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mariyekos · 3 years

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Souls and Aether: A look at Estinien's sense of self and Nidhogg's place within it

After a throwaway line in Endwalker reignited my love for the topic, here are some thoughts and theories about the mix of Estinien and Nidhogg's souls post-Heavensward (that I'll probably use for fic material someday when I feel like I'll be able to do them justice). Some of this is very much canon, some is headcanon, and I tried to make sure I distinguished between what the game tells us and what I like to imagine from it. This turned into way more of an essay than I meant it to be, but meh. Includes some caps and ideas from Heavensward and Shadowbringers, as well as spoilers for Endwalker under the cut! You've been warned!

"My Eyes": The Mothercrystal Quote

A.K.A. The Whole Reason I Wrote This Ridiculously Long Essay

The first thing I want to talk about is this quote from the optional pre-battle conversation before The Mothercrystal fight. Mostly the last part, but I'll include all three pictures to capture the entire thing.

There's a lot to unpack here, but I want to focus on the quote that I've thought of on a daily basis since beating Endwalker.

"Then you and Alphinaud threw my eyes off a bridge, and I've never known peace since."

My eyes. My eyes. Obviously he's referring to the Eyes of Nidhogg here, which were bound to Estinien's person. That much I would say is not up to debate. In that respect, they could be "his" (i.e. Estinien's) eyes, since they were technically a part of him at the time. So the "I" or "me" or "self" that Estinien is referring to could be himself as the man that has always been Estinien. A less exciting, but sensible reason for that phrasing. Or... the perhaps less likely but much more enticing/interesting option... is that the "I/me/self" that he could be referring to could be the part that was once Nidhogg. My eyes he says, thinking of his true eyes which were once in his own wyrm skull, not the foreign eyes which were embeded in his elezen shoulder and wrist. My eyes, as in the eyes which came from him and were originally his. Him, thus, being Nidhogg.

And thus, I looked at this quote and thought, "ah. Estinien is refering to Nidhogg's eyes as his own, and thus not differentiating between the being he is now and the being that was once Nidhogg. He sees (at least parts of) Nidhogg's past and being as his own."

It's worth noting that this comes right after he talks about "people I cared for," and then refers to people Estinien knew (Alberic, Alphinaud+WoL or Aymeric, and Ysayle). So there are three potential levels of self here - The "I" that was originally Estinien, the "my" that seems to be Nidhogg after taking Estinien as his vessel, and the "I've" that is surely both. The Estinien who is Estinien, who seamlessly carries pieces of Nidhogg, as if a blended version of the two. Three points in time, three kinds of self. Three levels of existing as two beings eventually merged into one.

I want to say that I believe Estinien still sees himself as being different than Nidhogg. He's still Estinien, and he has always been Estinien. Before this quote, I imagined him not thinking of himself as Nidhogg, but instead as the bearer of Nidhogg's legacy. But when I saw this...He's still Estinien, and he has always been Estinien, but I think there are times when the line blurs a little. He's not confused about who he is at all. He knows he was born Estinien, and Nidhogg was something separate. But there are things that seamlessly merge, just the slightest bit, when they get too close. The eyes were Nidhoggs, but they were also Estinien's for those few days (...Lucia says something that implies the whole possession thing only lasted a few days. In my head, it lasted closer to 6 months, or about the patch time, because I don't like the whole "all of FFXIV takes place in about a year" thing. But I acknowledge that canon says that only lasted a few days.). They belonged to both. And so what was more Nidhogg's than Estinien's may now seem wholly Estinien's. Because both were one. There was no difference at the time. And now? Well.

The Heavensward Soul-Merge

Part of this train of thought comes from something I've rambled about in other scattered posts: the idea that a part of Nidhogg's soul has stuck around with Estinien since Heavensward. There are a few components to this. First, in Heavensward when Alphinaud asks Y'shtola and Krile about saving Estinien. Sorry about the lower quality of the following screenshots, as these are phone screengrabs from YouTube rather than my own snaps. I repeat the important parts in the indented sections below.

"We know not if that would serve to separate wyrm's soul from man's."

"[...] we have no way of knowing if your friend's soul would survive so violent a separation."

If we take their word as absolute truth and not exaggeration or some sort of dramatic flourish, then these two quotes tell us that Nidhogg's and Estinien's souls were once connected. Entangled, if you go with an earlier comment from this conversation about Nidhogg's aether and Estinien's form. So their souls were once merged, to an extent. Probably not in a healthy way, especially given Nidhogg's Final Steps of Faith quote about Estinien, but an unhealthy connection doesn't necessarily mean a weak one:

"Witness the darkened wings that beat about his shriveled soul!

Again, this is a case where you can either take Nidhogg for his word or imagine he's being dramatic, but for the purposes of this post I'm going to imagine he's being (mostly) honest.

But let's put that all together: after the eyes were merged to Estinien's form, Nidhogg's aether had all but smothered Estinien's, entangling his form. This led to a definite connection between, partial blending of their souls (whether it's merging is up to interpretation. My HC says yes. Canon simply implies a hard-to-break connection). During this period of connection, Estinien's soul began to shrivel, or was otherwise damaged.

Shadowbringers, and How to Mend a Damaged Soul

We know from Ardbert and Shadowbringers that adding a soul to one's own broken soul can fix that damage. Take the following quote from Ryne about the WoL, after Ardbert rejoins with the WoL for the Hades trial:

"[...] your soul had begun to break apart. Yet now it seems somehow...restored."

Ardbert and the WoL's situation is a lot different than Estinien and Nidhogg's. Ardbert and the WoL were fragments of the same soul. Pieces that were meant to be together. And when Ardbert was rejoined unto the WoL it fixed the cracks that had begun to form under the pressure and corruption of the Light aether. Estinien and Nidhogg most certainly weren't fragments of the same soul. Nidhogg's presence (his aether, I would say) itself was what was damaging Estinien's soul, if said soul was actually damaged. What else would have "shriveled" Estinien's soul during his possession? Nidhogg's aether was far greater than Estinien's, which even if not explicitly stated is just plain canon because dragons have a TON of aether. Estinien's would've been minuscule in comparison, and it's no wonder Nidhogg won out (until the very end when, after expending aether to fight Hraesvelgr-powered WoL, Estinien finally managed to break through). Where the foreign Light Aether fractured the WoL's soul, Nidhogg's foreign natural Aether could have damaged Estinien's soul.

But just as Nidhogg damaged Estinien's soul, I argue that he could've fixed it. Probably not intentionally? But intent is unimportant in this case, and I don't have any evidence to either support or counter any claims of intent..

Now, this is much more Headcanon-territory than a lot of what I've said before, which I would consider pretty much canon. But in this HC territory, I believe that Estinien would not be nearly as functional as he was post-HW if his soul remained damaged as it was. The WoL sure wasn't doing too hot when their soul was fracturing. But Estinien recovered post-possession, and I would like to say that it was because Nidhogg's soul filled the cracks his Aether had created in Estinien's soul. Similar to how Ardbert's soul filled the cracks the Light Aether had created, except Nidhogg was both the problem and the solution instead of one or the other.

At the end of 3.3, we can see Nidhogg's soul, or something that looks like it, rise from Estinien's body and dissolve in the air. Nidhogg as we knew him was then gone. By pure canon, it looks like Nidhogg's soul completely left. But for tge sane of some fun HCs, what if a few tiny pieces of him stayed behind? If, as I proposed, they stayed to fill the cracks and fix the damage that had been done to Estinien's soul and aether? As Y'shtola and Krile discussed earlier, the souls of dragon and man were tangled in a way they worried might not be possible to separate. So what if most of Nidhogg left, but not all? An imperfect separation, if you will. Enough of Nidhogg having left that the elezen who remained would call himself Estinien, as he had always been and still was Estinien, but had a few fragments of Nidhogg so deeply entwined in his being that he didn't regard them as "other"? Not Nidhogg and Estinien as two conscious beings in one body, but the lone being Estinien who has pieces of Nidhogg so well- or near-seamlessly integrated or blended with his own being that even if he recognizes some thoughts or feelings as originating in the part of him that was once Nidhogg, they don't come from some separate consciousness. Just a thought he'd have that he could identify as being more of a Nidhogg thought, but he'd think and feel is all the same, and the voice and feeling would be in essence his own.

The Great Patch 5.5, A.K.A. The Other Quote That Made Me Lose My Mind

"Nidhogg is a part of me. I feel his emotions as my own."

There. There it is. Confirmation from the man himself. I don't even know what to say about that other than look at it. Now, it's important to note phrasing here. He doesn't say "I am Nidhogg." He doesn't say "His emotions are my own." It's that Nidhogg is a part of him, and he feels Nidhogg's emotions as or like his own. He's still Estinien. Not Nidhogg. He still thinks of Nidhogg as someone else, separate from him,, so there's still a distinction...somewhat. But functionally? Considering how deeply they're connected and how much Estinien bows to those feelings? Not really.

Whether or not it's a fragment of Nidhogg's soul that has remained with Estinien, something has stayed behind. Memories, feelings, aether, something. And it isn't just a throwaway line - his conversations with Tiamat and Vrtra just hammer this in. He has specific ideas of how dragons should act that clearly aren't just what some dragonslayer turned dragon-friend would think. Actions befitting a great wyrm are something that only another great wyrm can and should comment on. And his facial expressions (or the zooms that just barely cut off his eyes...) when talking to the First Brood and to the residents of Ultima Thule (the remnants of the Dragonstar) show how deeply he cares and how he's impacted by them. More than just a guy who now cares about dragons would. It's Nidhogg's emotions rising to the top, but so integrated with Estinien's that I don't think he feels that much of a difference. Maybe he can tell which part of him they come from, whether it's the Estinien part or the Nidhogg part who they probably originated in, but does it really matter? They're his feelings now, and it's hard to ignore them. It doesn't matter who is at the core, or what part - Nidhogg or Estinien - they might have come from. They're his. One. Not two shoved in the same body. Nidhogg's emotions are his own. And throughout Endwalker, I really saw it. There was a lot of pain and grief there. More than the other Scions showed. And while Estinien says it himself up above: "I've not a heart of stone," the others don't have stone hearts either. So for him to seem so much more bothered by all the things happening to the dragons...that's definitely Nidhogg showing right there. The Nidhogg that is now a part of Estinien, but will never forget its past or its family or all the love it had for them all.

In Summary

I've done a whole lot of rambling here just to say: I firmly believe that within canon, Estinien and Nidhogg's souls were once at least partially merged, and even though Nidhogg's soul has departed, many of his memories and feelings have remained behind with Estinien. Canon doesn't give any explicit evidence that this soul-merge lasted post-3.3, as shown by Nidhogg's ghostly form dissipating post-FSoF.

Regardless, the parallels are there. Just as the comment about "my eyes" could be seen as referring to Estinien's eyes, as something that was a part of Estinien, or Nidhogg's eyes, as something that was once a part of Nidhogg. They are in effect synonyms, though not quite. Metonyms? Also doesn't quite work. But hopefully you get what I mean - a sort of blended interpretation. He can tell where Nidhogg ends and he begins if he thinks about it. But from time to time that line is blurred subconsciously. Nidhogg is a part of him. And at times, that part doesn't feel so foreign or separate anymore. Because it's him too.

To get into more Headcanon territory, I would like to believe that part of Nidhogg's soul has remained with Estinien. That soul helped fix the damage done by Nidhogg's overpowering Aether. Estinien knows that he is not Nidhogg, in that Estinien does not think that he was once Nidhogg in the past, but instead thinks that he's a man who carries on Nidhogg's legacy and should honor it. There are, however, certain points at which Estinien does not make a distinction between the two of them. This is a subconscious thing. He probably thought nothing of saying "my eyes" instead of "the eyes" or "Nidhogg's eyes" or anything any less possessive. I think of it in the same way he might mourn the loss of a sibling - it would be, in an offhand comment, about both Hamingant and Ratatoskr. He would have specific stories about Hamignant, of course, and might be more likely to talk about his lost younger brother than a dead wyrm that was once a younger sister. Hamignant's would be a potent loss, and he wouldn't confuse or necessarily equate Hamignant's murder with Ratatoskr's murder. (Though I will say another headcanon of mine is that every year on the anniversary of Ratatoskr's death Estinien feels a grief the likes of which he's never felt. Nidhogg felt. And he felt for a thousand years. That grief would be passed on to Estinien more than anything else.) So if you asked him what it felt like to lose a sibling he'd recall both the rage at Ratatoskr's loss and the sorrow at Hamignant's, but then speak of Hamignant, who was his true brother, as opposed to Ratatoskr who...wasn't really his sister. Except...

Final tl;dr, Endwalker I love you. There were some Estinien moments I didn't love that much but then there were ones like this that made me lose my mind so. Yeah. My eyes. My eyes. Ahhhhhh I've wanted to talk about this since like December 5th... it's so good.

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undertakermybeloved · 3 years

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As a person who experiences OSDD 1b, I've always headcanoned the Undertaker to have the same disorder. The way he so quickly switches between personas reminded me of how I experience my own disorder, and I decided to write this on it. Please note that is is not reflective of all disassociative disorders, and is based off of my own experiences!

Rating: Mature, 14+

Warnings: Mentions of death and murder, minor mentions of necromancy, necrophilia and sex

I wasn’t always like this. At first I didn’t even know. It seemed to happen so quickly, when really it was a slower process than trying to get your scythe registered with dispatch.

Dispatch.

That's what caused this. It's all dispatches fault, of course. It's always their fault.

I am the Undertaker. I’m sure you’ve heard of me. If that doesn’t ring a bell, maybe the name Legendary Death does. The most famous reaper to ever exist, loved by all and hunted by his own admiriers. Once a stoic man, unsympathetic, unloving, unattached. Wherever did he go? There is no possible way me, the kooky old mortician with a necrophelia problem, could ever be the same person who reaped Marie Antoinette and judged the soul of Robin Hood. Well, that would be because I’m not.. Partially.

My body was indeed the vessel that completed those tasks, but I was not the one orchestrating them. I was in the back seat, an observer of my own life. I lived like that for so long, I didn’t even realize it was out of the ordinary. It was like sleepwalking. I did not control my own movements, did not hear my own thoughts, and did not speak my own words. Because they weren’t mine. They were Adriens.

At least, that is what I have come to call him. I know what you’re thinking, and it is indeed ‘my’ old name, but I cannot seem to associate myself with it. My name is the Undertaker, that is who I am. Adrien is no longer me. A part of me, yes, just as much as I am a part of him.

We are split. Two pieces of a whole being, separated into two seperate conciousnesses, to complete two separate jobs.

Being a reaper is a horribly taxing occupation. You commit suicide and are now forced to live forever for your horrible crime against the universe, against the very God all humans revere so. Your punishment is an immortal soul, and a job where you are forced to watch others finally achieve the peace you never good. It truly is the most clever and sinister punishment.

Being one of these criminals for over a thousand years, (I don’t care enough to keep track of the exact number,) I may be one of the oldest reapers who has not yet been forced into a medical coma to keep them out of the way, despite my frequent infringements against Shinigami rule.

Anyhow, I’m getting side tracked. Back to the point.

Adrien. While that used to be my name, it is no longer me. I had to train myself as a reaper, not only physically but emotionally as well. Do not be sympathetic, do not become attached. Simply do your job and move on. But it takes a toll on one to, every day, watch the sick and the healthy, the old and the young, the rich and the poor, all laying upon their deathbeds. Especially the children. The poor, crying children. One cannot simply watch them sob as you take their soul and not feel some sort of remorse for the action. So, I put up an act. Played the part of an emotionless, stoic man long enough for my conscious to split. There was the reaper, the one who could handle seeing the dead and the dying, the one who didn’t experience the gut wrenching emotional grief.

And then there was me. The weak one.

Weak.

Too weak to do my own damn job, to the point I managed to split myself in two. A mirror image of myself, the same but better, better at his job, better at interacting, simply better.

I sat in the back for hundreds of years, stuffed away and watching my body be puppetted by one who was not me. I watched myself murder, I watched myself make love, but I was never there. I wondered sometimes, why did I feel like I was no longer in control? Well, it is simply because I wasn’t.

It was like watching a movie where you play the main character. You see them, and it looks like you, but it isn’t. The way they act, talk, and even just carry themself is so drastically different from your own mannerisms that you can scarcely believe it is you who you are seeing.

When I was finally in control again, it felt like I had just been saved from drowning. It was just a second, such a minor slip up of my counterpart, but it was long enough for me to realize I wasn’t alone, and had not been for longer than I’d ever known.

That was when I left. I forced myself into control, and I had to make sure everyone knew I was no longer me.

One extravagant show of mass genocide later, I was free. I was free. Free from my own alter ego, free from the association, free from my punishment. Despite being part of the undead, I had never felt so alive.

I traveled everywhere, released everything that had been hidden away in my own body for so long. Finally, I was the one to murder, I was the one to make love, I was the one to simply experience. It was me.

Eventually, I became weary of traveling the world. I was free enough. Free to control my own body, and that was all I needed.

I settled down, found a little shop on the market for cheap and took up mortuary studies.

After my life as a reaper, most would think I’d prefer to stay away from death, but rather it brought me comfort, and continues to bring me comfort to this day. No longer having to watch people as they die, I am able to deal with them while already dead. And that is the difference between me, the Undertaker, and my own frgament, Adrien.

Being split like this for so long, the line between myself and Adrien is distinct and rather hard to miss. However, there are times where the line blurs, where we mix and entertwine into some sort of amalgamation pretending to be what we once were. The time on the Campania was where the line was blurred the most, to the point where there was hardly any line anymore. It felt like our subconscious was desperately trying to force us back together, despite being separated for much too long for such a thing to be even considered as a simple possibility.

Raising the dead was a combined effort between the both of us. Both of our anguish and grief, anger and despair, and sheer desperation to be one again came out in the form of necromancy. That is why we are better apart. The two of us are simply too different, too separate, by now to be able to merge without only causing problems.

Being together again- or, as together as we could be- felt odd. I was both in and out of control at the same time. I could instruct our body to move, but I was only half there, and it was the same for Adrien as well. We were in control, but only partially. Our movements and speech wound together and created new movements and sentences, a new method of fighting, a new way of speaking. I’m surprised we weren't both a mess, being in control at the same time, but I suppose the half-assed merge was either to thank or to blame for that. We split again afterwards, which did not come as a surprise, and it was far from as dramatic as the first time. Trying to put us back together again is like cutting an apple in half, then carmelizing half of it and putting the other half in a pie, and trying to put the pieces back together once it's done. It simply doesn’t work, and it's much easier, more pleasant and more convenient to enjoy the two separately.

I don’t have much recollection of what it felt like to be whole, but it doesn’t bother me too much any more. Like I’ve said many times, and like I’ve come to realize after many years, is that we are simply better separate.

Dispatch most likely already has a theory about my split personality. They always seem to know more about their reapers than the reapers know about themselves, and despite being retired, that rule remains the same for me. While I consistently refuse their ‘offers’ of a psych evaluation, (their offers being closer to not so gentle insisting and persuasion simply to have me in captivity,) they’re probably going to take me in by force eventually. I am old, after all. About a thousand something, I don’t care to remember. I can’t fight of these young, energetic reapers forever. They’ll reign me in, most likely sooner rather than later, and quite frankly I’m not particularly inclined to care what they do with me once they have me. Torture, questioning, what have you, I don’t much mind. They’re going to do what they please with me, whether I like it or not. If there's just one think I know about dispatch, it's that they always get their way.

Oh well. If they somehow find a way to kill me, they’ll be doing me a favor. Maybe I’ll have my own body in the afterlife.

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #undertakermybeloved writing #undertakermybeloved #undertaker black butler #undertaker #undertaker kuroshitsuji

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theliberaltony · 4 years

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

It’s been a very unusual convention season. Both major parties had to improvise on the traditional convention playbook because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, holding nearly all-virtual gatherings instead. But the Republican National Convention cast aside other traditions too — featuring some of the norm-breaking (and possible law-breaking!) that we’ve come to expect from the Trump administration and blurring the lines that separate governance from party politics, and party politics from personal advancement.

As we’ve noted here before, there’s a difference between norms and democratic values. Norms are nice, and even important sometimes. But not always: Both conventions featured new forms of roll-call voting, for example, losing some norms but not in a problematic way. Other norms, though, help enforce democratic values. And that kind of norm-breaking is the one we should really worry about.

So what values — if any — are at stake in the norm violations at the 2020 RNC?

Election integrity and good governance

Most of the norms-based criticisms of the RNC revolved around the use of government resources and governing powers for a political event. On the second night, the convention kicked off with President Trump pardoning Jon Ponder. The same night, the convention aired a pre-taped naturalization ceremony filmed at the White House. And on Thursday, Trump delivered his acceptance speech from the White House’s South Lawn. All this drew sharp criticism, including questions about whether the Trump administration had violated the Hatch Act, which bans federal officials from mixing their government work with political activities.

Indeed, since last week, the Hatch Act has been having a moment. But are there democratic values embodied in this 1939 piece of legislation? On Wednesday morning, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was quoted saying that only “Beltway insiders” cared about such things. And civil service regulation might not seem like the most exciting or relevant topic. But the Hatch Act came after many years of political struggles, and other, unsuccessful legislative attempts to address the relationship between politics and governance. These kinds of rules are in place to protect the governing process from improper political influence and elections from the sway of powerful actors. The civil service reform movement in the 1880s sought to create an effective federal government, staffed by civil servants who were trained for their work and free from fear of losing their jobs over politics. The idea of protecting elections dates back to at least the 1830s. The Hatch Act itself came about as the result of concern about the FDR administration using the Works Progress Administration for political gain and becoming overly involved in the 1938 primaries in an effort to defeat conservative Democrats. In other words, the act, which was controversial at the time and has been controversial since, was aimed at curbing the role of politics in governance and keeping the president from having too much influence over elections. The Hatch Act and other rules like it aren’t just about obscure regulations or Washington norms — they safeguard the values of election integrity and good governance.

Nonpartisan foreign policy

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech from Jerusalem also prompted Hatch Act questions. It’s possible the speech didn’t technically violate the law. And it’s not unheard of for Cabinet secretaries to speak at conventions about domestic issues. But regardless of who paid for what, the appearance of a secretary of state at a convention links partisan politics to foreign policy statecraft and diplomacy. And there’s a reason why foreign policy is different.

As Scott Anderson explained on the Lawfare podcast, the principles behind State Department policies banning partisan activities by overseas diplomats are that they represent the entire nation – not just one political party. Suggesting that one party is better than the other to our allies runs the risk of undermining our national position and credibility when the other party takes power. It defies the concept that both parties are equally invested in the security and safety of the nation, ultimately denying the legitimate role of opposition — the idea that the party out of power is still a legitimate part of the nation, and a crucial democratic value.

Equality and access

At the Democratic National Convention this year, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both had family members speak about them. But at the RNC, in addition to Ivanka Trump’s introduction of her father, three of Trump’s children had evening speaking slots. His sons, Eric and Donald Jr., spoke about politics, castigating “cancel culture” and the Biden campaign. Contrasted with Melania Trump’s speech as first lady, the Trump children — and his sons, in particular — stepped out of the ceremonial role as “first family” and into a more partisan, political one. As some commentators noted, the speeches sounded like they were gearing up to run for office.

Family political dynasties are hardly unusual in American politics. There are the Bushes, the Romneys and of course, the Kennedys — as well as many others. And political conventions are supposed to showcase speakers who might run for office later. But combining these two things flies in the face of core democratic values like equality and access and instead turns the political party into a personal vehicle for the president and his family.

Personalistic leadership

The deeper democratic value violation in the RNC’s use of these presidential powers — both real and ceremonial — in a convention context is what political scientists call personalistic leadership. It’s not just that Trump merged governance and party politics. It’s that, in this merging, the impression is given that Trump himself — rather than the Constitution or the office — is the source of privileges like granting pardons and citizenship. This gets directly at one of the principles the nation’s founders worried about when creating the office of the presidency: that it would place too much power in the hands of a single individual, endangering the idea of a “government of laws and not of men.”

Finally, and relatedly, Trump accepted the nomination in a closing speech on the South Lawn of the White House, followed up with “Trump 2020” fireworks over the Washington Monument. Some commentators have questioned not only the propriety of this but also suggested these events were illegal. (A gathering of 1,500 people, most of them unmasked, also violated local laws, though federal property is exempt from those laws.)

Political parties have become more focused on the presidency over time, with candidates rarely stepping up to challenge incumbent presidents for the nomination. And it’s standard for the conventions to focus heavily on the sitting president in that way, highlighting that this is the person already in the office while also competing to stay there. But Thursday’s use of the White House, accompanied by Trump’s declaration of “we’re here and they’re not” in his renomination acceptance speech, undercuts the reality that all presidents occupy that space temporarily. The separation of the presidency from the president is a key democratic value. The presidency and its symbols do not belong to one president or his supporters, but to all of the American people.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Julia Azari

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thebridgebeyond · 4 years

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Lorebook: Pawsteps over the bridge: Onwards to Issuhiro

This is a historic event for the zhuardarian species- one of which tells of the last Monarchs deeds. It would go on to be a history lesson told to pups and those who were unaware of how their species ended up in the realm of Issuhiro. It tells of a shared kinship with humans that was not lost although the relationship between the two remains strained.

______________________

There were several bloodlines of zhuards on earth that allowed themselves to meld into a human guise and a human way of life for several generations after the War of Wills. It was what they were originally assigned to do…however, they began to forget their past with each generation.

Zhuards at this current state had amassed domruku energy fitting such a synchronicity with humans overtime that they could share their genetic makeup with them, but also began to age and die like them as well. They began to mimic human functioning, right down to biological structure- it was a symptom of being designed for the sole purpose of ‘blending in'. Perhaps it was a feature natural of zhuards that worked too well.

Most zhuards who adopted human life and mates served to create a dilution of their origins in both a biological and energy-leeching fashion.

One monarch who had lived through the War of Wills grew discontent with this realization. She had watched, believing under her Taiber'su masters that this was supposed to happen eventually. That the changeling species was supposed to merge with another. She had refrained from using her energy to influence other zhuards for so long.

While she had lived relatively unchanged, she watched others die without realizing that they were not supposed to die so ‘young’. This was not right to her, almost abhorrent and violating. Under this thought she began to make her own decisions regarding her seemingly endangered species that changed it forever.

She subtly revealed herself to be a monarch through dream walking in the zhuards that were closest to her proximity and location. She never outright said the obvious and merely asked questions about how they felt with their life. Were they happy? How did they feel about those around them? When she compiled enough answers, she stopped dream walking and thought about possible consequences of her actions for many months.

She did not want to bring forth another war, especially not with zhuards who knew nothing about themselves. Instead, she was much more subtle, emitting a far reaching but low frequency of energy. It was low enough to not be completely disruptive. The humans with zhuardarian bloodlines simply felt ‘off' during their day to day. It was a feeling that wasn't described well when the monarch decided to dreamwalk again a few years later. She was rather unpleased- the exact reason why is unknown- and blurred the memories of those dreams.

The monarch allowed that frequency to settle for some time afterwards, and then she had raised it, but still ever careful. The energy flow was felt for miles around- those closest to the monarch felt it much sooner. This signal was a wake up call which caused confusion, some more profound than others. For some, who never recovered from the first wave, they felt that their mind began to clash with humanity in such a way that it was deeply disruptive. It was a question of behavior, morale and willpower-- those who were more susceptible to the monarch no longer felt like they were in control of their thoughts or behavior.

Everyday activities that were done for years felt strange. For some, controlling urges that seemed primal and animalistic were an issue. For others, it was a slow disconnect with societal implications. These were merely seen as character flaws, mental turbulence or illness. This was the frequency the monarch felt best fit for the time being. It was enough to incite immediate reaction and change from within that certain traits and subtle abilities arose and resurfaced.

Those with zhuardarian bloodlines could sense, and in many cases smell it on others (senses were the first thing to fluctuate). There was a desire to seek one another out through the confusion, just to talk about commonalities. Bonding through the experience, there were those who continued their zhuardarian lines unknowingly with others.

When the time came for the possibility of portals to Issuhiro, there were many of those who opposed bringing the typical agenda of resource mining and more in favor of exploration and coexistence. It was a movement in which the ideal for a world in which war won't ravage was shared. It was during this voyage that the monarch called together many of those who were under her with a message that crossed the minds of many in a manifestation as an urge to leave the area. Not all heard this call but for those that did (most likely those with stronger zhuardarian bloodlines- unbeknownst to them), they decided it best to travel with part of the current population to Issuhiro.

At the time of settlement, the monarch saw Issuhiro as an alternative in which her species could better thrive. Although she acknowledged the adaptability of some alternative paths. In such a new existence of landscapes why should they be confined to walls, physical or manipulative? It had been several years now since she had to think about an additional call, and it would be dangerous in the wake of a new dawn on both sides. However, she wanted that freedom more than she cared about potential conflict. She put forth another call, although short, the third one that affected nearly all of the individuals who had came to Issuhiro.

Those closest to her proximity were forced into their true zhuard form and either fled out of the developing city or went on a feral rampage within. Those on the outskirts were still in their human form, but their mind was not. They too were exacerbated by the volatile, mixed signals and were promptly restrained. The outer development was unaware of the chaos in the inner section though the news spread. The outer city's medical wards were skeptical, calling the epidemic a disease from the new world, given that all patients showed progressive, similar symptoms and since the War of Wills, the masters of the zhuards were unable to reach out of their realm. It couldn't have been them. It had taken the humans and the fleeing zhuards a while to pick up the pieces and fully describe what had happened. It had felt like a drawn out surreal dream.

As the monarch felt a sufficient amount of zhuards flee far from the city and into the new world, she had decided to end the call. She looked on from a distance feeling the liberation through others- such a freeing weight off her shoulders and mind- this was her own calling. She did not need the Taiber’su to uphold her destiny. It had been fulfilled, but as consequence her very bones shook with a mysterious fever.

Those from the outskirts away from the new city were now reportedly and spontaneously symptom free of any and all their primal desires. As such with time they were a very small minority, their ancestry dried up and their zhuardarian bloodline was phased out. For those who wanted comfort in a human way of life should have it. Only the bravest and daring fled or met their demise in retaliation on city grounds.

A powerful voice rang out in their minds at once:

This body is a gift, not a curse. It is a powerful weapon and a versatile defense—it is up to you to learn it. Grow! Seek that of which the masters intended for our kind. You will know true strength and power by using these vessels. Your journey begins now!

The monarch kept her eyes on the human’s development for a while longer before disappearing and going into a very deep hibernation. One that she had not stirred from since as her physical body writhed away.

For the zhuards who fled, they were left in horror and hysteria with not a clue on how to survive such a new world. Families moved together and strangers often struck out alone or in loose associated groups- even following the strong leaders that lead them here and there. The zhuards had separated, forging their own stories as to what exactly happened in the city. Some of the zhuards with the lowest bloodlines were cursed to forget everything and revert back into a primal state- nothing more than empty cavities of their former selves, with deeply ingrained servitude to instinct. Others continued strongly, keeping their intelligence as the monarch allowed them to have it, as a reminder of humanity.

#Thebridgebeyond #Lorebook #story #zhuards

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archistudentsufs4 · 4 years

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Reflection 3: urban FLESH deterritorializing URBANITY

RQ: How does an urban development (in other words, a precedent of an urban-SLICE / urban-fragment / urban-corridor / urban-development) accommodate the flesh of the city, human flesh, bodies and embodied social dramas?

The reason for investigating an urban-SLICE (urban-corridor) precedent is to understand how an urban development accommodates the flesh of the city, the human flesh, bodies, and embodied social dramas that manifest within it. The investigation into an urban architectural configuration (building precedent in a complex urban environment) is to understand how architectural configurations can be open and porous to the urban environment or folding onto the urban environment is accommodating and allowing for lines of flight in the urban environment.

The urban-SLICES which are being investigated are Rue Mouffetard, Paris, France and Fitchardt Street, Bloemfontein, South Africa. This is to investigate market streets of different places of the world and compare them to see how these systems guide movement and interaction of the body within the place and how this in turn speaks to embodies social dramas and how these corridors accommodate and contribute to the surrounding urban flesh.

The buildings being analyzed are those of Mount Royal University Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts by Pfeiffer in Calgary, Canada and the Sand du Plessis Theatre in Bloemfontein, South Africa. This analysis will focus on Performing Arts Institutions and how many of them seem to embrace a porosity within their facades and tend to fold out onto the urban context serving as a paradigm of urban connectivity, bringing together buildings, people and greenery in different ways.

Kiverstein, an Assistant Professor of Neurophysiology at the University of Amsterdam argues that embodiment can be understood through three definitions, the third of which mostly relates to architecture an that is the understanding of embodiment as what he calls ‘body-enactivism’ where the body is understood as the source of meaning- this articulates the ways in which the body connects or make a situation meaningful to an agent (2012, 741). My interpretation of this is that, a person understands the world through the interaction of the world and their body and it is this interaction which allows a person to draw meaning from the situation they are in. The theme of embodiment carries many term with it which I have interpreted as the following.

Porosity is defined as “the absence of spatial boundaries and divisions between phenomena, one thing permeating another , the merging of old and new, the interior and the exterior and the diffusion of public and private “(Porter, 2004: 114). I interpret this as the characteristic of architecture that embraces pores or holes within the building which connect the interior and exterior and allow the urban dweller to figure themselves within the building because of this connection, therefore making the building a component of the greater urban context which entices the urban dweller to dwell within the space.

A folded form in architectural terms is defined as ”a form of construction, including structures derived from elements which form a folded structure by their mutual relationship in space” (Šekularac, Šekularac & Tovarović, 2012: 1). The way in which I understand this in terms of embodiment is how a building uses three dimensional elements which protrude out into the surrounding urban context to create depth within the facades and to form a connection between the building and the urban context which invites the public into the building from the urban context.

Lines of flight: “designates an infinitesimal possibility of escape; it is the elusive moment when change happens, as it was bound to, when a threshold between two paradigms is crossed.” (Fournier, 2014). My interpretation of lines of flight in architecture is creating spontaneous route of disappearance within the design which evokes the dweller to make a sudden choice of going with the expected route through the design or fleeing from it. This doesn’t necessarily need to be a physical path of fleeing but can be an opening, a window to the exterior which allows the mind to escape the space through figured flesh ( the imagining of space differently by understanding a space through placing yourself within it to imagine the possible experiences a body would have within it).

Rue Moufftard, Paris, France

RQ: How does this corridor listen to the narratives and engage the body of the urban dweller?

Rue Moufftard is not only a market street but it is also a street market with the retail spilling and folding into the corridor.Rue Moufftard has become the premier market street of Paris and is always bustling with people getting their treats for the day.

How does this urban corridor care for and accommodate (not denominate) the human body, human narratives, memories and the imagination?

1. A purely pedestrian street

This corridor purely aims to please the pedestrian and by creating this street which invites walking, draws urban dwellers in.

2. The narrowness of the street

The fact that the street is so narrow, forces those within it to walk closely to each other and closely to the products being sold, this is a clever tactic used to make sure the urban wanderers see and possibly even feel all the products on display as they meander through the street, increasing the chances of them buying something.

3. Drawing on all the senses of the urban dweller

plays on all the senses of the urban dweller to invite them into the space to buy the products.

4. Embodied social dramas

By creating a space of exploration through the tactics above, this corridor invites the creation of embodied social dramas.

Nooks, Crannies vs. Great Open Spaces

This corridor, because of the protruding and receding of the adjacent buildings, includes many little nooks where the urban dweller can explore and experience.

As the Street Moves, so do You

Rue Moufftard bends as it moves through the urban context, and as the street is so narrow, this urges the urban dweller moving through it to take these bends as well until thy reach the element of hierarchy at the end of the road where the narrow street opens into the square towards the fountain. even though this is a slight bend on plan, when walking along the corridor, it hides what is to come (the great opening of the space), creating anticipation within the urban dweller.

The Shelter of Canopies

When walking through the street, the dweller is confronted with the many colourful and decorative hanging canopies above their heads which creates a sense of scale for the urban dweller in the street, separating the residential aspect of the mixed use buildling above you from the street, making it a much more intimate and romantic experience.

Thresholds, Porosity and Lines of Flight

A play with thresholds and porosity of a buildings, creates an interplay between those within the urban context and bodies and objects within the building itself. It’s easy to see the way in which the thresholds are played with by means of windows within the different purposes of the building. Juliet balconies or normal balconies, blurring the threshold between inside and outside inviting these dwellers to become a part of the street.

Figured Flesh within the Corridor

I thought of the figured flesh, of how I could figure and imagine myself within this space to think of the experiences I would have within it. This is a powerful tool of interpretation and understanding of embodiment within a space, especially as under the current lock-down regulations, it is impossible to experience this space in person.

The Market Street Typology in South Africa: Fitchardt Street Market Corridor, Bloemfontein

Fitchardt Street is Bloemfontein CBD’s main street market which is located from the entrance of the Central Park Mall. Even though this is not upmarket as that of Rue Moufftard, I believe that this street market employs some of the same embodiment strategies within its makeup although not as many as this space was not designed to be a street market but rather a vehicular entrance to the mall.

When looking at the plan of Fitchardt street, it can be seen that the prefabricated stall table structure splits the market street space in half. This narrows the pathway the dweller has to walk and, just like Rue Moufftard, plays with embodiment but in this case, unfortunately not enough to force the dweller to walk in close proximity to the products being sold, increasing the chances of them buying something.

The coldness and hardness of the steel and the lack of textures and patterns, unlike Rue Moufftard, does not celebrate the touching body but rather creates a space of movement as the dweller simply moves through the space, not necessarily wondering and exploring it.

Although the canopies and stalls narrow the space that the urban dweller can maneuver through, the market space is still much wider than that of Rue Moufftard. This decreases the interaction between those moving through the space and the market fabric but additional market space is added by other informal traders which make use of the shop-fronts as their market space. This creates more interaction between the bodies within the streets but reinstates a threshold which is blurred by means of the shop front windows and so the connection between the inner flesh of the retail portions of the buildings and the bodies within the streets is somewhat lost.

I find it much harder to be imaginative within this corridor than that of Rue Moufftard.It might just be because this is not a space I would usually find myself within because of the way I have categorized the city but I think it could also be because of the way the corridor is so much wider and colder because of the materials, textures and colours within it.

Conclusion of Street Markets

All in all, Fitchardt Street market and the Rue Moufftard Street Market Corridors have similarities in how embodiment plays a role within the spaces but I believe the Fitchardt street market is not as successful in embracing and celebrating the bodies through embodiment because of how the corridor in which it lies was not initially designed for this purpose but rather the system of the locals was imposed on the space because of how the mall does not entirely accommodate for the systems of the local informal traders which is embraced within our country.

Mount Royal University Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts by Pfeiffer

RQ: How can an architectural configuration be evaluated as open and porous to the urban environment, folding onto the urban environment or accommodating and allowing for lines of flight in the urban environment?

The design process of this Urban Component could be described by Alberti’s ‘Materia’ theory as many elements are derived from the specific natural context around it. The design of the building celebrates the unique characteristics of the area, its topography (as the Western praries and and Eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains meet) and memories embedded within the location of Calgary. I believe that this is a great example of Weak Architecture in how it compliments the natural flesh within which it stands.

Having all the different forms superimposed, creates a connection between this urban flesh and that of the urban dweller as it alludes to the hierarchy and inner-functions inside the building, creating anticipation and intrigue within the dweller. This specific superimposition of forms also allows an articulation of the entrance which orientates and invites the urban dweller into the building.

The Building as a Paradigm of Urban Connectivity through Porosity, Openness and Folding

Due to its location, this site experiences long winters with little sunlight and so the design had to optimize natural light which is achieved through a combination of large curtain walls and skylights. This porosity within the facades blurs the threshold between the inside and the outside, and through doing this, the same is done with the threshold separating the buildings flesh with that of the urban context. This connects the urban dweller within the surrounding urban context to the inner-workings of the building, allowing them to figure their flesh within the spaces and allows those within the building to find mental ‘lines of flight’ through the windows to the outside urban context, creating an experience where the body is both inside and outside.

This building is a good example of how an architectural configuration folds out onto the surrounding urban context as the designer made use of a play with the thresholds of public, semi-public and private using the stairs and ramps and the landscaping, to make is seem as though the building falls out into its surroundings, once again blurring the threshold between the building and the urban context. This use of folding the building, opens the building, especially the entrance, up to the urban dwellers within the university which creates an inviting architecture which draws bodies in. This play with folding and the landscaping also creates an inter- active exterior to the building with many spaces within which the bodies passing by, can associate with and gather within, creating an experience of the building without even being in it.

Celebrating the natural flesh

The interior of the concert hall’s steel structure portrays the expressed steel structures of the prairie barns. The acoustic absorption panels of woven mesh, which adorn the walls, reference the native tee pees and the an abstracted Alberta Rose inspired the design of the acoustic hanging panel which besides the stage, is the focal point of the hall. All of these elements referencing the natural context of the area, as the exterior elements do, celebrates the natural flesh within the flesh of the building, connecting the two.

Embracing the Urban Dweller

The urban dweller is only able to fully understand and interpret other flesh through experiencing it with their body.This is a place of movement, not only for the performers on stage, but also for the urban dwellers which experience the space.

“The balanced play of geometric against organic forms, and the rich, warm finish pallet foster a sense of intimacy for the performers and audience alike” (Archdaily, 2018).

Through the design celebrating the touching body and the sensuality of things by materiality, textures, colours and forms within the building, it evokes touching and makes the building enticing for the body to stay within the building and experience the different spaces.The use of forms upon forms, allows for the creation of nooks and places of associating where the urban dweller is able to figure the possibilities of the body and the complexities and contradictions within the space creates movement variance. Movement is created within this building through a constant interplay with the narrative of it as the body moves through it, exploring the building by moving through the time and engaging with the text.

The Sand Du Plessis Theatre (PACOFS), Bloemfontein, South Africa

This building has many similarities to that of Mont Royal University Taylor Center in terms of its porosity and folding onto the urban context. This building is much more heavy and dominant in it’s monumentality due to materiality,but celebrates the timelessness of ‘monumentality’ and is not dominant within its urban context because of its scale, its celebration of landscaping as an element of the facades, and because of the natural colours used for the roof and ‘platform’ which it stands upon.

These large expanses of windows, similar to the previous example, are used functionally to get as much natural light into the atrium entrance foyer space as possible but simultaneously, creates intrigue for the urban dweller in the street, connecting them to activities within the building. Growing up, I always associated the Sand Du Plessis Theatre as the place with the lights. At night, the unique chandelier is put on and all who move through St Andrews Street, see these magnificent glowing orbs floating in the building, connecting their imagined flesh to that of the building and allowing them, like myself, to picture themselves within that romantic space and to form a memory of the building and what my figured flesh experiences within it.

Folding onto the urban context

The theater celebrates the exterior spaces as part of the building as well as part of the landscaping through integrating their designs and through the large curtain walls which open up to it.

The terrace balcony allows for those using the building to be separated from the street and vehicular areas below while still connecting them to the views of the surrounding urban context. This gives them an experience of being ‘within’ the building, as it fold out into the terrace, creating intimate experiences within the nooks of the terrace, while giving them ‘lines of flight’ either into the city (if on the south side of it) or into the garden. The circular element of the terrace creates a very interesting experience where the bodies use this space as a viewing deck to experience their surroundings of the city or to experience the fountain which is placed within it. This terrace also interlinks with the folding out of the Fidel Castro Building as there is a bridge which connects the two terraces, inviting urban dwellers to the spaces and giving them many options for entering the spaces, making it as easy as possible for the architectural configuration to connect with the city goers.

Conclusion

Through investing the urban slices of Rue Moufftard and Fitchardt Street, I have come to an understanding that even on other sides of the world in very different economic situations and for different reasons, the body is always an element in creating a market street because it is these bodies that need to be drawn into the space and that need to be invited and persuaded for these corridors to be successful in their purpose. Fitchardt street does not celebrate embodiment and the benefits it could have on the overall flesh of the corridor as much s Rue Moufftard but I must say that I am impressed in how some of these elements have already been instigated within the corridor without any education on the subject. The intermingling between the human flesh and the flesh of the urban context, I now realize, is an intuitive instinct that we, as humans have, when composing anything, even a market street.

With regards to the architectural compositions, I believe that both of these precedents are successful in how they embrace porosity, and through this, create an openness to the public and through the way they fold onto the urban environment, invite and entice the public to become part of the space and create experiences within it. By doing this, the compositions play with public, semi-public and private thresholds through ‘lines of flight’, blurring thresholds through windows and embracing the landscaping as an element of the building which needs to be designed, which invite the urban dwellers without sacrificing security for the buildings. The interaction seen within these precedents between the various kinds of flesh within a space, often dictates ether that space is imbued with the gesture of care and hospitality, making both of these performing spaces successful in their ‘weakness’.

I have learned a lot about how the flesh of the body, that of the urban context and that of the natural context, all need to be embraced within a design to make it a truly successful design that makes people want to go explore, celebrate and dwell within these spaces.

REFERENCES:

Arcdaily. 2020. Mount Royal University Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts / Pfeiffer. [online] Available from: https://www. archdaily.com/934899/mount-royal-university-taylor-centre-for-the-performing-arts-pfeiffer/?ad_source=myarchdaily&ad_medium=bookmark-show&ad_content=current-user. [Accessed 21 April 2020].

Avanzino, L., Canepa, E., Chiorri, C., Fassio, A., Lagravinese, G., Scelsi, V., 2019. Atmospheres: Feeling Architecture by Emotions Preliminary Neuroscientific Insights on Atmospheric Perception in Architecture. International Journal of Sensory Environment, Architecture and Urban Space, [Online]. 5. Available from: https://journals.openedition.org/ambiances/2907 [Accessed 14 April 2020].

Bonjour Paris. 2011. Rue Mouffetard in Paris: Latin Quarter Place to Meet, Eat, Drink, Dance and Shop. [online] Available from: https://bonjourparis.com/archives/rue-mouffetard-paris-latin-quarter-eat-drink-shop/. [Accessed 21 April 2020].

Boundas, C. and Tentokali, V., 2018. Architectural and Urban Reflections After Deleuze and Guattari. 1st ed. London: Rowman & Littlefield International Ltd.

Chang, Y., 2014. A Study on 'weak architecture' of Kuma Kengo and Sou Fujimoto. Journal of the architectural institute of Korea planning & design, 30, p. 117-125.

Fournier, M., 2014. Lines of Flight. Transgender Studies Quarterly, [Online]. 4 (1-2), 121-122. Available at: https://read.dukeupress.edu/tsq/article/1/1-2/121/91705/Lines-of-Flight [Accessed 14 April 2020].

Hays, K., 1998. Architecture Theory since 1968. 1st ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

Kiverstein, J., 2012. The Meaning of Embodiment. ⁄ Topics in Cognitive Science, [Online]. 4, 740-758. Available at: : 10.1111/j.1756-8765.2012.01219.x [Accessed 19 May 2020].

Marcelo, G., 2017. Narrative and recognition in the flesh: An interview with Richard Kearney. Philosophy and Social Criticism, 13(8), p. 1-16. PACOFS. 2019. PACOFS Buildings. [online] Available from: http://pacofs.co.za/wp/pacofs-buildings/. [Accessed 21 April 2020].

Philosophy for Change. 2013. Lines of flight: Deleuze and nomadic creativity. [online] Available from: https://philosophyforchange .wordpress.com/2013/06/18/lines-of-flight-deleuze-and-nomadic-creativity/. [Accessed 14 April 2020].

Porter, T., 2004. Archispeak. 1st ed. London: Spon Press.

Project for Public Spaces. 2010. 9 GREAT STREETS AROUND THE WORLD. [online] Available from: https:// zwww.pps.org /article/9-great-streets-around-the-world. [Accessed 14 April 2020].

Project for Public Spaces. 2015. A STREET YOU GO TO, NOT JUST THROUGH: PRINCIPLES FOR FOSTERING STREETS AS PLACES. [online] Available from: https://www.pps.org/article/8-principles-streets-as-places. [Accessed 14 April 2020].

Rue Mouffetard. 2014. Rue Mouffetard Market. [online] Available from: https://www.rue-mouffetard.com/market.html. [Accessed 21 April 2020].

Šekularac, N., Šekularac, J. I., Tovarovic, J., 2012. FOLDED STRUCTURES IN MODERN ARCHITECTURE . Facta universitatis - series Architecture and Civil Engineering, [Online]. 10 (1), 1-16. Available at: 10.2298/FUACE1201001S [Accessed 19 May 2020].

Thornton, E., 2018. On Lines of Flight: A Study of Deleuze and Guattari’s Concept. PhD in Philosophy. London: University of London.

- Gaby Chemaly

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zacdhaenkeau · 7 years

Text

4 Ways to Bridge the Gap Between Online and Offline Marketing

Author: Vyoma Kapur

With the growing number of connected devices today, consumers interact with brands in several ways. The implication for marketers is that they need to think holistically about the customer experience, using and integrating relevant channels and touchpoints. Often, we think of marketing as being “online” and “offline” or “traditional.” But, with wearables, smart TVs and the internet of things, the line between the two is blurring. No longer can your marketing be divided into these separate entities, so bridging the gap in online and offline marketing is essential.

In fact, per Gartner’s CMO Spend Survey, 98% of marketers say online and offline marketing are merging. While many organizations view and structure these disciplines separately, successful marketing not only leverages them both but also connects them to deliver an integrated experience.

Here are 4 ways you can start closing the gap between offline and online channels for your organization:

1. Connect Email and Direct Mail

Compared to others, email is an older channel, but it is still widely used, reliable and here to stay. What makes email marketing effective is its ability to reach inboxes with relevant and personalized content. What can make it even more powerful, though, is triggering direct mail as a follow-up to email marketing campaign.

As an example, a retail bank has sent out 500,000 emails to potential customers to open checking accounts. Rather than follow-up with all of them with postcards, the bank’s marketing automation solution can trigger direct mail to only those that did not open the email within seven days of receipt. This simply requires a workflow using a direct mail integration with an engagement platform and incorporates consumer behavior (or in this case, non-behavior) to inform and shape their marketing campaign.

2. Deliver Timely, Relevant Offers with Geo-location and Mobile

Technology such as beacons can work wonders when combined with advanced segmentation in your marketing automation solution. With this type of integration, brands can push targeted offers to their customers. For example, tour companies can analyze a customer’s location history to suggest activities, events, and offers based on customers’ locations. Information about past behavioral patterns can enable advertisers to forecast a customer’s location and serve meaningful offers based on their routine.

In this example, you can see the email sent by Lyft immediately after the user opened the app and closed it in a specific location.

3. Use Vanity URLs to Drive Offline Traffic Online

Vanity URLs are shortened web addresses that are easy to remember. So, when your customers are interacting with an offline asset, such as a billboard or print ad, they can visit your landing page at a later time, without having to navigate to it from your homepage. What’s more, you can also include URL parameters in the “hidden” URL to track visits and conversions from your offline channel(s) more accurately. Additionally, you can leverage digital advertising to retarget those that visited your advertised URL but didn’t complete your desired action, like fill out the form. As an example, an airline runs ads for an offer on their outdoor, print and radio ads incorporating their unique vanity URL, and then retarget those visitors on social to “get out of the cold this winter”!

In the example below, you can see a vanity URL in action on a billboard.

4. Integrate Technologies to Track Cross-Channel Influence

There are several technologies that have API or other types of integrations to enable smoother and more cohesive customer experiences across channels. For example, Facebook integrates with technologies like Square and Marketo to track purchases post ad-views. Beyond purchases, Facebook is also able to track physical store visits after seeing an ad. This can be done through GPS, beacons, Wi-Fi, radio signals, and cell towers with brick-and-mortar coordinates. An example of this in action is when a gym chain uses alerts to let branch managers prioritize calls to local individuals who have not accessed the gym in a few months. Or, an insurance firm attends local, family-friendly events, where they source contact information with interactive content on iPads capturing consent to opt-in individuals into nurture programs.

These are just a few ways to reduce the gap between online and offline marketing, for more please download our ebook on the topic. What are some of the ways you are delivering a cohesive and cross-channel experience to your customers? We would love to hear them!

4 Ways to Bridge the Gap Between Online and Offline Marketing was posted at Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership. | http://blog.marketo.com

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maxslogic25 · 7 years

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4 Ways to Bridge the Gap Between Online and Offline Marketing

Author: Vyoma Kapur

Here are 4 ways you can start closing the gap between offline and online channels for your organization:

1. Connect Email and Direct Mail

2. Deliver Timely, Relevant Offers with Geo-location and Mobile

In this example, you can see the email sent by Lyft immediately after the user opened the app and closed it in a specific location.

3. Use Vanity URLs to Drive Offline Traffic Online

In the example below, you can see a vanity URL in action on a billboard.

4. Integrate Technologies to Track Cross-Channel Influence

4 Ways to Bridge the Gap Between Online and Offline Marketing was posted at Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership. | http://blog.marketo.com

The post 4 Ways to Bridge the Gap Between Online and Offline Marketing appeared first on Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/modernb2bmarketing/~3/PU0iC6tqCDw/4-ways-to-bridge-the-gap-between-online-and-offline-marketing.html

0 notes

racheltgibsau · 7 years

Text

4 Ways to Bridge the Gap Between Online and Offline Marketing

Author: Vyoma Kapur

Here are 4 ways you can start closing the gap between offline and online channels for your organization:

1. Connect Email and Direct Mail

2. Deliver Timely, Relevant Offers with Geo-location and Mobile

In this example, you can see the email sent by Lyft immediately after the user opened the app and closed it in a specific location.

3. Use Vanity URLs to Drive Offline Traffic Online

In the example below, you can see a vanity URL in action on a billboard.

4. Integrate Technologies to Track Cross-Channel Influence

4 Ways to Bridge the Gap Between Online and Offline Marketing was posted at Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership. | http://blog.marketo.com

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archiebwoollard · 7 years

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4 Ways to Bridge the Gap Between Online and Offline Marketing

Author: Vyoma Kapur

Here are 4 ways you can start closing the gap between offline and online channels for your organization:

1. Connect Email and Direct Mail

2. Deliver Timely, Relevant Offers with Geo-location and Mobile

In this example, you can see the email sent by Lyft immediately after the user opened the app and closed it in a specific location.

3. Use Vanity URLs to Drive Offline Traffic Online

In the example below, you can see a vanity URL in action on a billboard.

4. Integrate Technologies to Track Cross-Channel Influence

4 Ways to Bridge the Gap Between Online and Offline Marketing was posted at Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership. | http://blog.marketo.com

The post 4 Ways to Bridge the Gap Between Online and Offline Marketing appeared first on Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/modernb2bmarketing/~3/PU0iC6tqCDw/4-ways-to-bridge-the-gap-between-online-and-offline-marketing.html

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kitsunesbooks · 8 years

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How Anime is Reviving Comedy

The true definition of a comedy is a lighthearted or cheery story featuring characters overcoming unfortunate circumstances and ultimately achieving a happy ending. But it seems in the modern era, this definition has been more or less lost. Nowadays comedies seem to focus on jokes and only that. It seems that this premise is even more prevalent in western comedies to an almost unhealthy extent. This is especially true for comedies here in the west that focus solely on dysfunction or unfortunate circumstances that the characters don’t overcome.

This of course brings me to anime. One of the reasons I am so attracted to anime as an art form or medium is that it often can be more realistic than things filmed and animated in the west. While shows like Adventure Time and Steven Universe earn praise across the board, I cannot vouch for them simply because I’ve never watched them. This Winter season brought two amazing series that help to revive the literary definition of comedy. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is an incredibly cheery gag fest that is far more subtle with its aspects of overcoming misfortune. However, on the other end of the spectrum Interviews with Monster Girls is far more upfront by presenting us a fantastical lens in which we view the day to day struggles of everyday people in the real world. But there is a third show that I would like to lump into this article. While it aired a few years ago, a spin off was announced to air in the upcoming Spring anime season. That show is by far my favorite anime comedy, Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon. All three of these shows truly embody the form of the literary comedy and help to revive comedy as a whole. While comedy isn’t exactly dead either, these shows lift it from the darker place it seems stuck in. I hope to explain how each of these shows contributes to this revival.

The biggest reason to back up my rather bold claim is the theme of all three of these amazing anime. Each one in their own way tackles growth. Whether it be growth as an adult, overcoming the obstacles you are born with, or developing strength and courage, each show presents the stages of growth in its own unique way. Growth is a key part of any comedy, and while humor itself is subjective, it is not the focus of at least two of these great series. In fact, if we continue to go by the literary definition of comedy, humor is unnecessary. Humor is merely a device to perpetuate that lighthearted and cheery tone these kinds of stories portray. But, humor is more than present in all three of these shows and it helps add characterization as wells as a unique flavor to each show. This is especially true due to the subjectivity of humor itself. Its subjectivity lends itself to be a malleable concept. The creators have their own ideas of what makes a good gag and it’s translated into the various episodes of these comedies and that in turn adds to the charm of the shows. But I intend to go deeper than just humor alone, because you simply can’t build a literary comedy on only jokes.

The first show I want to dive into is Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon, or Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, in English. The show is about a group of dragons leaving their fantasy world of a home and traveling to the human world and fitting into human society. But the beauty of this reverse isekai (Japanese for "other-world") show is in our human cast. Kobayashi, our protagonist, is for all intents and purposes a stagnant human being. While she has a well paying job as a programmer. (Which, by the way, props for including actual freaking lines of code in your show as opposed to cyber gibberish.) However, Miss Kobayashi’s life consists of work and bar outings with her co-worker Takiya. When Kobayashi gets a visit from Tohru, a powerful green dragon that Kobayashi inadvertently helped while in one of her drunken stupors, Kobayashi’s life is flipped upside down. While she still sticks to her typical routine, being around Tohru and having her work as her personal maid means she now has a mouth to feed and is no longer living by herself. Being with Tohru, and eventually welcoming the young and frankly adorable Kanna into her home, gives variety and spice to Kobayashi’s ultimately stale life. The show often makes jokes about how hard it is for dragons to blend into our world given their immense power and wide array of magic abilities. But the real hilarity comes from Kobayashi’s interactions with Tohru and Kanna and the ongoing gag of her reminding them to keep things to “her standards.” All in all Kobayashi is very similar to Yoshikage Kira from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. She is a simple girl who wants to live a quiet life. But the inclusion of Tohru and Kanna changes her perspective if only slightly. Her quiet life was intruded upon by these two dragons and she learns to adapt her views accordingly. It’s subtle, yes, but it doesn’t change the fact that Kobayashi learns that a quiet life doesn’t necessarily mean one that is static. It means one that is just simple and uncomplicated. Even with the addition of the dragons, her life still sticks to a routine while occasionally throwing some change into the mix and it’s those minor changes and new events that bring a smile to Kobayashi's face.

Another amazing facet of Dragon Maid is that it shows that Kobayashi and all the other human characters, and in some extent the dragons as well, also live that ideal quiet and calm lifestyle. There are a lot of moments where the show exposes us to a variety of individual cultures and subcultures that remind us of just how diverse the world is. Take the scene when Kobayashi wakes up in her new apartment to a cornucopia of sound from her neighbors. Instead of making a huge fuss about everything, Kobayashi has everyone meet up together and they come to solution. We see a variety of cultures represented here that adds that spice of life I was talking about. One neighbor is a simple woman who likes to cook, the other is an old man who is a wood carver, and thirdly there is a young metalhead who is also in his own band. These are people that you never thought would ever interact with each other because we often separate people into a variety of categories. This separation removes us from the simple fact that no matter what categories you fit under, we all still live in this world and the lines between cultures are often blurred in a variety of situations. It is a such a minor scene but it adds a layer of characterization that makes the show special. It also breaks a huge misconception in our world, that misconception being that our passions should remain just simple hobbies. One character in the show completely destroys that concept. That character is Takiya. Takiya is a closet otaku. His house is covered in moe posters and nerdy memorabilia. More often than not, a person like this would be shunned and considered an antisocial outsider. But, Takiya has a job alongside Kobayashi as a programmer. He pays bills, he lives a comfortable life. While most of us may be turned off at the way they give him a very stereotypical otaku personality, I feel like it was done on purpose in order to show the message behind his character. Takiya is extremely passionate about video games and anime. But that passion is not an addiction. He uses his passion to fuel his desire to work. He works so that he can satisfy his hobby. He is an example of using your passion as a motivation. He more than likely chose a programming job simply because of his love for video games. Hell in episode 6, we see that Takiya is using the skills he knows as a programmer to make his own games. His job essentially serves as a way for him to learn more about his passion while also maintaining a healthy living and earning side money through his independent projects.

Dragon Maid lightly touches on difficulty in blending in and merging with society with its more fantastical characters, the dragons. But, Demi-chan wa Kataritai, or Interviews with Monster Girls, takes the idea and makes it the core theme of its plot. The show is all about monster girls that live in human society. It is kind of similar to Boku no Hero Academia and its Quirk abilities. But in Interviews with Monster Girls, those individuals are still quite rare. Our main protagonist, Takahashi, simply wishes to learn more about Monster Girls or Demis for his college thesis. This leads us into a much more emotionally driven comedy with a powerful message of overcoming or embracing the things that you were born with. The show does an amazing job of using cute monster girls as symbols of real world issues ranging from physical and mental health to things like depression and anxiety. The show is all about these issues and how we deal with them in day to day life. To understand this we have to look at the girls themselves. Firstly there is Hikari, the vampire. While she has no issues dealing with her vampirism, she definitely has issues dealing with anything remotely sexual. Her character is bombastic and happy-go-lucky but she also gets incredibly shy about sex due to her age. Hikari is at that teenage year where sex is still a strange concept, but fascinating nonetheless. This all comes about when she goes into detail about her desire to drink the blood of one of the other Demis. Takahashi remarks that her description is rather erotic, but during another interview they explore this idea and the connotations of such an assumption. However, Macchi, the dullahan, is the character that makes things far more interesting. Macchi is a dullahan, which means that her head is separate from her body. Her being a dullahan can easily be equated to a physical disability, as she often can’t do things in ways that are considered normal. One of the things that I think captures this is when Takahashi speaks to the high school’s principal about allowing Macchi to use a backpack so she isn’t carrying her head in one arm and a bag in the other. The Japanese school system, and in some ways the school system here in the States, emphasizes conformity as a means of eliminating differences. As small as that moment is, it shows that even though eliminating difference can put students at an equal level, it doesn’t change the fact that many differences can slip through the cracks in that system. Macchi’s nature is one of those things. Having to carry her head everywhere she goes makes things a bit difficult and sometimes she even leaves her body behind in places. Macchi represents the kind of person who is scared to interact with people because they never seem to want to address their predicament. Takahashi’s solution for this is that Macchi should be the one to make the first joke. It demonstrates how humor can be an icebreaker and a coping mechanism. Laughing about yourself is a trait that is common in many people. Even I make jokes about autism that some might consider offensive. But I almost always direct them at myself as a way of showing my comfort. Joking about oneself allows us to grow more and more comfortable with our bodies and minds. It helps to reassure of us of our identities. Uncertainty with one’s identity is another big issue that is focused on by another of the girls.

Kusakabe is a yuki-onna, or a snow woman. While for western viewers the translation is kind of strange, the show seems self aware and explains the myth of the yuki-onna as if the creators knew they would have foreign viewers. Kusakabe is very unsure of her identity and is scared that her unique abilities could cause someone harm. This, coupled with the move from the country to the city, creates a large amount of anxiety for Kusakabe. She distances herself from everyone because she is scared of her own nature. When she finally reveals her nature in an albeit panicked state, she retreats further into her solitude. This even causes other girls to gossip about her situation which throws another real world theme into the mix. No one can truly understand what another person goes through in their day to day lives and that in turn is reflected in Kusakabe’s small story arc. Kusakabe hears two girls gossiping about her and she is thrown even further into her depression. But Takahashi uses his maturity as well as his knowledge of science to help Kusakabe grow into a sociable and cheery young woman. Through Takahashi’s simple experiment we see these three outlandish high school girl’s become incredibly close friends and seeing the three of them interact is a sight to behold. It is something that warms your heart’s very core. But there is one monster girl that I think stands out as my favorite. That girl is Satou-san, the new teacher in the school who happens to be a succubus. This show did something that I thought was amazing. It made a complete 180 on the succubus trope. While Satou-san has moments where she herself can be overbearing, she does all she can to suppress the natural aphrodisiac effect that she has on people. All she wants is a real relationship with someone who can resist her temptations. It takes the concept of the succubus and instead of fetishizing it, it puts it under a microscope of realism. Satou is probably my favorite character in the show and I do hope to see her get that relationship she has been pining for.

Relationships and romance are a difficult thing to grasp. But, as in anyone’s life, we always come across one person that seems to feel different from anything we have ever experienced. We all have had at least one crush that made us feel warm and fuzzy inside and forced us to grow as people in order to pursue it. Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon, simply referred to as Danmachi, is a story all about those kinds of romantic feelings. It’s a story about slaying monsters and getting the girl. It takes classic fantasy tropes while also playing a little off the success of video game based stories like Sword Art Online. Through video game metaphors we see our main hero, Bell, grow into an immensely strong, god-like character. But unlike Kirito, his strength comes from something. That being said, I am not going to spend my time ranting about why Danmachi is different from SAO. Bell’s crush on the Sword Maiden, Aiz wallenstein, is a hopeless dream. It's the kind of crush that you know you have zero chance of actually getting. But, that doesn’t stop Bell from attempting to impress her. He pushes himself further and further to become stronger. In that sense the show is about self improvement. It’s about acknowledging your faults and fixing them so you can become a stronger human being. But the show also makes the point that you can’t just get strong on your own. More often than not you need friends to back you up and keep you moving forward. You need friends who will fight beside you while also exposing your flaws and weaknesses so that you can become that much stronger.

The show utilizes shonen tropes in a very interesting unique way that helps to paint the show as a very relatable comedy with amazingly fun to watch characters. Not only that, but it is a show all about the human condition and how we act as social creatures. The whole premise of the show is about gods coming down to the mortal world and creating Familias with humans. This whole concept establishes the social aspect of the show and how each Familia works together to achieve common goals. It paints the Familias as separate entities, until the end of the first season. At the end we see multiple familias, parties, and guilds, all working together and supporting each other to take out a super powerful foe. In terms of actions scenes, it is incredibly moving. Action sequences where you see previously contentious groups working together always seem to make my heart flutter. It is the beauty of humanity. With the spin off series Sword Oratoria being released next Spring, I am super excited to see more of what makes Danmachi an amazing comedy. While it isn’t season two, I’ll take what I can get over crappy fan service OVAs.

All in all these shows embody comedy in there own amazing ways. Some just focus on the jokes with the true message hidden in small scenes or background information. Others try to make those messages the main focus while using humor to keep the show cheerful and prevent it from being too much like a drama. Then there are the shows that blur that line between drama and comedy and throw elements of tragedy and romance into the mix to create a truly human story. Humor may be subjective, but the idea of a literary comedy is more or less eternal. It is something I hope to see embodied even more in the future. I hope you enjoyed this article and would love to hear your thoughts on the topic. What shows, books, movies, or even video games do you think embody the literary definition of comedy?

#Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon #Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid #Interviews with Monster Girls #Anime #Slice of life #Comedy #danmachi #dragonmaid #demichan

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