#holidays are now a pvp event

[carlosinnightvale]

listen the pride moth is real and they can totally kick the easter bunny, santa, and the tooth fairy's asses at the same time

[gigifujijifu]

Ok so I first wrote a mess in the tags but by the end of it I realized the actual answer, for me, is not just following impulses for who I want to play but also: spreadsheets.

My boyfriend and I make spreadsheets almost as a hobby. We have... a lot of alts, so to make it easier we have spreadsheets for things like which alts we've done holiday events on, and which trade-able cosmetics we've unlocked on who so we can pass extras around without having to log into everyone to check (not that I collect anything in a completionist sense with so many alts).

I also made a spreadsheet that lets us mark which WT stickers we need that week and it will flag which ones we have in common with each others alts so we can pair them off to do them more efficiently if we want.

I realize it's excessive but it's a kind of fun project and I love all of my characters and my bf dearly so playing with them no matter who I'm on or with is fun and there's always something to do.

people who have alts on ffxiv

how do you do it /g

[blackbackedjackal]

please try to sell me gw2. i really want to like it and ive tried a couple times over the years to get into it, but every time my experience is like: walk for 5 irl minutes -> talk to someone -> kill 20 things -> random world events -> kill 50 things -> go back and talk to the person. rinse and repeat

and then i uninstall the game

Hard to sell it to ya when it's free to play ;0

As a new/returning player I honestly recommend going in with some friends. It's a game were you can absolutely solo PvE with the right build, but I always have more fun playing with my friends for the shenanigans. I also, 100%, recommend plopping an OC in the game. My first characters were both in-game and all their lore is based around GW2, but putting June in there has been hella fun to see how she would handle being in Tyria.

Your first 80 levels are basically to help get you accustom to the game mechanics and the story. Though the story is optional, I recommend playing it so you get more of a feel of Tyria and the history. The story also leads you through the game an the map rather than just taking random quests as you explore. It's really the only mode that gives you a bit of direction in the game.

If you happen to get stuck or have any questions about the game, it's pretty safe to ask the map chat and usually people will help you out, especially in early maps. GW2 is a game that doesn't really teach you how to play, you learn as you go. There's also plenty of YT vids on how to get started and tutorials if you get stuck or suggestions of things to try out as you level. They've also updated the game fairly recently where you now have access to the Raptor mount without needing to have Path of Fire or doing the expansion, which is a HUGE quality of life change while you explore the early maps.

Once your toon hits level 80, that's when you unlock your mastery tracks that will allow you to do more of the endgame content and continue through the living story. Fractals, Raids, Dungeons, Strikes, World Bosses, Meta Trains, Gold Farming, PvP, WvW, FASHION WARS!!, There's a ton to do once you're set up, and again, lots of resources available to help you out (TaCO, GW2 Efficiency, Crafting Guides).

The world is unique. It feels lived in and ever expanding. The lore for all the playable races in the game is really interesting and they do a lot to subvert expectations from typical fantasy stories. Some things are a hit or miss for a lot of folks but there's so much to love about the game even my least favorite parts are like just mid to me compared to the parts I genuinely enjoy. My favorite expansion is Path of Fire + Season 4. The desert maps are my favorites followed by Maguma (begrudgingly). Cantha had grown on me a lot after a million Leviathan Farms for gold lol. THE SEASONAL EVENTS AHHH like again there's just so much to touch on but yeah the long and short of it is it IS a time sink at minimum to get to the more favored content, but even as a old player I still love making new toons and taking them through the early game content again just for fun.

But yeah, free to play, no subscriptions, all expansions are a one time purchase. You've got 10 years worth of content to explore and try out. It's a relatively inexpensive MMO (the expacs can be up to 50% off during certain yearly sales). An overall very helpful community. Any paid content is mostly cosmetics and convenience items, but nothing that gives you an advantage over other players. Basically everyone is grinding towards a similar end-goal, so you can always get the same gear as people through grinding. Nothing is really out of reach and people are always willing to help others out with multiplayer content.

I've been consistently playing for 8-9 years now. It's one of those game where I'm IN it for like a few months then may take a few months off until a holiday event I love is coming up and then I play for a few months again. It's probably the only other game I've sunk as much time into as Pokemon or Skyrim over the years (I jokingly call it Skyrim Online since ya'll won't catch me playing ESO). But yeah just, it's a game I never expected to play for this long and this consistently and it always feels fun to pick back up. Genuinely I do hope you give it another try. I've honestly had the most fun I've had in years with the wave of new and returning players jumping back into the game c:

[meridian59]

Hail adventurer,

Next weekend, the Ides of June brings merriment in the return of the God's Day of Lord Kraanan!

Saturday, June 15th begins the God's Day of Kraanan!

Sunday, June 16th, an Official Tournament in the Kraanan Arena!

This special event honors the Warrior God, Kraanan, and their disciples as they revel in bloodlust and boasting, getting their due in this unique, annual Meridian 59 holiday that celebrates one of the six fated heroes that became the gods of Meridian 59.

Read on for details…

Event Features:

~ + 25% learning bonus to improve your proficiency in the art of the following Weaponcraft skills: ~ BRAWLING and PUNCH for close-quarters combat (thrash, pummel, slap, mangle) ~ AXE WIELDING & SCIMITAR WIELDING (slash, cut) ~ MACE FIGHTING (bash, crush) ~ FIRE & ARCHERY for range (graze, piere, lacerate)

~ SPELLPOWER BONUS (10%) to Kraanan ~ Shrines: Dedicated to Kraanan for even more power! ~ Death Penalties - Lowered to ease the pain of perishing! ~ Magik & Mana: The portal to the Nexus and the Martyr's Battleground will be opened throughout!

~ Party: Duke Akardius will open the Feast Hall in Blackstone Keep and host a raucous DJ Dance Party in the Grand Ballroom (…what can possibly go wrong?)!

~ Tournament!

Featuring several rounds of stylized combat, focusing on the FREE FOR ALL and TRADITIONAL combat styles. Prizes will include money, reagents, supplies, special gear and one of the extremely rare and illustrious GOLD SWORDS, specially crafted for Arena combat!

Where: East Ende, Tos Arena:

When: 9:30 AM Pacific / 10:30 AM Mountain / 11:30 AM Central / 12:30 PM Eastern / 3:30 PM Greenwich Meridian Time

~ Depending on circumstances, the Arena may be locked after the Tournament begins, but you can appeal to a DM to be let in.

~ No cost to enter: Use this as an opportunity to practice your combat skills for PvP and future Tournament combat!

OTHER NEWS:

PATCH V1.3.0 IS NOW LIVE!

Check out the patch notes and other announcements here on the Designer's Globe! Full Patch notes here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/893390/Meridian_59/

NEW MERIDIAN59.COM IS LIVE!

We've launched an all-new website, complete with game guides and information to help you hit the ground running or read up on the latest patches. Visit https://www.meridian59.com today.

COMMUNITY

For announcements, events, and more, join the Meridian 59 Discord community: https://discord.gg/meridian59

Thank you for your ongoing support! Author: Suspirian Date: Thu jun 06, 2024 101 News globe

[grollow]

Here's some Ashe deep lore. CW sexism, misogyny, some trauma, depression and over-all a stressful time. Read at your own convenience.

I used to work in the gaming industry for an indie company. Watching some of you react to no Silksong news brings back some horrors.

To preface: The company that I worked for was a very small independent gaming company based out of the Netherlands -- so it was a remote position. We made a few different titles, none of which were wildly successful, in large because of major design flaws (examples include: story not mattering, too much emphasis on PVP in poorly balanced titles [and making the game COMPLETELY DEPENDENT on pvp in some cases] and most egregiously, no real direction beyond 'it should be fun.')

I was hired as a Community Manager initially. My responsibilities for this job largely involved managing the forums, doing news updates, sending out (Not writing) press releases, hanging out in the chats of our games / playing the games sometimes with players, and coming up with fun events. My colleague/boss was senior community manager, and she ran a very successful gaming blog (more successful than most of our games initially -- until she closed it). Both of us were/are heavily involved in games. I am more of an RPG and horror title enthusiast and she was a big fan of RPGs as well as FPS games. We both have a pretty wide repertoire of experience combined. She was a world's top 50 raider in World of Warcraft at the time of this all going down.

I should preface: I am AFAB. I, unfortunately for me, have a very feminine voice. At the time of this all happening, I was also still using she/her pronouns. So was my colleague.

During our experience as Community Managers, we were forced to do marketing despite neither of us knowing how to do that (examples include understanding metrics, learning how Google algorithms worked, composing and distributing Press Releases as well as finding the sites to send those TO).

Here's some examples of the awful things that she and I endured under this company:

80+ hour work weeks, where we were required to detail out with time sheets daily everything we did and what the reasons were. I think I clocked in 16 hour days most days and I was required to work weekends.

On Christmas, our boss called and screamed at my colleague because she and I dared to want the day off to spend with our families (we were not allowed any holidays).

My colleague was forced to work -from the hospital- while her mom underwent life-saving surgery, under threat of being fired.

"You look like a crayon eating [r slur]" is an actual phrase that was used to describe her because of a picture she was using of herself.

We both got told, numerous times, that "girls can't make strategy games."

We were blamed for them releasing an RTS/Tower Defense title the same day as Left4Dead despite my colleague telling them numerous times that that was a mistake.

I later got promoted to Project Manager, but I was still making over $1000 a month less than my male colleague who I hired. In order to get me a raise, he had to take a pay cut. I put in more hours than he did, by his own admission, and worked twice as hard. He was questioned far less on whether or not his work was "efficient."

There are more stories but in truth, I have blocked a lot of it out of my mind. She and I both ran screaming from the gaming industry and have nothing to do with it now in our professions for a reason.

The worst part of all of this is that this is not at all uncommon. This is unfortunately very typical of the industry -- there are good companies, but you hear about these horrors lot less often than they actually occur.

Why do I share this? Because when I see you all screaming about wanting Silksong news, I want you to remember what indie developers go through. And maybe have a little empathy. Good things take time.

(No, I am not saying this is happening at a little 3man studio. I am just telling you, as someone who has worked in the gaming industry, that you should try to be a little more understanding of how hard it can be for some of us.)

[u4gmdiablo4gold]

Diablo 4 Promotion Guide: Maximize Your Savings with a d4 unique items   The long-anticipated *Diablo 4* has taken the gaming world by storm, offering players an immersive dark fantasy universe filled with relentless battles, intricate characters, and a gripping storyline. Whether you're a seasoned adventurer or new to the *Diablo* franchise, *Diablo 4* provides something for everyone, from intense PvP zones to deep skill customizations. If you haven’t yet dived into the world of Sanctuary, now is the perfect time—especially with a **diablo 4 discount** available to help you save money while joining the battle against the forces of evil.

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Check out U4GM today for amazing deals on *Diablo 4* in-game items and currency—level up your character and dominate the game with ease!

[gameinfoxtbr]

Pocket Incoming Latest Update and News

The world of Pocket Incoming is vast and dynamic; updating to include new content, functions, and improvements within Pocket Incoming steadily. Any trainer whether new or old can benefit from the newer updates provided you give you an edge over the other players making your game interesting. In this post, we will have an overview of the latest Pocket Incoming news, updates, features, and more! Games · Space 🎮🚀 Now is the best time to find out what is new and how you can make the most out of the game! What’s New in the Latest Pocket Incoming Update? 🔥 pocket Incoming has provoked further developments and enhancements and, thus, becomes even more interesting for the players. Here’s what’s included: - New Monsters: Each update adds new monsters that can be captured, and then trained for your team. These monsters are accompanied by skills that will be of great advantage whenever there is a fight, especially in PvP. - Limited-Time Events: Prepare for events that allow collecting unique items, rare monsters, and unique rewards to receive during the holidays. While most of these happenings are for a limited period, you don’t want to get left behind, do you? 😉 - Improved User Interface: The most recent refresh to the game has improved the look of the in-game guidelines making it easier for new and experienced players to engage in the game. - Enhanced Battle Features: Climb a few gears on the fights with the enhanced combat system and better control your monsters during battles.

GameInfoX 👉 To get all the details on the game mechanics and all contents of Pocket Incoming Game, try Pocket Incoming Game Guide. Pocket Incoming Game Codes: Unlock Exclusive Rewards 🎁 To start with, Pocket Incoming players are handled with an early advantage by redeeming game codes. Such codes are often changed and you get rewards which include coins, XP boosters, and special monsters. They should be used before they get expire!

GameInfoX 👉 Any codes that are available and information on regularly updating this game can be found at Pocket Incoming Game Codes. New Features in Pocket Incoming’s Latest Update 🛠️ In Pocket Incoming’s newer updates, the development team behind the game has grown even better and brings major improvements to the player. Here are some of the standout features from the latest update:

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GameInfoX 👉 If you are interested, you can find more information about the people behind Pocket Incoming below. Visit the Incoming Developer section on Pocket and see how this company influences the future of the game. The developers have spoken of future new releases such as PvP tournaments, monster evolution, and general PvP battles that will enable players to face trainers from other parts of the world. ⚡ Tips for Mastering Pocket Incoming After the Latest Update 🏆 To make the most out of the latest updates, here are some pro tips to help you dominate the game: - Leverage New Monsters: The new update brought strong monsters that have the potential to make a difference in your team’s results. Develop them fast to enhance your side if they haven’t already shown that they are ready-made players. - Participate in Events: Cant-miss opportunities!OSwald told his audience that he or they should not miss out on limited-time events. We attend such places for they come with specials that cannot be elsewhere, for instance, special items and monsters. - Keep an Eye on the Tier List: After each update, the Pocket Incoming Tier List is updated. You should remember to visit it from time to time so that your team is crafted based on the latest monster rankings. - Redeem Game Codes: It is always important to use your game codes when they are out to the market to ensure you benefit fully and deny your competitors a chance. Below is the list of game codes for Pocket Incoming Game Codes for the latest ways. - Check Developer News: The developers are always involved with the development of some new product. As with all their apps, make sure to follow announcements so you can benefit from all the features and updates introduced. FAQs About Pocket Incoming Latest Update and News What is new in the most recent version of Pocket Incoming?The most important changes to the game are new monsters, limited time, such as events, new functionalities in the battle, and changes in the simplicity of the app’s interface.Have there been new updates on Pocket Incoming offered within the latest time?The game is updated at least once in a few months, extra content, more monster sorts to appear, correcting the bugs, etc are contained inside these updates.Where Naked Salsa can I obtain the most updated game codes for Pocket Incoming?To get the new codes; You can visit the Pocket Incoming Game Codes page.As expected, I was able to build a good number of teams, but one question that begs an answer is how best to utilize the new monsters that were added with the latest update.Develop new monsters fast and update fresh new monsters in the Pocket Incoming Tier List to compare them to some of the best monsters the game has to offer.Where is the news on the future updates posted?Pocket Incoming Latest Update And News: To know about the new updates, including features events, and developers, read the Pocket Incoming Latest Update and News page.What steps should I have to follow to be a member of the Pocket Incoming community?One can participate in many groups on Facebook for instance Facebook Groups for purposes of sharing games and strategies. Conclusion: Stay Updated to Stay Ahead! 📱 Pocket Incoming is also a constantly developing game that captures the audience’s attention due to updates and diverse content. Starting from new monsters right down to special limited-time events, knowledge about what is new can be a game changer in one's favor. Make sure to check the future news, use those lovely game codes, and follow the updated tier list and strategies, of course. That’s why with new additions, changes, and new content as Pocket Incoming it’s the best time to get back to the game and discover the journey to its fullest! Word Count: 1,050 words Read the full article

[vael]

2023 Annual Review

"I might as well copy-paste last year's Annual Review..."

Of course, even last year I thought the same thing. "A tiger doesn't change its stripes," and now in my 35th year, it's apparent I won't be changing mine.

What went well this year?

Parenting. I'm very aware of the cost of lackluster parenting. "It's a terrible thing to do to someone." No matter how strained I am, I've said I am going to be a dedicated father. This year I dedicated myself to both my girls and continued my usual routine of rallying the boy to greatness.

When parenting, I track their milestones and development because I want the children to be able to play at (and somewhat over) the level of their peers so that they're able to play with the maximal number of children. Milestones are also easily measured: they can do the thing or not. My son still struggles to relate to his peers today because he's never been on their level, and it's a pitiable thing which I personally experienced as a child. It lead to my poor self-esteem and lack of ambition. When I celebrate milestones, this is why.

Violet. "My little storm cloud." 🖤 Violet continues to meet her milestones. She's ahem strong-willed, sweet, intelligent, curious, and funny: I think she's picked up on my ability to parody -- songs and such -- and she'll make up her own little parodies of various things. This year she became a lot less fearful.

Olivia. "Child of light." I thought Violet was an especially happy baby; Olivia redefined that for me. For her first year, we called her the colon D baby. This guy -> :D

Olivia is an absolute joy to be around. She took 13 months to walk, which was a surprise given that Violet was fully walking at 10 ½ months, but it looks like she instead allocated her effort towards speech, because this girl can talk. And enunciate! She's also good with her fine motor skills.

My wife was able to flawlessly breastfeed Olivia for six straight months, which is a big achievement.

Made two new friends. Each from different countries, and each of them web developers. I always love hearing about other cultures and it was because of my Argentinian friend that I...

Started learning Spanish; soft-quit PGO. This year I finally was able to put down Pokémon GO. Partially because I'm playing Pokemon Sleep now, but mostly that I was a little too obsessive about PvP and I felt childish being distracted in public so that I could play the PvE events.

I started Duolingo mid-November. My learning strategy is slow-paced and with frequent review. I fully achieve "legendary" on the current unit before moving on to the next. It's working, and it's got to be better for my cognition, and certainly for my life.

Rearranged the house. My wife came up with the plan. My son took my old office and my new office is in the study, previously our entertainment room. I could barely stand living in this house before, but now I'm comfortable.

Game development. I may have burned myself doing it, but I can't argue with the results. I don't think I've ever been better poised for a successful year than I am now.

This year I also received the most volunteer help I ever have. Aforementioned Argentinian friend wrote a robust weather script, and Tinydark's Raigen helped develop tinydark.com and Hub features; I'm also excited to announce we've been able to hire him to work remotely at my workplace. We even had an artist draw some holiday costumes for Tinyblob, our mascot.

Health. I took almost three months off eating "optional sugar," breaking my nightly ice cream routine. I'd felt like I was starting to get fat, so I simultaneously started focusing more on building my upper body. I went as far as to take before-and-afters for Facebook, but I eventually had to stop so I could focus on game dev. Though I stopped my upper body work, I did start jogging in the morning. I fell out of the habit once Daylight Saving Time hit, and the girls' circadian rhythms were an hour ahead.

Artificial Intelligence. Not exactly "my" win, but AI has been instrumental in this year's high production. To think it's only gotten better throughout the year and stands to get even better, it's such a privilege to be able to use AI. That's just code; assets have always been a problem for my game development, but AI trivializes some of my asset issues (it's still pretty bad proper asset generation).

What didn't go so well?

Relentless work ethic. I have a long, contemplative post on this here, but: I am too ambitious. "A good problem to have." Well, in August I had my first real panic attack at 3AM. I thought it was a heart attack at first. But what's mildly concerning is that I felt stronger for it after; I overcame it on my own and that now that I know what it is, I'm better prepared for it. I didn't feel like I should try to avoid this at all, but rather that I'm more prepared for a second panic attack. Seems kinda not-a-good mentality.

My body. I said my forward neck posture would be my focus of the year, and I did a passable job of it, but it wasn't enough. I still get headaches and they feel like they're getting worse. We don't have the money nor do I have the bandwidth to see a rolfer, and I'm not sure what to do other than try to keep my posture in mind throughout the day. I tried to train myself to sleep without a pillow but had minimal success. I typically lay down once a day, mid-day if work allows it, for about 15 minutes just to clear my head and alleviate some of the pain.

I also abused caffeine: by my definition, two cups/packets/sessions a day. That likely contributed to the panic attack.

My focus. Nothing new here. It's just hard to truly focus when my morning's waylaid by children and I'm needed throughout the day. Interruptions break focus, so that's that: I cannot truly focus. The time I get at night is rarely good for focusing considering it's so scarce, the girls could wake up at any time, and that's typically the bulk of time I get to spend talking with my wife.

Buried. Two-under-two, working my job, working tinydark, doing (it seems) more chores than the typical husband does, my crumbling body and keeping myself healthy are the primary stressors.

No sympathy allowed; I chose this path and would choose it again.

Finances. We had two kids in two years (I regret not waiting an extra six months) so it's to be expected, but we've found ourselves deep in the negatives at the end of the year. Inflation's a real killer. We (ie: my wife) made some progress with the decision to grocery shop at two different stores for our weekly shopping trip, but the extra store is Trader Joe's... full of novel temptations. We're still better off for it, anyway.

Released neither Black Crown: Exhumed nor Bean Grower. I did have to take two weeks off for some contracting, but ultimately I just decided to spend more time on URPG, and everything takes longer than I expect.

What did I learn?

I feel like this year, I didn't get too worked up about our lack of financial progress. It feels more like acceptance than complacency. I will be free, unburied when my dream is realized: we just need to save up enough money for a down payment on a new house build, then sustain our finances while it's built, and finally sell this house for a minimum of $100k in the bank when all is said and done. I have confirmed this is entirely possible, and I'm grateful to have moved South before the pandemic. This is why it's acceptance: achieving this peace of mind is the only way I can finally buy the ice cream.

Otherwise, I've meditated on it, and honestly: I don't know that I really learned anything notable. At least as far as wisdom vs. tangible knowledge.

Goals and Expectations: 2024

Game dev. I can at least guarantee Bean Grower's getting a final release, presumably onto an app store. I'm giving myself three damn months for it. Black Crown is also getting three damn months, but I will concede that Steam Store support might be a stretch goal. Either way, I'm ending this year with two full titles under my belt.

Financial recovery. Sort of a given, and who knows, maybe the 15,000 hours I've spent building a game studio will actually pan out this year.

-- --

Welp, figger that's it. Vael

[thetoxicgamer]

Old School Runescape Update Expands Beloved Osrs Desert Treasure Quest

One of the most well-known Old School RuneScape tasks in the vintage MMORPG will be expanded upon in a forthcoming update. A sequel to the first Desert Treasure, OSRS Desert Treasure 2 - The Fallen Empire, will start in January 2023 and continue throughout the rest of the year. A brand-new skill that will be developed in collaboration with the community is also in the works, according to game developer Jagex, along with an update for OSRS Woodcutting that will make it more social. Desert Treasure is a complex quest line introduced to RuneScape in 2005 that features multiple challenging boss fights and a mysterious assassin that can appear to hunt down players as they collect four unique diamonds to free Mahjarrat high priest Azzanadra from his imprisonment in the Jaldraocht Pyramid. If that sounds like a lot to take in, the key takeaway to note is that, along with the quest’s complexity, it is famed for rewarding a set of Ancient Magicks spells – chief among which is the powerful Ice Barrage favoured by many OSRS PvP players. Nearly eighteen years later, you’ll now be able to follow on from this story courtesy of two new quests. The first, Secrets of the North, will be arriving in January 2023 and includes a boss battle, so make sure you take the holiday period to prepare! Jagex says that Desert Treasure II itself will be arriving later in the year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=His-1jDYKew Also revealed alongside this latest expansion is Forestry: The Way of the Forester – the fruits of a game jam project aimed at providing a “social expansion for woodcutting that removes resource competition, introduces new events, and expands the economy around cutting trees.” Woodcutting is a staple of OSRS skills, but it’s long felt rather antisocial as you don’t want to be around anyone else who might cut down your trees, so this project created by Mod Squid aims to fix that. The OSRS Forestry release date is currently scheduled for “mid 2023.” Last, but certainly not least, is the news that a new skill might be coming to Old School RuneScape. As community manager Mod Ayiza explains, “We’re not here to pitch what that skill will be, because we don’t know yet.” That’s because the team is planning to work on the community to determine exactly what this skill might be – and whether players actually want it in the first place. There will be a series of discussions and in-game polls to consider a series of top-level concepts, select one, refine it, and beta test it, then decide if it’s right for the game. Mod Ayiza emphasises that players will be free to change their minds at any point in the process – the idea of implementing a whole new skill to a game as established as OSRS is, of course, rather a scary sea change for established fans. “Let’s consider the scenario where you just don’t like what we’ve ended up with,” he speculates, “What happens then? Well, we hope after going through multiple feedback stages and polls that you won’t feel like this,” he laughs, but says that in this instance the team would look to further refine the skill, or go back to the drawing board altogether “until we eventually get agreement on a skill design that will get added that everyone is happy with.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfXcfjIV5KA For those of you worried about being nearly two decades behind the player base, Jagex recently unveiled Old School RuneScape fresh start worlds, aimed at giving players the chance to begin anew on a level playing field, so there’s no better time to try out one of the most famous classic PC games of all time. If you’re not sure where to start, check out our Old School RuneScape beginner’s guide to get off on the right foot. Read the full article

[serenedash]

Theres been so many amazing additions to this post I love khux so much jfhdkhdid

I cant believe I forgot to mention spirit pets and pvp!!!!! Remember when we all thought Brain made the dream eaters and then the finale Did That lol

Tbh I remember when pvp was added I was extremely impressed with how it was handled lore wise, it was an incredibly smart move to let wielders fight each other but without any real competition that could lead to another war due to everyone understanding it was just data recreations and how that fact alone led to new developments irt strelitzia and the reveal that they were still in the data

Another thing I forgot to mention is how in unchained chi/union cross, there is NO keyblade war in the main quests. I remember everyone was really confused when we got to that point in the game and everyone was like??? But in chi this is when the war happened????? And now we know its because we were just reliving the events but without those sad memories like I mentioned in the original post, and how that manifested in khux as dreams and it was a side event disconnected from the main plot.

Playing in real time gave the player real impact when it came to Ephemera too, which I saw people mention in tags. Like there was a very noticeable empty space with him gone and some people might know I used to actually really hate Ephemera because I felt so betrayed lmao, and I think people now don't understand how much khux fans love Skuld for that reason because in those months you played without Ephemera, you did EVERYTHING with Skuld leading up to the war so it made it easy to get very attached to her so imo it made me sad how skuld was kinda shoved aside in union cross but that's not what this is about,

But also speaking of Skuld, someone mentioned parties being important to plot too! And if you never played khux, you could form parties with friends and help each other in boss battles or play multiplayer. Skuld was a party leader and had Ephemera in her party before he switched unions, which I always thought was a neat bit of lore (fun fact canonically the player, Skuld and Eph are in Anguis and Eph switches to Unicornis, most likely to get closer to Ira as the leader of the foretellers to get the book lbr) and a MAJOR part of khux gameplay thats rarely talked about is the NPC's the player is friends with. In English fandom a lot of people call them the sewer squad since you first meet them in the sewers and they're in basically every event and holiday sidequest and it can be read as this is the player's party if you didn't have one yourself. And tbh I know it meant a lot to see these NPCs in the ending scene with the dream eaters because these guys really were loved by the player base and tbh its a real shame the only one that has a canon name is Mog but regardless, their sidequests always showed how important parties and friendships were in khux and you never see anyone talking about them since it was side quests (this can also be said for the "friends ARENT my power" guy and his friend, who were also important NPCs) like you see people make cutscene compilations for khhx and they're just. Never there. Truly another part of the khux experience that's lost on most fans who never played

I mentioned this in on another post but Im gonna put it here too for everyone, a major impact on the khux experience was kh3 trailers since kh3 released in the middle of union cross and I'll go thru it for those that didn't play, SPECIFICALLY on Lauriam and Strelitzia-- marluxia and larxene were shown in a trailer after they were introduced but BEFORE the sibling reveal. For many people this was proof that Lauriam killed Strelitzia since they drew parallels between namine in castle oblivion and rapunzel in the tower and figured Strelitzia was in a similar situation. And THEN it was reveled Strelitzia was related to either Lauriam or Elrena BUT the Japanese was very vague and it wasn't specified and we had a length of time where we had no idea who she was even related to but with the appearance of Larxene in Frozen in a trailer, people thought her appearing in a movie about the bond between sisters was proof she was Strelitzia's sister. It really was a wild fucking time to be alive. You can tell real intense khux fans from casual fans when they tell you to play kh3 in the middle of union cross and then go back and finish khux,

Let's talk khux gameplay and plot,

imo I think part of khux's story telling and the impact of the story gets lost now that the game is defunct. I always thought people didn't appreciate how the gameplay and the mechanics actually had an impact on the story and while that impact become virtually nonexistent later on, I always thought it made the story far more engaging when the game was just chi/unchained chi and also the English translation didn't do it too well ngl

Anyway what I'm specifically talking about is the medal system. Also I feel like the whole bangle thing wasn't explained well in game but really it just comes down to leveling up medals specifically. If you never played khux, you equip medals to your keyblades and they doa specific attack and to level them up you combine multiple of the same medal and you could see how leveled up a medal is by the amount of yellow dots next to it and, in JP at least, this was called "guilt" and like wow that name fucking slaps. And when nightmare chirithy reveals the player has been collecting darkness this whole time thru the medal system, you have literal guilt on your conscious. You are guilty of collecting darkness and negative emotions like guilt to use for your own power. And in Back Cover when the foretellers are made aware of this, there's no stopping it and ofc the player can't stop either, they HAVE to get stronger, you literally have to keep playing the game,

Another part of the game that I appreciated is the way the name changes factored into the game; chi was the original "world line" that the dandelions existed in and at first unchained chi had come off as just a remake but really what we're playing is the continuation, where the player and the dandelions are now in this unchained state/new world line and they're reliving their time as wielders but now without the war/"dark" memories and finally when they relive everything and get back to the "present," they continue on after into "union cross" which I feel like. wasn't explained well in game that much tbh but if you didn't understand what that meant in game, it was just to say that unions didn't matter anymore and they were all dandelions so the unions. when the unions are crossed.

and tbh the experience of playing this game in real time also added to the experience a lot and the impact of the story especially with a player insert character. I think the most effective use of this game being played in real time was Strelitzia. Now in the english version, everything with Strelitzia was all one update and the english ver was behind so honestly they had to do catch up they couldn't really afford to lag behind. But in JP, which most khux fans kept up with using fan translations, Strelitzia's introduction and her death happened about a month apart so it gave the players time to actualyl grow attached to her and THEN we get crushed. You can easily pin point the exact time certain khux fan art was drawn bc in a group drawing of the dandelions Strelitzia is there instead of Lauriam since he was only introduced after her death

and another thing! It only became apparent by the end of the game but khux actually takes place over the course of about 4 years. which is fucking insane. because the dandelions were stuck in the data for 4 years and didn't know it until the glitches started. and the game ran for roughly the same amount of time and we weren't even aware of that either until the glitches! ("why 4 years" there are cutscenes that literally say "4 years ago" so yeah girl what the fuck haha)

Anyway yeah this was just me rambling I think about this so much all the time can you tell. I hope missing link does something like this too tbh it makes it more fun and makes it feel that your actions as the player actually have impact on the story

[lehouxnap2]

SNK characters as world of warcraft players

Eren - Fury Warrior (Human, worgen)

Has 2 mains, human and worgen. Eren thinks human is the superior race even though everyone knows is the most boring. He's the typical alliance player that rages at you. "You horde scum" Not so good at first. Gets better at playing with time. Always in war mode.

Mikasa - Arms Warrior (Human)

Top dps and she's really good at pvp. Overall a natural good player. Eren always asks her do to duels and she always kicks his ass. Not interested at anything, just wants to play with Eren. Does RBGs with him.

Armin - Frost Mage (Human, Female Draenei)

Big nerd that knows all the lore and is pretty much always raid leader, he's really nice when players don't know the mechanics. Always trying to do achievements. Too scared to do pvp. Does freaky shit in rp moonguard.

Jean - Guardian Druid (Worgen)

Every worgen player i've met was a little bit of a simp im sorry. But Jean is genuinely a good guy, he just wanted to get a girlfriend when he was younger then grew out of it when older. Started as a feral until he realized being tank helps to queue faster in dungeons. It's raid leader when Armin can't make it. Main tank

Marco - Holy Priest (Draenei)

Think of the nicest player that ever helped you, that's Marco. He helps new players when they don't understand or get lost. Big patient fella, if you need gold he's gonna help you in that too. Top healer in raid. Sometimes switches to Shadow. Does random bgs with Jean just to have fun (doesn't like it much because it can get toxic)

Sasha - Marksmanship Hunter (Pandaren)

She used to be those hunters who ruined your day by tanking with her pet getting everyone wiped. But learned how to properly play and now she's top dps. She met Jean when he was tanking with his bear and raged at her in the whispers. They are besties now <3 Loves doing cooking proffesion, that's how she met Niccolo.

Connie - Enhancement Shaman (Dwarf)

He think dwarves are a funny looking race that's why he chosed them. Average player who just wants to have fun. Regardless of what he's doing pvp of pve he never rages. As a shaman he let's the elemental pets do all the work and gets overconfident, the reason why he loses. Fools around a lot with Sasha

Reiner - Protection Warrior (Orc)

Used to be Worgen and be part of the same guild as the rest but changed to Horde because of race benefit (everyone does that nowadays) He only did it because his friends did, so he feels sad about it. His new guild is called Marley. Top and main tank of the raid. Still talks with his past guild but Eren is pissed at him for leaving the Alliance and always attacks him when he has the chance.

Bertholdt - Fire Mage (Troll)

He likes trolls because they are tall and chill, just like him. Same story with Reiner. Being a Fire mage pretty much makes him top dps and someone you don't want to fuck with. He could be one of the best pvp players but prefers to keep it low and have fun. Does R Arenas with Reiner.

Annie - Windwalker Monk (Blood elf)

Same story with Bert and Reiner. She's one of the best pvp players, and does R.Arenas. A lone player, when not doing pvp she works in her proffesions and enjoys the beauty of WoW. Her dad showed her the game when she was young. Reiner and Bert asks her to do stuff together but she rejects them. Likes the company of Armin or Bertholdt alone.

Historia - Discipline Priest (Voild elf, Vulpera)

She has 2 mains. Void elf to be with her guild, and Vulpera to be with Ymir. She's always nice and helping other players but most of the time she wants to do achievements with Ymir and do holiday events. Has the BEST transmogs of them all. And pretty mounts.

Ymir - Affliction Warlock (Nightborne)

Amazing pvp player, but not a big fan of it. Specially because it can get really annoying and childish. At first she carried Hisu in dungeons because she was a "noob" giving her advice on how to properly play. Ymir when really bored likes to troll others and sometimes camp them until Historia tells her is enough.

Levi - Assassination Rogue (Gnome)

Known as one of the best players in WoW. Big fanbase. Kenny, his uncle, teached him since he was a kid to play the game and ever since then he mastered it. He chosed Gnome as his main because even though gnomes are always the butt of the jokes he thinks getting your ass kicked by one is satisfying. Used to play with his two friends until they quit the game, then had his own guild and they also quit the game. So he feels nostalgic sometimes.

Hange - Beast Mastery Hunter (Night elf)

Geek. Knows all about lore but also is really good at being BM hunter. You just can't escape their traps ;). Big big fan of WoW, you are not sure how long have they been playing this game. Never misses Blizzcon events. They are always with Moblit who remindes them to take a break from the game and go have some rest. They have a lot of rare objects and mounts. Likes to hang around with Levi.

Erwin - Retribution Paladin (Human)

Do I even have to say something? He's a human paladin. Guild Master of Survey Corps, used to be really active when younger but as he got older doesn't appear much. He did a lot of pvp, one of the best. Was raid leader along with Mike and Nile. Just like Eren he believes in the Alliance and knows a lot about lore. Ask him anything.

Porco - Feral Druid (Zandalari troll)

He thinks zandalari are the coolest race blizz has ever thought of. He's an average good player. Played a lot with his brother Marcel. Until the later quit the game to focus on other stuff. Used to make fun of Reiner for being bad at it, but now they play mythics+ together.

Pieck - Guardian Druid (Tauren)

Average good player, she's calm and trust her teammates in raids even when things might not look so good. Second tank. Loves being a druid because she can carry her party members in deer and bird form. At some point she met Jean and exchanged tips

Zeke - Elemental Shaman (Pandaren)

He's that player that frustrated you so much you wanted to throw your computer at the floor because he wasn't doing the mechanics right or in bgs. And you know he's doing it on purpose. That troll motherfucker that ganks you even when hours passes and you wonder why people like him exist. Has a monkey pet named as "Monke" that he takes everywhere. Has macros where he says weird shit before you kill him. But he's actually a really good player when serious. Raid leader of his guild. If there's one player Zeke won't fuck with, is Levi.

Falco - Restoration Druid (Tauren)

He and Gabi are new players but learn fast, Falco likes to enjoy the game slowly appreciating the stories, characters, and overall have a good time with his friends. Ends up stressed healing Gabi's ass since she keeps tanking without a care. Tells her she should listen to Reiner's advice as a tank.

Gabi - Protection Warrior (Orc)

She saw the way Reiner played and wanted to be just like him. Gabi levels up really fast with war mode and dungeons. Problems comes she lacks experience so she needs Falco by her side healing her. Eren once saw her in war mode not giving a crap she was a low level and ganked her.

Floch - Unholy Death Knight (Human)

Level 58 DK. That dude that all he does is complain in the chat. In bgs he shits at everyone for not doing their job while he has low dps. In trade chat you are always gonna see him having a discussion about how the game is dead, everything sucks, back in the day "when classic was good". Always joins Eren's RBGs.

Im sorry this was so much fun to do. I didnt plan this

[thatsnotcanonpodcasts]

Science Comics, FDA Greenlit & Critical Role

Finally, a way to read comics in class without your teacher complaining! Real life scientists are producing educational comics to teach cool science stuff. And they're FREE! Check them out, they have some pretty good explanations for a bunch of different topics.

The FDA has recognised the ability of video games to help with therapy and greenlit a game for treating ADHD suffers. I can't wait for a game to help you deal with idiots, but we'll get there one day.

Where did Matt Mercer's Vox Machina come from? Now you can read both of the first two seasons of the Critical Role prequels in a hardback omnibus. Wait, didn't we already do comics this week? Oops. Anyway, watch Critical Role. It's really good.

This week, Professor took to the skies in Sky Rogue and DJ set us up the bomb in Valorant.

Real Life Scientists making comics

- https://www.sciencenews.org/article/real-life-scientists-inspire-comic-book-superheroes-science-literacy

- https://www.jkxcomics.com/

- https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59ab7c15e4fcb5c602a09465/t/5a08e052e2c483d6cb8cf769/1510531187492/JKXComics_EBV+and+the+Replication+Dance.pdf

A video game for kids with ADHD is greenlit by the FDA

- https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/15/fda-akili-adhd-endeavorrx/

Dark Horse to Release 'Critical Role' Hardcover Omnibus

- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dark-horse-release-critical-role-hardcover-omnibus-1296484

Games Played

Professor

– Sky Rogue - https://store.steampowered.com/app/381020/Sky_Rogue/

Rating: 3.5/5

DJ

– Valorant – https://playvalorant.com/en-us/

Rating: 3/5

Other topics discussed

The Last of Us Part 2 game review : Not as Good as It Thinks It Is

- https://www.thewrap.com/the-last-of-us-part-2-review-not-as-good-as-it-thinks-it-is-ellie-naughty-dog/

Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann calls out journalist Jason Schreier for Anne Frank joke

- https://www.ginx.tv/en/video-games/naughty-dog-s-neil-druckmann-calls-out-journalist-jason-schrier-for-anne-frank-joke

G.I. Joe - Give Him The Stick : Parody of G.I. Joe's Public Service Announcements created by Fensler films

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

Victoria's sudden spike in coronavirus cases could result in localised lockdowns

- https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/victorias-sudden-spike-in-coronavirus-cases-could-result-in-localised-lockdowns-c-1113679

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) (formally called Human gammaherpesvirus 4, is one of the nine known human herpesvirus types in the herpes family, and is one of the most common viruses in humans.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epstein%E2%80%93Barr_virus

Once Upon a Time….Life (French animated series which tells the story of the human body for children.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Time..._Life

Cells at Work! (Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akane Shimizu. It features the anthropomorphized cells of a human body, with the two main protagonists being a red blood cell and a white blood cell she frequently encounters.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cells_at_Work!

Cells at Work! CODE BLACK (spin-off written by Shigemitsu Harada, illustrated by Ikuta Hatsuya, and supervised by the author of the original, Akane Shimizu. Similar to the original, the series is set in a world of anthropomorphic cells working in a body. It follows a the life of a rookie Erythrocyte, AA2153, and a Neutrophil, U-1196, as they work in a poorly maintained, middle-aged body burdened by issues such as stress, smoking, drinking and the like, causing complications in the cells' work and living environment.)

- https://cellsatwork.fandom.com/wiki/Cells_at_Work!_CODE_BLACK

Inside Ralphie (Magic School Bus episode) (Third episode of Season 1 of the animated children's series The Magic School Bus. While Ralphie hosts a TV broadcast from his sickbed, his classmates seek to discover the cause of his illness.)

- https://magicschoolbus.fandom.com/wiki/Inside_Ralphie

For Lunch (Magic School Bus episode) (Second episode of season one of the animated children's series The Magic School Bus. Ms. Frizzle's students explore Arnold's digestive system after he accidentally swallows his miniaturized classmates.)

- https://magicschoolbus.fandom.com/wiki/For_Lunch

Food and Drug Administration ((FDA or USFDA) is a federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counterpharmaceutical drugs (medications), vaccines,biopharmaceuticals,blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices (ERED), cosmetics, animal foods & feed and veterinary products.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_and_Drug_Administration

Ritalin (Methylphenidate, sold under the trade name Ritalin among others, is a stimulant medication used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. It is a first line medication for ADHD. It may be taken by mouth or applied to the skin.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylphenidate

Tali Health (Tali Health creates game based programs to improve attention in children. TALi TRAIN is a clinically validated digital training and treatment program that addresses the world’s leading reported early childhood issue-attention difficulties, a key feature in conditions including ADHD and ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).)

- https://talihealth.com.au/

Michele Assarasakorn (comic artist | colorist on ISOLA / Gotham Academy/ Critical Role)

Twitter : https://twitter.com/msassyk

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/msassyk/

Critical Role Wiki (A Place Documenting the Current History of Exandria)

- https://criticalrole.fandom.com/wiki/Critical_Role_Wiki

The World of RWBY: The Official Companion (RWBY lore book)

- https://www.amazon.com/World-RWBY-Official-Companion/dp/1974704386

Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins Library Edition: Series I & II Collection at Amazon

-https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Role-Machina-Origins-Collection/dp/1506721737

Ace Combat (Ace Combat is a hybrid arcade-style flight action video game franchise mainly developed by Bandai Namco Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ace_Combat

LUFTRAUSERS (shoot 'em up video game developed by Netherlands-based indie developer studio Vlambeer and published by Devolver Digital for Microsoft Windows, OS X,Linux, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.)

- https://store.steampowered.com/app/233150/LUFTRAUSERS/

Guns of Icarus (Guns of Icarus Online is the original PvP steampunk airship combat game that laid the groundwork for the expanded Guns of Icarus experience, Guns of Icarus Alliance.)

- https://store.steampowered.com/app/209080/Guns_of_Icarus_Online/

PS5 Reveal Event & Every Next Gen Game announced

- https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps5-reveal-event-every-nextgen-game-announced-by-s/1100-6478266/

Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was a fatal incident in the United States space program that occurred on Tuesday, January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The failure was caused by the failure of O-ring seals used in the joint that were not designed to handle the unusually cold conditions that existed at this launch.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster

Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was a fatal incident in the United States space program that occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) disintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members. During the launch of STS-107,Columbia's 28th mission, a piece of foam insulation broke off from the Space Shuttle external tank and struck the left wing of the orbiter.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disaster

The Slo Mo Guys - How a TV Works in Slow Motion

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BJU2drrtCM

Winnie the Pooh could be banned from Shanghai Disneyland as a result of an ongoing meme used to criticize China's leader

-https://www.businessinsider.com/winnie-the-pooh-shanghai-disneyland-meme-2018-11?r=AU&IR=T

Obama & Xi Jinping as Tigger & Winnie The Pooh

- https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DsXrZ-6UwAUHGRx?format=jpg&name=900x900

Shout Outs

11 June 2020 – Playstation 5 reveal - https://deadline.com/2020/06/sony-playstation-5-revealed-videogames-1202957140/

Sony lifted the veil to reveal the PlayStation 5, the video game console it hopes will be a significant lure for consumers this holiday season. In a live-streamed video presentation lasting more than an hour, Sony Interactive Entertainment  revealed new details for the PS5, including its design and lineup of new games. Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto will be included for free, and there are two dozen other games heading to the platform. The unit’s two-tone design is a shift from previous versions and gives off distinct imperial stormtrooper vibes. PS5 will be available in both a standard model with an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive, and a digital model without a disc drive. One of the biggest series of all time, Grand Theft Auto, will be coming to PS5, with enhanced and expanded versions of Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online to launch on PS5 in the second half of 2021.

15 June 2020 – Rare stone ginger beer bottle from 1930s-era sells for record price - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-15/ginger-beer-bottle-sells-for-huge-price/12353574

A rare ginger beer bottle from the 1930s, made for a Warwick soft drink company, has sold for a record price in Toowoomba. It has collectors encouraging people to check their sheds and old farm dumps for possible 'buried treasure'. The hammer fell at $17,500 for the stoneware Doneley and Butler bottle. The little green lip at the top is what set it apart from bottles worth a fraction of that price."These bottles are extremely rare, there have only been two or three found in perfect condition," said auctioneer Graham Lancaster."That colour combination of glazes makes it unique worldwide."He said the Warwick bottle set a record price locally, and quite possible a world-record, for an antique crown-seal soft drink bottle of its type.

16 June 2020 – Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins turns 15 - https://comicbook.com/movies/news/batman-begins-anniversary-the-dark-knight-christopher-nolan-christian-bale/

As the '90s progressed, the image of Batman on the big screen began to descend into the realm of campiness previously seen in Adam West's take on the character back in the '60s TV series and movie, which started to sour audiences on the character entirely. After a variety of reports emerged about a new take on the character in the early '00s, fans were given Christopher Nolan's gritty and grounded origin story for the character in 2005, debuting Christian Bale as the Dark Knight. This new take on the character harkened back to some of the more grounded interpretations of the character, while adding just enough whimsy to remind audiences that this was still a comic book movie. Batman Begins went on to take in $371 million worldwide, a fraction of the figures that subsequent superhero movies would go on to earn, That film's success might not have been groundbreaking, but it set the stage for The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, with some audiences considering those films to be the best comic book films of all time, both of which earned major box office hauls and the former earning Heath Ledger a posthumous Oscar for his performance as the Joker.

18 June 2020 – Dame Vera Lynn passes away at 103 - https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-53091856

The singer was best known for performing hits such as We'll Meet Again to troops on the front line in countries including India and Egypt. Six weeks ago, ahead of the 75th anniversary of VE Day and during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Dame Vera said simple acts of bravery and sacrifice still define our nation. A week later, she became the oldest artist to get a top 40 album in the UK, beating her own record when her greatest hits album re-entered the charts at number 30. Born in London's East Ham in 1917, Dame Vera's singing talent was discovered at a young age and by age 11 she had left school to pursue a full-time career as a dancer and singer. Lynn devoted much time and energy to charity work connected with ex-servicemen, disabled children and breast cancer. She was held in great affection by Second World War veterans and in 2000 was named the Briton who best exemplified the spirit of the 20th century. Paying tribute, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the singer's "charm and magical voice entranced and uplifted our country in some of our darkest hours". "Her voice will live on to lift the hearts of generations to come," he said. She died at the age of 103 in Ditchling,East Sussex.

19 June 2020 – Sir Ian Holm passes away at 88 - https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jun/19/ian-holm-dies-alien-chariots-of-fire-bilbo-baggins

Sir Ian Holm, an acclaimed British actor whose long career included roles in Chariots of Fire and The Lord of the Rings has died. A star of stage and screen, Sir Ian won a Tony Award for best featured actor as Lenny in Harold Pinter's play The Homecoming in 1967. He won a British Academy Film Award and gained a supporting-actor Oscar nomination for portraying pioneering athletics coach Sam Mussabini in the hit 1982 film Chariots of Fire. His other well-known film roles include Ash in Alien, Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element, Chef Skinner in Ratatouille, and Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series. Sir Ian was knighted in 1998 for his services to drama. He died from Parkinson’s disease in London.

Remembrances

16 June 1804 – Johann Adam Hiller - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Adam_Hiller

German composer,conductor and writer on music, regarded as the creator of the Singspiel, an early form of German opera. It is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles,songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk-like. Singspiel plots are generally comic or romantic in nature, and frequently include elements of magic, fantastical creatures, and comically exaggerated characterizations of good and evil. In many of these operas he collaborated with the poet Christian Felix Weiße. Furthermore, Hiller was a teacher who encouraged musical education for women, his pupils including Elisabeth Mara and Corona Schröter. He was Kapellmeister of Abel Seyler's theatrical company, and became the first Kapellmeister of Leipzig Gewandhaus. To Hiller has been given the credit of being the originator of the Singspiel, the beginning of German comedy opera as distinct from the French and Italian developments. The most important of his operas were: Lottchen am Hofe (Lottie at court, 1760),Der Teufel ist los (The devil is loose, 1768), and Poltis, oder Das gerettete Troja (Poltis, or Troy rescued, 1782). The lyrics of all his Singspiele were of considerable musical value, and were long popular. Among his sacred compositions are: A Passion Cantata, Funeral Music in Honor of Hasse, a setting of the one hundredth Psalm; and a few symphonies. He died at the age of 76 in Leipzig.

16 June 1858 – John Snow - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Snow

English physician and a leader in the development of anaesthesia and medical hygiene. He is considered one of the founders of modern epidemiology, in part because of his work in tracing the source of a cholera outbreak in Soho, London, in 1854, which he curtailed by removing the handle of a water pump. Snow's findings inspired the adoption of anaesthesia as well as fundamental changes in the water and waste systems of London, which led to similar changes in other cities, and a significant improvement in general public health around the world. John Snow was one of the first physicians to study and calculate dosages for the use of ether and chloroform as surgical anaesthetics, allowing patients to undergo surgical and obstetric procedures without the distress and pain they would otherwise experience. He designed the apparatus to safely administer ether to the patients and also designed a mask to administer chloroform. He personally administered chloroform to Queen Victoria when she gave birth to the last two of her nine children, Leopold in 1853 and Beatrice in 1857 and was still not yet knighted, leading to wider public acceptance of obstetric anaesthesia. John Snow studied chloroform as much as he studied ether, which was introduced in 1847 by James Young Simpson, a Scottish obstetrician. He realised that chloroform was much more potent and required more attention and precision when administering it. Snow first realised this with Hannah Greener, a 15-year-old patient who died on 28 January 1848 after a surgical procedure that required the cutting of her toenail. She was administered chloroform by covering her face with a cloth dipped in the substance. However, she quickly lost pulse and died. After investigating her death and a couple of deaths that followed, he realized that chloroform had to be administered carefully and published his findings in a letter to The Lancet. Snow was a skeptic of the then-dominant miasma theory that stated that diseases such as cholera and bubonic plague were caused by pollution or a noxious form of "bad air". The germ theory of disease had not yet been developed, so Snow did not understand the mechanism by which the disease was transmitted. His observation of the evidence led him to discount the theory of foul air. He first published his theory in an 1849 essay, On the Mode of Communication of Cholera, followed by a more detailed treatise in 1855 incorporating the results of his investigation of the role of the water supply in the Soho epidemic of 1854. By talking to local residents (with the help of Reverend Henry Whitehead), he identified the source of the outbreak as the public water pump on Broad Street (now Broadwick Street). Although Snow's chemical and microscope examination of a water sample from the Broad Street pump did not conclusively prove its danger, his studies of the pattern of the disease were convincing enough to persuade the local council to disable the well pump by removing its handle (force rod). Snow later used a dot map to illustrate the cluster of cholera cases around the pump. He also used statistics to illustrate the connection between the quality of the water source and cholera cases. He showed that homes supplied by the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company, which was taking water from sewage-polluted sections of the Thames, had a cholera rate fourteen times that of those supplied by Lambeth Waterworks Company, which obtained water from the upriver, cleaner Seething Wells. Snow's study was a major event in the history of public health and geography. It is regarded as the founding event of the science of epidemiology. He died from stroke at the age of 45 in London.

16 June 1869 – Charles Sturt - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Sturt

Charles Napier Sturt, British officer and explorer of Australia, and part of the European exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from Sydney and later from Adelaide. His expeditions traced several of the westward-flowing rivers, establishing that they all merged into the Murray River, which flows into the Southern Ocean. He was searching to prove his own passionately held belief that an "inland sea" was located at the centre of the continent. Sturt found the conditions and climate in New South Wales much better than he expected, and he developed a great interest in the country. Sturt received approval from Governor Darling on 4 November 1828 to explore the area of the Macquarie River in western New South Wales. The party faced the ordeal of rowing back upriver on the Murray and Murrumbidgee, against the current, in the heat of an Australian summer. Their supplies ran out and, when they reached the site of Narrandera in April, they were unable to go any further. Sturt sent two men overland in search of supplies and they returned in time to save the party from starvation. But Sturt went blind for some months and never fully recovered his health. By the time they reached Sydney again, they had rowed and sailed nearly 2,900 kilometres of the river system. Sturt believed that it was his destiny to discover a great salt water lake, known as 'the inland sea', in the middle of Australia. At very least, he wanted to be the first explorer to plant his foot in 'the centre' of Australia. In August 1844, he set out with a party of 15 men, 200 sheep, six drays, and a boat to explore north-western New South Wales and to advance into central Australia. They travelled along the Murray and Darling rivers before passing the future site of Broken Hill. They were stranded for months by the extreme summer conditions near the present site of Milparinka. When the rains eventually came, Sturt moved north and established a depot at Fort Grey (today this site is within Sturt National Park). With a small group of men, including explorer John McDouall Stuart as his draughtsman, Sturt pressed on across what is now known as Sturt's Stony Desert and into the Simpson Desert. Unable to go further, he turned back to the depot. Sturt made a second attempt to reach the centre of Australia, but he developed scurvy in the extreme conditions. His health broke down and he was forced to abandon the attempt. John Harris Browne, surgeon on the expedition, assisted Sturt, took over leadership of the party and, after travelling a total of 3,000 miles (4,800 km), brought it back to safety. He died from heart failure at the age of 74 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

16 June 1977 – Wernher von Braun - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun

German and later American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was the leading figure in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany and a pioneer of rocket and space technology in the United States. While in his twenties and early thirties, von Braun worked in Nazi Germany's rocket development program. He helped design and develop the V-2 rocket at Peenemünde during World War II. Though a member of the SS, following the war he was secretly moved to the United States, along with about 1,600 other German scientists, engineers, and technicians, as part of Operation Paperclip. He worked for the United States Army on an intermediate-range ballistic missile program, and he developed the rockets that launched the United States' first space satellite Explorer 1. In 1960, his group was assimilated into NASA, where he served as director of the newly formed Marshall Space Flight Center and as the chief architect of the Saturn V super heavy-lift launch vehicle that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. In 1967, von Braun was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, and in 1975, he received the National Medal of Science. He advocated a human mission to Mars. Von Braun also developed the idea of a Space Camp that would train children in fields of science and space technologies, as well as help their mental development much the same way sports camps aim at improving physical development. Von Braun took a very conservative approach to engineering, designing with ample safety factors and redundant structure. This became a point of contention with other engineers, who struggled to keep vehicle weight down so that payload could be maximized. As noted above, his excessive caution likely led to the U.S. losing the race to put a man into space with the Soviets. He died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 65 in Alexandria, Virginia.

Famous Birthdays

16 June 1801 – Julius Plücker - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Pl%C3%BCcker

German mathematician and physicist. He made fundamental contributions to the field of analytical geometry and was a pioneer in the investigations of cathode rays that led eventually to the discovery of the electron. He also vastly extended the study of Lamé curves. In 1836, Plücker was made professor of physics at University of Bonn. In 1858, after a year of working with vacuum tubes of his Bonn colleague Heinrich Geißler, he published his first classical researches on the action of the magnet on the electric discharge in rarefied gases. He found that the discharge caused a fluorescent glow to form on the glass walls of the vacuum tube, and that the glow could be made to shift by applying an electromagnet to the tube, thus creating a magnetic field. It was later shown that the glow was produced by cathode rays. Plücker, first by himself and afterwards in conjunction with Johann Hittorf, made many important discoveries in the spectroscopy of gases. He was the first to use the vacuum tube with the capillary part now called a Geissler tube, by means of which the luminous intensity of feeble electric discharges was raised sufficiently to allow of spectroscopic investigation. He anticipated Robert Wilhelm Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff in announcing that the lines of the spectrum were characteristic of the chemical substance which emitted them, and in indicating the value of this discovery in chemical analysis. According to Hittorf, he was the first who saw the three lines of the hydrogen spectrum, which a few months after his death, were recognized in the spectrum of the solar protuberances. In 1865, Plücker returned to the field of geometry and invented what was known as line geometry in the nineteenth century. In projective geometry, Plücker coordinates refer to a set of homogeneous co-ordinates introduced initially to embed the set of lines in three dimensions as a quadric in five dimensions. The construction uses 2×2 minor determinants, or equivalently the second exterior power of the underlying vector space of dimension 4. It is now part of the theory of Grassmannians, to which these co-ordinates apply in generality (k-dimensional subspaces of n-dimensional space). He was born in Elberfeld,Duchy of Berg,Holy Roman Empire.

16 June 1915 – John Tukey - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tukey

John Wilder Tukey, American mathematician best known for development of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm and box plot. The Tukey range test, the Tukey lambda distribution, the Tukey test of additivity, and the Teichmüller–Tukey lemma all bear his name. He is also credited with coining the term 'bit'. Early in his career Tukey worked on developing statistical methods for computers at Bell Labs where he invented the term "bit" in 1947. n 1970, he contributed significantly to what is today known as the jackknife estimation—also termed Quenouille–Tukey jackknife. He introduced the box plot in his 1977 book, "Exploratory Data Analysis". He is also the creator of several little-known methods such as the trimean and median-median line, an easier alternative to linear regression. He also contributed to statistical practice and articulated the important distinction between exploratory data analysis and confirmatory data analysis, believing that much statistical methodology placed too great an emphasis on the latter. Though he believed in the utility of separating the two types of analysis, he pointed out that sometimes, especially in natural science, this was problematic and termed such situations uncomfortable science. Tukey coined many statistical terms that have become part of common usage, but the two most famous coinages attributed to him were related to computer science. While working with John von Neumann on early computer designs, Tukey introduced the word "bit" as a contraction of "binary digit" The term "bit" was first used in an article by Claude Shannon in 1948. In 2000, Fred Shapiro, a librarian at the Yale Law School, published a letter revealing that Tukey's 1958 paper "The Teaching of Concrete Mathematics" contained the earliest known usage of the term "software" found in a search of JSTOR's electronic archives, predating the OED's citation by two years. This led many to credit Tukey with coining the term, particularly in obituaries published that same year, although Tukey never claimed credit for any such coinage. In 1995, Paul Niquette claimed he had originally coined the term in October 1953, although he could not find any documents supporting his claim.The earliest known publication of the term "software" in an engineering context was in August 1953 by Richard R. Carhart, in a RAND Corporation research memorandum. He was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

16 June 1909 – Archie Carr - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Carr

Archie Fairly Carr, Jr., American herpetologist,ecologist and a pioneering conservationist. He was a Professor of Zoology at the University of Florida. In 1987 he was awarded the Eminent Ecologist Award by the Ecological Society of America. He made extraordinary contribution to sea turtle conservation by way of bringing attention to the world's declining turtle populations due to over-exploitation and loss of safe habitat. He started out as a high school science teacher before becoming a college professor. He published numerous books and articles, including Ulendo: Travels of a Naturalist in and out of Africa, High Jungles and Low, So Excellent a Fishe (about his green turtles), The Windward Road and several Time-Life books such as The Everglades and The Reptiles. He was also the author of the Handbook of Turtles, and with Coleman J. Goin, Guide to the Reptiles, Amphibians and Freshwater Fishes of Florida. While a serious scientific and nature writer, he also had a remarkable sense of humor, which led him to publish the parody of scientific taxonomic keys - his A Subjective Key to the Fishes of Alachua County, Florida, affectionately known as the "Carr Key". Carr was also known for his efforts in conservation, especially for sea turtles, helping convince Costa Rica to establish Tortuguero National Park in 1975. He was a co-founder of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, which helps to save and monitor sea turtles in Tortuguero,Costa Rica. He was often joined in his conservation work by his wife Marjorie Carr, who was a major advocate for conservation in her own right. In 1952 Carr was awarded the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal from the National Academy of Sciences. He was born in Mobile, Alabama.

Events of Interest

16 June 1884 – The first purpose-built roller coaster, LaMarcus Adna Thompson's "Switchback Railway", opens in New York's Coney Island amusement park. - https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-roller-coaster-in-america-opens

Known as a switchback railway, it was the brainchild of LaMarcus Thompson, traveled approximately six miles per hour and cost a nickel to ride. The new entertainment was an instant success and by the turn of the century there were hundreds of roller coasters around the country. For five cents, riders would climb a tower to board the large bench-like car and were pushed off to coast 600 ft (183 m) down the track to another tower. The car went just over 6 mph (9.7 km/h). At the top of the other tower the vehicle was switched to a return track or "switched back" (hence the name). The new entertainment was an instant success and by the turn of the century there were hundreds of roller coasters around the country.

16 June 1911 – IBM founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in Endicott, New York. - http://www.techgetz.com/history-of-ibm/

In 1911 the company that leased Unit record equipment, especially Hollerith punched cards and card readers to government bureaus and insurance agencies, became the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR). Thomas J. Watson (1874-1956) took over in 1924, using the name “International Business Machines.” IBM expanded into electric typewriters and other office machines. Watson was a salesman and concentrated on building a highly motivated, very well paid sales force that could craft solutions for clients unfamiliar with the latest technology. His motto was “THINK”; customers were advised to not “fold, spindle or mutilate” the delicate cardboard cards.

16 June 2012 – The United States Air Force's robotic Boeing X-37B spaceplane returns to Earth after a classified 469-day orbital mission. - https://www.space.com/16110-secret-x37b-space-plane-landing.html

The unmanned X-37B spacecraft, also known as Orbital Test Vehicle-2 (OTV-2), glided back to Earth on autopilot, touching down at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base at 5:48 a.m. PDT (8:48 a.m. EDT, 1248 GMT). The landing brought to an end the X-37B program's second-ever spaceflight, a mission that lasted more than 15 months with objectives that remain shrouded in secrecy. The X-37B stayed in orbit for 469 days this time, more than doubling the 225 days its sister ship, OTV-1, spent in space last year on the program's maiden flight. Officials at Vandenberg said the spacecraft conducted "on-orbit experiments" during its mission. Exactly what the spacecraft, which is built by Boeing, was doing up there for so long is a secret. The details of the X-37B's mission, which is overseen by the Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office, are classified, as is its payload. This secrecy has led to some speculation, especially online and abroad, that the X-37B could be a space weapon of some sort — perhaps a sophisticated satellite-killer. Some experts also suspect that the vehicle may be an orbital spy platform. "This is a test vehicle to prove the materials and capabilities, to put experiments in space and bring them back and check out the technologies," Richard McKinney, the Air Force's deputy undersecretary for space programs.

16 June 2016 – Shanghai Disneyland Park, the first Disney Park in Mainland China, opens to the public - https://www.dw.com/en/distinctly-chinese-disneyland-opens-in-shanghai/a-19332984

Shanghai Disney Resort, the first Disney resort in Mainland China and the sixth worldwide, celebrated its historic Grand Opening today, culminating one of Disney's most ambitious projects ever. The wonder and imagination of Disney greeted the people of China in magical new ways as the gates opened to Shanghai Disneyland, a theme park like no other with the biggest, tallest castle in any Disney park, the first pirate-themed land and Disney's most technologically advanced park to date. Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang cut a red ribbon together, signaling the Communist Party's endorsement of the $5.5 billion (4.87 billion euro) resort - one of the largest foreign investments in China. The lavish ceremony featured a children's choir singing "When You Wish Upon a Star," as well as actors dressed as Sleeping Beauty, Donald Duck, and other Disney characters dancing on stage. The entrance of the park is called "Mickey Avenue" instead of "Main Street USA." Stores feature Minnie Mouse in traditional quipau dresses and the Wandering Moon Teahouse is modeled after a building in eastern China. Shanghai Disney Resort is filled with immersive Disney storytelling, thrilling attractions, spectacular live entertainment and memory-making experiences designed to inspire and delight Chinese guests. The world-class vacation destination includes a magical theme park with six themed lands, two imaginatively designed hotels, a Disneytown shopping and dining district, and Wishing Star Park recreational area.

Intro

Artist – Goblins from Mars

Song Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)

Song Link -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJ

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[nemrut]

Epic 7 Progress

So, been steadily progressing still. Can’t really do the lvl 3 bounty runs on auto so mainly sticking to lvl 2 but that’s more due to the requirements on using heroes I hadn’t really built yet. Normal lots for example, seems rather necessary for the lich I think, but I am not gonna give him like 7 molas at this point, although I probably should. I kinda wanted to try the lots, a lots, cermia combo for a while but I am having the typical epic 7 problem of having too many heroes I want to invest in atm and not having nearly enough ressources for them all.

PVP wise, am still stuck in Challenger in arena. I could go higher, but again, it is just not worth the hassle atm. I regeared my Judge Kise so she does more dmg, my aux lots got a bit faster but on a whole, my cleave team is mostly unchanged, although I am using f.ceci more often nowadays. Against obviously fast teams, I just put four heroes with speed imprint on the team and have Vildred cleave through them. By now, I have enough gear to have a lot of heroes in actually good fighting shape. My Vildred for example doesn’t have great gear but it is still good enough to do good dmg on a squishy fast team if he outspeds them, especially with atk buff.

In RTA, it is a bit more complicated. I am challenger as well, but I am just not good at the drafting game. I guess I really need to sit down and plan teams that I can try to assemble, based on enemy first picks. I reached challenger last season, was close to champion, but am in gold atm, as i didn’t play that much this season. I still like it though. Am building units for it, mainly and I like having options. Mui for example, is surprisingly fun.

Two really interesting heroes are coming out, and I have good chances of getting both. Holiday Yufine is super fanservice-y, but she hard counters Basar like nothing else, so she will be useful against Basar defenses. She doesn’t seem to require that many molas. I will definitely give her 3 on her S3 so I reduce the CD but I am not sure I will max her S2 yet. Would cost a lot of molas, so we will see.

Her artifact seems super useful atm, especially for her. Since artifacts are not guaranteed drops, I hope I will be lucky on that front and get it before I get her at least once. I will probably keep going with rolls until i get the artifact at least once though, even after I got Holiday Yufine. The reason there being, even if Holiday Yufine is only okay there, in the future, there may come out a Warrior unit with an aoe S1 that is really good in which case this artifact would be invaluable on them and since it is a limited event artifact, well, it is either getting it now or in a year.

The other is Iseria Alter and she is just super well designed and I already love her. Now, I am close enough to pity since I tried and failed to get Ruele, Riolet and Arby but it will be a close thing. Hopefully, the shop drops more mystic medals so I get her or I get lucky.

Hopefully, I should get both, since I also have enough skystones to pity Holiday Yufine, but of course, I hope I get her and her artifact before it comes to that.

Next to getting those two and gearing them, then there are heroes I already own but haven’t really done anything with.

I really want to build Sigret for Wyvern. Atm, my team consists of G. Purgiss, Alexa, Chloe and SSB. It is reasonably stable atm, so I am hesistant. Sigret requires a lot of molas, but so do other units.

I also want to do something with Yuna. Had her for ages at this point and she seems fun to play with. I want her as both a buffer and a side dmg dealer so while she may not need as many molas as Sigret to function, she still requires some.

Right now, am saving all my molas for Iseria Alter, so that is unfortunate. She will be +15 though. no question about that. She will get my best gear and all the molas.

Melissa is a hero I have good gear on atm but she only has three molas and I feel like if I really want to use her, I would need to max out her s2 and s3. Her incoming buff is also pretty neat, so it is tempting but alas, the mola problem.

Other heroes I am lowkey interested in building are people like SC Wanda and SC Ras, who both seem useful in some cicumstances. I have built SC Carrot a few weeks ago and she is a lot of fun.

ML Roman also got a buff, so he is an option to build as well, but he still has such a boring design. Not to mention he also wants molas.

Honestly, I kina wish 4 star heroes would also have no mola requirements or it would be halved or something like that. The incoming 3 molas for max friendship is a nice enough start but while it may make some heroes at least usable, the mola requirement still stops me from investing in heroes that I just want to try out but who can’t function without molas.

Last point is the C.Zerato. I have him and he is definitely useful to me. Unfortunately, I do not have a c.zerato dupe, I even asked support, so, I would have to trade in my only c.zerato for another ML 4 star. And it is not that he sucks now due to his incoming nerf or bugfix. He is still great then, I feel like. Especially since i didn’t know of the bug and built him with effectiveness regardless. Just not too hot on his character and I kinda want either Assassin Cartuja for a more evasion based def team or Singelica for the whole reviver meta. Probably Singelica but then the question is, would she be more useful to me than C.Zerato is right now? Probably not so I don’t think I will take advantage of this recall event. Still sucks a bit though.

So, that’s it from me for now, game is still a lot of fun.

[calliecat93]

Top 5 Things I Liked About RWBY Volume 3

Those of you who have been following this little series of posts are probably going ‘wait a sec Callie, don’t you do the dislikes post first?” Which, yes I do, but there’s a reason why I’m doing Likes. It’s because, well... there’s not going to be a Dislikes post. I tried to think of things that I genuinely disliked about V3. I tried to think of nitpicks that I had about V3. I tried to see if there were things that I disliked back when it aired.

And I got nothing.

Yeah, I disliked nothing about V3. I had to stretch on Dislikes in V2, but here? I got nothing. I mean sure certain character deaths sucked because... well, death. But these scenes were actually done well, so I don’t dislike them. There’s a couple of little animation errors, but I can’t make a list out of that nor do those bother me since the animation is overall very good. This was my favorite volume up until V6 (and even with that I was able to come up with dislikes for it) and needless to say, this volume out of all fo them is not one that you mess around with. So instead of forcing myself to make a list I’ve got no material for, we’re skipping to Likes. Cause I’ve got plenty of those.

#5. Maiden Twist

I remember when this twist got revealed, and I was in shock... well that and because the same chapter ended in Yang being defamed and they decided to choose then to go on holiday hiatus. That was still mean RT! Okay, yeah the twist. I... really liked it! It made sense, added to the lore of the series, and really ramped upt he tension. Sure we weren’t 100% sure how the Maidens would tie into the overall plot, but V5 fixed that so any issues that I had with it are long since resolved.

I think what really makes me appreciate it is for those unaware, this twist? This was the final thing conceived by Monty before his passing in February 2015 when V3 would have been in pre-production. This was not a part of the original plan for RWBY, but Miles and Kerry decided to keep it and work with it anyone since it was Monty’s final idea. IDK what the original plan was, and we’ll probably never know, but I think that they fit it in very well. It explains why CInder has so much power. Part of why the Ozluminati is so secretive. It makes the world more interesting and as I said, adds to the lore. And the tale itself was very well done and felt like a genuine fairy tale, especially the version in World of Remnant.

The execution wasn’t 100% perfect. Like I said, the importance of the Maidens int he story wasn't made clear until V5. But considering that they had to figure out how to fit it in with the overall planned story, I say that they did very well. The rule also makes plenty of sense, and that I appreciate. I really like to applaud writers who make changes like this work, and nowadays I can't imagine RWBY without the Maidens. Would the original plan have been better? I don’t know. But I’m happy with where they took things, and I’d say that Monty’s final contribution is one that’s impact isn't fading out anytime soon.

#4. Yang Development

Okay IDK if development is the right word, but this was a good volume for Yang! Well okay for her it probably sucked. A lot. But for us watching, it... was painful. But it was good for her character arc!

Up to this point, Yang was probably the least developed of the four girls. She was a pretty girl who was really good at hitting things and was a fun, but caring friend and sister. But otherwise, she’d had little development and imo her motivation to become a Huntress was by far the weakest. But anything that she lacked she made up for in personality and even then, she was by far the fan-favorite. SHe’s... my least favorite of Team RWVY, mainly for other reasons I’ll get to when I do a later list, but I still enjoy her and she’s always been really fun.

And it made what happened in this volume all the more painful.

First, she gets framed and can’t prove her innocence. Her team gets disqualified from the Vytal Festival as a result. Then the Battle of Beacon happens! She can't do anything for her sister and therefore tries to find Blake. She finds her getting attacked by Adam, she tries to interfere, and... she loses an arm. Worst, Blake, the person she just lost a limb for runs away without so much as a goodbye. Weiss is taken away by force, and all of this along with the loss of Beacon and the multiple deaths have left Yang broken and bitter. She can’t even comfort Ruby or accept any comfort that her sister offers, and in the end just tells Ruby to go do what she wants and leave her alone. Ruby leaves sometime later, all while Yang is still sitting in bed with an empty look.

This volume was brutal for everyone, but Yang by far is one of the ones who had it the roughest. It hurts since, in the first half of the volume, she’s her usual happy, bright self and is easily winning all of her fights. She did nothing wrong but had to go through Hell all because of the villains who she did nothing to. It provides a lot of good later, which again I’ll touch on in a later list. But God it hurt to watch this when it aired. Nevertheless, it was very well executed and you just feel so bad for this girl and utterly mortified when she loses her arm just because she tried to save her teammate. A teammate who abandons her, re-awakening her abandonment issues in the process. It was hard to watch, but it was very well done and Yang’s character only goes up from this point.

#3. Weiss Development

While Weiss’ part in the volume isn't too major, her development in the first half of the volume is freakin’ great. While we had heard enough to know that Weiss's father probably sucked, this one made that much more clear and V4 hammered that in even more. We see pretty classic abuse tactics here. Jaques tries to call Weiss, and it seems like this has been going on for a while. My HC is that he receptionist lady that Weiss talked to in V2 likely told him that Weiss called but didn’t want to talk, and that caused Jaques to increase how frequently he called her. Weiss continues to ignore it, so Jaques strips her of her income so that she can't so much as buy lunch for herself. A clear warning to Weiss that even when in another continent, she’s still under her father’s lock and key.

But then Winter arrives. While she’s stern and kinda cold, Winter is clearly a good influence in Weiss’ life and a caring older sister. She not only tries to help Weiss learn her Summoning glyph, but she reveals that Jaques used the exact same method of cutting her off that he did on Weiss. Why? Because Winter joined the military and refused to remain under her father’s grip any longer. She managed to break away, and she encourages Weiss to do so as well. She’s on the right path via attending Beacon and fighting for her right to go there, and now she has the freedom to keep exploring the world and learning about herself. This gets Weiss to once more hang up on her father, determined to cut away from him for good and continue on her own path. 

It’s a powerful moment and really the sign that Weiss has truly broken free of her previous hateful midset. She’s a much kinder person than she was in V3, shown when she rejects the idea that Yang attacked Mercury unprovoked. In the Battle for Beacon, she defends Velvet, a Faunus and that allowed her to awaken her Summoning glyph. Sadly, as we all know, the Fall fo Beacon happened and Jaques took advantage of it to force Weiss to come back home. It is utterly tragic because Weiss finally got her freedom, and in an instant, it was yanked away from her. But because of these events, Weiss wasn’t going to remain a prisoner for long, and Jaques could control her no longer.

#2. Everything From PvP to The End of the Beginning

Yeah, I couldn't narrow it down to just one aspect. These final four episodes of V3 (PvP, Battle of Beacon, Heroes and Monsters, and The End of the Beginning) were just... freakin’ fantastic. It might be the four best consecutive episodes in the series as a whole. These mark the end of the Beacon Era. From this point on, the series changes big time. Things get darker. Characters are forced to mature. The stakes go up and have yet to go back down. The days of wacky school antics end here, and our heroes’ lives change to the point of no return.

IDK what to truly say tbh. All of the fights were freakin’ fantastic. Penny’s death, while heartbreaking, was appropriately dreadful as well as Cinder’s speech. The Grimm attack felt horrifying, but all the students rising up to fight back and act as true Huntsmen and Huntresses were freakin’ amazing. This was Roman’s last hurrah, and he was as fun as ever. Him dying sucked, but he brought it onto himself and Ruby interfering with him one last time, taking out Neo, and destroying the ship and taking out the Queen’s Virus was epic. But of course, Cinder gets the Maiden powers, the Wyvern attacks, and in the end, Beacon falls. But Cinder doesn't get to enjoy it, as it ends with Ruby awakening her Silver Eyes, and Cinder’s victory ends in her being brought down. Brutally. She got her power, but she was still defeated by and made to feel powerless. Which she hates more than anything else. All because of one little girl. 

The end of the volume is super depressing. Beacon is overrun by Grimm. Vale has been damaged. Weiss is forced back home. Blake runs away. Yang is depressed and demoralized. JNR lost a teammate. The villains all escaped. Ozpin is missing. Everything looks bleak. But there is still hope. Despite how she herself feels, Ruby decides that she still needs to fight on and go after the villains' trail to prevent this from happening again. She leaves home with JNR, determined to get to Mistral and make sure that no one else suffers like she and everyone at Beacon did. Dark times are ahead, but our heroes will recover, and they will forge on. But, of course, it ends with us finally meeting Salem for the first time, and we know that things are about to get much, much crazier from that point on.

This was a great series of episodes. It was dark and depressing but also shows how much the human spirit will persist and that there will always be heroes who rise up. It appropriately brought the show into its next stage, and it’s just as great of a watch as it was in 2016. But, of course, there is one thing that I glossed over while going over this. So... let's go ahead and talk about that.

#1. Pyrrha Nikos

This was, sadly, the final volume for Pyrrha. And they made sure to make this her story as much as possible. Pyrrha is recruited to be the Fall Maiden due to her world-class fighting abilities. She is understandably uncomfortable but willing to do it in order to protect people. But then she finds out that it may cost her who she is, and she is understandably terrified. We see how uncertain she is after, and who can blame her? Once again, her famous status has overcome anything else about her. But this time, she not only learned of some kind of mass world conspiracy but if she agreed to go through with the Aura Transfer, she may not be the same person ever again. She felt that being a Huntress and fighting to protect people was her destiny, but now with it standing before her, can she take it when she’s being asked to give up so much? When everything that she thought that she new has been turned onto its head within mere hours?

Not even Jaune could have help her overcome this. In any other scenario, his words of accepting destiny would be the right thing. But for Pyrrha, it just made her an emotional wreck. The poor boy did everything right, but now he thinks that he did everything wrong. Then to make things worst. Pyrrha ended up killing Penny and it broke her. Fortunately Ruby and Jaune broke her out of it, but she ultimately accepted the Maiden deal. After all, with everything in chaos and lives on the line, what else can she do? But of course, it failed cause of Cinder, and despite Oz telling her and Jaune to leave and get help... Pyrrha made her choice then and there. She kissed Jaune, knowing that it’ll be the only chance that she got to revealing her feelings, before pushing him the locker. he looked at the boy that she loves one more time as he begs her to not go back. She launched him to safety, knowing that she will never see him again.

Pyrrha knew that if she went back into the tower, she wasn’t going to come back out alive. She knew that she was going to die. But she was a Huntress. She signed up for that life because she wanted to do good. She wanted to help people. he felt as if that was her destiny. Even though she knew that she couldn’t beat Cinder, it was her duty to fight. Whatever good that she could do, she decided to do. She went back in, and she gave it her all. And she gave Cinder one Hell of a fight. But of course, Cinder ultimately won. Pyrrha remained defiant to the end, accepting her fate. Cinder shoots Pyrrha with an arrow, and the girl that everyone thought was unbeatable, was reduced to ashes.

Pyrrha was a fantastic character. She was kind, caring, strong, and above all selfless. She aided and trained Jaune despite everyone else dismissing him as a buffoon. She encouraged Jaune in his pursuit fo Weiss, despite her own feelings towards him. Despite all the fear and doubt that she felt and Ozpin offering her an out at the very end, Pyrrha accepted the Maiden powers and whatever the end result would have been because it was the right thing to do. And despite knowing that doing so would end in her own death, Pyrrha still faced Cinder, willing to do whatever she could do to stop Cinder. While she died, it wasn't in vain as Ruby’s arrival ensured that Cinder’s victory would cost her. A true pyrrhic victory.

In the end, Pyrrha embodied what a true Huntress should be. Selfless, dedicated, and willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect the people. Even now, the impact of her death can be felt. Jaune, of course, was broken by it and it wasn't until V6 that he began to find closure and move on. Ruby still feels guilty over how she failed to save her and has PTSD from it and V5 and demonstrated. Team JNPR will never truly feel whole again after the loss. But even so, they all have pushed forward and have decided to keep living. For Pyrrha. Even in death, she’ll still always be there with them, and they can continue to honor her memory. Pyrrha may be gone, but her spirit will always live on.

Okay! That’s that! So... on to Volume 4! Which there will be a Dislikes post for that one, but also a Likes post! So be on the lookout for those~!

[i-am-the-entertainer]

RevieWBY: Volume 6, Chapter 10, “Stealing from the Elderly”

Yeah, yeah, I’m late. Sue me.

So, this last run of episodes is essentially what’s shaping up to be the official finale arc, so I’m not sure how well I can really judge these on their own. And mind you, I’m writing this after I’ve seen Chapters 11 and 12, so I know how they fit within a larger context, but the purpose of these is to give individual chapters a particular focus. And that’s kind of hard, because these episodes are almost laughably short: it feels as though the finale arc is being stretched across episodes, much like in Volume 5.

But then I remember...the Volume 5′s finale arc was coming off the heels of a lackluster season, the chapters were longer and thus more time was being wasted, the fights that were going on were downright boring and full of problems, too many resources had been pooled into the character shorts so there wasn’t enough time to give the finale the proper attention, etc. etc. With Volume 6 the renewed production pipeline has given us a volume that’s surprisingly kept up its momentum, plus pretty much every fight has been sufficiently exciting. Couple that with some fight scenes that are cool to watch, and a lot of exciting things happening within the 13 minutes and 52 seconds (which includes titles, credits, and the gen:LOCK trailer) of this episode, I think it’s safe to say this finale battle is going to leave me feeling a hell of a lot more satisfied than the Battle of Haven.

So, let’s break down this episode.

Time For A Battle (Did We Ever Doubt It?)

A lot of the more event-based stuff for this part of the chapter is based around setting up for the upcoming battle, with the plan going awry and the reveal of Cordovin’s mech (geez RT, it’s not like you’re doing a mech show already). Let’s be honest: there was never any doubt things were gonna go wrong. They’re leaving for Atlas a couple episodes before the finale, they were not gonna squeeze in another conflict without resolving the Cordovin one.

I mentioned a couple episodes back putting Atlesian personnel in a direct antagonist position to Team QRWBYJNROM was an interesting turn, since the only Atlas rep we really got before Volume 6 were Ironwood and Winter, who were basically the good guys and in direct counterpoint to the negative image Atlas supposedly have. To have Cordovin so unhinged in her belief in the military’s might that she would use a machine designed to attack Grimm on children and an old lady drives home this idea that team RWBY (I’m not gonna bother with that long acronym) may not have friends in Atlas once they get there.

Look, I’m trying to be one of the more positive RWBY critics, but I think it’s fair to say Qrow’s moment in this episode felt a little undeserved. There needed to be an extra scene of Qrow expressing his frustrations about what was going on, it should not have happened right at the start of what’s going to be a major arc for this volume: it feels like they were trying to tidy up his arc before focusing on that. Really, it feels like Qrow’s arc this season is the one where it feels like they set it up for something bigger but didn’t give it enough focus beyond some really good moments, like they fast-forwarded it when they realized they were nearing the end of the volume and needed it cleared out of the way. It would’ve made Ruby’s heroic speeches in this chapter and the last seem more deserved.

I’ve implied this before, but I say clearly: RWBY’s writing isn’t eh because it’s lazy. It’s just rushed. They are attempting to tell a story on a grander scale than what their production time allows. This large cast is better suited for a show that has at least 20 minutes every episode, so every storyline can get enough focus. Instead, and this has happened with pretty much every volume, they realize halfway through that they don’t have enough time to cover every major thread they’ve sewn, and they skip important steps just so they can finish the volume at the point they want it to. I honestly would prefer having longer hiatuses between seasons if it meant everything they try to introduce could get properly addressed.

As for the rest of this section, the humor’s still working well. It’s nice to know they’ve kept up with the consistent balance of humor and drama this volume when it seemed almost sporadic for the last two years. My personal favorite moment was Adrian fake crying. That baby’s got a career in theater in his future.

Cat vs. Bull

Oh, there’s Adam.

My prediction that Adam wasn’t gonna play a major role until these last couple of chapters came true! I’m a genius!

Okay, I’m not. But I will say with regards to Adam: there could’ve been a better buildup to his appearance. This sequence basically confirms that what Blake saw in Chapter 1 was probably not a hallucination and really him, following her and waiting for her to be alone. If that’s what things were building up to, I would’ve included lingering shots or references implying he was following her: like, I dunno, a shot of him hiding among the crowd on the train, Blake sensing him while walking around Argus, Cinder mentioning to Neo that she couldn’t find Adam anywhere...it would’ve built up tension towards Blake v. Adam Round 3.

As for the animation, well, good as always (...nope, couldn’t say that last part with a straight face). Seriously though: this fight with Blake and Adam is really well done. The PvP fights we’ve been getting this volume have so far been really good, and having one with Adam equals a lot of spectacle. It’s clear the animators have a lot of fun animating his fights, as there are some really creative things going on.

Conclusions

I’m sorry to say this again, because this volume has impressed me otherwise, but it feels a lot like we’re gonna get another finale arc that didn’t get the proper buildup. I keep saying this, but they seriously need to consider delaying releasing the volume until after they’ve finished everything. It’s the model that gen:LOCK’s gonna be following, the last thing we need right now is more rushed storytelling. But they have improved on the other things to the point that from a technical standpoint I’d be daring enough to put this volume on the level of Volume 2 (with better animation).

As for this chapter...well, it’s a set-up chapter. I was tempted to wait to watch all four chapters in the finale arc and then put them together, but that wouldn’t be consistent with what I’ve been doing. From a writing standpoint, this had a good mix of humor and drama, but in the context of the entire volume certain arcs felt like they were rushed. I don’t like the return of the cliffhangers that plagued the last couple of chapters of Volume 5, but it’s worth noting that those cliffhangers came at the end of disappointing deliveries of action-–they were short so animators would have time to work on them, but it wasn’t enough time for those episodes to be anywhere near as epic as they needed to be––all the work seemed to be focused around the Maiden battle, and that’s not even in the final episode. At least with this set of episodes it seems there’s enough action going on and they had enough time to work on them that they feel satisfying. That holiday break probably did wonders for these chapters.

So yeah. I think I’ll focus my energy on reviewing these as a whole when I do a full-volume review.

By the way...if you’ve been following my thoughts all season, how would you feel if I made my full-volume RevieWBY an actual video?

[blackuigryphonvr]

#PokemonGoSuggestions #PokemonGo #Suggestions #PVP

So, when I 1st found out Pokémon Go got PVP I was so excited that I wanted to play with my daughter! I waited for her to come home from school so we could play!

But, I found that it was disappointing...

After 3 times playing it was actually not very fun and kind of boring... it bothered me because I wanted to love it, but I didn’t, and it was something I wanted the game to have!

When I was a kid, I liked playing Double Dragon, Street Fighter II, n Mortal Kombat w my little brothers for hours a day for many years which was very exciting, n many of my friends played similar games that were Pokémon when I was in college...

So, what exactly about the game didn’t live up to a good experience???

Well, I still kept trying to play PVP when I realized I could battle the Team Leaders. But, for the most part, no one really wants to play PVP.

The reason is because it’s not really like playing. You basically only get 1 move, to tap the screen. So, it’s not really like you’re playing anything... u just sit or stand there, clutching a smartphone, tapping 1 finger... it’s very boring, tedious, monotonous, and like a chore. When PVP had an option to “win” some other prizes like a Sinoh stone then I would play it... but it was like a chore... I just looked away, bored out of my mind, doing other things, whilst my finger tapped away, mindlessly at the screen...

There’s no fun in that whatsoever... just 1 thing to do: tap the screen....

But, when it came to PokéGym battles or Raids you could at least swipe to dodge, and I felt that the 3rd move actually worked far better, and you could multi player play.

But PVP is mostly limited to just 1 move until n 1 thing to do. Even with the 3rd move it doesn’t really work out to be that much better.

So, since I’ve thought about it a lot, and would like to see it improved, I came up with a few ideas that could make PVP a better experience.

* 1.) PVP could be better if we could turn it sideways, and play it horizontally with more buttons and moves. We probably don’t need more than 4. But more options would make it more complex n more chance and excitement.

* 2.) Have a way to let us play with the smaller lower CP Pokémon n baby 🍼 👶Pokémon that’s like a kind of training for weaker Pokémon, and some other kinds of competitions n n prizes. Bigger n biggest isn’t always better, and many little kids get discouraged n disappointed when trying to play adults whom play hardcore but also have cars and an unfair advantage.

I play a lot w my local community now, and it’s mostly men, dads with kids, and some old ladies here n there. It’s especially popular with Dads.

Maybe PVP could have a different environment than just playing in the scenery it’s currently in, and inside of a nursery or rookery or something.

I had my 3 Smeargles but when I was desperate to get a Legendary in a Raid last month that after i caught some shiny Pokémon I needed to make room for when the Raid started and transferred all of my Smeargle, which made me sad. I would rather view those novelty Pokémon as still having a purpose even if their CP is very low.

How about a PVP category for CP lower than: 100, 50, 20, and 10? I think it could be pretty cute and adorable. Especially a Baby Pokémon League, or a Handicap inclusions League.

* 3.) Have special settings/worlds for holidays. I think the world PVP plays in looks OK, and it’s nice to see them play outside in different weather conditions like snow or rain... but, could we have other options to play in a setting similar to the PokéGym so u can move around and dodge?

What if we could unlock different settings/places/worlds?

It could also be nice to play during special holidays: Halloween, Graveyard, Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year, Spring Sakura Cherry blossoms 🌸, Fireworks 💥 🎇, the 🌊 ocean, summer 🌅 🌇 Sunset, dawn sunrise, outer space, or something creative like maybe something wacky like a Bowling Alley Discotech, or Salvador Dali’s Surrealist paintings, or MC Echer’s surreal pictures. Surely, there must also be interesting things from the Pokémon universe as well.

* 4.) Have an option to play PVP at the PokéGyms, But also the PokéStops. Bring back the old 2016 feature where u could even battle ur own Pokémon together outside in AR. Or have more AR options as well.

* 5.) Have a system that allows long distance playing like Jurassic World does. I know u want people to get out into the world.... but, I have currently over 60 Pokémon friends but more than half are a long distance away or in other countries, including my IRL friends.

So, if u want to still encourage people to go out and play, they would probably still enjoy playing PVP w their own in game friends across the globe if it was a limited time event like a week long option. But also a board to see who is currently live in the friends list. Or, even a random person who just happens to be online.

It’s terrible winter weather, so who can go outside to play when it snows?

Or if the weather is bad like a blizzard or a hurricane, maybe a player could get an option triggered to invite a PVP gameplay in their friends list?

Honestly, #Niantic, I could come up with ideas all the time. I could sketch up some concepts.

I’m not trying to tell u how to do ur job, or build ur games, or platforms, but I’m creative and I think , 🤔 💭 contemplate, and ponder it a lot. I’ve especially put months of thought into these suggestions.

I don’t want anyone at Niantic to feel insulted. You guys have the best AR game out there, and we love u fine folks.

But, maybe, you could find the time to consider my suggestions. I’ve put a lot of thought into this since last year, so I hope it at least counts for something.

Pokémon Go is 1 of the nicest fandoms out there, with the least amount of toxicity of any fandom out there. So, thank you very much.