#Top 10 Power Amplifiers

[toptenknowledge]

Top 10 Power Amplifiers Brand in The World

Top 10 Power Amplifiers are an essential component of any audio system, and they come in all shapes and sizes. From the tube-driven behemoths of yesteryear to the sleek and efficient Class-D models of today, power amplifiers serve one critical function: to amplify an audio signal to a level sufficient to drive speakers. There are a lot of brands out there that make power amplifiers, but not all…

[dev-solovey]

Reading up on the history of American Idiot (album) and realizing exactly how revolutionary it was and I just have to yell about it for a hot second

So, before they started working on American Idiot, the band was having problems and they were thinking they were going to break up. But for a couple of reasons, they switched directions, most notably because they all felt strongly about the Iraq War and how it was manufactured by greed and warmongering from the Bush administration, which was amplified by the news media. I read a quote from Billie Joe Armstrong where he talked about how the news media was becoming "more of a reality show" than it was news, and he couldn't have been more right. In fact, that problem got worse, and now we're living in an era of rampant misinformation where everything is politicized to a point where just supporting human rights for marginalized people is considered controversial. The song American Idiot came out in 2004, and when Donald Trump first visited the UK at the beginning of his presidency, it was the top played song on every UK radio station, 12 years after it was released. Most things would be culturally irrelevant at that point.

When creating the album American Idiot, a lot of thought went into it - they had a very specific message in mind, and their goal was to send that message to youth. This is because they realized at some point that their fanbase was a bunch of teenagers, and even though they hadn't necessarily intended it that way, they suddenly had a platform with the youth of America and they decided they ought to do something good with it. The drummer, Tré Cool, said something along the lines of "I've never really liked the idea of preaching to kids, but I realized we don't really have a choice at this point." And I love that so much because like, so many people who get rich and famous just become completely out of touch, and when they get a platform, it's very easy to exploit that platform, influence them with terrible ideas, or encourage them to act in terrible ways for self-serving reasons (ex: JK Rowling, Andrew Tate, Dream, Logan Paul, Onision, etc etc). Green Day refused to allow themselves to get to that point. They know the platform they had gave them power and they made an active choice early on to be responsible with it. And a lot of that moral code comes from the fact that they came up in the DIY punk scene in Oakland, which held its members to a very high standard of ethics, a code that they still follow even after they were disowned by that scene when they signed on with a major record label in 1994.

The song American Idiot has a message of "this mass media hysteria is manufactured bullshit, don't fall for it," and it is not subtle about that message. It punches you right in the face. I remember being 12 years old and listening to it and thinking, "yeah, I don't want to be an American idiot." And now, at the age of 28, I am a staunch leftist who is firmly against the atrocities the US government commits, and I feel strongly about stopping misinformation. So I can say with absolute certainty that they succeeded.

I also get like, really upset when people say that American Idiot is the album where they sold out, because that's objectively not true, both for the reasons I've provided above, and also because of the song Wake Me Up When September Ends. Not a lot of people know the story behind this song, but it's actually a song that Billie Joe wrote about the experience of his dad dying of cancer when he was 10 years old. The story, as he tells it, is that when he came home from school, his mom gave him the news, and being (understandably!) upset, started crying, ran to his room and slammed the door. When she knocked on the door to try and talk to him, he shouted "wake me up when September ends!!" in response. It took him decades to be able to write this song, and it shows because it's the perfect grief song, having been played at benefits for 9/11, hurricane Katrina, and so on. The first time I heard that song it reduced me to tears, because you can hear the intense sadness in it. A "sellout" would never write a song like that!! (Side note: maybe stop tweeting at Green Day to wake up every October 1st, it's super tone deaf given the subject matter,,,)

Anyway, I think I'm done being autistic about Green Day (that's a lie, they'll forever be my special interest), so TL;DR:

Thank you, Green Day, for creating a generation of leftists who aren't about the bullshit

[ms-scarletwings]

New (Cursed AF) Invader Zim Headcanon:

Barring the potential for major acute blood loss, Irkens can actually survive a full decapitation.

And I brought substance to make the case with.

Cockroaches, one of the most infamously durable of real life animals, can live for several days, sometimes even weeks without their head. And for the most part, they still even act like normal roaches- crawling about, reacting to touch, standing around, etc. it seems the only reason this eventually catches up to the critter is because no mouth = no way to keep bringing necessary food and water into the body. If that were bypassed, however, it stands to reason the little zombie could thrive just as much as a headed roach.

Almost disturbingly, the head itself can actually last a surprising amount of time solo as well. Experiments with decapitated roaches show that after body separation, roach heads can still move their antennae for hours before succumbing- much longer even if kept refrigerated and supplied with nutrients.

One of the neat things about roach bodies that makes such a feat possible is how their nervous system is set up- simplified ref against what yours looks like below

Now, anyone who has ever said a roach can survive for a while without its brain is not being entirely accurate. Functionally, they actually have two sort-of brains: the main point of nerve centralization is contained in the head, which for the most part is a primary brain responsible for movement coordination, certain technical functions, interpreting stimuli that comes in from the antennae, and more. The second main point of interest in this system is a series of nerve clusters running down the insect’s abdomen known as ganglia (singular: ganglion). These bundles of neurons are not exactly brains in their own right, but they do function as an extended CNS that handles the control over the digestive tract, reacting to stimuli, leg movement, and other more basic bodily functions. These can operate the body on a primitive level after the loss of the main brain, up until thirst/starvation begins to run the wind out of the sails.

You know what sort of creature actually DOES have two entire complete brains? One up top, and an auxiliary backup a little further down?

If you were nodding along and saying “irkens!” Then you would be correct! One peanut and five more days in the bunker for you 🥜 ~

As is obvious to anyone familiar with the show, the PAK is an essential cybernetic addition to Irken biology, holding their gear as well as an entire digital backup of their personality and memories. While it serves many functions to the user, the first and foremost priority of one is to protect the existence of the meaty entity it needs in to carry itself around.

To that end we’ve seen some autonomous acts from time to time with Zim’s close calls. If you recall “Plague of Babies”, he… kind of died for a moment there, caught up in a wave of GIR’s lethally amplified stupidity. In response, his PAK appears to resuscitate him with a quick jolt. The would-be events of “10 Minutes to Doom” emphasize the necessity of the PAK for any Irken’s survival beyond several minutes, which directly implies PAKs facilitate a major biological process their natural bodies are no longer capable of alone. Personally, I think it might be something either neurological or related to respiration, on a hunch.

Well, whatever it is, they are toast without it in swift manner, and the PAK doesn’t prefer to be without its other piece anymore than the body does. Dib’s revelation about the technology described their relationship with its body like that of driver and car, but I think he’s missing something. The PAK is actually more than capable of carrying itself around without the body… at least for a time.

When I think about those things, a little dilemma pops up in my head concerning how they.. well, how they’re powered. It is never explained or demonstrated that they are given time off of the body in order to charge; however, irkens are probably advanced enough to have some smaller and sci-fi wildly potent and small energy source up their sleeves, but actually, that wouldn’t quite make sense here. Because Irken bodies still produce their energy the same way every other lifeform in the known galaxy does, with food. Lots of food, actually. They can mow through snacks at about the same rate as Augustus Gloop. PAKs don’t need to produce their own independent energy source, they just need to efficiently make use of what this organism is already evolutionarily fine tuned to do naturally. Now that’s smart engineering.

And so, like any respectable auxiliary life support feature, they hold some of that energy in a reserve for those crisis moments like in “Plague of Babies”, and also in a deleted scene made for “Abduction”!

Fun trivia fact, but originally that episode was supposed to feature a sequence where Zim nearly game overs again. He takes a gnarly hit and a literal plunge through open flames that knocks him out in a free fall.

Despite his incapacitated state, the PAK extends its spider legs in order to catch a walkway railing, both saving his life and proceeding to keep carrying his limp body to a safer location, until of of course, he comes to about a moment later and carries on.

And neither of these are the only times it’s sprung into action the moment it detects something has gone horribly wrong. When accidentally detached from its own host, an emergency response will be triggered within the PAK in an attempt to reattach with its body. Failing that, it attaches instead to… well, whatever it can find.

In “10 minutes to Doom”, this was unfortunately Dib, an incompatible match (or maybe it just picked an improper attachment site), and in the comics… things got interesting at a point or two.

So, I already know what happens when you separate an Irken from their spinal brain, but what about the cranial one?

Because, they actually don’t seem on the same level of urgent necessity? Now that I think about it?

The time machine kerfuffle and the brain eating parasite escape were both events this guy evidently survived, albeit not comfortably or ideally until the problem was fixed (I have to assume in part with GIR’s or the Computer’s help). Now that I think about it Zim’s incredibly fortunate that most of these more serious mishaps happened inside of his base. But it’s theory time.

So, we do this, to a hypothetical green bug bastard

For fun let’s say, hypothetically again, like the hardy earth roach, he blood clots quickly.

Well, first and foremost, that higher up nervous system blackout is probably going to cue the PAK in to begin the following protocol:

1. Activate an emergency response to quickly access the situation.

2. Immediately scurry the body the hell away from whatever manner of threat just shaved a little too much off the top, engaging in all possible defensive measures if necessary.

3. Devote the entirety of its remaining backup power (of which it would have much more stored within the headless body than if it were itself detached) into making a beeline for the coordinates of the nearest Irken source of assistance. On the homeworld, or any fully colonized planet, this would be a cut and dry matter of finding the nearest theoretical space clinic or whatever those freaks have (maybe those dbz regeneration tanks? Idk that would be cool wouldn’t it?). For the lone invader… home base is the next best alternative, being a secured location with plenty of resources and advanced technology at the ready. I would bet my own head that situations like this are a huge highlight to the prime value of a personal SIR companion.

Now, best case scenario for what this help looks like depends on whether we can save and bring the head along too. Reattachment and repair at that point should be a pretty simple matter at the tech level we are working with, afterall. But that’s again, the ideal case scenario. Could they just… regrow the head eventually? We don’t really have a clear answer on what the limits and capabilities of what the Irken healing factor is, but I want to at least guess that having a personal lab and assistant on hand is going to help. Bare minimum, a solution can get worked out to supply the body with needed blood sugars again to buy more time.

The PAK itself retains a pretty much perfect digital backup of its body’s memories, experiences, and identity, so it’s not like information has been permanently been lost with primary brain damage. Replacing the primary brain entirely might be as easy as backing up your iPhone and downloading everything into some shiny new hardware. Hell, it may not even need be Irken hardware!

Do you know the real disturbing things from “Dark Harvest” NOBODY brings up are???

Why the fuck was an instantaneous organ-swapping device already just something Zim was carrying around in his toolset?

And

Zim’s morphology was horrifically receptive to those dozens of xenographs.

Those human organs were actually beating, pulsing, absolutely redundant and unnecessary in his body, but completely still functional and healthy in the name of selling his act to the school nurse. He didn’t just clumsily cram a bunch of offal into himself, he competently integrated them into his biology and somehow wasn’t suffering like… the tons of complications you’d expect from trying a stunt like that.

And in the comics, there’s this other fella I just adore for how skrangly he looks, and believe it or not, his actual fucking name is Skrang.

He’s a smart guy, though. Don’t be fooled. And I mean like, a smart guy. And it’s all thanks to a little help from a little upgrade he’s been fitted with :)

So, I hope you take all the implications I’ve been building here and make what you will of them. I genuinely think an Irken has a decent chance of making it out of a beheading alive to seek sadistic vengeance another day. Do I think ZIM could do such a thing? Tbh, I think he’d have to rely on GIR to come in clutch, and we may know that’s a complete roll of the dice in any case.

Wow, this got morbid, but, par for the course really.

[mediamixs]

Top 10 back-to-school horror movies

Top Here are ten notable back-to-school horror movies that capture the terrifying side of education:

Carrie (1976) This classic film, based on Stephen King's novel, follows Carrie White, a shy high school girl with telekinetic powers. After being bullied at school and facing abuse at home, her prom night turns into a horrific bloodbath when she unleashes her powers on her tormentors.

Prom Night (1980) A group of teens is stalked by a masked killer on the anniversary of a tragic accident they were involved in during childhood. The film highlights the dangers of high school social dynamics, especially during prom night.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) This iconic slasher film introduces Freddy Krueger, who haunts the dreams of teenagers, leading to deadly consequences in the real world. It explores themes of fear and trauma associated with adolescence.

The Faculty (1998) In this sci-fi horror film, high school students discover that their teachers are being controlled by alien parasites. The film combines elements of teen drama and horror, showcasing the paranoia of teenage lif.

Cooties (2014) This horror-comedy features a group of teachers at an elementary school who must fend off their zombie-like students after a contaminated batch of chicken nuggets turns them into monsters. It's a humorous take on the horror genre set in a school environment.

The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015) Set in a deserted boarding school during winter break, this film follows two girls as they face sinister forces. The isolation and eerie atmosphere amplify the horror elements, making it a chilling watch.

Battle Royale (2000) This Japanese film presents a dystopian scenario where a class of students is forced to kill each other on an isolated island as part of a government program. It critiques societal pressures on youth and the extreme measures that can arise from them.

Village of the Damned (1960) This classic horror film revolves around a group of children with supernatural abilities born simultaneously in a small town. The film's chilling portrayal of these children in a school setting adds to its horror.

Jennifer’s Body (2009) This film follows a high school cheerleader possessed by a demon who begins to prey on her male classmates. It combines dark humor with horror, exploring themes of friendship and betrayal.

Happy Death Day (2017) A college student relives the day of her murder repeatedly until she can identify her killer. This film blends slasher elements with a time-loop narrative, providing a fresh take on the horror genre set in a school context.

These films not only entertain but also evoke the anxieties and fears associated with school life, making them perfect for a back-to-school horror movie marathon.

[lolotheparagon]

Top 10 Sofia the First Songs

Fuck it, I know most of you dont give a shit about Sofia the First but this show has been a sheer delight for me so y'all gonna sit down, shut up and appreciate some good music. The music in this show is much like the music in Friendship is Magic. They both went way too hard than they needed to.

Here's the top 10 best songs in Sofia the First

10. King Cedric the Great

Villain songs are always fun and its even better when the villain singing it is about as dangerous as a rubber duck. Cedric is the true example of how to write a sympathetic villain. He's a hapless sorceror who's actually really good at magic but his anxiety combined with everyone (except Sofia and his niece Calista) viewing him as some kind of loser are the reason why he wants to take over the kingdom cos he thinks that's the only way he can get respect. As this song illustrates how he wants Sofia's amulet so he can use its powers, but as the episode goes on, he finds out he doesnt really have it in him to be truly evil for reasons I won't go into, cos the episode this song's from is SO good. Its called Cedric's Apprentice if anyone wants to look it up.

As for the song itself, its a homage to classic Disney villain songs but Cedric's plan is so childishly over the top its hard to take him seriously, which is the song's intention. Its a great juxtaposition. Jess Harnell's singing is just the ham on top of these cheese sandwich.

He really has a knack for playing characters that are totally wacko

9. Wendell's Way

Speaking of sorcerors, here's another villain: a kid named Wendell. A spoilt brat who stole all the flying horses of Enchancia for his birthday. He's like if Horrid Henry went to that terf wizard school. The song itself has a very boisterious energy, amplified by the hard rock drums and the lute/guitar solo?? which makes it all the more satisfying when Sofia, Amber and James get the upper hand in the end and Wendell's mother comes out of nowhere to ground him, its fucking great. Its nice to see a bully character actually stay a bully and not get force-redeemed by the writers so they can pull the 'everyone deserves a second chance' message , when in actuality, no, some people really are that mean and you're not obligated to give a shit about a bully. Wendell is, in retrospect, a breath of fresh air as the song doesnt pull some sad backstory out of the aether to make you feel sorry for this kid. No, he's just that selfish.

Also the lyric: 'That is a promise, but also a threat' is fucking great.

Its a simple song but a bop nonetheless.

8. Make Some Noise

Sometimes a song is good when its just plain fun. And this song definitely applies. In the episode this is from, Sofia befriends a bunch of trolls living under the castle that everyone warns her are dangerous and violent and here... theyre actually super chill. The fact that Sofia instantly gets into the groove is delightful and again showcases how compassionate she is.

The song itself has a fun, jazzy melody with the trolls using thier equivalents of piano, trumpets and of course their clubs. It's such a feel good song, almost like the voice actors just got up from the chairs and just danced like they dont give a shit and the directors just hit record. It really feels like a song you would hear at a party. Even the repeated animation doesnt bother me.

7. A Princess True

One of this show's biggest weakness is portraying people from different cultures cos its clear the show is made by mostly white people who have a limited understanding of non-white cultures and can easily fall into racist stereotypes without realising it. Its not by any means racist as the show features plenty of non white side characters (Khaled, Kashmir, Jun, Jin and Kari) that the main cast are on friendly terms with. But here, this song is relatively tame as this song is all about Sofia, a white girl, believing in Lani, a Hawaiian girl, as her actions throughout the episode are proof she's the real deal.

In the episode, Princess Leilani lost her family heirloom the Emerald Key into the sea after fighting an evil witch, where it gets washed up in Enchancia so Leilani goes to the castle to get the key back, cos its a key to help her parents find their way home from the sea. However, the witch Mamanu disguises herself as Leilani as well so she can trick the Enchancian royal family into giving her the Key. So Roland puts both Lanis to the test but the test involves the Lanis to act like THEIR cultural view of royalty. Sofia notices one of the Lanis aces it and the other competely fails at it and does something different instead. So Sofia thinks the latter is the real princess and this song is her showing her full support and belief that Lani is the true princess.

Its a very sweet song to a very meaty episode which is why I had to explain in full detail. Its not perfect but the song really encapsulates Sofia's and the show's earnestness towards non-white characters and I appreciate that. It helps the creator is Jewish and went on to make a show all about Latina culture and did actual research on it. So this song, and the episode itself is a good, albeit rocky start.

Even if they fucked it up with giving Lani powers in the next episode she appeared in, goddammnit why the magical native stereotype we were so close!!!!!

6. Me and My Mom

Creator Craig Gerber has stated many times that one of Sofia the First's core themes is teaching kids about blended families and how to adapt after getting new parents and step siblings in your life (since he was a child of divorce himself and had to adapt to having a new father and siblings). This song is about Sofia's struggles to adapt now that she has to share her mother with Amber and James. You really feel sorry for Sofia cos she's so used to having her mother being the only family she has and of course, is easily attached to her.

Its a very soft, heartfelt song that resonates with a lot of kids that are in Sofia's position. I bet they felt very seen by this episode.

5. Improvise

In the episode, Amber wants to join in Sofia's girl scout group but in typical Amber fashion, she brought nothing but dresses and jewellry to an outdoor trip and forgot to pack a tent. So Sofia and her friends teach her how to improvise via musical number. A cute lesson about being resourceful and a great example of Amber becoming a more versatile character as she grows to love the outdoors.

There's a very jovial, motivational energy to the song that really makes it stand out from the usual pep-talk songs in this show. What else can I say? Its a highlight of Amber's character development and a fun little song to boot. Whats not to love?

4. Two By Two

Amber's relationship with her sister Sofia is always expanded upon in the show but her relationship with brother James is a lot less so since Amber and James sparsely interact beyond typical sibling teasing. So its nice this episode, and this song helps establish how much Amber actually cares about her twin brother.

In the episode, Amber accidentally turns James into a toddler thanks to a botched magic spell cos Amber didnt want to share her birthday but as her and Sofia run around trying to find baby James. Sofia suggests to Amber to sing the twin song that James and Amber used to sing all the time when they were little. (which is just adorable)

I love how Amber starts the song in a very deadpan, almost annoyed tone until the second verse hits and slowly her singing becomes more melancholy and emotional, like the fact that her twin being lost is just now hitting her. Especially since she spent the whole episode wishing to have a birthday to herself for once, not realising that she's taking away James' birthday and thus losing him too. That small bit of her looking at the pocket watch with her and James' portrait it, finally finding baby James behind the throne, picking him up and hugging him and them finishing the song together

STOP, MY FUCKING HEART CANT TAKE THE AMOUNT OF CUTE

Its so nice to see a sibling relationship that's actually wholesome.

3. Dare to Risk It All

One of Amber's biggest flaws is her envy and her getting over being an jealous bitch to her little sister is a lesson that Amber has always had to learn in the show's earlier seasons. And while she has made some development, this is the episode where Amber makes the most change. And this song is emblematic of that.

Dare To Risk It All has Rapunzel appear to teach Amber that you have to put other's needs before your own to earn forgiveness, to prove you can change, which is a lesson not a lot of kids shows teach nowadays cos most shows like Steven Universe and even MLP put the pressure on the victim to forgive their bullies or let them off easy (especially if they're family) but in this episode, Sofia is rightfully angry at Amber for stealing her amulet and isnt afraid to snap at her for it the whole episode so Amber throughout this song (and the episode) realising how much Sofia means to her and it puts the pressure on Amber to be a better person and a better sister.

Its one of the few good Disney Princess songs the show has. The Disney Princess aspect of the show is honestly its biggest crutch cos Sofia always has a good role model with her mother and her dad to some extent and the princesses havent exactly had the best trakc record for teaching good lessons to Sofia since they either state the obvious or gaslight her. So its nice to see the princesses teach someone else for a change. And its Rapunzel, the best Disney princess.

Also bonus points for having a good song about earning forgiveness whilst flying dragons.

2. Princess Things

Sofia wants to do flying horse-racing even though mostly boys at her school do that sport and both Amber and Sofia's rival Prince Hugo are discouraging her from trying out the sport. Its your typical girl empowerment message. While the pilot episode established the whole premise, this episode (Just One of the Princes) and this song establishes Sofia's character: a pro-active princess who doesnt fall for anyone's bullshit, which is perfect for a moral center protagonist.

I love how Sofia's expression throughout the song goes from confused to smiling like she's internally screaming. And her verses are basically 'screw you guys i do whatever the fuck i want.' So not only did everyone waste their time singing to convince Sofia but in fact made her even MORE CONVINCED to try out the flying horse derby. Good job, guys.

Aside from that, the song itself is a bop. The repeated chorus really emphasises the peer pressure Sofia is going through. Second episode of the series and they're already making a hit.

1. All You Need

In the episode, Sofia meets Vivian, a princess who's a great artist and musician but is painfully shy and thus everyone is spreading rumours around her. Even Sofia was a bit apprehensive but she pushes through it to meet Vivian at her house whilst they work on their school project and this delightful song just pops up.

I love how it starts with Vivian nervously playing her lute and Sofia starts singing, whilst helping her IN SONG start brainstorming their ideas for a dream castle. Then after Sofia's verse is done: ending with the lyric, Ill paint all the towers blue, now the rest is up to you, Vivian immediately jumps and enthusiastically suggest her own ideas. The music even matches the tone of the characters. When it starts, its only Vivian's lute and a backing track but as soon as the bridge comes, the music swells when Sofia's singing motivates Vivian and its just chef kiss.

This song, as well as the episode this was from, made me really like Vivian as a side character and I always loved her interactions with Sofia whenever she made an appearance. I like how she retained her newfound confidence into later seasons, where she becomes just as pro-active as Sofia.

This song, to me, is what Sofia the First is all about. A girl who's just the sunniest child, befriending the shy kid in her class and having the most adorable musical number. Are there songs with better lyrics and theming? Absolutely. But the sheer serotonin levels this song has, as well as encapsulating the main character's compassion for others, is why this is the best song of the show

Thank you for coming to my TED talk about a bluebell princess

[justahumblememefarmer]

Ultimate Doctor Who Poll Round 1 - Matchup 16

Episode Summaries under the cut

124: The Lazarus Experiment - Season 3, Episode 6: The Doctor brings Martha back home after the one trip that he offered her. She turns the tv on to see her sister on the news with an elderly man, Professor Lazarus, who claims he will "change what it means to be human" which intrigues the Doctor. They attend a gala that Martha's sister planned where Lazarus will reveal his invention. Martha's family is there and her mother questions her relationship with the Doctor.

Lazarus steps into his machine and activates it, but the machine begins to malfunction until the Doctor intervenes. When he pulls the plug, Lazarus steps out, no longer an old man, and has successfully reduced his age. When Lazarus takes a woman to his office alone, he changes into a monster and lunges at her. He returns to the party and invites Martha's sister upstairs. The Doctor and Martha discover the body left behind and go to the roof where Lazarus and Martha's sister are. Lazarus turns into a monster yet again and attacks and chases them back down to the party.

The Doctor and Martha manage to use his machine to create a shockwave, appearing to kill him. While Martha and the Doctor check on her family, Lazarus kills two paramedics and retreats to a nearby cathedral. Martha uses herself as bait while Lazarus chases her, while the doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to amplify the sound of the cathedral's organs, causing Lazarus to fall from the top of the cathedral and finally die, transforming back into his elderly self.

The Doctor offers for Martha to travel with him permanently, to which she agrees.

133: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos - Season 11, Episode 10: The Doctor, Yaz, Graham, and Ryan detect a planet with several distress signals coming from it. They land and find that Tzim-Sha, the alien that killed Grace, Ryan's grandmother and Graham's wife. After their initial meeting he was transported to this planet, where he was mistaken as the god of the Ux species, who have intense powers of creation. He convinced them to build the temple as a machine to steal entire planets, compressing them to a small, hand-held size for his trophy room.

Ryan and Graham work to free the crews of the ships that had been sending distress signals, while the Doctor and Yaz manage to convince the Ux that Tzim-Sha is not their god. They help the Doctor return all of their planets to their original location. While Tzim-Sha escapes he runs into Graham, who wants revenge for his killing of Grace. He ultimately decides to shoot Tzim-Sha in the foot, and traps him in one of his own trophy cases, where he will be held in permanent suspended animation.

The Doctor takes the Ux to one of the remaining ships, telling them to explore the universe, and takes off with her crew in the TARDIS.

[deadn30n]

◟ CHARACTER HEADCANON: HEARTSTEEL YONE ◝

so while i know HEARTSTEEL is centered around a more modern kind of au, i'm a stubborn old bastard and want to keep some of the more magical elements that League of Legends built itself with.

which is why i fully believe that the azakana still very much exist in the HEARTSTEEL universe, and yone's been able to see them ever since he was a child due to a near-death experience he had.

there was a summer where he and Yasuo were outside their home in the forests of Ionia, playing near a lake when Yone was suddenly dragged under water by something unseen. he wound up actually drowning and was dead for several minutes, even after Yasuo managed to drag him out of the lake.

during the span of time Yone was dead, he entered the spirit realm and was violently attacked by a demonic spirit. and much like in his original lore, he slew that beast but was cursed by it in secret. it's spirit clung to his body, even as it hurled him back into life -- it's eyes meshed with his own.

from that day forward, Yone became acutely aware of the azakana that walked alongside humans in life, hiding their identities and striking down the most unsuspecting of prey. it became his mission to protect them, and after years of searching for a device that could do this, he discovered...

an old mixer?

specifically one that previously belonged to an unnamed, but legendary producer of the underground. that mixer seemed to bond with the azakana spirit living inside Yone, and through it he was able to create a sort of protective barrier around all those who listened. this made it increasingly harder for the azakana to feed, and as such he became a continuous target for them.

nobody -- not even Yasuo knows -- the truth about Yone's hidden powers, or why he seems to carry around a 10 year old mixer that just seems so out of date. yet somehow, somehow it produces a better sound quality than anything that's even remotely top of the line. why is this the case? perhaps it just has something to do with the azakana spirit living inside him...

[ and side note: during the music video when it switches realms and shows Yone donning a mask + hitting a mixer to topple the tower Aphelios is in, i like to think that that mask is very much something he carries on his person as it helps amplify his bond with the azakana. he and the creature have a rather complicated relationship, and Yone isn't sure if it's ever going to win out and actually kill him in the end. but until it happens, he'll continue making music and using it to protect the common public from the azakana. tee hee ]

[thedemigodsguide]

Hey, demigod child of... I'm unclaimed, anyways I found a child of Tartarus, what do I do with it. It's ten years old and won't stop trying to eat sand, we are currently on the way to camp.

Hey, kids!

Please do not let the Tartarus kid eat sand. As much they may want to, even demigods are not able to consume non-nutritional substances. Though there are likely exceptions, in which a god/goddess's powers might allow a child to consume something unusual, Tartarus has no relation to sand. If it's a medical condition, the Apollo kids will probably be able to do something about it.

Anyways, I know a child of a generally malicious being/god/titan can be intimidating. Children of Tartarus may have powers relating to monsters, which may or may not affect your journey to camp. The important thing is to keep treating them as you would any other kid their age. Remember to be kind and open-minded. Also, kids are incredibly bright. Take it from someone who regularly works with kids, even the littles (4, 5, 6), have a good understanding of what’s going on. A 10-year old will have no issues. They will know if they’re being treated right. So treat them with the same respect, kindness, and encouragement that you would anyone else.

As for you, I know it can be tricky as an unclaimed child. You’re probably wondering who your parent is, and if they want you as their child. Chances are, your parent cares, but can’t claim you for your own safety. Oftentimes, gods/goddesses will wait until their child has arrived at camp to claim them. As soon as a child is claimed, it puts a target on their back and amplifies their scent like a monster beacon. So yeah, you’re probably going to be claimed not long after you arrive.

And if you don’t get claimed right away, you’ll get to hang out in the Hermes or Hestia cabins! Everyone is super welcoming! (If you’re in the Hermes cabin, keep an eye on your stuff).

If you still want to figure out who your parent is, there are a few ways that can help, but none of them are 100% accurate.

One of the easier ways is by comparing physical traits. For instance, most Athena kids have blonde hair and gray eyes. Hephaestus kids often have very muscular builds and sometimes brown eyes. Apollo kids tend to have tans, and blonde hair that will get sun-bleached (less common). So on and so forth. Not all gods have particular traits that are passed down, and not all common traits will show up in all kids. But you might be able to narrow it down a little.

The second method, also not 100% accurate, is by discovering what, if any, powers you have. There are a lot of gods/goddesses and a lot of different powers that are possible. But oftentimes, if you know what some of your powers are, you can start grouping them into lists that line up with certain gods/goddesses.

A good example of this is Percy Jackson. He had water powers, yes, but there are a lot of deities related to water. Poseidon, Amphitrite, Triton, Oceanus, Glaucus, Kymopoleia, and many more. On top of that, there are a lot of water spirits that could have also been possibilities. So yes, it was obvious Percy had water powers, but between the Pact and the many possibilities, we couldn’t be sure if he was a son of Poseidon.

You might not know what powers you have and that's okay. Usually, using your powers will come to you naturally, depending on the situation your in. You can try some different things to figure out your powers. People with nature based powers often find that sitting down outside and just trying to meditate and connect with nature will be able to find something. Or maybe you’re really good at crafting or music. Just try as many activities as you can! I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually!

And you know, feel free to share with me! I’m curious to know, too!

Anyways, that should be enough! Be safe! I'll see you soon at camp! Feel free to ask for me and I'll help you out however you need it!

–Kally

[thestargazingstrawberry]

Barba Negra, Budapest, 2024.09.09.

Zeal and Ardor:

I did not know the band beforehand, and had no time to check up on them before the concert, but safe to say I was very pleasantly surprised! Much more metal focused act, than Heilung, their energy was perfect for starting off the night. Absolutely no pre-act syndrome either, no forced hyping of the crowd. They're exactly the right balance of melodic and heavy for my liking, definitely going to spend some more time listening to them on my own.

Heilung:

I was a bit unsure what to expect from Heilung live, but it was everything I could ask for and more. Visually they're in a league of their own. All the set pieces and choreography fitting that old Nordic/pagan style exactly. Their slowly unraveling musical style makes this an almost meditative experience, one with remarkable primal power though. All of this is apparent from recordings, but experiencing it live, in the middle of the crowd amplified it a hundred times. (I also feel like mentioning that through the entire show there was only a single word directed towards the audience, which was a perfectly pronounced hungarian 'thank you' at the end.)

Barba Negra lived up to the expectations, in my experience it is one of the most technically good and consistent venues there is. Only complaint is that it's somewhat hard to get to.

Ultimately I think this was one of, if not the best concert I've been to in my life. Two very confident bands, and with good reason to be. Gonna be hard to top. 11/10, would very much recommend.

[bakersstreetirregulars]

M. Cursor - The Crepe Analysis

⚙️ This “control panel” was hard to analyze and harder to actually control because of all the control skills it has. But with every other analysis on YouTube and beyond that Meringue’s seen, it’s about time he came up with SOMETHING. Anyways, let’s open this file.

M. Cursor is the mid-boss of stage 18-20 in Goddess of Eternal Gold and the only enemy in this stage. According to Mozzarella Cookie, it’s something that’s possessed her control panel, although this could very easily be a lie considering what happens in the cutscene after you defeat it… and something for YOU to find out yourself because we aren’t putting spoilers here. But what we WILL put is the specs of the Story difficulty stage itself.

Story Stage Power: 849,032

Guaranteed Rewards:

71,703 Kingdom EXP

7,056 Coins (Includes a +1% buff from Guild Relics)

18x Level 4 EXP Star Jellies

2 Topping Pieces

Possible Bonus Rewards:

Healthy Peanut S (+HP)

Sweet Candy S (Amplify Buffs)

Hard Walnut M (+DEF)

Swift Chocolate M (-Cooldown)*

Magic Powder (Upgrade material for Magic Cookie skills from level 1 to 20)

⚙️ *This topping makes the stage a potential replay area if you wanna grind or farm Swift Chocolate toppings since those are very much meta for a LOT of Cookies.

Stage Statuses

Ally Healing -65%

Ally Shield Capacity -65%

Enemy Debuff Resist +40%

Glitch: Adds Error Points to a unit’s gauge when damaged by certain enemies. This gauge has 10 segments for Cookies and 2 segments for summons. Purifying skills like Herb Cookie’s skill or either Monocle treasure will remove 3 segments from the gauge. When the gauge is full, the target becomes Glitched and immobilized, bypassing most interrupt resistances and immunities until it expires or is purified. Removal of the Glitch debuff on Cookies causes other effects to happen.

Data Corruption: Inflicts damage on the target after Glitch expires using a non-dispellable Corruption debuff. This damage is proportional to the target’s Max HP and lowers their Max HP count similar to Injury, but HP deducted can’t be restored with things like Pure Vanilla’s skill. Damage can be somewhat negated by revival or the Invulnerable/Immortal buff. The more dangerous effect to watch out for, since it makes it easier for enemies to break through.

Data Copy: Creates an enemy clone after Glitch expires if another enemy is nearby. This clone has no additional default passives besides the default stage statuses unless buffed by another enemy teammate. It does melee attacks at the same rate as GingerBrave and looks like him too, but more glitched. Less dangerous, since it just creates enemy reinforcements. They can be cleared out with splash damage and crowd control easily, but don’t let them overwhelm you.

M. Cursor’s Stats

Power: 155,067

HP: 6,547,400

ATK: 62,471

DEF: 95,057

Click: Deals damage to the nearest target and increases the number of Error stacks.

⚙️ Each hit adds one Error point to the targeted Cookie. M. Cursor will seek out Cookies with this one.

Double Click: Deals damage to the nearest random target, Stuns them, and increases the number of Error stacks.

⚙️ While M. Cursor will seek out a random Cookie, this one will damage and stun everyone for a split-second. While not necessarily a control move, the brief stun can throw off your attack pattern just enough to lead to you losing outright. It’ll also increase everyone’s Error count, so watch your teammates and lower their Error where possible, or else they’ll be much more fragile and more likely to fall to other attacks because of Data Corruption.

In Use: Deals damage to all targets, applying Silence and Anti-Gravity.

⚙️ This is one of M. Cursor’s control moves since the Gravity effect will keep everyone from acting at all. Skills can’t be used, nobody can attack or move into position, everyone is slowly levitated backwards, and this one will even bypass Stun Immunity despite the stun icon used to lock the skill buttons. The Silence debuff will keep your skills locked out for a few more seconds even after you land and pauses any active cooldowns the whole time. Purify the Silence debuff ASAP so your skills can rotate while Gravity is active and you’ll be ready to cause havoc once your Cookies land.

This is an especially big problem if a Trash Can is in play and currently devouring its captured unit since your Cookies can’t respond to destroy it. This will cost you several seconds of precious time in which you have to attack the Trash Can before it deletes your Cookie. If you use a skill that grants interruption resistance or intangibility, however, you can dodge this prolonged control status completely.

Delete (D): Summons a Trash Can that Devours the target in front of it.

⚙️ M. Cursor’s summon and instant-kill move. Also one of the main features that makes M. Cursor rage-inducing to face. The Trash Can looks like a gilded version of your computer’s Recycling Bin and has a segmented HP bar similar to Prune Juice Cookie’s summon, which means you need to land about 40 hits on it to destroy it. Once the Trash Can is in play, it will immediately move forward and capture the nearest target, removing them from play. This renders them unable to act and the teammates behind them vulnerable to everything else.

After about 15-20 seconds of holding the target, the Trash Can empties itself, instantly defeating whatever’s in it. Destroying the Trash Can while it’s holding a unit will release whatever’s in it, allowing that unit to continue fighting without taking damage from the Trash Can. There are a number of bypasses to this instant-kill that you can use.

Fettuccine and Capsaicin can survive being devoured if their Immortality failsafe passive hasn’t been used yet, allowing them to get back in the fight once if the Trash Can empties them out. Golden Cheese and Vampire have revival-based failsafe passives that work in a similar manner should they be forced to the front.

Sugar Swan’s Shining Feather can revive your first KO that isn’t saved by a Cookie’s on-potential-KO passive. Consider it an insurance policy against a player mistake, but you’ll lose a Treasure space to equip it and it could be wasted on another attack sooner than you expect to use it on the Trash Can’s latest catch. HP deductions from Data Corruption may still apply.

Engage rapid fire skills on Cookies that haven’t been captured to shred the Trash Can’s hit-based HP bar before it deletes your Cookie. Skills that rely on multi-hit damage (and a high number of hits) used by Cookies such as Twizzly Gummy, Clotted Cream, Rye, Milky Way, and Black Raisin can rapidly destroy the Trash Can while other Cookies follow suit with their standard attacks. Just make sure they aren’t interrupted or KO’d during their attack run or you’ll probably lose your Cookie to the Trash Can.

You can bait the Trash Can into capturing one of your own Summons, preferably swarming units like Licorice Servants, Cotton Sheep, House Oyster Soldiers, and Cream Wolves to increase the likelihood of a Trash Can catching a Summon instead of a Cookie. Single heavy Summons like Pompon, Prune Jellies, and Crunchy Chip’s mount (left behind after he gets KO’d) can work in a pinch, but you’ll probably want to get them back since they’re very integral to their summoners’ skills. Summons can also whittle down the Trash Can’s hit-based HP bar while the other Cookies attack it, allowing you to destroy the Trash Can quicker.

Display Pointer Trails: Deals damage to all targets and applies Paralysis.

⚙️ M. Cursor’s high-damage control move and a second frustrating feature of M. Cursor as a boss. Once used, the screen darkens and M. Cursor attacks everyone on-screen, dealing high area damage over the course of a few seconds. Anyone damaged by this attack becomes Paralyzed for a few seconds, greatly slowing ATK SPD including that found in skills used usually after infliction unless the affected Cookies have skills that grant immunity to forced ATK SPD changes. If you know M. Cursor is about to drop this one, use your Ambush Cookies’ skills (and ambush-like evasion skills found on Cookies like Moonlight and Squid Ink) at the last possible moment before the attack and save your healing skills for when the cursor tracers start flying.

You should purify the inflicted Paralysis ASAP if possible, but it’s not always necessary if the Trash Can is out of play. If the Trash Can is not moving in to capture or currently mid-capture, it is either too far away to capture or is on a cooldown caused by emptying its contents, and therefore does not pose a threat that you need to react to immediately with Cookie skills or Paralysis purification.

Error Message (Passive): Gains a Hit Shield for using Skills a certain number of times.

⚙️ After M. Cursor attacks several times, it gains a hit shield that works similarly to the Trash Can’s segmented HP bar. Once the shield is up, the only way to damage the boss is to break through the shield by attacking it. Dispelling skills will not affect it, and hits received will only remove segments regardless of damage dealt.

While it’s tempting to utilize the insights seen with quick Trash Can removal, do so if you KNOW that the Trash Can isn’t gonna appear and delete something before you can respond to it, usually with rapid-fire skills on cooldown. Summon skills can be used more freely in either situation, but proper skill timing is still important.

Team Lineup

🪸 Crimson Coral Cookie

Level 75 ⭐️

Somber Affection: Level 75

5x Sea Salt Almonds +12

ATK +6.9%

DMG Resist +37.2%

ATK SPD +5.2%

Cooldown -6.7%

CRIT Resist +11.4%

⚙️ Crimson Coral Cookie is the vanguard in this plan, and the only Cookie that should be in the front row to get the most out of her Coral Armor buff, namely the 30% DMG Resist/Reflect buffs on herself and the +15% HP buff for everyone else. She should be the primary target for Click and the Trash Cans, protecting the others behind her. The catch is that you’ll need to be ready to shred the Trash Can after it captures her so you can get her back before it deletes her.

For her skill, the mass +25% DMG Resist (possibly boosted by 30% as a passive in her stats) and HP Shields will further protect her teammates as the only relevant buffs in her skill for this boss fight. Resistance to DEF Reduction and CRIT DMG Resist hold little weight as buffs here since M. Click doesn’t inflict CRIT damage or DEF Reduction. Curse effects inflicted by her being captured by a Trash Can (which is standard for devouring skills) will block buffs, but this can be counteracted with Curse Protection so her teammates can still buff her and get her ready once released. As for when to use her skill, just use it ASAP. The aforementioned DMG Resist will keep everyone protected even if her 4-hit charge attack hits the Hit Shield and does no damage or if she charges straight into the Trash Can. Her resistance to interruptions and immunity to forced ATK SPD changes while her skill is active allows her to power through “In Use” and “Display Pointer Trails” if timed correctly.

🐦‍⬛ Black Raisin Cookie

Level 75 🌟🌟

Shadow Watcher: Level 75

Magic Candy - Sentinel’s Strike: Level 10

5x Sweet Apple Jellies +12

ATK +2.6%

HP +2.3%

CRIT% +46.4%

DMG Resist +9.4%

Amplify Buff +4.1%

DEF +2.3%

ATK SPD +1.6%

Cooldown -2.9%

Debuff Resist +1%

⚙️ Black Raisin Cookie is gonna be one of your two main damage sources in this boss fight, recently made relevant again from her Magic Candy which increases her basic abilities and amplifies her CRIT potential immensely. This is achieved through massive damage in her initial strike combined with another bonus area hit whenever she rolls a critical hit. While she can cast Amplify Debuff and a stacking Weakness debuff once her Magic Candy reaches +10, these are irrelevant unless she’s attacking clones spawned from Data Copy. For damage output, use her skill immediately when it’s ready since she does 8 hits with her basic skill once you make her Magic Candy. This not only allows her to do more damage per hit and grants ample opportunities to roll CRITs for bonus area damage, but also allows her to hack away at M. Cursor’s Hit Shield when it’s active. Keep in mind that her marker signifies that she will almost always go for M. Cursor as the center of her skill, which might miss a loose Trash Can if one’s in play.

However, if you suspect that M. Cursor is about to drop “In Use” or “Display Pointer Trails” on you, wait a bit and use the skill right before the boss’s attack goes off to evade the incoming damage and debuffs while dealing some damage of your own.

🥧 Tarte Tatin Cookie

Level 75 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cannonade: Level 53

5x Searing Raspberries +12

ATK +49.6%

HP +3%

CRIT% +2.98%

DMG Resist +9.6%

Amplify Buff +1.6%

DEF +3.8%

ATK SPD +3%

Cooldown -1.6%

CRIT Resist +3.8%

Debuff Resist +2.7%

⚙️ Tarte Tatin Cookie is going to be your second main damage source in this boss fight because of her bonus damage abilities when she uses her skill on bosses. Her Cannonade skill shot will cycle between normal and enhanced with each use, with the enhanced shots doing 1.5x damage (+50% more) overall. But regardless of which skill shot is loaded in her cannon, Tarte Tatin Cookie’s skill gains a massive bonus damage percentage against bosses, allowing her to chop off a large chunk of M. Cursor’s HP bar with a direct hit.

Unlike Crimson Coral Cookie and Black Raisin Cookie, who have amounting group buffs and multi-hit utility that allows their skills’ use under any circumstance, Tarte Tatin Cookie has a two-hit attack that is best used in an Anti-Boss Damage role. This severely limits her usefulness against Hit Shields and the Trash Can. M. Cursor and the Trash Can are immune to her burn damage, which negates use to tick down shields with a damage over time debuff. Use her skill only when the boss’s Hit Shield is down to actually deal damage, but there’s a trick. Use her non-enhanced skill immediately when it’s ready- regardless of M. Cursor’s status regarding its Hit Shield- to prepare the enhanced skill for when the opening emerges, then use her enhanced skill when the shield is down to inflict skill damage, boss damage, AND a +50% multiplier on top of all of that. Timing her skill uses against M. Cursor’s control skills is still needed so you don’t get interrupted when the boss uses them during your opening.

🌾 Rye Cookie

Level 75 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Final Showdown: Level 75

Magic Candy - Best Shot in the Kingdom: +2

5x Solid Almonds +12

ATK +2.6%

HP +4.9%

DMG Resist +20.5%

Amplify Buff +1.2%

DEF +5%

ATK SPD +2.5%

Cooldown -3.6%

CRIT Resist +7.4%

Debuff Resist +4%

⚙️ Rye Cookie plays a supporting role in this plan despite her capabilities to do high damage and burn with her skill, as well as gaining an ATK SPD buff afterwards. This is because her skill does 24 hits aimed directly at the target with the lowest HP. With the exception of the opening salvo and the finishing combos, Rye Cookie’s skills should ONLY be used when the Trash Can spawns in because its HP is technically ~40 as a segmented HP gauge. Because the HP of the Trash Cans are significantly lower than M. Cursor, Rye Cookie will always aim at the Trash Cans first, granting a significant advantage in dealing with them since she’ll do 24 hits against them per skill use. If the skill still has shots remaining when the Trash Can is destroyed, she’ll either focus in on M. Cursor OR an enemy clone if one exists. If she focuses on an enemy clone spawned from Data Copy, those are vulnerable to getting burned.

The real problem here is her much lower HP pool against M. Cursor’s damage skills, namely “Display Pointer Trails” which can do the most damage to Rye Cookie. As such, her survivability depends on her receiving Solid Almonds to maximize her Damage Resistance. And here’s the worst part. If she falls, the Trash Cans become a serious menace that can dispatch the rest of your team quickly.

🎖️ Clotted Cream Cookie

Potential replacement for Rye Cookie if you have him.

Level 73 ⭐️⭐️

Consul’s Orders: Level 73

5x Solid Almonds +12

ATK +2.5%

HP +4.1%

CRIT% +4.29%

DMG Resist +22%

DEF +2.5%

Cooldown -4.8%

CRIT Resist +7.5%

Debuff Resist +1.5%

⚙️ If you have Clotted Cream Cookie at a good level, he can be a good substitute for Rye Cookie if she’s too finicky to play with. Clotted Cream Cookie’s skill does less damage overall and has 22 hits against Rye Cookie’s 24 hits, but that damage is dealt as area damage to everything on the screen. Because he is filling the same shieldbreaker role as Rye Cookie, this multi-hit splash damage coupled with a similar cooldown can work well in more situations against Trash Cans and M. Cursor’s Hit Shields… even if they’re both active! Lined up well and timed correctly, one skill can tackle both problems at once. But given the choice between both of them, save it for the Trash Cans to keep them out of the way while dealing some extra damage to M. Cursor itself. Only use his skill solely against Hit Shields if you know you can use his skill again before another Trash Can spawns, captures your Cookie, AND deletes them.

Clotted Cream Cookie’s survivability is similar to Rye Cookie’s, which dictates that he needs Solid Almonds to maximize DMG Resist against incoming attacks so he doesn’t fall and allow Trash Cans to overwhelm your team. And while he does not have a burn capability like Rye Cookie’s Magic Candy, Clotted Cream Cookie can still cast a Light Cage against an incoming enemy clone to keep them out of the way and possibly defeat them outright. His Light Cage will not work on M. Cursor or the Trash Cans.

💫 Cream Puff Cookie

Level 75 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jellius Extremus! Level 75

Magic Candy - Extra Cream: +10

5x Juicy Apple Jellies +12

HP +5%

CRIT% +49.18%

DMG Resist +11.1%

DEF +3.9%

ATK SPD +2.9%

Cooldown -2%

CRIT Resist +3.4%

⚙️ Cream Puff Cookie is the burst healer in this plan and relies HEAVILY on rolling CRIT. Why? Because a critical hit does exponentially more damage and healing, and also provides a Cream Buff that even further increases her skill’s damage and gives herself a DMG Resist buff. Regardless of whether she rolls CRIT or not, she also provides a Stun Immunity buff and an ATK buff based on her CRIT%.

Anyways, after all the vicious math calculated behind the scenes which comes out to a CRIT% of 67.18% with a Magic Candy passive CRIT% of +14.7%, that’s a pretty good chance of getting a CRIT. Add the +30% CRIT% buff from the Grim-Looking Scythe and… well… neither me nor Meringue have access to all the numbers at work here nor a calculator that can crunch them all. If M. Cursor didn’t give Meringue a migraine trying to approach this tactically, trying to calculate how Cream Puff Cookie’s CRIT% came to 67.18% considering the aforementioned bonuses definitely messed with his head.

But for the sake of Meringue’s mind in this mathematical conundrum, let’s just say all of these factors present some VERY good odds to rolling critical hits, which means Cream Puff Cookie’s burst healing potential stands better than dedicated healers like Pure Vanilla Cookie, even with the -65% healing mitigation factor. This makes Cream Puff Cookie excellent in both fields of burst healing and CRIT splash damage. Timing her skill isn’t too hard, just use it when someone’s HP goes below half or so to get them back in the fight. However, mind the cooldown and how much your party gets attacked between when you last healed and when Cream Puff Cookie’s skill becomes ready again, as one second too late could mean losing a Cookie just as her skill cycles around again.

Grim-Looking Scythe & Eerie Haunted House

Scythe Level 12 - CRIT% +30.0%

House Level 10 - CRIT% +8.0%

⚙️ With all this CRIT talk, we might as well bump up the odds of rolling CRIT for everyone even more!

Squishy Jelly Watch

Level 12 - -25.0% Cooldown

⚙️ Because Meringue’s Sleephead’s Jelly Watch is still underleveled, he’s working with this one. It still works just as well with cycling everyone’s skills!

Explorer’s Monocle

Level 1 - Purges debuffs, +25% Max HP healing, +20.0% DEF/+15% Debuff Resist for 16 seconds, 14 second cooldown

⚙️ Considering the healing mitigation, you’re gonna be using this for the debuff cleansing and temporary buffs. Even then, upgrading this monocle only improves the DEF buff. It still has a superior healing/cooldown ratio over the Bookseller’s Monocle, which has to be level 9 to match the Explorer’s Monocle’s healing output. And yet, it still gets hampered by a 17 second starting charge time and 23 second cooldown. Overall, the better pick for World Exploration and gameplay overall unless you really need a 30% heal pulse over 25% and buffs.

A Demonstration of This in Practice

⚙️ ANYWAYS… enough talk. Here’s a screen recording that proves that this composition works, recorded by Meringue personally. This one in particular puts Clotted Cream Cookie in as the multi-hit attacker. This ends the analysis.

[i-love-you-very-much]

mutual 1: i fuckign love. peanous

mutual 2: does anyone else ever wonder what the fuck people mean when they say watches are powered by quartz?? i mean it's just a rock, it's not like radioactive or anything, it doesn't Actually emit an aura, right?? right????

mutual 3: rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats

mutual 4: [the most beautiful art of a character who spent 10 minutes onscreen in a missing 1960's doctor who episode]

mutual 5: i fuckign love. peanous

mutual 6: Piezoelectricity (/ˌpiːzoʊ-, ˌpiːtsoʊ-, paɪˌiːzoʊ-/, US: /piˌeɪzoʊ-, piˌeɪtsoʊ-/) is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials—such as crystals, certain ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA, and various proteins—in response to applied mechanical stress. The word piezoelectricity means electricity resulting from pressure and latent heat. It is derived from Ancient Greek πιέζω (piézō) 'to squeeze or press', and ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron) 'amber' (an ancient source of electric current). The piezoelectric effect results from the linear electromechanical interaction between the mechanical and electrical states in crystalline materials with no inversion symmetry. The piezoelectric effect is a reversible process: materials exhibiting the piezoelectric effect also exhibit the reverse piezoelectric effect, the internal generation of a mechanical strain resulting from an applied electric field. For example, lead zirconate titanate crystals will generate measurable piezoelectricity when their static structure is deformed by about 0.1% of the original dimension. Conversely, those same crystals will change about 0.1% of their static dimension when an external electric field is applied. The inverse piezoelectric effect is used in the production of ultrasound waves. French physicists Jacques and Pierre Curie discovered piezoelectricity in 1880. The piezoelectric effect has been exploited in many useful applications, including the production and detection of sound, piezoelectric inkjet printing, generation of high voltage electricity, as a clock generator in electronic devices, in microbalances, to drive an ultrasonic nozzle, and in ultrafine focusing of optical assemblies. It forms the basis for scanning probe microscopes that resolve images at the scale of atoms. It is used in the pickups of some electronically amplified guitars and as triggers in most modern electronic drums. The piezoelectric effect also finds everyday uses, such as generating sparks to ignite gas cooking and heating devices, torches, and cigarette lighters.

mutual 7: anyone else a transgenger women on this fine wet beast wuesday

mutual 8: you know how you can pour liquid mercury into more liquid mercury and it becomes one thing of liquid mercury? why doesn't that happen with solids? why can't you place two gold bars on top of each other to make one really big gold bar? that doesn't make sense to me

mutual 9: i fuckign love. peanous

mutual 10: [30,000 reblogs of mutual 4's art]

mutual 11: who up thinkin about The Characters. i know i'm tbinking about The Characters. are you thinking abkut The Characters? you should be thinking about the The Characters

mutual 12: gideon the ninth more like giddy in the- (i am dragged offstage before you can hear what i could have possibly finished that sentence with)

mutual 13: Cold welding or contact welding is a solid-state welding process in which joining takes place without fusion or heating at the interface of the two parts to be welded. Unlike in fusion welding, no liquid or molten phase is present in the joint. Cold welding was first recognized as a general materials phenomenon in the 1940s. It was then discovered that two clean, flat surfaces of similar metal would strongly adhere if brought into contact while in a vacuum (see Van der Waals force). Newly discovered micro- and nano-scale cold welding has shown potential in nanofabrication processes.

Richard Feynman: "The reason for this unexpected behavior is that when the atoms in contact are all of the same kind, there is no way for the atoms to "know" that they are in different pieces of copper. When there are other atoms, in the oxides and greases and more complicated thin surface layers of contaminants in between, the atoms "know" when they are not on the same part." — Richard Feynman, The Feynman Lectures on Physics, 12–5 Friction

mutual 14: hey didn't you work on the manhattan project. hey y'all callout post for Richard Feynman, mutual 13 (for talking about something related to him), mutual 8 (for asking about something related to him), and mutual 7 (for being a trans woman on a post next to where all of this was happening). they're all terrible horrible unforgivable people and-

Are you sure you want to block mutual 14 from seeing your posts?

nevermind block

mutual 15: i fuckign love. boobs [breasts image]

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

I'm going to spend a little more time thinking about this show before I score it. Because I hate the show, right. I think at its absolute best it is a series that actively and aggressively fails to live up to its potential, and at its worst it is an atrociously bad overpowered protagonist lame comedy all around cringe shounen with a shit power system and all around awful writing. And I genuinely don't understand how anyone could like it, like, at all. The overwhelming ability of apparently almost everyone who has ever seen Frieren to just completely see past the things that frustrate me about it bewilders me. I think in general I'm pretty good at putting myself in the headspace of other people to see how they could like a thing, even things I hate, but I just can't do it with Frieren. The problems with this show are so violently obvious and frustrating to me that I fundamentally cannot understand how anybody could possibly enjoy it. I am convinced of my own problems with the show, right. To me it does suck and it is shit and I've been watching anime for almost 10 years now and this type of contemplative melancholy optimism genre is my bread and butter, shows that are like Frieren occupy a good majority of things I've given 10/10 scores to or consider some of my favourite anime. But this one specifically I just don't vibe with whatsoever and think is terrible at almost everything it sets out to do.

But I think for all that, I can't help shake the feeling that I'm being a liiiiiittle bit of a hater. Because the show sucks and pisses me off and whatever else, but I think I'm less mad at the show itself and more mad at the fact that massive swathes of people are convinced that anime is saved or something because of Frieren, it's so the best thing ever that it's sitting at a 9.37 on MAL right now, a score so ludicrously high that anything being scored with it would feel excessive. Everybody loves it, everybody thinks it's great, and I'm mad at them for not seeing the absolute shitshow that I see. And this problem I have I think has been amplified recently by just some tweets I've seen, of Frieren's fans accusing people that don't like the show of just, well, all sorts of bullshit, you know? If you don't like Frieren you are; a hater, a moronic shounen fan, a zoomer with a tiktok attention span, incapable of paying attention to anything slow or conemplative in any way, and just plain wrong and stupid. There is a sincere lack of willingness to engage with the idea that anyone could earnestly dislike the show for a variety of reasons, and it sucks. It's even worse because now that it's the top rated anime on MAL if you rate it low it's because you want FMAB to be at the top no matter what and you're just review bombing Frieren because you're a sheep or whatever. It just frustrates me so much that there's no conversation to be had here. You either think Frieren is god's gift to the industry and the best thing to air in the past 5-10 years, or you should make like Aura did and kill yourself. It's shit.

For what it's worth by the way, I get that I am both being a hypocrite as well as overly generalising people. I'm not willing to engage with the idea that Frieren is good, so why should people engage with the idea that it's bad? And all that "hrrr frieren fans are so annoying" is referring to like, ten tweets or something with a couple dozen replies each. I have literally spoken to people that are willing to engage with me about Frieren whom like the show but are more than willing to have a conversation and all that. But you know, it is what it is.

But anyway yeah no back to the scoring thing. Just to reiterate, I hate the show anyway, but I'm more mad at the reception and reaction to the thing. So I feel like if I scored it now I'd give it a 1/10 where my judgement is just absolutely clouded by being annoyed by the fans or whatever. Cause even while watching it I did occasionally find merit, you know? Not even just the production whoring but in the characters we were interacting with and the stories on screen. I think if I give myself more time to reflect I'll at least be able to give the show its due credit. I don't expect to score it higher than like a 4 or something maximum, and maybe I'll spend more time thinking about it and still just give it a 1 anyway, but like, I really do think I should spend a bit more time thinking before I decide anything further, so I mean, yeah. Frieren huh. If it gets any sort of followup I don't think I'll watch, and that way the Frieren tag will be cleansed of my bullshit, and the community can watch in peace. ggs.

[jfk-blown-away-blog]

Oh my god is that all your vintage gear?

Please, tell me about it.

That is my main HiFi setup. It's made mostly of thrift store finds I've worked on.

The main turntable is a Dual 1229 that was in a very dustcover/plinth. The original cartridge's right channel had a slightly noticeable distortion so I upgraded it to a Ortofon super om 10.

This is the Panasonic 8-Track, AM/FM radio and the preamp for my 78 playback. It was originally my main preamp for a cheap BSR record changer turntable I got as a upgrade to my starting 5 in one no name unit when I was about 15

This Sanyo is probably the piece of equipment that has lasted me the longest. I got it when I was about 14. I'm still surprised that the belts are still good, and I haven't had any issues with it over the 10 or so years I've had it l.

This absolute unit is a fairly recent addition. I kinda always wanted to add CDs to my system but never found a player that stood out to me, that was until a few months ago I came across this 200 CD mega storage Sony unit. The incredible excessiveness of it was greatly comical to me and I had to have it.

The tan kind of brownish one with all those fun enticing knobs is a Raymer 800-35 A solid state amplifier that's used with a very special piece I'll show at the end.

The one on top with the cute iDogs on top is the Paramount Pictures Model 1000 Stereo Sound Decoder. It makes the music go from cool stereo separation to an all encompassing room of sound. It sounds pretty good.

And finally my most priced unit. A very special piece of equipment. One that was a childhood dream of mine to own. I honestly never expected to own one. It's my Rek-O-Kut TR43H Recording Lathe. It's used to cut records. The Raymer amplifier is what I use to power the cutting head as it needs an 8ohm signal to produce audio, similarly to a speaker. I acquired this about 2 years ago. The person selling it was an older gentleman in his 80s. He was just not getting any use out of it and in his old age he needed some extra funds for medical expenses. It's the only piece in my main setup I didn't find at a thrift store and is the most expensive thing I bought for it. It took me about 2 years fiddling around with it before I finally started getting the decent results I get now.

Here's the kind of audio quality I've reproduced.

[digitalmarketingdailytips]

Harness the Power of SEO to Improve Your Business in India

Introduction

Introduce the concept of search engine optimization (SEO) and its significance for businesses in the Indian market. Highlight how SEO can be a game-changer in boosting online visibility and growth.

1. Understanding SEO for Indian Businesses:

Explain the basics of SEO, emphasizing how it's more than just keyword optimization. Discuss its broader impact on organic traffic, user experience, and brand credibility.

2. Local SEO for Indian Markets:

Detail the importance of local SEO for businesses targeting Indian audiences. Explain how optimizing for local searches can increase foot traffic for physical stores and enhance visibility on Google Maps.

3. Research and Keyword Analysis:

Discuss the importance of thorough keyword research to understand what Indian users are searching for. Explain how identifying the right keywords can lead to higher organic rankings.

4. On-Page Optimization:

Detail the elements of on-page SEO, including optimizing meta titles, descriptions, headings, and content. Explain how these practices align with the search intent of Indian users.

5. Content Creation:

Discuss the role of high-quality and relevant content in Indian SEO strategies. Emphasize the need for creating content that resonates with Indian culture, values, and preferences.

6. Mobile-Friendly Websites:

Highlight the mobile-first nature of the Indian market. Discuss the importance of responsive web design and fast-loading websites to cater to mobile users.

7. Social Media Integration:

Explain how integrating social media can amplify SEO efforts. Discuss how Indian businesses can leverage platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp for engagement and visibility.

8. Building Local Citations:

Detail the significance of building local citations and backlinks from Indian directories and websites. Highlight how this can enhance local search rankings.

9. Google My Business:

Discuss the benefits of setting up and optimizing Google My Business profiles for Indian businesses. Explain how it can improve local visibility, reviews, and user engagement.

10. Voice Search Optimization:

Highlight the growing trend of voice searches in India. Explain how businesses can optimize their content for voice search queries.

11. E-Commerce SEO Strategies:

Detail the unique SEO challenges and strategies for e-commerce businesses in India. Discuss product optimization, structured data, and user reviews.

12. Monitoring and Analysis:

Explain the importance of regularly monitoring and analyzing SEO performance. Highlight tools like Google Analytics and Search Console for insights.

Conclusion:

Summarize the key takeaways from the blog post. Encourage Indian businesses to embrace SEO as a powerful tool for growth and success.

Read More: Unlocking the Secrets of the Top SEO Companies In India

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

President Joe Biden gave a surprisingly interesting talk in Freeport, Maine, yesterday. [...]

When he first spoke at the State Department on February 4, 2021, Biden tied foreign policy and domestic policy together, saying: “There’s no longer a bright line between foreign and domestic policy. Every action we take in our conduct abroad, we must take with American working families in mind. Advancing a foreign policy for the middle class demands urgent focus on our domestic…economic renewal.”

“If we invest in ourselves and our people,” he said back in 2021, “if we fight to ensure that American businesses are positioned to compete and win on the global stage, if the rules of international trade aren’t stacked against us, if our workers and intellectual property are protected, then there’s no country on Earth…that can match us.

“Investing in our diplomacy isn’t something we do just because it’s the right thing to do for the world. We do it in order to live in peace, security, and prosperity. We do it because it’s in our own naked self-interest. When we strengthen our alliances, we amplify our power as well as our ability to disrupt threats before they can reach our shores.”

Yesterday, in a campaign reception at a private home in Freeport, he gave what amounted to a more personal version of that speech, updated after the events of his first two and a half years in office. As he spoke informally to a small audience, he seemed to hit what he sees as the major themes of his presidency so far. The talk included an interesting twist.

Biden talked again about the world being at an inflection point, defining it as an abrupt turn off an established path that means you can never get back on the original path again. The world is changing, he said, and not because of leaders, but because of fundamental changes like global warming and artificial intelligence. “We’re seeing changes… across the world in fundamental ways. And so, we better get going on what we’re going to do about it, both in foreign policy and domestic policy.” 

“Name me a part of the world that you think is going to look like it did 10 years ago 10 years from now,” he said.

But Biden went on to make the case that such fundamental change “presents enormous opportunities.” 

He began by outlining the economic successes of his administration: more than 13.2 million new jobs—including 810,000 jobs in manufacturing—inflation coming down, and so on. He attributed that success to his administration’s embrace of the country’s older vision of investing in workers and the middle class rather than concentrating wealth at the top of the economy in hopes that the wealthy would invest efficiently. The administration focused on infrastructure and manufacturing, using measures like the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act to jump-start private investment in new industries in the U.S. 

Then he turned to foreign affairs. “Does anybody think that the post-war eras still exist, the rules of the road from the end of World War Two?” he asked. The Atlantic Charter of August 1941 that defined a post–World War II order based that world on territorial integrity, national self-determination, economic growth, and alliances to protect those values. It was the basis for most of the postwar international institutions that have protected a rules-based order ever since.

But the world has changed, Biden said. In recognition of the new era, in June 2021, Biden and then–U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson signed a “New Atlantic Charter” to update the original. The new charter renews the U.S. commitment to the old one, then resolves “to defend the principles, values, and institutions of democracy and open societies,” and to “strengthen the institutions, laws, and norms that sustain international co-operation to adapt them to meet the new challenges of the 21st century, and guard against those that would undermine them.”  

Yesterday, Biden noted that his administration has shored up alliances around the world, just as he called for at the State Department back in February 2021 and in the New Atlantic Charter of June 2021. It helped to pull Europe together to support Ukraine against Russia’s 2022 invasion, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) “is stronger today than it’s ever been in its existence.”

The Indo-Pacific world is changing, with new alliances coming together to hold firm on the idea of a rules-based international order. Biden has supported “the Quad”—India, Japan, Australia, and the United States—to stop China from changing that order, and other countries are taking note, shifting toward support for that order themselves. Did “anybody ever think Japan would increase its military budget over its domestic budget and help a European war on the side of the West?” Biden asked. “That’s what it’s doing. It’s changing the dynamic significantly.”

“The world is changing in a big way,” Biden said. “And we want to promote democracies…. [T]here is so much going on that we can make the world…a lot safer and better and more secure.”

“So…if you think about what’s happening, there is a confluence, if we get this right, of both domestic economic policy and foreign policy. [It] can make [us] safer and more secure than we’ve been [for] a long, long time.”

For all that his talk was a heartfelt recap of his presidency, he emphasized that the key to those successes has been democratic institutions. Referring to President Bill Clinton’s secretary of state Madeleine Albright’s reference to the United States as “the essential nation,” he attributed the leadership of the United States in world affairs not to its military might or economic power, but rather to its ability to create and defend alliances and, crucially, institutions that aspire to a rules-based world that works for, rather than against, ordinary people.

“Who could possibly bring the world together?” Biden asked. “Not me. But the President of the United States of America. Who could do it unless the President of the United States does it?  Who? What nation could do it?” His vision was not the triumphalism of recent presidents; it reached back to the 1940s, to the postwar institutions that helped to rebuild Europe and create lasting alliances, and expanded that vision for the twenty-first century. 

He recognized that U.S. policies have caused damage in the past, and that the country must fix things it has broken. “We’re the ones who polluted the world,” he said, for example. “We made a lot of money,” and now the bill has come due. 

And while the nation’s postwar vision was centered on majority-white countries, he emphasized that the modern world must include everyone. “[T]here’s a whole lot at stake, he said, “And I think we have an opportunity. And one of the ways we make life better for us is make life better for the rest of the world. That’s why I pushed so hard for the Build Back Better initiative to build the infrastructure in Africa…and in Latin America and South America.” 

Biden noted that the strength of the U.S. is in its diversity. “I said when I got elected I was going to have an administration that looked like America.” He noted that there are a higher percentage of women in his Cabinet than ever before—more than the number of men—and that he had appointed more Black appellate court judges to the federal courts “than every other president in America combined.” He did this for a simple reason, he said: “Our strength is our diversity. It’s about time we begin to use it.” 

“[T]he whole world is changing,” Biden said, “But if we grab hold,” he continued, “[t]here’s nothing beyond our capacity.” 

If I were writing a history of the Biden administration 150 years from now, I would call out this informal talk as an articulation of a vision of American leadership, based not in economic expansion, military might, or personalities, or even in policies, but in the strength of the institutions of democracy, preserved through global alliances. 

So I guess I got to write about history today, after all.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[wormbloggign]

omg he was

clockblocker where is your gaydar? this bi lesbian doesnt have time for your bullshit

actually i guess she does?

i doubt she has anywhere she wants to go in a rush rn

oh wow, this guy really just wants to be as big of a p.o.s as possible, i guess it harmless but it would be nice to see him get undermined by his subordinates in the future

she's a little out of sync with polite society huh

(while police brutality is very much a real thing and prisoners get abused to alarming amounts especially by their guards and wardens, from what i've gleamed of wildbows personal philosophy, i doubt any of that is going to happen here)

that's a solid quip tho, taylors getting better at the more traditional elements of a superpowered persona

(while in the prison, she is functionally able to do cutaway gags)

theyve been stepping around the idea that taylors pregnant a weird amount in this chapter, i hope its just a weird beat and not anything more.

no she can't :)

thats just vindictive man, dont be a dick

an interesting thing to bring up, now that we know more. we can assume that her trigger event at least resonated with the idea that her passenger/guide/consort represents and 2 other events (that i remember) which both involve taylor (notably as herself, not skitter) taking action against people who have been unreasonably vindictive and cruel to her, one could probably argue that her boosting concept is flat Justice, but i doubt that because of the bug motif, specifically the fact it first flared up in a way that wouldnt punish emma but instead, comfort taylor when she needed to ground herself, we also run with her theme of necessity (almost definitely not her boosting concept either) where she goes out of her way to make sure the things that NEED doing are done, far more concerned with what good she can do with power and wealth than wanting it for selfish reasons. at times i feel like she's a well placed bit of oil, lubricating the machine of society (bad metaphor but you get the picture).

with all that i think vindication might be the closest i could get to guessing but that'd still be wrong

i can say though, it doesnt amplify when she feels trapped, it amplifies when she works to escape.

(note, i may have just said nothing with all that, disregard)

i love taylors bug references, 10/10 every time

good for her, its nice to hear she's healing

oooohhhh 98% timeline it is, that's reassuring to hear

aw, you're gonna make her blush

DINAHS ON TOP BABEYY

(it seems she's lucid and has agency, i am proud of her recovery and also her sass)

COMMON (clap emoji) DINAH (clap emoji) W

i think i might hate this guy more than armsmaster, at least he had the excuse that he was trying to do the right thing (sometimes), tagg seemingly just hates capes in all forms and enjoys making people suffer when he can make them, genuinely sickening, shouldn't be allowed near children

taylor was riling up to defend the girl who sentenced her to probably the birdcage, sad that it showed her hand.

that's what i said!

(also, boss move announcing her prescence throughout the building, theyve been fully compromised.)

not mind control, just good, old fashioned lesbianism

funniest counter-argument

L bozo, wrong again

taylors up to her favourite pastime again, SPOT CHECKING GOVERNING BODIES!!