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hikayeplays · 8 months

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Steam Next Fest October 2023

Alright let's see as many Demos as possible!

1. Ocelot Sunrise

A nice roguelite bullet hell with various levels (only one playable in the demo) and a sci fi scavengers story and a comics/borderlandesque aesthetic that makes the cutscenes very nice to look at. The background music is a bop too. Alas the controller controls are not completely implemented yet and quite clunky to use in a mixed way, however the power ups and the weapons seems really fun to play with.

7.5/10

Wishlisted

2. ASTRA: Knights of Veda

On first impact a bread and butter jrpg with all the pros and cons of the genre like huge bazongas! Regardless of which category you consider them in. The artstyle in game and in battle is expecially nice with this sort of "dress-up paper doll" look that sets it somewhat apart and the cutscene style for the evil faction and the dream realm is quite good. The controls are nice and intuitive enough although it needs a mouse to click on certain things like equipment. The voice acting is good enough? I'd say but the audio levels mixing leaves to be desired in some parts. Now the cons: it required to make an account even to play the demo and it has an obligatory post download 8 gb of additional content, there are "daily reward" and buyable cosmetics but most aggravating of all (for me) there are minutes of cutscenes every 5 minutes or so of gameplay.

5/10

Not for me

3. Estate Agent Simulator

The first bugged demo. The second prompt for the italian tutorial popped up with this half baked and definitely not italian way and had to restart the game in english

The gameplay itself is fine? For a game like this? Certainly not particularly nice nor particularly bad but the camera bobbing is atrocious, it gave me nausea after I cleaned the first house, the game was also completely silent. I'll add a +1 for the promise of a pettable dog

4/10

4. Lose CTRL

A surreal satirical you rage you lose puzzle game in which you play as Billy as he tries to climb the corporate ladder to reach a segway. The game mess with your controls and your mind in a mix between Get Over It and Brazil (1985). The split screen capabilities intrigue me although I wonder how it could work with keyboard and mouse controls. The general style is charming and distinctive but also amateurish and rough around the edges. To try, at least once.

7/10

Wishlisted

5. Leila

Leila is a chill and relaxing kinda lofi click and drag puzzle game that goes back the memory lane in a coming of age(?) Tale for a middle aged woman, the titular Leila. The puzzles shown have a nice variety between styles and difficulties, and they are certainly meant for someone looking to lubricate those neurons. The art and the background music are pretty nice and the voice acting is quite good too. If you like click and drag puzzles I feel that wishlisting this one (and always trying the demo before) maybe one of your best bets so far.

8/10

6. Tales from the Dancing Moon

An old-school-ish rpg inspired by runescape in which you run around doing errands for the townsfolk and at the same time try to unravel the mistery of your memory loss, the presence of a smartphone that you can use to take photos in game gives it a mild isekai flavour but not too strong based on what I've seen. The controls appear fluid enough and the sound design while not spectacular does it's job. The character creation menu is surprisingly in-depth for this kind of games.

6.5/10

Runescape wannabe

7. There's Always a Madman: Fight or Flight

A text based spy adventure in which you play as this super special agent and have to choose between different options both in action and dialogue. While the story itself seems nice the absence of any voice action or any background image besides some solid background color makes the experience hoverwelmingly boring as you are left to click repeatedly thru text.

3/10

I yawned

8. Rocket!

A mix between a shoot them up and a roguelite bullet hell heavily inspired by galaga and the classics. While the concept is nice and seems intriguing enough and I don't doubt it may end up garnering quite the cult following like many other niche games the controls are exceedingly hard and finicky, the spaceship appear to drift incontrollably with no apparent rhyme or reason.

4/10

9. Aureole: Wings of Hope

An incredibly fun and novelty platformer/dasher game where you follow the tale of two angels while you speed and dash and jump at full force thru obstacles in the shape of a bouncy halo. The mechanics are surprisingly simple and incredibly flexible at the same time, creating a gameplay that can be adjusted to your own needs, I appreciated particularly the ability to "freeze" while you charge a jump or a dash. Despite not being a platformer lover I absolutely adored this little demo to bits, so far the only that has left me truly wanting more.

9/10

Wishlisted

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iamnotparticularlyproud · 3 years

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PPB Square: Kink Discovery | @peterparkerbingo

word count: 2.7k rating: mature warnings: none ao3 link: https://bit.ly/3xpiBdx

Summary: Bucky and Peter have been together for a while, but Peter can’t bring himself to talk to his boyfriend about how their sex life is a bit - uh, well, boring. Instead, Peter searches Bucky’s laptop while he isn’t home for any sign of kink whatsoever. To say it doesn’t go as he planned would be an understatement.

Bucky’s amazing. So, so amazing, and Peter could go on about it for days - about his silly nicknames, the way he makes the Brooklyn drawl sound adorable, his unexpected dorkiness and razor sharp wit, how his hands are so calloused but he holds Peter so softly--

Days, Peter could come up with these for days.

So, it’s not like there’s anything he wishes he could change about their relationship. It’s - they’re - perfect, everything’s been perfect. Bucky’s just so nice, and after Beck, Peter wasn’t sure he’d ever be in a relationship again, let alone one so - so good. So healthy, and so supportive.

It’s just--

Their sex is so vanilla. Painfully vanilla. The most unconventional Bucky gets is with his dirty talk, and, yeah, Peter loves how his boyfriend will call him his sweet lil boy, and tell Peter how good he takes a thick cock in his tight ass, but that's about as far as Bucky ever goes.

And that - that isn’t a bad thing, Peter knows that, it’s just. Boring, sometimes, is all.

Peter wishes he could talk to Bucky about it, because the man always stresses communication and talking problems out, but it’s just so embarrassing. Peter’s just thinking about it and he’s flushed, so how could he say the word kink out loud?

He can’t. He really, really can’t.

So Peter does the only other thing he can think to do.

He steals Bucky’s laptop and rummages for any signs of kink - anything to suggest his boyfriend isn’t as vanilla as it seems. Peter knows he doesn’t have long - Bucky’s out getting takeout from their favorite Thai place, and it isn’t too far - so he doesn’t waste time as he searches all the keywords he can think of in Bucky’s unorganized folders, his internet history that’s never been cleared, the hard drive Peter got him because he complained about memory but Peter was 99% sure he never touched - he was right - and then tries his luck with the recycle bin, but--

There’s not just no sign of kink.

There’s nothing. There’s no porn at all.

Peter’s mind is blown. He hadn’t even considered that he wouldn’t find porn, he thought that everyone watched porn - and unless Bucky knew how to delete specific pages from his browser history, which Peter heavily doubts, because, c'mon - but apparently, Bucky doesn’t.

He considers that, maybe, since Bucky is nearly a decade older than him, he consumes his porn in a different way. Maybe physical movies or, godforbid, magazines.

Peter’s considering looking through Bucky’s drawers and closets until he finds proof of pornography consumption, but then someone’s clearing their throat behind him.

“Jesus, how do you--” Peter exclaims, because it’s nowhere near the first time this six foot hunk of a man has snuck up on him. Then, he glances at the clunky computer in his lap that is obviously not his, and back at Bucky, who’s looking at the laptop, and then at Peter.

“What’re you doin’ with my computer?”

Peter panics, not because Bucky seems upset, because he doesn’t, just - confused, but it’s such a weird thing to be doing, and he can’t lie at all, and this isn’t--

“Does that say porn?” Bucky asks, suddenly leaning over Peter’s shoulder, and he just sounds amused, but Peter goes on the defensive anyway.

“I-It’s just, you never, and I - this isn’t me wanting you to change, or--”

Bucky moves quickly when Peter starts that familiar stress-ramble; he circles around the couch, puts the plastic bag filled with food down on the coffee table and sits next to him, wrapping an arm around his back and shushing him kindly.

“Slow down, doll.” Bucky smiles, sincerity etched in his crow’s feet, “Can’t understand you when you’re talkin’ too fast, remember?”

Peter stops. He nods, then he takes a breath. When he lets it go, Bucky tells him to take a deeper one, so he does, and as he breathes it out, he feels the alarm fade.

Not completely, though. Not with the evidence of his snooping in his lap.

With a glance back at where porn is still typed out in the recycle bin’s search bar and a chuckle, Bucky asks, almost laughing, “What were you doin’, sweetheart?”

Peter doesn’t expect it, but the fight drains from his body. It’s him accepting his fate, he realizes belatedly.

“I, uh,” Peter pauses, because it’s still so difficult to say the words, “was looking for porn.”

Bucky laughs for real this time, and Peter closes his eyes with a sigh. That wasn’t what he meant to say, at all.

“No - I was looking for y-your porn, like, what you watch,” Peter explains, and Bucky is still laughing, but he waves a hand.

“Yeah, I got that.” He says, making an effort to curb his laughter, “Why, though?”

Peter bites his lip. "Do you watch porn?”

He was scared that meeting Bucky’s question with a question would frustrate the man, but he only looks more amused.

“Why would I?”

Huh?

“What?”

“Why would I watch porn?” Bucky sounds genuinely confused, “We have sex almost everyday.”

Almost, Peter nearly stresses, but catches himself. Obviously, he’s dramatically misread the situation.

“Y-Yeah, but,” Peter tries to come up with something, anything, “like, maybe, before we dated?”

“I know it’s kinda old, but I got the thing not too long before we met, actually.”

That bit of information also sends Peter reeling, and he almost argues about it - because the laptop isn’t 'kinda old,' it’s ancient - but Bucky speaks before he does.

“Were you lookin’ for the kinda porn I’m into?”

Peter nearly sags with relief. How does he always manage to get it before Peter has to explain?

“Yeah.”

Bucky’s smile shifts, and it’s - he likes that, Peter notices, and, it’s - it's sexual.

“What, did you wanna tease me?” Bucky licks his lips, “Rile me up?”

Oh. That works, and it’s pretty true, even. Peter can work with that.

He nods. Bucky continues, and he looks so pleased.

“It’s you, sugar,” Bucky brings his hand to Peter’s cheek, and his hold is so gentle, but the calluses are rough, and it’s such a satisfying dichotomy that Peter can’t help but lean into it, “You get me wild.”

If only. Peter’s never seen him be wild.

But he couldn’t say that. Not when Bucky sounds like he absolutely means it, and it makes Peter’s heart flutter.

Peter has been a bit weird lately.

Well, Peter is always a bit weird, but it’s a part of his charm. He’s been acting extra weird lately, Bucky’s noticed, and while it’s just as endearing, it’s confusing, too.

He almost calls Peter out on it after he’s found him searching for porn on his computer - more than he had already, anyway - but he just gets so tense when Bucky tries to make him really talk about something. He doesn’t want to bring up that energy - not so late, anyway.

So Bucky plans to talk to him about it tomorrow.

And Peter thwarts that plan as soon as they wake up. Usually, he’s eager to spend the last day of their shared weekend off together, but before they’ve even had their coffee, Peter’s rushing out the door with the excuse of meeting up with his college friends at a cafe. Not too long later he texted they were going to do an impromptu study group for an upcoming quiz, then, after five hours, texted him they were going to hang out more.

Bucky tries not to be suspicious of or retaliatory to Peter even more than he’s learned to be with his partners, because the kid’s not had a great track record with boyfriends, to say the least, but this is ridiculous. When he’s been gone for a whole seven hours, under the guise of shoddy excuses, Bucky decides his curiosity needs to be sated more than Peter needs to be coddled, and his new plan is to snoop into Peter’s computer like the kid tried with him. Obviously, if he assumed Bucky would have porn on his laptop, Peter’s got some on his.

Bucky doesn’t plan to look until Peter texts that he’s on his way home, though. He thinks it’ll be funny if the kid finds himself where Bucky stood last night.

So, after Peter texted that he’s omw, Bucky pulls out his computer. It’s so sleek, thin and light, yet wide, and he hates using it, but he’s dying to know. How much porn could Peter possibly watch, considering how much they have sex, and how busy he’s kept as a student and part-time employee?

Not very much, Bucky assumes.

And holy fuck is he wrong.

He takes a wild guess and searches porn in the convenient - but too bulky, and ugly - search engine in the toolbar, and a stupidly obviously labeled folder, not porn don’t look, comes right up. There’s several subfolders - distinguishing the videos by kink, dear God - and dozens of videos in most of them, over a hundred in a few.

What the fuck.

Bucky’s surprised - Jesus Christ, so surprised - at so many things, but - where the fuck does Peter find the time to watch so much porn? What does it mean that he’s amassed such a collection? How has Bucky never walked in on him watching it? Is there a way to see how many hours of it there are, because it’s a stupidly high amount, definitely--

Bucky takes a breath. He leans back, too, because the little previews are too much to look at, and he takes a moment to appreciate just how understandable it was that Peter was so confused yesterday. It must be unthinkable, to not watch porn, to him. But - Peter’s never even mentioned porn before, not in the half-a-year they’ve been dating, so what was so different about yesterday?

The question has Bucky sitting back up, ready to delve deeper. He starts by reading the names of the folders closer, finding it’s not just organized by kink, but by his favorite pornstars, too. The kid’s got several, all with typical pornstar names, and according to the previews, he’s got a type for big and buff. Checks out.

With another deep, grounding breath, Bucky clicks on the folder name Ultimate Favorites. It’s only got thirteen videos in it, but all the titles are a fuckin’ doozy. It’s shit like Small Twink Fucked Hard, and Daddy Pounds His Boy Until He Cries, and - Jesus fuck - Dom Verbally Abuses Sub While Anally Abusing Him.

Bucky’s nauseous just reading that last one. He never would’ve guessed Peter was into such rough sex. Not just because the kid gets all wide-eyed and stuttery whenever sex is even mentioned, but because Peter’s just so - soft. In all the ways a person can be, really.

Bucky doesn’t know how to reconcile what he knows Peter to be like with this new information about him. He distantly knows that he doesn’t have to - that Peter’s kinks don't reflect anything about his personality, and acting like they do is only reductive - but the instinct is so strong, he can’t help but fruitlessly try.

Before he can reconsider, Bucky’s clicking on one of the more mildly titled videos - not that any of them are mild at all - just to understand better what Peter’s so into.

The video loads almost immediately, and it doesn’t waste time with any kind of introduction - there’s suddenly two men on the screen, their size difference resembling Bucky and Peter’s to a ridiculous degree, and the larger one pushes the smaller onto a bed carelessly before climbing on top of him. It’s a bunch of shoving and aggressive groping along with cruel words and name calling, and Bucky’s never been more turned off in his life. He can’t believe this porno is among Peter’s favorites - his boyfriend’s never once let on that this is the kind of sex he’s into.

While he’s staring, Bucky’s on screen lookalike finally quitting with the rough teasing and moving onto the brutal fucking, he hears Peter enter his apartment. Bucky doesn’t mute the video, and Peter’s light footsteps stop immediately. Bucky can just see the look on his face - that caught-in-the-headlights one that makes Peter look more like a deer than Bucky thought a person could - and he stifles a laugh as the steps pick back up, this time much more hesitant. When Peter’s a good foot into the living room, Bucky turns around, acting as if he hadn’t heard him coming in.

With the computer filling the room with sounds of slapping and exaggerated moans, Bucky greets, struggling to keep a smirk off his face, “Hi, honey. How was your day?”

Peter doesn’t answer him and - yep, there’s that look. Instead, he gapes like a fish at where his computer is steadied on Bucky’s lap, eyes wide and frantic.

“Why’d you never mention this, doll?” Bucky asks, dropping the act as Peter keeps looking like disaster is seconds away. He pauses the video and sets the laptop to the side, motioning for Peter to join him on the couch.

Peter does join him, albeit uncertain and his eyes still trained on the graphic image on the computer screen. He’s quiet as he sits as far as he can from Bucky.

“I--” Peter starts, gaze transfixed on the laptop. “Can you - close that?”

Bucky does. Peter keeps looking at it.

“You okay?” Bucky asks, chuckling.

Peter finally looks at him. He seems scared, Bucky realizes. He closes a bit of the distance between them, leaving some incase Peter feels suffocated, and puts a hand on the back of his neck, a touch Peter always leans into.

He does this time, too. He relaxes some, and Bucky prompts, “Were you scared to tell me?”

Peter relaxes even more, his shoulders falling. He nods. “I know you probably don’t care--”

Bucky interrupts to confirm with a nod of his own, “I don’t.”

“But it’s just--” Peter huffs, eyebrows furrowing, “Embarrassing.”

Bucky nods more. “It doesn’t change how I think about you.” He reassures Peter, “At all.”

“That's good.” Peter breathes, and Bucky can’t help but laugh softly. “I was starting to think it would gross you out.”

It kinda does, but Bucky doesn’t say that. It isn’t important how the porn he’s into makes Bucky feel.

“No, baby. It doesn’t.”

Peter leans into his side, and Bucky shifts to embrace him. Silence attempts to settle around them, but Bucky can’t help his need to tease.

“So… where’d you find the time to make such a collection?”

Peter cringes. “I, uh, started it years ago.”

Bucky raises his eyebrows. He doesn’t know why he didn’t assume that - it’s a seriously massive collection - but thinking of how far back years suggests, and how Peter is just twenty-two, he can’t help but ask for clarification.

“How many years you talkin’?”

“Uhh…” Peter trails off, seeming to really think about it. Bucky can see the moment he finds the answer, and his expression closes. “...several.”

Bucky decides to wager a guess. He doesn’t really know why he wants to know this answer, but he thinks it might help him understand just how into kink Peter is.

“Sixteen?”

Peter whines. “Jamie.”

Bucky’s eyes widen. “Fifteen?”

Peter pulls away a bit to cover his face with his hands, and he whines unintelligibly this time.

“Christ, it wasn’t younger than thirteen, was it?”

Peter shakes his head. “N-No, I--” His words are muffled by his palms, “I was fourteen.”

Bucky breathes a sigh of relief. Peter can’t lie for shit, so Bucky can tell he isn’t just appeasing him.

Then it hits him just how long Peter’s been fantasizing about this kind of sex.

“You’re really into this stuff, huh?”

Peter burrows further into his hands. Bucky rubs his back, and considers his next words carefully.

“If you want, we could explore some of the tamer stuff you have in there.”

Peter drops his hands from his face and he looks excited for all of two seconds. Then, his expression falls. “None of it’s… tame. I mean, I guess--” Peter cuts himself off to cough, wincing as he tries to get the words out, “uh, im-impact play isn’t, you know, hardcore, I guess.”

“Spanking and stuff?”

“...and stuff.” Peter says with a flush.

“We’ll start with spanking,” Bucky laughs, adding just in case, “if you want to.”

But it wasn’t necessary, because Peter brightens immediately.

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Peter smiles wide, and Bucky can’t help but return it with one of his own.

#peterparkerbingo2021 #winterspider #peter parker #bucky barnes #peter parker x bucky barnes #peter x bucky #nff #im pretty sure no warnings anyway #if u think i should add one jus tell me #for some reason i feel the need to defend myself for making bucky not. like. good with technology #bc thats not canon #but i dont have a reason i just think its funny #also for some reason im really embarrassed to post this #uhhhh #my writing

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dramarising-replacement · 3 years

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G1 Hoarder Revamp and the Mountain of Salt

Can we all just acknowledge how much of a total fuck up the new G1 ping system is? I feel bad because they obviously went through so much work and beta testing for this system but it’s absolutely garbage in practice. This isn’t meant as a huge roast (even though I do think the creators could do with getting knocked down a few pegs given how poorly they’ve treated people through this entire process, oops) but I hope they at least see this and see things that they can work on. Obviously, going to them and sharing this stuff in person isn’t possible since L from arcane is notorious for gossiping and overall not super trustworthy, so anon route we go. I’ll give credit where credit is due: they definitely tried to go on the right path and the coding is good in theory. The big issue here is that they tried to fix something that was not great but worked with something that is not great and barely works. Sure there are some good things about the new ping system: if it’s not busy it’s not longer than six or seven minutes to do all of it for a few dragons, which, compared to the previous method? Pretty good timing. Helps automatically tag some colorgroups without having people confused about if their dragon counts or not, and uh... probably something else. The cons far outweigh the pros though: -sheet can only be used one at a time: terrible in theory, terrible in practice, there’s no queue system either so you’re not even guaranteed to go next even if you’ve been waiting ages. This becomes a nightmare around any holiday, as we’ve seen around notn, since everyone flocks to the ping generator and then quickly abandons after seeing the mess there. This should have been something that they found a way to work with from the start, especially since the previous spreadsheet, despite how long it took to sift through if you were actually assed to do all the specifics, could still be used by multiple people. -userface issues: going into the spreadsheet and it may all just be blank, does this mean someone’s using it? Someone isn’t? If you go ahead and assume not you’re going to get warned that you overrode someone since they get the ID to your dragon, if you don’t assume then you end up waiting for ages like an idiot and someone else swoops up the opportunity. The loading bar on the side doesn’t help give that info either since it constantly reloads due to the poorly planned code. Where users have their cells selected also doesn’t help since that isn’t always accurate. There are many times where the loading bar isn’t seen going, there isn’t any visible text on the screen, no comment in the box, but it’s still in use. This isn’t viable for anyone, especially not people who don’t fully understand how the system works. If you’re going to make it for only one person’s use at a time, you need to ensure it’s easier to see what’s going on for everyone. -laggy as all get out: sure, I don’t have to go through 15 pages of different types of pings on the old G1 pinglist and shovel through all the duplicates and specifics list people, but having more than 13 dragons or even doing a bigger lair sale (or even just anything during notn) means you get to wait for the program to chug away for ages (as well as the easy chance for someone to just cut in halfway through a load and have you start all over again or wait) and hope that the three people behind you don’t get impatient or angry as you have to do three separate input sessions rather than massing them all together as you could with the previous spreadsheet. -poorly designed aesthetically: maybe this may sound petty to some, but the design of the system is pretty terrible in terms of layout and color choice. This isn’t to say it’s just ugly though; after speaking about it with people who aren’t neurotypical, have disordered thinking processes, and/or have generalized issues reading things (autism spectrum, dyslexia, semi-visually impaired, etc.) it’s pretty clear that the entire thing is not accessible whatsoever for anyone who can’t immediately decipher what anything is. Black text on bright red is not a good thing for most people beyond old MySpace edgies. If you, as someone without reading or comprehension difficulties, are having a difficult time focusing on it: maybe consider how difficult it’d be for anyone else. The way the rules or tutorial section is laid out also does not help in terms of accessibility! It’s clunky and hard to read, does not flow well, and doesn’t explain as thoroughly as you may think. If you’re someone who uses coded spreadsheets often? Yeah sure, it might be understood. If you’re not? Welp. Good luck kiddo. -very poor user help: this is on the mods or creators more than the spreadsheet itself. If someone has a problem, the first thing you should do is talk with them to find the difficulty and tackle it from there. I’ve seen, multiple times now, where either N (plague) or L (arcane) straight up tell people that they can’t help them and that they should just read the guide on the front page. Like sure, they read them, but something is tricky for them and they’re asking for help. They can read the rules and guide again but without outside help, guess what? Not gonna help them. If you just keep linking them the forum or telling them to read the first page it won’t actually help anyone! One of your jobs as the creators here is to help the community that you made it for, not just parrot that they need to read. Be better. Add that to a system which is not forgiving of any mistakes whatsoever and it becomes a terrible little cocktail. Also does not help that, despite their sugar attitude about having people test it in discord servers, the creators l and r/p (both arcane) don’t actually help people who need help using it. -wait times/queue: this ties in to an earlier point, but there’s no way to organize who goes next. Sure, it might sound strange, but when you have to wait ages to get access despite you being there ahead of anon llama/drama/dingdong/animal because they can all hop in ahead of you, it becomes frustrating. People don’t always type in that itty bitty box to say what they’re doing, and people easily erase it or write over it, or they just outright ignore it. Obviously not everyone is going to do that, but it’s way too easy for people who are greedy/entitled to step over those who are being polite and patient. -no quick ping options this is also kind of minor, but at least with the old spreadsheet you could just click in and say “okay, I just want to ping XXY general for this because I have a quick sale.” Guess what: nah. You have to go through the entire chugging process and queue and everything else just to get that snippet of information on who to ping. What once took maybe five clicks is now five minutes to thirty depending on how many people are using it. Wanna quick check if a dragon with XYZ colours you hatched is one that someone wants specifically? Nah, fuck you. You have to input all the data and wait instead of just doing what was once a super easy quick search. There is so much other shit wrong with this system and I’m honestly surprised N (plague) allowed them to do this. Sure, the old pinglist could have done with some updating, but that should have been done in the form of clearing redundant double pings, maybe a way to sort through specifics like ‘male only’ and mass copy names there. Quality of life things, not this just... total mess. I understand that L and R/P got it into their heads that they needed to fix it and that they wanted to take over the entire system themselves, but they should have kept their pride out of it for once. The sheet to input what dragons you want is also another entire nightmare. It’s frustrating to go through the google poll a dozen times to say exactly what colors/eyes/gender/pasta-shape/siesta-fiesta under the sun you want rather than have a quick way to input it by drop-downs or even just a text based option like the old one had. It’s so easy to forget what you put in or which one you want to put in this time, so easy to end up making mistakes that you don’t see, etc. It’s just not an effective system. It’s great in theory, and sure, it’s all sparkly and new, but it’s like admiring an aluminum trash can. Shiny and sparkly under the sun, still holding a whole lot of hot garbage though. I understand that some people may find it easier, and that’s great! I’ve used it for a few things and yeah, it’s okay, but I wish the old one was back given all the grief and frustration this one has caused. Obviously I’m not in the place to be like DO THIS OR DO THAT since I’m not the one making the sheet here, but I do feel like the people who use it have every right to give commentary and feedback where possible. Even moreso when the creators and team aren’t actually as welcoming as they try to appear to be. As much as it sucks, a lot of L and R/P’s (primarily L) false niceties have kind of come to the surface lately which makes this whole situation just that much more awkward. If people don’t feel like they can approach you because they know you’ll rip into them here or on the anon site immediately, maybe you shouldn’t be a main creator of something for the user base or a mod for a bigger group. Just some side-thought to all this other stuff. Big post, big rambles, I can’t bring myself to organise it though because I’m pretty fed up and tired. Take from this what you may, but basically fix your shit new G1 Hoarder peeps.

#Drama #Rant #Flight Rising #Long post #Shady #User #submission

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legionofpotatoes · 3 years

Note

Who exactly is your Shepard? What choices did you make? What was their background? Do you have any personal headcanons about them that the games didn't provide?

Hey nonnie, another big question in my inbox! I have a hard time believing y’all genuinely care about all this from me, but flattered nonetheless :D

Also I don’t have a good answer to this question? Couple of reasons there but main one’s that the last time I touched the OT was probably 2016-ish, which is why I’m so excited for MELE because I’ve been actively trying to forget as many little details as possible so I can have a nice, relatively fresh experience. It won’t work of course and all of that obsessive playthrough mania will bust out my memory box the second I boot it up and hear vigil, but like the thought keeps me warm.

Another reason is because I’m not uh great at creating original characters in videogames? Without turning them into vessels of my own values and temperament, more or less? Which is to say I haven’t made up too many personal headcanons that I can recall, no. My main was a colonist war hero, I don’t remember if I gave her a unique name at all. She was an empathetic team leader who tried her best to fix the wounds of dissent whenever she encountered them, but held nothing back when dealing with scumbags (I don’t think I ever really held Garrus back from vengeance, maybe once as an experiment. Never made a deal with the Dalatrass, even though the war was essentially at stake. Stabbed the stinkman much like everyone. Furiously supported the geth and very nearly trampled over the quarians for their sake, before coming to my senses a bit :D). She loved her crew, kept them loyal and together as much as she could, and chased after that turian booty when it was time to bone down. The ending was a LOT, and the two things I remember for sure is that she did all she could to keep the Crucible safe, and that she never chose Synthesis. Her survival stopped being a factor at that point, and she had gone for both Destroy and Control at various points. I think the latter is what I truly believe in deep down, in that naive trusting-life sort of way. I never subscribed to that indoctrination theory or any other esoteric concept that was not in the text; I found the thematic execution of the end choices pretty clunky, but functional overall. That’s kind-of where my Shepard’s psychology was at as well.

I overall enjoy finding nuggets of thematic coherence within these stories without focusing on characters too much (who had their own thematically rich arcs of course). In that vein, I did have this one headcanon that I semi-followed through via my Shepard’s decision-making; the text doesn’t REALLY support it, it’s kinda dangerously naive, but nothing overtly refutes it either. My Shepard always considered that the Crucible, much like the Relays and the Citadel, was also a concept seeded secretly by the Reapers, a goose chase task they tailor-made for each cycle to test the condition of empathy over apathy within the galaxy, to eventually discover an instance outside of predicted organic patterns and then work with its population on a way forward. Building, transporting, and docking the thing to the Citadel with an emissary of life present on-site would be the signal of success. The entire non-practicality and theatricality of the harvest would also make sense as an intentional demoralizing performance testing the weakest links of organic behavior that usually led to the self-destructive patterns in the first place.

In essence, the harvests weren’t just a reset button on intelligent life, they were also an accelerated worst-case scenario pressure test to reexamine the pattern theorem itself and hopefully find gaps. Hence the relays, hence the citadel, hence the crucible. Accelerating conditions. Because an AI’s mind would have to leave itself some margin of error; it would not just stand there surprised that Shepard showed up on the Crucible. It would be hoping for it every single cycle, because that would mean its prediction wasn’t accurate 100% of the time; it would mean that its logically shackled mind would finally let go of this catastrophically violent solution and undo the rat maze experiment the milky way had turned into.

Or at least that’s what I and my Shepard hoped the case was. The thing about this theory is that nothing really would have to change. The kid would still need to act surprised, the harvest would still need to proceed without any hindrances, life would still need to be tested to its limits. The music would still play and we would still have to dance, but this framework gave it all a moral purpose beyond just raw survival for Shepard. Because as important as defeating the Reapers was to her, it was almost as important for her to prove them wrong. Whatever their reasons may have been. And so I like to imagine she received that absolution in her conversation with the Starchild. I just like it when theme unabashedly leads everything, and when it doesn’t quite get there I just push and prod until I find some textual reference point to force it out :D This was mine.

(this all started forming in my head during the discussions with Hackett where he’d say no one was really sure WHAT the Crucible did, only that it required the help of every single race in order to be built and sheltered. Sounded like a textbook togetherness test to me! Of course it turned out to be a big fuel tank for the Citadel’s cool relay laser beam in the end. But I like to think it never really needed the Crucible to fire. It only needed it as a gesture of a cycle breaking through and earning the power to shape their own destiny. Which is why I also love the idea of the relays and citadel getting wiped out in the end; as individually tragic as it is for the characters, it is also the ultimate roll call of life’s liberation from apathy. The rat maze falls).

Hey this was another needlessly long answer to a very simple question huh! I don’t like it either!! Sorry!!!

#long post #I just cant talk in normal sized thoughts I am sorry genuinely honestly #very sorry #anon #asks #mass effect #was this even about my shepard?#you ask me who my shepard is basically means you asking me who I am which is an open invitation to my ego to blast full-volume #so there ya have it

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illusion-of-death · 3 years

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hey can you talk about the relationship between regan and cornwall in your ideal adaptation? i'm so into this murder couple, you have no idea!

Oh ABSOLUTELY this is like my OTP and I literally never shut up about them so

Regan and Cornwall are pretty much the polar opposite of Goneril and Albany—obviously this is venturing FAR into “purely headcanon” territory, but my thought process here is that while Regan’s marriage was surely political, she as a second-born child would not be nearly as sought-after as Goneril and therefore had more of a choice in the matter, and you know all this already; your post about it was so good and better than anything I could come up with at the moment. When I look at the text, I think they’re clearly in love, and even after Cornwall’s death Regan never quite seems to get over it. What bothers me about several of the adaptations I’ve seen is that they don’t seem to take this into account; they’re very “elder sisters evil” about it and make Regan behave ruthlessly to everyone, including her husband. Maybe this is because the first performance of this play I ever saw did not portray the sisters in such a black and white way, but all of the subsequent productions I saw that took the easy route just felt wrong to me.

I have Further Opinions about them all over my blog already, but we all know tumblr’s tagging system is broken so good luck finding it lol. TL;DR: Regan and Cornwall may be ruthlessly violent and textbook “evil”, but they are not so to each other: they both care very deeply for the other one, and also are constantly building each other up and egging each other on when their schemes turn more violent. Any adaptation of the play that I think portrays their relationship well ought to acknowledge that.

Here’s the thing about *my* adaptation of Lear: it’s a circus show, because I grew up performing in one and I only have one brain cell which is dedicated to combining things I love. This means that while there will be some voiceover, the majority of the story gets communicated through physical body acting rather than the actual words the characters speak. What gets semi-complicated about circus shows (but is also super fun) is that everyone in them is super typecast, since you’re not going to put someone who specializes in Acrobatics in a role that’s heavily composed of aerial acts. The way I wrote it, Regan and Cornwall have a lot of acts together, meaning that whoever’s in those roles are already going to have a ton of chemistry because they’ll have been training in said acts together even outside of the more theatrical choreography that they’d also be learning.

Let’s talk about 3.7 for a bit because that’s The Scene. Gloucester is bound to a chair on one end of the stage, a couple members of the servants ensemble are up on Silks in the background, and the main event is Regan and Cornwall on Pas de Deux, an apparatus very similar to Flying Silks but with narrower fabric (I think? I’ve never done this one; I have a few aerial acts but I mostly specialize in balance). Pas de Deux is arguably one of the most physically gruelling acts there is, and yet if you’re good at it you can make it look super easy, which is why it’s so commonly used for ~the romantic scene~ in contemporary circus shows like this one—seasoned audience members will probably get the vibe. This time, however, the soundtrack is not a soft romantic one, but a very driving, boarderline aggressive song to match the much more energetic way these two will be moving. Also of note about this act, since I realize many people are probably not familiar with it: you’re absolutely reliant on your partner to be able to do just about anything, and it’s pretty obvious to the audience that there wouldn’t be much of an act if it was just one of them. This makes Cornwall’s death halfway through the scene that much more jarring, because the act practically falls apart without him (I’m no choreographer, but I’d want to emphasize to whoever plays Regan that I want to see at least a few “attempted” tricks that just can’t be done without her partner before she exacts her revenge on the servant and takes Glousester’s second eye. Then she tries to help Cornwall stand—maybe they even manage one last finale trick where it looks like he’s barely holding on—I haven’t gotten too far into this yet, but my point here is that I’m going to be making this scene as emotional as possible). For the rest of the production, Regan no longer really has a partner in any of her acts—she had a few with Goneril at the beginning, but as their relationship falls apart so does their ability to perform together, Cornwall is dead, and anything she tries with Edmund will be undercut by Goneril getting involved as well. Visual symbolism!!

That’s the end, though—what about the beginning? Well, there’s the obvious “couple who yeets each other across the arena together stays together”, but also just general scene blocking; these two are always flanking each other’s sides, if one moves in a certain way the other will copy it, etc. Though I’ll be limited in the number of spoken lines I can include, since too much voiceover starts to sound clunky and fitting the actors with microphones is not an option, I’ll make an effort to include at least a few of the important ones (“my Regan counsels well”, “till noon? Till night, my lord, and all night too”) and of course direct the actors about the relationship these two have so that they can make their own decisions about the little things.

I don’t know where I’m going with this, really; it’s all still a fairly distant dream. I’ve got some people on board so far, but not nearly enough, and don’t even get me started on the complexities of finding a space to perform in or equipment to do it with, but things are slowly coming together and maybe some day Circus Lear will be a reality. For now, though, I just have four copies of this play on my desk to look at and I’ll have to content myself with those.

#idk what happened with the spacing here that’s a big yikes #thanks for the ask though!!! i love talking about this #long post #asks #shakespeare #king lear #circus lear #regan and cornwall

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lilibetts · 4 years

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Someone within a twenty feet radius loves you!

(Part 2/3, Theme 1)

Betty was going to delete LoveAlarm from her phone.

She should have deleted LoveAlarm off her phone.

But come Wednesday afternoon, she still hasn’t, and she couldn’t have told you why. A glutton for punishment, probably.

>>No, you’re just a hopeful romantic! Veronica texts her while she’s in the library during study hall, working on an English essay. >>The app is all about proximity. You don’t know who you simply haven’t been within twenty feet of yet. Or maybe they just haven’t downloaded the app.

Maybe so, yet Betty can’t help but feel like there is a fine line between hopeful and masochistic. She wants to text Veronica back with a passive-aggressive message about how Veronica has it easy with a bunch of pings and *at least* two people around the school who love her. But she doesn’t because that would be shitty.

The point is, LoveAlarm is still on her phone and she’s doing her best to forget all about it and her unexpectedly complicated feelings about Archie. That’s when it happens: she feels her phone buzzing across the wood table.

Frowning, she checks it, assuming it’s Veronica with more encouraging platitudes. Betty can scarcely believe what she sees, however:

Someone within a twenty feet radius loves you!

The red heart on her screen is practically vibrating off the phone as she watches in shock. Her eyes dart up and around, landing on every face surrounding her. There has to be what, twelve people in the library that could be within twenty feet of her? It’s a popular location for study hall, after all.

Someone is in love with her.

Was it Trev? Chuck? Sweet Pea? Alex C.? Tyler? Dilton? Of course it occurs to Betty that it could be a girl, but she isn’t up to date on who’s Out and who Veronica and Kevin are convinced are closeted. It definitely isn’t Ethel Muggs, who has started scowling at her every chance she gets lately.

The number on her phone goes back down to zero, so either the person turned their phone off or they just left her radius. Another frantic glance around only shows her the front doors swinging shut. Frowning, Betty realizes that Sweet Pea is no longer in the library and Trev has gotten up and walked over to a shelf in the back. Nobody seems to be doing anything with their phone.

Biting her lip, Betty considers her options, but there’s really only one solution.

*********************************************************

Jughead is in the Blue & Gold, fingers clacking away at the typewriter Betty had gotten him for his 16th birthday, Sweet Pea’s teasing words echoing in his ears, when said Hitchcock blonde comes bursting into the room.

“Juggie!” she exclaims a little breathlessly. She has one of those determined grins on her face that make his heart go pitter-patter.

Thankfully, his phone is off, so it can’t tell on him.

“I need your help.” She drags another chair up to his desk and sits down primly, spine straight and ankles crossed. /If you have the time./

/Of course. What’s up?/

Betty hesitates then, biting her lip. /I downloaded LoveAlarm,/ she says finally, arms and voice tentative. /Someone pinged it in the library earlier and I want you to help me find out who./ With that, Betty slaps down a piece of paper with a list of names on it. Jughead swallows hard.

He’s not an absolute moron, he did expect this. When presented with an unknown suitor, of course Betty Cooper would immediately start to investigate.

He could just tell her, but again, vulnerability is scary. As Tim Kreider wrote, “If you want to enjoy the rewards of being loved, you also have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known.” It’s a certainty that she’ll figure it out eventually. Maybe he’s being a coward, but hey, Betty *loves* solving mysteries.

Jughead doesn’t expect her love in return, he’s just flattered that he was the first one she thought of to help her figure out who pinged her LoveAlarm.

/Why are Sweet Pea and Trev’s names starred?/

/They left my radius around the same time my LoveAlarm went from 1 to 0./

When Jughead had decided to sneak into the library earlier and make her phone ping while he hid in the stacks behind her, he had been counting on the other students around her as cover but now, seeing that she’s zeroed in on two guys in particular has a pit opening up in his stomach.

“You’re a fucking idiot, Jones. Just tell her,” Sweet Pea had told him.

His hands feel clunky as he tries to sign. /And if it’s one of them, how would you feel?/

The question stymies Betty, who shakes her head and shrugs, gathering up her things. /I don’t know. Let’s just figure out who it is and I’ll figure out how I feel then./

“Okay,” Jughead ends up saying to her retreating back.

Thursday is simultaneously the most fun and the most torturous. In the morning, Jughead finds himself helping Betty stalk Sweet Pea down G Hallway, chatting him up to stall him near the Chem classrooms and surreptitiously waving her over once he ascertains that Sweet Pea has his phone out and turned on.

“Hey, Sweet Pea!”

Betty practically bounces as she comes to a stop next to him, eyes bright but biting her lip nervously. She’s balancing a 13”x9” tupperware container in her arms, and her phone is in her left hand, turned away from them so they can’t see LoveAlarm open on the screen.

Of course Jughead turned his own off as soon as he arrived at school. What do you think he is? An amateur?

“'Sup, Coop?” Sweet Pea doesn’t know a lot of sign language, but he smiles down at her easily. Jughead is overwhelmed by a sudden urge to kick him in the shin. “Are those for me?” Sweet Pea approximates sign with some basic pointing from the cupcakes in the tupperware container before pointing at himself.

“Uh…” Betty’s sneaking a glance at her phone and for a moment, Jughead is worried. “Yes, you can have one. They’re Boston Cream Pie cupcakes.”

He groans on the inside. Those are his favorite.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Sweet Pea murmurs, grabbing one and peeling away the liner so he can take a bite.

This time, Jughead’s groan may have been audible.

Betty catches Jughead’s eye and shakes her head. Great, that’s one name scratched off their list. To Sweet Pea, she says: “I better be off, or I’ll be late. Bye, guys!”

Jughead watches her leave, ponytail swishing from side to side. Sweet Pea watches him watch her leave for a moment before he clears his throat.

“Listen, Jones, I don’t mean to rush you and all, but...having a cute girl come up to you all smiles and offering you a cupcake—a damn delicious cupcake at that—might make a guy catch feelings. Just saying.” With that, Sweet Pea takes another bite of the cupcake, getting chocolate icing smeared all around his lips. Every chew he takes seems like a threat. A helpful threat.

“Lima Charlie,” Jughead sighs. Message received and understood. Sweet Pea’s older brother had been in the army and thus, he and Jughead had spent years using military jargon over walkie talkies as they snuck around Sunnyside. With a nod, Sweet Pea gives him an unnecessarily hard pat on the back and heads down the hallway.

When Jughead ducks into the Blue & Gold in between the next classes, he sees the tupperware container on his desk, next to his typewriter, a sticky note on top:

The rest are yours! I made your favorites, after all. -B

God I love you, Betty Cooper.

Lunchtime is nearly a disaster. Betty had roped the two of them into helping the Theater Club finish some set decoration for a production of Almost, Maine. All for nothing, because as it turns out, Trev is out for a dentist appointment. Still, Jughead manages to have fun being half-heartedly helpful while he eats his lunch—two ham sandwiches Betty brought in for him as a bribe for helping her with this—and Betty’s having a good time too, as evidenced by the fact she’s smiling so hard her eyes crinkle, and even when she tries to scrunch up her face to be mad at him eating more than painting, it just collapses into another giggling fit.

It’s when lunch is over and they’re heading up the aisle to where they’d left their things that Jughead remembers he left his phone on. Betty has hers with her, since she thought she would be testing Trevor’s phone for pings, and she’s barely five feet behind him.

Crap.

He hurries ahead and grabs it, depressing the power button. Just before the screen goes black, he could have sworn he saw his LoveAlarm app begin to open.

He doesn’t let himself think anything of it. In the rush, his thumb had probably hit the app button.

**************************************************************

Thursday night finds Betty pondering the mystery that still remains: the identity of the person who loves her. Sweet Pea has been eliminated from the list of possibilities, but Trev Brown remains a question mark.

Curled up in her thick socks and comfiest sweatpants, hair wet from her shower and starting to curl, Betty stares at her laptop screen as she contemplates their next step. Her and Jughead had bonded over their mutual love of The Baxter Brothers and Tracy True books as children, and they’d conducted more than one investigation together over the years, so it’s natural that Betty had gone to him for help with this, even if it’s a little embarrassing.

But why, a niggling little voice asks at the back of her mind. Jughead’s question comes back to her: what will she do if it’s Trev? She doesn’t know.

Trev’s...nice. He’s cute, and smart, and Betty doesn’t have the faintest idea what she’d do with the knowledge that he’s in love with her. Go on a date with him, she supposes, to at least see whether there is something there before she...breaks his heart? That’s what you do, right? You go to dinner at one of the few nicer restaurants in town or you go see a movie at the Bijou.

She doesn’t really want to think about this, Betty realizes, as her attention wanders from her Sleuthster search results to the ads along the column on the right. One ad catches her eye and she gasps, straightening in her chair and grabbing her phone. Her thumbs fly over the keys as before she hits [send].

<<Do you still have the reels for Rear Window?

>>Yes, why?

<<We should set the projector up in my basement and watch it this weekend. I’ll supply the snacks.

>>Capital idea, Betts, but how are you going to get all that junk food past the K9-level olfactory senses of Alice Cooper?

<<It just so happens that my mom and dad are going to visit Polly in Boston this weekend.

>>Cambridge. Just say Cambridge.

<<As long as we dispose of the evidence and air out the basement with some Febreeze, mom will be none the wiser. I’m sure Archie will donate his trash bin to the cause.

There’s a longer pause before Jughead replies.

>>It’s a plan

>>Speaking of plans, what do you need me to do tomorrow re: Mission Pings?

Betty grins and taps out the basic framework of how they’re going to corner Trev before the pizza party at lunch, but Jughead will have her phone on him so he can feel for her ping, and listen for Trev’s ping. A thought occurs to her and Betty suddenly feels selfish for insisting that Jug help her.

<<I meant to ask you...have you downloaded LoveAlarm?

>>What do you think?

>>Besides, I already know what it would say.

A terrible feeling, like a vise in her chest, takes her over as she reads and re-reads those words. How can Jughead believe this? Almost immediately on the heels of that thought is the reminder that Betty herself had been despondent on Tuesday when she allowed the melodramatic thought that ‘nobody was going to ever love her’ to take hold.

<<That’s bullshit. Any girl would be lucky to fall in love with you!

She means her words. Jughead may be antisocial, he may wear that crown beanie practically all the time, and okay, yes he can be the most extra fucking weirdo on the planet...but he’s also clever and passionate, she’s seen firsthand how caring and considerate he can be, and of course he’s objectively attractive.

Betty stares at the window that faces the Andrews’ home, with the roller shades that are always pulled down lately, and pictures Jughead’s face in her mind, how he’s a bit on the pretty side, especially with that mouth. She thinks about how jealous she’s been of that wild head of dark hair in the past, when she’s seen him with the hat off, and how over the past year he’s shot up another inch or two and seems to have filled out, especially in the arms—

>>From your thumbs to God’s ears, Betts. Night, I’ve gotta be up bright and early to help you catch the worm.

She lets out a huff of laughter and rolls her eyes even though she knows he can’t see her.

<<Night, Juggie.

#bughead #riverdaleevents #avarosier writes

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noctilucentstorm · 4 years

Text

Digimon Adventure: Review

Eposide 4: Birdramon Soars

Taichi finds himself in the Digital World, not with Koushiro, but with his friend Sora. Luckily, she’s a badass.

Spoilers below.

The episode has quite a lengthy recap, but I suppose that makes sense given the hiatus. We then pick up exactly where the last episode finished. Like Taichi, Sora’s phone stops working as soon as they enter the Digital World.

The digivices reveal another nifty trick: they can translate digicode for the user. Whether this applies to all digicode, or just holy texts connected to the Chosen isn’t exactly clear, but it raises another interesting bit of world-building.

The light points from Taichi’s digivice to a distant rainbow-looking mountain and the three begin their journey towards it. While the animation quality predictably seems to have dropped a little, the backgrounds have remained gorgeous. I really hope they keep that up at least. They also pass by different digimon, who rather than getting an introduction via a digimon analyser, just have their name in the bottom corner. Personally, I like this method because although it is a little clunky, it saves on time (and animation) while still introducing us to the different species. I don’t know about you, but I learn names much faster when I see them written down.

Suddenly, Piyomon jumps from the bushes to be caught by Sora. Given that all the Digimon they have encountered so far have been indifferent or friendly towards them, Sora’s lack of fear perhaps isn’t all that surprising. However, they’re soon given a reason to be afraid when Snimon reveals himself as Piyomon’s pursuer, angry because it thinks they’ve stolen its food. Snimon’s animation is probably the clunkiest, which is a shame given how fluid some of the fight scenes have been so far.

Taichi shows his recklessness by trying to hold off a digimon with scythes using a stick and luckily only winds up with said stick getting sliced apart. They make their escape by jumping into a river and Snimon seems to decide the pursuit is no longer worth the trouble.

OK, this might just be the translation, but I couldn’t help but laugh at this line. There’s literally only been one incident! New headcannon: Taichi totally exaggerated the digimon fights and Sora has no reason to doubt him. Also, Sora please ditch your hat. You look so awesome without it!

Koushiro calls and it turns out he’s in the Network and has managed to meet his partner, Tentomon. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, Koushiro’s laptop still works where the other electronic devices don’t. Something to do with its mysterious upgrade?

While Koushiro plans to search the Network, Taichi and Sora decide to continue to the mountain. Sora’s suggestion of following the river is a good one and she soon reveals why the bag she was lugging around seemed so heavy:

I was a little confused why Sora was so chill after arriving in a new world, but it turns out she is overly prepared for exactly this! Her shopping trip, which I’m assuming was prompted by news of the expanding blackout, has given them all the tools they need to survive (although I’m a little surprised that mini saw could cut such large pieces of wood – eh, let’s chalk that up to it being the Digital World).

On the river, things don’t go as smoothly as they hope as they run into rapids and Coelamon. It also seems they didn’t manage to evade Snimon as well as they thought and it attacks Piyomon and Sora while Taichi and Greymon are fighting Coelamon. Unlike previous episodes, Agumon gets an evolution sequence, which personally I found a little less impressive than the one from the previous episodes, but it’s still cool.

Sora tries to save Piyomon from Snimon’s jaws and manages to activate her digivice. It’s interesting because so far everyone has obtained their digivice in slightly different circumstances. It also raises the question: if Sora managed to get to the Digital World without hers, does that mean it’s possible for the Chosen to accidentally drag anyone nearby in with them? It could make for some dangerous situations in the future if that is the case. Then again, she was already Chosen without her digivice, so more likely than not she was able to go with Taichi because of that (and to move the plot forward).

The animation of the fight with Snimon picks up again and Birdramon looks pretty impressive! I’m not sure how I feel about the evolution/fight music. It’ll probably grow on me, but it felt a little generic.

After the fight Greymon devolves, but Birdramon doesn’t. That it happened due to a lapse in concentration could turn into an interesting weakness. From above Sora and Birdramon spot their true destination in the distance. At first, I thought Sora had amazing vision, but she was actually just using her new binoculars.

Not sure if anyone else has tried reading the digicode, but I can’t make sense of it. More importantly, Seraphimon’s statue is clearly visible. In the next frame we see Ophanimon, Varodurumon and… Angemon? The last one is a little unclear.

However, it looks like Taichi and Sora have a pursuer (yay!). And just in case you thought we’d skip the cliffhanger, Koushiro and Tentomon are suddenly swallowed by Whamon!

Final thoughts:

I enjoyed the episode and it made me want to continue watching. However, I think the weakness of introducing this cast in this order is quickly becoming apparent. Taichi, Koushiro and Sora have always been the most competent of the team under fire, and without Takeru to worry about, plus knowledge of the Network, Yamato is similarly capable. Because of this, the current cast’s reactions have felt a bit of a let-down and personally I didn’t think this episode added much that was new. Of course, it has introduced us to the Digital World, so I imagine the reaction from newcomers will be much more positive than mine, but from a character point of view, the episode felt a little flat. Taichi and Sora know each other and Piyomon didn’t have enough input to really change the dynamics. Compared to episode 4 of the original Adventure, which also featured Birdramon evolving for the first time, I didn’t feel I got a great impression of Sora or Piyomon’s characters beyond the superficial. I’m hoping this changes with the addition of the rest of the cast, since in the original Sora came into her own from her interactions with Jou, Mimi and Takeru.

I’m also a little nervous for the next episode, particularly with that preview. The foreshadowing of the Digital World’s lore has been really interesting so far, but I really want them to focus a bit on the characters before revealing the Chosen’s purpose… maybe that’s just me though. Oh well, at least Koushiro and Tentomon will get a chance to shine. Hopefully the next episode will focus more on them and Ogremon.

#digimon #digimon adventure:#digimon adventure: 2020 #da: spoilers #psi spoilers #digi spoilers #piyomon #Sora Takenouchi #taichi yagami #agumon

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rigelmejo · 4 years

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Review of Lingq and Reader Language Apps

My tentative review of lingq: Literally seems to serve the same function for me as the Pleco Reader. The positive benefit of using lingq - it highlights words you don’t know in blue, words you’ve started learning in yellow, and words you already know are left unhighlighted. This is motivating because the progress you make is clear, and the words you already know you don’t try to over-study or re-memorize (because my perfectionist tendencies LOVE to get hung up studying things I already know before progressing). Lingq also counts the words you’ve marked as known. That is the primary reason I’m trying the app - I wanted to gauge how many chinese words I actually can read and am familiar with.

However, the core negatives to lingq: their dictionary/lookup function for words is clunky and inconvienient. It only shows the most common translation at a quick click pop up and that isn’t necessarily nuanced or correct. The pop up is hard to get rid of because you have to expand it then exit out of it, which is inconvenient and slows down reading (I wish I could just click the pop-up again or click the word again to remove the translation pop up). It has options to search more in-depth definitions on sites like baidu, but all the steps that takes makes doing so just as time consuming as opening the internet browser or baidu app and searching it that way. So the dictionary option I find is lacking and inconvienient, and that affects ease of reading/ease of use. The dictionary feature IS better than the Idiom reader app, but Idiom reader app also has the ability to look up more in-depth definitions which takes just as much time as lingq/a web browser.

Basically - Pleco Reader is eons better than both of them. Pleco Reader’s only draw back in definitions, is it provides so many that the less familiar you are with chinese, the more its a puzzle of which definition applies (but usually the top ones are the most common, so it’s rarely an issue) - but a reader can’t be expected to know which meaning of 15 possible a writer may have intended, if that meaning’s one of the least common. So it’s just nice that pleco provides the less common ones so it’s easy to look up when those situations arise. In addition, Pleco Reader is very convenient to flip from dictionary explanations back to reader, not slowing the reading experience. Lingq ALSO has very few chinese materials in varying levels. It seems to rely on users uploading their own materials. So a lot of it seems to be ripped from a textbook, or web article, or native book. Pleco Reader in comparison has several graded readers available to purchase, which are great for picking materials at your actual reading level, with relatively high frequency words to learn, and with grammar that should be comprehensible. Also, pleco lets me import any of my own pdf, ebook, and txt documents, along with any website. So I can read webnovels on there, my own graded readers I’ve got from other places, etc. Pleco Reader is MUCH more convenient for reading virtually whatever you want, and it’s definitions are both easier to access (including most idioms you’re likely to encounter) and more likely to have most helpful definition.

Probably the biggest difference - Lingq is 12.99 a MONTH. Pleco Reader has a one time cost of 10-20 dollars (depending on the package you buy). Then Pleco sends you a code so if you ever lose your app/get a new phone/something goes wrong, you can enter the code and get back all your purchases. A one time cost is eons more affordable, and really kind of them. I especially like that they put in the effort to give you the ability to recover your purchase if you have any issues. I bought the 20 dollar package I think - so I could get the expanded dictionary, with pretty much any word or idiom I’d ever see, natural speech audio, and the Reader. It has been well worth it. I’ve been using pleco for like 4 months, so the longer I use it the more that cost seems minimal (it’d be like the equivalent of 5$ a month before, free now. Or the equivalent of the cost of Lingq for less than 2 months).

Lingq’s cost PER month I’m not sure I could feel justified in spending. The ONLY added benefit I see of using Lingq over Pleco, is lingq has color coded the words you know/don’t know/are learning, and lingq counts how many words you know. Those two features are motivating. But they’re just motivational benefits.

Other then that, Lingq has the following features: audio (Pleco Reader has this too), flashcards (using anki or memrise for free appear to be equally good or better than lingq’s feature, especially because you can simply export from lingq), cloze-like questions (again, memrise, anki, Quizlet, and even in some ways clozemaster are free alternatives). I personally hate flashcard type study, so I use memrise when necessary but generally would never use such features - so lingq’s flashcard features aren’t worthwhile for me. If they’re something you’re interested in - again, there seem to be free options available that are as good as or better than lingq.

So, at least for my own personal learning preferences, lingq does not seem to be worth it. Everything it provides is available somewhere else for cheaper, for a one time cost, or free. Pleco Reader I think offers the most benefits and convenience out of every Language-Reader app I’ve tried. Compared to: Lingq, idiom, using Baidu itself on a webpage, etc - closest comparison is the free ZhongWen chrome extension on chinese sites, I think that’s nearly as convienient as Pleco Reader and obviously the alternative for when you’re on a computer. Idiom is actually a really nice app considering it’s free, and it does serve the basic purpose (Pleco Reader is a one time purchase cost) - idiom has sometimes incorrect translations/audio, but over all if you read enough content then that’s just a few words a paragraph or page that you won’t be able to study. Those words can be looked up separately in a free dictionary app (like free Pleco’s dictionary, or google translate, or baidu) if they keep confusing you or keep seeming to be wrong.

Lingq just... does not seem worth 12.99 a month, for only the added benefit of making it obvious which words you know/don’t know/are studying. Other than that single ability, there are comparable tools out there that already does what Lingq does or better, for cheaper or free.

Overall, readers I would recommend:

Pleco Reader (10 dollars, or a bit more if you buy it in a package, single time purchase) - benefits include the only dictionary you’ll need, audio (per word or for entire text), flashcard making ability, option to import any ebook/txt/website, option to one-time purchase graded readers. Although paid, I appreciate that all purchases are one time only. On a phone, this is the app I overwhelmingly rely on - it has everything I need in one area. I personally like to open up mtlnovels.com and read the novels with dual chinese/english, so I can look at the english sentences afterward - and use Pleco Reader as I get through the chinese chunks to make sure I can look up words I don’t know. If I were going to start translating, I’d probably use this method so I could get a gist of the meaning in english, then go through each line and fix errors and improve the translation for idioms and less straightforward meanings. For reading for Ease, that method’s the best for me to get through the novels I want to read. For reading intensively, I just open up a novel I want to read in all chinese and chug through it using pleco to look up words I stumble on.

Free alternative: Zhongwen chrome extension. Equally extensive dictionary, links to grammar points, audio (per word), can read anything online or opened in a chrome browser (so you could open your txt documents in it) - sometimes works on subtitles on videos too. Subtitles on viki, on netflix, seem to be readable by zhongwen. It may work on some pdfs opened in chrome. Only available on computers. It’s really fantastic. If you’re on a computer I’d just recommend using this one overall.

Free Alternative: Idiom - app. dictionary is decent, but some errors or limitations mean occasionally looking up words in another free dictionary app (Google Translate, Baidu Translate, Pleco Dictionary). Machine audio (per word), also sometimes has errors. Can read anything on a website. There are some other readers that serve the same function as idiom, I’ve seen one for webnovels... but I think at idiom overall is as good as or better than the other options out there. Idiom does not auto-link you to novel websites, but if you can find them then you can put any url in. Idiom also works for MANY languages - so you can also use it for french/spanish/japanese/etc. Idiom is the app I use for french, since obviously Pleco Reader is just for chinese. For free readers, and readers in other languages, I think idiom’s the best bet. Lingq might have more appeal for language learners of other languages - since it IS a little better than idiom with providing the correct translations, but lingq’s translations are still off sometimes TOO. So, if you’re learning a language that isn’t chinese, I’d recommend trying Idiom for free and seeing if it’s useful to you before shelving out money for anything paid.

Not a reader, but there are two netflix dual subtitle chrome extensions that work really well for reading with a dictionary too, I’ll list them later when I look them up. These are ALSO available to use in many languages, so that’s nice. for both of the free dual subtitle extensions, Zhongwen also seems to work for them (if you ever want to look up a secondary definition).

Dictionary Apps:

Google Translate - good for drawing the characters, at least for me it has the easiest time recognizing what I’m trying to look up (I’m left handed and draw characters with my right on my phone so). When I’m watching tv its easy to open google and draw an unknown character in the app when I don’t know the pinyin. It usually only offers the most frequent/common definition, so it has limitations - but for a quick lookup of one word its usually convenient. For a quick gist of bigger chunks of text, google translate is also a quick way to do it although at least some words and phrases WILL probably be incorrect.

Pleco Dictionary - this part of the pleco app is free. The definitions are the most thorough I’ve seen, and the easiest to get a meaningful definition if google translate is inadequate. Pleco’s definitions hands down seem to be the best. You have to pay for one of the packages to access the ability to draw characters to look them up, to access idiom translations, natural voice pronunciations, and a much more massive dictionary. I just bought it - and now I rarely have to use google translate. Only negative - have to look up things word by word, or by idiom/phrase. Other then that, it’s the best one probably.

Baidu Translate - also free. Biggest benefit is the ability to put a url in and have it machine translate the entire page. Like google, it’s very useful to get a quick gist of bigger chunks of text, and a handful of those words or phrases may be translated wrong. It’s fun to use it to translate english pages to chinese (again, some errors will crop up). It’s sometimes better than Google translate for looking up individual words, and phrases - but also has its limitations.

Overall I use Baidu and Google for chunks of translations, and then Pleco or Zhongwen for specific words or phrases. It’s why I like using dual chinese/english mtlnovels.com in Pleco Reader - because then the big-chunk machine translated english is already provided (and the only thing Pleco Reader can’t do), and so I can just use pleco to go by word and phrase to get specific pieces of translation that are more accurate.

I use Google translate or Pleco Dictionary for looking up words by drawing characters - but this is only a free feature in Google translate (and honestly I think Google translate recognizes my handwriting better - so I usually use Google, then if the definition isn’t helpful I copy paste the text version of the word into pleco dictionary).

#language learning #lingq #pleco #chinese #review #i was so hopeful about lingq and it IS a good app its just #...i cannot justify it when idiom is literally fre #and pleco is a one time purchase thats less than a movie ticket and super well made

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cateringisalie · 4 years

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Games I played 2019 Edition

Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

It feels a little dismissive to say this is another 3D Mario game in line with 64, Sunshine, Galaxy. But that’s what it is. It’s very good and I enjoyed this.

What Remains of Edith Finch (PC)

Free on the Epic Store but something I had wanted to play for a while. A walking simulator (Dear Esthar, Gone Home) with some surprises and a unique location to explore.

Subnautica (PC)

Swimming in the ocean fills me with dread. Not that I don’t like swimming, or don’t like fish, or don’t find reefs and undersea landscapes beautiful. But I have a hard to shake fear of squid and octopuses, in addition to fears of other unknowns rising up from darkened depths, of being beside or below some structure that could be a refuge, but on all other sides is vast murky emptiness and the knowledge that (however unlikely) there are things out there and I am trapped with no way into the safety of what is right beside me. *shiver* With all that said, Subnautica sounds like it really should not be one for me. And yet. There have been moments of nerves (swimming around and under the hull of the Aurora; this lead to the one moment of genuine discomfort so far when (I think) the Reaper surged at me and I panicked and fled) and some twitchiness about what *might* be out there in the water. Mostly I’ve been okay and reasonably sure that anything vast and dangerous is not going to be hanging around so close to the start (just large and mostly harmless. Aside from goddamn sharks). Later was more fraught (descending into cave systems is unnerving and only got worse). In any case this is something like an under-water Minecraft. Beautiful and seemingly gargantuan. An easy (if uncomfortable) time-sink.

Rime (Switch)

Feels a lot like Ico but without Yorda.

BLOOD The Evil Within (PC)

There is... so much blood in this game. SO MUCH. Also sort of zombies but not really. And somehow I got past chapter 2 this time.

The Evil Within 2 (PC)

Not quite as much blood as last time - and more upfront with the framing and situation. And as was noted, possibly the closest we’re going to get to Silent Hills. More sneaking, more free-roaming. Troublesome final fights which somewhat amusingly lead into what is almost a setup for the first Silent Hill.

Prey (PC)

Mimics! Mimics everywhere! It looks like BioShock but it plays like Thief 2 or System Shock 2. Which is to say it gives you locations, abilities and then relies on you to figure out your routes and how to deal with any single situation. You can also disguise yourself as a coffee cup which will never cease to be amazing (and I really did like the slow realization that the first few tests with strange mundane solutions were geared towards later abilities you don’t yet have). Occasionally frustrating but satisfying.

Pathologic (PC)

“Should games be fun?” asks Hbomberguy. Maybe, he concludes. It’s an interesting point though given other media has stuff explicitly not fun - less so in games. The difference seems to be no one goes in expecting a non-fun experience. And this is not a fun game. I’m... glad (or relieved) I persevered through it (to the point I got access to all the endings - though most of the alternates make little sense without playing the story threads). Including this even if I only finished the Bachelor’s story line as it will take a lot of effort to get through Haruspex (I tried. I managed day 1 and then it got too much) and Changeling all over again.

Difficult in a different way to something like Dark Souls; while that (and the related games) are sold on punishing difficulty, that comes down to reflexes for the most part. Pathologic doesn’t really rely on anything like that (though there are combat situations). More, it requires endurance and perseverance of you the player even when everything it does is largely off-putting/you have a novel’s worth of text to read through (though if you liked Planescape: Torment, this will be a plus for you). Set movement speed, low health, difficult combat, everything’s expensive, a key indicator is not explained (receiving letters/how to read them) and goddammit that plague cloud is rushing me again. One of the only games I’ve been expressly told to not play in favor of its sequel (which reportedly also has difficulty sliders). But such was the intrigue I had to see it for myself.

Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

I played (it turns out) a lot of this on the Gameboy (to the 6th dungeon I think?) and then never managed to pick it up again or find where I was going next. ...how in the hells did I figure out some of this back in the day?! Still, good to revisit and see it through to the ending (...was expecting something a little more dramatic but oh well).

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

Final Fantasy XV leave you cold? Then try this. It’s old, occasionally clunky but full of charm and character. Female lead! Visible combat queues (like Final Fantasy X)! Not as stunning graphically as anything Square-Enix turned out (and it was on the PSP), but it all works. Estelle is amazing and the whole world/combat/field setup reminds me so strongly of Grandia that its impossible to resist (not least the sad lack of Grandia games. ...I might have bought it for the Switch)

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juju-on-that-yeet · 5 years

Text

It Takes a Village, Chapter 5/12

In this chapter, Dark decides to watch Yan for the day because SOMEONE has to (also Yan is cute don’t @ him). This is probably my favorite chapter so far. ;w;

Tags: @tired-eldritchhorror @peribloke (ask to be tagged!)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

Read on AO3!

Enjoy!

Dark may be annoyed that Yandere is currently a baby, but he supposes he shouldn’t just ignore him while waiting for him to go back to normal. He remembers how much Yandere enjoyed his company before, after all, and if Yandere remembers being avoided when he changes back he’ll no doubt be mad at Dark for it.

That’s what Dark tells himself, at least, and that’s what he tells Dr. Iplier one morning when he offers to be Yandere’s caretaker for the day.

It’s pragmatic. It makes sense. Dr. Iplier is busy enough, and Dark needs him to do his job and keep the other egos alive. Yandere needs to spend time with Dark for the reasons already established. It’s the most practical way to navigate the situation.

Maybe, also, he might just slightly, almost, sort of find baby Yandere completely adorable.

But that only needs to be between him and Yandere.

Dr. Iplier seems to accept Dark’s practical reasons for wanting to watch Yandere, and hands him over for the day after giving him supplies and telling him everything he needs to know about caring for a baby. Dark is fortunate that he has the ability to teleport back to his office, rather than walk through Ego, Inc. with a diaper bag on his shoulder.

“It’s going to be the two of us, today,” Dark tells Yandere as he lets the diaper bag slide off his shoulder onto the floor of his office, “I still have to work, but I hope you’ll enjoy my company, at least.”

“Lub Ahmie!” Yandere shouts, grabbing Dark’s cheeks so exuberantly it stings like a slap.

“I love you, too,” Dark answers with a pained wince. Still, he kisses the top of Yandere’s head before moving to sit down on the floor.

It’s only necessary. Dr. Iplier had told him that Yandere would want a lot of playtime. Also, there’s that persistent little fact that Yandere is exceedingly cute, and that watching him play might possibly be even cuter.

Dark rummages through the bag, sitting cross-legged with Yandere in his lap. Yandere watches him go through the bag with curious eyes until Dark pulls out a board book to move aside.

“Boog!” Yandere cries, pointing at the book and reaching for it.

“You want to look at this?” Dark asks.

Yandere’s continued grabby hands seem to be answer enough.

“Alright, here,” Dark says, giving the book up.

The book itself is small, with thick cardboard pages. It seems to be animal-themed, with a photo of a rabbit on the cover. Yandere opens the book to a random spot, featuring a photo of a snake on one side and a frog on the other. Each page has a square of fabric, probably meant to emulate the feel of each animal. Yandere pokes at the snake fabric.

“That’s what a snake feels like,” Dark says. He points to the snake photo. Yandere looks between the snake and the fabric with knit brows.

“Rub,” he finally announces.

“Rough? I would assume so,” Dark says. “Perhaps try the frog?” He points to it.

Yandere pokes at the fabric on the other page.

“Stiggy!” he exclaims, put doesn’t stop jabbing at it.

“I suppose a frog would be sticky,” Dark muses, “Which one is your favorite?”

Yandere pauses in thought for a moment, a look of concentration on his face. He eventually flips through the book’s pages again, though “flip” may be too strong a word: He clumsily pulls each page back and forth, grabbing the same page a couple times without meaning to. After a prolonged pause, he finally manages to find the page he wants; the one that shows a fluffy gray tabby kitten with a similarly-colored square of fluff.

“Gitty!” Yandere says triumphantly, practically slapping the kitten in the book.

“Ah, of course,” Dark says, unable to help his smile.

He’s faintly aware of how ridiculous this situation would look to anyone else: Dark, the leader of the egos, powerful and evil, holding a baby on his lap and talking through a board book with him. But there’s no one around to see, so Dark can’t bring himself to care. Not to mention how happy Yandere is: He’s full of giggles and loud proclamations of how each fabric square feels, and once he’s touched them all, of what each animal is. His pronunciation is poor, but somehow that only makes his words cuter. Once they’ve gone through the whole book, Dark decides he ought to get to work at his desk. Hopefully Yandere will be satisfied with sitting on his lap as he works.

He moves to start getting up, but is stopped by the stark pain of his muscles locking up.

He grunts, half in pain and half in annoyance. He should’ve known better than to sit on the floor for so long like that. Even all these years of having this body haven’t loosened it up any, and Dark still has to deal with soreness and tightness on a daily basis. The pain and locking could even be worse than it is now, and Dark knows it’ll get worse the longer he sits here.

The best solution would be to send Wilford a text asking for help. Wilford, despite his mental detachment from how Dark got his body, always seems to know how to get Dark on his feet at times like this. However, if Dark did that, Wilford would poof into Dark’s office to see him sitting next to a diaper bag, with Yandere in his arms brandishing a board book. Dark can only imagine how much Wilford would make fun of him for it.

He doesn’t need Wilford, he decides. He can get up himself.

“Ahmie?” Yandere asks, apparently noticing Dark’s thoughtful, irritated silence.

“Don’t worry, love,” Dark tells him, “I just…need to get up, is all.”

Dark realizes it’ll be easier to do that without Yandere on his lap, so he gently picks him up and sets him down beside him. Yandere makes a confused noise, and almost immediately tries to crawl back into Dark’s lap.

“No, love, wait a moment,” Dark tells him, gently pushing him back.

Yandere pouts, but stays where he is.

Dark makes another attempt to get up, unfolding his legs and starting to stand. He goes slowly this time, paying attention to which motions make his muscles start to ache and changing how he moves for each one he finds. After what feels like an eternity, he has both feet flat on the ground and begins to fully stand. But as his body starts to uncurl, it suddenly locks up again, sending a jolt of pain up his spine.

It’s a bad one. The moment it hits he can’t suppress a sharp cry, and he can’t stop himself from falling back down, landing hard this time.

“Ahmie!?” Yandere cries, fear and confusion mingling in his shrill voice.

Dark can’t answer for a long moment as he lays on the carpet of his office, breathing hard through the pain’s aftershock. Yandere crawls towards him as fast as he can manage, getting to his face within seconds to stare at him worriedly.

“I’m…alright,” Dark says through gritted teeth. It’s not the most convincing he’s ever been, and though Yandere clearly doesn’t believe him, he doesn’t say anything else for a long moment as he watches Dark try to recover his bearings. A long moment seem to be all he can wait for before speaking again.

“Ahmie hurt?” he asks, brows knitting in worry. His little face begins to crumble with sadness.

Great, Dark thinks. This was supposed to be fun for Yandere, and now he’s so worried about Dark that he’s about to cry. And Dark still can’t get up.

“No, darling, it’s alright,” Dark murmurs to Yandere, trying to sound reassuring despite his pain, “Don’t you cry. I’ll be up again in a minute.”

Yandere sniffles, and Dark continues to try moving. But he’s going nowhere fast, and a minute comes and goes with him mostly in the same position as before. He hasn’t had pain this bad in a while, but then again, he hasn’t exactly sat on the floor with no support before. He wasn’t prepared for how bad he’d feel, and he’s certainly paying for it now. The longer he goes without being able to get up, the more concerned and antsy Yandere seems to get. Finally, whether due to boredom or concern, Yandere finally loses patience.

“Ahn helb!” he exclaims.

“Pardon?” Dark asks. He looks over at Yandere to see him pushing himself to his feet in the clunky way babies do. When Yandere looks up, his gaze is determined.

“I helb Ahmie!” Yandere says, and begins to toddle away.

“Yandere, no, get back here!” Dark calls after him. He’s not about to let Yandere wander out of his sight while he’s supposed to be watching him. What if he falls down the stairs? What if he closes a door on his hand or foot?

“Helb!” Yandere insists as he continues walking. It’s a slow, wobbly process, and Dark would find it cute if the situation were different.

“Yandere, I told you no,” Dark says, letting a measure of sternness into his voice. “You are going to come back here and stay in this room.”

Yandere looks back at Dark, seemingly conflicted. But then Dark shifts, and pain makes him wince, and Yandere’s expression turns determined again.

“I helb!!” Yandere yells with finality, before beginning to walk away once more.

Dark sighs. He can’t physically stop Yandere like this; his aura travels inward when his body is giving him trouble.

“If you’re going to go,” Dark mutters, “Then get Wilford. Nobody else. Can you do that for me?”

Yandere’s expression brightens.

“I helb!” he exclaims one last time, and finally dashes out of the room.

Dark can only hope he doesn’t run into some misfortune on the way to find Wilford.

~~~

While Yandere is gone, Dark makes more attempts to get up, but none of them get him far. So a part of him is rather relieved when Wilford poofs into the room with Yandere on his hip.

Only a part of him, though.

“What’dya do this time, Darky?” Wilford asks, clearly already amused. His face brightens further when he sees the board book and diaper bag on the floor. “Were you on babysitting duty today?”

“That doesn’t concern you,” Dark growls, “I need you to help me up.”

“Ya sure? Ya look pretty cozy down there,” Wilford chuckles.

“Wil, I’m not in the mood.”

“You’re never in the mood, but I gotta poke fun at you sometimes! Why were you on the floor, anyway?”

“…If you must know, Yandere wanted to read a book.”

“Wait, Dark, were you sitting on the floor reading Yan a story?? I wish I’d gotten here sooner! I’m already laughing imagining it!”

“I can see.”

“So you–”

Wilford is cut off when Yandere smacks his cheek with a tiny hand, pouting fiercely.

“Ow!”

“Helb Ahmie!” Yandere yells.

“I was getting to that, Yanny,” Wilford grumbles.

“Helb!!” Yandere yells louder.

“Alright, alright, sheesh!” Wilford mutters.

“At least someone has a sense of urgency,” Dark muses.

“Don’t act so high and mighty from the floor…Floor Man.”

“Floor Man?”

“Yan threw me off my game, shaddup.”

To his credit, Wilford puts Yandere down and does actually help Dark get up. It takes a good minute or two, but with Wilford’s help, Dark is eventually able to uncurl and fully stand, though his body still aches.

“Thank you, Wil,” Dark says, sighing as he rolls his neck.

“Sure thing, Darky!” Wilford answers, scooping Yandere back up. “Whatcha gonna do now?”

“Try to get some work done,” Dark answers, “And keep an eye on Yandere.” He reaches out and chucks Yandere’s chin, making him giggle. “I don’t know when Dr. Iplier will be back for him.”

“Wait, lemme get this straight,” Wilford says, “You just got up from the hard, rough floor, just so you could go sit on your hard, rough desk chair to work?” His brows furrow. “Next time I come to help you up you won’t be able to walk!”

“I’ll be fine, Wilford,” Dark mutters, managing not to roll his eyes, “I sit at my desk chair all the time.”

“And you need my help to get out of it all the time.” Wilford shakes his head. “I think you need to relax for a while before you go back to work.”

“Are you really one to tell me what I need for my health?” Dark asks, raising an eyebrow. “Exactly how much sugar do you eat in a day?”

“At least I relax when I need to!”

“When you aren’t staying up all night editing your show, that is.”

Wilford sighs dramatically…a little too dramatically.

“Alright, fine, you win,” he groans, as if he’s admitting a great defeat, “Go ahead and sit in that chair and ruin your back, I won’t stop you. Go ahead and take Yan and I’ll leave you alone.”

Dark’s raised eyebrow returns. The display is just a touch above Wilford’s usual drama, and Dark hasn’t known Wilford to give up on something so easily. But Wilford is holding Yandere out for Dark to take, and they both know that Dark is just as stubborn as Wilford when he has a mind to be. Perhaps Wilford doesn’t feel like a drawn-out argument today.

So Dark nods and takes Yandere from Wilford, holding him to his chest. Yandere smiles brightly at him, reaching up his arms and hugging Dark’s neck. Dark can’t help but make a slight smile in return.

“Before I go, Darky,” Wilford says.

“Hm?” Dark replies, not looking up from Yandere.

“Hold onto Yan tight, alright?”

“…What?”

In the next moment, Wilford lifts Dark into the air bridal-style, laughing as Dark shouts with indignation. Dark’s aura flails wildly, but the smell of cotton candy fills the air as Wilford’s aura combats it, keeping Dark firmly in Wilford’s grip. Yandere is alarmed and confused at first, but he soon starts to laugh along with Wilford, finding the situation great fun.

Dark, however, does not.

“What are you doing!?” he yells, “Put me down, you idiot!”

“Nope!” Wilford replies cheerfully, “You’re going to your room to relax and rest your back!”

“Like hell I am, you moronic, insufferable–”

Wilford doesn’t let him finish before teleporting into Dark’s bedroom and setting Dark down on his bed.

“There!” Wilford exclaims triumphantly.

“What makes you believe I’ll stay here when you leave?” Dark asks dryly.

“Hmmmm,” Wilford hums, tapping his chin with thought. He grins. “I suppose I’ll just have to stay here with you and Yanny to make sure.”

“This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?” Dark groans as Wilford snaps his fingers, poofing a chair into existence behind him.

“Yep!” Wilford plops down into his seat. “I get to hang out with Yanny and keep you from completely breaking your back again.”

“Again?”

“Did I say “again”? Whatever. My point remains.”

Dark sighs, looking down at Yandere. Yandere looks up at him, placidly smiling.

“I think we’re stuck with him, love,” Dark tells him.

“Wiff an’ Ahmie!” Yandere exclaims, reaching up and patting Dark’s cheek.

A part of Dark can’t wait for Dr. Iplier to come back, but another, bigger part thinks this might be bearable with Yandere.

~~~

A few hours later sees Wilford holding Yandere in his lap, playing with him as Dark takes a break to read a book. He’s still sitting on his bed, leaning back against the pillows, and even he has to admit that his back is feeling much better than it would have if he’d gone back to work. He’s half-listening to Wilford and Yandere as he reads.

“Now Yandere, if you’re gonna be a baby, you need to be able to defend yourself!” Wilford is saying. “Let me see, I bet I can…”

He snaps his fingers, and Yandere’s katana poofs into Wilford’s lap next to Yandere. The baby’s eyes light up as he grabs at the sword’s hilt.

“Gana!” he exclaims.

“Wil, you can’t give him a katana,” Dark chimes in, “He’s going to hurt himself.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Wilford muses. He thinks a moment before snapping his fingers again. The katana instantly shrinks to be perfectly sized for Yandere, who now grabs it easily. “That’s better!”

“That’s not what I meant,” Dark sighs.

“So, Yan,” Wilford says to Yandere, ignoring Dark, “How much do you remember? What level are we starting at?”

Yandere holds the sword’s hilt with both hands and waves it haphazardly in the air, watching it glint in the room’s light. He giggles as he hacks the air, narrowly missing slicing off the end of Wilford’s moustache.

“Okay, Level One, then,” Wilford says.

At that moment, there’s a knock at the door.

“Dark? You in there? You didn’t seem to be in your office; I’m here to get Yan.”

It’s Dr. Iplier. Wilford looks at Dark, then at Yandere, still waving his mini-katana.

“I’m here,” Dark answers, staring pointedly at Wilford, “Come in.”

Wilford poofs away the mini-katana, and Dark smirks, shutting his book and getting up from his bed as Dr. Iplier enters the room. Yandere lights up at the sight of him.

“Dada!” he exclaims. He practically bounces in Wilford’s lap, apparently overwhelmed at having three of his favorite people in the same room.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Dr. Iplier laughs as Wilford hands the baby off to him, “I take it you had fun?”

“Wiff an’ Ahmie!” he replies.

“I can see that,” Dr. Iplier chuckles. He looks to the two of them. “Yan wasn’t any trouble?”

“Yandere was no trouble,” Dark answers, glancing at Wilford. Wilford sticks his tongue out at Dark.

“…Alright,” Dr. Iplier says, “I’m not touching on that, but thanks for looking after Yandere, both of you.”

“Don’t mention it, Doc!” Wilford answers with a grin, “It was fun to hang out with the little guy!” He ruffles Yandere’s hair, making him laugh.

“You’re welcome” is all Dark says, but he gently strokes Yandere’s cheek, and his lips quirk into the slightest smile as Yandere giggles and stares up at him adoringly.

Despite all the trouble, Dark decides he’d like to watch Yandere again very soon.

#darkiplier #yandereplier #wilford warfstache #dr. iplier #markiplier #kristin says stuff #my writing #it takes a village #this chapter has all my uwus

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mercurialsmile · 6 years

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Any tips on writing nonbinary characters? Like, any 'do's and 'don't's? I really wanna get it right, so I thought I'd ask someone who actually identifies as nonbinary :)

Any tips on writing nonbinary/trans characters?

I got two asks for this (maybe from the same person?) and it’s taken me some time to write an answer since this is such a broad... question.

Thing is, nonbinary is both a gender in and of itself but also kinda an umbrella term? Since you also have people who are agender, bigender, genderfluid, etc. who would also technically fall under the umbrella, but don’t call themselves nonbinary since that’s not the label they want, and since the latter labels are a lot more... specific.

Non-binary simply means that someone identifies as a gender outside the binary of man and woman and that’s it.

There’s also the fact that I’m pretty sure I have some opinions other nonbinary people wouldn’t agree with (for example, I dislike neopronouns. Xir/Xe and Zie/Zir are the only ones that’s pronounceable to me. And I straight up dislike nounself pronouns and actively avoid people who only use nounself pronouns since to me, they are. Too hard and complicated to use. I remember reading a really good post on why nounself pronouns are linguistically incorrect in English and how to properly format them to be correct, but I dunno where that post is now) which is also why I have been hesitant about this.

Also it’s a complex... hmm thing. So yeah.

I think the first thing to ALWAYS remember when writing a minority character is that their status as a minority is not their only trait. Don’t use cliches. Don’t make them one-dimensional and make an enby’s entire personality revolving around the fact they’re enby. It’s othering, at least to me, and just plain bad writing.

Another thing is, even tho I wish there were more books out there about being enby (are there any really out there at all?) for the most part I think cis authors should be careful and kinda tread around writing about an enby’s life and being enby. Unless you have done a shit ton of research, know exactly what you’re doing, and have talked to multiple different enbys (and not just over text either), I would merely have the character. Be there.

1) it’s a lot easier who wants to do all that research??

2) still counts as rep (as long as it’s positive)

So how do you write (possibly?) positive rep for a enby character? Let’s go back to pronouns. The most versatile and acceptable pronouns for enby people is they/them tbh. It’s completely gender-neutral. There are enby people who use gendered pronouns as well (She/her, he/him, maybe they use all three!) but writing-wise, it would be easiest to keep to one set of pronouns to make the writing easier to read. I dunno about anyone else, but I for sure would get tripped up and confused if a character’s pronouns change throughout a book. (Maybe it can be written well idk but I don’t think I’d like it personally sorry) so for the most part? I suggest just sticking with they/them. It’s the easiest to write.

Also, I suggest to never call your enby characters “it”. Yes, some irl enbys like “it” as a pronoun, but to most it’s dehumanizing, so it’s best to avoid it I think.

Interestingly enough, even tho they/them is the easiest to write with, it can also be a little tricky at times! Sometimes you’ll have to format sentences differently so readers can understand the difference between the singular and plural forms of they/them. Personally, it’s a fun writing exercise to me! So if anything, writing about an enby character can actually help stretch some different writing muscles so to speak.

And speaking of pronouns, never ever have the narration misgender the character. Never. Hell, usually, I don’t even have characters or even the VILLAINS of my books misgender characters. And my reasoning behind this is: I dislike using transphobia/enbyphobia as a tool to show a villain is evil--their actions alone in the novel should be enough. And two: if even the evilest of villains aren’t transphobic... that says a lot to me. It speaks VOLUMES and is a lot more powerful of an (unsaid) statement then having your villains be transphobes. (but that’s just my opinion ofc!!)

Now, to me, if you’re just writing about a enby side character, I would just have them. Be there. Not misgendered, everyone regarding them using the proper pronouns, and avoiding gendered language (which can be hard as it is hardwired into us without us even knowing, for instance!) so make sure you edit accordingly.

Also, and I think this should be OBVIOUS by now, but PLEASE do not write a “forced coming out” scene. Like, where the cis character walks in on an enby character changing clothes or whatever. Like. That is. So over with and done. Ik that terrible trope fits trans men/women characters better, but I think it’s still important to say here, esp if you’re writing an enby character who tries to pass as the opposite of their birth gender or binds/stuffs/packs/etc at all. It’s uncomfortable, possibly triggering, and honestly? Super cliche. It’s bad writing, my friend.

And whether or not you want to make the direct statement that they are an enby is kinda up to you? There’s arguments for and against it. If you can fit it into the story safely without making anything clunky, go for it! You can either have the character themselves tell someone how they identify, or maybe they’re being introduced and they ask the person they are introducing themselves to to use “they/them” since they are an enby. I’m sure there are other, more creative ways to do this, but yeah. This specific topic is super situational so I would have a sensitivity reader (or two!) to read over what you write to make sure it’s okay.

Okay the last thing I’m gonna talk about is character description. Ignoring the fact I personally am terrible at it, there’s a kinda huge divide here.

For one, a lot of authors and I think enby people in general don’t want others to know their birth gender, which is understandable. And with writing, there isn’t any visual clues besides what you write down. The world is your oyster, you can have your character look like anything, the reader won’t know the birth gender unless you use gendered language.

The tricky thing is this, tho: the stereotypical enby person/character is someone who is skinny white and vaguely masculine. I, personally, despise this stereotype with my whole being. Imo, enby people can dress and look however they want. Clothes are just fabrics we put onto our flesh bodies. If girls can enjoy pants and boys can like dresses and skirts, then enbys can dress however they want to as well. That’s a freedom I think everyone should have. Clothes don’t dictate gender. Enby people also can’t control what they look like. Some people.. just won’t ever be able to pass as androgynous (unless they Really Work at it, like me!!) and it’s unfair to them I think as well.

That being said, writing an enby with feminine clothing, for example, will probably have your reader think of them as DFAB, unfortunately, unless you are really careful.

Other things that can make your reader think of an enby’s birth gender: describing them having to wear a bra or having a period, describing if they have to shave their face or not or how much facial hair they grow, describing their genitalia AT ALL, describing them with certain face/body shapes, describing their hair length (possibly), if they wear a binder or stuff a bra or pack, describing if they wear makeup and the list can go on.

Some people would think you should avoid this completely, which is why vaguely masculine is what people go for. it’s the typical androgynous look (which isn’t bad pe se and I don’t wanna insult anyone who looks like that!) but imo what would be more normalizing and important is to have enby characters look how they want, choose if they wanna wear a binder or not, if they wear makeup, and etc.

Some people might thing the above is completely fine and that it’s important to show anyone can be enby and you’re still valid as an enby even if you might not “pass” for instance or don’t try your best to conceal certain secondary sex characteristics. Others might think you should make your enby characters as androgynous as possible, even in the stereotypical way.

Which view is right? Dammed if I know, and I don’t think one is or not. But it is something to think about. I think the stereotypical response to a cis author would be to go with the safest option and allow enby authors write about enby characters breaking gender roles, but honestly, it is your character. Whether you make your enby character vaguely masculine to avoid those pitfalls or go balls to the walls and do whatever you want because enbys can dress and look how they want fuck you all is up to you. Do what you think your character would do and design them to match their personality. I don’t think people should be boxed into what sort of characters they are allowed to make.

And don’t be afraid to make mistakes. It’s okay if you fuck something up by accident or are accidentally insensitive. And honestly? Groups of people aren’t a hivemind. No matter how good your representation is, there will be someone who disagrees with you and thinks you didn’t “write it correctly”

all I can say is: learn as much as you can, always strive to keep learning and listening, and do the best you can. You can’t succeed if you don’t try and you can’t learn without making a few mistakes along the way.

(And as for trans characters... I myself am not a trans man/woman so idk how to best say what not to do, but I think it follows the same as above for the most part? I’d ask the opinion of a trans man or woman first rather than an enby like me, as even I have fucked up writing about my trans woman character in the past. I’ve learned a lot since then, but I think I am still learning and would rather not educate someone on a topic such as that. Also this post is already long and I am Tired of writing about this topic lol)

I rambled a lot as usual and I am so so sorry. It’s late and this was SUCH a broad question I didn’t?? Really know how to answer so YEAH SORRY if this is no help at all!! I tried my best!!

#shutuplanx #writing #writing advice #nonbinary #enby #my writing advice #man i hope i dont get anyone nasty on this post LMFAO #if i do ill just ignore n block them i guess #Anonymous #lbanswers

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douchebagbrainwaves · 4 years

Text

THAT MIGHT BE WORTH EXPLORING

You can't just say Err to the user of a stove. Though serfs were in principle forbidden to leave their manors, it can't have been the personal qualities of early union organizers that made unions successful, but must have been. And it turns out that was all you needed to solve the problem.1 But investing in concepts isn't stupid; it's what VCs do, and the difference is individual tastes. Maybe options should be replaced with something tied more directly to earnings. A significant number of would-be startup founders are probably dissuaded from doing it by their parents. Money matters are particularly likely to become the top idea in your mind. It's more important than anything else.

Well, yes, but you have to work as if it were inherently stupid to invest in them. Another way to decrease the risk is to join an existing startup instead of starting your own. He knew as well as they were ever going to be negative. For example, once computers get so cheap that most people never seem to make is to take advantage of direct contact with the medium. I have a general idea of the greatest masters did this so well that you envision the scene for yourself.2 Simple as it seems, that's the recipe for success. That sounds right, but is it simply a description of how to be successful in general? Indeed, they're bad in a particular way: they have the same drab clunkiness as anything else that comes out of a garage in Silicon Valley would feel part of an organization whose structure gives each person freedom in inverse proportion to the mere discomfort of wearing such clothes.

One of the reasons kids give up drawing at ten or so is that they decide to start drawing like grownups, and one that most people can have one of their own. Everyone knows computer science and electrical engineering are related, but precisely because everyone knows it, importing ideas from one to the other doesn't yield great profits. Which means for a group of 10 people within a large organization divided into groups in this way, but I found the same problem there.3 But is that more important than that they learn to write well? For competitors, list the top 3 and explain in one sentence each what they lack that you have. Then would-be founders can use this as a checklist to examine their own feelings. You don't need to write anything, though? The Defense Department does a fine though expensive job of defending the country, but they wouldn't now. One is that companies will inevitably slow down as they grow larger, no matter how hard they try to measure, and to him they looked wooden and unnatural. It's hard enough to overcome one's own misconceptions without having to think about how to solve it. This was my reason for not starting a startup. They also know that big projects will by their sheer bulk impress the audience.

Eventually everyone will learn by word of mouth. I got done that day, the answer would have been delighted at first to be bought for $2 million, but are now set on world domination. As we stood there, he said. It's not just a synonym for annoying. The biggest spammers could probably protect their servers against auto-retrieving filters. Which means if you want to hear; an interview with a random alum; a high school record that's largely an index of obedience. Indeed, food is an excellent metaphor to explain what's wrong with their lives, the first paragraph sounds like the sort of place that has conspicuous monuments.

This tells you how much to trust your instincts when you disagree with authorities, whether it's worth going through the usual channels to become one yourself, and perhaps most dangerous, the tendency of such work to become a duty rather than a pleasure. Most large organizations and many small ones are steeped in it. It's this end that gives rise to phrases like those who can't do, teach. Of course the habits of mind to invoke. Though the Web has been around for more than ten people. Experts expect to throw away some early work. Much Renaissance art was in its time considered shockingly secular: according to Vasari, Botticelli repented and gave up painting, and Fra Bartolommeo and Lorenzo di Credi actually burned some of their work. The most amusing thing written during this period, Liudprand of Cremona's Embassy to Constantinople, is, I suspect, mostly inadvertantly so. At the bottom are business, literature, and the weather is still fabulous. Work like a dog being taken for a walk, instead of fleeing as soon as conventional working hours end.

The most valuable truths are the ones sitting back with slightly pained expressions. In the mid twentieth century there was a vogue for setting text in sans-serif fonts. In math and engineering, recursion, especially, less is more. You can sit down with you and cook up some promising project. In math it means that a shorter proof tends to be the one to discover its replacement. Whereas there appears to be great demand for celebrity gossip magazines. Just as inviting people over forces you to think well.4 And this is not a reference work. Unnecessary meetings, pointless disputes, bureaucracy, posturing, dealing with other people's mistakes, traffic jams, addictive but unrewarding pastimes. That's what a metaphor is: a function applied to an argument of the wrong kind of people, I like to work with a huge weight of expectation on his shoulders. What makes the nerds rich, usually, is stock options. This problem afflicts not just every era, but in both cases we suggested their first priority should be to find a cofounder, what should you do?

What would someone who was the opposite of down and dirty would be up and clean. So working for yourself makes your brain more powerful in the same place they come to meet investors. And yet Y Combinator showed us we were still overestimating people who'd been to elite colleges. But does it do this out of frivolity? The unfortunate writer would then sit down to work with you on your current idea, switch to an idea people want to lead in it, and they all said they'd prefer to hire someone who'd tried to start a startup doing something technically difficult, just write enterprise software. Audiences have to be resourceful. But for what it's worth, as a sort of golden triangle involving doctors, Mercedes 450SLs, and tennis. What you want to know whether to recruit someone as a cofounder. The finance guys seemed scrupulous about reporting earnings. It is possible to slow time somewhat. I will get in trouble for appearing to be writing about things I don't understand. It seems that, for the average engineer, more options just means more work for me, because just in the last ten years the Internet has the most effect.

I didn't want as the top one, rather than because they wanted to; they're probably required to by law.5 There are two main reasons. If you'd been around when that change began around 1000 in Europe it would have seemed to nearly everyone that running off to the city to make your fortune was a crazy thing to do, at least, how I write one. Large organizations have different aims from hackers. They're not just beautiful, but strangely beautiful. They would just look at you blankly. It seems obvious when you put it that way too.

Notes

What they must do is fund medical research labs; commercializing whatever new discoveries the boffins throw off is as straightforward as building a new version from which I removed a pair of metaphors that made them register. There are fields now in which internal limits are expressed. But that turned out to be on fewer boards at once, or the presumably larger one who shouldn't? A more powerful than ever.

Look at what adults told children in the world, but less than 1. How many times that conversation was repeated. Till then they had no government powerful enough to supply the activation energy required to switch to OSX.

To do this all the page-generating templates are still a dick move. Become correspondingly more important than the long tail for sports may be to write an essay that will cause the brand gap between the top schools are, which shows how unimportant the Arpanet which became the Internet. The VCs recapitalize the company and fundraising at the exact same thing—trying to figure this out.

Incidentally, this is the way and run the programs on the proceeds of the biggest discoveries in any era if people are like sheep, but they were friendlier to developers than Apple is now the founder visa in a rice cooker, if you don't even sound that plausible. Org Worrying that Y Combinator was a false positive, this is largely true, because for times over a hundred and one VC. If you don't know yet what they're really saying is they want it.

That's the trouble with fleas, they will come at an academic talk might appreciate a joke, they have that glazed over look. Most smart high school junior. The other reason they pay a premium for you; who knows who you start fundraising, because it aggregates data from so many people mistakenly think it was too late to launch.

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adaptform · 7 years

Text

Not so much Lost in the System but…

Mid-November 2015 I hesitantly pick up my phone and text a friend asking if it’s ok to ring. A positive reply is received. I pause… With a growing sense of dread I press to ring and slowly lift my phone to my ear. The dull trills seem to last a lifetime as I wait for an answer. This phone-call signalled to my friend that things were not as they should be; a deteriorating state of mental health which had seemingly come from nowhere. Incoherent explanations of my thoughts were naturally met with confusion and I wouldn’t even talk in detail about what was happening because I was so scared of what would be thought of me, what others would then say about me. A feeling that has not left me.

December 2015 I go to a GP. The system where I live in theory is meant to make it easy for someone to get an appointment by offering times at different surgeries if one venue is fully booked. It does not make it easier… after numerous phone-calls on the mornings of numerous days I finally get to see someone. I take time out of work secretly to drive about 30 mins to the GP. It’s busy and uncomfortably warm which does not calm my growing anxiety. They are running about 40 mins late. All I can think is that I should be back before the next hour strikes to finish the work I had left to be here. As this deadline passes more worry, more heat, and I’m surrounded by sick old people. My name gets called. I am rushed into a room. I am rushed to speak. I do not know how I am meant to speak about this at all let alone quickly. However with previous experience of mental health difficulties at least I have a starting point unlike some people in similar positions. I am given some leaflets… I am told there are some groups that offer support but also after hearing what I have said the GP says words to the effect of “but it doesn’t sound like a group environment will be beneficial to you”. End of appointment. All I want is to speak to someone one to one but after this I feel totally discouraged from speaking to anyone at all. I’ve spent so long waiting that I rush home to try and finish work. I make my excuses about why I haven’t been able to.

March-ish 2016 I am encouraged to go back to a GP. I go to a different practice and see a wonderful nurse who not only listened to me but directed me to clarify what exactly it is I am feeling, as best as I could. She gives me some leaflets. Then tells me I have to go to the surgery I had previously visited to see a mental health link worker. At this point all I can think is that I hope it is not the same person as I saw previously…

I go back to the one place I don’t want to be… I see the mental health link worker (who is thankfully not the person who had no time for me). They essentially repeat everything the nurse had said, also admitting the mental health services in this part of the country are not adequate, not meeting the demand of the service and that waiting is inevitable. She then tells me the main point of entry is the Suffolk Wellbeing service which adopts a self-referral process. This is the first time I hear the words “self-referral”. Why didn’t anyone else tell me this before??? Months wasted… If I had known then I wouldn’t have had to even go to a GP… frustrated and feeling pretty f***ing worthless I head home. The next day I refer myself to Suffolk Wellbeing…

At this stage about 2 people know I have referred myself.

I wait for a fortnight for a letter to come through the post. I then wait for a phone-call about having a phone assessment to help decide what kind of support I could get from the service. A phone assessment is booked. I wait about a month for this to happen.

I have a phone assessment. I still do not feel confident in finding the words to coherently speak about how I feel. It’s a clunky call, me speaking myself into circles while questions try to clarify my standing. The phone-call turned out to be a relevancy test. Assessing whether it is appropriate for me to use the service. Although asked about what support I think I need – someone to speak to, I just want someone to talk to! – everyone is made to go through a series of lectures referring to mental health. I am told about a series of lectures under the title of ‘Stress Control’. Even those words are generalised. I am told in order to access any further support I must attend these. I am then told the next set of lectures is in September 2016. If my situation deteriorates in this gap i am encouraged to contact my GP. And I think we can all agree that I won’t be doing that.

Typically I miss the first lecture as I was abroad. I attend the rest. For each lecture you are asked to fill out a questionnaire to assess your levels of anxiety and depression. It was late last year that I found out these were written by drugs companies, which explains why all the words used in the questionnaire are all so doom and gloom. They are geared up to signal that someone needs drugs not that they need support. There is a massive difference. Why this is an accepted method in understanding someone’s mental health in this capacity I fail to understand.

The lectures themselves have an audience of about 30 people so the content is diluted… heavily diluted. They mention processes and plans to figure out your vicious cycle and to rationalise your thoughts which is all fine. Fine if you don’t have a job or any sort of commitment so you could actually spend time doing it at the moment of anxiety or depressive moods. They of course also encourage making time in an evening or weekend to figure out thought processes. Each week little handbooks for each topic are given out to refer back to every generalised thing that is said at the lectures. I go through all the handbooks. I still have them and will again revisit. Mainly because what else am I meant to do?

(Side note: Lectures, in terms of someone’s interest in the topic is affected by the person leading the lecture, the person speaking at the front of the room. I suggest they review some of those speakers.)

At the end of the last lecture we are all told what happens next. We will receive a letter through the post. It will either state that judging from your questionnaires that it is not believed you require further support OR it invites you to request a review assessment.

I wait a couple of weeks for my letter.

It invites me to review if I so wish. Yeah I think I’ll do that. It take multiple attempts across a few days to get through to the service on the phone. Saturated is the word that comes to mind. And a review phone assessment is booked.

I wait for a letter to confirm.

November 2016 my phone assessment arrives and I again attempt to explain what it is I am feeling. The person on the phone tells me I have explained myself very well and really tries to give me the support she knows I need. She suggests a couple of options and then asks me to hold the line… she comes back with the option of seeing someone face to face for a CBT assessment. The seeing someone in a one on one situation was what I knew I needed from the beginning… I am told there will be a wait. Realistically I will be waiting until Feb 2017… My feelings of content after being listened to and feeling as if the person on the end of the phone went out of her way to help me was met with disillusionment. I know it is not their fault that I have to wait. They don’t have that sort of control over how the service they provide is implemented. They can only use the resources they have to provide the best possible support for the increasing influx of people with mental ill health. But reading this you can imagine how my frustration over all these gaps has by now turned into a reluctant acceptance and well I feel pretty bummed out…

Surprisingly come January I receive a letter in the post with an appointment date on in. It’s for that very same month!

I recently attended this session, one-to-one, face-to-face and because of it was able to talk openly about what I consider to be the problem, where I think it stems from and what I think will help. You can’t have that kind of interaction with someone over the phone or during a lecture. Because this system really enjoys circles the support which is then offered to me, as after all this was just another point of contact to direct me to another area of support, is group CBT. I have by this point already expressed my fear of group support, that I will not be able to address the things I need to with others there but after discussing all the options this was still the support thought to be most beneficial to me at this time. Upon leaving I feel a mixture of relief and well I just want to give up.

I am currently waiting for someone to tell me when this group CBT will begin.

I’ve been referred to Suffolk Wellbeing since March 2016. My first GP visit concerning this which I would still count as part of “the system” December 2015… It has been over a year since I sought professional help. I don’t exactly feel positive about the time I have been working through this process. You must agree this is not acceptable. Perhaps needless to say I do not have the money to pay for talking therapy or other types of support. I live in a village in Suffolk and in terms of professional help I am not even close to feeling like I am supported.

To reiterate Suffolk Wellbeing are not completely at fault here. There is a bigger issue to hand including the general awareness of what mental health is and the conditions referring to it as a result of mental ill health. There is no one model that will ensure that this experience is not replicated many times over. It is not something that can be rolled out nationally, it must be tailored at least regionally and again to the individuals using the service. The resource in this region is poor. I have had mental health first aid training to help others (yeah… I know right… others…) for both adults and young people, both tutors of those courses explained the state of mental health support structures in this country as poor. Theresa May in her grand Charity Commission speech focused on mental health. Her words were welcome but a significant number of mental health charities have voiced their concerns over the plans and unfortunately as is usually the case money has a lot to do with this. On the subject of charities it would be ignorant of me not to mention the growing number of organisations that exist to advise and help those with mental health issues. Time to Change, Mind, Young Minds, Blurt Foundation to name a few. And for a more creative take on it The Sad Ghost Club are a personal favourite. They make zines and other crafty bits all centred around mental health with the money they make from sales going towards workshops with young people to express their mental health creatively. There is a growing amount of online resources available.

I 100% do not want to discourage anyone from using the kind of service that I am still using especially if you are struggling with your mental health. These are the kinds of services that should be a go to and should address your needs genuinely and in a timely manner. I write about my experiences not to unjustly criticise but because more awareness is needed of both mental health conditions and the support structures that are in place.

As a final note try as hard as can to not fall silent. I have not included in the above the ongoing support I get from friends who I hope know how thankful I am for them being in my life. It has been difficult trying to explain my thoughts to those who have had no experience of anxiety and depression but if I didn’t say anything at all then my situation would deteriorate further. I am just sorry that they have equally had to spend this amount of time living alongside this.

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andrewdburton · 4 years

Text

A brief guide to cybersecurity basics

Last Monday, I got an email from Spotify saying that somebody in Brazil had logged into my account.

I checked. Sure enough: A stranger was using my Spotify to listen to Michael Jackson. I told Spotify to “sign me out everywhere” — but I didn't change my password.

On Wednesday, it happened again. At 2 a.m., I got another email from Spotify. This time, my sneaky Brazilian friend was listening to Prince. And they apparently liked the looks of one of my playlists (“Funk Is Its Own Reward”), because they'd been listening to that too.

I signed out everywhere again, and this time I changed my password. And I made a resolution.

You see, I've done a poor job of implementing modern online security measures. Yes, I have my critical financial accounts locked down with two-factor authentification, etc., but mostly I'm sloppy when it comes to cybersecurity.

For example, I re-use passwords. I still use passwords from thirty years ago for low-security situations (such as signing up for a wine club or a business loyalty program). And while I've begun creating strong (yet easy to remember) passwords for more important accounts, these passwords all follow a pattern and they're not randomized. Worst of all, I maintain a 20-year-old plain text document in which I store all of my sensitive personal information.

This is dumb. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb.

I know it's dumb, but I've never bothered to make changes — until now. Now, for a variety of reasons, I feel like it's time for me to make my digital life a little more secure. I spent several hours over the weekend locking things down. Here's how.

A Brief Guide to Cybersecurity

Co-incidentally, the very same day that my Spotify account was being used to stream Prince's greatest hits in Brazil, a Reddit user named /u/ACheetoBandito posted a guide to cybersecurity in /r/fatFIRE. How convenient!

“Cybersecurity is a critical component of financial security, but rarely discussed in personal finance circles,” /u/ACheetoBandito wrote. “Note that cybersecurity practitioners disagree over best practices for personal cybersecurity. This is my perspective, as I have some expertise in the area.”

I won't reproduce the entire post here — you should definitely go read it, if this subject is important to you — but I will list the bullet-point summary along with some of my own thoughts. Our orange-fingered friend recommends that anyone concerned about cybersecurity take the following steps:

Get at least two hardware-based security keys. My pal Robert Farrington (from The College Investor) uses the YubiKey. Google offers its Titan Security Key. (I ordered the YubiKey 5c nano because of its minimal form factor.)

Set up a secret private email account. Your private email address should not be linked in any way to your public email, and the address should be given to no one. (I already have many public email accounts, but I didn't have a private address. I do now.)

Turn on Advanced Protection for both your public and private gmail accounts. Advanced Protection is a free security add-on from Google. Link this to the security keys you acquired in step one. (I haven't set this up because my security keys won't arrive until this afternoon.)

Set up a password manager. Which password manager you choose is up to you. The key is to pick one that you'll use. It's best if this app supports your new security keys for authentification. (I'll cover a few options in the next section of this article.)

Generate new passwords for all accounts. Manually create memorable passwords for your email addresses, your computers (and mobile devices), and for the password manager itself. All other passwords should be strong passwords generated randomly by the password manager.

Associate critical accounts with your new private email address. This will include financial accounts, such as your banks, brokerages, and credit cards. But it could include other accounts too. (I'll use my private email address for core services related to this website, for instance.)

Turn on added security measures for all accounts. Available features will vary from provider to provider, but generally speaking you should be able to activate two-factor authentification (with the security keys, whenever possible) and login alerts.

Turn on text/email alerts for financial accounts. You may also want to turn on alerts for changes to your credit score and/or credit report.

Activate security measures on your mobile devices. Your phone should be locked by a strong authorization measure. And each of your individual financial apps should be locked down with a password and any other possible security measures.

/u/ACheetoBandito recommends some additional, optional security measures. (And that entire Reddit discussion thread is filled with great security tips.)

You might want to freeze your credit (although, if you do, remember that you'll occasionally need to un-freeze your credit to make financial transactions). Some folks will want to encrypt their phones and hard drives. And if you're very concerned about security, purchase a cheap Chromebook and use this as the only device on which you perform financial transactions. (Believe it or not, I'm taking this last optional step. It makes sense to me — and it may be a chance for me to move beyond Quicken.)

Exploring the Best Password Managers

Okay, great! I've ordered a new $150 Chromebook and two hardware-based security keys. I've set up a brand-new, top-secret email address, which I'll connect to any account that needs added security. But I still haven't tackled the weakest point in the process: my text document filled with passwords.

Part of the problem is complacency. My system is simple and I like it. But another part of the problem is analysis paralysis. There are a lot of password managers out there, and I have no idea how to differentiate between them, to figure out which one is right for me and my needs.

For help, I asked my Facebook friends to list the best password managers. I downloaded and installed each of their suggestions, then I jotted down some initial impressions.

LastPass: 16 votes (2 from tech nerds) — LastPass was by far the most popular password manager among my Facebook friends. People love it. I installed it and poked around, and it seems…okay. The interface is a little clunky and the feature set seems adequate (but not robust). The app uses the easy-to-understand “vault” metaphor, which I like. LastPass is free (with premium options available for added cost).

1Password: 7 votes (4 from tech nerds) — This app has similar features to Bitwarden or LastPass. The interface is nice enough, and it seems to provide security alerts. 1Password costs $36/year.

Bitwarden: 4 votes (2 from tech nerds) — Bitwarden has a simple, easy-to-understand interface. It uses the same “vault” metaphor that products like LastPass and 1Password use. It's a strong contender to become the tool I use. Bitwarden is free. For $10 per year, you can add premium security features.

KeePass: 2 votes — KeePass is a free Open Source password manager. There are KeePass installs available for all major computer and mobile operating systems. If you're a Linux nut (or an Open Source advocate), this might be a good choice. I don't like its limited functionality and its terrible interface. KeePass is free.

Dashlane: 2 votes — Of all the password managers I looked at, Dashlane has the nicest interface and the most features. Like many of these tools, it uses the “vault” metaphor, but it allows you to store more things in this vault than other tools do. (You can store ID info — driver license, passport — for instance. There's also a spot to store receipts.) Dashlane has a free basic option but most folks will want the $60/year premium option. (There's also a $120/year option that includes credit monitoring and ID theft insurance.)

Blur: 1 vote — Blur is different than most password managers. It quite literally tries to blur your online identity. It prevents web browsers from tracking you, masks email addresses and credit cards and phone numbers, and (or course) manages passwords. I want some features that Blur doesn't have — and don't want some of the features it does have. Blur costs a minimum of $39/year but that price can become much higher.

Apple Keychain: 1 vote — Keychain has been Apple's built-in password manager since 1999. As such, it's freely available on Apple devices. Most Mac and iOS folks use Keychain without even realizing it. It's not really robust enough to do anything other than store passwords, so I didn't give it serious consideration. Keychain is free and comes installed on Apple products.

Let me be clear: I made only a cursory examination of these password managers. I didn't dive deep. If I tried to compare every feature of every password manager, I'd never choose. I'd get locked into analysis paralysis again. So, I gave each a quick once-over and made a decision based on gut and intuition.

Of these tools, two stood out: Bitwarden and Dashlane. Both sport nice interfaces and plenty of features. Both tools offer free versions, but I'd want to upgrade to a paid premium plan in order to gain access to two-factor authentification (using my new hardware security keys) and security monitoring. This is where Bitwarden has a big advantage. It's only $10 per year. To get the same features, Dashlane is $60/year.

But here's the thing.

I started actually using both of these tools at the same time, entering my website passwords one by one. I stopped after entering ten sites into each. It was clear that I vastly preferred using Dashlane to Bitwarden. It just works in a way that makes sense to me. (Your experience might be different.) So, for a little while at least, I'm going to use Dashlane as my password manager.

The Problem with Passwords

My primary motive for using a password manager is to get my sensitive information out of a plain text document and into something more secure. But I have a secondary motive: I want to improve the strength of my passwords.

When I started using the internet — back in the 1980s, before the advent of the World Wide Web — I didn't spare a thought for password strength. The first password I created (in 1989) was simply the name of my friend who let me use his computer to access the local Bulletin Board Systems. I used that password for years on everything from email accounts to bank sites. I still consider it my “low security” password for things that aren't critical.

I have maybe eight or ten passwords like this: short, simple passwords that I've used in dozens of locations. For the past five years, I've tried to move to unique passwords for each site, passwords that follow a pattern. While these are an improvement, they're still not great. Like I say, they follow a pattern. And while they contain letters, numbers, and symbols, they're all relatively short.

As you might expect, my sloppy password protocol has created something of a security nightmare. Here's a screenshot from the Google Password Checkup tool for one of my accounts.

I get similar results for all of my Google accounts. Yikes.

Plus, there's the problem of account sharing.

Kim and I share a Netflix account. And an Amazon account. And a Hulu account. And an iTunes account. In fact, we probably share twenty or thirty accounts. She and I use the same easy-to-remember password for all of these sign-ins. While none of these accounts are super sensitive, what we're doing is still a poor idea.

So, I want to begin moving toward more secure passwords — even for the accounts I share with Kim.

The good news is that most password managers — including Dashlane — will auto-generate randomized passwords for you. Or I could try something similar to the idea suggested in this XKCD comic:

The trouble, of course, is that each place has different requirements for passwords. Some require numbers. Some require symbols. Some say no symbols. And so on. I don't know of any sites that would let me use four random common words for a password!

For now, I'm going to take a three-pronged approach:

I'll manually create long (but memorable) passwords for my most critical accounts. This is the XKCD method.

For the accounts I share with Kim — Netflix, etcetera — I'll create new, memorable passwords that follow a pattern.

For everything else, I'll let my password manager generate random passwords.

This seems like a good balance between usability and security. Every password will be different. Only the ones I share with Kim will be short; all others will be long. And most of my new passwords will be random gibberish.

Final Thoughts on Cybersecurity

In this short video from Tech Insider, a former National Security Agency security expert shares his top five tips for protecting yourself online.

youtube

You'll note that these are similar to the Reddit cybersecurity guide I posted earlier in this article. Here are the steps he says to take to keep yourself safe:

Enable two-factor authentification whenever possible.

Don't use the same password everywhere.

Keep your operating system (and software) up to date.

Be careful with what you post to social media.

Do not share personal information unless you're certain you're dealing with a trusted company or person.

I won't pretend that the steps I'm taking will protect me completely. But my new system is certainly an upgrade from what I've been doing for the past 20+ years — which was, as I've mentioned, dumb dumb dumb.

And I have to confess: I like the idea of restricting my online financial life to one computer — the new $150 Chromebook. I'm not sure if this is actually doable, but I'm going to give it a go. If this works, then I may see if I can find a money-management tool that I like for the machine. Maybe then I can finally leave Quicken 2007 for Mac behind!

What have I missed? What steps have you taken to protect your online accounts? Which do you feel is the best password manager? How do you create memorable, secure passwords? How do you handle shared accounts? Help other GRS readers — and me! — develop better online security practices.

from Finance https://www.getrichslowly.org/cybersecurity-basics/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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robertbpats · 5 years

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Event Technology 101: Combining Your Fundraising & Ticketing Platforms

Each day, I hear about more and more platforms and new technologies that have entered the event ticketing market. These technologies help make our lives easier, improve our business performance, and even take over many of the manual tasks we perform.

However, it can be overwhelming when deciding which platforms or technologies are right for you. With so many options available, more time is needed to research and ultimately choose the right tools.

In today’s world of ever expanding technologies and platforms, the tools that not only make our lives easier but do so by consolidating the most tedious tasks are those that will emerge as leaders.

The fundraising and event spaces are no exception to this challenge, with hundreds of new fundraising and event management platforms surfacing over the last few years. To make your life easier, this post will focus not only on the benefits of mobile fundraising and event management technology but also on the benefits of combining these two functions into one cohesive platform.

The expected results? A better experience for your supporters, more funds raised, and endless hours saved for you and your organization!

Let’s start by discussing the current state of mobile and online fundraising.

Why Event Ticketing?

Online and mobile fundraising tools have become more widespread over the last few years due to their ease of use and effectiveness. Additionally, different tools are available for fundraising needs of all kinds. Some of the most popular online fundraising formats include:

● Mobile & Online Silent Auctions ● Online Donation Pages ● Text-to-Give Campaigns ● Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Websites

These fundraising formats have become so popular over the years that it is estimated that 7.6% of all donations in 2017 were made online – a massive 12.1% increase from the year before, with an even larger increase expected looking back at 2018.

But behind this massive shift are also a handful of key benefits that are helping fundraising organizations on a massive scale and allowing them to become more successful. Some of the major benefits of mobile fundraising include:

● Saving Time for the Organizer – Let’s start on your end as the event organizer of a fundraising organization. When manual fundraising means are used (paper-based silent auctions, checks written for donations, physical mail campaigns, etc.), an immense amount of time and resources from your team are required. Switching to a mobile or online platform to raise funds can save massive amounts of time for your team. Whether you are organizing a silent auction or general donation, these initiatives can typically be set up in minutes and require the time of only one team member. Furthermore, online and mobile fundraising tools automatically aggregate donor information, which can be plugged into your donor management tool in order to save even more time as you plan your yearly communication plans with donors.

● Reaching a Larger Audience – One of the biggest benefits of mobile and online fundraising tools is that they can help you reach a larger audience than you would with traditional fundraising means. A standard fundraiser will limit your team to the number of people you can send mail to, call, or invite to a physical event. From an event standpoint, only those present will be able to support your cause. On the flipside, mobile and online fundraising tools allow your cause to reach an audience that is unlimited in size and location. All fundraising platforms allow you to share your cause either via email or socially, creating a viral impact and allowing you to reach supporters around the globe.

● Creating a More Engaging Experience for Your Supporters – In addition to reaching more people, mobile and online fundraising tools allow your team to provide donors with a more engaging experience. No more handwritten bids, donation pamphlets, or check-writing. Instead, your donors enter their bids online or using their mobile devices, and they receive instant confirmations, outbid notifications, and winner confirmations. This immediate acknowledgement will keep your donors engaged, excited, and donating repeatedly.

● Creating a Better Donation Experience – Similarly, mobile and online fundraising tools create a much better (and easier) donation experience for your supporters. Donating can be as simple as sending a text message or entering a donation online. This means that your supporters can now donate from anywhere at any time. Payment and checkout can be done in seconds, avoiding slow and clunky checkout processes. Your supporters want to help your cause; you should make it as easy as possible for them to do so!

Now that we’ve covered some of the benefits of mobile fundraising, let’s talk about how you can enhance your event by finding the best event ticketing or registration platform, and what to look for when doing your research.

Finding the Right Event Ticketing Provider

As we alluded to before, there are a TON of event ticketing and registration platforms available for you to choose from. Rather than having to do all the research yourself, we figured we would provide you with a few criteria that will make the process easier.

● Customization Options – To start, you’ll want to use a ticketing / registration platform that offers enough customization options to help promote your cause while also collecting valuable data on your attendees. A few things to look out for include:

Branding Customization – This means being able to add your own logos, messaging, sponsors, etc. These elements will let you more clearly convey your cause’s message and tell your story.

Information Customization – While you will want a platform that lets you collect your attendees’ names, emails, and phone numbers, there may also be custom data points you are interested in (How did they hear about the event? What is their dinner option selection?).

Ticketing Customization – Finally, you will want a platform that allows you to create custom ticket types. These could include different-priced tickets (VIP, General Admission, etc.) or different ticket types (single admission, sponsorship, table, etc.)

● Check-In Features – Event check-in can make or break your event. To avoid long check-in lines, we suggest finding a platform that has an integrated check-in solution. This means using a platform that allows staff members and volunteers to scan digital and paper tickets from their phones while also being able to search for guests by name and check them in.

● Customer Service – Of course, customer support can be one of the most important factors in choosing an online ticketing provider. We suggest finding a provider that offers 24/7 support so that you will have someone to help even during the busiest times of your event.

● Pricing – From a pricing standpoint, make sure you understand all components of a ticketing provider’s pricing. Common pricing elements include:

Flat fee per ticket

Percentage per ticket

Credit card processing fee

Additionally, it’s important to understand the options available to your organization when paying the ticketing fees. For example, is your organization responsible for absorbing the fees? Can you pass them on to your ticket buyers?

● Integration and Supplemental Features – Last but not least, we recommend finding a ticketing platform that offers integration or supplemental features that will allow you to consolidate the number of providers you are using – this is the whole point of today’s post! In terms of a fundraising event, an ideal online ticketing platform will either integrate with or offer fundraising features or components…more on this in the next part of this post!

Why You Should Combine Your Event Ticketing and Mobile Fundraising Tools

Now that we’ve covered the basics of mobile fundraising and event ticketing/registration, it’s time to explain why combining the two functions can be extremely beneficial both for your organization and for your supporters.

While many of you may be interested in only the ticketing or the fundraising side, we have a hunch that many are also in need of both functions and are currently using two different platforms to cover both your ticketing and fundraising needs. Using multiple platforms creates more work for the event organizer and can lead to a disjointed experience for your guests and supporters.

On the other hand, you’ll enjoy some major benefits when selecting a platform that offers both online ticketing and mobile fundraising capabilities. You can find the major benefits below:

End-to-End Connectivity

The first (and most obvious) benefit of combining your event ticketing and fundraising platform is that you will be able to create an end-to-end connected experience for your supporters. Rather than having to buy a ticket and then create another profile to donate or bid in your mobile auction, your guests will be able to use one account for everything.

Once a user purchases tickets to your event, the platform will automatically store their user and payment information. When the user then tries to donate, bid, or text to give, all their information will already be populated, removing an additional step for your supporters and making a perfectly seamless experience from ticket purchase to donation.

Increase Donations

Combining your event ticketing and fundraising platforms will also lead to a natural increase in donations. Look at the example image below. As you can tell, the hosting organization now has one unified web page for ticket sales, silent auction item viewing/bidding, and donations.

As traffic is driven to the site to encourage ticket sales, users can also start bidding or donating, leading to a natural increase in donations and funds raised.

More Engaging Experience

In addition to helping you raise more money, combining your fundraising and ticketing platforms will provide a more engaging experience for your guests. The two major ways that we’ve seen improvement in engagement include:

● Event Promotion – Because you will be able to collect your attendees’ contact information when they purchase tickets, you can use that information to provide them with email updates about your event. Any email you send that drives users back to your main fundraising page will remember the user’s profile and payment information, making their donation experience as easy as ever. For example, you may send your ticket buyers an email promoting your high-value auction items, including a link to your auction. Users can click the link and begin bidding in seconds without having to create a new profile.

● Event Check-In Text Message – When combining your ticketing and silent auction platform, you will be able to create an amazingly smooth bidding experience for your guests. Using an integrated ticketing and fundraising platform, you can set up your event to send an automatic push notification to your guests when they are checked in to an event. Immediately upon check-in, they will receive a text message prompting them to donate or bid by clicking on your fundraising webpage link (included in the text). This can help drive massive increases in engagement, bids, and donations!

Time Savings & Simplicity – Finally, combining your event ticketing and mobile fundraising platforms will help save YOU time and will make things simpler. Rather than aggregating user information from two different platforms, all user info will be in one location, allowing you to market to your guests and collecting donation data and analytics all in one central location. Selling tickets, encouraging donations, and monitoring checkout can all be executed in one platform, making your life easier and saving loads of time.

Conclusion

After learning about the benefits of combining your event ticketing and fundraising solutions, we hope that you’ll be able to realize significant time savings and increases in funds raised. Good luck!

Guest Post by Zach Hagopian

The post Event Technology 101: Combining Your Fundraising & Ticketing Platforms appeared first on Event Planning Blueprint.

from Robert Pats https://eventplanningblueprint.com/event-ticketing/

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