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Char

@alphachar.bsky.social

1.1K followers 710 following 390 posts

making Sparrow Warfare with @martinpi ~ writing games ~ teaching writing & yoga ~ 'when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro' ~ alphachar.com

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · Oct 31

OK I’m really here now! For folks who don’t know me yet, I’m Char! Writing video games for the last 10 years, making weird experiments with writing & tech, teaching writing & yoga too. I want to believe that we can have a great time on the internet again 🙏

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 6h

It’s all the same stuff! If you can knit and purl then you can make this shawl for sure!! Going to have a crafting afternoon near Christmas & will let you know, if you want to have a cosy knitting day 😄

Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 10h

And then the Quick Cryptic is here when you want a bit more: www.theguardian.com/crosswords/s...

Quick cryptic | The Guardian

Latest news, sport, business, comment, analysis and reviews from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice

www.theguardian.com

Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 10h

Sure! It’s at www.minutecryptic.com

Minute Cryptic

Solve a clue with a hidden meaning

www.minutecryptic.com

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Reposted by Char

BirdLife International @birdlifeglobal.bsky.social · 17h

Today is #WorldMigratoryBirdDay !🌏🐦

Celebrate the wonder of bird migration by birdwatching in your local area – every bird counts!🙌

You can contribute to conservation science and raise vital funds!🔎

Want to get involved? There’s still time!

Find out more👉 www.birdlife.org/getcounting/ #WMBD2025

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 16h

I’m knitting a really huge shawl at the moment and it’s giving me a lot of joy. Each stitch is such a tiny step, and yet and yet and yet as they add up one by one it becomes something glorious. Maybe by Christmas I’ll be able to wear it 🙏

A photo of my work in progress shawl: lots of different kinds of stitches in shades of white, grey, yellow and blue.

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 1d

Oooh thanks! I’ll try that out tomorrow morning with my brekkie! 🙇‍♀️

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Reposted by Char

Hi, it's Abby. Yep. @itsabbyyep.bsky.social · 1d

Got kicked out of my work’s holiday party planning committee for suggesting the theme be “man’s inhumanity to man”

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 1d

As a dental sufferer of yore, sometimes on random days I'll now just think to myself every now and then "Oh, isn't it so great to not have tooth pain at this moment?!". I'm thinking it right now! And wishing you speedy healing 🙏

Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 1d

But yes - if you want in: Quick Cryptic is what I've been wanting for years and years and years, and you can sit happily on your iPad with it for free:
www.theguardian.com/crosswords/q...

Quick cryptic crossword No 79

www.theguardian.com

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 1d

It's the most delicious white noise brain humming activity, AND it's also fun after you solve, because then you get to go to www.fifteensquared.net to see explanations for any clues you didn't quite understand.

Fifteensquared – Never knowingly undersolved

www.fifteensquared.net

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 1d

If you ever wanted to get into cryptic crosswords but didn't know a way in... this was me a few months ago!

But @v21.bsky.social intro'd me to Minute Cryptic, then @martinpi.bsky.social & I started doing Guardian Quick Cryptic (where they explain the conventions), then Quiptic, & now full Cryptic

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Reposted by Char

BirdLife International @birdlifeglobal.bsky.social · 1d

🚨2025 #RedList Update🚨

We have reassessed 1,360 bird species. Out of the 11,185 species assessed worldwide: 

⚠️11.5% are globally threatened.

📉61% have declining populations.

But restoring habitats will help put these species on a path to recovery.🌱

Read more👉 www.birdlife.org/red-list-upd...

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 2d

Hey there @mantisgames.bsky.social & thanks for hosting this #TurnBasedThursday!

@martinpi.bsky.social & I are making a weird deckbuilder with lots of birds called SPARROW WARFARE, & we'll have a new playtest next week - come sign up on our Steam page!
store.steampowered.com/app/3473440/...

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 4d

🍂 A few autumn joys:
- Reading "The Tainted Cup"
- Doing cryptic crosswords with @martinpi.bsky.social
- Martin's lemon chicken
- Making our game
- Remembering that swimming is great
- Bottle of Alvaro Palacios Priorat in the corner for when we hit 500 wishlists
- Knitting a huge shawl with 6 yarns

Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 4d

OMG that's always my first thought about Machen too 😀

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Reposted by Char

Matt Hackett @richtaur.bsky.social · 5d

[David Lynch looking awesome in sunglasses] i hope you all are having a lot of fun working on your favorite projects

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 5d

André Breton, Surrealist Manifesto ❤️

Surrealism is the “invisible ray” which will one day enable us to win out over our opponents. “You are no longer trembling, carcass.” This summer the roses are blue; the wood is of glass. The earth, draped in its verdant cloak, makes as little impression upon me as a ghost. It is living and ceasing to live which are imaginary solutions. Existence is elsewhere.

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 5d

This looks super fun!

D6 Learning @d6learning.bsky.social · 5d

Find out *everything* about our forthcoming "Build An Interactive City In Text using ink" #gamedev & #worldbuilding course, in our live course presentation and intro to textual cities event!

🎯 22 October, 17:00 CET

🎫 Reserve your free ticket ⇢ www.eventbrite.com/e/build-an-i...

Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 6d

Of course! I’m in the same boat - always have been & likely always will be. I also think that stability & security are hard things to get: even people who do have eg. a house or a pension can get trapped into thinking they need more more more, and we have no idea where the world will be in 10 years

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 6d

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 6d

ENJOY your life! If it’s not fun, change it. You only get one ride on the rollercoaster. In my early 30s I had a job I didn’t enjoy & I kind of thought “well that’s how it is” but it’s really not. You get to make choices about your path in life. If the word “should” is involved… well…

essencesimmone.blacksky.app @essencesimmone.blacksky.app · 8d

Those who are 35+, what advice do you have for people just entering their 30s?

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Reposted by Char

drewtoothpaste @drewtoothpaste.bsky.social · 6d

when you look at the things people are doing now on their phones it makes you wonder if there was some new kind of virus a few years ago that makes people dumber every time they catch it

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Reposted by Char

martin pichlmair @martinpi.bsky.social · 12d

The inspiration for our colour scheme in Sparrow Warfare was Purple Saturn Day, by the way, a game I've never played but always adored. store.steampowered.com/app/1255410/...

Purple Saturn Day on Steam

In this psychedelic sci-fi Olympiad, athletes from planets across the galaxy gather to compete in the Purple Saturn Day games.

store.steampowered.com

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Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 12d

I want to do a replay on the couch with a controller one of these days!

Char @alphachar.bsky.social · 12d

Oooh how do we get added to the list?!

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