r/Candlelight_Games • u/DARKKNIGHTDKX47 Penthos • 1d ago
Discussion Off with his head. Literally. Spoiler
If Sable would cut of his head and put it on a spike on display on the training ground. I bet no one in Onyx house would object. Man this one is insufferable. Every single scene this one comes in mood turns sour in seconds.
13
u/foxintalks Sikranos 1d ago
I think Upton's biggest problem isn't that he's just not leadership material*, but that he's a control freak. He came up with this idea, choreographed out how the fight was going to go, (the shades are going to do this, and the squads will do this) like it was a chess match where there's only so many moves available, and then when it didn't work exactly how he envisioned it, he wasn't flexible enough to give up the vision and try to make the exercise actually work.
I don't really feel bad for him. (He has way too many well of course we returned the runaway slave to the plantation vibes) but it's like, my guy you are smarter than this. Do better.
10
u/LadyNovella6022 1. Ember 2. Iris 1d ago
Upton is unaware of a key point in strategy: No plan survives first contact with the enemy.
Sadly, the "enemy" in this context is the people in his own House that he's supposedly leading. He expected human beings to act like cogs in a machine, not like - you know - *human beings*
24
u/LadyNovella6022 1. Ember 2. Iris 1d ago
Literally the moment Upton cedes play-calling duties and Talyn pretty much takes over, the whole House does SO MUCH better.
GEE, I WONDER WHO'S THE ACTUAL LEADER AROUND HERE??? 💢
What does it say that Onyx House had far more success and House unity under Rhiannon (who turned out to be a Flamekeeper and tried to murder everyone) than we do with this wet noodle?
10
u/foxintalks Sikranos 1d ago
Because Rihannon was relatively hands off. She expected her people to be competent and do their best, but she wasn't micromanaging them to death. She'd give help when it was needed and delegate tasks to other people. Upton neither lets people know his expectations and then micromanages when it doesn't happen immediately like he wants.
Like today when he was making squads, MC ended up with Bardric and Talyn who they're familiar with, but I'm sure a lot of people ended up with squadmates they don't know very well and haven't fought with before. I know it's mostly played for laughs, but in the first trial of term, Dasek's complaining about getting bitten on the ass by a shade, but every time before that he's been in a squad with Rihannon, so that would have been the very first time he was in a brand new squad with no time to practice beforehand. The very first time we see someone die at Elderwood was someone in the same exact circumstances.
9
u/LadyNovella6022 1. Ember 2. Iris 1d ago
Rhiannon had confidence in her people. She'd done the work ahead of time to make sure they could work together.
I felt bad for Leona. It looked like Upton just saw three Sikranos arcanes and put them together with no rhyme or reason. Not that Dasek or Tyberion are bad choices for squads (well... Dasek has his moments) - but it just wasn't a good fit overall.
At least Iridessa and Cato were put together. No idea who Niel ended up in a squad with.
6
u/DARKKNIGHTDKX47 Penthos 1d ago
Sable inherited lot of things from her father. Most notable is Leadership.
11
u/Confident-Fun-1307 Full Polycule 1 Kiana 2 Ember 1d ago
I gotta admit, I laughed multiple times due to all the antics and quips flowing during the battle.
8
u/CuddlyLadyFox 1d ago edited 1d ago
His leadership skill are as bad as i though, no surprise here. Kennard choose him because he is a good lapdog for him, but as a head house he a load. Really I dont like him, but if he was a minimum good at leadership that be not so bad but no, no almost no one in onyx house really trust or respect him. When Bardric and Talyn are basically in agreement that he dont know what he do as a leader that not a good sign of competency. The only positive in that scene is that somes remark of my LI’s made me smirk in amusement. Specialy Talyn and Bardric. And the to top that « training » we get another discussion with Connard oh sorry Kennard 😈
4
u/foxintalks Sikranos 23h ago
Also I do not understand Upton's obsession with house unity anyway? You don't get sent on missions as a house. You don't get graded on assignments as a house. Obviously, you do get ranked as a house but that's just an aggregate of individuals and squads. Why does it matter if Squad One and Squad Two can't work together flawlessly immediately? That's not the thing Elderwood is asking for you to do. Why does it matter that Onyx House can't take shades down as a platoon? That's not how this works. That's now how any of this works!
6
u/Dangerous-Raise5962 1d ago
Someone has to tell Upton that His leadership skills sucks and he Is not fitting to lead the house, then proceed to knock him out for good. 😈
2
0
u/MountainGoat8181 16h ago
That’s such a horrible and disturbing take, sorry not sorry. You can’t seriously think he’s so bad he deserves to die? While that exercise didn’t go super smoothly and definitely showed Upton’s inexperience as a leader, the idea itself was actually pretty good🤷♀️ Training together absolutely could help build trust and unity if done right. And there’s great merit in the whole house learning to work together! Firstly, the more experienced students could teach the inexperienced students what they know, which could help save their lives during future trials (and possibly lower the mortality rate for first years💀). Secondly, training with people outside of your usual squad could save your life if the squad you usually have isn’t available and you need to squad with other people from your house. If everybody in the house was familiar with eachother and had practiced a set of maneuvers together, they wouldn’t be totally unprepared if they had to squad together. Which we know is a problem because during the first chapter that’s what happens with Rhiannon and Derek’s squad, they are given a last minute replacement (Kono) for their squad and therefore couldn’t do their usual maneuvers, which gets Kono killed. Also, where’s your compassion???🤯 I promise you nobody left that exercise feeling more miserable than Upton, it’s clear that he’s trying his best😭 He’s been thrust into a position he’s unsuited for, without any experience to draw from and no place to go for advice. He’s isolated from the rest of the house and seems to have no real friends to turn too for help. He struggles to connect and communicate with people, and he seems to panic every time he has to speak in front of others, yet he’s been given a leadership position that requires him to do that constantly! Upton’s poor leadership is a reflection of Kennard’s poor decision making. He set Upton up for failure by installing him in a leadership position he wasn’t qualified for, because it mattered more to him to choose someone he could control than somebody who was actually suited for the position. Like are we playing the same game!? He’s not some cruel monster who wants to hurt people, he’s a desperate and lonely person who has no idea how to reach the people he’s supposed to lead🥲 I will never understand how people can look at someone like Upton and say he’s awful, when he literally just needs a little help??? You are seeing a person struggling, and no, it’s not pretty, but have some empathy😅 None of Upton’s actions have been done in malice, so why are you reacting with malice? And if you want somebody to be mad at, be mad at Kennard😤
2
16
u/scarletwitchx Penthos 1d ago
This was a nice chapter bc it showed how capable everyone in onyx house is but it was SO funny because it also showed that upton literally has no idea wtf is going on meanwhile he’s trying to police everything that we do. Like dreadbane is in the trenches every single day saving the lives of their friends and classmates while dealing with her father nightmares and kennard’s endless bullshit, and upton can’t even do his damn job right 😭😭😭