#also i just don't like when people add bonus sizes to keep people from being excited about having a jumbo

[fabdante]

i'll ask here to since this'll probably end up on here as well:

on my art instagram every couple of months i make a hermit crab video and it's that time again. i want to make a video comparing my jumbo hermit crab batman to objects to give everyone a sense of scale because he just looks really good this molt and is just Very Large, any suggestions?

for anyone worried about his safety during this, i am on my like 11th year of crab husbandry (i have had batman in particular since day one) and while i am not perfect by any means i will make sure he is only exposed to things that are safe for him in an environment that is safe for him for the brief time required for this. he'll just be featured next to things then returned to his tank.

[shuttershocky]

Thoughts on the new dota patch?

Stuff I don't like

Stuff that didn't do damage now does damage — Mana drain does damage, Curse of Avernus does damage, fucking Enchant does damage. It's a case of classic powercreep, where instead of new characters coming in are clearly stronger than old ones like mobage fans are used to, the entire game moves up the powerscale. The Dota 2 of today is far faster, bulkier, and stronger than the Dota 2 I started with in 2012.

Solar Crest is way too overloaded — this thing gives armor, an HP barrier, movement speed, AND 70 ASPD for literally no mana cost. What the fuck. Cores are building this and then spamming it on themselves to fight with. It needs a mana cost right away.

Trilanes are still dead — while the heroes at the top and the overpowered items have shifted a ton, Dota hasn't changed from a 2-1-2 laning setup for almost 7 years now. A few years into when I first started playing, you would see trilanes, where the offlaned would go alone, while both supports babysat the carry. It was much slower paced than 2-1-2 which is why it never came back (same reason why dedicated junglers as a role never came back) but I do wish we had a changeup of how the lanes were played.

Stuff I do like

Khanda — Putting a crit stat onto a caster item and adding scaling bonus damage to a spell every 6 seconds is Khanda fun. You can do some funny oneshot builds with Khanda, a Divine, and any long range targeted spell like Assassinate (which can also scale off ATK just like Khanda's bonus damage)

Revenant's Broach rework — They called me a madman when I'd buy this on Phantom Assassin just to turn physical crits into magical ones. Now it's been reworked so it doesn't give useless stats for PA like int and ASPD and witchblade DOT, and now only gives raw damage and spell lifesteal. Good. Buy this on PA after you have one more damage item and then turn it on when her next crit is guaranteed to deal 1000+ magic damage in a single hit. It's like playing Lina with cheats turned on, or a very, very farmed Muerta. High armor heroes like Morphling or Terrorblade that think they're safe will instantly get deleted.

Weird new mechanics — While I complain about powercreep, Dota never stops getting weirder and adding new mechanics every patch, which at least makes it fascinating to study. My favorite in this patch is changing Juggernaut's Blade Fury from a regular DOT spell that deals damage every 0.2 seconds to one whose tick rate changes to 2x his current ASPD, meaning the faster his attack speed is, the faster he deals damage with Blade Fury. It's so stupid and weird, basically makes Blade Fury go from a godtier kill lane spell that falls off into a garbage laning spell that scales later and lets Juggernaut be an unstoppable whirlwind lategame even when he can't normal attack. It's fun. I also like Bloodstone having a new +75 AOE stat which just adds 75 units of girth to all AOE spells. It's probably broken and needs a nerf, but we've never had an item affect AOE sizes before and it's been quite fun.

Magic carries are back — It's mostly just Leshrac (+Shiva's and Bloodstone) being broken but I do think magic carries like Pudge are now way more viable than they were the last two patches. I loved Pudge carry when it was good, and was sad that it got nerfed. Today however, Shiva's and Bloodstone are so busted I think it might actually make Carry Pudge semiviable again, at least in pubs. I love non-traditional carries so them getting buffed is great.

Gyrocopter is pushed towards being a caster yet again — My favorite running gag in Dota 2 is that Icefrog keeps buffing all of Gyrocopter's magic to push people towards playing him as a caster, and still whenever he shows up in the competitive scene it's as classic carry Gyrocopter entirely because of how fast flak cannon makes you farm. Gyro's magic has been buffed so many times that playing support Gyro is actually viable (been viable since last patch), it's just that Flak Cannon's existence will mean that carry Gyro will always triumph in popularity. To kill carry Gyro once and for all, Icefrog will have to delete Flak Cannon, but Gyro's had Flak for well over a decade now and it's kind of iconic to the character. In the meantime, the reworked Call Down is really fun to play with for a support Gyro.

Roshan snitches if the winning team keeps winning — They added a new mechanic where if the team that previously killed Roshan is attacking Roshan again, Rosh does a scream that the whole map can hear while hitting the team in its AOE with a +25% damage taken debuff. It's a really funny way of slowing down a snowballing team since the team that gets the second Roshan often gets a huge advantage that wins the game, and now with this mechanic getting two Roshans in a row is actually pretty risky without total map control. The patch isn't even a week old and I've already seen a team that's ahead get snitched on by Rosh and then heavily punished by the losing team just waiting for Rosh to give the signal to attack.

All in all, fun patch so far, but the meta hasn't really been settled yet. Need Solar Crest and Shiva's to get nerfed as they're way too strong and Solar Crest especially is supposed to be a support item you put on your carry rather than an item carries will cast on themselves. I really want to see a game with the neutral item that gives 95 magic resistance at the cost of setting your max HP to 1.5k, I wanna see a very farmed Axe with a billion armor get that at 60 minutes to become invincible.

[lobsterplush]

Day 1-2: Cord length and types

Before you can make a project you need to select a cord and cut it to the length needed. There's many types of cord to choose from, each with their own properties. :

A. Limp cord, usually made out of twisted cotton, can be tough to use. It unravels and sometimes doesn't hold it's diameter- a tight knot can compress the cord. However, limp cord is the only type that doesn't hold it's past shape. It can be good for wall hangings where you don't want the hanging cords curly from being sold in a bundle. Since I'm not really into wall hangings I personally avoid this type.

B. Flexible cord like waxed braided cord is my favorite- the cord is strong and brightly colored, the ends don't unravel enough to be an issue, and the texture is smooth and nice on the hands. Sometimes sold in bundles, sometimes wrapped around a piece of cardboard.

C. Stiff cord is usually natural hemp fibers, which are sold in round bundles. This type is really good for trying out new designs without worrying about wasting fancy colored cord, plus the ends don't unravel. Be careful though- this cord is very hairy and can be lumpy and uneven. Natural fiber cord can also come in different colors and stiffness, but even limp natural fibers don't compress in a knot like cotton.

Try not to mix these cord types- limp cord is flattened in a knot with other types, making the knot uneven. Mixing natural fibers with braided cord is fine in certain projects but for the most part the mix of smooth versus hairy+lumpy is awkward.

Other types of cord include synthetic cord, which is limp and can unravel like cotton but can come in vivid colors and weird shapes like flat. I don't have much experience with these. Avoid elastic cords for macrame.

/\/\/\/\/\

^ Some cords don't unravel much and you can A) not worry about it. For cords that unravel you can B) tie the end in a knot, or for some synthetic cords C) singe/melt the endings with a lighter.

/\/\/\/\/\

One other thing to keep in mind is thickness- the width of the cord is usually given in millimeters (mm) but between you and me, tumblr, I don't think they know what a millimeter is. Who said that.

"1mm" is thin, good for smaller projects like jewelry. This is my default thickness. I've also seen 1mm be called "0.5mm." It doesn't matter much as long as it's thin macrame cord.

"2mm" is thick cord for smaller projects. I don't use thicker cord much because the thicker the cord the (slightly) easier it is for knots to unravel. 3mm and thicker starts getting unwieldy for my style of projects, but is common in stores because wall hangings got trendy.

/\/\/\/\/\

When it comes to the length of the cord many tutorials will just give you a length to cut. They give either the length for one specific project or there's a chart for bracelet/necklace/whatever. But people come in different sizes and having a 'one size fits all' measurement leads to wasted cord or a piece that's too small to wear. It can be a bit of a hassle. And I don't like having to dig out a ruler.

So I have my own method.

To measure by feel, use your chosen cord to figure out the length of the project (A). If it is a bracelet, wrap the cord around the wrist. You can make a necklace tight or loose. Whatever you like. Then, add like 3 or 4 inches, 15 to 20cm of bonus cord (B).

(The bonus cord is for you to hold onto when making the knots, and on longer strings it gives much needed wiggle room in case your knots eat up string.)

A and B together is the Project Length, or PL.

Next look at your project. Plan out what each string is doing- if it is used as a base string that goes the length of the project with no turns, it's length is 1 PL. Another string that is used in knots and has lots of turns can be 3 PL. The more PL, the more convoluted the path of the string.

For example, a series of square knots has two base strings and two strings that wrap around them. This project could be one cord, 2 PL, folded in half for the two base strings and a second, 6 PL, folded in half for the two wrapping strings.

So once you measure your project and decide on a PL, fold it back and forth until the cord is the desired length, and use that cord to measure the others in the project.

Another example with pics:

Two strings, natural hemp fiber, as straight as I could get them without taping them down lol. One is 2 PL and the other is 4PL, each folded in half. This makes two 1 PL strings and two 2 PL strings.

The long cords were used to make knots around the base cords, which are straight. (the wrapping cords ended up having more leftovers, but I chose a knot that's really light on the string. And I used string-saving techniques, oops)

(I didn't give myself that much room for the finishing knot, oops x2)

Final product with the strings trimmed! Don't worry about leftovers, the longer ones can be used in other projects or small samples for testing designs. It's better to overestimate the needed cord then to go through the circus of ending up short.

Anyway this way I can give you a design, say the Project Length of each string, and you can use that to build sweeping necklaces to child bracelets.

btw you can always look around at other tutorials of similar designs if you just want a solid number to work with.

(Macre-May Prompt list)

[jellubilee]

Creation 1: PVC Pipe Connector !!!!!!!!

Oh yeah, that sure is a pvc pipe thing! You do this by taking cylinders, making a cross out of them (let them go inside each other it doesn't matter), and then taking smaller, voided cylinders to shove through the middle of each, hollowing them out.

Creation 2: Good Egg

It's an Easter egg, happy early Easter for those who celebrate! It's pink and hollow and open slightly for all your small chocolate needs.

To do this, you take a semi circle, and then copy paste the semi circle now as a voided shape. You take the voided semi circle and make it oneeee square smaller all around. Now, when you put it into the half circle, it'll only leave a thin shell visible. Do the same thing for a slightly elongated semi circle, rotate them, put them together, and color them pink.

Creation 3: Floppy Disk

Don't know what a floppy disk is? Doesn't matter! This is a general idea of what a floppy disk looks like.

Thin square, like 1 square wide. The label on one side goes up and over, and is shorter on the other side (two different shapes). Make both of them go up well over where they would realistically bend over the floppy, and use a voided square to chop off the rounded corners caused by turning up radius. Do the exact same thing on the bottom gray metal bit. Voided rectangle to cut out the part of the metal on each side, being careful to only select the metal and not the whole disk by using the shift key. Put it in the circle (don't have to pop out, it's level with the rest of the plastic) and cut out the center square and the side rectangle the same way you did the bottom metal rectangle with the shift key. Once you do that, cut off the corner with a voided square and in my case, I decided to also do the two holes on the top with voided squares.

Bonus Creation: Two Cups

Similar to how the egg was done, I took the semi circles and a smaller, voided version of them to hollow it out. After stacking a cylinder on top of each, I did the same again, making sure the voided cylinders where the same size as the top of the voided semi circles.

If these two cups look familiar, then that's very cool.

Creation 4: Fork

THE FORK IS EASIER TO 3D MODEL ON TINKERCAD THAN A SPOON

Anyways. Look at how fucking good I did my fork.

You know what. Maybe I am gods gift to 3D modeling (/s). Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But I can say I know what I'm doing.

What we're doing here is subtractive modeling. Take a big rectangle and carve a fork out of it like you're Michael fucking angelo and tinkercad is your holy chisel.

The side profile of the fork is what takes the most time, because you have to get that dip down from the neck to the head. It's just a lot of working with cylinders and rectangles. The most efficient way I figured out is by taking a square block, using a cylinder void block to cut out a rounded edge, and using that as a void to help with the bottom of the fork. This is a technique I ended up using nonstop, ESPECIALLY on the final piece we had to do all on our own.

For the prongs I put two long, slightly rotated rectangles together into a thin V shape, and put a circle on the bottom to round it out. Void those to get the areas between each prong. I showed that to a couple people who were using cones, bless their hearts. I hope they figured out what I meant. I used the same "rounded slope from a square and voided cylinder" to round the bottom of the head of the fork. From now on I'll keep calling it a rounded slope.

And lastly for the part you hold its just some big rectangles to add some curves. This part is easy and you'll get it quickly if you've done everything else.

Creation 5: Flask

This is a lot of the same of what we've already done. To get the thing hollow you have to make a second version of it that's slightly smaller and voided. Copy and paste that while you have it, because you're going to want a shorter version of it to make the juice in the center.

The shapes needed for the outside of the flask are a sphere (use a void rectangle to make the bottom flat), a cylinder for the neck of the flask (use a cone to make the sphere lead into the cylinder more smoothly), and a combination of a torus, a small cone, and a voided cone to create the lip at the top.

Creation 6: Bowler Hat

If only you (the professor) had a fixation on jellyfish instead... smh.

Semi circle on top of cylinder, making it slightly oblong. Copy and make a smaller voided version so you can hollow it out when the time comes (longer cylinder on the bottom ofc). For the brim, take a stretched torus and make a smaller voided copy, but stretch that one farther so that it cuts off two of the sides while leaving the other two up and curved. Put it all together, color it all black, and hollow out the inside.

Creation 7: Aviators

This is it. My magnum opus.

For the glasses parts you take a thin square and carve it out like you did the fork, you're gonna want a LOT of rounded slopes. I added a thin cut of a semi circle up top just to round it out better, but that's just me. Copy and paste it and make it a little bigger, once it's 1 square bigger all around copy paste the original lens a second time, now as a void, and hollow that out. Put them together with the align tool. Copy paste and flip horizontally so you have the same thing twice.

After that take two rectangles and make them thin, with a radius, and make one long top one. The other one you want to be more square (still rounded edges), make a smaller void version, and cut it out so the bottom one looks like a round version of this ]. For the nose pieces I used the "scribble" shape and my little drawing tablet I have linked, so I could get the swirl and the transparent nose pieces.

The sticks for the ears took the longest, and were done just like the fork again. I use a lot of rounded slope voided and rectangle voids to carve out a couple rectangles and make one of the ear sticks. Once that's done then just copy, paste, and flip it horizontally to put it onto the other side.

[jjheejz]

What is Fate?

[Part 5/5] WOH concert and after

WOH Concert (3-4 May 2021)

- The fact that they even have a grand scale wedding ceremony drama concert

- GJ did not attend ZZH's first solo concert, but both of them have their own concert together for the first time

- Chinese have a traditional tradition of calculating auspicious dates (metaphysics). It can be calculated commonly for when to move in to a new house, bury a deceased, open a business, hold a wedding etc. 3 - 4 May were auspicious dates for Wedding and marriage registration.

- The concert was held at a stadium in Su Zhou, but the entire city was blatantly supporting everything and anything about WenZhou like it's New Year's Eve. Eg. Building, helicopter banners, bus advertising, drone show, lantern display, subway endorsement, city's official account using WOH quotes applying to safety regulations, curated photo booths, life sized figurine of WenZhou (YouKu kept it as prideful display at their office entrance after the concert), crowds of fan support and cheers etc.

Drone show snippet:

- Both of them were given the center of attention for the entire 2 days of WOH concert. It was WenZhou/JunZhe concert in disguise as WOH concert.

= This gave them both the opportunity to show what they feel for each other openly (whether as WenZhou themselves or as JunZhe)

- To have a stage to be what they are* and have fun, while being accepted and greatly supported by a sea of Mountain people (山人), no matter how one sees it, it's an extremely touching form of support for them

*Disclaimer: obviously they weren't 100% themselves, mindful of the fact that this stage was monitored by important media bodies (not exactly sure what kind, but somewhat government-ish regulators I presume), but their gaze and body language is just as natural as what they are.

= The fact that the country in general is not open to this kind of relationship, yet they were in a place where most of the people were supportive.

- Yes, there were some important bodies (or eyes) during the 2 days concert. Which was why all the actors and actresses were warned. For whatever reason they chose to continue in their own way, it's daring consensus of support. And for whatever reason the regulators didn't do anything (there weren't any big news at all from them), is also a miracle.

- They had the opportunity to sing a duet on stage, live. For the audience, GJ's singing skills started from November 2020, ZZH likes GJ's singing, and 5 months later, they have a duet on stage.

- Official acknowledgement of cpfans

= First in history where the recognition was officially verbally mentioned in-person. You can say this fate belong to the fans.

- ZZH had the opportunity to vow a promise to GJ witnessed by X million of people in the stadium and those watching livestream, that he will always be there for GJ. He did not only vow as a companion to GJ, in ZZH terms, he actually vowed "I will love you forever" [ZZH on 'love' saga]

- The in-ear mic had the voices of the backstage crew's coordination. ZZH took it off early, but GJ was still wearing them during the exchange. That itself is a stressor as the backstage coordinator must have warned extremely sternly and loudly and GJ was shakingly nervous. When ZZH was giving this vow (which in the concert BTS release, we see him say "Don't I have a segment to speak to WKX?" Note, it's WKX, not GJ), the backstage crew was cursing and swearing when ZZH went with "I have things to say to Jun Jun." (as WenZhou, they have a disguise/a shield, with direct GJ, it's just...danger danger red light) Try imagine being the backstage crew and going all mad and crazy over what ZZH said that moment.

= ZZH's daring courage to say things like these was probably built up from his sportsmanship, hot-blooded passion from his past. It's beyond my peasant mortal's comprehension.

- Supporting Cast shenanigans and warnings for them, link here

After

- After the concert was over, solo fans expect the main leads to break up even as co-workers or say, being even in the same frame. This expectation is extremely strong in the industry for years. The same goes for JunZhe despite this time many are cpfans but they do know this prevalent expectation. So imagine crying over the vow and the next moment, just hours after the concert, JunZhe is happily sticking to each other singing in the same frame as if they did nothing big a few hours ago. They sang a phrase together with this lyrics: 30% arranged by fate/god, 70% arranged by hard work. A love for perseverance will lead to success/winning.

= Debunking expectations, breaking many years of industry's common consensus successfully. They invented after after-sales CP service.

- Stage, endorsements, film scripts, major public events, variety shows, top brands etc. Poured in, and although it's all solo events, we see traces of the other half.

- Aside from that, we now see social media exchanges (almost always for the other half), brand endorsement captions (almost always about the other half), official brands partnering with each other because of them (despite being legit competitors) etc.

- The word 'support' or at least 'love seeing them together', is the general reason CPfans are fans of them. But to both GJ and ZZH, it really goes beyond the word itself. Acknowledging is just the beginning. ZZH does take LLD to heart and GJ is very interactive with LLDs in his own quirky way.

*From the [Star X Moon Saga], to the developed feelings because of this drama and actually accepting their feelings, to the fact that the pitiful budgeted amount for WOH was not well received at all before it was broadcasted but boomed records in the end, to the open shipping support by the production crew/casts/general media/fans/brands/cities, to the climbing successes and mountainous opportunities opened for GJ and ZZH overnight, everything was unprecedented and unexpected, but they all dramatically happened to the two of them in a span of one year.

Bonus

A fan went to a temple to check out JunZhe's fate. You can only check for one person and she checked for GJ. She passed her result to a Master and he immediately tell her to give up because that person is taken and turned away. The fan quickly corrected and say she's actually checking for someone else, the master turned back and checked her read again and said, everything is aligned to their favour, it's blessed by the Gods. (If I can find the full article again, will add on more but that's the gist, surfing in China made me love Google's search engine algorithm so much more).

A few other fans who 抽签 (Chinese praying tradition - simply put: draw a stick of varying luck). They all got the bestest of luck for JunZhe. (Reading the readings, I'm just...in awe...I...)

= Borrowing the meaning of another famous novel title, to me, this is a true "Heaven's official blessing" pair.

-------End of series-------

🌻To returning readers: Updated info are in purple for your easy references!

🌸Part 1 - Before filming here

🌸Part 2 - During filming here

🌸Part 3 - After filming, before broadcast here

🌸Part 4 - Broadcast/Promotion period here

🌻Upcoming: JunZhe Saga series

🌻[Ongoing updates] Will add if I remember or found new ones - last updated 220721

🌻For long posts like this, I tend to look back for grammar and phrasing mistakes (sometimes info updates), so when you reblog for future references, do keep in mind that there may be updates in the original post! :)

[tigerkirby215]

5e Sona, the Maven of the Strings build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Shilin Huang. Made for Riot Games.)

(Shit meme by yours truly.)

Revealing my Champion Mastery just to say that I play a lot of Sona. Don’t flame me for playing Seraphine and Yuumi I swear to god, and I have no idea why Teemo is in my top 10 highest mastery champs ngl.

Anyways you have no idea how happy I am as a Sona main that my girl is now top tier. I came to League of Legends from Overwatch (yes really) and I used to main Lucio in OW along with some of the more “techy” characters like Symmetra and Torbjorn. (Came to OW from TF2 where I mained Engineer and Medic.) Sona was a natural fit for me as a champion who was both easy to play and very similar to Lucio. It also helps that I joined the Rift during the single most engaging meta to ever grace this game. I was kinda too shit to play Janna but the Ardent Censer meta is also why I have such a high mastery on Lulu tbh.

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But enough about my history with League: Sona! Honestly when I think of an archetypical support Sona pops into my head a lot sooner than Soraka: a champion based on empowering their teammates in as many ways as possible with heals, shields, movement speed, and CC to hold the enemy team down. I’ve always loved playing her because she feels like much more of a macro oriented character than other supports, with team-wide support as opposed to keeping one person alive like Soraka or Yuumi or focusing on CC like Morgana and Nami.

I’m going to build most if not all the champions eventually but man I am happy to tackle Sona now. She’s always been on my mind as my main but it was pretty difficult to think of how to make her. I think this build is good enough though!

Wow that was much longer of an intro than I’m used to. You can really tell which champions I’m excited for lol.

GOALS

Everything in harmony - Sona boosts everyone on her team with her songs as they fill the air.

Triple time! - Sona’s ability to boost her whole team into a good position is always beneficial.

Crescendo! - Fun fact: Sona’s ultimate is canonically extremely painful as she forces you to contort your limbs against your will. Why is Sona needlessly macabre? Well remember that Riot also wrote Volibear as an Eldritch old god.

RACE

Sona is Human but if you want to be cool you can make her a Kalashtar for resistance to Psychic damage and advantage on Wisdom saves. Regardless we’re going to be making what’s known as a dollar store Kalashtar with Variant Human. Increase your Charisma by 1 as well as your Constitution because we kinda don’t need much else. You also get proficiency in one skill of your choice which will of course be Performance, and a language which you can pick as you fancy: you won’t be speaking it anyways lmfao.

That’s because “Only you can hear me summoner; what masterpiece shall we play today?” Grab the Telepathic feat to complete this dollar store Kalashtar package. Increase your Charisma score by 1 and get a 60 foot telepathy to speak while being mute. You also learn the Detect Thoughts spell and can cast it once without using a spell slot. "Did he want... four autographs? I don't understand."

ABILITY SCORES

15; CHARISMA - Charisma is tied to performance and all the other stuff a Demacian noblewoman is expected to be good at.

14; DEXTERITY - Something something medium armor; even if you wear a dress there’s no reason you can’t have some padding beneath it!

13; STRENGTH - Hey this isn’t something something medium armor!

12; CONSTITUTION - Sona may be squishy in League but I value not dying more than good skill checks honestly.

10; WISDOM - Speaking of not dying: Wisdom saves are more common, and Insight is more useful than most Intelligence skills.

8; INTELLIGENCE - We had to dump something so unfortunately Intelligence gets the short end of the stick. You may have studied under the illustrious Buvelle family but most of those lessons were music classes.

If you want a better stat array going 13 / 14 / 12 / 10 / 10 / 14 with Point Buy is perfectly viable, and if your DM is cool enough to let you multiclass without Strength then you’re more than welcome to dump it.

BACKGROUND

There’s two obvious backgrounds that fit Sona: the first is Entertainer for proficiency with Acrobatics and a skill of your choice (since we already took Performance lol.) You also get proficiency with Disguise Kits and your Etwahl! (That’s what Sona’s instrument is called btw.) Your background feature By Popular Demand allows you to play any stage once. "Some, just the once.” You can perform in exchange for a place to stay, and when you do so the local people will remember your wonderful performance!

But making an Entertainer Bard is kinda cliché, no? If you want to lean into Sona’s Demacian heritage go for the Noble background. This gives you proficiency with Persuasion and History as well as a gaming set of your choice: unfortunately Tellstones isn’t an option (unless your DM decides otherwise!) so a Dragonchess Set will do well enough. Oh and you get another language that you won’t speak: fun! Your Position of Privilege makes it easy for you to arrange meetings with other important people, and the commonfolk will be kind and cordial with you.

(Screenshot from the Tellstones: King’s Gambit trailer by Riot Games.)

I personally opted to go for Noble when making this build, but if you want to choose Entertainer go right ahead! Backgrounds don’t affect too much overall and it’s up to you (and your DM) to make your own Sona!

(Artwork from League of Legends Wild Rift. Made for Riot Games. RIOT PLEASE UPDATE MUSE SONA ON PC I’M BEGGING YOU!)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - BARD 1

I mean what else did you expect? Bards get proficiency in three musical instruments of their choice: a Lyre is the closest you’ll get to Sona’s Etwahl, though a Dulcimer is also pretty close. I’d also recommend grabbing a Lute since most magical instruments come in Lute variety.

You also get proficiency in 3 skills of your choice like Perception to watch wards, Insight to watch people, and Athletics for a bit of Tenacity to break out of grapples. (As well as potentially grab some people yourself! Although Acrobatics is also perfectly fine for escaping grapples.)

As a Bard you can boost your ADC with Bardic Inspiration, letting them add a d6 to attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. You have a number of these equal to your Charisma modifier and they come back after a Long Rest.

But of course the main reason to play a Bard is to do Demacian-banned Spellcasting! You learn two cantrips from the Bard list like Vicious Mockery for some diminuendo, making it harder for the enemy to hurt your allies while also cutting them down to size. (I don’t know if your DM will let you slap your Etwahl angrily and then point at them judgingly, but you may have to break your vow of silence every now and then.) You can also learn Prestidigitation for all sorts of general magic stuff that you really shouldn’t do in front of anyone important.

You of course also learn 4 Bard spells like Cure Wounds and Healing Word for the atypical healing spells, Dissonant Whispers for some Hymn of Valor damage, and Detect Magic which you’ll likely be expected to cast as the designated support. *Sigh* Always gotta buy wards.

LEVEL 2 - BARD 2

Second level Bards could be called a Jack of All Trades, as you get to add half your proficiency bonus to any skill you aren’t proficient in. This means even if your ability scores are bad the skills you don’t have proficiency in are still good enough! You also get Song of Rest, letting your allies recover an extra d6 of health during Short Rests. And if you have Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything  Magical Inspiration will let your allies add their Bardic Inspiration to the damage or healing of a spell they cast!

And finally you can learn another spell: against as the designated support you’re expected to take Identify.

LEVEL 3 - BARD 3

Third level Bards get Expertise in two skills: Performance is an obvious must and Persuasion would probably be good as well.

But more importantly you get to choose your Bardic College and if you want to both shield your allies and speed them up look no further than the College of Glamour! That’s because Mantle of Inspiration grants 5 temporary hitpoints to a number of creatures within 60 feet of you equal to your Charisma modifier (which can include yourself by the way!) Additionally those creatures can move up to their movement speed as a reaction without provoking opportunity attacks, making this a great tool to reposition an ally who’s caught in a dangerous position!

You’re also capable of creating an Enthralling Performance: if you perform for at least 1 minute, you can attempt to inspire wonder in your audience. At the end of the performance you can choose a number of humanoids within 60 feet of you who watched and listened to all of it, up to a maximum equal to your Charisma modifier. Each target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by you.

While charmed in this way, the target idolizes you, and speaks glowingly of you to anyone who talks to them. They also hinder anyone who opposes you, although they avoid violence unless it was already inclined to fight for you. This effect ends on a target after 1 hour unless they take any damage, you attack it, or it witnesses you attacking or damaging any of its allies. If a target succeeds on its saving throw the target has no hint that you tried to charm it, and you can use this ability once per Short or Long Rest.

Finally you can learn second level spells like Hold Person, for a one-man version of your ultimate.

LEVEL 4 - BARD 4

Ah the first of many Ability Score Improvements. You may have noticed our deliberately uneven Charisma modifier: that’s because I’m going to be taking the Fey Touched feat for +1 to your Charisma, the Misty Step spell (for Flash, of course), and the Gift of Alacrity spell from Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount for a Song of Celerity! Accelerated movement? I concur.

You can also learn another spell as well as another cantrip! For your cantrip take Mage Hand for help warding those hard-to-reach areas, and for your spell take Lesser Restoration, because yeah it’s also your job to buy Mikael’s. *Sigh.*

LEVEL 5 - BARD 5

5th level Bards get a Font of Inspiration that lets their Bardic Inspiration come back after a Short Rest as well as a Long Rest. That’s good because your Bardic Inspiration increases to a d8, which also boosts your Mantle of Inspiration to grant 8 temporary hitpoints!

You can also learn another spell like Hypnotic Pattern: while it won’t do any damage and your allies can’t hit the dancing enemies it’ll still be the best recreation of your ultimate for now.

(Artwork by Katie “TeaTime” De Sousa. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 6 - PALADIN 1

I hope you weren’t expecting this to be a pure Bard build, because then I’d just be building Seraphine again! Grab your something something Medium Armor as well as a shield (well technically you need both hands free to play a musical instrument) it’s Paladin time, master of auras! 

Paladins get a Lay on Hands pool equal to 5 times their Paladin level for some more healing. You can touch a creature to give them any amount of health from your Lay on Hands, or use 5 hitpoints from your Lay on Hands pool to neutralize a poison or disease affecting them. You also get Divine Sense to locate any Celestial, Fiend, or Undead as long as they’re within 60 feet of you and not behind total cover. Don’t worry it gets a lot more exciting later.

LEVEL 7 - PALADIN 2

Second level Paladins can choose their Fighting Style and you’re still more of a mage than a warrior, so Blessed Warrior will give you two cantrips from the Cleric list that use your Charisma! Guidance is an obvious must for a support and Toll the Dead is a great option if you want to go full AP.

Should you have options for attacks to target enemies who have high Wisdom? Yeah probably: Sacred Flame might be a good choice.

Of course cantrips also imply more Spellcasting! You can prepare a number of spells equal to your Charisma modifier plus half your Paladin level (rounded down) which is currently a freaking lot of spells. Let’s just go down the list, shall we?

Bless is great to buff your team and make them harder, better, faster, and stronger.

Command is a mostly harmless Enchantment spell that will force your foes to do as you, well, command. I’d argue “dance” is a reasonable Command.

Protection from Evil and Good is never bad to have in your back pocket in case you’re fighting either Kayle or Fiddlesticks.

And Shield of Faith will let you boost your ADC’s survivability with Ardent Censer!

I know you can prepare more spells but there isn’t much I want from first level of Paladin. I am contractually obligated to mention that you can also turn your spell slots into a Divine Smite if you hit an enemy with a melee weapon, but you aren’t really going to be using weapons in this build. That’s right boys hop aboard the caster Paladin train!

LEVEL 8 - PALADIN 3

Third level Paladins get to choose their Sacred Oath and Oath of the Watchers may seem weird but it’s really good at defending your allies. That’s because you get two different Channel Divinity options: Abjure the Extraplanar works similarly to the Cleric’s Turn Undead feature except it affects Aberrations, Celestials, Elementals, Fey, and Fiends.

Watcher’s Will meanwhile lets you choose a number of creatures you can see within 30 feet of you, up to your Charisma modifier. For 1 minute, you and the chosen creatures have advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws. This means that in a party of 6 this ability can give your whole party advantage on all mental saves, which is huge for keeping everyone alive against nasty casters! See? Demacia can use your magic!

Speaking of magic you get Alarm and Detect Magic as Oath spells. (Might want to swap Detect Magic from your Bard list with Mass Healing Word ty Tasha’s.) You can also use Harness Divine Power to regain a spell slot equal to half your proficiency bonus a number of times per Long Rest. And you get Divine Health, because you don’t take a sick day to stop complaining about Seraphine.

LEVEL 9 - PALADIN 4

4th level Paladins get another Ability Score Improvement: cap off that Charisma for maximum AP scaling!

(Artwork by Kelly Aleshire & Esben Lash Rasmussen. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 10 - PALADIN 5

5th level Paladins can finally prepare second level spells! As a Watchers Paladin you get access to Moonbeam as well as See Invisibility, both of which are very good for dealing with incoming gankers.

You can also prepare spells like Aid to boost your allies’ HP, Prayer of Healing (ty Tasha’s) for some out-of-combat healing, and Warding Bond for a Knight’s Vow.

Oh and you get an Extra Attack, which sure would matter if you were actually using weapons.

LEVEL 11 - PALADIN 6

6th level reasons get the main reason Sona’s a Paladin: Aura of Protection! All your saving throws are increased by an amount equal to your Charisma modifier, which is a full +5 currently! But what’s special about this ability is that it also applies to your allies within 10 feet of you, letting you give out auras a plenty to keep your allies safe!

You can also prepare another spell but again: not much I really want. So we’re going to be waiting a little while longer once again.

LEVEL 12 - PALADIN 7

7th level Watchers Paladins get Aura of the Sentinel, or as I like to call it: Song of Celerity. When you or any creature of your choice within 10 feet of you roll for initiative, they gain a bonus to initiative equal to your proficiency bonus. While this may make positioning a little difficult (everyone’s going to have to huddle around you) this ability guarantees that you can speed up all your important allies to make sure they get their powerful abilities off!

LEVEL 13 - PALADIN 8

8th level Paladins get another Ability Score Improvement or a Feat. You may have noticed your uneven Constitution score: grab good ol’ Resilient Constitution for a boost to your health and even more insurance on your Concentration checks. With your Paladin aura and proficiency you’d have a +12 total to your Constitution checks currently, meaning that if you take 24 damage or less you won’t even have to roll for Concentration!

LEVEL 14 - PALADIN 9

You are probably the only Paladin who cares about spells, so it’s nice that you get 3rd level spells now! Watchers Paladins get two very strong third level spells: Nondetection will help you deward and keep your allies safe from enemies that may try to sneak a peak at you, but Counterspell is the true best choice to stop danger from befalling your allies. What’s very good about Counterspell is that as a Bard you get to add Jack of All Trades to the skill check, meaning it’s far easier for you to deny an incomming spell than any other spellcaster! “Mages have enough problems without you.”

Of course you can prepare some more spells like Aura of Vitality for Aria of Perseverance, and Revivify for an ADC’s Guardian Angel. But having access to spells like Remove Curse, Dispel Magic, Crusader’s Mantle, and even Daylight on the Paladin spell list are all extremely useful to be able to prepare. Remember that you are doing yourself a disservice by not taking time to think about what the best spells to prepare would be for your current quest. "Every note is important."

(Artwork by Kelly Aleshire & Esben Lash Rasmussen. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 15 - BARD 6

Now that we’ve got all our auras it’s time to go back to Bard for Mantle of Majesty! As a bonus action, you cast Command without expending a spell slot as you take on an appearance of unearthly beauty for 1 minute. During that minute you can cast Command as a bonus action on each of your turns without expending a spell slot. Additionally any creature charmed by you automatically fails its saving throw against the command you cast with this feature. You do have to concentrate on this feature (like a spell), and once you use it you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

You can also learn another spell but there isn’t much I want from the third level of Bard, really. Oh and you get Countercharm which is awful and I hate it, but since you didn’t take a 10th level in Paladin I suppose you have to use it. Spend an action to give allies advantage on their saving throws against charms and fears, I guess.

LEVEL 16 - BARD 7

7th level Bard; 4th level spells. Freedom of Movement will let you help either yourself or an ally with Mikael’s Crucible, and Dimension Door is great to get into lane fast, or back to base fast!

LEVEL 17 - BARD 8

8th level Bards get another Ability Score Improvement, and if you don’t like the look of something something Medium Armor then the Eldritch Adept feat might be able to help. Take the Mask of Many Faces invocation to be able to cast Disguise Self at will to change your skins as you please.

Could you have taken this earlier? Absolutely. Are there better invocations? Yeah probably, but by level 17 you can make some of your own choices. Build your own Sona: this is merely a guide and you can make your own choices.

Speaking of own choices: take whichever spell you want at this level. There’s plenty of great ones for a 4th level Bard and I can’t recommend anything in particular to you. Every musician has their own style, and it’s up to you to find your own!

(Artwork by Yan Li. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 18 - BARD 9

9th level Bards get to pretend that increasing Song of Rest from a d6 to a d8 by total level 18 is helpful.

You do get access to 5th level spells like Mass Cure Wounds, which is like Mass Healing Word but better! "Harmoniously."

LEVEL 19 - BARD 10

10th level Bards get Expertise in two more skills: Perception is an obvious must to watch over your wards but beyond that? Honestly pick your poison with whatever skill you want since by level 19 you can make your own choices. (Though my personal choice would be Athletics to hopefully give some more safety against grapples.)

But of course the main boon of reaching level 10 in Bard is the Magical Secrets! ...I’m afraid I’m going to have to disappoint you again: there honestly aren’t any spells in particular I want as Magical Secrets. Sure I could recommend spells like Haste or whatever but are they really going to be that great by total level 20? To be honest even the spells on the Bard list like Animate Objects, Greater Restoration, Hold Monster, Rary's Telepathic Bond, Scrying, and Synaptic Static are very good (although I’d sooner replace some of your old spells with them.)

Again I know this is supposed to be a “guide” but most people won’t hit level 19 anyways, so I don’t think it’s that bad for me to recommend you take your own steps to make your own Sona. Hell, build some AP if you want! I know I would!

LEVEL 20 - BARD 11

Our final level is the 11th level of Bard and I’ll be honest: it’s just to add Otto's Irresistible Dance to your spell list. It can only affect one person but it’s still your ultimate by total level 20.

Oh and you were supposed to get a cantrip last level. Uhhhhh I dunno take Mending lol.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

The rhythm connects us all - You have dozens of spells to keep your team alive and active during a fight, not to mention that all your Paladin auras and abilities really help them give 110%. It’s worth mentioning that Gift of Alacrity combined with Aura of the Sentinel is a d8 + 6 to an Initiative roll, which will almost always guarantee that whoever you want to go first will be going first!

A true masterpiece should celebrate living - Despite your somewhat weird level split you maxed out the only stat which matters for you: Charisma. And woah holy shit turns out Paladins are really good with maxed out Charisma! +5 to all saves means even your lowest save is a +4, and the saves your proficient in vary between +13 for Dexterity and Constitution (both very common!) and a whopping +16 save on Charisma!

Curtains up; I'm ready - Jack of All Trades also does quite nicely to help your middling skills. Even though I dumped most of your mental skills you’re still proficient enough that you won’t be completely helpless when caught off guard. And when you’re in the zone with Persuasion or Performance you are easily the best girl around!

CONS

Don't make me get off stage - It was my intention to recreate Sona’s positional gameplay with this build but it does present some gameplay issues when trying to maximize your effectiveness. Where do you position yourself as a character who’s still primarily a squishy caster despite your good saving throws and AC? Can you give everyone in your party support, or are they too spread out to get value out of your 10 foot range auras?

Quiet, please! - You have a damn good concentration check, but what do you concentrate on? Not only do you have a ton of spells but they all scale very good with levels and you have spell slots that go far higher than your maximum level spell. It can be hard to choose what to do with those 7th and 8th level slots.

The world is cruel... Until that changes, I'll never stop playing - One of many “meta” problems with this build was my choice to focus almost entirely on support. Sure Toll the Dead is a great damaging cantrip but your only two damaging spells are Moonbeam and Dissonant Whispers. Again: you don’t have to follow my build point-for-point and while you’ll be flamed in League for building Sona full AP I don’t think your friends will mind if you take some damaging spells.

But if you can’t tell it was really hard for me to come up with those downsides. With the exception of the positional requirements a Bardadin is a very strong build and Sona is a very strong support. Boost your teammates with your own amazing power and make sure everyone’s alive and jamming! Your power may have been forgotten over the years but no one’s ever upset to have a great support at their side. And remember: Seraphine may be in K/DA but you’re in Pentakill, and you have your own label! No one can replace DJ Sona!

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[eagles-translated]

Answering Eagles questions before the season 3 finale (Part 2/2)

I've received a bunch of questions since 3x08 and 3x09 dropped, so I compiled all the questions into two posts. I had to split them up because Tumblr only allows 10 images per post. Anyway, keep reading to see my answers and enjoy! 👇

There might be some kind of collaboration between Amie and Ludde like last season—we have only heard snippets of Ludde's song submission to the music school and it wouldn't surprise me if we saw Amie perform the song in its entirety in the last episode. I touched on this a little in part 1 of answering these questions.

It seems like Amie singing at the end of the season has become kind of a recurring theme. She performed “Follow” in 1x08 and “Second Sight” in 2x10 (on the radio, but my point still stands). I wouldn’t be surprised if they followed this trend by having Amie perform a new song in the season 3 finale.

I'm not sure if she'll recommend Ludde to the record label, though. I honestly still feel like Amie's whole storyline with sending in a rather basic demo written by two teenagers with little to no experience and then getting praised on it with comments such as "it's going to be a real summer hit" felt so unrealistic to me. Maybe they only said that so Amie would accept their offer or something, but that's still very strange because she would have still said yes without a doubt.

I can understand that they thought Amie was marketable as a person and there was this bonus with her having gone viral before on Felicia's Instagram, but that demo did not seem good enough for me to be immediately released as a single and then have them decide on the spot that Amie would be given a contract.

I mean, come on. It never felt earned because we never really saw Amie struggling with her songwriting journey to achieve this dream. Sending in one demo to one record label and having them immediately want to make a whole album with you just doesn't happen in real life unless the song is extremely good or you have a very unique voice. Amie is really talented but there are hundreds of people just like her, if not thousands. I was never convinced by her getting signed so quickly in season 2.

I understand that they wanted to establish her as a successful artist, but that felt so rushed. I was so sure that the record label would screw her over and steal the song rights to record it with another artist who was already established, and that we'd have to see Amie work even harder to achieve her dreams. But we didn't get that at all. Where was the struggle?

Anyway, I'm getting a little off-topic here. To be honest I have a lot of problems with the writing sometimes, even if I still love the show and its characters. Of course I wanted to see Amie achieve success (and I was happy when she did), but the journey there was so bizarrely easy.

She didn't start to seriously work on making her music career become a reality until season 2. Amie had dabbled in music prior to that, like when she auditioned for the school band and did that performance of Follow, but she didn't truly start to work towards it until season 2 when she decided to have her work sent to professionals in the business. And then, just five episodes later, she gets contacted by the record label in Stockholm.

To put this into context—season 2 took place somewhere around March, and episode 5 around three weeks into April. So when Ludde first started helping Amie it took less than two months for her to get signed. You could argue that the song was just that good or that Amie is just that talented, but it never felt like a realistic storyline to me.

So, back to your question! I need to stop getting so sidetracked while answering these haha. I don't think it would be realistic for the record label to hire a teenager with no professional songwriting experience, likely a very small portfolio of his own work in both size and variety, having a criminal record, and on top of that being infamous in the press for abusing his ex-girlfriend. If Amie offered the ultimatum to her label that she'll only return with Ludde, who has an incredibly bad reputation right now, it feels like she would be running the risk of losing the contract entirely.

There's only so much her label can put up with. We've seen Amie ignore their calls with no intention of reassuring them that she's coming back soon. Honestly, with the way things are looking right now it makes the most sense for the contract to be dropped. By Amie or by the label, I don't know.

The episode description for the season finale says that Ludde will get some sort of justice and it could be about his music (or something related to whatever Andreas is doing).

I believe Amie will be doing a live performance of Ludde's song at a New Year's Eve party in episode 10 but I doubt that Ludde will be picked up as a producer. If he actually does I would find that to be a very unrealistic plot point, to be completely honest with you.

This is an issue I had with 3x08 and 3x09 as well. I had a hard time actually enjoying the moment between Felicia, Klara, and Amie knowing that her family was getting increasingly worried for her and even thought for a short moment that Felicia was lying dead at the bottom of the ocean. All that could've been avoided.

To add, it didn't make a lot of sense to me that when Klara finally decided to call someone she called Amie instead of Elias. An ex-friend of Felicia's instead of her brother who could've helped a lot more. What was Amie supposed to do when she showed up at the hotel, exactly?

I know there was the thing with Klara only knowing Amie's number off the top of her head, but there is no reason why she couldn't have gone down to the reception while Felicia was sleeping and asked to use a computer just to get a quick message to Elias. Like, "hey, Felicia attempted something bad but she's safe with me, we're at this hotel in this room but she didn't want me to call anybody, I don't know what to do". That would've been so much better than keeping quiet about the situation for nearly 24 hours.

I know that Klara probably has trauma from leaving her dad at the hospital after his suicide attempt and that she probably didn't want to go against Felicia's wishes. I understand the first part 100%. But Felicia was in a very bad place emotionally and was thinking that her whole family hated her when that wasn't the case. I feel like in a situation like that you kind of have to be the bad guy just to ensure the family that Felicia was safe. Even if everything turned out alright in the end, it could've gone so much worse if Felicia had wanted to be kept hidden for longer.

The ending of 3x08 was super tough to watch and I can't imagine the feeling of thinking your only daughter/sister drowned herself after you just yelled at her and showed no support. Klara couldn't have known any of this, but I feel like she should've at least contacted Elias if she wasn't taking Felicia to a hospital.

Elias calling Amie would've been an easy solution to this whole debacle but we would've lost the drama. It's still somewhat of a plot hole though, like you said.

Thank you for reading that whole post @detectivejulesohara!

The clip you're referring to was posted on Yandeh Sallah's Instagram account, so not in a trailer for this season.

I think that was either just fanservice or it will appear in season 4 since it was posted in May of this year, and I believe the filming of season 3 had already wrapped by then.

It might indicate that Elias and Amie will be a couple by season 4 (this actually seems very likely regardless if this is actually part of a scene or not).

I think Elias is getting increasingly frustrated with hockey and the fact that he doesn't really have any other ambitions to strive for. He was raised with nothing but hockey surrounding him and it's in his blood. Elias got drafted to the US at around the same age as Mats, but Elias left after a year because he just wasn't progressing.

That must feel like a huge step back, and on top of that Mats was probably thriving in his successful career around the age that Elias is now. It's a tough difference in success to have weighing on your shoulders when you're in a team that's second to last in the rankings.

There's even the accusation in the press that Mats paid for Elias to advance in the rankings, and I'm sure that's going to affect his career negatively.

I think Elias overworking himself could also be the result of him feeling like he has to prove that returning to Eagles—a small club that is probably having their worst season ever—was in fact the right choice and not the death of his elite hockey career. That choice was very questionable from the very start and his agent advised against it. Even Mats found it strange. Elias said that he didn't really have a choice most likely because of the clause in his contract, but then he also claims to Mats that things just turned out that way.

Ludde: You don’t regret coming back [to Eagles]? Elias: I didn’t really have a choice.

The idea that he didn't have a choice in the matter doesn't seem accurate. His agent told him there were other alternatives like Jokerit (a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland) and that they could find something better than Eagles. Elias seemed kind of defeated already and the decision to return to Eagles didn't feel thought-through at all. It's almost like he just didn't care.

Agent: [...] Jokerit has called and I’ve had a great conversation with them, so they’re on. Elias: You know what? Let’s skip all the trouble. Let’s go with Eagles, it’ll be great. Agent: What? Elias: I’m so tired of moving all the time anyway, plus I’ll be close to my family. Agent: Wait, I thought that you— Eagles has big economical problems, and… Sorry, but their season started awfully. We can get a better team. You understand, right? Elias: Yeah, but we can’t get a team that needs me as much. Plus— If they say they want to see development, I’ll give them that. Agent: Wait— They’re under the line. We’re talking about qualifying down directly. You can’t in earnest believe you’ll change that on your own. Elias: It’s perfect. I’ll only go up, as you like to say.

It also seems like he's maybe realizing that hockey isn't everything and that there are other things he might want to explore and pursue in his life. I think Elias is feeling kind of stuck right now. He's been training his whole life for one purpose which is a professional career in hockey, and maybe he feels like Mats wouldn't allow him to quit. That option doesn't exist to him.

Like you said, Mats had that comment where he labeled Ludde a "quitter" and Elias stressed the fact that there shouldn't be anything wrong with losing interest and deciding to pursue something else.

Mats: Can you imagine that he’s just quitting? I mean, I’m completely— He really didn’t strike me as a quitter. So fucking close. [...] Elias: [...] Ludde, he’s… He’s not a quitter, he’s just didn’t want it anymore. That should be fair.

However, quitting is seen as failure to Mats. Mats dropped everything when he got drafted. He left his relationship with Petra seemingly without a second thought, because hockey comes before everything for Mats. Felicia even mentioned back in season 1 how her father was just a voice in a telephone for most of her childhood. He barely had any presence in her life because he was busy with hockey.

When Klara tells Elias that he's always putting hockey first, he gets angry but he doesn't outright deny it. In fact, he kind of changes the subject to shift attention away from Klara's claim.

Klara: This— You haven’t changed at all. You’re always putting yourself first. Elias: Excuse me? Klara: Yes, it’s either you or hockey. Elias: Stop! What the— Klara: I can’t take this. Elias: Are you leaving now? I wasn’t the only one you dumped. You’ve been acting like shit to Felicia. Yeah, and Amie and Ludde too, for that matter. You haven’t thought about that? So don’t come here and say I’m the egoist.

This is kind of an interesting thought—that maybe Elias subconsciously knew that was Klara is saying is true to some degree and that he has been putting hockey first. He decided to get on the train to the draft combine in Seattle instead of staying with Klara, and a year later he realizes that things didn't turn out the way that he'd planned and he returns to Eagles.

Maybe Elias is trying so hard to be someone who he just isn't, and it's affecting so many aspects of his life negatively. He lost Klara, he had to repeat almost his whole last year in high school because of moving to the US, and now he seems to be stuck in Oskarshamn. He's previously expressed to Amie that this isn't necessarily where he wanted to end up.

Elias: [...] Hey, is it just me or is there something about this town that… It sort of feels like no matter how much you try to get away, it… It pulls you back somehow.

It's kind of strange that he doesn't want to be in Oskarshamn, and yet he was the one who chose to return. Maybe he somehow feels like he has some purpose there because it keeps pulling him back. He just doesn't know what that purpose is.

Elias tried coming back to Eagles to turn things around for them, and they did win a game against the Capitals but that victory was later tarnished by the fight that broke out between the two teams (and to add to this, the loss of Ludde who used to be one of the star players and Klara as a sponsor). That kind of overshadowed their whole victory. Elias was very determined to do something to help and it very much feels like he needs Eagles to succeed—he needs to sort of "redeem" himself.

Elias: [...] Can I do anything? Can I go talk to— I could go talk to the sponsor. Mats: Let’s deal with it later. I’ll solve this. You have to go to school now. Elias: But we can finish talking— Mats: You can— No. Try to think of something else. Alright?

I think that Elias's desperation for Eagles to do well could absolutely lead to him eventually deciding to be a coach. He doesn't really seem to want the life that Mats had after seeing how success turned out for him—a broken family that he barely cares about because hockey occupies his mind more than caring for his children or repairing the relationship with Leila.

I think Elias being a hockey coach could suit him, but I would also love to see him exploring things outside of hockey—maybe even his interests outside of sport entirely.

I kind of agree with you on this. Klara has apologized to Felicia and been forgiven, but we've never seen her properly apologize to Amie for filming that video of her and posting it on social media. Amie and Ludde were in the wrong, yes, but that video being posted was humiliating for both of them. They had to deal with the ramifications of that for months after with the whole school judging them in silence.

To be fair, the video was posted a long time ago in the show's time frame (nearly two years ago if I'm right?) and they all kind of moved on from it. To add to this, maybe she felt it would've been kind of awkward to apologize with Felicia in the room.

Felicia was so hurt by that video being posted and I think it would feel very weird for her that Klara would apologize for posting the video when it's the sole reason Felicia found out what had been done to her. Without that video, she would've probably gone a few more months without being told what happened at the Halloween party.

I'm waiting for a Klara and Amie reconciliation in this season finale. I feel like this is something that should be discussed between just the two of them, and maybe they'll sneak in some blessing from Klara with the whole budding Elias and Amie relationship? I'd be happy with just a reconciliation, though, but I'm unsure if we'll get one. I have a feeling they'll start the season finale with a time jump and I don't know if Klara is even going to be in Oskarshamn by that time.

If we don't see them reconnecting in the season finale I will be pretty disappointed, to be honest.

Thank you! I really appreciate you too @lunawedlers (your gifsets are absolutely magical)!

This question was sent in a while ago but as season 3 had just started airing I was very excited to see the development of Elias and Amie, mostly because the director had been hinting on Twitter that something would happen between them this season. I've been really interested in them ever since 1x03 and so far the wait has been worth it.

I think all episodes have great visuals, but if I had to pick one I would probably say 3x06. All those shots of Elias and Amie on the walk through the park, the drone shots, and then the view from that bench spot were so gorgeous visually. That answer is more of a scene rather than a whole episode haha, but I think they really made the beauty of Oskarshamn stand out in those shots.

I think Amie will have some sort of performance in the final episode of a new song and that Elias will be watching her! After reading the episode description for the final episode and seeing that there will probably be some New Year's Eve party going on, I have a feeling that Amie will be performing. She's always had a performance of a new song in every season finale and this one should be no exception.

They tricked us a little in the season 3 trailer with us thinking that Elias would be at one of Amie's concerts in Stockholm, but now I'm sure that this scene fits in at the New Year's Eve party.

I think we should keep our expectations low for a kiss between Elias and Amie. They just started developing their relationship, and I like the slow pace they're going in. They're not rushing anything. I also have this feeling that their development has deliberately been so slow because they're sort of "saving the best for last".

Elias and Amie are fan favorites and their relationship has been very talked-about from the beginning. I can see the writers maybe having decided to push their relationship more towards the end of the show, which is why we haven't really gotten any Elias and Amie content until now. That's frustrating if you're impatient and I've seen some people thinking that maybe Elias and Amie won't happen at all, but I don't think we need to worry at all. The fact that Elias and Amie's development has been so slow should indicate that they're much more likely to be endgame.

A kiss in episode 10 could definitely happen, but I don't know. Maybe they'll drag it out further. As I've said before, if they don't get one in season 3 they will absolutely be getting one in season 4. I've noticed that it's always best to keep your expectations low when it comes to this couple.

The episode description for the season finale said this about Elias, which some have interpreted to be about Amie.

New Year’s Eve is here. [...] But is Elias brave enough to say what everyone else already knows?

This could mean anything, really. I'm actually leaning more towards this being about an individual thing rather than Amie being involved. It could be about Elias admitting that he's been overworking himself and not eating properly, or coming clean about the fact that maybe he doesn't want a career in hockey. This is something that everyone else already knows, so I think it might be about hockey.

Felicia has observed the overworking, Mats has told him to stop with it, and Ludde might've had some inkling about it while he was still on the team. Even Amie has probably also noticed that he's been spending a lot of time at the gym lately.

I could absolutely be wrong about this though.

Thank you for the question @lunawedlers!

This is a hard one because season 3 has had so many strong episodes already, and usually my favorite episode ends up being the season finale because it's basically the culmination of the whole season. I really loved 2x10 for this very reason since the ending montage was so well done.

If I had to pick between 3x01 - 3x09 though I would probably have to say it's a tie between 3x04 — Date night and 3x05 — Wounds! These two episodes showcased what Eagles should be all about so well, which is relationships plus the struggles you go through as a teenager in a small town, and then of course hockey. The hockey game episodes are really good, even if I don't think 3x05 topped 2x05 (the game where Ludde got tackled and knocked out).

I loved the contrast in Date night of the budding relationship between Elias and Amie and then that fight between Felicia and Ludde on the cliff. That whole scene between Felicia and Ludde on the cliff was actually really beautiful, especially when the sun had gone down.

It was interesting to see how this sweet gesture from Felicia turned into a fight between the two of them. I thought that was very realistic, because no matter how big of a gesture Felicia made to apologize there were still underlying problems that they needed to talk about.

I also loved the "non-date" between Elias and Amie in this episode. It was cute to see them goofing off before the movie started and then talking about it on the way home. I liked how Elias could connect to her on how they had both returned to Oskarshamn.

The recent episodes that dropped last week (3x08 and 3x09) were very strong and discussed some important subject matters, but I had a few problems with them that I discussed in a question above. They were dark, but not necessarily bad because they needed to happen.

However, I have to say that I prefer Eagles when it's about hockey and teenage relationships. 3x04 and 3x05 made me kind of nostalgic for season 1 and I liked the vibe they both had.

I agree, but I think we could maybe get a combination of both! Relationships can have all these romantic and sweet traits like you described, but also be more passionate and show public displays of affection.

I think Elias and Amie fit the more laid-back and sweet characteristics, but we have yet to really see what Amie is like in a relationship. We've seen her with a crush on Ludde and we got a glimpse of that thing she had with Robin (which was apparently a relationship but I did not pick up on that at all), but we don't really know what Amie is like in a relationship. Maybe she's never really had a "real" one, either.

Nevertheless, I'm excited to see what's in store for Elias and Amie. I'm very positive that they will eventually become a couple in season 4.

[nerdythebard]

#9: Sypha Belnades [Castlevania]

Happy Castlevania Day, everyone!

We continue our little special with everybody's favourite Speaker, a self-proclaimed enemy of God, and all-around nerd – Sypha Belnades. Wielding magic, knowledge, and somehow keeping Trevor and Alucard in check, it's going to be fun to have her in your D&D game.

Next Time: ...I mean, y'all know who is left. The Cool Whip Man cometh!

So, what do we need to start shooting some spells (besides a lovely Spanish accent)?

Big Brain Time: Sypha is a Speaker, a collector of knowledge, and a walking library with expertise ranging from magic, history, and probably anything you can think of. And even more, because "we know all the words".

A Song of Ice & Fire: These two seems to be Sypha's weapons of choice. We've seen her do other feats of sorcery, but it's usually fire bolts or ice walls we see the most.

Limber! Loose! Rubber Goose!: Sypha doesn't wear any armour and is able to keep up with Trevor and Alucard, both obviously Dexterity-based fighters. If we can't give her some Hit Points, we'll make sure she can avoid danger.

---

Sypha is a Human (hooray, our first Human!) and her magic prowess gives us a good excuse to make her a Variant Human. We get a +1 to two abilities of our choice, let's pick Intelligence and Constitution. We also know Common and one other language, and we get to pick one skill proficiency, let's get Investigation. Variant Humans can also get one feat from the start; War Caster is a great idea for any spellcaster who finds themselves in the heat of battle. We have an advantage on Constitution saving throw to maintain our concentration, we can use somatic components of the spell with just one hand, and when we get to make an attack of opportunity, we can cast a spell instead of making a melee attack.

For Sypha's background, I don't think we can do anything but Sage. We're smart, we've been studying history and arcane arts our entire life, and therefore we get proficiency with Arcana and History. We get to learn two languages of our choice, and we get the Researcher feature; we have a rough idea where a piece of information we're looking for could be located, whether it's a library, archive, or somebody's residence.

ABILITY SCORES

It goes without saying that Intelligence goes first here, we need the smarts for the spells. Next up is Dexterity, we are good enough to keep up with both Trevor and Alucard, and not get easily surprised by night creatures. Constitution is next, every spellcaster needs those precious Hit Points.

Wisdom is next, we're much more the book-smart type, but we've certainly picked up some street-smarts while travelling with our whole clan. Follow that up with Charisma, it's a little lower than I would like it to be, but we occasionally get to make Trevor do what we want to. Finally, we'll be dumping Strength.

CLASS

I think nobody will be surprised if I say this is a pure build. We're going Wizard start-to-finish.

Wizards are the squishiest of squishy bois in D&D, as their Hit Dice is a d6. We start with [6 + our Constitution modifier] Hit Points and no proficiencies with any armour type. We are, however, proficient with daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, and light crossbows. Our saving throws are, of course, Intelligence and Wisdom, and we get to pick two class skills; let's get Insight (to better spot shady activities in towns we visit) and Religion (God may hate us, but you know what they say - know thy enemy).

Level 1 - We start with Arcane Recovery, which is a useful trick to recover spell slots. Once per day, when we finish a short rest, we can refill our expended spell slots. The combined level of the spell slots must be equal to or less than half of our Wizard level... which means for a while we'll be only recovering 1st-level spells...

Since we're a Wizard, we start off with Spellcasting. We know cantrips, ritual casting, and regular spells. Intelligence is our spellcasting ability, and we learn two new spells each time we level up. We start this arcane jamboree with three cantrips:

Fire Bolt lets us hurl a mote of fire at one target. Simple. Effective. On a successful hit, the enemy takes 1d10 fire damage (damage increases as we level up).

Ray of Frost is similar, the basic ice spell. On a successful hit, the target takes 1d8 cold damage (scales with level), and its speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of our next turn.

Shocking Grasp sends a jolt of electricity through one target we touch. If a target wears armour made of metal, we make the attack roll with advantage. On a successful hit, the target takes 1d8 lightning damage (scales with level) and cannot take reactions until the start of its next turn.

Wizards start with two 1st-level spell slots and six 1st-level spells:

Burning Hands creates a 15-foot cone of fire. All creatures within range have to make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 3d6 fire damage (half damage on a successful save).

Detect Magic lasts for 10 minutes (concentration) and shows us all magical effects within 30 feet of us. We see the magic as colourful aura around objects or people, and we can distinguish which type of magic the effect belongs to (we cannot identify the spell itself).

Frost Fingers creates blasts of cold coming from our fingertips. Each creature within a 15-foot cone must make a Constitution saving throw, or take 2d8 cold damage (half damage on a successful save).

Ice Knife creates a shard of ice that we can throw at one target, dealing 1d10 cold damage on a successful hit. Hit or miss, the shard then explodes, forcing every creature within 5 feet of it to make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 2d6 cold damage.

Mage Armour makes our defence better. Touching a willing creature (or ourselves), we create a layer of magical protection that makes the AC [13 + Dexterity modifier] for 8 hours.

Shield is used as a reaction when we're being hit. The spell adds +5 to our AC until the start of our next turn.

Level 2 - It is here that we pick our subclass, our Arcane Tradition, and since Sypha is such a powerful necromancer, I think it's only natural to–

Yeah, we're obviously picking School of Evocation, as it's the one focusing on the elements. Everything that burns, freezes, and shocks are here, and we need all of it.

We start this subclass with Evocation Savant, which halves our time and gold needed to copy evocation-type spells into our spellbook. I know Speakers don't believe in the written word, but Sypha always valued books, so she would probably have one in D&D.

Sculpt Spells lets us protect our allies from our own spells if they happen to be in their range. When we cast an evocation spell, we can select a number of creatures we can see equal to [1 + the spell's level], make them automatically succeed on a saving throw (if required), and take no damage at all.

For this level's spells:

Feather Fall protects us and our allies from taking fall damage. We choose up to five creatures within 60 feet of us and slow down their descent rate to 60 feet per round for 1 minute. If the creature lands before the spell end, it takes no damage.

Jump triples the jump distance of a creature we touch for 1 minute.

Level 3 - At this level, we get no new class features, but we do unlock 2nd-level spell slots:

Agnazzar's Scorcher creates a 30 feet long and 5 feet wide line of fire, emanating from us in the direction we choose. Each creature within the line must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 3d8 fire damage (half damage on a successful one).

Gust of Wind makes a strong line of wind (60 feet long, 10 feet wide) blast from us in the direction we choose. Creatures that start their turn in the line must make a Strength saving throw or be pushed 15 feet away from us. As a bonus action, on each of our turns, we can change the direction of the wind.

Level 4 - We get our first Ability Score Improvement. Rule of thumb for any Wizard player: maxing out your Intelligence should be your priority, therefore we're putting +2 to our Intelligence now.

We also get a new cantrip: Dancing Lights create up to four globules of light, floating in the air. We can move them around, and they last up to 1 minute (concentration). The lights can also combine into a Medium-sized glowing humanoid, for purposes of distraction.

We get two more spells:

Scorching Ray creates three bolts of fire, which we can hurl at up to three targets. We make an attack roll for each bolt. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 fire damage.

Snilloc's Snowball Swarm forms a flurry of snowball-like projectiles in a point of our choice within 90 feet from us. Each creature within a 5-foot-radius sphere from the point must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 3d6 cold damage (half damage on a successful save).

Level 5 - We don't get any new class features here, but we do unlock 3rd-level spells:

Dispel Magic ends any spell of 3rd-level or lower. If a spell is of 4th-level or higher, we must roll a check for our casting ability (DC = 10 + the spell's level). If we use a spell slot of 4th-level or higher, the spell ends automatically, provided the spell slot's level matches or is greater than the spell's.

Fireball is a no-brainer, we had to pick it. Select a point within 150 feet from us. Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 8d6 fire damage (half damage on a successful save).

Level 6 - We get our first subclass upgrade, Potent Cantrip. If a creature makes a saving throw against our cantrips, they instead take half of the damage. Unfortunately, it's not helpful to us yet. Let's take some more spells:

Fly gives a willing creature flying speed of 60 feet for the duration (10 minutes, concentration). When the spell ends, the target starts falling. We can target more than one creature if we use spell slots of 4th-level or higher.

Lightning Bolt fires off a bolt of electricity in a 100 feet long and 5 feet wide line. Each creature in the line must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 8d6 lightning damage (half as much on a successful save).

Level 7 - Time to unlock 4th-level spell slots:

Control Water lets us manipulate a body of water within 300 feet of us. The spell lasts for 10 minutes (concentration) and we get to select from four different effects (Flood, Part Water, Redirect Flow, and Whirlpool); we can use our action on our turn to change the effect or repeat it.

Wall of Fire creates, well... a wall of fire within 120 feet from us. The wall can be up to 60 feet long, 20 feet high, and 1 foot thick. It lasts for 1 minute (concentration). We can select which way the heat from the fire is facing. When the wall is forming, creatures in its way must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 5d8 fire damage (half damage on a successful save).

Level 8 - Time for another ASI. As per the rule of thumb, we need to cap our Intelligence ASAP. So, let's put +2 into it right now. As for our spells at this level:

Dimension Door creates a small spatial opening, which teleports us up to 500 feet in a direction of our choice we can visualize or describe. We can carry objects with us, as long as they don't go over our carrying capacity, and we can bring one willing creature with us.

Ice Storm creates a localized hailstorm in a 20-foot-radius, 40-foot-high cylinder at a point within 300 feet of us. Each creature in the cylinder must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 2d8 bludgeoning damage and 4d6 cold damage (half damage on a successful save). Hailstones turn the area into difficult terrain until the end of our next turn.

Level 9 - Nothing new class-wise. We unlock 5th-level spells:

Cone of Cold creates a 60-foot cone of biting cold. Each creature within its range must make a Constitution saving throw, or take 8d8 cold damage (half damage on a successful save). Creatures killed by this spell become frozen statues.

Hold Monster forces a Wisdom saving throw on one non-humanoid creature within 90 feet of us, and inflicts paralysis on a failed save. It lasts for 1 minute (concentration), but the held creature can keep making saving throws at the end of each of its turn to shake off the effect.

Level 10 - Halfway through the build, and we get another subclass upgrade. Empowered Evocation lets us add our Intelligence modifier to one damage roll of every evocation spell we cast. Since most of our repertoire is evocation-type spells, we now have a huge damage boost. For spells that create multiple projectiles (e.g. Scorching Ray), we add our Intelligence modifier only to one projectile.

We also get our final cantrip of this build: Frostbite makes numbing cold appear on one target's skin; they have to make a Constitution saving throw, or suffer 1d6 cold damage and have a disadvantage on the next weapon roll they make before the end of their next turn. Because of our Potent Cantrip feature, this spell always deals damage.

For this level's spells:

Counterspell... yes, I know it's 3rd-level, but we really do need it. Sypha is powerful enough to shut down Dracula's magic. It works similarly to Dispel Magic, but this time it's a reaction to somebody casting a spell, instead of a pre-established magical effect.

Immolation chooses one target within 90 feet of us and deals 8d6 fire damage, provided they fail their Dexterity saving throw (half damage on a successful save). On a failed save, the target is also set on fire for the spell's duration (1 minute, concentration). They shed bright light in a 30-foot radius and must keep making Dexterity saving throws at the end of each of their turns, or take 4d6 fire damage. On a successful save, the spell ends. The fire is magical and cannot be extinguished by non-magical means.

Level 11 - We unlock 6th-level spells here:

Chain Lightning creates an arc of electricity, which hits one target within 150 feet from us. It then splits into three bolts, which hit three closest creatures within 30 feet of the original target. All targets must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 10d8 lightning damage (half damage on a successful save).

Disintegrate works in a similar manner to Dispel Magic or Counterspell... except it's much more lethal. The spell targets a creature, an object, or a magical effect (such as a barrier made via the Wall of Force spell). A targeted creature must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 10d6+40 force damage. If their Hit Points are reduced to 0, the target is disintegrated to dust and cannot be brought back, unless via the True Resurrection or Wish spells.

Level 12 - Time for another ASI! Since our Intelligence is already maxed out, let's get our two points into Constitution, for those Hit Points we desperately need.

We get two more 6th-level spells:

Otiluke's Freezing Sphere is basically the ice version of Fireball. It creates a small ice ball in a point within 300 feet from us, which then explodes in a 60-feet-radius sphere. Each creature within the area must make a Constitution saving throw, or take 10d6 cold damage (half damage on a successful save). We can also use the ice ball to freeze a body of water up to 6 feet deep and 30 feet square.

Wall of Ice does exactly what it says on the packaging. It creates ten 10x10 ice panels, which we can shape as we wish as long as the panels touch one another. Each panel as the AC of 12 and 30 Hit Points, and even if they're destroyed, they leave freezing air in their place. Creatures moving through the air must make a Constitution saving throw, or take 5d6 cold damage (half damage on a successful save).

Level 13 - Once again, we get no class features, but we do unlock 7th-level spells:

Delayed Blast Fireball is the hand grenade option we need. We can select a point within 150 feet from us and plant a Fireball spell to be activated after 1 minute or if our concentration is broken. The spell creates a fiery explosion within a 20-feet-radius sphere, with the base damage of 12d6 fire. If by the end of our turn, the spell is not detonated, the damage increases by 1d6 each turn.

Prismatic Spray creates eight colourful lights and sends them out in a 60-foot cone. Each creature within range must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, we roll a 1d8 and decide which colour hits the creature. We have a choice between 10d6 elemental damage, blindness, paralysis, or two effects at once.

Level 14 - Here we get our final subclass upgrade, Overchannel. Once per long rest, when we cast a spell of level 1 through 5, we can decide to deal the maximum amount of damage that spell allows. If we choose to use this feature again before finishing a long rest, we suffer 2d12 necrotic damage per every level of the spell. Each time we use it after the second, the necrotic damage increases by 1d12.

We continue with 7th-level spells:

Teleport instantly teleports us and up to eight willing creatures (or one object) to any location we specify, depending on the degree of familiarity we have with it. The certain success is if there is a permanent Teleportation Circle in the location we want to appear, or if we have something associated with the location.

Whirlwind creates a violent wind storm in a point we can see within 300 feet of us. The whirlwind is a 10-foot-radius, 30-foot-high cylinder. Until the spell ends (1 minute, concentration), we can use our Action to move the whirlwind up to 30 feet in any direction. Creatures that begin their turn in a whirlwind must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 10d6 bludgeoning damage (half damage on a successful save). In addition, a Large or smaller creature must make a Strength saving throw or be restrained inside the vortex.

Level 15 - Time for 8th-level spells:

Antipathy/Sympathy works as a repellent or... whatever the... opposite of a repellent... is. Attractor? It draws or pushes from us creatures of our specification for 10 days.

Control Weather changes weather patterns in 5 mile radius from us for up to 8 hours (concentration). We must be outdoors when performing the spell, and we can select precipitation, temperature, and the state of winds.

Level 16 - For this ASI this time, we'll put two points into Dexterity.

As for this level's spells:

Incendiary Cloud creates a 20-foot-radius sphere of smoke and embers in a point within 150 feet of us. When the cloud appears, creatures inside it must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 10d8 fire damage (half damage on a successful save). The same saving throw must be made by a creature who enters the cloud, or who ends its turn there.

Power Word: Stun work on creatures with 150 Hit Points of fewer and stuns them instantly. All those months of travel with Trevor turned us into quite a sailor-mouth, even night creatures are shocked.

Level 17 - Since Wizards are the Apex of the Arcane, we unlock the most powerful spells in the game right here!

Foresight gives a creature we touch a limited ability to see into the future for 8 hours. For that duration, the target cannot be surprised, and has an advantage on all rolls (attack, skill checks, and saving throws). Additionally, other creatures have a disadvantage against the target on all rolls for the duration.

Imprisonment requires a lot of materials, but it creates a permanent magical confinement that holds a one creature that fails its Wisdom saving throw. The imprisoned creature is being kept in suspended animation, and no Divination-type spell can locate it.

Level 18 - Here we get the Spell Mastery feature. It lets us choose one 1st-level spell and one 2nd-level spell, and cast them at will, without the need to burn a spell slot. Shield and Scorching Ray would be my picks.

Meanwhile, in the 9th-level spell section:

Gate is a portal spell, which creates two linked portals; one in front of us (within 60 feet), other in a location on another plane of existence. It lasts for 1 minute (concentration). We could also name a creature we know is on another plane, and yank it through the portal to our current location (for example, a certain Vampire Lord from Hell).

Meteor Swarm makes it rain fire from above. Choosing a spot within 1 mile, lets us cover a 40-foot-radius sphere in Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire! Each creature within the sphere must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 20d6 fire damage and 20d6 bludgeoning damage (half damage on a successful save).

Level 19 - For our final ASI, we increase our Constitution.

As for the spells:

Prismatic Wall creates an opaque wall 90 feet long, 30 feet high, and 1 inch thick. The wall sheds bright light for 100 feet and a dim light for additional 100. Creatures within 20 feet of the wall must make a Constitution saving throw, or be blinded for 1 minute. The wall is composed of seven layers, each with different properties that affect creatures attempting to pass through it (see: Prismatic Spray for comparison).

Invulnerability makes you immune to all damage for 10 minutes (concentration).

Level 20 - Our capstone is the Signature Spell feature. We choose two 3rd-level spells, and make it so we always have them prepared. We can cast them once per short or long rest without burning a spell slot. Fireball is an obvious choice, and let's add either Dispel Magic or Counterspell. Both provide good support.

For our final spells:

Blade of Disaster creates a planar rift shaped like a blade. When we summon it, we can make two melee attacks on creatures or objects within 5 feet of the blade. On a successful hit, the target takes 4d12 force damage. This spell scores a critical hit when rolling 18, 19, or 20. On a critical hit, the blade deals extra 8d12 force damage. Think of the weird glass-like blades from Doctor Strange

Wish... Yes, we're getting Wish. Why wouldn't you get Wish? If used safely, it's the ultimate spell. It replicates the effect of any spell of 8th-level or lower, no need for material components or class affiliation. Alternatively, it can do... well, anything you desire, but keep in mind if it's used for something else than replicating a spell effect, there is a 33% you'll never cast it again.

---

And that is it. Sypha Belnades, the Avatar Speaker Magician. Let's see what we've got:

First of all, we've got damage. Damage on top of damage on top of more damage. We're very battlefield-oriented spellcaster. Unfortunately, most of our spells are fire and cold, two very common resistances or immunities. We have a lot of concentration spells, so we need to pick what we want to do. With 131 Hit Points on average, we're also squishy. Luckily, with Shield as our at will spell, we do have a pretty good AC.

---

And that is it! Join me next time, for the last member of the Castlevania OT3!

- Nerdy out!

[omegasunited]

Big, strong, and imposing Omegas!

There isn't enough love out there for the Omegas that dont fit the traditional smol and soft stereotypes.

These Omegas perhaps;

- Don't like to/dont feel a need to nest.

- Tend to stray away from others and/or close relationships and are still happy!

- Come across as traditionally masculine or brutish, and can even be more head-on than Alphas!

- Or even lack a mothering instinct!

I think it's interesting that, like the other dynamics, Omegas come in all shapes and sizes. And an Omega that gives an Alpha a run for their money is one that is not only awesome, but treasured in an Omegan space.

Here are some of my favourite fictional Omegas that break the sterotypes:

Din Djarin // The Mandalorian

A lone wolf with a heart of gold. While he has underlying instincts that make him happy to be apart of a family/pack unit, he can do just fine on his own!

He has a strong paternal instinct. And if you mess with his kid, nothing will save you from his wrath - and hes not scared of a fight.

Hes always one to shock those that think he should be meek because of his Omega-ness. Hes an excellent fighter and commands a lot of respect - and hes a good leader when he chooses to hold that role!

(Bonus points for squaring up to a big ass Alpha and not even flinching.)

Daryl Dixon // The Walking Dead

A man that is very fond and caring the people he loves and surrounds himself with, but he doesn't show it in a traditional sense.

He tends to stray from the spot light and prefers to keep to himself, not wanting to act the role of leader unless he has to.

But hes also the last person you want to piss off, hes a brilliant fighter and isnt scared to put people in their place.

Also, bonus points for being the hardest character to break mentally. While mental health is not linked to dynamics, it's interesting to see an Omega that can tough out anything (when that kind of ability is usually given to Alphas!).

Carol Peletier // The Walking Dead

Carol is my favourite on this list because she likes to lean on the soft-motherly type of Omega that can do no wrong and is so sweet.

She uses that image to her advantage, but under that visage is a woman that takes crap from no one and can kill without hesitation.

People let their guard down around her because they see a sweet helpless woman, but shes highly capable and is a strong defender of her group.

All while still honing her soft Omegan side and being the one the children flock to (the duality of Woman!!).

As much as I adore the traditional sweet Omegas, I think the ones above are the most fun to read/write about! The ones people assume are either Alpha/Beta or assume their weak because they're an Omega! But theyre still Omegan nonetheless!

Feel free to add on any headcanons, or characters you think fit like the ones above!

[nancypullen]

We're Home

Actually, we've been home for a couple of days- I'm just exhausted. Not even sure why I'm tired, probably from wondering if the people on our flights were super spreaders. Honestly, the airports and flights were better than I expected. The airports looked like ghost towns, security screening took mere seconds, and flying into Baltimore our flight was about half full. Coming home our flights were packed and that made me nervous. We're vaccinated and we never took our masks off in the airports or onboard - I'm not sure what else we could have done. I'd never forgive myself if we carried this awful virus to our sweet, unvaccinated grandgirl. ANYWAY... Our trip was quick but productive. We covered a lot of ground and definitely know where we would and would not like to live. I took notes because I knew that it would all become a blur..."Which town was that blue house in?" We still love Chestertown. It offers an awful lot, especially for people staring retirement in the face. The only problem with Chestertown is that the housing inventory is limited. We saw an adorable house that had been flipped - top to bottom with gorgeous HGTV worthy finishes. But they saved money by not installing central air. As a woman of a certain age, there are some things I'm not willing to compromise on and good air conditioning is one of them. The closer we looked the more it seemed that money wasn't the only reason for leaving out the HVAC update, that perhaps the electrical wasn't upgraded on the (old) home and might not support a system. Farewell, beautiful kitchen. I love the way you look but I'm not willing to sweat inside my home.

We found several neighborhoods in Easton that we liked - quiet, wooded, lovely homes, and convenient to everything from healthcare to shopping. Easton also has a charming downtown. Loads of history, sweet parks, fun shops and restaurants. We explored a bit and sat outside Storm & Daughters ice cream shop and enjoyed a cone. There's a lot to like about Easton and it's definitely at the top of our list. Bonus, Talbot County property taxes are quite reasonable. Just down the road from Easton we toured Denton. It's a small but vibrant town. They boast a cute, historic downtown, and seemed to have an involved community. We found a couple of neighborhoods that we really liked, one even had lots for sale. The downside is that even though it's just a few miles to Easton and Talbot County, Denton is in Caroline County and the property taxes are much higher. Still okay, but high enough to make me pump the brakes. We're definitely not taking Denton off the list, but we'd probably opt for less house there. I'll be honest, my favorite house was in Denton. It ticked ALL of my boxes. Roomy, updated kitchen, pantry, walk-in closets, garage. The back yard was postage stamp sized, but we're not getting any younger so it's fine. The neighborhood was delightful and convenient to so much.

I checked on the property taxes for 2020...almost four thousand. Get outta' here. I know that we're really spoiled with low property taxes here in Wilson County, and we understand that we'll pay more in Maryland...but...ugh. Right now there are people in New Hampshire saying, "Four grand?? That's a steal! Buy it!" It's all perspective and something I'll have to work on. We traveled town to town, loving some of them and putting others in our rear view as fast as possible. Centreville? Loved it, but pricey. Ridgely? NOPE. Rock Hall? Charming, loved the Harbor Woods neighborhood, but they have one mom & pop grocery store and I didn't even see a clinic anywhere. It's 30 minutes to Chestertown, some of it through a wildlife refuge where my brain was screaming "SNAKES!". Adorable, but no. I think it will be Chestertown or Easton for us. Exploring the Eastern Shore was a fabulous history lesson and I'm eager to learn more. Back in the day they were big on their monarchs. There's Queen Anne, Princess Anne, Queenstown, Caroline County, and so on. In a pretty park in downtown Centreville there's a really lovely statue of Queen Anne. Some 271 years after Queen Anne of England signed the charter that created Queen Anne County on Maryland's Eastern Shore, a statue in her honor was unveiled by her namesake, the current Princess Anne. I'll bet that was a big day in Centreville. The statue shows the queen seated, holding the charter she's just signed and a little spaniel sleeps behind her chair. I thought I'd snapped a couple of pictures, but all I can find is this really bad video.

I was more in love with that tree than with the statue. Just across the street from that park was an Irish pub named O' Shucks. In my mind that was amusing, like saying darn it. More likely it has something to do with shucking oysters.

Beyond all the royalty and colonial settlements of the 1600 and 1700 hundreds, the Eastern Shore also has a rich history of Underground Railroad and abolitionist activity. Cambridge was the birthplace of Harriet Tubman and there's a museum and plenty of historic spots documenting her fearless work. Over in Easton they're proud of native son, Frederick Douglass. His story is fascinating, from slave to statesman. He was self-taught - a brilliant orator and writer, responsible for great social reformation, tireless in his pursuit of equality and fairness. He was a staunch supporter of women's suffrage, saying, "In this denial of the right to participate in government, not merely the degradation of woman and the perpetuation of a great injustice happens, but the maiming and repudiation of one-half of the moral and intellectual power of the government of the world." In other words, by not allowing women a vote our country was wasting half of its intellect. Here in Tennessee you'll find proudly displayed busts of KKK leaders in government buildings. Our parks are home to statues of the confederate generals who fought to keep slavery alive. Don't give me that B.S. about the Civil War being about state's rights. Ask yourself, a state's right to do what? Enslave people! It was economically beneficial for the south to enrich itself on the backs of slaves. Okay, I'm rambling- from property taxes to Civil War issues. None of which you probably care about. The very best part of the trip was, of course, quality time with the grandgirl. And oh, she is grand. We played princesses, we did a craft, we read books and made snacks. We squeezed a whole lot of fun and love into a short visit. She's smart, funny, curious, sweet, and beautiful. That's my 100% unbiased opinion. No matter which town we land in, it's closer to her and we'll get to enjoy all of the milestones that are so important. FaceTime is fine in a pinch, but nothing beats being there. Time for me to hush and get a couple of things done around here. There's laundry to fold and a dishwasher to unload. I'm currently sitting at my desk, gazing out at the gardens (the pumpkin plants were 3/4 dead when we came home and I'm not taking any heroic measures to save them) and loving what September is showing me so far. I love this month, the light hits differently and everything seems to calm down. After the busy, blazing summer months it's a welcome change. We still have some hot weather ahead, but there's a hint of change in the air.

Also, I'd like to add that IT'S JUST 53 DAYS UNTIL HALLOWEEN!!!

I'm getting happier by the day. Join me. Stay safe, stay well, and start stashing away some candy for the kids. XOXO, Nancy

[courtneyyharper]

10 Christmas Gifts ‘for her’ if you’re completely clueless

Since it's apparently time to start thinking about that time of year I thought I'd jump on and attempt to give you some help in an attempt to spark​ some ideas. Whether you're using this list for ideas for your other half, your mum or sister, or even if you are that person that likes something on this list why don't you send it over as a wee hint... the irony of this is that I've banned my boyfriend from looking at this list as there's a few spoilers on here for his gifts! (Hope he enjoys a wee eyeshadow palette😬).

So let’s start...

1. AIRPODS

I'm sure this will be a big gift this year and a perfect gift if you know they'll be getting a new phone or laptop! Perfect for a music lover or just the person that always needs to have the next big thing! I'd recommend planning to get a pair of these bad boys from Amazon or Currys during the Black Friday sale.

2. STUDIO LIGHT

A gift my mum got me unexpectedly a few years back and I haven't looked back. Not just for the MUA or photography student in your life but even just for every day make up application and I know my friends always use mine for checking their outfits or taking selfies before a night out! I've shown in the product photo how you can get a full sized one or a desk sized one easily on Amazon, your choice. Along this line would also be a Hollywood mirror, the big vanity mirrors with the bright lights installed but they can be hard to source as they're so popular and you need to make sure they're the bright studio lights. Top tip would just be to check the dimensions so you know what you're getting.

3. POLAROID CAMERA

I wanna say this is a cult favourite. I don't know many girls who don't have one of these now but if your gift recipient is one of them then it'd be a great gift! They're a great idea for Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries because it means you can capture the memories and of course ironically take a photo of the polaroid with your phone and post it to Instagram!! They come in a variety of colours and you can purchase accessories and refillable polaroid packs for other special occasions after, making it the gift that keeps on giving.

4. VINYL PLAYERS

Another gift that keeps on giving. If they're a real music lover and always have Spotify going in their room, and with the lack of concerts this year, this would be a very thoughtful gift. You can get these lads pretty cheap on Amazon or fork out for the pricey ones from UO. The only downside is that the actual Vinyl records themselves is where this gifts will cost you the most, but at least you'll always have an idea for next years present.

5. FOREVER ROSES

Now these guys can be quite boujee and I remember them being really popular a few years ago. If you type 'forever roses' into google or, probably better yet, Instagram you'll get a lot of companies selling gift sets of these specially preserved roses that can last for years. An incredibly romantic and surprising gift, this one can cost you big bucks but if you shop around enough you can get single roses for around £20 or major bunches for a few hundred but it's sure to win you major brownie points.

6. LUSH

This is the standard gift and perfect for a Christmas Eve bath. If you couldn't come up with this present on your own then please pay close attention to this blog because oh buddy you will need it! There are so many gift boxes to choose from at Lush and the great thing is you can't go wrong with any of them. Not to worry if you don't have a bath too because I also have you covered with these Lush sprays which are sooo good that you won't need to work out what their favourite perfume is for the third year in a row. (Also a great brand to support for its morals which is a bonus!!)

7. BLANKETS

Not only perfect for those cosy Winter and lockdown nights but also a great home decor item that is so popular on Instagram! These massive knit blankets can get incredibly pricey online, ranging from 20ish quid for a tiny one to a few hundred for the massive ones, so if you're willing to pay that then go ahead but top tip is to have a look in Home Bargains because they had these guys in all year for £25 and even Primark Home had a few in recently but I'd get ahead of the game for this one before they sell out...

8. JEWELLERY

Now I'm not a massive jewellery fan myself but some girls just go ga-ga for a princess ring. If you're wondering if your girlfriend/sister/daughter is one of them you can identify these people by their less-than-subtle 'just gonna post this here xx' social media posts sharing the Pandora sales. I know most boys get scared to choose jewellery in case the person 'doesn't like it' blah blah but chances are unless they've told you somethng they specifically want or you've been missing some massive hints (ie. ring photos 'accidentally' sent to you) then they'll appreciate literally anything you choose. It's the idea you've went and chosen something specifically for them more than the item itself that matters. If you like it, they'll like it more. The big site is Pandora and many sites like it will have 'Christmas Gift Guide' sections to make it super easy for you. Top tip: you could do a wee price low-high if this is just an add-on gift and although it's horrible to say they will most likely look it up and check how much you spent on it... sorry about that!

9. EYESHADOW PALETTE

Now this is one you will most likely skip over because it feels like delving into a massive jungle with no map and no water and actually no shoes and no clue whatsoever of where to start. That's what boys feel like trying to buy girls make up and I really can't blame you. In fact, if you haven't been told exactly what to buy then who could blame you but if you're really looking to impress and go the extra mile and know they like make up then I'm going to attempt to help you as best I can and try and keep it really simple! So, first of all you'll need to somehow have a look at their collection when they're getting ready or be super stealthy and just double check they don't have the palette you're going to get them.

This is important. Right, so question one is do they watch YouTubers do make up? Because if they do then simply find out who they watch and check if that influencer has a palette or collab with a makeup brand because then your job is done for you!! If they've told you all about the James Charles/Tatti/Jefree Starr drama that encapsulated YouTube in the past then find out who's side they support because all three of those guys have palettes! James Charles x Morphe Artistry palette, Tatti has her own brand, or if they came out supporting Jeffree Starr and Shane Dawson in the whole fiasco then the Jeffree Starr 'Conspiracy palette' is for you. To each their own. These two main palettes I've featured on the left below for you to have a look at.

The top right palette is the new HUDA Beauty Naughty Nude palette and it's the one I'd go for if you're really unsure still! It's a new release so doubtful they have it and there's no crazy colours so can be used by everyone. It would be my top recommendation for make up this Christmas.

The three below that are all YouTuber/Influencer collabs with makeup brands that have been pretty popular this year. From the left: BPerfect x Stacey Marie Carnival III Love Tahiti Palette is one to get if you know they love doing colourful and adventurous looks, middle: Carli Bybel Palette x Anastasia Beverly Hills and far right: BPerfect x Jah Makeup Artist Clientele Palette are both perfect for more simple looks or if they don't go wild with colour and are both from big brands so will be very much appreciated!

God, this really could have been its own post where I explained it a bit better but alas...

10. HAIR CURLERS/WAVER

Maybe they're not as into makeup and prefer hair, or maybe they just love both? Then a Beauty Works hair styler would be a boujee gift for them. So, for this you can do the standard version of the products (gold) or you can do the newer versions in the collab with Molly Mae (pink). It's up to you. These products are pricey but great quality. First is the hair curler (Professional styler) which is great if both you and they love their hair curly, and you can't go wrong with Molly Mae's signature bouncy curls. The second option is a new trend in hair his year, The Waver, which creates the mermaid waves that I've pictured Molly Mae wearing below (and yes boys they’re different than curls) and a great gift if they already have the curler. Top tip: is to get these lads while ASOS have 20% off because you're grabbing yourself a bargain or if you're really on a budget many brands do these products without the hefty price tag.

BONUS: GIFT ADVENT CALENDER

This year there is a major boom in the idea of gift advent calendars, so behind every door is a small gift instead of chocolate. Now what would be super adorable is to buy advent boxes online and fill them yourself with personalised gifts but luckily many brands have brought out their own versions! The best one I have saw so far this year is this PrettyLittleThing beauty calendar but it has been sold out for some time now! ASOS etc. are doing their own versions and there have even been adorable versions in the likes of HomeBargains and B&Ms where you can get candle or even alcohol versions.

Well, I hope this helped even a little bit! If you're really on the ball you'll have noticed I haven't included anything like the staple Primark pyjamas or everything seems catered towards girlfriends or 'for her' but not to worry I've many more versions planned, including 'for him', 'on a budget', and 'how to dress up your present'!

Happy (very early) Christmas!🎁🎄

[herboponics]

The Complete Guide To Hydroponic Sanitation & Sterilization

Sterilizing and sanitizing hydroponic equipment is really important. Why is that?

Diseases

Priority for cleanliness in your grow room affects the health of your plants. If you do not keep your room clean you are opening up pathways for disease and fungal pathogens.

Unclean Produce

It would harm your health if you are not being clean in your grow room and around your plants. You are going to be harvesting produce that is not clean and probably not healthy for your customers.

Certifications

Another reason why cleanliness and sanitation are important would be certifications and standards. There are many certifications and standards out there whether you're trying to grow organic or get any other certification.

There are usually very detailed standards when it comes to cleanliness and sanitation. So make sure you check with that specific licensing board for that certification to make sure you are doing everything correctly.

Difference between sanitation versus sterilization

Sanitation is just general cleanliness of your grow rooms. So things like removing dead plant material from your towers cleaning up any spills or any messes sweeping mopping cleaning out your filters scrubbing down and keeping your harvest and planting area clean and well prepped. These are things that all make sanitation and sterilization seem much different. Sterilization refers to killing microbial life like bacteria, microbes, fungi, anything small like that.

Sanitation and sterilization are typically accomplished with things like hydrogen peroxide bleach and antibacterial products like Lysol. It is essential to make sure you are killing off the microbial life. So, in conclusion, you will be wanting to use both sanitation and sterilization in combination to make sure that your grow room is as clean and healthy as it can possibly be.

Materials you need to use

A various array of cleaning utensils like scrubby sponges stiff bristle brushes are needed. Long handle brushes are great for getting in hard-to-reach areas like your reservoir when you want to clean that out. It is also very important to have gloves and eye protection you will be using some various chemicals throughout your sanitation and sterilization processes.

You also need things like scissors to help you remove dead plant material that may be clinging to your plants. You will also need various cleaning agents to help complete this. You will have things like bleach and hydrogen peroxide. Bonus points if you go for food grade hydrogen peroxide - it is a little bit more highly concentrated than what you can buy on the store shelf. However, if you can't get that easily regular peroxide will work.

We also like to use an agent for general sanitation around the room. That's just for cleaning up spills and messes that are not killing microbial life. So a general degreaser like this works really well if you don't like using things like that. You can definitely use vinegar for cleaning that will work as well. One more option that we use for sanitization that you might not have up there is an ozone machine. Now ozone can be pumped into the air of your grow room and it can sterilize basically anything it comes into contact with including human life, which makes it a little bit dangerous. Because you cannot be around while that ozone machine is running.

If you are using ozone to help sanitize your hydro solution by pumping that ozone into your nutrient reservoir, it is much safer for human use. You don't have to worry about the toxicity of having that ozone running and having people nearby. So you can add ozone in your reservoir to help keep that clean.

Obviously, you would not want to just go dumping bleach or peroxide into your reservoir willy-nilly. You're probably going to kill your plants. There is a safe amount of peroxide that you can add to your reservoir while you have plants in it bleach however I would not recommend adding while you have plants in your system.

Bleach is more for sterilizing things while you have nothing in your system. So you can flush it out and start fresh and obviously with cleaning agents. For sanitation, these really probably should not be getting into your reservoir. They probably will kill your plants however using these to clean things around the general area of your plants is perfectly safe as long as you are not getting them on the foliage.

How To Clean The System

First, start with sanitizing and sterilizing your room so you would want to sweep and mop your floors. You would want to clean scrub down your walls things like that anything to keep your room just neat and tidy have fewer problems with mess. You're going to have fewer problems with plant diseases. You want to keep your equipment sanitized and sterilized as well - this one is really important. You want to keep your hydro system clean and sterilized so you want to keep all the tools that you use with it cleaned and sterilized.

You're opening up the possibility of infection in your plants every single time you cut with a non sterilized piece of equipment. That is the key to limiting the spread of disease. The more cleaning that we do for our equipment with a vertical system the better. That helps you keep the top lines very cleaned out and prevents clogging. We also like to vacuum out the drainage that keeps any debris out from clogging up our drainage and causing floods. And generally, we just like to give a good sterilized wipe down of tower faces, gutters, rack faces - anything like that, keep it nice and clean. When it comes to your reservoir you will either want to occasionally scrub down the sides of the reservoir or you can use a pressure washer if you don't have a pressure washer.

This is where a big brush really comes handy to reach into those hard to get places of your reservoir. But once you have scrubbed it down you can always go ahead and sterilize your reservoir with something like bleach or peroxide. And then flush your tank out; fill it up with clean fresh water and start new. We also like to keep our filters very clean - remember to check your swirl filter. If you're using a larger system that one gets all your large particulate matter.

This is important especially if you're running something like ozone or hydrogen peroxide on a regular basis in your reservoir. Otherwise just by keeping your Y-filter cleaned out and sanitized is good enough when you're cleaning your tower media. Remember to remove as many roots as you can. You also may want at some point to sterilize the media from your towers. You can do that with dilute bleach and you can also do that with hydrogen peroxide. There are two ways you can go about doing this - you can either put these into your reservoir or run them through the towers. And let it cycle through your entire system. If you are doing bleach, remember to flush the system after doing that another option is to get a flood table tray. That you can actually dunk that tower media into your dilute bleach solution.

So you may be asking yourself we've cleaned just about everything in the grow room.

Now, what about the plants? Do you sanitize and sterilize the plants? You may want to remove your dead growth. If you leave that behind, it can open you to fungal or bacterial infections in your plants or any other nasty diseases like that. You don't necessarily need to sterilize your plants all the time. A lot of these sterilizing agents will kill your plants, however, you can do things like fungicidal sprays and dunks.

But know that if you do need to sanitize and sterilize your plants, there are fungicides available to help you do that whenever you want to be sanitizing and sterilizing. This is a very wide open subject that's up for debate it really depends on the size of your system. If you're doing just a little home system, you can supply yourself. You're probably not going to be cleaning stuff out as much as someone who has an organic certification and are producing thousands of crops. They're going to be cleaning all the time.

Usually, most people in a hobby market can get away with just cleaning when they need to, so it doesn't cause problems of fungal infections. Bacterial infections don't cause drainage and flow problems within their reservoir pumps, drip emitters. So you don’t get to know. If you have a certification or a license, check with that licensing board that certification board for their cleaning standards and their schedule. If you are not licensed and not certified, we still recommend keeping up to a regular cleaning schedule.  Try doing everything at least once a week if not more frequently. You may need to do it more frequently to prevent things like clogs. And you're going have random spills and messes if you do not do it. Remember that cleaning is almost a daily activity in the professional hydroponic world.

Safety Guide

We're going to give you a little bit of safety do's and don'ts for these two topics to make sure you're not making any large mistakes in your hydroponic setup. There are lethal doses of these cleaning and sanitation products that we have listed here. Obviously, you should not be using super-strength cleaners and degreasers on plants. You should not be dumping these into your reservoirs. You're going to kill your plants if you do that. Some of these other ones like hydrogen peroxide can be used in hydroponic solutions with living plants.

In very small amounts, vinegar is also very safe. However, bleach is going to kill your plants pretty quickly. There must be gloves and safety glasses to protect your hands and eyes. They can be fairly harsh chemicals. Remember if you do go the route of peroxide and obtain food grade hydrogen peroxide remember that food grade is much more concentrated than what you get on the store shelf in a little bottle. It actually needs to be treated like a caustic substance at that concentration until it is diluted in water.

Ozone can be toxic to humans. If you are pumping ozone into the air you should not have anyone working in that area. However, you can pump ozone into a liquid into your hydro reservoir and that is safe to work around as long as you're not running it constantly.

For more information and to get your own hydroponics setup, visit Herboponics.

[themoneybuff-blog]

A Loan Won't Solve Your Money Woes If You Don't Fix These 10 Issues First

Sometimes even the best-prepared households get knocked sideways, financially speaking. Illness, unemployment, divorce, a car accident that triggers a lawsuit these and other situations can quickly put a hurt on the budget. In such times a personal loan or one of several types of home equity loans can provide a little breathing room until you rebuild your finances. As noted, money woes are sometimes the result of plain old bad luck (illness, job loss). However, sometimes were our own worst enemies: We buy too much, we save too little, we plan not at all. You cant get ahead that way. And you cant keep borrowing your way out of trouble. A loan wont help you unless you fix the following issues. 1. Not having a budget The simplest way to wind up in debt is to spend without thinking. Stop, then, and think for a moment about what you would like to have happen five years from now: buying a home, starting a business, getting married, traveling? When you create a budget, youre not just allocating your dollars youre enabling your dreams. An easy way to do it is the 50/30/20 budget: Spend no more than 50% of your take-home pay on essentials, 30% on wants, and 20% on saving (including retirement planning and an emergency fund). Plenty of budgeting apps exist as well (some are even free). 2. Not tracking spending You cant plug budget leaks unless you know where they are. Track your spending for a month, using pen and paper or a budgeting app. The cumulative effect could be eye-opening. For example, a relatives ex-husband was shocked shocked! to realize that spending $8 a day on fast food added up to $240 a month. His wife had made more money than he did, and their commingled finances made it easy for him to swipe a card and think no more of it. Heres hoping that your own habits arent quite that clueless. But even those of us who think were doing pretty well could be surprised by the cumulative impact of certain habits: beef jerky and a soda every time we pay for gasoline, daily iTunes downloads, $20 a week on scratch tickets. Add up the opportunity cost of those non-essentials, and ask yourself if you could do better. (Spoiler alert: You probably can.) 3. Keeping up with the Joneses Just because next-door neighbor bought the priciest riding mower on the market doesnt mean you have to ditch your trusty Snapper. When your coworker talks about all the activities her kid participates in, you dont have to sign your own tots up for horseback riding and soccer camp. You should not let other people determine your clothing, dcor, automobile, or anything else. Its no ones business that you bought a fixer-upper, that you drive your car until the wheels fall off, that your idea of nightlife is to read a new library book once the kids are in bed. Remember: The Joneses may be up to their hairlines in debt. They might be focused on keeping up, too with the minimum payments, that is. 4. Wanting your kids to have things you didnt Theres nothing wrong with this! Except when there is. Obviously you want your children to be well-fed, reasonably well-dressed, and housed comfortably. You might also want to give them treats and opportunities you never had, such as vacation trips, a big allowance, loads of extracurricular activities, and fully funded education plans. But dont let this noble impulse bust your budget. Just because your kid wants snowboarding lessons, a new smartphone every year, and a car of their own at age 16 doesnt mean you have to give these things. Staying out of debt and funding your retirement should take precedence over granting every whim. At the very least they should have some skin in the game: doing additional chores to help save up for a big-ticket item, say, or mowing lawns or babysitting for extra pocket money. Besides, we arent doing our kids any favors when we give them everything they want. Setting the bar too high now could mean setting them up for problems later on. Specifically, when they move out on their own theyll want to keep living in the style to which we have accustomed them and if their salaries dont allow for that, theyll wind up in debt. 5. Automatic upgrades Whats wrong with your old smartphone or car or whatever? If you bought it relatively recently and it still works, whats with the rush to replace? If you get the newest phone as soon as it comes out, or trade in your vehicle every few years, or replace anything else before it really needs replacing, ask yourself why. Because your co-workers do? Because some commercial made you want a new car? Because you dont know why, but you really, really want to anyway? Think about the opportunity cost of that cash. Then think about the way you want to live, and whether or not you want other people making decisions about your money. 6. Shopping mindlessly If you dont need anything, stay out of the mall. Going shopping with friends puts you in a position to find something you suddenly cant live without, or something that looks so cute on you or would be so cool in your house or so useful in the garage. Except that you were doing just fine without that item until you saw it. Ditto online shopping: Dont cruise your favorite retailers websites unless you have a specific reason to do so. Better yet, undo the one-click function and remove stored credit card info from all sites where youve shopped in the past. Bonus frugal points if you change your online passwords to something that has personal significance, such as WeDDingDAy8192020, or 19YEarsLEftonMORTgage, or EARLYretire2028 these little reminders of where your dollars could be going instead might help you from overbuying. 7. Always buying retail Why automatically pay full price? Instead of heading straight to the shopping center when you need (or want) something, consider these options instead: Thrift shops: Some are junky, but others are great. Its like a treasure hunt. (Pro tip: Find out if there are senior discounts or other special deals. For example, a secondhand store my daughter likes offers 50 percent off every Monday.)Consignment stores: Like thrift shops, except theyre more discriminating about whats accepted.Flash sales: While online shopping should be approached with caution, sometimes a sale really is too good to pass up. Hold yourself to limits, though: Just because those slacks are a great deal doesnt mean you need to buy a pair in every color.OfferUp, LetGo, Craigslist: Sometimes people want (or need) to get rid of furniture, tools, bikes or automobiles without the hassle of a yard sale. Caution is required, but you can get some darned good deals this way.Newspaper classified ads: Yes, really. A guy I know recently bought a pickup truck (necessary for his job) from a newspaper ad, spending many thousands less than he would have paid at a dealership.Freecyle: You might be surprised at whats being given away, no strings attached. Ive seen beautiful furniture, clothing, bicycles, toys, books, and other useful stuff offered up.Yard sales: Another treasure hunt. Ive seen items still in the shrink-wrap at these sales. Its a great place to buy baby stuff, including newborn-sized clothing that seems never to have been worn.Buy Nothing Facebook groups: Last month my partner and I just picked up an almost-new Weber grill. Some of the other things Ive seen lately: baby stuff, solid wood table, sewing machine, board games, computer desk, cookware, and tons of childrens clothes. All of it is free.8. Overdoing it on special occasions Are holidays and birthdays completely over the top? Maybe its time to tone it down. When they become extravaganzas of gift-giving, we cheapen the meaning and also set the bar higher and higher. A kid who gets tons of presents is unlikely to appreciate each one fully and more to the point, he develops a sense of entitlement. As for birthday parties, when did they start resembling mini-coronations? Even one-year-olds are having party rooms reserved, decorations put up, and gift registries established. Really? Think of all the money thats spent and quickly forgotten. Now think what those dollars could have done for a childs education fund or your own retirement. Celebrate joyously, but celebrate sensibly. 9. Overbuying for grandchildren While waiting in line at a crafts store, I met a woman who developed the bad habit of having small gifts waiting for her granddaughters whenever they visited and they visited a lot. The woman was fretting visibly as she looked over the items in the stores dollar section. What do you buy for someone who already has everything? she asked me. After hearing her story, I felt very sad not just for her but also for the kids. A visit to grandmas house had become an exercise in acquisition. The first thing they do upon crossing the threshold is to ask what theyre getting. (Does anyone else find that quite sad?) Expectations are made, not born. If youve gotten into the habit of treats and more treats, scale back. Replace them with activities and gifts of time. The kids who are used to getting stuff will gradually become used to not getting stuff and when occasionally you do treat them, it will mean a lot more. Again, the money you save could go toward their education funds or toward shoring up your own budget. You cant finance retirement. 10. Giving more than you can afford Charity is a noble impulse. But giving to the American Red Cross or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should be done after youve taken care of business. Specifically, after youve built an emergency fund, started saving for retirement, and taken care of any consumer debt. Put on your own oxygen mask first, financially speaking. Award-winning journalist and veteran personal finance writerDonna Freedmanis the author of Your Playbook for Tough Times: Living Large on Small Change, for the Short Term or the Long Haul and Your Playbook for Tough Times, Vol. 2: Needs AND Wants Edition. Read more: https://www.thesimpledollar.com/loans/blog/a-loan-wont-solve-your-money-woes-if-you-dont-fix-these-10-financial-issues-first/

[themoneybuff-blog]

A Loan Won't Solve Your Money Woes If You Don't Fix These 10 Issues First

Sometimes even the best-prepared households get knocked sideways, financially speaking. Illness, unemployment, divorce, a car accident that triggers a lawsuit these and other situations can quickly put a hurt on the budget. In such times a personal loan or one of several types of home equity loans can provide a little breathing room until you rebuild your finances. As noted, money woes are sometimes the result of plain old bad luck (illness, job loss). However, sometimes were our own worst enemies: We buy too much, we save too little, we plan not at all. You cant get ahead that way. And you cant keep borrowing your way out of trouble. A loan wont help you unless you fix the following issues. 1. Not having a budget The simplest way to wind up in debt is to spend without thinking. Stop, then, and think for a moment about what you would like to have happen five years from now: buying a home, starting a business, getting married, traveling? When you create a budget, youre not just allocating your dollars youre enabling your dreams. An easy way to do it is the 50/30/20 budget: Spend no more than 50% of your take-home pay on essentials, 30% on wants, and 20% on saving (including retirement planning and an emergency fund). Plenty of budgeting apps exist as well (some are even free). 2. Not tracking spending You cant plug budget leaks unless you know where they are. Track your spending for a month, using pen and paper or a budgeting app. The cumulative effect could be eye-opening. For example, a relatives ex-husband was shocked shocked! to realize that spending $8 a day on fast food added up to $240 a month. His wife had made more money than he did, and their commingled finances made it easy for him to swipe a card and think no more of it. Heres hoping that your own habits arent quite that clueless. But even those of us who think were doing pretty well could be surprised by the cumulative impact of certain habits: beef jerky and a soda every time we pay for gasoline, daily iTunes downloads, $20 a week on scratch tickets. Add up the opportunity cost of those non-essentials, and ask yourself if you could do better. (Spoiler alert: You probably can.) 3. Keeping up with the Joneses Just because next-door neighbor bought the priciest riding mower on the market doesnt mean you have to ditch your trusty Snapper. When your coworker talks about all the activities her kid participates in, you dont have to sign your own tots up for horseback riding and soccer camp. You should not let other people determine your clothing, dcor, automobile, or anything else. Its no ones business that you bought a fixer-upper, that you drive your car until the wheels fall off, that your idea of nightlife is to read a new library book once the kids are in bed. Remember: The Joneses may be up to their hairlines in debt. They might be focused on keeping up, too with the minimum payments, that is. 4. Wanting your kids to have things you didnt Theres nothing wrong with this! Except when there is. Obviously you want your children to be well-fed, reasonably well-dressed, and housed comfortably. You might also want to give them treats and opportunities you never had, such as vacation trips, a big allowance, loads of extracurricular activities, and fully funded education plans. But dont let this noble impulse bust your budget. Just because your kid wants snowboarding lessons, a new smartphone every year, and a car of their own at age 16 doesnt mean you have to give these things. Staying out of debt and funding your retirement should take precedence over granting every whim. At the very least they should have some skin in the game: doing additional chores to help save up for a big-ticket item, say, or mowing lawns or babysitting for extra pocket money. Besides, we arent doing our kids any favors when we give them everything they want. Setting the bar too high now could mean setting them up for problems later on. Specifically, when they move out on their own theyll want to keep living in the style to which we have accustomed them and if their salaries dont allow for that, theyll wind up in debt. 5. Automatic upgrades Whats wrong with your old smartphone or car or whatever? If you bought it relatively recently and it still works, whats with the rush to replace? If you get the newest phone as soon as it comes out, or trade in your vehicle every few years, or replace anything else before it really needs replacing, ask yourself why. Because your co-workers do? Because some commercial made you want a new car? Because you dont know why, but you really, really want to anyway? Think about the opportunity cost of that cash. Then think about the way you want to live, and whether or not you want other people making decisions about your money. 6. Shopping mindlessly If you dont need anything, stay out of the mall. Going shopping with friends puts you in a position to find something you suddenly cant live without, or something that looks so cute on you or would be so cool in your house or so useful in the garage. Except that you were doing just fine without that item until you saw it. Ditto online shopping: Dont cruise your favorite retailers websites unless you have a specific reason to do so. Better yet, undo the one-click function and remove stored credit card info from all sites where youve shopped in the past. Bonus frugal points if you change your online passwords to something that has personal significance, such as WeDDingDAy8192020, or 19YEarsLEftonMORTgage, or EARLYretire2028 these little reminders of where your dollars could be going instead might help you from overbuying. 7. Always buying retail Why automatically pay full price? Instead of heading straight to the shopping center when you need (or want) something, consider these options instead: Thrift shops: Some are junky, but others are great. Its like a treasure hunt. (Pro tip: Find out if there are senior discounts or other special deals. For example, a secondhand store my daughter likes offers 50 percent off every Monday.)Consignment stores: Like thrift shops, except theyre more discriminating about whats accepted.Flash sales: While online shopping should be approached with caution, sometimes a sale really is too good to pass up. Hold yourself to limits, though: Just because those slacks are a great deal doesnt mean you need to buy a pair in every color.OfferUp, LetGo, Craigslist: Sometimes people want (or need) to get rid of furniture, tools, bikes or automobiles without the hassle of a yard sale. Caution is required, but you can get some darned good deals this way.Newspaper classified ads: Yes, really. A guy I know recently bought a pickup truck (necessary for his job) from a newspaper ad, spending many thousands less than he would have paid at a dealership.Freecyle: You might be surprised at whats being given away, no strings attached. Ive seen beautiful furniture, clothing, bicycles, toys, books, and other useful stuff offered up.Yard sales: Another treasure hunt. Ive seen items still in the shrink-wrap at these sales. Its a great place to buy baby stuff, including newborn-sized clothing that seems never to have been worn.Buy Nothing Facebook groups: Last month my partner and I just picked up an almost-new Weber grill. Some of the other things Ive seen lately: baby stuff, solid wood table, sewing machine, board games, computer desk, cookware, and tons of childrens clothes. All of it is free.8. Overdoing it on special occasions Are holidays and birthdays completely over the top? Maybe its time to tone it down. When they become extravaganzas of gift-giving, we cheapen the meaning and also set the bar higher and higher. A kid who gets tons of presents is unlikely to appreciate each one fully and more to the point, he develops a sense of entitlement. As for birthday parties, when did they start resembling mini-coronations? Even one-year-olds are having party rooms reserved, decorations put up, and gift registries established. Really? Think of all the money thats spent and quickly forgotten. Now think what those dollars could have done for a childs education fund or your own retirement. Celebrate joyously, but celebrate sensibly. 9. Overbuying for grandchildren While waiting in line at a crafts store, I met a woman who developed the bad habit of having small gifts waiting for her granddaughters whenever they visited and they visited a lot. The woman was fretting visibly as she looked over the items in the stores dollar section. What do you buy for someone who already has everything? she asked me. After hearing her story, I felt very sad not just for her but also for the kids. A visit to grandmas house had become an exercise in acquisition. The first thing they do upon crossing the threshold is to ask what theyre getting. (Does anyone else find that quite sad?) Expectations are made, not born. If youve gotten into the habit of treats and more treats, scale back. Replace them with activities and gifts of time. The kids who are used to getting stuff will gradually become used to not getting stuff and when occasionally you do treat them, it will mean a lot more. Again, the money you save could go toward their education funds or toward shoring up your own budget. You cant finance retirement. 10. Giving more than you can afford Charity is a noble impulse. But giving to the American Red Cross or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should be done after youve taken care of business. Specifically, after youve built an emergency fund, started saving for retirement, and taken care of any consumer debt. Put on your own oxygen mask first, financially speaking. Award-winning journalist and veteran personal finance writerDonna Freedmanis the author of Your Playbook for Tough Times: Living Large on Small Change, for the Short Term or the Long Haul and Your Playbook for Tough Times, Vol. 2: Needs AND Wants Edition. Read more: https://www.thesimpledollar.com/loans/blog/a-loan-wont-solve-your-money-woes-if-you-dont-fix-these-10-financial-issues-first/