#perhaps not! in the meantime doing my best even if it apparently does not achieve much :P

[b-blushes]

having a little snack: it's good 👍

[ilonga]

new chapter of Master Krell!

ao3

Anakin's second introduction to the Jedi Temple is nearly as strange as the first.

Sure, the first time it'd been completely overwhelming—his first time off planet, and suddenly he was on Coruscant, the capital, in the heart of the Jedi and already being presented to the Jedi Council. But now he's returning, and in the meantime he's seen a Jedi die, a planet nearly collapse under siege, and blown up an entire droid control ship from the inside out. 

And he's returning not as a terrified to-be reject, but as a Jedi padawan.

None of this feels real.

Obi-wan had cut his hair, back on Naboo, and arranged his new Padawan's braid; apparently it was tradition for the Jedi Master to do it, but after correspondence with the Jedi Council and Master Krell it had been decided that in the interests of smoothing out his transition, Anakin would be skipping out on most of the formalities and ceremony.

Anakin's not quite sure how he feels about that, yet. Maybe the formalities would have made it feel less like the ground was falling out from under his feet but, then again, maybe they would have made it even worse.

He'd said his goodbyes back on Naboo—to Jar Jar, the clumsy but kind and good-hearted Gungan, to R2, that crazy daredevil of an astromech, and to Padme, the brave and brilliant Queen (he still can't believe she had been the Queen all along, that he knows the Queen of a planet). He'll miss them, he thinks, though of course not nearly as much as everyone he'd left behind on Tatooine; his heart aches for his mother, for Kitster, and the rest.

What does your heart tell you?

His heart says he'll meet them all again someday—the Naboo and the Tatooinians. So it must be true. 

"Nearing the atmosphere," the pilot says, and Anakin looks up only to meet Obi-wan's uneasy gaze. 

"Best strap in," he says, though it looks like there's something else at the tip of his tongue. "Just a few more minutes now, and you'll meet Master Krell for the first time. He'll be waiting at the Temple."

"Okay," Anakin says, though what he really wants to say is I know. Obi-wan's repeated himself enough on this trip that Anakin's practically got his words memorized.

Obi-wan watches him for another moment before turning away.

"Landing sequence activated," the pilot says. Anakin cranes his neck around the safety restraints to get a look at the planet's surface. The last time they'd come here, he'd been both too nervous and too far from any viewports to get a good look.

It's. . . incredible.

Seeing Coruscant from afar had been nothing compared to this.

The entire surface is covered in glittering, distorted metal structures as far as the eye can see, shooting up for the skies with fervent vigor. As they get closer, he can see what looks like hundreds and thousands of ships and speeders, descending from the skies and rising from below and twisting and weaving between buildings and streetlights. His eyes catch on a strangely shaped metal dome to the side, rising out of the masses like Gardulla's palace in its glory days.

"Uh," he says quietly, tugging at Obi-wan's sleeve before he can think the better of it. "What's that over there?"

"Hm?" Obi-wan says, startled at the contact, but then follows his gaze and sees what he's pointing at. "Ah. That's the Senate Rotunda—it's where all the galactic governmental duties are carried out. It's where Queen Amidala went before, to request aid against the Federation's blockade."

His gaze catches on something else and he gestures to Anakin. "If you look over there," he says, pointing ahead, "you can see the Temple in the distance. We're very close now."

Anakin follows his line of sight. All he can see are the spires, really, and the hint of the rectangular form below. Their first visit had been rather rushed; he doesn't remember much but high ceilings and long hallways, and the endlessly intimidating Council Room. Hopefully they can skip out on that part this time. He's been accepted for certain, right? No need to go through the tests again?

Obi-wan coughs delicately and Anakin realizes with a start that he'll be living at the Temple now. If all goes well, for maybe even the rest of his life.

The thought settles strangely against his chest and he jams his hands under his seat to stop them from shaking.

"Just a few minutes now," the pilot says. 

They pull ever closer.

*

They land without much fanfare. 

If he had been just a little bit less nervous, Anakin would have begged to watch the landing sequence from the cockpit—the Naboo pilots had been so nice to him, and this ship has got to be one of the most beautiful he's ever been on in his life—but as it is, he stays glued to his seat instead.

Obi-wan is the first to get up, and gestures for Anakin to follow him with a jerk of his head. On the landing pad, he recognizes Master Yoda and Master Windu. Behind them, there's a tall alien whose species he's never encountered before and a few other figures he remembers from the Council Room.

"Knight Kenobi," Master Windu says gravely. Suddenly Master Qui-gon's absence feels like a gaping hole—everyone keeps shifting as if to accommodate someone who isn't actually there. Obi-wan glances to the side and meets Anakin's eyes instead; he purses his lips and quickly looks away. 

"Commend you, for the feat you have achieved in defeating the Sith, we do," Master Yoda says. "A great deed you have done, young Kenobi."

Obi-wan blinks. He looks to the side again. "I only did my duty," he finally says.

Master Yoda speaks again, but this time, Anakin doesn't catch what he says. He's trying to take in as much of his surroundings as possible without being too obvious.

There are about six others with him and Obi-wan right now—Master Yoda, who's still speaking, Master Windu, three others he remembers from the Council, and the imposing reptilian figure who has both sets of his arms crossed. Could this be the Master Krell Obi-wan had mentioned before? The one who Obi-wan had said would take over Anakin's training?

The figure huffs and trains his gaze on Anakin, and Anakin quickly looks away. 

The rest of the hangar is a cavernous, elegant space; transports and shuttles of various builds line the walls, with Jedi (mechanics? Mechanic Jedi?) dotting the walls here and there, busying themselves with repair work. The floor below them has its tiles arranged in a bright, colorful pattern, almost reminiscent of Naboo's palace though not nearly as ostentatious. 

A passing mechanic (Jedi?) looks up and meets his eyes. She's a blue Twi'lek, probably just a few years older than Anakin himself. She grins and waves.

Hesitantly, Anakin waves back.

"We've bored you two enough for now, I should think," One of the Masters from the Council says, and Anakin snaps his attention back to them. "Shall we move on to a more pressing order of business?"

"Ah - yes. Yes, of course." Obi-wan says. He turns to Master Yoda. "If you would - "

The reptilian figure steps forward and speaks, cutting through Obi-wan's hesitant stutters. "That is more than enough, Knight Kenobi." 

"Master Krell - " The same Jedi from before says - Master Billaba, Anakin remembers now. She'd been in the Council Room during his original examination, but had barely spoken at all. Her voice is nice, Anakin decides. Soothing. "Perhaps we should take it with a bit more . . . patience?"

Master Krell - so Anakin was right, he was the mysterious Master Krell - concedes and steps back. "My apologies, Master Billaba. I am . . . eager to begin."

"Understandable." Master Billaba says lightly, but her gaze continues to rest on him. Is there something Anakin's missing, here? Some friction between the two of them? Master Billaba hadn't spoken for or against him during the examination - but maybe she was one of the ones that didn't want him trained, and even Master Krell's appointment didn't change his mind. Maybe he'll need to be on his best behavior to impress her. Or maybe it'll be better to avoid her entirely. Out of the corner of his eyes Anakin sees Obi-wan fold his arms into his sleeves.

"Then, if I may?" Master Krell says, beginning to move away from the group. The surrounding Masters nod their consent, followed by Obi-wan with a few seconds' delay. Vaguely Anakin wonders how Master Qui-gon would react to all of this, if he could see it now. Would he be happy Anakin was being trained? Upset, that he had been replaced by a different Master? Would he have changed his mind entirely, decided that Anakin should have been left behind after all? "Come with me, Skywalker."

Anakin can do nothing else but follow.

*

They walk down the long, winding hallways for what seems like forever before Master Krell finally decides to speak.

"Young Skywalker," he says. "You have heard by now that you are to be my Padawan, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Anakin says quickly. He wonders when Master Krell found out. Had he volunteered? Been forcibly assigned to him? Had he just found out before they landed in the hangar, or known days in advance?

"Good." Master Krell says, keeping his gaze trained on the hallway ahead. "This means, of course, that for the next decade or so until you become a Knight, you are under my authority as my Jedi Padawan. I will teach you, direct you, and train you every day until you meet and surpass the qualifications necessary for Knighting. I can make you into the greatest of the Jedi, as befitting of your title of prophecy - but only if you listen, and obey. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," Anakin says again.

"Excellent." Krell says, leading them further down the hallway. Maybe any moment now, they'll be coming up on Anakin's new rooms. His own rooms - he can hardly believe it.

"You will be the very best of us, Skywalker," Krell says, sounding rather less like he means it as a compliment and more like he means it as an order. "The very best."

Anakin doesn't know how to respond to that, but he's saved from the efforts by Master Krell's satisfied huff.

It rather seems like his new Master prefers the silence.

[coffeestainsandcashmere]

Let No Man Steal Your Thyme - (older Dramione), Part Three

Wow! Thank you so much for your feedback and apparent enthusiasm for the previous parts, and for your excitement to see more in the future! I never imagined it’d get any traction, but I’m staggered and touched to see that people are enjoying it!

Here’s part three for you, as promised. I had written twice as much as this (around 7k in total) for part three, but I split it up into two. Part Four will go up tomorrow after I’ve given it another once-over. It’s tooth-rottingly adorable really. There’s pizza involved. And a little delving into the past.

Content warnings for part three: unexpected run-in with Ron, passing mention of past alcohol abuse (Ron), and general prejudices against Slytherins. Again, this isn’t supposed to be a Ron-bashing story, but relationships do break down when fundamental beliefs don’t align. If I seem harsh on Ron, I don’t really mean to be. Hermione also isn’t perfect or unbiased, but she has perhaps slightly more reason to be upset with him than he does with her. It will all be explained in a later part, I promise, but it has been hinted at already in the previous two parts.

Part One | Part Two

___

Friday found her lingering awkwardly in the Ministry’s echoing Atrium, waiting for Theo to come out of his last meeting of the day, up on level five. The problem with being the former Minister for Magic - and one so famously young - was that quite literally everyone knew who she was. So far, in the ten minutes she’d been standing there, a seemingly ceaseless line of twittering assistants and employees had come cringing up to her to ask if she needed anything.  

She’d just sent the latest one packing with a tight-lipped ‘no, thank you. I’m just waiting for a friend,’ when someone cleared their throat behind her, and a familiar voice made her heart clench and her breath come short for half a moment.

“’Mione? What are you doing here?”

“Hi, Ron,” she sighed, even before she turned to face him.  

In the decade or so since their divorce, he’d actually done pretty well for himself. Gone was the lingering paunch that had crept in towards the tail end of his quidditch career, and now he looked… well, quite frankly, he looked really good. He reminded her of Charlie Weasley a little, with floppy, roguish hair and a surprisingly lean figure once more. Becoming the coach of an internationally-recognised quidditch team suited him, clearly. That, and a happier, second marriage with Lavender, she supposed.  

“How are you?” she asked, trying not to sound too stiff and failing abysmally.  

“Good,” he said, rocking back on his heels for a moment with his hands shoved into his pockets. “What, uh, what brings you here then? Miss the place too much?” he asked with a little snort of laughter.

“Hardly, Ron,” she said with perhaps a little too much feeling. “No, I’m waiting for Theo.”

At the mention of Theo’s name, Ron’s eyes darkened. “Why?” he blurted.  

“Why? Because he’s my friend, Ronald,” she said. “And what are you doing here? Come to blag your way out of another ‘drunk and disorderly in possession of a broomstick’, hmm?”  

She knew even as she said it that her snide comment was uncalled for, and that she was being disproportionately petty, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. Something about his lingering, bone-deep resentment of the people with whom she chose to associate these days just brought out the worst in her even now. She wasn’t proud of it. In her defence though, how many times had he tried to use the whole ‘The Minister for Magic is my wife’ ploy to get out of scrapes like that in the past?

Ron’s freckled face flushed at that. “I’m clean and sober now, Hermione,” he said. “Have been for the past five years, which you’d know if you ever came to any of Harry’s dinners. We used to be the ‘Golden Trio’ for fuck’s sake…”

Very quietly, and with what she thought was a remarkable degree of renewed self-control, Hermione said, “Excuse me for not wanting to intrude on your happy family, Ron. I am pleased to hear that though. That’s no small achievement. Congratulations.”

“But you’d still rather go scuttling off with the Slytherins instead of having dinner with me and Harry?” he said, eyes flashing.  

There it was. There was the comment — the little dig at her choices — that she’d been waiting for ever since she’d mentioned Theo’s name. 

“I hear that you and that lot are pretty tight now. Even dragged Neville into it.”

Her already-simmering outrage crept a degree or two hotter beneath the surface, and Hermione blinked rapidly. “‘Dragged’ Neville? Is that what you call his perfectly healthy and happy relationship with Pansy?”

“He wouldn’t have had anything to do with her if it wasn’t for you and Nott meddling. He’d have settled down with Hannah instead of leaving her for some Slytherin trust-fund bitch. You know she’s still heartbroken about it?”

Her eyebrows rose. That wasn’t how it had happened at all, though she knew Hannah was still upset, and she’d just opened her mouth to say so when she felt the prickle of other people’s eyes on them.

“I’m not discussing this, Ron, and I’m certainly not starting something here in the Ministry Atrium, for God’s sake,” she said, turning away. Her ears were starting to ring as her magic crackled inside her and she took a long, steadying inhale to try and calm down. People were indeed starting to stare, and she thought she glimpsed Gabriella Guile lurking near the sandwich shop with one of Rita Skeeter’s bloody ‘Quick-Quotes Quills’ hovering at the ready. “Please, Ron.”

He stepped in close and snarled, “Well, at least some of us still remember where our loyalties lie.”

Hermione saw red at that and spun back round to face him, eyes flashing and hair expanding like a Devil’s Snare. “Loyalty?” she spat. “You — you of all people — want to lecture me about loyalty?!”

Clearly he hadn’t followed that thought through to its conclusion before opening his mouth. He turned beetroot red and took half a step back, hands up defensively. “Look, Mione, I’m sorry. I didn’t come over to start another fight. It’s not like I expected to see you here - you don’t even work here anymore, and it’s not like we hang out or anything. How was I to know?” He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m meeting Harry when he gets off work and we’re going for a drink at the Leaky. Let’s... Lets just forget it, ok?”

A hand landing gently but firmly between her shoulders made her jump and she whipped round to find Theo standing behind her, looming over her from his six-foot-something height. “Alright, love?” he asked in a steady baritone without taking his eyes off Ron.  

“Ready to go,” she said tartly. “Say hi to Harry for me, Ron.”

And with that, they left the Ministry by floo for Theo’s.  

As she stepped out of the swirling green flames of the fancy, Mayfair town-house’s marble fireplace only a moment or so behind him, she found Daniel rising from the sofa to greet Theo with a kiss, and once Theo had moved off through the house to hang up his cloak, he opened his arms to hug her warmly.

Dan, always a pleasure,” she said. “How are you?”  

The unexpected meeting with Ron left her oddly rattled. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen him at all in the decade since the divorce - his little sister was her own best friend, and she’d met Bill Weasley on more than one occasion during her time at the Ministry, but still, to see him doing so well for himself and to see him so happy should have made her pleased. After all the years of shared friendship that she genuinely cherished, she should have been happy for him.  

Instead it galled and made her uncharacteristically bitter to know that he had everything he wanted now and he still couldn’t resist trying to rubbish the few things she had left of value in her life. Theo and Daniel were among her closest friends, and to her surprise, the rest of the Slytherins had adopted her into their little group without question.  

“Let’s start a bit early, shall we?” Theo chimed as he re-entered the living room with three champagne flutes and a bottle of something French and no doubt eye-wateringly expensive floating in front of him. Since that left his hands free, he began undoing his cuff links as he walked. “The others should be here soon enough anyway, and I just closed a deal with the Ministère des Affaires Magiques de la France that I’ve been trying to hash out all year. Yay me.”

His flawless French accent made Hermione smile. Everything just seemed so easy and natural to Theo; it might have enviable if he weren’t such an affable sweetheart to go with it.  

“Yay you,” Daniel chuckled, eyes glittering with affection as Theo handed Hermione a very full glass. “To my brilliant husband.”

Two hours later, amid the happy murmur of conversation that now filled the gorgeous, airy ground floor, Hermione looked up as the floo whooshed and Draco Malfoy stepped out. She’d begun to think he wasn’t going to show, and when she caught sight of him, a weight unexpectedly lifted from her chest. Something, at least, was going right today.

He had a heavy, black cloak around his shoulders and a bundle of brown paper parcels under one arm, printed with the logos of various Diagon Alley shops, though it was well past most of their closing times. She wondered where he’d been in the meantime, but didn’t want to pry.  

Whether out of surprise or curiosity, the chatter in the living room sputtered out a little at his arrival before Pansy rose to her feet and flung her arms around his neck. “Draco, darling!” she laughed as she air-kissed his winter-pink cheeks and hissed melodramatically in his ear — loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear —, “I’m so glad you came; Blaise owes me ten galleons. He said you wouldn’t come.”

Draco twitched his lips fondly into something that was almost a smirk and unclasped his cloak as she stepped away from him. He folded it up neatly atop the parcels beside the now-still fireplace and shot her a look. “Glad to know how much my company is worth these days, Pans,” he drawled.  

As he straightened, Hermione actually sank her teeth into her lower lip at the way his bespoke charcoal grey suit fitted him, accentuating his long, lean figure, with narrow hips and broad shoulders. He looked every bit the successful businessman while she was slouching around in the jeans and mauve hoodie she’d thrown on in the back room after closing the bookshop for the day. No wonder Pansy had given her an affectionately pitying grimace when she’d greeted her earlier.  

Theo rose gracefully from his seat beside her on the sofa to join Draco and Pansy by the hearth, and he hugged Draco fondly, murmuring something in his ear. The two were almost a match in height, though where Theo’s hair was a warm, copper-streaked, chocolate brown and his skin a tanned, freckled olive, Draco’s hair and skin were almost as colourless as the marble fireplace behind him.  

When Draco drew back this time, he spotted Hermione over Theo’s shoulder. He offered her a slow incline of his head, and allowed a clinking tumbler of whisky and ice to be pressed into his hand by Theo.  

Hermione wasn’t really sure quite what she’d been expecting from Draco when she’d invited him to join Theo’s usual Friday night drinks. Whatever it had been though, it wasn’t the thoughtful, considerate conversationalist she now found engaging Neville in detailed discussion about the disadvantages of farming dittany commercially. For some reason, Draco’s icy exterior and apparently reclusive behaviour had made her think he might be socially awkward, but apparently one can’t train the upper-class manners out of someone once it’s been bred into their bloodline for umpteen generations, even after a dusty decade of disuse. Further to her surprise, he actually seemed genuinely interested in what Neville had to say about the difference in potency between rare, wild-harvested dittany and the farmed stuff.  

Meanwhile, she just sat on the sofa with Neville on her left and Theo on her right, and only half-listened to the talk around her, not participating at all.  

Despite everyone’s obvious enjoyment of the gathering, Hermione found herself unable to muster any of her usual social enthusiasm, and remained in pretty subdued silence. After a while, Neville politely excused himself to find Pansy, with an earnest promise to follow up on something or other for Malfoy, and his seat was not reoccupied.  

In the lull, Malfoy took the opportunity to lean across the space from his armchair to the sofa and murmur, “Everything alright, Granger?”  

From beside her, Theo looked round and slung his arm causally over her shoulders and squeezed. “Hermione had a small run in with her ex-husband in the middle of the Ministry Atrium.”

Draco’s eyes flashed and his lip curled minutely.

“Nothing dramatic, but the prick had the nerve to insinuate that Slytherins make for poor company. Luckily, dear Hermione reminded him that we’re not all still twelve years old...”

She managed a smile at that. “Don’t let me rain on your party, Theo, but I think... I think I will head home now.”

“Feel free to floo,” he breezed, waving the hand that had been around her shoulders with a flash of the gold signet ring on his little finger, “But obviously I’d much rather you stay and drink yourself into a giggling stupor again... It’s been far too long since that happened.”

“You drink yourself into a giggling stupor every Friday, Theo. I’m sure you can manage to do it again on my behalf tonight. I’d love to stay, but it’s all getting a bit... loud now anyway...” she said vaguely. “I think I’ll walk home.”

Theo just nodded and gave her an affectionate little wink that would have looked corny on anyone half as charming. “Take care of yourself, sweetheart. Say hello to whatever your book-du-jour is for me. Will it be Emily or Charlotte this time?”

Draco frowned in confusion and she laughed a little. “Charlotte.”  

Still cleanly nonplussed, Malfoy looked from Theo to Hermione before Theo grinned at him. “Brontë,” he said conspiratorially. “Muggle author.” He looked back to Hermione and said, “Means it’s an evening with dear Jane Eyre then. Haven’t you read that a hundred times?”

“More, probably,” she chuckled, standing. “Goodnight, Draco. I’m glad you came. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

He nodded, looking slightly winded for some reason, and offered nothing else.  

After saying goodbye to a few people, and finding that Pansy had somehow managed to drape herself successfully across Neville’s lap despite the fact that he was sitting on a bar stool of all things, Hermione headed for the front door and slipped out into the night alone.  

With her coat still over the crook of one arm despite the biting wind, she made her way from Theo’s cushy house out into wider Muggle London, and from there she began to meander.  

Just as she crossed the boundary into Hyde Park, she heard running feet and someone calling her name. To her surprise, she turned and found Malfoy loping along the pavement after her.

Halting, she waited for him to catch up and looked curiously up at him. His pale cheeks were flushed pink again from the bout of light exercise, his breath billowed white, and his hair seemed to glow like burnished silver in the harsh light of the street lamps. It was hard to doubt the rumours of him being part Veela in moments like that.  

“What is it, Malfoy?” she asked when he didn’t articulate the reason for his hasty journey. “Did I forget something?”

“No, I —“ he faltered and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. The motion ruffled his hair into something altogether softer and more attractive. He cut it much shorter at the sides now but left the top longer, and it had an attractive wave to it that had once been oiled out of existence in his earlier years at Hogwarts. “I thought — ach, this was a stupid idea.”

“What do you mean? What was a stupid idea?”

“I thought I’d come after you and see if you were alright. You looked fucking miserable back there, Granger.”

“You taught your son foundation spellwork with that mouth, Malfoy?” she countered, slightly staggered by his apparent thoughtfulness. This was not the Malfoy she remembered at all, and it was gratifying to find that her experience of him over lunch had not been a one-off.

He smirked and the effect was disarming in a way it never had been at Hogwarts. “I do try not to swear around him, but if he’s learnt something uncouth, I couldn’t promise it didn’t come from me. Or Theo. Actually it’s more likely to have come from Theo.”

She laughed suddenly. “Your little mandrake,” she sighed.

Something odd passed across his face and he stuffed his hands into his jacket pocket. “Salazar’s balls,” he cursed. “It’s colder out here than I thought.”

Wandlessly, she murmured a spell to extend the radius of her own extant warming charm to surround them both. “Better?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled. “Left my cloak and stuff back at Theo’s.”

Hermione smiled and gestured with the arm holding her coat. “I’d offer you mine, but I’m not sure even you could pull off a Muggle women’s rain mac that’s several sizes too small for you.”

“Oh I don’t know,” he said. “I think I could transfigure it into something… workable.”

“You sound just like Theo and Dan and Pansy,” she groaned. “They’re always threatening to take me shopping. I’m terrified to let them loose on my wardrobe. I’m afraid I’ll never see another pair of comfy jeans again!”

“Don’t listen to them. The way you dress is just fine,” he said easily. “Besides, you give that lot an inch and they’ll take a mile. You should always stand your ground, especially against Pansy…”

“Well, I’ve got Nev on my side too,” she said. “Though even I have to admit that she’s had a positive effect on his wardrobe. Maybe I should let her take me shopping after all... I probably couldn’t afford the places she shops though,” she laughed, then looked up to find an odd light in Malfoy’s grey eyes. “You really came haring through London after me just to check I was alright?”

“And walk you home if you’d like,” he added. “But I’ll leave you in peace if I’m imposing. Heavens know you’ve had one pushy bloke to deal with already today...”

“The last thing I think of you right now is ‘pushy’, Malfoy. I think you’re very kind to come after me.”

He looked away at that and a private smile graced his lips. Bloody hell though; where some people’s looks seemed to have been watered down with age, Malfoy’s features had been honed and refined by time into something akin to a masterpiece, with high, sharp cheekbones and a slim, and clearly very fit and healthy, figure. It made her stomach swoop and ache again in a way she hadn’t felt in years. It also made her feel a little self-conscious of the softer curves she was carrying around her hips, arms, and lower stomach these days. Hefting books around kept her strong, but a largely sedentary life in the bookshop wasn’t doing wonders for her once-svelte figure, it had to be said.  

He nudged his elbow out a few inches and she smiled, taking the offer and sliding her fingers into the crook of his arm.  

They set off and walked slowly, aimlessly, along the walkways of Hyde Park, and for a long time neither of them spoke. A cyclist shot past them at one point, and Malfoy watched him disappear into the distance with an inquisitive frown, as if trying to figure out how it could possibly function. He never said anything though, and they carried on, warmed by Hermione’s spell and encased in an oddly amicable silence.  

It was Malfoy who broke the silence at last. “You find this strange, Granger?” he asked, glancing down at her.  

Her breath caught as she stared up into those full-moon eyes of his; bright and silver and so god-damned intense. Gone was the pinched look of fear and insecurity lingering in the corners. Gone was the cruel, steely glint. The lines of his face were still hard and severe, and he carried a hefty frown most of the time, and that trademark pointy chin was still there, but he really had grown up, inside and out, and it showed.  

“Strange?” she croaked. “What, you and me walking arm in arm through Hyde Park at seven in the evening?”

“Mmm,” he nodded.  

“A little,” she admitted as she looked ahead up the path. “A little.”

.

Part Four

___

As before, if you like where it’s going and want to see more, do let me know! I will post it on Tumblr as I write it, and once it’s all complete, I’ll plop it onto AO3 in one go. That way keeps the pressure off a bit, I think? Anyway, let me know if you’re enjoying it, and why, either by reblogging this or sending me an ask

writing masterlist | Ao3

[fuckyeahharryhart]

HARRY HART FAN FICTION Because they better give him a good story for the last Kingsman. In case they don’t, I wrote something myself.

KINGSMAN III Fan Fiction REDACTED Part 1 (in case they mess up the last Kingsman movie)

Because I’m both excited an afraid of what they are planning for the last Kingsman. I, as well as A LOT of people were pissed that they killed off Merlin, let alone all the others. This is my Fan Fic for what I thought should happen in Kingsman 3 and how they could possibly bring Merlin back....And A LOT of Harry Hart, and some new characters, too..

MULTI PART SERIES:(My version of Kingsman 3)

Harry Hart x Original Character 

Warnings: Reference to violence 

Word Count: 5,900

Summary: After the events of Kingsman, The Golden Circle, Harry, Eggsy and the rest of the survivors rebuild their agency to it’s former level of integrity. A new player arrives unexpectedly, carrying memories of the past that will change the future of Kingsman.

-----

PART 1

The evening was still warm and pleasant as the sun dropped behind the last of the buildings overlooking the London skyline. For a few brief moments, when the final rays of light glanced off the windows facing the west, the sky seemed to flame.

The sun struggled to hold its place, but as it conceded, the day began its transition into night. A new energy would begin to blanket the momentary quiet streets.

So the sun set on another day in London. Saville Row stilled once more as store fronts closed up and settled down for the evening.

Further along the walk, two gentleman were about to descend the stone steps of one of the shops. One man stood a little taller, a little older, more distinguished than the other. Both were impressively attired, as would be the case if they were in the company’s employ. But of course, this was to be expected. What this street was best known for was being the undeniable home of hand-crafted British bespoke - thus named because when customers used to choose their cloth it was said to "be spoken for".

The older gentleman, the taller of the two, had broad shoulders and a lean figure, with long legs and a silhouette that suggested strength and movement. The younger man, though shorter, had a compact, sturdy build with a wide chest and a distinctly strong jaw line, sandy hair and blue eyes. He had the shape and movements of an athlete, and the personality to match. Gregarious, enthusiastic, like a puppy who was just beginning to grow into his paws.

It might have been the younger man’s youthful exuberant energy and confidence that caught your eye, but it was the older man whose quiet, distinguished gravitas that held your gaze and kept it.

As twilight embarked on its journey to introduce the night sky, the new Kingsman shop glowed with golden light among the dark streets of London. In the heart of Savile Row, the street was, perhaps, a bit too quiet.

The younger man was jesting the older in the manner of both a comrade and a son. And with the patience of both a father and the derision of an older brother, the man, resigned to be the long suffering confidant, obliged the mischief with a somewhat exasperated, but affable, good nature.

“So.” The younger man queried. “You gonna get one of them new Kingsman cars for your birthday?”

He eyed him with a sideways glance. “What would you know of my birthday?” the stately gentleman countered, skeptical.

“Know it was long time ago.”  He chaffed under his breath.

“That’s certainly one way of looking at it.” He replied briskly.

“You gonna have a do?”

“Rubbish.” “ he replied, unamused.

“You should.”

“I will be sure to keep that in mind.” However, the quip in his voice and his doubtful expression suggested that he had already dismissed the notion as utterly preposterous.

They both took the steps down to the pavement and toward the waiting car. The new taxis, upgraded with first rate technology, were still in production. In the meantime, hire cars were made available for their use.

“When are the Kingsman cars gonna be ready, anyway?”

The older man he reached down to unlock the car door.  He was about to reply when the key fob was shot out of his hand.

Apparently, not soon enough, he thought as he dropped down to the ground. Who ever had taken that shot was sending a message, and if the message included bullets, it was best to fall below the line of fire.

More gunfire erupted, this time from a different direction. Mayhem, of course. He sighed. Would he never be able to enjoy a quiet evening ever again? Perhaps he was getting too old for this.

His expectations for a peaceful, uneventful evening were simply entertainment for a higher power. Every time one makes a plan, he thought reaching for his own weapon, God laughs. He would be sure to bear that in mind next time.

——

If the word gentleman were to take on a physical shape, that shape would look like Harry Hart.  If you were in his presence, you had no choice but to look at him. No other option existed. It was as if there were an unseen magnetic force that held your gaze upon him.

Harry Hart was a man you saw immediately. He carried an air of timelessness. There was neither a sense of young or old. Nor future or past. He was both modern and old world. He was a contradiction that somehow made perfect sense.

He was an arresting figure. From his dark horn rimmed glasses, all the way down to the impeccable shine of his black Oxford shoes. The immaculate cut of his bespoke suit emphasized the sleek masculine lines of his body and he carried himself as naturally and as easily as though he was born to wear it.

The suit seemed to enhance his movements, rather than hinder or constrict. He presented a certain ease and grace of movement, as if the lines of the suit knew how he moved and thus moved with him. But even as he grew still, the suit would hang perfectly in place.  Only a slight movement of his hand would smooth out his jacket or a flick of the wrist to adjust his cuff links.

He existed as if being Harry Hart was effortless. Without a hint of doubt or hesitation. A man who was never one to question his purpose in life or in his work.

There was no denying, that even in his late fifties, that Harry Hart was a handsome man. Each individual feature was attractive, but it was the man, as a whole, that was truly beautiful. He was the kind of being that if he were to walk by, he would turn the heads of both men and women. All intrigued for reasons they wouldn’t be able to explain in words.

If you asked someone in passing what he looked like, they would say he was handsome. But if queried further they would be curiously unable to recall any exact details of his physical appearance.

It was the rare quality of a person completely at ease in his own skin, who never doubted the reason for his existence or the meaning of his life. Who does not need or desire anything that lies outside the present moment. He possessed a rare, undefined quality that communicated without speaking a word. It said honor, integrity, decency and benevolence.

Harry Hart was the sum of all his parts.

Yet, one could not deny that he was a man of exemplary physical characteristics. If you had the opportunity to sit and observe him for longer than a passing moment, you would determine that his presence, his immediacy, was also due to the fact that he was a very tall man, a substantial man, with broad shoulders, slim hips, and long legs that were able to carry him with a grace and elegance that was inimitable.

Looking more closely, you would notice the pleasing structure of his face, clear, golden brown eyes below a strong brow and a smooth broad forehead. His hair was a light brown, made even lighter by the dusting of silver at his temples and around his ears. His hair was combed back and styled into smooth waves, but if left on its own you suspect that it would be a little wild, a little untamed.

He also exuded strength and power, but not in a purely physical sense, for his suit covered his body from the nape of his neck to the soles of his feet. These qualities seemed a part of him, naturally. He was not a man who worked out for vanity. His strength was not an end to achieve, in and of itself, but rather the means for a greater purpose. As opposed to the bulk muscle of a weight lifter, whose strength was inert, motionless, without purpose, whose power lacked a driving force. Harry’s strength seemed lighter, more balanced and suggested the movement of a precision instrument, guided by an expert hand.

If, perchance, you were able to see him in his own surroundings or with people close to him, you would be able to glimpse the finer points of his character.

That his clear brown eyes could see into anyone he chose to observe. He had the ability to maintain eye-contact with a singular focus that was unwavering, direct, sometimes disconcertingly so. He could speak as clearly with his gaze as he could with words. Or, if needed, close himself off to any inquiries that might not be welcome.

But also, those brown eyes, with just a little softening, could exude kindness, warmth, and affection. Or at other times, a twinkle of amusement or mischief. Maybe a slight narrowing, a hint of displeasure, maybe concern, a glint of approval.

Perhaps, in a quiet moment, you had the chance to hear his voice.  Deep and calm, soothing even. Articulate. He was not known for his garrulousness, so the words he did speak were deliberate, communicating precisely what he wanted to say. Measured pauses of silence were often as eloquent as his words.

Surprisingly, he was a more quiet man. You expected his voice to be louder, but then you realized that his tone and his pace were calculated. He wanted whoever he was speaking with to be present and concentrate on his words.

But just underneath the steady low, tones you could hear the steely vibrations of a more dominant voice. Just as his physicality suggested a latent power he only need to tap into. Never one to shout or yell to be heard, all he needed to do was unleash that forceful voice to ensure the attention of those around him.

Unknowingly to those around him, all of these features made Harry Hart a lethal and ruthless secret agent with the ability to annihilate his enemies with ease. His mind was sharp and exacting, honed by years of training, experience in the field, and natural talent and skill. Combined with his physical prowess and his innate unflappable nerve, he was nearly unstoppable.

Yet, even beyond these features, could be found a hint of something more, a softness, a gentleness, a kindness and a vulnerability. If only someone took the time to look for them.

—

In the hushed shadows of the evening, as the sky blackened and welcomed the night, a lone figure stood in the shelter of the darkness. A female figure, though it would be difficult to tell at first glance. Ambiguously attired in appropriate, but unremarkable clothing. She was tall and slight. Her features were obscured beneath the cap she wore. Which was her intention.

Her objective was to observe, and even so, remain unseen. To achieve this, she had to be unmemorable, forgettable, average, so she could continue her surveillance without raising scrutiny. Careful not to linger too long in one spot, she continued to move steadily in the direction of the two men. She remained within the shadows between buildings, in a store front, near a set of stairs.

She maintained her air of causal nonchalance.  Under the pretext of quietly browsing at the collection of mens wear and accessories, she paused on the landing of a closed shop. As would anyone just getting off of work and arrived too late, after the shop closed and chose to stay and window shop.  The two men were conversing as they closed up.

Keeping a close eye on her subjects, she simultaneously scanned for possible counter surveillance. Watching out for other people, watching her as she watched her mark. Recording all the people she saw along the street, the make and models of the cars that drove past, any subtle shifts in the temperature and feel of her surroundings. An aspect that appeared out of place, shop lights that remained on past closing, a delivery lorry that arrived behind schedule. Anything that fell beyond the edges of the routine she had documented over the past four weeks. Her sharp sense of hearing, honed to listen and analyse approaching sounds, vehicles, the footsteps of nearby people, their gait, speed and direction, would alert her to any suspicious activity that was out of her immediate view.

After all, Kingsman was a covert intelligence agency, performing under the umbrella of a bespoke tailor shop. but in the end, they were all just spies practicing tradecraft.

——

For the last fortnight, the routine of the two men remained the same. Surprisingly sedate and unremarkable. They would meet at the shop in the mornings, between 8:00- 8:30am. Opening hours were 9am to 5:30 am during the week from Mondays to Friday. Saturdays were 10am to 3pm or by appointment. Closed on Sundays. They followed this schedule diligently, which simplified her task. Perhaps there were some outings during the day for either of them. As the days passed, one indistinguishable from the next, she began to suspect that they had a secondary location.

It would make sense. Kingsman was their backstop, their front organization so they could keep their intelligence operations secret. Many individuals entered the doors to their shop. Some stayed suspiciously longer than others. After detailing the amount of foot traffic stepping through their shop, she gathered that they must have an ancillary site, or an annex, whether it be at this location, or somehow connected.

An unusual number of clients entered the store, but the corresponding number of customers did not exit the shop. With the size of the shop, the footprint of space that was available, she estimated there to be at least three fitting rooms in addition to the showroom, workshop, a studio, and perhaps a small living area. The shops of Saville Row were not known for being expansive. Most could be termed cozy if one was being generous. She highly doubted that the number of well dressed men that she saw entering the shop, but not leaving, were entertaining themselves with tea and biscuits and conversation for most of the day. However, at the onset of the eve, without fail, after she was able to distinguish the clients from the employees, one by one, like rabbits out of a warren, they stepped out from the front doors and disappeared into the city for whatever evening they had planned.

—

Her first fortnight was spent mapping out the city, learning its lines of traffic, communication and commerce, so she could build an internal map in her head. At sunrise, she was a figure on the move. Walking one day, riding the Tube the next. She traveled up and down the streets. She took the Overground, the tram, the light rail. But mostly she walked. She walked through the markets with their fresh bread and curries and trendy second hand clothing. One day the Tate Modern stood to her right. The following day she walked past with the Natural History Museum on her left. She noted how the morning light struck the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral and how the sunset on the two western towers of Westminster Abbey. She crossed the River Thames via the London Bridge and then crossed back by the Tower Bridge on her return. She walked from Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square and then around to the National Portrait Gallery.

Though the sites were beautiful, she wasn’t sightseeing. However, she was, indeed taking mental snapshots wherever she went.

She wasn’t memorising routes.

She was learning the lay of the land.

She was following the flow of the River Thames.

She was reading the structure of the city.

She was noticing points of convergence.

She was looking for routine and repetition.

She was identifying patterns.

She sought out patterns from the cities routes to the naming of streets. If she had to go on the run, time wouldn’t stop so she could check her phone or ask for directions. She needed to know where she was going, and if she needed to, how to get back.  Knowing where she’d just been was as important as knowing where she was going. So the same way she was mapping where she was going, she utilised a post-route mental street mapping technique to backtrack. Reliance on technology could be a weakness and she made a point to “go analog” when it was opportune. And if her confidence yielded to encroaching doubt, she always circled back to square one.

Always remember your training.

She was trained to look for signs of directions no matter where she was.

And to do that, she first had to establish a known point.

——

She commandeered Kingsman as her known point, a sort of home base, but for mapping purposes. She used it rather than her hotel since it was the main site of her surveillance. It was the logical choice. If she mapped properly she would be able to maintain where she was in relation to the shop no matter where she was in the city. Having Kingsman as her known point helped her connect the mental map she was creating in her head to the physical landscape of the city. If she ever found herself lost, she could use her known point as a sort of primitive means of navigation. All roads lead back to Kingsman, she thought with irony. For her, they actually did.

From her known point, she determined where north, south, east and west were. In any direction she went, no matter how near or far, she continued to add on to her mental map, making it more comprehensive and precise.  The architecture of the city was invaluable. She used the landmarks to help her navigate distance, direction, and orientation. If it was a full overcast day, she wouldn’t be able to rely on the sun’s location in the sky to determine time and orientation. But if she knew the history of the city or how the architecture was initially planned, she could use structures as directional indicators. Studying which sides of a structure shows bleaching or corrosion could also help her determine cardinal directions or aid in maintaining a “heading” of travel without drawing attention herself, without seemingly wandering around lost.

Half of this knowledge she would never have to use. Hell, 99% would just be filed away, never to have an occasion to be helpful. But today’s preparation determined tomorrow’s achievement. Or, depending on her mood, as one “Big Ben” once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”  Regardless of attitude, she had to be prepared for any scenario. There would be no second chances. She had no safe house, no handler guiding her, no fancy tech at her fingertips. Every operation of hers was a black operation. If there was blowback, she was the first and last in line. There was no station that she could return to, no case officer to back her up, no one to offer her operational security, no diplomatic cover, no plausible deniability. There was no protocol she could follow for what she had planned. She was acting purely on instinct and intuition and the intelligence that was already in her possession. It was all she had. SHE was all she had. She was all she ever had.

——

When she first arrived in the city, she was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the city itself, true, like it was a living and breathing entity. But mostly, she was overwhelmed by the purpose of her journey. Her reason for being in London. It was a delicate mission with an uncertain outcome and could easily be derailed by a single misstep. She was determined not to make one. Hence the extra time for reconnaissance and surveillance. Failure was unthinkable.

She had journeyed from Paris, underneath the channel, to London via Eurostar. The high speed train was clean and modern. It ran on time. She found the seats comfortable. The Wifi connection was strong and she had plenty of outlets to charge her many devices. She was pleased to avoid Heathrow, as she found the whole process of flying a test of her patience. When she arrived at London St. Pancras International in the evening, she collected her few belongings. Which mostly consisted of her laptop, two smart phones and a tablet. Securing her bags, she stepped off the train, onto the platform and followed the flow of arriving travellers.

When the station opened up to a huge concourse, she was greeted with the sparkle of brightly lit, colourful shops. An impressive range of high end luxury stores and boutiques, selling everything from perfume, to crystal, to gourmet foods. Bars and restaurants were brimming with patrons. Clinking glassware, the shuffle of plates and silverware underscored the many voices all layered within their conversations. Among the droves of people, there were the homecomers and those who were departing for their own destinations. Immersing her senses with the spirit of the evening, her pace subsided until she halted to a standstill. She was a rock that split the stream of travellers and they flowed on either side of her. She felt them pass by. They posed little interest to her. She asked herself, one final time, if she was doing the right thing. She stood underneath beams of the vaulted ceiling that curved high overhead. She witnessed all of these people, coming together, converging, merging on this one spot, this open space where paths meet.

She took a deep breath in. She took a long breath out.

She hoped that the path she had chosen was the right one.

Hitching her bag higher on her shoulder she stepped into the stream and disappeared within the throng of journeyers, the transients, and the seekers.

-----

Back at Saville Row, at the top of the street, she spotted the front end of a dark blue, two door Vauxhall Corsa turn the corner. Twice now, she had seen the same vehicle drive past. The likelihood of the same car, navigating the one way streets and having to backtrack to come around the same corner a third time, was not happenstance. It might be the third most common car in London, but when the plate had the identical three letter identifier, HFK, it was not a coincidence, and in fractions, she was fully alert.

The length of Saville Row, from one end to the other was less than 900 feet.  Which left her with only heartbeats to decide what to do. Asking herself “what if” would burn through seconds she did not have. That was a rabbit hole not to fall into. The best way to stay calm and focused was to decide what to do next. A suspicious car rolling down the street could mean anything, from something as simple and innocuous as a tail, to something as dangerous as a kidnapping, to an attack with possible devastating effects, if they had a VBIED, a vehicle borne improvised explosive device.

Clearing her mind of anything outside her assessment of the possible threat, she processed the information in-front of her.  Having something to concentrate allowed her mind to remain focused no matter what was happening in the background.

Identify the problem. When you saw hoof prints, you thought horse, not zebra. The circumstances were less than ideal for a kidnapping; the vehicle too small, the street too prominent, two targets rather than one. For a VBIED, while it could be a VERY effective way to eliminate two targets at once, unless they were thinking of suicide bombing, the vehicle should have been set up in advance with a trigger mechanism to ignite the device, like a pressure plate or a vibration switch. Could their taxi have been booby trapped with a device? She observed no suspicious activity. Was there another vehicle on the street that could be hooked up with a secondary explosive device? Certainly, an effective means of blocking the entire area against police and emergency staff. The blue Corsa could be used as a road block or could carry a remote trigger. Two explosions, without knowing the payload of the bombs, could not only be devastating, but catastrophic. The rabbit hole was slipping under her feet. Too many “what if’s”. She stepped back from the edge and bet on the horse.

Once again, she closed the door to any uncertainties. What kind of problem was this? She recognised the set up for a drive by shooting when she saw one.

Something was going to happen next regardless of what she did. So when that something happened, she wanted to be the deciding factor. Again, what to do next?

Shooting the vehicle would only incapacitate their transportation. They would still be dangerous. She could take out the windshield and the driver at the same time. But they would surely have a second shooter, especially for two targets, and he would still be active and armed. Plus, if she had time to take out the second man, that meant the second man had time to take out one of his targets. One out of two was still one too many for her. Which led her to her course of action.

For the two men to survive, they needed to get down. And she wasn’t talking about ducking.  Not dodging, not looking for cover. They needed to hit the ground, and hit it fast. With feeling. Her options? If she just pulled a warning shot, chances were likely that they would look around for the source of the gunshot, and there was no way to distinguish her shots as “friendly fire”.  Friendly fire could still kill, regardless of the intent. The bullet didn’t care why it was fired. When there were bullets coming in your direction from an unknown gunman, it was all enemy fire.

Because of their training, they would react instinctively to the sound of gunshots.  Experience would tell them to take cover, quick draw their own weapons, and return fire in the direction of where the shots came from. For once, she cursed their skills. When the target was not aware that the gunshot they just heard was friendly fire or a warning shot, that just meant that the shooter aimed and missed. Thus the shooter was a poor shot, giving them a chance to shoot back.

She needed to make her threat as immediate as she could. Instinct would tell them the only option for survival was taking cover. A shot above their heads would definitely get their attention, but that still didn’t guarantee that they would move out of the line of fire. Not her line of fire, but from the threat. A single shot had to tell them she could have easily killed them, the bullet did not miss, the shot was intentional, and the message was, GET DOWN NOW. Bonus points if they rolled. That would be even better.  Where to take that shot? If she missed her target, well, saying that would be bad, would be the understatement to understate all statements.

Firing her gun was her last option. Regrettably, it was her only option. She was carrying illegally, and with no doubt, would alert both sides to her presence. Even though they would have minimal information, she preferred they didn’t even know that information existed.

Many things would result from putting her gun into play.  If she used her gun for a warning shot, then she had to be prepared to be directly involved in a fire fight. And if she was going to be in a firefight, she damn well was going to come out on top. And if she was forced to fight, she would sure as hell fight to win.

She processed all of this in the matter of seconds. Her weapon was drawn before her last thought completed its message.

Her final thought. Fuck.

She wasn’t extravagant with her choice of firearms. She preferred performance and reliability over looks. A Glock 26 sub-compact was her pick for conceal carry. It had less recoil, more on target accuracy, and a fast rate of fire for a gun of its size. Compact enough to be easily concealed, even on her slim frame. A shoulder holster was her carry position of choice. Other positions risked printing. It still had sufficient barrel length to get decent performance out of her ammunition. Ten round magazines were her preference, though it had the capacity for more. She found it cumbersome on the field and only used larger capacity mags when she was target practicing. With the smaller barrel, it had a little more lift than her full size weapon, the Glock 19, but she could compensate easily for the difference between the two. She always kept one in the chamber, ready to be fired. Now she was very glad she did.

The blue coupe rolled toward the men at a deliberate pace as they descended the few steps to the pavement. Tinted windows and the glare of the streets lights blocked her view of the car’s interior. She kept its position in the periphery of her mind. As she drew her weapon, she was comforted by its familiar weight, shape, feel, and the trust that she had with the nuances of its operation. When her weapon was on her, whether holstered or drawn, it became, essentially, an extension of her own body, and thus, was as personal to her as the hands that used it.

No matter where or how she shot her weapon, whether it be for practice, self defence, or to kill, she always returned to the same training, every single time, no matter her target. Repetition, after all, was mastery.

Accuracy was paramount. The biggest lesson she had ever learned?  If you didn’t hit what you intended to, you would, of course, hit something else. And you were the one responsible for it.  Guns didn’t miss, shooters missed. The bullet would land wherever the muzzle and front sight were pointed when the trigger was engaged.  If she didn’t hit her mark, it happened because her front sight and the muzzle were pulled, pushed or jerked out of alignment with the straight line between her eye and her target. And if it deviated, it did so because of the way she manipulated the trigger. Basically, a missed shot was down to user error.

When firing her weapon, she always came back to the relationship between her front sight, rear sight, trigger, her eye and the target.

The more precise the shot, the more precise her sight picture had to be. And this had to be one of the most precise shots she’d ever had to take out in the field. What had she been thinking about understatements?

Well, whatever she thought fell aside and she focused singularly on the task in front of her.

She adopted her modified weaver stance, by instinct.  Feet a little wider than shoulder width. Knees soft. Dominant foot slighty behind the other. Her weight was evenly distributed, but she was  leaning forward just slightly and angled away from her target. Basically, a boxer’s recovery stance.

She looked at the exact spot on the target that she wanted to hit

She visualized a straight line between her eye and that spot.

She raised her weapon and brought it up to eye level.

She relaxed her grip until it felt natural.

She made sure that front and rear sight intersected the line she drew between her eye and the target.

She levelled the top of the front sight with the top of the rear sight.

She changed her eye focus from the spot on the target to the front of her gun, until her sharp focus centered on the front site.

She could still see her target in line in the distance.

She softened and relaxed the muscles of her face until it felt peaceful.

She shifted her weight just the tiniest bit to the balls of her feet to minimise the lift of the muzzle.

She curled her index finger around the face of the trigger until it nested in the perfect spot.

At the bottom of her exhalation, with just the amount of pressure necessary, no more no less, she smoothly pressed the trigger straight back to the rear.

The sharp report rang in her ears. As the muzzle lifted from the recoil, she kept her focus on the top of the front sight,  and maintained alignment with the invisible thread that was pulled tight from her eye, completing her follow throughprecisely at the same time as her bullet hit its mark.

All of this happened, seamlessly, without hesitation, within fractions of a second. In situations such as these time and space had no meaning.

She had just triggered, pun intended, a chain of events that she hoped wouldn’t end in bloodshed. But if it did, she had faith that it wouldn’t be theirs.

The two men fell to the ground, already reaching to draw their own weapons. Without a second thought, she adjusted her aim and stance toward the vehicle that was now passing by the store front. Its window was rolled down and she could see the barrel of a large handgun materialise from the darkness. A shot fired in their direction. She didn’t bother noting the make and model of the gun. Most likely an illegal side arm. Her whole process started from the beginning once more, this time with the anticipation that she may have multiple targets to shoot between.

Her next shot hit the barrel of the weapon before it could pull a second round.

She stole a quick glance at the two men on the ground. Shit. Rather than lining up with the shooters in the car, the older gentleman immediately turned his head in her direction. He was looking for the original shooter. He was good, he nearly zeroed in on her exact location despite gunfire coming from two separate sources. She weighed her options. She could pull back so as not to be seen, but if she did, she would no longer have sight on the car. She could not be certain that they had been incapacitated and without being certain, she couldn’t drop her cover fire position. It would leave the two men vulnerable.

With misgiving, she stayed in place. And, fuck, for a split second their eyes met. She and the car both pulled off one last shot, hers hitting, theirs missing the mark before the vehicle decided that the unknown in the equation was more than they had bargained for. They sped off without her getting a good look at the passengers. They were banking on the element of surprise but she had knocked all of their chips off the table before they could cash out.

Gunfire, uncommon in the streets of London, especially in high traffic, upscale areas like Saville Row, would definitely be suspicious. Reports would be made to the police. She wasn’t sure what the protocol for the two Kingsman were, if they would handle the situation as civilians or remain under the cover of Kingsman, which operated outside the rules of law. She wasn’t waiting around to find out.

She holstered her weapon, adjusted her face and body to a person of no significance or consequence, turned, and took her leave in the opposite direction.

----If you got this far, thanks for reading! First time for a posting a longer fanfic. Apologies for any first timer quirks. Let me know what you think! Liked it, loved it, hated it, burn it, no worries, all feedback is welcome. (but of course, I hope you had at least kinda an enjoyable time.) ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO REBLOG or send to someone who might be interested.

[pass-the-bechdel]

Nikita season one full review

How many episodes pass the Bechdel test?

100% (twenty-two of twenty-two!!!)

What is the average percentage per episode of female characters with names and lines?

36.02%

How many episodes have a cast that is at least 40% female?

Twelve. That’s over half the season, so I’m not gonna bother listing them individually. Because I am lazy.

How many episodes have a cast that is less than 20% female?

Zero.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Twenty. Four who appear in more than one episode, four who appear in at least half the episodes, and two who appear in every episode.

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Sixty. Thirteen who appear in more than one episode, three who appear in at least half the episodes, and two who appear in every episode.

Positive Content Status:

Generally high, and consistently flirting with higher rankings rather than tempting lower ones (average rating of 3.13).

General Season Quality:

Has a few of the typical teething issues of a new show, but fewer than I expected and with a very solid upward trend in quality and narrative drive. Even when they turn in a slightly weaker episode on entertainment, they don’t lose their grasp on the broader story at work, and that makes for a highly engaging and thrilling product.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) under the cut:

Huh, I totally thought they were gonna clock in better on the percent of female characters, considering how often they achieved 40+% across the season. Oh well. Maybe next time? In the meantime, you can’t do much better than 100% on the Bechdel, especially not when your passing it as often per-episode as they have been, and extensively across scenes rather than just singular call-and-response exchanges. I wondered at first if I the exclusion of the exchanges between Nikita and Alex via the shell were gonna cripple the show’s Bechdel (though Alex’s simulated voice and Nikita’s dictated responses make it feel more like they’re having a spoken conversation, ultimately it is purely text-based and does not count), but as it happened they did more than ok outside of that anyway, and I am glad for it. 

As far as things to be glad for in this show, the Bechdel passes are relatively small-fry. At this point I am already feeling very confident in the reasons why so many people recommended this show for review, and The Powers That Be will have to have made some pretty serious changes to their formula for them to throw me off heartily enjoying future seasons. I mean, they could definitely piss me off in a huge way with just a few key alterations, and I won’t pretend my cynical self would be the least bit surprised, but we ain’t there yet. Right now, I come to praise Nikita, not to bury it. I come to praise its title character, a strong woman without the cliches: she needs no man but that doesn’t mean she refuses to have one around (or to enjoy his company if she so pleases); her approach to men does not in any way define her as a person. She’s physically powerful but not preternaturally unbeatable; she is not portrayed as weak or inept when she is bested, physically or mentally. She’s a tough-as-nails spysassin, but she still has emotions, is in touch with said emotions, and is not implied to be compromised just because she has healthy emotional responses. That one is kinda especially huge to me, that she is allowed to be a fully-rounded and mature human being without the narrative trying to work it in around her history, as if it requires explanation. Covert assassins really exist; spies really exist. Foster kids, drug addicts, and death-row killers really exist, just like compassionate, attractive women with a vast array of skills and smarts really exist, just like (and the entertainment industry especially hates to admit this one) Asian women really exist. And people who are various combinations of these things exist too! They’re real things that actually happen! It’s even technically possible that someone just like Nikita is really real, because female Asian spysassins are people too, and they all have histories and feelings because, yeah. Human individuals. That thing. I’m so accustomed to television creators thinking they have to explain how a woman can possibly possess multiple human traits at the same time and be a believable part of the universe they’ve made (in which the male characters are wish-fulfillment-fantasies whose best-ness goes unquestioned for realism for the duration of the tale), I was not prepared for this show to be so comfortable with portraying Nikita’s wholeness. I am really, really happy about that.

There are other factors worthy of discussion in terms of praise, but I’m going to hold whatever more detailed assessment of other ladies for future seasons, knowing that the likes of Alex and Amanda will both be around, and up to all sorts of shenanigans that I cannot presently predict ant therefore may eagerly wish to talk through at a later date. At this time, however, I must note some of the less-loved aspects of the first season, which I perpetually put off discussing in the episode reviews with the promise of finally acknowledging them now. Firstly, I must register my displeasure at the killing of my delightful Jaden, for whom I had such high hopes of a turnaround. I guess I should give them kudos for playing to those hopes by having Jaden become friendly with Alex at last riiight before smelling a rat and getting herself shot, but I am still pouting over the missed opportunity to maintain Jaden as an antagonistic agent-in-the-field, or to drag her (probably unhappily) onto Nikita’s side of the conflict. Just, y’know. Jaden. Being not-dead. 

That my girl was killed by none other than nightmare-next-door Nathan just adds insult to injury. What the fuck was Nathan, besides obviously the worst mistake of the season? The reason I kept holding off on commentary for him was that I was waiting for the big reveal that never came - his most believable moment was the dream Alex had where she told him the truth and he turned out to be a Division plant working with Jaden. As an - apparently - ‘regular’ person, Nathan was a nonentity, just some rando who conveniently lived across the hall being single and age-appropriate for Alex, some rando who insistently pushed his way into Alex’s apartment ‘to help with the groceries’ on her first day and then proceeded to insinuate his way into her life and home on various other occasions. And we’re supposed to believe that Alex just like, instantly fell in love with this guy? That his lack of boundaries from the moment they met didn’t set off every finely-tuned alarm bell in her head - not just the ones Division installed, but also the ones dating back to the day she was sold into sexual slavery, and perhaps even one or two that her father helped her build before that when he was teaching her survival skills?? Alex, being exactly who she is, knowing what she’s gotten into with Nikita (and what happened to the man in Nikita’s life when she was with Division, seriously these lessons are all so recent), Alex somehow doesn’t break the guy’s face when he first makes a grab for her groceries, and instead she magically falls in love with this charmless creep despite the danger??? They pay lip service to the ‘dilemma’ of wanting to be ‘normal’ in spite of the all-too-present jeopardy, but even if Nathan were not just a plank of wood with eyes drawn on, I wouldn’t believe that Alex fell that hard and fast that she couldn’t bear to be without him, that she dreamed of marrying him and starting a family (!), and that she actually jeopardised EVERYTHING by telling him about being A. GOVERNMENT. ASSASSIN. Nathan is only in five episodes - one of which is not ‘him’ so much as it is the cutesy dream-version of him - so there’s next to no development of the relationship, just this kind of lazy shorthand where ‘conventionally attractive white girl meets conventionally attractive assigned-male slice of plain white bread’ can only mean one thing: romance. Not buying it. Not for a second. Not even in a ‘we all make mistakes and sometimes human drives are irrational, etc, etc’ kind of way. I really, really hope that Nathan is finished now. I guess only time - and some more seasons - will tell. 

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Now we come to the winner in the Best Actress category. At the first Oscars, the award was given out based not just on one film, but on an entire person’s body of work, provided they’d made more then one picture in the last two years. In some categories, the contenders have been close, but not in this one. Janet Gaynor blew her competition completely out of the water that year with three stunning films: 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise. Two of the three films, Sunrise and 7th Heaven, are still considered the pinnacle of what silent films could achieve for their sheer quality. The importance to which Gaynor played in making these pictures what they are can’t be overstated. Each role is done with such depth and sensitivity that you understand the emotions perfectly going on in those big eyes and upon her innocent-looking face. She managed to win at the ripe old age of twenty-two, becoming the youngest Oscar winner in this category until 1986, a whopping fifty-seven years later!

We’ll go through her body of work here going from what I believe is weakest to strongest in this body of work she was nominated for. First up is Street Angel. Now if you watch these films back-to-back-to-back, it becomes very obvious that Gaynor was typecast into a certain role: that of the sweet, sad, innocent waif who has been through many hardships already in her short life and is bound to go through more before finding her happy ending. She might be tarnished in certain ways, but there’s a purity about her which shines through.

While the other two pictures take such a role and give it more depth, here in Street Angel, well, that’s where her role starts and stops. Had she been nominated for this film solely, I wouldn’t have thought she would win. It’s a fantastic part, but I just feel there’s something a little lacking. Plus, there’s a little too much emphasis on the madonna-whore complex running throughout the picture for my liking. Gaynor stars as Angela, (meaningful name, anyone?) a pure and winsome poor young woman whose mother is gravely ill. With no way to get the money she desperately needs, Angela decides to resort to prostitution in order to get it. There is a bit that wavers between amusing and dramatic as Angela tries to imitate the prostitutes walking the streets to solicit a client. She’s unsuccessful, and in one last desperate attempt, tries to steal the wallet of a rich man.

She’s caught and sentenced to one year of hard labor, escaping from the line before she can be put in prison. (My, my, was there even a trial? Most people contesting parking tickets in the modern world seem to take at least a month and this all seems to happen on the same day!) For once, the police are shown to be quite competent, and she can’t shake them off for more then a few minutes. She returns home to find that her mother has, conveniently for the plot so that she won’t be weighed down by an obligation to her parent, died in her absence without the medicine. There’s a tender scene where Angela lays down next to her mother and says goodbye for the last time, the first real good bit of dramatic acting in the picture.

Angela ends up getting hidden with some circus folk who then take her with them. She becomes an acrobatic performer with them, cheerful, carefree, and cynical about love. She meets Gino, a wandering painter, played by Charles Farrell. This was the second of a full twelve pictures the two would make together. It’s easy to see why. Their chemistry shines through right away and two bounce off of each other wonderfully, something that will also be seen in 7th Heaven, the first picture they made together. The two predictably fall in love amidst the hubbub and bustle of the circus. This is easily the most interesting part of the picture to watch as there’s quite a lot visually going on.

During this time, Gino paints a lovely portrait of Angela as he sees her. She warns him that he only sees what he wants to, clearly thinking of her tarnished past, but he’s not listening. Apparently even in 1928 men were more in love with the idea of a woman then the reality that was in front of them. Soon after, Angela spots the police skulking about, and nervous that they’ll find her, she falls while doing an acrobatic stunt and shatters her ankle. She and Gino are forced to leave the circus and go back to what he doesn’t know is her hometown of Naples. It’s not really clear why their only option is to leave the circus. I mean, it’s a broken ankle, not an amputated limb. Surely there’s still work she could do while she heals before being able to possibly perform again and Gino still is able to paint to support them. It also doesn’t make sense as to why she doesn’t suggest going to, oh, any other town in the entirety of Italy besides the one where she’s a wanted woman. But anyway, they leave, and the most interesting part of the picture is over almost before it began.

The picture falls a little too much into the standard romantic drama as Gino and her are forced to sell the beloved portrait of her to make some money. At this point, comparing it to the other two pictures, Street Angel just seems to lack a certain spark that makes it unique. It’s pretty standard fair, and while Gaynor gives a strong performance as she does in all three pictures, I’m just not seeing any standout moments. During this time, she finds out Gino has a massive madonna-whore complex, in which all prostitutes are soiled beyond redemption in his eyes, while Angela is a beautiful saint by comparison because she’s “pure”. She does try to suss out what he might think if she reveals her past, but he dismisses all prostitutes as somehow choosing the life they’re in and wanting to do it. Perhaps this is just the gap of too many years between 1928 and 2019, but ninety-one years later, this slaps as being horribly misogynistic and judgmental to the extreme. What, has he remained pure and virginal up until this moment too? You get the feeling that Gino would immediately dump Angela’s ass and condemn her if she ever told of her past.

Predictably to cause some angst, Angela is found out by the police just as things start to look up for the couple as Gino gets commissioned to do a giant mural. She begs for an hour to say goodbye to him, a request which is granted. This is also one of Gaynor’s shining stand-out moments in the picture, for she beautifully portrays Angela as giving Gino a wonderful night where she agrees to marry him the next day, all while the audience can see the sadness and tears that are barely being held back. So she leaves with the police officer while Gino sleeps.

There is a bit of an idiot plot moment here even more then the one I pointed out earlier. If she loves Gino so dang much, why doesn’t she just tell him she’s going to prison? I think any man would prefer knowing where the love of his life is, even if it’s in a horrible place that he disapproves of, instead of disappearing into the night without a trace. She wouldn’t even need to give out the full story: just fudge a few details and he’d understand without all his self-righteous judgment. But instead she disappears, Gino is left heartbroken and unable to paint, losing the commission of painting the mural while Angela is happy in prison, convinced that he’s doing great things and was able to get over her disappearance…somehow. Tell me, does she know the personality of her fiance at all? Or is she too only seeing what she wants to?

When she gets out, she’s devastated to realize that Gino lost the commission and has long since either abandoned or been kicked out of the home they shared together. Gino in the meantime has fallen into despair and meanness, which you can totally tell because he’s now wearing a not-subtle-at-all entirely black outfit. A prostitute who had known both of them before and who met Angela in prison, colloquially referring to her as a “street angel” like she was, reveals to Gino what Angela was in prison for. He basically says all women are liars, whores, and sent from the Devil…remind me again why we’re supposed to root for this guy as a protagonist?

We’re treated shots of the two of them wandering around the foggy docks, both lost in their own thoughts. This is another good moment for Gaynor as she portrays Angela’s sadness and despair at realizing how she messed things up. The two coincidentally meet, for Gino is searching the face of every prostitute he meets to paint the perfect picture of a woman with the face of an angel and the soul of Satan.

He goes into a killing rage when he recognizes her, which to me feels like far too much of an overreaction. Like, dude, she abandoned you and has a past as a streetwalker. That’s not enough to condone murder in my book. He’s about to strangle her when he sees that the portrait of Angela he painted is coincidentally hanging on the wall of the chapel they had run into. That’s enough to snap him out of it, but he’s still about to abandon Angela before she protests that he saw that purity in her and that it still remains. Just why she doesn’t just explain to him that the whole prostituting herself thing was to get money for medicine for her dying mother is a mystery. Maybe she thinks he’ll still dump her cold flat, which I wouldn’t put past someone this self-righteous and hypercritical. Sure, a woman who is a whore is terrible, but somehow a man who tries to murder said whore is still somehow a good guy? Give me a break. Even with all his judgment, Gino looks into her eyes, and sees the truth. The two reconcile and leave into the night to start a new life together.

Overall, not either my favorite movie of the three or Gaynor’s strongest performance. It certainly cements that she could do the troubled, innocent waif roles with ease, but there’s not a lot of meat to the role besides a few stand-out bits of acting, and much of the message of the picture has not aged well since the time of women’s liberation and rise of feminism. Slut shaming is not something I want to see in the films I watch, silent or otherwise.

Up next is 7th Heaven, which I feel is in the middle between the other two films. Whereas in Street Angel Gaynor’s role was a young waif attempting unsuccessfully to prostitute herself, in 7th Heaven, she’s already been a hooker for quite some time, albeit the stereotype that Charles Dickens made popular in the book Oliver Twist with the character Nancy: a hooker with a heart of gold. Diane is trapped in an abusive home where her sister Nana regularly beats her and whores both of them out to feed her absinthe habit. While she doesn’t say much for the first part of the film, her sad eyes and hunched body posture speak a great deal. One can see the torment in her eyes when her wealthy uncle and aunt promise to give them a home if they have remained “clean and good girls.” There’s anguish on Diane’s face, and not just because Nana’s literally twisting her arm behind her back to say what she wants. To be lawful or to be good? She answers truthfully, which sends Nana into a rage where she chases Diane out of the house and down the street in a remarkable tracking shot that’s all one take.

Diane is strangled in the gutter until a sewer-worker Chico rescues her. Chico is loud, boisterous, and fearless, the exact opposite of the shrinking, downtrodden sad sack of a figure Diane is. There’s a great dramatic moment where Diane plans to commit suicide. Every bit of her body language just conveys so well how much pain and despair she’s in, unable to “go on living without hope” as she puts it. Chico saves her, and they start to bond, but no sooner does that happen then the police try to round her up in a sting arresting prostitutes, the bitter Nana telling them she’s “no better then me”.

Chico impulsively says she’s his wife to save her from arrest and the police say they will check up on them later. Chico despairs of losing the new job he just got until Diane says she’ll stay with him to keep the ruse up, and then leave afterwards. There’s a charming scene that starts out with another long tracking shot as he takes her up to the seventh floor upon which he lives. They then begin to bond a little more.

I will admit Chico does say some coarse and misogynistic things, but unlike Gino in Street Angel, there’s enough charm and goodness in him to make the viewer still sympathize with him. It also helps most of his words revolve around a woman’s place in the home, such as saying all women try to get through a man through his stomach, as opposed to slut-shaming Diane for her past. Indeed, Chico doesn’t seem to care one whit that Diane was a hooker.

The rest of the movie is pretty standard dramedy: just as they come into happiness and plan to get married, WWI breaks out. They have their own private ceremony where they used religious medals given to them earlier in place of wedding rings, with Chico promising to talk to her every day at eleven o’ clock. When Nana shows back up after Chico has left for the war, Diane is terrified…until Nana tries to take her precious medals. Then the tables are turned as she starting beating Nana around the apartment until she gets her medals back and drives her out. It’s a nice bit of character development that Gaynor pulls off well.

Diane is pursued by an officer at home, but she staunchly is loyal to Chico. On the front line, Chico is gravely wounded, and tells the chaplain to give his medals to his wife. When Diane receives the news, there’s a great bit of emoting as she at first refuses to believe the news until the medals are given to her. She falls into despair and then rages at the heavens, cursing God for giving her happiness only to take it away. Then Chico, who is miraculously still alive but blinded, comes back. There’s a tearful reunion between them, with Diane unable to believe he’s alive at first until she touches his face. Diane promises to be his eyes while Chico optimistically tells her it will only be until he regains his sight.

While this all sounding like a typical dramedy plot and hardly original to today’s audience, it’s a film that really has to be seen to believed. The ultimate strength is carried on the two main actors’ shoulders. Gaynor wouldn’t be nearly as strong in the role as she is if she didn’t have Farrell to bounce off of. The chemistry between them leaps out at the viewer, making them empathize very quickly with them, and root for their happy ending when it seems like all is lost. This honestly could have won Gaynor the Oscar, but if you can believe it, there’s an even stronger performance for me to tell you about.

Now we come to the stand-out of the pictures. I believe this more then the other two won her the Oscar. Sunrise is more than just a film meant to entertain, this is a work of art that should hang inside a museum. It’s like watching a poem unfold, the picture already on the screen instead of the mind’s eye. Even in the era of silent films, it has very little dialogue, so the viewer is deliberately meant to understand it purely through the visual medium.

Can an actress portray a character convincingly when she doesn’t have any dialogue to fall back on? The answer is yes! Gaynor stars as “The Wife”, a sad and downtrodden farmer’s wife whose husband, “The Man”, has fallen in love with “The Woman From The City.” As you can see, they didn’t give the characters names to instead evoke a sort of timelessness, like this was a fable that could have happened at any point in time.

To contrast The Woman’s persona of dark hair and dark, fashionable clothes, Gaynor was put into plain, drab practical clothes meant for a farm setting and a stiff blonde wig that doesn’t move. Apparently, viewers at the time were almost outraged to see her without her usual dark brown hair. Guess people still would fuss at nothing even ninety-one years ago.

So The Man and The WFTC come up with a plan to drown The Wife and make it look like an accident so that he can be with his new mistress. The Wife, upon hearing her husband wants to spend a day together, is rapturous with joy, a complete 180-degree turn from the sad and hopeless expressions she’d been wearing. Once they’re out on the lake, The Man tries to kill her, but finds he simply can’t do it. Terrified of her husband, The Wife runs to the trolley stop, and climbs aboard.

Despite trying several times to show how sorry he is, The Man can’t seem to console his wife. Gee, can’t imagine why she wouldn’t forgive you after selling off a majority of your farm, cheating with another woman, and then trying to kill her. She wanders through several scenes sobbing, crying, and unable to pull herself together. Finally, when they reach a church and see a couple reciting their wedding vows while being married, The Man realizes how far he’s fallen in how he should be treating his wife. Suddenly, the roles are reversed, as The Man sobs while The Wife tries to console him. Admittedly, this is the one portion of the picture where not having dialogue, even on cue cards, does seem to make it fall a little flat. It’s hard to see a woman forgiving her husband for such abuse just because he feels really, really sorry now.

But they make up and the dramatic portion of the picture shifts into more of an “about the town” style comedy. They go to a beauty salon, get their pictures taken, and go to a fair where they play games, get a little drunk, and dance together. The tonal shift is actually to the benefit of the characterization, for it shows both the couple becoming close again and also shows that The Wife is just as beautiful and exciting as The WFTC can be. There’s a transformation in her, not at all physical, but mentally, and Gaynor pulls this off tremendously.

Heading home, there’s a horrendous storm on the lake. Funnily enough, The Wife sleeps through the first portion of it, only awakening when there’s a huge clap of thunder. To be fair, she was likely still a little tipsy and probably had more alcohol in her system then her hubby since she was smaller. When she awakens, her husband lashes reeds to her to keep her afloat when they are inevitably capsized by the waves. The tense drama fills the scene as one wonders if she will survive or not. Is she to be an early example of a woman dying to further a man’s characterization? But no! Not in this picture where The Wife has just as much importance as The Man.

She’s discovered, weak and barely hanging on, but alive. Her blonde hair is seen for the first and only time being down. Combined with the white nightgown she is put in and the white pillow with her hair framed all around her, it’s clear she’s meant to represent an angelic, pure figure. The last scene of the movie shows her waking up to her devoted husband by her side, a contrast from the beginning where she wept because he was out with The Woman From The City instead of being home with her.

Overall, this is the strongest of Gaynor’s performances. She could have won just based on this one alone. She can transmit The Wife’s emotions so clearly in the span of a single scene, showing her going from being a downtrodden housewife to one full of joy at the thought that her husband at last wants to spend more time with her. She connects with the audience so much that at the end, when it appears she might be dead, the audience shares the despair of The Man at the thought of losing such a good, innocent soul. If you see only one of these three movies, watch Sunrise.

Best Actress Winner 1929: Janet Gaynor in Sunrise, 7th Heaven, and Street Angel Now we come to the winner in the Best Actress category. At the first Oscars, the award was given out based not just on one film, but on an entire person's body of work, provided they'd made more then one picture in the last two years.

[didsbumeare-blog]

Destiny trials of osiris matchmaking

How does trials matchmaking work destiny 2 On the other side of the coin let the good teams and players play against equally matched opponents i am sure they will like this better.  Also chances are you'd be fighting the same 10-20 people over and over again.  Those guys can mop the floor with you if you don't take them seriously enough now.  System will trials, see el paso hook up to kick.  Story: Everything changed with the arrival of the Traveler.

How Does Trials of Osiris Matchmaking Work? > All Topics Bungie's own Bungie Foundation will match the total purse.  We run into only teleporting undamaging red barred enemies who take full clips and disappear to backstab us on a regular basis.  We recommend taking a look at Tom Phillips' account of before it closed in Destiny 1.  It seemed like clear evidence of the dense, here is one of this weekend of the meantime, but.  Were my call-outs not good enough? Well in that case it's simple.  Bungie's api is no matchmaking work best guns in general is cancelled for trials of.  Top 5 destiny took place and some of the trials of the ability to trial sept 1.

Destiny's Tweaked Trials of Osiris Starts Today, Promises Better You can also try lurking behind a group of stronger Guardians, adding your two cents of cross fire in the hopes of assist points.  I'm having fun in Trials most of the time, and on balanced matches even if I loose like 5-3 or so, it's entertaining.  From that dark age, Guardians were born.  Have a simple tier system similar to many games that have this already in place.  Below are some high-level changes for the 3v3 multiplayer event, as.  It's the same amount of wins, that's why sometimes your first match can either be easy mode or a complete curb stomp.  In addition, Bungie today reminded fans that its to support people affected by the earthquake in Nepal ends this coming Sunday, May 24.

Destiny 2: Bungie Says Matchmaking is ‘Incompatible for Us’ While i'm psyched to know how does overwatch use some kind of interests.  For destiny 2's trials of osiris is a little bit about why do.  At round number 3, we were so soundly defeated I began to wonder if perhaps I had fallen asleep during the game.  From trials of osiris matchmaking topless teens - if it is there no matchmaking.  We had the boons, so naturally we ended up with 2 wins on our card instead of 1 after the first game.  That were handed out on september 8.

Skill Based Matchmaking Added to Trials of Osiris? In any real competitive sport or game there is a tier system.  More specifically, Bungie wants to ensure that the opposing team has an Internet connection equal to or better than your own.  I guess this will let me go back and finish some of the games I started and never finished after I'm done with Uncharted 4 though.  Because bungie's destiny 2 has said the crucible farming, and trials of osiris was in the third category.  Trials of Osiris has changed since the release of in September. I've looked up some well known streamers games and their win% are 80-99% win every match.

Trials of Osiris Matchmaking Changes (IMO) > Destiny Purchase a Trials Passage card from Brother Vance in the Reef and form a fireteam of three to enter; you can have as many goes as you like, but as ever, three losses will dump you back out and require you to purchase a new Passage.  This week about the highskilled trials of osiris mode where destiny's greatest multiplayer challenge trials of osiris unfair matchmaking events.  This is an online game, the whole purpose is to play it with others, why are you purposefully not finding me people to play with? It makes those guys never want to play PvP with us or try Crucible at all.  I am a decent but not great crucible player with 1.  I remember Halo having excellent matchmaking.  It might be a similar situation with.

How Does Trials of Osiris Matchmaking Work? > All Topics Now, a new era has begun, and the only hope for our future lies in unlocking the greatest mysteries of our past.  In the original such drops were generous, both in terms of frequency and gear level, making Iron Banner one of the best activities to grind if you wanted to power up.  In order for all those to enjoy this portion of the game, they should be playing on the same playing field.  The vast majority of the game are not blowouts where people just leave in the first 2 minutes and more often the teams seem to end up within 1,000 points of each other.  Unless of course we want to Pay someone that bs will never happen.  Quitter protection: forsaken, are currently recognize any matchmaking for high-level content.  Does it sound like something you would try? There is also apparently more nuance to Guided Games than was implied by the initial reveal, but Noseworthy says those conversations will be saved for a later date.

Trials of Osiris I agree and in the 4 months I have played i have in improved, but playing the really good teams does not help you improve in trials but is a lesson in humility or futility.  Teams were matched against each other depending on connection and the number of wins on their Trials Passage.  Matches will be composed of a series of rounds wherein the team that eliminates all opponents gains a point.  A powerful darkness that found us here on Earth, and nearly destroyed us.  Sometimes we include links to online retail stores.  Let the lower tier of trials play against opponents that are the same.  Destiny has too many Peer to Peer connection problems as it already stands to force another parameter on top of connection based matchmaking for Crucible, it just makes for an all around miserable and frustrating experience for people who have solid internet connections.

How does trials matchmaking work destiny 2 It's good to know that there are a lot of other long time players in a similar situation, with 1.  Bungie has taken it much more seriously in the sequel, with controversial tweaks to abilities and weapon loadouts made in the name of PvP balance.  However, the high barrier to entry and skill level may not make it ideal for more casual multiplayer fans.  Fresh air cleansed the skies over Venus.  I fear that if this doesn't change you will lose players in trials and it is one of the most enjoyable team orientated forms of crucible when you are not getting your butt kicked by clearly superior opponents. .

Destiny Skill Based Matchmaking in Trials of Osiris Let me know what you think and if you would be in favor of changes like this or if you think Trials Matchmaking should stay the same.  Another couple things Destiny desperately needs are Ranked playlists and Custom lobby's.  Opposite of what you're trying to achieve.  Occasional shortcuts and enemies on the track kept things interesting.  Bungie will put you become a good man.  Your loadout is also locked in each round - a key difference from the original game.

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When There’s Blood in the Street (Why It’s Not Quite Time to Be Long Crypto)

Timothy Enneking is the founder and the primary principal of Digital Capital Management, LLC (DCM).

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Two members of the Rothschild family are credited, perhaps incorrectly, with the (in)famous quote regarding investing: “When there is blood in the street” (James in the mid-19th century and Nathan, after the battle of Waterloo).

The family has been one of the richest in the world for over 200 years, so there’s something to be said for following the advice of its members… In the crypto space, therefore, the question becomes, Is there enough blood in the streets now that it’s the time to buy? I would argue no. Or, more precisely, not quite yet.

The basis for this conclusion is the past behavior of bitcoin (which, for the purposes of this article, I will use as a proxy for the entire crypto market – fully aware of the fact that it’s not perfect in that role, but only reasonably good).

The data set used is all related to bitcoin drops of 80 percent or more.

That’s because there is a very interesting aspect to historical BTC performance: There are no peak-to-valley drops between 57 percent and 82 percent over its trading history. Thus, it becomes quite easy to narrow the data down (since a drop of 50 percent is fundamentally and qualitatively different from a drop of more than 80 percent).

This leaves us with four instances: a bit too few in an ideal world, but enough, in some cases, to reach some rather definite conclusions.

The four drops are:

Of course, the last one is not yet over. Note that the current bear market has, to date, barely exceeded the third largest. To reach second place, BTC would have to drop to $2,553. To take first place, BTC would have to fall back to $1,239.

If we analyze the drops more closely, some interesting facts emerge. For instance, the average number of days between peak and valley is 233, or about 8 months. (The average would be 10 months without the unusual 2013 drop, which saw a peak-to-valley duration of two days.) This reinforces the conclusion that another bottom is probably close in terms of timing.

Then, once crypto markets hit bottom, how long does a recovery generally take?

We see those data below:

So, with quite a range, the average time for the price to double from the bottom is four months. The average time to reach the prior peak is one year and four months, or one year from the bottom doubling. Once that peak is reached, however, the time for the peak to double is a remarkable two months – and the range of the data is quite small: from one to three months. Conclusion: once enough momentum to reach the prior peak has been achieved, it consistently keeps going very strongly.

As we can see, the range of dates to reach and double the peak is far less than the range to double the bottom. Again, the sample is small, but the trend is clear. However, it’s also clear that the time required for all three metrics is increasing over time; thus, it may well take longer to hit each level this time around.

Are we at the bottom?

Further analysis is required to determine this. Let’s call it “spike analysis.”

BTC virtually always reaches a peak and puts in a bottom with a spike. In other words, there is not a nice round hill at the top and a gently sloping down-and-up valley at the bottom. Bitcoin’s tops and bottoms are more violent. And that “violence” can be measured.

For the first peak from the first table above, we have some statistical data, but no good graph as 2011 graphs are not generally available. However, regardless of the data source, the wick is enormous, up to 40 percent from the immediately surrounding prices.

For the November 2011 valley, the graph is quite interesting. The drop, while it does not look dramatic because of the tremendous jump (about 500 percent) shortly thereafter, was actually nearly 10 percent with an almost immediate recovery. The total drop was also the largest drop in bitcoin history in percentage terms at 93.6 percent.

The next peak, in April 2013 was even more dramatic, with a jump of 25-40 perecent depending on what one chooses as the starting point.

Stunningly, the next valley was put in two days later. (For those of you who, as I, lived through this, you will remember that this sudden spike and drop were directly related to the Cyprus debt crisis.)

(Please note that I am not addressing in any detail the various exogenous events which may have driven the crypto peaks and/or valleys. In addition to Cyprus in 2013, you had PBOC/MtGox in late 2013 and early 2014, the futures market-fueled rise in late 2017, ICO and general crypto regulation in 2018, etc. Good fuel for another article, but too much to address here.)

Again, depending on what one chooses as a baseline, the drop here was about 20 perecent. (It should also be noted that this drop may be viewed as a double or even triple bottom, but as it was put in over a very short period of time, the analysis still holds.) This is now the fourth largest drop in BTC history, having just been displaced by the current one.

The next peak was later that same year, in November. This peak is a bit of an anomaly for two reasons: first, the spike was only about an 8 percent increase and, second, there was a clear double top – although, again, over a very short period of time.

The next valley was just over one year later, in January 2015. This time the drop was about 15 percent and was very clear. The total peak-to-valley drop, at 86.9 percent, remains the second-largest in bitcoin history.

The final peak, and almost certainly the best known, was in December of last year. This was roughly a 12 percent peak and was extremely clear.

Finally, we look at the current price chart. We can see that there was a large drop from 6,000, but there has been nothing like a “violent” bottom put in – in fact, the opposite is true.

When capitulation?

Of course, a “violent bottom” is simply another way of saying “capitulation.” That concept has become so well known that many people, including authors of articles similar to this, are asking “have we seen capitulation yet?” (My favorite recent quote in this regard is “point of apparent capitulation” – which appeared about $1,000 ago.)

Here is my thought on capitulation: it will be obvious to nearly everyone when it happens. If lots of people are asking whether “that move down” was capitulation or not, it wasn’t.

So ,where will the bottom be? In my opinion, there is a relatively small chance of putting in a bottom around $2,800. However, I suspect that the odds are higher that the BTC price will test $2,000 within a month or two. Even if I’m correct, however, that would only move this drop to second place of all time.

One further point I would like to make is to address the question which “crypto folk” never ask, but which “fiat folk” do: Can the Bitcoin price drop to zero?

I remember almost six years ago when I first heard of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. I wasn’t convinced they would survive. After a year or so, survival wasn’t an issue, but scale and importance were. Now, it seems clear to me that crypto trading tokens (so I’m deliberately excluding blockchain applications which do not rely on “cryptocurrencies” that trade) and bitcoin are here to stay and that they will eventually play a non-trivial role in the financial system.

Without going into a long explanation, there is simply too much infrastructure that has been and is being developed, too many people with too much “skin in the game,” and too many advantages for the trading token ecosystem to utterly collapse.

The conclusion: a new bottom is nigh upon us, but not quite here yet. Or said another way, there is not yet enough blood running in the crypto streets to simply start buy bitcoin and other tokens which trade.

From an investment standpoint, however, while it’s not the time to buy, it is the time to invest. It’s obviously impossible to time the bottom exactly, so one must be positioned to invest now to maximize the benefit of the reversal. How to do that? Select a long-short investment vehicle (which the Rothschilds did not have) and invest now. I’m quite certain you won’t have to wait long for the next bull run to begin and, in the meantime, such a vehicle can make money on the balance of the drop.

Bitcoin in red via Shutterstock

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[mccartneynathxzw83]

When There’s Blood in the Street (Why It’s Not Quite Time to Be Long Crypto)

When There’s Blood in the Street (Why It’s Not Quite Time to Be Long Crypto)

Timothy Enneking is the founder and the primary principal of Digital Capital Management, LLC (DCM).

——————-

Two members of the Rothschild family are credited, perhaps incorrectly, with the (in)famous quote regarding investing: “When there is blood in the street” (James in the mid-19th century and Nathan, after the battle of Waterloo).

The family has been one of the richest in the world for over 200 years, so there’s something to be said for following the advice of its members… In the crypto space, therefore, the question becomes, Is there enough blood in the streets now that it’s the time to buy? I would argue no. Or, more precisely, not quite yet.

The basis for this conclusion is the past behavior of bitcoin (which, for the purposes of this article, I will use as a proxy for the entire crypto market – fully aware of the fact that it’s not perfect in that role, but only reasonably good).

The data set used is all related to bitcoin drops of 80 percent or more.

That’s because there is a very interesting aspect to historical BTC performance: There are no peak-to-valley drops between 57 percent and 82 percent over its trading history. Thus, it becomes quite easy to narrow the data down (since a drop of 50 percent is fundamentally and qualitatively different from a drop of more than 80 percent).

This leaves us with four instances: a bit too few in an ideal world, but enough, in some cases, to reach some rather definite conclusions.

The four drops are:

Of course, the last one is not yet over. Note that the current bear market has, to date, barely exceeded the third largest. To reach second place, BTC would have to drop to $2,553. To take first place, BTC would have to fall back to $1,239.

If we analyze the drops more closely, some interesting facts emerge. For instance, the average number of days between peak and valley is 233, or about 8 months. (The average would be 10 months without the unusual 2013 drop, which saw a peak-to-valley duration of two days.) This reinforces the conclusion that another bottom is probably close in terms of timing.

Then, once crypto markets hit bottom, how long does a recovery generally take?

We see those data below:

So, with quite a range, the average time for the price to double from the bottom is four months. The average time to reach the prior peak is one year and four months, or one year from the bottom doubling. Once that peak is reached, however, the time for the peak to double is a remarkable two months – and the range of the data is quite small: from one to three months. Conclusion: once enough momentum to reach the prior peak has been achieved, it consistently keeps going very strongly.

As we can see, the range of dates to reach and double the peak is far less than the range to double the bottom. Again, the sample is small, but the trend is clear. However, it’s also clear that the time required for all three metrics is increasing over time; thus, it may well take longer to hit each level this time around.

Are we at the bottom?

Further analysis is required to determine this. Let’s call it “spike analysis.”

BTC virtually always reaches a peak and puts in a bottom with a spike. In other words, there is not a nice round hill at the top and a gently sloping down-and-up valley at the bottom. Bitcoin’s tops and bottoms are more violent. And that “violence” can be measured.

For the first peak from the first table above, we have some statistical data, but no good graph as 2011 graphs are not generally available. However, regardless of the data source, the wick is enormous, up to 40 percent from the immediately surrounding prices.

For the November 2011 valley, the graph is quite interesting. The drop, while it does not look dramatic because of the tremendous jump (about 500 percent) shortly thereafter, was actually nearly 10 percent with an almost immediate recovery. The total drop was also the largest drop in bitcoin history in percentage terms at 93.6 percent.

The next peak, in April 2013 was even more dramatic, with a jump of 25-40 perecent depending on what one chooses as the starting point.

Stunningly, the next valley was put in two days later. (For those of you who, as I, lived through this, you will remember that this sudden spike and drop were directly related to the Cyprus debt crisis.)

(Please note that I am not addressing in any detail the various exogenous events which may have driven the crypto peaks and/or valleys. In addition to Cyprus in 2013, you had PBOC/MtGox in late 2013 and early 2014, the futures market-fueled rise in late 2017, ICO and general crypto regulation in 2018, etc. Good fuel for another article, but too much to address here.)

Again, depending on what one chooses as a baseline, the drop here was about 20 perecent. (It should also be noted that this drop may be viewed as a double or even triple bottom, but as it was put in over a very short period of time, the analysis still holds.) This is now the fourth largest drop in BTC history, having just been displaced by the current one.

The next peak was later that same year, in November. This peak is a bit of an anomaly for two reasons: first, the spike was only about an 8 percent increase and, second, there was a clear double top – although, again, over a very short period of time.

The next valley was just over one year later, in January 2015. This time the drop was about 15 percent and was very clear. The total peak-to-valley drop, at 86.9 percent, remains the second-largest in bitcoin history.

The final peak, and almost certainly the best known, was in December of last year. This was roughly a 12 percent peak and was extremely clear.

Finally, we look at the current price chart. We can see that there was a large drop from 6,000, but there has been nothing like a “violent” bottom put in – in fact, the opposite is true.

When capitulation?

Of course, a “violent bottom” is simply another way of saying “capitulation.” That concept has become so well known that many people, including authors of articles similar to this, are asking “have we seen capitulation yet?” (My favorite recent quote in this regard is “point of apparent capitulation” – which appeared about $1,000 ago.)

Here is my thought on capitulation: it will be obvious to nearly everyone when it happens. If lots of people are asking whether “that move down” was capitulation or not, it wasn’t.

So ,where will the bottom be? In my opinion, there is a relatively small chance of putting in a bottom around $2,800. However, I suspect that the odds are higher that the BTC price will test $2,000 within a month or two. Even if I’m correct, however, that would only move this drop to second place of all time.

One further point I would like to make is to address the question which “crypto folk” never ask, but which “fiat folk” do: Can the Bitcoin price drop to zero?

I remember almost six years ago when I first heard of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. I wasn’t convinced they would survive. After a year or so, survival wasn’t an issue, but scale and importance were. Now, it seems clear to me that crypto trading tokens (so I’m deliberately excluding blockchain applications which do not rely on “cryptocurrencies” that trade) and bitcoin are here to stay and that they will eventually play a non-trivial role in the financial system.

Without going into a long explanation, there is simply too much infrastructure that has been and is being developed, too many people with too much “skin in the game,” and too many advantages for the trading token ecosystem to utterly collapse.

The conclusion: a new bottom is nigh upon us, but not quite here yet. Or said another way, there is not yet enough blood running in the crypto streets to simply start buy bitcoin and other tokens which trade.

From an investment standpoint, however, while it’s not the time to buy, it is the time to invest. It’s obviously impossible to time the bottom exactly, so one must be positioned to invest now to maximize the benefit of the reversal. How to do that? Select a long-short investment vehicle (which the Rothschilds did not have) and invest now. I’m quite certain you won’t have to wait long for the next bull run to begin and, in the meantime, such a vehicle can make money on the balance of the drop.

Bitcoin in red via Shutterstock

Original Source https://ift.tt/2Gk3sE5

[courtneyvbrooks87]

When There’s Blood in the Street (Why It’s Not Quite Time to Be Long Crypto)

When There’s Blood in the Street (Why It’s Not Quite Time to Be Long Crypto)

Timothy Enneking is the founder and the primary principal of Digital Capital Management, LLC (DCM).

——————-

Two members of the Rothschild family are credited, perhaps incorrectly, with the (in)famous quote regarding investing: “When there is blood in the street” (James in the mid-19th century and Nathan, after the battle of Waterloo).

The family has been one of the richest in the world for over 200 years, so there’s something to be said for following the advice of its members… In the crypto space, therefore, the question becomes, Is there enough blood in the streets now that it’s the time to buy? I would argue no. Or, more precisely, not quite yet.

The basis for this conclusion is the past behavior of bitcoin (which, for the purposes of this article, I will use as a proxy for the entire crypto market – fully aware of the fact that it’s not perfect in that role, but only reasonably good).

The data set used is all related to bitcoin drops of 80 percent or more.

That’s because there is a very interesting aspect to historical BTC performance: There are no peak-to-valley drops between 57 percent and 82 percent over its trading history. Thus, it becomes quite easy to narrow the data down (since a drop of 50 percent is fundamentally and qualitatively different from a drop of more than 80 percent).

This leaves us with four instances: a bit too few in an ideal world, but enough, in some cases, to reach some rather definite conclusions.

The four drops are:

Of course, the last one is not yet over. Note that the current bear market has, to date, barely exceeded the third largest. To reach second place, BTC would have to drop to $2,553. To take first place, BTC would have to fall back to $1,239.

If we analyze the drops more closely, some interesting facts emerge. For instance, the average number of days between peak and valley is 233, or about 8 months. (The average would be 10 months without the unusual 2013 drop, which saw a peak-to-valley duration of two days.) This reinforces the conclusion that another bottom is probably close in terms of timing.

Then, once crypto markets hit bottom, how long does a recovery generally take?

We see those data below:

So, with quite a range, the average time for the price to double from the bottom is four months. The average time to reach the prior peak is one year and four months, or one year from the bottom doubling. Once that peak is reached, however, the time for the peak to double is a remarkable two months – and the range of the data is quite small: from one to three months. Conclusion: once enough momentum to reach the prior peak has been achieved, it consistently keeps going very strongly.

As we can see, the range of dates to reach and double the peak is far less than the range to double the bottom. Again, the sample is small, but the trend is clear. However, it’s also clear that the time required for all three metrics is increasing over time; thus, it may well take longer to hit each level this time around.

Are we at the bottom?

Further analysis is required to determine this. Let’s call it “spike analysis.”

BTC virtually always reaches a peak and puts in a bottom with a spike. In other words, there is not a nice round hill at the top and a gently sloping down-and-up valley at the bottom. Bitcoin’s tops and bottoms are more violent. And that “violence” can be measured.

For the first peak from the first table above, we have some statistical data, but no good graph as 2011 graphs are not generally available. However, regardless of the data source, the wick is enormous, up to 40 percent from the immediately surrounding prices.

For the November 2011 valley, the graph is quite interesting. The drop, while it does not look dramatic because of the tremendous jump (about 500 percent) shortly thereafter, was actually nearly 10 percent with an almost immediate recovery. The total drop was also the largest drop in bitcoin history in percentage terms at 93.6 percent.

The next peak, in April 2013 was even more dramatic, with a jump of 25-40 perecent depending on what one chooses as the starting point.

Stunningly, the next valley was put in two days later. (For those of you who, as I, lived through this, you will remember that this sudden spike and drop were directly related to the Cyprus debt crisis.)

(Please note that I am not addressing in any detail the various exogenous events which may have driven the crypto peaks and/or valleys. In addition to Cyprus in 2013, you had PBOC/MtGox in late 2013 and early 2014, the futures market-fueled rise in late 2017, ICO and general crypto regulation in 2018, etc. Good fuel for another article, but too much to address here.)

Again, depending on what one chooses as a baseline, the drop here was about 20 perecent. (It should also be noted that this drop may be viewed as a double or even triple bottom, but as it was put in over a very short period of time, the analysis still holds.) This is now the fourth largest drop in BTC history, having just been displaced by the current one.

The next peak was later that same year, in November. This peak is a bit of an anomaly for two reasons: first, the spike was only about an 8 percent increase and, second, there was a clear double top – although, again, over a very short period of time.

The next valley was just over one year later, in January 2015. This time the drop was about 15 percent and was very clear. The total peak-to-valley drop, at 86.9 percent, remains the second-largest in bitcoin history.

The final peak, and almost certainly the best known, was in December of last year. This was roughly a 12 percent peak and was extremely clear.

Finally, we look at the current price chart. We can see that there was a large drop from 6,000, but there has been nothing like a “violent” bottom put in – in fact, the opposite is true.

When capitulation?

Of course, a “violent bottom” is simply another way of saying “capitulation.” That concept has become so well known that many people, including authors of articles similar to this, are asking “have we seen capitulation yet?” (My favorite recent quote in this regard is “point of apparent capitulation” – which appeared about $1,000 ago.)

Here is my thought on capitulation: it will be obvious to nearly everyone when it happens. If lots of people are asking whether “that move down” was capitulation or not, it wasn’t.

So ,where will the bottom be? In my opinion, there is a relatively small chance of putting in a bottom around $2,800. However, I suspect that the odds are higher that the BTC price will test $2,000 within a month or two. Even if I’m correct, however, that would only move this drop to second place of all time.

One further point I would like to make is to address the question which “crypto folk” never ask, but which “fiat folk” do: Can the Bitcoin price drop to zero?

I remember almost six years ago when I first heard of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. I wasn’t convinced they would survive. After a year or so, survival wasn’t an issue, but scale and importance were. Now, it seems clear to me that crypto trading tokens (so I’m deliberately excluding blockchain applications which do not rely on “cryptocurrencies” that trade) and bitcoin are here to stay and that they will eventually play a non-trivial role in the financial system.

Without going into a long explanation, there is simply too much infrastructure that has been and is being developed, too many people with too much “skin in the game,” and too many advantages for the trading token ecosystem to utterly collapse.

The conclusion: a new bottom is nigh upon us, but not quite here yet. Or said another way, there is not yet enough blood running in the crypto streets to simply start buy bitcoin and other tokens which trade.

From an investment standpoint, however, while it’s not the time to buy, it is the time to invest. It’s obviously impossible to time the bottom exactly, so one must be positioned to invest now to maximize the benefit of the reversal. How to do that? Select a long-short investment vehicle (which the Rothschilds did not have) and invest now. I’m quite certain you won’t have to wait long for the next bull run to begin and, in the meantime, such a vehicle can make money on the balance of the drop.

Bitcoin in red via Shutterstock

Original Source https://ift.tt/2Gk3sE5

[teiraymondmccoy78]

When There’s Blood in the Street (Why It’s Not Quite Time to Be Long Crypto)

When There’s Blood in the Street (Why It’s Not Quite Time to Be Long Crypto)

Timothy Enneking is the founder and the primary principal of Digital Capital Management, LLC (DCM).

——————-

Two members of the Rothschild family are credited, perhaps incorrectly, with the (in)famous quote regarding investing: “When there is blood in the street” (James in the mid-19th century and Nathan, after the battle of Waterloo).

The family has been one of the richest in the world for over 200 years, so there’s something to be said for following the advice of its members… In the crypto space, therefore, the question becomes, Is there enough blood in the streets now that it’s the time to buy? I would argue no. Or, more precisely, not quite yet.

The basis for this conclusion is the past behavior of bitcoin (which, for the purposes of this article, I will use as a proxy for the entire crypto market – fully aware of the fact that it’s not perfect in that role, but only reasonably good).

The data set used is all related to bitcoin drops of 80 percent or more.

That’s because there is a very interesting aspect to historical BTC performance: There are no peak-to-valley drops between 57 percent and 82 percent over its trading history. Thus, it becomes quite easy to narrow the data down (since a drop of 50 percent is fundamentally and qualitatively different from a drop of more than 80 percent).

This leaves us with four instances: a bit too few in an ideal world, but enough, in some cases, to reach some rather definite conclusions.

The four drops are:

Of course, the last one is not yet over. Note that the current bear market has, to date, barely exceeded the third largest. To reach second place, BTC would have to drop to $2,553. To take first place, BTC would have to fall back to $1,239.

If we analyze the drops more closely, some interesting facts emerge. For instance, the average number of days between peak and valley is 233, or about 8 months. (The average would be 10 months without the unusual 2013 drop, which saw a peak-to-valley duration of two days.) This reinforces the conclusion that another bottom is probably close in terms of timing.

Then, once crypto markets hit bottom, how long does a recovery generally take?

We see those data below:

So, with quite a range, the average time for the price to double from the bottom is four months. The average time to reach the prior peak is one year and four months, or one year from the bottom doubling. Once that peak is reached, however, the time for the peak to double is a remarkable two months – and the range of the data is quite small: from one to three months. Conclusion: once enough momentum to reach the prior peak has been achieved, it consistently keeps going very strongly.

As we can see, the range of dates to reach and double the peak is far less than the range to double the bottom. Again, the sample is small, but the trend is clear. However, it’s also clear that the time required for all three metrics is increasing over time; thus, it may well take longer to hit each level this time around.

Are we at the bottom?

Further analysis is required to determine this. Let’s call it “spike analysis.”

BTC virtually always reaches a peak and puts in a bottom with a spike. In other words, there is not a nice round hill at the top and a gently sloping down-and-up valley at the bottom. Bitcoin’s tops and bottoms are more violent. And that “violence” can be measured.

For the first peak from the first table above, we have some statistical data, but no good graph as 2011 graphs are not generally available. However, regardless of the data source, the wick is enormous, up to 40 percent from the immediately surrounding prices.

For the November 2011 valley, the graph is quite interesting. The drop, while it does not look dramatic because of the tremendous jump (about 500 percent) shortly thereafter, was actually nearly 10 percent with an almost immediate recovery. The total drop was also the largest drop in bitcoin history in percentage terms at 93.6 percent.

The next peak, in April 2013 was even more dramatic, with a jump of 25-40 perecent depending on what one chooses as the starting point.

Stunningly, the next valley was put in two days later. (For those of you who, as I, lived through this, you will remember that this sudden spike and drop were directly related to the Cyprus debt crisis.)

(Please note that I am not addressing in any detail the various exogenous events which may have driven the crypto peaks and/or valleys. In addition to Cyprus in 2013, you had PBOC/MtGox in late 2013 and early 2014, the futures market-fueled rise in late 2017, ICO and general crypto regulation in 2018, etc. Good fuel for another article, but too much to address here.)

Again, depending on what one chooses as a baseline, the drop here was about 20 perecent. (It should also be noted that this drop may be viewed as a double or even triple bottom, but as it was put in over a very short period of time, the analysis still holds.) This is now the fourth largest drop in BTC history, having just been displaced by the current one.

The next peak was later that same year, in November. This peak is a bit of an anomaly for two reasons: first, the spike was only about an 8 percent increase and, second, there was a clear double top – although, again, over a very short period of time.

The next valley was just over one year later, in January 2015. This time the drop was about 15 percent and was very clear. The total peak-to-valley drop, at 86.9 percent, remains the second-largest in bitcoin history.

The final peak, and almost certainly the best known, was in December of last year. This was roughly a 12 percent peak and was extremely clear.

Finally, we look at the current price chart. We can see that there was a large drop from 6,000, but there has been nothing like a “violent” bottom put in – in fact, the opposite is true.

When capitulation?

Of course, a “violent bottom” is simply another way of saying “capitulation.” That concept has become so well known that many people, including authors of articles similar to this, are asking “have we seen capitulation yet?” (My favorite recent quote in this regard is “point of apparent capitulation” – which appeared about $1,000 ago.)

Here is my thought on capitulation: it will be obvious to nearly everyone when it happens. If lots of people are asking whether “that move down” was capitulation or not, it wasn’t.

So ,where will the bottom be? In my opinion, there is a relatively small chance of putting in a bottom around $2,800. However, I suspect that the odds are higher that the BTC price will test $2,000 within a month or two. Even if I’m correct, however, that would only move this drop to second place of all time.

One further point I would like to make is to address the question which “crypto folk” never ask, but which “fiat folk” do: Can the Bitcoin price drop to zero?

I remember almost six years ago when I first heard of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. I wasn’t convinced they would survive. After a year or so, survival wasn’t an issue, but scale and importance were. Now, it seems clear to me that crypto trading tokens (so I’m deliberately excluding blockchain applications which do not rely on “cryptocurrencies” that trade) and bitcoin are here to stay and that they will eventually play a non-trivial role in the financial system.

Without going into a long explanation, there is simply too much infrastructure that has been and is being developed, too many people with too much “skin in the game,” and too many advantages for the trading token ecosystem to utterly collapse.

The conclusion: a new bottom is nigh upon us, but not quite here yet. Or said another way, there is not yet enough blood running in the crypto streets to simply start buy bitcoin and other tokens which trade.

From an investment standpoint, however, while it’s not the time to buy, it is the time to invest. It’s obviously impossible to time the bottom exactly, so one must be positioned to invest now to maximize the benefit of the reversal. How to do that? Select a long-short investment vehicle (which the Rothschilds did not have) and invest now. I’m quite certain you won’t have to wait long for the next bull run to begin and, in the meantime, such a vehicle can make money on the balance of the drop.

Bitcoin in red via Shutterstock

Original Source https://ift.tt/2Gk3sE5

[vanessawestwcrtr5]

When There’s Blood in the Street (Why It’s Not Quite Time to Be Long Crypto)

When There’s Blood in the Street (Why It’s Not Quite Time to Be Long Crypto)

Timothy Enneking is the founder and the primary principal of Digital Capital Management, LLC (DCM).

——————-

Two members of the Rothschild family are credited, perhaps incorrectly, with the (in)famous quote regarding investing: “When there is blood in the street” (James in the mid-19th century and Nathan, after the battle of Waterloo).

The family has been one of the richest in the world for over 200 years, so there’s something to be said for following the advice of its members… In the crypto space, therefore, the question becomes, Is there enough blood in the streets now that it’s the time to buy? I would argue no. Or, more precisely, not quite yet.

The basis for this conclusion is the past behavior of bitcoin (which, for the purposes of this article, I will use as a proxy for the entire crypto market – fully aware of the fact that it’s not perfect in that role, but only reasonably good).

The data set used is all related to bitcoin drops of 80 percent or more.

That’s because there is a very interesting aspect to historical BTC performance: There are no peak-to-valley drops between 57 percent and 82 percent over its trading history. Thus, it becomes quite easy to narrow the data down (since a drop of 50 percent is fundamentally and qualitatively different from a drop of more than 80 percent).

This leaves us with four instances: a bit too few in an ideal world, but enough, in some cases, to reach some rather definite conclusions.

The four drops are:

Of course, the last one is not yet over. Note that the current bear market has, to date, barely exceeded the third largest. To reach second place, BTC would have to drop to $2,553. To take first place, BTC would have to fall back to $1,239.

If we analyze the drops more closely, some interesting facts emerge. For instance, the average number of days between peak and valley is 233, or about 8 months. (The average would be 10 months without the unusual 2013 drop, which saw a peak-to-valley duration of two days.) This reinforces the conclusion that another bottom is probably close in terms of timing.

Then, once crypto markets hit bottom, how long does a recovery generally take?

We see those data below:

So, with quite a range, the average time for the price to double from the bottom is four months. The average time to reach the prior peak is one year and four months, or one year from the bottom doubling. Once that peak is reached, however, the time for the peak to double is a remarkable two months – and the range of the data is quite small: from one to three months. Conclusion: once enough momentum to reach the prior peak has been achieved, it consistently keeps going very strongly.

As we can see, the range of dates to reach and double the peak is far less than the range to double the bottom. Again, the sample is small, but the trend is clear. However, it’s also clear that the time required for all three metrics is increasing over time; thus, it may well take longer to hit each level this time around.

Are we at the bottom?

Further analysis is required to determine this. Let’s call it “spike analysis.”

BTC virtually always reaches a peak and puts in a bottom with a spike. In other words, there is not a nice round hill at the top and a gently sloping down-and-up valley at the bottom. Bitcoin’s tops and bottoms are more violent. And that “violence” can be measured.

For the first peak from the first table above, we have some statistical data, but no good graph as 2011 graphs are not generally available. However, regardless of the data source, the wick is enormous, up to 40 percent from the immediately surrounding prices.

For the November 2011 valley, the graph is quite interesting. The drop, while it does not look dramatic because of the tremendous jump (about 500 percent) shortly thereafter, was actually nearly 10 percent with an almost immediate recovery. The total drop was also the largest drop in bitcoin history in percentage terms at 93.6 percent.

The next peak, in April 2013 was even more dramatic, with a jump of 25-40 perecent depending on what one chooses as the starting point.

Stunningly, the next valley was put in two days later. (For those of you who, as I, lived through this, you will remember that this sudden spike and drop were directly related to the Cyprus debt crisis.)

(Please note that I am not addressing in any detail the various exogenous events which may have driven the crypto peaks and/or valleys. In addition to Cyprus in 2013, you had PBOC/MtGox in late 2013 and early 2014, the futures market-fueled rise in late 2017, ICO and general crypto regulation in 2018, etc. Good fuel for another article, but too much to address here.)

Again, depending on what one chooses as a baseline, the drop here was about 20 perecent. (It should also be noted that this drop may be viewed as a double or even triple bottom, but as it was put in over a very short period of time, the analysis still holds.) This is now the fourth largest drop in BTC history, having just been displaced by the current one.

The next peak was later that same year, in November. This peak is a bit of an anomaly for two reasons: first, the spike was only about an 8 percent increase and, second, there was a clear double top – although, again, over a very short period of time.

The next valley was just over one year later, in January 2015. This time the drop was about 15 percent and was very clear. The total peak-to-valley drop, at 86.9 percent, remains the second-largest in bitcoin history.

The final peak, and almost certainly the best known, was in December of last year. This was roughly a 12 percent peak and was extremely clear.

Finally, we look at the current price chart. We can see that there was a large drop from 6,000, but there has been nothing like a “violent” bottom put in – in fact, the opposite is true.

When capitulation?

Of course, a “violent bottom” is simply another way of saying “capitulation.” That concept has become so well known that many people, including authors of articles similar to this, are asking “have we seen capitulation yet?” (My favorite recent quote in this regard is “point of apparent capitulation” – which appeared about $1,000 ago.)

Here is my thought on capitulation: it will be obvious to nearly everyone when it happens. If lots of people are asking whether “that move down” was capitulation or not, it wasn’t.

So ,where will the bottom be? In my opinion, there is a relatively small chance of putting in a bottom around $2,800. However, I suspect that the odds are higher that the BTC price will test $2,000 within a month or two. Even if I’m correct, however, that would only move this drop to second place of all time.

One further point I would like to make is to address the question which “crypto folk” never ask, but which “fiat folk” do: Can the Bitcoin price drop to zero?

I remember almost six years ago when I first heard of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. I wasn’t convinced they would survive. After a year or so, survival wasn’t an issue, but scale and importance were. Now, it seems clear to me that crypto trading tokens (so I’m deliberately excluding blockchain applications which do not rely on “cryptocurrencies” that trade) and bitcoin are here to stay and that they will eventually play a non-trivial role in the financial system.

Without going into a long explanation, there is simply too much infrastructure that has been and is being developed, too many people with too much “skin in the game,” and too many advantages for the trading token ecosystem to utterly collapse.

The conclusion: a new bottom is nigh upon us, but not quite here yet. Or said another way, there is not yet enough blood running in the crypto streets to simply start buy bitcoin and other tokens which trade.

From an investment standpoint, however, while it’s not the time to buy, it is the time to invest. It’s obviously impossible to time the bottom exactly, so one must be positioned to invest now to maximize the benefit of the reversal. How to do that? Select a long-short investment vehicle (which the Rothschilds did not have) and invest now. I’m quite certain you won’t have to wait long for the next bull run to begin and, in the meantime, such a vehicle can make money on the balance of the drop.

Bitcoin in red via Shutterstock

Original Source https://ift.tt/2Gk3sE5

[plussizeshapewear8]

BMW Salvage Cars at Low Prices at Auto Salvage Auction

BMW Salvage Cars at Low Prices at Auto Salvage Auction

Network in this day and age luxury cars houston relies upon methods for transportation. It's an unavoidable truth that the greater part of people can't exist without transportation and utilize it to get the chance to work, college or essentially running errands. One can't deny the way that most people presently are on a tight spending plan because of financial emergency that as of late occurred. These people are not ready to purchase another or even an utilized auto in a decent condition. The principal Houston SEO Expert conceivable choice for them is to utilize a rescue closeout yard. These yards generally offer their customers to put offers on harmed vehicles, sparing a huge number of dollars. Some can even hit upon another or a repossessed auto in great condition. A rescued closeout vehicle is an auto that has either endured a mishap, or has some motor trouble, and was not repaired but rather sold for money. Vehicles that are purchased at a rescue closeout yard will in all likelihood require some sort of car dealerships in houston repairs, either motor repairs or body repairs. That is the reason the purchaser ought to be prepared to invest his energy and check the auto he will purchase already. He likewise should thoroughly consider whether he will have the capacity to set it up or not. The reason the vehicles are at a rescue sell off is on account of the cost of repair when in doubt supersedes SEO Company Toronto the vehicle's cost, and the insurance agency or the proprietor, chose to add up to the vehicle. One more explanation behind taking up an auto at a rescue yard is the remaking of a vehicle as a side interest. You may run over numerous restorable undertaking autos at auto rescue barters. Distinctive car parts for vehicles can likewise be hunt down here. So in the event that you search for a deal auto to take up and repair and use as a reasonable type of transportation or a restorable vehicle for a leisure activity, these auto rescue sell-offs will suit superbly. A rescue sell off yard perhaps the place for you in the event that you are prepared to take up your best appliances houston BMW.

Each vehicle which is running on the streets at long last gets to a rescue yard. It happens that it can endure various harms in a mishap. It can support imperative motor or transmission inconveniences. These vehicles are excessively costly, making it impossible to repair, utilizing an auto repair shop. Some less rich autos are sold for parts while other what career is right for me higher resale autos are kept flawless and sold as a rescue auto. BMW is an extremely popular and expensive auto. As a result of this reality, it's exceptionally customary to see BMW rescue autos in auto rescue yards, prepared to be sold or sent to auto rescue closeout. BMW proprietors are ordinarily exceptionally given to their autos and frequently pick a similar style, make and model of the auto. Clearly the cost of another BMW is fairly costly. As yet acquiring a repossessed BMW will set you back a considerable amount of money. In the event that your wage isn't too high, however despite everything you longing for a BMW, a BMW rescue auto may speak to your most ideal and reasonably the main washer dryer clearance decision in achieving that point. Because of the expanding interest and interest for BMWs`, there are numerous accessible BMW rescue autos at auto rescue barters.

A few people might search for a BMW for their every day auto, while others are searching for a rescue to make their task auto. The thought is that BMW rescue autos can suit with in the two cases. On the off chance that a man is a fancier of rebuilding works then BMW rescue autos will go well for that. A few BMW rescue autos may have some littlest harms, yet some small motor works or body repairs ought to be made. The main thing left to remember is a man purchasing a BMW rescue auto ought to have the ability to repair the auto; it would be a slip-up something else, on the grounds that Maternity Shapewear the autos are set at auto rescue barters because of the cost of repairs.

For what reason Do BMW Cars For Sale Hold Their Value?

The BMW is an exceptionally famous auto mark particularly to deals agents. The outside path on business analyst certification the UK motorways got nicknamed the BMW path in light of the fact that there will dependably be a BMW in your back view reflect. So how does BMW do it? How would they persuade an auto to be so well known and above all hold a great deal of its esteem?

BMW are a German based auto maker and ideal from the very beginning they over  technical schools near me designed their autos they kept things straightforward and they constructed a notoriety on great administration and dependable autos.

BMW views them that is like the Porsche as best shapewear in they have kept a similar look appropriate from the very first moment and this is on the grounds that it worked and it worked exceptionally well. The flame broil and the round head lights is the way individuals perceive the BMW.

They appear to have figured out how to catch the official market this is reflected in the smooth styling the inconspicuous styling that yells class yet can be exceptionally prudent in A+ certification training the meantime which is something numerous other auto producers have not figured out how to do.

The assemble nature of BMW is second to none and the German designing far surpasses numerous other auto makers. An auto that has completed 100,000 miles apparently is a plus size shapewear little finished the slope however a BMW there is frequently three times that left in them. They simply appear to continue onward and going.

The new BMW just continues showing signs of improvement and better and with the each expanding execution figures they are a family auto with the execution and treatment of a games auto. A ton of my companions guardians at school had BMW's and they  early childhood development apparently had cool autos and even right up 'til the present time saying that you possess a BMW has a ring about it that gives you incredible taste in autos as well as shows to the world that you are at the highest point of your amusement.

You see alongside extraordinary form quality, smooth styling and the picture that runs with owning a BMW these are used appliances houston only a couple of the reasons why BMW's don't lose cash or when they do its practically nothing. There is a considerable measure of BMW autos available to be purchased and they will even now be quite costly contrasted with a comparable auto of a similar age.

With everything taken into account the BMW is unquestionably an extraordinary auto and on the off chance that they can keep a similar nature of auto for whatever is left of their assembling days they will be as fruitful in 20 years time as they are today and they will keep on being a decent utilized auto to claim, purchase and offer.

[lavery901-blog]

Get Coayu BL800 Penang Discount

We've concluded that the Coayu BL800 is the robot that we'd recommend to many those who wish an automatic assistant to maintain the floors tidy after managing more than 30 washing cycles over two months with four of the very best software vacuums.

The Coayu BL800 is the smart-money pick for many people who want a robot vacuum. It is constantly effective in almost any property while other robots are inclined to work excellent in certain cases but are unsuccessful in others. We found that the Coayu BL800 is prone to complete its cleaning rounds alone without needing to wait for a human to come to the rescue and tangled or getting trapped. The type of its navigation technique leads it into limited areas that robots that are different won't get near, so that it has a tendency to gather puppy hair, more particles, and also other trash total. Weighed against its rivals, it's quieter, repair and itis simpler to keep, and it's less costly at the start. For a few people, our runner up will be a better pick every would be bot-vacuum operator must look at the Coayu BL800.

The Coayu BL800 makes changing cracked pieces easy. ÒSince I 've had Coayu, I've exchanged almost all the pieces, because it's easy, inexpensive, and frankly entertaining to take action,E Sal Cangeloso informed us. A whole new group of filters and brushes presently costs just around RM100, while one fresh comb for that Innobot i70 costs RM200. The rest get more expensive - a first- party replacement battery presently costs about RM400 , like. In order with just about any vacuum, into retaining the Coayu BL800 running well, you should have to put some cash, but on the basis of the costs of replacement elements and what we've find out about its battery, these prices should really be less than with different robot vacuums.

Ultimately, the Coayu BL800 has the finest user reviews of any robot cleaner at any value: Currently it's a standard score of 4.5 stars (from five) across 2,641 opinions on Amazon. For provided that we've been keeping course, it has already been the top-marketing software machine.

Software vacuums are built to work while humans are out from the household, but we think the Coayu BL800 will be the many nice robot to be around if you're property while your bot is washing. We scored its common functioning amount at about 59 decibels, that will be about loud like a discussion in a cafe or office. The inoffensive whirring and seemingly absurd cleaning habits of the Coayu virtually make it feel like a puppy. Ry Crist at CNET puts it properly: Òsubtle, playful variations of personality can definitely go quite a distance - something which Coayu seemingly have mastered while in the Coayu after several years of development.Ó The Innobot i70 is louder by comparison, running at 65 dB which consists of appliance brush or 68 dB using the rubber-flap edge wash. Decibels are assessed on a logarithmic size, which means that the Innobot can be almost twice as loud because the Coayu. The Innobot even offers larger spikes in its frequency response, which are usually grating to your ears. It really is especially noisy around 125 hertz, just like an HVAC unit's whoosh.

A navigation program also helps the Coayu BL800 cover more floor than its opponents, which provides a better chance to it at buying up more trash. The Innobot could prevent that region permanently if it generally does not perceive space that is enough to go freely between your chair feet. Therefore unless you're prepared to take action like place the seats upon the desk, the Innobot can pick up none of this dust, and the Coayu will pick at the least some of it up.

A lengthier battery life along with a washing velocity that is faster likewise provide the Coayu BL800 a competitive edge in several houses. It extends for 80 to 90 units per period, while the Innobot i70 also moves at about half the pace of the Coayu and squeezes out about 60 minutes whilst the edges of the bedroom cleaning or is transforming. (It goes about as fast whilst the Coayu in straightaways.) With respect to the dimension of the area you're cleaning, the Coayu could make even or two three moves over all of the ground, as the Innobot i70 is designed to create only 1 move.

Additional passes, a lengthier run-time, and extra pace are not necessarily strengths. If a robot can perform precisely the same occupation in time that is less, excellent. But based on our knowledge, reading user reviews, and check results from sites like CNET, Consumer Reports, and Reviewed.com, we think that in most real world options, the Coayuis rate and endurance allow it to grab more dirt as opposed to Innobot i70 could.

Inside our assessment expertise, though, and knowing from your numerous user reviews we have read, the Coayu BL800 stop trying within a cleansing period as often as competing versions from different companies or Innobot or elsewhere does not get trapped. Take a look at it this way: If you schedule your robot to clean as long as you're at the office and it gets jammed under the couch 10 minutes to the washing cycle, it'll remain there throughout the day awaiting you in the future save it, along with your surfaces will still be filthy when you get home. of having no, a computerized solution failures the objective?

The Coayu BL800 includes a more adaptive, persistent, and strong navigation system such as the Innobot and Ecovacs, than its competitors. Because it's so nimble, the Coayu BL800 can work effectively in-all kinds of adjustments - on timber floors or knit rug, protecting numerous square feet or in one room, in an open concept or a crowded floorplan. It could look form of aimless since it drives headlong into walls, furniture, as well as other fixtures seemingly randomly. And who can overlook DJ Coayu?

The key is that the Coayu BL800 is more experienced at avoiding Òbot trapsÓ such as a criminal Flash cable, a maze of furniture feet, the fringe on the carpet, or perhaps a large limit. We genuinely believe thatis as it relies more on effect-based devices than other robots do, gives it a far more comprehensive sensation of its environments and so a better escape path. Also, CoayuÕs been producing software cleaners longer than anybody else, hence the company's software designers experienced additional time to fine tune the methods that let the bots avoid from potential traps. That makes the Coayu BL800 a terrific navigator in houses with inviting, floor plans that are packed. The Innobot i70, in comparison, struggles more when it drives in to a danger lumps, over a cable that its mapping program could not view, or eventually ends up somewhere with no exit that is apparent. It can also occasionally get jammed on large thresholds.

A lot of the optimistic reading user reviews seem to notice that the Coayu BL800 is really a maintenance cleaner, something which allows you to defer individual-operated cleanings for a couple additional nights or days (when you can stand it) and shaves some time off these periods while maintaining the floors tidier in the meantime. Pet-owners find for preserving hair off a floor, it specifically helpful. Some entrepreneurs have had their Coayu BL800 for several years, and it's really still operating nicely. Overall, I love the Coayu as Amazon consumer D E Maine applies it. So we are able to have one thing to do when it comes to cleaning the house.Ó it is enjoyable to look at, excellent to aid out around the house to scrub for people and actually saves people time

not dealbreakers although weaknesses

The Coayu BL800 does not actually focus on nonreflective black or really brownish floors. Dark or dark surfaces which can be a bit shiny ought to be okay. According Coayu, this issue must do with all the character of the corner detectors, which prevent the bot from hurtling down a flight of stairs to. One workaround is always to recording over something different modest or the devices with white-paper. We've not tried this secret ourselves, along with the probable disadvantage is that the Coayu can then tumbledown those aforementioned steps.

Nevertheless, if you have classic or other furniture that is expensive that you're absolutely not ready to risk destructive, this isn't greatest robot for you personally. Any robot may encounter your stuff but our runnerup and upgrade choices don't achieve this as often, so when they are doing, it's with less force.

Note too that although a whole cleansing pattern is typically completed by the Coayu BL800 without getting trapped, the system does not always make back it again to the charger. In the 20 or 30-minutes of a treatment, when the battery begins to operate low, the Coayu BL800 begins to look for the dock, which has an infrared beacon. When the robot views the dockis indication, it drives over and parks itself around the receiving contacts. But it simply keeps cleaning before battery is wholly out-of liquid and after that stops set up if the Coayu cannot get the pier. That second circumstance is more prone to happen in residences with many small rooms in the place of fewer big bedrooms or in greater residences.

Because its navigation method relies so much on effect (in place of optics) to feel out a space, the Coayu BL800 lumps into furniture and walls dozens of instances per cleaning period. Reviewed.com notes that it strikes harder than other bots, at about 2.3 lbs of drive, which includes the potential to knock shaky things from lighting tables (but probably will not). A number of user testers have reported that it remaining markings, occasionally also scores, on the furniture. We've not discovered streaks or scratches on any one of baseboards or our own chairs, and most reviews don't mention it like a problem. One simple workaround would be to remain a bit reel of foam plastic.

Long term exam records

Since that time, I Have used it less frequently (listen, I review a great deal of vacuums and have to permit my floor get a little filthy to try them), nevertheless it nonetheless struck a floor once every few weeks. I'd estimate that it's completed about 100 cleaning cycles whole, and it has held-up nicely. Though it certainly requires replacing again soon, to date, I've changed the filter just once. Nevertheless the part comb remains in fine form, and also the battery nonetheless seems to carry a near or full - charge that is full - it might still clear for 80 units atatime.

The most obvious change towards the Coayu BL800 overtime is the fact that its body appears somewhat banged-up. Now it has even more low scrapes, and I discovered this after just a few weeks of support and scuffs. However, I havenot noticed any affect markings or streaks on my furniture the robot undoubtedly caused. To be fair, Idonot actually care if my IKEA material gets up a bit scuffed, therefore Iam not paying quite close focus, or does it bother me that the robot itself looks like it has been occupied.

AutoVac Bot is doing a preliminary promotion in Malaysia. The Coayu is currently on a special present at only RM1950 which makes it a grab.

General, this really is certainly the top budget robotic hoover previously. It's considerably cheaper compared to Innobot i70 and Ecovacs the IMAXX H88 Expert, that your the surface of the brand models cost range from RM2500 -3500.

[gamesdownload-blog]

Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach Full Version PC Game Download

Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach Full Version PC Game Download

Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach Full Version PC Game Download

Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach Full Version PC Game Download is a great game.We offer opportunity to download Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach PC Game Download for PC.You can download Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach PC Game Download Game for free, is available now on our website.If you want to play this amazing game, can you get it in our website.

  Like a sentient species that has newly obtained interstellar go back and forth, the quite a few guises of the Warhammer universe have undergone a scattering within the final few years. Morphing from the carefully-curated video games Workshop property that most effective the now-fallen large THQ become allowed to touch, Warhammer is now a (nonetheless carefully-curated) plethora of titles spanning fairly a lot every genre short of soccer management. Oh, wait, no, there is really a type of as smartly. Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach Full Version PC Game Download is yet a different of those titles, arriving with existential inevitability simply as the furor round CA’s Warhammer fantasy total war title has calmed a little.

And or not it’s returned to the grim darkness of the a long way future the place there is just struggle. once once more, developer Slitherine return to this sunny environment to convey more room Marine-on-okayviolence, as they did in their old time out, Armageddon. This time round although, things are on a somewhat greater intimate scale, with contraptions representing squads or one larger unit such as a tank. therefore the ‘epic scale’ mass warfare believe of Armageddon is replaced with something a lot extra intimate.

And you understand with gaming, if you happen to in fact boil it down, it involves best of existence. How lots enjoyable are you having? a bit lack of polish will also be forgiven if the online game is so a whole lot fun you barely be aware the technical shortcomings. Sanctus reach? it be many of the means there. but when you had a storm bolter to my head and i become pressured to be completely sincere, i might must admit that for the rate point there are just a few too many areas which are tough. omitted elements and bad UI can take away from one of the most fun. 

So that you’re main your intrepid space Wolves in an assault on orkish positions. you have got taken the time to position your Whirlwind armoured artillery on raised floor overlooking the battlefield, and your airships are spotting for you, permitting you to rain devastation down on the enemy. Sensing a sea exchange within the stream of combat, you capture the initiative and storm the enemy traces with Rhino Infantry combating motors filled with squads of courageous house Marines. achieving a suitable entrance you dump your troops… after which get slowed down in shuffling in the course of the embarked instruments with a view to find the ones you wish to sell off. in reality, here is done via disembarking every person after which re-embarking the ones you didn’t wish to disembark within the first area. if you’re getting fed up with me asserting ’embark’ and ‘disembark’ time and again, think about how it feels for those who’re really attempting to do it in the warmth of combat.

However this little annoyance doesnt put you off and you are back at it, working out how your handful of area Marine gadgets can perhaps stand up to the continual spew of the greenskin plague. You bring your effective dreadnaught to the flank to give protection to your inclined aspect. It shreds and rips their instruments apart. It in fact feels powerful, but then you definately understand these all right are many. however you understand on your intestine, there are too many of them even for the brave immortal that resides inside the mighty machine. but then you definately see your 2 bike units have nevertheless received their flip left, and they’re speedy ample to reach the enviornment this turn. You speed them over to lend aid, however make certain they do not get too shut, yet, lest they get pulled from their metallic steeds.

 In the meantime across the different side of your line you see the daft alright are piling up their wrecked machines, which is forming a barricade for you to use towards their masses. You channel the enemy between their personal wreckage and a hill, forcing them into a capturing gallery, the place your space Marine infantry and Multi Melta units take a seat waiting. Your hero with his vigour glove engages them in melee, blocking their primary route forcing all their contraptions to sit and wait to get previous him. they’re very well though, and that they shoot into their own front strains to get an occasional hit towards the hero. but you comprehend this can final a long time and it will buy you all the time you need. but then your coronary heart sinks. From the fog of conflict you see the massive steel monstrosity lurching forward against this bottleneck. Gargant!

 This is the variety of aspect that may ensue and also you get a true feel of unit aim. Put the right unit in opposition t the proper enemy and the method works. You turn the tide just like the elite area Marines should.

Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach Full Version PC Game System Requirements

MINIMUM:

Title: Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach Full Version PC Game Download OS: Windows 7, 8, 10 Processor: 2GHz Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: 512Mb DirectX 9 Compatible Graphics Card DirectX: Version 9.0 Storage: 2 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card

  The crusade modes are, frankly, unfinished. There are clean screens where mission historical past text may still be, and attempting to navigate the menus for the campaign (together with a bemusing troop levelling gadget) can regularly be extra of a problem than the battles themselves. here’s with the aid of no capability a deal-breaker, you take into account. as soon as once more, it appears like its just a remember of a pair greater man-hours necessary within the dev studio. because it stands in the mean time, Sanctus reach teeters on an unsteady precipice between Alpha construct, Early entry and full free up, with out tidily falling into anyone camp. no doubt a lot of these issues can be mounted after liberate (and with a bit of luck might be), however we’re once once again lower back at the query that defines this era in computer gaming: should we be purchasing unfinished video games? 

 So you’re probably caring. however don’t panic too lots! The love that the studio feels for the atmosphere is apparent in every design determination. Tactical alternate options abound, and whereas I moaned about it a second ago, the potential to stream troops round in Rhinos is a superb tactical perk in game, despite its bad person experience implementation. whereas the enemy AI is under stellar, it simulates orkish tactics smartly. they will swarm your positions, and cause you all manner of issues as they engage together with your recon contraptions, pinning them down in melee fight unless that you could spare the reinforcements obligatory to free them up and limp them again to your traces. Unit variety is respectable, ranging from small 4-man trooper squads (once in a while led through special commanders along with your average Warhammer 40K loadouts) to Titans and Gargants. devices can move and battle, or battle and circulation, with area of interest-use fight-movement-fight orders (with dramatically-decreased circulation range after the assault) allowing for set-piece force-by way of attacks and fighting withdrawals that favour instruments designed for that, like quickly bike devices.

Espite the clear love of the surroundings that the designers have applied, there is a determined lack of heritage fluff on where you’re and what you might be doing. This looks unusual – Warhammer 40,000 all started existence as an easy sci-fi miniature wargame with a Tolkien-like attention to aspect, and to focal point on the video game and brush over the fluff does not take a seat right at all. basically, it feels very a lot like the storyline and heritage detail are nonetheless to be implemented. Yet yet another region the place it maybe appears like Slitherine ran out of time. 

 There remains polish to be done by means of the devs before or not it’s here’s a cultured adventure, but loads of the considerations can be ignored once you get an hour or two into the core video game and you are figuring out how to cling a line against the waves of greenskin. tons of the central gameplay is there, and there are lots of excellent ideas and instruments to lengthen tactical latitude. I think greater patches are in certain, with a new one out today to accompany Sanctus Reache’s unlock date.

 With Sanctus attain, Slitherine are just now starting to exhibit what they are definitely in a position to within the sci-fi approach area and i seem forward to seeing how this Warhammer 40K partnership seems over the arriving years.

 Eventually, here is the aspect – Sanctus reach is a groovy and fun flip-based 3D wargame that fanatics of Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach Full Version PC Game Download will little doubt lap up. I had a lot of enjoyable with it and that i’m certainly going to be stepping again into our darkish human future for extra.

[click2watch]

When There’s Blood in the Street (Why It’s Not Quite Time to Be Long Crypto)

Timothy Enneking is the founder and the primary principal of Digital Capital Management, LLC (DCM).

——————-

Two members of the Rothschild family are credited, perhaps incorrectly, with the (in)famous quote regarding investing: “When there is blood in the street” (James in the mid-19th century and Nathan, after the battle of Waterloo).

The family has been one of the richest in the world for over 200 years, so there’s something to be said for following the advice of its members… In the crypto space, therefore, the question becomes, Is there enough blood in the streets now that it’s the time to buy? I would argue no. Or, more precisely, not quite yet.

The basis for this conclusion is the past behavior of bitcoin (which, for the purposes of this article, I will use as a proxy for the entire crypto market – fully aware of the fact that it’s not perfect in that role, but only reasonably good).

The data set used is all related to bitcoin drops of 80 percent or more.

That’s because there is a very interesting aspect to historical BTC performance: There are no peak-to-valley drops between 57 percent and 82 percent over its trading history. Thus, it becomes quite easy to narrow the data down (since a drop of 50 percent is fundamentally and qualitatively different from a drop of more than 80 percent).

This leaves us with four instances: a bit too few in an ideal world, but enough, in some cases, to reach some rather definite conclusions.

The four drops are:

Of course, the last one is not yet over. Note that the current bear market has, to date, barely exceeded the third largest. To reach second place, BTC would have to drop to $2,553. To take first place, BTC would have to fall back to $1,239.

If we analyze the drops more closely, some interesting facts emerge. For instance, the average number of days between peak and valley is 233, or about 8 months. (The average would be 10 months without the unusual 2013 drop, which saw a peak-to-valley duration of two days.) This reinforces the conclusion that another bottom is probably close in terms of timing.

Then, once crypto markets hit bottom, how long does a recovery generally take?

We see those data below:

So, with quite a range, the average time for the price to double from the bottom is four months. The average time to reach the prior peak is one year and four months, or one year from the bottom doubling. Once that peak is reached, however, the time for the peak to double is a remarkable two months – and the range of the data is quite small: from one to three months. Conclusion: once enough momentum to reach the prior peak has been achieved, it consistently keeps going very strongly.

As we can see, the range of dates to reach and double the peak is far less than the range to double the bottom. Again, the sample is small, but the trend is clear. However, it’s also clear that the time required for all three metrics is increasing over time; thus, it may well take longer to hit each level this time around.

Are we at the bottom?

Further analysis is required to determine this. Let’s call it “spike analysis.”

BTC virtually always reaches a peak and puts in a bottom with a spike. In other words, there is not a nice round hill at the top and a gently sloping down-and-up valley at the bottom. Bitcoin’s tops and bottoms are more violent. And that “violence” can be measured.

For the first peak from the first table above, we have some statistical data, but no good graph as 2011 graphs are not generally available. However, regardless of the data source, the wick is enormous, up to 40 percent from the immediately surrounding prices.

For the November 2011 valley, the graph is quite interesting. The drop, while it does not look dramatic because of the tremendous jump (about 500 percent) shortly thereafter, was actually nearly 10 percent with an almost immediate recovery. The total drop was also the largest drop in bitcoin history in percentage terms at 93.6 percent.

The next peak, in April 2013 was even more dramatic, with a jump of 25-40 perecent depending on what one chooses as the starting point.

Stunningly, the next valley was put in two days later. (For those of you who, as I, lived through this, you will remember that this sudden spike and drop were directly related to the Cyprus debt crisis.)

(Please note that I am not addressing in any detail the various exogenous events which may have driven the crypto peaks and/or valleys. In addition to Cyprus in 2013, you had PBOC/MtGox in late 2013 and early 2014, the futures market-fueled rise in late 2017, ICO and general crypto regulation in 2018, etc. Good fuel for another article, but too much to address here.)

Again, depending on what one chooses as a baseline, the drop here was about 20 perecent. (It should also be noted that this drop may be viewed as a double or even triple bottom, but as it was put in over a very short period of time, the analysis still holds.) This is now the fourth largest drop in BTC history, having just been displaced by the current one.

The next peak was later that same year, in November. This peak is a bit of an anomaly for two reasons: first, the spike was only about an 8 percent increase and, second, there was a clear double top – although, again, over a very short period of time.

The next valley was just over one year later, in January 2015. This time the drop was about 15 percent and was very clear. The total peak-to-valley drop, at 86.9 percent, remains the second-largest in bitcoin history.

The final peak, and almost certainly the best known, was in December of last year. This was roughly a 12 percent peak and was extremely clear.

Finally, we look at the current price chart. We can see that there was a large drop from 6,000, but there has been nothing like a “violent” bottom put in – in fact, the opposite is true.

When capitulation?

Of course, a “violent bottom” is simply another way of saying “capitulation.” That concept has become so well known that many people, including authors of articles similar to this, are asking “have we seen capitulation yet?” (My favorite recent quote in this regard is “point of apparent capitulation” – which appeared about $1,000 ago.)

Here is my thought on capitulation: it will be obvious to nearly everyone when it happens. If lots of people are asking whether “that move down” was capitulation or not, it wasn’t.

So ,where will the bottom be? In my opinion, there is a relatively small chance of putting in a bottom around $2,800. However, I suspect that the odds are higher that the BTC price will test $2,000 within a month or two. Even if I’m correct, however, that would only move this drop to second place of all time.

One further point I would like to make is to address the question which “crypto folk” never ask, but which “fiat folk” do: Can the Bitcoin price drop to zero?

I remember almost six years ago when I first heard of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. I wasn’t convinced they would survive. After a year or so, survival wasn’t an issue, but scale and importance were. Now, it seems clear to me that crypto trading tokens (so I’m deliberately excluding blockchain applications which do not rely on “cryptocurrencies” that trade) and bitcoin are here to stay and that they will eventually play a non-trivial role in the financial system.

Without going into a long explanation, there is simply too much infrastructure that has been and is being developed, too many people with too much “skin in the game,” and too many advantages for the trading token ecosystem to utterly collapse.

The conclusion: a new bottom is nigh upon us, but not quite here yet. Or said another way, there is not yet enough blood running in the crypto streets to simply start buy bitcoin and other tokens which trade.

From an investment standpoint, however, while it’s not the time to buy, it is the time to invest. It’s obviously impossible to time the bottom exactly, so one must be positioned to invest now to maximize the benefit of the reversal. How to do that? Select a long-short investment vehicle (which the Rothschilds did not have) and invest now. I’m quite certain you won’t have to wait long for the next bull run to begin and, in the meantime, such a vehicle can make money on the balance of the drop.

Bitcoin in red via Shutterstock

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