#I got excited and was having fun making weird shapes and color combos

[tothesolarium]

When you’re such a cool pilot you can just say screw the limited color pallet

[nickburn]

Thoughts on the Oculus Quest and VR after One Week

Last week, I obtained an Oculus Quest, fulfilling a goal I had for this year of buying my first VR headset. I’ve been really interested in VR for years, and now feels like a great time to get into it, if you have the dough. Since I’m still fairly uncomfortable with traveling, I figured a headset would allow me to escape to faraway lands from the comfort of my studio apartment. The Quest in particular was enticing because, unlike most powered headsets, it doesn’t require a tether to an expensive PC or console. Now that I’ve had some time with it to explore the headset and some apps, I’d like to talk through my first impressions here.

The Oculus Quest

I got the 64 GB Oculus Quest through Amazon for $400, and I feel like it’s important to say that upfront. I recognize it’s a privilege just to be able to afford something like this right now, let alone have a decent job that allows for it. VR is not as cheap as it should be yet, but I think it will be within the next five years or so. 

64 GB is plenty so far, and I can’t see the size limit becoming a problem for a while. Maybe once more premium apps like Half-Life Alyx hit the Quest I’ll regret it, but for now I’m totally happy with the smaller hard drive. The controllers are super comfortable and responsive, though figuring out left from right takes some getting used to, especially with something blocking your vision. But it’s easy enough once you realize that the second trigger is on the inside of the controller, so the wrong orientation will feel awkward. The device and controllers are very portable, if awkward to transport because of their shape and fragility. I expect I’ll have to purchase a carrying case for them sooner or later, but for now a backpack has sufficed.

The headset itself is truly a wonder. The four cameras on the front can create a live black and white feed of your surroundings so you don’t bump into things if you walk with it on, and they can even track just your hands for additional control options (currently in beta). The straps allow for easy size adjustments, and they’re tough enough that I don’t feel like they’ll wear down any time soon. There’s a slider for the lenses to adjust your viewing angle if things still look blurry, and the lenses themselves blend nicely into your vision, so you truly feel like you’re in another place with the headset on and running. The built-in speakers only heighten this effect, providing a surround sound experience in a small package. There are headphone jacks on the sides of the headset as well, but I haven’t had cause to use them yet.

The hub interface experience is fairly smooth, and you can choose your background environment for it from several thematic choices. Getting around the menus is easy enough, but it can be hard to know what to look for or even where to start. There are a few free demos, but after that you’re on your own to discover what’s best for you. Since VR is still so new to most people, I would like a little more guidance there, but I’m enjoying the process of discovering things for myself too. One nice thing is every game is listed with a comfort rating, so you know which are likely to give you motion sickness and which are basically 3D movies.

Beat Saber

It’s no secret Beat Saber is one of the most successful VR games so far, and it lives up to the hype. It’s a rhythm game where you have to slash at different colored blocks with the corresponding saber, in time with the music and in the right direction. You also dodge obstacles on occasion, either by leaning or ducking. This sounds simple, but it allows for a ton of different patterns and complexity. The best levels have really satisfying sequences to perform, and it does almost feel like conducting or drumming along with the music. The main campaign is surprisingly lengthy and difficult. At one point, it starts to require you to go against your instincts and mess up songs on purpose in order to not let your combo go above a certain number or to hit a required number of misses. I’m sure they were added to give the game some more mechanical depth, but I’m not sure they’re necessary. Fortunately, there’s also a solo mode and leaderboard where you can play any song you have access to on any difficulty you like. I haven’t bought more songs yet, but I suspect I will before long. Overall, this is an easy game to recommend and a must-play for anyone with access to VR.

The Climb

I’m a novice rock climber who hasn’t been able to go to a gym since March, so this game caught my eye. It gives you the experience of free soloing (climbing tall, long routes without a harness or other people) and bouldering (climbing very short but difficult routes, which is the style I prefer in real life). So far, I’ve only tried the tutorial, and I’m still working up the courage to go back. The game gives me a lot of vertigo and kind of freaks me out, as your character screams for their life whenever you fall (which, in the tutorial at least, will happen often as you learn the controls). Falling is a very real part of climbing, but if you’re doing it right, you should never get hurt. Free soloing is only really attempted by the most expert climbers, and even many of them die in their attempts. A better way to experience it though is through the Free Solo 360 VR documentary by National Geographic, which is free on the app store and thrilling to watch, just like the regular doc. I’m sure I’ll go back to this game soon, but I’m not sure how long it’ll take me to get used to falling in VR.

National Geographic VR

This game is very cute and allows you to play the part of a National Geographic photographer in Machu Picchu and Antarctica. So far I’ve only started the Machu Picchu route, but I really like it. Your producers tasks you with getting different shots, and you have several locations to choose from in each area. Not very deep, but the views are great.

Job Simulator

In Job Simulator, you play a boring, everyday employee for sentient, floating robot TV’s in a few different roles, and it’s awesome. There’s tons of physics objects to play with, which is definitely one of my favorite parts of VR. The writing is clever, the world is cartoon-like and inviting, and it’s much better than actual work. This is another game I’d strongly recommend for VR beginners like myself.

Netflix VR

As weird as it sounds, I like Netflix in VR. The TV in the environment seems much larger than the one I own in real life, so it feels bigger even though it’s virtual. I like the cabin setting and atmosphere, and it beats staring at my apartment walls. I was able to watch several episodes of Death Note in a row pretty easily, although the headset does start to feel heavy after a while. I wouldn’t say this is the ideal way to stream TV by any means, but it’s worth a try as a fun distraction.

Other Odds and Ends

I’ve dabbled with various other apps and games so far, as one does when one acquires a new electronic toy. I started the tutorial of Vader Immortal Episode 1, and it has you deflecting lasers and slashing robots just like a Jedi, so I’m excited to start that game properly. I was able to hook up my headset to my PC in order to try Google Earth, and it’s great. I don’t think my PC will be able to handle much else, however, so I’m thinking about upgrading it relatively soon. It is nice to know, though, that all you need to make the connection now is a USB 2.0/3.0 to USB-C cable. Until May, you had to buy a special $80 cable directly from Oculus, so I’m glad they removed that barrier. I still feel weird about Superhot in VR. I’ve tried it once before, and the demo still felt awkward to me this time. You have to be so precise in Superhot that dodging bullets while attacking and moving becomes really strenuous, and I don’t think the game really accommodates that well. 

Next Steps

All that said, I’m looking forward to digging into all the games I’ve only touched the surface on as well as exploring new things. I’ll try to continue to document my thoughts here so you can all share in my journey with me. I’m coming to realize that VR time is separate from my regular gaming time, in that the experience is totally different. It’s not a replacement for the games I own already; it’s an expansion on a medium and still very new. But there’s something very freeing and magical about VR that comes with the masking of the senses and trickery that the headset provides. Very soon, within the next three to five years even, I think it’ll be much more commonplace.

Thank you for reading if you got this far! And let me know what comments or questions you have here or on Twitter. :)

[wolfcrunch]

75, Izuku and Kaminari, angst? It might be a weird combo idk.

this was a really fun combo to write!! i haven’t written much kaminari before, so i hope i did him justice!

Prompt #75 - Can I be alone right now?

read on AO3 - request a prompt and character(s) for me to write!

Izuku would like to think that he had a pretty good grasp on the characters that made up his class, thank you very much. Not even a year had passed since they had started here, at U.A, and Izuku would be proud to call the nineteen other members of his class his friends.

Aside from the boy being very knowledgeable in all of their quirks (although this was not something he liked admitting out loud), but he figured he knew a great deal about the individual hobbies his classmates took on, or other little quirky things about them others might not notice.

He knew that Iida always set aside an hour for reading every day, except Sunday’s where he did two. He knew Uraraka, despite her money issues, often liked to partake in homemade craft, often using disposable items that people were about to recycle. He knew that Asui (no, Tsu, he reminded himself) had a collection of pebbles and small rocks in her room, some she had been holding onto since she was a small child with a variety of colors, sizes and shapes.

Kirishima often liked to make his own little wooden figurines that he painted as gifts, thanks to his quirks. Ashido was amazingly good at cooking spicy foods, sometimes even managing to rival Kacchan. Tokoyami would take any sweaters or jumpers that somehow got left in the common room, ’borrowing’ them in his room for the time being and Jirou seemed to, surprisingly, be a big fan of classical and orchestral music. Yaoyorozu and Kouda seemed to both be fans of writing and drawing, respectively.

Last he knew, the latter two were trying to work together and make a short story about their classmates, which he honestly couldn’t wait to see.

But yes, Izuku would say that he knew all of his classmates fairly well - even Kacchan, as hostile as ever, seemed to have a fascination in reptiles of all creatures, and was currently set on getting permission from Mr. Aizawa to bring one to the dorms.

The boy didn’t know if this was normal or not…after all, before coming to U.A, he hadn’t had many, if any friends at all, reluctant to even consider that Kacchan so close…so can you really blame him, wanting to know everything he could about his classmates?

 But if he was being honest…there was one classmate who despite all of this, and despite his own outwardly demeanor…Izuku had to admit that he knew the least about this particular student. 

And it wasn’t that he wasn’t observing the other - it was quite the opposite, really. It just appeared that the student, Kaminari, knew how to hide his interests extremely well. It wasn’t something one would call the electricity-quirked user - secretive.

But…Izuku didn’t know what else to put to the other boy. Maybe he was just really shy with whatever it was that he liked doing? But surely he knew none of the class would laugh or make fun of him…

Not to mention that he wasn’t exactly the closest with the blond - who was usually a member of Kacchan’s small group, and the thought of asking the explosive blond leader was out of the question. Kacchan would tell him…but in his own loud, profanity-filled Kacchan-esque way.

No, if Izuku wanted to get closer to another classmate, this was the perfect opportunity. This was his chance.

 And Izuku might not be the best when it came to socializing and getting together with others…but surely it couldn’t be that hard, right?

 —–

 "Ah, Kaminari!!“

Izuku had waited until the following Monday, carefully keeping an eye on the blond as the group finished their classes for the day, waiting until they all got back to the dorms before he decided to approach the other with a raised hand and a light call. The boy startled out of whatever conversation he’d been having with Mineta, and Izuku only felt a little bad.

Judging by the blush and slight nosebleed on Mineta’s face, he should give himself a bigger pat on the back for stopping wherever that talk had been heading.

"Midoriya?”

The other hero-in-training looked confused, and Izuku couldn’t really blame him - neither went out of their way that much to talk about one another. Izuku could only smile sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Ah, it’s about the English assignment we got today…I know you’re pretty good with English, and Todoroki’s not available to help out today…mind if we maybe work out the assignment together?”

Kaminari looked shocked, as if he’d literally shocked himself with his own quirk. “You want me…to help you?”

 In retrospect, maybe it wasn’t the best excuse…but Izuku wasn’t exactly lying either. His English could be downright awful at times. Even with his admiration of All Might…it left him with something less than desired.

 "I…I don’t think I could really be that helpful, eh? I’d just be distraction…“

Izuku refused to back down, "Think about it, Kaminari– you say you always have trouble writing it all down, right? We can help each other…I could even give you some notes on our Maths and Art classes-”

Kaminari moved in the blink of an eye, snatching Izuku’s arms. “Why didn’t you say anything before?! Man, not that I appreciate help from Kacchan, but he can be a reaaaal bummer!”

Izuku smiled at the use of his childhood friend’s nickname, letting the other teen start to drag him along towards the elevators. “So I take that as a yes?”

“Totally!! Oh, dude, we’re gonna have soo much fun!” It seemed as if Kaminari forgot the whole reason they were doing this already, “We’ll go to my room…no offence, but studying and doing homework, All Might watching me from every corner? A real creepy vibe, dude.”

 "Haha, yeah…….wait, what?“

 —–

 "Just throw your stuff wherever ya need to, bro!”

Izuku had seen the blond’s room once - when they had first moved in. He’d been…surprised, sure, by the others taste. But this…

“What an…interesting set up…”

Izuku had no clue where to look first. Kaminari just grinned, trotting right in and all but dumping his schoolbag onto the small table in the middle of the room, books spilling out as he searched through to find his English book.

 And that’s when Izuku saw it.

 A small notebook slid out, falling off the edge and landing on the floor with a quiet thump. Kaminari, too engrossed in finding the correct schoolwork, didn’t notice as Izuku walked over, picking up the notebook carefully in both hands.

It seemed to be about the same size as most of his quirk analysis notebooks…and it seemed extremely worn out, like it had been used a lot. On the front, in big kanji, was just one word that make the unruly-haired teen’s eyes lighten up in excitement.

‘QUIRKS’

Ehhh?! Kaminari keeps a book on quirks?! I mean, I guess it could be anything really…maybe he just thinks of quirks that would be cool to have? Or maybe…

“Hey, Kaminari? I never knew you were one for liking to know things about quirks!” Izuku proclaimed, waving the book around shyly with a hand as the blond’s head whipped up to look at him with wide eyes. Izuku just grinned, turning the notebook over in his hands, almost admiring it. “We should compare notes sometime! It’d be interesting to see how different or alike our notes could be…do you keep updated on heroes or just the class?”

As Izuku spoke excitedly, his scarred fingers began to open the cover of the book. He had no time to react to what came next. As fast as a snake striking, Kaminari’s hand grabbed onto Izuku’s wrist, squeezing tightly as the other hand grasped the book, snatching it out of Izuku’s own.

All Izuku could do was give some sort of yelp of surprise, yanking his hand back hard enough to almost stumble the other teen with his eyes wide.

A throbbing pain started in Izuku’s wrist, and he hissed, covering it with his free hand. “What was that for?”

The One for All user hadn’t seen how Kaminari’s face darkened, snapping back. “You shouldn’t open up other people’s stuff, Midoriya.”

 Izuku had never heard as much malice in the others tone, and even Kaminari seemed caught off guard, taking a step back. “Holy crap dude, I didn’t mean to snap!” he murmured apologetically, keeping his distance as he set the notebook aside on his shelf. “Really, I was way out of line…my notes aren’t any good though, sorry to grab you like that. Is your wrist alright?”

“Ah…yeah, it’s ok…” Izuku mumbled , stretching his fingers before looking at the boy who’d lashed out. “It should be fine.”

“Let me go get you an ice pack from downstairs!” Kaminari insisted, hurrying towards his door. “We can compare notes when I get back, if you’re still up for it?”

“…sure.”

 Izuku didn’t like the unease crawling in his gut, listening halfheartedly as the other told him to sit down and wait before dashing out. Izuku’s free hand tentatively rubbed at his sore wrist, frowning slightly at the force his classmate had decided to use.

Man, I mean, he’s right…but I’ve never seen Kaminari react like that before, and I know he tends to let other people get way closer than that…

An uneasy thought nagged at him, suggesting that perhaps the other had been hiding something within the notebooks contents - but Izuku decided to push that away with a shake of his head. This was Kaminari, after all, one of the nicest people in the class! Surely he, of all people, wasn’t hiding anything to warrant that kind of reaction…

But…

Izuku found himself carefully, quietly heading to the very same shelf Kaminari had put the notebook in the middle of the conflict, only hesitating for a few moments before he reached out, taking the item and sighing softly.

This feels really bad but…I feel like something’s…

Izuku couldn’t really put his finger on the unnatural, bad feeling about it all.

He opened the book–

only for the first page to be empty.

 Frowning, Izuku flipped through the next five, that were equally as blank, and stopped for a moment, eyes raking down the page critically. 

Is it invisible ink maybe? Or maybe he hasn’t even written anything…

But the hero student flipped to the next page, and his throat ran dry. For this page was full…very full. He nearly dropped it, green eyes frantically scanning the pages.

 His stomach crawled as he read the information on the page.

 Name: Aoyama Yuuga (Hero Name: Can’t Stop Twinkling)

D.O.B: 30/5/2XXX

Quirk: Naval Laser

Strengths: Able to shoot out laser in various spots with hero costume. Hyper-aware of surroundings. Able to bend his own light in various shapes. His quirk is exceptionally powerful on its own, and he has deadly accurate aim.

Weaknesses: Stomach hurts after using quirk at full-blast for 10-20 seconds. Has a bit of an ego. Body isn’t very adaptable to his quirk without his belt. Seems to be the odd one out in the class, and acts strangely around them - stands out.

Aoyama seems to think extremely highly of himself, and it would be quite easy to go under the guise of a fan of his, or even a civilian asking about what he calls his “fashion sense”. He loves anything related to France, as well as cheese. Not terribly too smart, but not one you would want to mess with, either. Has not yet trained himself in much when it comes to hand-to-hand or quirkless battling, and being hit with his quirk isn’t an option. Close range battling is best for taking him out.

Rating: 1/5. Body is too unstable to use for different quirks -  however his quirk, with the right base, would be acceptable for H.E.N Project #021

 and that wasn’t all - in any clear space were pictures of the boy himself in all his glory, for once unaware a photo had been taken. There was also a picture taken of the boys hero costume, little bits of writing detailing every part, and even where he would be most vulnerable to strike.

On the next page stated more information about the other blond in their class - his birthplace, current address, and even the basic information about his immediate family - and their quirks, too!

What the hell is all of this…? And this H.E.N Project…

 Izuku wanted to put the book down and leave, feeling a chill go down his spine…but the boy kept going, flicking through the pages and feeling his stomach sink even lower with every filled page he came across.

Ashido Mina

Asui Tsuyu

Iida Tenya

Uraraka Ochako

Mashirao Ojirou

Kirishima Eijirou

Kouda Koji

Satou Rikido

Shouji Mezou

Jirou Kyouka

Sero Hanta

Tokoyami Fumikage

Todoroki Shouto

Hagakure Tooru

Bakugou Katsuki…

 and finally,

 Midoriya Izuku

 Izuku didn’t know how long he had been sitting there, staring at the bottom of Kacchan’s final page before turning it to his own, not sure what he was suppose to be expecting. Well, what he had been expecting, at the least, was writing about as detailed as all his other classmates.

But how wrong he was.

Kaminari’s assessment on him didn’t only have pictures on the hero student himself - no. There were pictures of several others - heroes.

All Might and Gran Torino.

Izuku’s heart sped up, all air leaving his lungs when he also noticed older photos - not of him, but of an younger Gran Torino, of a younger All Might.

Of Shimura Nana. All Might’s mentor.

Izuku’s hands shook as he finally read the information listed, although his green eyes only stuck to one very specific part, one that just about sent the boy into pure terror at the thought of being found out.

 Quirk: One for All.

Counterpart to All for One. One for All allows Midoriya to have access to immense speed and strength. He is currently the ninth holder, inheriting the quirk from All Might, and is likely being trained to be the next Symbol of Peace. One for All grows as the holder grows and mends with the quirk themselves, meaning that Midoriya’s output will eventually be much stronger than that of All Might in his prime. It also appears that One for All can influence the user whenever stuck under any quirks that capture their mind, or force them to go against their will. One for All is not able to be stolen, and can only be passed with the holder’s permission. This quirk can cause dreams forced by those previous, some of which can cause the quirk to lash out violently whilst the current user is sleeping.

 No…no way…Kaminari…

He know’s about One for All!

 Izuku slammed the book shut, putting the book back where he found it as he stumbled back, eyes wide and body almost trembling. His hands found their way to the straps of his backpack, clutching tightly.

He knows about One for All…I know I’ve almost spilled it a couple of times, but there can’t be any way he could’ve heard one of my talks with All Might, or even Kacchan…No one else would’ve told him. No one else knew the secret and Kaminari well enough to talk about it, especially not to his face! What the heck am I suppose to tell All Might?!

…..

Unless…

 All for One.

It felt as if cold water had been thrown over Izuku at the suggestion conquered up…logically, there was no other way the electric quirked boy knew but…

Kaminari…working with All for One? The League of Villains…?

 …it all made too much sense. The attacks. The camp. Kacchan’s kidnapping and Kamino…everything.

He felt sick. Emotions coiled and squeezed at his insides, as if stones were weighing him down under water, and Izuku wasn’t aware of how hard he had been biting his lip, the coppery iron taste of blood filling his mouth. His face paled at what exactly he was accusing the other boy of.

Of being a traitor…

 I have to go…I can’t be here, it’s too dangerous–

He couldn’t take the book with him. It would arouse too much suspicion. Izuku turned his back on the notebook, hurrying to the door, which Kaminari hadn’t closed behind him. But just before he got out to the hallway–

“Midoriya? Dude, you alright? You’re looking kinda pale there.”

Izuku jumped almost several feet in the air, whipping around in fright as Kaminari appeared at the other end of the hallway, coming to meet him with an ice pack in one hand. The One for All user couldn’t help but step back, earning a puzzled look from the blond.

“Midoriya…?”

“A-Ah, sorry Kaminari…something came up,” Izuku couldn’t stop the stutter in his voice, pulling on his bag straps and forcing a wane smile across his face in an attempt to convince the other. “My, uh, my mum called me. Something happened at home and I– I just really gotta go and sort this out, you know? I need to…can I be alone right now?”

Izuku’s gaze averted to the carpet hallway flooring, toeing at the material before he made to go around Kaminari, giving him another uncertain smile. “Thanks for the ice pack, but my wrist barely hurts–”

 "Midoriya.“

 Izuku blinked, and Kaminari went on the offensive. With his quirk crackling around his fingers, the blond had struck out, slamming a hand on Izuku’s chest and letting loose. All in time that was not enough for the target to react as the taller boys quirk reacted immediately, striking out.

The electricity ran its course through Izuku’s veins, setting them alight in fiery pain as he let out a shriek - one that Kaminari quickly covered up with his other hand, dropping the ice pack. Izuku’s legs gave way as the shocks zapped and crackled across his entire body, limbs locking up with Izuku’s mouth gaping open. His throat closed over, stopping any oxygen.

With a vision swimming of black and white, Izuku tried to give out a weak cry, doing his best to fight off the unconsciousness that threatened to submerge him. The sting of copper filled the back of his mouth, and Kaminari crouched besides the fallen boy, golden eyes watching him like a predator.

Kaminari, hair standing up due to the voltage of his quirk, only gave a sickly sweet smile at his classmates predicament, going to pat the cheek of the freckled boy. His voice was muffled, but Izuku could still hear him. Hear the calmness cold that took over the others tone.

"If only you had kept your hands to yourself, Deku…what a naive little hero wannabe.”

No…I can’t…All Might!! Someone…!

But the downed boy couldn’t move his mouth, his tongue as heavy as led, and the student above him sighed.

“I kinda liked your work ethic, ya know? But, well…all good things gotta come to an end, right?”

 And that was the last thing Izuku heard, his body finally going into shutdown and static filling his eardrums, the unconsciousness gripping him and dragging him into the void with its deathly claws, claiming its prize.

  Kaminari scowled at the now knocked-out boy, scoffing as he got up and nudged the smaller boy’s face with his foot. What an idiot.

He quickly looked, making sure no one was entering the floor nor leaving their rooms before he grabbed hold of one of Izuku’s arms, dragging him into his room and shutting the door behind him.

“That was easier than I thought…”

Dragging him across the floor, Kaminari quickly found some rope he had stored away to tie and bound the others arms and legs, shoving him all too roughly into his closet before fishing his phone out of his pocket.

The number he dialed he practically knew off by heart, and he was sure to send a password via text so that the receiver knew it was in fact him.

The phone rung three times before being picked up.

“You better have a good reason for calling, kid.”

  Kaminari couldn’t help the grin that spread across his features. The giddiness that filled his being, almost wanting to make the boy prance around his room in delight.

“Dr. Tsubasa, I got him. Midoriya Izuku is ready for transport to your facility.”

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: TokyoTreat Oct 19

I think I’m doing pretty good progress wise, please be patient with me as I continue to try to review old boxes~

“October is here, bringing with it those spooky Halloween vibes! Halloween has been growing in popularity in recent years, and since Japan loves their seasonal snacks we had plenty of new, interesting items to choose from! In the spirit of being spooky but kinda cute, we’ve created a Poke-Monster Night for you to enjoy! No sharing these tricky snacks though!“

For this months contest, the winner could receive figures of Naruto and Sasuke from Naruto, while runner-ups won a cute pokeball candy and stamp. Lucky Treat consisted of Full Metal Alchemist, Dragon Quest, AND three devil fruits from One Piece, the Gomu Gomu (Gum), Mera Mera (Flame), and Ope Ope (Operation. Also, they accidentally mislabeled as the “dark dark fruit”). I was very excited that they included the 3 belonging to 3 of my favorite characters~

Pokemon Ramune & Strange Syrup DIY

(Please see top pic for images)

For this month, we get a basic, straight-laced ramune drink. Thank goodness :P as much as I like to try new flavors, sometimes I forget the original is probably the best... especially in comparison to those yucky flavors that I’m still traumatized by <_< and this month we even get a really cute pokemon label.

Ramune is basically that “soda“ flavor you’ll see in Japanese candy. It has a sweet, sort of lemon-ish taste but its not sour. It’s a little like sprite, but in my opinion it tastes way better. It’s especially yummy whenever it’s warm out or if you worked up a thirst. It’s also really fun to open because of the marble inside!

If you have ever wanted to try out Ramune, I would suggest checking on Amazon (they have a variety of fruit flavors too), or maybe the Japan Haul website (the website made through Tokyo Treat and its various brands).

- - - - -

The DIY I just included a bonus pic of because I’ve done it several times. It’s a super-sticky, thick syrup like candy that only requires you to mix the 3 flavors, which are strawberry, soda, and lemon. Together they make grape... which looks like this:

Because this candy was a little old, I think it was a bit off. The lemon and soda flavors were fine, but I noticed that not only was strawberry orange instead of pink, which might explain this... greenish-honey color. It’s usually a little purple if I recall.

Also, it didn’t really taste like grape this time, and it wasn’t as good in my opinion- but I guarantee if you open it as soon as you get it, it tastes much better. If you don’t like sticky/gooey textures you might wanna skip this one though.

Halloween Milk Senbei & Bloody Cola Marshmallow

Since I subscribed like 3 years ago, I’ve only seen senbei in a box once; I was very excited to see it again! It’s stuff like this I wish they would include more of, because I want to try the unique foreign flavors you know?

Anyway, the milk senbei is a plain, very thin melt-in-your mouth cracker-like snack that pretty much tastes like ice cream cone, but a teensy bit sweeter. This one comes with a cola flavored sauce to put on top of it. Each 1 (or one pack, not sure) is around 25-27 calories.

♥ ♥ ♥

I really like the taste of ice cream cones, I don’t know why, I just always have. Meanwhile, the jelly/sauce is purple, but it indeed tastes like cola ♥ it’s very yummy. However... together, they get a strange taste and that I’m not very fond of. I can’t even describe it, but its weird. But eating it in small doses is tolerable.

- - - - -

Speaking of cola, we also got a really cute marshmallow filled with a cola jelly! It’s like they combined two of my favorite things~

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

It’s very soft and yummy, the jelly inside tastes about the same as the sauce from the prior item, but it tastes so much better with the marshmallow.

Apple Pie Kit Kat & Brown Sugar Sweets

Instead of orange kit kats this year, we get to see fun purple one :D these kit kats are inspired by an apple pie. As you can see they also come in a large pack to share with others or to eat yourself. Each pack is 65 calories. 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I love the coloring of these, first of all. It’s such a pretty purple, and its fun too. The apple flavor is very prominent, and it has a very small hint of spice, while the wafer brings to mind a sugary crust. It’s sweet, but mildly.

- - - - - -

These are popular for their melty and soft texture, with a very thin, crisp layer of rich brown sugar coating. Each one of these is 17 calories.

♥ ♥ ♥ 

These are kinda basic, but it’s a yummy sweet that isn’t overly sugary. I think it goes good with the apple pie kit kat, and maybe some milk.

Disappearing Taste?! Mixed Gummies, ZomB Grape Gum, & Blue Green Soda Gum

We got 3 gums this month! Our first is very familiar, because we’ve had this gum before. The only difference is this is its washed out, slightly different cousin. Basically, you’re given a set of flavors of gum, in this case yogurt, strawberry, orange, and white grape/muscat. You can eat them as is, or mix the flavors to make new ones, like a fruit drink, melon soda, or different fruits.

What makes this one special however, is that there is a special gumball that supposedly makes the flavor disappear? I mean, isn’t that what gum does normally?

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

This gum is really nice, you get a lot of them per-resealable pouch, and the flavors are always pretty good. Plus I like how the gum is smooth and soft in texture. I didn’t really notice any difference with this one from the last pack I had other than flavors.

- - - - -

Next up, we have the ZomB Gum; a popular Halloween item that we have seen before; I think about 2 or so years back, when we got the red cola vampire version. What makes this gum really fun is that it colors your tongue as you chew it, and it has a delicious grape flavor.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

This gum has the same texture as the other gum, so I really like it. The color effect isn’t nearly as strong as the package shows, but it’s a cute little gimmick, and it tastes great. The flavor lasts about 5 minutes.

- - - -

Our last gum is another brand I’ve had before. I have had both this flavor, and their cola version. It’s pretty much the same concept as the ZomB gum (they’re made by the same brand), but its in two sticks and you get a soda flavor, and a melon flavor.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I’d pretty much say the same things as I did about the previous two gums. All three were delicious and I would recommend any of them.

Poteco Pumpkin Gratin & Pringles

Here we have two salty, savory snacks for the box. But of course, the Poteco are not new to us, in fact I think last Halloween we got the exact same pack; minus slightly different packaging. Poteco is good and all, but I got so tired of seeing it that I tend to... shy away from it now. This flavor wasn’t really that different from the original/normal Poteco either.

- - - - -

I was a lot more excited for this item, a unique pack of Japanese Pringles :D Looking at the package, this is a type of ramen or noodle bowl flavor. It’s a mystery item in the booklet so I’m not really sure, but for this small can it is 267 calories!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Honestly, these are so yummy that I don’t even care how many calories there are. The flavor is very strong, it tastes exactly like this cup ramen I like to buy. Trying to describe the flavor, I would say it’s sort of like beef or soy sauce broth, with a hint of a corn taste?

Pokemon Halloween Chocolate & Pikachu Gummies

These are both snacks we’ve had before, so I’ll try to just gist this one.

These crispy snacks are shape like pikachu heads and come in fun, colorful packaging featuring a variety of Pokemon, while the back usually has a fun puzzle or image. Each bag is 83 calories and they are by the brand Tohato.

These are really yummy x3 they have a slightly bitter chocolate taste and remind me a lot of the coco crispy cereals.

- - - - - -

The other snack is also pikachu-shaped, but besides its head, there are also the occasional tail you might find ;3 These are by Lotte, and each pack is 90 calories. The flavor is grape and they taste really good too.

The only real thing to bother me about these is that they didn’t cut the gummy around Pikachu’s ears. It’s a minor thing but it bothers me a little.

Halloween Corn Potage Umaibo

Okay, so... because I talk about this a lot, I’m not actually planning on saying anything about it this time :P long story short, corn potage Umaibo is the best.

Squid Legs & Halloween Pizza Corn Snack

Don’t let the name fool you, these are not real squid legs- they just have a fishy taste. I’ve had these before too, and I have fairly complex feelings about them. On one hand they don’t taste terrible, but I don’t like seafood and the flavor is still unappealing to me. I like their crunchy texture though.

- - - - -

Next up is this corn puff snack featuring a delicious pizza flavor! They taste exactly like the pizza-flavored combos, if you never had those before I would recommend them too~

Pokemon Cola Chewing Candy

This is our final item... and now that I look at it, it kinda looks like a wafer cookie doesn’t it?

Anyway, these are sticks of chewing candy that come in various series and flavors. Before we had some grape Thomas the Tank Engine ones, and this time we get some cola Pokemon. Each wrapper usually includes a unique design, craft, or puzzle of some sort.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ I don’t know if these are hard because they had to sit around for a while, or because that is just how they are. I don’t remember the Thomas ones being so hard, but they weren’t as thick as these. But if you suck on them for a few minutes they soften up, or you can crunch them to softness. The flavor is very yummy, I think it might be my favorite cola flavored item in the box.  

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 4.5 out of 5. Everything is very yummy, even though a fair amount of it was repetitive. I really liked it. Theme - 4 out of 5. Well, given the packaging and theme, I could say yeah they did pretty good. We had a decent amount of Pokemon items, but they could have done a little more too I think. Total Rank: 9 out of 10. I really liked this box, I just wish maybe we would have had a couple more unique items.

♥ Cutie’s Scale of Yummy ♥

(I’m sorry, but by this point I’m not really feeling well. I want to finish the review so that I can go lay down DX)

[mrtroy]

On Second Thought – 4 / 2 / 19

It’s the second of the month, and as I vowed to do this year, on the second of each month, I am writing whatever has come to mind – no matter how odd, random, or off the wall that might be. It’s my way of advocating for normalcy around not needing to feel, say and act ‘normal’ all the time.

Ironically, I missed the last installment of this series on 3 / 2 / 19. I was traveling, and even though airports are a boon for random observations, I never found the time to catch up.

Never fear, sports fans, tonight’s installment is sure to make up for last month’s absence.

Today, we’ve got thoughts on ducks, geese, parking, traffic and an extended section on apple sauce.

Get comfy.

I need to start this post by pointing out that ducks are cool.

I do a lot of walking along a river that has a lot of ducks and a lot of geese, and ducks are way cooler. I think a lot of it has to do with them just being nicer. But, also, the way they stick their heads in the water, and their butts go up in the air. Way cool. Not to mention, they just look cooler than geese. And they have orange feet.

I was watching the college basketball tournament a little bit last week, and I could not get over how much I wanted Oregon to win just because their mascot is a duck, and I love ducks so much.

And then I got to wondering why more sports team mascots aren’t ducks. There are scores of wildcats, tigers and eagles, but very few ducks.

Normally, I’m all for the weirder the better when it comes to mascots. Banana Slugs, Anteaters, Fighting Blue Hens (Go Delaware), and it does make you wonder why there are so few ducks as compared to wildcats, tigers and eagles?

Did schools really only name their sports teams after animals that were thought to be fierce because they thought it would intimidate their opponents more if they were playing a wildcat or a tiger?

And by contrast, a duck would be easily defeated?

Perhaps.

Either way, thank you to the good folks in Eugene for going with the Ducks. Ducks are awesome.

And, Geese are not awesome. I suppose I can understand why no one would want to play for the Galesburg Geese… Pff.

I walk by geese as often as I walk by ducks, and the geese just hiss at you, they open their beaks and look all mean at you – it’s just like, c’mon man, you’re not exactly winning friends and influencing people here…

The only good thing that has come out of the last 25 years of goose cognizance, is but a relative positive. After avoiding minefields full of goose droppings for years, I recently realized I’d never actually seen a goose defecate.

Well, check that one off the bucket list.

The other day, while crossing a sidewalk in front of me, one of my hissing nemesis plopped out a steaming pile of green feces. Gross, of course, but after years of never actually catching one in the act, it was sheepishly exhilarating, I have to admit.

--

In the outline I wrote for this post, I briefly considered talking about apple sauce next, but then reconsidered, figuring that apple sauce right after goose droppings may not be a good idea…

So, let’s talk about traffic, why don’t we?

I live along a section of street that is relatively short between two stoplights. In the middle, is a crosswalk with a pedestrian yield sign where cars often stop. When I get home from work in the evening, there is usually a good amount of traffic backed up on the street. It makes for a joyous few minutes of watching society be weird.

When I look out my window to the north, I often see traffic turning off of a busy street heading eastward past my place. Traffic backs up turning off the street, and cars jam to within inches of each other to be able to turn and be out of the way of the main thoroughfare. It’s quite common to see three extra cars trying to jam really close to each other so they can turn.

Yet, a half a block ahead, near the pedestrian crossing, cars – the same ones that were just jamming in to turn onto the very street – space out to the point where there is usually 3-5 feet between vehicles.

Every. Single. Time.

It’s like, what happened people? A half a block ago you were all bunched up, and now you’re just asleep or something?

Anyway, traffic is fun. Take the train if you can, it’s much less stress.

My vantage point looking down on a city street also allows me to watch parallel parking, parking space dispersion, and many other really exciting things. I may have to save this one for another month in order to be able to rant on it fully, but it certainly makes for good viewing when I’m just getting home from work and looking out the window as I eat my evening pre-dinner snack…

Which brings me to apple sauce.

Man, apple sauce is so good.

It’s so versatile. Great for lunch with a sandwich. Great for dinner as a sweet little garnish or meat topper. And, surprisingly refreshing for breakfast.

I feel like apple sauce for breakfast is underrated, but I’m a big advocate. It’s just the right amount of sweet, but if you get the unsweetened kind – as if there was any other real choice – it’s not overly sweet. It’s light on the stomach. It’s got a pudding-like ratio of flavor to chewing effort, where you don’t have to chew nearly at all, and you still get a bevy of flavor. (Pudding may still be at the top of this list, but again, another post for another month…)

I also realized this week while at the grocery store that there are like 200 different varieties of apple sauce. To some, this may seem overwhelming, but to me, this was like a new frontier to discover.

Sweet. Unsweet. Chunky. Cinnamon….

Now they have so many new flavors – and even colors – I apparently have not been keeping up with the apple sauce innovation curve the last few years. I saw bright green apple sauce, orange, reddish…

While doing research for this post, I even ate one of these newfangled concoctions. I ate organic strawberry apple sauce out of a pouch that has a built-in straw. 3.2 ounces of interesting, let me tell ya.

Obviously, I don’t have kids. I see toddlers eating out of such contraptions all the time, but this was a first for me.

I immediately became obsessed with trying to extract every possible morsel out of the pouch – which was kind of fun. So, that was nice…

Have you ever made apple sauce?

When I was little, my family used to go apple picking all the time, and then my mom and my aunt would spend a long time peeling, coring and slicing apples to make into the sweet nectar. The apple peeler / corer / slicer is easily one of my favorite inventions…

I love how certain apples are better for apple sauce, and some are better for eating, and some are better for baking. It’s pretty cool when you learn that one apple is mealier, and thus is better for baking, and some are crunchier and better for snacking.

I only have one disappointment with apple sauce, and this comes from the fact that my favorite apple – the Granny Smith – is not a good apple sauce apple, in my opinion.

I recently spotted Granny Smith apple sauce at the store. I was immediately delighted. I had a coupon that gave me 50 cents off any variety of Mott’s apple sauce (thank you grocery story Monopoly) and as my luck would have it, Mott’s is one of the brands that makes its sauce in Granny’s variety. This was shaping up to be a dream combo. Unsweetened. Granny Smith. And a coupon!

Sheesh.

Except, after racing home and opening up the conventional container of the sauce, I was crestfallen to find out that Granny Smith apple sauce is not good. How could this be? It smelled amazing, but the flavor was so underwhelming… It was just kind of bland. Completely lacking the tartness that a good Granny Smith packs into each bite…

Uggles, man. Uggles.

Alas, some things just don’t live up to the hype you

--

Last little bit tonight is on favorite colors.

I am on an all-time high enjoying my favorite color, thanks to my friends at Apple.

I never used to understand people’s obsession for buying things in their favorite color. I mean, it makes sense, but I was always kind of the ilk that favorite colors were for six year olds, and after that, it kind of didn’t really matter much.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that my favorite color is yellow, and lots of things that come in yellow colors don’t look great.

Tape measures can be yellow, but they aren’t really noted for being super stylish… Bananas are yellow – and while the yellow ones are far better than the green or brown varieties – it’s not like people eat more bananas because they are yellow…

I’m not much of an accessorizer, so yellow purses, umbrellas, coffee mugs or ornamental belts aren’t really my thing either.

I’ve never had the urge to get a yellow computer case, or even a yellow shower curtain…

Yellow has always been my favorite color, but it’s always been under-represented in my repertoire of assorted belongings.

However, all of that recently changed.

I got a new phone, and for the first time ever, Apple was offering this really cool yellow color.

Without giving it much thought, when the sales person at the store asked what color I wanted, I almost just defaulted to grey. I saw a red and a blue and a white. But they didn’t do much for me.

And then, I saw this rich mustardy yellow colored one.

Whoa. A yellow phone!

I decided to go with that one, figuring, I like yellow, let’s do this.

I can’t tell you how much joy I have gotten out of having a yellow phone these last few weeks. I keep looking at it and thinking how much I love it. It’s hard to describe, but man, it’s so fun.

--

On that note, thanks for reading.

Have a good month.

Eat plenty of apple sauce. Smile at the ducks. Avoid the geese. And enjoy your favorite color.

[greyknighterotica]

Coming clean

I don’t lie to you often and they haven’t been big ones, well big ones that I don’t think you’d understand and certainly wouldn’t think less of me for after everything I’ve actually already revealed, often.

That’s an ominous opening line...

But really, this is not a scary post and in fact I’m writing it just to, well, be more connected with you. Old Jack would have played this close to the chest, I’m really trying to turn over a new leaf, so here it goes.

I didn’t have internet problems today and tomorrow. I had other sorts of issues. I’m still recovering. I could, I’m convinced, have pushed through today and recorded and have everything be “fine” but instead I’m writing this.

Before concerning anyone any further: 

Things have never been great with me health-wise, but they are getting much better.

Europe was was the start. David Sedaris once traveled to Japan to quit smoking. It worked. His theory was that in a new place, using new parts of your mind, it would be easier to not be so habitual in vices either. I don’t know the science behind it, but it has a certain romantic charm.

Less drinking, no cat hair around (no pets in the building at all, I think), walking to get food every day, better food, less take out. It’s no surprise it was a real boost to the system. Then I’ve talked more about Marijuana elsewhere, so no more of that here. Besides, that story isn’t over yet.

Back to the matter at waist. 

One of my biggest challenges with home recording has been my health in a very specific manner: My tummy talks a lot. Long time fans most surely know it and the pops and whizs appear in those first 50 audios much more than the rest, but audios aren’t so bad. Audio books however? Imagine not only having to get the words, the tones, the characters right without background and then having your stomach just “pop” out of nowhere and then having to delete that line. That paragraph. Over and over again.

Welcome to my world. And my search for solutions. There will be biological stuff coming after this. You have been warned.

So basically since I got my card in February, I’ve declared war on my stomach. Eating good, using the non-fun, no-THC stuff to keep the system going, etc. But then, as I got out of pain something...happened.

I’m not being coy. I’m not being cute. It’s too much to explain here and the facts are still unclear but, basically, since the middle of February I have been playing a game of Jack’s Gi Tract: Total War. Where factions have made alliances and the terrains is ever shifting. Whatever long-form demons took up residence in my stomach? They didn’t want out. 

And to be clear? I’ve tried a lot of stuff in the past. Master Cleanse, without cheating a single calorie, for 8 days straight? Nothing. Intermittent fasting? Nada. Getting into the best shape I possibly could? I mean, seriously amazing vegetarian for two years and going to the gym literally every day (didn’t I ever tell you about this period of my life where I was an Adonis no it never came up yet how weird but I bet no girls out there want to see pictures or hear stories about me from my 20′s when I was super smoking hot and buff anyway so).

This problem had dogged me my whole life in this, and other, ways.

But it’s clearing up. And it’s clearing up, I think, for a lot of factors. The hard, deep cleaning I’ve been doing around the house. The positive attitude. And yes, the THC. Well, the CBD in it, more likely, if I had to guess. Maybe a combo of the two?

None of that answers why you didn’t get your podcast yet. Why, even if it COULD come today, I’ve chosen for it come tomorrow.

And the reason is: I literally shat my guts out to the point that I was full on dehydrated. 

It was an epic battle that the Battle of Five Armies could not hope to recreate. But I can. And I will, for Patrons on this livestream and then, for the rest of you, at another date because what’s the fun in being paid to masturbate and play video games for women if you can’t ALSO tell them a 10-20 minute poop story that makes them laugh, first.

I am okay. I have insurance now. I do not feel bad and I haven’t all week, I just took three days shitting all the electrolytes out of my system and I am drained. 

Before anyone offers any medial advice that was not sought (it has been)...

I have chugged a bottle of gatorade. I have chugged 12 ounces of pedisure. I have 36 remaining, and will drink those. I am drinking water and tea at all time. The tea has lemon and honey, yes real lemon and honey, no it is not green tea, yes I know that a diuretic. I have plenty of food, and I am taking it slow with that as I haven’t eaten much lately. do not worry, there is lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and I am not working out or operating heavy machinery. Good? Good. No one is going to send anything in about me being okay, right? Right. Good.

So.

The bad news is your podcast delayed because I feel like a sack of hammers dropped into a black hole tired and I got shit to do tomorrow besides the podcast. I’m resting up.

There’s your bad news. Here’s your good news to make up for it.

As it became clear to me that this project was going to continue, I decided that I’d have to do something called the “Gastrological Forecast.” Don’t think me too clever, I stole that from a local paper, it was the name of their dining out column. 

The idea was, instead of just saying “Guys, I have some tummy issues” to simply try and tell you when I could and could not do work in advance like some king of smog/terror warning (remember that, when people would TELL YOU what color the terrorism was that day!?) for my stomach.

I am no longer considering those plans. I am curing myself, or making rapid recovery toward treatment, whatever. There’s a cure here somewhere. I’ll find it. 

That means more time recording, less stress doing so, for bigger projects. And that means a happier Jack who can do TGK stuff with less worry.

It also means more improv and ramble stuff. You can see where sudden and unknowable gas pockets escaping may have made a few REALLY GREAT Cowboy Jack audios vanish because they simply became swiss cheese after the blips were edited out. 

But more than that in a way that is not easy to explain here, it meant a lot of thinking. Some of that, sure, was simply because I occupied a porcelain throne instead of my more standard venue.  But it’s also because I’m feeling good, and been thinking, a lot. And I’ve floated pieces of this idea to people who’s opinion and council and respect a great deal. I’m getting the thumbs up. It’s very exciting.

I don’t ever want to do that announcement of an annoucement bullshit, but the simple truth is the proposal is far from done, it’s not even written up, much less amended and edited. And that’s exactly what it is, a proposal, to you gals. Not for money, not for money of it. Not for help or items. But an idea. A basic, “what if we really try and do something with this idea that this community is special.”

Without revealing more the premise is to construct a series of projects, both on my own, with some of you, and collective in order to, well, “reveal” me in August 2018 for my birthday. And to do a live show then. And to stream it everywhere in the world, for free. 

On my part this is going to take a lot of hard work with feeling comfortable. It’s going to take a lot of exercise so I don’t feel totally weird and drained for 2-3 hours on stage (yes stage). It’s going to take rehersal. It’s going to take what I can only call a “fostering of talents, personalities, locals and infrastructural resources that I have no right to summon or use” from the UK. Namely Scotland. So, you know, file that away if you are.

To give you an idea of what a “project” could be, a simple one that nobody has to do anything but me? A “project” to complete is to get a better streaming rig before it happens. See how easy that is? I just need to get a better computer, I know enough about them, I budget, I do some extra work, boom. 

It is my goal to align a few of these projects so that they can come together in the UK in 2018 with me and you so that EVERY FAN, every single one of you, get something you want. All of you. All of you. 

All of you.

That’s not going to be easy, I know. But I’m hoping between a live show and a reveal and surprises and you getting to see me in some form (more on that later) and you know, proving that this is real and all that, I think that does it for most of you. But the goal is to make every last one of you happy for one night with one thing in one place.

This plan is the first plan I’ve made in my life that is 100% me. It’s projects that combine into projects. It’s daring. It’s a bit insane. It’s too much hard work for me, it’s too much to ask others, it stands no chance of working, the benefits are minimal (at least to me personally and financially) anything else would be more surefire and more enriching in the short term and if you think you’ve seen the internet push back against erotic audio so far buckle up because dark days are coming and we’re all going to fail and there will days of doubt and nights of no sleep and fear and that constant voice that says you will fail you will fail you will fail and they never loved you anyway.

So knowing all that?

Let’s do it anyway.

See you tomorrow for the more normal stuff tomorrow and the end of the month for my proposal. 

[4colorrebellion]

4cr Plays: Puyo Puyo Tetris

Like many gamers, I have a long-running history with Tetris. I first got a Game Boy back in Christmas of 1993, and it came bundled with Link’s Awakening. Well, being an idiot, I didn’t want Link’s Awakening. I didn’t care that it was free. I wanted some Ninja Turtles sidescroller.

I did get the Turtles game, and it was bad. However, I did give Link’s Awakening a try, despite my earlier protests, and it ended up being one of my favorite games. To this day, it remains my favorite 2D entry in the series. 

Then came Tetris.

A couple of months after getting the Game Boy, my teacher took it away when I got caught playing in class. It wasn’t a big deal - she gave it back later that day. However, when she gave it back, there was an extra game. To my credit, I did tell her that it wasn’t mine. She told me to take it anyways - as long as I promised not to play in class. That is how I ended up with my first copy of Tetris.

Again, being an idiot, I thought this Tetris thing looked stupid. I must have learned a tiny lesson from the Link’s Awakening experience, however, as I did slot the cart into the system that night to give it a try.

I never did learn who that copy of Tetris belonged to, but I definitely owe them. I was immediately hooked. I ran down so many pairs of batteries playing that game. To this day, Tetris is just something I have to have on every handheld system. According to my play log, I’ve put about 75 hours into the 3DS Virtual Console release of the original. I must have put hundreds into Tetris DS. I even have a copy of the mediocre Tetris Ultimate for Vita! 

Whoever you are, anonymous donor of Tetris, I hope you won the cosmic karma lottery. 

I have far less history with Puyo Puyo. And in all fairness, the western world as a whole has far less history with Puyo Puyo. However, I do have one memory from my early days. I never had a Genesis as a kid, but I did love Sonic the Hedgehog. Like a lot of kids I was really into the Archie comics and the Saturday morning cartoon (the good one - the one that, in retrospect, was a total Star Wars knockoff). I did have a couple of friends who owned a Genesis, and one weekend, I went over to see the new games they got for their birthday and watch cartoons. One of those games was called Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine. 

In one of the stranger marketing moves of the 90′s, SEGA took Puyo Puyo and inserted Sonic characters. Aesthetically, it’s a mess. Even at the time, my main reaction was that the game looked weird, and that the Sonic connections were only surface-deep. Since I didn’t own any SEGA systems at that point, I never really got into Mean Bean Machine like I did Tetris, but I do have some lingering memories of falling blobs. 

This long, rambling, road leads us into Puyo Puyo Tetris - a PB&J mix of the two long-running puzzle titans. Puyo Puyo Tetris is actually old news in Japan - it came out almost three years ago for every system under the sun - but never made it to the west. However, we have a new system, the Nintendo Switch, and not surprisingly, SEGA has taken the opportunity to both port the game and release it world-wide. 

Unlike a lot of westerners, and mainly because of my Tetris addiction, this is not my first encounter with Puyo Puyo Tetris. I actually imported it for Vita and played a ton of it there. That being said, I am unreasonably excited for the new release for two reasons:

Even though I own a truly ludicrous number of handheld systems, I have some inexplicable need for a copy of Tetris on all of them. I have a new system (the Switch). I need Tetris. No, this isn’t healthy. Let’s just move on.

I’m not exactly fluent in Japanese. I can parse the menu screens, but my Japanese was absolutely not up to the task of making sense of the story mode.

And oh yes. There is a story mode. In a puzzle game. It also turns out that it makes about as much sense in English as it did in Japanese. But that’s OK - it’s fantastic. We’ll get to that more in a minute.

First, it is worth taking a second to explain the western release, because it is a little confusing. They are releasing it world-wide for both Switch and PS4. For Switch, you can buy it either digitally or physically. The digital release, in the US, is $30. The physical version is $40, but comes with keychains. The PS4 version is physical-only, and costs $30 (and does not come with the keychains). This is due to the insane licensing requirements for Tetris. Because Ubisoft sells Tetris Ultimate digitally on PS4, SEGA cannot release Puyo Puyo Tetris digitally. I have no idea why this does not cover physical copies as well, but I am glad - at least PS4 owners can get this in some form. Because there are no other Tetris games on Switch, SEGA could release in both forms. However, if you want this digitally, I’d recommend getting it sooner rather than later.

OK - that was a bit confusing. To summarize, this is out on PS4 and Switch. It is physical-only on PS4, and comes in both physical and digital form on Switch. 

Let’s step back for a minute and cover the basics. 

You are probably familiar with Tetris. If not (What are you doing? Go buy a GameBoy!), the premise is that shapes fall from the sky. These shapes, called tetrominoes, are formed from the combination of four squares - just as dominoes are formed from two squares. You control where those shapes fall, and if you can form a solid line between the two sides of the screen with these shapes, the line will disappear. Your task is to keep forming these lines as long as you can, while the tetrominoes keep speeding up their descent. You get points for each line cleared, and bonuses for clearing multiple lines at once - up to a max of four, called a “tetris.” There are a few minor additions, but the basic formula is beautiful in its simplicity. 

Puyo Puyo is similar. Colored pairs of blobs fall from the sky. Over time, they fall faster. In this case, your goal is to form combinations of four blobs of the same color. These combinations can be in any configuration except diagonal, so you can have a big square, a line, a cross - etc. - as long as they share a color. Like in Tetris, you get more points for clearing multiple combinations at once. You also get more points for combinations with more than four elements. The biggest twist is the concept of chains. When you clear a combination, the blobs above it fall. If you clear a combo, and the falling blobs form a new combo, then you get a huge score bonus. This builds as more chain reactions occur. The key to Puyo Puyo mastery comes in setting up massive chain reactions. 

If you are entirely new to one of the games, they include a series of tutorial videos covering each of the core concepts. I wish they were a bit more interactive, but they do the trick for covering the basics. 

In most of the modes of Puyo Puyo Tetris, you play either Puyo Puyo or Tetris. If, like me, you have a ton of love for Tetris and very little experience with Puyo Puyo, this is a fantastic way to get your Tetris fix and explore a new game. The same would hold true for die-hard Puyo Puyo fans. There are a ton of different game modes, and both Tetris and Puyo Puyo are represented excellently. Both games also mix well. In multiplayer, players can choose their game. In both Tetris and Puyo Puyo, scoring will drop garbage pieces on the other player. This means that they can be combined fairly seamlessly, with one player playing Puyo Puyo and the other playing Tetris.

There is also a fusion mode where you can play both games at the same time, with both tetrominoes and blobs falling on the field. It is exactly as insane as it sounds.

So, getting back to the story mode. Apparently this is a staple in the Puyo Puyo series. I guess - as a Tetris player - I’ve been missing out. The “adventure” mode presents a 10 chapter storyline where the Puyo Puyo cast find themselves (a) on a spaceship, with (b) blocks falling from the sky. The spaceship inhabitants aren’t particularly bothered by the tetrominoes, but are quite perturbed by the sudden appearance of falling blobs. Suddenly, the two groups must unite to stop the… falling puzzle pieces. I wasn’t kidding when I said it didn’t make much more sense in English. It’s kind of delightfully nonsensical. 

Each chapter is made up of a series of levels where you play either Tetris or Puyo Puyo. In each level, you have a set of three objectives to fulfill. At the end, you get a star rating based on how many you passed. This is actually a fantastic way to get better at each game, as you have targets to work towards. I really appreciate this, as I really haven’t played much Puyo Puyo, and this has really helped improve my skills.

The “Solo Arcade” menu offers a variety of game modes to play, as the title implies, by yourself. You can face off against a CPU opponent in either game. You can play the fusion mode that I mentioned earlier. There is a mode called Swap, where you alternate at set intervals between both games. This is really fun, as you have to keep track of where you left off. There is a Party mode where items fall from the sky that activate as you clear lines or combinations. The Big Bang mode tasks you with clearing set patterns without making mistakes. Finally, there are three “challenge” modes for each game. For Puyo Puyo, there is an endless mode, a mode where you complete preset chains as long as possible, and a mode where the blobs are extra tiny. For Tetris, the standard marathon is present (150 lines). There is also a sprint mode where you complete 40 lines as fast as possible, and the “ultra” mode, where you get the best score you can within a three minute limit. 

You can play any of these, except the challenge modes, in local multiplayer as well. Local multiplayer can either be done on the same system, with each player taking a joycon, or over a wireless connection. The online mode also offers the same modes, and you can play either ranked or unranked matches. 

There are a couple of nice additional bonuses. As you play, you accumulate credits that can be exchanged for game skins and voice packs for the announcers. There are also trophies for each game that you can unlock. 

One of my concerns going into the Switch version was the lack of a “real” d-pad on the system. After putting a good bit of time into the final release, I needn’t have been concerned. The split “d-buttons” on the joycon are fine. I actually think they feel better than the Vita d-pad in the game. The game also looks fantastic on both the Switch screen and on a big TV. 

All-in-all, Puyo Puyo Tetris is a fantastic package, and I’m thrilled that SEGA has finally released it to the rest of the world. If you have a PS4 or a Switch, I cannot recommend this enough. It is a packed collection of variants of two of the most important puzzle games in existence, with a huge variety of single and multiplayer modes. I can see this getting a ton of playtime on my Switch.  

[skyphile]

Happy V(b)day!

GIFTS

a pair of whirlwind like piercings, a silver, smaller set like this, for his cheek dimples

matching fish toys for him and bongwater, this one for the cat, a Way bigger version for the… larger cat /:

a cardbox built castle shaped like a bong - for bongwater (google failed me here… )

non sweet chocolate pastries - using the alternian chocolate to make sea-salt based sauce and savory churro dough for the pastry

his reinterpretations (piano and softer) of the entire écailles de lune album - the og album here

this dumb vday card

a pair of luvdisc plushies like this, with magnets on the tip of their mouth

a whole nest! - from the same verse he’s taken daven to. john’s found an entire network of underwater tunnels made from some definitely alien tech, that serve as an observatorium of the sea life right there. the tunnels are mostly metallic, but they have several entryways into the sea, protected by nothing but a barrier you can phase through, but still keeps the liquid perfectly outside. there’s several rest points too, which john’s littered with cushions and other comforts, and one of them even has a kitchen area with a teleporter especially made to receive john’s fridge-like sylladex cards. john knows nothing of the civilization thats made these - if it even still exists - but figures fucker will enjoy the mystery. he knows very little of the marine life of this verse too, except it’s Very different, but also gets it if fucker wants to go out and explore too. the kitchen has a PLEaSE FEED ME button, that sends a signal to john whenevers pressed and he can respond to.

LETTER

In plain white paper, in pretty blue swirly cursive,

happy birthday, and merry heart day double whammy, fucker!!

ordinarily i write a very tender one of these any time an important birth event comes, but i figure it’s only fair i up my game for you - the big perk of landing the one day that should be about showing love and not be shy of it, to remind your important people why their place in your life matters.

so here it is…..

looking back at our first conversations now, it makes me so surprised to see how far we’ve come, from the the nervous back and forth of few words to…. the straight up sin that comes with the… pokemon fucking… topic. but, um. anyway!

for the longest time i honestly believed that i was? annoying to you, some sort of a loud factor that you had to take in small doses, and i didn’t want to give cause to make that worse or put pressure on you at all, so i guess that’s why i never really tried to talk much… i hope this doesn’t sound accusatory, because i don’t mean it to be!! it’s perfectly normal for people to be compatible with different ones in different moments of their lives. and i still got to secondhand see you and sbw work together, and the nice impact that had, and that made me very, very happy too.

now i realize that. we’re actually pretty similar in our origins here, the trouble that comes with opening up for the first time, to sow the seeds for something better, and i recognize that and i’m!! so proud of you for getting this far and, it’s very very nice to share this boat of recovery with you. i couldn’t ask for better company!

and also… i’m just… very happy that the veil of insecurity was drawn away and, well… we happened too!

because from day one i’ve seen you as someone grand and whose opinions i admired, someone who kind of? ressonated with me even if in subtle ways, someone who could shift my mood like five tiers better just by saying something nice, by giving me even the smallest compliment.

your insight has always been! really valuable to me, and to feel like we shared some key ideas on life and stuff has always felt very empowering.

seeing you talk of me with such honest kindness, to learn that!! the way that i am - which i struggle with on the regular because it’s… so easy to feel like anything that falls outside the norm is bad and bound to fail - is something you admire and even strive to achieve in your own terms, i can’t!! begin to describe how wonderful it felt, to have that kind of validation from someone i hold in such high esteem, for something i do without even thinking. so thank you, so much…

but it isn’t just that.

that opened the door to!! so much more. from then on, it kind of clicked on me that i’d been!! dumb and wrong all along, and that my paranoid feels of immediate rejection were. so silly to begin with… and as you helped me strip off that, everything else fell into place and! i found my way to be with you. and how wonderful that is!!

i adore that you carved your way into my home, and i love every second you spend here - i love laying back and feeling its heart beat, and knowing that the cadence of your own bloodstream is entwined in it. i love it when sbw gets teary over the new baby and thanks you under his breath, i love it when daven touches something up in the mirror and goes about how right you were over something you’ve mentioned about color combos, i love holding up sord to slice through veggies and they start humming something i’ve heard you hum before. you’ll always have a place here - you’re already embedded in the walls! 

no matter where life takes you, you’ll have a haven here.

and then i love it so much, the ease with which you’ve set camp in my own heart too.

from distant admiration through to mutual support of our out-of-the-norm, amazing ventures, it’s so natural to want you close, to love you with the friendly purity and joy of a child, to see you flourish, to tend to you in ways that’ll help you get there better.

i know this is because you’re so tiny (:P), but it makes me smile to feel how cosy you fit in my arms, and it makes me melt just! how tenderly you react to even the gentlest shows of affection, just how!! fucking adorable you are, and how nice cuddling you is… i hope it’s just as good to you, and please know that you deserve these and more, given regularly and by people who know how, and i’ll be on my toes to volunteer my tribute every time - i am!! that smitten, yes!! to see you soothed down and relaxed, breathing easy and at peace, is such a thing to treasure.

from then on there’s just!! a series of many other tiny ways you make me smile, that you fill up my heart with, you’ve made my life brighter…

you’re gorgeous, skin deep and every layer below that, in either form, in every shade of action i’ve seen you in, and i’ll fight you if you ever disagree with any of it (with more hugs and face kisses, i mean. i am kind of shit when it comes to aggression, although i guess sparring would be fun too?? I DIGRESS…). some of the events that happened to!! help break the ice between us were unorthodox as heck, to say the least, and very… flustering still to look back on and remember, but in the best way possible. ://)

i can count literally in one hand, the people i feel comfortable sharing that more!! intimate, sexual side of myself, and there’s an undefined bond now, because you got to feel as i feel, and more than that, you’ve?? treated it with such respect, described it in a way that? has really made me tear up like a dweeb, because gosh, you?? get it, you understand the amount of love i endlessly pour into them, and if anything that’s made me feel like i’ve made the right choice, however impulsive, when i dragged you to all that…

like you’re a comfortable presence there too.

i don’t know if anything similar will happen again, but i know now that i’d really love to, to even have!! a more active role in it, because! i feel as comfortable with you there as i am with them, and that’s. a rare, special thing for me. even if i’ll!! always need daven to be near to Want to put any of it into action….

to get to kiss you, to get to make you feel good in added other ways?? (gay peter pan voice) would be an awfully great adventure…

but then at the same time i realize how complex your relationship with sex is by now, and more than anything i want you to know that!!! my epitome of happiness already happens through looking after you, through feeding you and holding you close, and despite the attraction still DEFINITELY being there, the best way i can be with you is the way where you’re just as happy as me, and. yeah…

in many ways, this weird, unique intense mix of different ways i’m drawn to you, fits the qpp Experience™ for sure. because it’s its own thing, it’s still pretty wild to get used to it, and a big exciting adventure to figure out as well!! the languages i’m comfy talking you in, and again, i don’t want this to put any pressure on you either way, or for you to feel like you need to?? indulge in any of these things for me to be happy with you in my life, for me to want you to stay.

because i want you for you! no matter what!

if anything i figured!! baring open my full feelings for you here would be fitting for the day and would be… a good way to show you just how much of a positive, growing impact you’ve had on me, and how my happiness has weaved to yours in ways i don’t want to untangle.

how much i!! want to be the same to you.

i hope you can remember this, even when things get rough, but i will never be too far that i won’t want to remind you either!

finally it’s just. infinitely precious that we get to build on all these broad and diverse and wonderful scenarios where dirk and you and i are together, tackling the odds and creating a family based on love and trust and support, and i love getting to spend time with both of you almost like kids, sprawled belly down on the floor with lots of paper and crayons, drawing up our castles and treehouses, our effigies holding hands. it’s been!! such a blessing to get to love you both, and thinking about our verses helps add sugar to this one and… honestly, i hope that our friendship translates just the same, in our own safe ways.

and then i… wanted to say, just how obvious it is, how much you’ve grown, just how awesome the path you’ve taken is, and how?? happy i am to see you here and now, rid of things that had you down, and surrounded by others that get your eyes twinkling and your fingertips typing for miles, on love and devotion, cherishing and respect, happiness.

love and happiness look so good on you, you are!! infinitely lovely when you delve in subjects that instill either and both in you, and i hope i always get to hear you talk about your boyfriend and the people you coexist with, your projects that keep you pumped, all the little quirks and things that make you yourself - because all that is so good…

so!!! here’s to all this… to keep this going and see where it leads, like a bottled message in the current, all those fish that migrate far into the sea, only to always be led back home. i am really excited to keep loving you, and i hope these tokens and these words always help.

stay well, fucker! i love you!!

~ john

[doctortdesigns]

It seems hard to believe, but we are finally looking at the final Burda magazine for the year!  The second half of this year has absolutely flown by; it’s hard to believe we are already looking at things for December.  The holiday season is here, and I am in absolutely no way ready for it to hit.  But rather than think (or do) anything on my long list of pre-holiday preparations, I’d rather look through the preview for the December Burda.  It’s been a pretty good year for Burda, and I think this issue caps it off rather well.  The December issue is usually fairly predictable – it’s often a mix of coats, party looks, and PJs.  This year, happily, Burda skipped the PJs and gave us some more clothing options for everyone, including children and men.  There is plenty to look at in this issue, so let’s get started!

The December issue is always a treasure trove for winter coats:

I really like this.  Although the fabric choice hides a lot of the neckline detail, I think this could be a very pretty coat to wear to holiday parties, and it looks great in a fancier fabric.

The shorter French style jacket keeps many of the details and adds a contrasting trim.  Probably not my favorite of the the little French jacket variations out there, but it would be a very classy addition to a holiday party look.

I’m so torn on this trench coat!  I really like all the piped details, the collar is very unique, and the elastic waist would be very comfortable.  However, I also feel like it all adds up to feeling a little cheap?  It might just be the fabric choice or color combo, but something about this coat just isn’t making me fall in love with it.  Not that I’m hurting for trench coat patterns; I’ve got a long list of patterns from Burda that I want to try.  I just feel as though I should like this one more?  What do you think?  Would a different fabric or color combo help this look?  Do you love it as is?  How do you feel about the collar and flap details?

Wow.  I’ve not been the biggest fan of the sleeve trend this year, but this jacket may make me change my mind.  It’s like the perfect balance between jacket and cape, and the military details are killer.  Love the way it is styled over the long sleeve shirt too.  Probably not the best make if you want to have a real investment piece for a long term wardrobe, but if you are looking for a trendy jacket for the season, this should definitely be high up on the list.

I’m not usually a fan of the boxy cocoon coats either, but this one is winning me over.  I think the narrow, tapered cut helps a lot, and I love the contrast collar and cuffs.  Very classy details, and it looks great in the bold plaid.

Not exactly sure what craziness is happening in this photo, but the jacket is pretty cute!  I’m surprised because again this jacket should read as boxy, but it doesn’t.  The fabric choice is pretty cool as well.  The pocket details are fun, and the sleeve tabs are a nice detail.

Burda also gives us a lot of great holiday options in the dress department this month:

I don’t think the details read well in the model photo, but the garment photo is a stunner.  From the line drawing I’m getting a bit of a spiderweb vibe.  Anyone want to make this up in black/white/purple/orange color combos and wear it as a Nightmare Before Christmas dress to a holiday party?  Now that I’ve had that vision, I can’t unsee it.  I sort of need to make it and take a photo in front of the Disneyland Haunted Mansion Holiday now.

Speaking of Disney, this dress would be perfect for a Mother Gothel Disneybound.  On a more serious note, the dress really is quite pretty, and the shoulder detail would be great for a very drapey fabrics.  It’s perfect for a low key holiday party – it’s dressed up, but not overdone.  I could also see it working great as an everyday sort of dress in a non-velvet.

This dress is another great option for the holidays.  The neckline may be a bit low as drafted, but I love the overall lines and silhouette of this dress.  Very pretty and classic.

This ruffled collar dress is not my personal style, but it does have some nice details that could be fun to sew.  It’s a bit sweet for me, but I do appreciate the way Burda styled it, and it definitely looks like it would belong in one of those minimalist capsule wardrobes that only have clothes in white, black, and peach.

In the plaid this dress is a bit stuffy, but I actually rather like the lines of the dress.  The shoulder detail is quite nice.  I might leave the bow off myself, but this could be a nice dress to add to a winter wardrobe.

This year we get quite a few tops that could be good for a holiday party:

I feel like I shouldn’t care for this at all, but I sort of love it!  The sleeves are on trend, but not overdone, and the added bow in the back is an unexpected detail.  What is really selling it for me is the way the garment photo is draping – it gives a much better shape to the body than I would have expected based on the line drawing.

This is one of those patterns that doesn’t look like much to begin with, but Burda picks a cool fabric and then it looks amazing.  I’ll chalk it up to Burda’s superpower of making me want to wear distorted rectangles.

It’s hard to comment on this top.  The crazy print hides all the potentially cool details.  Or maybe the details don’t look cool, and Burda is trying to hide them on purpose.  I feel like someone needs to make this in the name of science, just to see if this pattern is awesome or simply weird.

Blouse version of the plaid dress.  I think I prefer it as a dress; the peplum vibe on the top isn’t my favorite.  But I still like the shoulder detail.

The blouse version of the ruffle dress.  I can’t decide if I think the collar detail is fussy or pretty.  On me it would probably read fussy, but I think it looks great on the model.

Another top I feel as though I shouldn’t like, but I sort of do.  It’s a nod to all the crazy ruffles from the year, without being over the top crazy.  It’s another design I don’t know if I’d wear myself, but I find the proportion and diagonal lines of the ruffles somewhat pleasing to look at.  It also looks pretty cozy to wear, which is definitely a bonus.

I wish there was a better photo of this sweater on the model, though I don’t really need a close up to know I really like this.  I’d totally wear this all day every day if I made it.  Looks super comfortable and warm for the winter.

The bottoms this month aren’t quite as inspiring:

I like this skirt, but we’ve had similar versions from Burda in the past.  It looks great in the metallic fabric though, so that’s some great inspiration there.

Ruffle hemmed pants are clearly going to be the next big thing.  Happily, on these trousers they aren’t so large, and would be easy to leave off, but this is a trend that really doesn’t need to happen.

I’m pretty sure we’ve had variations on this theme from Burda before as well, but they pair nicely with other items, so there’s that.

The Burda Plus section is all about the holiday party looks this month:

I’m torn on this jumpsuit.  Although I’ve recently joined team jumpsuit, I’m not sure how I feel about the way this one looks on the model.  Perhaps a different fabric for the bodice would improve my opinion somewhat, as the rest of the design looks pretty fabulous.  The waistband detail is really pretty, and I could see some great beading or embellishment featured there as well.

A few party dress options.  Classy, but still fairly modern with the neckline draping.

Interesting use of the sequin fabric on this top.  It definitely elevates what otherwise would be a pretty basic blouse.

Because somebody had to have ruffle sleeves in this issue.

Nice slim fit trousers.

There isn���t a lot for the men, but what we do get is pretty great:

This is such a great jacket!  Classic, classy, but not too formal.

Also, fake bow ties for everyone!  Totally a great way to get everyone in matching fabrics for a family photo.

Even the kids selections this month are pretty great:

The dresses are a bit plain, but that trench style jacket is gorgeous!  It reminds me very much of the classic Burda trench coats from back in the 2006-2009 issues.  The dog coat is pretty cute too.

And that’s it!  Which means we are at our final Best of BS for 2017:

Military style bell sleeved jacket!  I don’t think this is the best photo of the garment; truly the details can best be appreciated by the garment photo itself:

Gorgeous, right?  I mean, I feel like this style won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s interesting, somewhat original, and full of great details.  It’s definitely a style that feels very “now” – it probably won’t be a timeless classic with infinite life in the wardrobe, but it will definitely add a punch of drama to a winter look this year.

Choosing the BWTF for the month was a little more challenging, as nothing was truly terrible, but I’ve decided to go with:

Ruffle hem jeans.  I mean, nothing about this photo makes me think, ooh, yes, gotta get me some of those.  I wasn’t super excited about the ruffle trend with the sleeves, but I’m definitely not excited by the prospect of it extending into the trouser patterns as well.

And that’s our final Burda for the year!  2017, despite the madness happening in the rest of the world, has been a pretty strong season for Burda.  There have been a lot of great issues this year, with a great mix of iconic looks and wardrobe basics that should give everyone plenty to add to their sewing wishlists.  I’ll do my traditional year-long Burda review when we get to the final week of December, but for now I’m going to say that it’s been good, and I’m excited to have my December issue arrive in the mail.  What do you all think?  See anything here that you want to wear for the holidays? Or is this issue too full of ruffles and flounce to make it to your to-sew list?  What do we all think about that pink trench coat?  How long will we have to put up with the ruffled trouser trend?  Feel free to discuss in the comments!

December 2017 BurdaStyle Magazine #sewing #BurdaStyle #magazine #Burda #patterns #holiday It seems hard to believe, but we are finally looking at the final Burda magazine for the year!