#ik new users might have no idea that you are able to turn that off and get ur own custom domain. but like its so annoying how this is forced

[sundial-bee-scribbles]

Yeah like what’s the point of even having anon features if they can’t use your website?????? Like on certain blogs I can’t even view them without being blocked????? I don’t understand????

And I can’t talk to people if they don’t have a submission box which is awkward because not many people have a submission box that I can see! -🌟

══════════════════ 

well the blog thing is most likely that some people have set it to not be visible outside the tumblr dashboard; some people just don’t want their blog viewable to anyone outside of tumblr and there’s a number of reasons why that could be, it’s their own personal decision

the submission/ask box thing can sometimes be a case i know of new users forgetting to turn it on, but sometimes too its deliberately turned off (or limited, like anons being turned off and only other users can ask qs) for, again, a number of different reasons (︶︿︶)

[of-invisible-ties]

Tips for Tempest Trials in FE: Heroes

I know plenty of my followers play Heroes, and, like myself, are looking forward to participating in the Tempest Trials tomorrow! As a longtime player and strategist in Heroes, I’d like to offer my take on some strategies I’ve used or seen and that I hope that others will be able to employ. If this was helpful, toss me a like or reblog! I wish you all luck in getting as many rewards as possible!

What are Tempest Trials?

For those new to the game, Tempest Trials is the uniform term used to refer to one of the battle modes in Heroes. Four teams of your choosing are pitted against five to seven maps (depending on your difficulty, with seven being the hardest), and must clear them as quickly as possible for points. The units seen in these maps are stronger than usual, and their stats increase as you go. Their HP, in particular, tends to get insanely high. 

However, all is not lost!

Bonus units will also get increased stats. And, they’ll raise your score if they’re on your team. Not only that, but here are some strategies you can use to make this easier. 

Life Hack: Knowing who the boss is

In each Tempest Trial, regardless of difficulty, there’s a boss who will be faced every time you’re on the last map. These bosses will vary depending on the theme of the Tempest Trial, but early leaks have revealed the boss of this one to be Brave Ike. Because you’ll be facing him no matter what, it’s wise to have a “boss-killer” -- a unit specifically tailored to countering the boss of that trial. Because Ike is an infantry axe unit, red mages, such as Tharja, Celica, and Katarina, can all do a number on him. Bringing red units with high defense or Triangle Adept also works in whittling him down, but mages are your best ploy. 

Who to bring with you

Healers and Passive Healers

Seeing as the Tempest Trials are well renowned for being endurance battles, most people are prompted to bring along a healer. This would be fine if healers could do damage, but most can’t without the premium skill of Wrathful Staff. While I myself do use healers on certain teams, I prefer using “passive healers”, too. 

Passive healers refer to units who can heal despite not being healers themselves. A famous example of this is the Falchion + Renewal + Reciprocal Aid/Ardent Sacrifice combo. Falchion and Renewal together allows the unit to regain their health rather quickly, and Reciprocal Aid or Ardent Sacrifice allows them to spread this effect to their allies, thus marking them as “passive” or “psuedo” healers. 

Note that Renewal + Ardent Sacrifice works just as well, though. 

Another variant of this combo is the C skill Breath of Life, combined with the Breath of Life Sacred Seal. At version 3, both of these together allow you to heal all adjacent allies for 14 HP. If Linde with her Aura tome uses this, that’s 19 HP; the performing arts variants of Shigure, Inigo, and Olivia also allow for this healing effect, for 21 HP of healing. 

Dancers + good skills to put on them

Dancers are your best friend in these trials. “Dancer” units refer to those with the command skill Sing or Dance, which allows your units to take another turn. Another turn against stat-inflated enemies is huge, and makes the difference between escaping danger, killing an enemy, or getting an extra turn to heal. Dancers combined with a unit who has Reposition or Draw Back work well in tandem with each other, as a dancer can venture into danger, dance a unit, and then be drawn back out with that skill.

A good idea is giving a dancer Wings of Mercy and having them work in tandem with a unit in Desperation or Brash Assault range (aka below 50% of their HP; note that I will elaborate on those skills in a later section). Wings of Mercy allows the dancer to warp to a unit below 50% health, and because those aforementioned 2 skills have that exact health requirement. (Brash Assault 3 can only be activated on 50% hp or lower. Desperation 3 requires you to be below 75% HP, but Desperation 2 requires the 50% threshold, which works just fine for the Wings of Mercy strategy.). If you’re relying on Wings of Mercy with Desperation or Brash Assault, do NOT BRING A HEALER AT ALL. Healing your health will ruin this strategy, so it’s best to go on hyper-offense with this.

Note: the best c-skills to give Dancers are Hone Attack and Hone Speed. Keep this in mind! 

Fliers + Guidance + Healing skills

Giving a Flier Renewal + Ardent Sacrifice, along with the Guidance Sacred Seal, is a surprisingly effective strategy for making them both a ferry and passive healer at once. Guidance allows any infantry or armored units within two spaces to access a space adjacent to your flier. This is effective because it draws your units within your flier’s reach to heal them, and it’s a great set-up for a support flier. I highly recommend Elincia for this role, seeing as she comes with Ardent Sacrifice innately, and she has a brave weapon (explained below) and natural access to Death Blow. You can build other fliers with this set-up, though. 

Using Guidance with Reposition works just as well, as that allows you to replace units if you so wish. Nowi, with her Grimoire tome, Reposition, and Guidance, is actually quite useful if you managed to pull her from the Halloween banner. 

Brave Weapons, as well as the Brash Assault + Desperation combo

For those unaware of how to use the Brash Assault + Desperation combo, consult this video. I mention it here because it works AMAZINGLY in tandem with brave weapons.

Brave weapons refer to weapons that makes its wielder strike twice, which is handy in any situation. While they’re weaker than most weapons, a double attack with any unit with respectable strength will do plenty of damage. Combined with the aforementioned combo, you can get four hits off in one go! And that’s more than enough to deal with units with insane amounts of HP!

That’s also why I must stress that Desperation is your friend. I’m serious. If you put Desperation on speedy units, they will be able to have their weapons act as brave weapons so long as they out-speed the target and are below the required HP threshold. For best use out of it, they should have a speed higher than 38. Any speed stat that’s 40 and above warrants consideration for Desperation. Mages work especially well with Desperation, too. 

Important: mages are super helpful to bring along, so make sure you spare a slot for them!

Strategies for the bonus units

Brave Lyn and Brave Roy: I lumped them together because they work in tandem with horse emblem. In fact, they’d work wonders on the same team! If you don’t know what horse emblem is, watch this guide on it.  My point is, horse emblem is so effective thanks to its myriad of buffs that you can afford to run a healer on that team, because the three other teammates will benefit from the healer’s and each other’s buffs, and that’s more than enough to pick up the slack. 

Brave Ike and Dorcas: I put these two in the same category because they both function as infantry axe units who specialize as defenders. They work best during the enemy phase of combat. In tandem with these two, I’d recommend running a dancer and a fragile mage with Desperation, seeing as either Brave Ike or Dorcas will suffice for baiting out enemies and taking hits. To give them maximum benefits, bring along allies who can boost their defense, resistance, and, mainly, attack. It’ll stack well with their stats. Pairing them with healers also works, although it may be unnecessary in Brave Ike’s case, seeing as he comes with Aether. 

Brave Lucina: Thanks to the fact that she gives +3 to attack and speed to all units but mages, exploit this. Bringing along a speedy or Desperation unit, dancer or brave weapon user gives you the most leverage out of her buffs. Brave weapon users like the extra speed from her legendary weapon, Drive Speed, and Hone Speed buffs, as that makes it easier for them to attack a unit four times. Dancers like the extra speed to avoid getting doubled if they’re attacked, and speedy units and Desperation users like that extra speed and offense, too. Remember: Mages might not benefit from her legendary weapon, but they still get leverage out of Drive Speed, so it never hurts to bring one along. Bringing a red mage to compensate for Brave Lucina’s axe weakness is optimal. 

Mia: Due to being a speedy attacker, I’d recommend tossing her Desperation and not bothering to heal her. You want Mia in the Desperation threshold so she can constantly be doubling units without fear for retaliation. Use the Wings of Mercy strategy I described earlier, and she should be good to go. 

Lute: Lute makes an excellent Desperation user if given the Fury + Desperation combp. Thanks to her ability to debuff units, which includes speed for her easier capacity to double, she makes a solid lead for any team, provided that she has dancer support and red units to counter her green weaknesses. Brave Ike, the boss of the trials, will be a threat to her, so bringing along a red unit is a must. 

Aaaand that’s all I’ve got. Was this guide helpful? These are the strategies I’ve tried and seen, but I do hope it was of use. Of course, I’m open to additions and suggestions. If anyone else has ideas they’d like to recommend, feel free to let me know!

[astralescent]

MarthIke for the ship meme!!!!!

send me a ship and i’ll tell you

who hogs the duvet

Ike, much to Marth’s dismay. He just kinda grabs whatever’s within reach in his sleep and builds a nest overnight. Marth just hopes he gets pulled in along the way because there’s no winning a tugging war against Ike.

who texts/rings to check how their day is going

they both do ! I’d say it might be more of a reflex to Ike, he’s generally a little less busy than Marth and the one who has just enough free time to stop and realize he wishes he could see his person that day, which will usually prompt him to text or call. Although it’s also totally something Marth does when he checks the time and knows for sure that Ike is on break or just available to a degree

who’s the most creative when it comes to gifts

I think that would go to Ike; while Marth is the kind to go all out and stress himself into exhaustion to find the perfect gift, it usually ends up something fairly traditional or meaningful but that still stays within the bounds of what can be expected. Ike’s ideas are probably more original.

who gets up first in the morning

Marth ! Almost always has stuff to do in the morning and usually wakes up early anyway. Ike will be up early if he has something going on but he will not be happy about it and if he doesn’t then he’ll just sleep in until he’s downright sick of being in bed

who suggests new things in bed

Probably Ike. Marth has conducted a few experiments of his own but Ike’s the one who’s actually outright suggested things like collars and bondage. Ike has more “exotic” kinks as well I believe so I wouldn’t be surprised if that trend kept going.

who cries at movies

If anyone it’d be Ike, the big softy can’t accept that that one dog had to die

who gives unprompted massages

they both do, actually ! they both gladly get onto the other’s case without them asking for it on a regular basis. Ike knows about Marth’s secret weak spot and is not afraid to use it, especially when he’s around to see how much time Marth spends bent over a desk or with his back too straightened up while in other people’s presence, and Marth has been able to take notice of just how damaging Ike’s training and fighting methods can be to his back and shoulders, so whenever the opportunity shows itself, one of them gives the other a good rubdown.

who fusses over the other when they’re sick

again, both of them. Mostly out of simple care and concern, but Marth also knows Ike rarely becomes ill so he worries twice as much as he should when that happens, whereas Ike knows it was never his family or friends that cared for Marth when he was sick growing up and wants to make up for it now with extra care and affection. 

who gets jealous easiest

I think I would say Marth ? It might just be because so far only Ike has been actively coveted by others, but I think it’s also fairly safe to assume Marth is the most insecure and/or possessive of the two.

who has the most embarrassing taste in music

err, neither ? Unless you consider Marth’s especially nerdy appreciation of classical music embarrassing, but he definitely isn’t any kind of embarrassed about it himself. Admittedly I’m not 100% familiar with Ike’s taste in music, I assume he’d be into rock/alternative a lot but maybe he secretly enjoys cheesy pop songs, who knows

who collects something unusual

haha, both of these were brought up a long time ago but I’m glad I get to talk about them publicly. So, regular verse, Marth - modern verse, Ike

Ike travels a lot for his job and as expected, these two miss each other a lot when he’s on the road. To make the wait more bearable, Ike has developed a habit over the years of gathering little somethings during his travels, little tokens of his adventures that he then presents to Marth upon his return. Marth has dedicated a couple of shelves to them in his room and treasures them and the meaning they have.

In modern AU, Marth is a compulsive post-it notes user. He always has  some on himself and uses them extensively, to jot down important stuff as well as to scribble little reminders. It’s come to the point where if he has some within reach and a pencil in his hand, he’ll start scribbling down key words about random thoughts he’s having in the moment. One night, he was helping Ike study for a test, and while doing so, started randomly making notes of Ike’s qualities and things he likes about him in general and sticking them to him. Ike kept focusing on his studying for a while and only got to read the notes once he was done. He secretly kept them and put them up on a little board in his room. Marth doesn’t know still, but ever since he’s made a habit of writing down sweet little nothings on post-it notes and giving them to Ike every now and then, slipping them in his lunchbox, under a plate he knows he’ll have to clean up at work, or just when they’re spending quiet time together for whatever reason and he wants to tell him something without breaking the silence. Ike collects them all.

who takes the longest to get ready

Marth. Neither of them take very long but if anyone it would be Marth; he takes more time to bathe because he enjoys it whereas Ike is out as soon as possible; Marth actually puts some minimal thoughts into how he’s gonna dress for the day whereas Ike just grabs whatever stinks less; Marth will take a moment in front of the mirror to clean up his face and tame unruly strands of hair if unruly strands of hair there is whereas Ike doesn’t give a fig. All in all I’d say it takes Marth a good 5 to 15 more minutes getting ready.

who is the most tidy and organised

Marth by a mile. Being organized is a very important principle of his, and he doesn’t see the point in letting clothes and sheets and stuff sprawled on the floor or hanging off furniture it shouldn’t be hanging off of if the idea is to either keep them clean until they’re used or to get them cleaned up at the earliest opportunity. Ike is more of a “I know where I put it, therefore it’s in the right place, wherever that is” kind of person. 

who gets most excited about the holidays

I’d say originally it was Ike, but with Marth now being more or less part of his family, he probably is now very much looking forward to holidays as well.

who is the big spoon/little spoon

Ike is big spoon, Marth is little spoon

who gets most competitive when playing games and/or sports

They both do, honestly. They’re both stubborn and competitive; pitting them against each other is basically guaranteeing a never-ending battle or an extreme quantity of salt for whoever the loser turns out to be.

who starts the most arguments

hmmm I wanna say they don’t argue a whole lot, but if anyone probably Marth ? He’s used to reading between the lines, so when he gets very insecure he tends to ignore part of Ike’s bluntness and assume he’s implying things he’s not and such, which can lead to misunderstandings and arguments. 

who suggests that they buy a pet

Ike. Doesn’t suggest, begs. Not a pet, multiple pets. All of the pets. And also adopt the litter of stray kittens and rescue all those dogs. All of them.

what couple traditions they have

I don’t think they have any yet, actually ? Aside maybe from honey kisses. Having Ike ingest a lot of honey and then kissing to share the taste is somewhat of a celebratory gesture at this point.

what tv shows they watch together

That’s a very good question, honestly, I don’t know many TV shows at all. The only thing I know Ike watches is like, those nature shows, which sure, Marth would love to watch with him. It’s very calming.

what other couple they hang out with

None, I don’t think ? Nothing that’s been confirmed at this point in time at least. I’d assume they have meals with Merric and Elice on a regular basis after getting married. They’re also still often around the rest of the Greil Mercs, so if anyone gets in a relationship there, that would include them too ? But nothing set in stone yet– that I can think of.

how they spend time together as a couple

Do I really have to answer this ? They do everything together.

who made the first move

It was Ike ! At least in our main verse, we haven’t determined anything in the others. But it was Ike who took a leap of faith and went in for the kiss.

who brings flowers home

Neither, Ike is allergic to flowers.

who is the best cook

they both lack a bit in cooking experience, but I’d say Ike. He cares more about food than Marth and therefore is probably more invested in the making of it and has more flair for it. I am also fairly sure at this point in time that he tries to make a habit of cooking regularly and experiment a bit.

[adventures-in-media-technol-blog]

Artikelen Wholetask

My turbulent journey into design

 Where are we going?

“Has interactive design lost its battle against interface ignorance?” The question that should haunt every starting and experienced designer. The easy answer would be yes. That’s the comforting answer for any designer at least. It allows us to stick with our old ways. It enables us to stay as we are. But if life has taught us anything, it’s that the only thing that never changes, is that things change.

 Stuk door Rowen Forman. Artikelen van Rowen Forman.

 Coming to grips

For myself, coming to grips with the outlook of what we call design was frightening. When I started out on my journey it all seemed so simple. You put in the time to learn a craft, and then you provide others with a service. And so I did, I learned and perfected my craft and soon was putting it to use for clients. In doing so I learned one thing above all. People are always happy with something they make themselves.

Create to create

Take Modulyss, a project from Zuiderlicht in Maastricht. It lets a people who are interested in carpeted floors make their own design. Users select and combine patterns to create a unique floor. This approach to design has many benefits for both the user and the designer. The user gets a one-of-a-kind floor which they designed themselves. And the designer is freed of the process of identifying the needs of the user. His work is essentially done. Because you can certainly let someone make a design, but if you want it to be any good, you’ll have to create some constraints.

 Shepard the weak through the valley of design

So how can you exploit this without depreciating the result? Well by chance I started learning programming. It showed me the beauty of combining function and aesthetics. And it gave me a new perspective. When you give people the freedom to customize what you provide them with, you get happier customers. Everyone is a designer. But few people have the inherent skill to create something of beauty. Professionals can take on the role of a shepherd, a facilitator if you will. This new style of design might just be my own faulty interpretation. But if it’s not then at least I will be ready. Surely you can survive within the old constraints, but thriving, that is left to those who can adapt.

The awakening

So here we are, fresh students of a freshly adapted study program. Being made aware of the environment around us. Not everyone is equally aware of these surroundings though. Many still cling to an old idea of what design could be. And even as I write this I am unsure of what design really is, was and will be. This realization both scares and excites me. Without a vision of design, you can receive input without dissonance and form new ideas freely. But what do I want for myself? That’s a question I don’t yet have an answer to. Hopefully the education I am following will steer me in the right direction. Though many people have told me that you need to find your own meaning for design. And that this meaning can only be found post-school.

Literature list

● Service design voor modulyss®. (2016). Geraadpleegd van http://www.zuiderlicht.nl/portfolio/websites/modulyss-designer-tool

 The way design shapes our lives

 We are all affected

Design is all around us. That tiresome cliché only seems to become more true with each passing day. Every morning, I wake up in my bed and turn off the alarm clock on my phone. I get out of bed, put my clothes on and go downstairs to make myself coffee and breakfast. In the first minutes of consciousness each day, I make use of countless design artefacts. And so does the rest of the world. Of course, western countries differ from other regions, but it still holds true. From the phone, to the bed and the coffeemaker, design is all around us. And it affects every aspect of our lives.

Stuk door Rowen Forman. Artikelen van Rowen Forman.

 We are what we create

“We shape our tools, and our tools shape us”. In the 1960’s, Marshall McLuhan was able to understand a phenomenon that started with the rise of industrialism. As we progress as a species, we constantly find new ways to extend our human faculties. We do this by using tools. Early man found that cutting something was much easier with a sharpened rock than with his hand. Today’s man finds that posting a picture of himself on vacation on Facebook is much easier than showing it to his friends in person. And so we will go on. Every need and want we feel will be increasingly easy to satisfy. And we get used to this. After being introduced to the easy way, people don’t want to go back to the old way. If you grow up with these new tools, you won’t even be able to fathom the old ones. Going back at this point becomes, impossible.

 The great tools of our time

The most notable of these advancements is of course the smartphone. Growing up there were none, and yet, I can hardly imagine my life without them. Can you? In the relatively short time we’ve had smartphones at our disposal, they have completely reshaped our lives. We use it for everything. From checking the time to replying to work emails. As time passes, the device becomes more and more entrenched in our lives. And so it is with all the great tools of our time.

We will take back control

You could argue that these tools take control over us. That we become subservient to them. I could definitely agree to that. But I also believe that we could easily take back control. By working together and not competing with one another. We can make our designs serve us solely for our benefit. In a ‘global village’ as Marshall McLuhan would put it, we all contribute to the whole. We don’t fight each other for a piece of the pie. We would not create ‘profitable’ designs. No, we would just design to help ourselves and each other. Just like how Aral Balkan envisions design with his Ethical Design Manifesto.

 The central machine

Right now, across the globe, 3d printing is enabling everyday people to take control back over design. I think that’s a beautiful thing. The way we govern our societies is a lot like what we IT professionals call a ‘Client Server Network’. The central machine decides who can do what, and how that should be accomplished. In time, I can see this morph into the opposite, the ‘Peer to Peer Network’. Where information, goods and services are exchanged freely between the people in the network. By taking control over the way we design our lives, we take back our individuality.

 Come together, right now..

So as we accelerate into the future, we learn from the lessons of the past. We are our designs and our designs are us. Our lives are endlessly affected by our creations. But it doesn’t have to be negative. With numbers comes strength. I believe and hope, that we will create the world we want to have, together. Instead of fighting each other for it.

Literature list

● Balkan, A. (z.j.). Ethical Design. Geraadpleegd van https://ind.ie/ethical-design/

● Mcluhan, M. (1967). The Medium is the Massage (Herz. ed.). London, United Kingdom: Penguin Books Ltd.

 Reflectie:

Wouw, dat was een bevalling. Na een paar dagen writersblock te hebben doorstaan begonnen de woorden te vloeien. Engels, is mijn redding. Wat had ik moeten doen zonder het Engels, verloren zijn waarschijnlijk. Het voelt kwetsbaar om op deze manier jezelf bloot te geven. Ik heb getracht tijdens en naderhand de artikelen zo leesbaar en aangrijpend mogelijk te maken. Verder is alles dat ik er over te zeggen heb te vinden in de teksten.