#in the beginnning I restarted a lot of my worlds

[occultdaddy]

I don't really see myself as a builder, but I have my moments.

A vikingship based of the Oseberg ship. It's a bit dull texture/color wise, but I'm still proud of it.

My first home/build on Everland SMP. It's wonky, but cozy :P (The portal tower in the background is a design by foxel, I changed some of the blocks up)

The headroom where I keep mcyt heads looks pretty cool.

The entrance to the crystal mines, the way I hid/prettied up the wool farm and the bee farm :)

Interior decorating is hard, but I really like this super tiny reading nook underneath some stairs

I can be a lil harsh on myself for not being particularly good at any part of mc, so I felt like I wanna brag a bit about the stuff I have built I like. As well as remind myself that it's not like I've been playing minecraft for many many years.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Sweaty Palms 1

Warnings: this fic will include obsessive behaviour, possible non/ducbon, bullying, and other elements which may not be specifically triggered. Please be cautious in continuing on to the story.

Character: Curtis Everett

Summary: You start going to the gym to break old habits, but new things are scary.

Please reblog and leave some feedback, preferably in a reblog but you can always drop by my asks. I always love working in y'alls ideas with these AUs so I am so excited to hear from you.

As always, take care of yourself <3 be kind and be patient. Love you.

No tag lists. Please review my pinned and bio for guidelines.

You’ve never been to a gym before. You’ve never been to a lot of places. Crowds are not your forte, public places are your personal nightmare, and strangers make your nervous. Everything makes you nervous. 

You can’t hide forever. That’s the conclusion you’ve come to. It's not a very comfortable one for you but if you don’t change, you’re always going to feel like this. Heavy, deflated, lost. It’s hard to put into words the feeling. The world just seems to pass you by, it functions around you, and sometimes you almost believe you’re not really there. Like a ghost, you just watch it without effect. 

The extra fifteen dollars a month isn’t too much of a stretch. You can hold off on your Kindle addiction for the expense. That’s another thing, you need to start being smart, more practical with your money. 

Planning. That’s something you’re working on. You didn’t come without one. You wouldn’t make it past the door without a set of steps to follow. 

You stop by the front counter first. You ask the woman behind it about how to get into the gym. You bought a membership online. She brings up your profile and issues you a membership card, explaining how you can also download the app and register with your member number. You thank her and continue through. 

You walk along the first floor, the leg machines and the rowing machines being worked by the regulars. You find your way to the dressing room on the second floor and enter with your head down. You try not to look anywhere but where you need to. You find a stall and change, packing away your street clothes, then go out to find a locker to shove your stuff in. 

You emerge with your phone and your new smart watch strapped to your wrist. You glance at the face of it. Your heart rate is already elevated. You unlock your phone and tap the app you downloaded the day before. You flipped through the catalogue of beginners’ workouts but didn’t have any of the equipment to do it yourself. It’s cheaper to just come here. 

You go to one of the spaces laid with mats and stop before one of the racks of weights. You stare at your phone in exasperation. You don’t understand, you’re connected to the wifi but the app just won’t connect. You could try on your own but you really don’t know what you’re doing. 

Ugh, why did you even bother? This is just another failure. You try restarting the app and then your phone, aware of the activity around you. Does anyone notice how clueless you look? 

“Hit it or quit it, little girl,” a man startles you as he brushes by you and grabs a large set of dumbbells, the thirty on the side catching your eye. You shift out of the way and press your phone against your chest, the smooth fabric of your shirt causing it to vibrate as if you tapped the screen. “This isn’t the phone club, it’s a gym.” 

“Sorry, I...” 

“There’s a cafe across the street, you can go play candy crush there,” he scoffs, “seems more your speed.” 

“Must feel real big, huh?” A gritty voice nears from your other side, “real heavy lifting there, pushing around a woman.” 

“Huh?” The first man narrows his eyes as he grips the set of dumbbells at his sides and faces the other man.  

He’s taller than you, muscular but not too bulky. His head is shaved and a dark short beard lines his jaw. Similar hair peeks out from the top of his tee shirt and dusts his toned arms. He slips past you, inserting himself between you and the gym watchdog. 

“Bro,” the first guy sneers, “don’t even start with me. You think you can step up.” 

“I’m not stepping up,” the other man defies, “I’m telling you to mind your business. Take your weights and leave her alone.” 

“Pfft, this some sort of date? You know, this isn’t the Olive Garden--” 

The second man crosses his arms, his back to you as he postures at the other man. He’s silent as he stares him down. You can’t see his face but you can feel the tension roiling off of him. There’s a thick lull as both men stand in a deadlock. 

“Got something to say, bud,” the first guy drops the weights and they boom against the floor. You wince and step back, “go on, I could use the work out.” 

“I said it,” the second man utters flatly, unyielding as he looms like a wall between you. 

“Fucking loser,” the other spits back, “you’re really gonna fuck around for that? Have you seen the skin around her?.” 

The man doesn’t respond. He stays as he is, an unmoving sentinel. The other man growls in frustration. 

“Fucking chicken shit, why don’t you speak up, dude?” 

Still no answer. Just a glare. You clutch your phone against your chest, frozen in horror and confusion. You didn’t mean to start a fight. You hate confrontation. 

Suddenly, the man before you jerks as he’s grabbed by the large man. His back hits you slightly and you drop your phone as he latches onto the other man. Everything happens so fast. The man who came to your defence has the other man on his back on the mat in seconds, a knee on his chest as his fists clasp around the top of his tank top. He bends over him and snarls. 

“Christ, bro, get the fuck off of me,” the man on the floor shoves on his arm helplessly.  

You glance around and notice the audience forming around you. Oh no. You look back to the two men. You step forward and tap the closest man on the shoulder, the one who defended you. 

“Please,” you croak nervously, “I don’t wanna get in trouble.” 

He turns his head, glancing back at you with powder blue eyes made bright by the dark row of his lashes. He exhales and lets go of the other man. He stands and puts his arm out as if to keep your behind him. 

“You really want me to repeat myself?” He sneers down at the other man. 

The larger man pushes himself up and scowls, shaking his head and he turns to stalk off muttering, leaving behind his forgotten dumbbells. The other man bends to pick them up and returns them to the rack. You look down at your empty hands then search the floor. 

You reach for your phone but it’s plucked up before you. The man brings it up between you and holds it out. You take it with a thank you. 

“No problem,” he rasps. 

“I... you didn’t have to--” 

“That guy’s an—he's not nice,” he corrects himself and drags his hand over his mouth and chin, “I don’t like bullies.” 

“It’s my fault,” you shrug, “I was in the way. But er, thanks. I'm... I’m sorry.” 

You turn away and look back at your phone. The app isn’t working. It says it needs another update. 

“You need help with something?” The man asks. 

“I...” you peek at him over your shoulder, “yeah, I... I don’t... I don’t usually... it’s my first time.” 

He nods and hums as he steps closer. You face him and show him your phone. You’re jittery as it trembles in your grip. He’s a stranger. Your whole plan was to avoid those. 

“I got this app to help but it’s not working,” you frown. 

“Try the update?” He points his thick, long finger at the screen. 

You tap and keep the phone visible. The app shop comes up and the update button is grayed out. Underneath, italics read ‘this update is not available for this device’. You frown and bring the screen closer to your face. 

“It won’t let me,” you pout and flick your lashes, mortified. How are you this helpless? Why did you have to have a witness? Several. You look around, some eyes darting in your direction. 

“Hm, well, what are you trying to do? You said this is your first day?” He prompts, “I could... I could help out a little. If you need. I’m no trainer, I just do my own thing but I could try.” 

You bat your lashes up at him then look back at your phone. You don’t know what else to do. Your whole plan has fallen apart because your operating system is outdated. 

“I... I’m not very... athletic,” you explain, “so I can’t go very fast.” 

“That’s okay,” he assures you, “I can go slow.” 

“You don’t have to do that. I can figure it out.” 

“I know I don’t have to,” he shifts and peers over his shoulder, “but how about I stay close anyway,” he moves and you can see the guy from earlier staring daggers from a chest press, “just in case.” 

“Oh, I... I’m sorry,” you tuck your phone into the pocket of your leggings, “I made him mad.” 

“Let him be mad. Got nothing to do with you,” he turns back to you again, “I could take you through some stretches and basics; lunges, squats, stuff like that. As best I can.” 

“Erm, I guess... I don’t wanna be in the way,” you rub your neck. 

“Not in my way,” he says evenly, “lets grab some weights first.” 

He directs you to the rack and without a thought you go to it. He approaches beside you as you realise, you didn’t say yes, you didn’t agree to this, but you don’t know what else to do. 

“Start with some twos,” he advises, “and if you’re not getting a good burn, we can up it later.” 

“Oh, okay,” you grab the dumbbells with the large twos on the side. He grabs the twenties. You feel totally inadequate. 

“So let’s get out space,” he backs up and looks around the mat, “here should be good.” He bends and sets down his weights, "for now, let’s put these aside and start our stretches. You don’t wanna pull anything.” 

You nod and place your weights beside you. You stand and stare at him. He’s in good shape. Great shape. He makes you even more conscious of your neglect. You already feel breathless. 

“I’m Curtis by the way,” he steps forward and offers his hand. 

“Oh, uh,” you shake his hand and give your name. 

“Pretty,” he says as he squeezes before letting you go. His hand is huge compared to yours and the gap in your strength is obvious just in that small gesture. 

“Alright, easy, slow, arms out,” he extends arms, “roll your shoulders and your head, loosen up.” 

You watch him and hesitate to follow his direction. You hate that there’s so many people around. You don’t want to look stupid. You’re so ungainly and awkward.  

“Try not to think about it too much. We’re all just here to work out, right?” He says and you shy away, embarrassed that he noticed your discomfort. You raise your arms and start the stretches, “good, you’re doing good, angel. Make sure to breath, alright?” 

You roll your shoulders and head and blow out a breath. Your nerves are pinging all over and your muscles are shaky. This isn’t what you expected at all. Your plans fallen to pieces and yet, it’s not entirely a lost cause. 

“Arms up,” he guides you into the next exercise, “on your toes, reach as far as you can...” 

You obey, letting his voice guide you. His deep, calm timber is almost comforting. The even tenor is a stark contrast to chaotic nervously. You can get through this. 

[techforevil-er]

08.01-20.01

i drafted this ages ago but was too lazy to post so just throwing the draft into the world

Work

Pretty busy two weeks work-wise.

The team continues to struggle a bit with the new standup but after the retro most have started reviewing the board more frequently and ensuring things are updated/moved etc. There’s been quite a lot of movement in the ‘thank you’ doc I’ve set up so I think eventually we can get away from the need to go through every card or every person and focus on things that are the most significant or could use help. I think there’s also more work for me to do on cards getting created and split out and facilitating conversations around them on a daily basis, I’ll think more about that next week. 

I’m also collecting some more info on work completed, mostly categories for now (we’re meant to be doing 20% of maintenance but in reality it seems to be around 60-70%...) but working up to cycle and lead time. I’ve been avoiding it because I have a reckon that

a) it won’t show very healthy things, and

b) it will highlight things we don’t have a way of optimising/will to push them anyway,

…but let’s try. 🤷‍♀️ With any luck it may help escalate the issues around structure and remit we’ve been talking about to Leads and SMT anyway. 

On the bright side, the new healthcheck based on a values exercise seems to be working in that the responses are much less generic and it’s easy to pull out actions. I may write up the process of doing this as a separate blogpost here or on LinkedIn. 

We kicked off a deep dive into one of the content formats on GOV.UK. So far the designers have been looking at how it was used before and relationship with things like the campaigns platform and other exemptions. Personally, the need for it seems very unclear and I hope connecting with a team that just completed their discovery on content formats overall will help us think more of just retiring it or merging with a different type and making it more flexible. 

Work-related events

Product Unconference - I mostly wanted to listen. It was nice to have a chat with a couple of people I’ve not seen since the pre-pandemic times and catch up. Hopefully more of that at the govcamp! The ‘working without a DM’ session highlighted how dysfunctional most teams are… I am very thankful for my current working situation and my great PM, but I’ve definitely felt a lot of the pain from the other side before haha. Altho people talking about their DMs being significantly more optimistic when reporting to higher ups was quite a shock, out of the things spoken about this was something I’ve never encountered. :)) 

DM away day for our programme - With two guest speakers and some group work this was a packed day that I think was quite effective in re-energising most attendees… It was definitely useful to have the time to talk about community things and agree actions for the next couple of months, and between setting up a survey to collect learning/skills/observation needs and writing up a thing about how I do health checks (including examples from a couple of other people) I definitely have new found energy to do things. \m/ But also, an ever-increasing antipathy towards the word ‘playbook’....

 

Making

My pottery class restarted!! \o/ With two out of 8 classes done I have an easter bowl ready for bisque and underglazes and half a teapot complete. The pace is pretty slow and all the techniques explained as quite a few people are brand new to pottery so my expectation of it building directly on the Beginners class is not fully realised. I’m in two minds about it because it’s nice and relaxing, but on the other hand a lot of the time is spent on things like I feel like I’ve got covered, especially considering I’ve done several drop-ins. 

Speaking of drop-ins, my nerikomi plant pot is also just waiting for glazing and firing. I had a mishap with some paper stuck in it so fingers crossed and prayers for it not exploding. 🙏🙏🙏🙏 I also went to a different class, to explore making plaster moulds and using slip. I will make a separate review after part 2 in a couple of weeks but overall I was amazed by how easy it was. If I can find some place to work with casts and slip more (my studio’s current drop-ins don’t really have it available), I definitely will. 

With this, my drop-ins are all used up and I think I will not be buying more before March considering all my other crafting commitments. 😅

On Friday evening I went to the first out of five classes about laser cut jewellery. It's much easier than expected, with most difficulties being Windows and trackpad related haha. I've got to see if there's adecent vector drawign app for iPad.

Eating

I’m trying to eat less meat this year. Giving it up entirely is unrealistic (I went to Berenjak and oh my god the chicken was so good) but exploring more veggie options is so far very fun - even if it’s just ordering tofu version of drunken noodles from Rosa’s. ;) 

Last 2 weeks highlights: 

Unity Diner - 2nd try, still so so good! I realised I’ve only had chicken approximates but one of my friends ordered the ‘lobster’ mac’n’cheese which was similarly uncanny in texture, and another the ‘tofish’ and both were very happy with their choices. I’ll probably go back very soon. 

What the Pitta - entirely incidental trip after I got annoyed with either of the Prets by the office not stocking the new NODuja range or Jambon-buerre (sssh!). The wrap was very tasty, massive, and ready pretty much immediately so this is a perfect place for lunch. 

Holy Cow! - a Friday night delivery order, inc their take on black daal.  Honestly not too impressed, will go for veggie options from usual Indian takeouts in the future. :(

Looking

New Black Vanguard (tbqh the Bitter Nostalgia room with collabs by Hyangmok Baik and Adébayo Bolaji was my favourite thing in Saatchi that day tho)

Tár

[redstonedust]

im looking into getting into hermitcraft, where would you suggest i start? :o

long post incoming im so sorry anon

SO, the good thing about getting into hermitcraft is that it's incredibly organised. every member's season is presented in (usually) numbered playlists, and the only absolutely essential pre-knowledge you need is "bunch of incredibly talented youtubers are starting up a new minecraft world together." every time they restart the server on a new world, that's a season.

usually i'd recommend season 7 as a starting point, because to me it's the most... balanced season? season 6 was extremely long while season 8 was short and experimental, containing a lot of elements that likely won't return for season 9. s7 is kind of a nice goldilocks zone in that way. (also for perspective on how long each season can take: mumbo's season 8 is an 11 hour playlist, season 7 is a 38 hour playlist, and season 6 is an 86 hour playlist)

HOWEVER. because season 9 is starting very very soon, you may also just want to catch up with s8 as fast as possible and then start watching s9 along with the rest of the fandom. or even just start season 9 blind! it really depends on what you have time for, there's no wrong option. season 8 also has the benefit of the hermits building their bases in groups, meaning you'll be exposed to the other hermits more and learn about them much faster.

(also, if you specifically saw the 'moon big' kerfuffle that every fan was losing their mind over in december and want to know why, that's season 8.)

as for WHO you watch? that's really down to the type of content you like.

if you've got time i'd recommend picking a season, checking out the first videos from a bunch of members (you can just search "hermitcraft season [#] episode 1") and going with whoever jumps out to you as a voice you'd wanna hear for the next 20 hours. once again, there's no wrong answer.

if you want more specific recommendations, a lot of people start with grian's series because he's often central to server-wide shenanigans, edits down his videos a lot, and he doesn't often bring back previous-season concepts, making him beginner friendly. i feel bad advertising basically the most popular guy on the server but like... he's what got ME into it, so clearly it works.

otherwise, you want roleplay and overarching lore? ren's your best friend. wanna watch season 8 alongside someone who's also new to the sever? gem or pearl! want the most intentionally inefficient contraptions? zedaph is your guy. wanna cower in fear as they push the limits of minecraft itself? doc and tango both do it in different ways (tango's s7 is a fave, this man makes entire new games within survival minecraft. it's terrifying,)

i realise this was a lot of words to essentially say "go with your heart!" but i think that's just the best part about hermitcraft. it's not one unified experience, ever member brings their own flavor and i can't know what's gonna be the best experience for you. hope my rambling helped a little, tho!

[rigelmejo]

march - just some thoughts

i have read more this month than any other month? and its not slowing down its only 3/12 so i have 2/3 of a month to go and i’ve read 26 chapters. even if these chapters are ‘short’ at 10 pages, if i wanna count by ‘20 page’ chunks i’ve still read 13 chunks so far. and i’ve still got more time in the month left. most other months i’ve managed to read ‘a lot’ i read 10-20 chapters. so i’m doing really good.

grammar is a weird thing? in reading i feel like its quite easy now to understand. when listening or watching - same. and yet if asked ‘why do i say/type X’ or ‘why is it written/spoken like X’ i have absolutely no explanation in my head. i could not explain the grammar if prompted. this puts me in a weird place and i feel like i SHOULD go over a grammar guide again just so i can WORD what i’m intuitively understanding.

this is a bit bizarre to me because within the first 6 months of study i DID read through an entire grammar guide just to get an idea of what i was about to look at, and it hardly made sense once actually reading/watching/listening. i understood the guide fine, but actually Seeing chinese i was still confused. i would reference AllSetLearning’s Chinese Wiki on some basic points, then after 6 months i just stopped. now its been what 1.5 years and - reading is so easy, listening is so easy, grammar wise. none of the grammar confuses me. but i no longer ‘explicitly’ have any idea what the fuck the grammar is. i used to. i studied it explicitly before trying to read/listen. and yet now that i can read/listen, i have no idea how to explain the grammar. i can listen to a podcast and i don’t think about what the grammar is i just get it. i read and just know what i’m looking at. its like english - i cannot fucking explain it. Which makes speaking/writing a bit hard. Because when i try to check if i’m right i have no fucking clue HOW anymore - i just say/write what comes to mind and HOPE it makes sense. i have no way to conciously check for errors except ‘does this feel right’? And that’s not good enough for me lol. So I definitely do need to eventually read a grammar guide for explicit explanations again.

Technically I think “English and Chinese Grammar Side By Side” grammar book would be an excellent one to use. Because i read the first 50 pages of it and it compared it to english (so it explained english too), and it was very easy to understand and started basic then got more involved. 

I’m probably gonna use my very old Chinese Grammar Self Taught by Thimm book instead. Just because I really like that book. Then I guess use another after (probably Basic Chinese Sentence Patterns since its modern and perfect for ‘catch your own mistakes’ study and much shorter than Eng+Chinese Grammar side by side). 

Anyway I’m in a very weird place right now lol. I know i’m understanding grammar that is stuff I never even studied initially in the grammar guide, but unable to explain what it is, and a lot of stuff i did explicitly study in a grammar guide i completely forgot the explanation for. My reading and listening is GREAT, because all my effort only has to go into learning new words lately! its relaxing! Its the only part i need to do! But my writing/speaking i am very concerned about because being able to check myself for mistakes is something i’d like the ability to do.

how grammar is presented really makes a difference in how well i get it. there is some serious benefit to ‘show simple first then build up what you know’ that text books tend to prefer. versus like grammar reference books that may start with some in depth stuff.

i tried to read a japanese grammar guide the other day and 1 it was great but 2 it covered some ADVANCED stuff i never learned in genki 1+2, and so it was Explicit grammar description of stuff i had literally years ago been immersing in japanese and Still not conciously known about. So i felt. Overwhelmed lol. I felt so confused. I feel like I might switch to Tae Kim’s grammar guide primarily just because its structured with basics covered first. and i feel like until the basics are again glued into my brain, seeing even more advanced stuff just confused me so much i had no idea how to remember it. which is funny because? my usual strategy with grammar guides is to just read it and let what sticks stick and what is confusing be moved on from, in the hope i will later see it again and understand it better. so like based on what i usually do i should’ve just been able to read through it (and i’m gonna try anyway lol). but truly japanese grammar just... my mind does not like wrapping around it and remembering it. (chinese grammar is so much easier for me... so much easier....;-; )

i have been tempted to just Restart Nukemarine’s LLJ (Lets Learn Japanese) memrise decks, because I KNOW they worked for me last time really really well. And they include Tae Kim grammar lessons. And I know if i did it then maybe i’d get back to where i was years ago pretty fast.

I tried Earthlingo app. Its a cool idea, I don’t think its worth it though unless you planned to get Rosetta Stone (since Earthlingo is FREE). Earthlingo features 1000 words per language, taught to you by exploring video game worlds as an alien. Its a cool concept, but since all words seem to be nouns then you aren’t even learning the most common verbs/adjectives. And 1000 words is not a lot. And you could learn 1000 quite fast if using srs flashcards like Memrise or Anki (think weeks if you push yourself, and a month or two months if going at a regular pace). Earthlingo you have to slowly explore the worlds so that eats time, you have to choose to test yourself (so you don’t review nearly as often as flashcard apps), and one test includes walking around the world clicking the object which you’re given the word for (takes time to find the right object). All this means a word that might take maybe 15 minutes to study over a few weeks, might instead take much longer to study and learn. I don’t use duolingo because it generally covers so few words (usually 2000-4000 i think which is good for a beginner resource but you have to do the WHOLE course to get to all those words and i take so long on duolingo that could take YEARS for me versus a month on a flashcard app or clozemaster). Duolingo I also don’t use because it very slowly paces learning material (it takes me months/years to get through 1000 words on duolingo - just personally i go so slow on it, i think faster people would find a use for it). Likewise Lingodeer takes me AGES to get through (and i think covers 2000 words nowadays? I’m shocked Duolingo has more words for the japanese course tbh). However, Lingodeer is by far the best ‘app’ for Japanese grammar lessons in app practice form. Even if basically all the apps feel pretty slow to me in how fast they give you new info. Earthlingo is cool that its free, and for learners 12 and under i think it would be super useful as a way to engage them and keep them studying (since what child likes flashcards? whereas as a child i would’ve loved this). But as an adult Earthlingo is sooooo slow on how fast you can learn words, and it does not even offer very many words (1000 is a nice bare minimum but without verbs/adjectives it can only be a supplementary learning tool for beginners at best).

Link about Lingodeer having 2000 words in a course. (Since its SO hard to lookup how much vocabulary lingodeer includes :c )

Nukemarine’s LLJ memrise decks (which I’m considering going through again but ToT agh flashcardssssss.... they sure do work though agh)

http://www.chinese-grammar.com/beginner/ - this is the site I read a chinese grammar guide on at like Month 3. I am rereading it now maybe it will help me remember wtf grammar explicitly is. ToT (A tip, read Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced sections). Last time I visited the site you just clicked a section, then saw each fully explained grammar point and clicked ‘next’ it was nice. Now its laid out a little less ideal for me, but its still got all the same nice info! (Also honestly if you are a beginner I really DO like this grammar guide... it introduces basic info first, gradually gets more complex, and i could follow its logic knowing like 200 hanzi and 100 words ToT. its very easy to understand even if it takes a while to apply that info).

im probably gonna read hanshe more today. i’m at the point where either i know enough vocab, or the writers style has just ‘clicked’ idk. but now i just am not getting bogged down by unknown words and am just. speeding through enjoying the plot. Also rip me this novel has 155 chapters and im only on chapter 30.

watching japanese lets plays is really fun! i feel like im 3 years old cause i just see nouns i can learn pretty easy in context cause i know the game well, and hear some vaguely familiar verbs, but its fun! also it helps i know kingdom hearts 2 like by heart so. a lot of it makes me instantly cheerful and nostalgic. roxas’s voice is so cute in the japanese version.

oh i almost forgot: I found a book recently for chinese that for it’s like 10 page grammar guide summary at the beginning ALONE i think is more than worth the 4 dollars it costs to get. It has a ton of compound words and its a reference book in mandarin and cantonese (it has pronunciation for both, all characters are in traditional). I got it initally because it as a bunch of compound words and I’d like to get better at knowing a lot of common ones. But the intro to the book has a page explaining sentence structures in chinese, then examples. Its so straightforward and to the point. I love it. The book is “Understanding Chinese: A Guide to the Usage of Chinese Characters” by Rita Mei-Wah Choy. (There is also a companion book for individual hanzi, which is nice but this book specifically I’m finding more useful).

what i really like about Listening-Reading method, and reading, as study activities: no matter how I do them it is only improvement. I have a tendency to ‘redo’ material i don’t feel i fully mastered, or refuse to move on. So when i have duolingo, flashcards (sometimes i can move on if i ignore reviews/make myself do new stuff), books, grammar guides, self guided classes - i have a tendency to redo the material. over and over. and not progress and challenge myself. whereas with reading - every time i look up a word its useful because its new or something i clearly Need to review (not something i’ve actually learned and can move past reviewing). so whether i reread material or read new stuff, as long as i run into things i find somewhat challenging (feel the desire to word look up), i know i am running into new material i can learn. Same with listening-reading method: whether i finish a book or just skip to random books, any new chapter i do will give me new words to learn/remember (until i’ve reached a point of perfect listening comprehension which is a WAYS away). There’s no way for me to mess it up. I can give up a book im bored with, i don’t have to stick to one resource to the end. 

someone tell me why professionally made chinese audio books almost NEVER line up to the chapters???? whyyyyy ;-;

Even More Notes lol:

So I read so much in Pleco, which auto pronounces, I have COMPLETELY forgot. 得 地 - for these two, when they’re attached after a description like 淡淡 慢慢 高兴 etc, when are they pronounced di versus de???? i’m pretty sure  得 is pronounced de when its an adjective like ‘-ly’. but for  地, i don’t remember if when part of a describer if its pronounced di or de????

[daprec]

Unspoken and Spoken Mat Rules At Combat Room Miramar #jiujitsufirst

Some of these were borrowed from BJJEE and Gentlemen Grappler, some were modified by me, and others are my own rules or rules that have been passed down and seen as tradition

1. Shake the hands of the black belts when you enter and when you leave the mat. Additionally, after greeting the blackbelt please greet your teammates with the JJ handshake and smile 🙂

2. If a higher belt invites you to roll, you roll. They will invite you politely, if you say no they might not ask you again (except on special situations such as injuries, necessary rest for competition and others).

3. If a black belt is rolling near you, stop and move. If you are a black belt and you have a stable position and the lower belts around you are scrambling or with a submission locked in, don’t be a tyrant, be humble, you move.

4. Be stoic. If you get a submission, don’t celebrate, don’t show any joy. If you are submitted, don’t show frustration, shake hands and restart.

5. If the pain is tolerable don’t stop. Don’t talk to your partner about it, don’t expect them to say they are sorry, most of the times they didn’t even realized what happened. Keep it to yourself.

6. No excuses, a tap is a tap, crank or no crank. Don’t waste time massaging your ego explaining why you tapped, focus on what you should had done instead.

7. During the explanation of a position be attentive, listen carefully. Don’t expect the full attention of your professor if you didn’t give him any.

8. Payback rule, whatever you do, it will be done to you. If you are rough we will be rough on you. If you dedicate yourself to Jiu-Jitsu we will dedicate ourselves to you.

9. Do not cheer for teammates while you watch them roll. If you are on the side watching a roll, please keep your outbursts of joy that your teammate got a sub on your other teammate. It’s not fair and doesn’t help the person who got sub’d at all.

10. No coaching from the sidelines unless you’re a purple belt or above. If you ARE purple and above, please do not coach if the head coach, instructor or Professor is coaching. Too many people shouting instructions at 1 practitioner doesn’t help anyone and it’s the Professors job to coach his/her students. If Professor isn’t there (in a tournament scenario), then the high belt coaches

11. Whitebelts are not allowed to make rules or teach. You’re a whitebelt and with all due respect, you don’t know much at this stage. Unless you’re a D1 All American Wrestler or Judo World Champion who are joining up in BJJ, you are not allowed to teach newcomers or other whitebelts, and you most certainly are not allowed to make rules on the mats.

12. Always make a bow before stepping onto the mats. This is a quick and nice way to check your mind and body onto the tatame, and focus on training, leaving your job and real world problems behind.

13. No barefeet off of the mats ESPECIALLY WHEN GOING TO THE TOILETS. If I need to explain why then you owe me 3000 pushups.

14. In general lower belts are not allowed to ask higher belts to roll. There are always exceptions but this rule must always be adhered to unless an arrangement or conversation has been had by the individual high belt. This also goes for male whitebelts asking other women whitebelts to roll. At this stage the technique isn’t there yet and we want to mitigate unintentional injury as much as possible.

15. NEVER ask when you’re going to be promoted, or when another student is going to be promoted. Instructors have their reasons why/when/if to promote a student and their judgement must be respected at all times, regardless if you understand or disagree with the decision. This is simply how it’s always been.

16. Training at other gyms. One-off training is fine if you want to visit another gym to get a different experience or have friends there. But regular training at other gyms isn’t cool for a variety of reasons. The 1st being your grading process, and the 2nd being the fact that coaches invest a lot of time and effort into your training. Training at HQ or other Combat Rooms is strongly encouraged, but you do not earn credit at CR Miramar from training at other CRs.

17. If late to class – please wait to be waved onto the mats by your Professor. This is so that he/she knows you’re on the mats to help keep track of attendance and safety. Additionally without question 20 pushups is owed as penalty for being late.

18. Forgetting your belt. Whitebelts owe 20 pushups, Bluebelts owe 40 pushups, Purplebelts owe 40 pushups + 40 burpees. Brown and Blackbelts never forget their belts because punishment works.

19. Start and finish class with a bow. As previously mentioned this is more of a handshake rather than any sort of reverence. Its more to pay respect to each other: the instructor to you, and you to the instructor.

20. Line up according to rank. (yes even in the picture) The people who have put in more mat time have not only earned this right, but also have more knowledge than the lower belts. This is attributed to the “Martial” part of “Martial (Military) Arts (Subjective Craft)”

21. Blackbelts are called “Professor or Sensei”. If your gym has purple/brown belts who are official gym instructors named by the head instructor, they are called “Coach”

22. Always have a clean gi or no-gi uniforms. “No one wants to essmell you esstink” – Rey Diogo

23. Please trim your finger and toe nails. We don’t know how to fight wolverines yet

24. Be a good training partner and/or Uke. When practicing technique with a partner, or if Professor calls upon you to demonstrate a technique, please don’t act like this is a live sparring event. Practice is practice, rolling is rolling, demonstration is DEMONSTRATION. If you resist or start defending, Professor will not call on you again to help.

25. Train in a controlled and methodical manner. We are not here to injure our teammates or “break our toys” as I like to say. Beginners don’t have the technique yet to implement this philosophy at first, so upper belts please don’t get frustrated. Help them along the way, as upper belts did for you when you were a beginner. Beginners, no one is going to kill you, so try to remain calm during a roll and learn something.

26. Please stick to the IBJJF ruleset of submissions unless you have verbally agreed with your training partner otherwise.

This means:

No neck cranks, cervical locks or heel hooks

No slamming

No footlocks or kneebars for white belts (straight ankle locks are IBJJF approved for all belts)

No fish hooking, eye gouging or grabbing fingers individually

Avoid chokes along the jaw, chin, teeth or face

ALWAYS respect the tap, and allow partners time to tap

27. Go slow when applying a submission. Most joint locks can cause severe damage, especially the arm and shoulder locks. I know it’s exciting, but please go slow enough to give your partners a second to tap or don’t apply the submission 150%

28. Tap early and a lot. Everyone taps – this is part of the game. Think of it as a game of “gotcha” rather than a game of wining or losing. Most of my taps usually end with a giggle and a “that was awesome well done”. This is how we learn. This is the realtime feedback that illustrates a mistake on our part that needs addressing. Work on your weaknesses.

29. Please invest in a mouthguard. Accidents do happen, and as adult humans our teeth do not grow back. Pay the money on a good one, it’s worth it. This is not mandatory, but strongly advised.

30. MINIMUM attendance for promotion consideration is 3 days a week. I need to see you on the mats at least 3 days a week consistently for 6 months for you to be considered for a stripe or promotion. This does NOT include going to HQ or other gyms or open mat (free rolling days). You need to be on the mats in Miramar to qualify for a promotion. If you can tap and sweep everyone in the gym but are only showing up 1 day a week then you most likely won’t get promoted.

31. Always come to class with a positive and open mindset

32. During technique practice please do NOT talk the entire time. Not only is this disrespectful to your Professor, you are wasting your training partners time as well as your own time. Technique practice time is the single most important part of class and is the only time I expect full focus from all of my students. We only get 3 hours a week to train, and only 1/2 that time to practice technique to please avoid socializing and practice the technique.

33. Do not attend class if you are sick. Please stay home until you are completely well and ready to train. Do not come to class to watch if you still have symptoms

34. Do not train injured. If you are injured please come to class to watch, but as difficult as it may be, please don’t train. Injuries can linger for YEARS if you do not take the time to heal properly. You’ve already dedicated yourself to JJ, it’s not going anywhere. Rest up, heal up and come back stronger!

35. Please remove all jewelery, earrings, bracelets before class

36. If you are on the side watching people roll, it is your job to help prevent collisions happening on the mats. Step inbetween 2 groups of people rolling and do your best to either protect their heads or if they get too close let them know they should move. The higher belts have the mat priority, so lower belts move for them.

37. High belts are responsible for the mats after class and locking up. If I’m not around to mop the mats, high belts are responsible. It’s really EVERYONES job. Make sure the mats are mopped and stacked before leaving the gym. Don’t wait for someone else to do it, please help. Also if there is no one else in the gym, the high belt (bluebelt and up) is responsible to lock up.

38. NO SHOES ON THE MAT EVER. I shouldn’t even have to type this, but sadly I do.

39. *AMENDED* Leave drama off of the mat AND out of the group chat please. If it’s mat drama please deal with it off of the mats in a kind and respectful way. If it’s chat drama please deal with it off the chat in person in a kind and respectful way.

Please keep in mind I work 50-60hr weeks PLUS teach BJJ – 2 jobs. I would appreciate it if people could figure it out among themselves. Keep in mind I’m only qualified to give you Jiu Jitsu and Motion Capture Animation advice 😊

If you find yourself consistently at the center of issues at the gym or the chat, perhaps step away for a bit and think about what the common denominator is and how you can improve/fix things and come back with a different mind set. If things can’t be settled then speak to me about a different solution, but please try the above avenues prior to reaching out to me.

All of that said I’m always here for my students and can/will help however possible, but if it’s things I don’t need to be involved in, please help me and be #mindful in that regard.🙏

40. Guys – don’t hit on the ladies. Our gym has a unique and large female presence and I want to keep it that way. We haven’t had a problem yet that I know of and it’s going to stay that way.

41. Saying “Oss” is an affirmation. This is a very traditional method of either saying “you understand”, or “I give you permission to practice on me and I on you” or just a sign of gratitude and respect. Oss is cool

42. What happens on the mats stays on the mats. I know we all get excited and our ego’s pumped when we sweep or tap out someone. But lets keep that to ourselves – we don’t need to gloat off the mats about sweeping a 1 stripe whitebelt, or how we heelhooked a 12 year old, or how we passed a blackbelts guard (who 99.99% let you anyway). We especially find it tacky and uncool posting these kinds of things on social media so keep it in the gym.

43. Beginners, yes the higher belt let you have it, unless they said you legitimately “got them”, so please hold off on launching the blimp and having a parade until you have confirmation. Its the higher belts job to help guide you along this path, and at some point you will stop being given chances.

***UPDATE 01***

44. Whatever special arrangements I’ve made with an individual apply to that individual ONLY. Sometimes there are things in life that are out of our control, and we cannot manage to abide by some of these rules. If a student has spoken directly to me about some life event or change and we need to come up with a plan specific to them, that does NOT mean it applies to everyone. Every student is responsible to speak to me about their situations.

***UPDATE 02***

45. Visiting guests from another gyms. Of course always be courteous and welcoming, but the general unspoken rule is to smoke them when rolling – usually when matched to your belt level 😃. This is a worldwide unspoken standard within BJJ gyms. The thinking is when they leave our gym and go back to their home gym, they’ll know that we practice good Jiu Jitsu and train hard. This helps keep quality and standards up within the BJJ community and increases the drive at other clubs to improve. It’s kind of a weird quality control, but hey we’re learning how to fight so it isn’t always pretty. There are ALWAYS exceptions to the rules, but this is the general “Old School” way of doing things, that as far as I know is still an unspoken standard.

46. Visiting other schools. Be respectful and courteous – mind your manners at all times. Give them a call or an email before showing up to ask if it’s OK to jump into a class. Greet the Black Belt or head coach 1st. Treat the tatami how you would treat your own school regardless if they do not practice the same etiquette as your home gym. Train hard, be technical, – don’t be a meat head.

“It’s better to know your manners and not need them instead of needing your manners and not knowing them.” – Miyamoto Musashi I think 😛

***UPDATE 03***

47. Gi and no-gi uniform. Being that we’re still in a Covid pandemic, we still must continue practicing safe hygene. This means wearing leggings and rash guards under your gi. This means wearing leggings, shorts and long sleeve rash guards for no-gi. We’ll continue this practice when we eventually are a post-Covid world.

***UPDATE 04***

48. ZERO TOLERANCE of sexual harassment. Ladies if anything of the such happens at our club, however unlikely, please bring it to my attention IMMEDIATELY. I have a 1 strike and you’re out policy and will not condone this kind of behavior from any of my students.

Other thoughts

You’re going to want to quit. Don’t worry we have all felt that throughout this journey. BJJ is hard. Some say the hardest thing they’ve ever done. The learning never ends – the same goes with life and anything else you want to master. And just as in life, running from your problems never solves anything so call timeout, recharge, and come back!

Ask yourself what kind of student do you want to be? One that’s made of rubber? Bouncing back and forth to class, disappearing for months, reappearing for months again and again? One that’s made of wood? After a couple breaks or if things get too hard they quit, never to return? Or one that’s made of steel? A student who regardless of the injuries, hits to the ego, damage to the body, never bends or breaks and always shows up ready to train.

Rubber, Wood or Steel – which are you?

For most all practicioners, the mats are a sacred space. We train because not only do we love the art, but our time on the mats is a cathertic experience. We can forget our daily lives, our jobs, families, friends, pets etc and focus 100% on ourselves, our minds and our bodies while learning something usefull and cool.

Lets not forget what this means to everyone and always give and pay the tatame and class the reverence it deserves. Oss!

*Over time this rule set can and will be amended*

Unspoken and Spoken Mat Rules At Combat Room Miramar #jiujitsufirst was originally published on davepreciado

[bltngames]

Review: Lloyd the Monkey 2

Back before TSSZ News imploded, I would often do write-ups for many of the games at the Sonic Amateur Games Expo (SAGE). SAGE is an annual online expo that I started all the way back in September of 2000. I personally ran SAGE for over a year, and remained deeply hands on for at least another two years as it continued to grow. The main focus of SAGE was primarily to showcase fangames, in particular Sonic fangames, but the event never limited itself to any one type of game. It's never been uncommon to see original games appear in the lineup -- especially now, given the modern indie scene. 

One such original game was Lloyd the Monkey, a bit of a strange game, written in Javascript of all things and run through a webpage. That by itself was notable enough to stand out from most of the games at SAGE, but Lloyd was also a completely original product created by someone who possibly seemed to be young and new to game development. Making games is no easy feat, especially when they’re written in Javascript and you’re doing tons of original artwork yourself. Taken as that whole, the game impressed me, even if it was more than a little rough around the edges.

Now we have Lloyd the Monkey 2, written in Unity. The developer, Noah Meyer, sent me a Steam key in order to review the game. Up top, I just want to say how I think it’s kind of brave to go all the way in putting the game on Steam and everything. It felt like just a few years ago, newer indie developers sort of had to work up to releasing their game on Steam, usually getting a few releases under their belt first. People view games differently when they’re asked to pay for them, and critics may not be so willing to let circumstances influence their review. It can be a harsh world out there for a beginner.

Lloyd 2 is a much bigger, more ambitious game than the first. Whereas the original Lloyd didn’t even have sound effects, Lloyd 2 introduces voiced cutscenes, some of which are full-on animated cinematics. Quality is about what you would expect -- I would assume the developer sought out friends and acquaintances to voice characters in Lloyd 2, leading to wildly varying audio quality due to differences in recording hardware. Lloyd himself sounds fine, but some of the other characters are a bit quiet, while others have clear background noise. Nothing I heard was unlistenable, however. 

The story is also a little hard to follow. Not much is done to refresh our memories as to who anyone is or what’s going on, we’re just kind of thrown into the middle of things and turned loose. On one hand, it’s nice that the story doesn’t slow the pace of the gameplay down too much. On the other, you’re given a map screen with different objectives to clear but there’s very little context as to what you’re doing or why. At one point I made my way to the end of a Power Plant level only to confront what appeared to be an evil monkey. Despite a whole cutscene involving a conversation between four or five different people, this evil monkey never seemed to say a single word. He just stood there in total silence with a sinister smile. Then I killed him.

I suppose maybe I missed something, however. With greater ambitions comes a number of unfortunate bugs in Lloyd 2, one of which happened not long after our monkey and his crew landed on planet Grecia. I entered what appeared to be a castle to talk to the Queen, but I think the game expected me to take a lower route, where I was apparently meant to overhear the Queen making secret preparations before my arrival. Instead, I took the direct route straight to her chambers, and triggered the cutscene with Lloyd standing in front of her while ominous music played, even though the camera was still clearly focused on the next floor down. I apparently still had some amount of control, because midway through her dialog I touched a teleporter that sent me to the game’s map screen before she was done talking. If that cutscene was meant to give context to what I was doing, I didn’t get a chance to see it.

That was one of the more harmless bugs in my time spent playing Lloyd 2. Harder to ignore was the fact that, within the first 30 seconds of getting control, I soft locked the game. Lloyd 2 opens with a short prologue section where you play as a man with black hair. If you decide to ignore the obvious and go left instead of right, you quickly run out of solid level tiles and begin falling indefinitely. Later areas feature invisible walls presumably to prevent this exact scenario, but for whatever reason they weren’t implemented in the prologue. 

For the most part, Lloyd 2 seems to be a co-op game. Many levels see Lloyd teamed up with an alien princess named Lura, with gameplay vaguely reminiscent of Mega Man X crossed with the tag mechanic from Sonic Mania’s Encore Mode. At the touch of a button, you can switch between the Swordsman Lloyd and the more projectile-based Lura… assuming your partner is still alive, I guess. While playing alone, your partner is controlled by artificial intelligence, but it’s incredibly basic and prone to accidentally committing suicide. That wouldn’t be such a big deal (considering Tails in Sonic 2 never acted in self-preservation either), but once your partner dies, they stay dead. Your only option to bring them back is to either restart the stage or hope another cutscene triggers, since they’ll magically spring back to life in order to say their dialog (though, again, usually only seconds before they fall back into the next death pit). 

This might not be much of a problem, depending on your viewpoint. There’s not much incentive to switch between Lloyd and Lura, so once you pick whoever you think works the best, chances are, you’ll just stick with them. You do unlock special team-up attacks after beating each boss, but this just reinforces the idea that Lloyd the Monkey 2 is meant to be experienced with another person holding a second controller, as most of the team-up attacks require both characters to do something specific that the single player artificial intelligence usually can’t interpret. Regardless, the team-up attacks never seem strictly necessary to progress, so they can be safely ignored if you’re playing solo.

I understand this is a pretty negative review I’ve written here. Lloyd the Monkey 2 aims high and tries to the best of its ability to get there. I assume it was a struggle to get even this far. Making games is hard work, and like any skill, takes practice to get good at. Just because this is Lloyd the Monkey 2 doesn’t mean Noah Meyer, its developer, is automatically an expert. I'm sure he's doing his best, and, quality aside, this game has a lot of heart put into it. This isn’t something cheap, quick, or lazy. It’s really, genuinely trying, and that matters. 

I’ve said a few times here and there that I see pieces of myself in the releases of Lloyd the Monkey, and I still see them here. I remember, for an early SAGE event, I was working on a fangame project of mine called The Fated Hour. I was probably already a year or two or maybe even three deep in the game by now, and after a lot of hyping up the community, this was their first chance to play the game. I spent months and months coding this iteration of my engine, and by my standards back then, it seemed like bleeding edge technology. I felt like I was going to blow everyone's minds. 

It was a mess. Few were impressed. Even worse, the game straight up didn’t even run correctly for some people. What followed was multiple patches, and even rebuilding some entire areas from scratch. My ambitions got the better of me and I unintentionally cut corners -- not because I was trying to cheap out on doing proper development, but just because I simply didn’t know any better. I may have done the best I knew how to do, but I was running faster than my body could keep up with and I stumbled.

When I see things like the missing invisible walls in the prologue, or how easily partner characters commit suicide by accident, I think back to that demo for The Fated Hour, and how I've been in this exact place myself. There’s even a side quest in Lloyd 2 where you have to track a floating girl as she drifts through a level -- there was a nearly identical set piece in The Fated Hour, where you were chasing a robot. It’s a very strange feeling to see something like that and think, “I’ve been here before.” Like looking through a window at a younger version of yourself.

It’s true that I stumbled, but I didn’t let that stop me. I learned by doing. I kept going. Three years later, a game of mine was featured on TV, leading to more than a million downloads. The mistakes of past projects did not weigh me down and I soldiered onwards, newfound knowledge in hand. 

So where does that leave us with Lloyd the Monkey 2, then. Well, it's not exactly a game to compete with Super Mario Odyssey, but given the circumstances in which it was created, I don't think that's necessarily the point. As a learning experience clearly made for the fun of its own creation, I think it's a success. And who knows what awaits in the years to come?

[bbq-hawks-wings]

Drawing tablet recommendation!

So a lot of you know I not only write but draw and paint as well. Digital space is my favorite to work in because it’s so forgiving, powerful, and easy to use. For a lot of people, making the move up from paper and pencil to digital is a big, scary leap that is usually also a tad expensive for most to break into.

I don’t usually post random reviews of stuff, but with the holiday season upon us and potentially having people looking for something for themselves or others and this being SUCH a good product already I had to at least drop it for anyone considering something like this. It’s a bit long, so I’ll leave the rest under the cut, but if you’re looking to gift someone the ability to draw digitally or are just trying to try it out without breaking the bank, please give this a read!

Well, good news everyone, Wacom is dead to me and let me introduce you to my new best friend the Huion H640P!

On the website it’s listed at $50, but I nabbed this buddy for $40 off of Amazon (still through the company, just in an Amazon storefront). When you compare that to the $80 Wacom’s lowest level tablet (currently Intuos, I think), it’s a clear bargain, but especially in comparison to the latest versions of the Intuos it has some major advantages!

Pen stand (you don’t know how nice this is until you don’t have it!)

4 More quick buttons than Intuos (once you get the hang of these, they’re indispensable!)

All buttons are on one side of the tablet instead of being on both sides

Android device compatible (I can’t take my laptop everywhere anymore, but now I can neatly pack this little guy and pen in my bag and draw on my phone!)

USB adapters included! (Even a Type C adapter which my phone uses!)

These alone are reasons to me to spend less and get more than going through Wacom. The active area automatically shrinks to match the ratio of the phone screen so drawing flows smoothly (this was the reason I bought it in the first place) and it requires absolutely no installation on phones - just plug and play!

On PC/Mac you will need to install the driver which will require you to go the site and select, download, and install the correct model driver to use properly, but once it’s done installing I didn’t even need to restart to be able to use it.

I have an older model of the Wacom Intuos, a Cintiq 16HD, and my first good tablet was an old Intuos model I ran into the dirt. The H640P more closely resembles the latest Inutuos model which is marketed as a beginner/hobbyist tablet, but frankly for most it’s all you’ll ever need! It draws smoothly with good pressure sensitivity and control. It’s really seamless if you already have experience using a tablet, and if it’s new to you it will take a learning curve to develop the hand-eye coordination, but this is a very friendly tablet to learn on.

If you’re concerned about the size, don’t be. Especially if you’re one to curl up with your drawing tools like I am, this fits neatly and lightly into your lap and is more than enough space to draw since it adjusts to the ratio of your computer screen after the driver is installed. You can also rotate the tablet to put the buttons on the other side if you’re left handed or if you just want to orient the tablet differently. You can use the settings to customize the function buttons, buttons on the pen, pressure sensitivity, as well as the working space.

If this tablet was available years ago I would have abandoned Wacom forever and a day ago. Competitor tablets and tablet displays from companies like Huion and XP Pen offer the same (if not better) functionality and design for literal fractions of the price now. Some people have issues with their drivers or other design choices, but frankly Wacom does not have a great track record with me, either. When all of my gear gives out I’ll be going to these companies to replace them. There’s no reason for Wacom to have such a strangle-hold on the market any more.

Bonus:

If you’re in the mood to continue saving money in terms of drawing programs my first recommendation is:

Autodesk Sketchbook

It’s a completely free program (just create a free Autodesk account) with both desktop and mobile versions, supported by Android, Windows, and IOS. You’ll get the full functionality of a paid program such as fine-tuned brush controls, custom brushes, and unlimited layers but in a layout that is easy to learn and experiment with, which for someone new to digital art can be a godsend!

There are other free programs such as IbisPaint and Krita that will work just fine, but if you’re really and truly new to this world, Sketchbook was my go-to for the longest time as a professional artist before I converted to Clip Studio Paint. I’ll always recommend CSP over anything else now because of how powerful and useful all of its tools are, but for someone just dipping their toes in on a budget, Sketchbook is your best friend.

[kideraxpride]

Platinum Relics Mini Guide

Platinum Relics are the lowest times on a track, and often the hardest, requiring precise driving and skills, along with knowledge of the game and it's mechanics. Think you have what it takes? Well, even if you don't, I'm here to try to help you out just a little bit with a small mini guide through each of the 18 tracks, so you too can flex online in style with that sweet Platinum Paint Job.

This guide assumes you know the inner mechanics of the game, such as power sliding, boosting, Sacred Fire, Blue Fire and course shortcuts. If you need explanations of those, you may not ready to tackle these just yet. I don't mind answering questions about them if you need something cleared up, however.

Collecting all the Boxes takes 10 seconds off your final time. What I mean by 'yes' or 'no' here is if it's recommended or not, or whether or not I think it's worth it or the effort. If it says 'no', then it's still possible to get the relic without them, if it says 'yes', it's because it's easy enough to do without driving you nuts or because it's absolutely necessary (looking at you N.Gin Labs and Papu's Pyramid).

Recommended Character Type is a suggestion based on the track selected. You don't have to follow it, I just chose what I believed was easiest (as you see I did all of my with Accel and Beginner characters, Advanced isn't necessary at all). Pick what feels comfortable to you!

Anyways, let's get started! Good luck, and drive fast!

Crash Cove Platinum Time to Beat: 52:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Advanced

Not gonna lie, the first one can be a bit of a doozy to Plat. There's not a lot of room for error here, and the only thing I can tell you to do is get Sacred Fire and floor it. If you lose Sacred Fire, you might as well kiss the Platinum goodbye. While I achieved my Plat with Coco, I recommend Advanced characters as Crash Cove is pretty basic and the extra speed can help. While you can collect all the boxes, I don't recommend it, since some are in pretty awkward spots that are off the course pretty hard.

My Time: 51:75 - Coco

Roo's Tubes Platinum Time to Beat: 55:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Advanced

Just as tough as Crash Cove, but with a little bit more of error room. You don't have to get all the boxes here to get the Platinum, but if you can keep a good race line, you could, so it's an option. Even if you have to take a few seconds more to grab all the boxes after the final Turbo Pad to grab them all (if that's your way of doing it), do it. 10 seconds off is a lot. Other than that, you know the deal. Sacred Fire and floor it. If you can consistently keep it and take the shortcut, this should be cake.

My Time: 54:49 - Pinstripe

Mystery Caves Platinum Time to Beat: 1:32:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Accel

Mystery Cave is full of ways to ruin your day. The turtles are a big one. They are so inconsistent when bouncing, it will drive you up a wall (sometimes LITERALLY). The corners are a bit tight to navigate at times. You can easily collect all the boxes in a 3 lap go if you plan your driving lanes beforehand, so if you want to go that route, go for it. I don't think this one is too bad as long as you can keep a good line of driving, and of course, Sacred Fire. If I can do it as I just woke up and started writing this guide on the first try, then you can, too.

My Time: 1:31:38 - Pinstripe 1:28:14 - Coco

Sewer Speedway Platinum Time to Beat: 0:37:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommend Character Type: Accel

Ah, here it is, the biggest bastard of Hub 1. Sewer Speedway is a pain to drive on in Nitro Fueled, combined with one of the lowest Platinum Times ever and a shortcut that's inconsistent, you're in for a bad time. I believe I got all the box for my Platinum Relic, which is why I'm recommending it, but heed this warning: for that, you need to take the shortcut (the full thing) at least once. Heed this advice though: Take it first lap and get it out the way. If you fail it, you've lost nothing. If you succeed, continue with the run and see what happens. My recommended path says go right twice at the beginning, then left, then right, left to get all the boxes. How you get the rest of the boxes in the track after that is up to your driving lines and your choice. Also, if you get crushed, you fail instantly. Just restart.

My Time: 34:47 - Pinstripe

Hub 1 Complete! Getting tired yet? Come on! We've just barely started!

Coco Park Platinum Time to Beat: 0:49:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommended Character Type: Advanced

Do yourself a favor and just collect all the boxes here. I've no god given clue how Komodo Joe burned around this course in 49 seconds, but I can tell you it's not possible by a human, and until proven otherwise, that's my opinion and I'm sticking with it. Keep a good racing line, get the outside (wide lane) boxes on the first lap and work your way inwards. There's a 2 box right before the beginning of the tunnel on the left in the grass, and a 3(?) right as you leave on the right. There's also two boxes a piece you have to jump for at the end from the grassy hills, so make sure you get Sacred Fire to get them. The 10 seconds off is well worth getting all the boxes for.

My Time: 46:89 - Pinstripe

Papu's Pyramid Platinum Time to Beat: 0:42:00 Collect All Boxes?: YES Recommended Character Type: Beginner

Whereas this Platinum was probably a joke in OG, it's NO joke in NF. There's no massive unfair skip in this game, which means you gotta play this by the book. As long as you can keep your driving lane good and collect a box per lap, you should be okay. I recommend getting the drop off for the 4 3 boxes first lap, that way you don't need to worry about it. Likewise, try to go to the outside turn down the stairs and get the 2 boxes on them (and the 1 hanging over the void), plus the 2 by the plants. The final turn you'll have to take twice to keep a good time, I grabbed the box in the grass first lap, along with the 2 closest to the inside of the turn and also the box leading to the 3 hanging over the gap (even if you have to fall off to get it). If you want a tentative picture of how I feel about this relic, here you go.

My Time: 37:69 - Pura

Tiger Temple Platinum Time to Beat: 0:43:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommended Character Type: Advanced

Not difficult at all. Collecting all the boxes is easy once you know where they all are, and they aren't in difficult places, either. You just need to keep your speed up to make sure you make it to the ones that require jumps. How you go from everything from there is up to you. As always, Sacred Fire and blaze it. Do watch how you land on the hills though, they can eat your speed. As someone that played this track a ton on the demo, this Relic took me 3 tries, tops.

My Time: 42:06 - Pinstripe

Dingo Canyon Platinum Time to Beat: 0:53:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommended Character Type: Accel

Not hard. Collect all the boxes, it's simple and even helps keep your driving line focused. Collect outside lane boxes first, it just helps later on when you're trying to save more time. Even though it's easy, you still need to have a good handle on driving correctly.

My Time: 52:11 - Pinstripe

Hub World 2 down! Wasn't too bad, right? Not with all the boxes collected in every map. Let's move on. Good news and bad news. Good news is, half this next hub is easy as hell. The bad news is, the other half isn't.

Blizzard Bluff Platinum Time to Beat: 0:45:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Advanced

Believe me when I say this is HARD. I don't know how Pura burned around this track in 45 seconds, but good god. I couldn't find a good way to get all the boxes either, so that's out (the 2 in the ditch after the rolling boulder basically make you come to grinding halt to get them and not jump over them, which just isn't worth 1 frozen second a piece, even if you managed to get all the boxes). Worst yet, without getting all the boxes, you're going to have to take the infamous fence shortcut on the final turn ALL THREE LAPS, a shortcut so hard that not even Oxide's ghost takes it on this track anymore. I barely made this one, so my only real advice is to not get discouraged, keep trying and practicing until you get your ideal driving line for the win.

My Time: 44:01 - Pinstripe

Dragon Mines Platinum Time to Beat: 0:54:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommended Character Type: All-Around, Accel

This one is just as bad as Blizzard Bluff. It has the infamous "spiral" turn that no one likes taking in this game, and just lots of sections that slow you down for absolutely no reason at all. Fortunately, the boxes are in places that aren't terrible, outside of the three 3 boxes on the minecart tracks in the tunnel. You basically have to turn into that tunnel right after the minecart goes in so you don't get crushed by the next one after it. Get the three 3 boxes by jumping off the spiral in that same lap. Finally, after the spiral, there's a bunch of boxes in between the pillars. If you start on the left side of them, you can weave through them all and end up on the right side at the end so you can get on the turbo pad. Get these problematic boxes in the first lap and then take your best driving into the next 2 laps to get this Platinum. Also, don't ask me how Pura did this in 43 seconds or Crash did it in 49:70. I don't know.

My Time: 51:83 - Coco

Polar Pass Platinum Time to Beat: 2:05:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Beginner, Accel

I did this one without even trying. It's rare that you'll get a Platinum Relic on your first try (unless you're that good at the game), but this one seriously is super easy, so long as you understand the mechanics of Blue Fire. If you can keep that (and it's possible, which is why I recommended a Beginner character class), you can obliterate this Platinum by a good 10 seconds. As the guy that has made the infamous Polar Pass 2 lap Blue Fire video on YouTube from the Demo, trust me when I say this is easy. I've had lots of practice on this map, but once you get the hang of it, it's simple. As I'm writing this, I achieved the Platinum again, even.

My Time: 1:53:29 - Coco 2:02:90 - Coco

Tiny Arena Platinum Time to Beat: 2:58:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Accel

I did this one without trying, too. This is another one where if you understand the basic mechanics of the game, you'll mop the floor with the times. 2:58 is generous enough to even make a few mistakes as long as you're getting enough boxes. Sacred Fire the parts you can, round corners well enough, collect the boxes in your path, stay out of the mud, jump off the hills and this Platinum is yours. I even just beat my old time playing through it again. You got this.

My Time: 2:41:21 - Coco 2:45:68 - Coco

Hub 3 is done. I told you half were easy and the other half were hard. Unfortunately, that trend continues with 2 more hard courses going into Hub 4. However, after those, you're sitting on easy street as long as you keep up your good driving.

N. Gin Labs Platinum Time to Beat: 0:53:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommended Character Type: Accel, Beginner

Hold it right there! Don't even think about turboing off this start line. Reverse and get all 12 of the 3 boxes at the beginning. You can get 3 of them just by holding reverse, then get the rest in a timely fashion by driving carefully. After that, Lap 1 needs to be spent getting boxes that you deem problematic for speed later on. Such boxes for me are the 2 in the alcove right before the barrel drop, and the ones hovering over the edges of the platforms of the 90 degree angle turns right after the barrel drops. This stage also requires you to at least understand Blue Fire and maintain it while keeping the best line possible, grabbing the boxes at high speed. I spent a good 2 hours here, and still barely made it. This one's tough.

My Time: 50:30 - Coco

Cortex Castle Platinum Time to Beat: 1:32:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Accel

This one is annoyingly difficult, as well. 1:32 is not a comfortable enough time to mess around with, so you've got to floor your speed. Sacred Fire the places you can. This stage also mandates what I like to call "Jetshotting", which is rounding a corner sharply, then continuing your momentum in the new direction. It's done by jumping from a hill, releasing the Acceleration button, braking and choosing your new direction, and before landing, releasing brake and Accelerating again. It's not hard to do, in fact, you may have even done it before on accident. But this stage mandates it because of the courtyard hill into the castle. There's no other way to take that corner effectively without losing speed. Other than that, I'd save the shortcut for the final lap, and get the boxes on the normal path on the first two laps. In that same vein, keep the box in the air after the Super Turbo Pad there for the final lap so you have some cushion while you fall and bend that last corner before the finish line. Good luck, this is the last hard one!

My Time: 1:27:78 - Coco

Hot Air Skyway Platinum Time to Beat: 2:02:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Beginner

I'll be completely honest with you: the minute I saw this track, I was already fearing the Relic. But I didn't realize how easy it would've been if one could just keep Blue Fire. Once I put that idea into my mind, this track instantly became easier. Explaining it is hard, but I have a video of it because I thought it was cool, so just use that.

My Time: 1:57:64 - Pura

Oxide Station Platinum Time to Beat: 2:34:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommended Character Type: Accel

This one isn't too bad. All the boxes are in a pretty easy place, and they all can be gotten within 3 laps. As long as you drive correctly and boost right, this should be a breeze, especially after N. Gin Labs and Cortex Castle (not to mention Blizzard Bluff). If you can do those 3 tracks, this one shouldn't bother you any. In fact, I would've done this one on my first try if I hadn't missed one box. Go figure. Beat it the 2nd try, though!

My Time: 2:27:83 - Coco

Slide Coliseum Platinum Time to Beat: 1:40:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Accel, Advanced

This one is a freaking cake walk. I don't know who set this Platinum Time, but it's a joke. You can easily beat this time without breaking all the time crates, but if you do, it's just adding insult to injury, and it's not like it's hard anyways. As long as you know how to drift, this isn't anything special. I even just beat it again playing through it for this guide.

My Time: 1:12:05 - Coco 1:14:48 - Coco (this is my time WITHOUT all the crates)

Turbo Track Platinum Time to Beat: 1:19:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Accel, All-Around

This final one is easy too. You don't need to get all the boxes, but if you want, it makes it even easier. The Super Turbo Pads here just give you so much speed that it makes it hard to not get this Platinum on the first try. The only thing this stage mandates is that you know how to Brake Slide for hairpin turns, but other than that, this is simple!

My Time: 52:94 - Coco (with all time crates) 1:13:17 - Coco (without all time crates)

And that's everything! Just relax and practice and you'll be able to pull this off. I believe in you! If you have any questions, feel free to bother me over at my Twitter @JetspeedGaming, and check out my YouTube channel over at KuroJet!

[freyaxiao]

Project

Task 5 - Tiny World Prototype

Screenshots of laser cut model from Rhino. 

For assignment 5, I decided to create a laser cut file and 3D printing file for my topography and building I made in last assignment. Unfortunately, when I scaled the model down, the shape of the model became irregular. It’s probably because the size of the original model is too big that has 1000X1000 meters, but the requirement of the 3D printing object cannot bigger than 7.5X7.5 cm. However, the curve of the model and topography didn’t change, so that I can make a good laser cut file. I prepared two layers, one is cut and another one is score. First, I copied the curves from the model and separated them layer by layer. Because the height of each layer is different, i created a surface under all the layers and use Project command to make them in one surface. After doing this, i copied the layers that above into the base layer to make score line. 

As a beginner of Rhino, i met a lot troubles and issues, which i restarted to do it again and again. It is not easy, but i kind of getting used to this software. 

[anistarrose]

Stan and Ford Vs. The Future - Chapter 2

Summary: One fateful night soon after returning to Gravity Falls, Ford is unexpectedly confronted with memories from a lifetime ago.

Warnings: implied references to past child abuse

The Beginning

Thank you for the great response on Chapter 1! I started this fic completely on a whim, but once I saw how much people were enjoying it, I knew I was going to continue it! Hope this update doesn’t disappoint!

I guess I’ll also count this as a submission for @forduary!

Ford is ransacking all the basement’s shelves and drawers and nooks and crannies in a seemingly futile search for his old magnet guns — Stan told him they were down here somewhere, but apparently couldn’t be bothered to elaborate — when he finds the box. It’s old, the cardboard practically decaying, and he’s honestly surprised he’s able to get it out of the closet without the whole thing falling apart in his hands, but there’s also something about it that feels indescribably familiar. It takes him a moment to realize that it’s because of the scrawled cursive label — Stanley and Stanford, 1961-1963 — that’s written in his mother’s handwriting.

He rifles through the contents: two reels of film, four photo albums. A comic book so old and well-read that the images are beginning to fade away entirely. Sheets of piano music, showing the notes to a familiar song, simple enough to be played by beginners but complex enough to be catchy. Notebooks filled from margin to margin with doodles of strange and wondrous creatures, dragons and cryptids and dinosaurs and aliens.

Ford recognizes everything, but while he remembers bringing some of it first to college and then out to Gravity Falls himself, there are other things — three of the four photo albums, the comic books, the piano music — that he hasn’t seen since… well, since 1963.

Ford has always thought he was the overly sentimental one, but here Stan is, not just holding on to his collection of keepsakes but adding to it.

Stan only would have had a chance to go home and pick up all of this when he was pretending to be you, a resentful whisper in the back of Ford’s head reminds him, but it’s far from the loudest voice, far from the loudest emotion. He picks up one of the photo albums, one that he doesn’t remember ever seeing outside of Glass Shard Beach, and steps into the elevator.

He hopes Stan is still awake, because the two of them need to talk. He’s not quite sure about what, but… they really need to. His grip tightens on the old album as he rises towards the ground floor, and for neither the first nor the last time in his life, he finds himself wondering what other paths he could have taken away from Glass Shard Beach, where the other diverging roads might have led him —

Over the whirr of the elevator, he first hears Stan’s tour-giving voice, and then two other ones — young, but not Dipper and Mabel’s, and out-of-place, but not unfamiliar. He steps out from behind the vending machine and into the gift shop, and the album falls from his hands.

Its spine strikes the floor first, and it falls open to a page with just one picture: two twin boys caught in a candid photo, staring at the camera with identical looks of surprise and confusion. Just a few feet away, the exact same boys stand before Ford, eyes wide and mouths agape like the picture come to life.

Behind them, Stanley grimaces and raises his hands in a gesture that can’t quite make up its mind between apologetic and defensive. “Okay, I know things look weird, but I promise I can… I can kinda explain? So, I was just minding my own business when —”

“Get away from them!” Ford barks. “Now!”

“What?” both Stanleys ask in unison. The young Stanford doesn’t say a word — just stares at Ford’s fingers, as his own reflexively curl into trembling fists at his side. It’s so easy to visualise the wheels turning in his head, the wheels that are shaking and locking up, like the system has been presented with an input it’s not designed to handle.

Ford points at the young twins, and then jabs his finger towards the space behind the gift shop counter. “Kids! Get behind there!”

The boys stare at him, unmoving.

“Now!” Ford barks, and with that, both of them do as they’re told. But young Stanley’s eyes flash with a look of fear for a moment, and Ford’s stomach churns with guilt.

“Stanford, what the hell?” Stan yells, apparently abandoning any sort of secrecy he might have been maintaining on the kids’ behalf. “What are you doing?”

“They’re from a parallel timeline! If either of us touches our counterpart, our dimension will completely collapse in on itself and disintegrate, with us and billions of other lives inside!”

Ford can feel the pounding of his own heart, and he’s not sure whether it’s the adrenaline, or that other drug of the body’s own producing — the sentimentality. “You should have told me about this immediately! What were you doing up here with them, giving them a tour? You could have ended the entire —”

“E-excuse me,” a quiet voice begins, and Ford turns away from Stan to see a small, owl-like pair of eyes peering up from behind the cash register. “But, Stan and… uh, my Stan and your Stan high-fived a couple minutes ago, and nothing happened. The universe didn’t disintegrate.”

“Yeah, we did,” young Stanley adds. He seems reluctant to make eye contact with Ford, and his voice has a slight nervous tremor to it — but Stanley’s never been the type to stand back and leave his brother on his own. “When he said Ford would be the first to die in a horror movie. I thought it was funny, so we high-fived —”

He finally looks up, and stares at older Ford with a resigned guilt in his eyes — just like how he’d look at Filbrick whenever he’d gotten into so much trouble that he knew no apology would be enough to avoid being punished.

“I — I didn’t know he was me then,” young Stanley stammers. “I didn’t know about — about dimensions, or parallel anythings, or… or… I’m sorry, Ford! I wasn’t trying to destroy the world, I promise!” There are tears in his eyes now, and young Stanford has one arm reached out towards his brother, but he’s frozen in place, as if paralyzed by indecision. Older Stan, for his part, is making a point of looking in the complete opposite direction, but his trembling, clenched fists betray everything one needs to know about his feelings.

And older Ford… he does one of the dumbest things he’s ever done in his life. He steps towards the counter, towards the children that could easily destroy the world alongside him and his brother, and places a completely bare, exposed hand on young Stan’s shoulder.

“I know,” he whispers, and all his emotions from when he found the box of keepsakes come rushing back, channeling across time and space and dimensions and reaching one Stanley Pines, but not the Stanley he’d thought he might be reconciling with tonight.

“I’m not mad at you, Stan. I promise.” That’s not entirely true for the older Stan, though a part of Ford honestly wishes more than anything that it could be, but he’s not going to say as much to this poor child, not now. “I shouldn’t have yelled like that. I’m sorry.”

He steps away from the kids, and finally, finally thinks to put on a pair of gloves. He’s afraid to look behind him and see how the older Stan has responded, so he instead awkwardly begins to speak again after a pause.

“But, I… I’m still a bit confused about this whole situation. By all accounts, our dimension shouldn’t have survived that high-five.”

“Maybe we just… traveled through time normally, instead of to another dimension?” young Ford suggests. “And like, we haven’t messed up anything yet that would make us diverge from your timeline?”

“That would explain it,” Ford replies, “if Stan and I had memories of this incident. But while I can only speak for myself, I’m fairly certain I don’t remember anything like this…”

“Time travel, man,” young Stanley mutters, “why you gotta be so complicated…”

“Remember,” Ford repeats to himself. “Oh, of course! That’s it! We have the memory gun!”

“What?” both of the boys ask in unison, just as the older Stan whirls around.

“What the hell kind of idea is that, Sixer?! Are you seriously about to wipe our own minds?”

“I’m just trying to protect us all, you idiot! If we don’t wipe their minds and return them to their own time, they’ll cease being us and become just different enough to destroy the world, in all likelihood! I’ve been dealing with more than enough chances of apocalypse since you reactivated the portal, thank you very much!”

“Oh, and remind me who it was who built that portal in the first place?”

“I told you not to restart it! It was your foolishness, your recklessness, that only exacerbated it all!”

“My recklessness? That’s rich coming from you! I can’t believe I ever thought you would thank me for saving your damn life, when here you are, acting like I’m the —”

Ford has no doubt that Stan is about to unleash some particularly scathing and profanity laced rant without any regard for the children present, but before he can, he’s interrupted by a sudden clattering noise. It takes a moment for either of them to realize that it’s the sound of the gift shop door slamming shut.

“Oh no,” Stan whispers as Ford turns to look behind the counter, and finds the space completely empty.

“Kids?!” he yells. “Kids, come back! I didn’t mean —”

They both rush outside, Ford activating the flashlight on his watch and scanning the surrounding field, but the younger twins are nowhere to be seen.

***

“I’m so sorry,” young Ford tells his brother. “I don’t know what I… what older me was thinking! I’d never wipe your mind!”

The decision to leave had been unanimous and unspoken, and was made the second the older twins had begun to argue again, voices dripping with a lifetime’s worth of unfamiliar bitterness and frustration and hostility. A lot can change in fifty years, but…

But they hadn’t sounded like twins. They’d sounded like strangers, who didn’t understand what the other had become — who didn’t even want to understand, maybe. They hadn’t sounded like Stan and Ford.

“That wasn’t you,” Stan declares with a certainty Ford wishes he could share. “You don’t really think we’ll end up like them, do you? There isn’t anything in the world that could make us like — like that.”

They’re sitting on the forest floor now, backs up against trees. Ford holds the broken time tape in his hands, turning it over and over and over, like eventually it’ll somehow whisk them away again — off to some alternate future where two brothers travel the world together, just as they always thought they would, just as it should be.

“I don’t want to think that’s how we’ll end up,” Ford murmurs. “But how else do you explain everything we just saw?”

“Easy, we musta just messed up the timeline or something! That happens in your nerd stories all the time, doesn’t it?”

Ford sighs. “Even if this wasn’t supposed to happen… how do we fix it?”

Stan starts to reply, but he’s cut off by an older and gruffer voice calling out from deep within the woods: “Kids? Are you there? Look, I know Ford and I said some things we — some things I regret, but you’ve gotta come back!”

From the opposite direction of the older Stanley’s voice, Ford sees the beam of a flashlight hovering between the trees like a ghost.

“Please, kids… I know how I sounded, and I don’t blame you for running away, but I just want to keep you safe, I promise…”

Stan stays still, but his wide and worried eyes make contact with Ford’s, and even in the dying evening light the message is clear: What do we do now?

Ford doesn’t have an answer, but even if he did, he wouldn’t have a chance to share it, because it’s at that moment that it feels like all hell is breaking loose.

First it’s a flash of brilliant blue-white light in the quickly falling darkness that blinds him, and then it’s the sudden clap of an explosion in the eerily peaceful forest that deafens him. He feels a hand on his shoulder, and for a moment he’s afraid he’s somehow brought about the apocalypse that his older self warned of, but the voice that speaks from behind him as he’s lifted into the air is unfamiliar.

“Time Paradox Avoidance Enforcement Squadron! Nobody move!” it barks, and then in a slightly lower voice, it adds: “You four are in a heap of trouble.”

***

Wr ila wkhlu zurqjv, wzr wlphv pxvw fodvk Zkr zloo zlq, wkh ixwxuh ru sdvw?

Thanks for reading, reblogs/feedback are appreciated as always! I have a decent idea of where I want to take this, and barring anything unexpected it should wrap up in one or two more chapters.

[grzdev]

Devlog #4

Time for another one of those!

As expected I can’t work as much on the project now that I’m working full time on something else (I’m having a great time there though and I do need to eat & pay the bills). I won’t apologize for the lack of regularity as I already talked about it on my first message.

I was so terribly tired last devlog that I completely forgot to showcase the tool I made that started the idea of writing something about tools. So here it is, almost a month later, the ‘mirror level’ shortcut:

It’s pretty self-explanatory. The orientation of levels doesn’t have any gameplay impact so I try to rotate them in a way that makes them easy to read as well as easy and/or interesting to access in the open world (considering the surrounding levels and obstacles that could get in the way of the entrance). Sometimes rotation doesn’t do it though and I need a good old mirroring! 

(the rabbit isn’t part of the level, it just snaps to the entrance automatically because the gif was taken in my ‘individual level’ test scene)

That said, it is time to get into the most important part of this devlog:

Playtests!

I’ve dedicated these last weeks to individual playtest sessions using screenshare and live commentary. I’ve had a playtest per day during the first week and then a few more for players who wanted to go further into the game.

These playtests were a way for me to look at the overall structure of the game and see how the beginning sections worked. How fast players learn some of the mechanics and interactions, the difficulty curve, overall understanding of the game, etc.

This was a great experience and the playtests went really well, proving the beginning of the game to be quite solid and the learning process fairly smooth. They helped me fix a few issues here and there as well as get to have a better understanding of the duration of the game.

Most players took from 1h30 to 2h to complete the first area, which means the game might have around 10+ hours of gameplay. This is a lot more than I expected originally and I fear it’s creeping into the “too long” zone, I don’t want playing the game to become some kind of chore. I also have to take in mind that these playtests were exempt of any characters and dialogues, which might extend the playtime even more.

Now let’s talk about one of the most interesting sections of the game to have evolved during these playtests.

This is ‘the escape’, or The Path of the Warrior as some rabbits like to call it. It happens to be the first challenge of the game, linking the player’s very open starting area in the south to the more intricate, level-filled open world. Please ignore the bridge to the right.

The screenshot above shows what the Path looked like during the first few playtests I did. It is not technically the first iteration of it, but we will call it version 1 for the sake of clarity.

As I said, this is the very first challenge of the game. The purpose of this very narrow path is to force the player to think about their movement rather than rotate around randomly. Because of the shape of the path, you have to be wary of your position, or your ears might block you in a certain way or push you down the water.

This first version however was extremely difficult, way too frustrating for players who haven’t even had the chance to really experience the game yet (remember, the levels come after this!). In this version, I essentially ask the player to be in one specific position on their starting spot, any other position will result in falling over or getting stuck, but they have to figure it out for themselves.

Watching players struggle here, I realized that this was way too much to ask of players who are still learning how to move. All I want to do is have the player understand that they must think about how they move, but I shouldn’t place them before such a solid brick wall.

I therefore went and did a revision of this Path for subsequent playtests:

So of course this shape might not mean much to you if you haven’t played the game, but basically it is opening more options to the player. Instead of having to find the one specific position to “solve” the challenge, they now only have to understand the relative way they need to orient their rabbit and can do so from any starting tile.

This proved better, as the openness of the starting zone gives so many options to the player, finding the single solution to a path proved way too demanding.

However, players still had a bit too much trouble for my taste here. You see, in the game the camera in much more zoomed in, so players never see the full path at a time on the screen. This makes predicting your movement very difficult for beginners, and because the path is so narrow, it doesn’t allow for any mistakes, or step-by-step trial and error (which is a big component of this kind of puzzle games).

I therefore went to my third and so far final iteration, which I am quite satisfied with:

This single bloc added in the corner solves a lot of problems!

It actually turns the path in a two steps process. Once you’ve reached this little square, you have room for movement to realign yourself and tackle the second part. You still get to learn the same thing as the previous path, but you’re allowed to get it wrong and not have to restart all over again.

This proved pretty effective among testers, some said they liked how it made them think about their movement, and other barely noticed it was happening. This is exactly the intended kind of reactions for this challenge so I am quite happy with it! Of course that doesn’t mean it’s perfect, and it might get changed multiple times in the future, but it was a good learning and iterating process, that I could hardly have done without playtesters. As the dev, my knowledge of the game makes these kind of beginner challenges extremely trivial;I didn’t realize the actual difficulty of the challenge.

I also removed some of the blocs to the north, as they didn’t serve any purpose, and if a player accidentally rotated on them a bunch of time, it could get hard to enter the first level, which really isn’t supposed to be a challenging part.

Now that these first playtests are done, I’ll focus on fixing some of the issues I’ve noticed and implementing a save system. With the save system in, I’ll more easily be able to have ongoing playtests while working on the game. I really value live playtests, and the screenshare format was really effective, but they are hard to organize and I feel like it’s asking a lot from people. I’ll keep them for new playtesters trying the game for the first time, and I’ll simply update builds for others who’ll be able to record themselves playing whenever they feel like it.

I am still not looking for more playtesters though, the bunch I have is already enough that early in development.

That’s it for this small post about playtests. I hope you enjoyed, thank you to everyone who reads these, I’ll see you in rabbit hell!

[luckybluebirdchaos]

11Minutes

11Minutes is a new unique NFT Play2Earn Game Series,

About 11 Minutes?11Minutes is not a single game, but a series of games where the goal is to achieve a high score within 11 minutes. But let's start from the beginning.The price is $45, which is the average price you would pay for a new game. Of course, we also distribute tickets through competitions or giveaways, which you can find out more about in future posts. Incidentally, a competition was running for the Game Session.11Minutes is the first decentralized crypto blockchain game to hit with a million hit token sale campaign. It is an NFT platform where users can buy, sell and trade NFT for this game. 11Minutes crypto game gives users access to the gaming platform and NFT. It allows the creation of custom tokens in a simple, convenient and flexible way.The 11Minutes platform is an Ethereum DApp that allows users to earn real money by playing games. There are several ways to win, including trading in-game digital assets, betting on other players in PvP mode, or earning passive income at 11Minutes Bank.11Minutes   is the first play2earn game series on Blockchain. You can play new games in each session and win life-changing prizes. 11Minutes Platform (ELVN Coin) is a cryptocurrency Asset that will invade the world in 2022, lunch based on Binance Smart Chain NFT Game which is growing in popularity by the day, with the aim of being used by entrepreneurs, gaming sessions and beginners for utility purposes.The Eleven Minutes Game platform was created to serve the world's largest community – NFT gaming. More than 100,000 people worldwide are enthusiastically supporting ELVN by purchasing and using it. ELVN Coin has strong utility, limited supply, and strong value pillars that support it.After the printing event is finished, the game event starts. You have 24 hours to start your own gaming session and set a high score within 11 minutes. We will reveal the game shortly before the start of each session. Most of the time, it's going to be an endless game that's barely harder than Flappy Bird. You can restart as many times as you like in 11 minutes and break your own high score. The highest rating is entered on the leaderboard along with your wallet address and your NFT Token ID. Based on your position on the leaderboard, you will receive profits that will vary from session to session.Of course there is also jewelry, my personal favorite is “Gods Unchained”. The game is far from over and it still has its own quirks, but as a Hearthstone fan from the start, I had a lot of fun. Angry tongues will obfuscate that it's just a copy of the famous game used on the blockchain. I'm just saying, yes, it's true, but it's well done and just fun! The collection is satisfying thanks to the combination of NFT creations with different material levels, which other trading card games cannot say. At this point, hats off "Gods Unchained".Of course we found other giants like "Axie Infinity" along the way. Axie is really very smart, the NFT idea is used really well here. That leaves a lot of people using their own version of the same system, but let's stick with AxieBreeding is fun and associated with a certain tension, of course certain tactics are also needed here. In my opinion, the game itself is not the best. A large community has formed around him, with scholarships and everything, but it's a bit monotonous. People are still getting it right, as evidenced by the inclusion of the Samsung Next.In all the games we came across, one thing bothered us the most, whether the investment was too high or it just took a really long time to accumulate a few cents. Play2Earn sounds more like a promise that hasn't been kept. In games where you can actually make money, like Axie Infinity, entry is impossible for many players.What are the features offered by 11MINUTE: 11Minutes is the first decentralized crypto blockchain game to hit with a million hit token sale campaign. It is an NFT platform where users can buy, sell and trade NFT for this game. 11Minutes crypto game gives users access to the gaming platform and NFT. It allows the creation of custom tokens in a

simple, convenient and flexible way. The 11Minutes platform is an Ethereum DApp that allows users to earn real money by playing games. There are several ways to win, including trading in-game digital assets, betting on other players in PvP mode, or earning passive income at 11Minutes Bank. Decentralized Crypto Blockchain based gaming platform. Metaverse 11Minutes will have cryptocurrency, digital assets, NFT, and the ability to create games in this blockchain ecosystem. The 11Minutes Game is a decentralized, incognito, secure and transparent cryptocurrency that uses Polygon blockchain technology to provide users with instant and hassle-free payments. Our mission is to create an ecosystem that allows our users to trade assets freely, develop DApps based on the platform using Smart Contracts, pay for goods and accommodation in an efficient way without having to worry about any kind of fraud. A new frontier in technological evolution, Shark of wall street decentralized crypto blockchain is a decentralized blockchain platform that allows you to generate your own coins/tokens and ICOs. The platform also penalizes you for buying, selling, trading, exchanging cryptocurrencies (crypto tokens) and digital assets in a secure environment built on smart contract functionality. This is where we come into play. We want to solve the problem of long and monotonous playing time only for rather small returns and the problem of high entry fees to actually be able to make money. 11Minutes is made up of professionals and experts in their fields who have years of experience in game development and the global crypto market. The team is collaborating on developing online games that global crypto users can enjoy easily and safely. With this collaboration, users can enjoy better games with a powerful architecture that allows them to play and earn money more easily and safely. It is hoped that this best architecture will avoid users from various problems and also provide users with the best platform to play and make money.Detail Token ELVN is designed to be a token that will provide stability and rewards to holders, as well as a token that will be used for payments on the platform. The advantage of owning ELVN tokens is that users can use these tokens for staking or providing liquidity for passive income. Users can manage all their ELVN tokens via a blockchain wallet or any wallet that supports the BEP-20 protocol. ROADMAP📷 Last words Users need a gaming platform where they can play and earn from their gaming activities. And because of that, 11Minutes launched a platform that allows players to play and earn money from the games they play. Users will be able to play and make money easily and safely. And not only that, with the integration of several features, such as liquidity, staking, etc., users can earn extra income apart from the games they play. It is the best platform for users who want to play and get rewards.Learn more:Website:   https://elevenminutes.io/ Twitter:   https://twitter.com/11minutesnftTelegram:  https://t.me/minutes11Dispute:   https://discord.com/invite/cxMzwcVxR6Medium:  https://medium.com/@11MinutesYoutube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBrJpu1t78UTYCDePokeSrwUsername: pausssprofile link ; https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=3357659

[nikmakopi]

11Minutes

11Minutes is a Blockchain Based Play2earn Platform for Users Globally

About 11 Minutes?

11Minutes is not a single game, but a series of games where the goal is to achieve a high score within 11 minutes. But let's start from the beginning.

The price is $45, which is the average price you would pay for a new game. Of course, we also distribute tickets through competitions or giveaways, which you can find out more about in future posts. Incidentally, a competition was running for the Game Session.

11Minutes is the first decentralized crypto blockchain game to hit with a million hit token sale campaign. It is an NFT platform where users can buy, sell and trade NFT for this game. 11Minutes crypto game gives users access to the gaming platform and NFT. It allows the creation of custom tokens in a simple, convenient and flexible way.The 11Minutes platform is an Ethereum DApp that allows users to earn real money by playing games. There are several ways to win, including trading in-game digital assets, betting on other players in PvP mode, or earning passive income at 11Minutes Bank.

11Minutes   is the first play2earn game series on Blockchain. You can play new games in each session and win life-changing prizes. 11Minutes Platform (ELVN Coin) is a cryptocurrency Asset that will invade the world in 2022, lunch based on Binance Smart Chain NFT Game which is growing in popularity by the day, with the aim of being used by entrepreneurs, gaming sessions and beginners for utility purposes.The Eleven Minutes Game platform was created to serve the world's largest community – NFT gaming. More than 100,000 people worldwide are enthusiastically supporting ELVN by purchasing and using it. ELVN Coin has strong utility, limited supply, and strong value pillars that support it.

After the printing event is finished, the game event starts. You have 24 hours to start your own gaming session and set a high score within 11 minutes. We will reveal the game shortly before the start of each session. Most of the time, it's going to be an endless game that's barely harder than Flappy Bird. You can restart as many times as you like in 11 minutes and break your own high score. The highest rating is entered on the leaderboard along with your wallet address and your NFT Token ID. Based on your position on the leaderboard, you will receive profits that will vary from session to session.

Of course there is also jewelry, my personal favorite is “Gods Unchained”. The game is far from over and it still has its own quirks, but as a Hearthstone fan from the start, I had a lot of fun. Angry tongues will obfuscate that it's just a copy of the famous game used on the blockchain. I'm just saying, yes, it's true, but it's well done and just fun! The collection is satisfying thanks to the combination of NFT creations with different material levels, which other trading card games cannot say. At this point, hats off "Gods Unchained".

📷

Of course we found other giants like "Axie Infinity" along the way. Axie is really very smart, the NFT idea is used really well here. That leaves a lot of people using their own version of the same system, but let's stick with Axie

Breeding is fun and associated with a certain tension, of course certain tactics are also needed here. In my opinion, the game itself is not the best. A large community has formed around him, with scholarships and everything, but it's a bit monotonous. People are still getting it right, as evidenced by the inclusion of the Samsung Next.

In all the games we came across, one thing bothered us the most, whether the investment was too high or it just took a really long time to accumulate a few cents. Play2Earn sounds more like a promise that hasn't been kept. In games where you can actually make money, like Axie Infinity, entry is impossible for many players.

This is where we come into play. We want to solve the problem of long and monotonous playing time only for rather small returns and the problem of high entry fees to actually be able to make money.

Location token

📷

📷

information

web -  https://elevenminutes.io/

telegram -  https://t.me/minutes11

same -   https://discord.gg/invite/cxMzwcVxR6

twitter -  https://twitter.com/11minutesnft

youtube -  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBrJpu1t78UTYCDePokeSrw

medium -  https://medium.com/@11Minutes

white paper -   https://elevenminutes.io/11Minutes_Pitch_Deck.pdf

by ; Vichoo

link: : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=2579935

[anapedias]

How To Dance Reggaeton :P

Its sound derives from the reggae en español from panama. There are many free android emulators available on the internet.

Reggaeton Classes Sydney 7 Day Free Trial Latin Dance

Listen and learn how to dance reggaeton

How to dance reggaeton. The dance music app (reggaeton & edm) is an android app and cannot be installed on windows pc or mac directly. Enjoy a playlist with some of my newest reggaeton and dance tracks. If you want to dance reggaeton, start by learning basic solo moves like the step touch, shoulder pop, heel touch, and body wave.

With this app you will learn the basic steps and movements of the dance style reggaeton. I dance reggaeton the same as i dance danchall, so basically its like alot of hiphop steps but moving your hips at the same time. The dance is an activity that is healthy and ideal for.

Listen here hey my love the sin of life i. Reggaeton ( / ˌ r ɛ ɡ eɪ ˈ t oʊ n / or uk / r ɛ ɡ eɪ ˈ t ɒ n / , spanish : And if you know dancing, you can learn the movements more difficult.

Posted by reggaetonblanco at 12:28 pm. Dancing with the reggaeton you'll be able to lose weight while having fun dancing. The genre was invented, shaped and made known in puerto rico where it got its name;

Reggaeton is latin music and dance style. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by american hip hop, latin american, and caribbean music. Also it's dancing, which is lame.

Next, work on more advanced partner moves. A step touch is a popular beginner reggaeton dance move. You'll also be able to learn to dance salsaton, a mix between salsa and reggeton.

Basic steps in 15 min reggaeton choreography. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device. Since this is taught by a white guy it doesn't count.

Doing partner moves step side to side and dip your partner to do a hair flick. Download dance reggaeton apk 1.00 for android. Reggaeton is every colombian’s guilty pleasure, but honestly, it’s extremely catchy and it’s a lot of fun to dance and sing to!

With this app you will learn the basic steps and movements of the dance style reggaeton. Best reggaeton choreography top reggaeton dance videos. Reggaeton is a fun, sexy, and very popular dance style in nightclubs across the world.

Reggaeton is an extremely sensual dance style, so it may shock many people. Videos you watch may be. We are known as yenia and leo and we are convinced that dancing is the best way to exercise and have fun.

And if you know dancing, you can learn the movements more difficult. Dancing reggaeton is our joy and we want you to learn unique moves like the “blender” or “puppy”. I would love to see you all dancing it :) #stefdwillchoreography #stefdwilllink to x full dance with music:

How to dance reggaeton advanced: Vocals include rapping and singing, typically in spanish. You'll also be able to learn to dance salsaton, a mix between salsa and reggeton.

How to dance reggaeton cuquita latin dance workout class 2 reggaeton choreography how to move your body professional reggaeton class, first st. Reggaeton is regarded as one of the most popular music genres in the spanish. Tag me on social media if you learn it!

It is influenced by latin american, hip hop, and caribbean music. 1 & 2 albums and popularized and spread worldwide by the website sandungueo.com. Learning solo moves step side to side to do a step touch.

The dance is an activity that is healthy and ideal for. Many people argue that reggaeton is bad music and its lyrics are offensive, however, whether this is true or not, there’s no denying that reggaeton is extremely popular in colombia and all over latin america. It is a dance that focuses on moving the hips.

Android emulator is a software application that enables you to run android apps and games on a pc by emulating android os. [reɣeˈtoŋ]) is a music genre which has its roots in latin and caribbean music. I only dance reggaeton alone because i have a boyfried who doesnt dance and i dont dance with other guys.

Sandungueo, also known as perreo, is a style of dance and party music associated with reggaeton that emerged in the late 1980s in puerto rico.this style of dancing and music was created by dj blass, hence his sandunguero vol. Dancing with the reggaeton you'll be able to lose weight while having fun dancing. Step out wide to the side with just 1 foot and then bring your second foot to touch the ground next to your first foot.

Don´t be shy, it is. Reggaetonblanco december 30, 2008 at 4:56 pm. Reggaeton originates from puerto rico in 1990s.