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guyinlovewitheremika · 4 years ago

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The new key visual looks awesome!! Finally getting more Final Season artwork is so satisfying and this is pretty great! The marley arc is probably my favorite in the manga and getting even more promotional art for it is really cool : D Since we’re still 3 months from the airdate I hope we’ll get another Warrior-centric one, with the new and old crew, but rn, especially with manga context, I love this, and I need to ramble about it.

First of all, Mikasa!!! Mikasa front and center!!! lets gooooo ahh I’m so happy about this! I don’t think she’s ever been this focused on in any of the promotional key visuals and it’s been about time! She looks gorgeous and absolutely ruthless, I’m here for it. It’s also relieving to see that the scarf did in fact stay red which wasn’t totally certain in the pv. I also think it’s interesting that both that shot of her in the pv, as well as her in this visual both kind of highlight her more badass/ruthless side--I’m all here for it cause like, look at her!!! But she also spends a good amount of time in marley being sad and distressed which I hope they’ll do justice to. Either way, she looks amazing and I can’t wait to see her finally in motion.

Levi I’m a little less sure on--his face looks a little odd? Maybe it’s the nose? I’m not really sure. To be fair, his design has probably been the least consistent across the whole anime, and he’s certainly looked worse! But yeah, I’m not 100% sold on his look yet. Also just as it was in the first key visual, his cape is green? Even tho its specifically dyed black in the manga? I’m sure why and I’m kinda sad about that cause I would’ve loved to see that all black look on him, it’s an odd change.

Connie, Jean and Sasha all look good to me (I’m glad we’re getting Sasha artwork before, you know), but Armin gets pushed to the side pretty hard kind of? Given his rather small role this arc, I think it makes sense, tho hopefully key visuals for the later arcs will improve on that. Also sidenote, his pose reminded me a lot of Jean in the S2 Group visual lol

Hange being a bit smaller, but also being centered and depicted as the leader fits well here, especially with her being closest to the airship since she never leaves it. It reminds me of Erwin in a few other posters, kind of continuing the commander position, in a way

That’s some solid continuity!!! (also, Hange :/)

One thing I also dig about this visual is the look of certain textures, specifically metallic objects, like the blades, thunderspears, even the airship.

It has this like..shiny glow? I can’t really express what I mean with it, but all these objects feel very tangible, very three dimensional, which is cool!

Unfortunately I don’t really feel the same way about all the textures present in this visual. See, non metallic textures, like clothing, skin, and the characters outlines in general have this kind of rough, or gritty look to them. The lines are clear and straight like they used to be, but it’s a little messier? The first key visual did the same thing, let me show you.

Compare it to something like this, where (even tho the resolution is a bit botched on tumblr) everything looks much smoother, cleaner, softer. Maybe it’s because I’m so used to Kyoji Asano’s style of drawing these key visuals for 6 years, but I think I prefer it over the approach of Tomohiro Kishi’s style. But this only is the start of seeing new artwork, maybe I’ll get used to it. It’s a bit odd as Wit’s animation style in the show was known for generally having thicker lines, and even tho they cut back on that in later seasons, it’s still not as thin as in the final season pv, yet its artwork has lines that feel thicker. It’s an odd back and forth.

My honestly biggest gripe with this key visual is it’s actual get up--having characters kind of float around in nothingness isn’t something I really love. I much prefer most of the older group visuals (like the recap movies or the S2 one) where characters at least seemed to stand on surfaces and physical space, and those who weren’t were either shown to be mid air, or obscured enough so you couldn’t see them stand in nothing. As a result, this reminds me a lot of the 3rd S3 visual

I wasn’t a huge fan of that one as it just reused and rearranged the Vol13 poses without really any effort. Like it just plants everyone there and I don’t think the result is really all that impressive. This one does this a lot better, as it has a bit more synergy going for it, there’s a bit of motion (the soldiers flying next to the ship looking like speedlines is a cool touch), and it just looks more interesting in my opinion. I also think it does the manga-ripoff better, as it clearly is meant to resemble vol 26 with the airship and the squad, but it doesnt just reuse the poses--they’re new here, and the overall positioning of everyone reminds me more of the Vol 25 alt cover, or the new 32 one. It feels true to the spirit of the manga without outright copying! I still don’t like the mid air floating, but other than that it’s a solid grouping!

One additional neat thing is that the new gear is drawn with so much detail! Just as in the PV. Which is awesome! Sometimes its a bit though to get a good look at all the specifics in the manga, but here it’s just---exciting. I never even realized that Mikasa has to swap to an entirely different set of 3DMG handle/trigger/grapple that’s attached to her gear as well--everyone else has only one set for either the gun+thunderspear combo or the swords, but Mikasa has both sets on her since she does switch to swords on 103. And its just fucking crazy just how much gear this girl has on her lmao (did you know a single thunder spear weighs 5kg? thats 20 on each hand! plus all the heavy gear that comes with it! she is too strong lmao)

Ultimately, I like this visual a lot. It’s not perfect and some things are gonna take a while to get used to, but overall, I’m so excited to see everyone’s different looks highlighted as the season goes on. And getting so much Marley arc promo atm is very much appreciated! Hopefully we get another one focused on the warriors soon, and, man, even tho it’s a spoiler, I would kill for one visual dedicated to Marley Eren specifically...like...please.

Bring on the Final Season!!

#I was not expecting to ramble this much about this visual but here we are #Im really excited man #attack on titan #snk #the final season #mikasa ackerman #levi ackerman #hange zoe

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calliecat93 · 5 years ago

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(Part Two)

Another volume, done. God, I feel like I just survived a whirlwind. To say that this has been a very eventful volume of RWBY would be a /huge/ understatement. We had so, so much happen. New characters, uncovered truths, political battles, murder and chaos at every turn, just… a lot. But we once again made it to this point folks. We made it to the end and we can take it easy as we await Volume 8. But with the volume now over, how did it fare? Was it a success? A failure? Or somewhere in between? And how does it measure compared to the previous six?

We have a lot to go over folks. So much that I had no choice but to make this a two-parter. Yeah, that long folks. The last two-parter I did was twelve pages long, so… yeah. In this section, we will cover Animation/Visuals, Audio, and the first half of the Character section (mainly the Atlas characters and villains). Part Two will cover the rest of the Characters (RWBYJNRQO), Story, Volume Stats, and my Final Thoughts. Everyone got all that? Good! With that said, let’s conclude this year’s RWBY Reviews with the biggest one of all: the full Volume Seven Review.

Animation/Visuals

Perfect as always. The design work once again proves perfect. CRWBY described Mantle and Atlas as based on different industrial ages, and it shows. Mantle is a big, but worn down city. It has some major New York vibes. Heck, maybe even some Gotham City with how bleak it is. The people are down-trodden and the place just looks dirty. It is a relic of the past, while Atlas represents the future. Clean, shades of blue and white to show how pristine it is, fancy locations like Atlas Academy or the Schnee Manor. Atlas is the future. A representation of the greatness that humanity can achieve… at least it looks that way. The two cities contrast so much, and it’s just so well done. When you compare to how we sadly saw so little of Mistral in comparison seeing this much with Atlas was a real treat.

Character stuff continues to be great. All of the new outfits of the heroes look fantastic. Even Jaune’s dumb hair ended up better in actual animation than it did in the still they showed at NYCC. Every character looks fantastic. Expressions are once more on point. One of the best cases is Ironwood. You can see how worn down the man is at every single turn, but also the steely determination. You can just look at him and you get the sense of strong authority, yet plain exhaustion all at the same time. In Chapter 11 when he goes from exhausted relief to full-blown horror, you feel it. Oh God do you feel it. You feel what all of these characters are feeling. Ruby’s despair in Chapter 11, Blake and Yang’s confliction in Chapter 7, Nora’s growing rage about Mantle all throughout the volume. How broken Ren feels in Chapter 13. The pure coldness from James form the same chapter when he shoots Oscar. The character animation was just on point.

The effects are also well done. I mean the Salem apparition in Chapter 11? Horrifying. Fria’s Maiden-charged blizzard was the best though. Powerful, yet somehow haunting beautiful. There have been some updates as well, like Neon’s rainbow trail and Neo’s Semblance look a lot better. Some new Grimm designs like the Saybers and the pterodactyl thing. There’s kind of a dinosaur/Ice Age theme with the Grimm, which fits with the Antarctica-esque environment of Solitas. The fight scenes were very well done, especially in the final chapters. The Ironwood vs Watts fight was freakin’ excellent and we finally got to see the Anti-Gravity biome! RWBY vs Ace-Ops was amazing on all fronts, both with the choreography and on a symbolic level. The best fight imo though is Cinder vs Penny and Winter, especially when it gets taken out into the open air. Pure epicness. Seriously, every fight was freakin’ fantastic, even minor ones like JNRO vs FNKI or the Bees vs Robyn. Even some that I wasn’t into, like Tyrian vs Qrow, CLover, and Robyn were fun to watch~

Overall, the animation and visuals were excellent~ Five starts!

Audio

If I went over every voice acting performance, we’d be here all day. Every actor was excellent. The regulars were excellent. The newbies were excellent. Everyone was excellent. We get people that we haven’t heard in a long while, like Taylor McNee (Penny), Elizabeth Maxwell (Winter), and Jason Rose (Ironwood). None of them have lost their touch. Taylor still captures Penny’s innocent charm beautifully, and her performance when Penny is just broken after being framed was heartbreaking. Jason was /especially/ good. He still carries the General’s strong authority while adding more weight, but when he becomes utterly unhinged? He did a masterful job with the performance. We also let Chris Sabat and Josh Grelle do more with their characters and it’s wonderful. Josh as Tyrian has always been great, but getting to hear Chris do more Watts? Excellent. I’m so used to him being the brute guy, like Vegeta in DBZ or Zoro in One Piece. But he does the calculated egomaniac very well and you can tell that he’s enjoying every single scene. Excellent job sir~ Jessica Nigri ended up stealing the show though, giving by far her most insane performance as Cinder yet and she 100% killed it.

We got some new people as well, and they were all great. I was so happy to see Cristina Vee getting cast and she does such a good job as Robyn. Playful but also determined. The Ace-Ops cast was good with Chris Wehkamp (Clover), Anaris Quinones (Harriet), and Mick Lauer (Marrow) being the stand-outs. Caitlin Glass got one episode as Willow, but she did an excellent job portraying how broken she is but also has just a spark of fight in her. She only got like… three minutes, and she did it perfectly. David Fennoy was a surprise to hear considering he was already in Grimm Eclipse, but it was a wonderful surprise. He perfectly portrays Pietro as this Gepetto-esque father figure who I fell in love with immediately. Then, of course, we have Jason Liebrecht as Qrow. To say that the guy was put into the not so flattering task of taking over due to the circumstances with Vic’s firing is putting it mildly. But he pulled it off. By the second chapter alone, I was already sold. He did an excellent job portraying Qrow and imo, already surpassed Vic. Like everything in Chapter 12? Jason /nailed/ every single emotion right on the head. I’m greatly looking forward to hearing more of him in the future~

The main cast as I said, were excellent. Some got it a bit easier this year, like Miles, Arryn, and Barbara. They still did great, but they took a bit more of a back seat and we’ll go more into that in Character. Neath and Aaron, while their characters stuff is more subdued, did an excellent job with their respective character’s viewpoints. Sam Ireland /finally/ got to do more with Nora outside ‘bubble and energetic’ with Nora’s anger about Mantle and her conflictions about Ren. She did it beautifully. Kara got much more with Weiss compared to last year, and she portrays all of Weiss’ worries and conflict perfectly. Especially in Chapter 4 when she tells her father off. I cheered so much. Lindsay with Ruby was perfect. She got a lot more serious moments with hr compared to the past, but she handled them all excellently. She goes through so many emotions in Chapter 11 alone and she hits every single one right in the head. She and Sam are tied for the standout among the mains, but all of them did an excellent job as always.

Then what’s RWBY without its soundtrack? Once more, perfect work. The scores were all excellent. Penny’s letimotif, instrumentals of songs like The Path to Isolation and Trust Love, the haunting violins at the end of Chapter 9, even the three-second bit of Indomitable in Chapter 10. Alex Abraham once more does an amazing job. I still remember the kickass guitar during the first fight in Chapter 1 and I was immediately pumped. Every score added to every scene and added so much more to them. But they also knew when to just let scenes be quiet, and it added so much weight. Once more, quality sound work.

But then we have Jeff Williams. What do you want me to say that I haven’t been saying since Volume 1? The man is a genius. He did amazing. Casey did amazing. I got nothing new to add. The songs this volume were freakin’ excellent. The opening, while kind of a tone contrast to the volume, was an excellent song and perfectly expresses the themes of the volume. Then we have things like the uplifting rock ballad Brand New Day, the badassness of Hero featuring Caleb Hyles, and the credits song as per usual. Speaking of Caleb though, it was nice to hear some new vocalists with him, Santi C, and the quartet in War, though of course, Casey remains flawless as ever. I loved all of the songs. IDK if it tops V6’s soundtrack yet, but it’s up there. Now, of course, my favorites will likely change when the full tracks are out, but here is the current ranking:

War (Chapter 12)

Hero (Chapter 11)

Fear (Chapter 13 Credits)

Trust Love (Opening Theme)

Brand New Day (Chapter 5)

Until the End (Chapter 13)

Touch the Sky (Chapter 3)

Let’s Get Real (Chapter 6)

Celebrate (Chapter 6)

Audio-wise, the volume was great. Great voice acting. Great sound effects. Great music. Just great all around~

Characters, Part One (Villains and Atlas)

There are… so many characters this volume. So, so many. Hence why I had to divide it up. We’ll cover the villains and Atlas characters here, and we’ll focus on the mains in Part 2 of the review. Since the villains won’t take too long we’ll start with them and go from there.

Not too much to say about Tyrian. He’s as terrifying and crazy as ever, and even moreso after Chapter 12, but it was nice to get some more details on his history before Salem. Him being a serial killer makes sense, as is his undying worship of Salem since she both saved him and she’s the manifestation of every twisted thing that he believes in. I think Chapter 12 also helped re-ignite his threat level with his brutal murder of Qrow, which reminded me even more than Chapter 6 of how terrifying the man is. Still, he was just there to be cray and murderous, and he did so. Watts thought was more interesting. We got some more background, like how he was a former Atlesian scientist who created Mantle’s security network and he joined Salem essentially because he felt like Ironwood put him down and he got jealous that Pietro’s project was chosen over his. It’s petty, but all the villains are petty. It helps him stand out though and he’s certainly one of the more interesting of Salem’s cult due to it. We also see that he does have some combat still, which is nice. No idea what happens with him now, but he served his role in this volume very well.

But then we have Cinder and Neo. Neither of which I was expecting anything major from this volume. Well, guess I was wrong. Cinder as of late has attracted a lot of hate… I mean yeah we /are/ supposed to hate her, but people just hate her as a character. The main thing seems to be how we don’t know Cinder’s motivations, and I get that. But really? I think that she was excellent here. Unlike in Mistral, she is once more in control and thus her smug personality is back in full. She’s only in four episodes, and she uses that time masterfully to turn everything on its head. The way she broke Ironwood alone with just a glass chess piece. She clearly learned from Salem well. I mean the way that Salem broke Ruby by just mentioning Summer’s fate? That is some master class psychological warfare. Something that Cinder has clearly mastered and when she isn’t running off rage she can pull it off excellently. But of course, at the end, she again failed to get the Maiden powers. With how she became more and more insane throughout the fight, I fear that she’s going to become even more callous than ever before.

I’m also really starting to grow fond of Neo. She started off as an overhyped character (imo) that was brought back for mere fanservice, but they are clearly trying to use her as best as possible. And I think that they’re doing a great job. Neo has an agenda against Ruby and knows that Cinder can easily obliterate her, which is the only reason why Neo is dealing with this. You can tell that unlike Emerald and Mercury, she is not happy following Cinder’s orders. She’s only following her to both get at her target and to live, not out of gratitude or feeling like it’s all that she has due to her upbringing. It’s nice to see someone who Cinder has no control over, yet Cinder can still over-power her so she has to go with it for now. But it helps give Neo a character and compared to before where I just didn’t get why she existed, I’m legit excited to see what happens with her next.

Now we can cover the Atlesian Military. They are… a complex bunch. Fitting, considering who their general is. James Ironwood has always been a very complicated character. On the one hand, we’ve seen through volumes 2-4 that he is genuinely a good person who wants to protect the people and do what’s right. But the problem with him has always been that he makes all the wrong choices. He didn’t heed Ozpin warnings in Beacon about showing off his military might, and it leads to the Fall and Atlas being made out as the villains. He hasn’t gotten any better. If anything, he’s gotten worse. He’s still well-intentioned, but as the old saying goes “The pathway to Hell is paved with good intentions.”, and Jame is the living embodiment of it.

We see that James did genuinely want to trust the heroes. He gives them the Lamp back, he gives them their license, he has them train with his best. He was sincere and he just wants to protect people. But his own paranoia and flaws as a person have overwhelmed him. His TSD has deteriorated his mind and since he isn’t getting proper help, it’s making him lose it. He’s terrified of Salem, so much that once he saw that Black Queen chess piece and doubt was placed into his mind, he snapped. He went from taking RWBY’s secret-keeping well and keeping focused on what was important, to turning on them and leaving a city that he is just as responsible for as Atlas to die. It’s a truly tragic tale. You /want/ James to do the right thing. He’s not a bad person, and you can see the logic with all of his decisions. But they are the wrong decisions not just on a logical level when you really think about it, but especially on a moral level. You can see that he knows what he’s doing is wrong and that he isn’t happy about it, but he still does it and now hundreds will die because of it. He has gone from a flawed but heroic man, to no better than Salem herself which he seals by shooting Oscar with no hesitation. It is a sad tale, but it is a well-done arc and just shows how excellent of a character James is. I am very pleased with his character here.

The Ace-Ops are decent additions. We don’t know a lot about them, but they have personality. Clover is the nice guy leader, Harriet is the confident and competitive second-in-command, Marrow is the out-going rookie, Elm is the out-going bruiser, and VIne is the calm, logical one. On the surface, they are heroic people… but like with James, it’s more complex. None of them are bad people, Marrow especially considering his Faunus status and he is fully aware of Atlas’ bigotry/messed up class system. But they were trained to not care about emotions or relationships. Priority Number One is obeying the general’s orders without question, and if they do, to go against those urges. It’s harsh because you can see that the five are good and friendly people, but once Ironwood lost it, that conditioning came into full effect.

You can tell that RWBY’s ‘betrayal’ hurt them. Harriet, despite saying that none of them are friends, clearly felt hurt and enraged. Same with Elm, though unlike Harriet who was practically going for the kill, Elm seemed to be trying to force herself to do so. Vine tried to solve it peacefully, clearly not wanting to fight, but no one else was willing to follow. Marrow was the biggest example. His heart was not in the fight, and I think he honestly did agree with RWBY. He tried to push himself otherwise, but it failed. Then Clover, who has stood by James’ side throughout even if he seemed unhappy with it, tried to arrest Qrow on the spot even when Tyrian re-entered the fray. That blind devotion sadly cost him his life… and I wonder how this is going to affect Ace-Ops. Despite what Harriet said, they were still all allies and I can see this messing them up. It either makes them want payback or see the light. Regardless, they were a good bunch of side-characters and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

A bigger, and much sadder, example of this Atlas conditioning is Winter. She is loyal to James because due to him and the military, she got out of her abusive home and a shot at a better life. But the sad reality is that she's really in no better position than she would have been otherwise. She’s been groomed to become the Winter Maiden and despite her choosing it to make it her own, it's still pretty much someone deciding her life for her. She internalizes her feelings and continues to obey James, despite knowing and feeling that it is wrong. Just like she was trained to do. The only person that she makes an exception for is Weiss, which seeing how much she cares and is proud of her sister and even taking her to the Winter Maiden facility was super sweet. But even then not only does she still keep a composed demeanor around Weiss, but she still stood by James even after Weiss became wanted. But hopefully, with the Maiden destiny not off the table and Weiss a fugitive, this will give Winter the chance to accept her own emotions and begin to carve her own destiny. One not chosen by anyone but herself.

But of course, the one we can blame for Winter’s state, along with James, is Jaques Schnee. I didn’t think I could hate him anymore than I already did, but I got proven wrong. The man is ambitious, willing to do anything to keep his business (well… the business he stole) running and himself in power. He runs for Council pretty much just to get rid of the embargo and takedown James. He’s despicable and I hate him and I hope he rots behind jail. Whitley doesn't really have anything new, just a bit more hammering down that he is the way he is due to the abuse and his sister’s leaving him behind. Willow though? She gets one episode, and I feel horrible for this woman. While her shutting down pretty much ruined her kids' lives, you can see why and feel sympathy for her. His is a woman worn down, and while the smallest spark of fight is in her as she gives Weiss the key to burying her father, it’s so clear that she’s broken. It’s going to take a very long time for her to recover if she does. As for Whitley, his father may be gone. But the control he had over his son is likely still firm. Which can only mean bad things for Weiss.

Opposing Atlas is Robyn Hill, Mantle’s Hometown Hero. She is very much the anti-Ironwood. She’s devoted to Mantle and wants to do what’s best for them, even if it means breaking the law. But she’s not unreasonable either. She was very friendly to Clover and Marrow, only becoming antagonistic after Penny got framed for murdering her supporters. And even then, she listened to Blake and Yang and was willing to give Ironwood a chance. One that he blew sky high. But Robyn comes off as a good person who sees the injustices with Mantle and once making a change the legal way became impossible, she resorted to the illegal route. And even then, she and her Happy Huntresses never hurt anyone and were trying to help the people that James was making suffer. Just as her inspiration of Robin Hood. She’s a very likable, inspiring character though I do wish we got some more backstory for her. But hey, she’s a good person who didn’t fall into Atlas’ conditioning trying to help those who need it, and you don’t need a motivation to do the right thing.

This brings us to Penny Polendina and her father Pietro. I’m so, soooo happy to have Penny back. I have some issues with her return, mainly in that she and Ruby never talk about what happened, But that’s more for when I get to Ruby. But aside from that, Penny was excellent. She’s still the same quirky, sweet girl that we met back early on, but we get much more of her this time. She’s been made Mante’s protector, and it is a duty that he is full-heartedly devoted to. She wants to understand feelings more, like how to balance the things she wants to do with her duties and is confused about how Winter can shove her emotions aside to do what is clearly wrong. Penny may be a robot, but she is by far the most human of the Atlesian cast. It made how broken she was when framed by Tyrian and Watts hurt so much, as well as Ironwood’s comments about how she’s under his control. He talks as though she’s just another robot soldier, and you can see how much that hurts her. But at the very end, she proved how goodhearted she is when she calms/comforts Fria in her final moments, and due to it, Fria chooses her to be the next Winter Maiden. A title that she absolutely deserves.

We can probably thank Pietro for Penny being a good person. He’s just as lively as she is and clearly loves her with all of his heart. I mean he’s given up chunks of his Aura in order to bring her back. That is love, people. While I wish he had more of him (and Maria for that matter), Pietro was so much fun and a welcome addition to the supporting cast. He’s a genius responsible for much of Atlas’ technological achievements, but he also takes time to help those in Mantle. He wanted to create a savior with a soul, which I think says a lot about him as a person. While I wish he and Penny had more interaction, that loving father/daughter bond is there and it helps them both stand out among a cast slowly losing their humanity. I worry for them, especially with Salem having Grimm Monstro on her side, but doesn’t change how happy I was with them here.

Then we, of course, have our main cast… but that is something that we shall cover in Part Two. Stay tuned~

#rwby #rwby7 #rwby reviews #callie reviews

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powerbottomblake · 6 years ago

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RWBY:Ragnarok or predictions on the Atlas arc

Building on my previous post about how the RWBY arcs parallel seasons and the archetypal narrative structure linked to each season, I’ve established that Atlas corresponds to winter, aka themes of darkness, dissolution, the return of chaos, and the defeat of the heroic figure, but what I’m going to be developing here is how winter is linked to Götterdämmerung myths, a.k.a Ragnarok, otherwise known as the death of the gods in Norse mythology. So yes, Atlas is definitely a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Time for our heroes.

The thing is, that isn’t the only Norse mythology allusion tied to Atlas, be it the cast, the location or the events of Ragnarok itself. This post will be about delving into all of these allusions and find how Ragnarok’s narrative beats find equivalents in RWBY and how it might help predict the Atlas endgame (or at least part of it) as well as figure out some general plot points.

But before that, I feel like you need to familiarize yourself with the G.U.N theory (though I don’t know if I’m 100% in the scope of it with this post). I think the person that best explained it in a concise way would be @alexkablob in this post but basically the nitty gritty of it is that all RWBY characters aren’t allusions to a single myth but have layers of different allusions to several myths, and decoding them makes it possible to predict the beats of their narrative. Think v6 made it all too obvious with how Adam was Prince Adam (a.k.a the Beast before any character development or growth), the Rose curse and Gaston all wrapped in one (plus some references to Anakin Skywalker too apparently!); or how Yang is Goldilocks, Beauty and the Beast simultaneously (amongst others).

So characters that you know are allusions to a certain myth/fairytale, might have allusions to other ones, less obvious but still just as significant in determining that character’s fate and their overarching character arc, and the Atlas arc of the story is just full of these other allusions, all Norse mythology themed.

I’ll start with the allusions tied to the central figure of Atlas’ plot, aka the man himself, James Ironwood, then branch out on the connected cast’s allusions and how they’d fill their respective roles in Atlas’ version of Ragnarok.

So, as we all know James Ironwood is supposed to be our Tinman from the wizard of Oz. Thing is Ironwood also refers to a location in Norse mythology, Járnviðr (literally old Norse for Iron-wood), where a witch gives birth to giant wolves that are alluded to as Fenrir’s kin, one of them in particular being dubbed snatcher of the moon, who will swallow the moon come Ragnarok.

Before delving deeper into this, who is Fenrir?

Fenrir is a monstrous wolf who’s bound until comes Ragnarok, where he breaks free, wreaks havoc on the realm of the gods, and kills Odin, the patriarch of the Norse mythology pantheon and one of its most powerful figures.

I’m gonna go ahead and assume that CRWBY will merge all the monstrous apocalyptic wolf figures into one because that’s the decision that makes the most sense, and I’m gonna refer to it as Fenrwby to differentiate it from the original Fenrir (listen I couldn’t come up with anything else).

So now we’ve established that Atlas harbors or will get invaded by this giant wolf, Fenrir, who announces the apocalypse and swallows the moon.

Damn, I wonder which character is always closely associated to moon symbolism, incidentally also alluding to a tale called Dead Moon (again @alexkablob got you covered) and whose death circumstances are still a mystery till now?

That’s right I think Fenrwby will be confirmed to be the reason Summer died. Another point that absolutely convinces me of it is that he(it?) refers to. A gigantic evil wolf. Or you could say. A Big Bad Wolf. And guess where Little Red Riding Hood is headed right now?

But before eating Little Red Riding Hood, the Wolf eats the grandmother first.

Yeah, this might very well be the last time Maria’s making the trip to Atlas.

But let’s go back to Ironwood. There’s yet another allusion to him and that’s the Norse god Tyr. Tyr was a war god, but also presided over law and justice, which aligns with Ironwood being leader of the military, headmaster and even has the Council (which I assume is executive and judicial power) bow to him.

Tyr’s most striking act and for which he’s most known though is that he’s sacrificed his arm when the gods first bound Fenrir, the arm the wolf bit off being the right one, and lo and behold:

James Ironwood is indeed missing a right arm (well a whole right side because he’s also Tinman, but you get me). From this we can already surmise that the mission Summer was sent over to was probably the containment of Fenrwby, and it cost Summer her life and Ironwood his right side.

That leaves us with one question: who/what is Fenrwby and where did he come from?

We’ll have to go back to the original myth for a bit here. In Norse Mythology, the trickster god Loki fathers three children with a giantess: Hel, a woman that becomes a sort of queen of the Underworld, the world serpent Jörmungandr and the world wolf Fenrir. All three siblings are prophesied to be big trouble to the gods but what sets Fenrir apart is that:

He’s the one foretold to announce Ragnarok; his unbidding decides it

He’s the one destined to swallow Odin himself whole

He’s the only “hellish” sibling who’s raised right where the gods live, in Asgard

Beyond the similarity in how the names sound, I do believe Atlas’ design takes after Asgard and is meant to symbolize it.

For further reference here’s Marvel’s take on Asgard:

And here’s our first look at Atlas:

Atlas even has those threads attached to Mantle below which I suspect act as anchors + elevators/transportation conducts (most of it probably dedicated to Dust transport) between Mantle and Atlas, but also are a visual reference to Yggdrasil's roots, the Norse world tree, extending from Asgard to the other realms below.

So Fenrir is raised right in Asgard, but the wee pup is growing at an alarming rate (plus is prophesied to destroy all of it) so none of the gods is keen on approaching him. None except one brave god that is the only one to get close and feed him. And who would that be? That’s right, Tyr a.k.a our basis for Ironwood.

Ironwood hosting and hand-rearing a monster that will ultimately cause Summer’s death and the Atlaspocalypse sounds extremely unlikely, but there’s one scenario where this makes sense.

Atlas is known for its technological advancement and its constant development of new weaponry. I believe Fenrwby was born out of such a project, under the general leadership of Ironwood, but someone must have taken the experiments too far and ended up creating something so terrible Summer Rose herself (and maybe all or a combination of the remaining STRQ team), a silver-eyed warrior, had to be dispatched to neutralize, dying in the process.

Now is the time to remember that Fenrir is Loki’s son. In the original myth, Loki, an Asgardian god, gets eventually banished and during Ragnarok sides with the enemies.

So we’re basically looking for a disgraced Atlesian, who was possibly a scientist and is now currently working with the enemy.

And here is our Loki, none other than Arthur Watts himself, whose fallout with Atlas is yet to be explained.

I believe the reason he left Atlas was because he’s the one responsible for Fenrwby’s creation and in its immediate fallout, evaded arrest.

Another reason that leads me to believe Watts is our Loki is that Loki’s ties to Hel, Norse queen of the underworld, who was described to be “half-black and half flesh-colored”, which is a dead ringer for Salem.

Arthur Watts’ name also seems to refer to Arthur Conan Doyle and John Watson, the first one being the creator of Sherlock Holmes and the latter his dutiful companion and side-kick, so I believe Watts might be a combination of (evil) Sherlock and Watson. This is further supported with how Watts’ appearance seems to be a blend of both (Watson is described as tan, with a strong build and a moustache and Sherlock as tall and lean) and his outfit being Victorian-era inspired. He is referred to as Doctor by Salem, first to affirm his status as fallen scientist from Atlas but also most likely as a nod to Watson who was a skilled doctor and often would be referred to as Doctor as well. Sherlock Holmes is known to be an emotionally detached analytical machine with a caustic (and at times callous) kind of humor, having a usually dispassionate and cold demeanor, all of which match what we see of Watts. How is this linked to our Ragnarok? Well one of Sherlock Holmes’ most well-known stories, one where incidentally Watson has a very proactive and prominent role, is the Hound of the Baskervilles. The story is itself based on the legend of a “monstrously evil man” who sold his soul to the Devil (Salem) and after his death led a pack of phantom, evil hounds.

Evil hounds, monstrous wolves...Watts always gets linked to big bad canidae one way or the other.

Which brings us to our next question: now that we know who made Fenrwby, what exactly is Fenrwby?

Ok so this is the part where the theory gets tentative because there isn't much to go off of, so bear with me.

Watts is partly based on Sherlock Holmes, who is indifferent and detached usually, unless he's in the midst of an investigation. He then turns driven, getting tunnel-visioned and borderline obsessed (he can even go without food for so long he faints) until he solves the mystery. I think Watts is much the same. He carries himself with cool composure mostly but there was one instance where he showed a sort of zealous fascination: when he saw the seer Grimm.

Ok so I have an inkling that Watts is fascinated by the Grimm, and his forbidden experiments involved Grimm creatures. This is further supported by the Baskerville allusion to a pack of phantom hounds, which could very well reference the Grimm.

So going off this, Watts experimented on Grimm - since Atlas is very much wolf-themed, maybe Beowolfs? - and out of them he made Fenrwby.

But what could possibly be combined to Grimm in a way that’d defeat the combined forces of Ironwood (whose entire right side got severed) and an experienced silver eyed warrior like Summer?

I think we can make an educated guess based off the two major technological breakthroughs we got to witness during V1-3, namely Penny, the first synthetic being able to generate aura and the aura transfer machine. You’ll have guessed it, I think Atlas was dabbling into aura experimentation and Watts rerouted it to his own Grimm endeavors. What if he succeeded in equipping Grimm with something similar to Aura? Something that would hijack the Silver Eyes. I’m just bouncing ideas here but I’m pretty sure Fenrwby is the result of Watts tinkering with Aura and Grimm, and I think Watts staying with Salem is in large part because she’s the crystallization of the divide that fascinates him, being both human (having a soul, so in theory having aura) and grimm. Salem is the long running case study Watts is pursuing in a way.

So. Now that we’ve established what Fenrwby might be and who is behind it, we can delve into the narrative beats of Ragnarok. I made a synthetic list of Ragnarok events that seem relevant and connect to RWBY as a narrative:

Fenrir swallows Odin

I think Ozpin having Odin references in his character is common knowledge enough in the fandom. Odin is the king of Asgard, is associated with wisdom, knowledge and sorcery amongst other things, and is known for having two raven familiars (Raven and Qrow), all of which fit Ozpin.

What could Odin being swallowed mean for Oz and Oscar?

Of course, this could simply be an indication of Oz/Oscar fighting Fenrwby with Ruby, and losing.

But we can take it further. Oz lives inside Oscar through the merge between their souls, their auras connecting. We’ve established Atlas has been studying and experimenting on aura; Watts has most probably even toed the line of what is morally acceptable in terms of experiments. What if Fenrwby, or one of the machines Watts has been “tinkering with”, is able to sever the connection, effectively trapping Ozpin’s soul or at least sending it in another reincarnation cycle? This is a reach, I’ll admit, but something about Odin being swallowed somehow does not bode well for Ozpin.

Thor fights Jörmungandr

Can’t talk about Norse mythology without talking about Thor! And incidentally we have someone in the main cast based off him. I’ve always found it weird how V4 gives Ren a comprehensive backstory but never an explanation for how Nora is just there, beyond “random Kuroyuri orphan” (How did she get orphaned? Why was she in Kuroyuri? Who were her parents?). I think Nora’s backstory will be fully explained in Atlas as I have a feeling Weiss isn’t the only one coming home. Thor’s home is Asgard after all.

So Thor fights the giant serpent that is Loki’s other son and Fenrir’s brother. One of Jörmungandr’s most striking features is his venom, as he’s described spraying it through air and sea, and it’s how he kills Thor even as he’s slayed by him, poisoning the god to his death.

Our Jörmungadr equivalent thus needs to wield poison, and be sired (or fixed) by Loki aka Watts. That would be Tyrian.

I believe we’ll have the second round of Team JNR vs Tyrian - as foreshadowed by Tyrian’s interest in Jaune - and it’ll end with Tyrian dying and Nora being gravely wounded.

The frost giants join the fray against the gods

I’ve already expanded on this in my previous post, but Jack Frost, Jacques’ fairy tale basis, is said to be based on the norse frost giants. This, coupled with the “Jack and the beanstalk” references, pushes me to think Jacques is going to betray and cause the death of Ironwood and help team W.T.C.H steal the relic.

Gamr, another big hellish hound, kills Tyr

Gamr is another monstrous hound who breaks free of his bindings in Ragnarok. As I said before, I believe all hounds/wolf imagery is going to be compounded in a single entity in RWBY (especially when they sometimes share identical characteristics), so this is Fenrwby getting free of whatever binding Summer put him under (maybe the Silver Eye power petrified him the way Ruby did the giant Nevermore?) and killing Ironwood.

Surtr, a fire giant from Muspelheim, the realm of fire, covers the entire world with fire with his flaming sword

Surtr is a fire giant that guards Muspelheim, a hot and glowing land of fire, and who sets the world on fire with his flaming sword at the end of Ragnarok. This signals the destruction of the world, but also announces its rebirth with the surviving gods and humans meeting afterwards and leading into a new era.

So the guardian of a sword of destruction (Vacuo’s relic), coming from a hot unforgiving land (Vacuo), crashes the fight. I believe this is when the Summer maiden gets introduced, and she uses the relic to end the fight and save the thoroughly defeated team RWBY so that everyone may escape to Vacuo as Atlas’ destruction is complete.

So, to TL;DR this extremely long post:

There is a Big Bad Wolf kind of monster/entity in Atlas I’m tentatively calling Fenrwby

Watts created this monster by dabbling into forbidden experimentation, probably on aura and grimm

Summer Rose sealed said monster but at the cost of her life and the fight cost Ironwood his right side

Fenrwby is unleashed on Atlas, either by Team W.T.C.H, accidentally by Ironwood, or a combination of both

Jacques sides with W.T.C.H and helps them steal the relic

Fenrwby kills Ironwood and Maria

Oz is either defeated, sealed away from Oscar or sent in another reincarnation loop

Nora is from Atlas and we get her extended backstory

Team JNR fight Tyrian and are able to defeat him but Nora is gravely wounded

the Summer maiden arrives in a bind and with the relic of destruction ends the fight and takes team RWBY to safety

#rwby #rwby6 #rwby7 #rwby predictions #james ironwood #summer rose #ruby rose #ozpin #arthur watts #my meta #this is everything I couldn't fit in the atlas part in the other post wbwfdhfsdbd

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comicteaparty · 5 years ago

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July 15th-July 21st, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from July 15th, 2019 to July 21st, 2019. The chat focused on Radioactive Underground by Ezra Rose.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Radioactive Underground by Ezra Rose~! (https://tapas.io/series/Radioactive-Underground)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until July 21st to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. What do you think caused Robbie’s scar that is briefly seen? Further, why is Robbie taking medicine? What might all this have to do with Griffin’s particular concern for how Robbie is doing?

ezzy

Wow what a wonderful comic surely who ever made this comic is very smart and also handsome

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. Which aspect of the world has caught your eye the most so far? Why does it interest you? Also, how do you think it will play a role in how the story unfolds?

RebelVampire

1) my favorite scene is probably the first scene we see robbie at maki's. i liked the little flirty dialogue and then the ultimate payoff with it at the end. like i really felt like i was in robbie's shoes during it cause i wasnt sure if there was chemistry and then the "robbie with an i e " thing really sold it for me. just a great banter setup i can really appreciate. 2) Given the opening scene, I gotta imagine Robbie was fighting monsters or w/e he fights in the underground and took on a challenge he wasnt ready for. And that probably nearly killed him and thus why the scar and medicine. Cause the medicine is probably keeping his heart going or something like that. As for Griffin's concern, Griffin gives off a kind of motherly feel to me despite the aggressive attitude. And it seems she and robbie have a sort of mother-son bond (at least a little bit). and ya know, mom's worry when their sons almost die.

3) my favorite character atm is probably robbie. While this could change as the characters become more familiar, I really just like Robbie's design. It feels edgy and relateable at the same time without being overboard. I also think it super suits his personality. 4) I'm really interested in the underground aspect of the comic. Cause it really doesn't feel like their underground, yet it's clearly a thing. And given robbie's crush isnt from the underground originally, itll be interesting to see how the cultures differ. Since there already seems to be some inequality going on. In terms of the story, I definitely think the underground's probably...status in society is probably a breeding ground for crime. hence robbie's entire life situation.

ezzy

>:3c

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. Why do you think Yui was supposedly kicked out of the family business, and how do you think she got involved with Griffin? What theories do you have about the rest of Griffin’s crew? Alternatively, who do you most want to learn more about?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. What do you think the ultimate goal is for Griffin’s group as for why they steal? Is it just for money, or is there some larger picture? Further, what do you think Robbie’s personal investment is in the whole thing?

RebelVampire

5) My fave illustration...s is probably the ones of Griffin on this page. https://tapas.io/episode/1357536 Griffin looks so cool, and something about this up-close shot choices really made me appreciate her really cool, badass design. Instantly won my heart over as a top-contending chara for favorites. 6) Yui sort of strikes me as the type who rebels just to rebel. Like the teen who never got out of the rebellious phase because she's 2kool4skool. And from what we've seen with her relationship with her family, rebelliousness is not well-received. And I can see from her families perspective how it kind of just looks like Yui lazes around and then throws attitude. I don't really have theories about the rest of the crew, although I definitely do want to get to know the completely non-human world. They'd be a great insight into the rest of the non-humans that are in this world.

7) I probably enjoy seeing Robbie and crush chick the most. They've got really cute chemistry that just makes me squee on the inside. And I also hope he continues to be called Robbie with an i e for a while. 8) I think the answer to this question depends on perspective. Most of the crew, like Robbie and Yui, are probably just in it for the money. While I think Griffin is in it for the money, I also think she has a bigger picture idea. Like eventually aiming for the grand jewel and making people super pissed. Or more I should say, she's waiting till they can make the heist of a lifetime and retire on a beach in Hawaii. As for Robbie's personal investment, besides money, he kind of maybe just has nothing better to do? So far my impression of him is hes the type to think hes not good at a lot of stuff besides running and fighting. Thus morals be damned, lets steal things? XD Plus if he needs medicine, hes gotta pay for it somehow. So to summarize, his investment is needs money + belief in lack of job opportunities. I think if something better came along hed be heavily tempted.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. Who exactly do you think Griffin is? In other words, what’s Griffin’s backstory and why is Griffin invested in stealing? Further, why do you think Griffin keeps the group at arm’s length and has them drop her off at random locations?

RebelVampire

9) One deal I appreciate is the balance of Griffin's design. Like there's this right blend of human and non-human traits that you could even guess she was a half-breed before anybody even said anything. And being able to get that across immediately visually is really A+ work there. 10) I think Griffin was probably someone a lot like Robbie. Just in the underground, nothing to do, no opportunities, and so she took the easy route of theft. However, I think she was at least once part of a bigger organization (given the connections she has) and that she kind of betrayed them and ditched them. Like I said earlier, I think she's both in it for the money but kind of has some bigger idea picture about retiring in style or something like that. As for keeping the group at arm's length, I actually think it's to protect them. Cause she clearly seems to know dangerous folks who know her and have a bone to pick. So by not letting the others become too notorious, she keeps the heat on her.

ShaRose49

I started this one awhile ago and I thought it was very well-drawn(edited)

ezzy

Thank you i try very hard

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. Why do you think the new girl working at Maki’s has come to the underground? What might it have to do with her relationship with her parents? Further, what role do you think she’ll play in the larger story?

spacerocketbunny

1. Favourite scene is probably the one where everyone is in the diner after the heist! The banter is fun and I like how the characters interact. Yui and Robbie are great, they act like siblings who can't stand each other but of course cover each other's asses if they get in trouble. Also the moment when Robbie meets Sky, she asks his name so she can label his food but then he asks for her name and she pauses like "why are you asking the server's name lol" 3. Ummmm Griffin because she's a mysterious babe?? Love me a stoic lady with questionable motives ;)) also Sky is so sweet, I love that she's an artist! 4. Love the demons and other folks that are integrated into the world, it's a lot of fun! I hope there'll be more interesting people to see :)

5. The latest pages with Griffin on the phone look great, great colours, nice backgrounds, I like how the colours are starting to become more dynamic! 6. Mmmm my guess is that she's a bit messy and callous and probably messed something up in the family business. Too early to make any hard speculation but if anything I think it was Yui's fault probably... I want to see more of what these heists are for, and how their group operates. I'd like to see more on Griffin and her origin since it was pointed out that she was a %100 human (I'm assuming the other half is demon?) 7. Right now Yui and Robbie because of the bickering they do, but now that I've seen Sky blush after interacting with Griffin I'm

9. I like the style of the comic, it's angular and sharp and I like the character designs! I feel like the comic's aesthetic and mood is still being realized but it's progressing with each page and I can't wait to see how it develops further! 11. Like previously mentioned I think the style is definitely a strength, it's fun and offbeat and I like that it's one that I'm not seeing in the comic scene right now. The character interaction is great too, even as early as it is I'm already invested in these characters and I want to know more about them, they're a fun lot and they all play off each other in a great way. I'm interested to see where this comic goes and how it'll develop, I'll definitely be checking back for updates

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. Who do you think Solomon Reiki is, and what does they want with Griffin? What does this have to do with the guard who Griffin fought during the heist? What could this mean for Robbie and the rest of the crew?

RebelVampire

11) I think the comic's strength are definitely the character designs. There's a lot of personality packed into them. Not just the main characters we've seen so far but even the side characters as well. It makes for a really dynamic setting and cast that immediately catches your eye. Somehoe all the designs also really suit the tone of the story as well. 12) I feel there definitely has to have been a falling out with her parents. And she fled to the one place where she thought they would never look for her or something. Given she seems somehow hardcore herself, I could totally see her joining the crew and going on thieving adventures. Or at the very least being an informant of some sort. 13) I'm looking forward to learning more about the rest of the crew and seeing how they all play off each other. Cause that will definitely have a big impact in terms of how the heists go. 14) Given my previous theories, I think Solomon Reiki was Griffin's old boss who is super pissed at Griffin's betrayal of leaving. But until recently they havent been able to find Griffin so hence the guard. Heard some rumors and sent the guard to confirm whether its the traitor or not. Of course, this probably gonna put the rest of the crew square in sights and get them unwanted attention from bigger criminals or something like that.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Radioactive Underground this week! Please also give a special thank you to Ezra Rose for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Radioactive Underground, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://tapas.io/series/Radioactive-Underground

Ezra’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ezrarose

Ezra’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/ezzymourao

Ezra’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSonicSoda_

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #radioactive underground #ezra rose

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ruwithmeguys · 7 years ago

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You’ve got to accentuate the positive...

It really doesn’t take much for people to say a TV show has gone stale. Or, that a season is bad because of an episode arc. And something I won’t do is judge what I already love on the basis of a few spoilers or a few episodes (or episode arc). I’m used to it by now to be 100% affected by the ugh of it all...

By 6.11 of Arrow, I wasn’t alone in hailing s6 as the best season of arrow. It has everything in it: Oliver’s growth. Olicity getting married. Starting a family (this coming from the man who used to think he’d die alone). Diggle getting some focus once again (though I question why he wants to be GA, because in every prior season, he hasn’t even mentioned it). Felicity being so clearly strong willed (especially in 6.03/04/07/08/09/10/11) and effortlessly brilliant. The new team progressing in their own way…

Whether it’s a way we like or not.

A lot of people have complained about the villains this season too. I’m good with it. We don’t need to have a horribly terrifying villain every season. We don’t need another Adrian Chase or Malcolm Merlyn. I liked and still like the idea of a group of semi-capable villains, regardless of whether or not the actor/actress is someone we/I can back, because I don’t think we’ve gotten to the bottom of it yet.

What I’m puzzled by the most however, is the reaction to the current arc; the way people are getting lost and angry and frantic by it.

Don’t you know Arrow by now?

Perspective:

(S1, a season of introduction, isn’t one we can use to discuss this so- nope!)

S2: there was a solid stream of episodes, all focusing on or around Sara Lance, Laurel and Quentin. Sara and her attempt to change so that she could exist in Oliver’s world. Sara’s attempt to fight off her own darkness and failing to do so, arguing about it with Oliver over and over again because of Roy, Slade and Helena. Sara and Laurel’s relationship. Sara and Oliver and Laurel’s history. Laurel realizing her bitterness was hurting her sister. Oliver letting go of any feelings he had for Laurel after his final attempt at caring, once again, ended up hurting him. Laurel and Quentin’s fight against their addictions – it went on and on and on until I thought my interest had gone dry...

S3: the 4 mind-numbing episode arc about LL becoming BC before uselessly being abandoned for another 5 episodes and the team’s morose attempt at fighting the good fight without their leader. Oliver thinking he can’t live, thinking he can’t have it all – that to trust his team, meant inviting darkness. And an extra 2 episodes where we had to watch Oliver make more bad choices and Felicity start a relationship with Ray, 3.10 to 3.15. That’s 6 episodes of UGH.

S4: Less episode arcs and more a general feeling. Oliver was put in the backseat in order to sell LL and Thea as members of the team. I know you all love Thea, but to me, she didn’t quite fit the team. The way her character progressed made this feeling worse. Then we had Oliver lying to the love of his life for 8 episodes. So, yeah. BAD.

S5: love it or hate it, season 5 had several stand alone episodes that made you nauseous. 5.13, 14, 15 were particularly crappy.

Any of you who thought they’d change this pattern for the sixth season, were fooling yourselves, I’m sorry to say. But S6, I think, has been one of the kinder seasons.

There’s no bad Olicity angst (the 6.08 angst was delicious). There’s no ridiculous attempt at selling a character to us. There’s no ‘I’m Oliver Queen which means I can’t have a life’ crapola…

The way the team split was handled has left much to be desired, I know that. It really has. I admit that I can’t love the new guys like I do OTA, but I did like them. Now I can’t stand them. They took every bad habit Oliver has EVER possessed, thrown them in his face and then utilized them x10 and made excuses for their behaviour… and then blamed Oliver once more.

But even with the crappy attitudes of the newbies and their horrifying lack of morality recently, each episode this season has been pretty on the ball.

I also know a lot of us don’t like BS.

In portraying LL or BS, KC seems to have a problem with grabbing the majority audience’s sympathy. Her villain role this year has been decidedly camp and over the top and, once again, her character is rooted in selfishness. No surprises there. And now, well, she’s using (going to use) LL’s identity to get what she wants. I hope Quentin is happy: he gave her the tools for this.

Anyone who wasn’t expecting this or for her to be in 6.15 a whole lot, were not paying attention.

She’s going to use the excuse of being kidnapped for a couple of years and assume LL’s identity. This is not the action of someone who wants redemption. This is the action of a mole. I always thought she’d try to play one side against the other for her own gain and I bet that she does.

She’ll also use her knowledge of the team as leverage: blackmailing Oliver and co so that they can’t prosecute her because she knows so much and, really, they can’t imprison her unless they want to unfairly blemish LL’s reputation, because she isn’t LL.

Happily, Oliver made it very clear that he a) doesn’t care about saving her, he’s looking after the city and b) pretty much doesn’t want to see her again. Everything else he did in 6.14 was rooted in his respect for Quentin. I know Quentin has officially flown over the cuckoo’s nest but after years of friendship etc, Oliver owes it to him. Even if he knows it’s not right. He’ll do it, just this once.

Saying it the way he did too, to never wanting to hear her name or see her face again… it’s like not expecting a child to do the exact opposite of what they’re told. Of course the writers would have her push back.

You know, she could have gone with Quentin. Instead, she’s decided to immerse herself in another woman’s life. When you’re looking for redemption, that’s kind of the last thing you do. She wants something. And she’s going to take it.

And you know what? This could be really good.

They’ve slanted away from a true redemption arc. It doesn’t mean she won’t end up there. But the likelihood of it being about true goodness is pouring away, fast. And it’s going to bite all of them on the ass.

You know, I state the obvious, if it was any other character/actress, we wouldn’t be having the same problem with this SL.

I don’t like LL/BS or KC. I have my reasons, which I won’t force on anyone and I know that if this were a different character/actress/actor, the ‘god, this again’ I’d feel and the outrage everyone else has displayed, wouldn’t be nearly so high.

This isn’t a plot-line to make people happy. It’s designed to both satisfy a trope (for her stans) and not repeat a character (for us, because enough with boring and predicable please) and to make us all freak out and get angry. We’ll be waiting for something to go wrong. They want us on tender hooks and you know what? It’s working.

The amount of hype the people who hate this arc have produced is more than the hype created by those who like it.

There’s goodness coming. There is.

But every year, a chunk of the fandom family start hating on the show with nearly the exact arguments as the years previous. I get it. I do.

But, you know what else happens every year? The slingshot.

Would I like Felicity and Oliver to hog the screen time, I sure would. It took years to get them married. Show us more for god sake!

But it isn’t realistic. The show has more than one character and the design of it, though flawed, is one they haven’t changed. There are filler episodes and other things. We knew – we KNEW – that 6b (6.10 – 6.14/15) would have little to no Olicity (save some amazing moments, especially in 6.11) and yet there’s still surprise at this.

We knew, after watching 6.12 that the newbies were wrong and would continue to be so. We knew that the BS arc would be a royal pain in the ass, but this latest twist is going to test the characters and maybe that’s a good thing.

First thing’s first though. Every single season, Felicity’s story goes like this:

We have a group of episodes surrounding her. Then she comes out of the main focus but is still very much part of the plot. She has brilliant moments that make the show great. Then, like a slingshot, roughly during episodes 16/17/18, she pops back into focus for the rest of the season.

Let’s look at past seasons again.

S2: between episode 1 and 5, she’s very much relevant but not the focus and then for 6 to 10, she was very focal. With Sara’s introduction and Roy’s, she’s secondary until roughly 2.19 up till the finale.

S3: episodes 1 and 2, she’s focal. 3 and 4 she’s not. 5, 7 and 9, she’s focal. 6, 8, she’s not. Then the BC arc and episode 14. Then slingshot round again.

I do think season 3 gave Felicity the most SL isn’t given ANY of the female characters in Arrow. Now, there are too many characters for this to work.

Still, it repeats, it repeats, it repeats. Same with season 4, same with season 5.

Would I like more married Olicity, HECK YES. But – and the way they’ve done it is more than a little skewed – they’re trying to make it look like Olicity are currently waylaid by all the drama. They literally don’t have enough time to be together. They’ve gone back to saving the city full time; just like in season 2 and 3 where they had to somehow handle saving the city alone with living their lives. Both Oliver and Felicity were unable to do so alone, from what I remember. Now we know there could be more scenes. They could give us a few moments at least (beyond the few brillo-pads ones we’ve had). But those scenes were sold to Rene and Curtis. Thankfully, there’ll be less of them in 6.15/17 etc.

As much as I don’t like it, we’ll get back to it.

And as much as I’d like to see more of Felicity’s SL, I’m going to leave any and all judgement on the lack of it since 6.07, until the end of the season. Safe to say, it’s been taken over by her break with Curtis. He did the unforgivable. She gave up her money to save Oliver. I believe we’ll get more, but there’s just too much going on.

Would I prefer to see that over the badly handled civil war crap? Yes. Of course I would. Would I prefer to see more married Olicity, more Felicity and Diggle over this BS bull? Yes, I would. But they got MARRIED. The show literally told the audience they were each other’s true loves and destined to be together. The writers actually allowed Oliver to get married. It means they probably think they can afford a few episodes of not giving us much in that department but again, it depends why you watch the show.

I’m also hoping the writers showed the B team to be assholes because they’ve got lessons to learn and forgiveness to earn, I really hope for that.

They’ve mentioned a honeymoon. The show only does that when they plan to deliver, whether it’s this season or the next. Either of them could end up in jail. If fan theory is correct, Oliver gets poisoned/drugged in 6.18, leaving her alone in 6.19.

My point is that, the show isn’t going stale just because of an arc that’s been handled in such a way. Or because of a character that we literally don’t care lives or dies. Or turns into a goat. Whatever.

It’s going to be fine…

In re to BS – Stephen, Emily, Juliana and KC mentioned things about her. KC’s words haven’t been accurate save for aforementioned extreme contention between BS and DD.

The only thing Stephen said about it was that it would be interesting if LL was actually walking around in the daylight the past couple of years. He said it was an interesting take. That was it. And I agree. I don’t like her, but I agree.

Emily mentioned there might still be a thing between Felicity and BS (another possible fight) and really, if BS pretending to be LL culminates in her facing off with Felicity then bring it on because my god, it’s a death wish waiting to happen! I’ll get the popcorn!

I was done with LL./BS/KC long ago but I’m choosing to see the little goodies in the crap because I love the show, even with its faults. It hasn’t gone stale guys. The newbies are idiots but they never used to be, so I’m waiting for the penny to drop for them. Let’s just ride it out, kay?

This season has given us so much, even if it hasn’t delivered on other things we’re waiting for, so I’ve decided to accentuate the positive. If a show pushes it, then they’ve earned the scorn. Arrow hasn’t pushed this season as far they’ve done in previous additions and we get the added luxury of Olicity being a pillar.

For now, I’m good.

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hirazuki · 3 years ago

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Bleach (canon) has been dead to me since the last two chapters of the manga, but as it is the series I gave my whole heart to, I feel obligated to at least check out any new content. And unfortunately for you all, that means me sharing my thoughts on this platform XD

Under a cut as usual and in no particular order!

First things first, the most obvious element -- the art: it’s not bad, of course, but it’s definitely not the quality I associate with Bleach. I can’t pinpoint what it is, exactly, but something’s missing. Idk. Kubo’s art has always been godly, very fluid and clean and compelling, probably holds the top spot out of any artist for being the most aesthetically pleasing to my senses. It’s a big part of what always gave this series such a timeless feel for me; kind of like the manga art equivalent of classical Roman marble sculpture, but full of life. And this is, like... not. It looks similar, visually, but it lacks the spark his old art had. It actually pains me to write this :/

His design concepts, on the other hand, are still magnificent. Szayel’s hell-sified look is 100% fire. I imagine Ukitake’s to be the same; we only got a glimpse of one of his swords, and the aesthetic was A+.

“Hollow killing festival” sounds just about right for a Soul Society ritual lmao. I am all for exposing the dark side of the Gotei 13.

It’s really nice to see Mayuri going strong, better than ever. The man cannot be stopped. Poor Hisagi.

I’m not sold on the hollow-you-can’t-sense deal yet. It really depends how it’s executed. It could turn out to be an Ootsutsuki type of situation, in which case I’ll happily accept it, or turn into one of those super lame we had to raise the stakes higher for this new series that didn’t need to happen in the first place to the point that nothing makes sense and is divorced from pre-established canon (*cough*Yashahime*cough*) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ We’ll see.

However, the idea that the war with Yhwach and the death of so many characters with insanely high concentrations of reiatsu destabilized the balance of the worlds enough for the door to open up on Hell’s side is something that’s totally in line with Bleach’s worldbuilding and an exciting development.

Szayel would absolutely crawl his way up in Hell and then out of it. He has my full support and blessings. You go, you pink-haired menace <3

I’ve been side-eyeing those butterflies since the early days, guys. I feel vindicated.

And, by far the most important point: if captains have a rei number of 3 and above, which means that their reishi is so densely concentrated it cannot disperse naturally back into the earth and Shinigami have to undertake a ritual into order to remove them from this world, and the Espada are the equivalent of captain rank or even higher; and if hollow/arrancar either 1. get absorbed if killed/eaten by another hollow, 2. get purified by a zanpakuto and their souls return to the cycle, or 3. are cast into hell when killed, if they were sinful enough to not be able to be purified and return to the soul cycle; then, it follows that an Espada, that was not killed by any of these means and merely dispersed into the atmosphere, is still hanging around with us ✌️ It’s 2021, I have been holding onto him for years, and I will not budge on this XD

It was fun seeing everyone and the individual characterizations were great, but character dynamics felt off. There was quite a bit of awkwardness, for me, in, say, Ichigo and Renji’s banter, Ichigo’s conversation with Rukia, etc. Idk, things just felt stale and didn’t have the easy flow to them that they used to. It may just be that Kubo hasn’t written them for so long that he needs to warm up a bit, but... meh.

I, sadly, had no reaction to anyone in the Gotei 13 other than Mayuri, while I’m still all about the hollow, so I guess Soul Society stuff is still tainted for me by the ending haha.

Overall, I’m way more into the concepts presented rather than my faves coming back at this point, which, this being Bleach we’re talking about, is utterly insane to think I would say such a thing. I’ll give it a try and keep reading, but I’m not too hopeful. I’ll probably just take the elements I like from it to use in my fanart/fanfic, and call it a day!

#yeah idk #i love how i'm always like #'oh yeah i'm not very greek'#and then go on to firmly believe that things should end/die at the peak of their ability #because decline and decay are awful things to witness #and then should be left alone so as not to taint their frozen moment in time #so yeah needless to say #not too thrilled about this development after that horrific crash and burn of an ending #but #since this is going to happen anyway i may as well enjoy what i can from the worldbuilding before tossing the rest out XD #ugh i'm still in mourning all these years later tbh #it was /such/ an incredible series #and it was wrecked in the last two chapters #i'm not even referring to the ships here #simply the thematic betrayal to multiple fundamental elements of the series #gah #bleach #withoutwords

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orbemnews · 4 years ago

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Three Electric S.U.V.s With Tesla in Their Sights An electric trickle is turning into a flood: As many as 100 new E.V. models are coming to showrooms by 2025. Heavyweights including Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford are floating promises of all-electric lineups within a decade. The end times of gasoline can almost seem a fait accompli, except for one pesky issue: Even given Tesla’s strides, we’re still waiting for the first genuine E.V. sales hit, let alone a mass exodus from unleaded. In 2014, Nissan sold a mere 30,200 Leafs, and that’s still the American record for any non-Tesla model. Ford routinely sells more than 800,000 F-Series pickups. A single gasoline sport utility vehicle, the Toyota RAV4, finds well over 400,000 annual buyers, compared with roughly 250,000 sales last year for all E.V.s combined — 200,000 of which were Teslas. Automakers insist we’re “this close” to a tipping point. E.V. market share is expected to grow to as much as 50 percent by 2032, from just 1.7 percent last year, said Scott Keogh, president and chief executive of Volkswagen of America. While Tesla captured 80 percent of the U.S. market for electric vehicles in 2020, VW and other global giants — with war chests built on internal-combustion engines and unmatched scale and manufacturing know-how — are well positioned to take a piece of Tesla’s pie. “There’s never been a competitive consumer product that sits at 80 percent market share” for long, Mr. Keogh said. Globally, Volkswagen is poised to pass Tesla as the world’s biggest electric vehicle seller as early as next year, according to Deutsche Bank, with Europe and China its key markets. In America, where the brand remains an underdog, VW and other legacy automakers are concentrating fire on the sales fortress of compact S.U.V.s: Models like the RAV4, which deliver roughly four million annual segment sales. The idea, as ever, is to drive down prices and charging times of E.V.s, while bolstering driving range, until consumers see no reason to stick with polluting gasoline models whose energy-and-operating costs exceed the plug-in alternatives. Like the Rolling Stones pushing the Beatles, Mr. Keogh said, healthy competition will ultimately benefit all E.V. fans and creators. And when consumers sees E.V.s proliferate in their neighbors’ driveways, and take their first test drive, there will be no going back. “When you drive one, you’re driving the future, and that’s what people are going to want, no debate,” Mr. Keogh said. The latest electric-S.U.V. hopefuls to reach showrooms are the VW ID.4, Ford Mustang Mach-E and Volvo XC40 Recharge. The Nissan Ariya, BMW iX and Cadillac Lyriq are set to arrive between late 2021 and next March. I drove the VW, Ford and Volvo to see which might knock Tesla’s Model Y S.U.V. down a peg — or at least outsell the 2014 Leaf. Ford Mustang Mach-E Ford has branded its fabled Mustang name on an electric S.U.V., inflaming some boomers in the process. But the Mach-E seems the most straight-up rival yet to Tesla’s Model Y, in not only price and performance but also the Ford’s maximum 300-mile driving range. Consumers have noticed: Ford sold 3,729 Mach-Es in February, the first full month of sales, almost single-handedly chopping Tesla’s dominant E.V. share to 69 percent, from 80 percent. If Ford could maintain that pace for a full year, the Mach-E would easily set a sales record for an E.V. not built by Tesla. Tesla’s 326-mile Model Y Long Range still squeezes a few more miles from each onboard kilowatt-hour, owing to the carmaker’s expertise in aerodynamics, motor and battery efficiency, and to “simple” stuff that’s anything but: Its 4,416-pound curb weight undercuts the Ford by about 400 pounds. And Tesla rules the public charging space, with its Supercharger network that has rivals — now with a potential infrastructure lift from the Biden administration — racing to catch up. The Ford fires back with a sculpted exterior versus the dad-bod Model Y, a tech-savvy interior with superior materials and craftsmanship, and winning performance of its own. With 346 horsepower from dual motors, the Mach-E Premium A.W.D. that I drove shot to 60 miles an hour in 4.8 seconds. Even the new Shelby GT500 — history’s mightiest Mustang, with 760 horsepower — won’t equal the 3.5-second 0-to-60 m.p.h. blast of this summer’s Mach-E GT Performance version. The Shelby would shame the Mach-E or Tesla on any winding road, of course. Yet the Mach-E is reasonably fun through the curvy stuff, and glides with addictive thrust and confidence. A cinema-scale, 15.5-inch touch screen sneaks past the Tesla’s 15-inch unit. Like other E.V.s, the Ford broadcasts its presence below 20 m.p.h., a throat-clearing hum to alert pedestrians. Inside, in its driver-selectable “Whisper” mode, the Ford would please the most persnickety librarian. Dial up “Unbridled” mode and the Mach-E trades glorious silence for an overwrought, faux-engine sound: Think a V-8, remixed by Kraftwerk. The soundtrack is apparently for people who need to be weaned off gasoline’s combustive beat, but it can be shut off with a screen switch. E.V. shoppers can whistle over the Ford’s price, as little as $36,495, or $48,300 for the extended-range A.W.D. model. Those prices include a $7,500 federal tax credit that’s denied to buyers of Tesla (or General Motors) E.V.s, because those automakers have sold too many to qualify. So despite Tesla’s major, defensive price cuts for 2021, the most-affordable, 230-mile-range Mach-E undercuts Tesla’s 244-mile Standard Range by $6,700. A Mach-E Premium A.W.D. saves $2,900 versus a Model Y Long Range. In a surprisingly taut, compelling matchup with the Tesla, credit the government for what may be the Ford’s most alluring advantage: a $7,500 discount. Volkswagen ID.4 No, Volkswagen is not changing its name to Voltswagen, as the company briefly convinced some media and car fans in a marketing stunt gone bad. Regarding historic names, VW calls the ID.4 its most significant model since the original Beetle. But where the Beetle was a revolutionary leader, the ID.4 feels like a follower. Based on my drive, the VW can easily top its 250-mile range rating, with 275 miles within reach. A rear-drive, 201-horsepower model rolls to 60 m.p.h. in 7.6 seconds. That’s on a par with gasoline sport utilities like the Honda CR-V, but pokey by E.V. standards. Dual-motor, all-wheel-drive models arrive later this year, promising 60 m.p.h. in under six seconds. From a company famed for fun-to-drive German cars, the ID.4’s generic performance and styling are letdowns. Its infotainment system is even more disappointing: The clunky, vexing touch screen can’t touch the onscreen wizardry of the Ford, Volvo or Tesla. The VW’s snappiest performance came during a fast-charging session at a Target in New Jersey, replenishing its 77 kilowatt-hour battery from 20 to 80 percent in an impressive 31 minutes. That growing network of Electrify America chargers is funded by VW’s $2 billion, court-ordered penance for its diesel emissions scandal. And VW is offering indulgences to ID.4 buyers, with three years of free public charging. Thrifty virtues include a $41,190 base price, or $33,690 after the $7,500 federal tax break. That’s $2,800 less than the most-affordable Mach-E. It’s also less money, after credits, than a smaller Chevrolet Bolt. The more powerful ID.4 with all-wheel drive will start at $37,370, postcredit. Still, as Tesla’s triumph and Chevy’s lukewarm Bolt have proved, there’s more to electric success than an attractive price. VW is aggressively investing $80 billion to develop E.V.s, but the ID.4 feels less like a market splash and more like a toe in the water. We’ll see if VW erred by not kicking off with a recognizable design that truly connects its nostalgic, weed-hazed past to today’s green virtues: the electric ID.Buzz Microbus, due in 2023. Volvo XC40 Recharge Volvo seems such a natural fit for E.V.s. And the progressive-minded brand brings us the XC40 Recharge, an electrified take on its gasoline XC40. The Recharge is like that perfect dining table in a shelter magazine: You’re not sure why it costs so much, but you want it anyway. The Recharge’s wedgy Scandinavian styling tops every S.U.V. in this group, as does its lovely interior. That includes soft Nappa leather, versus the ascetic “vegan” materials of many E.V.s. The drive is similarly breezy, with 402 horses and a quicksilver, 4.7-second flight to 60 m.p.h. The biggest tech talking point may be Android Automotive OS: The Recharge (and Volvo’s electric Polestar 2) introduces a cloud-based Google operating system that works like a dream, with Google Maps, search, an ultra-capable voice assistant and more. (Don’t confuse this with the ubiquitous Android Auto, which simply mirrors phone apps on a car’s screen.) Several major automakers, including G.M. and Ford, plan to make Android Automotive the nerve centers of coming cars. If only the Volvo itself were as efficient. The Recharge is an electron guzzler, with a 208-mile range that seems optimistic in real-world use. I drove the Recharge in frigid New York weather, which explained some but not all of its hunger for power: No matter how I babied the throttle, the Volvo stayed on a pace for 190 miles, at best, covering about 2.4 miles for each kilowatt-hour in the batteries. I can achieve 3.6 miles per kilowatt-hour with little effort in the Tesla Model Y and above 3.2 in the Ford. Environmental Protection Agency numbers bear that out: Despite having virtually the same-size battery, the Tesla brings 326 miles of maximum range, 118 more than the Volvo. The Recharge is also expensive for its intimate size: $54,985 to start, and nearly $60,000 for the model I drove. That $7,500 federal tax break softens the blow. Yet if the Volvo indulges bourgeois buyers, they’ll also need to indulge its profligate ways. Source link Orbem News #Electric #Sights #SUVs #Tesla

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thesevenseraphs · 7 years ago

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Bungie Weekly Update - 9/21/17

This week at Bungie, we are welcoming back some old friends.

First off, if you still haven’t finished the Destiny 2 campaign, there will be some SPOILERS in this blog post. If you haven’t learned the fate of the City, yet, you should definitely go play through it right now. We’ll still be here waiting for you. Seriously, go do it now!

Now that you’ve defeated Ghaul, we are ready for a special event called

Faction Rallies. Starting on September 26 at 2 AM Pacific, you will be able to volunteer your services in support of your favorite faction, or the one that holds the loot you most desire.

We spoke with Senior Designer Tim Williams to find out what Faction Rallies is and how players can join in on the fun.

Tim Williams: Each of the factions of the Tower is having a rally to collect resources for its cause. They’re recruiting Guardians to gather supplies for their faction and destroy enemy resources. They’ll offer a suite of rewards to help the Guardians rise up against any enemy threats. As an incentive, each faction has set aside a powerful weapon to entice players to choose their side. The faction whose Guardians collect the most faction packages will be declared the winner. The winning faction will offer the weapon to everyone, but all who pledged loyalty will receive it with a huge discount as repayment for their contributions to their faction’s cause.

Arach Jalaal from Dead Orbit, Lakshmi-2 from Future War Cult, and Executor Hideo of New Monarchy will return to the Tower to ask you to pledge your loyalty. Before you can make this choice, you must first reach Level 20 and gain access to the Tower. You will only be able to pledge to one faction per character

Once you have chosen your side, your mission will be to return to the wild and complete activities in support of your faction. You can do public events, explore Lost Sectors, complete strikes, clear the raid, or compete in the Crucible. As you complete these activities, you will be rewarded with faction tokens that you can turn in for packages full of loot.

Dead Orbit

Future War Cult

New Monarchy

In addition to all of the gear on display above, each faction will be offering a special weapon as a reward to be sold if they emerge victorious. Everyone who pledged to the winning faction will be able to purchase it for 1,000 glimmer. Anyone who did not pledge can still get it, but will have to pay a higher price of 50,000 glimmer. Here’s what is up for grabs during this event.

Dead Orbit Scout Rifle

Future War Cult Pulse Rifle

New Monarchy Sidearm

You can earn faction Tokens to turn into your faction of choice all the way up until 2 AM Pacific on October 3. We will declare a winner later that day at 10 AM Pacific. Good luck Guardians, and may the best faction win!

Destiny 2 Art Parade Bungie houses a roster of incredible artists. All of the gorgeous armor, weapons, characters, environments, and everything else your eyes get to admire in Destiny 2 is created by many, many talented people. Now that you’ve had a fair chance to experience their work (we did warn you to finish that campaign), we’ve invited them to pick some of their favorite pieces to share with you. If you click any of their names, you will be able to browse even more of their beautiful creations in their personal portfolios. This is just a small sample of artists from our Art team. Hopefully we can encourage more of them to share their work with you in the future. There are some SPOILERS below if you have Destiny 2 adventures that still await you. Rosa Lee, Aaron Wehrmeister, Mike Jensen

Allan Lee, Ken Osuna

Jared Trulock, Corinne Scrivens, Dima Goryainov

Tyler Bartley, MacKay Clark

Aaron de Leon, Joshua Morrison

Lee Hinds, Ryan Choi, Chelsea Velazquez

Roderick Weise, Alex Velazquez

Ethan Scheu, An-Tim Nguyen

Andrew Hackathorn, Brandon Campbell

Jeremy Baldwin

Madison Parker, Kevin Whitmeyer

Ryan Kamins, Tony Arechiga

Dorje Bellbrook, Joseph Biwald

Thad Steffen, Mike Stavrides

Guided Raids

Guided Games will become available for seekers seeking clans to show them the mysteries of the Leviathan on Tuesday, September 26, at 10 AM Pacific. It’s just over a week into the Guided Games Beta, and we want to update you on how things are going before we open it up for those brave enough to take on the Raid.

Senior Designer Steve Dolan

is on hand to give us a better idea of how Guided Games work.

How have Guided Games been going?

Steve: So far, over 100 ,000 seekers have been guided through the Nightfall strike. Throughout those games, over 90% of Nightfall attempts have resulted in completion. Even when the activity is hard, Guardians fight it out to the end. You’re an amazing community and we love hearing stories about players meeting their new clan through Guided Games.

Some players don’t have mics, or have trouble speaking. Do they have to be in a voice chat?

Steve: Even if you’re unable to speak over a mic, being able to listen in on chat can make a huge difference in your team’s success. Nightfalls and raids are pinnacle content, designed and tuned so that communication between players is essential to success. Guides and seekers are not forced to join the same chat channel after they land in the pre-game lobby, but are strongly encouraged to do so before the fireteam leader starts the guided game. If you use in-game chat you should already all be in a chat channel together. Guides, if you’re in a PSN or Xbox party, be sure to invite your seeker to chat.

Does finishing a Guided Game version of an activity advance milestones?

Steve: Yes, even though the UI tooltip doesn’t mention the milestone, it will advance when you finish the Guided Game version of the activity.

How does a clan get punished for being a jerk?

Steve: We review all reports on clan identity information and take action on objectionable clans. If you come across a clan with an offensive name, mission statement, or motto, file a report and we’ll take a look. If you’re at the front of the queue for Guided Games, we’ll hold your spot in line until you’re done with your report.

If a clan doesn’t lead a good Guided Game, their Oathkeeper score will go down. To get credit for a good Guided Game it must either finish successfully, last as long as the activity or Guardian Oath, or end with an agreement to disband. When you get to the front of the guided game seeker queue, make sure to check out a clans Oathkeeper score before selecting them for the activity you’re about to start.

If players are being offensive to you during a gaming session, you should report that player via the in-game and console reporting functions.

What if the Oathkeeper score is blank?

Steve: We don’t give a Clan an Oathkeeper score until they’ve run at least four Guided Games of an activity. You can skip them or choose to trust a clan who has just begun to host Guided Games.

When players match with a clan, do they have to wait again if they reject that clan? What happens after they reject a clan?

Steve: We want you to be able to select a clan you want to play with. When a seeker gets to the front of the line, we show you a clan with which you have a good internet connection. If you say no to that clan, you’ll go right back to the front of the line where you will match with a new clan soon. Find one that looks good to you before clicking “accept”.

Sometimes life happens and players need to leave before they finish. How do they leave without getting an oath breaker penalty?

Steve: When you bring up your Ghost Nav Mode menu, there is an option to vote to abandon the activity. During a Nightfall, if all three players vote to abandon the guided game, the Guardian oath buff will fade and players are free to leave without penalty. If you want to stick together to try the activity again outside of Guided Games, be sure to get everyone into a platform party so that you can invite everyone to the new fireteam.

In the Know

Community Management is about more than telling jokes on Twitter. Responding to issues we diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve is a team effort. The tip of that spear is Destiny Player Support.

This is their report.

Destiny 2 Update 1.0 .3: Server Maintenance and Downtime

Destiny 2 will be taken offline on Monday September 25 for server maintenance. Players will be required to download and install Destiny 2 Update 1.0.3 upon maintenance completion.6 AM PDT (2 PM UTC): Players will no longer be able to sign in to Destiny 2.7 AM PDT (3 PM UTC): All online players will be removed from Destiny12 PM PDT (10 PM UTC): Expected maintenance conclusion, Destiny 2 Update 1.0.3 available.For steps on how to install a Destiny 2 Update, please see the Installing and Updating Destiny Guide. Stay tuned to @BungieHelp for all announcements regarding upcoming server maintenance, status, and downtime.

Destiny 2 Known Issues:

The following issues have been confirmed, and are actively being investigated by appropriate teams:

Trials of the Nine was not disabled properly at this week’s ritual reset. Moving forward, players should expect this activity to be available each Friday at 10 AM PDT through Tuesday at 2 AM PDT.

The quest step “His Highness’s Seal” is not properly incrementing when players acquire Emperor Seals.

Occasionally, objects aren’t properly spawning within the Exodus Crash Nightfall strike. Players may need to relaunch the activity for objectives to properly spawn.

Public event completions are not properly granting Clan XP upon completion.

Clan Engrams are not being rewarded to some qualifying players. NOTE: If a player leaves a clan and joins a new clan mid-week, they will not be able to earn further Clan Engrams until the following weekly reset.

If a player creates a new character after an alternate character has earned a raid key on a given week, the key will be erroneously removed from character Inventory. NOTE: Raid keys are removed, by design, with each weekly ritual reset.

Eververse: Query Failed

We have recently identified and are working with our partners to address issues that are causing some players to encounter delays in receiving their purchased Silver due to “Silver Sync Pending” or “Query Failed” errors.If a Silver purchase has been made but has not yet appeared in-game, players may need to follow the below troubleshooting steps.

Fully close the Destiny game application

Clear the console cache

Relaunch Destiny

Select any character

Silver should be credited directly to your inventory.

#Destiny #Destiny the game #Destiny 2 #bungie weekly update

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thesweatguy · 4 years ago

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Instant Knockout vs PhenQ Fat Burner Reviews | Which Is Best?

In this review, we’ll be comparing Instant Knockout vs PhenQ fat burner head to head.

The general consumer of supplements is getting wiser – this is an advantage.

Don’t waste your time picking up the product that has the best packaging or assure what you are looking for – they all so this!

Instead, search for the top fat burner ingredients and go from there.

Better still, take note of what you consider looks like a good product and do your research.

Today we are looking at the qualities of Instant Knockout and PhenQ .

The first thing we noticed about both of them is that they keep away from proprietary blends.

This is what we like to see the more open a company is about their ingredients and dosages, the better for the consumer.

Let’s get to know these two a little better to start with…

PhenQ vs Instant Knockout: Who Makes These Fat Burners?

Instant Knockout – ROAR AMBITION

The people that make Instant Knockout are Roar Ambition.

They have an excellent reputation in this supplement world.

All of their products are 100% natural and this goes for their other well-liked supplements such as their testosterone booster TestoFuel.

They have a Money Back Guarantee so they obviously back their product.

And we are pleased to say, we haven’t heard of anyone around the industry who has needed it!

PhenQ – WOLDSON BERG

This is the company behind PhenQ, although there aren’t many of information to be found on them.

Their website s minimalist yet you can find out that they research, develop and manufacture nutraceuticals.

They are based in Cyprus, making the name of the brand a little curious – Wolfson Berg doesn’t sound Greek to us.

But seriously, if they are shipping out of there then you can only hope it arrives in the time it would from the US or UK.

Here, we’ve done a quick comparison of the two fat burners to have quick insight.

Instant Knockout vs PhenQ : Which Fat Burner Wins?

Today we will be taking a look at two of the best fat burners available in the fat burning supplement industry and putting them against each other:

Read to learn who wins in Instant Knockout vs PhenQ Fat Burner comparison:

#1: Instant Knockout

Instant Knockout is a fat burning supplement made to complement your fitness journey by accelerating fat burning.

It acts as that little ‘something’ that takes on the stubborn fat in your stomach, things, arms, and buttocks.

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superfan99records · 7 years ago

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Why Super Fan 99?

Super Fan’s name comes from a line in the cult 90s comedy ‘Swingers’. “I’m gonna make Wayne Gretzsky’s head bleed for super fan number 99 over there” You can watch the clip here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaAtavKP0-4

Our first logo incorporated ice hockey sticks in reference and was designed by British illustrator Nicholas Stevenson. Our current logo was created by Chicago based artist Shaun Miller. The label was born in August 2014.

What Styles of Music Does Super Fan Release?

We love all music which can transport you to a different time and place. In the past we have released powerpop, psych, dreampop, Americana, new wave and on occasion slightly louder indie-rock type stuff too. The common through line which links all of our releases is rich melodies that you can’t shake from your head.

I Work in a Record Shop, How Can We Stock Super Fan?

Sure! We don’t have distro at this point but are happy to stock you direct at cost price. Please mail us and we can work out the best way to get our releases in your store. Contact details are at the bottom of this page.

I’m a Radio DJ, How Can I Receive Advance Music to Play on My Show?

We send out WAVs along with press releases around four weeks prior to release. All exposure is good for a tiny label like ourselves so we’d love to hear one of our tunes get a spin on your show or podcast however small it may be. Don’t be shy, drop us a line and we’ll see you are added to our mail out. Contact details are at the bottom of this page.

I’d Like to Receive Advance Copies for Review, Can I Be Added to the Press List?

Of course! As with radio we hugely appreciate all press however small, even a tweet or a repost on Soundcloud is massively helpful to help get word out. Drop us a line and we’ll make sure you are added to the mail out. Contact details are at the bottom of this page.

I’d Love Super Fan to Consider Releasing My Music, Do You Accept Submissions?

Very much so. We love hearing your music and listen to every single submission. We are always on the look out for new artists to work with but should add that to date have only released one artist from a submission. Soundcloud or Bandcamp links are preferred along with a few lines about the project. Alternatively you can go old school and use snail mail to send a tape or CD. Contact details are at the bottom of the page. If we like it we will be sure to get back to you.

I’d Like to Be Notified About Pre-orders For Limited Edition Releases, How Can I Find Out Before They’re All Sold Out?

Many of our releases are extremely limited and can sell out in a day so it is best to subscribe to our mailing list to be notified as soon as they are on sale. Drop us a line with ‘hello’ in the subject line to the email address at the bottom of the page.

What Formats Do You Release On?

We are open to releasing on all formats, the more creative the better. In the past we have put out tapes, 5” lathes, 7” vinyl, 8” lathes, 10” lathes, 12” vinyl and CD as well as digital.

What Is A Lathe?

Lathe cutting is a process which utilizes a cutting method to record sound grooves on to a disc. It is an alternative to the modern practice of pressing vinyl with metal plates. This means you can do shorter runs unlike vinyl which is often made in runs upwards of 100.

Why Are Lathe Cuts More Expensive Than Regular Vinyl?

When a lathe is cut each copy must be set up by a human and the music is played out in real time like when you dub a cassette. This ancient technique is a delicate and time consuming process, essentially each copy is unique unlike mass produced vinyl. They are however lower fidelity often with some surface noise. Many consider them to be playable pieces of art due to the care which is taken in hand making them. All of our records are cut in Tuscon, Arizona and then shipped to us in the UK. This also adds to the cost due to import charges. They are however very collectable with some of ours trading for £50 on Discogs.

What Is £100 Pop Vids?

We set up £100 Pop Vids to make music promos to help promote our releases. The first was for Queen of Jeans track ‘Dance’ From there we continued to make more and have since made videos for Lolipop, Lame-O and Burger Records bands. Every video cost under £100 to make hence the name. We enjoy testing the boundaries of DIY video making. A great idea doesn’t have to cost the world.

Can I Do Work Experience at Super Fan?

We have been asked this a couple of times which is really lovely. At current the label is essentially a one man operation run out of a small studio flat. Like many small labels it is run on top of a day job so evenings and weekends are spent keeping things ticking over. We sadly don’t have the space or need for extra people just yet but please do still say hi as there may be other ways you can get involved. We’re always keen to meet photographers, graphic designers, illustrators, videographers, basically anyone who may be able to lend their skills to future projects.

I’d Like to Book a Super Fan Band, Who Do I Speak to?

We release bands from all over the globe spanning from the UK to France, the US, China and beyond. Obviously that means on many occasions it may be difficult for a band to reach your part of the world but you never know. Their tour may just be headed your way so feel free to mail us and we can put you in touch with the artists management or agent.

What Else Does Super Fan Love Outside of Music?

(in no order) Fulham FC, Guitar Pedals, Our cat Denny, Tiki Bars, The English Countryside, French New Wave Cinema, NBA Jam, Moomins, Peanuts, Tape Machines, Buffy, Dawson’s Creek, Apple Jacks, Nudie Suits, The Duplass Brothers, John Hughes Movies, Sofia Coppola Movies, Casio Watches, Zines, Daniel Clowes, Nintendo, Greta Gerwig and Travelling by Train.

Anything Else I Should Know?

Whether you are an artist/label/promoter/blogger/dj/fan we believe music is to be shared and celebrated. It is not a competition but more an ongoing discussion in which everyone is welcome. Say hi, let’s be friends. Super Fan loves you.

E: [email protected]

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douchebagbrainwaves · 5 years ago

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YOU GUYS I JUST THOUGHT OF THIS

Excite really never got the business model right at all. She was horrified when the doctors running the study discovered what appeared to be a member of the professional classes. Did it alarm some potential acquirers that we used Lisp? Version 1 of this world. We'll have to worry not just about new things, but also about existing things becoming more addictive. The ultimate way to get market price is to work for yourself, by starting your own company. Some switched from meat loaf to tofu, and others to driving SUVs.1

And I'm pretty sure that to people 50 or 100 years in the future. But in those days the trade press expected versions, so we made them up.2 The war was due mostly to external forces, and the 2. The importance of the first varies depending on whether you have control over the whole system and have the source code of all the things we could have monotonically increasing confidence in their opinions are implicitly concluding the world is static. I'll tell you how. Trevor graduated at about the same time the acquisition closed, so in the course of 4 days he went from impecunious grad student to millionaire PhD.3 In the Valley, terrible things happen to startups all the time and we got Java applets. You make something that looks to the user like the sufficiently smart compiler you could create a situation indistinguishable from you being that manufacturer, at least not in the selection of ideas, but their production. After years of working on it for a couple days when he presented to investors at Demo Day, when the startups we funded this summer present to investors. The part that actually mattered was graphic design, not transaction processing. And when the Duplo economy happened simultaneously with the spread of computing power was a precondition for globalization or the LBO wave? To someone in their twenties today, this wouldn't seem worth naming.

If you do it? The puffed-up companies that went public during the Bubble didn't do it just because they were afraid of Google, and recently I've noticed some cracks in their fortress. There was a friend they wanted to do things that are superficially impressive.4 Startups in other places are just doing what startups naturally do: fail. Here there were 3 choices: NBC, CBS, and ABC. So it was literally IPO or bust.5 So here we have two pieces of information that I think of all the best Ajax startups before Google does.6 Instead of thinking of most places as being sprayed with the antidote. Except sinecures don't appear in economic statistics. I mean show, not tell. Ruby: Perl is a kludge. Macros in the Lisp sense are still, as far as I know all too well from being in the business call a liquidity event, and the Baumol Effect means all their peers get dragged along too.

And indeed, things hadn't changed much yet. Oddly enough, it was news to him. It's like the word allopathic. Conditionals. Once some employer breaks ranks, everyone else has to, or open them in new windows. So presumably that's what this brainstorming session was about. Everything is just incremental and you just have to do that with coworkers.

A remarkable number of famous startups grew out of some experience. A couple weeks ago I finally figured it out. Less fortunate startups just end up hiring armies of people to sit around having meetings. If life is short, as everyone knows.7 What difference did it make if other manufacturers could offer DOS too? You're an investor too. And once you understand the degree to which the startups they like are the ones that figure out new ways to give stuff away for free could be pretty high-handed about it. They don't like that idea, so now they try to get market price for their investment; they limit their holdings to leave the founders enough stock to feel the company is at least straightforward: make the search engine you yourself want. If you don't and a competitor does, you're in trouble. You can't say precisely what the miracle will be, or even that the power they wield corrupts them.8 But you have to extract parameters manually in Perl.

And the old system meant people had to deal with before. Number 6 is starting to appear in the mainstream.9 In this case, working code means a working description in the investor's head. It's practically a mantra at YC. This is what you end up with: def foo n: class acc: def __init__ self, n: self. Anything that gets you those 10,000 startup founders into the country each year could have a visible effect on the number of successful startups talked less about choosing cofounders and more about how hard they worked to maintain their relationship. You enter a whole different way of life when it's your company vs. Would we be just as likely to feel life was short if we lived 10 times as long in another language, it will seem barbaric that people in our era waited till they had symptoms to be diagnosed with cancer. They all know one another, and techniques spread rapidly between them. That's their secret. Like Facebook. And by next, I mean five years if nothing goes wrong.

Angels were generally much better to talk to. Our ancestors were giants. If they were obviously good, someone would already be doing them.10 You can demonstrate your respect for one another in more subtle ways.11 If you're a hacker and you're presenting to experienced investors, they're probably better at detecting bullshit than you are.12 Ideas 8 and 9 only became part of Lisp by accident, the frequency of helpful chance meetings in the Valley aren't automatically impressed with you just because you're starting a company to actually doing it. On the web, people can publish whatever they want. The answer, I realized, more from internal evidence than any outside source, that the ideas we were being fed on TV were crap, and I said to him, ho, you're confusing theory with practice, this eval is intended for reading, not for computing. We would have sold. In social settings, I found that I got over 100 other responses listing the surprises they encountered.13

The closest is the colloquial sense of addictive. They probably assumed we were on the same VC gravy train they were.14 But airports are not so bad: most of the time you'll find the person instinctively thinks the idea will be a great thing—so great that people in our era waited till they had symptoms to be diagnosed with conditions like heart disease and cancer.15 From far enough away, all you can see is the large, flashing billboard paid for by Sun. And that could be anything, the content of your description approaches zero. Is there no configuration of the bits in memory of a present day computer that is this compiler? In social settings, I found that I got over 100 other responses listing the surprises they encountered.

Notes

The point where it does, the more important to users than where you wanted it? In the beginning. These range from make-believe, is caring what random people thought it was one firm that wanted to go to grad school you always feel you should. Your user model almost couldn't be perfectly accurate, because they insist you dilute yourselves to set aside a chunk of stock options than any other company has ever been.

Incidentally, this is what you learn about programming in Lisp. To the extent to which the top 15 tokens, because despite some progress in the sense of getting rich from controlling monopolies, just as on a saturday, he tried to shift back. You can still see fossils of their peers.

I should degenerate from 129. But it was briefly in Britain in the original version of this type: lies told by older siblings.

The Baumol Effect induced by startups is very common for startups to be hard on Google. Earlier he'd had in school, secretly write your thoughts down in the business much harder to fix. Some genuinely aren't. Cost, again.

Which in turn means the startup eventually becomes. In principle yes, of course some uncertainty about how things are going well, but have no way to create wealth with no valuation cap at all but for a group to consider behaving the opposite way from the 1940s or 50s instead of reacting. Could you restrict technological progress aren't sharply differentiated. If you're expected to do it all at once, or grow slowly tend not to grow big in revenues without growing big in people, but I couldn't believe it or not to feel guilty about it wrong in How to Make Wealth when I said by definition this will give you such a brutally simple word is that the payoff for avoiding tax grows hyperexponentially x/1-x for 0 x 1.

It was common in, but when people tell you that if a bunch of adults had been with us he would have met 30 people he meets at parties he's a real partner. It doesn't happen often. There's not much use, because unions will exert political pressure to protect widows and orphans from crooked investment schemes; people with a walrus mustache and a list of n things seems particularly collectible because it's a bad idea was that there were about the qualities of these, because the kind of social engineering—. And when they buy some startups and not fixing them fast enough, the assembly line, the term whitelist instead of Windows NT?

For example, the startup isn't getting market price. There are two ways to make programs easy to write an essay about it.

And starting an organic farm, though I think it's confusion or lack of transparency. Distribution of income and b not allow them to justify choices inaction in particular took bribery to the rise of big companies can afford that. They could make it harder for you by accidents of age and geography, rather technical sense of being interrupted deters hackers from starting hard projects.

Whereas the value of their time on a hard technical problem. No one writing a dictionary from scratch, rather technical sense of not starving then you should avoid raising money in order to avoid variable capture and multiple evaluation; Hart's examples are subject to both. Many hope he was exaggerating.

On the other is laziness. There are still, as in a time before photography had a big chunk of this process but that's overkill; the defining test is whether you have 8 months of runway or less, then add beans don't drain the beans, and Windows, respectively. To a kid was an assiduous courtier of the crown, and they were saying scaramara instead of blacklist.

The trustafarians' ancestors didn't get rich by buying their own, like wages and productivity, but those specific abuses. It's like the word wealth.

A variant is that Digg is Slashdot with voting instead of crawling back repentant at the time I thought there wasn't, because they couldn't afford it. But it isn't critical to.

Who is being put through an internal process at work. In January 2003, Yahoo released a new database will probably frighten you more inequality. It is probably a losing bet for a name that has a significant number. Could you restrict technological progress to areas where you went to school.

Down rounds are bad: Webpig, Webdog, Webfat, Webzit, Webfug. In fairness, I have no idea what's happening till they measure their returns. Two possible and not end up reproducing some of the medium of exchange would not make a formal language for proofs in which I removed a pair of metaphors that made a lot, or your job will consist of bad customs as well use the word that means the slowdown that comes from ads on other sites.

Anything that got built this? He had such a dangerous mistake to do it. There's not much use, because she liked the iPhone too, of course.

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bigyack-com · 5 years ago

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DealBook: ‘This Airplane Is Designed by Clowns’

Good morning. The Labor Department’s job report for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern — tell us your predictions. (Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.)

Boeing takes heat for embarrassing internal messages

The airplane maker released more than 100 pages of internal messages to Congress yesterday, many of which showed employees mocking federal rules and joking about flaws in the 737 Max. It wasn’t pretty.Some of the messages:• “Would you put your family on a Max simulator trained aircraft? I wouldn’t,” one employee said to a colleague in an exchange from 2018, before the first of two deadly 737 Max crashes.• “This airplane is designed by clowns, who are in turn supervised by monkeys,” an employee wrote in an exchange from 2017.• One employee, upon learning that pilots of an earlier 737 model didn’t need flight simulator training for a 737 Max, wrote, “You can be away from an NG for 30 years and still be able to jump into a MAX? LOVE IT!!”“We regret the content of these communications,” Boeing said in a statement, adding that it was apologizing “to the F.A.A., Congress, our airline customers and to the flying public for them.”The revelations aren’t likely to help get the 737 Max flying again anytime soon. Though the Federal Aviation Administration said that the messages didn’t reveal any new safety risks, Boeing will almost certainly face more scrutiny from Congress.More: American and allied officials now believe the 737-800 plane that crashed in Iran on Wednesday was shot down by Iranian forces, probably in error. ____________________________Today’s DealBook Briefing was written by Andrew Ross Sorkin in New York and Michael J. de la Merced in London.____________________________

What CES 2020 tells us about the future

The huge electronics expo in Las Vegas ends today, after hundreds of tech companies and gadget makers unveiled their latest offerings. Many of those will probably flop, but what’s clear is that our lives will become a lot more connected, Brian Chen of the NYT writes.• “Your next car will probably connect to the internet. So will your TV and doorknobs. One day, you may even adopt a robot companion capable of analyzing its environment and reacting to your actions in real time.”• Google and Amazon highlighted the huge growth of their virtual personal assistants, with an Amazon executive saying consumers interact with its Alexa service “billions of times a week.”• Mr. Chen thinks that auto safety technology, like features that monitor drivers’ blind spots, may be the most practical thing to emerge from this year’s expo.

The streaming wars are flooding us with TV

The television industry aired a record number of scripted shows in the U.S. last year, John Koblin of the NYT writes. That’s a lot of programming — and expect that number to keep growing.Roughly 532 shows were broadcast, according to research from the cable network FX. That’s 52 percent more than in 2013, the year that the first season of “House of Cards” debuted on Netflix. (Include reality shows and daytime programming, and the number swells to more than 1,000.)It’s all because of the rise of streaming services. Netflix alone spent $15 billion on original programming last year, while offerings from Apple and Disney introduced yet more shows. HBO and NBC will add to the race when they debut their services this year.Is that a bad thing? John Landgraf, the head of FX (which is owned by Disney), thinks so:• TV programming will become more expensive. (Disney’s “The Mandalorian” cost about $100 million to make, while Apple reportedly expects to spend $150 million per season on “The Morning Show.”)• But most programs probably won’t get enough viewers to be considered successful.“The danger of the internet is that everything becomes junk food,” Mr. Landgraf said.More: Password sharing cost streaming companies about $9.1 billion last year, according to data from the research firm Parks Associates.

Ominous signs in the stock markets’ new highs

The S&P 500 hit a record yesterday. Market conditions look great. But there could be reason to worry, James Mackintosh of the WSJ notes: There’s a lot of red ink on company balance sheets.The S&P closed at 3,274.7, extending the nearly 30 percent rally that it posted last year. Matt Phillips of the NYT credits that winning streak to continuing low interest rates and high consumer confidence.Not even economic concerns like the trade war are frightening investors. “There’s nothing that tells me that we’re at a peak and the market can’t go higher,” Bruce Bittles, the chief investment strategist at Baird, told the NYT.But a lot of companies are running at a loss. Nearly 40 percent of publicly traded American businesses have lost money over the last 12 months, including Tesla and G.E., Mr. Mackintosh of the WSJ writes. That is the highest level since the late 1990s, excluding recessions.Investors should be worried that “their willingness to tolerate losses at companies promising growth has allowed many new businesses to finance losses well beyond what’s justified,” he adds.

What if Harry and Meghan’s royal split were a corporate spinoff?

The announcement by Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, that they plan to step back as senior members of Britain’s royal family has generated tons of headlines. But Jason Karaian of Quartz has fun imagining what the move might have looked like if it were a corporate deal.• “The directors of House of Windsor P.L.C. (formerly House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha A.G.) note recent speculation in the media about a spinoff of its Sussex-based operations. Discussions are at an early stage about the future of the division, which was officially formed in 2018.”• “Traditions are important to the firm but in this fast-changing global economy we acknowledge the need to be nimble. This includes altering our corporate governance when necessary.”• “Greater independence for the group’s Sussex-based operations is in keeping with the approach of other world-leading companies consolidating younger, more speculative units into dedicated divisions.”• “There will be no Q. and A. It has not been a great quarter.”More: How could Harry and Meghan achieve “financial independence?”

Revolving door

Willie Walsh will step down as the C.E.O. of International Airlines Group, the parent of British Airways, in March. He’ll be replaced by Luis Gallego, the C.E.O. of the Spanish airline Iberia.The Managed Funds Association, the big hedge fund trade group, hired Bryan Corbett from the Carlyle Group as its new chief.Citigroup named David Chubak as the head of its U.S. retail banking unit.

The speed read

Deals• Grubhub denied news reports that it was in the process of selling itself or had plans to do so. (Bloomberg)• The retirement services company Voya Financial had reportedly considered selling itself. (FT)• Occidental Petroleum plans to “significantly” cut jobs after completing its $38 billion takeover of Anadarko. (CNBC)• Rushing to take advantage of low borrowing costs, American investment-grade companies have sold more than $61 billion of bonds so far this year, double what they did during the same time last year. (Bloomberg)Politics and policy• The White House yesterday moved to allow major energy and infrastructure projects to proceed without detailed environmental reviews. (NYT)• California may seek to reach agreements with pharmaceutical companies to introduce its own prescription drugs for the state’s 40 million residents. (WSJ)• The Chamber of Commerce appears to be embracing more policy proposals favored by Democratic lawmakers. (Axios)Tech• Hackers forced the currency exchange company Travelex offline and have threatened to sell sensitive consumer data unless they are paid $6 million. (NYT)• The electric scooter company Lime plans to leave over a dozen markets and lay off 14 percent of its employees. (WSJ)• Waste from electronic devices is rapidly becoming a huge problem. (FT)• Mark Zuckerberg has stopped his annual tradition of setting personal challenges for himself. They included wearing a tie every day and learning to hunt and cook. (Facebook)Best of the rest• The Lebanese authorities have ordered Carlos Ghosn not to leave the country. (NYT)• WeWork has drastically slowed its expansion in New York City and London. (Bloomberg)Thanks for reading! We’ll see you next week.We’d love your feedback. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [email protected]. Read the full article

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lottieandlouise · 7 years ago

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The bright side: E8’s most colourful hair salon is coming for your make-up bag

Emma McCarthy talks dip-dye tips and glitter lips with Bleach London

When best friends Alex Brownsell and Sam Teasdale launched Bleach London as a one-chair salon in the back of Dalston’s WAH Nails bar, the goal was to give their pals a place to hang out and play around with some rainbow highlights while waiting for their nails to dry.

Seven years, three salons, a successful product line launch and countless pots of peroxide later, the cool, wayward rebel of London’s hair scene is at the root of the dip-dye generation.

And now, Bleach is undertaking its brightest makeover yet — beginning with the launch of a new make-up line, created by Sam’s twin sister Lou Teasdale who rose to fame as the long-time hair and make-up stylist for One Direction.

“Her experimentation with make-up fits my approach to hair,” says Brownsell. “I can’t wait to see what people come up with when they combine the hair and make-up products. It’s going to look like there was an earthquake in Dulux.”

Much like the technicolor hair dyes on which the brand was built, the 100-piece make-up range is not designed for shrinking violets. Think mix-and-match lip kits, build your own palettes, glitter shadows and strobe highlighters, all at cheap-as-chips prices.

“Initially we just wanted to create some lip kits in the iconic Bleach colours like Awkward Peach and Washed-Up Mermaid, but somehow it just turned into a full range,” says Lou. Her favourite product is the holographic elixir; “It’s really good to use as a moisturiser and I use it when stuff like my gel browliner dries out — just add a drop and it comes back to life.”

For Lou — a high-profile make-up artist with no shortage of offers from big brands to create her own line — joining forces with Bleach was a no-brainer. “I always have the Bleach customer in my head — she’s just like our mates,” she adds. “We attract a lot of alternative kids but also people who just want to buy into the anti-glam vibe of the salon.” Working with friends also allowed Teasdale maximum creativity with the collection. “We did everything ourselves. It’s great being able to create with no restrictions. Rather than scouring the market trying to find what you want, we just got to make it.”

Affordability was also key for sister Sam, the business brains of the operation. “Price has always been important,” she says. “The Bleach girl or boy might be still at school or university, or working in the creative industry, not necessarily a huge earner. Bleach achieves aspirational and accessible at the same time.” As well as make-up, the brand is launching new hair products including a softening Hair Elixir, two new colours — White Heat and Bold as Brass — and a “Too Posh To Wash” dry shampoo.

Another new addition to the brand is Georgia May Jagger — a long-term friend, fan and now business partner. “Alex and I have been working together for years — she was actually the hair assistant on my very first shoot,” says Jagger. “It’s really exciting for me to be part of it because the hair and make-up is exactly the kind of stuff I couldn’t get enough of growing up.”

A style chameleon, the model is savvy to the power of transformation. “Changing your hair can literally make your career,” says Jagger, who has previously turned her hair rainbow at Bleach’s backwash and is planning to “do pink and orange” this summer.

“If I wasn’t modelling I would probably change the colour every few weeks. As a teenager I used to experiment a lot with magenta and blue, and I never used gloves, so my hands were always stained pink.” One thing Jagger — a staunch environmentalist who works with the ocean conservation charity Project 0 — was determined to introduce was a sustainable focus. “The new Bleach line is all vegan, with recycled packaging,” she adds. “The eyeshadows come as individuals so you can choose the colours to put in your recycled pallet.”

As well as being socially conscious, Bleach is also aware of the strength of social media. Bleach and its founders have a combined reach of more than five million Instagram follows, with the images on its brand account amassing more than 100 million likes. It was through social media that the decision was made to launch in the US. “Instagram has showed us how much of a demand there is for our products internationally,” says Brownsell. “We receive hundreds of comments each month from people all over the world asking when they can get hold of the products — and this week they finally can.”

Since the launch of its consumer range in 2013, Bleach has sold more than £10 million worth of hair products in partnership with Boots, with the count of retail locations reaching 1,200. This year, the brand will start to sell in Selfridges and more than 200 Superdrug stores across the UK, along with opening a new Brixton salon.

For Midlands girl Brownsell, who began her career sweeping up hair in her mum’s salon (“shout out New Image, Daventry”), the capital was the place to chase her rainbow-tinted dreams. “I knew I had to get to London to achieve anything. It’s always changing, for better or worse — just like our hair.”

Now Bleach has found its niche as the alt-beauty anti-hero — a movement which, it turns out, is not so niche at all. “We don’t aspire to traditional standards of beauty,” says Brownsell. “So many brands push this idea of the perfect body, face or hair. Over the last seven years, I realised that beauty is just confidence and everyone has the right to experiment as much as they want to achieve it.”

Female empowerment is also manifest within the brand’s management. “I’m lucky to work with my best friends — it’s like we’re in a massive episode of The Apprentice,” says Sam, while her sister Lou adds: “There’s too much respect for what each one of us brings to the table for anything to break it up.”

Brownsell agrees: “Work is just like hanging out. We’ve got a deep love for each other that we have to remind ourselves of every time we fall out. It’s a cliché but I don’t think any of us would change it for the world. It’s funny how often men try and get involved with the business and give us advice we didn’t ask for. We’ve come this far without penises at the party... I don’t think we’ll be needing one any time soon.”

#these picture are soo nice #lou #lou teasdale #bleach makeup #alex brownsell #sam campbell #louxfam #louxpals #bleachlondonlaunch #130717 #July 17 #2017 #lou interviews #louxpress

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podpocketss-blog · 7 years ago

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Get Wireless Airpod Accessories From Online

The key note to the introduction of momentous new addition to the Apple arsenal. Cue the Apple AirPods. Apple’s first official jump into the wireless headset game despite acquiring Beats by Dr. Dre in 2014. Apple believes it can take the wireless headset industry by storm by introducing its take on wireless headsets. Despite the delay in their production, they finally made their splash early this year sparking conversations and controversies in its usage and function. Now no device is perfect neither can it do everything. That’s why third party developers took the stage to fill out the small and tiny holes of decent first generation Apple AirPod. In this article, we are going to be looking at two great innovations aimed at making the AirPod great for you and more personal.

We’ll start it off with a review of the Actual gadget.

AirPod: Quick Review

Do Apple's AirPods sound extraordinary? Not by any stretch of the imagination. In any case, they're about far more than playing music.

Before we start, let me just get all the shots out of my system when I think about the new Apple AirPods: Pardon me just a moment…

One Word, Two Syllables! Ugly! They look like modest hair dryers! Modest sweet sticks! Little beans growing! Baby golf clubs!

Ok, I Am Done!

But seriously, never have Bluetooth earphones been so natural to match. AirPods transform Siri into an inescapable being. Battery life and fit are both superior to anything you may anticipate. The AirPods sit fine in my ears, in reality, superior to the EarPods. They even remained in while I ran. The battery lasts somewhat longer than the five hours publicized. In the six days, I've had them, I've just needed to charge them one time.

What I absolutely hate about this gadget is and they ain't got no plausible excuse in my opinion. All the best elements just work with Apple stuff and they don't sound in the same class as they ought to at the cost.

Looks aren't all that matters, however, and the truth of the matter is AirPods look the way they do as a result of their most imperative component: they have no wires. There's nothing to break or tangle, nothing to connect to, nothing to get on your rucksack on your commute each and every single day. Simply sweet aural opportunity. (Without a doubt, you may lose them, yet that is your issue, not an earphones issue.)Factually, a great many people approve of the EarPods, and they'll approve of the airports as well. However, in the event that you've at any point bought a couple of earphones that cost more than $50, I'd wager they sound superior to the AirPods. In the event that you've spent more than $100, they certainly do.

A Few Months Later…

Following a couple of long stretches of utilizing the Airpods, an irregular thing continues transpiring. Despite everything I don't think AirPods sound great, regardless I don't think they look great, and a couple of their components still make me totally crazy. But, I continue winding up backpedaling to the AirPods. The case, on the other hand, didn’t bode so well. While it is still looking rather new, it has definitely lost its luster and freshness that it came with. I found like a billion scratches on the casing and it is putting me off a little but hey, it still plays and all so I guess it's lucky it’s hasn’t been tossed out yet.

For every one of their issues, Apple's twin candy sticks (I promise that was the last one) are so natural to pair, thus agreeable to wear for a considerable length of time at once, that I can disregard the many deficiencies. Now and then.

Ok so if you were listening to any word I was saying about this gadget you’ll realize that besides the ok sound it produces, I only really have a problem with the casing.

And The solution? SIMPLE

Enter The PodPocket (Really smart name for this accessory, that’s what personally drew me in)

The PodPocket

Depiction

The PodPocket is founded on the simple idea of keeping your podcast safe, healthy and never to lose them. It is a simple design that will compliment any look be it professional or casual (just depends on the color you pick) That’s right I forgot to mention that. The PodPocket comes in three characteristic sleek colors. The PodPocket comes in the first Blazing Red (the one I have), Indigo Blue and Cocoa Gray hues, and the restricted version Technicolor and Came hues, and before the year's over, Pear Green, Ash Pink, and Aqua Blue will be coming.

It is for the individuals who acknowledge both shape and capacity. The pocket is majestically shaped from a high review of silicone to give a safe fit to the AirPods charging case. The PodPocket configuration wonderfully supplements Apple's mark tasteful. It accompanies an excellent key ring and catches with the goal that it can be appended to a pack or keychain and the open access to the base permits charging while the AirPods are still in the PodPocket. (it sounds just as awesome as it sounds. Trust me)

On the off chance that you are anything like me, having spent a considerable lot of money to arrange the Apple AirPods, the exact opposite thing you would need is to lose or even lose your AirPods. Close by the astounding sentiment liberating yourself of Apple's great wired headphones, the primary concern pundits have pointed with Apple's new AirPods is that they are helpless to being lost, a dread that isn't lost on me.

Functionality

Looking to discover approaches to secure my little venture, I went over PodPocket, a clever case-with-keyring for your AirPods. That way, I can safely keep my AirPods coupled up with my auto and house keys, in a stylishly satisfying case that snugly fits my AirPods. In this article, I survey the PodPocket for seven days and perceive how it charges amid my consistent undertakings.

The First Week

Going through seven days with the PodPocket, I can sincerely say it was obviously, a similar feeling I had from the very beginning to day seven. The silicon case with key chain, fitted my AirPod case snuggly, without the dread of it dropping out which is the purpose of binds your keychain to your AirPods. It fit truly perfectly, it didn't obstruct access to the best lock to get to the cases and does not meddle with the charging port.

Fixing to my auto keys, it comes wherever I go, giving me access to it whenever I need, in my left-take pants as opposed to having it concealed somewhere in an office drawer. Worked from what is by all accounts to a great degree solid material, after seven days it doesn't hint at any wear and looks as new as the principal day I got it.

The best part, having it physically paired with my keys implies I won't lose my keys either. The last update to iOS stretches out the “FindMyPhone” to incorporate scanning for your AirPods, so on the off chance that you went out, you can look for it alongside the AirPods.

Fun Fact

They have had stunning accomplishment on Amazon offering more than 30k units all around, and in deed are the most elevated appraised AirPod case on Amazon. The PodPockets cost $19.95, a deal considering the cost of supplanting lost or scratched cases of the AirPodaccessories.

The Verdict

I was totally sold from the very first moment when I got my PodPocket, and following seven days, requested another, Cocoa Gray just to change it up every now and then. I was one of the first to get the AirPods the day it turned out, and being as cautious about my gadgets I needed to guarantee I had a case to ensure it. Bending over as more than a case, however daisy-bind to my keys, I additionally won't lose my AirPods, at a cost I’m alright with, $19.95, I absolutely was not disillusioned.

I haven't discovered anything on the web that would make me take a gander at another case or coupling answer for my AirPods, so this practically goes unchallenged in the commercial center.

We were clowning around about how some organization expected to make a rope extra for Apple's new AirPods, well someone dog on went and did it. So let’s take a look.

AirPod Strap

The fact with the airpod accessories is that with two loose and free wireless earbuds it looks likely and will appear to be anything but easy to lose. And minutes after the fact one emerged, Spigen and many other outlets took on the idea that you may want work out while you listen and enjoy your music.Basically, it puts a wire between your AirPods so you can keep them sticking around your neck like a commonplace remote in-ear earphone that has a string between the buds.

The AirPod Strap appears to overcome the AirPods greatest offering point (that they're absolutely wire-free), yet hello, it's just $10, and you can clearly evacuate it at whatever point you need to live more perilously.

There isn’t much to say about these straps but they are good and will definitely enhance your usage because what you see is all you get with these accessories so they’re not much look at. And they won’t do much for you style wise. But who is going to be looking at your ears while on the treadmill? I know I won’t but that’s just me.

#airpod accessories #apple earpods wireless

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