#are actually useable and understandable

[izzy-b-hands]

I truly fucking hate how some of these side gig tasks are formatted/instructed. Your shit doesn't make sense; the field you claim exists for me to type in isn't there (if it is, it's greyed out and there's no way to change that on my end) and I appreciate a room full of tech bros doesn't want to take five minutes to have an arts/english major read over and edit their shitty instructions so they're actually something a person can comprehend without reading it over five times, but also. Fuck them; it would not take that long and the money you're wasting on this project won't be any less wasted if you pay someone to proofread your shit that's an actual human, and not an AI.

[baekuras]

Used the good old post midnight time to not go to sleep to be ready and awake for work the next day (lol) but I DID go plan out my weekly schedule

I am now trying to add some gamedev goodness on top of coding-courses

Mind you it's only an hour of each..........every day :3c

So far I have been good with the coding studying and it's fun Granted so far it's "only" good old html&css but it's been good at getting me used to just....typing it out, connecting things, making me think etc I am not sure I'll stick with web development even but I wanted to at least try it out as well and that's been going well (even though I spent like 30mins trying to find out why one thing wasn't working and it was because I misplaced an h in a line....use spellcheck kids)

Gamedev wise...I just really wanna finally do SOMETHING DEAR GOD it kiiiiinda fits in with coding but since I use Unreal as what seems as a good all purpose engine (yeah fair -2D but I am not interested in that atm and even then....you can make it work, there is just a lot of extra things you don't need so it may be slower/more tedious/fiddly)...yeah it uses C# which I heard wasn't the easiest to start into so Maybe down the road Until then it'll be blueprints Before that I need to throw together a god damn prototype to see what ideas are even viable lol (granted it's a very basic kinda game, zombie survival stuff y'know-the usual, so I think most will work fine)

[cryptiddeer]

Just found out that that pink Sakura cross in the foundry counts as a divine key. It is not shown anywhere in the concierge. In the multiple times I looked up divine keys to learn what they are and how they work, none of them mentioned this, instead focusing on the ones obtainable in co-op. I found this out because I saw it passively in a video comparing Eden and Griseo 2.

[bonefall]

Does this mean we can have silk “scarf” or “shawls” in BB

bc that would make every scene so much better imagine Mistystar making a speech with silk accessories

I've been on-and-off looking at the possibility of the Clans making accessories out of silk for a few months now, but because of a lack of good historical examples to draw from, I've sadly had to rule it out for now.

Eastern silk production, which produces enough strong material to actually get used as a textile, is completely dependent on the fabulous, beautiful animal known as Bombyx Mori, the Domestic Silk Moth. What's amazing about this moth is that it's been domesticated for 5,000 years, and is so genetically distinct from its ancestors that they can't always produce offspring with their direct progenitor, Bombyx Mandarina!

In the west, we don't have any species (that I know of) which are capable of producing enough fiber. So far I've explored three kinds of animals, but hit snags with each one.

First one I started looking at was just some sort of alternative to bombyx mori, another silk-producing moth. While "wild silks" have been collected and used in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and even the Mediterranean and Middle East, it seems like central and northern Europe are like the one place on the planet where there's no appropriate wild silk moths.

At some point I encountered the Caddisfly and went down a small rabbithole for them. Caddis silk is VERY similar to that of a silkworm chemically, but also water resistant. Unfortunately, caddisflies cover their sticky cocoons in rocks and sticks, like bagworms. That would probably make the silk less useful.

The most promising was spider silk. Used as wound dressings since ancient times, briefly used to create paintings, plus several "proof of concepts" of modern humans applying silkworm techniques to create small amounts of textiles, several factors made me back off.

Spiders produce several kinds of silk, unlike insects which typically only make one per species. This means that you can't just apply "one technique" to turn all their silk from Bug Butt String to Useable Material-- you have to develop a technique for egg casing silk, dragline silk, capture silk, etc.

This means that I'd need to separately research every documented instance of spider silk weaving to understand what type of spider silk they were using, PLUS what species it came from, and if that species has any relatives in the modeled region, and if those relatives produce the right sort of silk, etc.

AND if these processes require too many advanced tools, all of that work would go out the window since Clan cats are working with sticks and rocks.

So, unless somehow unlimited money falls on me tomorrow and I get to hire a fleet of entomologists to conduct Silly Cat Experiments in tandem with, I can't find a path to silk textiles yet.

.....YET.

Because I can feel it in my bones that somehow, intelligent cats would be MILES ahead of human cultures in this technology. I think it would be just like humans and cheese. We didn't domesticate cows for their milk-- we domesticated them for MEAT, and THEN accidentally figured out how to make cheese by keeping milk in early "leather" (stomach) bags.

Likewise, cat cultures would be domesticating insects for food first. Silk would be a byproduct.

So someday I'd like to sit down and just explore what sorts of insects they would logically prioritize as food, which of those do well in captive conditions, and then work from there. Not only would it generally give me a good place to start with, but most importantly, it would feel more organic. As much as possible, I try to avoid working "backwards" culturally by starting with a tech and then figuring out how they got it.

Anyway! Mistystar can still have accessories

The primary textiles that Clan cats have is leather, linen, and yarn. Linen is the highest quality and most labor intensive material they have, worn by leaders, clerics, and other high-ranking cats as a sign of their status.

The shawl is actually canon lmao, a supporting character in Darkstar's Commandment is actually going to be wearing one. Xeir name is Smallstar, and they get to NOT die in BB because of the fact that Mapleshade's kittens are the ones who died to create Commandment 14. Runningstorm and Wolfheart also have very small cameos.

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

want talk about how important have AAC in your language.

language of birth country, of family, big language, so many native speaker, even more second third learned language speaker. but, even that, is language not often seen in robust AAC apps develop by western countries—because not one of big western countries.

there only one robust symbol based (or TTS tbh) AAC app have that language: TD snap.

which mean. must make it work.

how important it is have AAC that fit your needs: right grid size, right motor plan, right access support (switch, eye gaze, etc), right editing, right symbols, right color & color coding & contrast, right everything. n so much of this, actual need, and not preference.

which why there so many english symbol based AAC apps, each with different logic to where words are, how word organized, what symbol use, what editing feature have, all backed by their research & tech development… you get choose. if one app not right for you, have others. sometimes is prefer one over other, but other times is, some apps unusable for you, conflict needs for you, cannot understand it (e.g touch chat for me).

TD snap organization not work for me. core word not enough, fringe word organized not fit way my brain work, n overall not enough words that match own daily life.

but have to make it work. because it between this, or not communicate in words with family & with world in country where everyone speak this language.

so, am deleting everything, all words, all boards, & remake, reorganize. trying make it work. begging make it work. pay no mind how it take tens even hundreds of hours (years in making, still not finished). …it my only option.

n, this lucky case scenario—

people who cannot, or not allowed to, edit their AAC in such big way. people who cannot use that sad one app that contain your language.

or, especially: there languages & speaker of those language who need AAC but have no AAC because there no AAC that support their language.

their voice robbed.

but that not all. for longest time still not able use AAC in birth country language. because have no voice go along.

want talk about how important have useable voices in AAC in your language.

in gender that reflect you, tone & personality that reflect you, pronunciation & accent & everything that reflect you.

using voice that not used to, already feel like speaking through someone else mouth. very odd feeling—it you speaking, it you communicating, but it coming out of someone else mouth, in their voice, not yours. where yours?

even with voice that like, still take me while fully connect with voice. with voice mere tolerate, always feel discomfort, not fully mine. with voice that opposite who you are?

averse. rather not talk at all.

not willing choice. but physical reaction, recoil, hate, uncomfortable deep under skin, disgust.

between acapella voice group & IOS voices, there maybe 5-6 voices for birth country language, all very gendered, middle age “karen” sounding, robotic unnatural, unclear, hard hear what trying say, tele-announcer tone. 5-6, but somehow all sound same.

and, make no mistake, 5-6 badly made ones. is lots. other languages, have 1, or 2. or none. this, lucky.

so, not communicate with words at all. completely nonverbal all the time, so gestures, noises, grunts, is what left. need parents with 24/7, because other don’t know why not talk, don’t even know can not talk, don’t understand what mean with all these body language noises/-n, by the way, parents is part reason have cPTSD, but have be around them, because nonverbal high support needs, what can you do, what other option you have?. and, still, frequent meltdowns n tantrum—because often no one understand.

have words that cannot use. in language that itself is trauma trigger.

today, found that apple/ios now expanded voices for birth country language. so many now! so many also have enhanced & premium options, that come with ios, no extra cost. so many different personalities, tones, inflections. and, sound so natural.

cried. because. finally may able communicate with words in birth country language again.

don’t know how explain to people who, never had go through forced silence, how important and huge and even life changing this is.

won’t take away communication disability, won’t take away other AAC difficulties, won’t take away trauma, won’t make birth country language any less of trauma trigger, but—

it there when ready.

—to all my AAC users who speak language that not commonly supported by robust AAC apps on market. especially those BIPOC, those diaspora and those from the country. those who speak language with few speakers. especially those nonverbal nonspeaking who have no other option. those who cannot type, who can only use symbol base AAC, so effectively stranded without one that support their language. love you all, see you all, even if AAC companies don’t.

[sanshofox]

Can someone summarize what is happening with the windows 10 to 11 topic?

Last year I read about what windows 11 is all about and was disgusted with all the AI bullshit that is nothing but spy ware, like for example to check if you have a crack version of a program, so you‘re forced to buy a monthly subscription. I dunno if that is already happening with the first updates tough

Now I read that windows is actually forcing you to change to windows 11 or otherwise your pc is not useable in a way? „Trade in or recycle“ is what they say about it. Like you have to buy a new pc for w11 to work. I can’t imagine that a new system is coded in a way that altogether makes a new pc necessary. Sounds like swindling to customers…

Just trying to understand if this is all really necessary tech wise or just unethical money milking again and what bad stuff revolves around w11 already. Because all I find so far are articles (that are windows bought i bet) that try to put it in a positive light or it‘s forums and tech sites that talk too much in tech language I don’t understand.

EDIT:

Currently going through further sites and for example the time limit to change from one OS to another is too short. Just a year. Which can lead to massive pc waste because for example companies where cyber security is a strict must have to exchange quicker. Others that keep w10 will have to pay 30$ for every year. Additionally, due to recent cyber security attacks it was perfect timing from windows aka enforced cash grab.

Here from @everfascinated a link with an article about what options you have right now. Also shining light on the fact that you can upgrade your w10 to w11, but it sounds like a hassle. Many hoops windows makes you jump through to get it done and may even damage your pc.

Also tried to read through this. Though I am no computer expert and only understand half of what they say it may be helpful for some of you.

[siddyyyyyyyy]

It's All an Act

Actor!AU

Bruce Wayne x fem!Reader

wc: 5 K summary: Actor!Bruce plays as your love interest in your up-coming movie warnings: no y/n used, Bruce acting like a rich kid sometimes, fluff, consumption of alcohol at a party, light harrassment a/n: part two is finally here!!! please ignore how long it took for me to write it, just enjoy this piece of my soul. Enjoy!

PREVIOUS PART

NEXT PART

Next day on set felt different. You couldn‘t forget how good he felt against you, how his scent lingered on your clothes after wards and how he shamelessly cock-blocked you. Sure, he has a good reason for it; he wants to make your first time with him special. You appreciate it, you really do, but he could‘ve told you earlier.

At least you both talked about the rest, officially dating and happy. It would have been way better if you could make it public, but with your jobs, you decided on keeping it a secret for the time-being, until some time passes.

But you both don‘t mind, it even feels more thrilling or rather more exciting in that way. Truth be told, it feels like you are in a cheesy romance story. And it‘s the best feeling ever.

Now, you are watching the crew set up the area with cameras, props and mics, making sure everything goes right again while you sip on your coffee. You‘ve barely gotten any sleep anyway after last night, and you really hope Malva won‘t come by and ask for updates. You are unsure what you‘d tell her.

Well, there is no time to panic over things like this and you have to film a more difficult scene today. Which requires stunts, and an angsty scene afterwards, which requires you crying and shouting at him. God, you have a love-hate-relationship with this job.

There is a stunt double of Bruce, actually Andy, that the staff is trying to look more like Bruce with colouring his hair in black and getting him the same clothes he wears for the scene.

You do your best to make sure the few stunts are incredibly safe, working together with the team even though you don‘t understand anything they are talking about, but still make sure they do everything safely.

You panic every time you see Bruce‘s stunt double pratice his falls and jumps, silently letting him do his job and let him focus. Once everything seems to be safe and sound, the action scene starts. Standing by the side, you watch the mission play out smoothly and without any problems. Thank God you didn‘t have enough budget to get explosions in, or else you‘d be worried sick over the planning. The only reason your budget didn‘t fit for some explosions, was because of the cool, high-tech gadget props you bought instead. They are not only cool-looking, but also realistic and mostly useable, if there were real bullets and other things inside.

But just to be sure, you settled on keeping the gadgets unloaded. Just in case something could go wrong.

In all honesty, you expected for Bruce to at least know how to hold a gun the right way. You knew from educating yourself through various videos and posts, so that surprised you. Ignoring the slight surprise, you stay patient beside the stunt choreographer and listen in on the plan of the scene. Shooting it would require some difficulties because of the several cuts and the stunt double, mostly because of the stunt itself.

Andy is going to jump through a window while shooting several enemies inside the room. The coordinator for this scene is trust-worthy and so is the rest of the crew. So, without any further stress, the actors play out their role flawlessly. The camera crew is making sure to capture the action-filled energy of the scene and it seems to work perfectly.

In the end, you worried way too much about it all going wrong in so many ways, that it seems ridiculous to you now. Eventually, after several hours of filming the whole action scene, it‘s time for a bigger break. Bruce looks tired already and you start to feel some kind of guilt for making him do stuff like this. But he auditioned for this role himself, so it‘s also his fault.

You stay back on set to help the rest to pack up the props and clean up the set overall, being busy thinking through the next set of scenes you‘ll have to shoot together after the big break.

A soft tap on your shoulder brings you back to reality and you turn around. Bruce locks eyes with you in an instant, immediately softening his expression.

He asks for cuddles.

»Now?«

You whisper back hushed and take a few steps off the set with him. He looks uncharacteristically vulnerable and almost sheepish.

»A hug will do as well… with you. On a bed. For fifteen minutes.«

His shoulders slump as he waits for your answer, knowing he sounds like a total dork right now. But you couldn‘t care less right now, feeling yourself crumble and give in easily.

»I think your trailer has a bigger bed, no?«

◐

That‘s how you ended up snuggling up together after every tiring day on set. It actually helped setting your mind on track again, being free on talking his ears off with your current plans on the movie and on what dates the interviews are planned. At the mention of interviews, he gets more curious. Of course, you won‘t be making your new relationship public any time soon, the timing just isn‘t right and it could result in more stress than necessary.

So, the interviews you‘ll need to attend with Bruce will be neutral. Well, as neutral as it can be, since you were also invited to a premiere party once the movie will roll in the theaters. But those are worries for your future selfs, you need to focus on the production first.

It happens very rarely, but today Bruce is taking you to set with his own car. You told him countless of times that it is risky and paparrazi are dying to get some crumbs of content or eventual leaks for the upcoming movie. But he doesn‘t seem too scared by it, he is a billionare after all. And who are you to say no to those big, blue eyes?

Arriving, you haven‘t noticed someting suspicious so far. No annoying people with cameras whose shutter is louder than a damn drum kit. It‘s relieving. Finally, something seems to go your way.

»Are these pictures planned? People are freaking out, the hype is getting bigger.«

Malva comes up beside you, holding her Ipad in front of you to see what she‘s talking about.

These goddamn paparrazi.

Her Ipad displays several pictures of you and Bruce walking across the street, his hand resting on your lower back, both of you smiling about something. On the other pictures, you can see the way he gazes down at you, expression soft and loving, almost carefree.

It really does look almost planned, the way you clinge to his side to stay close will make any person think you two are a couple.

You loudly clear your throat and accidentally gain more attention from other crew members, ducking your head with an apologetic smile. Your best friend only raises her eyebrow at you and closes her screen.

»Planned. We did that just a moment ago, totally didn‘t want that to, uh… gain negative attention. All for the hype.«

You quickly answer back and smile at her, rather awkwardly. She keeps her skeptical stare on you and almost seems to ask you more before she decides to drop the topic and move on.

»Just let us discuss something like this next time. Deal?«

»Deal.«

Malva did sound like a disappointed parent, but you really don‘t want to drop the news on her like that. Sighing out, you move on from it and focus on coordinating the rest of the scenes correctly. Using the break to check on the media, you can easily find the hottest topic trending on Twitter at the moment.

Your — the pictures some paparrazzi took — are floating everywhere. It‘s like a disease. Every other acoount is talking about it, pointing out the hand placement and the soft gaze Bruce holds for you.

THE HANDDDD!! is this offocial now? Should‘ve be me. I wish someone looked at me the way Bruce Wayne looks at her both lips are smiling right now Bi panic omg!!

Some comments take you off guard, but you don‘t want to pretend like it isn‘t amusing you, or you were any better as a teenager with celebrity crushes. Forcing yourself not to giggle at your phone, you put it away for the meantime and get back to work like a serious adult.

After the rather uneventful day, you make your way back to Bruce‘s Manor again, having made a meet up again. Mostly consisting of cuddles and reading.

»What do you think of our new photo together? I hit it off, didn‘t I?«

You slowly turn your head over to him, being confused on what he means by that, before it finally clicks in your mind.

»You saw them too? Did you plan this?«

Suddenly, he raises his hands to his defense and shakes his head.

»Of course not! I would‘ve been way more awkward if it was planned… pff, planned.«

You see him cross his arms and glance away, looking like a child who is being accused of having eaten the last cookie. With fresh cookie crumbs on the corner of his mouth.

Sighing out, you let it slide. You end up being cuddled up to his chest either way, basking in the warmth and comfort it brings to your heart.

◐

You finished filming all scenes for the movie and let it get edited and produced by the other team, only dropping in every now and then to check on them and make sure it meets your expectations. The edits and paparazzi pictures even gained their popularity and even hyped up your movie even more. It‘s ridiculous, watching your up-coming movie getting pushed and bigger by some simple edits, that got most probably made by some teenage girls.

You don‘t complain, actually having saved some of those thirst videos yourself. Just make sure Bruce doesn‘t see your phone and you won‘t get into bigger trouble.

Currently, you wait for the last adjustments to be done at the interview before you could start it, already sitting beside the bigger men on the chairs, while the interviewer gets ready to ask her questions.

You are actually a little excited for this, never having answered questions to your own movie. It was always questions for your role, but now you can actually feel like a director too.

Bruce is also prepared beside you, mostly glancing at you before they set up the cameras and the interviewer sits down in front of you.

First, you greet each other, sharing your excitement to be here and answer some questions for the media.

The whole answering questions thing goes on well, making sure neither of you spoil something or give away your secret relationship. Now, the woman before you asks the final question, wearing a sly smile on her face.

»As for the final question, I hope you can answer it without spoiling too much...« with a light nod from your part, she continues, »Did you take inspiration from the vigilante ‚Superman‘ from Metropolis for the superhero in your movie?«

She finishes, awaiting curiously with a twinkle in her eye. She is popular for her usual eagerness and teasing nature in interviews, and it shows now.

Finally, you give her a nod, also smiling lightly.

»Not exactly him, but I did tried to use some references from different vigilantes from around the citys.«

You don‘t notice it, but Bruce tenses up subtly beside you. His eyes stay locked on the interviewer before they fall back to you; making him relax. He speaks up beside you, unable to keep a teasing remark.

»Not the best vigilante to choose from, but fair choice.« His smug expression makes it seem less sharp, giving him a light chuckle back.

»And you know better vigilantes?« You tease back amused, not having expected for him to be so smug but you won‘t complain.

The interview ends well, having a nice feeling about it afterwards. Your ways part with Bruce, sadly having to go back to work and focus on yourself for the rest of the day.

It was an unspoken rule between the two fo you to ignore or answer relationship questions in a sly way, and luckily, there were no questions of the sort. But you know, as soon as questions like “How do you not catch any feelings during the movie?“ or, “Your chemistry is great! Have you seen the pictures on set, because you two look fantastic together.“, you had to be prepared for more harrasment about it in the future.

Today, is one of those days, where you wish talkshows weren‘t a thing.

»So… the edits. Let‘s talk about them! There‘s hundreds, no, thousands of them all around! Have you seen any of those before?« Asks the moderator, while wearing an amused smirk and watches your reaction. You already feel like this can go south really quickly and shake your head, staying composed.

»Haven‘t seen any of them… yet.«

He quirks an eyebrow at you, letting out a light chuckle. »Well, you‘re about to see some of them!«

With a dramatic arm motion of his, the large screen behind you lights up and starts to show some fan made edits of both Bruce and you. Scenes of the trailer and some leaks, as well as paparazzi pictures, are clipped together that make everything look all the more intimate. Not knowing how to react, you cover your face and hope for the best. The live audience cheers loudly, the camera cutting from your flustered state to the audience as they continue on showing the fan made edit on screen. The moderator finally cuts you some slack, laughing at your flustered state. It‘s not helping, but you are glad that Bruce isn‘t here, witnessing it all and maybe throwing in some teasing comments too.

Sighing out, you look back at the moderator and calm down again. What were you thinking, joining a late night talk show like this?

»I never want to see that again...«

»Oh, just one more.« The moderator teases and smiles widely, letting another edit play on screen. It‘s one that you have saved on your phone. Recognising it, you try your best not to react as embarrassed as before. Still, your rosy cheeks give it away, even though you are way calmer now. Finn, the moderator, feels more friendly than ususal and decides to not point it out. For now, the show had enough entertainment after having had a rather funny conversation with him and showing you these thirst edits.

◐

Finally having a day off, you decide to spend it together with your significant other and relax. Bruce however, doesn‘t seem to have enough of creating core memories together, that you‘ll spend thinking about for the next ten years.

»Oh, thanks for the delicious meal, Alfred. You are dismissed for now.« Bruce tells him with a soft smile and nod, watching how the butler leaves the dining room and lets the chaos begin.

Richard, or Dick, the eldest of his sons, seems to be the most adequate, but also the most lively among his brothers. Bruce has already told one embarrasing story about his parkour accidents during a gala, which made you laugh a bit. That made Dick stay a little more quiet in return, getting the hint that more of his teasing nature will be greatly regretted. Somehow, the table was mostly calm during the dinner. Most of the conversation was started by Dick or Bruce, some comments coming from Damian as well. Although, not the nicest.

Still, they managed to behave rather well. That was, until Alfred returned with some scrumptious looking dessert. After serving tea, the table tends to get more lively. Tim and Damian often bicker quietly about who‘s getting the next piece faster, however you try not to pay too much mind and not make it awkward. Jason on the other hand, stays seated by Dick‘s side and makes fun of the two younger brothers.

»No wonder you‘re both such fatasses.«

»Jason.« Bruce smiles at his second son, trying his best not to physically cringe at himself for needing to keep his sons under control in front of you.

You, however, don‘t really care much about the antics around the table. You‘ve seen way worse at a small children‘s birthday party, so this actually feels domestic, in a way.

»It‘s okay, father. We… are sharing this last cupcake.« Damian intervenes and seems tense as he cuts up the last sweet dessert in half. He makes sure to make one half bigger than the other and gives the smaller one to Tim. Luckily, Bruce feels more satisfied and relaxed after that and continues on sipping his tea beside you, at the head of the table.

After the nice dinner with his family, you try to help Alfred with cleaning the table up, but he kindly stops you and insists on doing it alone.

»I greatly appreciate it, but I believe master Bruce prefers to have you all to himself tonight. I will handle this by myself.« Convinced, you leave the butler alone and make your way to Bruce, who just finished talking to his boys.

»There you are… let‘s head upstairs, darling.« His arm snakes around your waist as you walk upstairs to his master bedroom, getting some well deserved privacy after the long, hard-working week. Inside, he can‘t contain his feelings anymore and picks you up, just to throw you both onto his bed and curl up with you. The room fills with light giggles from the both of you, turning it into a play fight on the bed. It doesn‘t take long for Bruce to get hold of your wrists and pin you down under him, looking as smug as ever over his win. You continue to squirm and try to fight him, although you don‘t try to get away from him; just enjoying the playful moment. Finally, he gets to make your legs go still aswell, putting more of his weight onto you.

»Now, be good and stay still for a moment, hm? Wouldn‘t want to hurt my pretty girl...« You can hear him sigh out lightly as he leans into the crook of your neck, planting soft kisses along your skin before he gently bites down, leaving light marks. It makes you instantly relax, enjoying the way he manages to be so gentle and passionate at the same time. He also relaxes, finally feeling more comfortable showing his affection this way and simply keeps going, not wanting to end this yet. His bigger hand trails down your thigh, urging it to hook around his hip, seemingly craving more contact with you.

A light hum leaves your lips, tangling your fingers into his black hair, gasping lightly once he starts to nibble harder on your skin. It leaves goosebumps down your spine, shifting to wrap your other leg around him too. Suddenly, this doesn‘t feel so innocent anymore.

Bruce tries his best to hold back on a groan, eventually exhales shakily against you. He finally stops his gentle attack on your neck, leaning away to admire his handiwork. You take him in from your position, watching the way his eyes are blacked out and his breathing grew rather uneven. His eyes dart back to you, shifting so he isn‘t crushing you under his weight.

»I could never grow tired of this, you know?«

Bruce secretly cringes at himself for being so vulnerable, so open with you. But judging by your reaction, you seem to love it. The way your eyes soften even more, how you stay completely relaxed and peaceful under him is saying enough. Your hand reaches out to cup his cheek, bringing him closer again to exchange more gentle kisses between each other. The evening turns out in you both being relaxed and endlessly exchanging affection together, growing dissapointed once it gets late.

As you prepare yourself to put your coat back on by the front door, Bruce gets held back by Alfred.

»You know, she can always stay over night. One night won‘t hurt, master Bruce.«

But he doesn‘t relent and shakes his head, a light frown stretching on his face. »I don‘t have time for this, Alfred.«

As quick as he dismissed his butler, he is right back at your side and helps to adjust your sleeves from your coat.

»Let me drive you home,« You go along without argument and follow him outside to the garage, sitting into the passanger seat and let him drive.

◐

»Bruce! We got invited to our first ever premiere-movie-party-thing!«

You exclaim as soon as he picks up the call, making him exhale in relief. After a short pause, he asnwers back.

»Premiere-moive-party-thing? I gotcha,« he chuckles, putting finally closing the big folder on his desk after studying it for hours, »I‘m pretty sure it‘s because we‘re the lead actors of the whole thing… and you are the director.«

His casual approach makes you roll your eyes, rolling onto your stomach in your bed. »Yes, but isn‘t it cool? I never went to one, what is that like? Do you think it‘ll be filled with annoying rich people?« You start twirling your hair as you continue to talk with him, listening to his response with a light smile.

»They‘re alway filled with ‘em. I always get black-out drunk, so it‘s easier to deal with it. The music isn‘t the greatest as well… it actually feels more like a frat party sometimes.« His description of it makes you chuckle, making Bruce smile in return.

»So… do you think we should go there anyways?«

»Of course we should. Especially you, makes your image go up higher.« He replies back without thinking too much. It makes sense, and you don‘t think too much about going to that party. You heard they will be some interviewers, so you better not get black-out drunk.

◐

Arriving outside the tall building, the bass that‘s heard from inside is making you lightly intimidated. Taking a deep breath, you say your last prayer and enter. In the lobby, you need to check in and get a colourfull wristband, signalling your status so the security knows who to protect in an case of emergency. The others can save themselves. Shortly after you, Bruce arrives and goes through the same check-in as you. He spooks you lightly by snaking his hand onto your shoulder, earning a surprised gasp and smack to his chest.

»Sorry… having fun already?« He leans down to be at your eye-level and sneak in a gentle kiss, but quickly decides against it and smoothly straightens himself again. Although, he keeps his hand on your waist.

»I don‘t know, nothing happened yet. And I don‘t know where the drinks are, I‘m kinda nervous,« you hold your hands out for him, letting him see the light tremors coming from your nervousness. He frowns lightly upon seeing your hands, taking them into his warm ones.

»You don‘t have to worry so much, okay? Just a small party, you‘ll answer some questions and we can leave. How‘s that sound?«

You feel more comfortable after his assurance and nod, restraining yourself from leaning into him and being more affectionate.

Eventually, the party starts properly after more actors and other public-figures arrive, turning the music up a notch. Currently, you‘re having fun and enjoy some sweet, alcoholic drinks, relaxing further and taking things easy. Following Bruce‘s advice of drinking definitely worked, and you soon have your first interview as one reporter approaches you with a camera man by his side. After getting permission from you, the camera starts rolling and the reporter gets started.

»We‘ve already seen some sneak-peeks and the trailer alone gives us so much insight on your chemistry with Andy, so… was it difficult to master such energy or did it come naturally?«

Typical question to try and suck some possible gossip from an actor, but you are greatly used to it, eventually giving him your typical answer back.

»Oh, you know, it really depends if the actors are good or not. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn‘t, so it really depends on both actors to create the right perfomance.« Definitely not the answer the reporter was searching for, but he‘ll settle with it for now. Robert starts again, angling his microphone back to himself.

»What was hardest on this movie? The directing or acting with your own expectations and critique?« A more pleasant question to answer. You respond honestly, giving an open insight of how stressful it really was, being both the director and actor in one.

Eventually, Robert seems to back down with his questions after five more minutes, starting to build up a more casual conversation with you. Logically, you can‘t really back down from it and simply go along, listening to him talk and speak aswell.

»...Yes— and your dress? Seriously, I couldn‘t take my eyes off you the whole interview, I don‘t know why there aren‘t a line of men standing right behind you, waiting for your attention!« You chuckle along, although a bit forced. »No, seriously, I love the way you look tonight. Who was your stylist, I should give her a raise,« Robert steps closer to you, wearing a charming smile, the best one he can muster. You stay still and simply try to joke along and bear it through for a couple more moments, eyes daring out to search for back-up.

»Would you believe that I was her stylist for tonight? All my work.« Bruce steps in, seemingly appearing out of nowhere into the frame and casually lays his hand back onto your waist, wearing a smug smile. Robert pauses briefly before he catches himself and gets back to being a ‘casual-playful‘ reporter.

»No way! I‘ll make sure to write that into my news report later.« The reporter awkwardly says goodbye after receiving a light chuckle from the other and finally shuffles away from the both of you, camera man following him closely. You can barely make out the way Robert scolds his camera man for something that was most-probably not his fault anyway.

»Next time just scream really loud, I‘ll be there in no time.« Without wanting to cause any unnecessary attention, he squeeyes your waist and eventually gets back to the party, searching for some more interviewers too. Without any further thinking, you go back to the bar and get yourself another drink. One drink becomes two, and you make sure to stay leaned against something in order not to lose balance. You settle on being more in the backgrounds for now, but you quickly change your mind once they turn on some up-beat music and free the dance floor. It‘s already packed with other famous people, them being drunk too, no doubt. They happily include you into the chaos, dancing however to the beat all-together. You slip in another few drinks and shots during that time, just enjoying yourself and letting lose. Finally, after what seemed like too long and not enough, you get yourself off the dancefloor to have a quick trip to the bathroom.

With wobbly legs and aching feet, you manage to get there and freshen up, feeling lighter afterwards, but also way more drunk than before. You try to make your way back to the dance floor, but you briefly lose your sense of orientation and simply stand there, trying to figure out how to get back to the fun girls.

»Are we okay to head back home, darling?« A smooth voice asks from your side and almost makes you roll your eyes, not recognising it right away.

»Bruce!«

»Hey— yeah, that‘s me...« He chuckles softly, and catches you gently as soon as you lean in to hug him tightly. You feel the way his hands rub along your back before they stop at your sides and just keep you steady on your feet.

»Can we go now?« Bruce leans down to talk better to you, his breath brushing against you ear. You let out a soft giggle, leaning back and meet his eyes. It‘s clear to him that you will try your everything to at least get a last drink before driving home. As expected, you pout at him and glance back to the general direction of the dancefloor.

»No, darling, c‘mon...«

»Please?« You draw out and lean more into him, grabbing lightly onto his shirt. He takes you in, trying his best not to get distracted by your shiny eyes and cute behavior, most likely trying to play it up for him. He manages to stay stubborn and shakes his head lightly, his expression growing soft.

»We have to go home, okay? It‘s too late and you‘ll regret it tomorrow.« He tries to be as gentle as possible, lightly rubbing your side with one hand. With a final huff, you slump a bit into him and give in. A faint smirk graces Bruce‘s face and carefully guides you out of the building, finally setting you inside the car with care.

The car ride was mostly filled with your yapping, being happy about the fun dances you had together with the strange women, still shining with excited energy, even after the party. Finally at your house, he takes care of you, carefully taking your make-up off before changing you into more comfortable clothes. You don‘t remember much after that, being out cold the second your blanket envelopes your form.

Waking up was the worst part. Your head pounds as if some gremlin is on top of it and slams a hammer onto you repeatedly. After sitting up, you realise that you are already in your fuzzy pyjamas and cleaned up. Not paying too much mind to it, you reach for your phone at your nightstand, almost knokcing off the glass of water on it. Surprised, you study your small table and pick the note off of it.

Hope your head won‘t kill you today. Cute pyjamas, by the way. -B.

←MASTERLIST

[indierpgnewsletter]

Traveller & Champions

What is your relationship with the characters you play in RPGs? What do you want it to be?

In Traveller (the classic version, I add, tipping my hat), you make a character through what is now called the “lifepath method”. That name is a bit misleading because in this game, it’s more of a career path. And maybe more specifically, your military career path. Traveller was a game of veterans and if you want to get complicated, that’s what we should talk about. But let’s keep it light and focus on this unassuming table:

Now honestly, this table is iconic but I couldn’t make sense of it without having read the rules of the game (twice). But to put it simply, you’re rolling dice to see which branch of the intergalactic military you joined (either enlisting in your first choice or being drafted by whoever would be willing to take you). Then, you roll to see if you survive your first term, whether you become a commissioned officer, whether you get promoted, and whether you’re allowed to re-enlist for the next term or forced into an early retirement. If do re-enlist, you repeat the process till you retire or die.

Apart from picking your first choice (which you might not get), there are no decisions made in this process (don’t disagree yet!). You roll the dice and whatever happens to your character, happens. You just find out. You might die – and if you’re serving in the Scouts, it’s very likely you do – and you just have to start again with a new character. I think consensus is that this method can be surprising but detached.

Let’s talk about Champions. Traveller came out in 1977 and was revised constantly over the next decade. Champions came out in 1980 and is remembered by many as the classic superhero RPG. In 1984, we got Champions 3e which I understand is what cemented it as a landmark in RPG history.

In Champions, you build your character. You get skills (Security Systems, Swinging), Special Effects (Extra Limb, Mind Control), Advantages (Useable at Range), and Disadvantages (Unusual Looks). You pick your skills, spend power points to buy your powers, balance your advantages and disadvantages, and come out the other end – sometimes hours later – with your character. It’s fair to say that Champions is only decisions – it’s nothing but decisions. And that feels different. I think consensus is that this method has lots of strategy and self-expression but is very involved.

At first, it feels like these two games are on opposite ends of a spectrum. But actually, there’s a contradictory impulse in both of them. When you play Traveller, it’s a step-by-step process of discovery. You roll the dice and learn something about the character and then you immediately contextualize it. With every fact you learn, you spin the fiction. If you needed to roll a 7 to not die and you roll exactly a 7, you think, “Wow, they must’ve had a near-death experience. What could it be?”. And these are decisions. Big, important, affecting decisions. Often Traveller‘s lifepath doesn’t spit out a random character, it spits out someone that you’ve closely watched struggle and live for years before they come to you. If that doesn’t make you care about them, what is? At the same time, when you play Champions, you can build and tinker and strategize and eventually make somebody who you might not actually enjoy playing. Sometimes, you get caught up in the general aura of optimization and make somebody effective but that isn’t the same as somebody fun. Or you build them “wrong” and you get a character that is out-of-step with the rest of the group in power, which ends up annoying in other ways.

To zoom out a little, this isn't a criticism of either game. The point is this spectrum of controlled character creation starts to look a little superficial. Reality is much more complicated. Random can become involved and self-expression can become detached. So then what about about these two different methods is actually the important part?

(This first appeared on the Indie RPG Newsletter.)

[ndjournal]

I understand that the one who thinks this is a journey is an ego, that the one who is struggling is an ego and self is always there. It is "me" being contradictory when I should be unbothered by something saying that they can't gain peace, become detached- after all, the ego cannot detach from itself. It cannot gain realization as self has always been there. However, though I understand this, I can't make it useable knowledge, and all techniques to detach from the ego result in watching...watching, watching, watching, and still identifying with the ego. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't be asking questions, but I'm so desperate. If you're still reading, I've been attempting to learn and practice non-dualism on and off for 2 years, and it is my only hope, the only thing preventing me from choosing to leave this world. Please, is there any guidance that you can give? All attempts to actually apply have resulted in nothing changing. It's like the act of observing and actually not identifying is impossible. Again, I'm so so sorry.

Don't be sorry, it's okay. Let's try to figure this out together. I think it would help if you elaborated more on exactly what you've done to attempt/practice this during the 2 years because otherwise I'll just be taking guesses to troubleshoot this.

My guess based on this ask is that it sounds like you've been struggling against ego with practices that don't work for you, have you tried applying Lester's way and detaching from bits and pieces of ego first through concepts/attachments/aversions? Also check what your expectations were during these 2 years and what they are now, this is something that is working against you, when the experience doesn't live up to the expectations, ego gets discouraged and wants to give up then you're back to identifying with ego. Are you expecting to be able to drop ego like a switch? Maybe it works for some, for me it was more of a gradual detachment that I continue to practice even now (because ego will always be part of the dream). And why was your practice on and off during this period, what were the reasons? And what are your motivations for practicing this? I ask because I was in a similar position to you and relied too much on external sources even though they didn't work for me until I decided to do things my own way. It meant being honest with myself, I only changed within when I accepted a genuine willingness and desire to change and drop ego identification, not because I felt I had to or that there was some outcome I would get for doing XYZ. The practice was the reward and that's what allowed me to keep going, because everything is here and now. The change happens on its own, it takes care of itself.

Another question: why do you think nothing has worked so far for you? Have you asked this question to yourself and honestly looked at your practices?

My advice is for you to sit down in silence, ask yourself these questions (and more), and answer them honestly. Then get back to me with the answers. You can send in your response to my main @4dkellysworld as my mail box is open now.

[ssahotchnerr]

aaron 😭😭😭 taking the kiddos back to school shopping <3333

jack and your daughter for instance - you're the one who takes them clothes shopping, so aaron's in charge of the supplies. it can easily turn into a chaotic mess and therefore everyone gets into a bad mood LOL SO he makes it as orderly and organized as possible (just as he is). he doesn't want them just throwing everything and anything they see into the cart - aaron has the lists in hand, everyone ventures through the aisles, and he goes through the lists according to what aisle they're in so it's not a back and forth kind of ordeal. and it makes it sooo much more easy and quicker.

jack's well practiced - he doesn't need as much help, can read his school supply list himself and grab materials with little to no assistance from aaron, aaron just double checks to make sure jack is getting the correct art supplies, sized binder or paper, things like that. AND jack helps out his baby sister too hehe 🥹 he shows her everything 'the cool kids' have 😭 since he's experienced, after all and he wants her to be the coolest kindergartener there is <3333 baby girl sticks onto everything jack says <333 getting exactly what he describes and tossing it into the cart with no hesistation. hehe and aaron is just besides himself watching 🥹🥰💓💞 he loves them both so much <33333

aaron letting your daughter pick out a (and her first🥹) super fun backpack and lunch box 🥹 <3333333 hehe he shows her the backpack aisle and her eyes just LIGHT UP with allllll the possibilities. aaron helps her narrow it down too - to her favorite color, fav princess, super hero, movie or anything she happens to love <3 he also explains to her to pick out one that has a lot of space, maybe one that has a matching lunchbox that snaps to the front, one that has a lil side pocket for a water bottle. and as they're doing that, jack's also eyeing all the backpacks 👀 he finds one he LOVES, and one that's a bit more grown up because he's more grown up, he's beginning to outgrow having a themed bag - like spiderman, star wars, etc. - and opts for a plain colored one 🥲

and once the lists are complete and the hotchner fam makes their way home - hehe everyone’s showing you what they picked out aka what daddy let them get hehe <3 because the main highlights are obviously things that weren't actually on the lists 😭 the set of markers that have more colors than the usual for example, jack's thrilled he got mechanical pencils rather than the wooden ones, folders than have designs instead of a solid color.

and your daughter 🥹🥹🥹 is SO excited about her new backpack <3333 hehe it's absolutely ginormous on her since she's a tiny little thing - it swallowing her makes aaron want to cry LOL - how is his little baby going off to kindergarten??! 😭😭😭 and she literally refuses to take it off too, she wears it around the house and you and aaron practically have to rip it off her to make sure it remains new for at least the first week of school 😭

when jack shows you his new backpack, you give aaron a look like - jack’s backpack from last year was perfectly fine and useable, he only needed a new lunch box BUT he just offers you a shrug LOL. it's hard for him to stay no to the kiddos, and he didn't want jack to feel left out since baby girl hotchner got a new one, AND he wants jack to feel confident returning to school so if that means getting a new backpack, then getting a new backpack it is <3 and of course once he explains the whole reason why jack got a new one, you totally understand (and it makes you a tad sad because jack is growing up 🥺😭)

aaron helps label all the supplies too <333 it's a team effort by all - aaron goes through the list again, tells the kiddos to grab something, they hand it to him, he labels, hands it off to you, and into the backpack it goes 🫵🏻 and the hotchner are allllll ready for the new school year <333 🥰

[miqo-tales]

Jeuno: The First Walk

Context, references, and random BS about stuff in the first FFXI raid and the quests before and after.

Tossing under a Read More mainly because I talked too much and I don't wanna throw a giant ass post on your dash.

Enjoy!

THE RAID

An interesting thing about music: in the Boyahda Tree and Tu'Lia sections, the music changes to the battle theme when engaging the trash mobs, and then it fades out once they're dead.

Oh, and just to note, given that FFXI and FFXIV have different combat systems and visuals, even if I mention that a boss ability is something from FFXI, understand I don't mean it's the same in regards to visuals or mechanics. I'm mainly just pointing out references.

PRISHE

Prishe is a MNK and a WHM, so she fights hand to hand, but can also use Holy / Light-elemental spells.

Nullifying Dropkick, Auroral Uppercut, and Knuckle Sandwich are unique weaponskills that Prishe uses in FFXI.

Asuran Fists is a Hand-to-Hand weaponskill in FFXI, only useable by MNK and PUP. Learning it required getting to a certain level of H2H skill and then doing a quest. It hits 8 times, and so does this version of it.

Her "You can't stop the flood of mortal existence!" line is something she said in FFXI.

BOYAHDA TREE

Aquarius was a NM crab in FFXI. There was a chance it would spawn instead of one of the normal crab enemies in the Boyahda Tree zone. Oddly, in the raid it uses Hundred Fists, which is the original MNK 2-hour (it made you attack very fast for a short time). In FFXI, this mob was a PLD, not a MNK. But it did have a very high attack speed, so I assume they gave it that ability to simulate that.

(I'm pretty sure Aquarius once spawned and killed me while I was trying to raise my Scythe skill on the crabs in the Tree. A friend came and raised me and helped me kill it for revenge.)

No music plays when you're not fighting something, which fits, because the Boyahda Tree zone in FFXI doesn't have any background music.

FAFNIR

Honestly not much to say about Fafnir. Overall, most of its attacks share names with ones it does in FFXI and are kinda similar. Spike Flail hit everyone in range in FFXI, and Dragon Breath was a frontal cone, for two examples.

One other thing: I didn't know this, but in FFXI there's a stronger version of Fafnir, Nidhogg. Way back, Fafnir used to be a timed spawn, and there was a chance Nidhogg would spawn instead (now they're both spawned by items). So I wonder if maaaaaaaybe there's a chance you go into this raid and it's called Nidhogg instead?

TU'LIA

Technically this is Ru'Aun Gardens. That's the actual name of the zone. But it's on the floating island of Tu'Lia. Players usually just called it "sky".

A note on the ground mentions trying to get to Ve'Lugannon Palace and missing the raid. I think the only thing this can be about is spawning Kirin. A few NMs in the palace dropped items to spawn some NMs that then dropped items used to spawn Kirin.

Another note on the ground is referencing the Ark Angels.

Despot is a NM Doll that dropped an item used to spawn Genbu, which in turn dropped an item used to spawn Kirin.

ARK ANGELS

Man this fight is a banger.

Their lines like "You shall be defeated by the apathy that plagues you…" are directly from FFXI.

AA Galka is a SAM and DRG. His pattern of using Meikyo Shisui and three Great Katana weaponskills is exactly how he behaves in his FFXI fight, right down to which three weaponskills he uses. Also, Dragonfall is a unique weaponskill he had in FFXI.

AA Tarutaru is a BLM and DRK. Guillotine was a four-hit Scythe weaponskill only available to DRKs (it was single target though).

AA Mithra is a BST and THF. In FFXI she'd summon a pet to assist her, but alas, she doesn't do that here. Her Rampage and Cloudsplitter moves are named after Axe weaponskills from FFXI, while Havoc Spiral is her unique weaponskill.

AA Elvaan is a PLD and WHM. Dominion Slash is her unique weaponskill in FFXI. Arrogance Incarnate is also something she used in FFXI, but it's just her own version of another weaponskill available to players, so not really unique.

AA Hume is a WAR and NIN, and man, he does a lot. Cross Reaver is his unique weaponskill in FFXI. Utsusemi was a NIN spell that gave you shadow doubles that absorbed attacks for you. Mighty Strikes is the original WAR 2-hour ability. It made every attack a critical, which is why he then uses Critical Reaver. And he tries to use Mijin Gakure, which was the original NIN 2-hour. You blew yourself up to deal damage based on your HP.

SHADOW LORD

Giga Slash and Implosion are attacks he had in FFXI. Tera Slash is from the Dynamis Lord fight though. Creating clones of himself is also something from the Dynamis Lord version.

OTHER STUFF

ALXAAL

I am 99% sure this is a character from Chains of Promathia called Louverance. That's also not his real name, but we won't go into that right now. Bakool Ja Ja naming him "vagabond" is kinda appropriate.

Honestly, I find it kinda funny they used this character. If you'd asked me to suggest CoP characters that could show up in this storyline, he would not have been on my list.

Also, Alxaal initally thinking he's been captured by the Mamool Ja may be a nod to the Besieged system in Treasures of Aht Urghan. At times, a horde of beastmen (Mamool Ja, Trolls, or Undead) will march on and attack the capital city of Al Zahbi in order to steal the Astral Candescence. Players have to fight them off. Certain NPCs can be captured as well, and players can go rescue them.

ULMIA

An Elvaan female, a very talented singer, and basically the nicest person ever. She lives in the Tavnazian Safehold and is Prishe's best friend. She's more or less "cute girl important to the plot #2" for Chains of Promathia.

THE TAVNAZIA MARQUISATE

Sister city to San d'Oria, located on an archipelago off the west coast of Quon. The opening cutscene of FFXI shows it being attacked by the Beastmen Horde during the Crystal War.

During the Crystal War, San d'Oria leaked false information to the Beastmen to get them to attack Tavnazia. Partially to get some pressure off the kingdom, but also because Tavnazia had a close relationship with the Empire of Aht Urhgan to the east. The hope was that the Empire would join the fight against the Beastmen after Tavnazia was attacked.

But the Empire didn't get involved, and later Tavnazia was destroyed by an explosion. The common belief is that it was an Orc superweapon, like Prishe says, but that's not what actually happened.

LITTLE THINGS

I was confused by Prishe talking about liking tacos until I happened to talk to Alxaal and he mentioned Tavnazian tacos. They're a food item that increases defense. I'd forgotten about them.

Just a little tidbit, the Aldo that Prishe mentions is also from Tavnazia. He's also the little boy in the FFXI opening cutscene.

The Hume Adventurer mentions his gear came from exploring the Alzadaal Undersea Ruins. I suspect that's referring to Salvage missions that you access from that zone. His equipment resembles the Ares set you can get from that.

Heh. This shade in fake Jeuno appears to be "looking for group" or "looking for members". No party finder in FFXI (at least when I played, dunno about now), so you'd frequently see people shouting to find groups or members for leveling or missions.

Teleport taxis! There's another shade with pop-up text mentioning Mea and 1k. The Crag of Mea was one of a few places that you could teleport to via a spell, but only WHMs could cast it. (And there was a unique spell for each place.) So you'd frequently be paying someone to teleport you.

The Auction House in FFXI works differently than the Market Board in FFXIV. The seller sets a mininum price for the item they put up for sale, and pays a fee based on that minimum price. The buyer cannot see this minimum price, and makes a bid. If the bid equals or exceeds the minimum price, the buyer gets the item and the seller receives the amount of gil the buyer bid.

Prishe's last sentence is a reference to the Bazaar, but specifically to how players would avoid the tax that it used to have. The Bazaar is an alternate to the Auction House and lets you sell directly from your inventory. But selling via the Bazaar while in town used to incur a tax, so players would idle just outside Jeuno in Rolanberry Fields. I called it "Rolanberry Market". SQEX eventually removed the tax.

In FFXI, you unlock the ability to use a Support Job, or sub job, at level 18 by doing a quest either in Selbina or Mhaura. Both quests make you collect three items from monsters, but they require different items. What Alxaal is describing here is the Selbina one, which was the easier one to do.

[olderthannetfic]

https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/737064447605096448/i-really-wish-my-countries-wannabe-queer#notes

To all the poor anglophones who feel personally offended that my languages does not do well with words starting with X in this case neopronouns, I deeply apologize from the bottom of my heart that my language doesn't use English pronunciations. How dare we not cater to the English speaking world? Afterall, they did their best to make the entire world speak it, how mean of us. And that because of that you felt so deeply offended that we find the use of x-based pronouns in our language to be complete shit because they simply do not work with our spoken language.

Foolish was it of me to expect people to infer the fact that I was indeed not speaking of the English language when I mentioned the issues with the flow of the language, and how people actually affected have at large found their own pronouns, -none of which include the X-pronouns because they simply are not that well suited for our languages phonetics nor even the writing-, and the fact that I mentioned "My country" and "the flow of the language" which could have been a simple clue that I'm not speaking of an English speaking country. Nay instead you built a straw-man and got angry because you really don't like remembering that the rest of the world exists. For anyone who's not so super special and does realize humans exist outside the English speaking world. THANK YOU FOR NOTICING! Geez.

I honest to God should've expected to see some people with those bottom of the barrel arguments, because those are so similar to the arguments the dreaded "my countries wannabe "queer representatives"" use constantly, while ignoring how people using NEUTRAL PRONOUNS actually decide their pronouns. (Which you'd call neopronouns, because they're neither male nor female nor objectifying, so NEUTRAL)

As to how the pronouns like Xie/Xir sound, you would have to specifically pronounce the X like you would when reciting the alphabet, then leave a pause, and then you have a choice of about 4-5 sounds you can just throw on. There is basically literally no way to use any of the X-pronouns because the letter X isn't used like that in our language, and the combination would just lead to random sound thrown in at the end.

There is a reason why languages don't all share the universal same spelling for pronouns, because languages have their own rules on writing, pronunciation, phonetics and how to understand all that. Why would you ever assume this won't also apply to neopronouns/neutral pronouns anyway? Ok, then your neopronounsin the Anglosphere are X-based, do you really think those will work in every language and will be useable in every other language? Or are you just so used to everyone being anglophone you never considered that some languages will just not be able to use them? Do you also think everyone in this world uses the term "neopronouns"? Just asking while we're at it.

--

[spinningbuster98]

Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast) Sonic Part 1: Oh yes it is indeed occurring

Yep. We’re here. At last

God I love that opening cgi, still probably my favorite intro in the series

So. Sonic Adventure. The Dreamcast version, obviously. The gentlemen’s way of playing this game, whether Sega wants to aknowledge it or not. There are only a few million things to say about this game, but I want to start with the most burning question of all I think:

How does it translate Sonic’s gameplay into 3D?

I’m sure that most people’s answers would be negative and go on the usual litany of how Sonic had a rocky transition into 3D yadda yadda

Look: maybe they’re right. I too have some issues with this game. But when it comes to translating Sonic’s gameplay, SPECIFICALLY Sonic’s, as in the blue guy who runs fans, that Sonic? I’d honestly say that Sonic Team did a pretty commendable job, probably the best they could’ve done back then.

To be clear: this isn’t a pure, 100% transition of all the elements from the Classic games. Some diversions are obvious: no 2 Act structure and no Special Stages. But even regarding basic gameplay, Sonic’s gameplay is actually...much less physics based than in the Classics. In the Mega Drive games momentum was key, every loop de loop, every ramp, was like a miniature obstacle designed to be overhauled by using the physics engine to your advantage, while also knowing that you could just as easily ram into an obstacle if you weren’t careful

SA1 does have physics, sure...but they’re nowhere near as relevant as in the classics. You don’t gain as much speed from rolling downhill, and simply rolling in general is kinda useless because the Spin Dash is absolutely busted to the point of almost feeling like a precursor to the boost. SA1 also marks the beginning of the series’ usage of automated sequences. Loop de loops and the like were physics obstacles in the classics, here? Just touch the dash panel, hold forward and watch the hedgehog run on his own.

Basically the gameplay is somewhat simplefied in some ways and hey: I can understand why some would take issue with this, I myself tend to prefer the physics based approach of the classics.

However, when you factor in that this is a 1999 game, from an era where 3D was still new and developers were still figuring things out...I find these semplifications to be acceptable, maybe even necessary. I’m pretty sure there isn’t a single videogame franchise that didn’t have to redefine some stuff when jumping to 3D. Mario had to switch from linear point A to point B levels to a hubworld-esque structure, which required the absence of liberally useable power ups and even Yoshi, exchanged for new movement abilities which fundamentally changed how you play Mario. Ocarina of Time had to both simplify dungeon layout, likely because achieving the level of sheer complexity of AlTTP’s dungeons wasn’t feasable in 3D. Metroid Prime (later generation, but still relevant) had to either nerf or remove half of Samus’ power ups because they simply could not work properly in a 3D environment at the time, especially due to the 1st person gameplay. Within that context I find SA1′s sacrifices to be reasonable: they simplify the formula to make way for the inherent complexities of a 3D space while still maintaining the core fundamentals

Of course another thing that’s often said is that Sonic Adventure is clunky and glitchy

And I know that many fans will likely point at the DX port, saying that it’s that thing’s fault if people make meme videos of Sonic clipping through stuff

Guys? That’s...not completely true?

Sure DX is buggi-ER, but even vanilla SA1 has its moments. Every time I play Emerald Coast I make it a point not to spin dash to the very last loop de loop because sometimes Sonic just ignores the automated section and flies off. Sometimes characters react weirdly and get a bit jittery when interacting with some level geometry (the last parts of Sky Deck are probably the best example). The Homing attack sometimes doesn’t make you bounce from an enemy or item box but rather it sends you through it which has caused me to fall into bottomless pits numerous times in the past on both the DX and Dreamcast versions. The camera stinks a bit and gets stuck a whole lot

But again: 1999. That’s not to say that every single 3D game had these issues back then...but at least from my experience they were not uncommon either, even among critically acclaimed titles

Lately I’ve been playing Half Life, the original from 1998. Great game. Janky as shit, just trying to climb ladders is an exercise in falling down bottomless pits, jump pads sometimes refuse to work properly and the last few levels feature some rather interesting physics. Mario 64′s camera is abysmal and Mario’s 360 degree turns aren’t really snappy unless you come to a complete stop before turning. Megaman Legends features a deadly combination of tank controls and no manual lock on when fighting enemies, meaning that the camera does what it wants. I’ve never played Tomb Raider but I’ve heard horror stories about its controls. Devil May Cry 1 (again, later generation but the point stands) features a camera that can make grown men weep as well as some janky underwater controls and questionable platforming to say the least. Point is: it was the wild west of 3D gaming and some levels of jank were expected. I can’t say for certain if SA1′s jank is “acceptable” even by those metrics (for example I can’t think of any big kinds of jank in Crash Bandicoot or Ocarina of Time), but at the very least from my perspective it really isn’t that much worse. Hell when it comes to just the controls they feel pretty great, with decent precision and snappy turning, they run circles around the controls for the likes of Mario 64 and Legends

I’ve always loved how Tails just casually tells Sonic to take the train to reach the Mystic Ruins

Sonic

Taking a train ride

I know why they do this, loading times and whatnot, but it’s hilarious, especially when Amy gets kidnapped and Sonic just uses the train to catch up to Zero

Anyway Emerald Coast is one of the most iconic levels in the series and I have nothing much to add. Windy Valley is certainly simple (especially when compared to the prototype), but it’s good, simple fun, it’s like the Ice Cap of this game (y’know...excluding the actual Ice Cap in this game) in that it’s simple in structure but fast and full of energy and charm

[alllstrangeandwonderful]

Its the middle of the night and I'm in my feelings about how we stopped believing in magic when it literally didn’t go anywhere?

Like its fun and great when we talk about engineers being like wizards and computers being like magical tomes and programs being like spells and code being like runes and how moving your own limbs is actually kind of like telepathy if you think about it and diseases are kind of like curses and medicines are like potions and pharmacists are like alchemists and so on

but then we laugh and walk away like its silly and metaphorical because magic isn't real, that would be absurd, and technology is incredible and consciousness is miraculous but they're not magic

but like...aren't they?

Are they just similar, or are they literally the same thing?

Like, ok, imagine this is D&D world or whatever. Theres magic and spells flying around, which most people cannot wield and do not understand and find awe-inspiring and terrifying and whatever. But there are also wizards, who study magic, and learn how it works, and figure out how to wield it, with the use of wands and spell components and tomes, etc. Does magic stop being magic because some people understand it and know how to use it?

No, right? I watched a documentary one time on the way indigo dye is produced, and its a long complicated process that involves many steps, particularly converting ph levels to make it more stable for shipping, and then converting it back so it is reactive again and can be used as dye

and the documentary showed the dye manufacturers in a small village in India, talking about how they used to believe there were spirits in these large ceramic vats, and if they fed the spirits flour and then put in the dye, the spirits would magically turn the product from white indigo (stabilized) to blue indigo (useable), but now they know its just a bacteria colony, and feeding it keeps the colony alive, and the natural proceses of the bacteria react with the dye to change it ph

and I remember being struck by it at the time because...are those two explanations even different? What is a "spirit", at the end of the day? A kind of energy, or lifeforce, that has powers you don't fully understand, and can't see happening? Is that not literally what bacteria is, before you put it under a microscope and give it a name? Is it a different thing now because we named it something else?

and like, the word spirit is an english phenomenon with 19th century spiritualist baggage, but its just a word, its a placeholder that means unseen forces, and unseen forces, like bacteria, are literally real. Bacteria isn't like a spirit, it is a spirit.

(plus the word spirit has been used as a placeholder translation for like a million different culture's different concepts of unseen, hard-to-understand energies, and has been like intentionally used to other and infantilize cultures besides english/christian culture, so the word they use in their own culture probably does/did not have the same, like...superstitious/unreal/silly connotation we have in english, you feel?)

and anyway, I don't know if I'm getting this across right, but like, the first people who saw electricity described it as magic, right? It was a wonder, and totally beyond public understanding at the time. And yeah smart people figured out how to use electricity and called it electrons and learned how to manipulate it with the right designs and components, and it was so great we started using it everywhere and people stopped thinking of it as magic, but as "just" science. But are those even two different things? Just because we made the word electron, its note magic?

and I just feel like what is and isn't magic is like a cultural concept deliberately designed to make us look and feel superior to our ancestors and current non-christian/english people, and there is no literal actual difference except like ego and a culture that values seriousness and not wonder; electricity literally is a magical energy, medicines literally actually are made by alchemists from miraculous plants and minerals with special properties and computers literally actually perform tasks using an arcane language and rare material components and when you get sick its because your body is literally actually invaded by evil spirits, these are all just older words for real actual things that we gave new names because it made us feel smarter

tl;dr magic and science are literally, actually the same thing and basically when a little kid asks you if magic is real, you shouldn't say "no" you should say "yes, it just looks a bit different than old timey people thought it did"

(also disclaimer, I'm not like a crystal-waving anti-science luddite, I love science, I just also love history and culture and linguistics and the concept of wonder, and if that's not the spirit you take this post in then thats a you problem)

[linuxlife]

Linux Life Episode 87

Hello everyone and welcome to my ongoing piddling about in my corner of the world of Linux. Well this month I have been playing around with Wayland and trying to work out whether I am ready to switch to it.

I admit that I recently switched back to X11 when using KDE Plasma 6.2 as several tools don’t work well in it under Wayland.

When in X11 I use Cairo Dock as a program launcher which does have a version that allegedly works with Wayland but the team of Cairo Dock admit its alpha and is buggy. Indeed it worked for a while then it started messing up shortcuts. Also in X11 I can move the bar up above the main KDE panel so I can still see the icons and switch tasks etc.

In X11 it works fine. In Wayland it is just too basic and the coders of it are in no hurry to create a full version until Wayland setup some standards regarding key bindings etc.

Which I guess is fair enough but annoying.

When it comes to collecting screenshots I normally use Shutter. I have tried others such as Flameshot and others but they seem to have issues when grabbing certain screenshots such as Steam games and Shutter just works.

However under Wayland. Shutter has been hacked to work but will only allow you to grab the desktop only and none of the other options are available.

So I have been using X11 to allow Shutter to continue to work.

Maybe I’m a bit old fashioned but I like to have things that work. Also OBS Studio works with Wayland but apparently has issues when selecting input sources and areas.

In time they may fix this but at this time it doesn’t quite work as it should.

So I admit if I am using KDE Plasma I won’t be using the Wayland version.

Taking a slight side step ...

I have recently decide as I was noodling about in the Wayland compositing wibble I decided to try Hyprland.

Well I must admit at first I really didn’t get on very well with it and to be honest while I could open a few windows and I managed to use ghostty as my terminal.

However after a bit of a play I didn’t know how to close all the open windows and had to faff around just to get the slightest thing open.

So I was about to give up. However I decided to look up the wiki and it gave a few preconfigured options. I admit I downloaded and installed the JaKooLit dot files.

I must admit that it has actual made Hyprland useful and with a bit of playing I finally managed to get most things working and yes it can be fun and it’s pretty fast but I really don’t see me using it regularly.

It has allowed me to capture screenshots using certain keys so Hyprland has solved my requirements and Shutter is not needed using it but until OBS Studio issues in Wayland are sorted I will have to go back to KDE Plasma 6 X11 if I want to capture video.

I really didn’t understand Hyprland when i first started but I admit that the preconfig has made it useable once you get used to the quirkiness. I am even willing to live without a dock.

Hopefully OBS Studio will manage to get around its issues and who knows I might even switch to Hyprland and stop using KDE Plasma.

I’m sure someone will advise me better Hyprland tricks but for now I have it working and it is not bad. In time I could get used to working with Hyprland. Once you get the hang of it, it is quite fast and useable.

Wayland is good but not quite 100% there. Not far its about 95% workable, it just needs the last few things to get working.

Well that’s enough waffle for now ... Until next time ... Take care.

[paras-atashnak]

when will big brother fans understand only caring about someone doing something problematic/reprehensible if it’s useable to prove a point in a stan war is nearly as morally bankrupt as the initial action their pretended outrage is directed at. none of them actually give a fuck about what happened to chelsie AT ALL.