Podcasts about Lakitu

Player 2 arrives.Based on the post of MsCherylTerra, in 3 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at My First Time.At no point in the history of time or space would I have thought I'd end up geeking out over The Circlet of Nianus with Ashton Halliday. I mean, at no point would I have ever thought I'd end up sitting in the backseat of my car, chatting excitedly about games we'd recently played and upcoming ones we were looking forward to. There was no reason for me to think we'd get into a heated debate about which Final Fantasy was best, or that he'd have bad enough taste to claim that Final Fantasy VII was better than Final Fantasy VI."Next you're going to tell me you think Wheatley is a better villain than GLaDOS," he groaned."Of course not!" I said indignantly. "Wheatley's hilarious, but he's a moron. GLaDOS is smart enough to be an actual villain. But the real question is, do you think Cave Johnson is funnier than both of them or are you wrong?"Ashton threw his head back as he laughed. "We're in full agreement on that.""Phew," I said, leaning against the door. "It's a good thing you said that, otherwise there's no way we could be friends.""Are we friends?" he asked.My laughter faded as I met his eyes. There was still a half-smile on his lips, but his eyes studied me seriously."I mean; we aren't, you know. Not friends," I said."Yeah, but we used to be, like, actual friends."I fidgeted nervously. "We were kids.""Doesn't mean we weren't friends," he replied. "I don't really know why we stopped hanging out, Ramona."I swallowed hard. There was no reason for his words to sting so much; we'd stopped being friends because he hadn't invited me to his ninth birthday party. It was stupid. It was petty.And it bothered me that he didn't remember."I need to turn the car off," I said. "You can keep charging, just; I don't want to waste gas."Before he could respond, I opened the door. The rush of night air was a relief against my flushed skin and I took my time walking around the vehicle and turning it back to accessory mode before returning to the back seat."Ramona; " he started when I got in."Do you mind getting the dome light?" I interrupted. "It'll drain the battery too fast."He paused, then reached up and turned the light off as I shut the door. As I adjusted to the sudden darkness that fell over us, I realized how small the inside of my car felt."I believe you've got some Pokemon to master," I said, just for something to fill the silence. "And Zelda's not going to free herself from Calamity Ganon.""True," Ashton said lightly. "But I have a proposal for you."I closed my eyes and sighed. "I don't want to talk about; ""Mario Kart."I paused, then frowned. "What?"Ashton's face was barely visible in the darkness, but between his tone and the glimmer in his eyes, I could tell he was smiling."Mario Kart," he repeated. "Let's play it together.""You want to play; Mario Kart?""Okay, full disclosure?" he said. "I fucking love Mario Kart and no one ever wants to play it with me, and it's not as fun as a single-player game. Since we're hanging out anyway, let's play together."I was relieved that we were back to video game talk, though my confusion about his sudden dropping of the whole "friends" thing was slow to fade."Okay," I said slowly. "One problem, though.""I'll buy you the game if you don't have it," he said immediately."How am I supposed to download it? The power's out and I don't know what kind of fancy Honda your dad drives, but my car isn't equipped with Wi-Fi.""One step ahead of you." There was a rustling sound as he fiddled around for a moment, then I winced as the sudden brightness of his phone lit up the interior of the car. "I'll hotspot my phone. And we can do local play once you download it so we won't even need to stay connected."I looked at his phone, then up at the excitedly twinkling eyes gazing at me in the ghostly glow of the screen light."You're really into Mario Kart, eh?" I said, amused."Come on," he said, grinning. "I'll even go easy on you. At first.""Don't bother," I said, grabbing my Switch. "I'll have you know I'm a fucking champ when it comes to Mario Kart and there's no way I'm going easy on you."Ashton Humbled.By a glow that was ironically ghastly given the colorful nature of anything Mario-related, I destroyed Ashton."Have you ever even played this game before?" I asked after the first race, where I easily came in first."Beginner's luck," he said."Beginner? I've been playing Mario Kart since before you were born."He opened his mouth, then closed it and frowned. "I'm three months older than you.""Details, details," I said, then joined the next race."I might be a little rusty," he admitted after I wiped the floor with him again in the next race."A little?""Once I find my groove, you're going to be begging for mercy.""Sure, Ash. Gotta catch me first."He groaned as I giggled.During the third race, I managed to run him off a cliff."Jerk," he muttered."Bitch," I replied, and he burst out laughing."Just Supernatural or are you part of the whole trifecta?"I rolled my eyes as I drifted around a corner. "Do I look like I'm part of SuperWhoLock?""Blue hair, eyebrow piercing, complete and utter disdain for an overbearing mother? You're the fucking poster child for Tumblr."I missed hitting an Item Box as I glared at my screen. "Asshole."He laughed. "What, you can dish it out but you can't take it?"I gritted my teeth as an NPC Bowser blasted past me. "Let me remind you whose car this is and whose charger you're currently using.""Oh," he said, his laughter falling as flat as my tone had. "I; sorry.""Whatever."We finished the rest of the race in silence. I still beat him, but I didn't come in first."I was joking," he said when he finally crossed the finish line and the characters began to whirl around the track automatically. "I'm sorry.""It's fine.""Your hair looks awesome," he continued. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad about it or something. You look so; ""I don't care about that," I interrupted, partly because the fact he was complimenting my appearance was making me tingle in a way that was almost infuriating, since I shouldn't care at all what Ashton Halliday thought of how I looked, but mostly because it wasn't the thing that had bothered me. "I just don't need to be reminded about my mother right now."He was quiet for a moment. "Is everything; are you okay?""I'm fine," I said. "I don't want to talk about it."Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him nod."Got it." He mashed one of the buttons on his Switch. "Come on, start the next race. I've got a good feeling about this one."I snorted. "A good feeling about losing?""I'm gonna make you eat those words.""Looks like I'm going to be starving.""Big talker," he said. "You just wait."He came closer to beating me that time; neither of us came in first but he was only a couple of seconds behind me."Hope you're hungry," he teased."Oh, that's right!" I said suddenly."What?"I dug through the pocket on the back of the passenger seat. "Want some Oreos?""Does the Pope shit in the woods?""Depends on if the bear is Catholic."We both snickered, then went silent as we each popped an Oreo in our mouths. The dim light from our Switches filled the car, and I looked at him out of the corner of my eye as he grabbed another cookie."Can I ask you something stupid?" I asked suddenly.He took a bite of the Oreo. "Yeah."I picked up another one but didn't eat it, choosing instead to fidget with it by twisting the chocolate discs. "Don't laugh.""I might.""When we were kids, in like; third grade, I think? Maybe fourth?" I knew it was third grade, but I was trying to pretend like it was slightly less of a big deal than I was making it. "Sometime around then. You; you had a birthday party. Playing laser tag, I think.""Yeah, sounds about right," he said lightly.I swallowed hard, still twisting the Oreo back and forth. "Why didn't you invite me?""I did."I pressed my lips together as my stomach tightened. Of course he didn't remember."You didn't," I said. "Everyone was super excited about it and then the day came and; ""And your mom called and said you didn't want to go," he finished.I looked up, my eyes wide, to see him staring back at me with a hard expression on his face."It was third grade, not fourth," he said. "And my mom was mad because I'd insisted you were gonna come even though you didn't respond to the invitation. She'd already paid for everything for the party and your mom only called her like an hour before it started.""What?" I said. "That can't be right.""Trust me. I remember my mom being pissed about it."I bit my lip. "She said I wasn't invited."Ashton's face softened as he saw the confusion on mine. "Your mom totally hated me, Ramona. I mean, I kinda figured but my mom confirmed it after your mom called the police on me for skateboarding after ten p.m. at the park.""What?!"He started laughing. "Yeah, when I was like, fifteen. I mean, I seriously wasn't doing anything besides skateboarding, but I was scared shitless when the cops came and brought me home. I was lucky, though. He hung out to tell my mom that they only had to do something because Liz Roth was the one who called it in and that technically the bylaw did say that the park was closed after ten. After he left my mom said your mom thought I was a bad influence because she and her never got along." He took another cookie from the package, his smile fading. "I thought you'd just decided we weren't friends or something because you stopped wanting to hang out and you wouldn't even talk to me at school. I didn't know; she really told you I hadn't invited you?"I couldn't bring myself to respond. Yeah, she had told me Ashton hadn't invited me to his birthday party. And that had been so hurtful that I stopped being friends with him. And for; well, for ten years, since we were nineteen now, we hadn't been friends because my mom thought a child was, what, a bad influence? A troublemaker? And she'd;"She called the police on you?" I asked, my voice shaking with anger.

Player 2 arrives.Based on the post of MsCherylTerra, in 3 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at My First Time.At no point in the history of time or space would I have thought I'd end up geeking out over The Circlet of Nianus with Ashton Halliday. I mean, at no point would I have ever thought I'd end up sitting in the backseat of my car, chatting excitedly about games we'd recently played and upcoming ones we were looking forward to. There was no reason for me to think we'd get into a heated debate about which Final Fantasy was best, or that he'd have bad enough taste to claim that Final Fantasy VII was better than Final Fantasy VI."Next you're going to tell me you think Wheatley is a better villain than GLaDOS," he groaned."Of course not!" I said indignantly. "Wheatley's hilarious, but he's a moron. GLaDOS is smart enough to be an actual villain. But the real question is, do you think Cave Johnson is funnier than both of them or are you wrong?"Ashton threw his head back as he laughed. "We're in full agreement on that.""Phew," I said, leaning against the door. "It's a good thing you said that, otherwise there's no way we could be friends.""Are we friends?" he asked.My laughter faded as I met his eyes. There was still a half-smile on his lips, but his eyes studied me seriously."I mean; we aren't, you know. Not friends," I said."Yeah, but we used to be, like, actual friends."I fidgeted nervously. "We were kids.""Doesn't mean we weren't friends," he replied. "I don't really know why we stopped hanging out, Ramona."I swallowed hard. There was no reason for his words to sting so much; we'd stopped being friends because he hadn't invited me to his ninth birthday party. It was stupid. It was petty.And it bothered me that he didn't remember."I need to turn the car off," I said. "You can keep charging, just; I don't want to waste gas."Before he could respond, I opened the door. The rush of night air was a relief against my flushed skin and I took my time walking around the vehicle and turning it back to accessory mode before returning to the back seat."Ramona; " he started when I got in."Do you mind getting the dome light?" I interrupted. "It'll drain the battery too fast."He paused, then reached up and turned the light off as I shut the door. As I adjusted to the sudden darkness that fell over us, I realized how small the inside of my car felt."I believe you've got some Pokemon to master," I said, just for something to fill the silence. "And Zelda's not going to free herself from Calamity Ganon.""True," Ashton said lightly. "But I have a proposal for you."I closed my eyes and sighed. "I don't want to talk about; ""Mario Kart."I paused, then frowned. "What?"Ashton's face was barely visible in the darkness, but between his tone and the glimmer in his eyes, I could tell he was smiling."Mario Kart," he repeated. "Let's play it together.""You want to play; Mario Kart?""Okay, full disclosure?" he said. "I fucking love Mario Kart and no one ever wants to play it with me, and it's not as fun as a single-player game. Since we're hanging out anyway, let's play together."I was relieved that we were back to video game talk, though my confusion about his sudden dropping of the whole "friends" thing was slow to fade."Okay," I said slowly. "One problem, though.""I'll buy you the game if you don't have it," he said immediately."How am I supposed to download it? The power's out and I don't know what kind of fancy Honda your dad drives, but my car isn't equipped with Wi-Fi.""One step ahead of you." There was a rustling sound as he fiddled around for a moment, then I winced as the sudden brightness of his phone lit up the interior of the car. "I'll hotspot my phone. And we can do local play once you download it so we won't even need to stay connected."I looked at his phone, then up at the excitedly twinkling eyes gazing at me in the ghostly glow of the screen light."You're really into Mario Kart, eh?" I said, amused."Come on," he said, grinning. "I'll even go easy on you. At first.""Don't bother," I said, grabbing my Switch. "I'll have you know I'm a fucking champ when it comes to Mario Kart and there's no way I'm going easy on you."Ashton Humbled.By a glow that was ironically ghastly given the colorful nature of anything Mario-related, I destroyed Ashton."Have you ever even played this game before?" I asked after the first race, where I easily came in first."Beginner's luck," he said."Beginner? I've been playing Mario Kart since before you were born."He opened his mouth, then closed it and frowned. "I'm three months older than you.""Details, details," I said, then joined the next race."I might be a little rusty," he admitted after I wiped the floor with him again in the next race."A little?""Once I find my groove, you're going to be begging for mercy.""Sure, Ash. Gotta catch me first."He groaned as I giggled.During the third race, I managed to run him off a cliff."Jerk," he muttered."Bitch," I replied, and he burst out laughing."Just Supernatural or are you part of the whole trifecta?"I rolled my eyes as I drifted around a corner. "Do I look like I'm part of SuperWhoLock?""Blue hair, eyebrow piercing, complete and utter disdain for an overbearing mother? You're the fucking poster child for Tumblr."I missed hitting an Item Box as I glared at my screen. "Asshole."He laughed. "What, you can dish it out but you can't take it?"I gritted my teeth as an NPC Bowser blasted past me. "Let me remind you whose car this is and whose charger you're currently using.""Oh," he said, his laughter falling as flat as my tone had. "I; sorry.""Whatever."We finished the rest of the race in silence. I still beat him, but I didn't come in first."I was joking," he said when he finally crossed the finish line and the characters began to whirl around the track automatically. "I'm sorry.""It's fine.""Your hair looks awesome," he continued. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad about it or something. You look so; ""I don't care about that," I interrupted, partly because the fact he was complimenting my appearance was making me tingle in a way that was almost infuriating, since I shouldn't care at all what Ashton Halliday thought of how I looked, but mostly because it wasn't the thing that had bothered me. "I just don't need to be reminded about my mother right now."He was quiet for a moment. "Is everything; are you okay?""I'm fine," I said. "I don't want to talk about it."Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him nod."Got it." He mashed one of the buttons on his Switch. "Come on, start the next race. I've got a good feeling about this one."I snorted. "A good feeling about losing?""I'm gonna make you eat those words.""Looks like I'm going to be starving.""Big talker," he said. "You just wait."He came closer to beating me that time; neither of us came in first but he was only a couple of seconds behind me."Hope you're hungry," he teased."Oh, that's right!" I said suddenly."What?"I dug through the pocket on the back of the passenger seat. "Want some Oreos?""Does the Pope shit in the woods?""Depends on if the bear is Catholic."We both snickered, then went silent as we each popped an Oreo in our mouths. The dim light from our Switches filled the car, and I looked at him out of the corner of my eye as he grabbed another cookie."Can I ask you something stupid?" I asked suddenly.He took a bite of the Oreo. "Yeah."I picked up another one but didn't eat it, choosing instead to fidget with it by twisting the chocolate discs. "Don't laugh.""I might.""When we were kids, in like; third grade, I think? Maybe fourth?" I knew it was third grade, but I was trying to pretend like it was slightly less of a big deal than I was making it. "Sometime around then. You; you had a birthday party. Playing laser tag, I think.""Yeah, sounds about right," he said lightly.I swallowed hard, still twisting the Oreo back and forth. "Why didn't you invite me?""I did."I pressed my lips together as my stomach tightened. Of course he didn't remember."You didn't," I said. "Everyone was super excited about it and then the day came and; ""And your mom called and said you didn't want to go," he finished.I looked up, my eyes wide, to see him staring back at me with a hard expression on his face."It was third grade, not fourth," he said. "And my mom was mad because I'd insisted you were gonna come even though you didn't respond to the invitation. She'd already paid for everything for the party and your mom only called her like an hour before it started.""What?" I said. "That can't be right.""Trust me. I remember my mom being pissed about it."I bit my lip. "She said I wasn't invited."Ashton's face softened as he saw the confusion on mine. "Your mom totally hated me, Ramona. I mean, I kinda figured but my mom confirmed it after your mom called the police on me for skateboarding after ten p.m. at the park.""What?!"He started laughing. "Yeah, when I was like, fifteen. I mean, I seriously wasn't doing anything besides skateboarding, but I was scared shitless when the cops came and brought me home. I was lucky, though. He hung out to tell my mom that they only had to do something because Liz Roth was the one who called it in and that technically the bylaw did say that the park was closed after ten. After he left my mom said your mom thought I was a bad influence because she and her never got along." He took another cookie from the package, his smile fading. "I thought you'd just decided we weren't friends or something because you stopped wanting to hang out and you wouldn't even talk to me at school. I didn't know; she really told you I hadn't invited you?"I couldn't bring myself to respond. Yeah, she had told me Ashton hadn't invited me to his birthday party. And that had been so hurtful that I stopped being friends with him. And for; well, for ten years, since we were nineteen now, we hadn't been friends because my mom thought a child was, what, a bad influence? A troublemaker? And she'd;"She called the police on you?" I asked, my voice shaking with anger.

In this week's episode, I take a look at why I don't set up preorders and I usually don't write prequels. I also share my thoughts about the video game STARFIELD. TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 219 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is September the 20th, 2024 and today we are discussing why I don't set up preorders for my books and why I prefer not to write prequels. Before we get to our main topic, we'll have an update on my current writing projects, Question of the Week, then we'll talk about a video game I recently enjoyed, and then we'll plunge on ahead to our main topic. First up, current writing and audiobook projects. I am pleased to report that Shield of Conquest is now completely finished and available. You can get it at all the usual ebook stores. It has been selling quite briskly and has been receiving good reviews. So thank you all for that. My next main project, which you can probably guess if you've been listening to the show for the last few months, is Ghost in the Tombs. As of this writing, I am 62,000 words into it, which I think puts me about 62% of the way through it, because I believe the rough draft will be around 100,000 words. I'm hoping to have that out towards the middle of October, if all goes well. I'm also 21,000 words into Cloak of Illusion. That should hopefully be out in November and I've just started what will be the fourth Rivah book, Orc-Hoard. It originally had been entitled Elven Sorcerer for the fourth Rivah book, but I decided to change the title to Orc-Hoard and that will be out in either December or January, if all goes well. In audiobook news, Stealth and Spells Online: Leveling is completely done and currently working its way through processing and the various audiobook platforms. You can get it at my Payhip store right now and it should be available at all the other stores in a couple of weeks. Stealth and Spells Online: Leveling was excellently narrated by CJ McAllister. Recording is almost done on Shield of Darkness, and hopefully we can approve the final version of that next week and then that'll work its way through processing and be available before too much longer. So that's where I am with my current writing and audiobook projects. 00:02:00 Question of the Week Now it's time for Question of the Week, designed to inspire interesting discussions of enjoyable topics. This week's question: what is the most annoying video game enemy? Obviously, there is no profound reason behind this question, since we're talking about video games. I happened to be reading an article about the upcoming Starfield expansion, and the comments devolved into a rambling discussion of game design and most annoying enemies, which inspired this question. We had a good range of responses. Reader AM wrote in to say that her greatest video game enemy is her own hand-eye coordination. We've all been there, AM; we've all been there. Justin says: The Legend of Zelda series is a great bunch of video games, but they do have their annoying bits. I nominate the Like Like worm. To get sucked in and spit back out (minus your shield) is incredibly aggravating. I cannot count the number of shields I've lost to this adversary. Later versions steal money or health, but for me, you know, the annoyance of having to go back to town to get a replacement shield (while trying to avoid encounters) ranks up there. Legend of Zelda also has annoying characters. Navi is the most so- her cry of “Hey! Listen!” quickly becomes painful. I too remember the Like Like worm from the Legend of Zelda days and that was indeed very annoying. JD says: Cliff racers from Morrowind. Do I need to say more? Juana says: the vampire guarding the sewers in Vampire: the Masquerade-Bloodlines. You have to be maxed out in at least two disciplines to take them out. It's really difficult to get maximum disciplines. Ross says: at least for me, it's Cliff racers in Morrowind. They're so far out ahead of anything else, I can't even think of what I'd put in second place. Morgan says: not sure of all time, but in terms of more recent games, the Zoanthropes in Space Marine 2 are an absolute nightmare, especially when they come in pairs so one is always shielding the other. Jesse says: Seymour in Final Fantasy 10. Only boss I remember that you have to beat five times. Jenny says: that drum boss in Ocarina of Time. William says: Zelda 2 has no shortage of troublesome enemies, like the Iron Knuckles. It's probably for the best I never had the chance to play it back in the day without save states. Brandy says: The first multiplayer run through Diablo, where you're through the Easter Egg levels and every other flick of the mouse you're screaming “run away, run away!” or “hold still, so I might smite thee!” For myself, my answer would be those stupid Medusa Heads from the Castlevania series. If you've played any Castlevania game, you know what I'm talking about. You'll be climbing the stairs and the Medusa Head will somehow come in at exactly the right angle to avoid all your weapons and to knock you off the stairs to your death at the same time. Honestly, a lot of the old school Castlevania Games are much more enjoyable with save states on modern systems. A very strong runner up would be Lakitu from Super Mario Brothers. He's the guy in the cloud who drops all those Spiny Shells on your head. So we had quite a good range of responses this week, thought it appears that the Morrowind Cliff Racer may take the championship. 00:04:49 Thoughts on Starfield Speaking of video games, I actually wanted to talk about Starfield a little bit because I beat the main quest in Starfield this month. By my standards, this is fast. I first started playing Skyrim in 2011, and I finally beat the main quest in autumn 2020 on the Switch version, since that was during the height of COVID and there wasn't much else to do. By contrast, Starfield came out in September 2023, so I beat the main quest in just a little bit over a year. So here are my thoughts on the game. Overall, I would say I really liked it. It does capture the feel of being a competent space adventurer wandering around the galaxy. You can do bounty hunting, pirate hunting, mining, exploring, and a variety of other stuff. Back in the ‘90s, I really liked Wing Commander: Privateer, which had infinite random missions and Starfield kind of feels like an enormously expanded version of Privateer, or like Privateer with a Halo game attached to it, given the wide variety of firearms you can obtain. In the grand tradition of Bethesda Games, you don't even have to do the main quest or any of the scripted side quests. You can just wander around visiting random planets and fighting space pirates forever. Honestly, I probably spent more time playing randomly generated side missions than any of the scripted quests. That said, I very much liked some of the scripted side missions. The Vanguard plotline was the best of them, in my opinion. You have to help the United Colonies find the origins of a super deadly alien predator called the Terrormorph, and at the end there's a genuinely hard moral question: does the greater good justify the means for people in positions of authority? The game also improved quite a bit since launch with new patches. The updates added a city map feature which is massively useful and a Space Car you can use for driving across planetary surfaces, which makes a lot of the game's missions quite a bit simpler and easy. Now, while I enjoyed Starfield, I concede that many of its critics had a point about its weaknesses. The game relies a lot on procedural generation. Every time you land on a planet, a bunch of nearby dungeons and features are randomly generated. This can get repetitive, though honestly I don't mind that very much. It makes it easier to play the game in bite sized chunks when it's late and I'm tired and I just want to mow down some Space Pirates or something. What is annoying is that sometimes the procedurally generated locations don't match with the procedurally generated quests, which locks you out of finishing some of the randomly generated quests. That was really irritating, though it only tends to happen at very high levels. The game's main plot revolved around multiverse stuff, and as I've mentioned frequently before, I am not a big fan of the multiverse as a storytelling concept. However, it works better in a video game than in a movie or a book, and Starfield's implementation of it is quite clever. Many games have the New Game Plus concept where you beat the game and then you start a new game, but things are slightly different. In Starfield, when you beat the game, you go to a new universe, you lose all your possessions, but you keep all your skills and knowledge, so you're starting the new game at level 65 or whatever. Additionally, a lot of the quests are subtly altered because your character knows in advance what is going to happen from the previous universe, so you can get a better outcome than you did the last time, which is honestly a kind of a clever game mechanic, which makes it a compelling journey to go from universe to universe and to put right what once went wrong. Anyway, I enjoyed Starfield and I will definitely play the Shattered Space expansion, which comes out at the end of September, but enough talk about video games. 00:08:14 Main Topic of the Week: Preorders and Prequels This is writing podcast, so let's move on to our main topic, preorders and prequels. I have to admit preorders and prequel sounds like a really lame tabletop RPG for indie authors. Like if you roll a 20, your book gets picked up as an Amazon Daily deal for the US, but if you roll 1, your book file gets corrupted and you can't figure out how to fix it. Anyway, the inspiration for this alliterative title was that someone asked me about preorders, and someone else asked me about prequels within 24 hours. So let's start with prequels. Reader Juan writes in to ask about preorders: something I noticed about your books. There's never a preorder option on Apple Books. Is this by design? I know you self-publish so I didn't know if that was a publisher feature or if there's a way to preorder there. If not, no worries, I just know Apple takes a little longer to load the book. Preorders are available to self-publishers, but the reason I don't do preorders is by design. I never do preorders for a couple different reasons, which we'll go through right now. #1: the consequences of missing a preorder date are moderately negative. If you miss a preorder date on Amazon, you get locked out of doing another one for the following 12 months. I'm not sure what happens if you miss a preorder on Apple Books, but I suspect it's about the same level of penalty and this ties directly into reason two. #2 is that life is chaotic and unpredictable, and I absolutely hate making promises I end up unable to keep. Like if I get sick or something in Real Life comes along that I have to deal with immediately, I could easily miss a week of writing time, which would make hitting the preorder date either very stressful or impossible. #3: If I wrote like only two books a year, I might do preorders. That would give me enough of a cushion of time to make sure that everything is ready to go well in advance of the launch date. But I usually write and publish like ten books a year, sometimes more. With books coming out so frequently, organizing that many pre-orders would be a serious headache and sometimes I don't actually decide what I'm going to write next until the day comes and I actually sit down to start writing. Like at the end of 2023, I pretty much decided on impulse to finish writing Half-Elven Thief and had that be my last book of the year in 2023. So with the amount I write and publish, managing the logistics of so many pre-orders would be a serious headache. #4: And finally, reason number four and the most important reason: the worst consequence of missing a preorder is a loss of reader confidence. Without going into details, let's say there's been enough of that in the fantasy genre already, so preorders have too many negatives and not enough positives, at least for my situation. I'd rather just make a good faith effort of having things come out when I can and announcing them via my newsletter. Speaking of which, if you sign up for my newsletter, you get regular free short stories. Now onto prequels. Concerning prequels, reader Danny writes in to ask: May I suggest writing a series of prequels to the Cloak Game series? Shield of Conquest made me hope that it would be a prequel book to the Cloak Game series, a book that speaks about the invasion of Earth by the elves and brings some backstory of the relationship between Kathran Morvilind and Tarlia- a teacher and a student, and the discovery and invasion of Earth, or other back stories that were not developed enough. For example, what about Aiden, brother of Riordan, or Riordan's experience as a Shadow Hunter? Generally speaking, I am not a big fan of writing prequels. I have written a couple of prequel novels out of the 155 books I've written (Frostborn: The First Quest comes to mind) and sometimes I'll do short stories as a flashback. Probably the most recent example of that is Prophecy of the High Queen, the short story that describes the first meeting between Nadia and the High Queen written from the High Queen's perspective. The High Queen uses magic to look into Nadia's past and her various potential futures, and so the short story bounces all over the place in time. I have also written novels that kind of jump around in time. In Cloak of Iron, the scenes from Lauren Casey's perspective go back to even before the Cloak Game series actually started to set up why Lauren was desperate enough to save her brother that that she was willing to deal with someone like Mr. Shang of the Deathless Society. Or in the very first Nadia book, Games: Thief Trap, where we blur through the first twenty years of Nadia's life in the first chapter. That said, I do write the short stories in mind as bonus materials like the extra scenes on a movie DVD. However, at this point I don't think I would write a prequel novel, and I certainly wouldn't write a prequel series. Why not? It feels like prequels are sort of like procrastinating before you continue on the main story, which is likely what most readers really want. I've noticed some writers (again, without going into details) have a bad habit of writing prequels instead of getting on with the main story. Making yourself continue the main story instead of getting sidetracked by prequels or side quests is difficult, but it must be done for the greater good of the story. Additionally, a big problem with prequels is it's extremely difficult to generate narrative tension because you know in advance that certain characters are going to survive or certain situations are going to play out in a way you've already read in subsequent books. If I did, for example, my Andomhaim series as a prequel series, it would be set in a region of the world we've never visited and with characters we never encountered before, so that way there is a dramatic tension that the reader doesn't know how things are going to end and that will make the book more enjoyable. Also, some things are really better left to the reader's imagination, and that can include back stories. Writing fiction is in some ways an exercise in creating a line drawing and letting the imagination of the reader provide color and shadow. Like, since we've been talking about Nadia, here's someone describing her from a first-person perspective:  "A woman in a dark coat and black jeans sat across from me. She had red-tinged brown hair tied in a loose ponytail and pale grey eyes the color of knives. I thought she looked like she could stand to eat more. That, combined with the eyes, gave her a look of feverish, almost unsettling intensity. I probably outweighed her by a good ninety pounds, but I felt the sudden urge to reach for the gun I wasn't carrying." Now that's just a line drawing, right? Yet every reader will fill in that line drawing with something from his or her own imagination. In the same way, I think it is sometimes (even frequently) best to let the reader's imagination fill in the details of the character's backstory. Like Riordan- we know he tried to save his brother Aidan and failed. We know that he became a Shadow Hunter and that his first wife joined the Rebels and tried to murder him to score points with her new friends. I could write out a prequel series describing those events, but I think at this point it wouldn't be as vivid as the one that readers have generated in their imaginations. Besides, writing a prequel story would be a distraction from the main story. So that is why I don't set up preorders and I don't usually write prequels. So that is it for this week. Thanks for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes on https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

Alle Mario-Kart-Spieler kennen ihn: Lakitu ist der NPC, der euch beim Verlassen der Strecke wieder auf die Reifen hilft. Wenn ihr den Charakter allerdings aus dem Spiel entfernt, eröffnen sich völlig neue Möglichkeiten, wie ein Video zeigt.

Toss a coin to your Gaben, oh Steam sale of plenty! Toss a coin to your Gaben, a friend of humanity! ...also, can we (pun intended) kick start a HBO Mario Kart series where Grogu plays Lakitu?

The OG Kart game (thanks RC Pro-Am/Rare) - Race in 5 course cup or Battle your friends one on one. Mode 7 sprite based for that 3d look! Split screen is 2nd player or more information if you are playing single. Use Item Pickups to win. Further back better/more powerful pickups. Boost off the line if you can. Hop and slide through corners. Don't embarass me by having to be picked up by Lakitu when you get off course, ok! Collect coins flat on the track for more top speed and more shield. GP, Time Trial, Match Race or Battle Mode...like Tank!!

The OG Kart game (thanks RC Pro-Am/Rare) - Race in 5 course cup or Battle your friends one on one. Mode 7 sprite based for that 3d look! Split screen is 2nd player or more information if you are playing single. Use Item Pickups to win. Further back better/more powerful pickups. Boost off the line if you can. Hop and slide through corners. Don't embarass me by having to be picked up by Lakitu when you get off course, ok! Collect coins flat on the track for more top speed and more shield. GP, Time Trial, Match Race or Battle Mode...like Tank!!

We got cameras, we got polygons, and doggonit we got nostalgia for the N64 smash hit, Super Mario 64!Make sure to follow us on instagram @franchiseunpacked!

Patrick and Mark line up at the starting line and patiently wait for Lakitu to signal the start of the race. Beep Beep BEEEEEP! It's time to rank all 48 original tracks in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe! FRIEND US ON SWITCH Patrick: SW-1401-2882-4137 Mark: SW-8112-0583-0050

This week, it's another one of our 're-visited' series, where we take another look at one of the heavyweight titles we covered back in the show's early days.    And this time, it's all about one of the most influential titles ever made. It launched a franchise, a genre, and convinced Nintendo they could stick Mario into literally any scenario they could think of and it would make money; Super Mario Kart!   By popular demand, my buddy Kait makes her long awaited return to the Blankphone this week, and we spent almost an hour gushing about the first time Mario and Bowser rounded up their crews and destroyed a bunch of Lakitu's go-karts.   And before we talk about that, it's another edition of the 'Remember The Game Infamous Intro'!    This time around, I get called out for cheering for Canada in the Euro last week. A listener is looking for help getting their retro games running on modern TVs. And someone writes in in defence of Ubisoft Plus (after I came down on it a couple weeks ago), and raises some great points.   AND, we have another round of 'Play One, Remake One, Erase One', featuring Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Mario Kart 64!   Are you on social media? Of course you are. So follow us! We'll probably follow you back ;)   Twitter: @MemberTheGame Instagram: @MemberTheGame Facebook.com/MemberTheGame Twitch.tv/MemberTheGame

Get the Um, Actually Home Game by becoming a backer on Kickstarter! https://bit.ly/3uCF2KD Check out the different additions, prizes, and add-ons - including an all Dimension 20 deck!Jordan Doll, Nick Marini, & Liam Senior mistrust Lakitu's impartiality & debate if Donatello's cool.

Wherein we discuss the dumbest thing about the Adventure Flowchart on the inside cover (?) of All This and World War II, the first module in the Time Warp adventure series for TSR's Marvel Super Heroes roleplaying game.

¡Bienvenidos a un nuevo programa regular de Nintendrón! en esta ocasión Droni y Mario se marcan un programa desenfadado donde hablar de juegos relajantes que, o bien ya están en el mercado como New Pokémon Snap, o bien les queda muy poco para llegar a nuestras consolas, como es el caso e Miitopia. Además, pasamos un buen rato respondiendo a los ítems que ha lanzado nuestra comunidad de Discord y Telegram a los próximos lanzamientos veraniegos de Nintendo Switch. ¡Si te gusta nuestro contenido, no dudes en compartir!

¡DRONIS! Ya tenemos un nuevo programa con el podcast "Un café con Nintendo" para hablar del cuarto aniversario de Nintendo Switch. Los invitados nos darán sus impresiones de la consola, nos recomendarán su joya oculta y jugarán al semáforo de Lakitu con nosotros. Además, hablaremos de los nuevos rumores que apuntan a una nueva Nintendo Switch Pro con pantalla 720p de 7" y 4K re-escalado para su modo dock. Gracias a Pantxo, Zippy y Juan por prestarse a colaborar con nosotros. Lo hemos pasado genial y esperamos que vosotros también. Recuerda que tenemos nuestro nuevo canal de Telegram para charlar y pasarlo genial https://t.me/joinchat/aeVXsSQrmSNlNjU0

We finish our delve into Paper Mario with more companions, more locations, and more thievery and murder plotlines than before.  Yes, you read that correctly. Join us as we Lore Together. We're proudly part of the Boss Rush Games Network! Check them out, and the rest of the podcasts over at bossrushgames.com Music: "Perspectives" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Se acaba el año y en Nintendrón, como cada año, publicamos los juegos del año de nuestros oyentes en una nueva entrega de los Dron Awards. Además, los Wonderful Drons hacemos un repaso del año de Switch y también, volvemos a darle caña a la nueva sección "El semáforo de Lakitu" que tanta salsa nos ofrece.

¡MUY BUENAS DRONES! Hoy os traemos un programa distendido y de charleta entre drones de bien. En este nuevo programa repasamos todo lo que ha dado de sí el evento de los Game Awards, cómo y qué ha hecho Nintendo por esta feria y comentaremos anécdotas de la noche del pasado jueves. Además, estrenamos nueva sección que esperemos que os guste. Se llama EL SEMÁFORO DE LAKITU y en él, usamos objetos de Mario Kart para "puntuar" la actualidad Nintendera. Mil gracias a los wonderful y gracias a grigbow por pasarse por el programa.

Red and I travel back in time to the era of the Nintendo 64 to talk a little Super Mario 64. With Super Mario 3D All-Stars coming out recently on the Nintendo Switch, we thought it would be a good time to revisit the classic game.We start with the gameplay. How did we feel about Lakitu's camera abilities? How about the cap power ups? What new additions did we enjoy?We then dive into the worlds. Was Bob-Omb Battlefield and Whomp's Fortress good starting locations? Did the music deliver like always in the water worlds of Jolly Roger Bay and Dire, Dire, Docks? How good was the platforming in Tick Tock Clock?Afterwards, we visit the Bowser levels. Did we like the switch back to more linear platforming? Which was our favorite between Dark World, Fire Sea, and Sky? How do we feel about the music?We end with a discussion on the legacy of the game. Is it one of the greatest games of all time? What did it do for the future of gaming?Help support the showBecome a monthly patron: https://www.patreon.com/tgpzmediaMake a one-time donation: https://www.paypal.me/tgpzmediaDiscord: https://discordapp.com/invite/ETRz9bEFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gamingrealm/Podcast Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/799910Website: https://www.tgpzgaming.com/Twitter (Busted Buttons): https://twitter.com/BustedButtonsPCTwitter (TGPZ Gaming): https://twitter.com/TGPZGamingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tgpzgaming/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TGPZGaming/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/tgpzgamingPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/TGPZGamingShop/Two Guys Playing Zelda (TGPZ)Website: https://www.twoguysplayingzelda.com/Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/zeldarealm/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TwoGuysPlayingZeldaTwitter: https://twitter.com/2guysplayzeldaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/twoguysplayingzelda/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/twoguysplayingzelda/Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/tgpzmedia)

This week on Moscow Mules and NOP Slides, we have Carolina Terrazas (@d0rkph0enix). Lina sips on a French Martini while also talking about her love of gin. She then discusses her volunteer work with the Veteran's Community Project and how she assisted them in setting up more reliant WiFi. Lina also volunteers her time to The Last Mile where she has given talks on cyber security and organized a book collection for their curriculum. She then dives into her cyber security journey and how she landed at Cisco as well as her personal career goals to transition to an incident response role. We concluded with a discussion of KC late night food and retro video games. Warning - you better bring your "A" game if you plan to stroll up to the arcade bar in KC and challenge Lina to Mortal Kombat 2 or 4-Person Pac-Man!  If you are interested in finding more about how to get involved in the Veteran's Community Project or The Last Mile in your area, be sure to check out these links: Veteran's Community Project: https://www.veteranscommunityproject.org/ and The Last Mile: https://thelastmile.org/ David drinks a Coconut Guava Jelly Donut sour from Platform Beer Company out of a Mario themed Lakitu glass from Drete Customs (IG: dretecustoms).  Kyle sips on a Cashmere DDH Bliss IPA from Thin Man Brewery out of a Grateful Dead themed glass from Black Ninja Design (IG: blackninjadesign). Thank you to Lina for being a guest and the great conversation! We hope you enjoy. Please don't forget to subscribe! Disclaimer: The views and expressions of the guests and hosts are their own and not of their employers.

In this episode Violet is a newly emerged Princess Daisy escaping with Princess Peach from her Castle. While Peach’s true nature comes to a surprise to Daisy they’re caught by Lakitu and Bowser a little ways from the castle. With Peach subdued by Lakitu Bowser holding onto Daisy reveals her necklace covered in blood. Daisy takes account of what has happened and the power of her pain sets her stone into an a amazing firestorm of energy revealing Queen Violets ghost as dear Daisy is inconsolable fearing the loss of her love Jamie. Bowser is in shock to see his beloved standing before him. He takes his anger and slaps Queen Violets ghost but instead it knocked Daisy to the floor passed out. The stone has so much power it drained her completely. All the while Jamie and the others not far from the other Princesses are witnessing Jamie having a surge of power lighting through him and out his body..changing his hair color from red to blonde. Still too weak to fight the group gathers up Jamie and heads for Bowser’s castle. So much suspense building up! What will happen to our heroes? Will Jamie ever see Violet again? Will Daisy ever see her friends again? Will Peach stop living in her la la land world? Will Rosalina ever get a chance to fight Bowser? Stay tuned for the next episode!

So many reveals!!! In this episode Jamie fights King Bowser and Lakitu to find the whereabouts of their friend Violet. The confessions are out!! Violet confesses her love for Jamie to Peach! Jamie says he loves Violet. The King is enraged over it and fights Jamie. The power of Violets stone has made Jamie even stronger. The stone has chosen to fuse their love energy for one another protecting the integrity of Jamie and Violets love..why? While having Jamie at their disposal Bowser reveals a partial truth about Jamie’s heritage and calls him by his real name “Cloud”. The infamous Lightsabor/Toy is broken apart..!! Ahh!! Meanwhile with the power of Princess Peach’s stone it transforms Violet into her real true self as Princess Daisy, Tori is forced to shut off her cloak disguise and reveals herself to save Jamie of sudden death into her true self as Princess Rosalina. Will the group ever find Violet? Will they learn about her real name and princess title? Will these too lovebirds ever see eachother again? Stay tuned for Part6.

This week, we speed down the streets, drift around the curves, and hit our best friends with blue shells shattering our friendships indefinitely, that's right its Mario Kart! Our drivers this week are Rayne (ohnoitsrayne), Colton (@ctrainmedia) and our guest Ally (@arialblu). Follow us on Twitter at @thetryforce_ and on Twitch at @thetryforce_! Also turn around, you're going backwards, can't you see Lakitu telling you?

Before Nic Cage donned the flaming skull of Ghost Rider, the Spirit of Vengeance has inhabited many bodies, dating all the way back to the Stone Age. Since we didn't want the goofiest iteration of Ghost Rider to be a boy on a wooly mammoth, we decided to mash this universe together with Mario Kart to bring you some flaming skulls with your red shells and your banana peels. Todd pitches a Parakoopa with a violent past, Kyle gets metal with a frowny-faced Lakitu, and Andrew holds a different argument with a Shy Guy on a pogo stick. Debate This! is a dumb show where grown men yell at each other over video games and comics. Check out more of our incessant arguments at debatethiscast.com and keep the conversation going by following us on social media @debatethiscast.

The gang have reached the antepenultimate stage of the game! Special guest Dave returns for World 8-2, quite possibly the hardest stage in the game. As the boys battle their way through an angry horde Lakitu, Spinies, Bullet Bills, and Bougie Beetles, they take some time to look back on the arcade classic Mario Brothers. And in the lore corner: just what is the Koopa Troop, anyway? A nation? An army? An idea? We may never know. intro music: "8-bit Eighties" by injury (http://ocremix.org) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/one-stage-at-a-time/message

I’m thrilled to be able to introduce you to King Saul’s art today. On his website he writes that his philosophy is: “to dig deep into the subconscious and build new worlds through art by tearing down the walls between beauty and horror, reality and fantasy, the hearing of pictures and the seeing of sounds. Intrigued?”…     [If your podcast app isn’t showing the featured art for this episode above visit rebekahnemethy.com/artink7 to check it out.   Castbox and Podcast Addict are both apps I recommend that do show episode specific art.]     Links from the Show at a Glance:   Artist: King Saul AKA Saul Bateman Title of Art: Smell Artist’s Website: https://www.king-saul.com/ Instagram: @kingsaulart   Art Ink Submission Guidelines: rebekahnemethy.com/artinksubs       Art Ink Podcast Transcript:   [Intro:]   What’s up everyone? Welcome to a brand new episode of Art Ink!   So, many of you may not know this about me, but I think I’m far enough away from my high school years to share it without getting too embarrassed. I used to be a gothic chick. There, I said it. There was a brief period in my life when I wore black lipstick, jeans that could fit my entire body in one pant leg, and one of those ridiculously thick ball chain chokers. Back then I was fascinated with all things horror.   I’m telling you this because when you go visit our featured artist’s Instagram page, you may wonder why his art is so different from the art I have been featuring. Lately I’ve been drawn to brightly colored abstract art, but there is still a place in my heart for creepy dark art too, and I thought you might like to know where that comes from before I introduce today’s artist.   If you’ve ever seen a book called Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, which was one of my favorites growing up, you might remember the epically creepy artwork. And today’s artist has a style reminds me of these illustrations from my childhood, which brings with it memories of slumber parties and readings under blankets by flashlight. I used to love to be scared. And I’ve often wondered why I stopping seeking the thrill of a good scary story.   Anyway, this introduction might be a bit anti-climactic… because it’s only as I’ve been writing this that I realized my story doesn’t exactly match the mood of the majority of our featured artist’s work, although a scan through his Instagram page will certainly give you Edgar Allen Poe and Nightmare Before Christmas type vibes, today’s story is not scary at all and I’m doing my very best not to apologize for that… because I have a horrible habit of being sorry for everything AND because inspiration works in mysterious ways and that’s ok.   The things that inspire us don’t always show up as perfect reflections in our work. That’s what makes art so awesome, because the trip this drawing took me on, may not be the same one it’d take you on if you didn’t have me here influencing you with my own perspective.   Back in my goth chick days I was very afraid of the unknown, and over the years, while my fascination with the so-called supernatural hasn’t died down any, my fear has transformed into awe and wonder. I still ask why, all the time, seriously, I’m kinda like a 5-year-old, but I don’t automatically jump to the worst-case scenario anymore. And, so I guess that’s just my long-ass explanation for why I’m not sorry for writing today’s story. Haha.   Well, I’m thrilled to be able to introduce you to King Saul’s art today. On his website he writes that his philosophy is: “to dig deep into the subconscious and build new worlds through art by tearing down the walls between beauty and horror, reality and fantasy, the hearing of pictures and the seeing of sounds. Intrigued?”   I don’t know about you but that’s a mission I could get behind, because, yeah, I am intrigued! Aren’t you?   Let me try to paint with words what Saul’s created:     [Art Description:]   I’m not 100% sure, but to me this sketch looks like it’s done in pencil and pen. A disembodied nose hovers in the center of the design. On the bottom left a rose rests just below the nose, and there are other flowers scattered all across the bottom of the page. Swirls of scent rise up from all of the flowers, but while most of the scents float midair, the rose is sending its swirls straight into each nostril of the floating nose. On the far left a stick of incense releases a swirl of smoke that intermingles with the steam rising from a hot beverage just behind it.   Saul calls this piece “Smell,” and it’s this sketch that inspired the following ghost story I’ve titled, “The Sweet Scent of Roses.”     [Story:]   Mark sat straight up in bed. The scent of roses was so strong, it was like a bouquet of flowers was in his face. He inhaled deeply, exhaled, inhaled again.   The last time Mark had smelled a real rose was at Jasmin’s funeral. Though, before that, he couldn’t step into their home without being overwhelmed by the sweet smell.   A few more deep breaths confirmed that the scent hadn’t faded away. Over the past few years this had happened before, but it had always faded away quickly, leaving Mark to believe that the sweet sensation had been a trick of his imagination, a memory so strong his mind created it as a sort of comfort food for his soul.   He wasn’t imagining it this time, though. There were roses infusing his every breath.   Mark glanced around the room. “Jasmine?” he whispered. He didn’t think it was possible, but the scent suddenly seemed stronger. “Jasmine,” he sighed, “I knew it was you.”   Something urged him to get out of bed. He imagined Jasmine giggling in a cloud above him, a mischievous smile that thinned her big blue eyes just enough for it to be seductive, the way a thong somehow sexifies a butt cheek. Mark knew she’d laugh at that analogy if she were still here. In fact, she’d probably make it up herself. He couldn’t see her at all, of course, but it was as if she were luring him through the darkness with a rose in her teeth, always just out of reach. That was his own imagination though. If she was here it was probably more like Lakitu (lah-KEE-too), that pesky cloud guy in Super Mario Bros., but instead of flinging Spinies down to the Earth below, she had a bouquet of roses on a fishing line.   He followed the smell all the way into the hallway and it suddenly disappeared. Mark nodded his head back and forth sniffing the air, but it was gone. He turned back toward the bedroom and suddenly he was smacked in the face with sweetness. He followed his nose to the closet and walked up to his own naked body reflected in the mirrored sliding doors. Did Jasmine want him to get dressed?   The smell wafted in and out as Mark pulled on jeans and a hoodie, but never fully disappeared. He imagined Jasmine bouncing excitedly, like the moments before they got on a new rollercoaster, a fun cocktail of fear and excitement bubbling out of her heels, lifting her up and down.   As soon as his socks were on the scent led him to the front door. Then it suddenly dissipated. Mark opened the door, sniffed the air; nothing. It wasn’t until he turned around that the faint scent of roses once again seeped into his septum.   Mark was beginning to wonder if maybe the spirit leading him around might be a fairy, or some other type of tiny, flighty being, judging from the way it kept spinning him around the house.   He walked back through the hall toward the kitchen. Jasmine seemed to pause for a moment midway, and so did he until his eyes fell upon the unicorn horn kaleidoscope she’d impulsively bought in Sedona on their honeymoon. It was way too much money and he hated it, but he’d never even considered getting rid of it after she was gone.   Mark wasn’t sure if the pause was a happy, proud pause or a sad, sentimental one. Perhaps it was all of those feels. At least those were the emotions he felt.   Wandering wherever his invisible incense wanted to lead him, Mark found himself in front of the refrigerator when all of the floral tones suddenly vanished from his senses.   “Really, Jazz?” Mark asked. “I’m not hungry.”   The roses didn’t come back, however, until he’d opened the fridge door.   “How about we compromise?” he said, “I’ll have a glass of orange juice… I really haven’t been that bad, have I Jazz – that you think you need to come back and nanny me.”   The scent bounced in the air, like back in the closet. Jasmine was giggling, at least that was his interpretation of the strange way the smell tickled his nostrils. He didn’t know how to read it, though, without being able to see the expression on her face. Jasmine laughed at everything in life. Laughter was her energy, her defense mechanism, her medicine.   As soon as Mark put his empty glass down the roses vanished until his nose was pointed toward the front door. Midway back through the hall, a breath of hot, moist air brushed up the skin of his neck, “don’t forget your keys,” Jasmine whispered-or did she?, and the scent suddenly strengthened. He stopped abruptly, grabbed the keys, and headed to the garage.   As he drove the mile that led out of their private drive the roses remained as an undertone. When he got to the stop sign Mark asked, “Which way?”   He flicked the turn signal up and the green arrow blinked towards the right. Jasmine pulled her roses back out of his world. When he pushed the lever to signal left the floral smell invaded his nostrils times ten.   “To the left it is then,” Mark said.   Several turns and miles later, Mark found himself turning into the Whole Foods parking lot. He’d never shopped here himself, but Jasmine used to come here weekly.   “Are you trying to make me eat healthy, Jazz?” he whispered softly, “because we both know that’s about as unlikely as a rabbit pulling a magician out of her hat.”   That bouncy tickle hit his nose again and Mark mentally checked himself. Either she thought he was hilarious, which was doubtful, as she’d heard that one at minimum a dozen times, or she was excited about what was coming next. And despite Jasmine’s constant stream of healthy meals, she’d never been that excited about food. That she tolerated cooking would be a nice way to put it, it was an obligation. No, whatever Jazz was excited about, it must be something else.   The sweet scent of roses led Mark into the store. “Do I need a cart, Jazz?” He whispered, hoping no one noticed him seemingly talk to himself. All sweetness dissipated immediately.   “I’ll take that as a no,” he said spinning in a 180 from the corner of parked carts to face the produce section. He walked slowly along the chilled wall of leafy greens as the smell seeped back into his senses. He passed the spinach, a bit surprised that Jasmine hadn’t stopped him… she used to sneak a handful or two into his smoothie every morning, he remembered the look on her face when he caught her a year into it… surprise, but then smug satisfaction as she informed him he’d been drinking spinach for at least a year already and if he tasted it now it was all in his head.   Mark was so caught in the memory that he didn’t see the puddle he was approaching. As if a “too little too late” warning as his feet slid out from under him, the tiny sprinklers above the fresh herbs and broccoli misted the left side of his body as he went down. Just before his head ricocheted off of the low shelf and onto the hard floor, the strongest smell yet smacked him in the face. Jasmine was giggling again… she always did find it funny when his clumsiness got the best of him, often apologizing and uncontrollably cackling at the same time. Why would any of that change after death? That’s the last thing Mark thought of before everything went black.   ***   “Are you ok?” a concerned voice asked.   The voice brought Mark back to reality, back to the grocery store, but it did nothing to tame the ghostly remnants of his late wife.   In fact the sweet smell was so strong now, it was starting to sicken him. He couldn’t escape it. It was as if he were dropped into a densely packed pool of potpourri, unable to swim to the surface, petals stuffed into his mouth and nostrils.   Mark’s head was throbbing, the pulse pinching the back of his left eye. He slowly parted his lids, letting the light in cautiously, luckily the silhouette above him blocked most of the light. Long, dark, curly hair made a sort of cave around the woman’s face.   She spoke again, “Can you hear me?”   “Yeah… I’m ok,” Mark managed after a minute.   The woman grabbed onto his forearm and pulled him to sitting. The mist still spritzed the air and clung to her curls like glittery morning dew. Behind her an abandoned cart stood askew, empty except for a single bouquet of red roses. Another bouquet lay abandoned on the floor somewhere between where she knelt and the path back to her cart. “I keep telling them about this puddle,” the woman said, “I almost went down myself last week. Do you think you can stand?”   “I think so.” Mark said and then tried. The woman helped steady him as she got to her own feet. As she rose her face was revealed from the shadows. Worried turquoise eyes darted around his face.   “I’m fine,” he assured her, though, truth be told, Jasmine’s floral infusion was still at full power and his queasiness was on the rise.   Mark’s lie did nothing to calm the stranger’s features, though, so he headed towards the scattered flowers on the floor to prove himself.   “Thanks,” she smiled as she accepted the now disheveled bouquet, shifted the unruly flowers to one arm, hugging them to her chest, and extended her free hand. “I’m June,” she said.   “Mark,” he replied taking her hand, and he couldn’t believe it, but the scent actually got stronger, and he involuntarily gagged.   “Are you sure you’re all right?” June asked, her features back on high alert, “you don’t look so good… are you nauseated?”   “Yeah, just a little, but it’s the smell of those flowers doing it, not my fall.” Mark said weakly.   “Really?” June said. She glanced at the flowers in her arms and then back at him. She didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know, nausea is a common side effect of a concussion,” she said as she turned to place the flowers back in her cart, “you should really get yourself checked out.”   “I’ll be fine,” Mark managed a smile as he said it. Jasmine had let up on the perfume since he’d voiced his problem aloud and his stomach was settling.   “Ok, Mark,” June said, “but if you change your mind, I’d be happy to give you a ride to the emergency room.”   “Nah, I’m good.”   “Ok… well, good luck,” she said somewhat awkwardly and pushed her cart down the aisle.   As June got farther and farther away, so did Jazz’s scent. Had he been imagining this smell the whole time? Was it just June’s flowers he’d been smelling since he’d entered the store?   Unsure what to do next without his floral guide, he headed back outside and sat on a bench.   “Jazz?” He whispered.   Nothing.   “Jasmine, are you there?” He tried again.   Still nothing.   “What was that all about?” He muttered to himself this time. “Am I going crazy?”   Mark sat there for a while, reimagining the day he’d had so far. To his left, the automatic doors slid opened and closed, popping out people like a factory line of grocery Barbie dolls. A seemingly endless stream of blondes in yoga attire walked past him.   He attempted one more time to prove his own sanity. “How do you drown a Whole Foods Barbie?” he paused. “Put a scratch and sniff sticker at the bottom of her kombucha cup!”   That did it, and he could faintly sense the roses bouncing in his nose again.   Through the glass doors he spotted June checking out, she was like black beauty in a herd of palominos. The invisible incense ramped up again, and suddenly, he finally got what Jasmine was trying to say.   “Jazz…” he whispered, looking down at the ground. “I don’t know if I’m ready yet. I still miss you so much.”   She was still there, but she was pulling back, as if to say, “don’t be ridiculous, Mark.” It was easy enough to imagine… she’d said it plenty of times before.   He looked up and to the left and saw that June was heading toward the double doors. “I love you Jazz,” he said. “Thank you.”   Mark rose just as the doors parted and when June locked eyes with him, a broad smile spread across her face.   “You change your mind, killer?”   “Well the thing is, I kind of hate doctors,” Mark confessed, “but maybe you can keep me company? Ya know, just in case I take a turn for the worse?”     [Conclusion:]   A big shout out goes to King Saul for being so kind as to share his art with all of us today, I’m so grateful for your generosity, Saul! If you’re interested in the cover art used for this episode you should know that a slightly altered version of “Smell” is actually available as a linoleum print. This is 1 of the 5 pieces that are a part of Saul’s Synesthesia Series.   In case you don’t know what synesthesia is, it’s described as a “condition” in the dictionary, but I’m going to call it an ability… I might even go so far as to say it’s a superpower, and it’s when someone’s senses connect in ways that allow them to perceive things most people can’t. For example, someone with synesthesia may be able to hear colors, see sounds, or taste words. It’s truly fascinating to me… I remember reading awhile back that some people with synesthesia are able to see a wider spectrum of colors, but that’s when I got a little jealous and stopped reading.   So, now on top of wanting to write a scarier story to pair with Saul’s work, I’m also wishing my main character had synesthesia. Ugh… well there’s always another story to tell. You know that cliché about how a picture is worth 1000 words… well honestly I think that’s a vast understatement… maybe 1000 stories is more like it. And that reminds me, I’ve been putting together a long list of writing prompts for any of you artists out there who struggle with writing about your art. I have no idea when it’ll be done, but I do know that it’ll be super helpful when it is, so I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as it’s available.   So, anyway, please do make sure to check out Saul’s work on Instagram @kingsaulart or you can visit his website at king-saul.com.   Alrighty, my friends, that’s a wrap! Thank you so much for listening! Don’t forget to check back here in two weeks for the next episode… or better yet subscribe to the show so you don’t have to worry about missing out. I’ll catch ya next time!

Hey Yoshi Riders! In this week’s retrotastic podcast, we gush over our first 16-bit love: Super Mario World on SNES! Join the lesser-known Koopalings Adamsaur & Brennon Von SpikeCrotch, as they battle the Big Boo, hijack Lakitu’s cloud, and Yoshi-suck goombas into oblivion.

The boys are back for another glorious world! This time we're going to World 6-1 for another night stage. Special Guest Jack gets thrown into the deep end as the game really cranks up the difficulty. Aaron blows Jack's mind when he reveals that Lakitu can be defeated. And in the lore corner, Andy reveals Lakitu's real (and incredibly long) name. Join us, won't you! intro music: "8-bit Eighties" by injury (http://ocremix.org) email: onestagepod@gmail.com twitter: @onestageatatime IG: @onestageatatime FB: facebook.com/onestagepod --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/one-stage-at-a-time/message

It's the gang's first harrowing encounter with Lakitu as we embark on World 4! Our good friend Jared joins us as we discuss our Nintendo beginnings, the sentience of Lakitu's cloud, and whether or not Super Mario Land is good. intro music: "8-bit Eighties" by injury (http://ocremix.org) twitter: @onestageatatime email: onestagepod@gmail.com FB: facebook.com/onestagepod insta: @onestageatatime --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/one-stage-at-a-time/message

Backstory of the three princess and their families! Queen Lina and her Sister Queen Violet are walking in the gardens of Toadstool Palace while Princess Rosalina and her sister Princess Peach are playing with Yoshi, Queen Violet’s faithful companion and friend..The two Sisters are talking about Violet’s newborn baby Daisy when all of the sudden they’re under attack by Bowser and his minions. Queen Lina sends her daughter Rosalina in her pod to the observatory for safety and while in the process of sending her lil Peach wanders off and finds herself with a hovering Lakitu reaching down to eat her..Queen Lina pushes her daughter aside and Lakitu takes a deadly bite killing her in the process. All while the King Toadstool is battling with his brother Bowser on top of the roof of the Castle..in the end Violet sends off her baby Daisy with Yoshi to safety as she stays behind to die..her necklace is what keeps her alive and now it’s fate is sealed with her daughters..what will happen next? What happens to Peaxh and Shroom? Will infant Daisy be ok? Make sure to stay turned for Part 5!

If We Ran NintendoSeason 2 Episode 136Shout Outs!!Hey Guys, I just thought up a new mode for MK. Where you have to collect extra life mushrooms and/or 10 coins to make an extra life in order to be saved by Lakitu. Otherwise its game over like F-Zero. Any thoughts of ideas for other new modes? - Andy the Ninformant!What Hidden Jams do you want remade or sequels to? - Josh StapletonRSS Feed: https://www.nintendoguru.com/if-we-ran-nintendo?format=rssWhat did you think about todays episode? What was your favorite part? [[please leave a comment below and tell us!!]]https://www.youtube.com/nintendoguruSubscribe to Nintendo Guru for more!------------------------------­----Follow Sean Capri for more!------------------------------­----TWITCH: https://www.twitch.tv/seancapriTWITTER: https://twitter.com/seancapriINSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/seancapri------------------------------­----Follow Nintendo Guru for more!------------------------------­----WEBSITE: https://www.nintendoguru.comTWITCH: http://www.twitch.tv/the_nintendo_guru YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/nintendoguruFACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/nintendoguruTWITTER: https://twitter.com/nintendogurusINSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/nintendogurusDISCORD: https://discord.gg/a6j9z26

Hey! You! Get off of my cloud...and into today's guest, Lakitu! We talk to this Mushroom Kingdom resident about her time slinging Spiny's at Mario, hanging out on the Mario Kart racing circuit, and what really goes on inside that cloud. Enjoy! Starring Chelsea White! (@TheChelseaWhite) @PlayablePodcast

Have you ever felt lonely? Lost and wandering an abyss of your own creation? Like life is a confusing mess of asphalt, a highway that stretches on to infinity and everyone but you knows the path to victory? Hi, my name is Lakitu, and if you call now I'll give you 50% off my new self-help system: "Lakitu, Bring Us Home with Lakitu."

After their surprising defeat of the Lakitu, Princess Crania, Dario, and Yoshi find themselves falling into a town full of Bubs that have lost their luster. This seems like the perfect time for some shopping and spot a mysterious house just outside of town.Twitter: @CKTcastEmail: CKTcast@gmail.com.Talk about the show using the hashtag #CKTcast!Jake: @jj_masonJosh: @JNics04Shannon: @shannonmanorAlan: @Alan_Sells

Legendary Rhode Island DJ Cisco Wonder brings you an 80's night throwback playlist jam packed with nostalgic goodness. Featuring the Debut of "Tricky Ricky" a track sure to make you smile! Check back soon to hear more from Cisco Wonder" Track Listing: 01 Goomba 02 Luigi 03 Koopa 04 Boo 05 Birdo 06 Peach 07 Toad 08 Yoshi 09 Bullet Bill 10 Lakitu 11 Blooper 12 Shy Guy 13 Whomp 14 Dry Bones 15 Chain Chomp 16 Cheep Cheep 18 Mario 19 Hammer Bros 20 Spiny 21 Bob-Omb 22 Magikoopa

Don’t forget to subscribe to the show in your favorite podcasting app!  Patron This episode of SwitchCraft is brought to you by Patrons like DoortoDoorGeek! Support SwitchCraft and my other content for as little as a dollar and get exclusive rewards, at https://www.patreon.com/runjumpstompFeedbackMarcReymon - reviewed the show. The best Switch Podcast. Period. Gather ‘round kids. Let me tell you of why I think this podcast is the absolute pinnacle of Nintendo Switchery podcast perfection….First and foremost , RJS has the voice, the disposition, and maybe most importantly) a love for all things Nintendo. Put all that together in a padded studio and you’re cooking with gas my man. The show lasting on average 30 minutes is absolutely perfect for someone like me who is just about always slammed with work, traveling, or just trying to catch up on sleep, I can always squeeze in a half hour show to get caught up on the latest and greatest news within the Nintendo universe. I really can’t say enough good things about the show; it’s my all time favourite and I highly recommend it to anyone who is just as much of a Nintendo fan as I am. Thanks again RJS. I wish you lots of success in the future. I’ll be there supporting you every step of the way!JCavuto gave 2 stars and said there are many better Nintendo podcasts out thereSevin Korbo gave 1 start - Just falls short of what other podcasts bring to the table. One person rattling off news by himself does not a good podcast make. Yeah he has a nice voice, but I can’t stand it for so long, unbroken by any other voices or other opinion. That’s what makes Nintendo Voice Chat so good, they have multiple people with diverse gaming backgrounds. One person just can't cover all the Switch has to offer from a place of authority.JJeco also gave one star - A little one noteEmail Karl Emailed - Hey there, hope you are well.I have four friends who own a switch. Yet I'm the only one to have downloaded the Switch online app. There reasons for not downloading is that it's very bare bones, and is not particularly useful.I've come up with a couple of simple ideas which could entice people to use the app. Access to the E shop, allow me to buy content, when I'm away from my switch. Allow me to buy Amiibo data, and use my phones NFC to use data on my switch. Some of the Amiibo are hard to find, and some folk do not want the figures. Having a digital collection with out the clutter but all the benefits would be great. Access to my game screen shots. Take a pic in game, Up load to Lakitu (the Nintendo cloud) and have access to them on my phone, to do with as I want. Most people take there phone everywhere, so have some sort of street pass, maybe swap friend codes of people you pass.Are there any features you think would make the app better .........VoicemailNewsNindies @ Night stream on HyperRPGShovel Knight AmiiboNYKO unveils their portable dockNBA2K

We're pleased to announce our newest show: FIRST VS LAST! FIRST VS LAST covers long-running music and videogame franchises by discussing at length the first and most recent entries of the series. FIRST VS LAST seeks to answer questions like: How have characters, storytelling techniques, and plot points changed over the years? Did the series change focus over its sequels? What series mainstays were there from the beginning, and what was added over later entries? Our first episode covers the long-running Mario Kart videogame series. Vince and special guest Cody start with 1992's Super Mario Kart (for the Super Nintendo) and compare it to 2014's Mario Kart 8 (for the Wii U).   Listen as Vince and Cody are surprised to see how much of the Mario Kart formula was right there from the start (like the lightning bolt, Lakitu saving you when you fall off a cliff, and freaking Rainbow Road), and what things went away and came back (picking up coins on the track)! Along the way, they cover when the pesky blue shell was added, when the battle mode stopped being a major focus, and the rise of online gaming. Also, they talk about their favorite kart racing games that sprung up in the Mario Kart wake (Diddy Kong Racing: Yay! / Star Wars Super Bombad Racing: Boo!)! Next time: Raiders of the Lost Ark vs Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!

On this week's show, we are joined by special guest JENSEN KARP (GET UP ON THIS). Jensen is a podcaster, art gallery owner and an author. His new book called KANYE WEST OWES ME $300 will be released June 7th and can be pre-ordered through http://jensenkarp.com/. You should also check out his podcast, GET UP ON THIS on iTunes and http://Earwolf.com. As for comic books, Jen and Shawn and Jensen discuss: X-Statix #11 (2003) Highlights include: - Kevin Smith at a pool party - Doop is Lakitu from Super Mario 64 - the state of Venus Dee Milo's shoulders - skateboard relationships - Mister Sensitive does the Dab Guy Gardner: Warrior #23 (1994) Highlights include: - shape-shifting tour guides - Guy Gardner: lousy weekend dad - the Keebler Elves get some company Please rate, review, subscribe and tell a friend! Continue the conversation on Twitter @angryheroshawn and @JenStansfield

FEATURING: New Business: Bumpy's Party, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Ni No Kuni, and Wind Waker HDListener mail features discussion of how series evolve (or don't), listeners disliking Mario Galaxy, and Nintendo's online plans