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ottspot · 1 year

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I Bought A 10 Year Old Nintendo 3DS Game And Loved It - My Thoughts on Fire Emblem Awakening

It all started one day in December, just one month before the year was over. I woke up with the sudden urge to buy one game I had been meaning to get all these years, a game that I've had interest in but just never got to for some reason... Fire Emblem Awakening for the Nintendo 3DS.

I had been exposed to it a number of times via Club Nintendo promotions, "Best Of The 3DS" lists, praise from my friends, and even playing the demo all those years ago. I may be almost ten years too late but I bought it second-hand from a retro game store (cheaper than GameStop!), and I couldn't have been happier with my decision.

In the age of the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and the Nintendo Switch, many consumers would be baffled at the idea of buying games for older systems, like the Nintendo 3DS. Some people in this case would often ask, "why not emulate or pirate?" There are advantages to doing that of course, especially considering that Nintendo doesn't even make money off of second-hand physical copies, and they soon won't be able to make money off of even the digital versions, with the company closing down the Nintendo eShop of the 3DS and Wii U systems in less than three months as of writing this!

The thing is, even in a time where we can just get games and DLC for these older games without spending a cent, I still wanted to experience getting a game officially one last time. And that's what I did late November of 2022, where I bought... Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice. Yeeeah, I thought the Zelda "Oracle" series games on the Virtual Console would be my last digital purchase, but I saw those two on sale and they were the only ones I was missing on 3DS, so... I bit the bullet. And those were my, as of now, final Nintendo eShop purchases on the 3DS system.

But just one month later, I woke up and thought about one game in particular. A game that I believed I should get not in a digital form, but a physical copy. Indeed, it was the one I stated before and the main subject of this post, Fire Emblem Awakening. I drove to my local retro game store that morning and I picked the game up.

The inside cover had some pretty nasty water damage, but I plan on getting a new case entirely at some point, so it's okay.

I booted the game up, and discovered that there was a save file already there! Thanks to my modded 3DS system, I backed it up before erasing it. That way I can go back to it and see how they played.

After making a new save of my own, I chipped away at the game bit-by-bit until I finished it on January 3rd. I would have finished it already by now but I had other plans in my life, as well as a few other games to play a little bit of as well. But regardless, I did beat the game! And let me tell you... I adored it.

Now, this wasn't exactly my first experience with Fire Emblem. I had played Warriors on the Switch a while back, and I played a hacked version of Fates (only the Birthright path) and they were alright experiences. But Awakening was on another level entirely to me. The story, without giving too much away, had lots of tension, pain, and moments where I genuinely gasped out of fear. The other games I had played never made me feel that way about the story before.

The gameplay is a favorite of mine, too. I really like tactical RPGs like this, even if I haven't played a lot of them. I appreciate games giving me some time to plan out my moves and selecting which units to have fight the enemy, or stay back so they don't die. In that way I really felt like a tactician, just like the main character.

Speaking of, all the characters in this game were very lovable. Their writing was phenomenal and I loved their little voice lines. Lissa is definitely a favorite, and was always one ever since I played the demo back when it first came out. And that's the thing! Even early on in the game I learned to love and care about these characters. That's how good I feel the writing is.

Overall, I feel that this game deserves the reputation that it has right now. After 16 and a half hours of playtime, that couldn't be more obvious to me, and it's easily one of my favorite Nintendo 3DS games now. While it's great to see new games in the series release due to the success of this one, I don't believe there will be another game that will match just how great this entry is. So yes, once again, I bought an almost ten-year-old Nintendo 3DS game and I loved it. And I think you should buy it too, because it's 100 percent worth the money.

Thanks again for reading! I hope this will push me to experience some older Fire Emblem games someday, and hey- it might get me to try Three Houses or Engage too.

Next up: My Journey With The Nintendo 3DS... Does It Still Hold Up?

#fire emblem #fire embem awakening #nintendo 3DS #game review #retro #why did it take me so long to get to this damn game #nintendo #lissa is the best character fr fr

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hibiscustea9 · 3 years

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10,000 views on “Fire Walk with Me”!

YOU GUYS. Late last night, “Fire Walk with Me” hit 10,000 views. I am beyond blown away by this. Nothing I have ever written has come anywhere close to the reception this story has gotten. To celebrate, I’m going to make the sort of post I don’t usually make and share one of my headcanons for each of the Stardew Valley villagers (excepting the few who don’t have any real impact on the story, like Gil and the Ginger Island villagers). Read on below the jump to see these (some of which have been shared already in “Fire Walk with Me”) and thank you, thank you for all of your support and reading this story. It’s made me so very happy.

Abigail secretly loves disco music. She hates the aesthetic and clothing of the era, but she will rock out to any of the great disco bands or divas when in her room and with her earbuds in. She would sooner die than have Sam and Sebastian find out about this.

Alex had offers to attend several universities on a full ride scholarship to play gridball, but turned them down out of fear of failing out of school. After high school, he was diagnosed as dyslexic. His teachers were encouraged to just pass him through without making him complete the work, which left him deeply insecure. He now has plans to go to trade school, which he feels might be his ticket out of Pelican Town.

Caroline is the wizard’s daughter, and a lay green witch. Her father was a sailor who was lost at sea and Rasmodius comforted her mother (which is the regret Rasmodius has that broke up his marriage). Caroline’s hair is naturally green. She is not aware of her magic, which manifests mostly as being able to grow any plants she wishes.

Clint left Pelican Town to go to college, only to have to come back when his father died to take care of his mother. He was a voice major and has a lovely singing voice, though he’s often too shy to show it off these days.

Demetrius is a skilled teacher and used to adjunct biology classes at Grampleton Community College to help support his family when Robin was getting her carpentry business off the ground. While he enjoyed teaching, the commute and long hours burnt him out after a year and he hasn’t felt the urge to teach since.

The Dwarf is a huge movie buff, but even more than the films, she enjoys turning around while sitting in the front row to look at the faces of the people watching the films.

Elliott is not a citizen of Ferngill but a foreign national. His posh accent and vocabulary rubbed some townsfolk the wrong way when he moved to Pelican Town. He managed to get on the good side of those same townsfolk when he accidentally knocked his bait bucket all over himself at his first Festival of Ice but continued fishing through it, coming in a respectable second to Willy that year.

Emily genuinely believes in the healing power of crystals and positive thinking, though she also has great respect for traditional medicine. She often asks Harvey medical questions when he’s at the bar. For his part, Harvey truly enjoys being able to talk about his discipline with anyone else, even a crunchy granola type like Emily.

Evelyn stopped believing in Yoba after her daughter was diagnosed with cancer and died young, leaving Alex in her care. She has never let on, given how George makes a point of attending weekly services. Seeing how much Clara suffered, first in an abusive marriage and then going through the failed treatment for her cancer, left Evelyn unable to believe in an all-powerful deity. Instead, she aims to spread as much kindness as she can, seeking salvation in other people instead of worship of Yoba.

George started watching so much television when Alex came to live with him and Evelyn. He didn’t like TV much before then, but got in the habit of letting Alex stay up late and watch reruns with him. While he claims to enjoy westerns the most, he has a not-so-secret love for classic game show reruns. The way the women dress reminds him of Evelyn when she was young, though he thinks none of them are quite as pretty as Evelyn.

Gus used to run a successful restaurant in the Zuzu City suburbs and is a classically-trained chef. The stress of running the restaurant and being in charge of both the front and back of the house took a toll on his health and his doctors recommended he step back and find something less strenuous to do. With his proceeds from selling the restaurant, he built the Stardrop Saloon and now is much happier with his life.

Gunther is a local son of Pelican Town who moved away to attend grad school in library science. He had a job in Zuzu City but moved back when he learned of the theft of the collection. He secretly resents returning to Pelican Town, which he was eager to leave, but feels it is his duty to stay and ensure the library is taken care of.

Haley’s ringtone on her phone is the National Geographic theme. When she was young, her parents took her and Emily all over the world and she grew fascinated with other cultures and other places. She has planned all the trips she wants to take. As much as she and Emily bicker, Emily is her favorite travel companion.

Harvey and his family were very poor when he was growing up. When he was fourteen, his sister contracted scarlet fever and they were unable to afford a doctor’s visit. A local doctor from a clinic came by and left medicine at her own expense. This led Harvey to pursue medicine as a career; he could make much more money in Grampleton or Zuzu City, but he stays on in Pelican Town because they really need a doctor.

Jas helped Shane with his experiments in breeding the chickens. She has a natural head for science and once she got hold of Shane’s books, she plotted out how to look for recessive genes that would allow for chickens to be bred and emerge with blue feathers. She and Shane have a gentlemen’s agreement to not tell Marnie.

Jodi worked as a travel agent before she married Kent. She always envisioned the trips they would take as soon as they had the money, and then when Sam was grown, and then when Vincent was grown. She sometimes stays up late on the computer, looking at flight plans and planning the most affordable trips that would allow her to travel and see the places she most wants to see in the world.

Kent found comfort in another soldier when they were in the Gotoro prison camp. Though it became physical, it was more about finding something to hold onto than about the sex. His guilt over this relationship kept him distant from Jodi and his sons when he first returned. After confessing his indiscretion to Jodi, they attended relationship counseling. She has forgiven him, but he has yet to forgive himself.

Krobus is technically a liquid.

Leah earned an M.F.A. from Zuzu State, where she met and became friends with Elliott. Prior to attending her program, she interned as an apprentice carpenter in Grampleton. It was these same contacts who told her about Pelican Town and Robin, who let Leah stay at her home while she looked for a house to rent in town. Leah not so secretly has a crush of admiration on Robin.

Lewis, before becoming mayor of Pelican Town, owned a leatherworking business. He misses working with his hands, which is one of the reasons why he always visits the shopkeepers and is insistent on there being booths at the Stardew Valley Fair for the artisans in town to show off their wares.

Linus used to live in Pelican Town. He has a living relative in town. [REMAINDER REDACTED: SPOILERS FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS OF “FIRE WALK WITH ME”]

Marlon saved George’s life the day of the mine cave-in. He was the only one willing to enter the caves and seek out the last missing miner. It was in the process of doing so that a falling rock blinded him in one eye. Despite his injury, Marlon managed to pull George to safety up through the mine shafts. Though his lost eye made him unable to be an active member of the Adventurer’s Guild, Marlon does not regret anything and would absolutely do it again.

Marnie wanted to be a veterinarian. She did very well in college, earning a degree in animal sciences from Zuzu State, and was on the verge of leaving Pelican Town permanently to pursue vet school when she interned at a vet’s office in Grampleton for a summer. She was so distraught the first time she had to assist with putting a dog to sleep that she gave up on the career and decided to open her ranch. She makes it a point to be present any time an animal has to be put to sleep to give it comfort, even though it wrecks her emotionally.

Maru got into science after Sebastian was completely uninterested in a chemistry set he got one year for the Feast of the Winter Star. She is still passionate about chemistry, despite her other interests in biology and robotics. She was briefly the most popular kid in town, despite being younger than most of the other young adults, when she learned how to make ice cream using ingredients found in any kitchen.

Morris was a child actor who had a small role in Junimo Forest, a nearly-forgotten children’s movie from more than forty years ago. He owns six of the known twenty surviving copies of the film.

Mr. Qi took Sandy on as his ward after her parents, who worked for him, died suddenly. He considers Sandy to be his own daughter and always looks out for her. It’s why the Oasis is still in business despite barely getting any customers.

Pam and Penny used to live above the library. Pam’s husband and Penny’s father was the former curator, who made off with the entire collection on a day when Pam took Penny to an academic competition her senior year of high school. The trailer was the only thing they could afford to move into. This was when Pam started drinking so heavily and Penny started longing so much to live in a house of her own.

Pierre holds a degree in economics that he wanted to use to help boost his family’s business. His secret stash is stock options that he has been investing in since taking over Pierre’s General Store from his father. Neither Caroline nor Abigail knows about this money that Pierre is sitting on.

(I am not the biggest fan of Pierre, in case you can’t guess.)

Rasmodius only built his tower after his daughter, Caroline, was born. He has looked over Caroline and her family ever since. Though his lifespan will last far beyond Caroline’s, he plans to watch over Abigail after she is gone, as well as any children Abigail has, or their descendants. His greatest regret is not being present in Caroline’s life as she was growing up.

Robin wanted to be a ballroom dancer, but at 5′11 was far too tall to actually enter the ballroom circuit. She met Demetrius at amateur ballroom dancing lessons and still knows how to perform any ballroom or Latin dances she learned. Her favorite dance is the tango because of the crisp precision required. After she retires, she and Demetrius have a plan to travel and dance the tango in all of the countries where it is taught.

Sam, despite a love of pranks, only ever really got in trouble once while in high school. He and Sebastian cut class and went to a local park, where Sam skateboarded and Sebastian smoked. A missed trick made Sam get so scraped up he had road rash for a month. After he got home, Jodi read him the riot act for once and grounded him from skateboarding until school was out. That was when Sam got into guitar and started thinking seriously about a career in music.

Sandy met Emily at a holistic retreat. She used to work for Mr. Qi, selling snake oil (literally - his iridium milk sells for a huge amount to those in the know), but was so energized by her encounter and conversation with Emily that she decided to go into running her own store.

Sebastian’s favorite adult in town (other than his mom) is Marnie, who recognizes in him a kindred spirit. Marnie taught Sebastian how to catch frogs when he was young and he still occasionally seeks her out to talk to and ask advice from. He vehemently dislikes Lewis because of his refusal to acknowledge his relationship with Marnie, and wants to see Marnie in a relationship with someone who will treat her right.

Shane was on track to be a major gridball star, and was the hope of Stardew Valley High, before getting in a car accident senior year. He almost lost a leg and had to spend six months relearning how to walk. He began drinking heavily afterward to cope with the constant physical pain. Marnie reached out to friends of his in Zuzu City, who had him come live with them and dry out. He remained sober until three months after he moved back to Pelican Town with Jas, his goddaughter. He started drinking again after working at JojaMart, much to Marnie’s dismay.

Vincent changes what he wants to be when he grows up on a weekly basis. Past desired jobs have included soldier (like his dad), musician (like his brother), teacher (like Miss Penny, but something fun like art, not yucky like spelling), game show host, Flower Queen, surfer, and astronaut. Jodi amuses herself by imagining what her son will wear to work on the weeks where he insists he’s going to be some combination of the above.

Willy is a veteran of the Ferngill Coast Guard. He is from the Fern Islands but vowed never to return after some of his siblings disputed his father’s will and caused a massive feud. He joined the Coast Guard as a way to stay on the water and get away from the islands. He was honorably discharged after suffering an injury on a rescue mission and decided to settle in the most peaceful seaside town in Ferngill that he could find, which led him to Pelican Town.

Once again, thank you all so, so, so much for reading “Fire Walk with Me”! I hope you enjoyed these headcanons and that they give you some insight into some of the way I’ve written characters in the story.

#stardew valley #headcanons

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blazehedgehog · 3 years

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What was the honest reaction to Sonic 06 back in 2006?

It was a long time ago, so I can only really speak to my own perspective.

Sonic 2006 was the time that Sega’s marketing department really started cranking the hype train really, really hard. Sonic 2006 was announced as a fresh start. A soft reboot. Sonic Team said they were treating it like “the first Sonic game on the Sega Genesis.” You still had Tails, and Knuckles, and Shadow, but it was the start of a new era. A new type of Sonic the Hedgehog. More serious, more realistic, more “epic.”

At this point, there was no reason to necessarily distrust any of that. Yes, Sonic games had been slipping in quality, and yes, Sega was still more or less pretending that everything was “okay.” But that was always in the typical, “we’re trying to sell a video game and not go bankrupt” sense. This felt like a tacit acknowledgement that things weren’t so great and they were going to start over and refocus. Set things right.

Early gameplay footage looked rough. I distinctly remember a Gametrailers hands-on where they were demoing the Mach Speed Zone in Kingdom Valley, and the Sega representative was very clear and upfront that the game wasn’t done yet, and all of the empty space Sonic was running through would be filled in later. (It wasn’t.) There was also the typical debate over the TGS 2006 “Bringing it Home” playable demo, where people argued then, too, that the game wasn’t done yet, and not to judge things too harshly. The final version will be better.

The final version also wasn’t done yet. So, y’know.

I had effectively bought an Xbox 360 for this game. I was broke as per usual, but I’d gotten lucky and won a Gametrailers video competition, which landed me $1000 in Gamestop gift cards. I bought a PS2, a Nintendo DS, and an Xbox 360, plus more than a dozen games between the three platforms. I knew there would be more Xbox 360 games besides Sonic 2006, and I’d even originally wanted a 360 primarily for Elder Scrolls Oblivion, but the simple fact is that once the money was in my hands and I spent it, Sonic 2006 was the only actual Xbox 360 game I owned.

Or was going to own, anyway. I think I’d won the contest in September or October of 2006, when Sonic came out in November. So I bought the 360 a few weeks early with some original Xbox games, and spent the interim with Spider-man 2, Ninja Gaiden Black, and the copy of Halo 2 I borrowed from my cousin.

Sonic 2006 was the first game I’d ever pre-ordered. The second game, pre-ordered on the same day, was The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Gamecube. I still have the tiny pre-order statue that came with Sonic. His gloves and socks, once white, have begun to yellow with age, and the skin tone on his face and body is turning an ashy gray.

Even 72 hours before launch, there was not a clear picture what Sonic 2006 actually was. Sega was deliberately obfuscating certain features; early in development they’d sworn up and down that there were only three playable characters in the game, something that blatantly wasn’t true. Perhaps it was miscommunication from Japan, but it meant they were now going out of their way to hide how many other playable characters were actually in the game. I naively distrusted most (if not all) professional reviewers back then, and the earliest scores for Sonic 2006 were all over the map.

As a Sonic fan, you kind of had to know how to read between the lines on the more negative reviews, because we were definitely in the era where it felt like critics were starting to dogpile on the Sonic franchise now that Sega was a third party developer. There weren’t a lot of professional reviews you could trust regarding Sonic games, or at least, that’s what it felt like. This was the rise of the podcast, and snarky hosts were taking whatever low hanging fruit they could get.

I remember waking up on launch day -- friends had gotten up early and picked theirs up in the morning, when I’d rolled out of bed somewhere closer to noon (or maybe even afternoon). I had plans to pick up my copy later that evening, after sunset. My friends did not sound happy, but again, there was always this vibe of “Wait and see.” They had only just started the game. First impressions were still too fresh to really call.

But I had this moment, this cold spot in the pit of my stomach, where I thought “Maybe I can cancel the pre-order and get Gears of War instead?” Reviews for Gears seemed pretty good. I’d probably be happy with it instead of Sonic.

I couldn’t let myself do that. I was a Sonic fan. This was the first big Sonic game of a new generation. A new start. I bought the console for this. First game I ever pre-ordered. The second Sonic game in the history of the franchise I’d bought on launch day. This was it. This was the event. No backing down. Besides, Sonic 2006 was a big 15th Anniversary celebration game. They wouldn’t make such a big deal about the anniversary without just cause, right? Sonic 2006 was going to be great. I just needed to calm down.

So we drove out to Gamestop -- and it was the sort of thing where I think we couldn’t do the pre-order at my local Gamestop for some reason, so this one was a town or two over. It was a journey. I was nervous the whole way there. Something told me I was making a mistake. But I had to do this.

I think it may have been starting to rain as we rolled up on the store. It was around 8pm, and people were starting to camp out on the sidewalk. Literally camp out, tents and all, because of the rain. Today was the launch date for Sonic 2006, but tomorrow was the launch of the Playstation 3. These guys were here for Gamestop’s “Midnight Madness” launch event. They were going to be some of the first to get a PS3. I was probably the last person to pick up a Sonic 2006 pre-order.

Sonic 2006 might have been the first Sonic game to ever make me angry. I’d had a lot of internet debates on how I felt about Sonic Adventure 2, but most of those amounted to splitting hairs about things that felt disappointing when compared to the original Sonic Adventure. I was not angry then, I was simply let down. I was similarly let down when I finally got a chance to play Sonic Heroes. But again, not angry. Baffled, maybe. A little sad. But not angry.

With Sonic 2006, I slammed head first in to all of my excitement and uncertainty at 200mph. This was a Sonic game unlike anything I’d ever played before, and in all of the worst possible ways. Enough has been said about the quality of the game that I don’t need to describe anything that’s wrong with it -- also because literally everything was wrong with it. Perhaps the first video game I’d ever played, ever, on any platform, that actually fought back against your efforts to play it. A disaster in every sense of the word. A broken nightmare. After finishing Sonic’s story, I was mad. How could they let this happen? What was wrong with them?

I was less angry after having finished Shadow’s story. Shadow had even buggier gameplay than Sonic, but it also felt more complex, more action-oriented. His story was better, too -- instead of the sappy Princess love story, Shadow’s story was about how the world was against him, and the crossroads that brought him to: rise above his past and strive to be a better person, or give in to the temptations of evil? It was still dumb as heck, but it was less dumb than Sonic’s story.

By the time the credits rolled, I had accepted the fact that this game was a mess. More of a mess than any Sonic game ever had been before. It was clearly a deeply unfinished game. Friends theorized maybe they could patch the game, because that was a thing games could get now. Sonic 2006 could still be saved. The PS3 version wouldn’t be out for another month, surely that means they’re working on a fix, right? Some were even theorizing over an achievement called “Nights of Kronos” -- it mentioned a “complete ending to the last hidden story.” Perhaps that meant there was going to be more? Maybe we got the bad ending, and a better, more finished ending was waiting for us on the disc somewhere?

There wasn’t. And no patch ever fixed the game. That was Sonic 2006 -- the kiss, the loading screens, the strange mannequin NPCs, the stiff controls, the glitchy physics, the empty overworlds, the bizarre dialog, the plotholes and time paradoxes, that’s just what the game was, and was always going to be, forever.

Before Sonic 2006, you could say that 3D Sonic games were bad, but there was always a place to defend them from. They had problems, but they were never irredeemable. Sonic Heroes may have had frustrating controls and repetitive level design, but it had great art direction, nice music, and fun concepts. They were always trying, dang it, and it was obvious to see that.

Sonic 2006 felt irredeemable. Offensively terrible. A failure on such a level that it was hard to comprehend. Beyond simply “a new low” for the franchise. This felt like rock bottom. It was the kind of bad that spread like a virus. Even good games, like Sonic 2 on the Sega Genesis, felt notably tarnished by the existence of Sonic 2006. It threatened to ruin the entire franchise by proximity alone. For some, it probably did. I definitely had a moment where I wondered if I would ever enjoy a Sonic game in the same way ever again. They were all tainted now. Infected by memories of Sonic 2006, the game that was supposed to save the franchise, but condemned it to the lowest pits of hell.

In isolation, that might have been the end for me. I might have continued to drift away, bit by bit, until I found greener hills outside of the Sonic franchise.

I’ve said this before, but what saved me was getting hired to write for TSSZ News. Now, suddenly, I was paid to play and write about Sonic games. It was a duty. And it helped that the first Sonic game I reviewed for TSSZ ended up being Sonic Unleashed, a game I continue to openly gush about to this day, more than a decade after its release.

But never forget that Sonic 2006 was such a disaster that it nearly made me give up Sonic the Hedgehog. It really was that bad.

#questions #sonic the hedgehog #sega #sonic 2006 #tssz news #Anonymous

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pidayforpi · 4 years

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122,640 Days

How many days were there in 336 years?

A quick tap on the calculator, and our hero found out.

122,640 days. Neglecting leap years.

122,640 days. Would anything still remain after 122,640 days?

Daffy Duck stood inside his space ship, looking at the planet he called “home”. Were the stars too bright, or was his heart feeling sour?

Planet Earth in front of him seemed a bit cloudy through the wide windows. The reinforced glass was sparkly clean. Eager Young Space Cadet was always so diligent.

But what was cloudy was something the young pig would never imagine being cloudy.

Duck Dodgers, the national - no, universal - hero, always wore a boastful smile or a disappointed frown.

But the black-feathered duck in front of the panel of buttons was wearing an unreadable expression.

———————————————————————————————

“The breeze gently passes through the air, blowing towards the heart that should have been broken.

Enveloping those crossed, held hands in the everyday dusk, slowly disappearing.”

Somewhere on the blue-green planet, Daffy Duck could see a two-storey house. In that house, he could see a grey rabbit sitting on the sofa, caressing a brown “dog” on his lap. A brown mouse wearing a sombrero pushed opened the front door much taller than him, tired from a day’s work. The rabbit would greet him, and vice versa, before the mouse went inside his mouse hole.

Daffy knew there was a fourth occupant in the house: A black duck fast asleep in a messy bedroom. After all, the tenant always went to sleep strictly at 10:00 pm, only to wake up at 10:00 am the next day. The tenant was a heavy sleeper. No matter how noisy his housemates downstairs were, he would never wake up. No matter how noisy he snored, and how hard his housemates slapped him to wake him just to tell him to shut up, he would never wake up. 10:00 pm, and he’s a dead man for the next 12 hours. Even on New Year’s Eve, he would not give an exception. In fact, he would even sleep earlier at 8:30 pm, because he strongly believed that New Year was “a holiday invented by the media”, whatever that meant.

But if he was now given the chance to relive any New Year’s Eve, Daffy believed the black duck would be willing to stay up all night.

“Strange, isn’t it? Our smile never looked the same.

But now, it seems like I am looking at my own reflection.”

Daffy knew the duck was a moocher. He never worked to pay his rents, or anything for the house. Even the “dog” would win prize money from dog shows, and the mouse would use his hard-earned money to repay the house-owner: The rabbit. Not to mention the duck being a big spender, an irresponsible customer, often buying useless items at high prices. Heck, he even once used the rabbit’s money to buy and decorate his parade float, and a dozen of lobsters to fill the swimming pool for a barbecue. He even once stole the rabbit’s inventions, bought the house with the money earned, only to have the house destroyed when his (version of the rabbit’s) invention malfunctioned. Yet, the rabbit never kicked him out. Never sold the parade float, never got rid of all the lobsters. Instead, he built a time machine to save the house. Not only because it was his house in the first place, but it was also the abode of his best friend: The duck.

But if he was now given the chance to live in that house again, Daffy believed the black duck would take any job to repay the rabbit for his generosity.

“I won’t be sad. Because it’s nothing.

Hidden under those nonchalant greetings is my “thank you”.”

Daffy knew the duck was a terrible friend. He never kept his promises. He just took his friends for granted. Whenever he wanted something, he would ask his friends to pay for him. He wouldn’t even pay for a soda on the Grand Canyon himself. He stole the rabbit’s gloves when he needed to fix his parade float. He took his polite, innocent pig friend’s wallet to buy a ship, lying to his empathetic swine buddy that he needed a kidney transplant. The duck even forced him to be his butler to impress his girlfriend on a date, in the pig’s house no less! Not to mention the verbal and physical abuse the duck had inflicted on him during the dinner. He messed up his rooster friend’s film project for fun, his only excuse being that he wasn’t a professional actor. He was a terrible host at his own diner party, and a pathetic MC for a mystery game. Yet, they all attended his birthday party. Friendship and love were the only reasons they needed to forgive their duck-billed looney friend, not to mention him being fun to be with. The duck’s stupid grin and funny lisp were all they need to feel the power of friendship. Love really did defy common sense.

But if he was now given the chance to be at that birthday party again, Daffy believed the black duck would burst into tears of joy right then and there. Words couldn’t describe how grateful the duck was to his friends.

“Farewell. Bye bye. Please do take care.

Because this is a request I proposed first, please firmly catch it.”

He missed those days lounging around Pizzarriba with the rabbit and the pig, engaging in small talks when the mouse delivered two fresh, hot pizzas to their table with a wide smile.

He missed those days filling himself up with helium at the fun fair, just to win the title of “Mr Weiner” in front of his friends.

He missed those days playing bowling with the pig, a Martian and a puma, and helping them make overly long nicknames to insert into the leaderboard.

He missed those days at the Copy Place, where he made his first impression to his girlfriend as a weirdo ordering business cards stating himself as a wizard.

He missed those days being an outlaw chained to his rabbit friend, disguising themselves as yellow versions of themselves and somehow getting away with it.

He missed those days streaking (yes, streaking) with his pig friend in a remote village in Mexico, only to be put behind bars by the local sheriff.

He missed those days disguising as a university professor, and actually changing his name to “Professor”.

He missed those days sharing his house with his rude red-haired neighbour, and trying to scare him away with the rabbit when his misbehaviour were just too much.

He missed those days destroying an antique store owned by a pair of gophers in his fight with the rooster (and the fight between the rabbit and the red-haired neighbour). The shame when he cried for his mother in front of his friends!

He missed those days teaching his witch neighbour’s son how to defend himself against bullies. Even now, he didn’t think he had the power to push the red monster a mere centimetre away.

He missed those days ruining a whole dog show, nearly getting his rabbit friend arrested and his “dog” killed.

He missed those days training with the mouse, only to have the pig carry him throughout the marathon. The pig really was the local hero, as the papers said.

Yes, Daffy Duck really did miss those days. Those days, 122,640 days ago.

“Not long ago, we never talked about the future.

Although I am getting gentler, as wishes that cannot be granted accumulate.”

When he awoke from his 3.5 century slumber, just a glance around, and Daffy knew those days weren’t coming back.

He would rather be frozen forever, oblivious to the cruel reality.

In 122,640 days, everything changed.

No one remained, at least not as themselves.

Bugs Bunny, Speedy Gonzales, Tina Russo, Foghorn Leghorn, Pete Puma and Gossamer were nowhere to be found.

Porky Pig, “Poochie” the Tasmanian Devil, Marvin, Yosemite Sam, Mac and Tosh were there, technically. But they weren’t who they had been 122,640 days ago.

Especially good old Porky, the second best friend Daffy never admitted that he had. Without Bugs, Porky was the only one Daffy could count on.

But when the “Eager Young Space Cadet” looked at him with a confused, ignorant smile, Daffy knew that was not Porky. Not anymore.

The smile was the same, but not the owner of the smile.

Daffy was still surprised how he didn’t collapse and cry at that very moment.

“But now, for only a bit, please let me throw a little tantrum.”

And it didn’t help that Marvin, his high-school exchange classmate and friend, pointed his gun at him when they first met. Daffy really hoped Marvin had pulled the trigger at that time.

Poochie transformed into a real killing machine, Mac and Tosh reduced to vegetable-stealing mutants, while Yosemite Sam evolved from the local neighbourhood jerk to a galactic evil mastermind.

“I won’t be sad. It’s time for you to go.

Contradicting my cold salutations, I turned around.”

Yes. Porky would no longer jump at him for wasting his money for a ship. Marvin would no longer deliver pizzas with him via a tank. Sam would no longer be stupid enough to cut his own electricity supply, and ask for refuge at Daffy’s house.

He couldn’t tell Bugs how sorry and thankful he was for being his bestie. Couldn’t tell Speedy how delicious his frozen pizzas and 62 hot dogs were. Couldn’t tell Tina how good the name “Zachary” was. Couldn’t tell Gossamer how beautiful his voice was.

“Farewell. Bye bye. Please do take care.

If you write me a postcard or two every year, I will surely catch it tightly.”

Those meaningless, joyful, carefree days were never coming back.

———————————————————————————————

“Someday, we are going to meet again.

(It’s alright if you keep it. Whether it is the CD, or the harmonica...)”

If the buttons weren’t waterproof, the space ship would have crashed already.

Tears flowed out of Daffy’s eyes, dripping onto the metallic panel. He fell onto the cold, lifeless ground, wiping away tear after tear. The planet in front of him was no longer visible, leaving only a smear of blue and green.

“I won’t be sad. Please don’t be sad as well.

Don’t let me see that devastated expression, and cheer up.”

He told himself to keep quiet, to hold himself together. He was now Duck Dodgers, of the 24.5th century! Lest Space Cadet noticed his dear captain crying uncontrollably. But Daffy didn’t care. Right now, he was Daffy Duck, not some fictional hero in the future. Right now, he was back in the 21st century. He could cry all he wanted. He could be the pathetic loser he used to be.

No need for fame.

No need for power.

No need for disintegrating pistols or ultimatum dispatchers.

All he wanted were those 122,640 days back. Those scenes reflected on the photo frame on the control panel.

“Farewell. Bye bye. Please do take care.

I hope that when we congratulate each other, we can meet again.”

The photo frame he received on his birthday, made from pictures of himself. Many have dismissed it as a spoof of narcissism. But little did they know that photo frame meant the world to Daffy.

“I won’t be sad. Because it’s nothing.

Hidden under those nonchalant greetings is my “thank you”.”

Daffy took the old photo frame, and embraced it tightly. He couldn’t look at the pictures clearly anyway. But he could see his friends planning his birthday party at Pizzarriba, making his birthday presents, and decorating both the house and the restaurant...

“Farewell. Bye bye. Please do take care.

Because this is a request I proposed first, please firmly catch it.”

A pair of trembling arms hugged Daffy from behind. The creator of the photo frame. Eager Young Space Cadet must be so confused seeing his captain crying his eyes out with his self-portrait so late at night. He didn’t even know who made the photo frame, let alone what was making his brave captain so, so sad.

“Farewell. Bye bye. Please do take care.

If you write me a postcard or two every year, I will surely catch it tightly.”

Daffy didn’t have to look to see Porky’s puzzled expression. And yes, that was Porky. Not some random “Space Cadet”. That was his second best friend, the one who made him that old, dusty, rusty photo frame. He might not remember it, but Daffy would never forget.

“Farewell. Bye bye. Please do take care.

Because this is a request I proposed first, please firmly catch it.”

———————————————————————————————

Somewhere in the reflection of his overflowing tears, Daffy could see a pizza parlour in a busy city. The bell jingled when he opened the front door, people’s laughter filled his ears. Mouthwatering aroma of pizzas filled his nostrils as soon as he stepped into the restaurant. He didn’t request for a table - He was always the late one.

He sat down besides a grey rabbit and a pink pig at their usual seats, right before a brown mouse with a sombrero dashed towards them with a pencil, a notebook and a bright, friendly smile. Daffy didn’t need the menu. He always ordered the same dish. Every year. Every day.

“Two cheese pepperoni pizzas. The usual.”

(16-4-2020 ~ 20-4-2020)

——————————————————————————————

-(I originally wanted to post this story along with another Ducktales long story, but since it’s a long story, I still haven’t finished it, so...)

-(This is also the first fan-fic I have finished in my life.)

-This story is the result of my new found interest in The Looney Tunes Show and Duck Dodgers in April 2020. The background is a possible AU (?) in which (1) Duck Dodgers is Daffy Duck (is this canon?), and (2) is the Daffy Duck from the Looney Tunes Show, making The Looney Tunes Show a prequel and Duck Dodgers a sequel.

-The number of year “336” is the difference between year 2350 and 2014. Since the Duck Dodgers show doesn’t mention which year it is set specifically in, or how many years is Duck Dodgers frozen for, I am improvising here. Year 2350 is exactly 24.5th Century, while year 2014 is the end of The Looney Tunes Show (2011-2014). I picked 2014 (instead of 2011) because I presume the events in the show happen between 2011-2014, such that after the end of the show, Daffy Duck is frozen until year 2350.

-The song lyrics (in Italic and Bold) are from “Sayonara Byebye” (さよならbyebye) performed by Mawatari Matsuko (馬渡松子). It is best known (and is actually composed) for the anime version of Yu ☆ Yu ☆ Hakusho (幽☆遊☆白書) by the (in)famous Togashi Yoshihiro (冨樫義博) as the second ending theme. The translations are by me. The song is about parting ways, and is actually an inspiration for this story, as well as one of my personal favourite anime theme songs.

(It is a bit off to be in an action anime, especially when it’s played during an intense battle tournament arc (you know which one I mean if you watched the anime before), but the song is great nonetheless. In fact, the song fits the ending of the series. I would say it may be planned?)

-Most (if not all) of the flashback scenes (or references) in the story appear in various episodes of The Looney Tunes Show. The photo frame is the one given to Daffy by Porky as a birthday present in the episode “Muh-Muh-Muh-Murder” (S01E25), for instance.

-By chance, I wrote this story across Daffy’s birthday (screen debut), which is on April 17.

-And I also wrote this during my public exam preparation period. Yes I am pathetic.

-Also the Japanese dub is good in both DD and TLTS. (・∀・)

Duck Dodgers, The Looney Tunes Show and any character involved belong to Warner Bros.

“さよならbyebye” is written by リーシャウロン, composed and performed by 馬渡松子.

“幽☆遊☆白書” is created by the wonderful 冨樫義博-sensei.

#the looney tunes show #duck dodgers #looney tunes #daffy duck #story #storyteller #short story #song story

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teamhawkeye · 4 years

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5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50!

5. Ever use cheat codes?

- Oh, absolutely. I immediately am remembering The Sims and using “motherlode” like nobody’s business, haha

10. Ever go to a midnight game release or stand in line for hours?

- I actually can’t remember ever going for a midnight release of any game for myself. Usually if i want something on release, i pre-order the physical copy for same-day release or just go for the digital one

15. If it was a requirement to get a game related tattoo, what would you pick?

- Jack’s wrist chain tattoos from Bioshock are my number one - I still really want to get them!

20. Game that you know like the back of your hand?

- Far Cry 5. I’ve spent so much time in that game, traversing the map and replaying the missions and scouring for dialogue and such, i know that one very, very well

25. Were you ever an arcade game player?

- Not really, but i have played at arcades, so i guess that counts? They really started fazing out arcade machines at our mall and such before i was even old enough to be going places like that to hang out - only “adult” arcade options, mainly bars themed around them, have really revitilized them around here

30. How many consoles do you own?

- 7 (Sega Genesis, N64, PS2, Wii, DS, Xbox 360, Xbox One)

35. Ever work in a game store? Or do you have a favorite game shop?

- I have not ever worked in one - but there’s a local chain of stores around here i really love that sell both current and throwback games, consoles, gears. etc. they even do repairs and i need to contact them soon about an estimate for fixing the hdmi port for my 360

40. What to you think of virtual reality headsets or motion controls?

- I think if they’re enjoyable for people to use to play, or offer accessibility to people who couldn’t otherwise play, then they’re awesome. I myself get really bad headaches from things being too jumpy/shaky and i feel like i would not enjoy using it at all, haha

45. How are you at Mario Kart?

- Mario Kart 64 i absolutely dominate - I am supreme at that game. Any other version of Mario Kart...i’m the absolute worst at. My steering is absolute shit, hahaha

50. If you were a game designer, what masterpiece would you create?

- I’ve actually had an idea for a trilogy of games since i was like 14! The basic idea was that the protagonist is a skilled combatant and infiltrator and that in the first game, their skills are great, but you still have to take the time to learn and master them to make them better.

The second game would have your character’s performance at its absolute peak, so they’re at their best throughout that game’s events.

The end of the second game, however, would have the character being grievously injured and the third game would essentially wipe all your skills off the slate - you’re back to square one, not even close to where you were at the start of the first game. The character would have to adopt new methods and skills to proceed since you’re still dealing with the fallout of being so badly damaged and it would completely change the ease and tactics with which you handle scenarios you might have been handling differently in the first few games

but obviously i’m no video game dev and i never actually plotted out more than like, 40% of that supposed trilogy’s ideas, haha

#chuckhansen

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szopenhauer · 4 years

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How are you today? not good :( What is your favorite medication that you take, and why? ... What color hair did your first crush have? my first irl (not celeb) female crush had dark brown hair similar to mine but much longer

Are you living in a dream or a nightmare? nightmare with love plot What’s something that most people don’t know about you? for example - that I might have DID? What’s one common assumption about you that isn’t true? for example - that I had to be a hoe to get STD? Would you rather do a craft project or a science experiment? depends Who was the last person who was rude to you? mom? Do you say garbage, trash, rubbish, or something else? śmieci/śmietnik Do you have any cousins who look like you? wouldn’t say so Do you have any haters who are jealous of you? jealous of what? Can you see the mountains from where you live? my house? noooo Did you ever play pranks on April Fool’s Day? nothing big because I hate pranks and still regret them tbh as most of them didn’t end well/go as planned or just made me feel uneasy in general What does your favorite pair of leggings look like? I have many leggings so hard to choose Does chronic illness keep you from doing the things you want to do? sadly Do you part your hair on the left side, right side, or in the middle? whatever Have you ever owned a succulent? sure Do you have a library card? I do Do you frequent the local library? not during covid What color is your bedroom door? white with glass, my mom painted a picture on it to cover our room from the hall light when my dad was going to work early or coming back late

Have you ever hurt yourself because of love? umm... Have you ever been in a hospital for more than 3 weeks? yes? Do you shave your arms? armpits sometimes only When is the next time you are going to take a shower/bath? tonight Do you like tap water? I boil it first Is there anything in your hair? there isn’t What’s the last game you played? Forge of Empires as there’s an event currently but also Chicken Smoothie Do you like animal print? *shrug* Have you ever cracked your head open? almost, bawiłam się z siostrą w ogrodzie i zrobiła ze mnie konia po czym pociągnęła mnie za “lejce” i upadłam do tyłu uderzając głową w kamień - nie pamiętam tego zupełnie co jest dziwne What was your last surgery for? - Do you like sea horses? but it’s gross how males give birth :x Where were you planning on going this summer? Ełk which didn’t happen, first time in ages Does anyone in your family have an alcohol problem? not close ones Are you waiting for someone to text you back? I always wait for my gf to text me :3 Are you wearing socks? warmer already, it’s autumn

Oh look , it’s snowing outside! Do you get excited? hell no

Is your room covered in posters, or pretty bare? it’s covered in smth else

What store makes the best sweaters? dunno, I buy second hand clothes

What sport do you completely fail at? most of them?

You’re favourite store at the mall closes down, now what do you do? not surprised, that was happening plenty of times before

Do you have a cool hat in the shape of an animal? yasss, several :D

Do you like watching the news, or do you find it too depressing? it is depressing indeed, I avoid majority of news

Insert cool song lyric here: If you can't handle a heart like mine Don't waste your time with me

Would you ever risk having a house party when you’re parents are gone? I’m not into parties and my mother never leaves the house

Are you a worrier, or more care-free? worrier

What’s one sport you really want to try at least once in your life? for example - tenis?

What are you plans for the future? I have no future...

What put you in the mood you are in today? shitload of stuff

Have you ever pretended to be someone’s friend? it’s complicated Have you ever been physically abused? a little Does it take a lot to make you feel guilty? it’s easy to make me feel guilty Have you ever made up a false rumor to get back at someone? nah Have you ever done something bad JUST because you knew you shouldn’t? wtf Have you ever purposely hurt yourself? I have Have you ever mooned/flashed someone? accidentally Have you ever pushed someone into a pool? don’t! :o Have you ever copied someone else’s homework? obvi Have you ever kissed someone the same day you met them? nope

Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? yup

Do you remember the show Bananas in Pajamas? I didn’t really watch it as a kid but I saw fragments later in life by accident here and there so... Would you rather have 1 best friend, or a large group of friends? bestie is enough Is the glass half full or half empty? half full... of shit If you could know how, when and where you’ll die, would you want to know? YES Have you completed high school? in 2011 Have you lived where you currently live all your life? yep

Do you love the last person you text? I do Is it windy outside? it isn’t for now

When’s the last time you took a bus somewhere? this week Do you think road kill is gross? sad Have you ever walked away from someone and they didn’t come after you? oh well... How many teeth do you have? I’m not missing any yet Have you ever watched someone die? just animal, not counting movies of course Who did you last dance with? my current partner Have you ever had a full body cast? luckily not Do piercings make people look ugly? might but it’s their life What do you think about age? what do you mean? Are you naked? why would I be while doing survey O.o Have you faced any of your fears lately? I face them everyday... Have you ever kissed under water? no thx Who was the last person to comfort you as you cried? no one Do a lot of people have your name? recently lots of kids get my name Do you have to plug your nose while swimming under water? I don’t swim under water Have you ever been so hungry you felt like you were going to throw up? that was happening but I’m glad I didn’t end up puking after all Have you ever choked on your own spit? who didn’t Who do you want to kiss? my fiancee How do you feel about grass? long is nice Do you live on a farm? I wanted to but it’s too hard What’s the last thing your parents bought you? food When was the last time you did laundry? recently Do you like playing poker? why not Do you like carrots better when they are cooked? that’s true Do you have any cartoon theme songs stuck in your head? not atm Do you know anyone who commited suicide? not personally Have you lost any close family member to cancer? I didn’t really know them Is it ever too late to apologize? it seems When was the last time you cried out in pain? I rarely cry out of pain, I’m used to it

Would you rather drink beer or whiskey? I’d rather not Would you rather be stabbed & die, or raped & live? if I was going to get pregnant then stabbed and die if not then dunno Which Spongebob character would you like to be? I’m Squidward lol Would you rather be hot or cold? hot Would you rather have your whole body tattooed or pierced? tattooed, I know that piercings you can easily take off and wait for your body to “grow back” but... still, too much piercings look disgusting to me Would you rather lose a foot or a hand? foot Do you think it’s wrong for people to get sex changes? no comment Would you rather win a million dollars or be truly happy? what if truly happy would include million dollars? hahaha Do you believe that you should really have no regrets? that’s irresponsible >.< Would you rather skydive or ride a bull? wait... real bull?

Do you watch That 70’s Show? no Is there anyone that you would take a bullet for? oh Nat definitely would lmfao

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bifrostbookreviews · 5 years

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How to Read 200 Books in 1 Year

Trust me, I’m a Professional

Note: this picture does not include every book I read, it’s just how many bookmarks I filled up in 2018.

Post below the Cut for Brevity:

So, I read 200 books in 2018. It was my third attempt to do so; in 2016 I read ~150, in 2017 I read ~110, and this year, come hell or high water, I was going to finish this stupid challenge so I’d never have to attempt it again.

I want to start this post off by saying I absolutely do not recommend reading 200 books in one year. I felt the book hangover in the very fibers of my being. I had to cancel plans so I could get my reading done. At one point, I had some personal things going on so I didn’t read for ~3 weeks when I was already behind, ended up like 26 books behind schedule and Goodreads was telling me I had to read 5 books a week to catch up and I was absolutely freaking out. There were books I couldn’t fully enjoy because I was pushing myself so hard to get to the end that I couldn’t just stop and process and enjoy them. It was annoying and I’m personally never doing this again. If you are on the fence about trying to do a challenge like this... don’t. Or pick something more reasonable, like 100-150 books.

That said, this post is written for the hardcore book nerds like me, where the struggle doesn’t matter, you just want to be so over the top in your book nerdiness you’re gonna attempt 200 books anyway. It took me 3 solid attempts to be successful, and I’ve learned a lot about what to do. I want to impart this knowledge out there, so anyone else trying it can have a general guide on how to get this done.

Without further ado, here’s how to read 200 books in one year. These aren’t in particular order, they’re just written as they came to mind.

1. Understand what you’re getting into. This was the biggest mistake I made in the previous two years. There’s only 365 days in a year, and if you have 200 books to read, guess what? You basically have to finish a book every 2 days. You need to go in understanding that 3-4 hours of your day will be spent on uninterrupted reading every day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks in a row. That’s what it takes to pull this off, and the sooner you grasp that, the more successful you’ll be over all.

2. Read every genre / don’t read bad books / don’t be ashamed of short books / don’t avoid long books. I know this is a 4-in-1, but they all come down to the same thing: avoiding BOOK BURNOUT. I cannot stress this enough: do not go into this challenge thinking you’re only going to read books in one or two genres. You will drive yourself crazy. Even if in the past, you only read mysteries or you’re only here for YA, trust me when I tell you that you’ll get absolutely sick of your regular genre. Make sure you find books that are completely different from each other. Even if you don’t like them, it’s important to try and switch things up.

That said, don’t force yourself to slog through a book that you aren’t feeling. I give all of my books 50 pages to hook me, and if I’m not absolutely into it by then, I move on. I do this intentionally, because if I’m not enthralled, I become a slow, distracted reader, and then I fall behind, and then I’ll end up 2 weeks behind and it’s not even that I didn’t want to read, it’s that I didn’t want to read this one particular book. I will also sometimes give up at the halfway point and count them as read, because I gave them a solid chance and I’ve gleaned enough to write a Goodreads review about it and spent upwards of 3 hours on it.

I also want to talk about book length, as well. This also has a lot to do with pacing, which I’ll talk more about later so forgive me if this is wonky, but here goes. You need to read books that average a certain page limit. My personal reading limit is ~200 pages a day without inciting a major book hangover. This may be different for you, but it’s important that you become really familiar with where that boundary is, and pick books to read that are no more than twice your daily limit for your day to day reading. If you can muster 150 pages a day, then you should be reading ON AVERAGE books that are around 300 pages and finishing one every 2 days.

That said, one of my life-savers when I got behind was keeping a stack of novellas, poetry collections, and Goosebumps on hand. There are going to be days you’re too busy to read; you will need emergency books that only take half an hour of reading to get through.

By the same token, don’t discard long books. The Game of Thrones series actually got me out of a reading slump in 2018 despite each book having 1,000+ pages. I just didn’t try to read them in 2 days; instead I would read 30 pages a day on days where I had wiggle room or some extra time to pick at it. I recommend doing the same on books that you really want to read but can’t justify reading all at once, because otherwise, you’ll just wind up frustrated that you’re reading things you don’t want to be.

3. Befriend and support your local indy bookstore. Fair warning, I’m biased, but hear me out. When you’re trying to read 200 books in one year, you need a HUGE supply of books. You’re going to read new books, old books, books you’ve wanted to read for years and books you’ve never heard of before. You’re going to get books online, through friends, through the library, through thrift stores--everywhere. You will be a reading machine. Even if you own 200 books and you get rid of them as you go, you’re going to end the year owning more books than you started with--trust me. You may not know it yet, but you’re signing up for this.

If you have a local independent bookstore, go talk to the employees/owners there. Their job is not to go mark clearance, scan things, rearrange endcaps, and try as hard as possible to avoid you interrupting their daily work task, like it is at any big box retailer. Their job is to find you exactly what you want to read. They will be your Book Person. They will know what books are hot right now, they will have more recommendations than you know what to do with, if they have used books and do a trade in program their books will be cheaper than anything you find online, and if you reeeally get to know them they will probably throw in books - particularly pre-published galleys - for free (don’t tell them I said that). They also sell incredibly discounted books; at my store, specifically, we have a whole cart of books that are $1 each, and multiple bookcases of used hardcover books $3 each. It can be a lifesaver if you’re attempting this challenge on a budget.

4. Read on different formats. Research shows that the majority of people read faster on digital devices than they do on paper, but that their comprehension is cut in half. I’m sure right now you’re probably thinking “ok, you just said to support local bookstores; why are you telling me to read on Kindle? Amazon is evil.” First off, you can procure e-books through the websites of some indy bookstores (like mine), which supports us and which we greatly appreciate. Second of all, there’s a lot of books offered online that simply aren’t available in bookstores (ex Chuck Tingle novellas). And third, I DO NOT recommending doing ALL of your reading on e-readers; your comprehension is going to suffer. With all of that said, I personally read twice as fast on my Kindle than I do reading the physical copy of a book (I tested it). It’s something to keep in mind.

5. Keep a steady pace / accept that you’ll fall behind / DON’T BINGE READ! I touched on this earlier with book length, but it’s SO, SO important to maintain a steady pace. What I ended up doing - and wish I had done from the beginning - was on any given book, I’d see how many pages total it had and mark the exact halfway point. That was how far I had to read. The next day, I knew I had to read to the end. Rinse, lather, repeat.

So what happens when you have a couple off days and you don’t get your reading done and now you’re behind? Your first inclination, I can tell you from experience, will be to try and catch up. ‘I can read 400 pages in a day,’ you’ll scoff before eating an entire book like it’s no different from a Netflix binge watch. Now you’re caught up. Problem solved... except it’s not, because the next day, you’re not going to want to look at a book. You’ve won yourself a book hangover, and you’re going to wind up even more behind than you started.

This is the reason why it’s important to keep short books on hand. Instead of binge reading, maintain your pace. Read your short books when you’re behind. If there’s a book you have to give up on, use the day to get farther in whatever long book you’re reading. DO NOT try to jack your pace beyond your daily limit and tell yourself that you can binge read without consequences. You can do that when you’re not doing this challenge.

6. Use a focus app. So this is my final advice, and it was an absolute lifesaver. I honestly don’t think I would have been able to complete this challenge without the Forest app on my phone. There are other focus apps that work just as well, but that’s the one I use. The way the focus app works is that you set a timer and it blocks you from using your phone until the timer goes off. In the case of Forest, it plants a tree and any time you unlock your phone it gives you a message like “stop phlubbing!” or “get back to work!” If you complete the timer, it plants a tree in your forest. If you ignore the timer and go on Facebook, it plants a dead tree in your forest.

I used to be really addicted to my phone and I would waste so much time just scrolling through social media or sending random texts, w.e, but because of this app all of my distractions were eliminated and I was able to consistently eke out time for my reading. I normally set 45 minute timers and I would usually be done with my scheduled reading within 3 or 4 rounds. Honestly, even if you’re not trying this challenge, I still recommend a focus app. It’s just a game changer with anything you’re trying to get done.

So yeah, that’s all. If you’ve kept on till the end, thank you SO MUCH! I know this is the longest post EVER, but reading 200 books a year isn’t easy--and I’m talkative. Please let me know if you’re trying this challenge out, or if you’re trying another challenge! How many books are you reading this year? Have you tried this before? Let me know.

#bifrostbookreviews #booklr #bookblr #reading challenge #200 books #bookworm #bookaddict #new year #bookdragon #reading #read #literature

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myjames371posts-blog · 5 years

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7 Surprising Things which Airbnb done to increase Guests trust

1. Airbnb Gift Cards

Airbnb gift cards

can be purchased at various retailers online and in stores throughout the United States. Online retailers sell both digital cards these can be emailed to the recipient and physical cards. Individual gift cards can be purchased in amounts from $25 to $500.

Right now, gift cards can only be purchased in US Dollars by individuals in the United States and can only be redeemed by users with a payment method that was issued in the United States.

you can use Free Airbnb Gift Cards which you can Get from

freegiftcardsgenerator.com

they provide you free Gift Cards which can be easily redeemed.

To order gift cards in bulk, visit our corporate purchasing site. Bulk orders require a $1,000 purchase minimum.

2. Separate Entrances

For reasons beyond me, guests LOVE separate entrances. What’s so good about a separate door to come in? A seasoned host is more than used to people coming in and out.

We live on a separate floor and the only entrance is on the first floor which means we don’t and can’t track guests movements. Since we don’t track guests, we’re forced to build up trust over time. At the end of the day, Airbnb is really a trust game and so far trust is definitely winning.

3. Local Menus

Go hunting for take-out menus or go as far as dropping your guests a message to leave useful tourist information stuff behind.

I collected a bunch of take-out menus (for myself initially) from nearby and then I figured it would be a nice gesture for hungry, geographically confused guests to have them instead. That got the ball rolling.

My guests saw the menus and contributed their own menus, activity pamphlets and tour maps from their own Seattle adventures. I now have 3 copies of “The History of Seattle” tour guide-book, in Chinese! My guests think I left all those useful things but it was mostly just the guests before them.

4. Driveway Parking

This is a big deal if you live in a large metropolitan city. A private parking spot is worth its weight in gold…OK, not really but it’s a neat amenity to have! Airbnb guests love driveway parking and they are willing to pay a higher price for it which means more green in the pocket.

We live car-free for the fringe benefit of essentially renting out our garage and driveway instead of housing a depreciating hunk of metal that runs on old dinosaurs bones.

Roughly 15% of our guests leave rave reviews specifying having driveway parking out of all the other amenities (like ambiance, cleanliness, linen quality, mattress quality etc.) About 95% of those who raved about our driveway amenity leaves us a 5-star review.

5. Labeled Things

Guests LOVE labels on things. It’s just a considerate gesture to tack on a dot sticker or a laminated label on things like light switches and dials.

I held back for over a year because I didn’t want stickers on my own walls and light switches but the moment I put them up I got great responses immediately!

After a while, I became used to the labels I put up and I regretted not labeling sooner for the convenience of my guests. I didn’t even consider it until I was an Airbnb guest myself and I thought to myself.

It would be nice if the host marked things. I don’t want to accidentally break anything.

6. Full-Length Mirrors

When I started Airbnb I did not include a full-length mirror in any of the rooms. It crossed my mind but I didn’t follow through. I thought it wasn’t that important because we had a giant mirror in the bathroom already.

I opted-in for a light up vanity mirror instead.The feedback all from female guests by the way was to have a full-length mirror.

I went on Craig’s List and purchased a second-hand full-length mirror for the room. I would recommend all hosts to buy at least one full-length mirror.

7. Homemade Anything

Baking homemade muffins, biscuits, cookies – pretty much anything homemade makes guests happy. I was surprised by the responses from guests.

Chocolate is probably the most beloved flavor, if and when my husband decides to bake.Hubby’s a magnificent baker, unlike that wrenched wife who just eats!

Just make sure you have a sanitized kitchen and a food prep license before doughing out the yum.You can also consider ordering baked goods from local bakeries in bulk – that’s what we do most of the time.

8. Snack Anything

For a short while, I took away snacks completely just to experiment. What I learned: don’t take it away completely if you don’t have to.

I’m not saying most guests even care but there is usually the “one” guest that will throw a tirade when there’s nothing to eat or drink upon their arrival.

I end up feeling bad. And losing points over a few bucks of candy is silly so I brought it back with a lesser degree of generosity.

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inspirevamp · 6 years

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How you met Connor, RK900, and Markus HC’s

Request? Could you do an HC with RK800, RK900, and Markus to how how they met and reading literature together with fluff?

Note: Didn’t end up adding a NSFW section, but totally willing if people want it. ;)

Connor - How you met

You’d meet Connor while visiting the DPD to check up on a friend of yours. You’d be patiently waiting at their desk, lemon muffin in a crumpled paper bag, when Hank would wave you over. Your friend was nowhere in sight, and with an ample number of visits to the DPD under your belt, you’d gotten to know Lieutenant Anderson quite well. So, of course, you’d amble over to his desk as he swiveled his chair around to face you, wheels squeaking sharply. They never did get those fixed.

From the corner of your eye, you’d notice the tall android with a fringe striding over to the Lieutenant, a flimsy box of donuts in one hand.

“Oh.., hey, Connor, thanks,” Hank would twist his head to peer over at the lanky android, taking the box from his loose grasp. In your peripheral vision, you could tell that the android’s eyes were scanning you unashamedly. It would make you feel a bit self conscious. Maybe you should fix your poor posture, push your glasses higher up onto the bridge of your nose, they’d slipped down a noticeable amount, or maybe you should fix the way your shirt was creeping up.

“Have you, uh, met Connor?” The detective would grumble, looking back over at you, getting cakey crumbs into his beard.

“I can’t say that I have,” you’d shake the thoughts, finally extending your hand out to Connor, “my name’s Y/N.”

“Connor,” he’d gently shake your hand before withdrawing, letting his arms hang at his side. It would be clear that he was deep in thought by the swirling of his LED.

“You good, Connor?” Hank would speak with a mouth full of donut.

“Oh, yes, I’m fine, Lieutenant,” it appeared like he snapped out of whatever fog was clogging his processors.

When you’d inevitably leave with your friend, Hank would laugh and turn to Connor, “What do you think of Y/N?”

Connor would smile to himself,“I think Y/N is a very nice person.”

“I’m sure that's not all,” Hank would laugh hardily, and in turn, choke on a piece of donut.

Connor - Reading with s/o

When you eventually got Connor to admit the confusing mess of feelings clogging his processors, you started spending more time together, and that included reading with each other.

But he couldn’t help but get distracted, peering up from behind the pages to watch you entranced by your own book. He’d be enraptured by the way you’d lay out in ways that should be uncomfortable but weren’t. You’d smile when you found something funny; maybe a character made a snarky remark that made you snicker a tad, or maybe a character just made a romantic advance towards another. Either way, you made it nearly impossible to focus on the words in his book. His processors couldn’t stop thinking about you, not that he’d want it any other way.

Because Connor was so easily distracted, he’d constantly ask you questions about your reading. Did you like it? How was it? What was it about? Who was your favorite character? Is there another book in the series? What do you think about the plot? Will you explain the story to me, Y/N?

You’d indulge him, answering all his questions. Connor just wanted to talk to you, to see you smile, to see you passionate about something, and you couldn’t blame him.

RK900 - How you met

“This is Nines.”

The android would stand stiffly, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he peered down at you with intimidating greys.

“Nines is Gavin’s new partner,” Connor finished.

It’d take only a second before you wrapped your mind around the words and nearly spewed the coffee you’d been drinking in Connor’s direction. Gavin flushed with anger had you choking on your drink with laughter. You could almost picture the outrage on Gavin’s face when he realized he had been assigned an android for a partner. Oh, yes, you could definitely visualize Gavin barging into Fowler’s office with a deep scowl before being vehemently tossed out.

Nines would cock his head, unsure of what was wrong with you, but eventually he’d ask if you were alright, more out of curiosity than anything else.

You’d nod, one of your hands going to your chest as you regulated your labored breathing.

“I-I’m Y/N,” It would take you a few seconds to collect yourself.

“So, uh, Nines, what’s it like working with Gavin?” You’d attempt small talk, setting the drink down on Connor’s desk to avoid choking to death with another poorly timed bout of rambunctious laughter.

“He’s a prick.”

Thank god you weren’t sipping from your drink this time because you were sure coffee would have went down the wrong pipe.

“What’s so funny, Y/N?” Nines would ask coyly, clearly aware of what he’d done to cause a double take. He wouldn’t admit it, but the sound of your laughter did something to his processors. He wasn’t quite sure what though. Did he like it? Or did he find it annoying?

When Nines heard you break out into another fit of laughter, he knew his audio processors liked the sound. But he really liked the way you tried to stifle your laughs with your hand, the way your cheeks turned bright red, and the way your eyes crinkled at the corners.

After that, he’d do everything he could to make you laugh. Whether it was a snarky comment, him mocking Gavin, or flirting with you feverishly, it never failed to make you smile and laugh, and he adored that.

RK900 - Reading with s/o

Nines found it interesting that you liked spending hours stuck in a book, so much so that he’d ask you what you enjoyed most about it. When you read, Nines was quite aware of your shifting mood; sometimes you were trying to hold back a laugh, and other times, a few silent tears were crawling down your cheeks, so he couldn’t help but be intrigued by the effect that reading had on you. Humans did get emotional over everything.

“It allows me to escape to another reality,” You’d chime, your head back in the book before he could say anything else.

He’d sit quietly with you the first time, watching the way your eyes sparkled when you read, eyes swiveling up and down the pages.

The next time Nines saw you zoned out, eyes taped to your favorite book, he’d sit next to you on the sofa to peer at the printed words.

“May I?” Nines would motion for you to hand him the book. You’d comply, only taking a moment to find a stopping place, a mental bookmark if you dare say.

“Would you mind if I read this passage aloud to you?”

You’d be shocked at his request - Nines wanted to read to you? But what you failed to realize was that Nines picked up reading because of you, and he thought you might care to have him read to you. As much as you enjoyed having a physical copy of a book in your hands, you were a sucker for a good ol’ audio book.

So, you’d pull your legs up onto the couch, turning to face Nines, crossing your legs, and resting your hands in your lap.

He wouldn’t forget words, skip lines, or lose his place.

And when he finished the chapter, he’d note the way your eyes remained closed and the way your lips formed a soft smile. You’d be picturing the imaginary world, and you almost didn’t notice his silence or his gaze.

Markus - How you met

You’d be casually scanning the weathered shelves of your local bookstore, completely unaware of the person who walked in a few moments after you. The rusty, silver bell above the door would have rung as they stepped in, but you were far too focused to notice it at the time.

You’d be pulling books from their place on the shelf, flipping them over carefully in your hands to read the summary etched on the back of the cover.

“Read ‘Ender’s Game’?”

You’d look up from the book clasped in your hands to peer up at a man with different colored eyes, noting how one was a baby blue and the other a shamrock green.

“Not yet. I was thinking about it,” you’d smile lightly, placing the book back onto the shelf, “any recommendations?”

He’d run his fingers along the spines of the books, searching for a story you might like. He went off the book you had been grasping -- you must like science-fiction.

“Hmm- how about ‘Ready Player One’?” He’d carefully pull the book from the shelf, displaying it to you. He’d allow you to take the book from his hands, watching patiently as you read the summary on the back.

“You know what? I think this is the book I’ve been looking for,” you’d grin, “thank you, oh, and uh, I’m Y/N.”

“Markus,” he’d smile softly, “I’m glad I could help.”

Markus - Reading with s/o

The two of you would be sitting across from each other in one of the aisles of the local book store. You’d hear the occasional ring signaling a new customer, but you rarely had to move out of the way. Besides a customer or two, the store was calm and quiet.

Markus would occasionally look up at you before shifting his gaze back to his own reading. You’d grow accustomed to the sound of him turning the pages of his book, but you faltered, looking up when he’d become quiet.

Markus’ book would be set down beside him, face up. You weren’t sure how long Markus had been watching you enthralled in a story hidden between pages.

“Everything all right, Markus?” You’d ask, slowly closing your book.

“Distracted.” He’d smile, his arms resting lightly on his knees.

“By?” You were sure you knew the answer, but you couldn’t help but need to hear him say it.

“You.”

And at that, your heart would flutter, and blush would creep up onto your cheeks.

@justcallmecinammon

#dbh markus #dbh connor #rk900 #dbh connor x reader #rk900 x reader #dbh markus x reader #dbh #detroit become human #dbh hc #dbh hcs #hc #hc's #fluff #cute

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dynamite-derek · 6 years

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Emulator sites getting shut down is no good

Video game emulation has always been a hot button issue. It has hit the mainstream a little bit recently with big emulation sites, such as emuparadise, getting axed. A company’s perspective is pretty easy to understand. Why should you get a company’s old game for free when they can simply recharge you for it on a different platform? That’s all well and good. If there is a legal way to play a title on something you own, you should probably go that route. But what if that isn’t an option?

Video game emulation is critical to archiving video game history. Let’s look at something that happened relatively recently. It’s now not possible to put money into the Wii shop channel. If you don’t already have points, you can’t buy anything. One type of software available on the Wii is called Wiiware. Wiiware is entirely online. Even if you own a wii, you can’t go out to the store and buy these games. So now it is impossible to get these games. Poof. They’re gone. Unless you go through an emulation site. Then you can keep these experiences alive. While preserving a title like Doc Louis’s Punch-Out may not seem important, think of it like this. What are the odds of this ever getting rereleased? Low. It was a Club Nintendo bonus and it only has one fight. There isn’t much content there. But it is a piece of the Punch-Out franchise - it is a piece of video gaming history.

What about games that weren’t officially released in your country or are super expensive? Earthbound has a fairly hardcore fanbase, but how large would that fanbase be if they were unable to emulate the game? Until fairly recently, the only way to play Earthbound completely legally was to play it on a Super Nintendo. In case you weren’t aware, that game costs a mint. In 2011, I was unable to make rent because my part-time job was not scheduling me enough hours. I was able to sell Earthbound for over 300 bucks and it helped me make rent. 300 bucks is chump change compared to how much it can go for. So, it’s either pay a significant chunk of change or...play it via rom.

Or from the same series, what about Mother 3? People have been screaming about a localization for that title for years, but Nintendo seems reluctant to do that. So, what are your options to play Mother 3? You can import a cartridge of it and use a player’s guide to get through it if you don’t know Japanese. This completely lessens the experience because you’re not experiencing the narrative first hand. You’re experiencing it through a text file on a website and then constantly glancing from that to the game. Or...you could emulate it. And play the fully working English translation.

Or what about Policenauts? A *HIDEO KOJIMA* game that has never been officially released in English.

One of my earliest gaming memories, and I have no idea what year this happened, is playing a fan translated copy of a tactical rpg based on Tenchi Muyo. It was my first time playing a game in that genre and made me a pretty big fan of it. One of my favorite games of all time is Final Fantasy Tactics and there is a chance I would never have given it a chance if I did not have that previous experience with the genre. It’d be a shame if the option to find those diamonds in the rough just didn’t exist anymore.

The perception among companies is that a pirated copy of something is a lost sale. But people seek out free copies of games for a variety of reasons. Think about burned music. There has to be some band you heard off of a second hand copy at some point and went “I need to get more of that.” That’s a new source of revenue from someone that, potentially, would never have given money to that artist. Games can work the same way. “Rentals!” some might exclaim, but you can’t just go to a Red Box and check out a copy of Tactics Ogre for the Super Famicom.

You can’t just go easily obtain a virtual boy and play Jack Bros. If you live in a remote city and you just have a burning desire to play the SNES port of Wayne’s World, you just don’t have an easy way of doing that. Unless you emulate it.

If you see someone talking about how it’s a “good thing” that emulation sites are being shut down, ignore them. Preservation of this industry is important. It’s good to know where games have been in the past. Your physical media might not always be reliable.

#Emulation #Emuparadise #video games #gaming #roms #retro gaming #opinion #Nintendo

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jonathanraychapman · 5 years

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Remembering Ultima Online

When I was in junior college (I spent two years at the local community college before the state university), I used to hang out over at a friend’s house This was someone I met in high school. He and his other friends had started to play Ultima Online on his new Gateway 2000. I didn’t really have any close friends growing up (especially not ones that could come over) so this was sort of a new era in my life (where being social was a possibility). Before that, I tended to read and play PC games by myself - cut off from the rest of the world and completely offline.

By that time I was already an established PC gamer (but not with deep knowledge of games) since my mom bought me a IBM compatible one of her coworkers had built - probably when I was 12 (complete with dual 5.25-inch floppy drives). We weren’t rich by any stretch of the imagination and my first PC was really the second-hand cast-off from her coworker - who had upgraded as an enthusiast. I became an hobbyist myself and my birthday money and part-time job earnings quickly went into new rigs. By the time I entered college, I had scrounged and bought a AMD 300 Mhz K6-2 with a 8mb Matrox Millennium graphics card and probably 16mb of memory. I mostly just played older games (by that point) like Quake and Doom.

Meanwhile - across the road from my parent’s house - they had built a new Walmart supercenter with its own software section (which was kind of amazing since our whole town had less than 1800 people). Instead of driving over an hour away to get PC games at the mall (at a Babbages) or borrow a physical copy from someone at school, I had access right there to somewhat-modern games and magazines about them (specifically magazines with demos).

The first RPG game I bought over there (my first RPG games were the Gold Box TSR/SSI games) was Ultima IX: Ascension. It was a really poor purchase and it ran terribly on my rig (which I’ve read was probably for pretty much everyone). At this point I wasn’t nostalgic for Ultima because I hadn’t really played it so I returned it. Walmart didn’t even want to take it back because of it having been opened - though eventually we worked that out (it was defective in my eyes). I hadn’t yet caught the Diablo 2 bug and so when my friends suggested I go back over there and buy the new Ultima Online (the same series as the game I had just returned) I was a bit skeptical - especially because we didn’t even have dial-up internet at the time.

But after sitting over at my friend’s house and seeing how this game (Ultima Online Second Age) played out for him, I was hooked. It also helped that that midi sound from this game was just amazing in this game (just the character creation screen was awesome). And the lack of Internet at my house wasn’t really a problem either as it turned out. Though it might have been a bit unethical, a phone number and password was passed around between friends and that became my internet access as well. The fact it was 56K modem (and probably less than that given the copper wiring in the house and poles) wasn’t really an issue since this game was simple as far as controls and graphics. But the internet was bad to just cut out at times - leading to many in-game deaths (and heart-stopping moments).

Certainly for such a primitive-looking game, the imagination greatly assisted in making Ultima Online an immersive experience. When it was 2am in the morning, having your newbie account being attacked by a bear or an Orc Mage would put you on edge (heart racing as you tried everything to win or run away).

This game also introduced me to this pattern (especially with MMOs.. Everquest, Star Wars, etc) that carried on through my college years of friends getting me into a game, but at a point where they were much too high level or too aloof to play with me. So I really ended up playing Ultima Online alone instead of it being the group experience I had hoped for. I was still having a good time playing it, but it was just so hard to coordinate with local players at that time in my life that I decided to just not try to. After all, I was using the only form of outside communication in the house as my conduit into the Internet. There were no cell phones at that time for us. If you needed to call someone, you had to sign off of the modem and get back a dial-tone to call them on the landline. And, if you wanted to reach them at home, they also had to not be using their phone line for Internet or you’d just get a busy signal. We had ICQ at that time, but it only helped so much (both parties had to be online for example).

I spent most of my time in this game leveling up and wandering the coastline above town. I went around, finding reagents and using them to practice spellcraft. This was all made harder by being killed by NPCs (Orc Mages were notorious), bears, and then there were the worst - PK’ers (Player-Killers).

A little aside about PK’ing. If everything was well and good and fair, this wouldn’t be so bad, but in Ultima Online, these villains were quite the scourge on the aspiring newcomer. First of all, you had to run all the way back to town to be resurrected if there was no good player around to resurrect you. When you died, your items would all remain on your body (at this point you were a ghost). The PK’er could loot your body for any items they wanted - leaving your body to rot. This meant that by the time you got back to your body, your items were probably gone (evaporated into the digital ether). But not only that; the PK’er might just be hidden nearby and they might murder you a second-time - using your body as the bait to bring you back. PK’ers were the ultimate trolls in this game - getting their fun by causing you misery. Sometimes players (especially new players) would just give up on the game altogether because of this. Now if you were close to a town, you could call out GUARD and if there was a guard in proximity they would show up and pretty much immediately execute the PK’er. I can assure you that this never happened. These killers were experienced in the game and would never position themselves close enough for that to occur.

Eventually - while out in the middle of nowhere - I found a kind, trusting stranger that let me have a key to her house (and access to her food) so I could work on crafting and not lose everything - just the items on my person - when I died. I only played this character so eventually I became pretty powerful as a wizard (I believe my spells and swordsmanship were both above 90/100). Typically my style was to cast spells and run back (which eventually was termed ‘kiting’) while wearing little or no armor (just a helmet and a robe) to recover mana. After casting spells, I’d equip a halberd to deliver the final blow. Over time I had to travel to dungeons and fight higher-level monsters to even gain anything stat-wise.

I had joined my friend’s guild - even though I didn’t hang out with them most of the time - given how difficult it was to arrange. Joining up was more out of friendship than any advantage. And - by that point - I was every bit their equals as far as combat (though we had went different tracts). By that point, I had even defended myself against some PK’ers by that time (using their own techniques against them - given that my play style was the same as theirs - nuking with spells, running, repeating, and then delivering the kill blows with a halberd). I was happy that the guild i joined had bought a house at that time and my friend was a pretty good blacksmith (actually smithing was how he raised funds) so that was also a perk. But neither perk was really great for me. I spent most of the time away in dungeons or storing my loot at that lady’s house that I had met earlier.

So - to continue my story - one rainy afternoon (IRL) I get a phone call. It’s my friend and he and his guild needed my help online in the game (which it was my duty to provide given our affiliation). The plot?.. Well enough is enough and they’re going to raid a guild of player-killers up the path a ways from Britain. I certainly needed no more motivation. Given my previous difficulties, I was absolutely livid about these jerks in my game. He wants everyone to meet up at the guild-house (right outside the edge of the city limits) and then we’d ride up there together to attack. I didn’t have a horse (given that I just usually teleport or walk everywhere), but he says he’s got one for me to borrow. So at that point I’m in.

The four of us talk strategy in chat. My friend - the leader - is playing a traditional fighter/tank character (with a high/maxed healing skill - using bandages to recover HP on himself and others). He’s done some reconnaissance beforehand. The evil guild up north has been positioned by the roadside and has been hiding and then waylaying travelers - looting all their items (but really just murdering newbies for lulz). The gang is filled with real, logged-in players who use alt accounts to keep themselves supplied - as the game won’t let you come to town as a murderer. They’re well outside of town limits, so calling guards is no use up there. And the gang uses a local house to run back and hide in if there’s trouble. The game won’t let people rush in their house if they’ve locked the door. On top of that, they can banish you from their house by typing and then selecting your sprite. You’re immediately transported outside and can not enter again or approach the step (kind of like legends about vampires - only you’re the vampire here with the invisible barrier preventing entry).

Given these villains are traditional PK’ers (already leveled-up characters with a certain skillset used for murder), they are attired and skilled much like myself - with little armor and with a heavy polearm (relying on magic to quickly take down enemies before being hurt). Their hit-and-run tactics works well-enough normally - against single travelers - but against four adventurers on horses they need their spells to do massive damage to have a chance. All together we launch an assault out of nowhere, riding up there on horseback. Though they're hidden (waiting for new targets, hidden among the skeletons of the newly-killed on the roadside), this assault catches them off-guard and, in the end, there are only two of them logged on at the time. They initially break their cover with the hopes of winning before realizing they’re outnumbered. They attempt to run and hide, but I reveal them with the namesake spell - letting the others continue the assault.

Again they fall back and blast some spells in retaliation, but it’s no use. We overpower them - using healing to tank the damage while disrupting their spell-casting by attacking and the PK’ers are soon out of mana. On top of that, from the back-line I hit them with a energy bolt as they run. This is where things get interesting. In a fit of panic, one runs into their nearby house as he’s pursued. My friend rushes right in after him. This takes away his option of locking the door. As he’s probably typing in the command to banish a player (which is fairly quick to accomplish), my friend strikes him dead inside the doorway.

So - after we finish the pursuit - there we are - inside the bandit house with an unlocked door - with no-one alive now to banish us outside. And it gets better. Normally in the game you can lock down items so that no-one can remove them from your house. These players hadn’t done that (because they relied on the locked door). So it’s a veritable cave of wonders in there with everything for the taking. And apparently this PK’er’s alt account is a grandmaster blacksmith and he stores his extra goods in the house (to share with his accounts and guildmates). When you’re a grandmaster blacksmith in this game, your name is visible in text on the armor and swords you make. So pretty soon we’re all stocked up with the guy’s armor and weapons (I believe I took some armor made from a green-colored ore). I’d taken all the stored food and spell reagents I could find. There wasn’t any gold in there (because they kept that in the bank), but anything that wasn’t nailed down (sitting in chests) we took.

There’s no downside here (not even a moral one). After all, looting the body of a murderer is allowed without karma loss. There’s also no karma loss for picking up items out of chests. The PK’er is probably a ghost there, screaming at us to no avail. He can’t get resurrected with that login in town because he’s a murderer. He could log in with his alt account, but that takes time. It’s over and we’ve won. Later, we spotted the alt account near the bank in town (because it was the name on the armor). Whenever we’d see that guy, we’d always go over and thank him for the awesome armor we had on (the joke being that he hadn’t exactly given it to us). He’d just leave town or type something that the game would mask as gibberish (i.e. curse-words).

So this was one of my more-fun adventures (and really my only adventure with my local friends and their guild) and really the beginning of the end for me playing it. Shortly after this we all went our separate ways. I continued my schooling elsewhere, found Diablo 2 (and the expansions), and lost many many hours playing that game online. Maybe I’ll write about our Neverwinter Nights adventures some other time.

#ultima online

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mathisrytter32-blog · 5 years

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Nobody Is actually Buying Amazon.com's Fire Phone.

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notwhelmedyet · 6 years

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More than Meets the Eye, beginner’s guide / resources

This guide is long. Use the headings to find the information you need & if you’ve got resources this post lacks send them along!

Has anyone pitched the comic More than Meets the Eye to you yet? It’s a very gay action-adventure comedic drama with robots and you would probably love it (especially if you’re lgbt and/or have good taste). Here’s a few posts/articles that will tell you why you’d love it:

This article review/retrospective was what got me to read MTMTE. (warning - it has a bunch of spoilers, that didn’t bother me but might bother you)

My semi-jokey MTMTE sales pitch

@zzxid’s salespitch with dancing rats

This full entire page of radical space socialist philosophy

15 Reasons Why MTMTE/the sequel is The Best Transformers Comic (warning - has spoilers, though some will prob go over your head as a new reader)

Kiss me, Chromedome - retrospective article by The Guardian, contains some spoilers

How/Where to Read

Okay, maybe you’re convinced. Now you want to know how/where to read MTMTE. Got you covered:

Detailed guide by @gaymilesedgeworth: How to start reading Transformers Comics

My very short answer: just read MTMTE in trade paperback form. That way all the issues are in order and you get all the extra stuff (there are prose stories after a couple issues that are very important so don’t skip them!) They’re available that way as both physical and digital books.

Here’s some ways to get access, legally (US centric, sorry):

If your local library has Hoopla (digital library subscription service), you may have access to some of the MTMTE trades that way. They’d be here; but check if you library has Hoopla first.

Your local library very well might have physical copies, so check their website!

If not and you’re very patient you can often request inter-library loans (your library borrows the books from another library) or request your library purchase materials.

You can buy digital trades via either IDW or Comixology. Comixology also includes the first 5 volumes in their comics subscription service. I’ve seen the series go on sale on both of these sites at least 4 times in the past 6 months, so keep an eye out! (Sometimes IDW participates in humble bundles, which are great, but those sales are far more infrequent)

You can also buy them in trade form from wherever you can buy books/comics. US links: Amazon, B&N, Comic Store Locators

Character Guides

So you’ve picked up this comic and oh boy there are a lot of robots. You’re a little intimidated. Maybe you’re having a hard time telling them apart.

If you have the paperback, there’s a guide to the characters on the back cover/the last page of the digital volume. See a copy here.

It’s okay if you keep reading not knowing who these robots are. For real. You’ll get the hang of it. Don’t worry if it takes you awhile and you’re confused. Everyone’s a little lost the first time through.

Some helpful posts in case you’re struggling:

Here’s a guide that matches appearance -> name, and one that matches name -> background info (both spoiler free for issues 1-22)

A visual guide by @squireofgeekdom and @kscinewt: here

Another helpful visual character guide by @bluering8: here

If you’re confused and need help, please ask! I’m willing to answer questions, I know @gaymilesedgeworth has volunteered to answer new reader questions. (Willing to help out new readers? Lemme know and I’ll make this a list)

Lore & Background Info

Okay, so maybe now you’ve gotten into it. You want more information, you want to know all the background lore, you want to dig deep. Awesome! Got you covered!

The holy grail of Transformers information, TFwiki. A slightly snarky, overly-minutely-detailed wiki for the digital age.

They’ve also got a tumblr if you’ve got questions.

And Chris McFeely, one of the main editors, runs a Youtube series called The Basics where he explains characters/concepts across continuities

The podcast Sound.wav has episodes talking about every issue of MTMTE in great detail.

The writer of More than Meets the Eye, James Roberts, answers fan questions on his twitter. I’ve archived a lot of those questions at @jrtweetsindex.

More than Meets the Eye has a soundtrack, because of course it does. People have made playlists collecting it on spotify and youtube.