#I might even do a round 3 based on how round 2 goes

[zuko-always-lies]

Round Two of ATLA AU Idea Poll Contest

Links to Round One: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

In order to give us 12 options for Round 2, I decided that every AU idea which received 13.5% or more a the vote in a poll would move on.

These are our remaining options:

9. Revolutionary Azula takes over Ba Sing Se AU

12. What if Zuko had a nonbending twin sister (who he doesn't get along with).

18. Dangerous Ladies find Ursa in Book 2

21. Azula is thrown away to the NWT postwar as a trinket and Chief Arnook adopts her.

29. AU idea where Zuko keeps Azula permanently imprisoned in bad and torturous conditions postwar, and Izumi finds out about when she’s relatively young, and draws exactly the sort of conclusions about her parents that you would expect. Not to mention being terrified that she might be treated the same way if she missteps…

35. "Katara is supposed to have an arranged marriage with Zuko, but she falls in love with Azula instead."

43. I have to say, “Zuko has to deal with finding out that Ursa very much isn’t who he believed she was” remains excellent fanfic fodder.

45. Firelord Iroh treats Azula in a really screwed up way.

48. "Since so much of the fandom is convinced that Azula is Zuko’s older sister, I need an AU where this is true and Zuko is just as throne-obsessed as canon and spends all his time trying to usurp his older sister."

50. King Kuai adopts Azula as his heir

58. Iroh tries to kill Azula during "The Chase"

59. Mai and Ty Lee on trial for "war crimes"" and Azula has to save them

Please put why you voted the way you did in the tags!

[saint-ambrosef]

newbie's guide to produce

for all my peers who were not taught how to shop for veggies and fruit on a budget and struggle to use them before they go bad:

(disclaimer: prices are approximate based on where i live in the Southern US. costs may be higher in your area, but the comparison of cost should still be valuable.)

cheap produce year-round:

roma tomatoes. if they look under-ripe you can leave them on the counter for a few days. keeps in fridge for about 2 weeks. $1/lb.

cucumbers. around here they're 50-60 cents each. go bad quickly though, about 1 week in fridge.

celery. two bucks for a head. starts to get sad after two weeks in fridge. only makes sense if you like to snack on celery or make soups often.

corn. whole ears are like 20cents each mid-summer, otherwise just get frozen. $1.50 for a lb.

peas. get these puppies frozen for $1.50/lb. good protein, too.

romaine lettuce. one head is good for several small salads, about $2 and lasts a week in fridge. the big boxes/multi-packs may seem like a better deal but not if it all goes bad before you can eat it.

onions. kind of a given but you can get regular yellow varietals for less than a buck per pound. will last for 1-2 months in pantry.

potatoes. you can get 5lb bags of russets for three bucks. sweet potatoes are a lil over $1/lb. last 2-3 months in pantry; if they grow sprouts, you can cut those off and still eat it.

bananas. dirt cheap. a small bunch (4-5) costs like a dollar. if they go over-ripe before you eat them all just get less or get a few green ones (p.s: you're allowed to break them off larger clumps).

radishes. $1.50 for a little bundle. greens get wilty after a week, roots will last 2 weeks (you can use both parts).

hot peppers. poblano, jalapeno, etc., are often quite cheap and you usually don't need very many anyways. few weeks fridge or counter.

cheap produce when in season:

summer squash. in summertime (duh), zucchini and yellow squash are like $1.25/lb. only last a week or so though in fridge.

winter squash. actually in season in fall, these are your butternuts and acorn squash. less than $1/lb then. lasts in pantry for months.

green beans. in warm months they can be on sale for $1.50/lb! last 1.5-2 weeks in fridge? (kinda depends on the shape they're in)

kale. it's a cool-season green that commonly is on sale in colder months. $1.60 for a big bunch, about 1.5 weeks in fridge before it gets seriously wilty. (can be eaten cooked or raw!)

apples. fall/winter, usually at least one variety on sale for $1.25/lb. last forever.

oranges. most citrus are winter fruits. $1/lb. will last forever in your fridge.

strawberries. spring. at their peak, i can find them for $2/lb. otherwise they are too expensive.

watermelon. $8 for big 10lb melons. they can take up a ton of space though and need to be refrigerated once cut/ripe.

cantaloupe. another summer star! $1.50 each on sale. they will slow ripen in the fridge but you do have to keep an eye on it.

pineapple. $1.50 in summer time. might be ripe even when still a bit green, ready when they smell noticeably ripe.

pears. fall season, sometimes into winter. $1.20/lb. last 1-2 weeks on the counter or forever in the fridge.

pomegranate. in winter time they can be found for $2 each. tricky to peel though.

peaches. and nectarines (which are just fuzzless peaches). $1.25/lb in summer and will last for weeks in your fridge.

eggplants. summertime veggie, you can get for $1.50 when they're on sale. otherwise a bit pricey. keep in fridge for 2 weeks.

mid-range produce:

cabbage. three bucks for a 2-lb head but you can get a lot out of it. will keep 3-4 weeks in the fridge but any exposed cut sides will start moldering after a week.

mushrooms. white button or baby bella. $1.50 for 8oz. keep in mind, mushrooms halve in size after cooking. ~2 weeks though.

avocados. if you live in the South like me, small hass varietals are 60-80 cents apiece in winter. ripe when it gives just a little to squeezing (you can't go off color alone).

broccoli. fresh is $1.70ish per head and lasts a week in fridge. frozen is $1.50/lb but might be kind of mushy.

most greens. spring mixes, spinach, arugula, etc can really vary in price but often fall into a few bucks at least per bundle/package. in a fridge's humidity drawer they last 1-2 weeks.

kiwis. i love them but they're a bit pricey for their size. 50 cents each. their keep depends on how ripe they are at purchase.

expensive produce:

asparagus. one of the most expensive veggies. sometimes in spring you can get it for $2/lb (a steal but still a bit much). lasts 1.5 weeks.

brussel sprouts. same as above.

red or yellow bell peppers. they are used sooo often in recipes and it annoys me. often $1.50-2.00 each. last a long time in fridge.

caluiflower. three bucks for a head. yikes!

green beans. when they're not in season, they are like $3/lb.

snap peas. same as above, except they never seem to be on sale.

raspberries. go bad in 3 days and cost an arm and a leg. sometimes when they're in season you can get them for like $2 per half-pint as a treat.

blueberries and blackberries. even when they're in season, they're still $2 per pint.

grapes. they can sorta be affordable in the fall season for $2/lb, but otherwise they're double that. and usually you have to commit to buying several pounds. last 2 weeks in fridge.

plums. i love them so so much but they're only in season for like 2 weeks of the year it seems and they're like $3/lb.

inexpensive accoutrements: (for garnishes, seasoning, etc)

limes. 25cents apiece. they'll start to dry out after 1 week on the counter so keep them in the fridge unless you will use it soon.

lemons. usually 50cents each for the small varietals. keep same as above.

green onions. less than a dollar for a bunch, and you can easily regrow a few times at home if you stick the white rooted end in water by a window.

cilantro. 50cents. will last WAY longer (1-2 weeks) if you keep it in a mug of water in the fridge.

parsley. 85cents. same as above.

obviously sticking just with popularly available produce across the country. it's not an exhaustive list but can give you a bit more perspective on what produce you should be focusing on if you're trying to work with a tight grocery budget. good luck!

[krakenartificer]

Basics of Tumblr-based memetics for reddit refugees

When people arrive at Tumblr, they are generally unsure about how to handle themselves. The buttons are easy enough (I mean, the UI sucks, but it's 2023, we're all used to sucky UIs by now, so....), but what are the social implications of each one? What does a reblog mean?

This is very difficult to explain to people for whom this is their first social media site, or are arriving here from (eg) Facebook. But for this round of refugees, from Reddit specifically, I actually can explain. Because!...

....As you have no doubt noticed ....

.... in a world where we all use 4 websites, and each of them consists of content screenshotted from the other 3....

...there is not an equal distribution of who's making content and who's copying it. Facebook generates almost none of the content for other websites; Twitter generates some; but nearly all of the content on the modern internet is generate on Reddit or on Tumblr.

There is a reason for this: all "web 2.0" sites have the ability to generate new memes, and new variants on those memes. But only Reddit and Tumblr have an evolutionary pressure that forces those memes through a natural-selection process. On Reddit, that pressure is applied by the voting system: if an addition to a post doesn't get enough upvotes, it's hidden from view, which means it has limited ability to affect the next generation of posts.

On Tumblr, the equivalent evolutionary pressure is applied by reblogs: each version of a post, each set of additions, is seen in proportion to how many people reblog it, and thus cause other people to see it. Lack of reblogs -> lack of visibility -> limited ability to affect the next generation of posts.

So with that in mind, let's look at some nuances that are specific to the Tumblr ecosystem.

1) Reblogs are direct visibility; upvotes are indirect

On Reddit, when you upvote something, it's a signal to the algorithm that -- in your opinion -- this thing is useful/valuable/funny or in some other way worthwhile. The algorithm takes that into account along with everyone else's votes, time since it was posted, and so on, and makes a decision about what to show by default vs what to hide by default, and how to sort things. Upvoting does affect visibility, but it's only one factor.

Whereas on Tumblr, reblogging puts the post on your followers' dashboards directly (assuming your followers have chronological order turned on, which most of them probably do because fuck corporate decisions about what I should and shouldn't see). One reblog = one post on everyone's dashboard; it's as simple as that.

Reblogging is therefore a much stronger evolutionary boost than upvoting is.

2) Likes have very little impact on visibility

Most people have "based on your likes" turned off. Even for those that keep it on, it doesn't affect what other people see, it only gives Tumblr some idea of what you might like to see. Of course behind the scenes that's somehow accomplished with some kind of correlation coefficient about which posts are most likely to be "liked" by the same person, and in that sense a "like" on this post increases the likelihood that someone else who has "liked" other posts that you have "liked" will see this post as well, but it's a very tenuous and wispy impact,.

Liking is therefore a much weaker evolutionary boost than upvoting is, and should be considered more along the lines of a high-five, or a hug, or a "I would give you gold for this if I could afford any" comment.

(Also, you cannot "like" only one section of a post. When you "like", the notification goes to everyone in the chain, from OP to the latest reblog. If you wish to give specific high-fives, the mechanism you're looking for is replies.)

3) Replies have no impact on visibility one way or the other.

Only OP gets notifications for replies, but you can tag people in the reply to notify them. This is the place for "@most-recent-commenter I would give you gold if I could" or for tagging a friend that you think would enjoy the post.

So, with the underlying mechanics of the ecosystem out of the way, let's look at

memetic engineering

There are two ways you can add your thoughts/ideas/opinions/snarky commentary to a post: in the text of the post, or in the tags.

a digression on tags

Tags -- of course -- can theoretically be used to organize content, although if we're being completely honest here, they're not ... great. for that. Tags can be handy as a textual handle to simplify your google search when you use an external search engine to search your own tumblr blog, but their use as an archival tool is mediocre at best. Likewise, no matter what the Tumblr UI says in the tag section, they're not gonna be that helpful in allowing people to find your content.

Tags can also, as sometimes they do on Twitter or Instagram, provide context to a post. This is less important here, since without a character limit there's no need to trim down your commentary and trust #wgastrike2023 to fill in the missing details, but it can be very handy when you're trying to determine whether this "Bruce and his buddies" post is talking about The Hulk or about Batman, or whether this thread is dissing Harry Potter, Harry Styles, or Harry Prince of Wales.

Tags are also very handy for allowing people to continue following you even when there's some sort of interest incompatibility. If you love spiders -- especially pictures of spiders -- and I'm arachnophobic, then I'm probably not going to be able to keep following you, no matter how excellent your Anarchist Star Wars takes are. But if you love pictures of spiders and you tag every single one of them #spiders, then I can block that tag and still keep following you. Similarly, a temporary block on #The Witcher Spoilers can allow the fandom to all discuss a new episode at whatever time they're able to watch it, without having to completely avoid online spaces in the meantime.

And finally, tags can, and are, used for commentary that you don't want to put in the main post. Where that line is -- what to put in the post and what to put in tags -- is something you'll have to decide for yourself as you get experience, but as a general rule, the post is for something that you believe contributes to the memetic fitness of this post, and the tags are for things that you believe are not necessarily of memetic value. Additions to the post are integrated into the DNA, and will be passed on with subsequent reblogs; tags are only added to your instantiation of the post, and will not be included on future reblogs (unless the person who reblogs it from you is on iOS Tumblr Mobile app and hasn't adjusted their settings, in which case it'll go into their tags... but at any rate it'll die out in a generation or two.) This feature makes it good for adding meta-commentary that will be interesting/funny/valuable to your immediate circle of friends, but won't be useful to the population as a whole -- it allows you to be as snarky, in-joke-y, and obscure as you'd like, without having to spend any of your mental RAM calculating what will and won't have an impact on your Brand as an Influencer.

Influencers

There is no easy mechanism for people to see your follower count. There are many easy mechanisms for people to make it impossible to see their follower count. No one cares about how many followers you have or how far your "influence" spreads. No one is going to offer you a Tumblr sponsorship deal.

However, for assorted underlying-code reasons, Tumblr blogs are disproportionately useful for manipulating search engines. So.... we have an ongoing problem with SEO scum making a whole bunch of bots and using reblogs etc to generate fake signals to Google.

The combination of those two things leads to a general Tumblr tradition of Block Bots On Sight. The extra followers aren't helping you, and the mere fact of their existence is hurting all of us. If you've seen people strongly urging you to change your profile picture, add a bio, and reblog a couple things, that's why -- because we don't want you to get caught in the crossfire of our ongoing guerilla warfare.

Other Notes

One of the places that Reddit is much better than Tumblr is in the viewing of an entire memetic population as a whole: you just look at a post, scroll through the page, and Reddit helpfully shows you want you want to see, and hides what you don't.

On Tumblr, each memetic variation is functionally an entirely separate entity. This is great for memetic diversity, but it means there's a LOT of duplication, and it means there's really no good way to get all the variants together. The closest you can get is to "check the notes" -- click on that number at the bottom left of a post, and look through the replies, reblogs, and tags. Those are in chronological order and in no way threaded, so it's not very useful, but it is what we've got.

Let's see ...

One thing Tumblr does much better than Reddit is the ability (because of aforementioned fragmentation) to have an arbitrary number of any fandom. No more "Well I don't like the takes in r/polyamory but it's the only place where I can talk about it so idk" ... nope! Here we can have as many Spider-Man fandoms as there are Spider-Man fans. Really like someone's headcanons? Follow them! Really dislike someone's OTP? Unfollow them! Really hate someone's take on your favorite character? Block them! This is a fabulous feature of Tumblr and I encourage you to take advantage of it.

uh...

tags can be 140 characters, but they can't contain double quotes (") or commas (,) because those are delimiter characters and Tumblr will break your tag at those points in the string

...

If you think someone has mis-judged the value of their tags, you can copy them from their post and paste them into the main comment of your reblog. This is known as the tags "passing peer review". Copy-paste is preferred to screenshotting for accessibility reasons (and also the fact that sometimes Tumblr just doesn't feel like loading pictures), and it's considered polite to credit the person whose tags you promoted.

...

Contrariwise, if you think they mis-judged the value of their comment, you can go back to the person they reblogged from, and reblog without their addition. Tumblr made this harder recently, but I have confidence that we'll defeat them eventually.

...

I know that I said reblogs are much stronger than upvotes, but when you've got infinite monkeys generating infinite reblog streams, it all gets lost in the noise. Reblog anything and everything you feel like upvoting -- if people don’t want to be subjected to a bunch of random shit that lights up the dopamine receptors in your brain, they shouldn’t be following you on Tumblr.

...

IDK what to tell you about Tumblr polls. We're just like this 🤷‍♂️

...

...

That's all I can think of. Deities bless and keep you for seeing a problem in our online ecosystem and actually doing something about it. Looking forward to seeing what we can do together.

(Author's Note: All statements about how Tumblr works ("works") are as of 14 June 2023. God only knows what changes staff will have rolled out by time time you read this)

[princeanxious]

✨️Moondrop progress update #1✨️

Picture 1 desc/info: knowing that I'd want to make Moondrop once I finished Sundrop, I made sure that(when I remembered to, as I'm learning that i wasn't quite as 100% consistent as I hoped I was) to make traced out references of each finished carved piece so that I wouldn't waste time struggling matching both of their proportions, considering nearly every piece required a duplicate piece to help achieve the eventual 'hollow skeleton' method that I use. Also, this is what I mean when I state that theyre carved from popsicle sticks. If it works, it works. lol

Picture 2 desc/info: here's the full lineup of every carved piece I have ready for Moondrop so far, and roughly how it will fit together. Every arm piece, leg piece, and even knee joint and the head piece have a duplicate(sans for the detail on the head's piece, obviously, though the headpiece is more complex than that as well). To further expand on why I did this, instead of just having one piece each, I need to point out the arm, hand, and ankle joint pieces. They will not be connected in two places, only one, to achieve full range of movement for the limb that they are attached to.

To achieve this, whilst still trying to keep this project's weight light, I'll create a hollowed skeleton. Essentially where the insides of the limbs(and body) are made hollow via smaller pieces of wood/popsickle stick scraps glued in-between the base pieces, but leaving enough empty space on either side to add two things. One side will have a rolled cylinder of a reinforced cardboard/paper mache combo, to provide a hollowed slot for the long joint piece side to slot into, and the other side, two hollowed holes to slot a dowel through with the joint piece inbetween. (If this doesn't make sense, dw, I plan on taking pictures when I get to that stage to show how I do it)

I also just end up stuffing the remaining 'dead-space' between the carved pieces with paper before i add clay, to further sheer off any unnecessary internal weight. Now, what you couldn't see with my Sundrop, is that by the time I finished adding clay and test stringing him together and started looking at reference photos again for color references, I hadn't realized up until that point that I'd entirely forgotten to add the dca standard wire-hook on his back. Not even superficially. So this will be where project Moondrop(whom at least uses the wire far more than sundrop, lol) will deviate from my original Sundrop design. I might use paper and cardboard to flesh out his limb shapes further before adding clay to make his body even lighter than suns, I've reinforced his torso pieces to account for the hole I'll carve into the back for my goal of a Functional wire-hook, I've made adjustments to his thigh shape for better ease of movement/posability(which might coincidentally make him just a smidgen shorter than Sun by design, shhh) because sundrops leg slots and the actual part of the leg that's supposed to slot in ended up quite a bit out of alignment due to the leg shape lacking a taper at the top to allow for a rounder end. Sundrop's legs are just a little janky bc of it.

Picture 3 desc/info: this is a look at the inbetween stage that the hip piece goes through, and you'll find that it's not reinforced with wood anywhere simply because of the completely curved surface. There were attempts made with sundrop to do this but they proved to be way too hard to bother with and less than affective with just popsickle sticks. Hense I use cardboard from a soda can box(aka cardboard that's compact and can carry a heavy capacity if the design is balanced and re-attachment points are reinforced properly) and then have so far gone over certain points with paper and glue(using the papermache method) to base reinforce places and also provide more adhesable texture internally. Because, that round piece(also cardboard) is going to sit in the main juncture of the top of the hips. A hole will be cut into it to maintain the ability to string the limbs and body together, and it will be further reinforced further with paper and glue, and later covered in clay- along with the rest of the hips inside and out, thus entirely made smaller than intended to account for the eventual bulk up of the piece. This cover provides a supportive divot in the hips that the middle torso piece can sit in that will give it the range of movement intended but also aid it in allowing the body to sit up straight otherwise(something that was discovered to be needed when working on finetuning sundrop whilst test-stringing, adding yet more weight due to the fix having been made solidly out of clay. Probably provides more support to Sundrop this way, but Moon needs to be as light as possible to prevent stress cracks/damage/balance issues/ect. If I want him to be able to have a functional hook to be used to be displayed with.

On a less technical note, there isn't much to show in the skeleton stage for the middle torso piece bc it's just a hollow cylinder of cardboard, thin enough to escape the bulk, but wide enough to still be strung through. It's just a lil tube for Sundrops frame anyway lol. Though, tbf, I might bulk Moondrops middle with paper/cardboard/whatever I decide, for the, once again, lightweight intention. I use air dry clay but even still it do be solid af when dry and sealed lol

Off camera just inches out of shot of each picture is sundrop, whom has slowly become disrobed and carefully disassembled in places to give me size references for things, but also one of these updates I'll show you how I made his head/face/ ray settup- why? Because it broke. Cuz my dumbass should've used wire and not a wooden dowel to support it all. (Further more, I'm using it as an opportunity to eventually redo Suns rays, because when I did the first set, I went for accuracy in the ray count, but still wanted them to spin freely. But I realized I HATE the gap that's left anywhere if his rays arent perfectly positioned and honestly this mechanism breaking is my sign and chance to fix it now that the rays aren't locked in anymore lol.)

I've decided to give this progress update log the tag '#projectdcadoll' from now on, so any posts I make abt this in the future will have that tag!

And if anyone has any questions about any specifics of the project, I'll also answer them/respond to them under this tag, so please feel free to ask away! I'm excited to share this process with ya'll!

[princess-of-the-corner]

Can we get a full rant about the Paris special?

You're probably going to get more out of me once it fully airs but for now just.

The evil characters motivations just kinda suck for comparing them to the originals. Which again: I don't want to do because I hate the 'oh this other person had the same trauma and handled it better' thing, but when it's the same character going through the same trauma it's bullshit.

Shadybug's reason for being evil sucks because it's literally just 'she didn't meet Alya' which is supposed to be part of the Derision Retcon of how awful Chloé was even though it doesn't match with anything we saw in Season 1-3 but I can ignore that because it commits a worse crime: Letting us know that if Marinette didn't meet Alya that exact day, she would've gone full murderous villain before the day was over. Like literally Alya is the only thing different, which means even Canon!Mari is just one bad day from snapping and killing everyone.

Claw Noir makes no goddamn sense because Canon!Adrien was able to healthily handle his mother's 'death' even having Canon!Gabriel as his abusive neglectful bastard of a father. How is it that a version of Adrien that had a genuinely good father end up handling his mother's 'death' so poorly that he's down to kill whoever gets in the way as a coping mechanism?

All of this might be rendered unnecessary anyway with the fact that they're working for whatever 'Supreme' that's actually the Big Bad and might be forcing them into this? I need more info on that before I give a verdict.

I thought Hesperia being 'Good' would be the hardest sell considering Season 4 and 5's insistence that his evil plans have been 15-ish years in the making(despite the finale's insistence that he's only 'evil' because he misses Emilie) especially since clearly said plans are still in place as Alt!Adrien exists and Emilie 'died' meaning they got the Peacock. But other than the above plothole of somehow Good!Gabriel let Adrien end up as Claw Noire, he seems fine.

There's a lot of missed opportunities where they're trying to show alternate universes but only focusing on a single one. Like again: give us an Into the Ladyverse. We appearently see them for a few seconds during a Scooby-Doo Chase Scene™ which is the biggest slap in the face.

Other than the fact that this entire special on a base premise shouldn't be possible due to all other episodes insisting that there is only One True Timeline and that if anything somehow diverges, Bunnyx will come and make sure everything goes exactly as she remembers it.

We have yet another round of mass murdering terrorist supervillains who are validated because 'oh they were sad' so it's okay that they committed horrific crimes that they don't feel any remorse for outside of a 'let me just say, from the bottom of my heart: my bad.' but they're now redeemed with no consequences. And I wouldn't even care /that/ much because like a little hypocritical coming from an MLP fan if it weren't for the fact that 1.) they feel no remorse whatsoever and 2.) we have the narrative constantly beating us over the head about how none of this applies to the one abused teenage girl who's acting out because of trauma despite not going full supervillain on her own terms just being a jerk to her classmates.

[thecreaturecodex]

Mad Maddy Maddison

“Eccentric Jester” © London Workman, accessed at their ArtStation here

[This is one of many iterations of my “goth clown” persona, tailored to a low level game and with more emphasis on the clown. I created her for a freeform game run by @abominationimperatrix​, which we haven’t gone back to yet. I do hope to. The Harley Quinn influence is very much intentional.]

Mad Maddy Maddison CR 3 CG Humanoid (dark folk) Clad in mismatched and brightly colored jester’s motley, this tiny woman is thin, muscular and pretty. At first glance she might appear to be wearing stage makeup, but her gray skin and black lips are their natural color.

Mad Maddy Maddison has had a very complicated and strange life already in her nineteen years, and is excited to see what happens next. She was born to a clan of dark folk living in the Darklands beneath the Brazen Peaks, and the caligni callers selected for her to be a dancer, one of the dark folk who act as intermediaries between settlements. Unfortunately, that meant that her wanderlust started at a very early age, and she managed to get separated from her family. She was found and given a home, but unfortunately it was by Mater Cachinnarum, the Mother of Sneers. This wicked bogeywoman pops up in nightmares throughout eastern Garund, and tried to raise Maddy to do the same. Even though Maddy was raised by Cachinnarum for a solid decade, she held true to her overall sense of kindness and good humor, and escaped by the grace of Cayden Cailean, who has a soft spot for all orphans and runaways.

Maddy made it to the bustling city of Katapesh where she currently works at the Night Circus, an entertainment troupe in the Night Markets. At the Circus, she is a talented juggler, percussionist, clown and occasional pickpocket. Her favored instruments are the zills. Maddy has a fascination with death and the undead, having been surrounded by ghouls and skeletons in Mater Cachinnarum’s care, and she is learning how to affect them with her magical music. She’s also working on making friends, something she’s never had a lot of. Her closest friend is a flumph named Taktii, who has given dire warnings about monsters in space. Maddy currently finds this concept more intriguing than scary.

Maddy stands a whole two and a half feet tall and carries a club as long as she is tall. She has a caffeine addiction, and rarely goes a day without several cups of coffee.

Mad Maddy Maddison  CR 3 XP 800 Dark dancer bard 2 (dirge bard) CG Small humanoid (dark folk) Init +4; Senses Perception +8, see in darkness Defense AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+1 size, +4 Dex, +2 armor) hp 33 (4d8+12) Fort +3, Ref +10, Will +3; +4 vs. death effects, energy drain, fear, necromancy Defensive Abilities haunted eyes Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee masterwork greatclub +5 (1d8+1) Ranged dagger +7 (1d3+1/19-20) or improvised weapon +7 (1d4+1) or splash weapon +8 (varies) Special Attacks bardic performance (13 rounds, countersong, distraction, fascinate, inspire courage +1), dark curse, death throes, sneak attack +1d6 Spells CL 2nd, concentration +5 1st (3/day)—cure light wounds, fumbletongue (DC 14), hideous laughter (DC 14), ray of enfeeblement (DC 14) 0th—detect magic, mage hand, message, open/close, prestidigitation Statistics  Str 13, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 16 Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 16 Feats Point Blank Shot, Throw Anything Skills Acrobatics +9, Bluff +8, Climb +10, Diplomacy +8, Escape Artist +9, Knowledge (arcana, religion) +7 (+8 vs. undead), Perform (comedy, percussion) +8, Perception +8, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +17; Racial Modifiers +4 Climb, +4 Perception, +4 Stealth Languages Common, Dark Folk, Kelesh SQ poison use, secrets of the grave Gear masterwork greatclub, 5 daggers, leather armor, 4 bells, masterwork zills, wand of disguise self (25 charges), alchemist fire (x4), holy water (x4), 3 doses black smear poison, 1 dose oil of taggit, coffee pot, mortar and pestle, 5 lbs coffee, jewelry worth 30 gp, 13 gp Special Abilities Dark Curse (Su) As a standard action, a dark dancer can make a touch attack against a foe and curse it. The foe must succeed at a DC 12 Will saving throw to resist the effects. Creatures that fail the saving throw take a –2 penalty on all Dexterity and Charisma-based skill checks. This curse is permanent, but the victim of this curse can attempt a new saving throw each day. Death Throes (Su) When a dark dancer is slain, its body combusts in a flash of bright white light, leaving its gear in a heap on the ground. All creatures within a 10-foot burst must succeed at a DC 13 Fortitude save or be dazzled for 1d6 rounds. Other dark folk within 20 feet must succeed at a DC 13 Will save or be shaken for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based. Haunted Eyes (Ex) Maddy gains a +4 bonus on saves against fear, energy drain, death effects, and necromantic effects. Secrets of the Grave (Ex) Maddy gains a bonus equal to half her bard level on Knowledge (religion) checks made to identify undead creatures and their abilities. A dirge bard may use mind-affecting spells to affect undead as if they were living creatures, even if they are mindless (though spells that affect only humanoids do not affect them, even if they were humanoids in life). In addition, she may add one necromancy spell from the spell list of any arcane spellcasting class to her list of spells known at 2nd level and every four levels thereafter.

[andrebearakovsky]

If each of the remaining playoff teams won the Cup this year, ranked by how fun it would be (for me personally)

1. Florida Panthers

I want this so bad. I adore Sasha Barkov (and Vladi Tarasenko) and I think this is a really, really good team that I would love to see win. They were so, so close last year, and I want to see them do it. I want the rat team to win their first ever Cup. And plus, could you imagine the cunty energy Matthew Tkachuk would have if he got to parade around with the Stanley Cup? Unmatched.

2. Vancouver Canucks

If the Cup goes back to Canada, I want it to be to this team. The turnaround this year was amazing, they’ve got great energy, and I’d like to see that core group win it together. And based on what happened in 2011, if they finally won their first ever Cup I think the city of Vancouver might actually go feral and tear itself apart. Plus, I need Quinn to win the Cup before Jack and Luke do for oldest sibling rights.

3. Nashville Predators

The team no one thought could do it making a gritty push and winning it all would be a great story. And it would be nice to see like Josi and Forsberg win it after coming so close a couple years ago. And the party in Nashville would be epic. And I think they’d be legally obligated to both A) go to the sphere and B) get U2 to perform at like the Cup parade if they win it.

4. Toronto Maple Leafs

While I am not necessarily rooting for them, seeing them finally break that curse would be something historic to see. They have NO Cups since the original expansion, and all the other original 6 teams have won at least one since then, so they have the longest current Cup drought despite technically having a lot of Cups. And if they’re gonna do it, they NEED to slay their personal demon (Bruins) along the way to get it done. I’m not sure if they’re strong enough, but if they can actually come back and win this round maybe that’ll give them the power to get it done. We’ll see.

5. Dallas Stars

I don’t really like this team, but they’re less annoying to me then they used to be and a good chunk of them have been there for a long time so that would be nice for them.

Okay actually I’m gonna stop lying to myself, I just want it for Joe Pavelski. I might cry if he won it tbh. But in that situation I would be rooting for Joe Pavelski and Joe Pavelski only.

6. Edmonton Oilers

While maybe it would be nice to see McDavid win it someday, I think he needs to suffer a little bit longer. MY team was halfway in the grave when they finally won it, so I think he should be too. It’s not time yet. Also this team is fucking annoying, the fan base can be fucking annoying, and the goal horn is anxiety-inducing. And you guys have like a bunch of Cups from the 80s so like. Shut up.

7. Colorado Avalanche

While not the worst of the options, it would not be the outcome I want. It’s been too soon since the last one I would just be annoyed. So many of them are still there. And they don’t even have Gabe this time, so what’s the point? They’re the only one remaining without their captain playing, and I don’t think it would be right.

8. Boston Bruins

While this is an entirely different group of Bruins from the last time they won, and while it would be cool to see Pasta win and Marchand to lift it as captain, my general hatred of Bruins and Boston sports does NOT want this to happen.

9. Carolina Hurricanes

They have a few things going for them: 1) Having the captain who won their first Cup as a player win their second Cup as the head coach would be super cool, and seeing Rod win as a coach would be cool. 2) I love Sebastian Aho and the former Caps they’ve got. But they’ve got some of the worst humans on their roster (DeAngelo and Lemieux) and they are incredibly fucking annoying, and the cons greatly outweigh the pros, so it’s a no from me dawg.

10. Vegas Golden Knights

You guys JUST fucking won it. I have exactly zero “oh it would be nice to see them win” feelings for anyone on this team. And you’re really damn annoying and I’m tired of you go away.

11. New York Rangers

I just really really really fucking hate this team, fuck you 🖕

[prettycottonmouthlamia]

Pokemon Emerald Ralts Only Part 8: And There Were Birds

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

With the addition of Surf, a lot of Hoenn has officially opened up to us. Unfortunately for Ralts, there's not a lot to actually get. It doesn't learn Ice Beam, which is a bit of a shame, so it mostly is delegated to cleaning up the various Rare Candies lying around the region for later use. We also clear out New Mauville to gain access to:!

The TM for Thunderbolt. I'm not going to teach this now however, since Shock Wave's ability to ignore accuracy drops I think is going to be really important for Sidney specifically. Calm Mind and Psychic should allow us to get past Juan easily enough as well.

My plan from this point is to avoid as much as the optional training as I can while taking the EXP that you can miss out on. This means clearing out, for now, the Weather Institute and Winona's gym trainers.

There's a fight against Shelley in the Institute, but it's not really worth talking about. Ralts is strong enough at this point that neither Pokemon is really all that threatening, and we can freely use our powerful moves on the rest of the trainers here.

This is thanks to the handy dealing bed available here :)

You might be wondering about the Rival battle, and while I did take screenshots, the rival in Emerald is really quite bad, even more so than in the previous two generations of Pokemon. Pelipper loves to use Protect on the first turn, giving me the ability to set-up with Calm Mind, and then just start blasting. Perhaps the only unique thing with this fight is Brendan deciding to send out Combusken versus Ralts over Lombre. I'm not really sure why that is.

Let's skip ahead to Winona, because there's actually not a lot to talk about between the two fights. Ralts is Level 45, above another damage rounding threshold, and most importantly, Winona's fastest Pokemon is actually slower than Norman's fastest Pokemon. This means by making sure we outsped the Slaking, we naturally outspeed everything on Winona's team. Neat!

Well that is going to be an issue. Not OHKOing the Swablu here opens us up to a potential loss condition: Swablu going for Perish Song. If the Swablu does that, it's a quick reset since there's nothing we can do about it. We'll faint before we can beat Winona. Thankfully here it just goes for Mirror Move, which is a hilariously bad call, and hits up with a frankly pathetic Psychic.

That doesn't stop the AI from seeing any opportunity it can to royally screw us over. This is a 10% chance! Surely this won't fuck us up later in the fight.

Next up is Tropius, and while its quite bad, it's not the Pokemon I'm intended on setting up on. I'm a little worried about how much a STAB Aerial Ace will do to use, and just KO it with two uses of Psychic. The thing I noticed here though is that it doesn't go for Aerial Ace, and instead goes for Solarbeam. If it does that consistently, that's actually going to be a free turn of set-up for us, although we won't OHKO at +1.

Next up is Pelipper and I hate this Pokemon. So many of you probably remember all the annoying Pelipper in-game that caused you issues. I intended to use Calm Mind turn 1, predicting the Protect it was going to use, because Pelipper loves using Protect on turn 1.

Of course, I don't get it. It goes instead for Supersonic, and wins the coin flip and confuses me. That's just dandy. Shock Wave from there KOes it very easily, but I'm still quite annoyed about the whole situation. Life the AI finds a way.

I have already taken some confusion damage by the time the Skarmory comes out, and Shock Wave isn't a OHKO here either. It barely misses on the KO, so that tells me I'm probably going to want +2 for this fight. It hits me with a Sand-Attack, further increasing my luck-based woes, before going down.

Next-up is Altaria, and Altaria is extremely specially bulky. I'm not expecting to OHKO this Pokemon, but it's also not particularly strong in any way so I think I'll be fine.

Unfortunately, we don't even get to see the damage ranges. Confusion damage along with Earthquake and Dragonbreath do enough to knock Ralts out. If we hadn't had our Sp.Def lowered we probably wouldn't have bit it to the Dragonbreath, but it really didn't matter.

Reset Counter: 30

This leaves us with a bit of a conundrum. The Swablu is pretty dangerous, but there's a clear path to victory in setting up to +2 and sweeping from there. But, finding that time is going to be a little difficult: my best options are the Tropius and the Pelipper, but the Pelipper comes with some risk attached to it as well.

I could level up to Level 48 and see if I get the KO range with Psychic, but I'm really not sure I need to do that. The fight seems very winnable at Level 45, and Ralts is a Slow growth rate Pokemon. Thunderbolt would also guarantee the KO, but as previously discussed, I think learning the move now would be short-sighted.

The plan I eventually decided on was to Calm Mind turn 1 on the Swablu, KO it, Calm Mind on the Tropius when it went to use Solarbeam, KO it, and then KO the next three Pokemon. This isn't a risk free strategy, but Swablu isn't guaranteed to use Perish Song and it can't do anything else to reasonably threaten me.

It works pretty much on the first try. Altaria's Earthquake doesn't even do that much damage, but you might have noticed that a +2 Psychic doesn't OHKO it. Yeah, it's really THAT bulky.

With that we have another Gym Leader down. Compared to Wattson, the last three Gym Leaders have all been fairly straightforward. I'm sure that will continue-

oh no

OH GOD

[bluegekk0]

I like several things about your art & lore so a simple note doesn't do it justice i feel, i just hope tumblr formates it somewhat okay via ask lol. 1. How absolute soft and round you draw, you hardly see any edges or hard corners and i am at this point fully convinced you do this on purpose, even when it comes to Vyrm's sidespikes or any claws.

2. Being able to make all characters easy to recognize yet give each your spin, even if one were to fully color any character in your art black, you can still say whats going on and who is who. 3. Expand on "blank slates", while we got all these Lore tablets by PK, we hardly know him as official, public text written as the King do not tell how he was in Person, and I for myself have adopted a few things as my HC on how your Vyrm acts in that regard, even more with his relationship with WL. Same goes for Grimm, the aspect of an eternal, ageless god seeking a quiet life after tasting all the world had to offer is very, very nice.

4. Not restricting yourself to what the game shows us, that might be just Take 2. but i feel like this should be mentioned as well, you dont just say "everyone is a bug" you go with reptiles, mammals, bugs, birds, literally everything imagineable to fit your vision of characters, especially your design of Lurien shows that being both bug & bird inspired. 5. Also Dinosaurs. Your Baryonix picture is still one of my faves, not just because Baryonix have become one of my fave dinos thanks to ARK: Survival Evolved but in general, still close to one of the more accurate renders we have while also adding your own charm, love the light blue "crest" (not sure how to call it) you added on the head especially, not just stylish but a possible feature to attract mates. You make dinosaurs look soft but not forget they were dangerous beasts.

Oh gosh this is a long one, I really appreciate this! I'll try responding to each one.

1. It is on purpose, yes! Funnily enough, it's a complete contrast to my old artstyle from over a year ago. Using Vyrm's side spikes as an example, they used to be almost perfect sharp triangles. These days I try to make the shapes in my art very round and soft, so I'm really glad this is something you like!

2. Thank you, I'm glad you think so! It's something I've been a little conflicted about sometimes. On one hand, I worry that I changed them so much they might not register as the characters they're based on. On the other, I want to draw them like this, that personal touch helps me connect to them on a much closer level, and considering Grimm and Vyrm in particular are my comfort characters, I'm trying to get rid of that doubt so I can fully embrace it. Hearing that they're still recognizable really does help!

3. Ahh I'm so happy to hear you adapted some of my interpretations into your own headcanons! It's really flattering to know that my silly rambles might have impacted how others view the original counterparts/their own interpretations.

4. Thank you! I'd just be repeating what I said in the second one, but again, it's very reassuring that people are open to my interpretations!

5. Ooooh I didn't expect this one hahaha. I'm glad you liked it! Redesigning the Jurassic World Baryonyx used to be one of my favorite things, I'm not the biggest fan of the movie design and I always found it fun to tweak it in subtle (and less subtle) ways to make it work better as the animal it's supposed to represent. And yes, I believe crest is the correct term here, it's something the movie design didn't include but I think it gives Baryonyx a lot of personality.

Again, thank you so much for your kind words!

[videogametako]

indie stuff: boardland

cute dice board game. link here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2735620/BoardLand/

[this game is completely free]

the music and art set the really cozy vibe of the game

this type of tutorial is kinda great, works really well for a turn-based game. lacks a bit of flair and flavor but i like how straightforward it is

cute sitting sprite

oh hey, it was published on my birthday

overview

boardland is a turn-based combat dice- board- game where you fight monsters. it's a pretty short game, i got through one run and credits rolling in 30~ minutes, but seems the monsters might be randomized for every playthrough? gonna check again just to be sure.

there's uh not really any story as far as i can tell, so let's just get to the

mechanics

combat takes place entirely on this board. you can upgrade it by using dice while on a tile, sometimes changing the base action of the tile (fire > attack, earth > defense, water > heal). it's got roguelite elements too so, it's what you'd expect, items and blessings. potions aren't too difficult to come by, and a playthrough is short enough that you can be liberal in using them

a player turn consists of you moving, then taking dice actions. you can only use multiple dice on a tile if they're in increasing order (2 > 3 > 4, for instance), otherwise, you have to move to use another action. you draw 5 dice every turn, and leftover dice are discarded. sometimes it seems you can use an action dice at the start of your turn immediately, but sometimes you can't..? i'm a bit confused but it might be dependent on whether you used an action last turn or not

now, by using a set number of dice, you can level up a base tile to upgrade it (its 3 dice for the first level up). this gives you bonus actions, and synergizes with the elemental dice you can find sometimes. this gives you a way to customize your board depending on your playstyle and build.

additionally, every other turn a random event occurs. you have to land on the tile to activate 'em. same goes with curses that enemies sometimes do. if something on the board only needs you to make contact with it, it'll say in the description (like enemy spawns)

the game punishes you for taking too long by giving most (if not all) enemies a passive that increases their stats every 10 turns. this did not become an issue for me (except for that one tedious round where i got to 10 turns because i kept messing up my actions)

you can get buffs and debuffs too. there was one where i was supposedly able to use two dice on one tile or smth, but it was either poorly worded or broken bc i could never proc it. there's a confusion debuff that sometimes makes you move backwards too. the main way to get debuffs on enemies is by using elemental dice on their corresponding tile

OH i completely missed the reroll mechanic, you can spend gold to reroll one of your dice, kinda handy, i suppose? gold is rarely used anyway

aesthetics

this game is pretty slow paced, not to say it can't get challenging, and while i'm more of a fan of faster games, i found this one to be relaxing to play. i'm gonna do one more run before finishing this up.

the music is extremely cozy. even when a bit frustrated, i couldn't find myself getting too worked up, i like it

i enjoy the artstyle as well, the monsters and the player character all have a soft and charming vibe about them (except that frog in berserk mode, pictured earlier, i like that too). very cute!

misc

gimmick fight, i respect it.

another gimmick fight, the reroll mechanic is especially useful here if you wanna fight more efficiently, especially since the opponent just sits there until the tiles get locked (i died bc i didn't realize my health was too low (oh, you can load up the autosave and retry, neat))

closing thoughts

i could honestly see myself spending a lot of time on a fully fleshed out adventure mode for this game. i'm super engaged by the mechanics, and with a bit more content there's room for a lot of strategy in this kind of game. different board lengths, branching paths, character skills.

i already enjoy board-based games a ton (stuff a la mario party or 100% orange juice) and also dice as cards in games (die in the dungeon, is the most recent and only example to come to mind (i haven't played library of ruina yet) i should write about that, i enjoyed the demo and i need the full game) so this game is very much my thing

if the game sounded like fun, give it a try, it is completely free

[trivorowo]

Heck it, with the apollo justice trilogy on the horizon, I'm going to throw my hat into the ring. With how much hay is said about how each of them are mostly standalone due to how they were handled, I'm gonna argue that at the very least there was an theme/arc for Apollo. One of building trust.

SPOILERS FOR APOLLO JUSTICE, DUAL DESTINIES, AND SPIRIT OF JUSTICE.

So right off the bat we have Apollo Justice. In case 1, we see Apollo as this bright eyed lawyer, nervous but determined to defend his client and impress his boss in his first trial (Sound familiar?).

Of course, everything goes to pot. Compared to the easygoing first time round for Mr Wright, this is the polar opposite. Kristoph gets accused, Wright forges evidence to convict him, all the while Apollo is a mere pawn in Wright's plan. Apollo is of course appalled at the end, his entire world broken by to him, a washed up ex attorney.

Of course, with that same washed up attorney his only lifeline, he begrudgingly starts working for the Wright anything agency. It is crucial at this point to note that Apollo from this point onwards, he never works with Wright in a legal setting. Sure, he'll take cases from him, but never do they directly work together.

In cases 2 and 3, we see that first broken layer of trust begin to slowly rebuild, as well as his own confidence as an attorney. He still holds a more pessimistic view compared to other spiky haired lawyers, but he persists. His second case, though first conceived by the killer as a way to get away, ultimately lands in a first happy ending, albeit with much more effort than Wrights(albeit with less ghosts). Case three holds a similar factor of trust. Apollo hears the victims dying words, and uses that to base his initial investigation, holding on that he can trust everyone is telling as much truth as possible. With how case 3 pans out, everyone is hiding something from Apollo, even his defendant, but despite that, he suceeds, but making his defendant trust in him back enough to make him testify against the killer.

One factor of this is the fact we have a more mellowed out prosecutor in Klavier Gavin. The prosecutors are usually framed as a foil to the defense, and in this case, with Apollo's pessimism, what better way to counter it with a flirty, and guiding hand?

Case 4 holds some character development...but kinda off screen. After we have all the facts through the mason system, we are told that Apollo has been clued in by Wright about his true plan. With it, and the Jury, he can topple the devil that is Kristoph. I think it would've been a interesting take to show Wright telling Apollo all of this rather than just tell he did, as it would've allowed us the audience to see Apollo's reaction to the truth, and with it some of his trust in wright restored.

So ends Apollo Justice, with him ending in a somewhat better position than he started with, with new hope for the future

Then comes Dual Destinies. (As a refresher this game has cases in non chronological order, going 23415)

We start (chronologically) with case 2. This introduced us properly to best girl Athena Cykes. Interestingly enough, she too is a foil to Apollo akin to how Klavier was in the AJ, juxtaposing his still pessimistic outlook. This still helps him build trust by helping the rookie, and vice versa. In this case as well we see Wright wearing a suit for the first time (chronologically, at least. I know case 1 has his big return but in terms of Apollo and other characters, this is the first time.) Apollo remarks at this point about how much of a change it is after being so used to his depressed dad look from before, hinting that Apollo might believe he is past his deceptive ways, and to the player as well.

That is, until case 3. At this point in time, the player is controlling Athena and Wright is present as the two of them discover the body. Wright suggests they examine the body before reporting it to the police. This is framed as a necessity due to the 'dark age of law' and possible tampering, but I find it fascinating that only out of sight from Apollo does Wright do something that harkens back to his AJ days.

Then, the entirety of the space trilogy, cases 4, 1 and 5.

Within this, Apollo has a sudden case of edgelord-itis

Apollo has a conflict that arises within him. During the investigation, he suspects Athena, with her unable to answer him properly due to her childhood trauma. As such, he has to cover his eye, his ability to perceive, his one ace, in order to bury his doubts. But it isn't enough. He starts to copy the mannerisms and sayings of Kristoph, the first source of distrust, to counter his own perceived lack of trust between him and everyone else. Of course in the end, that trust is mended, with a ceremonial removal of the cloth covering his eye.

At this point, all three are working together, which might sound like it contradicts my previous statement about Wright and Apollo working together, but on closer inspection, it is an exception that proves the rule. At this point, it is a joint effort in order to demask and take down the phantom, and so the three are not working as individuals, but as a group, with Wright in the lead.

So ends dual destinies, with a hurdle of new trust broken and restored, with Apollo gaining a new ally on the same level as him.

Now comes Spirit of Justice. I'll only be talking about cases 2 and 5, as this game is a bit of a split protag mess.

Case 2 has Apollo finally acting in an all too familiar situation of defending an assistant. As such, this is a relatively standard trial (well, as standard as it could be) with not much to add, except for one part in the trial, where Apollo has to find the contradiction within Trucy's sword trick, leading a moment of distrust, but that is quickly resolved.

Case 5 is where things get interesting. To start off, the first half. As much as people rag on this by having Maya be kidnapped again, is still find it an interesting and fun courtroom case. Within any of the games, you were never directly against Wright until now. With his own tactics that you've seen countless times before now used against you, it feels more impactful, especially with you as Apollo. You can feel a sense of that somewhat cards held close Wright from AJ. This time however, Apollo is steadfast, and is able to take Wright down in his own game.

(As an aside, one way I would've maybe changed this to better flesh out this part would be to change Wright's motive to siding with Atishon. One idea could be simply money. Maybe hint throughout the game, especially with his trip to see Maya and Trucy's show most likely costing him a lot, he might've been more inclined to help, under his paternal instincts to protect his new found family. Or, it could've been as a deal for information on a case very personal to him)

The courtroom part of the second half is then where this comes full circle. For the first time since the start of the trilogy, Apollo is defending, and Wright is providing co-counsel. This concludes the arc, with Apollo finally accepting the help of the man who laid bare the truth in his own quest for vengeance.

[severeprincesheep]

Truth be told, I've never been that keen on exercise. Yes, I do resistance training at home most mornings and enjoy more unstructured activities such as swimming in the sea and walking in the woods, but I don't think it's necessary — or appealing — to go running or sign up for the gym.

So I was delighted to read the results of a recent trial in Finland which concluded that the benefits of exercise, at least as far as longevity is concerned, appear to be overstated, and doing lots of exercise might even be counterproductive.

Yes, exercise will help in other ways, but it won't help you live longer. This is the latest addition to a list I've compiled down the years of the common myths about exercise...

MYTH 1: IT WILL MAKE YOU LIVE LONGER

Let's start with the new research. I've no doubt that if you go from being a couch potato to being more active, this will be good for your heart and life expectancy.

But the claims that it will add many years are mainly based on studies where you ask people to fill in questionnaires, then track them to see how long they live. The problem with this approach is there could be genetic factors which extend life, and make you more willing to exercise.

To get round this, in the latest study, researchers at the University of Jyvaskyla, in Finland, decided to look at the long-term impact of exercise in twins (because twins share many of the same genes).

Their results showed that being active led, at best, to a 7 per cent lower chance of dying than being sedentary.

They also tested biological age using DNA methylation, which measures changes to your DNA and is more accurate at assessing how old you are than what it says in your passport. This showed that the twins who were either very active, or very inactive, were biologically older than those who were modestly active. So doing too much — or too little — exercise is likely to age you.

Why would lots of strenuous exercise be bad? Well, it can lead to more injuries, and seems to have a negative impact on the heart.

A study of American footballers found they are 5.5 times more likely than others their age to have atrial fibrillation, which causes an irregular heartbeat and raises the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

MYTH 2: IT LEADS TO WEIGHT LOSS

This claim is based on the idea that if you burn more calories through exercise, then you will lose weight. Unfortunately, what study after study has found is that exercise alone is unlikely to lead to long-term weight loss.

Most of the heavy lifting, when it comes to shedding pounds, is done by consuming fewer calories.

A 2014 review in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which looked at the results of six big trials, found there was no real difference between people who lost weight by dieting, or by dieting plus exercise.

Part of the problem is that people often get hungry after exercising and eat more.

MYTH 3: IT INCREASES YOUR METABOLIC RATE

When you exercise, your heart rate goes up, which in turn raises your metabolic rate and the number of calories you burn.

The trouble is that your body doesn't like losing calories, so it sneakily responds in the hours after exercising by slowing your overall metabolic rate down.

This was shown in a 2021 study, where researchers at the University of Roehampton carefully tracked the calories that more than 1,750 volunteers burned while going about their normal lives.

They discovered that although you do burn extra calories when exercising, your body compensates, over the next 24 hours, by burning 28 per cent fewer calories than normal when doing day-to-day things such as sleeping.

And this effect seems to be greatest in people who are overweight or obese — precisely those who may be trying to lose weight.

MYTH 4: IT GIVES AN ENDORPHIN HIGH

It's often claimed that exercise boosts levels of endorphins, opioid-like substances that your body naturally produces.

But when researchers at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany gave volunteers, who all said they get a 'runner's high', a drug called naloxone, which blocks the impact of endorphins on the brain, it had no effect on the pleasure they got from running.

Most researchers now think that the 'high' comes from the release of endocannabinoids, cannabis-like substances that the body naturally produces. But only some people experience this — and sadly, I'm not one of them. A few years ago, I took part in a study at the University of Nottingham where I joined a group of enthusiastic runners for a reasonably long run. By the end, their endocannabinoid levels had soared but mine had flat-lined.

Having said all this, I'm all in favour of being active and looking after your muscles.

There is lots of evidence that being active — whether it is walking, taking the stairs or even vacuuming — is good for your brain and can reduce your risk of problems such as depression and anxiety.

We also know that unless you do resistance exercises, such as press-ups and squats, then from the age of 30 onwards, you lose up to 10 per cent of your muscle mass every decade, to the point where you can barely get out of a chair.

That's why I do resistance training every morning — though I can't say this ever gives me pleasure.

[landwriter]

Oaths is such a comfort fic for me and I think I thought you said at one point you were contemplating an epilogue or part two. Your behind the scenes answer for Oaths reminded me of this. Even with the Tam Lin song/story it’s based on, I can’t help but wonder what it is like for Tam Lin to be mortal again after this woman (or Hob) saved you. Do you even remember your past? That’s been my brain rot with that story since you finished the last chapter.

So it’s not on the ask meme, but I’m curious: what do you think happens after happily ever after? You can either answer for Oaths or any of your stories that you don’t plan on an epilogue/part 2 for.

Oh, thank you so much!! I think this might be the first time someone's told me Oaths is a comfort fic for them and I’m so delighted to hear it <3 Ask meme or no I am literally always so happy to answer asks about Oaths or any other fic. Genuinely makes my day!

There will be an epilogue, 100% — I was actually working on it when you sent this ask! I’m writing it because I can’t resist the question either, but am also a fool for form and pattern and thus couldn’t bring myself to make it an Oaths chapter. I’ll make a series on AO3 to link them, and coda aside, it would probably take very little encouragement for me to write more post-ballad type stories!! Very! Little!!

Wondering what it would be like to be mortal again after you’ve been mortal before, how memory might come back, learning the history you’ve missed etc., was SUCH a point of brain rot for me that I’ve had speculative little notes for this since the very start of Oaths. All I'll say for now as far as after-happily-ever-after goes is that there's adjustments, surprises, a couple callbacks, new friendships, a wedding (ten points for guessing whose), and mostly, just an awful, indulgent, tooth-rotting amount of love all 'round :)

(behind-the-scenes fic asks)

[ultraericthered]

Rey VS Ren - A Lookback

Rey Skywalker and Ben Solo AKA Kylo Ren had connected character arcs and a shared story between them that was indisputedly the strongest element carried across all three films of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. They were also quite deliberately set up as parallels to the previous Skywalker Saga protagonists, Anakin Skywalker and his son Luke Skywalker, who’d famously come to blows back in the original trilogy. Ben was like Anakin - a child of the Light Side who had great expectations of him and what he could do for the Order of the Jedi since childhood but who was corrupted and turned to the Dark Side instead -, and Rey was like Luke - a young adventurous soul who grew up on a desert planet not knowing they carried on in them the blood lineage of a Sith Lord and was an adept learner of the ways of the Jedi and the Force all while fearing the temptation to turn to the Dark Side -, and it was almost as though the Force that once flowed within the Skywalker father and son had passed itself on into these two who were now destined to finish what they had started.

And when I look back at Rey and Ren’s adversarial relationship compared to Luke and Vader’s, I develop a deeper appreciation for how it was handled. In the OT, Vader was consistently stronger in the Force and a better combatant with a lightsaber than Luke (and would’ve finished him in a space vessel chase had Han not come in to make the save!) up until their final battle, where when Luke does manage to beat his father down and disarm him, it’s not a triumphant moment because Luke is in a rage that’s pushing him closer to the Dark Side. But with Rey VS Ren, there’s more of a balance. While Ren is actually more the underdog here due to his pull to the Dark Side not coming quite so natural to him (contrasted with Rey, who’s pull to the Force and prodigious mastery of Force-based abilities comes all too natural for her given where she comes from), he and Rey manage to go tit-for-tat with each other throughout the trilogy.

ROUND 1 - On Takodana

Win goes to: Ren. This was all too easy - Ren had a lightsaber while Rey was armed with only a blaster and a Droid. Using the force to put her in a body-bind, Kylo Ren is able to capture her and take her off planet to deliver her to Starkiller Base, right where he wanted her.

ROUND 2 - Interrogation Room

Win goes to: It’s a tie! (But with an edge for Rey) While Ren is able to use the Force to get into Rey’s head to probe her in order to extract from her any secret information she might know, Rey surprises him by hacking right into his head and exposing his hidden vulnerability, forcing him out and preventing him from getting the information about the map to Luke’s location he’d desired to have. Even Rey is unsure how she was able to do that, and Ren leaves the scene bewildered over that brief but strong connection of their minds.

ROUND 3 - Ilum Forest

Win goes to: Rey. Admittedly, a very narrow win for her. While Kylo Ren was not at his best due to an injury from Chewie’s blaster and internal turmoil over having murdered his father, Ren not at his best is still more than enough to dominate a lightsaber duel against the inexperienced Rey. But Ren makes two mistakes - opens his mouth and gives Rey the idea to let the Force guide her movements, and pushes her into a fury that knocks him down and leaves him scarred. Like her grandfather, wrath and hatred gives Rey extra strength.

ROUND 4 - Tug-of-war aboard the Supremacy

Win goes to: It’s a tie! Simply put, they both fail here. Ren fails to get Rey to join him on the Dark Side, Rey fails to bring Ben back to the Light Side, and they both end up breaking the Skywalker saber!

(For the sake of evenness, I really would’ve liked a brief lightsaber duel between them here that Kylo would more or less win.)

ROUND 5 - On Crait

Win goes to: Rey. “I want that piece of junk OUT OF THE SKY!” But alas for Ren, he does not blow that piece of junk out of the sky and Rey, piloting it, shoots down all the TIE-Fighter forces he sends after her. She also plays a part in bailing out the Resistance while Luke’s Force projection of himself is facing Ren down as a distraction.

ROUND 6 - Pasaana surprise!

Win goes to: Ren. This seemed like a purely verbal sparring between the two from across different points in space, like what started in The Last Jedi. But by responding to Ren, Rey plays right into his hand, and he surprises her with a new ability to, through the Force Dyad, reach through and take physical items from Rey’s location back to his own, in this case the necklace that lets Ren know what planet she and her Resistance friends are currently on. Oops!

ROUND 7 - Ship pursuit on Pasaana

Win goes to: Rey. As Ren’s ship locates Rey and comes right towards her, Rey is able to run, jump, backflip, and skewer the ship with her lightsaber, causing it to skid out of control into a fiery crash.

ROUND 8 - Tug-of-war on Pasaana

Win goes to: It’s a tie! (But with an edge for Ren) It’s once again a Force tug-of-war between Rey and Ren, this time to try and bring down the carrier ship that Rey believes Chewie to have been taken prisoner on. But this time, it’s only Rey who ends up destroying it as Force Lightning shoots from her fingers and blows it up. Rey believes she’s lost a friend while Ren knows he’s gained something of value - getting to see Rey let out that power confirms to him what he’d wanted to know for sure about the dark lineage she comes from.

ROUND 9 - Aboard the big ship on Kijimi

Win goes to: Ren. In almost a total mirror image of how things started between them, it’s Ren who is collected and in total control throughout this fight while Rey fights more frantically with much fear and rage. Rey’s clumsy display leads to her and Ren knocking over the charred Vader mask, once again giving Rey’s location away to her foe. Ren then drops the bombshell on Rey regarding the truth of what befell her parents, why they sold her and flew off that day, and who the “father” of her father was...thus who she is. While Ren again can’t get Rey to take his hand and join the Dark Side, his words got her so shell-shocked that she’s unable to put up any more of a fight.

ROUND 10 (FINAL BATTLE!) - Death Star wreckage on Endor

Win goes to: Rey. The Force Awakens is further mirrored here. Much like their duel on Ilum, Ren very nearly beats Rey only to be defeated by her when she strikes back in a dark rage, and he’s run through by his own lightsaber just as he did to his father...at the exact moment he can sense his mother passing away. Rey can sense it too once her rage passes her, and it sours this victory to the point where she immediately uses her Force Healing to cure Ben’s fatal wound. The two of them share a moment of grief over losing the woman so dear to them both in total silence before Rey leaves him with these parting words “I wanted to take your hand...Ben’s hand.”

And thus was set in motion a union of Rey and Ben, a Dyad in the Force, to face the full might of the Sith and fulfill their own destinies. 

[profgandalf]

What Makes a Truly Satisfying Christmas Story?

I despise the tripe that passes as most Christmas stories. If it's a romantic narrative then a couple will have some sort of difficulty during the holidays and will overcome it by the end through the intervention of either an unexpected plot twist of goodness, a supernatural elf, or even a visitation by Santa himself.  Something must pull the protagonists’ bacon out of the fire at the last minute. Economic or domestic difficulties are all solved.  Meanwhile, how many times has the holiday itself been saved by one character or another? Ernest saves Christmas, Frosty saves Christmas, the Martians save Christmas (actually Santa saves Christmas from the Martians) and so it goes. One almost gets the sense that the celebration of Christ’s birth is a porcelain figure rather than our rugged religious holiday.

Part I

           Only Charles Dickens, with "The Christmas Carol in Prose,” ever managed to write a non-overtly religious narrative that successfully embraces the central power of the holiday.  Furthermore, his success seems to have eluded him in most other tries.  After 1843 Dickens composed Christmas stories multiple times which were financially so successful that his Christmas presentation became a staple in Victorian England.   However, most modern critics admit that "A Cricket on the Hearth," "The Chimes," “The Haunted House” “The Struggle for Life,” and the “Haunted Man” do not rise to the power of Scrooge’s transformation.  In fact, most readers have never heard of them.  Only “The Cricket” ever made it as a Rankin and Bass special.  Furthermore this failure should not be connected with any sense of the growing cynicism within the author.  Not even the Christmas chapters from "The Pickwick Papers" (which predates “The Carol”) entitled "The Goblins Who Stole a Sexton" hit the nose on the head in the same way that Scrooge’s story does. “The Carol’s strength comes from Dickens’ channeling the holiday’s spiritual center. Using that as a base, I would like to suggest that the spiritual center necessary for an effective Christmas story must include the following: (1) it must be a narrative of wonder; (2) it must involve something precious, (3) that precious something must face real jeopardy, and finally (4) the solution to that challenge, the salvation depicted in the story’s conclusion, must be potentially inclusive.

Part II

To begin, the successful story of Christmas must be one of wonder. As Dickens famously said In the opening of his “Carol” “There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate.“ Christmas is, at its center, not an everyday event. “It is the most wonderful time of the year.” It comes, shaking up the norm. And that is part of its spiritual center. Both Hebrew and Christian understanding of the Almighty’s workings includes wonder: “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Exodus 15:11 KJV). “Remember his marvelous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth” (1 Chronicles 16:12 KJV). So Christmas stories, at their best, always include wonder.            In some ways, this is the easiest of elements to incorporate. Just set the story in a land of wonders such as Toyland in "March of the Wooden Soldiers," Christmas Town in “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer” or Whoville in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” The fantastic element of the place itself will instill wonder. Furthermore many might note that because of the fantastic setting, an overt reference to Christ is not always needed. And many Christmas stories avoid the overt religious quality by doing so. However, overtly avoiding the Christmas story is perilous since it is the springboard of the Yule soul. Think of Fred Halloway's observation from "the Christmas Carol":

“I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that -- as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”

           Again, note the element of breaking into what is normal. Still, it interesting to note that C.S. Lewis and Tolkien disagreed about lands of wonder and Christmas. Tolkien, who created a whole series of Father Christmas letters and stories for his children, told Lewis it was impossible to have Christmas in Narnia since there was no Christ. Apparently, Lewis just shrugged and had Father Christmas appear anyway. (Ironically, Tolkien felt that Lewis’ fairytale was to obviously Christian, preferring his more subtle approach found in Middle Earth.) Still I think Lewis' instincts also had merit. What a powerful opening Lewis gives which is centered on Christmas: “It is winter in Narnia,” said Mr. Tumnus, “and has been forever so long. . . always winter, but never Christmas.” The bleakness of Narnia is tangible to both young and old readers even if it is a world of wonder and when Christmas comes it signals the end of the White Witch’s power.            One might wonder where is the wonder is such a hard-boiled Christmas narrative as “A Christmas Story,” in which the narrator is desperately trying to maneuver his mom and dad into buying him a Red Ryder BB Gun© (with this thing in the stock that tells time). However, the wonder is everywhere in this story. As Ralphi recalls "First nighters, packed earmuff to earmuff, jostled in wonderment before a golden tinkling display of mechanized, electronic joy!" Randy is still so young that he dances about at the Christmas Parade at seeing Mickey and the characters from “the Wizard of Oz.” But even Ralphie is enough of a believer in wonder that he includes Santa in his machinations. Wonder is vital for a Christmas story. And the acceptance of wonder is required: “Man of the Worldly mind” says Marley’s ghost, “Do you believe in me or not?! "Seeing is believing," says the conductor in “The Polar Express.” "but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see." Christmas stories demand the embracing of wonder. Meanwhile, the depth of Wonder in a Christmas story is directly related to its next quality, the jeopardy in which something precious is placed.

Part III

           The second and third qualities found in the best of Christmas Stories are intimately joined together: Such stories must involve something precious, and that precious quality must face jeopardy. And here is where many Yule narratives go off the rails.            Too often Christmas itself is held up as the precious thing supposedly in peril. Relatives might not make it, the dinner could be ruined or maybe Santa can’t make his flight and all the goodies will not be delivered. But as Dr. Seuss reminds us, Christmas is not so fragile. “’Maybe Christmas,‘ he thought...doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps...means a little bit more’”. Stories that make the Christmas celebration the center point falter.            Also, romantic love, while precious, is not neatly so important as to support a Christmas story. Now here, I might expect some pushback. There is hardly anything so enshrined in our culture than the ultimate value of romantic love. After all, in Dickens' "Carol" Scrooge's nature is revealed by his dismissal of Fred's choice to marry because of love.

           “Why did you get married?” said Scrooge.            “Because I fell in love.”            “Because you fell in love!” growled Scrooge, as if that were the only one thing in the world more ridiculous than a merry Christmas. “Good afternoon!”

           For many, the saddest moment in "The Carol" is Scrooge's choice to not follow his heart and marry a woman who would bring so little wealth to his situation when the norm of Dickens's age was to look for a woman who could aid oneself economically. In fact, some scholars think that Dickens worked himself into an early grave partly because he was trying to set up dowries for his two surviving daughters. It's notable that Dickens actually received some contemporary criticism in "the Carol" for encouraging young people to marry willy-nilly for love without thinking of the full consequences.            Personally, I can recall thinking that the joyful ending of "The Carol" is marred because Scrooge does not find romantic love at the end. But that is a misunderstanding. Romantic love while wonderful is precious only in its hope of becoming marital and familial love--the building blocks of our culture. Anyone who has seen more than twenty-five birthdays knows that romantic love by itself is as fleeting as a morning mist.            Romantic love is precious only in that it leads to marital and familial love. Such love may play a role in a strong Christmas story but if such fleeting affection is the centerpiece of a Yule narrative, the Christmas story flounders--a lot of sound and fury with little consequences. The bounds of marriage and children are deeply precious and the forces which put marriage and a family in jeopardy are worthy elements within a strong Christmas story. Thus, as George Bailey, in "It's a Wonderful Life," moves towards despair, it affects his marriage and family--his daughter Zuzu especially. The true tragedy that the Ghost of Christmas Past presents to Scrooge is the marriage and family he might have had.

And now Scrooge looked on more attentively than ever, when the master of the house, having his daughter leaning fondly on him, sat down with her and her mother at his own fireside; and when he thought that such another creature, quite as graceful and as full of promise, might have called him father, and been a spring-time in the haggard winter of his life, his sight grew very dim indeed. 

This last image is so wretched it causes Scrooge to physically attack the spirit to repress it.   And when, transformed, he sets forth, Scrooge finds his great joy met first at church and then among his family.            The best Christmas stories are those that center on humanity's loss and reclamation. Christmas at its center is the story of helpless humankind being hopelessly lost. The race teeters on despair and destruction. Although the wonder of Christmas can be assisted in fantastic settings, the central quality of Yule wonder is that in the midst of helplessness, help arrived. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Isaiah 9:2).            This is emphasized in multiple Christmas stories. Death and sterility being "The Carol." Marley is dead, to begin with, and so is Scrooge. The narration makes it clear that they are tied together: “Scrooge never painted out Old Marley's name. There it stood, years afterwards, above the warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. The firm was known as Scrooge and Marley. Sometimes people new to the business called Scrooge Scrooge, and sometimes Marley, but he answered to both names: It was all the same to him.” Scrooge at the beginning of the story is as dead as a coffin nail.

“Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!.”

The fact is that the old miser needs help, even if Scrooge himself doesn't know it:

Scrooge. . .made bold to inquire what business brought him there.  “Your welfare!” said the Ghost. Scrooge expressed himself much obliged, but could not help thinking that a night of unbroken rest would have been more conducive to that end. The Spirit must have heard him thinking, for it said immediately: “Your reclamation, then. Take heed!”

           Again, in so many of the best Christmas stories, the state of the individual is in deep peril. In Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey is near self-destruction. The top angel, Franklin, says this “man will be thinking seriously of throwing away God's greatest gift”. Clarence knows exactly what he means. “Oh, dear, dear! His life!.”            More than that, in the eyes of the very Catholic Frank Capra the contemplation of suicide places George Bailey's eternal soul in jeopardy. And the film "Joyeux Noël" depicts the events surrounding the Christmas Truce of 1914 in the midst of tragic jeopardy. Such potential terrible loss is the kind of foundation upon which the best Christmas stories are built.

Part IV

           The fourth and final quality of the best Yule narratives is that like the original good news, a Christmas Story should be inclusive. “Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people'” (Luke 2:10 KJV). Christmas is for all people, no matter one's race, gender, or age. The best Christmas stories portray the inclusion of those who, for one reason or another, were outcasts.

           This is important to the narrative because it is organic to the Christmas message. Contrary to the claims of many contemporary experts, Christianity has always been inclusive. As St. Paul writes “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28 KJV). That, from a man brought up in the Pharisaical tradition, is an amazing claim. St. John writes in the last book, “Whosoever will, may come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (Rev. 22:17b KJV). As a child, I can recall gustily belting out the chorus to P. P. Bliss’ ”Whosoever Will May Come:”

   “Whosoever will, whosoever will!    Send the proclamation over vale and hill;    'Tis a loving Father calls the wanderer home.    "Whosoever will may come."

(Just a side note: the American hymn writer, P. P. Bliss, from Ohio lived from 1838 to 1870 and was therefore a contemporary of Charles Dickens who lived from 1812 to 1870)

           The inclusion of the outcast, the inclusion of the enemy, is an especially vital part of Christmas stories. “God Bless Us, Everyone!” is first Tiny Tim’s  and then the narrator’s wish in the Carol.  Christmas should never involve the gleeful dancing by the hero over the fallen figure of his or her opponent. In "Joyeux Noël" that becomes literally true as soldiers from Germany, England and France face one another at Christmas during World War I.  In Adrea Bocelli's Christmas song "God Bless Us Everyone" (featured in Disney's version of “The Christmas Carol”), he provides this proms:

To the voices no one hears,

We have come to find you.

With your laughter and your tears,

Goodness, hope, and virtue.

The central nature of inclusiveness is emphasized in Rankin and Bass’ “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” when the red nosed Rudolf and Hermey, the Elf who wants to be a dentist, find places within their community (as does the terrible Abdominal--whose job becomes the one who places stars on the tops of trees ). And who can forget the joyful ending when Santa arrives to gather up and find homes to all of the inhabitants of The Island of Misfit Toys. The ending which featured this rescue was a late added scene for the second year’s broadcast because there was so much uncertainty over the fate of the toys from the show’s premier.  That is how important inclusiveness is to Christmas. Those who think “Happy Holidays” is a more inclusive term miss the point entirely.

           But there is a caveat. While all are welcome in the spirit of Christmas, not everyone will come because not everyone will lay down what is killing them spiritually. Henry F. Potter from "It's a Wonderful Life" is not there in the final scene singing with the rest of his community, and it's NOT because George Bailey, his family, or his friends would have excluded him. It's because Henry F. Potter excluded himself.

           The isolating sin of idolatry is alive in our age. Whatever is placed above the light of Christmas is, in fact, a deadly hindrance--what Dickens wisely portrayed as chains on Marley. Bell, Scrooge's former fiancé, identifies his economic passion as idolatry:

"Another idol has displaced me; and if it can cheer and comfort you in time to come, as I would have tried to do, I have no just cause to grieve.'' "What Idol has displaced you?'' he [Scrooge] rejoined. "A golden one.''

Dickens' audience would have immediately recognized the Biblical echo of the golden calf from the Exodus story. If he had not accepted the truth given by the Spirit of Christmas Past (a metaphor for memory) Scrooge would not have found himself at his nephew's Christmas dinner. Meanwhile, if the Grinch had not seen that there is more to Christmas than packages and bags, then he would have found himself out in the snow not enjoying his roast-beast.

           Thus, whatever we hold so dear in ourselves that we will not let it go and would sacrifice all else for it, be it political affiliation, gender identification, sexual gratification, competitive economics, or national patriotism when we hold it higher than the light which Christ claimed to bring, we bare ourselves from Christmas.

           Thankfully the truth of Christmas in the best of stories is revealed to be far more penetrating, far more enduring, and far more powerful than the world thinks it is. "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" (John 1:5 KJV). The best of Christmas stories helps us comprehend it just a little bit more than we might have.

           So with all that being said, I sit here with my fingers hovering over the keyboard trying to compose in my head a Christmas yarn worthy of the title.  Glad there is no deadline on me as poor Charles was facing in 1843. Merry Christmas Everyone! Dec. 2022

[molianno]

Do You Really Need Sunscreen in Winter?

Absolutely, you need it all year round!

Effective sunscreen not only prevents you from getting tanned but also helps fight aging—how tempting is that?

Let’s dive in~

To put it simply, sunscreen is all about blocking UV rays. While UV rays are great for disinfecting, like when you air out your clothes in the sun, they can also cause skin tanning and aging!

Sunscreen is your shield against UV rays!

Why, you ask? Because UV rays—UVB and UVA—are two major skin-damaging culprits. UVB damages the outer layer of your skin, while UVA goes deeper, harming the dermis and subcutaneous tissues, leading to skin aging, dark spots, and photoaging. Scary, right?

Here are my key sunscreen tips! Follow these steps for correct and effective sun protection:

1. Remember to Use Physical Sunscreen:

Things like umbrellas, sun hats, sunglasses, masks, sun-protective clothing, and shirts.

I love shirts mainly because they provide sun protection!

I started my anti-aging routine at 22, diligently shielding myself from UV rays. Since my job requires me to be outdoors, I can’t always use an umbrella, so shirts have become essential to protect my neck and arms. I have at least 80 to 100 shirts by now!

Hats and sunglasses are also a must every time I step outside!

2. Does Physical Sunscreen Mean You Can Skip Chemical Sunscreen?

Definitely not!

Sunscreen is necessary all year round, whenever you're outdoors, even on cloudy or rainy days. Clouds can’t block UV rays!

Any exposed skin should be protected with sunscreen.

Here are some sunscreens I’ve tried:

- Anessa, La Roche-Posay (Blue Bottle), and Lancôme.

Anessa works great despite containing some alcohol, La Roche-Posay is excellent but a bit pricey, and Lancôme can clog pores. (Just a note: I have dry, sensitive skin, so these are my personal experiences and may not apply to everyone else.)

Apply sunscreen after your regular skincare routine—cleanser, toner, lotion, cream—then apply your sunscreen before makeup. If you’re outdoors for an extended time, reapply sunscreen regularly. No need to cleanse your face before reapplying.

Do you need to remove sunscreen with makeup remover?

It depends! If you feel your regular face wash doesn’t remove the sunscreen well, then go ahead and use a makeup remover. This is flexible; the method is fixed, but you should adapt based on your needs!

Here are some removers I’ve enjoyed using: Bobbi Brown, MAC, and TREE.

3. My Sunscreen and Whitening Tips:

If you’re indoors in a low-light environment, you don’t need sunscreen. But if there’s strong indoor lighting, you should still wear it!

If you have large windows at home and love basking in the sunlight, remember to apply sunscreen, or you might end up with a tan even while sitting at home!

Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C, like tomatoes. Tomatoes are packed with vitamin C and lycopene, which helps absorb UV rays. They’re like magic fruits for sun protection and skin whitening!

Lastly, take a look at the skin on the inside of your arm—it’s usually the lightest part of your body. That’s your skin’s natural, maximum white tone.

After reading this, do you feel more hopeful?

Even if you can’t achieve a super light complexion, you can at least bring your skin tone to its natural, maximum brightness while slowing down the aging process, which is a fantastic goal!

Did you remember today’s tips?