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fermented-writers-block · 5 years ago

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Why I think the actual Angel is Noelle Holiday

After nine months of research, procrastination, and working out the kinks, here’s a little theory of mine that’s been floating around in my head ever since the end of last November about Noelle Holiday and her potential role in the future of the series. It’s a bit of a long read, but I hope you’ll be willing to indulge me and give this crazy theory a chance.

As a forewarning, the following points I will be bringing up are simply too hefty to make a TLDR for, and it’s quite a long read, but trust me, you’re going to want to read through all of it for it to make sense in the end

Part 1: The Possible Evolution of the Delta Rune

First off, I’d like to look at the Delta Rune itself and a few easily overlooked key lines Gerson says about it:

That emblem actually predates written history.

The original meaning has been lost to time…

All we know is that the triangles symbolize us monsters below, and the winged circle above symbolizes…

Somethin' else.

The meaning and design of symbols can change over time, and it’s likely the same has happened to the way the Delta Rune is currently interpreted compared to when it first came into existence. For example, take a look at these variations of the Delta Rune:

Of these variations of the Delta Rune, these may be some of the oldest or closest iterations of the symbol to the original design, especially the ones from the intro cutscene and Gerson’s shop. The former is presumably from long before the Human-Monster War and thus the oldest version, and with Gerson’s apparent age and how he implies that he studies history, it is likely that the variation in his shop is also as close as can be to the original.

As for how these particular iterations of the Delta Rune fit into my theory, look at the design and positioning of the wings in these probably older iterations compared to likely more modern interpretations:

On the more recent interpretations, the base of the wings are placed around the same level as the center of the circle, and the wings themselves are mostly realistically designed. However, on the older interpretations, the wings are more simplified and stylized with more of an explicit arc to them, and the ‘feathers’ are more blocky with visible and sometimes significant spaces in between. Now keep that in mind when looking at these pictures:

Taking this into account, I think it is possible that - through the help of time and redesigns becoming successively more stylized - what was originally supposed to be a reindeer with antlers slowly got distorted and misremembered as a ‘winged circle.”

And maybe, something like this might even apply to Deltarune’s version of the Delta Rune as well given how several of the depictions of the Angel throughout the game look like the transition point between the older and newer designs, what with the ‘feathers’ being much rounder and closer together while still on an arc-based stylized design instead of a realistic wing-like design:

Part 2: The Origins of Modern Christmas

Now, with that established, let’s take a closer look at Noelle and her family.

Besides the obvious exception of Lancer, she has the most dialogue of all the NPCs, gets two entire scenes to herself in the hospital with her dad and outside her house to flesh out her character and crush on Susie compared to several other NPCs getting only a few lines of dialogue at most, and it is absolutely required to talk to her at the beginning of the game in order to even progress and end up in the Dark World.

As many other posts than mine have demonstrated, this suspicious level of detail has led a lot of people to theorize that Noelle will be an important character and that she might even be playable later on, a theory which has certainly been helped by Toby Fox’s original concept art of “THE FUN GANG” showing that her character has been in development for a LONG time - perhaps even from when work on Deltarune was just beginning - and that she may have been designed as a main character from the start.

However, much like how the potential origins of Undertale’s Delta Rune point towards the importance of reindeer in the series, I believe the deeper origins behind the names of the Holiday family similarly point towards Noelle’s true role in Deltarune.

Obviously, the name Rudy is a clear reference to the famous Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and Dess is most likely a reference to how Christmas is celebrated in the month of December. However, as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was created in 1939 for the Montgomery Ward department store chain, he is actually a relatively new addition to the list of Santa’s reindeer, whom in of themselves are early 19th Century additions to the image of Santa Claus - a figure tracing back to the 4th Century Christian bishop Saint Nicholas.

And on Jesus’ birth being on the 25th of December for Dess’ name, from what I’ve gathered with my google-fu, the event may have actually taken place less on December 25 and more during the fall or spring due to mentions of shepherds tending to their sheep in the scripture as well as from several attempts to connect the Star of Bethlehem with recorded astronomical events.

In fact, it seems likely that - in the 4th Century - the church might have actually chosen the date either because of coming to the conclusion that Jesus’ conception took place on the spring solstice - aka March 25, nine months before December 25 - or because they wanted to increase the popularity of Christianity through adopting and appropriating pagan winter solstice festivals like the Yule and Saturnalia holidays around the same time of year.

On the flipside, Noelle is a name that has a particularly distinct connection to Christmas; specifically, to the one for whom the holiday is named for in the first place rather than a recent secular addition or the general time in which said holiday is celebrated.

From what I’ve seen, Noelle as a name traces back to the French word ‘noel,’ which - alongside referring to Christmas carols - is a variant form of the word ‘Nael.’ This form comes from the noun use of the Latin adjective natalis, meaning of, or belonging to, one’s birth. The noun use (from natalis dies, day of birth) denoted a birthday, an anniversary, a commemorative festival, hence in ecclesiastical Latin the festival of the nativity of Christ, Christmas.

Basically, out of all the names of the Holiday family, Noelle’s is the one that most directly ties into the actual origins of Christmas in how the name’s origins heavily revolve around the birth of Jesus Christ, a major religious figure who was to be a sacrifice for humanity’s sins and to provide a way into heaven.

Considering Toby Fox’s attention to hidden details and deeper meanings and how angels are heavily associated with and are depicted in Christianity - particularly in relation to Jesus - there may be further significance to Toby picking a name that’s typically given to girls born around or on Christmas day. After all, even if it may or may not be the actual day of Jesus’ birth, it is widely celebrated and recognized as such.

However, as you’ll see at the end, I think there’s even another layer of meaning to Noelle Holiday’s name than just this one.

Part 3: Reindeer in Undertale

On a slightly different topic, while it’s hard to ignore how more prominently featured Christmas iconography and figures in the foreground of the series - what with the introduction of the Holiday family as well as several jokes about “Krismas” and Santa Claus in Deltarune, I believe it may also be important to pay attention to Undertale’s fair share of Christmas-themed details.

Namely, in how a significant amount of them owe their existence to one specific minor character; aka the rather unusually designed Gyftrot.

In contrast to the handful of implications that Asgore is the Underground’s Santa only being implicitly hinted at through extended dialogue and checking his bureau, Snowdin’s tradition of putting presents under decorated trees is blatantly and conspicuously out in the open.

And as Gift Bear explains if you talk to them, said tradition originated not with wherever Asgore’s Santa outfit and apparent moonlighting came from, but rather came about in the first place as a way to make Gyftrot feel better after some teens decorated his horns.

As to why I am calling Gyftrot unusually designed, it is because of his rounded head and sideways mouth - a trait only seen elsewhere in the DT Extraction Machine, Photoshop Flowey, and Sans’ Gaster Blasters.

Of all the conversations and theories I’ve seen about this strange detail, most people were only able to come up with the explanation that Toby simply liked the design and reused it for Gyftrot just for fun without any deeper meaning to it, or that Toby unintentionally gave it to Gyftrot while making Undertale.

However, a third explanation I found is that Gyftrot’s design may actually be foreshadowing for what Photoshop Flowey’s appearance looks like, what with how Gyftrot actually seems to have a second pair of eyes at the base of his antlers, and how one of the decorations he spawns with is a picture between his four eyes in a very similar position to the television screen on Photoshop Flowey.

To my knowledge, this explanation and comparison has only been made in conjunction by two people, with user u/Peridotthepie providing the explanation and and user u/pleasespellicup providing the following picture in the linked post.

While I can’t see any other possible parallels between the two to fully call this foreshadowing - especially with how the picture decoration isn’t guaranteed to show up on every playthrough and how obscure it is - I’d like to propose the idea that the DT Extraction Machine (and perhaps the Gaster Blasters by extension) may very well be based on Gyftrot or a relative with a similar design in-universe.

After all, not even boss monsters leave behind anything more than a pile of dust when they die, not even a goat-like skull that could be used as a reference, whereas Gyftrot is a living, walking example of such a design, complete with what even seems to be a SOUL-shaped hole in his mouth.

Not only that, but given how attentive to detail and deeper meanings Toby has shown himself to be as well as the increased prominence and importance of reindeer/Christmas themes in general for Deltarune, I find it incredibly unlikely that this design choice was made just for fun or as an accident.

On a bit of a side note, it is interesting that we first learned of the name “Rudy” in a post from September 17, 2017 on Undertale’s 2nd anniversary and alarm clock app.

Considering the apparent parallels between Undertale and Deltarune - for example, the potential connection between Susie and the ‘Suzy’ character mentioned by Clam Girl, who appears to have ties to Gaster - and the implications of the dialogue in that post, it’s likely that Undertale Rudy is also a reindeer just like his counterpart, and I would not be surprised if he was also related to Gyftrot as well.

As for what the exact deeper meaning or in-universe explanation behind Gyftrot could be, it’s too early to tell, but I have the feeling that it likely ties heavily into Noelle’s circumstances in Deltarune and some of the effects of the DT Extraction Machine on Undertale’s plot as detailed below.

Part 4: Determining Other Connections

To explain what I’m talking about, let’s take a closer look at a few key lab entries by Alphys, starting with this one:

ENTRY NUMBER 5: I've done it. Using the blueprints, I've extracted it from the human SOULs. I believe this is what gives their SOULs the strength to persist after death. The will to keep living... The resolve to change fate. Let's call this power... "Determination."*

While not explicitly confirmed, from the name and surrounding context, it is likely that the blueprints Alphys used were for the DT Extraction Machine and that DT stands for Determination, though it is unknown whether Alphys built the machine from the blueprints or if it was already constructed and she merely used the blueprints to operate it.

Either way, as we all know, things went horribly wrong from there. Alphys had accidentally turned those who had “fallen down” into the Amalgamates, created Flowey from the flower whose seeds Asriel had brought from the surface, and fell into a nervous downward spiral while wracked with guilt.

Now, I want to focus on just how the Amalgamates had been created, particularly with these entries:

ENTRY NUMBER 6: ASGORE asked everyone outside the city for monsters that had "fallen down." Their bodies came in today. They're still comatose... And soon, they'll all turn into dust. But what happens if I inject "determination" into them? If their SOULS persist after they perish, then... Freedom might be closer than we all thought.

ENTRY NUMBER 12: nothing is happening. i don't know what to do. i'll just keep injecting everything with "determination." i want this to work.

ENTRY NUMBER 17: monsters' physical forms can't handle "determination" like humans can. with too much determination, our bodies begin to break down. everyone's melted together…

Here, I’d like to draw your attention to a few things. Given the surrounding context, “falling down” seems to be a condition - one that potentially originates from age, injury, or some kind of illness - involving or causes monsters to enter a comatose state and eventually die.

And in Entry 17, there is the interesting wording of the line “with too much determination, our bodies begin to break down.” From how it’s phrased, it seems that, instead of melting from any amount of Determination in their systems whatsoever, monsters can handle Determination without having to fear of their bodies breaking down, though obviously there’s a cap to how much they are able to handle.

As for why I’m making this particular distinction, it’s because of Noelle’s situation with her father and how it may proceed beyond Chapter 1 in the future.

With the implication that Undertale Rudy had passed away a while ago, Deltarune Rudy’s conversations with and about Noelle, and Deltarune’s apparent theme of choices not mattering - or at least, not in the long run - it seems pretty likely that DR Rudy is suffering from a case of the foreboding coughs of death and that he may even “fall down” later on.

As such, it wouldn’t be surprising if his condition keeps worsening all the way until he ends up on his deathbed/in a coma/legitimately dead no matter what the doctors or Noelle and such do to help, and neither would it be surprising for her to be seriously affected and react in a severe way as a result.

I mean, Rudy openly talks about how everything scares her, even ironically Santa Claus, and as the classroom scene demonstrates, she has trouble mustering up the courage and confidence to assert herself to the point where even Alphys asks her to speak up.

Considering that her father openly talks about how defenseless she is and how he worries about not being able to protect her from his hospital bed, his death/apparently inevitable upcoming death would no doubt drastically impact her, especially if she attempted as much as she could to stop it to no avail.

Sometimes, one can be driven to desperation to do crazy things as a result of love and worry, and Noelle may very well do the same out of love for her father. If at least some of Undertale’s rules about SOULS and monsters also apply to the world of Deltarune, then there may only be one way - or at the very least, what she feels might be the only option left - in the end for Noelle to potentially give her father the strength to persist and the will to keep living, perhaps even after death.

Or in other words, potentially through extracting enough Determination from a human SOUL to inject into and potentially save her father/bring him back to life.

If the SOUL we the players control is or is close enough to a human SOUL to work, no other human characters/SOULS pop up later, and Noelle somehow finds out about the power of Determination and becomes resolved to use it, then there may be few - if any - things we will be able to do to dissuade her from going after Kris/wherever the SOUL we control goes.

Now, this is where what I think could be the second meaning behind Noelle’s name points would come into play, and in quite an important way.

For those that don’t know, if you enter Susie, Kris, or Noelle as the creator’s name in Deltarune’s introduction, you get the interesting following response:

“YOU ARE ABOUT TO MEET SOMEONE VERY, VERY WONDERFUL.”

With how anagrams appear to be a major theme of Deltarune in both a naming and worldbuilding sense, it's rather curious that of these three names, only two make any actually sensible anagrams. Kris and Susie can be turned into "risk" and "issue,” but Noelle oddly appears to buck the trend.

However, I think the answer for this ties back to Lab Entry 17. You see, in toxicology research terms, Alphys had injected more than “the highest dose at which there was not an observed toxic or adverse effect.”

Interestingly, this level of dosage is known as the No Observable Adverse Effect Level, or the term NOAEL for short. And sometimes, when describing and looking for an effect in general than just specifically adverse ones, the term used in toxicology reports is the No Observable Effect Level, or NOEL.

Basically, if Noelle hopes to save her father, she needs to make sure to not inject too much or too little Determination. Otherwise, she’d go below the NOEL, where Ruby would simply not have enough strength to keep living, or above the NOAEL, where Rudy would seem to be fine for a while at first before inevitably melting down.

And with that, Noelle’s strangely un-anagramable name can be reconciled with Kris and Susie’s, all three names relating to terms often used to describe something problematic in a scientific way.

In fact, one could even say that the terms their names correspond to sound like they would fit very well in a lab or experiment report, perhaps one involving interesting increases in darkness, like an imbalance in Dark Fountains…

Part 5: Conclusions

Of course, I do realize that that last bit is quite a stretch to suggest, even in comparison to the rest of my theory and particularly the latter half of the above section. As of now, there’s no real way of telling how these details actually connect in this way or if they really even connect to each other in the first place, let alone if they even operate on similar enough rules like my theory presumes.

Heck, with the shortage of clear definitive details about W.D. Gaster, the apparent differences between the worlds of Deltarune and Undertale, and how things may change or have already changed in development in between games and chapters, it’s entirely possible that the series will take a very different direction than the one laid out here.

Perhaps we haven’t even heard of the character who is the actual Angel and everything we’ve seen so far are just red herrings. Maybe Ralsei’s legend will be revealed to have been falsified and he and/or Asriel will turn out to be the Angel like commonly theorized. For all we know, the world of Deltarune might not even precede OR succeed Undertale’s, and it’ll turn out that both worlds are derived from a third, unaltered world/timeline.

But whatever it may be, at the point we currently are at now, I find that my most likely candidate for the Angel is Noelle Holiday. On their own, the details supporting my theory would be easy to disregard and aur tenuous at best when taken by themselves, but when taken together as a whole, it’s hard to deny that they VERY much look like they start to frame a pretty concerning picture about the exact role of reindeer across the entire series.

I mean, even if stuff like Determination turn out to not exist - or at least, don’t work the same way they do in Undertale at all - in Deltarune, the following general sequence of events seem likely to happen for me; that Rudy might get worse to the point of almost dying/actually dying, that Noelle might turn to something just as equally rather dangerous or desperate as extracting Determination in order to save/bring back her father, and that what she does may involve/cause her to somehow become the Angel.

Besides, like we can see from the introduction to Deltarune Chapter 1, it would be much like Toby to play with our expectations from Undertale and set us up to suspect that Ralsei or Asriel may be the Angel while he sets up the real Angel elsewhere.

After all, just about every good magic trick and literature twist relies on the art of misdirection at least in some part, subtly distracting the audience while the real clues are being built up in plain sight.

Like, for example, using the power of fluffy boys to deflect attention from the reindeer in the background.

#deltarune #undertale #deltarune theory #deltarune noelle #noelle holiday #delta rune #the angel #aka: toby’s bamboozled us again folks

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respheal · 7 years ago

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Two years of Galebound

Hey guys, Res here! Long spiel ahead because I’m getting personal and long-winded here. Full text after the cut to spare your dash.

tl;dr: A brief history of Galebound’s development and my experiences with telling a story, joining a community, depression, and living inside my characters’ heads for two solid years.

[cut]

So I was working on page 103 early last month (yeah, the week page 103 was due to go up aaaahhahahaha -cries-) when I realized what was coming up: the second anniversary of Galebound’s start as a webcomic. The exact date of the anniversary is a little nebulous. The decision to make it a webcomic was made on 4/20/16 when I completed drawing the concept art for all the main characters (which I had set as a prerequisite for going on the hare-brained adventure) and drew what would become the title page. The first page was published on Smack Jeeves (where galebound.com is hosted) on 5/14/16. So the birthday of the webcomic is somewhere between those dates but I’m going to consider it to be 5/14, which is why I’m rambling about it today. I want to talk a bit about Galebound’s history and what it means to me.

Galebound was originally a short story called Noblesse Oblige. It was written in first person POV from Conan’s perspective and published on DeviantArt back in 2007 or so. I really wish I could find that original draft because I bet it’s wonderfully terrible. I didn’t really know what I was doing with the story at the time--Conan was an untrusting jerk, Din was an arrogant troll, and Pascal was downright unhinged. The basic mechanics of the Obligation were there (simply that Noblemen could command Magicians), but that was about it.

I pants’d the story until it got to--well, just after this point actually. The conclusion of the battle on the bridge, and then I stopped. I don’t entirely remember why. But the story stuck around in the back of my mind while I met new friends (Hi, Skypernauts!), went to college, moved across the country, met my first boyfriend, got my first job, met my future husband, and casually worked on developing an RPGMaker game in my spare time (That RPG is called Memory and that story will likely get turned into a comic eventually as well).

While I was working on Memory’s battle system, I had the thought: how would I convert Noblesse Oblige into an RPG? The magic system would probably have to be something like the field generator from the original .hack games: string together words for a certain field or, in this case, magic. That way the command side of the Obligation would be integrated into the gameplay.

I played around with that idea for a bit longer, but ultimately decided it wouldn’t work; there was a major design flaw with the game. I can’t say what that flaw was because figuring out the solution to the design flaw led to the realization of a huge twist in NO’s story. I had to get this story out. Now.

Around this time I had abandoned RPG-making (because making nice maps is a PITA), so I took Noblesse Oblige through a JulyNoWriMo (NaNoWriMo, just in July). This time I took the story through Norin, Evenheim, the bridge, and on to Cymaria and beyond, compelled as if by Obligation. I accomplished my goal of 50k words, but the story still wasn’t complete. I slowed down the writing process and kept at it, but I also wanted to share the story so badly.

And uh...well. No one was interested in beta reading it except one friend, when time allowed. My fiance made an attempt, but didn’t get very far (He tried though, bless him, and said that although the beginning was rough--lord was it ever--it picked up eventually). In his eternal patience, my fiance at least let me spill the whole story at him. He didn’t like parts of it, mainly some things that happen around the midpoint and Din as a character in general (Din was a bit more actually evil back then). But he listened to the story as a whole, which was a lot more support than I felt anyone else had given the project at the time (Thanks, Mike <3). He also made a hell of a lot of puns about the ending of it, but in fairness the ending does lend itself to a lot of puns. It’ll blow you away (ba-dum-tsh).

I started getting really frustrated. There was this story that I just had to tell, but seemingly no one who would listen. I’d put a couple chapters up on Wattpad or Tablo, but got no feedback there (and didn’t learn until much later that those sites are miserable for anything that isn’t romance). An excuse would be that I wanted to know if this project had any sort of worth and if I should continue with it, but real talk: I wanted validation. I know better now what was happening then, but...well, hindsight.

While this was going on, I posted this illustration in the NaNoWriMo forums, the first drawing I had done in about two years or so.

No comments for a bit, but one day I was browsing through the thread and noticed someone quoted me and responded, asking if I was doing a webcomic. Um...No? I had tried making a webcomic before, but it was a LOT of work and I figured it wouldn’t be something I would have time for now.

Buuuuuuuuut the seed was planted. At this point I had determined the reason no one was interested in reading my rough novel was because A) the writing must be terrible (it kind of was) and B) nobody ain’t got time for reading books. So maybe this story could be told and find its audience as a webcomic. But only if I could draw ALL of the main and secondary characters. I would have to draw them hundreds of times, so no point in trying if I couldn’t even draw them all once.

Suffice to say, I succeeded. And the comic began under the new name Galebound.

Even as the comic went up, however, the need for validation persisted. I meticulously tracked subscription counts and likes and faves and everything, craving proof that people were reading this story. It got better as the story went on and some events did provide temporary boosts (Like Galebound getting featured on a “Top Five New Comics” list from Top Web Comics -excited screaming- and I met a new friend who I could talk to about the story and she actually read the monstrosity that was the first draft), but, well...

So, long story short: I was suffering from clinical depression with all that entails, and did for quite a while. Still am, technically. Just well managed now (yaaaaaay therapy and medication). It’s funny because I can pick out the pages it was hitting me the hardest because Conan was super bummed in those pages too.

I guess what I’m saying here is that this story was a big part of my life during some of the hardest and darkest times of my life.

I’m doing better now (see: aforementioned medication and therapy). Really I’m lucky because I see and talk to other webcomic artists who have similar struggles and similar feelings and the same reactions when sad or disappointing things happen and I want to suggest they get professional help when I recognize the signs of depression in them, but I realize I’m extremely fortunate in that I even had the opportunity to get the medical attention I needed. (I will recommend up and down all day long that if you’re suffering from depression and have the opportunity to see a doc about it, do so. For years I had tricked myself into thinking it wasn’t that bad even when...it was.)

There were good things, too. I met new friends and joined a community of other webcomic creators. I contributed to some drama in the community in an attempt to hold our publishing platforms accountable. I created a website to help webcomic readers and creators. I attended my first convention as an artist (and actually sold a sticker and a booklet! Woo!) and by the time this gets published I’ll have attended my second. Galebound has gained a small fanbase and I’m so proud of how clever the readers are. Seriously, you all keep me on my toes.

Regarding the story itself, Galebound is, by my estimates, about a fifth of the way through the full story, which means it will likely run for about ten years total if things don’t speed up (and I really want to speed things up). If you consult the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet, we’re somewhere in “The Debate”, that debate being “Who is Din and can he be trusted?”

Spoiler alert (warning: song with explicit language)

The whole concept of the Obligation stems from the dichotomy of what one wants to do versus what one feels compelled to do. That could be taking over the family business, going to college, going to church, even choosing a life partner based on expectations as opposed to one’s true feelings--as a character will say in the future, “not all Obligations are magic.” This sort of Obligation is something I think a lot of people face, and something Conan, too, will face throughout the course of the story.

Galebound is also about redemption and forgiveness. There are characters who have made terrible mistakes and decisions in the name of hatred and prejudice, and those who have brought harm to others out of sheer ignorance. It’s about self-worth and purpose. It’s about friendship and reconciliation. It’s about platonic and familial love. It’s about duty...and obligations.

It’s complicated, but “simple stories are inherently false. Life is complicated, and perspective matters.”

To sort of go into Conan and Din’s headspace a bit as they are now, they’re not in a good place emotionally, and it’s soon to get worse (because a certain someone Can’t Follow Instructions). They will hit rock bottom, but after that...well, there’s no place left to go but up? After this chapter, both of them will be reeling from mistakes made in the recent and distant past, but these events--as well as what will happen with the next few days--will put them in a place to rethink everything.

Long story short, I’m excited for what’s to come, but when am I not?

Anyway, that’s my spiel. Thanks for reading and for reading Galebound! My goals for it this year are to finish the first volume, start editing some of the earlier pages in preparation for printing, get a few chapters of the novel written (again), and get to the turn into act two. I’m actually so hyped for the turn I’ve edited this paragraph a millions times to keep myself from dropping even hints of spoilers because wow I want to talk about it.

So I better stop.

Thanks again for reading and Galespeed! <3

Links

Read Galebound here: galebound.com Prints and Stickers: store.synestories.com Social Media: Twitter | Facebook Support: Ko-Fi | Patreon

#galebound #rambling

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adtwixt · 5 years ago

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Adtwixt - News: 99 Unforgettable Gift Ideas Under $25

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You Are A Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living Your Life by Jen Sincero: This best-seller makes the perfect gift for anyone! It is an uplifting, motivational, and inspirational book that will pump anyone up to chase their wildest dreams and quit letting fear get in the way.

Looking for more book ideas? HERE is the list of 100 books everyone should read before they die!

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller: This classic, best-selling novel should be on everyones shelf! It is a humorous war novel and one of the most celebrated books ever written.

Eat, Pray, Love: One Womans Search For Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert: Next, this best-seller is the perfect book for your favorite traveler. It follows a woman through her travels across the globe and what she learns along the way.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin: Another great classic is this gorgeous copy of Pride and Prejudice. It is a humorous, love novel about five women and their mothers attempt to marry them all.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: Next is this best-selling novel that takes place in 1939 and follows a young foster girl who, you guessed it, steals book. It is widely known as a life-changing book and a must read of all ages.

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien: My final book-gift recommendation is the first book in the Lord of the Rings series. It is a must read for everyone and is the perfect way to make someone fall in love with reading!

Related: 21 Life-Changing Books every 20-Something Should Read

Gift Ideas for the Chef

Next on the best gift ideas under $25 list is the top kitchen gadgets that are perfect for anyone looking to up their food game! Actually, I really think kitchen items make some of the best gifts for anyone really.

Tupperware Set: This is such a useful gift for anyone who has recently moved into a new or larger place.

Drinking Glasses: Another great gift for someone moving into a larger place or who is in desperate need of new drinking glasses (which is a surprisingly large amount of people!)

Plate Set: Again, another great gift for a newly move-in.

Silverware Set: The last of the kitchen essentials, silverware. A must have!

Silverware Organizer: Know anyone who just tosses their silverware into a drawer? Yeah, this is for them.

Kitchen Towels: A great gift for anyone! Plus, you can find some really fun seasonal sets and colors.

Kitchen Knives: A good knife set can really be life-changing. As a bonus, you can even include a knife-sharpener!

Taco-Holder: This is one of those cute little fun gifts that are perfect to add to a larger kitchen-themed gift!

Cookbook: There are so many great cookbooks out there that make perfect gifts. THIS is my current go-to book because it has everything!

Cookbook Holder: This is so useful when baking. Especially when you have messy fingers!

Looking for a bigger kitchen gift idea? Instant pots are where its at!

Kettle: These are amazing! I use mine everyday and would be lost without it! They are perfect for tea drinkers or anyone who boils water on the regular.

Waffle Maker: This is another fun gift that is great for anyone! (Makes the PERFECT exchange gift!)

Utensil Set: There are so many people out there who need this.

Noodle Strainer: A great, basic addition to any kitchen.

Smoothie Blender: These are perfect for your favorite health nut!

Cute Apron: Every good baker needs a cute apron.

Coffee: When in doubt, coffee makes a perfect gift.

Tea: Likewise, tea is a great gift too! You can never have too much.

Tea Infuser: These are great for people who are serious about their tea drinking.

Snacks: Finally, if youre really unsure, snacks/food make great gifts because you know they will be used/eaten up!

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Healthy on a Budget and a Time Crunch

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Gift Ideas for the Commuter

Next, lets discuss some of the best gift ideas under $25 for your favorite commuter. This could be someone who drives everyday, takes the train, or simply has a bit of a walk before they reach their daily destination.

Coffee Travel Mug: Everyone can use a new travel mug.

Multi-Tool: Perhaps a more boring but definitely useful gift idea.

1 Month Audible Membership: Commuting can be incredibly boring, especially with traffic. Spice it up for your favorite commuter with some audiobooks!

Cute New Sunglasses: Sunglasses often get lost or broken throughout the year so they make great gifts (because you know everyone could use an extra pair!)

Headphones: Likewise, headphones dont last forever. Lucky for you, that makes them perfect gift ideas.

Portable Charger: Portable chargers can seriously be lifesavers when commuting.

Cute (and useful!) Keychain: Finally, a cute keychain can be the perfect addition to any gift.

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Gift Ideas for the Homebody

This next gift ideas section covers everything related to the home. These gifts are perfect for anyone who has recently moved into a new place or perhaps is in need of some new decoration. These also work great for anyone who likes to stay in on the weekends!

Flameless Candles: Most rental units (dorms, apartments, etc.) dont allow candles, which is why flameless candles are so great!

Picture Frame: A cute picture frame with a photo inside makes a great personalized and meaningful gift.

Monogram Cork Holder: These are so cute and are perfect for someone who loves wine!

Blanket: Cozy blankets make perfect gifts and are always useful.

Curtains: Curtains are like giving the gift of more sleep, especially with blackout curtains!

Cozy Socks: Cute, fuzzy socks are classic gifts and great for anyone who lives in a colder climate.

New Movie with Popcorn and Candy: Movies are always great gift ideas!

Diffuser: Every home needs a good diffuser. They serve double duty as a humidifier too!

Cute Throw Pillows: Throw pillows are a great addition to any home.

Plant Terrarium: These are so cute to add to any home and require very little maintenance.

Twinkle Lights: Lights can really transform any space into a cute and cozy atmosphere.

Re-Usable Bags: Many cities are getting rid of plastic bags. Help fight for the environment and give the gift of reusable bags! (They are SO useful too!)

Related: The Ultimate College Packing List for Dorms and New Apartments

Gift Ideas for the Workaholic or Student

Now, lets talk about some gift ideas for the workaholic or student in your life. These are perfect for anyone who often sits at a desk or uses a computer often. They can turn anyones ordinary desk supplies into extraordinary!

Student Planner: First, planners are among the best gifts you can get! THIS planner has everything your favorite student will ever need. As a bonus, it is printable! So you can download the files onto a USB and give them a copy so if they need an extra page of a certain layout, they have it at their fingertips.

Cute New Mug: A good coffee/tea mug is something truly special.

Blue Light Blocking Glasses: Many people spend countless hours in front of a screen. Make sure their eyes are protected (and headaches avoided) with a nice new pair of blue light blocking glasses.

Cordless Mouse: A good cordless mouse can make a huge difference to productivity. THIS is my favorite mouse, I swear by it.

Thumb Drive: Honestly, one can never have too many thumb drives

Laptop Case: When moving a laptop from place to place, it is incredibly important to keep it safe and secure.

Laptop Vinyl Stickers: These are so fun to add to any laptop and make a great gift!

Keyboard Cover: Keyboards get dirty so easily, a good cover is a great way to avoid this issue.

Tablet Stand: For frequent tablet users, a good stand can make a big difference.

White Board and Markers: These are perfect for a student who studies often!

Wooden Block Desk Calendar: Finally, these desk calendars make the cutest addition to any desk!

Related: College Backpack Essentials 21 Items you Must Carry With you at all Times

Gift Ideas for the Stationary Nerd

In addition to desk and computer supplies, lets cover some fun stationary as well! I love stationary, so I thought it deserved its own category. These gift ideas are relatively cheaper than the other ideas, so multiples can be paired together under $25 to make a great gift!

Bullet Journal: First, bullet journals are great productivity tools and make wonderful, slim journals that you can take anywhere!

Washi Tape: Add a pop of color or design to anything with removable washi tape.

Coletto Multi-Pens: These multi-pens make the perfect gift for anyone who loves pens. They are great for color coding tasks, drawing, and so much more.

Mildliner Highlighters: These make great highlighters, art markers, and more. They are much better than regular highlighters because they are less bright and have two different tips. They are perfect to pair as a gift with a bullet journal.

Stedler Fineliner Pens: Next, these are among the most popular pens on college campuses today.

Sticky Note Set: Everyone goes through sticky notes so quickly, which means they make great gifts!

Fancy Pen Set: A good, fancy pen is always a great gift! These make great pens to showcase in the professional setting.

Pen Case: An organized, new pen case is a perfect gift for anyone!

Cute Notebooks: Finally, a few cute notebooks is always a great gift for a stationary nerd.

Related: The Only Student Planner Youll Ever Need in College!

Gift Ideas for the Fit & Health-Nut

Next up includes a short list of gift ideas for anyone who is into fitness. These make perfect gifts for people who are often in the gym or workout on a daily basis.

Water Bottle: Many water bottles wear over time, making them great go-to gifts.

Infusion Water Bottle: Speaking of water bottles, check out these infusion bottles!

Yoga Mat: Yoga mats should also be switched out quite often, so they are killer gifts as well!

Yoga Dice: Speaking of yoga, these yoga dice are so fun!

Running Belt: These are perfect for runners who need to carry a few items but have no pockets (like most of us)!

Silicone Rings: Jewelry can get really banged up at the gym, prevent this with some fun silicone rings!

Exercise Bands: These are perfect for anyone who likes to workout at home or on the road traveling.

Meal-Prep Containers: Finally, meal-prep containers make great gifts and double as Tupperware!

Gift Ideas for the Traveler

Next, these gift ideas are perfect for anyone who travels often. This travel doesnt have to be far! It could just be frequent camping trips on the weekends, or perhaps they simply just spend a lot of time in their car!

Warm Scarf and Hat Set: First, it can be cold out there in the world! So a nice set of mittens and a scarf makes a great traveling gift.

Carwash Kit: Know someone who is always traveling in their car? A good carwash kit just might be what they need!

New Cosmetic Bag: Finding the perfect travel cosmetic bag can be difficult, which makes it the perfect gift! Check this one out.

Hammock: On the road, on the trail, in the airport (maybe?) hammocks are great travel companions if you need a good rest.

Coin Savings Jar: These are great little additions to anyones home and perfect to use to save up for an upcoming trip!

Shower Tote: Sometimes, traveling with toiletries can be a pain, but a good travel shower tote can take care of this!

Bluetooth Speaker: Speakers are perfect while traveling and can be used while hiking or staying in a hotel.

Scratch-Off Travel Map: Let your favorite traveler check off their destinations with this cute scratch-off travel map!

Travel Wallet with RFID Blocking Sleeve: Tourists are often vulnerable to identity theft and they dont even know it! Protect your favorite traveler with one of these fantastic RFID blocking wallets.

Packing Cubes: These are a great way to organize any suitcase!

Related: The 10 Hiking Essentials Everything You Must Carry With You On Your Next Hike

Gift Ideas for the Gamer

Last but not least are games! Board and card games make the perfect gift for so many people! They usually make great gift-exchange ideas and are perfect for anyone young at heart.

Sushi Go: First, this is a simple and fun card game perfect for 2-5 players. It involves picking one card, then passing it to the next player until all the cards have been picked.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf: This is such a fun party game! It is for 3-10 players and involves everyone closing their eyes and listening to the game app for instructions, then you must figure out who the werewolf is!

Flux: This classic 2-5 player game is a quick and fun draw-one-play-one card game.

Exploding Kittens: This is another fun card game where you loose if you find an exploding kitten. Super fun!

We Didnt Play Test This: This is a ridiculous 2-10 player card game that only takes about 1-5 minutes to play with very simple, yet strange rules.

Uno: Next, Uno is such a classic game I had to add it. It is perfect to throw into someones glove box for a rainy day or to add to anyones game collection.

Looking for more game ideas? Check out Amazons top selling games HERE!

Codenames: This game is slowly becoming one of my favorite party games. You break into two teams and choose one person per team to attempt to use just one word to have you guess images/words.

Exit The Game: SO. MUCH. FUN. This is like having an escape room in your own home!

Catchphrase: This classic timed game is perfect for parties and is always a blast to play!

Punderdome: This is a fun card game for pun-lovers.

Joking Hazard: Another fun card game that allows you to move comic-style cards around into a fun story!

Pictionary: Finally, this classic should also be in everyones game collection! Such a fun party game.

There you have it, my top 99 gift ideas under $25. I hope you found some amazing ideas and are ready to hand out some amazing gifts to your favorite people! Now, it is just time to wrap them up!

Looking for more gift ideas? Check out my Ultimate College Student Holiday Gift Guide with over 50 fantastic gift ideas!

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mathematicianadda · 5 years ago

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366 Days of Math

Look at your day. Really look at it. Have you noticed a small hole in your existence? A gap in the fabric of your life?

A daily gap whose dimensions are, say, 5 inches by 7 inches?

I know what you’re missing. It’s the new American Mathematical Society page-a-day calendar, the brainchild of witty and trenchant math writer Evelyn Lamb.

I got my hands on a copy last month and found myself reading January and February like a book: a quirky, brainy, immaculately researched book that you slowly tear apart as you read it. (Note: I do this with more books than I should.)

I asked Evelyn to tell this calendar’s story.

How did this project begin?

A friend of mine called me out of the blue and asked whether I knew of a math page-a-day calendar and if I didn’t, did it sound like a good idea?

I hadn’t, and it did!

Why a calendar, rather than a 366-page book of mathematical goodies?

I’ve thought about writing books. One possibility would be a compilation of posts from my blog Roots of Unity. (Publishers, talk to me if that’s something you’re interested in!)

But I’ve not quite found the right way to organize something that eclectic. With the calendar, I don’t really mind that there’s no big narrative arc. I just want to give people something interesting related to math every day!

Eclectic it is! We get puzzles, art, Sudoku variants, jokes, recipes, history, music, conjectures, coloring pages, quotations, poetry, theorems… did I miss anything?

There are hands-on activity pages too, that involve cutting or folding the page. Also, there are quite a few pages about different number systems, like the base twenty system developed by Inupiat students in Alaska to make it easier to do arithmetic using their native language.

It’s deliberately reusable, with no reference to the year (e.g., no days of the week). Did that increase the level of difficulty?

AMS books don’t usually have expiration dates; if they misjudged the size of the print run, they’d be stuck with a lot of product they couldn’t sell. Unfortunately, that did make it tricky to include things like Mother’s/Father’s Days, Hanukkah, Easter, and other holidays that don’t fall on the same date every year. But they were committed to the idea, so I grudgingly went with it.

In the end I’m glad we did. The calendar was initially intended for 2019. (Everything takes longer than you think it will!) So I would have had a lot of work to redo when it took an extra year to finish. Also, now that I know how much work this calendar was, I’d like for it to be out there for at least a few years.

How did you handle holidays that change dates from year to year? And what about Leap Day?

For some of the holidays that move around from year to year, I put the relevant page on the first possible day. (E.g., there’s a vaguely turkey-looking coloring page on November 22, which is the earliest possible date of U.S. Thanksgiving.) For some, I put it on the day the holiday would occur in 2020. And for some, I just put it vaguely near the right day.

And don’t worry! The February 29 page is actually a flowchart so you can determine whether the February 29 page is needed.

I’m impressed at the depth of research.

I joked a bit with my spouse about this being a very inefficient project in some ways. I read two academic books about khipus to make one 5×7-inch calendar page!

How did you figure out the right date for each morsel? Conspiracy wall full of newsprint and red string?

It was a bit of a conspiracy wall!

I had a file on my computer called “calendar date thing” (I am great at file names!) where I kept track of where I had coloring pages, different types of puzzles, birthdays, Pi Days (there’s one per month), art, and so on. I wanted to avoid clumping things too much.

There ended up being a lot of shuffling because I’d write a page, put it on some arbitrary date, and then find someone whose birthday was that day, so I’d have to shift things around. I definitely made it harder than necessary, but it was also a fun puzzle.

How did you decide which people to celebrate?

I made a lot of rules for myself. There are six biography pages a month, and they are all about dead people (because I thought it would be weird for a living person to read a page about themselves).

For most, the pages are on their birthdays. I thought putting them on an anniversary of their death would be too depressing (though I did make Hausdorff’s depressing; he committed suicide rather than be taken to a concentration camp, and we should be sad about that).

Half of the biography pages are about men, and half are about women. I did my best to keep this balance each month as well. (I might have a couple months with four and two, because people rudely chose not to be born on days that are equally distributed throughout the year!) I worked at having a lot of racial/ethnic diversity, though I didn’t set myself any explicit number goals for that.

I included some mathematicians who are really well known (hi, Gauss!), but I also wanted to include people I had never heard of before, or people who might not be thought of as mathematicians but had some math connections in their lives, like W. E. B. Du Bois, James Garfield, and Anna Julia Cooper.

I thought about including some people who really sucked (and writing about how much they sucked) like Oswald Teichmüller, an actual Nazi, but decided I wanted to focus on more admirable people, like Lee Lorch, who got fired from multiple jobs for his civil rights activism, or Thyrsa Frazier Svager: she and her husband saved about half of their income to create scholarships for black women math majors.

Anything I didn’t ask about?

It’s so funny you picked February 6th to share above, because when I first flipped through the final calendar, I looked at that page—which, like all the pages, I had read through maybe a dozen times already—and thought, “This page makes no sense!” This is more a converse to Poincaré’s quote: different names for the same thing. But hopefully people will just think I’m trolling them. (In general, please assume I’m playing an elaborate prank if and when you see errors in this calendar.)

Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble on about my baby! I’m very proud of this project.

For anyone who’s bought one or gets one as a gift, I’ll be at the Joint Math Meetings in Denver in January, and I’d be happy to sign your birthday page or other important date.

And I’d love to chat with you about the calendar as you’re enjoying it next year. You can find me on Twitter: @evelynjlamb.

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adtwixt · 5 years ago

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Adtwixt - News: 99 Unforgettable Gift Ideas Under $25

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read mydisclosure policyfor more information.

What could these gift ideas be used for?

I am glad you asked! These gift ideas under $25 are perfect for any of the following occasions:

Birthdays for friends and family

Anniversaries for a significant other

Going away parties

Housewarming parties

Graduation parties

Holiday parties or dinners

Stocking stuffer or gift-exchanges

Looking for more holiday gift ideas? Check out my Ultimate College Student Holiday Gift Guide

99 Gift Ideas Under $25

Alright, lets dive right in! Below, I have sectioned off each of these gift ideas under $25 to help you better navigate.

Gift Ideas for the Book Worm

Each of these are classic books that never get old. They are perfect for any individual looking to better their life, need a pick-me-up, or simply just love to read!

Looking for more book ideas? HERE is the list of 100 books everyone should read before they die!

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller: This classic, best-selling novel should be on everyones shelf! It is a humorous war novel and one of the most celebrated books ever written.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin: Another great classic is this gorgeous copy of Pride and Prejudice. It is a humorous, love novel about five women and their mothers attempt to marry them all.

Related: 21 Life-Changing Books every 20-Something Should Read