From the teen bedrooms where I found odd peace in the chaos of growing up, to the cozy studio apartment of my early adulthood where I could finally breathe, my home has always been where my heart found its center. (I promise its not just because Im a Taurus.) Home is where I can take off the mask I wear for the outside world and just be. When I think about the people who inspire me the most, those whose voices live on my playlists, whose art makes me laugh or cry, whose words have the power to change my perspective on life, I feel like I know them. Were moved by their work, but at the end of the day, we typically only see one side of these public figures.For Black people who reach icon status, home is more than just a place to lie down; its a grounding refuge. Black figures in the spotlight often face excessive scrutiny; many of those we consider to be legends today have carried the unfair burden of defending not just any actions they take, but who they are in general as they walk through life. Home is a place for them to shed the weight of their public personas, a space to drop all that comes with being a celebrity at the doorstep, recharge, and gather the strength to return to that sometimes inhospitable outside world. To get a sense for how some of our greatest thinkers, performers, and athletes unwind in their moments outside the public eye, read on for a look at their domestic lives in 15 photos.Photo: David Attie/Getty Images1/15W.E.B. Du BoisDu Bois, a sociologist and historian, made history himself as the first African American to earn a PhD from Harvard University. The scholar was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and moved to New York in 1910, where he worked as the director of the NAACP. He lived in the Big Apple for 10 years, settling at 31 Grace Court in a town house purchased from the famed playwright Arthur Miller. Du Bois would later part ways with that town house, which was lined wall-to-wall with various reading materials (as seen here in this 1958 photo) to make Ghana his final place of residence. He died in the West African country on August 27, 1963the day before the March on Washington.Photo: Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images2/15Lena HorneBorn in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, the Golden Age star launched her career at New Yorks iconic Cotton Club before becoming the first Black performer to sign a long-term contract with MGM in 1942. The triple-threat entertainer was deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Fittingly, her home on 300 East End Avenue was another piece of the eras activism story; singer and actor Harry Belafonte bought the building and rented it to many Black folksincluding Hornebecause the landlord before him had refused to. In the 80s, Horne settled into her home on the Upper East Side, which her daughter put up for sale in 2018, eight years after the stage and screen legend died.Photo: Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images3/15Jackie RobinsonRobinson not only integrated Americas pastime, but outside of his MLB career, he also helped integrate a neighborhoodnot to make history, but simply to find a peaceful place for his wife and children to call home. The Robinsons faced housing discrimination before building their home but the gentle giant eventually settled in Stamford, Connecticut. The family bought a property on Cascade Road in 1954 and moved in the following year. Robinson lived there until his death in 1972.Photo: Donald Uhrbrock/Getty Images4/15Martin Luther King Jr.The Civil Rights leader (shown here in 1960) was often photographed with his family at their Atlanta abode during the 1960s, which marked the most notable years of his public life. After his assassination, Kings wife, Coretta Scott King, maintained the residence until 2004, though the house remained in the family after she left. In 2018, the National Parks Foundation facilitated the purchase of the dwelling from the King Center with the mission of sharing it with the public and preserving the icons legacy.Photo: Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images5/15James BaldwinA pivotal figure in the Civil Rights Movement (and one of the few openly Black queer faces of it), James Baldwin often wove his homes into his work. He called New Yorks Greenwich Village, Harlem, and the French countryside homeand so did the characters in his 1962 novel, Another Country. (The success of the book inspired his move to 137 West 71st Street, where fans would often wait outside his old apartment), and became his main residence for the rest of his life Stateside.Photo: Bill Allery/New York Times Co./Getty Images6/15Miles DavisIn 1945, Miles Davis (pictured here in 1970) traded Juilliard for the jazz clubs of New York, and became one of the most iconic musicians in history. He landed at 312 West 77th Street (now known as Miles Davis Way) and made it home. Forever the minimalist, the decor of his home was reminiscent of the smooth, vibe-y, and fluid style of his music. Davis wasnt a fan of furniture and couldnt stand cornersboth aesthetic preferences that kept his space as free-flowing as his sound.Photo: Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images7/15Muhammad AliThe Kentucky-born heavyweight put down roots in Philadelphia, where his residence from 1970 to 1973 became part of sports historynot just because the king of the ring lived there, but because it also boasts a connection to a future athletic legend: Kobe Bryant. In 1973, Ali sold the house to Bryants maternal grandparents. It remained in the family throughout his career. The prizefighter is pictured here in 1970 with his daughter Maryum and 10-week-old twins, Reeshemah and Jamillah, in the Philadelphia pad.Photo: Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS/VCG via Getty Images8/15Aretha FranklinTwo icons, one home: singer Aretha Franklin and A Raisin in the Sun actor Glynn Turman were married for six years after meeting at a party in 1977. The powerhouse vocalist and her Broadway star beau outfitted their Encino, California, home with a soft 70s luxury aesthetic, including a now controversial staple of the era: a conversation-pit-style sofa. They were often framed as an It couple by the media, and, even after parting ways, they remained close friends until Franklins death in 2018.Photo: Fairchild Archive/Penske Media via Getty Images9/15Diana RossBorn and raised in Detroit, Ross would go on to become the voice of a generation and the queen of Motown after joining The Supremes, then called The Primettes, at the age of 15. Growing up in the Motor City inspired her desire for a home with plenty of room to roam later on in lifespace for her five kids to move around and grow up. She eventually found that in Los Angeles, where she bought a house built by the grandson of cosmetics giant and entrepreneur Max Factor.Photo: frederic meylan/Sygma via Getty Images10/15Tina TurnerFrom humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee, Anna Mae Bullock would rise to become the legendary Tina Turnerthe queen of rock n roll. In 2013, she gained Swiss citizenship and purchased her forever home on Lake Zurich after renting for nearly 15 years. Before that, she lived in the iconic Notting Hill neighborhood in London, which is shown here in this 1986 photo. Her English abode featured a massive stained-glass window to match her larger-than-life presencebecause of course it did. No one knew how to make a statement like Turner, decorative or otherwise.Photo: Anthony Barboza/Getty Images11/15Alice WalkerThe author of Black queer cultural touchstone The Color Purple understood the importance of crafting the perfect place to write. Walker took her San Francisco home, which lacked any true outdoor space, and turned it into a scribes oasis. A U-shaped desk that faced the greenery outside made for an inspiring workstation to say the least. Im a sucker for finding old properties and reworking them, but this one needed so much work I wasnt convinced, she said of the Berkeley Hills tri-level. Then I saw this wonderful park down below with a pool and tennis court and a space to walk the dogs. That was it. I said, I can write down here. Sold.Photo: Will And Deni McIntyre/Getty Images12/15Maya AngelouThe ache for home lives in all of us, activist and poet Maya Angelou once said. She called a Winston-Salem, North Carolina, residence home for 20 years, after being given a lifetime professorship position at Wake Forest University. The dwelling was featured in a 2013 interview with friend Oprah Winfrey.Photo: Jean-Christian Bourcart/Getty Images13/15Toni MorrisonI live in places that I love. And I hate to lose them, the acclaimed poet and writer once said. Her home in New Yorks Tribeca neighborhood was certainly deserving of such powerful words. The literary great filled the large apartment with what sounds like an authors dream: Plush sofas, built-in bookcases, and antiques were scattered throughout. Morrisons Manhattan residence was a haven, but her space in Grand View-on-Hudson was another dreamy retreat. She purchased the dwelling in the late 1970s. In 1993the same year she won the Nobel Prizethe house caught fire, destroying some, but not all, of her manuscripts.Photo: Charles Ommanney/Getty Images14/15Barack and Michelle ObamaThey may now own several propertiesincluding a property on the elite Marthas Vineyardbut there was once a time when the former first couples only home was in Chicagos Kenwood neighborhood. The 44th US president and his wife, the author and attorney Michelle Obama, are pictured here at their Chicago residencedecorated with Ankara wall tapestries and artin December 2004, a month after winning his race for US senator.Photo: Melanie Burford/Prime for The Washington Post via Getty Images15/15Faith RinggoldHarlem-born artist and activist Faith Ringgold, inspired by figures like James Baldwin, created political art throughout the 60s and beyond. Ringgolds main medium was narrative quilting. In 2022, the creatives family and her foundation received a grant from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund to transform her Englewood, New Jersey, residence into a house museum that preserved her work and showcased that of other Black artists.

While Elon Musk hacks away at the federal bureaucracy in the name of efficiency, his company Starlink appears poised to steal a multibillion-dollar government contract from Verizon.The Federal Aviation Administration is on the cusp of canceling a $2.4 billion contract to overhaul the communication system for the nations air traffic control system and handing it to the SpaceX subsidiary instead, The Washington Post reports, citing two unnamed sources briefed on the plans. The news was also confirmed by Bloomberg and The Associated Press.Its unclear exactly how this would unfold whether the FAA would hand some of the work to Starlink while allowing Verizon to continue its own effort or simply cancel the contract with Verizon and award it to Starlink. Whatever the outcome, it is sure to raise accusations of favoritism, cronyism, and conflicts of interest, as Musk continues to serve as the face of the Department of Government Efficiency-run effort to slash spending and lay off federal workers, despite the structural damage that causes.It is sure to raise serious accusations of favoritism and conflicts of interestMusk has been sowing doubt about the Verizon system for several days, claiming without evidence that its not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk. Earlier today, he posted on X that the Verizon communication system is breaking down very rapidly and that the FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk. He also claimed that Starlink terminals would be provided at NO COST to the taxpayer on an emergency basis to restore air traffic control connectivity.This, of course, follows a pattern, in which Musk posts on X about something regarding the FAA and then seems to will it into existence. Previously, the billionaire called for FAA administrator Michael Whitakers resignation, after the agency fined SpaceX for failing to get approval for rocket launch changes. After his repeated comments, Whitaker resigned on the day of Donald Trumps inauguration.A team from SpaceX, Starlinks parent company, has been working within the FAA in recent weeks to help modernize the agencys aging technology system. US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said they were tasked with developing a new, better, modern and safer system.Several SpaceX employees now have FAA email addresses, the Post reports. One SpaceX employee posted a photo of the team on X, with the statement, Working to improve the safety of the national air space system.The FAA was scheduled to make a decision to start paying out the Verizon contract next month. But the SpaceX team reportedly recommended it be awarded to Starlink instead, the Post reports, citing an unnamed source with knowledge of the plans. So far, the formal process of unwinding one contract and awarding it to another company has reportedly not been followed. Several senior FAA officials have refused to sign the contract, leading Musks team to seek help from a Trump appointee within the agency.Much of Musks wealth comes from government largesse. According to the Post, his companies have received approximately $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits over the years.There have been four commercial aircraft crashes globally in the last 11 weeks, as well as a handful of private plane crashes and several near misses. Meanwhile, the air traffic control system appears to be in chaos, with hundreds of employees cut. Despite air travel being safer than it has ever been before, many people are left with the perception of a global aviation system thats coming apart at the seams.See More:

Content warning: this article contains graphic descriptions of violence against people and animals.An error in Instagram Reels caused its algorithm to show some users video after video of horrific violence, animal abuse, murders, dead bodies, and other gore, Meta told 404 Media. The company said we apologize for the mistake.Sometime in the last few days, this error caused peoples Reels algorithms to suddenly change. A 404 Media reader who has a biking-related Instagram account reached out to me and said that his feed, which is typically dogs and bikes, had become videos of people getting killed: I had never seen someone being eaten by a shark, followed by someone getting killed by a car crash, followed by someone getting shot, he told 404 Media.To test this, the person let me login to his Instagram account, and I scrolled Reels for about 15 minutes. There were a couple videos about dogs and a couple videos about bikes, but the vast majority of videos were hidden behind a sensitive content warning. I will describe videos I saw when I clicked through the warnings, many of which had thousands of likes and hundreds of comments:An elephant repeatedly stepping on and flattening a manA man attacking a pig with a wrenchA close-up video of someone who had just been shot in the headA woman crying while laying on top of a loved one who had just been shot to deathA man on a motorcycle stopping next to a pedestrian and shooting them in the head with a pistolA pile of dead bodies in what looked to be a war-type situationA small plane crash in front of a crowd of peopleA group of people beating a crocodile to deathA few videos by an account called PeopleDeadDailyA man being lit on fireA man shooting a cashier at point blank rangeMost, but not all, of these videos were behind a sensitive content warning label, which wont play the video unless you click a button that says see reel. In this persons feed, I also saw video after video of people getting jumped, attacked, into fistfights, and being hit by cars, which were not behind sensitive content warning labels. A close-up video of a person falling out of a tower of terror-style amusement park ride, and patrons screaming, was also not behind a warning label.0:00 /0:10When this user reached out to me and told me he was seeing almost exclusively gore videos on his Reels algorithm, I wondered if it would be worth writing a story at all, because all of us at 404 Media regularly see incredibly disturbing content on Instagram. Was this any different than a normal day on Instagram, or had he just ended up on the death algorithm as Sam and Emanuel both called it and have both ended up on? Even the person who initially told me about this had this thought: Ive been telling people about this and hearing, Oh its cuz u liked something, maybe someone u followed changed their profile, he said. I feel like Im in the Twilight Zone. I feel like nobody Ive talked to today understands how disturbing what is being pushed is.Then I looked at the comments of many of these videos and it became clear that the issue was widespread. Here are comments I saw on the gore videos:What happened today? My feed is full of shoot, killing, thriller clips, fighting, killing human/animals, murder, and torture. Feed got f**ckedTodays algorithm showed me around 70 murders, 100+ accidents, and around 115 violence videos, is anyone on Instagram noticing it?Bro todays feed is not for beginnersPor que me sale Gore en mi ap de racismo? (Why am I getting gore on my racism app?)Yo wtf is ig becomingWhat is Instagram on today?Algorithm is insane todayWhy the fuck I have so many like this today???This isnt a normal day, some DARKWEB shit going on here.Not Instagram more like instagore.Nearly every recent post on the Instagram subreddit, meanwhile, is about gore. Post titles include Instagram is now 100% gore, Guys I cant literally sleep, Meta cant get away with this, This recent situation has finally helped me make the decision to delete Instagram, Whats happening with Instagram? Violent reels everywhere for the last 24 hours!, cant believe my feed full of cute cat videos got replaced with this shit, a video of someone scrolling through a dozen straight sensitive content label videos, a post referring to children being traumatized while scrolling, various conspiracies about why this may have happened, and more.I feel like I lost some humanity today when I exposed myself to seeing so many of those types of videos, Gore, deaths and what broke me the most was animal cruelty, one post read. Excuse me if I sound a bit exaggerated but death, pain and human suffering is something that makes me sick, I always imagine What would happen if I or my family were there? i can't sleep when my mind replays those videos.In an email, a Meta spokesperson told 404 Media We have fixed an error that caused some users to see content in their Instagram Reels feed that should not have been recommended. We apologize for the mistake. They said that the problem does not have anything to do with Metas recent announcement that it would loosen some content moderation rules.To prove that this was actually happening, I sent Meta six links to graphic reels. These included two videos of people getting shot in the face, a video of a dead body with no context or obvious news value, a person getting lit on fire, the account called PeopleDeadDaily, and the tower of terror video. None of these videos have been deleted.One of the many problems preventing people from actually holding Meta to account for any of this is that everyones feed is so incredibly personalized. Like I said, because we report on the darker corners of the internet, my Instagram feed is full of horrific things on a daily basis, which is probably not everyones experience.When we talk about things like content moderation, the vast majority of the job is deleting videos of terrorism, murder, horrific violence, and things like this, not censoring specific viewpoints, which is part of why the job itself is so traumatizing. Meta has signaled that it intends to do less content moderation overall. And so the future of Instagram, for us all, may be one where you login to see what your friends are up to and instead have videos of people getting murdered shoved algorithmically into your feed.Jason is a cofounder of 404 Media. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Motherboard. He loves the Freedom of Information Act and surfing.More from Jason Koebler

Military SchoolThe Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy isn't Danganronpa 4, but it's happy to revisit some fan-favourite tropesToo Kyo is also gonna troll you a bit for hoping it would straight-up be Danganronpa 4 because, you know, that's how they roll.Image credit: VG247 / Too Kyo Games / Media Vision Inc. / Aniplex Inc. Article by Rebecca Jones Guides Writer Published on Feb. 27, 2025 By happy coincidence, I finished playing Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony for the first time earlier this month meaning that I've finally conquered the full main story of a massive multimedia franchise that's had a chokehold on my attention ever since I got swept up by its mini-renaissance during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020. More to the point, though, it also means that I went into the demo for The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy at this month's Steam Next Fest with the ending to co-creator Kazutaka Kodaka's most famous body of work about as fresh in my memory as it gets.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Kodaka and several other notable ex-Spike Chunsoft employees founded their independent studio Too Kyo Games around the time of V3's launch in 2017, and since then several of the games they've released have been enthusiastically picked up on as potentially being Danganronpa 4 in spirit if not in name. This led fans to minor disappointment in the case of both World's End Club in 2020 and Master Detective Archives: Rain Code in 2023, both of which clearly share a lot of DNA with Danganronpa but diverge on some crucial component (no killing game in World's End Club; no school life in Rain Code).Now, naturally, The Hundred Line is getting the same treatment, and having played the demo, it's definitely leaning into the comparison even harder than anything else Too Kyo have put out so far. Some musical motifs and sound cues will be so familiar to Danganronpa fans that the callbacks border on straight-up reuse; to say nothing of the art style and archetypes used to assemble a cast of characters who give the same feeling of warm and yet slightly surreal overfamiliarity you get when meeting your friends' first cousins at a wedding. Sirei is somehow much grosser to look at than Monokuma, but even he knows he's just the latest in a long line of morally dubious mascot headmasters.Image credit: Too Kyo Games / Media Vision Inc. / Aniplex Inc.All of this is of course only emphasised by the fact that the opening half hour of the game which plays out in a back-to-back series of fully-animated, fully-voiced cutscenes that feel slightly uncanny if you're used to Danganronpa's visual novel style of delivery plays out almost beat-for-beat like its spiritual predecessors. A painfully ordinary teenage boy and his she's-not-my-girlfriend are interrupted on their way to a normal day at school by a series of misadventures, culminating in our protagonist waking up in an unknown classroom full of strangers and face-to-face with an effed-up looking cartoon mascot who's running the show.Too Kyo are so keen to tease you for thinking what they know you're thinking at this point that there's even a member of the group who's extremely hyped up at the prospect that they're all about to be forced into some sort of last-kid-standing fight to the death. Which is where the narratives diverge, of course, because The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is a turn-based strategy in which the characters are tasked with working together to fight evil robots and freaky monsters, and thus actively avert the kind of world-ending catastrophe that usually exists in the bigger-picture background of the Dangaronpa series. This Harley Quinn-esque cosplayer is effectively given the role of audience surrogate in the prologue, because that's what Too Kyo Games think of you sickos who just wanna watch some kids kill each other again. | Image credit: Too Kyo Games / Media Vision Inc. / Aniplex Inc.As a relatively recent convert to the delights of turn-based combat, I don't feel quite so qualified to assess The Hundred Line's merits as a strategy game as I do to talk about its relationship to Danganronpa. But I'm not a total novice either, and so far it's presented me with an interesting strategic puzzle in places without doing anything I'd consider groundbreaking, which is what I've come to expect when an experienced team specialising in narrative-led games branch out into a whole new gameplay style. I'd take an educated guess, though, that The Hundred Line will work better as an entry-level strategy game experience for visual novel fans than the other way around.The demo covers the first seven in-game days and ends with a cliffhanger which I won't spoil here but which should satisfy players who've arrived at the game via the creators' previous works. But that isn't to say that I think The Hundred Line is cleverly hiding its true intention to reboot the killing game concept under the bait-and-switch cover of a completely different genre, and truly, I'd much prefer it to stay that way. After all, I literally just finished playing Kodaka's 60-hour justification as to why he shouldn't have to keep making Danganronpa over and over unless he decides he really wants to again; and given that Too Kyo's relationship with the IP holders at Spike Chunsoft is by all accounts still very good, I think that Danganronpa 4, if and when it arrives, will probably be called well, Danganronpa 4, or some variation thereon. After three games of teens killing each other because some weirdo manipulated them into doing it, it's at least refreshing to see teens bashing robots and xenomorphs because some weirdo manipulated them into doing it. | Image credit: Too Kyo Games / Media Vision Inc. / Aniplex Inc.You probably won't do yourself or the game any favours by going into The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy simply hoping for more Danganronpa. But nevertheless, The Hundred Line wants you to know that it understands what you liked about Danganronpa, and that Too Kyo can still deliver the weird-yet-lovable characters and wild plots you want just without being restricted to the same style of gameplay, or the very tight (indeed, by the end, noticeably repetitive) formula that said franchise followed for its central trilogy.So far what I've seen of this game has managed admirably to strike a difficult balance between brand-new venture and self-conscious nostalgia trip, and while I'm not at all sure which half will emerge victorious in the full release, it's got me convinced to tag along for the ride. And if you think about it, there's something very timely about a sort-of-follow-up to Danganronpa coming out in 2025 that reminds us we're actually always better off banding together than allowing ourselves to be pitted against one another. Looked at that way, maybe it's not so much a subversion of established tropes as a natural evolution of them.The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy demo is available on Steam now, with the full game expected to launch on April 24th for Windows and Nintendo Switch. And there's good news for PC players, since progress from this demo can be carried over to the full release.

Pika WheelieI'm not Valentino Roserade, but Pokemon and Honda's "almost life-size" motorbike is a Koraide I reckon I could win a MotoGP title onLook, all those plastic fins and other Koraidony bits have to add at least an extra 100 horses on the straights.Image credit: Honda/The Pokemon Company News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Feb. 27, 2025 Pokemon and Honda have collaborated to create an "almost life-size" Koraidon motorbike that's certianly making me go all Scarlet and Violet as I think about the idea of popping a wheelie on it after winning at Motegi or Mugello. Yes, step aside Pikachu Mini Cooper, this a thing that's being teased ahead of a full unveiling next month.While the video offering a first look at bike wasn't shared as part of today's Pokemon Presents stream, it certainly feels like it should have been. Step aside, TCG Pocket packs that are cool, I guess. There's a motorbike specially aimed at the biggest nerds alive coming through.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. As you can check out below, the clip revealing the bike features movie trailer-worthy bwaaaaas as it shows off different angle of the bike's Koraidon-inspired bodywork, which definitely won't make it stick out like a sore thumb if you park it in front of your local shop. The heartbeat's an outstanding touch too.The bike - which seems to be the weird sibling of a Miraidon bike concept TPC and Toyota created last year - will be exhibited at the Honda Welcome Plaza in Tokyo between March 7 and March 9.Watch on YouTubeHonda writes (thanks, Nintendo Life) that the bike, fittingly dubbed the Honda Koraidon, is "an almost life-size reproduction of the shape of Koraidon in both weight and size, down to the finest details". "Honda will use its proprietary self-balancing technology to enable Honda Koraidon to walk on all four legs, and self-stand on two-wheels which is unseen in the game," it adds.Hang on a minute. It can WALK?It seems so, using some tech Honda originally developed for robots. The more you know. Anyway, I definitely think I could dominate grand prix motorcycle racing on this thing, like a weeb Barry Sheene. Pikachu's mug on my helmet, the theme song blasting on the podium when I win in place of a national anthem.Anyway, back to reality. If all the Pokemon Day festivities have you diving back into TCG Pocket you can consult our huge array of helpful TCG Pocket guides for expert advice on things like how trading works in its current form and assembling decks based around ex Pokemon ranging from Cresselia to Yanmega.

Feature: Every Pokmon We Saw In The New Legends: Z-A TrailerTime to catch 'em all?by Alana Hagues 4m agoShare:0Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube797kAfter a year of silence, we've finally seen more of Pokmon Legends: Z-A, the next game in the Pokmon: Legends series. And this time around, Lumiose City of the Kalos region is our stage.During today's Pokmon Presents, we got a decent look at the game, including a plethora of returning Pokmon that we'll be able to catch in the city's Wild Areas. Yep, we can go for coffee and catch Pokmon. Everyone's dream scenario, right?We've skimmed through all of the footage and highlighted all of the Pokmon we spotted wandering around Lumiose. We've only included Pokmon that appear during these trailers and in promotional screenshots, so while some evolutions might be missing, it's because we haven't actually seen them yet.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube797kWatch on YouTube Any Pokmon in italics was confirmed in the first teaser from February 2024.All Pokmon from the Legends: Z-A TrailersThe Starter PokmonImage: The Pokmon CompanyWe've got our confirmed Starter Trio for our second trip to Lumiose City! Gold & Silver fans are probably delighted, as two of the three are from the Johto region.At the start of the game, you'll be able to pick from Chikorita, Tepig (from Black & White), or Totodile. Not a bad little selection.Will they have new forms like the trio in Legends: Arceus had? We have no idea at the moment, but we hope so. We'd love to see Chikorita get some much-needed love in particular.Gen 1 Pokmon (Red, Blue, Yellow)Images: The Pokmon CompanyBeing the first Generation, you'll always expect to see a bunch of returning 'mons from the Kanto region. Z-A is no exception.But there aren't as many as you might think this early on. We've seen a few of the obvious ones Pikachu and Raichu, Magikarp and Gyarados, Charizard, and the Eeveelutions but there are many, many more that could make an appearance.Confirmed PokmonCharizardPidgeyPidgeottoPidgeotPikachuRaichuBellsproutWeepinbellVictreebelOnixKangaskhanStaryuPinsirMagikarpGyaradosEeveeVaporeonJolteonFlareonDragonairGen 2 Pokmon (Gold, Silver, Crystal)Images: The Pokmon CompanyGeneration 2 is one of the most popular Gens in the Pokmon franchise, and you can see that right out of the gate with the starters.Chikorita and Totodile may well be the headliners here, but there are a couple of other returners that we're happy to see. Of course, with Eevee here, Umbreon was always a given (Espeon too, though we haven't see them yet). But the Mareep line is back in its full glory. Both Flaaffy and Ampharos can be found in the trailers, while Mareep can be spotted on the official Z-A website.Confirmed PokmonChikoritaTotodileMareepFlaaffyAmpharosUmbreonHeracrossLarvitarGen 3 Pokmon (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald)Image: The Pokmon CompanyHoenn is home to many tropical-themed 'mons, so we're not sure how many of Ruby & Sapphire's finest will make their way to the hustle and bustle of city life. But we've seen a few.No one should be surprised about Absol, who is one of the headliners in the trailer. We see it and its Mega Evolution multiple times. The same goes for the adorable Swablu and the regal Altaria.Of course, Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, remakes of gen 3, launched during Generation 6 where Mega Evolution was introduced so many of the Pocket monsters from Hoenn already have Megas. We have a hunch more of those will be coming back. Roselia is a given, seeing as Budew is back (see the next section), but who else?Confirmed PokmonGardevoirSableyeSwabluAltariaAbsolBagonGen 4 Pokmon (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum)Images: The Pokmon CompanySinnoh oh, wait, sorry, Hisui was the home to the previous Legends game, Arceus. As such, we saw a lot of Gen 4 Pokmon making an appearance there.It's still early, but Diamond & Pearl's selection is a little slim to start things off. But perhaps some of the best are yet to come. Surely we'll see the likes of Gallade, given that Gardevoir is here. And because of the other Eeveelutions, there's no way we're not seeing Leafeon alongside Glaceon, right?Confirmed PokmonBudewRoseradeLucarioHippopotasHippowdonGlaceonGen 5 Pokmon (Black & White)Images: The Pokmon CompanyThe generation everyone is convinced will be remade one day, Gen 5 actually gets a starter rep here thanks to Tepig, so Fire/Fighting fans will be satisfied. Maybe. Unless Emboar has a new career path.Unova's managed to sneak in a few popular Pokmon to this new look Lumiose, including the Sandile line (Krokorok has been confirmed thanks to the official website, and Krookodile is in your trainer's team during a battle) and Chandelure. We haven't seen the other Ghost-type 'mons yet, but they'll be there, surely.Patrat too, for some reason. We're sure Patrat has fans. Sorry.Confirmed PokmonTepigPatratTrubbishGarbodorSandileKrokorokKrookodileChandelureGen 6 Pokmon (X & Y)Images: The Pokmon CompanyAs you'd expect, the Kalos region's native Pokmon make up a huge number of the roster for Legends: Z-A. And we saw lots of them in the new trailers.None of the starters have made it yet, at least but we do have multiple fan favourites. Skiddo, Aegislash, Talonflame, Sylveon, Florges, Goomy, Litleo, and many more. This will probably be the most-represented gen when the full Pokdex is out there.Confirmed PokmonBunnelbyDiggersbyFletchlingTalonflameScatterbugSpewpaVivillonLitleoPyroarFlabbFloetteFlorgesSkiddoGogoatFurfrouEspurrAegislashSpritzeeAromatisseSwirlixSlurpuffInkayDragalgeClauncherClawitzerSylveonHawluchaGoomySliggooGoodraKlefkiZygarde (10% Forme)Image: The Pokmon CompanyGen 7, 8, and 9 Pokmon (Sun & Moon, Sword & Shield, Scarlet & Violet)Right now, we have no confirmed Pokmon from the three most-recent generations. Give it time, and we're sure we'll get a handful.After all, Duraladon (from Galar) would absolutely fit in a cityscape, right? We all need a walking Dragon-type skyscraper in our cities.All Mega EvolutionsImages: The Pokmon CompanyMega Evolutions are back! And in the February 2025 trailer, we got our first look at them.While no new Megas have been confirmed yet, plenty of returning favourites are making a comeback. Here are all of the Mega Evolutions we've seen so far.Confirmed Mega EvolutionsMega Charizard XMega Charizard YMega KangaskhanMega GyaradosMega AmpharosMega GardevoirMega SableyeMega AltariaMega LucarioSubscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube797kThat's all for now! If you think we've missed anyone, let us know in the comments down below.Related GamesSee AlsoShare:00 Alana has been with Nintendo Life since 2022, and while RPGs are her first love, Nintendo is a close second. She enjoys nothing more than overthinking battle strategies, characters, and stories. She also wishes she was a Sega air pirate. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesNintendo Highlights Four Brand New Games "Coming Soon" To SwitchMarch is going to be an exciting monthPokmon Presents Announced For 27th February 2025Quick, act surprised!

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube797kFollowing a rating toward the end of 2024, Publisher Reef Entertainment and developer Bitmap Bureau have revealed the debut trailer for Terminator 2D: NO FATE, a new retro-inspired title based on the 1991 movie Terminator 2: Judgement Day (a.k.a. the best one, and we won't hear any different, thank you very much).Bitmap Bureau is known for its work on titles such as Xeno Crisis and Final Vendetta, and the team certainly seems to have done its homework for this latest project. NO FATE looks remarkably faithful to the James Cameron-directed movie, allowing you play through scenes from the 'present day' and the apocalyptic future.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube797kWatch on YouTube One thing we noticed is that we've got the likeness for actors Linda Hamilton and Robert Patrick here, but Arnold Schwarzenegger and Edward Furlong are conspiciously missing. It's no surprise, in a way, but it would've been nice to see the whole gang back.Scheduled for launch on 5th September 2025, we honestly can't wait to see more of this one. On the official PlayStation Blog, design director Mike Tucker said the following:"Our team poured its passion into crafting adrenaline-fueled arcade gameplay and stunning pixel artthe very elements that make games special to us. As our first licensed game, we wanted to do justice to the Terminator 2 legacy."I feel Terminator 2D: No Fate is a love letter to 80s/90s arcade games, and my mission was to create the T2 side-scroller we should have had in our youth. Players control Sarah Connor, John Connor, and the T-800 in arcade-style missions that retell Terminator 2: Judgment Day while expanding its narrative."Images: Reef EntertainmentWe'll be sure to share more on Terminator 2D: NO FATE as soon as we can. "Johnny's fine, honey, Johnny's just fine"For now, what do you make of this one? Will you be picking it up? Let us know with a comment down below.[source youtube.com, via blog.playstation.com]Related GamesSee AlsoShare:01 Nintendo Lifes resident horror fanatic, when hes not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesNintendo Highlights Four Brand New Games "Coming Soon" To SwitchMarch is going to be an exciting month98 Games You Should Pick Up In Nintendo's 'Play On' eShop Sale (Europe)Every game we scored 9/10 or higherStunning New Physical Edition Of Stardew Valley Is Now Available At FangamerIncludes comic, poster, art cards, and more

In its annual letter released Thursday, payments giant Stripe declared that it was seeing an AI boom with its data revealing that artificial intelligence startups are growing more rapidly than traditional SaaS companies have historically.In a chart, Stripe showed that the top 100 AI companies (by revenue) were able to achieve $5 million in annualized revenue in 24 months in 2024 compared to the top 100 SaaS companies taking 37 months in 2018 to reach the same milestone.Our 2024 data shows these startups are building businesses at record pace, wrote Stripe CEO and co-founder Patrick Collison.Specifically, Collison pointed to AI-powered coding assistant Cursor exceeding $100 million in revenue, Lovable hitting $17 million in ARR in just 3 months, and Bolt achieving $20 million in ARR in two months time as examples of this AI boom.Much as SaaS started horizontal and then went vertical (first Salesforce and then Toast), were seeing a similar dynamic playing out in AI: we started with ChatGPT, but are now seeing a proliferation of industry specific tools, he wrote. Some people have called these startups LLM wrappers; those people are missing the point.Stripe said that new industry-specific AI tools are helping those players properly realize the economic impact of LLMs and that the contextual, data, and workflow integration will prove enduringly valuable.As evidence of that, Collison pointed to startups such as Abridge, Nabla and DeepScribe as helping to revamp patient and medical care as well as architects using SketchPro.Along that same vein, Stripe is still quite bullish on vertical SaaS, especially as it relates to small businesses, noting that 6.3% of SMBs powered by vertical SaaS platforms on Stripe earn $1 million in total revenue in their first yearnearly 60% more than in one benchmarked comparison set.The letter also noted that payment volume in 2024 grew to $1.4 trillion, up 38% on the year before. The company on Thursday also confirmed a tender offer where investors will buy up shares from those employees at a valuation of $91.5 billion. Stripe said it will also repurchase shares as part of the transaction.Topics

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free just click TechCrunch Mobility!Lucid Motors delivered a surprise this week when it announced that CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson was resigning. Speculation about the departure, which includes vacating a board seat, was amplified when Rawlinson didnt attend the fourth-quarter earnings call.Senior reporter Sean OKane has all the details, including how the EV maker performed, who is filling the top spot (for now), and what the companys goals are moving forward. Rawlinson will be around in some capacity, although it should be noted that he will not be there daily, nor will he have any decision-making authority. The company said he will serve as strategic technical adviser to Turqi Alnowaiser, who is chairman of the board and a top executive at Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund Lucids majority owner.So where does Lucid go from here? It needs to sell more EVs namely its new Gravity SUV and reduce costs. Thats no small feat, especially considering Lucid is also developing a new midsize vehicle platform (more $$$) that is expected to launch at the end of 2026.Before we jump into the rest of the news, I wanted to highlight an article about Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen and a suite of new products and features that the freight forwarding and logistics startup is rolling out. Many of these new products use AI, which isnt what caught my eye.It is the pace of the rollout. Petersen told TechCrunch this is the first in a series of semi-annual announcements of this kind la Airbnb. Petersen said Airbnb founder Brian Cheskys talk about founder mode is what inspired the strategy. The viral moment for founder mode, which was fueled by Paul Grahams essay, might be over. But Petersens latest move shows this management strategy isnt fading anytime soon.A little birdImage Credits:Bryce DurbinRemember the big round of Cruise layoffs that happened earlier this month? For those who dont, parent company GM announced it would slash Cruises workforce by nearly 50%. The remains of Cruise are supposed to move under parent company General Motors as the automaker directs its resources toward improving its hands-free driver-assistance system Super Cruise and eventually rolling out personal autonomous vehicles.Some little birds told us a few more layoffs have occurred since the initial round, namely that the Cruise marketing team about eight people has been dismissed. We hear that finance and legal departments will likely follow once the transition is complete.Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean OKane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.Deals!Image Credits:Bryce DurbinLets start with the transportation-adjacent world of delivery. Last month, Dutch food delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway sold off Grubhub for $650 million, a fraction of the $7.3 billion valuation the delivery startup had when it was acquired in 2020. Now, Just Eat Takeaway is the one being gobbled up.Global tech company Prosus reached an agreement to buy Just Eat Takeaway for 4.1 billion in cash. If the deal is completed, Prosus will become the fourth largest food delivery group globally.Other deals that got my attention AIRO Group, an aerospace and defense company based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Washington, D.C., filed for an estimated $100 million IPO. The company plans to list on the Nasdaq exchange.Circuit, a short-trip, electric shuttle solutions startup, raised $17 million as part of a Series B round. Private investment firm MKB, as well as existing investors Tribeca Venture Partners and Impact Engine, participated.Donut Lab, a subsidiary of Verge Motorcycles developing electric motors and other related technology, raised 15 million. The companys anchor investor is Risto Siilasmaa, founder of cybersecurity companies F-Secure and WithSecure and former chairman of Nokias board. Siilasmaa will also join Donut Labs board.Gozem, an African startup that offers ride-hailing, commerce, vehicle financing, and digital banking across Togo, Benin, Gabon, and Cameroon via its app, raised $30 million in a Series B funding round. The round, which includes $15 million in equity and $15 million in debt, was led by SAS Shipping Agencies Services and Al Mada Ventures.Vidyut, a Bengaluru, India-based startup that provides financing for commercial and passenger EVs, raised $2.5 million from Flourish Ventures.Notable reads and other tidbitsImage Credits:Bryce DurbinAutonomous vehiclesAAA released its annual survey thats designed to gauge consumer interest and acceptance ofadvanced driver-assistance systems and robotaxis. TL;DR: Enthusiasm for self-driving vehicles is low just 13% of surveyed drivers consider it a priority, a decrease from 18% in 2022. And it seems many are not interested in using them, either, with 53% saying they would not choose to ride in one. Meanwhile, interest in ADAS is high, especially around features like Automatic Emergency Braking.Avride autonomous sidewalk delivery robots have made it to Japan. The Yandex spinout has launched commercial operations in central Tokyo with a fleet of about 10 robots.Electric vehicles, charging, & batteriesAston Martin cut 170 jobs and pushed back plans to launch an EV (will it ever happen?). The company will instead work on an ultra-luxury hybrid model.Last week, I highlighted Seans article that looked into how and who organized the Tesla Takeover movement, which led to protests at Tesla showrooms in dozens of U.S. cities. Now it seems the Tesla Takeover movement is gaining some traction. The question is how long it will persist and whether it will affect Teslas bottom line as protestors hope.Range Energy, a startup that developed electrified semitrailers, is shuffling its executive deck. Founder and CEO Ali Javidan is moving into the president and CTO role, the company told TechCrunch. Jon Foster, the former CFO of Zoox who helped architect the autonomous vehicle companys acquisition by Amazon, is Ranges new CEO.Future of flightJoby Aviation released its earnings and heres what we know. The electric vertical takeoff and landing startup says its on track to deliver an aircraft to Dubai by mid-2025, when it will demonstrate the vehicles readiness to carry passengers. The company now has five aircraft in its test fleetand made progress on stage four of type certification. Joby said it expects to go through the final step of the FAA certification process within the next 12 months. But this is an expensive pursuit: Jobys net loss for 2024 was $608 million.In-car techFour years ago, Google was hit with a 100 million antitrust fine by Italys competition authority for refusing to let a third-party electric car-charging app developed by Enel integrate with its Android Auto platform. Senior reporter Natasha Lomas wrote about a new ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union that affirmed the watchdog organizations view that Googles initial block can constitute antitrust abuse.The upshot? The CJEU judgment sets out conditions for tech giants when it comes to interoperability that could have wider applicability for app makers seeking to plug their wares into key platforms.This weeks wheelsNothing this week, but stay tuned.What is This weeks wheels? Its a chance to learn about the different transportation products were testing, whether its an electric or hybrid car, an e-bike, or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle.

Breakdown & ShowreelsAvatar The Last Airbender: VFX Breakdown by PixomondoBy Vincent Frei - 27/02/2025 Discover how Pixomondo brought the Fire Nation to life in Avatar: The Last Airbender! VFX Supervisor Goran Backman and Executive Producer Kristin Patterson break down the studios work, from firebending effects to massive environments!WANT TO KNOW MORE?Jabbar Raisani, Marion Spates and Adam Chazen: Heres my interview of Jabbar Raisani (Executive Producer, Director & VFX Supervisor), Marion Spates (VFX Supervisor) and Adam Chazen (VFX Producer). Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2025