#additional coverage benefits

[aboutinsurance]

Understanding the Value of Additional Health Insurance Beyond Employer Coverage with ManipalCigna

Employer health plans may not always provide complete protection. Explore how supplemental coverage helps bridge gaps and enhances your overall healthcare support with ManipalCigna. https://www.manipalcigna.com/health-insurance 

[techminsolutions]

LIC’s Bima Jyoti Plan for 2024: a comprehensive guide

Unlock the Benefits of LIC’s Bima Jyoti Plan: Secure Your Future Today In today’s uncertain world, securing your future and that of your loved ones is more crucial than ever. The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) presents an exceptional opportunity with its Bima Jyoti plan, a non-linked, non-participating, individual, limited premium, life insurance savings plan. This plan is designed to…

[sexymemecoin]

The Rise of DeFi: Revolutionizing the Financial Landscape

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has emerged as one of the most transformative sectors within the cryptocurrency industry. By leveraging blockchain technology, DeFi aims to recreate and improve upon traditional financial systems, offering a more inclusive, transparent, and efficient financial ecosystem. This article explores the fundamental aspects of DeFi, its key components, benefits, challenges, and notable projects, including a brief mention of Sexy Meme Coin.

What is DeFi?

DeFi stands for Decentralized Finance, a movement that utilizes blockchain technology to build an open and permissionless financial system. Unlike traditional financial systems that rely on centralized intermediaries like banks and brokerages, DeFi operates on decentralized networks, allowing users to interact directly with financial services. This decentralization is achieved through smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into code.

Key Components of DeFi

Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs): DEXs allow users to trade cryptocurrencies directly with one another without the need for a central authority. Platforms like Uniswap, SushiSwap, and PancakeSwap have gained popularity for their ability to provide liquidity and facilitate peer-to-peer trading.

Lending and Borrowing Platforms: DeFi lending platforms like Aave, Compound, and MakerDAO enable users to lend their assets to earn interest or borrow assets by providing collateral. These platforms use smart contracts to automate the lending process, ensuring transparency and efficiency.

Stablecoins: Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets like fiat currencies to reduce volatility. They are crucial for DeFi as they provide a stable medium of exchange and store of value. Popular stablecoins include Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and Dai (DAI).

Yield Farming and Liquidity Mining: Yield farming involves providing liquidity to DeFi protocols in exchange for rewards, often in the form of additional tokens. Liquidity mining is a similar concept where users earn rewards for providing liquidity to specific pools. These practices incentivize participation and enhance liquidity within the DeFi ecosystem.

Insurance Protocols: DeFi insurance protocols like Nexus Mutual and Cover Protocol offer coverage against risks such as smart contract failures and hacks. These platforms aim to provide users with security and peace of mind when engaging with DeFi services.

Benefits of DeFi

Financial Inclusion: DeFi opens up access to financial services for individuals who are unbanked or underbanked, particularly in regions with limited access to traditional banking infrastructure. Anyone with an internet connection can participate in DeFi, democratizing access to financial services.

Transparency and Trust: DeFi operates on public blockchains, providing transparency for all transactions. This transparency reduces the need for trust in intermediaries and allows users to verify and audit transactions independently.

Efficiency and Speed: DeFi eliminates the need for intermediaries, reducing costs and increasing the speed of transactions. Smart contracts automate processes that would typically require manual intervention, enhancing efficiency.

Innovation and Flexibility: The open-source nature of DeFi allows developers to innovate and build new financial products and services. This continuous innovation leads to the creation of diverse and flexible financial instruments.

Challenges Facing DeFi

Security Risks: DeFi platforms are susceptible to hacks, bugs, and vulnerabilities in smart contracts. High-profile incidents, such as the DAO hack and the recent exploits on various DeFi platforms, highlight the need for robust security measures.

Regulatory Uncertainty: The regulatory environment for DeFi is still evolving, with governments and regulators grappling with how to address the unique challenges posed by decentralized financial systems. This uncertainty can impact the growth and adoption of DeFi.

Scalability: DeFi platforms often face scalability issues, particularly on congested blockchain networks like Ethereum. High gas fees and slow transaction times can hinder the user experience and limit the scalability of DeFi applications.

Complexity and Usability: DeFi platforms can be complex and challenging for newcomers to navigate. Improving user interfaces and providing educational resources are crucial for broader adoption.

Notable DeFi Projects

Uniswap (UNI): Uniswap is a leading decentralized exchange that allows users to trade ERC-20 tokens directly from their wallets. Its automated market maker (AMM) model has revolutionized the way liquidity is provided and traded in the DeFi space.

Aave (AAVE): Aave is a decentralized lending and borrowing platform that offers unique features such as flash loans and rate switching. It has become one of the largest and most innovative DeFi protocols.

MakerDAO (MKR): MakerDAO is the protocol behind the Dai stablecoin, a decentralized stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. MakerDAO allows users to create Dai by collateralizing their assets, providing stability and liquidity to the DeFi ecosystem.

Compound (COMP): Compound is another leading DeFi lending platform that enables users to earn interest on their cryptocurrencies or borrow assets against collateral. Its governance token, COMP, allows users to participate in protocol governance.

Sexy Meme Coin (SXYM): While primarily known as a meme coin, Sexy Meme Coin has integrated DeFi features, including a decentralized marketplace for buying, selling, and trading memes as NFTs. This unique blend of humor and finance adds a distinct flavor to the DeFi landscape. Learn more about Sexy Meme Coin at Sexy Meme Coin.

The Future of DeFi

The future of DeFi looks promising, with continuous innovation and growing adoption. As blockchain technology advances and scalability solutions are implemented, DeFi has the potential to disrupt traditional financial systems further. Regulatory clarity and improved security measures will be crucial for the sustainable growth of the DeFi ecosystem.

DeFi is likely to continue attracting attention from both retail and institutional investors, driving further development and integration of decentralized financial services. The flexibility and inclusivity offered by DeFi make it a compelling alternative to traditional finance, paving the way for a more open and accessible financial future.

Conclusion

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) represents a significant shift in the financial landscape, leveraging blockchain technology to create a more inclusive, transparent, and efficient financial system. Despite the challenges, the benefits of DeFi and its continuous innovation make it a transformative force in the world of finance. Notable projects like Uniswap, Aave, and MakerDAO, along with unique contributions from meme coins like Sexy Meme Coin, demonstrate the diverse and dynamic nature of the DeFi ecosystem.

For those interested in exploring the playful and innovative side of DeFi, Sexy Meme Coin offers a unique and entertaining platform. Visit Sexy Meme Coin to learn more and join the community.

[saintfelina]

Pink Poodle Makeup

Let's face it. Coquette has become boring as hell. Gone are the days of tongue-in-cheek vulgarity and campy, over the top plays of femininity. I say we bring things back to the more fun aspects: garish and fun. And for this i'm taking inspiration from fabulous pink poodles. Think your grandma's kitschy pink house, bold eyes and lips and that gorgeous canine dressed in bows with a eye catching fur design. It's big, bold, glamorous and fun.

Base

A thin line between satiny and plastic. You want to have full coverage, avoid the skin peeking through, instead focus on getting a completely flawless finish. It's ok if you choose to go matte or demi-matte with foundation here as additional shine will be added later. Conceal how you normally would, but avoid harsh contour, or refrain from contour completely. This is also a great time to underpaint if you want a more kitschy look. When powdering, ensure that it's a pink or lavender loose powder. Remember: you're not trying to look natural.

Face

Blush should be bold, keep it to bubblegum pinks or peaches depending on your skin tone and apply on the apples to start then drag the blush upwards towards the cheek bone. Nyx Buttermelt Pressed Powder Blush in My Butta Half & Butta Together. This is also the step to add more shine to the face if you wore a matte foundation. Liquid highlighter is best, especially in pink/pearlescent tones. Apply to nose bridge, nose tip, brow bone, high points of the cheek and cupids bow. Try Benefit High Beam Satin Pink Liquid Highlighter or Fenty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in Wattabrat

Brows

You can do your brows normally, or you can go for a late 50s - early 1960s style brow. These brows are thicker, fluffier but well groomed. Don't think soap brow. Go for a relatively defined arch-- no straight brows. But the arch can be rounded or sharp depending on preference.

Eyes

Eyes are the most fun, as you can go two ways. First lets start with eyeliner, you can either simple follow your natural eyeshape with no wing (recommended if going for the first eyeshadow look) or go for again a classic cat eye. When it comes to shadow, the first option is leaning into candy colors: blue, purple and pink. Liquid eye paints like the Half Magic Chromeaddiction Matte in Sky Juice are perfect as they are vivid and don't budge. Apply all over the lid and then go in with your biggest, most flirtatious lashes.

Another option is the classic 60s cut crease. For this I recommend MAKEUP BY MARIO Master Mattes Eyeshadow Palette: The Neutrals. Start with a neutral base (relative to your skin tone), then with a cool brown shadow apply directly to the crease, wing it out if desired and again add you liner and lashes. For extra camp, apply lashes to the bottom lash as well. Be sure to blend with mascara (such as Too Faced Better Than Sex) or if forgoing lashes, apply thick coats of mascara. An eyeshadow primer is recommended.

Lips

Finally tying the look all together is the lips. My preferred look, is to do a matte cherry red like Fenty Icon Velvet Liquid Lipstick in H.B.I.C paired with the blue eye look and a bubblegum or peachy pink with the cut crease. For the truest bubblegum pink look no further than MAC Candy Yum-Yum. Or to tone it down with a classic 60s pink lip you can wear Revlon Pink in the Afternoon, famously worn by icon Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. A nice middle ground between the two would be Maybelline Super Stay Teddy Tint in Petalcore. To avoid going too matte, top with gloss such as 3D Hydra Lipgloss in 33.

[thatdiabolicalfeminist]

Jennifer Tolbert, Sammy Cervantes, Robin Rudowitz, and Alice Burns Published: Feb 04, 2025

Work requirements in Medicaid have resurfaced as part of a broader legislative package of potential changes to Medicaid designed to significantly reduce federal Medicaid spending. A draft budget outline from Congressional Republicans includes requiring Medicaid enrollees to work or look for work as a condition of receiving coverage.

While the details of the current proposal are not yet available, an analysis of an earlier proposal by the Congressional Budget Office shows that Medicaid enrollment would drop and that federal spending on Medicaid would be reduced substantially, but that the policy would not increase employment.

Data show the majority of Medicaid enrollees are working.

The first Trump administration encouraged states to apply for Section 1115 waivers that included work and reporting requirements as a condition of Medicaid eligibility.

For the first time in the history of the program, the administration approved waivers in 13 states. Arkansas was the only state to implement the policy with consequences for noncompliance, resulting in 18,000 losing coverage for failure to meet work or reporting requirements.

Courts struck down many of the waiver approvals, including in Arkansas, and the Biden administration rescinded the remaining waivers, or they were withdrawn by the states.

Currently, Georgia is the only state with a work requirement waiver in place (following a legal challenge to the Biden administration’s move to rescind it); however, several other states are pursuing work requirement waivers, anticipating a change in policy by the incoming Trump administration.

This brief updates an earlier analysis of work status and characteristics of Medicaid enrollees to show that in 2023, nearly two-thirds of adults ages 19-64 covered by Medicaid were working and nearly three in ten were not working because of caregiving responsibilities, illness or disability, or due to school attendance, reasons that counted as qualifying exemptions from the work requirements under previous policies.

Based on the data, only a small share of Medicaid adults were not meeting work requirements or would not have qualified for an exemption qualifying exemptions: however, many more Medicaid enrollees who would remain eligible would be at risk of losing coverage because of the administrative burden and red tape related to reporting requirements.

What is the work status of Medicaid adults?

In 2023, most Medicaid adults under age 65 were working (Figure 1). Among adults under age 65 with Medicaid who do not receive benefits from the Social Security disability programs, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and who are not also covered by Medicare (referred to hereafter as “Medicaid adults”), 92% were working full or part-time (64%), or not working due to caregiving responsibilities, illness or disability, or school attendance. The remaining 8% of Medicaid adults reported that they are retired, unable to find work, or were not working for another reason.

Those in better health and with more education are more likely to be working (Figure 2).

Health status, age, and education level were all strong predictors of work. Seven in ten people in excellent health, ages 30-39, and who have a college degree were working compared to just four in ten (44%) people in fair health, less than half of older adults ages 55-64 (48%), and 56% of those who did not complete high school. In addition, parents were more likely to be working than adults without a dependent child in the home (72% vs. 58%), in part, because parents are younger and less likely to have a disability. Rates of work additionally vary by geographic region, metro status, and race/ethnicity but not all variation is statistically significant (Appendix Table 1).

Medicaid adults with disabilities face greater barriers to participating in employment. Disability is defined as having at least one serious difficulty with hearing, vision, cognitive functioning (concentrating, remembering, or making decisions), mobility (walking or climbing stairs), independent living (doing errands, such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping, alone), or self-care (dressing or bathing). Of Medicaid enrollees ages 19-64 with a disability, about one third (32%) receive disability income (SSI or SSDI) leaving nearly seven in ten (68%) adults on Medicaid with a disability who do not receive disability income. Medicaid adults with a disability are less likely to work than Medicaid adults with no disability (37% vs. 68%) (Figure 3).

Both the number of functional limitations as well as the type of limitation affect workforce participation. While nearly half (48%) of Medicaid adults with one disability were working, fewer than one in five (17%) Medicaid adults with four or more disabilities were working (Figure 3). Similarly, over four in ten Medicaid adults with visual or hearing disabilities were working while those with disabilities related to independent living and self-care, difficulties that often result in the need for long-term care services, had the lowest rates of employment (21% and 16%, respectively). Medicaid offers a variety of services designed to help people with these needs work, so losing Medicaid could make employment harder or impossible for these adults.

What do we know about Medicaid adults who are working?

Most Medicaid adults who work are working full-time (at least 35 hours per week), but those who work part-time face challenges to full-time employment (Figure 4). Among Medicaid adults who work, nearly seven in ten (69%) worked full-time and half worked full-time for the entire year (at least 50 weeks) (Appendix Table 2). Many Medicaid adults who work part-time (31% of all workers) cited that reasons for working part-time include work limits like shorter work weeks (less than 35 hours per week) (16%), slack work/business conditions (12%), or inability to find full-time work (7%) (Figure 4). Part-time workers also pointed to childcare problems (9%) and other family or personal obligations (22%).

Many Medicaid adults who work are employed by small firms and are not eligible for employer-sponsored health insurance at their job. In 2023, nearly five in ten (46%) Medicaid workers were employed in firms with fewer than 50 employees, which are not subject to ACA penalties for not offering affordable health coverage and are less likely to offer health insurance to their workers than larger firms (Figure 5).

In 2022, just over half (53%) of firms with fewer than 50 employees offered health insurance to their workers compared to 98.7% of firms with 100 or more employees. In addition, many Medicaid workers are employed in industries with historically low ESI offer rates, such as the agriculture and service industries (46%). Among all workers employed in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, only about four in ten (41.4%) were eligible for insurance at their job in 2023, and among those in service occupations, just over half (55.6%) were eligible (Figure 6).

Access to job-based insurance for part-time workers is even more limited. Fewer than four in ten (38.4%) of all part-time workers were eligible for insurance through their job in 2023. But, even if eligible for job-based insurance, some workers, especially low-wage and part-time workers, may not take up the offer because it is not affordable to them.

Medicaid adults who work full-time are eligible for Medicaid in expansion states because they work low-wage jobs and meet income eligibility criteria.

An individual working full-time (35 hours/week) for the full year (50 weeks) at the federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour) earns an annual salary of $12,688, which is well below the Medicaid eligibility limit of 138% of the Federal Poverty Level ($15,650 for an individual; $32,150 for a family of four) for adults ages 19-64 in states that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (Figure 7).

Thus, an adult with this income would be eligible for Medicaid in an expansion state. However, working adults may be ineligible for Medicaid in non-expansion states where the median eligibility limit for parents as of May 2024 was 35% of the FPL (and ranges from 15% in Texas to 100% in Wisconsin) and childless adults are not eligible (except in Wisconsin, where they are covered under a Section 1115 waiver).

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - January 8-14

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles!

1. In Chicago, all city buildings now use 100 percent clean power

“As of January 1, every single one of [Chicago’s municipal buildings] — including 98 fire stations, two international airports, and two of the largest water treatment plants on the planet — is running on renewable energy, thanks largely to Illinois’ newest and largest solar farm.”

2. California Rice Fields Offer Threatened Migratory Waterbirds a Lifeline

“Cranes need nighttime roosting sites flooded to a depth of about 3 to 9 inches, so they can easily hear or feel predators moving through the water. [... Bird Returns pays] farmers to flood their fields during critical migration periods [... and] provide foraging sites by leaving harvested rice or corn fields untilled, so cranes can access the leftover grain.”

3. New York Climate Superfund Becomes Law

“[Funds recovered “from major oil and gas companies” will be used to pay for] the restoration of stormwater drainage and sewage treatment systems, upgrades to transit systems, roads and bridges, the installation of green spaces to mitigate city heat islands and even medical coverage and preventative health programs for illnesses and injuries induced by climate change.”

4. Austin says retooled process for opening overnight cold-weather shelters is paying off

“[... T]he city's moves to lower the temperature threshold to open shelters and announce their activation at least a day in advance were the result of community feedback. [Shelter operators also passed out hot food.]”

5. Helping Communities Find Funding for Nature-Based Solutions

““From coastal oyster reefs to urban stormwater greenways, nature-based solutions are becoming the new normal.” That’s because these types of projects are often less expensive to build and have additional community benefits, such as improving water quality or creating parkland.”

6. Saving the Iberian lynx: How humans rescued this rare feline from extinction

“Back in the early 2000s, fewer than 100 individuals roamed the wild, including only 25 reproductive females. [...] Conservation staff [...] shape these cats into resourceful hunters and get them ready for life outside the center. [...] They’re fine-tuning captive-breeding routines, improving veterinary procedures, and pushing for more wildlife corridors.”

7. Biden cancels student loans for 150,000 more borrowers

“The 150,000 new beneficiaries announced Monday include more than 80,000 borrowers who were cheated or defrauded by their schools, over 60,000 borrowers with total and permanent disabilities and more than 6,000 public service workers[...] bringing the number whose student debt has been canceled during [Biden’s] administration to over 5 million[....]”

8. PosiGen wins another $200M for lower-income rooftop solar

“PosiGen offers a ​“no credit check” [solar panel installation to] those with a higher percentage of their income going to power and fuel bills[....] “somewhere between 25 and 75 percent” of the consumer’s monthly energy savings could come from efficiency measures such as sealing heating and cooling leaks, replacing thermostats, and installing LED lights[....]”

9. Indigenous communities come together to protect the Colombian Amazon

“At this year’s COP, Indigenous peoples celebrated the [protection of] traditional knowledge, innovations and practices[... and] the Cali Fund, which ensures that communities, including Indigenous peoples, receive benefits from the commercial use of [...] genetic data derived from the biological resources that they have long stewarded.”

10. How the heartland of Poland’s coal industry is ditching fossil fuels - without sacrificing jobs

“[Katowice, a former coal city] committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 40 per cent compared to 1990, prioritising investments in green infrastructure, and promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency. [...”]The gradual departure from heavy industry did not bring high social costs in our city,” says Marcin Krupa, Mayor of Katowice City.”

January 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[odinsblog]

Veterans’ health care


A 1996 law set eligibility requirements for military veterans to receive hospital, medical and nursing home care and authorized spending for those services and patient enrollment. That law has not been renewed, but Congress regularly allocates additional Department of Veterans Affairs funding and allows benefits to increase automatically based on inflation. VA provides medical care to more than 9.1 million enrolled veterans, according to the agency.
​

Drug development and opioid addiction treatment

Most of this spending relates to the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act of 2016. That law provided money to the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration to modernize pharmaceutical research and medical trials. It funded research for cancer cures and state-level grants for opioid addiction and other substance abuse treatment.


​State Department

In 2003, Congress passed the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, which set policy priorities and created spending authority for the State Department. That law has not been renewed, but Congress every year since has passed annual funding bills for the department, which Trump has announced he’ll nominate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) to run.


​Housing assistance

President Bill Clinton in 1998 signed the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act, which overhauled federal housing assistance policies, including voucher programs and other antipoverty assistance. The Department of Housing and Urban Development and other agencies continue using this law to implement federal housing programs.


​Justice Department

In 1994, Congress passed the landmark Violence Against Women Act and has renewed it multiple times since. In 2006, lawmakers packaged a VAWA renewal with authorizing legislation for the Justice Department. As with the State Department, Congress has not approved new authorizing legislation for the Justice Department since, but it has funded the agency — and even authorized hundreds of millions of dollars more for a new FBI headquarters — every year.


​Education spending

The 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act delegated power to state and local education officials to set primary and secondary education achievement standards. It gives billions of dollars in federal grant money to state and local education officials to fund schools and school districts. Those standards are still used by the Education Department, even though the legislation has not been reauthorized. Trump has suggested he’d like to eliminate the entire department.

NASA

Stripping funding for NASA, which was last reauthorized in 2017, could spell doom for Musk’s commercial spaceflight firm, SpaceX. The company has contracts worth more than $4 billion — including for return trips to the moon and retiring the International Space Station — linked to programs approved in the 2017 law.


​Health-care and student loan programs

What’s known as the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, was actually passed in two separate bills in 2010. The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act represents the second bill, which included some tax revisions and technical changes to the ACA. The law has not been reauthorized since, but the Department of Health and Human Services reported in March that more than 45 million people have health insurance coverage backed by the Affordable Care Act.

The law that made those final tweaks to the ACA also overhauled the Education Department’s student loan program. Where some schools relied on private lenders to issue federally backed loans, with this law, the government itself became the lender. That change has since enabled President Joe Biden to offer student loan debt relief, though many of his most ambitious policies have been blocked by the courts. Student loans are generally funded through mandatory spending — similar to social safety net programs such as Medicare and Social Security — and not subject to annual spending laws.


​International security programs

The 1985 International Security and Development Cooperation Act bundled together authorizations for a number of international security programs, including funding and regulations for arms sales to allies, economic aid for developing countries, airport security, anti-narcotics-trafficking policies, the Peace Corps and more. This Reagan-era law continues to be foundational to congressional funding and federal policy.


​Head Start

Head Start provides preschool education for children from low-income families. In the 2023 fiscal year, more than 800,000 children enrolled in Head Start programs, according to the National Head Start Association. The program also helped place more than 530,000 parents in jobs, school or job-training programs. It was last authorized in 2007.

(continue reading)

[cerastes]

You're better at mechanics than I am so can you please explain how/when to use Iana S2 vs S1?

Iana plays more like an Ambusher than a Dollkeeper, and is unique in that her "doll" form is actually her real self, while the "Operator" is the doll, or hologram in her case. This, in gameplay, translates to her unique form of Dollkeeping: She'll always instantly go into "doll" form the moment she's attacked, inflicting Reveal and Fragile onto the offending enemy. This happens no matter the range at which she was attacked. I bring this up because her skills, which all involve going "doll", practically have this baked into them in addition to whatever else they individually do.

Now, Iana is an easy M6.

S1 is a Geese Howard ass counterframes skill. No matter where, no matter how, if you attack her hologram, you get punched in the face REALLY hard by the ensuing S1 explosion, which is a mine Iana throws at you. You'll often see this in proximity, as most likely, she'll be hit by melee enemies or by nearby ranged enemies. This is where I must bring up the wording on the skill: When the skill says it centers the explosion of Physical damage on the attacker, it's being very literal. If Faust or a mortar enemy launches an attack on Iana from 50 kilometers away on the other side of the map, then Iana will run all the way over there and punch them in the god damn face with an explosion.

Pictured above: Iana S1

And invisibility won't save them, either, because remember, she Reveals and Fragiles the enemy that attacks her hologram, which also means the attack is actually stronger than its already huge multiplier.

The blast is centered on the enemy that triggers the counterframes, so it has some AoE use. In maps with a lot of enemies grouped together, like every RA2 horde ever, this is a hugely strong skill, likewise, it's a great counter against annoying long range enemies, or enemies with high Defense, since it hits Anywhere Ever, and the multipliers on this are huge. It's case use is pretty ample.

S2 is pretty versatile, since it has low SP charge (5 at M3), and, the game doesn't tell you this, but even though it's manually activated, it ALSO can be activated through counterframes if SP is full, meaning, someone hits Iana, they are now Revealed and Fragiled, and Iana reaps all the benefits of S2.

Pictured above: The benefits of S2 (sans Invisibility, which she also gets)

It's a pretty good general use skill, since you can shred mid-Defense enemies pretty nicely, destroy air enemies with ease, and it also Reveals all enemies in range, so whenever you're playing a map with really annoying Invisible units, well, this also helps with that.

Compared to other Dollkeepers, she has more range, so set her appropriately to maximize her coverage with this in mind.

The simple cheat sheet is S1 is good for high DEF enemies, long range enemies, and tons of clustered units (both naturally clustered, or those clustered by means of a Decel Binder, for example, wink wink), while S2 is good for every other occasion, especially against mid-and-below DEF enemies and air enemies, but just is a good skill in general, with particular additional utility against multiple Invisible enemies. And she's a great, constant, consistent source of Fragile, to boot.

[aboutinsurance]

Is Your Employer Health Plan Enough? Understand the Benefits of Extra Coverage with ManipalCigna

Find out why additional health insurance matters even with company-provided plans. ManipalCigna outlines how enhanced coverage strengthens your healthcare and financial protection.

https://www.manipalcigna.com/health-insurance

[three--rings]

So hi, folks.

I'm facing a pretty large dentist bill due to breaking a tooth and some other damage. It broke too badly to repair, so I have to have it removed and replaced with an implant. The alternate options aren't great for me for various reasons. (In addition I need several fillings and a crown. I put off needing a crown last year due to my insurance not covering crowns at all, and now I'm missing a tooth and things are worse, of course.)

I'm also having surgery on my foot in a few weeks to correct a lingering injury from a car accident (not my fault) last year and that's going to put my off my feet for a few months, so interfering with my ability to run my small business that I use to supplement my partner's income, on which I'm totally dependent as a disabled person with no disability income (because I was married before I became disabled.)

I'm not in a total emergency situation because I've qualified for some financing so I can have more time to repay the bill, but I'm having to put off some of the dental work until January to get more dental coverage. We do have insurance but it only covers $1500/year. And you know if you have serious issues, that's nothing. The original total they gave me was over $7000, though I think I've gotten that down by putting some stuff off and I've signed up with an additional discount plan to take up when my dental insurance runs out.

(Did you know that a lot of the worth of dental insurance is that it gets you discounted prices with in-network dentists, but after you use up your alloted benefit for the year, you DON'T get those discounts? Unless you have a discount plan without limit. Which you can just go buy for like $100/year but they don't TELL you this. THE MORE YOU KNOW.)

So anyway, I know everyone is struggling now but if you have anything to spare I'd appreciate it deeply. I'm not going to do a GoFundMe for now for various reasons, but I have Ko-fi,

Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/threerings

Anyway, please don't neglect your teeth, even if you don't have insurance. You can get a discount plan and get cleanings cheap. Learn from my mistakes!

[domesticatedford]

A Day Out

(A good ending story)

The smell of dust and leather pressed down, mingling with the hot air to create a truly stifling atmosphere. The astonishing number of human bodies had the same effect. There were. Too many people. D's thumb raked back and forth against the handles mounted to H’s wheelchair. Traced the grooves that had been specifically made for him to hold; five divots. He really did want to be here! It was just a lot.

The Ren Faire had been Jean-Paul’s idea. He and H’s relationship had healed to the point where it could be called an odd sort of friendship. Given the standards of their interactions in the past, that was wonderful progress. Apparently, before his transformation, the polymorph had attended such events several times. This was his first time returning in his new body (not that it was “new” anymore; it hadn’t been in years.) He was perched on D’s shoulders as the old man pushed H through the wide dirt path between stalls. Jean-Paul was dressed as a little bandit, complete with a hooded cape and a tiny mask tied around his head, mirroring his markings. He had insisted it was funny. D supposed it was.

“Most of this is utter shit,” H sighed, staring through the slats of his polished helmet at a selection of necklaces. They were glass beads made to look like dragon eyes, strung through with rough-looking leather cords. D hummed, bending slightly to inspect a small sculpture of a cat. It had another one of those dragon-eye beads in its paws. “Have you seen the price on these? $40. What is this, $7 of materials? Less? Ridiculous.” D made another noise of mild agreement as he picked up the cat. H liked to complain. D rarely had to say much; his friend just needed to know he was listening, that his complaints were being acknowledged by someone. He needed, D had realized, to get these feelings out of him like a machine venting steam.

D placed his chosen prize on the counter, giving the woman manning it a smile. She looked away from H’s back, which she was glaring at, and gave D a much more vibrant grin in return.

“Will that be all?” She asked.

“Yes, thank you.” D retrieved his wallet from the pocket of his coat. The garment was a deep blue-black, studded with star formations in gold stitching. H had designed it, so of course it was beautiful. D hadn’t had a wallet in a very long time; he hadn’t needed one. Hadn’t been allowed to have money, then had no use for it. It felt a bit alien to pry the leather pouch open and pluck what was owed.

“I like your mask,” the woman said as she wrapped the little sculpture in stiff, cream paper. D absently pressed a finger to the thin curve of white plastic propped over his glasses.

“Ah, thank you,” he replied, his smile growing fractionally. The Eus had “printed” the thing for him, and he’d painted alchemical symbols and swirling patterns atop it in gold paint. Although it really did make an excellent addition to his costume, its main function was to hide his identity. They were on 04’\, after all, and this was a crowded event. D didn’t really want to chance being recognized. That was, he supposed, why H had chosen to wear a full-coverage costume; a black-and-silver gambeson with scale armor, leather gloves and a helmet with slats that put D in mind of a predator’s teeth. H didn’t have the same aversion to public confrontation that D did, though, so he guessed the outfit had been chosen for his benefit. H really was very sweet.

“I can’t believe you actually bought something from that tacky place,” H commented when D returned to him. D tucked his purchase in one of the leather bags on either side of the wheelchair.

“I saw a cat figurine I thought Mabel would like,” D explained. H snorted; he sounded congested.

“I’m sure you could make something better than that.”

“Maybe,” D hummed. “I’m not very good with sculpture, though.”

“Better than this shit that was probably squirted out of a mold and painted by a kid chained up in a basement somewhere.” D frowned.

“That’s… your dimension, I hope,” he said.

“Human depravity is pan-dimensional,” H replied. He wasn’t wrong.

The pair returned to Jean-Paul, who was sitting on a large rock; one of several that ringed a patch of manicured grass. He slurped down the last drops of a small water bottle. D stooped and held out his arms for Jean-Paul to hop into.

“Careful,” H warned as the raccoon skittered onto D’s shoulders. His perch. “Don’t go bending when you don’t have to. This is going to be a long day.”

“I’ll be fine,” D retorted gently, returning to his place behind H. “You’re the one I’m worried about.” H spread his hands, palms up. Leather creaked.

“I’m in the chair, aren't I?”

“You're also wearing a costume that weighs half as much as you do,” Jean-Paul put in. His voice came out choppily from the translator around his neck; bad connection. He dropped the empty water bottle into a trash can as they passed.

“Some of us value historical accuracy,” H snarked back. “My armor is a perfect replica of that worn by 72’\’s Fallen King, circa 1105. You look like a character from a children's cartoon.”

“You're so fucking pretentious,” PG replied.

The pair's bickering continued as D guided them through the crowd. Still too many people. D's heart rate spiked occasionally, and he tried to follow his grounding exercises, but everything was so loud and close and human that it really didn't help anything. Focusing on H and Jean-Paul's conversation did. The two of them were clearly having fun. Even with H's face obscured, D could hear the joy in his voice as he criticized the inaccurate matching of weapon to era in a shop display. PG countered with a point about marketability, further adding how, even in an event full of nerds, H got the gold star for being an obnoxious know-it-all.

“Oh, we have got to do the archery game,” Jean-Paul said. The words were warped, like they came from a toy that was running out of batteries, but were still understandable. “It's just up ahead, Phospho. Over there, next to the donkey.” H, who was walking beside D, taking some time to stretch his legs (that was the reason he'd claimed, anyway,) put a hand on his hip.

“You really are a child,” he said.

“No, I'm just not terminally self-serious, Mr. Goth Armor,” Jean-Paul sniffed. “Besides, you still have no idea how old I even am.”

“... Twenty-three,” H said after a pause. Jean-Paul chittered with laughter that his translator didn't know what to do with.

“He's in his late thirties,” D corrected. He sipped at a fluorescent lemonade he'd purchased to cure his parched throat. That, and the drink had looked interesting. He still had no idea what the chunks floating in it were, but he was excited to find out!

D set H's folded wheelchair against his leg when the trio reached the front of the small line before the archery game. He really would like to have sat down, but the very few benches D had seen were already occupied. He was getting a bit tired, and his feet hurt. He would be fine, though. Jean-Paul hopped onto the wooden fence that blocked off the grounds of the game.

“I'm a sophont and I would like to play your game,” he said. He'd gotten very direct about such things. The burly human attendant looked Jean-Paul up and down; the polymorph straightened fractionally.

“Yeah, think we got somethin’ in your size,” the man said. “Travis! Check the back.” Another man nodded, his thick, black beard bobbing, and disappeared behind the wooden wall that marked the edge of the game.

The fair had been erected within what had once been the bounds of the weirdness bubble. Not very far in, but an effort was being made to reclaim such territory. As such, while most of the guests were human, some were altered in one way or another through their exposure to weirdness. A few nonhumans were also present (D had spotted a small cluster of gnomes scampering about the periphery of the grounds,) but they were in the vast minority.

Travis returned with a couple very small bows. After giving Jean-Paul a once-over, he handed one to the first attendant and headed back to return the other weapon.

“Right, I’ll just be a sec,” the burly man said. He moved some of the smaller targets closer to the front, where Jean-Paul would be shooting from. The larger ones remained untouched. Jean-Paul grimaced slightly before hopping down onto the short-cropped grass within the fence, wobbling a bit as he landed. He was probably trying to keep his forepaws from touching the ground. The attendant handed him the tiny bow.

“You get six shots. Might want to aim higher than you think you need to, little guy.”

“I never would have guessed,” the polymorph replied.

Three of Jean-Paul’s shots hit a target. One even struck the second row of targets that had been moved for him.

“Excellent job!” D cheered, spilling a bit of his drink on his hand as he clapped awkwardly around the cup.

“Average,” H corrected. “You really are a median person.”

“Shush, he’s wonderful,” D chided.

“Thanks, Phospho, but my ego isn’t really riding on this,” Jean-Paul said. “I’ve never even done this before.”

“Then let me show you how it’s done,” H replied.

H moved into place with a showman’s confidence. Even now, crippled and aged, he hadn’t lost that. It was something D really admired about him. He slid into position easily, bow straight and arrow nocked. He pulled the string back. It looked like he wasn’t pulling back far enough for the shot he was trying to take. Six shots, six hits, all on the farthest targets. Still, D could tell by the hesitant way he lowered his bow, the slight tremor in his arms, that H was unhappy. None of his arrows but the last one had hit the center circle. He shouldn’t be upset with such a result!

“Fantastic!” D shouted, clapping again. Now both his hands were covered in sugary liquid. D could just hear the sigh that whispered through H’s helmet as he strode back.

“Humiliate myself in front of the fucking raccoon,” he muttered. D stiffened. H had gotten so much better about treating Jean-Paul like a human. He really was upset.

“Y-you didn’t, really…” D reached out a hand to offer H’s arm a comforting touch, but twitched away when he remembered his hands were still covered in lemonade, and H’s costume was very expensive. He bit his lip and took a step back. “Y-you really… um…” D fiddled with the cup, feeling stupid. “You really did very well.” He knew H had wanted to be perfect, though. He was in public, and he was in front of Jean-Paul. And D couldn’t even touch him because he’d thought clapping like an idiot would mean anything to anyone.

D started when he felt a tug on his coat. He looked down to see Jean-Paul staring up at him.

“Phospho! Do you want to give it a try?” He asked. D rubbed his finger back and forth along the plastic straw. It made a horrible sound.

“I… um…” Did he want to? He looked to H.

“… Go ahead,” the other man said after a pause. “It couldn’t hurt to give the boy another reminder of just how out of his league he is.” D replied with an uncertain hum. He felt that he should defend Jean-Paul, but he really didn’t have a counterargument.

D chugged the remainder of his drink (the chunks were blue-dyed watermelon!) and tossed the cup before stepping into the game area. He forced himself to give the attendant a polite smile as he was handed the bow. D knew he moved with far less grace than H as he lined up the first shot. He hadn’t used a bow in a while. He probably wouldn’t do very well. He would like to, though. Six shots, six hits, all on the farthest targets. Five out of six had struck the center ring. He supposed he’d done fine. He really should have been able to hit them all in the center; the targets weren’t even that far away. Dr. Oleander had told him to be kinder to himself, though, so. It was fine.

H was sitting back in his chair when D returned to him and PG, having given back the bow. Leather slapped against leather as H clapped; a moderate pace, like he’d just savored an extravagant performance and wished to retain the dignity of the moment.

“Well done, Kitten!” he boomed.

“Yeah, I seriously forgot how good of a shot you are,” Jean-Paul added. D fidgeted with the cuffs on his coat.

“Oh, no, I didn’t really do very well,” he said. “I mean, um. I was fine.”

“Stop being modest,” H sniffed. “Your virtue is one of your most annoying qualities. I’ll find a way to dampen it with a bit of selfishness one of these days.” His voice was regal yet fond. Warmth prickled in D’s chest.

“Before you go,” the attendant said, crossing the fence and approaching the group. “Got somethin’ for you.” He held out his hand, palm up, toward H and D. D took what was offered; a pair of plastic “silver” medals hanging from black, imitation silk bands. “You two are seriously good. You shoot often?”

“Not for some time,” D admitted. He held up the medal to inspect it. A lumpy gryphon was embossed onto its surface. D smiled. He made to hand one to H, but his friend held his palm up.

“Not a fan of tacky trash, Kitten,” he said. “You can keep it.” The attendant made an odd face, looking between the two old men for a moment, before crouching down to Jean-Paul’s level.

“This one’s for you, little guy,” he said. His voice pitched up when he addressed the shifter. “Those targets were really far!” He pressed a medal into Jean-Paul’s paws. The polymorph stared at it for a moment before pinning it to the front of his cloak.

“I am ecstatic to have the opportunity to provide you with free advertising,” he said. Instead of black, the medal’s fake silk was cherry red, and instead of a gryphon, the plastic circle bore a thumbs up sign. D’s face pinched.

“That’s the children’s design, isn’t it?” He asked. His voice had gone hard. The attendant looked at him as he straightened.

“I mean, yeah,” he said, like he didn’t understand the problem. D gripped his own medals tighter.

“He’s an adult,” he said, louder this time.

“It’s fine, D,” H said, grazing D’s elbow with his fingers. “That medal will fit well with his others. It’s even the same color as his Medal of Recognition from the Transplanetary Alliance.” The attendant raised an eyebrow, taking another moment to look Jean-Paul up and down.

“No, no, that’s not the right shade,” Jean-Paul added, adjusting the cheap plastic disc. “You’re thinking of the Sanctific Chrisming of the Bright God.” D took a deep breath in through his nose. His mask smelled like sweat and sugar. He saw the game now.

“If I recall correctly, that one’s black and gold,” he said. “Perhaps you’re remembering the Centennial Hallibraxian Medal of Service? I can see how it might be difficult to remember the colors, as you don’t wear them often.” He eyed the attendant. “Maybe you should.”

“Alright, man, you don’t have to wear these if you don’t want to,” the man muttered before turning his attention to a couple who had approached the game.

A couple hours later, the trio stopped for lunch. D was almost as grateful for the break, for being able to *sit down,* as he was for the food. His legs were properly hurting now, and stiffness had wrapped prickling chains around his spine. Jean-Paul had made him use hand sanitizer before he ate (an oversized turkey leg, its skin craggy from a rustic method of cooking. Fun!) He tried to pressure H into doing the same when he took off his gloves, but was summarily rebuffed.

“I’ve been wearing gloves all day,” he said. “Besides, hand sanitizer can damage leather.”

“Don’t blame me when you get sick,” Jean-Paul retorted, scrubbing down his own paws.

H slid off his helmet to eat the meal D had bought for him (he couldn’t refuse it that way.)

His face was red with blood.

“A-are you okay?!” D stammered, heart stuttering.

“What, what is it?” H asked, sounding entirely unconcerned.

“Y-your face! Blood!” D grabbed H’s face in his hands, fingers pressing into hollow cheeks, and pulled him closer, inspecting. “It’s… it’s a nose bleed.”

“Oh, is that what that was?” H said. “I thought it was sweat on my lip.” He gripped D’s arms and guided them away, the touch lingering. “You know how often this happens, D. You know it doesn’t mean anything. My nasal lining is just fucked up. You know that.” His thumb brushed D’s arm, deforming the thick fabric of his coat.

D forced himself to take a deep breath.

“Yes… yes, I know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” H chided gently. He scrubbed his face with a napkin with one hand. D frowned. H was *bleeding* and he was comforting him. That was a cycle that wouldn’t stop repeating.

Hooves thundered, kicking up dust. An announcer rambled out a story about rival houses over a loudspeaker. Two horses charged each other in choreographed unison. Lance struck armor and one knight slumped. Half the audience cheered as their assigned house claimed victory; the other half booed in good humor. D was supposed to be on the side that was cheering. He really didn’t feel like doing so. His legs, back and hips felt like they were on fire (not really; he knew what that felt like.) Sitting down wasn’t helping anymore. He gripped the fabric over his knees. Fuck, they hurt.

The crowd had begun to filter out of the open-air auditorium that held the jousting events. It wasn’t terribly large, but H’s wheelchair had granted them access to disabled seating. The other seats had been filled completely, leaving some to have to wait for the next show. H, with Jean-Paul nestled in his lap, had wheeled about, ready to move on. He was watching D expectantly. Only D couldn’t get up. His joints had locked up while he sat and watched the show. His body felt like it was eating itself, gnawing nerves raw as he tried to force himself up.

No, no, he could do this. It was just standing. That was easy. D gripped either side of his seat and slowly, painfully, dragged himself to his feet. He let out an involuntary groan through gritted teeth. H was standing beside him, out of his chair.

“I told you not to push yourself,” he nearly snapped. He sounded angry. Concerned.

“I’m f-fine,” D said. H pointed at his wheelchair.

“Sit down,” he ordered. D shook his head.

“N-no, that’s yours,” he argued. “You need it.”

“I need it a hell of a lot less than you right now. Sit.” D looked away. He felt himself hunching.

“I-I can walk,” he murmured.

“Barely,” H scoffed. “How do you fancy going back down that ramp; up the hill we took to get here? Please, Kitten. You need to rest.” H’s voice softened at the end. His hands wound around D’s arms and guided him down. He resisted at first, for a moment, before giving in. Once he was seated, Jean-Paul, who had moved to the bench when H stood, hopped onto his lap. D sighed and ran his fingers through the fur on his tail.

D’s arms, at least, were fine. He maneuvered the wheelchair far more awkwardly than H, but pushing himself was easy. H, who had retrieved his cane, walked beside him. D was glad he wasn’t trying to push him. He felt guilty for making H walk at all.

“What the fuck is this?!” D jolted. He wanted to turn toward the infuriated voice, but he wasn’t good enough with the chair to do so before its source had circled in front of him. They were just outside the auditorium now, and a red-faced man in a huntsman’s outfit was glaring between D and H. A woman was close by, holding a small child tightly by the hand.

“A raccoon,” H sneered, leaning on his cane. “I suppose, alongside the ability to mind your own business, you were never taught basic zoology.”

“I’m not talking about that, asshole,” the stranger snapped. “I remembered you two. You were behind us in line.” He jabbed a finger at D. “You switched places!” His glare shifted back to H. “You can fucking walk!” D gripped the wheels of the chair. He hated people yelling at him. He hated people yelling at H. He wanted to make him stop.

H paused before speaking.

“… My friend is tired,” he said. His voice sounded strained. “He’s having difficulty walking. Frankly, I don’t owe you an explanation, but maybe it can teach your child something. You certainly seem incapable of doing so.” The man took a lurching step forward. D’s hands shook. The man was getting in H’s face. D wanted to hit him. But he hurt, and there was a child. He groaned and pressed his hands over his masked face. There was a fucking kid. He couldn’t do anything. Couldn’t think of anything to say.

”You made my kid miss out on the show!” The stranger snapped. “You got let in after the cutoff because of the damn wheelchair you don’t need!”

“We were in disabled seating, moron,” H hissed. “It wouldn’t have made a difference. Count yourself lucky your child gets to attend events like this.” The barest tremor entered his voice. D should do something. He should fucking do something. Why wouldn’t his body move?!

“Dude. Are you screaming at a guy in a wheelchair?” Another voice had entered the conversation.

“He doesn’t need it,” the first man scoffed. “These two switched places!”

“Yeah, man, they’re old,” said the new voice. “They probably needed to.” D peeked between his fingers. A young man had forced himself between H and the angry parent. He was wearing what could generously be considered a low-effort peasant costume. The two continued to argue, the first man shifting his attention to his new combatant. Jean-Paul pressed his hand against D’s arm.

“Let’s go,” he said, as quietly as his translator would allow. D nodded, but he couldn’t make himself move further. H pulled him back and wheeled him away. As soon as D calmed down, he took over.

The little group made their way back into the main area of the fair. H had stripped off the outer layer of his armor, including his gloves, leaving the gambeson and helmet. The rest was stowed on the wheelchair.

“I’m hot,” he’d explained when asked. He accepted a water bottle from Jean-Paul, removing his helmet long enough to drink it.

Stress clung to D’s chest and shoulders, winding up his neck. His jaw clenched involuntarily. He was terrible with the wheelchair. He kept bumping into people. They glared down at him, making him want to curl up into nothing. It felt so much more crowded, too. He wasn’t exactly tall, but when he was standing, he was roughly head level with everyone else. Bodies took up more space; a sea of torsos, shifting and crowding and trying to choke him-

“Are you okay, Phospho?” Jean-Paul asked from his lap. D gave a strangled noise in reply. He kept wheeling forward, because if he stopped, he knew he was going to freeze again.

“What’s wrong?” H asked from behind him. He leaned heavily on the back of the wheelchair. Nothing, D wanted to reply. He didn’t say anything.

“Hey - do your breathing exercises,” Jean-Paul prompted. It was only then that D realized he was practically hyperventilating. He couldn’t slow his breaths. His head felt hot. “Seriously, Phospho, stop. I need you to calm down,” Jean-Paul said. D bumped into someone else. Another glare, followed by an expression of permissive pity. A whine choked from D’s throat.

A hand from behind pulled him to a stop. Jean-Paul hopped off his lap.

“Stay with him,” he said.

“As if I’d leave,” H replied. He put his hands on D’s shoulders. “It’s okay, Kitten.” Fuck. He was doing it again. He was making H comfort him. He was freaking out over nothing. It was nothing!

Jean-Paul returned some time later. D didn’t know how long. He was sure H did.

“I found somewhere a bit quieter,” the polymorph said. “Follow me.” With a bit of coaxing, D was able to make himself move again. He kept his eyes locked on Jean-Paul; tried to ignore everything else. The shifter’s cape dragged in the dust. He led them to an open, grassy area on the edge of the fair. There were still people, but fewer. There were even a couple free benches. D maneuvered himself beside one and H slumped down heavily. Guilt squirmed inside D.

Jean-Paul left again, returning with an icy lemonade and a large pickle half-wrapped in wax paper. He hopped onto D’s lap and offered them to him. D had calmed down enough by then to accept the gifts.

“You actually went to the pickle guy?” H asked, raising an eyebrow. His helmet sat on the bench beside him.

“Electrolytes,” Jean-Paul explained. “Plus, he was charming.”

D petted Jean-Paul while he ate the pickle and drank the lemonade (it was strawberry mint and he loved it). Jean-Paul and H’s easy banter resumed. It was nice to listen to. Suddenly, a wet nose pushed itself against his leg. D looked down to see a Labrador retriever tethered to a flustered-looking woman.

“I’m so sorry, sir,” she said. “Sally! You know better than that. Heel!” A quick, minute tug on Sally’s leash had her standing at the woman’s side. She was still staring at D with large, golden eyes that stood out against her chocolate-colored fur. She was beautiful.

“It’s fine,” D said with a smile. “I have treats. Does she have any allergies?”

“Um, chicken,” the woman replied. D nodded.

“A common one.” He reached into his pocket. “Is beef okay?” The stranger smiled back.

“Yeah, she’d love that.”

D held out a treat for the dog to take. At a command of ‘free’ from her owner, Sally trotted forward and lapped it up. D laughed and stroked the dog’s fuzzy head.

The woman sat on the bench beside H.

“I saw you guys earlier today,” she said. “Love the costumes. And your raccoon is so cute! Is it a pet or a service animal?”

Jean-Paul answered ‘neither’ at the same time H said ‘service animal.’ The woman blinked.

“He’s a human,” H said.

“I have a raccoon body now because of a series of frankly ridiculous circumstances,” Jean-Paul added. D didn’t have anything to say, so he continued to pet the dog. Her tail wagged lazily.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry,” the woman said. She nervously adjusted the front of her corset. “I shouldn’t have assumed.” Jean-Paul chittered a good-natured laugh.

“An honest mistake. Besides, my circumstances are pretty unique. Can’t expect every raccoon you see to have an undergraduate degree.”

The woman continued to chat with H and Jean-Paul, with D contributing occasionally. He slipped the dog a few more treats, lavishing her with attention. The crowd slowly began to clear. It was reaching the end of business hours. The woman parted with an amiable farewell, the feather on her tricorn hat bobbing in the still air as she departed. The heat of the day became less oppressive as shadows lengthened. H stood, looking less fatigued. The three friends slowly made their way back to the entrance.

[kaibutsushidousha]

Since you had various interesting insights on Chiemon over the course of your FSR liveblog thread, if you'd be down I'd love to see a full encapsulation / analysis / meta post summing up your thoughts on him and his character, even if it's just a copy-paste of all the Twitter stuff + any additional thoughts not on there or on his role in the collab event

I could, and honestly should, organize the contents of my Chiemon tweets, but I think I'll prefer to just link the whole livetweet thread because it's a very complete coverage of my interpretation in the game, and adding with the non-Chiemon parts I still think this is the best livetweet I've ever made.

The only thing that's missing to comment there is Chiemon's part in FGO. For the most part, he's Chiemon written in a very Chiemon way. An edgy bum who just says edgy-sounding shit (his constant "I don't wanna hear you calling me Master, Lancer", "this is hell, we're in hell!"), then the player gets additional context that reframes him as the most normal reasonable guy in the cast. FGO is just funnier about because it makes Chiemon say word-for-word "I'm the only sane person here".

There are two major details from the collab that I find splendid additions to Chiemon. First is that he became a Servant classed Lancer instead of Avenger. This is the perfect fit for the guy who sought the gates of hell just to free his family from there and who couldn't bring himself to hurt others in the process. Id's content later only added to this. Chiemon is the same as Fujimaru in how much they cannot be an Avenger.

The second, and much huger reframing of his character, are his last words in his true death scene.

Chiemon's conclusion in Flames of Resentment is opening the gates of hell and learning his family was in heaven instead. FSR makes him just sound like he believes Shimabara was forsaken by God. But here we get a reason. His people were genocided in response to their social revolt, but the part Chiemon has stuck in his memory is "we killed people". His whole hang-up about hell is tied to blood the Shimabaran revolutionaries shed. His guilt is bigger than his rage. At his core, Chiemon is a scared boy who hates hurting others above all else, and that's one more thing that shows all over his characterization when you stop to look at it.

I wouldn't say so, but I would say Ordeal Call 4's writing would benefit from having Chiemon as a guide-type partner who is full of opinions about the hell they'll probably be exploring. Being playable is just a nice extra to that.

[chaotic-archaeologist]

How effective % wise is a condom and oral birth control in real world applications. Like not the 98% if used perfectly but the real person using it imperfectly?

Unfortunately, I can't give you an exact % because like you alluded to, the risk factor is different for all of the unique individual circumstances of users. What I can say is that combining two forms of birth control that work in different ways provides increased protection should one of the methods fail. Also note that condoms are the only type of contraception that also protects against STIs.

Look, everyone is human. Maybe you forget to take the pill at exactly the same time every day. Maybe you miss a day because something was going on. Maybe you don't have a condom with you or it tears or comes off. Shit happens. Having a safety net of a second method gives you one more line of defense in addition to options like Plan B.

Importantly, the risk of pregnancy with any contraceptive (or combination of methods) is never zero, unless you're talking about something like surgical sterilization. Long-acting reversible contraception (often referred to as LARCs) like IUDs or implants have the benefit of not being subject to user error, but also have their own limitations.

Here's a resource from the University of Lincoln-Nebraska about best practices for taking oral contraception and condom use. The CDC's website also has a good page about all of the different kinds of birth control and the coverage they offer.

-Reid

[drdemonprince]

Hello everyone!

It's been almost a year since you all came together as a community to help my very dear friend Eclipse fund his facial surgery and recovery. I am pleased to share that Eclipse's healing from his cyst removal last fall was swift and without complications, that it considerably reduced his pain, barely left any scar at all, and that he had some money left over to pay for rent and supplies for a while afterward. This was a huge shared accomplishment -- thank you, again, from the bottom of both of our hearts. It made more of a difference than I'm even able to share here!

Recently, Eclipse has been able to finally get insurance coverage for a brand new walker (!!) which has considerably improved his mobility and made it possible for him to leave the house more often for outings, and just generally improved his quality of life a great deal. We were able to visit CAKE: the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo together and walk around for hours, which was a real treat. He is also in line to get on disability benefits soon, as well as home health aid coverage, which will vastly improve matters for him and his entire household of queer trans people.

In the meantime, though, Eclipse is in need of some additional help! He needs a total of $600 to make rent on October 1st and cover some recent expenses related to other health issues. These funds will help Eclipse get back on his feet while he waits for a more reliable source of disability benefit income to finally start trickling in.

(As many of you already know, it takes months if not YEARS to get approved in the system for these benefits, and Eclipse has been working toward it for a long time).

Please offer what support you can to my very dear friend, a Black trans guy furry and pillar of the local community. Eclipse is consistently bending himself over backward to look out for his friends and neighbors; he's an inveterate caretaker and giver to his core, and he really could use people to lean on and give back a little, where they can.

Anything you can throw toward this GoFundMe will be deeply appreciated -- every little bit helps. All donations are transferred directly to Eclipse by the GoFundMe site, and are not handled by me at all. I'm just here to give the fund a boost and write updates so my buddy doesn't have to.

Pictured below is Eclipse's new walker and his cat companion, Ted Kat-zynski.

Thank you to all that have donated already, and if you aren't able to support this fund, please consider boosting. Thank you <3

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Nadra Nittle and Shefali Luthra at The 19th:

President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday announced a plan that would eliminate out-of-pocket expenses for most birth control for a majority of Americans.  Officials called the proposed rule, which affects people with private health insurance, the most significant expansion of contraception coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in over a decade. They estimate it could benefit 52 million women of reproductive age. “For the first time ever, women would be able to obtain over-the-counter contraception without a prescription at no additional cost, and health plans would have to cover even more prescribed contraceptives without cost sharing,” said Jennifer Klein, assistant to the president and director of the White House Gender Policy Council, in a call with reporters.  The proposed rule would alleviate a significant financial burden for millions of Americans. The 2010 health law already required private health plans to cover at least one form of birth control for beneficiaries without any out-of-pocket costs. Research shows that the benefit has contributed to higher use of contraception, lower health care expenditures by women, and may have helped lower rates of unintended pregnancy. 

But applying the contraception mandate to over-the-counter methods has been difficult.  If enacted, the proposed rule would require health plans cover forms of birth control such as condoms and emergency contraception – both typically bought without a prescription – as well as a new over-the-counter hormonal birth control pill. That pill, known as Opill, hit retail shelves earlier this year, and a six-month supply costs about $90.  Democrats have pushed for years to strengthen enforcement of the ACA’s existing birth control mandate, citing reports of poor enforcement and of women receiving surprise bills for contraceptives that should have been covered. A 2021 survey by KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research, polling and journalism organization, found that 1 in 5 women with private insurance said they had paid something out of pocket for birth control.  Biden administration officials reiterated those concerns. 

[...] Some Republican state lawmakers have been clear about their intentions to restrict birth control as well as abortion. Conservatives in Congress have called for the defunding of Title X, a federal program offering family planning and related health care services. They have also blocked federal legislation to protect contraception access. Harris, in contrast, has maintained that “contraception is health care.” Since Roe was overturned in June 2022, Harris has discussed the repercussions of limiting women’s health care during more than 100 events, according to Kristine Lucius, deputy assistant to the president and domestic policy adviser to the vice president. 

Harris has also criticized Republican efforts to repeal the ACA, which covers nearly 50 million Americans. Among those protected by the law are more than 100 million people with preexisting medical conditions. The law has already allowed millions of women to save on contraception costs.  The proposed rule will likely have a 60-day comment period, meaning that it will be finalized in 2025, officials said during the call, making it uncertain if it would still take effect if former President Donald Trump is elected. Trump’s position on contraception hasn’t been clear. In May, he gave an interview in which he suggested he would consider certain restrictions, but he later said he would not impose any. Project 2025, which Trump has distanced himself from — even though its writers have ties to both him and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance — does support restricting some forms of contraception. 

The Biden Administration announced on Monday a plan that would eliminate out-of-pocket spending for most birth control items by not requiring a prescription for birth control. This would be a significant expansion of contraception coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

See Also:

AP, via HuffPost: White House Proposes That Health Insurance Fully Cover Over-The-Counter Birth Control

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