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overobsessedfanboy23 · 2 years

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Yugioh Main Protagonists Ranked

(No Yuudias because Go Rush isn’t complete at the time of writing this and I’m not even caught up on what is out.)

You get a veteran's pass to this blog if you know who I put at number 1 before I even start this list. Because spoilers it hasn't changed at all. And it probably never will. The rest of this list though? It was tight. The middle three are so interchangeable for me I just had to just go with my gut without overthinking it. This first one however was not difficult:

7 Yusei Fudo

While the dub did make me like him more, I'm still not that big on Yusei. His dub added sassiness is entertaining and I even relate to his habit of pushing people away and wanting to do everything on his own. But as a protagonist, he's really plain. He wins every time (outside of a flashback) so his duelling isn't interesting to watch and he just doesn't have any substantial character growth. He’s a completely static character which might be okay for a side character but not for the main character.

6 Yugi Moto

/Atem I guess? Atem gets more screen time and is the one who's duelling 90% of the time, let's be real. That's a problem and all but honestly the switching between and dynamic of Yugi and Atem is enough to put them above Yusei. They lose a lot more than him, making their duelling more interesting and both of them grow over the course of the series. It's fairly basic but still nice, nothing wrong with simple sweet development. Also Yugi himself made a pretty decent protagonist in DSOD, I like how his grief over Atem is explored.

5 Yuma Tsukumo

…yeah this was a really tight list. I love these top five so much that Yuma just ended up here due to stiff competition. Yuma took what Yugi and Atem did and perfected it with his bond with Astral that's more focused on and more well developed as we see exactly how they met and every step in their journey as they become closer and help each other grow as people. It's sweet as hell. Also yes Yuma could be annoying towards the beginning of the show but most of his "stupidity" was coming out of wanting to help his friends so he came off as more of a “caring dumb” most of the time. Plus first impressions, while important, shouldn't define a character (or a person for that matter) and he becomes a much better character and duellist overtime.

4 Yuga Ohdo

I think Yuga is the most unique take on a YGO protagonist. He's not the greatest duellist, he actually loses quite a lot and that majorly raises the stakes of the duels (a point that also applies to Yuma, though I feel they stopped letting him lose after part one ended but it’s still good). Because it's made clear he can lose at any point and there are consequences for those losses. Not life threatening consequences but still. Consequences that can hurt him, rush duels, and/or his friends and that made the show so unpredictable and interesting to watch for the very first time. But Yuga's not a pushover either. He's still a strong duellist who gets up after each loss and for gosh sake he invented Rush Duels. I like having a protagonist who's special not because of his duelling or friendships for once, I think that's really neat.

3 Yuya Sakaki

Fun fact: Yuya was the main thing that pushed me to watch Arc V before 5Ds and man did he not disappoint. He is an endearing silly bean who just wants to make everyone around him smile with his entertainment duelling and it was so very sweet and wholesome- OH GOD WHY IS HE A DEMON?! Yeah, Yuya's an interesting protagonist. He's the main hero but also simultaneously the main villain, or at least one fourth of a villain and man was that interesting as hell. Yuya himself is also the perfect summation of Arc V's main themes if that makes sense, since the show is all about how stopping to be kind/share a smile can go a long way and Yuya’s whole goal is to spread smiles.

2 Yusaku Fujiki

I’ll admit, these top two are really personal characters for me. (Yusaku was straight up a part of my wake up call to getting a handle on my mental health.) I relate to Yusaku immensely, even though, to my knowledge, I don’t have PTSD. His more serious stern attitude also fits the more dark serious feel of VRAINS and most importantly, he isn’t completely without personality or character development. From almost the very beginning, he has Ai, an upbeat little bean who is completely opposite to him in personality, to play off of and over the course of the show, Yusaku gradually learns to open up to others easily but his flaws of secretiveness and distancing himself from others remain. And that just felt very real to me. I like how he isn’t just all better one day, it’s a process and the bad things that happened to him shaped him when he was young, but that pain doesn’t have to define him and by the end, it doesn’t. He lets go of his desire for revenge and more easily expresses his emotions/attachments and it’s nice goddammit.

1 Judai Yuki

Yeah, I’ll never change. Take everything I said about Yusaku having a realistic/relatable reaction to a traumatic event, add multiple traumatic events and an adorably sweet personality and you have Judai. I love his upbeat personality at the beginning of the series, he’s arrogant and a bit air-headed but in a way I found really charming. Then the show started hurting him… and hurting him more… and while he mostly retained his cheerfulness and seemingly came back swinging in seasons 1 and 2, there was a gradual shift in his personality which took centre stage in season 3. His determination to save Johan becomes his downfall and after seemingly losing the rest of his friends, it completely destroys him. He endures constant traumatic events and pressure from everyone around him and it changes him and breaks him like it would a real person. Makes me so glad that Judai was able to come back from it. During the highly underwatched and underrated season four, he gets space from all the pressure that was put on him and is able to regain his love of duelling and in a way, his childhood. Not so much childhood innocence, but he’s able to have the heart of a child while still being an adult mentally. I just, oh my gosh I love Judai so much.

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kinglarrykoopadx · 3 years

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Top 10 games i wanted to get

This is a personal list of games I want to get but I just can’t. Ranging from “maybe someday” to “get as fast as possible”. I’m gonna input some rules to my list to make it more fair. First off, I’m counting the games from the 8th to 9th console generation only, cause I ain’t wasting my money to buy an old console for like, what, one game? Second, no mobile games, because most of the time, they’re free even in the pre registration state. Yeah, there are some paid games but they’re pretty scarce. Speaking of pre registration, third, no pre orders, so I don’t have to regret wasting my money when I eventually get the damn game. That being said, pre orders of ports of games from older console generations will definitely count, so long as I’ve already played them or were interested by them.

10. Bug Fables

Bug Fables and I have a love-hate-ish relationship. On one hand, I wanna get it to see what of the old Paper Marios that got the fans to crazy town. On the other hand, some TTYD related salt lingers in me like how well butter sticks on bread. On the other other hand, I’m cursed with somehow finding more interesting games. Maybe one day I’ll get it, but for now, I’ll give it a pass thank you very much. But hey, I did say I’m considering buying it. Which no, it doesn’t mean I wannna see any “pLaY bUg fAbLeS” comments around, how many times must I tell you lot that shoving a game up my ass is less advertising, more making me resent the damn thing?

9. Crash 4 : It’s About Time

I’mma be honest. After watching some Caddicarus and AntDude, I’m willing to give the marsupial a chance. I did play the mobile game and it was fun but it’s a mobile game so it didn’t count. I am considering getting Crash 4, but I’m on the verge of rethinking if this was a good idea. From what I heard, this is a short ass game, and I’m not selling my soul to the completion devil to extend my game time. Bug Fables and Crash 4 are honestly, interchangable as fuck.

8. Crash Bandicoot : N Sane Trilogy + CTR Nitro Fueled

For N Sane Trilogy, it’s so I can know the context of Crash 4′s story and play through it. For Nitro Fueled, I’m getting it for funsies, I mean for fuck’s sake they added in the crates as racers, the only weird thing that can combat it is Piranha Plant in Smash. But the microtransactions make me rethink it, so maybe someday.

7. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX

Now we’re getting to the games where I have some interest in getting. Here we have the remake of Mystery Dungeon Red/Blue from the GBA/DS which I adored dearly. I was a fan of the Mystery Dungeon series by watching people play them, and playing some myself. I’ve played Gates To Infinity and never finished it (The farthest I could go was in the Holehills), I played Super but also with Gates To Infinity I never finished it (I think last I checked I made it to Entei) and now, I’m kinda planning to get it. Why is it this low? Key word “kinda”. Overtime, my interests for this game kinda fizzled out because it was a case of Bug Fables. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to try it, problem is that in time, my interest sparked into other games, which we’ll see later on.

6. Yo Kai Watch 3

In case you never got the memo, I’m a huge, HUGE fan of Yo kai Watch. If it weren’t for this franchise, I’d probably be more interested in something like studying and see gaming as irrelevant. The 1st game was kinda weak sauce, the 2nd game is the best in the franchise, and I really wanted to get the 3rd game. From what I’ve seen, it looked fun as hell. Problem is, the stupid virus made it hard to salvage a copy and even then, it’s a really rare 3DS game since the number of copies Level 5 made for this game are scarce as hell. Shame really, it was content packed and everything, but whatever.

5. Bugsnax

Bugsnax for those who never knew, is a game about snacks that are also bugs. After watching a couple playthroughs, I was willing to give it a try. And that’s where problems rise. The problem with Bugsnax is that it’s a PS5/PC exclusive (at the time of writing this top 10) and I’m not buying a PS5 for one damn game, and I normally don’t use my PC for gaming. Maybe one day when Young Horses port this cute game to the Switch I’ll give it a try, but for now, I’ll wait.

4. Mario Golf Super Rush

I know I said no pre orders, but this one’s an exception. I’m actually real hyped for this one, for starters, it’s not tennis for once, fucking woo, and the story mode made it look like it’s a pretty promising game, since people liked the story mode in the GBA games. Yeah, the visuals look lifeless, but do I give a crap? I’m just relieved Nintendo still knows that Mario sports games don’t just consist of tennis. And who knows, maybe the stars may align and we can get a new Mario Strikers or Mario Baseball with Nintendo purchasing Next Level Games and this game coming soon.

3. Bowser’s Fury

This game was one of the most anticipated Mario games for the switch simply because it was the banner for the future of 3D Mario. And from what I’ve seen, it’s pretty good. I mean, for starters, you team up with Bowser Jr so this game is already eyecatching from the start. The game has you collecting the 50 Cat Shines to awaken the Giga Bells and stop Fury Bowser which is a solid premise. Fury Bowser being the main highlight of the game because he’s the game’s blood moon. When he’s out, be ready to be pummeled big time. With rock music playing in the background. It didn’t make it to the top 2 of the “most wanted” games, but it is hella close.

2. Hollow Knight

After seeing people play it and listening to some of its musical scores, I’m willing to give this game a big fat chance. Hollow Knight is some Metroidvania game involving a lone soul in search of the source of ruin of the kingdom of Hallownest which is a solid as hell premise. On the way, you’ll meet some kind NPCs and traverse unknown lands and the DLC added to this game made it more than worth it. Lifeblood which has patches and a new boss namely Hive Knight, Grimm Troupe which from what I’ve heard included the most fun boss in Hollow Knight, Hidden Dreams which included the White Defender and Grey Prince Zote, and Godmaster, which is the game’s True Arena. Needless to say, I’m definitely gonna buy this game when I have the chance.

1. Miitopia Switch

As a fan of the 3DS game, I was hyped as hell when Miitopia was ported over to Switch, and I had every right to be hyped. Those Twitter users don’t know what the hell they’re missing out on. The combat is amazing, the characters are on point, hell, the demo had a lot of replay value. And when you make a freaking demo replayable as hell, that’s a sign of a kickass game. This is the game that can take my $50 with no hesitation. Nintendo, take my money, I’ve got a quest in need of reimagining.

#miitopia #hollow knight #yo kai watch #bugsnax #mario #nintendo #bug fables #pokemon #crash bandicoot #young horses #fuck thousand year door #toys for bob #level 5 #team cherry

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0poole · 4 years

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Bloons

Honestly the entire Bloons series has been some of my favorite flash/other-than-flash games out there, and I feel like it’s worth bringing it up since I just crossed the 365 day threshold for BTD6. Maybe in the past, but nowadays I definitely don’t feel like I ever play a game daily for a year straight. Chances are it was a little desperate when I first started playing, but as of now literally every single day I open the game up and play the daily challenge just for the sake of it. Plus, since the chest technically resets every 9 hours or so instead of 24, I could’ve cheesed it a bit, but I didn’t. That’s a pure 365 days of playing the game.

And even apart from that, the entire Bloons series has been in my mind since the first one and my middle/elementary school Coolmath Games days. Even though the puzzle, pure form of Bloons wasn’t as much in my interest, the staying power of the Tower Defense version is crazy. Flash Tower Defense games are plenty, and yet the one with the stupid monkeys throwing darts at balloons was the best.

I went back semi-recently and played a round of each BTD, and I gotta say, it was fun seeing where everything came from. 1 is absolute garbage, forcing you to just spam Super Monkeys if you want to get anywhere, but a good starting point obviously. I honestly know nothing about the people creating these games, but obviously it wasn’t made by a AAA crew, so you can’t expect everything to be put in place in the first iteration. 2 and 3 feel much better, but obviously not much after being so used to the modern stuff, and 4 and 5 are the ones that really shine the most, apart from 6 obviously.

I definitely was one of the types of people who initially reacted poorly to the artstyle change of 5 and 6, but I’ve definitely turned over. I don’t know if the whole BTD community rioted at that point, but I at least was like “ew, they’re cute now” when I first saw it. Thankfully I turned over, and realized the current designs are the absolute best out of the entire franchise. Also, I love their cuteness, as I love cuteness in general, so basically just call it character growth. Even though 2D art always is more interesting for games than 3D in general, the entire art direction of 6 is genuinely really good, being so bright and cartoony (at least before the fifth stages of upgrades) really fits the cartoony idea of monkeys popping bloons. 5, and the entire franchise before it, really is proof enough how horrible a pure top-down perspective is. On the title screen, you can see what the monkeys are supposed to look like, but in-game they literally look like weird blobby scorpions. Even though in the back of my mind I knew what they were supposed to look like, the pure top-down perspective completely ruined the image. Not to mention the OG designs for the monkeys was really weird and bad anyway. Even if you wanted a goofy fat kind of monkey, there are a million better ways to achieve that than how it used to be. Again, of course, they weren’t exactly AAA game-level quality, so you can’t expect such perfect character design.

But, oh my god. One of the things about this game that must’ve kept me through 6 was the character designs. If you know anything about me, it’s that I love a good character design, and 6 is full of them. It’s so interesting to see how they extrapolate the main concepts of each tower into their three different paths. The generic Superman-based monkey can turn into a Batman-based monkey, a Terminator-based monkey, and a fucking ancient god of the sun. The seemingly chill Druid can smite people with the power of Zeus, become the much more expected forest-based type, but also turn into this completely out-there being of pure wrath. I could go on and on about that, but needless to say for so many of them look and are designed so great. I think the tower with the coolest level 5s of the game is the Ninja. It’s hard to explain, but they all just look really cool while also not deviating too much from the cartoony-cute art style. I think my all-time favorite level 5 is the top path of the Wizard, mostly just because he looks really cool, but also because the parts of the path before it show him aging and growing out his beard. I also have to say the 2-0-3/4 Wizard also looks exactly my style, with the dark purply-ness and gold rims. Also, if you haven’t noticed, the Magic monkeys are my favorite type, and not just because their signature color is purple. That’s part of it though. Magic is also just cool in general. My main RPG-class of choice is almost always a mage/wizard.

Also, the heroes are also really fun. As someone who often creates species of aliens/monsters, I always feel like I want to create a dedicated character out of them no matter what, so I feel like the heroes are basically just that. And, of course they have good designs too, and of course as you can probably guess my favorite is Adora, basically being the same thing as the 5-0-0 Wizard with the Sun God aesthetic. Since she has her own stage and a special interaction with the True Sun God/Vengeful Monkey, I think she’s a pretty big deal anyway. I will say that I highly slept on Gwen, but then for Easter they gave her the Harlegwen skin and I fell in love. It’s insanely good stuff. Apart from looks, it does feel nice to have some sort of interchangeable tower that you basically just place and forget about, aside from using their powers. Plus, it makes a really easy type of thing to periodically add to the game to keep things fresh, even with the skins in general. It definitely is much better than the stuff they had in 5, where you had to use Monkey Money to buy each one, and you could only use them once per stage. Obviously 6 has the extra powers to help you out, but they feel much more optional and cheaper than the heroes of 5. Since I barely buy anything with Monkey Money to begin with, and since I’ve obviously had 365 chest openings, and AND since I barely use them to begin with, I’m completely stocked up. I only ever use the farmer and sometimes the tech bot if I get lazy. I did use the portable lake I got from my 365th chest opening after I got it, just for the sake of celebration. That’s literally how my mind goes.

6 does have the slight tinge of a mobile game artstyle, but in this case it’s really just better. I’m not into mobile games, and especially not the generic artstyle they have, but it is really pleasing to look at anyway. It did chase me off before I converted, though. That, and the fact you had to buy it now. Like a true gamer, I was put off by the fact that something that was once expected to be free now has to be paid for. But, then, I realized that the entire franchise has provided much more than 10$ worth of entertainment to me throughout time, so it was extremely fair to pay that. It is still kinda weird how 5 has to be paid for for mobile, when it is just free online, though. However, unlike a true gamer I think the microtransactions of the game are extremely fair. Considering they just give you things that you don’t need, and can get for free otherwise, I think it’s completely fine to have them. It sounds bad on the surface to have to pay for the game and have there still be microtransactions in it, but since they’re completely optional there’s no good reason to hate it. I think people assume that means that you have to pay for the game, and pay extra for different major parts of the game, and that sours their opinion on everything. Gamers are a strange, irrationally angry breed. I do hate using my phone for pretty much anything, though, so once I bought 6 on Steam I haven’t played it on my phone since. It’s just so much better in every single way...

I bought the game around the time of one of my family’s semi-annual trips to England because I thought it’d help when we were traveling between wi-fi spots, and it really did wonders for me then. Probably looked like some asshole teen to strangers who don’t know I barely ever use my phone for anything, since I was playing it so much. My sister even saw me playing it and bought it for herself, although I don’t know how much she’s played since then.

For the sake of stats, I have 235 hours played of it on Steam alone, and in game I’m level 115. My most complete map is Monkey Meadow with all medals except CHIMPS, which I put the effort in because it’s the default map, and definitely not because it’s an easy/good map because it’s just kinda bad compared to so many other ones. My Dart monkey has a total of 4 million XP, and the only towers that haven’t crossed a million are the Ice, Heli, Alchemist, Druid, and Spike factory monkeys/tower. I think the farthest I’ve actually gotten round-wise is 200 once or twice, but I don’t remember if I’ve actually beaten that level and continued on or lost there. I think I might’ve gotten past it once, but just sort of lost interest in micro-managing my powers and let myself lose. I probably got there once after that and lost on it. As someone who didn’t look up the optimal strategies for things until very recently, I think that’s pretty good. It definitely feels like the kind of game where if you know the best strategies, you can literally just replicate that over and over and win really easily, but that just sounds kinda boring. Since I pretty much only do daily challenges nowadays, it forces me to use a limited amount of towers, so I either go much farther because it forces me to build up less towers more, or it makes sure I can’t even pass round 90 because it just was made to get you to round 40 and that’s it. When I have the full range of towers to use, I feel like I try to get the instant satisfaction of getting a new tower to increase DPS instead of making the few towers I have/need reach their full potential, which seems to be the better option. I also don’t really sell anything when I don’t have a limited number of monkeys to place, which I think is also a good strategy if you can eliminate the major money loss in it, since it can give you a massive boost in cash to get you the better upgrades quicker. I may or may not try to learn the strategies to wipe the rest of the game clean eventually, but right now I’m fine with just doing the dailies.

But yeah, that’s like the whole thing with Bloons Tower Defense and me. Something something reject modernity, embrace monke, or whatever the kids these days are saying.

I will say that if I didn’t have so many OCs to work with and could just pump out animated shorts on the reg, I’d love to do some sort of Bloons shorts. They’d all lean into the ridiculousness of it all. Like, the first one could do the 2001 thing with the monkeys learning to use sticks, and as the main one is bashing the ground with one or whatever and throws it up, an ancient, leathery patchwork bloon flies overhead and accidentally bumps the stick such that it lands back on the main monkey’s head, knocking him out. Cue the monkeys around him to go berserk and start throwing other sticks at the ancient bloon, and once they pop it using a sharp stick, they realize what they must do. Cue a long montage of the different stages of war and invention using the monkeys finding better ways to fend off the bloons, with the whole idea being that the monkeys are getting irrationally angry at the bloons, who are just sort of around and not actually sentient, even though they assume they’re malicious because of their history and upbringing. Absolutely no political message in there whatsoever. Just comedy.

Other short ideas could include, for the start of the modern time story, it could be the backstory of some sort of chiseled veteran main character, which would involve a bloon floating into his town, and from the people’s panic someone knocks over a lamp post that sets his town ablaze, only for him and his people to blame the carnage on the bloon, causing his classic edgy character motives for fighting against the bloons. Another, much more golden idea, would be an interrogation scene, where a bunch of monkeys capture a bunch of bloons for interrogation purposes. They’d obviously do the whole “Silent treatment, eh? Well, we have ways of making you talk...” thing, except the “way to make them talk” is to strap them to a wall with one dart guy on one side to systematically pop them to try and extract info. But, of course, it would look and play out exactly like the classic Bloons puzzle game. That’d be the fun part. If not that, then it could be like the classic carnival game that likely inspired the idea of using darts to pop balloons. I really just think this weird world of monkeys and bloons is perfect for some good comedic content. Watching the monkeys severely overreact to the bloons sounds extremely fun, and I’d love to see someone do something with it some day.

#bloons tower defense #btd #6 #poole #rant #rambling #opinions #bloons #ninja kiwi #nk #flash

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anagraves · 5 years

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[28]

I was tagged by @brenli , thank you so much! I don’t think I’ve ever done anything so long on this page :D So, here we go! It will be a little messy, ‘cause I’m constantly overtired and feel slightly rusty with my English, and also withholding some facts, ‘cause I’m paranoid. Sorry.

1. how tall are you? 158 cm, which means I’m usually the tiniest person around. I don’t mind, though.

2. what color and style is your hair? Natural color is pretty mousy and I hate it, so I’ve been dying my hair since junior highschool, I guess. Till last year I always dyed them claret, but last holiday I changed it to something that starts as black and finishes as plum. I used to have them shoulder-length, but four years ago I cut them really short and since then I am a proud owner of very little hair on my head. I do envy people with long hair, but well, I know what I have now fits me better.

3. what color are your eyes? Green.

4. do you wear glasses? Yup, constantly since the end of elementary school. With myopia that goes to - 6 I really do not see much without my glasses. I’ve never used contacts nor do I intend to, I can’t imagine having to touch my eyeballs or anything.

5. do you wear braces? Not anymore, thankfully! But I did, for 7 years!!! I still have to wear some stuff at nights and I have one element left on my lower teeth, but that’s all.

6. what is your fashion style? I don’t think I have one. I mean I don’t like fashion, so I just wear whatever I feel like wearing. My clothes are diverse, but they are usually dark and with something interesting on them (imprints/spikes/other metal things). I have a lot of T-shirts/sweaters with skulls and animals (especially cats and owls). I love warm sweaters, hoodies, jeans and leather jackets. I am obsessed with high heels, my favorite shoes are a black leather ones that reach well above my ankles and have like an 8-cm-long heel. I don’t own a single skirt (like... no) and I have only a few dresses which I wear only if I’m forced to (big dislike for these ones as well). I’m an all-trousers girl. I definitely prefer my style casual; when it comes to elegance I like to wear black in general - black smooth trousers and black suit.

7. full name? Sorry, I don’t feel comfortable disclosing it online.

8. when were you born? July 12, 1994.

9. where are you from and where do you live now? I was born in a small-ish town in southern Poland and now I still live in southern Poland, but in a much bigger town. So not much of a change, just a few hours of travel by car.

10. what school do you go to? One Polish university, four months to go and it will be the end of any school for me!

11. what kind of student are you? Up till university, I was an excellent student, always the best at everything. I was definitely a geek who learned too much. And I always wanted to be at the top. University changed it completely; even when I’m trying hard I’m just average. If I like a subject it shows and I’m having good grades, but generally, I’m all for passing, not excelling. I’m learning a lot and it still isn’t enough right now, which is frustrating at times, especially when I compare myself to my colleagues. On other occasions... I simply don’t care. I just want to pass.

12. do you like school? Well... It depends on the period of my life. I think I didn’t mind elementary school, I hated junior high school and liked actual high school. About university... every year is different, so there were good ones and there were bad ones. I’m not a fan of it in general, though.

13. what are your favorite school subjects? Pre-uni: Maths and Chemistry, mostly, but Chemistry was my biggest and most unexpected love during my time at school. When it first started I had no idea what it was and I was terrified with it, plus I was behind the whole class because of some disease and I was honestly so nervous about it. Then, a month later, I kinda... fell for it and stayed infatuated with it till the end of junior high. And that’s mostly how I found myself on medical studies a few years later. My teacher from junior high was so amazing she made me love Chemistry more than anything, but sadly, my teacher from high school ruined it all. I had a great Biology teacher then, though it didn’t make me love Biology. It just enabled me to get into the uni I wanted to get to. I almost always liked my English classes as well, because I had some really amazing teachers and I loved English. I still do, languages are amazing.

Uni: Histology, Pharmacology, Surgery. The first two are the only ones I excelled at. Surgery - not so much, but I still did well on the final exam.

14. favorite TV shows? It is both an easy and difficult question. Easy because I do have one TV series I consider my ultimate favorite, and it’s Angel from Buffyverse. The best thing about it is the most amazing character development I’ve ever seen, and trust me, I’m a sucker when it comes to character development. My favorite character from there is one of my ultimate faves (if not THE one) and his path is one of the most epic ever. Plus it has an amazing material for shipping and some great acting, it’s dark, depressing and hopeless, and that’s what I love. It’s also one of the few examples of TV series when I actually LIKE the main character; he’s actually one of the people I like the most. It almost never happens; usually, I’m very anti-main characters (e.g. LotR, HP).

The question gets difficult because there are also such shows as Chuck, Firefly or Code Black, amazing and mostly flawless (apart from the ending of Chuck), but are they my favorites? At times, maybe. In general... I just don’t know. Bones and Castle fought for my undivided attention for years (most of the times Bones was on the winning side) and they’re both in my top 10, though probably not top 3. Plus, there are some gems that had such amazing potential, but were cut short and had too little time to develop; apart from Firefly, it would be, e.g. Monday Mornings, Perception, Black Box.

There were also a lot of amazing TV shows I loved dearly during some of their seasons, but almost always something happened and they got ruined. PLL, TVD, Grey’s Anatomy (I feel like I’m watching it now for one pairing only), OUaT and so on. House was my first American TV series and I’ll always have a place for it in my heart. I love GoT in its very early and very late seasons, but what comes in between? Nope.

(I watch way too much TV.)

The honorary mentions should go to some non-American shows (honestly speaking, I’m kinda tired with the general trends of American TV at the moment). I’ve started my adventures with TV with Polish soap operas that I completely adored; when I discovered American TV I stopped watching them entirely and don’t intend to come back. I love some good English dramas, but BBC tends to get a little bit overdramatic or too dark even for me (Ripper Street ripped my heart from my chest). Speaking of ripping hearts, let’s not forget about the Japanese ones, as @brenli mentioned! They are something completely different, they have amazing plotlines and characters, and - sometimes - Hiroyuki Sanada who is just everything (and I get to analyze the shows with @brenli, which makes them even better). Koukou Kyoushi will stay with me for years to come, probably Konna Koi No Hanashi as well. Considering my current Asian phase I expect to see much more of Japanese (or maybe Korean) dramas in the future.

15. favorite movies? There are a few movies I could watch on constant repeat and they mean so much to me. Let’s categorize them in genres, shall we? Animation: How to Train Your Dragon (especially the first part, the second one breaks my heart too much), Ice Age 3; plus the tales of my childhood I could watch five times a day - Pocahontas, Mulan, Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron. Period: Pride & Prejudice 2005. Rom-com: Holiday; Love, Actually. Adventure: Pirates of the Caribbean 1-3. Sci-fi: Matrix 1 & 3. Plus a few honorary mentions that are equally important, but I just wouldn’t have them on constant rewatch: LotR, SW, HP, Indiana Jones (not every part for every one of these series), National Treasure. There are also a few amazing anime movies (Spirited Away, Kimi No Na Wa, Wolf Children) and among them some masterpieces I think were wonderful, but too heartbreaking to ever watch them again (Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Kaguya).

16. favorite books? Most of my favorite books are cycles that I grew up with - LotR, HP, Inkheart Trilogy, the Vampirates series, Artemis Fowl, Jeżycjada (a Polish series about a multi-generational Polish family), Felix, Net i Nika (kinda Polish version of HP with science and technology in place of magic), some books by Ewa Nowak. Also, Pride & Prejudice. I’ve loved a lot of books since, but does any of them deserve to be called a “favorite”? I’m not so sure about it.

17. favorite pastime? Writing, from the moment I’ve learned to write (4 years old, I believe). Second best would be watching TV series; when I was younger I’d much rather like to read a book, but that kinda changed. Though, if I’m being honest, at the time being it would be watching ski jumping competitions or anything BTS-related. These past two weeks (yup, I’ve been writing this post for two weeks) has been an interesting journey of interchanging obsessions, some revisited (sj) and some I’ve never expected to develop (BTS).

18. do you have any regrets? Sure, who doesn’t? I’m trying to live by the rule “regret doing something rather than not doing it”, but well, it can’t always work.

19. dream job? A writer, for sure, always and forever. That is the one thing that has been with me my whole life. Apart from that? Well... Some time after I started my studies I developed a strong dream of becoming a neurosurgeon one day, but this dream faltered this year and now I’m not so sure anymore. Now I feel like I made a completely wrong career choice those few years ago.

20. would you like to get married someday? Marriage has never been one of my dreams or something I HAVE to do in the future, but I definitely want to have someone by my side, and if they want to get married, then sure, we can do that. Not necessarily though.

21. would you like to have kids someday? No, no and once again no, and there are so many reasons! First, I do know my body would not be physiologically okay with pregnancy (and after studying Gynaecology I do believe pregnancy is one of the worst things - if not THE worst - that could ever happen to one’s body) and I have no intention of doing such a thing to myself. Second, children scare me; my whole life I’ve been doing my best to keep my distance and avoid contact at any cost (which kinda worked as far, I’ve never even held a baby). Third, I have no maternal instinct and I do know I would be a terrible mother, so what’s the point?

23. do you like shopping? No. Since I was a child, when my parents took me shopping I always had a book with me and just followed them around while reading (somehow I managed not to collide with anything throughout all these years :P). I still do the same thing if someone makes me go with them to the mall, only now it’s more often my phone, not a book. I love buying books, though. I used to go to the bookshops and buy five books at a time. I don’t do that right now, because a) money b) I have tons of unread books already, but I could still go there and spend hours just looking at the books and reading their covers.

24. what countries have you visited? Only one, and I’m not even sure it should count. I’ve been to Slovakia twice, but both times only like 50km from the border, and I’ve spent there max few hours. So... it definitely wasn’t even remotely close to this “going abroad” I’ve been always dreaming about...

25. what’s the scariest nightmare you’ve ever had? Hmm... There was one in my adult life that left me absolutely terrified; I remember waking up and feeling paralyzed with fear. I had a feeling someone was standing in the doorway, but I was too scared to turn around and see, so I was just lying there with my eyes wide open, waiting until the fear passes or something else happens... What was the dream about? I only remember it took place in some fancy mansion near the beach that was either mine or one of my friends’. I think it wasn’t actually a nightmare until the very end when something bad was about to happen to someone who was standing in the living room. The other person was creeping in the dark or something like that, and the character in the dream had the same kind of fear I woke up with. I didn’t actually want to remember more details.

26. do you have any enemies? I did have some, on every stage of my education, but they are no longer in my life. Nowadays I think I’m too irrelevant to be anyone’s enemy. There are some people with whom I share a mutual dislike, but “enemies” is probably too strong of a word in these cases.

27. do you have an s/o? Nope. Never had.

28. do you believe in miracles? Well... not really. I believe in luck and destiny, but miracles? I definitely don’t believe in them in any religious context (I’m completely anti-religion). When it comes to some other kinds of miracles, like medical ones - I know things happen, wonderful things that have no logical explanation, but I do believe that deep down, even though we don’t know it, they have some logical explanation. We just can’t see it.

Finished! Finally! :D Hopefully it isn’t too chaotic, I don’t really have time to reread it and check for mistakes, Family Medicine is waiting to devour me...

I’m tagging: @frombothofmyhearts @thesilverrqueen @mis4nthropy and anyone who wants to do it! Just be warned - it takes a lot of time to answer all of the questions :P

#tumblr games #tumblr life #that was long #answer #personal

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musicordie-blog · 5 years

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3, 24, 19 - Radiohead’s Top 20 best songs. (Response to Red Bull sorta)

Google had suggested me Red Bull’s “Top 20 Radiohead Tracks” list via my news feed this morning. I’ve seen a few of these types of lists throughout the years, but this one in particular stood out to me with its more well rounded and considerate approach to their overlooked material. But still, as is often the case, I could not bring myself to agreeing with it overall. (Is giving regards to their mainstream successes really worth the focus of these writers if it keeps bringing “Creep” into the equation? I’m sorry, but despit its legacy, it hasn’t aged well.)

Admittedly, Radiohead has been my personal favorite band since ‘09. I simply have not heard a single better band since my friend Louis showed me “Pyramid Song” off of his 4th gen. iPod Nano that summer. (I’ve before hand become aware of Radiohead’s exsistence from my parents copy of the Grammy Nominees 2001 comp. with the track “Optimistic”, alongside the high probability of hearing “Creep” somewhere along those lines.) I’d say my knowledge of their catalogue at this point is deep enough to take an honest swing at a list of this magnitude, and give some sort of justice to the truly artistic sides of their discography. Either that, or I’ll wind up sounding pretentious in reality. My follower count is currently too low for me to care either way.

(Don’t expect a novel for all of these notes. It’s getting late and I work tomorrow, plus this list is subject to change either by tomorrow morning or directly after I post the list. I may redux this type of list in the future with further explanations, but for now, here’s this.)

20. “Staircase”

An often criminally underrated TKOL b-side. The grooves are insanely addictive and the mystical aura of this track makes it unique and singular amungst their other more danceable cuts.

19. “Jigsaw Falling into Place”

A well loved IR track for good reasons. It captures the band in a rare state of disenchanted romantic story tellings, alongside of the extraordinary guitar work.

18. “Morning Bell/Amnesiac”

It’s the better version. Get over yourself.

17. “Daydreaming”

A stunningly beautiful reminder of the band’s delicate side late into their career. One of their most transportive pieces to date.

16. “Sit Down. Stand Up.”

Why are all the discussions I see for this song only on the misheard lyrics from the climax? This track is a grand testimate to the group’s capabilities of being able to control suspense and give incredible payoffs in return for the listeners patience.

15. “The Tourist”

More than just a sad ending tear jerker, this song flexes its perfect balance of having some of Thom’s best singing performances with outstanding moments of clarity from Ed and Johnny’s roaring guitars.

14. “How to Disappear Completely”

Their one track that always manages to make me either very emotional or can drive me to tears with each listen. Oh the memories of young sadness.

13. “House of Cards”

Gorgeously soft and loving sounds from a previously thought “only sad songs” band. A hypnotizing and mature take on everyday couple interactions.

12. “Scatterbrain”

I never see enough love for this tune. Some of Thom’s best lyricism coupled with playful, yet loomingly sad guitar melodies just always manages to send me elsewhere for its short runtime.

11. “Lucky”

A truly massive track with epic heights and desperately hopeful lows; again, well loved for a reason.

10. “Go Slowly”

Another overlooked classic b-side. This is honestly one the groups greatest acoustic ballads, with a gripping set up leading up to a momentous climax of subtle beauty.

9. “Sail to the Moon”

Human beings wrote this? For real? (This tracks gravity is only best explained through listening to it, so go do that.)

8. “You and Whose Army?”

An incredible achievement in using the most out of a short runtime. A calm yet menacing first half explodes into a total overthrow, with a masterful combination of Thom’s larger-than-life chords he pounds away at on his grand piano, with Johnny’s wall of sound lead guitar.

7. “Bloom”

Holy hell, this track still fucks my head up with its compositional ambitions and planet sized lead vocals. Again, this track’s full power can really only be grasped by hearing it. Go on then.

6. “Reckoner”

An early favorite of mine that still holds its magic to this day. I don’t know of any other band that could possibly create something so light, yet so emotionally heavy. Only a group with this amount of inter connected talents could produce a masterpiece like this one.

5. “Life in a Glasshouse”

People who say “Radiohead attempting jazz at the end of Amnesiac was cringe” are the kind of people who would unironically enjoy some Billie Eilish on the way back home after their yoga class. While this may not inherently be a bad thing, it IS something I don’t fuck with normally.

4. “Knives Out”

These top 4 tracks are interchangeable on most days, but to list it in stone (for now, at least,) this golden egg falls in fourth. The fact that this track never fell into their greatest hits conversations baffles me. The multiple melodies here played over one another on 3 different guitars is some of the best music I’ve ever heard. This one really helps to prove the never ending genius of this band.

3. “Down Is the New Up”

“Why the fuck was this b-side not on In Rainbows?” is, what I’d like to imagine, the question I’d ask any of the 5 band members if I ever have the opportunity to do so. The energy this track brings is so infectious that I nearly crash my car everytime it comes on, and that kind of shit should be illegal to release to the public.

2. “Pyramid Song”

This track’s always near the tops of these sort of lists for a reason. The chord structures, Thom’s incredible singing range, Johnny’s string sections on the final half and Phil’s fucking incredible intro halfway through the song are simply incomprehensible. Again, human beings wrote this??

1. “Cuttooth”

Fuck yes.

#radiohead #in rainbows #indie rock #alternative rock #amnesiac #thom yorke #music #list #Red Bull #art rock #hail to the theif #musicordie

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dwtsfun · 6 years

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Dancing with the Stars Season 27, Week 1, Night 1 Recap/Season Predictions

So here we are. Another premiere of DWTS has passed and honestly, I’m quite pleased with what we saw. No one was truly bad. The only bad dance came from Joe and it didn’t start out bad (but when it got bad, it got really bad). This is going to be a tough season to call, but I think I’ve got a potential order worked out in my head. As far as this post is going to go, I will place each couple where I feel they will end up in the season. I will talk about their dance from last night as well as talk about what may be in store for them. I will be going in reverse order.

13. Nikki and Gleb- Nikki did not have the worst dance last night. It was actually decent. And it probably would have been better without the injury. Unfortunately, I just don’t think fans will rally behind her like they will for Joe and her she already came in with a questionable fanbase. Gleb also didn’t really do any favors for her with the choreography, so I feel they will be the first eliminated.

12. Joe and Jenna- The only reason I put Joe above Nikki was because of how defeated he looked last night. After the dance, you could tell that he knew that he blew it. It was all over his face. Then with each of the comments from the judges, you could see him sinking further and further into himself. So I think people will vote for him purely because of that. Going forward? I still don’t think he’s going to be a good dancer. And the Bachelor fanbase may be large. But I don’t really see him being able to compete scorewise. So he’ll probably be second out.

9-11 are giving me a lot of trouble. So for these three spots, the three in them are completely interchangeable.

11. John and Emma- John was pretty decent last night. Though I’m not really sure why anyone was exactly surprised by this. Emma is his partner and she has had less to work with than a 50 year old singer that still looks to be in shape. This was a respectable foxtrot. John’s biggest issue was his head placement. He was jutting his chin out super far and it made his posture comical. The reason I have him so low though is because he wasn’t as charismatic as many of Emma’s other partners have been. He might be able to beat the 9th and 10th place finishers with his built in fanbase, but it will be difficult. Especially since one of them has an overlapping fanbase to some degree.

10. Nancy and Val- Nancy is the one with the overlapping fanbase. So Nancy’s quickstep was decent as well. Her frame was off though and she seemed to have really bad nerves. I kind of expected for it to be better. With that said, I think Nancy runs the risk of fading into the background this season. And while she won’t be bad, I don’t see her getting to the same level of the stars I have in the top 8. And she’s in 10th because when it comes down to it, I don’t think that she will be able to beat the couple in 9th place.

9. Danelle and Artem- One thing I will say about this dance was how amazing it was. The bond that these two have created is so clearly evident. She has to put so much trust into Artem to help her around the floor. And Artem was so good at being her rock. I can’t imagine what must have been going through Danelle’s head before they started to dance. I know she had to be super nervous. The dance itself and the technique wasn’t half bad. Her biggest issue is her shoulders. Danelle is actually someone I could see going super far. But based on what everyone showed last night, I think this is a safe place to put her for now.

8. Alexis and Alan- Alexis did a great job with her jive. She is a very talented dancer and everything that Alan gave her to do, looked good on her. Even the part that she messed up still looked good. My issue with Alexis really had to do with the fact that she dances very lightly. It makes it hard for a dance to really have an impact when you dance like that. And considering the fact that she’s a model/social media personality, young, quiet, shy/reserved and pretty, she is already going to have a difficult time connecting with the general public. If she can come out of her shell more and if Alan can work on her dancing with more impact, this might be enough to get her to last longer. Because I think she’ll deserve to stay around and I like her and them together.

7. Evanna and Keo- The judges were really stingy with the scores for this particular dance. While it wasn’t perfect, it was actually one of the top 6 dances of the night. I personally felt that they should have gotten a 21. Evanna is good and Keo gave her some pretty decent choreo. Probably his best work since season 22. I do need him to scale back his dancing just a bit to match Evanna’s energy better. I do think they have the potential to go really far. And if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them end up in the top 5. She seems relatable and she just has a feel good vibe about her. With that and Keo’s enthusiasm, they could be ones to watch.

6. Bobby and Sharna- I almost put these two in 8th but I felt that 6th was better. I don’t dislike Bobby. I think he’s cool. I think he’s fun. But I also feel like he might get to be annoying. And that will be their downfall. I’m also not sure how great of a dancer that he’s going to be. His jive was fine though you could tell that it really wasn’t natural for him.

5. Mary Lou and Sasha- Time to preface this. Because I know people are going to act up about me putting Mary Lou in 5th. I’m not cosigning her statements on the Nassar case because of her placement. I’m going by how well she danced, how big her name is, how much people still love her and how I feel she will do in future weeks. And let’s face it. She’s going to be good. That cha-cha was good. Even the faults weren’t all that bad. She has a problem with musicality though. It may not be as bad as Aly where she literally couldn’t count the music. But it will still be a problem. Also, she was a bit too boom kack (s/o to Laurieanne Gibson) for my liking.

4. Milo and Witney- This might be a reach but hear me out. Disney stars typically do well on this show as long as they’re decent dancers and have pretty okay attitudes. Milo is going to be a great dancer and has a fantastic attitude. If that cha-cha was any indicator of what they have up their sleeves for the rest of the season, then I’m excited. Milo moves with a sense of maturity that I’m not used to seeing come from teenage boys. The tall ones with long limbs especially have difficulty with this. There were very few instances of awkwardness in his movements. The fact that he kept his legs in control for the majority of the dance shocked me. Since I was once a tall teenage boy with long limbs, I know just how hard it is to not have awkward moments with those limbs. I also know how much you want to dance small so that you don’t accidentally hurt someone or hit something. But he was super comfortable with it all. I’m a fan.

3. Juan and Cheryl- I actually didn’t really care for this salsa. I recognize that it was good, but I wanted more from them. Maybe the song kept them from going all out. I’m not sure. But knowing Juan’s background, I know he has a lot to offer. And he can really have some showstopping routines. I think they’ll make it to the finals though. Cheryl’s fanbase is still very dedicated and large. Juan has his own fanbase. Jodie got 6th and Candace got 3rd. I don’t expect too much worse from him. He can dance. And he seems to be a very chill and laid back guy. I won’t hold this dance against them, but I need for Cheryl to really bring it tonight and next week.

2. Tinashe and Brandon- So my preseason favorites did not disappoint me. I’m super happy about that. This was almost the perfect debut dance. The biggest issue for me had nothing to do with Tinashe or Brandon. It was the song. The song seemed to really limit them. I thought Brandon came out the gate swinging with his choreo. And while there were a few problems, I actually thought that he proved that he can be exactly what the show has been trying to look for in the male pros since it was clear that Derek and Mark weren’t going to stick around. As far as their future on the show goes, Tinashe has everything to make the finals and even win. And with her pro wanting to prove himself and show he has what it takes, I don’t think she’ll suffer the same fate as Heather or Normani. And she is incredibly gifted.

1. DeMarcus and Lindsay- This wasn’t my favorite dance of the night, but it was very close to the top of the list for me. Beyond some more fine tuning of arms and legs, DeMarcus has got it. He’s charismatic. He can dance. He has a great partnership with Lindsay. He has pretty good technique already. He’s got two football fanbases behind him (Broncos and the massive Cowboys fanbase). Many people have said this and I echo their sentiments completely. This is DeMarcus’s MBT to lose at this point.

Whew. That took a long time. Anyway, those are my thoughts on the show and my predictions. Let me know what you all thought and I’ll be back tonight for a my normal recap.

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thesteadydietofeverything · 5 years

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Video Game Year in Review: The Top 10

As with any year-end list, this one probably isn’t complete. Last year, I fell in love with Nioh over winter break after I had already made my top 10, and just a few days ago, I started playing Hollow Knight. As I made clear in my previous lists, Metroidvanias can be hit or miss for me. I can get fed up with wandering around without a clear destination, and Hollow Knight has a bit of that so far, but it also has one of the most atmospherically welcoming settings for a video game in recent memory, and so far I’ve been pretty damn enraptured by it. I’m not too worried about it making the list at this point; it didn’t even technically come out this year anyway, but its Switch release earlier this year gave it somewhat of a second debut, for all the earned attention it finally got. At least I got a little shout-out here before publishing.

Anyway, here’s ten games I loved the shit out of in 2018. This was one year with a handful of games that I absolutely adored, none of which necessarily immediately jumped out to me as hands down the best one of the bunch, and honestly, that’s the way I’d prefer it, but it did make ranking them a bit tough. Really, from number five onward, the ranking gets pretty interchangeable. I didn’t plan on the game in my number one spot being the one that it is until I actually wrote out my feelings for it and decided that out of all them it was the easiest for me to just gush about. Alright, no further ado:

10. Donut County - Overall, it’s probably a good thing that Donut County isn’t longer than it is, but for as mechanically simple as sucking objects into an ever-expanding void is, it’s something that I felt I would’ve been perfectly entertained doing for a lot longer than the game lasted. Donut County has a wildly inspired and novel central gameplay hook, a relatably goofy sense of humor that might border on obnoxious if it weren’t so sincerely delivered, and an anti-gentrification, anti-capitalist message that mostly works without beating you over the head too hard with it. Ben Esposito and his team have created one of the most charming and original games I’ve played in years here.

9. Paratopic - “Cinematic” is a grossly overused and frequently inappropriate word to use in games criticism, but this game often had me coming back to the word, observing how many ways it feels like it authentically takes inspiration from creative methods seen more often in film, particularly art films, than in games, much more so than say, Red Dead Redemption 2, which typically embarrassingly pales in comparison to any movies it’s obviously aping from. There’s its willingness to not explain to you what’s going on, letting you pick up on clues from scenery and incidental dialogue. Its multiple switching perspectives, laced together to draw meaningful narrative connections. Its tendency to sit in the atmosphere of a scene. Its ability to tell a succinct story intended to be experienced in one sitting. And most of all, those jump cuts. I know Paratopic isn’t the first game to employ this technique, but as far as I can remember, it’s the first that I’ve played to utilize them for purposeful artistic effect, and every time it happened, it was oddly thrilling. I loved when I’d switch from walking to suddenly driving, and had a moment of panic, as if I suddenly just woke up at the wheel. The cliffhangers scenes would occasionally end on made me desperate to get back to that thread. Hell, even just the fact that there clearly were scenes, that lasted a few minutes at a time, then moved on to the next one, felt weirdly refreshing at a time when AAA design is becoming so absurdly bloated. Paratopic excited me, not in its desire to emulate a separate art medium, but in its casual realization of how many underutilized narrative techniques work genuinely effectively in this medium.

8. Dusk - I really can’t imagine a game that more perfectly matches my Platonic ideal of “video game comfort food” than Dusk, aside from, maybe, the game in the number one spot of this list. I was raised on 90’s PC FPS games like Doom and, as is much more relevant to this game, Quake. Yeah, for the most part, it’s nice that games have moved on, both in depth of gameplay and artistry, but goddamn does a back-to-basics twitchy shooter with inspired level design and creepy atmosphere just feel good sometimes. The grainy, chunky polygons of this game encapsulate everything I love about the rudimentary but remarkably evocative minimalism of early 3D graphics. The movement feels absurdly fast by modern standards, and the effect is thrilling - every projectile is dodgeable, as long as your reflexes are sharp enough. Undoubtedly the most impressive thing about this game is its ambitious level design, so much of which rivals even John Romero’s. The longer this game goes on, the more sprawling and labyrinthine it becomes. The map shapes become increasingly wacky. The gothic architecture becomes more foreboding and awe-inspiring. Dusk does a lot with a little, and in the process, makes so much more than a tribute to game design and aesthetics of the past - for me, it stands right alongside its obvious inspirations as one of the very best of its ilk.

7. Into the Breach - An absolute masterclass of game design. Into the Breach leaves nothing about its mechanics obscured, making sure you understand how every move is going to go down just as well as it does, and the fact that the result is still compellingly challenging is a sure sign we’re in the hands of remarkably skilled and intelligent developers. The narrative in this game is sparse - you assume the role of time-looping soldiers attempting over and over again to save your world from alien invasion (think Edge of Tomorrow), and that’s pretty much all you get for the plot, aside from some effective but minimal character beats and dialogue one-liners. And yet, every battlefield, a small grid with its own arrangement of sprites (giant creepy-crawlies, various creative mech classes, structures full of terrified denizens given a modicum of hope at the arrival of their ragged potential saviors) offers a playground for drama to unfold, as gripping and epic as any great mecha anime battle. As I mentioned in my previous list with Dead Cells, I have trouble sticking with run-based games, and this game wasn’t quite an exception - honestly, if it had something resembling a more traditional narrative campaign, I could see it potentially filling my number one spot. But that a game of its style nevertheless stuck with me as well as it did proves what a tremendous achievement I found it to be.

6. Astro Bot Rescue Mission - This was both the first game I’ve played fully in VR and the first game I’ve ever platinumed. I guess that might say something about how thoroughly I fell for it. For some reason, one of the questions that my brain kept posing while playing this game is, “would you like this game as much if it weren’t in VR?” I would like to pose that first off, if this wasn’t a VR game, it would be quite a different game, but yes, probably a perfectly delightful 3D platformer in its own right. But most of all, this game helped me realize what a bullshit question that is in the first place. By virtue of its VR nature, this game is just fundamentally different, just as the jump from 2D to 3D resulted in games that were just fundamentally different. The perspective you’re given watching over your little robot playable character allows to look in 360 degrees, and often you need to, if you’re seeking out every level’s secrets, and yet, while it moves forward, it doesn’t follow you vertically, so sometimes you’re looking up or down as well. It’s difficult to describe exactly how this perspective is so much more than a gimmick or something, outside of the cliched exaggeration of “it feels like you’re really there, man,” but honestly, this statement isn’t wrong. I truly did feel immersed in these levels in a way that I wouldn’t have if this weren’t a VR game, and while it’s not exactly a feeling I now desire from every game, it does stand out as one of the singular gaming experiences I had in 2018 as a result.

5. Thonebreaker: The Witcher Tales - I gushed plenty about this game in my review. How its approach to Gwent-based combat is both welcoming to newcomers and remarkably varied, offering new ways to approach and think about the game with nearly every encounter. How its sizable story is filled with fascinating characters and genuinely distressing choices, forcing you to grapple with the inherent injustices of your position. How its vivid art style and wonderfully moody Marcin Przybyłowicz score sell The Witcher feel of this game, despite how differently it plays from the mainline entries of the game. And maybe most of all, how criminally overlooked this game has been. So I’ll make the same claim I did before - if The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt did something for you, it’s likely this game will too. Don’t worry about the card game - I did too, and trust me, it’s fun. It’s the new Witcher game; that really ought to be all you need to know.

4. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life - There’s...a lot about the Yakuza games that I’ve come to adore, but one of the biggest ones that kept sticking out to me while playing The Song of Life is how they build a sense of place. After playing Yakuza 0, set in 1988, and Yakuza Kiwami, set in 2005, I played this one, set in 2016. Each time, same Kiryu, but older, same Kamurocho, but era appropriate. Setting every Yakuza game in the same map has to be one of the quietly boldest experiments in video games, forgoing fresh new vistas to explore in favor of the same familiar boulevards, alleys, and parks of the iconic red-light district, painting an exquisitely detailed and loving portrait of a neighborhood changing with the decades. While Kiryu’s exasperation at once again walking into the all-too-familiar crowded streets of Kamurocho, brighter and louder than ever, hardly matched my eagerness to see how it had changed, it felt appropriate. Though he’s still the hottest dad (grandpa?) in town, he is kinda old now, and he’s certainly earned the right to just be over it a little. Even the silliest of the era-relevant sub stories (one of which delightfully features Kiryu putting a selfie-stick wielding, obnoxious-stunt pulling, wanna-be influencer shithead in his place) serve to underscore how out of place he now is in his old stomping grounds.

By contrast, the other setting of Yakuza 6, the quaint seaside town of Onomichi, very quickly begins to feel like an idyllic retirement destination. The introduction to this part of the game has to be my favorite video game moment of 2018 - Kiryu trying to calm a hungry baby, while walking the deserted streets after dark in search of one store that still happens to be open. The faint sound of ocean in the distance effectively evokes the freshness, the bitterness, of the air. The emptiness and darkness of the space is almost shocking, compared to the sensory overload of Kamurocho. And there’s Haruto. Kiryu took Haruka in when she was 9, so he’s never had to deal with a baby before. He’s out of his element, but hardly unwilling. The help he gets from Kiyomi and his other new friends is the kind of comfort Kiryu needs at this point in his life. Likewise, the events in Onomichi play out like a retirement fantasy - building an amateur baseball team out of local talent, building relationships with the denizens of a bar in an incredible Japanese version of Cheers, hanging out with the town’s Yakuza, who are so small potatoes they seem to barely fit the definitions of organized or crime. It all works beautifully as a touching send-off to my favorite video game character.

3. Tetris Effect - There was a long time where I was contemplating putting this as my number one game. I went through some strange conflicts in the consideration - next to all these original, thoughtful games, am I really going to say that fucking Tetris is best one of them? Is that even fair? Is this game really anything more than just regular-ass Tetris but with some pretty lights and sounds and a 90’s rave kinda vibe? The answer to all of these, is, of course, yes, but also no. I’d defend my choice any day, though. This is the first game to actually get me into Tetris. I always appreciated it; it’s a classic, but it was never a game I had actually put much time or thought into before. This game not only sold me on Tetris, but got me obsessed with it, to the point where the name feels remarkably appropriate: ever since I began playing, I’ve been seeing tetriminos falling - in my sleep, in daydreams, any time I see any type of blocky shape in real life I’m fitting them together in my mind. The idea that all Tetris pieces, despite their differences, need each other and complement each other and can all fit together in perfect harmony, and that this is a metaphor for humanity, has to be some of the cheesiest bullshit I’ve ever heard, and yet, the game fully sold me on it from the first damn level. It’s all connected. We’re all together in this life. Don’t you forget it.

2. Celeste - This is a damn near perfect game, both as refreshing and demanding as a climb up a beautiful but treacherous mountain ought to be. I died many, many times (2424, to be exact), but the game explicitly encouraged me to be proud of that, acting as a friendly little cheerleader in between deaths, assuring me that I could do it. It’s both a welcome break from the smug, sneering attitude so many “difficult” games tend to traffic in, and absolutely central to its themes involving mental health. As the shockingly good plot starts making it increasingly clear that it’s about Madeline’s quest to conquer (or, at least, understand) her inner demons, the gameplay itself offers a simple but effective metaphor for struggling with mental illness - yes, it’s hard, and yes, you’re going to suffer and struggle, but you can make it, and you will make it, because you’re so much better than you think you are. Oh, and also, it’s not all bad, because at least you get to listen to some absolutely rippin’ tunes while you do it.

1. Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom - (Another one I reviewed!) This is my ideal JRPG. In my mind it stands next to childhood treasures like Final Fantasy IX. Unlike some recent Square projects that specifically try to clone their late 90’s output, this game hardly feels beholden to the game design of the past, and yet, feels of a piece with that era in a respectably non-cloying way. It has a bright, colorful, inviting world full of charming characters, an all-time great soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi, and an exciting, deep combat system with an emphasis on action. Building my kingdom of Evermore was remarkably satisfying, down to all the little dumb tasks my citizens would ask of me, none of which my very good boy King Evan was too busy or too proud to refuse. There’s very little grinding. It’s a long game by most standards, but at 40-something hours, it feels lean by JRPG standards. And for as much of a storybook fantasy as the plot is, as much as it reduces woefully complicated socio-political issues into neat, resolvable tasks for Evan to solve, it always came across as perfectly genuine, and sometimes surprisingly affecting. It’s the game that I’ve wanted to play since the PS1 Final Fantasy games stole my heart as a kid. That’s hardly what I expected it to be as I started into it, and what a joy it was to discover that it was.

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i-draws-dinosaurs · 6 years

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Hi! Do you have any tips on getting into digital art? I'm getting an art tablet soon, but I don't know where to begin. I want to draw animals if that helps

Congrats in advance on getting a tablet! I’m still pretty new to the whole digital art thing myself (I only got my first tablet like one-and-a-half years ago), but I’d be happy to give some tips on getting started!

1. Don’t try to create a masterpiece the first time you use the tablet. This might sound a bit obvious but the first thing you should do with a tablet is a lot of sketching and messing around to be able to get the feel of using a tablet, which can be a pretty unfamiliar sensation. If you expect yourself to be able to create a beautiful digital painting the first time you use a tablet, you’ll probably be disappointed. Just playing around with little sketches is a much better way to get accustomed to digital drawing.

This is the first thing I ever drew with a graphics tablet. Just a sketch of an Allosaurus head with which I then proceeded to attempt an obscene amount of detail and gave up after I barely started. It’s okay to start small!

2. Play around with the brush settings in your art program. Most art programs have a wide variety of brush settings that you can fiddle around with to adjust size and transparency based on pen pressure, as well as different styles of brush that give different effects. I’d recommend messing around with these a bit while you’re doing your practise sketching to find a brush type that is most comfortable for your style of drawing.

You can get a ridiculous amount of variation in brushes by fiddling around in the settings. I use Photoshop, but other drawing programs probably have similar tools. There are plenty of tutorials online on how to create your own personal brushes on different art programs, which can be a fantastic way to personalise your art and make it a bit more special.

3. Practice shading and highlights. One of my absolute favourite things about digital art is that it gives you the ability to easily create strong, bright highlights over your drawings, which is something that you just can’t do easily with a lot of traditional media such as coloured pencils. If you put in the time, effort, and practice to get this right, you can create really solid, three-dimensional-looking art. I can’t offer a lot of great advice on this since it’s still something that I’m working on myself, but there are plenty of tutorials on the internet on shading and highlighting in digital art that are really worth checking out and studying.

This Teratophoneus is probably one of my proudest achievements in shading and highlighting so far. The ability to draw light colours on top of pretty much anything is incredibly useful for creating good, solid highlights

4. Don’t feel pressured to be amazing at digital art immediately. There is definitely a learning curve to becoming good with a graphics tablet, and you almost certainly won’t be able to create beautifully-lit, photorealistic art right away. I’m still very early on in my digital art exploration, so I know that it can often be disheartening to see accomplished digital artists creating amazing pieces of art while you’re still trying to figure out how to use the lasso tool. The important thing to remember is that these artists probably have years more experience than you. That being said, if you put effort and care into practising digital art, you will improve at it, just like any other art form. Your first attempts will probably not be all that impressive, but your first attempts do not reflect what you will develop into as a digital artist.

Two dinosaur heads, drawn by me, roughly 1.5 years apart. I only just found this really old drawing today, and I am honestly shocked by how far I’ve come. Art improvement might be hard to notice as it happens, but it’s so rewarding to look back and see where you came from.

And finally, the two most important ones (in my opinion):

5. Experiment with whatever you feel like. Digital art is an amazingly versatile medium. You can essentially make your artworks look like anything you want to. That can sound quite daunting, but it’s a great opportunity to spread yourself out and challenge yourself artistically. Want to draw something simple and cartoony? You can do that. Want to draw something so detailed it looks like a photo? You can do that too! Want to just go completely nuts with colours and see where it takes you? Guess what, you can also do that!

Don’t be afraid to try doing something new with digital art. I have at least three very different digital art styles that I can use interchangeably whenever I want it, and I feel like that’s the real power of digital art. The ability to create whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it, however you want to do it. The ability to diversify and branch out and explore completely new styles and methods without having to worry about resources or media or buying lots of expensive pencils or paints that you might never use again. Whenever the mood strikes you, just sit down and start creating anything you want.

ABOVE: The many digital art styles of Tas. From abstract graphic design to realistic, anatomical illustrations, digital art is an incredibly broad medium.

6. Keep practising traditional art. This is something that I think is essential as an artist. Digital art should not take over any traditional art methods that you already use. Instead, it should be treated as something to expand your range, not replace it. I’ve raved about digital art quite a bit in this post, but to me there’s still nothing that feels better than a graphite pencil on a sheet of paper.

I drew a series of Triassic reptiles in graphite last year, and they remain some of my favourite restorations of prehistoric animals that I’ve ever done. Don’t underestimate the humble HB pencil.

The great thing about doing digital and traditional art is that one method informs the other. You might figure out some cool new technique with watercolours, graphite, coloured pencils, or whatever you prefer to use, and then use that same technique in your digital art. Likewise, digital art can also influence how you approach your traditional works. I have personally learned a lot more about shading since I started creating digital artworks, and I’ve been able to apply that knowledge to my traditional pieces as well.

This Bi-stahieversor is my most recent traditional artwork, and almost all of the shading and texturing techniques are based on things that I’ve learned from doing digital art. I highly doubt I would have been able to learn these as well if I hadn’t done a lot of shading practice in digital art.

Well, this has turned out to be significantly longer than I thought it would be. If anyone else has any other advice, please feel free to add it! I’m sure there are plenty of more experienced artists out there who have much more to teach than I could at this point in time.

Good luck with your new tablet, Anon, and best wishes in your artistic endeavours!

#ask #palaeoart #art #digital art #long post #I did not expect to write this much #but here we are I guess #hopefully this isn't too unreadable #art advice

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ificouldhelpyouforget · 3 years

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NOEASY TRACKLIST: MY FAVORITES (IN ORDER FROM MOST TO LEAST)

When the NOEASY album came out last month, I posted my initial list of favorites and said that is was subject to change. Well, it's changed pretty drastically, so here I am again to update that list based on how often I actually listen to it, whether or not I skip it or manage to listen to it when doing a task, how often each song gets stuck in my head, and how much I love my bias' part in the song. I know, a totally legit rating system.

1. SSICK: Initially, I had this at the bottom of my list. It didn't catch my attention nearly as well as most of the other songs. I felt it was a little boring until I started to hear it more often. This is the song that some part of it is stuck in my head for days. I'm not talking just a few hours. It could be "me so sick (sick, sick)" or "me so sick and legendary" or the outro, but some part of that song is constantly in my head. And let me tell you, the moment I found out that Felix freaking sings not in his lower register, ya girl put this song at the top. I'm obsessed. His voice sounds so full and round and just so good. I've been dying for more mid-register Felix and he delivered!

2. DOMINO: Surprise, surprise, a song with an incredible part of just Felix singing in his deep voice is at the top. I think this only moved down a rank from the last list I made. The song itself is a bop. I also jam to it hard and act goofy. It gets me hyped and I love that in music. I also just love saying "aye, domino," and letting Jisung go do his thing. It always makes me laugh. I often just get the repeated "domino, domino" part stuck in my head. Sometimes Felix's bit at the end hangs around, but it's my alarm sound (great way to wake up btw) and doesn't get stuck as often. The dance break before it is honestly my favorite part though. Especially now that we have the performances where Hyunjin leads the charge. Ah! It's so great! Oh, and Hyunjin's line where his voice starts high and stair steps down to his normal rap voice is another favorite part.

3. Thunderous: I really thought I was going to get sick of this one with how many performances they did and how it showed up everywhere (and got stuck in my head constantly), but I still love it. It always gets me moving even though I don't know any of the choreo except the ptui part. And the "I'm not sorry I'm dirty" parts from both Felix and Chan are just 💜. I seriously can't get over it.

4. CHEESE: "HA! CHEESE!" is already getting me and then "why'd you say it like that?"... the video at the part is just... my mind blanks. The fact the song is a freaking diss track is the greatest because I've been frustrated as a fan by the craziness and hate sent their way, but they straight up said, "you can't get to us," and I love that. Hate on them or their music, but they are still vibing. It's embarrassing how often I get I.N's 1, 2, 3 stuck in my head AND Felix naming cheeses. Like, someone says "cheese" and I immediately start singing some part in the song.

5. Sorry, I Love You: I can hardly sing a single word in this song not knowing any Korean, but it's so catchy. I try to sing what I hear, but I'm always listening in my car (for now as my ears are still healing from piercings and I don't use earbuds), so I get words wrong often. It's such a beautiful song and all of their voices sound so good. This doesn't get stuck in my head nearly as often as some of the songs ranked lower, but I can't get over this song. I don't even skip it when I'm not in the mood for slower songs and that says a lot.

6. Star Lost: This might have been higher or in the same place (these next few are pretty interchangeable), but it's gotten a lot of love from me. I like the sound, the upbeat feeling to it, and my goodness the cute thing Felix does with his voice at the end of his part (kinda toward the beginning of the song), I can't ignore how much I like this song. It's so adorable. Haha. This gets me driving a little too fast when I'm going places though because it's just another hype song for me. Feels kinda like spring for me. Not quite summer, but definitely a windows down warm day kind of vibe.

7. The View: This shouldn't be this low because I adore this song and I'm constantly singing it, but there are so many others I like a little bit more, so that's why it's here. I also feel like since I don't actually like the view of where I live, it's harder for me to really vibe with it. The music video is so cute, too. I've actually been obsessed with the neon sign that says "dreams come true to those who truly want them" or whatever it is because I think it's a great cover photo for social media, but no one screenshot the scene of just the sign (my internet sucks too much for it to be clear for me). Then Felix posted a photo of it on its own, so we're all good. By the way, did I mention Felix is my bias? 😂

8. Surfin': I rarely get this song stuck in my head only because the only part I ever really sing is, well, Felix's part in the chorus. The other parts I can pick out and sing don't stick in my head as well. I'm not a summer girl, but the vibe of this song is so cute along with the music video. The little lizard on Felix's outfit, the soft moment of Minho singing in front of that sunset sheet, Changbin being cute af... it's a great video (and song).

9. Mixtape: OH: This also should be higher because I love it so much, but alas, here it sits. I do consistently listen to it when I comes on. It's technically my first song with OT8. I wasn't a fan (didn't know of SKZ) when they released their other songs before this one. I mean, I was there for the stuff on Kingdom, but that wasn't OT8. And then this came out and I was so happy they were a complete group again. The story of this song hits so hard for (although different than what they were probably intending) and I totally cried watching it (it definitely wasn't a Felix moment that made me cry). I loved it so much that I bought the song as soon as it came out and did nail art to celebrate.

10. Red Lights: Okay, so this gets stuck in my head just as much as some of the songs at the top of this list BUT I'm so sick of the constant sexualizing of it that it's all the way down here. I get it, that was the vibe Chan and Hyunjin were going for and I respect that, but the way Stays are drooling and acting like, well, horn dogs is turning me off of the song. They did amazing with the lyrics and putting it to the track and the music video is visually striking, albeit more horror-esque to me than sexy. I don't skip it often if at all because the beat is catchy. But as soon as I remember how inappropriate some fans are being about it, I just can't listen. Mind you, we all think that way sometimes (I am no different when Felix does certain things or wears certain things or when another member does something that completely throws me off), but it's a bit much.

11. Silent Cry: I hate to say it because I do enjoy this song, but it's a bit forgettable for me. I skip it a lot because I have 10 other songs I'd rather listen to than this one. It's not at all a bad song and the lyrics are so sad. It just doesn't hit the same as other songs on the album. I honestly can't recall a single part in this song because the other songs are overpowering it. I do think it resonates with a ton of fans and it's much higher on their list, which is awesome, it just isn't the song for me.

12. Secret, Secret: This is another one, as beautiful as it is, that doesn't stick out to me. I'm also not in a slow song mood, so I skip almost every time it comes on. I can remember the intro the song though unlike "Silent Cry" where I can't think of any part of it. Maybe it should go higher because of that... It's just not the mood I'm looking for right now. But again, gorgeous song. I think more people should listen to it than "Red Lights" to be honest.

13. WOLFGANG: Ugh, I didn't want to put this down so low because I've been in love with it since Kingdom and even more so with OT8, but I think I got tired of it too fast because I listened to it so often and played the performance video a ton. It's fun to listen to and I don't skip it as often as the slower songs, but I have skipped it too much to put it much higher on this list. Sorry, y'all. I enjoy it, but I overplayed it. It's on me.

14. Gone Away: I hate that this song is so low because Jisung, Seungmin, and I.N's voices are amazing together in this. They wrote beautiful lyrics and the emotion in the music video is so heartbreaking to see... I just am not into slow songs right now. My friend would definitely disagree with me though. She loves it. Not a single song on this album is bad and it being the last on my list doesn't say that I think it's bad in any sense of the word, it just doesn't hit my vibe right now. But gosh is it beautiful.

#stray kids #skz #noeasy #stray kids noeasy #skz noeasy #noeasy tracklist #noeasy rankings #my rankings #this will most likely change again #my ranking never last long tbh

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gpnationalcrane · 4 years

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The Ultimate Construction Father's Day Gift Guide 2020

Father’s Day 2020 is June 21, so you better get started on gift ideas if you want to impress dad this year. Whether your father is contractor, handyman, or DIYer, we’ve got a lot of great ideas for him this year.

For more more gift ideas, be sure to check out our past Father's Day Gift Guides from 2016, 2017, and 2018, 2019 or our Ultimate Construction Holiday Gift Guides from 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, and 2019.

We’ve been lucky enough to be able to use many of the tools on this list throughout the year and there are others on the list that we’d love to try because they have been highly regarded in reviews. It should be assumed that the tool manufacturers have given us these tools for free to test out, but none of them have paid to be a part of this gift guide. All tools on this list have been chosen by us, because we think they would be great gifts.

This post contains affiliate links, which earn us a small commission for the things that you buy. The prices in the links are exactly the same as they would be normally!

Ultimate Construction Father’s Day Gift Guide 2020

Under $50

Bosch TS1004 Table Saw Dust Collector Bag

Table Saw Dust Bag

This is honestly one of the best purchases I’ve made and it’s so inexpensive. Table saws are essential on many jobsites and workshops, but dust collection can be an issue. If you don’t have an extensive dust collection system or don’t want to deal with the extra noise of a vacuum, this Bosch table saw dust bag is a no brainer. I’ve been using it on my Milwaukee M18 cordless table saw and it collects probably 80-90% of the dust

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Klein Tools ET310 AC Circuit Breaker Finder with Integrated GFCI Outlet Tester

Klein Tools Digital Circuit Breaker Finder

If you’re house is like mine, the labeling system inside your circuit breaker box is an absolute mess, which makes it extremely difficult to find the correct breaker to turn off when needed. The Klein Tools Digital Circuit Breaker finder is a 2-in-1 tool that not only can confirm that your outlets have been properly wired, but it can also help you easily locate the correct breaker an outlet is wired to. Simply plug the outlet tester into an outlet, bring the receiver wand to your breaker panel, and run the receiver down each breaker until the light indicates that the correct breaker has been found. Of course, you should ALWAYS double check that power has been turned off to whatever electrical system you need to work on before beginning.

Bosch Clic-Change 3-Piece Self-Centering Drill Bit Assortment CC2430

Bosch Clic-Change Self Centering Drill Bits

Whever you’re installing hardware that requires more than one screw, the slightest misstep when drilling your pilot hole can cause the whole piece to become misaligned. These Bosch Self-Centering bits all but guarantee that your screw will be perfectly centered through the use of a spring loaded housing sized for #6, #8, and #10 screws.

MXP-AL Die-Cast Aluminum Utility Knife OLFA

OLFA MXP-AL or LA-X Utility Knife

Everybody probably already has a utility knife somewhere in their toolbox or junk drawer, but it’s probably not an OLFA. This Japanese-made knife is actually up to 8 blades-in-one, because you can snap off one section at a time if it gets dull. Paired with their new black speed blades, you not only get the convenience of multiple blades, but an extremely sharp, fast cutting knife.

The OLFA MXP-AL is their newest heavy duty knife, made with an aluminum shell. For a little less cost, the LA-X is a tried and true knife, as well, as it comes with the same blades, but it’s housed in a plastic shell with a rubber overmould.

QUICKLOADER QL4500 15-Feet by 1.25-Inch Retractable Tie-down Strap, 4500-Pound Breakforce, Red

Quickloader Retractable Ratchet Tiedown

If you own a truck, you know that securing a load can be a huge hassle, especially if you’re used to dealing with bungee cords or traditional tiedowns. With Quickloaders, there will never be any additional slack flapping in the wind, because the excess retracts back into it. It’s so easy, you can do it one handed. There are various sizes and strengths available on their website, starting at around $20, but the QL4500 is a good one to start with, at around $40.

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A post shared by Construction Junkie (@constructionjunkie) on Mar 7, 2019 at 9:21am PST

Milwaukee WorkSkin Light Weight Performance Shirt - Gray - Medium

New Milwaukee Workwear

You, of course, know Milwaukee Tool because of their power tools, but they have also had an extensive line of workwear for construction professionals for years, but they have just recently updated and expanded their lineup. In addition to updated versions of their Workskin lightweight, moisture wicking shirts, they have added heavy duty pocket shirts and hoodies. The heavy duty pocket shirts will align with a more traditional work shirt that many contractors have grown up wearing and the Workskin shirts are great for the hot summer months that are nearly upon us.

CRAFTSMAN VERSASTACK System 17-in 2-Drawer Tool Box Black Buy from Lowe's

Craftsman Versastack 2-Drawer Unit

After being acquired by Stanley Black & Decker (SBD), Craftsman recently launched a brand new line of around 1,200 new tools. It already appears to be a good move for Craftsman tool lovers as it has breathed new life into the old Sears brand. One of the best buys in the new brand is the Versastack 2-drawer unit. Every tradesman or garage warrior needs additional storage and the Verstastack will not only stack on top of other Versastack units, but will also stack on DeWalt T-stack units, thanks to that aforementioned SBD acquisition. You can get it at Lowe’s for around $35.

Over $50

ISOtunes FREE True Wireless Earplug Earbuds, 22 dB Noise Reduction Rating, 21 Hour Battery, Noise Cancelling Mic, OSHA Compliant Bluetooth Hearing Protector (Matte Black)

ISOtunes Free Wireless OSHA-Compliant Hearing Protection Headphones

Hearing protection is one of those things that construction workers ignore until years later when they realize they have lost a significant amount of their hearing. OSHA has strict hearing protection requirements to avoid hearing loss in workers, ISOtunes FREE Bluetooth Hearing Protectors offer a 22db noise reduction rating and they also limit the audio playback to 85db, keeping you below the actionable noise level.

These wireless ear buds will last for 7 hours, but the rechargeable charging case it comes with will provide an additional 14 hours of playback time.

If you’re looking for a more affordable option and don’t mind the cords, the ISOtunes Pro 2.0 offers similar features at a lower cost.

KEEN Utility Men's Cincinnati 6” Soft Toe Waterproof Construction Shoe, Belgian/Sandshell, 11.5D US KEEN Utility

Keen Utility Cincinnati Work Boot

Keen Utility showed off their new Cincinnati work boot earlier this year at the World of Concrete and it’s hard not to love this boot at first glance. Sporting a classic wedge toe look, the Cincinnati is the beefed-upped heavy duty version of the Keen Utility San Jose Boot, which is a much beloved light duty boot of similar look. this boot is meant to withstand abuse from tough jobsites, sporting a waterproof liner to keep hyour feet dry, Goodyear welt construction to durability, and a super comfortable midsole.

DEWALT DCC020IB 20V Max Inflator (Bare) Dewalt

DeWalt DCC020IB 20V Max Inflator

Everyone needs an inflator at some point, whether it’s an emergency roadside tire fill-up, bike tire top offs, camping mattresses, or those pesky pool floats. The DeWalt 20V MAX Inflator is the most versatile of them all, as it’s able to inflate high pressure or high volume and can be powered by battery, 12V DC (car plug-in), or a 110V wall outlet.

Besides its versatility, one of its greatest features is the ability to set the PSI you’d like to fill it to and it will automatically shut off when it reaches that level. You can read our full review of it by clicking here.

Milwaukee 2505-20 M12 FUEL Installation Drill/Driver (Tool-Only) Milwaukee

Milwaukee Tool M12 Installation Drill/Driver

During any project, there’s always at least one screw that needs to go in at an awkward angle. Thankfully, there are several multi-chuck drill/drivers on the market that can completely eliminate that frustration, the Milwaukee Tool M12 Instalaltion Drill/Driver being one of them. With 4 separate attachments, this drill/driver is an absolute dream for all of those odd angles and tight spaces you might find yourself in. This tool comes with 4 quickly interchangeable heads: a 3/8” drill chuck, a 1/4” hex driver, an offset, and a right angle.

DEWALT DCE511B 11" Corded/Cordless Jobsite Fan $79.00

DEWALT DCE511B 11" Corded/Cordless Jobsite Fan

The DeWalt 20V jobsite fan is a super-efficient, powerful, and convenient option for the workshop or jobsite. Delivering up to 500 CFM of air, the fan can easily last a full day on one battery. If your battery runs out of juice, no worries, because it can also be plugged into an outlet through an extension cord. Rated IP54 for dust and water resistance, it’s ready to be put to work in tough conditions.

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Milwaukee String Trimmer Kit w/Quik-LOK

Milwaukee M18 Quik-Lok Landscaping Attachment System

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could power a string trimmer, a hedge trimmer, a pole saw, and an edger with the same tool? Well, you can with Milwaukee’s Quik-Look attachment system. By quickly detaching the bottom half of the trimmer showed in the picture by loosening a knob and pressing a button, you can quickly change out to one of the 4 attachments using the same motor and same battery.

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citious · 7 years

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CHAPTER 4

Characters

Main: Yoon Jinmyung, Jung Yeeun, Song Jiwon, Im Sungmin

Supporting: Kwon Hochang, Yoo Eunjae, Jo Eun, Parents

Note: If you haven’t read Chapters 1, 2, 2.5 and 3, you may do so here –> Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 2.5, Chapter 3

In a nutshell: Yoon-sunbae is visiting her childhood home as per her mom’s request. Is there a hidden purpose aside from her mom who misses her? Yeeun is going for another meeting with her relatives, and Yeeun will have to face a possible obstacle between her relationship and her parents. Meanwhile, Sungmin is going to encounter the unexpected, what is it and how will it go?

Rating: T

Belle Époque

17th February 2018

8.00 a.m.

Yoon-sunbae went out of the bathroom, damping her towel with her wet hair. It’s Saturday, and she had promised her mom to pay her a visit.

She opened the fridge to check the contents. There was nothing she could consume right away, so she took a carton of milk from the fridge door, and grabbed a box of Oreo cereal from the overhead cabinet. She poured a considerable amount of cereal in a bowl and poured a good amount of milk before consuming it for breakfast.

11.30 a.m.

It’s the time of the month again, when Yeeun’s parents and her relatives are gathering to catch up on everyone’s ‘accomplishments’.

Yeeun sighed as she saw her parents’ car approaching Belle Époque. She wore a feminine white dress with sheer short sleeves and tied her straight and long hair up this time. Yeeun sat on the backseat, staring blankly at the passing stretch of buildings as the car accelerated.

As the car was parked at the basement, Yeeun and her parents got out of the car. Yeeun’s mom scanned Yeeun from head to toe. Noticing this, Yeeun asked,

Yeeun: Why?

Her mom replied,

Mom: Nothing. Let’s go.

That statement meant one thing – Yeeun didn’t have to do anything about her lip color, her hairstyle, or even the dress she was wearing.

Yeeun’s parents walked in front while she followed behind them. It’s an exclusive Chinese Restaurant this time. Grandma and four of Yeeun’s aunts and uncles were already seated at the huge round table. Yeeun’s mom and dad shook everyone’s hands while Yeeun smiled awkwardly behind them. Suddenly, grandma asked Yeeun to sit next to her. Yeeun involuntarily agreed to her request.

Grandma: How is everything?

Yeeun: Everything is alright, Halmeoni.

Grandma: Are you doing well with the psychological treatment?

Yeeun was surprised when her grandma actually asked her about it.

Yeeun: I’m no longer receiving the treatment.

Yeeun relied with a smile on her face. She wanted to tell her grandma that she could manage herself well.

Grandma: Is that so? That’s great, then. What about a boyfriend? Do you have one, now?

Hearing grandma’s question, Yeeun answered reluctantly,

Yeeun: Well… I do have one now.

Grandma: Is he a nice boy?

Yeeun: He treats me well, Halmeoni. This time I really make sure he won’t do the same thing as what the previous one did.

Grandma: Really? Alright, Yeeun-ah… Honestly Halmeoni is very concerned about you. I think of all my grandchildren as precious, and I only want the best for you, and for our family’s reputation.

Yeeun forced a smile as she listened to her grandma’s explanation. She was glad a while ago when her grandma asked her about her therapy, but now that ‘reputation’ was mentioned, her feelings shattered. Yeeun knew very well what family reputation exactly meant.

For education, it literally means either studying law/doctor/business majors in a top university. For Yeeun’s case, it’s good enough that she went to Yonsei University, one of South Korea’s most prestigious schools. But even that’s not considered very impressive, as all her other cousins are either studying abroad, or taking those preferred majors.

Moving on to jobs. Well, Yeeun’s family members (uncles) are either politicians or those people who deal with law enforcement. Her dad alone is a specialist doctor. So Yeeun knew her major in Food and Nutrition couldn’t really par up to what her uncles and dad are doing, but she knew her major is where her passion is, and she’s going to prove that she can do well later on.

Last but not least, husband. Yeeun thought this would be the hardest thing to tackle. She knew everything too well for this matter. First he has to come from a well-off family. Second, he has to graduate from a top school. Third, he has to have a promising and stable job, someone who can guarantee himself to reach the top of a company hierarchy at least.

Yeeun thought to herself while eating on the round table, ‘My family is seriously no different than those families in a Makjang drama.’

The lunch thankfully didn’t last as long as the last time, and Yeeun was glad that only her grandma interrogated her. If not, her self-esteem could’ve been badly hurt.

On the way back in the car, Yeeun’s dad opened a conversation,

Dad: Yeeun-ah

Yeeun: Yes, Dad?

Dad: Your grandma told me that you have a boyfriend now.

When Yeeun heard her dad’s words, she panicked a little inside.

Dad: Are you sure he’s not gonna do bad things to you again?

Well, that question from her dad actually made Yeeun quite surprised. She thought he would scold her for telling her grandma that she’s dating a new guy after her last relationship fiasco. To that, Yeeun replied,

Yeeun: Yes… I have a boyfriend now, but no, Dad. I made sure that he’s a really nice guy. I’ve introduced him to my friends and they all agreed that he’s a really nice guy.

Yeeun’s dad could only hum at Yeeun’s explanation. Maybe he still couldn’t believe her daughter 100%.

Dad: Yeeun-ah, is it too much to ask if mom and dad want to meet your boyfriend together with you?

Yeeun’s heart suddenly beat fast upon listening to her dad’s request. She gulped and said,

Yeeun: Hm… Honestly it might be too early for him to meet you, but of course I’ll tell him about this and set up a date.

Dad: Is that so? Alright, then.

Yeeun’s mind suddenly got flooded with so many concerns. She was scared at the thought that her parents might reject Hochang.

Bus Station

9.30 a.m.

Yoon-sunbae rode an inter-city bus on her way to visit her mom. The distance between Seoul and he mom’s place wasn’t so far, so it’s actually quite convenient for her. Strangely, though, Yoon-sunbae just didn’t really have a close relationship with her mom ever since her late brother got into a vegetative state.

She considered herself very sinful when she wished her brother to die, but without that, her family would still be suffering until now. Yoon-sunbae’s relationship with her mom improved a little after the death of her brother, and more recently because she got herself a stable job in a reputable entertainment company.

As the bus reached the city bus interchange, Yoon-sunbae hopped off. The journey took her about 2 hours, which wasn’t too bad. She continued her journey with a local bus and finally reached the neighborhood where her house was located.

She walked towards a traditional Korean house that looked nicely managed. She flinched as the gate made a screeching sound upon entering the house’s courtyard. As she approached the main door, she knocked the door and said,

Jinmyung: Hello, mom… Jinmyung is here.

After waiting for a while, the door sled and Yoon-sunbae’s mom came out to greet her,

Mom: Oh, Jinmyung-ah, you’re here…

It’s been so long since she visited the house. The last time was probably 6 months ago, also when Yoon-sunbae’s mom called her to visit. If not, she wouldn’t have the initiative to do so. That’s just how estranged their relationship was.

As Yoon-sunbae stepped into the house, her mom asked,

Mom: Have you eaten?

Yoon-sunbae who was hungry as she’d only eaten a bowl of cereal in the morning replied,

Jinmyung: No, not yet.

Her mom looked a little concerned and said,

Mom: Wait here, I’ll bring you some rice and side dishes.

Yoon-sunbae sat down on the wooden floor in front of a small table that was meant to be for a dining table. She reminisced the times she spent in that house about 20 years ago when her family was still complete. Her dad, mom, and little brother were always with her at the dining table every night, every day.

Her dad unfortunately died from liver cancer when she was in High school. Since then, Yoon-sunbae and her brother couldn’t live the lives they used to have. Her mom didn’t exactly have a fixed source of income and would borrow money from loan sharks. That’s when Yoon-sunbae had to start working part-time while cramming to study for her university entrance exam. She was a hard worker from a young age, and she knew she was the only hope for her remaining family members.

Just when Yoon-sunbae graduated from High school with flying colors and got accepted at Yonsei University’s Business Management major, her brother was involved in a major accident that caused him permanent absence of responsiveness and awareness. The main cause of that was because her brother was devastated at their father’s passing, and he became a truant child.

Yoon-sunbae felt like her burden just kept piling up in her early youth. She remembered crying in her sleep every night because she felt like her life was too much for her to handle.

Just then, Yoon-sunbae woke up from reminiscing her painful memories when her mom came back from the kitchen with a tray full of home-cooked food.

Mom: Eat up.

Yoon-sunbae put on a smile and tasted the beansprout soup in front of her. She commented genuinely,

Jinmyung: It’s delicious.

Her mom smiled at Yoon-sunbae who seemed to joyfully enjoy the food that she cooked. It was a rare occasion.

Belle Époque

12.30 a.m.

The doorbell to the share house rang. Eunjae ran to open the door. It was the food delivery man. She handed in a few notes in exchange for the food that was delivered.

Eunjae, Eun and Jiwon were together at Belle Époque, and after discussing what they wanted to eat, they went for Tangsuyuk and some fire chicken for lunch because their fridge’s condition was dire. There was no food at all.

The three sat together at the dining table and started munching the food. Eunjae candidly asked a question,

Eunjae: Jiwon-sunbae, aren’t you gonna go out today?

Jiwon: Me? I don’t know.

Eunjae and Eun glanced at each other as they heard Jiwon’s reply. Eun added,

Eun: But why? You have a boyfriend now. You should go and meet him.

Jiwon smirked a little and responded,

Jiwon: So what if I have a boyfriend? I mean, we don’t have to see each other every day right?

Eunjae: But don’t you miss him already? Usually couples who just got together want to see each other every day…

Eun: I agree. That’s so true.

Jiwon being Jiwon, she replied,

Jiwon: Aish, don’t compare me with other people. Don’t you guys know I’m special and unique? I’m sure he’s fine. It’s not like he’s dying to see me now.

Eunjae and Eun just stayed still as both partly disagreed to Jiwon’s comment, but they brushed it off as there’s no point in talking back to Jiwon who’s all for her self-confidence.

Sungmin’s Apartment

12.35 p.m.

Sungmin’s usually a morning person, but strangely, he woke up past noon that day. It was the first time he could sleep that soundly after the misunderstanding incident with Jiwon the other day. He literally thought that Jiwon hated him, and he couldn’t get himself to sleep.

Sungmin stretched his body and put on a huge and happy smile. He reached out his hand towards his phone that’s on the bedside table.

He unlocked his phone and opened the message Jiwon sent him. He squealed and kicked his blanket when he saw it,

‘It feels like a dream,’ Sungmin thought.

Right at that moment, Sungmin wanted to ask Jiwon out, but he wanted to keep his cool, and decided to wait for Jiwon to say Hi or make the move first.

Sungmin went for a shower and thought Jiwon would text him, it was lunch time anyway, so he expected a message from Jiwon. As Sungmin finished showering and went out to check his phone with a smile, his expression suddenly turned disappointed as there wasn’t any message coming in from his girlfriend.

To calm himself down, he thought, ‘maybe she’s still sleeping. I’ll wait longer.’ He then went to the kitchen to cook ramyun. He turned on the TV and sat down on the sofa in the living room while eating the ramyun that he cooked right from the pot.

Knowing Brothers appeared on TV, and Sungmin seemed to enjoy it at first, but after 30 minutes trying to watch the variety show, it got boring, so he changed one channel up.

Right at that moment, the TV showed a drama where a couple was having a sweet date out on a beautiful day. He looked back to see the sky from the huge window behind him. He turned off the TV right away, went to his room to wear his navy bomber jacket, put on his shoes and stormed out of the apartment.

Belle Époque

1.30 p.m.

Yeeun reached Belle Époque and saw her parents drove off. She walked towards Belle Époque’s house entrance with her face looking sullen. She stopped halfway to grab her phone in her purse to call Hochang.

Hochang: Hello?

Yeeun skipped greeting him back and asked,

Yeeun: Can we meet?

Hochang was a little startled when Yeeun dashed him with a question right away.

Hochang: … Eo… of course. Where do you want to meet?

Yeeun: Just at the usual place.

Hochang: When?

Yeeun: Now.

Yeeun hung up as soon as she finished her words. She knew she was acting cold towards Hochang on the phone, but as a matter of fact, she really didn’t mean to talk to him that way.

At the café…

Hochang was already seated when Yeeun came in through the glass door. Hochang waved at Yeeun with a smile to signal where he was sitting. Yeeun took a sit in front of him.

Without beating around the bush, Hochang who saw Yeeun’s sullen expression, asked,

Hochang: What’s the matter?

Yeeun had her face looking down, just staring blankly at the table while flicking her nails. After a while, Yeeun finally looked up and answered,

Yeeun: You… are you okay if my parents want to meet you?

Hochang who heard what Yeeun just said, pointed his index finger at himself,

Hochang: Me?

Yeeun nodded her head twice to respond.

Hochang pondered and replied with confidence,

Hochang: Yeah. I’m okay.

Yeeun whose expression was dark, turned lighter. She clearly didn’t expect Hochang, whom she knew was ‘socially awkward,’ could answer the question confidently.

Yeeun: Are you sure?

Hochang: Yeah. Definitely.

Yeeun: You’re not scared?

Hochang: Ani, I’m scared, but I’ll meet them… for you.

Yeeun, who heard Hochang’s answer had her eyes teary, but before her tears could fall, she looked up and wiped it with her wrists. Yeeun told Hochang how she truly felt,

Yeeun: Honestly, I’m scared. I’m scared because I know what my parents expect of my boyfriend and I’m so worried that they may not accept you.

Hochang couldn’t stand Yeeun looking sad, so he stood up and sat beside Yeeun to hug her. He said,

Hochang: Yeeun-ah, it’s okay… It will all be okay.

Yoon-sunbae’s Home

12:34 p.m.

After Yoon-sunbae gulped down some water from a glass, her mom opened a conversation,

Mom: Jinmyung-ah…

Jinmyung: Hm…?

Mom: Aren’t you turning 30 this year?

Jinmyung: Yes…

Yoon-sunbae’s mom smiled as she seemed to remember something on her mind.

Mom: You know, when I was turning 30, I already have you who was in 1st grade and Jinho who’s 4 years old.

After her mom paused for a while, she continued,

Mom: I married your dad when I was 23 and had you when I was 24. It was honestly the best time of my life. Having a loving husband and a cute baby girl.

Yoon-sunbae’s lips stretched a little as she thought, ‘That’s true…. Dad was indeed a loving figure.’

Mom: So I was gonna ask you…

Yoon-sunbae looked at her mom’s eyes and waited for her to finish her words,

Mom: Now that you’re working in a reputable company and have a stable income, why don’t you build a family soon? Eomma knows you have a boyfriend.

Yoon-sunbae froze when her mom suddenly brought up marriage.

Jinmyung: Eomma… why are you suddenly bring up marriage?

Mom: Jinmyung-ah, mom is getting old now, and I have no one but you in this family... Before I leave this world, it’s my dream to see my child start a family of her own.

Yoon-sunbae totally understood her mother’s wish. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, Yoon-sunbae responded,

Jinmyung: Eomma, you know what? I do want to fulfill your wish, I really do…. But I want to let fate decide when the best time for me to do it will be. Nowadays, there are so many things to consider before marriage. The least I can do is to introduce him to you first, but I can’t promise anything yet.

As soon as Yoon-sunbae finished her words, her mom held her hand and said,

Mom: Thank you, Jinmyung-ah....

Belle Époque

3.40 p.m.

Yoon-sunbae got back and everyone was home.

Jinmyung: Hello, girls

The girls looked at Yoon-sunbae’s direction and greeted her back,

Everyone: Annyeong!

Jiwon saw Yoon-sunbae carrying a large bag, and she quickly approached her to help with the things,

Jiwon: Yoon-sunbae, what are these? Wow… home-cooked food?!

Jinmyung: Hm…

Jiwon: Ya….. How nice! Did you visit your mom today?

Jinmyung: Eo, I did.

Jiwon expressed her sadness as she thought about why her mom or dad hadn’t visited to send her some side dishes. She really had no choice but to order in food for lunch earlier.

Suddenly, Jiwon’s phone rang and when she saw the caller ID, she smiled and tucked her hair behind her left ear.

Jiwon: Annyeong!

Jiwon answered the call cheerfully.

The Belle Époque girls had their attention on Jiwon as she exclaimed on the phone.

From the other side of the call, Sungmin said,

Sungmin: Come out.

Jiwon who heard Sungmin’s reply on the phone, frowned a little as she was wondering what’s happening.

She approached the veranda and looked down. Sungmin was there, standing outside the courtyard in front of his car. Jiwon swiftly ran downstairs as soon as she saw Sungmin.

Jiwon approached Sungmin with open arms, but just before she could hug him, Sungmin said,

Sungmin: Stop.

Jiwon who was confused about Sungmin’s word just stood still and thought, ‘why is he like this?’

Sungmin asked Jiwon while looking at the sky with both his hands in the pockets,

Sungmin: Don’t you miss me?

Jiwon who heard Sungmin’s weird question, replied,

Jiwon: Huh?

Sungmin: Aish… Don’t-you-miss-me???

Jiwon couldn’t answer Sungmin’s question and stared at him blankly. She didn’t know how to react.

At the same time, Sungmin couldn’t stand staying cool anymore, and quickly pulled Jiwon into his embrace.

Sungmin: Why didn’t you text me today?

Jiwon: I don’t know…. That’s how we always were…

Sungmin: I know, but we’re different now… Do you know how much I missed you?

After Sungmin popped hat question, he looked at Jiwon’s eyes and lips and moved his face closer to kiss Jiwon, but before their lips could touch, a loud voice came from across the street,

Man: Ya you scoundrel! What are you doing?!

A man and a woman in their mid-50s were seen standing from across the street with their hands holding bags of what seemed like packed foods.

Suddenly, Jiwon exclaimed with a joyful expression,

Jiwon: Appa!

Sungmin: M… mwo? Appa?!

Jiwon: Appa! Eomma!

Jiwon ran towards the man and woman and gave them a big hug.

Sungmin who was left standing outside Belle Époque’s courtyard freeze and thought, ‘I’m so screwed.’

Belle Époque

4.03 p.m.

Sungmin sat next to Jiwon on the sofa. He had both his hands on his laps, feeling more nervous than ever. On the front left sat Jiwon’s dad and mom. They were both scanning Sungmin from head to toe.

The Belle Époque girls were inside Eun’s room, all trying to eavesdrop from the door.

Feeling the awkwardness and tension dominating the atmosphere, Jiwon suggested,

Jiwon: Dad… Mom… Why don’t we do this another time? You all must feel tired from the journey to reach here, right? Hehehehehehe

Jiwon stopped herself from her awkward laugh as her parents didn’t show her any interest for her effort to make them return home.

Dad: So… What’s your name?

Jiwon’s dad asked Sungmin. He himself didn’t know where to start, so asking name was the best thing to do.

Sungmin: My name is Im Sungmin.

Sungmin’s heart beat uncontrollably fast as soon as he finished his response.

Dad: Hm... How did you know my daughter?

Sungmin: I first met her during the university orientation 4 years ago. Jiwon and I take the same major, and we’re also members of the same university newspaper club.

Dad and mom nodded in acknowledgement.

Jiwon’s mom was curious about Sungmin too, so she asked in place of her husband,

Mom: What do your parents do?

Hearing this, Jiwon uttered,

Jiwon: Eomma-

Before she could finish, Sungmin signaled her that it’s fine, so she stopped.

Sungmin: My father works in a TV station, and my mother is a housewife.

Mom: TV station? Is that why you pursued journalism? So you can follow your father’s path?

Sungmin: Not exactly, Eomoni… I really do have passion in journalism. I like to gather facts and think objectively abut current issues. In the future, I do aspire to become one of the key people in the industry.

Hearing Sungmin’s answer that’s full of confidence and certainty about his preference and life goal, Jiwon’s parents shared a glance and nodded in acceptance.

Dad: So… Why do you like our daughter?

Jiwon thought in nervousness about what Sungmin’s gonna respond, ‘is he gonna talk about my sexiness? Or my skills in bed?’ Realizing how inappropriate her thought was, Jiwon shook her head to come to her senses.

Sungmin: Jiwon is...

(The girls in Eun’s room gathered near the door, Eun had her right ear sticking on the door so that she could eavesdrop the conversation).

Sungmin: a person who makes me happy. She may be very talkative and hyper sometimes, and honestly irritating at some point, but I do feel comfortable being around her.

She’s the only one who can make me laugh and lighten up my heart during the hard times.

When I was preparing for my final exams last semester, she even delivered books to my desk at the university newspaper club. But more than anything,

Sungmin looked over to Jiwon who’s sitting beside him and continued his words,

Sungmin: My heart only flutters for Jiwon. That’s what I realized for the past 2 years while having a crush on her.

Without realizing, Jiwon’s mom was smiling ear to ear, her palms were covering her heart. She was deeply touched by Sungmin’s words.

Jiwon, who didn’t expect Sungmin to answer the question that way, had her eyes sparkling in wonder.

Eun overheard Sungmin’s words and whispered the content to the rest of the girls behind her. Yeeun and Eunjae squealed, but Yoon-sunbae asked them to be quiet, so the people outside won’t notice that they’ve been listening in.

After considering Sungmin’s answer, Dad told Sungmin while nodding,

Dad: Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.

Dad then suggested,

Dad: Yeobo, let’s get going then.

After learning that Jiwon’s parents wanted to go home, Sungmin offered,

Sungmin: Abeonim, Eomonim… Can I drop you off at the bus station?

Jiwon whispered,

Jiwon: Ya! Are you crazy?!

Sungmin didn’t budge, but he saw Jiwon’s parents sharing a glance. They agreed.

On the way to the bus station in the car, there was silence in the air, so Jiwon tried to open a conversation,

Jiwon: Eomma, Appa… Why did you come to Seoul so suddenly today?

Mom replied,

Mom: Well, what’s wrong with your parents wanting to see you and sending you food?

She added,

Mom: If we didn’t come, how are we gonna find out that you have a boyfriend already? Why didn’t you tell us?

Sungmin’s grip on the steering wheel fastened as he gulped in nervousness. Sungmin uttered,

Sungmin: I apologize, Abeonim and Eomonim… I should have sent my greetings to you first.

To that, Jiwon’s mom replied with a genuine smile, expressing her fondness for Sungmin,

Mom: Ani, it’s not your fault at all, Im-seobang.

Jiwon blurted,

Jiwon: Mwo? S…seobang?!

Sungmin blinked his eyes and gulped again as he was startled at Jiwon’s mom’s statement.

As they reached the bus station, Sungmin gave Jiwon’s dad a handshake plus a 90° bow, and Jiwon’s dad gave him a pat on the back, saying

Dad: Right, I’ll leave our Jiwon to you. Take care of her well.

Sungmin: Yes, I will, Abeonim.

When Sungmin was about to give Jiwon’s mom a 90° bow, she prevented him from doing it and instead gave him a motherly hug and spoke,

Mom: Thank you, for loving our Jiwon. You’re my daughter’s first boyfriend.

Sungmin could only smile at Jiwon’s mom’s words. He bowed once more and let the parents leave before them.

As Jiwon and Sungmin saw the parents disappear in front of them, Jiwon turned her body to Sungmin, teasing him with her cute voice, and pinched his cheeks,

Jiwon: Sungmin-aaaaah, you did so well!

Sungmin pulled himself back, trying to stop Jiwon.

Sungmin: Ya ya ya ya! Stop it! You-

Jiwon let go of her fingers on Sungmin’s cheeks and turned back, walking towards the car. But before she walked too far, Sungmin chased her and gave her a peck on the lips. He said,

Sungmin: This is for the failed kiss that I wanted to give you earlier in front of the house.

Jiwon complained at the briefness of the kiss,

Jiwon: Aish! If you want to repay it, do it properly!

Jiwon tip-toped and kissed Sungmin’s lips with all her might. She sprung in her steps for the remaining distance to Sungmin’s car.

Sungmin chuckled as he saw his girlfriend’s cute and spontaneous behavior. He followed behind to his car.

6.12 p.m.

On the bus, on the way home…

Jiwon’s Mom: Yeobo, what do you think of that kid?

Dad responded,

Dad: Well, I like him. He knew what he wants in life and I can see the sincerity in him.

Jiwon’s mom nodded in agreement. Something came up on her mind suddenly and asked,

Mom: But I’m curious… Can a person who works at a TV station buy his kid who’s in the university a nice car like that?

Upon hearing her words, dad looked over to his wife and started to question the same thing.

Glossary

Makjang (drama): a sylistic, tonal, or narrative element in dramas that chooses to play up outrageous storylines to keep viewers hooked despite how ridiculous the stories become [T/N from dramabeans.com]

Tangsuyuk: Sweet and sour pork

Seobang: An expression used to 1) address one’s son-in-law or to 2) address someone’s husband (in this case it applies to no. 1)

Thanks for reading.

Read the next chapter:

Chapter 5

#ssongsungmin #song jiwon #im sungmin #song ji won #im sung min #son seung won #son seungwon #park eun bin #park eunin #age of youth #age of youth 2 #age of youth season 2 #jtbc drama #kdrama #korean drama #fanfiction #jiwon #sungmin #the beginning of something unexpected

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sole-cuore-amore-e-droga · 5 years

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Tel Aviv 2019: Straight outta Albania to Eurovision with ethno beats

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Sorry to be late to start all this, but you know, Albanians love doing their show around the Christmas period - whether before or after. xD So after this show, I was rather engulfed in Christmas and stuff, packing the gifs for every family member, putting them under the tree and waking up to see their (belated) reactions to their own gifts. Oh, and a festive dinner on the Eve. (And now it's been less than 1 and a half months since the end of this!)

But enough about that, you guys are here for my honest review, right?

Right.

I, for one, am a true fan of the ridiculous runtime of Festivali i Këngës në Radiotelevizion Shqiptar (and how the full lenght title is pronounced with the broadcaster’s name included every other single time), and that's because it allows me to discuss every single detail that I see, that goes wrong, that's just plain hilarious, and printscreen those said things. Among all these weird sights that can be seen during the interval acts and advertisements there's at least one instance of somebody in the show being such a "mood". Just like the broadcaster's current higher up for all things Eurovision at home (i.e.: commentator, spokesperson and occasional conversator), Andri Xhahu:

“mmhmm sure, keep on telling how much you love all the acts while I pretend I care, but in fact I’d rather just go home and eat something real quick”

Trust me, everyone in this show is a master of not giving a single damn. Artists, backings, instrumentalists, interval acts even maybe? All kinds of people in Albania are just mediocred out by things happening in FiK, thus nothing is remotely surprising!

Well, except for the results this year. Sure, everyone had their little outrage on social media the very time it was revealed that the international public’s darling Mirud did not impress the FiK jurors enough to qualify, but others were simply rejoicing that at least another big fave qualified - and to the fans’ dy shokë, a favourite won once again! And this one is an artsy, mid-tempo call to all of the abroad Albanians to “return to the land”, provided by the one and only, Jonida Maliqi.

And so you thought a big FiK favourite wouldn’t manage to win 2 years in a row... let alone reach Eurovision. It was nearly a given FiK juries could rather have had their traditional FiK-ness when picking the winner and that it would have become Lidia Lufi or even one of those old people, one of them being THE CONDUCTOR OF THE WHOLE SHOW (and if he was not qualifying, he’d probably have been ultra upset and leave his position from FiK’s orchestra that he has now observed every year since idk), so it’s refreshing to see Albania take on some new winds - last year with Eugent Bushpepa, this year with Jonida. Not that she was a big favourite of mine though, but you know, “Mall” was so incredibly difficult to top standart-wise that I actually didn’t really mind letting go of the songs by Dilan Reka, Klinti Çollaku and Alar Band (and 3 more nonqualifiers) emotionally. I mean, with the competition this incredibly improving in competence and easy good winners, it was a given that none of these would have even come close to reach a stellar placing in the final leaderboard of FiK. And yes, I consider my taste incredibly out of fashion with what everyone wants. Thank you for noticing.

When I first heard this, I didn’t really have a great impression on this track - the 1st verse/chorus and the 2nd verse/chorus have an extreeeeemely long gap between each other, which bothered me. Shouldn’t the song have some short enough gateway to pass the point across easier? The second thing is that it’s a little too slow. Not long after she won I became acquainted with the song’s Nightcore versions (yep! 2 of them exist apparently), and going back to he studio version of this, the slowness of it put me off. But on later listens I managed to appreciate its better qualities - the song is intense, tackles a decent topic (which will probably be underlooked if the staging does not account for it clearly enough - looking at you France 2018), the folksy interlude is too precious to be gotten rid off for the upcoming revamp (I just think it needed to be placed elsewhere... until I realized it is in an alright position songwise), the backing vocals at the last few seconds add some charm to the song, and at least there are some vocalisations! Juries obviously love it when an act tests their high vocal abilities, and often great notes don’t go too unnoticed by them. Remember why was Eugent’s performance so loved by the juries - if he haven’t done THAT, nothing would have given him a final ticket in the first place.

So that means that the first time viewers at home have a hefty fine chance to also not get what’s happening, right? Unless the music gets drastically devamped (like in 2016) and the performance is too heavy to connect with this song, it is probably going to do alright. The 2nd night performances this FiK were all devoted to the idea of preparing the acts for Eurovision in an unavoidable case of one of them winning. And Jonida’s performance uses rather cartoonish (but decent cartoonish) city-at-night shots in the background (with street lamps, traffic lights, maybe a bridge and the rest) and several random dancers too, which you can see for yourselves below:

youtube

(I’d like to inform her though that constantly interchanging street motives on the background aren’t a very good addition - Latvia 2009 went with all-round street and city signs and that didn’t work, and the 2009 stage was HUGE! Also maybe the dress is a little too extravagant for the topic of the song but that’s a nitpick. Sorry about it)

And even though it’s just 1 song (and the reason the top 1s keep poping up right after FiK is over - a common practice even among very small Eurovision fan Youtube channels) (edit: now we have 4 songs at the point of me finishing this but still), I do believe that already writing it off is harsh. Obviously the Albanian revamp curse is going to take place, but sometimes it comes to a complete advantage if the artist knows what he or she is doing and how to turn everything to their strenght rather than weakness. Eugent just happened to do more impressive vocal heights than Lindita. And Eugent didn’t even need to wear something too extra unlike Lindita, which for some reason was having to deal with a bridal attire..? not a really suitable wear for a song about world problems, yanno what I mean?? So it’s for the better if Jonida’s team doesn’t have to harm the song all too much, choose a connecting staging, do something piercing about it, don’t make Jonida look like a clown on stage, and generally don’t let her come across as too weird and cold-hearted. She should be seen pouring her heart out and let the world know that she’s talking to the Albanians (and hopefully even Kosovars) ‘round the world - to all the Ritas, to all the Duas, to all the Bebes.

Approval factor: I didn’t say I hate it so I approve it wholeheartedly! Yes I like.

Follow-up factor: in my sole opinion I would still find “Mall” way better but this current entry is good enough also, so it’s obviously a fair enough follow-up after the previous and the rest past entries for Albania.

Qualification factor: somewhere in the middle of things right now, if only Jonida’s capable of making everythhing against her work in her favour and shock the naysayers like Eugent did post-revamp that looked like it killed his chances

NATIONAL FINAL BONUS

If you don’t want to read any more of my review from this point on, just simply leave this post, thanks!

But if, however, you do want to read these post-ramblings, pls b mah frien.

So did we have Fest 57 through and it always delivered a fiesta of too many ads and too many intervals. Like you could have sworn that this show should have ended 5 years earlier than initially planned. Yet you wake up and find it still going, but more in the post-show form, with the jury still continuing to blabber about what exactly do they like in a contestant’s song for some reason. And then, when you least expect anything to happen - they mention “lista finale”! Ahh what a miracle.

Anyway, in this segment I’m here to highlight some special things that have happened:

• The puppetmaster from Night 2. No one knew what was that for, no one knew why was it needed, no one knew if it was even a little bit funny. But this Francesca Michielin’s auntie delivered a bunch of stuffed ‘humans’ to show around in front of the camera and stage something out of them. And the world was s h o o k

• Sound problems. One contestants had quiet mics at the beginning of the song (and this is FiK, which means that the poor acts WILL get a definite repeat of their entry, even if they had said their word against it. Sorry Miss Põldvere...), and another act got away with the entirety of it being completely not tuned in correctly soundwise, thus sounding completely all reverb-y and at one point even the mic feed for the backings was louder than the vocals of the artist. Hilariously enough, the both reprised acts won an award!

• Speaking of which, everyone thought that the first award of the night was actually the winner announcement. Even me. Oh how much we were falsely alarmed on this particular thing... xD

• Obviously the results. I honestly don’t think that Mirud’s nonqualification is such a mystery, despite the fact that as of lately the FiK juries are down for uplifting the audience faves. But I saw something that could have turned his song into something unbearably weak and nondescript, despite his pain and heart streamed out in bold colors through the song, considering this is the country that revamps their entries a lot. It could have been, and I’m dreading to say this but I am gonna say it anyway, a meaningless R’n’B ballad trying to show something, but projecting it too weakly. Of course I liked it, but I wouldn’t have pointed at it saying; “that right there, it’s definitely a contender”. But I definitely felt sorry for him and his song. Look what I messaged him:

• Dilan Reka’s quality stepdown. Look, I didn’t even listen to “Mos harro” as of yet, but I can definitely feel that “Karma” is some sort of a sub-par standart entry everyone gave hard time for because it wasn’t as likeable as “Mos harro”, which could have been the beginner of the good Albanian streak I suppose had it won the NF over Lindita? Or at least that’s what the fans think. Anyways, I liked “Karma” and I don’t ever want to stop defending its fun factor. The only thing not worth defending in this is Dilan’s styling:

No but WHO TOLD HIM YELLOW SUNGLASSES AND THIS SUIT WERE A GOOD IDEA???? leave.

• The girl who sang "Hallelujah" during a results break (there were several of these, can you believe that?). That was presumably Ana Kondra (you know, the one that advised to not touch her tree two years back? In JESC?) presumably singing in a personally warped take on English language, if not the actual English.

• Somewhere in the world there was hype-a-comin’ for these two: the cheap beats queen Soni Malaj and the retro hipster queen Orgesa Zaimi. While I can’t say I disliked their songs legit, it beats me as to what is attracting people to support the latter a lot, considering Orgesa submitted a bit of a huge stepdown from the cheerful “Ngrije zërin“. She at least retained her hipster attire though, even if without those French sunglasses. Oh and as for Soni, I gotta commend the Eurofan audience for still giving in some cheap Balkan pop trash! Though for country like Albania, it was never gonna win anyways. And I wasn’t hyped either. Seriously, who thought that adding some extra confused guys spout “bum bum bum” at the beginning was remotely GOOD??

Think I noted all momentswise. May I add that I’m glad to hear Jonida was allowed to sing in Albanian by RTSH (who apparently DECIDE what kind of language is more fitting for their own entry once it’s decided it’s ready for Eurovision???? I feel you, Elhaida’s composer from FiK 2014, if I had to face these rules, I’d have quit too)? It definitely takes this song up for advantage, and who cares if no one can understand it - we still have had an Albanian song about personal matters qualify, plus it was performed live on such an unfortunate occasion back at home so the power had to be extremely maxed out for that to work, and it did.

And one last thing: I did only watch the final of this, and the first time I heard this performed live, I was lowkey convinced this would indeed win because the orchestra made it sound like a stereotypical FiK winner - dramatic female ballad/midtempo/whatever having this dramatic power in chorus with all of the instruments blown right onto it. Not even the rest of the top 3 and other ballads this year were this much instrumentally packed. So there goes.

#eurovision 2019 #tel aviv 2019 reviews #albania 2019 #jonida maliqi #ktheju tokës #albania

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thedisorg · 7 years

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This weekend there was a Folk Punk fest in my city, so here’s my review of BRIS-FOPO

BrisFOPO Part I:

1. James Brook: Environmentalist punk music. Did both acoustic and electric. I think he likes Billy Bragg, by the sounds of things. https://jamesbrook.bandcamp.com/ 2. Quinton Trembath: I loved this guy since I looked him up about a week ago to check out the bands. Quinton plays an acoustic guitar, and he's accompanied by Hannah Morell on the fiddle. Very folky. Did not disappoint live, he had good chat in between. Plays mostly really lovely songs. https://quintontrembath.bandcamp.com/album/tuns-of-fun 3. The Dangerous Folk. Local. Celtic-influenced Punk From what I could gather talking to one of them after the show they're a pretty new band, still working out their sound and they'd been playing as a six-piece but were short staffed having just sacked two members, leaving a more punk lineup. Worth keeping an eye on. Included an Electric Mandolin, so that's a good start in my book. Had good stage presence. https://thedangerousfolk.bandcamp.com/releases 4. The Dead Maggies: 'You can't go apeshit to a completely acoustic band.' - someone who hasn't seen The Dead Maggies. 'Tasmanian Convict Punk' telling old stories with energetic folk songs. Loved it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzOmfHiZA-4http://www.thedeadmaggies.com 5. Fox & Firkin: Celtic punk. Another electric mandolin, this time as lead, interchanged with electric banjo. Honestly just sounded like a Australian band doing Dropkick Murphys songs, except for the one that was basically Drunken Lullabies (Flogging Molly) with different words. Still, I like those bands so I didn't mind so much. By this point I was pretty exhausted. https://foxnfirkin.bandcamp.com/

Overall a top night

BrisFOPO Part II: 1. Andy Paine. A local and active member of the community. Protest songs on the Acoustic. Did a cover of 'Thou Shalt Not Steal' by Kev Carmody, always a positive there. Also author of the hit song 'Don't Kill People'. https://andypaine.wordpress.com/music/ 2. Laura Mardon. Sad songs, acoustic guitar. Very folky. https://lauramardon.bandcamp.com/ 3. Steve Reed. A guy in plaid pants who can't remember the name of his own songs plays the guitar fast and sings political songs badly. I loved him. https://easystevereed.bandcamp.com/releases 4. Jim Mongrel. He opened with an a-capella number called 'Sometimes Antisocial but Always Antifascist' which set the scene pretty well. An Anarchist artist who lived in Sydney and has fronted a few bands, now living in Northern NSW. Up for a good chat between songs. Inventive lyricism. Other hits include 'I Wanna Set Fire to Eddie McGuire'. https://www.facebook.com/JimMongrelMusic/ 5. Wilson & The Castaways. They had a guy who played the harmonica and someone else on a euphonium so that's a good start for a band. I don't really know how to describe them, but they were definitely fun. Also they completed the requirement for a Johnny Hobo cover at some point in any Folk Punk gig. show.https://wilsonandthecastaways.bandcamp.com 6. The Button Collective. From Lismore. A little bit different to the others these ones were a 4-piece (although sometimes they play as more) with fiddles, a guitar, a banjo and a double bass all standing around one mic and playing something very bluegrass, sea-shanty and bush band influenced. Very talented. Lots of facial hair. Excellent to listen to. I've tried to find an accurate representation of what that set was like because none of their other videos quite captured it but this short one is more like it. https://www.facebook.com/buttoncollective/videos/1343679122384048/ Great band. Loved it. 7. All Strings Attached. Sunshine Coast. In truth I probably could have really enjoyed them but by this point in the weekend I was absolutely exhausted and just wasn't in the mood for their big, loud, excited gypsy-punk sound and wanted to hear more of The Button Collective. https://www.facebook.com/allstringsattachedband/

#FOlk #Punk #folk-punk #folk punk #brisbane #bris-fopo #celtic punk #cowpunk #gigs #music #ausmusic #brisfopo

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cellphonepartswholesale · 5 years

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Step by Step Guide To Fix Your Iphone Cracked LCD Screens!

The motivation of learning to fix your damaged

iPhone LCD screens

is your deep attachment to it. Not loving your favourite

iPhone

is hard-to-believe statement because come on its iPhone. Why on earth would we not be a die hard fan of this iconic unusual devices. Let’s acknowledge this fact that holding your most favorite model either iphone 6 or latest iPhone X Series, It's always ignites the sense of belonging, a joy of treat and little sparkles in life. Tragedy of breaking Your

iPhone LCDs

We all went through those three seconds of mini heart attack as you bend down to pick up your dropped iPhone. Nothing in the world can make you feel dreadful than those spider web like cracks on your once shiny unblemished screen. It is everyone's mistake as I myself experienced that sinking feeling of loss. And, if you don't have a membership of Apple care you might get wounded fingers or having the thoughts of buying new one which can be a little too hard on pocket. As complicated as it seems for a novice, you can actually fix your iphone or get it fixed by not spending too much. Let’s answer your million questions of How’s further. What to do right away:

Screen can be smashed in different level of severity and you could be handling minor crack along the corner to completely web like shattered display with no working on the device. We will try to guide you dealing best with each situation but first what you should do right after your LCDs got damaged?

First thing to do is to analyze your iphone by not just giving a quick glance and put it back in your pocket but actually a deep look by putting it on a surface level to your eye.

Check it with your finger’s sheer pressure and how many cracks do the screen gets. Is it still working or just completed shuts down due to heavy smash? Whether the screen is about to fall out or fail completely? In most of the cases it will still be in place so you can at least keep using it until the proper maintenance is done.

Another situation when your iphone is seriously damage requires quick backup of all your data on the phone. In case it dies completely, your photos videos and all important files will be secure in somewhere else.

And, If it's already not functioning then my friend you need an expert opinion - A third party best iphone renewal services in USA is your best bet.

Different repair Solutions to Consider:

We know you must be eager to jump to any quick solution possible but we also know that it is highly important to educate you first about each solution. Remember that doing-it-yourself fix which does not guarantee results is challenging. Several things can be done while trying it out, you can cut your finger on a cracked display, injure yourself while fixing the phone or can damage the delicate internal components of the phone. If you are feeling a little bit hesitant they we will recommend you to send your cracked LCDs to a

Third party professional repair centres

otherwise if you can totally pull-off DIY iphone fix then go confidently for the step by step guide to fix your iPhone below: Self repair cracked iPhone Screen:

Before You start a repair, If your LCD glass is intact but the screen is black or you have lost touch control, you should always give a chance to soft reset at this point.

Press and hold the Power button on the right side of your phone.

While holding the Power button down, press and hold the Volume Down button on the left side of your phone.

Hold both buttons down until you see the Apple logo on the screen.

If the Apple logo doesn't appear after holding down the buttons and waiting for at least 90 seconds, your phone likely needs a screen repair.

General Repair Guidelines:

Always use good lighting - smart device components are small and you'll need plenty of light to see what you are doing.

Maintain a clean, organized workspace so you don't lose or confuse any components.

Group your screws so you can keep track of where they came from. Most screws cannot be interchanged.

Apply enough heat to loosen adhesive but not enough to damage the device.

At any point during a repair, if the adhesive becomes hard to separate, apply more heat.

After separating adhesive, keep the housing and screen in close proximity until flex cable is disconnected.

Things you need:

To fix your iPhone LCD you have to choose each tool very carefully and honestly speaking there are lots of

iphone parts wholesalers

but not all of them provide quality. We recommend using only quality and genuine parts from a reputable supplier like

Ispeakphone

. We have quality parts, tools, and much more for all your repair needs. The first thing you will be needing is the new

iphone LCD replacement screen

and LCD panel. Since the iPhone LCD screen and panel are strongly connected together, we will recommend you buying a single unit from a professional wholesale cellphone repair company in the USA. Apart from purchasing a good quality iPhone LCD screen replacement, you probably lack the

specialized tools

you’ll need for the job. Luckily, Ispeakphone also offers a handy kit that includes pretty much everything you’ll need.

Metal spudger

Phillips head srewdriver

Pentalobe screwdriver

Tri-point screwdriver

A Suction Cup

Clear Packing Tape

Dehydrator, heat Gun, or heat mat

While not required to repair your iPhone, we also recommend you use a magnetic mat and screw capsules to keep everything organized. You're going to be working with some tiny screw here; these will help you keep them on your table and not lost on the floor.

Steps to take :

STEP 1 - Take Back Up and Power Off:

Always remember to take backup of your mobile data before starting any DIY fix on it. Also this step is highly important if you are sending your iphone to professional repair services.

STEP 2 - Remove the Pentalobe/Dock Screws:

At the bottom of your device, on either side of the Lighting connector port, are two pentalobe screws. Remove them using the

pentalobe screwdriver

. You may also want to consider replacing them with Phillips head screws when reassembling, as the pentalobe screwdriver can strip the screws, rendering them difficult to work with.

STEP 3 - Prevent Further Breakage During The Repair:

Step three is to prevent further breakage contained and bodily harm during your repair by taping over the glass.

Lay overlapping strips of clear packing tape over the iPhone's display until the whole face is covered.

This will keep glass shards contained and provide structural integrity when prying and lifting the display.

STEP 4 - Use the suction cup to Lift the Front Panel:

Using a slightly wet suction cup, pry up the unscrewed screen. Make sure that the cup is firmly attached to the front panel and don’t be afraid to use a little force; this display is more firmly rooted to the back panel than most devices.You will want to use your plastic opening tool once you’ve separated the display enough from the device.

STEP 5 - Separating Front Panel Assembly from the Rear Case:

While holding the iPhone down with one hand, pull up on the suction cup to slightly separate the front panel assembly from the rear case.Take your time and apply firm, constant force. The display assembly is a much tighter fit than most devices.Start from the bottom and loosen the display, working your way up the right and left sides. Do not fully detach, as there are still several ribbon cables attached to the display that you will need later.

STEP 6 - Opening Up the Phone:

Open the iPhone by swinging the home button end of the front panel assembly away from the rear case, using the top of the phone as a hingeOpen the display to about a 90º angle, and lean it against something to keep it propped up while you're working on the phone.

STEP 7 - Remove Battery Connector Bracket Screws From Phone:

Remove the following Phillips screws from the battery connector bracket:

One 2.2 mm screw

One 3.2 mm screw

During your repair, keep track of each screw and make sure it goes back exactly where it came from to avoid damaging your phone.

STEP 8 - Disconnect Battery Connector Bracket:

Use a plastic opening tool to gently pry the battery connector up from its socket on the logic board.

Take care to only pry up on the battery connector, and not the socket on the logic board. If you pry up on the logic board socket, you may break the connector entirely.

STEP 9 - Removing the front panel assembly cable bracket:

Now, you can remove the front panel assembly cable bracket from the logic board, near the top of the device. Look to the right of the battery, where there is a small metal panel held down by the three Phillips screws.Remove the following five Phillips screws securing the front panel assembly cable bracket:

Three 1.2 mm screws

One 1.7 mm screw

One 3.1 mm screw

Incorrect placement of these screws during reassembly will cause permanent damage to your iPhone's logic board.Remove the front panel assembly cable bracket from the logic board.

STEP 10 - Disconnect the Ribbon Connector Cables:

Once you remove the metal panel, use your plastic opening tool to disconnect the three front panel assembly cables.Use a spudger or a fingernail to disconnect the :

front-facing camera and sensor cable connector.

Home button cable connector

Display data cable connector

You can now fully remove the front panel display from the rear case.

STEP 11 - Remove the Front Panel LCD Display:

Remove the Front panel from the rear case. Now you’re left with the front screen and LCD display. If your LCD display is also damaged, you can start reassembling your phone with the new LCD and front display. If you’re planning on using your old LCD display and just replacing the cracked screen, you’ll want to remove the six screws holding the LCD display to the front panel. There are two on both the left and right sides of the LCD, and two on the back panel. Remove the LCD panel.

STEP 12 - Remove the Earpiece Speaker:

Now you need to remove the components that you’ll need from your existing front panel display, starting with the earpiece speaker. It’s attached by two Phillips screws and should be fairly obvious, since you already know its location. Remove the two screws holding the earpiece speaker and bracket in place from the top of the assembly. You can also remove the one screw that sits to the right and a little below this as well. This holds the heat shield in place on the back of the screen. For this, use your Phillips screwdriverCarefully loosen the earpiece bracket and lift it upwards. Note that there are clips on each side that you may need to bend outwards slightly in order for the bracket and earpiece to come out. Don't pull hard as you may break or bend the bracket.

STEP 12 - Remove the Front Facing Camera:

Next, use your plastic opening tool to remove the front facing camera cable out of the display. You may have to do a bit of prying. Once the cable is out, you can remove the camera itself.The front facing camera assembly cable is folded under where the contact sits in the frame. Carefully unfold the portion and pull it out of the frame gently.

Step 13 - Remove the rear microphone assembly:

Next, remove the rear microphone assembly. This will not require the removal of any more screws; you should be able to just lift them out.

Step 14 - Remove the Home Button:

Finally, you’ll want to remove your home button, starting with the bracket that holds it in place. Remove the two 1.9 mm Phillips screws securing the home button bracket.Use the point of a spudger to disconnect the home button cable connector by pushing it up and away from the home button.

The rubber membrane surrounding the home button is very thin and tears easily.

Apply mild heat (with a heat gun, or hair dryer) to soften the adhesive securing the home button membrane.

Using your fingertip, apply firm, constant pressure on the home button from the front side of the display assembly, until the membrane starts to separate from the front panel.

Do not push the home button all the way through—you only need to get a corner free so that you can pry it free with a spudger.

Once all the adhesive has been separated, remove the home button from the front panel.

Step 15 - Reassemble with New Display:

You’ve now fully detached your cracked front display from the components that you'll need in order to put your phone back together. But you’re only halfway done. Now you get to start the reassembly.Working in reverse order, reattach the home button, front facing camera, earpiece speaker and other components to the new display, then reattach the front panel to the rest of the device.Congratulations, you now have a good-as-new device that you fixed yourself.Take note that there are small clips that run along the top of the display that you'll need to line up in order for it to snap down correctly. Don't force the display if it isn't snapping into the brackets along the side. Make sure you're lining up the top correctly and try again. If the top doesn't want to sit correctly, make sure the earpiece bracket is sitting correctly as it the clips on the side aren't completely flush, it will cause issues with seating the screen properly. Make sure you check all these points before pushing down on the display.

Replace Dock Screws:

Now that the display is back in place, use your security screwdriver in order to replace the two screws on either side of the dock connector.

Test the new Screen:

It's now safe to turn your iPhone back on. If all went well, you should see an Apple logo. Once the iPhone finishes booting up completely, make sure you check the following functions since the components involved were transferred and moved around:

Make sure the new display doesn't have any dead pixels or ghosting issues.

Check touch sensitivity to make sure the new digitizer doesn't have any dead spots. I do this by pulling up a keyboard and typing every letter on it.

Place a test call and make sure the proximity sensor and earpiece are working okay.

Launch the Camera app and flip the camera around to test the front-facing camera.

Lastly, test Touch ID and make sure it seems to be working okay. It's a good idea to pop into settings and add a new fingerprint just to make sure the reader is doing what it should do.

If all of the above checked out okay, you're good to go!

#samsung cell phone parts cell phone parts suppliers near me cell phone screens wholesale wholesale gadget parts

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