#not really supposed to be a big proper analysis mostly just me vibing

[astrallouis]

Question for Miles is a moron, what do you think the throat spray actually was? Do you think he actually thought it was covid protection? Do you think he knew it was nothing and just used his image to lie to his friends to get what he wanted?

GREAT fuckin question. i havent thought on it too much since id mostly seen it from the filmmaking perspective of acknowledging covid in-universe without the everything that came with early covid and no vaccines yet but now u have me thinking.

(this got so long so im gonna put it under the cut oops)

first i wanna say im really mostly talking out of my ass since that scene was the last concrete point abt covid we really have outside of mentions like why miles has the mona lisa lmaooo anyway:

like i said miles really is a moron. everything he takes credit for he either hires someone for, steals their work, or lets them interpret his bullshit (like lionel w the faxes). so i think theres a couple possibilities.

he almost definitely went to someone to develop the throat spray, and its possible he actually asked or expected it to be Real and actually protective. but it being so early in the pandemic and over a year before the irl vaccine wld come out they probably told him its not possible. and theres the point where he could have done a couple things.

he could have 1) pushed whoever to just make it work like we see so many bosses and rich assholes like to do and it IS actually protective [very unlikely but we REALLY dont know much about what happens after the movie covid wise and how far rian johnson changes reality here]

b) done the above and whoever he hired lies to him and says it works when it doesnt, and he believes it works like you mentioned [more likely, but thats putting a moral decision on a person i made up two paragraphs ago lol]

iii) they told him it wasnt possible and he just told them to make a placebo instead and knows its fake like you said, using his image as a genius to manipulate his friends [most likely in my opinion, given everything else he does]

i really do think the last one is what happened. the efficient man doesnt answer blanc's question about what the spray is. all he does is say “youre good,” put the little slap bracelet on blanc, and move on. and we dont know much of miles' actual opinions on masks and covid iirc, besides being friends with both ppl like lionel who properly masks up and asks for elbows instead of a hug from birdie, and with duke who doesnt wear one at all and is. ukno. him. so theres that

all of this to say. miles bron really is just an entitled asshole who thinks he makes change when he doesnt and doesnt care abt consequences. i personally think he actively knows the spray didnt do shit but couldnt stand the idea of going a year without getting his ego stroked by those shitheads and would do anything he “could” to make it happen. this is also the same guy who just sent the 50 people it takes to run the island “home” in the middle of the pandemic which has implications about commuting and pods i dont even want to go NEAR since this is already too long.

tldr: hes a moron AND a manipulating and gaslighting bitch. the spray was probably just saline or whatever and he knew it. shithead

[stxleslyds]

Can you please do the list of Jason's and Dick's skills and how good they are at it compared to other skilled people? Of course only if you want to.

Hi! Thank you for the ask anon! I am sorry that it took me so long to answer your ask, I found myself going back and forth with how I wanted to write this out.

Just a heads up, the skills that I will depict here are the ones that I remember and found are attributed to each character in the current timeline. I think it’s important for me to say this because this current Dick Grayson has been nerfed greatly compared to his pre-New 52 counterpart. As for Jason, he has had many things incorporated into his training and some others have been completely erased (even though some of Jason’s training was erased he hasn’t been nerfed by any means).

When I say that Dick has been nerfed, I mean that some of his abilities have been erased in canon and some others have been washed down as the reboots happened.

Now, let me do a little ranting before I jump into listing Dick and Jason’s skills.

If you search for Jason’s skill set in wikis and other places, they might include his Lost Days training as something that he still has but as of New 52 and Rebirth that training has been erased and replaced with Talia sending Jason to the All-Castle right after he came out of the Lazarus Pit.

Also, while many places say that the Lazarus Pit has granted Jason regeneration and the ability to not age, I can safely say that those things aren’t true. As far as I know, the Lazarus Pit can only heal injuries, physical and mental (to a certain extent for the last one).

I assume that the concept of Jason “not being able to age” comes from the fact that Ra’s Al Ghul has the ‘longevity ability’ because “through the use of the Lazarus Pit, Ra's has acquired a greatly extended lifespan, allowing him to live a near-immortal life for centuries”, the thing with this is that Ra’s uses the Lazarus Pit fairly often, Jason only used it once.

So, just to be clear, Jason can age just like any other human character, and the regeneration ability is also untrue because Jason spent a long time recovering from his injuries after the “Death of the Family” event and RHatO vol.2 #25.

Also, there has been no proof of Jason actually having magical abilities (after being submerged in the Lazarus Pit). The All-Blades are summoned through his soul but he doesn’t do magic with them and the summoning was mastered after non-magical training. And the “Magic Negation” move is an arcane martial art move.

Wow, sorry I spent so much time explaining my line of thinking. But I can be confusing when I talk so I thought it would be better if I explained my thought process a bit. I promise I am done though; I will now start listing Dick and Jason’s abilities.

Let’s start with Dick!

Acrobatics.

Aviation.

Criminology.

Espionage.

Genius Level Intellect.

Disguise (Acting).

Escapology.

Leadership.

Multilingualism (12 Languages).

Indomitable Will.

Martial Arts (Boxing, Eskrima, Ninjitsu, Stick Fighting)

Peak Human Condition (Strength, Speed, Stamina, Agility, Reflexes, Durability).

Throwing (Escrima sticks, Wingdings)

Weaponry (Escrima sticks, Firearms, Swords)

Abilities learnt with Batman:

Eidetic Memory.

Forensic Science.

Investigation.

Tactical Analysis.

Tracking.

Interrogation.

Intimidation.

Stealth.

Surveillance.

Jason’s Turn!

Aviation.

Computer Hacking.

Genius Level Intellect.

Indomitable Will.

Martial Arts (Dim Mak, Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Wing Chun).

Multilingualism.

Occultism.

Peak Human Condition (Strength, Speed, Stamina, Agility, Reflexes, Durability).

Weaponry (Firearms, Master Swordsman)

Abilities learnt with Batman:

Investigation.

Tracking.

Interrogation.

Intimidation.

Stealth.

Surveillance.

Abilities learnt with the All-Castle:

Summoning of the All-Blades.

Abilities learnt with Talia Al Ghul:

Magic Negation (a martial arts move)

All in all, both of them are incredibly well trained. There are abilities that one of them has and the other doesn’t. Jason has had more training outside of Batman’s teachings due to Talia having taken Jason to the All-Castle after he was submerged in the Lazarus Pit. And he was also trained by some of the members of the League of Assassins, like Lady Shiva.

If I were to compare Jason and Dick’s abilities with, let’s say, Barbara, Tim, Stephanie, and Damian, I would say that Jason and Dick are far more well trained and knowledgeable than them. Cass could beat both of them in hand-to-hand combat but I feel like it would still be a long fight for Dick and Cass or Jason and Cass, maybe Jason would have a harder time with her because he is so big compared to her.

I would even go as far as to say that both Jason and Dick could take down Batman if they really wanted to. Let’s say that for some reason Dick and Bruce or Jason and Bruce decide to battle it out with everything they have got, then I would say that the odds are in Dick and Jason’s favour.

Now, those comparisons that I just made, I did them with uncertainty because I don’t keep up with any of those characters. When it comes to DC I really don’t go beyond Dick and Jason centred content. I don’t even read Batman (I only read it if there is an event that has Dick or Jason as a major player).

So, I don’t really feel comfortable comparing their skill sets with other people, what I don’t know I prefer to not talk about. I was being a little cheeky with those comparisons that I made before; they are very surface level.

I can talk about what has actually happened in comics though. From a combat perspective I can say this:

Jason was able to master the “Magic Negation” move with little training from Talia, and she hadn’t even mastered it way back when she was training him before he became Robin (yeah, that was a thing that happened in zero year, RHatO vol.1 #25). So that would give you a little insight on how overpowered Jason has been written in the past 10 years.

The second time that he did that move he used it against Ra’s al Ghul, that Ra’s was charged up with the power of the Untitled but in reality, the power wasn’t strong at all because Ra’s didn’t have enough “soul” for the Untitled to latch on to. Jason, however, was able to channel that power and the All-Blades against him. All that should have drained Jason pretty quickly but he had the whole “chosen one” thing going on for him. Here is where the magic aspect of Jason would come from but I am still not sure that Jason can actually manipulate or do magic, I feel like it’s more like letting something like the All-Blades or the Untitled latch on to you like a parasite (that will kill you if it does it for too long) to get a boost in power. Maybe you or somebody else sees that as magic but I don’t.

So, overall, I would say that Jason is a very strong opponent. But you have to take into consideration that weapons like the All-Blades aren’t accessible to him at all times, they only can be summoned when true evil is presenting itself as a threat to Jason and they consume/corrupt his soul, so their power isn’t unlimited either.

Dick is a very strange case because while he was able to fight and defeat a proper Talon and a ‘second-hand’ Talon (that was still a notable opponent) in the New 52 run and he was able to defeat his enemies just fine, in Rebirth things took a dark turn, all of his skills were either gone or watered down by a lot, he was everyone’s punching bag. 

As time went on though Dick seemed to be written better and he fought Cheshire and some LoA people fairly easily and so on. But then… Ric happened and the whole manipulation and being played with as if he were a toy happened and that set his characterization on fire again. He defeated Jason easily when he was under Joker’s control but he was sloppy against Barbara so, there isn’t really a lot of rhyme or reason in that one.

After he regained his memories mid-way Joker War, he was an excellent fighter all of the sudden and everything was easy for him. When the event ended and he was Nightwing again he didn’t only beat KGBeast (the one that had shot him) but he absolutely humiliated him, it was like Dick snapped.

Now, under Tom Taylor’s writing, Dick is… I don’t want to say dumb because he isn’t, but I will just say that Taylor isn’t doing Dick any favours. He promised us a lot of things, like giving Dick the respect and level of expertise that he deserves but so far, I have seen none of it.

Something that has to be taken into consideration is that Dick isn’t fully recovered from his head injury, so, he is written as not as skilled as he is supposed to be and he is also making decisions that aren’t good for his health because if you run the risk of falling unconscious in the middle of a fight, you shouldn’t be fighting at all.

From Batman’s training’s perspective, I can say this:

Dick has always given me the “mentee surpasses his mentor” vibes. He is a better detective and he is also overall better than Batman in what he taught him and also at being Batman. Sadly, just like his combat, his detective skills along with all the other Bat training have been watered down for Dick. It’s absolutely awful, DC has been doing Dick dirty for far too long.

I wish I could say that things are picking up for Dick now, but Tom Taylor put “drama” as his priority instead of giving Dick back the skill-set that he once had (I know, I complained about Tom Taylor’s lack of action before but I really needed to do it again).

Jason has been done dirty too when it comes to his detective skills and other Bat training, mostly in Urban Legends: Cheer but quite honestly it wasn’t as bad as what they did to Dick. Jason has never really been as good as a detective as Bruce or Dick so yeah. But there is a clear difference between the Jason that we have now and the one that appeared in UtRH.

So, I would say that as of now Jason and Dick are treated as if they were on the same level detective/bat training-wise, which I think isn’t fair to Dick. Because he should be better in those aspects than Jason (or, at least, that’s how I see it).

I really don’t know if this answer is what you wanted or if it is good at all but I hope that if you read this you don’t end up feeling like I wasted your time.

I promise I will get better at answering asks! And I hope you have a wonderful day anon!

[notachair]

The role of Mobius and reflections of the viewer

Okay so I’ve had this bastard in my draft for forever but since there’s just a few hours left before the Loki series releases I’ve just tried to make this mess of a post a little *less* of a mess just to have the thoughts out there. Since from almost the beginning I had this thought, and I’ve seen others post similar ideas touching upon it since. Also excuse me for all the "we"'s cause that's an assumption I shouldn't make about all. I have no idea what's gonna happen, but here is me trying to explain why I’ve felt uncomfortable about Mobius’ character. Here we go---

Ok so. You know how:

1. Mobius have been referred to as Loki’s biggest fan?

And

2. Mobius is apparently the all-knower of all things Loki?

Also

3. The Loki promos (as far as I watched them and what I’ve gathered from the ones who *have* watched all the promos) seems to be taking TVA’s perspective?

Well, what came to mind is all of this...

That fanfic trope

You know how we in fics often times have other characters learn some about Loki’s past either through actually talking to Loki, by connecting some dots or through a vision, time travel or literally seeing a movie of his life? How we write and read these things cause we see how there are so many things unaddressed and we want the character who’s been so utterly villified (not an excuse for their actions but a commentary about how the hero/villain coding have affected the treatment of the character both in-universe and by the audience/fandom) to be *seen* in their complexity, and have things questioned and not just buy into the coding in the narrative.

We want to explore how in-universe characters would react if they had all that information they’ve been clueless to. It’s one of the reasons at least I assume. Personally I’ve been waiting for someone, just someone that knows or knows of it. Perhaps Thor could bring it up and they could finally have a proper conversation about things that have been mostly brushed over. But there has been no one. Not even one he could truly talk to. Not even one person asking “what happened?”. Personally that’s something I’ve been desiring, and a character with a role like this has been a big trope within the Loki fandom for good reason. Like how do you move forward with the character making meaningful bonds with people and tackling A1 Loki's current issues without *tackling* the past?

We’ve kept seeing Loki being described and moralized through the lenses of someone else. Not through himself (or themself/herself) without the coding taking the side. Someone being able to see these things like as if a movie, is not something in-universe characters have the ability to do. Really that’s the viewers main ability, and here we have a series and a character who’s conviniently been given that ability and power. I feel like that’s the role they’re putting Mobius in. An in-universe character, outside of the Asgardian drama family, who’s very easily gotten access to the same things as us and even more.

The key of this sentence is *more*. Cause that means he’s someone who more or less *knows* all there is to know, he knows more than any other character in the mcu and the audience. And therefore as the Loki-knower, he’ll have the most credibility in his claims. So when we see this character who claims to have studied most of Loki’s life… we see him reacting in ways unexpected and claim things that contradicts what we’ve gathered from people’s hours of dissect and analysis… the negative weight of so many of the interactions I have personally seen... It’s worrying. Since the trailers so far is coloured by Mobius’ lens, this is what the viewer sees, through the coloured lens. He may not feel included to be kind, but marvel should know how the use of that lens is gonna affect people’s views on Loki. It personally feels like I’m being put in my place like «Oh silly, you don’t know Loki as much as you think you do. Mobius is their biggest fan and the all-knower of all things Loki, and he says you’re wrong in your assesment! Loki is really just some shit, even if he’s smart!»

Mobius (/TVA) and Loki

Obviously as humans (?) they won’t feel inclined to be friendly to Loki. Does Mobius think it’s the right way to treat Loki to manipulate him into doing what they/he wants through goading and other means? I don’t believe Loki will feel too inclined to willingly work with people who sees him as untrustworthy, violates and threatens to kill him (deletion, does TVA have the power to like, throw that variant’s paper in the trash and *delete* him from existence that way? I also thought they were earth’s protectors?). But ye I haven’t liked how he’s (and TVA obviously) treated Loki so far and he better change if they’re really supposed to become buddy-cop friends as they say. And referring to him as "the biggest fan" makes one expect more positive takes than the demeaning vibes I had gotten. Their relationship arc was described as «a love story» so that gotta mean they’ll get quite well along in the end won’t they? Btw… they really gotta find other ways to describe those sort of arcs when it’s not actually gonna involve romance…

Also, when I say I don’t like how Mobius talks about Loki, this is not as a “oh no don’t talk bad about my innocent baby;-;-;” and I shouldn’t have to say that. I’m asking for some nuance, something they have afforded others before, but never really seem to allow properly for Loki. I’m asking for the context of the situations to be acknowledged. I mean since the series is gonna take an exploration of self identity and all that, and how they’ve literally been shown to watch moments from Loki’s past (and future in a different time line) and all those papers that had to be signed? I’d expect the past to be addressed in one way in another, and I’m not gonna be happy if context is just fully ignored.

And just a few more thoughts. You know how those papers were everything Loki had ever said? And how that didn’t include what others said or did? I’m wondering in what way Mobius studied most of Loki’s life. Like with both the papers and the Loki cinema, it’s not like he’s actually privy to Loki’s thoughts and motivations? And if Loki didn’t really have any friends or others he felt he could confide in, then :/// to that perspective. Also, do you think Loki’s life is the longest he’s ever had to review before? How long did that take him to view/read *most* of Loki’s life?Even if the TVA is a place out of time, it must have taken him forever! Perhaps it pissed him off so much he idk skipped from the beginning to the most recent stuff.

Apparently the series is gonna be a little bit of a mix between things, and I read a review saying the lense is more neutral? But… yea not trusting some random reviewer.

THIS POST IS A MESS AND I KNOW THAT. BUT I HAD TO GET IT OUT NOW SINCE I’LL SLEEP THROUGH THE RELEASE AND THIS HAS BEEN IN MY DRAFTS FOR MONTHS AND I JUST NEEDED TO GET IT OUT. If you read this far, many kudos to you!

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Musings #44: A Squiggle Meister’s Views on Whitley Schnee. The Proverbial Black Sheep of the Schnee Siblings or the overlooked Diamond in the Rough?

An uncommon character for me to muse about, I know. I don’t generally make it habit to ponder about this character but, oddly enough, recently I got thinking about Whitley Schnee. Mind you, Whitley didn’t exactly receive the most favourable of introductions back during the events of RWBY Volume 4.

However, in spite of this, it didn’t deter from making him come off as a less than interesting character.

I wanted to take today to not really do any sort of in-depth analysis on Whitley but rather share one or two ponderings about him that I’ve considered. To think, this all started with just one thought.

Whitley with the Good Hair

Imagine...the same Whitley Schnee we all know from RWBY but with fluffy, unkempt, wavy, hair. 

I am not even joking with this. Not gonna lie either. Whitley’s hair kinda bugs me a little bit. It’s so perfectly well-kept all the time that at moments when he’s onscreen, it almost appears too perfect if you actually get what I’m saying and I don’t sound like a complete imbecile bringing up this point. Never have I figured I’d have to use the words ‘outlandishly neat hair’ to describe a character.

In an odd way, I pegged Whitley to be the type to be born with hair that’s not exactly like his sisters. I noticed from the Schnee Family portrait in their residence that Jacques’ hair doesn’t seem to be as naturally white as snow as he’d like others to presume.

As a matter of fact, in the portrait, Jacques’ hair is predominantly black but while his mustache is still dark, you can tell that his hair was starting to grey a bit from age. That’s right, I said, grey. Not white.

However, when we met Jacques in the series, both his hair and mustache were completely chalk white. Give the man a big red and white bucket of fried chicken and he’d be Colonel Sanders.

A dye job perhaps? I wouldn’t put it past him. The series has already painted Jacques as such a ‘wannabe Schnee’, that it wouldn’t surprise me not one bit if he did change his hair colour to fit with his new Schnee title. This actually makes me curious about Jacques’ origin.

What kind of upbringing and background would a man such as that have to come from to become this kind of tyrannical person? So far, we know naught of Jacques’ previous life beyond the fact that he married into the Schnee Family and was only interested in Mama Schnee for her name. This is a man who wanted to the wealth, power and status that the Schnee name brought that he was willingly to feign romantic interest in the Daughter of the Head of the Schnee Dust Company to do so.

This is a man who wanted to be somebody. So with that thought in mind, this pegs the question. How much of a nobody did Jacques used to be before becoming a Schnee?

This makes me wonder if even having children, the proclaimed heirs, is nothing but another superficial front for Jacques to hide behind. It makes me wonder if Jacques has any real intention of ever giving up being the Head of the Schnee Dust Company. This is a man who stole the integrity of a well-known and trusted name in Remnant and tarnished it for his own egotistical greed.

Would a man as devious as that wholeheartedly and willingly just hand the reigns to someone else, even if that someone was his own spawn and rightful heir? I don’t think so. I think Jacques might even end up double crossing Whitley, the current heir, in the end and using him to heighten his running in the company.

This brings me back to Whitley again. This post is supposed to be about the youngest Schnee Sibling after all and not his bad-minded father. However Jacques will be mentioned now and again because the type of person Whitely is now, is as a result of Jacques’ grooming.

Resuming talk about his hair. Soft, silky, snow-white hair seems to be a hereditary trait amongst the Schnee bloodline. That being said, what if...like his father, Whitley’s hair is different from his sisters. Though it may be white in colour as a Schnee’s head would be, the texture of his hair is not of his family.

Imagine if...Whitley’s hair is naturally wavier than his sister’s, creating this constantly dishevelled look that he hates because it’s not the vision of him that his father wants of him and because of this, Whitley desperately tries to keep it under control.  Whitley certainly strikes me as the type. He’s so snooty all the time and his hair oddly mimics that level of contempt.

I’m kind of chuckling to myself imagining for Atlas Arc where Whitley is forced to play nice and befriend our heroes because Jacques is making him act the part as a means of gathering intel. But that’s not why I’m laughing. I’m laughing because I’m envisioning Whitley hanging out with the Rosebuds: Ruby and Oscar and the two, mostly Ruby’s idea, drag the poor Schnee boy to an area where there’s water.

And while Ruby and Oscar go for a quick dip, Whitley cautiously chooses to stay dry, remarking that he doesn’t quite enjoy going to pool areas because he doesn’t like getting his hair wet. However Ruby and Oscar don’t buy the excuse and hatch a plan to get the Schnee boy to join them. So while Ruby distracts Whitley, Oscar sneaks up behind him and playfully shoves him into the water.

It was originally meant as a playful joke to get the pretentious rich boy to loosen up a little but the entire act ends up infuriating Whitley. Turns out, Whitley is just as harsh with words when he’s pissed like his sister Weiss.

But as Whitley is uncharacteristically yelling at our veteran rose buds, Ruby and Oscar are in awe.

Not for Whitley losing his cool, which was a first, but because of what the water had done to his hair. When Whitley had fell into the water, it washed away whatever chemical hair products that was keeping it at bay because Whitley now stood with a full head of the fluffiest curly white locks the two had ever seen.

He looked like a completely different person; albeit while also looking like an angry lollipop with a head of white cotton candy.

And upon realizing what had happened based on Ruby and Oscar’s shared surprised reactions, Whitley becomes incredibly embarrassed at the fact that his secret was out and before anyone could tell him to stop, Whitley immediately climbs out of the water and storms off.  

If Whitley had tougher hair, he’d probably trust Klein to comb it because he’s the only one who fully understands Whitley’s need to please his father.

Just picture, Whitley Schnee---the real Whitley Schnee with his natural fluffy ‘bed head’ posed disgruntled before a mirror, looking disgustedly at himself, surrounded by varying hair styling utensils and products while Klein works his magic to get the young boy looking like a proper boy; just as daddy would like it.    

Yup. Whitley definitely strikes me as that type. The type who would have wild, unruly hair but is able to pull it off quite handsomely because, though a little more difficult to maintain that his sisters’, Whitley actually has really good hair. Whitley with the good hair. He just needs to learn how to maintain it but unfortunately doesn’t want to.

To Whitely, while the wild natural ‘bed head’ look might suit him better because he’d look less like a mini-Jacques with it, due to the young man’s obsession with living up to his father’s expectations of him, he keeps this side hidden because...the real him isn’t up to his father’s standards. Neat Whitley is and that’s how he wants to keep it.

Yep. Though this is all mostly me just speculating, I can totally see this being canon because as I’ll say again, Whitley strikes me as that type of character. The type that probably has another side to him that feels more true to himself but chooses not to show it often or at all. The type that would need someone to help him with his hair and other things because he doesn’t know how to maintain this delusion of himself on his own. Someone to help him keep his guise up, quickly painting all the cracks in his mask whenever  one of his many pretences start to fall apart and his real nature and feelings start to leak out.

The type where if the slightest thing isn’t perfect, he’ll completely unravel and wouldn’t know how to piece himself back together without help from those who truly care about him because he’d been forced to suppress himself for so long. At least, this is how I’m interpreting Whitley’s character.

Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree

‘...It’s foolish, not to do what father asks...’

‘Are you jealous? Is that it? Whatever do you mean? Is that why you hate me? Are you jealous of my abilities? Of Winter’s? Hmm. Not really. Honestly I find it barbaric. It’s beneath people like me, like father...’

Y’know what’s funny? If you pay attention to some of Whitley’s dialogue from V4, you can interpret a lot about his character regardless of whether it was the writers’ intention for this assumption or not. For starters, what I’m gathering from this is that Whitley, contrary to what Weiss might think of him right now, doesn’t hate his sisters’.

Between Weiss and Winter, I feel a stronger connection with Weiss resonating from Whitley. I certainly get the vibe that he likes her more than Winter.

‘...You’re strong, like Winter. You never liked Winter. True. But you can’t deny her resolve...’

What’s interesting to note is when Weiss called Whitley out for disliking Winter, he didn’t deny it. As a matter of fact, he openly admitted it without the slightest hint of remorse. However when Weiss questioned Whitley about hating her, he never exactly said he did. His answer was a nonchalant ‘not really’. So Whitley dislikes Winter but not Weiss. So why is that?

Here’s my deduction. I think the reason why Whitley may resent Winter is because in his head, not only was she the first to defy their father but she was one whose actions encouraged Weiss to follow in her defiant footsteps; choosing to study to become a huntress away at Beacon rather than in Atlas where Jacques continue to keep a very tight reigns on her.

Winter was the first to break free from her cage and started this whole debacle of disobedience. If Winter had just stayed in line, then Whitley wouldn’t have lost not one but both of his sisters.

‘...You seem different. And you’ve been gone. I’ll have you know, I didn’t stop growing while you were away at Beacon...’

In rewatching this scene where Whitley was first introduced, this line he said to Weiss really stuck out to me. It kind of implies Whitley’s true feelings about Weiss leaving here. It tells me, as the viewer, that Whitley might be harbouring some unspoken feelings of bitterness towards his sister’s departure for Beacon.

I’m not sure how close the Schnee Siblings were growing up but it is safe to assume that there was some level of closeness as family, right? The impression I got here is that to Whitley, with his sisters around there was the slight comfort of knowing that he wasn’t alone. Even if their relationship was shaky, his sisters were always present in his life at all times. But because Weiss chose to defy their father, like Winter did before her, for a second time in his life, Whitley lost yet another sister.

His big sister had left home...left Jacques...left him and why? To forge her own path outside of the sheltered lifestyle their father had laid out for them.

There is no doubt that Whitley is loyal to Jacques to a fault. He’s such a trained canary with the way how he just blindly follows Jacques around and adheres to everything he says and does; that it makes me wonder if this kid is even human and not some robo-child programmed to be subservient to the whim of Jacques Schnee.

Even Penny Pollendina felt more human than machine than Whitley and she was the real deal.

That being said, I also believe there is no denying that Whitley...in his own Whitley way, loves his sisters. Particularly Weiss and when they both left...it probably hurt. A lot more than he alludes to. Perhaps he feels like his sisters both abandoned him. While Weiss and Winter stayed close and held on to each other, Whitley was left alone with only Jacques as his guide.

Not even Mama Schnee was around, as it would seem. Too preoccupied with her own drunkard stupor to be there for her own son.

Speaking of which, did anyone else notice that in V4, Jacques keeps a picture of Whitley on his desk in his study but one of his own wife on the shelf in the corner of the room?

What does that say? Whitley is certainly special to Jacques. I mean, he is the only he has left. The only one that hasn’t pulled away. His little perfectly groomed puppet that he occasionally likes to parade around for all of Atlas to see what a caring father he is including every wealthy Atlesian aristocrat dumb enough to fall for their act and invest in Jacques. It’s a never-ending game of manipulation where Whitley is the sole MVP.

However the weird thing is, I don’t get Whitley’s real motive for following Jacques. Though he’s painted as a puppet, the way how Whitley played Weiss---oh I’m sorry, based on the way Weiss claimed Whitley played her like a fiddle while he himself didn’t deny that that was his intentions from the start, makes me wonder if he could have his own schemes underway.

Whitley is such an elusive character to me that I can’t tell if his faithfulness to Jacques is out of blind love, a son’s desperate need for his father’s constant appraisal and acknowledgment or...could Whitley have his own plans for the Schnee Dust Company and Jacques is just too ignorant to notice his own son’s deceit?

I brought up this hunch in another musing about Whitley. Sure Jacques is probably just manipulating Whitley and using him in the same fashion he does for everything and everyone around him. But what if...the twist is that Whitley is also using Jacques and plans on giving him his just desserts.

They say karma is a cold-hearted bitch so wouldn’t it be ironic and a fitting punishment for Jacques to get taken down by the very perfect child he’s been grooming to be like him in the same fashion he duped Mama Schnee? A nice addition to Whitley’s character is if of all the Schnee children, he’s the one that cared about their mother the most.

Though like father, like son, I like the idea of Whitley being a momma’s boy too; sharing a close bond with Mamma Schnee from since birth. I imagined, before Weiss’ 10th birthday, Mamma Schnee was probably a very loving mother who adored all her children. However Whitley was the spoiled one because he was the baby of the bunch. But after hearing the truth that the man she’s been married to for years didn’t truly love her, the news changed Mamma Schnee and suddenly, she just wasn’t the same caring person anymore.

What if...as a young boy, Whitley was very close to his mother and hated the pain his own father caused her growing up. So much so that he’s been plotting his own devious scheme for years, smartly playing the role of ‘the good child’ as a ploy to gain Jacques’ trust before removing him from the picture as revenge. That’s one cool hunch for Whitley’s character story, dontcha think?

The Phantom of the Schnee Dust Company

Speaking of ideas for Whitley’s character story, this brings me to a next theory I’m wanna talk about.  

Does Whitley Schnee secretly have summoning powers like his sisters?

Winter Schnee once told Weiss that every member of the Schnee family has the ability to summon and have done so for generations. She made mention of this back in V3. That being said, I wonder if the same can be said for Whitley, who isn't a huntsman per say, but certainly has the potential to unlock this kind of power given his lineage, right?

What’s to say he hasn’t already? Perhaps, Whitley already awakened his semblance but no one else knows of this. Not even Jacques. I believe Whitley Schnee probably does possess summoning powers but unlike his sisters, who have both fully embraced their potential, Whitley despises his powers and thus, suppresses his abilities.

We’ve seen two Schnees accept their powers upon unlocking them. What would happen to one who’s unlocked their power but shows resistance?

This is going to sound weird to say but perhaps, Whitley’s Schnee power is surprisingly the strongest of the three siblings; even more powerful than his sisters’ combined; probably mirroring that of their grandfather’s skill level at that age.

Wouldn’t be surprised if Whitley associates the Schnee’s hereditary semblance with being a curse due to the rebellious nature that its current wielders seem to adopt once fully realizing their potential. After all, look at Winter and Weiss. They both left Jacques’ cold clutches upon acknowledging their strength as huntresses.

What if...Jacques has drilled into Whitley’s head that having such powers is a curse in itself because it made his sisters’ insolent and thus, Whitley sees it the same way too.

The more I consider it, the more I’m falling in love with the concept of Whitley having summoning abilities but because he chooses to ignore the existence of such powers within himself and thus represses his own semblance, he’s lost control of his own summoning.

Imagine...Whitley being haunted by a summon he unintentionally manifested in the real world? Besides having an arsenal of summons to chose from, both Winter and Weiss seem to have a signature summon that they call upon the most. For Winter, it’s her Beowolves. For Weiss, it’s her Arma Gigas.

So what if...Whitley’s summon is a Geist? A literal phantom that can take the form of anything it possesses. A creature of many masks, no different than its amateur summoner.

The Geist, being a summon, acts on the will of Whitley, its summoner. However because Whitley has been suppressing his powers for so long, he doesn’t quite know how to control the summon. Similar to how Weiss lost control and accidentally summoned a Boarbatusk at the charity ball out of her frustration with one of its disrespectful patrons, imagine Whitley’s Geist manifesting itself during moments when his emotions at its peak and the creature acts out on those negative emotions.

I’m just envisioning a side story for the upcoming Atlas Arc where some strange occurrences have been happening around Atlas that put the Schnee Dust Company in the spotlight. Competitor company buildings going up in flames. Missing former employees who were all reported to have quit the job in recent times. Severe injuries and in some cases, death, surrounding people who were in recent alleged heated contact with head of the company: Jacque Schnee; etc. At first the incidences were suspected to be White Fang activity, even though the White Fang haven’t been relevant since the Triumph of Haven and the reformation of the Brotherhood. But due to the unusual nature of the cases and the fact that no evidence was found at the scene of the crimes, these incidences eventually became closed cases. But that didn’t stop it from creating negative propaganda that brought the Schnee Dust Company to the forefront of the Atlesian headlines; catching the attention of the public including Weiss and Winter.

Imagine...Weiss and Winter working together to solve the mystery of what was going on within their family company while subsequently concocting a plan to remove Jacques Schnee once and for all under the assumption that he’s been orchestrating the events as an interrogation tactic to ward off competition while gaining the sympathy of the public eye. So in the beginning, Jacques Schnee was believed to be the main culprit. However, in the midst of it all, all traces of added evidence started pointing towards the true mastermind: Whitley Schnee who had been using his newly awakened semblance to get his father ahead and keep him at the top.

But do you know what the bigger twist would be? That Jacques was oblivious to Whitley’s powers and his intentions of using them the way he did.

Even better. Wanna hear the biggest twist? Whitley is oblivious to his own powers or at least, decides not accept that they aren’t real and his to control. While the rich boy was aware of the strange occurrences was due to a monster, he called ‘The Phantom’, what he didn’t know was that the beast was his summon. He always figured the beast was a ghost sent by karma to haunt him. But what he didn’t realize was that the wild summon was a manifestation of his own suppressed powers he’d been trying to hide even though they’d been growing stronger. So strong that’d become erratic with the summoned Geist appearing chaotic in form.

I just would love to see Whitley as a summoner; particularly an antagonistic one. I wonder if this is what the CRWBY Writers might be alluding to with his character or at least it’s one way to look at it. At first I figured he might’ve been the one to have no powers. But imagine if he does but uses them for all the wrong reasons; be it intentional or not.

Picture....a Battle of the Schnees where for the first time in RWBY history, Winter and Weiss tag-team to take down a crazed and broken Whitley who is revealed to be a summoner like his sisters and whose own summon had been attacking victims on Whitley’s behalf.

Of course, like I mentioned before, Whitley is unaware of this because he’s been suppressing his powers just he’d be suppressing so many other things about himself, forcibly trying to keep it all at bay to maintain his facade of perfection.

But in the end, it all falls apart and the Schnee boy suffers a mental breakdown with his own monstrous phantom lashing out because of it. So it’s up to his big sisters to come to his rescue.

Doesn’t that sound like a cool story to tell?

I want so much from the Atlas Arc. So many side stories I wanna see done and this is one of them. And if it leads to Whitley receiving an inkling of redemption; y’know reconciling things with his sisters with the three Schnee Siblings finally coming together as a family which then leads to them working together to put an end to Jacques’ reign, wouldn’t that be an interesting way to conclude Weiss’ story arc with her family on a positive light?

I know this is something I’d love to see as part of the Atlas Arc. But again, I’m not a writer for RWBY so I am curious to see what Miles and Kerry has in store for us going forward, particularly for Whitley.  

A Better Whitley

Although I originally wrote him off as a bad character, I’m actually intrigued as to where the CRWBY Writers are going to go with Whitley’s development, particularly regarding his role in the upcoming Atlas Arc.

I know for a fact that Whitley will be a major player in Weiss’ side of the story, for sure.

Don’t get me wrong, I still desire for Whitley to be an antagonist or rival character to Oscar Pine in the arena for Ruby’s affections.

While I doubt Whitley would have any genuine affection towards Ruby beyond using her in a similar fashion his own father used his mother, I think Whitley would be the perfect Ying to Oscar’s Yang to give the farm boy a well-deserved shove towards realizing his true feelings for the Silver Eyed Girl.

I love the idea of Whitley being a rival to Oscar. But believe it or not, I also like the idea of the two becoming allies too if possible. Whitley looks like he could use more people in his life that care about him besides his father. Maybe even Klein cares deeply for Whitley---the father figure he deserves but he just never acknowledges it. I think Oscar can be a good friend for Whitley.

While I don’t ship Rich Farmers as a relationship (proud RoseGardener over here), I do like the thought of them being a friendship. If Rubes becomes Oscar’s closest best friend, then can the precious farm boy begrudgingly become the snooty rich boy’s best friend or...the closest thing to it?

The kind of friendship that I imagine Oscar and Whitley having is the one where either originally hated each other’s guts but when you eliminate the object that made them butt heads in the first place (like Whitley pursuing Ruby and Oscar becoming jealous for of it), turns out the two might actually get along quite well. May even like each other...or at least respect the other enough to not kill them in their sleep when they piss them off.

An unlikely friendship that thrives on a shit ton of inside jokes and even more sarcastic quips at the other’s expense. The kind of friendship that makes others question why and how the two participants befriended each other when their attitude makes it seem like they hate each other when in actuality, they love each other like two inglorious bastard brothers bred from the same illegitimate father called anarchy.

So yeah, while I’m drawn to the concept of Whitley being a rival and a mini boss character, I’d also like to learn more about his character in hopes that he may be redeemed.

Though not much was revealed about Whitley back in V4, it did hint of there being more layers to him and I’m hoping we get to explore those layers once the group returns to Atlas.

I just don’t want for Whitley to be another throw away character who’s just there for the sake of moving the plot along or being an unnecessary red herring. I don’t want Whitley to be another Vernal or Professor Lionheart. Both characters had the potential for more, the writers just chose not to flesh them out before cutting straight to their inevitable deaths in the Haven Battle.

While very straightforward, this left me feeling more like these two characters were merely just plot devices rather than what they’re supposed to be---actual characters. While the CRWBY writers didn’t necessarily have to keep these characters around for future arcs, my complaint here is that they could’ve done a much better job at fleshing them out.

As I said, make them feel more like characters. Never mind that they were meant to die, at least make me care about their deaths.

I don’t want this to be the case with Whitley or any character during the Atlas Arc. Which is why I’m hoping that the Conclusion to the Mistral Arc in V6 leading into the Atlas Arc would be handled much better. Regarding Whitley, the writers have already established some keen plot points to assist with composing his part in ongoing story.

I just pray that Miles and Kerry learnt from their mistakes during the last two seasons and will work towards making sure that the seasons ahead are done much better.

Despite being painting as this conniving person, when I recall V4, I don’t remember Whitley actually doing anything that’d suggest that. As a matter of fact, all the allegations that Weiss made about Whitley were pointed out by her without the show visually showing that he committed these crimes. There was a lot of ‘Tell. Not Show’ for volumes 4 and 5 and I sincerely hope this is a habit that the CRWBY will drop for the upcoming V6.

They could’ve easily not have given Weiss a brother at all. This is the thing though. Why was Whitley introduced? In the scope of things, his character wasn’t really necessary because the past seasons had already established the tension of Weiss’ relationship with Jacques and that was enough to drive her own arc during the V4 Split.

It’s not like Whitley’s introduction in V4 actually acted as a good catalyst for the events that happened to Weiss during the season that lead to her outburst at the charity ball after party to her fall out with Jacques to even her departure.

Did Whitley give Weiss the brilliant idea to present an expensive painting as part of an auction to help raise funds for Beacon, knowing full well that Weiss would fail in that regard? No.

.Did Jacques give Weiss reason to bring up the painting during their fight so that Weiss could have leverage to make mention that Whitley supported her in her idea only for the boy to turn on Weiss in the moment and take Jacques side, showing just how two faced he could be? Nope. The charity painting and the Atlesian Elite’s total disregard for the People in Vale following the Fall of Beacon was what drove Weiss to spiral out of control the way she did. Whitley Schnee played no part in that scene yet somehow Weiss blamed him like her being punished by Jacques was his doing when really...what did he do though?

Seriously. In the grander scope of things, Whitley did nothing for V4 except talk. And even when he did talk it’s not like he was being a clever snake, whispering in Weiss’ ear and encouraging her to pursue her own personal ideas that in hindsight, would please her but knowingly irk Jacques.

 Nope. All he did was play nice the entire time yet when Jacques took away her heiress status, there was Weiss accusing Whitley of being devious the entire time and there he was smiling and acting like this was all true. But in reality, nothing happened on screen to prove this.

You could remove Whitley from the story in V4 and the plot wouldn’t have played out any differently. I’m sorry to say this for all the diehard Whitley fans in the FNDM but his character added nothing more for V4 beyond giving Weiss a punching bag to point fingers at for the consequences of her own actions against Jacques; which wasn’t even necessary. Up until V4, there has been no prior mention of Weiss ever having a brother. We knew she had Winter since her debut in V3 and we knew of Jacques because he was already established as the authoritarian father she was trying to avoid. The one whose crimes she constantly found herself having to pay for and whose royal test she had to shoulder.

But there was never any mentioning of Whitley at all. Neither Schnee sisters didn’t even comment about Whitley being in the picture during their one on one talk before Winter’s leave in V3 C6. Jacques was mentioned, naturally. But no Whitley.

So then why does his character exist? What are the CRWBY writers’ setting him up to truly be? Is he indeed the proverbial black sheep of the siblings, driven by the negativity of feeling abandoned by both of his older sisters or...will he be the diamond in the rough---a conniving trickster on the surface but his trickery is merely another one of his acts to conceal the ambitions of more caring soul.

Whatever it is, I hope it isn’t another poor plot device and actually fits within the context of the story and the overall direction the Atlas Arc is leading towards.

So to conclude...

As I’ll say again, I don’t want Whitley to be another Vernal or Lionheart otherwise it’d just be boring. If he does have a bigger role to play, I hope it’s a well conducted one that gives him more depth than what was glimpsed in V4.

I’m even hoping for a twist or perhaps twists with his character like what I theorized. Overall, whatever Whitley’s story is, I hope it’s handled with enough tact to leave his fans happy and satisfied.

♦ More RWBY Musings by Squiggles

~LittleMissSquiggles (2018)

[deliayi]

Long story short, I’ve never been the biggest fan of Royal Enfield motorcycles, even though I learned to ride on one. Sure, it was big, burly and entirely different from the rest of the econo-commuters available in India when I was coming of age, but that wasn’t saying much. When it came time to buying my first bike – a critical time of flux for me personally – it was a toss-up between a Machismo and the fast, dangerous, economically suicidal RD350. With all that was going on in my life at the time, I didn’t want to compromise. I wanted what I wanted. I bought the Yamaha, met a girl, married her, met many credit cards, spent them all on the bike and twenty years later, the story continues. Well, mostly.

The Meteor 350 that I’ve been riding is the successor to the Thunderbird, which was by all accounts, a great success for Royal Enfield. To me, however, it was a bit awkward, pretending to be something it was not – a proper cruiser. From the spy shots that have been floating around the Internet, the Meteor looked much the same, but I’m happy to say that it isn’t. Not by a long shot. Unlike previous models from the legendary manufacturer, the Meteor only borrows an old marque; everything else is quite new.

Royal Enfield is cool (again?)

The myth, aura and credit due to Royal Enfield motorcycles, frankly, are a product of fortuity. The Bullet tugs at the heartstrings because it has always been there. It has endured nearly unchanged for half a century, and even the most Vulcan of rational thinkers would succumb to nostalgia when talking about that old 350 or 500 their uncle/friend/lover had at some point. But in the last decade or so, there’s been a sea-change in the way the company looks at, and projects itself. Walk into a Royal Enfield showroom and it feels like a lifestyle brand. The apparel and gear are carefully curated, and go with the ethos of their retro/classic motorcycles. As does the dapper CEO, who made the pitch for the new bike in a cinematic video shot while he rode the bike in bright red gloves and boots. The film too had the right tone, look and messaging. It feels aspirational, not agrarian.

That’s not to say that RE has gone so far upmarket as to lose touch with the machismo that they so incite. On my way home with the bike, I was accosted by two lorry and one rickshaw driver, all of whom knew that this was the Meteor and it was to be launched on the sixth of November. Enfield comms department: take a bow.

The Meteor 350 is an all-new motorcycle

Knowing Royal Enfield’s history, it is hard to stress this enough. The company is steeped in tradition, and that can hold things back against the march of progress. But time carries on, and with it have come many sweeping differences in the new motorcycle. The Meteor uses a new frame, an entirely new engine, new switchgear, lighting, ergonomics and tech. India’s strict BS6 emissions norms have meant tectonic shifts in the Indian automotive space, and 2-wheelers are no exception. The new 349cc motor forms a strong base for what is likely to be a raft of future motorcycles. Gone are pushrods, replaced with a single overhead camshaft. Primary drive is now geared, there’s a balancer shaft to keep things smooth and the gearbox is slick and traditional (with a shifter on the left side).

The frame has two down-tubes now, cradling the motor, but not quite. The engine is not a stressed member of the chassis. Suspension is traditional, but beefy. 41mm forks up front, with twin shocks at the back. The rider triangle is laid back, with forward-set footpegs that put your weight roundly on your bum, and the torso in a tall, commanding position.

If you don’t know what all this means, think of it this way: the old Enfields felt like a coalition government, while the Meteor 350 feels more like a benevolent dictatorship. Things are tight and run together as a unit. It feels like any other motorcycle, with no excuses needed about ‘character’.

A word about tech

As a (mostly) tech journalist, this was the biggest surprise to me. Royal Enfield has supplied a secondary display unit called the ‘Tripper’ on all variants of the Meteor 350. The screen serves as a turn-by-turn navigation unit when paired with your smartphone. It is excellent. Traditionally, I expect very little in terms of tech from an automotive manufacturer. They just seem tone-deaf most of the time. Not so with the Tripper. It is excellent in execution, and as RE is at pains to explain, provides only the information you need and nothing more.

Once you plot a route in the Royal Enfield smartphone app – which uses Google Maps as a base – you simply punch ‘Navigate’ and turn-by-turn directions are displayed in the little pod to the left of the main console. Arrows indicate the direction of your route, and supplementary, minimal info informs you of lane suggestions. The routing is smart enough to let you know specifically when to take the road below the flyover and not climb it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to mix laxative in the KTM watercooler for their garbage navigation.

This is very, very new for the Royal Enfield we know. Considering that this is a first attempt, and it gets so much right, I’m excited to see what they do next!

The Meteor 350 looks like an old motorcycle

The design of the Meteor is far too similar to that of the outgoing Thunderbird series. In fact, all the spy shots over the past few months made it look like a sticker job more than a new motorcycle. While the lines are more refined, I think Royal Enfield perhaps missed an opportunity to make this otherwise fresh motorcycle stand out.

A cursory glance hides so much that’s new. The double down-tube frame, for instance, is easily missed. The side profile is very familiar, as is the characteristic shape of the frame. It is clearly intentional, and in this case, very conservative. The rake is a degree tighter and the rear mudguard quite thick, giving the impression of a stubby, squashed motorcycle, not the laid-back cruiser vibe they’re selling.

One must give it to them for attention to detail, however. Everything does flow quite nicely. I was particularly impressed with the rider’s view. The handlebar grips are retro, as are the clutch and brake levers. Even the console, while a hybrid analogue/digital unit, doesn’t look out of place. Royal Enfield is quite proud of their rotary toggle switches as you’d have had on old British motorcycles. It just doesn’t work as well on the left side for the passing switch. More on that latter. All in all, impressive once you pay attention, as the company hopes their faithful will.

The Meteor 350 goes like a modern motorcycle

... or a close approximation of one, considering what it is. Sticking to its heritage of making a tried-and-tested 350cc motor, Royal Enfield has taken very calculated steps into 2020 with this venerable warhorse. To pass BS6 legislation, the motor now uses a modern, traditional valvetrain and a catcon to keep the smoke clean. They’ve even managed to retain some (but not all) of the iconic thump that one expects of a Bullet variant.

On the go, things feel tight, cohesive. The front and rear aren’t telling your mind different things at the same time. Twist and go, really. I found the Meteor 350 to be exceptional in the city, betraying none of its 191kg wet weight. The fuel injection feels accurate, not lean and edgy, so your right wrist is in harmony with the progress of the bike. It feels light, almost nimble in traffic, and the suspension makes short work of rough roads. The general consensus seems to be that the Meteor feels stiff to aid handling, but this was not my experience. The 19” front wheel adds to it’s rough road readiness.

The 20-odd horsepower propelling this mass won’t deliver relaxed triple-digit cruising, but the 27Nm of torque ensures that you never really want for extra poke in the city. Overtakes and launches from traffic lights are now possible, not just noisy. The engine does start running out of steam past 100kmph so while it’s going to be better than its older 350cc brethren, it’s still not a fast mile-muncher. And most will tell you that it isn’t supposed to be. As a relaxed highway cruiser, it will work fine, I think, especially two-up.

The new motor will surprise you with its refinement more than its performance. The primary balancer shaft ensures a surprisingly vibe-free experience, even as the revs rise and you go faster. This should make for a more comfortable long-hauler, since your hands and feet will tingle less than on earlier Royal Enfield motorcycles. It’s nowhere as smooth as their twins, however. Brakes are okay. The discs are a generous size and get the job done, but feel is lacking from the front. It does its thing but conveys little. The ABS is dual-channel, so no pinching paisas here.

There are some compromises for form against function on the Meteor. The switchgear is wonderfully retro, but you need your thumb to flash your high beam. This means you can’t honk and flash at the same time, something many do for extra safety. The levers too have this period look to them, but they’re not kind on thin fingers like mine. And while the plush seat feels comfortable at first try, with forward-set footpegs, there is no chance of taking any weight onto your legs. Spotted a nasty pothole too late? Get off the brakes and brace for spinal compression. Your back will take the brunt of impact right through your tailbone. I heard this feedback on more than one occasion, but it’s part of the whole foot-forward cruising design. It’s a thing. It’s just not the ideal thing.

The Meteor 350 can be specifically yours

Available in three variants: Fireball, Stellar and Supernova, the bikes are identical save for paint schemes and accessories. Ah, the accessories. So. Many. Accessories. Royal Enfield offers the top variant with a windshield and pillion backrest, and you can pick from no less than six accessory mufflers, each with a different sound and look. No more raiding the aftermarket for loud (illegal) exhaust units, which can be a liability in some states with aggressive policing. Thankfully, the excellent ‘Tripper’ navigation system is standard across variants.

Apart from the Interceptor 650, there isn’t another Royal Enfield motorcycle I’d rather ride than the Meteor 350. It’s a nice, rewarding ride with few compromises. I’d just as quickly jump onto it for a short trip around town as my KTM. For longer journeys, the only thing holding me back would be its lack of speed.

The Meteor 350 is based on an all-new platform, one that will be the base of many future models. Starting at Rs 1.76 lac, buyers can now comfortably indulge their Royal Enfield fantasies, without making too many excuses to their friends who ride bikes that start every single time. The smiles and appreciation from lorry drivers are free.

[uclaradio]

MANIA - Fall Out Boy // Album Review

Written by Gomi Zhou

Now, I was nowhere close to being a fan of Fall Out Boy. Before the release of MANIA, my knowledge to the band was limited to 3 singles: “Centuries,” “Sugar,” “We’re Goin Down,” and “Thnks fr th Mmrs.” Unlike most people, who have long abandoned their emo phases and arespending their efforts on forgetting their cringey teenage years, in recent years I become increasingly interested in the alternative rock community. I have no problem admitting that Brendon Urie is my religion and sexuality (please don’t take this offensively) and that I am a big Panic! At The Disco fan. Thus, when Urie tweeted about MANIA as his way ofsupporting and promoting, I thought it was a great opportunity for me to dive a bit deeper into the abyss of emoness.

I was in the gym when I first listened to the album. Undoubtedly, it’s a great workout track (insert edgy teens screaming with angst). Jumping from different genres like EDM to the usual pop rock, from the familiar inspirational anthems to the slightly more mellow self analysis...Fall Out Boy as a band is seemingly trying to figure out a route for their future direction. MANIA in many ways serves as a transitional album, yet nevertheless, it is still a great record consisting of the normal Fall Out Boy elements - angst and determination. The theme remains mysterious, experimental, and steadily on edge throughout the whole album. Something new, mostly as usual.

ACTUAL SONGS

“Young and Menace”

“Young and Menace” was released as the first single way back in April 2017. I really don’t want to imagine the initial reaction of their die-hard fans - this song follows the generic EDM style. If I wasn’t on the treadmill running, I would’ve probably stopped listening to the entire album all together. It’s just...very different from what anyone would expect from Fall Out Boy. Though, after the whole album was released, “Young and Menace” does seem like a good fit for a slightly slower opening that is anticipating for more. In addition, it does follow the general Fall Out Boy equation: I’m the best, you just need to wait and see. Thistrack was a lure put out by Fall Out Boy as a tease, it’s just a smoke bomb.

“Champion”

I really, have no idea how did I make through the first two tracks. “Champion” can almost be considered as a direct sequel of “Centuries” from their last album. This is probably the most Fall Out Boy song out of the entire album: heavy drum, main melody illustrated by electric guitars, a build-up anticipated for an absolute explosion for the chorus. Which means the lyrics of “Champion” are just as corny and inspirational as all their other singles in recent years. Well, it’s a great song for its purpose, I’m just really spoiled by the meaningful and dramatic lyrics by Panic!.

“Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea”

Speaking of Panic!, this is actually Urie’s favorite song from MANIA. Dramatic to a point where you can feel a sense of violence, packed with metaphors and allegories...wait but what the hell is “Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea” actually supposed to mean?! There are really about only two bands left who would dare to have such random names for their songs. Particularly, “Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea” can easily be qualified as a song from Panic!--if it didn’t have the repetitive lyrics. Oh, Fall Out Boy with their reassuring, repetitive lyric patterns. Well, it’s nice branding. Nevertheless, the drama and intensity always ensure the uniqueness of the band. Not that many drummers would go hard on the drums like how Andy Hurley does it.

“HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON’T”

This song leaves me with so many questions. As the only song title with capitalized letters, “HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON’T” is the least rock song from this rock album. Patrick Stump’s voice sounded almost a bit naggy, accompanied by a repetitive guitar chord pattern throughout the whole song - this is Fall Out Boy’s take on love and breakup songs. The right amount of hesitation, passion, and as usual, right amount of drum and electric guitar ringing in the back of your head. I always see this song as an intermission of MANIA: the calmness before the return of the storm, the last goodbye before the start of a war.

“The Last of the Real Ones”

From this point on, I love every single song remaining on the album. “The Last of the Real Ones” is my second favorite from MANIA. The whole song is preaching the glory of someone, with an overuse of metaphors and exaggerations. Can you tell? I. Love. Drama. In today’s music industry, where people praise EDM, tropical beats, and hip-hop more than anything, bands like Fall Out Boy become increasingly niche-like (always has been, but increasingly). They ARE the “last of a dying breed,” but I love alternative rock way too much to ever let go. I take this song as a scream of truth from the band, and I just love the cheeky, mellow piano sub-melody in the background so much.

“Wilson (Expensive Mistake)”

It’s still too early into the year for me to call this song “Song of the Year,” but I love it so much I just want this year to be over already. “Wilson” portrays a loser’s story, someone who had made too many expensive mistakes, an outcast who was left reminiscing and questioning their leftover existence. Call me an angsty teen, but I love loser anthems like this one: “Death of A Bachelor” by Panic! At The Disco, “Cancer” by My Chemical Romance, and the iconic “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. “Wilson” illustrates such a sad story with Fall Out Boy’s (almost sardonic-sounding) slightly less intense drum beats and oddly unusual major key melody. The absolutely amazing irony of this song needs to be appreciated more in the coming year, please.

“Church”

I always find it interesting when the emo rock bands use religious allegories - even though they really don’t give much of a shit about religions at all. There is one particular line from “Church” that I love: “And if death is the last appointment | Then we’re all just sitting in the waiting room | I am just a human trying to avoid my certain doom.” This is probably the best way to summarize my own atheist belief. It was also really interesting to learn about the backstory behind the production of this song. The way they manage to incorporate everyone’s style for songs is something that many other bands have failed to do, but something that should definitely be considered and treasured more.

 Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump Breaks Down Cinematic New Song "Church" 

“Heaven’s Gate”

Personally, a more jazzy, chill vibe is always needed in the middle of an album. “Heaven’s Gate” is the most stand-alone song with a distinguishably different style from any other number from MANIA. I remember letting the record play on the highest volume as I lay on the floor, trying to recover from my cold. Well, I just ended up feeling like I’m really, really high. The story within the lyrics is just way too beautiful for an emo who might never get in a worthwhile, intimate relationship like the one in “Heaven’s Gate.” It’s also just amazing to see Fall Out Boy stepping out of their comfort zone to do a more folk-like song, yet they somehow managed to keep their own style going.

“Sunshine Riptide”

MANIA took a long time to be released. The band started the production of it way back in 2016 and pushed the release date back multiple times. This is an album for nobody but Fall Out Boy themselves, an album about their own growth as artists and creators. “Sunshine Riptide” is another one of those Los Angeles songs. There are so many songs about LA that it should just become a genre on its own. Fall Out Boy’s approach is a bit less sardonic than most other LA songs; instead, “Sunshine Riptide” is just plainly sad, a song about winner’s loneliness and sorrow for limitations and misunderstandings. Perhaps after all, this is something that the band members themselves had experienced/are experiencing.

“Bishops Knife Trick”

I love it when an album has a proper conclusion that ties the whole theme and story line back together. “Bishops Knife Trick” is an unusually slow song for Fall Out Boy. Instead of being an inspiring, upbeat song, this song is a self portrait for the band itself. 15 years after the band was formed, there seem to be many things that are still left unresolved for the boys. Yet, it is clear that the dedication and passion of the members will continue to lead the band towards new highs. 

 Once again, I’m only a part-time emo who’s trying to understand this world, don’t come at me if this is a bit superficial. I want to conclude this album as something that’s enjoyable for many different groups of music listeners. There is much more to MANIA that can be further broken down, such as the mysterious purple llamas in the music videos. I also found a great video breaking down the style and general theme of the album, it helped me a lot when I first listened to the record. Overall, 10/10 as an emo album, 8/10 as a great album in general.

Additional video link: ENTIRE MANIA ALBUM EXPLAINED | Fall Out Boy