#i need to get out of the 20 hour tutorial i need to go fast

[konakoro]

I've only played about, like, an hour of Warframe but fuck everything fast mecha monster man go wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[urlocal-limitesshbic]

*.˗ˏˋ Use DEILD to enter the void in secondsˎ˗.*

~featuring a lucid dreamer’s unintended success story I found on YouTube~

Incoming Topics..

*PART 1 <RECAP: What is Deild? >*

*PART 2 < The success story >*

*PART 3 < How to use DEILD for the Void >*

*PART I < What is the DEILD method? > *

If you haven’t read my original post on DEILD I have linked it down below towards the end of this one. I recommend checking it out for an in depth tutorial on the method, but I’ll give a quick explanation here as well-

To put it simply, it is a technique that is traditionally used to get fast and easy lucid dreams. Upon waking you lie still and keep your eyes closed, tricking your body into thinking that you never woke up and then within seconds the dream reforms except now you’re aware in it! You can also create a new dream or you might enter a false awakening which becomes a lucid dream. This method works SO QUICKLY it’s seriously like a LD method shortcut!

I’ve heard of lucid dreamers talking about the void before but after watching a YouTubers video about a lucid dream he had, I realized he actually used the DEILD technique to go straight to the void in SECONDS, unintentionally! Which is something I hadn’t thought about doing before-merging the lucid dream technique WITH 👏🏼 THE VOID 👏🏼 TECHNIQUES!! 👏🏼 So for those of you attempting to enter the void state from a lucid dream, this can be used as a SHORTCUT on top of a SHORTCUT! 🙌🏼 Yes ma’ammmm y’all seriously need to come try this one out because when I say SECONDS I’m talking secondsss-no more waiting 20 minutes for your left brain to turn off, no more long breath work exercises or reality checks or hours of lying still, affirming, no more battling with creating portals-the void can be EFFORTLESS and induced in under a minute.

*PART 2 < The lucid dreamer’s success story> *

There’s this lucid dreamer on YouTube called TIGER123 who posts about lucid dreaming techniques and his own lucid dream experiences- he actually has a video tutorial on DEILD as well (which is linked in my OG DEILD post)

So, I was at work looking for something to watch and saw he posted a new video about a lucid dream he had recently. Well, I can tell you wasn’t expecting him to literally open the video by talking about how he woke up from a regular dream, realized it was the perfect opportunity to perform DEILD and get lucid, and then. AS HE’S PERFORMING DEILD. He enters the void! Just like that. While he was in the void he visualized the dream scene he wanted to be in and he said he was there within 10 seconds. Aka he instantly manifested entering the exact lucid dream he wanted to be in, from the void state.

This is someone who doesn’t believe in shifting or astral projection, wasn’t trying to enter the void, thinks the void is just an unformed lucid dream space that can be used to form a new lucid dream, doesn’t know you can manifest from that state and yet STILL got in and STILL manifested. Since he viewed the void as a place he can form a new lucid dream thats what he did. He still manifested instantly, he just MANIFESTED going from the VS to being in a lucid dream. This should just go to show you guys how REAL the void state is, because someone who doesn’t even know about it and wasn’t trying to get in STILL did it. (SO CAN YOU btw)

The void isn’t a concept created on tumblr. Lucid dreamers have experienced it for years, meditators experience it, yogis, followers of Neville Goddard and multiple religious practices do too; It’s just called by different names and defined differently, but all the experiences describe the same thing. So if tumblr success stories aren’t trustworthy enough to you, or motivating enough-expand your research and find hundreds of stories similar to this one-lucid dreamers thinking it’s just an unformed dream and yogis thinking it’s just a really relaxing deep meditative state etc…

*PART 3< How To Use DEILD to enter the VS> *

I linked the video at the bottom, he doesn’t really talk about the void much or deild because the video is about the actual contents of the dream he had, but the part he does talk about it is right at the beginning, the first 30 seconds or so, if you’re curious in checking it out but this is pretty much what he said about it, written out-

“First I was in a space dream and then I woke up and kind of realized I had just woken up from a dream and was able to stay still and kind of reenter into it and fall back asleep and I ended up in the void. You know that like complete blackness where it’s really easy to reform the dream and since I was there I figured I would just try to go to the beach because when I’m in this void state I can really go anywhere I want. I just reformed the beach and I ended up on the exact beach I was imagining in like 10 seconds.”

So boom. Thats’s it thats ALL. That simple. So here’s the exact steps to do if you want to enter the void through DEILD too and be the next success story:

Before bed: affirm “I will remember to stay still upon awakening. I will effortlessly enter the void using DEILD” or some variation of this (optional)

Visualize yourself waking up, staying still, and entering the void state (optional)

Go to sleep, with the calm certainty that this will work.

Wake up. Keep your eyes closed and lie still

You can keep a blank mind and wait, trusting that your subconscious will induce the void automatically, since you already set the intention the night before

5a. Or right after waking, with your eyes closed you can begin affirming that you are pure consciousnes and imagine yourself already in the void, or imagine yourself sinking gently down into the void state until you are truly there. This method is so effective you should be in the state within a minute or less.

And remember, the void state can’t be forced, just like sleep can’t be forced. All you can do is create the right conditions for it to occur naturally. It’s okay if you don’t get it right away. Focus on trust, not control. Avoid over analyzing whether it’s working while you’re performing the technique, just allow it to flow and happen. You saw he just literally lied still waiting for the dream to form and then he was in. It’s that effortless. Give it a go and report back in the comments 🫶🏼 Happy enteringgg

[ponett]

ive seen you post about doctor robotnik's ring racers occasionally on twitter and would like to hear your overall thoughts on the game

I'm enjoying it a lot! It plays well, has a ridiculous number of unlockable characters and tracks, and is generally just really polished. This would be impressive even for a paid indie kart racer that cost like $20-$30, but for a freeware fangame that's somehow built off of Doom? It's nuts. So much love and care went into this. I've been having a lot of fun playing through all the Grand Prix cups and clearing out the challenge board, which I've only completed 47% of it even with over 15 hours of playtime logged.

It's absolutely one of the most hardcore kart racers I've ever played, though, and that's gonna turn some people off. While playing solo even easy mode can be difficult, especially thanks to the rival system that gives one CPU buffs over the others. Anything below 150cc is a complete joke for me in Mario Kart, but even playing on the "normal" difficulty in Ring Racers (now renamed "intense" in the 2.2 patch) kicks my ass, and if you place poorly in a Grand Prix race it gives you a game over and makes you redo the race. I can't even imagine touching the higher difficulties at my current skill level.

This is compounded by how technical the game is and how many options are at your disposal. Spin dashing, tricks, fast drops, collecting and spending rings, an item roulette that can be manually stopped, a high risk high reward chargeable melee attack when you have negative rings, the ability to harass and be harassed by other racers while positioning yourself before the start of the race, gates that can only be passed through when you have a high level of boost, lots of items with different quirks that reward skilled play. And of course, perhaps most daunting of all to new players, there's the game's unique slope physics designed to mimic how they work in the 2D Sonic games, which will often require you to either spend rings for a small boost or stop and charge up a spin dash to get up a steep hill.

All of these add a lot of complexity to the game that can be pretty daunting early on, which is why it has an infamously long story-driven tutorial to introduce all of these mechanics. I'm not sure said tutorial actually does the best job introducing how those mechanics will actually be put to use in races, but I can't blame them for thinking the game needed it. (I do have to admit I am annoyed by the game's insistence upon framing everything via Sega Saturn inputs, though. I had to open the settings screen to figure out what buttons the tutorial actually wanted me to press.)

Some of these things have already been addressed in the first couple patches, of course. You can now exit the tutorial way earlier, some unlock requirements have been relaxed, there's an option to let the game automatically use your rings for you, easy mode has been made easier, a handful of problematic courses have been tweaked, etc. And I'm sure they'll continue to refine the game based on player feedback. But it's probably always going to be a fairly hardcore game. It's hard and has a high skill ceiling by design. Nintendo's never gonna make a super technical new Mario Kart for sickos - not on purpose, at least. They need it to be a pick-up-and-play party game that sells 70 million copies. But a freeware fangame not beholden to shareholders can experiment more and try to cater to that more hardcore crowd. Say what you will about Ring Racers, but it absolutely has a specific creative vision of its own beyond "Sonic Mario Kart," and I respect that even if the game sometimes frustrates me

[monstersdownthepath]

Monster Spotlight: Quickling

CR 3

Chaotic Evil Small Fey

Bestiary 2, pg. 227 (art from 2e's Bestiary 2, pg. 218)

Have I really never reviewed these guys? Weird! Well, better late than never, I suppose. The Quickling is a premier "tutorial monster" to introduce your party to specific actions and tactics they can use in Pathfinder, namely readied actions, because at just about every level of play, a single Quickling can deliver a swift and painful end to any party that doesn't take proper precautions against them. There are many "tutorial" encounters in Pathfinder that serve to beat lessons into players; Shadows teach players to have magic weapon buffs, Trolls teach players to carry multiple sources of elemental damage (and, to a lesser extent, the importance of denying enemies their Full-Attacks in whatever method you can manage), low-level 'swarming' enemies like goblins and bandits teach the importance of knowing when to divide your damage and when to focus it, and any low-level Outsider teaches players the value of having multiple weapons made out of different materials available. In the case of Quicklings, players will quickly learn the value of readied actions, as well as the value of common items like caltrops, tanglefoot bags, and immobilizing/area control spells.

Why? Well, look at that name. You see that name and likely think to yourself, 'oh so they're fast?' And you have no idea how much of an understatement that is; a Quickling's speed is literally unmatched by any creature that isn't hundreds of feet tall with a stride to match, because they can move 120ft with a single move action, or approximately 14 miles an hour. This means a Quickling that's running full sprint moves at 480ft/round, or 54 miles an hour, fast as a literal car on a highway! There's 'fleet of foot,' and then there's the Quickling, literally so fleet of foot that they're nearly invisible while moving thanks to their Supernatural Speed, their bodies blurring and distorting at the edges to make them almost impossible to spot even if they're just taking a single move action.

Mechanically, this translates to 20% concealment on any round they take any actions so they benefit even if they don't actually move, as well as granting them both the Evasion ability (and with +11 to their Reflex saves, they're most certainly succeeding against level-appropriate abilities) AND Uncanny Dodge so they're impossible to catch off-guard. Their disproportionate 20 AC is further complicated by their DR 5/cold iron, all of these defenses making them unstoppable if confronted by people simply trying to swing weapons at them, the Quicklings deftly avoiding incoming attacks with such speed that their foes are practically attacking their afterimages, while any blows which DO miraculously connect are often mitigated entirely by their Damage Reduction.

They kind of need it, though, because they have 18 hitpoints on average, often going down in a single round if the party manages to get ahold of them.

Stories circulate in-universe about people encountering Quicklings without realizing what's happening, feeling nothing but a rush of air near them before a wound suddenly opens on their body and they feel their consciousness begin to fade. This is their preferred tactic, poisoning their tiny swords (blue whinnis is their favorite, as it causes unconsciousness) before darting in and out of view at speeds most creatures can't comprehend. Their swords deal an incredible 1d4-1 damage, but they add +1d6 Sneak Attack damage if they hit someone unawares, and because of their monstrous speed and access to the Spring Attack feat they can literally afford to run in, stab someone once with a poisoned weapon, then run back out to hide and re-poison their weapon. It's a simple tactic but a dangerously effective one, especially since they move so fast a party may not even realize what's going on until someone manages to spot the little bastard dashing past.

Because of their ridiculous speed, a Quickling can move stealthily (+18) or climb surfaces (+14 Acrobatics) at 60ft/round, letting them duck out of a combat they don't want any part in without risking a party being able to easily chase them down... And if their sheer speed wasn't enough to lose someone, Quicklings can use Dancing Lights and Ventriloquism 1/day to throw off false signals in multiple directions, or lure victims into elaborate traps and ambushes. Once in stealth, they can use Sneak Attack + Spring Attack with impunity to wear down just about any party whose Perception isn't up to snuff.

As a last resort, a Quickling can urge itself to hold still, which causes it to become entirely invisible until it takes an action again! JUST when you thought you finally had the bastard caught, you round a corner into an enclosed alleyway with no way out just to find it empty. Most people believe the things can straight up teleport, and that's not far from the truth! These things are built to be frustrating as all getout right up until the martials in the party remember how to ready attacks, trips, and grapples, and the party casters ready Color Spray to throw in their general direction.

Quicklings make excellent teaching tools, but that's not all they have to be! They're incredibly dangerous monsters to give any magic items, strange equipment, and/or class levels to, especially classes like Rogue or Slayer, allowing them to appear at any level of play to malice players and make them fear the sound of tiny scampering feet. The good news, however, is that at higher levels, players will likely have a way to take advantage of their Slow Susceptibility; while this doesn't strip them of their running speed, it DOES sicken them AND remove the benefits of Supernatural Speed, which means they lose their concealment bonus, Evasion, and Uncanny Dodge, finally allowing the party's mage to put the little gremlin at the center of a Fireball like they've wanted to for 4 levels now.

Final fun fact: Quicklings have an absolutely ridiculous +50 to Acrobatics checks to jump, meaning that by just taking 10 and not rolling at all, they can clear 60ft gaps or leap nearly 20 feet straight into the air! I suppose that's where all their Acrobatics goes when one of them becomes so consumed with murderous urges that they finally evolve into an even worse Fey...

You can read more about them here.

[coming-up-with-usernames-is-hard]

PhD Blog Week 16

Courses

Solitons: More nonlinear differential equations, still very methods-course, hopefully we'll actually get to solitons soon

Rep theory: very fast due to use of slides, lots of technical details and not much big picture, but basically every sufficiently nice algebra is made of matrices

Hopf algebras: defined algebras, coalgebras, and bialgebras, so almost at the definition of a Hopf algebra. More reading notes off the screen, I wasted a good 30 minutes trying to show something was a coalgebra and it turned out I'd just written the comultiplication down wrong, somewhat embaressing given that the comultiplication is just given by the double angle formula from basic trig so I should have seen that, I guess that's what you get from trying to do maths in the evening

Supervisor Meeting

Actually succeeded in computing the Plucker relations in the meeting up to signs with some guidance, then spent two hours after the meeting trying to redo the calculation keeping track of the signs, then spent another two hours writing it up, but it's done! Now I just need to figure out the details of how this connects to the KP equation. Made the mistake of asking why they're called Plucker relations and had to sit there for 20 min as my supervisor explained how we can identify solutions to the KP equation with points in the embedding of an infinite dimensional Grassmannian into a projective variety, and I know just enough algebraic geometry to be slightly terrified

Teaching

First year maths tutorial was fine, except I had to teach myself how RSA encryption works, it's a neat application but it would be nice if they gave the tutors a more detailed solution.

Two out of three dynamical systems tutorials, one cancelled for weather. I think they went ok, we'll see how things go when it's not just revision of eigenvalues and Taylor series

Talks

The integrable systems talk this week was on a certain class of symmetric functions, and how they can be viewed as the coefficients of an expansion of some S_n action in Schur functions, so very close to a lot of the stuff I do, but way more technical. We went out for a meal afterwards which was nice, first time we've done that, hopefully we can have more regular meetings because it would be good to know other people in the group

[moonslittlestar]

Just a wee little personal post because I'm literally still emo over BG3 winning Game Of The Year.

I did not think I was going to enjoy this game - not because it's not up my alley, in fact - I watched ALL my friends stream Early Access of it, the first being my best friend, the day it came out. I'm not a turn-based girlie. I never quite managed to get into Dragon Age because although I loved the idea of the games, I could not for the life of me understand the turn-based fight mechanics. I really thought if I purchased BG, it would lead to the same fate - getting up to the first fight and putting the game down because I couldn't understand it. Now, I have to admit, I wasn't a gamer growing up - I got into gaming late in life when I became Chronically Ill and only found them in my 20's, I didn't grow up with games and infact, I cannot play a lot of older games because I just don't understand the game mechanics of them or they way they want me to think / do things... I don't need a game to hold my hand, but I do need a push and a tutorial is handy sometimes. I kept watching my friends fall more and more in love with BG3 and started to wonder if I could too... but I've been struggling with my health and because of that I'd not been able to stream all year, and financially the worst thing I could do was put money that I didn't really have into a game I wasn't sure I was going to be able to play. On top of that... I'm not a Dungeons and Dragons person... like... at all. Like, my friend groups were too busy being hooligans and destroying our bodies to be playing DnD... so, this was another thing that concerned me about putting money into it.

Then, one night, randomly, after a convo with some friends about it... one of my best friends does this... I didn't see it for AN HOUR and then I probably stared at it for an hour, crying, trying to decide if I should accept it or not.

I fell fast and I fell hard, friends. I've not really played many games this year... a long with extremely poor health, low motivation, what little energy I had going into art and... well not really finding joy in games, I was not expecting to fall so hard. And now... now I'm sitting at 600+ hours.

BG3 made me fall in love with gaming again. It brought me back to streaming after 10 months!! It helped me push through so much shit with my health and gave me such a wonderful distraction to the scary things that I've been going through. I didn't think I'd be able to return to streaming at all this year... and I'm still sick, but BG3 is so distracting that it allows me to push through the not so bad days and give me a chance to hang out with my friends and community again. Which... is huge for me, I missed them so much :') Not only that but I found parts of me in some of the characters which I wasn't expecting... Astarion and Karlach, I didn't expect any to resonate but these two... god-damn! This game has been so emotionally healing, it's literally taken me on rollercoaster rides I'd no idea I'd be going on. I couldn't of imagined it being SO deep, and have so much weight too it. ANYWAYS...

I'm so, so glad it won GOTY because it honestly is, for me, absolutely 100% without a shadow of a doubt, GOTY for me 😭

[jadevine]

Bread making with an old dough starter!

So I like baking my own bread because 1) it tastes good, 2) American bread is either full of corn syrup or full of sugar unless it’s expensive artisan bread, and 3) I love testing out historical recipes.

Last week I saved a spoonful of dough from my baking session, and I started making a weird hybrid of a sourdough starter and an old dough / pate fermentee. It's technically made with baker's yeast and salt, but the concept of "saving dough from your current batch to get the next batch started" is very old with no hard-and-fast rules, so I've just been feeding the dough with flour and water like you'd feed a proper starter, and IT LIVES.

Her name is now Geshtinanna, after the Sumerian goddess of seasons/agriculture, and she lives in a honey jar.

I started out discarding half because that's what a lot of sourdough tutorials tell you to do, but you don't actually NEED to do that if you're not making cupfuls of starter. You can just keep the starter in the fridge to make it go to "sleep" (the yeast gets dormant in cold temperatures). Then you bring it out and wake it up with flour and warm water the day before you need to bake.

-- Today, I was almost out of bread! I officially started a sponge with Geshtinanna around 8pm, because it turns out when I actually started the sponge around 3pm, I'd miscalculated how much starter I needed, so when I checked the bowl, it was still a sad lump of flour.

So far so good, sponge is now sponging with the yeast. Will update in 10-20 more hours. lol

I just gotta keep reminding myself that people have been making bread for thousands of years and I don't NEED to pay attention to modern shit like autolysing and the specific type of kneading techniques, lol.

There's a meme going around that's something like "stay calm because the dough can sense fear." 😝

--

Here are a couple photos of Geshtinanna from this afternoon! Honestly bread will take a WHILE to see results, especially since the apartment runs cold, so there’s not much to update visually from the “time-check” photos I took at 9pm. I won’t use a second jar in the future, though—tall jars are a pain to wash, so I’ll just do my leavening for bakes in regular bowls and cover them so stuff doesn’t get in.

I'll feed Geshtinanna again tomorrow so I can bring her up to around a couple of ounces, because I do NOT want to end up with too little starter again. Lol.

[semi-sketchy]

I think one of the biggest issues in the Xenoblade 2 fandom is people fall for obvious bait too much. Legit saw a negative XC2 post and this guy replied over 20 times to the OP who just kept responding with "kys pedo" If you don't get it at that point you deserve to be trolled.

Honestly for me, the two worst issues are collectibles and field skill checks. Everything else I'm basically fine with.

Crafting pouch items is just the worst because you have to spend so long going through wikis and trying to get the item drops so you can have 20 minutes of an effect. It bothered me how Torna never let you buy any since the pouch items were so useful. (Future Redeemed did the same thing but you could buy some collectibles and it was bonuses like more money and EXP rather than battle buffs, so not as essential.)

And I didn't even realize how tedious the collectibles are in quests until XC3 came out and was like "do you want to know how good navigation works? We'll literally MARK WHERE THE ITEMS YOU NEED SPAWN" Also that game and Torna let you see tombstones on the map, so that's an immediate improvement.

Field skills existing never bothered me, it's just the constant swapping around your team that gets annoying. Worse is getting into battle and realizing oops, I forgot to change my party back and all these random Blades have 18 damage core chips. XC3 did better with field skills just being unlocks, but I also hated how they just dangled that stuff in front of me and there was nothing I could do to work towards it. Like I saw grinding in the trailer WHY CAN'T I GO DOWN THIS ROPE SLIDE AND WHY DOES NO ONE KNOW HOW TO CLIMB VINES. Future Redeemed making it so you just needed items to make the stuff work has been my favorite iteration of this so far because it feels like you're still making progress and you CAN do it if you put in the work (which 95% of the time I had the items for it on hand) and all without messing up your battle combo.

Oh, there's also the Blade quests. Ursula's sucks and she is not worth it. But my biggest issue is since many Blades are gotcha (which I kinda like? Makes every playthrough a bit unique, just wish the pity system extended to all so you didn't have to grind) by the time you do their quest, you're painfully over leveled. I seriously wish there was some scaling with those.

Some people have been calling for a 2 definitive edition and honestly? If these issues were addressed along with fixing the tutorials (first playthrough I never used pouch items because I didn't understand them. Oh god. No wonder I wasn't having fun for 15 hours) I think it'd be a 10/10 game for me.

I know the designs are a hot topic for debate, I just feel like the only person who wasn't ever really bothered by them? Dahlia caught me off guard and Mythra's boob window is stupid, but there's just so many interesting designs. Not all work with the art style (looking at you, Percival) but I do love how many different artists came together for it and I can appreciate the work. Except Newt, she's...she's actually bad. Girl is an army brat and has nothing but tape covering her ass and titties like honey you would get a section 8 so fast.

Honestly though? I've played other games that have WAYY worse and more sexualized designs, ones that I think would actually fit into the definition of sexism, so maybe that's why it doesn't faze me. (Look Valkyria Chronicles 4 I love you but you literally have all the males in normal outfits while the girls have skin tight pants or short shorts. They get sexually harassed by some male cast members and it's played for laughs. That...is actually something I have to look past to enjoy the game. 2 is basically just some eye candy without getting weird about it and I appreciate that.)

Being a Xenoblade 2 fan is so tiring

Every time you think you'll find cool fan content and theories in the tag, it's just filled with people saying anyone who enjoys this "mid" game is a perv

Like people can have their tastes but can you not be a dick about it

[fisherrprince]

wanted to ask, could we get a look in to how you put together your animatics?? I've been toying with the idea of trying to make one of my own, but I've got no idea where to start

oh yeah totally

though to be fair, a HUGE chunk of my time is spent listening to about 20 seconds of a song and imagining how the images move around like a little movie, and I refine a ton of stuff in my head before starting to actually put scenes down on paper. This happens with non-music boarding too, imagining different versions of how the scenes line up with dialogue/music. So step one: put a song on repeat and daydream for at least two hours. But, if you aren’t sure how to do this, I’d suggest looking at animatics, MAP projects, AMVs, animated musicals, fight scenes, etc. what do they do that’s cool? Imitate them.

after that, I have most of the main images with some blank spots im not sure how to fill until I put them down. I make something like this and get the compositions of each main image looking more or less okay in this form. This is also the stage I figure out the in between blank spots. I try not to have weird camera moves or other storyboarding don’ts, but some storyboarding donts are completely valid to break if you know what you want aesthetically. As usual. This one was actually pretty clean, but check out all the framing edits. i always have to make the frame bigger

If you really don’t know what goes in between things, don’t be afraid to focus on some little details of the scene, pull out and show us the setting, put some flowery symbolism on screen, give us some fun little comedic anime inserts, or do what cowboy standoffs do and build tension. What we used to do was draw paws stepping across the screen or eyes blinking, lol

next comes audio sync! I like to get the timing extant on copies of these rough thumbnails before moving on. It helps my brain work through smaller more animated movements + testing if the things I came up with for the blank spots work. and also just makes it happy. And also, most importantly, it tests if the compositions work. If you can see it, the whole sequence with mom was a blank spot until I sketched it. I usually do this step in roughanimator even if i don’t finish it in roughanimator. Keeps it very rough.

after this is just a lot of polishing and layers! For lots of small animatics, I just use roughanimator and leave it like that. It’s surprisingly good for a very basic program. But, for things that need tweens or lots of camera movement, I use toon boom harmony. It’s more powerful and is actually supposed to be used for animation, which. Yknow. I do. I tried storyboard pro, it wasn’t my favorite.

Here are some, I guess, miscellaneous more technical tips for making your animatics feel nice!

If you’re going for lots of movement, try out timing it so big movements or scene transitions line up with the spikes in the audio WAV. If it doesn’t feel right, move it a few frames BEFORE the spike/audio beat. Your brain usually wants to see something move barely before it hears it - this works for dialogue especially. BUT! Don’t feel like you have to do this for every beat. unless you want to feel like Wes Anderson, which you can do and I will not stop you.

If you’re going for something slower with not that much movement, try motion tweening! or adjusting something very slowly so we don’t linger on one still image for forever.

you don’t need crazy camera angles for everything, but put a few in there for spice. This all depends on your mood you want to cultivate. Slow = flatter, spacious, details; fast = lots of moves, weird angles, perspective; disorienting = slow/jerky weird angles etc etc. the camera has emotions built into it. Because the camera is you! surprise!

watch storyboarding tutorials. lots of people zoom in too much when they draw and I am not excluded. Also, keep in mind the eyesight rule. It’s hard for me to explain concisely but… you as the artist are always leading the viewers eye somewhere, with every shot you make. Don’t make them dizzy by having the center of attention jump around to six different spots for six shots straight - if you find yourself unhappy with a sequence, especially a fast one, see if your line of sight is going all over the place and try moving the subject of a shot or two somewhere else or having them move/gesture towards the new shot’s focal point so the viewers eye moves there naturally. I’m actually not great at doing this when words/lyrics are involved, pmv makers have my respect.

contrast is your friend. If you want to emphasize a big fast move or big bright image, put little slow moves or simple images right before/after it. and vice versa! this counts for camera too!

easy camera shakes are just 3-4 frames of cam down/up/down less/up less, a blank tween or two (easing back into normal), and then a key for your desired normal camera location. Or left/right, whichever.

your brain needs about six frames to fully register an object as being an object. If you want someone to see and really See it, rather than just get a glimpse of it and go "What was that!" It needs more than six frames.

don’t be afraid to experiment!!!!!! And don’t get overwhelmed! Everything I just described I MOSTLY do off instinct, which you’ll get a sense for after you make one. Or like…. Ten. Does it feel good in your heart? Then that’s what’s important. Find an idea you want to make move, figure out your limits (programs, attention span, drawing capability, make sure not to commit to a minute long amv if you dont KNOW you wanna do a minute long amv), and plan around that. When I was A Child, people on youtube were just making like three amvs per second and cringe hadn’t been invented yet so they were all mostly untrained unpolished and so so important and based to me. Stop thinking so hard about it. You gotta get that animatic out there into the world or it’ll start fermenting in your brain and make you sick. So what if it doesn’t turn out exactly the way you imagined it? You’ll have another idea tomorrow. And if it matters that much, you can always do it again. Go make! Good luck!

[sunqyu]

~ Treasure realizing they love you and the first time they say it pt 1.

Request 1: “ hmm im all in cute feelings, so FIRST I LOVE YOUS with treasure reaction thingy, would be super sweet 🙊💗🌼🌼 “ - anon

Request 2: “ i love your writing! treasure realizing theyre in love with their s/o🥺 “ - anon

These requests are both so adorable and fitting so I decided to combine them. Hope you enjoooy. Also, buckle up ‘cause ITS A LONG ONE AGAIN. Got carried away as usual so it’ll be in two parts. K BYE <3 - Nova

Hyunsuk

realizing it

it doesn’t take much to make Hyunsuk like you

but to actually fall in love with you

that’s a different story

he’s alone at the studio, trying to get his verse right

every time he fixes something he didn’t like, he notices something else

he’s sat at his desk, elbows next to the keyboard

head hanging down with his fingers tangled in his hair

a sharp inhale

a shaky exhale

then his phone lights up, a message from you, asking if he’s home yet and how his day went

2.30am, he reads

he starts typing, frantically, on and on as the chaos in his head makes it’s way onto his phonescreen

only for him to stop and delete it all because he knows what he really wants to send you

but it’s too late and he doesn’t want to be a burden, you need your sleep too

when he looks up and sees his own reflection in the, now dimly lit, screen of his computer

another sharp inhale

‘Not so great to be honest, can I come to your place?’ sent.

on the way to your house he’s still thinking about turning back

but all those thoughts are long gone the moment you open the door

your eyes beaming at him, messy bun wiggling side to side and you’re wrapped up in a blanket

his heart melts as he feels the tightness in his temples and neck from the stress subside

‘Hi- I missed you.’

you probably didn’t notice but he almost said something else

he snickers to himself, that would’ve been a bit early

saying it

definitely the type to say it without realizing what he’s saying

you two are getting groceries

which, even though it’s not a special thing, is always so much fun

this time you ended up playing hide and seek

it wasn’t really discussed, you just lost Hyunsuk at one point and decided to turn it into a game instead of calling him

which means it’s your turn now

it had been over 20 minutes and he was getting worried

very impressed with your skills

but worried

in the end he decided to call you

to his surprise he hears your ringtone behind him

he turns around

the ringtone is still behind him

he turns around

what the-

he turns around but really fast this time

his eyes meet yours a second before you start dying from laughter

‘How long where you doing that for-?’ he laughed in self-pity and disbelieve

when he finds out you never left he sighs

‘Ugh- I love you.’ he mutters inbetween chuckling

for a second he freezes, a thousand things running through his mind

but y’know what? fuck it.

‘Yea- it’s true. I love you.’

Jihoon

realizing it

also seems like someone who does not fall in love quickly

mostly because he’s not looking for it, he doesn’t feel the need to be in love to be happy

but once he does

oh boy

so when you came in his life he wasn’t thinking about a potential relationship

or wondering if you two would be compatible

he simply enjoyed your presence and you two got closer as friends

because of this the moment he realizes he has feelings for you will be overwhelming for him

wasn’t ready

you weren’t even doing anything different than usual

just eating in the yg cafetaria, both rambling about things

subjects that made people walking by look up because they didn’t get the full story

out of nowhere he fell hard

the mechanism that’s supposed to be his brain malfunctioning

croissant in mid-air

it all just made sense

the reason why he could never be sad around you

the reason that made your eyes twinkle more than anyone elses

the reason you saying his name sounds different than when anyone else says it

the reason he’s now sitting with his mouth wide open staring at you without really looking at you

‘Y-yea, I was listening. Ofcourse I was.’

saying it

probably says it on a special occasion

not planned or anything

it just seemed fitting in that moment

he realized before you two were even dating so it’s not like there’s any doubt left

still, expressing it feels like a very big step

it was quite a warm autumn evening

you were sitting on the floor at the salon table

filled with food from different places

‘I’m so proud of us.’ he beamed

you had just finished a very important essay which is going to be a great advantage when looking for an internship

he had just ended filming their third music video

‘I wish I could show you, you’re gonna love it.’ he mumbled before grabbing another bite

it looked like a feast but takeout-style

you continue eating, enjoying each others company

all the windows were open because of the nice weather

a soft breeze would ruffle the curtains

the subtle sound mixing well with the music

Jihoon had looked for just the right playlist for almost half an hour

and it couldn’t have been more perfect

the warm light of the candles was accompanied by a desklight

you got it out of your room because the ceiling light wasn’t cozy but the candles weren’t enough to see each other’s face (or the food)

the topic slowly drifts to more nostalgic memories

dates to the beach, your weekend in Japan, meeting his friends

‘You know what’s funny? out of all of those memories the one that is most special to me was a really simple one.’ something in his expression changed and you sat calmly, waiting for him to continue

‘It was a few days before I asked you out on our first date. We were at yg, eating something.’ he grabbed another bite of food, chuckling at your impatient response

‘I don’t know what it was but out of nowhere I realized I was in love with you.’ the words came out while he looked at his plate, looking up only a second before he continued

‘I still do. I love you-, even more each day.’

Yoshi

realizing it

there’s not really a specific moment where it hit him

his love for you grew gradually

which is exactly how he liked it

from the moment he met you he was never nervous around you

he never felt like he wasn’t good enough or like he had to try harder

everything made sense from day one

there would be moments where is heart could burst from it

like the time you tried to fix his broken jeans with a youtube tutorial

or when you first fell asleep on his chest

the worst was when he couldn’t see you for a few days

as if the love in him grew and grew but he couldn’t give it to you

he just felt like he was going to explode sometimes

the other boys would notice very easily

‘I know it’s only a few days, you guys are right.’

his mind didn’t listen to his own words

‘I’m fine- I promise.’

but if it’s a few more hours he might not be

he would go to bed quite early these days

after he noticed that trying to distract himself wasn’t working

he’d scroll through photo’s you took together

and photo’s he took of you

he’d sent you another text, hoping your phone was off so he wouldn’t wake you up

a strange mix of happiness and sadness

luckily once he realizes his sadness is temporary and it only shows how special you are to him he’ll be able to focus on the happiness

thinking about all the memories you’ve made and will make in the future as he slowly drifts to sleep

saying it

finally

finally he was going to see you again

it was only like three days but boy was he DEPRIVED

he was the first done packing

the first in the car

the first to run into the dorm and put his bag away

aaaand the first to run out the door again

you two had been texting all day about movies to watch and all the stories he wanted to tell

his knee bumped up and down in the bus

he couldn’t remember the last time he was this hyped

only three more stops

he gazed out the window chuckling at himself

who would’ve thought someone could make him feel like this?

his hand clutched on to the souvenir he got you

two more stops

an old couple got in

yoshi always had a weakness for happy old couple

but now especially

he smiled politely at them

admiring how in love they looked

that would be you in the future, he thought to himself

one more stop

his smile was still on his face

recognizing restaurants you two went to

clothing stores where you complimented his style

and then

the bus stop

it’s the one where you two met

he still can’t believe he managed to strike up a conversation with you that day

but it must’ve been meant to be

he looked around frantically as soon as his foot hit the sidewalk

the sound of your shoes on the floor came closer

he turned to face the sound and before he could even see your face he was holding you in his arms again

tightly as if to tell the world you were his

a deep sigh left his mouth before he mumbled into your hair

‘I love you- I missed you so much. I’m so happy to see you.’

Junkyu

realizing it

‘stop being weird-’ ‘says who?’

you and Junkyu were laying on his bed

both with your limbs spread out, staring at the ceiling

you weren’t sure how long you’d been there

he hummed along to the song you just put on

before being interrupted by the sound of his own stomach

‘Oh wow- sounds like it’s time for lunch.’ 

you nodded in agreement as you grabbed your phone

he started thinking about what to get, watching you tap away on your phone

your hair was laying in a circle around your head

a shadow from the ceilinglight behind your phone over your eyes

he noticed how you pupils dilated as they adjusted to the light everytime your moved your phone a bit

your eyes are cool af, woah

he turned to his side, still looking at your features while you scrolled on your phone

the song changed and this time it was you humming along

your voice is so nice, he thought to himself

his dreamy moment was interrupted by you looking at him

oh right- food

‘Uh- I want uh-..’

to his surprise you tell him you already ordered

‘What- what about me?’

you listed the things you ordered for him, saying how you definitely knew what he wanted by now

he was shocked

if you aren’t the SWEETEST MOST THOUGHTFUL HUMAN BEING

then he wouldn’t know who is

his dreamy moment continued, even though you were staring right back this time, confused

he never felt like this before

like he wants to fast-forward and sit in a rocking chair with you, grumbling about youth

wait

fuck

this is love isn’t it?

saying it

he promised

he promised he wasn’t going to fall asleep during the movie

but look at him now

soft deep breathing, lips slightly parted as he was laying against you

even though you didn’t want to wake him up you had already seen this movie with friends and the remote was all the way on the table

you reached forward in slow motion

slowly

sloooooowly

Junkyu moved, rubbing his cheek against your shoulder before mumbling under his breath and laying still again

that was close

the journey continues

slooooooooooowly

you were only 10cm away from reaching the remote

‘N-no hh.. stay h- ple ase.’

a dilemma

lean forward a bit more or sit back and just let the man sleep?

bit more

sloooooooooooooooowly

your fingertips grazed the remote and it wobble side to side

‘Babe?-’ that definitely sounded more awake then earlier

but when you look at him you see he’s definitely not fully awake yet

‘Come back to beeed-’ he whined

bed? boy, we’re on the couch

you didn’t mention it and instead quickly grabbed the remote before you sat back down a little faster

‘Th-nk yo-’ he held you tighter

‘Love you-’

wait what?

Mashiho

realizing it

seems like a hopeless romantic to me

so might realize quite fast

this man has been fantasizing and imagining his future love life for so long

not to the point where he’s yanking flowers apart to find out if you love him or not

but he sees the beauty in so many things

enjoys the warmth of the sun on his skin

likes to watch people going about their day and thinking what their life is like

leaves sweet notes on receipts for hardworking employees to find when they come clean his table

little things but a lot of things

he has an eye for beauty and knows exactly how to use it for his own happiness

so he quickly noticed how happy you made him

it was again, the little things

but so so many

how your pinky finger was always a little higher than the rest when your hands were relaxed

how the cute baby hairs on the back of your neck would always leave your ponytail within minutes of putting your hair up

how your foot would bounce up and down when you sat with your legs crossed, even if there was no music

how every time you called him cute he had to keep himself from calling you cute because he knew you’d hide your face in your hands right after

the way you sat against the mirror when you came to watch him practice

sleeves of his sweater to long for your arms as you clapped after each song

loving you wasn’t something that happens at one point

it’s built within him since the moment you met

it just grows and grows as you take care of it with your cuteness and love

saying it

so much snow

everywhere

the snowflakes were most visible under the light of the streetlanterns

appearing and disappearing as they went back into the dark nightsky

the crisp sound from under your shoes was relaxing

you and Mashiho had a snowballfight after finishing about 20 snowangels each

it had gotten dark before you knew it so now you were walking home

his arm around your shoulder, rubbing softly to keep you warm

you felt the cold water through your gloves but sharing bodyheat was all you needed

both of you had soft smiles on your faces, walking in content silence

and you were also just EXHAUSTED so the quiet evening was a nice change

in some of the houses you walked by you could already see christmaslights and trees

he noticed you looking

‘Lets get our own decorations soon.’ 

you nodded happily, leaning against him a little more

this was going to be your first christmas together

you never expected to celebrate it with someone this year

the idea of setting up a tree together and the coziness it would bring made him feel warm inside

you discussed fun things you could do for christmas

ways to surprise the boys or what you wanted to eat

he listened to you talk about memories and future plans

when he noticed how clearly he was already involved in those future plans he couldn’t help himself

‘Hey-’ he gave your shoulder a squeeze to make you look at him

‘I love you, so so much-‘

Jaehyuk

realising it

it was the first time you were going to meet the rest of Jaehyuk’s group

a little nervous but mostly excited you walked to the front door

he told you to text him when you got there so he could see you before the rest did

a few second after you saw he read your message the door opens

you get a kiss on the lips, a tight hug and a kiss on your forehead all after each other

he wanted to show you love but also wanted to mentally prepare you for what was about to him

don’t get him wrong, he loves the other members with all his heart but he could imagine them being a little.... overwhelming.

before he could even ask you if you were nervous the yells from the living room began

curious heads peeking out from behind his back, 11 hands reaching out to you as they all wanted to introduce themselves first

you could make out some teasing to Jae followed by someone’s voice trying to keep the peace

he looked at you with slight worry in his face, only to be greeted by a cheerful smile

before he knew it you were bashing out jokes left and right

even standing up for him a few times in the funniest ways

he couldn’t be happier

so many people he loved in one room

one in particular though

he took a moment to sit back against the couch and look around in awe

so happy

after a few hours and some good food it was time for you to go home

he watched you end your conversation with Asahi

who, to his surprise, seemed like he didn’t want the conversation to end

you waved goodbye to everyone and got loads of no’s and why’s in return

‘It’s late guys, she still has to go home.’

saying it

you still heard the whining when you and Jae reached the front door

you talked a few more minutes about how much you enjoyed yourself and the funny and awkward moments you two noticed

‘Apparently you don’t only make me happy but my friends too.’

you beamed at the compliment

even though you enjoyed the night as well, the validation that they did too meant a lot to you

‘So I’ve been approved?’ ‘Clearly.’

he insisted on walking you home 

you discussed the evening even more

he explained more about their personalities and memories he has with them which now made so much sense to you

your fingers were intertwined, arms swinging back and forth playfully

for some reason he felt a lump in his throat

but he couldn’t quite figure out why

it even distracted him from your conversation a few times

which is very unlike him so you noticed quickly

when you stopped walking to ask him what was wrong

looking him in the eye to show you you were not taking nothing for an answer

the determined look in your eyes made him realize what it was

what he had been holding back

but he didn’t say it

not yet

after a few minutes you reached your frontdoor

‘Thank you for the great evening, I’m sure they’ll want you back as soon as possible.’

he leaned in for a goodnight’s kiss, holding you close a little tighter than usual

for a second he pulled back

‘I love you-’

before connecting your lips again

[felikatze]

anyway if yall r also grinding alts here’s a brief how-to

 get bullied by tutorials until doing 1-3 (you will never die here)

do not forget to input your friend code once the tutorial stops here

also don’t forget that 3x speed exists cuz turns out my main’s been farming on 2x speed for several months

 get the free summon and a 5* hero. a fire hero would probably be best, since there’s a lot of fire bosses and the earth worm at the end. I got E Luci and she worked fine

 do the training events for at minimum a hero of the same class as your 5* for free 4* gear. I did all of em except mikhail.

 do the equip gear stuff for free exp potions

 check back every couple of battles to dump your exp potions into your 5* and charlotte. bcuz of the training events, i had charlotte on 4* by 2-5. if you see your battle strength falling behind the enemy, then’s a good time to stock up

 get your 5* and your 4* charlotte to lv 20-ish. this is generally enough to carry you

 after that you can level the rest of your squad to also ~20, though you don’t really have to. I’d still recommend leveling Zaira to 20, since she’s a 4*.

 you don’t need to bother with leveling gear after getting the 4* gear from the training events. Hell, once you got the crystals, supplement your 5* hero’s gear with some from alchemy. won’t matter, will make it quicker.

 once your battle strength hits 4k, you can auto battle everything and face no issues. had 5k for the worm though.

 don’t worry about energy. You’ll get enough from the energetic efforts and login time events to keep you going

 follow royal road in the beginning for extra exp, but feel free to ditch it by lumisade when going to halls gets annoying

you might wanna put off auto on later bosses, just so the AI doesn’t waste bursts on non 5* units (mei ling is very fast and will steal bursts), and to chain em. with your gear, feel free to abandon all pretense of tactics and focus the boss down

my final team was lv21 e luci(5*), lv21 e charlotte(4*), lv20 f zaira(4*), lv26 f mei ling (3*), and lv18 w fram(3*), which added up to a battle strength of exactly 5k.

this is probably all a no brainer, but it helps to have tips, even for the obvious. Skipping all of the story, this took 3 hours, for most of which i just did stuff on pc as my phone ran loh. s cool.

[resinatingbeauty]

I’ve had a lot of requests from various people at different times who are just learning how to use resin to create with and wanted some tips and tricks. I have wanted to make this post for a while, but I wanted to acquire more experience myself before giving others help. This first post is just going to go over some really basic tips and tricks and subsequent posts (if they’re found helpful) will elaborate. This is for all of you who are like me and get the least amount of benefit from watching Youtube tutorials these days because EVERYONE has one, and half the time they’re drawn out for ad revenue so an hour long video will only contain 20 mins worth of information with the kicker being you can’t even fast forward through what you know or rewind through ads to get back to where you need to be. So, for those of you who hate that like me, this text post is for you.

If you’re just starting, choosing which resin you want to purchase is intimidating. Craft stores like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby rarely offer more than one or two brands, typically over priced due to the fact that they’re labeled “art resins”.

Epoxy resin is by far the easiest to start with for beginners. It is the most forgiving, has the most consistent results, most brands use the same 1:1 ratio and the overall technique is the same. I am not affiliated with these brands/companies in any way other than I have used their products and have written reviews for several on Amazon.

Start with small packages (4oz-8oz kits / 8oz & 16oz hardener + resin). A quick Amazon search for epoxy resin will give you many results. This is one of those cases where you really don’t get what you pay for- boat, tabletop, etc. epoxy will yield the same results at more reasonable prices per fluid ounce than art resins. I recommend going with brands like FanAut, Puduo, Let’s Resin, Craft Daddy, etc. which often offer kits with gloves, craft sticks / stir sticks, measuring cups, and even additives at reasonable prices. All these items are things you’ll need to start off, so any extras are appreciated. I recommend Puduo, as it is relatively inexpensive compared to similar brands, yields consistent , crystal clear results, and has a somewhat faster curing time than other epoxy resins for the price. If none of these brands ring your bell, here are the qualifiers for a “good” epoxy resin:

Self Degassing- This is pretty much the standard expectation of epoxy resin and one of the reasons it is considered forgiving for beginners. When resin and hardener are combined, gases are trapped and form air bubbles which have a tendency to multiply as you stir your mixture and the combination heats up. But it shouldn’t be taken for granted that all epoxy resin does this, so try to look for “self degassing” in the item description / label.

Self Leveling vs. Doming : Doming resin is great for the magnified look on pendants and other flat projects, but self leveling resin is where you should be starting as doming requires the build up of surface tension to achieve. While “doming “ resin may achieve this easier than others without this feature, it is pretty irrelevant if you don’t know to dome resin in the first place.

Art Resin vs Other Epoxy: Art resins make claims of being ideal or a better choice for arts & crafts, but the reality is that you can achieve the same effects from table top or boat resins such as Mas- are just as capable of casting, coating, doming etc. as art resins especially if you’re looking to take on a larger project you will pay less and get more with these brands than smaller quantities of art resins. Make sure they are crystal clear, hard type, self degassing, and self leveling. Keep in mind that cure time relates to the size of your project and the ambient temperature of the environment, so don’t waste money on products that charge more for touting faster curing time.

What about 2 part epoxy in syringes? (Ice Resin, Gorilla Glue) Personally, these pre prepared epoxy resins are more complicated than they look. You can’t save combined resin and hardener, so once you mix the two or pop the seals to both you have to use the lot of it in one shot. Ice Resin in particular is quite expensive and doesn’t offer the clear, glossy results I expected it to when I used it, so I would avoid these if you are just starting out.

Additives & Extras- Don’t waste a lot of money at the start funding your would be creations until you have at least seen one entire project through from start to finish. I made the mistake of investing in silicone molds, glitters, additives like rhinestones, craft papers, transparency films etc before I really found my niche and what I was really using epoxy for the most. There are some great deals for 100+ piece silicone mold kits that include gloves, stir sticks, silicone measuring cups, and the like available cheaply for those looking to make smaller things like jewelry, keychains, figurines etc. the one I have just linked to even includes the epoxy for under $20. These kits are offered by Amazon and even Etsy and are a great place to start as they provide you with everything you would need to create at least one full project. They are also a great activity to do with your kids (ages 10+ would probably be ideal) as you can add pretty much anything that isn’t silicone, wax, unsealed paper, alcohol, or water based into resin, which opens up a world of possibilities!

Tips & Tricks That Will Save You $

If you’re itching for purchasing pigments to add color to your resin projects, try purchasing or reusing some old or cheap mineral eye shadows. Not sure if your eye shadow is mineral based? I’m willing to bet it is, though some colors may not look the same when mixed in resin as they do on the pallets, they will color it nonetheless, just pick a small amount up on a popsicle stick or toothpick and stir it into a small batch of resin to see how it turns out. Dollar Tree eye shadows will work just as well as expensive pigments, so consider this before investing in expensive mica pigment sets!

While silicone molds are probably the easiest and are reusable, you can also use plastic molds, carve your resin block with carpentry tools or by hand-or even make your own molds! There are simple recipes utilizing dish soap and corn starch out there, or you can use silicone or even hot glue! Flexible silicone molds won’t require a mold release, but plastic and other molds will or you may end up cutting your project out. You don’t have to purchase a mold release product for this, either- olive or vegetable oil spray on a paper towel will suffice, just remember to let your mold sit for a few hours to demoisturize.

Can’t find gloves because of COVID19 hype? Finger cots are even better than gloves as they allow for more dexterity even when they get sticky, are cheaper, and readily available in bulk online!

Pretty much anything compatible with homemade “slime” can be mixed into or embedded in resin, so there is that. However, be careful how much glitter, pigment, etc you add as you can throw off the chemical balance that allows your project to cure properly. Refer to the directions included with your specific resin kit as most will tell you what ratios must be maintained for proper curing.

Everyone that works with resin knows the arch nemesis that is the bubbles. There are times where it seems like, no matter what you do, your perfect clear cast of a dandelion goes to shit because of some stray air bubbles. There are a few tricks to avoid this from the start:

Use a separate cup to measure resin and hardener. Pour the combined mixture into a fourth cup after the first 3-4 mins of stirring (half time) scraping the sides and bottom. This helps what was on the bottom get integrated into what was mixed on top. Always make sure to pour resin first when mixing and mix slowly, scraping the sides and bottom, for the time listed on your instructions. You want your mixture to be almost water consistency, clear, fluid, with little viscosity, and no streaks visible. Allow it to sit for a few minutes to natural degas and get rid of the bubbles.

Use a torch or grill lighter to pop surface bubbles. You can also do each one individually (as the grill lighter suggestion may not always be a good idea- be careful using this on large projects and molds that may ignite) with a tooth pick. Using a blow dryer or heat gun will also help bubbles rise to the surface to be popped.

Make sure that you keep contact with the bottom of your mixing cup with your stir stick-try not to lift it too much as this can introduce air into the mixture (“whipping the resin”) this can also occur if you are stirring too quickly. If you notice a lot of bubbles, let your mixture sit for a few minutes and resume stirring at a slower pace.

Make sure you start your project at a temperature of 74 degrees +, if your bottles are cold to touch, place them in a plastic bag and let them sit in hot water to warm up. You can also roll them (slowly) on a counter top.

You know, if all else fails you could always make ocean or nautical themed projects :)

That’s all for now- let me know if this helped you or someone you know working with resin or experimenting. Feel free to comment with any questions you would like answered in my next post! I also recommend the Resin Obssesion blog- they have a lot of useful information and tutorials with photos that were really helpful for me starting out!

Xo Samantha

[serendipitous-magic]

Why Don’t We Read: An Impromptu Essay By Me Because I’m Mad

You know how everyone is always saying “oh, I was such a big reader when I was a kid but I just don’t read books anymore, I don’t know what happened”? And how old people are always griping about “This is called a BOOK, it has no commercials and no loading screens, hardy har har har snorf har”?

What if it’s because we just don’t have time anymore?

Think about it. More and more and more of our time on earth is eaten up at our jobs just trying to survive in an economy where “minimum wage” covers maybe 1/3 of bare minimum expenses. And not only that, but we’re expected to juggle more and more and more things every single day. Long, uninterrupted hours simply... do not exist anymore.

Every day you have to not only commute to work, and then work, and then commute back, plus all the little chores and mundanities that make up every day life, cooking food and then eating food and folding laundry and cleaning and putting gas in the car and don’t forget that dentist appointment and better call Mom and if you have a lawn you have to water it and weed it and you have to figure out if you have enough to pay rent this month and you still have to call FedEx about that missing package and now you have to cook again and now there’s more laundry and so many emails to respond to and it’s been months since you washed your sheets hasn’t it and

BUT THEN

You are expected to do and be and keep up with so many things.

You’re supposed to work out, or jog, or do yoga, and you’re supposed to meditate or do a breathing exercise daily because it’s good for you, and while you’re at it, make sure that your living space looks like a magazine or an Instagram post, you need X minutes of sunshine a day to be healthy and Y minutes of exercise and Z number of steps, and you need to be an environmentalist and make sure you’re doing your part to save the planet, and you need to be constantly self improving, you need to be learning a language on Duolingo and doing projects like crocheting or writing or antiquing, you have to be completely unproblematic and constantly monitor everything you do and say and post because one tiny little thing can have the internet jumping down your throat, you’re supposed to be a nutritionist and a fitness nut and an expert on everything you talk about because society has become so black and white that saying “I don’t know” or “I didn’t know that before” is looked on as unacceptable,  you’re supposed to know what’s in your coffee and where it came from, you’re supposed to be a son a daughter a sibling a parent a student a mentor but also you’re supposed to be an interior designer, a small business owner (if you do any kind of Etsy or commission thing), a revolutionary (you’d better care about every overwhelming, exhausting injustice in the world and you’d better take action against it - see below), a curator (if only of your own blog), a rhetor (you’d better damn well know how to argue or you’re screwed in this society), a teacher (because school districts don’t teach anyone shit), a negotiation expert because it is car salesmen and insurance agencies’ job to fuck you over as hard as they possibly can.

Oh and don’t forget, you’re supposed to simplify your life and live in the moment. That one’s very important.

All of this is most likely while you’re already working anywhere from 20-40+ hours per week.

Keep up with your friends on Facebook, spend time to see what they’ve been up to, spend time posting your own pictures, catch up with your Instagram and Twitter and Tumblr feed, and for fuck’s sake you’d better make sure you’re reblogging all the right things about current social events, and you’d better also be caught up on the news, which all happens and changes so fast now that communication is instantaneous, keep up with all the politics, know every new outrage and be outraged about it, keep up with the politicians, the scientists begging us to listen, the latest news about the celebrity outed as a bigot, the latest shooting, the latest bombing, the latest protest, you’d better keep up with all of that and know what’s happening in the world, every minute of every day, and oh don’t worry about having to seek the news out, it comes to you. Every little ping on your phone is a new piece of news.

And you’d better care about it all. You’d better have enough energy in your body and mind to care about all the politics and all the injustice, and be rightly outraged every single day by the state of the world and every new horror, but you’d better also care about the dying planet and the burning rainforests, the oil spill, the glacial melt, you’d better be outraged about that too and you’d better be able to act on that outrage because those are all so important, and they are, but then you also have to care about insurance companies ruining people’s lives by making it impossible to afford healthcare, and you have to care about how agricultural companies have made cruel and byzantine webs of laws to drive farms out of business and make food, a basic necessity of life, a business, and one that’s designed not to feed and nurture people but to make money. And then while we’re on the topic of money you’d better care that the top 10 richest companies in the world create 70% of the world’s pollution, and you’d better care about how billionaires could fix most of the world’s biggest problems and they simply choose not to, and how Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and everyone like them have an amount of money and resources that no single person could ever come close to earning, and how if that wealth was fairly redistributed and recirculated into the economy then maybe minimum wage would actually earn you a living and that’s not even to mention the other systems of brutality and cruelty and injustice in society, the racism, the homophobia, the ableism, the ageism, the sexism, the -ism -ism -ism on for infinity

So you’d better buy and use reusable straws and reusable coffee cups, you’d better cut down on your CO2 emissions, you’d better take shorter showers, you’d better recycle your plastics and spend time at the store thinking about how you can buy things with less plastic wrapping, while you’re also thinking about those big agriculture companies, oh and by the way your eggs? The chickens they came from live in cages, barely being allowed to move for their entire lives, and you’d better be outraged about that too. Where do you think that milk came from? What does that cow look like? How about those peas, were they picked by someone being paid $1 an hour? Every single item on the shelf has some deep horror woven into its backstory. 

You’d better sign every petition you can and you’d better reblog the right things about taking action against injustice and you’d better be vocal about it, you’d better buy your soap and your clothes from small businesses instead of supporting the big evil ones that are much easier to access and much, much cheaper (because somebody suffered, somewhere along the line, to make it that cheap), you’d better remember to save your pasta water to water your plants with instead of wasting it, you’d better make your gifts by hand (if you have the time, which you don’t), and 

And then there’s the beauty industry.

You cannot go a single day without seeing something about “lose weight fast!” or “The Skinny Girl Cookbook!” or “This Weird Thing Burns Belly Fat!”, and everyone you see on screen is twig-thin or muscled, and don’t forget that you’re supposed to take the time to love yourself and practice body positivity too, oh wait no it’s too late, now body neutrality is the right thing to say and think. Every part of your face and body has some malady and you can buy a cure! Spend this much to get rid of acne, spend this much to wax your legs, buy this for wrinkles and that for stretch marks, this cream smooths out your skin to look like an eggshell instead of human flesh, that cream “fixes” those bumps on your arms that apparently aren’t allowed to exist, a basic face of makeup is at least 5 products if not 10, there are countless tutorials on how to make yourself better, because you aren’t okay as you are and you never will be as long as somebody can sell  you something to “fix” yourself. 

Oh, and that’s more time spent, too. Take the time to shave, to moisturize, to do your 3-step skincare routine, to slather all different kinds of goops and goos on various parts of you, take the time to pluck your eyebrows and exfoliate your feet and

Everything wants your attention, every second of every day. Because attention is money. Netflix Hulu Youtube watch this ad look at this ad Twitter Disney+ Twitter again Facebook more ads look at this ad sign up for this subscription package watch this new season of this show, watch this new movie, watch this watch this watch this watch look at this this watch this watch this look at this look at this look at this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this look over here look at this look at this look over here watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this watch this look at this

And then at the end of the day you still have to reserve time for the people in your life that are important to you, and leave time for those long conversations with your sister or time to bond with your kid or time to go on dates with your S.O.

And then you’re supposed to take time for yourself. Self care. Like social media is always saying to do. Take a bath, drink some tea, relax. If you have time.

And all of that. ALL of that. Most likely happens in the small slivers of time before and after your work day, or on the weekend in the small sliver of time before or after you fold that laundry and cook dinner and attend to your personal matters and maybe hang out with a friend if you’re lucky.

And I just described a fairly privileged, not-on-the-brink-of-poverty, not-in-and-out-of-the-hospital, not-constantly-targeted-by-violence-or-oppression life. I just described a cushy life.

Is it any fucking wonder that we all feel shattered? Like our time, even on free days with absolutely nothing scheduled, is made up of tiny pieces? Is it any wonder that it seems like nobody can sit down with a book anymore?

I’m so fucking tired.

[sirfrogsworth]

Video Compression Survey

Calling all eagle eye’d pixel peepers.

I’m experimenting with Handbrake compression settings trying to get my file sizes as small as possible without losing much image quality.

I have 3 still frames captured from a video I would like you to look at. 

One of them is from the original 3 gigabyte H.264 file. One of them is from a roughly 2 gigabyte x265 re-encode. And one of them is from a 1 gigabyte x265 re-encode. 

The lower the file size, the more compressed. And while you might think having up to 2 gigs of compression would reduce the quality quite a bit, the x265 codec is supposed to be much more efficient and holds up pretty well with compression. 

My hope is that the difference between 3 GB original and the 1 GB will be marginal, so I can save disk space. I could make a 12 episode season of television go from 35-40 GB to 12-15 GB. 

At first, I was only able to see the difference at 400% magnification. But then once I knew what to look for I could tell them apart at 100%--but only barely. I think the quality of the 1 GB file is quite good, but I have old eyes and no glasses. I’m wondering if any of you can see the difference more easily. 

Here are the images...

Capture A

Capture B

Capture C

Tell me which frame you think comes from the 1, 2, & 3 gigabyte video files. 

Type “B3″ if your guess is that capture B is 3 GB. 

And if you needed to use magnification to tell the difference, please add “M” to your reply. 

“B3, M”

And lastly, feel free to add a score of 1-10 for image quality. (Optional)

“B3, M, 8/10″

You can also add any thoughts you have about what you saw.

Please think of your answer before looking at the notes and then reply. I’m trusting you to use the honor system as I am trying to do a science here. 

I might do a little tutorial of how to get the best out of your video files and use these results to guide my recommendations.  

And once you have replied with your answers, you can check out the following links to see if you were able to spot which frame was which. 

Answers

400% Crops

1000% Crops

Handbrake Settings

2 GB File Codec: H.265 10-bit (x265) RF: 17 Encoder Preset: Slow

1 GB File Codec: H.265 10-bit (x265) RF: 20 Encoder Preset: Slow

(If you have an older processor these settings could take many hours. I have found using the “Fast” preset still gives you very acceptable result and can shave several hours off encode time.)

[mints-software]

Mints App REVIEWS 2021 — ⚠️SCAM EXPOSED⚠️

MINTS SOFTWARE WHAT IS IT

Mints Software is A Complete Funnel, Website and Landing Page Builder With Stunning Designs to Mesmerize your Visitors and Pre-optimised to Convert like Crazy.

Get Your Mints – 50% OFF Discount Today!

Good websites and landing pages are the lifeblood of any digital marketing campaign.  Without them, visitors don’t know what to do next. That makes your website and landing page a driving force for conversions. But they can also take hours to build. Can be extremely expensive (a good looking sales page cost as high as $1,000 or more). Also, Without a doubt. There’s a good chance you’re either using or want to use ClickFunnels to build beautiful sales pages and sales funnels. And for good reason, it’s a great service.

But it’s also one of the most expensive services out there. ​If you want the full feature set, you have to lay out $297 EVERY MONTH! That’s a crazy $3,564 every year. ​​​​That means ClickFunnels costs you a CAR every 10 years! (And that’s if they’re nice and don’t decide to drop another price hike on you.). They needed a solution, and most of things they found on the market weren’t good enough, some of them could create beautiful websites for sure but weren’t really optimised for online marketing so they decided to create the ultimate solution that won’t just knock out stunning pages but create pages that will strategically grow your businesses online, capture more leads and generate more sales daily.

No more hiring expensive designers and copywriter. No more negotiating the price with them. No more sending them reminders of the approaching deadline. No more settling for mediocre work. No more being held ransom for just trying to run a business. ​Mints Software to the rescue. It Builds Gorgeous Funnels, High-Converting Websites, Landing Pages in Any Niche in Under 60 Seconds Flat With No Skills Required.

(SPECIAL OFFER) Click Here to Get Mints with an Exclusive Discount Price Online

Using Mints Software is as EASY As 1-2-3:

STEP 1: Select your Funnel, Website or Landing Page Template: to start, choose from 20 ready to use beautiful templates according to your business. One that is scientifically pre-designed to sell YOUR type of product… so you can finally send traffic to your offer and watch sales come in. Or Create One from Scratch In Seconds.

Step 2: Make The Ultra-Fast Page In 60 seconds

Step 3: Publish Your Website/ Funnel Live In 1 Clicks.

Don’t miss your chance to get in at the start of a huge new product and enjoy lifetime access for ONE ultra low fee.

MINTS SOFTWARE FEATURES

The Mints Software Easy To Use Robust Drag and Drop Page Builder: You’ll love the fact that building pages in Mints is incredibly easy. You can either choose from a template or build your very own page from scratch with the Mints Editor.

Completely Customizable Sales Page Templates: They didn’t leave anything to chance with this option. They’re giving you templates to help you get your funnels up and running fast. Use them for your own digital products, physical products, upsells, downsells, and more. It’s as simple as selecting a template you like, editing the sections you want and voila! Your page is ready to start making sales!

Drag & Drop Page Builder: Drag & Drop Elements, Easy & Simple Styling, Mobile Responsive Design, Fully Customizable, 20+ DFY Templates, Different categories like, Landing Pages, Optin Pages, Thank You Pages, Webinar Pages, Coming Soon Pages, Checkout Pages, Sign Up Pages, Giveaway Pages

Powerful Built In Autoresponder Mailer: You can also use the built in autoresponder to mail all of your subscribers and customers. It’s as simple as adding your own smtp server and you’re good to go. You’ll be able to set-up different campaigns and send email blasts with ease. Now you won’t have a need for any of the popular autoresponder services that overcharge for the same subscribers on different lists.

Just create your lists and either import your subscribers or customers or they’ll be added to the lists you setup as they progress through your funnels. They host your pages at no extra cost: Don’t worry about hosting your funnels, landing pages or websites. Mints Software hosts your landing pages and blessings for you and makes it easy for you to get up and running on your own domain in a matter of minutes. If you want you can even publish your landing page to a hosted subdomain in just a few clicks. All you need to do is…connect your domain with the page or the website and you are good to go

Exceptional Customer Support: They take after sales support very seriously. If you ever have a problem using Mints, all you need to do is hit the Chat bot on your dashboard and their support agent will be there to help you with anything (well as long as it’s related to Mints. This means, you can try discussing your personal problems as well – but I doubt these guys are good at that – trust me…I tried :))

One Time Fees: Mints Software will be available ONLY during this special launch at a one-time fee. Post launch it will be available only at a recurring price.

(SPECIAL PROMO DEAL) Click Here To Buy Mints For The Lowest Price Available Online!

WHAT MINTS SOFTWARE CAN DO FOR YOU

Easy to edit – Mints Software is fully component based. Every design and feature of the app is component blocks that blend with your design without any hassle.

No Hosting Required. No Coding, Designing Required. You can Create UNLIMITED Pages & Funnels. Commercial License Included. Fully Mobile Friendly.

Be Launch Ready in minutes – One of the most unique features is that it comes with a wide selection of ready to use designs.

Easy Drag and Drop – You want an image somewhere, just drag the image and drop it where you want it to appear.

Mobile Responsive – With Mints Software, you don’t need to worry about how your site would look on a tablet, mobile device, or any other device with smaller screens.

Advanced Site Analytics – Mints Software comes with advanced Google Analytics Integration.

Easy Integrations – Mints Software is built to seamlessly integrate numerous APIs and tools such as Google Maps API enabled maps, Custom YouTube MailChimp Integration

Text Editor- Double click on any text content to open a text editor where you can modify the text contents and apply and remove various styles to highlighted text.

Live Editing – easily, visually and in real-time edit most of elements properties like padding, margin, border, shadows, backgrounds, text styles and more.

Publish and Export Download the whole project, publish it to a remote server via FTP or attach custom domains/subdomains to display projects.

Editable Landing Page – Default landing page can be easily edited via built-in appearance editor with live preview and no coding knowledge.

SaaS mode – Earn money with a built in premium subscription system.

High Performance – Mints Software is lightweight and has lightning fast performance and page load time out of the box.

Appearance Editor – Easily manage your site appearance (colors, logo, landing page, menus etc) via built-in appearance editor.

Responsive – Mints Software is fully responsive and will work on desktop, mobile, tablet and other devices.

SEO Editor – SEO tags for all pages can be modified directly from the appearance editor in admin area.

(ACT NOW & SAVE) Click Here to Order Mints From Its Official Website

MINTS SOFTWARE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do I have to install anything? Mints Software is completely cloud-based. You don’t need to download or install anything. Just login and start creating pages.

​Is there a limit on the number of pages I can create? No. They don’t believe in imposing restrictions on you to grow your business.  Once you pay this low one-time fee, Mints Software is YOUR tool. You can use it as much as you want. No restrictions.

Can I get it later? Sure, Mints Software is going to be around forever. But, unfortunately it won’t be available at this one-time price. There will be 2 packages. Monthly and Yearly.

What if I don’t like it after using it? That’s hard to believe! But just in case that happens, rest assured, it’s as easy getting a refund on Mint within 200 days as buying it right now.

What if I have faced problems using Mints Software? They have made Mint as the simplest tool to work with. There are video tutorials to help you in case you get stuck somewhere. But even if that doesn’t help and you need more assistance, these guys are more than happy to help…

[texxasserialroundup]

Incoming college students.. listen up!

I have been asked about some tips or advice for incoming college students, both traditional and non-traditional, so here it is.. enjoy!

So I am what you call a non-traditional student I did not go to college right out of high school it took a couple years for me to realize that it was important for me to pursue a higher education beyond my high school diploma. My very first freshman semester I took two classes, one of these was a developmental math course ( I ABSOLUTELY LOATH MATH!) and of course I dropped out of college soon after, honestly I don't even think I did like a full month of classes I just stopped showing up. I wasn’t motivated and all I really wanted to do was hang out with my friends and do hood rat shit (LOL)  Fast forward 4 years after that, when I AGAIN decide to get my act together, it took that mixed with having some personal experiences to kind of get my head straight in regards to my future endeavors and what I want to do with myself. When I say that it's hard to do college by yourself, y’all... it is so hard, it doesn’t help that I'm an introvert who doesn’t like to ask for help from tutors because I feel like I am burdening them and I’m worried that I will embarrass myself with dumb questions.  Neither of my parents graduated high school so that was no help with homework or studying and at the time I was going to a Community College and so the atmosphere is not quite like a four-year University. Everybody just kind of stays to themselves so it is not like it is easy to mingle make new friends, there is not a lot of on campus activities and stuff like that so that also made it difficult. But also I did not know how to study, honestly I'm not going to lie to you guys, I'm currently working on my third college degree and I still don't know how to study and sometimes that really kind of like puts things into perspective about our educational system in regards to the way that they teach towards a specific curriculum. I think that teaching students how to study is extremely important. The way that I get through my college classes is a lot of crying, and I am not being sarcastic, that is exactly what happens. I do a lot of crying, there is a lot of frustration, there is a lot of screaming at myself, there is a lot of self-bullying and personal demons that I battle with. I do not feel like I learn like everybody else, I cannot just read something or watch a video and retain information. Everything must be repetitive; I must read it over and over and over, I must highlight things and make up little phrases in order to remember topics like the Krebs cycle. So, it is repetitive, and it slows me down, it is frustrating, and the experience overall is overwhelming. Especially recently with covid a lot of my classes have been online which essentially translates to teach yourself a brand-new topic, good luck, and may the force be with you kind of thing. For people like me who deal with what my boyfriend calls “impostor syndrome” it really rattles any self confidence that I built throughout my college career and it makes me feel like the achievements that I've done so far aren't valid and that I don't deserve the degrees that I have and that maybe it was a mistake . With these things being said I just want to spread some positivity and some good vibes in regards to anybody who is a freshman going into college, a current college student, or a non-traditional student such as myself who feels like they might be too old to go back to school. Everybody is dealing with their own struggles and college is not easy, if it were everybody would have a college degree. Some tips from myself would be not to be afraid to ask questions, if you're like me, I have really bad anxiety and I don't feel like I can bring myself to ask a question during lecture in front of the class so I'll either email the professor afterwards or I will speak to the professor one-on-one during office hours or I'll try to grab her as soon as class is over before she leaves an ask her a question. The reason why I say this is because college moves very fast and the professors honestly it seems like they're not going to put any extra effort into helping you understand a topic if you don't express your confusion or if you don't understand the topic. At the end of the day you're paying for your college education and you need to create self-confidence and remind yourself that you're worthy and that your questions do deserve to be answered no matter how ridiculous they sound in your head no matter if you think that it will sound dumb. I cannot stress enough the importance of getting your questions answered. My second piece of advice is to utilize any type of group study offered, like I said before, I have really bad anxiety and it's hard for me to just walk up to a stranger and ask to be a study buddy. What I've noticed though is that a few students will get together or it will just be one student and they will start a group chat through either GroupMe or through text message or you know through canvas which is the educational platform that my University uses, and it really helps because you still have access to study guides, notes, or if you miss a day you can reach out and ask what you missed. As well as review and go over important topics and information posted. A lot of the times you don't even have to be face to face with these people, all of it is through text messaging or email. Another really good piece of advice is learn how to use OneNote and Google Docs and learn how to use it in a group format so that multiple people can work on one document together in real time so you can watch somebody else edit a midterm review while you're also adding to a midterm review it.will.save.your.life! Just spend a couple minutes, get on YouTube watch a quick tutorial nothing crazy just a quick rundown, y’all, I am telling you it will do wonders. Next piece of advice will have to be not to compare yourself to other students. My first semester of college at a four-year University I went all out on the school supplies, I bought so many journals, I bought so many sticky notes and planners and different colored pens and sharpies and highlighters. I had index cards, I had binders, I had sectional post-its, basically if office depot sold it I had it in my backpack.  I quickly learned that I did not need half of that crap, but when you're excited about going to your first year of college you want to be prepared and if you're like me I watched other people’s YouTube videos about their experiences and things that worked for them and so I tried to pick and choose what I thought would work for me. Long story short it did not  help and I think that really played a big part in my self-loathing in a sense because I would see all these other students super organized with beautiful handwriting, multi colored notes and just over the top every day, never faltering, just like the perfect student it seemed. It's okay not to be super organized, it's okay not to have the perfect notes, it's okay if all of your notes from all of your classes are in one notebook, if it works for you, it works for you.  No matter what that may be, just keep in mind that this is your college journey no one else’s. Finally, I will emphasize to invest money in a good backpack. Like do not take the backpack from high school with you, I did that, and it was a disaster honestly. It is like my dad used to say growing up, “you get what you pay for.” You are going to be carrying a lot of stuff, probably a tablet, a laptop, textbooks, journals, binders, you name it and you need support for your shoulders, for you back and for your neck. I say this from experience, my college campus is one of the largest public universities in the state of Texas, it takes me 20 minutes to get from my car to the campus, once on campus, I have another eight minute walk to get to my first class. So, it is detrimental to me and my physical health to have a good backpack with support that holds everything and equally distributes the weight correctly. I know this sounds crazy but that is probably the one thing besides getting a good laptop that I would invest a lot of money in. Lastly, I will leave you with this, college is a scary experience for many people and right now we're in very uncertain times which only adds to the stress, but I want you to know that there are resources out there for you and other students and faculty who are more than willing to work with you and accommodate accordingly. Please do not be afraid to reach out to anybody for any type of assistance whether it be academic, mental or physical help, we are all in this together. Be kind to one another and stay curious. -SLR