#(just because he genuinely believes in scott and thinks he's SO cool???? yeah you bet your behind)

[magnusmodig]

PRE-ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP MEME 0.2 / @particlexxdealer / ACCEPTING !

╰┈➤ ✿

✿  and i’ll fill out the template below. bold for things i could definitely see or want, italics for things i could see or am unsure of and striked out for things i don’t want or cannot see.

FRIENDSHIP.     childhood friends  /  work buddies or coworkers  /  family friends  /  friends with benefits  /  smoking buddies  /  adventure buddies  /  fake friends  /  recently friends  /  party buddies  /  friendship of need  /  dying friendship  /  circumstantial friendship  /  partners in crime  /  old friendship  /  [ your muse ] is the good influence  /  [ your muse ] is the bad influence  /  [ my muse ] is the good influence  /  [ my muse ] is the bad influence  /  opposites attract  /  ride or die  /  frenemies  /  roommates or flatmates  /  penpals  /  exes to friends  /  enemies to friends  /  other

ROMANCE.     childhood sweethearts  /  [ your muse is mines ] childhood crush  /  [ my muse is yours ] childhood crush  /  exes  /  exes to lovers  /  forbidden lovers  /  highschool sweethearts  /  secret relationship  /  opposites attract  /  long distance  /  unrequited [ from your muses side ]  /  unrequited [ from my muses side ]  /  unrequited [ from both sides ]  /  skinny love  /  friends to lovers  /  enemies to lovers  /  spurious relationship  /  power couple  /  newly entered  /  soulmates [ metaphorical ]  /  soulmates  [ literal ]  /  awkward  /  turning toxic  /  toxic love  /  cheating [ on your muse ]  /  cheating [ with your muse ]  /  other 

FAMILIAL.     siblings [ half ]  /  siblings [ step ]  /  [ my muse ] is an older sibling figure to your younger sibling figure  /  [ my muse ] is a younger sibling figure to your older sibling figure muse  /  [ my muse ] is a parental figure to yours  /  [ my muse ] is a child figure to your muse  /  guardian figure  /  legal guardian  /  adoptive child  /  foster child  /  [ your muse ] is taken under mines wing  /  [ my muse ] is taken under yours wing  /  other

ANTAGONISTIC.     dangerous to each other  /  dangerous to others  /  unpredictable  /  rivals  /  petty  /  developing into sexual or romantic tension  /  based off family matters  /  based of off circumstance  /  based of professional matters  /  based off misunderstanding or lies  /  conflict of ideology  /  betrayal  /  hero - villain dynamic  /  enemies  /  fight club  /  friends turned enemies  /  lovers turned enemies  /  exes turned enemies  /  other 

ooc notes:

It's no surprise to anyone that post!Infinity War Thor onwards is a bit of a mess. A bit volatile, more than a bit depressed ... He's lost a lot, and has a ton of ground to cover in the way of recovery. What I love most about Scott is just how fluid he is. He's amicable. He's able to go with the flow – and very good at lifting others up. Thor, by nature, is an extremely similar person. They share an easy-going, generally docile nature. Thor is just largely more .... explosive intense in comparison. I'd love to explore their dynamic as friends in a world without the original Avengers (save Thor and Hulk). A world post!snap... Thor could really use a friend like Scott in the mcu. He hasn't got a lot of them left. 🥲 And! even beyond the scope of post!IW, I'd imagine Scott and Thor would largely get along anyways! They both value and respect Steve greatly, and if Thor were on Earth, he would've been Team Cap all the way.

[kinetic-elaboration]

September 25: 1x16 The Galileo Seven

I took a half day off today and had a three hour nap in the afternoon. Now I’m feeling, I think, better?? Perhaps?

Anyway, today’s ep is The Galileo Seven, aka capitalizing on Spock’s popularity time.

Hmm, a vague and undefined phenomenon perfect for scientific study--Spock will love this. (Aka Kirk’s real reason for investigating the quasar. Just a little gift for the bf.)

Yeah Shuttlecraft Galileo! I love the shuttlecrafts; I think they’re adorable.

New Paris Colony.

The Commissioner isn’t wrong, though, like this probably isn’t the time to go on a random exploratory mission. Ah, yes, this weird space anomaly full of unknown dangers--let’s launch our most important officers right into the center of it while we have time sensitive supplies onboard. I mean come on, there’s a plague going on!

Love the shaky movements of the shuttle as it flies through space.

Hmm they’re exploring an unknown weird space thing and something goes wrong? Who could have predicted that? Other than Boma, who’s like ‘this is actually really normal though?’

Kirk’s sigh right before the credits lol.

Uhura taking over for Spock.

Those doors looked awfully, um... not metal when they opened. But I still like the design.

This is a good episode for understanding what ‘logic’ means to Spock. Like people, including people in this ep, talk about it as if it were just being emotionless and not caring about others but it’s a whole philosophy/value system and he adheres to it pretty well.

Shuttlecraft Columbus.

Kirk has such a big headache right now. He hates having someone step on his command toes.

I love this Bones and Spock conversation. “This is your chance for command.” “I am a logical man.”

Those pants really are terrible. Everyone always on about the skirts but no one ever talks shit about those horrendous pants.

Spock gets to show off his legs standing in a V like that though lol.

Philosophy 101: The Trolley Problem.

“My choice [of who to leave behind] will be a logical one.” Stop bullshitting, Spock lol. “Idk man... logic?”

Well his decision just got easier by about 1/3.

It’s Pauna! Oh wait wrong show. Thank God.

Spock is talking about how this spear looks like something Native American but lbr it looks like a Vulcan spear and he should know. He’s the bitch with the ancient weaponry hanging on the walls of his quarters.

Spock could move the body way more efficiently, I mean he’s 3x stronger than these other fools. Look at the way he throws the spear as if it were made of cardboard. Which it is definitely, definitely not lol.

That quadrant name would make a good wifi password.

The commissioner truly has NO purpose here other than to be a human clock.

I understand Spock not wanting to waste time with the ceremonial duties of command or with burying a person while he could be working to save the people who are still alive...but I don’t believe for one moment he doesn’t know elaborate funeral services. The Vulcans love their rituals.

“We have no fuel! What alternatives?” Yeah lol that is pretty bad.

“Sensitive Vulcan ears.”

He literally just said they’re not tribal, Boma, are you not listening at all?

“I’m frequently appalled by the low regard you Earthmen have for life.”

Like Kirk always says, this isn’t a democracy.

Honestly this insubordination kinda seems like xenophobia to me in that I feel like everyone thinks it’s okay to be disrespectful to Spock because he’s an alien, because their human morality and philosophy is inherently right and Spock not following it is deserving of ire, even though he’s in command.

They’re on Spock’s back when he doesn’t seem to respect life enough and when he respects life too much like he cannot win.

Our duties to other life forms.

At least the reboots got Spock’s sass right.

I feel like Spock’s logical and emotionless responses are helpful though because I would be a straight up anxious mess. It just seems so clear to me, all the places where being unemotional is allowing him to act and keep control where a scared and confused person ruled by emotions would not be. I mean they’re all Officers and it’s not like McCoy and Boma are wandering around weeping or anything but still. Not all of Spock’s decisions are right but I’d be soothed by his attitude.

“Luck may be the only tool we have that works” reminds me of “Captain, you almost make me believe in luck.”

Kirk also makes a lot of command decisions here and it’s interesting to compare his style with Spock’s.

Loving the creature design and this is not a sarcastic comment.

“Certain scientific curiosity” about whether the crewman is dead. Sure okay.

See, I was right, he can lift and carry a grown man by himself.

That spear very much hit him lol.

Spock is upset. He lost a crewman. And logic isn’t working like it’s supposed to. I love that “They should have respected us” bit. He is a little arrogant, and for someone who’s spent most of his adult life around aliens, rather set in his idea that rational responses are the only responses.

He’s really having some revelations here. I bet he can’t wait to discuss all this with Jim.

I’ve seen that shot of Scotty just shoving a wrench in the wall and making sparks fly used in memes. Out of context it is quite hilarious.

Ugh, this is such a tightly constructed narrative. Love it.

Yeah, Boma, back off. This is just crossing a line.

“You will have your burial, provided the creatures permit it.”

Poor creatures honestly. These weird aliens keep showing up and bothering them.

This Captain’s chair is pretty wide too but Kirk manages to sit in it and look cool @ cpine.

Noooo you can’t leave them behind!

Uhura posing behind the Captain’s chair and looking at the screen like google earth always taking pictures.

Lol, space normal speed. (You’d think the Commissioner would show up at this point to be like bUt ThE pLaGuE but actually we never see him again.)

Those creatures aren’t even AIMING the spears they’re literally just throwing them parallel.

“Get us off, Scott.”

“Yes.... my first command.” Oh, Spock. I love him.

Love that Scotty’s really, genuinely proud of him. Scotty’s so Unproblematic. He really is just here to do his job and he’s never mean or causing trouble of any sort.

Jim will see the flares because he loves you!!

This poor actress playing the Yeoman has nothing to do. “Oh, it’s hot!”

Really living for Kirk’s face journey as he thinks all hope is lost and then realizes they’re (mostly) okay.

I want to hear what Kirk and McCoy are saying at the beginning of the last scene. I bet they’re talking about Spock.

Everyone gently making fun of Spock but in a ‘we love you buddy way.’ And Kirk using this, their one scene together all ep, to lay on the flirting extra thick. “Mr. Spock, you’re a stubborn man” is really pushing the flirtation meter off the charts.

They’re mocking him for making an impulsive decision but he was totally right AND he was totally logical imo? Like “you reasoned that it was time for an emotional outburst” is certainly one way to put it but another way is “the only possible chance we have of being detected AT ALL is to make a big scene and if it doesn’t work we’ll just die faster than we would have anyway” which is logical, and in fact, I think someone too caught up in their emotions might hesitate to do it. I mean, I’d probably hesitate--I think the emotional response to the situation is to want to stay alive as long as possible, even if you know--logically--that the difference between living another 6 minutes and another 26 minutes is nothing. You’d be better off giving away the chance for 20 extra minutes in exchange for a better chance of not dying at all. That’s logic bitches!

Kirk sees some hope for himself here. “Oh, Spock can follow his heart??? Perhaps... to me??”

I am not a fan of these fake laughter endings. They are so overdone lol. Uhura is literally pointing and laughing in the background. It’s not THAT funny guys.

That said if Beyond had ended with some fake laughter it probably would have improved the film substantially.

And that’s it! An excellently plotted episode, really well done on the level of craft. I really get off on that kind of thing. I know a lot of shows that can write entertaining episodes/seasons/multi-season plots but don’t have any, well, real logic to them and that’s not necessarily the worst but then when you see something that’s really just well made, it... well for me it triggers a very certain satisfaction.

Also this is easily a top 3 Spock episode. Great character stuff.

Next up is the Squire of Gothos, which I think is one of the weaker S1 episodes. Not bad, just not Classic level like almost every other ep.

[drunkonnjealousy]

My Reputation Secret Session Experience

(an abbreviated version to keep confidentiality)

I got a DM from Taylor Nation before the London SS had happened, so I honestly had no idea what the “secret event” was. They called me and said the event was in Rhode Island, and I mean the only thing there is her house but I didn’t know what the event entailed. Knowing Taylor, I was like she’s gonna make it so fun and so detailed and so personal whatever it is.

I was not able to focus on anything for two weeks because I was just thinking about taylor and rhode island. I took a train from NYC to Rhode Island the night before. Wednesday October 18, 2017 was such a GORGEOUS day. The water was SO BLUE. THE SUN WAS SHINING. and there was a helicopter hovering in front of taylor’s house which annoyed me but yeah I’ll try to get over that. Fast forward to being at her house. First of all, her security detail is hilarious. They are so nice and funny and were cracking jokes the whole time. The very first person I talked to was none other than Scott Swift, the man the legend, wearing a striped sweater only a dad would buy and his pockets overflowing with 1989 guitar picks. I spent a good chunk of time chatting with him on the deck he’s amazing—we stan forever. Also I legit hung out and excitedly mingled in Taylor’s kitchen so long that I forgot it wasn’t normal to be in her kitchen. There was a huge spread of Chick-fil-a nuggets, pizza, chips, custom Rep cookies and M&Ms, Smart Water and Diet Coke. *side note i’m a vegetarian but if taylor would have offered me a nugget i would have forgotten my vow against meat* I was so comfortable and having so much fun that it just felt like I was at my friend’s house party, which I was. But then like every 30 minutes it would hit me that to the outside world, she was THE Taylor Swift, and I was in her kitchen… Fast forward to Andrea coming down to also hang out and mingle with us. She smelled amazing (so did the entire house). She came up to me and Sol and said hello with a huge smile on her face and then pulled us both into a tight hug at the same time and said “YOU BEAUTIFUL SOULS.” and honestly I just wanted to hug her ten more times and be like THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE MADAM PRESIDENT. Side note, the kitchen has adorable childhood pictures of Taylor and Austin and pictures of the family on the beach and its all v cute. Also I saw the mermaid, I MEAN THE MERMAID that taylor and selena posed by and i was like wow this iconic. ALSO as many of you know i’m not only a taylor stan, but a huge todrick stan, and i have been for years. so i died a little when i realized that i was leaning against the same kitchen counter that they were sitting on during thanksgiving and i was like wow its cool i’m fine we’re fine EVERYTHING IS FINE. Fast forward to Austin also coming downstairs to mingle. He’s adorable and I love him. I didn’t get to chat with him bc it was kind of crowded but he was smiling and laughing and looked genuinely happy to be there. Tree was also floating around the kitchen here and there and let me just say she’s GORGEOUS. (also she was the MVP later when I needed to pee) Okay fast forward some more and it’s time to move into the living room. There are cushions on the floor and I’m sitting with all of my friends, including several of us who are from NYC. There are people setting the room and Andrea, Scott and Austin just look so excited that we’re there and that made me so happy. After what felt like centuries of people opening doors, stomping upstairs and shutting the curtains, it was time for the queen to make her entrance. The door to my right flew open and that tall drink of water in black thigh high boots and blonde curls and a huge smile entered the room and collectively we all made noises that probably sounded non-human. She said “Hi, I’m Taylor” as she sat down in this throne of a chair and crossed her legs that are collectively longer than the great wall of china. She said “you’ve done your detective work right (my detectivey heart fell out of my detectivey ass) and you are at the Reputation Secret Sessions”

**and that’s where the cone of silence comes on and what happened for the next several hours at the secret sessions STAYS at the secret sessions.**

So after I DIED because she obviously played us every track of the album. It was time for picturesssss. As I walked in to see Taylor, I didn’t even make it to her yet before she strutted toward me and scooped me into a hug so tight that I said “hey i’m kelsea” into her hair ;askdjflskfj She pulled away and was like “yeah I know, and you spell it S-E-A right?” AND LEMME TELL YOU i’ve gone my entire 24 years of life with my name spelled wrong, even people I’ve known for years will spell it Kelsey. and I replied to Taylor, “UM YEAH” and she got so excited she fist pumped and then put her hand up for a high five and we literally had the most epic high five of my entire life I’m pretty sure they heard it in Australia. ok. At this point Sol walked in and I introduced her to Taylor too. She loved Sol so much. so so much. Then I asked Taylor if she found me on Tumblr or Twitter, and she immediately replied “Tumblr” with a nod. and then she goes “I KNOW you love TODRICK, and I LOVE that.”  and I’m pretty sure that was the moment my brain short-circuited.

and i was like “OKAY well TN contacted me via Twitter and I was real confused because my handle is  @ toddyownsmyass” and her face lit up, her mouth dropped open, she grabbed my hand and laughed and said “OH MY GOD HAHAHHA”. 

Next I told her about our annual NYC July 9th party. I was like listen taylor, the entire reason i met sol is because we’re tumblr friends and we have this party every year at sofia’s apt in the upper west side where we stay up until 1:58 AM listening to Last Kiss and then she was like “AWWWW” and I remember her face just looking at the two of us in pure amazement. OKAY now it was time for pictures and Taylor was like “we’re gonna take a group shot first and then we’ll do individuals ok?” and during our group photo she hugged both me and Sol so tightly. 

She looks at me and I put my hands together and I’m like “Okay, I want to recreate a photo you and todrick did on the couch” and she got so excited she was like “GREAT but I’m not doing the splits again” as she walks over to this gorgeous white couch. and i was like “nah girl i CANT do the splits, i wanna do that back to back one” and she was so invested it was adorable. It took us a few minutes of sitting back to back and discussing our knee placement, our hand placement, and both of us kept turning and looking over our shoulders to make sure we were matching and coordinating our bodies right. and then right before the picture taylor goes “what should we do with this hand? oh i know lets hold hands” and she grabbed my hand and held it so tightly. i’m pretty sure you can see in my facial expression how much that meant to me—i’m BEAMING. out of all forms of social interaction, hand holding is one of the most intimate,it’s not something we do with very many people if you really think about it. after the picture is taken, we are still sitting back to back on the couch, holding hands, and she turns to look at me and goes “that’s the cutest pose i’ve ever done” and i’m all “Awwww thanks!” thinking she’s just being a sweetheart. and then her expression is happy but a little more serious, and she goes “No, I’m being serious, like I’ve never done anything cuter.” and ladies that’s probably the moment I was like “HI I’M KELSEA AND I WELCOME DEATH WITH OPEN ARMS”. It was going to be time to leave because we had already taken our pictures but Taylor grabbed me and Sol again and squeezed us and gushed “you little FLOWER buttons” and at the time my brain was like ???? I thought maybe she was going to say we were flowers, and then halfway through changed her mind to buttons…well ANYWAYS she reblogged that photo of us later and clarified that she believes sol and i embody the aesthetic of tiny adorable little flower-shaped buttons and now i will no longer look at flowers nor buttons the same way and Sol and I text each other randomly “FLOWER BUTTONS” just to make each other cry it’s great. okay moving on… It was time to leave and right before i walked away, I yelled to her “TAYLOR, YOU’RE INVITED TO OUR JULY 9TH PARTY ANYTIME, UPPER WEST SIDE, NYC, SEE YOU THERE!” and i did some mix between dabbing and pointing that can only be attributed to all of the time i spent in college with frat boys. and with this big grin on her face she yelled back “THANKS! LOVE YOU GUYS!” and i stumbled out of the room to pick up the Reputation merch bag Taylor gave all of us (GET YOU A WOMAN). As her security guard let us into a van to be taken back to our car, I asked what time it was and it was so late Sofia and I had missed our train back to Manhattan. We didn’t care. We were stranded in Rhode Island but WHO CARES BC TAYLOR SWIFT LOVES US. Ali from TN was like, “you guys have friends at your hotel right? like you have somewhere to go?” so sweet i love ali– we stan her forever. Sofia and I went back to our hotel, which we had already checked out of mind you, and sat in the hallway, dazed and happy, from 2-4am. Sofia posted a photo of us on tumblr and taylor liked it and i was like wow taylor knows we’re stranded that’s hilarious i bet she’s laughing. We ended up calling a car service to pick us up in rhode island AND DRIVE US BACK TO NEW YORK CITY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. I got back to my apt on the upper east side at 5am and took a nap and then got up for work and tried to be an adult but it was a very sad attempt. This is a very abbreviated account of what happened that fateful day Taylor welcomed me into her home for 8+ hours. A lot of it has to stay secret and confidential until the album comes out on Nov 10. Even more of it will likely never leave the walls of that gorgeous house by the sea. I will cherish these memories always and I know I am forever changed as a person from the Reputation Secret Sessions.

Thank you @taylorswift for EVERYTHING. I’m so proud to call you a friend.

[aurimeanswind]

7 Years—Sunday Chats (7/2/17)

A new month, a new opportunity to do something cool. Let’s chat.

Irrational Passions Turns 7 Years Old

So uh, hey, the first episode of the podcast I host was recorded seven years ago today. That’s pretty nuts, huh?

At this point, it’s really starting to feel like more of my life has been in the “Irrational Passions era” than hasn’t. To be fair, I started this show when I was 17, and I’m 24 now. That’s all of my adult life that I’ve lived thus far, and it’s weird to think of my life without the podcast in it every week. Without that two to four hour sit down and conversation, cultivating in hours of editing and self-taught audio tricks. It’s just... wild.

When I think of how much Scott and Evan, the two founding cohosts, have grown and changed since the beginning of the show, my heart wells up with pride. Even looking at Tony, Joe, Nabeshin or Greg, how all of them grew, became better hosts and commentators as the show has evolved, I can’t help but be proud. It’s hard for me to notice my own growth, but seeing it in all of them, seeing how well they described how games make them feel, the different aspects they like out of them, it’s head over heels better than day one.

In seven years my perspective on life has changed so much too. Having this rigid schedule in my life for so long has been massively helpful to my life, to its structure, to making me more responsible. Though we don’t have a big following, we do have a small one, and knowing that they anticipate and even (for some reason) look forward to the show every week fills me with joy. From Friday nights to then Saturday nights, Irrational Passions Podcast has been the highlight of my week, every week, for seven years now.

I’m happy to say I make a thing that I think is worth listening. Sure, it’s too long, sure we’re not the most tuned into the industry, not all of us, and we’re on different levels as far as genres, playing every game that releases, and popular opinion. But we have a good time, we have some good laughs, and I’m happy with the thing we put out there.

Thank you all so much for listening to this show. It’s helped my life in ways I could never convey with words.

But the biggest thank you goes to the seven incredible people who have come on this journey with me: Scott, Evan, Joseph, Tony, Nabeshin, Greg B., and Danny. I love you all so goddamn much. You’ve made me a better person, a better games critic, and a better friend. And it’s all thanks to this big dumb show we do every week.

Now... Onto the next challenge.

What I’ve Been Working On

Once more I’m sad to say that I haven’t made anything worthwhile in quite a minute now. I’ve just recently found a kernel of an idea that I’m pretty excited about, and I’ll see if exploring it more turns it into a substantial piece. Right now I feel I’ve written a lot of hot garbage as of late, And I don’t know if the doing it every day is working against me or not now, but I’m still out here doing it.

The current piece I am chipping away at is Zelda-centric, talking about games that emulate Zelda. We’ll see where it goes in the coming days, and I’m thinking I’ll try and publish this one if it shapes up to be something worth it. Right now, I’m not sure it is, but we’ll have to wait and see.

What’s on Tap

Overwatch

The BIG game I’ve been playing recently is Overwatch again

YO OVERWATCH IS SO GOOD

I forgot how good it is but hey: it’s real good.

Orisa is probably my new favorite tank. Using her shield to slowly push the front line forward is awesome, and I’ve had a ton of success just laying down covering fire with her massive chain gun.

Mercy is still my main, and healing has just never felt so goddamn good.

I think I’m very bad at Overwatch now, which sucks. I used to be ranked Gold in competitive and now I’m near dropping down to Bronze. So...

Alundra

I finished Alundra again!

Holy shit this game is like 30 hours long?? It’s crazy

The final dungeon of this game is masterful. I kind of wish I could boot it up and play it again, that’s how good it is. Bravo.

This is a lost gem, and you shouldn’t sleep on it. It’s on the PSone Classics on PS3, and if you have the chance, you should play it.

Questions

As always, you can get your question in Sunday Chats too, just reply to my tweet sent out on Sunday afternoons with the #SundayChats with a question, and you’re in!

As always, thank you all so much for the questions. Nothing but love you all. <3

A tough question, for sure. I think for me, the best sandwich is definitely the hotdog...

Kidding. But really, the Philly Cheesesteak is universally my go-to. I’m a big fan of the hot sandwich, and IMHO the Philly is the best. Though, I think recently, I’ve been swayed in the direction of the Chicken California. For those not in the know, it is essentially a Philly, but with chicken and Ranch instead of steak and mayonnaise. It’s fucking good. And disgusting.

But in my life, the best sandwich I’ve had is probably The Raven from Chaps, a local place to Baltimore. It’s part pit beef, part corned beef, part turkey, all roasted over a pit, with two slices of American cheese, and it’s perfect. I eat the thing, no sauce, no condiments, just pure, because it’s so juicy and delicious it doesn’t matter.

Here is an attached photo for evidence:

Hrm. .. This is a very hard question. I’d probably say: hey, it’s gonna be a long journey. You’re not gonna get where you want to get for quite a while, but enjoy the time and the friends you have on that climb up, because I’d bet you’ll look back at the end of it all and wish you savored it a bit more in the moment.

As for with video games: find the thing that pulls you into a game, the one specific aspect, and pull back. That’s where you’ll find the part you really, really remember. That’s the part that’s gonna stick with you. Also probably finish Persona 4 Golden in 2012 so you can actually give it GOTY.

Probably a wand? Like, it’s cheesy and cheap, but yeah man, I wish I had a dope wand.

But really, it would either come down to the invisibility cloak, not for sneaking, but for the sheer cool factor, or a magic broomstick. Maybe with the latter I could finally conquer my fear of heights. Man the way Harry describes flying in those books makes me feel like I am missing something in life.

God no. I mean, I wanted it too. I really had big dreams. But when those initial download numbers came in, I knew it wouldn’t happen. I mean it was yours and years and years before it really got to what it is now. Like, it wasn’t until four-ish years in that it really hit its stride, I think. But there was a lot of fun experimenting in the middle there. And I learned a lot about myself, and what I like and don’t like.

There was a time where I genuinely thought no one would ever listen or care about what I think in games. And I kind of still feel that way. But I still do it every week. It’s just too much fun.

Absolutely. It’s totally something I struggle with to this day. I struggled with it a lot in 2016. When I really started getting into the Easy Allies specifically, they really taught me that you can be critical and still carry that genuine hype with you as well. That you can respect others opinions and still carry that genuine jazz with you everywhere you go. 

I was much more in the GiantBomb camp before then, which is the more cynical camp, which is no unfair criticism of them, I think there still needs to be that, and I think I still hit those heights myself, but I have also found a much better balance of love/hype and cynical/critical nature within myself. I play both sides, and I get some rightful shit for not taking a hard stance on things. The truth is, I do have hard stances on things, but I keep them either to myself or for the people I value enough to share them with, and I think that’s where I’m comfortable with right now. Obviously those harder opinions come out in my writings and videos, but in podcast or more casual form, I’ve found its much more fun to play fast and loose and remember to have a good time, than to get caught up in the critical zeitgeist. 

So Finding Teddy 2 is one you should try. It’s got a different name on PS4, it’s The Teddy Chronicles I believe, but it’s a cool Zelda 2-like game that I definitely recommend. You should still play Resogun because Resogun is STILL great. Nex Machina is super rad, even if I haven’t played the full release version yet. Keep an eye out for Matterfall too, I hear that’s real solid from one Trevor Starkey.

And hey: don’t sleep on Until Dawn. It’s really great. I’d throw out some JRPGs there too, try Tales of Berseria or Kingdom Hearts. No time like the present, ya feel me?

Spider-Man is right there at the top. Bummed I won’t be able to see it this coming weekend, but I’m sure I’ll catch it next week. Outside of that, Planet of the Apes and that’s it? I’m not super in tune with the movies coming out, but holy crow am I stoked for Thor 3. Fuck. Yes. Chris. Hemsworth.

All the love dude. I’d say this: you’re still the one on the path, and you’re the one doing the work. Keep killing it Quin.

Um, one, you gave it to Mr. Pokorny in the first place. Plus I forgot that he had it when we split up at the airport. I would still have it if it wasn’t for that.

Regardless, I think Roger is the one who owes you a spinner, not me my dude.

Yes, keep bringing up this horribly embarrassing story. I haven’t, I should issue a formal apology to the Alamo Drafthouse.

Thank you dude, I’m incredibly grateful for the years you’ve been out there with me Trevor. 

I hadn’t even heard of Baby Driver until this week, so no I haven’t seen it. It’s the same group that did Shaun of the Dead right? That’s a promising collective. Maybe I’ll check it out.

Currently my plans are to work all day. Get that sweet-sweet Time and a Half.

So one, I know you definitely haven’t been on the IP train since launch, but I appreciate the sentiment. Two, all of the episodes last four hours, so TRICK QUESTION! HAH HA! GOT YOU!

But really I can’t pick a favorite episode. There are definitely standouts: having Greg Miller on, having Dennis Dyack on, interviewing John Romero, even though I kind of embarrassed myself there. Episode 200 is a personal favorite because we all kind of talk about where we want to go in the future, and we have a very real intimate moment there toward the end. It’s rad.

There have been too many great moments. Also, I usually forget most of what just happened as soon as I publish the episode live.

So that’s it. No checklist this week because I’ve mostly locked myself up in my room alone this week in a pretty deep low of depression. But I’m doing okay now, I’m out there trying to watch stuff now.

Thank you all for reading, as always, I can’t say thank you enough. Seven years of podcasting is totally crazy and I’m completely floored by the amount of support we’ve gained at IP recently. I love all you listeners so much. You make this thing I’d probably do anyway 10 times as fun, and I very much appreciate you for it.

But that’s all I’ve got. I’ve been up for like, 27 hours or something, so i’m probably gonna go play Overwatch for another six. But hey, while you’re out there in the ether, do me a favor?

Keep it real.