#need for speed 2015

[provenflawless-vp]

[lehoeing]

Drink with the big boys

Leo Gregory as Travis in Need for Speed (2015)

[andreaskorn]

Need For Speed: Deluxe Edition (2015)

66 Stunden leben in der virtuellen Welt von Ventura Bay.

Oder: 3 Wochen in Ventura Bay, Autos inklusive. Immersion - Leben als Racer in der künstlichen Wirklichkeit. Das ist NEED FOR SPEED.

Zu Beginn bekommt man neue Freunde (Mike, Amy, Travis, Robyn und Manu). Sie nehmen mich in ihre Runde und Aktivitäten auf. Vom Diner über Garagen-Gespräche bis zu immer neuen Rennherausforderungen. Schritt für Schritt erhält man das Gefühl für sein Auto, muss aber auch herausfinden, wie man in der Werkstatt (Garage) an seinem Wagen arbeitet, um die Fahrleistungen zu verbessern. Denn die Anforderungen steigen.

Steht was an, kriegt man einen Call von der Crew. Mich nervt allerdings, dass die mich genau dann anrufen, wenn ich mich in einem Rennen befinde. Aber gut denke ich, ich kann mir das Anliegen aber später in der Aufzeichnung nochmal anhören. Denn telefonieren, den Anschluss an den Drift-Train nicht verschleppen, auf den Gegenverkehr achten, Abbiegungen frühzeitig erkennen, das fordert schon absolute Konzentration. Ein Smalltalk ist da jedenfalls fehl am Platz. Aber gut. Und doch: Mist, das Event habe ich verloren. Bin wohl doch noch zu langsam. Also nochmal. Die Zeit vergeht. Auf der Karte nach Events Ausschau halten. Erst leicht, dann mittel, dann schwer. Was gelingt? Was geht, Bro? Man muss es herausfinden. Ich habe 66 Stunden gebraucht, um alle Events als Gewinner abzuschließen. Um ehrlich zu sein. Ab und zu spielte ich mit den Gedanken aufzugeben. Aber ich bin froh, dass ich nicht aufgegeben und es doch geschafft habe!

Immerhin, wirklich kein leichtes und kein kurzes Unterfangen. Aber dazu sind ja interaktive Entertainmentmedien da. Sie wollen den User unterhalten, fordern, ihn in die virtuelle Welt einbeziehen und dem Spieler zum Teil Möglichkeiten offenbaren, die in der Wirklichkeit so nicht existieren.

In der Pipeline liegt schon das nächste "Need For Speed: Payback". Auf nach "Fortune Valley" mit neuen Herausforderungen. Ich bin mal gespannt, was es dort zu entdecken und zu erleben gibt.

Dr. Andreas Korn, 17.07.2024

+ + +

[nouru-vi]

Replayed NFS 2015, JDM only this time, lookit me rides

[ukkimura]

Retro Cars Wallpapers - Who did it ?

[keferon]

Uh, hate to tell you all this, but Rescue Bots Blurr IS RID 2015 Blurr. He and Sideswipe met in Rescue Bots season 4, in the episode “The Need for Speed”, and they literally talk briefly about that mission in “Blurred”. It’s obviously later, so he’s matured a bit, but…yeah, same character. 😅

Yeah I know he is supposed to be the same character I just refuse to accept that knowledge. It's Aligned universe. Nothing is ever aligned in there haha

They have Exiles Blurr being completely different from Rescue bots Blurr being completely different from RiD Blurr.

Either Blurr has three different entities living inside his head and doing magic girl transformation every time or those three cannot be considered the same character

[callmearcturus]

“I think our new threshold, frankly, should be 100Mbps. I think anything short of that shortchanges our children, our future, and our new digital economy.” That’s what FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel argued nine years ago — now, it’s finally happening.

Today, the FCC has changed its definition of “broadband” to mean download speeds of 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of 20 megabits per second. It had been stuck at 25Mbps/3Mbps since 2015. As recently as 2021, outgoing FCC chairman Ajit Pai claimed we still didn’t need more than that.

...

The new definition was pushed through by the FCC’s Democratic majority, something it hasn’t had for the majority of President Biden’s term in office. The FCC spent years completely deadlocked without its full five commissioners, until Anna Gomez was finally confirmed by the Senate last September.

Anyway, vote blue, it actually fucking matters.

[kitschy-gillyflowers]

My Favorite Mayerling Kisses (with Dishonorable Mentions)

This is just my personal opinion. All clips are kept at original speed. Pls inform me of location/dates where they are missing or if they’re incorrect. Thanks <3

• Dishonorable Mentions:

Mark Seibert & Fredrik Andersson (Essen 2015)

Did Mark just headbutt Fredrik??? What the heck was that? It lasted less than 1 second. At least as it looks like a power move on Der Tod’s part? And Mark looks cool, too. But there’s not a lot of intimacy.

Máté Kamarás & Lukas Perman (Osaka 2007)

This is so funny, I love it! But I couldn’t put it into the “favorites” list for obvious reasons. Did they lose the gun? Why is there a knife? They were so discombobulated they forgot the KISS (which is what I’m ranking lol; so this technically shouldn’t be here). I adore the way Lukas arches his back after the stab, and the how Máté drops him like a rag doll. This video is a gem. As a Mayerling it gets 100%, but as a kiss it gets a 0%.

• Favorites (least to most):

8. Thomas Borchert & Lukas Perman (Trieste 2004)

It’s a concert, so they have minimal space, but the kiss is still very good. The head tilt and going straight for the lips? Holding Rudolf by the waist??? Love it! (And more so because of Nautilus das Abenteuermusical brainrot, but that’s not the point).

7. Mark Seibert & Martin Markert (Essen 2012)

I HAVE to give Mark some credit, he has some good kisses in there (despite what some people say lol). This kiss is direct and long with no hesitation. And grabbing Rudolf by the neck is a unique power move, low-key. Usually it’s waist or upper-back. Love how Der Tod aggressively yanks Rudolf’s neck back after the kiss lol.

6. Felix Martin & Thomas Harke (Vienna 1998)

That kiss is so passionate. Felix is GOING IN! And you can actually see Rudolf kissing back this time, which is nice. I have an inkling the kiss would’ve been much longer if the gun hadn’t gone off so soon. You can’t hear the audio (because it’s a gif) but I heard it while making the gif lol. Trust me, they kissed even after it went off.

5. Oliver Arno & Martin Markert (??? 2011)

I’m OBSESSED with the way Oliver gently inches his hand from the gun barrel down to Martin’s hand. It brings back some fluidity I miss from Uwe’s og Vienna kisses. The kiss is similar to Mark’s (from number 7): direct, lengthy, and on the lips. But this time Rudolf is held at the waist.

4. Lukas Mayer & Dennis Hupka (China 2024)

The return of the Mayerling Kiss after years of missing it. And in CHINA of all places. Iconic. The way Lukas grabs Dennis’ head so hard that his whole body starts swaying lol. And the kiss isn’t brief, it’s like Tod is devouring Rudolf’s face.

3. Máté Kamarás & Lukas Perman (Vienna 2003)

Lukas really went to the LIMIT on this one. I’ve been mostly talking about Der Tod, but Rudolf really stole the scene this time. Excitedly grabbing the gun, laughing, and pulling Tod into the kiss is brilliant. 10/10. And I like how Máté doesn’t immediately let go of Lukas, but slowly glides his palm across Lukas’ chest first lol.

2. Uwe Kröger & Jens Janke (Vienna 1994)

That kiss is UNBELIEVABLE. It’s like Der Tod was taking five large gulps of water after being in a desert for a month. And the HANDS- I can’t even describe it…wow. I love how Jens kinda slides forward and Uwe is like- WHOA- and backs up. I feel like the Mayerlings increasingly got more stiff as time went on. Love how fluid everything is here.

1. Uwe Kröger & Andreas Bieber (Vienna 1992)

Not the one from the pro-shot (I like it better zoomed-out). Uwe Kröger is the best kisser in Elisabeth, no question (in my opinion). The fluidity in his Mayerlings is unbeatable. The dress and the graceful aura are everything. I love how he slides his hands up Andy’s body and then to the gun. The way Andy arches his back during the kiss and recoils when the gun goes off is PERFECT. I think more Rudolfs need some spine action.

[provenflawless-vp]

[bunabi]

Whoever sent me that ask saying the devs contributed nothing but 'abysmal dogshit':

As someone who didn't enjoy her time with DAV for the most part I'm just gonna drop all these here and leave you to ask yourself who was responsible for Veilguard being a major departure from past games and where Bioware would be without people who genuinely care:

It helped that the Dragon Age team was full of veterans, and that over the years they’d developed a fair amount of chemistry as a team. “Muscle memory is incredibly influential at this point,” said Cameron Lee. “Through the hellfire which is game development, [we’re] forged into a unit, in that we know what [everyone’s] thinking and we understand everyone’s expectations and we know what needs to get done and just do it.”

From around the time of Trespasser’s release in 2015 to late 2017, the fourth Dragon Age was developed within an atmosphere that was apparently one of the most positive that some at BioWare had experienced.

“(...) some of the big changes included: 1) laying down a clear vision as early as possible, 2) maintaining regular on-boarding documents and procedures so new team members could get up to speed fast; and 3) a decision-making mentality where “we acknowledged that making the second-best choice was far, far better than not deciding and letting ambiguity stick around while people waited for a decision.

While BioWare’s publisher and parent company, Electronic Arts, tends to give its studios a fair amount of autonomy, there are still mandates to follow. By 2017, EA had not been secret about its desire to make all of its major products into “games as a service,” best defined as games that can be played—and monetized—for months and years after their release. Traditional Dragon Age games did not fit into that category.

By the latter half of 2017, Anthem was in real trouble, and there was concern that it might never be finished unless the studio did something drastic. In October of 2017, not long after veteran Mass Effect director Casey Hudson returned to the studio to take over as general manager, EA and BioWare took that drastic action, canceling Joplin and moving the bulk of its staff, including executive producer Mark Darrah, onto Anthem.

“I actually cannot count the amount of ‘stress casualties’ we had on Mass Effect: Andromeda or Anthem."

How did they manage to ship it in 15 months? The dev mentions working about 90 hours a week for 15 months. Many other devs on the team were also doing so and they think that others were doing 90 hours a week prior to the 15 month mark.

[andreaskorn]

Need For Speed: Deluxe Edition (2015)

Aussichtslose Aufholjagden – wenn das Spiel ins Stocken gerät

Nach ca. 45% Spielfortschritt hat man nahezu alle Strecken gefahren und viele Events beschritten. Meine Spielerfolge machen das zusätzliche Team „Risky Devil“ aufmerksam und fordert den Spieler zu Events heraus, die z.T. sehr schwer sind (Driftcontest "Einer von vielen"; doch noch geschafft; s. Abb. oben). Zudem erhält Amy die Gelegenheit, Akira Nakai’s Porsche zu testen (Abb. s. oben). Das anspruchsvolle Rennen gilt es gegen Amy zu gewinnen. Nicht einfach. Danach habe ich offenbar Magnus Walker’s Neugierde geweckt (ca. 50%), dessen Events muss ich gegen seinen Porsche gewinnen. 1. Position ist freilich Pflicht. Auch mit meinem getunten Porsche 911 DT3RS schaffe ich es nach einigen Anläufen immer noch nicht.

Er ist zu schnell. Bei erforderlichen Höchstgeschwindigkeiten (und keiner Routinestrecke), Gegenverkehr, Straßenpfeilern und hart abknickenden Straßenkreuzungen sind Fahrfehler unvermeidbar. Aber die werden drastisch bestraft und man fällt leicht so weit zurück, dass man den auf der perfekten Spur fahrenden Herausforderer nicht mehr einholen kann. Auch bei einigen Events mit ca. 6 K.I. Gegnern (APC’s) überholen bei Fahrfehlern die zurückliegenden Racer mit einem Affentempo. Die Gummiband K.I. ist hier extrem gnadenlos, das nutzt auch extra max. Nitro mehr. Oder muss man das eigene Fahrzeug maximal tunen, um eine reale Chance zu haben?

Gummiband K.I.

Jedenfalls finde ich das Scheitern durch diese extreme K.I. unfair und unmotivierend. Da bin ich in der Community mit dieser Kritik sicherlich nicht alleine. Denn der Sieg ist Bedingung für das Weiterkommen. Folge: das Spiel gerät ins Stocken. Muss das sein? Nicht jeder will und kann sich der Fahrkünste eines Walter Röhrls anpassen oder im Ansatz so fahren wie Ken Block. Aber was ist mit Anfängern, die aber doch erste Hürden nehmen können. Reicht das nicht? Warum kann man nicht mit einfachen Wagen wie einem Golf GTI Bj. 1976 bestehen, wenn doch das Gummiband abgefallenen Racern eine Chance geben will? Oder macht sie das doch nicht? Wie gut oder schlecht muss man fahren können, um im „Spiel“ dominieren zu können? Eine Justage für „Novizen“ mit „Schieberegler“ für leicht/schwere K.I. oder leichten/schweren Schwierigkeitsgrad gibt es in diesem Need For Speed aber leider nicht.

Aufgeben oder weiterfahren?

Wie geht's nun weiter? Meinen Porsche bis zum Anschlag abrüsten, oder einen noch besseren, teuren Sportflitzer erwerben (Lamborghini etc.), mit dem sich meine Erfolgsaussichten auf einen Sieg erhöhen? Oder in den sauren Apfel beißen und solange Wiederholen, bis man doch Glück hat und als erster durchs Ziel rauscht? Ausprobieren ins Ungewisse, das gefällt mir aber gar nicht so gut.

Der Fun am Anfang weicht zunehmend dem Ernst im Spiel. Der Spielspaß bleibt dann aber auf der Strecke.

[Anmerkung: Neben der Bildästhetik untersuche ich in meinen Forschungsarbeiten Balancing, Storytelling, Handlungs- und Interaktionslogik im Computerspiel (Liste der Publikationen). Für die GAME FACE hatte ich vor vielen Jahren auch einen Beitrag veröffentlicht (Kolumne), wo es u.a. um das Phänomen ging: "Wenn Spiele ins Stocken geraten".]

Dr. Andreas Korn, 09.07.2024

+ + +

[identifying-cars-in-posts]

A long overdue update:

Hi everyone. Long time no see. I literally have not opened Tumblr since the last time I posted here. Hope everyone is doing ok. Figured I owed y’all an apology and explanation for kinda just vanishing.

First, I did in fact get a car! It’s a 2015 Nissan Versa Note. I don’t particularly like it but a friend gave me a deal on it that I couldn’t turn down. Once my life stabilizes I’m probably going to sell it and buy an old truck, maybe a 70s Ford. I’d love a little sports car or a land yacht but rear wheel drive is a bit impractical for brutal New England winters, and the Jeep really put me in Old American Truck Mode. But yes I have a car now!

Second, unfortunately this is an official notice of hiatus. When I last posted saying I was taking some time off it was because I had just had an incredibly stressful move and did not have the energy to keep this blog up. I figured I’d take some time to get settled in, relax, and then pick this back up after a week or two, but the last month has been really rough - the short version is one of the people I was living with turned out to be a pretty horrendous human being who managed to get everybody living in the house essentially kicked out via sheer drama. Within a month and a half. It’s a long story but tl:dr if you quite literally slander a property manager with heavy unfounded accusations of horrible crimes, they’ll probably bail from the whole situation. And since they’re gone the landlord has to hand ownership of everything over to a company that’s forcing everyone still here to vacate. I’m now fighting to not have to live in aforementioned Nissan Versa through the aforementioned brutal New England winter. On top of that, I’m a retail manager so we’re going into our busiest most stressful season, so that’s been an extra level of exhaustion.

So what does that mean for this blog? Well, as I said, I’m officially going on indefinite hiatus, as are the projects I was working on in relation, including the reference website. I’m really sorry, I’m just way too stressed and dealing with way too much. If I could, I would just hand off administrative power to someone else, but this is a sideblog so I can’t hand off login credentials without also giving access to my main/personal account. It’s my biggest regret of this account, but when I started it I never expected it to blow up the way it did back in September - I had no reason to expect to need it to be its own entirely separate blog. I love what I was doing here and I thought that it might even be a nice distraction from everything going on, but the upkeep required with this blog is just more than I can deal with right now. I hope that things settle down soon and that I can genuinely come back here and enjoy what I was doing, but I just need literally anything to level out in my real life and to not be in 100% survival mode, because at the moment I literally do not have the energy to pour into this.

Anyway. Sorry for the long post, I’m not good at not being overly verbose. I’m really sorry for kind of abandoning this project, and I hope I can get back to it relatively soon, it just might be a while.

In the mean time, I hope those of y’all who I turned onto cars as a potential hobby find some other good outlets! I highly recommend Donut Media’s series “Up to Speed” on YouTube, as well as the channels Regular Car Reviews, Doug DeMuro, Garbage Time, and Aging Wheels. All great YouTube channels that are both informative and very approachable and fun.

Godspeed and much love. Hope to see y’all soon

- Identifying Cars in Posts admin ❤️

[theplaceyoustillrememberdreaming]

Nicole Reads A Lot of Fanfiction (and she's gonna share it with you): Week 9

Week [1] [2] [3] [4/5/6] [7] [8]

The fics are kind of everywhere this week.. enjoy!

Sterek: 9 Buddie: 9

What Every Firefighter Needs by sofonisba_found (2013•T•2.8K)

Every firehouse needs a Dalmatian, right? It just so happens that the Dalmatian adored by the men and women at engine 603 isn't quite what he seems.

Mångata by artemis69 | @artemis69 (2018•GA•7.4K)

The place chosen for the speed dating is nice, close enough to the shore that the sun warms the shallow waters and washes everything in blinding white light. Long, thin shadows crawl all over the hills, dancing over pinkish sand and pale rocks, following the swirls of the surface. When he looks around, Stiles can see various spots marked out with colorful stones, all organized in a loose circle and numbered with small shells. In the center of it all is a massive signboard in human plastic, glinting under the sun. It is, objectively, the nicest place Stiles has ever been this miserable in. - Or the Sterek mermen speed dating AU where Stiles is unlucky in love (until he isn't).

hey asshole by everchanginginks | @everchanginginks (2018•M•15.6K)

The Hales moved in next door more than a year ago and while Cora and Stiles became fast friends, Stiles has yet to meet his best friend's big brother, Derek, who’s been attending college in New York. When Derek comes home for the summer he makes less than a stellar impression. And vice versa.

Good Intentions by yodasyoyo | @yodas-yo-yo (2018•T•6.4K)

In which Stiles thought he fake wolf-married Derek twenty-six years previously. Turns out it wasn't as fake as he thought.

You're moving me around you (I said darling hold me) by dearericbittle (dutchmoxie) | @dearericbittle (2019•T•14.5K)

Derek is the only beta in a pack of two, blaming himself for the loss of their entire family. When his sister pays someone to get him used to human contact again, Derek preps himself for a couple unwilling handshakes before he kicks the stranger out of his den. Stiles is… not what Derek expected.

The Cabin by sororexitium (2017•T•12.3K)

Derek sees the fox for the first time one late winter evening, just as the sun is setting over the tree line and the colors of the sky light up in pale purples, brilliant oranges, and burning reds. It stands out vividly against the periwinkle shadowed snow that dusts the porch, the little predator’s red fur illuminated golds and auburns by the sun with a luminous halo around its black tipped ears. Derek watches it through the window for several minutes, the way its plush tail swishes back and forth, sweeping away the snow. Every so often the head will turn and the fading sun will light up the small fox’s eyes, amber glowing with preternatural focus and intelligence, even for a fox.

A Wild Heart's Desire by mikkimouse | @mad-madam-m (2015•T•13.4K)

If there's one thing Stiles Stilinski knows, it's that Deputy Derek Hale absolutely Does Not Like him. The only reason Derek even tolerates him is because their kids are worryingly codependent. So Stiles is understandably confused when a very feral Derek shows up in his backyard after a call gone wrong and proceeds to move in with him.

He Takes His Coffee Black by orphan_account (2012•M•16.8K)

On the cusp of actual, responsible adulthood with no ambitions to his name, Derek Hale (soon to be Derek Hale, Master of Physical Therapy) is faced with the dishearteningly underwhelming notion of his future. For his final winter break, Derek returns home to his family's coffee shop where he spends the dry winter days filling aggravating orders for equally aggravating people and burning his hands with scalding milk. It's the last place on earth he expects to find a kindred spirit, but some twitchy kid named Stiles-- with his simple order of one black coffee and a wry little grin-- turns out to be just that.

Don’t Leave Me Behind When I’m Still Learning How to Run by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella) | @isthatbloodonhisshirt (2021•T•16.1K)

He’d just set it back down when the door opened, and a shadow appeared in front of him, taking the seat across from him. Jackson’s name was on his lips as he rose his gaze from his drink, but the word stuck in his throat, because it wasn’t Jackson. “I’m really sorry, can you be my boyfriend?” Derek asked breathlessly, panic on his face and looking seconds away from losing his shit. Stiles didn’t even have the chance to reply, because the second he saw crazy lady walk into the coffee shop, he just immediately leaned over the table and planted a kiss right on Derek’s lips. The other man seemed startled, but he recovered quickly and brought one hand up to press against Stiles’ cheek. He made sure to keep the kiss short, and relatively chaste, because this was all for show and he didn’t want to make Derek more uncomfortable than he already was.

could you be mine? by Tizniz | @tizniz (2025•T•4.2K)

Eddie loves Buck, though. He knows he does. It’s just…he can’t have Buck be his mate. He can’t. OR: An innocent question from Buck sends Eddie spiraling.

H-E-A-T-A/B/O: A Buddie Anthology by Bucksbelly (drarryweasley) | @bucksbelly (2025•E•51.7K)

An anthology of Buddie one-shots based in omegaverse settings. These stories are NOT connected; they each have slightly different lore and can be read in any order!Brought to you by I wanted to write my favorite trope but couldn't decide how to do it so I wrote a bunch of them

It's all in my head, but I want nonfiction (2025•E•10.5K)

Eddie's never quite let himself be at home in his skin. Buck finds this unacceptable and tries to fix it in the only ways he knows how: research and sex.

that 👅🍑 chat by disasterbuck, Veronae | @disasterbuck @veronae-buddie (2025•T•1.5K)

A bored Buck bombards an unexpecting Eddie with a series of images containing funny typos. It leads somewhere neither of them anticipate… Eddie: did you order it Buck: NO Buck: it's a pic I found online Eddie: brings a new meaning to "eating ass" I guess

don't fuck with ghosts by lecornergirl | @clusterbuck (2025•E•1.6K)

“Hold on,” Buck says, holding a hand up. He lays the palm of his other hand flat against the wall, then lets out a— Eddie blinks. It almost sounded like— Buck does it again, his body spasming, and Eddie’s never heard Buck have sex, but it sounds like— He says Buck’s name again, but he doesn’t know where he’s going with it, doesn’t know what on earth he’s supposed to say when Buck is holding the wall and moaning like— Like something Eddie has certainly never imagined before, and absolutely never will in the future. Definitely not with a newly hyperrealistic soundtrack that is burning itself into his memory with every passing moment. Buck tears his hand away from the wall, dazed, a flush climbing up his cheeks.

day five hundred sixty-four (and it feels like you just left my side) by BekkaChaos | @bekkachaos (2025•T•8.3K)

Eddie made the move to El Paso, Buck isn't coping so well so he takes to doing research and texting Eddie random facts and thoughts instead of saying all the things on his mind. Or, 5 times Buck texts Eddie with weird trivia/thoughts and 1 time he send him something genuine (by accident).

moving on from him is impossible by playinginthunderstorms | @playinginthunderstorms (2025•E•3K)

“Sure,” is Eddie’s sarcastic comeback, “What are you going to do, help me get off?” Buck opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. It’s just… Silent. Shit. Shit. He needs to say something, otherwise this’ll get awkward real fast. It’s just that… It’s that he could, is the thing. He’d do that. For Eddie. Really, he wouldn’t mind. At all. [Or, Eddie is stressed and has trouble... unwinding, while in El Paso. Buck helps. Like a good friend would.]

fall right into me by woodchoc_magnum | @woodchoc-magnum (2025•E•26.6K)

In which Buck and Eddie fall into bed together without thinking anything through, and minor shenanigans ensue.

Anosognosia by Daisies_and_Briars | @cal-daisies-and-briars (2025•T•7K)

When ER Nurse Evan Buckley meets Firefighter Paramedic Eddie Diaz, he is instantly smitten. They hit it off quickly, and begin seeing a lot of each other. It takes him a few weeks to realize they're doing more than just hanging out.

I Can’t Describe Who You Are To Me, To Anyone by Reason_to_hope (2025•M•62.7K)

“Are you new?” “Y-yeah.” Evan stuttered before his brain connected with his mouth. “My names Evan…er Evan Buck-Buckley.” The corner of the boys mouth twitched up in an almost smile, “Eddie Diaz.” He told him. “Nice to meet you Evan Buck-Buckley.” “Oh, er, it’s just Evan Buckley. I just—“ “I’m going to call you Buck.” Or Buck and Eddie meet in High School, fall in love and choose each other through everything life can throw at them. My childhood sweethearts fic.

[theguywithaplan]

List of Video Games turning ten (10) years old in 2025

Alone in the Dark: Illumination (if you thought the AitD game from last year was bad, check this shit out).

Angry Birds 2 (yes, there was a 2).

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer

Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival (two AC games from 2015 and neither of them were what people wanted).

Assassin's Creed Syndicate (the Bri'ish one).

Atelier Shallie

Axiom Verge

Batman: Arkham Knight

Battlefield: Hardline (the last game from Visceral Games, the guys who made the Dead Space series).

The Beginner's Guide (the second game from the creator of The Stanley Parable).

Bloodborne (anything for the 10th anniver-- no. Never gonna happen).

Broken Age

Call of Duty: Black Ops III

Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash

Cities: Skylines

Crypt of the NecroDancer

Devil's Third (one of the rarest Wii U games ever).

Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance

Disney Infinity 3.0

Dragon Ball XenoVerse (the first one. not the second).

Dying Light

Evolve (these guys would go on to make Back 4 Blood).

Fallout 4

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD

Game of Thrones (the Telltale game)

Guitar Hero Live

Halo 5: Guardians

Hatred (a game so edgy and terrible that it got itself kicked off of Steam).

Helldivers (the first one).

Heroes of the Storm (the Blizzard MOBA).

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

HuniePop (for all you pervs out there).

I Am Bread

Just Cause 3

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (the quintessential VR game)

Kerbal Space Program

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (one of the few Wii U games that hasn't been ported to the Switch. And probably never will be).

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

Lego Dimensions (a crossover game with about a billion different franchises).

Lego Jurassic World

Life is Strange (controversial opinion: I sacrificed Chloe and felt nothing).

Mario Party 10 (the only MP on the Wii U)

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (back when the 3DS was single-handedly keeping MH alive)

Mortal Kombat X

Need for Speed (the reboot)

The Order: 1886

Ori and the Blind Forest

Pillars of Eternity

Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon

Prison Architect

Rainbow Six: Siege

Rare Replay

Resident Evil: Revelations 2

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rock Band 4

Rocket League

Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell (RIP Volition. You were too good for the modern day).

Shadowrun: Hong Kong

Skylanders: SuperChargers

Soma (the best horror game ever made. Play it if you haven't yet).

Splatoon

Star Wars: Battlefront (the EA reboot).

StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void (RIP StarCraft. You were too good for modern day Blizzard).

Steven Universe: Attack the Light!

Story of Seasons (the very fight one)

Super Mario Maker

Tales from the Borderlands (the best thing that Telltale EVER made).

Tales of Zestiria

Tembo the Badass Elephant (published by Sega and developed by Game Freak... the Pokemon guys).

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5

Total War: Attila

Transformers: Devastation (RIP PlatinumGames. You... kinda started sucking after Astral Chain).

Undertale (yep, it's happening).

Until Dawn

Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (just in time for the 4th game)

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (remember, kids: Nazi lives don't matter).

Xenoblade Chronicles X (finally escaping the Wii U this year).

Yakuza 5

Yo-Kai Watch

Yoshi's Woolly World

[astrolook]

Decode the Universe: Why astrology and tarot are the ultimate power couple! #2

Gemini - May 21- June 20 - Jupiter / Mars / Sun in Gemini

Jupiter in Gemini - The Lovers - "Love is an adventure… and so is keeping up with my DMs."

Jupiter in Gemini people talks a lot and love to have deep convos. talks all night and spends a lot of time on their phone.

Quick thinkers and great at debating.

They know everyone....and their crush.

Wants a partner that's intelligent and won't place much importance to physical appearance.

They always have a story to tell. Everyday = New Story.

On the flip side, If Jupiter is afflicted, they might fall in love fast and could be having commitment issues. Can be a walking contradiction.

Mars in Gemini - The Magician - "I can do anything!" (And probably too many things at once.)

These people are a pro in manifestation. says it, does it, wins it.

Fast thinkers and would give you witty comebacks in 0.3 seconds.

They are a multi-tasking wizard.

If they are a salesman, could sell water to a fish.

These people don't run on coffee. They run on ideas.

On the flip side, if mars is afflicted, they could start 10 projects at once and finishes 1. Impulsive AF. They either overestimate or underestimate themselves. Master of distractions. That's not lying, that's strategic wording.

Sun in Gemini - Knight of Swords - " I Think fast, talk faster, act before thinking—what could go wrong?"

Sun in Gemini people : their mind moves at lightning speed and mouth moves even faster.

Even if they don't know what they are doing, they are always one step ahead of you.

These people argues in circles for fun.

Loves learning and each of their convo is like a TED Talk.

Sharp wit - insults you so clever and you say "Thank You."

On the flip side, if sun is afflicted, they speck before thinking. overcommits to their partner. Speedruns life, crashes hard. Restless AF.

Cancer - June 21- July 22 : Venus / Mercury / Moon in Cancer

Venus in Cancer - The Chariot - "Ride or Die, but Make It Emotional"

Venus in cancer people are determined in love. If they want you, you’re theirs.

Protective AF. Romantic and strategic. These people exactly know how to win you over.

Armor outside, marshmallow inside.

Emotional powerhouse and will literally move mountains for you.

Passionate and driven and chase love like it's an Olympic sport.

Deep connection or nothing. They are not shallow. Feelings first, logic… somewhere in the trunk.

If Venus is afflicted, they could become an emotional speed racer. Goes from "Hi" to future spouse in a day. Low-Key manipulating and guilt trips others. Hold grudges forever.

Mercury in Cancer - The High Priestess - "I know what you’re thinking… and also what you’re hiding."

These people read others vibes like a book. They are secret-keepers.

Intuitive AF. 99.9% of the time their gut instinct is true.

Grandmother energy in a young body. Soft-spoken yet powerful.

They are a walking memory bank. Never forgets anything.

Thoughts are deeper than Mariana Trench.

If mercury is afflicted, they could be Passive-aggressive AF. Revenge? Marinated for years. Hides their true intention. Selective silence. Knows tea but won’t spill it.

Moon in Cancer - Queen of Cups - "I felt that… and also, do you need a hug?"

Moon in cancer people are emotionally genius. They know your mood before you do.

They are healers. Crying? They got tissues, tea, and vibes.

Gives mom hugs, no matter their age.

Soft but strong. Don’t mistake these people kindness for weakness.

Romantic AF. Could give you handwritten notes, love letters, sews clothes and all of it.

If moon is afflicted, they could be overly - emotional and could give you the silent treatment. Hold onto the past. Mentally still in 2015. If moody, they wash the dishes loudly.

Next post, I will write about Leo and Virgo. Stay tuned!

Curious about your birth chart and what it's really saying about you? 🌟 Slide into my DMs for a personalized astrology reading, and let's unlock the secrets of your stars. ✨ Don’t forget to check out my pinned post for pricing details! 🔮 Let’s make those cosmic connections happen! 🌙🌌

[mariacallous]

The number of people who read for fun appears to be steadily dropping. Fifty percent of UK adults say they don’t read regularly (up from 42 percent in 2015) and almost one in four young people aged 16 to 24 say they’ve never been readers, according to research by The Reading Agency.

But what are the implications? Will people’s preference for video over text affect our brains or our evolution as a species? What kind of brain structure do good readers actually have? My new study, published in NeuroImage, has found out.

I analyzed open source data from more than 1,000 participants to discover that readers of varying abilities had distinct traits in brain anatomy.

The structure of two regions in the left hemisphere, which are crucial for language, were different in people who were good at reading.

One was the anterior part of the temporal lobe. The left temporal pole helps associate and categorize different types of meaningful information. To assemble the meaning of a word such as leg, this brain region associates the visual, sensory and motor information conveying how legs look, feel and move.

The other was Heschl’s gyrus, a fold on the upper temporal lobe which hosts the auditory cortex (the cortex is the outermost layer of the brain). Better reading ability was linked to a larger anterior part of the temporal lobe in the left hemisphere compared to the right. It makes sense that having a larger brain area dedicated to meaning makes it easier to understand words and, therefore, to read.

What might seem less intuitive is that the auditory cortex would be related to reading. Isn’t reading mainly a visual skill? Not only. To pair letters with speech sounds, we first need to be aware of the sounds of the language. This phonological awareness is a well-established precursor to children’s reading development.

A thinner left Heschl’s gyrus has previously been related to dyslexia, which involves severe reading difficulties. My research shows that this variation in cortical thickness does not draw a simple dividing line between people with or without dyslexia. Instead, it spans the larger population, in which a thicker auditory cortex correlates with more adept reading.

Why Size Matters

Is thicker always better? When it comes to cortical structure, no, not necessarily. We know the auditory cortex has more myelin in the left hemisphere of most people. Myelin is a fatty substance that acts as an insulator for nerve fibers. It increases neural communication speed and can also insulate columns of brain cells from each other. Neural columns are believed to function as small processing units.

Their increased isolation and rapid communication in the left hemisphere can be thought to enable the fast, categorical processing necessary for language. We need to know if a speaker uses the category d or t when saying dear or tear rather than detecting the exact point where the vocal folds start vibrating.

According to the “balloon model” of cortical growth, the larger amount of myelin squeezes out left-hemispheric cortical areas, making them flatter but more extended. So while the left auditory cortex may be thicker in good readers, it is still thinner (but much more extended) than the corresponding right cortex.

This hypothesis was corroborated in the recent research. The left hemisphere had generally larger but thinner cortical areas with a higher degree of myelin.

So is thinner better, then? Again, the answer is no, not necessarily. Complex abilities that require integrating information tend to benefit from a thicker cortex. The anterior temporal lobe with its complex way of integrating information is indeed the thickest structure of all cortical areas. An underlying mechanism might be the existence of more overlapping, interacting neurons which process information more holistically.

Phonology is a highly complex skill, where different sound and motor features are integrated into speech sounds. It appears to correlate with a thicker cortex in an area near the left Heschl’s gyrus. While it is unclear to what extent phonology is processed in Heschl’s gyrus, the fact that phoneticians often have multiple left Heschl’s gyri suggests it is linked to speech sounds.

Clearly, brain structure can tell us a lot about reading skills. Importantly, though, the brain is malleable—it changes when we learn a new skill or practice an already acquired one.

For instance, young adults who studied language intensively increased their cortical thickness in language areas. Similarly, reading is likely to shape the structure of the left Heschl’s gyrus and temporal pole. So, if you want to keep your Heschl’s thick and thriving, pick up a good book and start reading.

Finally, it’s worth considering what might happen to us as a species if skills like reading become less prioritized. Our capacity to interpret the world around us and understand the minds of others would surely diminish. In other words, that cozy moment with a book in your armchair isn’t just personal—it’s a service to humanity.