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mariana-oconnor · 1 year

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Types of AO3 Summary

Option 1 - The Excerpt:

The quickest, the easiest! Find a section of your fic that contains the main premise of said fic and also showcases your writing. Copy paste that into the summary box. BOOM! Done.

Best used for any fic, unless it's so short the excerpt would be the whole fic.

Option 2 - The No Frills:

Just a description of the fic. No need for drama. No need to complicate matters. Keep it simple, keep it safe.

Example: "A short character exploration of Blorbo's thoughts after Daisy leaves."

Best used for short fics, poems and fics where the style/format is more important than the plot. Or fics that tie directly into a scene/episode from canon or another fanfic.

Option 3 - The Hook:

Draw the reader's interest by giving them a set up with no conclusion. Introduce the main character(s), introduce the status quo, describe an inciting incident, leave a question in the reader's mind.

Example: "Blorbo is a barista at a coffee shop, struggling to pay their bills, but after handsome rockstar Obrolb walks into their coffee shop they find that they have to decide whether a chance at love is worth the cost of fame."

Best used for mid to long fic where there's a strong premise and follow through. Especially good for AUs. Can be expanded for more complex plots or used multiple times in one summary for multiple characters or subplots.

Option 4 - The Sitcom One-Liner:

"The one in which [over simplified description of one of the main plotlines]" This is essentially 'boil your plot down to the very simplest statement you can, oversimplify if possible. The more bizarre or unhelpful the better.

Example: "The one in which Blorbo learns to like cake".

Best used for fics with at least a little humour in them.

Option 5 - The Rule of Three:

Three is a magic number. Find three key moments in your fic and just list them. That's it. Often ends with 'not necessarily in that order' if used for comic effect. If it's an AU, establish that quickly (i.e. 'Star NHL player Blorbo…').

Example: "Blorbo makes a friend, falls in love, and almost burns to death, not necessarily in that order."

Best used for anything, really. Three is a magic number. The human brain loves things that come in threes.

Option 6 - The Trope Lure:

Why bother describing the plot? We all know AO3 readers are here for the tropes. Similar to The Sitcom One-Liner just using tropes instead of plot. Often followed by the phrase 'that nobody asked for'.

Example: "The Space western / A/B/O / Mail Order Bride fic that nobody asked for."

Often tacked on to the end of The Hook or The Excerpt as a tl;dr.

Best used for fic that plays its tropes straight with no shame or second guessing.

Option 7 - The Pre-emptive Strike:

(Not recommended) You just wrote this fic, the self doubt is consuming you. You feel the need to apologise profusely for your existence for no apparently reason. You feel cringe, you think the fic is cringe, you want everyone to know that you think the fic is cringe in case they don't like it and judge you for it.

Example: "So I fell in love with this pairing and had to write this. It's weird and terrible. Lol! I suck at summaries! Sorry!"

Best used for no fics ever. I cannot stress this enough.

(Seriously, I am begging you, don't do this. If you're planning to use this option, rethink it and do one of the others. I guarantee you more people will want to read your fic.)

Sometimes added on to any other summary as a strange disclaimer. (srsly. don't.)

Option 8 - The Unapology:

Embrace the mayhem, embrace the deep dark depths of your soul. The opposite of The Pre-emptive Strike. A combination of The No Frills and The Trope Lure that truly gives no fucks.

You have committed crimes and you are proud of them. You know what your USP is and you're going to make sure your target market finds you. Look upon my works, ye readers, and despair!

Example: "There aren't enough tentacle fics in this pairing, so I had to write one myself!"

Best used for fics with controversial/polarising tropes with all relevant details already clearly stated in the tags.

Option 9 - The Interrogation:

What if you wrote a summary entirely in questions? What if your readers had to read the fic to discover the answers? Who knows what will happen if you do this?

Example: "What happens when Blorbo McBlorbo gets his wish and Daisy doesn't make it to the plane on time? What happens when Obrolb finds out? How will this change Daisy and Blorbo's friendship?"

Best used for... I honestly don't know. This style of summary does not vibe with me. Mystery fic maybe? Sorry guys.

Option 10 - The Multipack:

Got a bunch of shorter fics in one work? No way of summarising them all without a wall of text larger than the Great Wall of China? This one is similar to The No Frills in that you're not describing the plots themselves and similar to The Trope Lure in that often broader genres and tropes are mentioned. What links those fics? Are they all in the same fandom? The same pairing? The same challenge? Just slap that right in the summary. A chapter list with 1-2 word trope/pairing summaries can be included or not.

Example: "A collection of Blorbo/Daisy/Obrolb fics based on Tumblr prompts. Chapter 1: Regency AU Chapter 2: Werewolves vs vampires Chapter 3: Ghost!Daisy Chapter 4: Space pirates!"

Best used for (obviously) works that are compilations of fic.

Option ? - The Void:

I said The Excerpt was the quickest and easiest summary to do. I lied, well... I didn't exactly lie. What is quicker and easier than not having a summary at all? After all, that's what the tags are for.

Example:

Best used for... nothing? Write a summary, guys. Please?

#AO3 #fandom #on writing #clearing out my drafts #long post #Qd #This list is intended for entertainment purposes only #I just came across a lot of fic summaries that followed similar rules #so I decided to post this about it #I'm sure other options are available #If you've ever used number 7 that's not bad of you #But my advice would be to not do that

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larkingame · 2 months

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hello all! been a moment since we last discussed some things, so I'm coming online to discuss the progress of Larkin's development and make a few announcements :)

over the last ten months, larkin has gone through a lot of changes, some of which I've documented here--but most of it I've kept pretty private. I realized that over the few short years I've been developing the game, I sort of grew an unhealthy dependence on my presence within the 'interactive fiction' community that I really, really needed to take a step back from and break, all in order to ensure that I could enjoy working on what originally started out as a passion project for me.

since july of last year, I've completely reshaped and rewritten how larkin exists as a project, shifted it's genre and started collaborating with a few others to ensure it can be of the highest quality it can possibly be. uptop, i'd like to mention @tapeworrmart who's taken on the immense task of putting together most of the game art for me, @khiita and @ann1a-1 who have both taken on the roles of my editors (and also sounding boards for when I am being absolutely insane) and my production manager phillip, who without his assistance, larkin would barely exist. with that, let's do a progress report. the intended demo of larkin, or what i've taken to calling 'episode one' (yes, i said, 'episode,' more on that in a minute) has stretched to just over 200k words worth of content. it stretches all the way from the earliest versions of larkin's original prologue, to the end of the original chapter two. so far, we've completed 3 out of the intended 20 character portraits, as well as some more art that's slowly been in development.

now, on to the announcements. probably the biggest, and the one I am most ashamed of is--due to the fact that I've been slammed with graduate school work and some other external factors, Larkin as it currently exists is not the best that I think it can be. I'm deeply sorry for this, but I want to ensure that you all are getting the highest quality game you could get from me--and right now, I know it's just not that. Which is why I am unfortunately, pushing the release of the demo back until Friday, June 14th, 2024. Patrons will be granted access to the most recent edit of the demo two weeks earlier on Friday, May 31st 2024. In the meantime, I will be working day and night (quite literally) to get what I'm dropping on you up to par and something that I'm happy with.

To make up for this disappointment, I'm planning on repopulating the blog with a lot of content over the coming months, rewriting new versions of old asks, posting art and short stories.

Next on the agenda and also an equally important announcement. I'm changing the rating of Larkin to Mature or 18+ As I've been writing these past few months, working through a lot of themes and figuring out the story I want to tell, I've found that I think the change in rating is entirely necessary. While I don't think I've ever had that big of a minor fanbase--I think that this is just what I am most comfortable doing. There has consistently grown a little bit more of gore, and trauma exploration, which is the main reason for this change in rating, but, this does allow for the inclusion of something that I've been toying with since the intial release of the game. There is going to be explicit sex scenes in this new version of Larkin--all of which, you the player are able to opt out of, or completely avoid if that's something you want--but I just thought a little announcement would be warranted. This does not mean however, I am comfortable with answering thoroughly explicit asks or getting unsolicited sexual messages. The goal is to keep this game blog mainly tame.

Please respect this boundary of mine.

Third thing to be announced. I've also changed the format in which Larkin will be released. Rather than around the twenty-five chapters in one of a series of 'Books'/'Games', Larkin will be released episodically over four 'seasons' with eight-ten episodes of around 200k-250k words each (though, this is just an early estimate--they could grow longer, as I'm basing this purely off the demo/Episode One)

Finally and a little bit of a fun note: there are now twelve romance options throughout larkin, five male, three female, one non-binary and three gender-selectable. With those upcoming asks, you'll hear more about each in the coming days :)

With all that being said, I wanted to lastly thank all of you for supporting me over the years and putting faith and your interest in this project. truly, the support of all of you means the world to me and I can't wait to share more of larkin with you all.

thank you 💖

#larkin game #larkin if #larkin #announcement #game announcement #blog update #interactive fiction #if #cyoa #cyoa game #twine interactive fiction #twine #twine game #sugarcube twine

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snapscube · 1 year

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hihihi ok. so i’m in my last of us fixation mode and i’m being extra silly about it but i NEED to know what’s ur current opinion on the last of us hbo?? also i logged onto tumblr and saw a lot of rly good points defending joel’s final choice and i remember during the last of us pt1 playthrough u had differing opinions so i wonder if u think the show’s differences affect that at all? btw i LOVE ur stuff and cannot wait until u do last of us pt 2 wehehehehe!!! anyway besides all that i just want u to know that u are one of the things in my life that makes it easier to get up in the morning

I still feel exactly the same about the final events as I always have! The show didn't change it for me, and actually being able to remove myself from being in control of the situation in the game and actually just watch the events play out in show format solidified that further. The connection I have to Joel as a player when I play the game really helps me understand his perspective more and stomach the goal a bit more easily, but without that immediate intimacy it puts into perspective for me how kinda monstrous the whole thing is from every angle. Obviously I don't ever lose that sympathy for him, and I never stop understanding why, because the whole point of the conflict is that no one is in the right. Ultimately I think the damning thing for every single person involved is that they removed Ellie's agency from the equation, and I still stand by that. They all should have talked to her. They should have told her the truth. All she wants is for her immunity to matter, and I believe that they may have been surprised at the lengths she's willing to go in order to make a difference, whether it's ultimately the right call or not.

I don't know what arguments you've seen exactly in defense of Joel's choice, but personally I don't really agree with one I see a lot and I'd expect will pop up again now that the show is over, which is the whole "well who's to say a vaccine would have worked anyway?????" angle. I think, while reasonable from a meta standpoint, completely ignores the intended framing of the story in order to more conveniently justify a protagonist that the story through its entire runtime is trying to tell you is a little bit of a piece of shit. It's pretty clear and safe to assume that the ultimate intent here is that... yes, the vaccine WOULD have worked. Maybe not in the sweeping way they hoped, but Ellie's sacrifice absolutely would have done something. The whole moral dilemma of the situation really does not make any sense unless you give them that as fact imo.

So then, assuming that is true, you have to wrestle with the idea that Joel is willing to take down the entirety of humanity for Ellie. And not really for Ellie, because none of this is what Ellie wanted. The game AND the show QUITE LITERALLY SPELL OUT for us that Ellie really really really does not want to go back to Jackson without finishing what they started, regardless of the cost. Joel's reasons for saving Ellie, while understandable, are ultimately selfish and rooted in his own trauma and having just seen the light at the end of his grieving over Sarah. Again, incredibly sympathetic, but it's selfish. I know we like to joke as much, but Ellie IS NOT his daughter. They share a similar bond after everything they go through, but by the end of the game you can already feel Ellie pulling away from that notion because she's starting to realize Joel doesn't have the same commitment to the idea of her immunity being meaningful as she does, they're only a few miles away and he's already asking her to give up and go back to Jackson with him.

Then, of course, I think what ultimately damns Joel in my eyes on a poetic/storytelling level is his decision to lie to Ellie after it's all over. That's the nail in the coffin for me. It would be one thing if he said "they were going to kill you on that operating table without even telling you what was going on and I couldn't let them do that", but instead he lies to her to make sure she's still able to see him as the father he desperately wants to be again. It doesn't change anything. He tells her her worst fear has come to pass: her immunity, this unexplainable thing that has taken so many of her loved ones from her, is completely useless. Not only that, but now even more people are dead. Including Marlene, who's known her since birth. The only thing his lie changes is the fact that he's responsible for it all.

Anyway, part of what I love most about The Last of Us Part II is how it follows up on these threads and you may be pleased to know that I actually just started streaming the game last night after the HBO finale premiered cause I was so pumped up I couldn't wait any longer haha. So you'll be seeing VODs for that soon :)

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sasheneskywalker · 7 months

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batfamily fic recs which are told through unusual formatting

a hat fashioned from tin foil by discowing (ameliafromafairytale) nightwang @karakurachou – 8 hours ago jason todd is alive and faked his death so he could become robin: a conspiracy theory thread

Batfam conspiracy theories meet social media.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | No Relationships

occam's razor by BeatriceEagle r/SolveIt • Posted by u/Phalangefier 3 days ago

It's the fifth anniversary of Jason Todd's death

Today is the fifth anniversary of the day that Jason Todd and Sheila Haywood were murdered, so I thought I would post a write-up unifying all of the information that we have on the case. There have been a lot of posts about Jason over the years, but this case is so weird and has so many branches to it, I don’t think that anyone’s ever compiled all of them in one place.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Dick Grayson & Jason Todd

Send to All by kerosceene I, _______________, hereby acknowledge that this form represents my wishes should I contract phytoaphrodisiac-induced delirium (hereafter referred to as “PAID”) during engagements with or while apprehending Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley (“Poison Ivy”).

The bats have a sex pollen release form. Because of course they do.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Tim Drake, Barbara Gordon & Dick Grayson, Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne

Batman Hits the Red Hood with His Batarang by redboard (Ink) Batman hears whispers of a new crime lord in Gotham, trailing blood and carnage in his wake. The Red Hood is skilled and ruthless, and quickly seizes control of the drug trade, seemingly for his own ends.

Red Hood, after years of planning, your moment has finally arrived. Why have you come?

An "Under the Red Hood"-themed tabletop game, for one or two players. You will need colored dice (or a dice roller), your imagination, and, optionally, a friend who has as many feelings about Jason Todd as you do.

(Yes, I'm serious. This is not a bit.)

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne

#Justice4Gotham by Havendance So, uh, Hi. I’m still alive. I didn’t die of the clench (barely). I’m kind of sorry for disappearing on you for so long but life just got really busy and I didn’t really have time to chase after Batman and Robin anymore. I’m not sure how many of you guys still check this blog, but if you are out there, I’ve got a big favor to ask you all.

On June 27th at 7:03pm, Gotham City was hit by the worst earthquake the east coast has seen in, like, ever. And now we could really use your help.

[Or: When you run out of things you can do, there’s always yelling at the world from the blog you made when you were ten.]

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | No Relationships

Night Blogger by AnonDude There's a blogger catching the internet's attention with a long, insane, and twisted tale. The problem is, he seems to persist under the impression that he's just a random anonymous blogger looking for advice on his relationship. That's all.

QuillsNFrills: I like your first entry! But I'm a little unsure as to what genre you're aiming for here; it seems a little confused and all over the place. It's clear you want it to be something more lurking under the guise of a simple relationship blog, but is that…mystery? Thriller? A dark romance? Sci-fi/fantasy/magic (with the…whatever is going on with BF's head)? I'm also kind of wondering if I'm reading right that maybe there are hints this isn't a reliable narrator? Maybe that will continue…eyes. Anyway, keep up the good work! – April 15, 2023 –

BlueberryPancakes: this […] only continued to get MORE wild, and despite the "clearing up"…I still don't know whether to believe […] it's supposed to be an obvious red herring and this is all an Experience^tm, or whether this is really OP's life. – April 17, 2023 –

M | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Tim Drake/Jason Todd

#dc #dc comics #batman #batfamily #bruce wayne #dick grayson #barbara gordon #jason todd #tim drake #stephanie brown #fanfiction #fanfic #fic recs #fic rec #fanfic recs #fanfic rec

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becca4leafclover · 3 months

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IM STUPID I FIGURED OUT WHATS BOTHERING ME ABOUT A MINECRAFT MOVIE

IT NEEDS TO BE A MINECRAFT TV SHOW!

the problem with it being a Minecraft Movie is that movies are a lot more widespread and generalized. There's too much of an audience that will watch the Minecraft Movie, and they're going to be incredibly critical of it because of the way Minecraft works being rather odd to people who dont know it (and there's probably a LOT of people who don't know it, because while Minecraft is the #1 sold game of all time, it's also still a game most people over 30 don't know because its out of their generations.)

If they make a "realistic" Minecraft Movie, they're going to lose their actual playerbase though, because we want Block Game! Yes Jason Mamoa looks like Steve but I think players would riot if there was a live-action Minecraft Movie. But if they make it blocky animation or something, that's too stylized to realistically appeal to the greater audience. Disney 3D animation is one thing, the people and world and items all being made of cubes I think is too much of a stretch.

There's also the method of storytelling- Minecraft, as a game, has no plot. THAT'S THE ENTIRE SELLING POINT OF THE GAME! Any stories told within Minecraft are usually made with interpretations of the player, and often use ideas or mechanics not in the vanilla game (whether that is characters, builds, mods, or just the story itself not following the rules of the game)

And with this I think of Minecraft: Story Mode. Because that game literally was an early prototype of how this can all go.

Now don't get me wrong, I love MCSM! It's what got me into fandom in the first place and everything has gone downhill from there /lh. But the fact is, that 1. the storytelling was, well not the greatest, and 2. it's major plots all revolved with things that are straight up impossible in vanilla Minecraft. (The Witherstorm still is one of the coolest forces of destruction I've ever seen, but imagine THAT being summonable in the Block Game without mods? no way.) Not to mention the portal halls and world hopping, the specially enchanted flint and steel? Or don't get me started on what MCSM S2 was- if there's too much straying from the base game, the nicher the mechanics and genre get, and the more and more portions of the Minecraft playerbase you lose.

So whoever is producing this Minecraft Movie, kind of has to choose which audience they're going to cater to and which they're going to lose: the general greater movie-watching audience, who are probably only willing to tolerate a more "realistic" movie style or typical storytelling experience, or actual Minecraft fans in the blocky format and the general weirdness of telling a story in Minecraft.

BUT!

A Minecraft TV Show can EASILY solve this conflict of genre!

MINECRAFT YOUTUBE AND MINECRAFT ROLEPLAY LITERALLY ALREADY EXIST!

These are wildly successful! When I'm describing Starlighter I literally tell people I help to make a TV show in Minecraft! This is not new! (The entire reason I got thinking about this was a photo of a fan meeting Aphmau, MumboJumbo, Valkrae, and a few more MCYTs I don't remember, in New Zealand where supposedly the Minecraft Movie is being filmed).

Making an official Minecraft TV Show, whether its on Netlfix or Cartoon Network or something else, narrows down the audience they're having to appeal to to an audience that ALREADY ENJOYS NICHE AND STYLIZED THINGS! Cause this can just be treated as a cartoon! I think of Tangled: The Series or the Big Hero 6 TV show that have their big original original format where the characters are introduced have their serious story, but these cartoons are allowed to be more stylized and silly (and yes ofc they have their serious plot but it's not the same as the formality of their full movies) or even The Owl House that had a darker, more grotesque (not in a bad way) style, but was still wildly successful because the audience for it was already prepared for weird new styles and worlds and don't mind (in fact I think a lot PREFER) unique storytelling styles like what Minecraft kind of needs!

I dont know where I'm going with this I just finally cracked the code of why I can't bring myself to be excited about the Minecraft Movie when I think it's going to be doomed, and it's because it's in the wrong format for what it needs. I can't believe they're reinventing the wheel with this JUST MAKE IT AN ANIMATED TV SHOW MCYT IS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE...

#becca rambles #minecraft #minecraft movie #cant believe this has taken me MONTHS to figure out

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gachagon · 1 year

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"Zombies" VS Egoists

There's a lot I find super interesting about chapter 214 but I think this panel is one of the ones that really catches my attention the most. The reason I'm so fixated on it is because we have come so far since the famous "Luck" panel that Kaneshiro has practically hammered into us that "luck" is not something to be trifled with, it's not something to brush off, and it certainly isn't something you look down on in a game.

Luck in Blue Lock is not just a fluke but rather the culmination of hard work from a player who people underestimate. The only reason it comes off as a "lucky shot" is because often times the opposing side looks down on those they're going up against. And time and time again we see this happening with Isagi. He can never seem to really get the respect he deserves from his opponents until he has devoured them, and I like to think it's simply just because of his appearance (the boys gotta bulk up some day, eat more of his veggies T_T) However, I also think this chapter is going to be a clash of ideals.

This arc we've really been focusing on the money angle of soccer and there's been a lot of emphasis on how much money the boys are worth now that they have sponsors and the Blue Lock TV thing. But this chapter really shows that for some people their ego is entirely tied to their actual net worth, and as long as they have the most money thrown at them, the more they're ego is satiated.

Look at how methodical they break down their game plan. It's not based on their ego's or even their weapons at all, it's all a thought out calculated program for them to follow that has nothing to do with "taking chances" to score, or having the confidence to be bold and steal balls from people. The simple version of Jinpachi Ego's philosophy is very weak here because it relies entirely on the opponent being like you, an egoist.

And I think that's why Isagi was so caught off guard because for once they're not acting like Egoists. They're acting like puppets, like "zombies" who have been programmed to do a certain thing before hand. It's the opposite of egoism, where you let someone else take control for once and let them use your skills to their advantage.

I think the comparison's to Zombies is really good in this chapter simply because Isagi has been using meta-vision to predict people's behavior in a game and use it against them, however "zombies" are brainless. They don't have behaviors that are purely theirs, often times they're being controlled by some virus or infection. So how can you predict someone based on how they act if they're not even thinking in that moment for themselves? If they're purely going off of a script, even if you could see what they were doing, you wouldn't be able to understand why because they're just doing it with no real rhyme or reason that matches what you already know about them.

Though I want to go back to the first panel again because I believe it is the key Isagi needs to win, which is that he has to figure out what is fueling these players to go forth and play now, and he has to use Luck.

Yes it's hard to plan against a team who is practically not thinking for themselves in the moment, but it's easier to trick them up by watching how they've been "programed" for that match. Each Uber's boy got their own personalized little plan that told them how to move, what to do, what formations to take etc based on their attributes and weapons. All Isagi has to do is pay attention to purely how they're moving, and forget about the why for a moment, because there is no "why".

He has to get "Lucky" again and use meta vision to look at their direct movements and not their behavior. And it's clear that Lorenzo doesn't understand Luck at all, he thinks it is just purely flukes that get people lucky in games. Isagi could absolutely use this misunderstanding of the Egoist philosophy to score another goal.

#bllk #blue lock manga #bllk meta #blue lock meta #isagi yoichi #blue lock manga spoilers

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pessiofficial · 10 months

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barcelona vs getafe (8/13/23) match analysis

i mostly just do this for my own records but boy is there a lot to break down

-> saying xavi should be sacked is an outrageous take. yes his formations have been horrible and he doesn't use players to their full potential but also 1) it's the first game of the season and 2) the players aren't playing to their full potential either. this was a team loss. -> that being said xavi has to take a lot of the blame too. we went into the game all over the place. pedri should not have been playing a second striker role when he's been so good in a more deep-lying position. he did go back to that in the second half a little more and he was great there. another bad tactical decision by him was putting in abde and balde at the same time. i think he'd been sent off at this point but those two were horrible next to each other. -> there's no creativity upfield. lewy is being used in a more deep lying role which is crazy, he should be a target man for crosses. he's not a creator, and doesn't fit into the system. raphinha and abde were abysmal, although raphi got the early red so we wouldn't know if he'd have been good. -> abde. what can i say about abde that will be enough? he's got potential but good god he cannot make decisions to save his life. he slows down too much in the attacking third and at those crucial moments. -> ansu and yamal weren't the right subs. yamal was good, but is too inexperienced and ansu was just... subpar. i would've rather seen ferran brought in. he could've provided something that lewy wasn't. -> defensively we were fine -- balde and kounde were good most of the game and so was araujo. the midfield was okay but it was those wingers that got us. we need a creative winger who can both create chances and score goals (preferably one whose name starts with n and ends with r with a big old jr. at the end of it.) -> now for the refereeing. poor anger management from raphinha, although i would've done the same. however it's ridiculous that damian suarez didn't get a red for doing the same shit to gundo. -> xavi needs to control his own emotions better. he was like this as a player too as far as i can remember but he doesn't have room to act like that as a coach. i think the straight red was a bit much but honestly the ref had dodgy decisions most of the time. -> i think we should've gotten the penalty at the end because gavi was 100% being held and i'm not even sure if it was a handball. it looked more like a foul to me to be honest. but even if we'd scored a penalty it doesn't erase the fact that it was an appalling showing. ->we tied the first game of last season too and ended up winning, but i would be a little worried. there's a lot of work from both the players and xavi that needs to be done.

anyway that's all i can think of. horrible game but it was entertaining

#footy analysis #barca #xavi #ronald araujo #pedri #lewy #abde #alejandro balde #jules kounde #raphinha #ansu fati #lamine yamal #ferran torres #getafe

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tacticalgrandma · 3 months

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We wrote player epilogues for our characters for this dnd campaign. Idk how much sense it will make out of context but still wanted to share the one I wrote for my goth-ass drow warlock--

Ursula immediately embarks on the second most urgent mission she’s ever faced, after saving the world: making sure Dion has the best wedding ever. Ursula works closely with Dion in the years to come to ensure peace among the elves, to ensure that everyone knows that Dion is the most talented incredible druid/person ever, and to ensure that her goddaughter and her brother are spoiled rotten (and get to Fly whenever they want).

Pyra proves to be the leader the drow people need as they remake their society. Her steely will and driving ambition surmount the resistance of the remnants of Lolth-aligned houses, and her courage and charm sway the masses to her vision. Her clerical powers dwindle, but her faith in her people’s potential only ever grows. She is crowned queen of the reforged Ust’Natha with the bollide blade at her side—a gift from her chief advisor and wife, Ursula, for the champion of the drow.

Initially hesitant about publicly working alongside Pyra for fear of undermining her image, Ursula eventually lets herself come home. As drow struggle to restructure their society without the gifts of their demon queen, Ursula works with Index to introduce new technologies and techniques to get the city back on its feet. This is helped greatly by the formation of a Wyv satellite program spearheaded by Celeste, which demystifies the arcane arts for drow and teaches them how to practice safely. There is also inexplicably a department dedicated to studying the frogs of the Underdark.

Ursula struggles with the duty of ascension laid before her. She immerses herself in life—making up for lost time with her parents, falling in love, and of course, regrouping with the Horizon Hunters to go on more adventures and/or see how many deviled eggs Finn can hork down. She waits and waits for the moment when yes, she has lived enough. She has seen all that mortal life has to offer. She can go now. The moment never really comes. There are always new places to see, new experiences to be had, and always, always, people to love. But eventually, she is ready.

Generations later, Ust’Natha is a city of many races and many faiths. Temples to the Starhallowed Court stand alongside temples to duergar and svirfneblin gods in the heart of the city. But on the outskirts, there sits a temple in the shadows. It is surrounded by a garden of red nightlight fronds, and surface flowers that improbably flourish. While it is rarely spoken of, residents of the Underdark seem to know what it is for. If one feels lost, if one feels alone, if one seeks freedom, they are drawn there. Praying at the crystalline statue of a one-eyed goddess, they can find the hope and power that they need to carry on. At the Temple of the Black Opal, one can find a savior for the broken, the beaten, and the damned.

#orig

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killmebutneverinsultme · 1 year

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If you could give rping advice to an amateur, what would be the most valuable?

// You know, I've seen some fabulous tips and guides rolling around this website and can I blimmin' find any of them I thought I'd reblogged? Can I bugger. Let's see what I can think of off the top of my head!

First things first, your blog: This is the first thing people are going to look at to make a decision if you're suited to them. Doesn't have to be anything fancy. Ensure you have an icon so we don't assume you're a spam bot. Have a bio and/or a rules page so people know what you expect and note if you're 18+/21+ as many adults aren't comfortable role-playing with people under this age for safety reasons. If you're writing a canon character, a bio page can just be a brief summary of who they are and what they're about. If you're writing an OC, a reasonably detailed bio is practically essential. You might know why your muse is awesome, but your prospective partners don't so give everyone the goss on who they are, what makes them interesting, what their backstory is etc.

Next is both the most difficult and probably the next most essential: Have no fear. What I mean by this is not to let insecurity get the best of you. If you love writing, have that be your anchor. Not everyone is going to say yes and that's ok. Not everything works out. Starting out is often the most difficult time because it's easy to feel like no one is interested and that you're doing all the work. I promise you, it will get better if you keep plugging away, but you have to reach out and brave things for a bit. Be kind, be open about what you want, and enjoy every little thing until you get more opportunities.

Good ways of finding partners are to search tags for 'rp masterlists' in fandoms you are interested in e.g. 'marvel rp' or 'potc rp' or even 'open rp'. Scroll down people's blogs and have a look at who else they're playing with, read their rules and pages etc. and see if they have preferences on how to be contacted. Some people will do open starters, some will greet you if you follow them, some accept memes from anyone. If someone mentions you need to be mutuals this means that you have to wait for them to follow you back before they will be open to writing with you. Once they do, check their rules how they like to be contacted. If it's not clear, brave an ask, send a meme, or a private message.

Private messages - best advice for these are not to start off with 'wanna rp?'. I recommend dropping in, saying hi, expressing that you'd be interested in writing and leaving an idea for something you'd be keen on doing should they be interested too. If they're not, thank them and move on. If they are, hooray, make friends and have fun plotting!

An extremely valuable RP tool is the New X-kit and X-kit Rewritten browser extensions. Tumblr is not built to be friendly for role-playing and I couldn't manage without these. Rewritten lets you trim posts so you can get rid of the pesky top post that would otherwise stay when using tumblr's new beta post formats. It helps us keep posts looking neater on our blogs and dashboard, although thankfully tumblr introduced the 'shorten posts' feature to save everyone's eyeballs from super long threads.

General etiquette: Lots of role-players have preferences on how long they prefer replies to be and how often they are active. Trial and error until you find partners that suit you. Ideally check your spelling and grammar if it's not something you're adept at. A big thing not to do is godmodding, which is when you might be tempted to write someone else's character doing something on their behalf. Even if this might mean your post is shorter, do not do this. You must let your partner write all of their own muse's actions. If your muse attempts to do something to their muse, they should be given permission to dictate what happens on their end. It's a give and take relationship to make the best possible fun for both of you.

Other big ones: don't let jealousy get the better of you. There might be duplicates of your muse or you might like someone who gives lots of attention to someone else. It's very easy to get wrapped up in your muses' feelings and get obsessed with gratification. Be gentle with each other, we've all got our own stuff going on, and we all need different things. Be gentle with yourself, too, that's most important!

Hopefully these are some of the basics and are of help! If anyone would like advice on something more specific, please ask, or ask one of these other lovelies for their opinion also.

#rp etiquette #how to rp #Pirate answers anons #Pirate's advice #outofrum

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misscaptainbear · 1 year

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A while back I wrote a blog on how I'd make a soulslike using retro hardware, I'm gonna repost it here :D

Yeah, so the twitter post where I first explained my idea was my most liked/shared post by like a factor of ten. Since there was so much interest, I figured I might as well make a mockup in Unity. Look what you made me do.

Here’s a link to the build, and the controls are detailed on that page too. For the full effect, I’d also recommend using JoyToKey or a similar program to convert controller inputs to key presses, because I was too lazy to implement key rebinding for a mockup. See the itch.io page for suggested bindings.

Also, if you (yes, you!) want to continue this work, the zip file for the build also contains inspiration art, models, game data, and source code. It’s low polish code and almost nothing is systemic, but maybe it’s a springboard for someone who wants to push this project farther. I’d love to see it. The work that I have the rights to (i.e. everything except the inspirational art) is hereby released in the public domain.

Findings

Animation

The first and most noteworthy thing I’ve discovered while implementing is that there were more animations than I anticipated. Like, I figured there’d be a lot, and there were more than that. As of right now, there are 532 player sprites, each at 100x100 pixels, giving us roughly 6.4 mb of sprite data. (assuming indexed image format and smartly cropping fully alpha 8x8 blocks)

Bruh

One of the things we could to further shrink these is to run-length compress them, and also reuse tiles. I considered writing a python script to go over all 8x8 tiles within all sprites, and saving them in a massive lookup table. Then, it would go through all sprites again, replacing the tiles in the sprite with any similar tiles. This would mean, say, the thigh tile from one animation might be the cloak in a different frame if the pixel colors and shapes were sufficiently similar. However, I decided not to because it doesn’t actually have any savings on modern hardware, only on tile based renderers.

I could have also hand deleted specific entire frames of animations and reused similar enough ones - just by eye - but I also wanted to include all of the animations in the data that I distributed, just for the sake of it all being there for anyone who might need it, for whatever reason. I think these techniques might get the total data down to 50-60%, but that still means a ton of data just for the main characters sprites.

I could also cut the animations in half by simply making the character designs so that the left-facing animations can be reused for the right-facing animations, but I felt that put a lot of constraints on enemy design and combat readability, so I didn’t pursue that either.

Turns out tons of animation variants work better on skinned 3D models (which is why I’m pitching my next souls game on the Nintendo 64. Hit me up Bandai Namco!) I chose to do one player model with no costume changes and just a boring sword. Any variants like clothing, weapons, or equipping a shield would have completely blown the animation data budget.

Framerate

You’ll also notice the game runs by default at a low framerate, 15 frames per second (The quality can be changed with the - and + keys during runtime if it causes discomfort). I did this for two reasons. One, it made the animations, which run at a consistent 10 frames per second, feel much more in line with the sprite movement and the camera rotation. Plus, it might accurately simulate the game running on actual hardware; making the game run a quarter at SNES framerate might be required for the “high-fidelity graphics” on show here. (Who knows if the hardware would actually allow that without awful artifacts though, ha). But throttling framerate is a tried and true tactic for better visuals.

Environment

Another thing that surprised me is the amount of reuse on environment assets I was able to get. I was ready to put together a bunch of textures for the walls and floors, but I finished up what I wanted to achieve and found I’d only used 20 64x64 textures. I think the real game would benefit by focusing on unique tilesets to give each zone or level a special feel, and I think that’d be within the budget of a real game.

Environment took about 20 textures total

I also quickly abandoned the differing-heights-of-walls idea I talked about in the first blogpost. The requirements of the way walls are rendered described in the post made certain arrangements of walls impossible, and those were kind of the only level designs I wanted to use. That’s confusing, here’s some drawings to explain what I mean. Basically, having shorter walls in front making a visually tiered level with hedges that obscure the walls behind them just isn’t possible using that technique.

The rendering technique causes gaps where there would be walls behind walls.

While we’re on the topic of environment, I guess I skipped over the way we’d have to z-sort sprites to allow walls to layer correctly over them, and for sprites to draw back to front. That’d be a performance issue too probably.

Palette and Rendering

One of the big wins I had was the palette I set up, I felt it was super moody and conveyed the tone I was going for. It felt muddy and sad and tired. It had pops of blues and greens, but even then they muted and melancholy. To achieve this look, there were three mechanisms here. First, all the sprites and environment textures were palletized to those colors. Then, in-game, I used a fog effect to fade the world to black. Finally, a post processing shader took any pixels outside the gamut and palletized the final game render, so every pixel displayed is within that palette.

The palletization is most noticeable in gradients, where it slightly changes the tone of colors. In a cool retro way, I think.

To create the sprites, I was kind of forced to do it by rendering 3d models (blender files included in the data!). This was due to time and money. As mentioned previously, I would have loved to dress up in costumes and downscale, pixelate, and rotoscope real pictures, but that costs stuff. Also, I’m sure hand-pixelled sprites would absolutely look more appealing, but like I said above, there were just so many animation sprites. The upside to hand authoring is you can have more control of implied movement during animation, and therefore probably fewer frames. All said, I don’t dislike the rendered results, it has a bit of a Diablo 2 look to it, but I wish I had been able to experiment with different techniques, mostly for fun.

I remember loving to see these render breakdowns in gaming magazines and websites back in the day

I think if I had lower-resolution-better-looking sprites, fewer animations using the techniques described above, and designing levels so as to not have to z-sort sprites, it just might be able to run on SNES. Just maybe. A commenter mentioned it might actually run on GBA, and I could see it being possible. Shoutout to the most impressive 3D gba game ever.

One final design note I liked: The ducking mechanic was inspired by Super Mario World. I felt that was a nice homage, and there wasn’t enough buttons for more soulslike interactions like parrying, so it felt like it was a good choice with some mechanical depth with the limited inputs I had available. And, this game being simpler is alright by me - we are theoretically in the realm of before King’s Field.

Summary

So there it is. I said I didn’t have time to implement it, and I did anyway. This is all your fault.

But for real, I really enjoyed tinkering with this, and I’d love to see anything that gets made out of this idea. Hoped you enjoyed reading this!

#soulslike #soulsborn #dark souls #retro games #retro inspired #snes #gamedev #indie dev #game design

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a-quietly-crying-ostrich · 1 year

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caught myself going into a rant in tags so why don’t i just make a post and go wild

reblogged a post abt good gift ideas and they mentioned cd’s and i’m getting a cd player this christmas which i’m really happy abt!!! i have like four cd’s rn but i should ask for a thing of blank ones. i don’t know how to put stuff on them but i swear i will fucking learn

physical stuff my beloved <333. im on my phone way to fuckin much so just move stuff i do on phone off of phone. i’m genius

read somewhere that you should get off your phone like an hr before going to bed but i’m usually reading fanfics then so i was thinking abt printing out fanfics.

main problem i see with that is formatting. i don’t want a printer paper per page, just smthn like half of one. but if you print double sided pages it doesn’t really line up

front side being red and back side being blue (those first two should be landscape not portrait but i don’t feel like going back n changing it :p. so if you print it like that and fold it hamburger style it just ends up being read/formatted like half of back page, all of front page, then other half of back page)

it goes kinda like that and idk the best way to get around it.

i could digitally format it in google docs so that the back,front,front,back turns out how i want but if i need to edit anything then the entire formatting would be fucked and it’d be really confusing jumping back n forth so i’d prolly get confused and print it wrong

i could make it so just one half of the front and one half of the back is printed then cut the bottom part off but that’d be wasting so much paper

and i don’t think i can just have it printed anywhere bc that’d be copyright infringement right? i mean im not selling them, they’d just be for personal use but idk

and i don’t wanna hand write them if i can avoid it. one fic i’ve been trying to figure out how to print is 60 pages long in google docs, two columns, 11pt arial, 1.15 spacing, landscape orientation. i’d lose my hand before i finished that shit.

idk but i have the whole winter break to figure it out so hopefully i find or come up with something.

kinda going back to the present list post, i think a toolkit is a really good idea! my stepmom got me one for last christmas (at least i think it was) and i fuckin love it.

i really wish i was taught how to use tools growing up i know jack shit. like i think i know how to use like half of the stuff in the kit theoretically but *i want to know all of it*

in my criminology class it was mentioned in a lecture that people with low self control prefer physical tasks over mental ones. i don’t have good self control that isn’t a surprise and i fucking LOVE to work with my hands when i get the chance.

(i was thinking, ppl with adhd usually have low self control (i know bc i have it skdhdj), could that be a reason we like physical tasks? food for thought)

i’m checking out of my dorm soon and we have to take everything out of our bathrooms (literally fucking everything) so i had to dismantle a tension rod soap rack holder and part of a little over the toilet cabinet. it’s dumb that we had to do that but holy shit the happy i got from doing the tasks. i had to unscrew four nails (real complex shit, i know) but i really liked doing it! like there was physical proof that i did that!!! holy fuck!!! i don’t get near that happy doing good on tests

idk just something about being able to do that was really validating to me. and i got to use my toolkit again!!

i asked my dad and stepmom if they could help teach me more &/or get more experience w tools n shit and they said yes! they built like half the furniture in their house so they know their shit. and they also said they’d help me learn how to cook more!

i love my mom and stepdad so fuckin much and couldn’t imagine growing up without them. but man did they not teach me many life skills :// what i did learn is what i actively asked about as i got older

my siblings on my dad’s side are just so much better prepared than me or my sister on my mom’s side that i live with. ngl i’m kinda jealous of them for that lol

like ~half a month ago during thanksgiving break my grandpa taught me how to check my oil and windshield fluid in my car and they’re such tiny details but i loved learning about those

headed down to stay w him tomorrow, think i may do a bit of info gathering and ask about things

hmmm…. i… am going to finish the rest of this in google docs holy fuck i should start a journal again but is that actual me or the adhd meds talking

#tldr physical shit good as fUCK #rlly want more physical pictures to put in my album #man brain really went flip flop #rant #ostrimch

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miriamundertale · 2 months

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Skate-Leading Stars, The Bane of my Fucking Existence

I've partially wanted to talk about this anime for a while, but after Confirmation that it's real and I haven't been fucking hallucinating it, I think now is likely a better time than ever to uh, Discuss this weird ass show. Skate-Leading Stars was first revealed to me while working on a separate whole project (My attempt to watch every anime where Hiroshi Kamiya voices a main character) and saw it as the main currently airing show that he was voicing a character in. Unfortunately for me, the thought that formed was "oh sweet, this is a currently airing one I could watch this as it airs," not realizing the two fucking year long brainworm I was about to nourish. As a precursor, I need to make clear I'm going to be jumping around in focus a lot. moreover, this is NOT a review, i just want to vent about something that's been taking over my mind. there is a LOT of weird shit going on with this anime that I'd like to at least cover so if I leave something hanging for a bit, I will get back to it at some point.

Spoilers for Skate-Leading Stars, Your Lie In April

What the fuck is Skate-Leading?

Have you ever watched like, a sport, a game, or some other activity (Including Single player ones!) and just wanted to add people to it for no fucking reason? like, "What if chess was 5 people on each side per board deliberating every action while really hoping nobody else listens in" tier shit. That's the main premise of Skate-Leading. It's a sport where 5 anime boys do figure skating all at once in a formation together. The obvious concerns about safety are not even mentioned and the idea of "how do you even judge this on a regional level well without a LOT of judges" is settled by having the numbers be put up as a box that they say is an AI judging it. a core plot point is the One Interesting Character figuring out how the AI works in his gamer cave and gaming it.

Your first bit of confusion you may encounter with that premise is of course "isn't there already pair skating as an actual real sport one could use for the drama of multi-person skating?" or maybe "doesnt this mean this just a more fucked up yuri on ice?" which to me are both great questions, with only the first easily answered with a Yes. Yuri on ice is the obvious comparison for what SLS is attempting to draw from here, given you have seen literally anything about yuri on ice and the timing of the two shows, but you need to understand that the figure skating is a bait. the yaoi is the point but is bait in regards for understanding this plot. they're not trying to do Yuri on ice. They're trying to do Your Lie In April.

Let's Talk about the OP (Updated info in final paragraph)

For some fucking reason that I originally credited to COVID delays, half the fucking OP is black screens.

I don't think anything of it is especially standout aside from that, while SLS has many weaknesses the OP isnt one of them. Unfortunately it's not anything to write home about either, so I don't want anyone else to feel like we're truly missing out when I reveal the fact that as far as I can tell the OP was censored for the western release. I'm operating on my own anecdotal evidence and what is one of my two current white whales (the other that isn't about to be mentioned is the Japanese dub of Batman Vs Superman) so if my theorizing here is completely incorrect than that's Fine. Thats Fine. About a month into watching the show while it was airing, the half black OP started to get to me. I wanted to see more, try and get to the bottom of it, and eventually managed to find the full uncensored version uploaded which remained up for about two weeks before disappearing. I know that the version we can find online is fucking censored. I have no idea why. once again, so little people I know have any knowledge about this show aside from me, let alone have talked about it. I cannot find anything online talking about the OP aside from light mentions in the comments of the Crunchyroll upload sandwiched between Jesus Bots.

While spending a pathetic amount of time delaying this, I actually in fact have been sent proof of the uncensored OP existing. from anything I could tell or from what the friend who sent this from me could tell, the entire reason is something involving covid delays (Confirming my original suspicion, at least!) making them rush out the international version before the broadcast version, thought the delay wasn't that huge? its still definitely a mystery to me that haunts me a little but at least I know it Exists.

Since I've spent enough time talking about not the plot I think its a good time to address the whole Your Lie In April thing

What the Fuck do you Mean Its Trying to do Your lie In April??

Your lie in April, if you haven't seen it, is a story about dealing with grief, parental abuse and falling in love again with your passions even after loss. it's a very rough anime to sit through emotionally, and while its very much a show i have mixed feelings about personally, it's still a very well written example of its genre. Skate-Leading Stars spends has the main character parallel Kousei Arima's (The Main character of Your Lie in April) very basic arc of a teenager getting back into the area he used to be a prodigy in as a child, any forms of subtly or trauma have been entirely replaced with as many meatheaded brash qualities as they can in order to fit the true BL purpose of the story. Instead of having the love interest heavily foreshadowed to die being someone who views said passion in an entirely different light than him as a way to work through trauma and difficulty handling the act of playing piano again, the love interest is a mysterious boy who's using him to try and get back at his brother. Skate-Leading Stars, unabashedly, apes the format and ideas of Your Lie in April, barely understanding anything else going on, and uses it for a bl anime about a sport that is at best impossible to judge and realistically physically dangerous to exist.

Ok now what?

I don't think its necessary to do a plot summary of SLS, partially because I don't want to, but mostly because who fucking cares. I love bad shows, and while the start of the show is undeniably strong in its garbage it goes nowhere with anything. It spends a large amount of its time as a story setting up beats that never pay off, having loud yaoi boys yelling constantly, or underusing Hiroshi Kamiya. There IS a manga I could read for the rest of the story that's likely been playing out, but since only the first chapter is translated I don't see any reason to examine it too closely. If you want to watch gay ice skating anime, Yuri on ice is talked about for a reason. if you want to watch bad anime with Hiroshi Kamiya Ultimate Otaku Teacher exists. If you have read the manga please tell me if Sasugai actually has some sort of fatal disease or they're just aping the framing from Your Lie in April without meaning again.

#miri writing #would it be funny to tag this as sls #yes #yes it would be #do i want to absolutely not

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kickthepitch · 4 months

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Is Arsenal better than Liverpool?

The short answer to this question: yes

The long answer to this question: below

Today, Arsenal and Liverpool went against each other at an Arsenal home game which resulted in an Arsenal win. This prompted a discussion between some mates and I about which club is better as of right now. While we know that Liverpool is top of the table with 51 points, Arsenal is just 3 points behind. So, does today's win and standing at the table make them the better team? Sort of

We know Liverpool is great, but they are struggling without their most impactful player, Mo Salah, who is out due to injury. While they have won during his injury, can we count these wins as anything of real significance? They beat Norwich City, a team 9th in the championship table, and Chelsea, who, even though I love them, I can admit, have not been playing their best.

But I understand injuries can be seen as an excuse; so let's talk about game formation and play.

Liverpool:

Liverpool played without control and technicality on the field, leaving wide space and opportunity for Arsenal to come in. The goal they did manage to sway in was sloppy and lacked the technicality you expect from a team running the top of the table. While Liverpool needed that goal, was it as deserved as we wanted it to be?

Liverpool did come back with a purpose in the second half, but it was not enough to get them to straighten out and take the lead. The absence of Dominik Szoboszlai, changed their midfield dynamic which I believe was the biggest impact in today's match as a good midfield created a solid foundation no matter what.

The Liverpool I know has this foundation, style, and flow in their playing that I have yet to see recently. They lack the routine of movement and instead play with a sense of chaos that creates situations like this.

Arsenal:

This is not the case for Arsenal. Their mid-three (Rice, Odegaard, and Jorginho) are a solid foundation, strengthening the movement of possession and complete control over the pitch.

Arsenal felt like they were telepathically communicating; they pressed, dropped, and moved in sync. This is why they could sneak into the spaces Liverpool created and manage some goals. Plus, Bukayo Saka has been an absolute star recently and really came through for Arsenal today.

In all I think Arsenal's strong foundation, and the team work creates a stability within their playing style that allows them to be consistent. On the other hand, Liverpool is up against hard times, with Klopp leaving players getting injured and then coming back and shifting the chemistry on the pitch again, which sets them back in terms of consistency.

I hope they can manage to seal the top of the table, but until then, I think Arsenal has a high chance of taking it from him.

What do you guys think?

Pictures from Arsenal and Liverpool's Instagram

#arsenal #liverpool fc #kickthepitch #premier league #bukayo saka #trent alexander arnold #mo salah #dominik szoboszlai #jurgen klopp #mikel arteta #arsenal v liverpool #soccer #futbol #futból

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tfemby · 7 months

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Kitty, Newsboat and MPV

Lately I have been looking for different ways to watch videos online and I have found a solution that surprisingly clean. The goal for this setup was to add some of my favourite youtube channels into an easy-to-access list and have multiple channels videos displayed to me in sequential order. After choosing a video to watch, I'll be able to watch it. To add a little bit of spice on top of this already interesting idea, lets do all of this in a terminal emulator... because why not?

This write-up is about what I did on my Linux system so for other OS's may need different instructions.

The Software

You're going to need to install the following:

kitty - Terminal Emulator

mpv - Video player

yt-dlp - Video downloader

newsboat - RSS/Atom reader

Use your package manager to install the above programs. I'm using Gentoo so for me this was:

sudo emerge -av kitty mpv yt-dlp newsboat

Great, so now we have all the ingredients for this recipe but we need to combine them all together to create this dish.

Kitty

We'll start from the ground up and that begins with our terminal emulator. Kitty was chosen because it has a nice feature where it can display images AND video+audio within the terminal itself.

My configuration is the following:

.config/kitty/kitty.conf font_family Inconsolata Nerd Font bold_font Inconsolata Nerd Font italic_font Inconsolata Nerd Font bold_italic_font Inconsolata Nerd Font font_size 10.5 tab_bar_min_tabs 1 tab_bar_edge bottom tab_bar_style powerline tab_powerline_style slanted tab_title_template {title}{' :{}:'.format(num_windows) if num_windows > 1 else ''}

The kitty configuration isn't strictly necessary but changing the font size at a minimum is something I always do when trying out a new terminal emulator. The above also adds a bottom bar to Kitty.

MPV

MPV is an amazing video player that I've been using for close to a decade. It can stream videos from the web through the help on yt-dlp. You don't need to strictly do anything for MPV to work in this setup. I'd however recommend looking at this youtube video quality script (which you'd download to $HOME/.config/mpv/scripts/). The script allows you to choose a lower quality such as 720p if you're experiencing issues with a video loading. You just need to type, "ctrl+f" and use your arrow keys to select a resolution and hit enter.

Newsboat

Newsboat is an RSS and Atom reader. If you don't know what either of these things mean, that's okay. All you do need to know is that RSS or Atom is just a way of displaying information in XML format. Newsboat simply displays articles (or youtube channels in our usecase) and allows you to do run macro's on them or if you're using the program for it's original intended purpose, read the article.

Back to our setup! Newsboat is the program where all of the magic happens. First up, this is what I have configured within the newsboat config file.

.newsboat/config # General auto-reload yes max-items 100 # Browser browser "/usr/bin/firefox-bin %u" macro v set browser "mpv --really-quiet --vo=kitty --vo-kitty-use-shm=yes"; open-in-browser-and-mark-read; set browser "/usr/bin/firefox-bin %u" # Vim keybindings ## Unbind default keys unbind-key ENTER unbind-key j unbind-key k unbind-key J unbind-key K ## Bind Keys - Vim bind-key j down bind-key k up bind-key l open bind-key h quit

The applicable lines above is the macro. We're setting the "browser" to "mpv --really-quiet --vo=kitty --vo-kitty-use-shm=yes". What this does is tells newsboat to, for when we use this macro, set our browser to mpv which will launch within the kitty terminal, enable shared memory (without this option, videos ran at like 15fps for me). We then call, "open-in-browser-and-mark-read" which executes the mpv "browser" we set just before and causes the video we just opened to be viewed as, "read" (or in our case, we watched). We then reset the default browser back to firefox. I will explain how to use the macro towards the end of this guide.

Everything else in my config is strictly optional. Vim-like keybinds isn't necessary but I'm personally addicted to them.

Configuring the URL list

Having our config file setup is great and all but we now need to populate our RSS feed with some of our favourite youtube channels. There's a couple of ways to do this but I prefer to use Invidious. For this step, hop over to Invidious and find your favourite youtubers channel. On the top right, there's an, "RSS" button. Right click -> Copy Link and you've successfully got RSS feed for your favourite youtuber.

For my example, I'm going to say that my favourite youtubers are: ThePrimeagen, ThePrimeTime, DistroTube and Chris Titus Tech. My urls file will look like the following.

.newsboat/urls https://yewtu.be/feed/channel/UC8ENHE5xdFSwx71u3fDH5Xw "ThePrimeagen" https://yewtu.be/feed/channel/UCUyeluBRhGPCW4rPe_UvBZQ "ThePrimeTime" https://yewtu.be/feed/channel/UCVls1GmFKf6WlTraIb_IaJg "DistroTube" https://yewtu.be/feed/channel/UCg6gPGh8HU2U01vaFCAsvmQ "Chris Titus Tech"

Above, we have added the RSS feed link for each channel and in quotes, tagged each channel with their name. Tagging isn't strictly necessary but it makes knowing what the links before it are supposed to be (also they will be needed if you wish to view everything in a list which we'll show up next).

Using tags and queries

You could easily just stop following along and you'll be able to easily to see each youtube video each content creator releases. But what if we want to imitate the subscription feed? Enter queries. Queries are just an automated way to concatenate multiple RSS feeds into a single feed. Below is an example of how to do this with our urls file.

.newsboat/urls "query:Subscriptions:tags # \"timeline\"" https://yewtu.be/feed/channel/UC8ENHE5xdFSwx71u3fDH5Xw "ThePrimeagen"; timeline https://yewtu.be/feed/channel/UCUyeluBRhGPCW4rPe_UvBZQ "ThePrimeTime"; timeline https://yewtu.be/feed/channel/UCVls1GmFKf6WlTraIb_IaJg "DistroTube"; timeline https://yewtu.be/feed/channel/UCg6gPGh8HU2U01vaFCAsvmQ "Chris Titus Tech"; timeline

What we added above was the query. It'll place everything which has the tag of, "timeline," into a feed named, "Subscriptions."

If you don't want each of the channel feeds to show up, you can ensure they don't by adding a ! into the first tag like so.

.newsboat/urls "query:Subscriptions:tags # \"timeline\"" https://yewtu.be/feed/channel/UC8ENHE5xdFSwx71u3fDH5Xw "!ThePrimeagen"; timeline https://yewtu.be/feed/channel/UCUyeluBRhGPCW4rPe_UvBZQ "!ThePrimeTime"; timeline https://yewtu.be/feed/channel/UCVls1GmFKf6WlTraIb_IaJg "!DistroTube"; timeline https://yewtu.be/feed/channel/UCg6gPGh8HU2U01vaFCAsvmQ "!Chris Titus Tech"; timeline

Using the Setup

If everything has gone smoothly so far, you can open up newsboat by typing in the command, newsboat and it should look like this.

If you're using my keybindings, you can press "l" to go into the Subscriptions feed and see the latest videos from the creators. If you're using the default keybindings, just press, "Enter".

To use the macro we setup earlier to launch a video, find a video that piques your interest and press, ", v" (comma, v). If you're using my bindings, you can navigate up and down using j and k. Standard is just arrow keys.

Wait a second for the video to start and it should launch directly in the kitty terminal!

You can control volume by pressing 9 for lower, 0 for higher. Space bar is to pause. Left and right arrow keys move backwards and forwards by 10 seconds in the video consequently. Press q to quit back to newsboat. You may also quit out of newsboat itself by pressing q again.

If this interests you, I hope you enjoy a rather niche way to watch youtube :)

#linux #mpv #youtube #newsboat #tech

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redwineconversation · 8 months

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Le Havre - Olympique Lyonnais OLPlay Postgame Interviews

Standard disclaimers apply; @OL Comms Dept there is so much you can chip in for including but not limited to a PSL or an apple cinnamon scented candle; don't do invasive shit it drives me NUTS; y'all know the speech by now.

Why Liana Joseph got interviewed over Eugenie Le Sommer and/or Danielle van de Donk is beyond me, but this is what happens when Timothee isn't there.

SONIA BOMPASTOR INTERVIEW

Journalist: Our coach, Sonia Bompastor. Good evening, Sonia. I imagine we have a satisfied coach this evening.

Bompastor: Yes, yes, a lot of satisfaction indeed. Our start of the season has been almost perfect even if in terms of expectations there are still things we can improve on. But in case in terms of the result, between last week with the first title and today with the beginning of the league, I'm really satisfied, and I'm happy with what we showed in the game today. It's a good foundation to have to build on, and obviously there are still things we need to work on. But in terms of progression we know what we can do, and the foundations are in place.

Journalist: We saw a starting eleven which was almost identical to what we saw against Paris Saint-Germain in the Trophee des Championnes. But we also saw a lot of substitutions, some interesting substitutions, some substitutions which clearly brought something to the team in the second half. There was obviously a preseason element for some of the players in the team [Carpenter had only been back with the team for about 10 days], that was pretty logical. In the end, it's pretty encouraging to see the team already performing well.

Bompastor: Yeah. It was a good performance. I'm lucky to have at my disposal a group of players who have a lot of quality but also a quantity as well, which will allow us to be in play for all the competitions. So that's good. And what's important is that I can count on everybody. There's a lot of quality, I'm repeating myself. But with all the games we will be playing this season, it's important to count on everyone. And especially to be able to tell yourself that when you're calling upon players who weren't in the starting lineup, they're in the right state of mind. They can make a difference off the bench. And for the team, for the coach, for the staff, those are good things.

Ivan Martin: Good evening, Sonia. I'm replacing Timothee in the studio this evening. I wanted to ask you a question regarding the importance of starting the season well, knowing that as soon as the second day of the league, we're playing Paris Saint-Germain and that could already be one of the defining parts of the season.

Bompastor: Yeah. Before the start of the game, I told my players during the pregame speech that we're starting a new season but also with a new format, with these play-offs [Bompastor and Precheur are both super opposed to the playoffs] but that shouldn't change anything in terms of our ambitions, both personal and our objectives. This means we wanted to start the season off by a win obviously, have positive talking points. And mainly we wanted to be in the first place from the first day. We don't want to let it go. We want to be top of the table from the beginning to the end. So yeah. And obviously it gives us a big advantage at the end with the playoffs [top ranked team hosts the dumb playoffs]. But we all have those ambitions and we wanted to stay top of the table from the beginning to the end. Of course there will be teams who will come along and want to mess up those plans. But for us in terms of ambitions we're focused on precisely that.

Journalist: A quick word, Sonia, on Liana Joseph, who became the 166th player to play for Lyon in an official competition. I'm also talking to you as the former director of the youth academy. You must be happy to see a player come up from the youth academy and is also showing a lot of quality.

Bompastor: Yes, Liana [Joseph] is a player who is showing a lot of potential [so send her out on loan instead of forcing Lyon to be the one trying her out!!!!] We know her really well. Since the beginning of the preseason she's done some really good things. It was an opportunity for her today to come on, play her first minutes in the D1 Arkema [French league], in terms of experience it's really important for her. For us, it was deserved. She puts in a lot of good work, a lot of hard work. For me it was the chance to reward her for all the work she's done.

Journalist: And Sonia, before coming back to Lyon, we're going to enter a period you're not super fond of, the return of a majority of your players to their national teams. We're going to cross our fingers and hope everything goes as well as possible.

Bompastor: Yeah. I've said all along that the players will have an extremely packed calendar. We know that. That's also why I'm trying to manage the load of my players. The substitutions are both about performance and also managing tiredness. It's important to play the game, to communicate with the national teams to try and keep the players on the field as much as possible and as safely as possible.

Journalist: Thank you, Sonia, and congratulations once again for this great win, 4-0 at Le Havre.

Bompastor: Thank you, have a good night.

LIANA JOSEPH INTERVIEW

@OL Comms PLEASE get her some media training this is one of the most painful interviews I have translated, though to be fair the questions were really shit too.

Linguistic lesson: in French, there are two forms of "you" - formal (vous) and informal (tu). I find it interesting that the journalist uses the informal "you" with Joseph because he doesn't with any of the other players or with Bompastor.

Journalist: I'm here with Liana Joseph. Liana, congratulations. I want to use the informal "you" with you, if that's okay with you. First official game tonight with Lyon. I imagine there were quite a few emotions.

Joseph: Yeah, it was emotional for sure. I'm really happy to have had my first minutes in front of my parents and my family who have supported me. And I want to continue like this, to get some minutes and eventually be able to play a full game.

Journalist: Get some minutes when we see the roster and especially in Lyon's attack, you find yourself in practice next to Ada Hegerberg, Eugenie Le Sommer, Kadidiatou Diani, Melchie Dumornay. A lot of big names. I imagine that having a place next to those big names, it's not easy. How do you handle all that at your young age?

Joseph: It's complicated. But I'd rather play with the top players, because that way - I don't know how to say it - that way the better the players I'm with, the better player I become.

Journalist: Indeed, we know you a little bit at Lyon, but we want to know a bit more about you. You're very composed in front of goal, very powerful. Can you tell us who your role models are? Are there certain players that you've followed for a long time? How would you define yourself as a forward?

Joseph: Delphine Cascarino has been a big inspiration for me. And Melchie Dumornay, because she is powerful, etc. Delphine, I look at her movement, how she positions herself to be able to replicate it myself.

Journalist: We saw a Lyon team tonight who imposed them with a 4-0 win to start the season after having won the Trophee des Championnes. We know we always have to win when we play for Lyon. Have you set any small objectives for yourself for your first season with the pro group?

Joseph: Continue to be part of the group, and once again try and get some minutes. And why not, win some trophies.

Ivan Martin: Good evening, Liana. I have a quick question for you, focusing mainly on your debut this evening with the pro team. What did Sonia [Bompastor] expect from you during the week, and what were her expectations of you when you came on as a substitute?

Joseph: She told me to play like I know how to play and not put pressure on myself, and to do what I do in training. Do what I know how to do, really.

Journalist: Well in any case, congratulations. We're really happy for you this evening, Liana. Now you're off with the [U-17s] National Team, a good generation and good objectives with the French National Team.

Joseph: Yes, thank you.

WENDIE RENARD INTERVIEW

Journalist: A player who has certainly made herself a place on the team, it's obviously the captain, Wendie Renard, whom we're delighted to have with us at the Stade Oceane [where the game was played]. Captain, congratulations on the win, for the goal, and for the start of the season which for the moment is perfect.

Renard: Good evening, thank you. It's always nice, we really wanted our season to be off to a good start. We did that tonight. I think there are still things we need to improve on, but that's normal. But the positives are that we won, we got the three points but mainly we didn't concede any goals, so that's cool.

Journalist: Indeed, if we look at the different statistics, two games, two wins, already a trophy added to the cabinet, six goals scored, zero goals conceded. Defenders who stood out tonight, with the center backs becoming goal scorers. We saw you score a header and Vanessa [Gilles] at the end of the game. Here we really feel that this team, their core players know each other really well. And there are some new elements, we saw Melchie [Dumornay] at the Trophee des Championnes, Kadidiatou Diani who arrived during the transfer window. We also saw Liana Joseph tonight. This team has quite the arsenal to accomplish things, don't they?

Renard: Yeah, obviously. There are players who joined us this summer and for me, I'm welcoming them with open arms because they're world class players with a huge amount of potential. So when we're at Lyon and we are in play in all the competitions, as I've said, it's important to have a deep bench and to have quality players to be able to compete against the other teams. We did that in the first game against Paris [Saint-Germain in the Trophee des Championnes], even if once again there are things we need to improve on. And that's normal. When you talk recruitment, you're obviously talking about a lack of connection, you're talking - well you obviously need more time. But if you're working on it on a daily basis, with the different meetings we can have between all of us, we're going to get better on an individual level and as a team. But we saw the young Liana [Joseph] tonight, I'm happy for her. She's a young player with lots and lots of qualities. So the fact we were able to give her 15 minutes tonight, she'll start to learn a little what it's like at the top level. And that's good for her. And if she came on then it's because she deserved it as well. As with other [teams], there's still a lot of the season left to play. We haven't done anything yet. But as I said, the most important thing is the win and the clean sheet.

Ivan Martin: Good evening, Wendie. I had a question about the last goal Lyon scored this evening. We're used to seeing you putting on a strong defensive performance, we're used to you being good with attacking headers. And then there was that sequence at the end of the game, where you dribbled twice, once on your left foot and once on your right, and then a perfect cross on your weaker foot delivered perfectly to Vanessa [Gilles]. Can you talk a little about it?

Renard: Well right at the beginning I saw that Amel [Majri] received the ball, so I came up [the field] for support so she could play 1-2. She gives me the ball but I saw that the player anticipated the return pass, so I controlled the ball. I wanted to turn away from goal but I could see them trying to close me down, so I did a technical sequence and then I applied myself on the cross. And I delivered a good cross to Vaness[a Gilles]. So, I'm happy. I don't think people are used to seeing me do that. But again the most important thing is that we scored, so it's good that Vaness[a] was able to put the chance away. And on a personal level it's nice to be able to help the team in other ways, so it's cool.

Journalist: Indeed, we're now going to closely follow your assist statistics now. Maybe you'll have something to say in that area. On a more serious note, there's the return of international play again, with a new competition that France will play in, the League of Nations. And the good news as well with the return of Griedge M'Bock with the French National Team. In any case, there's a lot of good things to look forward to with the French National Team.

Renard: Yeah, there's some good games coming up, with a new competition starting up as well. I know everyone is talking about the Olympic Games, but I also want to focus on this new competition. So we'll do everything, starting from next Friday, to start it off really well. And really happy, thank you God as the expression goes, this girl [Griedge M'Bock] is so incredibly strong. She's come from so, so far. I think everyone saw the pictures when she got injured, it was really, really hard for her. But almost exactly a year later she returns to the national team. So yeah, really, really happy and I hope that this time she will be able to play as much as possible with us, and get her rhythm back, because that obviously takes some time but she's working towards that. And she will help the team achieve their objectives, it's as easy as that.

Journalist: Good luck with the national team. But please come back in one piece. There's seven of you [on the French team], come back healthy because there's just that small game on October 1 against Paris Saint-Germain.

Renard: [laughs] Yeah, we know the games will start to add up. But we like that. I think these two games with the national teams will help us get into the rhythm of things on an individual level and as a team. After that, we'll come back and we'll do everything to accomplish our objectives together.

#all good love stories start in the rain #sonia bompastor #liana joseph #wendie renard

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