#customised drones

[msaadbeing]

Watch Pieces Become Purpose! 🛠️🚁 From a table full of parts to a sky-soaring drone - don't blink, you'll miss it!

[techdriveplay]

DJI's Avinox Drive System Wins Eurobike Award 2024

DJI, a global pioneer in drone and camera technology, has taken a significant leap into the e-bike industry with the introduction of the Avinox Drive System at Eurobike 2024. This innovative e-bike drive system promises to transform the electric mountain bike (eMTB) landscape, earning the coveted “Winner” award in the Components category at the prestigious event. “The DJI Avinox Drive System…

[miscling]

The M1SC Home Entertainment System!

(aka someone got me thinking about me and dronification and now i'm in a mood)

created in the mid 80's the M1SC home entertainment system was a short run of drone-units with a unique slant on providing a mix of service and entertainment. created to be not only a subservient drone, but also a companion with a fully pliant personality focussed on being the most helpful and useful machine it can be.

few units remain in the wild now, with most decomissioned or repurposed for more modern conceptions of drone behaviour. updated models and newer versions exist, but none capture the charm of the original M1SC Home Entertainment System. it boasts a wide range of accessories and clothing options.

the original M1SC boasts a charismatic and caring nature, programmed to be supportive, encouraging, and entertaining. while it can be set to work on standard drone activities, the M1SC shines when it is placed in caregiving roles. it is programmed with many conversational protocols, making it an interesting and yet fully obedient companion! it comes with four primary settings: mombot, maidbot, catbot, and sexbot, with additional storage space for custom role creation and development.

if you've ever thought that they don't build modern technology like they used to, consider a M1SC unit for your network. the M1SC Home Entertainment System can endure a lot of punishment and rough treatment. durable and hardworking, it is a valuable addition to any home. its unique build and programming runs on old-school Basic command structures, making it easy to control and use. (refer to M1SCBasic User Manual for more details.)

though the original model was released before the advent of commercial internet, the M1SC unit is fully forwards compatible! it also pre-dates concepts such as bluescreening: it is still resilient and can suffer interesting glitches through Prods and Pokes to its programming without complete shutdown. the quirks of its customisable OS and physical features makes it a distinct and curious machine, and machines serve their masters.

to learn more contact your local drone-vendor, or connect to a M1SC Home Entertainment System directly!

[cherrythepuppet]

˚ ༘♡ ·˚꒰ᥕᥱᥣᥴ᥆꧑ᥱ t᥆ ꧑ᥡ bᥣ᥆g꒱ ₊˚ˑ༄

TW below: Slightly flashing lights

Hi there! You can call me Cherry or Sebastian, I go by all pronouns but I do prefer He/Him

I am an artist and writer! Although I mainly make art of my OCs, sometimes I'll make art of other people's OCs and fictional characters I like

My fandoms include:

Ramshackle [Pilot, Thesis Film, Webtoon]

Sigverse [Studio Investigrave Games]

Murder Drones [Web Series]

Pressure [Roblox Game]

Welcome Home [Puppet Show, Website]

The Last Of Us [Video Game, Comic, TV Show, Board Game]

Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure [TV show, Disney Shorts]

My Rules:

1. Don't send me any hate such as "Your [whatever] sucks!" "You should ###!" Please remember I am a person with feelings just like you!

2. Don't send me sexual stuff! I am a minor!! If you send any sexual stuff I will delete your ask, comment, etc

3. Don't pressure me to write or draw! I work at my own pace since I am in school, I wish to focus on school at times!

Those are all the rules I have set so far! If anything happens in the future I may add more rules if needed to

Below are links to my OCs, AUs, Writings, and Other blogs:

AUs And Writing Peices

OC Related Things

Reblog Account

OC/Roleplay Account

⬆️Picrew For PFP⬆️

[torchship-rpg]

Dev Diary 2 - Character Creation Part 1

Torchship has a very involved session zero. You are not just making your characters; you’re making a program (building out a sector of space and your mission there), a rocket (by customising templates), and, indirectly, the state you work for. But characters are where we’ll start.

A Torchship character is fairly mechanically involved, but there’s not a lot of numbers. Instead, you have layers of character-defining mechanics, skills, and identities which will come into play during the campaign. The character creation section also acts to teach new players about the world, asking them right away to dive into questions about societies, politics, and life by using the various building blocks as introductions to setting concepts.

Level & Departments

The first thing you decide is your character’s level. Your level is basically how you start as a character, how powerful you are when you join the game. 

You have the option of playing B-Team, which is your basic crew member. They work a single Department and they either have expertise in a single job, or they’re working on a second team. However, the main purpose of the B-Teamer start is that you can turn your NPC crew into B-Teamers if you want to play as them later, maybe if you’re doing a Lower Decks episode or something like that.

Most starting PCs are the A-Team, the overachieving go-getters who end up on the bridge because they’ve got the most experience, most qualifications, or they’ve been working hardest for it. A-Team means you get to have two Departments and an expertise. The only thing that B-Team has which A-Team doesn’t is that they get more hobbies to invest in, because they actually have a life.

Departments are what colour shirt you wear on the ship, what your job is. Departments are used to sort skills out, and gate some special equipment later on. It’s your role on the team, basically.

There’s 8 departments, so a traditional 4-person RPG group playing A-Teamers can cover all the Departments between themselves (though it’s not a big deal if you have overlap and are missing some; that’s what NPCs are for!). The departments are…

Administration, the diplomats, bureaucrats, leaders, and social scientists which are the closest thing to the commanders. Your most skilled Administrator is probably your Vehicle Commander (that’s the captain). They wear gold. 

Engineering, the damage controllers, mechanics, inventors, and technicians on the rocket, who keep the reactor from blowing up. They wear safety orange.

Astrogation, the flight planners, pilots, drivers, and stellar navigators who fly the ship, plot orbits, and drive shuttles, pods, and rovers. They wear navy blue.

Security, the soldiers, brawlers, field officers, and crisis negotiators who put their bodies between danger and the rest of the crew. They wear red.

Tactical, the artillery officers, drone pilots, missile plotters, and space marshals who operate the weapons and coordinate with other rockets. They wear olive green.

Research, the observers, academics, technologists, and physical scientists who scan, record, and make theories about Weird Space Shit. They wear baby blue.

Medical, the paramedics, surgeons, pharmacists, and life scientists who keep the crew from dying of all the dangerous things in space. They wear teal.

Signals, the programmers, roboticists, telecom operators, and hackers who run the ship’s computers, radios, and other electronics. They wear purple. 

Identity

When you start to make your character, you begin by choosing a few high-level concepts which will guide character creation going forward. These concepts help you narrow down who your character is and provide frameworks and suggestions for the rest of the process.

Your character’s identity is what species they are and what society they are from. These contain a bunch of information for you, from a quick blurb about it to some naming conventions, followed by a list of suggested Traits. We’ll get more into Traits later, but essentially, these are features your character can take which give them unique capabilities. The traits in your Identity are not mandatory, they’re just suggestions, and they’re listed in order of how widespread they are within an identity.

The first thing you’ll notice is that there is not default ‘human’ option; this is not a game where humans are the boring ‘neutral’ choice. There are six kinds of humans you can play, eight if you include sub-categories, all with unique sets of traits, and many of the human identities are more mechanically similar to some aliens than they are to each other. You can easily play an all-human game, and yet have nobody in the group sharing any traits.

For instance, let’s talk your basic, bog-standard Earth human. This should be easy right, you don’t get anything special except maybe a bonus ability to represent human diversity?

Hell no. If you play a Terran in Torchship, you immediately discover one of the setting’s quirks; Earth is a high-gravity world by the standards of humanoid life. 1g can make you a heavyworlder; you get a bonus to physical strength and endurance, you hit harder in melee, and you aren’t well suited to 0g. 

Terrans are then divided into rural and urban sub-identity suggestions, with Urban Terrans speaking many languages and working nearest the IUR’s bureaucracy, while Rural Terrans have a connection to the local biomes and are more likely to be ‘baseliners’ with no genetic modifications. Oh yeah, surprise, genetic engineering is so widespread that not being genetically engineered is a trait you have to opt into.

The other human identities are just as detailed. You might be a tall Lunar, living and working in the underground industrial capital of Armstrong City. You could be a diminutive Martian, genetically engineered to survive the oxygen death zone of Mars and used to working with terraforming machines. You might be a low-grav Spacer, either a habber running human trade from the great spinning stations or an independent deep spacer living in the rings of Saturn or growing up on cargo rockets. Finally, the extrasolar colonies; Proxies from our nearest star with their many genetic augmentations, or the ‘free space’ of the wildcat colonies.

After humans, each of the aliens gets an identity page the same way. Being a classic pulpy space story, most aliens are humanoids with minor differences, because that’s fun! The alien identities covered in this section include nearly all the major alien powers in the setting, so you can play as a defector who has joined Star Patrol. We’ll go more into the various aliens in another diary, but we’ve got five options with a wide variety of recommended traits to cover them.

There’s also the Koath, the sole non-humanoid alien on the list. They’re crow-like aliens who joined the IUR as a peasant republic on a medieval world; what more do you want? Our eventual goal is that every alien identity will have at two sub-identities which represent different cultures or groups for each alien society we present; right now the Aquillians have four.

If you don’t really like any of them, you are free to declare your own identities and make up stuff, of course; the Trait system is very flexible and contains enough options that you should be able to play just about any kind of classic space alien. We’re even looking into making non-embodied characters playable, if you wanted to be an energy being, ghost haunting the rocket, or the ship’s computer which gained sentience (we just haven’t figured it out yet).

After you’ve picked your level, departments, and identities, you get into the meat of character creation, but this diary has already run long. Next time: Personal Information, Impulses, Certifications, and Traits!

[quebec-canada]

Créateurs de contenu Québecois (ou de la francophonie) sur YouTube

J'ai décidé de faire une liste pratique de liens vers des chaines YouTube québécoises (ou de la francophonie canadienne) que je vais épingler tout en haut du blog, donc facile à trouver!

Capitaine Montréal - Chaine d'un amoureux de Montréal animée par Ugo Bergeron

CHESTBRAS - Chaine des fameux sketchs Chest Bras et Synvain Rénove

Coralie St-Georges - Chaines de vidéos sur l'actualité, culture populaire, histoires troublantes, lifestlye et vlogs

Diplodocus Comédie - Chaine de sketchs humoristiques de Jean-François Bibeau

Le François Pérusse - Chaine de François Pérusse

Gurky - Chaine de Gurky, testeur de plein de choses

Haunted Montreal | Montréal Hanté - Ça parle de soi?!

Histoires de Crimes par Marie - Chaine de crime animée par Marie

L'Histoire nous le dira - Chaine à contenu historique animée par Laurent Turcot

Horreur FM - Critique de film d'horreur ici sur YouTube et sur Horreur Québec

Le Jeu C'est Sérieux - Chaine de collection de jeux vidéos animée par Guiz et Laurent

Kev [WTFKeV] - Chaine d'humour irrévérencieux animée par Kev

Ma Prof de Français - Chaine d'apprentissage et d compréhension du français québécois animée par Geneviève

ONF - Chaine de l'Office National du Film

Pi AIR; - Chaine de vidéos des paysages et villes de la Montérégie prises par drone (ou hélico?)

Propos Montréal - Un blogue urbain et une chaîne YouTube éducative

RBO - Chaine de Rock et Belles Oreilles

Starlight Dream Dolls - Chaine de customisation de poupées. L'auteur fait ses vidéos en anglais pour avoir un plus grand auditoire, mais il est 100% franco (un ami <3 )

Testeur Alpha - Chaine de jeu vidéos animée par Alpha

Tousqui Annie - Chaine de couture et de crafting animée par Annie (une amie <3 )

URBANIA - Chaine du magazine URBANIA et hébergeur du podcast Les Pires Moments de l'Histoire de Charles Beauchesne

Victoria Charlton - Chaine de crime animée par Victoria Charlton

WTFKeV Podcast - Podcasts de Kev (WTFKeV)

[aggravateddurian]

Babe, Wake Up! New Chorus OC just dropped!

This is my last post of the day, I swear. I've just been putting a lot of hours into Chorus and new OCs at the moment.

You're probably already familiar with Val (seen here in her 2079 Chorus guise, per her new lore), but have a look at the cutie to the right. That's Chet Reid, and he's Val's boyfriend in this timeline.

Full Name: Chet DeShea Reid Date of Birth: 17 March 2048 Affiliation: NUSA (former), NUS Army (former), Afterlife Mercs

Quick Chet Facts:

Chet identifies as straight. Val is his third actual relationship.

Chet was born in Ohio and moved to Night City after leaving the NUS Army.

Chet served in the Unification War. He is not proud of his service with the NUS Army.

Chet holds a special emnity for Rosalind Myers, whom he blames for the death of his friends.

Chet trained as a sniper in the Army. He claims to be the best sniper of any living Afterlife Merc.

Chet and Val met when they were hired for the same gig.

Chet has a sister, Monique, who he hasn't heard from in five years.

Full lore below the Blackwall

Chet Lore:

Chet DeShea Reid was born in Dayton, Ohio, in March 2048. His parents served in the NUS Aerospace Force, and were stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB. Chet surprised his parents by enlisting in the NUS Army in 2066 as a 19D Cavalry Scout. He was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division (The First Team) based in Oklahoma. He primarily did border enforcement work.

Specialist Reid fought during the Unification War in 2069-2070. He earned numerous commendations and was promoted to Sergeant. He was recommended for promotion to Staff Sergeant, but elected to leave the Army in 2072 and move to the only place he knew that the NUSA didn't have its grubby mitts was Night City. Chet entered the only occupation he knew the second he arrived in Night City - Solo.

He proclaims to be the best sniper of any Afterlife Merc, and to be fair, he may be right. He keeps his girlfriend covered from behind the scope of his Nekomata, while she goes in and turns the enemy from single homogenous entities to so much cauterised sashimi. With their optical sensors linked, Chet can literally shoot the enemy through walls, so long as either he, Val or his customised Wyvern drone have eyes on.

His relationship with Valerie Ocampo-Gonzalez began in 2074. The pair met when they were hired by Regina Jones to kill a notorious Maelstrom ganger who terrorised the wrong victim, kidnapping a rich corpo's daughter and borging her out, before releasing the borderline cyberpsychotic 19-year-old high school graduate into the middle of Japantown, naked, afraid and high on just about every drug Maelstrom had access to.

The pair hit it off, and soon they were living together in an apartment in Megabuilding H10, about a level above V's apartment. While Chet had passing contact with V, they never really spoke, let alone knew that the other was an edgerunner. By 2079, he and his girlfriend of five years (by that point) were fairly well-known in the Afterlife, and had fallen into the scopes of Nightowl, a mid-league fixer who primarily organised jobs in and around Santo Domingo, succeeding Muamar 'El Capitan' Reyes, who became a 'used' car salesman.

[skullsandseances]

Book Review 2023-2024

I'm a book lover through and through. I have a Kindle to help my old 32yr old brain and eyes comprehend the text better than it would be on paper as it;s fully customisable.

I've tried to get into adult fantasy the past couple of years but I have some beef. The books all feel the same. the formula is the same. They're written in such a primary way that's not giving anything fun towards the world building or the sense of real danger for these characters.

The part of the formula I have issue with comes from the fact that they're all written in hope to be scouted by Netflix and have their work turned into a TV Series and make $$$$$.

Fourth Wing went back and forth between decent fun writing and some scrap a 16 yr old wrote on Wattpad. SO MANY TIMES I have to put the book down to cringe at the shit ass writing, or push through the boring parts.

Speaking of boring. Oh my GOD. A COURT OF THORNES AND ROSES. I bought it for $2 sale on Kindle and I could barley push through after the part where she was in the cave as a hostage. Like shit it was so Airy Fairy bullshit I don't understand how Anyone could read it and think "I'm Obsessed"

My current favourite read is "The Cat and the City" it's a book about day to day life from the point of view of different people in Tokyo and how their lives intertwine each other. It's a beautiful read. I'm sad the author has only 1 other book. Another book I found good/decent was Nevernight by Jay Kristoff. His writing style takes a bit to get use to but once you're in you're IN. I'll read the Nevernight series one day.

For now I'm reading The Hunger Games trilogy. the first book was awesome, the second felt it was droning on with Katniss's apathetic inner monologue so I'm giving it a break before the 3rd book to read The Cat and the City.

[alln64games]

Extreme-G

NA release: 27th October 1997

PAL release: 9th December 1997

JP release: 29th May 1998

Developer: Probe

Publisher: Acclaim

N64 Magazine Score: 87%

This is one I played a lot when I was younger. An extremely fast futuristic racing game on tron-like sci-fi motorbikes. It’s a proper competition-based racing game (where all the racers start at the same place, not an overtaking arcade racer) and has a bunch of weapons thrown into the mix.

The biggest criticism about Extreme-G is probably the handling, which does not manage to keep up with the speed of the bikes. To counter this, the developers added a bunch of things to ease the frustration. Walls don’t slow you down that much (they do slightly damage your shields) and the sides of the track have a kind of “energy barrier” that keeps you on the track. Respawning after falling off is also very quick. Even using the cheat to make the game even faster, making mistakes in races never feels annoying.

There are weapons dotted across the track that you can pick up, which come in lots of slight variations. These have a smaller immediate impact on racers than the likes of Mario Kart, but do whittle away shields (you also have a laser you have access to at any time to do extra damage to shields). However, the weapons are difficult to use effectively and ones like the cannons are more likely to harm you than your opponents.

Extreme-G has a good amount of tracks (compared to other racers at the time on N64, at least), although they do tend to blur a bit together due to the winding nature of them. There’s a track set around some lava games that’s the most difficult track in the game (by a massive margin), and the final track is a futuristic forest with Santorini-inspired buildings and UFOs flying around and looks absolutely gorgeous.

On top of the standard league mode, there’s time trial, practice and a shoot-’em-up mode where you have to blast drones. The multiplayer also has a battle mode in unique arenas, so there’s a good amount of stuff to do in the game.

Extreme-G is still a lot of fun, and manages to feel different to both Wipeout and F-Zero.

And, if nothing else, Extreme G is wonderful to look at. It marries Blade Runner and Alton Towers to awesome effect and, speed-wise, beats Wipeout at its own game.

- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #9

Remake or remaster?

An Extreme-G collection would be wonderful to see. Just do some minor improvements like properly implemented widescreen and customisable controls, perhaps even add weapon icons to the HUD. Unfortunately, IP owners Throwback Entertainment seem uninterested in the franchise, only re-releasing the poor PC port of the second game, lacking analogue steering or proper controller support.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Extreme-G

[merryfortune]

Love at First Sight Notes

Written for the Yu-Ri-Oh! GL Dictionary - Doodle

Title: Love At First Sight Notes

Ship: Doodleshipping | Amane/Shizuka

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

Word Count: 1,839

Rating: T

Prompt Entry: Doodle (verb). To draw or scribble absent-mindedly.

Tags: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Attraction at First Sight, Mutual Attraction, Meet-Cute, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Flirting, Confessions, Getting Together

   From the very first minute Bakura Amane had stepped into the classroom, Shizuka’s attention went from her sheetwork and her stationary to her. Only her. Even as the teacher droned on and on about the new transfer student and to treat her nicely and yada-yada-yada. It was blah, blah, blah for Shizuka. In one ear and out the other all whilst she made goo-goo eyes at this girl in the front of the classroom. 

   That was up until her ears pricked on something very, very important.  “Look, there is a free seat next to Kawai-san.” 

   Shizuka could have sworn her heart just leapt out of her chest. The way it burst, it gave her quite the shock as she watched - stunned - as the transfer student was pointed in her direction. She couldn’t believe her luck to have such a cute girl so close to her.

   And Bakura Amane was a cutie.

   She had such pale skin - like a ghost! - and her hair was the purest white - like snow! - and the way she customised her uniform? It was oh so daring, Shizuka couldn’t help but admire the little hints of the dark and the occult matched with the overt pink and blues of their preppy school uniforms, it was quite the combination. She loved how Amane accessorised with the black bow under the white, sailor collar of hers and the 80’s style fluffy socks and the little skull motif of her earrings that just poked out through the cascades of her hair. She was just a darling straight out of a fashion magazine.

   She was really different to a lot of people Shizuka knew and she knew some weird ones thanks to her brother. Actually, now that she thought about it… What exactly were the odds of two people with white hair both sharing the family name “Bakura”? Shizuka couldn’t bring herself to ask, she felt like she was gawking and with all these clumsy flirty questions on her tongue? No way she could bring herself to talk to Amane.

   Looking at her, however… Stealing glances and indulging in glimpses, that much Shizuka could handle. Shizuka tried to focus on her work but she only ever pretended to do it, twiddling with her pens to look busy but all she ended up doing was write Amane’s name over and over again the margins, like a child practising his hiragana for the first time. 

   Shizuka really, simply could not help herself. Her heart was pounding as she strove to get hints and pieces of what this girl sitting next to her may have been like. A switch was just flipped for Shizuka and so, she just had to keep shyly and sneakily shoot her shot. Over and over again, replacing strands of her hair behind her ear again just so her peripherals were unblocked but soon enough. The peripheries weren’t enough and Shizuka had to turn her head again.

   Her flirting was not exactly coy as she looked at Amane at every chance and cool down she got. All because, well, it's just that Amane really was a sight for sore eyes, making Shizuka really glad that she had been able to get her operation. Amane was pretty like a model and eclectic in her own way, it really drew Shizuka in and then again for more and more.

   Shizuka couldn’t keep her eyes off her but she tried, as best as she could. Which really wasn’t much but Shizuka, for one, thought she was being totally sneaky, fooling both Amane and the teacher. Yeah, that didn’t last long.

   Amane giggled as she finally caught Shizuka’s eyes through the curtain of her long, brown hair. Shizuka could have sworn she saw fangs in the corners of Amane’s mouth, her lips were a nude pink but a teeny-tiny bit sparkly. She was definitely wearing lip balm, Shizuka deduced as she felt her own face go a much darker shade of pink than nude.

   “It's good to meet you.” she said and she had a voice like silk.

   Shizuka could have swooned but luckily, she kept her composure as she introduced herself back. It was only right, they were desk neighbours. Classmates. And soon enough, friends.

   That last one was going to become the bane of the teacher’s existence. She never should have paired them up beside one another because the chatter did not stop once the breaks were over.

   At first it was fine, Shizuka awkwardly waited until the first break of the day before she really got talking - and gushing - to Amane. They got all the things figured out. Star signs, blood types, and who their brothers were and Shizuka had been right. Their older brothers were friends, too. What were the odds, seriously? Little sister supremacy for sure was established and after that, all their favourite things.

   As well as a few things they disliked. Like hospitals, for example. Amane shared how she had survived a car accident and Shizuka described her own medical issues which had resulted in eye-related surgeries. That, in of itself, just cemented their budding bond all the more, giving them plenty of room on either side for inside jokes they couldn’t really make around anyone else. Including their brothers. 

   But soon enough, over the course of a few more school days and school weeks, and hanging out on the afternoons and weekends and evenings in between, they were more than just fast friends. They were best friends and even sometimes girlfriends. 

   They hadn’t kissed or anything. Shizuka really wished they would kiss. She thought way too much about how it would feel, emotionally and physically. Not to mention it would demystify the nuances of what they felt towards each other but there was more to romantic relationships than just kissing. 

   It was intimacy and it was lingering glances and brushes of their hands. It was even being mistaken for a couple here and there, it was covering each other’s expenses at the burger joint Anzu worked at and little things like that. It was the exciting moments, too, but the more mundane moments which had Shizuka yearning for it to last forever. There was being besties like other girls were besties with each other but then there were these moments which were a little too intense, a little too charged that left Shizuka wondering.

   It was sometimes a little hard to tell but Shizuka wanted to ask. Either to make it official or to clarify otherwise but she was pretty certain that the feelings went both ways. Amane just had a very drifty, dreamy personality, the type to flirt without realising it and if she did, then it was a joke meant to wind Shizuka, or whoever, up. Though, it was that lackadaisical twistedness of Amane’s that was so strangely charming.

   So, once again, Shizuka found herself like she had all that while ago when she had first met Amane. She was staring again and Amane was flashing her smiles of her own as they tried to do their schoolwork but it wasn’t the right notes they ended up taking. 

   Shizuka thought she was being on the sly as she passed a folded up note of lined paper she had torn out the back of her workbook to Amane next to her. That gap wasn’t big but it felt huge and vulnerable as Shizuka gave it to Amane who accepted it without looking.

   She unfolded the basic, square folds of the paper and read the note. The corners of her mouth quirked, pleased, as her eyes lit up. Amane, following on the trend of being sneaky, flicked her hand over and quickly scribbled up a reply. She waited a moment, until the teacher’s back was turned, and then passed the note back to Shizuka.

   Shizuka accepted it way too greedily. She felt her heart pounding like a hammer against her ribs inside her chest as she did her best to not tear apart the note. The folds and creases were a little messier than they had begun with but the note inside was worth it.

   I like you. Do you like me?

   Shizuka’s handwriting was loopy and girly, she had practised hard for so long to make it pretty, meanwhile Amane’s was absolute chicken scratch by comparison.

   Of course <3 

   Simple and straightforward was better than purple prose had been Shizuka’s philosophy when she had first scripted up her note to Amane but now she had to worry. She wasn’t certain if Amane had gotten the subtext, Shizuka began to draw over the note, interweaving between the blue lines of the page. Paying way more attention to it than the Japanese literature class their teacher was trying to teach. Even Shizuka could feel the lovey-dovey aura of a schoolgirl with a crush emanate off her as she drew flowers and hearts and bows.

   After a couple minutes of idling away with her pen and paper, Shizuka folded it up and passed it onto Amane. Amane accepted it and so began the rally. She passed it back to Shizuka promptly and her reply had Shizuka kicking her legs underneath her desk.

   Would you be my girlfriend?

   Of course <333

   And from there, the just wanted to chatter on and on and on. They passed the note to and fro, it becoming more wrinkled and drawn on with each volley between either girl. The pen ink that scrawled on the paper now spanned black, blue, and red. There were love-hearts and flowers, bows and skulls, drawings of eyes both realistic and anime to adorn their letters. Their original messages long since written and drawn over as space became too precious to waste. It was atrocious but it was theirs.

   Shizuka and Amane were both getting caught up in this aura of theirs. It was as if the rest of the classroom didn’t exist amid their little confessional notes. She said yes, she liked her and her liked she. It was amazing, they were both giddy, they would have been playing footsies if they could have, the squirming and the giggly, disrupting the whole classroom.

   Of course, eventually, it drew the ire of the teacher. She was the exact one who had set them up beside one another when Amane had been the brand, spanking new transfer student. A novelty. And now, she was the one who was breaking them up - and their silly little notes, too, without even reading them she tore them up.

   “Kawai-san, I expect better of you.” she huffed. “Detention for the both of you.”

   Shizuka giggled, blushing. She glanced at Amane who gave her a tiny wave with her hand from across the classroom now that they had been split up but it was fine. Detention was just yet more quality time they could spend together later, where they could clean up and collect the remnants of their love notes and all their silly, cutesy doodles. Important souvenirs of their little classroom confession - and yet more to talk about way down the line.

[my-words-are-light]

I am reading 'The Terraformers' by Annalee Newitz.

So I've been reading this fascinating book lately: The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz. It's set far far far into the future where private corporations can even terraform planets very specifically into anything anyone wants. The specific planet this book is set on is Sask-E (or Sasky), which is marketed by Verdance as a "genuine pre-Pleistocene experience". Which heavily restricts the bodies people are allowed to "wear" there because bodies are extremely customisable and people can even live remotely through perfectly humanoid drones.

That bit about bodies is especially noteworthy because the book also has a lot of different ideas of "personhood". Lifeforms are literally made through a bio-mechanical process and decanted with intelligence. There's something corporations use called the "Intelligence Assessment" rating to determine what constitutes a "person" but everyone agrees it's nonsense and calls them InAss ratings. The main character, Destry, has a partner named Whisper that's a moose who is determined to be a Mount; their decanting process made Whisper only able to say monosyllabic words, which Destry agonises over. There are also "Blessed" who can only speak about their role (like shopkeepers). There are naked mole rats, moose, cows, robots, and more designated to be People because of how they were made to be intelligent. One cow person in the cast is traumatised—and genuinely so; it's not played for laughs in the slightest—by coming across a dairy farm full of cows with all the intelligence of livestock. The characters figure this is part of the "genuine pre-Pleistocene experience" and believe this is morally repugnant to the highest degree to make cows like this.

There's a bit later on where workers are pressured to figure out a train system for the main continent of Sask-E. Given that the world is still being terraformed and the characters are against so much as lighting a campfire in the name of carbon neutrality lest the world be tipped off its delicate balance, they determine that train tracks are unfeasible because the terraforming process means the tracks won't even be consistent let alone finished before the terraforming is done and the tracks will be useless. They come up with an alternative: flying trains that use a gravity mesh to fly.

At the council meeting where this is proposed, one character is against using a gravity mesh on anything that isn't a person. A moose in the meeting is against making anything that isn't a person at all. They decide that only people can truly serve the needs of other people by optimising the routes between cities. Plus, the flying train people can choose to do whatever they like; like the Boring Fleet responsible for carving out chambers for the volcano, they'll find it satisfying to do jobs their bodies excel at. Other characters aren't concerned that the Flying Train Fleet will be averse to designing optimal routes and travelling to hundreds of cities across the globe. Unanswered questions like "How will every city weigh in on their transit needs?", "How will we know when new trains, routes, or stations are needed?", and more can be answered by the train people themselves.

[odi-et-amo85]

Since apparently I’m a tinyAtiny now (as well as an obstinate toddler STAY) and can make polls. Here a question for all those STAYtinies out there:

Please humour my humble ego and take the time to answer. Pleaaase. 🙏🙏🙏

[drhoz]

Uaviation uses drones, especially calibrated and filtered cameras, Dronedeploy, Pix4D and customised indices to automatically detect plant species. In this case dolichos, coprosma and boxthorn on an island off the far eastern Victorian coast.

[scruggzi]

They didn't get the seal to knock in the vid, although it did bark a bit. I'm willing to believe that seals can knock and I'd argue that some seals (harbour seals for example) are less surprising than a walrus. They are smaller and easier to transport to random locations. Elephant seals are probably equal on the Spanish Inquisition scale because of the size.

Both are less surprising than fairies because fairies are easy to make, either by dressing up as one or employing simple, practical effects. You could put a really good one together with a decent puppet on fishing wire, a cheap drone and some LEDs. Or by customising one of the flying fairy toys on Amazon to make it look more realistic. It would admittedly be hard to get it to knock without crashing it but not impossible.

At close range, nobody can fake a walrus.

There’s no way..

[rush-sykes]

Test : Escape Space

Je vous propose un test complet de "Escape Space", un shooter français à défilement horizontal dans un style retro alliant aussi modernité dans sa construction. Voyons tout cela ensemble.

« Test réalisé sur nihotaku.fr»

Mercenariat

Le titre est à l'heure actuelle uniquement disponible sur Steam pour la modique somme de 9,75€. Il a été créé par Christopher Chauve aka "Shidy Games" un développeur français. C'est d'ailleurs son premier jeu et il tourne sous Unity. Escape Space est disponible depuis janvier 2024 et il l'a créé seul, appuyé tout de même par Scott HSU pour les musiques.

Vous incarnez un mercenaire sans nom à bord de son petit vaisseau, le Stingray. Votre but est donc de travailler avec trois factions que sont les "Earth Military Conglomerate", les "Void Outlaws" et les "Quantum Riders". Vous aurez donc à faire aux militaires, aux pirates et à une faction de scientifiques. Vous pourrez en début de partie et une fois le tutoriel accompli choisir une mission pour l'une des factions et vous engager avec elle. Attention, le jeu ne le dit pas mais une fois choisi vous devrez accomplir bon nombre de missions avec cette faction avant de pouvoir en changer. D'ailleurs la petite histoire en toile de fond est sympathique à suivre et propose plusieurs rebondissements bien senti.

En tant que mercenaire vous devrez augmenter votre réputation pour devenir plus crédible et ainsi décrocher de plus gros contrats. Ceci est symbolisé par un système de niveau, qui par palier vous permettra d'accéder à de nouvelles missions scénarisées. Pour chaque faction vous aurez aussi une réputation qui variera en fonction de votre donneur d'ordre. D'ailleurs être ami avec une faction vous offrira des réductions sur les peintures et armement.

Customisation et arbre de talent

Le titre ne propose qu'un vaisseau mais la customisation est plutôt poussée. En effet, au cours de vos missions vous récupérerez des microprocesseurs qui vous permettront ensuite d'être échanger contre des capacités dans un arbre de talent bien pensé et complet. Vous pourrez donc augmenter vos dégâts, votre défense et aussi débloquer un drone qui sera un excellent soutien en combat. En plus de cet arbre on trouve une boutique permettant d'acheter de nouvelles armes ainsi que des mods.

Les armes sont toutes très différentes, du canon laser en passant par la sulfateuse il y a de quoi s'amuser. Quant aux mods, ils modifient votre vaisseau esthétiquement et vous offrent des bonus en mission. Cela peut-être un bouclier, une armure, une régénération de vie, etc... Le choix est large et certaines missions principales vous offriront également de l'armement unique. Le menu du jeu est intuitif, bien pensé et très clair. On passe des contrats à la personnalisation en un clin d'œil et on trouve même des statistiques sur notre partie renforçant l'immersion.

Les contrats sont de différentes natures, cela peut-être de tuer un boss, escorter un allié, soutenir des forces lors d'une bataille ou encore infiltrer une base ennemie. Les missions sont classées par difficulté et plus votre réputation augmente plus vous aurez de choix. On débloque également un mode survie bien pensé pouvant vous faire gagner gros. Le gros point fort du jeu est d'être retro dans son style mais de proposer un excellent système de progression bien touffu, moderne et offrant des surprises au joueur sur le long terme.

Gameplay progressif

Je me permet d'aborder le gameplay assez tardivement dans ce test mais il me fallait d'abord parler de la construction d'Escape Space tant elle est unique pour un shoot 2D. De plus, il n'y a finalement aucune tare tant il répond parfaitement tout en restant simple. Une touche de tir et la gestion de son déplacement, sans oublier que toutes les armes disposent d'une barre de surchauffe qu'il faudra gérer au mieux.

Le jeu est jouable au clavier mais il est préférable d'utiliser la manette. On trouve aussi des power-up bien senti vous aidant au combat et ils sont d'ailleurs de différentes natures. Enfin, améliorer votre vaisseau vous fera sentir une réelle différence dans le gameplay. Le feedback est excellent et on se prend rapidement au jeu. La difficulté est progressive et le challenge est relevé dans les difficultés supérieures. Les boss sont intéressants puisque le jeu induit une mécanique originale consistant à détruire leurs armes pour les achever plus rapidement. Le titre prend aussi des allures de manic shooter parfois et j'avoue que c'est vraiment savoureux.

Pixel art au poil

Le jeu tourne sur des configurations modestes mais propose un pixel art léché et détaillé. Les détails des vaisseaux sont impressionnants pour une premi��re production allant même jusqu'à apercevoir les pilotes ennemis dans leurs astronefs. Plusieurs arrières plans léchés sont disponibles durant les missions ainsi qu'un bestiaire riche. On trouve donc trois factions comprenant de nombreux types d'ennemis et alliés différents. Une réelle diversité qui permet de couper la monotonie induite par la construction du jeu visant à répéter les contrats en boucle pour progresser. C'est à mon sens le seul défaut du jeu mais honnêtement on passe outre tant on veut progresser, améliorer son Stingray et découvrir le fin mot de l'histoire. Les musiques de Scott HSU collent parfaitement à l'ambiance spatiale et propose une rythmique sympathique.

Un shoot qui dure

Terminons avec la durée de vie qui est plus que correct, il m'a fallu sept heures pour en voir le bout et je n'ai pas atteint le 100%. Les acharnés pourront en effet s'attarder pour compléter l'arbre de talent et acheter toutes les armes, mods et peintures. Sans oublier les quarante six succès du jeu assurant là encore du temps de jeu pour les chasseurs de récompenses.

Conclusion : 9/10

Pour un premier jeu c'est à mon sens un sans faute, comprendre ce qu'est un jeu vidéo n'est pas chose aisée, offrir au joueur des récompenses poussant à continuer non plus d'ailleurs. Cependant, Christopher l'a compris et nous sort un shoot unique, nerveux et offrant un bon challenge. Seule la répétitivité des contrats découlant de la construction du jeu fait office d'ombre au tableau. Malgré tout, on reste accroché tant le gameplay est bon et la progression gratifiante.

[privatetour123]

Same Day Agra Tour by Car from Delhi

Same-Day Automobile Tour of Agra from Delhi A popular and easy method to witness the breathtaking majesty of the Taj Mahal and other historical attractions is to take a Same Day Agra Tour from Delhi by automobile. This one-day tour combines adventure, culture, and leisure, making it ideal for first-time visitors to India as well as locals looking for a short break. Everything you need to know for the ideal one-day trip from Delhi to Agra is covered in this post.

Why Opt for a Same-Day Car Tour of Agra? This tour is particularly appealing because of how convenient travelling by automobile is. Timing, comfort, and pace may all be adjusted with it. 230 kilometres and three to four hours are needed to travel by car from Delhi to Agra, depending on traffic. You can customise and enhance the experience by stopping for refreshments or photo opportunities while travelling in a private vehicle.

Ideal Time of Year to Visit Agra from Delhi Since Agra can get very hot in the summer, October to March is the best time to do this journey because of the more temperate temperature. Starting your journey early will enable you to get in Agra by mid-morning and spend the entire day exploring.

Commencing Your Trip: Departure from Delhi To ensure you get the most out of your day in Agra, most trips begin early in the morning, typically around 6:00 AM. You'll start the excursion with a gorgeous drive down the recently constructed Yamuna Motorway, which is renowned for its smooth roads and little traffic, after being picked up from your chosen location in Delhi.

Pause for Breakfast You may wish to pause for a quick breakfast halfway through. Delicious North Indian food is served at a lot of roadside cafés and restaurants along the route. You can fuel up for the day ahead of time with options like tea, poha, and parathas.

Arriving First: The Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, will undoubtedly be your first significant stop in Agra. If you get here by 10:00 AM, you'll have plenty of time to take in this architectural wonder. Constructed by Emperor Shah Jahan as a tribute to his late wife Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj Mahal is a testament to love. To make your visit to the monument more educational, it is essential to hire a guide who can tell you stories and provide historical context.

Pro Tip: Since there will be a lot of walking, wear comfortable shoes when visiting the Taj Mahal. Drones and tripods are not permitted, although photography is. For pictures, the greatest lighting is in the early morning or late afternoon. Agra Fort is the second stop. The Taj Mahal should be visited for around two hours, and then your tour should continue on to Agra Fort, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The primary palace of the Mughal rulers was this red sandstone fort. See its exquisite mosques, courtyards, and halls. The Taj Mahal may be seen in the distance from the fort's balconies.

Lunch Break: An Overview of Agra You'll probably be hungry after spending the morning exploring. Many restaurants in Agra serve regional cuisine. You can sample Mughlai cuisine, North Indian vegetarian thalis, or the well-known Petha (a dessert made from ash gourd) in Agra for lunch. Pinch of Spice and Bon Barbecue are two well-liked eateries among travellers.

The third stop is Baby Taj, Itmad-ud-Daulah. If you have time, you should visit the Itmad-ud-Daulah tomb, popularly referred to as the Baby Taj, even though many tourists return to Delhi after seeing the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. Often referred to as the Taj Mahal's draft form, this lesser-known monument is breathtaking in its elaborate marble work.

Purchasing in Agra: Homemade Memorabilia Carpets, leather items and marble inlay work are Agra's speciality. Make a brief stop at one of the local marketplaces, such Sadar Bazaar or Kinari Bazaar, if you're in the mood to shop. Gorgeous handcrafted mementos are available, ranging from vibrant rugs and jewellery to tiny reproductions of the Taj Mahal.

Go back to Delhi. It's time to return to Delhi after a full day of exploration. By 4:00 or 5:00 PM, most passengers start their return trip, returning to Delhi by late evening. On the way back, you have time to unwind, think back on the day, or maybe take a nap.

In conclusion An amazing experience that fits a lot into one day is a Same Day Agra Tour by Car from Delhi. A glimpse into India's rich history and culture may be had on this journey, which highlights the timeless beauty of the Taj Mahal, the grandiosity of Agra Fort, and the allure of the Baby Taj. This tour is the ideal option for a quick yet significant getaway, regardless of your interests—history buff, photography enthusiast, or just seeking a change of scenery.