franchise. So expecting fans to have recorded any of it, let alone the entire series, was the long shot of all long shots. But even still, I made a post on the forum in 2013 asking if anyone knew anyone that might have anything.

Naturally, no one had any leads, and all of these previous problems meant that this project would, frustratingly, have to be shelved indefinitely.

Or at least, that’s what I thought.

Part 2: Deferred Dreams Don’t Die.

On April 5th, 2019, a person by the name of Talos dropped into our Discord server, and posted an introduction. Like so many, they had gotten into Tenchi through Toonami, but what would change everything, was this.

I couldn’t believe what I was reading, someone actually had it!

Instinctively, I reached out to Talos via PM to ascertain how to go about acquiring these tapes, and admittedly, to see how legit this claim actually was. Because the fact of the matter is, when you’ve been around Tenchi fandom as long as I have, you’ll quickly realize the best bullshitters in the world come from this fandom.

But Talos was more than the genuine article! They sent over pictures and an incredibly detailed analysis of the quality of their tapes, watching through them all again to prove to me that their claim was valid.

It can’t be said enough that this all would not be possible without Talos, their willingness to work with me and send me their own personal tapes that they’ve kept for almost two decades just goes to show how awesome they are and how much they care about the fandom.

So the deal was struck, and the dream that laid deferred for almost six years lived again.

- A time capsule from another era.

But with dreams from the past, come the demons that plagued them way back when. I still only had the setup I once had, and at this time I was really trying to be tight with my finances for a number of different reasons, but this opportunity was too good to pass up, I wasn’t going to let this dream go, even if it wasn’t perfect.

Talos’ tapes showed up, and I rolled up my sleeves.

So I put in the first tape, the first seven episodes of Tokyo, into the old VCR I used to originally rip the Pioneer tapes, a JVC HR-VP650U….

And static…

Or rather, a tape that would play for 3 seconds, then immediately drop to static.

This wouldn’t work.

I then tried my other VCR, a Sony SLV-N50 from the mid-to-late 90’s that I was able to “fix” by removing the old Android Kikaider tape that got stuck in there many years prior.

It worked!…..but…..not all that well.

While it did actually play the tape relatively smoothly, the colors were completely washed out in comparison to the JVC, and it had this weird color flickering that was particularly noticeable when black backgrounds were on screen. (This was not unique to this tape, it did it with everything I put in there.)

As much as it pained me, there was no way I was going to rip it with this setup.

So the hunt began for not just a replacement VCR, but one that was high quality and recommended among enthusiasts for digital transfer. Which meant research and long winding rabbit holes of non-answers and vagueness, and unfortunately, money.

Without a doubt, the de facto list of best VCRs for transferring comes from digitalFAQ.com. This list is not only informative but gives you a broad range of ones to look for in the event you can’t find an “elite” one. However, this list has also become the de facto list used by people who are hawking their sets on eBay to try and get every penny from enthusiasts and new-comers as possible.

After three frustrating weeks of losing bid wars on eBay, someone finally put up one of the good sets, the JVC SR-V10U. I quickly sent them what I thought was a reasonable but not bank-breaking offer….

And they accepted! The beast was finally mine.

Immediately upon unwrapping and testing it, the quality difference between what I had then and what I was looking at now was staggering. The SR-V10U had beautiful color, while having the incredible ability to stabilize the old tapes with its TBC (Time Base Corrector), as well as onboard Video Stabilization option. Combined with the ability to output video via the superior S-Video cable, I now had something that, despite its age and typical old VHS wear, was way better than I could have imagined.

Part 3: No Need for Nostalgia.

You’re probably thinking to yourself “Dagon, why go through the trouble? The OVA has a beautiful Blu-ray release, and Universe and Tokyo have pretty decent DVD releases. Why would you ever want to rip old VHS tapes of an inferior quality release that was in some cases censored?”

- The now famous Toonami “bikinis”.

Because this version of Tenchi Muyo! is a piece of history. Not only is it a piece of Tenchi history, but a piece of Toonami history as well. Being able to preserve this in the best quality possible is being able to point to future generations and say “This is why I’m here.”

For a lot of us it’s about taking us back to a simpler time, grade school, high school, university. Taking us back to a time before the internet was what it is today.

So now we can, after almost 20 years, re-watch the version of Tenchi Muyo! that brought so many of us joy and wonder.

[silverducks]

Star Wars IX - The Rise of Skywalker

Saw TROS for the first time last night and, as if often the case, I just need to get a few thoughts out there.

I’ve always loved Star Wars, but more in a just love watching the films way, rather than being involved in the fandom. Maybe that’s way, and I know this is an unpopular opinion, I really enjoyed the film, and indeed the whole of the new trilogy.

I was soooo disappointed in Avengers: Endgame earlier last year; that I just didn’t try to expect anything from the final Skywalker Star Wars film. I couldn’t take another favourite franchise ending in disappointment! Maybe that’s another reason why I just, overall, really enjoyed it and came out of the cinema feeling overall happy with it. For me, it was a shaky start, but an overall action packed and satisfying ending to the saga.

I will say, the original trilogy which began over 40 years ago is still by far the best, but this trilogy was also very, very good and I loved it! It brought me back to a world I loved so much, with some of my old favourite characters returning and giving us some fascinating new ones. The prequel trilogy was entertaining enough, but I didn’t connect the same to the world and the characters as I did in this, newer trilogy. Maybe that’s another reason why I just really, really enjoyed this.

Spoilers below:

I will say though, it could have been better – the plot was a bit too messy, which makes me think it got re-written too many times. I know some re-writes were inevitable after Carrie Fisher’s sad death, but I think this was the main reason the film suffered. The plot was too all over the place. It also didn’t tie in well enough to the last film – due no doubt to the different directors having different ideas. I think it would have been better if they’d started to search for the Sith homeworld, and the hints of Palpatine, in TLJ rather than the what was mainly a film filler adventure between Rose, Finn and Poe. This would have given much more cohesion and they would have had more time in the final film to finish story and character arcs properly.

There were a few missed opportunities, too many characters weren’t given the screentime they deserved and perhaps, at times, it just tried too hard to echo its original predecessors.

At first, I eye-rolled at the idea of bringing back Palpatine, but then, as the story went on, I grew to really like it. It helped explain a lot of the questions that were still unanswered from the first two films, such as why the First Order came to power so quickly, and who was the real puppeteer. And yes, the film took a lot of narrative short cuts, lots of little things were suddenly introduced to explain things like, oh the Sith can do this now, etc, but as this is a fantasy/sci-fi series, those sort of things don’t bother me too much, as long as they’re kind of plausible. Which, for me, they were.

It had all the elements I love about Star Wars – the light sabre fights, lots of different planets, the rebellion almost being over, but rising again and defeating the evil empire, lots of fights/battles in space which are just so entertaining to watch. I really enjoyed all that and once the film got into the second half, it felt much more settled and balanced and I was swept away in the awesome epic world of Star Wars once more.  

And I’m a bit of a Reylo shipper, so I was very pleased to see this continue in this film, with Rey wanting to see Ben return to the light side. And I’m glad that it was actually through his parents (and not just Rey), that he finally did come back to the light side. I do think they could have made more of Ben/Kylo Ren’s character arc in this, and I would’ve loved a longer fight seen with him and Rey against the emperor. But I’m just really pleased he did redeem himself and that him and Rey finally had some (albeit small) time together.

I was pretty disappointed they killed his character off though – I know why they did, because they wanted to echo the Darth Vader story arc, because there’s still a very strong notion that to be fully redeemed you have to give the ultimate sacrifice and die and because they truly wanted to end the Skywalker line. But it would have been much more interesting if they’d kept him alive and he’d been able to redeem himself by doing more good works throughout his life. And it’s a shame that all the Skywalkers have now died – all via a sacrifice for someone they loved. The end of a dynasty like no other, and I’m happy Rey took their name, a nice way to remember them.

Although, because they did kill off all the Skywalkers, the ending overall felt too bittersweet. Star Wars was always about hope, but (whilst the evil empire is gone for good), for Rey it looks like she’s got a lonely life ahead, just carrying on as the last Jedi. She’s outgrown her friends now and has a great burden to carry, with nothing really left to hope for. If they’d have saved Ben Solo, they could have had a peaceful life together.

I also like how they stayed away from a love triangle too – Rey and Finn were definitely just friends now, even if at times it hinted Finn still had feelings for her. I hope now he can move on and either fully accept the feelings he has for Rose (who sadly was in it too little), or perhaps that new character who he met – the ex stormtrooper like himself.

I will say again though, the film wasn’t without its faults. It was perhaps trying to spin too many plates and give fans too much of what they thought they wanted. It tried too hard, and lost some of the focus and character/story arcs that it needed. And as much as I loved Rey’s journey as a character, it felt too much all about her at times. I would’ve like to see more of Ben/Keylo Ren’s journey too, as he was the other half of the main characters and the young Skywalker. It felt a little disappointing that, for the last film in the Skywalker saga, the last Skywalker wasn’t given as much focus.

I do think as well, his death was a bit sudden. He sacrificed his life for Rey, joined the light side once more, but he just suddenly disappeared and that was it. There was no mourning for him really, no long look at a grieving Rey and he didn’t even get to show up as force ghost. Although, part of me wonders/hopes that there is a reason for this – that perhaps he came back to life as well. That when Leia’s body disappeared, the last of her spirit went into Ben and saved him, so he didn’t appear as a force ghost because he’s not really dead...

Anyway, like a lot of film series these days, I would say the reason the film and trilogy wasn’t as good as it could have been (although I did still love it) is because too many different writers and directors get involved, each with their own, often conflicting ideas. This lack of cohesion and continuity I think is the film’s and trilogy’s biggest downfall and I truly hope that when they make another Star Wars trilogy, they have the whole story and character arc mapped out in advance, and the same team of people are involved in the whole production.

[aion-rsa]

Which Star Trek Books Are Canon?

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Imagine there’s no VHS tapes. I wonder if you can. For the earliest Trekkies, the ability to own your favorite episode of Star Trek wasn’t difficult, it was impossible. This meant that some other media was required to record the true logs of the USS Enterprise. Enter books. The most reliable data storage device in history, and the first and possibly best destiny for Star Trek merch. 

Since 1967, there have literally been thousands of officially licensed Star Trek books published. The question is, if fans only care about “real” canon do any of the Star Trek books actually qualify as part of the “real” story of the Final Frontier.  The answer doesn’t fall into a simple binary. Star Trek books have been an integral part of the growth of the franchise since the very beginning. Here’s a quick and dirty guide to the mixed canonicity of the various Star Trek books.

A very brief history of Star Trek tie-in books.

In terms of U.S. book publishers of officially licensed Star Trek print fiction (excluding roleplaying games), there have really only been two publishers. First was Bantam, which published the very first novelizations of episodes from The Original Series. Written by James Blish, these books have a strange canonicity insofar as there are not really direct novelizations of TOS episodes. Instead, the Blish stories almost read like impressionistic notions of what Star Trek would be like if it existed as a series of 1950s short stories. This isn’t to say Blish’s novelizations are bad — they’re great! It’s just that they are very different from the aired episodes. Most of the time this is because Blish was working from early scripts, but even more often it was because just like the readers, it wasn’t like he was able to rewatch the episodes over and over again to make sure he got it “right.” In his version of “Arena,” the Gorn even has a tail! 

Blish also wrote the first “original” Star Trek novel, titled Spock Must Die! This refers to a transporter duplicate of Spock, who is created on accident during a long-range beaming gambit at the beginning of the novel. This novel slaps, even if it does open with a long conversation about the metaphysics of beaming in which nearly nobody sounds like they’re in character. In any case, the success of Blish’s novelizations and Spock Must Die! led to more original short story collections and novels. However, by the end of the 1970s, Bantam lost the license for Trek books, and it was subsequently snatched-up by Simon & Schuster, where it remains to this day.

Are the post-Blish Star Trek novelizations canon?

In 1979, Pocket Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) began Trek fiction anew with the publication of the novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, written by Gene Roddenberry. So, this counts as canon, right? It’s the novelization of The Motion Picture and it’s written by the Great Bird of the Galaxy himself.

Well… the novelization of The Motion Picture begins with a forward from Kirk himself, in which he makes all sorts of interesting claims. For one thing his middle name is Tiberius. This checks out— that’s canon! (Although the Tiberius thing wasn’t spoken aloud until Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.) But, after Kirk’s intro, we also get a scene where Starfleet sends him signals straight into his brain via something called a “senceiver implant.” Basically, Kirk has a top-secret implant in his brain that lets him receive classified data—just downloaded straight in there, like cyberpunk style. Obviously, there is no reference to this brain implant in other Star Trek canon, which makes the one and only Trek novel written by Gene Roddenberry either a classified document, or mostly non-canon.

If you jump ahead to the David Gerrold novelization of Star Trek: The Next Generation premiere “Encounter at Farpoint,” you’ll discover that Jean-Luc Picard was getting over the death of a girlfriend named “Celeste” right before he took command of the Enterprise. Gerrold was on staff with TNG at the time, and of course, wrote “The Trouble With Tribbles.” But, it’s not like we’ve heard about Celeste in Jean-Luc’s other adventures. 

Star Trek books tend not to be holistically canon, but do seem to create canon.

Not only was Kirk’s middle name affirmed by Roddenberry’s TMP novel, but Sulu’s first name, Hikaru, also came from a Star Trek novel. 1981’s The Entropy Effect, written by Vonda N. McIntyre first established Sulu’s first name, which was later made canon on screen in The Undiscovered Country.

Similarly, another famous helm officer in Starfleet — Keyla Demter — got her first name from the Star Trek: Discovery novel Desperate Hours, written by David Mack and published before a single episode of Discovery had even aired. But, the name Keyla stuck, and as long as she’s on DISCO, she owes her first name to a Star Trek novel. 

So which Star Trek books are canon?

If you’re looking to find out which Star Trek books completely adhere to canon in the way the newer Star Wars books (supposedly) do, it’s kind of tough. That said, literally everything published since 2017 has been closely connected to what you’re seeing on the various new Star Trek TV shows. For example, remember that mysterious character “San” that Georgiou talked about in Season 3? (Remember those scary, bloody flashbacks?) Well, that character is mentioned in a recent Discovery novel Die Standing by John Jackson Miller, which, yes, was published before Season 3 aired. 

Miller also wrote the book The Enterprise War, which reconciled what was going on with Pike and the Enterprise during the Klingon War in Discovery Season 1. This book also managed to fix a strange canon gap created by the novel Desperate Hours in which Pike and the Enterprise teamed-up with the USS Shenzhou and Burnham before the events of Discovery. Basically, Burnham and Spock hung-out in Mack’s novel way before Discovery Season 2 happened. But, in Miller’s novel, all of that was fixed with a few lines. 

Picard: Countdown and the Discovery comics

Most hardcore Discovery and Picard fans probably know this, but writer Kirsten Beyer was a longtime Voyager novelist before joining the writing team of Discovery, and then, later, co-creating Picard. This means that nearly all the tie-in fiction she’s involved with that connects to the new shows has some whiff of legit canonicity to it. For example, Beyer was behind the Star Trek: Picard — Countdown comics, which were published in late 2019, right before Picard debuted. These comics give you a full background of what Raffi and Picard were doing during the evacuation of Romulan space, and also introduce the characters of Laris and Zhaban. Because their backstories are established in this comic, co-written by Beyer, it seems pretty legit to think that, yes, this all completely counts. Some of Beyer’s other comic stories like Discovery: Aftermath also feel pretty close to being actual canon. 

Missing New Trek? Just Read the New Books! 

With the post-2017 novels and the contemporary comics, Star Trek print fiction is closer to being canon than it ever has been before. Meaning, if you’re wondering where to start with Star Trek books that feel like they actually “count,” the new stuff — like Una McCormack’s The Last Best Hope or James Swallow’s The Dark Veil—is actually pretty close! Reading the new books is easy, too, because you don’t have to go searching for which books actually “count.” Just find the new Picard and Discovery books! There’s a good chance those are closer to canon than they’re not.

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So, go ahead, boldly read the new books that some fans have never read before. You just might find something in those pages that even Kirk’s top-secret brain chip doesn’t know about. Yet.

The post Which Star Trek Books Are Canon? appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3uoMJo4

[effect-of-games]

Animal Crossing’s Black Market: Ethics of a “Friendly” Social Simulation Game by Brianna-Marie Joerger

Though the context is of rather sensitive and dark nature, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo’s newest addition to the Animal Crossing franchise, was released at an extremely ideal time. Released on March 20, 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH) was, and still is, a source of comfort and escapism for millions through the Coronavirus pandemic. ACNH quickly became the best-selling game in the Animal Crossing franchise, surpassing Animal Crossing: New Leaf as well as becoming the fastest-selling game on the Nintendo Switch to date. 

Animal Crossing has always been beloved for many reasons. From the concept of designing a town (or in ACNH’s case, island) to one’s liking, befriending residents (villagers) who take the form of cute animals, to performing rewarding tasks such as paying off home loans so players can expand their residences, Animal Crossing has something just about anyone would love. ACNH, a game that takes place on an island rather than somewhere on the mainland, introduced new concepts - such as terraforming - and even introduced new villagers for the players to meet and invite to their island (a topic to be revisited later). 

Another thing that makes Animal Crossing so beloved is the interactivity it allows with other players. ACNH utilizes Nintendo Switch Online so players can interact with one another, whether it be visiting each others’ islands or sending gifts and letters to each other using the mail function. Players can spend time with one another virtually, as well as help each other build up their islands; people commonly trade or gift items or materials (to build special ‘DIY’ items) to other players who may want or need certain things. 

In an article by LaFleur et. al, the therapeutic aspects of video games, including Animal Crossing, have even been discussed. “...Within the co-op genre, there is a unique type of game where the players play independently but can interact from a distance. The best example of this is the Animal Crossing (Nintendo, 2001) series, where players create their own homes within a community of interesting characters but are able to check in on one another, visit one another’s houses, and send mail, or aid, as necessary, even when the other players are offline” (LaFleur et. al, 2017). Animal Crossing can be viewed as an unofficial form of play therapy, or a form of therapy in which play is utilized so people can express their emotions in a harmless and maybe even productive way. Animal Crossing has been a source of tranquility for people since the series’ official launch in 2001. Its creator, Katsuya Eguchi, actually created the game when he first moved away from his home. He was feeling lost and lonely, and needed a form of escapism. From that point on, Animal Crossing has become a way for people to escape, but still be able to interact with their friends - as well as new friends they make through internet forums. 

With all of this being said, one may wonder: “what could possibly be so ethically wrong about such a cute and harmless game?” On the surface, that answer would be: technically nothing. Animal Crossing: New Horizons, or any Animal Crossing title is not the subject of ethical question. It is, in fact, some parts of the community of players itself that has become ethically questionable. Of course, then, one could argue that there are many games with toxic fanbases, so this is not a true issue, but since Animal Crossing so heavily circulates around community play, the wrong fanbase could make or break the game. This paper’s purpose is to explore what exactly went wrong with important aspects of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, in just a few months of it being released to the public. 

Animal Crossing games have always had a multiplayer option, but as the years go on, the multiplayer aspect of it has grown to greater complexities. The development of a fan-made website, Nookazon, by Daniel Luu, took the ACNH community by storm. Functioning more like eBay, ACNH players are able to make listings of items they were willing to trade, sell, or even simply give away items, villagers, DIY recipes, and more. At first, this website seemed ideal, but soon, it would take a dark turn. 

Nookazon’s currency consisted of three main options: bells (Animal Crossing’s classic currency), Nook-Mile Tickets (NMTs) - tickets that allow players to travel to Mystery Islands and meet more animals, and to trade for something by giving someone an item / villager on their wishlist. Of these three options, NMTs became the most popular and desirable form of currency, as it was a bit harder to get them in the game without hacks. In order to achieve NMTs, players have to complete various tasks on their island and get points on a point system. These points could then be exchanged for NMTs. Each NMT is worth 2,000 points. 

Many people soon realized that people could offer ‘hot commodities,’ or items that are rare to get in-game, on Nookazon, which meant that they could theoretically charge more for such items. Thus began the craze of overcharging on Nookazon, and no hot commodity knows how to be overcharged like one in particular - not an item, but a villager: Raymond. 

 Raymond is a fairly newer villager who was introduced in the less popular Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, an Animal Crossing game for mobile devices. Since it did not do nearly as well as other Animal Crossing games, Raymond’s first big debut happened with the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Many are unsure of why Raymond became so popular, but this dapper-looking, smug-behaviored cat with heterochromia took the internet by storm, and he became possibly the most desired villager within ACNH, and arguably, the whole franchise. ACNH players went into a frenzy as Nookazon listings for Raymond began to pop up left and right. People began to charge outlandish prices for Raymond, including thousands of the hard to achieve Nook-Mile Tickets.

Things began to truly spin out of control when someone attempted to sell a move-in package (allowing a villager to go from one island to another) for Raymond on eBay for $1,000 USD. People were floored by the outlandish pricing for the adorable bundle of pixels, but - believe it or not - the situation would only snowball from that point onwards. 

To continue this snowball of events, Nookazon is attached to a Discord server. Discord is a social platform that functions like an instant messenger for people all over the internet to communicate over text, voice, or video chat. People can be added to certain servers and talk to the community of people within that server. For the purpose of this paper, I decided to join the Nookazon server and investigate for myself. Sure enough, the craze around Raymond was real. Things like, “Raymond for sale. 400 NMT,” and “Looking for Raymond. I was scammed out of 10 million bells for him…” were incredibly common in the server’s “villager trade” channel. I was amazed to find out the lengths that people would go in order to buy or sell this pixelated cat. 

Polygon, a gaming website that writes stories on various games, wrote up a whole article on this Raymond phenomenon: 

“Folks will now do whatever it takes to get Raymond. For some, that might mean spending actual money on eBay, where millions of bells can go for a few dollars. For others, like New Horizons fan Alex, it might mean spending 65 hours grinding hundreds of Nook Miles Tickets through in-game challenges — nevermind the 15-plus hours she estimates it took to visit Mystery Islands over and over again, all in the name of finding Raymond. Stories like these are common” (Polygon, 2020). 

If the Raymond phenomenon just consisted of insane overpricing, it would not be that much of an issue. However, players are now using Raymond, or the name of Raymond, to scam people out of hard-earned in-game (and sometimes out-of-game) currency. One example of this was brought to my attention via Twitter, of a Discord conversation where one user convinced another that Raymond was for sale and ready to move out of their island. They used the term “Raymond is in boxes,” which is usually ACNH code for, “Raymond is for sale,” to lure someone to their island. They took the generous charge of 500 NMT up-front, and the buyer was filled with abject horror as they realized they spent 500 NMT to simply look at Raymond, not claim him. 

“Don’t touch Raymond, just look at him,” said Discord user SethJones, to a confused Gizmo7204 in screenshots uploaded to Twitter. When the buyer attempted to get his tickets back, since he was under the impression that he was buying Raymond, SethJones said, “This is for Raymond viewings, not buying him… You saw Raymond. You don’t get your tickets back.” Another person put up a listing on eBay for $5 USD, selling a flea they caught off the beloved Raymond’s fur. Someone seemingly purchased the flea, as the listing was closed soon after its upload. However, there is a glaring issue within this transaction: people cannot exchange bugs in any Animal Crossing game, so giving someone a flea is actually impossible within the game’s code. Therefore, this person scammed someone out of $5. It may not be a lot, but the principle of scamming remains the same.  

People have also been up in arms in general about Raymond on Twitter. One Twitter user received a message from someone claiming that they did not deserve to have Raymond on their island. The messenger demanded that Raymond be handed over to them. This one cat has seemingly torn through the entire Animal Crossing fanbase, leaving chaos in his tiny and adorable wake. Developers have not said a word about any of this, as greedy players continue to bewilder, harass, and scam those who simply wish to have a friendly and fair trade. 

An article by Jin Kim titled, “Interactivity, user-generated content and video game: an ethnographic study of Animal Crossing: Wild World,” discusses the player-base of an older installation of Animal Crossing for the Nintendo DS, that can still be applied to the newer ACNH. “Purposes of Wi-fi gaming are three-fold: earning bells, socializing with other users and collecting items. User collaboration does not merely aim to earn more bells. Socialization of users and psychological satisfaction from item collection are no less important than economic rewards in the game” (Kim, 2014). Animal Crossing can be played alone, but it is arguably not meant to be, all the time. The bonds and interactions users have with other Animal Crossing fans can make or break the game for them. Therefore, when a large-scale threat to this community rises, some players feel uncomfortable opening up for online interaction. 

One may look at this issue, like many ethical issues, through the lens of the Potter Box. The Potter Box, developed by Ralph B. Potter, Jr., consists of 4 “steps” that one should address when facing an ethical issue. The first step is to define the details of the dilemma. Then, one must identify their loyalties in the situation. Thirdly, one must analyze the ethical principles at work in the situation. Lastly, one must understand their own loyalties in the situation, and come to terms on why they have them. 

The details of this dilemma of course lie within the principle of scamming other players within the game and possibly ruining the savings of some players, putting them in a much more difficult spot in the game than before. The prospect of creating an outrageous economy outside of the game via Nookazon is also in question, and since scammers stemmed from Discord servers such as the Nookazon server, it can be seen as an issue within itself as well. Loyalties, however, come into question, because of one simple statement: everyone plays the game differently. Some people alter the time and date on their Nintendo Switches to gain more items, money, and unlock rare DIY recipes that others have not accessed yet, while others play the game in real time. Some people may wish to utilize outside sources such as eBay and Nookazon more than someone else. However, the ethical principles in the situation come down to a very basic one: scamming is not good. It is a simple statement to make, but scamming within the Animal Crossing community has become so common that people are afraid to open the line of communication to make trades with others. These scammers have fully, or mostly, ruined the experience for many other players. At the end of it all, viewing this dilemma from the player’s viewpoint renders almost moot. There is really nothing people can do about these scammers, but is there someone who can? 

I do not wish to make it seem as if I am speaking down on Nookazon itself. I believe its creator is brilliant and working hard to do everything he can to ensure the most productive and authentic transactions over the website. An article by Elise Favis of The Washington Post discusses Nookazon and the subject of scammers on the site. “No one gets “banned” on Nookazon, but users get flagged and labelled as scammers to warn others of the person’s history. Luu is working on the moderation system every day, seeking better avenues to keep the website safe. He’s wary of removing users entirely, in case a ban is handed down unjustly” (Favis, 2020). Despite this, just like in real life, scammers find their way through. Luu’s Potter Box may be slightly different from the average player, and it shows in the sense of removing users entirely from his website. If he removes people unjustly, the backlash he faces could cause the collapse of the entire website. 

Nintendo has not said anything at all about Nookazon, the Raymond phenomenon, or scammers. The question is, though, despite all of the ethical ambiguity, is it their job? In short, I believe that though these players are doing something very ethically wrong, Nintendo cannot (and should not) do anything about it. If Nintendo were to step in, they may have to take action by making changes to the game that players do not like, thus upsetting their consumers as well as hurting themselves in the process. By restricting players from making certain transactions in some way, Nintendo would take some of the precious autonomy that ANCH grants players. Just like in real life, certain things come with pitfalls. Mistakes can be made, and just about anyone can fall prey to a scammer. 

I, for one, know that I am very cautious when making purchases over Nookazon. With that being said, I still do not expect Nintendo to ever say anything on the matter (unless something objectively terrible happens relating to Animal Crossing). I know that I much prefer the Animal Crossing Twitter community, where I have an account with over 900 friendly and trustworthy followers. People are way more tame there, not overcharging for items or villagers. There are frequent free giveaways just because people feel like giving items away and helping others. Though I firmly stand by that the scammers are taking advantage of other players and the Nookazon overchargers are making it difficult for people to partake in the trades that make Animal Crossing multiplayer so special, I know that it boils down to being cautious and knowing who to trust. There are plenty of people out there, for certain, that would not charge an arm and a leg for me to take a glance at a virtual cat with heterochromia.

References: Favis, E. (2020). He created an Amazon-like website for Animal Crossing. It’s getting millions of clicks per day. The Washington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/05/11/nookazon-animal-crossing-ne w-horizons-trading/ Hernandez, P. (2020). Raymond is blowing up the Animal Crossing villager black market. Polygon. Retrieved from: https://www.polygon.com/2020/4/22/21229959/animal-crossing-new-horizons-black-mar ket-villager-trading-raymond-nmt-bells-nintendo-switch-discord Kim, J. (2014) Interactivity, user-generated content and video game: an ethnographic study of AnimalCrossing:WildWorld, Continuum, 28:3, 357-370, DOI: 10.1080/10304312.2014.893984 LaFleur, L. B.,  Hebert, Z. J., Dupuy, A. S. (2018) Leveling Up Your Game: The Use of Video Games as a Therapeutic Modality, Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 13:1, 58-67, DOI: 10.1080/15401383.2017.1328293 Mentioned: eBay link for $1,000 Raymond move-in package: https://www.ebay.com/i/233574675397?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-1171 82-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=233574675397&targetid=886124492878&device=c&mk type=pla&googleloc=9004145&poi=&campaignid=9243453728&mkgroupid=93059547 999&rlsatarget=pla-886124492878&abcId=1145977&merchantid=6296724&gclid=Cjw KCAjw7-P1BRA2EiwAXoPWA31yE7ESREpqgMIjsnEWfPJ8G9D37K6azlxyvAR9tC7 SJpml9rwpWhoC7REQAvD_BwEeBay link for Raymond’s flea: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Raymond-Acnh-HIS-FLEA-/353072736206?_trksid=p234952 6.m4383.l10137.c10&nordt=true&rt=nc&orig_cvip=trueScreenshots from Twitter: https://twitter.com/daisyymaes/status/1259488870208606210?s=21

[transformersaesthetics]

Beast Wars 1998

Good morning Tumblr! After our brief pause last week, we’ll be picking up the story of Beast Wars. I also figured out the citations! We’re using MLA, which allows for in text citations. As for who gets author credit, for normal wiki pages, I’m using the first named contributor from the history page, with the et al referring to the other contributors. For pages describing an entire toyline, because those have changed more, I cite the most recent user. That convention may raise issues, so I’ll see if I can come up with something better. I’m also violating the MLA style guide a bit by continuing to include https// in my sources, but since we’re online it’s more useful for them to be functioning links. Anyways, back to Beast Wars!

    1998 marked a radical change in the style and content of the Beast Wars toyline. As the wiki notes, “the line basically split into two sub-groups. The "normal" beasts became Fuzors, robots whose beast modes were mashups of two different animals... The rest of the line was made up of the Transmetals, Beast Wars turned inside-out: robotic animals with fleshy inner robot parts.”(Monzo) Another defining feature of 1998 was the return of show characters, after their remarkable absence in the 1997 line. The presence of these characters accounts for several other features of the toyline, most notably its famed screen accuracy and the introduction of new, powered up forms for the show characters. While many of these innovations were confined to the Beast Wars toyline by their very nature, the concept of refreshing a toyline with updated characters would prove far more durable, extending the reach of the 1998 line to almost every other toyline in the brand. 

    One of the two primary stylistic branches of the 1998 toyline were Fuzors, transformers whose beast modes were fusions of two distinct animals.(NexusShard17) As the wiki notes, “Fuzors were limited to the Basic and Deluxe price-points.” (Monzo) Although many of these combinations were cartoonish caricatures of the creatures they were based on, for example, Quickstrike, the yellow and teal scorpion/snake, all were organic. (M Sipher ;NexusShard17) 

    The other primary style of 1998 were the Transmetal figures. These figures were a sort of inversion of the basic premise of Beast Wars. Where much of the novelty of the toyline was the introduction of organic alternate modes for transforming robots, Transmetal figures featured robotic creatures as alternate modes, and organic detailing in their robot forms. (Octopus Prime). Many of these figures also featured a third, ‘transport’ mode, evocative of some sort of vehicle, and a high degree of vacuum metalized chrome. (Octopus Prime). 

    These two novel styles likely represent an attempt to renew interest in the toyline after two solid years of straightforward, organic animal alternate modes. Each of these styles represents a twist to the basic concept of robots transforming into animals, a twist which differentiates them substantively with what came before. Moreover, 1998 marked the widespread reintroduction of show characters to the toyline. Much of the purpose of an advertising cartoon for a toyline is providing characters for children to bond with, hopefully causing them to purchase toys of those characters. If toys of the main cast are not on the shelves, the cartoon serves little point. 

    However, as discussed in the essay for 1997, much of the reason for the absence of show characters from that line was simply that there were no show characters who had not received toys. In this, HasTak confronted a somewhat novel situation, compared to G1. First, “in the 80s a single toy could ship steadily for two years” (Flicky1991). During G1, it was very plausible for HasTak to continue to reissue a single figure, meaning the corresponding character’s appearances in the show continued to constitute valuable advertising material. Moreover, because many G1 toys existed prior to the existence of Transformers and the nature of hand animated cartoons, HasTak had both the means and incentive to introduce a tremendous bevy of new characters, and little to change existing ones.(Flicky1991) Rather than creating a new tooling based on an existing character, they could simply pull a Diaclone or Microman mold and insert it into the show as a Transformer. 

    The same could not be said of Beast Wars. Because of the different natures of hand drawn and computer animation, the production of new character models now entailed a much greater expense. Moreover, HasTak no longer had access to the wells of Diaclone and Microman, since those molds featured radically different engineering, did not turn into organic animals, and had largely all been utilized during G1.(Flicky1991) 

    However, Beast Wars introduced a solution to this problem, one that continues to stay with the brand to the present day. Instead of introducing new characters, HasTak simply changed the forms of the existing ones via some sort of power upgrade, in this case Transmetalization.(Octopus Prime)Indeed, none of the Transmetal figures were of characters who had not at some point appeared in the show, even if that character did not receive a corresponding upgrade in fiction.(Octopus Prime)The sole exception to this is Scavenger, who was likely intended as a Transmetal form of Inferno, a show character. (Interrobang) 

This is a significant change from G1. In the original G1 toyline, almost every new mold was a new character, with a completely unique alternate mode and robot mode.(Flicky1991) Where there are  exceptions to this rule, they are for the most iconic characters, such as Power Master Optimus Prime and Pretender Starscream. (Flicky1991) In Beast Wars and most subsequent toylines, many of the new mold figures were of existing characters, and had robot modes and alternate modes based on those characters.  That is to say, the resources used to develop Transmetal Tarantulas, for example, could just have easily been devoted to the development of a completely original figure based on a whale. Instead, they were used to develop a figure whose alternate mode, transformation scheme, and appearance shared many elements and visual cues with a previous design. 

This use of a powered up mode to sell toys of existing characters would persist through almost every subsequent franchise in the brand. This is partially a result of the conditions that created this innovation initially persisting; in the contemporary environment, many shows are CG, and for writing considerations feature much, much smaller casts than the original G1 cartoon. Similarly, although it is still comparatively common for a figure from a past toyline to be used in a newer one, long gone are the massive wells of figures that have not seen a release as Transformers. This innovation, while not as impactful as that of ball joints, still represents one of the major influences of Beast Wars on subsequent lines. 

Another hallmark of the 1998 Beast Wars line is it’s screen accuracy. Indeed, the line was listed as the 4th most accurate transformers toyline of all time on a major fan site. (william-james88) For obvious reasons, replicating a 3d model in real life is somewhat easier than recreating something 2d. Similarly, the G1 cartoon with many liberties character model designs, at least partially to escape toy engineering restrictions and to achieve more aesthetically pleasing designs. Although cheating with the models was still present in 1996, the above mentioned factors both result in very high screen accuracy for 1998. Both the new character Fuzors and the updated Transmetal figures are among the earliest hyper-accurate toys in the brand as a result. 

1998 also saw the introduction of a new size class, the “Super Transmetals” price point.(Monzo) Only one figure was included in this size class, the Optimal Optimus figure. (Monzo) Although G1 had contained many large figures, it had no size classes. Optimal Optimus thus became the first figure above voyager size to be released under the new, highly organized price framework. Although there were no other toys of this class in Beast Wars, it presaged the release of several Beast Machines figures, and the now standard Leader Class of later toylines. 

1998 is also remarkable for the “First American toy designed to be a girl from the start. Seriously.” (Tantrum)  As discussed in the essay Gender and G1, the subject of which figure or character was the first female release in Transformers is a surprisingly subtle one. Deluxe Class Transmetal Airazor was the first toy released in the US to have been designed as a female character from the inception of the mold. Airazor’s previous release was not explicitly female, and indeed, the character was male in Japanese media. (Tantrum) In any event, whether or not the figure can claim the unequivocal title of ‘First Female’, it certainly constitutes a landmark release in one of the largest markets for Transformers. And it only took 14 years! 

1998 represents an important transition for Beast Wars. Rather than simply continuing to expand on themes it had already introduced, Beast Wars pivoted sharply. 1998 introduced two radically novel aesthetics, Fuzors and Transmetals, a new, larger, size class, and the concept of refreshing show characters with new bodies. Although the concepts of Fuzors and Transmetals were necessarily localized to Beast Wars, the more general concept of changing the aesthetic of a line to refresh it, larger toys, and centering the line around a handful of main characters with multiple releases all proved to be mainstays of subsequent lines. 1998 handily continued the best Beast Wars traditions of pioneering, and lasting change. 

 Works Cited

Monzo et al.“Beast Wars:Transformers(toyline)”, TFwiki, tfwiki.net/wiki/Beast_Wars:_Transformers_(toyline) Accessed 4/25/2020

NexusShard17 et al. “Fuzor”, TFwiki, tfwiki.net/wiki/Fuzor, Accessed 4/25/2020

M Sipher et al. “Quickstrike (BW)”, TFwiki, tfwiki.net/wiki/Quickstrike_(BW)#Beast_Wars, Accessed 4/25/2020

Octopus Prime et al. “Transmetal”, TFWiki, https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transmetal Accessed 4/25/2020

Flicky1991 et al. “The Transformers (toyline)”, TWwiki,https://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Transformers_(toyline), Then and Now Accessed 4/25/2020

Interrobang et al. “Scavenger (Bw)”,TFwiki,  https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Scavenger_(BW)#Toys Accessed 4/25/2020 

William-james88, “Top 5 Most Show Accurate Transformers Toylines”, Seibertron, https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/top-5-most-show-accurate-transformers-toylines/43441/ Accessed 4/25/2020 

Tantrum, “Airazor (BW)”, TFwiki, https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Airazor_(BW)#Beast_Wars Accessed 4/25/2020 

[thomasroach]

Top RPG News Of The Week: February 17th (Bloodstained Ritual of the Night, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Sekiro and More!)

The post Top RPG News Of The Week: February 17th (Bloodstained Ritual of the Night, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Sekiro and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

Happy weekend from Fextralife! If you’ve been too busy to keep up on the latest in the games we cover or are looking for a refresher we’ve got you covered! Here’s a bite-sized version of the Top RPG news of the week. Taste all the latest news across the Fextralife Wiki Network.

Check out the video above and read on for the text!

Cyberpunk 2077

Fans have been concerned whether Cyberpunk 2077 would be going down the route of an Epic Store exclusive which has been a trend with a few games recently. In a tweet from the developers themselves this doesn’t seem to be the case.

When a fan reached out to CD Projekt Red via Twitter to ask if they too were going down the exclusive digital store front path, their reply was a short but very effective “Yeaaaaaaaaah….Pass on that”.

Ever since the rdigital store Epic Games was revealed at The Game Awards last year, a few titles have decided to release on Epic Games first rather than Steam or even GOG which is owned by the developer’s parent company. This include titles such as the action-RPG shooter Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, which launches on Epic Games and Uplay next month.

Looking back on previous CD Projekt Red titles such as the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the game was made available across a number of different platforms including GOG, Origin and Steam. Currently the developer has yet to have any of their games on the Epic Games Store.

Cyberpunk 2077 will release on PC, PS4 and Xbox One with no confirmed release date as of yet.

To read more about this news find it here in Cyberpunk 2077 Won’t Be An Epic Games Store Exclusive.

Kingdom Come Deliverance

T rhe DLC for the highly acclaimed medieval action RPG Kingdom Come Deliverance has been released this week for all platforms. Featuring multiple endings and a cast of new characters to meet on a rambunctious new adventure.

The third DLC Band of Bastards for Warhorse Studios’ Kingdom Come Deliverance, begins with Henry setting off on a new journey to help Sir Radzig Kobyla the leader of the band of mercenaries. His aim is help to settle an ongoing feud between Radzig and a noble family who is trying to encroach upon his position. Of course this adventure has plenty of rivalry, bloodshed and choices to be made.

Combat focuses mainly on skirmishes and duels but newer aspects have been added to the game including stealth missions and new side-quests to explore.

The DLC will take approximately 5 hours to complete and will be accessible once players have completed the Baptism of Fire quest, which is available one third of the way through the Kingdom Come: Deliverance main quest line. The DLC is available now on PC, PS4 and Xbox One for $7.99.

This was not the the only news from developer Warhorse Studios. Marking the 1st anniversary of the release of their title, the developer has found a new home being acquired by THQ Nordic’s wholly owned subsidiary Koch Media.

Kingdom Come Deliverance was released a year ago and has since sold over 2 million copies.

To read more about this news find it here in Kingdom Come Deliverance Band Of Bastards DLC.

The Outer Worlds

Since its announcement at The Game Awards last year, fans of The Outer Worlds have been anticipating this to be the spiritual successor to the Fallout franchise. In an interview for GameInformer with co-director Tim Cain and Lead designer Charles Staples, we gain more insight into The Outer World’s combat.

Taking a leaf out of the Fallout book, Obsidian brings its own version of the VATS system to upcoming sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds, however in this game it is known as Tactical Time Dilation (TTD). We also touched upon some of the combat features in our The Outer Worlds: Everything We Know About Fallout’s Spiritual Successor article and video not too long ago.

In the video the Co-Director Tim Cain shares more of a breakdown about the feature and we also get to see some of it in action. Tactical Time Dilation allows players to slow down time in order to line up the perfect shot.

If shooting isn’t your thing, you can always opt for different abilities that help companions by using combat perks. The developers also explains how companion support is a key part of gameplay, as they are introducing a new type of role called Leadership, which means the player will “swap in and out companions to gain access to their skills”.

While the exact release date has not been shared, the title is set to release sometime this year 2019.

To read more about this news find it here in The Outer Worlds Version Of Fallout’s VATS Slows Down Time.

The Division 2

Ubisoft held their private beta last weekend for The Division 2, and will be holding an open beta closer to the launch. The open beta was announced via the official website, it will be on March 1st until March 4th and available across all platforms which includes Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC. This will be your last chance to test out the game before it launches next month. More details are expected to follow soon in terms of exact times for each platform.

The Division 2 follows the events of the The Division, its been some time since the virus outbreak and it’s Washington DC where most of the action takes place. Players will be able to choose their skills and specialise as a Survivalist, Demolitionist or Sharpshooter. As you bring justice back to the streets as The Division where anarchy currently rains supreme.

The Division 2 comes to PS4, Xbox One and PC on March 15th 2019 with the beta coming March 1st until March 4th.

To read more about this news find it here in Ubisoft Announces The Division 2 Open Beta For Early March.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

The wait is over to for the release window for Castlevania inspired side-scrolling RPG Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. It was back in August last year when we heard about the delay of it’s original release, however in a Nintendo Direct announcement we learn that the title will be coming out in Summer. While this isn’t the exact date or month, it’s more of a timeline than we had before.

The trailer shows off some of the combat as Igavania makes its return in this gothic action horror. We also get a peek at the crafting system, being able to create weapons from materials you loot or items you dismantle.

The foes are a mixture between mythical creatures, fantasy meets reality including a giant dog head or even a huge cat-like creature with horns that swipes at you. To say the least the visuals are rather trippy with some challenging enemies to best.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will launch on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in summer 2019.

To read more about this news find it here in Bloodstained Ritual Of The Night Releases Summer 2019.

Final Fantasy 7 & 9

A range of Final Fantasy titles were announced to be coming to the Switch since last year, two of those titles now have a release date.

In a Nintendo Direct we get a release date for the original Final Fantasy VII which will be arriving on the Switch and Xbox One on March 26th. This is the first time that FF7 comes to a Nintendo console. This is a great addition for those who want to relive the game, or for those who are playing for the first time. While we await more details from Tetsuya Nomura about the remake now that he’s wrapped up Kingdom Hearts 3, it’s a great time to delve into the original.

But this isn’t the only Final Fantasy announcement shared in the video, Final Fantasy IX is now available on the Nintendo eShop. Also Windows 10 and Xbox One can  now access FF9 as an anywhere title meaning you can get it both for PC and Xbox with cross platform saves as well.

To read more about this news find it here in Final Fantasy VII Comes To Switch In March And Final Fantasy IX Launched Today.

Hollow Knight

Team Cherry were teasing a new Hollow Knight character The Hornet, but now shared on Valentine’s day that it is a follow up sequel to the massively successful Metroidvania Hollow Knight.

Team Cherry shared on Twitter earlier this week about The Hornet and teased they would be revealing the first look on February 14th which lead us to believe that a new DLC would be revealed on Thursday. However, in a surprise announcement that was shared in a post on their website, a sequel called Hollow Knight: Silksong was unveiled.

While originally the Hornet’s narrative was suppose to be a DLC, Team Cherry quickly realised that it would be too big to be just a chapter and created a game of its own. Hollow Knight: Silksong will be available on Windows, Mac, Linux and Nintendo Switch when it launches.

The sequel will contain over 150 new foes to battle, new kingdom and a new Challenge Silk Soul mode for even more of a challenging experience.

Not only do those who backed the original Kickstarter campaign receive Hollow Knight but you will “be receiving your copy of Hollow Knight: Silksong 100% free” according to the post. No release window has been shared as of yet.

To read more about this news find it here in Hollow Knight Gets A Sequel Not DLC Launching On Switch And PC.

Oninaki

The developers Tokyo RPG Factory behind I Am Setsuna and Lost Sphear have revealed a new title, an action-RPG called Oninaki.

Publisher Square Enix shares the story of Kagachi, a so-called Watcher with the ability to move between the Living World and the Beyond. In a tale where the the Watcher must seek out wandering souls of the dead who are the Lost, to send them on their way onto the next world.

Tokyo RPG Factory are yet to unveil some of the gameplay details, but you can take a look at the released trailer to get a quick overview of what’s to come. The trailer shows what appears to be hack’n’slash action featuring some weapon choices including halberds and swords.

Oninaki will release on Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC this summer, with more details to follow.

To read more about this news find it here in Oninaki Is The New Action RPG From The Developers Of I Am Setsuna.

Sekiro

A new trailer has been released for upcoming FromSoftware title Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice featuring General Tenzen Yamauchi.

The latest trailer shows a short reveal of an epic battle between Sekiro and foe General Tenzen Yamauchi of the Ashina clan. The arena in which this fight takes place, is in the court yard of the snow covered Ashina Castle Grounds. The battle only shows us the General getting a few shots in before the trailer ends, but looks like it could be another worthy adversary for the Lone-Wolf, Sekiro.

As we draw nearer to the anticipated release of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, we are slowly gaining new trailers that are revealing more of the narrative and upcoming characters to face. While the title is veering away from a more souls structure, FromSoft fans will be happy to know they are still including elements such as the hub area known as the Dilapidated Temple, and Healing Gourd which acts similarly to Estus Flask used in the Dark Souls series.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will be releasing on March 22nd 2019 on Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC. Be sure to check out our Twitch channel as we’ll be streaming it upon release.

To read more about this news find it here in New Sekiro Trailer Features General Tenzen Yamauchi.

Well, that’s it for the Week in Wikis. Please join us next week for yet another great week of gaming! Remember to check out our VIP program for some exclusive supporter benefits, and budding writers should take advantage of our Become an Author initiative! Thanks again for being a part of this great community. Keep checking in with us for news, reviews, YouTube streams and vids, and general wiki goodness!

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The post Top RPG News Of The Week: February 17th (Bloodstained Ritual of the Night, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Sekiro and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

Top RPG News Of The Week: February 17th (Bloodstained Ritual of the Night, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Sekiro and More!) published first on https://juanaframi.tumblr.com/

[garynsmith]

Meeting Agents Where They Are, Getting Them Where They Want to Go

With the powerful training and technology resources of Keller Williams Realty at their backs, Nancy Marcotte and JD Pierce can turn their full attention toward what matters most: the success of their agents. Understanding that success means something different to everyone, the operating partners of Louisiana-based Keller Williams Realty The Gulf South Group are there to run alongside each agent, providing whatever it takes to guide them toward their respective goals. In this interview, find out how this servant leadership approach has led to the company’s growth and profitability…and why there’s no end in sight.

Maria Patterson: Please briefly describe your career path in real estate and how you came to lead Keller Williams Realty Premier Partners. Nancy Marcotte: I got my real estate license in 2001, right before 9/11. I started with Keller Williams in Mandeville, La., and six months later my husband got transferred to Lafayette. I interviewed with some of the other real estate companies there, but they just weren’t Keller Williams. So, I started Keller Williams Realty Acadiana in Lafayette, La., in 2003. About five years into it, I hired JD Pierce as my team leader. We then moved into the Lake Charles, La., market very successfully, and from there, JD and I were offered many opportunities to take over failing or stagnant Keller Williams Market Centers. We caught a few folks’ eyes. Initially, I was operating partner of all the offices, and JD was my partner and general manager. We then decided to split them up; Premier Partners in Denham Springs is one of the Market Centers I kept as operating principal.

MP: JD, how about you? JD Pierce: I had spent 23 years in the restaurant business as a restaurant executive and owner, and needed a second career. I am now in my 12th year in real estate. NM: I had a different team leader when I started the business and he and I interviewed JD, who at the time mentioned management. I called him to see if he was interested in management, and that proved to be a really great choice.

MP: How many offices and agents does the firm currently have? NM: PM Partnership, which JD and I started, has six Market Centers and two Business Centers, currently. With all of them combined, we have a total agent count of 831 as of mid-July, but the number grows monthly. For example, in January 2017 we started out with 740.

MP: What is the difference between a Market Center and a Business Center? JDP: A Market Center is a fully-staffed location, and a Business Center is more of a support satellite office. Business Centers help us get into geographic areas where we may not be able to open a full office.

MP: Your growth is very impressive. What would you attribute that to? JDP: Our growth is really supported by our culture and commitment to our agents. We have a saying around here: “Yes is the answer; now what’s the question?” We take care of our people first—for us, our primary customer is our agent, and we focus heavily on supporting their dreams, hopes, goals and financial prosperity. We’ve also added so many great people to our team over the years, which has done a real service to our growth. NM: We’ve always been forward-looking and follow the Keller Williams models of growth and productivity. If an agent isn’t productive, they will not be in the business for long, and we give them every opportunity to become productive. We feel we attract those that are likeminded.

MP: How would you describe your firm’s positioning in the marketplace? NM: We’re very strong in all our markets. In Denham Springs, we’re currently No. 1 in Livingston Parish, and have our sights set on becoming No. 1 in the Greater Baton Rouge Board of REALTORS®. We’re No. 1 in Houma/Thibodaux, La., and neck and neck for the No. 1 spot in Lafayette. What sets us apart is our training, our culture, our ethics and integrity, and our technology.

MP: Tell me a little bit more about your training. NM: The production of our agents is really important. We want them to be profitable and make a good living, and we don’t want them to find another career because they’re not doing well. That’s why all our Market Centers offer training. This is not continuing education training, but training about how to run their business—how to go out and get business and how to do things so they can grow their business, and, therefore, grow themselves and their team. JDP: Every Market Center has training that’s all about advancing prosperity for agents. We’re committed to that.

MP: I understand you’re both very involved in coaching… NM: We both believe greatly in coaching and training. We work to have productivity coaches in each Market Center, and we have our associates teach classes that they’re strong in already or would like to get stronger in. JD actually coaches and helps teams for up to six months. I’m working on becoming a Keller Williams University Instructor and have taught CE for the state in the past. We both attend training regionally and nationally. We also have our own mastery coach through KW MAPS, as do all our team leaders, and many of our Market Center Administrators. JDP: I’m available to coach anyone from point A to point B. I assist agents in jumpstarting a business model, reorganizing what they’re doing now or changing direction altogether to find a new path. Keller Williams is the No. 1 company for training, and we’re lucky to have that support. Nancy and I go out and get the best training we can, then bring that back to the Market Centers. If there’s new training in another state, we go get that information and bring it back to our agents. We are consistently in the classroom in our Market Centers.

MP: Can agents also access on- demand training? JDP: Yes, through KW Connect, which is, in essence, YouTube for Keller Williams agents. They can use this platform for training and education if they’re not in the Market Center. It’s training that’s available 24/7 on whatever topic you can imagine. There are hundreds of videos on numerous topics shared by top producers all over the country. One of our core beliefs is that together, we all achieve more.

MP: What’s your company culture like? NM: We do things as a family. Even though our Market Centers are large, we do our best to help everyone feel like they belong. We do huddle-ups and talk about our concerns and look out for each other. JDP: Our commitment to stay connected to every agent routinely is part of our system. We stay connected to their goals, their dreams and making sure their business is on the path to get them there.

MP: How do you help your agents become more productive? JDP: We leverage technology and are part of a franchise that really supports that. We have really high-level technology that’s always advancing, and we’re constantly putting forth new initiatives through the technology piece. NM: Our agents have access to everything they could want via their intranet site provided by Keller Williams.

MP: That’s great that you have all this cutting-edge technology, but how do you ensure agents take advantage of it? JDP: Again, that’s training. And we make sure to meet them where they are. One of the things we say internally is that we’ll go as slow or as fast as you need us to. We’ll run right alongside you. Every agent is an independent contractor and is always looking for a better mousetrap. Some of the best ideas come from agents who are out there exploring and doing a little pioneering.

MP: How do you stay ahead of the curve on technology, online marketing and social media? NM: Keller Williams does that for us. They’re introducing several new technology upgrades at Mega Camp in Austin this month (at press time). They provide websites, transaction management, reports, listing presentations, buyer’s presentations, email, Profit Dash, and so many other things currently. Keller Williams Realty International will be announcing Kelli, cloud-based documents, and other technological advances this month.

MP: What most attracts agents to Keller Williams Realty, and why do they stay? NM: I think initially they’re attracted by either the training for the newer folks, or the commission splits. They stay for many different reasons: the culture of the company, the technology, and the opportunities. JDP: Our value proposition is unique to each agent. For one, it may be our high profitability; for another, it might be our culture or compensation model, and for others, still, it may be our education and training. NM: We look at people as individuals—we don’t have one set of prescriptions for everybody; we figure out what they need. JDP: What we do really well is meet agents where they are and help them get where they want to go.

MP: Please describe your leadership philosophy. NM: We believe in the WI4C2TS of Keller Williams. That is: Win-win—or no deal; Integrity—do the right thing; Customers—always come first; Communication—seek first to understand; Creativity—ideas before results; Commitment—in all things; Trust—begins with honesty; Teamwork—together everyone achieves more; and Success—results through people. JD and I are both involved in our Market Centers, and we do our best to be quick to respond. With Keller Williams Realty behind us, there’s nothing we cannot achieve. JDP: We have a servant leadership style. Both Nancy and I are in the office daily, and in the classroom training weekly. We’re everywhere, and have our hands in the day-to-day. We have also hired great leadership teams to support us.

MP: What’s your strategy for effectively marketing the firm and best serving the needs of prospects and clients? NM: We’re an agent-centric company, and, therefore, we let the agents best decide how to market and sell their properties, and how to best promote themselves. We provide them with a lot of online tools, and they have the opportunity to get 100 percent of their commission dollars, so they will have the funds to promote themselves and their clients. JDP: We commit very little resources to market our brand. In turn, we spend that time and money to help the agent market themselves as the brand. Because we’re a profit-sharing company, we’ve chosen not to spend that money on brand marketing, but instead, assist agents with their individual marketing.

MP: What’s on deck for the future of the firm? JDP: We’re always looking for opportunities. If there’s an opportunity for us to open another Market Center and support agents in that marketplace, we’ll look into it. In the meantime, we’re going to continue to support the folks currently with us, and maybe add more. NM: We will continue to grow and provide opportunities. Who knows—there may be another Market Center in our future!

For more information, please visit www.kwrpp.com.

Maria Patterson is RISMedia’s executive editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at maria@rismedia.com.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

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