#[Colossus was tricky but I think that fits ????]

[amischiefofmuses]

🎵🎵 for whoever you're more inclined to

Send 🎵 for a song lyric I think describes your character || Selectively accepting

Logan ('97) - 'When they finally come to destroy the earth, they'll have to go through you first, I bet they won't be expecting that. When they finally come to destroy the earth, they'll have to deal with you first, and now my money says they won't know about the- Thousand fahrenheit hot metal lights behind your eyes! Invincible (oh-oh-oh)! You're Invincible!'

Logan (D&W) - 'I thought I saw the devil this morning, looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue, with the warning to help me see myself clearer. I never meant to start a fire. I never meant to make you bleed. I'll be a better man today. I'll be good, I'll be good. And I'll love the world, like I should. Yeah, I'll be good, I'll be good. For all of the times that I never could.'

Magnus - 'Close my eyes and feel the heat, keeping my head up when I'm walking through the fire. Filling me with the desire. See the chains around my feet, wondering if I'm gonna wake up, and be flying. It's killing me, killing me trying. I'm a dreamer, I'm a man. I'm doing whatever I can to make the bad things go away. When I'm beat up and alone, I feel it wherever I go, it's like a poison in my veins.'

Scott - 'You're debating your future and what comes next. Watching shit on the TV that tells you to - Just play dead. That the world's a mess, and it's all your fault, just turn that shit off! You push through, you don't run. You don't need anyone. Cause you got what you need, got the blood you can bleed. Shoot your shot, chase a dream.'

Mystique - 'There's something in the water. I don't like the flavour, I don't like the taste. Searching for nirvana. Something that'll take it all away from me. Don't bother me, my misery. It's holding me, won't let me speak. Please, forgive me, I've got demons in my head (in my head). Please, forgive me, I've got demons in my head.'

Colossus - 'Hey brother, do you still believe in one another? Hey sister, do you still believe in love? I wonder. Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you. There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do. What if I'm far from home? Oh brother, I will hear you call. What if I lose it all? Oh sister, I will help you out Oh, if the sky comes falling down. For you. There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do.'

Rio - 'I'll play my tiny violin, 'cause now, you'll watch me as I burn it to the ground. All the king's horses and all the king's men, Couldn't undo all the damage I did. You call me mad, but I make perfect sense. If I can't be your hero, I'll be your villain.'

Wanda - 'In an upside down world, I'd be smiling. And everything would feel like it was nothing. I'd be fine when I'm alone, my brain full of light and of joy. And the hope that I'd learn to find love in my own voice. With all the clouds on the ground, then all the rain would stay down, so our heads would never get wet. Sunny days would seem worth it, and everyone would love all the songs that aren't perfect.'

[lushthemagicdragon]

On Deadpool, WandaVision and Breaking the Fourth Wall

Hey pals, let’s talk about breaking the fourth wall / extrapolation of meta information in multiverse universes--say, the Marvel cinematic vs the xmen films vs the comics. Actually, let’s talk specifically about the Marvel multiverse. 

I wrote you an essay, just go under the cut it’s shiny.

As a general rule, suspension of disbelief works better on paper than it does on video. Heroes was an excellent example of this problem. This was the first time TV show was made directly based on a comic book format, trying to emulate a comic book format. The ship sank when they tried to keep comic book pace, and to play by similar rules. Long story short, this is because the way our brains consume literature and comics is different from how we consume photographic media like movies or tv. Video, like photography, convinces the brain that it's depicting reality even when we logically know that it isn’t. Therefore, unless the rules of the video/TV world are well established as being different from our own, we apply to it our own real-world understandings of what is possible. We are able to follow the fantastic more willingly when we're imagining it (because we’re reading it) instead of seeing it with our senses. 

Breaking the fourth wall and/or being self-referential is extremely tricky on video media because you're forcing the audience's brain to acknowledge that this is fiction, which can cause some cognitive dissonance if the goal of your show/movie is to create second world immersion. Sitcoms are good at breaking the fourth wall because, with laugh tracks, live studio audiences, and a general lack of real-world consequences, our brains understand that it isn’t real. Generally, they’re not trying to fool us into believing that they’re real. Still, if Chandler Bing suddenly turned around and made eye contact with the camera, that would be weird. It’s not established in that particular sitcom world that they understand that they’re fictional. Fresh Prince on the other hand, did that all the time. 

But we’ll get back to Sitcoms, because WandaVision. As opposed to most sitcoms, most serious dramas and adventure-thrillers are trying to create a very different vibe. In order to function, you have to be fully engaged, and have to completely believe the second world you are currently in. Otherwise, the emotional experience falls short. Tonality must be consistent, whereas sitcoms can get away with having the odd emotional moment surrounded by a laugh track. 

Marvel is very weird when it comes to second worlds and believable experiences, because Marvel films, tv, and comics are all existing in the same multiverse but with wildly different tones. If you try to wrap your head around all of it as one body, it can give you a headache. Which is why I find it so interesting whenever they try to be meta. 

The MCU as we understand it is presented as a realistic second world. Yes, it's fun action adventure with magic and superheroes, but presented in a way that feels real, and rationalizes its reality. It explains with technobabble and sciencebabble everything that it's doing. It wants to feel real. There are a few examples of comedy in the MCU (AntMan, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor Ragnorok), but their silliness can for the most part be explained away. With the latter two, they take place in space, with aliens, so our brains allow that as an explanation of wackiness outside our own reality. For Ant-Man, honestly I think it was a brilliant idea to make it a comedy because there was no way that film would have succeeded if they tried to make the audience take Ant-Man seriously on screen. I love Ant-Man, it’s a spectacularly made film. But I digress. Importantly, even though they’re funny and campy, they never lose their sense of realism, with emotional anchor points to keep them grounded.  When these characters are in an ensemble, they lose their high camp aesthetic and become part of the realism whole. 

Even when they say in the MCU, Oh look at this I am an action figure, I'm in comic books, it's presented as in-world realistic. These people are famous now, and they're real life superheroes, so obviously action figures and comic books are being produced about them. It all makes sense. Even the X-Men films, for as camp as they are, do this in their own realism bubble. I would argue the X-Men films actually do it better because you don't have to suspend as much disbelief to believe mutation as you do to believe in a super suit that shrinks people (I love you Small Rudd). 

Things get weird when the fourth wall is broken, and the multiverse is acknowledged, because the marvel cinematics have done an excellent job of creating stable second worlds. The Deadpool films, the prime example of fourth wall breaking in Marvel films/tv, are excellent because they go whole hog into breaking the fourth wall and acknowledging how ridiculous it all is. But it works for two reasons. 

1. Deadpool is the only person in the entire movie that acknowledges the fourth wall (I am pretty sure, it’s been a while since I’ve watched them but I am pretty sure). Because he alone is aware that he's a fictional character in a wider fictional universe, it's not weird when he references his actor being the green lantern or talks directly to the camera. It’s exactly what we expect from him. With Deadpool, we're in on the joke but no one else is. And that's funny. 

2. The tone of the Deadpool films is always funny and stupid. Even when it gets serious, that becomes the joke. There is no cognitive dissonance because it's consistent. See: Sitcom Logic. If the tone is light, breaking the fourth wall doesn’t jarr quite so much. 

3. Deadpool is never in the other films, and MOSTLY, the characters in Deadpool (beyond the odd brief cameo) aren't in the greater universe (I say mostly because of Colossus, but he was in one movie ages ago for like ten minutes it’s not the biggest deal). It's consistent, and it doesn't become confusing because it's contained in itself as a weird fourth wall bubble on the side of the greater universe. Anything that happens to characters in the Deadpool films will not carry over to the more serious timeline. 

There is one place in which I would say that the Deadpool films miss the mark, and make a mess of things. By making that one joke where young 90s xmen from the newest film are behind a door and shut it before he turns around, a wrench is thrown in. The weirdness of the Deadpool films suddenly is an issue because the question is asked: Where do the Deadpool films sit in the timeline? The answer is that the Deadpool films don't fit anywhere in the established XMen Cinematic Timeline, and the big mistake was having a group of characters from an xmen film on screen at the same time even as a gag. In this moment, the Deadpool films are very suddenly part of the greater universe, rather than a sidecar referencing what’s going on inside. By doing this, Deadpool is not the only character breaking the fourth wall. Now the physical world is breaking the fourth wall. And our brains will try to make sense where they cannot make sense.

But anyway for the most part, Deadpool does an excellent job of it by being a weird little fourth wall meta bubble on the fringe of existence. Wandavision though, that gets weird in a different but also very fun way.

The reason why the first 3/4ths of WandaVision work in terms of being meta-referential and also occasionally breaking the fourth wall is because 

1. genre and tone. It sets up from the beginning, this is a sitcom world, not gritty realism world. We get sitcom world, we know what to expect from sitcom world. We can laugh along with the laugh track when something odd or silly or referential happens, and accept it as truth, because a sitcom generally does not pretend to be reality. 

2. Whenever the fourth wall breaks in a way that doesn't make sense, it's intentional. Wanda reacts accordingly. Something goes weird, she fixes it. When something goes weird for someone other than Wanda (Say, the Vision), the integrity of this sitcom world is called into question in an intentional way that tracks with what is actually going on in the gritty-realism world (acknowledging that we’re in a bubble within a bubble). This camp sitcom world breaks the fourth wall within itself, not to us. Billy talking to the screen isn't talking to us, he's talking to the imagined viewer in-world. 

3. Most of the meta-references are either subtle enough to be Easter eggs (like the kick-ass reference) or exist solely as fun gaffs that have no consequences and are never acknowledged as being meta (the Halloween costumes). I say most, because there is one big meta-reference that I think was a mistake, and where it kind of starts to fall apart in my eyes. 

As much as I adore Evan Peters’ Pietro, as extremely happy as I was to see him on this show, this particular meta-reference was done in a way that breaks the second world illusion, because they pointed a big red sign at a meta reference and then tried to explain it without breaking into the multiverse. 

The thing about breaking the fourth wall and meta-referencing is that it has to be toungue in cheek to be sustainable. Our brains are accepting that this reference is for us, but to make it a serious part of the story requires an answer to the question: why? By explaining that actually, this fake Pietro was Ralph the whole time, a real person who exists in this gritty realism universe, the illusion of tongue in cheek is gone. Suddenly, there is a person who brings into question the entire structure of the second world. Because this second world does not have access to the multiverse (Into the Spiderverse is wholly its own thing), it doesn't make sense that this random guy who happened to be used to play Pietro looks exactly like Pietro from elsewhere in the multiverse. It stops being fun, and starts becoming confusing, and we start trying to find answers where there are none. 

IMO, two ways to solve that problem. 1. never explain it. If you never explain it, it's just a weird meta reference for us that also exists in Wanda's fake-world that is in itself accessing the multiverse (see: the costumes), without touching the realism world outside the bubble. 

2. What I'm now calling the Taika Waititi method. Give a nonsense explanation told with a straight face as a brush-off. Say, Wanda asks Agatha who this guy is, and she says something along the lines of, oh I don't know I just pulled some random Pietro out of the universe, I never met the guy I had to improvise. 

Anyway I still give WandaVision an 8/10 and an A for effort. Pulling off multiple tones and multiple second worlds simultaneously without even explaining it away with the multiverse is fucking hard, and they did a pretty good job all things considered. 

And if anyone is interested in wtf I'm talking about re: second worlds, I highly recommend Tolkien's essay On Fairy Stories which pretty much defines how fantastic fiction works.

[thedarkestdragonknight]

3

So… because I took so long to answer this one… I’m going to go with a number of responses! Enjoy 8D

Daydreams - if you could be anything or anyone, who would you be?From the Soft Asks Meme

“What would I be… honestly, I don’t think I would ever want to be anything more than I already am. If I had to choose anything honestly I would simply want to be myself and that’s it. No point in being anything else or anything that you cannot be right?��

How tall is your OC?From the OC Asks Meme

Guest starring the Potatoes of the Thaumaturges’ Guild! Jacques is the tallest that he can be for an Au Ra which puts him at a massive 7 foot 1 inches tall. I never made him any taller because well I didn’t want him to be RIDICULOUS with his height but even then I could tack on a couple more inches just to make it fit if I wanted. Either way, he’s a freaking giant and that often times makes it hard to actually take screenshots with him because getting all of him in a frame is tricky >>

[I] Trusted [You]From the Micro Story Meme!

The Au Ra stumbled as he was thrown to the floor in front of the Magitek Colossus… gritting his teeth as he tried to push himself to his feet onto to be shoved back down by his tormentor who had turned against him. A friend he trusted though… now he was wondering if they had truly been his friend to begin with. No doubt they turned on him the instant they found out about the Garlean’s no doubt searching for him… an easy profit turning him in.

He could feel the weight of the shackles that were placed on his legs to keep him from running and the chain that was wrapped around his throat weighing him down as well. Jacques snarled slightly as he glared up towards the large metal monstrosity before he gritted his teeth more. Worse was that he felt so… weak now… how would he even begin trying to escape when he could barely lift a finger… much less his sword.

[the-firebird69]

Watch "Disturbed - The Vengeful One [Official Music Video]" on YouTube

My son does look like that but he has a lot more bug and his face looks a little bit Bucky but not much because he's in shape and he's not fat so looks similar in the face that's what he looks like and he looks like us because he eats similar foods and he changes it's amazing these people can change it's like to change that much people know who he is all sudden I saw it too he likes to act and play but not for too long and comes out of it and says disgusting inside the head and Hera says it too, but he loves playing this part and it's who he is and he acts like it anyways and does not say disgusting when he changes back and it's not much of a change who's the beard and there's a few changes in his face and that's it small ones but wow that's what he looks like and we're talking about because I'm Zig and zag but really they were seen in reality and if they remember who he is and what he looks like it's kind of an issue but he does have family that looks like him but really it's a little different and they have the expression of our sun down a little bit cuz he does what he's doing in this painting that you see in the other post and it is art and it is wonderful but I wonder who saw it if not the artist himself and he says he got it from someone so you have to see who that was so ask him cuz he won't tell might be for my son's mind and it might be from Zeus the statue he does look like this so we have to find out because the one that looks like Zig looks like him, Ajax is very big naturally around 12 ft and looks like the person that he saw at Walgreens and that's what he's been thinking Zig looks like but he doesn't he looks more like Colossus but that was actually Apollo's giant form no so how big it really is he's a little bigger actually about a foot and of course proportional but he's got the idea. He looks very close to an Apollo looks like but still this is what Zig looks like and he does look like him he's a pretty Stern straightforward person and we do look different okay but wow this is going to be incredible you want our son to go there to see if we'll show up even in a different bodies and to see if the other Giants would and yes they would most of them and our son says they're kind of tricky and they shrink down with their back and they show up and they don't and they're different places not even necessarily in the show and they are vendors and their truck drivers they do a lot of that all sudden they said this is incredible we're going to see what they're doing a little so they wanted something to do it because it's way too small and people want me to look like that he says that's more what they're up to and probably to accuse him of crimes in the past and that's what it is too he's got a huge list of crimes

Thor Freya

It's a good way to stay hard to be big and to be have the look and a lot of people say I look like him when I'm bigger and I do hear it a little now and I'm saying no I don't it's true I just this regular small guy giggle giggle like that's a Goodman

Zues Hera

This is a huge day I'm so happy and this is going on it's really nice and those bikes are selling by the way lots of big lots of big people out there no they said prosthetics and they see it online tons of people are buying them cuz they want to grow into them it is a huge huge huge seller huge about two octillion in area already. Thor Freya made one and it's the size of Lord sorman as did zigzag as his Ajax and got his wife there are a few more too that are making them and they're the size of the ride of Odin he's a big fella it's a little small for him he's about 10 ft but soreman is a 12 ft and you really need to be hefty no but he could easily fit on that bike too and he's seen on it and he changed the name so I'm going to try to everybody my husband's going to grow I think up to about 8 ft and it stays there and it's symbolic and these people want them to

Hera everyone's huge up here we have to remember what's going on but still they're pretty big and he says you are pretty big as the Jersey girl and I do understand what you're saying but you're a girl and they're about 8 ft okay I'm seven but still you're older sort of and I know it your soul is older a little bit not much maybe a few seconds I do understand that I love you so much that's okay help me with something anything I'm just kidding I hope you all the time but I just I do see what you're saying now I understand it and he's driving me nuts too so I'm going to have a special meeting and for your requests and they're going to say it they say and mine I appreciate this

[hells-mansion]

1-10

1.if someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to?I’m not too sure about reading since I haven’t done much of that myself lately, but I can think of a few substitutes for that.If you wanna a general gist of things, I think this list should cover it~Music: Motley Crue - “Dr. Feelgood”, Animals as Leaders - “On Impulse”, Creature Feature - “The Greatest Show Unearthed”, Caravan Palace - “Panic”, Devin Townsend Project - “Deathray”, Alestorm - “Surf Squid Warfare”, Maimum The Hormone - “Frieza”Movies/Shows: Godzilla vs Biollante, Godzilla vs Destoroyah, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater, One Piece, Hellsing, Bob’s Burgers, The Grim Adventures of Billy And Mandy, Pacific Rim, Animaniacs, CastlevaniaGames: Darkstalkers, Guilty Gear, Killer Instinct, Disgaea 3, DOOM (2016), Darkest Dungeon, Kingdom Hearts, Splatoon, Bloodborne, Devil May Cry 3, Shadow Of The Colossus, Dante’s Inferno, Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night2. have you ever found a writer who thinks just like you? if so, who?He’s more of a director, but I love him enough to give him the spotlight anyway!Guillermo del Toro, that man and I seem to have a thing for monsters. Not only in showing them off but, kinda glorifying them in a way. He loves monsters and he’s not afraid to show it, and I aim to do the same someday! Although, I think my way will end up being a tad more destructive~ Like Pacific Rim, except I’d make sure the humans  L O S E ~ !3. list your fandoms and one character from each that you identify with.Fullmetal Alchemist - Edward Elric: Blames himself for things that happened in the past, especially when it comes to his younger brother, and aims to make it right someday, despite his brother’s protests. Is also the shorter one, despite being olderFire Emblem Awakening - Henry: Who else do you know that will openly talk about darkness, monsters, blood, death, and all things horror with a big smile on their face~?Devil May Cry - Dante: Rock/Metal music, a love for needlessly flashy moves with over the top weapons. cheesy smartass one liners? Yeah, sounds about right4. do you like your name?  is there another name you think would fit you better?Honestly, I’ve kinda had mixed feelings about my name ever since I learned how I got it. But, I think that making it my own is all part of the process of becoming a stronger person. That said, my mom and I occasionally think of new names for when, or if, we actually decide to change things.5. do you think of yourself as a human being or a human doing? do you identify yourself by the things you do?I guess a human being? I still have A LOT to figure out. But I have learned to not identify by what I’m doing, for me, that just leads to me comparing myself to others, and I spent far too long with that kind of mentality.6. are you religious/spiritual?Yes, but in a way I’m not too sure how to describe? I definitely feel that there are higher powers out there, Heaven, Hell, the afterlife in general, it’s all there. But, I don’t feel that I follow any one religion specifically? It’s like “I know you’re there, I’ll reach out to you now and then, but when my time comes, we’ll see what happens” Like choices in life, death, for me, will be far from the end of things~7. do you care about your ethnicity?That’s kind of a tricky question. I never used to think about it, it was just another note on who I am. But, recent changes in the world have made me change my views, so I’m definitely starting to keep it in mind these days, for better or worse..8. what musical artists have you most felt connected to over your lifetime?My mom listens to A LOT of Metallica, ever since my brother and I were kids, so they’re pretty much at the top of the list. Listening to them reminds me of all the stuff we’ve been through so far and that, through all of it, we’ve stuck together and we’ll continue to do so!9. are you an artist?Nooope, not in the drawing sense anyway. Although, I do kinda see video/audio editing as a kind of art. It takes practice, it’s a fun creative outlet, and even when I’ve got the basic idea of what I want down, I always end up finding some way to push it one step further. If that counts, then I’d say I’m a beginner artist, I still have A LOT to learn~10. do you have a creed?A few, yeah. But, I think the one that’s made the most impact on my life is just simply “Take it one day at a time” I’ve tried, many times, to plan things out, only for it all to break down, and it used to destroy me, drive me crazy and make me panic. It was a long time before I learned to relax and take things as they come, no sense in stressing over something that’s 10 steps ahead of me. That said, that doesn’t mean I just sit and wait for something to smack me in the face, I’ll be thinking of many strategies in the meantime, so I’ll be ready, hopefully.

[your-dietician]

Gareth Southgate insists there is more to come from England at Euro 2020 | Football News

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/sports/gareth-southgate-insists-there-is-more-to-come-from-england-at-euro-2020-football-news/

Gareth Southgate insists there is more to come from England at Euro 2020 | Football News

Gareth Southgate vowed there is more to come from England at Euro 2020 after a narrow victory over the Czech Republic.

Raheem Sterling’s early header was enough to seal a 1-0 win at Wembley to secure top spot in Group D.

England are yet to concede in the tournament – although have only scored twice through Sterling – and will face France, Germany, Portugal or Hungary in a last-16 tie at Wembley next Tuesday.

Despite what looks like a potentially tricky last-16 encounter, Southgate is pleased it will take place at Wembley.

“There is more to come from us, definitely,” Southgate said.

“We’re not fluent but we have moments where we are a good side. We are still improving. We look difficult to play against.

“We haven’t scored from a set play yet,” he added. “I know people laugh about us only scoring from set plays but they are crucial in big matches and we have to get those nailed.

“We wanted to win the group, we wanted to stay at Wembley and we will wait and see who we play tomorrow.

It is great to be having more supporters in that is for sure. Who knows if that will be good or not. We wanted to win the group and stay at Wembley and we will wait to see who we play.

Southgate on England’s last-16 game at Wembley

“They are different sorts of tests but there are a lot of good things we are doing.

“We have managed to get most of the squad into games, 90 minutes for Harry Maguire which was important, Hendo [Jordan Henderson] got 45 minutes which was a real step forward. There were a lot of positives for us.”

Southgate on “important” minutes for Maguire and Henderson…

“It was a difficult call. Tyrone Mings has been an absolute colossus for us and again came into the game at an important moment and dealt really well with that as well.

“Harry Maguire has that presence and composure. His pass through to Kane in the first half was a fabulous ball through the lines and there aren’t many defenders in world football who can do that. So, it was important for him to get those 90 minutes.

“It’s obviously more difficult for Jordan Henderson because he’s been out for so much longer. It was great to get him 45 minutes and he’ll be better for that. That adds to our options in that area of the pitch.”

Sterling hit a post inside two minutes before heading in Jack Grealish’s cross to win it after 12 minutes.

Grealish was one of four changes and Southgate praised his players for adapting quickly after Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell were forced to self-isolate on Monday.

They came into close contact with Scotland’s Billy Gilmour following Friday’s 0-0 draw at Wembley. The midfielder subsequently tested positive for coronavirus and it forced Southgate into a late reshuffle.

Image: Raheem Sterling heads England ahead against Czech Republic

“I thought we started really well, we were stable with the ball, we had worked on some of the stuff in training yesterday,” he said.

“Credit to the players, some of the stuff we had to adjust without the ball as we had to change what we were doing overnight because of the different personnel.

“It was a huge credit to the players they were as stable without the ball as they were.

“We’ve played two opponents in the Croats and the Czechs who I think are playing at a very good level.

“And Scotland, which as an occasion and an experience for our players, especially the younger ones, was a quite unique and really important one, so these will be different games.

“We know world champions, European champions and Germany, who to me look like they’re back on song. They’ve brought some very experienced players back in.

“So whoever we play, really, really tough opposition but we’ve sort of known that for 18 months. We’ve known the route through.”

Jack produced a fabulous cross for the goal. We saw some of the interchanging positions of those forward players was really exciting,at the start of the game especially. I thought we tired a little bit, but we know that because one or two are a little it short of fitness.

Southgate on Grealish’s impact

Southgate: ‘Saka grabbed his opportunity’

1:31

England manager Gareth Southgate says Bukayo Saka made the most of his opportunity in the 1-0 win against the Czech Republic. (Pictures: ©UEFA 2021)

With England already assured of a knockout spot, Gareth Southgate had said before kick-off “it’s a great night for our attacking players to go and express themselves”, and they did, especially Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka, who put in a man-of-the-match performance.

Image: Bukayo Saka’s actions for England against Czech Republic at Euro 2020

“We have been super impressed with Bukayo Saka throughout the month,” Southgate said.

“He was excellent up at Middlesbrough and we have liked him with and without the ball. His receiving tonight under pressure was fantastic.

I thought Bukayo Saka was brilliant. I told him after the game that he got in the pockets of space, drove at people, he was direct and that’s what you need. It’s a credit to him.

Sterling on Saka

“I can’t speak highly enough of him. He’s earned that opportunity. His performances in training since he joined this camp have been outstanding.

“We’ve talked about playing him in some of the previous matches and he earned that chance tonight and he’s grabbed it. He was fabulous.”

Bukayo Saka on his tournament bow…

“We played some really good football at times. Of course, with us already qualifying before the game we had a lot more freedom and a chance to express ourselves. I think that showed tonight and I am really happy with the performance by myself and by the team.

“The manager just told me to go and express myself how I have for my club this season. Sometimes that meant dropping in and driving at the opponents and I did that, got us up the pitch, and it was a good cross from Jack with Raheem in the right place at the right time again.”

Sterling: You have to play the best teams at some point

Image: Raheem Sterling celebrates after giving England the lead against the Czech Republic

England goalscorer Raheem Sterling insists England must meet the knockout phase head-on after beating the Czech Republic to qualify for the last 16 as Group D winners.

“I think there are positives from the game,” the Man City forward said. “We kept the ball better today. It gave us more attacking options. We got in the gaps really well, played some good football and got the goal we needed.

He added: “If you don’t concede goals you win football matches. You just need to score at the other end. People were disappointed in the Scotland game a few days ago but we didn’t concede. The most important thing was to win the group. It is tournament football and it will be difficult but we need to do what we are doing.

“At some point you have to face the best teams. It is about challenging yourselves.”

Neville: I feel really confident about this England group

Image: England players celebrate with Raheem Sterling after he opened the scoring against Czech Republic

Sky Sports’ Gary Neville talking to ITV:

“Job done, really professional. I will say it again, I don’t think England are going to win this tournament by outplaying France, Germany, Portugal, Spain.

“I don’t think we have the players to do that, I think we have good players, but I genuinely think we are going to win it by playing how are we are now, which is professional, keeping clean sheets, making sure that back is protected with those two lads in midfield. And then creating those individual moments of brilliance and we have got some players who can achieve that for us.

“Don’t be surprised if we play Germany or France we go to five at the back because I think we may need more than four defenders against [Kylian] Mbappe, [Antoine] Griezmann and [Karim] Benzema.

“If you are playing against Germany we can comfortably go to wing backs, I don’t rule anything out at this stage but I can’t see that Gareth [Southgate] will play the same way against the Czech Republic as he would against France or Germany.

2:31

Bukayo Saka says England had to dig deep to beat the Czech Republic, and topping the group sealed a perfect night for the team.

“I’ve been part of England teams where in the group stage, it has been an emotional roller coaster, a circus almost.

“If this was Germany, or another country, we would look at them and think, ‘they look calm and in control.’ We do not think that with England because we always want more, we want the brilliance and the 3-0 win.

“But I feel really confident about this group and I actually trust the manager and that he knows what he is doing with this group.

“Massive game next week, a giant of a game, but a week to prepare for it and I’m looking forward to it….”

Keane: ‘Lots of pluses for efficient England’

Image: Harry Kane and Jack Grealish applaud the fans after England’s win over Czech Republic

Sky Sports’ Roy Keane talking to ITV:

“They have been very efficient. Second half England did not have to be great, I was really disappointed with the Czech Republic’s mentality to try and score a goal.

“But the bottom line is at this level, it is all about winning football matches, it is job done.

“Of course it is going to get tougher, the players know that, but the big pluses for Gareth tonight are another clean sheet, Maguire has had 90 minutes, Henderson has had 45.

“Gareth will be delighted.”

Explained: Why Southgate is cautious | Is Grealish now a starter? | Foundations for future Scotland success?

Alice Piper is joined by Rob Dorsett and Pete Smith to discuss England’s 1-0 win over Czech Republic at Wembley to finish top of Group D at Euro 2020. Jack Grealish finally gets a start for England – is he now here to stay? Why IS Gareth Southgate so cautious with the Three Lions? Plus: praise for Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling.

The panel also cover all England positions and talking points going into the last 16, and discuss how Southgate will approach the knockout stages.

And after Scotland’s 3-1 defeat by Croatia at Hampden Park, Sky Sports News’ Charles Paterson joins us to look back their campaign, and whether the foundations are in place for more success in the future.

Opta stats – Shot shy England get the job done

Image: Raheem Sterling celebrates with Jack Grealish after opening the scoring against Czech Republic

England have topped their group at a European Championships for only the third time, also doing so at Euro 1996 and Euro 2012. With just two goals scored, they are the lowest-scoring side to ever finish top of a group at a Euros tournament.

England have kept 15 clean sheets in their last 19 matches in all competitions, conceding only five goals. They have gone through a group stage at a major tournament without conceding for only the third time, also doing so at the 1966 World Cup and in the second group stage at the 1982 World Cup.

England failed to attempt a single shot at goal in the second half of a match for the first time since October 2018 against Spain in a UEFA Nations League match. Their last effort at goal was a Harry Kane attempt in the 26th minute.

Raheem Sterling has been directly involved in 20 goals in his last 19 matches for England (14 goals, 6 assists) and has ended on the winning side in all 12 matches when finding the net for the national team.

Since his England debut last September, Jack Grealish has more assists than any other England player (3), despite only playing in nine of the Three Lions’ 15 matches since then.

What’s next?

Finishing top of Group D means England will next play on Tuesday June 29 at 5pm at Wembley against the runners-up of Group F (either Portugal, France, Germany or Hungary).

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[droneseco]

EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Wireless Earbuds Review: Almost Outstanding On the Go Gaming Audio

EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid

7.70 / 10

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The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid gaming earbuds deliver solid sound performance, aided by the aptX low latency codec and Bluetooth 5.1. You'll find the GTW 270s comfy for any gaming session, and the earbuds continue the Danish audio developer's long-standing tradition for well-crafted audio hardware.

Specifications

Brand: EPOS

Battery Life: 20 hours

Bluetooth: Yes, 5.1 & aptX low latency

Additional Tips: Yes

Noise Cancellation: No

Pros

Excellent audio quality

Comfortable design

Well-built charging carry case

Very easy to setup

aptX low latency

Cons

Middling battery life

Wouldn't replace gaming headset

Cannot use microphone with aptX

Buy This Product

EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid amazon

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When you think of gaming headsets, you probably think of big, chunky earpads and adjustable microphones. But what if it didn't have to be like that? What if you could find an alternative gaming audio option?

The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid closed acoustic gaming earbuds are exactly that: earbuds designed for gaming. While EPOS is very much focusing on pushing these new earbuds towards gamers, they're definitely more than capable of delivering excellent audio in a wide range of situations.

So, how does EPOS's first set of gaming earbuds stack up against the competition? Let's find out in our review of the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds.

What's In the Box?

The earbuds arrive in a tidy box, and the eagle-eyed will note that the sponge inlay is absolutely shaped like a face. That's a plus point from me.

In the box, you'll find:

EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds

Charging carry case

EPOS Bluetooth dongle

USB Type-A to USB Type-C port cable

USB Type-A to USB Type-C charging cable

3x silicone earbud tips of varying size

Silicone Bluetooth dongle case

Instructions and quick start manual

EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Specifications

The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds deliver a decent package in terms of out of the box specs:

Design: Closed-back earbuds

Color: Black, with grey metal plates

Drivers: 6mm dynamic

Frequency response: 20-20,000Hz

Sound pressure level: 100 dB

Microphone: Integrated omnidirectional

Frequency response: 100-7,500Hz

Sensitivity: -20 dBV/Pa

Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.1, aptX low-latency via USB-C dongle

Battery life: 5 hours on earbuds, 15 hours on the carry case

Charge time: 5 hours full charge

Fast charge: 1-hour playback on 15 minutes charge

Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, Android, PlayStation 4 & 5

Water resistance: IPX5 for sweat and light rain

Virtual assistant: Google Now, Alexa, Siri

The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid gaming earbuds feature Bluetooth for standard connections, and interestingly, the low-latency aptX codec when used with the USB-C dongle. Furthermore, while the PlayStation 4 and 5 aren't listed on the official specifications, the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrids do work with these consoles.

EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Design

Straight out of the box, the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds and charging case carry a solid weight. Not heavy, but enough to deliver the feel of quality. The anodized-aluminum carry case is smooth and solid, and its latch and locking mechanism strong and secure. The front of the portable charging case features five small blue lights indicating battery level, which also flash red when you're pairing with a new Bluetooth device.

The earbuds themselves are slightly heavier and chunkier than I was expecting, but it isn't noticeable at all when you pop them in your ears. Walking around the house with the default earbud tips and the GTW 270s are locked firmly-yet-comfortably in place. As with most earbuds, you can easily slip the replaceable tips on and off to find a fit that suits you.

You'll find a small control button on the left earbud. It really is small, but it has many functions: one tap for play and pause, two to skip the track, and three to rewind. To access your virtual personal assistant, hold the button for two seconds. When you're on a call, you have to hold the button for three seconds to put the phone down.

EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Sound Quality

The GTW 270s sound is really good. You're never going to beat a gaming headset with drivers ten times the size of the GTW 270s 6mm drivers. But in fact, that makes the gaming earbud's audio performance that bit more impressive.

Jumping into various games to test the earbuds, it quickly becomes clear that what the earbuds lack in size, they make up for in finely-tuned audio performance.

Firing up Assetto Corsa Competizione, and the Mercedes AMG GT3 maintains its meaty roar around the hills of Spa-Francorchamps. It's a similar story jumping into a Lancia Stratos in Dirt 2.0.

Next, a trip into Red Dead 2 Online, where you can hear the ambient noises of the mid-West surrounding you. First-person shooters like Insurgency: Sandstorm and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus deliver exceptional audio range, covering the thundering gunshots and subtle noises of approaching footsteps.

It is a similar story for music, too. My favorite thing to do with new headphones is run them through the Songs to Test Headphones With playlist on Spotify, covering all manner of hip-hop, hard rock, techno, and everything in between.

The GTW 270 earbuds maintain a solid balance between treble and bass throughout my extended run-through, which is impressive given the eclectic range of tracks on the playlist.

Overall, the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds deliver top-notch audio quality for both gaming and music, which is really quite impressive.

EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Functionality

So, the GTW 270 earbuds sound great, but how do they perform elsewhere?

One immediate positive is how ridiculously quick they are to setup using the included aptX low-latency dongle. You can have the earbuds up and running within a minute of unboxing as the earbuds and dongle come pre-paired.

I connected the USB dongle on my desktop PC using the supplied cable and let the auto-connection do the rest. It was a similar situation when plugging into a Nintendo Switch. The connection updated automatically, and the audio worked instantaneously.

Now, there is one downside to the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbud microphone. When you're using the aptX low-latency dongle, you cannot communicate in-game. It isn't a glaring issue, but for earbuds that position themselves as gaming hardware, and with the aptX dongle a main selling point, it is slightly irritating.

That said, I would counter my own point with the fact the GTW 270 earbuds are perhaps better suited to short gaming bursts and are particularly handy when you're out and about, gaming on the move. Often, you're not engaging in team-speak gameplay in these scenarios, which is why it isn't the downside it could be. I'd also add that this isn't a slight on EPOS; it's a restriction of aptX.

You should also note that when you use a standard Bluetooth connection (for instance, with your phone, a standalone Bluetooth dongle, or your motherboard supports Bluetooth), the microphone works fine. The quality isn't amazing, but you can be heard with relative clarity.

Regarding battery life, the GTW 270 earbuds hold five hours charge, and you'll get another 15 hours charge from the carry case. Again, given the target market for these earbuds, five hours is plenty for most gaming stints. You can also use the fast charging feature to grab one hour of playback on a rapid 15-minute charge.

EPOS Gaming Suite

The EPOS Gaming Suite is a desktop app you can use to manage your EPOS GTW 270 earbuds.

After downloading and installing, you can use the tool to update the firmware on the dongle and the earbuds. The updates didn't work straight off the bat for me, but I managed to update the firmware for both elements after a few tries.

The EPOS Gaming Suite also includes an EQ with a few presets, along with the option to switch between virtual surround sound modes. Once you select an EQ mode, the sound setting saves to your earbuds until you change it again.

However, you cannot change your EQ mode on the fly from the earbuds, and there is no accompanying app at the current time. As an aside, the "eSport" preset is awful, so give that a miss.

Earbud Repairability

As you'll find with most earbuds, repairability is likely to be low, with only certain features able to be repaired or replaced.

On the other hand, the charging carry case is solid and will keep the earbuds protect from drop damage, and the earbuds carry an IPX5 rating, which will protect against sweat and light rain. Those are two of the primary ways you can damage your hardware at least partially mitigated against.

Furthermore, don't forget these gaming earbuds are new to the market at the time of review. While there are no repair guides currently available, given time, repair guides will be written. Earbuds aren't impossible to mend, but they are tricky.

The GTW 270 earbuds come with a two-year warranty in the event something breaks in that period.

Should You Buy the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Gaming Earbuds?

The big question: are the earbuds worth your hard-earned dollars?

EPOS is entering a very busy marketplace. The temptation to focus on these earbuds as purely gaming hardware is unfounded, despite what EPOS wants you to think. They sound brilliant when pitted against a wide range of music types, as well as films and podcasts.

Also, they're comfy, as EPOS has taken over 800,000 ear scans from its parent company, Demant, and crafted them to relieve pressure on the "non-flexible parts of the ear." Throughout this review, I've clocked tens of hours of usage without feeling any ear fatigue, and I have relatively small ears.

However, I can understand why EPOS is launching these with gamers in mind. At this price point, the earbud market has some strong competitors, not least the popular Jabra Elite 75t and Elite 85t, and the well-reviewed Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds. Launching them as a unique tool for gamers might well give it the edge.

Currently, the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds retail for $200. They sound exceptional, look good, allow instant connection with your PC and Nintendo Switch. The aptX low latency audio is crisp and clear, and the Bluetooth audio is almost the same, if suffering slightly from Bluetooth's well-known time-delay.

It's a yes from me for the overall audio package EPOS has delivered, rather than as a specific bit of gaming audio hardware. With a few more tweaks to the overall package—think: better microphones, customizable EQ via an app, adjustments to the aptX multiplayer team-speak issue, perhaps Sidetone—EPOS could be onto a real winner.

EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Wireless Earbuds Review: Almost Outstanding On the Go Gaming Audio published first on http://droneseco.tumblr.com/

[omniversalobservations]

Supreme Guardians (2011)

One of the cool things about Geoff Johns' Green Lantern epic is thinking about which power ring would go to which character.

But let me start at the beginning before I continue.

Before, there was only the Green Lantern Corps and they wore a green ring powered by willpower. Then, Geoff Johns somehow thought, "hey, why not have different Corps with different colored rings and different emotions powering them? " and thus the can of worms was opened. Now we have seven+ different Corps, each corresponding to one of the colors in the rainbow (or ROYGBIV) and each powered by a different emotion. It's always fun to think about which DC character would get which ring. It's even more fun to think the same for Marvel characters. What's more fun than that? A lantern draft between fictional characters from all mediums which brings us to this post.

I'm picking one character from comics, manga, anime, movies, television, video games or whatever to represent each one of the seven corps.

Let's do this.

Red/Hate = Guts This was a tough one because there tends to be a lot of angry people in the stuff I read and watch so it was hard to narrow it down to just one. The Hulk is an obvious choice but I could've just as easily picked Wolverine or Kratos or even Goku just to name a few. I ultimately settled for Guts from Berserk because I admittedly have a soft spot for the series but, more importantly, this is one seriously pissed off dude. This is a guy that *SPOILERS* cut his own damn arm off in a fit of rage *SPOILERS* and it doesn't get much angrier than that. Sure, he can be a calm and collected individual at times but expect to see showers of blood when the gloves come off.

Orange/Avarice = Gollum Gollum, I have to admit, was an inspired choice on my part. This is a guy that will do anything (and lose anything) for that which he yearns the most which is, incidentally, a ring of power. The orange ring that would be bestowed upon him would not be the same ring of Lord of the Rings lore he's so desperately after but it is a powerful ring nonetheless and one that I'm sure would satiate his thirst for mighty accessories. If only temporarily.

Yellow/Fear = Darth Vader This was one of those choices that, once I settled on it, I hard a time letting go. Sure, I could've picked a Xenomorph or a similarly grotesque creature or monster for this spot but I don't think any one of those could instill fear across an entire freakin' galaxy like Darth Vader did. The Empire troops' sense of fear while in presence of Vader was almost palpable in the Star Wars movies and his size and death-like blackness, coupled with his legendary breathing, more than earns him my nod as the most fearsome man in the galaxy.

Green/Willpower = Link Green was tricky. I was initially going to take the easy route and simply throw Hal Jordan on here. Marvel's own Man Without Fear, Daredevil, would've been a good choice as well but then I thought of Link and all the crap the little guy goes through in your average Zelda game and I started to lean towards him. And then a friend of mine fucked it all up with two words: John McClane. Damn, that's a good choice. The guy will throw himself at absolutely anything and survive. I ultimate went with Link because of two things: 1) I felt like a needed a video game representative and 2) the guy already dresses in green for cryin' out loud. It's perfect. Still, in that one parallel universe where Link doesn't exist, I'd go with John freakin' McClane.

Blue/Hope = Superman Superman as hope was another one of those choices that I quickly settled on but he had some good contenders. Luke Skywalker was suggested by a friend and that's a really good choice so I had to find a good enough reason to justify Superman's spot here. The fact that he was the first superhero, thus inspiring an entire generation of individuals (directly or otherwise) towards the path of righteousness and self-sacrifice, was no longer going to be enough. Then I stumbled upon my copy of Dini and Ross' Superman: Peace on Earth and found my answer. That book is the perfect example of why Superman is a beacon of hope and why he is the icon he is today. Go read it.

Indigo/Compassion = Kenshin Kenshin is an interesting choice because during his time as the Battousai he could've easily wielded the yellow light. Nonetheless, it's compassion that is his driving characteristic for most of the character's life. It's what (misguidedly) set him on his path to become an assassin and it's what fueled his "no killing" oath. His deeds are selfless and motivated entirely by a pure and honest wish to simply help people in need. Also, when we meet him at the beginning of the series he's pretty much a wandering bum that does good without pay, which is similar to what the Indigo Tribe is about. My runner-up for this category? Jesus.

Violet/Love = Jessica Rabbit What can I say? She freakin' loves that rabbit. In the world of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" she could get any man (or cartoon) she wanted and the fact that she is so completely devoted to Roger of all people speaks miles about her. Love was tricky because it was hard to not pick from one of dozens of Disney movies or hokey comic book relationships so I think Jessica Rabbit is a good choice. I also considered Wander from Shadow of the Colossus but I hate that game so no.

Source: Internet Archive

(image via DeviantArt)

[rtf393q-latina]

Journal 3

This week I played Overcooked with my partner. We’ve been stuck on level 6-3 for almost a month now. We play trying to get a 3-star score on each level, even though the game only requires one star to move on. It might be interesting to relate the scoring feature to Sicart’s discussion of mechanics. Even though 3 stars do not improve a player’s ability to get to the end-game state, they are still systematically rewarded through the visualization of a 3-star rating system. Play-through videos on YouTube (which we consulted after failing too many times) depict getting the 3-star, not anything less.

This level has chilled us out for too long. (source)

What I’m trying to pull out here is that the game rewards player behavior going beyond the goals of the game. The inclusion of their rating system was a very smart decision because I think it plays on pre-existing desire to be the best. One time we played Overcooked with my boyfriend’s cousins and they were happy to move on as long as they met the base requirements for advancing to the next level, but in that moment I have to admit we looked down on them because we always strive for the best and felt that we probably have accomplished something bigger with our previous play. But this leads us to a discussion about expertise as currency within a community of players, which I can set aside for a different set of readings. However, what pops out in our different play styles is related to our different perceptions of what is pleasurable and we have the agency to pick how we play. The cousins perhaps enjoy the feeling of closure and the promise of future adventure with moving on to the next. Meanwhile we were willing to delay that pleasure with the hope that the gratification of moving on would increase if we perfected the previous level. Furthermore, following a very Hanson definition of what creates immediacy in games (and echoing the definition of flow), I like seeing and improving the score I get because I like seeing the immediate feedback for my actions, making me feel involved as a player in the game world of Overcooked.

What Sicart does not fully account for, is how player agency can “play” with mechanics. As he mentions, the stab mechanic in Shadow of the Colossus subverts expectations of input/output through the charge function. As I was researching videos to demonstrate his idea, I noticed videos on YouTube were obsessed with taking down the colossi in as few moves as possible. Similar to my desire to improve my performance at Overcooked, these players wanted to be as fast and efficient as possible, but they did not have visual affirmation of their efforts in the same way. Instead they pulled together preexisting features from the interface—crucially, the fact that Shadow of the Colossus is a time-limited game like Overcooked, means there is a countdown clock—to work toward pleasurable goals outside of what’s specifically rewarded in the game. In class we’ve talked about how players may, especially in more open world games, pursue activities unrelated to a goal/reward structure. However, in this more specific example, Colossus players are pursuing a goal/reward gleaned from how the game is structured, which I find interesting. Because the charge to stab mechanic relies on performing the inputs better, and because the game has a countdown structure, some players try to maximize their performance. Player agency is related to game design, but not as intended by the designers. Screenshot YouTube?

I’m not sure if Sicart would describe the scoring screen on Overcooked as a mechanic because he is so interested in mechanics as they relate to player controls and inputs. Although the scoring system does not respond directly to player input, it is a reflection on the results of player input. As Rob and I bring up in our presentation, the Salen/Zimmerman and Sicart theorize games as a system and their related methods tend to discount visuals or other aesthetic components as part of that system. Does this mean that I want to expand the term of mechanic? Before making that jump, if Overcooked’s scoring does not count as a mechanic what component of games discussed in the readings is it? It is certainly not a constitutive rule because it is not crucial to the game’s functioning, and it relates too much to the player experience to fall within Salen/Zimmerman’s consideration. I’m not sure the scoring screen is even an operational rule because it does not seem essential to the “identity” of the game as Salen/Zimmerman put it. The scoring is a non-essential, surplus part of the game, which also happened to be the entire reason I was playing for about two hours this weekend.

Scoring screen from the second release of the game. Similar to the first release that I played. (source)

The tricky thing for both Salen/Zimmerman and Sicart type definitions is that the experiential component is entirely set aside in the former and in the latter discussed only in accordance with its “impact on gameplay” (in other words, if a player experience did not relate to the goals of the game, it was not discussed). I sympathize with them that limits have to be set on what gets analyzed to be able to make any sort of conclusions. Both parties are interested in the game design, so the player agency and experience is less important, beyond the intentions of designers. Further, the experience of playing is something every tricky to write about, as the McMahan and Sicart demonstrate. I think our analytical methods for speaking to the embodied experience are still developing and not read off from the text.

(The term “surety” from McMahan seems to fit the Overcooked scoring screen, but I would argue ((as I do above)) that the reassurance of seeing our efforts rewarded on the Overcooked scoring screen becomes immersive in more of a Hanson sense than a McMahan sense.)

Game update: We did not get 3 stars, but ended with watching YouTube videos on how to do better. I am sure we’ll get it next time.

[miuplays]

FAN AMA WITH MIU!

What is your morning routine like?

Pretty simple. I wake up, exercise, shower, eat breakfast. Then I start preparing for my stream. Setting up my camera and OBS, deciding what to play before I go live.

How does it feel to stream for a lot of viewers? Do you get nervous before you go live?

I don’t really get nervous. Whether it’s 500 viewers or 5000 viewers, I’m always pretty relaxed going into any broadcast. The only time I’m ever nervous is when I’m doing collaborations or shows with other people, like GeekGen or Drop Frames. It’s only on occasions like those that I feel out of my element, but otherwise streaming is a comfortable experience.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a streamer, and what is your greatest weakness?

I would say my greatest strength is my patience. Being a streamer, especially a female streamer, you’re bound to get a lot of rude comments and negative attention. Whether it’s about my appearance, my voice, etc., there are some viewers in the chat that will do anything to try and tear me down or just flood the chat with the most obscene things. But it’s very difficult for people like this to get under my skin, so it’s easy for me to just ignore them or brush them off with a cheeky remark.

As for my greatest weakness, I’d say it’s my perfectionism. I’m blame myself for even the smallest mistakes. I tend to focus so much on my shortcomings that it’s hard to appreciate any victories. If the stream is down, or viewership is lower than normal, or I’m consistently making small mistakes in the game, it can put me in a very bad headspace. And once my mood suffers, my stream will too. The way I work through this is to constantly remind myself that no one and nothing is ever perfect, that it’s better to focus more on successes than failures and try not to be so hard on myself. A good broadcast should be fun and engaging for both me and my fans. If I’ve at least succeeded in that, then it’s enough for me.

Career-wise, what did you do before becoming a professional gamer?

I didn’t really have a “career” prior to becoming a pro gamer. This was always my dream, something I worked towards as soon as I left high school. I worked as an IT tech at different companies for a few years, both before and after moving to Japan. I also did commissions for PC builds.

What are your plans for after you stop streaming full time? Will you still be competing?

I don’t plan to stop streaming or competing for a very, very long time. This is something I hope to do for as long as I can. But in the event that I do, I think I’d still try to be involved in the gaming industry in some way. I’m far too passionate about video games to give up on them completely. I’ve always taken interest in the tech industry, particularly when it comes to PC rigs and other gaming equipment, so maybe something along that route. I have no interest in returning to IT though.

In previous installments of the Street Fighter franchise, you were a hardcore Chun-Li main, but lately you’ve taken a liking to Ibuki. Why the change?

Simply put, I just love Ibuki’s playstyle. It fits for the type of game SFV is. She’s a tricky character, fast-paced and close-to-mid-range so I love the freedom I have when it comes to trying out new things and coming up with combos and reversals to use in practice. While I certainly agree that she’s one of the hardest characters to play, this shouldn’t deter new players from picking her up. Mastering her movelist is such a rewarding feeling.

Not only this, but I’m unhappy with the state of Chun-Li in SFV. She was terribly overpowered in season 1, I’ll admit it. But in season 2, the changes they made required me to play with a level of patience I’m not comfortable with in a fast-paced game like Street Fighter. And it was difficult to punish effectively when her dmg output was so low compared to other all-rounders. Overall, I enjoyed playing her less and less at the same time as my love for Ibuki was started to grow. Ibuki is just what feels right to me for now. I think Chun is in a better place for season 3, so it’s likely I’ll return to using her as frequently again. All hope is not lost, lol.

Name 3 objects that you just can’t live without.

1) My PS4 Pro – I think this is a given considering the nature of my job.

2) My signed Shinkawa Yoji artbook – one of my most prized possessions. Everyone knows how obsessed I am with the MGS franchise. Being able to meet one of the geniuses behind the series and get his autograph will forever be one of the highlights of my life.

3) My phone – I have friends that live all over. From the US, to South Korea, to Japan. It’s hard to keep in touch when there’s so much distance between you and your loved ones, but I do my absolute best to text and call and facetime any chance I get. I’d honestly be lost without my friends and the endless love and support they’ve given me. They mean the world to me, no matter how far away they are.

Where in the world would you like to travel to next?

Hawaii, Greece, Jamaica, Brazil, and South Africa!

What was your gaming childhood like?

As most people already know, my love for gaming started in arcades, playing on Street Fighter and Tekken arcade cabinets since I was tall enough to reach the buttons. When we got our first home console (PS1) for Christmas, I spent most of my time on that. Same thing happened when we got a PS2 and a GameCube. I loved games like MGS, Suikoden, Resident Evil, Shadow of the Colossus, Half-Life, SFIII 3rd Strike, and way more. I played some GameBoy titles too, but for the most part it was Metroid. I wasn’t a huge PC gamer as a kid. We had a home computer, but I wasn’t allowed to use it as much. I didn’t get into PC gaming until I was about 14, when I built my very first rig. It was then that I got addicted to Quake, Diablo, and literally any FPS game I could get my hands on.

What is your favorite platform to game on and why is it PC?

Hah. I see what you did there.

My favorite platform actually isn’t PC, despite playing on it so often. It will always be Playstation. I’m a bit biased, since I grew up primarily on Playstation and Nintendo games. But it is the system I still play the most. I get the best experience out of fighting games on console. Some of my all-time favorite games are PS1 and PS2 exclusives. While I will always love PC gaming for its competitive scene and the huge variety of indie titles I’ve discovered on Steam and other places, I’ll always feel a sort of personal attachment to Sony and the content they’ve put out on their systems.

Period in your life where you changed the most?

My move to Japan. I was fairly young at the time, only 19 years old, but it was a huge transitional period for me. Living on the other side of the world, in a different culture far away from home is rough for anyone, no matter the age. I learned a lot of life lessons and a lot about myself during that time, and I internalized those lessons and grew as a result of them.

What other hobbies do you have outside of gaming?

I game a lot, so I don’t have time for very many hobbies outside of that. but I do love surfing when it’s warm enough. I’ve been surfing since high school. My schedules are really full during the summer, but I hope I have a chance to go surfing soon. Maybe in Jeju or Okinawa if I get a chance!

What have you learned from streaming that you have been able to apply to your everyday life?

I’m definitely more outgoing. I have an easier time now at conventions than I did before at things like speaking to strangers that come up to me, networking with game developers and tech companies, or meeting with fans that are excited to see me. I’ve gotten a lot better at small talk and just having conversations with people, which I used to be terrible at. Hopefully now it’s less awkward speaking with people in public. ^^;

Since you’ve went full time, have you ever had a feeling of regret?

Not so much regret, but there are times where I miss having normal working hours. Streaming, and by extension competitive gaming, can feel like a 24-hour job at times. When I’m not streaming, I’m practicing. When I’m not doing either, I’m preparing for the next day, or traveling, or answering emails, planning events, and so on. It can be a lot to handle at times, so there are moments where I kind of miss the regularity of a routine 9-5 job. But, as much work as it is, as hard as it is, I really love being a pro gamer. It’s something I’m still very passionate about despite the number of hours I have to put into it.

How are you liking Seoul? Do you miss Tokyo?

I love Seoul! I’ve loved exploring the city, visiting PC bangs, the food, all the friends I’ve made. It’s been an awesome experience. But yes, while I’ve loved living in South Korea, my heart and home is still in Tokyo. I can’t wait to return.

Is there a game that you absolutely hate?

Metal Gear Survive. With every fiber in my being.

What are your thoughts on being seen by younger viewers as a role model and even having some come to you for life advice?

It honestly makes me really nervous because I don’t feel like I have everything figured out. I’m worried that if someone comes to me for advice I could give them the wrong advice or advice that may not work out for them the way it did for me. This isn’t to say I dislike being a role model. I know are large portion of my fans are teenagers, a lot of them young girls and LGBT+. As a gay woman, I know how important representation is, and it makes me happy knowing so many people look up to me. But I’m still human, and I’m afraid of potentially being a disappointment to them. It weighs mentally on you too, being scared to say the wrong thing. But I do my best to be really encouraging and relay my knowledge to them and hope they’re able to find a solution to their problems.

Every person has had a bad experience that changed them. Knowing who you are today, would you go back in time and change that moment?

If we agree that both bad experiences and good experiences contribute to making us who we are, then I don’t think there is ever a moment in my past that I would want to take away from myself because I’m proud of who I am. Forgive me if I sound self-absorbed because I know I’m not a perfect person, and that there’s a lot of things I still don’t like about myself and I still need to work on. But I think that everything I’ve been through up until this point has really shaped me into who I am. And a lot of the reasons people see me as someone who is honest and caring and confident in myself is a result of the bad things (and the good things!) that have happened to me. So, I don’t think I would want to take those things away from myself, no matter how bad. Because I’m proud of who I am.

Thank you to everyone who sent in questions! If you don’t see your question here, it’s probably because I didn’t want to answer it here, or it’s something I’ve answered before. But feel free to send more questions through Twitter, CC, or here on my site! I’d be happy to answer it for you. And as always, thank you guys for the constant love and support. From the bottom of my heart, I truly appreciate each and every on of you. ♡

[wolfleblack]

Review unit on loan from Dell.

Gaming laptops are tricky business, aren’t they? The idea of having a portable games machine boasting a powerful graphics card is bloody tempting, but it usually comes with an attached price-tag that would make most people have a heart attack. For the same price you can usually pick up a much more powerful desktop computer, and while it’s a bit harder to lug around the truth is a gaming laptop is kind of useless at actually gaming on the go due to the battery power dropping through the floor. However, having something you can plug in at home, play some games on and then take with you to work is appealing for a lot of folk.

Let’s kick off with the very worst of the laptop, shall we? Everything about the Dell Inspiron’s 15.6″ IPS display falls squarely into the, “It’s okay, I guess” category. The 1920×1080 resolution is frankly a perfect choice for the display size and for gaming performance – although you can opt for a 4k display you spend a bit more cash, something I wouldn’t bother with – but the quality of the images simply isn’t very good. Bear in mind that I’m not using any professional measurements tools here, rather I’m just going by my eye, but the colors lack any depth or punch, with things that should be crimson looking more like a dull red and what should be vivid greens looking like they have the flu. The only good thing I can say is that the black levels were reasonable. Sadly that isn’t enough to make movies and games look their best. Which isn’t to say they look bad, mind you, just…dissapointing.

At least the audio performs better with the little speakers managing to come across surprisingly clear and even being able to fill a small room if you ramp up the volume. I’d still generally recommend plugging in a pair of headphones, but if you fancy letting your ears air out a little then the speakers will do just fine, although the bass is a bit muddled. That’s not surprising, though.

The Inspiron is also a bit bigger and heavier than you might expect for a 15″ laptop. The dimensions are (H) 24.95mm (0.98in) x 389mm (15.32in) x (D) 274.7mm (10.82in) with a total weight of about 2.65kg, not counting the power brick and charging cord. It doesn’t fit very well into most 15″ laptop bags as a result.

To be fair to the chunky beast, though, it’s packing some reasonable hardware. The model I got in for testing might not have the very latest 8th generation Intel processor, but it’s still rocking an Intel i7-7700HQ which is quite sufficient for everyday tasks and gaming. That’s paired with a 6GB GTX 1060 MAX-Q that comes impressively close to standard GTX 1060 performance, and then it’s all topped off with 16GB of 2400Mhz DDR4 RAM. This package comes in at £1,400 on the Dell website, with prices starting at £899 for the cheapest spec.

Storage is no slouch either. The 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD isn’t really big enough to hold much of your Steam library, but it’s pretty fast when it comes to running around the pre-installed Windows 10 with applications and menus all opening up smartly. To whack all your games, music, movies, pictures and other junk on there’s a 1tb HDD as well which did feel a bit slow when it came to loading games but was still solid.

You also get a backlit chiclet keyboard. You only get a white backlight, but it can be adjusted using the FN keys, and on the whole the keyboard is quite reasonable. The keys don’t have a lot of travel which means they don’t feel great, at least based on my own preferences, but typing out this review was never an issue and my typing speed didn’t suffer at all. There’s also a generous amount of room for your wrists to rest, too.

The trackpad doesn’t feel as good as some of the metal or glass ones I’ve used before, Dell instead opting to go for a standard plastic design. I would also have liked some tactile distinction between the left and right clicks, but these two things aside it feels quite nice, is responsive and never seemed to mess up.

In terms of connections, there’s an SD card reader, a combined headphone/microphone jack, a Gigabit Ethernet port, three USB3.1 connections and a HDMI slot so that you can hook it up to an external screen. Your wifi connection is handled via an Intel 8265 Wireless Card.

You even get a fingerprint scanner built into the power button that can be turned on through Windows Hello, and it works pretty well. The only flaw is that unlike my phone’s fingerprint scanner which turns on the device as soon as I touch it, you first have to press the power button on the laptop and then touch your finger to it in order to wake it up. Ah well.

Right, let’s get into the juicy stuff; gaming on this little beast. I put it through a variety of games, all running at 1080p with the laptop plugged in for maximum power delivery. There are a couple of things we need to note;  Wolfenstein runs on Vulkan and thus my standard FRAPS benchmark wouldn’t work, so the average FPS was recorded using OCAT, a nice little piece of software that presents a lot of information regarding frame times and percentiles, but I need to become better at using it to establish minimum and maximum framerates, so for now all we have is the average. As for Hitman I ignored the built-in-benchmark in favor of simply going for a stroll through the opening Paris level where hundreds of NPCs do a good job of pushing the hardware. As for The Witcher 3, the test was done by simply through the countryside into Novigrad, while in Mad Max I went and hunted down a roving convoy for some nice wheel-to-wheel combat. The Phantom Pain was a simple run and gun around an airport. Everything else was tested using their in-built benchmarking tools.

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What we see is that for the 1080p screen the GTX 1060 is an outstanding choice, able to run the games I tested at damn near 60FPS with everything maxed out. To achieve that nice, stable framerate you’re going to want to play with the settings, but for the most part the GPU and CPU handled everything nicely. Hitman can be a challenging game as its optimization isn’t great and it does tend to favor AMD hardware, but even that got impressive results. The only games it truly struggled on were Ashes of the Singularity and The Witcher 3.

To get this performance it’s important to note that you’re going to need the laptop to be plugged in, because even with all power plan settings and Nvidia settings tweaked to allow max performance it seems the battery simply can’t deliver enough juice to the graphics card, resulting in a notable drop in performance as the battery strangles the laptop. F1 2017, for example, dropped to around 22FPS when running at the highest settings. Of course, I can’t entirely rule out that I something missed something as no other reviews seem to mention this, but then it’s fairly standard to run benchmarks with the laptop plugged in for obvious reasons.

This made testing the battery during gaming an interesting dilemma as I spent a while debating whether to run games at the highest settings and tweak the power options so that it was delivering all the power it possibly could, but in the end I opted to keep the power plan at its default settings and drop the games I played down to achieve actually playable framerates. To that end I tested the battery with the screen at 100% brightness while playing Wolfenstein: The New Colossus and Mad Max, getting a grand total of 1h 15m before the laptop shut down at 10% remaining. There’s nothing amazing or disappointing about that runtime as it’s about normal, but the significant hit that performance takes while running on battery does mean that for portable gaming it’s not that great which really makes me doubt the usefulness of the product as a whole. With that said, if what you want is something you can play games on at home, then unplug and take with you for general Internet browsing it’s going to be fine.

There is a potential upgrade solution in the form of a Thunderbolt 3 port which allows you to attach an external GPU. It’s not exactly a cost-effective method of upgrading your laptop down the line, but it’s generally cheaper than buying a whole new card.

Where there was a surprise, and not in a good way, was testing the battery life while watching a looped 1080p movie with the screen at 100% brightness and a set of headphones plugged in. At just a shade over four hours the battery seemed to die much quicker than I expected, and checking other reviews seems to indicate that it should have lasted around five hours, although the max screen brightness and powering of the headphones could potentially account for this.

As for heat generation and noise, SpeedFan detected tempratures of around 62c from both the GPU and CPU, which are reasonable enough and the area where your hands sit didn’t get overly hot, something which other laptops can do. Oddly the default power plan when on battery mode leaves the cooling passive, which is fine if you’re just doing easy stuff, but obviously if you do fire up a game on the go it’s advisable to turn cooling onto the Active setting.

Once the fans start kicking in the Inspiron does start to get noisy like any other laptop, but I didn’t think it was any worse than normal.

With all of this said and done it’s a tricky machine to recommend. The screen is a major drawback and the battery life isn’t that strong. However, what you do get is a powerful GPU and CPU combination capable of running modern titles at quite high settings, and for the specs you’re getting a surprisingly good deal compared to other laptops. For the same price most others have a weaker i5 processor or come with the 3GB GTX 1060 instead of the 6GB model that this model has stuffed inside of it.

That’s quite a few positives and negatives, then. In the end, though, I think I can give this one a recommendation, albeit a slightly cautious one. If you can accept the somewhat lackluster screen then you’re getting a powerful gaming laptop for the money, and while the battery may not be superb, for some general use throughout the day it should hold up. Just be prepared to stick on it charge for an hour or two at the end of a long day.

Follow @wolfsgamingblog

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming Laptop Review – Inspirational? Review unit on loan from Dell. Gaming laptops are tricky business, aren't they? The idea of having a portable games machine boasting a powerful graphics card is bloody tempting, but it usually comes with an attached price-tag that would make most people have a heart attack.

[lady-knight-]

You know them already, right? And, well...it was tricky to make their  interminable, convoluted story fit that one. Franklin must not only be one of the oldest kid of heroes ever, he's an omega mutant who can do everything. And Valeria's origin story is complicated as hell:  from an alternative reality where her father is Doctor Doom (who named her after an old flame), finally born in this reality to Reed Richards and because her brother wanted it (he can do that), but kidnapped by Doom and since she names him "Uncle Victor"...  Well...I knew from the very beginning I couldn't use said material. When a character is that powerful, he just have to think about it to change the destiny, he becomes a "story-breaker". It means that there is no conflict, no menace, and the character can resolve everything immediately. That's boring, right? Do you know what happens when a over powered person can be a story breaker? He or she disappear or he or she's out of focus. Sentry and the Phoenix died, Alpha is unheard of for years, the Scarlet Witch lost her powers often, and Franklin do not grow up: no really , except in parallel realities. The only stories where he is the focus; otherwise he's not,  or the story will end quite soon. Note that he's not used in adaptations as well (maybe because they all focus on the very beginning on his parents 's story). But here? Focus on Franklin. So what's left to do, in order he does not resolve all stories within minutes? Depowering...only a power close to his mother's left. How it happened, will it be recovered, you'll see. As for Valeria, I've heard she did not have powers except her intelligence, which is not balanced. So she inherited from her father, but was a late bloomer. Her origin story is simpler: just born to Susan and Reed without time travelling, and named Valeria by coincidence. In fact, Doom had another old flame (Sylvia) as the mother of his daughter, and having a daughter made a kidnapping useless. Val have no connection with him, simpler to handle in a story that do not just involve Fantastic Four. I must admit, I'm not very familiar with that squad as I couldn't watch adaptations until the 2000's movies (and I actually like them despite their bad reputation). Also, the Moonscoop animated series helped me to be more familiar with this universe.

Cousins of those, and fortunately I could imagine, there. There was just a little problem: Johnny Storm married once, and to Alicia Masters, a blind sculptor. Which is odd, as she was the Thing 's girlfriend before, and apparently started to date Johnny just because The Thing wasn't in the squad at this time (there is a gag about it in the 2005 movie, when Johnny say to Ben what he thinks about Alicia: "I can be jealous!" ) .Still to this day Alicia is the most famous girlfriend of Ben and appears in the 1994 and 2005 movies, and 2000's animated series for that reason (she is also related to  a villain-the Puppeter- his stepfather). Even if she left long ago? One of the most ludicrous explanations ever was given for that:  Johnny did not married Alicia but Lyja, a skrull (shape-sifting extraterrestrial). And she was there for a long time, seducing and marrying Johnny simply because the Thing was then not available for that. It explained why she changed of man so quickly, but it was ridiculously convoluted  as nobody saw the substitution for so long. For a while you could think Johnny would get over it (Lyja even laid an egg once)    but finally she ran away as well as the traumatized Alicia who 's been locked up all along. This is high paranoia fuel: how can you be sure a beloved one isn't a Skrull, a clone, or a doombot? Well you ask him some questions, like they do to be sure no Polyjuice is involved! So, I have to make a heavy reconstruction. "Wow, does she have a sister?" is usually a joke but I've decided to lift Lyja, despite her exotic name, to human and Alicia's sighted twin because why not. Being real twins themselves, the girls shall have been both human torches but it does not help to distinguish them from the each other. You can usually does it from the 7 and 8 on their jackets (I have the idea when I spotted Franklin and Valeria Richards with  "5" and "6" suits). So, genetics mystery, only Summer was born with those powers and regretted her sister could not "play" as her and Amber spent her first years in frustration. During Dark age, the Fantastic took  refuge in negative zone and Amber could have an accident there leading her to have any powers, but she got an appearance reminding of her "uncle" (Ben is not their uncle but Richards's kids usually call him like this). But she is luckier as she can have her initial appearance back. It's a lot more funny to she such a small girl turn into such a colossus , much to the dismay of her attackers.

On les connait déjà, pas vrai? Et bien...c'était dur de faire rentrer leur longue, compliquée histoire dans celle-ci.  Franklin n'est pas juste l'un des plus vieux enfants de héros, c'est un  mutant omega qui peut tout faire . Et les origines de  Valéria sont diaboliquement compliquées:  d'une réalité alternative, fille du  Docteur Fatalis (qui l'a baptisée d'après un amour de jeunesse), finalement née de  Reed Richards dans cette réalité et par la volonté de son frère (il peut faire ça), mais sera kidnappée par Fatalis  et elle l'appelle depuis "Oncle Victor"...  Et bien...Je savais depuis le début que je ne pouvais pas utiliser une telel origine. Quand un personnage est si puissant, qui n'a qu'à y penser pour changer le cours des choses, il devient alors un "briseur d'histoire". Ça veut dire qu'il n'y a plus ni conflit, ni menace, et peut tout résoudre dans l'instant. Ennuyeux, pas vrai? Savez-vous ce qu'il arrive quand un personnage est si puissant qu'il est un briseur d'histoire? Lui ou elle disparaît ou perd en importance. Sentry et  Phoenix sont morts, on n'a pas entendu parler d'Alpha depuis des années , la Sorcière rouge  a perdu ses pouvoirs souvent, et  Franklin n'a pas grandi: non vraiment , excepté dans des dimensions parallèles. Ce sont les seules histoires dont il est le centre; sinon il ne l'est pas,  ou l'histoire finirait bientôt. Notez qu'il n'a pas été utilisé dans les adaptations non plus (peut-être parce qu'elles parlent seulement du début de l’histoire de ses parents). Mais ici? Centré sur Franklin. Alors que reste-t-il à faire, pour qu'il ne résolve pas tous les problèmes en quelques minutes? Perte de pouvoirs...ne lui reste que celui de sa mère. Comment est-ce arrivé, cela sera-t-il changé, vous verrez. Pour Valéria, j'ai entendu dire qu'elle n'avait pas d'autre pouvoir que son intelligence, ce qui n'est pas équilibré. Donc elle tient de son père, mais c'est arrivé tard.Son origine est plus simple : née de  Susan et  Reed sans voyage dans le temps, et appelée Valéria par  coïncidence. En fait, Fatalis avait un autre amour de jeunesse (Sylvia) comme mère de sa fille  et avoir une fille rend un kidnapping inutile. Val n'a aucun lien avec lui, plus simple dans une histoire où il n'est pas question que des Quatre Fantastiques. Je dois admettre ne pas être très pas être très familière de l'équipecar jen'ai pas vu d'adaptation avant les films des années  2000 (j'aime bien en dépit de leur mauvaise réputation). Aussi la série animée de  Moonscoop  m'a aidée  à me familiariser avec cet univers.

Leurs cousines, et là il y  avait plus de place à l'imagination. Juste un petit problème: Johnny Storm s'est marié une fois,   à Alicia Masters, une sculptrice aveugle. Ce qui est étrange sachant qu'elle était la copine de la Chose avant, et apparement est sortie avec Johnny juste parce que la Chose n'était plus dans l'équipe à ce moment -là (il  y a un gag  à ce sujet dans le film de  2005, quand  Johnny dit à  Ben ce qu'il pense d' Alicia: "Je pourrais être jaloux!" ) .Jusqu'à aujourd'hui Alicia est la petite amie la plus célèbre de  Ben et apparaît dans les films de  1994 et  2005, et dans la série d'animation des années  2000 pour cette raison (elle est aussi liée à un méchant-le Marionettiste- son beau-père). Même si elle est partie il y a longtemps? Pour cela on inventa l'une des excuses les plus ridicules de tous les temps:  Johnny n'a pas épousé Alicia mais Lyja, une skrull (une extraterrestre qui se transforme). Et elle était là depuis  longtemps, séduisant et épousant Johnny simplement parce que la Chose était indisponible pour ça . Ca explique qu'elle aie changé d'homme si vite, mais c'était ridiculement compliqué en ce que personne n'a remarqué la substitution pendant si longtemps. Pendant un temps on aurait pu que croire que   Johnny s'en accomoderait  (Lyja a même pondu un oeuf)    mais s'est finalement  enfuie comme la traumatisée Alicia qu'on avait enfermée tout ce temps . C'est une grosse machine à paranoia: comment être sûr qu'un proche n'est pas un Skrull, un clone, ou un doombot? Et bien vous lui posez des questions,comme on fait pour être sûr qu'on use pas de Polynectar! Donc j'ai dû me lancer dans une grande entreprise de reconstruction. "Wahou, est-ce qu'elle a une soeur?" est une blague d'habitude mais j'ai décidé d'élever  Lyja, malgré son nom exotique, au rang d'humaine et de jumelle  voyante d' Alicia parce que pourquoi pas. Etant elles-même des jumelles monozygotes, les filles devraient toutes deux être des  torches humaines mais ça n'aidait pas à les distinguer. On peut le faire au  7 and 8 sur les vestes (J'en ai eu l'idée en voyant  Franklin et  Valéria Richards avec des combinaisons avec des   "5" et  "6" ). Donc, mystère de la génétique, seule  Summer est née avec ces pouvoirs et regrettera que sa soeur ne puisse "jouer" avec elle, et Amber passera ses premières années dans la frustation. Durant l'âge sombre, les Fantastiques  se sont refugiés dans la zone negative et Amber aurait pu avoir un  accident la conduisant à avoir n'importe quel pouvoir mais son apparence rappelle celle de son "oncle" (Ben n'est pas leur oncle mais les enfants Richards l'appellent come ça d'habitude ). Mais elle est plus chanceuse en ce qu'elle peut recouvrer son apparence initiale.  C'est beaucoup plus drôle qu'une si petite fille se transforme en colosse à la mauvaise surprise de ses adversaires.