#but I'm going to update this with the video credit as soon as I figure out who the OP is

[royalarchivist]

Wilbur: Everyone give it up for Alex Quackity! Thank you.

A close-up of one of the TNTduo hugs from the Lovejoy concert :')

[rebelcracker-s]

WELCOME HOME THEORY :D

i've been swinging back and forth between "this is genius" and "i am spitballing" in debating whether to publicize this theory. i have decided to put it out there. i hope i'm somewhat right! (long post ahead)

so user @thecolourfulkingdom pointed out the importance of this tic-tac-toe image from the guestbook page:

i know a one-person game of tic-tac-toe doesn't seem like much, but op then placed this image on top of the neighborhood map (credits to them for figuring that out!), this image becomes very interesting.

it's suspicious how nicely the two line up.

i know this could be a random detail, but in somewhere as detailed as welcome home, i think that every detail counts, especially one like this. if it is a coincidence, it's a very strange one.

the circles in the board call attention to four (or five, depending on how you look at it) characters: wally/home, sally, frank, and howdy. we already know wally and home are two very important characters in the lore, but what connection do the remaining three three have? and why is wally pointing them out specifically?

this trio made me think of a certain image from the conceptual days of welcome home: concept art of the telephone that was revealed in the july update. (i'm not going to repost it due to clown's wishes about spreading conceptual art, but you can find it on their portfolio!)

in this image, the phone has eight buttons for eight neighbors, like the current one on the website. however, this one has three buttons scribbled out. based on colors, the three characters missing are sally (orange), howdy (teal), and eddie (purple).

i know it's not exact, but the fact that two out of the three "scratched-out" characters match the ones circled on this map has me thinking that i'm onto something.

here's what i think is going on. something happened in the neighborhood that divided the neighbors in half. something happened to the four uncircled ones--julie, barnaby, eddie, and poppy. it's really not clear what's happened to them right now, but wally has mentioned that he cannot talk to his neighbors right now. i think they at the very least lack the awareness to the strange things happening in the neighborhood. at the worst, they are dead.

again, i'm not sure what happened to them, so all we can do right now is speculate.

our remaining four--frank, sally, howdy, and wally--are the ones who have retained awareness. they know what is happening in home. they know about the whrp. and they know about the audience welcome home is gaining.

we know wally and home know about us because they have both spoken to us through the "i will find a way soon" audios. but what about the remaining three?

the july website update not only included the drawings that led to wally's messages, but also bugs leading to videos of interactions between the members. while the whrp insisted that there was nothing important about the bugs, the audience could click on these bugs and find secret videos depicting a conversation between the neighbors.

the latest game theory video on welcome home points out that like how drawing is related to wally and the drawings lead to messages from him, bugs are connected to frank, from his character description to his hidden audio with eddie. i believe those messages could be from frank. the video goes into more depth about this, but for the sake of the length of this theory, i'll stop here.

in the october 13th halloween update, we got the "happy haunting to boo and yours" record. the website staff insist multiple times that there is a gap in the audio during sally's story where they can't make out what sally is saying, but we can. (if you need a transcript for the skipped-over part, i have one reblogged!)

sally's story is a very menacing one about a monster that she cannot see or hear that prowls the neighborhood at night, devouring anything it passes, confining the neighbors to their homes at night. this would seem like a normal scary story if not for how the audio changes. at every other part, the audio has a crackly, vinyl sound; however, sally's story is perfectly clear.

it seems to me like sally is directly talking to the website's audience here: she's trying to warn us about the strange things going on in home. i think frank's messages were trying to do the same thing too. these are glimpses into the sides of welcome home that the whrp, wally, and home have not shown us: the lives of the neighbors, and the unsettling danger lurking beneath it all. notice how subtle both of their warnings were, and how they were careful to make sure that whrp could not discover them while the audience could.

also, remember how the title of the video tabs in the july update--"answer"--led us to the staff only page? i think the title of the newest hidden video--"listen"--is telling us not only to listen to the audios for a true glimpse of what life in the neighborhood was like, but to listen to their warnings.

i don't think wally is aware that frank and sally have been contacting us in secret, but i do believe he knows that they stand apart from the other neighbors, hence the tic-tac-toe board and the map.

but there's still one loose end: howdy hasn't yet talked to the audience. i think that during the big holiday update, we will see the final member of the "survivor trio" (as i like to call them) contact us. and i'm hoping this update tells us more about what's happening in welcome home's world and what role we as the viewers play in it.

:)

[cleolinda]

Creepypasta: Ted the Caver (2001)

There was a season of Are You Scared? that presented some actual famous creepypasta (pasta? pastas?), and I was so giddy about it. I love creepypasta and Weird Internet Fiction, and I recognized all the famous ones right off the bat; the moment there was a season preview and a cave was mentioned, I KNEW. So the episode with "Ted the Caver" instantly became one of my favorites ("GET IN THE FUCKING CAVE, TEDDY!!"). But it also kills me that the show presents the final installment as if it's the whole story: just one spooked, caveless guy wandering around meebling about his spelunking obsession. Buddy, there is SO MUCH caving in the full version, you don't even know. There is NONE MORE CAVING:

[Note: The original Angelfire site still works, but while I was researching this, I started running into malware. As such, I'm going to also link you to an unofficial mirror of the site at a creepypasta wiki.]

But I get it: there's no way to read the entire story aloud for a half-hour show. It was originally published as an unassuming hobbyist blog in 2001, and "Ted the Caver" is partly so effective because it is genuinely just an amateur caving blog for about 10,000 words. My understanding is that the author really is a caving enthusiast—I mean, he'd have to be, because the story is filled with actual photos of him and a friend chipping their way through a hole the size of a baseball into a cave they dub "Floyd's Tomb." So this was a real expedition... that the author wrote a delightful little spoop around.

Honestly, the real horror for me isn't even the Descent-style Something that seems to be living down there; it's the genuine terror of these fools squeezing themselves through eight-inch openings into the bowels of the earth, God bless. You can tell the mundane aspects are absolutely true to life, because the squeezing and the scraping and the panic—I'll just stop there, in case anyone has any phobias, claustro or otherwise. If I didn't before, I do now.

But it also has to be noted, "real horror" is what "Ted the Caver" is all about: the horror of a story backed up by reams of accurate detail and told through a really, really basic-ass Angelfire website. (I say this lovingly, as someone who had a shitty Geocities site herself.) It truly looks like it's just someone's blog—because that's mostly what it really is. Who wrote it? Well, an actual guy named Ted:

Well, I guess it’s time I add my two cents to the topic. My name is Ted and I am the author of the story you have been discussing. I am the original author. I created the story on my own and copied no one

...he wrote, in response to a plagiarism accusation (turns out the other guy copied him, and closely at that).

Between December 30, 1999 and February 24, 2000 Brad and I worked on a passage in Freeway cave. We made numerous trips, and spent many hours of hard work, before we were finally able to get through the opening and into the new section of cave. During the course of our adventure I kept a caving journal and documented our activities surrounding our attempts to be the first people to enter the new passage. Since we were giving friends and family members updates as we worked, I thought it would be a good idea to put my entire journal on a web page, along with our pictures, then we could simply refer people to the site. The thought then occurred to me: It sure would be fun to embellish the story a little!

Ted hasn't given his full name, but he is an actual Ted, it seems. And honestly, as much as I would like him to be credited as openly as Eric Heisserer is for "The Dionaea House," it really works in the story's favor that it's so difficult to figure out who wrote it. Not to spoil you, but the story told by the blog, much to Shane and Ryan's frustration in the video above, ends in a single puff of irony:

See all of you soon, with a lot of answers! Love, Ted

Magnificent. Because, let's face it: if a cave monster really did eat trap and eat your friend, isn't this what it would look like? No silly explanation for how a video camera somehow made it back to his friends and family from, like, the center of the fucking earth through a hole the size of a cantaloupe. No, your man there is just gone. And he's given enough detail in previous entries for you to imagine that what he finally came face to face with down there is Not Good. That's enough.

[pizzaqueen]

Thought I'd put together a masterlist and do a little bit of an intro:

You can call me Queenie! Pronouns are she/her. I'm old to some and young to others. I'm mostly here for Steddie but other ships may pop up occasionally (like Chrissy/Robin aka Buckingham or Jancy)

I co-ran @steddie-week in 2023 and will hopefully run it again in 2024

Fanart, podfics, moodboards, fanmixes, and translations of my fics are all welcome! Fanbinding is also welcome :D

Please credit me as 96tears on AO3 and/or pizzaqueen on tumblr and I'd love to know so I can gush over it!

Asks are always open for fic talk or headcanons or anything else 😊 or even feel free to just say hi!

Some tags:

My fic / text/ headcanon posts / writing / art prompts

Some playlists:

Steddie / Eddie / Steve / Buckingham

And a timestamps post of all Steve's scenes in ST

(All fic links below the cut because it's long; updated November 2023)

MULTI-CHAPTERED FICS

alone again, or

20k / M / June 2022

It’s 1991 and Steve is still in Hawkins, still living with his mother, still single, and still working at Family Video. At least he’s the manager now, for whatever that’s worth. But he’s stuck here while Robin and Dustin and everyone else have moved away. Moved on. Well, everyone except for Eddie. They're best friends, spend most of their time together, and it's nice to have a friend like that. But Steve is still looking for love with a capital "L". At least, he thinks he is.

Playlist / Podfic by @cottagepodfics

Till I Kissed You

18k / T / August - September 2022

When Eddie confesses he’s never got the big deal about kissing, Steve teases him about it, saying maybe it’s because Eddie’s a bad kisser. Pride wounded, Eddie can’t let that go and decides he needs an unbiased opinion on his kissing skills. It’s weird but it’s only one kiss, no big deal, right? So, Steve says yes. Eddie gets the answer he wanted, but then he and Steve are left with a whole new set of questions to navigate. Now they just have to find new answers.

Moodboard / Playlist

uh-oh, love comes to town

13k / T / December 2022

It’s not like Steve thought Eddie would stay single forever, but he figured he’d have a girlfriend by the time Eddie got a boyfriend. So, when Vickie and Robin set Eddie up on a blind date with Vickie’s cousin, Steve figures he feels weird about it because he’s the only one without a date.

But an annoying little voice starts telling him maybe there’s more to it than that. He just has to figure out what it is.

Moodboard / Playlist

picnic time with you

12.2k / T / April-May 2023

“Why are you so keen on this, anyway?” Steve looks at Eddie, pulse skipping. He drums his fingers on the floor. “You can’t be that bored.” Eddie turns to Steve, lit by the flickering glow of the projector, and says, “I like knowing things about you.” When Eddie convinces Steve to show him some old family photos and home movies, it unearths a happy memory of a picnic Steve went on as a child. It was just an ordinary picnic, but it was weirdly special to Steve, and, more importantly, it gives him an idea. He's going to take Eddie on a picnic—a romantic one—and finally tell him how he feels. And Robin’s going to help him plan it.

The Pizza Box Pact

24k / T / November 2023

Eddie and Steve have been living together, working together, and raising their cat together for a few years, now, but they’re not together together. They’re friends—the best of—nothing more, and they’re happy. At least, Eddie is, and he thought Steve was too. But then he finds a pact they made, one drunken night ten years ago, where they pledged to ‘marry’ each other if they were still single by the time they’re thirty, and everything changes. Steve isn’t amused by the reappearance of the pledge, seems almost upset by it, and Eddie figures it’s because he’s going to be thirty soon and doesn’t have a girlfriend. So, he does what any best friend would do: promises to find Steve his perfect woman, setting him up on a series of unsuccessful blind dates. But somewhere along the way, Eddie rediscovers feelings that he thought he’d put aside years ago. He just hopes he hasn’t discovered them too late.

Art by goingsteddi3 / Art by Cousin Itt / Promo / Playlist

ONE SHOTS

fighting monsters, holding hands

387 / G / June 2022

As much as a huge part of Eddie still wants to wait here, cowering, he manages to nod. And that’s when there’s a loud boom, and he just about jumps out of his skin, hand flailing out to grab onto anything solid. Anything grounding.

stumbling in

1.3k / T / June 2022

The thing is, it was just one kiss. And it’s not… Steve’s not… It’s not like he wants to kiss Eddie again, or anything. And if it wasn’t a joke, and Eddie is gay, then, whatever. That’s fine, isn’t it? Steve’s fine with Robin—well, more than fine, obviously—so he’d be fine with Eddie, too.

But it’s… It’s natural to be curious when someone kisses you, right? Anyone would be.

Eddie's Badass Metal Mixtape (For Steve)

2.4k / T / June 2022

This is the closest thing in existence to a definitive collection of Eddie’s favorite songs. No, they’re not just his favorite songs. These songs are a part of him. They are him. Or maybe he’s them. Whatever.

The point is, this tape has taken him a week to put together, with one particular person in mind, and it is perfect. Finally.

Podfic by @daysarestranger

turn on your light

2.5k / T / July 2022

After they take down the bad guy, there’s still the issue of a gaping hole in the roof of Eddie’s trailer. Not exactly ideal living conditions. But Steve Harrington, who is not only not a douchebag but a genuine good dude and real-life superhero, says Eddie can stay with him. So, Eddie is in Steve Harrington’s bedroom, wearing Steve Harrington’s clothes, and about to sleep in Steve Harrington’s bed. It’s not the weirdest thing to happen to him this week, but it’s still totally fucking surreal.

a brush with love

1.8k / T / July 2022

“Dude,” Steve says, “when was the last time you brushed your hair?”

The one where Steve brushes Eddie’s hair (because Eddie hasn't done it in...a while, much to Steve's horror.)

when bad dreams become

3.9k / T / July 2022

A movie night during a storm leads to nightmares and the nightmares lead to some confessions. The urge to put his arm around Steve is almost overwhelming, but Eddie fights it. He hooks his ankle around Steve’s, though, which might not be any less obvious, but Steve seems to relax a little at the touch. At the next boom of thunder, Eddie runs his knuckles down Steve’s bicep, letting his hand rest in the crook of his elbow a moment, before he pulls it away.

Bowl Me Over

3.7k / T / July 2022

Eddie’s been kind of different lately—nothing Steve can really put his finger on, but not exactly himself. Steve figures he’s missing the guys from his band, or something. Whatever it is, Steve feels bad about it. It will be nice to do something to cheer Eddie up, so Steve, Robin, Nancy and Eddie go bowling. And then Steve figures some things out with the help of a stray comment from Robin and a stuffed toy bat. Across the table, Robin makes a strangled noise and says, “Holy shit,” eyes wide. Steve clears his throat. “What?”  “I can’t believe I didn’t see it.” Steve folds his arms over his stomach and Eddie sobers, setting the bat on the table and poking at his food. Nancy’s brow furrows and she says, “See what?”

strange currencies

4.3k / T / August 2022

When Steve steps in to break up a bar fight at The Hideout, the owner thanks him with free booze. A lot of free booze. By the time Eddie gets him home, Steve can barely stand, let alone wash his hair. But there’s puke in Steve’s hair, and he can’t sleep like that, so what’s Eddie to do? He washes Steve’s hair for him, and he expects it to be weird, but he doesn’t expect it to come with any revelations.

(Basically: Steve is drunk; Eddie gives him a bath and has feelings)

fix you up

2.5k / T / September 2022

It’s been a while since someone touched him like this. With this kind of…tenderness. And it’s all because he got punched in the face. Again. It’s not because Eddie wants to. Then again, Steve thinks as Eddie takes his time tending to Steve, he could’ve steered Steve toward the bathroom and let him patch himself up. He didn’t have to do it himself. Maybe… Eddie patches Steve up after he gets into a fight at The Hideout.

more than a feeling (that’s the power of love)

5.6k / T / October 2022

This was meant to be a fun weekend away for Steve and Eddie. Leave Hawkins, and all the memories there, behind for a few days. Drink some beers, maybe do some fishing or outdoorsy shit. Get some R&R. But now they’re tied up in some weirdo’s basement, facing imminent death, and Steve’s never told Eddie he wishes they were more than friends.

Not exactly the relaxing weekend he was hoping for.

never can say goodbye

2.3k / T / November 2022

Eddie watches as Steve slips his keys down the back of the couch, followed by his wallet on the other side. Then he takes off his jacket, balls it up, and stuffs it under the coffee table.

It’s like he’s setting up a bizarre treasure hunt, that’s the only way Eddie can explain it; Eddie’s about to say something along the lines of Having fun? or maybe What’s my prize if I find everything? when Steve takes off his watch and slips it under the couch. That’s when Eddie decides not to say anything, see where this goes. If Steve wants to play whatever game this is, Eddie’s more than curious enough to let him.

but the fire is so delightful

6.6k / T / December 2022

When Robin and Dustin back out of a trip to Steve’s grandparents’ cabin over Christmas break, Steve’s a little disappointed. But he can’t lie: the idea of spending the weekend alone with Eddie is pretty damn appealing. He’d been hoping to get Eddie away from the others, so he could finally tell him how he feels, and now he’s got the whole weekend to do it.

a single resolution

1.8k / T / December 2022

It’s New Year’s Eve and Steve doesn’t want to be the only one without someone to kiss at midnight, so he slips away to spend the rest of 1989 alone in his room. And then Eddie finds him.

(A New Year’s Eve first kiss)

Another year—another decade—is coming to a close and Steve is still alone. A burst of laughter sounds behind him, reminding him of his apartment is full of friends, the ones who called earlier because they can’t be here, and he amends alone to single.

Most of the time, he can bear it, but it’s harder at night. And harder still on New Year’s Eve, surrounded by happy couples. He loves his friends and he’s happy for them, but seeing them so in love only makes the ache in him grow.

Podfic by Amanita_Fierce

little things mean a lot

1.7 k / T / January 2023

Shafts of light dance over the room as a sweetly cool breeze flutters the curtains. One catches on a small glass bottle sitting on Steve’s dresser. It reminds him there’s something he’s been wanting to ask Eddie for a while now:

“How come you don’t bring me stuff anymore?”

(The one where Eddie used to bring Steve random trinkets but there was a small misunderstanding)

single / taken / pining

4.4 k / T / February 2023

When a girl Steve’s trying to flirt with starts flirting with Eddie, Steve says the only thing that comes to mind: he tells her Eddie’s married. It’s not his smoothest moment, but it works, and Eddie goes along with it. It's not like Eddie was interested, anyway, and he figures Steve wanted the ladies to himself. So, Steve figures that must be it, too.

But a little later it hits him: he doesn’t want to keep the ladies to himself. He wants to keep Eddie to himself.

Also posted in parts on tumblr

Table for Two

3.4 k / T / February 2023

And maybe Eddie still thinks Valentine’s Day, specifically, is kind of bullshit, but looking at Steve standing in front of him, so fucking handsome and making Eddie’s pulse skip just by being there, he gets why so many people fall for it.

Eddie doesn’t think when Steve mentions Valentine’s Day, just goes into his usual spiel, not realizing he might be trampling all over Steve’s hopes and plans until it’s too late. And that’s how he ends up determined to give Steve the best Valentine’s Day ever.

to be close to you

1.6k / T / March 2023

Eddie picks up the sweater, cradling it in his hands. It’s soft, and Eddie already knows it smells like Steve, but he brings it to his face and inhales anyway. Fuck, it smells good. Steve smells good. A wave of heat washes through Eddie, and he flops back again, face still covered by the sweater. What is he doing? Steve leaves his sweater behind after he and Eddie hang out, and Eddie has feelings about it.

those magic fingers

2.4k / T / March 2023

Eddie has a sore back, Steve offers the solution: one back rub. Totally platonic. No ulterior motives or hidden feelings whatsoever. “Okay, just—” Steve pauses, suddenly wondering what the hell he’s doing and why he offered to do this. But he did, and if he backs down, Eddie will know something’s up. So, he draws in a deep breath and says, “Tell me if it hurts.”

the sweetest words

1.2k / T / March 2023

“Why do you have a favorite part of my face?” “Why wouldn’t I?” “Why would you?” “Because.” “That’s not an answer.” “Oh, my friend, but it is.” (Wherein Eddie likes Steve's face and tells him all about his favorite parts)

Whenever you need shelter

4.4k / T / May 2023

Steve locks himself out of the house on a stormy night when his parents are out of town. It’s not an ideal situation, but it leads him to Eddie’s where he gets warm and dry and learns a few things about himself. “You know, seeing Steve Harrington in a Slayer shirt might just make my whole week.” He pushes off the dresser he’s leaning against and claps a hand to Steve’s arm. His brows shoot up and he says, “Shit, dude, you’re freezing,” rubbing his hands over Steve’s arms. Warmth flows through Steve and, distantly, he thinks it might be from more than the motion of Eddie’s hands making Steve’s blood circulate. He raises a brow, heart beating inexplicably hard.

half as much

1.8k / T / July 2023

A wish. The last thing Steve needs tonight. But he closes his eyes all the same, wishes coming too easily, the first that he could have this every night. Or, not this exactly, but being with Eddie. More and more, all Steve wants to do is hang out with him. Be near him. There’s something about him, and the way being with him makes Steve feel—he wishes it was like this with the girls he’s been dating lately.

Inspired by this beautiful art

always be like this

2.1k / T / July 2023

This thing with Eddie started on the first day of summer, and Steve feels good about that. Every now and then, he wonders if it’s a summer romance, period, wishing the summer could last forever so he’ll never have to find out, but… No. It feels more solid than that. Like it's going to last. He splashes Eddie again, and Eddie splashes him back, and it turns into a game of who can splash each other the most (Steve wins, no matter what Eddie says) and they wrestle and dunk each other until Steve’s lungs ache with laughing and Eddie finally admits defeat.

Under the Porch Light

1.9k / T / August 2023

After that, it kind of becomes a thing: the two of them on the step outside Eddie’s trailer, talking and talking. It’s gradual, and it’s not something they do consciously, so Eddie doesn’t realize that it’s becoming a thing, but it’s not long before those nights with Steve become a highlight in his life.

Inspired by this beautiful art

[cherokeegal1975]

Article below is what I wrote on my post on DeviantART for this game idea that I very much know isn't going to happen. I thought it might if I could find the right game developer that would be willing to work with me, but I quickly discovered that game developers do not like outside ideas, especially unsolicited ones. I can't do it myself partly because I can't afford the classes or the resources needed to get it done...and I'd probably need a team, which I'll never get. Also, I look at myself and realize that even though I'd enjoy games and probably do well in them, I write stories okay, but I don't have it in me to create challenges, different outcomes or puzzles. I'm not talented that way. Even so, it was a fun idea to think about. I look forward to putting this artwork into my art journal when I can afford to get it made.

    I created a fake game play screen shot.  I can take credit for the horse and the dragon, both the full characters and the heads, but nothing else.  The rest I found online and made use of them like stickers.  I did add the text though.  Call me lazy if you will, but I just wanted to focus on drawing my characters and sharing my concept.  The game itself will never be made, I don't even know how to do such a thing, much less have the funds to buy the programs to make them.   The closest I can come is do a kind of writing game where I say "This thing is happening, if you choose to go left, click the #1 link, if you choose to go right choose the #2 link and keep reading."  I don't see myself doing that anytime soon...if at all.  It's an idea though.     Both the horse and the dragon are based on small plastic toys that I had as a child.  The drawings look a lot better than the original toys I lost so long ago.  Anyway, the basic game idea is that it's a story based, open world, lots of side quests, puzzles, useful collectibles, possibly a bit of a sandbox thing going on in it, with more than one possible ending.  Both animals can talk, both have abilities that compliment the other.  The main focus will be on content and though it doesn't have to be G-rated, it should not be focused mainly on violence or sexual themes.     So what do you think?  I know this isn't the most action packed scene in a game I've ever seen, but use your imagination, this is only one set in a huge world map.  I haven't thought too much on the story plot or anything, only the basic concepts of what I've learned from watching game playthroughs on YouTube.  I gradually learned what kinds of games I like and this one has everything I find fun and appealing in a video game...or so I imagine.     So, tell me what you think of my idea.  I really want to know.

    Update:   (This a journal entry from a few weeks ago, I've already figured out their names and I only added this on to help fill in some detail just in case someone actually wants to take my idea seriously...which I still know is about zero.) I know why a game developer wouldn't want to take my ideas and collaborate with me, they got too many of their own already and want nothing to do with outside help.  It's a shame too, I've got some good ones and just occurred to me that my pink dragon (I can't figure out a name and Rosie won't do because I've got a cat named Rosie here and I don't like to have more than one animal named the same thing even though my dragon isn't real.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Her name was Pink-yellow-blue, but that's a stupid name my child self came up with and I've long since out grown it.) might make a great avatar for a roll playing game in an open world kind of game.   Her abilities are human speech and intelligence, omnivorous, fire breathing, excellent senses of sight, smell and hearing. Very good at digging, powerful jumps, her tail is as prehensile as a monkey's so she can carry objects with it or help her to hang on to things like tree branches.  Her scales make her tough and fire resistant, excellent climbing capabilities, a really good swimmer and her fore feet work like hands.  She can also stand up and walk for short distances on her hind legs so she can use those hands.  She's the size of a large dog, so that means she can go into smaller places the bigger species of dragons can't.  Her only disadvantage is her lack of wings since her kind never had them in the first place.  Also, males have two small horns on their noses and her kind comes in all colors and patterns, so if they show up in the game, no two would look alike.  Her best friend is a black horse with four white socks, a white mark that starts on her forehead and runs all the way down her nose, a white mane and a white tail and silver eyes, who is just a sweet an intelligent horse in spite of her unusual coloring.  (Haven't drawn the horse yet, but I will.  I had almost forgotten that horse.  It's gone too, lost it long before I lost the dragon).  My character's home environment is a enchanted forest full of giant sentient trees that can change themselves to make hollows in their bases the dragons can use as homes.  The trees can also create mischief for the unwary traveler who disrespects them by shifting positions in such a way that the movement is never seen.  This movement can create false paths and get people hopelessly lost if they aren't careful.  This tendency can also aid my character in finding places if she asks them nicely to help her and most likely they will because their relationship with the tree dragons is a friendly one.   Maybe one of the game goals is to have my dragon go on an adventure to rescue her horse friend?  The game could have puzzles included as well as helpful companions that could come along as the game progresses.  I would like the game to have the best graphics.  I did down play the details on my dragon a bit because I wanted to hurry up and finish her.  I've been doing a lot of dragons lately and I've gotten tired of drawing more scales than I can count.  So I just did contours instead and only suggested that she's a scaled dragon.  She's got little lizard like scales except for the ones on her underside and I would love it if that would show up in the game when ever the camera got close enough to see them.   Well, anyway, I am aware that my chances of collaborating a gamer are slim to none, I'm still willing to try to put the suggestion out there just in case someone would take me up on my idea.  This dragon would do great as an avatar.  Not sure of the full plot, but those details could be worked out later by the developer. Also, I think the game controls should have the option to be made to work with a mouse so people on a tight budget don't have to buy a game controller so they can play the game on a laptop.

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Iron Man 2

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews, Where We Are Continuing Our Look At The Marvel Cinematic Universe...

As We See The First Sequel For Tony Stark, Otherwise Known As Iron Man Called Iron Man 2...

Taking Place 6 Months After The First Film And Before The Events Of The Incredible Hulk, Tony Resists All Phone Calls From The U.S Government...

(Start At 0:45, End At 0:51)

To Hand Over His Iron Man Tech While Also Dealing With His Declining Health From The Arc Reactor In His Chest As The Element That Powers It Is Slowly Killing Him. Meanwhile, Rogue Scientist Ivan Vanko (Played By Mickey Rourke) Has Developed The Same Technology And Built Weapons Of His Own In Order To Pursue A Vendetta Against The Stark Family, Will Tony Get The Government To Back Off And Stop Vanko At The Same Time?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Iron Man 2...

Starting In Russia In The Room Of Anton Vanko Who Watches The Ending Of The First Movie. Calling His Son, Ivan To His Room, Anton Tells Ivan That That Should Be Him And That All He Can Give Him Is His Knowledge Before Anton Dies...

After That We Watch A Montage Of Ivan Making An Arc Reactor Before We Get A Title Card...

6 Months Later, Tony Stark Makes A Fantastic Enterance And A Maaaarvelous Introduction At The Opening Of The Stark Expo Which (According To Psylocke Disguised As A News Reporter) Is Going To Be Going On All Year...

Signing Autographs While We Get A Stan Lee Cameo...

Stan Lee Cameo!

Tony Eventually Makes It Out To His Car Where He's Confronted By A U.S. Marshal (Who Is Actually Sue Storm From Fan4stic) Who Gives Tony A Summons To Appear Before The Senate Armed Services Committee...

Which Actually Should Be Called The Larry Sanders Show...

And The Next Day In Washington D.C., Stark Meets With The Committee, Headed By Larry Sanders Himself, Gary Shandling Who Tries To Get Tony To Turn Over The Iron Man Suit To Hydra...

Oh, I'm Sorry I Meant To Say The American People, (Laughs) Have No Idea Why I Mentioned Hydra, Let's Just Forget I Ever Said It...

Having Their Primary Weapons Contractor, Justin Hammer (Played By Sam Rockwell) Make A Speech Why Tony Being Iron Man Is A Bad Idea, They Soon Have Rhodey (Now Played By Don Cheadle) Enter The Chamber As Over The Past Year Rhodey Has Made A Report On Iron Man...

Having Rhodey Read A Specific Paragraph In His Report (Despite Them Telling Rhodey That He'd Be Testifying In A More Comprehensive And Detailed Manner) He Reads It, However Despite The Senator Telling Rhodey To Stop He Goes On To Read Another Paragraph That Shows The Good Of Tony As Iron Man Than The Bad...

Showing Photos That Show That Enemies Around The World Are Making Manned Copies Of The Iron Man Suit, Tony Soon Shows That All Those Copies Are Years Behind Him And Will Most Likely Never Come To Fruition...

(Start At 3:13, End At 4:39)

Back In Russia, Ivan Starts Production Of His Electric Whips, Which He Manages To Get On-Line...

Meanwhile At Tony's Malibu Home, We Discover That The Arc Reactor That's Keeping Tony Alive Is Apparently Killing Him And Tony's Continuing Use Of The Iron Man Suit Is Accelerating His Condition As Another Palladium Core Has Been Depleted And Despite Running Simulations No Other Element Can Be A Suitable Replacement For The Palladium Core...

With Pepper Coming In To Talk About Buisness, Tony Finds It Completely Boring And Decides To Make Pepper CEO Of The Company. Completely Speechless And Not Knowing What To Say, She Eventually Says Yes...

As Ivan Buys A Ticket To Monaco, Tony Boxes With Happy...

Even Though The Last Time Jon Favreau Was In A Boxing Or Wrestling Ring He Got His Ass Handed To Him And His Girlfriend Broke Up With Him Because He Wouldn't Quit, Even Though He Had Broken Every Single Bone In His Body...

While Pepper Tries To Get Tony To Sign Over His Company While Also Hiring A New Assistant For....Tony....

This Is Natalie Rushman, (Played By Scarlett Johansson) Who Quickly Becomes Tony's Assistant After Kicking Favreau's Ass Again...

Seriously, Jon, How Long Can You Stand In A Ring Without Getting Your Ass Kicked?

And Tony Finds Some Hot Pics Of Natalie That Defiantly Belong In A Victoria's Secret Catalog...

Going To Monaco With Pepper And Natalie For The Monaco Grand Prix, They Run Into Elon Musk And Justin Hammer And His New Squeeze, Christine Everhart...

While In The Bathroom, Tony Decides To Pull A Bruce Wayne In The Dark Knight Returns And Race His Own Racecar During The Race, But Unbeknownst To Tony, Ivan Vanko Is There And He Is Out On The Race Track With The Intent To Kill Tony...

Knocking Tony's Race Car Off The Road, Vanko Tries To Kill Tony Despite Tony Trying To Fight Him Even Without His Suit But When Happy And Pepper Arrive, They Give Tony His Mark 5 Suit So He Can Fight Vanko...

Going To Prison To Talk With Vanko, He Tells Tony That He Comes From A Family Of Butchers And Thieves And That His Father Is The Only Reason That He's Alive, Saying That If You Can Make God Bleed, Then People Will Cease To Believe In Him...

After Tony Leaves, Vanko Gets Dinner Along With A Note That Tells Him To Enjoy The Potatoes Only To Discover That The Potatoes Are An Explosive Device...

Killing Some Guy The Guards Placed In His Cell That Looks Like Him, Ivan Sets Up The Explosive Device And Walks Out Of His Cell As It Blows Up...

Getting Grabbed By 2 Guards, They End Up Taking Ivan To Justin Hammer, Who Busted Ivan Out Of Jail Because He Liked What He Did To Tony And He Wants To Be His Benefactor To Which Ivan Accepts...

Back At Tony's Malibu Home, The News Is All Over The Monaco Incident, And It's Gotten So Bad That Rhodey Has To Tell Tony To Get On This Or Else The Army Is Going To Take Tony's Suits Whether He Likes It Or Not...

However, Noticing That His Friend Is Not Doing So Well, Tony Eventually Tells Rhodey What's Going On With Him, Which Leads Rhodey To Worry About Him Saying That He May Like Lone Gunslinger Thing But He Doesn't Have To Do This Alone, But Tony Just Tells Rhodey To Trust Him And That He Knows What He's Doing...

Meanwhile At Hammer Industries, Hammer Shows Ivan Where He'll Be Working While Also Showing Him His Own Brand Of Iron Man Suits That He Wants Ivan's Help With Stating That He Wants To Make Iron Man Look Like An Antique Which Ivan Tells Him That He Can Make That Happen

Later That Night, Tony Prepares For His Birthday Party With Natalie As Tony Asks Her That If She Knew That This Was The Last Birthday She Was Ever Going To Have, How Would She Celebrate It And Natalie Tells Him That She Would Do Whatever The Hell She Wanted Whomever She Wanted...

And Boy, Is She Going To Regret That!

Tony Gets In His Iron Man Suit And Gets Stonefaced Drunk To The Point It Takes Rhodey In The Mark 2 To Stop Tony...

(Start At 0:46, End At 3:29)

Well, At Least All Life Didn't Stop Instantaneously And Every Molecule In Their Bodies Didn't Explode At The Speed Of Light...

With Rhodey Flying Away With The Mark 2 And Placing It In The Military's Hands, Tony Goes Out For Doughnuts Only To Have A Conversation With Nick Fury (Played By Samuel L. Jackson) Who Reveals That Natalie Rushman Is Really Natasha Romanov Otherwise Known As The Black Widow, Who Gives Tony Some Lithium Dioxide To Take The Edge Off While He Finds A Way To Fix The Problem...

Telling Fury That He's Gone Through Every Element To Try To Replace The Palladium But None Are Feisable, Fury Tells Tony That He's Wrong And He Hasn't Tried Everything...

Meanwhile At Hammer Industries, Hammer Sees How Ivan Is Doing On His Iron Man Suits Only To Discover That He Has Turned Hammer's Suits Into Drones. Not Happy About This, All Hammer Tells Him That They Better Be Impressive....

Returning To His Mansion With Fury, Natasha And Coulson, Fury Tells Stark That The Arc Reactor Is Based On Unfinished Technology That His Father Said Was The Stepping Stone To Something Greater And Something So Big It Was Going To Make The Nuclear Reactor Look Like A AAA Battery...

(Start At 1:15, End At 3:32)

With Fury And Romanov Leaving Tony With Coulson And A Box That's Been In Their Custody For Ages, Tony Figures What The Hell And Gets To Work As The Military Gets Justin Hammer To Update The Mark 2 With His Weapons...

Back At His Malibu Mansion, Tony Watches A Film Reel Of His Father That Looks More Like Howard Stark's Funniest Home Videos At First But Then It's Soon Revealed To Be A Secret Message To Tony...

(Start At 2:13, End At 2:59)

Visiting Pepper At Stark Industries, Tony Tries To Tell Her Everything Even The Point That Natalie Is A Spy (To Which She Tells Tony To Drop Dead In Russian) But Pepper Just Doesn't Want To Hear It From Tony Anymore To The Point That She Goes Back To Work...

But Before Tony Leaves, He Looks At His Father's Model Of The Original 66 Stark Expo And On It, It's Enscribed That The Key To The Future Is Here, Which Has Tony Thinking That Whatever His Father Left For Him Has To Be In The Model So, Tony Decides To Take The Entire Model Back To The Mansion, So J.A.R.V.I.S. Can Make A 3D Model Of It...

Flipping It Upward We See That The Model Looks Like An Arc Reactor, Getting Rid Of Nearly Everything On The 3D Model Except For The Pavilions Which He Uses As Protons And Neurons As The Framework To Discover The New Element...

J.A.R.V.I.S. Tells Tony That The New Element Will Make A Viable Replacement For Palladium If Synthesized, So, Tony Gets Back Into Construction Mode In Order To Do So

With Coulson On His Way To New Mexico For The End Credits Scene, Tony Gets To Work On Synthesizing The New Element And Succeeds With The Reactor Accepting The New Element...

Back At Hammer Industries, Ivan Gets To Work On Some New Electric Whips As Hammer Calls Him To Say That Larry Sanders Wants To Pop By To See The Drones But Telling Hammer That The Drones Won't Be Ready By The Time They Arrive, Hammer And His Men Pay Ivan A Visit...

As Hammer Says That He's Going To The Stark Expo And When He Gets Back They're Going To Renegotiate Their Deal And If He Doesn't Make Good On It, He's A Dead Man. Leaving Ivan With 2 Guards, He Takes Care Of Them Before Calling Tony...

Tony Tries Tracing The Call But Ivan Hangs Up Before The Trace Can Be Completed. Believing That Hammer Might Be Involved With Vanko, Tony Puts In The New Arc Reactor And Tells J.A.R.V.I.S. To Put A New Suit Together...

That Night At The Stark Expo...

Honestly, If Justin Hammer Was Going To Come Out To Music Why Wasn't It This Music?

Anyway, Justin Hammer Begins His Presentation By Introducing The Hammer Drones...

(Start At 1:32, End At 3:20)

But Before Hammer Can Finish What He Was Saying, Tony Arrives In His Brand New Mark 6 Armor To Tell Rhodey That Vanko's Alive And He Believes Hammer Is In Cahoots With Him, But Before Rhodey Can Do Anything His Suit Locks Up And The Drones Go On-Line And Start Attacking Not Just Tony But Everyone Else...

Tony Tries Hacking Into Rhodey's Shot But He's Unable To And So Is Hammer, Who Is Attempting To Get The Drones Back On Line As Pepper And Natasha Arrive To Figure Out What's Going On But Not Wanting To Tell Them, Natasha Puts Hammer In An Arm Hold Which Makes Him Tell Everything...

Tony Dodges Rhodey And The Drones Attacks While Natasha Goes With Happy To Hammer HQ To Deal With Vanko...

Eventually We Get A Scene Where Tony Saves A Young Boy In An Iron Man Mask (That's Supposed To Be A Young Peter Parker) From A Hammer Drone...

Yeah, This Is One Theory I Don't Buy Even Though Marvel Confirmed This Because The Age That This Kid Is Now And The Age Peter Is In Civil War Don't Seem To Add Up To Me....

Tony Continues To Dodge Attacks From Rhodey And The Drones As Natasha Arrives With Happy At Hammer HQ...

(Start At 1:19, End At 3:19)

When Natasha Eventually Arrives At Vanko's Room, She Finds Him Gone Which Gives Natasha An Opportunity To Both Shut Down The Drones And Get Rhodey Back On-Line To Which She Succeeded At That...

(Start At 1:31, End At 4:38)

With Hammer Arrested, Vanko Arrives In A Brand New Suit And Starts To Give Both Tony And Rhodey Trouble Eventually Leaving Them With Only One Option Left And That's Crossing The Streams...

(Imitating Bill Murray In Ghostbusters) I Love This Plan!, I'm Excited To Be Apart Of It!, Let's Do It!

With Vanko Near Death, He Sets His Suit And All The Drones To Self Destruct, Knowing That Pepper Is Near One Of The Drones Tony Races Off To Save Her...

Saving Pepper In The Nick Of Time, She's Not Exactly Happy To See Tony Saying That She Can't Handle The Pressure Anymore To The Point That She Quits Her Job, Understanding Why Tony Accepts And Kisses Her...

The Next Day, Fury Has A Meeting With Tony To Show Him Romanov's Assessment Of Him For The Avengers Initiative To Which She Decides That Iron Man Should Be Involved But Tony Stark Shouldn't. This Leads Fury To Decides To Use Stark As A Consultant...

Refusing At First Because Fury Can't Afford Him, Tony Says He'll Do It On One Condition And That's That Larry Sanders Gives Him Their Medals In Washington That They've Earned For Saving Everyone And He Makes It Happen...

In The End Scene For This Movie, We See Coulson Arrive In New Mexico Where He Makes A Phone Call To (Maybe) Nick Fury To Tell Him That They've Found It Only For The Camera To Zoom Out To Show Us Thor's Hammer...

This Movie...Is Okay..

It Has It's Good Moments And It's Bad Moments, I Love The Fight Scenes In This Movie, The Stuff Between Tony And Nick Fury Is Interesting Along With Most Of The Story Where The Rest Is Just Okay Or Groan Worthy And To Tell You The Truth I Can And I Can't See Why People Hated The Movie So Much, Yeah, It's Iron Man Against Another Guy In A Suit Of Armor But So What? The Scene Was Awesome And I Really Liked It, The Story Doesn't Go Anywhere? Bullshit, It Doesn't!, Black Widow Was A Wasted Character? Yeah, Kind Of But In A Movie About Iron Man, You Can't Make It Completely About Her And Not Focus On Iron Man, Some Complaints May Be Stupid And Others May Be Right But Either Way I Still Love Watching This Movie And I Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[bubbleteajuseyo]

I Quit My Job for Ateez and I'm Moving to Korea?| Bubble Tea Talk Thursdays | Bubbleteajuseyo

안녕하세요 여러분! (*＾▽＾)／  

How are you guys?

Have you had water? Have you been resting well? Taking your vitamins? Ate something delicious? Staying warm? Smiled or Jopped yet? Did you Yeosang ponytail dance today? 

Anyways~ let's just jump straight into it.

Am I officially moving?

Well...not exactly. Not just yet. 

Did I really quit my job for Ateez?

Again...not exactly. I quit for content creation, and some (not all) of my content does involve Kpop, more specifically Ateez. 

The plan and goal is to move by Summer 2021, but attend KU's intensive language program in August 2020.

Remember My First Video?

If you guys watched my very first Youtube video, which was tragic, so if you go to watch...I'm sorry.  

*Side note: I have to say though, I've come a long way with actually learning how to use my camera, mic, and ring light. 

Anyways, if you saw that video then you probably remember my original study plan.

Well, things of course have changed since after uploading that video.  And I even made an updated video that goes with this blog post discussing everything. 

The past several months have been a complete rollercoaster and along the way I've grown to truly figure out my 'why' when it comes to what I'm doing with my life and figuring out a plan. Well.....trying to at least.

My 'Why' And Updated Plan.

Not much has changed with my original plan. But there are a few minor changes.

I'm going to be taking the CLEP Exam since I only need one math course worth 3 credits to graduate. This will help me save a lot of time and money, and I can graduate in May 2020.

My next step is saving and attending Korea University's intensive language program this summer. Especially since I discovered it will bring my bank statement of $20,000, that I have to present at admissions, down to $10,000. Which is what I will ultimately need to get my student visa approved for when I do my international transfer.

Hopefully, if everything goes well, I'll be applying to Korea University in March of 2021. Their application usually opens up around the time of my birthday. So for my birthday in 2021, I'll treat myself to applying to KU for my bachelors degree.

My plan is to major in media communications and minor in Korean language and graduate with my Bachelor's and Master's degree. And my overall goal is to obtain my F-2 Visa so I can continue to live and work in Korea, but not as just an English teacher. Instead I would love to work behind the scences in entertainment as a social media manager or still as a content creator.

With all that said, why?

Why do I want to move to Korea?

Why am I doing all of this?

The main reason why I want to move to Korea so bad is because I felt so comfortable and content. As weird as it may sound and even though my last two trips were short, I feel more comfortable in Korea than I do here in the states. And during my two (soon to be three) experiences there, I could see myself living there, starting a new life, and being happy.

Another reason is, 6 years ago when I started my Korean language journey and dove deeper into learning about Korean language and culture, I told myself that I would move to Korea. But a lot of things have been holding me back.

Which we’ll discuss what's holding me back soon.

With so many concerns and fears eating me alive, I kept truly forgetting my 'why' and losing sight of the vision and goals I created for myself. And that made me so frustrated the past several months to over a year.

And while I was slowly forgetting my 'why,' I kept changing my plans on how I was going to get to Korea and just kept pushing everything back. I was getting upset and disappointed in myself.

I was even struggling with my 'why' for being a content creator.

Why do I want to be a content creator so bad?

Why am I trying to monetize my content?

Why am I doing any of this and why do I want to?

I had to figure out the answers to those questions too. I had way too many thoughts going through my head.

Until recently, I forced myself to sit down and organize my thoughts and really get a clear vision as to why I really want to do all of this.

I've gotten inspired by people like Vanessa Lau, Jade Darmawangsa, The Bucketlist Bombshells, and Yoon Sun who all quit their 'traditional' jobs to pursue doing what they're passionate about.

I know I'm capable of so much more than just a regular full or part time job that I truly have no interest in. I want to create content and provide value to those who may feel the same way as me.

I'm also trying so hard to monetize my content in order to, not only pay my bills, but to save up finally go back/eventually move to Korea.

I even discussed this in a recent twitter thread because for so long I have been torn with making the decision to go full-time as a creator. Constantly on this rollercoaster of self doubt and really questioning if I can even do this.

But I truly feel deep down that 2020 is my year, not just for my channel, but in general. 

Which is why I've decided to take this leap of faith with focusing my energy into growing my channel and blog.  And this is why I've been pushing myself more lately and will continue to work harder than before.

This is only just the beginning.

So let's move on to what I mentioned shortly before...  

What's Holding Me Back? Concerns? Fears?

Just like I mentioned before in my video, there are things that have held me back with trying to move to Korea.

As of right now, the fear of getting rejected during the admissions process and the financial part are my biggest concerns.

And after even more research. The one thing I feel like that's going to truly hold me back is the financial part. More specifically, the bank statement that is required to prove I can survive for at least one year on my own as a student.

Which basically is, the visa is what is holding me back. Which goes hand-in-hand with the bank deposit.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but during admissions and applying for a visa, you basically have to provide a bank statement in this packet of documents that you create and submit. Now, visas are very complicated and complex to explain. Which, I can do a whole post/video on this if anyone is interested since I discovered some new information recently and some helpful sources.

But, this bank deposit is typically a large sum of money to display that you can survive for one year (two semesters) or half the year (one semester). As of right now, I believe I have to have a deposit of $20,000 in my bank account to get my visa approved. However, if I take a Korean language program at the university, they will make the deposit $10,000. 

Now, that could remain the same, but it could also increase within the next year. It's very unpredictable... and stressful.

But that is probably my biggest concern and the one thing I'm stressing at the moment. While also being anxious of getting rejected in general when I apply.

Truthfully, after seeing the bank deposit requirement, I almost completely gave up on everything. Saving less than $2,000 in about a year to go for a simple trip seems a little easier. However, $10-20k seems impossible, even if I waited another year or two.

I'm even stressed for saving for the language program this summer.

That's why I decided to hustle doing something I actually enjoy doing in order to attempt raising money. But I also want to do more than just raise money and give back along the way.

How I Plan To Save/Raise Money Through Content Creation:

Let me take some time to explain how I plan to save/raise money in order to make my dreams a reality.

Simply put, using mostly Ko-fi.

I feel like if I'm trying to monetize while being a content creator, Ko-fi is probably my best source. 

Until I figure out how I can do even more and exclusive monthly content on Patreon for people who are trying to support me during this process. 

Ko-fi allows you to buy creators a "cup of coffee” for $3/cup, but its not really cups of coffee. The $3 automatically goes to my paypal and will then go into my savings. 

Also, Ko-fi has this super cute feature that if you "buy a cup of coffee," you can leave a message every time (even anonymously).

Also, I like to think of Ko-fi as a way of "tipping" creators. So it's like tipping $3 or "buying my a cup of coffee" if my content bring you any sort of value, brightened your day, motivated, or moved you in away.

I've even decided that if I raise more than my savings goal, I want to donate it to charity. 

So, if I raise more than my savings goal for both the intensive language and undergraduate programs, I will donate the rest to a charity that I will be having you guys vote on. 

I have four charities in mind ( Polished Man, Shiny Foundation, Unicef, or Reborn Center ).  

I really want to give back to those who do support me along this journey in any way I can. 

So, I have also decided to do a huge giveaway.

Therefore, if I reach my savings goal for both programs, not only will I donate to charity, I will choose one lucky supporter each for both goals to receive a gift box as a massive thank you.

I'll announce more in detail what is within the giftboxes, but I want to give back more than I receive and a much as I can to those who are helping to support me in any way they can.

What If I Don't Save Enough In Time?

Now if I can't raise enough in time for both programs, what will I do then?

Well, just continue saving until I reach my goal to do so.

It's been 6 years since I started learning Korean and having this dream, and I refuse to give up.

If I have to push it back one or two more years, then so be it, but I will make it to Korea no matter what.

Even if I get accepted into Korea University, but can't attend due to not meeting the bank statement requirement, what's great is I can always re-apply again when I do have enough.

It may be a major bummer if I can't reach my goal in time, but I know that I’ll get there eventually.... I hope ㅜㅜ; 

I want to thank you all for reading this blog post. I really hope that as this journey continues, I can inspire many of you to chase after your dreams as well.

This isn't really about me, this is about how many people can I bring with me on this adventure to motivate to take the leap themselves.

Whether it be moving to another country like Korea or just doing what they love, if I can spark the passion within at least one person, then I won regardless.

Thank you so much again for reading this post and if you haven’t already, make sure you join the #BOBASquad to receive exclusive newsletters regarding my channel, blog and my journey to finally move to Korea.

And make sure to subscribe and hit that notification bell to my channel for videos that will possibly go with blogs posts like this one. 

I want to add again, if anyone wishes to donate and support this adventure I'm on, please check out my Ko-fi page! 

All earnings will be going into my savings account for future projects I have planned for my blog/channel as a full-time creator, to save and back to Korea in Summer 2020, and to save and move to Seoul by 2021.

As I embark on this journey, I want to create a community that I can provide value to, especially if they want to follow their heart and move/travel to Korea in the near future.

I really hope you all enjoyed this post and thank you so much for taking the time to read this!

Until next time~

감사합니다!

나중에 봐요! 💕

[smoothshift]

A year of owning a Model S and why I'm ditching it for a Model 3 now. via /r/cars

A year of owning a Model S and why I'm ditching it for a Model 3 now.

Bought a 100D Model S last June after a long time waiting for a good performing electric car to come out and compete, eventually deciding that real competition was still too far away for me to wait. I am absolutely not a member of the Cult of Elon and quite frankly think he's a little unhinged. That said, I do like the cars and what they offer, even with their issues. I weighed the options of getting a 100D or a long-range Model 3 at the time, but ultimately landed on the S because the wait for a 3 a year ago was still a big unknown to me, and they were still fairly new and untested, versus the "more mature" Model S.

I scored what seemed like a decent deal on an end of quarter inventory S at the time, so I was pretty happy to start with. Looking back, I wish I had done a little more research and put more thought into it before going with inventory vs newly built.

Issue #1 was that instead of a 2018 model, this was a late 2017 build (November specifically). So that probably hurt its overall value a fair amount, but the discount was deep enough I figured to make it worth it. I was well aware of all of this. Issue #2 that I wasn't really aware of was that this late 2017 build car meant that it was still an "MCU1" car, meaning it was built with the older, inferior computer driving the infotainment, nav, etc. The autopilot hardware was current for the time though (AP 2.5). The older MCU wasn't really a noticeable issue for the first 4 or 5 months with the car, until it got the big version 9 update that came with a reworked UI to more closely match the Model 3's UI. After that, performance issues have been a way of life. Stuttering music streaming (Slacker sucks, BTW), slow navigation response sometimes, voice control rarely ever works (won't even initialize and listen for a command half the time), etc. Incremental software updates have come and gone that have sometimes performed better overall, sometimes worse, but overall the indication is that MCU1 performance isn't all that important, and it's regressed and gotten much buggier in general than it was for the first few months I owned it before V9. So those are the software issues. Let's get to the hardware issues.

I've had it in for service 3 or 4 times for door handles getting out of whack and not allowing me to open one of the doors. Usually it was the driver's side rear door that was most problematic. Eventually that was fixed a couple months ago when they finally decided to completely replace it, rather than just "recalibrate" it. No issues since then, but I have very little trust that all 4 will last long-term.

Noticed within the first month or so that the passenger side window switch didn't work. Took it in, and the switch was just unplugged. Not sure if it was ever plugged in or if it just worked its way loose somehow, but it was an easy fix and hasn't reoccurred. I chalk that up to sloppy assembly/QA.

Last October I had the center screen replaced for the yellowing border issue where adhesive separates. See this Drive story for more info. I just noticed recently that the replacement screen is now doing it, and Tesla doesn't seem to be replacing them now. This in many ways is the final straw for me and the final push for me to get rid of it.

A few months back I noticed a very high-pitched whine from the HVAC system under certain conditions. I showed them video I had taken where it's clearly audible, but on the day the mobile service tech came out to look at it, it wasn't happening, so he refused to tear into the car and find the issue. This issue still remains unfixed and it is periodically noticeable depending on weather and HVAC setting conditions.

It's also started to develop a couple of very annoying rattles. Annoying rattles that are probably even more annoying because it's a quiet electric car and there's less overall noise to mask them.

So with all that, plus just looking at how many miles I've put on it (about 20k in the past year), how long the warranty would really last me time-wise with my heavy mileage, the potential for a new Model S refresh that may devalue it more, the EV tax credit about to cut in half again, etc. I've determined it's time to ditch it and get a different car.

So I'm pretty spoiled on EVs for daily driving at this point, and there's still not really anything non-Tesla that ticks all my boxes unfortunately. Plus I've spent a fair amount of time with Model 3s that friends and family have, and they do naturally drive better due to their size, but also they've had none of the annoying issues I've had with my S (some issues like the door handles are obviously S-specific), and no big issues in general. Yeah, there's a chance I get a lemony 3, but that always a risk, and I've had plenty of other cars of questionable reliability over the years, so it's not unknown territory to me. I'm just more willing to accept that risk in a car that costs about half as much as an S. So I put in an order for a LR AWD Model 3 yesterday, which hopefully should arrive in time to take delivery before July 1 (tax credit cuts in half again then) if they can stick to their estimate.

I'd have looked elsewhere for another EV, but nothing comes close to matching the performance and efficiency combination that the Model 3 has right now, especially for the price. I'd love for the Taycan to be an option, but it's still an unknown and will certainly cost more, and I'm not keen on dropping Model S-like money on a car again so soon.

TLDR: Probably should've bought a Model 3 originally last year instead of my Model S, as it's had a fair share of annoying issues. Correcting that and getting a Model 3 now. Time will tell if that is a smart decision or not.

[cherokeegal1975]

Dragoness and Mare Video Game Idea

I know I already posted this, but I thought it would be fun to give a more detailed explanation of my idea. I don't have any hopes of anyone actually taking interest in it as far as actually creating it, but I'd welcome your thoughts on it instead. As for myself, I have a strong interest in video games, but I don't have the knowledge or resources to create one myself. Don't have the money to buy them either. I learn about them from watching play throughs on YouTube. I'm also well aware that game developers do not like outside ideas. It was a fun thing to do at the time. Anyway, here's my concept and the little article I wrote about it on DeviantART below:

   I created a fake game play screen shot.  I can take credit for the horse and the dragon, both the full characters and the heads, but nothing else.  The rest I found online and made use of them like stickers.  I did add the text though.  Call me lazy if you will, but I just wanted to focus on drawing my characters and sharing my concept.  The game itself will never be made, I don't even know how to do such a thing, much less have the funds to buy the programs to make them.   The closest I can come is do a kind of writing game where I say "This thing is happening, if you choose to go left, click the #1 link, if you choose to go right choose the #2 link and keep reading."  I don't see myself doing that anytime soon...if at all.  It's an idea though.     Both the horse and the dragon are based on small plastic toys that I had as a child.  The drawings look a lot better than the original toys I lost so long ago.  Anyway, the basic game idea is that it's a story based, open world, lots of side quests, puzzles, useful collectibles, possibly a bit of a sandbox thing going on in it, with more than one possible ending.  Both animals can talk, both have abilities that compliment the other.  The main focus will be on content and though it doesn't have to be G-rated, it should not be focused mainly on violence or sexual themes.     So what do you think?  I know this isn't the most action packed scene in a game I've ever seen, but use your imagination, this is only one set in a huge world map.  I haven't thought too much on the story plot or anything, only the basic concepts of what I've learned from watching game playthroughs on YouTube.  I gradually learned what kinds of games I like and this one has everything I find fun and appealing in a video game...or so I imagine.     So, tell me what you think of my idea.  I really want to know.

    Update:   (This a journal entry from a few weeks ago, I've already figured out their names and I only added this on to help fill in some detail just in case someone actually wants to take my idea seriously...which I still know is about zero.) I know why a game developer wouldn't want to take my ideas and collaborate with me, they got too many of their own already and want nothing to do with outside help.  It's a shame too, I've got some good ones and just occurred to me that my pink dragon (I can't figure out a name and Rosie won't do because I've got a cat named Rosie here and I don't like to have more than one animal named the same thing even though my dragon isn't real.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Her name was Pink-yellow-blue, but that's the stupid name my child self came up with and I've long since outgrown it.) might make a great avatar for a roll playing game in an open world kind of game.   Her abilities are human speech and intelligence, omnivorous, fire breathing, excellent senses of sight, smell and hearing. Very good at digging, powerful jumps, her tail is as prehensile as a monkey's so she can carry objects with it or help her to hang on to things like tree branches.  Her scales make her tough and fire resistant, excellent climbing capabilities, a really good swimmer and her fore feet work like hands.  She can also stand up and walk for short distances on her hind legs so she can use those hands.  She's the size of a large dog, so that means she can go into smaller places the bigger species of dragons can't.  Her only disadvantage is her lack of wings since her kind never had them in the first place.  Also, males have two small horns on their noses and her kind comes in all colors and patterns, so if they show up in the game, no two would look alike.  Her best friend is a black horse with four white socks, a white mark that starts on her forehead and runs all the way down her nose, a white mane and a white tail and silver eyes, who is just a sweet an intelligent horse in spite of her unusual coloring.  (Haven't drawn the horse yet, but I will.  I had almost forgotten that horse.  It's gone too, lost it long before I lost the dragon).  My character's home environment is an enchanted forest full of giant sentient trees that can change themselves to make hollows in their bases the dragons can use as homes.  The trees can also create mischief for the unwary traveler who disrespects them by shifting positions in such a way that the movement is never seen.  This movement can create false paths and get people hopelessly lost if they aren't careful.  This tendency can also aid my character in finding places if she asks them nicely to help her and most likely they will because their relationship with the tree dragons is a friendly one.   Maybe one of the game goals is to have my dragon go on an adventure to rescue her horse friend?  The game could have puzzles included as well as helpful companions that could come along as the game progresses.  I would like the game to have the best graphics.  I did downplay the details on my dragon a bit because I wanted to hurry up and finish her.  I've been doing a lot of dragons lately and I've gotten tired of drawing more scales than I can count.  So, I just did contours instead and only suggested that she's a scaled dragon.  She's got little lizard like scales except for the ones on her underside and I would love it if that would show up in the game whenever the camera got close enough to see them.   Well, anyway, I am aware that my chances of collaborating a gamer are slim to none, I'm still willing to try to put the suggestion out there just in case someone would take me up on my idea.  This dragon would do great as an avatar.  Not sure of the full plot, but those details could be worked out later by the developer. Also, I think the game controls should have the option to be made to work with a mouse so people on a tight budget don't have to buy a game controller so they can play the game on a laptop.