#is so incredibly mindblowingly awesome

[ennaih]

California Suite (1978) | the Alda/Fonda edition

[rainbowbarnacle]

We took a trip to the North Shore!

On Monday Luka and I went to Duluth to go look for agates and visit the rock shop and eat mindblowingly good pie. The drive up was really nice--very long, but we listened to Stephen King's Fairy Tale on the way and it is very good so far--a kid named Charlie is isekai'd to another world where he plans to take this absolute SWEETHEART of an elderly dog to this magic sundial so she can be young and not arthritic anymore. That's all I know so far but it's been really good so far.

The only hitch in the whole trip was when we were looking for a place to look for rocks, and this crazy dog with no leash and no collar goes zooming into the road, and Luka slammed on the brakes, and the person behind us just barely slammed their breaks, and we ended up accidentally clipping the poor dog--there was a big wet splat of water and a bit of hair on the front, but no damage, and the dog just kept running without a thought in its dear little head and disappeared into some forestry that happened before the beach

So we went looking for the poor dog so we could tell its owners that we bumped it, and we never found the dog or its owner, but we thiiiink the dog is probably hopefully okay x_x

And while we were looking for dogs and people, we found out the area we were in was a perfect swimming spot, so we went down to the beach and luka got out his snorkeler and a really nice drunk lady gave us a heart shaped rock Luka found a bunch of really cool stuff! Sea glass and some kind of really lovely piece of terra cotta with a honeycomb pattern on it, and a big laker agate and a bunch of really interesting hunks of things with fascinating crystals and pretty streaks of things running through it--he can tell you much more. I found one that looks like a kitty!

And the lake was just lovely. There was a cute family of loons and people kayaking (including one woman who had her golden retriever sitting on the boat while she rowed) and one guy flew by on a motorized parachute and threw us the horns. 8)

Then we went home and wolfed down food and fell the heck over at the Motel 6, where in the morning we discovered Ellie had tried to make a nest on the floor:

We went to the culinary miracle that is Betty's Pies, where I had pancakes and luka had biscuits and gravy and we had phenomenal pie.

Then we got to go to the ROCK SHOP. :D

The folks running the store were INCREDIBLY nice and helped identify some of what Luka found in the lake the day before. I was fortunate enough to be able to nab some pretties at very reasonable prices (seriously these were like a few bucks each)

If I am remembering the labels correctly, I nabbed: a tiny slab of coral, then a lake superior agate, carnelian, citrine, green jasper, malachite, labradorite, dumortierite, sodalite, petrified wood, crazy lace agate, and amethyst. The neat little platform it's on came from a nearby goodwill and has a bunch of fossilized snails in it? IT WAS A BUCK FIFTY, HOW

But yes it feels nice to have pretties finally. <3 I also nabbed a fossilized clam and an opalized ammonite.

Aaand after that we were gonna visit the Temperance River, but then the sky opened up and munched on roadtrip snacks and listened to more audiobook while the rain pounded down, and when it cleared up we took pictures of the forest.

And Ellie had an awesome time:

The highlight of our trip back was finding this billboard. Luka got off the southbound freeway, back on the northbound freeway, and back onto the southbound freeway, over a span of several miles, just to get this picture:

WORTH IT. 8D

and now I'm hoooome and I've cuddled my kitty and I'm going to be a zombie for a little while

What an awesome time, though. I hadn't been on a roadtrip since we went with @kurloz38 and @misa-chu in June of 2018. @_@ (we gotta get you guys back up here!!) It was indescribably nice to get to swim and splurge on pretty things and enjoy a really good book.

[emmym1]

My thoughts on... Black Widow 2020 (#11-15) "Die By The Blade"

So I've already arrived at the end of this amazing run! I was pretty sad to see it end so soon considering it has been absolutely phenominal. I will say, it manages to give a relatively solid ending for a comic run that ended so soon. It was really interesting to seem them continue to dive into Nat's grief for her lost family and how it's affecting her. Her trying to find them not only because she wanted to see them but also because if she or her people could find them, so would anyone of her enemies. Also the continuous flashbacks of her past lives and her slowly accepting that she could never have that life back was pretty gutwrenching. Because in the end of this run, she doesn't really overcome her grief, she just accepts that it's going to be a part of her. And that's super tragic. I really liked the bond Anya and Lucy built with each other. It was fun seeing them banter together and have fun together while both being mentored by the Black & White Widow. The addition of Hawkeye and Winter Soldier to the team was quite interesting and really changed up the dynamic a bit. Because you have these youngsters with Anya and Lucy who are still fresh to everything and Nat has to adjust to that. But with Hawkeye and Winter Soldier she has some more experienced heroes in her arsenal that she can rely on in different ways. It was really cool to see how both young and old brought their advantages to the team that made up for an amazing squad! Issue #13 really stood out to me. Seeing the backstory behind Nat and the Living Blade was so interesting and the way it was visualized with such an unique artstyle was really good. It was great to see a villain that genuinely terrifies Nat. Up until now it always seemed like she had the upper hand against her enemies in the end. But with the Living Blade it genuinely felt like this wasn't the case. Especially with how terrified Nat was. This was the first time I saw her going into a fight where she already expected to lose and die. It was quite the surprise to see her have someone who genuinely terrifies her like that. I do wish we would've gotten a bit more on the Living Blade. I get his entire character is supposed to be mysterious but it was quite annoying to see it never gets revealed why he's after Nat, why he stopped the first time and why he wanted to buy someone with regeneration powers. I feel those questions should've at least gotten answered considering how important they were to the plot. The Apogee storyline was tied up pretty nicely I feel within what they could do in such little issues. I also would've loved if we had to chance to know just a little bit more about Lucy. As of now she's pretty much a blank page besides some surface level info. So I hope they explore it somewhere in the future. Nat's and Yelena's dynamic continues to be a highlight. It's so interesting to see them together and how they both operate. They both have such different habits and mindsets when it comes to certain stuff. I really wondered how their dynamic would've evolved if this run was longer. Because I definitely feel there would've been a boiling point where their frustrations with each would cause them to split temporarily or something. Although I will say they're pretty great at making compromises with each other!

The art was once again just mindblowingly awesome! From the unique art of issue #13 to all the amazing fight sequences and the amazing gala costumes everyone was wearing. The art is defintely one of the absolute highlights of this run. It's just so incredibly good. It was really sad to see this run come to an end so soon. I would've defintely loved to read a ton more issues of this run. The writing and art was just top notch. The entire vibe of this run was so unique really and just stands out so much. They really nailed the tone they wanted to go for so hard. I will say they did a great job tying up everything within such little issues although I do am a bit unsatisfied with how the Living Blade storyline ended. Felt like there was a lot more to that than we got to see and read. Hopefully it gets fully explored one day. There is so much left to explore from this run that I genuinely hope they're able to revisit this run and continue it somehow. I had an absolute blast with it so it was quite sad to see it end. But I absolutely loved every second reading it!

[bananaper]

How to get free uad plugins

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HOW TO GET FREE UAD PLUGINS PSP

All of their plugins are at least worth trying their CMX beat Logic's stereo widener ten times over, for example. Also, Bombardier, their bus comp, is excellent. Bad Bus Mojo is literally designed to add subtle, console-bus style nonlinear distortion, and it sounds great. Stillwell makes a lot of good plugins, and has a very agreeable demo policy to boot (free to try until you buy, and you should because they rock). It has "that" sound, to me, which is worth paying for. I have 2 days left on my demo of it, and I'm definitely thinking of buying it.

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The PSP E27 is very coloured, and includes control of transformer and amplifier saturation.

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Then again, Neve is getting pretty old, so if it sounds good, who cares? Also: they just released a plugin model of the Avedis E27 EQ, one of the premier not-transparent-at-all EQs of the 500 series format. Vintage Warmer, however, is another classic it's definitely getting old though. I use their Pultec emu, and it's a good EQ, but nothing you can't do with Pro-Q and some other saturation. I slammed drums with it a week ago, though, and it sounded good, so experiment. Klangheim IVGI (free there is a premium counterpart that has more saturation modes): awesome saturation. but generally, Decapitator gets "light colour duties" and that's where it shines. Used heavily, the Culture Vulture emulations are alright for sound design. The Ampex emulation is alright, too, but it doesn't touch Satin. Used lightly, the Chandler and Neve saturation emulations are very useable. Sometimes, I just push it as far as I can into the red and it just sounds warm, gooey and bombastic. When it comes to spicing up electronic drum loops with living tape colour, I find it incredibly easy to use but at the same time remarkably flexible. U-He Satin: it's different than Kramer Tape (Waves) or UAD's tape stuff, and it's different than Slate VTM (requires iLock), but it's amazing. Here's what I use for colour, because colour is where it's at: My answer would, other than the odd Waves plugin that suits you, be: neither. Also, some of the filter modes on Volcano are quite coloured and respond to being pushed hard.īut do expand your options from UAD or Waves. I personally think Fabfilter plugins are great but their presets suck sometimes, so make your own colour presets! If you want even more analog-ish random variance, make a few bands and modulate parameters slightly with free-running LFOs etc. Saturn is also a great colour box - just turn the mix % down low and play with warm tape and tube modes. You said in another post that you have the fabfilter plugins, and that's great! They have transparency pretty much covered for you. Their 1176 is nice and quick, and I get good (IMO anyways) vocal sounds with a combination of their 1176 + LA2A. I have a couple Waves plugins, and they do what I want them to. I personally hate hardware dongles of any kind, so I don't use iLock stuff or UAD. The attitude espoused by many (check out gearslutz for fierce debates) is that UAD sells plugins with a glorified dongle.

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A lot of people who don't understand DSP all that well say, "blah blah blah hardware accelleration, that's why you need the UAD card" but it's not like that UAD card is somehow more powerful than the DSP you can get out of a brand new Mac Pro or whatever. I will go against the grain of a lot of people here and say that UAD is probably overrated. I don't own any, but Greg's hardware stuff is mindblowingly good and easy to use, so I assume his plugins are top notch as well. Producing Basics (Compression, EQ, Staying Motivated included here!)Īs /u/thebishopgame mentioned, Kush is probably great if you don't mind the iLock dongle. These rules, are in place to keep content fresh, current, and moving forward, not to denounce your post as Incorrect or stupid. Remember, everything is subjective, and there are no rules when it comes to making music.

No repetitive Links, articles, videos or Questions.

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Universal Audio has launched a UAD Blockbuster Promotion! For a limited time, customers who purchase a new UAD-2 DSP Accelerator, as detailed below, will receive UAD plug-ins from Avalon, Capitol Studios, Lexicon, and UA - up to a USD $1296 value - absolutely free!įrom February 1st to March 31st, 2021, customers who purchase a new Universal Audio UAD-2 PCIe card (OCTO only) or Satellite (OCTO/QUAD) Thunderbolt 3 or USB, with either Core or Custom plug-in package will receive their free plug-ins upon registration with Universal Audio.This subreddit is for producers who have progressed past an introductory level of production and wish to engage in discussion about more advanced techniques and questions.įor beginners, head over to /r/edmproduction.

[tmmyhug]

i saw ur tags about ranboo and theres times where i really love him but im never a fan when he does streams like this. it feels to me like hes trying to hard to make sure his characters points are clear/easy to interpret and it just feels like hes yelling exposition at the viewer. same with his (and anyones for that matter) tweets about his characters views/morals etc. i feel like they could all work on showing not telling (feel free to not post this)

ello anon! just to preface, I am not a big fan of discourse bc I get anxious about not making my thoughts clear enough (most of the time they’re not even really clear to me) or inadvertently hurting feelings, so: everything I say is obviously just opinion, take it with about as much salt goes into a tommyinnit taco, I am not omniscient, yadda yadda. generally, I really like ranboo. he can be hilarious, his emotional acting is awesome, the lengths he goes to to make immersive scenes that utilize minecraft to its fullest potential for storytelling is so cool, his growth is mindblowingly impressive, and he’s incredibly incredibly kind. yeah.

okay. I think you have a good point here. tommy (gonna use him for comparison cause the rascal lives in my head rent free) and ranboo rp completely differently. with tommy, practically everything we know about his character’s inner workings is from what the audience has to infer through his actions. c!tommy blusters and shouts and insults people and generally makes chaos, and as soon as the stream ends we all run to tumblr to write (or in my case, read) about his ptsd and self-worth issues and the heartbreaking depth of his attachments to people and things. it’s why his character is so easy to misinterpret. c!tommy being blunt about his feelings is rare. c!tommy acknowledging his trauma is rare. it’s happened a bit more recently due to his development, but him mentioning that he still gets shaky near plains biomes and vehemently informing dream “you don’t have me” are not things that come easily - they’re pulled out of him like teeth, and only under duress. not only is it painful for the character to admit those things, but it’s not tommy’s style. he’s said multiple times that he doesn’t like breaking the fourth wall. both as a character and cc, tommy’s not often caught out of bit mode. and that’s a big part of why his character is so much fun - very little he does should be taken at face value.

ranboo tells us everything. to be fair, I don’t watch ranboo pov. but this is my general assumption gleaned through fandom and a few hours of stream: c!ranboo says everything. what his principles are, what motivates him, what makes him upset and why, how he feels about other characters, etc etc. the only stuff kept hidden is enderwalk lore because c!ranboo knows as much as the audience does about that. cc!ranboo makes twitter threads detailing all of c!ranboo’s beliefs and describes why he’s morally grey. and while it is cool to see the thought processes that go into the roleplay (I’m a sucker for behind the scenes content), it also tends to feel like.. hey, that’s our job? the cc isn’t supposed to lay everything out for us bc the fans are the ones out here to explore the material, tear it apart, pick through it for that juicy juicy literary analysis. and if it’s all handed to us on a platter, personally? I get bored. I get tired of c!ranboo monologuing about why no one on the server is right or why he’s a hypocrite or why everything bad could be prevented if people did this or that, because he goes on for so long and fleshes out the same points over and over and I find myself going okay buddy, point made, can we move on please? no matter how good his voice acting his, eventually it just feels like there’s nothing new for me to engage with.

now clearly this isn’t a universal experience - just look at the viewercounts dude pulls - but the way I as a fan enjoy things is to examine the content thoroughly, make deductions, put connections together, read a dozen different opinionated fan essays on the same topic and come to my own conclusions. being told everything about a character completely upfront makes me feel patronized. it leaves no room for interpretation. and dsmp is practically built on differences in interpretation, both character-wise (the way every pov is different and vibrant and presents the same information in a different light) and fandom-wise (the number of conflicting opinions on my dash could kill a man). so ranboo’s complete eradication of the fourth wall just strikes me as juvenile when compared to the depth of so many other characters available for us to explore without immediately being told all the answers.

wow, this got lengthy. anon, I think you summed it up best: show, don’t tell. sorry if my rambling isn’t too coherent, I’m very tired. again - not preaching gospel, I am but one fan with a blog and a (very long) opinion. thanks for being courteous and for letting me get my thoughts out. uhhh other folks are free to discuss if they want but I may or may not be answering.

[sheeponmars]

Wow, I´m so in love with your art. It´s so incredibly stunning and unique, I can´t even express how much in awe I am. It´s so beautiful I could cry. Your compositions and textures and styles are just so mindblowingly awesome, I had to thank you for sharing your art with the world and I got to see it.

Ahh, it’s been too long since I did some art. So thank you!!!

[blueymoons]

Y’all...I waited until now to watch A Star Is Born and I’m just sitting here in shock at how incredible Bradley Cooper was.

I just kept thinking, he’s directing this, singing in it, writing some of the music, and emoting that way too. Like...dude. The man blows my mind.

And then there’s Gaga...SHE BLEW IT AWAY!!! What an incredible performance. The music, the chemistry...all of it. She was just mindblowingly awesome.

I’m simultaneously mad and glad that I waited so long to watch it.

[jakey-beefed-it]

Holy shit holy shit this is SO FUCKING AWESOME

Tl;dr the New Horizons probe is now far enough away that Proxima Centauri (the nearest star other than the Sun) appears ever so slightly shifted relative to the background starfield compared to the view from Earth

I just... interstellar distances are so mindblowingly vast, even this tiny visible shift in the nearest star is INCREDIBLE

[lauralot89]

Normal Type Eeveelution

Thanks to boredom during quarantine, I’ve taken to designing my own Fakémon.  In the past, I’ve made a bug type Eeveelution and a flying type Eevelution.  My next plan was to make a ground type, maybe something based on a lungfish that just wallows in the mud and waits.  But I didn’t have any great design ideas, so I just sat around for a while.

The idea of a normal type Eeveelution has always seemed superfluous to me.  After all, Eevee is already a normal type, and “normal” is really just placeholder for “nothingness” or “ordinary,” as far as I can tell.  Pidgey, Spearow, Rattata, Meowth: they’re all fine Pokémon but they’re just birds, mice, and cats when you boil it down.  Sure, there’s the occasional oddball like Ditto or Lickitung, but for the most part, normal type Pokemon are just cartoonified real animals.  I didn’t want to make just a more mature Eevee.  If I was going to make a normal Eeveelution, I wanted it to be either totally pointless and tongue in cheek, or mindblowingly amazing and creative.

And I didn’t have any mindblowingly amazing and creative ideas.

But then I remembered Arceus.

If you’re not into Pokémon or you stopped before Gen IV, you may not know Arceus.  Arceus is God, more or less.  Arceus is known as “the Original One” who created the world, or at least specific regions of it where the games take place.  Arceus is an all powerful mythical being.  And Arceus is a normal type.

Technically.

Arceus’s special ability is called “Multitype.”  Essentially, Multitype allows Arceus to become any type of Pokémon.  It makes Arceus incredibly formidable in battle, and makes it just all around awesome.

I decided to take inspiration from Arceus for my normal type Eeveelution.

And by inspiration, I mean wholesale theft.

Meet Arceon.  It’s an Eevee dressed up as Arceus.  Look at its adorable little face.  It thinks it’s intimidating!

Now imagine you’re battling in the latest Pokémon game and suddenly your opponent sends out this thing.  What?  What even?  What is that?  Since when does that exist?  Does it also have multitype?  You’re totally screwed if it has multitype!

Well, fear not, friends.  Arceon does not have Multitype.  In fact, Arceon can only learn one move.

And because I’m a troll and I like frustratingly useless Pokémon, the only move Arceon can learn is Self-Destruct.

(And technically Struggle I guess because all Pokémon learn Struggle but it’s not like you can use up all the Self-Destruct PP to get to it)

Arceon can only be evolved on April first.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to submit this terrible idea to Game Freak.

[skamamoroma]

Have you got any favourite tiny moments from the og or skamit? I love love love when you ramble about stuff, it is really nice to read as you write so well

So I limited myself only to Isak/Even moments because we could be here all day!

1) That bed scene. I’d never been moved by a scene so much when I saw this. It was everything all at once: sweet, romantic, unsettling, intimate, emotional, comforting, gentle, dark... the acting is flawless and you feel every single moment of Even’s pain. It tears my heart out even now. Isak is so content and happy and blissful in that one moment, Even is just flat out adoring him but all the while talking about loss and death and knowing he may lose all of this... still just fucking incredible haha

2) Is there ANYONE who doesn’t love Isak being Even’s blanket? Because at the time it was what made me cry and it still makes me heart ache because it’s effortlessly affectionate and so meaningful. It was Isak being the best comfort to Even while actually thinking he didn’t know what he was doing. Just watching him sitting by Even, caring for him, keeping an eye on him and promising they would be ok... he was amazing at it. But the fact he tried to keep Even warm in his sleep is just the sweetest sweetest thing. These tiny moments are why the original is a bloody masterpiece.

3) That little smile from Even. That “we’re going to be fine” smile, that “he gets it” smile, the fact he looks at Isak and KNOWS that they are great for each other in that moment. Isak lets him know they have time and he doesn’t push Even or persuade, he just listens and accepts and Even adores him for it.

4) And my absolute absolute favourite. The locker room micro expressions. Still just mesmerising to me. I’ve made tons of posts over time about this scene but my god it’s amazing and it was absolutely when I knew these two were something crazy special.

As for Marti and Nico... this was hard because, again, I limited myself to them otherwise you’d have Gio and his little smiles and Elia and that damn mop etc...

1) The rooftop scene. These tiny moments. I’ve rambled on and on about this before but they are all tiny little gestures that speak clearly... every single moment felt so natural but I can imagine it being choreographed because each gesture was a word or a phrase and it was the softest, loveliest, most comforting thing I’ve seen in a long time. And confident protective gentle Marti is a thing to behold!

2) Nico’s face in this scene. I remember watching it and wanting to cry. It was one of the scenes I desperately adored despite it being so small and so sad. Nico was so unbelievably torn up, so frantic almost in his eyes to keep Marti close, to try and to explain but he just couldn’t, so he tried jokes and an offer and to see his face, to see how broken he was when he realised how upset Marti was... yep, hurts like a bitch.

3) The mask. I mean, it’s always going to be up there as a teeny tiny moment that was ENORMOUS: for Italian viewers, for symbolism, for a lovely big 🖕🏼...! It was plain excellent.

4) And my personal destroyer... this god damn scene. Still gives me chills and makes me want to cry. I’ve also rambled on about this scene tons and I couldnt find a gif of Nico’s face (tbh good because I can barely look at it without getting all ridiculously emotional) but these looks from Marti sum it up too. The layers in that scene, the meaning behind Nico’s words, the metaphorical way he spoke about the situation, the lighting, the pain in the words, the resignation, the same weird feeling of unsettling love that the original managed to create. Stunning. It’ll always be mindblowingly awesome to me. I can’t handle if people miss it or step over SkamIt because Jesus Christ on a bike they are missing out on so much.

I hope this is what you were looking for, anon. Sorry this was delayed a little, I’ve been so busy! 💙

[smoothshift]

Got my Dream Car: 2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante! (Pics and Review) via /r/cars

Got my Dream Car: 2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante! (Pics and Review)

Pics: https://imgur.com/a/1qER434

2018 Lamborghini Performante Review:

This car is next level incredible.

Now that we have that covered, let me expand with a look at the past (Warning: very long post).

I have been fortunate enough to have driven and owned a fair number of awesome sports and supercars, and I think I have been on the car equivalent of what guitarists might call a "tone quest". I'm on a "Car Quest". Trying a bit of everything and figuring out what will work for me. In my experience, there is unfortunately no substitute for actually living with a car to know how you feel about it, a Test Drive only does so much. As much praise as a car might get in reviews, rarely are the people reviewing it from the context of ownership. So the cars I have owned in the past have greatly informed what I was looking for this time around.

I loved my 991.1 Turbo S, perhaps one of the best all around cars that blurs the line between sports car and everyday supercar. One of the easiest and most refined cars to live with, though at the cost of not being the most exciting on your average drive. I had come from an E90 M3, and though almost everything was a massive upgrade from the M3, I was particularly disappointed by the Turbo S's engine note.

The Ferrari 488 I had after the 911 was all excitement, perhaps to a fault. It taught me that a constantly "engaging" car may not always be the most fun to drive all the time. It could be a handful in the wrong conditions, and I also learned quite a bit about Ferrari as a brand, which wasn't to my personal taste. The R8 I traded the 488 in for, gave me a kind of this balance between those two worlds. It was immensely easier to live with and drive everywhere for a multitude of reasons. It boasted the everyday convenience of the 911 with a lot more excitement. The genuinely nice Audi cabin, seats and sound system paired with a NA V10 engine and a fantastic AWD system made that car one of my personal favorite cars I have ever owned and lived with. It felt like it could tackle almost anything with confidence.

Because I have a car problem, I wanted to see what the "next level" of supercar had to offer. I had driven the McLaren 720S largely expecting to find myself calculating ways to afford it after the test drive, but I found that car to be a bit overwhelming and perhaps even scary. The car is light, has an insane amount of power to the rear wheels, and is mindblowingly fast, even at speed! But it was a bit intimidating on the test drive, and I was worried that living with it might be a bit of a handful. I think if I were a better driver I might be less intimidated by that, but I think with this much power, in the real world there is a huge benefit to AWD. When you are driving around traffic, and navigating around other drivers and cars, having a car that feels solidly planted when you are managing this much power and torque is a huge benefit.

I genuinely love McLaren as a brand, and I really respect their business model and what they are doing to the market (even at the cost of their own used market), but I do feel like the cars are still a bit quirky and a touch unreliable still, but I think they are really close to making a really perfect car for me. That 600LT was damn close!

So this brings us to now, or let's call it last summer:

I went to test drive the Performante after my friend recommended that I check one out. I wasn't expecting too much, after all this has a tweaked R8 engine, with a marginal 20 or so extra horses and 30 lb/ft of torque. The car shares the same platform and they have similar AWD systems. I figured that as the glorified "Lamborghini R8" with a wing, it might be a bit more Loud and Italian, but effectively the same car.

The test drive, however, proved that wrong. The Performante absolutely blew me away and I couldn't stop thinking about the car. So I started studying the market and shopping, and waiting for the perfect time to strike. Eventually I found the spec I wanted on a pre-owned one at a price I was happy with, and I went for it. On a quick side note, I have to thank Lamborghini Dallas and Tactical Fleet for helping me work out this deal!

Anyways here are my very initial thoughts on my new to me Performante:

What an engine! Although as smooth and quick in response as the R8 and familiar in character, now sounds like it's being powered by a dying star, right behind your head. If the engine being too loud to live with is an 11, this is perfectly sat at 10. And for being slightly more powerful, the car somehow feels noticeably faster in a straight line. I can't imagine an aftermarket exhaust doing much for the sound honestly, it already sounds like one. I thought the R8 sounded amazing, but this is just a completely different level.

What it also feels, is notably lighter, and the 200 or so lbs shaved off of the R8's weight account for a bit of that, but the brakes must be the other half of that equation. This car feels a lot lighter and nimbler than its 3424 lbs curb weight might suggest. Keep in mind that's still 250 lbs heavier than the 720S, but this car can stop arguably more confidently on the road thanks to the fantastic brake feel. But that's not the best part.

The best part is the cornering. Now I haven't pushed this car near the limit so far, but I did take the R8 to the track and on some fast and fun spirited drives, and the way the Performante by comparison turns in and grips just on the road is just nothing like I have experienced to far. It remains so planted and confident in those moments that you just keep on wanting to push it. The steering is near telepathic, I don't know how much more direct steering can feel on a car before you just end up with an oversized go kart. To be fair, the 720S and the 600LT steering and feel were damn good as well in this category, with the 600LT actually being maybe a true 10/10 to the Performante's 9.9/10. And yes, the 600LT basically feels like an oversized go kart. In a good way.

This car is also somehow comfortable. Now I have read very polarizing things about the comfort seats' comfort, but at 5'10 or so and not skinny I'm actually very happy in the cabin. The ride is firm as one might expect, but given that I had the R8 V10 plus which forces fixed suspension, the Performante in Strada mode is actually a bit better at absorbing the bumps. Put it in to Sport or Corsa, though, and you will be able to tell if that nickel you just drove over was heads or tails.

This car, by the way, is so easy to drive. This is not intimidating. I feel like in Strada, anyone who isn't a car enthusiast could confidently drive this car. They somehow maintained that friendliness and ease of driving that the R8 gives you packaged in this fighter jet themed cabin.

One thing I would personally steer clear of, unless you plan on mostly tracking the car or driving it hard, are the Carbon Fiber seats. They look amazing (though they don't match the Forged Carbon in the rest of the cabin) but they are perhaps the single most uncomfortable sports seats I have sat in. Maybe they were built for small framed Italian men, but if you have anything close to broad shoulders, those will be absolutely crushed in to proper driving position as you drive. If you like driving in any position other than absolutely upright you will not be happy. By contrast, I think both Porsche and McLaren make substantially more comfortable sports seats that seem to offer just as much support and bolstering. Had something like those been available for the car, I might even have opted for those. The comfort seats are actually surprisingly supportive for what they are, and should be good for longer drives, so that's the way I went on mine.

By the way that forged carbon has to be one of my personal favorite accents on the car. The gloss front splitter and rear wing look like shiny black marble and contrast the car beautifully in basically every color. The inside satin forged carbon accents not only work beautifully Alcantara covered interior, but also stop any of those surfaces from blinding you when the light hits them. Good thinking. This is what happens when Germany and Italy work together.

With all of that said, no car is perfect, so let's cover some of the faults and downsides:

The cupholder situation is hilarious. If you opt for the 600 dollar travel/smoker package you get an ashtray and a single Porsche 911 style cupholder that comes out of the dash above the glove box. The front trunk is probably the smallest I have ever seen. You might think they are all small, but seriously check out how big they are on the 488 and 720S, they are almost...practical? Actually there isn't really much interior storage space other than some nets behind the seats and the glovebox.

The rear visibility is hilariously bad, though in a funny way, it's slightly better than the R8 with there being small vents on either the side of the rear glass that you can sort of peer through, but still, it's not great. Also the car sits low, and although these pretty much are always spec'd with lifts, you have to remember not only to use it, but to lower the car before you park it because it's bad for the lift to sit up for extended periods of time.

Also, this is a bit of a weird one, but I have noticed on the Gen2 R8 and the Huracan, the dead pedal area is quite small and not that far from the brake, you kinda have to get used to how that feels, because it's different from most cars.

The sound system is also not great, maybe I was spoiled by the genuinely awesome Bang and Olufsen system in the R8, but I have the upgraded Sensonum sound in mine, and it's just not that good, probably not worth spending the money on to be entirely honest, as in true Lambo fashion, it's an expensive upgrade.

Now these little issues genuinely don't ruin the experience, some of these are just things you deal with this type of car, just like the attention you know a supercar will garner. So it's down to a cost/benefit analysis with this car, but in my case it's an easy win for the benefits on this one.

I don't think I have ever instantly connected with or been as content with a car I have brought home, and for the first time ever, I find myself not really wondering about what else is out there for me. It kinda feels like I have finally found my own personal dream car.

This is not to say I won't trade into something else down the line, though it would be nice to have this for at least a few years. But i'll put it this way: Whatever car I will move to after this one doesn't exist yet.

tl;dr: 10/10 would recommend

[comradesnufkin]

when you get this you can answer with 5 things you like about yourself, publicly. send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers 🤧💞

you know i used to have a lot of trouble w this kind of thing but i feel like i can do this now1. im kind of hilarious. like a lot of times when im hanging out with people there comes a point where im telling a story and everyones listening intently and laughing their asses off and its one of the few situations where i can stand having all that attention and its so, so good2. i can draw. i had to do a sketchbook as part of my study abroad program in amsterdam a few weeks back and got so many compliments from my classmates!!3. i can write. the responses ive gotten to some of my fic are honestly incredible, like ive gotten messages from people saying what i wrote made them laugh or cry their heart out and that they come back and read my fic over and over and its mindblowingly awesome4. i think i'm pretty brave. i wasn't until recently, but idk...i had a talk with some friends and something just fucking clicked and now its like i have the whole world at my fingertips and im not afraid to reach for it anymore5. sometimes i look ok

[bitsandbobsandstuff]

Creator Meme

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works you’ve created this past year (fics, art, edits, etc!) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2017. Tag as many writers/artists/etc as you want (fan or original!) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works.

I was tagged by the incredibly talented @justreadingfics, @whiskeyandwashitape, and @a-splash-of-stucky. I’m going to tell you which of my fics I love, but before I do, I gotta tell you my favs from these brilliant ladies.

@justreadingfics: Chapter 9 of Bad Match - Bucky x Reader Yes this chapter of Bad Match is great, but PLEASE go read the entire thing, because this series is so bitchin. However...this chapter, I’m going back to my original reblog, because it sums it up perfectly: “That is my dream date, a picnic with wine and brownies AND I get there on a freaking motorcycle with Bucky Barnes who’s wearing a leather jacket?? This is my new thing, I’m not letting it go ever.” (and true story, I really haven’t let it go)  

@whiskeyandwashitape:  Big Bad* - Dad!Bucky x Reader (One Shot) Seriously. Seriously. This story is one of my all-time favourites, and I actually just reread it last week. A fairytale, packaged as a bedtime story, told by an adorably domestic Bucky, while there is super hot, mindblowingly amazing sex. Guys, the reason it has lots of notes, is because it is just that god-damn incredible. 

@a-splash-of-stucky:  Starshine - Steve x Reader [One-shot] I think this was the first thing of Elsa’s that I read, and it has stuck with me HARD. We all love her for the ridiculous buckets of angst she dumps on us, and yes this one has that too, but it’s so gently bittersweet and quietly heartbreaking, it will give you huge feels. And little Steve Rogers is life.

Okay and here’s me...

5. Cracker Jacks and kiss cams - Bucky x Reader (one-shot) I love writing Bucky flustered and nervous and smitten, and this was about the fluffiest thing I’ve ever done. The best part, I got to include three of my favourite things: Bucky Barnes, the Chicago Cubs, and Cracker Jacks, so the whole thing was a win.

4. Memories and music - Bucky x Reader (one-shot) Playing the piano is one of my favourite pastimes, and I have a personal head canon that Bucky is musically inclined. This story was a chance to build out his musical ability through a heartbreaking story, and of course some emotional sex. And the song he plays at the end, in that cold, dark room, it’s my favourite song of all time.

3. Another kinky wager - Bucky x Reader (one-shot) Personally, my ability to talk shit greatly outweighs my skill at most things. I thought it would be fun to write a story where the reader fell victim to the same issue. Dominant, foul-mouthed Bucky + sex on a pool table, well it’s pretty much my dream scenario. 

2. The one where Bucky and Steve get married - Steve x Bucky (one-shot) I’m completely serious when I say I could spend all day, every day reading Stucky fics. They are my OTP for life. This story was such a trip to write - full of flashbacks, featuring Bucky as an aggressive bridezilla, Steve as a smitten groom who just wants him to be happy, and finishing with their heartfelt wedding vows to each other, I was so happy with how it came together. 

1. Three shades of a man (chapter 2) - Bucky x Reader (three-part series) This was my first attempt at a ‘mini-series’ and the second chapter, where Bucky is intensely tactile and so emotionally drained, is my absolute favourite. I firmly believe this is how he would react after a difficult mission, desperately in need of human contact, and I’m so happy with the way this chapter turned out.

It feels kinda weird doing this, it is like choosing favourite children, so here’s my MASTERLIST if you want to read anything else. Thanks so much to EVERYONE who’s read my stuff the last few months, I’m new to writing fanfic, and I’ve fallen in love with it - and with all you lovely people! 

Tagging a few more peeps (feel free to ignore): @eve1978 @4theluvofall @mrshopkirk @papermoon2719

[mathiaslaurent]

A Spooky Awesome Night

The day that the sim opened, our good friend, ColeMarie Soleil, went by to check it out.  She immediately fell in love with it and asked us if she could play a set there.  She is an incredibly talented and mindblowingly incredible DJ and creator in SL, so we didn’t hesitate to tell her yes.  She worked day and night preparing for her show.  It was truly mesmerizing to watch her as she fine-tuned her performance.

Tonight, we held the first of many special events at The  Legend of Wooley Swamp.  ColeMarie performed a stunning music and particle show, that left me speechless.  The turnout was incredible!  We were very pleased and glad that ColeMarie was able to perform.  Her entire set and performance were BEYOND top notch!

Even Lucius got in on the fun!

(10-09-2020)

[imyourliquor-youremypoison]

Peter Pan Fic Rec

Okay so since I’m the one who’s been complaining about soft hearted OC or Y/N, I think I owe y’all this. I keep track of every single fanfiction I read on a rec blog (but it’s in French and not on tumblr) so I figured I should make the same thing here.

Echo by PurpleLady

I just had to be her. The one he fell in love with, the girl who was taken away from her brother, got aged back to being sixteen- forgetting my memories for 28 years in the process, and then having to jump into a giant portal not knowing where I would be taken. "He thinks I'm Robin Hood's twin sister who got kidnapped by Peter Pan for two decades."

It’s over 300k long and it’s mindblowingly good. The author recreated the way the episodes work, she swtiched between past and present scenes that intermingle really well and everything is perfect. She did incredibly well with so many characters and the OC has depth and is relatable. Also, she’s a ‘bad guy’ technically.

Red Rebellion and its even better sequel Never Seas by thoughtsofanonymous

Based in the future. [Peter Pan x OC] [Captain Swan] Emma and Killian's rebellious daughter is paid a visit by a very intrigued Peter Pan. 

[Sequel to Red Rebellion] Killian and Emma's headstrong daughter Elizabeth Swan had always been a handful. As if her relationship with the mischievous Peter Pan wasn't already enough of a headache, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday she inherits powers beyond her control. [includes subtle themes from Pirates of the Caribbean]

These two a jewels. Especially the second one. In case it’s not clear: this is a OUAT x Pirate of the Caribbean crossover, with Elizabeth Swan, daughter of Killian Jones and Emma Swan, as main character. And it’s fabulous from beginning to end. The author magnificently writes this complex crossover (since OUAT is very disney-like and PotC is a lot darker) and she doesn’t tone it down because of the fairytale characters but rather takes them to a whole other level of authenticity and complexity.

When One Day Is Equal to a Thousand by YouSaidWho

Indigo Garcia walks worlds - out of time, out of place - and unrestricted by anyone's rules. And she has one mission; it's going down on Pan's island. 

This one is a little wonder too. The author obviously knows what she’s about and she carries out her idea beautifully. She’s written other Peter Pan fanfics I haven’t read yet (but I will) and you will find them below. I have no doubt they are as good as this one because the author’s style is awesome! Plus, if you like Hook, this one is definitely for you!

Secrets by xPeterPanNeverFailsx

For my own safety, there had always been two things that I had kept to myself. The first: they had made one huge mistake when they brought me to Neverland. I was no lost boy. The second, well, I suppose it's a secret for a reason. 

This is a oneshot and it has a nice twist I think, which I really enjoyed. It’s about 6k long and it’s the only one of I found with this ‘plot’.

Never Let Me Go by expecto-patroniam

I spent years away from him. Decades. I left because I thought that was what he wanted. And now, after all the hell I've been through, he tells me that he never actually wanted me to go. 

Also a onehot but much shorter than the previous one. This one I read a longer time ago and I don’t remember exactly what it’s about but I rated it 75% so it must have been somewhat good. It won’t cost you much time to give it a shot anyway :)

What You Care About Most by xPeterPanNeverFailsx

When it comes time for Pan to cast the spell again, the spell that brought all of the people in the Enchanted Forest to Storybrook, he must decide if it is worth it to sacrifice the heart of the thing he cares about most, the only girl he has ever loved. 

I don’t remember much about this oneshot either (I’m really useless, right???), but I wrote (and I quote) “Heartbreaking but beautiful” so- idk hold onto your feels?

Alpha by Mikki19

Omegas weren't supposed to exist any longer. They were said to have died out many years ago, so why was Polly-Anna feeling the prickly heat when the Pied Piper pays another visit to Hamelin? 

This one is a lot of smut sprinkled with a bit of plot, but mostly smut. I’m not joking at all, this is the smuttiest fanfiction I’ve ever read, and I’ve read a lot of them. If you’re not comfortable with graphic scenes, this is not for you.

Jewel of Neverland trilogy by DreamerGirl96

The Jewel of Neverland

They say Peter Pan is a monster who can't love. Then the shadow brought back stubborn, naive Amy. No matter how she denies it, she's falling for the cruel boy. Will love be Pan's saving grace or his ultimate downfall? Takes place before, during, and after Operation: Save Henry.

Safe and Sound

The backfired curse has sent all of Storybrooke and its inhabitants back to the Enchanted Forest, including Amy. Only her memories seemed to have survived and her magic has grown stronger. Threats lurk around every corner as she fights for the ones she loves and not destroy herself in the process.

Shatter Me

The missing year has Storybrooke in confusion and chaos. Felix and Serena are back to being reluctant allies, Henry has no memory of his home, and Zelena has the Dark One captive, along with Peter and Amy. It's a race against time to save the past and stop Zelena from preventing her sisters from never being born.

I am in the process of reading this trilogy but so far it’s fairly good. It’s written in the first person narrative, which is not my personal favorite but it’s fine. There are a few mistakes here and there (grammatical mistakes) but it can be overlooked too. The plot is good as far as I can tell (I’m only halfway through the first part). The three combined parts are about 300k long.

The following I haven’t read yet but they are on my to-read list

Dream Nightmares For Me by ForeverNeverlander

Cheri Regan finds herself on Pan's island, Neverland. All of the fairy tales told to her in her childhood are false, and she is kept "captive" in this "Pan's" camp. She doesn't talk, doesn't respond to Pan's efforts. She then finds herself in the middle of a game that she has no idea of it's consequences. 

This one has smut in it, you are warned.

Never Never Neverland by DREAMLESSLY17

Aria, daughter of Captain Hook and a mermaid, was born on Neverland. Who else would she fall in love with but Peter Pan? When Hook escapes Pan's control, he smuggles Aria with him. He erases her memory and returns to the Enchanted Forest. She's then swept up in Regina's curse separating her even farther from her love. Now 28 years later he has a plan to get her back. Season 3.

Innocence by kkshootingstar

A girl doomed before her own birth to be violently wanted by every person in her entire world, and then imprisoned for her entire life starting at age 5, of course wants nothing more than to escape. His Shadow is called to her, and takes her to Neverland, where she gets her freedom. And when you give an evil boy an innocent girl, opposites attract.

Paperkites and Paperchains by YouSaidWho

Evelyn Asteri gave Peter Pan her love. And now he's come back to claim all of her. Lost girls and lost boys are at war across realms where love and hatred collide time and time again in an endless battle of hideaways and secrecy where only one side will remain Panfiction! Pan/OC. Slight Hook/OC, but Lieutenant Duckling cause CS is endgame. M for smut and violence.

[18 years after Paperkites]

Tasha Highmark is a nineteen year old musician struggling in New York City. With memories coming back to her in disturbing vividness, she must rely on those around her to help her return to the Enchanted Forest and rescue the people in her dreams before it is too late. Sequel to Paperkites. AU. M for Smut and Language. Pan/OC. Felix/OC. Gremma. CaptainSwan.

A Solider’s Curse by YouSaidWho (with alternate ending)

Trapped by Peter Pan in a deal that she never truly agreed to, Ella Hart is bound to serve his will. Defying everything she was and everything she believes in, she obeys everything he asks of her. That is, until hope arrives in the form of a pirate. Multiple Pairings. Pan/OC, Hook/OC.

[everettslife]

Day 21 - 10/10/17 Lisbon, Portugal

Today we woke up around 8am to go to our hostel tour of Sintra which is far west Portugal. We hopped into a van with 6 ladies and we headed off 45 minutes to our first destination. I got to know an Australian girl next to me named Tamara. She's totally awesome.

So all of the following areas are in Sintra-Cascais National Park. Our first stop of the tour was Quinta da Regaleira. I'm still not sure what it was but it was incredibly lush with small paths leading everywhere, giant lakes, caves, and castles. It was mindblowingly amazing. I can't describe it's beauty so the pictures will have to do. They will be posted below. We only had an hour to hike but I could have spent all day there.

Our next stop was Park and Palace of Pena. I thought the first stop was great and this one just added to it. Trees everywhere. I feel like if I were to go on any trip, this is what I'm looking for. It takes an estimated 10 hours to explore the park but we only had 2 to do it so we only hit a few main points that our guide suggested. We hiked straight to the top which was only half a mile but it gave an amazing view of the entire area including Moors Castle right on the next mountain. It's impossible to explain all this through words. It felt like I was in the hobbit. There's just so much green and beauty.

The wine and cheese tasting time was next but the lady was rude and not happy so we left quickly and headed to our fourth location which is the most western part of Europe called Cabo Da Roca.

Our guide brings us to the edge of an incredibly high cliff and we just looked off into the distance. This was the best view of the trip by far. This is the most western part of Europe and it's just amazing how over all that ocean the next landmass is US/Canada. All these locations we've been to I could have spent all day there. I love this country.

The final stop was at Guincho Beach. The beach is stunning with amazing sand and great oceanic views. The only thing was that it was freezing. Freezing water and strong breezes does not make for a fun beach trip. Eric dove right in and chilled (heh) in the water for about 20 minutes. I put one foot in the water and headed back to the safety of sand further up the beach. The day continues on even more from there.

After we get dropped back off at the hostel, we find out Eric's friend invited us over to his house for dinner so we couldn't turn that down. We showered off and headed to his place. Same guy as last night and he made us this amazing vegetarian meal to eat with two of his other good friends. It was some pasta dish with soy as the "meat". It was fantastic. We laughed and talked the night away as a group and headed home after. This was the best day of the trip so far.

So far Lisbon is my favorite city of the trip. Their culture is so relaxed and hardly in a rush for anything. The people are so nice and their food is cheap but delicious. Coupling that with amazing scenic views, this country is amazing. Safe city, cheap food, friendly people, relaxed culture makes for a happy Everett.

Fun story: 4 of the girls in the group today were from the United States and they have the heaviest valley girl accent I've ever heard. They are the stereotype in both how they talk and what they talked about. They really love their red wine and boys. So I'm talking to the Australian girl and telling her how many Americans love an Australian accent. I ask her what accent Australians like and they love french accents. I ask her if there's any accent she doesn't like and she says Valley girl. A girl behind us says,"Oh my gosh like yeah. I can't like even stand that accent either. It's like when they talk like Kim Kardashian." She says all this in a heavy valley girl accent. This was when I realized she didn't realize she was that person we were talking about. It was hilarious.

I've also stopped proofreading these posts for the past few days. Sleep > grammar.

Highlight of the trip: Cabo Da Roca was amazing. I'm at a loss of words for it.