#I spent more time on the latter image than I did the previous four combined

[capseisen]

More master studies [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] ,, November/December 2022

[flipflopflying]

CARIBOU DELUXE (EDICIÓN DE LUJO)

This drawing is called Caribou Deluxe. The other images in this post make it the edición de lujo, the deluxe edition; kinda like when a band does a special version of their new album. I wanted to do a drawing that was more than "a" drawing. I wanted to do something that could be explored, something that was more than just a series of close-up details of the main drawing. So the main drawing is kinda like the cover of a magazine, showing you what is inside.

CONTENTS

1. Caribou Deluxe. The actual drawing.

2. The initial quick notebook sketch.

3. Another sketch done a couple of days later, after the digital process had begun and the general idea became clearer in my head.

4. Top view.

5. Three new Minipops and two redrawn Minipops. The new Minipops: No. 1,380 - Beastie Boys (Fight for Your Right). No. 1,381 - Elijah Wood, Seth Rogen, and Danny McBride as the Beastie Boys. No. 1,382 - Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, and Jack Black as the Beastie Boys. The redrawn Minipops: No. 38b - Beastie Boys (Intergalactic), originally drawn in 1999. No. 1,383 - Beastie Boys (Ch-Check It Out). The latter was done for a client (MTV Europe) in 2004, and was never given a Minipop number at the time, thus it being No. 1,383. I, as you may well imagine, am slightly irritated by this chronological mess-up.

6. Beastie Dots: No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Data visualisation of who raps what on the song.

7. Beastie Boys album timeline.

8. One pixel Beastie Boys sleeves. Plus previous one pixel sleeves by the Beatles and Depeche Mode.

9. A full version of the Berliner Fernsehturm that is reflected in copper-coloured mirror glass windows at the top of the octagon "head."

10. All the graffiti on the pyramid.

ABOUT CARIBOU DELUXE

A brief explanation: I wanted to draw something that relates to where my brain is at right now, in January 2019.

The Fernsehturm reflected in the brown windows (inspired by the old Palast der Republik) is there because Berlin will always be in my head. It's the place where I've spent the most time in my adult life, and the place that feels closest to a home town (even though I wasn't born here).

The pyramid base is a Mesoamerican thing, and that—combined with the food stalls and the rooftop laundry cages—is for Mexico, the other place that feels like home, the place where my heart is.

I'm trying to be a better person as I get older, and trying to get rid of elements of grumpiness, bad moods, etc. Trying not to be a person that automatically assumes young people aren't doing life the right way. That's where the graffiti comes in. For quite a while I thought of it purely as vandalism, but something clicked in my brain recently: it is a part of every city—specifically the cities I love—and it's not gonna ever go away. I covered the pyramid in graffiti to remind myself of that. (The graffiti names, btw, are either random words that came into my head, or are related to things or people in my life. I also wanted to show the range of graffiti styles I see around Berlin every day. If I have used a real graffiti artist's name here, it is purely a coincidence. Indeed, after finishing the pixel graffiti, I saw some graffiti in my neighbourhood that said "Queso." Apologies to the real-life Queso for borrowing his/her name.)

I've been listening to the Beastie Boys quite a bit recently and thinking about how they are only a few years older than me. I was a teenager when the tabloids were getting the vapours about their behaviour when they were touring in the UK for the first time. I remember every Volkswagen car in my (actual) home town suddenly missing its badge. A band getting older, changing as people and artistically, seemed to fit with the whole idea of examining my own life. Plus, y'know, people (friends, artists, musicians...) can do wonderful things, but life isn't always wonderful. Sometimes people you love die.

There are four separate parts to the Beastie Boys stuff here. The coloured dots in the centre of the top and bottom thirds of the octagonal head represent the lyrics of No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Each dot is a word. The colours of the dots show who rapped the words: red dots are Ad-Rock, blue dots are Mike D, green dots are MCA. Above the eyes there's a timeline of their studio albums, showing the year of release, and the height shows the US chart peak positions. The eight little squares beneath the blue eye (each of the eyes are the colour of the members of the band, and the ring around the eyes acts as a key to aforementioned No Sleep Till Brooklyn dots) are the colours one gets when the sleeves of the albums are resized to be one pixel in size.

You may be wondering why I've drawn Minipops of the Fight for Your Right version of the Beastie Boys and the coloured dots are for No Sleep Till Brooklyn. The drawing is because I wanted to draw the other two versions of the band played by actors in Fight for Your Right Revisited. I liked the idea of drawing them three times, as I'd already included three versions of me in the drawing (a younger version of me on the left balcony at the top, a version from a couple of years ago on the roof, and the current me spraying graffiti on the pyramid which, it should be noted, is the closest I will ever get to actually doing any graffiti). Plus, I already did a graphic for Fight for Your Right in 2012 (look for "Beastie Dots" on flipflopflyin.com), and wanted to do something new for this piece.

Another thing that I should probably note is the unrealistic-ness of certain parts. The sky hints at the sun setting behind the structure, yet the reflection of the Fernsehturm (and the way shadows fall on other things) mean that the sun would be over the left shoulder of you, the viewer. Similarly, there's no reflection of the structure and bushes on the water. I have done 14 drawings in this vein over the last year, with pyramid-y or octagonal structures on the shore of a lagoon, and have yet to do a proper reflection in the water. I always think I should try it, and I did try it with this drawing, but it didn't look "right". I'm okay with this unrealistic element contributing to the fantasy of the landscapes. I'm similarly okay with drawing things that aren't correct while striving for getting other parts, other details as accurate as possible. I kinda like that it reenforces that this is MY landscape, not a drawing of a specific place.

As a whole, I had a desire to do something cool with pixels, to draw things that are a challenge, fun, and packed full of details. And to represent all of the shit that floats around my brain. To bring together different things I like doing: putting Minipops in non-Minipop-themed pixel drawings, and making the organisation of information (that would normally only occur as infographics) a part of something bigger. I hope you enjoy it x

[fyloona]

(INTERVIEW) The all-girl K-pop group with a unique coming together story

LOOΠΔ are a girl group who are ambitiously announcing their 12 members over a string of solo singles – we speak to the members of subunit ODD EYE CIRCLE

A little over a year ago, something big was quietly manifesting on the edges of South Korean pop music with the reveal of HeeJin, a then-15-year-old who was the first person to be announced for a new, 12-member girl group called LOOΠΔ. The process of introducing LOOΠΔ to the world ranks as one of the more ambitious projects undertaken by a single entertainment agency (in this case, Blockberry Creative), with each of the group’s members unveiled not over a matter of weeks but over 18 months. Each girl has a symbolic colour and animal, and each releases a solo pre-debut single and video, interspersed with music by subunits formed of the already-revealed members.

While LOOΠΔ’s multi-pronged announcement strategy might seem hard to wrap your head round, large scale concepts and storylines for girl groups aren’t an anomaly in K-Pop. One only need look back upon T-ara’s 15-minute film around “Cry Cry” and videos like “Lovey Dovey” for precedents, or to newer groups like the J-rock-centric Dreamcatcher and GFriend’s ‘school trilogy’ of music videos. But LOOΠΔ stand apart amongst girl groups and even in the wider K-Pop world for the sheer ambition of their world-building, with each music video knotting another thread into an increasingly complex web of theories and imagery. Only EXO have in recent memory so carefully created a far-reaching origin story.

LOOΠΔ are yet to make their official debut. Right now there are still four members who’ve yet to be revealed – currently HeeJin, HyunJin, HaSeul, ViVi and YeoJin make up the subunit LOOΠΔ ⅓, while Kim Lip, JinSoul and Choerry combine for LOOΠΔ/ODD EYE CIRCLE. For now it’s the latter who have become key purveyors of what’s known as the ‘LOOΠΔVERSE’.  The trio’s solos (Kim Lip’s “Eclipse”, JinSoul’s “Singing in the Rain”, Choerry’s “Love Cherry Motion”) are sleek, compelling cuts of electronic pop, stylistically linked via their MVs (music videos) and tinged with 90s R&B, future bass and Katy Perry-esque vibes respectively. As LOOΠΔ/ODD EYE CIRCLE, they’ve also solidified themselves as one of 2017’s brightest groups, with both their EP Mix & Match (which climbed to #10 on Billboard’s World Chart) and its just-released repackage Max & Match pulling together the boldest elements of their individual songs.

“Chaotic”, “Uncover” and “Starlight” are drenched in unpredictable percussion and spacey synths against the girls’ feathery yet firm vocals, while on “LOONATIC”, they skip beyond familiar turf and channel Grimes’s dream pop. Two singles – the upbeat and assured “Girl Front” and “Sweet Crazy Love” – pile on new and existing visual clues (circular mirrors, maps, their ‘odd’ eyes) and recreate shots from the group’s previous videos.

As they discuss the struggles of debuting and breaking the mold, Choerry (at 16 the youngest of the three) calls their overarching concept “a first”. “It’s new, intriguing, and we’re proud,” she says. “It’s like being in a fairytale.” Open and assiduous for this, their first ever international interview, Kim Lip, JinSoul and Choerry are also feisty, confident and endearingly prone to dissing each other like siblings. Say hello to your new favourite girl group.

You each have a colour and an animal... did you get to choose either?

Kim Lip: The company chose each animal based on each member’s character. When I heard I would be an owl, for a moment I was like, ‘Huh?’, because everyone would want something pretty, like the deer for ViVi or a cat for HyunJin. But I like my symbol animal now. I think it goes well with my solo track.

JinSoul: When we first heard Choerry would be the fruit bat, everyone was surprised because it’s not very girl group-like. But given that Choerry will be going back and forth between both LOOΠΔ ⅓ and the new one coming later, I believe it fits the theory very well.

*full interview under the cut

Theories already abound about multiple dimensions in the LOOΠΔVERSE – one for each sub-unit, including those yet-to-debut – and everyone needs to find each other to debut a whole. Can you give us any hint to the full story?

Kim Lip: There are several theories, but we want to show the process of putting puzzles together through our videos and music. I’ll give you one hint – we’re wearing a band on our wrists based on each of our colours and that band is twisted. People might not have noticed, but ‘Möbius’ is an important hint for LOOΠΔ moving forward.

JinSoul: LOOΠΔ is 12 solos, three units, then the complete group, but I can tell you that this is not the end, rather just a beginning. There could be a new unit with different combinations, for example, HyunJin and I could be a new unit.

It’s unheard of for girl groups to develop narratives that are as complicated and prolonged as yours. What did you think about LOOΠΔ not only having a story but their own world?

Kim Lip: When we first heard about – like, how it would be actualised – we were quite surprised, because normally girl groups would just perform good songs with nice clothes. But as the theory unfolds, even we’ve gotten more curious and we’re finding it enjoyable!

If I said LOOΠΔ has the potential to change the creative landscape for K-Pop girl groups, how would you feel about that?

Kim Lip: It’s definitely a goal we’d like to achieve. Each solo has its own power, and each unit has an independent power rather be a typical unit, then all together we become LOOΠΔ. We want to be like Marvel’s Avengers.

How did each of you join LOOΠΔ? What did your friends and family say when you told them you were to be in an idol group?

Kim Lip: I tried out in so many auditions to find the right agency. I was pretty exhausted. But then my company contacted me through Instagram. I auditioned, made it, and became a trainee. It was challenging to adjust, realising ‘This is what a trainee’s life is like,’ and I spent time worrying about if I’d be able to become a member. But I practiced hard and finally became part of LOOΠΔ. All my family and friends celebrated with me. They were as happy as I was.

JinSoul: I auditioned a lot. I had good opportunities through street casting but didn’t make it through. But, like Lip, our company contacted me through Instagram. My family is very proud, and my friends have been supporting me a lot even before my debut.

Choerry: I participated in a vocal contest and got casted for an audition and became a trainee. My parents didn’t like the idea of me becoming a singer at the beginning, but they support me a lot now and give me the strength to go on.

LOOΠΔ/ODD EYE CIRCLE is said to have ‘strange and mysterious charms’. What’s your strange charm that only your family or friends understand fully?

Choerry: Kim Lip may pretend to be inattentive or indifferent, but actually she always keeps her eyes on others and takes care of them. She has that cold-but-warm charm.

Kim Lip: JinSoul may look cold and have a strong personality but, in fact, she has sloppy charms (makes cute mistakes).

Kim Lip: Choerry has a bright energy and charm to think always positively, even in bad situations.

Your EP has several tracks that really stand out for their ethereal synth pop. Which track seemed most interesting to you at first?

JinSoul: I have affection for all the tracks, but I liked ‘LOONATIC’ especially because it’s a type of genre only we can do in K-Pop.

Choerry: Also, ‘Chaotic’ is a bit masculine, but we’re proud to express it with our voices.

LOOΠΔ/ODD EYE CIRCLE is based around the ‘girl crush’ attitude – what does that mean to you personally?

Kim Lip: Girl crush for me is a complete turning point from (the ‘pure’ image of) LOOΠΔ ⅓.

Choerry: I think it’s a girl who has a strong gaze and who is cool, a girl who approaches proactively and confidently. Girl crush might be difficult to pull off, but I think we’re good at creating a strong appearance, so it fits us. Haha!

Lip, you have a natural authority about you on and off stage. Have you always been this type of confident person?

Kim Lip: When I was little, I was so shy that I couldn’t even get food on my plate at a buffet. When I thought ‘I want to be a singer’ and went to audition, I thought I should become more confident. I tried hard to change my personality so I could become the Kim Lip of now.

What did you emotionally experience while waiting to debut? What was your biggest fear and biggest hope?

JinSoul: Would I really make it to debut? I did my best in everything with many thoughts. In the beginning, I was shy and had low self-esteem, so I was worried if it’d be okay to debut with this talent and visual (appearance). But I was also so excited for my song coming out!

Choerry, you’re still at school... what does the average day look like for you? How do you juggle schoolwork, rehearsing and performing?

Choerry: Normally I wake up at 6am and go to school. When I have a schedule, I attend only morning classes or take a day off, so it’s sad that I don’t have much opportunity to meet with friends.

Now you’re promoting as a trio and spending a lot of time together, what’s something new you’ve discovered about each other?

Kim Lip: I didn’t know when JinSoul was a trainee but, as we’ve lived together, I’ve noticed her sleeping with her eyes open. I thought it was only in the car because it’s quite uncomfortable, but she always sleeps with her eyes open.

JinSoul: Choerry tends to be bloated well in the morning, so when she wakes up, her double eyelid is gone. So in the morning it’s quite different version of Choerry.

Choerry: Lip is very easy-going, that was quite unexpected. But she is surprisingly cleaner than I expected.

source: DAZED

[joonsoulmap-archived]

kept {one}

What: BTS Fic Genre: Angst + Implied Smut Pairing: Jeon Jeongguk x Reader  Words: 2.2k

Jeongguk and you grew up together and has had a huge crush on you since childhood. One night together changes the equation. The question is, is it a good change?

Suggested Listening: My Love - Majid Jordan

A/N: There is implied smut in this fic simply because I’m THE worst at writing smut but after much encouragement (and multiple draft checks) by the actual angel @taecup I decided to post this. I owe you a lot bb, thank you so much for always always encouraging me! Ily :3

“I’ve waited so long for this, I can’t believe it’s actually happening.” he said in a breathy tone, sitting patiently with his hands crossed and clasped tightly behind him, in the gold ornate chair of your hotel room.

“Did our little Gukkie really think of me that way? I’m flattered.” you twittered pleasantly from the bathroom. It wasn’t a lie, you were genuinely pleased that he wanted you this way, you had never known. 

“Stop calling me that, I’m not the same little boy you knew in school.” he bristled indignantly. “If you let me move, I am perfectly capable of showing you the man I am now.” he replied in his dangerous low tone, the same one that had sent quivers down your spine and heat between your legs four months ago. That night you had decided just what you would do with your little Gukkie. 

“Don’t you dare! You’ve waited so long, a few more minutes won’t kill you.” you replied teasingly as you turned back to the mirror inspecting yourself. You had on, what you called, the recipe for disaster. 

Kat Von D’s firetruck shade Outlaw graced your lips and you chuckled inwardly at the accidental match your lipstick had to your situation. “Outlaw? More like in-law.” you thought as you gave your Agent Provocateur Lacy ouvert a once over. You had specifically picked out the black one, since you knew it was his favourite colour. 

“You ready for me Gukkie, are your eyes still closed?” you said from the bathroom, even though the poor boy had been begging you to appear in front of him for the past twenty minutes. 

“Ready? Are you fucking kidding me, I don’t think me, or my dick, has been more ready for anything in life. Please just put me out of this misery, my pants are tight as it is.” Jeongguk said with a strained voice. He really couldn’t wait to see you, to feel you finally. 

“Tsk tsk Gukkie, what a nasty mouth you have. Is that how you talk to your elders? Also you didn’t answer me, are you eyes still closed?” you said waiting for him to answer. 

A loud sigh later he answered, “Fine, they’re closed now. Please just come to me now?” he added softly. 

You walked over to where he is sitting and took a second to survey his face as you towered over his frame in your 6 inches. Sweet young Gukkie, always the faithful puppy, always ready to fight for you, always ready to become your martyr. This could turn out badly, a part of you had once thought, but after recent events your mind was made up. 

You lifted your hands to cup both of his cheeks and lowered your head to place a gentle kiss on his waiting, hungry lips. His eyes immediately fluttered open and became giant orbs as they surveyed your mostly nude form. 

“Wow...you’re….fantas..” he sputtered out, his mouth dry as he eyes roved hungrily over you. 

“Oh sweetie, be careful, you might just steal a girl’s heart with that kind of reaction.” you said with a laugh. 

Slack-jawed and wide-eyed, he kept staring at your bosom and you couldn’t help but feel a rush of affection at the naivety of the boy. This would be fun. 

“Like what you see Gukkie?” you said in a sing song voice as you did a little twirl to give him an eyeful of all the hard work you had been putting in, at the gym, for your ass. 

“Huh...what...yeah of course...god you’re beautiful. I mean I already knew you were beautiful… but this is….. magical” his eyes shone as he kept looking at you in wonder, “Can I touch you?” he asked in a uncharacteristically shy voice. 

“Of course, Gukkie baby, that’s why we’re here.” you said in a playfully annoyed tone. 

Something changed behind Jeongguk’s eyes and all the innocence was gone. In its place was a raw hunger and he was looked like he wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted. 

His hands, all large and veiny which looked like they had been sculpted by the Gods themselves, reached out and grabbed both sides of your waist. In a quick tug, he pulled you on to the seat as well, spreading his legs to make room for you. He wasted no time in lifting both of your legs and putting them on top of each of his thighs. His right hand slithered across your lower back as his left hand snaked in your hair. He pulled you in flush against him harshly. With this sudden intimacy you could feel his hardness against you, clear as day. His lips ghosted over yours, threatening unspeakable things, however he turned your face to whisper in your ear. 

“Let’s make one thing clear. Today was the last time you’ve called me little Gukkie.” he rasped. 

Whatever you were expecting from him, this certainly wasn’t it.  At his words, your head snapped back to him to face him and you saw the devilish smirk that was forming on his face as your response registered in his brain. 

“Oh, little Gukkie came to play…. I see how it is.” you chuckled playfully while dragging a nail lightly along his jaw. His chocolate eyes seemed to melt at the sensation but in a flash they hardened again. 

“What did I say about using that nickname.” he snarled in the same tone that lit you on fire. He clearly had had enough of playing the naive ingenue. 

With apparent ease, he stood up from the chair, taking you with him. The arm that was wrapped  around your lower back flexed because of the weight they were supporting, as your legs came to lock around Jeongguk’s middle instinctively. He carried you as if you weighed nothing, clearing the room with 3 giant strides. You were confused as to what he was planning on doing until your naked back came in contact with the cool glass of the enormous window. You were pinned between his body and the window, the coolness of the latter counteracting the heat emitting from the former. 

“You would not believe how many nights I’ve spent locked in my room, imagining exactly this image. Helped me through many a lonely nights.” Jeongguk confessed without a hint of embarrassment. “What are you waiting for then? Kiss me.” you said hurriedly tugging at his shirt. “Hold on love, if you think I’m going to let your torturous ass control this, you are dead wrong. Now wait and hold tight.” he said in a whisper, his lips dangerously close to your ear. 

He perched you on the window sill and pressed his torso into you until there was no more room between you and him, you could feel every ebb and flow inside him. His hands slowly travelled down your sides until they found a permanent home. They were now firmly gripping your thighs, the grip was so tight and you were he would leave marks. The mere thought of him marking you made your head spin. 

You were starting to get impatient with his slow ministrations, you wanted to be fucked, not to be made love to. You made to move but it was as if he had read your mind, because as soon as you shifted under him, he grabbed some of your hair with just the right combination of gentleness and force. How this boy knew to do these things baffled you, but you weren’t complaining. 

There was something about the way he looked at you right before he dove for your lips, that made your stomach do a tiny flip. You ignored that sensation because what you were experiencing right now was the pinnacle of bliss. Jeon Jeongguk lips crashed onto yours, tongue wasting no time in parting your ruby red lips, he was too eager to taste you. As his tongue explored your mouth, you saw visions of what was obviously the galaxy. His expert tugs at your bottom lips made you a little and you lost your footing a little, which was no matter for concern because he was holding you in tight, in place. His kisses were hungry, ravenous to the point you were worried he would draw blood. He would come up for air in gasps but would dive right in, as if you were a mirage, that would disappear if let go of your lips. 

Not to say you didn’t enjoy it, you hadn’t been kissed by man with this much need for you in….ever actually. It felt empowering, to have this beautiful man want you so desperately. 

“Y/N…baby...you’re so much more than I could have ever imagined. My imagination pales in comparison to your reality. You want to mark you all over, I want to touch and kiss every inch of you. I apologise if I seem overbearing, I’ve been waiting my whole life to have to like this.” Jeongguk’s words came out hazy and through breathy pants as his put his forehead against yours. 

You closed the gap between the two of you and whispered in his ear, “All of this. Is yours tonight Jeongguk. Do with it as you please.” 

His proper name spilling out your lips was the only nudge he needed, for his face hardened and once again his need was clearly writ in his expression. He quickly discarded his shirt, and was making headway with his pants when he caught you gawking at him. “Like what you see, Y/N?” Jeongguk said echoing your previous statement and flexing his toned torso much to your delight. 

As walked towards you in just his boxers, you wiggled your eyebrows at him suggestively, pointing towards the piece of clothing, he still had on. “All in good time baby...come here first,” Jeongguk trailed off as he picked you up once again, this time bridal style to carry you to four poster bed in your room. 

“You sure have some tricks up your sleeve Jeongguk. I’m sure all those girls you brought around were very happy” you teased playfully as he laid you down on the bed. Jeongguk frowned a little at the mention of his hedonistic past, “You haven’t seen anything yet. All those girls were practice...for you.” He punctuated the sentence with a kiss on your inner left thigh and you could help but let out a little moan. This boy would was trouble and you could feel in it deep in your bones. 

Jeongguk collapsed beside you, completely spent. After a few seconds of cooling down, he immediately turned towards you to hold you against him. As the two of you lay spent amongst a tangle of sheets and clothing, the conversation flowed. It was always easy, this. Talking to him. He always made you feel comfortable and a lot less lonely. Today he had done it manifold. He began nuzzling his nose into your hair before he clearing his throat to ask you something which you knew was important. “So, when are we telling Seung-hyun hyung? If you feel awkward, I can talk to him. I’m sure he’ll be mad first, but he loves me too much to kill me.” he said as he peppered tiny kisses on to your shoulder. 

“Gukkie sweetie, what do you mean? Tell him what?” you responded, uncertain because the elephant in the room had finally been addressed. 

“About this, about us. Obviously you have to break off the engagement now. You should have done it months ago, I know what he’s been up to.” Jeongguk said with a little venom creeping into his tone. 

“Oh you’re such a sweetheart Gukkie, we’re not telling him anything. The engagement is not being called off. This can be our little secret ok?” you said as you turned to him, hoping he would understand the complexity of the situation. 

“What the fuck? What was this then? I was just a cheap fuck to you?” Jeongguk sprang up in bed and looked at you with equal amount of hate and hurt in his eyes. 

“No, Gukkie, never. You’re not like the others. You’re special. I actually give a shit about your feelings.” you say trying hard to do damage control. 

Maybe your assessment was wrong, maybe he couldn’t handle this. He was very close to his half-brother. 

“I can’t believe this happened. I was such a fool, here I thought you finally came around to the idea of being with me.” Jeongguk said as he threw the covers off him and hurried to get dressed again, he couldn’t look you in the eye anymore. 

“I’m sorry Gukkie I thought you….” you trailed off once you saw the hurt in his eyes. 

“Thought I would be ok with this? I thought you knew me better than that.” he practically spat out the words with disgust. 

You watched in silence as he got dressed and made to leave the room. 

“You know what, hyung and you deserve each other. You’re both the same. Conniving and ruthless. You don’t care who gets hurt in your games.” he said in a flat voice with his hand over the door handle. 

“Gukkie… I’m sorry, I didn’t…” you stuttered as a tears started to prick at the corner of your eyes, you couldn’t lose your best friend. 

“Don’t call me. Don’t text me. I don’t ever want to see you again.” Jeongguk said through gritted teeth and exited the room, slamming the door shut in his wake. 

It was a familiar sight. You wrapped up in a bed-sheet, all alone. 

It was always by choice. 

But this time, why did your heart feel this piercing pain? 

[junker-town]

Why ‘Madden NFL 20’ is even better than last year’s version

After a period of stagnation, ‘Madden’ continues to improve in ways that make it worth your time.

Last year, I recommended the latest iteration of the Madden NFL franchise, calling it the first one in a long time that I could recommend as a complete $60 package. After spending time with Madden NFL 20, which releases for all major platforms on Aug. 2, I can again say that EA is getting pretty good at making tangible improvements that go beyond a simple roster update.

That said, Madden NFL 20 is not without its flaws. There’s a growing disconnect between fans of the more realistic, almost sanitized Madden of today, and fans who prefer the minigame-packed, looser-feeling Madden of yesteryear.

EA has tried to bridge that gap in recent games with the introduction of “arcade” style play vs. “simulation”, which aims to create a faster-paced game with more big plays. It’s a noticeable difference, and now EA has added development traits like Superstar X Factors and Zone Abilities, which elevate the highest-rated players beyond mere mortals.

From the new Face of the Franchise story mode to the graphic upgrades, I’ll run you through all you need to know about Madden NFL 20.

Gameplay

The biggest difference that will affect every mode is the sweeping changes made to Madden’s ratings. EA drew criticism in the past for big-name players being too easy to replace with lower-rated backups, and tackled that this year by creating a much bigger disparity in the ratings.

The result is that more players are rated in the 60s (out of 99), while many starters don’t even break 80. It can look alarming to longtime Madden players, especially fans of teams who aren’t particularly good, like me (hello, 49ers). Still, players in the mid-to-high 70s don’t feel worse than they did in previous games, though the AI does feel worse in that regard.

As far as the on-the-field action, I love it. With the ball in your hands, everything is smooth. Stick moves feel better than ever, and I’ve noticed many new unique animations in tackles and catches, along with more signature celebrations for star players like Patrick Mahomes (the cover athlete).

On the defensive side of the ball, the on-screen prompts for jumping the snap and rushing the passer have been tweaked. EA changed some of the terminology to make it clearer what types of pass-rush moves you’re using and are appropriate for the situation.

I play on “simulation,” which for some people is too slow, and I get that. Sometimes you just want to sling the ball around, and the “arcade” setting helps with that. More tackles get broken. More balls get intercepted. Stick moves play a huge factor. Throwing motions seem to be faster. Simulation is more methodical, and that leads to fewer bigger plays.

In either setting, I think this year’s game feels great to play. Breaking tackles has never felt better.

Superstar X Factor/Zone Abilities

Here is the big one. Players can now be defined as Superstar or Superstar X Factor. The latter is the highest level of development for a player that includes one game-changing X Factor trait, in addition to multiple lesser Zone Abilities. Players with Superstar development can still earn new Zone Abilities, but not X Factor abilities.

The X Factors require meeting specific criteria to activate, be it completing consecutive passes or defending two passes on one drive. There are many of them in the game, and they’re built into the other modes, including Face of the Franchise and the classic Franchise mode.

The lesser abilities are similar to traits that have been in the game previously, but there are quite a few new ones. Clutch is one example. Before, it was more of a nebulous trait that was harder to define. But now we know exactly what it does and how it’s activated: It kicks in halfway through the fourth quarter in close games and prevents players who are “in the zone” from being knocked out of the zone for the remainder of regulation.

Ben Roethlisberger has Pro Reads X Factor, which highlights the first open receiver. He also has five abilities that make sense if you’re familiar with his style of play. The same is true for several other well-known players. EA did a good breakdown of the many abilities and X Factors earlier.

So how does it affect the game?

I spent a good amount of time trying to determine exactly how the X Factors and abilities can impact a game.

In arcade mode, I noticed X Factor players doing better than the others, but how much of that was simply because they’re rated higher than the rest of the guys on the field?

To test this, I chose Adam Thielen, wide receiver for the Vikings, who comes with the X Factor and abilities listed in the image above. I am targeting Slot-O-Matic, which increases the receiver’s ability to make faster cuts and have better hands on short routes when lined up in the slot.

I then created a new player with the same ratings at Thielen, but without the Superstar X Factor development trait or any extra abilities. I dubbed my creation Tdam Ahielen.

I went into an arcade exhibition game, and ran the same three slot routes (slant, a shallow out with a double move, and a deep cross with a double move) multiple times with each player, and it did feel like Thielen’s cuts were sharper. I can’t say whether or not he caught the ball better, because both receivers caught the passes thrown their way. But his cuts were tighter, especially when reversing direction.

I did the same for Aaron Donald. It seemed — though it’s hard to know for sure — that Donald was beating his man with more regularity than my copycat player with matching stats on both modes.

The Run Pass Option

There are specific playbook additions, like the Philly Special, but there is also an emphasis on the run-pass option in Madden NFL 20. There are more ways than ever to trick a defense, with several new option plays and well-made tutorials explaining how they work and how to identify the defense’s read on the play.

A speedier gameday experience

When you get a game like Madden, the expectation is that you’ll play it off and on until next year’s version comes out. That means the little things that are interesting at first — the stadium presentation, new intros and setups for their “broadcasts,” celebrations, and the like — become repetitive and annoying.

I haven’t spent much time waiting around in Madden NFL 20, and games seem to be moving more quickly. It’s now easier to skip pregame, halftime, and postgame shenanigans.

The biggest difference is when you run the no-huddle offense. Instead of having to watch your players get back into formation, the screen quickly fades out then back in with your team lined up.

Game modes

QB1: Face of the Franchise

The big new mode is Face of the Franchise. It replaces the Longshot story mode from the previous two games. You begin by creating and naming your quarterback, who then joins one of 10 college football teams in the game that EA got the license to.

Then your coach tells you that the top quarterback recruit in the nation just joined the same school. Time jumps forward four years to the College Football Playoff semifinal. Your team is playing and that top recruit is injured. You’re the next man up.

You are joined by star wide receiver Isaiah Streets, whose brother passed away from cancer. He uses that as his motivation, and it’s a theme throughout the story mode.

Early in the story, you meet a little girl named Emily, with the same disease Streets’ brother had, and she asks you to throw four touchdowns in the national championship game. She also asks you what color mane you’d want on your unicorn — pink or purple. I went with pink, but apparently the right answer was neither.

You then play in the semifinal and, presuming you lead the team to a win, the national championship. Your coach gives you a limited playbook, which includes nothing under center (or perhaps that was a function of me picking LSU, I’m not sure).

You are given dialogue choices early on that are usually somewhere between confident and being grateful for the opportunity. My quarterback, named Butts Carlton (because I am a child), was fairly confident and for good reason: I led my team to a national championship and then proceeded to kick ass at the NFL Scouting Combine.

The NFL Combine is where it gets funny (and real)

Where the mode got entertaining is the combine interview process, which was almost too realistic. The first to interview me was someone with the Giants, who basically big-timed me. Then I met with a rep from the Dolphins, who asked to see my cell phone. I gave it to him, and then he berated me for giving my cell phone to a stranger. Fair enough.

Washington’s interviewer was intense. He asked me a hypothetical: if I were on a bus in Alaska driving high speed downhill, would I be in the front or back of the bus? I answered “front,” and he went off on a tirade, asking me if I checked the tire pressure and inspected the engine myself before I got on board. My character was, understandably, confused. The interviewer then implied that such a question is unanswerable, and my character didn’t know how to handle that, either.

I also acquired an agent, who came up to me at the combine and pretty much told me that he’s my agent now. It was entertaining for a bit, but his shtick, as far as I can tell, is that he’s not a very good agent.

The mode is more familiar after the draft

I was eventually drafted by the Miami Dolphins near the end of the first round.

On my way to the team facility, my character encountered an Uber driver who wanted to talk to me about how he played JUCO ball and how the Dolphins really need to fix their offense. I laughed — he was funnier than my agent — and my character shut the door on him when he started to get too enthusiastic about the conversation.

Once you are drafted, you are taken to what is essentially franchise mode, with some added depth. There are engagements to manage and relations to build, including more dialogue choices, texts from reporters and your head coach, and the ultimate goal of building a legacy. After your first year, you get one of four endings depending on how you performed throughout the mode. You can continue after that through the modified franchise mode.

So is Face of the Franchise good?

I found it to be entertaining enough, and much better than Longshot, which was full of cliches and offensive stereotypes (though there are still plenty of cliches in this mode). It’s a mostly fun playthrough with good performances from the voice-actors and effective cutscenes. You shouldn’t buy the game just for this mode, but it’s worth playing.

Ultimate Team

Cards on the table (pun not intended but kept), I’ve never been a fan of Ultimate Team, even though it’s a hugely popular mode.

If you’re unfamiliar, in Ultimate Team, you open card packs and build your roster out of a deck. The cards have limited uses and can be sold/scrapped for currency to buy more packs or increase the abilities of another card. You play football with that lineup, earning more points and currencies. As with all games with microtransaction-based elements, there are several currencies, all of which are used to buy card packs. You get some of them from completing challenges, selling cards, or paying outright for them.

I received a ton of card packs as a result of having a press copy and Origin Access Premier, so I opened 25+ packs (about six of which were 49ers packs). I came out with a team that looks pretty good, but if I didn’t have all those extra packs, I imagine it would look fairly dire. You can see my offense and defense lineups above and below.

The mode seems similar to past games, and it feels like EA is trying to get you to earn currency rather than simply purchase card packs. But of course, the option to purchase is still there, and the fact will always remain that those with deeper pockets can have an advantage in building a more complete team.

There are new “Ultimate Challenges” that replace “Solos,” and they can be played with friends to complete. More rewards are given out for milestones within challenges, unlike previous games where you got nothing if you didn’t complete a (sometimes long) challenge.

EA has also brought over player archetypes from the Franchise mode, allowing you to lightly modify the type of player they are, within the same position group. By changing a linebacker’s archetype from speed rusher to run stopper, the rating adjusts accordingly. There’s enough here to keep the mode fresh.

Franchise

Not much has changed with Franchise.

As you progress through a season, you have all the usual options: building your roster, doing a fantasy draft, playing as an owner and setting concessions prices, importing draft classes, relocating your team, and drafting rookies. With the new development traits and X Factors that you can pick and customize as you acquire and level up players, you have a small added layer of management that helps keep it fresh.

The week-to-week progression is still very much that Franchise mode, and there isn’t a lot else to say about it. I have enjoyed recent Franchise modes, and I enjoy this one.

Online play and exhibition

When you first load up Madden NFL 20, you’re greeted with the 2019 Pro Bowl, which is to help showcase many of the Superstar X Factor traits. It’s a good introduction, and I recommend playing through it rather than quitting out, as some tend to do when they don’t feel like playing the guided tutorial.

There is also Skills Trainer, with effective tutorials of the game’s various systems for both sides of the ball and special teams. It comes with commentary from Jonathan Coachman, and it does a decent job of explaining the many, many mechanics of Madden.

Online play is a major part of Madden and the experience remains relatively unchanged. I played a few online matches against folks who had access to the game pre-release, and I had no connection issues — though as always, your mileage may vary. Last year’s game had some lag problems at launch, and only time will tell if the servers take a beating on launch day again.

Presentation

The presentation of the game is pretty familiar. It’s the same tile-based menus, a couple dozen well-made player likenesses, beautiful renderings of stadiums, a solid soundtrack, official touches from the NFL Network, and good commentary provided by Charles David and Brandon Gaudin.

I am not a lover of commentary, because I play so much that it wears thin, but EA has at least put in the effort. The people who splice audio together for video game commentary are wizards, and it’s never sounded more natural. That said, you’ll hear repeated anecdotes and more cliches than during actual football broadcast.

User interface and graphics

While I think football games lag behind other sports — probably due to larger roster sizes — when it comes to the sharpness of player models, Madden continues to improve its look every year. The animations are more fluid, and the menus are sharp with new font treatments that feel inspired by NFL Films. The PC version, which is the one I played, looks amazing in-game, running at 4K.

What a handsome pass.

There are the usual caveats. Sometimes the menus can be a bit slow to navigate. The newest presentation of the depth chart is particularly awful, though there is a button for automatically optimizing it. Thankfully, the classic way of organizing the depth chart is also available — it’s just not the default.

The menus in general are concise, helpful, and mostly unchanged from last year, save for the colors and fonts. The on-screen tips and prompts when you’re playing — whether it be an explanation of the run-pass option or notifying you of your timing when trying to jump the snap — are all effective.

Player likenesses

It would be cost-prohibitive for EA to model over 1,000 individual players for the game, but it’s jarring when a famous player doesn’t look like himself. It can also be a bummer when several players on the same team have the same player model. Many players choose not to get scanned, but it’s disappointing that EA hasn’t added enough customization options to at least approximate on a more consistent basis.

I’ve picked 3-4 players from each team, and you can see their likenesses in the gallery below. Some are accurate. Some are default models. Some look like somebody tried and gave up.

Performance

For this review, I used the PC version of Madden NFL 20, running on ultra settings, at 4K with HDR (screenshots from this article do not contain the HDR effect). In my experience, it ran great. I’m running a pretty beefy rig that handled the game at a constant 60fps with no noticeable drops, with the lone exception being when the game shifts to certain broadcast-oriented angles, such as the helicopter view of the stadium. For some reason, the frame rate dips bad at that part, same as it did with Madden NFL 19.

Overall, it runs well, load times are speedy off of my SSD, and I experienced no crashes in my time with the game.

I miss when Madden crammed in as much extra nonsense as possible (please come back to us, Rushing Attack). The lack of those fun minigames has made every Madden worse off since EA took them out.

But I do find that the arcade setting, along with the extra abilities and X Factors, combine for a looser experience that fans of the early-aughts releases will appreciate.

Every year we talk about what’s changed and what hasn’t, but lost is the fact that Madden is a complex game. EA put in work to make so many moving parts — everything you’d need to make a realistic football game — feel unique and useful to the player.

There are a lot of mechanics working underneath the surface to make each position feel different to play, and it’s my opinion that those continue to evolve in ways that move the franchise forward.

In true Madden spirit, I’ll once again assign the game an overall rating and give it a slight bump from Madden NFL 19.

Madden NFL 20 Rating: 96 OVR

[finalyearfugitive]

The Inca Trail

The Inca trail is often the first thing people associate with South America. When I signed up for the 42km walk, I remember being incredibly worried about whether and how I would survive it considering my very lacking level of fitness. Now that I’m on the other side, I wanted to write a bit about the concerns I had and how they eventuated as well as all the things I did and didn’t expect from the trail. As a disclaimer, this is all very subjective information and I have no doubt that every person has a very different and unique experience of the trail.

Most importantly, if you have the choice between the trail and other ways to get to Machu Pichu and you don’t have any medical conditions preventing you, DO THE INCA TRAIL. The four days of the trail were four of the best on my trip and very much a bucket list-ticking, perspective changing experience. Besides suddenly now having muscles in my legs and a much greater stamina, I have a greater appreciation for many things in my life and in the world. Finishing the trail was definitely one of my proudest moments of life.

Walking the trail

Hire walking sticks. Prior to the trail I had spent a long time mentally preparing myself for the uphill battles ahead, however one of the biggest surprises was just how painful it was to go down. On the afternoon of day two, after conquering dead woman’s pass, a steep decent of a couple of hours awaits you. This is when the only significant injury in our group occurred and it wasn’t hard to see why. As a 23 year old who has never had knee issues in her life, my knees were in a lot of pain at the end of each downhill segment. The only respite were my two walking sticks, without which I’m sure I would definitely have fallen on the slippery, steep Inca stairs. The sticks are also helpful on the uphill slopes, acting like a second pair of legs and after my sticks were taken away at Machu Picchu I found myself grasping at phantom sticks (I also may have been slightly delirious from exhaustion at this point);

My group agreed that half (or possibly more than half) the battle was mental and psychological rather than physical. Before leaving Sydney I had all the best intentions of improving my fitness before the trip, but uni, exams and life inevitably got in the way. Nevertheless, while travelling prior to the trail I did a few hikes and walks in Brazil, Chile and at altitude in Bolivia and Peru. These were enough to prepare me physically for the particular challenges of the Inca trail, namely inclines, altitude and stamina. By the time I arrived at Km 82, my body was fairly well prepared and I had learnt how to pace myself and keep hydrated. Nevertheless, unlike the other walks I had done, the Inca trail is 4 days long and offers little in the way of physical and emotional respite at the end of each day. Despite sleeping mats and warm sleeping bags, there were sore limbs waking up each day and the exhaustion wasn’t helped by the altitude. Waking up on day 2 to the coming hours of uphill climbs proved that the challenge was largely emotional. I remember at one point on day 2, I was channelling all the anger and emotion I had built over the previous year into my walking sticks to keep going. Day 2 is when walking groups disperse and perseverance and determination become particularly important when you’re own your own. Prior to starting the trail I had hyped it up mentally to the point that I felt sick on the bus ride to Km 82, but had I not done this I’m not sure I would have made it to the top of dead woman’s pass. I knew this would be one of the biggest challenges I had faced and because of this I was able to fight with it and feel the incredible sense of achievement at the top;

I’m not sure if it was because of altitude or rainy season but my nose wouldn’t stop running through the trail, and I ended up with tissues in every pocket of my hiking pants. It sounds trivial but having a runny nose while struggling to breathe on a steep incline at altitude isn’t much fun. Keep lots of tissues with you;

Seriously, lots of tissues. Tissues and toilet paper may be your saviours on the trek, particularly since they will be your only glimpse of luxury while using inca trail toilets. Toilet options include the ‘au naturale’ (which our boys used most of the time) or campsite pit toilets (the state of which was the reason the boys preferred nature). If you have had experience with camp toilets it’s not that really that bad, however I highly suggest wearing your hiking boots to the bathrooms rather than thongs as some suggest to change into at camp. It rained as we arrived to camp on our first night and as a result I kept my hiking shoes on until I slept. On the second two nights I changed into thongs after going to the bathroom. Toilets on the morning of day 4 in the dark are a particularly interesting experience, my only advice is to hold your breath;

This was highly unexpected but the first day and a half is highly populated by horses, donkeys and llamas which leave droppings to be avoided as you walk. This disappears as rescue from the trail by these animals gets more difficult on day two;

I carried a camel pack for water however I didn’t end up drinking nearly as much as expected. This may have been because we were hiking in the clouds during rainy season so didn’t really feel the dehydration. Nevertheless, my camel pack was one of my best purchases for the trip and helped through the two months along all the hikes and walks I did;

It doesn’t matter what the weather is like at the Sun Gate or at Machu Picchu. That stereotypical photo at the top? It doesn’t matter. I learned that the inca trail to Machu Picchu isn’t about getting to a picture perfect location and taking the perfect cloudless photo, it’s about the journey and everything you learn about the Incas, about the world and about yourself on the way. It rained when we got to Machu Picchu, but as it turned out this was one of the most enjoyable days of the trip. Three of us decided to ditch our ponchos and run around the wonder of the world in the rain, stopping to take frantic photos with the sites and the llamas and it was one of the most liberating experiences of my life. The sense of achievement at getting to the top is unmatchable and because of this it is important not to worry too much about the weather and perfect images particularly when hiking in rainy season.

Teamwork is everything on the trail, and when one member of the group is struggling it’s important that everyone chips in to encourage them. From the moment we were tattooed with some sort of dead insect blood on day one, it was a team effort to get each other to the top: the Inca trail is not and should not be a race. You will come across other groups along the way, and I enjoyed getting to know different people on the trail and occasionally having mass Disney sing-a-longs. Keeping our collective spirits up was on of the most important things, and I’m glad I had a good group to walk with.

Packing and clothing The weight porters are able to carry is limited and after subtracting the weight of the sleeping bag and air mattress (both which I recommend because the former is warmer than anything in the world, and the latter will be a life saver when camping on rock), this leaves only 2.5kgs for personal items.

Clothing: I wore my Kathmandu hiking pants for 3 days of the hike, adding cotton leggings underneath for day 2. This was a perfect balance for me as the excessive number of pockets on the hiking pants will be more helpful than you anticipate when having to carry tissues, quick sugar fixes, torches, and a variety of other things on your body. Day two can be very cold and I was also grateful for my leggings. I was advised to wear long pants through the trek because of flies and the terrain and as I think my whole group followed this advice I cannot comment on the alternative but I don’t see any reason to wear otherwise. I wore three quick dry active wear singlets on the three first days, and I appreciated the quick dry material as well as being able to change every morning (my clothing was light so this wasn’t a big issue). In addition I carried a thin long sleeved top, a thin sweater and my down jacket. Dressing like an onion is ideal on the trail, and I constantly altered between different combinations of these items. Day two is particularly confusing because as soon as you stop walking, you freeze enough to throw on your down jacket only to feel incredibly hot again 10 minutes later. Apart from this, I always had my beanie, gloves and scarf in my backpack and this was a periodic lifesaver as the weather kept changing. I also wore a bandana everyday or the hike which was one of my favourite items: it dealt with sweat, rain, kept my hair out of my face and did a multitude of other things. I also wore my cap (which provided protection from both the sun and rain) and sunglasses. As we were hiking in rainy season, my poncho was always easily accessible and used excessively enough that it was the first thing to be thrown out when we returned back to Cusco. There are plenty of rumours regarding what to wear at night to keep warm: I wore just a thermal top and bottom every night and never felt cold, while some in our group were wearing all their jackets to sleep and getting cold. One hypothesis is that the sleeping bag works best when it’s closer to body heat but this isn’t verified. I carried four pairs of hiking socks for each day on the advice of the Internet - this comprised a lot of my weight and I’m not sure if it was entirely necessary to change socks everyday (particularly since my boots were waterproof) but I don’t know the alternative well enough to comment.  I changed into a new set of clothes for the last day (a t shirt and leggings): this was a good idea because you are more likely than not to only finish the Inca trail once in life and you might as well look decent (and smell relatively decent) for the photos that await. 

Shoes: We grappled with the hiking boots vs hiking shoes vs sneakers and the buy vs rent decision before leaving. Ultimately we both bought Colombia leather waterproof hiking boots which we used as our closed shoes for the entirety of the trip. I found myself in huge relief for this decision throughout the trip, as the boots served us well on all our walks and hikes and the ankle support and waterproof material was a life saver on many occasions. All the girls in our group wore hiking boots, most were bought but two hired boots in Cusco and were happy with their hire. Some boys wore sneakers and they appeared to be okay with that decision. Ultimately the decision is a subjective one and is dependent on how much walking you intend to do on your travel and whether you have another pair of sneakers that could fulfil this role.

Other items: I enjoyed my wet wipe shower at the end of each day. Take all the medications you need in your backpack - altitude tablets, panadol and asthma medication were my most used. I took two spare camera batteries in my backpack which is important if you want the freedom to take photos throughout the trail without being concerned about a lack of photos at Machu Picchu. I kept these in my sleeping bag at night to prevent them draining. I didn’t take my phone on the trail because I wasn’t using it as a camera, and didn’t find I needed it as we were awoken each day either by the sun, each other or the porters. One of my biggest regrets is not carrying a proper head-torch (still haunting me in the Amazon with a lack of electricity)- invest in one. Besides this I carried glasses, contact lenses and spares and contact solution, many plastic bags and deodorant. I was considering taking a blow up neck pillow (one girl in the group did this and appreciated it), however I was tired enough at night to sleep soundly on my clothes stuffed in the top of the sleeping bag. I think any luxuries beyond this are unnecessary and I enjoyed having little to worry about.

The Porters

The porters on the Inca trail are some of the most incredible men I’ve come across in life. Besides lugging tents, our belongings, food and literally everything we needed every night, they treated us as some sort of Inca royalty, even waking us up with cocoa tea in the mornings (drink this even if you don’t like the taste - it helps with the altitude). They cooked our food (including three courses for lunch - a healthy soup, main course and dessert), set up our tents and always had smiles on their faces. On our third day they even baked a cake to celebrate, ‘New years eve’, a feat I’m still coming to terms with. It’s almost impossible to fully appreciate these men until you actually experience their work. From learning their names and backgrounds on the first night to cheering them on along the trail with claps and ‘vamos amigos’ to saying goodbye on the last night, the porters were one of the most overwhelming aspects of the trail for me.

The Camino Inca is an experience that I’m sure has a profound and varied meaning to everyone who complete it. I am extremely glad I recklessly signed up to walk the track, and I hope my little guide helps someone else make that decision in the future.