#... and then I also ordered a different variant cover online...

[untitled-tmnt-blog]

I may have purchased... four copies of the TMNT 40th anniversary comic...

Is that overkill? ... Nahhhh...

[marrows-field-guide]

Welcome~

I'd like to start off by thanking you for taking the time to take a wander through my life's work.

That said, allow me to formally invite you to the experience that is my clusterfuck of a comprehensive Pokemon Field Guide~

My name is Marrow A. Honeysuckle, and I am a Field Researcher who specializes in any and all variations from standard Pokemon phenotypes. I am in the process of creating an illustrated guide of the multitudes of different variants one may encounter across the World of Pokemon.

My main focuses are on the more obscure alternate appearances Pokemon may exhibit. Right now I've been really interested in the phenomena of Ability Forms, where a Pokemon's appearance is effected by their natural ability, as well as documenting the various unique differences in Pokemon such as those classed as subspecies.

This blog will serve as my digital archive for whatever observations, illustrations and experiences I may gather, create and encounter on my journey.

I will also share any other interesting tidbits I find online or otherwise~

{{I'll add a list of tags as I figure them out}}

[Mail/Mystery Gifts] ON

...

Anywayyyy

now that all the "Professional™" shit is out the way

allow me to introduce myself~

Heyo~

Name's Marrow, sometimes they call me Field Researcher Honeysuckle. Who's "they"? fuck if I know lol

I use any and all pronouns: with Masculine, Neos/Neutral, and then Feminine being in order of preference from most to least frequent

I'm 27 and grew up in Kalos, I got my starter around the same time I started working under Prof Sycamore in my mid-teens

The last several years of my life have been spent in Galar, interspersed with trips back to Kalos for shit like conferences and whatnot.

I'm currently in transit to Paldea I have arrived in Paldea after I received some forwarded correspondence the Prof Sycamore accepted for me from a Professor by the name of Sada. he apparently got it[and accepted it on my behalf] like 6 months ago and hadn't gotten around to sending it to me till last week BUT WHATEVER I GUESS

Luckily I was able to stop by my partner's place[aka, home sweet home] since I pass through Kalos on the way. Which meant I could see them for a sweet little rendezvous and drop off some of the Pokemon I gathered during my time in Galar.

My party consists of:

Bean | Espurr ♀ | Ability Variant | My Starter

Skai | Vivillon ♂ | Unique Subspecies Shiny

Hem | Mimikyu ⚥ | Shiny

Still need to evaluate these to know if they are battle capable or not:

Pepper | Sprigatito[?] ♀ | Unidentified Variant | Sight Impaired, unsure to what extent

Plums | Yamper ♀ | Espeon Hybrid | Need to check some things around why she exhibits as half-evolved

I also carry with me an orphaned forever-Snom whom I've named Girasol. He doesn't fight and prefers to ride on my head so I don't count him in my party

I've been told there is a 'mon waiting for me when I arrive in Paldea. They said her variation and appearance has made it difficult for them to adopt her out as it "gives the new trainers 'bad vibes' despite her rarity". They have refused to give me more info. So that's great. I have collected the 'mon. She is an adorable, mostly blind, super fluffy Sprigatito with an un-identified variant subtype.

Just a bit more about me:

I'm a mostly nocturnal bitch, the sun bothers my eyes[and the insane insomnia doesn't help my case lol] and I'm a nomadic researcher by nature.

If you stumble across me in the field during mid-day I'm more than likely to be piled up sleeping with my Pokemon, usually without even a shelter to cover me. I don't mind being in towns/cities but I'm always [just passing through] usually I'm just stocking up on supplies or delivering something for whatever reason

Oh! And I like sweets. But the more "light" ones, not the "heavy" rich ones. Think sweet lemon over chocolate mousse

{{THE FOLLOWING IS ALL "OOC"}}

We follow/like from @r-e-dax-t-e-d as it is our main blog

We are the [REDACTED] System. Outside of this post all OOC will be prefaced as such or written in {{xxxxx}} brackets. THIS BLOG WILL LIKELY CONTAIN TRIGGERING/ADULT TOPICS AT SOME POINTS

We have not pinned down what it will contain exactly but a warnings list will be added in the future. We will likely touch upon horror typical themes at times. We are an adult and prefer to interact with other adults, so while we won't make [No Minors] a hard limit we will be limiting our interaction with underage blogs

We are a DID system, so while we are "roleplaying" in the sense of telling a story as if it were actually happening, Marrow does actually exist within our system and the general arcs are based off of her life within their source. Please act respectfully and keep this in mind

We will not typically discuss pokeph**ia, and on the off chance we do it will be in a mythological context We are taken IRL and Marrow is IC as well. So no serious flirting please[exceptions being obvious jokes/for the bit and only if a we have established a prior level of comfort/connection{i.e. NOT FOR RANDOS}]

We will be adding more to this as we figure shit out

[the-king-of-cringe]

Pasta's Boundaries

[PT: Pasta's Boundaries /end PT] This will take the place of a Do Not Interact list on my account. I figure it'll be more productive going forward. If anything here is a major dealbreaker for you, please use your good judgement in terms of whether or not we should interact.

People under the age of 13 should not be online

Black Lives Matter. Stop Asian Hate. The policing and criminal justice systems are, at the very least, in need of major reform.

Trans rights are human rights. Xenogenders and neopronouns are valid means of identification. I don't care if someone's labels are "contradictory." It's not my place to judge how others live so long as it doesn't affect me or negatively affect them.

While I am a Christian, I condemn weaponizing one's faith against someone who is different from oneself. There is no need to convert others in order to be a good child of God. In fact, we are all one in Christ through things that the Bible literally says. Remember: Love one another.

I will avoid conversations centered around wars, politics, or hospitals. I prefer that they are properly tagged.

Women are not defined by their anatomy. Trans women are women. And as someone who is transmasc, we are not women.

Guilt-tripping someone for not reblogging a post or actively contributing to a cause is ineffective. I will tag reblog bait where applicable.

As long as proper research is being done, self-diagnosis is valid. Also, it's not your place to determine a system's validity based on their origin. If someone is faking, you're giving them what they want (attention) by fussing over it.

Birthing people should have the right to bodily autonomy when it comes to pregnancy and childbirth. Cis women should not be the only people included in advocacy for the protection of pregnant people. Not all women get pregnant, and not everyone who gets pregnant is a woman.

In terms of shipping discourse, I would be considered an "anti," if that helps you. I believe that fiction very much does affect reality, and the variants of "pr.oship" terminology are usually code for romantically shipping pairings that would be illegal in real life.

Romanticizing mental illness is not okay. On the other hand, being mentally ill doesn't automatically make someone more likely to be an abuser.

I see "cringe culture" as a thinly veiled cover to harass others, usually neurodivergent people, for their interests and/or lifestyles). It is literally none of your business if they aren't hurting themselves or others. And regardless, you can always just block and move on if someone's doing something that makes you uncomfortable. There's no need to confront them about it or attack them behind their back.

Sexualizing, fe.tishizing, or infantilizing any minority group is unacceptable. Everyone is deserving of the basic courtesy and respect afforded to them through existing as a person.

Age regression and pet regression are not sexual. If you partake in any dynamics or communities that sexualize these mindsets, you will be blocked.

I will block blogs that focus on NSFW, NSFT, or ki.nk content. I am aroace and would prefer not to have that near me, and I often interact with minors online, who cannot consent to that sort of interaction.

If I've blocked you, please don't take it personally. I do it for the sake of my own comfort and curating my own online space. I encourage you to do the same.

[cru5h-cascades]

So I've been seeing folks online talk about a potential 3rd Side Order trailer since next month we're more likely than not getting a new nintendo direct. I definitely think that might be the case since we're closer than ever to Side Order's release (I mean come on it's been a year we need this NOW). But what would the new trailer focus on? How would it look like? Well, this is what I hope the new trailer is like...

Right out the gate we get a bit more info on the story. News reports flash on screen talking about someone who's gone missing to forshadow what happened to Marina without explicitly saying that Marina is, in fact, missing (this scene can also be interpreted as news reports covering dedf1sh's disappearence). After a few seconds the music crescendos and then the screen goes blank.

Now there's three things that I feel like it should follow the news reports:

we get a bit more gameplay, maybe something showing off the rival enemies datamined a few months back (just a heads up this isn't one of the newer leaks so don't worry :D) or another aspect of gameplay.

Acht monolouging about how they felt when they were still friends with Marina while we get a bit more gameplay or something; maybe they can stylize this bit of the trailer like the first Side Order trailer (I love how the teaser kept us guessing what's even going on; the one thing I didn't quite like is how early we got the trailer and how long it took for solid, non-datamined info to come out. considering that the DLC's coming out in a few months, maybe one month when the next trailer comes out, I'd be fine with another trailer like that to keep up hyped and speculating about the story)

(a callback to a previous post of mine theorizing about weither or not we're getting a new years' animation inspired by Side Order... we didn't get that undfortunately...) The rest of the trailer's short and simple yet we can still make some theories. We see Acht, Eight, and Pearlbot vibing in the elevator with some elevator music playing. But as the scene progresses, we get to hear more and more of a piece of audio, forshadowing what may or may not have happnened to Marina or maybe a flashback to before Acht got sanitized (or was about to). After a while, the screen goes black and we see the Side Order textbox (or a different variant of them) pop up. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" says the first line of text. The textbox changes. "Yes. This is for the greater good.". Neither textbox uses character voicelines or has character names/icons on them.

After one of these three scenarios plays out, the screen fades out to another new screen which reads "Side Order". The text fades away and then we finally get the release date for the DLC after a year plus of waiting.

[smartpartsexports9]

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[rosellerivers19]

New DC fan alert

Guys . . . I'm officially invested in DC comics.

See, it started off harmless I was at my school library and was looking for some books.

Mind you I haven't picked up and read novels in a while, just fell out of reading for some reason.

I was actually there to get some books on Greek Mythology because I'd binged EPIC (Another great piece of media I discovered recently) and Homer's Odyssey was obvious checked out because I ain't the only one who's been obsessed with-

Penelope~

-For a week or two now.

So I searched up to see if there were any DC comics at my school just to see the results because I don't go to the library often.

I found the section and started browsing.

I found Batman and son featuring Damian who's one of my favorite characters.

So I checked it out along with a DC vs Vampires comic.

I went to class and I started reading Batman and son since my phone was running out of charging and I wanted to actually give it a change despite the artstyle being something I wasn't used to and not having an interest in books in a while.

And-OH MY GOD!

It's been a spiral ever since-

I finished the book, loved it but didn't really understand the ending, obviously since It was from a school library the other comics in the series weren't there since there was a low amount of DC comics anyway.

But then I decided to start reading DC vs Vampires and I loved that too even more than Batman and Son specifically because of the amazing art and the interesting plot line.

I checked out the second volume the next day finishing the first Vol and second Vol that same day and went Crazy!

I was thinking to myself where the hell was the third volume. I knew it wasn't gonna be in my school because like I said public high school, but I couldn't find anything about the order of the books and there was nothing about a Volume 3.

I found a place to read DC books online trying to find if I could read DC vampires there and there was what I thought was the first volume.

It was labelled as issues though which I initially thought was each 1 volume but then noticed it ended at shorter intervals later I thought

'Oh By Issues they mean chapter' which I think am half right?

And so in the actual volume there were different issues.

So I thought the online book I was reading was just all the issues in Vol 1.

Thenn I found out it wasn't just Vol 1. but all the issues in the DC vs Vampires series including the real life Vol 2. I read.

But that still didn't explain why Vol. 2 ended on a cliffhanger and I came to the realization that the series just ended like that

This sh#t took me literally 3 days to figure out going by online posts, reddit users have my soul.

Turns out it was the end of Dc vs Vampires the original series but there's other series set in the same universe and there was a specific order you had to read then in which you learnt through 3 hours of research.

Seriously reddit users thank you!

So I got the list

I'm still planning on reading it but when I briefly checked out "Dc vs Vampires: Killers" the artstyle gave me whiplash it felt totally different from the original series which might just be because I'm reading it online but I still decided to wait for a bit.

Then while searching up content about the series I found out there's a zombie version too!?!?

I initially found it because of this post and I loved the variant cover arts

Especially this one

And so I started reading a few issues of DCeased, I got to the part where- (spoilers) Batman died and finished the original series and started "DCeased Hope at world's end".

at the time of posting I'm on issue 6 and it's going great so far.

I would've finished more of the issues but I discovered it during lunch today and my third period is strict on no phone usage so I wasn't able to read it until the last 12 minutes of my fourth block.

I also just want to add I LOVE Harley Queen, I watched an episode or two of her show and don't think it does her justice (but maybe I just don't like the satire) at capturing her personality and I get it, it isn't supposed to match up exactly but reading the comics I've more in love with her, I feel like they gave her more personality even if she isn't always doing things in the plot.

She's the lovable under dog I guess in my opinion.

I mean look at her! She's beautiful 😫 all bloody and fighting zombies.

I read a few other comics some wonder woman ones from my library and I'm planning to read a blue beetle one.

But I have a dilemma.

I DON'T KNOW HOW TO READ THESE COMICS!!!

I'm having a difficulty with getting the reading order of the issues in the series and conjoining series and what series are connected because for some reason I can't find literally any sources and I'm not sure if it's because the artist decided not to continue sequel or prequel series with it or It's there but I just can't find it.

I literally finished yet another one an hour before writing this "dark knights of steel" to my knowledge so far there aren't any other connecting series with actual plot that's related to the main one presented in the original regarding Amanda Waller secretly backstabbing the Royal families (The Els, Amazonians and Storm bringers) which I'm still eager to see play out.

But I am not confident I've been finding the right info even the fandom websites aren't helping because they aren't listing the god damn Comics and series involved so how am I supposed to bleed the lore dry!?!?!

So to the experts

Please let me know if you know of any websites to help me track these issues in order and relating ones or if you have lists of specific ones you yourself like please reblog and post the ones you think I should check out because I literally know nothing about this fandom-

And another question

To older or more experienced comic book readers do comic books work like Manga where they have to publish and set number of chapters in a big volume or issues in one volume or will they be released every few weeks to see if people are interested and then compile it into a volume?

Because when I went to the comic store at a mall with my friend and got not even an actual volume just some Harley art with a what do I call it, a one shot?

This is how it looks like

So would this be considered an issue? Could I get the DC vs Vampires issues like this if I'd be able to feed into my DC obsession one day by purchasing physical books?

I love the art but don't exactly know the full story does it have previous issues with a coherent plot?

I don't know you tell me.

-------------------End of Rant----------------------

Yours Truly,

Roselle 🪷

[adapertiones]

HELLOOOOO IM THE GUY WITH AN IRONICAL CRUSH ON DOUGG from a few days ago :3 I wanted to dm you but idk if you're comfortable w that I just wanted to keep rambling about Orin Ayo lore and I have another technical thought I wanted to hear about, like, do you guys take the original Orin Ayo version's sprites when theorizing, or you use only the "updated" ones?? I don't know but I have been reading the Orin Ayo wiki impulsively for, like, four weeks or a month a while ago and I noticed a few sprites were updated such as Lilac and Dream (or is his name actually lie?)

But my actual question was, you think all Orin Ayo sprites happen at the same time, like all of them are like that in said moment of the story (sorry if that's hard to explain or if I'm speaking too much, I'm EXCITED you don't need to answer me if I'm being unnecessary :,3 sorry if I'm being dumb too) like, "when lilac was dead, Stanlee was still running around and Andrew was already dead" etc, or would you say all of them are different key moments of their parts in this story, OR EVEN that ALLL of them are just dead somehow? (Dave is dead inside💔) I ALSO remember that there was somewhere written in the Orin Ayo mod like "and they all died", I thought it sounded pretty neat but I think that was from a variant from Orin ayo which was not official

AND ALSO

I heard in the wiki that parts of the Orin ayo mods were made by other people and shoved into the story, is that true???? I'M SORRY IM SPEAKING TOO MUCH I HACE TO KEEP TOO MANY THOUGHTS FOR MYSELF BECAUSE I HADN'T SHARED W ANYONE YET only with the walls of my brain :'3 I have even more questions... Waaaa *cries in ferrofluid*

HELLO AGAIN ANON ! Nice to see you again ! I’m fine with DMs! Just keep in mind I MIGHT take a little longer to reply to them because 1. I turn into a scared deer until I start to warm up. 2. I’m overall very forgetful with DMs </3 you might see me online and still not replying but it’s nothing personal, everyone that knows me for a while are aware of this hehe.

For the sprites I personally take a bit of both! Although it would make more sense to take in count the updated ones since (iirc) some important parts of the lore were added with that update such as the fact that Lilac wasn’t the one that killed Ethan (also, Dream can use any of the three names! Dream, LIE and Gone according to Sol) NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE !! It’s not dumb to ask questions ! I do think they happen at different points of the story! I don’t know if the events of the timeskip in the lore doc are in order? But if they are then the timeline of deaths (I just took the characters you mentioned as an example) would be: Stanlee -> Lilac -> Andrew And their sprites are in very different conditions (Stanlee being perfectly “fine”, Lilac kinda looks like she’s bleeding to me in her new sprite? Take that as a grain of salt, could be just makeup, and Andrew is far gone) uwaah 💧 They did not happen on the same day since Stanlee’s death take place before Derrick’s torture (which is pinpoint that I take because Dave finds out about the apartment fire victims and Hety and Lilac’s death the next day) and -again I don’t know if this is the correct order of events but if it is then…- Andrew’s death happens two years later when Dave is sent to prison once again after what happened with Cratz Pur. Also this made me realize that following the order of the lore doc would make Kaski die after Paige’s death when the wiki says that she was asked by Dave to kill Kaski… huh… 🤔 Speaking of sprites and Kaski, Kaski's old sprite seems more symbolic to me than the others that might show the state of the characters, the hands covering her mouth "silencing" her and holding her back, woah...

YOU DON’T SPEAK TOO MUCH, TRUST ME! It is true to an extent! A great part of the characters were made by other people since Sol opened “sign-ups” for others to create a character that they wanted in the story! The requirements were to just make them greyscale and to give them a backstory (and I don’t remember if sound position was also required as well?). A lot of the characters’ backstories were changed slightly but the concepts remained. I believe it was the same with Breakthrough!

[thelastscreet]

what is a comic and how do I get one- a master post

So I’m aware that getting into comics is super hard, it’s really hard to figure out where to start and what do you mean detective comics started in 1937? I’m hoping this post will give some clarity, it’s obviously not exhaustive but I’ve done my best to explain the core process of getting your hands on something you want to read.

Please explain the number/title situation!

Most comics are first released in a single issue format, these are the skinny floppy books that you get from the comic book shop each month.

They’re numbered sequentially starting from 1 at the start of the series but longer series (think Batman, action comics, Harley Quinn) will be broken up into runs of a writer/artist team. You don’t have to start at the beginning of a series you can start at the beginning of a run on these longer series. So using detective comics as an example the current run starts at issue 1090, way easier than starting at 1! Look for a change in writer and and start there!

These runs and storylines are then compiled into slightly thicker books called trade paperbacks that you can pick up at some bookshops as well as the comic book shop. They’re often titled based on the storyline rather than on the numbers of the issues but they’ll also be numbered sequentially, so trade 1 might contain the first 5 single issues of a series. These are also called trades, tpbs, and volumes.

After that you get into omnibuses which will contain a full run or storyline and are the size and price of a small house. Definitely less practical to read but cool to have for sure. Traded and omnibuses are both collected editions on different scales, the blurb should specify what’s included.

Titles can also be a little complicated so make sure you’re paying attention to the year next to the name. For example the current batman run is Batman (2016-) but they’ll be a new batman series starting autumn this year also called batman but it’ll be Batman (2025-).

How do you get single issues?

The best way to get these monthly is to set up a standing order or pull list with your local shop (or an online alternative). This is a list of the upcoming titles you are interested in and intend to buy. The shop will order in your single issues and bundle them together for you to collect or ship them out to you.

How do you set up a standing order?

Shops aren’t always the best at advertising this service so if in doubt reach out to the shop via email (or in person) and ask how to set one up. For most shops you can make your requests in person or over email and they’ll take care of the rest. Some shops have other systems such as online forms but asking is your best bet always. Then you let them know which series you’d like and if you’d like any variant covers. They’ll order you the standard (or A) cover unless you specify otherwise.

Variant covers?

Pretty much all single issue comics will have an alternative cover available to order, they’re just a fun little bonus that’ll cost you a little more (unless you get a special one, then it cost you a little more than that, it’ll definitely cost less than getting it second hand though).

You can check out the variant covers on leagueofcomicgeeks, in monthly solicitations (basically a catalogue of new stuff that’ll come out a few months from now from the big publishers), or from any particular artists you follow (the more cool artists you follow the more cool variants you’ll see). Variants are usually listed by letter so to request them you ask for [comic name] [issue number] [variant letter (or artists name] eg. Batgirl 5B.

Some variants will be listed as 1:25, 1:50 etc. These are incentive variants, and this means that for every second number the shop orders they’ll get 1 of this particular cover. This means these are usually more expensive than the other variant covers and some smaller shops might not be able to get them unless it’s a super popular run.

Sometimes there’s also shiny ones (foil variants)!

How do I know what’s coming out?

League of comic book geeks has a calendar that you can sort by publisher and click around in which is super helpful. The more you read the more you’ll know which writers and artists you love and they’ll be posting about their upcoming projects so it’s worth giving them a following wherever they are.

If you’re intending to read DC or Marvel keep an eye out for DC Connect or the marvel equivalent (I can’t find a name SORRY). Bleeding Cool will usually post these as and when they come out. I’m a big believer in polygon’s comics (and book) articles, they’re pretty rare but they almost always get put straight on my list.

There’s no shop near me! Help!

Your first port of call should always be to try to find a local independent shop but not everyone is lucky enough to have one! Check if your nearest shop does online orders postal for single issues, and follow their instructions. If you’re in the UK and don’t have a local check out https://okcomics.co.uk if you’re anywhere else I simply don’t have a personal recommendation but when possible try to shop from a smaller independent. Also check your local library, you never know what they’ve got! Mine is extremely well stocked in queer independent comics for reasons only I understand.

Is there a digital alternative?

YES! DC and Marvel both have dedicated comics apps with paid subscriptions, DC Universe Infinite is in two tiers of 6 months delay on current releases or 1 month for their ultra subscription, Marvel Unlimited only has the one option of 3 months delay. Your local library is likely to give you access to something like hoopla, libby, or borrowbox all of which have comics! Yippee! Comixology is an option but is owned by Amazon so there’s that. There’s an app coming late summer called sweetshop which seems really promising and currently looks to be debuting with comics from image and tiny onion.

You can also buy comics (trades and single issues) digitally on a one off basis, it’s definitely worth checking the publishers website to see if you can buy directly from them. If not look where you usually buy your ebooks.

How do I find community?

Following artists and writers you like and follow the artists and writers they like and you’ll cultivate a good social media feed to start with. Follow any fans you think are funny is always a good start. If you’re interested in DC I recommend following Alex Jaffe on bluesky, he knows everything there is to know but BE REALLY NICE TO HIM. If you’re interested in Marvel follow Kim Hu on bluesky, she doesn’t post about the comics very much she’s just really funny and loves Taskmaster (the marvel character not the comedy show). Be nice to her also.

If you’re lucky enough to have a local comics shop ask if they have any events, a comic book club or anything like that. Some shops have designated time for women and people of marginalised genders and if that’s you that could be a great place to find community. If not, check if your local university has a comics society and if you’re not a student find out if membership is available to non-students or if they have any events you’d be able to attend. Hopefully you’ll be able to find something! Or get all your friends into comics and start something! The world is your oyster slurp it down.

But where do I start?

People always say to just pick something you like the sound of and start there which is good advice but scary so I will give you more specific answers because I’m cool like that. Bear in mind that wherever you start you might feel like you’ve turned your brain into a fried egg, the more you read the more you’ll understand and then you’ll start a new series and your brain is an egg again. I think that’s normal (I hope that’s normal).

DC started a new initiative called all in so any of those books are a good place to start. The full list of All-In books is available online in all sorts of places, give it a look and pick a name that sounds familiar from movies! Or if you like a detective story start with The Question: All Along The Watchtower, it’s a short series and the main character is a messy lesbian, need I say more. The absolute books are a fun place to start, they’re not in continuity (the main storyline of the universe) so you don’t have to worry about anything that isn’t happening right in front of you. The conceit is that these heroes have found their start without the advantages that made them heroes to originally, an AU! Super fun! Start with issue 1 of Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman, or Absolute Wonder Woman.

I’m less familiar with what’s going on in Marvel right now (sorry) but the Ultimate Spiderman series is supposed to be extremely good so check that out from issue 1. I loved the current Deadpool run (Deadpool (2024)), if you followed my advice to follow Kim Hu you’ll see a familiar face there. It’s a really fun family dynamic and you’ll fall in love with Princess and Ellie extremely fast (and Tony). Also start with issue 1.

I’d also recommend The Power Fantasy by Kieron Gillen, if you like to think about the moral and physical hazard superpowers would actually posit OR if you just love a bit of drama. It looks beautiful and it reads beautiful. (Again… issue 1… or get the first trade)

If you want something FREE get yourself on webtoon and read Wayne Family Adventures, extremely fun and lighthearted but season 3 has Serious Plot. It’s extremely easy reading and familiarises you with even some extremely tertiary members of the batfamily (Batman and his children and associates). EXTREMELY RECOMMEND THIS!!!

Marvel also has a fantastic FREE webcomic on the marvel unlimited app called Avengers Academy infinite. I had no idea who almost any of those characters were when I started but now I love every single one. The art on this is also ASTONISHING.

Ultimately my main advice is follow your heart, follow and talk to people who’s taste you enjoy and follow their hearts also.

************************

I hope this has been helpful, I’ve basically written the advice I wanted when I got into comics a couple of years ago. If you have any questions you can ask me here or on bluesky at @worstreads.bsky.social

(This post edited by the immensely powerful and big brained Izzy, thank you for keeping my egg uncracked and being essentially the guinea pig for this post. It works folks, I’m that good.)

[butchcockiness2]

hey, do you know where i can get an n95 mask? ive kept up wearing cloth masks near religiously, but i've heard they're inneffective/ less effective against newer variants do the cloth masks even do anything at all now?

yes, i can definitely provide resources for that! I'm not sure where you live although i assume the united states since you used the term n95, so i'm going to provide resources for that, but I'll also leave other ones i have offhand for other people reading this.

in terms of paid disposable n95s, project N95 sadly closed, but their website still has a list of mask recommendations here, although they can be pricey. this article has links to a lot of good n95s, as well. this post (not mine) has a lot of great recs for masks and covid safety. you can sometimes find them at hardware stores, although you may need to order online.

for free n95 resources, my first recommendation is to look up "mask bloc (your city/county)" and reach out to them. there is also the COVID action map, which is worldwide map of COVID safety organizations, including mask blocs. if you're in canada, you can apply here to receive free n95- equivalent masks!

i noticed you used the singular "mask" and want to emphasize that disposable n95s, as their name suggests, need to be replaced and cannot be used indefinitely. general consensus is that they're safe to use until dirtied or until it's hard to breathe in them, which is usually about 1-2 weeks of full-day use, or longer if you go out less. you can, however, buy indefinitely reusable elastomeric respirators, which actually provide better protection than disposable n95s due to their silicone seal, and are cheaper long-term than buying disposable masks. p100 elastomerics offer over 99.97% protection which is especially great for the surge we're in. you have to replace the filters in elastomerics when they become difficult to breathe through, but that is usually inexpensive. you can often find them for cheap at hardware stores, but for online listings, here are recs:

the advantage 900, with p100 cartridges (helpful product guide), is pricey at around $60 plus the cartridges, but it will pay for itself over disposable n95s quickly, and the cartridges only need to be replaced if breathing becomes different or they get soiled or wet. it comes with a speaking valve and has two-way filtering, so it's easier to talk in while still protecting those around you! for a cheaper options, the gvs ellipse, p100, is $37 and not quite as bulky/conspicuous as other p100s, same qualifications for changing filters. f you're looking for a very low-profile mask and are able and willing to spend a lot, you can check out "boutique" elastomerics such as the envo mask, n95 (i recommend the envo pro, n95 because half-face respirators, the ones that cover your chin, seal better than quarter-face respirators; don't buy the n99 envo because it doesn't have two-way filtration so it won't protect those around you) and the flo mask, n95 (wouldn't recommend strongly as it is quarter-face, expensive, and tends to only fit certain face shapes, but it has a kid's option so if anyone reading needs a mask for a kid it's good for that). you can also get elastomerics at most hardware stores for cheap! just make sure to check that it a) is n95 certified or better and b) does not have an exhalation valve.

cloth masks, although much less effective than respirators, are at least somewhat better than nothing. if you have to choose between no mask or cloth mask Absolutely wear the cloth mask, but avoid crowded and/or indoor spaces as much as you can before you get a respirator - avoid people like, literally, the plague as much as possible if you're not wearing a well-fitted n95/equivalent or better - and if at ALL possible make sure to get n95 or better filtration masks. mask seal is essential for proper protection; here's a guide on how to properly seal masks, and here is info on how to diy mask fit tests at home. n95s/n99s/p100s/etc are better than kn95s/any ear loop masks because they seal better; if you only have kn95s available, seal the bridge of your nose and other gaps with a band aid and/or medical tape/mask tape (x), or use a mask brace or head strap to seal the loops around your head.

thank you so much for reaching out about this, and for doing your part to keep yourself and others safe in such a scary and dangerous time. if you're reading this and stopped masking, it's never, ever too late to start again! especially as we are in the second-biggest ever surge. check out the people's CDC wastewater map to see how high cases are in the US (in general, the people's CDC is a great resource for covid safety, including what to do if you get COVID, how to tell if your mask is counterfeit, and much more!) and COVID wastewater scan to check out cases in your county (and most other countries are being hit just as hard); if that didn't have you convinced, look at these 85+ studies on the havoc COVID wreaks on the body. COVID disproportionately impacts marginalized communities, especially Black and Hispanic and/or of course immunocompromised people. and to all those protesting for a free Palestine (from the river to the sea 🇵🇸), covid is impacting Palestinians harder than anyone, and it's your and my responsibility to do everything we can to keep this disease from killing and severely disabling our neighbors and loved ones and spreading overseas (not to mention, you should be covering your face anyway, protesting 101). wearing a mask is an essential, non-optional part of caring for your community, loved ones, and the most vulnerable of us, as well as yourself.

where to get masks in different countries

BRAZIL - enter your postal code to find where to buy these

i hope this is helpful, and that you can stay safe! 😷❤️

[youkaigakkou-tl]

The Kyoto Arc Analysis Post (Part 3)

This part covers a look at the magic circles used, more manga geoguessr, and what exactly soul-Haruaki's plan was

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

Magic Circles

A lot of magic circles came up this arc, so this is a good chance as any to look at them.

The one that shows up most frequently is this one Byakko uses.

I believe this is based off a luopan, a chinese compass used in fengshui divination. The words match, as well as the compass degree markings in the outer ring.

If it’s an existing asset online, then I haven’t found it, but it’s probably a custom design.

While it doesn’t often have the yin-yang symbol in the center (that’s where the compass goes) there are some designs that do feature it in the center.

Haruaki has actually had 2 versions of his pentagram, from vol 1 to 8 there was a pentagon inside the circle, and from vol 9 onwards it’s just the star.

However, the star has gotten more detailed this arc! Specifically, you can now see where the lines cross over. (Idk how to explain this just look at it)

(When used by white haired Haruaki. You can also see the principal’s kuji-kiri in his barrier.)

Interestingly, the star doesn’t show up at all when Haruaki was summoning the four gods, instead it’s just the luopan design.

Double interestingly, Seimei has a totally different circle!

(Note the big dipper design in the middle. Or maybe little dipper? The handle is bent the wrong way again! Tanamai sensei do you know the two dippers are different….)

Also, this cloud pattern also shows up on the mark on principal's face.

But when Douman uses it, it’s the star overlaid over the luopan design?? What does this all mean?? Don’t get me started on the rest of that scene. Rest assured that comes later in this essay.

I think this panel in ch 22 is the clearest we get to see Sano’s magic circle. I think the letters are siddham script, used in buddhist scriptures, but I’m not sure what the letters are exactly. This combined with the lotus imagery on the ch 43 cover page means… idk??

There’s also this variant, which is just wacky circles I think.

And then there’s the ones from this arc. (They’re ever so slightly different, I think)

That one in ch 90 actually seems to be the same one as ch 80.5.

What are the words at the top of this color spread?

This is a good time as any to talk about this. The characters over the four gods’ are just the directions they represent, in order, east, west, south and north.

Albeit, they don’t look like typical kanji, because these are in fact the chinese pictograph versions of them, which eventually developed into the chinese characters now as well as kanji. Specifically, they’re the jiaguwen versions.

Geoguessr part 2

You see, there was a 3 day gap between the JP raws for ch 90 releasing and the chinese tl to come out, during which time I was bored as hell but also couldn’t do anything else because I was busy refreshing the chinese tl site every 5 seconds.

Clearly, the sane thing to do in this situation is to look at every street near Kinkaku-ji to find where this panel happens.

(Although, this is after I cleaned all the sfx from the JP chapter, but then I had to do it all over again for the CN pages anyway since it’s higher quality and I can’t just paste in the JP blurry raws)

I was originally going to also try to find the previous panel, where Rintarou and Ebisu are hiding under a fan, beside a vending machine, but I couldn’t find where that is.

Anyway, by god did I find this goddamn street.

But you see, dear reader, there’s a twist. This is not one street. This is two sides of the same estate, in other words, the left and right halves of the image are two different streets.

Here’s the link to google maps street view, if this is hard to visualize.

Look at this. What the hell is this. geoguessr impossible difficulty

(Thank god I don’t live in Japan I would have gone there on foot just to check every street)

What Was Soul-Haruaki’s Plan?

If you think about it for one second, his plan doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Why is he using his power if it doesn’t work on his body? He’s not stupid so what is it?

But if you think about it for two seconds it actually makes sense. Without powers (and even with powers), Haruaki is Just Some Guy. If 1/5 of him starts trying to kill him, what’s he going to do? Run about it? This guy can run just as fast!

The real goal of this maneuver, besides getting Haruaki here, was also to gather the youkai who could possibly help him in one place and knock all of them out. The only reason that didn’t happen was because the principal was there, and Haruaki didn’t know about him before all this anyway.

Also, a translation note/explanation for the term “anti-youkai power”. This is just what the official translation chose to use since the start, since it worked in the moment (and most of the time really). But the japanese word doesn’t actually specifically say it’s “anti” “youkai”. The word is “退魔の力” (taima no chikara), and a more conventional translation is probably “exorcism power” which you may have noticed I use sometimes. The “力 chikara” part is without a doubt “power”, so this is about what “退魔 taima” means. If you were to take the meanings of the two kanji separately, it would be “dispel magic”. The word “魔 ma” is also often used as a prefix for magical beings, so maybe that’s where “anti-youkai” comes from. Anyway, with the “dispel magic” definition, it should be pretty clear why his power works on both youkai and gods, given they’re both magic-based.

Also, as for why this power works on the four gods both times (when Douman stole it from Seimei, and then when soul-Haruaki used it) when it’s never affected Sano very much may be because the four gods bodies are magical constructs summoned into a piece of paper, whereas Sano’s physical body is just here.

(Or maybe also because both soul-aki and Douman were gunning for the kill, and Haruaki is never gunning for the kill ever. could be multiple factors.)

Where is Mount Ooe?

In case you forgot, Mount Ooe has the youkai town where Miki’s family lives. You’d think this is pretty close by, considering it’s repeatedly mentioned that it’s “in Kyoto”, and also Haruaki went there as a kid somehow.

The thing is, (maybe you knew this already and I’m just stupid) Kyoto PREFECTURE is fuckoff massive and Kyoto city is only a tiny tiny part of it.

So Mount Ooe is on the other side of Kyoto from where the city is. This is in the mountains, nearly 80km from the city! My new question is what the hell was 10 year old Haruaki doing there??? How did he get there?? Who let him do this?? Mamaaki and Papaaki watch your goddamn son!! Is this what kids in Japan do?? Fuck off 80km into the mountains??

Image limit again, part 4 will be the last! (Finally!)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

[schmergo]

I am just wondering about the sustainability of... doing basically anything around here. Companies are requiring employees to return to work (in many cases, eliminating telework options that existed PRE-pandemic), mask and vaccine mandates are being rolled back, and everything’s open again despite high COVID numbers. 

But at the same time, recent studies show that up to 1 in 5 adult COVID survivors develops symptoms of Long Covid. That’s possibly millions of people developing chronic illness symptoms. That sounds difficult for both the healthcare system to manage AND to have any kind of steady, reliable, functional workplace if your coworkers keep being absent due to sickness and then developing long-lasting symptoms after they return (or quitting due to them).

Even for younger people, for whom it’s often not as bad, I’m seeing so many people get hit with post-viral fatigue and other symptoms lingering for a month or more that remind me a lot of mono. Imagine that like half of your friend group had mono... but unlike mono, kept getting infected again and again (I know many fully vaxxed and boosted people who’ve had COVID multiple times due to different variants). People who have always been super healthy and fit getting exhausted easily or developing new daily headaches who never had them before, struggling with ‘brain fog’ making it difficult to work. These are the young, fit ones. 

If there are NO mitigation measures in place and we’re just expected to accept that we’re “all going to get COVID sooner or later,” that ignores the fact that people can get it again and again as each new variant arises and immunity wanes. Because everyone seems to agree that COVID isn’t going away but will just continue to mutate and change into new variants, this seems pretty risky, constantly rolling the dice on getting a virus that may cause LASTING health problems in 20% of people. Especially since so many jobs provide little to no health benefits and super low salaries, basically keeping people from effectively managing chronic illnesses that require frequent absences and medical appointments. I guess they think workers are replaceable, but how long before they burn through the supply?

But on the other hand, it’s also not sustainable to just stay in your room with no human contact for the entire rest of your life. I was super cautious for the first 2 years of the pandemic and now I’m finally doing indoor socialization with vaccinated friends and family again (though still not going into indoor public places like restaurants or movie theatres and still order things online rather than going into stores) because if things are never going to get any better, I don’t know how much longer I can wait. I guess I would rather develop lifelong chronic illness from making lifelong memories celebrating Christmas with my family than running errands at Home Depot. 

I genuinely don’t know how long all of this is going to last before the widespread infections and chronic symptoms really start messing with... any industry you can possibly imagine. It seems like everyone is experiencing labor shortages already, and that’s only going to grow from here. Yet it’s hard to find anyone caring even a LITTLE about this. I can’t even talk to friends and loved ones about this because they just start trying to comfort me with the bright side of the COVID situation (”Omicron is less deadly! More people are vaccinated now! The chances of young people dying are vanishingly small!”), when those aren’t the things I’m worried about at all.

When I was 23, something weird happened to my body and I can’t quite say exactly what caused it, because it was a perfect storm. I worked a busy, stressful, physically demanding job at a preschool, and I was working about 10-12 hours a day because I was covering a boss on paternity leave. It was a cold, dark, snowy winter and due to the long work hours, I virtually never saw the sun, so it’s possible a Vitamin D deficiency played a role here, or psychosomatic symptoms caused by stress and anxiety, or just plain old repetitive strain on my body from the long hours. I was also diagnosed with a mild underlying condition during all this-- what is now known as Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder. I’ve always had loose, overly flexible joints, but it never caused me serious problems, just made it a little easier for me to get injured than other people and meant I got worn out a little more easily. Things were never bad enough for me to seek treatment until what happened to me that winter, and have never been as bad since.

But it all started with a cold. A weird bad cold that started like any other cold (and lord knows I was always getting colds working at the preschool) but quickly involved joint pain and weakness and tingly numbness in my hands and wrists, then spreading to the rest of my body over the course of a few weeks. I was so fatigued that all I could do after work was lie in bed. I could hardly make it through the work day. My whole body ached and I could barely do anything without exacerbating my constant pain.

 I thought I must have mono. I tested negative for that and 11 other things. The only thing I was diagnosed with during my Extensive, Expensive Journey was hypermobility. My doctor said, “It’s probably just a virus,” which could mean anything. But I felt like a ghost of my former self for about 4 months and still had lingering symptoms for almost a year. Things went downhill so fast that I remember looking at a photo of myself doing a cartwheel two months before and crying because I couldn’t imagine ever doing a cartwheel again (which fortunately wasn’t true-- I have no problem doing cartwheels now at age 30). I eventually quit that job and got a less physically demanding office job. The symptoms never came back to the same degree, and I’ll never know what really caused it, but it wouldn’t surprise me if some kind of post-viral malaise played a role there. Even little colds can set off all kinds of storms, let alone a new virus.

When I hear about people with Long COVID, I imagine a workforce full of people who feel the way I felt when I was 23. Can you? I’m not proposing any kind of solution here or saying, “Here’s what I think people should do about it,” so I’m sorry for the gloomy post, but when people ask me why I’m still worried about COVID-19 after all of this time and my multiple vaccinations... this is why.

[creativerogues]

A Great Big Guide to Minis, Grids and Combat (WARNING: REALLY FREAKIN’ LONG!)

Part 1: Minis

Finding the right Miniature for what you want can be a monumental task, and because there's so many types of Mini out there, I'm breaking this section down in the hopes that it'll help...

Metal Minis

I'm just gonna say it right now, Metal Minis are hard to find. Wizards of the Coast don't do them any more: They're chunky and heavy, but also extremely durable.

If you're looking for Metal Minis in your area, you can find a lot of Metal Minis at old Wargaming Stores and Hobby Shops, and often at a pretty great price because they're so old and badly painted because they're from the 80's.

I know people that have bought Solid Lead Minis from Wargames from the 60's and they look pretty great even today (I mean the paint is a little faded and chipped, but still...), which is a testament to just how durable these things are...

Metal Minis are great if you want Minis that are durable and will last for your whole campaign and beyond, and you can easily order and buy Metal Minis online from companies like Reaper Miniatures and their "Metal Fantasy" Collection, and with Services like HeroForge Minis, you can even make your own Metal Minis, albeit a little bit more expensive than your average Mini.

Plastic Minis

Plastic Minis are pretty much the standard for Minis. You can find both painted and unpainted Plastic Minis in almost every D&D Store and you can often buy them in bulk online or buy individual minis in store for great prices.

Wizards of the Coast (The People that make D&D) have their own lines of both Painted and Unpainted Plastic Miniatures available online, and you can often find individual Plastic Miniatures available in your Local D&D Store, online through things like Amazon, eBay or Miniature Market, or just buy them in bulk through places like the Wizards of the Coast Products Page.

And while these Plastic Miniatures are cheaper than the Metal Minis, they sacrifice durability for cost, and these Minis can often break at the worst of times...

But, as the standard for most D&D games, and available almost anywhere, Plastic Miniatures are your best bet for finding 3D Minis to use in your Game.

Paper Minis

Paper Minis are two-sided Minis that go on little stands, and the art for them is absolutely beautiful...

Most of these are extremely cheap, and some even give you the chance to use your own Printer to create dozens of amazing looking D&D Minis.

Most Paper Minis come as Downloadable Content that lets you print everything at home, while some come on Cardstock that you can pop out and place in their stands.

Paper Minis are absolutely perfect for play, and even when bulk-buying the Paper Minis printed on Cardstock, you can get literally hundreds of Paper Minis for almost no significant cost.

And while yeah, they're not exactly "durable", they're great for saving money, and they're still beautiful to look at.

Pre-Painted Minis

Pre-Painted Minis are almost as standard as Plastic Minis, and they often go hand-in-hand.

Wizards of the Coast Minis almost always have some variety of Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures, while their Nolzur's Marvellous Miniatures Line of Unpainted Plastic Miniatures are there for those that want to paint their own.

There are well over 2,000+ Individual Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures out there that are available to purchase from pretty much anywhere, and while Pre-Painted Metal Minis are rare, and the paint jobs are often kinda old, they are available...

But I will give a fair warning that Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures can come with faults: Some break in transit, some have bent swords and spears, some are painted so strangely that characters and monsters can have crazy eyes and look a little too silly on close inspection…

But Pre-Painted Plastic Minis are still great to use, pretty cheap to buy, and it's only in rare cases that you'll be unsatisfied with what you get...

Painting Your Own Minis...

Like I've said, the Nolzur's Marvellous Miniatures Line of Unpainted Plastic Miniatures are there for the Dungeon Masters that want to paint their own minis.

This line of Minis is Plastic, and come already covered in a Grey Primer and are pretty much ready to paint right out of the box.

However, while the Unpainted Plastic Minis cost just a tad less than the Pre-Painted Plastic Minis, getting into painting Minis can be an expensive hobby, as you often end up buying dozens of different paints, brushes, and more just to paint a single mini.

But don't be dissuaded from doing it, you can find Paints for Minis on the Wizards of the Coast Products Page and Online where available...

Commissions: There are People out there that you can Commission to paint your Minis for you, and most services are pretty cheap, so ask your Local D&D Store if they can paint your Minis for you, or if they hold classes in painting Minis...

Learning to Paint: Painting Minis takes time and patience, but can be very rewarding in the end, and starting out can be just as easy as looking up a tutorial video or signing up for mini painting classes at your Local D&D Store.

And while your first few self-painted Minis might not look great, overtime you'll become a great painter, and can save a bit of cash over time by buying Unpainted Plastic Minis and painting then yourself, so double win!

Where To Find Good Minis...

There are a LOT of places to find Miniatures, from Metal to Plastic to Paper to Painted to Unpainted, so I'll break it down for you.

Metal Minis: Metal Minis are hard to come by, but can be found online being sold as Individual Minis.

Most old Metal Minis come Pre-Painted but might need a new lick of paint, while some are entirely unpainted.

You can find most Metal Minis at your Local D&D Store, as well as online at the usual places of eBay and Amazon.

If you're looking for Custom Metal Minis, I'd suggest taking a look at HeroForge Minis, and while they might be a little expensive to some people, I think having a custom mini that's pretty darn durable is worth the price.

Plastic Minis: You can find Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures in almost every D&D Store and pretty much anywhere online. You can buy in bulk and get full sets of minis, or buy them individually (and normally for a cheaper price) at your Local D&D Store.

I'd recommend places like Miniature Market and Amazon when looking for Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures, and for Unpainted Plastic Minis, not only can you find those Online and in your friendly neighbourhood D&D Store, but there are plenty of great companies out there that produce some absolutely stunning custom minis for you to paint.

Painted & Unpainted Minis: You can find the Nolzur's Marvellous Miniatures Line of Unpainted Plastic Miniatures both online and in-store, as well as the Icons of the Realms Line of Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures for those people that want them.

There are also companies out there that do Custom Unpainted Plastic Minis, like Reaper Miniatures or Gale Force 9, and I'll be sure to leave a Comment with as many Links as I can find...

Paper Miniatures: My personal favourite place for Paper Minis is Printable Heroes. They have a whole selection of Free Downloadable Content that you can print off at home.

But, if you're looking for Paper Minis that aren't just D&D, Paizo makes a line of Cardboard Cutout Miniatures called Pathfinder Pawns.

Cheap Alternatives to Minis...

If you unfortunately can’t afford to spend money on Minis, there are plenty of really fun and really cheap alternatives to Minis.

Tokens from other Tabletop and Board Games, Lego Pieces, even a bunch of colourful M&Ms can still be used to show where your heroes and monsters stand…

Part 2: Terrain

I'm going to break this Section down just like the Minis Section, because there's just as many options for creating Dungeons and Maps as there are for Miniatures and Monsters.

Markers, Maps & Gaming Paper

You can buy Markers pretty cheap from pretty much anywhere, and basic blank Maps that you can draw on and erase with relative ease.

And some advice: Check the Markers you're using on your dry-erase or wet-erase maps, because you don't want to draw in permanent marker by accident and suddenly have that one "Permanent Dungeon Room"...

You can find entire rolls of Blank Maps that you can draw on from places like GamingPaper.com and Chessex.com, as well as Online from Amazon (because Amazon is our overlord, provider of all!), and these Maps come with Hexagonal Grids and Square Grids that suit whatever kind of game you want to play.

Flexible Battle Mats

From my own experience, this has been the most common type of terrain I use: They're flat maps, sometimes a variant of vinyl, sometimes just straight up fancy cloth, but they're the most available thing I can find, and have always been available to me through my Local D&D Store as well as Online in the usual places.

I call these "Flexible" because you can fold them and roll them and they won't warp or bend, and none of the Markers I use smudge or stain these maps in anyway compared to the cheaper options that might not last as long.

These maps are often just a single depiction of a generic area: A map of the woods, some mountains, the dock of a port city...

And some can get pretty weird if you look in the right places. I found a Map for a Githyanki Warship floating over an Ocean, and I've used that specific map about 4 times already!

You can find these types of Maps in your Local D&D Store for pretty cheap prices, and since most of them are maps of forests or mountains or underground caverns, they're gonna see a lot of use…

Dungeon Tiles

A lot of Companies produce modular dungeon tiles that are essentially dry-erase boards that clip together, and I personally think these are the coolest!

You can draw a dungeon room on each tile, and slowly piece them together as the Players explore the Dungeon, and really evoke a sense of exploration and "Fog of War".

You can buy these Dungeon Tiles Online, Wizards of the Coast even produces a line of Generic Dungeon Tiles, but I'd recommend Tac-Tiles with their dry-erase Dungeon Tiles, and again, check that the Markers you want to use don't stain or smudge when drawing lines…

3D Terrain

3D Terrain is great for keeping the sense of immersion during combat, and many times has the word of DwarvenForge been spoken to me as something from the sacred texts.

You can buy modular 3D Terrain Tiles from DwarvenForge, yes, but don't forget that there are plenty of other companies that produce 3D Terrain that's just as good.

You can buy Cut-and-Assemble Papercraft Terrain, buy Terrain that's been sculpted using moulds, resin and plaster, you can buy Miniatures from Wizards of the Coast themselves that are pieces of Terrain like Wagons, Carts, Stalactites and Stalagmites, and all of these are relatively cheap compared to buying hundreds of pieces of DwarvenForge.

But trust me when I say DwarvenForge is BADASS, their stuff is practically indestructible, and it lights up, and it even has a square grid on it too!

You can find all sorts of all kinds of 3D Terrain to enhance your experience of D&D, and you can typically find it in the usual places, but I'll put a whole bunch of links in this Post to help guide those that are looking...

Cheap Alternatives: Wrapping Paper

The other side of Wrapping Paper often has a square grid on it that's normally used for measuring and cutting paper, but I've seen and even used the other side of Wrapping Paper as a cheap and disposable alternative to a battle map, and it even comes with it's own square grid that you can draw on!

Yes, it does bleed and smear a lot when you use Markers, but it's so cheap and disposable that I can hardly complain…

And the best part, you can buy rolls and rolls of Wrapping Paper for ridiculously cheap prices and those rolls can last you a long, long time...

Part 3: Status Markers

What are Status Markers? Why do you need them?

Well, Status Markers are colourful little things you place on Minis to show that the Mini is under some sort of condition or spell effect. Status Markers are great for helping Players and the DM remember Spells and Conditions affecting multiple Creatures over multiple rounds of combat.

And these Status Markers can be anything from old plastic milk carton rings to professional 3D Printed Rings with every condition and spell effect accounted for.

If you're looking for professional status markers for your Minis, you can buy them by the butt-load from eBay, Amazon, and my personal favourite, Dakota Irish, who make some beautiful Status Markers designed to fit your D&D Minis, and they come in a variety of colors to suit your style…

Part 4: Initiative Trackers

An Initiative Tracker let's both the DM and the Players visually track the Initiatives of all the DM's Monsters and the Player's Characters.

And you can place all of them directly in front of you and the rest of the group, letting Players know "Hey, I'm up next!" or "Oh sh*t! It's almost that Bad Guy's turn!".

Many a time have I said "It's your go, what do you do?" and their response is "Oh sh*t! It's my go already?"

With this system, both myself and all my Players can see whose turn it is and who is next up...

My personal recommendations for Initiative Trackers are the 25 Piece Dungeon Master Set from Dakota Irish, and the Initiative Trackers by AxenShield that let you write your Party Member's Name or the Name of your Monster on one of the 8 flags, and flip the flag to the opposite side as turns are taken.

Are Initiative Trackers needed for Fun Combat? No.

Are they fancy as heck and help forgetful Players? Definitely.

Part 5: Combat Risers & Combat Pillars

These Combat Risers (also called "Combat Pillars" or “Combat Tiers”) give you the ability to show elevation and create a 3-Dimensional Space for your Miniature Combat.

It also gives you the chance to have combat at different heights with a series of combat stage platforms, and it's great for aerial combat. And trust me I say it makes underwater combats so much easier, just because it lets you accurately represent three dimensional combat on a map.

You can find multi-coloured and clear transparent Combat Risers on Amazon (like everything else here) and from some of the sites and places I've already mentioned, such as the Combat Risers Clear Mithril Set from AxenShield.

Part 6: Spell Effect Miniatures & Spell Effect Overlays

Spell Effect Miniatures

Spell Effect Miniatures are just like Monster and Hero Miniatures. These Spell Effect Miniatures are often Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures that represent some of the bigger spells like Bigby's Hand or Spiritual Weapon.

Wizards of the Coast have their own line of Spell Effect Miniatures as part of their Icons of the Realms Line of Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures, with a Set for Spells like Wall of Fire and Wall of Ice, as well as a Box Set called "Arcane Fury and Divine Might", which contains several different Spell Effect Miniatures.

And there's more Spell Effect Miniatures to come! With Wizards of the Coast releasing a new Spell Effect Miniatures Box Set called "Mighty Conjurations", with Spell Effect Miniatures for Flaming Sphere, Forcecage, Guardian of Faith and more!

Also releasing in Early 2020 is Halaster's Tumultuous Templates, a set of Wizards of the Coast Branded Spell Templates that represent a bunch of different Spells, from Burning Hands to Moonbeam to everyone's favourite: Fireball.

You can find these Spell Effect Miniatures as Box Sets in your Local D&D Store, as well as online in the usual places like Amazon and eBay.

Spell Effect Templates & Spell Effect Overlays

Spell Effect Overlays let you as a Dungeon Master check the Range of a Spell, whether the Creature is in Line of Sight with the Caster, and help you as a DM (or a Player) remember Spells affecting an area or Spells affecting multiple Creatures over multiple rounds of combat.

My personal favourites are the Spell Effect Overlays from Arcknight, with Spell Effect Overlays for Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Web, Cone of Cold, Burning Hands, Fear, Dragon Breath, Faerie Fire, Moonbeam, Tidal Wave, Wall of Fire, Thunderwave and More, as well Buff Tokens, Inspiration Tokens, Monster Summoning tokens and so much more that I can't even fit here…

Every template comes on a die cut transparent plastic that's printed on both sides: With cool graphics on one side and notes on the spells effects on the other.

But if you're looking for a simpler template, AxenShield provide Spell Effect Templates and Overlays in various colours, with grids etched on to show the range and area of effect for each spell.

And, like always, you can always take a look on Amazon and eBay and everywhere else on the Internet for alternatives...

[jenna54z]

Photo Gallery Maker

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Along with this web photo gallery software, anybody will improve picture top quality by simply carrying out activities for example web photo gallery. Working with that, you can probably create greetings notes, produce an image collection and even created a set of small pictures to get a file. Currently there is maybe even an entire copy studio that customers can certainly make benefit of to handle each of the printing may need. Considering that they take many parts out of a picture, even though all are literally photo gallery maker download used to will make that gotten pictures far better.

Photo gallery maker for design a online gallery

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Since a long time we have actually been choosing photo gallery maker upon my computer system as well as lots of lower variants of Vista. In addition to the impressive picture arranging as well as stamping purposes, this photo gallery maker offers countless very useful set handling practices as well as allows producing of photo montages for its own college creator. Everyone will afterwards choose this web photo gallery software to cover an item by palm or maybe, conversely, to reel in fresh items.

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[theexleynatureblog]

Time to talk Vaccines

I will start off with a bias - I am not anti-vax. Why? Because I come from a science background - more ecology and behavior than biochemistry - so I have a lot of exposure to ‘sciency’ stuff.  I am no expert - in fact I barely passed college introductory chemistry with a B - but as sick and tired of I am of listening to anti-vax propaganda everywhere online (and it’s rising importance to modern events) I have to put in my two cents. If y’all won’t listen to over a thousand different scientists with varying degrees and levels of experience, maybe you’ll listen to a cranky college kid who can give you the scoop in plan English.

History of vaccines gives a good, in-depth lessons about where vaccines first came from - if your interested in that aspect. In summary, it covers ancient variants of vaccines, up to Edward Jenner’s 1796 cowpox vaccine, and continued development through the 1930′s. **Penicillin may be the most popular product, but it is used against dangerous bacteria, not virus��. More information here.**

To start off simply: what is a virus? Personally, I like to think about them as tiny robots - lifelike but not living. This question is actually a hot-topic debated by the science community, because we can’t agree on whether or not they are even living. This article from 2008 seems to cover the debate pretty well. Viruses are smaller, and in terms of what they’re made of and how they work, simpler than cells.

This picture gives a good idea of sizes. Note that everything in this picture is microscopic, and cannot be seen with the naked eye. This photo is computer-generated based on information from what we’ve seen in microscopes. Corona-virus is the dark blue circle second from the left. On the far right is what’s probably a typical animal cell. The blue bean thing next to Coronavirus is a bacteria, which are living things and operate differently than viruses, though some bacteria can make people sick. Check out this article for more info on bacteria.

So viruses are smaller than cells, they are also built different. Simply put, viruses are a case of protein with a string of DNA inside. Off the bat, this sounds really similar to bacteria, but there’s one major difference: bacteria can duplicate themselves and viruses cannot. The politically correct term is ‘binary fission’, a kind of asexual reproduction that is basically an organism copying all it’s DNA, splitting the two strains apart, and then stretching everything else into two separate things. I won’t go into all the complex terms and functions (you can read about it more here). All you need to understand is it is a complex possess that requires machinery that virus’ don’t have. So how do virus’ reproduce? They sneak into other cells and hijack their machinery to produce more viruses. 

Because viruses and cells have been living together since life began on this planet billions of years ago, cells have developed forms of protection (from viruses and bacteria). A ‘lock’, basically all across the cell surface. So in order for viruses to continue, they needed to develop a ‘key’. This is why viruses have a host of different shapes. Coronavirus is named after the crown-like spikes, which are proteins that help invade a living cell. Read more about how viruses invade cells here.

Phew! That was a lot, and we haven’t even gotten into vaccine’s yet! That’s because in order to understand vaccines, you have to have some understanding of the thing they are built to fight. The question becomes: If a virus is considered not living, how do you fight it? How do you kill something that’s not alive?

The most obvious answer is just taking it apart. A virus can’t do it’s thing if it’s broken down into single elements. But, as we discussed earlier, viruses are super small. We can barely see them in microscopes (we have to use a super microscope called an Electron microscopes). There’s no physically possible or safe way to crush up/rip apart a virus. Using radiation, water, or fire isn’t practical either. Sure - fire will destroy anything, but you can’t light up a 5-year-old with the flu. Techniques of disassembling viruses are currently being studied, but we still have a lot to learn. 

So, if we can’t break it apart, the only thing we can do is stop it from spreading. This is basically how our immune system works. If a cell is infected, it will send  a piece of the viral protein, to another cell: T-cells. T-cells are cells of the immune system. One type of immune system cell will send a toxin to kill the infected cell, trapping the virus inside and preventing spread. If the toxin doesn’t kill the cell, the rapid replication of the virus will eventually cause it to burst. (Imagine a chicken egg with a thousand chicks falling out). The downside of this is if the virus spreads to fast, and hits important places like the lungs, and a lot of important cells die... whelp, the fight is over. Unlike most parasites that depend on their hosts to be alive and collect nutrients for them, viruses are more reckless - it doesn't’ matter how many cells die as long as the virus keeps spreading.

The other immune defense systems are via interferon and (more commonly known) antibodies. Interferon's work inside a host cell to stop a virus from hijacking a cell’s DNA replication machines while also alerting immune cells to an infection. Antibodies fight against viruses that have not yet entered a cell. Remember back to the ‘lock’ and ‘key’ thing? Here’s where it comes to play! Antibodies stick to the protein of viruses by matching the ‘key’ shapes. If you stick a wad of gum onto you house key, it won’t be able to fit in the lock, and you can’t get into your house. It’s basically the same thing. Antibodies can also make viruses stick together - making them easier to destroy, and also can send a signal to a cell to engulf and destroy a virus.

The reaaaaaaallllllly cool part is that antibodies can ‘remember what viruses look like’. Antibodies hold onto little bits of the virus - proteins - so they can recognize another infection. (Link)  Naturally, whenever we are infected, we produce antibodies for that specific virus/bacteria, however - they only work if A) we survive the initial infection, and B) if we keep getting infected by that specific strain/type of virus. Viruses come in all kinds of shapes and chemical makeups. Even them, groups of viruses within the same ‘species’ can have unique kinds of protein. This is why you need to get a flu shot every year - the shot isn’t for ‘the flue’, it is for the current strain of the flu spreading. (Article from UAB Medicine).

In order to fight viruses, we need to keep our immune system healthy and produce antibodies. In olden days, the way we produced antibodies was by getting infected and working up herd immunity (healthy individuals with antibodies prevent the spread of a disease to those without immunity). The problem with this is: it doesn’t always work. Nature in our world is build on the process of one force creating a wall and an opposing force finding a new way to break it (think Jurassic Park’s life will find a way). As long a pathway exists, a virus will find a way to use it. Herd immunity also works by selecting and removing the weakest links in the group - individuals who cannot fight an infection well die and stop spreading the virus. It works in nature, but in terms of human civilization - it’s not very nice. It is also unbiased, in the natural world. Wild animals have an equal opportunity to be healthy enough to fight an infection - besides those with genetic issues. We should all be painfully aware that human civilization no longer operates on this fair playing field. Only those with a good social and economic standing have the opportunity to be healthy enough. Remember this before you argue ‘herd immunity’.

All this in mind, vaccines are the last reasonable option. According to the CDC, a vaccine consists of a weakened virus or part of a virus introduced to the body so it can produce antibodies. That’s it. Seems like a really cleaver idea, don’t it?

But hang on: you got sick after taking a vaccine? If your symptoms are runny nose/coughing, good news! That’s not the vaccine - it’s you. (CDC article on why vaccine are safer than exposure)  After detecting an infection (even if its not a active virus) the immune system releases histamine, which causes inflamed blood veins and access mucus - sneezing. This can discharge virons, but also used by them to spread to a new host. Some symptoms, like a wet cough, are caused by a viral infection. Fever’s are another example of a immune response, not directly caused by a virus. It’s our brain trying to cook and break apart the proteins of the virus.

The hot topic about vaccines is they are full of scary chemicals that people don’t want to have injected into them. So lets take a closer look at one example, the influenza vaccine.

Formaldehyde - yikes! Scary sounding for sure - formaldehyde is well known for being used in embalming, and linked to cancer. What is less know is it is also an essential building block in lots of items, like building and construction, personal care and consumer products, and automobile manufacturing. The following picture is the chemical molecule.

It is a simply enough molecule made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Formaldehyde naturally occurs in the environment, as most living things produce it as part of the metabolic processes (breaking down and absorbing food). At room temperature, formaldehyde is a gas that can be dangerous to inhale in large amounts. When it comes to vaccines, the purpose of formaldehyde is to deactivate the virus - so it doesn’t actually start infecting cells. In small amounts like this, it is harmless. Personally, I’d be more worried about the gaseous forms.

Aluminum Salts - these include hydroxide and phosphate. The purpose of these chemicals in vaccines is to help the body activate it’s immune response.  hydroxide is basically any molecule with hydrogen and oxygen - example, water, and hydrogen dioxide. (What makes molecules dangerous is not necessarily their elements, it is how they are connected). Once again, these are present in amounts too small to be harmful both short and long term.

Thimerosal - This is the ingredient that has anti-vaxxer’s shouting “Oh no theirs mercury!” but that’s not completely true. Since the 1930′s, it has been used in a wide variety of products. It’s purpose is to prevent contamination of the product (vaccine) by bacteria and fungi. Without it, vaccines run the risk of exposing patients to a serious infection. It’s not even used in every vaccine - only ones that require multiple doses, the ones that are at the highest risk of contamination. Thimerosal comes from an inorganic form of mercury called ethylmercury, which is different than other forms of mercury as it does not remain in the body long enough to cause damage. ALSO: this is not the same compound as methylmercury, a toxic compound found in fish due to pollution. 

Chicken Egg proteins - Egg proteins are used to grow a virus before it is put into a vaccine. The virus and the proteins are separated, but there is risk of chicken proteins still being in the vaccine - bad news for people with allergies. This is why it’s important to discuss any allergies with your doctor. Exposure of this protein to people with allergies has not been documented as fatal, but still must be carefully monitored. Luckily, egg-free versions do exist.

Gelatin - this material acts as a stabilizer, keeping the vaccine effective as it enters the body. It protects the vaccine from effects of heat, and freeze drying. Most vaccines use pork-based gelatin, which means people with severe pork allergies should discuss more options with their doctors. 

Antibiotics - antibiotics in vaccines work with Thimerosal to prevent the growth of dangerous bacteria. The antibiotics involved are not allergy-risks, and used in lots of other lotions and ointments. 

So, there is one example. Dealing with stuff that we don’t know or don’t fully understand can be combated by simple research. If you are concerned about the ingredients in a certain vaccine, do some research! Remember - it’s not always what chemicals, but what form they are in. 

[thebrideofthewizardhowl]

Badminton, court or lawn game played with lightweight rackets and a shuttlecock. Historically, the shuttlecock (also known as a “bird” or “birdie”) was a small cork hemisphere with 16 goose feathers attached and weighing about 0.17 ounce (5 grams). These types of shuttles may still be used in modern play, but shuttles made from synthetic materials are also allowed by the Badminton World Federation. The game is named for Badminton, the country estate of the dukes of Beaufort in Gloucestershire, England, where it was first played about 1873. The roots of the sport can be traced to ancient Greece, China, and India, and it is closely related to the old children’s game battledore and shuttlecock. Badminton is derived directly from poona, which was played by British army officers stationed in India in the 1860s. The first unofficial all-England badminton championships for men were held in 1899, and the first badminton tournament for women was arranged the next year.

              The badminton court is 13.4m long and 6.1m wide. For singles the court is marked 5.18m wide. The lines marking out the court are easily distinguishable and coloured white or yellow. The lines are 40mm wide. A court may be marked out for singles only. The back boundary lines also become the long service lines and the posts or the strips of material representing them are placed on the side lines. The diagonal full length of the full court is 14.366m. The posts are 1.55m high from the surface of the court and remain vertical when the net is strained. The posts are placed on the double side lines irrespective of whether singles or doubles is played. The posts or supports must not extend into the court beyond the side lines. Where it is not practicable to have posts on the side lines, some method can be used to indicate the position of the side lines where they pass under the net, example by the use of thin posts or strips of material 40mm wide, fixed to the side lines and rising vertically to the net cord. The net is 760mm in depth and a minimum of 6.1m wide. The top of the net from the surface of the court is 1.524m at the center of the court and 1.55m over the side lines for doubles. There must be no gaps between the ends of the net and the posts. If necessary, the full depth of the net at the ends is tied to the posts.

              In this blog, I will cover the four basic equipment and gear required for a game of badminton.

1.      Badminton Racket

Badminton rackets can be made from several types of materials. Depending on the material selection, this can result in different combinations of racket weight, balance points and string tensions. With so many different combinations, it will take time to decide which is most suited for your playing style.  Instead of making purchases online, pop by a badminton shop. Ask for assistance and select a racket that you feel comfortable with. Swing the racket around to get a good feel of its overall weight and grip. Some popular badminton brands are Yonex, ProKennex, Wilson, ProTech and Li-Ning.

2.      Shuttlecock

There are two types of shuttlecocks - plastic and feathered shuttlecocks.

Plastic shuttlecocks are far more durable compared to the feathered types which are commonly used. However, plastic shuttlecocks are only recommended for beginners who are just starting out. This is because feathered shuttlecocks are expensive and fray easily especially if the wrong technique is used. Hence, plastic shuttlecocks are good for beginners to use for training. Plastic shuttlecocks are usually used by young children who play badminton for recreation. Plastic shuttlecocks tend to travel shorter distances as they are heavier. Hence, they are good for building strength as you make the transition to feathered shuttlecocks. Most people will progress to using feathered shuttlecocks as they are used at all competitive tournaments.

3.      Badminton Shoes

Badminton shoes are designed to give you better traction and grip to stop in time to return a shot. They should also be lightweight have good cushioning to absorb impact when you jump or land. Regular players will find heel cups useful to prolonging the lifespan of your shoes. Do not wear jogging shoes as they usually lack grip and traction. You might end up crashing through the badminton net if you are unable to stop in time to receive a drop shot.  

4.      Badminton Attire

For casual to non-competitive players, a comfortable pair of shorts and cotton or dri-fit t-shirt is sufficient. Some players may want to equip themselves with hand grips, wrist bands and ankle guards. Each of these items serve a purpose and might also add a dash of color to the entire get-up. When it comes to badminton equipment, select what is appropriate before turning your attention to aesthetics.

 To be good at any sport you need to master the basics. Mastering the basic techniques and skills allows you to play consistently and improve. Badminton is a very beginner-friendly sport but difficult to master. Anybody can learn and master the basic skills for Badminton.

·        Knowing how to warm up properly

·        The basic forehand and backhand grip

·        The basic six corners footwork

·        The split step or the ready stance

·        The basic shots

·        Perception and anticipation

·        Hand-eye coordination

·        Rhythm and timing

·        Tactical and strategic thinking

Knowing how to warm up properly

Warming up is a combination of skill and a bit of know-how. Players of any level should know how to warm up properly before stepping on court for a match. We wrote an in-depth article on warming up properly for Badminton. It’s so important to do a full warm-up before playing to help avoid injuries. It’s also important because you’re ready to go right from the start of the match. You won’t need to get four-five rallies into the game before you feel like you’ve finally got in gear.

 Warm-ups don’t have to take that long either. You can perform a solid warm-up in less than five minutes. Here are some simple routines that really get the blood pumping:

 ·        High speed skipping for five minutes (try to go fast without losing consistency and tripping over the rope)

·        A simple set of jumping jacks, squats, burpees, lunges and knee tucks each for one minute

·        Jog around the hall at a quick pace for five minutes

You get the idea, anything that gets you moving without overstretching. It should get your heart pumping and as my coach used to say; “you should have little beads of sweat from the forehead”.

The basic forehand and backhand grip

Learning the forehand and backhand grip is a fundamental skill. It’s so important to get this right as it’s the building blocks to learning every shot in Badminton. The basic forehand and backhand grip is easy to learn, you can practice getting the hold right sat at home. Practice swapping from forehand to backhand whilst sat on the couch at home.

 The forehand grip is much like shaking somebody’s hand. Both in the way you hold the racquet and in how tight you hold it. You want to hold the racquet loosely, gripping the racquet too tight can lead to injuries like tennis elbow. It also makes it very difficult to hit the shot smoothly as you’re tensing up your muscles.

 The backhand grip is for some people easier to get right. You simply take the forehand grip and roll the thumb over so it sits flat on the grip rather than along the edge. The use of the thumb makes it easier to stabilize the grip compared to the forehand.

The basic six corners footwork

Footwork is crucial in Badminton. It’s been known that some coaches in China only teach beginners footwork from the beginning. They don’t teach any racquet skills until the player has mastered the basic footwork. They do this because it’s impossible to play good shots if you cannot reach the shuttle. In Badminton, once the shuttlecock touches the floor the rally is over so you need to be able to cover the court in order to play well.

 I wouldn’t go as far as they do in principals but I still believe footwork is one of the most important aspects of playing Badminton. Footwork can get very technical and complex but right now we’re just going to cover the basic footwork patterns in short. We have more full and detailed guides coming soon around footwork drills and breakdowns.

 If you can master these six pieces of footwork for Badminton then you’re off to a good start. The six pieces of footwork are:

 Travelling to the forehand side of the net

·        Travelling to the backhand side of the net

·        Covering the forehand mid-court

·        Covering the backhand mid-court

·        Moving to the forehand rear-court

·        Moving to the backhand rear-court

For info please watch this video : https://www.youtube.com/embed/IidZFd6vCJk?autoplay=1

 The split step/the ready stance

The split step is a technique used to get ready for the next shot. It’s used not only in Badminton but in sports like Tennis as well. It’s the basis of building good footwork and speed around the court. We have a great article detailing everything about the split step, make sure to read it in full.

 Let’s summarize why the split step is so important. A good split step is for a Badminton player what a good start out of the blocks is for a runner. If you don’t have a good split step you’ll be playing catch up to your opponent.

 So how do you do the split step? It’s simple but can be tricky to master. When you return to your base position on court you want to make a slight jump in the air and land with your feet apart. You want to time the landing of your feet just after your opponent hits the shuttle. That way you can land the split step and immediately push off to the next shot.

 The basic shots

There are so many varieties of shots in Badminton. Variants of shots include slicing the shuttle, tumbling the shuttle or hitting it at different angles with different swings. But they all have one original basic shot. For beginners here is a list of basic shots you should master first.

 ·        The serve (forehand or backhand)

·        The lift (sometimes called a lob)

·        The net shot

·        The block

·        The drop shot

·        The smash

·        The clear

That’s eight shots in total. It’s quite a lot when you’re just starting out and they can all be played backhand and forehand. These seven shots cover the majority of situations you’ll face in a match. Master these and you’ll have a good base in which to build on and start learning more advanced shots and variations.

 Hand-eye coordination

It only comes with practice but having good hand-eye coordination is essential for Badminton. You can’t play Badminton if you can’t connect the racquet and shuttle. The best way to improve hand-eye coordination for Badminton is to play lots of Badminton. Who would have thought?!

 Seriously though, playing and training will improve your hand-eye coordination significantly but there are exercises you can do at home alone or with another person to improve your hand-eye coordination. Here are some examples.

 Playing catch

Playing catch is a simple but effective way to improve hand-eye coordination. All you need is a ball, you could do this with a shuttlecock too. Practice throwing and catching with someone else or bounce the shuttle or ball of a wall at different angles and catch it again.

 Catching an object focuses your eyes on a single object travelling. It requires concentration and spatial awareness. It’s so simple but so effective.

 Juggling

So not a skill for those with little patience, juggling is a difficult skill to master but for good reason. Juggling requires incredible hand-eye coordination, even just by learning to juggle you’re improving your hand-eye coordination without having mastered the skill. It’s something you can do anywhere with a couple or more balls or shuttles.

 When you master juggling two items then you can move onto three then four etc. Adding more objects or changing the objects improves your hand-eye coordination even more. You have to track each item in the air and feel how you threw the last one. It’s also a great party trick to have in the bag.

 Exercising your eyes

Believe it or not but there are specific exercises that you can do to exercise your eyes! They basically help strengthen the muscles in and around your eyes. They mainly help with focusing your vision which in turn will help with your hand-eye coordination. Some examples of eye exercises are.

 ·        Focus change

·        Near and far focus

·        Figure eight

Rhythm and timing

If you watch the top players in the world like Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei and Kento Momota etc, they seem to cover the court so easily. They make every shot look effortless and smooth. They have little to no break in their footwork and look to glide around the court. They have honed their rhythm and timing for playing Badminton over years of training and match play. Lee Chong Wei has impeccable timing with his footwork and if you watch the video below you can see how rhythmic his movement is. When you play Badminton, especially singles, getting a natural rhythm while you play is key to developing good footwork and creating consistency in your play. When we dance we use the music as our rhythm and that helps us relax and get into the flow. When playing Badminton you need to be able to find a rhythm of play that suits you. This can only come from playing a lot of purposeful practice and playing matches. Timing is similar but relates more to hand-eye coordination. Your timing will naturally improve the more Badminton you play. It’s important to have good timing so you can hit shots cleanly, a split-step at the right moment and so you can position yourself to hit the shuttle at the optimal time.

 Perception and anticipation

These two skills become much more important the better you get at Badminton. It’s the difference between just getting your opponents shot back and intercepting or countering your opponents next shot. Perception means: “The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.” For Badminton, this has lots of meanings. Being able to see where your opponent is in relation to the rest of the court, being able to hear if they’re panting and getting tired, the examples go on and on. It’s about how you perceive the current situation playing out during a match. Being more aware. Anticipation is a little different. Anticipation means: “The action of anticipating something; expectation or prediction.” For Badminton, anticipation means reading your opponents’ next move before they play it, to change your stance in preparation for the next shot and to advance your position before the play has been made. Anticipation is a very important skill in Badminton because if you can read your opponents’ next shot then you can gain the upper hand in the rally, the game, and the match. It’s not easy to learn this skill as everyone plays differently, no two players play the same. One player might play a certain shot when they’re in trouble and someone else might play an entirely different shot. You see top players Hendra Setiawan and Lin Dan do this very well. Before their opponent has played their shot they’re already anticipating their next move. Watch this video below and watch how Lin Dan changes the positioning of his feet in order to move faster to the next shot. As you can see he doesn’t always get it right but is able to recover and stay in the rally.

 Tactical and strategic thinking

There are many ways to win a game of Badminton. Players and coaches use different tactics and strategies to win a match. Tactics are the shots we make, the set plays we try to repeat and the choices we make when backed into a corner. Tactics are the small steps and choices within each rally. Strategies are the overall plan for playing a match, they’re the long term plan. Strategy in Badminton is creating a plan on how you’ll win. An example strategy for a singles player might be to get their opponent to play a high lift so they can get back and smash. An example strategy for a doubles player might be to get to the front as fast as possible to intercept the shuttle early or kill it. These are basic examples. The elite players will have multiple strategies for when the opponent starts countering their strategy. I feel it’s always best to keep things simple when it comes to tactics and strategies. If you’re beating your opponent then there is no need to change anything. If you’re losing then you need to change something. Why is it important to learn about tactics and strategies? Taking a quote from Sun Tzu and the Art of War, a book we recommend for every Badminton payer to read. “The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.” If you plan on how you’re going to win the match or plan how you’re going to cope with your opponents’ big smash then you’re already a step ahead. You need to learn how to harness your best shots to gain the initiative and win points. It’s partly visualization if you can visualize how you can win then you’re more likely to win.

 Technical Skills in Badminton

·        The Ready Stance - it is a position in badminton wherein the right stance is readied by the player in order to minimize the amount of movements that would be needed in order to hit the shuttlecock

·        Forehand and Backhand Grip - these are the two basic grips that new players must familiarize themselves with. By doing either of these, it would be much easier for players to control their shots

·        Footwork - it is a necessary skill in order to play badminton. A proper footwalk would help in mastering the sports

·        Strokes - initially, there are four strokes that the player can use.  

·        Underarm Backhand Serve - it is a type of serve that beginners can use

Tactical skills in badminton

·        Applying pressure on hitting the shuttlecock

·        Position yourself in the central base

·        It would be easier to hit the shuttlecock on the corners of the court

·        Deceive your opponents during singles match

 Scoring System

A match consists of the best of 3 games of 21     points.

Every time there is a serve – there is a point     scored.

The side winning a rally adds a point to its     score.

At 20 all, the side which gains a 2 point lead     first, wins that game.

At 29 all, the side scoring the 30th point,     wins that game.

The side winning a game serves first in the     next game.

Interval and Change of Ends

When the leading score reaches 11 points,     players have a 60 second interval.

A 2 minute interval between each game is     allowed.

In the third game, players change ends when     the leading score reaches 11 points.

Singles

At the beginning of the game (0-0) and when     the server’s score is even, the server serves from the right     service court. When the server’s score is odd, the server serves from the     left service court.

If the server wins a rally, the server scores     a point and then serves again from the alternate service court.

If the receiver wins a rally, the receiver     scores a point and becomes the new server. They serve from the appropriate     service court – left if their score is odd, and right if it is even.         Doubles

A side has only one ‘set’.

The service passes consecutively to the     players as shown in the diagram.

At the beginning of the game and when the     score is even, the server serves from the right service court. When it is     odd, the server serves from the left court.

If the serving side wins a rally, the serving     side scores a point and the same server serves again from the alternate service     court.

If the receiving side wins a rally, the     receiving side scores a point. The receiving side becomes the new serving     side.

The players do not change their respective     service courts until they win a point when their side is serving.

Officials roles are among the most important positions when planning badminton events as they are specialized roles filled by qualified volunteers.

 Badminton events of all size – be it a local circuit tournament, county competition or even one of our major events – on a national and international level, require a team of officials. The officials are the judges responsible to ensure a fair badminton game is being played. They consists of:

 ·        Umpire: The ‘main judge’ for the particular badminton game. He/she has the power to overrule any decisions made by the service judge or line judges. The umpire is the person ensuring that the badminton game is run smoothly and prevent any players from delaying the game play. Whenever a player requests to change the shuttle, the umpire will need to approve that the change could be made. The umpire also looks out for faults committed around the net area such as whether a player touched the net when returning the shuttle. Besides, the umpire is responsible to make a ‘fault’ call when the shuttle touches the player or the players’ attires except for the badminton racket. In badminton, it will be a fault/foul to a player if the shuttle touches any part of that player’s body or attire.

 ·        Service Judge: The service judge is responsible in making a ‘service fault’ call and to provide shuttles to the players.

 ·        Line Judges: Line judges sit beside the badminton court (right in front of every in/out lines) to determine whether the shuttle is inside or outside the boundaries of the court.

 ·        Referees – The referee is the most senior official in a badminton tournament and they in overall charge of all matters which affect play and the players on and off court.

   The referee shall have key responsibility for:

·        Producing schedule and order of play.

·        Amendments to the draw and schedule.

·        The smooth running of play on the day.

·        Liaison with Umpire and Line Judge managers.

·        The correct implementation of regulations and the Laws of Badminton.

·        Completion of a tournament report.

 Citations :

https://basilioeduc.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/officiating-badminton/

https://www.masterbadminton.com/who-are-the-officials-of-badminton.html

https://www.badminton.mb.ca/page/18182/Officiating

https://www.badmintonengland.co.uk/play/give-your-sport-a-helping-hand/officiating-in-badminton/tournamentmatch-referees/

https://sportsphilippines.wordpress.com/2017/02/02/officiating-in-badminton/

https://www.masterbadminton.com/badminton-techniques.html

https://www.badmintonbc.com/page/2888/The-Laws-of-Badminton

https://www.badmintonsbest.com/blog/skills-you-need-to-play-badminton/#the-basic-shots

https://www.myactivesg.com/Sports/Badminton/How-To-Play/Badminton-Equipment/Getting-Started-for-a-Game-of-Badminton

https://www.dlgsc.wa.gov.au/sport-and-recreation/sports-dimensions-guide/badminton#:~:text=The%20badminton%20court%20is%2013.4,The%20lines%20are%2040mm%20wide.

https://www.britannica.com/sports/badminton

[redbeardace]

Asexuality Activism Report Card

[This post is a submission for the October Carnival of Aces, hosted by @asexualawarenessweek, on the theme “Reaching In, Reaching Out”]

Every year around Ace Week, I tend to give encouragement and suggestions about the type of outreach or activism we can do.  This year, I’m going to do things a little different and instead give a report card on where I think we are in terms of various kinds of activism/outreach/visibility.

These are solely my opinions and my categories and are based on my experiences and not any kind of exhaustive research or survey.  Please feel free to provide your own grades and suggest other areas I might have missed.  I also want to note that these grades are not an indictment or attack on any particular group, person, or project.  If you’re working on any of these things, you’re part of the solution and your work will make these grades improve over time, so keep at it!

And if you’re doing any of these things, please plug your projects, so people will know about them!

Intra Community - A

We focus an awful lot of energy inward, and that’s a good thing.  Extending a helping hand, providing resources, hosting chatrooms, making podcasts, organizing meetup groups, writing lengthy blog posts, hosting conferences and unconferences, selling t-shirts...  We’re doing a pretty good job supporting each other from the inside.

Queer Community - B

There are quite a few mainstream LGBTQ groups who openly support us.  We often hold our meetups at the queer community center in town.  Many aces are involved with LGBTQ organizations.  There’s an ace group who goes to Creating Change every year.  We’re an obligatory part of many organizations’ Pride messaging.  Lots of groups now deliberately use the “LGBTQIA” variant of The Acronym, and make it clear that “A” isn’t for “Allies”.  The ace group in the NYC Pride Parade this year (likely the biggest pride parade ever) was deliberately selected to be the 10th contingent, which is a huge deal because the parade was literally 12 hours long.

There are obviously challenges.  The uninformed who don’t understand why we’re at the table.  The deliberate trolls who relentlessly hound us online.  But those people will become irrelevant over time.

Unfortunately, this year marked the first time where I saw Rainbow Capitalism set its sights on us.  (With a big name ace group complicit in the exploitation...)  So that’s not good.

Everyone Else - D

We are not doing well in this area.  There are a few people out there who have heard of asexuality, but not many.  Most people use the word wrong or as the insulting punchline to a joke.  There isn’t a single household name who has come out as asexual and put themselves out there as an advocate.  It’s better than it was 8 years ago, but we’re still mostly invisible.

I don’t really have any suggestions here (except that if you’re famous and asexual, COME OUT), because most of the suggestions I’d have are covered in the other areas.

Direct Outreach - F

By “Direct Outreach”, I’m referring to deliberately trying to find people who are asexual but who are unfamiliar with the term or that do not recognize that they’re asexual for whatever reason.  It’s sort of a subset of a lot of these other groups.  (And it could probably use a better name...)

I’m calling this out explicitly, because I think this can have the most impact, if we can figure out effective ways of doing it, and I don’t think anyone’s really doing this.  (I sort of tried, but it didn’t really work out...) Basically, it would be able getting information about asexuality in front of the people who need it.  Taking over the search results for “Why don’t I want sex?”.  Writing articles about how some guys just don’t care about that sort of thing for a men’s magazine.  Maybe even a direct person to person conversation with that friend who never seems to date.  I don’t know, exactly.  If I knew, I’d be doing it.  But I think it needs to be done.

Fiction Media - C+

There are books with ace characters now!  Pretty much entirely YA, though.  And either a love story focused on the asexual character being asexual, or where asexuality is a tangential inclusion token with no real value.

There are TV shows with positive ace characters now!  Huge step forward from lows of Better Half!  Three shows, in fact!. Two of which have been canceled, and the third of which is about to have its final season.  And none of which are anywhere close to the popularity of House.  And none of which are anywhere close to the popularity of another show which completely erased a main character’s canon asexuality.

There are movies with ace char-  Oh no, no there aren’t.  Never mind.  Same with video games.

While some strides have been made, and having productions actively consulting with groups like Ace LA is a huge step forward, we’re still largely living an area of headcanons and unverified conjecture and Word Of God retcons.  There’s so much more than can be done.

Most importantly, we shouldn’t fawn over and praise any little scrap of hope.  Demand better.

If you’re in a position to make things, make them.  If you’re in a position to influence things to be made, influence them.  If you’re in a position to boost content that is made, boost it.

Non-Fiction Media - C-

There are starting to be articles about asexuality that go beyond the typical sensational “There are some people who claim to be asexual, can you believe that, isn’t that SO STRANGE” or the blandly informational 101 interview featuring a picture of sad grey people in bed.  Not many, but they’re there.  But, at the same time, there are blazingly dismissive assholes hiding behind Ph.Ds, writing things like “’demisexual,’ an unnecessary new substitute for the word ‘human’ ” in articles that are published in 20-fucking-19.

There are a number of podcasts and YouTube videos talking about asexuality, but I don’t know how much reach they have outside of the ace community.

There’s one documentary that hasn’t aged well and I think has been removed from most streaming services, and another that hasn’t been released yet and is phenomenal and you should all see it.  So that...  Two documentaries.

Taking a quick look on Amazon, there are about seven books of substance on asexuality.  Three are academic queer theory textbooks with a very specific audience.  Two are self-published.  One is a weird collection of essays, half of which have little to do with asexuality at all, written by someone who isn’t ace and who didn’t seem to bother even talking to aces for much of the book.  That leaves one book about asexuality for a general audience written by an asexual that had a real publishing run.  Just one.

Same with the fiction media, don’t go around hyping any article that mentions asexuality.  Some of them are REALLY REALLY BAD.  There was one a few months ago that said in an infographic that “Girls working part time have a 33% chance of becoming asexual”, yet it was being uncritically passed around by some high profile aces.

So, y’know, Cs get Degrees or whatever, but we can do soooo much better in this area.  Someone go write a book about asexual dating.  Someone go write a book about asexual history.  Go.  Do.  Now.

Education/Schools - D

Well, it seems like it’s getting at least mentioned occasionally, and groups like Asexual Outreach have put some work towards this.  But we’re still left out of sex ed in most places, and when we are included, the information can be confused, inaccurate, or even ridiculed by the instructor.  Tackling this area will, over time, help out every other area on this list, because the next generations will all know and understand what asexuality is, and we won’t have to start from zero in order to get anything done.

Political/Legal - F

Earlier this year, I did a cursory review of anti-discrimination laws as they pertain to asexuality.  Where asexuality was protected, it was often by accident.  Only one state explicitly mentioned asexual people.  Many states which did have strong LGBT anti-discrimination protections have defined “sexual orientation” in such a way to exclude asexuality.  Even the “Equality Act” that the Democrats have made a lot of noise about this year has that narrow definition.

We need to start making connections with politicians and political groups, and we need to start leveraging our connections with queer organizations to get them to push for better language in these laws.  (Many of the non-discrimination laws were deficient or bizarre in multiple ways, so we’d all be better off with improvements.)

And I should note that it’s an F--- as far as protections for aromantics…

Health Care - D+

Well, we managed to get parts of the DSM-V rewritten.  But even those parts are less than ideal.  There are some therapists and doctors who are well versed in asexuality, and others who, as I mentioned above, hide behind their Ph.Ds writing horrible things and going unchecked.  There’s a raft of sex pills with marketing that explicitly targets people who are probably asexual but don’t know it yet, trying to sell them worthless junk that will make them suddenly black out randomly or permanently change the color of their skin.  We’re still not an option on the clipboard the doctor hands you to fill out.  We’re still forced to take unnecessary and invasive tests for no practical reason.

I think we need to be showing up at health care conferences.  We need to be reaching out to local providers.  We need to be telling people how they should be treating us, instead of letting them fumble around and hopefully get it right on their own.