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hayatoseyepatch · 5 months ago

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Hihi Sam !! 💕 I saw you were doing a matchup event (congrats on the 500 followers btw !!) and thought I’d give it a go !! <33

For my personality, I’d say I’m pretty outgoing? I’m definitely more-so on the extroverted side, I’m very talkative and sometimes loud, I would also say I’m pretty loving and care deeply for those I cherish, I’m super affectionate ! I also can kinda get stressed & anxious easily, I tend to take on a lot of things at once, so I’m a bit of an over achiever and a bit too much of a perfectionist which can sometimes attribute to my stress but I try my best to take things one at a time it’s just a bit of a bad habit of mine <33 I’m also definitely the sort of person who’d send you memes or songs that remind me of people 💕 I’m a good listener and try to be there for everyone, but I can also be pretty stubborn and a little sarcastic at times 😭 I’m also pretty competitive, but I usually try to make those around me comfy & happy !! 💖 I love skincare, so I also enjoy my quiet time & peace 💗 I have a pet rabbit, I love fashion & anime/manga, I also love shows like Bridgerton and I love reading too !! I love art museums, parks, gardens, flowers, poetry !! I’m a bit of a sap & very much a romantic ! I love the night but I also love sunrises ⛅️

As for the fandoms, I love a lot of the ones you mentioned but I think I’d like to be paired up with one of the Windbreaker boys if possible !! I’m all caught up with the manga and it’s just been living in my mind rent free at the moment lol, it’s just so good 🫶 as for my favorite characters, I would say Umemiya, Suo, Kiryu, Endo & Chika !!

I have a lot of favorite tropes! Such as the classic enemies to lovers, soulmates, opposites attract, right person wrong time, ext !! I love sm different tropes tbh, even the angsty and heartbreaking ones !!

I’m not sure if I have type? I find things to love about a specific person if that makes sense? If I had to say anything though, I would say I like pretty smiles & someone who is dependable 💗

And I have no icks in particular regarding Windbreaker !! I think they’re all great 💕

But yeah !! That’s about it, sorry I wrote sm 😭 but tysm for ur time ! 🥰

Thank you for the congrats anonie and for participating in my event! No please thank YOU the more you guys write the more fun I get to have and more tailored I can be to you! I hope you enjoy!

I pair you with Mitsuki Kiryu from Wind Breaker!

⤜♡→ Oh my goodness I just think you and Kiryu would be such a match made in heaven! As someone who puts a lot into his style, Kiryu so appreciates your interest in fashion. The two of you spending your time shopping and curating matching outfits is something he thoroughly enjoys.

⤜♡→ I feel like Kiryu is very into the arts. Museum dates are an absolute MUST. He just loves going through the exhibits listening as you gush to him about your favorite pieces, and giving you his own tidbits of the history of pieces that he’s researched on his own.

⤜♡→ Kiryu is shown in his character page to have respect for women and looks up to his older sister. So I feel like he is very much in touch with his feminine energy, loving doing skincare with you and watching shows others would consider unmasculine. He couldn’t care less, so long as he is with you and he can see you happy that’s all he cares about.

⤜♡→ I refuse to believe that Kiryu isn’t a romantic. He spends so much time planning your dates. He gets so excited when he’s able to incorporate your interests into his plans. He loves peeling back your layers and getting to know you so he could share your interests with you and his own with you in return.

Kiryu smiled, leaning back on your bed, his hands resting on your thighs as you straddled his waist. You are applying the face mask to his skin. He tried to keep his face serious, chucking at the cute way you stick out your tongue as you focus in delicately applying it around his piercings. “Stop moving.” You sass, seeing how he was holding back his laughter. “Unless you want this peel off to take your eyebrows with it handsome.” He melts, always swooning when you called him that, it didn’t matter how long you had been together. He simply couldn’t help it. “Fine, fine, but hurry up because I need to know if Colin finds out why Penelope and Eloise really aren’t talking anymore.” He catches your giggle, careful not to smile too much and mess up your hard work. Nights like these were his favorite. The both of you curled up on the couch. Holding you in his arms while you both do the steps to your skincare routine. Watching your most recent favorite show just the two of you. Quality time was one of Kiryu’s love languages and he adores just taking you in as much as possible.

The two of you had a long day today, with the summer coming to a close and the weather cooling as fall loomed over the horizon the two of you had taken advantage of the beautiful weather. Kiryu having set up a nice picnic for you both in the park. People watching as you both sat and appreciated the summer flowers that would soon be gone as fall strolled in. As you finished up putting the mask on his skin, he was careful when pressing a kiss to your lips not wanting to mess up the masks on your faces as you both headed to the living room. As the classical music filled the room, he held you against his chest. He couldn’t be more grateful to have you in his life. And he would be content so long as he continued to have moments like these for the rest of his days.

#sams 500 match up event #wind breaker #sam writes

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frangipanidownunder · 5 years ago

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(1/2) There has been some *next level* great fic published recently. Honestly, I feel intimidated to write anything new because nothing I could produce will ever be able to measure up to the talent of some of the authors I'm reading. On the other hand, I see fic that is exactly the opposite. Fics whose authors have admitted are written with little to no thought or effort, but that get reblogged and liked ad nauseum because of "who" the author is and/or they tag tons of people.

(2/2) I feel like my writing falls somewhere in the middle, but because I'm not a popular blogger I don't seem to be able to build a bigger audience, and I don't feel comfortable tagging people that I don't know personally. Do you have any advice about how to stay motivated to keep writing, when I'm not confident that my writing will ever be as good as the good fic is, or that it really "fits in" anywhere? I feel rather discouraged about it and I haven't written anything in weeks as a result.

Hey there gorgeous! This is a long answer, so there’s a cut, sorry!

I hear you and feel you and see you. And, I’m sorry to say, I don’t have any magic words of wisdom that will instantly fix this. Art is so subjective plus social media is like any club where there will be groups of people who’ve been around longer and have built long-term relationships, some who are brand new and walk right in with confidence, finding their place straight away, then there are the long-termers who are a bit more reserved or only come out to play sometimes. It’s the heirarchy of life.

I will say up front though, that I don’t believe there isn’t a place for your fic here. It will fit in somewhere! This fandom has generated such a breadth of fic from the fluffiest of fluff to the ickiest of ick that there is bound to be someone out there who loves what you write. The trick is to try to love it yourself too! And that’s hard. Creativity comes with great freedom and a heavy burden - our old friend self-doubt.

So, to push back against your point about intimidation, please don’t fall into that headspace. There isn’t a writer on here who doesn’t doubt their own ability. There isn’t a published original fic author who doesn’t doubt their own ability. It comes with the turf. You have to accept that your writing is unique and that comparing it to others’ styles and fic is just going to wear you down. It’s not productive and won’t make your writing any better. That’s not to say you shouldn’t look at ‘good’ fic and work out why it is elevated - we all have our personal preferences. Is it the prose? The plot? The pacing? The characterisation? Study the quality writing and try to think about the reasons it works so that your own writing will improve.

This fandom is still eager to read and there has been a ton of fic produced over the last month, including some newbies and oldies who’ve published new writing. If you have a story to tell, you should tell it. I find that stories bang at your brain until they’re let out. Don’t do yourself an injury for fear of never being seen. Writing for yourself is your first job. All writers to do that.

Validation is what we seek, though. Through likes and comments and reblogs. Otherwise, what are we publishing our work for? Yes, we write for ourselves, but we publish for the consumer. So, I understand it can be demoralising when your fic doesn’t do well in terms of notes. How do you know if anybody likes your stuff? It’s frustrating. There are some seriously under-rated writers on this site, who turn out amazing words, but their fic can sometimes be passed over for reasons unknown to me.

However, I’m probably not the best one to advise on this. My own fic has never really been consistently popular. I generally don’t reblog my own work and I don’t tag other bloggers unless specifically requested. Building a base here is a long road for most writers. We aren’t publishing pretty art or amazing gifs. Words tend to look boring on the page and require a commitment when people are time-poor. I started out by entering challenges and by reblogging, commenting and sending asks to those writers I admired. I DMd writers I thought I could connect with and took things quite slowly. I’ve been here for three years, posting regular stories but my follower count isn’t that huge. Maybe that’s something you can do while you’re drafting your next fic? Reblog the stuff you love, work out why you love it, make comments and send that author an ask (not on anon). Sending praise feels as good as receiving it. And other people notice that kindness too!

I am hosting another couple of workshops before the end of the year and if you’re available, you are more than welcome to attend. They are friendly, fun and encouraging. You might turn out some surprising writing and then you get to tag the other writers who participate because that’s how these things work. 😊

I hope this helps a little. There is no one answer to this age-old question. Personal taste is what it is. Fifty Shades of Grey was a huge best-seller. It’s not great writing, but people bought it in droves. I don’t understand the popularity of Jodie Picoult or Danielle Steel or Wilbur Smith but they sell stacks of books. Who the hell is Drake and why does his music do well? What about the Kardashians? Famous for what - yet people watch their show and buy their handbags.

With fanfic, there’s good and there’s bad and there’s everything in between and we are not here to tell people what they should read and reblog and what they shouldn’t. That’s the beauty of our fandom. There really is something for everyone from drabbles to novel-length, slash to romance; but that something might not be popular. You know, people sometimes just want to read a story that makes them feel good and smut and fluff (the most popular genres on Tumblr as far as I can see) provide that comfort so, if your writing isn’t in either of those genres, don’t despair. There’s likely still an audience for you. They might just be a little more discerning or not on here as often or might be jumping up and down saying ‘ooh, that’s just like me!’

If you’re brave, come off anon and send out those asks to your faves. Join us at the next workshop (follow @just-fic-already for the details) and just write!

Take care, lovely. Thanks for swinging by. 💜

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sevenrelics · 7 years ago

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saving face - 2.4k

@bublp0pr said: (i don't really do the whole writing request thing often so i hope this isn't too specific or long or i'm not doing this properly. If so i'm so sorry!) Could you maybe write something where a slightly older Angus starts dating someone but hasn't told anyone about it and Taako, Merle and Magnus come together to try to figure out why he's been so distracted and strange lately?

No worries, you got it down perfectly! I had a ton of fun writing this, tysm for the idea!

Happy Pride! 🏳️‍🌈✨Send in a ship (or anything else!) & a prompt and I’ll write a drabble! "It's teenage rebellion," Magnus states, his lumbering form jolting Taako's shoulders as he shifts on the bleachers. Someone's just made a goal. Taako couldn't say by who, but there's definitely been some sort of sports victory on the field. Judging from Merle's grumbling, (though he claims to not care in the least for Angus, nor his high school soccer victories) it's not for their side.

"Teenage reb—,” Taako repeats, disdain lacing his voice. "Mags, it's Angus, his idea of rebelling is doing the dishes when Lup forgets," he says, which is not entirely true. Lup most definitely doesn't forget, but weasels her way out of her share of kitchen cleanup with the excuse of "reaping business", or just disappears until someone else sucks it up and cleans the mess themselves. It's not reaping business. Ever. From what Kravitz groans about over a glass of wine on their couch, Lup doesn't even do her job when she's on the clock.

Regardless, Angus has been acting strange, and Taako is determined to find out why.

"It is!" Magnus protests, and the woman behind them wrinkles her nose at either the volume of his words or the way he continues elbowing Taako as he noisily claps at the kicking of a ball. Home-run, or whatever.

"No, it isn't," Taako repeats, and scoots closer to Merle. "He's just been weird lately. He usually can't shut his damn mouth about school, but now he doesn't tell Krav and I anything beyond his grades. Which we know! He stresses over an A minus!" he snaps, and tosses his hands in the air. He doesn't mention he and Lup doing the same thing before being accepted into the IPRE. They weren't members of Fantasy NASA for nothing. "He’s— He's not getting bullied, he knows too many defensive spells for that," Taako continues, dropping his hands back in his lap. "No drugs, his asthma would fuck that up for him. And he's out late constantly!" Taako snarls, raising his voice to be heard over the crowd's cheering.

"Sounds like teenage rebellion to me," Magnus says, shrugs, and grabs another handful from the crinkled bag of chips between them.

Taako huffs. Magnus's solutions so far have boiled down to 'wait it out', or, occasionally, 'get him a dog', neither of which Taako is keen on. Sure, elves have plenty of time, but Taako has never been particularly stellar at managing it, nor mastered the art of patience. He prefers not to think about how much time Angus has.

And on the dog point, they have Magnus, who is just as friendly and eats twice as much, so Taako neglects to see how bringing another animal to their street would help his situation at all.

Another cheer interrupts the biting retort formulating on his tongue, and Taako reluctantly rises to his feet to clap alongside his two friends.

Angus is important to him. More so than he'd like to admit, actually. He's wormed his way into his l in a way that only his boyfriend and those who have spent a century in his company have. It's impressive. Taako's heart is a no-go zone, a big ol' void of non-trust, and yet, here they are. Taako is sitting on an awful metal bench, surrounded by sweaty people and the stench of bad chili-dogs to watch his kid play a sport he has zero knowledge of.

So, for once in his life, he rolls his eyes, sucks a breath through his slightly crooked teeth, and lowers his pride to ask a favor.

"Merle," Taako wheedles, drawing out his old friend's name. Said dwarf continues to stare straight ahead, dull gray eyes locked on the field. Damned dwarven stubbornness.

"Merle," Taako presses insistently, expertly styled (if he does say so himself) eyebrows raised expectantly.

"Nope." Merle shifts beside him to reach across Taako's lap to snatch from the greasy, crumpled bag of chips that Magnus has decimated. Taako briefly wonders if they've coordinated this with the specific intent of annoying the shit out of him. He glances at Merle out the corner of his eye, attempting to look at least somewhat affable as he tucks a lock of bottle blond hair back into his cap. Not the most 'Fantasy Vogue' choice, but Ren tells him it's what people wear to these types of events.

After a few moments of Merle pointedly not meeting his eyes, Taako frowns and scoots closer to Magnus, which ick, but serves to show his point well enough. Well, fuck. He's never trying that again. Nope, nuh-uh, no chance, zero, zip, zilch. Putting his pride on the line is bad enough, but not getting any results? A million times worse.

On the other hand.

If he doesn't figure this out, he'll go who knows how long without Angus's constant chatter, which, rather reluctantly, he has to admit he misses a little. He'll have to keep leaving dinner in the fridge, continue having only half-conversations with his kid, and Kravitz will have to put up with even more late night grumblings and admissions of concern from him.

He stifles a groan and huffs. "Can't you just check—“

"No."

It's silent other than for Magnus rustling his snacks, and the noise of plastic on foil grates on Taako's ears.

There's a sigh from his left, and Taako's ears perk. "S' not sick, if that's what you're asking," Merle says, his gravel voice music to Taako's ears.

"You're sure? Because you gotta admit, he's acting fucking weird—“

"Didn't say I knew what was up with the brat, just that he's not sick. Sick kid couldn't have made that goal," Merle grumbles and points towards the field, and sure enough, shouts and screams erupt as students swarm Angus. Despite not knowing what in hell is going on, Taako's chest swells with pride for his apprentice.

"Nice hole-in-one," Taako says when the game ends, slinging his arm around Angus's shoulders. The kid's about his height, now, which aggravates him beyond belief. Fortunately, he still has his hat. You always count the hat.

"That is actually one hundred percent wrong," Angus replies, though he's smiling brightly between ragged breaths.

"Psh. Par, then?" Taako goads, and Angus's shoulders shake with laughter beneath his arm. It's... warm. Familiar. Much closer to the Angus he remembers a few weeks ago. They walk to the carriage, still linked though Taako's blouse is bound to smell like grass and sweaty human by the time they arrive home.

They're only a few feet away when Angus stops in his tracks, halting both of them in the process. "Oh," he says, and guilt flashes across his features. "Sorry, Taako, I have something I need to do. After school. Now."

Fuck. There's all their progress today down the drain. Kravitz, Barry, and Lup are all working today, Merle and Davenport are boating, or whatever it is old men do with their time, and Magnus is. Well. Taako would prefer to not be around him after the number of mediocre cheese fries he's devoured. One hundred years of sharing a bathroom with him were more than enough, thank you very much. Without Angus, it's an empty house for him tonight.

It's out of selfish need and mild concern that he raises a single eyebrow, and places a manicured hand on his hip. "Like take a shower?"

"Well, later— yes, I guess, but I really—“ Angus stammers out, the words tripping on his tongue. His hands move to play with the frame of his glasses, a nervous habit Taako can recall all the way back on the Rockport Limited six some years ago.

"Uh, nope. Not today, boychik," he says, and ignores the sharp mix of confusion and disappointment that immediately blankets Angus's expression. Taako briefly toys with the idea of saying 'fuck it' and letting the kid go do whatever it is that he's so set on. It goes as quick as it comes— this is a conversation that, like it or not, they need to have. After a second, Angus nods, and Taako steers him by the shoulder over to an empty bench.

"Sit," he instructs.

Angus's brow furrows, and he opens his mouth as if to protest. Taako cuts him off with another stern look, which fuck, he really hates doing. Being bad cop is always Kravitz's job— nothing gets the point of 'don't go out in poor weather' across like a lecture from the literal Grim Reaper.

Angus sits.

One quick call and subsequent portal later (courtesy of Lup, who is more than happy to have an excuse to skip out on paperwork), they're standing in the kitchen of their home. Angus toes off his soccer cleats before moving with careful footsteps to the kitchen table. Taako's heart aches a little at the forlorn expression and the way he tiptoes around him as if expecting a lecture. Which, fuck, depending on how this conversation goes, might be the result he receives. Though he wants to know, it scares him a little. If this is something big, and Angus doesn't trust them enough to reveal it, or worse, it's too late to act on it, Taako isn't positive he can handle the fallout.

"So," he begins, and draws out the chair opposite Angus. "What's going on with you?"

Angus's eyes snap up to his, and his hands once again flit to his glasses. Not a particularly good sign. Taako resists the urge to pin them down with a spell. "What?"

So that's how they're playing this. "You know what," he says, and raps his glossed nails on the table as an outlet for the nervous energy that boils in his veins. Fuck it, he thinks, and cuts straight to the chase. "Are you injured?"

"Injured?" Angus echoes, sending a cursory glance over his limbs, then shakes his head emphatically. "No."

"Being bullied?"

"No?"

"Sick?"

"What—“ Angus blinks, and lowers his backpack to the floor with a soft thud. Obviously anticipating a longer conversation than their run-of-the-mill passing quips in the past few weeks. Thankfully for him, Taako would prefer to not drag this out any more than necessary. "No," he stresses. "Not sick."

"Merle chooses now to be the only time he's right?" Taako mutters, and Angus purses his lips in a way that reminds Taako distinctly of Kravitz when Lup's jokes have gone on a tad too long.

"Then what's up with you?" Taako asks, and folds his arms across his chest. Angus doesn't respond, and Taako feels his nails digging crescents into his bare arms.

"Got all night, kiddo," he continues, and though Angus's eyes don't waver, he isn't forthcoming with any answers. "Every one after that, too" he tacks on, though Angus knows just as well as he does that Taako isn't committed enough to remain on his case about this unless he's in severe danger.

"It's nothing bad," Angus promises, the words coming out of his mouth in a hurry. He runs a nervous hand through his short curls, then opens his mouth, and pauses. He drops his hands to his lap. Angus McDonald has never been at a loss for words in his life, and Taako doubts now is any exception— frankly, he knows more than the majority of adults, sure as fuck more than Taako does. Which does nothing to assuage his nerves, because it means if Angus won't tell, something deeply, deeply wrong is occurring.

Angus finally breaks his eyes away and turns them to the ceiling as he briefly clasps his hands, and whispers something Taako can't pick up from across the table. Theatrics seem to run in the family, genetic or not. Taako finally understands how fucking infuriating it can be. Will that stop him? Absolutely not.

A deep breath. "I've been seeing someone," Angus says, and Taako's heart catches in his throat.

"Oh," Taako says, and he's certain his eyes are wider than Magnus's upon seeing a puppy. "Oh," he continues, and hears a shrill laugh escape from his throat.

"Well. Is he nice?" Taako asks, because that conversation had occurred already, at two am on an emotional Tuesday morning Taako doesn't remember too fondly. It had involved nearly using Magic Missile on an intruder that opened his bedroom door at ungodly hours of the morning, only to have said intruder start bawling over a fact Taako'd already known (because really, no straight kid could ever contain that much sass, even if it's just from mimicking his far superior teacher).

Angus only stares at him. "You're not mad?" There's a note of disbelief in the words, and Taako smiles despite himself. Still surprising people, even after years of being around them. Angus's eyes are wide behind his dirt-streaked frames, and he reminds Taako of the little boy on the Rockport Limited. Unsure, a little trepidatious, and filled with energy.

"Mad?” Taako grins, and leans forward, hair spilling out of his unforunately colored baseball cap. "Kiddo, I'm fucking thrilled. Nerd boy's finally caught a man." Angus flushes, but smiles back. "He cute?"

"Oh, very."

"Excellent," Taako says, pushing the flat of his hand against the table as he rises. "Well, I won't keep you."

"What?" Angus moves to stands as well, his hands fluttering at his sides.

"You're still showering," Taako continues as if Angus hadn't interrupted at all. "And change, too. Grab something from my closet." Angus's jaw drops, and he shakes his head with such vehemence that Taako is shocked his glasses don't fly off.

"What, pumpkin? I didn't make you miss your date, did I?" If he had, Taako knows he'll feel genuinely awful, though he'd rather not dwell on that unless fully necessary.

"Taako," Angus starts, and the smile on his face curls into something a tad more mischievous. Reminds him of someone, actually. "Did you miss me?"

"Don't push it."

Taako notices in the next few days that Angus is home remarkably more often. Though nothing has changed, not really, the conversation itself seems to have drawn them back together. Dinner isn't left in the fridge much anymore, and when Angus goes out, he's often wearing something Taako recognizes. Even if the patterns are far more conservative than what Taako would've put together.

It takes a few weeks, but one night there's a guest at their table.

Kravitz insists they don't intrude on the pair while they "study and snack". Of course, Taako takes it upon himself to make the occasion something out of Angus's nightmares, mildly embarrassing the kid, and poking fun every time they cross paths, even when Kravitz rolls his eyes and apologizes in his stead.

He does have a persona to keep up, after all.

#Taz Fanfiction #Taz Fic #Taz Balance #Taakitz #Taako #Kravitz #Angus McDonald #Magnus Burnsides #Merle Highchurch #Fluff #Long #god i'm so sorry if the read more doesn't work #bublp0pr

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terryblount · 5 years ago

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ReadySet Heroes – Review

Earlier this year, I set my mission to play indie titles more often than AAA releases after being disappointed with the release of the AAA stuff, specifically after this one game that basically broke this lad’s faith (something rhymes with Hashy Icks).

Now it’s the end of October and so far, it’s been a balance between good and bad.

So, we now turn our attention to ReadySet Heroes: A cutesy Diablo-like dungeon crawler with perma-death game modes and hard bosses. Has Robot Entertainment done enough to be the next big party game Indie gem? Not really.

Presentation

One thing that stands out for ReadySet Heroes is the art style, which popup from the moment you were (albeit abruptly) put onto the start menu, and even in gameplay as you see your character traverse the lands. The sound design also matches the tone of the game, as you are the hero of course, and it gets more thematic the more go into the game world.

Curiously, there are only two game modes available in this game: Crawl n’ Brawl,where you battle to the top with your best gear and Tower Crawl (also known as the Diablo mode), a mode where the level gets randomized as you battle fiends and stage bosses toward the final boss in the tower.

It’s looking good for the game so far but the gameplay is where it falters.

Gameplay

For a simple hack and slasher, it’s quite fun and enjoyable due to its quite vast amount of weapons and armor that could be obtained during a single run (remember, it is still a permadeath dungeon crawler). And it’s list of characters ranging from a Honey Badger to a bunny and even a hawk shows that you can play with your favorite animal and still get an enjoyable experience.

What isn’t enjoyable is the animation for special attacks and dodges as they have a sort of input lag, which leaves you vulnerable to attacks, deadly when you’re fighting on a final boss with only one life left.

Its need for a three health system is also quite counter-intuitive as well due to the length of the levels and enemy placement. Even their fun puzzle system couldn’t save the gameplay with the flaw mentioned being quite apparent if you’re doing a solo run.

Heck, some of the weapons are quite useless as well: the Boomerang power-up not dealing damage is one noticeable example but others like the Guitar can bring you good special skills towards your siege to the top.

Content

Besides these two modes, there isn’t much replayability if you have defeated both modes already but I reckon to bring friends who haven’t played this game beforehand could bring you some fun within this game. Online multiplayer is there but around my area, it’s pretty much non-existence really.

Conclusion

I can see the potential for this game, being that it is quite a fun party game and the capability to be something that can perhaps rival Castle Crashers and the like. Perhaps if Robot Entertainment could update ReadySet Heroes to say remove the annoying input lags or add another mode or two, this game could shine. But for now, best be waiting for a sale.

Played on a PS4 Slim, Review copy given by PlayStation Asia.

ReadySet Heroes – Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

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zeroviraluniverse-blog · 7 years ago

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5 Things You Might Not Know About Ansel Adams

Visit Now - http://zeroviral.com/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-ansel-adams/

5 Things You Might Not Know About Ansel Adams

You probably know Ansel Adams—who was born on February 20, 1902—as the man who helped promote the National Park Service through his magnificent photographs. But there was a lot more to the shutterbug than his iconic, black-and-white vistas. Here are five lesser-known facts about the celebrated photographer.

1. AN EARTHQUAKE LED TO HIS DISTINCTIVE NOSE.

Adams was a four-year-old tot when the 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck his hometown. Although the boy managed to escape injury during the quake itself, an aftershock threw him face-first into a garden wall, breaking his nose. According to a 1979 interview with TIME, Adams said that doctors told his parents that it would be best to fix the nose when the boy matured. He joked, “But of course I never did mature, so I still have the nose.” The nose became Adams’ most striking physical feature. His buddy Cedric Wright liked to refer to Adams’ honker as his “earthquake nose.”

2. HE ALMOST BECAME A PIANIST.

Adams was an energetic, inattentive student, and that trait coupled with a possible case of dyslexia earned him the heave-ho from private schools. It was clear, however, that he was a sharp boy—when motivated.

When Adams was just 12 years old, he taught himself to play the piano and read music, and he quickly showed a great aptitude for it. For nearly a dozen years, Adams focused intensely on his piano training. He was still playful—he would end performances by jumping up and sitting on his piano—but he took his musical education seriously. Adams ultimately devoted over a decade to his study, but he eventually came to the realization that his hands simply weren’t big enough for him to become a professional concert pianist. He decided to leave the keys for the camera after meeting photographer Paul Strand, much to his family’s dismay.

3. HE HELPED CREATE A NATIONAL PARK.

If you’ve ever enjoyed Kings Canyon National Park in California, tip your cap to Adams. In the 1930s Adams took a series of photographs that eventually became the book Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail. When Adams sent a copy to Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, the cabinet member showed it to Franklin Roosevelt. The photographs so delighted FDR that he wouldn’t give the book back to Ickes. Adams sent Ickes a replacement copy, and FDR kept his with him in the White House.

After a few years, Ickes, Adams, and the Sierra Club successfully convinced Roosevelt to make Kings Canyon a national park in 1940. Roosevelt’s designation specifically provided that the park be left totally undeveloped and roadless, so the only way FDR himself would ever experience it was through Adams’ lenses.

4. HE WELCOMED COMMERCIAL ASSIGNMENTS.

While many of his contemporary fine art photographers shunned commercial assignments as crass or materialistic, Adams went out of his way to find paying gigs. If a company needed a camera for hire, Adams would generally show up, and as a result, he had some unlikely clients. According to The Ansel Adams Gallery, he snapped shots for everyone from IBM to AT&T to women’s colleges to a dried fruit company. All of this commercial print work dismayed Adams’s mentor Alfred Stieglitz and even worried Adams when he couldn’t find time to work on his own projects. It did, however, keep the lights on.

5. HE AND GEORGIA O’KEEFFE WERE FRIENDS.

Adams and legendary painter O’Keeffe were pals and occasional traveling buddies who found common ground despite their very different artistic approaches. They met through their mutual friend/mentor Stieglitz—who eventually became O’Keeffe’s husband—and became friends who traveled throughout the Southwest together during the 1930s. O’Keeffe would paint while Adams took photographs.

These journeys together led to some of the artists’ best-known work, like Adams’ portrait of O’Keeffe and a wrangler named Orville Cox, and while both artists revered nature and the American Southwest, Adams considered O’Keeffe the master when it came to capturing the area.

“The Southwest is O’Keeffe’s land,” he wrote. “No one else has extracted from it such a style and color, or has revealed the essential forms so beautifully as she has in her paintings.”

The two remained close throughout their lives. Adams would visit O’Keeffe’s ranch, and the two wrote to each other until Adams’ death in 1984.

Dan Bell

A Cartographer Is Mapping All of the UK’s National Parks, J.R.R. Tolkien-Style

Peak District National Park

Dan Bell

Cartographer Dan Bell makes national parks into fantasy lands. Bell, who lives near Lake District National Park in England, is currently on a mission to draw every national park in the UK in the style of the maps in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Kottke.org reports.

The project began in September 2017, when Bell posted his own hand-drawn version of a Middle Earth map online. He received such a positive response that he decided to apply the fantasy style to real world locations. He has completed 11 out of the UK’s 15 parks so far. Once he finishes, he hopes to tackle the U.S. National Park system, too. (He already has Yellowstone National Park down.)

Bell has done various other maps in the same style, including ones for London and Game of Thrones’s Westeros, and he commissions, in case you have your own special locale that could use the Tolkien treatment. Check out a few of his park maps below.

You can buy prints of the maps here.

[h/t Kottke.org]

All images by Dan Bell

iStock

The Simple Optical Illusion That Makes an Image Look Like It’s Drawing Itself

iStock

Artist James Nolan Gandy invents robot arms that sketch intricate mathematical shapes with pen and paper. When viewed in real time, the effect is impressive. But it becomes even more so when the videos are sped up in a timelapse. If you look closely in the video below, the illustration appears to materialize faster than the robot can put the design to paper. Gizmodo recently explained how the illusion works to make it look like parts of the sketch are forming before the machine has time to draw them.

The optical illusion isn’t an example of tricky image editing: It’s the result of something called the wagon wheel effect. You can observe this in a car wheel accelerating down the highway or in propeller blades lifting up a helicopter. If an object makes enough rotations per second, it can appear to slow down, move backwards, or even stand still.

This is especially apparent on film. Every “moving image” we see on a screen is an illusion caused by the brain filling in the gaps between a sequence of still images. In the case of the timelapse video below, the camera captured the right amount of images, in the right order, to depict the pen as moving more slowly than it did in real life. But unlike the pen, the drawing formed throughout the video isn’t subject to the wagon-wheel effect, so it still appears to move at full speed. This difference makes it look like the sketch is drawing itself, no pen required.

Gandy frequently shares behind-the-scenes videos of his mechanical art on his Instagram page. You can check out some of his non-timelapse clips like the one below to better understand how his machines work, then visit his website to browse and purchase the art made by his ‘bots.

And if you think his stuff is impressive, make sure to explore some of the incredible art robots have made in the past.

[h/t Gizmodo]