#the free version of the app is already pretty great

[wiptw]

Pokémon Stadium Series

Nintendo 64 - Nintendo - 2000 to 2001

You as a Pokémon fan are absolutely fucking spoiled these days. Aside from the mainline games you have spinoffs and fangames offering different experiences, you have entire websites dedicated to documenting everything down to the internal maths of the series, there's no end to the free content you can access with an internet connection between emulators and battle sites like 'Showdown!', and it's now socially acceptable in most circles to be older than 13 and have something with Pikachu's face plastered on it (especially if you're female presenting, especially if your friend group is also infected with the Pokémon hype). Back in my day™ you had almost none of this. You had the anime on Saturday mornings, you had the early run Pokémon licensed merch which WOULD get you called a baby if you continued buying past 10-12, and you had the games. Those sweet, sweet games that indoctrinated a generation of young people into being gamers and awoke a horde of JRPG addicts.

Literally Me

So remember this when I tell you that Pokémon Stadium, both one and two, aren't great games because they do something back then that you can't get today; they're great for what they did back then. So Pokemon Stadium 1&2 were a duology of games from 2000 and 2001 respectively that allowed players to battle Pokemon in 3D, with the addition of some side content such as minigames included to prevent the game from being 100% Pokemon battles. Because otherwise, the game is in fact navigating a series of menus and completing Pokémon battles with 3D models.

Whether it's taking on the gym gauntlets, the marathon of battles in the Pokémon cups, or just free battles with friends and loved ones, 98% of the experience is either selecting Pokémon from a roster of pre-built 'rentals' or transferring them from a saved game using the Transfer Pak, then fighting them in a series of 3D environments. An experience which you can definitely do today using web apps but as I said earlier, we didn't have that.

The peak of Pokémon battles in 2000

So if you're buying Pokémon Stadium (either version really) you're already probably a Pokémon fan right? So that means you have Red/Blue/Yellow/Gold/Silver/Crystal, so why not just play that game and get the full experience? The fun of exploring, talking to NPCs, discovering new and exotic locations? Simple, because in those games battles looked like this

While in Stadium, battles looked like this

If you grew up watching the anime while playing the Gameboy games, there was this special kind of dissonance where you might find yourself saying "Yeah, (for the time) these graphics are RADICAL but I wish I had something closer to these cool Pokémon Battles they had in the anime." As you hide under the covers with your Gameboy Color worm light, nestled in your Ash Ketchum pajamas while you attempt for the 100th time to capture a ditto. Pokémon Stadium was the answer to this dissonance, providing you with vibrant 3D graphics unlike anything you'd ever seen before; bringing Pokémon to life in a way that would be unmatched until Colosseum came out during the Gamecube era.

So, to actual mechanics, you play both games pretty similarly; by building a team of Pokémon (either on your handheld or by using the rental mons the game provides) and take part in a series of battles to become the ultimate battle master. To use your own Pokémon, you'd need to use the aforementioned 'Transfer Pak' to plug in a copy of Red/Blue/Yellow (for 1) or Gold/Silver/Crystal (for 2) with a game saved to the cartridge; otherwise the rental Pokémon covered all released Pokémon (except for some hidden ones) allowing you to build your dream team, sans a few caveats here and there.

Evolved Pokémon have better stats but worse moves, while weaker Pokémon tend to have better moves to compensate

In terms of WHERE you can battle, there's two choices: Either in the Gym Leader Castle, or the Tournaments held in the center of the map on either game. Either way, the game will then have you battle through a series of 3v3 matches versus a set number of trainers who will also select 3 random mons from their full team of six.

A bit bare bones, but there's some spice to how things are run. For one, the rental system was a huge thing for us younger players back in the day. Even if you had the games some Pokémon were hard to catch, had evolution requirements some players couldn't complete (like the trade-mons), or were locked to a version you didn't have. The rental mons give you a list of every Pokémon (some exceptions, but not many) and then lets you build your dream team. Sure, you can't set their moves, EVs, IVs, and it's the era before abilities and natures but I CAN HAVE A MEOWTH/PERSIAN ON MY TEAM. Do you know what I had to do as a child to have this Pokémon outside of Stadium? I had to find someone in the American South who also enjoyed Pokémon, hoped they had Blue instead of Red, hoped they had a link cable, then get them to agree to a trade despite both of us being children (and therefore, objectively terrible) which likely meant giving away a rare Pokémon in exchange for what amounted to common garbage in their game because it was Version fucking Exclusivity™ and everyone seemed to know that meant you'd do anything to get that one fucking Pokémon you wanted.

In the handheld games, if you wanted to build your dream team then likely you'd have to put in some more effort than other games of the time would've required of you. With Stadium, your dreams come true, and if you already have that dream team you can just import them to fight in glorious 3D. Circumventing the fact that rental Pokémon are kinda terrible overall.

Don't feel like building? The challenge cup mode that gives you randomized team comps that has it's own charm (for masochists)

Not to say all of them were bad but construct a normal distribution of 'Good' to 'Bad' picks then that graph is gonna skew left so hard you'd be forgiven for thinking it was just a straight line. To keep every choice 'viable' Pokémon rentals were balanced around stats and moves. More powerful evolved Pokémon and Pokémon with high Base Stat Totals (BST) were given weaker moves and first form and low BST Pokémon were given generally better moves. Charizard might have better stats than Charmeleon and Charmander but his only fire type move is going to be something like Fire Spin. Conversely, Charmander might have Fire Blast but his stats are gonna make him an easy target for the computer's pokemon, which are not bound to the same builds as the rental mons you're using.

Once your team is assembled, then you're off to battle trainer after trainer after trainer with beautifully scored (for the Nintendo 64) soundtracks giving you an unearned sense of importance every step of the way. Battles themselves are conducted with a weird, but functional control layout where A and B access sub menus you then check with the R button before finalizing with the c-buttons, which on original hardware or a USB N64 controller is fine but on emulation with a more modern controller like Logitech, can be a little nerve wracking as you worry about whether your 'up' input on the control stick was up enough for the game or if you accidentally drifted right or left using an unintended move.

fun fact: the name of imported Pokémon affects their coloration in Stadium

Battles are also largely regulated by (at the time) tournament standard rules. Little and Pokecup have level restrictions, and all three non-random cups include clauses for sleep, held items, and repeat Pokémon. Additionally, in any cup if you win the round with all 3 Pokémon still in tact, you're granted a continue; meaning you can retry the battle if you lose. Additionally, there is no 'draw' outcome in these games. Use a move like Explosion or Selfdestruct and the game will register it as your loss on your final Pokémon, regardless of whether you took down the opposing fighter with you or not.

You'll be doing a LOT of back-to-back fights here against trainers with varied team comps, but even with over 246 Pokémon in the available potential lineup you'll get tired fast of fighting. This is, however, slightly mitigated by the 3v3 nature of the matches but even so be ready to here the same Pokémon noises, watch the same effects play out, and wait for the same health bars to tick down over and over as you claw your way to the spot of Pokémon Master.

The art style of non-battle scenes like the main map and minigame plaza have that nice, 90's charm to them as well.

If you do get tired of battling it out, then Stadium 1 and 2 both offer minigames for players to partake in. Either in a tournament format or by using the free-play browser, players are able to take part in a multitude of different Mario Party-esque (without the hand burning) minigames featuring the Pokémon as stars. Minigames consist of stick twirling, button mashing, and point collecting all while controlling fan favorite Pokémon such as Togepi, Eevee, Scyther, and Pichu with no real rhyme or reason behind why these game exist aside from a amusement park theming the minigame zones have for their icons and menus.

You won't get a real explanation as to why you're racing Donphans, cutting logs as Scythers and Pinsirs, or playing Simon Says with a bunch of Clefairy, but you don't really need that either. The games are fun, the models are charming, and watching Clefairy get smacked in the head for each wrong input brings me a level of joy I should probably talk about with my therapist. You won't likely spend hours in this mode, but it's a nice breather from the onslaught of battles otherwise.

fun fact: I still won't talk to some people because of the outcomes to Rampage Rollout over two decades ago. You know who you are.

Additionally there's a quiz minigame separate from the main selection of minigames with easy/normal/hard difficulty selections. Players compete to see who can be the first to get a number of questions correct before anyone else based on facts about the Pokémon (typing, size, silhouette, etc) or facts about the game (where you can find things in the game, names of routes and towns, names of figures in the game).

It's not the most challenging on easy or normal, but playing on hard the game will try to screw you with trick questions so playing with others becomes a balance of "do I let the question play out, or attempt to steal it before someone else can answer correctly?"

Sometimes even playing the game won't prepare you for how out of pocket the questions can get

The real advantage of 2 over 1 is that, in addition to minigames, the game has the trainer academy; a kind of in-depth battle tutorial to teach players not only the basics of Pokémon fighting, but also some secrets as well

You can learn about held items, a feature new to the second generation, as well as participate in mock battles to demonstrate the materials you've been reading and quizzed on. Some of this information for the time too was obscure or hidden knowledge, like the fact that using Defense Curl before using Rollout would boost the damage significantly or that using Stomp on an opponent who used minimize would double the damage.

Some type matchups just make sense, like Ground v Electric.

Overall though what really makes this game is the presentation. The soundtrack does a great job selling the feeling Nintendo wants you to experience, climbing the ladder in a tournament or the Gym Leaders Castle makes you feel powerful, and the little details on top of it all just tie it together in a nice package.

The fights, for example, are also narrated by "The Announcer". A bombastic voice shouting over every detail of a fight. When you score a crit, when you apply a status effect, even using certain moves will get the announcer loudly narrating each detail like a Pokémon prize fight. Seeing the ground rip apart when you use Earthquake is only half the charm, the other half comes from that man yelling in your ears "A DEVESTATING EARTHQUAKE ATTACK!". Clearing gyms or clearing opponents in one of the cups grants you gym badges, a dream for any child growing up on the handheld classics or watching the anime who wished they too could earn shiny bits of metal that gave them an inflated sense of importance.

I would literally kill everyone I came across if it'd get me a real life Zephyr Badge.

Stadium 1 and 2 aren't evergreen classics. They're stuck in Gens 1 and 2 respectively, the roster of Pokémon while impressive is largely useless and makes collecting trophies way harder than it has to be, and the games were made before things like abilities and double battles were introduced, leading to the Pokémon battling game missing out on the generation of Pokémon that made battling more fun (Revolution doesn't count, Revolution is dead to me and disappoints me more than I disappoint myself.)

But for the time especially, it gave fans an opportunity to experience a form of Pokémon more advanced than what the handhelds could output. It was a window into a world of potential that wouldn't be truly fulfilled until arguably the 3DS era of Pokémon released, and gave fans a fun little romp handcrafted for them at every twist and turn. Whether you were a gamer or you enjoyed the anime, there was something here for you.

Overall: 7/10 Sound: 8/10 (for the time) Graphics: 9/10 (for the time) Memorable Moments: Stadium 1: Hearing about Mewtwo, thinking he was an urban legend, then finding out he wasn't Stadium 2: Finally beating the elite 4 using only rental mons.

[dontmakemechooseanli]

Chapter One- When the World Ends

Poly! Love and Deep Space LIs X MC!Reader

Words: 2.1k

Major Character Death, Grief and Canon Divergence (kinda you’ll see)

Okay after a pretty great reception on the imagine I spewed from my brain last night I wrote I have put together a better more edited version of the idea. Plan is for this to be more romantic than depressing but I love angst. All the comments are read and loved and your reblogs bring me immense joy and writing power so I appreciate you!!!

When the day started there had been no hint that the world would be ending. But when was there ever? The citizens of Linkon had lived through the apocalypse once and while that should prepare you- it hadn’t prepared them.

Jenna had given you a last minute assignment to check out a small metaflux disturbance in a residential park not far from the Bloomsdale district.

“It’s probably nothing but better safe than sorry. Xavier has left for the evening but I am sure he wouldn’t mind to come back if you want me to call him-”

“No worries, Captain. I’ll call if it gets to be too much- promise!”

You hadn’t even gotten the chance. It was a small metaflux disturbance. Nothing too difficult to handle and quickly dispatched without incident. You had even been excited to text your loves about how your weekend stretched out in front of you. That the last thing you had done at the end of a long week was settle an easy disturbance- safely and, more importantly in their opinions, without getting yourself hurt.

You could picture them so clearly: Xavier already camped on your couch- head lolling to one side, delivery app open and forgotten on his phone as the text pinged him. Rafayel spamming pictures and videos of the newest seagull choir demanding your attendance at the Concert of a Century tomorrow. Caleb’s reply- delayed but excited for you- “My ever capable Sunny Apple- protecting the peace! Proud of you Pips- don’t stay up too late! :)” Sylus always called immediately- the man always preferred hearing you but you knew it was also his way of making sure you made it home safe. You could practically see the subtle eye roll Zayne would give you over video call later that evening- “You have to stop rushing into these things, what if something happened?”

But you never made it home that night.

The last thing you felt was the strong buzz of energy and a sharp pain in your chest. You clutched your chest and choked on your air- you couldn’t breathe. You panicked.

“Distress Activated Emergency Protocol Engaged. Abnormal Vitals Detected. Emergency Services Deployed. Please Wa-”

The world went dark.

Zayne had been on his feet for 9 hours when his pager began to beep the code blue signals.

Friday’s were a heavy surgery day for the cardiac surgeon- the last day of scheduled surgeries and preparing mentally for a weekend of emergencies. The residents were almost always exhausted and antsy by this point in the week so Dr. Zayne had to be in perfect form to ensure all his patients were receiving the best care possible.

He was finishing his floor rounds with a small bounce in his step. Dr. Greyson was on call Sunday meaning that he was looking at a glorious day off with you. It would be the first in a while that you both had an entirely free day together and in normal fashion it was booked with restaurant visits and a trip to a newly opened arcade to “scope out the competition” (aka you needed to get a lay of the land to figure out who you would need to beat to ensure you had the high scores on the fps stalls).

He was strolling into his office- phone already in his hand to text you about your day when the beeping began.

Code Blue: Y/N L/N

Li Room SR 2A

He didn’t even think he just moved.

If you asked him what the next fifteen minutes of his life had entailed he would have no answer for you. He had, run (probably- he was panting by the time he) scrubbed in (probably- his hands were gloved and taped, his hair capped and his gown on when he) held your heart in his hand.

He had never done this before.

No, he had.

He had.

He had never done this successfully.

He was only a man. A man with a needle and thread and tears in his eyes. Greyson was home and there was no time for ethical considerations that would come later. Would come after.

8:52 PM

He doesn’t know when he ended up on the floor. His breaths coming raggedly through his mask, his hands shaking tugging it off, his gown slipping and his evol slowly spiraling out of his control.

The air frigid as Yvonne leans her hand down to attempt to help him up.

He doesn’t even see her.

He sees you. Small, missing teeth- words slurring as you cry. Your popsicle had melted. He had never felt the need to help another like he did at that moment. His small hands had grabbed yours and with a single touch the blue sweet treat had refrozen.

You had looked at him like he saved the world- like he was a hero.

He hears you- slightly bigger now, all your teeth grown in, swinging gently on the swing explaining to him why your family was overbearing.

“It’s a heart thing. It’s weird? When the world ended my heart should’ve stopped. It didn’t though. Takes more than that to stop me.”

“Isn’t it scary?”

“Not really. I mean it makes me cooler I think. At least that’s what Caleb says.”

You- grown and beautiful and smiling- meeting him again. Demanding his time, his attention, his care. He feels himself falling for you.

Over and over and over again.

“Dr. Zayne. You need to call it. We’ve passed the standard time of care. I can call-”

Beep…… beep….beep…beep

Everyone in the room stilled. Then in a blink of an eye Zayne was up.

When the time for questions to be answered this would be the only thing everyone could agree on. Your heart had stopped. Your brain function has ceased. You had gone a full 30 minutes without breathing on your own when it happened.

Your eyes flew open. A blinding light, a sterile room, and a teary face loomed over you.

You smiled, eyes widening feeling sad for this sad man. You raised your hand which he quickly grabbed.

“Don’t cry. It’ll be okay.”

“Y/N- do you know where you are? Do you know what happened?”

You hummed in response. “Hm? No. I don’t know. What is going on Mister? Don't be sad.”

The man’s eyes widened and you heard the others bustling around and the man was taken from your side. A kind eyed woman slipped a mask over your face-

“It’s okay Honey. Everything is okay. Now count with me. One… Two… Three”

The consult room looked like the punch line of a terrible joke.

Xavier- usually nearly glowing- had his shirt on backwards and no shoes on. He had simply appeared outside the hospital moments after the initial alarms on his Hunters Watch began. His presence seemed to darken the already dim room.

Rafayel was pacing and had been a flurry of movement since the sharp pain in his chest that was accompanied by a slight glowing red that still peeked out from under his unbutton shirt. Normally he was content to sit and stew (you had always called it pouting but he was contemplating thank you very much) the nervous energy that flowed through him was only going to be extinguished one of two ways and the only socially acceptable version was to allow the man to pace the perimeter of the room.

Sylus was a barely contained ball of rage- all the money and influence in the world and no one would tell him what was happening. The doctor will be in there soon. The nurse had not taken it well when he had tried to explain that half of his soul was ripped out and he would make it everyone’s problem very soon if someone didn’t fucking answer him.

Caleb was the last one to arrive at the hospital. His sleek black Colonel uniform and steady footsteps passing through the doorway in a manner that seemed to suck the air from the room. His eyes wide and frantic, the vein directly under his purple irises jumping in time with his frenetic pulse.

The room was silent- even Rafayel’s ceaseless pacing was halted momentarily. The men were all aware of each other. All aware of how entangled each other were with each other through you. When imagining how they would inevitably meet most had pictured a dinner table or a brawl not an Akso Hospital Patient Consult room.

Caleb, always the force to be reckoned with, broke the silence first.

“Where is she- I swear I’ll-”

The door abruptly opens, knocking directly into the Colonel’s outstretched hand. Zayne- looking uncharacteristically shaken and haunted- peers at the strange group. Faces he had seen through Moments posts, had heard stories of, had always known he would meet (or see again in the case of his once dead childhood friend) all stared at him in various stages of grief, duress and anger.

“Zayne.”

“She’s alive.”

There is an exhale.

Xavier relaxes slightly into the pleather chair he is sat in- rustling his legs which had become nearly molded to the fabric as he had sat as still as a statue for what felt like centuries. The chaotic energy that buzzed around Sylus dissipates slightly. Air returns to the room on Caleb’s exhale. Rafayel’s shoulders release and his pacing shifts into an unsteady sway back and forth like he may pass out.

“Great.” Sylus purrs, standing to his full height, his practiced facade snapping securely into place, taking a steady step towards the door. “Where is sh-”

“She doesn’t remember who she is. She doesn’t know where she is. She died. And then she- well- she came back. We don’t understand.”

Zayne feels detached. He feels a million miles away. He was trying to stay strong- to find a logical explanation for everything. But deep down he felt his entire reason for being crumbling. He had spent his whole life working so he could save you (from melting popsicles, from himself and his unstable evol, from your own heart) and he failed. He had worked for over a decade so he could hold your heart safely in his hands. And he failed. The only test that ever truly matter and he failed.

Xavier has lost her again. He had waited over 200 years to see her again. He was able to love her openly and freely only for her to be stripped from him again. Was the cosmic justice for leaving? Was this the timeline righting itself? How many times can his tired soul bear the brunt of watching you fall in love with him again? How many more times can he take it?

Sylus felt the wound in his chest reopen. He had not ever allowed himself to think of the pain you must have suffered after killing him. After he had changed your fate- he had taken the choice from you because it was not one he could make himself. Better to take himself from the equation altogether- to rewrite fate himself. He had only just gotten you back- his little sorceress with fire in her veins and spitfire on her tongue- and now he would start over again? Would you be able to forgive him again? Would you be disgusted by him again?

Caleb bends at the waist and falls to his knees, clutching his stomach. He is going to be sick. He feels the bile tickle at his throat as he fights his own mind, as he wrestles for control of his emotions. He has to be strong- but he doesn’t know if he can be strong for the both of you anymore. Can he hold on with his fractured and broken mind to the memories of you happy and free and in love? If he forgets will there be anyone who remembers left? He has done this before but he has forgotten what this feels like- this nauseous grief that nearly resets him. But he can't because you need him. Don’t you? You need him right?

Everyone is so solidly grief stricken for a moment they don’t pay attention to Rafayel’s easy smile and his lack-a-daisical saunter out of the room, passing a kneeling Caleb and a wheezing Zayne. They were only brought into focus when they hear a soft scoff and quiet words:

“Amateurs. What, like it’s your first time? Expected better from the others her heart had chosen but looks like I’ll take the lead on this one. Thanks guys.”

He is out of the room and down the hallway before anyone can stop him; humming softly to himself.

“Hi, cutie. It’s gonna rain tonight better grab another blanket for ya.”

A/N: wrote this in 2 long sessions so the next part will hopefully be up soon as I sort of already know what the plan is for that.

If you don’t like lead X lead or polycule situations heads up that is where this is leading sooooooo

In this house we know all of their hearts are big enough for all this love

[maryellencarter]

YouTube Downloads through VLC: Step by Step

[EDIT: I've been receiving reports for some time now that this method no longer works. I suspect something about the switch to YouTube Music as a separate app, and/or YouTube's ongoing attempts to force Chrome use, broke the compatibility with the Github version of youtube.luac -- I haven't managed to look into whether there's an updated working version out there yet. Sorry!]

So this guide to easily downloading off YouTube is super helpful, but there's enough important information hidden in the reblogs that (with the permission of OP @queriesntheories ) I'm doing a more step-by-step version.

Please note: these downloads will be in YouTube quality. My test video download is coming through at 360p, even though the video I'm starting from is set to 720p. They're legible, but they won't look great on a TV. For high visual quality, you'll want to seek out other methods.

This guide is written for Windows 10, since that's what I can test on. It's been tested on Firefox, Chrome, and Edge (which is a Chromium browser, so the method should work in other Chromium browsers too). So far, I haven't tracked down a way to use this download method on mobile.

BASIC KNOWLEDGE:

I'll try to make this pretty beginner-friendly, but I am going to assume that you know how to right-click, double-click, navigate right-click menus, click-and-drag, use keyboard shortcuts that are given to you (for example, how to use Ctrl+A), and get the URL for any YouTube video you want to download.

You'll also need to download and install one or more programs off the internet using .exe files, if you don't have these programs already. Please make sure you know how to use your firewall and antivirus to keep your computer safe, and google any names you don't recognize before allowing permission for each file. You can also hover your mouse over each link in this post to make sure it goes where I'm saying it will go.

YOU WILL NEED:

A computer where you have admin permissions. This is usually a computer you own or have the main login on. Sadly, a shared computer like the ones at universities and libraries will not work for this.

Enough space on your computer to install the programs listed below, if you don't have them already, and some space to save your downloaded files to. The files are pretty small because of the low video quality.

A simple text editing program. Notepad is the one that usually comes with Windows. If it lets you change fonts, it's too fancy. A notepad designed specifically to edit program code without messing it up is Notepad++, which you can download here.

A web browser. I use Firefox, which you can get here. Chrome or other Chrome-based browsers should also work. I haven't tested in Safari.

An Internet connection fast enough to load YouTube. A little buffering is fine. The downloads will happen much faster than streaming the entire video, unless your internet is very slow.

VLC Media Player, which you can get here. It's a free player for music and videos, available on Windows, Android, and iOS, and it can play almost any format of video or audio file that exists. We'll be using it for one of the central steps in this process.

If you want just the audio from a YouTube video, you'll need to download the video and then use a different program to copy the audio into its own file. At the end of this post, I'll have instructions for that, using a free sound editor called Audacity.

SETUP TO DOWNLOAD:

The first time you do this, you'll need to set VLC up so it can do what you want. This is where we need Notepad and admin permissions. You shouldn't need to repeat this process unless you're reinstalling VLC.

If VLC is open, close it.

In your computer's file system (File Explorer on Windows), go to C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\lua\playlist

If you're not familiar with File Explorer, you'll start by clicking where the left side shows (C:). Then in the big main window, you'll double-click each folder that you see in the file path, in order - so in this case, when you're in C: you need to look for Program Files. (There will be two of them. You want the one without the x86 at the end.) Then inside Program Files you're looking for VideoLAN, and so forth through the whole path.

Once you're inside the "playlist" folder, you'll see a lot of files ending in .luac - they're in alphabetical order. The one you want to edit is youtube.luac which is probably at the bottom.

You can't edit youtube.luac while it's in this folder. Click and drag it out of the playlist folder to somewhere else you can find it - your desktop, for instance. Your computer will ask for admin permission to move the file. Click the "Continue" button with the blue and yellow shield.

Now that the file is moved, double-click on it. The Microsoft Store will want you to search for a program to open the .luac file type with. Don't go to the Microsoft Store, just click on the blue "More apps" below that option, and you'll get a list that should include your notepad program. Click on it and click OK.

The file that opens up will be absolutely full of gibberish-looking code. That's fine. Use Ctrl+A to select everything inside the file, then Backspace or Delete to delete it. Don't close the file yet.

In your web browser, go to https://github.com/videolan/vlc/blob/master/share/lua/playlist/youtube.lua

Click in the part of the Github page that has a bunch of mostly blue code in it. Use Ctrl+A to select all of that code, Ctrl+C to copy it, then come back into your empty youtube.luac file and use Ctrl+P to paste the whole chunk of code into the file.

Save the youtube.luac file (Ctrl+S or File > Save in the upper left corner of the notepad program), then close the notepad program.

Drag youtube.luac back into the folder it came from. The computer will ask for admin permission again. Give it permission.

Now you can close Github and Notepad. You're ready to start downloading!

HOW TO DOWNLOAD:

First, get your YouTube link. It should look something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123DEF45 If it's longer, you can delete any extra stuff after that first set of letters and numbers, but you don't have to.

Now open VLC. Go to Media > Open Network Stream and paste your YouTube link into the box that comes up. Click Play. Wait until the video starts to play, then you can pause it if you want so it's not distracting you during the next part.

(If nothing happens, you probably forgot to put youtube.luac back. coughs)

In VLC, go to Tools > Codec Information. At the bottom of the pop-up box you'll see a long string of gibberish in a box labeled Location. Click in the Location box. It won't look like it clicked properly, but when you press Ctrl+A, it should select all. Use Ctrl+C to copy it.

In your web browser, paste the entire string of gibberish and hit Enter. Your same YouTube video should come up, but without any of the YouTube interface around it. This is where the video actually lives on YouTube's servers. YouTube really, really doesn't like to show this address to humans, which is why we needed VLC to be like "hi I'm just a little video player" and get it for us.

Because, if you're looking at the place where the video actually lives, you can just right-click-download it, and YouTube can't stop you.

Right-click on your video. Choose "Save Video As". Choose where to save it to - I use my computer's built-in Music or Videos folders.

Give it a name other than "videoplayback" so you can tell it apart from your other downloads.

The "Save As Type" dropdown under the Name field will probably default to MP4. This is a good versatile video format that most video players can read. If you need a different format, you can convert the download later. (That's a whole other post topic.)

Click Save, and your video will start downloading! It may take a few minutes to fully download, depending on your video length and internet speed. Once the download finishes, congratulations! You have successfully downloaded a YouTube video!

If you'd like to convert your video into a (usually smaller) audio file, so you can put it on a music player, it's time to install and set up Audacity.

INSTALLING AUDACITY (first time setup for audio file conversion):

You can get Audacity here. If you're following along on Windows 10, choose the "64-bit installer (recommended)". Run the installer, but don't open Audacity at the end, or if it does open, close it again.

On that same Audacity download page, scroll down past the installers to the "Additional resources". You'll see a box with a "Link to FFmpeg library". This is where you'll get the add-on program that will let Audacity open your downloaded YouTube video, so you can tell it to make an audio-only file. The link will take you to this page on the Audacity support wiki, which will always have the most up-to-date information on how to install the file you need here.

From that wiki page, follow the link to the actual FFmpeg library. If you're not using an adblocker, be careful not to click on any of the ads showing you download buttons. The link you want is bold blue text under "FFmpeg Installer for Audacity 3.2 and later", and looks something like this: "FFmpeg_5.0.0_for_Audacity_on_Windows_x86.exe". Download and install it. Without this, Audacity won't be able to open MP4 files downloaded from YouTube.

CONVERTING TO AUDIO:

Make sure you know where to find your downloaded MP4 video file. This file won't go away when you "convert" it - you'll just be copying the audio into a different file.

Open up Audacity.

Go to File > Open and choose your video file.

You'll get one of those soundwave file displays you see in recording booths and so forth. Audacity is a good solid choice if you want to teach yourself to edit soundwave files, but that's not what we're here for right now.

Go to File > Export Audio. The File Name will populate to match the video's filename, but you can edit it if you want.

Click the Browse button next to the Folder box, and choose where to save your new audio file to. I use my computer's Music folder.

You can click on the Format dropdown and choose an audio file type. If you're not sure which one you want, MP3 is the most common and versatile.

If you'd like your music player to know the artist, album, and so forth for your audio track, you can edit that later in File Manager, or you can put the information in with the Edit Metadata button here. You can leave any of the slots blank, for instance if you don't have a track number because it's a YouTube video.

Once everything is set up, click Export, and your new audio file will be created. Go forth and listen!

[corgitation]

resources I'm using for studying japanese

vocab/kanji:

wanikani: I use daily reviews to learn kanji and vocabulary using the kanji. This resource isn't free, but this has really helped me stay consistent. I like the UI and find the content helpful

renshuu: this is my favorite mobile app, I use this to learn JLPT-specific vocab and kanji. I use the free version

mochi srs: the best flashcard app! The UI is super easy to use and has lots of shortcuts for making and reviewing cards fast. You can easily create and edit templates for cards, and have cards reference other cards. I have a deck for kanji and one for vocab, and my vocab template references any kanji that are used in the vocab tab. There's also super easy furigana, lots of features for japanese.

grammar:

bunpro: really good for grammar, this has lessons for each grammar rule and divides them into groups through popular textbooks and their own groupings for jlpt grammar

genki textbooks: pretty standard textbook for learning vocab, grammar, and kanji

genki study resources: great site with activities for all the genki lessons

tokini andy genki reviews: extra practice for genki lessons, explains some grammar more clearly, introduces new dialogue.

reading:

japanese folktales for language learners and japanese stories for language learners: folktales are a really great way to learn, because these references come up a lot. I've seen references to urashimo taro in evangelion, and the new pokemon dlc is a reference to momotaro. This book has the japanese on one page and english on the other, with vocabulary after the chapter. (here and here on natively)

animal crossing new leaf tobimori: I've recently started playing this and it's so much fun. I'm already really familiar with the game so I don't depend on any of the text for playing, and it's good for more common expressions, differences in speech between polite/casual/male/female etc. I have a post describing how I'm able to play this here. (here on lingotrack)

listening:

japanese with shun: big fan of this podcast, it's free on spotify and youtube, which scripts on patreon. Each podcast is about a short subject, and they're all in japanese. (here on lingotrack)

learn japanese pod: some free podcasts on spotify with more paid content, this one is both about japanese and in japanese. It will teach phrases for specific scenarios, like ordering sushi or refusing situations.

tracking:

lingotrack: I started time tracking a couple of months ago and it's been so helpful! This site is great for quickly logging study activities and seeing how the time stacks up. It helps me identify which areas I'm spending enough time in and which ones are lacking. I also use the library section for keeping track of my japanese native content

toggl: I use this online stopwatch for tracking the time for different study activities so I can log them in lingotrack. It also has a browser extension which I usually use

finding native content:

natively: excellent site for finding comprehensible input content and tracking days read. This site has a lot of reviews for books so it makes it easy to find books that are on level. You can follow me here

lingotrack: collections in lingotrack provides user generated groups of content so that you can create an see groupings of native material content. There aren't as many reviews for material here as there are for natively though, so I find material there and then add them here. You can follow me here

other:

tofugu: this blog has everything. Use it for finding reviews on japanese language resources, learning grammar rules, etc.

jisho: dictionary app, I use it as my source of truth for vocab and kanji meanings

heisig's remembering the kanji: a different approach to learning kanji, this focuses on first teaching the simplest kanji and building from ones you already know. This is different from wanikani, which will make sure you know (its own) particles before introducing the kanji that uses them, but focuses on learning kanji and vocab in priority order. I'm listing it here because I don't use it much anymore

deepl: ai translator, works much better than google translate. You can also put sentences in chatgpt and ask it for broken down explanations. Take any translations from ai with a grain of salt - they are great tools but do not ensure accuracy

edit 3/10/2024: added tracking and native content sections, added links to lingotrack and natively for media

[crabsnpersimmons]

Hello there!

I'd like to know your advice on drawing tablets?

As in, what do you use for your digital art? Is there any you suggest?

I'm planning on getting one, but there are so many options, and I'd like to know your opinion and preference.

Thank you ^^

hi anon! thanks for the question!

i draw with a samsung galaxy tab s7!

BUT if this is your first time drawing digitally, then it's a good idea to test out if you like it with cheaper options first (so you don't drop a whole lot of money on a hobby/medium of art you don't enjoy)

some suggestions:

if you have a smart phone, try drawing with your finger using free to use drawing apps like ibispaint X or HiPaint (i recommend HiPaint cuz the UI is a lot simpler and less overwhelming, but both have a good selection of tools. i wanna say ibispaint has better text tools tho and there's A LOT more tutorials and resources online) drawing digitally with your finger is different from drawing digitally with a pen AND drawing traditionally, but this is a good way to familiarize yourself with digital art tools. a very simple entry point if you already have a smart phone.

if you don't want to draw with your finger (understandable, i personally couldn't stand it) you can try simple drawing tablets, which are the tablets that you plug into your computer/laptop, come with a pen, but they don't have a screen you draw directly on. they're actually a lot more affordable nowadays (i saw some for under $50 CAD, which is WILD), so that’s a good starting option if you want to draw with a pen. with a pen, you have more control with line weights than you do with your finger, but it takes practice to get used to. it also takes some getting use to drawing on a tablet and looking at your monitor, but this is where i started haha. i still have my old bamboo wacom create drawing tablet. but nowadays, other brands like xp-pen and huion are very comparable to wacom, so definitely consider getting a cheaper one to try out first. of course, if you go with a drawing tablet, you'll need an art program on your computer. i've used photoshop and clip studio paint and they're very good, but probably overwhelming for people who are new to digital art (they are loaded with tools and you have to really familiarize yourself with the menus and everything). there are probably simpler options available... but i'm not as familiar with them. oh wait, i think there are some drawing tablets that can also connect with your smart phone too nowadays. man, that's so cool. that's probably a better option instead of purchasing photoshop or clip studio paint right off the bat.

if you REALLY want a screen display experience, try a cheaper general tablet. iPads are a popular option if you're comfortable with the Apple ecosystem (i'm not 😅) but they can be pricey PLUS you have to buy the Apple pen separately. for Android, I'm pretty sure even the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is a solid choice and it comes with a pen unlike an iPad. the SPen is built with Wacom tech, so you know it's quality. and while iPad has Procreate, HiPaint is available for Android and it's basically a Procreate clone (i explain more about HiPaint here) otherwise, ibisPaint X is also good and infinite painter is probably the most sophisticated free to use drawing app i've encountered (sophisticated as in it does a pretty good job at imitating traditional media in their brushes. it's cool, but the free version is very limited).

also if you like watching videos, Brad Colbow and Teoh on Tech on YouTube are great resources. they specifically review tech from an artist's perspective.

why i suggest testing it out is because if you're used to drawing traditionally, then switching to digital is a different experience. some artists can't get used to drawing digitally, and that's fine. that's why it's a good idea to test it out with a cheaper option first to see if you like it and to give yourself time to familiarize yourself with drawing apps/programs. i actually kinda hated drawing digitally at first. i didn't have the same level of control that i was used to with drawing traditionally. and overtime i made a lot of bad habits with my digital art that i had to unlearn by switching back to traditional art for a couple years (some bad habits like: relying on the Undo button to make "perfect" lines; trying to draw really fast because the pen glides over the screen unlike a pencil has friction against paper) so... give it a try and just let yourself have fun. don't worry about making anything perfect, just have fun!

[rye-kin]

very sorry if someone has already asked this but...what brushes do you use (if u are willing to share)

OMG!

I actually have an ask waiting in my inbox asking a similar question but yeah… I drafted a response and tumblr crashed and didn’t save so…I’m writing on notes!

I use procreate so all of the brushes you see me use are *mostly* the default brushes from the app! Lately I’ve been using “fine tip” a lot. It has no stabilization, and because it’s so thin it’s very free to doodle with and goes smoothly. Other brushes (that I use for painting for example) are almost all calligraphy brushes such as chalk, streaks (and pretty often for coloring) water pen.

The brushes in the “drawing” category are also great, and I use them interchangeably with calligraphy brushes to obtain more texture when I paint. Nikko Rull and other “painting” brushes are also great for bigger sections. I also made a few brushes myself and have brush packs and brushes exchanged w/ friends. (Kyba and I exchanged brushes as well and they are great for coloring).

Back in 2021 I also made a sort G pen, “gesinski ink” rip off (which you guys have probably seen pretty often in my doodles!) and that was trying to recreate brushes I saw in professional art. It’s my own brush and I have since recreated it as the original was destroyed back in 2022 or smth <\3. This new version is just smoother (I will link it if I ever make a brush pack lol). Lastly, I will use any brush but change the size just to be able to create a different look. A hard air brush will behave differently on a much smaller scale, and if I’m art blocked, I will sometimes use brushes outside of their intended purpose.

Ty for your curiosity though! Hope this helps <3

[meguchi512]

Your Mustsumi piece is really stylish! How did you do the backgrounds and come up with the composition?

Thank you so much! :-) I feel it's appropriate to respond to this ask on Mutsumi's birthday hehe. Forgive my weird wording btw (if it seeps in) as I am unfortunately strange like that (and feel free to ask away any questions!)

Summary: Modify already existing patterns, the darker your white is the better (trust), focus on the focal point, and Man I fucking love triangles.

First on the background (with a hint of color theory):

I took it from the Ibis Paint X image-archive-thing (???). It's actually a nice resource for stuff like this. If you use a different drawing platform try looking for your own in-app/in-program archive or consider searching online. In Ibis Paint X, not all patterns are available for non-premium users but personally it's not much of an issue (especially since non-premium versions of these textures tend to exist, with different colorings).

There are tons of these available by looking into the Japanese Texture (Color), Cloth Patterns (Color) and Patterns (Color) sections. Personally I prefer to alter the already colored ones as they are easier to work with, while the Gray/B&W ones require more retouching with blend mode layers. However, feel free to experiment and use whatever works best for you.

I was lucky to find one with a similar color palette to my drawing, but there's still some tweaking to be done to make it darker and warmer (as stated in the image). In this drawing it was relatively straightforward, though I've previously had to make more detailed modifications in other ones to make everything blend in naturally (mainly painting over different elements and particular shapes).

There's no rule for the specific blend modes –as in, they don't necessarily have to be multiply + darken, and there's no need to restrict yourself to solely 2 layers either. The same could be said about the opacity. It's merely situational. Instead, try playing around with them and/or learn how each one works to be able to pick them quicker.

For example, once I had applied the multiply layer something still felt off: there was a lack of ocre tones, which had been cancelled by the purple-ish color I painted it all over with. I especially wanted the darker colors to lean towards purple, while making the lighter ones lean towards green, so I applied a green darken layer which mainly affects the tones closer to white.

On a separate note: Color theory yay!! I freaking love color theory!!! As you can see in the bottom corner, I didn't use (and don't tend to ever use) pure white (#FFFFFF) or pure black (#000000). Actually, some artists will strongly advise against doing so, saying it looks beginner-like and muddy. I slightly disagree with this, or at least I think it's a bad way to put it (I mean, have you seen comic art? Pure black shading can look great when done well).

However, it's true that beginners won't be great at using pure black/white and it's greatly beneficial to experiment with off-white and such. Adding a slight tint to your neutrals makes a nice difference, and IMO the greater you can make it stray away from its original tone and still make it look convincing, the better!

By the way, notice how there's no "white" or "black" in the background? I reserved these contrasting tones for the figure. This is to draw your attention towards her, instead of adding more contrast to the background and making it all overwhelming.

Anyways, here are some other drawings in which I also used modified preset Ibis backgrounds:

• These KanaMafu drawings. It's the same pattern in both drawings, just flipped vertically and with inverted colors.

• This Kanade drawing.

Now, moving onto composition:

Not gonna lie, this was all a pretty subconscious process. I actively had to look for the principles I had applied, because honestly "figure in the center of a vertical canvas" seemed simple enough for a composition, but there's more to it!

I honestly feel like this is very self-explanatory as shown in the image, but if it isn't please ask me to elaborate B-).

Note: regarding the "airbrush work" mentioned, I meant I slightly painted over with a dark airbrush towards the bottom of the canvas and then lowered the opacity. Again, the whole thought process here was Closer to the focal point = lighter colors, smaller shapes and more detailed brush strokes.

But! There's more!!!:

Still on composition and color, something that is extremely useful and that I unfortunately forgot to do while working on this drawing is to check your values. This means translating the piece into B&W.

Due to the fact that I didn't check my values, the hair sort of blends in with the background. Upon noticing this, I added a highlight the same color as the angel wings (off-white). This was useful at making more of a distinction, but I could've definitely pushed it further had I followed this advice.

Onto (probably) my favorite art advice ever: TRIANGLES. Use triangles whenever you can. ESPECIALLY when there's negative space (space not occupied by the figure). This works so well to make your silhouettes more legible and dynamic. It's a life-saver.

Also, look up Sinix Design and Marco Bucci on YouTube for some great art advice.

I'm pretty sure that's all, sorry for becoming the yap monster. I really hope this was helpful! Thanks again for your ask and have a nice day/afternoon/night.

[jenneyquinn]

𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭���𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐲

in which melody looks for a date to her cousin’s wedding

a/n: happy 10 years to soos and the real girl :’) yes, this is a reverse falls hc! and NO, there is no reverse!dipcifica here

so, for reverse falls, obviously melody would be the mystery shack’s handywoman (for a moment, i considered deuce—gideon’s version of soos, who is canon btw—to work for the mystery shack, but since he only existed for a gag, melody’s stepping in for soos’ role)

some background to reverse!melody: though she works for the mystery shack, she doesn’t have the same loyalty that soos has for the pines family in canon—but she is faithful to gideon (doesn’t like the abusive nature of gideon’s parents)

basically she shares soos’ trait of loyalty to gideon, pacifica, and robbie (who takes wendy’s role)

since melody has been loyal and a dedicated employee to the mystery shack for years, one day, pacifica wonders out loud what melody does in her free time

like canon!soos, she cares for her grandmother at home, leaving only little time for her to play video games due to all the responsibilities of her work and home life

well aware of how quiet melody’s social life is, that night, her grandmother mentions her cousin’s upcoming wedding—asking her granddaughter to find a date to accompany her

unbeknownst to everyone, melody has tried dating before—more than several times (pun not intended) anyways…

and after that magician, she’s pretty much given up—but for her grandmother’s sake, the handywoman could give it another try

the following day at work, due to the lack of spare time she has, melody gets some dating apps on her phone and starts her search

… only to just as quickly feel defeated when she finds out that all the guys that have swiped right on her, not only looked attractive, but had off-putting personalities—who knew that a bio could turn someone off just like *snaps* THAT

gideon is the one who notices that melody’s not as upbeat as she usually is at work, immediately drawing concern from the white-haired boy

melody, you okay?

no… *continues swiping left, the defeated look remains on her face as she gazes down at her phone* how am i supposed to find a dumb match when all these guys are creeps?

did someone say MATCH?

*cues a cutoff from the shack to the mall, where gideon and pacifica take melody to meet people in real life*

though melody actually does a great job at getting male attention, it’s the latter that needs to pick up their slack

but can you blame her though, is there like any guy in town that isn’t totally disgusting??

don’t worry, melody, you’ll find the right guy—you just need to stick *slaps a sticky-hand toy onto her face* with it! haha!

*sighs* could this day get any worse?

right on cue, melody spots her cousin and her fiancé from across the hall—promptly causing the former to panic and take refuge inside a video game store

you know what? maybe she’ll be perfectly fine playing video games for the rest of her life… she’s got a steady job, her work friends and family are enough for her already—she should probably let a good thing be, she thinks

however, not a moment later, gideon brings a video game to melody—romance academy 7

maybe you can take your mind off your cousin’s wedding with this?

who knows, it’ll probably help you get back out there?

i dunno guys… *inspecting the case* there’s a note on it that says “destroy at all costs”

okay… besides, we can probably try to find you a date before the mall closes

just when pacifica makes her suggestion, melody makes eye contact with some jerk that winks at her—yunno, in that cocky way that gives you the ick within seconds

so, the handywoman clutches the disc

actually, i think i’ll take my chances

that night, melody tries the game out, hoping the game doesn’t turn out to be made by similar creeps that try (and fail) to hit on her

hi there! i’m gifford, a student at school university. do you need help carrying your books?

as 3 options pop-up on the computer screen: yes of course!, i can carry my own books weirdo!, oh look a squid!—melody clicks on the second response

though the game buzzes, signaling that she chose the wrong answer, gifford’s demeanor doesn’t change

okay, this game’s dumb

oh don’t be like that, just try again! could i please help you carry your books?

figuring she could at least humour the game for one night, and gifford was at least asking nicely, melody clicks the first option and gets awarded 100 “love points”

what would you like to talk about?

despite the options that show up, melody replies out loud

samurais sound pretty cool…

i think you’re pretty cool, too!

okay, this game is officially weird, she thinks, then shuts off the game and goes to sleep

how can that game hear me?

the morning after, melody hits the mall with the kids again, trying to forget whatever happened the night before

as soon as they get inside, gideon’s already trying to hold his cousin back from running into the men’s room and pushing them outside to meet melody

she’s just about to go after the kids until a familiar aritifcial voice calls out to her

hi, melody!

after spotting gifford at one of the display monitors in the front of a tv store, melody starts to get weirded out again; many questions swarming her mind

then, once gifford explains his story to melody, she’s absolutely disturbed, rushing to get home and pick up the disc to return it…

… that was, until she bumps into a vendor in the middle of the mall floor

ah, gee, i’m so sorry about that

she apologizes with haste, helping the worker pick up some of the fallen product

no worries, dude. you seem a little panicky, though. have you tried the mini trains here? i like riding them on my breaks

she corner of her lip quirks up, laughing a bit at the guy

i haven’t, actually… they sound fun, but i guess, with being an adult and all, i should be going for the massage chairs instead

nah—if it’s fun, why not? i’d say do it

you’re right… for the record, i think it’s awesome how you totally own it! i’d never think anybody working at meat cute, let alone any adult, would be into riding tiny trains!

well, i wouldn’t say work’s a total bummer… extreme lunch meats are the food of the future

she nods, agreeing

i feel the same way. i’m melody, by the way

i’m soos

and that’s how melody ends up getting ready for a date with soos, the meat cute guy

feeling more relaxed, she goes home to pick up the cursed video game, then heads to hoo-ha owl’s pizzamatronic jamboree for her date

then, of course, everything goes well until melody discovers that gifford is stalking her and soos out of enraged jealousy and all hell breaks loose

i never agreed to be your girlfriend!

but think about it: real guys are nothing but self-centred creeps and jerks—do you really think that soos will forgive you after this disaster of a date?

melody does consider the guilt from her date… though gifford is clearly the reason she got herself into this mess, she chose to buy the game and use gifford to make her feel better

but was the guilt really worth installing her brain into the game and being gifford’s prisoner forever?

looking between gifford, the kids, and her date, melody knew she had to act fast: causing her to throw the disc into the fires of the oven—destroying gifford for good

after all the chaos, melody and soos are back sitting in the middle of all the wreckage

soos, i’m sorry for all this… i guess you must be scared of me now, huh?

believe it or not, this is the first date i’ve ever been in

really?

girls don’t seem to like me…

“well, i do…” she admits, staring down and smiling before looking back up at him:

“oh, hey, you wouldn’t maybe be interested in being my plus-one to my cousin’s wedding in a week? i promise there’s like zero homicidal animatronics.”

[doniaqueta]

Hello, knitters and crocheters of Tumblr

I come to you with an app idea, not to start any sort of crowdfunding, I don't want to start the next Tumblr scam. This is just something I want to do (actually, already started to do because I have bad impulse control) and I want to see if anyone else would be interested in using it. Again, I am asking for $0.00 MXN (that's $0.00 USD), and it would be a free app, no ads, maybe I'll slap a link to my Ko-Fi in it but that's it.

I am not doing this for profit, I'm doing it because it'll be useful for me, because the idea goblin in my head in insatiable, and my hubris is immeasurable.

Details under the cut, and I'll be adding updates as I go at the end of the post

The idea is:

An app to help you keep track of current knitting and crocheting projects, projects (aka patterns) you want to get to, and materials you need for all that stuff.

The WIP section would have tabs for each project you started, because if you're like me, it won't be just one. Each tab would include:

A row counter

Information on the pattern, like its name, some notes, the section you're currently working on (for patterns with different sections where the row count is reset)

A timer for the time you've been working on that project, because you deserve fair pay if you sell your craft so you have to know how long you've worked on it

The patterns section would have, well, patterns. For at least version 1.0, I'm thinking a list of PDFs that are stored in your phone and open in your phone's PDF viewer.

Finally, the materials section would just be a good old fashioned shopping list. You input items manually, you check 'em as you get 'em.

---------------------------------------------

Update 29/01

I've finished the mockups and the design of the icons I'll be using in the app. I'm going to start moving into coding territory.

Update 06/02

I've started the development and it's going pretty well. I opted for React Native, and while I have experience with React, I was a bit daunted by the idea of going into React Native. But! It's been smooth sailing so far. I've got a sturdy project structure, a functional menu, and an almost functional shopping list.

Update 19/02

I missed last week's update because I was very sick. For most of the first week, after finishing the shopping list, I worked on code organization and documentation. Now that I was sure that I was going to use React Native, I wanted to make sure the project is organized and sturdy. After that, I've been working on the pattern list, which has been a bit of a pain because I want to respect the user's privacy and security and not access the entire filesystem if I don't need to.

Update 27/02

I got frustrated with my troubles with the filesystem, so like any good procrastinator, I put that part aside and started working on other stuff. Apart from tinkering with the style and some background work to improve performance, I've also added support for different languages (currently just English and Spanish because those are the ones I feel confident I won't fuck up the translations, but I'm thinking of later asking for help with more languages), and I've started working on the WIP section.

Update 08/03

I haven't been able to work on it a lot this week because I had a lot of work to do for my actual job (I had to do my job at my job, shocking, I know), but last week I finished building the first functional version of the WIP section. As it is, it's only for one project, but it should be relatively easy to add tabs for multiple projects. I also had the chance to do something like a demo with a potential user, which is just a fancy way of saying I showed what I've done so far to my cousin (a great knitter & crocheter) and she really liked it :D

Update 12/04

Gap in updates because I was a bit overwhelmed by my job so I gave myself a lil vacation on this project. This week I got back to work and now the WIP screen officially supports multiple projects in different tabs. This means the WIP screen is done! Which means I will soon have no choice but to stop procrastinating the pattern list and face my filesystem problems oh no.

---------------------------------------------

The poll has ended but I'm leaving the results up:

[vivimura]

Spilling tea because you asked for it 💋

Soooo Summer 2024 I got to this new school and it‘s so so so much better then my old school. I‘ve never had a serious crush crush you know? Sure I found a few boys beautiful and like them but that my admiration wasn’t something serious. In my social circle I‘m the only one who hasn’t had a real romantic interaction with a boy. I have a friend (we call her 🍓)who is some months younger then me, she said she also never had a boyfriend but some boys invited her to hang out and she agreed out off politeness (these were really big fails) but nothing else happened.

Now I remember the first day of school. Me, 🍓 and two other girls just got transferred to this school and in the last minute the teachers told us that we had to change the class because that class didn’t have enough people. So I walked into a new classroom (everyone else was already there) and then I remembered I had eye contact with this boy (call me delusional but for a moment it was just like in a movie)

At the end of the day 🍓 talked to me and we got friends because everyone else knew each other already except us. The next day 🍓 offered me to sit next to her (there was a free seat between her and my crush we call him 🍎) Me and him started off as Idk we got along pretty well in my version but I wouldn’t say that we were friends you know? By the time I was knowing 🍎 I found out that he retook this year and is also a refugee, so that’s why he is 2 years older than me. I realised that I really liked him but sadly he had a gf at that time so I gave up + I‘m 100% not his type and I feel very insecure about my looks especially my body and face.

Around December he changed his seat. He is know sitting at the back row with his friends and the most of our interactions were made because we sat next to each other. So our communication ans interaction are basically now nonexistent + also he kinda changed..? Idk my feelings aren’t as strong as they used to be for him. He is sometimes nice - okay.

Well yea some weeks ago I removed him from my instagram account because why should I still follow him if we don’t interact you know..? + He also never post some stories and we don’t communicate on that app. But you know what I find out? He broke up with his girlfriend 4 Months ago and they were dating 1 year and some months I‘d say almost 2 years. (He told that by himself)

Now when I was walking pass him and his friend group last week I heard him saying:“ [Boy Name] Is so annoying. Like yesterday I posted a story and he answered, that I just post that story to impress [girl Name] But I‘m not interested in her“ (this is not the accurate translation because I live in a country were you don’t speak english) In that moment I kinda regretted to remove him.

🍎 is a really confident boy (I can understand that because he knows that he‘s beautiful) 🍓, Him and I had a french exam and durning the preparation I told 🍓 about my obsession with Matteo from the show „Soy Luna“ I said:“He‘s so cute and beautiful 😭“ 🍎 sat in front of 🍓, he turned around and said:“I know, I‘m handsome“ Like he was just joking so I joked back and I was like:“Yea [his name] you‘re sooo beautiful“ amd he just laughed.

Then I continue to talk to 🍓 about Matteo and I said:“He has a girlfriend“ 🍎 again said:“No at that time I‘m single“ So I joked back:“Oh my god [his name] is single, I have to take this chance 😱!!“

Before our teacher walked in 🍓 said to 🍎:“We have to manifest that this exam is going to be great“ She took his hand and they both just joked a bit (I might have felt jealous, but just a tiny big🤏🏽 ) In general I think he always liked 🍓 more than me, because she is really a impressive and interesting person + there also might be this other girl he was talking about in his friend group

So yeha how many aura points am I loosing for saying“I‘m over him. “ knowing that there might be some little feelings for him ._.

Nah I‘m always telling myself:“Jungwon is better, he would never do this“ to get completely over him

how do you know he likes strawberry and not u!!!!!!

u should become a lil closer to him, i think most of the time girls are able to tell if a guy likes them or not

if u dont like him that much, then just move on, but if you do, take a chanceeeee

whats the worsr that could happen

[adhdapp]

Hello! I already use this app and love it, but recommending it in case it could help someone else! It's called Daylio, it's for journaling and mood tracking. It's free to download and use, but there is a premium option, but I've only used the free version and never felt it was lacking. It has a daily streak incentive, mine is 1841, I've been using it since 2019, as well as some other accomplishments for various things. I find it easy to use and you can customize activities to be anything, like it comes with pre-set ones like "relax" and "friends", but you can add and change and delete them, so I also have ones like "Baking" and "excited...?". It's a nice way to look back at memories and a quick and easy place to record them. I write a lot in the notes section of the entry, but you don't have to, you can leave it blank, or add images or voice recordings (but I've never used those so I don't know how they work). And if I miss a day and break my streak, it's very easy to go and put one in for that day so my streak remains because I like it when the number goes up. As someone with memory issues, I find it a comforting habit to make a record of something everyday and these are my thoughts!! Have a great day :) !

Daylio: Mood Logging

This is actually another app I already have the premium version for, lol. I bought it before it became monthly (Really unfortunate that it became monthly)

Rating: Certified, If what you're looking for is a mood tracker and/or diary app

does feature a to-do list daily tasks options, but it's very much a secondary feature

cute, very customizable (especially with premium), easy to use

Celebrates milestones and gives you a lovely visual overview of things.

HOWEVER: While the achievements and the streak counter and the visuals are cute (especially because you can retroactively add things to keep your streak) this app works best if you're inclined to micromanagement and willing to update it at least once a day, and personally that's not something I can keep up too long

Red flags: none, no data shared with third parties, data safety all seems good, and the app itself comes with a pin-lock if you want to be extra cautious with your entries.

Dopamine hits: So the visuals of the emoji calendar are cute and fun and a nice layout, particularly if you've got the premium and have the extra emojis, and the ridiculously high streak counter and achievements are also nice, but personally this app doesn't give me enough from day to day to keep me going. You have to really enjoy the logging process or making the streak number go up to make this work. If you're the kind of person with a really long snapchat streak, this one's for you? otherwise, eh, it can be a bit touchy.

Features + Price

Major Events: Basically pretty milestones for you to record as big letters in your diary

Mood tracking: obviously the main focus, your moods are color coded so you can view sort of how you're doing mental health wise on a pie chart, which can be really handy if you struggle with a mood disorder or want to see how certain activities are correlating with other things in your mental health. Do you always feel like ass when you talk to your boyfriend? this app might be able to help you clock that trend

Visual calendar overview: pictured above

goals: the goals checkoff is actually a must faster process than logging your moods, which is a few screens of selecting one of your preset moods and then the activity you're doing and then maybe adjusting the time. It can be a little finicky.

so this is Freemium.

Premium: 4.99 a month or 35.99 a year (USD)

So i'll admit, I downloaded this app back before they Had important days and goals so I suppose there must be a limit on them for free users? I bought it so that I could add custom moods and track my migraines.

This app is fundamentally not really For to-do stuff. You can use it that way! But where I think i'd find this app has the most usefulness is if you're struggling with short-term mental health trends and you need something to keep track of how you're feeling and where your moods are coming from. As far as ADHD goes this is sometimes useful if you're struggling with RSD, or with sensory issues, or just not clocking which parts of your life are making you overstressed. That said, I could definitely see this working for someone who wants to keep a diary in a short simple easy way. However if you're just looking for text entries, this is also not necessarily the easiest way to do it, since it's focus is mood logging. which it is very good for! it does that job effectively! it's the other stuff it's a little eh about.

Roadmap: This app was updated at the start of this month to add easier searches, and has added a lot in the years since I opened it last, so I definitely believe they're committed to following through and keeping posted. I'm not so sure about the pricetag for premium, but if you're looking for a mood logger and the format works for you, by all means, keep on keepin on.

[zimithrus]

Writer asks yessssssssss!

Could I get 🤡, 🎢, ✨, 🛠️, ❌, 🎉, and ⌛, please?

🤡 What's a line, scene or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

This always gets a smile out of me at the very least! :) “We already left 15 minutes earlier than planned! I figured that would have been plenty of time!” Kotetsu frets, already scrambling to get out of the car, nearly falling out of it when he pushes the door open with his body. “Did you take into account how many stoplights were down the road to get here? You should have factored in enough time to hit every red light and still be early.” Barnaby sighs as he opens up his door and steps out (much calmer, of course). “I’m not thinking about how many lights I have’ta drive through to get somewhere!” He huffs back, shutting his car door with hurried gusto. “That’s your problem—you don’t think ahead enough, Kotetsu.” Barnaby chastises, tapping his index finger against his temple. “Can we not do this right now? We have 4 minutes to get up to the top floor or it’s bye-bye nice anniversary dinner!” Kotetsu points at the top of the building, feet already running in place. “Fine, but you really should have planned out getting here on time better.” “Chide me later, Barnaby, come on!!”

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

Wildest huh? Oh man, hmmm... well I've written some really off the wall shit in my earlier days. But most recently would probably be this one, a FFVII fic in which Sephiroth has extremely random fever dreams XD

✨ Give your writing a compliment!

I like the way I characterize my favorite fictitious guys and gals! I've gotten a few really nice and sweet compliments that express so, so that makes me pretty happy! 💚

🛠 What tools/apps/programs do you use to write?

I used to use the free version of WPS Office, then bought Microsoft Word by itself but it's been giving me a lot of problems like trying to correct my grammar when I write in my usual style among such other things lol!

❌ what's a trope you will never write?

Hurt with NO comfort. Absolutely not. I will literally write about murder, dismemberment, graphic depictions of violence and gore, detailed ABO, attempted/successful suicide and, *child experimentation*, but I draw the line at any kind of hurt without comfort! 😂😂 No matter how dark and bleak some of the things I write can be, there will ALWAYS be comfort!!!

🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success?

For me I guess it would be a completed fic. It's really hard for me to complete or finish anything that isn't a one-shot, so any multi-chaptered fic I could ever finish would be a great success in my eyes!

⌛ How long does to take you to write a fic, or chapter?

A long time 😅 the short answer, anywhere from a few days to a few years 😂😂 Longest uploaded WIP - posted in 2016 and still going Longest non-uploaded WIP - started in 2018 and I don't even know if I'm at the halfway point yet XD

Thank you for the ask Isle!! 💚💚

[vyvesvi]

just started asia super young 😅 funny how a show can seem super popular when you're out of the loop but when you finally start watching it's crickets

this is my first time watching a youku show, i like the pacing BUT I HATE the fact that they cut so much from the free eps (free is 1 hr vip is 2.5+ 🫠). so like the irresponsible working adult i am i committed to monthly subscription (that i WILL remember to cancel the day the finale airs 😁). the other thing that i find really disappointing is that free voting on the youku app doesn't count towards their rank, it's just for extra promo 🫠 apparently you need to pay separately through their site or have a weibo associated with a mainland # (acc to fans based in hk w weibo accounts they can't even vote. when the show is filming in hk. and conducted half in canto.)

but i WILL be tuning in even though im desperately confused about everything. i watched eps 1 - 3 using the free version so im gonna do a quick recap and hopefully start catching up with the extra content tomorrow 🙏

ASY PICKS (based on ep 1 - 3)

ults: gemini (hoàng huệhùng/huang huixiong) & albert (aihe)

these two...how could you not say cunt. gemini is a 99 liner from vietnam, a short king, his nose is pierced, his dancing is clean, and his vocals are great. does he speak chinese? no. but does he serve face? like his life depends on it (because it does). he's already on my list of survival show contestants who will live on in my brain in perpetuity. aihe is the other main slayer from the same audition group (medusa). just look at him. he walked out and i went bitch???? he's like if hu yetao and xue bayi had a baby that was mad as hell. he's an 03 liner from xinjiang, pretty good vocals, and great dance skills. had to use that shitty laptop pic bc it just radiates his whole vibe.

i like you!: vic (zhang shengxi), orenda (shuhao), walker (wang kun), kong sonhei (jiang xinxi), & karl (ting tzelong)

vic is a 2000 liner & and member of enone. his rank is so oddly low bc he gets pretty good screentime and is very talented?

shuhao is a 2000 liner. he wasnt a pick until he did his solo rap but he's the best rapper, undisputed, on this show. plus he composed & produced & wrote & arranged their group's whole audition song? kingie.

walker is an 05 liner with a musical theatre background. to me he has a very broadcaster type face - kind and open. i noticed him mostly for how he was taking care of his younger audition partner, it was very very cute 🙄(🥹).

xinxi is an 02 liner & a member of the yuehua brigade. member of the bg boyhood (all of whom are competing) and i believe the theme song center. but more importantly, he's my birthday buddy!😁🥳 i'll admit to noticing him first bc of the bday thing - i was actually pretty unimpressed by boyhood's audition. still, he's a very good/solid boy group member to have.

karl (ting tzelong) is a 97 liner with roots in canada & hong kong. he's a Fantastic singer and was the runner up in the mr. hong kong contest? don't think he can dance but that voice, singing or speaking...

i know you & ur fun: ollie

ollie (06, under yuehua) was on boys planet so im very familiar with him (side note but this show has so many former iqiyi show contestants but none from tencent 😭). honestly he's not a pick for me but i like his energy, he's a great variety member. also i don't want to see him lose so 😭 that said i've always thought he raps like he's reading a children's book but he's graduated to slam poetry🎉

hmmm: sky (zhao tianyi)

so. sky's audition was iconic. this 14 y/o kid sang, rapped, played the piano, synths, talkbox, did streetdance, and jumped into a split. he clearly loves music & is very intense about follow this passion. but 1) he's 14. 2) he clearly wants to be a soloist, thus far i can't see a single team player bone in his body. these things combined have put him lower on my list (i especially didn't really care for how he interacted with gemini during the team selection but we'll see if that continues in ep 4). but he's here currently for his talent.

keeping an eye out: archie (sin ching fung), hugo (wong singcheuk) & service (sun xiaowei)

archie (98) is a singer, he sings! but honestly so many ppl on this show are good & he can't really dance so...we'll see

hugo (03, apex member) ...in his audition he looked like a member of my token bg POW lol. he has a lot of potential i just need to see more

service (03) i saw some star potential in his audition, we'll see

[the-bumbling-furby]

heyo! i wanted to make a post about my personal opinions on the 2023 Furby

[pt: heyo! i wanted to make a post about my personal opinions on the 2023 Furby /end pt]

first off: i do not condone any hate towards the 2023 Furby or the people who like it! the Furby fandom is all about embracing weirdness, and the reaction to the newest Furby shouldn’t be any different

out of respect for those who like the new Furbys, all of my negative opinions will be kept under the cut

i also will not be adding image descriptions as i don’t have the energy right now, so please feel free to add them on

that being said, let’s get into it!

things i like:

[pt: things i like /end pt]

the color palette

while it can definitely be a little bit overstimulating, i really enjoy all of the new Furby color palettes! they’re bright and fun while also not being too busy. i think that the colors work well together and look really neat

the lights

i honestly really liked the lights, especially how they glow through the ears! they look super neat and add a nice touch of personality. the range of colors as well as the transitions between were a pleasant surprise

customizability

the possibilities for customization of these Furbys are honesty impressive, and even in the few months they’ve been out i’ve seen so many cool 2023 customs! unlike the boom and connect (no shade to them), the eyes are fully able to be painted while still working. i honestly can’t wait until we get to see some oddbody and longified versions of these guys

[source 1] [source 2] [source 3]

the homage to 1998 Furby in the packaging

i'm not sure how many people actually noticed this as i haven’t seen it mentioned yet, but on the interior packaging there’s a gen 1 Furby on the shelf in 2023 Furby’s room! i thought that it was a super sweet touch and it made me smile as i was opening up my own 2023 Furby :)

no app!

it was honestly super relieving for me that there’s no app for the newest Furby. the apps for the boom and connect were great ideas, but they were very finicky and then got discontinued after the generation ended. i’m personally glad that the 2023 Furby can do everything on it’s own with no app add-ons

things i didn’t like (under cut):

[pt: things i didn’t like (under cut) /end pt]

the voice

honestly the voice gave me such a headache. i can’t quite put my finger on it, but the pitch combined with the quality of the voice just made it super hard to listen to. i know this is a personal thing, but it really made me enjoy this Furby a lot less than i could have. here’s a video of my 2023 Furby, if you haven’t heard one:

lack of animation/life

while the mechanics were pretty well done, i think that there was a severe lack of depth or life in how the 2023 Furby moves and looks. i won’t talk about the beak since everyone already has, but the lack of a moving beak is one of the many contributors to the overall lack of animation. with how many times Furby has been rebooted, i personally think that the (artificial) life of Furby has been deprived more and more

stereotypically gendered marketing

while i don’t like gender stereotypes, it’s very clear that Hasbro had a target audience for this new Furby. with both the language and design of the 2023 Furby, it is less enjoyable and socially acceptable for young boys to have. while i wish this weren’t the case, this kind of rigid and targeted marketing is unfortunately something that needs to be considered

repetitive and very little evolution

while each of the other generations had something that varied their interactions, i felt that this one had a lot less of that. with the 1998's learning of english, the 2005's range of emotions, the 2012's different personalities, and the 2016's different personalities and reactions to things, i felt like there was something missing in the 2023 Furby. The actions felt repetitive, and the occasional song addition wasn't enough to keep me really interested. the repetition started to get on my nerves a bit and i ended up turning my Furby off

thank you for reading, and remember this is just my personal opinion. please don't let this post dictate or change how you feel about the newest Furby!

[pt: thank you for reading, and remember this is just my personal opinion. please don't let this post dictate or change how you feel about the newest Furby! /end pt]

[dominiquewritesthings]

Disclaimer: Some of these apps have the option to pay for them, but I use the free version of most of these apps. Whether or not you wish to pay for them is up to you. I will mark with an astrick and clarify at the bottom of the page for what version I use and what features come with it. 

IBIS PAINT X - I use this app to create overlays, do minor editing to backgrounds, and create sneak peeks and more story marketing! I used to use this app to make Episode covers, but thankfully I have enough money in my life to commission someone. In my opinion, commissions look 10x better than my artistic skill. But, if you can draw (unlike me), IBIS could help you, since it's primarily a drawing app. 

Yes! I had to block out some things so you wouldn't get any sneak peeks. Since I'm kind, I figured I'd show you what The Other Half of Me looks like. You can't blame me for spoilers since I already wrote it, and it's been complete for some time now. 

Of course, no one needs to put this much effort into aesthetics, but it helps me write and direct later on. Also, it makes me excited about planning. That being said, if you want something plainer, Evernote will get the job done! 

Instagram - I use this app to help promote my stories. I'd say this is pretty self-explanatory because loads of people do this as well, but it's also a great place to network. 

Episode Forums - I don't use the forums as much anymore for selfish reasons. I typically step in once a week to see how everyone's doing and check for new contests. That being said, once you publish a new story it's always a great idea to share it there with those who are not on Instagram. Who knows, maybe you'll find a read for read or gem for gem opportunity. People may read it and give their opinion, too! 

Google Tasks/Taskboard - I use google tasks to keep on top of deadlines I set for myself. Of course, you shouldn't rush the writing process, but I will spend way too long on every step if I don't set small deadlines for myself. It also reminds me of what I should be doing, instead of working on something completely different. These are great for read for read deadlines (I always set them for a week later), chapters I'll be publishing, posts on Instagram, and more. You can use the app Taskboard for desktop, Tasks the mobile app, or find the pullout if you go to Gmail. 

Google Keep - I this for short memorandum-like notes for story ideas. I also try to keep my dreams in this before I transfer them over to my dream journal. What if my dream is so exciting, that I turn it into a story? You never know. 

[fromdevcom]

Need a note taking app? We have compiled a list of best note taking apps for iPhone users. Apple has already equipped iPhone with a notepad, but the in-built feature has many limitations. So if you are one of those people who need to take a lot of notes and capture ideas on the go, then you need to empower your iPhone with few more applications! Listed here are ten sleek note-taking iPhone apps that will keep your notes and ideas more organized. We’re sure that at least one of them will be the perfect fit for your needs. Android users may try best note taking apps on Android devices. You can always use a desktop or web based note taking software, however this article is focused on iPhone note taking apps. Evernote It seems that Evernote has proved itself to be the king of note-taking apps. App Store is flooded with note-taking applications but there’s none that can match its usability and functionality. Evernote is simply the best note taking app. You can capture photos, take notes, record voice reminders and create to-do lists as well. Stored notes can be organized by tags and notebooks. It can even sync your notes across all your devices. So whether you’re at home or on the go, your notes are always accessible and searchable. Though you can download it for free, there’s a paid, premium version known as Evernote Premium which provides you with the facility to lock your app with a PIN and enable others to edit your notebooks. Awesome Note (+To-do/Calendar/Reminder) - (Paid) This note-taking application is truly awesome. It charges you approximately $4 but the features are worth the price. It provides you with facilities to: Create shopping and to-do lists Maintain travel diaries Attach photos Create notes with attachments Maintain and manage separate folders What sets it apart from the rest is its integration with iOS Calendar and Reminders. It also offers sync and transfer facility with Google Drive and Evernote. It would surely be a pity to miss out on such a productive application. Microsoft OneNote For IPhone (Free) It’s Microsoft! So you can bet that it comes packed with plethora of features and is pretty easy-to-use too. This Microsoft Office application allows you to capture your ideas, add photos or make changes in your shopping list. All your notes are automatically saved by the app and synced in the cloud so that you can access them any time. It is optimized to fit into display of iPhone 5 and contains interesting note formatting options. However, you’ll need a free Microsoft account to access this on iPhone. Manuscript (Paid) This is a great app for writers: it helps note and access brilliant ideas while you’re on the go. This writing application allows you to outline, edit and research almost anything on your iPhone, and as its developers describe, it does indeed make mobile writing almost perfect. With this application, you can create a manuscript right from the scratch, outline it by using multiple levels, write synopsis or even create index cards. You can import your ideas from Dropbox. Its USP lies in its facility to allow writers to use Wikipedia, thesaurus and dictionary right from within the app. Sticky Notes (Free) Sticky Notes is a versatile tool that enables you to create personal reminders and special notes for your near ones, besides creating regular notes. You can ensure that your notes and reminders are available to you at the right time by adding alarm to the notes. One truly amazing feature of this application is the facility to add notes to lock screen. This means you won’t have to swipe and navigate all the way to the app to find your important tasks. It also has the facility to password-protect your notes, and it’s free. So there’s absolutely no reason for not downloading this application. Springpad (Free) From brunch recipes to brilliant ideas, this free, organizer application lets you save almost anything on the go. You can bookmark favorite videos to check later, and you can even follow notebooks of your trusted people.

It can also be used to collaborate with co-workers to keep them updated on projects and assignments. Springpad’s USP is its ability to provide users with amazing suggestions. For example, if you’re searching for delicious dinner recipes, then Springpad pairs it with the perfect wine, and if you add a movie, then it’ll let you know whether the movie is ready for watching or it needs streaming. InClass (Free) This is an excellent application that will help you to survive school. Besides regular, manual notes, you can even take audio, video or photo notes with inClass. Apart from organizing your schedule, this application helps you to share and collaborate your notes with other classmates through a feature called StudyRoom. It also has local alarms which helps you to keep tracks of your tasks. So, it would be hard for you to skip homework. So happy studying ‘inClass’ students! Vesper (Paid) Popular as an elegant tool for notes collection, Vesper indeed lives up to its name with its intuitive interface and great features. You can attach photos with notes and you can group related items by using tags. Its USP lies in its usability. It has a drag-and-drop feature for reordering items and the facility to archive items. If simplicity is your thing, then Vesper is definitely the app you’re looking for. Fetchnotes (Free) Books, links, to-dos, ideas for blog post or just random facts – everything can be saved and fetched through Fetchnotes. You can create categories by using hashtags and can share the same by using ‘@’ sign. Use the sign with a username or email address for sharing notes with important people. The best part of this app is its privacy control. No one can view your ideas until you choose them to. Well, it is already listed in Apple’s Productivity Essentials, so you can certainly expect great performance from it. Super Note (Paid) Here is an application that allows you to use color codes for your notes so that you can find them without any hassle. It comes equipped with almost all features of a great text editor which include Spell Check, Copy, Paste and Languages. You can export all your notes to Dropbox and add alert reminders for individual notes. Its USP is that the alerts can pop up even if the app is closed, which means you don’t even have to tap the screen to look at reminders. On top of that, it is passcode protected. So now that you have the best picks for note-taking apps, don’t lose any more ideas – start saving them straightaway. Nilesh Talaviya works as Mobile Strategist with Cygnet Infotech, a CMMI Level 3 company offering complete enterprise mobility solutions. He has his finger on the pulse of the latest technology, and he is fascinated with mobile game development. For more on mobile technology, connect with him on Google+ or mail at nctalaviya@cygnet-infotech.com