#But everything I find online is quite expensive and very bad quality. I don't know where to get a cheap yet decent (for the price) set

[darklovecat]

April Favorites!!

Longchamp Gunmetal Le Pliage Large

If there's one bag I will always recommend, it's the Longchamp's Le Pliage. Look there's a reason Longchamp has a cult following and I've been lucky to have joined it in my first year of high school. I've lived with my black Longchamp on 3 continents.. Travel, class, shopping trips, gym, outings, work, it's been with me everywhere in good and bad weather. I'm clumsy, I don't baby my bags and just throw it over my shoulder or in a corner and despite that it barely shows any wear and tear except for tiny holes in the corners which are an easy fix but I refuse to get them done because they bring me comfort and they remind me of good memories. This bag is THE bag, it's always appropriate, it's classy, it's timeless.

This color is very ambiguous, it's sort of gray and blue and dark khaki and a washed out black all at the same time so I can combine it with most of my outfits. I bought the large one because I do a lot and this thing carries everything and more. I would recommend the medium one for a very classy look, large for busy people, small never - I think the small one is too unstructured to look good and the ones with short handles are not only hideous but also useless. For medium and large: I can't think of a single situation where this bag wouldn't work. I own a few both reps and original so it just made sense to invest in another piece. They're not too expensive but overpriced for a nylon bag, it's longevity makes up for it though and the leather handles are quite high quality.

A Pair of Handmade Mary Janes.

My everyday black beater ballet flats were falling apart so I needed another pair of black flats ASAP, it took me a few months to find an ample alternative because I am way too picky about my shoes. I don't really wear heels because they're uncomfortable and I live in a big city where I have to walk 10k on a bad day and my style leans elegant not sporty so sneakers don't look good on me either and I avoid them. I was open to a pair of Mary Janes, I'm not a big fan of shiny y2k patent leather chunky shoes, I think they look cartoonish, and I didn't want to look like a schoolgirl, so I was very very pleased when I found these classy ones online and immediately hit buy. I love it when I can look good with no effort and these do it every time. I'm thinking about getting them in velvet finish and smooth leather to add, not the full grain thing that's going on here. They're more grown up and elegant than the popular style, and they're flat. I wore them out a few times and I must say I am in love with them. The leather is smooth and buttery and they're as comfortable as house slippers. The bands are elastic so I don't need to do anything, I just jump in and I'm done.

A Pair of Back Seam Stockings.

My weapon in the event of an emergency. I love to spice things up once in a while, I may be covered from head to toe but that doesn't mean I can't lean into whatever I want to lean on, I'm doing it for my myself and god knows how love a good pair of stockings. I own all sorts of different lengths, derniers, models in my collection and I only own them in the black or a tan tone that matches my skin, all other colors look trash imho. I also dislike polka dots or any crazy patterns. My personal favs are lace and back seams. I hate to say it (I don't) but there is literally nothing more alluring then a pair of stockings on a woman and I love wearing them with my pencil skirts. Nobody knows what I'm wearing under my clothes and that's the way I want it. I'm wearing a visual emblem of my faith, I know and love who I am and what my identity means to me and millions of other women, it makes me feel so safe. And I love being a woman, I embrace my femininity and the power that comes with it, there's nothing like pulling up a pair of silky stockings and securing them with a garter belt so I am locked and loaded and good to go!

[studyingkoala]

Hey! I was just wondering (as a fellow Aussie) how you buy a lot of your stationery (like muji) because I don't live near a major city and I struggle to find most of it online without crazy shipping.

Hi there! Well, I live close to the city of Sydney, so I have access to places such as Muji. But I mainly got my stationery in Japan because I lived there before. But in Australia, I get my stationery from these places:

Ebay. I would say that this is your best bet. You can find super cheap stickers, washi tape, and sticky notes here ($1-$2). Those are mainly China or Hong Kong based sellers. Also, you can find other stationery (such as everyone’s favourite mildliners, Sarasa, Pilot pens, etc.) for decent prices without the high shipping cost. These are around $2-4 each. Of course, if it’s a higher quality pen/mechanical pencil, it would cost more than that.

Amazon. Like eBay, you can also find a lot of stationery for decent prices here. Sometimes I find other things (eg. Stabilo pastel Swing Cool highlighters) that I can’t find on eBay.

Officeworks. There’s a lot of great stuff here at Officeworks! They have pretty much everything. You can find things that are popular amongst the Studyblr community, such as Pilot pens, Uni-ball, Pentel, pastel Stabilo highlighters, etc. I’ve seen mildiners on their online store (haven’t seen them in store yet.) It has a shipping cost, but you can choose the pick up option. They also have very high quality brands, such as Parker. Also they have super cute desk supplies and storage. A lot of my folders and book stands are from here.

Typo. This is one shop that I miss when I’m abroad. They’ve got super cute stuff here! The pens are aesthetically cute, but are pretty average when it comes to writing. So for practicality, I don’t recommend the pens. But notebooks, diaries, decor, storage, etc. it’s great! If you like Moleskin or Leuchtturm1917  notebooks (but find them too expensive), Typo has notebooks that are great alternative to them. They’re still slightly pricey ($20 or so), but they’re good quality and so much cheaper than Moleskin/Leuchtturm. I’ve been using one for a few years now.

Kmart. Kmart has seriously upped their game in the past years. They still maintain their super cheap prices, but their stuff has improved so much! They have really cute stationery and storage that’s worth checking out. The pastel rainbow washi tape that I always use is actually from here. I think it was $6 for the pack of 14.

Big W. Like Kmart, they have nice stationery for cheap. I’ve also seen Pilot frixion pens here. I like their storage, folders, notebooks, and sticky notes. I recently bought pastel artline pens from here.

Target. A little bit more expensive than Kmart and Big W, but again, they’ve got really cute stuff here.

Daiso. In Australia, almost everything is $2.80, but it’s still very cheap. I haven’t used their pens or highlighters before, but I’ve seen some people around use them, so I think the quality of them can’t be bad. But for me, Daiso is great for simple pen cases, folders, storage, sticky notes, stickers, and pen holders. They’ve also got some nice acrylic storages. They have acrylic drawers for makeup/stationery, but it’s very small, so I bought one just to store my stickers and small sticky notes. My main acrylic drawers (that you might see in some of my posts) was bought from eBay (Amazon also has them.)

Miniso. This only opened near me a year or two ago, I think. Like Daiso, this is another Japanese store with really cute things. I’ve seen a lot of people using highlighters/pens from Miniso. But like Daiso, I like Miniso for their pen cases, storage, etc. 

Kikki K. This is expensive, but you find it in many places. I absolutely adore their things, but I don’t shop here so much simply because it’s too expensive for me. But their stuff is adorable, unique and high quality.

Muji. I have easy access to Muji stores where I live in Australia, but I bought all my Muji things in Japan, so I haven’t needed to shop there yet. It’s there when I will come to need it though. However, if you don’t have easy access to one, I guess that your only option would be to buy it online. You can check eBay because there will probably be some there.

Kinokuniya. I don’t know where you live, but again because I have easy access to Sydney CBD, I sometimes buy my Japanese stationery (and books) from Kinokuniya. This is the only place I have seen mildliners sold in-store (in Australia.) They cost $3 each.

Rakuten/Dokodemo. These two are Japanese websites where you can find things for their original prices in Japan and you can find Japanese goods that you can’t find in other places. However, they have high shipping costs, so it would only be worth it if you buy a lot, I think. I’ve only used these when I’m desperate. Before buying on here, be sure to check eBay and Amazon first because if they have an item, it’s most likely cheaper there.

In Summary:

For writing implements and washi tape, I recommend eBay, Amazon, Officeworks. The advice I always give is: with Japanese or German stationery, you can almost never go wrong. So keep an eye out for them. Brands include: Zebra, Uni-ball, Pilot, Stabilo, Pentel, Artline, Faber-castell. You find find some of these even in Woolies (Extra tip: Woolies has $8 alternative notebooks to Moleskin/Leuchtturm notebooks that are really decent.) In Australia, German brands are found quite easily in most places. Also, the Crayola supertips are super popular amongst the Studyblr community (I’m not a fan of calligraphy so I don’t have them) and you can find those anywhere. For folders, sticky notes, deco, and storage, I recommend: Typo, Kmart, Big W, Target, Daiso, Miniso, and of course, eBay, Amazon, Officeworks. If you don’t mind pricey, but super cute and unique, Kikki K. If you’re desperate for Japanese goods, Rakuten and Dokodemo.

The important thing is to make use of what you have around you. There’s a lot of hidden gems in common Australian stores that other countries don’t have. 

I hope this was helpful and good luck!

[eddsworldarmageddon]

First of all, holy cow you're amazing, just getting that out of the way; otherwise this ask would be huge. Second, what programming software do you use? I now want to try to program a game, but don't know any good software. Thanks!

 Aw, you’re sweet! Thank you, you’re amazing too!

I uh… I practically wrote a novel about game making programs… so I’ll put everything under a read more:

(i hope you can see the read more button cause it doesn’t show up for me on mobile)

The program I’m using is called RPG Maker, specifically the 2000 version, which is very intuitive and reliable despite being so old. There are loads of different versions, each one more polished than the last, and they’re all available on Steam! 

I’m no programming expert, so the simplified commands allow me to do whatever I want without having to learn a coding language. It may look complicated at first, but once you learn the basics you can do quite a lot of cool stuff with it. You can even make your game for iOS and Android if you use the latest version of the program! 

RPG Maker is advertised to be simple enough for children, but powerful enough for game developers, and that’s true! I first started working with this program when I was about 9 or 10. It’s got a special place in my heart for sparking my love of game design.

The community for RPG Maker is huge!! There are lots of websites and forums you can go to if you have a question or need help programming something. There are even large libraries filled with music and graphics that people have created for others to use, free of charge! If you want to go deeper down the rabbit hole, fans of this software have created add-ons that allow you to alter the way your game plays. You can do all kinds of things using these unofficial patches, but you do have to know how to code things, which can get very difficult. Personally, I don’t use add-on programs. I would be too scared of accidentally destroying my game or something crazy like that!

Some famous RPG Maker games include: Ib, The Witch’s House, OFF, and To The Moon.

I’m not sure what your budget is, but the latest version of RPG Maker, MV, costs $79.99 at its core, and $129.99 if you get the bundle, which I assume has more stuff. If you want the version I’m using, it costs $24.99. If you’re interested in getting an RPG Maker, I’d recommend waiting for a Steam Sale, or check the website Humble Bundle for any sales they might have. Buying a game there gives you a code you can redeem on Steam, plus part of your purchase supports a charity of your choice!

Summary: Great and simple program, not free, large community of smart helpful people.

Link to the latest version: http://store.steampowered.com/app/363890/

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Another suggestion is Stencyl, a program that also doesn’t require much coding knowledge. As long as you’ve got a basic grasp of math, this should work just fine! 

The programming style of Stencyl seems a bit limited, I’ve seen this kind of software before, but I don’t have it myself so don’t take my word for it. It’s a fair bit more complicated than something like RPG Maker. You’ll need a basic grasp of how programming works before you start, but there are loads of tutorials on the site to help you get started, in case you need help.

The program works by dragging and snapping together snippets of pre-made code to make long strands of mathematical goodness. I personally don’t like this style of programming, but you can try it out for yourself and see how you like it! There are loads of cool games people have made with this program, however the community doesn’t seem to be as large as RPG Maker’s.

There’s a free version of Stencyl, but only allows you to publish games online. You won’t be able to make downloadable (Steam-type) games or mobile games.

When it comes to the other versions, you don’t pay for this program up front like RPG Maker or GameMaker: Studio, instead you pay once every year, and the price depends on which version you have. The “Indie” version costs $99 a year, while the “Studio” version costs $199 a year. It’s pretty expensive, but not as bad as our next contender below!

Summary: Interesting program, good for learning how to code, has a free version

Link to their website: http://www.stencyl.com/

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You could also try GameMaker: Studio! I don’t know much about this program, but I’ve heard good things about it. If you need a selling point, I believe Undertale was made using it. It seems pretty intuitive, and there are a lot of tutorials available on the website, if you need help!

GameMaker is the most unique out of the bunch, offering many different tools for you to use. It’s sleek and polished, with loads of options for you to choose from. It may take a while to get used to this one, it looks like a lot to take in, but with enough practice you could create a best-selling game, just like Mr. Toby Fox!

You can get a free version of this program which has a lot of the same features as the full versions, but you have limited distribution options.

The other two versions of GameMaker are incredibly expensive, with the standard version being $149.99, and the fancy ~master~ version being $799.99. That, ah, is a little absurd. Don’t get the super expensive one. Love yourself. Just…. no…….. why would it be that expensive oh my god…… do they even realize how many Delicious Taco Bell Tacos you could buy with that kinda cash??? mmmmno i dont think so. this is a really long post is anyone still reading at this point? hello?

Ahem, ah, anyway. 

Summary: Great program, more complicated, has a free version, the paid versions are BEYOND expensive.

Link to their website: https://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/studio2

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So those are my picks for high-quality game designing programs for beginners. It’s tough finding good software that’s free, actually it’s almost impossible. But, if you do pay the money to get a nice program and put in the hard work and dedication necessary to create and sell your game, the software should pay for itself! 

Alternatively, you can find online tools designed for schools and colleges that allow you to make small games, usually for free. I’ve seen a few and they’re pretty good if you’re just starting out and you want to learn how to make games. Try Googling “free online game maker” and see what you find!

Yikes those are just a few of your options for programming. Don’t even get me started on art and music software!!

Sorry this turned out so long, I wanted to be as helpful as possible. (I think I went a little overboard… whoops)

Let me know if you have any questions!