#pre-order information

[which-item-poll]

[spooky-spextre-arts]

NEW ENCANTO LORCANA PLAYING MAT!

(I'm pretty sure this mat is fairly new. I'm just going off on the "PRE-ORDER" label this one had on eBay (and its current "unavailable" status it has online at places like Target.)

However, it's always possible this map came out around a year ago due to its similarity to already existing Encanto cards.

Perhaps it could've dropped sometime earlier this year, around the same time the similar "Look At This Family" Lorcana cards debuted.

[swampstew]

WHEEERRREEE TF CAN I PRE ORDER THIS?!?!?!?

I’ve spent 2 hours scouring the internet and haven’t found a damn thing😭😭 I want them so badly!! I’ll settle for just one Eustass Kitten please I’m BEGGING

[jintheastronaut]

jinnie happy pre order information !!

the album looks so pretty 🥹

[stairset]

I had Spider-Man 2 mailed to my house when I pre-ordered it and it hasn't arrived yet so I've just been spending my entire day dodging spoilery Youtube thumbnails like Tobey Maguire dodging Green Goblin's razor bats in slo-mo in that one scene.

[greyias]

Please games industry, I'm not going to spend any money nor time on the TERF-Fund disguised as a video game. Stop trying to shove it down my throat

[thegamecollection]

‘FIRE EMBLEM ENGAGE’ - REVIEW ROUNDUP!

What with all the excitement of the Fell Dragon rising this Friday for the launch of Nintendo’s Fire Emblem Engage, we know there’s some of you guys and girls that prefer to wait for reviews before making that pre-order commitment! As always, we get it and we’ve got it. “It” being reviews of course... Right this way:

IGN - 9/10

“It’s no small feat that Fire Emblem Engage is able to tell a simple-but-fun story that celebrates the vast history of its series in a way that doesn’t rely on prior knowledge of that legacy.”

Read the full review here.

Eurogamer - Recommended

“This is a fine RPG that further innovates an already rich combat system, and while long-term fans will get more from this, newcomers might be inspired to check out the rich history of this strategy series.”

Read the full review here.

GameInformer - 9/10

“It’s one of the most gripping games I’ve played on Switch and, ultimately, one I struggled to peel myself away from. If Three Houses was an experiment with where Fire Emblem’s social mechanics can go, then Engage is doing the same for the series’ evolving combat, and excelling just as much, too.”

Read the full review here.

NintendoLife - 9/10

“If you're coming to this one looking for the depth of content in the downtime between battles that Three Houses provided, you're going to be disappointed, simple as that. But if you're here for the combat — if all you really want from Fire Emblem is to test your mettle against super smart adversaries in some of the slickest and most satisfying turn-based combat around — Intelligent Systems has got you well and truly covered. We doubt you'll play many better tactical RPGs in 2023 than this one.”

Read the full review here.

GodIsAGeek - 9.5/10

“Fire Emblem Engage is a masterpiece of tactical gameplay design. Varied enemies, classes, combat systems, and more make it feel like the best the genre has to offer. An interesting story runs through everything, and there’s even multiplayer options to keep you coming back, should you somehow tire of the exquisite combat.”

Read the full review here.

Destructoid - 9/10

“When Fire Emblem Engage was first announced I was wary of the visual style, but it grew on me once I saw it in action. The strategic bits are smooth, the customization element is deep, and I’m a sucker for the tasteful fan service that we’re getting with the appearance of past franchise heroes.”

Read the full review here.

We told you we had “it”.

Last chance to pre-order with us here at The Game Collection!

-Jack

[thoughtportal]

Opinion Here’s how to get free Paxlovid as many times as you need it

When the public health emergency around covid-19 ended, vaccines and treatments became commercial products, meaning companies could charge for them as they do other pharmaceuticals. Paxlovid, the highly effective antiviral pill that can prevent covid from becoming severe, now has a list price of nearly $1,400 for a five-day treatment course.

Thanks to an innovative agreement between the Biden administration and the drug’s manufacturer, Pfizer, Americans can still access the medication free or at very low cost through a program called Paxcess. The problem is that too few people — including pharmacists — are aware of it.

I learned of Paxcess only after readers wrote that pharmacies were charging them hundreds of dollars — or even the full list price — to fill their Paxlovid prescription. This shouldn’t be happening. A representative from Pfizer, which runs the program, explained to me that patients on Medicare and Medicaid or who are uninsured should get free Paxlovid. They need to sign up by going to paxlovid.iassist.com or by calling 877-219-7225. “We wanted to make enrollment as easy and as quick as possible,” the representative said.

Indeed, the process is straightforward. I clicked through the web form myself, and there are only three sets of information required. Patients first enter their name, date of birth and address. They then input their prescriber’s name and address and select their insurance type.

All this should take less than five minutes and can be done at home or at the pharmacy. A physician or pharmacist can fill it out on behalf of the patient, too. Importantly, this form does not ask for medical history, proof of a positive coronavirus test, income verification, citizenship status or other potentially sensitive and time-consuming information.

But there is one key requirement people need to be aware of: Patients must have a prescription for Paxlovid to start the enrollment process. It is not possible to pre-enroll. (Though, in a sense, people on Medicare or Medicaid are already pre-enrolled.)

Once the questionnaire is complete, the website generates a voucher within seconds. People can print it or email it themselves, and then they can exchange it for a free course of Paxlovid at most pharmacies.

Pfizer’s representative tells me that more than 57,000 pharmacies are contracted to participate in this program, including major chain drugstores such as CVS and Walgreens and large retail chains such as Walmart, Kroger and Costco. For those unable to go in person, a mail-order option is available, too.

The program works a little differently for patients with commercial insurance. Some insurance plans already cover Paxlovid without a co-pay. Anyone who is told there will be a charge should sign up for Paxcess, which would further bring down their co-pay and might even cover the entire cost.

Several readers have attested that Paxcess’s process was fast and seamless. I was also glad to learn that there is basically no limit to the number of times someone could use it. A person who contracts the coronavirus three times in a year could access Paxlovid free or at low cost each time.

Unfortunately, readers informed me of one major glitch: Though the Paxcess voucher is honored when presented, some pharmacies are not offering the program proactively. As a result, many patients are still being charged high co-pays even if they could have gotten the medication at no cost.

This is incredibly frustrating. However, after interviewing multiple people involved in the process, including representatives of major pharmacy chains and Biden administration officials, I believe everyone is sincere in trying to make things right. As we saw in the early days of the coronavirus vaccine rollout, it’s hard to get a new program off the ground. Policies that look good on paper run into multiple barriers during implementation.

Those involved are actively identifying and addressing these problems. For instance, a Walgreens representative explained to me that in addition to educating pharmacists and pharmacy techs about the program, the company learned it also had to make system changes to account for a different workflow. Normally, when pharmacists process a prescription, they inform patients of the co-pay and dispense the medication. But with Paxlovid, the system needs to stop them if there is a co-pay, so they can prompt patients to sign up for Paxcess.

Here is where patients and consumers must take a proactive role. That might not feel fair; after all, if someone is ill, people expect that the system will work to help them. But that’s not our reality. While pharmacies work to fix their system glitches, patients need to be their own best advocates. That means signing up for Paxcess as soon as they receive a Paxlovid prescription and helping spread the word so that others can get the antiviral at little or no cost, too.

{source}

[belovedweighed]

I feel kinda inbetween about the latest news we got. the stuff shown did make me feel a little more optimistic about it but I still have my reservations about it.

[bamsara]

Some art of the Bishops pre-imprisonment just crossed my dash again, and is the reason Narinder seems really sad about the fact that Kallamar used to sew in the new chapter because he sewed him a little lamb doll ?

Yes. Spoilers below.

Kallamar was aware of Narinder's nightmares as a child, and asked Shamura on how to help his younger brother deal with such things.

Shamura, however having similar dreams themselves, told him not to interfere under the suspicion that Narinder was having prophetic dreams, and did not want to influence his feelings towards it's subject until they knew more information about what this could spell for the future.

Kallamar, however, did not listen. He wasn't always a coward, so he stole some of Shamura's silk to weave and sew a little Lamb doll. 'Doctor's orders.'

Narinder became attached to it like how a kid normally does with their favorite friend, and continued to have dreams of imprisonment and blood shed, but felt less alone with it. It did help.

Shamura reprimanded Kallamar for his behavior and this began an argument and temporarily ended up with the doll being taken away. Which went...exactly how you would imagine when a child's comfort item is stolen from them.

In the end, they reluctantly allowed it to slide since it seemed to have benefited Narinder, Kallamar blamed Narinder for 'getting him in trouble', and Narinder became a bit more closed off to the both of them in the process.

[emptymasks]

They're done! I really want to try and make prints again as it's been years and I've never felt like I was very good at making whole posters. Dipping my toe back in with these silly chibis of each Papa with every Ghoul they've had. Perhaps they can also work as a guide for those wanting to learn all the characters? I added in a fair amount of little references with the Ghoul's poses so it'll be interesting to see what you guys figure out and notice!

The prints are on pre-order and won't ship out until November. I've put up 25 of each to start with but if they get low on stock I'll keep adding more until I have them printed and then it'll be a set amount in stock.

Also a reminder about the stickers of every Ghost Papa and Ghoul that I made earlier this year that are also available as customisable badges! Thank you so much to everyone who already bought them and got Etsy to list them as a 'bestseller' for a while. They're still up and in stock.

EDIT: someone informed me Delta was not in Secondo's era so sorry little water ghoul but he got edited out of that drawing.

Characters featured on the prints and are also available on stickers and badges: Papa Emeritus I / Primo, Papa Emeritus II / Secondo, Papa Emerirus III / Terzo, Papa Emeritus IV / Cardinal Copia, Aether, Air, Alpha / Fire, Aurora, Chain / Water, Cirrus, Cowbell, Cumulus, Delta, Dewdrop / Sodo, Earth, Ifrit, Ivy, Lake, Mist, Mountain, Omega / Quintessence, Pebble, Phantom, Phil / Special Ghoul, Rain, Sunshine, Swiss, Zephy.

I can’t link to my Etsy without risking Tumblr hiding the post from tag search results, but the link is in my pinned post, my carrd, I’m emptymasks on Etsy. Reblogs help support artists more than likes ❤️

[ID: Four landscape drawings, one for each of Ghost's Papas and the Ghouls that were in the band with them while they were the lead singer. Each Papa is in the center with each of their ghouls standings to their sides. Every character has their name written above or below them, on brightly coloured backgrounds for each Papa's robe colour. Also, individual pixel art chibi drawings of 69 characters from various European musicals (listed above) that are available as stickers. These drawings are also available as badges where they are placed inside circles to show what they will look like as physical button badges, some of them with plain colour backgrounds and some with 1-3 different pride flags as examples of how you can customise the backgrounds.]

For those who want to know what the little references in the prints are and don't want to guess, they're under the cut:

Omega can be a stompy boy when he's playing guitar, Alpha likes to throw up peace signs, Air is very found of the rock horns hand symbol, there's one close-up photo of Lake out there where you can clearly see his black sclera contacts and he's doing double 'horns' hand symbol, Mountain infamously takes his shoes off when playing the drums and leaves them on the stage at the site of his drumkit, Dewdrop likes to like.. most things including his guitar and his picks and sometimes his own hand, Pebble liked to hand out his drumsticks at the end of shows by dropkicking them into the crowd, Omega wore a flower tucked into his guitar strap during one show and Terzo constantly flirts with him more than other ghouls, Delta is suspected to be the ghoul that attempted to kick an audience member off stage when they climbed onstage and attempted to kiss Terzo, Zephyr was the only band member and only keyboardist who sat down while playing, the special ghoul played by Tobias wore a nametag 'Phil' in an interview, Swiss constantly is showing all his teethies with his smiles and always wiggling and moving around, Aether and Dewdrop often interact with Dew teasing/bothering Aether, Dew and Rain also often interact with Dew constantly reaching to grab his neck and attempt to kiss him, aaaand I think that's everything I intentionally included other than just generally tried to get the poses and expressions to match the personality we've seen from each ghoul.

[silentwisher-feed]

Why Skipping Pre-orders Benefits Gamers

Why You Shouldn’t Pre-order Games Anymore In today’s fast-paced world of video games, it’s not uncommon for publishers to entice gamers with the allure of pre-ordering the next big title. Pre-ordering a game can come with a variety of bonuses, like exclusive in-game items, discounts, or early access. However, the practice of pre-ordering games has come under scrutiny in recent years. In this…

[beannary]

Fun fact: that big block of text at the end is based off my own informed consent form I wrote up for my anthropology research I did last school year! The full text is included under the cut :)

This is part 60 of The Little Prince Separated AU

Beginning | Previous | Next

You are invited to participate in an independent research study conducted by Donatello. This researcher is working independently and not in association with any acredited organization. The researcher seeks to understand how a Homo Sapien is capable of posessing mystic capabilities, through various observational techniques. If you decide to participate then you will be under constant observation during the pre-determined research periods. Handwritten notes will be taken and observational sessions may be recorded at the liberty of the researcher. The research participant will not be informed of a recording being in progress in order to not interfere with the research. There may be risks involved with the research. One risk might be the loss of time at work for the research. As this research is being conducted independently, there are no resources or contacts available in case of any complaints with the research or the researcher. You may stop participating in the research at any time (except if you do refuse to participate I will fire you from your job and you will not have any money because you are a poor human with no money.

[moiraimyths]

The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe) | Official Trailer

The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe) is a lore-rich and choice-driven historical fantasy visual novel inspired by Irish mythology and Celtic folklore. Play as a tenant farmer from mid-19th century Ireland, whose path becomes inexplicably entwined in fairy affairs after getting robbed by the roadside and lured into the mythic and war-torn world of Tír na nÓg: A once unified land, now divided into the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Will you escape and return home with your stolen belongings? Or does fate have something else in mind?

🍃 STEAM 🍂 ITCH.IO 🍃PATREON 🍂DISCORD 🍃

Eager to play? Certain route content is available NOW in early access on Steam and Itch.io! For more information, click below👇

Meet the Cast

Facts & Questions: The Game

🍃 The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe) is a Kickstarter-funded project currently in development. Due to the scope of the story, we will be releasing it serially over several years to Steam and Itch.io, and discounting it while in early access. The earlier it's bought, the cheaper it will be overall, and you'll only need to buy the game once!

🍂 Not all routes are currently available! As of Nov. 1, 2024, you can play half of Shae and Maeve's routes; both approximately 50k words. If you're not sure about paying for an unfinished game, feel free to check out our free demo first. It consists of Vol. 1, Book of the Traveller (the pre-route content). Differences between the demo's Vol. 1 and the paid game's Vol. 1 are marginal following our August 1, 2024 re-release of the demo.

🍃 The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe) has a recommended reading order (Vol. 1, then 2, then 3, etc.), which will correspond to the release order of the routes. For more information on our reasoning behind this, click here.

🍂 Due to its setting, The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe) will occasionally feature instances of characters speaking in Gaeilge, i.e. the Irish language. All instances of Gaeilge are linked to an internal translation tool, which is voiced by Nigel McKeon, a Gaeilgeoir.

🍃 The main character is yours to shape. At minimum, you must choose a nickname, pronouns, and one of four default appearances, the last of which can be your own artwork (instructions are included in the game's files). You may also choose to discard the True Name…

🍂 All routes, both current and upcoming, will have both romantic and platonic choice options. If you're uninterested in romance, feel free to make friends instead! No matter the nature of your relationship, you will still be able to reach the good end. Or the bad one.

🍃 Our cast consists of two men, two women, and two non-binary characters. All are romancable no matter the MC, but some characters are asexual or on the aromantic spectrum, which may impact aspects of their romances.

🍂 If you are a Mac user and are having issues launching the game via the Itch direct download, refer to this guide for troubleshooting before sending us an ask. We strongly recommend purchasing the game through Steam instead of Itch if you are a Mac user; it is the best way to avoid issues with launching the game.

🍃 NDM is very intentionally set just prior to the onset of the Great Famine, which is both thematically and textually relevant to the leftist, anti-imperialist story we're aiming to tell. If you would like more insight into this, refer to this post.

🐎 There are secrets to be found in this game, with more yet to come. Prepare yourself for a lot of horse related shenanigans. 🐎

Facts & Questions: The Company

🧵 Moirai Myths is a five-person company based out of Canada. The core devs/founders go by Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. All writing and programming are done by this collective, i.e. the Fates.

🪡 Moirai Myths has a two person in-house artist team consisting of Kazane, our Character/UI Designer, and Melinoe, our Environmental Designer. In addition to them, though, we have had a number of guest artists assist us with the creation of sprites, CGs, and an assortment of other materials. If you'd like to meet them, check out our about page on our website!

✂️ Moirai Myths stands with the people of Palestine 🇵🇸

Disclaimer: This description will be updated periodically. If you're reading this in a reblog, you may want to check our current pinned post for potential changes.

[againstme]

thank you for your response. i'm late with responding because i just got home about 2 hours ago from a very long day of group therapy, psychiatry, and regular therapy ;-;

i try to explain overstimulation (i was trying to explain this to my therapist at the end of my very long, stressful, draining, and overstimulating day that got to the point where i was just sitting at the table in the group room with ear defenders on with my head down and my arms around my head to block out light), the way it builds up, how draining it is to have no real break from it, and the way it's affecting me and my interactions with others and my functioning, but it's hard. the staff members here don't really get it. and it's too tiring to explain to them, and debating on whether or not to refer to myself as Autistic without having a diagnosis. and also the way that overstimulation is different from anxiety or depression, and that, no, i'm not feeling anxious or depressed, that it doesn't feel the same, and that these concepts and experiences are completely different.

despite all of this explanation on my part, and how tiring it is, it doesn't feel like i'm being understood. the lens that these people are seeing this from is completely different than mine. because most, if not all, of them are viewing it from a non-autistic / neurotypical point of view, not even taking into consideration the fact that some people might have a different experience or way of living.

it's kind of surprising, but also not really, that these people wouldn't have the insight to think outside of their narrow scope of view, even though they work in a field involving people with mental health issues, which is a form of neurodiversity, though they likely haven't had the inclination to dissect the definition of that term with that level of nuance. so, as a result, it's hard for me to even feel like i have the option to advocate for myself.

i said this to my therapist, an analogy for being burnt out, which is that it feels like i'm strapped into the passenger seat of a car which is flying down the highway, the tires are worn thin and shredding into pieces on the road, the brake has been cut, and there's a brick on the gas pedal.

hey, i have a question: do you have advice on how to manage autistic burnout when you’re in a situation where you can’t stop what you’re doing? i’m in a mental health residential right now, and i think i’ve been experiencing burnout that’s been building over time. the thing is, every day, we have 8 hours of group therapy, a mental health/AA/NA meeting to attend once we get home, chores, and a house meeting at the end of the evening.

so i feel like i’m constantly going and going, even though i feel extremely burnt out. i’ve been getting really drained, overstimulated way easier and quicker, getting headaches, not really being able to talk as much nearing the end of the day for group therapy, all that stuff.

i want to be able to take care of myself, but i can barely catch a break. i can’t ask to not go to group therapy, they won’t really let me not attend, so i can’t sit out. and i don’t have an official autism diagnosis either.

do you have any advice?

It is impossible to prevent or recover from burnout without reducing demand load and resting, often for an extensive period of time. Sometimes burnout recovery never happens at all. When we get burned out, our capacity to function is diminished, and there is no guarantee of it ever coming back.

It sounds like you're in a really overstimulating environment that is constantly busy and that you have very little control over your time and privacy, and that's causing you a lot of stress. I would speak to your care team about this to see if you can get some expectations waived. Burnout will almost certainly negatively impact your recovery progress so I hope they take this seriously. Unfortunately I put no trust in such institutions.

[florida3exclamationpoints]

Guys the whole changing system thing has been a HOT MESS luckily I don't have to deal with it much but I feel so bad for all the sales people 💀 and the manager is still here and he's supposed to be off today 💀💀 no way this is worth it