#it was my entire support system while i was taking like. 5 a levels

[bahoreal]

god torchwood was such a shitty gritty dark little show with a budget of £5 and all the sets that abandoned london underground stations had to offer but godamn theee most phenomenal cast godamn eve myles picked that show up on her shoulders and moulded this awful unlikeable brilliant character in gwen that i rooted for and hated and rooted for and wanted to fistfight like every other episode and it was brilliant and the supporting cast were so fucking phenomonal and i just. god. if only it had been better

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review 21 - A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

I honestly entirely forget who recommended this to me, but I owe them a thank you. Absolutely not something I would have ever picked up on my own, but a really enjoyable read. My exposure to Novik’s work is extremely limited, which is to say I’ve read Spinning Silver, but I’ve been vaguely meaning to give more of her stuff a try for a while. Didn’t enjoy this as much as that on a few levels, but that’s just the YA/adult genre jump as much as anything, probably.

It is very much a YA book, more than anything I’ve read this year (even more than Iron Widow, probably). From the entire plot being about making friends in high school being a literal life or death struggle to El “most powerful mage ever but only for evil things she tries to avoid so only a half dozen people ever realize how special she is’ Higgins to the booklength awkward teenage ‘literally unclear whether we are dating or not’ romance. So! Broadening my genre horizons some, I suppose.

El’s internal monologue was a bit of a trial for the first half of the book or so, I’ll admit. Not to say that it didn’t ring true to life, but she was just so incredibly fifteen, you know? Generally became significantly more tolerable once she started actually acting and coming out of her shell instead of devoting herself entirely to angsting about how much everyone hated her and trying to convince herself that she was a machievellian villain in waiting.

Though, to pick a nit that probably annoyed absolutely no one but me – I’m willing to accept El’s magical savant-ness as the price of admission, but the whole gradual reveal with her mom actually being world famous felt...odd? Cheap? Like in the beginning she’s very firmly characterized as this kind of head-in-the-clouds well meaning but not particularly perceptive or effectual hippie type, and then it’s gradually revealed that she’s actually the best healer in the UK and has set the global standard for a lot of spells and-. And it’s not like the reveal was actually doing anything dramatically, except making early book El’s isolation and lack of friends even more self-imposed, which was hardly necessary at that point. (Honestly ‘supporting cast go from being nobodies to retroactively being world-famous in their fields’ is the sort of decay I tend to associate with long running serial fiction. Weird to see it happen over the course of one book.) But that’s really just a minor pet peeve.

Orion was a great character, or at least a well-done example of an archetype I adore. ‘Selfless, heroic and dedicated to the point of it being kind of offputting/creepy Chosen One type who is (and I can’t emphasize this enough) not the protagonist. Partially because ‘there’s a much more conventionally heroic adventure story happening 5 degrees to the left’ just makes most stories a little bit more amusing, but also because someone really earnestly believing ‘my entire life is a means to a higher end, a fine tool set to a magnificent or at least a necessary purpose’ reliably drives me absolutely insane about them. That said the only reason I’m not absolutely certain he turns out to be either secretly evil or destined-to-be-the-antichrist is because the end of book cliffhanger makes that almost too obvious and on-the-nose.

Taking a bit of a step back, it’s interesting that the book didn’t really have any individual villain? Like, some other students are antagonists at times, sure, and there are plenty of horrible gribbly monsters (I adored basically all the horrible gribbly monsters), but none that really last as antagonists? Either defused or convinced to step aside/help or brutally murdered with magic. The entire finale was basically extreme high stakes facility maintenance. So yeah, interesting, not my usual expectation of YA.

I mean more broadly the actual villain is of course the entire fucked up system, both social and metaphysical, underlying the school. The role of a brutally competitive education system as recruitment method allowing particularly competent or promising immigrants and members of the lower classes to join a ‘meritocratic’ elite while also filtering out the most troublesome or incompetent children of that elite and using their failure to legitimize the easy inheritance of all the others is, perhaps, a slightly on the nose analogy. But, again, kind of the price of admission.

[catonator]

You hear about video game development?

Well. I wouldn't say I expected such a catastrophic implosion from Unity.

Now, I can't say that I didn't laugh at the situation. It's a hilariously terrible case of bad management coming up with bad ideas in desperation. But it's also a somewhat scary indication of the sorry state of the industry.

Unity controls about 40% of the engine marketshare (according to a linkedin post I found anyway). Unity dominates the engine scene by a large margin, followed by Unreal at around 30% and Cryengine by around 5%. Unity forms such a large part of the entire game development industry, that it's difficult to really even understand just how much they control the concept of games as a whole!

Most people are jumping to some paid alternatives, like the aforementioned Unreal and, to a lesser extent, Game Maker, but my suggestion is this: don't!

Within the last decade, all-encompassing closed super game engines have become less of a side venture and more of an expectation. Back in the 2000s, there were a few engines like this, mostly amateur ones. Game engines were less creation stations and more of a loose collection of middleware and tools. Purchasing the rights to the engine meant that you also got the responsibility of also tying the engine into something resembling a game yourself. I feel like this art has been lost.

Game engines nowadays are more of a purchase of a passing right to use and incredibly specific, closed set of tools. You don't get to define the tools, and you don't get to really own the tools. It's yet another example of the tradition of the games industry fucking over the customers, and the customers just going with it. Because of this, while Unreal got some free dunks on Twitter for this, I can assure you Epic is planning something equally terrible as Unity's PR faux pas, and it'll come into to play in about 3 years when everyone's just accepted that Unity sometimes financially screws you over.

But, game developers are indeed developers. They know software, and they can learn to make new software.

If you're a game dev and still reading this, I'd recommend taking a peek beyond the curtains of corporate cockfighting, into the realm of DIY game engines. It's a… somewhat janky world full of strange characters with unusual ideas on how much time it's acceptable to spend not working on a game, but it's also a place where you're not being sat on by fatcats.

Just as game engines have progressed in the past 20 years, so have libraries, middleware and resources for independents. Making your own engine isn't just picking up ANSI C and toiling for a year in software rendering hell. Open tools like Pygame, Monogame, LÖVE and Cocos2D (among many, many others) are far beyond just simple rendering libraries and border on being game engines sometimes. The difference is, these tools are open source, and they do not restrict you with what you can do with them.

There are several games you may have played made using these frameworks. Streets of Rage 4 (MonoGame), Celeste (MonoGame), Fez (XNA, aka. MonoGame), Miitomo (Cocos2D), Geometry Dash (Cocos2D)… I got tired of looking up more. There are a lot of games.

The future which I hope to see for game developers is one where you have a large assortment of simple tools you can pick. Level editors, asset converters, entity systems, all small chunks of a game engine you could drop into your own project to slowly build up your own collection of workflows to make games your own way, completely independent of any larger forces on the market.

The support for these frameworks is still somewhat barren compared to Unity, but I believe, that if more people jump to alternatives like this, more tools, tutorials and middleware built for them would start showing up. This is how Unity also got its start, about 15 years ago. You also really don't need all the power in the world to make your simple 2D Megaman clones. The fog created by the monolithic engines we have now have obscured just how simple the building blocks for your favourite games can really be.

It just takes some bravery and willingness to learn a new way to approach making games, but I think the outcome is worth it, even just for you.

[baldy-wan-kenobi]

Next on our tour of the Baldyverse, we're taking a break from the human factions to examine the dominant power in the Milky Way, the Seventh Vreelka-Sythatr Sphere of Expansion, usually shortened to the Vreelka Sphere.

The Sphere is comprised of two main species, though they also have many other client states throughout the Sagittarius arm and the general Galactic South. First were the Vreelka, a species of semi-humanoids somewhat resembling extremely ancient earth birds, like the extinct Archeopteryx. They sport bright plumage in a crest behind their head, and in a single patch on their chests. Their digitigrade legs are well-suited to quick movement, which is supported by an incredibly efficient vascular system, allowing them to oxygenate their muscles to a ridiculous level for a human, allowing feats of immense strength. Despite their appearance, nothing in their biology indicates ever being suited to flight, and in fact the atmosphere on the Vreelka homeworld of Vrela is too thin to support any flying creatures larger than an earth finch.

The Sythatri are a semi-aquatic species hailing from a world whose name does not adequately translate into human vocalizations, so here I will use the adaptation of the name adopted by the Alliance Standard Tongue, spoken in diplomacy by the three founding members of the Galactic Diplomatic Alliance, which is Sythos. They bear the most resemblance to earth's salamanders, though they also bear features that associate them with frogs.

The two species contacted each other rather early in their histories, having made contact via radio signal before either had even achieved spaceflight, and almost immediately forming an unbreakable alliance that has stood the test of time for nearly 1500 years. Their first contact with humanity was in the aftermath of Humanity's War of First Contact, in which a hostile insectoid hive mind attacked the Terran Federation and the Human Mercantile Guild, being quite thoroughly stomped in a war that lasted 5 years, only ending when the Mercantile Guild dropped a Nova Bomb into the last hive of the Golthadan people, ending their entire civilization in a storm of atomic fire as their atmosphere boiled away.

In the aftermath, representatives of the Sphere approached both empires, attempting to establish relations and offer Vreelka aid. While the Guild declined, the Federation did not, and so began an alliance that has lasted for more than 400 years. (This will continue on my next break.)

[natureintheory]

Hey, I believe I follow you on Blue sky, but not to alarm you. It's really easy to rip models from sketch fab and people most likely will try to download it for free. I already had one of my horse models ripped and sold as jewelry like 5 years ago in China on this weird site. Sketchfab is also data harvesting your models you upload and selling it to 3D ai gen projects, you won't get a lick of it.

Hi, since this is a secondary tumblr I can't message back, but I think this is worth saying publicly anyway:

Yes, not an alarm. I'm aware Sketchfab can be ripped, unfortunately. Any art we share publicly can, as many of us know and have been dealing with for years.

Sketchfab has an entire section regarding AI in their user terms, which were also just updated within the last couple of days. In brief, per this legal agreement, Sketchfab themselves will not use it to AI-related ends.

The tags users can opt in to, e.g. #NoAI, are aimed at third parties. That's... not an amazing "security system". I do wish they'd develop something more foolproof.

Of course, what happens behind closed doors can always diverge from what's legal. There are always bad actors. We always have to make a choice to trust any of these businesses, or not. I know members of the Sketchfab staff and community; they've always been great and supportive, so I continue to participate.

I also increasingly take certain steps to make my own models less useful to said bad actors. Again, not perfect protection, but something.

I'd suggest that others do the same — whether it's anti-AI glazing for 2D art*, or other techniques to make 3D less usable.

*Grateful though I am for Glaze, it's limited right now and, at useful levels, extremely obvious on some styles. For those of us who have our work published, it's going to be out there online and can't always be glazed. Unless you specifically develop a style that can be, without ruining the look.

Also, if there was another service that could somehow truly protect [3D] art while offering these kinds of features, I'd check it out. Right now I know of just one alternative, but it's made by an individual I don't know and have no reason to trust more than SkFb. It's also missing certain features I frequently use in my real-time 3D projects.

[lilyblackdrawside]

Recently, I picked up the game Dream Tactics. It's a Tactics RPG - think something like Super Robot Wars, Devil Survivor or Fire Emblem - that doesn't run the typical chapter/mission structure. Instead you freely move around the world and encounter preset fights. You can usually see them from a bit away, so you can turn around and check other areas first or take them on.

Long post with some information and opinions on the game (and genre) underneath.

It's a pretty cute game with the only caveat being that it doesn't have battle scenes. Those are always a strong point of the genre, but here it's just minimal animations. It works and looks good too and after a while I'll skip the animations or turn them off entirely, but would be nice to have.

This is what your party looks like when traveling.

In the prologue level you start with two characters and are quickly joined by a third.

These are from left to right Neru, who is your protagonist, Luna, one of her guardians and a tanky melee type with some support and Sophie, her other guardian and a tactical cavalry unit.

Neru is a mixed offensive/supportive mage who spreads the Tired status on both enemies and allies (a debuff that reduces certain stats) to enhance her damaging or healing spells. She's surprisingly a bit tricky to use, because you only want Tired on your allies during certain moments and can ruin your own damage by removing it from enemies at an inopportune moment, but once you're over these small hurdles she's very competent. Quite frail, as is the norm with these types, but with her good range and healing she won't cause too much trouble.

Luna is - as mentioned - someone who could be likened to a classic Paladin or Cleric. She hits enemies in melee range and most of her attacks build "Carrot" stacks on herself, which greatly raise her Luck stat, which governs crit rate. Some of her attacks gain special effects when striking critically and she needs to to deal decent damage. Crits double an attack's damage before the target's defense is factored in, so you're getting a lot out of it. She's quite tanky on the physical side, but tends to fold quickly when magic is involved, which is - once again - fairly typical.

Sophie is cavalry, but luckily she doesn't use a horse or I'd have had to make the painful decision to bench her. I can't stand horses. Get more creative. No, she rides a slime and it makes cute slime noises when she moves around. Her deal is that with her lance pretty much all of her attacks have 2 range and she has good area damage as well. She has a two-stance system where all of her attacks gain an effect when in one stance and will shift her into the other one, which is pretty fun to use. Her most outstanding move is Retreat, which pulls her back to the position she started the turn on and heals her for a small amount. I immediately gave her an item that gives her more movement range and later found an even better (and more entertaining) one. The first one gave her +2 move for the first 4 turns of a fight (default movement range is 5 on everyone so far), the new one gives her a permanent +2 but she can only move an even amount of tiles and I added another item for another +1 so she's at an even 8. I also gave her an item that lets her pass through enemies (and enemies through her but that's okay), so now I can just send her way into the backline to let her stab squishies and it's super fun. Sophie is easily my favourite unit so far.

The overall vibes of the game are more lighthearted from what I've been seeing. TRPGs tend to be kinda gloom and doom in their stories and will only provide levity in the moment sometimes, so this is a nice change of pace.

Another thing that I really like about this game is how it handles EXP. You don't get any for killing enemies, it all gets distributed at the end of a battle and everyone gets the same amount, so I never have to worry about a unit who didn't get to directly contribute in a way that would traditionally give high EXP. Like, Sophie is a pick class the way I use her. She goes in, assassinates a key threat and zips back out. On the other hand Neru has major area damage, so with some setup she can kill several enemies in one turn. I did say that Sophie has some good area damage, but it's more incidental and tends to soften enemies up. I don't want to have to worry about who to give what kills to, basically. It's nice. It also doesn't do Fire Emblem stat growths, which (aside from the horses) are my biggest gripe with that series. I know that on average your units will end up fine and that you can just clear the games 0% growths anyway, but it just doesn't feel good when your requisite edgy samurai misses his 45% strength growth for the fourth time in a row. Dream Tactics has Growth Rates on everyone, but they're not chance based, they just "fill an invisible stat level-up bar" which raises their stats whenever it ticks over 100%. It's like in FE- Engage Maddening Mode, where your growths are also fixed like this.

For people who like the genre, it should be a good pick.

[dogtoling]

1. Can Inkfish breath in while swimming (or sitting still) in their ink?

2. So we know that Inkfish don’t have bones, but I heard they have cartilage or something instead. That true? If so, how does that work?

3. Ok while writing this question I realized the answer, but… How do Agent Neo and the rest of the NSS get out of Alterna? (Realized they just super jump)

4. How do Inkfish super jump so accurately and onto moving objects like the Tower?

5. Why did ORCA create puzzles for the Inkfish? Like, not generic puzzles, puzzles specifically designed for Inkfish? Last I checked, all ORCA is is just a storage system with an AI.

6. So… Deep Cut. Wth did they think those random pieces of metal were going to do? I doubt that’s very valuable (unless humans mined all the ore and there’s basically none left, so melting it down gets a lot of money) so like… why fight over pointless junk when there are literal HUMAN ARTIFACTS probably just sitting around Alterna?

7. For a timespan of 12k years, the buildings in Alterna seem quite well preserved… explain.

8. How is Grizz so big and furry? Like, bears aren’t that big. Also the guy can survive in space. Like what.

9. How did Smallfry change like that in the final fight?

10. I keep seeing how Splatoon confirmed magic and now I’m confused.

Lotta questions about Alterna, I bet most can be just chalked up as bad planning regarding the story but like… I wanna hear what you think.

Assuming they're not literally inside the ink but rather on top of it, yes they can breathe

Inklings having cartilage is entirely fanon, they are confirmed not to have bones but they're not confirmed to not have some other type of support structure. People default to cartilage because Inklings are big enough to where SOME kind of support structure would be required, and we do see details of "bones" on the models (especially captain cuttlefish) although i think those are only there because the game's artists still wanted the inklings to have human anatomy. hence why they have kneecaps

yeah they probably super jump.

Game logic. But also Inklings are implied to use (and even need) signals to track when they super jump, so it's likely that they are able to sense magnetic fields and signals that they use to fine tune their trajectory, which is how they're able to super jump so accurately when they don't actually see where they're jumping. (It tracks when you take into accounts spawn points, squid beakons, the huge antenna on the Grizzco boat.. i DON'T know how the hell teammates function in this scenario but alas)

there's no good reason for this one chief the story writers just wanted to reuse octo expansion level design. ardnin has a good theory surrounding this but other than that canon does not have our back here

again the story writers didnt know what the hell to do but corporate quota probably says the new idols of the game HAVE TO be in the main story for marketability reasons so they needed to be in there being the weakest links of any story mode to date. this plot point is made worse by the fact that in the story mode, Agent 3 ISN'T EVEN AFTER THE OBJECTS. you just kind of wander into the boss areas with the thing just lying there abandoned and deep cut shows up like OH MY GODDDDD YOU CANT TAKE THATTTTT like girl, ok! you had 5 hours to take that yourself and leave! the player was never asked to retrieve the things to begin with, we just kinda take it in the end.

this has bothered the hell out of me too and it did the entire time i played through the story mode. Not to mention EVERYTHING looks extremely well-preserved taking into account the, uh... you know, the entire major plot point about the caverns COLLAPSING? lol. Not going to nitpick too much about this but basically the best explanation is that Alterna doesn't experience weather or anything, so it's semi-functional as a type of time capsule.

all but confirmed in the new art book, but Grizz is mutated to ALL HELL. His skeleton doesnt even resemble a bear at this point. Basically, he is insanely mutated. yeah i got nothing on the surviving in space part, i hate the story

i hate the story (the answer is magic i guess)

Related to the previous point, this is WHY people are saying splatoon confirmed magic. I mean there is zero explanation to a smallfry (JUVENILE SALMONID) turning into a 15 meter giant floating fish in rapid 5 second metamorphosis because of Ocean Creature Hopes and Dreams, in SPACE, then going nuts for a while and just............. turning back into a juvenile salmonid. Honest to god I would be more okay with this happening if Smallfry had STAYED as a giant fish, because we know salmonids come in a lot of different forms and whatever they turn into is highly influenced by their life and battles up to that point. So hell, it would've made sense that Smallfry's adventure in Alterna and finally going up against what is basically the Salmonids' arch nemesis would've been a good arc for them to mature, but to pull that magic anime transformation and then just REVERSE IT is just.... You could say it's the salmon equivalent to what the Kraken is for inkfish, but that makes NO SENSE because whereas transformations like that are sensible for inklings which are creatures known to be able to do rapid metamorphosis and alter their body shape, A SALMONID IS A FISH. WITH MUSCLES AND FLESH AND BONES AND STUFF. what HAPPENED HERE bro

anyway thanks for this ask and yes, as you predicted, i believe that 90% of the plot holes in the alterna story are just because they did not have time or interest to make the story cohesive - because of the art book we now know that the Splatoon 3 story mode's first concept was COMPLETELY DIFFERENT (although we know next to nothing aside from that), there's barely ANY concept art for fuzzy octarians, barely any concept art for Mr. Grizz, and literally zero mention of O.R.C.A. So at this time I fully believe that for one reason or another the dev team wasn't able to make the story they actually wanted to make, so the story we got was either rushed or just didn't have a lot of effort put into it and that's why everything about it feels so weird and quickly smacked together and it tries way too hard to have a cool climax to the point where it achieves nothing but confusion

[fleetingmotivation]

[Alright, we're recording, you can begin.] OH! uh... h-hi, i'm ssc oh-five-one fo- [You can use your own name, not your code number.] Ohhhh.... My n-name is, um, Cherry. Soda...

[Hi Cherry, why don't you introduce yourself.] I'm Cherry Soda, and I am a Smith-Shimano Corporation pilot. I, um, am an ok shot, and i um, like music? [What kind of music do you like Cherry?] Mostly Breakcore?I like how fast it is, it helps me zone out... Is that not a good answer you look upset, did I make you upset? I'm sorry! [Its alright 0514, I just am not a fan of whatever you said. How about you tell people about what Smith-Shimano Corporation did for you?] You mean letting me pilot? [I meant regarding your transition, but you can talk about whatever you want.] Ah! ok. ... *papers rustling. Um, SSC- [Smith-Shimano Corporation] -Smith-Shimano Corporation actively helped me in becoming the me i wanted to be, with both medicine and gender affirming accommodations. do i read- [Yes this part here.] I think that anyone looking for a place that will encourage experimentation with gender as well as piloting a mech should report to a SS- A Smith-Shimano Corporation recruitment center.How was that? [That's good for now 0512. You're free to return to quarters]

SSC-0514 (Codename Cherry Soda) was originally part of a "Random Batch" - a batch of gene clones specifically focused or creating variation in expressed genes. These batches are useful for variety testing and as control groups for other experiments. 0514 had difficulty playing with other children, and as the years progressed developed an anxiety disorder that would get worse as time went on. At 14 her scores in pilot aptitude and general competency were low enough that the system flagged her for extradition from the pilot program and deportation to a standard colony world. While in a meeting about her failing scores she asked about a rumor she had heard about "women being better at taking heat because they are usually colder." When affirmed this to be true but negligible, she seemed sad. An onsite psychologist began meeting with her to discuss her relationship with gender, which eventually led to her deciding to transition. SSC was personally in favor of this development on account of the high rate of transgender pilots making up the ranks of LANCER pilots, as well as the optics associated with becoming viewed as The Transgender Corprostate. A researcher note at the time said: "Imagine if we could steal that title from HORUS! So many LANCER's would flock to us!"

0514 picked the name "Cherry Soda" and began medically transitioning soon after that. Her scores mildly improved, enough to secure her place in Live-Fire test scenarios. On her first sortie she was deployed as long-range support for the repossession of a VIP Convoy during a minor rebellion on SSC world Gardeniea-D12. Her Squad commander later said of her: "It was like something else, H- sorry, She was a totally different person, i was pushing up with the vanguard and by the time we reached the enemy convoy the entire guard detail was nothing but scrap. I asked her what happened and her voice was totally cold when she said she had cleared the way." Needless to say, but she received commendations for this. While her scores tend to flag in test scenarios her performance in Live-Fire scenarios are within the top 5% of all SSC pilots, putting her in the LANCER tier. On a personal level she seems excited by this, but she may just enjoy the praise.

Currently we are attempting to use her in a marketing capacity, a task she seems willing to help with. I recommend granting her Affordances with anything gender related, as long as we don't force anything on her (this would both corrupt our data and taint our image.) Test footage of her day to day life in our home facilities, as well as combat footage of her piloting is currently being recieved well, especially among our target demographics (queer people both within and without the gender spectrum) Test audiences noted "Enjoying her Pathetic Girl Swag" and "I want to buy her ice cream while shes sobbing hysterically."

She currently favors Long range combat and high mobility Chassis. She pilots a Customized SSC Dusk Wing, which She calls Amen Break. Amen Break has an onboard Comp/Con unit, who Is the only thing 0514 seems able to speak to without stuttering.

[arcplaysgames]

ZETTAI

UNMEI

MOKUSHIROKU

also like for real this should be playing for this climb, its the BEST VERSION of ZUM, fucking fight me

I am gonna learn to mod this game just to put this in there.

Hello, I love this man, he is now my second favorite villain in any video game, we made it, we are there. I love this horrible soft-voice motherfucker.

yes i love the understanding between Reverie and Maruki

LIKE! THIS ENTIRE CAMPAIGN. ALL OF IT. Should recontextualize the entirety of the game for returning players.

I still VIVIDLY remember when Morgana was explaining the mechanics of stealing treasures and shit with Kamoshida and I was like "I... am unsure I am comfortable with this?" And like the game knew I would be, ten minutes later The Shiho Thing Happened to basically force me as the player to justify the action.

And it's been an ethical rollercoaster since then and I am certain you are all sick of me bitching about it, i'm SURE.

But I feel like Royal, this bonus campaign, is forcing the question on you. What is your line? What level of collateral destruction and pain does it take for you to decide it's okay to take someone's mind and change it?

Because that's what the Thieves have been doing this whole time! Call it distorted desires or hearts or whatever you want, but also remember that Reverie sat across from Sae and changed her without touching her Treasure.

And think about Maruki and good intentions. He is right that if you stop looking at the small pictures and look at the Big Picture of the world, everyone is suffering under oppressive systems.

He is literally the Thieves, he just got a key to the world's heart. What have the Thieves been doing but imposing their own ethics/morals/cognition over top of other people's?

I already have an idea about how in a perfect world I would have restructured Persona 5 as a whole to make it a masterpiece, someone remember to ask me later.

maruki honey i'm trying to make a pitch for how you're the best villain of all time, what are you-- you know what, it's fine. I have seen worse and it suits you.

(Also, I have looked up Happy Science since we started and WOW THAT'S A REFRANCE HUH. The main scenario person for Royal fucking hates this cult huh. Good for them!)

/turns off "Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku"

/turns on "Red Signal"

Y'ai 'ng'ngah yog-sothotoh h'ee-l'geb f'ai throdog uaaaah

Interesting that Maruki's Persona is an outer god who is lulled by the madness around him. It doesn't tend to, like, give a shit. So if it's a facet of Maruki, does that mean he really does intend to work his eldritch magic to "fix" the work and then walk away, standing separate, not participating in the world he's made?

That's supported by the way he left Rumi to her happy like and the way he leaves the Thieves in the bad end, actually. That's interesting.

oh. oh okay.

oh this fight is gonna suck huh.

This is the first fight in a While that I have had trouble with, and it only just entered phase two. So. Okay this may be a bit.

but also lemme say: my HOURS OF WORK in making Athena into a fucking MONSTER of a persona has paid HUGE dividends. fuck Izanagi, I have level 92 Athena and she is going to spike a spear to the core of the world.

[script-a-world]

Submitted via Google Form:

I was wondering about how can I have primitive (like stone age? or maybe further a long if required) cultures in my story build large or tall structures. My idea is that a structure like what you see of Stonehenge would actually be remnants of 200m tall towers or something. Would love to go as high as possible, so any ideas on that? Also I suppose what sort of rock type would be needed? It's an entirely fictional place so earth stuff can be changed, but perhaps not drastically - I mean it's still an earth like planet.

Addy: The first question I have is the societal pressure that is pushing them to build up instead of out. Generally speaking, walkable cities without elevators top out at around 5 stories, since going up a lot of stairs takes time and is pretty annoying, especially if you're having to do so consistently throughout the day. Let's call it 15 meters, or around 50 ft. If that's carved into rock (ala Mesa Verde or Derinkuyu), you can get that kind of height out of stone, but anything with multiple stories is generally going to require either A) some kind of woodworking capability or B) pyramid structures. Put simply, rock is heavy, and it does not do well in long, flat sections like floors. That's why we put rebar in concrete, and why we have supporting beams underneath concrete floor systems. Woodworking lets you build a more sophisticated structure (more interior space), while a pyramid structure gets taller.

One thing that building up does is it allows for a higher population density, which is excellent for cities. Cities (and permanent buildings in general) mean agriculture, which means that we're looking at the Neolithic period (or later). That's also going to give you organized labor to pull from, as well as possible written records (not always, but usually).

We see plenty of two-story buildings in the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, such as the Palace of Nestor (Bronze Age) and Çatalhöyük (Neolithic). Looking beyond that, ziggurats get us even taller. Chogha Zanbil is a wonderful example of a large ziggurat. It had five levels and was ~53m tall by ~105m wide. A ziggurat is made by creating an artificial platform of mud brick, and then building successively smaller platforms on top of that. They're a form of step pyramid, and got to be quite tall.

The largest (and tallest) buildings are, by far, the pyramids of Egypt. The Great Pyramid of Giza (aka Pyramid of Khufu) was originally ~146m tall and ~230m on a side.

Often, when looking up settlements, we see mentions of settlement layers or levels. Çatalhöyük has 18, I believe. These aren't multiple stories of buildings, but are instead closer to bulldozing a site and just building right on top of the old stuff. That's how you end up with, say, Roman ruins under various European cities. They just got built over. Since you're looking at height, I wanted to go ahead and clarify that for you.

Overall, 200 meters is a lot. The Burj Khalifa is five times the height of the Pyramid of Khufu, and weighs about ⅙th of it. Stone is heavy, and building with it is, frankly, a lot of work. They had the advantage of canals and boats to bring up all the stone to the site, and it still took them 20 years. Now, mind you, many ancient structures were built over the course of generations. Ziggurats, temples, offices of administration… things are and were built over a long period of time (la Sagrada Familia is a good modern example).

If you want there to be minimal remains, well, free stone is free stone! Many ancient structures have been taken down that way.

I don't have a solid answer for you, but I hope this gives you a few ideas to think about.

Feral: If you want tall and ancient, look to the mountains. Literally. Raqmu, now known as Petra, in Jordan, is partially carved into a canyon. Probably not in its known form until the 3rd century BCE, it could still serve as inspiration for your worldbuilding. The cliff-dwellings of the Pueblo peoples in North and Central America could also act as inspiration for you. Although probably not built until the 12th century CE, caves are probably some of the first humans ever inhabited given the natural shelter they provide.

[tiredassmage]

hello the randomizer has picked these 5 questions for Rhystyl 🚆 TRAIN - what is their answer to the trolley problem? 💙 BLUE HEART - do they miss their s/o easily? how do they act when their s/o isn't around? ⚾ BASEBALL - can they play sports? what is their best position if they play a team sport? what's their strong suit (speed, power etc.)? 💡 LIGHTBULB - is your oc a planner? do they write down every small detail or just wing it? 👻 GHOST - do they believe in ghosts? what are their "ghostly experiences", if any?

"I'm sure some of these won't be too long" she said, like a complete fool. As if I haven't been dealing with Tyr's bullshit for like a year, why would I expect any of my children to be different? Also I have so much Rhyst lore that lives solely in my head so far, so thank you for finally giving me a bit of a release valve for some of it, lol.

[Emoji OC Asks!]

🚆 TRAIN - what is their answer to the trolley problem?

In essence, he has to face a trolley problem equivalent on Belsavis. Of course, Rhyst would have loved to avoid ever having to make such a choice and he’d honestly probably loathe the thing posed solely as a thought experiment because there’s no version of this in which he doesn’t feel some level of guilt and he deals with plenty enough of it as it is without adding ‘theoretical guilt’ onto the pile.

He’s not proud to say Scourge at his shoulder rather consistently reminding him that Krannus was abusing his nature as a Jedi to lay traps and delays in his path got to him, but when the good doctor explains that a reactor failure on Belsavis would decimate the entire system and not only the planet, the weight is finally enough to sway Rhyst’s heavy heart. He’s but one Jedi trying to take on multiple failsafe plots to destroy an entire planet and fuel one of the most evil and powerful entities in the galaxy and training teaches them that attachment to one life over the good of the many is wrong. It’s on that reasoning that he leaves the doctor behind with an apology in the deep prison sector. If Krannus gained any more ground on them and he failed in his mission, well… There’s little use in saying he’d never be able to live with the guilt because none of them would’ve had the opportunity. Instead, he’ll have to live with the doctor’s uncertain fate weighing on top of the damage he did to Republic forces and interests while under the Emperor’s influence.

As an aside, I imagine he tried to pull a favor out of Special Forces and send someone looking for the doctor, but with how widespread the riots and troubles are on Belsavis, Republic forces are already spread thin. Rhyst doesn’t have the heart to protest too heavily when the rebuke comes that it’s unfortunate, but it’s resources the Republic is unlikely to have available to spare. Scourge remains sharp at his shoulder to remind him their fight against the Emperor will not wait. They must make their leave while they can.

💙 BLUE HEART - do they miss their s/o easily? how do they act when their s/o isn't around?

First, to establish some info about his relationships in the first place! Kira and Rhyst finish their training together and get Knighted around the same time; Maltaf shoulders finishing Kira’s training in tandem with Rhyst’s to accommodate Master Kiwiik’s assignment and her eventual recovery from Tatooine. It’s a somewhat unusual arrangement, but the pressures of such large-scale threats have affected the pacing and proctoring of training before and they are all certain it will do so again.

That established, him and Kira do start to experiment together. Kira taps into Rhyst’s lighter side and helps pull his head out of the every-growing weight of their responsibilities. She’s an incredibly important link in his support network. They share the struggle of figuring out who they are as both people and Jedi. He’s not always as certain as her about exactly where their relationship is going, but, in the end, he does know he values her as a friend and the world’s a lighter, somewhat brighter place when she hits him with a smile and a “tough guy” quip.

He tends to be a bit more reserved whenever she’s not at his side, but they’re more than capable of operating independently and Rhyst tries to for a time after everything that transpires on the Fortress and his time under the Emperor’s influence. He pushes her away for a time, struggling to wrangle with a tangled mess of guilt, fear, and renewed doubts about his place in the Order and the kind of responsibilities the Council seemed to almost carelessly entrust to him because he’s not quite sure he’s ready to share that vulnerability and in no way does he want to destabilize her again, either. Eventually, however, she pulls him back, gently tracing the new scar across his cheek from his duel with Master Maltaf to reassure him he’s not alone, that she doesn’t hold him alone responsible for the fall. He believed in her, after all. Now she’s going to return the favor.

Furthermore, I believe they do benefit from time apart when Zakuul invades, even if it is difficult. They both benefit from the space to face their inner uncertainties separately and reaffirm their own identities before they become more seriously involved. Their relationship during the class stories has its tender moments for sure, but they are young lovers and it’s reflected in the nature of their relationship. Rhyst doesn’t turn her away, but given the burdens they weather, he’s not in the right place to give her or ask for something more until they’ve got a bit more growth and experience under their belts.

Still, their returns from time apart on separate missions is usually met in a playful kiss and Kira scooped up into his arms. And usually plenty of light jesting on Kira’s part.

⚾ BASEBALL - can they play sports? what is their best position if they play a team sport? what's their strong suit (speed, power etc.)?

It’s not his favorite hobby, but he wouldn’t mind casually playing with some friends. His favored role would likely be in some sort of support position where he can rally teammates and watch their backs.

While Maltaf was key to teaching him the tactics and philosophies of the Jedi Shadows, Satia was his primary teacher on saber techniques and imparted her coordination and efficiency with a dual-bladed saber upon him. In short, he’s got good footwork and he’s a cooperative sort, which makes playing on a team a far smoother endeavor.

💡 LIGHTBULB - is your oc a planner? do they write down every small detail or just wing it?

Not particularly. While somewhat inquisitive, he’s not a deep-diver when it comes to planning or researching. Maltaf taught him to trust in his feelings, explore them, and ultimately follow his heart. I wouldn’t put him too strongly on either end of the spectrum; he’s not as detail-heavy as Satia, nor is he quite as impulsive as Kira can be. Rhyst likes to know what is expected of him, but he doesn’t want to be so mired in minute details that it’s difficult to finally act.

👻 GHOST - do they believe in ghosts? what are their "ghostly experiences", if any?

While Maltaf became his primary master, Master Orgus Din still played a role in his training and it is partly his influence after his fall that allows Maltaf and Satia the opening they need to free him from the Emperor’s influence. Rhyst’s skill with the Force is fairly moderate, allowing him occasional visions of what may come to pass and aiding his perception during combat, allowing for betting dodging and acrobatic strikes. The concept of the Force and the universe having a greater will is certainly a large one for him to wrangle, but he doesn’t doubt that it certainly seems it does, sometimes. It’d seem a bit ridiculous if he didn’t considering what he owes Orgus and Satia for breaking through the Emperor’s Darkness or even seeing what eventually becomes of Revan with his own eyes.

[hydrachea]

Apparantly Fate Grand Order is finally available in most european play stores since august! You have been playing that game since a while before, do you have some tips for new players?

IT IS INDEED! The NA server has gone global, they extended the number of supported countries - probably because of Google's new payment policy.

I have been playing for two years now, so I can hopefully give you tips to help you get started. As a disclaimer, I don't play other gacha games outside of FGO aside from a few short past experiences, so I'm not too sure how it compares to games like Arknights or Genshin in terms of unit management and such, but I'll do my best. It'll also probably definitely get long, so I'll stuff it under a Read More.

Here goes:

Follow your heart (or dick, or whatever else leads you), not tier lists. FGO is specifically designed so it can be cleared with f2p servants, and every single servant is viable. Source: I have a grailed Demon King Nobunaga, who always ends up at the very bottom of every tier list, and I've wrecked several bosses using her. Tier lists mean nothing, roll for your favorites.

On global, we're two years behind the JP server, meaning you can predict with decent accuracy (minus surprise banners) when you'll be able to roll for your favorite next. Exploit the hell out of this. The r/grandorder subreddit has a lot of useful resources that I encourage you to check out, like an event compendium and a list of upcoming banners for every servant in the game.

I mentioned it already, but low rarity servants (1* to 3*) are worth the investment and should be leveled. I believe low rarity units are often useless in other gacha games and only 4/5/6* (if applicable) units are really used - this isn't the case for FGO, and ignoring low rarities is a mistake a lot of people who are used to other gachas make. This is both because low rarities all have their own niche and use, and because FGO uses a party cost mechanic, meaning you can't have a full party of gold servants.

Similarly, there are no "must roll" servants, no matter how much hype you might see around them. FGO is single player: there's no PVP, no ranking system, and the only way you'll interact with others is through getting help from them by borrowing their servants.

Learn how class advantage works and exploit it. This is what will determine whether you win a fight or lose it, more than the rarity of your servants. It's fairly easy to learn and memorize, and you can check it in several spots on the game UI.

Don't neglect your servants' skills. I did back when I started, because I had no idea what the fuck I was doing, but these can also make or break a fight. Obviously don't stress yourself over them, but take the time to learn what they do.

Prioritize events, and catch up on the story when there's no event you can play. Most of them are only locked behind Fuyuki, the tutorial chapter, or Orléans, the first chapter. Events will reward you with grails, materials, and in some cases an entire free 4* servant, so they're really worth playing! Gamepress has walkthroughs for most of them as well. On that note, those free servants can only be max leveled using special materials that you can only obtain through their event, so make sure to grab these. There will always be 4, and they'll either be mission rewards or in the event shop.

Don't burn your dupes... Immediately. In FGO, duplicate copies of a servant are used to upgrade their noble phantasm, up to NP5 (one base copy and 4 dupes). Once they're NP5, you can start burning the new dupes, but try to avoid doing it before that.

Grail for love. Holy Grails are a rare resource you get for completing chapters or events, and they can be used to raise a servant's level cap up to 100, or up to 120 if you have the necessary servant coins. Because they're rare, it's best to use them on your favorites!

I don't know if it's a common practice in other gachas, but don't reroll. It's a waste of time, and you can make do with your tutorial roll and Friend Points rolls since as I mentioned earlier, lower rarities can and will get you through the game.

Supports can, and will carry you, so make sure to Follow or send Friend requests to other players! Following allows you to use their servants without them needing to do anything, and being friends means they can use yours in return. You have to use a support servant in your party no matter what, so make the most of it!

Set up your own support list, and split it (as in, make a separate set for normal and event support. people really appreciate that). Yes, even if the only servants you can set up for now are the one 4* you got from your tutorial roll, Mash, and a bunch of 1-3*. No, really, it won't annoy people that you have a baby lineup, because you are a baby. You can update it with stronger servants as you roll them.

The sooner you learn how Craft Essences work, the better. They're added bonuses you can equip to each servant in your party, and they also increase their stats (either attack, hp, or both). They can be a huge help in battle if you learn the synergy between them and your servants.

Look things up! FGO is a massive game, it's popular, and it's been running since 2015. There's a huge amount of resources available (though some a bit out of date) and they can help you set your party up for a difficult fight, learn how a specific servant works, and so on. My account is arguably late game by now, and I still regularly look up stuff when I roll a new servant or get stuck on a particularly frustrating boss.

Ask for help! You know the reputation reddit has? Well it's not exactly unwarranted, but the subreddit I mentioned earlier has a weekly help thread where anyone can come and ask for advice, and the people there are really just there to help and do their best to. Or you're free to DM me, turns out I love helping!

That was... A lot, but I think this is all stuff I wish I'd been told when I started myself because the game has a lot going on and it can be very confusing. Most of all though, have fun! And feel free to DM me if you want to send me a friend request, my support list is aimed towards helping new accounts ~

[jeremy-ken-anderson]

Challenge Modes

I admit that I like Path of Exile's compromise:

If your hardcore character dies, they are no longer hardcore. They're not instantly deleted, or marked unplayable. It's just that you can only be a hardcore character if you've never died.

Though I do also understand the Nuzlocke and Diablo system of intentionally drawing attention to the loss for maximum emotional damage. It's not about the hurt; not really. It's about the threat, and the potential for thrills coming from that.

I've been trying out Hardcore City of Heroes for a couple days. The rules are:

It's solo. In an MMO. Okay, sure. Well, we've gotta do SOMEthing with those quiet servers, right?

If you die, you're dead. Delete the character.

You must take on an arch-villain every 10 levels. If you hit level 10 and haven't defeated Frostfire, go into your settings and turn off xp.

You can't set dungeon levels to be lower-level than you are.

You can't use the auction house.

You can't use the Architect (fan-made levels), with its ridiculous power-leveling options.

My personal rule for it, in the Nuzlocke's "emotional damage" camp:

You have to spend at least 5 minutes making your character.

Like NoNat1s who - as far as I know - invented the rule set, I've also opted to eschew the movement power pools (flight, teleportation, super speed, super leaping) until at least level 14. I'm also avoiding the extra powers and enhancements from the (now free) Pay 2 Win Vendor. I don't think, as he does, that Radio Missions are actually a huge boost in solo play. They give good rewards, but the bulk of that reward is xp and you've got the arch-villains to make sure the player's actually enhancing. What the rule against them really does - and I support this - is make the player look for stuff to do. Go find badges. Seek out plot. All that. The other thing it might do, which I consider very dumb, is make players just...grind overworld trash mobs. There's nothing added to the game experience for that, but considering overworld mobs are one of your main hazards it'd be against the spirit of the thing to forbid fighting them.

I dunno how well the feeling will hold up, but I'll admit that this challenge mode did add tension and interest and hype to the first 10 levels of the game and the battle with Frostfire. You have to approach every battle with care. My character is a Scrapper called Limit Cut, and she's a mecha with an energy katana and super reflexes. I picked this specifically to increase the challenge: Scrapper is the most glass-cannon of the melee archetypes, and while its combat and Stalker's are very similar the Stalker archetype has the ridiculous advantage (in a challenge like this especially) of always getting to choose the rules of engagement by being able to hide (occasionally mid-battle, potentially dropping aggro and resetting enemy mobs).

The "cannon" side of it has come in handy; Limit Cut is really good at tearing up enemies and shredding their defenses to make it easier to keep hitting them.

But Super Reflexes as a defense style is very risky; It's entirely predicated on not getting hit, and lacks good answers to enemies that can consistently hit you anyway (like reducing the incoming damage, increasing your health pool, or healing back up quickly). If I make it past 20 I'll be pretty shocked.

[songwatch8]

Excitement About Services

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[freelancemmorg]

Command key mac razer

COMMAND KEY MAC RAZER FOR MAC

COMMAND KEY MAC RAZER MANUAL

COMMAND KEY MAC RAZER PRO

COMMAND KEY MAC RAZER FOR MAC

Still, I didn’t expect to find a community made port of iCUE for Mac and Linux, so many thanks to the developers of this app.

Initial setup of the mouse is clunky and takes a whileĪnd then there’s the fact that even having to run a third-party program is a major problem, particularly on Corsair’s part.

I’ve had the number keys not work in specific applications, possibly due to the way it sends those inputs to the system. When you select this option from the Key Assignment Menu, a submenu will appear which allows you to choose a prerecorded macro command.

It does add a bit of input lag to the overall operation of the mouse.

It will take around ten seconds or so for CKB to detect your mouse, during which time the mouse works, but only on default settings, and lags when moving around.

In addition, you can switch between up to 20 profiles for each game or avatar at the press of a button. While it’s certainly improved over time, CKB is still third-party software and not without its faults: 100+ programmable keys with on-the-fly macro recording The Razer Anansi’s fully-programmable keys allow you to further expand your repertoire of boss-killing macros, giving you total control with convenient and instantaneous command executions. Dedicated arrow keys Windows/Mac compatible Hot-swappable option. It lowers (or raises) the DPI while you hold down the button and is useful for taking accurate shots in games where you’d usually like a high DPI. Razer Cynosa Chroma Gaming Keyboard: Individually Backlit RGB Keys - Spill-Resistant. Razer Anansi MMO Keyboard - 7 thumb modifier keys - 5 additional macro keys - while this is mac version, the command key works the same as the windows key.

COMMAND KEY MAC RAZER MANUAL

The “Sniper” setting is a manual setting you can activate using another mouse button. Under the “Performance” tab, you can configure the DPI settings, and set up different DPI levels with different colors-at least on mice that support it. Among all Mac keyboard commands, this is the easiest. My question is does anyone use the blackwidow keyboard setup with a MacBook and does it work well with the MacBook because I know it isn't Mac compatible yet. Hi everyone I'm new to the forums and I love playing Starcraft 2 on my brand new 17inch MacBook I recently bought last week.

COMMAND KEY MAC RAZER PRO

It has a very basic setup but only seems to let you type in one line of text. On macOS, you could use something like BetterTouchTool to configure macros, though I’ve found it to be too slow for use in games. To quickly shut down a Mac: Control + Option + Command + Eject. Razer blackwidow ultimate keyboard with MacBook pro question. Use the Snipping Tool to capture a specific area. One thing the software is lacking is a macro system. One is to use the Windows key + Print Screen shortcut to capture the entire screen.

[bella-studyblr]

Task Management:

Creating + Maintaining a Schoolwork Schedule

Key elements

Your schedule suits your individual time/task management preferences.

It is flexible enough to accommodate sudden changes, plus fluctuating energy levels, states of concentration, symptoms and moods.

Daily tasks are not over-whelming; they are small enough that they are achievable.

You do not get “burned out.”

It allows you to be consistent.

Steps to create your schedule

Decide if you want your planner to be paper or digital

Find an “order” that’s logical and achievable for you (more on this later)

Refer to your addendum/syllabus and write down all the assignments, tests and other events taking place that week/month (and their due-dates).

Then break these down, assigning tasks to each day of the week (more on this later).

Break down your tasks even further (more on this later).

Decide if you want to follow a simple daily to-do list or a timed schedule (more on this later).

Find your “order(s)”

Mandatory: Schedule assignments around other commitments (work, social, hobbies, etc.).

Do the hardest task first to get it out of the way (so that the rest of your tasks are less daunting, and because your smaller tasks require less energy therefore can be done even after completing the hard task).

Do the easiest task first to build momentum (give yourself a feeling of accomplishment which will motivate you to continue, and boost your self-confidence early in the day to establish a positive mindset for the rest of the day).

Do the task that’s due first to minimize deadline stress, and so your assignments don’t fall through the cracks (causing you to get discouraged and lose momentum).

Plan according to your energy level throughout the day and week: Do you have Pilates once a week? Maybe you can reserve that day for easier assignments. If you know you’re going to be tired for whatever reason, account for that in your planning.

Consider your state of concentration: If you know you’re too groggy or spaced out for the first hour of your day, you can either schedule easy tasks in that time, or none at all. If you take a medication in the afternoon/evening that makes you tired, schedule easier tasks or none, and get harder tasks done earlier/later in the day. If you have ADHD and crowded places mess with your concentration, but you like studying at a café, go when it’s not busy.

Be mindful of your emotions and symptoms: If you have depression, or are prone to depressive episodes, you’ll need to consider that when scheduling. You might have to rework your entire schedule when you get into a depressive episode (like adding lots of breaks). If suddenly you’re going through a big life event (like a breakup), you need to account for that when scheduling. For instance, if you can’t stand to be alone, maybe you can go out instead of staying in, and if your motivation is low, you may need to up your reward-system or break down your tasks even more.

Break down this week/month’s tasks

Refer to your addendum/syllabus and write down all your due dates for the time period you’re scheduling for.

Based on due dates, outside commitments, predictions of energy/mood/symptoms, assign assignments to the days of the week/month that make most sense for you.

Break down daily tasks into sub-tasks

You can do this (in advance) for your full week/month’s assignments, or do it every morning/evening.

Generally, your assignments will follow a variation of this formula: brainstorm, create an outline, research, write rough draft, edit and revise. Test/exam prep will look something like: check to see what the test is based on, pinpoint important sections, review to see how well you know the material, create a list of items to study, rewrite select notes, make flash cards, study topic 1, study topic 2, etc.

What are the individual components of these steps? Here are some examples. Brainstorm: what should my topic be, what should my thesis be, what points can support my thesis, what do I need to research, what questions do I need to ask my prof? Outline: topic, thesis, points, conclusion. Research: write down all the important parts from each source (separately), then sift through to sort into Supporting Point 1, Supporting Point 2, etc. Rough draft: opening statement(s), intro, point 1, point 2, etc., conclusion, closing statement(s). Edit/revise: read and check for grammar only, then read again and check for spelling only, read again and check for cohesiveness only, etc. Topic 1: Part A, Part B, etc.

Each of these small components can be individual items on your to-do list. Big tasks like, “write essay” are too big for most people. Even “write rough draft” is daunting. If you start with something specific and small like brainstorming, and work your way up, it’s a lot easier to approach. Plus, being able to check off tasks more often and more easily will boost your confidence and your sense of competence, thus building momentum.

Here is a sample to-do list: Research X for Point 1 of Literary Essay, create outline for History Essay, Edit/Revise Assignment 1, study Topic 1 and Topic 2 for Test 1.

To-do list or time-based schedule?

To do list: Write down all your assignments for the day. Put them in the order you want to do them, or go through them intuitively (based on what you feel like doing, or what’s most practical at the time/place you’re at).

Timed-based: Write down all your assignments, then write down the time you’re going to do each of them. You could set reminders or alarms if you want, or simply refer to the list. There’s an awesome app I recommend if this is your thing. It’s called Structured (iOS only).

Curate your study environment for maximum focus

Eliminate distractions such as uncomfortable clothing, sounds (or silence), phone and computer notifications, clutter in the room and on your desk, people who may try to talk to you (shut your door and/or inform them that you’re busy).

Designate a space to doing homework only and avoid spaces that you associate with other things (do not study in bed, as you will want to relax or sleep, and/or you will mess with your sleep by weakening the bed’s association with sleep).

Build associations: Incorporate other events and items into your study/homework routine that you only use while doing that, so that you associate those things with studying/homework (examples: specific playlists, pencils/pens, cups/bottles, scents, rituals, decor, etc.).

Ensure good lighting (preferably including daylight).

Get dressed in clothes that make you feel good about yourself. They don’t have to be “professional” and they should definitely be comfortable. Do not stay in your pyjamas. Believe me, I know this can be hard, and I love PJ’s. But they are not good for productivity.

Don’t “multi-task.” It may feel like you’re getting more done this way, but by splitting your focus, not only do tasks take longer, they also diminish in quality. Commit to the task you’re doing.

Meditate: You can even meditate for just 1-5 mins right before studying, homework and/or classes.

Practice self care (daily!)

Sleep (enough, well, and regularly).

Daylight: Get outside, work by windows, use a light therapy box. These can help regulate your sleep, improve and maintain mental health, and boost energy.

Fresh air: Getting outside even for a couple minutes can help you refresh and reset, and feel good about yourself and your life. Fresh oxygen can help you wake up and is great for your health. Even just opening your window can do a lot for your mood, energy and motivation.

Movement: Try to move at least once per day. The benefits of exercise are numerous and immense.

Healthy and consistent eating: Avoid spikes in insulin levels by eating regularly so you don’t have extreme dips in your energy level. Also, brain power uses calories too, so make sure you’re eating consistently, and try to eat healthy. There are so many other reasons eating consistently is good for your health (and by extension, your productivity).

Relaxation and leisure: Make time for fun and socializing, as well as intentional relaxation. Hobbies, movies/tv, time with friends/family, meditation, baths, progressive muscle relaxation, etc.

Therapy: Your therapy sessions are not daily, but you can do 5 minutes of inner-work per day based on what you and your therapist are currently working on. Working with a therapist is a great way to stay on track with your goals, and develop the skills and positive mindset required for success in school.

Reward yourself

Track progress: Reflect on all the assignments you’ve completed and your grades to remind yourself that you’re capable!

Completing to-do lists daily maintains a sense of accomplishment which keeps your momentum going. Check those items off! Or give yourself gold stars! ⭐️

Treat yourself with non-food rewards: Tie completed school work with fun tasks like video games, or take yourself out for coffee, or some other small (non-food) outing. What I’m trying to do right now is not do my leisure activities until my daily tasks are done.

Develop a positive mindset

Take promises you make to yourself seriously. The more you break promises to yourself, the easier it will get to continue breaking promises. You will lose respect for yourself which lowers motivation, and you will lose trust in yourself which can become debilitating as well. The more you keep promises, the easier it will get, the more motivated you’ll become, and the more you’ll trust and respect yourself. Your confidence will improve, and you’ll feel better about yourself. Productivity is choosing yourself. Discipline is choosing what’s best for you instead of what you feel like doing in the moment. Discipline is a muscle, and like any muscle, it can be strengthened, and it can atrophy.

Remember your “why.” What is the end goal of being in school? What’s your career path, and why did you choose it? What will your life be like when you have that career? What would your life be like if you gave up and didn’t make it to your goal? Aiming for your dream while running from your nightmare is a great strategy for maintaining motivation. Lighting a fire under your *** can be a huge motivator.

Remember how good you feel when you get schoolwork done, and let this motivate you to stay consistent. You can also remember how you feel when you don’t get work done, but definitely focus more on the positive!

Go to therapy and/or hire a coach. There are SO many benefits to therapy and I’d honestly need a whole other post to get into it. You don’t need to be depressed or mentally ill at all in order to benefit from talking to a therapist. They can even help you with time management, procrastination, motivation and more! If you can afford it, please do it. It’s such a worthwhile investment.

Be consistent

No “zero days.” Do at least a bit of homework or studying every day so you don’t slip into vacation mode. Make schoolwork a daily part of your life, so it just becomes the norm.

Build productivity momentum (track progress, check items off your to-do list daily, treat yourself, keep promises to yourself, remember your “why,” remember how success feels).

Stay on top of projects. Your assignments are made up of smaller tasks you assign yourself across time. “Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.” - Robert Collier

Avoid burnout (more on this later).

Keep it interesting (more on this later).

Avoid burnout

Self-care: shower and/or bathe regularly, maintain proper sleep habits, stay hydrated, take care of your skin, do relaxation activities like meditation and reading, do fun activities, pamper yourself every now and then with face masks or foot baths, take your meds as prescribed, eat well and regularly, get outside often, move daily, etc.

Break up study/homework sessions into small, manageable chunks of time, with constructive (refreshing) breaks in between.

Break assignments down into even smaller tasks so that you aren’t over-working yourself during the course of a day, and so that you don’t overwhelm yourself (the stress can lead to burnout).

School-life balance: Keep up with your social life as best as you can, make time for your hobbies, maintain self-care, say no to things that don’t serve you, etc. Try to follow through with scheduled schoolwork 100% of the time, but know that you won’t. Sometimes you’ll need to prioritize mental health over schoolwork (be careful though, this is a very fine line, and a slippery slope). Sometimes things will come up and it’ll be out of your control. But more than anything else, there will be times when you just decide to prioritize something else like fun and socializing over schoolwork. This is why your schedule needs to be flexible: to accommodate sudden invites to hang out and random decisions to skip a homework/study session, but more importantly, flexibility will reduce the odds that you’ll skip in the first place. If your schedule includes hobbies and socializing, and anything else that’s important to you, then you won’t feel deprived. If you have school-life balance, you’ll have more of yourself to devote to schoolwork when it’s time to.

Keep it interesting

Romanticize your life by putting effort into making all of your daily tasks a special occasion.

Make meals and drinks special by using your favourite dinnerware and cutlery. Perhaps even incorporate extra elements such as: a beautiful tablecloth, napkins, candles and/or dim lighting, music, wearing your favourite clothing, etc.

Pretend you’re the main character in a movie about a successful, productive student (because you are the main character in your life).

Make games out of studying if this is something that interests you (the Forest app comes to mind).

Use lots of colours in your notes and buy colourful stationary! 🌈

Vary your approach/methods if needed to avoid boredom.

Study with friends (online or in person).

Reward yourself often.

Remember your “why.”