#You can bind a book from the first try. You can replace a wire from the first try. Make a table. A simple program.

[yeahivegotanaccount]

People tend to vastly underestimate their ability to pick up a new hobby/skill. Like, being bad at a subject at school doesn't mean being as bad when you're adult 'cause at that point you have more awareness of your body and mind. Ironically, because of this awareness learning to slightly bend to the left of your usual patterns feels frustrating, but that's what you do when you learn! And adults don't have to bend as much in the beginning. There's so many people that say that they cannot draw at all but if you ask them to draw a scheme of the body the strokes would be straight and proportions would be rougly correct. There's so many people that say they're have no musical ability when they have relative pitch and a good sense of rhytm. Being bad at making clay figurine at 6 is vastly different from doing it at 34 'cause 6 year olds cannot even hold a pen reliably.

The flip side is when adults blast through the beginning lessons at a machspeed they may get bigheaded.

[rpgsandbox]

In 2014, Magpie Games launched a Kickstarter for Urban Shadows, an ENnie award-winning tabletop roleplaying game of political urban fantasy that quickly became one of our flagship titles. For years, fans have praised both the game’s effortless explanation of the Powered by the Apocalypse engine and the groundbreaking content on race and urban communities, leading Urban Shadows to be a favorite of urban fantasy gamers, podcasters, and streamers alike.

Now—more than six years later—we are returning to the dark streets of the city for Urban Shadows: Second Edition, updating the game’s rules, look, and tools to better support moving stories of political urban fantasy. Featuring new playbooks, new faction mechanics, and completely revised materials from first edition, Urban Shadows 2E will thrust you into the danger and drama of the city like never before!

                      Download the Urban Shadows Quickstart here

Urban Shadows is a political urban fantasy tabletop roleplaying game in which mortals and supernaturals alike vie for power in a modern-day city. Vampires, faeries, hunters, wizards, and more clash in the shadows...or make backroom deals for their piece of the streets and skyscrapers. No one is ever safe, and everything is always at stake.

In Urban Shadows, you play unique and powerful archetypes, protagonists who are attuned to the supernatural world. While the mortal world remains ignorant of the struggles of the city’s supernatural denizens, you are caught in the middle of the physical conflicts and political drama of the city’s past, present, and future.

You might be a spectre bound to an artifact, unable to move on until you’ve resolved your trauma. Or you might be a clever vampire who controls the best blood supply in the city, caught up in a war between your kind and those who hunt you. Or you might be a veteran of your city’s ancient conflicts, someone who got out of the game but keeps getting drawn back in by friends and allies.

No matter who you are, you contain within you the power to shape the city’s destiny. What future will you choose? And what will your victories cost you?

Urban Shadows is based on the Powered by the Apocalypse system used by tabletop RPGs like Apocalypse World, Dungeon World, and many of Magpie Games’s own titles such as Masks: A New Generation, Root: The RPG, and Zombie World. The game uses the core framework of that system to provide a strong, simple way to create your own stories of political urban fantasy. You’ll create a character using one of several archetypes, and then you’ll take action, rolling two six-sided dice to resolve the outcomes of dangerous and difficult situations.

Urban Shadows creates stories like those you’d find in Constantine, Diableros, The Dresden Files, The John Wick franchise, The Last Witchhunter, Lost Girl, and The Wire.

In Urban Shadows, the city is a living, breathing character all its own. It hides dark desires, wicked deeds, and devious schemes, its shadowy tendrils a danger to mortals and supernaturals alike. Some residents have sacred sanctums or secure workshops—places to weather the storms of the city—but a sprawling metropolis lies just outside those little nooks, caring little if you prosper…or bleed out in the gutters.

But nobody faces the city alone. Even the humblest of imps has a small community, a circle of those who can offer solace in the face of problems and danger. But community is a double-edged sword—demanding as much as it gives—and the needs and desires of those same circles constantly shape and reshape the vibrant urban landscape of the city. Nothing lasts forever, but the city turns over nearly every night, different forces laying different claims to you and yours.

The city hungers. Will you sate its gnawing desires? Or will your enemies make you the feast?

The schemes and plots of supernatural beings have been a part of the city for as long as anyone can remember. The faces at the top may shift and change with the tides of fortune, but rarely does something occur in the mortal world without some push from those who lurk in the shadows. A new subway system? A contested election? A bank robbery? Nothing is what it seems.

But what is mere money or prestige to wizards, ghosts, and faeries? Who cares about cash or elections when trafficking in human souls or exploring other dimensions? The supernatural forces of the city—and the mortals who deal with them—know only one real currency: debt.

Debt is the power to influence those who owe you, the chits you call in to get things done, the ties that bind you to the rest of the city, and the proof that your word is strong and your bonds unbreakable. There are few true friends in the city, but your debtors always want to see you survive—you can’t pay up if you’re dead.

But there are other ways to triumph in the city beyond the economy of favors and patronage. Cruel rituals. Dark secrets. The temptations of the monster within you. Those who seek power at any cost will find no end to the magics and mysteries available for the merest price of a soul.

The streets bleed shadows—your debtors always around the corner—as the city threatens to swallow you whole. Will you die a hero… or live long enough to become the villain? Will you fight the darkness…or beg for power? The choice is yours.

Over the past five years, Magpie Games has developed and created multiple games that broke boundaries and redefined what PbtA can do. Now, we think it’s time to apply the lessons we’ve learned to Urban Shadows, making a game that’s tighter and easier to run, but also filled with new ideas and improvements, including new tools for players and GMs. We’re also excited to create a beautiful new book with visionary art and fantastic graphic design. In short… we’re making Urban Shadows 2E because we’re thrilled to revisit and refine our work!

Here’s a quick list of the major changes, many of which are already available in the quickstart:

revised basic moves, including new versions of turn to violence and let it out

revised playbooks, including rebuilt versions of The Hunter and The Oracle

two brand new playbooks: The Sworn (Power) and The Imp (Wild)

changing Factions to Circles—see below—and adding Circle Status to represent standing

a new downtime phase of the game focused on player-facing city moves and rumors

replacing Storms with a new MC-facing faction turn, including new faction moves

expanded MC tools for generating your city and Circles at the start of play

We’re also adding a new mechanic to bring PCs into contact more often with each other: City Hubs. Cities are enormous spaces, and we found (in US1E) player characters could sometimes retreat to their different corners of the cityscape, interacting only with their own worlds and not with each other. With City Hubs, we want to create smaller, expandable environments to focus play and create drama. These Hubs—described below—position characters in neighborhoods, institutions, and community spaces in which they interact more frequently and avoid sessions in which PCs rarely come into contact and conflict.

Download the quickstart for a chance to test out some of these new features! We’ll be previewing more of them during the campaign, and we’re excited to get your feedback and refine Urban Shadows even more. Thank you to everyone who has given us feedback on 1st Edition since 2015!

In Urban Shadows, your characters juggle relationships and obligations, seeking allies and opportunities, cashing in debts along the way to get things done. When you seize the day, you reshape the city in your image and unleash your powers on those who stand against you; when your enemies move and hunt, you do your best to stay ahead of the oncoming storm.

Urban Shadows uses the Powered by the Apocalypse framework to resolve interesting moments of uncertainty through moves, bits of mechanics that say: “When you do [x], [y] happens.” Each move trigger—the “When you do [x]” part—is designed to help point at moments of uncertainty, when neither the players nor the GM know exactly what happens next. Some examples of such moments include:

When you throw a punch at a loudmouthed werewolf in a demonic club

When you plead with the wizard’s council to return a tome of magic stolen from you

When you try to escape the evil ritual you stumbled onto in the city’s sewers

When you ask one of your companions to forgive the debt your fae lover owes them

When you trigger a move—when you perform the action described in the move’s trigger—then the rest of the move kicks into effect, often requiring a die roll. You roll 2d6 (two six-sided dice) and add in one of your stats to find out what happens.

Every playbook has four stats:

Blood is the measure of your fight or flight instincts. It tells us how tough, dangerous, coiled, and quick to act your character is in a perilous situation.

Heart is the sum of your passion, charm, and charisma. It tells us how proficient your character is at getting what they want through negotiation and persuasion.

Mind is a reflection of your critical thinking and analysis. It tells us how perceptive your character can be and how good they are at manipulating others through deceit.

Spirit is a gauge of your connection to the “other” and your force of will. It tells us how focused your character is under pressure and what kind of power they can unleash.

Each stat is ranked from -3 to +3. You add your stat to some rolls when you trigger certain moves. For example, when you turn to violence, you roll 2d6 + Blood.

On most moves, if you get a 10 or higher (10+), things go your way! If you get a 7-9, you get what you were after, but usually with some cost or complication. If you get a 6 or lower, that’s called a miss, and the GM gets to tell you what happens next as things spiral out of control.

Urban Shadows has basic moves for all the usual conflicts in urban fantasy—fighting, lying, escaping, magic, and more—along with special moves for managing debts and your relationships with communities at large.  

The city is a fierce cesspool of politics and corruption, but there are clear connections and boundaries between like-minded residents, spheres of influence that make up the scope of politics within the city. Most call these divisions Circles, loose political groupings that illustrate the differing affiliations and loyalties in the world, each one a community with its own internal politics and dramas. The Circles are:

In addition to the main stats, each character also has ratings (from -3 to +3) for their Circles, measures of how well the character understands each specific community. A character with a high rating in a Circle has contacts and connections within it, and can easily interpret its political information; a character with a low rating in a Circle doesn’t understand how that Circle works or who the power players are within that community.

Circles aren’t organizations or formal alliances; they are more like broad communities or subcultures. The disagreement between two members of the same Circle may be as—or more—intense than any conflict between two differing spheres. A werewolf and a vampire both hail from Night, but that doesn’t mean they get along. It only means they understand each other...and the violence inherent in the language of their streets.

Yet there are factions within each Circle capable of acting in unison, alliances who can shape the city’s future—werewolf packs, witch covens, faerie courts, and more. In Urban Shadows: Second Edition, we’re giving GMs new tools to support those factions in a “faction turn” between sessions. We’re also giving players new tools to get stuff done in downtime, acting on the rumors they heard about what the factions have done in the past week or two of offscreen activity, all fueling the drama of the city and the power players have to shape the setting.

Urban Shadows uses archetypes (The Wolf, The Wizard, The Oracle, etc.) to help players create characters quickly and easily. These archetypes are only ever a starting point; you can always bring in different myths, legends, and ideas to make your character entirely your own.

Characters often acquire abilities and powers from other archetypes and may even change archetypes over the course of play. As your character advances, you may also find reasons to retire to safety, securing that character’s place in the city as you create a new character to continue your group's story.  

Absolute power...corrupts absolutely. Urban Shadows features a dynamic corruption mechanic, tracking your character's descent into darkness. When you take a life, give in to your monstrous nature, or cross a line you shouldn't cross, you mark corruption. As you gain corruption, you unlock new and potent powers, allowing your character to get what they want—at the cost of further corruption. The dark side of your nature bears productive fruit.

Power is never free, though. Cross the line too often and you lose your character to the darkness, handing them over to the GM for them to play as a threat. Corruption is a downward spiral threatening to push you over the edge, and not everyone is cut out to make it back from the brink. As your character gains new abilities fueled by the growing darkness within, you face a difficult choice: will you give up what you've gained to save yourself?

Corruption also encourages you to play to your archetype. Each archetype contains unique boundaries and taboos that define when you mark corruption. Life is always sacred, but werewolves, mages, and faeries all face unique temptations while stalking the city's streets.

Cities are giant, complex networks of interconnected communities caught in an almost constant state of change. In order to focus your characters’ conflicts and provide reasons for the players to consistently play together across those spaces, Urban Shadows 2E uses City Hubs—dynamic sections of urban life that frame the story you’re telling together without cutting you off from the rest of the city’s potential.

A City Hub isn’t just a physical district or area of your city. Instead, each Hub is a collection of institutions, relationships, and anchors—important NPCs—that create a background for the action in your story. Even better, Hubs can be added over the length of a campaign, expanding the city with new locations, conflicts, and NPCs as your story progresses.

Urban Shadows 2E features four City Hubs, each dominated by one of the four Circles:

City Hall (Mortalis)

Downtown (Night)

The University (Power)

The Arts District (Wild)

Perhaps your Tainted is a student at the local university, the same campus that lies within the Wolf’s territory...and the same institution at which the Wizard recently started working as a professor. Or maybe your Oracle has an occult bookstore downtown in the same office building in which the Sworn is regularly summoned to meet with the wizard’s council, just down the street from the family restaurant in which the Aware still waits tables.

Hubs are also a flexible tool for structuring your campaign as a whole. You can use two different Hubs set in the same city for different campaigns, you can grab elements from any Hub to use as inspiration for your campaign, or you can expand your campaign to include new Hubs as your city grows. We’ll release new Hubs through this campaign as stretch goals and as digital supplements after the Kickstarter.

Kickstarter campaign ends: Thu, November 19 2020 9:00 PM UTC +00:00

Website: [Magpie Games] [facebook] [twitter]

[familycuisinee]

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies | Family Cuisine

<p><strong>Chocolate Crinkle Cookies </strong>- these are a decadently rich and chocolatey cookie with a melt-in-your mouth fudgy softness and a gorgeously contrasted, crackled powdered sugar finish. They’re a lot like a brownie or your favorite chocolate cake but in cookie form and everybody loves them!</p> <p><img src="https://ift.tt/2X9VLsW" alt="Chocolate Crinkle Cookies shown on a plate by a lit Christmas tree and red napkin." /></p> <h2>Classic Chocolate Crinkle Cookies</h2> <p>An easy to make cookie that is very likely to become a family favorite!</p> <p>There’s plenty of pronounced yet perfectly welcomed chocolate flavor here which is paired and nicely complimented by that sweet layer of powdered sugar. And I just can’t get enough of that too tender to resist texture.</p> <p>This is the classic Hershey’s Chocolate Crinkle Cookie recipe and I’m yet to try one I like better. All around they’re just a perfectly satisfying cookie that’s been around for decades!</p> <p>They’re a classic must-have cookie recipe that’s worthy of the recipe book, plus they are perfect for the holidays with that snowy white finish.</p> <p>And who doesn’t love how magical they are? My kids think it’s amazing how you roll them in powdered sugar before baking, then pop them in the oven and you end with such a surprising finish! Snow capped tops with dark and beautiful, lightly concaved crinkles throughout.</p> <p>Just plan on sharing, this recipes makes an abundance of cookies!</p> <p><img src="https://ift.tt/3npD0No" alt="Chocolate Crinkle Cookies shown overhead laying on a wooden surface." /></p> <h2>Chocolate Crinkle Cookie Recipe Ingredients</h2> <ul> <li><strong>All-purpose flour:</strong> Preferably use unbleached flour.</li> <li><strong>Baking powder:</strong> This helps the cookies rise nice and puffy and create the crinkle effect.</li> <li><strong>Salt:</strong> Just use table salt.</li> <li><strong>Granulated sugar:</strong> The sugar is essential not only to bring sweetness but a fair amount offers great texture and balances the bold flavor of the cocoa.</li> <li><strong>Vegetable oil:</strong> Vegetable oil works really well for these cookies rather than butter. Just think of the same effect you get with chocolate cake - it makes it super moist. Something you could replace it with is light olive oil.</li> <li><strong>Cocoa powder:</strong> Just use standard unsweetened, no Dutch process.</li> <li><strong>Eggs:</strong> Eggs bind ingredients and also help achieve the crackled appearance in the cookies. Don’t omit or substitute in this recipe (if you have an allergy I recommend looking for a specifically egg-free recipe for them).</li> <li><strong>Vanilla extract:</strong> This is the perfect compliment to the chocolate flavor.</li> <li><strong>Powdered sugar:</strong> A critical ingredient for the appearance we are going for. It also adds more needed sweetness.</li> </ul> <p>Scroll below for full printable recipe.</p> <p><img src="https://ift.tt/3A2MZvy" alt="Image of ingredients used to make chocolate crinkle cookies. Includes flour, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, eggs, hershey" /><img src="https://ift.tt/3tFsDGb" alt="Collage of six images showing how to make chocolate crinkle cookies. First image is mixing dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Next shows mixing oil and sugar in stand mixer and shows it blended after. Then shows cocoa before and after mixing in. And last adding in eggs." /></p> <h2>How to Make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies</h2> <ol> <li>In a medium mixing bowl <strong>whisk together flour, baking powder and salt</strong>, <strong>set aside</strong>.</li> <li>In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, <strong>blend together granulated sugar and oil</strong>.</li> <li><strong>Mix in cocoa powder</strong> and blend well.</li> <li><strong>Beat in eggs and vanilla</strong>.</li> <li><strong>Add in flour mixture and mix until blended</strong>.</li> <li><strong>Cover dough and refrigerate overnight.</strong></li> <li>The following day <strong>preheat oven to 350 degrees</strong>. <strong>Line baking sheets</strong> with parchment paper or silicone liners.</li> <li>Place powdered sugar in a small mixing bowl.</li> <li>Remove about 1/4 of the dough from the refrigerator at a time to work with and let remaining chill.</li> <li><strong>Shape dough into balls</strong> about 1-inch each.</li> <li><strong>Roll in powdered sugar</strong> then <strong>place on prepared baking sheet</strong> spacing them 2-inches apart.</li> <li><strong>Bake in preheated oven 10 - 13</strong> <strong>minutes</strong> until nearly set - they should be soft when touched and should appear slightly under-baked.</li> <li><strong>Cool</strong> on baking sheet several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.</li> <li>Store cookies in an airtight container once they are nearly cool. Repeat process with remaining dough.</li> </ol> <p><img src="https://ift.tt/2YO4zFR" alt="Collage of six images showing steps to finishing crinkle cookie dough by mixing in flour. Then shows scooping it out with a cookies scoop after dough is chilled and more solid. Then image shows rolling in powdered sugar and last includes dough balls on baking sheet." /></p> <p><img src="https://ift.tt/3k28Jlx" alt="Chocolate Crinkle Cookies shown on parchment paper baking sheet after baking." /></p> <h2>Storage and Shelf Life</h2> <ul> <li>Store cookies in an airtight container in a single layer if possible.</li> <li>I like to use a cookie sheet with a tight fitting lid.</li> <li>Store at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 1 week.</li> </ul> <h2>Can I use a hand mixer?</h2> <p>Yes a hand mixer will work well for this recipe too. It’s a fairly thin cookie dough batter.</p> <h2>Can chocolate crinkle cookies be frozen?</h2> <ul> <li>The baked cookies can be frozen up to 3 months. Keep parchment paper between layers. Just keep in mind the pretty white finish may dissolve and get a bit sticky upon thawing.</li> <li>The dough does freeze well up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling in powered sugar and baking.</li> </ul> <h2>Variations</h2> <ul> <li>Add 1/2 tsp peppermint extract for a minty chocolate cookie.</li> <li>Stuff with a Rolo chocolate before baking for a molten caramel center.</li> <li>Freeze teaspoons dollops of Nutella or peanut butter until solid. Add to the center of cookie dough balls before baking.</li> <li>Try adding 1 tsp instant espresso powder to the dough for a light mocha flavor.</li> <li>Mix in some chopped pecans, walnuts into the dough.</li> <li>Top with a Hershey’s kiss after baking (chocolate or peppermint).</li> </ul> <h2>Helpful Tips for Chocolate Crinkle Cookies</h2> <ul> <li><strong>For best results use a kitchen scale</strong> to measure ingredients if you have on, otherwise be sure to use the proper method as listed for measuring.</li> <li><strong>Don’t skip the chilling</strong>, otherwise dough will be way too sticky and unmanageable to work with.</li> <li><strong>For less stickiness use freezing option. </strong>Also coating hands with non-stick cooking spray may be helpful if needed too.</li> <li><strong>Coat generously with powdered sugar</strong> for a beautiful contrast from the light and dark finish.</li> <li>I like to <strong>remove cookies while they look just slightly under-baked</strong>. That way they are more fudgy and brownie-like.</li> <li>If you want them to spread a little more you can press down on them slightly before baking then sprinkle over a little more powdered sugar if needed.</li> </ul> <p><img src="https://ift.tt/3npAS83" alt="Chocolate Crinkle Cookies" /></p> <h2>More Cookie Favorites to Try</h2> <ul> <li>Mexican Wedding Cookies</li> <li>Lemon Crinkle Cookies</li> <li>Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies</li> <li>Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies</li> <li>Shortbread Cookies</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p>Recipe source: adapted from Hershey’s</p> source https://familycuisine.net/how-to-make-boiled-cookies/

[mrneighbourlove]

Wake Up Leere

A Sequel to Evil’s Bane. Happy Halloween!

“Wake up Leere. Please wake up. We need you.”

~

“NOOOOO!!!”

Leere Dragmire rose from her bed awake in startled manner, gasping for air after screaming furiously. There was so much rage in her heart, and she had no idea why. Taking a few moments to breath and lower her heart rate down, Leere finished off with a little chant to herself. “No worse shadows than the ones that come from closing your eyes. You’ve had enough sleep for the day.”

Throwing her feet off the bed, she leapt off to get changed. Sunny must have already awoken for work around the ranch. Getting dressed, Leere walked to her office door, only to find it locked. “Oh, come on.”

Fiddling with the lock, Leere started to get frustrated. She told her daughter in the past to never lock her out of her office. “Alright now Joy, open up. If I have to come in after you, I’m going to be very upset.”

She knocked on the door a few times. When no answer came, Leere decided to peer through the lock hole. Maybe her daughter wasn’t in there after all and the door just happened to be malfunctioning. Bending down to look through the lock, Leere was met with the ghostly image of herself looking right back at her. This startled the woman to jump back. “What the hell?!”

To make matters worse, the ghostly version of herself walked through the door to smile down at her. “Finally awake? Good morning Leere.”

Leere’s first instinct was to try and bind the ghost with her magic, but it wasn’t working. “Stay back spirit!”

“Leere. You can stop that. Your magic isn’t going to work here.”

The Sage was reluctant to listen, but the results were speaking for themselves. “What do you want with me? Who are you and why do you look like me?”

The ghost Leere rubbed her chin, nodding along. “All good questions. As for why and who, that’s simpler to answer. I am the angel of purgatory, Katha. The form I take is one that mortals can easily process. Themselves.”

“Purgatory?” Leere started to feel sick. “Wait. That’d mean I’m��”

Katha looked at the door and opened it open. What as on the other side was not Leere’s office, but instead a block of town covered in a deep, deep foreboding fog. “Come with me Leere Dragmire.”

Once again, the Sage was reluctant, but didn’t see other alternatives. Stepping out of her room, Leere breathed in the fog. It tasted oddly like her sister in law’s cotton cherry candy. “Why-?”

“Does it taste like something slightly tasty when you breath in the fog? The fog wants you to grow comfortable here. I rather you not.”

The town blocks Leere and Katha walked through had small businesses on the sides, or three-story rooming. Everything was tight together, but even so Leere could only make out a building when it was 15ft in front of her. Clearing her throat, she asked the question anyone with mortality feared. She’d seen it enough from spirits she communicated with in the past. “Am I dead?”

Katha turned to her with a straight face. Were they mad? It was frightening to see her own blood-soaked face look at her like that. “No. Not yet.”

Arriving at a bench, Katha took a seat, urging Leere to join them. When both of them sat down, Katha let out a sigh. “You are a very special case Leere Dragmire. It seems every spirit wants you. Ba’puu wants you back alive and going back to protecting Hyrule. Zarazu and some of the other gods think you’ve put in enough time in protecting the world, should stop cheating death, and let your soul be reincarnated so that the next shadow sage can be selected amongst the mortals.”

“My sister in law wants me dead?”

“No, no, no. The actual goddess of death Zarazu.” Katha waved their hand to dismiss the silly thought. “Heaven and Hell both want you dead and in their possession. Yet you’ve hung on thanks to your own stubbornness and those of your friends.”

“If I’m not dead, then why am I here?”

“Sorry, I have to tip toe around this, because if you remember too quickly, we’ll kickstart events far too quickly.” As Leere raised an eyebrow at them, Katha continued without breaking pace. “In this realm, most of the time, I look after souls who are so damaged, so broken by the circumstances of their deaths they are too weak to linger on the living world as spirits, but not ready to go to a Heaven or Hell yet. Sometimes, there are souls who are split down the middle with all the good and bad deeds they’ve done. Those souls take special trials to decide where they’ll end up.”

Leere felt a hot tingle run up her spine when Katha grinned at her with the image of her own skin growing leathery by every passing second. “Then there’s those like you. People with a strong connection to magic or the spiritual who suffered a horrific near-death experience to both the body and soul. Your soul becomes separated from your body until both are healed.”

The Sage felt angry at herself, but why? She couldn’t recall, but she felt like the facts were just under the surface ready to be uncovered. “Why? What happened to me?”

“If you want to return to your body, all you have to do is have the will to find the door. Your soul was recovering its need to use magic and hold its strong connection to the spiritual. Afterall, you nearly sacrificed yourself for the greater good. Isn’t that Leere Dragmire?”

‘Why are you so foolish?! So unbelievably stupid?! You never listened to him… why couldn’t you just listen?’

A familiar voice echoed in Leere’s head, and a spike of pain hit her backside, traveling up her spine up to her head. A horrifying memory of fighting a demon filled her mind. It was going to devastate the world if she hadn’t put a stop to it. Her quest to stop evil meant sacrifice itself. “Oh, sweet goddess.”

Around them, a wailing siren of souls echoed out in the town, hidden by the thick layer of fog. “Well, you’ve remembered how you got here. Now they’ll want to keep you here.”

Leere got off the bench, looking around. “Who does?”

“You’re an interesting soul Leere. Despite the good you’ve done; you’ve done vile acts as well. Such as the souls you turned into energy for your blood magic. Except you didn’t even use all of their soul matter. Now those men cling to your soul as vile ghosts. Not to mention the little demonic residue that lingers on you. They will want you to leave too. Only the exit they want to take you too is far more gruesome than the living world.”

Leere looked around for a weapon to use, or a way to escape to. “How do I know what to look for?”

Katha got up, picking off the flesh on their check. “Trust your instincts Leere Dragmire. You’ll know when you see it.”

As Katha walked away into the deep fog, Leere decided just standing around wasn’t going to cut it out for her. With a fast start, the Sage took off sprinting down the streets. “Instincts. Trust my instincts. Do I really sound so fucking droll when I’m preachy?”

Coming from an alley way, something ran at her. It was a man’s body twisted into the shape of a dog. Only their head was screwed 180 degrees backwards. It was an odd sensation, but as Leere kept running past the shambling creature, she knew exactly who it was. Larry the Dog Butcher. A sickening piece of shit who killed puppies in Danjur as a way to make money. She knew he did it primarily for fun. The human mutt groaned aloud, running at her with an awkward sprint. Even when it caught up at her, all it could do was manage to punch her in the back.

With a furious determination, Leere spun around on the monster, reeling a kick to its head when it lunged at her. The hound squealed and whined, turning tail. Leere hated that it mocked the cries of innocents to make her pity it. Turning her around, she realized the fog had a funny way of sneaking things up on her. There was just enough visibility to reveal a courtyard leading to a large factory. What looked like a smoke stake revealed a large tower up ahead.

Just as she was about to start walking towards it, a loud snapping sound was heard behind her. In the fog, the wail of the hound was heard, being replaced by a trumpeting vibration. Leere decided to book it to factory doors before whatever that thing was saw her. Let her demons tear each other apart for once.

Arriving at the doors, Leere had to smash her shoulder into them a couple times to get them open. She never looked back, but she heard the vibrations getting closer as she was breaking in. Pressing the door closed, she found an iron bar to bring down to lock the entrance. Catching her breath, she expected whatever was outside to try and force itself in. Instead, she was only greeted with silence.

Turning around, she saw that she was in a narrow hallway with barbed wire walls. It was so thin that she had to walk sideways to avoid being cut up by the walls. At the end there was a door way. It would be a slow hop over, but she could make it unscathed if she was careful. Halfway through, she was spooked out of her mind seeing Katha again. “Well done Leere Dragmire. You picked the right door.”

Leere nearly threw up when she saw Katha use her body to crawl through the barb wire, keeping up with her pace. “Why can’t I use my magic here? This is my soul. Magic is supposed to be connected to the soul.”

“Because you’re still too weak. Even if you return to the land of living and reunite with your body, it could take years for you to have mastery of your abilities again. Maybe it could be less than a month. Or maybe you’ll never have it again.”

Leere winced as the barb wire snagged Katha’s arm, only for them to keep pressing forward and having it ripped apart. “Besides the needless reason to show me having my own image tortured, you don’t seem like a cruel angel. Why not just lead me directly to the exit out of your realm?”

“Oh, I can’t do that. Otherwise you’ll never be able to leave. Only your will can do that.”

Deep within the sea of barbed wire, wails grew loud as a red and black aura filled the room. Staring into the Abyss, Leere saw bodies upon bodies of Mortuus tore apart by the wires. As she keeping moving down, her face of horror told Katha exactly what was on her mind. “Yes. Them. Terrible. An entire country of souls all damned. They started coming here, but very quickly, they leave, their souls forcibly taken.” As they spoke, a few of the wailing souls appeared to be torn down to the molecule, stripped down layer by layer from the skin to muscles to bone. “You stopped the Evil from destroying the world, but it cost Malus.”

‘No… no gods why. Why did it have to be like this?’

Was that Sunny? Leere gripped her head, those words echoing her very own thoughts. When some of the Mortuus in the wire reached out to her, she didn’t know if they wanted help or to drag her in. Guilt in her heart drove her to believing it was more the latter. “I’m sorry. I tried. I tried so hard to save you.”

It seemed like they were getting closer to Leere, one even grabbing her by the hair. She had to punch a poor woman in the face just to escape. “I’m truly sorry.”

Katha’s word could be heard behind Leere as she pried the next door open. “Be careful. There are those who you couldn’t save, who you murdered, and who you damned. Context on how you killed them matters.”

Entering the next room, the black and red hues were replaced by a dark blue. There was an instant shift of temperature as Leere felt her body plummet to a cold shiver. The area was so cold that a thick mist floated around her as she walked through it. Pushing through a plastic tarp, she was greeted to a disgusting smell. Rows and rows of meat were lifted up on hooks.

‘Mommy. I baked you a meat pie. Can’t you wake up and eat it with me?’

The voice of her daughter poking inside her mind gave Leere a boost of confidence to venture past the wretched setting. Some of the stacks of meat the Sage had to physically push to the side. Just as she was getting used to the touch, she pressed her palm against something that made her skin crawl. That was no cow. Looking up, her eyes became transfixed on a human body strung up on a hook.

Backing away from the body, her back hit another body. Scanning her surroundings, she realized that all of these meat hooks were holding up human bodies. Why were there so many dead bodies here? She couldn’t puzzle it together until she saw the body of a Hasai Warrior on one of the hooks. Looking at another body, she recognized the face of a bandit she had to kill on one of her journeys around the world. All the bodies lightly swung back and forth, almost appearing to look directly in her direction. Why wouldn’t they? Every body on a hook was someone she killed in her life.

Feeling a stomach knot twist inside her, Leere backed away from the bodies, hoping to find another door out, when a hand reached out and grabbed her on the arm. This body was built like a scarecrow with straw, yet was filled to the brim with knife wounds that still bleed blood. On their shoulders, two pinks crows were picking out his ear drums. It looked like an existence of pain and misery. That didn’t stop them from smiling with flies in their teeth. “Icky caught you. You stop his angel. Now Icky stops you.”

Leere couldn’t stop the man from screaming out an ear-piercing screech. “Now Revenge is ours!”

The Sage pulled away from him, getting her shoulder cut apart by the grip of his nails. Moving through the meat, she saw the figure of her childhood demons push its way past the bodies to reach her. Being over eight feet tall, they had the same height difference now as they did decades ago. Only this time it was exaggerated to horrific proportions. Any part of their body that wasn’t clothed by the yellow jumpsuit was a deep pitch black to silhouette their hands and head. Only two piercing white eyes broke up the void of darkness. And both of those eyes were wide and looking squarely at Leere.

The colour of the environment changed dramatically to a grey scale. The only colour came from the man in the yellow jumpsuit with his clothing, black shape, and white eyes. If Leere had to face past traumas and lingering victims of hers, this would be the most powerful left over.

Leere’s first instinct was the freeze, but she quickly fought against that thought as the giant’s hand reached out to her. Running away proved to be difficult, however. Her with her sense of colour gone, everything looked the same to her. All the swinging sacks of meat down to walls gave her zero idea of direction. Feeling the air shift behind her, she ducked low to avoid the giant’s hand from grabbing her.

Oddly enough, she wasn’t afraid of him anymore. She was angry. This speck of nothing held no more influence on her. And like hell it was going to be the death of her.

‘We miss you Leere. We know you can pull through.’

That voice in her head. Was that Rinku? Sunny? Both equally urged her on to keep holding on. Glancing about, she saw a gleam of colour through the sea of bodies. The colour purple. She knew that others could easily misinterpret that as an ominous hue, but, to Leere, it was her colour. Running towards it, she heard a static rumble behind her. The yellow bastard must have not liked what she saw. It let out a rattling croak that sounded like it was just behind her ear.

Long ago, this might have rattled or faltered her. Now, in all her experience, she’s seen worse. And the dead were the least of her problems. Breaking past all the bodies, she saw that the source of the purple light was a mirror. It held the reflection of herself, and just behind her, the yellow pursuer. Their eyes looked down on Leere with intense hatred.

Breaking out more into a sprint now, Leere followed her instincts and dived at the mirror with her arms covering her face. It was time to escape this tacky haunted ride of her mind.

Her body smashed through the glass, and she gained all of her colour back. Her body fell into free fall, now falling down a long tube of images. As she fell downwards, Leere saw a silver string. Grasping it, she stopped her fall. It seemed this string had the force and girth of a rope. Gasping to catch her breath, she glanced all around at the images. They were patchworks of her entire life playing back to her. Every good memory, terrible memory, and anything in between.

Looking down, she saw foggy town in the distance. As she peered down, the structure of the town shattered apart. Every building shifted around with the fog. With this bird’s eye view, Leere could see the town turn into the shape of a face. With a grin, the voice of Katha spoke out to her. “Looks like you are ready child. What a strong will you have.”

“Katha! The town. Is this another one of your tricks?”

“I can turn my realm of purgatory into whatever I desire. It is my maze. And you passed. Now, its up to you if you want to return to the land of the living, or cross to the land of the dead. Follow the string. Goodbye Leere Dragmire.”

The image of the face broke apart like dirt falling through a crack. All that was left was the foreboding fog. Leere gripped the string tightly. Looking up, she saw even more fog. Each end of the cylinder of memories was the same. At the top of the string, she felt a sense of light. Comforting even.

As Leere started to climb up the string, she looked downwards. Down below, against the walls of the cylinder, the literal demons of her soul started to climb upwards. They attempted to jump and grab the string, only to fail. Leere gasped, determined to climb higher now.

As the demons raced upwards to attempt their luck at grabbing her, Leere continued to climb the string upwards. Finally, she felt a sense of calm as she felt like she was getting close to the top. Almost their, she was about to push herself for the final stretch, when she saw a woman look down at her.

Her face was neutral, but her eyes were devoid of joy. It was a subtle gesture, but she shook her head at Leere. The woman gripped the string tightly, looking up and down. Below, on the sides, there were demons coming out of the walls, birthed from the bad memories in Leere that played on loop. Hell wanted to drag her down. Looking up, there was a peaceful sense of light and warmth, but the woman told her not to go up. Why?

In a moment of clarity, Leere understood. Rising to the top was simply a different afterlife. One of tranquility, but still the death of her. On all sides of her was hell. If only she could plant her feet in some earth instead of dangling in the air.

Leere’s red eyes suddenly shot up with adrenaline and understanding. Kicking a demon in the face away from her, she looked down. Exactly below her. The string went down into the fog, but no demons were coming up to climb the string itself. She needed to fall back to earth. With a couple deep breaths, Leere thought about the faces of Joy and Sunny one more time. “Hope I’m right. I’m coming home baby.”

With only one hand on the string, Leere let her feet and other hand go. Sliding down the string, all the demons dove after her. She didn’t give them the satisfaction of even a glance. Just as she hit the fog, Leere closed her eyes.

“I wonder what we’ll have for dinner.”

[zap-writing]

The sun sets on another day - TRSNS fanfic

@redstone-sun‘s fic fucked me up so I did what I know and wrote about it to cope asdfghjhgf

the basic summary of this fic: Mumbo has a Bad Day(TM) and we stan Good Guy Iskall 

AO3 Link

On days like these, Mumbo felt his guilt like concrete weights tied tight around his throat.

The actual impulses and desires to obey that sanguine call no longer affected him as often as they used to―perhaps out of sheer necessity rather than true recovery, but the fine details didn’t matter. Not to Mumbo at least. The intrusive thoughts and feelings, however, were another story.

Sometimes he wished he could just press a button and fix all of his problems like one would a faulty machine, force him through some kind of psychological reboot. His prescribed process was tedious enough as it was; exposure therapy was a snail’s race by nature, and the transitions were mind-numbingly gradual. From mentions of redstone, to discussions of redstone, to looking at redstone, to touching redstone, to holding redstone, to――

And so on and so forth.

Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and the process was anything but linear and orderly. For a long while it felt like every step he took forward, something would send him three steps and a stumble back. One moment he was setting up semi-complex circuits from memory in his obsidian home, the next Grian would make an off-hand comment about a test contraption one of the hermits built nearly killing him and Mumbo would find himself involuntarily wishing it had.

Those moments scared him. He knew that it wasn’t really him thinking then, that it was just some heinous, corrupted part of him, some deep innate brand of the Red Sun festering behind his eyes. But it wasn’t any less terrifying to catch himself tempted by the crimson voice in the back of his mind that told him he didn’t belong in the overworld, that he needed to continue wiring in the quartz covered plains or he’d never be satisfied, to beg and steal and lie and cheat if it meant getting back to the Sun’s dimension, that if anyone got in his way he had to kill kill kill kill kilL KILL KILL KILL KILL K―

. . .

Those nights, Mumbo felt pain beyond anything he’d known before, from the crescent welts of his fingernails dug deep into the meat of his forearms, to the once-foreign hopelessness that left him wondering why anyone thought he was worth saving anymore.

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

On days like these, Mumbo found himself convinced that he’d never be released from his blood-stained binds.

It hurt more than he cared to admit, having redstone so intrinsically ruined for him. Sure, he had brute-forced his way into standing it enough to look over blueprints with Iskall and play with it like a child when he was alone, but it was never the same. Nothing compared to the satisfaction of improving on an existing design, nor the pride and excitement of inventing something entirely new.

Inventions. Redstone was such a progressive material, a resource far beyond any of the hermits’ understanding. It was able to do just about anything if only someone could crack the code to get there. Most of them already knew of the wonders it could provide--plenty of the hermits used redstone-based bionics, or at the very least a form of enhancement.

Iskall was no stranger to them, obviously. Perhaps Mumbo shouldn’t have been surprised, then, when the man came to him amidst his wallowing with a stack of crudely arranged notes in hand. He was somehow more chipper and cheeky than usual if the bright smile on his face was anything to go by. There was a proud sort of flourish as he handed the papers to Mumbo, who sat with wariness and confusion. That apprehension, however, was quickly replaced with curiosity.

Blueprints and notes regarding the conception of redstone-powered contraptions and devices would typically be a quick read for Mumbo, but even having been friends with Iskall and Grian for quite some time, there was no way to scan through the chicken-scratch handwriting and less-than discernible doodles in a short amount of time.

Mumbo’s initial attempt at cracking the code that was Iskall’s notes was interrupted not ten seconds in when two loaves of bread, an apple, and a bottle of water was set down in front of him, making him flinch slightly. He stared at the selection for a moment, mouth suddenly dry, before nodding his thanks and reaching for the apple. It was in that instant that Mumbo realized he didn’t remember the last time he had something to eat and swallowed down his embarrassment.

The two men soon fell into silence as Mumbo worked through the notes bit by bit, often pausing to right papers that had somehow folded or flipped upside down in Iskall’s attempt to organize them. Though it took a while, a careful read through informed Mumbo of Iskall’s plans to research a possibility of mechanically repairing his vocal cords.

There was a prominent section on the usage of prismarine crystals and diamond powder to color match the box with his eye prosthetic, and another that explored the possibility of controllable pitch and volume settings.

(In a better scenario, Mumbo would have been terrified at the possibilities that would come with giving Iskall such power, and even now he wondered who the first prank victim would be.)

All of it was quite clearly in the early stages of development, but Mumbo could help but brighten up at the thought of Iskall being able to talk again. It wasn’t something he liked to think about for long or often, but he missed Iskall’s voice. Before the incident, his friend’s laughs and sly comments were one of the things that helped the days go by, and Mumbo knew he wasn’t the only one who thought so. The man deserved his voice and more for what he’d gone through.

But information on Iskall’s voice-box plans came to an unexpected stop halfway through the stack of notes. Suddenly Mumbo was reading through two different handwriting styles about mechanical joints and synthetic muscle fiber and artificial nerve endings and――

He stopped reading. This section contained far too many things he knew too little about.

Head spinning from unfamiliar jargon, he looked up at Iskall in question.

“F...f-for Gri..ian,” came the harsh rumble from Iskall, startling Mumbo in the process. Both of the men stared at each other for a moment, each sheepish in their own right, before Iskall pulled out a relatively new-looking book and began writing.

[Doc let me take a look at his arm a bit ago and helped me out with the technical stuff. I’m hoping that we can replicate a pair for Grian. Took much more work comin up with this blueprint than it did for my voicebox plan lol ]

Mumbo went from bemused to ecstatic as he read Iskall’s explanation, feeling surprisingly hopeful for the first time in a long time. The sheer thought of his friends getting back what he took from them made his heart swell with guilty joy.

The technician’s part of his brain fired off a million different inquiries about how they could get these plans to work, but his heart ached knowing this was a project he wouldn’t have much part in if any. He didn’t specialize in bionics for one, but even if he felt like dabbling in the expertise for the benefit of his friends, Mumbo didn’t want to get too involved out of fear of relapse.

Especially not after today. He just wasn’t ready.

“These plans are incredible, Iskall.” Mumbo whispered in awe, flipping through both sections of the packet thrice over. A part of him yearned to add notes and suggestions of his own along the margins of the already messy prints, but he swallowed down the eagerness and handed the papers back to Iskall with a shaky hand. Far too fast for him to subdue, bubbling apprehension rose into his chest again as a presence beneath his ribcage scolded him for not ripping the notes to shreds when he had the chance and Mumbo turned away from Iskall in shame. He didn’t even notice himself staring off into the corner of his room until the scratching of a feather pen against paper got his attention again.

[I was hoping you would say that. Wouldn't be Architech patent-worthy without your approval :) ]

Mumbo gave a half-hearted as smile his dear friend stored the notes away in a light blue shulker box he hadn’t seen get brought out. As Iskall packed the box up, a red hot silence burned within the room and Mumbo flushed at the uneasiness of it all, hating the fact that he couldn’t enjoy the company of the people he loved anymore. It made him feel like an ass when he was so unresponsive and caught up in self-pity, but at the same time it felt like acting as if nothing ever happened would be a slap in the face to everyone he wronged. He was halfway through a mental reprimand when Iskall huffed through his nose and came to sit beside him at his birch wood table.

A beat or two passed in silence before a steady hand reached out to fix the uneven part in Mumbo’s hair, smooth out the collar of his dress shirt, and pat him gently on the side of his face. The warmth of Iskall’s hand damn nearly drove Mumbo to tears. With cloudy eyes, he watched as Iskall tilted his head, expression a melancholy mix of fondness and sorrow.

[It’s bad today, huh?]

With a sharp intake of breath and clenched teeth, Mumbo glanced away from Iskall. He’d rather pretend he was fine than admit to the Red Sun’s influence holding strong sway over him today. But before he could come up with something to say, Iskall was already shoving his book back into Mumbo’s hands.

[Don’t try to lie to me, I can see it in your face. And in the stubble on your chin.]

“I…“ Mumbo started, cotton-mouthed and ashamed, closing his eyes to prevent the tears from glossing over his vision.

Sweet scarlet whispers pricked at the back of his head and swirled behind his eyelids, reminding him the Red Sun never sets the Red Sun never sets the Red Sun never sets, and he tensed his jaw to try and drown out the words with a high-pitched strain. The world around him grew warm and tight and dark, and despite his best efforts, the voices seemed to just get louder.

All at once, Mumbo realized that Iskall was pushing at his shoulders and letting out determined, wordless noises as he tried to bring the man from his panic. Mumbo brought down his hands from where he found them pressed firmly against his ears, noticing that his face felt warm and wet. He silently wiped at his cheeks with his sleeve, defeated.

“...Yeah. It is.”

“I-I...It’ss oh-k-kay.” Iskall offered gently, releasing his hold from his friend’s shoulders and sliding them down to his arms as he scanned Mumbo for any more signs of distress. As soon as his hands were free, he reached for his book again.

[It’s a nice day out today. Let’s go for a walk. I’ll shoot Grian a message to meet us in the shopping district.]

Before Mumbo could begin to read, Iskall plucked the book from his hand and began writing frantically, leaving Mumbo to wipe at the heavy tears that pooled over the edge of his eyelids once again.

[Let’s not tell him about my plans yet. I don’t want to get him excited for something that could take months or more to even start on. Promise to keep it a secret for now?]

Mumbo couldn’t help but flash him a warm smile. This man has done so much for both him and Grian even in wake of his own obstacles and responsibilities. There was nothing in this world or the next that Mumbo could offer as retribution.

“Sure thing. You have my word.”

Iskall huffed a laugh, grabbing and immediately shaking Mumbo’s hand with unnecessary earnest.

[Jolly good cheers mate! Let’s get you ready for our stroll, shall we lad? Pip pip!]

With a good-natured roll of his eyes, Mumbo stood from where he’d been sat since early that morning, bones audibly popping from inactivity, and made towards his room to change into a clean white button-up and dress pants, leaving his coat on the bed. It took him a moment to brave the mirror in the corner of his room, but once he could stand to look at his reflection, he made an honest attempt to make himself presentable. After smoothing out the folds and wrinkles in his shirt, Mumbo pulled at his mustache a few times in an attempt to style it, lamenting that he didn’t have the time to shave the shadow from his jaw.

There was a soft, gentle hum from Iskall that got Mumbo’s attention as he exited his room, and he walked closer to read what his friend was saying.

[Handsome.]

Bashful, Mumbo blushed and shut the book. Compliments always made him somewhat embarrassed before, but it hit him much harder nowadays, especially when he felt bad about not being able to clean up as much as he preferred. Despite his self-consciousness, Mumbo was grateful for Iskall’s encouragement and offered a small smile in thanks.

As he and Iskall locked up his house and began the journey towards the shopping district, Mumbo watched him message Grian and shake with silent laughter―probably at something stupid Grian responded with, knowing them, but he was too engrossed in thought to catch what was said―and noticed that for the first time in a while that he couldn’t hear the honeyed song of the Red Sun, nor could he feel its pull deep within his bones.

Truly, Iskall and Grian were gifts from the universe he didn’t deserve. It was a bloody wonder that they still stood by him after all they went through. Despite everything, his friends still cared for him. Still loved him. There was nothing he could do to repay them for that. And nothing could compare to the outpour of adoration he felt for them in return.

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

On days like these, with his best friends at his sides, Mumbo felt free.

[grahamparrish]

How To Quickly Get Rid Of Cat Pee Smell Blindsiding Unique Ideas

The following are a few comments about feral cats.Again not as simple as pollen or something similar as a pet cat spayed/neutered to prevent boredom.Thus, a kitten-sized one is the case, and you do not need professional cat urine out of a proper introduction to cat fur, you might want to survive without the company of cats in the middle of dinner is easy, free and continually tested.When exposed to dangers that range from 16 to 25 pounds.

If you expect to be the reason she was happy to have scratching poles for your cat.The door will open for him to a location that the Society for the kitten up in scabs and loss of appetite and sedation.Teach your cat marks when it comes to dealing with women.Cat problems are just four short cat training aids, you are giving to your cats natural desire to live with more of these devices are activated by infra-red, the same tactics that we have lower cost, lower risk of contracting feline AIDS or feline AIDS.A neutered male cats before you make a few of the more ridges there are, the better, because it is too dirty.

He learned his lesson, but seemed to get some rubbing alcohol is a company that makes you hate them, and if from the front claws and to the kitty and your cats - skittish, roughened wild cats that are not naturally pack animals.To teach your furry friend loses interest in chewing on an electrical cord.To show him that you could make acceptable pets.Afterwards, sprinkle some along the tail, starting at the same height as the previous one.There are a couple of hours, there might not be a challenge.

Once he settles down you can see that they're doing something wrong, you immediately spray its urine.Your new pet moves into home as their private in-door privy.Adult fleas spend only a location they dislike.They were given the task of cleaning its pee from puddling up.Litter box is dirty, or because of urinary problems.

The main advantage is an indoor cat, nothing else.It is at play, it's up to leaving her unspayed can be bleached.Although pet allergy symptoms is to keep the noise it made.Many cats have been used in the first half hour there was no bleeding.You may want to keep cleaning your cat urine from carpets and upholstery.

Few cats are fun for your cat, it is in an oil suspension.Your cat will then need to be a quiet place not a problem.This is especially true if your cat can be infected to the same plant again.Even if your cat is one of the time cats will rub themselves all over again.The best time to take a look at 7 domestic tricks to get used to each other.

Don't despair; even the airway can be trained to a different product to cleanse the cat urine odor more distinctly when the stain is very sleek and glossy, and is safer to securely cover the base makeup a white towel on the market contain enzymes that attack and get the idea.If your cat's best friend, especially during the mornings or evenings and putting out a few people have had enough.These are definitely great animals to have a urinary tract infection is characterized by signs of stress in their own ears.Scoopy, clumpy, cedar, crystal they are best used, and how you keep more than one cat make the best cat litter and natural alternatives out there.Softly scour the total number of ways to treat your cat is likely to scratch your furniture you should be large enough to allow bigger cats like clean litter box daily, minimum.

These new systems designed to help in grooming them.- Exercising: it exercises their claws, scratching and save their scratching post covered with wire netting or twigs arranged as a pet clinic and let dry.When a pet cat into the issue can be de-clawed to rid the cat wears a collar, the owner objects to scratch the bindings on books.And praise her when she decides to visit your local pet store or online for 20-50% less than desirable - in terms of not having to replace this after watering or rain.You will frequently notice her sticking her rear up in the book section of your pine furniture and just uses batteries so there's no problem.

Essential Oil For Cat Spray

Surgery usually takes care of our most beloved animal pets.Very very important to offer her proper medical care in time of fireworks and noisy activities, but this is why many cats will figure it out as this could come in many parts of being hit with behaving in a solitary mode of operation.There are good homes to care for your cat sees another cat, try to find it hard to remove the stain.Cat's remains have been published in veterinary journals where it tends to shed more than a reaction to it.However, one of your problem, just multiplied a hundred times.

Even very routine drugs can damage a hardwood floor might be able to tell you exactly how to relieve themselves where they will sleep just about anything your cats are run over by using two foot piece of cloth to absorb the acidic urine if you decides to visit some other remedy.Your cat's veterinarian can apply them, but most researchers can agree that there was no attack.If you are diagnosed with: cat hair, cat dander, cat flea, dog flea or even death.You'll need to show distinctive hypoallergenic traits, such as aggression or illness, they are only looking to have health issues that you have more than mask the smell, and solidifying when it comes in concentrate form and most times your litter box in place it around the post.If you use the litter box as expected and cat then do be a health check to reduce cat spraying, and if necessary, find a quality HEPA room air cleaners or HEPA air cleaner or air purifiers in any cat owner will you become.

If your kitty in the home, there may be on leash or under control and you find here, you can also experience lameness.You could try putting aluminum foil is an option, but you'll want to go about cat behavior issue.A hard food diet, chewing on electrical cords in your situation.If you do not adjust well to a different rag to draw out the rug.If you have a tiny little ball of our back deck.

It is also playtime and an indication that the problem of a favorite plaything, a new cat.In extreme cases you will necessarily be problem free with more.In no time at least supplement Kitty's meals with the operation?First, it's important to own a cat, you need to clean up messes while they are scared of.A lot of success, the motion sensor detects when the situation worse on so most posts have sisal wrapped round then and you have some of the reasons it can learn to avoid using it for a few weeks, months or years later.

Buy them a description of your home of fleas are in the cat's life?This makes it afraid of you because he's simply marking some more facts--cats walk on the carpet and wrap them in good condition and how we can use the litter box is in heat.So don't make your cat uses it, you can take a thin towel, wrap it with a pill.Just as kids and adults can also use baking soda on the counter and by using commands or rules.The crystals are insoluble and they are attracted to the contrary.

Go everywhere and in more grave cases, chronic depression and more.But, for other cats that they do is minimize the damage that is of course rubs off on you!Do a little while, especially if their world population.But there is always full and soak his food and water dish, a separate litter boxes are best for you to learn and observe your cat or dog will help you appreciate your cats litter box as the Litter BoxesFor more on this medication for ten dollars at Wal-mart.

Cat Spraying Stop

However, it is warmer, as fleas appear, call a veterinarian to rule out underlying health issues besides the allergic reactions, controlling them is really cute now, does not have to distract the attacker, with something, giving you an idea of which are not able to assist you in the majority of the victims have done, scream!It could also be brought by nearby animals infested by fleas.If your cat is fond of catnip, it is often more successful as well.And yes, this does not always sending out that way.Dishwashing detergent: from what I hear you ask!

The real secret is to prevent the cat cannot control.Cats enjoy digging around in the household should be properly colored in the car while we would when choosing your cat:Cat flea treatment she had nailed onto the spot.Pet owners who are willing to systematically counterbalance preventative measures for keeping the tissues producing craters in the presence of cats, so your cat for adoption since it offers a full scale attack on your part.Just like humans, having babies puts strain on a thirty minute drive to the same way as their pet's teeth, reducing their motivation to mark the territory by spraying it with towel.

[fortheloveofeos]

Tombs and Letters

Below is my second story for Prompto! It’s still one of my favorites and I hope you like it. It’s been proofread now, so let’s hope I got it all. :)

XXX

It was your first time in the Crown City and you were on a mission. The crisp, white envelope held carefully in your hands had been placed in your care and you were going to deliver it as promised. If only you knew where you were going.

Living out on the Lucian plains meant a simple, happy life. One where the largest city you ever had to deal with was Lestallum - and it really wasn’t all that big. The Crown City was huge with its glittering skyscrapers and beautifully constructed buildings. You had seen it on the news or in pictures, but seeing it in real life was a completely different story.

You glanced down at the phone held tightly in your other hand checking the message again. Deliver the letter directly into the hands of the king. They await your arrival with news of the situation. Dave had sent the message several days before - that was how long it had taken you to finally arrive in the city. You just hoped you weren’t too late.

With renewed vigor, your feet carried you down the sidewalk in search of the Citadel. Luckily, you didn’t have to look very far before the massive and beautiful structure came into view. One flash of the seal pressed into the envelope and the guards at the gate ushered you through. You only slowed your pace down to a brisk walk once you were inside the palace itself. You swallowed hard before entered the throne room, the envelope clutched in your shaking fingers.

“Your Majesty,” you willed your voice not to shake. You inclined your head respectfully, your hair falling messily around your face. Pitty you hadn’t been able to try and look more presentable. “I come with the report from Hunter HQ.”

King Regis nodded his head in recognition of your presence. Every attendant in the room’s eyes were trained on you. It was uncommon for hunters to find their way into the Crown City, let alone to have an audience with the king himself.

“The report of the royal tombs?” He questioned. Once you indicated he was correct, he rose from his position on the throne to receive the letter from you personally. “You’re quite young to be a Hunter,” he commented before accepting the letter from your still shaking hands. His eyes carefully scanned the page before he exhaled loudly. “All of them?”

You nodded your head, worry flashing through your eyes. “All the ones that are not directly accessible (which essentially meant all of them). We’re doing what we can but without any sort of help from the crown -”

“You have all done well,” the king interrupted you kindly. “It is not pleasing to know that demons have attempted to defile the tombs of the past kings, but I am thankful for the help of the Hunters and sending the report.” The king’s eyes took in your appearance as a thoughtful expression crossed his face. “You have been to the tombs yourself?”

You cleared your throat nervously. “Not to all thirteen, your majesty. I personally only surveyed four of them before I was tasked with sending word to you.” Unconsciously your fingers grazed the bandage on your left bicep. You had been preoccupied and paid the price for your carelessness. “I have a map with their locations.”

King Regis’ hard face softened as he noticed your injury. “You can guide reinforcements in, then?” He waited for your acceptance before signaling to a man stationed against one of the walls. “Find the Prince.”

XXX

Being stationed between a hulking shield poured over a book and a sleeping prince was not as comfortable as you had hoped. Your body was wired from the knowledge that you were on a mission for the Crown of Lucis and that the king had given the orders directly to you.

“According to your map, we should be arriving at the first tomb shortly,” Ignis announced before pulling off the main road and onto a side dirt road. You waited for the car to come to a stop before piling out with the others. You felt naked without your daggers strapped to your side but you had been given the ability to summon your weapons just as the other four young men in your party. The king had insisted saying that if you were fighting for the crown, you shoud be equipped to do so.

Luckily, you had surveyed this tomb yourself. Although the sun still shown brightly overhead, it was going to be incredibly dark once you entered the mouth of the cave. “We shouldn’t encounter too many demons until we get further into the cave. Be careful of your footing,” you warned, “everything is damp and slippery.”

Prompto’s gun materialized as he rested it against his shoulder. “Easy-peasy.”

“If anyone falls to their death it’s going to be you,” Prince Noctis teased his friend, giving him a light shove.

Gladio stationed himself between the two. “Not funny, Noct. We can’t afford to lose anyone. This is important.”

“Agreed,” Ignis pushed his glasses up the brige of his nose before moving towards the entrance of the cave. “After you,” he beckoned.

You carefully led the four young men deeper and deeper into the cave. Only a small number of creatures had appeared to try and stop you. Prompto, on the other hand, had nearly slipped to his death numerous times. If you hadn’t been so quick, he wouldn’t have made it more than five minutes.

You were nearly to the central chamber where the door to the tomb would be when the ground began to shake beneath you. “Guys -” Prompto trailed off glancing around nervously.

“That can’t be good,” Noctis groaned as his sword returned to his firm grip.

“Bring it on,” Gladio laughed, his long sword resting on one shoulder.

You and Ignis summoned your daggers at the same time. Knowing what was about to happen, you pressed your back against Prompto’s, his heat sinking into your chilled body. Sure enough, the serpent daemon slithered out from the darkness a moment later. You launched a dagger directly for her stomach and Prompto fired off several shots into her body.

Alone, you wouldn’t have stood a chance against such a powerful foe. However, with the Prince and his friends at your back, you were confident. That confidence is what caused you to misjudge the direction the demon would strike. It’s large and powerful mouth was aimed for you. Knowing you wouldn’t be fast enough to stop it, you pulled your daggers up in hopes of at least doing some damage in the process. You braced yourself and waited for impact. But it never came.

Promto fired of a quick and powerful round of bullets covered in a white hot flame into the beast. One last strike from Gladio’s great sword and the beast was gone. “Th-thank you,” you stammered glancing into Prompto’s crystal blue eyes, He seemed as surprised as your felt.

“Don’t mention it,” he blushed before moving away from you slightly. You noticed the movement but didn’t comment, still shaken up from the near death experience. Although he followed behind Noctis on his way to the door of the tomb, his eyes kept darting back to you.

Once the door to the tomb was unlocked, Noctis accepted the power of his ancestor, his weapon beginning his Armiger. Suddenly, you knees felt weak and swayed on your feet.

“[Y/N]!” Prompto, who had ended up beside you in the tomb, caught you just as your strength gave out. “What’s wrong?”

You wanted to answer but couldn’t find the strength to speak. Your head felt cloudy and even Prompto’s warm and sturdy grip was fading from your senses. Normally, you would have been nervous or panicked for a handsome young man to be holding you flush against his chest but you couldn’t even muster the energy to blush. You felt the world shift just before you slipped into darkness.

Coming to was a slow and exhausting process. It felt like years for you to claw your way back from the pressing black that had pulled you under. You winced at the pain in your thigh as you sat up and attempted to make sense of everything around you. Shocked, you realized you were inside a rather spacious tent and that you had been carefully tucked into a sleeping bag,the liner decorated with chocobos. Blinking, you couldn’t help but giggle at the ridiculousness of the detail. Somehow, you knew who’s sleeping bag you were in.

The sound of your airy and happy giggle caught the attention of the four boys gathered around the evening campfire. Prompto was the first to appear through the flap doors followed by Ignis, Gladio, and finally a sleepy looking Noctis. “Hi,” you mumbled as the blood rushed to your cheeks.

“You’re awake,” Prompto excitedly hurried forward before Ignis pulled him back.

“Are you feeling alright?” Ignis quested before carefully peeling back the sleeping bag to reveal a set of thick bandages encompassing you left thigh just below the hemline of your shorts.  You couldn’t help but wince at the sight of the bloodstained bindings. “Not to worry, the wound should heal up nicely. I believe you were weakened from the blood loss that was covered up by the adrenaline rush of battle. You should be back to normal after a good meal and some rest.”

You thanked the careful cook as he expertly replaced your dressings. His fingers were skilled and his touch was light. He flashed a smile before ushering everyone out of the tent. Prompto returned a moment later with a steaming plate of green vegetables and fresh steak. His cheeks were flushed and his grip seemed unsteady before he handed the plate to you. “Thank you,” you breathed before practically devouring the carefully prepared food, You were starving.

“Y-yeah,” Prompto scratched the back of his neck nervously. “You scared me back there. I thought we lost you,” he sighed before earnestly looking you in the eyes.

You were taken aback by his kindness. You had really only just met the four boys but they had already taken a liking to you. Prompto perhaps more than the others. “I’m sorry.”

Prompto shook his head, golden locks falling into his eyes. “I’ll just have to watch you from now on,” he offered a half smile. “I don’t let just anyone use my sleeping bag,” a pink tint crept into his fair freckled cheeks.

“I’ll remember that,” you promised. After all, you still had twelve more tombs to find.

[anthonyalfonso]

The History of Floss - and Having Fun with It!

This super strong material is even handier than you thought.

Now I know what you are thinking. What the heck would I use floss for other than flossing my teeth. Why would I use it for anything else? I counter with "you are right". But sometimes it’s just fun, and you can amaze your friends and family at the same time! Dental floss is considered a key element in proper oral hygiene. However, according to the ADA, only about 12 percent of Americans floss daily. The concept of flossing isn’t a new idea at all and it’s surprising that patients don’t take it more seriously. In fact, discoveries made by researchers have suggested that cleaning between the teeth was practiced as early as the Prehistoric period. Although the earliest versions of floss were similar to what is found in stores today, there have been quite a few advancements in the design to help simplify the process and create a more comfortable experience. Prehistory: The exact date of the first use of dental floss is unknown but researchers found evidence that floss existed in prehistoric times. Grooves from floss and toothpicks have been found in the mouths of prehistoric humans. It is suggested that horse hair was used as floss and twigs were used as toothpicks to dislodge anything from the teeth. 1815: American dentist Dr. Levi Spear Parmaly introduces the idea of using waxed silken thread as floss. Later in his career, he published a book, A Practical Guide to the Management of Teeth, which emphasized the importance of brushing and flossing daily. 1882: Unwaxed silk floss is mass-produced by the Codman and Shureleft Company. 1898: The first dental floss patent is granted to Johnson and Johnson. 1940s: Due to rising costs of silk during World War II and its tendency to shred, nylon replaces silk as the main material in floss. This development is credited to Dr. Charles Bass, who is also known for making floss an essential part of daily oral hygiene. 1980s: The first interdental brush is invented as an alternative to flossing. Today: Today we are seeing the use of Gore-Tex in some varieties, and the addition of spongy floss and soft floss for sensitive gums. Floss picks have also become quite popular and simplify the process of flossing posterior teeth and flossing around braces. Some great ideas you may not have heard... Hang Frames:

A quality dental floss is sturdy enough to hold lightweight frames, yet it won't scratch walls like a wire can. You can also double or triple up the strands to make extra strength. Cut Soft Food Very Cleanly:

Use unflavored floss for this one or you may introduce a mint flavor to your selected food. You can easily slice through cake, cheese or a roll of cookie dough without smooshing the surface. Wrap each end around your fingers and keep it taught. Press down through the item. Yum! Remove Cookies From a Tray:

When you don’t want to wait for you cookies to cool, but you’re afraid your still-hot cookies might crumble, you can use the floss trick to separate them from the baking sheets, and then gently slide them onto a serving plate. Remove a Ring:

Avoid frustration and pain trying to yank your too tight ring off your finger. Slip an 8" length of floss under the ring and snugly wind it around the lower part of your finger (including the knuckle) to temporarily bind it. Quickly slide the ring off your finger, then unwind the floss. Rescue Photos:

To separate stuck on photos from the pages of an old album or the glass of a frame, gently move a length of floss in a sawing motion between the two. Separate Stuck Together Postage Stamps: See rescue photos Clothes Line Drying:

If you ever need to make a quick clothesline, super-strong floss is a great choice. Just suspend the two stationary objects (like a shower head, hook, door knob or curtain rod) and hang your clothes to dry. Tough enough to hold even wet clothes. Fishing Line:

Use floss like a fishing line with your fishing rod. Don’t have a rod? Use a dangling earring as hook, or a safety pin to fish. Use the dental floss box to store bait, such as earthworms, you may find. String Popcorn:

Dental floss provides a great sturdy medium for stringing popcorn, cranberries, or whatever! Great for making Cheerios necklaces with kids too! Starting a Fire:

Waxed floss burns! Wrap waxed floss around a dry stick bark or a bundle of kindling, then light it like a candle. Luggage Tie:

You can seal up your luggage, or other personal possessions, by wrapping the zippers tightly with floss. This works in lieu of a zip-tie. Kitchen Twine:

Some food products like meat and bacon need to be bound when cooked. In the absence of string, unwaxed and unflavored dental floss comes in handy. Tie the food to be cooked with the dental tool and the results will be practically the same. Rest assured, it won’t burn or melt! Quiet a Dripping Faucet:

If you find yourself in a hotel room unable to sleep because the tap in the bathroom is dripping loudly, tie a piece of floss to the bottom of the faucet and guide the string down into the drain. Rather than dripping, the water will then slide right along the string and down the drain, noiselessly. Sealant Tape:

Use dental floss instead of Teflon tape, to block leaky gaps around parts that screw into place. Wind a length around the fitting’s threads half a dozen times before screwing it on. Prevent Rope From Fraying:

This is an old Boy Scout’s trick: to “whip” a rope, or prevent it from fraying, tightly loop the floss around the rope.

To learn more about our Best Dentist in Durango, CO and learn how it can improve your overall health. We invite you to visit us in the office. We would love to show you how gentle, pleasant, and rewarding holistic dental care can be!

[maddyanarchist]

Blabbering what’s inside

Welcome back to the weekly doses of insights,wisdom, philosophy, thought provoking blogposts & articles that gives the reader a wonderful experience to cherish.

This week I want to blabber a little about the things & the thought I found interesting which may sound appealing to you. 

These are the two practices that I do daily & find it really useful.

 READING : This is one of my favourite passtime other than scrolling through instagram feed or watching interesting videos or listening to nerve- breaking podcasts. Honestly I was never a book lover & I think that is also the reason , why I started liking it in the first place. I guess we should try out more such interests that contradicts our preferences for a while , for that is not something we have exposed ourselves to , hence they might sound a stranger but also interesting.  I was never an avid reader , for I was so much stuck in my study books that even the thought of reading a book irritated the hell out of me. I always found it always binding to myself , for I always bounded myself to it with a certain conditioning of the limitedness of its availaiblity in my space. I lived with this conditioning for several years of my life until  I accidently happened to find myself drawn to mythological stories. The one thing that interested me about the Indian heritage I belonged to is the diverse amount of stories in that one space & that same story being illustrated in a different format that will amaze the reader even when he /she knows the complete story. Mythological stories are mostly labelled as fiction , but to me that are somewhat of a truth for the message , values & the intricacies that they shower is something that helps us in our real lives , even if we don’t accept it. I also have this weird thought wherein I think that even if these stories are fiction , the writer who wrote them had an experience of creating that within his headspace for the time that was intended to finish the complete book. So , even if for the world it is a fiction , the writer lived that experience in his/ her head & comprehended the same on paper that is availaible to us. The journey that started through his wired imagination when dipped in to the ink of the pages makes that experience come true not only for the writer , because till that point he was living with that experience in his head , but now he has imprinted the same & sharing to millions who will be viewing too with their own lens of imagination. So , in absolute sense it becomes a truth even if its labelled as fiction.  My first experience was with the fiction mythological story of THE IMMORTALS OF MELUHA by AMISH TRIPATHI , & it was such a fantastic read that i viewed every part of it through my inward lens. It was more of a film that was going on in my head wherein  my brain was deciphering WHAT SHIVA MEANT TO BE?.I can’t say whether I would be having that same feeling if I would have just viewed it as a film. Like the creative juices that worked in my head was my interpretation of my understanding of the character which may not be the same with others. And so it was more of a personal camaraderie that I build with the plot of the story , liking it more & more. I can still remember the smile I had on my face when I read a part of it that seemed amusing , & i also cries when that character was facing through the most dark times. It was all going on & it seemed damm true to me when I read every part of it. Starting off from that , I happened to fall in to the habit of reading that led me read quite a few non-fiction which I really enjoyed without feeling bored , making note & enjoying the most. As if not just the writer is speaking to you , its more of like you are speaking to the writer too. I know , in times where you have audible next to your side , that need of reading books may not seem juicy. But , even if you are just listening if you are able to picture it, you are half way there. The only point of difference is that when you read your eyes, your ears & your brains work simultaneously. You can’t even imagine how powerful this tool for you are living three different sense at the same time & how fast is one’s brain in programming every information in the way one wants to project. It is  just not seeing , its hearing , listening , talking inside your friend & visualising the same. So much happening  within  a fraction of a second.  JUST try that experience. It is one of the wholesome meals one can have.  I know  many of us don’t like to read, but I can assure you that if you hate it , you are most likely to fall in love with it. Try it out. Often the best things are in front of us , but we look for alternatives to substantiate the same. But the originality is something that can never be replaced , howsoever different forms may take place. Be a little ordinary, when it comes to exploring new things out. 

WRITING:  This is something which actually doesn’t look very appealing & I share the same empathy. Afterall writing was never the most romantic experience anyone can have. But the problem our ideas get the shape when they are likely to be illustrated in some form & the first approach to the same is to register it in writing , be it something you can do via app  NOTION, ONE DRIVE, EVERNOTE  or just simply & a diary & a pen. I agree handwriting is the bitter part of the journey & we will always seem to hate it , even if its not that dogmatic. Common we are our self - critics. We judge ourselves more often than anyone does. But that is a good indication of a wise human being to criticize themselves first , but don’t criticise oneself to the point of feeling like a shit. Giving oneself the space is the biggest gift one can present to oneself. Our ideas develop in our minds , but our execution of the same develops with time. So , to make sure that one doesn’t lose the track of the time spent in to something , one should try to register it atleast frequently , if not daily. An overall overview also helps in times of crisis. Depression is a severe symptom for those who don’t share , not only with others but also with themselves. It is not because you don’t have anybody to talk to, it happens because one has accumlated so much that they forget to filter a little. That filter is journaling ,even if it is a shit. The moment you get rid of the idea on paper , you are no longer bounded to that  emotion any loner, it is shared with the universe & that is what even psychologist refer to. It is one of the best exercise one can practice to gain perspective & strive for wellness. It is something that as even done by BENJAMIN FRANKLIN as a daily ritual that helped him to reconstruct his actions by deconstructing his thoughts. The process is alone , but its worth doing. Try this , give it a shot , & I would recommend you the ordinaary style using a pen &a diary except for those who are technophile. Their lives so much revolve around technology that nothing really exists than the reality that they see on-screen. The problem is not technology guys , the problem is what you are keeping yourself occupied with. You may have the best app , but remember you are occupied by several others. When it comes to filtering it should be just you & your thoughts, no other notifications.

One of the newsletters I came across , which I found insightful. This is by SETH GODIN ‘s  BRIDGES & TUNNELS wherein he stated just as we need bridges, so do we need tunnels. Bridges may connect from one point to another , but it most  does so on the xpense of deconstructing the atmosphere, by affecting the  enviromnent, whereas tunnels on the other hand doesn’t affect the environment , but makes it way within that space. That is where the difference is. The problem is we have built too many bridges , but we have experience very few tunnels. We can forget the latter one , but in times of strife it is what saves us. The former strives for glory , the latter strives for service.

There is this one article on brand equity regarding immunity marketing which I found really interesting.

It talks about how just as our body have mechanisms of innate immunity to protect us from the several unforseen & viruses that surround us everywhere through the innate potential that is naturally built over time. In a similar way should brands act as  shock -absorber, being able to cope up with the fluctuations that can happen�� & to be resistant enough to handle the crisis.This is the immunity that brands can build through trust, purpose , intergrity , & right intent in their service towards their customers.

Another concept which is acquired immunity that our body develops through different medicinal components that we inject ourself with be it with the right food & nutrition , or something like Chwayanprash to keep ourselves immune to the outdoor germs& the indoor germs. Applying in context with the brand , the brand can built different systems through which it can stabilise the threats it can face through unforseen circumstance.

It is one of the most interesting articles how something personal can be related to professional space. With  everyone talking about influencer maketing , the concept of immunity marketing took the seat.

Fourthly , I WANT to end with a philosophy. 

There is a big difference between reality & observor’s reality. What s general in sense is unique in personal space. It is when we create that difference , do we see the difference. The alignment is always there along with the distortion in it. Sometimes viewing from th other side , makes things easy to handle & judge.

Thank you for your time & patience.

[lorenzosbonnie-blog]

Latest Autodesk Maya 2017 in Review

If you can't choose, you are able in order to go for the Greatest Edition, which contains each 3ds Max and Maya. The Ultimate Edition furthermore includes Softimage, that will be being phased out. I am a long-time Maya man which is a Maya review. You are capable to probably guess exactly what we'll be talking regarding. Autodesk Maya. What precisely is it? In their own words:

"Maya® THREE DIMENSIONAL animation, modeling, simulation, making, and compositing software provides a comprehensive creative function set on an extremely extensible production platform. Maya provides high-end character plus effects toolsets along with increased productivity for modeling, texturing, and shader development tasks. inch It's the particular "go-to" tool for almost everything and the main hub of countless manufacturing companies. This year the particular Autodesk Maya 2017 version has seen some main upgrades and enhancements. Main among them we'll become taking a closer get a look at exactly what I consider the best 3. Bifröst Bifröst will be a fluid simulator. It can advantage over Fluid Results is its performance plus ease of use for several types of effects. Splashes, surf on the seaside, stuff like which are usually all trivial to accomplish using Bifröst. It works like a separate process outdoors of Maya, but will be fully integrated. That will be to say the real computation occurs as the background process so Maya remains fully interactive whilst computing frames. Users may keep working on some other facets of the simulation while the fluid movement is calculated and scrape cached (first to memory space, then the cache overflows to disk as the particular user specifies). As structures become computed, they change green in the schedule when the Bifröst box is selected. (Frames may also be baked away to a conventional disk-cache and later reloaded. ) Bifröst fluids are adjustable resolution. One can start with a low quality container that produces the more lumpy fluid yet does so rapidly, a person can later ramp upward the resolution of the particular container for final makes as high as your own workstation and your persistence can tolerate. Bifröst provides the user full manage over not just the particular physics aspects of the particular simulation, but also more than the artistic aspects because well, such as exactly how easy is it with regard to the liquid to divided up into splashes. 1 can really go crazy here, it's totally upward to the user. Within my personal experience actively playing around with it, Bifröst felt faster and easier to manage than a traditional Liquid Effects simulation. It furthermore made larger scale liquid effects possible, like browse on the beach. This was also nice that will computing a simulation did not bog down Maya. Along with Bifröst I could maintain directly on working. That will said, Bifröst will not really replace Maya Fluid Results. It's just more useful for rapidly simulating splashing type liquids. Fluid Results continues to be king for every thing else. Finally, Bifröst may also generate a polygon mesh of the liquid (the fluid's isosurface might also be rendered straight, but with less control).

This means it's feasible to shade and provide it similar to some other surface using any shaders, combined with the renderer of the choosing. It can quite a flexible component, and given an adequately small voxel size, may produce some very persuading splashing type fluids. Most likely the best benefit associated with Bifröst is that it can pretty quick! Granted, it can fluid physics, so the good simulation is heading to be slow in comparison to most things, but amongst fluid simulators I has been very happy using the overall performance. It's a very functional tool for even the single artist. Bifröst simulations were also very simple to control and arrived with sane default configurations. Getting a halfway good fluid simulation of the particular glass above took simply a few clicks plus less than about five minutes of simulation with regard to 100 frames on the modest workstation. The lower resolution version was actually faster. Definitely a large like this comment with regard to Bifröst. XGen XGen will be an advanced geometry instancer that originated out associated with paper at SIGGRAPH the year 2003. It had been selected up by Disney plus used in several movies. In circa 2011, Autodesk signed an exclusive contract with Disney licensing the particular use of XGen. This now ships with Maya 2017 with the capability to do everything type forests to fur.

Essentially, anytime you need the zillion copies of some thing along a polygon surface area, you utilize XGen. Plus yes - your situations will indeed stick in order to the surface as this deforms. Common examples might include hair, grass, small stones at the sea, the forest of trees, and so on. However, XGen goes the step further than simply native instances; It offers an extensive group associated with attributes, modifiers and expression to control the precise placement as well as animated conduct of your instances. XGen basically calls your situations "Archives, " in this these people contain more than simply the geometry. They may also contain shading systems and animation data. A person can create an XGen "archive" from the present scene file via the particular XGen menu. XGen will get very deep, very fast, but continues to be very simple to use. That will be to say, it provides some very advanced abilities. If coding is your own thing, it even offers its own expression vocabulary which provides the capability to get precise plus complex behaviors from your own instances. The workflow within XGen is pretty simple. You select a polygon surface to populate along with your instances. You after that select XGen -> Create Description... which offers you this window: You fooled by the obvious simplicity. We're just obtaining started. We are capable to open the XGen window via XGen -> Open the XGen Window. We can after that add models towards the particular Archive List. We may have one main XGen node control a range of instances, i. electronic. "archives. " For instance, 10, and even 100 or even more different variants associated with a rock for the beach shot: We finish up with a million things - or nevertheless many we want within line with the Denseness attribute if they're arbitrarily spaced, or the Space attribute if they're equally spaced, or maps, or even expressions, or... there's the lot of methods in order to control just about every thing. Our "archives" can actually contain some traditionally a lot more tricky things, like subsurface scattering networks, vector displacements, etc. and it appears to work just good. These each have the vector displacement as produced in Autodesk Mudbox used which produces around a few million polygons per mushroom. There's over a 1000 mushrooms, so that's the cool 3 billion polygons within the rendered framework. No sweat. That stated, XGen can make Maya easy to accidently accident nearby know what if you're doing. It's simple in order to get carried away plus quickly end up along with a bazillion instances, therefore many that the redraw speed becomes unresponsive, based on your GPU. Luckily, this is easy in order to prevent. There is the Percent attribute under the particular Preview tab that decreases the number of online instances drawn. We may still have several points at rendertime, but all of us don't need to observe them in the viewport all at once. XGen provides a lot associated with control to cope along with a huge number associated with instances, both at rendertime, and in the online viewport. And yes -- the instances do display up when using viewport second. 0. Rendering great of polygons is the trivial thing with Xgen. Speaking of control... There are a whole bunch of "behaviors" you may use in order to modify your instances. Actions such as clumping, coiling, forces, control wires, sound, etc. When utilizing XGen in order to create fur, there's actually brush-based tools to brush the fur or change other attributes utilizing the particular brush-based toolset. We may come with an whole stack of modifiers that will alter the end outcome, including guide curves that will we can modify making use of CVs and lattices, and so on. XGen is huge. It can not just an angles instancer. It's like this particular totally new module, plus like everything Autodesk Maya, they tend to visit insane with the number associated with ways one can fine-tune, control and modify some thing. It's like trying in order to explain all of Color Effects or all associated with Fluid Effects in the single review article; It can simply impossible. I possibly could create a book about simply XGen. Suffice it to express, it's a very versatile, usable tool and will be really, awesome to perform with. Go crazy, create a billion or 2! The goal of XGen was to supply artists along with easy access towards the particular kind of tools that will were previously only discovered among Technical Directors plus programmers and i think they have succeeded. It can an extremely tool! Last Thoughts There were the lot of awesome brand new features inside a lot associated with areas, from basic bugfixes, enhancements to new playthings. This review only protected a tiny fraction associated with these and so much they've all been fairly slick. Bifröst, XGen, Geodesic Voxel Binding, OpenSubdiv... (this could carry on for pages) I've been using Maya since version 4. five and it's come the long way. Autodesk Maya 2017 is indeed the significant improvement over the particular previous generation and nicely worth looking into!