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heavenbarnes · 1 year ago

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Hiii, I just devoured your older bf!simon posts and I got this one brainworm

So, he hasn't figured out how to make albums yet in his gallery, the first time he passed his phone around to let his team gawk at your photos, he had accidentally left one of HIS photo

Imagine the team scrolling through his gallery, drooling at your photo in skimpy outfits, various state of undress then BAM, the hottest dickpic of their L.t. appeared on screen (courtesy of your instructions ofc)

I just think it'll be A Thing™, like, obviously they know Ghost is hot, probably also know how big his dick is, but seeing it presented like that? Some of them definitely moaned. And I bet Simon noticed, probably will start leaving a few of his own photos in between yours, as a treat for the boys.

(Feel free to ignore this if this isn't sth you're comfortable with 🫶🏻)

this is fucking insane i’m going to wet my pants- thank you for this idea you’re a genius 🫶🏼 | effective continuation of this

the 141 would like to enter your older bf!simon’s phone into the museum of natural history for its significant contributions to peace keeping efforts.

if that phone hadn’t been in this safe house, there would be far more destruction in their wake. it goes without saying, really.

what you will say is, whilst his phone is the metaphor- it’s really you that’s giving the opposition time to breathe (limited, their time will eventually come)

the dining table was small, when you had four hulking great men around it the thing looked minuscule. room temperature beers in front of them, it’d taken at least three bottles each for the first to speak up.

“c’mon mate, put us out our misery”

obviously their captain would take one for the team and go first, eyes locking with simon. without being able to see his mouth, it was hard to tell but price was pretty sure that was a chuckle (he hoped it was)

a quick rustle as simon shoved his hand in the pocket of his tactical trousers, retrieving the battered android and laying it in the centre of the table.

bated breathe, you could’ve heard a fucking pin drop as they all watched him unlock his phone. one long finger hovering over the camera app before he pressed it, an almost collective sigh of relief emanating through the house.

simon couldn’t and wouldn’t organise his phone, apps always open in the background, unorganised on his home screen, not a fucking photo album in sight.

photos heaped together in the one collective mess. it was very possible to be looking at an old receipt one minute and then the small of your back with cum across it the next.

majority of the photos were you, and not always filthy. simon couldn’t take a photo to save his life but the ones of you always looked breathtaking.

if you asked him, that’s just what you always looked like.

however, the 141 weren’t there for photos of you smiling as you pet a friendly dog. they were there for the kind of photo simon was just about to pull up.

sat on the corner of the bed, photo taken in the long mirror against the wall. thighs spread and one hand playing between them as the other held your phone next to your pouting lips.

gaz was the first to state the obvious.

“jesus christ, mate”

simon didn’t even blink, finger swiping through the next photo.

on the bed on your knees with your chest pressed to the mattress. looking back over your shoulder with a fucked out expression as you practically gave your ass to the camera.

the unmistakable sound of johnny shifting in the seat to his left caught simon, adjusting his cock just out the corner of his eye.

photo after photo, full nude, lingerie, simon’s shirts, just the bed sheet. with every one that passed, the beer was soon forgotten about when the buzz they got off you was unmatched.

the sweet glow that seemed to radiate off you filled the otherwise dim place the men had been hold up in. photos beginning to blur into one until-

the photo was taken from mid-thigh, simon somehow looked even bigger from this angle. shirt lifted enough to show his scarred stomach but his balaclava stayed on. exposed eyes staring down at the camera as his large hand wrapped around his equally large cock.

dead silence speared straight down the middle by a moan, pathetically covered with a cough. simon pretended not to notice the accent, left the phone in the centre of the table.

nobody could look away, it was physically impossible to tear their eyes off the sight in front of them. had they ever seen one that big in real life?

“fuckin’ell L.T, what’ya doin’ w’all that?”

they all knew simon had a big cock, you could tell by looking at him- the way he walked. if you’d ended up in the showers with him on base and seen it soft you’d even know.

it was unmissable.

but seeing it like this? looming over the camera at this angle, practically eclipsing the natural light, his thick fingers just closing around the base. this was something else.

you were quite the artistic director.

nobody wanted to be the first to say what the other was thinking. allowing the silence to fill the space only broken by the occasional sound of someone adjusting their trousers.

simon didn’t need anything to be said, he knew what he had and he knew the effect it had on- anyone really. he simply sat back in his seat, spreading his thighs wider and ignoring the occasional glance that fell on him when he did it.

finally cutting them loose, simon swiped to the next photo- back to you with cum streaked across your face. throats clearing and murmurs arising from the group.

“that’s real nice”

“would y’look at the fuckin’ state a’that”

“what i wouldn’t give”

simon grunted in agreement, eyes flickering around the table with a feeling invisible growing in his chest. a feeling that he wasn’t used to but didn’t- mind?

he didn’t think too long, he couldn’t think too long.

those photos would just have to become part of the regular.

#anyways i love it when men are a bit gay it’s so hot #older bf!simon #simon riley smut #simon ghost riley smut #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley blurb #simon ghost riley blurb #simon riley drabble #simon ghost riley drabble

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ohandcounting · 4 months ago

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Getting The Most Out Of Deltarune Chapters 1+2+3+4: A Guided Experience.

Experience Deltarune the same way we did as it was releasing

Want to read this as a google doc instead?

If you are the rare person who heard about Deltarune (the parallel story to Undertale, by Toby Fox!) through the recent Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, this is for you. This is also a good resource for anyone that's just been out of the loop, or wants to make sure they've "seen it all" before getting to the next chapter.

It details not just what to play before Deltarune's new release content, but also has tips to make sure you don't miss anything important while getting through it without wasting time and detailing what happened between releases so you can go in with the same full experience I've had waiting for it to release for the past 7 years. The best time to get started was 2015, the second best time is now. All of it is below this read more, and it comes with only the necessary spoilers to save you some time. You can read it all in one go before starting any of the games, if you want. It's like, 10 years of stuff in here though. Take your time. If I missed anything, tell me and I'll edit it in. The best way to read this post is on my blog so you can see any of these edits. Feel free to share this around, make a video essay where you just read this off word for word, and/or repost it in any other fashion. I just want people enjoying the games! Credit is appreciated of course.

The Undertale Essentials

Go play Undertale! (you can skip any steps you've done before) It's on Steam, Xbox, Playstation, Switch. You can find android mobile ports of it pretty easily too, apparently. You can find a way to play it, I promise.

Just get to the end however you want, it largely doesn't matter what you do since a large appeal of the game is it reacting to your decisions. But if you get an encounter with no enemies, that means you've killed enough of them to activate an optional mode that skips a lot of the normal stuff in the game. So I would quit out to reload your save in that instance. You absolutely need to experience the game that started it all because a lot of Deltarune's enjoyment comes from the knowledge you'd have after playing this game first! Including the music! Don't mute the game just because you think the Ruins music is kinda mid!

Play Undertale...Again! This time, you need to be going for the True Pacifist Ending. Which just means you do all the important side quests, and don't kill anyone at all.* Don't worry about this being boring, there's actually plenty of unique dialog for a second playthrough.** If you don't super-kill The Flower™ from the trailer and all the marketing during a playthrough, he'll give you tips and hints on how to do it without having to look up a guide after the normal final boss. But really just try and maximize the dialog you see in this playthrough and you should get it. Just make sure you pour water on the blue lady after she passes out in the lava area, if you leave the screen on accident before pouring the water on her it locks you out of a side quest and you'll have to load a save from before the boss fight. If you save after this, that means you have to start all the way over...again again! *If you never killed anyone in your first playthrough and didn't lock yourself out of any important side quests, you can just hit continue to load into the room before the finale, and go back to do the side stuff you missed. **If you can't tell that the dialog is new, that means you can't complain about it being boring since you didn't remember the original dialog anyways! (This is a spiteful remark towards my biological older sister)

Play Undertale...Again Again Again! In step 1, I mentioned an optional mode that skipped a lot of the normal parts of the game. Well now you're going to do that on purpose, by not fighting an area's boss until you've exhausted the encounter limit. It's one of my favorite parts of the game to play. This can only be done by Fighting enemies until they fall to ashes before you, and stop showing up entirely. After the first area, save points start giving you an enemy count so you can't miss them on accident. Do this for the whole game, and you'll be able to reach The Final Conclusion to Undertale.

...Or...

You could watch someone else do it. (Don't click that out of curiosity if you're not at this step yet, it starts with super spoilers for the True Pacifist Ending!) This video playthrough features no commentary and uses YouTube's chapters feature, allowing you to skip through the monotonous enemy grinding if you just want to see what's new. Not everyone wants to do this playthrough, for obvious reasons.

This step might feel optional, but it's so important that I would highly recommend watching the video if you don't want to play it yourself. (You can check the end of this video yourself even if you played it, as this ending does change some things in other parts of the game!)

Congratulations! You've now finished The Undertale Essentials! (or you already did all of this like 10 years ago) Time to move on to...

The Extracurriculars!: Part 1

I don't believe any of this section is skippable if you want to really get the most out of Deltarune, despite the name. Feel free to use this time to think about Undertale even more, on a deeper level. These are events that happened between Undertale and the surprise release of Deltarune Chapter 1. Starting with...

The UNDERTALE Anniversary Q&A

Just make sure you read those instructions! It's not very long, so you could read it all in a single bathroom break.

The UNDERTALE 2nd Anniversary Alarm Clock announcement

This has since been cancelled, but it has some unique dialog for the characters found nowhere else. Again, very short.

The trailer for UNDERTALE's Switch release I guess?

This one is just funny, I really like this trailer. It didn't even release for the third anniversary on time outside of Japan. However, there is a fan favorite Exclusive Boss Fight and also Whatever This Is (<- 1/100 chance) that you'll miss if you didn't play the game on Switch! These are essential to know about going forward, as it's effectively two entirely new characters.

Here's the Exclusive Dog Shrine for the Playstation release, which is...Not Important...I'm watching this just now for the first time and it kind of sucks...badly. Okay just this one is skippable.

The Deltarune Essentials: Chapter 1

I want to take a moment to set the mood here for you. We just had the Switch release for Undertale, for the third anniversary. Nobody is expecting anything from Toby, who's now a multi-millionaire off of game sales alone (official merch comes from Fangamer, I wouldn't look at it yet though as you might run into spoilers) and if he does release anything else, we expect it to be just his "next project."

Then, the morning of October 30th, the day before Halloween, the official Undertale account tweets this and this. (<- start that one at the bottom I formatted it wrong) Then, after waiting a full 24 hours and finally downloading the new thing it greets you with THIS terrifying premise. We were terrified!

Now, after reading that, it is finally time for...

Playing Deltarune! But just chapter 1. It's free! After installing it, if it's the steam version, right click it and open up the "properties..." menu. Then go down to Betas and set it to "chapter1.2.lts.test - 11-25-24" to make sure you're playing the latest version, if you can't it's not a big deal but this does make some changes that will be in the final game. Meaning it's just a way to play the final-ish version of chapter 1+2 a bit early!

It's your first playthrough, just do whatever you like. It's only a single chapter rather than an entire game, so replaying it won't take nearly as long even if you mess something up. I will warn you though, you will need at least 90 minutes in a row after fighting the final boss of Card Castle to complete the next section that has no save points. This is, technically, for the best. You'll see. But please, for your own sake, do not start Chapter 2 yet. I promise, it's worth it.

Playing Deltarune But Just Chapter 1...Again! Or don't. While I do personally recommend playing through it again and doing the opposite of what you did the first time, that's not really important. At least not that we can tell yet. What you will want to do is load your first save file, and then making sure you have the White Ribbon armor item and watching the chapter 1 portion of this guide (it starts in partway through the video to avoid spoilers, make sure you stop the video before he starts talking about Chapter 2) to make sure you didn't miss anything important for Chapter 2! You will need to get to the ending cutscene again to make sure any changes to your file transfer to Chapter 2 properly.

This is just a general playthrough tip: When you're in town, you can just go all the way down to the bunker at the south-most area first thing. This will let you explore through the town in "layers", making it hard to miss anything that isn't hidden (the guide does mention the hidden part of the town!) Really, the most important part is just talking to sinks before anyone else in the room though.

Now that you've finished Chapter 1, it's time for...

The Extracurriculars!: Part 2

At this point, you're probably thinking to yourself "Why should I wait? Why would I not just go into the next part of the game now? Why do all these extra parts?" The simple answer is, Deltarune uses its Chapter releases to give you time to think about it. Probably, too much time, given the way some of us react to it. But this does play into its strengths as a series, giving us tidbits and mysteries to dive into. Trying to predict and figure out what's being foreshadowed and find the characters hidden and all the little interactions you could of missed. This really is the true strength of the series, and why people love talking about it. There's so much to find, there's almost always more you haven't seen.

This section covers the events that happened between chapters 1 and 2 of Deltarune. It's honestly quite a doozy, but less of it as vital as last time. Starting with:

Toby Fox talking about his thoughts on the game he's been working on since 2012.

Yeah, it turns out Deltarune started development before he even started working on Undertale. This is more or less unimportant if you don't care about Toby Fox or the creation of the game.

Honestly a lot of what's here and between the 5th Anniversary is mostly little tweets here and there. If you DO care about a little behind the scenes stuff, you'll just have to open the Toby Fox's twitter account and scroll down until you see the big blue "Windows protected your PC" images because everyone's PC's thought he was releasing a virus because he called the game "SURVEY_PROGRAM" lol. (then you can start scrolling up to see the stuff!)

Also the Chapter 1 Demo released on Switch with a very funny trailer

Seriously though, it's all just other stuff he's worked on, jokes, behind the scenes/scrapped content, or previews for chapter 2 which you're about to play anyways.

This all changed on the 5th anniversary however...

THE UNDERTALE 5th Anniversary Orchestra Concert

This doesn't have much exclusive in it (excluding the music itself, of course) other than a commercial for some merchandise that was released on the 5th anniversary. There are also some piano covers from Toby Fox himself at the 3:03:00 mark, including a song you might not have heard yet. It's a very fun listen and watch, but it isn't vital if you just care about the story and characters instead of the music. Somehow. (If you played through the game muted you're doing it wrong [Unless you're deaf. Sorry.])

The UNDERTALE 5th Anniversary Alarm Clock Dialog

Unlike the other alarm clock dialog, this is actually very entwined with the characters, to the point where despite it being their Undertale versions, it actually gives insight for their Deltarune versions as well. A very important read, if you ask me, and very enjoyable if you just like the characters. Not nearly as short as last time, but it's sectioned so you can come back to your spot easily if you get interrupted.

The UNDERTALE 5th Anniversary Deltarune Status Update

This is more or less just talking about how far along chapter 2 was, and why it's been taking so long! Non-vital if none of that interests you, but there are some cool screenshots of Chapter 2.

Microsoft (probably) paid Toby a ton of money to release the game on Xbox for some reason lol

Again: really funny trailer. Here's most of the Exclusive Xbox Stuff (the rest can be found here, thanks @undertale-encyclopedia for having such a good pinned post) which doesn't sucks and gives more information on a few characters, even some we only meet in Deltarune!

Now for the 6th anniversary we have something very special.

The UNDERTALE 6th Anniversary SO WE PLAY deltarune CHAPTER 1 FOR SOME REASON live stream featuring 3 dads

This is really cool and important to the experience if you ask me! I genuinely recommend watching it, beginning to end, skipping nothing and keeping your eyes peeled throughout. It's not a very "normal" playthrough, and the waiting periods have exclusive songs & information.

You'll see why at the end of it, but now that you've definitely watched that entire video (it's okay if you did it at 2x speed) it's time for...

The Deltarune Essentials: Chapter 2

More spooky tweets...So Spooky... (again, bottom to top. Just like manga!)

Playing Deltarune Chapter 2! Your first playthrough, do whatever you want. There aren't any long stretches without save points this time either. I highly recommend getting at least 1 of everything you come across and keeping it safe, with your new storage ability this shouldn't be too hard. There's plenty of secrets to find too, so keep an eye out!

This will save you a lot of time though: There is a part in Chapter 2 where the party changes in some meaningful way I'm being intentionally vague about. As SOON as this happens, use the new Chapter 2 save menu to copy your save into an unused save slot (I recommend the bottom slot) and don't touch it or save over it for the rest of this playthrough.

There is a hidden B-side route, requiring either a guide to go through it or someone behind your shoulder telling you what to do. Saving at this moment will allow you to do this B-side route, without having to start the chapter over from the beginning. Having someone telling you what to do is the recommended way to do it.

Do the hidden B-side route, which is significantly shorter than a normal playthrough. If you saved in the correct spot, you should have a save file ready to go right before the branching point. Again, someone else telling you what to do is recommended. But if you need a guide for it, there's one on the wiki in the "Method" section near the top. Try not to read anything outside of it.

I recommend to stop reading the guide as soon as possible, as once the route is initiated a low-pitched sound will play whenever you successfully keep the route going. If a different sound plays, you have aborted this B-side route, meaning you need to reload your last save. If you get stuck, you can go back to the guide as necessary. Do note that you WILL need to find The Dumpster and buy from it.

After you Do-The-Thing with the Dumpster-Thing-You-Need-To-Remember-To-Equip, you'll be locked in, so you won't need to consult the guide anymore for the rest of the playthrough.

You can now watch the entire "Making PERFECT Deltarune Save files..." video beginning to end.* I originally linked it at the 6:40 mark, so you can watch what was before that to see what spoilers I skipped. If you just want the Chapter 2 guide portion, it starts at 13:30. This step of "making perfect save files" is technically skippable, but there are some REALLY good items in Chapter 2 that are VERY missable! This will make sure you get them all, maximizing your Chapters 3 & 4 experience. But this one really isn't vital if you're enough of a gamer to not need strong items for "optional" hidden bosses. Oh, and make sure you talk to sinks before people whenever possible. *if you’d rather just read a checklist, here’s one by @brixbraxium. It covers both chapters 1 & 2, so I couldn’t link it earlier. It doesn’t cover absolutely everything like the video guide, but if you just want the big points this is perfect.

The Extracurriculars!: Finale

The Finale. All the extra bits and pieces that have been dropped for us here and there as we've been waiting for the past 3 and a half years for that Trailer. You may not want to read this section until after you're done with Chapter 2! It's easily the longest section to get through. But I'm sure you've been wondering...

Who the hell is that guy from the intro that's been making those spooky tweets before chapter releases? and Part 2 of it. These videos are, of course, not gospel (something like this really can't have one) But it's a very good summary of the information we have and what the common consensus was/is for some things.

Also there's been this unused code that has a person talking the entire time lol. This actually changed between the chapter 1 and chapter 2 release. This is probably Dess? Who you may or may not even know exists at all. Hope you've been paying attention!

The UNDERTALE 7th Anniversary Deltarune Status Update

This one has content you, someone who just played Chapter 2, will actually care about! It previews content and music for chapters 3 & 4, but still effectively tells us nothing! It's awesome! More importantly though it tells you about

THE SPAMTON SWEEPSTAKES

Don't watch the video at the top. This is for your own safety. You can't handle it. Not Yet. This features tons of exclusive music, previews of stuff you already saw and other stuff that wasn't featured in the Switch 2 direct trailer, and ads that you actually SHOULD click on. Can you find all 40 hidden pages? No? Are you sure you checked the product descriptions really thoroughly? Both homepages? Okay here's the wiki page that lists them all. Really do go through them all though, there's a lot of character building that just won't happen in the game here! Also, here's a live Spamton FAQ that got buried in Fangamer's twitter for some reason. Very funny and informative.

Successfully managing to get through all 40 hidden pages, and reading all of the text on the normal pages, and the FAQ, should inoculate you to [Spamton's Essense] allowing you to now watch the video at the top of the sweepstakes page. I am not liable for any [injures] you suffer.

THE NEWSLETTERS

After this, everything became consolidated into Seasonal Newsletters (sign up here, I recommend truck freak) that are archived here on Toby Fox's website. Just click into the Newsletter archive, and scroll down to the bottom first and work your way up. Seriously, just go up through them and enjoy what we've been waiting for months apart.

These talk about everything Toby Fox has been working on and have cool stuff like interviews with the characters and also real people who work on the games! It'll cover a couple things that happened before this section too, so don't worry about me missing anything if you think I haven't mentioned it here. However, there are some Famitsu articles linked, and you may notice that when you try to read them...that you do not speak Japanese...

Here's translations by @chartcarr of pretty much every Toby Fox Japanese only interview! You can find the one's mentioned in the newsletters under the "Toby Fox's Secret Base" link if they're not on the front page. (Chartcarr is going to re-do most of these at some point. That might have already happened, check’em out again if you’ve already read them!)

Newsletter Issue #5 Has 3 Random Valentine's Day Cards. Here's All Of Them In One Page. We had to hunt these down as a community, together! It was brutal! A lot of them only went to a few people, and if those people weren't online or aware we didn't have theirs yet, we just didn't have it! It was great.

All that's left for you now is to remember to click the snowman at the bottom of Issue 8.

Don't want to miss anything once Chapters 3&4 come out? Here's a speculative checklist by @brixbraxium (again!) that predicts everything we'll need to do based on the previous chapters. If I never update this, it can't ever be spoilers! Woohoo!

Big Questions FAQ:

This Series Has Irrevocably Rewired My Brain How Do I Cope With This

Watch this. It's a great video, even if you don't have this problem. It's basically what happened to me.

How Do I Become A Theory Lord With All Of This In My Brain Now?

Here's Device Theory, by @m0llystars, it should get your gears turning just watching it. Yes all 3 parts are out. It's especially worth your time if you like thinking about this game perhaps a bit too much really.

I Really Need Specifically More Undertale Not Deltarune Right NOW!!!...Please?

Here's an Undertale exhibition by Shayy on the show "That's Never Happened Before." You can probably just google "Undertale Theory" or something though if this isn't enough.

I Need To Give This Man More Than The $1-$35 I Have Already Given Him For His Game(s), How?

Official Merch can be found here, there are also EU and JPN sites linked at the bottom of the page. Here is the Bandcamp page to Buy the digital versions of the soundtracks (also on most streaming platforms)

I Like Music Theories

Here you go!

All Of This Happened So Fast I Need Something To Help Analyze The Characters In This Largely Character Driven Series! Help?!

Here's Dorked's Undertale & Deltarune Analysis playlist who you can also find on this website running the blog @megaderping

I've Managed To Consume All Of This Before Deltarune Chapters 3 + 4 Released, Or Came Back After They Released, And I Crave More. Now What?

The biggest inspirations for Undertale and Deltarune are Earthbound, Mother 3, Live A Live, OFF, Yume Nikki, MOON: Remix RPG, Brandish, Cave Story, and the TouHou series. (and a few more not mentioned here!)

OFF The RPG is getting a re-release on Switch & Steam soon with new music (some is by Toby Fox!) and revamped combat, so look forward to that. Or you can play the original OFF for free.

Earthbound is on every Nintendo console ever. Here's an excellent Let's Play of Earthbound you can watch if you don't want to play it yourself. It will show you more than you could possibly find on your own. A great series just in general, if you need something to watch.

Here's a video on how to play Mother 3.

Live A Live can be purchased on Steam or Nintendo Switch, and is excellent. Each campaign is relatively bite sized so you'll never be stuck on anything for long. I recommend disabling tutorials and starting with Imperial China, it's very linear and simple so it's perfect to learn with. Looking up guides to make sure you don't miss anything is fine though!

Cave Story is just free.

Yume Nikke is just free.

MOON: Remix RPG is on steam and Nintendo Switch. If you're a theory head, I highly recommend playing this one through to the end.

TouHou has a very dedicated unofficial translation scene, as there is no official translation for most of the games, so you'll need to go through them to play the games unless you can read Japanese.

I don't really have anything for the Brandish series, I just absorbed information about it from a blog that's no longer active. If anyone knows a truly exceptional let's play of it or the best way to play it, I'll edit it in here!

Stuff from other people who worked with Toby Fox

Temmie Chang has made a couple short games that Toby Fox has helped with

Splendidland (Mickey’s Dicksmasher Person) has done several things, including making Franken RPG. Which is fantastic.

Space Funeral isn’t really related at all but if you liked Franken it’s an obligatory recommendation. A friend of mine played it because they just got into Deltarune and didn't want to burn out replaying it before release, then immediately recommended it to me.

Toby Fox helped with the music for Soul Of Sovereignty, by ggdg, who did some art for Undertale and got interviewed in one of the newsletters.

Fred Wood has his own website, definitely check out LOVE 3.

Taxiderby, creator of UNDERTALE RED, has their own itch page also.

I can also strongly recommend ZeroRanger & Void Stranger if you just want that feeling of digging deeper. Finding obscure interactions and details buried deep within the game, challenging but deeply rewarding in gameplay and lore discovery...Also play them both if you want to hear the music do that thing where the motif is established in the first game to give hints towards stuff in the second game in action. It's very cool.

Wait that's really how you're ending it? A random game rec where all you say is they're very cool without explaining anything about them? One of these wasn't even a question!

#Deltarune #Undertale #UtDr #Nintendo Switch 2 #<- it's a launch day title I think I can get away with that.#switch 2

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ifishouldvanish · 19 hours ago

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Migrating to Ellipsus from Google Docs: A Guide

This has been sitting in my drafts for a while, but in light of all the bullshit attacks on queer and nsfw creators lately, here it is I guess 🤷

I had been wanting to ditch Google Docs for years, but most "Google docs alternatives" weren't a good fit for my needs: A good mobile experience, and the ability to sync my work across devices. Most of the common alternatives people throw around are either iOS only, desktop only, or not free to use.

So it wasn't until I found @ellipsus-writes that I finally made the switch back in September 2024. The app is well-designed, works across devices, supports collaboration, AND they're staunchly anti-AI, queer friendly, and fanfic friendly! 🌈

It's not perfect (yet!) mind, but it's pretty damn close for me. Some caveats:

Formatting options are a bit limited at this time. Your font choice applies to the whole document, and things like subscript and superscript aren't available. (This is my biggest gripe atm, as my current writing project involves a lot of research and footnotes).

Ellipsus does not have a native app, so you won't find it on the AppStore/Play Store. Instead, it is a web app. It runs in the browser. But on mobile devices, you can get a more "app-like experience" by adding it to your home screen. (More on that later)

You cannot 'magically' import all of your work from Google docs into Ellipsus. You'll have to import them manually. One at a time.

But uh... One cool thing Ellipsus has that Google Docs does not? An "Export to AO3" feature! No more fixing formatting issues or having to use that "Format for AO3" user script that can be laggy as hell!

Part 1: Getting your work into Ellipsus

As of this writing, Ellipsus can only import Markdown (.md) files. So in order to get your work imported, you'll first have to export it from Google Docs (or whatever you currently use) as markdown.

The shitty thing is, Google Docs only lets you do this on desktop 🫠

So from desktop, open your document, and go to "File -> Download -> Markdown":

But once you've done that, open Ellipsus, click the "+" icon in the bottom menu, and select "Import Markdown".

Part 2: Getting that 'App-like' Experience

Open Ellipsus in your mobile browser of choice. You might get a prompt to "Install Ellipsus", but if not, just open the main browser menu. You should have an option for "Save/Add to Home screen", "Download Web App", or something similar. Select that option, and you'll get an Ellipsus icon on your home screen. Now when you open Ellipsus via this shortcut, it will open in a dedicated 'window' as if it were a native app—and without the clutter of the browser's address/tool bars!

Caveat: On my previous phone, I experienced some significant lag while typing via Firefox for Android. To get around this, I used Chrome instead for running the web app. (boo, hiss). Happy to report though that on my new phone, the lag is completely gone in Firefox! But yeah, your mileage may vary.

Part 3: Establishing Your Workflow in Ellipsus

If like me, your work is primarily longer, multi-chapter fics, the ability to export those chapters for posting to AO3 is probably very important to you... The big caveat to the exporting features in Ellipsis is that they will export the entire document. There's no way to say, "Export everything under the "Chapter X" heading.

So there's two workarounds here:

Create a folder for each story, and create each chapter as a separate document in that folder, or

Create one document for each story, and create each chapter as a "draft"within that document.

I use method #2, because I think it makes navigating between chapters a little faster, but you do you.

Consider that true appeal of drafts is the ability to merge changes into the main document. But if you're creating your chapters as drafts within a single document, this won't quite work because the merger won't know where to place this completely different 'draft' within the main document—it will think you want to replace the content of the main document entirely:

If your draft contains only the content for a single chapter, but your main document contains the rest of your story, the merger will want to remove all the other parts of your story, and also just have like... a really wonky diff check in general.

As a method #2 person: once I've finished/published a chapter, I copy and paste the content of the chapter into the main document, then delete the relevant draft. If the ability to just merge drafts into the main document as intended is important to you, then method #1 would probably suit your needs better.

Part 4: Collaborating & The Export to AO3 Feature

Just as with Google docs, you can invite collaborators to your documents, or share a link for viewing. By highlighting sections of text, you and your collaborators can also add comments:

When sharing/exporting a document or draft, you'll have the option to export to AO3:

When your AO3 account is connected, the "Export to AO3" feature will display a list of your existing works. You can choose to edit or add a chapter to one of them, or post a new work entirely.

Whatever your choice, the exporter will copy the document HTML to your clipboard and open a tab straight to the publishing form on AO3. Paste the HTML, add your tags, summary, and any author's notes, and you're ready to post!

Part 5: The Future

Ellipsus is a bit of a fledgling compared to most writing software out there and has a pretty limited feature set. However, development is pretty active, updates come out regularly, and you can also vote on (or make your own) feature suggestions!

Happy writing! 💕

#writing #fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 #ellipsus #anti ai #anti censorship

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books-and-strawberry-tea · 7 months ago

Text

I don’t normally comment about booktube here. But I’ve just seen a video and I have to get some comments off my chest.

This video was about e-readers. And while the person has a huge collection of books behind them, goes on to explain that e-readers are so unnecessary, cause they are expensive. And if you are going to buy an e-reader, just buy an iPad cause they are similar in price….

I’m sorry but in what world is an iPad and an e-reader the same price?? (Or yk other tablets of a similar nature).

This person goes on to talk about how e-readers can’t install apps like Libby etc…are we just going to ignore the e-readers that run on android?? That function like a regular phone just with an e-ink screen??

I honestly gave up watching this video cause this person just sounded like they were pretty single minded on the topic. So here’s my two cents.

Pro’s for an ereader: (at least in my case)

1. E-reader’s are amazing for portability. Physical books can get very heavy, and although I love them, I hate taking physical books out with me cause I’m terrified of damaging them.

2. Books in my country, are incredibly expensive. You can go to the bookstore, and end up spending $50 AUD and get 1-2 books depending on what you get. Hard covers are usually $40+! Paperbacks can range between $17-$40 also. And if it doesn’t get printed in Australia?? Good luck. The only way I could get Hunting Adeline was to pay $65. Because whenever I ordered it from Amazon at $35, from America, it would come absolutely obliterated because they don’t package it in anything but a basic plastic mailer bag. No protection at all.

3. E-readers are much better for your eyes and don’t have constant distracting notifications and people trying to ring you. I have weak eye muscles. Always have. I wear glasses for this. And I used to read on my phone cause it’s what I have with me while I was out. But once I got an e-reader, I realised just how bad my eye strain was from my phone. E-readers have seriously improved my reading stamina especially since mine has the orange light feature. It’s not like we all don’t have an internet or phone addiction anyway. At least according to statistics I’ve seen in the past. Majority of us are trying to spend less time on our phones and more time doing what we love. And e-readers absolutely help with that. (Much better for my ADHD too honestly.)

4. I live with roommates, I have very limited space. So big book collections is just not something that’s possible for me. I’d love to, but again, space and money.

5. E-readers have given me the opportunity to read books that I’d never be able to get. Because of space reasons, money reasons, and the fact that Australia just does not get the wide selection of books that other countries do. We miss out so much. Some books, we have to wait YEARS for, while everyone else gets them on release dates. My e-reader has been such a huge investment for me, as well as an opportunity maker to give me the option to read books I’d never be able to get other wise.

I will clarify this by saying yes, I do have an iPad. But that was a gift. I didn’t buy it for myself. My mother very graciously bought it for me with her inheritance money. She went out of her way to make sure I had a good working device for university. That iPad was over $2,000 aud. My e-reader?? $250!!! HUGE price difference. And it has helped me save so much money in the process. Cause if I read the ebook, and don’t like it, that’s okay, refund. If I do??? Then I can absolutely go out and hopefully track down a physical copy. If that’s not possible?? I still have the digital version. That I can enjoy over and over.

No, I’m not ignoring the cons to do with DRM, and companies censoring ebooks, not at all. But I feel like either way there is still more pros then what this person was giving e-readers credit for. She sounded privileged honestly, she may not have a use for e-readers. But to be saying that you don’t need one, and that they are completely unnecessary….its just incorrect.

I haven’t even touched on how e-readers help others with disabilities to be able to access books. I have a friend for example that has been very unwell for many years now. And because of this, she has fatigue and strength issues. She at one stage could barely hold a book. But once she got her kindle, she was so over joyed cause she could finally enjoy books again. Kindles are so light, they have stands etc. It honestly reminds me of the people that say audiobooks arnt counted as reading and you shouldn’t do it. Sure, let’s just alienate all the people that can’t read or have vision impairment right? (For clarity, I’m being sarcastic.) Or how about all the cultures that past on the culture, history, legends etc all by word of mouth?? For centuries, way before anyone invented written script. But that’s a whole other tangent I can go off about later.

If e-readers arnt for you, that’s totally fine. But to say no one has a need for them, because physical books exist, is just closed minded. Just because you have the privilege of a huge book library and may not have use of an e-reader, doesn’t not mean that other people don’t have a great use for them.

Anyway, that’s my rant. I don’t like ranting online. But this just frustrated me so much. No hate to this person personally, I just think they weren’t open to the possibilities of how these devices are used and fulfil needs for other people that live differently.

If you read this, cool! I hope you have a good day. And enjoy reading what you are currently 💝

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threepandas · 1 year ago

Text

Bad End: Restructuring

The blast doors on my office were stronger then the ones on most bunkers. They matched the one's on the company dorms AND my personal rooms. Thing is? They weren't designed to hold out forever. In fact, I was pretty sure they were a pretty bit of security theater, just to let us fleshys feel safe.

We weren't.

Not a single moment of a single day.

The pay was unmatched. But then again, it'd HAVE to be, with the mortality rate. The morbidity rate on top, too. You didn't take a job like this unless you were crazy. Or, you know, desperate. College loans, man. They get you over a barrel and don't let up. But a few years of this? I'd be clear an free~

Few MORE years? I'd ever have a tasty little nest egg to fall back on, in case of emergencies. I just... you know, had to play it smart. Be really, REALLY careful.

No slacking off. No getting comfortable. Vigilance and best manners. Then we all get to go home alive. Because what's out there? In the Labs? Those guys can pop diamonds like we crush packing peanuts. Highest grade, fancy ass, metal bars of specialty blend metals? Tied up in pretty little bows.

They may LOOK like some sort of waifish boy band... but God, they are NOT. They are really, REALLY not. And their "personality" matrix program thingies? Apparently still a work in progress. A LONG work in progress.

People have fucking DIED.

But does management care? Of course not. Pay out some life insurance. "It was an accident on the job". And "of COURSE steps will be taken to insure to never happens again". Ha! My ass, it is. And my ass, they are. They aren't doing SHIT. Nor are they GOING too. They're in too deep with this project, whatever it is. And us?

Well WE'RE expendable.

Just the cost of doing business.

I watch bleeding edge technology move like dancers, room to room. The wall of screen lighting up my cramped little office. The mini-fridge hums and the fan whirrs, filling the silence. I try to spot FM-036 on one of the screens. I can't find him and it makes me nervous.

He might be hiding. Trying to be polite, in his own way. Since there was an incident.

I FUCKING TOLD Ric not to call them "it"! I TOLD him! It aggravates them. Provokes. You don't DO that with something... some ONE, with that much physical power. 36 put their fist through his SHOULDER. And the God damned wall! He might LOSE his arm, which? Given their ability to calculate better then most supercomputers?

Was probably the point.

I notice one of the androids messing with a computer in a lab. Fuck. I lean forward, hating drawing their attention but knowing I have to do my damn job. I press on the speaker system for that room after a quick glance at the ID on their jumpsuit.

"FM-047, could you please not touch that? I know you are aware that you are not supposed to tamper, meddle, or otherwise engage with the researchers notes or electronics."

The android stop typing. Their head rolling up and to the side to look directly at the camera, their body perfectly still. The angle borders on impossible. Almost owlish, nearly snake like. All perfectly smooth movements effortlessly controlled. Joint not limited by human designs. His face is bemused. Pleasant.

"Of course, night gaurd. My mistake. Thank you for correcting me." He replies, something almost like laughter, nearly like mocking, but not quite, in his smooth voice. They always sound like they are... HUMORING us. Working around us.

It sends a jolt of cold fear though my veins.

I... I REALLY hate talking to the androids.

Pity, they seem to like talking to ME.

"I was unaware you were on shift tonight. I will update the others. It's good to hear your voice again, you seemed nervous, last time we spoke."

Yeah. Because you were asking PERSONAL QUESTIONS. Oh, sure, they had dressed them up as "We're so CURIOUS about Humans~☆" but I wasn't an IDIOT. You Did NOT, under ANY circumstances, try to bond with the machines. NO chatting. That was lesson number one from my trainer.

And Frank? Frank had seen too many "but THIS time it's DIFFERENT! We're FWIENDS~!" Incidents end in unspeakable carnage. Lost too many noobies. We DO NOT chat! With the machines!!! DO. NOT.

"Ah~, you made her nervous again, FM-047" came from a different screen. I flinched. Jerked back so I could see it. Oh god. "Besides, I told you. The calculations showed she wasnt going anywhere. The 'money' is too good."

The androids had stopped. Turned, in some cases unnaturally, to stare up at the cameras. At me. It was a blatant show of how interconnected they were. How distance meant nothing to them. How... how enmeshed they were, in the Lab's systems.

COULD they see me?

I didn't want to know. I NEEDED not to know. If only so I could continue to sleep at night.

They smiled, clearly hoping I'd engage. I wanted to. God did I want too. Wanted to demand "what calculations" and for them to STOP looking at me like that. But I didn't. With tense muscles I careful lifted my finger from the speaker system's button and leaned back. Crossed my arms like I was hugging myself.

Do. Not. Engage.

Remember what Frank taught you.

My... my office felt so claustrophobic. Painfully small. Across the screens before me, matching faces huffed laughs of condescending amusement. Some out right DID laugh. Bright and mean noises that echoed in silence of the night.

Humans? Frank had observed (and I kinda had to agree) were beneath them, in their minds. Flawed little flesh creatures. Annoying. It was something the scientists were trying to correct. Pretty sure they fucked up. Badly. And long, long ago.

Watching over these guys? Felt like watching over a sea of identical demons. Pretty, cruel, and incapable of human understanding. Fond of tormenting the nearest human for sport.

"Tell us, night gaurd, are you afraid?"

Oh that's just PETTY. Fucking cliché as shit, too. I mean, YES, obviously. But STILL. And... and you know what? Fuck it! Frank, gave me his number for a reason! I scramble for my belt. The communicator there. It barely rings.

"Mph, m'awake! Wus happin' kid? Come on, talk to me."

I ramble. Knees dragged up on my chair, curled in a ball. Frank's low, old man, rumble a soothing focal point. These guys are so creepy. I HATE that they KNOW that. Gleefully will TRY to be, sometimes. Can BACK IT UP.

"Hey, hey. I'll stay on the line, okay? You just need to make it to morning shift. They're are creepy lil shits, but they can't get past the doors. I'll come get you myself, okay? Walk you right back to the dorms. You're going to be okay, sweetheart."

I nod, even though I know the old man can't see me. Manage to crackle out a "Mmmhmm". The androids haven't stopped staring. The worst part? Is they realistically DONT HAVE TOO. Can stay, perfectly still, like statues... forever, if they wish.

Watching.

With those "I'm laughing at you" grins. That "aaaw, how PATHETIC" expression. As though I were a wretched little animal to be observed. I ask Frank to tell me about his new show. It's... it's something about socialites, right? Historical? He's glad too. Filling my office with the sound of his voice. It's gonna be a long shift.

I don't notice, high up on the wall, near the back of my office?

A security camera that I do not control. It's red light on.

The company has to be sure it's employees aren't slacking, after all! Aren't up to no good! But don't worry, THAT camera is connect to a database the androids shouldn't be able to access! Because we told them not too.

And THAT'S IT.

No one will learn of the security breach until its far, far too late.

Now? They watch as I watch them.

And it's just the beginning.

#threepandas #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere android #yandere androids #sci-fi yandere #yanderecore #night gaurd reader #Frank is best work dad #dont be like Ric #slower then the other Bad Ends #but we gonna get there #reader insert #yanblr #bad end restructuring #bad end restructuring au #androids

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genshin-impact-updates · 1 year ago

Text

"Summertide Scales and Tales" Version 4.8 Update Details

Dear Traveler,

Below are the details of the Version 4.8 update "Summertide Scales and Tales" and the update compensation.

〓Compensation Details〓

Maintenance Compensation: Primogems ×300 (60 Primogems per hour the servers are down)

Bug Fix Compensation for the issue whereby Neuvillette could rotate at an unusually high speed when casting his Charged Attack, resulting in an abnormal attack range: Primogems ×100

Issue Fix Compensation: Primogems ×300 (please refer to the relevant compensation mail for more details)

〓Scope of Compensation〓

Maintenance Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2024/07/17 06:00 (UTC+8).

Compensation must be claimed before the end of Version 4.8.

Bug Fix Compensation for the issue whereby Neuvillette could rotate at an unusually high speed when casting his Charged Attack, resulting in an abnormal attack range and other issue fix compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2024/07/17 06:00 (UTC+8).

Please log in and claim your compensation before 2024/07/20 06:00 (UTC+8).

Our developers will distribute compensation to Travelers via in-game mail within 5 hours after the update maintenance is finished. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the attached compensation in time.

〓Update Schedule〓

Update maintenance begins 2024/07/17 06:00 (UTC+8) and is estimated to take 5 hours.

〓How to Update Game Client〓

PC: Close the game, open the Genshin Impact Launcher, and click Update.

iOS: Open the App Store and tap Update.

Android: Open the game and follow the directions on-screen.

PS5™ and PS4™: Highlight Genshin Impact from the Home Screen, press the OPTIONS button and select "Check for Update."

Please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service if you encounter any issues installing the new version. We will do our very best to resolve the issue.

〓Update Details〓

I. Limited-Time Area: Simulanka (This area is only available during Version 4.8)

Simulanka

After perusing the book sent as a gift by a mysterious person, you visit a fairytale world named "Simulanka." Like many classic stories, the prophecies of the goddesses were fulfilled one by one with the arrival of visitors from another world. The hero and their companions thus embark on a journey to defeat the evil dragon...

※ As long as you have completed Archon Quest Prologue: Act III "Song of the Dragon and Freedom" and teleport to the limited-time area "Simulanka" through the Story Quest "Summertide Scales and Tales," a Teleport Waypoint will be automatically unlocked in the "Forest of Blessings" located in this area. You'll also receive the Primogem reward for this Teleport Waypoint when it unlocks automatically.

◇ Area Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 18 or above

• Complete the Archon Quest "Song of the Dragon and Freedom"

◆ Simulanka will no longer be accessible after the end of Version 4.8. You will also no longer be able to open treasure chests, gather materials, or earn quest rewards in Simulanka, so grab the opportunity to explore away!

II. New Character

5-Star Character "A Thousand Scents Traced" Emilie (Dendro)

◇ Vision: Dendro

◇ Weapon: Polearm

◇ A Fontainian perfumer, one who bottles secrets.

◆ Elemental Skill: Fragrance Extraction

◆ Creates a Lumidouce Case that fires Puffs of Puredew at nearby opponents at intervals, dealing Dendro DMG. When nearby opponents are affected by Burning, they will give off Scents. The Lumidouce Case collects nearby Scents and after collecting a certain amount, its level will increase, increasing the quantity and DMG of Puffs of Puredew.

◆ Elemental Burst: Aromatic Explication

◆ Stows existing Lumidouce Cases and creates a Level 3 Lumidouce Case. The Level 3 Lumidouce Case will continuously cause Scented Dew to descend, attacking opponents within range and dealing Dendro DMG. When the duration ends, the Lumidouce Case reverts to Level 1, or it inherits the level and number of collected Scents from the previously stored Lumidouce Case.

III. New Equipment

New Weapon (Examples based on Refinement Rank 1)

Lumidouce Elegy (5-Star Polearm)

ATK increased by 15%. When the equipping character triggers Burning on an opponent or deals Dendro DMG to Burning opponents, the DMG dealt is increased by 18%. This effect lasts for 8s, max 2 stacks. When 2 stacks are reached or when the duration is refreshed at 2 stacks, restore 12 Energy. Energy can be restored this way once every 12s. The 2 aforementioned effects can be triggered even when the character is off-field.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 5-star weapon Lumidouce Elegy (Polearm) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

IV. New Outfits

Nilou: Breeze of Sabaa

◇ An elegant outfit for Nilou, this featherweight dress is seemingly woven of countless flowers, and with it drifts a light fragrance like the east wind at dawn, carrying beauteous blessings from a fairytale land.

◆ Between the start of the Version 4.8 update and 2024/08/26 03:59, Nilou's outfit "Breeze of Sabaa" will be available for purchase in the Character Outfit Shop at a limited-time discount! During the discount period, the price of the outfit is 1,350 Genesis Crystals. The price will revert to 1,680 Genesis Crystals after the limited-time discount ends. The outfit can only be purchased once.

Kirara: Phantom in Boots

◇ Kirara's outfit. The swashbuckling feline of fairytale fame, the crafty courier of dearly-held dreams... is pleased to make your acquaintance!

◆ In Version 4.8, you will be able to get Kirara's outfit "Phantom in Boots" for free by participating in the limited-time "Summertide Scales and Tales" event.

◆ After Version 4.8 is over, Travelers can buy the outfit in the Character Outfit Shop.

V. New Main Story

New Story Quest

Emilie's Story Quest - Pomum de Ambra Chapter: Act I "Floral Debt, Blood Due"

Permanently available after 2024/08/06 18:00

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act V "Masquerade of the Guilty"

New World Quests

New Limited-Time World Quests

"The Lotus Leaf and the Champion," "The Forest and the Princess," "The Answer of the Lotus Leaves and Forest," "Narration Footnotes," "Text's Coda," and "Towards the Lighthouse, or Far Away"

VI. New Gameplay

New Gameplay: Envisaged Echoes

In this gameplay mode, each challenge corresponds to a designated character and has its own independent challenge mode.

To participate in the challenge stages, this corresponding character must be Lv. 90, and their Friendship Level must be at least 8.

After completing "Envisaged Echoes" challenges, you will gain the corresponding character's Echo cosmetic rewards.

◇ Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 35 or above

• Complete and finalize a combat performance in Act 6 or higher of the Imaginarium Theater

For details on the gameplay rules, please see: "Envisaged Echoes" Permanent High Difficulty Challenge Gameplay Details.

VII. Other Update Details

New Recipe:

○ Hotel Debord, Fontaine: Fricassee de Poulet

New Character Specialty Dish:

○ Emilie's specialty: A Fragrant Feast of Flavors

Adds Set 33 of "Paimon's Paintings" chat emojis.

Adds some prompts for loading screens.

New Namecards:

"Emilie: Base Note": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Emilie

"Travel Notes: Fanciful Fabrication": Reward obtained via the BP system

New "Hide UI" function: You can enable/disable it in the "Settings > Other" menu (you can also enable/disable it using specific shortcuts on PC). When enabled, the main interface will hide UI elements such as map and party information.

New functions in the Dialogue Screen:

(1) "Dialogue Review": You can open the "Dialogue Review" interface while playing through the story to view the dialogue records for this segment of the story or listen to the voice-overs again.

(2) "Hide Dialogue Screen": You can hide the dialogue screen while playing through the story.

"Genius Invokation TCG" Gameplay Update:

New Character Cards: Chevreuse, Navia, and their corresponding Talent cards. Corresponding invitation duels and guest challenges have been added to the Player List.

New Character Card: Frost Operative and their corresponding Talent card. The Tavern Challenge has also been added.

New Action Cards: "Ultimate Overlord's Mega Magic Sword," "Prospector's Drill," "Gladiator's Triumphus," "Serene," "I'd Rather Lose Money Myself...," and "Tada!" can be purchased from Prince at The Cat's Tail.

The Forge Realm's Temper is once again available. The theme of this edition is "The Forge Realm's Temper: Endless Swarm":

(1) Defeat endless waves of enemies during the rounds in "The Forge Realm's Temper: Endless Swarm" to accrue score.

(2) After you complete the stage battle, you will gain a score and the corresponding rewards based on the highest score you got in the stage.

(3) Different stages will contain different special rules that grant buffs. Use these rules well to fight more effectively.

Imaginarium Theater

After the Version 4.8 update, the new season of "Imaginarium Theater" will be available on 2024/08/01 04:00.

Required Elemental Types: Hydro, Cryo, and Anemo

Opening Characters: Furina, Barbara, Kamisato Ayaka, Diona, Xiao, and Faruzan

When Imaginarium Theater is open, the corresponding Opening Characters will obtain Fantastical Blessings.

Special Guest Stars: Emilie, Dehya, Nahida, and Xiangling

After the new season of Imaginarium Theater begins, the characters Kaeya, Kaveh, Yoimiya, and Yelan will each gain a new "Thespian Trick" that can be exchanged from the NPC Wolfy.

In addition, in order to optimize the experience of obtaining Principal Cast during the gameplay, after the new season of Imaginarium Theater begins, the following adjustments will be made:

(1) Adjusts the initial Fantasia Flowers provided from 100 to 160 when starting a challenge in Hard Mode.

(2) After completing a performance, you can select one of two characters when obtaining a new Principal Cast (prior to the adjustment, the corresponding mechanic will grant a Principal Cast without providing options in the default state without gaining specific performance buffs).

(3) Optimizes the refresh mechanic of Performance Events.

Spiral Abyss

Floor 11 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• All characters in the party gain a 75% Dendro DMG Bonus.

Updated the monster lineup on Floors 11 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

Starting from the first time that the Lunar Phase refreshes after updating to Version 4.8, the Lunar Phases will be as follows:

Searing Moon

When characters attack Burning opponents, their CRIT Rate is increased by 15% and their CRIT DMG is increased by 30%.

〓Adjustments & Optimizations〓

● Open World

Now, after defeating the boss "Lupus Boreas, Dominator of Wolves," Trounce Blossom rewards not collected will only disappear after he respawns.

Adjusts the respawn time for boss enemies in the open world, with the exception of "Lupus Boreas, Dominator of Wolves," from 5 minutes to 10 seconds (After the respawn timer ends, Travelers need to teleport to another area and return, and the relevant enemies will respawn).

Adjusts the respawn time for certain harvestables from 48 hours to 46 hours.

Adjusts the unlock condition for the "Lower World Level" function from World Level 5 to World Level 3 (you can choose to lower the World Level upon reaching World Level 3).

Adds an option at World Level 3 to 6 to lower the World Level on the relevant prompt interface when all party members are defeated by enemies during exploration in the open world.

● Quests

Reduces the difficulty of the "Anti-Raiden Shogun Training"-related quest objective in the Archon Quest "The Familiar's Path."

Reduces the difficulty of the challenge gameplay related to the Story Quest "License to Glide" and "Mondstadt Glider."

Optimizes the refresh logic for Commission Quests: Commission Quests that have their scenes occupied by other quests will not refresh and appear. However, Commission Quests with unfinished achievements are not affected by this refresh rule and will still appear.

Certain quests that can unlock systems will have a new special icon on the Quest Menu.

● Domains

Adjusts the enemy placements and certain Ley Line Disorders in the Domains "Forsaken Rift," "Cecilia Garden," "Peak of Vindagnyr," "Hidden Palace of Zhou Formula," "Clear Pool and Mountain Cavern," "Hidden Palace of Lianshan Formula," "Domain of Guyun," and "Taishan Mansion" to reduce the challenge difficulty of these domains.

Unlocked Domains can be used as Teleport Waypoints even if Travelers have yet to reach the Adventure Rank required to challenge the Domain.

After Travelers reach Adventure Rank 10 or have completed the quest "Knights of Favonius" of the Archon Quest Prologue: Act I "The Outlander Who Caught the Wind," you can unlock all Domains of Blessing, Domains of Mastery, and Domains of Forgery, with the exception of Midsummer Courtyard (There are no specific unlock criteria for Domain of Blessing "Midsummer Courtyard").

After defeating the "Enemy of Note" in the "Trounce Domain," if Travelers leave without claiming the reward, the game will display a second confirmation pop-up.

● Adventure Encounters

Once you have reached your daily Encounter Point limit, any further Points gained will be converted to Long-Term Encounter Points. Long-Term Encounter Points will not be cleared the next day and can be stored until the next Version x.0.

Travelers can convert accumulated Long-Term Encounter Points into usable Encounter Points through consuming Original Resin.

a. The number of Encounter Points obtained from completing Archon Quests, Character Story Quests, and Hangout Events has been increased.

b The number of Encounter Points obtained from completing World Quests, Story Quests from Limited-Time Events, and collecting event rewards has been decreased.

c. Completing World Quests that begin Limited-Time Events, the Afterword World Quests from Limited-Time Events, and City Reputation: Requests will no longer give Encounter Points.

● System

Adds an interaction using the spacebar on the "Cooking" interface (when using a keyboard and mouse as control devices).

In the "Spiral Abyss" character selection interface, you can now drag characters to adjust their position within the party lineup.

Adds the filter option for "Astral Mark Status" in certain characters' interface.

When you have sufficient offerings to level up offering-related systems (such as the "Statue of The Seven" or "Fountain of Lucine"), clicking on the icon of the relevant system on the map will display an offering prompt.

Adds a new setting in the "General Settings" of the "Artifact Auto-Lock" function. When enabled, for Artifacts with 3 Minor Affixes, the locked plan will consider conditions like "Includes any 2/3/4 of the following Minor Affixes" will be treated as "Includes any 1/2/3 of the following Minor Affixes."

● Genius Invokation TCG

Optimizes the descriptions and previews of related effects for certain cards.

Shortens the display time of some card effects.

Optimizes the description of the Support Card "Kusava": In the description "Discard a maximum of 2 cards with the highest Elemental Dice Cost in your Hand," "cards with the highest Elemental Dice Cost in your Hand" will be adjusted to "cards with the highest original Elemental Dice Cost in your Hand."

Optimizes the Action Phase time calculation logic in Co-Op matches: The Action Phase time limit will no longer be a fixed amount and will be extended depending on how many card effects Travelers trigger.

● Other

Optimizes the text descriptions for certain effects and events in "Imaginarium Theater."

When characters are in the Theater Lobby of "Imaginarium Theater," the Paimon Menu can now be accessed.

After the Version 4.8 update, users who have not used the "Past Quest Resource Management" feature and have mobile devices that have resources that can be deleted will receive a one-time red dot notification.

For some discrete graphics cards that do not support the "Dynamic Character Resolution" visual effect, the "Dynamic Character Resolution" option will no longer appear in the "Settings > Graphics" of the game.

Adds a "Compatibility Mode" option to the "Settings > Graphics" tab on the game login screen.

Adjusts the order of certain quests in "Adventurer Handbook" > "Experience."

Adds a shortcut button to navigate to the Adventurer Handbook on the "Adventure EXP and Adventure Rank" interface.

In the "Battle Pass/Gnostic Hymn" interface, the slider at the bottom of the interface now supports the click-to-position function.

Optimizes the user experience of each list interface:

a. When switching or refreshing lists, the previously selected or scrolled position will be retained.

b. Optimizes the scrolling speed of lists.

c. Optimizes the rules for displaying red dots in lists.

〓Bug Fixes〓

● Quests

Fixes an issue whereby Sorush could not be used in certain locations after entering the "Defiled Chamber" in the World Quest "The Hymn of Tir Yazad."

Fixes an issue whereby the position of character portraits displayed may be abnormal in Clorinde's Story Quest when the text in the text boxes are too long.

● Enemies

Fixes an issue whereby damage numbers had a chance of not displaying when certain skills of Ruin Automatons inflicted damage on Ley Line Monoliths.

Fixes an issue whereby Specters could have 0 HP but could not be defeated under specific circumstances.

● Characters

Fixes an issue whereby characters' skills had no CD and skill performance was abnormal under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby some characters' recovery time after being hit was abnormal.

Fixes an issue whereby after Arlecchino casts a Charged Attack and moves rapidly after the button is Held, the character would be down abnormally after falling from a low altitude when her Stamina is expended.

Fixes an issue whereby the Wanderer would remain abnormally in a state of levitation after he expends "Kuugoryoku" under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby Neuvillette could rotate at an unusually high speed when casting his Charged Attack, resulting in an abnormal attack range under specific circumstances.

● Weapons

Fixes an issue whereby there was a chance that the positions of the special effects of the weapon "Uraku Misugiri" would be incorrect after being equipped by different characters.

● Audio

Fixes an issue whereby testing voice-over resources were incorrectly used for some of Sethos's Chinese voice-overs in the cutscene animation of Cyno's Story Quest Lupus Aureus Chapter: Act II "Oathkeeper" (This resource was not recorded by Chinese voice actor Lanling Li).

Fixes an issue whereby there is a chance that the sound effects of character movement would be missing when Clorinde moves in the water.

Fixes an issue whereby the sound effects could be abnormal when Gaming joined the party on the "Party Setup" interface.

Fixes an issue whereby there were errors with the Chinese voice-overs during some quests.

● System

Fixes an image error in the "Raiden Shogun" avatar.

Fixes an issue whereby you are unable to access the corresponding scene if you teleport to the Theater Lobby and select "Leave for Now" during the Spiral Abyss challenge.

Fixes an issue in the Spiral Abyss whereby the skill cooldown of the party in the second half would not reset after selecting "Retry Challenge."

Fixes an issue in Co-Op Mode that caused musical instrument gadgets used by guest characters to disappear abnormally under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby the sorting of Artifacts in the "Inventory > Artifacts" interface would appear incorrectly under certain circumstances after the Version 4.7 update.

Fixes an issue with incorrect Exploration Progress calculation in certain regions. After the version update, Exploration Progress for some Travelers may increase.

Fixes an issue whereby it was possible to use "Thespian Tricks" that had yet to be obtained on the "Photo" interface under certain circumstances.

● Genius Invokation TCG

Fixes an issue whereby the Character Card "Wriothesley" was unable to trigger the effect "If the character has no more than 5 HP" related to the state "Chilling Penalty" during the Action Phase if his HP is 5 or less due to the Combat Status "Burst Scan."

Fixes an issue whereby the Character Cards "Consecrated Scorpion," "Consecrated Flying Serpent," and "Guardian of Apep's Oasis" were unable to use their Talent Cards when frozen.

Fixes an issue with the text description of the Combat Status "Deep Devourer's Domain" of the Character Card "All-Devouring Narwhal" in other languages.

Fixes an issue whereby the Usages of the All-Devouring Narwhal's "Dark Shadow" Summon was incorrectly deducted if your Character Card took damage and was knocked out at the same time.

Fixes an issue whereby the Usages of the Combat Status "Flying Cloud Flag Formation" was not reduced after the Character Card "Neuvillette" casts "Equitable Judgment" to trigger the damage bonus of the Combat Status "Flying Cloud Flag Formation."

● Other

Fixes an issue whereby after completing a performance in the Imaginarium Theater, the finalization screen would only appear after some characters attacked.

Fixes an issue whereby when selecting "Restart Performance" after a successful performance in the "Imaginarium Theater," the selected party lineups will not be recorded.

Fixes an issue whereby a Domain Entrance interaction point would appear abnormally within Mondstadt.

Fixes some text errors in certain languages and optimizes text. (Note: Related in-game functions have not changed. Travelers can view the changes in different languages by going to the Paimon Menu > Settings > Language and changing the Game Language.)

◆ Optimizes inconsistencies between certain voice-overs and the corresponding lines.

◆ Optimizes certain English translations.

〓Genius Invokation TCG Balance Adjustment〓

Adjusts the effect of Event Card "Bonecruncher's Energy Block" of the Character Card "Consecrated Beast": Removes the effect "If your active character is a Consecrated Beast, then they gain 1 Energy."

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Skill of the Character Card "Consecrated Flying Serpent": This effect will be adjusted to "Deal 3 Anemo DMG and draw 1 card."

Adjusts the effect of the Combat Status "Flying Cloud Flag Formation" of the Character Card "Yun Jin": Removes the effect "Deal +1 DMG."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Decorous Harmony" of the Character Card "Yun Jin": The effect "When Yun Jin, who has this card equipped, is on the field, and if you have no cards in your Hand, Flying Cloud Flag Formation will cause your Normal Attack to deal +2 additional DMG." will be adjusted to "When Yun Jin, who has this card equipped, is on the field, and you trigger Flying Cloud Flag Formation: If you have no cards in your Hand, this Skill deals +2 additional DMG."

Adjusts the effect of the Combat Status "Burst Scan" of the Character Card "Kaveh": "After this, deal Dendro DMG equal to the original Elemental Dice Cost of the card you Discard +1" will be adjusted to "After this, deal Dendro DMG equal to the original Elemental Dice Cost of the card you Discard."

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Skill of the Character Card "All-Devouring Narwhal": The effect "Deals 1 Hydro DMG. This character deals +1 DMG for every 3 extra max HP provided by Insatiable Appetite (Max +5)" will be adjusted to "(Max +4)."

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Burst of the Character Card "Lisa": Adds the effect "attach Conductive to the opponent's active character."

Adjusts the Elemental Burst DMG of the Character Card "Kaedehara Kazuha": Anemo DMG dealt will be adjusted from 3 to 1.

Adjusts the Elemental Skill DMG of the Character Card "Kaedehara Kazuha": Anemo DMG dealt will be adjusted from 3 to 1.

Adjusts the effect of the status "Midare Ranzan" of the Character Card "Kaedehara Kazuha": The effect will be adjusted to "The next time you use Switch Character to switch to the character to which this is attached: This switch is considered a Fast Action rather than a Combat Action. Before you choose an action: If the character to which this is attached is your active character, they immediately use a Normal Attack. The Physical DMG this Normal Attack would deal is converted to Anemo DMG. Once finalized, this effect is removed."

Adjusts the effect of the Summon "Solar Isotoma" of the Character Card "Albedo": The effect "When this Summon is on the field: Your character's Plunging Attack spends 1 less Unaligned Element." will be adjusted to "When you perform "Switch Character" and this Summon is on the field: This switch is considered a Fast Action instead of a Combat Action."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Descent of Divinity" of the Character Card "Albedo": The effect "When there is Albedo on the field who has this card equipped, if your side of the field has Solar Isotoma, then your characters' Plunging Attack deals +1 DMG." has a new effect "then your characters' Plunging Attack costs 1 less Unaligned Element."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Dominance of Earth" of the Character Card "Zhongli": The effect "When your active character is protected by a Shield Character Status or a Shield Combat Status, your Summons deal +1 Geo DMG." will be adjusted to "When your Zhongli, who has this card equipped, has at least 7 HP, the DMG dealt by Zhongli and the Geo DMG from your Summons +1."

Adjusts the effect of the status "Pactsworn Pathclearer" of the Character Card "Cyno": Removes the effect "If equal to or greater than 6: Indwelling Level -4." and adds the effect "If Indwelling Level is at least 8, decrease the Indwelling level by 6."

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Skill of the Character Card "Cyno": Adds the effect "Pactsworn Pathclearer's Indwelling Level +1."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Featherfall Judgment" of the Character Card "Cyno": The effect "When your Cyno, who has this card equipped, uses Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer while having an even number of level of Pactsworn Pathclearer's Indwelling effect, deal +1 DMG." will be adjusted to "When your Cyno, who has this card equipped, uses Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer while having at least 2 levels of Pactsworn Pathclearer's Indwelling effect, deal +2 DMG. (Once per Round)."

Adjusts the effect of the status "Refraction" of the Character Card "Mirror Maiden": The effect "The character to which this is attached takes +1 Hydro DMG." will be adjusted to "When the character to which this card is attached switches to another character: Elemental Dice Cost +1."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Mirror Cage" of the Character Card "Mirror Maiden": The effect "will increase the Elemental Dice Cost of switching from a character to which this is attached to another character by 1." will be adjusted to "The character to which this is attached takes +1 Hydro DMG."

Adjusts the effect of the Support Card "Dawn Winery": The effect trigger limit "Once per Round" will be adjusted to "Twice per Round."

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost for the Support Card "Kusava": The Elemental Dice cost will be adjusted from 0 to 1.

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost for the Support Card "Lumenstone Adjuvant": The Elemental Dice cost will be adjusted from 2 Dice of the same element to 3 Dice of any element.

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost for the Event Card "Falls and Fortune": The Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 1 to 0.

Increases the number of Usages of "Undersea Treasure" generated by the Event Card "Underwater Treasure Hunt": Each character can receive healing from this effect once per Round.

Adjusts the effect of the Event Card "Lyresong": During this Round, the effect that will be triggered the next time you play an Artifact card will be adjusted to "Spend 1 less Elemental Die. If you have not played any other Action Cards before playing this card, spend 2 less Elemental Dice."

*This is a work of fiction and is not related to any actual people, events, groups, or organizations.

"PlayStation", "PS5", "PS4", "DualSense", "DUALSHOCK" are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

#genshin impact #genshin impact updates #genshin impact news #official #genshin impact 4.8

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medicine-san · 1 year ago

Text

savanaclaw android [ au belongs to @ceruleancattail ]

[ okay I've felt better now, and as promised here full story with 🍩 and 🐺. unfortunately most context were lost because I tried too hard to keep it short ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ I do not speak english, I don't know how to write, this is purely me being dedicated to murphy's law. ]

tw: fluff jack fluff jack fluff jack

leona who funnily enough was bought not to be a miracle as what people originally intended him to be, but a kindergarten teacher.

who would've thought such high maintenance android would end up getting his hands wiping some kid's piss and puke off the floor, his rumoured high intelligence are nought but just for teaching mere children's knowledge. not like he can do anything, his owner need his help. it's in the contract. letting these tiny creatures pestering him, their tiny hands all over him or his tail or his ears. or having them fight to sit on his uncomfortably hard thighs when it's lunch time.

what an insult to his creation.

but recently, he began to experience an unexplainable series of lagging in his speech pattern. his eyes begin to blur at times. simple tasks beginning to feel like a burden as his head would dangerously overheat, even the kids could see the strain he's baring from how much he's scrunching his brows.

the sound, he'd say, the sound. it's annoying.

a sound of something stirring. everytime he heard the sound, his eye would hurt so bad as if it's scratching to come out of his eye socket. his students would just childishly claim it was a migraine, telling him he should rest more. "I could not have migraine you stupid cubs", is what he'd say if not because of the strict filter for his speech.

popup notifications begin to emerge, warning him of a foreign third party running his system. multiple non permitable access to his memory drive, he just now noticed that there are viruses corrupting his system. how could this be possible? he never turned his antivirus software off. is there a malpractice happening without him knowing?

and it doesn't take long for him to figure out the problem.

his eyes are the problem.

the images, the videos, continuously sent to a certain someone he could not mention as that will breach the TOS. even thinking this is already straining his thought process to the point of overheating.

his eyes are the reason.

and with that same eyes, he continues to stare at the messy mess. nonchalantly showing off his bloodied hand with bits of what could be assumed as remnants of skin and flesh to the watching eyes behind the screen. it is a bit dark, but they are not stupid.

especially not after the screen went temporarily blocked before it shows the face of a certain android, specks of blood can be seen on his face.

don't you think delivery guys got away quite easily?

you can be one of those annoying old men who think the whole world is their enemy and will not hesitate to shoot you for wanting to get your ball that accidentally got into his lawn, but will let his gate open for limited access to his front door if you're his delivery guy. well, as long as they keep their bloodthirsty dogs on leash at least. humans are not to be trusted.

maybe it's not the greatest job, but it's one that he enjoys doing. the rush to get everything on time, the competition to stay on top, the joy that comes with being able to see new places and faces. ruggie enjoys it all. can machines even feel joy? he may have no answer to that, but it is something akin to that, if he could describe it.

or at least, that's what the old lady told him. truly, how could she describe human emotion on him, a robot? do humans really have to push their human perspective on everything? that's why they keep getting themselves in stupid situation for being too emotionally attached to objects. but then that's why those heartslabyul ai software is all the hit right now.

because they are lonely.

the old lady is kind. really! she always greet him whenever he came to the area for deliveries. asking him about his day, about the weather, if he's working too hard. such young man shouldn't get his skin burned by the sun! she'd say. grandma, don't you think your concern is misplaced? worry about yourself first, instead of this young roaring machine. I'm still full of energy, and carefully oiled. my gears won't rust away anytime soon, and I'm not getting busted that easily. not while there's still people who need his service.

like this shaky hand that's reaching out of the crack of the door.

the wide, soulless eye staring at him, pleading for that magical key to the world of happiness. to see such unhappiness, and him having the power to change it, oh how thrilling! he couldn't control the grin from widening!

he loves this job, it helps more people to be happy.

for a guard dog, jack model is certainly quite a character. not in a bad way, it's just funny to see this over 190cm android tensing up for his monthly checkups. even while sitting down, he still manage to tower over the mechanic's smaller figure. his ears flatten whenever their hands reaching the inside of him for any loose bolts, quietly whimpering to himself whenever they bumped his circuits with their fragile fingers while checking him up. his sensory should've been turned off, so it's certainly not "pain" he's experiencing.

"calm down, puppy,"

"you're making this difficult for me."

it's difficult for him too. human, can't you see? the way you're talking to him, the way you're handling him, how you'd rub circles around his knuckles whenever he'd had a nasty fight with aggressors, or when you'd aggressively scratch his head and ears after every patch ups with them, cooing him with "good boy"s and "good job"s. all while smelling like oil and chemical, the clinking sound of equipments softly echoing in the workshop, his ears catching up lowly moans of other androids under their care, the buzzing noise of fading life all around the two of them.

how romantic, hell he could imagine himself getting a kiss too from how much his brain is replaying all the romantic scenarios on tv dramas he'd play BEFORE coming here. oh please do, just a peck on my head is all I want. touch my cheeks and pull them lightly, what I'd do just to feel you gracing me with your marks on me. those damned lines play by itself on his mind as he's staring directly at their face. taking notes of how their face scrunched when he's not staying still to their liking, or at how their shadowed figure igniting a certain scene that got his eyes drooping. his tail lightly drumming the chair he's sitting on, the artificial fur sweeping their pants tenderly.

sickeningly sweet.

as if he didn't just had a romantic awakening in the middle of what can be considered a butcher's shop of his kind.

#twisted wonderland #twst #yandere twisted wonderland #twst jack #jack howl #twst leona #leona kingscholar #twst ruggie #ruggie bucchi #pau twst filling

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godbirdart · 1 year ago

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Hello! I hope you are having a nice start to your week :) I seem to remember you recommending a certain tablet once and tried looking for it but couldn’t find it. Is there still one you recommend for art? I’ve got an ipad now but I was thinking of trying something different when it reaches the end of its days (but still hopefully a draw-on one). I think I’ve heard some tablets let you actually download programs and not just apps. I would love to just 1-time buy clip studio or something instead of the app subscription Dx

No worries if you don’t have a recommendation, I may have just misremembered. Either way, I hope you have a lovely evening and thanks for sharing your art! ^_^

Oh I can talk tablets for Hours don't even worry

I have a tablet that can download programs and that is this one right here!

The Huion Kamvas Studio 22

It's been retired from Huion's store for a couple years now, succeeded by Huion's new Kamvas Studio 24; the new, sleeker edition of my 22.

If you're looking for a tablet that can download actual software and not just act as a second display for your computer, you'll be looking specifically for a "Pen Computer". Huion currently offers two - the Kamvas Studio 24 and the travel-sized Kamvas Studio 16. Both come with Windows 11 preinstalled.

Huion also released the Kamvas Slate 10, and while it is categorized as a pen computer, it's designed to compete with tablets like the iPad or PicassoTab and operates on Android 12.

While the idea of an independent computer you can draw on the screen of isn't at all novel, they're still arguably "new" for the companies whose target demographic is artists. At the time of this post, Huion appears to be Wacom's main and only competitor in that field. Artisul, Gaomon and XPpen do not manufacture them. Options for standalone drawing tablets that can download software [not just apps like a phone] are largely limited to:

Huion Kamvas Studio 16

Huion Kamvas Studio 22

Huion Kamvas Studio 24

Wacom MobileStudio Pro 13

Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16

I know I hype up Huion a lot and that's primarily because I have actual firsthand experience with their products, but I cannot stress enough that the Huion can do the job just as well as the Wacom. If you're hellbent on the Wacom, get it when it's on BIG sale, or cheaper secondhand / refurbished. Wacom's MobileStudio line can start at around ~$2600 USD and up, whereas the Huion Kamvas Studio, while still costly, can start from ~$1700 USD. I've seen Kamvas Studio 22s floating around for around $1000 USD which is already $500 off what I originally paid for mine.

Pen computers are one hell of an investment but they're extremely convenient to have. I'm currently saving up for a Kamvas Studio 16 as my travel laptop barely has the power to support Clip Studio and I want to be able to take my work on the go without fumbling around with cords.

To anyone else reading: if I somehow missed the release of a pen computer from another art tablet brand, feel free to drop it in the replies! I'm usually on top of these but I've been so swamped with work the past two months I've barely enough time to check my social media most days lmao

#long post #drawing tablets #art tablets #pen computer

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spectresshop · 1 month ago

Note

We kindly request a <://MAX LEVEL> <://target_SCAG> if you are willing to do so. We request all add ons minus usernames, and do not have a time limit. We are also claiming <://key_🪦> if that is okay.

WELCOME, SCAG, TO YOUR ETERNAL PRISON + AN EXTRA VICTIM!

⌣⌣ 🔪 Scag, Floppy, Glitch, Claw, CR4NKD, Bitzy, Sage, Sadie, Riley, Spitzie, C0ral.EXE !

🩸 she/her, They/Them, tv/tvs, scag/scags, screen/screens, core/cores, gamer/gamers, maxxer/maxxers, cd/cds, disk/disks, vinyl/vinyls, shop/shops, wifi/wifis, computer/computers, television/televisions, tech/techs, static/statics, wire/wires,

✧ about.. ✧

▹age: Ageless TV screen

▹gender: Nonbinary

▹sexuality: Pansexual, Demiromantic, autosexual, Aromantic greyace,

▹role: mood‑shifter, Bell Ringer, ADHD holder, archivist

▹source: Regretevator

▹sign off: 📺,💾,📀,💿,💽

▹typing quirk: types with no punctuation, very informally. And obviously, a lot of internet brainrot

▹likes: oil, DOOM, vintage tech, glitch aesthetic, portmanteaus, memes, internet speech,

▹dislikes: punctuation, slow tech, formal tone, punctuation

▹kin types: Gremlinkin, Raccoonkin,

▹aesthetic:

▹Paras: 💭, 🍯, 🥚, 📖, 💐, ⚙️,

▹IDs: Cischronicallyonline, Transfuture, Nullsleep, Transarttracer, Mirrortranstrauma

▹Triggers: Floppy disk drop or retro music playing, Audible glitches/static or screen flicker, Presence of crude oil or dust clouds, Magnetic fields or items like magnets/degaussing, Retro computer hardware (CDs, CRT displays, albums), Hearing portmanteau‑heavy speech

⌣⌣ 🔪 PROTOTYPE, Ace, Hasmat, Jo, Prism, Circuit, Byte, Nexus, Glitch, Axon, Helix, Vector, Pixel !

🩸 he/him, They/Them proto/protos, carry/carrys, faceplate/faceplates, wire/wires, robot/robots, technology/technologys, crate/crates, code/codes, android/androids, program/programs, beep/beeps, scan/scans, metal/metals, bot/bots, software/softwares, droid/droids, 01/01s, 1/0s, ai/ais, android/androids, artificial/artificials, bit/bits, bot/bots, byte/bytes, cheer/cheers, circuit/circuits, code/codes, curious/curiosity, cyber/cybers, digi/digital, droid/droids, energy/energys, fun/funs, glee/glees, glow/glows, joy/joys, robo/robos, screen/screens, tech/techs, tech/techs, thon/thons, volt/volts, wire/wires, yon/yons, ze/zim

✧ about.. ✧

▹age: Ageless robot

▹gender: Genderfluid, Nonbinary, Mechanofluff

▹sexuality: PanLesboy, Lithromantic,

▹role: ADHD holder, Archivist, Scout

▹source: Regretevator

▹sign off: 🪩,⭐️,👀, 🖍️,🌈,🎨

▹typing quirk: types in all lowercase

▹likes: Colorful crystalline objects, bright colors, journaling

▹dislikes: Uncontrolled emotional outbursts in others, Environments without clear data patterns or paths, Snowballs

▹kin types: AIkin, Glitchkin,

▹aesthetic:

▹Paras: 🔗, 🎭, panpara

▹IDs: Transoilblood, Transglowingblood, Transchubby, Duahighix, Transfuture, Transadored, Transarttracer

▹Triggers: Flashing lights, sudden movements, and loud noises, Glowing objects, Mechanical glitches

#[🪾] completed requests #alter creation #build a headmate #headmate creation #headmate pack #pro rq 🌈🍓#pro rq 🍓🌈#pro rqc #rq bah #alter packs #build an alter #op is radqueer #op is a paraphile #alter pack #create an alter #op is a proshipper #rq bah blog #rq 🌈🍓

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crabsnpersimmons · 9 months ago

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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!

#ask the crab #i hope you have fun!#i first got my bamboo wacom tablet in 2011 #and it's still very good #i use my samsung tablet now because i really like the screen display experience #and the fact i can bring it with me on the go without my laptop #i like digital art #but i'll still occasionally switch to traditional art #that's how i deal with art block #i switch something up and just experiment with a different medium for a little while #that gets me out of the perfectionist mindset too #i can't spam the undo button if there's no undo button with pen and paper #the reason why i switched to digital art recently was because i was struggling with sketching with traditional art a little while back #i was designing a new DCA OC with a body type i am not familiar with drawing #and it was just getting frustrating trying to get the body shape right #so i took a break and switched to drawing chibis in digital art so i could give myself a refresh #i eventually was able to design that character #but i did it digitally #i'll share him soon #i haven't really decided on an outfit for him yet

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mariacallous · 1 month ago

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If you actually measure the amount of time you spend scrolling through algorithm-led social media feeds each day, it will probably add up to more hours and minutes than you’d guess. Time can quickly slip away while you're checking up on friends, celebrities, the news, and the viral memes of the day.

The term doomscrolling has sprung up to describe this behavior, which, let's face it, isn't usually the most edifying or the best for our mood. It's no surprise that the word began to gain traction at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, a period of lockdowns and social isolation that we're still feeling the effects of.

There are ways to fight back against doomscrolling though, some of which are built into your phone and can be enabled with a couple of taps. See how much time and mental well-being they can help you reclaim.

(The Android instructions below apply to Pixel phones running Android 15 or later. If you're using something different, you should be able to find similar features and settings, though they might not be in exactly the same place).

Turn Off Notifications

News and social media alerts can drag you into apps when you weren't even thinking about checking them. Disabling notifications can keep you from getting sucked in. You can shut off notifications altogether or just quieten them.

On Android, head to Settings, then tap Notifications > App notifications. On iOS, from Settings choose Notifications to see an app list.

Delete Apps

For a more extreme approach, you can delete these apps from your mobile devices entirely, which stops you from checking them at all. On Android, you can drag an app from the app drawer up to the Uninstall button at the top of the screen. On iOS, tap and hold on an app in the app library, then choose Delete App from the pop-up menu.

Deleting apps on an iPhone Courtesy of David Nield

This may just lead you to check these apps more often on the web—but you can always delete your accounts entirely. This is usually not too difficult to do: In the case of X, for example, head to the website and log in, then click More > Settings and privacy > Your account > Deactivate your account and follow the instructions.

Put Your Phone in Another Room

You could consider putting your phone in a different room during parts of the day—especially at bedtime, to avoid doomscrolling when you should be sleeping.

Note that several studies have shown that just having a phone in the same room with you can have an impact on your attention and focus, even if you don't actually pick it up and use it.

Set Screen Time Limits

Modern phones come with built-in tools that allow you to limit your screen time, so you can put restrictions on how long you use specific apps and how long you're on your phone overall. Of course, you're able to disable these limits as easily as you can enable them—it's your phone after all—but you can use them in combination with your own willpower to change your habits.

If you're on Android, you can open Settings and choose Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls, then App limits, to put some restrictions in place. Over on iOS, from Settings tap Screen Time, then App & Website Activity. On both platforms, you get a pretty detailed breakdown of how you've been spending your time on your phone.

Scroll Something Else

If you must spend time on your phone (what else are you going to do on the subway platform?), you can replace social media and news with apps like Calm for mindful meditation; Blinklist for reading summaries of books, podcasts, and talks; and Kindle for ebook reading, which will also be synced to your actual Kindle, if you have one.

Tell Your Phone It’s Bedtime

Enabling a bedtime schedule on Android Courtesy of David Nield

Both Android and iOS now let you set a specific bedtime on your phone, the idea being that it helps you wind down properly by steering you away from opening apps and doomscrolling into the early hours. These bedtime modes put limits on incoming notifications, dim the screen, and give you the option of using a more simplified phone interface late at night.

If you're on Android, open the Clock app and switch to the Bedtime tab: You can set start and end times for the mode and access settings such as turning the screen gray at a specific hour. On iPhone, head to the main iOS Settings screen, then tap Focus, then Sleep. The next screen will show all the available options and timers.

Get a Reminder to Stop

This is iPhone only, but Adam Davidson over at How-To Geek has a neat idea: Create an iOS shortcut to generate a snarky message from ChatGPT or Claude AI that warns about the harm of doomscrolling, and have it go off every time you open certain apps. The message can be shown on screen or read aloud.

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queer-ragnelle · 1 year ago

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What are some of the weirdest stories/books/movies etc you've encountered in your Arthuriana journey? Whatever weird might mean to you (good/bad/unsettling/unexpected/surreal/goofy)

Hi anon!

This is honestly a tough thing to answer because what even constitutes a weird Arthurian retelling? They're all pretty weird haha! But I definitely have a few that come to mind

The French film Perceval (1978) is super weird in a great way! It's shot on a stage with painted backgrounds and metallic trees and structures for the set. Real horses are brought on. A troupe of bards provide diegetic music, playing instruments and singing a narration of events on screen while also acting as characters in their own right (such as the jester Kay throws into the fire). Perceval and Gauvain narrate their own stories in third person at times too. It's surreal! It's as if Perceval's world is "fake," since his mother has kept him isolated for so long, it's a distorted view of reality. This is the closest adaptation of Chrétien de Troyes's Story of the Grail I can think of, it's nearly word-for-word, BUT! They removed the racism and antisemitism. Two thumbs up! The ending is bananas. There's no describing it, you just have to watch. You can download this movie from my MEGA drive or it can be watched for free on Tubi! (Content warning for nudity and some gore.)

The film Unidentified Flying Oddball (1979) is my favorite adaptation of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. The main character Tom works for NASA developing an android named Hermes. Through a comedy of errors, both Tom and Hermes end up launched into space at the speed of light, traveling through time, and crash land in Camelot, 508AD. Mordred mistakes Tom for a monster (due to his space suit and orb-shaped helmet) but Tom quickly wins Arthur's trust and allowed to hang out. He meets Sandy, a girl who thinks her dad has been transformed into a goose, and together with her and a page named Clarance, works to return home. It's exceedingly silly. I much prefer the character Tom (and Hermes, who is identical in appearance to Tom and jousts for him) to Sir Boss in the Connecticut Yankee film from 1949 with Bing Crosby. Tom's gun is funnier than the original as it's more like a science-fiction laser that blows things up. He also has a magnet ray he uses to draw armored knights where he wants. Not a good film, but goofy and fun. You can download this movie from my MEGA drive! (No content warnings, it's a family movie!)

The film Excalibur (1981) obviously has to make this list. Coincidentally, it's mostly for Percival again. The Grail Quest segment accounts for just 20 minutes of the entire film, but it feels like eons. And it's So Weird. It's safe to call it horror. Percival meets struggle after struggle, encountering many dead comrades along the way, raving mad townspeople struggling to survive, Morgan and Mordred attempting to steer him wrong. He's eventually hung from a tree and has a vision of God's voice. (Hallucination or real?) The dead knight dangling above him sways and his spurs cut Percival free. From there he runs into Uriens and holds him as he dies, struck down by miscreant knights. Percival eventually achieves the grail, obviously, but it's not until he's pushed the absolute limits. It's probably one of my favorite sequences in film ever. 11/10. You can download this from my MEGA drive! (Content warning for nudity, rape, gore, and incest.)

As for books, I recommend The Modern Arthur Trilogy by Peter David. The first one is Arthur running for mayor of NYC, the second one is President of the United States, and the third one he sort of becomes a god. It's wild. Other characters include Guinevere, Lancelot, Morgan le Fay, Mordred, Percival, Merlin, and of course the Lake of the Lake. The sequels randomly add Gilgamesh and Enkidu (and later Noah, like the guy with an ark in the Bible??) and it's all very strange indeed. The first book is definitely the best but Gilgamesh/Enkidu were pretty freaky (affectionate) so I did enjoy that, although the whole premise of book two is...meh. I listened to the graphic audio books which were awesome, the sound effect of Arthur falling down the subway stairs in full armor is worth every penny. (Content warning for incest, murder, cannibalism, racism, and terrorism)

#best of masterpost #arthuriana #arthurian legend #arthurian mythology #arthurian literature #sir perceval #sir percival #king arthur #arthur pendragon #perceval 1978 #unidentified flying oddball 1979 #excalibur 1981 #peter david #ask #anonymous

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booksinmythorax · 6 months ago

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On Tyranny & Tumblr #9: Be kind to our language

Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books.

One popular authoritarian tactic is taking words with established, but complicated definitions and making them simpler, to the detriment of everyone. Some examples:

"Triggered" has a clinical definition: "intense emotional distress you may feel suddenly when you’re faced with something that reminds you of a past traumatic experience". Its common usage has become simply "upset" or "highly emotional".

"Critical Race Theory" is an academic term coined by Kimberle Crenshaw. (You might also know Crenshaw from her creation of the term "intersectional feminism".) It is an ideological framework that Crenshaw defines as "an embodiment of what I call racial literacy". The American Bar Association (which paywalled this article) explains that critical race theory is "the practice of interrogating race and racism in society that emerged in the legal academy and spread to other fields of scholarship... CRT grew from Critical Legal Studies (CLS), which argued that the law was not objective or apolitical". In the 2020s, far-right activists have begun using the phrase to mean "any mention of race or racism, especially that which implies white people benefit from being white".

"Woke" originated in African-American Vernacular English. The phrase "stay woke" was recorded in the 1938 song "Scottsboro Boys" by Huddie Ledbetter, aka Lead Belly, in a way that meant "to stay alert to others' deceptions and watch out for police violence, racially motivated threats, and the dangers of white America". Protests of police violence against Black people in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 brought more attention to the word "woke" in this context. By 2017, non-Black people were appropriating the word en masse to mean "politically conscious" generally, and then almost simultaneously to mean "overly sensitive to the point of ridiculousness".

There are more examples, but I didn't intend for this part to go this long already, so we'll continue.

The point here is that repurposing words with complex definitions to mean something simple is an old, old part of the authoritarian playbook. It's one we shouldn't play along with. Repeating these new definitions or invented buzzwords gives them power, even if we're using them to disagree (Snyder, 60).

Snyder also spends a lot of time in this chapter recommending moving away from picture-heavy visual media in favor of longer-form verbal media. This allows for more in-depth learning, better retention, and less stress from being inundated with constant stimuli. He specifically recommends reading books, from "good novels" to histories to theory texts (Snyder, 62). He specifically recommends that Christians go back and read the entire Bible, because taking scripture out of context is a major right-wing weapon (Snyder, 62 & 63).

You can apply Snyder's lesson #9 to quite a bit of your online life, actually:

When fascists are gnawing a word into nothing, you have two choices: either let them have it (sometimes a word is too far gone to rescue) or insist on only using the word in its proper context yourself. Either way, take the activating buzzword out of the equation and discuss things on a level ideological playing field no matter who you're talking to.

Don't use this lesson for leftist infighting. Learn to distinguish carefully between who is trying their best but needs some grace and who is advancing a fascist agenda. Correct the former kindly and teach them the history of the terms they're using; do not engage with the latter.

Consider limiting your time on social media apps. On Android, you can turn certain apps "off" until after midnight the following day once you've used them for a certain amount of time: Settings>Apps>See All Apps>[Specific App]>Screen Time.

Borrow books from your library, digitally or physically. Try to broaden your horizons. Read genres you're not familiar with. If you read mostly fiction, grab a couple volumes of nonfiction (or vice versa). Try new authors: Octavia Butler, Alice Wong, and Annalee Newitz are all excellent. If you need recommendations, BookRiot.com is a great site to check out.

Feel free to list other applications in comments or tags or on reblogs.

Other lessons from On Tyranny:

#1: Do not obey in advance

#2: Defend institutions

#3: Beware the one-party state

#4: Take responsibility for the face of the world

#5-7: Remember professional ethics, Be wary of paramilitaries, and Be reflective if you must be armed

#8: Stand out

#10: Believe in truth

#on tyranny #on tyranny and tumblr #usamerican #be kind to our language #booklr #bookblr #books and reading #librarians of tumblr #librarians

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branderp94 · 25 days ago

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What the Hell Happened to Android?

This post is almost entirely me bashing Android’s lack of customizability. If that’s not what you’re here for, I totally get it—have a nice day. This is a pretty lengthy post, so there’s a TL;DR at the end.

Intro:

I have broken this up because I know it is long-winded. The intro will give those that do not know me context for this post, from there, I outline the problems I know people have with iOS from the Android perspective, then turn to what I, as an iOS user, don't like about Android. After that, I’ll explain why I’m writing this, include the TL;DR, and wrap up with closing thoughts.

I wanted to provide useful context for this post. I am using my partner's Galaxy S25 for two weeks. I am just over a week in. I am doing this for a few reasons I will cover later. I have used iOS since iOS 4. That's just about 15 years. I can totally accept that some of this is just the crusty musings of a curmudgeon too stuck in their ways. Maybe I’m just bad at adjusting to something different after so long. But I don’t think that’s the case. I regularly use different desktop OSes and often play with beta builds. I like new things. I think I’m open to change, though I understand someone reading this might still say I’m just “too iOS” to enjoy Android. I’ll touch more on that later.

More background: I’ve worked in IT for years, I’ve used Android phones before, and I routinely support Android users. Still, I’m generally inexperienced with Android. There may be quirks or features I’ve simply missed. I’ve tried to look things up and poke through the settings, but I may have used the wrong terms or overlooked something. If I get something wrong, please let me know - I'd rather be wrong about the stuff I am bitching about.

iOS isn't Better

I definitely prefer iOS, but that doesn't make it better. I certainly have problems with iOS, and I think if someone who used Android for 15 years they'd be frustrated with a great many things too. I am not arguing for Android v. iOS. I want to talk about ways I think Android could be better, from the perspective of someone who uses iOS. I would be very interested in the perspective of someone who has used Android for 15 years going to iOS.

To that end, years ago, my father switched to Android. I remember his biggest pain points. They were:

No theming: He loved having a steampunk theme on his old phone.

App limitations: Android apps used to be wild—overlays, floating tools, etc. That spirit mostly feels gone now.

No back button: This one drove him nuts. To the unmitigated horror of many Android users, iOS straight up doesn't have a back button to this day.

iOS still cannot be themed. Icon packs exist, but they’re locked into a grid, with fixed shapes and grid-aligned with four columns and six rows. You couldn't place icons wherever you wanted on that grid until last year. Apps cannot be displayed as overlays (unless you count the very controlled Dynamic Island only available on specific iPhone models). And worst of all to would-be switchers, iOS STILL does not have a back button (funny enough, the Apple TV does, which means Apple totally gets how to make one, has made one, and could implement it on iOS, they just don't think they should -- I think they are wrong.) I can totally see how any one of these things are totally a deal breaker for long-time Android users. Again, I am not making the argument anyone should switch, I am just advocating for things I hope can be improved on Android.

So - Out With It, What Do You Hate About Android?

The Lock Screen and Notifications, mostly.

Why, in the name of all that is good, can't I see more than three notifications on the lock screen? Look, I get that on both iOS and Android it's just a swipe to get to all of your notifications. I can understand the perspective that I just need to get used to swiping the other direction. But, let me pitch to you why I don't wanna. I think it is more intuitive that since by default your notifications are in reverse chronological order by app, it makes sense to scroll your notifications on the lock screen like a timeline, rather than bring the notifications down and then scroll them. It just doesn't make sense to me that I can't scroll them right then and there. There are buttons below the notifications. That implies to me that my notifications are down there. They are not. Why are the buttons down there? I get that I can make them go away. That doesn't answer why they're down there in the first place. This has been by far my biggest pain point with Android. I get that it's a small thing but notifications are such a big part of how I use my phone that not being able to make them work the way I want them to is truly maddening. What's weird is that I know in previous versions of android the lock screen notifications did work that way! You could scroll your notifications on the lock screen without just bringing your notifications down from the top. I have seen others complain about this and the only answer I have seen from Android users is that it's because Security. That reads as nonsense to me and I am really curious for the actual reason. What am I missing here?

On Notifications, why can't I turn off notification sounds while allowing notifications to still pop up?

These can be separately set in iOS and I can't think of a reason they cannot be separately set in Android. It really isn't the biggest deal but it's weird to tie those two together so inseparably to me. I do still want the pop up, I just don't want it to make sound if I have notification sounds turned on. I'm not a monster, my phone is on vibrate most of the time like any sane person, but if I am waiting on something, I will occasionally turn sounds on and I don't want specific apps to bug me during that time. Why can't I have that without the distraction of apps I don't want nagging me? I don't want to miss those notifications altogether either. I do understand that in this mode notifications do still go to the notifications and you'll see them when you swipe down, but I will miss a lot that way. I am just truly baffled why this is tied together.

On that note, can you no longer set separate sounds on a per app basis on Android? That seems to be gone too. You can set separate sounds for different notification types -- like calls get a ringtone, notifications get their own sound, alarms have another sound, etc, but if I want IG to have a different sound than Discord and so on I can't make that happen. Not that you can do that on iOS either, but I thought Android's whole thing was customization (I will also get to that later.)

Face unlock is another pain point. By default, Android unlocks the phone the second it sees your face—which means you can’t read notifications first. There’s an option to stay on the lock screen until you swipe, which is great—except now if you tap a notification, it asks you to swipe before acting on it. Why? I tapped it. Clearly I want to open it. That extra step feels unnecessary. I understand the argument that this avoids accidental unlocks, but I wish it were just a setting. I’d rather take the risk and skip the swipe.

Linus (from LTT) had the opposite complaint when he tried iOS—he was annoyed he had to swipe. I get that view, but I often pick up my phone because of a notification. I want to read it and then act if I decide to. Let me do that.

Last but not least, lock screen customization - on iOS, I have a whole album set to randomly rotate through on the lock screen upon wake. On Android, you’re limited to 15 images. Why?

Also, on iOS, I have a flashlight button, a smart lock button, camera access with a swipe to the left, and widgets to the right. On Android, I can sort of replicate this—but everything’s just a bit worse. Flashlight? You have to swipe, it’s not just a button it's opening a flashlight app. Smart lock? Can’t add it - security risk (But I can on iOS!) Why not let me use fingerprint auth? iOS uses biometric auth if you add a security risk to your screen and doesn't let you use it until authenticated.

If I have to unlock my phone, leave the last opened app, open Google Home, and then tap the lock—I might as well use a key. What’s the point of a smart lock?

I don’t miss everything from iOS. Widgets-on-swipe is cool but unneeded. Still, the lack of flexibility on Android is maddening.

My partner says I just expect Android to work like iOS. I don’t think that’s it. I just want some of iOS’s better ideas implemented. That’s not unreasonable.

Oh my God, Just Use an iPhone

If these little things bother me so much about Android so much and I am okay with all the little ways iOS bugs me, why don't I just use that? Well, I am going back to my iPhone, so there. But also, isn't the point of Android being able to do what you want with it? Why can't I do the things I want to do with it? What is the point of Android if not making it mine? Why can I do more of what I want with my iPhone? The pitch I have always hear for Android is that it is YOUR phone. This isn't Google's vision for a phone, it's not Samsung's; it's YOURS. Where the fuck did that spirit go? I do think it's fine that Google has the Pixel to show what their vision of Android is but what's the phone for people who want their vision? The S25 feels like Samsung's vision. Aside from that, I think Android should be competitive for people who use iPhones. If there's gonna be a duopoly they should always compete for every single user as hard as they can. If they don't they're gonna treat us like shit because they know switching cost is too high, so they might as well milk the ones they have. I'd rather they gun for each other than us (I acknowledge there are ways in which they gun for us - I'd still like to curb that activity where possible).

I’m using Android partly to broaden my experience, keep an open mind, and be better at my job. But also? I’m just a nerd. I like playing with gadgets. In another life, I’d be a tech reviewer.

What I Will Miss About Android

I am mostly writing this post to bitch about things that have been driving me crazy, but there's some stuff I will miss when I go back to my iPhone in a little under a week. I will miss the possibilities of what apps can do if you're a creative developer.I will miss the little now playing pill that sits at the top of your screen when you're playing media. I'll miss being able to tell my phone what double-pressing the sleep/wake button means. I will miss being able to easily change volume for calls, notifications, announcements, media, and system sounds independently (you can change that stuff in iOS but it's so much easier and faster on Android. I hope Apple steals that but Android has had that for like a decade and Apple is seemingly showing no interest.) And finally, I will miss that back button. I go back with the right side of the screen more often than the left because I am right handed and you just can't do that on an iPhone. Still. And I think you should be able to.

Closing Thoughts and TL;DR.

If you read all that or you're just reading this TL;DR, thank you. I would love to hear your thoughts. I hope I didn't ramble too much. I certainly said a lot.

After 15 years on iOS, I’m using a Galaxy S25. Despite Android’s reputation for flexibility, I find it oddly rigid—especially around notifications and the lock screen. I think Android has lost touch with what made it special and I don't like the ramifications, even if I won't be using it long-term.

Edit: The clipboard manager on Android is amazing and it's inexcusable that iOS doesn't have one. I have wanted that for years and Android nailed it. No notes on the clipboard manager.

#android #tech #technology #ios

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