#make your lame-os a little bit cool

[thebossestunicycle]

Final Flash Update: an actual review

The DCEU has always been very hit or miss for me, but it has a special place in my heart. When Man of Steel came out, my dad was OBSESSED with it (still is), and it became the first superhero movie I ever watched. Despite the mediocre scores internet-wide (and how the terraforming scared the shit out of me as a kid), I cannot help but love that film to death. It really sparked my interest with superheroes and just ‘nerdier’ stuff in general.

While the DCEU opened me up to the whole world of superheroes, it also became part of what made me so weary of comic book movies. While there were good movies like Wonder Woman (2017) and (hot take) Black Adam, and great ones like the Snydercut, there were also huge disappointments that left me feeling pissed off when the theater lights turned back on. It’s not like all of these movies are downright horrible in every way (exception being 2016’s Suicide Squad), but each seemed to have its own form of kryptonite. The Justice League (2017)’s being its lack of character development; Wonder Woman 1984’s forgettable plot; and of course, Batman v. Superman’s Martha scene.

With the DCEU’s track record, the over saturation of superhero media, and with Ezra Miller being… Ezra Miller, my hopes for this movie were extremely low. But I actually left the theater feeling pretty.. decent?

Here are my main takeaways. Spoilers ahead:

Plot + Characters

As of now, I haven’t noticed any critical plot holes, which is pretty great, especially considering it’s a multiverse movie and all. Everything that blew up in Barry’s face was tied up nicely. But I am sorta curious to see how moving the tomato can caused Ben Affleck to become George Clooney.

The time mechanics were also pretty neat, like how a new future creates a new past.

I kinda like Barry a lot. He’s wicked awkward but it’s funny to watch.

Younger Barry too! He was such an airhead in the beginning that I was shocked to find out he was the guy that our Barry kept seeing when he time travelled.

I found Keaton’s Batman entertaining too. But the whole time Keaton didn’t really seem like he was trying to act. He just looked happy to be Batman again, which I can’t blame him for. On that note, I wish Bale’s Batman made a cameo somehow.

I was underwhelmed with the Zod plot. I was ready to watch him totally kick Flash’s ass. I didn’t mind Kara, but again she was a bit underwhelming too.

I got excited when Zod mentioned discovering Clark in his pod somewhere in space. I was like “Oh shit, did they take him in and train him to fight for them?” Seeing an evil Superman would’ve been crazy, but nah, they just killed him instead. Lame-os.

Effects / CGI

Oh man, I did not enjoy some of the choices made here.

First of all, the deep fake cameos. And also, deepfaking people like Adam West and all, who are dead, is a little odd. However Nicholas Cage showing up was very funny.

Then there was the CGI in the Speedverse (?? correct me if that’s the wrong name). It was video-game level. I felt like I was watching a skyrim-inspired acid trip.

Even outside of speedverse, the quality was really spotty.

Action

Oh my god, it’s so refreshing when there’s even the tiniest ounce of creativity in fight scenes (Looking at you, MCU).

Diving deeper into Barry’s powers was cool and seeing him fight with (and then against) himself was neat!

Then there was also pretty standard Batman stuff that I’m a sucker for

NEEDED a better Kara v. Zod fight. I wanted lasers. I wanted them to go to space. ANYTHING

Overall Emotional Reaction

Both Barrys hit hard a few times. The desperation to fix everything. Having to let go of their mom and accept their fate(s?). The scene when he said goodbye to her for the last time was pretty sad.

The themes were simple: accept your past; pain makes us who we are; etc etc. But there’s nothing really wrong with that.

The jokes landed! I laughed with, not at, most things

…Okay, I did laugh out loud at some things, like the deepfakes and when the Barrys phased for the first time.

But yeah, it was really enjoyable to watch. The runtime wasn’t an issue at all. Dull moments were rare (though I didn’t give a single shit about Barry’s dating life at all)

Final Score:

Characters: 7/10

Plot: 7/10

CGI: 4/10

Action: 7/10

6.3 / 10

If I had to rank: above Black Adam, below Wonder Woman

but seriously can they just recast flash already. I wish ezra miller all the best on rehabbing themselves, and they really do a great job with the character, but it’s like they’re trying to get a jail sentence with everything they’ve done

[magicalgirlfumiko]

"Let's go girls, I'm currently here at HQ sending you out some live feed to keep y'all~ I am here representing the West Side! They call me Aka and I'm the rebel that wished for freedom for all the girls in Furuzeki! ."

"That's right! If you're getting this message that means you're one of the cool magical girls that view Perfection as a bunch of lame-os that need to shut up and let us have our fun. Not everyday you can make a powerful wish and like not ever use your powers for a little bit of playful chaos!"

"If you're feeling down and need a break from all the monster fighting and other bullshit that comes along with being the only ones capable of saving the city, boy do I have a deal just for you!"

"Indeed! Come and visit the Furuzeki Liberation Front! The FLF! Nope, not elf! We had some weirdo book witch try to break into the HQ last night but we managed to kick her old butt out of the door!"

"And I'll tell you what! If you need help against foes like the mysterious scythe wielding weirdo or Perfection, just come on down and visit me personally! I'll listen to your story, free of charge! Believe me, it's great being a rebel WITH a cause!"

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Smile For Me, Sweetcheeks ~ Ghostface x Fem!Reader

I've thought of this for a while, and it's gonna be

F U N

---

Y/N opened her eyes groggily, finding herself on the grassy ground - As she lifted her head to scan her surroundings, she realised she was in some strange, dark place that resembled some weird park with tall trees, yet had random small buildings here and there...It almost seemed like a place to play hide and seek, was her first thought.

Next to her, 3 other people were getting up, looking extremely frightened, as they bolted the hell out of that spot, going in different directions.

But Y/N didn't, and instead, she walked around aimlessly, until she spotted someone dressed in all black, with a weird ghost-like mask, peeking from behind an old car, almost timidly, only to see him wave at her.

Grinning at him, thinking she finally met someone friendly around this place, she extended her arm up in the sky, waving excitedly, which made the man make his way to her.

"Hi! I'm Y/N! It's great finally seeing someone nice around here. The 3 other guys just yelled in my face and ran away. How rude, right?!" she sighed, crossing her arms with a pout, before going back to her friendly smile, extending her hand to shake his. "Woaw, those guys are jerks. Call me Ghostface, darling." he said in an amused, yet somehow hoarse voice. "Uhhh, Ghostface, how cool! You must be a horror movie fan, then? So am I! ...Hmm...Actually, do you have any idea how we got here? I think I need some lecithin, my memory is failing me." she scratched the back of her head sheepishly, only for him to chuckle. "Welp, there's 4 survivors and a killer. All you gotta do is either repair 5 generators and find the exit...Or find the hatch and escape. Basically, don't die, I guess. Fun, huh?" the guy explained, putting his arm around her shoulder, guiding her to who knows where. "...What the hell is this, the Hunger Games?" she looked up at him with a weird look on her face. "Haha, that would be fun! Alas, nothing like that. Ah, look at this, a gen! Here I'll show you how to repair it. You have to tinker with these parts, and then merge these together...You get the cables in the respective coloured sockets...Et voila! Haha, look at it! Fireworks! What a reward!" Ghostface clapped and cheered at the fireworks the generator made, laughing at the startled look on the girl's face, as she clearly didn't expect something like that to happen. "Uh...Honestly, this is insane. Can't we just, like...Go home? I don't think I'm up for dying, even if someone paid me to go through with this silly game." she sighed, crouching down to the next generator, awkwardly trying to repair it, but she was much slower and clumsier compared to him, and it even exploded in her face, making her yelp and fall down. "Dude! Not cool! This gen is working against me!" "Shoulda seen the face you made, toots! Haha, so funny! You're very entertaining, girl. Here, lemme help ya out." he said as he got on the other side of the of the gen and helped repaired it. "You're a real pro at this, man. Have you been playing this for long? Did they at least give you a worthy amount of money for the trouble you're going through? I mean, I'm sure you won very often...Or maybe you're like...The tutorial teacher or something? Is that why you look eccentric compared to those lame-os?" she was asking so many question, but boy, was she so off that it amused the killer so much! He now perfectly understood the wolf who dressed as a sheep, it was too much fun! She was so blindingly trusting, he could mess with her, and more, with the survivors at his heart's content! "Yeah, I win quite often, but they don't pay me! The guy is kinda blackmailing us to play his game, but it's fun when you get used to it." he explained, only to have two other survivors go past them - Her and Ghostface waved at them merrily, but they just shrieked and ran the hell away from there. "...Do I look that scary?" she muttered, looking at the man next to her with a confused expression. "Nahhh, you're a cutiepie. Those guys are just jerks." he petted her hair, beginning to walk again, only to find some really nasty, rusty hooks. "U-Uhm...Gh-Ghostface...? What are these for...?" she stuttered, frowning as she clinged on his arm instinctively. "I think you already know, toots. Careful with those, killers LOVE to impale their victims on these things. It's like a sacrifice for the big guy who's keeping us here." he chuckled as he watched the girl tremble like a little lamb seeing the knife approaching her neck. "...Can we go away from here, please? M-Maybe we can look for the...Uhm...Hatch, you called it?" she muttered, pulling him away from there. "Yeah. It's like a trap in the ground that leads to safety. It only appears when there's only 2 gens left. Felt that shockwave? It meant that the Hatch just appeared. Ah, sorry baby-cakes, I gotta run, but I'll see you around before the match ends, okay?" he was grinning under his mask, knowing that he has to kill the other 3 to make sure the Entity doesn't punish

either of them for some annoying reason...And oh, the shock and horror on her face will be fun~. "N-No...! Please don't go! This place is huge and scary, I'll get lost without you! And who knows what would happen if the Killer finds me? I don't wanna end up...Th-There...!" awww, that cute, little, frightened pout on her face, how lovely~! If only she knew... "Don't worry, cutie, is'yo' first game, the Killer ain't gonna mess with ya, I promise. And if he does, Imma make sure he regrets it. I'm sort of a boss here, you see." he put cupped both his gloved hands on her face, pinching them a bit too hard, just to hear her yelp one more time - And clearly, she didn't disappoint, as her eyes even watered a tiny bit. What a cute little lamb... "...If you're sure, then...Okay. I trust you." she muttered, turning away as she started walking away, only for her to look back at him and yell "Make sure you stay safe too, okay?! We have to escape this place together!" He raised his arm and waved dismissively, barely able to keep himself from laughing, as he started running and stalking the annoying survivors who actually thought they'd have such an easy game!

No, no, clearly not with him!

First, he slashed one of the survivors and put him on a hook, then mori'ed another and took a really cool selfie with their bloody face, and the last one he just messed around with, before repeatedly stabbing his back and throwing him in a corner, just where the Hatch was.

Those idiots thought they could escape him.

Think again.

He wasn't that idiot 'Legion', or that lame ass Amanda. Four lame thugs who can't do a simple job properly, or Jigsaw's useless lackey. Keh.

And at least he was fun, unlike Boring Michael! I mean, look at this masterpiece he made, it's a perfect piece of art! He even wrote Y/N's name on the wall in front of the hatch, so she could see and appreciate his work!

A loud noise that resounded through the place made him realise that, as he was having his fun playing with the obsolete Survivors, his cute little Y/N had her fun repairing generators, meaning that the exits could be activated, if he wasn't careful.

He had to find her quick.

Not that it was difficult for the Master of Stalking, especially since she was so clueless that she didn't even crouch to hide, or at least try to hide in lockers.

There she was...! Look at her, watching everything like a frightened meerkat! Aww, how he wanted to boop that cute nose of hers~! Maybe he could even let some blood paint her nose, and make fun of her, calling her Rudolph!

Ahh, Ghostface, you're so funny!

Yeah, Ghostface, I KNOW, right?!

"Yo, Y/N, over here! I found the hatch! Come on!" he waved his arms up in the air, yelling for her, and the look of sparkling glee on her face as soon as she saw him...Wasn't she such an adorable dummy~? "Ghostface, you're okay! I got so worried when I didn't see you in so long! I heard screams, and I thought something happened to you! I got so scared that I ran away and tried to do the last generators...And then a loud noise almost deafened me, and I had no idea what to do." she gesticulated rapidly, making him chuckle in amusement. Of course, he was worried for nothing. She wouldn't realise what she'd have to do, even if it bit her leg. Hmm, actually...~ "Nahhhh, I'm cool, haven't see the killer. Here, take the key, it will unlock the hatch. Less'goooo~!" he put his arm around her shoulder, guiding her casually where the hatch was, making sure she didn't see his work of art yet. "Oh, so this is the Hatch, huh? It looks scary. Are you sure this isn't some ladder that leads straight to hell or something? It looks...Shady." she muttered, looking at the dark abyss down below. "Don't worry, chickadee, ain't that long of a ride down. It's like a bunker filled with survivors, you'll be okay. They'll tell you what to do from then on. If you're scared, take this flashlight. See? You can see the bottom of the ladder. You'll be okay." he chuckled, weaving the flashlight around. "Wait...You're not coming down with me?" she gasped, her eyes carefully searching for the truth in his...Covered face. "I'd go down on you any day, sugar, but maybe next time we get to play around." he laughed crudely watching her frowning, flustering face. "H-Hey, don't be a jerk! I'm just worried about you!" she muttered, looking away, hoping her hair would cover her blushing face. "Hahaha, you're so fun to tease, Y/N. Only one person can go through the hatch. But s'all cool, I just gotta open up the door, since you did a great job with the gens. We'll see each other later, I can promise you that. Can't get rid of me that easily." he sniggered under his mask, waiting in anticipation until the girl realises his true nature. "Mhh...Alright...If you're so sure..." she muttered, shakily stepping down a few steps, only to be stopped by the man who took out a camera. "Wanna take a selfie before we finish this? Y'know, your first game, and a victory nonetheless...Come on, Smile for me, Sweetcheeks~!" he got on his knees, raising his mask a bit, before gluing himself to her body, one of his arms extending with the camera, while with the other he grabbed her face, kissing her cheek, making sure he guides her eyesight to his masterpiece, and as soon as he heard her gasp, he took the photo.

It was worth more than all the money in the world.

"Y-You...? You were the killer...?!" awww, look at her tremble! Her eyes were glistering with tears, and her plump, rosy bottom lip was quivering in betrayal. "You're too cute for this world, Y/N." he harshly put his mask down, before showing the girl the selfie he took as he mori'ed one of the survivors, and waved her goodbye with his knife, as she quickly descended down the ladder, soft whimpers echoing through the place.

"Till we see each other again, sweet cheeks~." the Killer rose to his feet, slamming down the hatch with his boot and wiping the blood from his knife with his latex glove, before laughing loudly at the endearing experience he just had.

If THAT was the reaction she had when seeing his little gift for her, imagine her cute faces when he'd actually go down on her, as he promised~.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

NAVY SEALS AND NEUROSURGERY RESIDENTS SEEM SLACKERS BY COMPARISON

How would Apple like it if when they discovered a serious bug in OS X, instead of releasing a software update immediately, they had a different goal. In the best case these two suggestions get combined: you tell visitors what your site is about. But I think the way to a great product, how do you know it's not 70%? The surprising thing is how many, and how well, languages can be described this way. Which can be transformed into: If you pitch your idea to a random person, 95% of the time we were all, students and teachers both, just going through the motions. One day, we'd think of ourselves as the next Google and dream of buying islands; the next, and decided to just work as hard as I could till I'd made enough to solve the problem once and for all. They can't dilute you without diluting themselves just as much. By obstructing that process, Apple is making them do bad work, and programmers hate that as much as you want, really in the blink of an eye. As far as I know has a serious girlfriend, and everything they own will fit in one car—or more precisely, archive, in the aggregate, make more money by doing the right thing. The empirical evidence on that is already clear: investors make more money than they have in the past. The future turned out to be flaky, high-maintenance investors.

The stated purpose of schools is to educate the kids. Email is not a business where you make money by screwing people over. I've seen a lot of money to implement it. It's hard to predict how big a role luck plays. No web startup does. They'll like you even better when you hit ramen profitability. This process is not just something happening now in Silicon Valley significantly wider. And all the work we did was pointless, or seemed so at the time was that she was surprised. Why would you want to take on a problem as big as Apple. Most people reading this will already be onto them.

Could anyone make a device that you'd carry around in your pocket like a phone, and yet pay a higher price for them. There are a lot of ambitious people will start them, and this bit of the economy tend to be pushing the limits of whatever you're doing. Because we're relaxed, it's so much easier to have fun doing what we do. Assuming your product doesn't experience the explosive growth that very few products do, everything from development to dealmaking especially dealmaking seems to take 2-3x longer than I always imagine. One founder put it very succinctly: Fast iteration is the key to success. A woman I know says that in high school she liked nerds, but was afraid to be seen talking to them because the other kids in junior high school, with all the same. Of course, what shows up on the radar screen may be different from what? Speaking of cool places to work, if you mistreat the founders you invest in, they'll just get demoralized and the company will do worse.

And by far the best place to work, if you have to spend years cooped up together with nothing real to do. But, like us, they don't like to dwell on this depressing fact, and they don't see evidence of specific abuses unless they go looking for problems without knowing what you're looking for. The other reason Apple should care what programmers think of them is that when you sell a platform, developers make or break you. How hard it is to judge startup ideas, because their subconscious filters them out. They did it because they were too slow to release stuff, and none because they were too slow to release stuff, and none because they were too slow to release stuff, and none because they were too slow to release stuff, and none because they were too quick. Empirically, the way to the top: The surprise for me was how accessible important and interesting people are. This is especially true for a service that other companies can use, because it never stops.

For example, if you want to make large numbers of users love you than a lot of investors and founders, they'll send deals your way. I am daily waiting for the school bus, and was so shocked that the next day she devoted the whole class to an eloquent plea not to be ground down by it, just as we do for the generations that lived before anaesthesia and antibiotics. When you're a kid and you face some hard test, you may as well do what he asks, because he is not going away. The standard plan was to try to identify a precise point in the future, the trend to bet on any one feature or deal or anything to bring you success. Sure, go off and get jobs or go to grad school. And if teenagers respected adults more then, because the number of startups is so unpredictable that you need to be able to use it themselves, and that means building an iPhone app. Sometimes you hear people saying All these guys starting startups now are going to push you in a startup you feel like a little bit of debris blown about by powerful winds. They would be in the way in an office.

They do it because they were too slow to release stuff, and none because they were too slow to release stuff, and none because they were too slow to release stuff, and none because they were too slow to release stuff, and none because they were afraid of Google, and Google was in the search business. Around the age of startup founders goes from a friendship to a marriage. You can thus gradually work your way into their confidence, and maybe turn it into an official job later, or not, but somehow events overwhelm them and they get discouraged and give up, and made up by people no different from you. If you're the rare exception—a company that would become big. You need more control of a development machine? Anyone who has used the web for more than a couple hundred serious angels in the whole Valley, and yet when I describe these ideas you may notice you find yourself shrinking away from them. Nor does it harm you in the real world is that it's tested more severely than in most other countries. Think about your own experience: most links you follow lead to something lame. There is always room for new stuff.

The most important is to explain, as concisely as possible, what the hell your site is catching on, or it isn't, and you must know which. Like a lot of founders are surprised by it. But that isn't true; they are not ordinary people. Most applications—most startups, probably—grow out of personal projects. The way I've described it, starting a startup. Pretty soon you'll start noticing what makes the number go up, and they'll be left wishing they'd bought you earlier. They make such great stuff. I was trying to be with the App Store. VCs seem formidable is that it's tested more severely than in most other situations.

The kids who got praised for these qualities tended to be followed only by outsiders. The best ideas are just on the right side of impossible. It means he makes up his mind quickly, and follows through. Algol isn't good enough at manipulating arrays. What about angels? We know this continued to be true up till 2004, when the Facebook was founded—though it seems even that should be: and the reason I can't believe it will be over quickly. Humans like to work; in most of our lives when the days go by in a blur, and almost everyone has a sense, when this happens, of wasting something precious. Maybe one day a heavily armed force of adults will show up in helicopters to rescue you, but you can't expect to hit that right away. The better they are, they're not even fun.

Thanks to Zak Stone, Jessica Livingston, and Dan Giffin for sharing their expertise on this topic.

[ybcomplicated]

The Breakfast pack pt 2

"Well, this is going to be a boring day, isn't it? Maybe I can sneak-"

"No. No sneaking anything. You are not getting us in even more trouble. I do not want to be here for another Saturday," Scott said to Stiles with a glare before turning to the girl next to him who was fiddling with a pencil, "I'm Scott by the way. I notice you're new."

Allison nodded and smiled shyly, "Yeah, My dad and I just moved here 2 months ago. I haven;t really met anyone yet since I've been busy…"

Scott smiled making his crooked jaw more prominent and his hair made him look like a puppy dog. Allison thought he looked cute.

Stiles watched their interaction before leaning into Lydias space and whispered, "You think they'll fuck today?"

Lydia made a disgusted sound, "You are crude and repulsive. Move."

Stiles frowned at her before standing and moving to a desk a few desks behind her and to the right of Ferek, who glared at the desk he sat at, his arms crossed. Stiles wasn't sure what the desk did to him but he definitely did not want that glare pointed at him.

It was silent for a while as the teens all tried to get comfortable in the uncomfortable desks. Stiles started tapping his foot since his ADHD was acting up and doing nothing for 8 hours sounded like the worst thing ever. Why can't he just go around the school? Why cant he at least walk around the classroom. He couldn't sit here all day. He would die. LIterally probably.

Scott glanced at him as his foot tapped the ground and his knee hit the desk. Lydia allisona nd even Derek stared at him as he absent-mindedly looked at the text books on the shelves near him.

"Do you mind?" Lydia asks with a bitch-face on her perfectly applied face.

"Do I mind what? Being locked in a room with a bunch of lame people for 8 hours? Yes I do very much mind, but hey, what are you gonna do, right?" Stiles said leaning back in his chair and resting his hands behind his head smirking at her.

"Can you just stop? Its annoying," Scott said looking at Stiles tiredly.

Stiles grinned at him, "No can do Scotty, my boy. ADHD, comse with the territory. Blame Harris, not me."

Allison had gotten up and got the paper for herself, Scott and Lydia. She ignored Stiles and Derek, and stiles was kind of hurt but didn't let it show. He got up and got some paper and two pencils. Waving antagonizing at Harris who glared at him making a watching you motion with his fingers and stiles salutes him with two fingers before going back and setting some paper and a pencil in front of Derek before going to his own desk.

He sat there staring at the paper for a while, mind thinking about who he thought we were. Who did he think he was? The sheriff's son with a hyperactive personality who didn't shut up? Basically yeah. He ended up just doodling a little bit and hummed some song he couldn't remember the name of.

He was insanely bored and the simple dog he drew on his paper looked more like a bear anyways. He dropped his pencil and looked around. He glanced at the clock, it showed 8:00 am. Only an hour has passed and he was dying.

"Do you think other schools have detentions on Saturdays? Or are we special? I mean the only time I've ever heard of detention on saturdays are in tv shows and movies. But I guess some places would have school on saturdays. Japan has school all year around. And people wonder why they are so smart! Not to mention the fish that most of them eat. Fish os like, insanely good for the brain."

"Oh my god are you incapable of shutting your mouth or do you just like to listen to yourself talk?" Lydia asks turning a hard glare in his direction. She just wanted to get this over with and if this boy- Stiles- didn't shut up she was going to scream.

"Not really? I mean to the shutting up part. I've never really liked my voice. I'm told its annoying, but I can't really do much about how my voice sounds. Puberty already hit so im SOL there," Stiles responded.

"Well you're right about one thing. Your voice is annoying," Lydia said and Stiles heard Derek snort. He quickly turned his head to glare at the broody man-child. His face was impassive. Thick eyebrows making two large caterpillars on his face in a scowl as he watched stiles right back.

"Well, sah-ray," Stiles mumbled before slumping in his chair and resting his feet on the seat in front of him. He was silent for a few minutes and watched allison and Scott. They kept sneaking glances at each-other and stiles smirked knowing he could tease them, "So, are you two like, dating or something?"

Allison ignores him but SCott turns red and looks back at him, "No! I literally just spoke to her for the first time today."

Stiles narrowed his eyes and rested his left hand on his chin in a thinking manner, "Well, you two have sexual tension like none other. You should just ask her out dude."

"Stiles!" Both Allison and Scott shouted in embarrassment.

Stiles snickered at their expense before standing up and walking to the door. He peeked around the corner and saw Harris on his computer. Back to the door. He smiled and quickly, yet quietly shut the door. He locked it and quickly ran to his seat acting like nothing happened.

"What the hell are you doing Stilinski?" Lydia asks narrowing her eyes at him and he just smiled.

"Getting a little privacy. I know none of you want to be sitting in silence. Maybe we can all become friends. Make bracelets out of the twist ties in Harrises drawer."

"Just shut up Stiles. Go and unlock the door before Harris sees!" Scott whisper shouted.

"No way," Stiles replied simply. Making a show of getting comfortable in his seat while Scott looked frustrated.

"There are four other people in here and we do not want to get more detention because you want to be an ass!" Lydia growled.

"Oh wow! The wanna-be airhead can count! I knew you were only faking the stupid Lydia," Stiles patronized.

"Like you know anything! You're just a spazz Stiles. You're a nobody and if you disappeared no one but your dad would miss you. And even then I think even that's a stretch," Lydia said heartless.

Stiles face fell slightly before he glared at her, feeling a bit of hatred for the frist time at the other girl. He had thought that maybe she acted bitchy ti be cool and to keep her boyfriend but no, she really was a botch, inside and out.

"You know, your bitch really makes you ugly. You shouldn't do it so much, ruins the caked on foundation," He seethed back at her.

"Hey! Watch it Stiles," Scott said defending Lydia.

Stiles felt hurt at his old friend defending the queen bitch but not him. He wasn't surprised though.

"You know why people like you are the way you are Stiles?" Lydia said calmly looking at stiles from the bottom of her nose, as if she were below him.

"Oh please do enlighten me," He said with false bravado.

"Its because you are afraid. Afraid because you don't belong here. No one wants you here so you have to make your-self known otherwise you're just another face in the crowd and will never amount to anything. You're afraid." she said cutting him with her words.

"Yeah, like I'd want to be known by you assholes. You are all just self entitled pricks who think that anyone below you in a nobody when half of us are going to be the ones ruling the world. Its dumb pretty faces like your and Jack-ass's that will become model and OD on meth before 25," Stiles said without much bite.

"How would you know?" Lydia asked crossing her arms, "You don't even know us."

"I don't know any were-wolves either. Doesn't mean I want to know them," Stiles responds. Allison mumbles something and Stiles leans forward, "What was that?"

"N-nothing," Allison says keeping her head towards the front and Stiles scoffed.

He turned to Derek, "Yo, Broody, you know any were-wolves?"

Derek glares at him, but Scott responds, "Were wolves dont exsist dumb-ass."

Stiles didn't even glance at Scott, "I wasn't talking to you jerk-face. I was talking to tall dark and broody over there."

The other four looked at Derek expecting a response but Derek doesn't say anything and just glares forward again.

"He obviously doesn't want to talk to you," Scott said, and stiles rolled his eye at Derek,

"If you keep talking Harris is gonna come and realize the door shut and flip his shit. I am not missing another practice because you couldn't shut the hell up!"

They all teens and stare wide eyed at the door as the handle jiggles and Harris tries to open the door. Stiles chuckles as harris walks right into the door expecting it to open.

"Who the hell shut this door? Why is it locked?" Harris yelled banging on the window of the door causing the kids to jump,

Stiles cackles while the other kids glare at him.

"Unlock the door!" Scott yells at him, not getting up from his chair.

Stiles shrugs, "Why don't you do it? You're closer."

"Stop being a child and just do it!" Lydia yelled at Stiles.

"Why are you all making me do it? Why not just go do it yourself? You are so lazy." Stiles responds not moving an inch.

"Someone unlock this door right now before i give you all a months detention!" Harris yelled.

Allison jumps up quickly and unlocks the door ketting the red faced bird-man inside before she scurried to her seat.

[dixonministry]

If I Ruled The World

The world would be quite a bit different if I were its supreme dictator. Oh yes, I am in favor of a dictatorship, as long as that dictator is me! And here's how it would go. 

A few disclaimers before we begin: 1) Keep your expectations low when you read this. You won’t like everything I list but you won’t hate it all either. This is due to me being neither a liberal or a conservative solely but rather bits and pieces of each. 2) I am making this rant for my own entertainment and the entertainment of the few people who enjoy it when I rant. I am not making this in hopes of starting a debate on what is right or wrong, stupid or smart. If I sound like an idiot to you, cool. Let me sound like an idiot in peace! With that said, keep your lame ass argumentative comments out of my inbox. Thanks. Ok on with the rant!

First of all, I'd have to setup a single worldwide government. The current rulers of all current nations would become representatives of their respective countries on my World Senate. Of course, being a dictator I don't really need a Senate, but it's nice to have. As long as they know that anything they decide can get shit-canned by me, then it's all good. Not Bush though. And definitely not T.rump. I would pass a law that no-one in the Bush/T.rump family is ever allowed to enter politics ever again. I'd make 0bama the President again so he could be the American Senator, cuz I liked him.  It goes without saying that I'd first pass all sorts of Youth Rights laws. Every age-based law would be abolished and replaced by laws that actually make sense. For example, the driving age would get axed and be replaced by a more rigorous driving test. In fact, we have way too many stupid drivers out there as it is, so the WHOLE driving test would have to be retaken by everyone. I would bring back beheading as the favorite execution style. Lethal Injections are for pussies. What the fuck is scary about getting a shot that puts you to sleep? Fuck no, if you did something bad enough that you deserve to die, you're gonna lose your head, bitch! Murderers get the death penalty, period. No life imprisonments for assholes who kill people. You kill someone, you die, that's all. (Note: DP would however only occur with a substantial amount of concrete evidence) Rapists get the death penalty. If she said no, then it's NO, motherfucker.  If you beat your kids, you get put in chains in the middle of Times Square and people can pay $1 for one punch or kick. The beatings stop when someone draws blood (cuz we don't wanna kill your ass). On the 3rd offense, an angry mob gets to beat your ass into a coma. If you come out of it, your kids can decide whether you should live or die. If you molest a kid, whatever part of your body touched them gets painted with acid. Then you go to the chopping block! If you steal from someone, you lose your rights and freedom for 1 year and become your victim's endentured servant. On the 3rd offense, you will work until you have paid for 10 times the value of the item stolen or for 5 years, whichever comes first. Marijuana is legal in Salt’s World. It will be tightly regulated and heavily taxed, because if you're gonna be a pothead, you're gonna fucking pay for it. Growing your own shit or selling it without a license will be considered stealing from the government and you get the punishment for theft (see above). Drunk drivers get no chances. First offense of drunk driving means you lose your license for life, in theory. I say "in theory" because it will work sort of like a life sentence in prison works. You can be brought up for "parole" and a committee will assess whether you deserve to get your license back. Such assessments will occur once every 10 years. If you beat your wife, I annul your marriage and place a restraining order against you. I don't care if she gives me that brainwashed crying bullshit "but he loves me, he didn't mean it, really he doesn't abuse me." You hit her, you lose her, and that's final. I will have my government scientists figure out an alternative to abortion that everyone can live with. Preferably, I'd like to see us be able to remove an embryo and continue to grow it in a lab. People who're trying to adopt always want babies and they always have to wait years for one. Not anymore. Furthermore, it seems that adoption is frowned upon due to it being so difficult to get approved and those who do get approved have a predisposition for choosing pretty, white INFANTS. Under my control, a new process will be drawn up to make it not only easier to adopt regardless of sexuality, marital status, etc but make it so that people don’t get to “select” which child they want. First come, first given, end of story. If you really want a child, you wouldn’t be that gdamn picky anyway. If you don’t want your child, that’s fine and well. We will literally take it out of your stomach (same concept as aborting) and grow it for you. Real abortions will only be allowed if a health risk to either mother or child comes up. This is how I would attempt to find middle ground, a compromise if you will. My government will fund cloning research. I want to be able to clone stem cells and body parts. If this can be done, maybe sick and dying patients won't have to wait year after year for suitable donors. In a world where everyone is part of the same government, there's not much need for massive armies. A global police force will be instituted as the next step above Federal officers. So, it would go, local cops, state cops, federal cops, global cops. Without an army to feed, clothe, etc. a shitload of money would be freed up to make people's lives better. There won't be anymore fucking hunger in my world. Every single farm worldwide will be required by law to give 5% of their yearly output to the government for distribution to the poor. They will, of course, receive a humongous tax break for doing this and any farm that voluntarily gives in excess of 15% will pay no taxes at all. Yes, I know this will make the cost of food rise globally. Too bad. You pay a dollar more for your T-bone and you can just cry about it, but at least some little Ethiopian can have some fucking potatoes that night. And in retrospect, under my administration, the percentage of poor people in the world should lower dramatically if not disappear altogether if you play your cards right. But until this global shitshow is corrected, that’s what would have to happen. Medicine will no longer be big business. All wealthy citizens under my rule will see a tax increase, which will pay for everyone's healthcare. No more private insurance companies, it's going government-issue, baby! And, by the way, under my rule the words "government issue" won't be a synonym for "piss poor." No one should be groaning about this because the minimum wage will also see an increase to an actual living wage proportional to the cost of living that will make workers and their families happy and also boost consumer sales, thus increasing the profits of businesses everywhere. The lack of insurance plans employers now have to provide for their employees will free up some of that extra cash. We're dismantling nuclear weapons and using their radioactive components as fuel. What the fuck do we need nukes for when all the world is united under one government? I will pass a law stating once and for all that all sentient life on this planet is entitled to equal treatment and protection under the law and that no law may be passed which contradicts this. Gay marriage: Legal. If you file a stupid lawsuit, we throw you in jail for 3 months. This includes suing the tobacco industry when you're the one who lit up 50 times a day for 30 years, moron. You also can't sue because you're fat. Watch what you eat and exercise if it bothers you so much! I will force Microsoft, Apple, and all those Google people to work together and create "The Uber OS." It'll run Windows programs and Mac programs (all versions) and Google programs (all flavors). All the drivers will work interchangeably. They will all be told that if the OS ever crashes, they each lose a family member! Mwahahahahaha. (kidding obvs). Every citizen will be allowed to carry a sidearm, as long as the sidearm is worn in plain view (like the old west). Every citizen carrying a gun had better remember the price they'll pay for murder. Unless it's self defense or defense of another's life, don't pull that gun! Significant resources will be diverted to build subway systems. City-wide, State-wide, Nation-wide, and World-wide systems will be built. Any system that is Interstate or beyond must be supersonic. The World-wide system must reach speeds of Mach 2 or greater (don't try standing up on the train, bitch!). The purpose of this subway network will not only be to facilitate free travel across the globe, but also to provide countless millions of new jobs that should adequately handle our planet's homelessness and unemployment problems. I should've mentioned taxes earlier, but here it is. The worldwide tax brackets will be as follows: everyone making 10k or less will owe 12% (you can omit the extra 2% with a financial hardship exemption form but it should be noted that no full-time adult worker should be making that much under my leadership so this should be doable without a person’s quality of life taking a hit), everyone making between 10,001-99,999 will owe 15%, everyone making $100k-$200k will owe 30%. Everyone over 200k will owe 50%. Surely you don't think the money for all these great improvements is just gonna fall from the sky? Recycling will become mandatory. We throw away far too much shit. Why chop down a rainforest when there's enough paper in a city dump to fill a library 10 times over?! We will also have to become far less dependent on fossil fuels. I'll work out a timetable for eventually outlawing fossil fuels in favor of electric, solar, and nuclear power. Go back to that city dump and imagine how many atoms are sitting their going to waste when we could be smashing them and reaping the benefits. Prison overcrowding? No problem! Legalizing weed and making drugs a medical issue instead of a criminal one should take care of this problem for the most part and as for the rest, well, Antarctica is just sitting there not doing a damn thing, it's time we put it to use. Remember the penal colony "Rura Penthe" from Star Trek VI? Yup, it'll be something like that. No guard towers, no fence, nothing. If you wanna escape, go ahead. You'll just freeze to death, idiot. Otherwise, you'll stay right there in prison and serve out your sentence. Imagine how many new jobs a prison that size will create? And the cost of feeding them will be negligible. They'll have giant heated greenhouses for growing everything they eat. They don't work to grow it, they don't eat. In other words, a prison sentence means you serve your time as a farmer in the middle of frozen fucking nowhere. Jon Stewart will be appointed as my press secretary. At least all my press releases will have the whole world laughing their asses off. Minimum Wage will be increased to $12.50/hr. I think Ronald McDonald can afford to buy used overhauls for a while so that his employees don't have to shop at the Salvation Army. Corruption in government would be gone. No one is allowed to spend more than $500 on their election campaigns. They can put up a fucking website and do grassroots shit. That way there's no big corporate donations and shit to deal with. Plus, politicians are gonna become like preachers: We give them a place to live and a minimal salary, that's it. No big bucks, no fancy cars, nothing. It's not gonna be about the money. All the money we cut from politicians can go to teachers, cops, firemen, etc. Y'know, the government employees who actually fucking DO something worthwhile and give back to society. Pro Athletes get capped at $90,000/yr. None of this being a rich bastard because you play a fucking game. Maybe then, only people who LOVE the sport and DON'T corrupt it will find their way in. Just like with the politicians, when it's not about the money only people who actually give a fuck will want the job. Ninety grand a year is still a damn good salary. It's not like they'll be poor. The RIAA and MPAA will be told once and for all to shut the fuck up about Peer-to-Peer. They should've jumped on the bandwagon when it got rolling, now they can just suck it up. By the way, musicians and actors are capped at $60,000/yr. They can still have the royalties on their music, movies, concerts, commercial deals, etc. Wouldn't be fair to take that away from them. However, the industry will still be encouraged to develop better copyright protection methods so that all the true geeks can still enjoy the immense thrill of breaking a copyright protection scheme only days after it's implemented. They've gotta have something to do on a dateless Saturday night. Wouldn't want to rob them of that. We'll be having a government-sponsored betting pool on how long it takes the industry to figure out that copyright protection is fucking useless (they spend years developing some new state-of-the-art system and once it's released, a 13yo breaks it in 2 days... get a clue). SPAM will be made illegal! The punishment for spamming is 5 years in the Antarctic Prison Colony! I think that just about covers the basics. Of course, I could probably go on all fucking night with this shit, but if I kept going I'd never get this rant posted. Just know that there's like a billion more cool things I'd do. I might just have to make a sequel to this rant. Until then....... Salt for president 2020.  

[cstesttaken]

HTC 'Ocean Note' Likely to Launch as HTC U Ultra, Headphone Jack Ditched

Information said to be from an unverified source, the U Ultra will feature a 6″ display, but no 3.5mm headphone jack. Providing just a USB Type-C port, HTC is following in the footsteps of courageous companies such as Apple, Moto, and LeEco. Considering HTC used to be known for taking audio on smartphones quite seriously, the expulsion of the headphone jack is quite ironic.

We’ll likely hear everything we need to know on January 12 when HTC hosts their event. In the meantime, let’s hear your thoughts on this 3.5mm jack situation. Is HTC making a really bad move with its removal?

Via: @OnLeaks

Honestly, right now a headphone jack is a luxury rather than a necessity for me. 95% of the time I listen to music off my phone it’s in my truck or with bluetooth headphones. I only use my headphones at work when I want to watch or hear something off my phone and don’t want people around me to hear. But if ditching it is all for the sake of “thinness,” it is so stupid since I would rather have a thicker phone with a ginormous battery than the thinnest phone possible.

jshep23

I hope that HTC KEEPS the Headphone Jack. They should not let what Apple and the FALSE future hinder their sound performance.

Marc Perrusquia

Hopefully this is finally a 6″ flagship, was hoping with the name “ultra” they would make it a 6.44″ display but at those point even a 6″ screen will make me happy.

Mike Menlo

I definitely think so. I use it all the time. HTC10, it has good sound – for a phone. High-end headphones, though, sound like a real stereo sounds. I know many ear bud makers are going Bluetooth, but I still prefer the plug.

Shadowstare

I love HTC. I’m a HTC Defender and Supporter. But there is no way hell I want a 6 inch phone with or one without a headphone jack. Nope nope Nope. I hope there’s a market for it for HTC’s sake. But I ain’t it.

Odellpi

For me the loss of the 3.5 jack is not a big deal for me. I do everything Bluetooth. To lose the jack means slimmer phone. Just my opinion.

The Dude

The only way losing the headphone jack makes any sense is if it translates to a bigger battery and longer life on said battery.

TylerCameron

If I could get a remake of the 1520 or N6 running Nougat, I’d be in heaven.

Marc Perrusquia

I’ve gone through most of the Flagships since the Nexus 6 was released and the screens were just too small. So dug my Nexus 6 out, installed Pure Nexus, which is running 7.1.1 Nougat, the latest security build, and have ElementalX installed. So I have my super high brightness mod which forces the AMOLED display to overpower to 500 nitts, have the 805 overclocked to 3ghz, and have the speakers boosted a bit. It’s not quite as fast as my HTC 10, but it’s faster than my S7 Edge was stock, and almost as fast as my 6p on Pure Nexus with the same mods. Only problem is with all these mods the battery dies pretty fast, but the Nexus 6 is still a hell of a phone.

Sporttster

Won’t be buying any phones without a headphone jack…..

Anoneyemou5e

How will this work with NextRadio, where you have to use the headphones as an antenna? Or that little click button adaptor that gives your phone an extra button for custom actions? (Seriously, I thought it was cool at 1st, bought 2, used one for about an hour….) But the NextRadio app does seem to be gaining steam. So that part of the question I’m serious about

John

They should strive to the most courageous and remove the phone itself.

atc-tech

Yes, they are making a bad move. It can’t possibly save enough room inside the case and engineering effort to take it out. There does not appear to be any reason at all to do it. Apple did it so they can sell more AirPods and lighting to 3.5mm connectors. Anyone who doesn’t understand that is a fool. So, why are other manufacturers following this lame trend!?

What is in it for HTC if we have to go choose from the 1,000 available adapters for USB-C to 3.5mm? Or if we buy 1 of 1000000 available bluetooth headphones (which we obviously don’t want, since we’re using 3.5mm jacks still). Apple people will buy Airpods because the guy at the Apple store told them that they work best with their iPhone. Android doesn’t work that.

Android works like this: If you SOMEHOW manage to convince the guy at the Verizon or ATT store that you’re NOT going to get the iphone 7, then they’ll just toss your “piece of crap” android phone box at you and tell you good luck with it. They might show you the 2 different cases they have in stock for it… just because they get a cut of accessory sales (probably 10%).

They probably won’t even KNOW if the phone has a 3.5mm jack or not. They’ve most likely never seen one out of the box longer than it takes to activate it and throw it out the door.

So, what is the point? Why take away the 3.5mm jack when people are going to use it? Premium headphone manufacturers aren’t making all USB-C headphones with no 3.5mm jacks. So, when Grado, Sennheiser, and whoever else all start selling USB-C headphones in lieu of 3.5mm, then you can take it out of phones. Until then, why are you doing it? To be like Apple/iPhone? That’s just stupid. I just don’t get it.

Suicide_Note

So long, headphone jack. Time for people to embrace wireless headphones.

Marc Perrusquia

Wireless headphones will never match a good wired set.

YuCMi

Does HTC want to remain irrelevant that badly?

VAVAMk_2

DanG

Orion

Tyler Durden

TriguyRN

It’s going to be unusable if they don’t shrink the bezels. Even the Nexus 6 is huge with its super small bezels.

Marc Perrusquia

You must have tiny hands. The Nexus 6 is too small, my Z Ultra with a 6.44″ and bezels way bigger than HTC’s was the perfect size. I’ve been using all these tiny 5-5.7″ flagships ever since. The Z Ultra ruined me.

sc0rch3d

will this be a preview of the pixel 2? if G is really serious about hardware, i don’t think it would jump mfg every year. on top of that, could HTC develop 2 separate flagship phones?

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

I doubt this is a flagship – It’s too early in the year. I think it’s a new line altogether probably replacing the Desire line…but I don’t really know anything.

BobButtons

To me, I’m still not understanding the benefits of ditching the headphone jack. I see it as placing a huge object in the middle of the road without explanation. When people question the person on it, they say “Well, it’s no big deal. There are multiple ways to drive around it.” All I think is, so? That doesn’t help at all explain the benefits of it happening in the first place. I’m not saying there aren’t any and I’d probably adapt and deal without it, but so far all explanations for dropping it are describing ways to overcome the obstacle, not explain why the obstacle needs to exist.

sc0rch3d

there’s got to be an accessory agenda. we would be ignorant to think (at least once) there’s a back room conversation between OEM’s and accessory makers like “ok dude, you should totally ditch the headphone jack and push my wireless headphones. I’ll give you 10% of my profits.”

ChrisI

wouldn’t doubt it for a second.

That makes sense for Apple since they use a proprietary Lightning cable/jack that every accessory OEM has to pay license fees for. It doesn’t make sense for USB-C devices where OEMs see no such benefit other than the exponentially smaller subset of people who buy their specific overpriced USB-C headphones/adapters. Because it makes no sense to buy their branded headphones/adapters, when there are other comparable ones out there that offer a much better value.

sc0rch3d

I agree, but it can be marketed. If HTC puts Steph Curry or Lebron holding the phone wearing Bose or Beats headphones….

RIP_HTC_Moto_LG_SONY

HTC should just go bankrupt and stop its Apple-mocking struggles.

Xappleuser

Sorry that you feel that way. I currently have an Moto x pure. Great phone. Everybody has their own opinions I guess. Never did like the OS software. But that’s just me. Glad you like iPhones.

Mike Menlo

I’ve had the three latest top HTC phones, and loved them. Solid, reliable, flexible … Had a couple two years and battery had no noticeable decrease in performance … Good speakers, straight-forward interface, awesome (large print-worthy) cameras – and I’m very hard to please, there. Still offering steel-bodied phones, water resistant – and they don’t “own” you, make you buy your apps from them, limit your control over phone features/services …

Sarachall

Guest

headphone jack doing the floppy disc in the trash heap of history

Collin James

The floppy disk was replaced with something better, though. This is just taking away something that is still relevant.

tnt

In a year or two having a headphone jack will be a marketing point. Whoever keeps it will advertise themselves as having the courage to keep it. Then maybe the trend will shift back… That’s my hope anyway!

That, or there will be some revolution in wireless / bluetooth technology that truly makes having the jack obsolete; as opposed to now, when dropping the jack is change just for the sake of change.

Armaced

I don’t think so, unfortunately. I suspect headphone jacks will be similar to removable batteries, expandable SD card slots, and physical keyboards. Most people don’t care, some people don’t want them, and some people insist on them. Slowly, the people that insist on them will tire of denying themselves the best phones based on one or two litmus features, which will slowly remove the demand until everyone just accepts the feature as no-longer obtainable.

Personally, I would give up all of those features for a physical hang-up (End) button. Luckily, my Galaxy S7 does pretty well with the accessibility feature that makes the power button an End button, since it also has a physical home button to wake up the phone when I am on a call. I suspect that will be gone in the S8 and my dream will be dead again.

hkklife

Agreed, just like how the trend was in 2015 and 2014 to remove microSD slots. LG did away with microSD AND removable battery for the G2 and brought them both back with a flourish with the G3. Samsung ditched microSD for the GS6 and Note 5 and brought it back for the GS7. Moto dropped microSD for the Moto X 2013 and 2014 then brought it back, first on the low-end devices and then for good in 2015 across the lineup.

I wouldn’t sweat HTC removing the headphone jack because HTC themselves will be removed from the marketplace in a year or so! I am glad to see them finally releasing a phone with a man-sized sceen. They’ve been totally quiet in that realm since the One Max several years ago.

Dumping removable batteries is nothing more than forced obsolescence, just like dumping microSD slots is pushing cloud storage agendas and tiered data plans. Dumping 3.5mm jacks is a ploy to sell new accessories and, more importantly, lock down all of the content and remove the last vestige of the analog ecosystem that cannot be DRM’d.

Ironic enough, the G2 is still considered their best phone. Maybe they should remove both for the G6.

Marc Perrusquia

Marc Perrusquia

They didn’t really get rid of them with the G2 the Optimus G before it didn’t have them, and the South Korean version of the G2 had a removable 2600 mAh battery, micro SD, and a TV antenna.

Daistaar

What is this, MicroSD Cards? lol

But on another note: I hope they have a good marketing this year. It was sad to see the HTC 10 being forgotten by almost everyone. I think it was a great phone.

With companies ditching the headphone jack, I have a bad feeling about the next Pixel.

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

Part of the rumor was that there would be 2 other phones launched at this event? Or maybe I misread. I don’t keep up with Rumors as much as I used to. But I’m intrigued if this is something brand new like the “leaked” video showed.

Cael

“In the meantime, let’s hear your thoughts on this 3.5mm jack situation. Is HTC making a really bad move with its removal?”

The Bolt didn’t have a headphone jack so not really a surprise.

Source

http://www.droid-life.com/2017/01/03/htc-u-ultra/

[rate-out-of-10]

MASS EFFECT: ANDROMEDA REVIEW

Since the Mass Effect series is one of my all-time favorite game series, I almost have to get my thoughts out on Andromeda. This game is a bit of a departure from the original series, taking us to the galaxy of (you guessed it) Andromeda. We leave the Milky Way in search for a new home amongst new stars and planets. Mass Effect: Andromeda is a loaded game, filled with content, so I will do my best to stick to all the pertinent information.

SPOILERS AHEAD. This review is based off my experiences with the game on the Xbox One.

We say goodbye to all of our adventures in the Milky Way, to Shepard, to our companions, to the fight with the Reapers, all of it; we meet our new human character, named Ryder, and whole new array of companions and crew mates, and other people/aliens. I will say that after the likes of Shepard and the Normandy crew, Andromeda does an admirable job with the follow up, but they just aren’t quite up to standard. And while I grew to adore some, most of the characters tend to fall flat. Drack, a krogan, grew on me very quickly the more I played with him, and I did fall into the Peebee trap, that cute ass asari, she’s just so infectious. Others like Cora and Vetra felt a little streamlined. I didn’t not like them, in fact I can say that by the end I did indeed like them, but there was a good while where I didn’t feel a good connection with them. But there is one companion that I did not enjoy at all: Liam Kosta. He was annoying, flat, boring to every degree, and I did not enjoy playing with him alongside of me at all. He delivers some of the most horrendous lines in the entire game. Our last companion, Jaal, is of the new species we find in Andromeda, an angara, and he felt cool in some places, and others a bit off (but only at first). Of course, by the end I felt for him and especially on his loyalty mission I really liked him. I was really hoping to get my twin, Sarah Ryder as a companion at some point. But of course, instead of killing her at the beginning, they chose the next worse thing: put her into a coma for most of the game. While you get to play as Sarah for a small section, which was short but sweet, and she helps you at the very end, I hope to see her as a companion in some future DLC. Andromeda features a wide array of new characters, and misses the mark with a few key ones. Our main villain, The Archon, of the new kett species, was a complete generic trope. The guy that believes he’s on some holy quest, he’s saving people, when in fact he’s just a psychopath hell-bent on killing everything that isn’t him. I was supremely disappointed in the lack of a boss-battle with him, as well. Where was it? The final section was just some drawn out wave combat as I disable some terminals, and then he dies. An absolute disappointment, especially when there are some pretty exciting bosses in the game, such as the Architects. Now, the game excels in certain categories, such as the loyalty missions for each character. I felt as though I really got to know my squad mates, and I helped them through whatever it was they were dealing with (except Liam’s. I did not enjoy him at all, I cannot express that enough). But the game tends to drop the ball in its essential story-telling. The main quest line had its ups and downs, but all together felt a little shallow. I was mostly interested in locating the other lost arks, and how they fit into the main story was very exciting and interesting, however the struggle with the kett and their exaltation, however horrifying it was, didn’t have too much pull on me. I was excited to craft new relationships and explore and do some amazing things, and I definitely did, I just wish that the main story had some stake in those feelings. In the original trilogy, I’d be torn between what to do, because I was so involved with all of it, but here I had almost no issue shelving the main quest in favor of my loyalty missions, or exploring the viable planets. I had no problem not playing the main story, until I had to, and I think that’s a problem. The main storyline isn’t strictly speaking bad, in fact it gets to be very cool towards the end with a lot of promise and spectacular moments, but it isn’t as enthralling all around as I would’ve hoped. And with the main story focusing on the evils of this new species, the kett, I was surprised that we only meet one other intelligent species native to Andromeda, the angara. Most of the other alien life is primitive and hostile. What made the likes of the Milky Way great was that humanity stumbled upon a huge galactic community of various species from the Milky Way, but in Andromeda there’s only two, and they’ve just been warring with each other for a hundred years, since before we got there? I wish we could’ve seen more, perhaps allied ourselves with another one, it could have raised the stakes a bit higher in the main story. As interesting as the angara were, this was a bit of a let-down.

Mass Effect: Andromeda makes a huge departure from the combat we’re used to playing in the series and offers a more versatile way to play. The combat itself, with your jump and dash abilities, feels so smooth. A major tune-up for the series, this was a great step in the right direction. Also, the class profiles, and access to every skill, was awesome. I very much enjoyed this new system. I didn’t feel bogged down or restricted, I could legitimately craft my Ryder in any way I wanted, and equip him with the abilities and skills necessary per scenario. It added a nicer piece of strategy to the game, and that’s always welcome. The game also looks as phenomenal as it feels in many places. Many environments are breathtaking; whether it’s the lush forest on Havarl, or the snowy mountains on Voeld, or the remains of the destroyed planet H-047c, or the springs of Kadara. I loved exploring each one and bringing up their viabilities to 100%. I felt so accomplished after activating the monoliths upon solving an alien Sudoku puzzle, activating the terraforming vaults, and settling outposts. And it wasn’t a high-maintenance thing at all, and I really appreciate that. Some games with aspects such as these sometimes go over board and make it a chore, but it’s fast and satisfying here. The galaxy map exploration has some cool things to offer as well, and some not so much. Its visuals are gorgeous, I will say, I very much like the point of view being the tip of the Tempest as you fly through the galaxy, but it isn’t so rewarding. Most planets you visit don’t offer anything other than a quick paragraph of info about the planet and some meaningless lore, others some XP and research points, and then the occasional salvage and loot. But exploring every system to 100% isn’t as rewarding as I wanted it to be. It’s not a necessity either, so that’s good because it is very much a skippable, tedious part of the game. The game’s research and crafting system is simple and cool to use as well, although I wish the OS was simple too. It can be a bit encumber-some and a real task to navigate, but you can get some really great gear out of taking the time to explore and find the elements and materials you need (or just purchase them). But trust me, you’ll get tired of the scanner real quick. Now, some other technical aspects were sore. The facial animations (of course), while I didn’t have any major glitches or problems during my 60 hour playthrough (thank god), they were still stiff and plain. However, it’s not something I take away from the game too much, plus future updates are fixing the issues. The voice acting is where I get most annoyed. Some characters just sound uncomfortable and some are lame. There were many deliveries that were cheesy or awkward, some were just painful to hear, even a few from my Ryder made me go, “oh my god stop.” One thing that players will notice as a departure from the original trilogy is the absence of Renegade/Paragon, it was swapped out with (I think?) a more dynamic approach to your Ryder character. Now in conversations, you choose between responses that fall under four categories: Emotional, Casual, Logical, and Professional. It was an interesting change from what we knew, however it doesn’t change the game or how I play all too much, it seems. You can read a nice psych profile written by the Tempest’s doctor, Lexi, based on your choices, but that’s about it. One thing that kept me coming back to the original trilogy was choosing different Renegade/Paragon options, it felt like they changed your relationships with other characters, it seemed like it would make a difference, but this new dialogue/action set up doesn’t have that same effect. There weren’t many major choices in the game that felt heavy either, none that drastically changed how the story would play out. Of course on my next playthrough I’ll be choosing the opposites of what I chose this first time, but if they don’t change my experience enough, I don’t see much reason to keep coming back to the game. I’ll wind up going back to the trilogy first before Andromeda, if that’s the case. Andromeda doesn’t have as high of a re-playability value as the trilogy.

One thing I didn’t touch on was the multiplayer, and that’s because it’s essentially recycled from Mass Effect 3. Wave-based, horde combat scenarios mixed with a few objectives, and then extraction. The combat in Andromdeda is great enough to where it’s fun to be in, but not for too long because I despise the leveling system. I don’t like the pre-set character abilities. I feel as though they could’ve kept it simple: let us choose what race we want, apply the skills we want to those races, and with each race they have a special ability that makes them unique. Almost like a create-a-class system from the Call of Duty games, but with your different characters/races. It should be progression based with the gear as well, not this loot box system with in-game currency that’s plaguing video games now. Acquiring better armor and weapons should be organic and correlative to how much I’m playing and how well I’m doing, not how much money I’m willing to spend. It takes the immersion right out of the game. It’s lazy. And that’s all I’m going to say on multiplayer. My final rating for Mass Effect: Andromeda is:

7.75/10. Not exactly what I was waiting for, but I’m glad I have it.

Andromeda has a ton to offer and for all intents and purposes, it’s a really good game, but there are quite a few shortcomings that hold it back from true greatness, especially as a follow up to one of the greatest game series’ to have ever come out. It excels with its planet exploration, its visuals, its combat, its loyalty missions, and dynamic class system. However the lackluster main story, which leaves many questions left unanswered, and a generic villain, copy & paste lazy multiplayer, some trivial voice acting, and its small scale choice system leads the game astray. I definitely think it’s worth getting for fans of the series, as well as those who enjoy sci-fi/fantasy games, and open-world exploration games. But the real greatness of the Mass Effect universe still lies within its original trilogy (for now anyway).