#Getting invested just means inspiration and drive and hopefully actually finishing stuff

[liedownquisition]

In the process of working on planning A Certain Fic out I've been musing about like, random niche festivals and local holidays and thinking about Gotham, and what Gotham would have. After about six hours of deep diving into weird holiday/festivals and vaguely related topics I have decided on four:

Birds Four Days - 96 hours of nonstop birding & workshops. Tim Drake learned a lot about night photography here, probably, and being sneaky. (Too bad he didn't pay attention to enough of the bird identification classes so he could pick a better name for himself)

GrotesqueFest - as in the architectural element. Gargoyles are a type of Grotesque and I doubt it's the only one common in the city. Gotta celebrate what the town's rocking! And they do, for what is officially "two days and two nights" but is usually still going for at least half of the third day.

Vigilante (k)Nights - originally called "Batman and Robin Day," this one started out super unofficial and the public pretty much bullied the gov't into making it legit by the brute force of insistently repeating it and making it bigger and bigger each year. This one has grown longer and longer as more vigilantes happened, but it settles on lasting a week by the time it's official.

Last Laugh Jubilee - listen, I don't care who does it or how it happens (that's a lie, I do), but I cannot suffer the Joker to live more than he's narratively useful and i think hes a tired joke that has gottej into the realm of beating a dead Robin horse. The name of this one isn't about Joker's last laugh though. After all, "he who laughs last, laughs loudest" - and Joker's not the one who gets to do that. Gotham city's population are the ones that get to laugh louder. This one is as much of a memorial to his victims as it is a celebration for everyone who survived. It's one day only, but usually goes on so late that they're not going to bed until mid-to-late morning the next day (if they do at all)

[clevercatchphrase]

2019 year in review

So… The 2010’s are almost over. Huh. What a decade it’s been. Hard to comprehend how much has changed in 10 years. I can barely believe that I was in high school at the beginning of this decade, and now I’m a college graduate with 2 degrees who’s been working at the same job for the last 3 years. But trying to summarize the past 10 years in a single post is a good way to give myself an existential crisis, so let’s not do that! Instead, let’s just focus on 2019 because there has been more than enough shit that’s happened to me in this year to talk about.

PART 1 OF 2: 2019 AND 2020 GOALS AND RESOLUTIONS

Huh, looking back through my archives, I apparently didn’t make a tumblr post about my goals this year. I definitely had some, though. Lemme list ‘em off real quick, and then we’ll go through them point by point.

1)      Pay off all my student loans 2)      Finish some song comics 3)      Make art for my Redbubble account 4)      Finish the first rough draft/script of a game I wanted to make 5)      Practice ASL 6)      Sew some stuffed animals 7)      Finish some fan fictions 8)      Work on Ghost Switch 9)      AMVs 10)   Do some original writing 11)   Make illustrations for my fan fictions

Okay, first off, the student loans. I was actually SO CLOSE to successfully completing this one bUT THEN MY CAR HAD TO BE A WHINEY PISS BABY AND HAVE ITS ALTERNATOR DIE ON ME WHILE I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY AND THEN A BLOW OUT THREE WEEKS LATER.

GOD, if I had to summarize this year in two words, for me it would be “Car troubles”. I swear I spent more on auto repair in the first third of this year than I ever have just freakin’ OWNING a car. All four of my tires had to be replaced, my alternator failed and my car literally just SHUT OFF while I was driving, and I was barely able to coast into a gas station. Both my front breaks and rear breaks were worn down the metal and I only learned this when my car was barely able to stop after I had to slam the petal down full force!  I went in for an oil change, and they found some problems and then I didn’t get my car back for three days! I don’t even like owning a car! I hate driving! I hate my country’s refusal to provide universal, free public transportation! I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS!

Oh-kay… number 2. Finish some song comics. I didn’t finish any. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t work on them. I have made tiny progress, but that’s certainly better than no progress. One of these song comics I hope to be realizes is going to be a collab with one of my friends. It’ll be a long-time coming as it’s pretty low priority for the both of us, but if anyone else out there was disappointed with KH3’s ending, we’re gonna have ya’ covered… With SONG!

3. Make some redbubble art. I actually did this one! Not in the way I expected, but I added (technically) 3 new designs to my redbubble in the middle of the year. If you like butterflies and dragons, I got some product for you~!

Number 4, finish a script for a game I want to make. I… thought about this. I thought about this a lot, but I never put pen to paper, so… oops. It almost happened! I debated making this my main writing project for NaNoWriMo this year, but ended up having more inspiration for another story. Maybe next year? (god, I hope not. I don’t want to wait a full year just to write something)

Number 5, practice ASL. I just straight up didn’t do this and I only have myself to blame. Still keepin’ up that Danish Duolingo streak, though. 4 years going strong and not a day missed yet.

Number 6, sew some stuffed animals. Again, another one I just straight up didn’t do, but I have an excuse of trying to save money while my car crashed and burned in every other sense except literal this year. Hopefully 2020 will be different. I’ll definitely be able to pay off this last loan within the first half of 2020, and then I can start saving for whatever I want to buy.

Finish some fan fictions was number 7, and I did this! Well, I only finished, 1, but it was a story I’ve been working on for over 3 years, and it came out to over 200 THOUSAND words long, which is the longest thing I’ve ever written, and I’m quite proud of myself. Now that the big story is out of the way, and I’ve gotten into a good rhythm of working on Ghost Switch, maybe I can squeeze in some short writing sessions more frequently. (either that, or just wait for my car to break down again and then go on a writing spree in a pepboys. The lord and the fan fic discord know that’s solely why I finished my other fic this year)

Speaking of Ghost Switch, working on it was a goal this year too, and I did that! I kept it up all year and took a vacation in November and it was wonderful. While the major plot points have been in place since before I started drawing, I still need to script each arc beyond Snowdin, but hey, by the time we get there, it’ll be 2022 so I got time. (Note, don’t do this, kids. Script your stories and comics thoroughly before publishing. The road I’m on is paved with misery and pain and it will only end in tears unless I change lanes soon)

Number 9, amvs. Do people make AMVs anymore? Idk… the last one I made was... Jesus, 5 years ago? (it was a gravity falls/fall out boy crossover, if you were curious) I’ve been wanting to do 2 more for just as long, but in order for me to do that, I’d have to spend time re-watching the shows to find the footage, and then actually edit them together, and I just don’t…. feel like it. Maybe someday, but not any day soon.

10; do some original writing. I did this! For nanowrimo! I wrote the first draft of some original fiction I’ve been planning for a year or two now and it completely sucks! But it’s on paper now and I’m happy. Will I revise and edit it? Sure, but not for a while. I want to let it sit and forget about it and look at it with new eyes months from now so I can be sure I can make it better when time comes to rewrite.

11, make illustrations for my fan fics. Now that You Monster is done, I want to go back and add pictures to it. I didn’t do any this year, but I did keep a list of scenes I wanted to draw, so I have plenty of ideas to do as warm up sketches next year~ I kinda want to stream them~

So, that was 11 goals, and I successfully fulfilled 4 of them! That’s! Not a very good ratio… QmQ So, goals for 2020. Some I’m gonna keep from this year, some I’m gonna drop and some I’m gonna add. In short I would like to,

1)      Finish paying off that last student loan 2)      Put more stuff on my redbubble 3)      Illustrate my own fan fics 4)      Sew at least one stuffed animal 5)      Make an enamel pin 6)      Read one new book a month 7)      Write one page a day/Complete at least one new fan fic 8)      Learn Python or C# for the game I want to make 9)      Finish fully scripting Ghost Switch 10)   Boost my patreon

Most of these I think are pretty self-explanitory, but I’ll go into detail just a bit because I’m on a roll and typing my thoughts helps me feel less alone in the middle of the night when you’re super tired and you know you should probably go to sleep, but the toddler in you is throwing a tantrum and doesn’t wanna go to sleep just yet, but you can’t fight the progression of time either way.

Number 1- I should be able to reach this goal by the end of March. End of June at the absolute latest. Once that goal is met, my secret new year’s resolution will be unlocked as well!

Number 2- I want to put more art of my OCs on redbubble. These OCs are tied to the game I want to make. There’s already some art of them up there, but I want at least one piece for each character.

Number 3- Mostly for You Monster. Embrace the cardinal rule of fan fic and apply it to fan art. If you want to read about see art about certain ideas, scenarios, or what-ifs, you gotta make it yourself.

Number 4- I have 3 potential ideas to sew. One is definitely leagues easier than the other two and will probably be chosen if/when I have the time and materials.

Number 5- This year I got really, REALLY into the idea of making enamel pins. Unfortunately it’s a pretty big investment (like, $350 to make 100 pins you  might not even sell). If this happens, it’ll probably be towards the end of the year, and if I get enough interest. I’m currently torn between making an original enamel pin and one based off Undertale. We’ll just have to see where this goes.

Number 6- Back in 2018 when I paid off one of my many student loans, I rewarded myself by spending over 200 dollars in used books. All these books had a theme; they were focused on dragons because I have a problem. I have not yet read a single one of these books I have bought, and I would like to fix that. I have, like, 20 unread dragon books, and even if I only read 12 out of 20, I would consider that an amazing accomplishment and money well spent.

Number 7- I currently have about 8 different WIPs I could work on. (well, I don’t know if I can even call them wips. More like, a general idea and a title written down.) I want to build good writing habits, and if I can write just 200 words a day, hell, even 200 words a week and just one of my 8 stories done, I would consider this goal met.

Number 8- I’m torn between making my game in unity or ren’py. I know jack shit about both. Ren’py is more user friendly, but unity will allow me more customization. (Lol, can you guess what kind of game I want to make yet?)

Number  9- I really just want the full story to be done and written incase anything goes horribly terribly wrong in my life and I find myself unable to continue making ghost switch in comic form. Then at least I can finish the story by other means, you know?

Number 10- It always surprises me every month when I get that patreon email saying I got paid. Sure, I don’t even make double digits on it, but it still awes me enough to know that people out there like my work enough to throw me a tip. I can’t thank my patrons enough for supporting me and I hope to one day be in such a good place I can update my comic/song comics/writing frequently enough without need for goals or milestones. But until that magical day arrives, money is always a great incentive for anything, I suppose. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 ALRIGHT. PART 2 OF 2: SHIT THAT HAPPENED TO ME IN 2019

Cheesus crust what a year. This year started off great! Back in late January Kingdom Hearts 3 FINALLY released, and let me tell you a little story. Back in the summer of 2006 I was a 13 year old middle schooler with no way of making money other than by doing house hold chores at a rate of 25 cents a task. A few weeks ago, I had a sleep over at a friend’s house and they let me play this weird game called “Kingdom Hearts” and god, I was instantly hooked on it. That summer, I did over 800 chores, enough to earn myself 200$ and buy myself a playstation 2 (just in time for the ps3 to come out, gg me) The only games I had for the ps2 were KH1, 2, Re:CoM and Okami, and I beat them all… except Okami. Miffed that the PS3 wouldn’t allow for backwards compatibility, little 13-year-old me made a promise. I looked myself in the mirror and said “I will not buy the next playstation console until KH3 comes out, AND BOY that was probably a good choice for me to make with my level of gaming. I’m even less of a casual gamer than the average casual gamer, but I have been waiting 13 years for this piece of closure, and I even told my friends and family that “the day Kingdom Hearts 3 comes out is the day I will buy a playstation 4”. My dad apparently thought this was the funniest shit, because he literally took the day off from work that Friday to drive me on base to get the game and console (he thought it would be less crowded than a regular walmart, I suppose). I paid $400 on a ps4 pro while he bought me the game. Again, I have an impecible sense of timing seeing as the PS5 is now right on the horrizion, but just like before, I’m not buying a new console until the next KH game is released. See you in 2045, sony~. While I was at the gamestop on base, I also picked up Okami HD and The Last Guardian. For all of February and even early March, I took my time playing through KH3. And…! It was the best disappointment I’ve ever played. After a month away from gaming, I started The Last Guardian and finished it in a couple weeks. I love trico and would die for him, but trying to get 100% completion on that game is udder insanity. Okami, HD, however… again after a month break after finishing TLG, I started replaying Okami. I think I had only managed to get about halfway through the game before I just… stopped playing it on my ps2 version. I am currently SO CLOSE to getting a 100% on the ps4 version. In fact, I’ve beaten the game. I only (techinically) need 2 more trophies to be done; 1st, escape the water dragon without being eaten, 2nd, I need to beat that dumb stupid race with Kai, in order to get the last bead on my rosary, as well as the top dog trophy. I hate her so much. I hate this race so much. It’s awful and bad.

Flash forward to December! Earlier this month I was at Barnes and Noble, buying myself a planner for 2020. I exit the store and notice that there’s a gamestop across the street. For shits and giggles I go inside to look at their game selection, and I find KH 1.5 and 2.5. Now, my PS2 died a few years back (it just won’t read my discs anymore, I don’t know why) and I haven’t been able to replay any of my other kingdom hearts games since. If you had seen me the day I finished kingdom hearts 3, after the ending credits rolled, you would have heard me say “Man…. I wish I could play kingdom hearts 2 again”. AND NOW I CAN, ALONG WITH BBS which I had never even played yet, but knew the story of. I’ve restarted playing kh1, and I was so happy to hear that familiar music when I booted the game up for the first time. While at the game stop, I also picked up Rime and Tearaway, two games that had looked interesting to me. At the time of writing, I’ve finished Rime and am 25% done with tearaway. Rime was…. An interesting experience. I learned about it through Jacksepticeye’s channel a couple years back and thought the art style was enticing. For a super casual gamer like me, I found the puzzles just the right level of challenging and exploring was a blast! The music gave me VERY strong Princes Mononoke vibes, but the overall story left something to be desired. Overall I had fun, and enjoyed completing this game to 100%. Now for tearaway. Can I just say this game is super fucking adorable? I know the original was on the ps vita and the gameplay there was arguably more diverse and imaginative, but this game is just so fucking cute I don’t care?? ALSO, this game’s sound track is ABSOLUTELY incredible and I’ve only heard the first fourth of it! Listen to The Orchards, Pig Riding, and Gibbet Hill Pilgrimage for a taste of their wonderful beats and fantastic use of string and woodwinds! God, I’m so excited to get some more games in 2020. I’m proud to say I currently own more ps4 games than I ever did with my ps2 (and now the majority AREN’T Kingdom Hearts titles!), and I’m still hoping to play Journey, The Witness, and Abzu before everything becomes ps5.

What else happened to me this year. Oh, I went to a doctor for, like, the first time in seven years. I also had my blood drawn for the first time ever, and the nurse said the most disturbing thing to me while she did it. Now, whenever I get shots, I refuse to look. I did that here. So she thought it would be appropriate to say to me “Can you feel your blood leaving your body?” Lady… You can clearly see I am uncomfortable with what is happening here. Why, of all the things you could say, did you choose to say that. Unfortunately, while my doctor is nice, she keeps wanting to run tests on me, that I just cannot afford with my current salary, and my monthly insurance is about to go up to 200$ a month, so I’ve cancelled my next appointment with them, and don’t plan to go back until it’s absolutely necessary. Capitalism is fun, guys. Preventative healthcare is for wusses.

I started going to a chiropractor on a monthly basis. Story time- I don’t know when it started, but sometime late last November I began to notice that I had a headache that just... wasn’t... going away? And each day it was starting to get a little worse. It made it hard for me to find a comfortable position to sleep, it made it hard for me to be in bright areas or move fast. So I said to myself “Okay, if this headache persist through the month of december, then something is proooobably wrong and I should go see someone about it. And hoo-boy were thing wrong with me. By the time this January rolled around, I couldn’t even stay on my feet for more than a few hours without it physically hurting to just BREATHE. So I started going to this chain called The Joint (A+ name, I know). THey aksed me “How are you doing?” I said “I’m in pain” and they said “We can help fix that!”. I’ve only been to a chiropractor once before in my life a few years back after my freshmen year of college because I began to notice my hips weren’t able to support me? LIke, I would lie on my back, and I couldn’t push my hips up when my feet were flat on the floor. I also couldn’t climb anything steep, because my legs just couldn’t push me up if my knee had to bend more than 90 degrees when I lifted my leg up. (Turned out both my hips were apparently out of place). This time only one of my hips were out of place (which they fixed. they said one of my legs was an inch “longer” than the other because I had been leaning all my weight on one leg when I stand). But two of my ribs were apparently “Stuck” which was why it was hurting for me to just breathe, and one of my shoulders was missaligned too, causing one of my trap muscles to constantly be streched, which was pulling on my skull, and causing the headache. Anyway, after they popped all my bones back into place, I still felt terrible, but by god, that night was the first time in weeks I was able to sleep without a migrane. A chiropractor can’t magically heal your arthritis, or fibro, but I definately think they have merit to keeping your posture good and helping your body with things like circulation. 10 outa 10, would recomend. It’s all the fun of getting your neck snapped without the dying!

Earlier this month I got together with two of my friends and we baked Christmas cookies. It was a lot of fun, as well as a great learning experience. A member of my family has a gluten allergy, so we used rice flour for most of the cookies. We learned this is a bad idea! The cookies will just fall apart! A few member’s in one of the friend’s family have nut allergies. Other friend and I knew this and were careful to avoid cookie recipes with nuts, bUT THEN COMPLETELY FORGOT THAT ALMOND MILK AND ALMOND EXTRACT COUNT AS NUT. IN FACT, ALMOND EXTRACT IS PURE CONCENTRATED NUT JUICE AND WE FELT SO BAD FOR ALMOST ACCIDENTALLY POISONING THE FAMILY.

Earlier this year me and these same friends took a field trip to Hobby Lobby and just dicked around the store for a couple of hours. It was super fun, 11 outa 10, would recommend, a great date idea for your artsy S.O.

Back in May I went to a wedding for the first time in my life. (well, not true, but the first one I could remember) we left at 5am, drove 5 hours to get there, hung out at a zoo and spent the night in a la quinta before the wedding day. I slept on the bathroom floor because my mom was snoring too loud in the main room and keeping me awake, and the rest of the day was just spent me trying to keep myself together because I was pissed off and tired.

Other than all of that, nothing really major happened to me this year. I guess one more thing I’ve tried to do this year is started the process of breaking certain internet addictions so I can use my free time for more personal projects. Seriously, I found myself watching way too much youtube and following blogs that didn’t even make me happy. I had a personal intervention with myself where I sat down and asked myself, “why do you watch these videos and youtubers? Why do you follow these blogs? Do you really enjoy their content? Do you really care? If you stopped watching/following them, would you even notice?” After critically thinking it over, I’ve found myself unfollowing several channels and blogs and suddenly I feel so much happier. I thought I would miss it, but I realized I didn’t really care if I saw their content or not. I wasn’t missing much. And now I feel like I have more time to draw, read and write. If you think you spend too much time consuming and not enough time creating, I suggest you try and de-clutter your internet habits as well. It’s done wonders to un-fuck my headspace.

And… well, that about sums up my year. How are your holidays going? Anything fun, exciting, dramatic happen to you this year? I hope your new year is warm and safe! Good night, everybody!

[mittensmorgul]

Do you think it's better for views/comments/kudos to post a fic one chapter at a time or wait until it's finished and post the whole thing at once? I don't want to overwhelm readers with a lot at one time but I also wonder if it encourages audience engagement more if i take away the uncertainty of "am i going to get invested in this only to have the author not update?"

I’m gonna be completely honest here... I... personally... don’t really pay much attention to hits/kudos/comments. They’re nice, and I like getting “You have kudos!” emails and literally save every last one of them (I have a gmail folder called KUDOS where I stash them and weep about it occasionally), and I hoard comments like some sort of deranged dragon, but worrying about how and when I’m posting something might affect kudos and comments? Nah, sorry, I just... don’t care?

I will attempt to explain how *I personally* think about this.

I personally post stuff when I’m done writing it, and when it’s convenient for me to post.

I personally NEVER post a work in progress. First off, it’s entirely incompatible with the way I write. I actually, you know... edit what I write... before I post it. Not just chapter by chapter, but the work as a whole. Not everybody writes the way I do, though, and some folks are perfectly happy to post a chapter and call it done. I just... my brain will not let me do that. That’s not how I write.

I personally almost never read works in progress, either. Not out of worry that the author might not continue to update the fic, but more because I read far too much to try and read long fic in short bites over long periods of time like that. It’s just impractical. I’ve found that I, personally, tend to forget what a story was even about and get frustrated having to go back and skim the story to that point trying to remember. Out of the few fics I’ve started reading as works in progress, I think I’ve actually finished reading a grand total of ONE of them. I find, for me, it’s a really unpleasant way to read. I like to read an entire story at once, you know? Even if it takes me several days, or even *gasp* a week or more to get through the whole thing.

Part of that is due to the fact that I’m constantly writing my own fic, too, and once a fic I’m working on reaches a certain length, I feel like I’m using all my available brain space storing *THAT* work in progress. One unfinished fic in my brain is all I can handle at a time, apparently. :P

But I do know that some people love reading works in progress, and will read and comment throughout the entire process. Some folks really enjoy the feeling of participation, watching the work grow week by week and being along for the ride. So really, how you post is entirely up to you. If you want to watch that hit count jump every time you post a new chapter, if that motivates you to keep writing, then absolutely use that to keep yourself invested in telling the story.

I guess I can kind of understand about not wanting to overwhelm readers with a huge fic all at once, but you know... it’s a fic... they don’t *have* to read it all at once. It won’t self-destruct if they have to close AO3 for a few hours or days and come back to finish reading when they have time. If it’s split into logical and convenient chapters, they can pace themselves and read at their own speed, just like any reader of any commercially published novel would. Nothing says they have to read it all in one sitting, you know? Word count has never been something that has stopped me from reading a fic if the premise was interesting, and the storytelling was enjoyable to me.

But if the hit count is important to you, and you want to see it rise quickly, then posting a chapter at a time will artificially inflate that number for you. AO3 generates a new “hit” on a fic when someone opens it again after a few days. If you space out your new chapters to twice a week, or even weekly, then that will typically be more than enough time for AO3 to generate a fresh hit as all your previous chapter readers return to read the next installment. They aren’t technically “unique hits”, is what I’m saying. But it will drive the hit count up faster and higher than posting an entire fic at once will, especially if you’ve cultivated a loyal reader base.

If kudos are important to you, bear in mind that some readers don’t leave kudos until they’ve finished reading the entire fic (so won’t leave kudos on a WIP), and if someone leaves kudos after reading chapter 1, they won’t be able to leave additional kudos for successive chapters. Posting serially will very rapidly drive your “hits to kudos ratio” down, because returning readers generate hits but no new kudos. This does happen eventually, over the very long term, to long fic posted all at once, if you have readers return months or even years later to reread your story. But posting serially, you might go from a 10:1 hits to kudos ratio in the first week of posting to a 5:1 ratio in the second week. If you do post serially, bear this in mind, and try not to let it bother you. It just means all those returning readers like your fic enough to stick with it.

If comments are important to you, engage your readers. Some folks will never comment, some will leave a “Thanks” and some will write you novels. I consider all comments a bonus, and while I’m personally terrible about replying to them (see my comment above about hoarding them like a dragon... I save them up for a month or two at a time and go on reply binges, because I’m an emotional trainwreck who enjoys reducing myself to a wibbly puddle of goo and nothing does that to me quicker than people saying nice things about my writing), but if you start conversations with your commenters, it can foster a nice dialogue and inspire even more people to participate in the comments.

So for me, the quality of what I post is far more important to me than worrying about any of that^^. I post fic when it’s ready to be posted, when *I* am happy with it, and if other people like it enough to read, kudos, or leave comments on, then that’s fantastic.

I will, however, make a nice, hopefully attractive tumblr post for what I write. For short fics like the old 600~ word oneshot I tidied up and threw on AO3 yesterday, I’ll just post the whole thing on tumblr with a title in the header and a short description. For longer fic, I’ll make a graphic and provide rating, wordcount, tagging, and a synopsis in the post, maybe with a bit of teaser text from the first chapter below a cut, and a link to read it on AO3. And I will reblog it several times over the first few days after posting, and then again at the weekend if I posted during the week. That tends to give it as much exposure as possible to folks, and if it looks enticing enough (bearing in mind I make really awful graphics, but using a site like canva helps some), hopefully folks will reblog it and spread the word. Then occasionally I’ll reblog one of my old fics if I’m thinking about it, or when it’s seasonally appropriate, or whatever. Sometimes an old story finds an entirely new audience that way.

I hope this is in any way useful to you. It definitely won’t apply to everyone, but this is how I approach posting, at any rate. Since you asked me, I tried to answer as best I could.

Good luck with however you decide to post, and congrats on your writing!

[superfamigos]

Sam’s Top Ten Games of 2016

I'm hoping 2017 is the year that the things really get going here on Super Famigos. Top ten lists are a good way to wrap up one year and get started on the next, so here's the games I really got into over the past year, some of which came out in 2016, and some of which did not. Please enjoy!

Pokémon Picross

Okay, gotta get this one out of the way first. By my estimates (supported by the records on my 3DS play log), I spent more time playing Pokémon Picross this year than any other game. This still kinda mystifies me. I'm not sure why I like Picross so much. I'm generally not that interested in stuff like sudoku or crossword puzzles. But I downloaded Pokémon Picross for fun before spring break, hearing that it was a free download, and somehow spent more time over the break playing it than anything else, a pattern that continued through the whole year.

I guess part of this has to do with the way I'm playing it. Being a free-to-play, the game has a once-daily challenge to earn the in-game currency that you would usually spend real money on. This "daily training" is actually my favorite part of the game. It challenges you to complete bite-sized Picross puzzles faster and faster, and each challenge is about 5 minutes or less. Since I haven't yet paid for the game, I need to grind for a while to earn enough money to progress; and since I don't have a ton of time to play games these days, playing 5 minutes of Picross is a quick way to get a quick video game session in. This slow, daily play means that I've been engaged for a lot longer than I would have been otherwise.

And generally, I guess it's a relaxing, mentally stimulating activity that scratches an itch that sudoku and other brainteasers haven't been able to. It helps that the game has a fun Pokémon theme, and that the special Pokémon abilities allow me to get some help on the larger puzzles that I don't enjoy as much. Right now, I'm on Area 24 of 30, but I haven't yet paid to unlock Mega Evolution puzzles or a "dark world" feature that was teased early on in the game. So it's likely that I'll continue enjoying Pokémon Picross well into 2017.

Rez Infinite/Rez HD

At this year's Fantastic Arcade in Austin, Texas (an excellent and eclectic indie gaming event I hope to attend again), I had the opportunity to try out the new PlayStation VR version of Rez before its wide release. I have to tell you: it felt great. I've tried the latest generation of VR a few times before (the first of which was Playthings: VR Music Vacation, a truly magical experience), but thus far, I don't think any other game I've played has felt as good in VR. The wire-frame, cyberpunky hacker's world of Rez is a perfect fit for virtual reality: it may not be a hyper-realistic simulation of the real world, but it feels like what you might imagine VR to look like if, like me, you grew up watching Tron and playing video games. With the headset filling your field of vision, headphones filling your ears with driving, electronic rhythms, and your controller vibrating, you get more and more immersed in Rez's signature synesthesia.

After my VR demo, I got inspired to finally go back and finish Rez. I got a free download of the earlier Xbox 360 remaster, Rez HD, as a perk for working at Microsoft a few years ago, but never actually finished it. Somehow it never gripped me before; maybe I didn't have the sound up loud enough, or maybe it was that the first level isn't as exciting as some of the later ones. But this time, I saw what all the fuss was about. Even without the VR, Rez really got my pulse pounding between the excellent music (and synchronized sound effects) and the tough gameplay (especially in the later levels). And I was intrigued by the story elements in the last area.

I'm certainly glad I finally got back to Rez this year, and hope I get to play the full VR version someday (and check out the new Area X!)

Nuclear Throne

Nuclear Throne is one of those games that I really sank my teeth into last year, and one that sank its teeth into me in turn. Like Super Crate Box, Spelunky, and FTL, it's one of those games that's good enough and quick enough that I can load up and just play incessantly, almost to the point that I started spending more time on it than I should. To be sure, I'm not part of the camp that thinks "addictive" is a praiseworthy attribute for a game (remember kids, Friends Don't Let Friends Get Addicted to Anything, Let Alone a Game), but I do appreciate how you could beat the whole game in 20-30 minutes - IF you're good enough. Again, it's a game that's easy to fit into my Busy Modern Lifestyle™.

Aside from that, I think what I like about Nuclear Throne is its tension. Even when I have awesome weapons, good mutations, and lots of HP, I never really feel safe. Part of that is the game's difficulty and good old roguelike permadeath, but part of it is the thematic spookiness. Honestly, I have a low tolerance when it comes to horror in games and other media (especially when lots of gore is involved), but I'm still kind of curious about it. (I'm the kind of guy who wants to watch X-Files but is a little scared of the monster episodes, and who watched and enjoyed Stranger Things but had his hands over his eyes for a non-trivial portion of the viewing time.) Nuclear Throne's spookiness and violence are just at the edge of my tolerance, and it packs a lot of secrets and lore that I'm intrigued by. Oh, and I'm all about that screenshake.

Pokémon X/Pokémon Moon

Until just recently, I hadn't been able to get into the Pokémon main series games since Generation 1 or 2. I love Pokémon as a concept, but I get turned off sometimes by all the knowledge and time commitment involved to really understand it, and I worry that not grinding for the right nature or forgetting the wrong move or something will hurt me later in the game. So even when I was given a free copy of Pokémon X a couple years ago (received through an awesome Club Nintendo promo, rest in peace), my excitement to try a new Pokémon only got past the first gym. But my friends (and the whole gaming world) seemed so excited about Sun and Moon, and the trailers were looking great to me too.

So, in preparation for Sun/Moon, I decided to pick up my old game of X and see how I felt about it. As motivation to keep on going, I decided to write a log of my adventure, written in game continuity, that I could share regularly with friends to show them what I was up to, hopefully gather excitement from them, and channel that back into my gameplay. To my surprise, this plan went even better than I expected, and I really got invested in my invented story and the personalities of my X-Mons.

Then release day hit, I grabbed Pokémon Moon so I could play with my friends… and watched them quickly outstrip me in the story since I didn't have much time to play. (Don't worry, I'm not bitter ;) ) After the semester ended, I've really been getting into the new game. The new region is colorful and fun, the story is different and interesting, and I like the characters and the new Pokémon. It's quite a bit tougher than X/Y thus far (at least for me), and that's motivated me to get into the game more and try to learn about stats and other nuances from my friends. To my surprise, learning about these details is actually increasing my enjoyment of the game, rather than the other way around.

Strangely though, I just don't feel the same motivation to work on logs of Pokémon Moon the same way I was doing for Pokémon X. (Sorry to break it to you, dedicated readers: the Pokémon Moon logs will mostly likely remain dormant. There's a chance that the X logs might make their way out though…) Maybe it's the fact that the Pokémon X story leaves more room for embellishment, or maybe it's that my X logs were uncomplete when I moved to Moon. The big question for early 2017 is: do I continue Moon, pick X back up, or switch between both?

The Senpai

Question 1: Do you like Seinfeld? (If yes, proceed to question 2.)

Question 2: Do you like anime? If not, do you at least have a passing familiarity with anime?

If you answered yes to both questions above, you should play The Senpai, a web-based visual novel that plays like an episode of Seinfeld ported to a CD-ROM adventure game. I don't want to spoil you on any details, since I went into the game pretty clueless, but I thought it was pretty hilarious. Check it out: it only takes about as long as an episode of Seinfeld to play.

Pokken Tournament

As I mentioned above, I sometimes struggle with mainline Pokémon games, but love the idea of Pokémon itself. Since I really dig fighting games, I was excited for Pokken as a Pokémon game with gameplay I was more interested in. The good news is that I ended up liking Pokken quite a bit. The gameplay is kinda unique as compared to other fighters, with an unusual sidescrolling/3D plane-switching mechanic, but it feels good once you get into it. My Famigo/bro Oli and I got super hype about Pokken finals at EVO 2016 (Go Braixen Boys!). And the supporting elements are good too: it's awesome to see Pokémon in HD, the music is pretty good, and the avatar customization is kinda hilarious. The bad news is that I just didn't end up playing it that much. Like I said before, time was short for me last year, and for whatever reason it didn't hold my interest as much as other things. But I'd certainly recommend it for someone who has a Wii U and likes Pokémon, Tekken, and/or Street Fighter (or even someone who's curious about those games).

Affordable Space Adventures

I was quite happy to pick this up in the latest Humble Indie Bundle for Nintendo platforms, since I'd been eyeing it for quite a while. It's kind of a smaller indie game exclusive to Wii U, so I'm not sure how much exposure it really got. It's definitely worth checking out though, since it's a great local multiplayer experience, and one of the best uses of the second-screen Wii U GamePad that I've seen outside of Nintendo first-party games. Affordable Space Adventures tasks you with piloting a small tourist spaceship with your friends (or alone, but that's not as fun).  One player pilots the ship, one player aims the lights and other tools, and one player, as the engineer, controls various functions of the spacecraft from an instrument panel on the GamePad. Later levels require some pretty quite a bit of finesse from the engineer, meaning that a lot of teamwork and communication is needed so that each officer can focus on their particular job (and screen). The default narrative in the games media is that no one ever really took advantage of the Wii U GamePad; prove 'em wrong and check out this great indie effort. Here's hoping other developers can find a way to create cool asymmetrical experiences on other platforms once we move on from the Wii U.

Overcooked

To be honest, I only played this one time for about half an hour at a friend's house shortly before the end of the year. But I left that play session wondering how I'd never heard of Overcooked, and how I could play it again soon. Overcooked feels sort of like a minigame from Mario Party or Pokémon Stadium, and I mean that in the best way possible. Maneuvering around the kitchen trying to jump between tasks is frenetic but fun. I'm hoping that this gets a Mac release, or at least that my less beefy Windows alt-machine can run it okay.

Hyper Light Drifter

Hyper Light Drifter is one of the few games on this list that I actually completed. I backed this game on Kickstarter and I'm very pleased at how it turned out. The graphical style is gorgeous (honestly, that sold me on the Kickstarter more than anything), the music is brooding and beautiful, the gameplay is tight and satisfying, and the story is compelling. More so than most action games I've played, Hyper Light Drifter has real emotion to it: loneliness, beauty, pain, awe, empathy. I'd like to talk about this game more on the site, so I'll just say I really liked this one.

VIDEOBALL

Man, I dig VIDEOBALL, and I wish it had reached more of an audience. I got super hyped about VIDEOBALL after happening upon a few of Tim Rogers' trailers shortly before release. His humor is exactly my jam, and I was immediately entranced by the smooth, silky, colorful graphics. I could tell even in the trailer that a ton of polish and care had gone into the look of the game. I bought the game on release day, had a bunch of fun playing it with friends… and quickly realized that the game wasn't taking off like Rocket League did. The Mac/Linux port never happened, which meant that I wasn't able to play it on my primary machine. I still love to talk it up and play locally with friends when I can, but I didn't really get into online play. But all that business talk aside: VIDEOBALL has excellent music, beautiful graphics, and deep gameplay, and it's worth your time and money to pick it up and bring it to a party (or two (or more)).

[stellahibernis]

Writing life

I haven’t done regular writing updates in a long while, so here’s a bit more comprehensive one just because. Mostly about writing (it’s been an unusual half a year for me), and something about life in general and the half a year of relatively minor but continuous health challenges, which are a big reason why the writing has been what it has, albeit not all of it.

When it comes to writing, I’ve been much less productive than in previous years. Mostly due to lack of energy (due to the aforementioned health problems), but I’ve also had something of an inspiration problem. Good news for me is that the inspiration problem seems to be dealt with (although possibly less good for my regular readers, since it comes with branching to new fandoms even though I’m not dropping MCU), now I need to rebuild the writing habit that suffered during the spring. I’m on summer vacation now, and will hopefully get a good amount done.

(Rest behind a cut since I got characteristically wordy)

The first weeks of the year were pretty much business as usual, including that I finally wrote the Captain Marvel fic, A New Year, that I’d been mulling over for a while, but never got done until then.

At the beginning of the year my company moved to a new office, and after a while it became obvious there was something there that caused an allergic reaction in me. It wasn’t great, but we managed it best as we could (including working partly from home and at the office I sat at least part time in one of the smaller rooms, which worked better than the open space where our desks are). It was doable, but left me with considerably less energy than usual after the work days, which obviously affected my writing.

The first few months of this year my writing efforts were mostly spent on love’s not controlled by the weather, which was a funny process, because I like the story and was inspired to work on it, but it didn’t quite feel like that because of the general fatigue going on. The whole time there was this weird disconnect between what I thought of it and the general feeling about the process. I’m happy with the end result, and also that I managed to post it when it was still early spring (it being a winter romance, sure would have been ironic to post in June, for example :D).

Anyway, starting from March, I’ve obviously been living in the same limbo as everyone else. Since March 10th, I’ve been at the office exactly once, otherwise working remotely (for reference, I live in Finland where things never got completely out of hand). I’m one of the really lucky ones who can do so relatively easily and our company was very good about it. We had a policy that we can work remotely or come to office (and rules on how to be careful if you do), but since my getting there involves public transport and I have less than great lungs due to late diagnosed celiac disease that manifested mostly as respiratory problems (hence the difficulty in diagnosis, it’s gotten better since my diet was fixed), I’ve stayed at home as much as possible.

Turns out, I most likely had the virus in March (it was very, very mild so I never got tested or even saw a doctor for it). At the time it felt like a somewhat weird cold with fatigue and indigestion, but in retrospect it was probably Covid, the biggest giveaway being that once spring came and I got more active, I noticed my lung capacity is dismal these days. It’s in fact worse now than after the bronchitis I had in my early adulthood that lasted a whole winter, and I was nowhere near that sick this year. So that’s what I’m dealing with now, although I’m getting back to my regular energy levels, just need to take it easy when walking up the hill, for example.

Unsurprisingly the general fatigue affected my writing, and I went literally the whole of April without writing a single word. The bright side was that I managed to actually deal with it in a constructive way, and gave myself permission to not even try if I couldn’t which took away much of the mental load, and probably helped me get back to it in May.

The non-writing April was also a big reason why I decided not to take part in a big bang this year. I’ve had a good time (and been extremely happy with the results) over the last couple of years I’ve participated, but at the sign up time I had no idea what I should write or if I even could get back to writing any time soon, so I decided it was better not to force it.

In May I started to feel much more inspired again (also healthier, it’s amazing what a little additional energy does for your creative drive), and at first it manifested in the form of a bunch of new ideas. My idea list is even more terrifyingly long than usual at this point, although I know realistically not all of them will get written, not even all of those for which I have more than a vague idea. I think I have about 30k of one story written that won’t be finished. Some of the themes have and will be translated into other stories (including a current WIP which definitely will get finished), and the rest of it was good practice, so no regrets even though it’ll stay in the unfinished limbo.

Before the writing break I started a Stucky fic, and it was the one I came back to in May when I started writing again, albeit slowly, in fits and starts. Over the last handful of years I’ve developed a pretty good writing habit, but apparently a month long complete break during an otherwise challenging year does a lot of damage to it, and I’m still getting back to it. Slowly but surely, and I’ve adjusted some of my process starting early this year, because focusing for longer periods doesn’t work as well as it used to. Nowadays I write more in short bursts here and there rather than all at once, but the daily word counts are getting to the similar level, which I’m very happy with.

The aforementioned Stucky fic (which still has no title, the constant struggle to come up with those!) is about two thirds done, and it’s mentally in the category “would like to post it in July” even though it has had a couple of big breaks, first the non-writing break and then my very sudden detour to other fandoms. Steve and Bucky are currently hanging at the beach with some unresolved issues, so I should get back to it :D

Generally this year I’ve had several instances where I might have branched toward other fandoms than MCU, which is quite a big indicator that the focus of my interest is definitely on the move (the laser focus of over five years is pretty unusual, tbh). I still have a lot of ideas for it and will keep writing them, but I’ll also write other stuff.

First potential branching out, one that didn’t produce anything concrete and probably won’t in anywhere near future (for the pretty obvious “creator being a despicable human being” related reasons) was to finally write the post canon HP fic I’ve been toying with every now and then ever since Deathly Hallows was released. I considered starting it early this year, but never got there (although I have a rough idea what the story would be like, if I were to write it), and now I’m again soured even at the thought of it.

Second branch, again nothing concrete has materialized yet, mostly because it came to me during April, is a Kingdom Hearts fic set post game three. I used my low energy time in getting to know what happened in KH3 and I have mixed feelings but also there was a hook that would turn into a pretty interesting story. This is in my idea pile, in the very back burner currently, but a lot more likely to get written at some point (probably not in 2020, though).

Third branch, I’ve been meaning to write a fic in the Wicked + the Divine canon, and actually started one in winter, but then I got sick. It should be a short one, so I’ll get to finishing it one of these days (tentatively places it also in the “would like to post it in July” category, but it’s the last one in that pile).

Fourth branch, which actually produced a finished story, and not only that, it was the easiest, most joyful writing process of the year (so far! Hopefully more to come), was that I got reminded of Susan Cooper’s Dark Is Rising books, read all of them over a couple of weeks, and got hit by a major case of feels. Hence Light from the Lost happened.

And the fifth branch started from where I finally watched the Untamed, promptly fell deep in that hole and now the muse is terrifyingly bountiful and demands I write all the things (I have no less than eight fic ideas already!) The one currently at works is just condensed pain when it comes to rewatching scenes for research :D

Also I have a terrible tv show hangover from it, which is very inconvenient since I want to watch the last season of Dark but just can’t invest myself into it right now.

So that’s what’s been going on for me, the current plan in life is to enjoy the vacation, get less stressed, and hopefully healthier. Writing plan for immediate future is:

Finish, edit, and post the Untamed fic on top of that queue, and hope that the muse allows me to work on other stuff after that

Finish, edit, and post the Stucky WIP, preferably in July

Decide what to write for the traditional end of year fic (look at me planning ahead!)

This has been over 1700 words of writing about writing fic, so maybe I should get to that now. On the other hand, writing this definitely helps me in building the regular writing habit, so we’ll count it as a win.

[belovedmiraclestv]

Family, Freedom and Inspiration BeLoved Miracles Couple Dirk And Muriel

Have You Had to Bite The Bankruptcy Bullet?

Is a loss in business really a loss?  It depends upon what you do after that loss.For BeLoved Miracles Couple Dirk and Muriel bankruptcy brought them online.And they don’t regret it one bit, or bite! :-)

Dirk used to work 70+ hours in his own restaurants and was missing out on his family. His kids were always asleep by the time he got home. The physical work almost broke his body down, working nonstop in his businesses. And when he calculated that he earned as much as his dishwasher he started to lose faith in that way of business.  Over the last 3,5 years he invested more than 50K in his education on how he could use the internet to get more customers for his restaurant.  With such a big success that he almost doubled the revenue and therefore he was able to sell it for a good price. His desire for being a full-time dad, having location freedom and being able to travel freely was the biggest drive to let the old business model go. He is now teaching home and small business owners how they can use the Internet to reach more customers and create more freedom.

Muriel has been a social worker and a network pioneer in the health and care sector for more than 20 years. Meaning working long hours, collecting big budgets for others, while she had to miss all the milestones of her children because of living from a tiny pay check. The switch to online entrepreneurship taught her that the freedom to choose her clients and educate students who are deeply committed gives a lot more fulfilment then working as an employee in her job.  While building someone else’s business and having to do what she was told. Being able to tap into their core desire Dirk and Muriel are known for bringing the best out of their students and clients.

You Too Will Be Inspired By This BeLoved Miracles Couple Interview:

Interview Highlights:

0:58    3 1/2 Years ago is where this couple’s STORY BEGINS…

1:49   Maybe a BIGGER restaurant will solve the problems?

3:17  What Dirk really LOVES about his life today is…

4:49  Why did BANKRUPTCY bring them online?

5:36  What was a BIG START TO A BIG JOURNEY ?

6:17  Dirk lost his PASSION for…

7:14  What was Dirk MISSING out on, AGAIN?

9:03  The first BIG ADVANTAGES of implementing a system were…

9:55  Dirk GETS UP at ____________ while Muriel does ___________

10:37  Muriel QUIT HER JOB in _________________

11:23  Daughter ASKED what her parents do says…

11:55  Together as a family they TRAVELED to ____ countries last year.

13:55  What was the LEVEL they started at online at first?

14:53  LEARNING ___________ by falling down and getting back up again.

16:11  Dirk and Muriel’s BIG REASON WHY is…

18:03   What is it that they are now helping other PARENTS with?

20:21  TOGETHER we truly all have an opportunity to ____________

Listen To The Audio Here:

https://soundcloud.com/tiandrine/family-freedom-and-inspiration-beloved-miracles-couple-dirk-muriel

Full Transcript:

Timothy – We are live today reaching all the way from Norway to the Netherlands welcome Dirk and Muriel!

Dirk and Muriel – Hey Tim, awesome man, thank you so much for inviting us here. It’s an honour thank you so much we are excited!

0:20  I sure appreciate you guys fitting this in around the holidays as we are just right before 2017 rolls out.

0:28  Muriel – Yeah, it’s a special time of year, a good time of year to reflect and to look forward.

0:35  Timothy – Absolutely.  Let me do a brief introduction of you guys. Dirk and Muriel are in the Netherlands and they’ve gone from restaurant owner and social work to online entrepreneurship.  They both have been able to tap into their core desires, Family, Freedom and Inspiration.  Bringing the best out of their students and clients.  So where does your story of being a couple building together online begin guys?

0:58  Dirk – I think about three and a half years ago is when it all started. Being raised by my parents to finish your education and find a really good job, or to find a job and hopefully it’s a really good job. That pays for your so-called social security. But I always was a little bit of a rebel.  I finished my studies and then we traveled for a year, came back and I decided to buy a restaurant. That’s how it all started.  It was a very small restaurant.  (knocking on the window in the backround) And that’s my son, It is holiday so kids are running around here.

1:49  After buying that restaurant I thought I was headed for freedom.  Because I had my own business, I was my own boss. I could do what I like. Well to a certain level, because we always had financial stress.  Sometimes of the year we were really busy and other times we were really slow, so it continued and continued.  And then I thought what if I buy a bigger restaurant, that will solve all my problems.  Surely that will be the solution.  So I did, I bought a restaurant that was 10 times bigger seating about 260 people, and wow suddenly I had 20 staff members.

2:33  It just got more busy. The problems didn’t just disappear they actually just got bigger.

2:41 Muriel – I saw you 10 times less!

Dirk -  Yes, you saw me 10 times less as well. Our daughter was born when this adventure began, She’s now about 12 years old. I missed out, I really missed out on her a lot in the beginning of the years.  I didn’t see them.  (son comes in)  Here’s my son with a big question…

3:24  Muriel -  Ok, what I can say about it is that it seemed ideal to have more business off-line.  But it was not ideal at all.

3:33  Dirk – Sorry about that.  Actually, this is part of my life now and I really enjoy it. I never used to be at home.  To fast forward a little bit, because we owned the restaurant for about 12 years.  I thought if I buy another restaurant, That’s even bigger then all my dreams would come true. I would have freedom, travel the world and spend time with my family. I did and then seven months later I had bankruptcy with that one.  Then it started rolling and rolling and rolling down. We were confronted with the situation that we really would lose everything. They let us keep one restaurant. So I knew I could save everything if I got more customers in there.

4:27  So that’s what I was aiming for and I started to look online for a solution. I saw all these people using the Internet who were actually making money on the Internet. But that was not even my goal, actually it was.  To make some additional money online, and then I figured out I could use the Internet to get more customers into my restaurant.

4:49  Muriel -  So it was the bankruptcy that brought us online.

4:53  Dirk – Yes, absolutely. And then these systems of using the Internet to reach out to new people who do not know you. And in this case people who did not really know the restaurant, so it was local. And we were really able to boost that restaurant up again. And pay off the debt, Things started rolling. And then Muriel was also not really happy in the social work she was doing. And I was not really seeing my kids because I was still working in that restaurant day in and day out.  But because more people came in I could take a step back.  And I had that taste (of success online).

5:36  Muriel -  and I became active on the Internet because I was looking over his shoulder seeing what he was doing and I saw that what he was doing was successful. He at first just started to use all the education and the tools that is all part of the system that we use. To apply that in the restaurant. And because we saw that it was working there we started to get a big aha moment.  If it’s working for the restaurant then there is much more possible for it.  So that was basically the big start of a big journey. A most exciting journey ever.

6:11  Timothy -  So what began to change at that point once you started implementing this system?

6:17  Dirk – Like I said before first it started bringing more customers into the restaurant. At the same time I lost my passion for that kind of work. It’s just hard work. Even if you’re not having to do everything. I’m not a chef, I was never in the kitchen. It’s still 24 hours a day, seven days a week and it’s always something.  Even on a holiday someone would call me to ask the question.  That was always continuing and I was still not seeing my kids.  Nick our youngest was born, he’s already seven so at that age he was only three or four years old.

7:14  I was seeing the same thing happening again. I was missing out on him. And I just made a decision that I was not going to miss out on him that much and I just wanted to spend everyday with him. By visualizing that and having that dream we started to work towards only working online.  I put up my restaurant for sale. I was already beginning to live that kind of life even though I had the restaurant still.  But I still had to show up there and we continue to do that.

7:47  Muriel – Maybe if I could help the viewers to understand where we started to shift our current lives, which was really hard work. After applying the systems, the education, the tools in our restaurant I saw a major shift in Dirk.  Because he could work less and have the same results he learned how to automate business processes. Like attracting customers. He didn’t have to put out flyers in the street or bicycle through the restaurant to put stuff in the letter boxes of people. Hey we have a special night or whatsoever. It was perhaps just a simple example but we were not used to working with auto responders and automated stuff.  Helping with those things that typically takes a lot of business owners time. So that in the beginning started to create more time. So he was in the restaurant attending but the thing was running thanks to advertisements he had learned to put up on Facebook.  Simple paid advertisements that he had no clue how to work before we started to work with the system. The knowledge about systems and marketing started to create the first big advantages. Being more time and more customers.

9:13  And then, a really nice next step was that he started attending, he was there in the restaurants in the basement.  He had his office where he was working on our online business, while he was in the restaurant.  Not working and doing stuff for the restaurant.

9:33  Dirk – I would come up every 45 minutes saying hey hi how are you doing. And then I would go back down and go back to work online.  Because I saw the potential in the Internet. At that time I had only one goal, get rid of the restaurant and just work from home and be around my kids.  And then you see these things happen, of course’s holiday right now, my son runs in and out.

9:55  I am actually the one, because Muriel works a little bit later because you know the Internet is more global (than a local restaurant).  So I get up in the morning around six, did I really say that?  I get up with the kids and bring them to school and I get them from school. Between those hours that they are at school I work on our business. And Muriel does the nights.

10:17  Muriel -  We give long answers right?

10:21  Timothy -  Rich answers and they are full of personal experience individually, and as a couple.  And rippling out from there to the family as well. It would be fun at some point to even hear what your children have to say about this adventure you guys have been on.

10:37  Muriel -  Well that would be really funny. Because we talk about this of course with our children a lot. They see us work online. They see mommy is at home all the time. I quit my job last year in 2015 somewhere. And they see us working online. They also see a lot of people on the other side of the laptop. That’s weird for them but they live with it. Like they know that they can’t walk in the room without clothes on you know in the morning. When they see us having an interview or doing coaching. That’s just a funny family antidote.

11:23  They see what we do. Sometimes my daughter says, that she is asked at school sometimes what your parents do for a living. And she says I do not know how to explain that.  So what we have to work on that but it will come. They do stuff on the Internet, I don’t know what else (daughter says). One thing is that they benefit from our lifestyle. They see us take our laptop everywhere. We can take them everywhere.

11:55  We took them to eight countries this year.  France to the Dominican. That is a rich memory for the future for them.  Dirk always makes the joke, that if they don’t understand what we do we now can afford their therapy later on in the future.

12:17  Dirk – Hey, as a parent you can only do your best.  I think it’s priceless to be around them.

12:28  Timothy – Fantastic!  Well what advice would you give to other couples building together using a system like this?

12:34  Dirk -  Make sure you have your own part in the business. Don’t both try to be the techie person. It is good to know everything a little bit, but divide it up and have your own expertise in the business.

12:53  Muriel – Focus on each others strengths.  This is a practical example. I need to do my own techie stuff. Because when I am creating a blog I need to know how to do that, I cannot ask him everything. Like where do I put the link, how do I put the link in? But he is the techie guy of the two of us and I do more of the talking with people, the coaching, the one on one contact. I do the team hangouts.  But I do techie things too.  And he does coaching too.  But our specialties we highlight that. It’s just important to use each others strengths and then split that up.

13:43  Timothy – Fantastic, so how was that divided between the two of you in terms of strengths and how did you identify that?  Sounds like it was a little bit of hit and miss and some trial and error before the clarity of that was present?

13:55  Dirk – You start this and it’s all new. Like back then I would tell her to copy and paste that and she would freak out. That was the level where we started, no experience online whatsoever. So you have to find things out. And you have this amazing tool called YouTube. You can find everything you want to know on YouTube. So that’s where it started and it was just learning and educating yourself really every day. Of course you know each other a little bit more. Although I’ve owned restaurants, let me do my thing in building sales funnels and generally building stuff. That’s what I did in the restaurant I was building a new bar or I was fixing this. That’s what I love to do building things. And you (Muriel) were more the people person.

14:53  Muriel – Yeah, I was a social worker for 22 years.  Being open to learn and explore is important. Give and take. We try things out and it didn’t work. I tried to do what he was doing and he tried to do what I was doing and it didn’t work. Then we opened our minds, apparently this is not working how can we do it differently? If I do this and you do that how does it work? We were open-minded all the time. We talked about our errors and our trials and just made it happen. Just by falling down and standing up again. Because when you’re in a relationship and you have grown up kids.  You are business partners, you are married, you are parents and it’s a lot of social roles. You have to be straight to each other. But I keep on learning and had an open mind. Most important is to keep on loving each other and respecting each other.

15:57  See where it has brought us, and now bringing other couples. If you have a big reason why and you can find each other there then you will find a way. You have to try and do, and learn.

16:07  Timothy -  What is your reason why? Will you answer your own question there?

16:11  Muriel – Of course. We started with our biggest reason why. To quit my job and to sell the restaurant. To be location independent and to pay off our debts. And show our kids the world. And don’t have to walk like this (hunching shoulders) through life with a big block of worries. Living from paycheck to paycheck worries. Limitations.

16:37  Basically we are in this stage where we are creating new affirmations. If we look back, It’s really nice that you asked that because we’re at this stage. I have my bluebook here, I can show it to you. It’s full with affirmations and goals that I wrote down the whole year. And every month I write down new ones. New goals new dreams, and it started with our biggest reason why.

17:03  But 2016 was really good for us. The company that gave us the system and the education was really good for us. It worked that everything we dreamed of happened this past year. So now our biggest reason why is a new reason why. It’s still the core, family time, freedom, unlimited travel, wealth but our vision grew. It is now more about others. What’s working for us should work for others. So our vision and reason why it is now to help others to create the same as we created for ourselves. And that’s why we also started a coaching program and we are now more focused on duplication. Because it’s better when you can include others in your vision and in your change and you’re good life then if only for yourself.

18:00  That is now our reason why.  To go ahead with what we were already doing but now teach it to others. Help bring other parents home. Like we came home.

18:15  Timothy – Oh, I like that last line. Help bring other parents home, Like you guys have been able to come home.

18:21  Dirk -  Yeah, because life is not that difficult.

18:25  Timothy – Fantastic guys, Well thank you so much for doing this brief introduction and giving us a taste of this adventure that you guys have been on.  I hope this begins to help your children answer the questions from the neighbours and the friends at school about what do your mom and dad do?  Maybe this in some way can help your suspicious and curious neighbours to know why you’re coming and going.  You said eight times this last year, eight trips last year?

18:45  Muriel -  Yeah, we had a lot of help from the neighbours feeding our cats.  Wondering, how do they do it? We try to explain but it’s hard for them to understand.

19:01  Brilliant, Well, press on, we absolutely support you and I thank you for being part of The BeLoved Miracles Couples Project here where we’re inspiring couples worldwide to wake up to as you said what is your primary desire, what your core drive is. What is the next step of self-awareness, leading to self-development and what I love and I absolutely encourage and remind myself as well that what we’re really here for is for those that we have a chance to serve.

19:33  Muriel – Yes, And I want to highlight for all the viewers Tim Owen.  Because we’re watching you.  Your name how can we miss it. Your vision is huge. You do great things. Your blogs are amazing.  And just the fact that you put this together.  Your stories and what you put out there could be just that thing that people are searching for in that moment. I want to thank you for the opportunity to be part of your interviews. It’s really an honour. So keep on going with what you’re doing, it’s great what you’re doing and we really admire your vision. And all the work that you put in it. Really respect that.

20:20  Fantastic, Thank you so much you guys and as we say here very often needing to be reminded myself and as well all the rest of us. Together, truly together as you guys have demonstrated and shared in your story, together we all have an opportunity to overcome.

20:37  Dirk and Muriel – Awesome.  For sure, for sure and thank you so much you are a great leader.  I can’t wait to see more of you and to meet you next year at one of our events.

20:49  Yes, We’ll do that soon!  And hope to follow-up with more of this story to again help your neighbours and those curious people around you know what is developing next in your lives. So with that I’ll say goodbye for now from Norway!

21:01  Dirk and Muriel – Goodbye Tim, goodbye from the Netherlands cheers!  Bye guys, bye!

Hopefully this brief interview, sharing just the tip-of-the-iceberg of their bankrupt to bankrolled story helps you too.   There is no failure.  It would only be possible if you didn’t start or failed to get back up again.

Leave your comments below and let me know what you liked most about this interview.