#octo space art moment

[welcome-to-octo-space]

She's gona look cool and be a show off, then get punched in the face by her own attack

Also hi JSAB tumblr fandom.

Uh if anyone wants to hear my ramblings on this AU pls come forth into mine DMs. I will happily ramble my crazy persona with over 70 AUs rambling.

[octoooo]

Makomo’s album 4 (Masterlist)

Bonus exchange between Makomo & Shinobu

Could you imagine if Sabibun and Catyuu were humans? Bonkers

[seffien]

okay. i know this is a lot of things highlighted and I had more but these ones I was the most clueless about and very curious ???!!!!???? color pulse in Octo expansion bad ending I am most curious bout

again. sorry i highlighted a lot I just… gotta absorb the sploon information I gotta

no problem

'when i die i want my team to lower me into my grave so they can let me down one last time' - a popular meme/miiverse post in the community complaining about teammates. it resonates with me.

'octo-kraken' - if one were to hack themselves to be an octoling and use the kraken special, the lower tentacles of the kraken would be curly!

'4 and 8 in rotm' - concept art in the artbook shows that 4 and 8 were supposed to make a return in 3's story mode but, for whatever reason, didn't. i guess the idea was scrapped, which is super unfortunate

splatoon tumblr disappearance and octo oven origins

'do not go in' - in the music that plays after the blender is completed, speaking can be heard. in reality, it's a new years countdown played backwards, but it sounds like 'do not go in', which is really, really eerie

'toni kensa identity' - there's an interview out there with the guy himself, but we still don't know much about him. we just know that he's an inkling and, well, a he.

'great zapfish flying' - sometimes, when you'd boot up the game or leave the lobby, the great zapfish would fly around the lobby and make its funny little noise. in splatoon 3, though, the zapfish is seemingly completely stationary.

'pearl's electrocution' - apparently, pearl was electrocuted when she blew out the speakers at that singing contest, was electrocuted in the process, and had her growth stunted. ...or at least, she would've, if that info wasn't just a mistranslation. at least i think it is. im very profressional.

'glenna' - an alternate name for paruko/harmony before her actual name was revealed. i have 0 idea where it came from, but it was used in the siivagunner community since she was called that in the KFAD (king for a day) tournament.

'rocket announcements' <- click for more info, although it does kinda contain splatoon 3 spoilers. i find this super creepy because...uh...

'bisk's girlfriend' - the 6th sunken scroll in splatoon 2 features bisk embracing another spider crab in a dress, confirmed in a developer interview to be his ex-girlfriend. i guess i can remove that question mark now.

'koloktos' - from the trivia section of museum d'alfonsio's inkipedia page: These laughter sounds have been present in other Nintendo games, such as upon defeating the boss Koloktos in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

'sentient idols' - not only do the idols sometimes break the fourth wall for comedic effect, but from another interview: ...it just might be that during those moments of Splatfest, they may have an occasional inkling that they are characters in some sort of a virtual space in the world of a video game.

'no.9'

'color pulse in octo expansion bad ending' - in the bad ending of octo expansion, a faint melody can be heard during the cutscene that plays. turns out, its a broken reprise of color pulse. there is a video, but i'm not going to link it because i want to sleep tonight and i imagine you do too.

judd mask - unused piece of gear that, strangely enough, appears in splatoon 2's salmon run employee handbook

'inklings on the moon' - in splatoon 2 (idk if its visible in 3), the moon is sometimes visible, and apparently, people saw that there was a little squid mark on it, leading to theories that inklings went to the moon before. here's a fun little video from rizirone covering the theory.

[recommendedlisten]

It’s been awhile since Recommended Listen has done one of these, but back by popular (content) demand, the weekly Best of the Rest column has returned to highlight the rest of the week’s great music you should know. Leading into it, Massachusetts DIY scene favs Future Teens and Dump Him both tried to figure out ways to move forward while Big Thief are proving to be unstoppable with their creative genius. The return of Vivian Girls is arguably being enjoyed more so the second time around, Chelsea Wolfe’s natural instincts are giving us even more reasons to appreciate her dark art, and NYC post-punks Bodega continue to live up to the promise of being shiny new models. Meanwhile, Field Mouse succeeded at finding meaning in everything as modern punk scene cult hero Chris Faren searched for his within a screen. There’s a lot more to cover here, so let's get down to the music business.

Here’s the best of the rest from the week of August 11th, 2019…

Antagonize - Slip Death EP [Triple B Records]

The last time I saw Aaron Bedard, he was being showered in balloons and kids walking all over each others’ heads as part of the final bow of Bane, the seminal melodic hardcore band who very much helped make the New England hardcore scene what it is today. Bedard returned to the stage a year ago with a new band called Antagonize, and after throwing down some demos and promos, they’ve released their debut EP Slip Death on the great Boston hardcore label Triple B Records this past week (label leader Sam Yarmuth designed its cover art much like he did for the vinyl reissue of the 2001 Bane classic Give Blood.) Bedard’s intensity has not slowed down with the passing of time either. In fact, it’s become exponentially more confrontational as he and the band thrash through fast, visceral existentialist dread. Throw them on a bill with the likes of Fury, Fiddlehead, Turnstile, or any of the countless names coming out of the Triple B roster right now, and Antagonize -- and Bedard -- know exactly what the scene needs at this moment.

Slip Death by ANTAGONIZE

Charli XCX feat. Sky Ferreira - “Cross You Out” [Atlantic Records]

On September 13th, Charli XCX will release her long awaited “proper” third studio effort Charli. Between years of experimental EPs and one-off singles, it’s been awhile since we heard her target her vision for mass consumption with major label approal, and she’s bringing some of music’s most intriguing voices into the fold with her to get that across. We already heard her team with Lizzo on “Blame It On Your Love” and Christine and the Queens for “Gone”. Its latest preview “When You’re Not Around” is one for Twitter pop fandom, however, as it sees Charli XCX joining forces with Sky Ferreira on the A.G. Cook-produced track. The two artists have been heralded as pop music’s most underrated creators for the better part of this decade, so to hear Charli and Ferreira’s paths cross seamlessly into this digital slowburn as they put the collective shit they’ve dealt with personally over the years behind them is a fitting way for it to happen.

Code Orange - “Let Me In” [WWE Music]

At least weekend’s WWE Summerslam, rebooted horror heel Bray Wyatt returned after months of being kept off screen in action with a brand new character persona called the Fiend that saw him evolving from the creepy bayou cult leader of previous and into a psychotic children’s program host who turns into a deranged monster wearing a mask designed by horror film makeup legend Tom Savini. In helping get this new terrifying character’s image over with the crowd and viewers watching was Code Orange, one of the most exciting bands in hardcore and metal going right now, who reinterpreted Wyatt’s old theme “Live In Fear”, a sinister, swampy piece of occult rock originally recorded by Mark Crozier, under its new name “Let Me In” and making it into their own heavy pummeling likeness, adding layers of deeper darkness to Wyatt’s Fiend character in the process. This isn’t Code Orange Kids first foray in soundtracking WWE superstars' themes, as they backed Incendiary’s Brendan Gorrone live as goth anti-hero Aleister Black made his way to ring during NXT Takeover Brooklyn III. Now that Black is on the main roster, inevitably he will cross paths with the Fiend at some point, making you wonder where Code Orange's loyalty will lie...

The Highwomen - “Highwomen” [Low Country Sound / Elektra Records]

The Highwomen -- a.k.a. the country songwriting supergroup of Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires, and Natalie Hemby -- are one of the most exciting things to happen to country music this year. On September 6th, they will release their eponymous debut album, and to date, the foursome have proven themselves quickly to be working flawlessly as a well-woven collective where nothing remotely resembling an ego outshine the other in its first coupling of singles “Redesigning Women” and “Crowded Table”. It’s latest is a goosebump-inducing sunset song that hears each member sharing a piece of the narrative that tell a greater story about their ability to overcome all and any hurdle. “We are the daughters of the silent generations / You send our hearts to die alone in foreign nations,” their voices collect in its final moments. “They may return to us as tiny drops of rain / But we will still remain/ And we’ll come back again and again and again.

Miranda Lambert - “Bluebird” [RCA Nashville / Vanner Records]

Beyond the Highwomen, Miranda Lambert is now joining the highly anticipated of new Nashville releases with her seventh studio effort Wildcard, due out on November 1st. Her last effort was the excellently crafted post-divorce catharsis The Weight of These Wings, but judging by the sounds of WIldcard’s first single “Bluebird”, Lambert is getting back to her old high jinks of sorry not sorry whip-smart lyricism and folding them into cool, flawless country-pop. “And if the house just keeps on winning / I got a wildcard up on my sleeve / And  if love keeps giving me lemons / I'll just mix 'em in my drink,” goes its chorus. Lambert’s undefeated streak will likely continue with this as well as her tour behind the LP, which sees her bringing along her Pistol Annies sisters, Maren Morris, and Ashley McBridge along for the ride on select dates for her Roadside Guitars and Pink Guitars tour, kicking off in September.

Octo Octa - “Can You See Me?” [T4T LUV NRG]

Back in July, Octo Octa, the electronic dance outlet of Maya Bouldry-Morrison, dropped “Spin Girl, Let’s Activate”, the leadoff single from her forthcoming third album Resonant Body, set for release on September 6th. The listen was fully in motion with a bright luminosity radiating from with Bouldry-Morrison she says was inspired after a year of tremendous change and personal growth. That expanded energy extends even further in its subsequent listen “Can You See Me?” in which she allows emotions to overflow onto the soundboard through an empath in samples vocals and a cosmic tidal of synth arpeggios running through whichever cracks in its constant break beats they can find. It’s invigorating, and both as a measure of her art and being, there’s really no avoiding Octa Octa’s presence being made known here.

(Sandy) Alex G - “Southern Sky” / “Near” [Domino Records]

Rocket was a very special album in the prolific catalog of (Sandy) Alex G, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if the experimental indie pop wunderkind’s new album House of Sugar, set for release on September 13th, bests it in its own way. So far, we’ve heard the warped and rickety storytale standout “Gretel” and the earnest ode to a friend and place passed on “Hope”, and this past week, he introduced two more in “Southern Sky” and “Near”. The former, which includes an animated video by frequent visual collaborator Elliot Bech, is a country-stained sigh featuring Emily Yacina that hits a similar backwoods bliss that “Bobby” did two years ago, while the latter retreats to pinbacked repetition, wonky loops and samples that warp the canvas with Alex Giannascoli’s signature smeared fingerprints. (Sandy) Alex G will also be touring extensively behind the effort starting this October, with dates featuring the likes of Tomberlin, ARTHUR and Corey Flood.

Taylor Swift - “Lover” [Republic Records]

The last we heard of Taylor Swift was her divisive post-pop call-out Reputation, and with its tinge of industrial bangers and stadium-translating success, it’s safe to say it aged better than what anyone expected upon release. Her new album Lover is on the way next week, and so far, two of its early singles have been absolute dogshit while the other was just so-so. In the streaming era, it comes no surprise that there will be 18 tracks total on the album, which means there’s bound to be some duds. Hopefully they’re more like it’s title track, though. Jack Antonoff seems to be one of the few people who knows what to do with making Swift sound like a breath of fresh air in spite of her missteps in this lash-batting late night bar crawler that is the Jekyll to Swifty’s drunken Hyde. She really could have reverted full-on back to country-pop and easily gotten away with it...

Queen of Jeans - “Only Obvious to You” [Topshelf Records]

The surprises within Queen of Jeans’ sound are unraveling themselves quickly, but in subtle gestures leading up to the dreamy Philly indie-pop band’s release next week of their sophomore effort If you’re not afraid, I’m not afraid. So far, they’ve delivered a devastating blow to the ego in doo-wop form with "U R My Guy” and searched for a way out of a dead end relationship on “All the Same”. “Only Obvious to You” steps away from pastel lights and balloon grandeur, leaving plenty of room fordark space in between two warm bodies for the distance to hit hard. “Love will fuck you over hard,” Miriam Devora repeatedly reminds herself in the listen’s closing moments, and in the listen’s video shot at Philly Pride, they want to do their community a solid by letting it be known that no matter how you love, pain is pain, and your feelings are valid, too. This autumn, they’ll be mending broken hearts on the road alongside tourmates From Indian Lakes.

Whitney - “Used to Be Lonely” [Secretly Canadian]

Someone in Whitney’s camp had to have intentionally planned to have the Chicago country soul duo’s sophomore effort Forever Turned Around be released at the final breaths of summer and the cusp of autumn’s cupping season on August 30th, because “Used to Be Lonely” is the kind of listen that tugs at the heartstrings of both the, uh, lonely and not so lonely, in a way that will make those with someone feel warm gratitude to have someone by their side, and those who don’t romanticize about the day it happens to them. Its accompanying visuals, directed by Austin Vesely, are on point just as well, as it captures a budding romance developing at the kind of midwestern country fair in a small town you’d hit up some weekend in September when you could use a slice of simplicity in your life of how even the most humble moments can feel extraordinary if you’re sharing them with the right person. If not, Whitney will bring it to you when they roll through your city this autumn.

[thorne93]

Inexplicable Fate (Part 17)

Prompt: When a blinding pain overtakes you at work, what will be in store for your life when you run into the Winchesters and learn Lucifer’s son is about to be born?

Warning: Language, pain, angst, violence, fighting (verbal and physical)…fear of insanity??

Word Count: 2167

Notes: This is for @roxyspearing gif challenge. It’s a Jack x Reader fic (so Season 12 and 13 spoilers) Long, slow burn, (a little slow paced at first).

Feedback always appreciated. Feel free to send a message, ask, or leave a comment! :D

Beta’d by the ever fabulous @like-a-bag-of-potatoes

Forever Tags: @capsmuscles @cocosierra94 @essie1876 @magpiegirl80@letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @iamwarrenspeace @marvel-imagines-yes-please @superwholocked527 @missinstantgratification @thejemersoninferno@rda1989 @munlis @thefridgeismybestie @bubblyanarocks3 @random-fluffy-pink-unicorn @hardcollectionworldtrash @igiveupicantthinkofausername@kaliforniacoastalteens @feelmyroarrrr @kaeling @friendlyneighbourhoodweirdo

IF Tags: @iamafishandigosplish @myfamilysincarolina @ilovemyangelforever @kazuha159 @bisexualdolphinthings @mysteriouslydeliciouswerewolf@justiceiswater @millard-our-savior @polkadottedpillowcase  @hunter-demigod-timelord @octo-cow52 @damnedangel98 @bad-moose @weirdoblogger69

Dean Winchester: @akshi8278 @mogaruke

Sam Winchester: @mogaruke @lenawiinchester

Castiel: @lenawiinchester

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The break at the beach really seemed to help you two unwind and helped with trying to get to the otherworlds. Jack was trying one day and he said he seemed like he was getting closer when you sat down in front of him.

“Why don’t we try, but together?” you suggested.

“How?”

“Let’s hold hands, clearly something happens when we do that and we seem to be stronger when we are together, maybe it’ll be the push we need?”

“I suppose we can try it,” he said. So he shut his eyes and got it where he was before, where he could feel the world, but not see it.  “Okay, I’m there.”

With that, he lifted his hands and you put yours against his, palm to palm, the light glowing.

“It’s working! I’m getting closer!” he proclaimed, clearly excited, his eyes still closed. You closed yours too in concentration and the two of you interlock your fingers, focusing harder on trying to get to this other place. When suddenly...you could see it. It was dreary, gloomy, gray, and absent of real life. But then you realized, it wasn’t the world you were seeing...you were reading Jack’s mind.

You gasped and let go, shocked coursing through you.

“Jack,” you breathed and he opened his eyes in response.

“We saw it,” he said with amazement. “We actually saw it! I could almost touch it.”

“I know. I saw!” you cheered as you jumped up and hugged him and he returned the movement.

You two tried and tried again, still getting the same results, but they were better nonetheless. After doing some more research, you found that maybe you needed a dreamwalker.

You realized maybe Sam and Dean knew one and you asked Jack if it was now was a good time to head back home.

“But we haven’t accomplished anything,” he argued.

“Jack, we’ve accomplished a lot. We are a lot closer to Mary than we were before. They might know someone and with their help we can find them and get to that world.”

He frowned, looking down, and you knew what was going through his mind, so you took his hand and gripped it gently.

“I know you’re worried about letting them down. I know you want to do right by them. I know you didn’t want to come back empty handed. I get that. But...we’ve been gone so long, and I think it’ll be good to be back home. Together, maybe we can find more answers. If anyone can find a loophole or a way around something, it’s Team Free Will,” you reminded with a grin.

“Okay...If that’s where you want to go, we’ll go,” he obliged with a soft smile.

“Thank you.”

You packed everything, settled the bill up at the motel, and teleported back.

“We’re back!” you called out into the open space in the war room, prompting the guys to come sauntering in.

“Hey!” they greeted, each of them hugging you.

Once all the reunions were done, the two of you filled them in on what you’d been doing, what you found, and that now you think you needed a dreamwalker. They obliged and said they’d start looking into it, Dean saying the two of you did a really good thing finding their mom. Of course, you hadn’t told them of the little discovery about when you and Jack touch. Neither of you knew what to make of it, and so far it wasn’t bad, so you didn’t want to give them something extra to worry about.

Just as everyone had left and Sam started to walk away, you softly called to him. “Hey, Sam?”

He turned and looked at you softly. “Yeah?”

“I was wondering...Could you do some digging and see if you could find out more about...well maybe more about me? I mean, in the history of nephilim, as this ever happened?”

“Not that I saw in all the stuff I read before Jack was born, but I can look again.”

“Thanks. I’d really appreciate it.”

-------------------------

The following day as you were researching, you got an email that said that Metallica was going to be near the bunker, just an hour away for a concert and you nearly squealed. You immediately jumped up and ran to find Dean, where he was sitting in the kitchen, eating a sandwich.

“Dean!” you said excitedly as you raced into the room.

He looked up at you, still eating. “Yeah?”

“Metallica is coming to town!” you informed.

He perched an eyebrow at you. “And?”

“And I want to go. I want to take Jack,” you continued to explain.

He frowned for a split second, before answering, “What? No. Nuh-uh, out of the question.”

“What? Why?”

“You and Jack don’t need to be out in public. Your little getaway was already risky.”

“But you said that you couldn’t track us, and we didn’t have any trouble from the demons or the angels.”

“Yet,” he corrected, looking you dead in the face.

“You know we’re strong enough to take on whatever comes our way,” you reminded firmly.

“No, we don’t know that. We know you two have some sort of freaky power, but that doesn’t mean we know you’re immune to everything. Even nephilims have a weakness...somewhere.”

“It’s one night, for a few hours. I just want him to get some more human experience.”

“Yeah? To what? Being more exposed? Being put in danger?” he pressed, incredulous.

“No. To experience fun, and other people, and interact. Come on, I used to go to concerts all the time before I met you. It’s just one night.”

“I said no,” he said, his voice raising. “Demons and angels, they can hide themselves as normal people.”

“I know that, Dean.”

“Then you know why I don’t want you two out there.”

“Please? I’m just asking for one night. We won’t talk to anyone if that helps. I just...I want to go have fun with him. I want him to know life isn’t about all of this...paranoia.”

Dean looked at you a moment, tossing his sandwich on his plate and wiping his hands together.

“Didn’t you ever want to go to a concert?”

A small, fond smile touched his lips. “Yeah, sure.”

“Well, did you get to go?”

“No. I had Sam to take care of, and by the time he was old enough to take care of himself, it didn’t matter.”

You thought for a moment, pursing your lips. “So why don’t you come with us?”

“Me? No. I don’t think so.”

“Why not?” you inquired softly.

“Too old and too busy,” he informed.

“Oookay,” you said, dragging the word out. “Well if you don’t want to go, can we at least go? I used to go all the time, and I miss it. Just one night without all the weird shit. I swear we will be cautious and if anything weird pops up, we’ll poof back here without a second thought. Please?” you nearly begged.

Truth be told, you weren’t a child, of course, therefore you didn't need Dean’s permission. But Dean and them were like family now, since you had to sort of slowly break ties with your family to keep them safe. And you didn’t want to just go and do whatever you wanted without his consent. This was their home after all and they were nice enough to let you stay here, and protect you. The least you could do was talk to him before making them worry and going out to a concert without asking or telling them.

“Alright, fine. Just stop...stop with the begging,” he pleaded.

“Thank you!” you cheered as you raced out of the room and went to find Jack in his room, reading.

“Hey,” you said, much more calm as you slid onto his bed to sit beside him.

“Hey,” he softly greeted, not looking up from his book.

“Would you want to go to a concert?” you asked, eyeing his perfect face.

“What kind of concert?”

“A rock concert. Here, I’ll show you,” you said before jogging across the hall to get your laptop and pulling up some videos of their music. On the very first one, Jack made a strange face, prompting you to stop it. “What’s wrong?”

Frowning and shaking his head, he replied, “It’s so...dark, and angry. Why would you listen to that?”

You shook your head. “No, no. It’s not...Here, read the lyrics for this one,” you urged, showing him lyrics for The One.

“Okay?” he replied, still furrowing his brow. “But I don’t understand.”

“That song is about a man coping with becoming horribly disfigured due to the war. See, music is just like books or poetry or a painting. It’s art. They use the sounds to make us feel certain things, and the lyrics tell a story. It’s really quite beautiful. Most of their stuff is heavy, yes, but it’s to help people deal with aggression.”

“How?”

“All sorts of ways,” you answered with a shrug. “Singing along is a big one. After a rough day at work, a lot of people like to turn on the radio and sing along to songs they like. Or if it’s an angrier sounding song, they get to work out their frustrations through that. Does that make sense?” you wondered, peering at him, that ever present feeling of longing surging through you.

“Yes. So music is based on emotions and moods, and other people relate to it,” he summarized.

“Yep. Exactly. So, would you want to go see them live...with me?” you asked with hesitation.

“Yes. That sounds...fun,” he said before looking at you, his eyes lighting up at you.

“Great! I’ll order the tickets!”

--------------------------------------

The concert was only a few days away, it was a miracle you could even get tickets when you did, but you put it on the fact of being in Kansas and not near a large metropolitan area.

You put Jack in a black shirt and jeans, with dark sneakers, hoping he would fit in a little more. You matched in a band shirt, cuffed jeans, and boots. You told him what to do when, such as handing people his ticket, and to relax if they tried to wand him. You forewarned him about mosh pits and that if one broke out, that the two of you needed to move from the area. Dean also made you promise that if either of you saw anything hinky at all, that you’d leave immediately.

The show itself was fantastic, the music was great, the venue was one of the better ones you’d been too, and a mosh didn’t break out near you. But all night, you were slightly hoping Jack would seize an opportunity to maybe flirt with you, make a pass at you, show he was interested...but nothing.

Of course, you understood he probably had no idea how to flirt or ask you out on a real date, but you would’ve taken blunt honesty at this point. Your time together in Florida seemed so sweet and romantic, like you two were growing closer and developing deeper feelings but Jack never seemed to return them.

Perhaps he didn’t know how to, that was a large possibility. Perhaps his feelings had faded from when you’d asked him on that third night how he felt about you. But yet, he said he was attracted to you...He felt like you were more than a friend, but not family relation, that only left a lover, in your mind. So why wasn’t he making any effort to show or tell you that? Had you done something wrong? Could he really have been that socially oblivious?

He’d had a handful of chances between you saying you were thirsty, he just said that the bar was over on the other side of the venue, pointing to it. He did it with such an adorable smile, you knew he thought he was being helpful. Yet, you couldn’t help like that would’ve been a prime moment to step up and get you a drink himself. Another time, you shivered and mentioned being cold, and Jack simply said he was sorry that you were uncomfortable, but failing to offer his jacket.

They weren’t huge, they weren’t deal breakers, but it had to make you wonder if you’d read into things wrong. You prayed you hadn’t, but with the way things were going…

By the end of the night, you hoped when he walked you to your room that he would try to make some sort of flirtatious gesture. A lingering hug, a longing gaze, a daring peck on the lips, a reach for your hand. But when you were about to part ways, he simply wished you a goodnight and pleasant dreams.

At this, you tried to take his advice, but that night, your nightly dream of Jack wasn’t as loving as the past several had been.

[hollyplays]

The Roundup: June 2018

Look, I’m as shocked as you are. I had no idea that last month when I set up a recurring feature, I’d actually be able to stick to it. It turns out that once a month is way more feasible for me than once a week (like Bargain Bin or Album of the Week, god rest their souls). Maybe I’ll try for every two weeks with some different features.

           It’s been a really hard few weeks. Not for me necessarily, but for the world at large, shit sucks. Being constantly angry and vigilant is exhausting, but not being angry feels irresponsible. I want to write about the things I love for you all to read, but it all feels so unimportant in the face of this goddamn administration.

           So, to keep both of us balanced, with every entry on the Roundup this month I’ll include One (1) horrifying fact about the world today, and One (1) extremely good fact about the world today. Hope you enjoy.

Hausu: I thought I knew the basic premise of this movie (a realistic fantasy about the atomic bomb) and I was extremely, extremely wrong. Part of me wished someone had told me just how weird and silly and somber this movie was going to be, but I’m honestly glad I didn’t know. I won’t spoil too much of it for you, but suffice to say this is NOT a realistic fantasy in any way. Almost nothing about this movie is realistic. A man gets turned into bananas, for christ’s sake.

Mitch McConnell stole a Supreme Court seat, and it seems unlikely that the Democratic party will attempt to steal Kennedy’s back.

Otters hold hands while they sleep so they don’t drift apart.

Splatoon 2’s Octo Expansion: I loved Splatoon 2’s main story, so I was very much looking forward to this. The entire aesthetic of it is slick and charming as hell- I love the idea of exploring a rundown subway line and uncovering different weird sea creatures, but the actual missions were hit and miss for me. It was a toss-up each mission if you were going to get “inventive level design” or “difficulty for difficulty’s sake”. The 8 Ball levels were absolutely fantastic, and just the right level of challenging, but every single ‘ride the rails’ level was hell. It’s hard to be mad about 80+ levels for 20 bucks, plus a new character model, but I felt like the Splatoon team vastly overestimated the skill level of most of their players. I skipped the majority of the latter half of the expansion, and it feels super frustrating to not be able to play the game I bought.

There are currently state-sponsored concentration camps all throughout the southern U.S.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a young socialist, just ousted the chair of the Democratic Caucus.

Incredibles 2: The Incredibles is my favorite Disney movie, bar none, so I had pretty high hopes for The Incredibles 2. I’m not sure it reached them, but that has more to do with me than the movie itself. I digress; this movie kicked ass. The animation was gorgeous and beautiful, and the philosophy behind it was a huge step up from the accidentally-objectivist plot of the first one. The focus on Elastigirl was much appreciated this round, and actually seeing Bob struggling with fatherhood was really enjoyable. This is an excellent follow-up to The Incredibles, and one of my favorite Pixar movies to date.

There are currently two living white rhinos, both in captivity.

Science has proven your cat genuinely loves you.

Black Bolt: I really, really loved Saladin Ahmed’s 12 issue Black Bolt run. Christian Ward’s art is as vibrant and beautiful here as it is in ODY-C, and that space-opera feeling serves the Inhumans so, so well. Black Bolt is a really interesting character, and I feel like Ahmed and Ward did him justice. I was a little bummed when the art style switched over during issue 7 and Frazier Irving took over- not because I missed Ward, but because the almost impressionistic style of Irving was really beautiful and fit the story’s shift in setting, but didn’t stick around for the rest of the run. I also thought the ending was a little rushed- I enjoyed it still, but I would have liked a few more issues to pad out Black Bolt and Blinky’s story. I know this is comic books, so it probably continues in some other series, but still.

If Trump gets the second supreme court seat, he can make gay marriage illegal again.

Cows are known to have best friends.

Jabberwocky: I really wanted to like this movie. I love almost every Monty Python production (lookin at you, Meaning of Life), and the concept seemed like a knockout. Unfortunately, the end result is just…boring. There’s very few jokes, and even fewer worth laughing at. I think I only genuinely laughed once, during a scene with a catapult and a murderous religious fanatic. I had really high hopes for Jabberwocky, and it’s hard to imagine more ways it could have been disappointing.

They’re going to keep making Jurassic World movies.

There’s a video of Kermit The Frog singing Talking Heads’ Same As It Ever Was

The Vision: I’ve read Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez’ The Vision three times now, and I never love it less. It’s genuinely imepeccable. It’s one of the only superhero comics I’ve read that feels like literature. It’s about synthezoids and Ultron and Victor Mancha and a bright green dog and it feels like fucking Shakespeare. I love it so, so much, and I keep coming back to it. Also Viv Vision is the greatest character in anything ever and I love her so much.

We’ll never get to see Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man.

By all reviews, Ant Man & The Wasp is a much better movie than Ant Man.

Mamma Mia: This is a cheerful fuckin movie. This is the kind of movie we need right now. Just great acting, silly writing, and ABBA. I’ve been listening to Mamma Mia and Super Trouper on repeat since I saw it. There’s some genuine tearjerker stuff here, naturally, but by and large this movie is fucking saccharine. Can’t recommend it enough.

Children as young as three are being separated at the border and forced to represent themselves at deportation hearings.

Mamma Mia 2 exists, and will be in theaters shortly.

Dr. Strangelove: This is another movie I wanted to like more than I did, but I certainly liked it more than Jabberwocky. I didn’t really appreciate this movie until after I saw it because I didn’t even realize Peter Sellers is 3 different characters! I genuinely had no idea. Dr. Strangelove is interesting mostly because of how it well it balances its cynicism with its laugh-out-loud moments. There are bits in this movie I’m still quoting, and that’s as good an endorsement as any.

Its entirely possible that Roe v. Wade will be overturned.

Modders are hard at work to make Zelda fully playable in Breath of the Wild.

[splattershotsundae]

Better Eight Than Never --- Chapter 20: Pipe Dream

Jill tapped her foot impatiently as she leaned against the rim of a small fountain outside Arowana mall. They’d been waiting for almost 20 minutes, and she was beginning to worry that they’d missed her when Stacey walked out through the double doors and into the sunlight, her team right behind her.

”There she is!” Jill said, then frantically waved. “Stacey! Stacey!”

Stacey seemed taken aback, quickly turning to her squad. “Hey, I gotta deal with this, we can chill tomorrow, alright?”

“Yeah, of course!” The Aerospray RG known as Agatha said, punching Stacey in her arm. “See you tomorrow when we win the tournament!”

“Byyyyeee!” Bobby chimed, skipping as he headed off to the train station.

Finally Tyson whispered in Stacey’s ear before following the others, casting an uneasy glance back.

“Okay, what’s up?” Stacey asked, stepping forward to meet the Sundaes, setting her splatling down at her feet. “Something tells me this isn’t just a chance encounter. Where is she?”

“She’s in here.” Bato said, pulling the backpack off of his shoulder. “She’s developed a fever, she couldn’t run this morning.”

Stacey peered into the bag. “Run?”

“Yeeeeah.” Jill nodded, flashing a sheepish smile. “Have you gotten any messages from 1&2 today? Stuff’s gone… wrong.”

Stacey glanced around. “We can’t talk about this here!” She hissed. “I live nearby, come on.” She scooped up her splatling, then started down the street, nodding her head a little as she walked.

Jill gave Simon a bit of an awkward smile, then followed after her, trying to seem cheerful, all the while feeling dread gnawing at the pit of her stomach. She popped an extra root beer barrel she’d looted from Bato into her mouth, letting the flavor reassure her.

“Well, here we are.”

Stacey’s apartment complex stood before them… and it wasn’t what you’d consider ‘good’ either. A few buildings that looked almost like four-story motels stood before them, ramshackle and worn. One of the doors on the third floor was covered with a tarp and caution tape.

“… It looks lovely!” Jill said, biting her lip at her obvious lie.

“Thanks-” Stacey said. “-but you can be honest you know.”

“You really live here?” Simon muttered. “You’re so renowned.”

“We manage.” Stacey said, leading up the stairs to the second floor, and hefting her splatling with one arm to open the door to her apartment. “Make yourselves at home while I get my gear on.” She said, beckoning the others to come in. “My dad’s not going to be home for a few more hours.”

Jill strode in and took off her boots, taking note of a kitchen immediately on the right, and a living room straight ahead. There was an old sofa that had seen better days, as well as an armchair off to the side, a coffee table in front of them that was covered in newpapers and dirty dishes. A potted plant stood in a corner by the window, near doodles and art from years past that were taped to the wall. A few framed pictures rested on the entertainment center, around a rather nice LED TV. There were two doors to the left, and one door to the right, which Stacey entered. She guessed that was probably her room.

A moment later Stacey came back in, zipping up her agent vest. “Can you close the curtains?” She asked.

Simon nodded and complied, plunging the room into mostly darkness.

“Now… I don’t want… ‘Hachi’ listening to us, so she can use my C-pod.” She said, holding it up along with her headphones.

Bato nodded and set the backpack down, letting Hachi out. She took the headphones gingerly and slipped them on, but once she started listening her tentacles began to coil around the earpieces and she began to relax.

“Alright.” Stacey nodded. “Now we can talk.”

Jill nodded and took a deep breath. "Ok, well, I sort of visited the plaza this morning, because we were supposed to go greet with the sisters, but there was a delay. So instead, I talked to Toda, and we agreed we'd meet up at Humu mall and have some fun. But when I got on the train this suspicious guy fallowed me, and I quickly realized he was an octo guy.--”

“What sort of octo guy?” Stacey interrupted.

“Well he… had lots of scars, was tall, buff, tentacles tied back with plants and had a mask that had lots of little lines like this?” Jill said, holding her finger horizontally and tapping four times down her face.

“Shit.” Stacey cursed. “Orion… Okay, what else?”

“Well… I texted Toda, asking for him to come and help, and he called me and I tried to give as casual of info as possible, but he caught on and when I was going to try to leave the train he grabbed my arm and made me hang up. We rode for one more stop and got off, and I got a small chance to text Toda and tell him I was ok, and he said he'd come look for me, and the Octo took me to this creepy old abandoned store and shot me in the arm with the same sort of thing Marie was shot with and used my phone to text the others and-" She had to gasp for air at the rate she was talking, feeling a little light-headed. "-He started to hold me hostage in exchange for Hachi when Toda burst in and tried to save me but ended up getting captured instead, and the octo, Orion, had Hachi's mask and he said to give it to her so she could send this official not-dead thing and-"

"Wait, you didn't let her do that, did you?" Stacey asked. "Please tell me you didn't even let her know you had it..."

Jill’s ears pulled back. “Whoops...”

Stacey began to rub the bridge of her nose.

Bato cast a brief irritated glance at Hachi, who was now sitting on the couch. “We were told that she couldn't tell them anything by just sending that one form... and I needed to use the mask to try and get the bullet out of Jill's arm without it blowing up, and I couldn't do that without her giving me access to it."

“But she lied.” Simon added.

Stacey groaned. “They have a tracking feature in those masks, they know where she sent that message from, they could have followed you here!”

Bato ran a hand over his tentacles, grimacing himself. "... That's not the only issue." He said. "When she sent the form, she also told them the sisters' identities... and that the four of us have met Yuri, which is apparently pretty important to them."

“You guys really have my work cut out for me, don’t you?” Stacey asked, slumping into the armchair, looking exhausted already… Jill realized that this made a lot of sense, she’d been fighting all day already, and now she was beginning to feel a bit guilty for bugging her… but they hadn’t exactly had a choice. "They had to have raided the warehouse. 1&2 could have gone to check if an alarm had been set off, who knows where they are now...” Stacey continued, trying not to look distraught as she pulled out her squid-shaped communicator and sent out a message.

Jill swallowed. “Do you think they’re okay?”

“No idea...” Stacey said. “But continue.”

“… So they took Toda away… and they want us to go to the old factory tomorrow to trade Hachi for him...” Jill said.

“But that's not soon enough." Simon said. "Toda got some messages out, they're hurting him.’It’s bad’, is how he put it."

Bato nodded solemnly. "He managed to tell us where they're keeping him, or at least a vague description; Hachi says that she knows where it is, and how to get in... and so we're planning on going to get him. That's the other reason why we came to find you, we need your help."

“And you really actually trust her with that?” Stacey asked.

“No” “Not at all” “Not in the slightest” The sundaes all said at about the same time.

"They have safe houses all over the city." Stacey said. "She could be luring us into a trap. No, she's definitely luring us into a trap."

“Oh!” Jill said. “Simon was thinking about ways to bind her, maybe--”

“It’s not going to be enough.” Stacey interjected. “Octolings are escape artists by nature, their tentacles can fit into much smaller spaces than you’d think they could. Remember when she unlocked the handcuffs?”

Simon huffed. “Yes.”

Bato sighed and folded his arms. "You're right, there is most likely a trap, but we don't really have a choice; there's very little chance that they would really let Toda go tomorrow, especially now that they know about our involvement with Yuri. If we don't try to find him..."

"It's very unsettling, knowing what they're probably looking into..." Stacey said slowly.

"You're telling me." Simon muttered.

"But you're right, they're not going to let him go.” Stacey admitted. “And we risk them finding out something new every minute he's there. I'm not saying he'd spill, but there are other things they'd want... It may not be a question of getting him back tomorrow, as much as him living through today." She looked down at her phone was she got a message on her communicator. “… They got Callie.”

Jill gasped, hand flying up to her mouth. “Oh no…”

“Captured right? Not dead?” Simon asked hurriedly.

“Captured.” Stacey nodded. “Marie’s going after her…” She took a deep breath, then stood up. “Okay, we should get going, the sooner I help you, the sooner I can help find her. This is Marie’s number...” She said, writing it down on a post-it note and then handing it to Jill. “Text her if something happens.” “Wait, give me your number too!” Jill said. “In case something happens later!”

Stacey nodded and wrote down on a separate post-it. “Simon, can you get the duct tape? It’s in the kitchen.”

Simon nodded. “To tie up her tentacles with?” They asked.

“Yep.” Stacey said, while writing something which appeared to be a note to her father.

Bato held up the decepticon backpack. “Hachi, time to go… Hachi?” He lightly tapped her shoulder when he got no response, causing her to go into a defensive position. “Whoa! It’s okay!” He quickly reassured.

Hachi slowly lowered her hands. “… IS THERE A WAY TO TURN THIS DOWN!?” She shouted.

Jill squeaked, then giggled. That was actually rather cute.

Bato reached over to help her turn the volume down. “Can you get back in the bag?”

“… Fine...” Hachi huffed, transforming and slipping back into the bag.

“Alright, I think we’re ready to go.” Bato said, shouldering the backpack.

Stacey nodded and stepped outside, headed toward the stairs. “Alright, so how many octolings are at this place, do you know?”

"Toda said there were two around there that he knew about, soon to be three; one of them is the one that was at the underpass." Bato said.

“Another elite...” Stacey murmured. “We’re going to have to be very careful.”

"What does that mean?" Jill asked.

“Elites are well… elite. Their tentacles are black and they wear kelp.” Stacey explained. “They’re some of the best in the military. The one from the underpass is Oz. He’s cunning, and loves trying to blow people up.”

“What about the other one? Orion?” Jill asked.

Stacey paused. “He’s merciless on the battlefield, you can’t overpower him. He’s stopped dozens of my operations, and put me near the brink of death on several occasions… I ended up having to take his eye, even then I only barely made it out alive. If he’s there… then our best plan is to get in, grab Toda, and get out… But this last person… they have to be equal or better in skill… this is more than just a squabble over a zapfish.”

“A zapfish?” Simon asked, eyebrow raised.

“It’s a long story.” Stacey said. “A long long story...”

"Two elites, and most likely a third..." Bato frowned. "What is so important about ‘him’, and us having known him, that's so important to them?"

Stacey stopped and turned to look at three of them. “I want you to think about this for a second. What would happen if you replicated this process?”

Jill gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. “OH.” She said. “No… No nono…”

Simon rested one end of their roller on the ground, hands trembling. “I… I-I can’t stop to think about this, we need Toda, now.”

“Agreed.” Stacey said. “Every second they have Toda the closer they get to being able to do this again. Let’s move.”

The train ride was…. Uneventful. This almost made Jill happy, aside from the fact that it gave her more of a chance to think about what had gone wrong, and how much her arm still hurt. At least she was pretty sure it would heal in a few days… Bato seemed just fine. But she’d kept her hand on her weapon the entire walk over to the hardware store. “Okay… this is the last place I saw him...” She said, ears drooped. “There was a smoke bomb, so I didn’t see exactly where they went...”

“Alright.” Stacey said. “Let out Hachi.”

Bato nodded and set the backpack on the ground before opening up the sides, and a moment afterward Hachi slipped out, changing form and rubbing her eyes tiredly.

“Put my headphones around your neck.” Stacey said, then took out the duct tape. She proceeded to take the front tentacles and bring them around to the back, using the tape to tie them together, from the tips upward, and then finally taped them down to the back of her shirt. She then wrapped the back tentacles under the front ones and repeated the process on the front. “There. That’s the best way I’ve come up with to secure tentacles. Let’s get your wrists for good measure...” She added, finishing up with the taping.

Hachi scowled and attempted to move her tentacles, but really just succeeded in moving her shirt.

“… It works a little better when they’re wearing armor, but what can you do?” Stacey shrugged.

“It’s still not bad.” Bato said, nodding a little.

“I guess you can lead the way now, Hachi.” Jill said, trying her hardest not to feel bad for Her. Of course, she was mad at her too… But this had to be stressful for her.

Hachi gave a little huff, then crossed the street and ducked into an alleyway.

“I almost wish we could tie up her feet too...” Bato said quietly as he began to follow. “She has a pretty mean kick.”

“How mean?” Jill asked, tilting her head slightly at the question.

"Mean enough that she gave me a pretty good bruise when she got me in the chest yesterday." He replied.

"Is that how she distracted you so she could try to get away?" Jill asked.

"No..." Bato replied, looking a little sheepish. "That was after she got out of the building."  

"Then how did she do it?" Jill asked, frowning in confusion.

Bato sort of glanced away, his ears starting to change color. "She, um, pretty much just said to look behind me. And I did." He muttered. "I really don't know what I was thinking."

Hachi burst with laughter, leaning against the wall of the alley from the severity of it, and Jill found herself unable to hold back a snort. “Really?” She asked.

The rest of Bato's face was starting to follow his ears' example. "I wish I was." He muttered, looking pretty embarrassed.

"I'm sorry." Jill said, trying to hold back more laughter. "I shouldn't think that's funny."

He shrugged, smiling a little himself, though his face was still flushed. "I suppose that isn't the worst way I could've goofed up."

“Ahem.” Stacey interjected. “We need to keep going.”

“Sorry…!” Jill giggled, then glanced at Hachi, who was struggling to shake off a wave of coughing. “… But shouldn’t we wait for her to catch her breath?”

“The less breath she has, the fewer ideas she’ll be able to come up with.” Simon pointed out, pulling their scarf so far up their face that it covered the bottom of their goggles a little.

“That’s one point.” Stacey said, then walked over to her to help her stand up straight. “Let’s keep moving.”

“Hey Stacey?” Simon asked.

“Call me Agent 3 out here.” She replied.

“Agent 3, what exactly is your plan of attack?” They continued.

"If there's any chance at stealth, take it, if not, we make due." She replied.

“That’s it?” Jill asked, frowning.

“It’s not like I know the layout.” She said. “We’re lucky we have a way to get here at all.”

“Wait, what’s that?” Simon asked, pointing up ahead.

Jill leaned to see, then gave a short gasp as she saw a teal-colored hat laying on the ground.  “That’s Toda’s!”

Bato swallowed, then stepped forward, scooping the squidvader cap off the ground. “… He’d never just leave this here...”

“There’s a trail of ink.” Stacey said, following the smears up to a wall. “… He must have tried to escape. On the bright side… we’re here.”

“Are you sure?” Jill asked, frowning. “Toda said something about a winking brick. I don’t see that.”

Stacey turned and looked at the opposite wall. “… This?” She asked, pointing at a brick. “That’s not a winking face. That’s a worn interpretation of the octoling flag. This is the place.”

“Give me my mask.” Hachi said. “Then I’ll open the door.”

“One thing first.” Stacey said, pulling out the duct tape and placing a piece over Hachi’s mouth. “Just so you don’t blow our cover.”

“Mmph!” Hachi protested.

“I’ll help you get it on.” Bato said, slipping Toda’s hat into his pocket in exchange for the mask, and began to help Hachi get it on. It looked awfully tight, now that it had to go over her tentacles, but it still fit regardless.

Jill drew her Splattershot Pro, taking a deep breath as she felt its comforting weight in her hands. But what was she going to do with it? If she attacked the octolings with it… they’d splat and die… she couldn’t do that… What could she do? She’d just get in the way.

She didn’t have much time to make a plan though, as Hachi leaned forward and opened the door. Stacey darted inside, splatling whirring, and she followed her inside.

The room was quiet… it felt a little too quiet, and as the doors slid shut behind them, it got rather dark. This place was too small to be undetected… maybe this was the wrong place?

As a bomb rolled into their midst, she realized that it was instead an ambush. “GET DOWN!” She shrieked, diving to the side to avoid the explosion of purple, her gun skittering out of her grasp. The room became a flurry of movement, Stacey was firing her splatling at a corner, and then a table, Hachi was ripping her duct tape gag off her mouth and screaming, and Simon was grabbed from behind, a glint of a metal blade showing against their neck.

“Simon!” Jill yelped, scrambling to grab her Splattershot Pro.

“Nobody move!” Orion said firmly. “Or else this wimp dies.”

Jill froze, hand on her gun’s grip. It wasn’t fair… It wasn’t fair… She just had to watch as Hachi bit the tape off her wrists and then grabbed Bato’s brush from him, and as Oswald came out from under the table and put a gun to Stacey’s head.

“All of you drop your weapons and show your hands.” Orion said.

Jill hesitated, then let go of her gun and stood up, fingers trembling as she put up her hands. Simon’s roller fell to the ground, and Stacey set down her heavy splatling gingerly.

“This is your fault isn’t it?” Bato hissed angrily to Hachi. “You told them we were outside.”

“What did you expect?” Hachi asked. She had a point.

“’Ey, siren.” Oz said, raising a containment tank. “Best be gettin’ in ‘ere, eh?”

Stacey gave a sigh before squidding and letting herself be contained in the tiny tank.

Everything had went so wrong so quickly… Jill glanced at the table next to her as if it would hold an answer to this predicament. There was a metal pipe… She’d just need an opening… Which Simon would then provide. They headbutted Orion in the chin, then grabbed the knife from him and started keeping him at arms length.

“Go Simon!” Jill shouted, then grabbed the pipe and some random object off of the table, shoving the latter at Bato. “Take this!” She said, charging at Oswald. “These are wire cutters!” Bato yelped.

Jill felt a twinge of guilt, but had no choice but to keep going, yelping as Oz pulled out a strange splattershot and began to fire at her. She squidded and jumped under the table, only just avoiding sticking in Stacey’s ink. She waited a split second before bouncing out and swinging the pipe at Oswald. “FOR TODA!”

“Woah!” Oz said, stepping to the side and grabbing Jill’s tentacle. “Heh, gotcha girlie!”

Jill squeaked, then swung the pipe at Oz’s knee, then turned and bashed him in the head, knocking him to the ground. She snatched the gun from him and tossed the pipe to the side, letting the gun’s tank fill with her ink before pointing it at Oz. “Gotcha, boyo.” She huffed, trying to keep her voice from shaking. That had been intense… She looked up and cringed when she saw that Orion had pinned Simon to the ground and had them in a similar position to Oswald, a gun pointed at their head and a foot on their chest. She and Orion made eye contact, then quickly glanced at Bato, who had somehow managed to get Hachi at brushpoint.

“Ha!” Jill exclaimed triumphantly. “It’s 2-1, let go of my sibling!”

“Not quite, Missy…” Oz grunted, putting his finger on a button on the top of the containment tank that held Stacey. “Tha tank’ll flood wit ink if I press this button. Ya don’t want tha, do ya?”

“… O-Okay, 2-2...” Jill squeaked.

“We’ll just have to compromise.” Orion huffed. “You let go of Ozzy, then I’ll let go of this brat-” He dug his heel into Simon’s chest. “-as well. We’ll each keep one prisoner.”

Hachi squeaked, her jaw quivering.

Jill glanced at Simon, then at Bato, finally she looked down at Stacey. Was she… going to have to leave her to be taken underground? If it meant saving Simon...

Stacey’s gaze was firm, and determined, she gave as big of a nod as she could manage.

Jill felt a surge of guilt. “I-I’m sorry.” She whispered, then lowered the gun and stepped away from Oswald.

Orion kept true to his word, and let Simon up, but kept his gun trained on them as he began to limp back toward the door.

Oswald hopped to his feet, flashing a bit of a grin, and began to back toward the door, but his expression seemed… forced. In fact as he stepped through the door his expression changed to a frown. “… Wai, wha ‘bout--”

The doors slammed shut.

Toda and Bato are Knitter’s characters

Simon, Jill, Hachi, Orion, Oz and Stacey are Shuckle’s characters

Splatoon belongs to Nintendo

Please consider liking or reblogging if you enjoyed, it’s nice to know we’re doing things right.

Shuckle has a patreon if you would like to provide additional support!

[<PREV] [INDEX] [NEXT>]

[ladefogednilsson4-blog]

10 Best Gaming Laptops Under $1000

Doesn't stick out on layout, but provides excellent worth for the cash with reliable efficiency as well as plenty of storage. Note pad, the MSI GL63 doesn't offer sufficient 3D efficiency or pizzazz to stand apart from the pack. A veteran of Computer Shopper because 1993, John has actually covered practically every sort of computer gearfrom the 386SX to octo-core processorsin his lengthy period as an editor, an author, and also a recommendations reporter. In the years prior to Computer Shopper, he worked in the science-book field and also as an editor of computer-tech books for Paramount Publishing. It has far better graphics efficiency than anything else at this price, as well as it keeps its parts as well as most-touched surfaces cool down sufficient for long. The Inspiron has a suitable keyboard and trackpad and also a fantastic screen, and also it's the simplest to upgrade. If you can't get the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 configuration we recommend or if you want a lot more storage area for video games, get. That's great if you intend to store more games, yet you won't be able to take advantage of the SSD's rapid loading speeds for greater than a pair each time. cheap laptop is an excellent suitable for any person who intends to play video games yet also needs to carry a. Won't do in addition to a state-of-the-art oneas you would certainly expectbut can still play many AAA games on high settings at 19201080 resolution, with exceptions for brand-new or demanding games, like Mass Effect Andromeda. Discover More Here are now a well established category, not outliers, and have actually been welcomed by the major gamers. That may go to the cost of one more spec or twoa little bit less storage, state, or a Core i5 processor rather than a Core i7. cheap laptop said, note pads aren't upgradable, aside from their primary system memory RAM, not to be perplexed with the graphics memory as well as in many cases, the storage space. Continue to be stuck to the display, the graphics chip, and also the processor you purchase now, so evaluate these parts carefully. If you can stretch your spending plan a little bit to obtain the next-tier-higher element, it can pay rewards in regards to useful life. A lot of producers include an app to inform you of driver updates for your Wi-Fi, storage, sound, and so on, and Nvidia GeForce Experience will certainly appear with motorist updates for your graphics card, which can deal with insects and also improve efficiency. If you need even more space to store your video games, we advise including a roomy 2.5-inch drive. As we said above, greater than 16 GB of RAM is overkill at this moment, but if your. Has only 8 GB and you locate yourself maxing out your maker's memory often, it's easy to acquire more as well as. Manufacturers release just one brand-new line per year; others upgrade their offerings and rates year-round to mirror new elements as well as tiny layout tweaks. Still, depending on the sort of video games you play and also how picky you are, sometimes a. These chips have modest graphics velocity built in, which's all you require for casual or Web-based games. Significant, as well as demand playing all your games at really high detail settings and the highest feasible display resolution for most laptops, that's 1,920 by 1,080 pixels, assuming you're using the laptop's display and also not an external screen, you're just mosting likely to need to spend some dollars, particularly if you desire that. However times have actually altered, and lower-end graphics chips here in 2018 have caught up to most games as well as to the screen resolutions of a lot of mainstream. Laptop computers we tested, maxing out at 240 nits compared to the Predator 15's above-average optimum of 307 nits. The Inspiron actions 15.3 inches large, 10.8 inches deep, and also 1 inch thick; its deep followers can make it tough to suit some knapsacks, but the size and weight are sadly needed tradeoffs for a. The Dell is very simple to upgradejust get rid of one screw, pop off the lower panel, and you have accessibility to all the drive as well as memory slots. And also the single screw stays attached to the access panel, so you couldn't shed it if you tried. Dell lowered the new design's battery to 54 Wh, which is a downer, but in line with the remainder of the group.

[welcome-to-octo-space]

[Insert The Spear of Justice, Undertale OST here]

[hopperehxpxamqkz-blog]

Talking Point: What Were The Biggest Highs And Lows From E3 2018?

E3 is finally over for another year, bringing to a close the biggest event yet. From surprise promotional crossovers on the Ubisoft conference to a certain game pretty much taking over Nintendo's big summer Direct, there's been plenty of topics to talk about now the dust is beginning to settle. So we've switched on the NL symbol, turned it towards the night's sky and from the darkness, Team Nintendo Life has appeared to discuss our biggest takeaways. As always, we want to hear what you made of Nintendo's presence at the big expo, so be sure to leave a comment below... Glen Fox, guides editor Honestly, Im feeling a little deflated after Nintendos E3 showing because I was really hoping for at least one big new announcement for this year. It was pretty telling that most of the Direct focused on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, because thats all Nintendos really got for year two. Thats great for fans of Smash Bros., but Ive never really had more than a passing interest in it. So what did that leave? Lets Go Pokmon, which is pretty much designed to plug the gap between now and the core RPG next year. I think it will also serve as a nice stepping stone for all of the new fans that Pokmon GO clawed in. Theres also Super Mario Party, which I personally could not care less about. But it was nice to see some footage of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which looks like it could be the best entry in the franchise yet. Also, Fortnite dropped, and thats a MASSIVE boon for the Switch. Been hooked to it ever since. Ultimately, I feel like I was right to look to third-party developers for Switch joy as the year comes to a close. Starlink features Star Fox, Fallout 76 MIGHT come to Switch, and Im still psyched for FIFA 19. Dom Reseigh-Lincoln, editor E3 2018 was an odd one for Nintendo. Much like the other big platform holders, there were no earth-shattering announcements or brand new IP that made every stop, look and listen. The announcement of the Star Fox announcement for Starlink: Battle for Atlas was a great move, mainly because it a) satisfies those of us that really want a new adventure of Fox McCloud and the crew and b) gives a title attempting to reignite the cooling embers of the toys-to-life genre a much-needed burst of heat. But there's no getting away from the fact the huge onus on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate left very little room for other titles to shine. It's Nintendo's big winter release, but the sheer glut of details felt like a poor use of 'prime time' broadcasting space that could have been used to showcase the next big indie hit or a Switch-exclusive title deserving of more attention. [embedded content]Ryan Craddock, staff writer For me, this years Nintendo highlights were all the big announcements. The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate reveal despite going into a bit too much detail for me was always going to be the star of the show, and the complete roster, beautiful looking updates to the graphics and lighting, and the addition of Ridley are all fantastic. Im also excited about Fortnite and really wish it hadnt been leaked beforehand so that the intended shock factor would have been as intense as planned and cant wait to get stuck in this weekend. Ive played it on PS4 before (so that means a new account for me thanks Sony!) and I suck at it. Hopefully Ill improve with practice! Finally, Starlink: Battle for Atlas has really shocked me. Not just because of the Star Fox inclusion (which is awesome) but because the Treehouse: Live footage looked amazing. As long as the story content is well done, flying around those gorgeous worlds looks like it could be really good fun. Liam Doolan, Australia correspondent When the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Mashiro Sakurai appeared on my monitor during this weeks Nintendo Direct, I knew the big moment had finally arrived. The details about the new Smash title were ongoing from that point, with 25 minutes of comprehensive coverage. One major highlight during this particular reveal was the news every character previously featured in the all-star series would be returning in the latest outing. When Young Link from Super Smash Bros. Melee then popped up, for me, it felt like an old friend had returned. I used to main the fast and agile hero of time until he was essentially replaced with the different but similar character, Toon Link.With both of these fighters now back in the series, Im not sure which one Ill gravitate towards. Regardless of who I opt with, Im glad Nintendo is giving its fans this option. [embedded content]Alex Olney, video producer To be honest I think one of my favourite announcements was probably Fortnite. Now before any of you start dashing down to the comments to tell me what a sheep I am, it's mainly because now I feel I can finally breathe a bit. So many denied all the evidence, so many claimed it would be bad for it to come to Switch for some reason unbeknownst to anyone, but now it's finally here and there's no going back. Also it's good fun with friends, and if people are having fun in a healthy way that doesn't negatively impact anyone else, can that really ever be a bad thing? Best thing was Smash though, let's not try and deny that. Oh, and Super Mario Party. Jon Cousins, Japan correspondent As with every Nintendo Direct, most of their E3 showing (well, the third party stuff) leaked ahead of time, but aside from the smash segment being really long and inside baseball, I thought it was reasonable. It was great to see Hollow Knight release during the event, and Fortnite was the worst kept secret since Mario + Rabbids, so my highlights are definitely Daemon X Machina and Super Mario Party. Although Id hardly call myself a mech or anime fan, DXM had a real dynamism and vivid art style, and it's great to see a new IP from some veteran talent. I've never got into the Mario Party series, but I love me a mini-game or two with mates, and with the really interesting ways to use the system, SMP has the potential to be great. [embedded content]Gonalo Lopes, contributing writer Nintendos E3 presentation did not just start with a bang it began with several dozens of them accompanied by loud heavy metal music and unbelievable mecha carnage. After recognizing several names among the staff, I am fairly certain that Daemon X Machina is the mech action game of my dreams, one already hinted by Xenoblade Chronicles X back in 2015. A very special birthday ahead for yours truly when n the 16th of October Starlink: Battle for Atlas lands with exclusive Star Fox ship, pilot and mission content. The perfect crossover and a continuation of Nintendo and Ubisofts discrete relationship of mutual respect. There was nothing even slightly F-Zero related, I still dont know who is making Metroid Prime 4 and Bayonetta 3 remains illusive as ever but the sadness of those omissions is tiny when stacked up to the amount of joy from the amazing new games (and new content for old ones) heading our way in the next six months. The Switch is quickly becoming the most important games console I ever owned in my life and I look to the future with a big childish smile slapped across my face. Mission accomplished, Mr. Iwata. I thank you Directly! for so, so much. Richard Atkinson, contributing writer The unruly and unpredictable E3 storm has passed which means its time to shrug off the inevitable disappointment from getting WAY too hyped, focus on the slices of goodness that we got from Nintendo this year and turn our attention to what brought a smile to our faces. For me, the instant release of the Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion was one of the most welcome surprises - the thought of having to wait even longer was too much to bear and my prayers were answered. But there was one title that got me even more excited than a Nintendo fan learning of normal voice chat without the use of a silly app and that was Super Mario Party. The patent that Nintendo filed a few months back finally saw its commercial light and, boy, did it look great. The idea of tapping two Switch screens together to make a bigger playing field on a table in a pub, friends house or train coach excites me and I cant wait to see what the title has to offer. Time for many friendships to be ruined all over again. [embedded content]Alan Lopez, contributing writer Youll hear what I think about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but now is nowhere near its release date of 7th December. Heck, its not even June 22nd, henceforward 'Mario Aces Day'. So instead of sitting on my hands, I joined with 100 million people before me and downloaded Fallout Shelter, the free-to-play sensation thats one more toe from hit-maker Bethesdas toe-in-the-water approach on Nintendo platforms. And admittedly, somewhat surprisingly, I didnt know much about it beyond screenshots. After deciding this would be my first post-E3 experience, I booted it up, learned the ropes, and started colonising my little ant farm of people. Like an upside down Sim Tower, I nurtured my little citizens into good health and great fortune. Hours went by. I basked in the dull hum of fallout. Sure, maybe its two years late, but E3 has a way of making everything exciting. My face was close to my Switch screen all weekend playing games and checking the e-shop, like a child pressed against a cooking microwave. Im thinking, Am I gonna get radiation from this? But I just want a front row seat to all the changes Dave Frear, retro reviewer Many games from 2018s E3 caught my interest, but one unexpected surprise was Starlink: Battle for Atlas. Reference the discussions in relation to r43ds-pt.eu ,A crucial Nintendo3DS research team.I was unimpressed when it was shown off last time, but as the segment unfolded at this years Ubisoft conference I began to warm to it - and then we were hit with a burst of Cornerian radio chatter and learned Fox McCloud would be popping up in the Switch version. That raised my interest levels further and whilst it could turn out to be rubbish, it looks quite fun from what weve seen so far. Less likely to be rubbish is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He kept us waiting, but Snake has made his return as have all previous fighters, plus playing as Ridley is going to be a thing. Awesome. Nintendo may have dedicated too much time to it in their presentation, but I can see it being hard to put down come December. [embedded content]Morgan Sleeper, E3 2018 reporter Thinking back on my time on the show floor over this years E3, one thing stands out: getting to go hands-on with the Pok Ball Plus. I also had a great time playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it will be a long time before anything else in gaming knocks me out as much as catching and then hearing Pokmon in the palm of my hand. Still as much as I enjoyed Nintendos line-up, the real highlight was getting to check out so many exciting third-party games. I loved banging on the Joy Con and belting out beats in the full-bodied, freeform musical adventure of Gal Metal; I loved exploring the charming world of Little Dragons. If you ever still have additional information and facts about the most up-to-date jailbreak technology concerning Nintendo Console; try this.Caf, foraging for ingredients and cooking up meals; I loved the stunningly stylish rhythm action of Musynx; I loved beating the stuffing (and cupcakes, and glitter) out of opponents in the pastel party fighter SNK Heroines; and I loved the Etrian Odyssey-meets-Disgaea dungeon crawling of Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk. These were all especially exciting for me because they prove that even among the first-party frontrunners, high-profile ports, and indie hits, the Switch has plenty of room left for what quickly became my favourite section of the 3DS library: colourful, quirky imports. Long may that continue! How did Nintendo fare at E3 2018? (323 votes)A huge success!11% An epic fail25% Somewhere in between65% Please login to vote in this poll. So those are our thoughts, but what did YOU think of E3 2018? Drop a vote in our poll, and a comment below and let's get the conversation going...

[anywherewecan-blog]

10 of the UK’s best boutique festivals

New Post has been published on http://anywherewecan.com/2017/04/12/10-best-boutique-music-festivals-uk/

10 of the UK’s best boutique festivals

Festivals

When it comes to festivals, size matters – though often small is best, as we found in our roundup of dance and DJ-driven events around the UK

Glad in the glen … vivid colours and sounds at Kelburn Garden Party. Photograph: Graham Wynne

10 of the UK’s best boutique festivals

When it comes to festivals, size matters – though often small is best, as we found in our roundup of dance and DJ-driven events around the UK

Kelburn Garden Party, North Ayrshire

Just outside Glasgow, Kelburn Garden Party is a colourful event held in the grounds of an appropriately colourful castle: a 13th-century stately home daubed with the work of Brazilian street artist OSGEMEOS. Among the hidden corners of the garden will be art, performances and the intimate stages that make up the festival. There’s also the “Neverending Glen”, a trail that leads through the forest to find multimedia art installations, sculptures and secret events. This year headliners include poet and rapper Akala, Mr Scruff and The Hot 8 Brass Band, while Scottish dance music stalwarts Optimo will be collaborating with Canadian producer Jayda G for a takeover with the Numbers crew, bringing a bit of Glasgow party flavour to the proceedings. The festival also goes all out for families, with many events and entertainments for kids throughout the weekend, on top of the Kelburn estate’s existing attractions. • 30 June-3 July, adults from £104, children from £21, under-fives, free, kelburngardenparty.com

Houghton, Norfolk

Photograph: A Moore

With a licence that permits music at dawn and dusk, this event at Houghton means twice as many of those magic, euphoric moments that only come when dance music coincides with the arrival or departure of the sun. Add location to the mix: a dense woodland beside a lake, an abandoned warehouse and a subterranean bowl to explore and you have a recipe for an enticing new festival. Curated by DJ Craig Richards, the debut event has a bill of the best electronic acts; Ricardo Villalobos, Nicholas Jaar and Floating Points headline, along with notable live acts, Hercules and Love Affair, Tony Allen, Yussef Kamaal and Cobbleston Jazz. The rest of the lineup is a list of underground DJs well versed in generating the kind of emotional sets suited to a festival like this; Midland, Horse Meat Disco, and Joy Orbison to name a few. • 11-13 August, from £140, houghtonfestival.co.uk

Brainchild, East Sussex

Photograph: Hollie Fernando

Brainchild promotes a DIY philosophy and, as such, is a festival born out of the desire of one student to create a platform for the talent she saw in her friends. Marina Blake’s project has grown into a festival that pulls together the work of more than 300 young creatives, from visual artists to DJs; a rare event that’s focused on supporting new talent. Don’t expect a huge, high-production affair – instead, it’s all about small stages, interactive installations to play with and probably a lot of people getting ideas for their own projects. This year’s bill features DJs such as Anu from south London’s Rhythm Section and the Touching Bass crew, London’s young people’s laureate, Caleb Femi, and performance work from the likes of actor/activist Joana Nastari, who is presenting work deconstructing London stripclub culture. • 7-9 July, from £70, brainchildfestival.co.uk

Field Maneuvers, south-east England

Photograph: Jonny Pénzes-Underhill

Field Maneuvers is a club-sized festival made by clubbers for clubbers. That means around 700 people decamping to a secret rural spot just outside London for a weekend filled with underground DJs and an easy-going, respectful party atmosphere. Staging is simple and the focus is on the music, but everyone still manages to get lost inside the Sputnik Dome: a tiny smoke-filled sphere that seems to send dancing bodies into another dimension. Outside the dome, however, everything is chilled; by the end of the weekend expect to know pretty much everyone on site. This year’s lineup features a live show from Octo Octa, Bristol house producer Shanti Celeste and Panorama Bar resident Ryan Elliott. • 1-3 September, £119 plus booking fee, fieldmaneuvers.com

Festival No 6, Portmeirion

Photograph: Andrew Benge/Redferns

The toy-town-like Italianate village of Portmeirion, in Wales, is something really special. This means that as well as concerts in Castell park, festivalgoers can catch intimate performances in smaller venues in the village, such as the Town Hall: a Jacobean venue that hosts a programme of free workshops and lectures; the Gatehouse (home to film screenings and live re-scores); and the Dome Gallery, where you’ll find acoustic gigs, talks and DJ sets. As well as major headliners (the Flaming Lips, Bloc Party and Mogwai), Festival No 6 goes to great efforts to curate a broad arts and culture selection: expect comedy from the likes of Adam Buxton, spoken word from the Tongue Fu crew, and experiences such as hot tub sessions and paddle boarding (not together, possibly). • 7-10 September, from £180, festivalnumber6.com

Gottwood, Angelsey

Photograph: Jenna Foxton/Fanatic

Amid the rugged idyll of Angelsey, North Wales, Gottwood is a boutique electronic music festival that pulls together the work of some of the UKs best underground club brands: from Leeds’ classic Back to Basics to south London label of the moment Rhythm Section. The intimate stages are set around a forest clearing, with a lake and campsite with a view over the coastline. The fairytale surroundings and tastefully illuminated woodland make for a mesmerising atmosphere, at a festival soundtracked by headliners including Antal, The Black Madonna, Helena Hauff and Matthew Herbert. • 8-11 June, day tickets £55, weekend ticket £176.50, gottwood.co.uk

Secret Garden Party, Cambridgeshire

Photograph: Alamy

Launched by Fred Fellowes in 2004, Secret Garden Party immediately sent ripples through the UK festival scene; it shifted the focus away from getting the biggest bookings towards investing in arts and performance, immersive environments and intimate hangouts, quickly leading to the explosion of boutique weekenders. This year, however, Secret Garden Party bids farewell to its loyal followers, with a final blow-out before the team moves on to a new project. Peaches, Wild Beasts and Ray BLK headline at a festival that creates a seemingly endless playground of installations, costume, humour and surreal surprises. • 20-23 June, £190, secretgardenparty.com

End of the Road, Wiltshire

GOAT performing on the Woods Stage at the 2016 End of the Road Festival. Photograph: Alamy

Born a year after Secret Garden Party, End of the Road is another labour of love: a much-respected festival that always pulls together a strong folk, indie and Americana-leaning bill. This time it will feature indie darlings Father John Misty and Bill Callahan, alt-country singer Lucinda Williams and slurry garage rockers Parquet Courts. One treat on the bill is outstanding Malian musician duo Amadou and Mariam, while the festival also has a programme of films, comedy, literature and workshops. With a capacity of around 11,000, it’s a festival that’s perfect for those who are eager to avoid the exhausting scale of some of the biggest events in the calender, a festival you can enjoy at your leisure, taking the time to stumble across the little details, like free books on a shelf around a tree stump. • 31 August-3 September, £189, endoftheroadfestival.com

The Beat-herder, Lancashire

Cut La Roc perform in The Fortress at the Beat-herder Festival. Photograph: Andrew Benge/Redferns

An independent festival known for its creative, handmade site and eccentric atmosphere (there’s even a heated swimming pool), Beat-herder is an enviable party with a mixed music policy held in the Ribble valley. Among the stages are a giant steel castle, a parish church (don’t miss the Sunday service) and a working men’s club, but the real treat is the Toil Trees stage, a beautiful venue among pine trees, magical during the day, mystical at night. Headlining are shouty Notts duo Sleaford Mods, Trentemøller (Danish producer of atmospheric electronic music) and old-school dub star Lee “Scratch” Perry. DJ sets from Faithless, Jackmaster and Jon Hopkins will have people dancing at all hours. • 14-16 July, from £144.70, beatherder.co.uk

Farr Festival, Hertfordshire

Photograph: Jake Davis/Here & Now

With its woodland setting, Farr Festival is another boutique event with a focus on creating curious spaces and environments to explore. The 2,000-capacity festival spreads its acts across six stages, which this year includes Brilliant Corners – the east London audiophile bar now bringing the finest hi-fi quality sound on tour. Big names in underground clubbing are also involved: NYC party Mister Saturday Night, London club series The Hydra and Amsterdam’s Red Light Radio; while artists range from Todd Terje to Red Axes, Omar S to Tama Sumo. • 13-15 July, day tickets £40, weekend ticket £99, farrfestival.co.uk

Posted by | View Post | View Group

[welcome-to-octo-space]

Just realized i totally forgot to post some art for a .. Very Special project.

Unfortunately, due to a totally real NDA, that totally exists and isn't just a joken, i can't disclose any information on what this project is... but just know its gona be fun when we can release the information.

[welcome-to-octo-space]

Doodles i did with some friends.

Feat- @nebbybrush @submaskudari @popnpog

He doesn't know about the crime about to be committed...

[welcome-to-octo-space]

[REBLOGS < LIKES]

ITS EVERYONES FAVORITE GIRLFAILURE WITH A FUNNY SCYTHE!

[Alt version under the cut]

[welcome-to-octo-space]

EHEHHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHE.

I am so silly

Anywho she is very gay

[welcome-to-octo-space]

Look at his gay ass. One kf my newest AUs aka my second band AU Triple Threat Rejects again

He has gay little hair dye too.

ALSO HAPPY FUCKING

P R I D E