"Rise up, Emblem of Binding!
Roy is known as the Emblem of Binding, or the Ring of the Young Lion. A nobleman who excels as a general, brave and intelliegent. A noble of Pherae in the Lycia region of Elibe, a land in another world. He stood up to Bern and confronted the revived Demon Dragon Idunn. He is protagonist Lord of FE6. He joins in chapter 8 and is initially paired with Diamant.

Stats

Bond Level	Hp	Str	Res
1	5	1	1
2	5	2	1
4	7	2	1
7	7	2	2
9	7	3	2
12	10	3	2
14	10	3	3
16	10	4	3
17	10	5	3
19	10	6	3

Engravement

Name	Mt	Hit	Crit	Wt	Avoid	Dodge
Binding	+2	-	-	+8	-30	-

Emblem Weapons

Name	Bond Level	Weapon Type	Mt	Hit	Crit	Wt	Range	Effects
Lancereaver	1	Sword	9	80	5	9	1	Grants advantage vs. lances but disadvantage vs. axes.
Wyrmslayer	10	Sword	10	70	0	5	1	Effective: Dragon.
Binding Blade	15	Sword	14	95	10	8	1-2	Grants Def/Res+5. Can strike close or at range.

Engage Skills

Skill Name	Skill Affect	Dragon Bonus	Backup Bonus	Mystic Bonus	Covert Bonus	Cavalry Bonus	Flying Bonus	Armor Bonus	Qi Adept Bonus
Rise Above	Grants Lvl+5.	Additional Lvl+1.	-	-	-	Mov+1	-	Max HP+5.	-
Blazing Lion	Use to attack adjacent foe and an area 3 spaces wide. Target area and the 2 rows beyond it are set on fire. Sword only.	Expands attack area	-	Expands flame area	-	-	-	-	-

Inheritable Skills

Level	Skill Name	Skill Affect	Skill Type	SP Cost
1/8/13/18	Hold Out/+/+/+	If unit had 30%/20%/10%/2 HP or more at start of combat, unit always survives combat with at least 1 HP.	Sync Skill	2000/3000/4000/5000
3	Advance	Use to move 1 space toward a foe that is 2 spaces away and attack.	Sync Skill	500
1/2/9/14/17/19	Str +1/2/3/4/5/6	Grants Str +1/2/3/4/5/6	Inheritable Skill	500/1000/3000/4000/5000/6000
4/7/9/12/16	Sword Power 1/2/3/4/5	Grants Atk+2/4/6/8/10 at a cost of Avo-10 when using a sword	Inheritable Skill	1000/2000/3000/4000/5000

What units do you like to give Roy?
What skills do you like to inherit from Roy?
What are your thoughts on Roy's Engravement?
Previous Emblem Discussions: Marth, Sigurd, Celica, Micaiah
Previous Unit Discussions:Vander, Clanne, Framme, Alfred, Bourcheron, Etie, Celine, Louis, Chloe, Jean, Yunaka, Anna, Alcryst, Citrinne, Lapis, Diamant, Amber, Jade, Ivy, Kagetsu, Zelkov, Fogado, Bunet, Pandreo, Timerra, Merrin, Panette, Hortensia, Seadall, Rosado,Goldmary, Lindon, Saphir, Mauvier,Veyle

Crimson Letters

We start our story at Arkham Massachusetts, and more specifically at Miskatonic University, where a rather strange death has just occurred. Professor Charles Leiter was found in his office. The official cause of death is a heart attack.
Yet, the Dean seems to be interested enough in the circumstances, or at least on a project the professor had been working on before he died, that he calls you in at the recommendation of the morgue assistant. You are all connected to an amateur university investigation club, with a bent toward the unexplained. With no one else to turn to and not wanting this to get out to the press and create a potential scandal, Dean Fallon puts you all on the case. Surely nothing can go wrong?

Hello, I'm Kat! An experienced Game Master but newer to Call of Cthulhu and looking to dip my toes into the system with a short adventure on Roll20. By my estimate, Crimson Letters will last from three to five sessions depending on how deeply the group...well, investigates!
It will be starting on Sunday April 2nd and going weekly until the scenario wraps up.
Crimson Letters leans rather heavily into a sandbox style of game where it'll be up to your sleuthing to discover exactly what happened to the deceased Professor Leiter, as well as the whereabouts of some missing documents he'd been researching prior to his death. This is not a linear point A to B to C scenario. Where you go, who you talk to, and how you go about solving this case before it's too late is completely up to you! So get your notepads ready, and keep an eye out for shadows moving in the dark...

Character Creation

I have made a set of nine premade investigators that you can choose from for this adventure, complete with background information and ties to the scenario and the other investigators involved. I am open to talking about tweaks to characters if you would like, but as a new Keeper, using premade, especially for a short scenario, is the way I have decided to go to help both me and any new players.

What is provided

I will set up music, splash screens, and a lot of props. All you need to do is show up. Everything else is provided and I've done my best to make sure it's an atmospheric and professional experience. I will again forewarn you that though I am an experienced Game Master, I am newer to the system of CoC, so I am still becoming acquainted with the rules.
That said, I have read both the Keeper and Investigator guides as well as posted a number of resources to the Discord channel for help with rules referencing on anything that may arise that I am not as familiar with, as well as to help other newcomers to the system.

About the Keeper

I have been running various games for about seven years now, from (with varying amounts of experience) Cyberpunk Red, Blades in the Dark, Vampire the Masquerade, D&D 5e, Avatar Legends, and now Call of Cthulhu 7e. I come from a writing and amateur acting background, so my big love as a Game Master is making a realistic, breathing, and growing world for players to impact and explore. I particularly pride myself on making a cast of dynamic NPCs to interact with, regardless of system.
I am not a voice actor. I can do a few accents, and some funny voices, but mostly I try to vary tones, speech patterns, and other smaller aspects. If you come in expecting Matthew Mercer's level of acting skill, you will be disappointed. I have not been to VA school. I have been told, however, that I can do a near-perfect sheep impersonation.
Lastly, I value communication and mutual respect. I find 99% of problems at a table stem from not understanding the boundaries and expectations of other players, and listening to the group around you. If you have problems or concerns, we will talk about them like mature adults and try our best to find a solution.
My table is always a safe space for minority communities and bigotry, despite playing in an era where it runs rampant, is not tolerated by players.
Any experience level is welcome as long as you're liking what you're reading and enjoy story-driven games with a large amount of roleplaying. If you have any questions at all don't hesitate to ask, and feel free to pm me on Discord at Shadowkat678#0160 where I will see any messages quicker.

When you sign up, please let confirm that you agree to the following conditions:

-Payment will be $20/session through Paypal, Venmo, or Startplaying (Though this last option is a bit more expensive due to fees I have to pay).
-Please be eighteen years old or older to apply.
-New players are welcome but note that this is an RP-heavy story with a more complicated plot, so please make sure you are comfortable with that.
-Make sure you can commit to the sessions, time slot, and payment amount.
-Have a clear microphone and a stable internet connection, please.
-Just be a decent person.

Player Reviews

Here are a few reviews from players already in current campaigns that I'm plucking off of my StartPlaying profile.
Jack:

"Kat is very prepared and invested in the lore and story, but remains open to player collaboration and shows interest and engagement with character details across the board. (...) The game world feels dense and alive, with much going on beyond the party's knowledge, and also open to charting our own course. Highly recommended."

Nick:

"They put a lot of effort into their story weaving, and the attention to detail really shows. (...) Heavily roleplay focused, these sessions have really made it feel as though we are living, breathing entities in the world, and we are going to shape our story by our own means. It is delightful to have such an open and caring DM who considers everyone in the conversations, and makes sure everyone has a chance to shine."

GM Gabe (DnDUnlimited):

"They know what players want/need to hear and how to adjust on the fly to bring the story to life. The best way, I think, to describe their gameplay is IMMERSIVE. They bring you in with amazing hooks and keep you going with plot twists that you never see coming. They are fun and intuitive when it comes to role-playing and always find a way to make, both the storyline and linked NPCs feel real. If it isn't enough that they do all that, they allow for some epic rule of cool moments and know exactly when to apply them and not. "

Timothy:

"I've been playing with Kat for years now, first as a fellow player alongside them, then also as a player in games they've run. They never fail to be creative and nuanced, especially when it comes to the dramatic roleplaying side of things. Always a delight to share the table with."

Speaking of Startplaying, if you would like to sign up through that site, I upped the price to match StartPlaying's Fees, HOWEVER I am also offering an Early Bird Discount for the first two people who sign up on the site, which would half the price for a session and would have you registered as someone who has officially played with me if you wished to leave me a review on my profile after the game has ended. Let me know and I can send you a link.

Crimson Letters

We start our story at Arkham Massachusetts, and more specifically at Miskatonic University, where a rather strange death has just occurred. Professor Charles Leiter was found in his office. The official cause of death is a heart attack.
Yet, the Dean seems to be interested enough in the circumstances, or at least on a project the professor had been working on before he died, that he calls you in at the recommendation of the morgue assistant. You are all connected to an amateur university investigation club, with a bent toward the unexplained. With no one else to turn to and not wanting this to get out to the press and create a potential scandal, Dean Fallon puts you all on the case. Surely nothing can go wrong?

Hello, I'm Kat! An experienced Game Master but newer to Call of Cthulhu and looking to dip my toes into the system with a short adventure on Roll20. By my estimate, Crimson Letters will last from three to five sessions depending on how deeply the group...well, investigates!
It will be starting on Sunday April 2nd and going weekly until the scenario wraps up.
Crimson Letters leans rather heavily into a sandbox style of game where it'll be up to your sleuthing to discover exactly what happened to the deceased Professor Leiter, as well as the whereabouts of some missing documents he'd been researching prior to his death. This is not a linear point A to B to C scenario. Where you go, who you talk to, and how you go about solving this case before it's too late is completely up to you! So get your notepads ready, and keep an eye out for shadows moving in the dark...

Character Creation

I have made a set of nine premade investigators that you can choose from for this adventure, complete with background information and ties to the scenario and the other investigators involved. I am open to talking about tweaks to characters if you would like, but as a new Keeper, using premade, especially for a short scenario, is the way I have decided to go to help both me and any new players.

What is provided

I will set up music, splash screens, and a lot of props. All you need to do is show up. Everything else is provided and I've done my best to make sure it's an atmospheric and professional experience. I will again forewarn you that though I am an experienced Game Master, I am newer to the system of CoC, so I am still becoming acquainted with the rules.
That said, I have read both the Keeper and Investigator guides as well as posted a number of resources to the Discord channel for help with rules referencing on anything that may arise that I am not as familiar with, as well as to help other newcomers to the system.

About the Keeper

I have been running various games for about seven years now, from (with varying amounts of experience) Cyberpunk Red, Blades in the Dark, Vampire the Masquerade, D&D 5e, Avatar Legends, and now Call of Cthulhu 7e. I come from a writing and amateur acting background, so my big love as a Game Master is making a realistic, breathing, and growing world for players to impact and explore. I particularly pride myself on making a cast of dynamic NPCs to interact with, regardless of system.
I am not a voice actor. I can do a few accents, and some funny voices, but mostly I try to vary tones, speech patterns, and other smaller aspects. If you come in expecting Matthew Mercer's level of acting skill, you will be disappointed. I have not been to VA school. I have been told, however, that I can do a near-perfect sheep impersonation.
Lastly, I value communication and mutual respect. I find 99% of problems at a table stem from not understanding the boundaries and expectations of other players, and listening to the group around you. If you have problems or concerns, we will talk about them like mature adults and try our best to find a solution.
My table is always a safe space for minority communities and bigotry, despite playing in an era where it runs rampant, is not tolerated by players.
Any experience level is welcome as long as you're liking what you're reading and enjoy story-driven games with a large amount of roleplaying. If you have any questions at all don't hesitate to ask, and feel free to pm me on Discord at Shadowkat678#0160 where I will see any messages quicker.

When you sign up, please let confirm that you agree to the following conditions:

-Payment will be $20/session through Paypal, Venmo, or Startplaying (Though this last option is a bit more expensive due to fees I have to pay).
-Please be eighteen years old or older to apply.
-New players are welcome but note that this is an RP-heavy story with a more complicated plot, so please make sure you are comfortable with that.
-Make sure you can commit to the sessions, time slot, and payment amount.
-Have a clear microphone and a stable internet connection, please.
-Just be a decent person.

Player Reviews

Here are a few reviews from players already in current campaigns that I'm plucking off of my StartPlaying profile.
Jack:

"Kat is very prepared and invested in the lore and story, but remains open to player collaboration and shows interest and engagement with character details across the board. (...) The game world feels dense and alive, with much going on beyond the party's knowledge, and also open to charting our own course. Highly recommended."

Nick:

"They put a lot of effort into their story weaving, and the attention to detail really shows. (...) Heavily roleplay focused, these sessions have really made it feel as though we are living, breathing entities in the world, and we are going to shape our story by our own means. It is delightful to have such an open and caring DM who considers everyone in the conversations, and makes sure everyone has a chance to shine."

GM Gabe (DnDUnlimited):

"They know what players want/need to hear and how to adjust on the fly to bring the story to life. The best way, I think, to describe their gameplay is IMMERSIVE. They bring you in with amazing hooks and keep you going with plot twists that you never see coming. They are fun and intuitive when it comes to role-playing and always find a way to make, both the storyline and linked NPCs feel real. If it isn't enough that they do all that, they allow for some epic rule of cool moments and know exactly when to apply them and not. "

Timothy:

"I've been playing with Kat for years now, first as a fellow player alongside them, then also as a player in games they've run. They never fail to be creative and nuanced, especially when it comes to the dramatic roleplaying side of things. Always a delight to share the table with."

Speaking of Startplaying, if you would like to sign up through that site, I upped the price to match StartPlaying's Fees, HOWEVER I am also offering an Early Bird Discount for the first two people who sign up on the site, which would half the price for a session and would have you registered as someone who has officially played with me if you wished to leave me a review on my profile after the game has ended. Let me know and I can send you a link.

Hi everyone. Two weeks ago, I bought the G5230t (the double platinum edition - stunning guitar) - first Gretsch I have ever held in my hands. Unfortunately, there were a few things wrong with the guitar, so I ended asking for an exchange. One of the things I thought were wrong was a bridge pickup (FT-5E, which - as far as I can tell - have the same construction as Blacktop Filter'Trons) that was more or less loose in the cavity. Basically, when the pickup was set to the correct height, the springs between the pickup ring and the pickup base plate were not engaged at all - there was no tension that would stabilize the pickup and the height adjustment screws in relation to the pickup ring - both the pickup and the screws were therefore free to move vertically 2 or 3 milimeters. The springs themselves were just just rattling in the cavity (and around the height adjustment screws) with any bigger movement of the guitar... Today, I got the replacement, and the bridge pickup is exactly the same as last time. Is this actually normal, or am I just extremely unlucky?

I’m in a generally hectic line of work (think finance/law/IB) and recently got myself into a rut. I’m always in a bad mood, low energy, don’t have emotional energy to engage friends and family in conversations. All that despite having just take a week’s holiday to travel. While work is getting busier (which is a source of my growing anxiety), it’s not the busiest as the economy is turbulent now. I don’t think I’m burnt out as work hasn’t been the busiest in recent months and has only recently picked up?
I can’t sleep properly at night and end up on my phone until 2am, jump out of bed when my alarm rings feeling super anxious about the work day, then the cycle starts again.
Is there a way I can fix this? I know all the usuals like meditation, exercise, yoga, etc but I can’t get calm enough to do them consistently. The best I can do is to force myself to do it, be a bit calmer while doing it (meditation / exercise / yoga) but then immediately back to anxiety after.
Would appreciate self-help suggestions that don’t involve therapy or medication..

I’m not sure if it is envy or jealousy I’m feeling. But my whole life I’ve been pretty private (26M). I got into boxing as a kid and didn’t tell any friends because I liked it to be my hobby. Something im good at that other people in my life didn’t do. I’ve struggled with confidence issues so it has always been nice to have hobby’s only I do. Im a carpenter (I build houses). Over the years I’ve found my passion of woodworking. It’s something I’m good at and would like to turn it into a business. My girlfriend and I have a bunch of projects we want to do together. I plan on making her an engagement ring box when it’s time.
But basically her room mate is going on a date with a carpenter, who is also a woodworker and has his on woodworking business. Idk why but it is bothering me. I feel like the one thing I had that was unique someone else in the group now does. He actually took woodworking in school where I took carpentry (two very different trades). I’ve seen his work on Instagram and he already built a table I was planning on building. I can’t help but feel frustrated.
This has been something I’ve always struggled with… I know it sounds selfish and immature but idk how to fix that mentality!
Thanks in advance for any help!

Crimson Letters

We start our story at Arkham Massachusetts, and more specifically at Miskatonic University, where a rather strange death has just occurred. Professor Charles Leiter was found in his office. The official cause of death is a heart attack.
Yet, the Dean seems to be interested enough in the circumstances, or at least on a project the professor had been working on before he died, that he calls you in at the recommendation of the morgue assistant. You are all connected to an amateur university investigation club, with a bent toward the unexplained. With no one else to turn to and not wanting this to get out to the press and create a potential scandal, Dean Fallon puts you all on the case. Surely nothing can go wrong?

Hello, I'm Kat! An experienced Game Master but newer to Call of Cthulhu and looking to dip my toes into the system with a short adventure on Roll20. By my estimate, Crimson Letters will last from three to five sessions depending on how deeply the group...well, investigates!
It will be starting on Sunday April 2nd and going weekly until the scenario wraps up.
Crimson Letters leans rather heavily into a sandbox style of game where it'll be up to your sleuthing to discover exactly what happened to the deceased Professor Leiter, as well as the whereabouts of some missing documents he'd been researching prior to his death. This is not a linear point A to B to C scenario. Where you go, who you talk to, and how you go about solving this case before it's too late is completely up to you! So get your notepads ready, and keep an eye out for shadows moving in the dark...

Character Creation

I have made a set of nine premade investigators that you can choose from for this adventure, complete with background information and ties to the scenario and the other investigators involved. I am open to talking about tweaks to characters if you would like, but as a new Keeper, using premade, especially for a short scenario, is the way I have decided to go to help both me and any new players.

What is provided

I will set up music, splash screens, and a lot of props. All you need to do is show up. Everything else is provided and I've done my best to make sure it's an atmospheric and professional experience. I will again forewarn you that though I am an experienced Game Master, I am newer to the system of CoC, so I am still becoming acquainted with the rules.
That said, I have read both the Keeper and Investigator guides as well as posted a number of resources to the Discord channel for help with rules referencing on anything that may arise that I am not as familiar with, as well as to help other newcomers to the system.

About the Keeper

I have been running various games for about seven years now, from (with varying amounts of experience) Cyberpunk Red, Blades in the Dark, Vampire the Masquerade, D&D 5e, Avatar Legends, and now Call of Cthulhu 7e. I come from a writing and amateur acting background, so my big love as a Game Master is making a realistic, breathing, and growing world for players to impact and explore. I particularly pride myself on making a cast of dynamic NPCs to interact with, regardless of system.
I am not a voice actor. I can do a few accents, and some funny voices, but mostly I try to vary tones, speech patterns, and other smaller aspects. If you come in expecting Matthew Mercer's level of acting skill, you will be disappointed. I have not been to VA school. I have been told, however, that I can do a near-perfect sheep impersonation.
Lastly, I value communication and mutual respect. I find 99% of problems at a table stem from not understanding the boundaries and expectations of other players, and listening to the group around you. If you have problems or concerns, we will talk about them like mature adults and try our best to find a solution.
My table is always a safe space for minority communities and bigotry, despite playing in an era where it runs rampant, is not tolerated by players.
Any experience level is welcome as long as you're liking what you're reading and enjoy story-driven games with a large amount of roleplaying. If you have any questions at all don't hesitate to ask, and feel free to pm me on Discord at Shadowkat678#0160 where I will see any messages quicker.

When you sign up, please let confirm that you agree to the following conditions:

-Payment will be $20/session through Paypal, Venmo, or Startplaying (Though this last option is a bit more expensive due to fees I have to pay).
-Please be eighteen years old or older to apply.
-New players are welcome but note that this is an RP-heavy story with a more complicated plot, so please make sure you are comfortable with that.
-Make sure you can commit to the sessions, time slot, and payment amount.
-Have a clear microphone and a stable internet connection, please.
-Just be a decent person.

Player Reviews

Here are a few reviews from players already in current campaigns that I'm plucking off of my StartPlaying profile.
Jack:

"Kat is very prepared and invested in the lore and story, but remains open to player collaboration and shows interest and engagement with character details across the board. (...) The game world feels dense and alive, with much going on beyond the party's knowledge, and also open to charting our own course. Highly recommended."

Nick:

"They put a lot of effort into their story weaving, and the attention to detail really shows. (...) Heavily roleplay focused, these sessions have really made it feel as though we are living, breathing entities in the world, and we are going to shape our story by our own means. It is delightful to have such an open and caring DM who considers everyone in the conversations, and makes sure everyone has a chance to shine."

GM Gabe (DnDUnlimited):

"They know what players want/need to hear and how to adjust on the fly to bring the story to life. The best way, I think, to describe their gameplay is IMMERSIVE. They bring you in with amazing hooks and keep you going with plot twists that you never see coming. They are fun and intuitive when it comes to role-playing and always find a way to make, both the storyline and linked NPCs feel real. If it isn't enough that they do all that, they allow for some epic rule of cool moments and know exactly when to apply them and not. "

Timothy:

"I've been playing with Kat for years now, first as a fellow player alongside them, then also as a player in games they've run. They never fail to be creative and nuanced, especially when it comes to the dramatic roleplaying side of things. Always a delight to share the table with."

Speaking of Startplaying, if you would like to sign up through that site, I upped the price to match StartPlaying's Fees, HOWEVER I am also offering an Early Bird Discount for the first two people who sign up on the site, which would half the price for a session and would have you registered as someone who has officially played with me if you wished to leave me a review on my profile after the game has ended. Let me know and I can send you a link.

Edit: Thanks guys, I think I figured it out now. I completely forgot trophy was a thing in this game. I'll try re install the game as well.
Sometimes I get hit for half my HP bar with no warning. The damage happens at the same time as the enemy animation starts. It feels completely random.
This is conditioning me to only 1x1 in every situation. And never engage without full HP.
My PC and Internet are great.
I'm used to dodge. (I'm decently comfortable with short reaction times in most games).
I run full set of Resilient, Pshysical Aversion and Vigor. With Diamond. (600GS). Amulet with Health and Ward. Ring with Slash/Piercing Pritection and Lifesteal.
At least 100 Con at all times. (I tried 300 Con but always felt like more damage to life steal from ends up tanking way more)
What am I missing? Please help me not quit.

If you are looking for a modern and chic engagement ring that is an alternative to the round cut diamond then the princess diamond engagement rings is the one you want. Tacori has some of the best collections which are hand crafted to your specifications.

I’m traveling with the engagement ring and plan to propose in Italy. I’m nervous about where to keep it as I will not leave it anywhere other than with me. Any tips for hiding it and keeping it safe? I’m sure someone in here has done the same.

When he gave Alex his wife’s ring was it more than an act of kindness or did he recognize her as royalty?
There was documentation he had to fill out, it was in his hand with a stamp of some kind when he returned to the table with the box of rings. What we don’t know is the name Alex provided for the document. She obviously was hiding that from Spencer for her own reasons.
There’s also the day the Captain had them taken ashore by dinghy. He and Spencer are talking on the bridge and he said to Spencer he had a tiger by the tail. At the engagement dinner Arthur’s father toasted the couple and referred to Alex as having the spirit of a lion. Alex must have been known as free spirit to some degree for both men to basically discribe her as a wild cat. He could be called on to give conclusive proof of the marriage of Spencer and Alex thus speeding up Alex’s journey to the States.

(Contempt, and pride.)
_ _ _
Simon arrived in the middle of town, in something big and yellow, which definitely wasn't a taxi. He had no idea about the extent to which he would end up identifying with that bright coloured (though often filthy and smelly) thing, or how much pride he would eventually have in it, and how much confidence its enormity would one day instil in him. Because, when it pulled up, and he climbed uneasily down from it onto the busy pavement (along with some other guys, who were pretty fit and pretty strong, and who alighted with much more confident ease) he was feeling as fish-out-of-watery as he may have ever have felt in his relatively young life.
Not feeling working class. Not like he'd hoped. Not feeling heroic.
A couple of impressive looking young women approached (among the throng) on their way to the cute little station thereby, from which they would be catching the heavily sardined train up to London. Simon didn't envy them that existence, at the points when he tended to think about it, but he knew what it all meant. He felt their impatience, as with all of the passing people, with a bunch of these stupid and burly young men suddenly creating an obstacle on the path to commuterdom. They were on their way to being powerful, these women, probably, things to say and be. Well, maybe. Simon hoped so, retrospectively.
The 'ganger' (the crew's mobile boss) was taking control. Kind of. But this was no normal day, not even for the ganger, because not only did he have to deal with the incompetent Simon (people in new jobs that they have never, ever done before are hard work, for trainers, Simon still thinks) but there was also a manager present, from the council. There had been a huge restructure, routes had all been changed, confusion had been caused, resistance had been encountered. It had all gone wrong, where loading on rounds been added to - only slightly, but the impact of this supposed slightness was that nothing was being completed. Work that was meant to happen weekly was lagging awfully.
'No, like this,' he was saying, to Simon. The ganger.
All the other guys had already got things sorted. Wielding black bags, in packs of fifty, that came in rolls and that those with experience could unroll, fold over their forearms, and be ready to set off with and individually detach with total nonchalance. All waiting, for fucking Simon.
They slipped off. The bags. They were, for sure, very slippy - which, for the practised people, made them all the more easy to slide, one from the other, so as to distribute them to individual households. But for stupid L drivers, they slithered free of their intended dispenser, and parachuted to the pavement where they still (but now unhelpfully) separated into a whole carpet of black bagness - meaning that those determined young women, with proper jobs, had to either avoid this new carpet or walk on it while Simon was bent down trying to pick its constituent parts back up.
Once separated, those rolls of bags will never go back together right. Drop them, or lose control of them, and that's fifty houses you have to completely empty of rubbish, before you have a new pack of black shinyness to work with. (Although, when you get the hang of it, fifty houses - which is actually a seriously daunting total - is only a drop in the bucket.)
'Ok, look, try it again?' (Ganger, again)
Sorry, sorry. In his head, over and over, not even able to speak audibly. Sorry.
The other guys had all set off. Away along the road. The manager, too. Just Simon, and the ganger, on that original bit of pavement. Stood next to where the driver still had that fucking massive truck, stationery, on a rush hour road, because he couldn't move either, couldn't accompany the main gang. Because of Simon.
Where's all your learning now, little boy? Your reading, your writing, your arithmetic. Can you even count to fifty, so as to have that many stray bags back in control?
Put your hands on your head? Put your hands by your side? Or put your legs into gear, and fuck off home? To your nice family, your suburban security? Period house, garden?
The ganger knows nothing of that. Not yet, not today.
Simon and his new boss are possibly ten minutes into this part of the day, by the time Simon's first bin is actually approached. It's almost right next to the waiting truck, apart from the intervening and fairly wide pavement, which is mostly why no movement of the truck has yet happened. This bin needs to be dealt with. And what is this bin now appearing as? A metal cage, a bit like a dalek, designed to keep out foxes and squirrels but able to allow some sort of air flow, and with a kind of gate-come-door at the front so that 'people' can undo a hook and get at what's inside. So what you have to do is unhook that hook, open that 'gate', and pull out a black bag that is now full (or over full, meaning it won't budge, and is ripping and spilling and overflowing everywhere) but, at the same time, you have to flip up the dalek's head, the lid, and undo another catch which loosens the metal ring that's securing the aforementioned crap laden bag into place. (Anything could be in that bag, or by now abandoned beside it. Hot fat, ashes which will have melted the plastic's bottom, and invalidated the structural purpose - assuming the bag wasn't from one of those cheap batches, that never had any validity in the first place - or maybe the contents will include slidy oil, or maybe massive shards of glass, or bricks, or maybe a combination of all of these things...) But forget the exact oozing, maggot infested contents, for now. What Simon was grappling with, was the problem of getting two separate catches undone, at more or less the same time, whilst opening a 'gate' and lifting a lid, while over one arm he is trying to keep control of a bunch of already unruly and slidy black eels, one of which will have to be separated away from the others and slipped back under that gripping ring, for some householder to properly insert, ready for the next bunch of crap to be dropped into it.
Sure, these tasks could all be separated out, and Simon could take a couple of minutes over (just) emptying each bin, instead of (when he finally got the hang of it, some days later) a couple of seconds. But 400 bins (per person) times 2 minutes, divided by 60, comes to over 13. He doesn't have 13 hours, to do this all in. None of the guys have 13 hours, and that is why the time and motion guy, the manager from the council, is tagging along. He is wrestling with the problem as to how the new rounds have gone so drastically to hell, and how everything is not hours behind, or even days behind, but weeks behind.
(Once a dustbin round gets that far out of synch, it's an issue. It's an issue which the dustmen themselves can do almost nothing about, anymore, because every path they walk up will take them to a bin that is so out of control, so unhealthy, so ravaged and torn, so piled-beside-of, that all ye who enter will just abandon hope.)
This is back in the 1980s. Before wheelies, but after the era of the heavy (even when empty) metal bins that had actually needed to be physically carried to the cart, and upturned by hand, as in 'My Old Man's a Dustman'. (Although Simon's old man was a commuting professional. Working from home not an option, back then. Covid, never heard of. Other diseases, but not that one.)
Simon's first ever overloaded bin was not even a lone bin. It was in a fenced off area, in a bin collective, where there were about 20 of them, all excitedly waiting for release. Everyone, it turned out, had made a serious error (including the time and motion man, who was away along the highway with the other guys) because Simon was not going to have those daleks under control, their tummies sicked up, and everything out and then fed into the - at this point - shiny, modern truck, any time soon. So the truck is still waiting, still in rush hour traffic, with a yawning driver who is being paid for his (amazing, it turned out) driving skills, completely redundant. Everything, in fact, is redundant, including the ram at the back of the truck, which could shove even the most ludicrous types of debris up the chute and into the body of the 'cart' with incredible efficiency, but which is motionless. Simon isn't feeding it, the ganger isn't feeding it, the other guys making their way up the street aren't feeding it, so rubbish (in toppling bags, but also loose) is piling up all along the busy footways, by the kerbs, and out towards to the impatient cars... The truck, not available to eat it up. Because of Simon.
The time and motion guy wasn't anything like as clever as he thought he was, despite being the manager. He was the one that had suggested the starting point, for the day's work. Trying to sort things out. He was the one who had set off up the road with most of the crew, leaving Simon to deal with 20 bins on his own. Because of him, the manager, and his teachings, round 6 had got off to an even worse start than probably any of the other rounds that morning, where all of the others would have been behind too, but at least their strategy might have been better, left to itself. No way would any of the other rounds have started off, 8 in the morning (by the time they had driven to where they were going, from the yard) in a street on the main through route across a town centre, and right on the busiest of all of the walking approach routes to the trains.
Simon, months later, was a ganger himself. (Proud, by that time, instead of feeling society's contempt, the way he experienced it on that first day.) No fucking way would he, as a ganger, have made those same choices, once he understood. (And they weren't anyway, as indicated, the choices that even the existing ganger, himself, would have made.) Simon would have changed (and did change) a whole lot of things, including the start times, and certainly including the decisions about when, and how, to tackle the areas by the various local stations, or other periodically heaving access points. But he will only ever be able to work that stuff out once he has listened to what the guys around him are telling him, including learning from the experiences of that particular ganger - who, whilst Simon is trying and failing to deal with those 20 bins, is probably wishing he was dead. He gives in and helps, of course. Gangers always did.
Without his help, and guidance, Simon could have been in that compound for the rest of his life, never mind 13 hours.
_ _ _
I'm going to leave Simon there, for now. He'll be back, I think, because what the dustmen had to say (about The Falklands, about right to buy, about race, about education, about music, about drink, and about a whole lot of other things) is interesting. It deserves airing. How dusting fits into the world is crucial, despite that it may now be on wheels. A very visible element, in the 'winter of discontent': piles of those bags, where you can send in the army but the army are just, in many respects, in context, a bigger and fitter and more expensive bunch of Simons, with things they might better be doing if far away islands are going to get appropriated. And if Simon can be kept free of other baggage, then maybe he can write about just that one area of interest, with only little bits of stray voices sometimes creeping in (the way they always will, in all writing, but which may need to be controlled better, in my case.
Incidentally, I like that there's a singer called Eliza Doolittle. Interesting, that she apparently dropped the Doolittle part. But Eliza Doolittle, and 'My Fair Lady' are definitely going to get passingly written about, once this whole question of how to do it is sorted out. Eliza Doolittle had a dustman father. A proper one, with those old metal bins, that have inspired (I think) some seriously engaging pieces of art. I'm not a great art lover, but I know what I like, in that wardrobe. Art, though, definitely for another time.
_ _ _
Now let's meet Paul. (Again?) Paul is a different character to Simon, because he's emotionally fucked. He gets used as a narrator by someone who is even more fucked, to try and straighten things out. Someone who can't work out how to write, because it's fine to have a voice, but not a whole rampant gaggle of them, like the results of the tower of Babel.
Paul once played a song, as a part of a band, for his friend and his friend's wife (both of whom he loves) at their wedding. (He has a different song which he thinks of, when thinking of them, themselves, which is 'I Will Always Love You', as sung by Dolly Parton and not as rather more elaborately sung by Whitney. Obviously, that is not the only song that occurs to Paul, when thinking about a massive relationship which has endured years, but it is the one which his friends themselves like to go back to, when considering their marriage. They have it on a juke box, at their house. Honestly, a real juke box. With lots of songs on.)
Anyway, Paul played guitar at that wedding, their wedding, for the one song only. For the rest of the performance of 'his' band, he played drums. It was another first ever. Like, it could have been walking three baby steps to a chair, or learning his alphabet, or driving a car the opening few yards and then realising that stopping a car in control is far more difficult that getting one moving. (If you mess up the part about getting one moving, it just stalls, or jerks for a bit, and all is fine - assuming that you didn't try and pull out into a busy road, in rush hour.)
Paul, he has always had nothing but contempt for his performance, that day.
The song he played is sometimes regarded as a showpiece song. It includes a solo, which gets talked about. It is, however, a solo which is pretty much within the grasp of more or less any determined guitar player, assuming they happen to have a very musical sister who will spend hours and hours working out the exact notes, on the piano, from a slowed down LP, and writing them down on a stave. No 'You Tube', back then.
Paul is not great with staves, but he managed, and was hugely grateful, and would have been totally stuck otherwise. He learns mostly by ear, which is why he couldn't sort out the pattern of that solo for himself. It's too fast for his ear to deal with, and his ear is not totally reliable (where many, many musicians have ears which are better, including one of Paul's brothers, who again is for another time). But where this is getting to is that that solo isn't too fast to play, once you know the road map. And it's a whole lot easier on a guitar than, say, on a piano and in fact you can't possibly play it (perfectly) on a piano because a piano can't bend notes in order to move toward, and then reach, different notes. You can't take your finger off one note, on a piano, and in doing so automatically drop that note to a different one. Given those tricks (which Jimmy Page uses, too, very nicely, if he's not completely off his head) it's definitely doable, that solo. But this all then ties in to one of Paul's developed problems in looking back at this song, on that day (the first problem being that he is the kind of person who does do that kind of looking back, in the first place, where others may just move forwards). He thinks people may assume he is merely trying to big himself back up, after having apparently fallen right down. But he's never felt specially big, just decent. Paul can play a guitar, but then so can Ziggy, and Mick Ronson is in a different class, and Paul absolutely knows that and has no problem with the truth of that. Paul's former best friend could pay a guitar too, and make it ring like a bell. Go, Johnny. Let it rip! It's not about being specially Goode, or any of that. In the end, its about good old fucking up, when there was no need to, even in nursery type environments. But where, in those first times at trying things, it often happens.
You don't want to let friends down, in expensive marquees (and maybe a part of that might involve not being in a pub, getting pissed as a fart, during their actual speeches and risking being unable to stand, let alone play, so as to be able to perform what they'd asked - which had been practised, and which we (as a band, not as a collection of individuals) could have pulled off no problem, in theory, but which we didn't - when we lost the audience (one of whom, afterwards rather amusingly shouted out 'play 'Stairway to Heaven'?'). But we didn't let them down. They asked for it, and we played it (and my friend and founding bandmate Graham, as already stated, played it solidly - not as John Bonham, but as a perfectly competent drummer, having never drummed in his life) and the recording exists for the now long wed couple to listen to, and remember their day, and...
What the fuck is the problem, for Paul, in all of that? OMG. There isn't one!
Years later, Paul played some Brian Ferry style bass on 'Baby I Don't Care', and some kinda quirky but passionate rhythm/lead guitar on 'Blue Suede Shoes' and 'Sea Cruise', in that huge room where the juke box stands, and we (the whole band, including a piano player) fucking blew that room away. It wasn't musically brilliant, it wasn't hard stuff - it was just rehearsed, and tight, and we believed in it, and we had resolved a few other issues along the way. It got there, in the end. Why the agony, over the journey?
As late as last night, I think I finally put 'Stairway to Heaven' to bed, having made my way up to our current bedroom, along with my wife, happier. I still wrote about it this morning, though, but only, in part, so's I could send this to my sister. And, in part, because maybe I can further continue to see a way through, for me, for better writing, for later. And, relative to this skeleton, I can survey its wondrous bones, overwrite my contempt, and pour some rational pride on it. And, at the same time, I can marvel at what must have been going through my Grandad's mind, when he used to sit in his chair in the early mornings, bible to hand, contemplating his own wondrous crosses. I still need to deal with that hymn's line about gains and losses, in my head, but not now, when I (like Alice Cooper, in 'Hello Hooray') feel so (much more) strong.
It really doesn't matter, after all of this, what I actually think about Stairway to Heaven? - but now that I can get to it, I may as well make a comment or two. John Lennon (it may in fact have been Jasper Carrot, in a retrospective joke, but who knows for sure) supposedly once said that Ringo Starr was not the best drummer in the world, and not even the best drummer in 'The Beatles'. (Which didn't make Ringo a bad drummer, by any stretch.)
The same, for Stairway. As implied already, elsewhere, I think that 'Celebration Day', for example, is better. But that's an opinion that I haven't always dared to express, other than to people very close to me.
And maybe writing never could work, for me, if I never dared to say anything that indicated what I actually believed in.
Further down the line I will try and pay tribute to a man that my wife and I knew, who wrote plays, and who had already passed that particular milestone, by a long way.
Step, by step. To be a rock, but still to roll. Otherwise, you stay in the same place, for ever?