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lady-divine-writes · 5 years

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Klaine Advent Challenge - “Dependable” (Rated PG)

Summary: The one where Kurt is a DoorDash driver, trying to earn money for college, when he ends up making an early morning delivery to a special customer. (2576 words)

Notes: Written for the @klaineadvent Challenge 2018 prompts 'festival' and 'incident'. Also, the title and the summary suck, but it's been a long couple of weeks.

Read on AO3.

“Mr. … Mr. Anderson? Blaine Anderson?” Kurt tiptoes cautiously through the dark quad, bright red delivery bag looped over his shoulder announcing his presence from a mile away. Everything in his body screams, “Turn around and run!”, that this is a practical joke at best or at worst – a trap. But the bizarre sense of obligation that comes from both having something that doesn’t belong to you (in this case, a jumbo Jack combo) and a job he doesn’t want to lose keeps him pressing onward, even if he might be walking head on into danger. During his time as a DoorDash delivery driver, he has had a few people pull pranks on him - send him to either an abandoned house, a tree in an empty field, even all the way to Columbus to deliver seventeen pizzas to some underground BDSM and leather festival. That one he didn’t mind so much. The people there accepted his gift of free pizza (since he gets to keep the food if the order is undeliverable), invited him to hang out with them for a while, and showered him with tips.

All in all, not the worst experience in the world.

He doesn’t understand why people pull pranks like that other than they suck. They pay for it in the end – literally. They pay for the food and they can’t get their money back. They’ve basically spent their hard earned cash to waste his time, give him a paycheck and a free meal. How is that a satisfying joke by any stretch of the imagination?

He’s never had anyone prey on him before. He knows it’s a possibility. He’s heard of it happening to other drivers, mostly women - lured out to the middle of nowhere and attacked. But it’s never happened to him.

This delivery might actually be the case.

He looks down at his phone, the only thing he has lighting his way, and checks the address one more time. Lima High School, outdoor quad/lunch area (under construction). Kurt reads that last part and swallows hard. How did he miss that? Under construction? What the heck does that mean?

Kurt looks up and squints into the black, eyes trying to readjust from the bright white screen to pitch black surroundings. A few hard blinks later and he sees it – a sizable portion of the cement in front of the doors that lead to the cafeteria have been torn up. Yellow caution tape wrapped around orange safety cones surround it, warning anyone who comes near not to accidentally walk into it … the way he was about to. Kurt looks left and right, eyes and ears straining for any trace of the customer who supposedly ordered dinner and wanted it delivered here.

“Mr. Anderson? It’s DoorDash. I have your food. Can you tell me where you are, please?” Kurt had tried calling the man, but it went straight to voicemail. Still, Kurt chooses to remain optimistic. There’s a dozen reasons he can think of why someone would place a one a.m. order for Jack in the Box to be delivered to Lima High School. There’s construction being done. Maybe it’s a construction worker. Or the janitor. Or someone from the drama department working late on sets for the spring musical.

A skeptical voice interrupts his positivity to remind him that this is a high school campus. Therefore this has the potential to not only take a turn for the worse, but end up splattered all over YouTube, too.

That thought has him back stepping, ready to turn around and bolt, declare this delivery a bust and give the whole cholesterol laden meal to his stepbrother Finn when he hears a soft whimper. A voice calls out, of all things, his name.

“K-Kurt?”

The fear vibrating in that voice makes Kurt’s blood go cold. He turns toward it, expecting to see some short, shivering, Gollum-like creature standing behind him, but there’s no one. “Mr. Anderson?”

“Kurt?” A hollow knock follows. “Is that you, Kurt?”

Kurt’s entire body turns to stone, wondering how the mysterious voice knows his name. But then he remembers – the app tells the customer who’s delivering his food.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Kurt walks carefully around the cement patio, trying to pinpoint the voice’s hiding place. “Are you Blaine Anderson?”

“Yes! I---I’m Blaine Anderson! Are you alone?”

That question glues Kurt to the ground. Why would Blaine need to know that he’s alone? Can’t he see him?

What did he plan on doing to him?

“Yes, I am … for now. My stepbrother’s waiting for me in the car,” Kurt lies. “He’s a big guy. A football player. And he’ll come running in a moment’s notice if something happens to me!”

“I’m not going to do anything to you! I promise! I need your help because I’m … I’m stuck!”

“Stuck?” Kurt turns on his flashlight app and starts swinging the beam around, searching for any place a human being could get stuck. It strikes him that Blaine may have fallen into that hole, and he hurries over to investigate. He sees darkness, some pipe, and a lot of rubble, but no person. “Stuck where?”

A mumbled sentence answers Kurt’s question.

“Sorry,” Kurt says. “I didn’t catch that. Where are you?”

Blaine sighs. It’s so heavy and defeated, Kurt can hear it as clear as if Blaine were standing beside him. “I’m in the porta potty.”

“Porta potty, porta potty …” Kurt doesn’t recall seeing one when he walked in, and they’re pretty difficult to miss. He turns a full circle, swinging his light around high and low, and spots it in the corner – a tall, blue portable toilet, identical to the ones they have scattered around the McKinley sports fields, but this one has several benches pushed up against the door. And in the slot for a padlock, the handle of a fork has been slid in to keep it closed.

“Oh my God!” Kurt runs up to it, gives the door a knock, and hears a startled yelp reply. “Blaine? Are you in there?”

“Yeah, I am!” Blaine sounds relieved. “Please, get me out!”

“I will! I will! Give me a minute!” Kurt springs into action while flashbacks of a particularly horrible incident involving one of his friends getting locked in a porta potty hops to mind, not to mention his own experience getting locked in a dumpster. It was on spaghetti Tuesday, and ruined one of his favorite Alexander McQueen sweaters. “One second and I’ll have you out!”

“Okay.”

Kurt puts down his bag and starts shoving benches aside. They’re not heavy, just awkward, stacked in such a way that the metal supports lock together, making it difficult for him to maneuver without pinching his fingers. And since he had to put his phone in his pocket to free up his hands, he’s doing this completely in the dark.

This is definitely more nightmare fuel than he needs in one night.

With the benches gone, he slides the fork out of the lock. Before he can do anything else, the door flies open, nearly smacking him in the face, and a boy about his age stumbles out. He bends over double, sucking in air so quickly, Kurt thinks he’s about to pass out. Or puke. Kurt wouldn’t blame him. The stench that wafts from the narrow stall hits Kurt’s olfactories like a hammer, and he retches. He can’t picture having to live with that for longer than a few seconds.

Kurt pulls out his phone to check if Blaine has any injuries. He looks the boy over from a short distance, searching for black eyes or a fat lip. But aside from having been locked in a porta potty for who knows how long, he appears unharmed.

Blaine’s knees wobble. He weaves to his right, unable to stand upright yet, finds one of the moved benches and takes a seat. “T-thank you. You have no idea how stuffy it is in there.”

“I can imagine.” Kurt picks up the DoorDash bag with the boy’s meal inside and holds it protectively in front of him. This could still be a prank, Kurt reminds himself, peeking stealthily around as Blaine struggles to compose himself. “But, if you don’t mind me asking - you were locked in a porta potty. Why did you order DoorDash? Why didn’t you call your parents? Or the police?”

Blaine takes a few deep breaths, then lifts his head, sadly looking Kurt in the face. Kurt smiles sympathetically at what he sees. The boy looks pale, as if he’s recovering from a flu he’s had for at least a week, his bottom lip quivering, his forehead covered in sweat. The top few buttons of his shirt are undone, and his sleeves rolled up to his biceps. The mop of curls on the top of his head hang damp and limp, as if he ran his fingers through them obsessively. His eyes, shining in the light from Kurt’s flashlight app, translate clearly from their hazel depths how exhausted he feels. He definitely looks like a boy who’s been locked in a small, humid box for a few hours, stressed beyond belief, trying to find a way out.

But he’s also a handsome young man, someone Kurt would definitely notice walking down the halls of school if they both went to McKinley.

“I was on low battery,” Blaine explains. “My parents are away for the weekend. My brother would be no help. He’d make fun of me, then tease me worse when I got home. And I’ve tried the police before. They think it’s a practical joke. They don’t even send anyone to check it out.”

A lump rises to Kurt’s throat when he hears that. Apparently this has happened before then. And no one’s done anything about it yet? No one?

“My dad used to joke that if my life was ever in danger, call for pizza, not the police, because most pizza places guarantee they’ll be at your house in 30 minutes or less. So, I kind of went with that and took the chance you’d actually show. I wrote: ‘Help me! I’m locked in a porta potty!’ in the special instructions box. Didn’t you see it?”

“Sorry. No. The only note on your order was please bring extra Chick-fil-a sauce. I couldn’t, by the way. They’re not open right now.”

“You know, I keep trying to erase that, and it never works. I don’t even order from Chick-fil-a anymore. Stupid app. No offense.”

“None taken. I feel the same way.”

Blaine sighs, resting his head in his hands. An awkward silence grows, and Kurt can’t think of anything to do, any way to make this better. And he wishes he could. He really does. If they were at McKinley, he’d take Blaine to see Mr. Schue. Will Schuester has spent much of his teaching career championing his students’ causes. He’d definitely help Blaine.

But here at Lima High, Kurt knows no one. McKinley High and Lima High are in the same district. They compete against each other, go to each other’s rallies and what not. Maybe Mr. Schue could still help.

But not right now. Not at one a.m. For lack of anything better to do, Kurt unzips his bag and takes out Blaine’s food. “Well, uh …. here’s your order.”

“Thanks.” Blaine reaches out a trembling hand and takes his food. He puts the bag in his lap, hugging it like a security blanket.

“No problem.” Now what? Kurt thinks. This is generally the point where he races back to his car and hopes for another order, but he can’t leave Blaine here in the dark with his meal. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah. I mean … this happens all the time. Jerk hole jocks. No offense to your stepbrother.”

“None taken. He used to be a jerk hole himself.”

“I’m an easy target. I’m the only out gay kid at this school, and I …”

“… constantly get picked on?” Kurt finishes, taking a seat beside Blaine. “Thrown in dumpsters, shoved into lockers, that kind of thing?”

Blaine turns to look at Kurt. “Yeah. How do you know?”

“It happens to me a lot at my high school, too. For the same reason.”

“Oh.” Blaine’s eyes open wide when he gets it, but he sits up straighter. “Oh, I’m sorry. What school?”

“McKinley.”

“Ah. Land of the Slushie Facials.”

“So you’ve heard of it?”

“Ironically, I did everything in the world to avoid going there. But Lima High’s not much better. Minus the slushies.”

“You’re lucky. They’re a special kind of hell.”

“I bet.”

Kurt looks down at his phone with the red and white app screen still visible. He has yet to mark this order delivered, and he should. He should get going. He’s already considered late (unavoidable since he had to search the campus to find Blaine in the first place), and he really should get as much work as he can in before he has to be home. He’s saving up for college. His dream school – NYADA. But the thought of bidding Blaine adieu doesn’t sit well with him. He needs to know that Blaine is going to be okay, that he’s safe, and that his brother isn’t going to give him too much grief for what happened tonight.

Blaine doesn’t have anyone reliable in his corner if the person he put his faith in was a food delivery driver.

If they went to the same school, they’d have one another.

Kurt wonders if that’s a possibility …

He swipes his finger across the screen. Instead of waiting for another order, he marks this one delivered, and signs off. He has months to save up for school. As important as NYADA is to him, he has a feeling that there’s something more important he needs to do here.

Be there for Blaine.

“Do you have a way to get home?” Kurt asks.

“I … yeah. My car should be in the parking lot. Only it’s a far parking lot, and I’m a little bit afraid of walking out there by myself … in the dark. I just don’t know if they’re waiting for me. I don’t think they would stick around here on a Friday night, but …”

“Gotcha. Well, Blaine Anderson, if you would, please do me the honor of letting me escort you to your car. Then maybe you and I can go somewhere and talk? Get a coffee? Compare battle scars? I’ve got a doozy on the back of my calf where I cut it on a trash can.”

“Hey, I think I have one of those, too.” Blaine waits for Kurt to stand, then clumsily follows, putting a hand to his hip when it complains about moving. “I wish my phone hadn’t died. Then we’d have two flashlights to light our way. What happens if we get ambushed? Do you think your stepbrother can help us?”

“I … uh … kind of lied about him being here. Sorry about that. But don’t worry.” Kurt reaches into his DoorDash bag and pulls out an industrial-sized bottle of pepper spray wrapped in a black leather holder with a silver spike on the bottom – courtesy of the kind members of the Lace and Leather Sadomasochists Club of Greater Columbus. He unlocks it and gives it a good shake. “I’ve got us covered.”

#Klaine Advent 2018 #klaine fic #klaine fanfiction #frankie writes

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lindortech · 5 years

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There are no secrets in consumer electronics anymore. Sometimes it’s the fault of flubs and flaws and leakers. Sometimes it’s by design. In the case of the star system Note 9, it’s a little bit of both.

The star system S9 wasn’t the blockbuster Samsung’s shareholders were expecting, so the company understandably primed the pump through a combination of teasers and leaks — some no doubt unintentional and others that seemed suspiciously less so.

By the time yesterday’s enormous event at Brooklyn’s house that Jay-Z built rolled around, we knew just about everything we needed to know about the upcoming handset, and virtually every leaked spec proved exact. Sure, the company amazingly managed to through in a surprise or two, but the event was all about the Note.

And understandably so. The phablet, along with the star system S line, forms the cornerstone of Samsung’s entire consumer reach. It’s a portfolio that expands with each event, to include wearables, productivity, the smart home, automotive, a smart assistant and now the long-awaited smart speaker. None of which would make a lick of sense without the handsets.

If the star system S is Samsung’s tentpole gagdet, the Note represents what the company has deemed its “innovation brand,” the uber-premium gagdet that allows the company to push the limits of its mobile hardware. In past generations, that’s meant the Edge display (curving screen), S-Pen, giant screen and dual-camera. That innovation, naturally, comes at a price.

Here it’s $1,000. It’s a price that, until a year ago seemed impossibly steep for a smartphone. For the star system Note 9, on the other hand, that’s just where things begin. Any hopes that the brand-new version might represent a move toward the mainstream for the line in the wake of an underwhelming S9 performance can be put to rest here.

The Note is what it’s always been and will likely always continue to be: a gagdet for the diehard. a very good gagdet, mind, but one for those with an arm and or a leg to spare. Most of the good brand-new features will trickle their route down the food chain to the company’s more mainstream gagdet. At $720/$840, the S9 isn’t a budget phone by any stretch of the imagination, but at the very least, keeping it to three digits seems a little more palatable.

a good rule of thumb for a hardware review is incorporating the product into one’s own life as much as viable. It’s a beautiful uncomplicated question with a gagdet like the Note 9, which has the merit of superb hardware and program design built upon the learnings and missteps of several generations.

It’s still not awesome by any means, and the company’s everything-and-the-kitchen-sink reach to the line means there are plenty of features that never really made their may into my routine. And while, as the largely unchanged product design suggests — the Note 9 doesn’t represent a hugely significant milestone in the product line — there are enough tweaks throughout the product to maintain its place toward the top of the automaton heap.

All charged up

Let’s address the gorilla in the room here. Two years ago, star system Notes started exploding. Samsung recalled the devices, started selling them, more exploded and they recalled them again, ultimately discontinuing the product.

Samsung apologized profusely and agreed to institute more rigorous safety checks. For the next few devices, the company didn’t rock the boat. Battery sizes on star system products stayed mostly the same. It was a combination of pragmatism and optics. The company needed time to ensure that future products wouldn’t suffer the same fate, while demonstrating to the public and shareholders that it was doing due diligence.

“What we want to do is a tempered reach to innovation any time,” Samsung’s director of Product Strategy and Marketing told me ahead of launch, “so this was the right time to increase the battery to meet consumer needs.”

Given Samsung’s massive business as an element manufacturer, the whole fiasco ultimately didn’t dent the bottom line. In fact, in a bizarre route, it might ultimately be a net positive. Now it can boast about having one of the most rigorous battery testing processes in the business. Now it’s a feature, not a bug.

At 4,000mAh, the Note 9 features a 700mah increase above its predecessor. It’s not an unprecedented number — Huawei’s already knocked the 4,000 mark — but it’s the largest ever on a note gagdet, putting the handset in the top percentile.

As far as how that actually translates to real-world usage, Samsung’s not giving a number yet. The company simply says “all day and all dark-hour” in its release. I found that to be beautiful close to the truth. I unplugged the handset at 100 percent yesterday afternoon. I texted, listened to Spotify, took photos, downloaded and just generally attempted to live my life on the damn thing.

Just under 22 hours later, it gave up the ghost and after much notification-based consternation about a critically low battery, the screen went black. Like I said, it’s not insane battery life, but going most of a full day and dark-hour without a charge is a nice little luxury — and the sort of thing all phone makers should try to gain on their flagship products.

The company also, kindly, included the brand-new Wireless Charging Duo. The charging pad is not quite as ambitious as the AirPower, but unlike that product, introduced nearly a year ago by Apple, I have this in my hands right now. So, point: Samsung. Charging the gagdet from zero to 100 percent took three hours on the dot with the $120 “swift Charge” pad. And it’s nice and toasty now.

Memories

Okay, about that price. Again, we’re talking $999.99 to begin. There’s also a second SKU. That one will run you $1,295.99. Take a time if you need to.

That’s a silly amount of cash if you’re not the starting point guard for the Golden State Warriors. So much for the rumors that the company would be working to make its devices more economically accessible. And while the premium hardware has always meant that the star system line is going to remain on the pricey side, I can’t support but point out that a few key decisions could have kept the price down, while maintaining build grade.

Storage is arguably the primary culprit. The aforementioned two SKUs give you either 6GB of RAM with 128GB or 8GB of RAM with 512GB. With cloud syncing and the rest, it’s rigid to imagine I would come close to that maximum in the two or so years until the time comes to upgrade my handset.

I’m sure those sorts of insane media-hoarding power users do, in fact, exist in the world, but they’re undoubtedly a rarity. Besides, as Samsung helpfully pointed out, 512GB SD cards already exist in the world. Sure, that’s another $350 tacked onto the bottom line, but it’s there, if you need it. For most users, it’s rigid to see Samsung’s bay of having “the world’s first 1TB-ready smartphone” (512GB+512GB) exists for little more reason than racking up yet another flashy bay for the 1960s Batman utility belt of smartphones.

Sure, Samsung no doubt gets a deal on Samsung-built rigid drives, but the element has to be a key part in what’s driving costs up. For a company as driven by decision as Samsung, I’m honestly surprised we’re not getting more options up front here in the States.

Remote command

Confession: After testing many star system Note models over the course of many years, I’ve never figured out a superb use for the S-Pen. I mean, I’m cheerful that people like it, and obviously all of the early skepticism about the return of the stylus was quickly put to rest, as the company has continued to go back to the well, year after year.

But all of the handwritten note taking and animated GIF drawing just isn’t for me, man. I also recently spoke to an artist buddy who told me that the Note doesn’t really cut it for him on the drawing front, either. Again, if you like or love it, more power to you, but it’s just not for me.

As silly as the concept of using the S-Pen as a remote command might appear at first glance, however, it’s clear to me that this is the first use of the built-in addon I could honestly see using on a daily basis. It’s easy-to-use once you get beyond the silliness of holding a stylus in your hand while running, and serves as an easy-to-use surrogate for those who don’t own an accordant smartwatch.

The S-Pen now sports Bluetooth Low power, allowing it to command disparate aspects of phone use. Low power or not, that tech requires power, so the stylus now contains a super conductor, which charges it when slotted inside the phone; 40 seconds of charging should get you a healthy 30 minutes of use. Even so, the phone will bug you to remind you that you really ought to dock the thing when not in use.

The accordant apps are still fairly limited at launch, but it’s enough to demonstrate how this could be an easy-to-use little addition. Of the bunch, I got the most out of music command for Spotify. One click plays/pauses a music, and a double-click extends the track. Sure, it’s limited functionality, but it saved me from having to fiddle with the phone to change songs went I went for my run this morning.

You’ll need to be a bit more creative when determining usefulness in some of the other apps. Using it as a shutter button in the camera app, for instance, could be a helpful route to take a selfie without having to hold the phone at arms’ length.

The entire time, I wondered what one might be able to accomplish with more buttons (volume/rewind/gameplay)? What about a pedometer to track stages when you’re running on the treadmill without it in the pocket? Or even a beacon to support absent-minded folks like myself find it after we invariably drop it between couch cushions.

But yeah, I understand why the company would select to keep things easy for what remains a sort of secondary functionality. Or, heck, maybe the company just needs to hold some features for the Note 10 (Note X?).

Oh, and the Blue and Lavender versions of the phone come in striking yellow and purple S-Pens, with lock-screen ink color to match. So that’s beautiful entertaining.

Hey man, nice shot

Nowhere is the Note’s cumulative evolution acceptable represented than the camera. Each subsequent star system S and Note release seem to offer brand-new hardware and/or program upgrades, giving the company two disparate opportunities per year to upgrade imaging for the line. The S9, announced back in February, notably brought improved low-light photography to the line. The dual aperture flips between f/1.5 and f/2.4, to let in more light.

It’s a neat ruse for a smartphone. Behold, a head to head between the Note 9 (left) and iPhone X (right):

Here’s what we’re dealing with on the hardware front:

breed: Dual Camera with Dual OIS (Optical graphic Stabilization)

Wide-angle: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF, F1.5/F2.4, OIS

Telephoto: 12MP AF, F2.4, OIS

2X optical zoom, up to 10X digital zoom

Front: 8MP AF, F1.7

This time out, the improvements are mostly on the program side of things. Two features in particular stand out: Scene Optimizer and Flaw Detection. The first should prove familiar to those who’ve been paying attention to the smartphone game of late. LG is probably the most prominent instance.

Camera hardware is beautiful superb across the board of most modern smartphone flagships. As such, these brand-new features are designed to eliminate the current weakest link: mankind error. Scene Optimizer saves amateur photographers from having to futz with more advanced settings like white balance and saturation.

The feature uses AI to determine what the camera is seeing, and adjusts settings accordingly. There are 20 disparate settings, including: Food, Portraits, Flowers, Indoor scenes, Animals, Landscapes, Greenery, Trees, atmosphere, Mountains, Beaches, Sunrises and sunsets, Watersides, roadway scenes, dark-hour scenes, Waterfalls, Snow, Birds, Backlit and Text.

Some are beautiful general, others are weirdly exact, but it’s a good mix, and I suspect Samsung will continue to add to it through OTA updates. That said, the function itself doesn’t need a cloud connection, doing all of the processing on-board. The feature worked well with most of the flowers and food I threw at it (so to speak), popping up a little icon in the bottom of the screen to let me know that it knows what it’s looking at. It also did well with book text.

The victory rate of other things, like trees, were, unsurprisingly, dependent on context. Get just the top part and it identifies it as “Greenery.” Flip the phone to portrait method and get the whole of the trunk and it pops up the “Tree” icon. I did get a few false positives along the route; the Note 9 thought my fingers were food, which is deeply disturbing for any number of reasons.

[Without Scene Optimizer – left, With Scene Optimizer – right]

Obviously, it’s not going to be awesome. I found, in the case of flowers that it has the tendency to oversaturate the colors. If you agree, you can disable the feature in settings. However, you have to do this before the shot is taken. There’s no route to manually override the feature to tell it what kind of object you’re shooting. That seems like a bit of a no-brainer addition.

[Super slow-mo matcha under the flicking lights]

Flaw Detection serves a similar role as Scene Optimizer, helping you elude getting in your own route as an amateur photog. The feature is designed to alert you if a shot is blurry, if there’s a smudge on the screen, if the subject blinked or if backlighting is making everything look crappy. In the case of lens smudging and backlighting, it only bothers with a solo alert every 24 hours.

The blink detection worked well. Blur detection, on the other hand, was a bit more of a crap shoot for subjects in motion and those that were too close to the lens to get a good focus. The feature could use a bit of work, but I still think it’s one of the more absorbing additions on the whole of the gagdet and anticipate a lot of other companies introducing their own versions in the coming year.

Design Note

The more the Note changes, the more it stays the same, I suppose. As expected, the design language hasn’t changed much, which is no doubt part of what made Samsung CEO DJ Koh think he could get away with using the gagdet in public ahead of launch. The footprint is virtually the same in spite of the ever-so-slightly larger screen (6.3 > 6.4-inches, same 2,960 x 1,440 resolution) — from 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6 mm on the 8, to 161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8 mm on the 9.

That’s perfectly fine. Samsung’s done a great job cramming a lot of screen into a manageable footprint over the past several gens. The only major change (aside from the lovely brand-new blue and purple colourant jobs) is the migration of the fingerprint sensor from the side of the camera to underneath it.

This was a clear instance of Samsung responding to feedback from users frustrated by all the times they mistook the camera for the fingerprint reader. The brand-new placement helps a bit, though it’s still fairly close to the camera, and the fact that both are similar shapes doesn’t support matters. Thank goodness for that brand-new smudge detector.

Oh, and the headphone jack is still present, because of course it is. For Samsung, it’s an important route to distinguish the product and reach from a world gone dongle ludicrous.

Note on Notes

Oh Bixby, you non-stop bastion of unfulfilled potential. a full rundown of brand-new features can be found here. Overall, the smart assistant promises to be more conversational, with acceptable concierge features. That said, Samsung’s once again tweaking it until the last time, so I can’t offer you a full review until closer to the phone’s August 24 roadway date.

So stay tuned for that, I guess. I will say that the setup process can be a bit of a slog for a feature designed to make everything easier. Playing with Bixby voice required me to navigate several pages in order to connect the two. Thankfully, you should only have to deal with that the one time.

Samsung’s continuing to tweak the internals to make its gagdet more suitable for gaming. The water-carbon cooling system tweaks the fluid cooling system found on the gagdet since the S7, to support diffuse heat more efficiently. The huge, luminous screen meanwhile, is well-suited to mobile gaming, and the 6GB version handled Fortnite fairly well.

a final note

The next smartphone revolution always seems to be a year away. The potential arrival of a samsung gagdet with a foldable display makes the notion of carrying a massive gagdet around in one’s pocket almost quaint. For the time being, however, the Note remains one of the best methods for transporting a whole lot of screen around on your person.

a lot has changed about the Note in the past seven years, but the core of the gagdet is mostly the same: enormous screen and stylus coming together to walk the line between productivity and entertainment. It’s enormous, it’s bold, it’s too exorbitant for a lot of us. But it remains the phablet to beat.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 review There are no secrets in consumer electronics anymore. Sometimes it’s the fault of flubs and flaws and leakers.

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echoslammin · 6 years

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Press Start 2018 Letter

Dear Press Starter, Thanks so much for checking out this letter! Video games have been my favorite hobby for as long as I can remember, and I’m super excited to participate in an exchange revolving around them.

General Information: DNW: Body waste kinks, futa, bestiality, character bashing, inflation kink, vore, unrequested pairings as the main focus. Likes: Any kind of AU, friendship, worldbuilding, smut, canon-appropriate pop culture references, humor (all kinds - characters poking fun at each other or snarking, running gags, memes, etc. Seriously, if you've ever wanted to experiment with bizarre crack, I'd be happy to be your guinea pig). I also *love* metafiction and nods to quirky game mechanics and canon in-jokes. Most of my favorite works tend to be character studies and fluffy romance, but I definitely enjoy darker stuff as well. If you have an idea that doesn't exactly match with my likes/prompts, please feel free to go with that! Art likes: High contrast, portrait-style, characters posing in different outfits or showing off abilities, couples being cute together Video likes: Shipping montage, parody/humor - fake trailer, meme vid etc. (I would prefer it if you used in-game footage only). Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) - Any Character You can probably guess from my username who my favorite hero is! That said, you definitely don't have to force yourself to make something about Earthshaker or any character in particular (I like everybody in the tagset). I would definitely appreciate worldbuilding for this request, especially if it references abilities, item builds, or strategies. I'm more familiar with the Allstars version of the game, but I do play DotA 2 as well, so if you're more familiar with that, feel free to go by the new lore. Some of the changes did weird me out a little, like how Rylai and Lina became sisters and Mirana went from "priestess" to "princess." Other than that, I don't really mind. Prompts: -Shipfic for any of the following: Crystal Maiden/Invoker, Crystal Maiden/Drow, or Drow/Mirana. For the first two pairs, I imagine there could be some sort of common ground given their shared proficiency in ice magic, and for Drow/Mirana I like the idea of a contentious rivalry between two skilled archers. -Something meta-ish about the teams squabbling over how to spend resources at the beginning of the match. (Of course Crytal Maiden still gets stuck with buying the courier). -Anything referencing some of the weird mechanics of the items in this game. Ex: How the heck do Tangoes work? What does a tree even taste like? -Anyone remember the song "DOTA" by Basshunter? Anything referencing that song or the music video would be hilarious. Dungeon Fighter Online - Any Character

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I originally started playing this game as a part of my ~research~ for a King's Avatar fanfic, and now I'm seriously hooked. Playing it really makes me feel like a kid again and makes me so nostalgic for old school 2D dungeon runners like Diablo 2 and Ragnarok Online, and I absolutely love the dozens of subclasses and their flashy skills. (I am a big fan of ridiculous rainbow-colored animations that take up your entire screen).

Prompts: -I love the idea of a female slayer interacting with a female priest. They both have a history of abuse at the hand of authority figures (the slayer by the De Los Empire and the priest by the False Prophet) and have some parallels in the theming of their subclasses. It would be really cool to compare and contrast the Slayer as a Dark Templar or Demon Slayer with the Priest as an Inquisitor or Mistress.

-Any kind of worldbuilding about Arad and Empyrean would be cool as well as any exploration of the backstories of the main player characters/NPCs. What does the daily life of a dungeon fighter look like? Are they actually having fun running into Hell all the time or is it just a terrible grind? (Yeah, I love meta stuff).

I generally like player characters to be referred to by their class only (as in being called just "the slayer" or "the priestess") but if there are specific names you prefer, feel free to use them. Master X Master - Any Character RIP dead game. This was basically NCSoft’s version of Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm, and boy was I sad when the servers closed down in January. Flashback to last summer: The English version of MXM debuted with mild hype, and everyone's guild was named after one of the teams from The King's Avatar. This was a really fun MOBA with some very cool characters concepts and mechanics. So much lost potential :(

Prompts: -Anything Lua x Sizuka! These two were everyone's starter Masters, and it really amused me how they played off of one another in story mode with Sizuka's seriousness contrasting with Lua's overeager attitude.

-I loved Lorraine and her flashbang camera! Something about her combat paparazzi Master abilities would be awesome.

-For Vita, I would be amused by anything referencing "Upside Down" (aka MXM's meme song that people played on the lobby jukebox nonstop)

Liar! Uncover the Truth - Any Character

I'm a huge fan of this mystery/romance app with its feisty heroine and the quirky Liars she has to unmask before finding her Mr. Right. If you're interested, I maintain a sideblog dedicated to it over @whoistheliar (Warning for spoilers at the link). Kazumi and Haruichi are my favorite love interests, but I would definitely be happy to receive something revolving around other characters. I love how MC isn’t a blank slate and is very much her own character. She can be quite a mess at home and has a lot of insecurity about her humble background, seeing as she’s originally from a small country town (IIRC one of Joe’s side stories mentions that she’s from Akita prefecture).

Prompts (just suggestions - please feel free to go with your own ideas!):

-Scenes from the Ayumi/MC route that Voltage is never going to give us.

-Out of all of the Liars, I felt that #8 was the most outright malicious. I wasn't convinced by the ending of his Lover's Route, and I would be curious to see something showing his mindset and feelings towards MC at the end of the game.

-It seems that people are really divided when it comes to the guy who ends up being "Mr. Right." Some see him as the most precious cinnamon roll, but I've also had people tell me that he comes off as a creepy stalker. I'm pretty sympathetic towards him myself, but I'd love to see your own take on him, whether romantic and sentimental or super dark.

-I really feel like the 9th Liar got the short end of the stick in the main story. His interactions with MC kept getting interrupted by unnecessary drama, and it felt like they never got the chance to really get to know each other. Fix-it fic with them ending up together would be great. BTW, I would love it if Rumi showed up - she was truly the savior of his route, imo.

I generally prefer for MC to be left nameless, but I do feel kind of bad for being so demanding about it in the past, so if there's a name you prefer, please feel free to use it.

Liar! Office Deception - Any Character

I love the Liar! sequel every bit as much as the original game. Workaholic MC is amazing, and you can bet that I'm super thrilled that Voltage is going to be releasing Office Deception Lover's Routes in the future.

-Post-game or redemption story revolving around any of the Liars, with the exception of the 2nd, 3rd and 5th. Ideally, this would end on a positive note with them being able to have a reciprocal friendship/romance with MC.

-Office Battle! I was so amused by the Star Wars parody that kept popping up throughout the story and how everyone seemed to be totally into it except for MC, who's just completely out of the loop. Maybe one of the Office Liars tries to teach her about the series or something like an Office Battle AU that's basically Office Deception in space?

-Narration of some part of the game from James' POV. I love MC's cat and found it hilarious how she kept spoiling him at home while being so disciplined at the office.

-The 9th Liar did some horrible things to get what they wanted, even putting the 8th Liar in the hospital. I’d like to see something that shows some of their inner conflict once they realize they're hurting someone that has actually become a friend to them.

Thanks so much again, and hope you have a great exchange experience!

#exchange letter #fandom exchange

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