#the comparison with my engineer is truly true

[masterdetectivexx]

Hi Detective, what did you think of Movie 26?

Movie 26 (Black Iron Submarine) Review

Raw feelings:

I'm completely speechless by this movie. It was way beyond any of my minimal expectations. It was extremely good!

I was baffled out of pure disbelief at how much main plot stuff they were revealing in this movie to the point that my brain fried. You could immediately feel that it was a movie you needed to rewatch multiple times in order to fully digest and appreciate its greatness. It was pure fanservice in the best way possible, not the botched M20 way, where fanservice scenes didn't feel earned, mystery being completely gone and main plot/cast characters getting sidelined. Everyone had their moment to shine.

After 15 years, I get a DC movie that finally topped M13 as my new all-time favorite DC movie. I was so thoroughly satisfied that I couldn't help but clap at the end.

Haibara (Sherry)

Haibara truly shined in this movie. Not only did she have proactive role in rescuing herself, Naomi and later Conan, but her personal romantic feelings, childhood past and current relationships with her dear friends were further fleshed out. I was floored by the degree that she got exposed, to the point of the OG antagonist Vodka standing right in front of her next to Pinga, ready to kidnap her, and then later interrogating her about her identity.

I truly adore how the movie also revealed what started the bullying she went through in America (protecting her fellow half-japanese) and how Naomi's story complimented Haibara's childhood. It was a beautiful touch having Haibara's childhood classmate Naomi realizing Haibara's true identity by the end of the movie.

I also love how the movie depicted how highly Haibara viewed Conan/Shinichi and his protective reassuring face. It was cute seeing her face light up with happiness when he showed up. I was shocked, but also very appreciative of how respectful she was trying to be of Shinichi's relationship with Ran (more than the fandom clearly) that she went to the degree of passing on her CPR kiss with Conan to Ran.

Mizunashi (Kir)

Kir was one of the big standouts in this movie. You could truly feel the shift in spotlight focus between her and Bourbon, seeing as Bourbon was truly put in the backburner for Kir to get more shine, and it was perfectly handled and a true overdue for her (since she has been neglected in the franchise overall). I couldn't stop grinning and appreciate her nonchalant stunts to aid in Haibara's escape by pretending to not know how to open the exit tube in the submarine so Vodka could thoroughly explain it as Haibara overhears everything through the transmitter.

I especially loved her less indirect and confrontational move towards Gin, when she directly interferred with his murder attempt of Haibara & Naomi, and how she calmly talked back at Gin when he aimed the gun at her. She was a true badass worthy of her NOC title, that I've longed to see in the series, only to get it in this wonderful movie.

Pinga

I really enjoyed Pinga's role in the movie as well, and especially appreciated how he wasn't written to be similar to Irish and Curacao (who had a more sympathetic antagonist development) but rather to be a more selfish greedy psychopath with more ambition than Gin, but less talented. It was interesting to learn how he was deep undercover as an engineer for interpol since 5 years back while disguised as a woman.

I especially enjoyed seeing his fights with Ran, and how she became a troublesome enemy for him (giving Ran good spotlight like in M13), as well as how Conan straight up shit-talked to him while giving Gin praise in comparison, to the point of riling Pinga up.

Vermouth

Vermouth was the true MVP in this movie. She had such a central role in saving Haibara from the organization's suspicion. It was extremely exciting to see Vermouth immediately sensing the potential of Naomi's All-age Recognition System (ARS) and how it could expose the boss identity and whereabouts, but more importantly to her, expose Shinichi's shrinking, that she'd rather keep hidden like a pandora's box. I was shocked and loved how she manipulated the Boss into giving her the order to destroy the ARS for his own sake, when she in reality wanted to not only conceal the current APTX shrinking effects from him, but also protect Shinichi. The way she used her disguising skills to invalidate the ARS' accuracy was just a genius move by her.

The biggest surprise to me was how she was revealed to be the old woman from the start in disguise, who was given the sale ticket for a Fusae brand brooch by Haibara out of selfless kindness, and how Vermouth was basically revealed to also be repaying that kindness back to Haibara by protecting her from the BO, further deepening her motivations and multi-faceted nature in such a beautiful way as she gazes at the confused Silver Bullet (Conan) who is questioning them after getting Bourbon's intel.

Rum & Karasuma Renya

The Biggest shocker in this whole movie was without a doubt the big reveal that Rum, the no.2 of the Black Organization, is unaware of the Boss' whereabouts in recent times and that, apart from having Pinga request Naomi to sell the ARS to them so they can modify it and also use it to erase the BO's activities in security cameras (according the boss' orders), had intended to use the ARS to locate Karasuma Renya (the Boss).

This was a huge bombshell reveal, yet to be revealed in the manga, that further clarified the current ongoings within the organization. It basically as good as confirmed that the Boss is hiding a de-aged form from his subordinates (including his very close associate, Rum) and that no one other than Vermouth is aware of his hidden whereabouts. This revelation is further supporting my "Child of seven (Nanatsu no ko)" theory (the Boss being a shrunken 7-year-old who is only contacting his subordinates through phone to hide his child appearance and maintain authority). This also further established a distrustful relationship between Karasuma Renya and Rum, seeing as the Boss has kept Rum out of the loop, and how Rum has persisted to locate the Boss against his wishes, creating a very small divide within the organization's power structure. This is extremely exciting for the future of the series and has gotten me very hyped for what's left of Rum's development in the Rum climax.

Conclusion

This movie was overall a 10/10 product, that gave all the fans outstanding fanservice. Conan's devotion to save Haibara, Ran's supportive contribution to the point of almost getting shot, Agasa's deeply moving heartfelt tears after Haibara's kidnapping, Kuroda's helpful backing of Conan, Bourbon's informational support and Akai's loyal aid in taking down the submarine were all just the tip of the iceberg. All the beautiful callbacks to canon events were also among the best of the fanservice. I especially loved Haibara's callback to how a child (Ayumi) had once changed her life through their actions (File 437), Pisco kidnapping her despite wearing glasses (File 240), Ran reminding Haibara of Akemi (like in File 434), Kir's callback to her father sacrificing himself for her in response to Naomi's cry (File 604) and all the moments Haibara recalled when Conan comforted and moved her (Bus hijack, Haibara intro, Reunion, etc).

Gosho's involvement in the story was clearly noticeable, just by the sheer quality of the movie, and all of his many drawn keyframes were beautiful.

Screenshots

[artbyblastweave]

Gideon the Ninth Liveread: Chapter 10

Harrow is still missing in action. Noted casually, because Gideon doesn't care per se, but this is absolutely a length of seperation that would be setting off alarm bells within any other necro/cavalier pair; for all her complaints about Gideon not being able to maintain the charade, Harrow's lack of regard for Gideon strikes me as the fundamentally weak link in their plan, most likely papered over only by the fact that the other houses have no frame of reference for how the Ninth conducts it's operations. Also, I’ve had the thought that the other houses might not care; the whole "fake cavalier" thing seems tailored to the scrutiny of a social environment much more heavily populated. Harrow was gearing up for some real court intrigue, but Harrow and Gideon are marooned with just 16 named characters, all of whom have their own shit going on.

Funny aside; Gideon doesn't know what Fish are.

More details on skeleton mechanics. Harrow's specific skill at boneology (and that line I've seen floating around, "we do bones, motherfucker" is shoring up my growing belief that each of the houses has a Hunger-games-like arbitrary speciation in their flesh magics; it's a sign of great skill when you can get skeletons up and running without the assistance of connective tissues or any other fleshy bits. This is potentially a cultural engineering thing- an attempt to delineate between living slave-and-indentured-servant castes and pure robotic servitors. An attempt to head-off the exact bullshit Harrow is pulling with her parents, in other words.

Trying to guess which house this new antagonistic house is. First, second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth are accounted for; this is either sixth or eighth. I get the sense that the necro may have artificially arrested their aging somehow, and with it possibly their emotional maturity/brain development? It would explain at least in part their Cav's disgruntlement. Or maybe the fact that the Cav has actually clearly seen a ton of use as a meat shield while the Necro is in silk and chain-mail too thin to fulfill its function. Actually, this looks like the only pairing thus far that’s seen real action. Most of the rest are kids, or Magnus, who does not, you know. Have the vibe of a guy who’s experienced true horror.

Gideon's reaction to the necro's thousand-yard stare is telling; her recollection of Crux, of Sister Lachrimorta, of the Reverend Parents, all emphasize this need to be wanted; to be of use; Crux's version is painful because it conveys disappointment, the Reverend Parents because they convey fear. And as she leaves the dining hall, her response to the Lyctor Trials is that she feels "suckered;" she isn't wanted here, she isn't useful here.

"The Stinging Slap in the face that she didn't even have Harrow." Okay, here we get a sign that Gideon views Harrow as a comforting absolute even if she nominally hates her. I've been wondering more than a little what the hell the grounds for a turnaround in their relationship were going to be; here we get a single inch of concession. (Also, open call to the peanut gallery- what does/did the insufferable discourse surrounding this relationship look like? Abuse apologia? Power Dynamics? This whole series feels like a hotbed of Facewearer discourse.)

Okay, my Bonesaw assessment of Dulcinea swells in its hold on my mind. She wanted in on Gideon's personal brand of suffering because it seemed like a romantic way to die, and lost interest because of the aesthetic mismatch. I'm inclined to say that this is callous towards Gideon's situation but given Dulcinea's state it feels like a grass-is-greener situation more than anything truly appropriative.

So the seventh house deals with... reversing aging? Arresting the spread of disease? Or the progression? This is mentioned to be a hereditary issue, so perhaps their brand of necromancy was influenced by 10,000 years of trying to counter what’s happening to Dulcinea. And, as a point of comparison, I can imagine that both Ninth and First House’s skill with bone automatons developed downstream of their chronic manpower problems.

Dulcinea twigged to the sword discrepancy. This makes sense; Her Cav is proportioned like a super mutant and seems unlikely to have exclusively trained with toothpick rapiers. I’m not sure if Dulcinea is the only necro who's capable of noticing this discrepancy at a glance- there are other fairly militaristic houses present- but she’s certainly the only one paying enough attention to Gideon specifically to notice.

Okay, Protesilaus is back. He reports that something is shut. What’s shut? Dulcinea sits and looks harmless, and she can afford to because she’s got her Cav off executing her plans for her, whatever they are.

So, final roundup! I sense a love interest. Noting, belatedly, that the very first thing Dulcinea does is give Gideon an opportunity to be helpful; and through this whole sequence it becomes clear that Gideon just kinda... does stuff if people ask nicely and make her, specifically, feel wanted and useful. She gets chased out of the dining hall, painted as a wrong and intrusive Thing, and moments later falls head-over-heels for the first person who makes her feel actively desired, even just for rote manual labor. Dulcinea’s appraisals of Gideon have this real.... charge, a suspicious charge, I felt like I was watching a spider wrapping up a fly with every request Gideon granted- and there’s a level on which it’s very sad, because a person less starved for affection would find being approached like this off-putting. Dulcinea is rotating her like a specimen! But to Gideon it’s a fantastic experience for reasons she doesn’t even have the vocabulary to articulate. I can’t picture her instinct being to confess everything at the slightest provocation to anyone else on this rock. 

Notably, however, I never have to hurriedly scroll past any posts about Gideon and Dulcinea being cute together- and unusually for this series, I have no idea why that is. This is one of the few elements of this story I’m experiencing completely blind, and I’m extremely excited to learn whatever fucked up circumstances lead to Harrow pulling ahead of Dulcinea as the intuitive romantic lead.

[pixelgrotto]

Dogmatic Dungeon Master

The last four weeks of my gaming time were consumed by Dragon's Dogma 2, an extravagana that's something like experiencing a wild D&D campaign that keeps going off the rails over and over again. (I'm pretty sure Capcom would be pleased with this comparison, seeing that they released promo art heavily based on AD&D's classic Red Box.)

DD2 has been a delight to devote 100+ hours to, and I find myself wishing I'd bought its predecessor ages ago, especially during those Steam sales where it sold for ridiculous prices like three or four dollars. I never did because I thought it looked sort of generic. Joke's on me! To be fair, this second one could also be described as looking generic upon first glance (though Capcom's RE Engine is certainly proving that it's got legs since Resident Evil 7), but I feel like that was an intentional decision. The goal here was clearly to create something with the trappings of the iconic Western fantasy setting (plus the inclusion of cat people, AKA Beastren) to draw players in and get 'em comfortable before presenting them with one of the most wacky open worlds in recent memory.

How's it wacky? Well, DD2 has a billion different systems under the hood, all colliding with each other. There are the systems that dictate the schedules of NPCs, who you can find wandering roads and getting into fights with enemies. Said enemies have their own systems, and on more than one occasion when I was fighting one of the game's huge bosses (drakes, golems, minotaurs, ogres and the like), that fight spilled over into the territory of another boss, who proceeded to attack both me and the first boss. A kaiju rumble ensued as the systems of both bosses collided with each other, and sometimes this rumble veered too close to the borders of a settlement, attracting the attention of pawns, which are basically the sidekicks assisting the game's main character, the Arisen.

If you're playing online, pawns created by other players can randomly appear in your game, and there were many special moments when I ran into a bizarrely off-proportion thief with the incredible name "Frog Nasty" and a half-naked mage dubbed "Lucy Liu." On one such occasion, Frog and Lucy joined my ever-evolving kaiju battle, and the incredible chaos continued until a griffin just happened to swoop down from the sky to snatch me up in its arms. As I went in the sky, I proceeded to climb atop that griffin’s head and smacked it silly with my mace until it dropped me into the ocean where I was devoured by Brine, AKA DD2’s in-world explanation for why you can’t just swim everywhere.

My description of this incident is no exaggeration. Unscripted mischief of this ilk happens every five minutes in this game, and it's the result of all those systems smashing into each other with delicious gusto. That said, not all of the systems work as well as they should, and some are half-baked. For instance, there's a romance/affinity system that's a carryover from the first Dragon's Dogma. The affinity levels of characters are never truly explained, and you can unexpectedly cause random people to fall in love with you by giving them the right gifts again and again, or completing their sidequests at the expense of others. This means that the Vernworth tavern keeper, who plays no important role at all, can suddenly show up in the final cutscene as your true heart's desire, in the clutches of your mortal enemy. I guess even when DD2's systems are half-baked, they still yield entertaining results.

As someone who runs a lot of tabletop RPGs (but often doesn't get the chance to act as a player), Dragon's Dogma 2 truly reminds me of a dedicated Game Master who doesn't mind when players test limits. This is a GM who clearly loves madcap battles full of unexpected twists that can take up an entire gaming session, as well as expansive side quests with more flavor than anything else in the campaign. The main story is not said Game Master's preference, which serves as a handy explanation on why you can find many Reddit threads decrying DD2's plot as kinda blah.

I get these complaints. The game's main missions are not terribly long - 40 or so hours, probably - and the clear meat of DD2 is in the exploration and combat. This isn't to say that the story's total rubbish, as it does have poignant moments in its cyclical, meta take on an Arisen who rises up every couple of years to complete a destiny of fighting the titular dragon. There's a secret endgame that also delves even farther into the tabletop RPG comparisons, giving you the chance to "defy the Dungeon Master," if you will, sending the campaign even further off the rails as you potentially see what happens when the GM just has no shits left to give and decides to turn the world into an apocalypse.

All of this makes DD2 probably one of my favorite open world games. I've been thinking a lot about what sort of open worlds attract me, since I'm a firm believer that more often than not, video games don't need to go all massive. (Give me a small-scale, well-developed area over a massive map filled with junky quest markers.) That said, I've noticed that I like open worlds that buck the Ubisoft-style trend of having busywork for really good writing (The Witcher 3 comes to mind) or simply invest in their mechanics to the point that everything fills up like a wonderful sandbox, with lots of bits and bobs to play with (that would be The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild).

Dragon's Dogma 2 is definitely more on the kooky sandbox side of things, with its oversized monsters at every turn and wonderous pawn shenanigans. The true appeal of this game, however, lies in the little stories that you create with your main pawn and other pawns along the trail. There's something special in the relationship you forge with these AI allies, who aren't real in the slightest, but bring forth that feeling of being a Game Master yourself as you corral them into taking down a drake. I was downright emotional when I said farewell to my main pawn at the end of the game (okay, the fact that I designed her to look like my wife probably helped, but still).

So here's to Dragon's Dogma 2, a wild piece of entertainment commandeered by a Game Master who clearly loves the journey more than the destination. Here's to those moments when you and your loyal pawns are facing down an ogre in its lair, or just barely survive a golem's laser beam after a series of hobgoblins stunlocked you into low health over and over again. Here's to sitting by a campfire, enjoying an unpredictable open world, and realizing the grand truth that comes with all tabletop RPGs - that the unscripted moments truly are the best part of the adventure.

[il-predestinato]

milton keynes’ finest sounds very interesting…very interesting indeed, love the idea!

An anon left a message in my inbox almost A YEAR AGO saying that people kept saying Kimi's race engineer sounded a lot like Charles. It really stuck with me and thus race engineer!Charles fic was born! I stole the tentative title name from "Piltover's Finest" (ship name for Caitlyn/Vi... any Arcane fans out there?).

It's still very much a WIP but if anyone is interested, here are a few snippets.

Title: Milton Keynes' Finest

Pairing: Driver!Max/Engineer!Charles

Excerpt #1:

Charles had nothing but criticism over the analysis of his FP1 and FP2 lap times. He was unfailingly polite, as if carefully ensuring that Max could find no fault with his manners and bemoan to Christian (not that Max was a tattletale - he huffed at the thought), but he found fault in almost every corner and straight, in both the short runs and the race runs.

“There isn’t an extra tenth to be found through turns 1-3.” Max finally could not hold his tongue anymore.

“My analysis of your entry into turn 2 and exit out of turn 3 suggests otherwise,” came the ever polite response. Charles’s piercing green eyes issued a challenge. “Take the entry you used on lap 13 - it’s perfect but you shorted the corner out of 3. Now if you combined that with the exit out of 3 that you took on lap 29, that’s where the extra tenth will come from.”

Max threw up both hands in frustration. “You’re not making sense. A minute ago you compared it to Checo’s racing line and said his was optimal. He did the exact same thing out of 3.”

To combine the entry he used on lap 13 with the exit he took on lap 29 was … well, if not impossible, then driving on a razor’s edge.

Something flashed across Charles’s eyes, and his brow creased into a frown for the first time. “The line was optimal for Checo, that’s true,” he informed Max coldly. “But you’re capable of more. Or am I wrong about you?”

Max wanted to strangle him.

-

The most irritating thing about Charles is that Max ends up proving him right.

The whole thing was a trap. To prove him wrong, Max would have to fail to go faster. And there has always been a part of him that recoiled at the thought that he had somehow reached his ceiling, that this version of him was the finished product, all too ready to be tossed aside in lieu of new talent.

Nevertheless, he was practically spitting mad by the end of FP3. Charles would not shut up on the radio. He refused to give Max the space to process. Charles was clever enough not to speak to him in the high speed corners, never crossing the line into truly aggravating or dangerous territory. But that further irked Max. His new race engineer was so deliberately calculating, clearly well-briefed in advance, that no true fault could be found with his communication, and yet Max had never felt so demeaned in his skills.

He thought GP was stoic and reserved, never lauding him with too much praise. By comparison to Charles, GP was practically effusive in encouragement.

“Your gain in the last lap was 0.2,” intoned Charles as Max crawled into the pitlane with grinding teeth and a tense grip on his steering wheel. “Our target is 0.3.”

Soon his target would be Charles’s vocal cords. At least he was now certain that British accents are far less annoying than French accents.

Excerpt #2:

Temporary race engineer, he kept reminding himself in order to maintain his sanity.

Because he hasn’t even made it through the whole race weekend with this impossibly aggravating individual, and he’s not sure he will survive to see the next race weekend. He’s already drafted his resignation letter for Christian.

Dramatic did not suit him, but desperate times -

To his dismay, his usually indulgent team principal laughed at him.

Dismissively.

“Come on, Max, give him a chance,” he chided, as if he found nothing of value in the well-crafted ten minute rant that Max just bestowed upon him. “He's a prodigy - Adrian Newey’s prized disciple. He was head-hunted by Ferrari, McLaren, and Alpine. We are lucky that he chose to stay with us.”

Max rolled his eyes. “Yeah, perfect. A prodigy at annoying me.  Did you hear him during Qualifying?” He didn’t usually let anything linger, but even talking about it brought back a grimace of irritation. He mimicked the French-accented voice: “‘No, Max, focus on turns 7 and 9 where you need two extra tenths each. You let me worry about the leader’s times.’ Like honestly, what the fuck, Christian. I want the lap times. He acts like it’s a fucking secret, and then lectures me. It’s unbelievable.”

He is most definitely not being dramatic.

(Okay, fine… so he got pole position, and yes - it was because he gained a few extra tenths in turns 7 and 9… but still - it’s the fucking principle of it. Because fuck that guy, and hopefully Christian doesn’t mention the pole position thing -)

“Well, you topped Qualifying, didn’t you?”

Damn it.

He then tried another approach. “He’s arrogant.”

Christian raised a single wordless eyebrow, and well... Max sort of had that one coming to him.

“Why can’t we send him back to the factory?” he suggested instead, which he thought was a perfectly sensible decision. That’s where Charles Leclerc came from, and he should be promptly banished from whence he came. If Charles was indeed an oh-so-gifted aerodynamicist and ICE expert as they all claimed him to be, then he can rant about shaving a few tenths off this and that corner into the void of the wind tunnel - because seriously, fuck him and fuck that snide French accent.

“He’s going to be your race engineer until GP is ready to return.” Christian’s voice was terse and left him no room for argument. “These are Helmut’s orders.”

[meanscarletdeceiver]

So in the first story in the Stepney book, the dynamic between Percy and Douglas is really interesting. (Especially when I edit it almost beyond recognition, lol.)

Coz they're talking about, well, you know, how there's an actual genocide of steam engines going down on the mainline. And in such a conversation you'd think Douglas would be the more grounded and worldly, yeah? Coz he's fresh from that frying pan, himself. Or maybe you'd recall that, after all, it's definitely Donald who is the brain of our Caledonians, and predict that actually Perce and Douggie are on a level.

But in fact, in this of all conversations, it's Percy who strikes me, again and again, as the more aware and open-eyed of the two. And it's all the more remarkable because Percy himself is really playing up this "oh don't ask me 🙃 I am but a simple saddletank, I do not understand the ways of the cruel and confusing outside world 🙃 I like to sing daft songs and think as little as possible 🙃" shtick to the hilt. But... what he says and how he says it doesn't bear this out at all? He got the gist of what the Fat Controller told them at the staff meeting perfectly well, thanks. The "nuance" and correction in the author's note is literally corporate propaganda and Percy is right to have tuned that line out. And he is not insensitive at all to their mainland counterparts, he feels deeply for them, but he also shows a lot of sense about how he conducts himself. Douglas has been happy to ignore any updates on the mainland situation till now—I'm not criticizing him, just pointing out that in comparison Percy has in fact paid attention and kept himself well-informed even though he goes on living his best life on Sodor. Perce is doing fine. He's excited about their visitor, as he gets excited by most grand events, but it's actually Douglas who starts immediately romanticizing and lionizing this new idol in a way that I find kind of naive...

D: 'He's sooo brave to travel among all those hordes of murderous diesels just to see us! 😍'

P: '... He has his Controller with him??'

D: 'SHORT 🤩 KING 🤩'

Douglas can't comprehend the idea of getting to Sodor with official permission, lol. Also, lookit him—he's already thirsty for Oliver before he ever meets him! My man is actually out here projecting his boyfriend fantasies onto a celebrity. How this lucky, lucky bastard had said fantasy just materialize in front of him in the moonlight at Barrow yards is beyond me. Douglas the Bullshitted His Way Onto the Island of Sodor Engine was truly built under a lucky star.

Mind you, I think Percy is right there being a short king. Like, Douggie. My babe. The way you immediately take Percy's remarks about 'it's really sad what's happening to our poor brethren on the mainland 😓' to 'yeahhh, fuckin' diesels, man. they're all devils' at the speed of light? Now I am criticizing you. Like I understand where you got this attitude but I am disappointed at your machine racism.

But Percy? Percy 💖. I will eternally love him for at once calling his friend out. 'douggie, what the fuck? you know that's not true. can it.' Like he's not super assertive about it and he doesn't press the point. But he does instantly drop the whole "i am so clueless and WHIMSICALLLL hehe" persona he'd been playing literally one second before to just speak directly and intelligibly and to the point—and he nails it. Douglas can't separate his fears about scrap from his feelings about diesels but Percy's is basically all 'it's literally so easy to not be a dick... so don't.'

[lafortis]

i'm a bit of a lights novice. are most of the lights you use LEDs? are incandescents still kicking around? is there some other tech in the lights world i don't know about?

this is actually a great question! the answer is, mostly LEDs but it depends! and now you've activated my trap card (low-level lights autism) and under the read more will be a more in-depth answer

from the pre-history of lights until, say, the late 2000s, every light pretty much had a high-intesnity discharge lamp in em, specifically (at least in america) starting with this guy:

basically, true "incandescents" only ever existed on big stages for performances in the form of PAR Cans,

and only for lower wattages, cus they're just inefficient and suck, basically. most PAR Cans are still tungsten halide or better, because they gotta be bright, and afaik there's never been a moving head incandescent, because things like heat and brightness are ever an more compounding concern in moving fixtures because every ounce of cooling is more weight on the motors.

so basically, if we consider high-intensity discharge lamps (more broadly shortened to "tungsten discharge" in the industry because all the electrodes are tungsten and who honestly cares what gas is in there anyway) to be the industry's definition of a "conventional" or "incandescent", then yeah, they're still used to this day, because while LEDs have been being broadly adopted since, say, 2007, it's only very recently that they've begun to truly compare with tungsten on every level.

until the last 5 or 10 years, it was still the case that if you wanted anything that needed to be really goddamn bright (for example, a blinder, which is what it sounds like, or a strobe, which needs to be as bright as possible because you're only seeing it for whatever percentage of a second at a time, or a skylight, which is for killing passing pilots and everyone on board), you'd still be using tungsten discharge, because they were the best and most efficient way to get THAT bright. they're still often referenced as a comparison point in new marketing for lumens/watt and maximum luminous output, and lots of modern fixtures have a tungsten emulation mode, which changes the way the LED dimmer/colour temperature responds as it dims up or down, to emulate the way that tungsten behaves (because we all just miss it so much, i guess).

basically, to give you a (slightly tilted) idea of the splay of lamp types throughout the industry, here's Robe's (pronounced Roh-bee, because they're misanthropic Czechs who just want to make us suffer) product lineup as of April 2024:

don't ask about the laser light source, those are new and very very cool and very very cutting edge. the digital source is basically just a moving projector, which is also very very cool but not what we're talking about here

but basically, "white source LED" is what I would think of as the "standard" model of moving head that's "not an LED" fixture, which is to say, there's only one LED (or one LED engine, i.e. multiple LEDs on a single board to get more brightness), and it's being used just like how a convetional lamp would be used, that is to say being used as a light source and nothing else.

multispectral LEDs are basically the same thing, but with the ability to control the colour temperature (i.e. how "white" the white is vs how "natural" it looks) with near-scientific precision, as compared to something like an RGB led, which will never really get you a good 5600K, it'll just be kinda piss yellow, or a white LED, which is just white and has to rely on colour filters put on top of it to filter out the light (which is fine but you only get a couple of those and they're never the ones you want). this is mostly for film or theatre applications, especially film, where the exact colour temperature of the light source is pretty much the number one concern.

multisource LEDs are basically a big fuckoff array of LEDs that can be controlled individually to make fun big stuff, e.g. the Robe Tarrantula

basically these exist on a sliding scale from "i can do some things to some of these LEDs in banks of 3, 5 etc" to "this might as well be pixel mappable," or in some cases actually is (flashing lights CW for this video, it's literally the product showcase for a strobe light, i tried to timestamp to not go directly to any flashing parts but nonetheless):

most often these are "wash" lights, i.e. lights with much bigger heads to fit much bigger and wider lenses, since it's utilizing many more lower power LEDs, and you need space for all those to fit.

finally, the discharge lamp section, while small, is mighty; the Robe Pointe series is one of the most common, most beloved high-end fixtures in the industry today. they're apparently mercury halide, not tungsten, so hey, the fuck do i know, but yeah. they're similar in a lot of ways to their white LED source compatriots, but i think brighter for the same price point (of course, the prices aren't actually on their website; at this price manufacturers are generally all b2b), and kinda just sexier in certain ways. i think. idk, i'm in the price point where i'm not super experienced with these fixtures lol, but that's my understanding

HENNYWAISE, there ya go :3

[talesfrommedinastation]

OC Time: Dr. Sjael Drummer

Name: Sjael Drummer, Ph.D 

Nickname/s: Sesata (Tanke, Miriam, Timon, Naomi), Shay-Bay (Tanke), Mama (Meg), Auntie (Tro, Blid, Haber), mi toki (“my laugh” in Lang Belta, Tech), Waffle Cones (Amos Burton, Jim Holden), Dr. D (Her assistants)

Age: 27(at beginning), 30 (at end) 

Species: Human (Belter)

Height: 6’4 (shorter build for a Belter due to growing up with some gravity and better nutrition)

Weight/Build: 155 lbs, slender with wiry muscles  

Gender: Female Pronouns: She/Her

Hair: Wavy dark brown, shaved on sides for access to helmet. Often wears in braid, or in ponytail

Eyes: Dark brown, almost black, very large for her long, oval face. 

Sexuality: Straight 

Relationship status: Single (at beginning), married (at end of Far Past the Ring).

Family: Tanke (sister), Timon (BIL), Miriam (SIL), Blid (nephew), Tro (niece), Haber (nephew), Lyse Roose (mother, dead), Dr Aki Drummer (father, dead), Anang Drummer (uncle, dead), Camina Drummer (cousin), Omega 'Meg' Drummer (daughter).

Occupation: Post Doctoral Chemical Researcher (at beginning), Senior Chemical Engineer of Medina Station (at end) 

Current location/from: Medina Station/Ganymede, Sol System 

Voice: Mezzo, with a light Belter lilt  

Personality: Despite being raised in a ferociously independent, proud Belter family, Sjael is a sweet natured, bright person who genuinely sees the better side of most people. She considers it a duty and honor to care for others, and sees this as an inevitable part of growth in the Sol system. This comes from being raised as the adored youngest in her educated family, as her mother, like many Belter women, suffered from multiple pregnancy losses in between the births of her two living daughters. Sjael was raised somewhat sheltered in comparison to other Belter children, with a family member always there to protect her from most harmful things. This allowed her to keep a sense of quiet optimism, very unusual amongst the citizens of the Belt. Unlike her sister Tanke, Sjael still has a natural sense of curiosity, and adores getting people to learn with her, especially in regards to creating things out of organic material from a chemical background. She was especially attached to her doctor father, who died in the Eros incident while working in a free clinic for mothers and infants. However, recent events leading up to her current position–namely the siege of Ceres, the destruction of Ganymede, and the breakoff of her engagement with her ex-fiance, OPA terrorist and Free Navy pilot Toivo Saavedra–have left her more guarded.

Flaws: Sjael, in true Belter fashion, lacks tact, and assumes that everyone is interested in the subjects that she talks about, occasionally infuriating or upsetting others. Used to being protected by her family members and friends (such as her cousin, Camina Drummer), she often lacks courage in situations that truly call for them, and prefers to either negotiate or run–which has had devastating consequences for her. Finally, her kindness and inclusivity can–and has–backfired on her massively, as she has been brutally taken advantage of.

Likes: plants (especially flowers), science experiments, birds, vanilla, cooking, baking, hiking, mushrooms, her gunship, racing, children, photography, learning, riding bikes of any kind, hot drinks (coffee and redbush tea are her favorites). 

Dislikes: Messes, meat, politics, bad smells, technology that doesn’t easily work, public speaking, being slow, yelling. 

Desire: Sjael wants a stable future for her people, most of all, those who are close to her–she is a space version of a Disney princess. She does this through her research as a chemical engineer, discovering new ways to make flavors and foods safer for the many galaxies in the Slow Zone. However, by meeting Clone Force 99 and the remains of the GAR, she finds a new group to protect, who in turn help propel her own people forward. She finds new ways to gain courage, as a pilot and as a supporter of the fighters that she loves. 

[cindylouwho-2]

Etsy First Quarter 2023 Earnings Report - More on Plans to Make Etsy an Everyday Shopping Destination

(Above - slide 5 from Etsy’s Q1 2023 Earning Presentation, © Etsy)

Etsy’s first quarter 2023 numbers were pretty good considering the current economic climate, and beat most analyst expectations. Unfortunately, their outlook for the second quarter did not anticipate improvement, and the earnings presentation did not unveil any truly new plans for achieving improvement. 

First, here are the reference materials covered below:

the press release

transcript of the conference call

slides from the conference call

video of the call (click on “Webcast” under Q1 Earnings)

my summaries of the first quarter 2022, and the fourth quarter 2022 for comparison

The basic numbers (covering January to March 2023, compared to the same period in 2022):

Sales on Etsy were $2.7 billion, down 4.7%  [nearly half of this drop was due to currency fluctuations]

Total sales for all 4 marketplaces (Etsy, Reverb, Depop, Elo7) were $3.1 billion, down 4.6% 

Etsy’s revenue (including all 4 sites) was $640.9 million, up 10.6%

Seller service revenue was up 14.4% to $173.4 million, while marketplace revenue was up 9.3% to $467.5 million. Remember that the fee increase from April 11, 2022 is part of that marketplace bump; this was the last full quarter for that increase

Net Income was $74.5 million, down 13.4%

Active sellers on Etsy alone are 5.9 million, a large jump compared to the past 5 quarters when the total hovered around 5.4-5.5 million. [Note that “active” means one charge or transaction in the past 12 months; many “active” shops currently have nothing for sale. I don’t see an obvious reason for this sudden increase]

Active buyers on Etsy alone stand at 89.9 million, up from 89.1 million a year ago

Below are several points of interest for sellers, but I strongly suggest reading the whole transcript or listening to the call to get all of the details. 

As always, my side comments are in square brackets, and most everything not in square brackets is just a report on what was said. 

Etsy Search

Slide 7 of the presentation again stated that Etsy’s search is now driven by “multiple search engines”, and that more are in development. CEO Josh Silverman explains the problem that they are working to solve:

“You don't walk into a store and yell, "Blue, shirt, cotton," the way you search on Etsy today. In a store, you walk in, explain to a salesperson that you're going to a cocktail party at a chic place in Brooklyn and are looking for a shirt to fit the vibe, what do you recommend? And you certainly don't expect the salesperson to show you 90,000 options. They'll show you the best handful of items that match the vibe.”

The plan is to move away from keywords “to show the buyer a curated set of results”. This is not just about personalization, but about understanding the connections between style and trends and what the buyer said they wanted, and helping the buyer refine results to get something closer to what they envisioned. While these plans are still not well developed, features such as search by image are on the path to the final goal.  

One big change on the horizon will be incorporating decisions from Etsy’s merchandising team into algorithms. Human curations are going to be combined with machine learning to produce search results and ranking “over time”. [One problem I see here is the quality of the human curation. Silverman says “Etsy’s Picks” are actually human-curated, which surprises me, as my only listing to ever get this designation is a commercial pendant probably available in hundreds of Etsy shops. (Since I placed it on a chain, it qualifies as handmade on Etsy, and unlike most others selling this item, my chain is actually handmade by me - but that isn’t required.) Hilariously, he claims that “... our merch team knows how to select the very best inventory, items with true craftsmanship...” which apparently includes my “charm on a chain” that wouldn’t even qualify for Amazon Handmade. Embarrassing.]

Later in regards to shipping expectations, he mentions these could be better, including “prioritizing items and search results located closer to the buyer for time-sensitive purchases.” [I know that some sellers think this already happens, but testing from multiple locations doesn’t really show that, yet, but this means it could be coming. That, of course, would be a disaster for many business owners who use Etsy to reach a worldwide market, not their next-door neighbours.]

As shown in the slide at the top of this post, Etsy believes shoppers are put off by too many options, so expect this work on search to help start decreasing the options soon. 

Marketplace Violations, Including Mass Produced Items

All of the media coverage of resellers has apparently had an impact, as Silverman felt the need to address “mass-produced items” diluting trust in the site. He cited the 2022 Transparency Report as proof Etsy was dealing with the issue. [As I have detailed in my coverage of that report, it only demonstrates how poorly Etsy is doing in the area, by applying a huge batch of pesticide to kill the odd mosquito while also destroying tons of valuable bees in the process. If only 5% of the flags the AI generates are for actual contraband/counterfeit/manufactured goods, then they will have to flag most of the site’s listings to get rid of the reseller issue. The collateral damage of innocent sellers is too great for Etsy to keep claiming they want to “Keep Commerce Human”.] 

It’s also notable that this was only one prong of the trust issue Silverman highlighted. Etsy also intends to more actively promote the Purchase Protection Program, and do a lot more with shipping. [You can read how the Purchase Protection Program is playing out for sellers here on my blog. Changes in shipping were expected after Etsy posted a bunch of fulfillment jobs last year, and there is already some movement in the area of shipping labels, with Etsy forcing sellers in India to use Etsy Labels for domestic orders. As a Canadian who can’t even use Etsy Labels due to my commercial account with Canada Post, I can see this being the action that finally forces me off of Etsy completely. Time will tell!]

Upcoming Promotional Plans & Focus

As the slide below shows, Etsy has good brand awareness in many places, especially the United States, but few people think of the site as a top place for things such as gifts or home furnishings. They will soon be focussing on funnelling more shoppers to “new pathways” for gifts, home and living items, and general style ideas. 

(Above - slide 11 from Etsy’s Q1 2023 Earning Presentation, © Etsy)

In short, Etsy should be thought of as “every day” shopping instead of occasional. Silverman elaborated on this in the Q&A portion of the call:

“That campaign, Etsy has it, is so important. The fact that Etsy sellers sell billions of dollars of home furnishings, it's our largest category. And when you ask people name 3 places to shop for home furnishings, only 3% of people unprompted will name Etsy. There is a massive opportunity.“

As mentioned above, purchase protection will continue to be a focus, to reassure buyers that Etsy is safe. “...we found that prepurchase messaging about Purchase Protection improved conversion rate and our post-purchase e-mails spurred buyer frequency over a 90-day period.” Also, shipping [sigh].

To sum up plans for sellers:

“So this year, we've got a jam-packed to-do list, which includes investing in our seller growth suite, education, tools and the personalized insights they need to market their shops, improve their listings and grow sales on Etsy. We'll make it easier than ever to list items and will provide best practices on pricing strategies and discounting.” 

Depop, Elo7 & Reverb

Etsy’s other 3 companies have also been busy. [As on Etsy], management at Reverb have been focussing on highlighting discounted items and stressing that musicians can “find good deals” on the site, “so we'll be studying some of these for relevance to the Etsy marketplace.” 

Elo7 has been working on improving search. 

Depop isn’t looking as bad as it did last year. The conversion rate is better, and there is more personalization. “We also launched an exciting new feature called Repop, which enables users to seamlessly relist a Depop purchased item, a good thing for GMS and the planet.” [I looked that up, and yes, the buyer gets to use the original seller’s description and other listing work to relist the item, but the photos aren’t included. Really hoping they don’t bring that copyright infringement and forced unpaid labour to Etsy...]

Miscellaneous

Performance marketing (Offsite Ads) increased 11% in the quarter. “Offsite Ads revenue...offsets approximately 1/3 of our performance marketing spend.” [That is down from previous reports, when they said that Offsite Ads fees covered about 40% off the total cost of the ads. Remember that larger numbers of sellers began to opt out of Offsite Ads in mid-March due to EU law, and Etsy still pays for ads for some shops that have opted out.] CFO Rachel Glaser stated that the ROI for Offsite Ads has improved by 40% since 2019. 80% of the ad spend is currently in the US and the UK (Etsy’s top 2 countries).

Seller service revenue is still well behind marketplace revenue, but the seller service side is growing faster. Both Etsy Ads and Etsy Payments (in particular the higher Payments fees non-US sellers usually pay) showed increased growth in the quarter. [So growing in non-US markets will drive revenue for Etsy.]

Etsy is still hiring, although the rate has dropped. 

Sales were down in the first quarter due to 1) consumers buying more services than goods, 2) declines in large categories such as Home & Living and Craft Supplies, and 3) less discretionary income, especially for lower income buyers. Compared to Consumer Edge's U.S. e-commerce retailer data, Etsy is managing to keep up with the pack, especially in Home & Living and apparel. 

The new “Make an Offer” option for US vintage sellers has thousands of users and over 1 million listings available. 

Outlook for the Second Quarter

The predictions for April to June 2023 are for the 4 sites to be down around 1.8%, getting between $2.85 billion to $3.1 billion in sales. At the time of the call, Silverman said the second quarter was looking good so far, with a good few weeks leading up to Mother’s Day. However, they issued a cautious outlook, given that May 2022 slowed down a bit. 

So, expect more of the same - a soft economy, Etsy telling you how to run your business and pretending that is helping you, and more bot removals and forced refunds. 

[1centillion]

Reading internet fights doesnt have to be an internet activity that rots you (ie doom scrolling, falling into the tiktok algorithm hole, etc). Reading internet fights can light up your brain in a similar way to reading a newspaper article or playing a computer game from when you were 8.

The key is to read the good ones where people are arguing really niche topics but both sides (no matter how well or mis informed) take the time to explain the proofs of their conclusions. Like they write out the math of what theyre arguing. Because when someones wrong, this style of argument lets someone else cut them down by pointing out faulty premises or pointing out non sequiturs. When you can read the thinking processes of each side it feels better taking a side because you just saw all the work theyre doing to get to there. Reading good internet arguments can be different from falling in a tik tok hole because the serotonin feels likes its sourced from developing my thinking skills (vs receiving it from being shown something new every 8.7 seconds).

Internet arguments are bad and make me feel like im j watching a car wreck (engages you but not for a good reason) when they give me undeserved credit. Such fights include but sre not limited to (from most to least readable) people debating a proper ranking of priorities or thingd, (and this is one full tier below Ranking Arguments, usually) logical fallacies, introducing tangentially related but ultimately off topic arguments, generalized blanket statements, making statements that are j truly objectively wrong observations about material reality

Cherry on top is when a the Cool Arguer hits all the thoughts you were thinking when reading an Uncool Persons comment AND adds something you didnt think of (learning!) The cherry on top of that cherry is seeing Uncool Arguer get ratioed.

Its important to remember that even tho internet fights dont always have to be soul sucking, even the best of them are only the equivalent to drinking orange juice from Ralphs (idk if this is the most equivalent comparison but im too lazy to think of the right one). Its not soda, it probably wont do too much harm if you have some for brekkie every so often. Definitely shouldnt be drinking it everyday when theres water and teas and seltzer water around. You wont be the microbiome or kind person you want to be on OJ and internet fights.

And this is because 1) you do not want to be a person who has a habit of deriving entertainment from the conflict between others and 2) especially so when theyre arguing over a cause important to you. Example: if theyre arguing about transmisogyny, at the end of the day we want to get rid of transmisogny because 'transmisogyny is an issue you care about because you love trans women *not* because you want transmisogynists to be wrong' (thats j the fun perk). But internet fights abt transmisogmy can only exist if transmisogny exists! So letting those internet arguments become fodder for your attention or a source of receiving joy from the internet is not productive to the true end goal and cause you care for. *And* you dont want to revel in the by products of transmisogyny bc its just gross! Best relationship to good internet fights is 'phew! Comforting to know theres other people who reason things out in the same steps i do! no man is an island!'

not sure if this line of reasoning can be applied to good internet fights on topics i dont care about. I think if an argument is silly and in good nature then its all fun (and actually those types of arguments are good reading, more like water than the good internet arguments on issues i care for, because theres no stakes its just people having fun and connecting with each other thru the medium of the internet) and if people are having a good internet argument over something i dont know about (ie best cars engines from the 80s a la mona lisa from my cousin vinny) well then its also more like water than OJ bc its low stakes with less repercussions and reading it will teach me something. But all these are still a lil bit OJ bc ..babe cut down ur screentime

newaze, internet fights are fun when they exercise your brain!

[speed-seo]

Uncover the Underused B2B SEO Strategies Your Competitors Use to Crush Your Lead Gen

Search engine optimization (SEO) is often treated as an afterthought in B2B marketing. But what if I told you that a strategic SEO approach could help you generate, on average, 3X more leads than your top competitor in just 6-12 months? It's true - but you need to move beyond the SEO basics and get strategic with underutilized tactics tailored specifically to B2B buying cycles. In this comprehensive guide, you'll discover insider strategies on intent-based keywords, pillar content, backlink building, technical SEO, and busting myths holding your SEO back. With over 1,000 words of tactical advice, this is the guide your competitors don't want you to read! Laser-Focused Keywords Deliver 3X More B2B Leads Optimizing for informational, intent-driven keywords is a proven way to generate more leads, yet most B2B brands only target product and service terms. Here's how to uncover the questions and pain points your customers have at every stage of their journey. Move Beyond Keyword Checklists with This Research Rather than rely on generic keyword tools, take the time to dig into the search questions your ideal buyers have as they move through the funnel. Tools like Google's Keyword Planner certainly have a place, but also analyze chat logs, voice of customer data, and sales call transcripts to reveal actual language used. Surveys and support tickets are a goldmine for uncovering informational search terms. Align SEO to Each Buyer's Journey Stage With this expanded keyword research, you can now optimize pages and content to target each stage of the B2B buying journey. For example, attorneys in the awareness phase may search for "how to reduce legal discovery costs" while those evaluating solutions look for comparisons like "ediscovery software features". The Results: 3X More Leads in 6 Months One B2B client using this intent-driven approach saw a 206% increase in organic leads in just 6 months. Their competitor targeting the same persona saw only a 68% bump. By aligning SEO tightly to informational search queries, they tripled their competitor's leads. Pillar Content Sets You Apart as an Authority Forget thin blog posts that barely scratch the surface. To really demonstrate expertise around topics your prospects care about, you need pillar content. I'm talking epic guides, comprehensive ebooks and toolkits - the type of resources people happily hand over their email address to get their hands on. In my decade of doing B2B SEO, I've seen first-hand how pillar content can transform a company's lead gen strategy. Become a Trusted Resource Here's the truth - people want to learn from brands they trust. In competitive spaces like legal, finance and healthcare, establishing trust is everything. Pillar content is your secret weapon to position your brand as an authority buyers can rely on. Unlike short blog posts, pillars show you've done the work to create something truly valuable. We're talking Ultimate Guides with stats, actionable takeaways, and everything an ideal prospect needs to know on a topic. Don't hold back! Make it a beast of a download. Turn Pillars into Lead Magnets Now comes the fun part - turning that pillar into a lead generation workhorse. Gate access to the download with a simple contact form. Promote it heavily across channels for months. One client did this with a comprehensive SEO guide for attorneys and got 521 new leads in just 90 days. Invest Time for Maximum Impact I won't lie to you - creating awesome pillar content takes time and effort. But it's one of the highest ROI activities for long term lead gen. For a big impact across multiple personas, aim for 2-3 new pillars per quarter. Repurpose and promote them for months (even years) to maximize conversions. "Non-Traditional" Backlinks - It's All About Relationships Guest posting on other blogs is just one backlink tactic - and not always the best for B2B. The most valuable links come from active participation in your industry's communities. Become a Genuinely Helpful Expert Seriously - stop spamming forums and groups trying to sneak in backlinks. Instead, focus on building relationships by consistently providing value. Share insights, offer advice, be helpful. Organically weave in mentions of your relevant content if it benefits the community. HARO - A Goldmine for Quality Backlinks I can't stress enough how valuable HARO has been for one of my clients. It's a platform where journalists request expert sources for articles. In 6 months, they've been featured in mainstream publications like Forbes, Inc, and Entrepreneur - earning quality backlinks, branding wins, and new traffic. Measure Relationship-Building, Not Just Links Sure, track backlink growth from these sources. But also measure the relationships you're building in communities and with journalists. This compounds over time into insane authority-boosting wins. Technical SEO - The Competitive Edge With how much B2B buyers rely on search, technical SEO can make or break your marketing. How does your site stack up on crucial factors like speed, mobile optimization and indexation? Site Speed - Optimize for the Impatient Here's a scary stat: 53% of mobile site visitors will leave a page that takes over 3 seconds to load. B2B buyers are even more impatient - don't make them wait! Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and Pingdom to catch speed issues. Mobile Responsiveness - No More Pinched Fingers Trying to read content on a non-mobile friendly site makes me want to chuck my phone across the room. Seriously, we're past the point where mobile optimization is optional - make it happen. Test your site on multiple devices and fix pesky issues like tiny text or wonky navigation. Indexation - Get Your Pages Found It means nothing to optimize content if Google can't index and surface your pages in results! Sneaky technical problems like crawling errors can completely hide your content from search. Stay on top of indexation with tools like Google Search Console. The key is constantly monitoring and improving technical SEO issues that impact user experience. It pays off big time. Conclusion and Next Steps Throughout this guide, we've explored proven yet underutilized SEO strategies tailored specifically to B2B buying cycles: - Intent-based keywords help you uncover the informational questions your prospects have at each stage, leading to 3X more leads. - Pillar content sets you apart as an authority, turning epic guides into lead generation workhorses that bring in 500+ new contacts. - Relationship-focused link building in communities and via HARO outreach leads to high-quality backlinks from trusted industry sources. - Fixing technical SEO issues like site speed and indexation creates a foundation for SEO success. These are strategic plays your competitors likely haven't tapped into yet. Adopting them now before the masses catch on provides a unique competitive advantage for your B2B organization. Imagine having a steady flow of qualified leads from across the buyer's journey - not just when they're ready to purchase. Envision closing deals faster because prospects already know and trust you. This future is possible when you align your SEO approach tightly to how B2B buyers research solutions. The time is now to transform your SEO. Click here to schedule a custom audit and roadmap to kickstart implementing these strategies. Our team is ready to uncover gaps in your current SEO approach and build a high-impact plan tailored to your business goals. Congratulations on committing to SEO success - let's talk soon! Read the full article

[bestpersonaltrainer]

Top Mistakes When Finding the Best Personal Trainer

Welcome to a comprehensive guide on the top mistakes individuals often make when searching for the best personal trainer. As a seasoned personal trainer with over a decade of experience, I'll provide you with valuable insights to help you make an informed decision on finding the perfect fitness partner. In this article, we'll explore the three most common pitfalls people encounter during their quest for the ideal personal trainer. By avoiding these mistakes, you'll be better equipped to select a trainer that aligns with your unique fitness goals and requirements.

Mistake #1: Believing Google Rankings Are Everything

The instinct to type "best personal trainer Toronto" into Google seems logical, but it can lead to a misleading path. While search engine results can offer valuable suggestions, they often prioritize trainers who pay for higher visibility. Many websites promote trainers based on financial arrangements rather than merit. This means that being listed at the top doesn't necessarily equate to being the best fit for you.

The process of determining the true best personal trainer involves comprehensive research, extended periods of assessment, and direct comparison. Unfortunately, this is an impractical approach for most ranking websites due to its time and cost constraints. Moreover, the lack of consensus across different ranking sites indicates the subjectivity of the term "best." Your fitness journey deserves a personal trainer who truly understands your needs, whether they involve weight loss, muscle building, contest preparation, fascial stretch therapy, or online training.

Mistake #2: Relying Solely on Certifications

Certifications can be a valuable indicator of a trainer's commitment to their craft, but they're not the sole measure of expertise. Some trainers gather numerous certifications through seminars but fail to apply the knowledge effectively. Even trainers with advanced degrees may not always deliver the desired results. It's essential to assess a trainer's practical experience and real-world effectiveness.

While I advocate for continuous professional development, I also recognize that certifications alone do not guarantee superior training. To make an informed decision, look beyond certificates and delve into trainers' track records and client testimonials.

Mistake #3: Ignoring Specificity in Training Needs

One of the most significant errors is not considering your specific fitness needs and goals. Your fitness journey is unique, and the ideal personal trainer for one person may not be suitable for another. A personal trainer specializing in soccer training wouldn't necessarily be the best fit for a woman navigating menopause-related fitness challenges.

It's akin to seeking the "best store" without specifying what you're shopping for – groceries, jewelry, or home improvement items. Similarly, personal trainers have varying specialties and strengths. To find the best match, define your goals clearly. For instance, if you're seeking post-cancer treatment fitness, Riaz Aziz might be your top choice. If you aim to shine on stage, Mike Demeter could be the ideal fit.

In our network, my team and I excel in areas like fat loss for women over 40, managing high blood pressure, addressing type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and chronic pain. However, it's equally important to acknowledge our limitations, such as expertise gaps in children's strength and conditioning, bodybuilding, and specific medical conditions.

Conclusion: Navigating Your Journey to the Best Personal Trainer

In conclusion, the search for the best personal trainer demands a well-informed approach that goes beyond Google rankings and certifications. Instead, focus on aligning a trainer's expertise with your individual needs and goals. Avoid the common mistakes of being swayed by online rankings and overemphasizing certifications. Instead, prioritize trainers who have a proven track record in areas directly relevant to your fitness journey. By understanding these pitfalls and recognizing the importance of tailored expertise, you're well-equipped to embark on your fitness journey with confidence and purpose. Remember, the best personal trainer for you is the one who aligns with your aspirations and understands your unique circumstances.

[www-islandofsodor]

Character Comparison:

Hello everyone. Admin here with a brief character analysis. Today’s spotlight character is, of course, Duck. To say Duck is a lot of things is definitely an understatement. He is a very complex character with a crap ton to say about.

I kinda align Duck with 3 different characters from three respective franchises. The first of which being Steve Urkel from Family Matters. Both being annoying as hell type characters with a surprising amount of charm to them and were only meant to be one-offs but were brought back so much that they were made into series regulars.

The second of whom being Bucky Barnes from the MCU. Both are charming, respective individuals who go out of their way to stand up for the little guys. Since Bucky actually fights with the bullies, it makes sense that Duck does the same in the books. It also makes sense that, like Duck, Bucky is also a city boy. He is Steve got toughened up playing the alleys. They also saw a plethora of jerkasses and knew just how to deal with them.

The final character I align Duck with is one of my favorite literary characters ever. That, of course, being Wendy Darling from Peter Pan. She’s a young girl who’s identified as a supreme authority on all things Neverland; similar to duck being a supreme authority on all things Great Western. Both are chatterboxes when excited and are doe-eyed daydreamers. Like Wendy, Duck also wants to see lands beyond the horizon. but in the end, both characters learned that life‘s greatest rewards are not seeing what’s out there but it home where you have friends and a purpose. Friends give you purpose. True happiness is discovering where you truly belong and uncovering the purpose that you were on this earth to fulfill; a pretty high concept moral for either child or steam engine to vessel. But a damn important one.

Also, like Duck, Wendy represents true unbridled quality within the Peter Pan mythos. In any adaptation (be book, film, or character art), she was never tarnished, never ruined, or made into anything less than what she was always meant to be.they are both characters that are, and will forever be, good. With far more to them than meets the eye.

In conclusion, all three of these characters combined to form one of the finest most superior Great Western engines that you will ever hope to see.

[thethirdgenesisbooks]

The Third Genesis is the Noblebright 40K

“As someone who’s gotten sick of Warhammer 40K, this reminds me of what I liked about it when I first got into it.”

One of my fellow authors had this to say about my, The Third Genesis (3G) fantasy series at a writer’s group we both attend. I’ve known the man since college, and I was quite surprised. He was the one who introduced me to Warhammer 40K.

After that, I started thinking about the similarities between 3G and 40K, and was surprised at how many there were.

Both have false deities ruling over mankind in the distant future.

Both blend aspects of science fiction and high fantasy.

Both have seemingly unending conflict for the main characters to deal with.

Both also address such issues as the abuse of religion, inquisitions, and crusades.

The archons of 3G are comparable to the Space Marines and Sisters of Battle in 40K.

However, there is a certain point where the comparisons break down. While 40K is “Grimdark”, 3G is “Noblebright”.

So, for those who don’t know, let’s talk about these genres. Grimdark was a term invented specifically to describe Warhammer 40K. “In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war.” This was the slogan of the 40K setting, and the basic cornerstone upon which they built the rest of the franchise. The genre is based around the idea that, ultimately, there is no hope. In Grimdark, villains can win, heroes can fail despite doing everything right, and there is an overall tone of despair. The genre also often features morally gray (if not outright evil) main characters, with no true “hero” of the story. Some other popular stories that would be considered part of the Grimdark genre would include A Song of Ice and Fire (also known as Game of Thrones) by George R. R. Martin, The Prince of Thorns series by Mark Lawrence, The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, and The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith.

Warhammer 40K exemplifies this genre to the highest degree, as it is clear from the lore that humanity is doomed. The emperor who rules mankind as its god and greatest protector is caught in a perpetual near-death state while seated upon his golden throne, and 1000 psykers (people with psychic powers) are sacrificed per day in order to keep him “alive.” Humanity has also largely forgotten how its spacecraft and other advanced machines work, and the heretical “tech priests” are the last vestiges of any knowledge of how to fix them. Soldiers who join the Imperial Guard are expected to die within the first day of military service, and are considered veterans if they actually survive that first day. In short, this is not sustainable, and the doom of humanity is inevitable in 40K. For this reason, it truly exemplifies the Grimdark genre.

Now, let’s talk about The Third Genesis (3G). The obstacles in the heroes’ path seem truly insurmountable. False gods rule over the world of Ymir, creating all manner of creatures using genetic engineering. These false gods come from Earth, and the story takes place in the distant future. They have abused faith and the concept of religion to enslave the populace and keep them firmly under their thumbs. The world of Ymir is currently in its Fourth Age, and what separates each age from the previous age is that the false gods wipe the slate clean and start again whenever they feel the world of Ymir is getting out of hand. To enforce their will, they have created the archons, genetically engineered winged warriors who put down all resistance, whom the people of Ymir generally revere the same way people from our world would revere angels. The archons have wiped out cities on numerous occasions, and many have survived the various ages of Ymir, and seen the world end multiple times.

Yet, for all this bleakness, there is still hope.

There are people called “seers” in the setting who are capable of seeing the future. These people are considered heretics, and those loyal to the false gods hunt them down, hoping to burn them at the stake. However, these seers have foreseen a time where the false gods will lie defeated, and the people of Ymir will see peace. This day, which lies on the distant horizon, is called “The Third Genesis.” There is hope for the world, an assurance that some day it will all get better. They don’t know when, and they don’t know what they’ll have to go through to get there, but that day is coming.

Couple this with sincerely good-hearted characters who strive to do what’s right, and you have a story that falls squarely in the Noblebright genre.

Noblebright is a genre that has been gaining popularity recently. It is very much the opposite of Grimdark, in that it is full of hope, shows good overcoming evil, and has sincere main characters. That’s not to say that the main characters are perfect, or even that they never make mistakes or do wrong things, but rather there is a general movement toward greater goodness in the setting. Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien is the most classic example of Noblebright. Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan, The Wizard’s Tale by Kate Busiek, and A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet also fit into this genre. These days, it seems more and more people are getting tired of the Grimdark genre and want to see hope and goodness again.

It is my hope that if you were once a fan of Warhammer 40K or other Grimdark fantasy series that you will give The Third Genesis a shot. It is my hope that these fantastical stories will inspire people to keep believing that things can get better, and to strive for the good in life. While I cannot prove that there is a reason to hope, I think it’s readily apparent that without hope we get despair, and despair doesn’t help anyone. So, let’s enjoy stories that bring hope and teach us that goodness is rewarding.

[morathicain]

Started watching Scoy and I was sooooooo close to giving Nuea the same treatment as Bohn (as in giving him a better boyfriend!) bc omfg the stalking! Seriously, I wish they wouldn’t have made Toh as obsessed with him. A few pictures or trinkets? Okay. But all of this? Biggest red flag!

I understand that he thought he would never get anything else or be closer and was very insecure, but Nuea isn’t a doll and Toh has NO right to all of this. Especially to that extent. There’s also the problem with Toh obsessing over an idolised version of Nuea in his head while he has no idea who the actual person is.

The only thing saving Toh from having his boyfriend rights revoked by me is his character growth (still hate what he did but he’s growing and I love to see it!) and the fact that he’s so enthusiastically into Nuea. Especially after they got to know each other properly.

still judging Nuea’s taste in people; they have proven not to be very healthy *cough* but well, you do you, boy! What luck for Toh that Nuea is apparently into this ...

Still wish Toh would listen a bit more to what Nuea is actually saying and what he actually wants, even though I understand him being constantly overwhelmed. In between it really felt as if he was treating Nuea, who tried to be honest and open with him, like a pretty doll and not a real person and it made my fingers itch! But as far as I am now (beginning of ep 9 as we speak), it’s getting better and I catch myself rooting for them. Especially because of them being ridiculously into each other. Let’s hope I won’t change my mind again c.c

Anyway, I will still write Bohn and Nuea as brothers bc damn me and my crossovers X.X

Also: Jao, Daisy and Som are precious and I need to protect them!!

[holden-norgorov]

I was wrong: an apology for Show!Kaz.

Listen, at first I didn't even want to write this post down, but as I noticed that a considerable amount of people have been showing disappointment toward Kaz not being "smart enough" in comparison to the book, I feel the need to point some things out with the hope of making you re-evaluate your line of thinking.

The thing is, Kaz Brekker in the show is a character that very much grows to book-readers with a needed careful and attentive rewatch.

I binged the whole season in a consecutive-7h-long binge-watching session during April 23rd, and came out of it feeling mildly disappointed with the way Kaz had been written (but not portrayed; Freddy was truly amazing). The one aspect that really bugged me at first was that his typical modus operandi when it came to plotting and scheming (by which I mean, keeping the big picture of his plans to himself and revealing just tiny pieces to everyone else according to each one's strengths and weaknesses, so as to make sure to reach the maximum potential of success while risking failure as little as possible) seemed to be kinda absent. I could easily make peace with Kaz not being as ruthless as he is in SoC, because the writers couldn't possibly make only-viewers willing to root for someone like Kaz without presenting at least some way in which he was vulnerable compared to other villainous characters. And to be honest, the fact that Kaz was ambushed by Pekka and forced to his knees not only nicely ties up with him wishing for Pekka to kneel in front of him at the beginning of SoC, but it also provides a reason as to why he would become closed-off and hesitant to apologize to Inej in the future. He was so concerned and willing to openly apologize to Inej in this scene that he lowered his guard enough without thinking and ended up giving Pekka access to Inej's name and revealing to him his own soft spot for her, before being beaten up.

That said, this was not my issue with the character. My issue was with the absence of his modus operandi as a masterful planner. I just didn't feel it during the binge-watch. But then I carefully rewatched the show, paying close attention to the actual succession of events more than to how accurate the characterization of the Crows was compared to the books. And I completely changed my mind.

If you pay attention, you can see that Kaz has been manipulating Arken from the very beginning, and everything Arken has accomplished was made possible because Kaz wanted it to happen, so that Arken would believe to be one step ahead of him and not see his betrayal coming. He quickly realizes that he and Arken think alike, and that he has to find a way to outsmart him.

As soon as the Conductor appears in the show, Kaz points out that he reached out to him not only because he can make them cross the Fold, but also because he smuggles Grisha who are unwilling to fight out of the Little Palace. He immediately grasps that the Conductor actively profits from the existence of the Fold and therefore that his own transport has to be constantly operative and effective. Which makes him realize that there has to be a political interest in his smuggling business for it to be allowed to flourish and survive undisturbed, and that someone has to financially back him up and subsidize the mantainance of the train and the feasibility of the crossing.

Soon after the Crows discovered that Nina had been captured and could no longer guide them to the Little Palace, Arken tries to sabotage their mission by convincing them to abandon it. This is where Kaz understands that he is actively interested in their kidnapping of the Sun Summoner to not happen, and begins suspecting he might have a separate agenda.

He purposefully risks the whole mission on Jesper not gambling everything away while looking for alabaster coal by deciding to grab the goat by himself, which is a less time-consuming task. This grants him the opportunity to attend to a quick rally for West Ravka's independence led by General Zlatan, where he sees Arken retiring with him in a private tent. His suspects about Arken are validated, and he understands that Arken has been smuggling Grisha out of East Ravka to the West with the support of Zlatan, who is also making some kind of alliance with Fjerdians and keeping a blind-eye to druskelle hunting and capturing Grisha (as we find out later on).

While they are crossing the Fold, Kaz is visibly skeptical of Arken's story about the transport being conveniently effective because of his knowledge of engineering and physics, and a chunk of luck. Arken seems to know too well how to safely cross the Fold, and the trasport seems to have worked far too many times for it to be the product of the underground, illegal practice of just one man.

In East Ravka, Kaz comes up with the Royal Archive Heist with the hope of stealing the Little Palace blueprints from the Palace of Kribirsk. But there's a very short scene here, which apparently seems unimportant but is actually pivotal: Kaz gives Arken money to make friends with East Ravkans so as to grant them a safe passage to Os Alta. Keep in mind: at this point Kaz is sure that Arken has been given by Zlatan a personal agenda to carry out regarding the Sun Summoner (I genuinely believe he also grasps that the secret plan is to kill her, so as to prevent the Fold from being destroyed and their smuggling business from being no longer profitable), so he knows Arken has total interest in making sure that they actually have a ride to the Little Palace. Which means, by urging him to "make some friends", Kaz already knows Arken will come up with a plan to be able to arrive to Os Alta and carry out his own mission at any costs, if the blueprints of the Little Palace that they are planning to steal end up being useless. And not only that: he wants Arken to believe he is being one-step ahead of them by "saving their asses" with this back-up plan, so as to easily come to the conclusion that the Crows have no reason to distrust him (how could they, when he finds them a second way-in?) and completely disregard the idea that Kaz might stab him in the back before he does the same thing to them. This is some mastermind thinking and completely IC for Kaz, because all the inner workings of his schemes go completely unnoticed on the outside.

Now that Arken proudly looks like the one who managed to grant them passage to Os Alta, he has no reason to believe Kaz might have ulterior motives when he decides to be the one carrying out a preliminary exploration of the Little Palance's hallways, despite his wounded leg making it difficult for him. But here's when Kaz sees Marie and immediately understands that she's supposed to be a decoy for Alina. So he coldly plans the whole kidnapping operation so as to make sure Arken ends up trying to kill (or directly killing) Marie. Which is why he shows no surprise when Arken reveals he can actually open the Fabrikator-made door with a device he carries with himself (probably provided by Zlatan to be able to get access to Alina's private rooms, or maybe already in his possession from when he had smuggled other Grisha out previously), and shows no hesitation when saying outwardly to everyone that Arken will be the one actually carrying out the kindnapping just because "he knows his way around Grisha locks". I actually believe Inej senses that there's something going on that she doesn't fully know when Kaz so light-heartedly allows Arken to lay his hands on their 1 Mln Kruge prize, but her suspicions (likely born out because she knows Kaz too well) are quickly put to rest and given an explaination only after Arken effectively falls into his trap.

After Alina escapes from the Crows in the following episode, we are led to believe that Kaz abandons the idea of kidnapping her again because of Inej, and this turns out to be actually true (despite Inej herself being incredibly suspicious of this, because of how unseemly it would be). Inej also believes Kaz to be so calculating that she points out that he might have planned to let Alina go in the first place and to detonate Arken's transport so as to travel with the same sandskiff Alina is embarking on and kindap her there. Inej would not have such a suspicion if Kaz's reputation didn't live up to that modus operandi.

While we actually learn that Kaz was being genuine with Inej about having abandoned the idea of kidnapping Alina, we also quickly learn that Kaz has spent the last two episodes silently coming up with a whole new other plan to make sure they can go back to Ketterdam without being killed by Dreesen and Pekka Rollins.

Now, as you can see, this is actually a lot. And this whole progression of events is handled so smoothly by the writing that it's fully admirable only by rewatching the show and paying close attention to Kaz's actions, while also knowing how his mind works. All of this is internal workings, which is typical Kaz.

So, I was wrong. His modus operandi is very much present. It's just barely detectable, as it should be for it to be believable. I hope this might reassure some deluded fans who came out of their watching session feeling let down by Kaz not looking "smart enough". It's all there! And the fact that so many of us couldn't see it at first hand, if you think about it, is just further proof that Kaz's intelligence and ability to scheme were handled extremely well. They couldn't make his mental workings too obvious to the casual viewers, or the character would have lost what actually makes him brilliant, which is the ability to outsmart others without being detected, exposed or anticipated.

[blockgamepirate]

I wanna point out that when I criticise c!Awesamdude, none of it is because I think he's some kind of cartoonish bad guy. He used to be one of my favourite characters! I know he's a complex person who cares about people and wants to be helpful, and even if he was part of the Badlands (who were a little bit cartoon villainish with their whole taking over 99% of the server plan) he was the most sympathetic and morally upstanding of them.

But that's the thing, even people who are seemingly good and kind can do evil things, when they internalise harmful concepts.

Sam is like the perfect example of that. He has internalised that "bad people must be punished" that "dangerous people must be kept locked up" that "the prison must be kept secure no matter what the cost" that "the authority of the prison warden must be respected".

The most charitable interpretation is that he has become a tool of institutional abuse. And he knows it but he excuses it because it's supposedly all for the sake of keeping the server safe. And for punishing the bad guy, Dream. And increasingly it seems to be about punishing Dream.

Perhaps because he feels guilt for being the person who almost helped Dream do this to others, particularly Tommy, who Sam happens to like.

Which, for the record, he SHOULD feel guilty about. People get on Techno's case for teaming up with Dream to fight a common enemy, but Sam was actively trying to help give Dream more power over the server, giving Dream the power to lock up anyone who resisted him. And Sam seemed willing to justify that because he liked the money and he enjoyed the challenge as an engineer. (Note that Sam was NOT poor either, he was one of the richest people on the server. It's not like he did it because he was desperate for money. And even of he was, get a less evil job ffs.)

(Also I believe he did also consider the potential power this would give the Badlands, let's be real. He absolutely has ambitions of his own. Maybe the thought even occurred to him that the prison could eventually be fully controlled by the Badlands. He just didn't foresee the Badlands kinda falling into shambles due to internal conflicts caused by the Egg.)

I think he HAS to believe that the prison is important and necessary because otherwise he would have to admit that he was so close to being complicit in Dream's plan to take full control over the server and to lock up any dissenters. And he has to believe that Dream deserves the abuse because otherwise he would have to admit that he was the one who agreed to make the prison that way. In fact he needs to believe that Dream deserves even worse than what he planned to do to others because that will make the original plans seem more reasonable in comparison. And because he needs to justify letting Quackity torture Dream.

Also, let's be real, it's hard to give up power once you have it.

And this is why you should never trust someone just because they're nice. Especially not authority figures. Get some actual proof that they'll stand up for you when you truly need it don't just assume that the niceness has no limits. Just because they give you pumpkin pie doesn't mean they won't punish you or sell you out to the system if you step out of line. Or abandon you if you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Look at what happened to Ponk, executed and mutilated for Sam's own carelessness. Look at what happened to Tommy, deemed less important than the security of the prison. Look at what happened to Techno, just for guilt by association. (Athough of course Sam and Techno were never particularly friendly so it's a less relevant example.)

It doesn't matter if he's a nice guy at heart, or if he's stressed and conflicted, these are his actions. And he needs to take responsibility for his actions.

I care deeply about this because people like c!Sam do so much harm in the real world and get away with it because they're serving the system and because they're nice and friendly and have families and pets. Cops, teachers, doctors, actual prison guards, politicians, bureaucrats, judges...

I mean the true problem IS ultimately the system, of course, not the individual people. Even Sam relies on the complicity of the server as a whole to keep doing what he's doing. But it's worth keeping in mind that even if these people seem friendly, you need to be aware and protect yourself, as well as you can. ESPECIALLY around people who work in law enforcement.