#definitely going to a cheaper arcade next time

[cicidraws]

won things at clawed machines.....

[feverwritingandtextposts]

Garou, Badd, and Saitama boyfriend headcanon dump

This is a general headcanon dump for what I think they'd be like in a relationship LOL

Garou

- I think he’d definitely be awkward af at the start, but a surprisingly sincere person all things considered.

- He places great emphasis on his internalised sense of justice and morals so he’d be the type to take dating you really seriously

- Definitely ends up treating you like porcelain! He doesn’t wanna accidentally hurt you, and he’s not really sure how tough you are, so he doesn’t wanna get too rough

- The type to really want to take the next step in the relationship but doesn’t want to vocalise it or act on it because he doesn’t wanna seem like a creep. He’d be super relieved if you took the first step yourself though and will be very responsive to you!

- Definitely loves getting your opinion on anything and everything. He thinks you’re great and values your opinion! Will call you to talk to you for hours no matter what time it is. Not very good at emotional advice though and is defo the sort of person that gives you a solution rather than try to comfort you.

- AWFUL at flirting. But he thinks he’s amazing at it. Expect a lot of weird one liners from him. Cut him some slack though, he probably got all his tips from either TV shows or Bang lmao.

- All his compliments are totally genuine though! And he doesn’t even do it to flirt, but more of just a matter of fact observation he makes. If it makes you blush though, he’d get excited.

- He’s the sort who if you fall asleep on his shoulder or something, trust that he’d be too worried about waking you up to move even a muscle. He’ll act like its whatever once you actually wake up though lol.

- The type of guy who just straight up refuses to do things he doesn’t like. He’d never judge you for doing or liking things he doesn’t, but he’s just too content to say that you can do what you like, and I’ll do what I like. Stubborn to a fault because of it. Will at the very least try it once if you keep insisting though, although he might get cranky through it.

- DEFINITELY the sort of guy who gets prickly with other dudes who check you out though. You’ll never catch him in the act but he’d be sending death glares to any guy who spends too long checking you out.

- I’d see him as devoted in a way that if you ask him out, or send him to do something for you. No matter what happens, he’s doing it. It doesn’t matter if he got attacked on the way or if a meteor falls in his path, he’s going on that date or getting you those donuts you asked for damnit!!!!!

Badd

- Supportive af!!

- He gets really into things you’re into, sometimes getting even more obsessed than you. He just likes that you like it and wants to experience that joy together!!!

- Fun to go shopping with! He’s got style and he thinks you look great in everything, so you two can spend hours in the store trying on new clothes and things!

- The type of boyfriend who loses games to you on purpose so that you feel good about yourself but denies it if you ask. He just loves looking at your excited triumphant face!!

- Claw machine PRO. This man can and will catch anything for you, just say the word. Arcades know and fear him.

- A big cuddler! Loves having his arms around you, and isn't afraid of any amount of PDA. He’ll hug you anywhere, don’t test him!

- Great at remembering special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries. He might not always make it on time with his schedule, but he’ll be damned if you didn’t know he remembered and is trying to be with you!!!

- I think he’ll get over the initial shyness of a new relationship relatively quickly. He’s an adaptable person, and he already has come to terms with the fact that he’s in love with you! If you're trying to get him to blush, you gotta work for it, this man takes everything in stride

- Can be a bit overbearing in a good way! He canonically is known to be a bit intense what with the giant bouquet he bought Zenko and all. And that side of him gets even worse with you. Expect overblown displays of affection like wagons of roses sent to your house or office!

- Forget walking home alone too! If its late he’s coming along, no matter where you are. Its not that he doesn't trust you to take care of yourself, its that he doesn't trust anyone else. There's monsters and thugs everywhere! He’d just rather you be safe. If he really can't make it though, expect to get your phone blown up until you can really reassure him that you're safe.

Saitama

- A trusting man! He loves you and knows you well enough to understand and treat you with respect.

- He wont get jealous. Like why would he! He trusts that you love him!

- He's not the type to treat you any differently from when you were friends. Will probably show his love in low key ways, like sitting closer, cooking together.

- I see him more as the homely type, so he'd rather have dates at home or at quiet diners or small restaurants rather than anything fancy.

- Blushes a LOT. He cant help it!! He's not used to shows of affection, so things like compliments or surprise kisses really gets him all shy.

- What can he say! He loves your attention, as much as he doesn't want to admit it out loud! Low key but not so low key tries to impress you on the daily. Be it from opening jars for you to carrying your bags to beating any monsters for you. Thrives on your compliments because of it.

- A good cook!! Knows a lot of recipes and is always on to cook for you!

- Absolutely 0 fashion sense but LOVES it when you dress him up. He has no clue but he thinks anything you pick out for him must look amazing on him.

- This boy is definitely a judger. He’s raising eyebrows if you’re the type to be a bit spendthrift. Why would you buy anything other than the suspicious brandless canned food?! Its a whopping 50 cents cheaper than that prego can you’re holding. Shopping anywhere other than the sales rack? Damn Saitama thinks you’re bougie af.

[thatcartoonnetworkblog]

Cartoon Network Hotel Review- Take 2

You know you’ve made it when you’re here.

Just about a month ago, I had my second stay at the Cartoon Network Hotel. I reviewed my previous trip here, and not a lot has changed since then. But I do have some more things to add from my stay this time.

First of all, this time I got a Powerpuff Girls room.

Looks nice, right? This wasn’t really one of my choices, but Gumball and Adventure Time were taken, at least with showers. I do love PPG, but only Craig McCracken’s run, and this represents the 2016 revival that I think pales in comparison. But it was still comfy, and the art was nice to look at.

Also, check out my view! Much better than my previous room, which had me out on the street.

This time, my top priority was to lay low, as I had just finished a heavy season of work and wanted to relax with some good cartoons before my festival the next day. As such, I kept the FanFavs channel on the entire time, and it showed the same series on a loop:

Craig of the Creek

Adventure Time

Mao Mao

Ben 10 (2017)

We Bare Bears

Clarence

Regular Show

Steven Universe

I think there was a pattern of which shows aired, but I didn’t quite crack it. And there did seem to be a limitation on what episodes were shown. I recall seeing the Craig episode where he abandons his warm clothes in the snow at least twice. I did occasionally switch to the the New Shows channel and saw bits of Victor & Valentino, Thundercats Roar! and Tig n Seek. Maybe also Apple & Onion? I get the feeling that these exclusive channels haven’t been touched since the hotel’s start up in 2020, so it’ll be interesting to hear if things changed.

A lot of what I experienced back in September remained the same, but a couple of experiences were available now that weren’t then, as this was meant to be peak season. Primarily, we got to do outdoor screenings.

Here’s the fire as we sat next to the giant Finn hat that played cartoons. They played one episode each of We Bare Bears, Craig of the Creek, Teen Titans Go! and Total Dramarama. I asked the person in charge of the projector, and he says that they have 3 DVDs that they rotate through. I’ve now seen two, as my previous stay had 3/4 shows, except replace WBB with Gumball, and all with different episodes. I wonder what the other DVD had.

This time I was able to have breakfast, and I got what they called character pancakes.

(bacon sold separately)

Do those sprinkles look familiar? It’s a shame that they didn’t add pink.

Besides Gumball, they had the option to do Adventure Time, We Bare Bears, Teen Titans Go! and something else, I think Steven Universe. It’s a cute option and the pancakes are rightfully tasty.

They also had arts and crafts, where you were able to make a bag and design it to look like one of your favorite characters. They’ll draw the character’s silhouette on a paper bag and give you paints to fit everything in. I did Gumball, but I never got my bag back. Ah well, they let me do it for free, anyway.

I said before that I probably wouldn’t go back here, yet I did. That’s mainly because it was much cheaper for me to book this extra day in PA, and it would have cost me almost as much as my trip to the CN Hotel to go a day later, so why not? It was fun, but I really do think this is my last time unless they seriously update it.

I wouldn’t change my previous review. I think this is fun, but it’s really meant for today’s kids and not for older Cartoon Network fans like us. I did see a few families have a good time, including one whose one child only seemed familiar with the Cartoonito content, which means that must be catching on. Good!

If you’re in the area, definitely give it a look. Check out the gift shop, or maybe the arcade and spend almost as much as I did trying to win a TTG! plushie (good luck). But unless this really sounds like something you need to experience, and you’re young at heart enough, I wouldn’t recommend staying.

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

If There’s a Place I Could Be - Chapter Ninety Eight

If There’s a Place I Could Be Tag

October 29th, 2000

Emile smiled, looking over at Remy, who was more excited than he had ever seen his new friend before. They had gone down to a local arcade to fool around and play some games, and Remy was super invested in Pac-Man. Like, more invested than Emile was in cartoons. And that was definitely saying something.

Remy finished the level he was on and whooped. “All right! New personal best, baby, let’s go!”

Emile laughed. Remy was a little abrasive around the edges, but this was proof that he could soften with time, or at least, hold his tongue in check and not be hurtful if he really wanted to be. Not one bad word left Remy’s lips, not even for the ghosts when they almost ate him. Emile was...surprised. He was starting to realize that he was fond of Remy. Not even out of pure spite. He was just fond of him as a friend.

  March 28th, 2004

Emile was sitting in the living room of his parents’ house, with his grandfather sitting next to him on the couch. Things had been really strained ever since Emile had delivered the news that he was going to marry Remy. But today, Emile could see just how much that strain had been affecting his grandfather. He looked older, withered, and Emile swallowed. If Emile and Remy hadn’t been able to get married, how likely was it that Emile would only hear about his grandfather when he had passed on?

No, stop it, that line of thinking wasn’t helpful. His grandfather definitely hadn’t been pleased that he was going to marry a man, no matter what they did behind closed doors, but he was still alive. “So...you wanted to talk to me?” Emile asked hesitantly. He cringed at how uncertain his own voice sounded.

His grandfather nodded. “I have been doing some thinking, ever since you said you were bisexual.”

Emile flinched minutely. “I don’t regret telling you back then. And I don’t regret telling you I got engaged, either. It would be wrong to just...not invite you to the wedding.”

“It’s all the way in Massachusetts,” his grandfather said, almost petulant.

“They’re the only state where gay marriage is legal, Grandpa. They may not recognize us as a legal couple here, but we wanted the ceremony as a symbolic thing. If and when gay marriage is legalized everywhere, or at least here, we’ll redo the papers and make it so that yes, we are legally married no matter what state we go to,” Emile said. “And until then, Remy and I can get papers to enter a civil union. Next best thing, although in our minds, it’s not enough.”

His grandfather put on a brave face, a fact which Emile appreciated. “And...you’re certain about this?”

“As sure as I have ever been about anything,” Emile said with a nod. “This is something both of us are positive we want. And we’ve both been tested, neither of us have any nasty surprises in the form of...you know...sexually transmitted diseases. No HIV, if you were worried about that.”

“I had...friends in the eighties, who never told me they were gay, until they got sick and couldn’t hide how they got it anymore,” his grandfather said. “I definitely don’t want that happening to you.”

“It won’t,” Emile said, putting a hand on his grandfather’s knee. He hoped he was being as reassuring as he was trying to be.

“And this makes you happy.”

Emile smiled. “Grandpa, Remy makes me feel like the happiest person alive. I love him with my whole heart.”

His grandfather nodded. “Then, there’s something I want you to have. Consider it an early wedding present of sorts.”

Emile’s eyebrows shot up as his grandfather passed him a nondescript brown package. He tore into it and he laughed when he recognized the shade of pink that had given him so much pride in the past. He stood, pulled it out and unfolded the bisexual pride flag... his bisexual pride flag. He thought he might cry.

Although, considering he had given Remy permission to bust in here should he start crying, that might not be the best idea.

“There’s another flag in there, for your fiancé,” his grandfather said.

Emile turned back to the package and pulled out a flag, folded up in a triangle like his was, sporting the red and orange stripes that Emile immediately recognized. “I...wow. Thank you, so much,” he managed, putting it back in the package.

His grandfather stood and hugged Emile tight. “I may not understand, but I don’t have to. It makes you happy, and that’s all that matters.”

Emile actually cried at that, Remy be damned, and hugged his grandfather tight. “Thank you, so much,” he repeated. “Thank you.”

“Just marry the man of your dreams, Emile. All I ever want for you is to be happy,” his grandfather said.

Emile grinned. “And Remy, too?”

His grandfather sighed and nodded with a weak smile. “And Remy too.”

Emile laughed and called, “Rem, get in here!”

Remy immediately burst into the room, wide-eyed and worried. “What?!”

“Grandpa has a gift for you,” Emile said, passing the opened package to Remy.

Remy looked inside and pulled out the flag in shock. “Wow,” he said, stunned. “I don’t know what to say.”

Emile’s grandfather shrugged. “Emile could do way worse,” he said.

Remy’s hackles were starting to rise and Emile stepped in. “Remy, Remy! Remy, he's joking,” Emile assured.

Emile’s grandfather had a sly grin on his face and his shoulders were shaking. “Emile and I don’t pull punches with each other, and we would tease each other to Hell and back when he was younger and going through a rebellious face. It’s a form of love, I assure you,” his grandfather explained to Remy.

“You’re on such thin ice,” Remy said, but lowered his guard just a fraction.

“Considering your history, I probably should have put more thought in before I said that joke,” Emile’s grandfather mused. “But my point still stands. Emile could do way worse than someone who makes him this happy, and who he trusts without a second thought.”

Remy turned a little red, and Emile laughed. “You might have broken him, Grandpa!” he teased. “And before we could even exchange vows!”

His grandfather laughed, but Emile didn’t miss the strain in it. “I’m gonna be honest, Grandpa. You don’t have to come to the wedding if this...makes you uncomfortable.”

“Emile, don’t be ridiculous,” his grandfather said. “Do you want me there?”

“...Yes,” Emile said softly.

“Then I’ll be there. I’ll get comfortable enough to throw rice on the newlyweds after you say your vows and make out at the altar,” his grandfather said. “Your wedding invitation showed me how committed you were to not only Remy, but to me. You gave me chance after chance to connect, and, well, I may have had my head in my ass for a while but I’m no fool. I’m growing old, Emile, and I want to be in touch with you whenever the Lord calls me home. I want you and your future husband and I to be in good standing when that day comes.”

“Hopefully it won’t come for a while yet,” Emile said, tears still falling as he hugged his grandfather tightly.

“Now that we have the...feelings all out of the way,” his grandfather laughed, “What do you say to some catch-up? How are your studies going?”

“Oh, Emile here has only gotten one ‘B’ his entire college career,” Remy laughed, clapping Emile on the shoulder. “And that was in gym. Apparently, his teacher was a bit less endeared by Emile’s giant puppy coordination than most.”

Emile’s grandfather laughed. “That sounds like my grandson,” he said, beaming at both Remy and Emile in turn. “So I take it you’re still on-track to graduate, then.”

“Yeah,” Emile said, scratching the back of his neck. “Like, there are kids with four-point-oh grades, so I’m not going to be the valedictorian speaker, but I’m still pretty proud of those grades. Especially considering that for a while, I was pulling night-shifts at Target, and I still work there to help fund everything.”

His grandfather nodded. “Things never seem to get cheaper as life goes on,” he said sagely. “The way inflation’s going, I don’t think it’ll ever get down to what it once was.”

The three of them got comfortable in the room, Emile and his grandfather on the couch, Remy sitting on the coffee table. Some time later, Mom and Dad walked in. “Everyone’s made nice, I take it?” Mom asked.

“I don’t think Remy would be sitting on the table if they hadn’t, honey,” Dad pointed out.

“Okay, you’ve got me there,” Remy laughed. “I don’t usually do this around people I’m uncomfortable with.”

“I hope that I can continue to make you more comfortable around me in the future,” Emile’s grandfather said. “The way I acted before was...immature, and uncalled for, and I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Remy said with a little smile. “You’re owning up to your mistake and learning from it, and that’s all anyone can really ask for. I learned that from Emile, here, over the years.”

“Stop,” Emile said, blushing.

“What? It’s true,” Remy argued. “I was a heartless bitch when I first entered college. You taught me that it was okay to feel. I owe a lot of my growth to you.”

“Not all of it,” Emile pointed out. “You’re the one who decided that you were going to grow. You made that choice, I just added the...stakes and the twine.”

“Still, stakes and twine are pretty important,” Remy insisted.

“Boys, boys, you’re both pretty, and pretty important to each other. No need to debate it,” Emile’s grandfather cut in.

Remy snorted at that, and Emile burst into giggles.

“You know, you’re not bad,” Remy said to Emile’s grandfather. “You had a bit of a moment, there, but I think you can get better. What’s more, you think you can get better, which is what really matters. And I, for one, am very relieved that you’re willing to put in that work. I know that you coming to the wedding has been a source of some of Emile’s anxiety for several months now.”

“Well, someone couldn’t see me until Spring Break, not that I exactly blame him for needing some time away from me,” Emile’s grandfather said. “And it wound up working out, because those pride flags I got you came in late, and if we had met up before February, I wouldn’t have had them in time.”

“I definitely appreciate the pride flags,” Remy said, laughing. “It makes things ten times easier at Pride Parades. People will seek out those specific colors like a code and once they see you with it, they’ll come up and talk to you a lot faster, because they know you’re one of them.”

“It’s a community thing,” Emile filled in at his grandfather’s confused look. “The parades bring people all over the city, or sometimes, the county or state or nation to be themselves at this one place at this one time in June. Remy and I try to make a point to go every year. It’s really nice.”

“Well, I might not join you in that, because Lord knows I’m not as young as I used to be, and I don’t handle summer heat well, but that sounds like fun for you two,” his grandfather said.

They chatted a while longer, before Mom pointed out it was getting late and everyone had a stretch of driving to go before they made it home. Emile and his grandfather hugged for a long time before they left the house.

Emile’s grandfather and Remy shook hands, exchanging friendly smiles as they stood at the edge of the house. “Good night, Remy. I’ll be pleased to see you at the wedding,” he said. “And...for what it’s worth, I’m sorry that whoever hurt you in the name of religion did so. I’m starting to learn that faith and traditions are much more fluid than rigid, and those who hold onto those beliefs will one day end up a byproduct of ages long past. They will be on the wrong side of history, and...I hope that they come to see things this way. Even if they don’t, you’ll always have a grandfather in me, and I think Emile’s grandmother, God bless her soul, would have taken an immediate shine to you.”

Remy stood there in shock at Emile’s grandfather's words, before he choked out a watery, “Thank you, sir. Really, that means a great deal more than you could imagine.”

They all exchanged one final goodbye before getting in their cars. And as Emile dozed in the passenger seat on the drive home, Remy looked at the pride flags, and excitedly chattered. Sometimes, people could indeed come around. Emile’s grandfather, and Remy himself, were proof of that concept. Emile smiled sleepily, closing his eyes. All was right with the world.

[ebottcatacombs]

Not-Fancy Dates To Take The Boys On

The skelebros’ favorite not-fancy dates. Dedicated to @popatochisssp, whose writing inspired me to make this blog

UT Sans -

Late night shopping cart races. While it’s true he loves a good night’s sleep, he also enjoys staying up late on occasion if some fun times are involved. That being said, he doesn’t care much for fancy restaurants or crowded theme parks, but grocery stores are tame and full of potential entertainment material. Plus, there’s a sort of giddy feeling he gets seeing a place that’s usually full of people so empty. It’s a strange sort of giddy, bordering on fear. Like when you ride a roller coaster.

Ideally, the date consists of pushing each other in carts (he’ll urge you to make the “nyoom” noise when you push him) eating free samples (he brought disguises you can sneak extras) and goofing off in the kid toy section until you get asked to leave. Then he’s content to loiter in the parking lot, staring up at the stars with your hand in his.

UT Papyrus -

Fashion show! Like Sans, Pap’s ideal date happens in a store. However, he prefers unique clothing stores or big bustling malls. They’re so exciting! You better believe he’s bringing a boom box full of fashion-montage beats. You pick outfits for each other to try on and take tons of pictures. Papyrus is full of compliments the whole time, praising how well you wear each outfit and how this one scarf brings out the color of your cheeks when you blush. Compliment him back and he’ll be beaming the rest of the day.

You two usually don’t end up buying anything. If you see something you really like, Papyrus will look for ways to improve the design and you something similar but better (usually covered in flames) because let’s face it, clothes are expensive, and there’s no need to spend all that money when it’s more fun (and usually cheaper) to sew something. After the date, he takes you to get smoothies.

UF Sans -

At first, UF Sans tried to take you to one of those couples pottery classes. He was quick to get annoyed with the teacher, though, and you ended up leaving early. Now craft dates are held in his garage. He tries to mix up what you do, getting clay for sculpting and modgepodge for greeting cards, but when it’s his turn to choose the craft you two end up tinkering with car parts or making something more practical than knick-knacks or post cards. He likes to feel productive, and he likes using his hands.

He won’t ever say it, but he loves when you ask him for help. Not in a creepy way — he respects your independence and loves to see you thrive on your own — but if you ask his expertise on something you’re making it boosts his confidence and makes him feel useful. He loves when he gets to sit behind you and help position your hands the right way, murmuring directions in your ear as he walks you through steps.

UF Papyrus -

While this man definitely appreciates a classy resturant, UF Papyrus can’t resist the allure of a cozy bookshop. The smell of coffee and paper soothes him, and even such a loud guy can appreciate the quiet. The date usually starts with pastries and fancy coffee. He likes to impress you with his super refined coffee taste (you can tell by the look on the barista’s face he orders something simple in a complicated and round-about way) and depending on what you order he’ll make a teasing comment about your sweet tooth. By the third date, he knows your order by heart.

Usually Papyrus will give you time to look around by yourself while he writes in his journal. Or you can sit beside him and read yourself, or write. But he enjoys the quiet moments between you two when you just enjoy each other’s presence.

By far his favorite part of the date is the journey to the romance section. He grabs some classics off the shelf and looooooms close to you, lowering his voice and reading off some of the sweetest words you’ve heard. He is absolutely preening and puffing with pride once he’s got you blushing. Get him back by reciting a love poem to him. Make sure it’s super corny and tooth-rottingly sweet. He will be the blushiest boy.

US Sans -

Gym dates or park dates. Really, any date where you two can burn up some energy. He enjoys roller skating and treadmill dancing, so expect him to show off. Boy can also lift like no one’s business. If you’re not particularly sporty, no worries! He’s happy to lead you in some yoga or just take a walk with you. He also finds pushing you on the swing irresistibly romantic, the nerd.

It’s important to say that while he’ll encourage you on these dates, he’ll never push your limits. If you don’t feel comfortable in a gym that’s fine, and if you can’t keep up with his excessive amount of energy he understands. As far as dates go, he’s super flexible and accommodating. You want a chill picnic? Perfect! He knows the spot. You prefer an arcade over the roller rink? No worries, watch him destroy his high score on Dance Dance Revolution! Overall, his main focus is showing you a good time.

US Papyrus -

You might just be surprised by the amount of energy US Papyrus has on your date. It’s by no means as intense as his brother’s idea of a workout, but he enjoys exploring the outdoors. Impromptu dates happen quite often, as he has a habit of staring out of the window, and if he sees a bird he needs in his journal he’ll ask if you’re up for an adventure. He has an impressive collection of drawings and pressed leaves in his book. Once you come along, he’ll also pick flowers and thread them in your hair.

If you two are going on a planned excursion, you’ll need boots, water, snacks, and a machete. Papyrus doesn’t care to follow paths, so you’ll make plenty of your own. Sometimes you go with a goal in mind (an abandoned fort he heard a rumor about, a certain type of mushroom he’s never seen before) and sometimes you just walk. He’s an excellent conversationalist, and you find talking to him feels easy and natural. You two don’t take any pictures, but Papyrus likes to sketch your adventures. You’re in all of his drawings.

SF Sans -

Given how busy SF Sans is most of the time, he actually prefers simple, easy-going dates. As much as he loves to get dressed up and show you off, taking you to fine art museums and treating you to expensive drinks, homey dates will always be his favorites. He enjoys a good game night with you. Gin rummy, bananagrams, chess. Something stimulating but not tiring (like his job.) You two often break out games and puzzles on the weekends, enjoying a dinner of delivery whatever (veggie pizza is his favorite) and whatever alchohol you can scrounge from the cabinet.

As the night goes on, the games usually turn to things like truth-or-dare and twenty questions. You play ‘never have I ever’ and take shots from those paper mouthwash cups. It’s his favorite part of the week. He gets to unwind with you, and he doesn’t even have to drive anywhere. He doesn’t even have to wear pants! He is honestly so relieved to be out of his royal guard uniform you do not even know. He insists pajamas are necessary for maximum date coziness (plus you look adorable and extra soft.) The date ends with you falling asleep on top of each other.

SF Papyrus -

Blanket fort dates. Look, SF Papyrus is... not fancy. Please don’t make him be fancy. He’s depressed and has little energy, so this is the perfect date for him. Crowds overwhelm him and he already has a tendency to nest, plus you two can fall asleep all cuddled up. He also puts a lot of effort in the blanket fort. Fresh-baked cookies, fairy lights, teddy bears, the works. He makes them functional and beautiful, and you always get to pick the movies. Often times he feels like he should be able to take you on a better date, even if you insist this is more than fine, so he tries to make everything extra perfect to show you he cares and is willing to put work into your relationship.

Papyrus also has an old record player he’ll set up on these dates. Once you two start to wind down for the evening he’ll put on a gentle tune and gather you up in his arm, cuddling you to his chest as he sings. His voice is soft and warm, just a bit scratchy, and you can smell something smoky and sweet on his teeth. He massages your head until you fall asleep.

HT Sans -

At the end of every month the community holds a farmer’s market, and every month Sans takes you on a farmer’s market date. Usually crowds make him nervous, but this is a decidedly tiny meet-up, mostly consisting of people just trying to get by, people trying to continue a family tradition, people just starting out in their passion, that sort of thing. To your surprise, Sans isn’t as reserved as usual the first time he takes you to the market. He cracks jokes, talks to vendors, buys a kid a yarn doll. Deep down, he’s a real people-person who loves to see others smile.

The people at the farmer’s market love you. They coo over what a cute couple you and Sans are. You’re offered a free sample of organic lotion and collect some soup recipes. A little kid introduces you to their teddy bear. One lady tells you about what a joy Sans is, how he always buys something from each of the vendors, encouraging them and giving them hope. They’re so glad the two of you are happy together.

You look forward to the end of every month.

HT Papyrus -

Gardening dates, all the way. On the surface gardening quickly becomes a passion of HT Papyrus. The king and queen used to garden, he tells you, planting golden flowers next to a patch of tulips. And isn’t gardening lovely? It’s an endless circle of food, it looks pretty, and plants are such good listeners. You are also a good listener and very pretty, he tells you. You blush. He puts a hand over yours, helping you pat the soil down nice and snug.

Papyrus has a green thumb, you find out. He’s attentive to the needs of the different types of plants, and is patient while waiting for things to grow. He encourages his plants constantly (“you can do it, I believe in you, you’re the loveliest vine!”) One day you two set up an irrigation system, and between figuring out how much water should go where and how to adjust the system for when it’s time to rotate crops, you two became so very confused. Stumped, you laid in the sun, tossing solutions back and forth. You were growing frustrated, but when you looked to Papyrus he was smiling. When you asked him why, he simply replied he hasn’t been this excited to solve a puzzle in a very, very long time.

You smiled back at him.

[onewfantaesy]

i updated the au masterlist page

but here have a post w everything that wasn’t included previously bc this is where i made it lmao have fun

step idol au: bandific au. taemin’s mom is dating yunho from dbsk. taemin’s step-dad is yunho from dbsk.

step teacher au: yunboa. taemin’s dad is dating his history teacher. taemin’s dad ends up marrying his history teacher.

kidnap au: taemin played hooky and stole a pair of jeans with key and they got arrested and taemin found out he was kidnapped. yunho is his father. he’s 11 and his life just got turned upside down.

genius au: lil baby taemin is a Genius and he’s like 8 and is a freshman in high school along with his big brother onew. minkey are their friends. kai is taemin’s best friend.

beacon street au: ontae high school au. taemin lives on beacon street and works at the beacon street diner. onew forces his friends minho and key to go to the diner with him and be regulars. taemin’s a shipyard kid, and that’s like, important.

crossing guard au: old man onew is a crossing guard and taemin and kai are kindergarteners and he loves watching over them and making sure they cross the street safely.

forest god au: taemin died when he was 12 but got turned into a god by the all-father. he’s now god of the forest. he really loves the baby deer and the bunnies.

blankie au: girl!minho and key. taemin is their lil baby boy. taemin is obsessed w his blankie

tween vamp au: taemin got turned into a vampire when he was 11. key was his teacher, and also a vampire. onew is key’s?? partner??? they take this poor abandoned little vamp boy in bc taemin literally would have died if they hadn’t.

thighs au: i think it’s girl!taemin and minho??? they hooked up on tinder and minho tried to give her shit for not shaving her thighs and taeyeon was just like “listen bitch first of all-”

lil booger au: taemin is the much younger brother on jonghyun and jinki. minkey are their parents.

sad ghost au: bandifc. taemin got ran over by a van in like rdd era and his ghost haunted the sm building for like 2 years before he finally passed on. it was really depressing. he relived his death over and over and over again. he didn’t know he was dead.

sneak au: bandfic. taemin sneaks out. like all the time. he gets caught by paparazzi. he gets shit on for it. he continued to sneak out.

citadel of onews au: rick and morty au but with shinee.

divorced au: heechul and jessica are divorced. taemin is their son. heechul moves back in with them. taemin is annoyed. taemin also has anemia and just wants to sleep at his auntie krystal’s house bc his dad pisses him off.

mini mommy au: jongtaeng and baby taemin.

ot5 hogwarts au: exactly what it sounds like. i think ontae are brothers. 

secret adoption au: lunew?? taemin is their son but taemin didn’t know that until lmao he was like 11. he only found out because his grandparents that he thought were his parents started treating him like shit. lunew were pissed that their baby was being treated like that when they didn’t even want to give him up in the first place.

secret boyfriends au: taekai high school au. no one knows they’re dating. chanyeol finds out bc he’s on the football team with kai and sees the texts. taemin gets bullied. big brother onew helps him get back at chanyeol and his stupid goons. taekai eventually let everyone know they’re boyfriends and they’re cute af.

super hero au: ontae brothers where they can both astral manipulate and shit. taemin decided to join super villain key. onew and his group of boring ass good guys always try to save taemin. taemin just is the literal definition of shrug emoji but with super powers.

twin college au: college au where taemin finds out he has a twin sister solely bc housing fucked up and put him and a girl in the same campus apartment. taeyeon didn’t know she was adopted.

uncle yunho au: taemin parents are abusive af and yunho is his uncle/godfather who saves him. taemin gets kidnapped after he moves in with yunho. it was traumatic. taemin almost died. key was the only one at school who treated him normally afterwards.

dozen au: bandfic where taemin is literally one of twelve children. he hates it. i was watching cheaper by the dozen and it just sort of wrote itself honestly.

tarzan au: taemin is found by onkey in the jungle. he was living with gorillas. he was like 5.

boy next door au: taemin is jongkey’s little neighbor. he likes to walk through their kitchen door and put his drawings on their fridge and play with their dogs.

doomsday au: bandfic where shinee’s managers and a tv station make shinee think they’re stranded on an island in the middle of the apocalypse. they kind of go a little crazy. a helicopter with a camera crew has to come down and be like “HAHA IT WAS A HIDDEN CAMERA!!!” taemin flips the fuck out. he’s very sunburned.

bullied au: bandfic but taemin’s been systematically bullied since like debut. no one knew until the bullies made a public apology during ace promotions. taemin had a panic attack when people found out the shit they did to him.

bow au: 2min. baby key. minho puts bows in key’s baby hair and taemin thinks it’s stupid.

graham cracker au: taemin, jonghyun, key, and minho ride their bikes down meadow street so the wizard at the end of the cul de sac will give them chocolate graham crackers. onew is that wizard.

middle school au: taemin is gwiboon’s much younger brother and she’s married to jinki and they have a small son minho. jinki is taemin’s middle school teacher. taemin’s parents are bad parents.

whale shark au: mermaid au but taemin’s bonded with a whale shark. jongyu are marine biologists that love watching taemin and his whale shark migrate.

lost prince au: taemin is the prince, and he’s three and he’s lost, and jongho find him but don’t realize he’s the prince.

tinder jongtae au: college-ish au where jongtae match on tinder and Spend The Night Together but then taemin’s older brother jinki just “taemin why the fuck is your snapchat bitmoji at my coworker’s house gdi taemin my friends have sent me screenshots of ur tinder DON’T FUCK MY COWORKER”

soulmate au: jongtae are soulmates and when a soulmate writes on their arm, the other can see it. taemin is in high school and writes all his homework on his hands. jonghyun is in college and thinks it’s annoying af.

europa au: space au where jongkey are aliens on europa, one of jupiter’s moons, and taemin is their adopted son.

finals au: bandfic but it’s just taemin acting stupid at the library during finals with his friends and the videos of them doing stupid shit go viral before people even realize it’s SHINee’s taemin in them

royalty au: jinki is the crown prince, and taemin is the king’s bastard son. he’s also half-elf.

i’m going to school au: just scenerios of what taemin might have been like when he was on that “i’m going to school” show with gain.

new school au: heechul is taemin’s dad, and taemin’s twin brother kai and their mother died in a car accident and now taemin goes to a new school because he was Traumatized

fourth grade au: ot5 are all in the same class and they find out they were all born on the same day (May 25th) and they bond over being geminis

st hedwig au: taemin lives in an orphanage called St. Hedwig’s and his teacher Jinki and his partner Minho end up adopting him

amish au: taemin was amish before he became an idol.

futon au: college au where boyfriends taekai just always spend the night on onkey’s futon bc taemin’s roommate doesn’t like it when taemin’s boyfriend sleeps over but kai goes to a different university

mermaid au: key, taemin, and minho are mermaids. taemin’s warrior parents died in a shark attack when he was a baby so key became his caretaker. jongyu are humans that they talk to a lot

711 au: college au where taemin works at 7-11 and he gets robbed at gunpoint and it’s traumatizing but he gets out of a midterm so shrug emoji. he and amber work together. shindong is a shit manager.

chill au: college au ontae netflix and chill. roommate kai. taemin gets chapped lips.

ballerino au: taemin gets bullied in high school bc he takes ballet but he’s a good ballerino who’s going places

vampire au: taemin got turned into a vampire when he was five and onew is his master and just ot5 being vampires but taemin is stuck in the body of a child also he pretty much always also acts like a child but “I’M A HUNDRED YEARS OLD LET ME HAVE WINE”

age gap au: taemin is like way younger than his big brother key and onew is their dad and jongkey are dating

senior boys au: jonghyun, key, and minho are seniors in high school. onew is their calculus teacher. taemin is onew’s son who’s a freshman. at one point, taemin accidentally sends jonghyun nudes. it was a big deal. taekai might be a thing in this au? i can’t really remember

bard au: taemin and the rest of ot5 are bards from dragon age & they operate in orlais, mainly val royeaux. jongtae have an intense rivalry. also taemin’s half-elf.

bard inquisitor au: literally bard au but taemin also becomes the inquisitor from dragon age inquisition. people freak out bc he’s orlesian lmao.

child star au: key is taemin’s dad and taemin became a child star when he was on a sitcom when he was like 3. taemin was a bit of a shit in his teenage years. the spotlight can do that to a kid.

arcade au: onew works at the local arcade and taemin takes full advantage of his big brother working there. taemin and his lil nerd friends - kai and ravi - hang out there all the time. key is the bully, bc where there’s a nerd in an arcade there’s a bully. i think i wrote this after watching stranger things lmao

exec board au: college au where ot5 are on the exec board for a club. taemin is a freshman who Does Not Take Thing Seriously. he’s fundraising chair. him and his friends sell weird shit at the food tents but make so much money that key can’t stand it.

college bro au: college au taekai riding together on their skateboards or some shit idk

musclehead au: college au taemin works at the rec center at fuckass o’clock. jonghyun is a stupid musclehead that dirties his perfectly clean mirrors.

boarding school au: taemin’s mom remarries and he gets sent to some snooty boarding school that his step-dad’s family has always gone to. he meets his step-brother, jinki, for the firs time when they meet at school. shit gets weird. taemin lies about his biological dad.

kidnapping au: taemin is jinki’s very much younger baby brother, and taemin was kidnapped when he was almost five years old. jinki becomes a cop and becomes obsessed with finding taemin, and he does, five years later, when a little boy is sitting in the station because his parents just got arrested.

kidnapping au 2: bandfic au. taemin is jinki’s little brother, only he didn’t know that because he was kidnapped when he was a toddler.

morning news au: taemin in onho’s little boy. he’s very cute. he reads the newspaper in the morning even though he can’t read yet.

reblog my shit thank u

[lazytownpoint]

LTP Presents -                                 D.B. Jones Review #7: Exciting Things you should do this Summer

    Hi, everyone. I hope you’ve all been having a wonderful start to your summer. As school ends for the season, students and parents alike find themselves having more time to go on vacation. This is the perfect time of year to explore new places, so today I thought I’d share some ideas of what you might want to consider doing this summer. 1. Go camping in a tent-

  If you’re an outdoorsy kind of person, you should consider going camping this summer. Even if you’re not much into the outdoors, camping might be a fun new experience to try. As well as fishing and hiking opportunities, campgrounds are a perfect location for barbeques and S’mores. Just remember to bring some bug spray.

2. Rent a cabin-

  If tent camping isn’t your thing, then maybe you should try renting a cabin to camp in. Cabin campgrounds tend to have more activities than tent campgrounds, such as a swimming pool, a lodge, a rock climbing site, or even a river to go boating in. Cabins are usually well-furnished on the inside and also cost less than most hotels, so if you’re looking for an inexpensive getaway, cabin camping might be for you.

3. Rent a camping trailer-

  Camping in a trailer is really similar to camping in a tent, only with more furniture, more space, and electric appliances. Renting a trailer can be a bit pricey, but if you manage to find a camping spot with a great view over a lake, cliffside, or even national park, it will be worth the price. I’ve never camped in a trailer myself, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

4. Go to a waterpark-

  Waterparks are one of my favorite ways of vacationing over the summer. The thrill of rushing down a waterslide, the relaxation of lazing in an innertube, and a cloudless sky are just a few of the many factors that make waterparks fun. Even if the weather isn’t the best, you can still visit an indoor waterpark. Waterparks can be found in many vacation areas, from hotels to amusement parks to cruise ships. You might even find one at the zoo. No matter how old or young you are, waterparks are something that lots of people can enjoy.

5. Go on a cruise-

  This one isn’t a must, especially if boats aren’t your thing or you get seasick, but it can still be fun to try. Cruises are kind of expensive (unless you somehow win a free cruise), but it tends to be well worth it. I’ve never been on a cruise and therefore I’m nervous to try going on a cruise. However, facing your fears can be one of the biggest ways to have fun. Cruise ships allow you to travel around a wide expanse of sea and see the world without you having to move a muscle. Cruise ships tend to have lots of fun activities, such as swimming pools, luxurious meals, and the opportunity to take astonishing pictures of the ocean.

  6. Go to the beach-

   A much cheaper alternative to going on a cruise is the opportunity to go to the beach. Whether it’s near an ocean or a lake, going to the beach can be enjoyable for anyone and everyone. You can play volleyball, go swimming, build sandcastles, get a tan, look for crabs and other animals, and much more. It would even be fun to stay in a beach cabin or hotel while you’re there. The beach doesn’t have to be far away; there are plenty of beaches far away from the ocean. One of the most popular summer activities, going to the beach is an ideal thing to do over the summer.

7. Stay in a hotel or resort-

   Speaking of going to the beach, a lot of beaches have resorts or hotels. Hotels have many different activities for guests, including swimming pools, waterparks, arcades, restaurants, bowling alleys, free breakfast, and more. You may not find all of these things at a beach resort, but you’ll have just as much fun at the least. The weather is always nice in beach resort areas, so you’ll be able to swim, relax, and let go of all your worries for a few days.

8. Fly on a plane-

    This one may seem a little scary, but traveling long distances by plane is a lot faster and safer than traveling long distances by car. If you travel by plane, you’ll have a lot more vacation options than if you were driving. The world is full of amazing places to see, so if you face your fear of flying, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.

9. Go on a trip to a lake-

   It’s always relaxing to be near a lake. You can do lots of things there, like go fishing, boating, or just sightseeing. You could even take a trip to visit one of the Great Lakes in America, where you can find countless hotels and other vacation opportunities. I guarantee you won’t regret it if you visit a lake this summer.

10. Go to an amusement park or zoo-

   One of the best things to do over the summer, in my opinion, is visiting amusement parks or zoos. It’s definitely a popular summer activity, and it’s an opportunity you might not want to pass up during the next few months of good weather. If you like rides, animals, or both, then this may be the vacation for you.

    It’s not the end of the world if you don’t get around to doing any of these things over the summer, but I think your summer would be a lot more exciting if you did at least one of these things. I can guarantee that you’ll enjoy yourself and make new memories that will last forever. Trying new things can be good. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this list of potential summer activities. Hopefully I’ve helped you decide what you should do this summer. See you next time, D.B. Jones

Source: http://www.lazytownpoint.com/DBJRev-Summer.html

[irvinpressler]

Gaming Phones Are Great – But Do You Need One?

It feels like it’s been years since we saw a mobile phone handset hit the market that looked dramatically different from its competitors. Ever since Apple came up with the basic shape of the iPhone years ago, manufacturers have been in agreement that the brick-shaped touchscreen design is what consumers want and need. Since then, aside from the manufacturer’s logo and the operating software, mobile phones have largely been interchangeable. That’s why it’s such a delight to see an innovative device like the Black Shark 2 Pro phone, which looks like nothing else on the market. It has a striking appearance, but it markets itself as a gaming phone. What is a gaming phone, though, and do you need one? 

If you engage with games on your phone the same way the majority of people do, the answer is ‘probably not.’ As far as you’re concerned, your phone has access to an app store that allows you to download any game you wish, and you can play them hassle-free as much as you like. You might occasionally encounter performance issues if your phone is low on memory or space or is getting a little old, but most of the time, everything works exactly as it should. The Black Shark 2 isn’t aimed at the average user, though. It’s aimed at the hardcore gamer. 

As impressive as most modern phones are, they weren’t designed for the purpose of hosting or running complicated games, and nor are most mobile games designed to place heavy demands on a phone’s hardware or software. You only need to look at online slots websites like Amigo Slots to confirm that. By a long-distance, online slots are the most popular types of games played on mobile phones, and yet they generally don’t involve downloading any content at all. So long as a player has an internet connection and a touch screen, they can play the majority of mobile slots easily, even if their phone is a decade old. Designers of non-gambling related mobile games take note of this and design their own software accordingly. If the games all run smoothly, then what problem is the Black Shark 2 attempting to fix? 

Google Stadia might raise its hand if we asked it that question directly, and Apple Arcade might follow suit, too. The fact of the matter is that mobile gaming is changing, and what’s required of a phone is going to change along with it. The creation of the new Apple and Google gaming devices means that phones are now just as viable as television screens when it comes to finding something to play a game on, and so phones are going from handling something as basic as Candy Crush to trying to process something as complex and demanding as the latest Fortnite or Call of Duty game. With an average device, lag becomes an issue, and lag is unacceptable to hardcore gamers. That’s the niche in the market that the Black Shark 2 hopes to fill. 

The concept of a gaming phone isn’t new. 2017 saw the launch of the Razer Phone, a gaming-orientated device that came with a high refresh rate and a processor that wouldn’t have been out of place in a PlayStation or an Xbox. It didn’t catch on as an idea, but as a piece of equipment, it showed what was possible. The design of the Razer influenced the 7 Pro and the Google Pixel 4 when it came to screen design and refresh rate, and may even have influenced the creation of the new 120Hz displays that have become a favorite of Samsung. 

The Black Shark hopes to eclipse the competition with a further step up in gaming-friendly technology, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 plus processor to speed things along. That will mean that graphics run 15% faster on the new phone than on anything else on the market, and a CPU speed of up to 2.96HGz becomes possible. The idea of having a fan inside the machine to keep the processor cool is being thrown out as an old hat, too – instead, the phone comes equipped with a liquid cooling system designed to keep the device at peak performance at all times. Most of us are used to the feeling of our phones running hot when we’re asking for a lot from them in terms of performance. Black Shark 2 Pro owners should never encounter that sensation, even after hours of gameplay. 

There are a few more features to the phone that are also worthy of mention. As an example, the sensitivity of the touch screen can be adjusted from one game to the next, and can even be made lighter on one side of the screen than it is on another. A Sharkspace slider button enables a ‘gaming mode’ on your phone that works like a gaming-optimized airplane mode, ensuring you never get interrupted mid-game, and background processes are kept to an absolute minimum. Factor in the fact that it comes with a case that effectively turns it into a gaming controller with a screen, and you have a powerful proposition for gaming-orientated phone owners. 

The one thing we don’t know about the phone yet is when it will be available in the USA or Europe. News of the phone was first announced in July 2019 with a suggestion that it would be available to buy in time for Christmas, but it didn’t materialize. Now, aside from assuring interested parties that it will definitely be launching at some point in 2020, manufacturers Xiaomi is unable to give a precise launch date. They can, however, give us some indication of the price. A brand new Black Shark 2 Pro comes with a recommended retail price of $599 for a basic model, with tweaked models available for higher rates. When compared to the cost of a brand new iPhone, the price seems reasonable. 

The Black Shark 2 Pro appears to have all the right attributes to make it a success. It’s fast, it’s good-looking, it packs some serious power, and it’s cheaper than the vast majority of modern top-end smartphones. The only question is whether there’s a large enough market to support it, or whether it will meet with the same tepid reaction that greeted the Razer Phone when that hit the market three years ago. Are there enough phone-centric gamers to reward Xiaomi for their efforts? We don’t know, but we’re about to find out.

The post Gaming Phones Are Great – But Do You Need One? appeared first on Gadgets, gizmos, and tech from the East.

Gaming Phones Are Great – But Do You Need One? published first on https://greatestspeakers.tumblr.com/

[griswoldadventures]

Great Wolf Lodge

The kids have really been enjoying their swimming lessons and we’ve missed spending time in our pool, so we decided that December was the perfect time to book a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge! It took us just under two hours to get there, and we were able to check right in, get changed, and make our way to the water park. The resort was pretty busy, and there were a lot of different things going on at the same time -- restaurants, shopping, kids activities, mini golf, bowling, rock climbing, ropes course, an arcade, Build a Bear...plus the huge water park! It was honestly a bit overwhelming. But, we were only there one night and the kids were too young for most of the other things, so we focused on the water park. 

There was a nice area for toddlers with a shallow pool, a few small slides and other things to play on. We spent a lot of our time over here, especially as the kids warmed up to the other bigger slides. But, once they got the confidence to go on the big slides, we couldn’t keep them off! 

Neither of them were too excited about the bigger tube slides. We went down once as a family one the one slide that they were both tall enough to ride on and they were both pretty nervous and had no desire to go back on. 

They did really enjoy the lazy river though - and falling in an out of the tubes as we swam around. 

As dinnertime was approaching, we went back up to our room to shower and change. 

Before dinner though, we got in line to meet Santa. There were a lot of people lined up, but it moved pretty quickly once Santa arrived. The kids both gave him a big hug, though Riley was still not keen on sitting on his lap!

Next, we headed to have some dinner. We made a reservation at the sit down restaurant, but in retrospect, it would have been much easier (and faster, and cheaper) to get a pizza or order food at one of the fast-food style restaurants in the food court. The most exciting part of dinner for the kids was watching all of waiters/waitresses sing “Happy Birthday” to what seemed like 10+ people throughout the night. There were definitely a lot of people celebrating their birthday with a special treat and set of birthday ears. By the time dinner was over, it was pretty late and everyone was tired, so the kids went right to bed in their bunk beds. 

The next morning, we were ready to go to the water park a 2nd time and were there as the doors were opening so we could swim for a couple of hours before we had to check out. It was not nearly as busy, which was great. We spent some time in the wave pool because it wasn’t as crowded as the day before. Jackson really enjoyed the waves. 

We then checked out and headed home, stopping at Ponce City Market in Atlanta on our way back to grab some lunch and break up the ride a bit. Santa and the Grinch were on a lunch break, so we missed them, but enjoyed some food and checking out the holiday decorations. 

Jackson has already requested that we book a 2nd trip to come back for his birthday, so we’re looking forward to that!

[bites-kms]

Password?

There are multiple speakeasy bars in town, you just have to be sneaky and curious enough to find them! Rumor even has it that there used to be one, with limited seats of 6 per night, inside a beautiful water tank in Williamsburg where the personalized service was greeted by the moonlight and the Manhattan skyline. But that is vox populi... isn’t it? With some of them being easier to find than others, whereas others preserve the vintage look and feel or the strength of the alcohol, all of them have their charm and attractiveness. Whatever you prefer, NYC has a bar waiting for you.  Employees Only

I loved this place: it was the night we all celebrated together with the Singapore 6, my dear friends from Ogilvy. More than a speakeasy, it’s just a very nice old fashion decorated bar, with a very expensive fortune teller at the entrance and some delicious drinks. Apparently, the good vibe - and single people - are found at the bar, but this day was extremely hot and luckily we booked a table inside in advance. The music is perfect although with the conversation accumulation the overall environment becomes a little bit louder than usual, but definitely it’s a spot worth checking in Chelsea.

Beauty & Essex

This beautiful, magnificent place is hidden behind an antique store. The chandelier, the big hanging lights, the delicate and retro decor, the chance to toast with free and unlimited champagne bubbles at the ladies’ for your make up inspiration is just fantastic. The food is also super good, but the service not so much. They invited us with complementary drinks in order to leave the table sooner, which was a nice gesture, but being such an expensive place, you’d expect better. I’ve heard brunch time is fantastic, with delicious mimosas and bloody maries. For me, this is the cheaper bar in town for a quick drink. Just tip the bar tender found in the toilet and get a delicious bubbly rose. 

The Back Room

Keep your eyes out for a sign that reads "Lower East Side Toy Company." Then enter through the gate and go down a flight of steps to get to this Lower East Side speakeasy. This is one of the two bars left from the prohibition era. It’s very well hidden behind a dodgy alley. If it wasn't because of the security guy smoking outside, you will certainly miss it. Its hidden entrance is the same one that was used more than 80 years ago.There's even another room hidden within the bar that's behind a trick bookcase (today’s the VIP room). It’s very well preserved, with authentic furniture, decor and old phones. They even serve you in tea cups as they used to do to pretend to disguise the interior of the drinks. The drinks are strong and here is no joke, you wanted alcohol during Prohibition, you better chug it up!

Sunshine Laundromat

I found this one when looking for a place to do my laundry. My usual Laundromat caught fire and they are closed since then. My mom went to church over one Sunday and told me she remembered seeing another laundromat place around, by the church. While there, I notice that a dog is actually inside one of the machines, and definitely caught my attention. I reached out closely, only to find out there were dummy machines disguising a door to wonderland: a secret, hidden pinball arcade with beers and loud music, opened everyday for you to either relax your laundry wait or just to enjoy a couple of beers at night. 

Please Don’t Tell

Hidden on the right side of a hot dog stand - which, by the way, are delicious, this enter-to-the-phone-booth-and-wait-your-turn-to-be-served speakeasy was a tricky one. It took me months to actually make it there, and I waited for 40+ minutes since I didn’t have a reservation. The waiting was not that terrible, it was ok actually... After having a delicious hot dog, I waited outside so I didnt get all smelly inside the hot dog parlor, but people were actually willing to wait up until 2 hours! There’s no drink in the world that would make me do that. Thankfully, the bar has the courtesy to call you whenever they are about to get a seat available for you and your party. I went to welcome YY and Steph, the new Singaporeans in town. It was great. They have a mystic gin and yerba mate fusion drink which was strong but nice and it was a surprise that all the venue was Latino owned and full of Argentineans.- I guess that is the part you should not tell! :D Overall, it was a great experience and it’s located in a very beautiful street, near Mother or Pearl, Niagara and other bars to check out if you happen to have to queue extra-orbitant amounts of hours. 

Apotheke

Monday’s Bossa Nova, Tuesday’s Jazz, this hidden place in Chinatown is the perfect den for an intimate drink after a delicious feast either at Chinese Tuxedo or a more relaxed delight at Nom Wah Tea Parlor, the first Hongkongnese dim-sum place in New York. An old pharmacy, you’ll notice it due to a small and beautiful german sign with the name “apotheke” and the Pasteur lab pipette design. Everything inside is pharma-inspired: drinks, decor and even the lights chandeliers. Be ready for a sensorial experience. It’s funny to think that this place is actually located in what it used to be, not long ago, the most dangerous and bloody intersections of New York. Doyers Street’s history it’s filled with violence, racism, xenophobia and segregation. According to ATI, “This forgotten cranny, buried deep in the heart of Chinatown, has seen the most gang violence in the history of the city, and, by some estimations, the country”. Rumor has it that until today you should avoid entering to its empty alleys or underground basements, since “stranger things” may be ongoing. 

Fig 19

Not my favorite, yet pretty, this hidden place is also located in between LES and Katz, the until 4am deli which only closes during Jewish festivities, ideal for an after hour snack. It is a beautiful dim spot tucked behind the bright white walls of the Envoy Enterprises gallery, full of antiques and taxidermy. I personally love the prosecco on tap, and it does play good music, since it gets a little bit club-moody once the clock runs over midnight. So actually yes, maybe not my first choice, but it’s indeed a great place to have a glass (or two!)

Bathtub Gin  Gin was the predominant drink in the United States during the Prohibition-Era 1920's and many variations were created. "Bathtub gin" was developed in response to the poor-quality of alcohol that was available at the time. Hidden behind an actual working coffee-shop, it’s actually a beautiful, a little bit noisy yet sophisticated bar. It offers tapas and charcuterie, which kind of makes the difference among these bars. Definitely worth a try! The Ship  According to The New Yorker,  this bar is “where Captain Haddock would meet Tintin, if he trimmed his beard and had a loft in SoHo”, but according to me, it’s where I have a drink with my former New Yorker lady boss and mentor, her friend and Mariano, my Argentinean partner in crime in Quito. The best part aside the delicious drinks? Dangerously closed to Baby Grand, the place to go for public karaoke to $1 per song!

The Basement  This finding was fun. I was making some time before hitting the rendez-vous for my date, and decided to take advantage of the happy hour near SoHo. I ended up in the middle of Chinatown, behind this Coke fridge, finding the very much photographed Basement bar. Underneath a tea parlor, there’s a hidden beer pong place, with table games, great ambience and free pop corn. The best part was when a guy invited me to play beer pong (at 6:30pm) and I politely declined since I needed to leave soon. When I left, I approached him and his friend to tell them “Sorry, I need to go, but next time, I’ll beat your ass” to realize his friend was actually his twin brother! Suddenly beer pong just got twice as interesting! 

COMING SOON:  Garfunkels // The Burgary // Angel’s Share

[beckykingba2a]

Background Research on Virtual Reality

This is purely research and from websites, it is not my own writing but a compilation of topical broad research on my topic of choice.

http://fortune.com/2016/04/25/disney-nokia-virtual-reality-camera-deal/

https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2016/04/25/nokia-technologies-ozo-to-enable-virtual-reality-experiences-for-disney-movies/

“Nokia Technologies (2016) work with Disney to provide equipment and VR technologies to support the creation of special VR content for a range of Disney films. Most recently, Nokia and Disney used OZO to create two 360 videos for the April premiere of Disney's The Jungle Book

OZO will help Disney bring their film properties to life in new ways through an immersive entertainment experience.”

https://www.theverge.com/2015/7/28/9064499/nokia-vr-camera-ozo

“Today Nokia is beginning to lay out its vision. At an event for the entertainment industry in Los Angeles tonight, Nokia is announcing Ozo, a next-generation camera for capturing audio and video in 360 degrees. Nokia intends for the device, which is now in its pre-production phase, to become the default mode of shooting virtual-reality experiences for Hollywood, the media, and the advertising industry. A formal launch, along with a final sale price, is planned for the fall. But Ozo is not a consumer camera — the device is expected to sell in the mid-five figures.

Ozo affixes to a standard tripod and outputs video in standard formats. You can watch Ozo video on a headset like Oculus' or as a 3D video posted to a site like YouTube. The goal was to make a system that would integrate into filmmakers' existing workflows, Nokia executives said, and not to trap them in proprietary file formats.”

https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2017/10/10/nokia-focuses-on-patent-brand-and-technology-licensing-and-targets-faster-growth-in-digital-health-with-sharpened-strategy-for-nokia-technologies/

“In digital media, the slower-than-expected development of the VR market means that Nokia Technologies plans to reduce investments and focus more on technology licensing opportunities. The unit aims to halt the development of further versions of the OZO VR camera and hardware while maintaining commitments to existing customers.

The potential reductions are expected to affect up to 310 of the roughly 1090 employees in Nokia Technologies, mainly in Finland, the US and the UK. To start the process, Nokia today has invited employee representatives of Nokia Technologies in Finland to cooperation negotiations.”

https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/10/16452114/nokia-killing-off-ozo-virtual-reality-camera-310-jobs-lost

“It was only two years ago that Nokia announced the Ozo camera system and positioned it as a high-end option for filmmakers to capture 360-degree video. The camera originally sold for $60,000, though the price was eventually cut to $45,000. In a press statement, Nokia said it will “maintain commitments” to existing Ozo customers, though did not clarify what that means.”

http://www.goodnewsfinland.com/disney-goes-virtual-nokia-technologies/

“Virtual reality represents a new frontier in storytelling, and we’re thrilled to be bringing this VR technology to the team at Disney,” states Ramzi Haidamus, president at Nokia Technologies. “OZO will help Disney bring their film properties to life in new ways through immersive entertainment experiences, and our focus will be on helping them get the most out of VR as they begin to uncover all that it has to offer.

OZO is the world’s first and sole virtual reality camera for professional content creators. The camera offers real-time VR preview, 3D 360 degree spatial audio and video capture, full compatibility with professional workflows and multiple head-mounted displays. It also significantly reduces post-production time, complexity and cost.”

https://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/history.html

“The Nintendo Virtual Boy (originally known as VR-32) was a 3D gaming console that was hyped to be the first ever portable console that could display true 3D graphics. It was first released in Japan and North America at a price of $180 but it was a commercial failure despite price drops. The reported reasons for this failure were a lack of colour in graphics (games were in red and black), there was a lack of software support and it was difficult to use the console in a comfortable position. The following year they discontinued its production and sale.”

https://futureofstorytelling.org/video/glen-keane-step-into-the-page

“Keane has spent his career embracing new tools, from digital environments to 3D animation to today's virtual reality, which finally enables him to step into his drawings and wander freely through his imagination. At FoST, he'll explore how to tap into your own creativity, connecting to emotion and character more directly than ever before?”

Keane's VR painting is created in Tiltbrush

https://www.blender.org/

“Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation. You can create animation in 2D and add a 3D environment all in this 1 program.”

http://what-when-how.com/hybrid-animation-integrating-2d-and-3d-assets/hybrid-animation-the-main-problems-hybrid-animation-integrating-2d-and-3d-assets-part-1/

“Yet ever since the first appearance of a 3D glowing bauble in a 2D animated film, Disney’s The Black Cauldron, artists have been finding inventive ways to combine the animation media. The use of 2D/3D at Disney predates The Black Cauldron and can be seen in a short test done by John Lassiter titled Where the Wild Things Are (1983).”

https://interestinglyanimated.wordpress.com/2017/04/05/2d3d-animation-combined-disneys-paperman/

“John Kahrs Is Still “Pursuing” This Process At Disney”

https://thenextweb.com/contributors/2018/05/15/cheaper-vr-is-coming-will-it-be-enough-to-kick-start-consumer-interest/

“The Oculus Go is one device designed to target consumers who have been reluctant to invest in VR because of the price. First revealed in 2017, the Oculus Go is a standalone headset device that doesn’t require a smartphone to be used—nor does it require a bulky computer setup.

Instead, for just $199, users can have a fully immersed VR experience. As you might imagine, the Oculus Go experience won’t be as high-quality as the full Oculus Rift experience, but it should be enough to win over some new users.

The Oculus Rift, for its part, is getting cheaper as well; a headset these days will set you back $399. For this, you’ll still need a sophisticated computer, however, and due to the high price of GPUs, it’s no longer cost-efficient to build your own PC from scratch. You can still expect to pay $1,000 or more for a high-quality gaming PC, though it’s possible to find options for $750 if you don’t mind a budget model. That’s still $1,150 out the door for a full VR setup, however, which is more than many consumers are willing to pay.

Oculus isn’t the only name in VR, of course. Google’s smartphone-based Daydream is already going for around $50, though any VR experience powered by a smartphone is going to be less immersive and detailed than one powered by a gaming PC.

Then there are options like PlayStation VR, which makes use of the PS4 console to give users a high-quality VR experience—though game selection is more limited than it is with a PC and Oculus Rift.

The other issues with VR

Price is one of the biggest issues critics have found with modern VR, but there are other factors keeping the tech from taking off.

Lack of killer content. There isn’t any core content that makes people want to rush out and buy a VR unit. Game consoles often launch with one or two must-have games that draw consumers to the main product, but there aren’t any standout VR titles that have justified a $1,000+ investment. Some piece of content needs to bridge the gap between low-expectation users and technology.

Gaming alignment. Do you have any friends who dislike video games but are obsessed with VR? Probably not. While VR has uses beyond gaming, the general public has a strong association with VR as a piece of gaming technology. There are millions of gamers to market VR to, but VR developers are hoping to reach a wider audience. Because they haven’t been able to shed the gaming-specific association yet, an entire segment of the public is practically unreachable right now.

VR sickness. VR developers also haven’t solved the problem of VR sickness, the motion sickness-like state of nausea that occurs in many users when engaging in a VR world. While many people can engage in VR endlessly without an issue, many others report unpleasant feelings when using VR. It’s certainly not a selling point.

Usability. Today’s smartphone-based VR headsets are lightweight and portable, but the fully-featured headset units are usually wired, clunky, uncomfortable, and not very portable. This lack of usability makes them less appealing to many.

Is price enough?

So far, lower prices have been enough to stimulate more consumer interest. According to Canalys Research analyst Vincent Thielke, “VR adoption in the consumer segment is highly dependent on price, and Oculus’ strategy of lowering prices has definitely helped drive adoption.”

Cumulatively, by the fourth quarter of 2017, more than 1 million VR headsets had been sold across brands—a figure few would have expected, given the clunky, underwhelming start that most brands saw.

VR adoption is definitely growing, but consumer interest remains an issue, and for more complicated, hard-to-fix reasons than price. Getting lower-priced models to market may be beneficial in kick-starting both sales and consumer interest, but it isn’t enough to foster widespread adoption. For that, VR companies will have to dig a bit deeper.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/10/vr-arcades-are-gaming-centers-of-the-future.html

https://www.superdataresearch.com/market-data/virtual-reality-industry-report/

The nascent VR gaming industry earned $286.7 million last year, per SuperData Research. However, the firm projected it will grow into a $2.3 billion industry by 2020.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/10/vr-arcades-are-gaming-centers-of-the-future.html

While there are millions of personal headset owners out there — Sony’s PlayStation VR headset alone sold more than 1 million units as of June 2017 — VR is not yet widespread.

The nascent VR gaming industry earned $286.7 million last year, according to SuperData Research, but could grow $2.3 billion industry by 2020. Though you can buy Google Cardboard viewers for $15 you can use with your smartphone, gaming headsets alone are hundreds of dollars. Facebook’s Oculus Rift starts at $399, while an HTC Vive starts at $599 — not to mention the computers and other equipment you’ll need to run high-end VR experiences.

[lasvegasarcadesoho]

Super Street Fighter II Turbo

Super Street Fighter II Turbo (also known as Super Turbo aka "ST") is a competitive fighting game released by Capcom in 1994. It is the fifth instalment in the phenomenally successful Street Fighter II series. Like its predecessor, it ran on the CP System II hardware.

By '94, Street Fighter II had been played by at least 25 million people in the United States, the console ports sold more than 14 million copies worldwide, including 6.3 million copies on SNES: making it Capcom's bestselling game for the next two decades and their bestselling game on a single platform.

Adjusted for inflation, all versions of Street Fighter II are estimated to have exceeded $10 billion in gross revenue, making it one of the highest-grossing video games!

The success of Street Fighter II is credited with popularising the fighting game genre and sparking a renaissance for the 1990s arcade game industry. It appears on several lists of the greatest video games of all time.

Many arcade machines only had 3 buttons back then. As Street Fighter used 6, a "Kick harness" needed to be bought to add the extra ones. Some places who just wanted to capitalise on the fighting game boom didn't even bother. You had 3 punches, 3 kicks, or a mixture of all 3! And as a kid you had to suck it up and play... Really was luck of the draw!

Hacked Asian versions of Street Fighter II, that were much cheaper to produce started to appear, which added special moves that weren't normally possible (Ryu and Ken spamming multiple fireballs, the ability to change character mid-game by pressing start) which eventually influenced Capcom to carry on the SF II series, that culminated in ST. However, by the time ST was released, everyone had moved on from these hacked games.

ST introduced several new game play mechanics, with the addition of combination moves called super combos and air combos. It also debuted hidden character Akuma, who is unlocked by inputting a code at the player select screen. Even in this weakened form he is the most powerful character and banned in all ST competitive tournaments. He would go on to become a recurring face in Capcom, SNK and Namco fighting game series.

Speaking of which, ST is the oldest VS fighter that still has an active, present day competitive tournament scene throughout the world, 25 years after its release!

ST was a featured game at the biggest fighting game tournament event, Evolution Championship Series (EVO) from 2002 to 2008. Its remixed version, Super Street Fighter II Turbo: HD Remix, was played in 2009 and 2010. It returned to EVO as a featured side event as the invite/qualifier limited "Tournament of Legends" in 2012 and 2014, and the "ST Games" in 2013. The game is a staple at the Japanese X-MANIA series of tournaments and Tougeki Super Battle Opera.

Going back to its heyday, (from what I can remember as a kid! - Toby) this was a time before hitboxes and frame data. You only knew which moves had "priority" and also certain moves were agreed banned before the match started - If you agreed on no sweeps there would be no sweeps. No throws: If you threw by accident, you'd get a free throw back! There was a strange honour code which makes zero sense today. However it wasn't an uncommon thing to ask and expect in the arcade, from the original Street Fighter II, all the way to when ST came out.

UK wise, Electocoin had strong links with Capcom and the Street Fighter II series of games were released in Goodge Street Casino (closed in 2013) months before any other arcade in Europe. It was also one of the very few (only?) British arcades to have Hyper Street Fighter II (the 15th anniversary edition). That was the last Capcom System 2 arcade game ever made, released in December 2003.

When people think of classic Street Fighter and its characters, the default is normally Street Fighter II. And ST is truely the definitive version of that.

[abbyinkorea]

TUESDAY! At Korean class, I talked to more people and asked if anyone wanted to go out to eat for lunch. We asked more and more people by the end of class, we had almost everyone going out together ☺️ We all went to get chicken at Kyochon, and I ate to my heart’s content. Seriously, everyone else stopped eating and I was the only one finishing the chicken up lollll. We all talked and it was super fun. Everyone was asking me to say english words in my american accent LOLLLL and asking if I’m popular with guys in america LOLLLLL. After lunch, my classmate Yui had to go to dance class, and it was at the same studio as me, so I showed her the way since it wasn’t far, and helped her get settled and everything. Then I came back home and chilled for the rest of the night. Made myself some kimchi bokkeumbap and watched tv. And then slept~

WEDNESDAY! We do not have language class on Wednesdays, so I got to sleep in for a while. It was raining, so there wasn’t much I could do. I did some researching stuff and talked to people in the morning. Then I headed over to the Starbucks across the street to get a bite and do my homework. The sandwich and latte I got, omg. First off, the sandwich is better than anything US Starbucks sells. Dang. It’s like if the tomato mozzerella and turkey pesto sandwiches had a baby, but with a soft fresh tasting spongey bread and gooey melty cheese. It tasted so fresh, and it was even a little cheaper than the ones we sell back home. I also got the cherry blossom latte. It took me a while to figure out the taste. It was kinda vanilla latte ish. But better. The topping smelled like lucky charms. I think I figured out by the end that it tasted a bit like strawberry milk. Not anything strawberry flavored that Starbucks sells, but like strawberry flavored milk. It was lightly sweet and a little tangy and so good tbh. Would order again!! Then I sat for a few hours listening to music and doing my Korean homework while the rain fell outside. It was actually really nice ☺️ Then I packed up and went back to my room to grab my dance class stuff. On the way there, I realized there was a hole in the heel of my boot, and I was slowly taking on water. Ew. I had a good time at dance class, and afterward, went to eat with my dance friends! We got chicken sandwiches from Mom’s Touch. We got to talk, and I told them about my youtube and past adventures and we became closer so I’m happy 😀 Then we stopped by the arcade on the way back and played DDR, and it was lotsa fun! I headed back to my place and realized that my socks were completely soaked. My boots were actually falling apart.... lovely.

THURSDAY! After Korean class, my classmates and I went out to eat again. We were going to get Jjamppong because another girl and I hadn’t ever tried it. But the place we went to was closed..... So we went to “Bonjook and Bibimbap” and I got a gorgeous, spicy mishmash of seafood and veggies. It was delicious and beautiful. It took me forever to eat because it was just really hot temperature-wise. But I ate the whole bowl. And I loved it. Then, a couple days earlier, we made plans to go to a noraebang (karaoke) because I’d never been to one. So that’s where we headed next! We had 3 to pick from on one end of the street lol. So Saya, one of the Japanese girls did an eeny-meeny-miny-mo type thing and one was picked. We went down a creepy but also colorfully lit stairwell which I guess is standard? lol. into the basement of this building. It smelled funny. But we got a room and between the 6 of us, only had to pay about 2.50 per person for an hour. Woo! Everyone wanted to hear me sing, so I was the first one up. I sang Rose by Lee-Hi and IT WAS SO FUNNNN. Everyone cheered and clapped. The rest of the time was amazing. They also requested an English song from me, so I went all in and said Let it Go LOL. Not my best, but still fun. And I’m not sure how it works, but somehow time kept being added onto our slot, so we ended up being there for over 2 hours. Everyone had such a good time 😆 I will definitely go again!! Then I came home and did homework and made dinner, and it was a nice day. I’m so thankful for the friends that I’ve made here!

[dearchuchu]

Ah settle yourself in for the grand tale of how we acquired carsdorp. 

Yes that is me with a 1983 Mercedes benz on the southern coast of South Africa. You may be wondering, “How the hell did they end up with a 1983 Mercedes Benz in South Africa?” Valid question. 

After a successful wine festival in Stellenbosch we had to make our move to Cape Town South Africa, which at this point is practically the same city. As Cape Town has grown it has basically eaten up some neighboring cities in its progress, Stellenbosch being one of those cities. There wasn’t a bus we felt like messing with, and the train seemed ill advised by the internet community, so we decided to just take an Uber, as they are cheap and everywhere.  

Our Uber driver was nice, and we talked about all sorts of political and racial issues on the around 45 minute drive to Cape Town. Unfortunately, we went to the wrong address, as it turns out there were two streets named the same thing with the same numbering system in Cape Town. This meant the Uber cost more than it should have, but we understood its a pretty easy mistake to make. Seriously though, two streets named the same thing in a city, with the same numbering system? Did they run out of street names? This seems like a really easy fix.

We arrive at our hostel safe and sound, and we go to check in. We were told pretty quickly that we canceled our reservation months ago, and they didn’t have any room for us. This was shocking to say the least. We did not cancel our reservation months ago. Mandy went ahead and let the front desk guy no that in VERY specific terms, pulling out our documentation and showing that we DID have a reservation. We were informed it was canceled from our end. Mandy was quick to inform them, “Yeah, but you took the money. The funds have been removed.”

This is a problem. 

The basic gist of it is that we wanted to cancel ONE DAY from our reservation months ago and we were told that they can’t cancel just one day through the (credit card) points we were using to book. We were told to cancel the whole reservation, and then rebook, which Mandy did. The first reservation was canceled, the second was made, and at some point the hostel canceled the second reservation without telling us... months ago. This means the booking we made didn’t exist, despite us being charged for it, and the hostel had no available room for us. 

Fun.

The hostel did their absolute best to find us another accommodation, but this was a Saturday night in the second largest city in South Africa... everything was obviously booked. We sat at their bar, connected to their wifi, and then set about trying to figure out what the fuck we were going to do. More importantly, where the fuck are we going to stay... TONIGHT. Like, we had no where to stay in the second largest city in South Africa on a Saturday night. HOORAY!

Remember back when we had a car? At least when we had a car, maybe we could have slept in it. Here we are, stranded in Cape Town South Africa with no where to stay, not even a car, and no real prospects of anything we can do to fix this situation. We start casting a VERY wide net of places we could stay for AT LEAST the night, mainly focusing on Airbnb. We started close to where our original booking was, and quickly discovered everything available at this short notice is LAUGHABLY over our budget. We then continued going further and further out of the city trying to find anywhere that would take us in. 

Not only were we having a very hard time finding things, the things we found that were in our budget were not writing us back. We sat in the bar, the common area of the hostel we were supposed to be staying in for around 6 hours on the internet trying to find anywhere to stay. The front desk manager came to us at some point and explained they had spoken with their manager, and he was authorized to give us our full money back for our booking... in cash. Basically just handed us a fist full of rand. They were truly sorry for the problem, but there isn’t much else they could do but let us stay and use their wifi until we found something else. 

At the end of our ropes, we decided that we would book a Airbnb quite a bit further out than we ever intended to stay, mainly because it was a “book now” posting. That means it is an automatic booking, so we DEFINITELY have somewhere to stay, at least for the night. The good news is that the place was quite close to a bus stop, and the Cape Town public transit is excellent, so we could start the next day out right. By the time we booked, contacted our host, and contacted Uber for our ride out of town to our Airbnb, the sun had set. We lost basically a full day in Cape Town trying to find somewhere to sleep. 

At one point in this trip, one of our hosts said that we were possibly bad luck because of all the issues we have had in South Africa with the rental cars. We were slightly offended, and explained to our host, “No, we are good luck. Generally when something good is happening on our trip, we will just accidentally show up to it.” Case in point, showing up to a wine festival that you didn’t know existed and drinking all the wine you can for $15. Let me take a second here to assure you dear reader (whoever takes the time to read all this...) that we are in fact good luck. 

Our host Dean greeted us at the gate to his place and told us he was glad we made it. We apologize for it being so late, and then he said, “No problem. You have a cooler? If you don’t mind my asking, you are the first backpackers I’ve ever seen with a cooler. Why do you have a cooler?” We explain to Dean, “Well Dean the long and short of it is we got the cooler for Kruger National park, but that was a lifetime ago. Our car got stolen in Durban, but the cooler wasn’t in it. When our second car got broken into in Port Elizabeth, the one thing the thieves didn’t take was our cooler. It rode under the bus with us to Stellenbosch, and then in two Ubers to get here.”  Dean said, “Shit.”

Shit indeed Dean. Shit indeed. We got Dean up to date on the situation, and he agreed with everyone else that we have had some “bad luck” in South Africa. Then he apologizes for our hostel falling through. He showed us around and gave us the lay of the land for the place he had for us. We had our own little spot that included a queen sized bed, TWO bathrooms, a basic kitchen set up with all the basics and then some, and of course an HD tv mounted on the wall. At our hostel, we would have had a bed, and an ensuite bathroom, that is it. So our set up at our place was MUCH better than it would have been, also cheaper.

Dean shows us into the main house area which is a shared space for other rooms he has rented out. He has a pool table, pinball machine, arcade machine, and sodas and beer for sale at price out of a mini fridge. Yeah, Deans place was quite a bit cooler than the place we couldn’t stay at. Dean also was incredibly accommodating, asking us what our plans were in Cape Town (we had none) and how we were getting around. Dean sat us down and made up a basic itinerary for us, and then told us which busses could get us closest to where we were trying to get to. Then Dean asks us, “Are you comfortable driving on the wrong side of the road?”

Dean leads us out to his parking lot, and there is a beauty of a Mercedes Benz just sitting there. Dean explains that from time to time he will lend it to a guest, but for insurance and legal reasons, he can’t rent it. We told him we understood completely. He offered to lend it to us if we wanted, and at first we said no. Cars were not exactly doing well for us so far. Dean explained its fully insured, and if it gets stolen, he truly isn’t worried about it because of its age, and it is totally insured. We all have a good laugh, and then we decide it would be WAY easier to get around to the southern part of Cape Town with a car. We accept.

Any car as old as this 1983 Mercedes Benz is going to have some quirks, this car certainly had them, and Dean walked us through each one. First of all, the driver door doesn’t lock per say. I mean, it will sort of go down if you wiggle it just right, but if you pull aggressively on the door handle, it will unlock without a key. Good to know. Second, the car has a anti theft unit installed and won’t start without pushing a button on the keys. This seems like a no-brainer in South Africa, its almost like they should do that in rental cars. The only thing left to explain is that it handles like a 30 year old car for some reason. A 30 year old Mercedes though, to be fair.

With that we were off into the greater Cape Town area rolling around with a fantastic Mercedes Benz to explore in. At times it felt like playing the video game Grand Theft Auto, because this car is so much bigger than any car I’ve driven, and the city is completely new to me. The vibe of the car had a very “Vice City” kind of feel to it. We decided very quickly that the car needed a name. We didn’t  name the last cars, and look what happened. We spent some time debating as we drove through the city, “Destro” was one of my suggestions as it was age appropriate, Mandy suggested “Jalopy”. 

This car was a little janky, so jalopy fit. The driver side door “sort of locks” for fuck sake. It took a little bit of thinking, but once we came up with the perfect name, we knew it all at once. 

Carsdorp.

[cheaponlinegames-com]

Best Cheap Nintendo Switch Games!

Ever since it's launch back in March, the Switch has been getting a growing library of awesome titles. Now, of course there's been big name stuff like Splatoon 2, Arms, and of course Legend of Zelda, but there's a lot more out there that's worth people playing. Now, at the 20 to 30 dollar mark, there's a lot of great stuff, but let's go even cheaper. Let's talk about games that are 12 bucks, eight bucks, even as low as five. Let's talk about the best cheap games on the Switch. Kicking things off with the cheapest of the cheap at just five dollars is KAMIKO. Now this is a very simple, retro-style game. Think of like an old-school Zelda game, but on fast forward at all times. The basic idea is that you have to get through each level killing enemies to build up energy, and then spend that energy to open up chests or activate special shrines and make your way out of the level. The gameplay is just simple enough to make it really easy to learn and very easy to invest a little bit of time into here and there, but just complex enough to make it a ton of fun to play. And while it isn't necessarily the longest game out there, one of the things that helps give it a lot more game time is that there are three different characters to play as. Each of which has just an interestingly different enough style to make playing through this title at least three times completely worth it. And honestly, don't take my word for it. It's five bucks, just try it. You'll love it. Next up, let's talk about one of the ports that made its way to the Switch. Now if you've ever gone to the Switch library, you'll notice that one thing there's a lot of right now are ports of old school Neo Geo games. And if there's one Neo Geo game that has held its age perfectly well, that's worth picking up for just eight bucks, it's Metal Slug. Metal Slug is one of the original old school arcade run-and-guns, offering one or two player co-op that is fast, simple, tons of fun, with beautiful animations. And, unlike some of the later games which are also on the Switch, it doesn't suffer from any of the major slowdown issues in some levels. Now, one thing about this version is the fact that it is just an emulation of the old school arcade games, so it does end up being a little on the easy side thanks to the fact that you have infinite, fake virtual money. But if you're the kind of person that likes to get high scores, or just have simple fun and co-op with friends, this will fit the bill perfectly. Next, let's slow down the pace a little bit with a very different kind of run-and-gun shooter: MIGHTY GUNVOLT BURST. Now, this is the newest game that is a crossover between NT Creations, Azure Striker Gunvolt Series, and Mighty No. 9. If you haven't heard of them before, NT Creates is actually the team responsible for some of the later MegaMan games, before Capcom basically gave up on the franchise, Like Megaman Zero and Megaman ZX. And although the Mighty No. 9 part might scare you a little bit after how that game went, don't let it because this crossover game is really a true successor that the MegaMan franchise needed. All the old school MegaMan tropes that you love are still here, but with the addition of a few unique twists and changes that make the gameplay more difficult and really interesting for people that have played all the older games. It's a little shorter than old school games, but thanks to the fact that there are two different playable characters you can get through the game as, it's totally worth picking up for just 10 bucks. Then we have another game from NT Creates, but instead of being an original title or a sequel to anything they've worked on before, this is actually a remake of an old school NES game. Master Blaster Zero. As I edited this, I realized that I apparently had Mad Max on the brain. The game is called Blaster Master Zero, not Master Blaster. - Master Blaster runs Barter Town. - Now if you've never played it before, Master Blaster Zero was this sort of Metroid-like game featuring the use of a vehicle to travel around the world, but also entering small areas in a top-down shooter platform. This game includes all those gameplay details but has fixed things up a little bit as well as adding a changed-up plot. One of the most impressive things about this game to me, though, is how much support its gotten since launch. Titles like these are very easy to forget about once they've hit the E-Shop. But this game has been getting continual DLC, including more difficult modes, and features multiple playable characters from other franchises, like Shantae or even Shovel Knight. At just 10 bucks for the base game and two dollars more for every DLC character you want to try out, this game's definitely worth giving a shot. Next up is a game I never thought I would've actually seen on the Switch, and that's Implosion. The reason being is that Implosion was originally an iOS and Android specific game. I actually covered it a couple years ago when I was still doing top five mobile games lists, and I loved it back then and I love it now. The port job for bringing this to the Switch was done excellently. All the controls have been redone for the Switch and they are perfect. The combat is fast-paced and flashy. The only complaint I really have is that the visuals leave a little something to be desired, but that's really no surprise considering this was a game on phones two years ago. The story is nothing to write home about but the gameplay is paced perfectly. If you just want some simple, fun action blowing stuff up as a robot, just go grab it. Then we have a game that honestly I would argue is probably the best for its dollar on this list, but at the same time I actually want to warn you not to buy it, and that's Shovel Knight Specter of Torment. Now this is worth every penny, but the reason why I warn against getting it is 'cause for 15 bucks more you can get Shovel Knight Treasure Trove, which allows you to play as Shovel Knight, Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and the upcoming DLC for King Knight. Basically, a lot more gameplay for way less money total. And honestly, even if you've already played Shovel Knight on other platforms, it's totally worth picking up again for the Switch to get easy multiplayer co-op, gameplay on the go or at home. It's just honestly the definitive version of the game as far as I'm concerned. So those are my favorite games on the Switch that go for less than 20 bucks. If there's any that you love that I did not talk about, put 'em down below in the comments and I will see you guys later.

https://youtu.be/Q9-ny2aiwgI

[seanmalatesta]

And Away Wii Go!

How Nintendo Rethought Its Product and Got Its Groove Back

I wouldn’t have wanted to be in Nintendo’s board meeting when they looked at the number of consoles Sony and Microsoft sold compared to the number of Nintendo Gamecubes sold. Sony alone sold over seven times more PlayStation 2s than Nintendo sold Gamecubes. The Xbox was a brand spanking new console and sold a few million more units than the Gamecube.

These were all huge red flags for Nintendo. Their console just wasn’t getting the support of third party game developers because it couldn’t run games that the other two consoles could.

High definition televisions were another big driver of Xbox and PS2 sales. Their consoles could run games at 720p and eventually 1080p and would look amazing. Gamecube games looked very washed out on and grainy on HD TVs. What was Nintendo to do?

If I were them, I would have beefed up the graphics to compete with Microsoft and Sony. I would have made it easier to connect with friends through Nintendo’s online network. I would have tried to get third party developers to come back and make games specifically for Nintendo.

And I would have been dead wrong.

Going sideways

Well, to be fair, they did do some of those things. But this was Nintendo, the only video game company that also owned a Major League Baseball team. And they decided to throw the curveball.

In came the Wii. No console had been so explicitly family oriented before. They gave us the Wii controller, which was the economic miracle that Nintendo needed. It was also an oddity and almost a throwback. The market at the time was dominated by games like Call of Duty and Halo. You needed a console with online multiplayer capability to run any of those blockbusters.

Nintendo said foo to that. Instead it gave us a controller with motion controls and told us video game consumers that we would really need it to play Wii Sports. And we did.

Starting in 2006, families were ecstatic to find this wholesome alternative to all of the violence and gore that the gaming industry seemed to produce in buckets. Not only did the Wii force people to play next to each other, Nintendo made it fun again.

They also considered price. The Wii was much cheaper than its competition. A family could purchase a Wii for at least $50 less than Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. That’s a big deal when you are on a budget for Christmas.

Many of the consoles were sold because the whole family could get involved in the action. I remember being way too excited one Christmas because all of my relatives were coming to my parents’ house. We were all going to play Wii Bowling together.

There was also Wii Tennis, Golf, and Boxing. All in one game. It was the perfect package for an amazing time. And guess what? Nobody cared about being online. Nobody cared about the graphics. And nobody cared that they were using a motion controller instead of those newfangled double joystick controllers.

Nintendo built on top of tech that they had pioneered in the 1980s – think the Duck Hunt game with its toy light gun – to give us a gaming experience that we had never felt before. People rewarded this new experience by buying the console and continuing to buy it in decent numbers for about a decade. It sold over 100 million units worldwide.

This gave Nintendo new life to once again have a seat at the video game table. Who would have guessed that a motion controller and only a handful of video games could bring the gaming community back into the living room?

The Nintendo difference, and yours

Nintendo had always been different than the competition. That difference makes it possible for them to succeed when they don’t try to copy the competition.

Since the Wii, Nintendo has produced the Wii U and the Nintendo Switch. The first flopped, the second is currently lighting up the charts again.

The Wii U struggled to succeed because it forgot the thing that made the Wii such a success. It was too much like the competition and not enough like the Wii experience, which had encouraged gamers to play next to each other.

Nintendo got back on track with the Nintendo Switch. This console can be taken on the go, which allows it to be a handheld gaming system, but it can also be played on the big screen at home and the controllers have such add-ons as a motion-sensitive wheel that can be used to play racing games.

I was at a local video game console arcade about a year ago and my whole family used those controllers to race through Mario Kart together. That is the sort of experience that didn’t even seem possible in 2006, until the Wii launched.

There’s a lesson in here for businesses far beyond the world of video games: Don’t always be so quick to copy the product of your competition. Look at what makes your organization different and where you add value. See if you can persuade customers that you can not only meet their needs with your product but also offer them a unique experience.

from Michael Hyatt https://ift.tt/2PN1fEy via IFTTT