#the brackets is me editing the automatic translation a little

[littlemaple]

Käärijä oli kenties yksi Qstockin lauantain odotetuimmista artisteista. Moni festarikävijöistä oli pukeutunut käärinjänvihreään.

[Käärijä] was perhaps one of the most anticipated artists on Qstock Saturday. Many of the festival-goers were dressed in [käärijä-green].

source

#käärijä #jere pöyhönen #qstock festival #qstock 2023 #source is yle #i really like these photos #the brackets is me editing the automatic translation a little #obvs the first word was 'wrapper' instead of käärijä #and the last is 'shoud green' instead of käärijä-green #these photos were the first thing i saw today lmao #yle always seems to be at the top of my notifs these days

[quazartranslates]

Welcome to the Nightmare Game II - CH21

**This is an edited machine translation. For more information, please [click here]**

[<<< Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter >>>]

-----

Chapter 21: Star Death Reality Show (IV)

The first winner of the Best of the Day was He Yi.

With the results broadcasted, everyone looked at He Yi, and he looked a little surprised. He was very surprised by this result. He remembered that the invisible camera following him had been shooting him this whole time, so he smiled appropriately: "Thank you for your audience's love. Thank you very much."

He Yi's expression was very surprised, but Janet could only be more surprised than him. She fully thought that her performance yesterday should have been eye-catching, so why couldn’t she get the Best of the Day? Or had He Yi had some unexpected actions while he was alone... She looked at He Yi bitterly and couldn't help but say: "That's really great. Does Mr. He have any unique secrets to share?"

Before He Yi spoke, Xue Jiahui already defended him: "He Yi took care of us when he acted with us, being very gentlemanly, and I think the audience appreciated this very much."

"Oh, I see." Janet held her arm and put her elbow against Alex beside her. "It seems that you’re not enough of a gentleman, dear Alex."

Alex smiled reluctantly. Obviously, being buried by the goddess in his mind is a very bad thing for his self-esteem, and his expression when looking at He Yi was getting worse.

Seeing that this group of people were going to erupt, Dr. Lu couldn't help it: "I say, is now really the time to get tangled up on this? Take the time to look at Jing Siyu’s situation!"

The group of people had a rude awakening and rushed to show their worry, urging Jing Sixue to lead the way.

There’s enough absurd drama, Qi Leren thought. He had been observing the faces of this group of people just now and found nothing unusual. The only irony was that most people here cared more about this reality show than their companions' lives, meaning that the rescue operation at this time was like a self-promotion.

"I found a med kit when I was looking for supplies yesterday. If someone is injured, it should come in handy." Even the black man Mark, who had always been quite silent, showed himself in a timely manner.

Unfortunately, he just said a word and was immediately rebutted by Janet who turned on a "cockfighting" state: "Do you really want her to be hurt? Dear, this is too ungentlemanly."

Awesome, Qi Leren derided this woman in his heart while keeping a straight face. She could kill two people in one sentence. One was Mark just now, and the other is Xue Jiahui who had praised Gentleman He Yi before.

The group of people walked briskly in the snow, and Dr. Lu, who could trip on a flat road, was really afraid of the snow. He took Du Yue's arm carefully. Qi Leren watched him suddenly stumble and be picked up by Du Yue like a chicken, which made his mouth twitch.

"You should be careful," Qi Leren whispered.

Dr. Lu flattened his mouth and stretched out his empty left hand: "Then you can give me a hand."

Qi Leren sighed and was appointed to pull Dr. Lu's left hand. He and Du Yue held Dr. Lu, like a husband and wife holding their child, so as to avoid him falling over in the snow.

"Hey, He Yi actually got the Best for yesterday. Is it because he cooked well?" Dr. Lu winked at Qi Leren.

Qi Leren understood what he meant. The three of them had heard He Yi's question about the village at the end of the memories they reviewed. With his intuition, he was able to get the Best for yesterday, which was closely related to that remark.

If Qi Leren watched such a reality show as an audience member and knew what was going to happen here, he would naturally vote for the person who questioned it first.

When they reached Jing Siyu's house, it was quiet. Jing Sixue led them to a utility room, pointed to a heavy trap door on the ground and said, "This is it! My sister fell down there, but now the trap door is stuck and I can’t open it. I called my sister and she didn't respond to me..."

"I’m stronger, let me try," Alex volunteered, stepping out to try it confidently—the door did not move.

He tried again reluctantly, but it didn't work. Janet sneered rudely. "Come on, dear. To lift this trap door, you can't rely on the muscles trained in your gym."

Alex's face was red and white. He muttered something and pointed to Francis and Mark—perfectly avoiding Qi Leren and Dr. Lu who didn't look very strong, He Yi, and even Du Yue, who was big and muscular, was ignored and passed by: "Give me a hand."

Three people tried it together again, but the trap door still acted as if it was welded to the ground.

He Yi stepped forward, took out a flashlight, and said, "How did your sister fall in?"

Jing Sixue lowered his head and whispered, "I made a plan with her to go in there in the morning. I got up early and came to look for her. My sister has already gotten up, saying that she wanted to clean up, so I would help her. The two of us came to this room and she found a basement that she wanted to open. At that time, the trap door opened easily. I was a little scared and didn't dare to go down. She climbed down with a flashlight and saw something. Then, the bracket of the trap door suddenly loosened and the trap door closed. I heard her scream as if she had fallen to the ground, and then there was no sound."

"Bracket?" He Yi grabbed the keyword in her story and asked: "What kind of bracket was it?"

"The moveable bracket on a door that will automatically jam when the trap door is pulled up, so that it won’t close." Jing Sixue described it with lively gesticulations and worried again, "Why can't the door open? It was so easy before!"

He Yi thought, "Maybe it's stuck. Don't worry, we can find some tools to pry open the trap door. Annie, Mark said you found an axe yesterday but he didn't take it in exchange for supplies. He said you kept it. Can I borrow it now?"

Annie wasn't there when they had exchanged materials yesterday. Mark had said she didn't feel well and was resting in her room. Considering that most people present didn't like this religious fanatic very much, her unsociable behavior was praised.

Annie looked at He Yi. It was an uncomfortable look: "Well, if you need it, go ahead."

"Thank you, where is the axe?" He Yi asked.

"Mark, take him to go get it," Annie said lightly.

"Wait a minute, I'll go too," Qi Leren suddenly stood up.

"Ah, then I also..." Dr. Lu also stood up and pulled Du Yue with him.

"You can watch here, the three of us are enough," Qi Leren urged Dr. Lu and Du Yue to stay here and observe the situation. It wasn’t necessary to put all their eggs in one basket.

It was obvious that the basement door couldn't be opened by strength alone, and neither could the knives assigned by the program group be used. You had to split the trap door with an axe. One group of people would stay here and wait, while the other group would get this item. Qi Leren wanted to make sure that both sides had their own people so as not to miss any important plot points.

Qi Leren, He Yi, and Mark walked out of Jing Siyu's house and headed for Annie's house.

"Is Annie better?" Qi Leren took the time to ask Mark.

In yesterday's search for supplies, Mark was in a group with Annie, and only Mark knew Annie's situation.

"Not bad, she had a migraine. She said that it may be that it’s too cold here, so the blood vessels are tense and contracted. It’s much better now after sleeping for an afternoon and a night," Mark said.

"It seems that you also went to the west yesterday. Did you run into Lara and Francis?" He Yi freely asked.

"No, uh, no, actually I saw them, but we didn't say hello," Mark hesitated. "Annie doesn't like dealing with strangers."

"Are you familiar with Annie?" Qi Leren felt the intimacy between his words.

"Not bad, I’ve worked with her before," Mark said.

As he spoke, the three men came to Annie's house. Mark went in to get the axe, and Qi Leren and He Yi waited for him by the door.

"How did you sleep last night?" He Yi asked.

Qi Leren suddenly raised his head and abruptly met He Yi's deep gaze. He was a little afraid of this person and the details always made him have some fear associations, although he knew it was very unreasonable and it was completely a trauma of being bitten by a snake.

"Not bad." Qi Leren swallowed and stared at the metal exhaust pipe on the outer wall.

"I didn't sleep very well," He Yi said.

"Oh, yeah?" Qi Leren was very perfunctory. He didn't ask why! Don't just follow the routine!

He Yi frowned and said, "It's probably because of the unfamiliar bed. I had nightmares for a long time and I woke up in the middle of the night. I also got up and walked around. When I walked to the window, there was a snowstorm outside. I saw..."

Dong- A loud noise came from the room. Qi Leren and He Yi startled at the same time and suddenly looked into the building.

"Mark? What's going on?" Qi Leren asked loudly.

There was a dead silence.

-----

[<<< Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter >>>]

#Welcome to the Nightmare Game #欢迎来到噩梦游戏 #danmei

[stacks4stacks]

Introducing Droplet v2

Droplet v2 is a combination of over 30 hours work to totally rewrite the underlying codebase for improved speed, compatibility and reliability. Several new features you are sure to benefit from have been added in Droplet v2...

Experimental audio, photograph and video capture direct from mobile devices like the iPhone.

More language translations for different interface elements.

Simple email notifications for uploaded files, via a choice of 'mailto' or 'PHP mail' methods.

Lots more new style and colour settings to adjust. New border styles. Colour pickers support RGBa transparency.

Refreshed the stack settings and setup interface. Changed the ordering and grouping of some settings.

Automatic image re-sizing and re-saving, for images you are uploading. Great to use with ProGallery.

Ability to change the file uploader icon and make it animated.

File chunking for large uploads, meaning big files are split into smaller upload packages and restart if the upload is interrupted.

Integration with the updated Sentry password protection stack, so you can keep your uploader more private.

Critically important compatibility changes with forthcoming web browser updates, like Microsoft Edge.

More precise control towards limiting the file types and sizes that can be uploaded with this stack.

Optional CSRF security tokens, to restrict where and how files are uploaded.

Several other great new additions, towards making this the best possible file uploader stack.

Droplet v2 can be downloaded here. The product page has been updated with a new demo version and more documentation.

I also want to talk a little about pricing and addon revenue in general. Droplet v2 contains enough features and functionality to demand a $50 USD price tag any day of the week. A comparable file uploader for other publishing platforms is easily into the $400+ USD price bracket (take a look at the concrete5, Drupal or Wordpress marketplaces as an example); and probably do a fraction of what Droplet does, with no decent editing interface to speak of!

I know some people use Droplet with some of my existing paid themes and stacks. Droplet compliments these really well. For example, it works great with ProGallery. So it would be shame to go cup-in-hand for more money off these loyal customers. But at the same time, I cannot shrug-off the time and effort that have going into this huge update. It was extremely hard to decide whether to make this a mandatory paid update for everyone, or continue offering it as before on a donationware basis. I decided the latter, owing to the hugely difficult economic situation many are in.

For sure, there are lots of people who have downloaded Droplet and use it with themes or stacks from other companies. I see this often when people ask me for help setting up Droplet for them. In these scenarios, I get zero revenue. Compounded by the fact that the whole Covid-19 situation has seen RapidWeaver addon revenue seriously impacted. A couple of notable developers have already made exits from RapidWeaver addon development this year.

My hope is that you appreciate the time and effort that have gone into making Droplet v2 a seriously sophisticated file uploader stack. If you do, please consider making a small donation for this or other addons I make. Pay whatever you think the addons are worth to you personally. The contribute page is here. Every donation helps and is appreciated. I reply in person and thank everybody who donates (if you provide an email address).

This is a gentle reminder that users need to appreciate, respect, understand and support addon developers equally. For RapidWeaver to survive beyond 2020, there needs to be a healthy diversity of different addon developers giving back to the platform. Perhaps more importantly, there needs to be a more even-distribution of revenue between hard-working developers.

#droplet #update

[hcneyisms]

what do you use to edit videos

VideoPad Price, Reviews & amp; Reviews title> Open the Mac App Store to buy and download apps.

If autoplay is activated, playback will automatically continue with one of the current video suggestions. PowerDirector offers up to 5x faster rendering effects and transcoding video performance, with significantly improved editing and preview speeds. join in when you give a public lecture or stand in front of the lens in your office and convey interesting content. Compile video clips and pictures, add background music and titles, then output the final movie as a video file, burn it to a disc, or edit the movie in the VideoStudio Editor. Hi, at this point you will soon be able to subscribe to a newsletter, which you can use to keep yourself informed about new posts and interesting things. Until then, read all of my previous interesting posts and follow me on Facebook or Instgram, for example, to be informed about new posts try what she says . Hi, my website uses cookies to enable helpful functions and to offer you the best possible user experience. If you continue to use my website or click on "Ok", you agree to it. You can find more information and settings in my privacy policy. Thank you for watching this video on my site! I hope you liked the video from Matt and helped a lot. Feel free to visit his YouTube channel directly, give this great video a thumbs up there and leave him a nice little message. My name is Thomas Järvinen and this is my fantastic travel blog for backpacking and outdoor adventures. Hi, here I would like to introduce you to a very helpful filmmaking instructional video by Matt Johnson, in which he shares his tips and tricks for video editing with different video formats. Install the CD-ROM software on your computer and connect your digital camera to your computer with the USB cable.

Who uses this software?

To prevent the Linguee database from being automatically read out, Linguee only allows a certain number of requests per user.

We use cookies to enable certain functions and to improve the offer.

In order to report abuse, you need the current one Leave help page.

Some community members have badges that show who they are or how active they are in a community.

Collect video clips and pictures, add background music and songs , then output the final movie as a video file, burn it to a disc, or continue editing the movie in the VideoStudio Editor.

To answer you have to leave the current help page. To report abuse, you must leave the current help page. You must leave the current help page to view this member's profile. Members whose posts have been reported as abuse and removed will take longer to reach the next levels. Implementation of the contractual service is necessary and does not violate the customer's rights or for users who allow the execution of Javascript in the browser, this number is significantly higher than for users who prohibit this. LingueeFind reliable translations of words and phrases in our comprehensive dictionaries and search billions of online translations. If you're signed in to YouTube, you can add this video to a playlist. Setting your language level helps users write easy-to-understand answers. My blog and my videos (in progress) should inspire you to become an adventurer again and travel the world. I am an absolute travel and adventure junkie, enthusiastic photography and filmmaking fan, and huge nerd for the perfect equipment for minimalist travel with only hand luggage. They help us a lot to improve the quality of the service. to prepare for procurement systems of large industrial customers and to be able to create customer-specific catalogs with individual offer and price structures in the shortest possible time. and selecting the combine icon, the icon will "enclose" the highlighted (opening bracket at the beginning and closing bracket at the end of the highlighted). Waveform display and the velocity split display), the corresponding parameter in all pads (and each layer contained therein) within the current engine is changed to the same value. open or use the ElixirEditor to develop new page and form definitions without scripting. rights to third parties granted to Koelnmesse; the right to edit or otherwise change the image material.

#what do you use to edit videos?

[queen-of-obsession]

Secret Santa gift for @egalitarianaquagirl for the @yjficexchange

All your suggestions were good but “Aqua-family going to the beach as if they were totally normal people” was too good to pass up lmao; although I actually combined it with your other prompt of something Kaldur/Lorena. Also I would like to make it known that this is only chapter one. This was originally going to be a one shot but like everything I write it got ridiculously out of control. I’m gonna try to post the other chapters over the next week or two.

Anyways Merry (late) Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Under a read more because this “chapter” alone is almost 14 pages long. (6,903 words, if anyone was wondering.)

Also! Quick edit already because I forgot to mention (just in case it wasn’t obvious) that any dialogue in brackets is translated from Atlantean.

Rest  |chapter 1|

WATCHTOWER February 1st, 09:17 EST SIX YEARS LATER

“Recognized: Aqualad, B02.”

A figure shimmered into view in time with the soft female voice of the Watchtower computer and surveyed the room for a moment before striding towards the room’s only occupant, a dark-haired man in black body armor.

“Hey, Kaldur.”

Surrounded by holographic computer screens, Nightwing paused his furious typing long enough to wave. “How was Hong Kong?”

“It has thirty less pirates than it did two weeks ago, so I’d say alright.” The Atlantean said dryly. He glanced around the empty room. “Is La’gaan…?”

“He should be out here any minute.” Nightwing pivoted towards the screen behind Kaldur, who sidestepped him neatly. The other man resumed his typing without missing a beat, throwing Kaldur a grin over his shoulder. “He’s so excited he can hardly stand himself. He must’ve asked me at least a dozen times this morning if you were back yet.”

Kaldur returned the smile, but found himself distracted by the complex-looking algorithms that his friend was apparently trying to decipher. “You look…busy.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious.” Nightwing teased. He stood still for the first time since Kaldur had arrived and sighed deeply, running a hand through his dark hair. From the way it stuck up in all directions it wasn’t the first time that day that he had done so. “Riddler’s been hinting that he’s planning big for a couple weeks now, and it seems he’s finally ready to go through with it. He sent this coded message to Gotham P.D. three days ago. Decoding the message is just the first step, though. Knowing Riddler’s m.o., the decoded message will be a riddle. So, of course we’ll have to solve that once we solve this.” He smacked the screen for emphasis. “The catch is, every wrong guess and every hour that goes by with it unsolved, the lower this countdown gets.” He tapped a small counter in the corner of the screen that read ‘75’. “And once that hits zero, the message is automatically deleted. Once that happens we’ll be hard pressed to figure out his grand plan in time to stop it. Anyways, Gotham P.D.’s techs obviously had no success, and with both Batman and Batgirl in Blüdhaven for the next week on another case, the task of cracking it falls to me.” He glanced at the small sitting area set up along the windows lining the outer wall of the tower and smiled fondly. “Well, me and Robin. Poor kid’s been up the last two days straight helping me.” Kaldur followed his gaze and just barely spotted the dark head among the pile of pillows on the nearest armchair. He felt a pang of guilt thinking about the two of them slaving away over the Riddler’s latest puzzle while he and La’gaan spent the next several hours relaxing.

“Do you require any assistance?”

Nightwing spared him a quick glance and must’ve seen his concern, because he looked guilty himself for a second before grinning cockily. “What, and have to share the glory with you when I finally crack this thing? No way. I already have to share it with Robin.” He gave Kaldur a playful shove out of the circle of screens. “Not a chance. You already have somewhere to be. Go have fun; you’ve earned it.”

Before he could protest there was a flurry of activity behind him and a pair of slender arms yanked him backwards.

“Kaldur! You’re back!”

“Hello, M’gann.” Kaldur twisted around in the Martian’s arms and gave her a quick hug. “It is good to see you again. You as well, Superboy.”

Said Kryptonian gave him a short wave and a small smile over M’gann’s shoulder. “Welcome back.” A sleepy Beast Boy trailed the two of them, stretching and rubbing his eyes. “Hi Kaldur. Tell the prince happy birthday for me.”

“I will do that.”

“I still don’t get why you’re having his party at Aquaman’s old house by the ocean, though.” He yawned widely, fangs showing. “You guys live in Atlantis. You’re surrounded by water all day. Why would you want to go to the beach?” The older teens all laughed, but Kaldur quickly grew serious again. “That is an excellent question, Beast Boy; with a less than excellent answer, I’m afraid. Prince Arthur was born extremely prematurely. His lungs are not fully formed and it is difficult for him to breathe out of the water, especially if he overexerts himself at all. For his safety we do not dare travel too far from the ocean. Hence, the Atlanteans are going to the beach.” He looked amused again, but Beast Boy looked dismayed. “Duuude. That sucks. Poor little guy.” M’gaan moved to consoled him but was interrupted by a loud crash.

“You’re here?! Neptune’s beard, Kaldur, you’re LATE!”

“It’s good to see you, too, La’gaan.” Kaldur said amusedly, ducking back a step to avoid getting poked in the eye by the scaly green finger jabbing emphatically in his direction. “Are you ready to leave?”

“I’ve been ready for like three hours.” The younger boy grumbled. “You’re the one holding everything up.” He glanced around, readjusting the strap of the black bag he was carrying. “Did King Orin already leave?” Kaldur nodded.

“He left for Atlantis as soon as we got back.”

La’gaan nodded back. “Then what are we waiting for?” He pushed past Kaldur and darted to the center Zeta tube, cutting off an amused M’gann and an exasperated Superboy. “Have fun on your date, angelfish!”

M’gaan giggled. “Thank you, La’gaan.”

Kaldur paused long enough to catch Nightwing by the shoulder and said quietly, “Please call me if you need anything.” “Nightwing snorted and shoved him lightly. “I already told you, no way. But thanks for the offer.”

“Kaldur, hurry up!”

He rolled his eyes at Nightwing, who snickered. “You better get going before he explodes or something.”

“Indeed.”

He joined an impatient La’gaan at the teleporter. They both waved farewell to M’gaan and Superboy and shimmered out of sight.

“Recognized: Lagoon Boy, B18-“

La’gaan exploded out of the Atlantean Zeta portal so fast that if Kaldur hadn’t been so amused by his excitement he might have treated him to the lecture he and Nightwing gave to new members of the Team about the dangers of leaving a Zeta platform before one’s atoms had fully reassembled. But as it was, the moment he was solid enough to feel the faint water currents of Atlantis on his skin he felt the same excitement start bubbling up and couldn’t bring himself to ruin the other boy’s good mood. In a few swift strokes he caught up with La’gaan and the two swam shoulder-to-shoulder to the palace. A guard directed them to the outdoor garden at the back of the palace where a small group had already gathered.

La’gaan shot him a dirty look. “[I told you we’d be late.]” He floated to a stop in front of the foremost figure and touched a fist to his forehead. “[My king.]”

Aquaman clapped him on the shoulder enthusiastically. “[La’gaan! It is good to see you again! Kaldur. Long time no see.]” He joked.

Kaldur chuckled. “[Indeed, my king.]” He saluted Aquaman and then repeated the gesture to the woman and child floating beside him. “[My queen.]” He smiled fondly at the boy. “[Prince Arthur.]”

“[Kaldur!]” The boy threw himself into Kaldur’s arms in a very unregal show of affection while his parents laughed. Kaldur scooped him up and balanced him against his shoulder. “[You were gone so long. I didn’t think you and Father were ever coming back!]” He stared accusingly at a guilty-looking Aquaman. Kaldur patted his arm consolingly. “[And we are both very sorry about that. We did not realize when we left that our mission would take so long. But we are here now, and I hear someone has a birthday today.]” Arthur threw both arms in the air and almost smacked Kaldur in the face. “[Me! Me! I do!]” Kaldur laughed. “[Well, shall we get going then?]” “[Yeeess!]” The gleeful seven-year-old rocketed out of his arms and into those of his father, who immediately swung the giggling boy onto his back and swam on ahead with him. La’gaan followed while Kaldur offered to take the large duffle bag that the queen was carrying. She accepted with a smile and touched his arm lightly. “[It is good to have you both back safe and sound.]” “[Thank you, my queen.]” She drifted past him to rejoin her husband and son while he dropped back a length to greet the young man swimming behind her.

“[Garth.]”

The dark-haired man gave him a small smile. “[Kaldur. It’s been a while.]”

“[Yes it has.]”

Garth made no attempt to continue the conversation and Kaldur felt a brief stab of pity. It had been two years now since Tula had died. Whereas he had eventually managed to bury his sorrow over her loss deep inside, Garth’s was still as visible as the eel tattoos on Kaldur’s arms. Tula’s death had changed him; and if two years of constant support hadn’t helped him recover, two minutes of casual conversation certainly wasn’t going to. So Kaldur let him be and turned his attention to the last member of their group. “[Hello, Lorena.]” The dark-haired girl floating behind them gave him a stiff smile that more resembled a grimace. “[Hi, Kaldur.]” She said haltingly, and he mentally kicked himself. “My apologies.” He said in English. “Old habits. We did not mean to exclude you.” The moment he switched languages a look of relief flashed across her face.

“No biggie. Queen Mera still hasn’t given up on teaching me Atlantean, but it’s a slow process.” She made a face. “Very slow. Should’ve paid more attention in freshman Greek; might’ve helped.” She joked. Kaldur smiled back. “Perhaps.” He hesitated before saying, “Perhaps I could help?”

“Help what, teach me Atlantean?”

“Yes. I happen to be quite fluent.” He managed to keep a straight face for a few seconds, and then they both burst out laughing.

“I should hope so.” Lorena snorted. “Maybe I’ll take you up on that, if you promise not to laugh at how sucky my pronunciation is.”

“Never.” He promised. “That you are making the effort to learn at all is impressive.”

“Hey, how am I supposed to be “Aquagirl”, partner to Aquaman, king of Atlantis, if I can’t even speak the language?” Garth flinched visibly, and with a swift kick shot away from them to join the others. Kaldur and Lorena both stared after him, a stormy look washing over the latter’s face. “I am sorry. He is…still not used to someone else using that name.” Kaldur said softly, touching her shoulder. Lorena shrugged him off, scowling at the ground. “I was the same way when we first met.” He reminded her.

“Yeah, but you got over it. I’ve known him even longer than I’ve known you, and he still can’t hardly stand to be in the same room as me.”

“Tula was his whole world. Any reminder of her still causes him great pain.” Something in Kaldur’s chest constricted painfully. ‘That makes two of us.’

“It’s not fair.” Lorena snapped. “I’m sick of being treated like I’m contagious just because I share a nickname with a dead girl.” Kaldur flinched and she immediately looked contrite. “I’m sorry. That was…insensitive, to say the least. But…look.” She huffed. “Aquaman explained to me about her before I took the name Aquagirl, and I still chose to use it because I wanted to honor her. She was a hero, a real hero. I realize that he’s still hurting and I’m sorry for him, for all of you. Really I am. But it’s not fair that I’m being…punished, for what happened to her.”

“No.” Kaldur agreed quietly. “No, it is not.”

Lorena seemed satisfied at that, at least for the moment, and dropped the subject. It was just as well, because they had arrived back at the Zeta portal and a continued private conversation would have been impossible. One by one they all swam through the portal, Aquaman overriding it to allow Mera and Arthur to pass through. They came out the other side concealed in a small stand of trees. Lorena wrung her hands, shaking off the buzzing feeling that always accompanied Zeta teleporting. “I’ll never get used to that.”

Aquaman ushered them out of the trees, where they found themselves on a short cliff. He threw his arm wide to indicate the small town below them.

“Welcome to Amnesty Bay.”

Mera looped her arm around his and leaned against him. “It’s nice to finally be back here.” They stood there for a moment, both smiling fondly, she at the town and he at her. Eventually, though, he carefully pried his arm out of hers. “Do you have my jacket?” She looked around for a moment before her eyes landed on the waterproof bag that Kaldur was still carrying.

“Sort of.” He chuckled. Kaldur handed it to her and she dug out a black jacket. Aquaman pulled it on and zipped it, effectively hiding his bright orange armor. Mera handed him a pair of sandals as well, and in a moment he looked almost normal. “Well, I’ll be back momentarily. I have to go pick something up.” He winked at Arthur and the boy’s face lit up.  

“What is it, what is it?! Is it my-“

“Arthur!” Mera laughed. “You’ll see what it is in a little bit! For now, why don’t we head down to the lighthouse while your father is picking up…whatever it is that he’s getting.” She and Aquaman exchanged mischievous grins. “Fine.”  Arthur sighed, taking his mother’s hand, but he quickly brightened again. “Let’s go then! C’mon, c’mon!” He tugged at her arm excitedly. “Alright, alright, I’m coming.” Aquaman slid down the cliffside and disappeared down a back street while Mera led Arthur and the others around the edge of town. After several minutes an old lighthouse came into view, perched on the edge of a much more sizable cliff. A cool breeze blew against them, and Kaldur inhaled the tang of saltwater with pleasure, despite having spent much of the last two weeks on the ocean. ‘You can take the Atlantean out of the sea…’

They skirted well around the lighthouse, picking their way down a much smoother incline far to the right. Mera immediately started setting up, producing a blanket and a set of dishware from her bag. Garth silently joined her, leaving the other three with Arthur, who instantly ran to the water and started splashing. Lorena grinned impishly and darted at Arthur. “I’m gonna get you!” He shrieked and tore off down the beach, Lorena hot on his heels. Kaldur and La’gaan stood together in silence, enjoying the sound of the sea. After a few minutes Aquaman joined them, balancing a large white box in one arm. La’gaan carried it to the picnic blanket for him, dodging an excited Arthur, and leaving Aquaman and Kaldur alone.

“It’s beautiful here.” Kaldur said eventually.

“It is.”

“Does the lighthouse still run?”

“Yes. One of the only lighthouses in the U.S. that’s still manned.” Aquaman looked proud. ”Most are run by machines these days. I guess maybe I could’ve paid to have this one refitted, but…” He shook his head. “This isn’t just any old lighthouse.”

“It is your home.” Kaldur finished.

Aquaman nodded. “And my father’s before me.” He chuckled. “The only time I ever thought my father might love something more than me was when he talked about this old place. He loved it dearly. I just don’t have the heart to make such drastic changes to something he treasured so much, even if it might be cheaper.”

“Cheaper than what?”

“Than paying someone to run it manually. An older gentleman that lives in town, Jeromy Parker. He’s always had a fascination with old buildings, so when I was looking for someone to take over running this place he was more than willing.”

Kaldur smirked. “Does he know he’s being employed by Aquaman?”

“Not a chance.”

“Father, Father!”

“Hey, sport.” Aquaman scooped Arthur up, resting him on his hip and tickling him. “What’s up?”

Arthur giggled. “Mother says we should do games first and then eat.” “Is that so?” Aquaman pulled a face at him and he giggled again. “Well, your mother knows best.” He set him down as Mera and the rest of the teens gathered around. “What do you want to play first?” Arthur considered for a moment, stroking his chin with a very serious expression. “Um, how about…tag!” He smacked Aquaman on the leg. “Tag, Father, you’re it!” He waded into the water as fast as his short legs could carry him. Aquaman’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, is that so?” He unzipped his jacket and tossed it aside, kicking his sandals off on top of it.

“Now might be a good time to run.” Kaldur suggested. “No kidding.” Lorena agreed, backing away. She glanced at La’gaan and smirked. “Bet ya’ he catches you first.” “No way.” La’gaan argued. “I’m a way faster swimmer than you.” “You’re both going to get caught first if you don’t move.” Garth observed, amused, as he followed Arthur deeper into the water. The two vanished beneath the waves. Lorena and La’gaan traded looks and then scattered.

Aquaman watched them go calmly, then turned toward Mera. She took a step back. “Oh, no. Don’t you even think about it. Arthur!” She let out a childish shriek and took off across the sand, Aquaman only a few short steps behind her. Halfway back to the picnic blanket he caught her around the waist and swung her around. There was a great deal more shrieking and laughing as he kissed her neck and then proceeded to tickle her. “Looks like you lose first.” She smacked his shoulder playfully, still laughing. “I’ll get you back for that when it’s my turn.” He kissed her again. “We’ll see about that. In the meantime…” His eyes fell on Kaldur, still standing on the beach. The two stood frozen, staring at each other.

Arthur broke the silence with a squeal. “Run, Kaldur, run!”

The next two hours passed in a flash. La’gaan won his bet with Lorena, managing to outswim Aquaman for another twenty minutes after everyone else had been tagged; until he took a wrong turn and cornered himself against an underwater shelf of rock.

After everyone had taken a turn being “it”, Arthur decided that they should play hide-and-seek. Here La’gaan shone again, and Kaldur as well. Kaldur half suspected it had something to do with the both of them being on the Team. Stealth proficiency was part of the job description. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so much, Garth also proved a pro at the game. With his dark hair and clothes he could vanish into the shadows easier than any of them, and he moved more silently in the water than even Aquaman. At last they all gathered on the beach. Over the last half hour Arthur had started wheezing, and while he seemed to be having too much fun to care it had gotten bad enough that Kaldur could tell his parents were starting to get anxious.

“I’m it, I’m it!”

“I think not.” Mera said gently, catching the wheezing boy by the arm. He looked disappointed. “But I-“

“Unless you’d rather keep playing while your mother and I eat all the cake.” His father teased. His eyes immediately lit up. “So it was a cake!” “Arthur!” Mera scolded her husband. He looked sheepish. “It’s not like he didn’t already know.” Arthur tugged on her arm. “I want a piece with tons of frosting.” “Lunch first.” She said firmly. He sighed heavily. “Okay…I get to sit by Kaldur!”

Lunch was finished quickly, largely due to Arthur harassing everyone to eat faster. At last plates were cleared and Aquaman produced the large white box with a flourish. The cake was an explosion of color, decorated with a multitude of sea creatures lovingly rendered in neon frosting. “We had Topo design it.” Aquaman explained. “Arthur loves watching him draw.” Kaldur smiled at a small pink octopus in the corner of the cake. “I thought I recognized the style.”

Once everyone had finished their cake (and Arthur had successfully begged a second piece from his mother) it was time for presents.

“Wow! Thanks, Kaldur! Thanks, Lorena!”

“It’s remote controlled.” Lorena explained as he shredded the box on the toy sub they had both gotten him. “After you open the rest of your presents I’ll help you put it together.” Arthur hugged them both tightly. La’gaan handed him the black bag he had been carrying when he and Kaldur left the Watchtower. Arthur opened it carefully and peered inside, then with a shout of glee turned it upside down and shook out the contents. A dozen or so wooden figurines spilled out into the sand. Arthur snatched one up. “Wow, you really made them!” “All of them.” La’gaan said proudly. “See, here’s Poseidon. And here’s a couple of soldiers.” “Father, look! The chariot even has little reins so the seahorses can pull it!” “Oh, La’gaan.” Mera said softly, turning one of the soldiers over in her hand as Aquaman admired the wooden chariot. “You always make the most amazing things for him.” “Indeed.” Kaldur touched his shoulder. “You are quite skilled, my friend.” La’gaan was practically glowing from all the praise, and it was a few minutes before they drag a fascinated Arthur away from his new toys long enough to open his last present. Aquaman pulled the gift, nearly as long as Arthur was tall, from the bottom of Mera’s bag with incredible care. Arthur took it with some difficulty, pulling the wrapping open carefully. He gasped and looked at his parents in shock. “No way! Is this really for me?” Aquaman pulled the wrapping the rest of the way off, revealing a small gold trident. “You kept saying how much you wanted one like mine.” Arthur was speechless for a minute, then stood up and threw his arms around his father’s neck. “That’s like the coolest gift I’ve ever gotten!” He hugged Mera tightly before dancing around the blanket, whooping. Mera and Aquaman traded pleased looks.

Lorena helped him assemble the remote control sub and put in the batteries, and they entertained themselves for several minutes while Kaldur and Garth helped clean up. After that La’gaan helped him build a sand castle for the figurines. Mera and Aquaman soon joined, and after a few minutes Kaldur quietly pulled the other teens away.

“I think perhaps we ought to let them have some time together just them.” He suggested, and the others all nodded in agreement. One by one they quietly slipped into the water, leaving the happy family to themselves for a while. The water deepened quickly, and they swam with no destination in mind other than away from the lighthouse, simply enjoying the quiet. Kaldur spotted a few swirled shells on the seafloor and scooped them up as he swam by, thinking Beast Boy might like them. La’gaan swam past him, smacking him on the shoulder. “Tag, Kaldur, you’re it!” Kaldur shook his head, stowing the shells in his pocket before chasing him. He caught him easily, and before long they were all playing. Garth even joined in, chasing and catching a giggling Lorena before he seemed to remember that he was giving her the cold shoulder. After that he was his solemn old self again, putting in just enough effort to avoid being caught; but Kaldur felt a flicker of hope anyways.

La’gaan was soon it again, and in his attempt to avoid him Kaldur swam behind a large wall of rock and coral. He peered back around the corner, La’gaan was nowhere to be seen. He ducked back around the wall just in case, his hand brushing the rock. A jolt of apprehension shot through him and he spun around, one hand dropping to his water bearers. Fish scattered around him, but they and the gently waving seaweed were the only living things around besides him.

Something moved behind him. “Found him!” La’gaan called triumphantly, and Kaldur jetted around another bend in the wall, narrowly avoiding being tagged. He stopped almost immediately. In front of him loomed a dead end.  

“Uh oh, looks like you’re trapped, Kaldur.” La’gaan called. Kaldur didn’t answer. That uneasy feeling prickled at the base of his skull again. Something was wrong, something was missing…

“Where is Lorena?”

Garth and La’gaan both looked at him blankly and then La’gaan’s eyes widened. “Kaldur, look-“ The light touch on his shoulder startled him so badly that he reached for his water bearers again, but the high-pitched laugh that followed stopped him. “-out.” La’gaan finished with a sigh. “Found her.” Lorena emerged from the shadows behind Kaldur, giggling. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” Her carefree attitude made Kaldur feel uncharacteristically irritated, and he wasn’t sure why.

“There you are. You disappeared on us, where did you go?”

The question came out sharper and more accusing than he intended, and her expression darkened briefly. “I found something.” Her face lit up. “Something cool. You guys gotta see this.” She twisted sharply and dove back into the shadows, vanishing completely. Kaldur and Garth traded confused looks, but followed La’gaan into the shadows after her. Instead of ending immediately as Kaldur has assumed, the wall curved inwards and downwards until the boys found themselves in what appeared to be the beginning of an underwater tunnel. Lorena was already a good several lengths ahead of them. She waved.

“C’mon, they’re just up here.”

La’gaan looked back at them questioningly, but Kaldur simply shrugged. He wouldn’t have even noticed the tunnel if Lorena hadn’t pointed it out; he didn’t have a clue as to what might be inside it. But as his eyes adjusted to the darker confines of the tunnel, he realized it was getting brighter ahead. They rounded the corner and nearly had to shield their eyes. Around the corner the tunnel widened significantly and the walls were spotted with white crystals, most fist-sized, some a good deal larger. All of them were throwing off a strong glow, bright enough that Kaldur could see something on the walls as well.

“What are these drawings?”

Lorena floated closer and peered over his shoulder. “No idea. I wasn’t in here long enough to even notice those.” Garth ran his hand over a portion of the wall, rubbing off the underwater moss clinging to the rock. “These look like people. They look like they’re holding…spears? Swords? Some kind of weapon. And they’re fighting something. Someone.”

“Fish people?” La’gaan suggested. When the other three all stared at him he huffed. “What? Look at the...things on their heads. They look like fins.” He tugged on the fins on either side of his face for emphasis. “Looks more like they’ve got some kind of weird three-way Mohawk going on to me.” Garth said dryly, and Lorena snickered. La’gaan huffed again. “Well, I think they look like fish people.”

The crystals ran all the way down the tunnel and around another corner and the teens followed them, examining the accompanying drawings as they went.

“Looks like the, uh-” Garth snuck an amused glance at the cranky La’gaan. “-fish people killed a lot of the, uh, other people.”

Kaldur stopped a little way ahead of him and rubbed some more moss away.  “They invaded their city. They killed many, and they invaded…that looks like a palace. There they killed the-” Kaldur cut off abruptly, and the other three immediately crowded around him. “What? They killed the what?” La’gaan demanded, trying to see over the shoulders of the older teens. “The child.” Kaldur finished finally. “They killed the king and queen’s child.” They all fell silent for a while, staring at the image of a female bent over a small body stuck full of strange weapons, while a male standing by two thrones raged at the alien-looking invaders. The irony of finding a story about a child prince being murdered, on the same day that they celebrated their own prince’s birth, wasn’t lost on any of them. Finally, Lorena floated to the next set of images and one by one the boys followed.

“You know…” She said suddenly. “I thought all these weird symbols around the pictures were just fancy borders, but…they kinda look like words, don’t they?” Kaldur and La’gaan promptly looked at Garth. “You’ve spent the last couple years learning all sorts of different languages.” La’gaan said. “Any ideas?” Garth studied the looping script for several minutes before shaking his head. “It’s no language I’ve ever studied.” The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. “And I’ve studied a few.”

Lorena meanwhile had already gotten bored waiting and had moved onto the next set of drawings and La’gaan turned and drifted after her. “Another battle.” He observed. Garth squinted at the shadows obscuring the rock above the image. “Nine days.” He said suddenly. Kaldur looked at him questioningly. “There are nine suns above the picture.” Garth explained. “The fish people and the people in the city fought for nine days and then…” He turned to follow the drawings and frowned. “It goes up.” They all traded apprehensive looks before swimming up the tunnel, until they found themselves above water and standing in a small circular room. Here the crystals and the drawings on either side of the tunnel met at the far end of the room, with the largest crystal yet protruding above the final drawing. Lorena crossed the room to it, leaving a trail of puddles behind her. “From the looks of the drawings we swam by on the way up here, the people from the city drove the fish people into the sea-“

“Stupid idea.” La’gaan interrupted with a scoff. He grinned nastily, showing his sharp teeth. “We fish people are stronger in the water.” Kaldur wasn’t quite sure how he felt about La’gaan identifying with the murderous beings in the drawings, but he and Garth both nodded in agreement. Fighting an Atlantean in the water was an incredibly stupid idea. Not that the fish people were Atlanteans, he reminded himself. And not that Atlanteans were fish people. To say that calling them that was rude was a huge understatement. Lorena coughed exaggeratedly, shooting an apologetic-looking La’gaan an annoyed frown.

“Anyways. They drove them into the sea, all the way into a…” She squinted, turning in circles as she attempted to decipher the faded scribbles. “I have no idea what that’s supposed to be, honestly. It looks like a spoon. Whoever drew these was not very good.”

“They certainly had their own style.” Kaldur agreed, amused.  

“At any rate that looks like the queen again.” She gestured. “She showed up after her people drove the fish people into the spoon-“ La’gaan snickered in the background and Lorena grinned. “-and then the queen showed up and like, threw off a bunch of lightning or something, or maybe they’re snakes, or noodles, because honestly who even knows anymore.” She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. “Certainly not me. But all that matters is that the fish people were trapped in the spoon forever more. The end.” Garth and Kaldur both clapped sarcastically and she bowed dramatically. “Thanks. I’ll be here all day.” She and La’gaan both wandered away to examine the other images in greater detail and mess with the crystals, while Garth joined Kaldur at the front of the room. Standing there in front of the image of the queen, who was bent oddly in half and surrounded by squiggly lines, and bathed in the weird light of the crystals, Kaldur felt the prickling sensation on the back of his neck again and stronger than ever. Something about the cave felt off, felt wrong, but he wasn’t sure what. Garth stepped up beside him, even quieter than usual. Finally, he said, “They look Atlantean.”

“What do?”

“The words.”

Kaldur frowned at him in confusion. “I thought you said you didn’t recognize them.” “I don’t. At least not completely. They’re a different language, but some of the letters look similar.” He stepped closer to the image of the queen. “See, this word here could be ‘power’, or maybe ‘strength’. But the lines here and here are all wrong.” “I see it.” Kaldur hesitated. “Could they possibly be an offshoot of the Atlantean people?”

“Normally that’s what I would’ve thought, but I can’t imagine Atlanteans living in Amnesty Bay at any point and King Orin not knowing about it-“

“Neptune’s beard!”

“Well, that didn’t work.” Lorena said sarcastically. “Are you two alright?” Kaldur asked in concern. La’gaan wrung his hand, grimacing in pain. “Fine.” “Turns out those crystals don’t budge.” Lorena informed them cheerfully, while La’gaan sucked on his aching finger and glared at the offending rock. “And why exactly did you try?” Garth asked. La’gaan scowled at him. “Thought it would make a nice souvenir for Beast Boy.” He muttered. “Guess it didn’t feel the same.”

At that moment Kaldur’s earpiece crackled. “Kaldur, we’re planning on leaving in about an hour. Are you four doing alright?” He turned away from the group, gesturing for silence. “We are fine, my king. We were…exploring. We will head back now.” Aquaman laughed. “This is a good place for that. We’ll see you soon then.” Kaldur hummed in acknowledgement. “Time to go?” La’gaan asked in disappointment and he nodded. They all wandered towards the exit, Lorena and La’gaan playfully pushing each other aside to get there first. They were right at the water’s edge when Lorena gave him a rather overenthusiastic shove and he stumbled over something sticking out of the floor and tripped.

“NEPTUNE’S BEARD!” He howled, clutching at his foot. Far from being apologetic, Lorena instead looked exasperated. “Do you ever use any expressions other than that one?” La’gaan bared his teeth at her, rolling to a sitting position and rubbing his newest aching limb. Lorena crouched beside him and rubbed some dirt away from the object responsible. “It’s a piece of wood. Didn’t get any splinters, did ya’?” She teased. “I’m fine.” La’gaan growled, even crankier than before. She ignored him, rubbing at the piece of wood a little harder, frowning in concentration. “Hey, it looks like the corner of a box.” “So?” La’gaan grumbled. “Who cares.” But Lorena didn’t seem interested in leaving until she uncovered it completely, so Kaldur formed one of his water bearers into a blade and helped her scrape away the hard dirt. Sure enough, buried beneath the floor of the cave was an ancient-looking chest. A worn, rusted lock just barely held it shut. One blow from Kaldur and it shattered. Lorena pulled it off and lifted the lid. She yelped.

“No way.” La’gaan breathed. Kaldur’s jaw dropped. “Unbelievable.” Even Garth looked amazed. ”Is that…?”

“TREASURE!” La’gaan and Lorena yelled together. She threw the lid wide open. “No way, we found a treasure chest!” “We? I found it.” La’gaan argued. “You said you didn’t care.” She argued back. “Well, I care now.” They glared at each other for a moment and then Lorena started laughing. “Right? I mean, look at all this stuff!” She ran her hand lovingly over the contents. “Perhaps we should take it back to the lighthouse.” Kaldur suggested. “We’ll be able to see better.” “Good plan.” Lorena carefully closed the lid. “I’ll carry it.” La’gaan offered. He took it by the worn handles on either side and heaved. He got it only a few inches off the floor before he dropped it with a grunt. “Oh, you wanna play it that way?” He took a deep breath and started to swell. When he had inflated to twice his normal size he tried again, this time easily lifting the chest. One by one they all stepped back into the water. The trip back was slow, La’gaan’s pace hampered by the awkward, heavy chest and loss of use of his arms. At last they reached the shore. Both Aquaman and Mera were waiting for them, looking anxious, while Arthur amused himself with his remote control sub.

“There you are.” Aquaman said as soon as Kaldur and Lorena emerged from the water. “We were starting to worry.”

Kaldur saluted him briefly. “We apologize for the delay. We got…sidetracked.” La’gaan dropped the chest into the sand with a puff of exertion, slowly deflating back to his normal size. “Check this out.” Lorena said gleefully, throwing open the chest. Mera and Aquaman both gasped. Arthur abandoned his toy to come see what had caught their attention. “No way! You guys found a treasure chest?!” He crossed his arms and pouted. “Aww, man! I wish I had come with you.” “You can pick something out if you would like.” Kaldur offered immediately. “Yeah; after all, it’s your birthday.” Lorena added. With some difficulty she and La’gaan managed to turn the chest on its side. Coins and other items, all seemingly cast in solid gold, cascaded over the sand. Aquaman shook his head in disbelief. “Where did you find this?”

“In an underwater cave.” Kaldur said. “And completely by chance. La’gaan tripped over it.”

“Outrageous.” Aquaman murmured.

“Whoaaa! I want this!” Arthur held up a rather wicked-looking dagger, the gold handle at odds with the worn leather sheath. Mera looked less than thrilled by his choice.

Aquaman, on the other hand, looked pleased; but his caution as a parent quickly won out. “You can have it, but keep it sheathed until I show you how to use it, okay?”

“’Kay!”

“Ooh, I know what I’m taking!” Lorena carefully pulled a long necklace out from under a pile of coins. It was made with a combination of pieces of crystal like the ones in the cave, and what Kaldur realized with a start were fragments of bone. Lorena fingered one. “Creepy.” She sounded far from creeped out, though, and immediately put it on.

Kaldur moved closer to pick out something for himself and saw La’gaan stealthily slide a bracelet much like Lorena’s necklace into his bag. He caught Kaldur staring and flushed. “It’s not for me.” He said defensively. Kaldur didn’t say anything and La’gaan fidgeted. “It’s for M’gaan.” He admitted finally. “I’m sure she will love it.” Kaldur said softly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Garth choose an almost identical bracelet, and while it looked like something he might actually wear Kaldur had a feeling he knew who it was really for. That was none of his business, though, so he busied himself searching through the remaining treasure and eventually found what he had been looking for. La’gaan raised an eyebrow at the small necklace he pulled from the bottom of the chest. “It’s not for me.” Kaldur parroted his early statement, and carefully lay the necklace inside a leather pouch that had also been in the chest.

Aquaman and Mera gathered up Arthur’s presents and the picnic supplies, giving them a little more time to look through the chest’s contents. Eventually, though, Aquaman gently prompted them to wrap it up.

“We’ll take the rest back to Atlantis and you can all divvy it up later.” Carefully they replaced all the treasure into the chest, and Aquaman took one of the handles. “La’gaan, do you mind?” La’gaan took the other, and with some effort they managed to lift it and started the slow walk back to the Zeta portal.

Kaldur was lagging a bit behind the rest of the group, puzzling over the drawings in the cave and the intense feeling of foreboding that emanated from it. He turned a corner and almost ran over Lorena, who was stopped in the middle of the trail holding her head. All thoughts of the cave immediately vanished. “Are you alright?” She teetered a little, bracing herself against a tree. “Yeah, my head just…hurt really bad for a second. I’m okay now.” She took a few wobbly steps and stopped again. He took her arm, half afraid that she was going to faint.

“Are you sure?”

She didn’t answer immediately. She took a few deep breaths and when she started forward again her steps were steadier. “Yeah, I’m okay. I’ll just take some Advil when I get home and I’ll be fine.”

“Alright.” He said worriedly, and she flashed him a strained smile, face slightly pale. “Seriously, Kaldur, I’m fine. You worry too much.” 

The rest of the walk went without incident, but Kaldur stayed by her side nonetheless until they reached the Zeta portal and she teleported to her home town of San Diego while the rest of them returned to Atlantis. As they swam back to the palace, treasure in tow, Kaldur finally managed to convince himself that Lorena’s sudden affliction had nothing to do with the cave. ‘Too much time in the sun, nothing more.’ He told himself. ‘She’s fine; she said so herself.’ He didn’t know why he was so worried about her. Alright, that wasn’t completely true. One reason did come to mind, but he wasn’t ready to admit that yet, even to himself; so he did his best to put it and her out of his mind. ‘Forget about it. Don’t ruin a good day by overthinking things like you always do. She’s fine.’

‘She’s fine.’

#young justice #kaldur'ahm #aqualad #lorena marquez #aquagirl #aquaman #arthur curry #aquababy #mera #queen mera #garth #tempest #la'gaan #lagoon boy #young justice fanfiction #secret santa #ToaTepsak's fics #because I just realized that I don't have a fanfic tag lol #I'm really sorry that this took like 8 years to post #I really wanted to post it all as one thing #but then I realized that that is an absurd amount of words to expect someone to read in one sitting #this is still an absurd amount of words but oh well #also in a few minutes here I'm gonna be posting this to my ff net and ao3 accounts if it's easier for people to read it on one of those #lmao I can't wait for my sleep schedule to go back to being just sorta fudged up instead of colossally fudged up #like it has been since I started this fic #I have been up #til 2 or 3 a.m. #every night #for two weeks #AND IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT I'VE NEVER WRITTEN SO MUCH IN MY LIFE

[theinvinciblenoob]

2018! We did it! Way to go, Earth! We’re number one! We’re number one!

As we do each year, the TechCrunch Staff — our writers, our illustrators, our editors and more — have gathered together and come up with a mega list of our favorite things of 2018.

“Things” here is intentionally defined rather loosely. “Things” here can be a book, or a game, or a concept, or a thought, or an album, or anything else. It can be something that popped up for the first time in 2018, or it can be something we’ve had for a while but found a new appreciation for this year. We tried to limit it to things you, too, might be able to enjoy (so no people from our respective lives, for example) — but beyond that, if it left a positive mark in our lives in 2018, it can make the list.

Here goes!

Greg Kumparak, Editor

Google’s Night Sight Mode

Google recently added a low-light photography mode to its Pixel phones, and it’s just ridiculously good. It’s one of those “Hahaha there’s no way it really works like thaaaOH MY GOD WAIT HOW DID IT DO THAT” features. Other phone makers will be chasing this feature in 2019.

The magical combo that is the Kindle Oasis with a PopSocket

I liked my Kindle Oasis in 2017. It’s light! It’s waterproof! The battery lasts for-freakin’-ever! But the more I use it, the less certain I am that it was actually designed for human hands. The back is slippery smooth, with a weird ridge that looks like it should be easy to hold onto for extended periods of time but isn’t really.

In 2018 I stuck a PopSocket on the back and it changed everything — I’m reading more often, and for much longer stretches. My Kindle has gone from something that lives on my nightstand to something that is always with me. Between the light weight of the Oasis and the flexibility of the PopSocket, it’s the most comfortable reading experience I’ve ever had.

99% Invisible

I’ve been commuting more this year, with the upside being that I’m finally able to catch up on a thousand podcasts I’ve been wanting to listen to forever.

My favorite right now is 99% Invisible — it’s one that friends have been suggesting to me for years, and now I’m sort of mad I didn’t start listening sooner. Each episode focuses on something that we tend to overlook; the history of the places around us, the clothes we wear, the tools we use, etc. They start most episodes with a bit of narrative, then throw you face-first into a rabbit hole. They present a little dangling thread, then spend the next 20-30 minutes tugging on it until your understanding of that thing unravels and reforms. I’m hooked.

Spider-Man for PS4

This game. Just… damn.

I can’t remember the last single player game I enjoyed quite this much. It’s the first game that convinced me to pre-order all of the DLC long before I was even done with the main campaign. It’s the first game I’ve been drawn back to after completing every storyline, side quest and collectible.

There’s too much right about this game to fit into a little blurb like this, but above it all: that webswinging, though. Insomniac Games built a webswinging system that’s intuitive enough to immediately make sense, but complex enough that you can get more adept and precise every time you sit down to play. What could’ve been deeply frustrating instead feels very natural and, before long, wired in. Sequel please.

Devin Coldewey, Writer

Return of the Obra Dinn

At once an interactive storybook, a maddening logic puzzle and a beautiful game, Lucas Pope’s Return of the Obra Dinn bucks pretty much every gaming trend and is a resounding success. Tasked with investigating the fates of all hands aboard the derelict Obra Dinn using an artifact that shows you the scenes of their deaths, you work your way backwards and forward through a strange, compelling story told in freeze frame, snippets of audio and your imagination. Not for quitters — this game is hard.

Vita Nostra

I’ve been disappointed by modern sci-fi, fantasy and magical realism for years, and thought I’d try my luck with this newly translated novel touted as “Harry Potter meets metaphysics in backwater Russia.” A girl is approached by a mysterious stranger offering entrance to a mysterious school… but instead of magic the students seem to be having their minds systematically broken. I was very pleasantly surprised by the freshness, weirdness and intelligence of Vita Nostra, which is nothing like anything else I’ve read, and certainly not in the increasingly overcrowded YA genre, which this only barely fits into. I’d recommend this to anyone over 16 who’s okay with having their mind bent a bit.

My trusty iPhone SE

As everyone in the world fusses about the latest, largest phones, which notch is best and how to get the most out of your virtual assistant, I’m content with my years-old, pocket-sized iPhone SE, in my opinion the zenith of Apple’s design philosophy. It’s been discontinued (I suspect because it was still showing up newer models) and that’s a shame. I wish more things in the tech world worked as well and lasted as long as this phone.

Catherine Shu, Writer

Trekz Air

I belong to a group for fans of true crime podcasts who are also parents of young children. We were wondering how to indulge that interest without traumatizing our offspring and someone suggested bone-conduction headphones, which send sound vibrations through the bones of your cheeks and jaw, keeping your ears open so you remain aware of surrounding noises.

I bought a pair of wireless Trekz Air and they have totally changed my life. Fine, that’s hyperbole, but I love being able to listen to things while keeping an ear out for my toddler, deliveries or traffic. Not surprisingly, the sound quality doesn’t match traditional headphones, but it’s more than clear enough for spoken words. Trekz Air are lightweight and a good option for people who find earbuds uncomfortable but don’t want to lug around over-the-ear headphones. The vibrations tickle at first, but you get used to them.

Paprika (the app, not the spice)

Before downloading Paprika, using online recipes meant printing them out or smearing grease, flour and possible traces of salmonella on my iPhone. Paprika makes everything easier by downloading recipes, cutting out the 2,000 word essays and dozens of photos many food sites publish, and sorting ingredients and directions into organized sections. You also can keep an inventory of ingredients you already own and match that against meal or menu plans to automatically create grocery shopping lists. The iOS and Android apps cost a very reasonable $4.99.

NPR’s Believed podcast

Believed is often painful to listen to, but it is one of the most important podcasts released this year. Through interviews with survivors, their parents, advocates and law enforcement officials, Michigan Radio reporters Kate Wells and Lindsey Smith not only examine how Larry Nassar was able to get away with sexually abusing hundreds of girls and women for so many years, but also how his young victims eventually found their voices and succeeded in bringing him to justice. (For people raising kids, the “Gaslighting” and “The Parents” episodes are essential listening.)

BBC Radio 3 Slow Radio’s episode “Forgotten Sounds”

The episode captures many of the noises that once formed the ambient soundtrack of daily life, but are disappearing as technology advances, including typewriters, printing machines and looms. All are combined by composer Iain Chambers into a gentle medley that’s awesome for background noise if you find music too distracting while you work.

Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee

Lee, a designer, breaks down the aesthetic elements that induce feelings of contentment, wonder and glee: lush bouquets and bright colors, balloons bobbing in the air, gardens hidden in the city neighborhoods, the glow of sunlight against pale yellow walls, a silly pair of socks, the perfect harmony of a Rockettes’ kick line. Her book makes a solid argument for the link between good design and social well-being, while serving as a guide for how you can create more moments of transcendence and joy in your life.

Rookie on Love edited by Tavi Gevinson

I’m more than a decade older than their target age bracket, but I loved Rookie, the online magazine for teenagers edited by Tavi Gevinson, because it was the kind of thing I longed for in high school and I was just happy it existed. It also brought exposure to an amazing group of young writers and artists, including Jenny Zhang, Hazel Cills, Petra Collins and Rachel Hodgson (to name just a very truncated list).

Though the site recently announced it will stop publishing new content, this year also marked the release of  Rookie on Love, an anthology of essays, interviews and comics about all kinds of love — romantic, platonic, familial, self — and heartbreak. It is just as remarkable as the Rookie Yearbook series and cements the legacy Gevinson and her colleagues built over the last seven years.

Bougainvillea

Photo by Leonora (Ellie) Enking

Want a plant you can’t kill? Screw succulents. Get a bougainvillea instead. I bought four potted ones and they make me feel like a gardening genius. The bright pink perennial blooms also add a happy note to my balcony on cold and grey days.

Romain Dillet, Writer

VanMoof bike

2018 has been an interesting year for people living in Paris and who love bikes. In 2017, I was using Paris’ bike-sharing system (Vélib) constantly, but couldn’t anymore because the new provider made the whole system unusable.

After a lot of Ofo and Mobike rides, I became frustrated with the unpredictable nature of free-floating services. Will I find a bike? Is the bike broken? And let’s be honest, those bikes tend to suck.

So I switched to a VanMoof Smart X and I love this bike. It’s a solid, connected bike that doesn’t need a ton of attention.

People

This weekend, maybe you can leave your phone in your pocket and talk with people around you. After countless examples of Facebook missteps, multiple digital well-being dashboards and many #quitfacebook hashtags, it’s time to act.

If you were waiting for proof that social networks, ad companies and addictive engagement tricks were hurting your social behavior, now you have it. A tiny little red number shouldn’t stop you from engaging in an interesting conversation with your family, your neighbor, your Uber driver or the person waiting in line in front of you for a concert.

I’m not perfect on this front. The goal isn’t to reach perfection — being mediocre at something is OK. But trying to talk a tiny bit more with people around you is already better than clearing your Instagram feed multiple times a day.

Natasha Lomas, Writer

Open DMs on Twitter

It’s a bit of a love-hate “favorite” because my Twitter account’s noise to signal ratio has inexorably taken a (small) hit after I opened up DMs this year. But, on balance, having to tune out a bit of spam PR/worthless crypto pitches/random “suspicious” photo-messages (which are helpfully autoblocked from being displayed by Twitter anyway) has been worth it to allow some interesting new signals to filter through via direct message.

Email is an alternative channel for this, of course. But the level of inbox noise makes it challenging for this type of “alien signal” to break through. Ditto LinkedIn, which also only offers the messaging feature to paying users or existing contacts. So Twitter — at least for now — offers a decent alternative where interesting strangers can whisper in your ear. There’s no predicting what might happen to the calibre and cadence of these alien signals in the future though. Much like Slack used to claim to aid productivity until it became a self-replicating, attention-sucking virus, comms technologies work until they break from overuse (and/or corporate growth targets…).

Travis Bernard, Audience Development

Sonos’ 5.1 Surround Sound Set

My sound system stopped working this year, so I looked into getting a Sonos system. The price was initially a turn-off, but after using it for the last few months I can honestly say it’s well worth the steep price tag. The sound is stellar, but what’s more impressive was that it only took 30 minutes to set up a 5.1 surround sound system.

Megan Rose Dickey, Writer

OWL Two-way Dash Cam

It’s an always-on camera for my car that gives me peace of mind that no one is smashing my windows or towing my car.

Otter, a transcription service

These transcriptions are the actual best. This tool has become my go-to for transcribing recorded interviews.

Super Mario Party for Nintendo Switch

It’s a fun, pick-up-and-play kind of game that’s great for groups — even if half the group isn’t usually super into games.

Brian Heater, Writer

Hell-On by Neko Case

“God is not a contract or a guy / God is an unspecified tide” is one of the great opening lines, on-par with Patti Smith’s “Gloria” and Nick Cave’s “Into My Arms.”

I don’t know how, but seven records into her solo career, the sometime New Pornographer keeps getting better. Hell-On is an intricately layered and deeply personal expression from an immensely talented singer-songwriter.

Sorry to Bother You

If you haven’t had this spoiled yet, congrats. Turn off all internet notifications and go watch it immediately. Sorry to Bother You is such a beautiful brainfuck in ways the trailer, thankfully, doesn’t begin to approach. True, there’s all of the social commentary one would expect from the directorial debut of Coup frontman Boots Riley, but the movie explores the subjects through shockingly hilarious unexpected avenues.

Muse 2 headset

I’m bad at meditation. Like really, really bad. I may be the only person in the world who actually gets MORE anxious when I sit quietly with my thoughts. I’ve had mixed results with apps (Calm has been my go-to, of late), and while I initially balked at the idea of gamifying the process, I’ve actually found this wearable a useful tool in helping regain my focus, even when not wearing it.

Nancy by Olivia Jaimes

Nancy, Olivia Jaimes’ take on the octogenarian newspaper strip, feels too good for this world. Or at very least, too good for the hate-spewing comments section that follows it around on GoComics.com. You see, newspaper strips are like Ghostbusters or Star Wars. People want a fresh take on something familiar that’s somehow exactly the same as the original. Jaimes has the unenviable task of being the first woman to take on Ernie Bushmiller’s beloved strip, and some of the angrier corners of the internet have not been so kind — causing her to take on a forced anonymity. It’s not for lack of brilliance. Her take on the strip is often hilarious and frequently meta — exactly the sort of stuff we’d hope for Nancy and Sluggo.

Sharp Objects

I travel a lot and do around 75 percent of my movie watching on planes. Turns out you run out of reasonable movie choices pretty fast. Thankfully, I discovered this Showtime series at the beginning of a 16-hour flight back from Hong Kong and proceeded to watch the entire thing, front to back in one leg-cramping binge. It’s the only show that’s held my increasingly short attention span since last year’s Twin Peaks reunion. Sharp Objects leans less on the weird, but has enough left-field twists and turns to make it one of the most engaging series in recent memory.

Sarah Perez, Writer

DoublePane for macOS

I’ve used this for years as a window manager for when I have to drop from 2 screens to 1. I realized how important it was to me this year, when it was one of the first installs on a new Mac.

This $11 clear case for my iPhone XR

I mean, I drop my phone a lot and it’s not cracked yet, but feel free to spend 3x more on Apple’s version.

(also, +1 to what Greg said about PopSockets)

Bryce Durbin, Illustrator

All the Answers by Michael Kupperman

Michael Kupperman is known for hilarious, absurd comics such as Snake ‘n’ Bacon and Mark Twain’s Autobiography 1910-2010, but the author opens up about his own family history in this graphic memoir. His father is “quiz kid” Joel Kupperman, who became world-famous in his youth but retreated from the spotlight after adolescence. The memoir is beautifully rendered in stark black and white drawings as Kupperman tells his father’s life story in an effort to understand his own. Buy it here.

Meet My Friends The Friends

Meet My Friends The Friends is ostensibly a recap podcast about Friends, but you don’t have to like or know the ’90s sitcom to enjoy this.

Tom Scharpling (who also hosts The Best Show) tries to run a smooth ship that seems to be coming apart right from its launch due to infighting with his engineer(s). Running jokes about music cues, sound effects bumpers and fake ads for ridiculous companies and products build throughout the series. Unlike the sprawling Best Show, each episode of MMFTF is about 15 minutes.

Jordan Crook, Editor

Nanette by Hannah Gadsby

I’m a huge fan of stand-up comedy, but no special has ever touched my heart the way that Nanette did. Hannah Gadsby reimagines what a stand-up special can be. She feeds information to the audience bite by bite, whether it’s the sad reality of art history legends or her own personal stories, all the while narrating the underlying meaning of the special. Bottom line: Is it funny? Yes. Very. Does it go beyond funny to something more meaningful? Indeed, it does, and with a combination of authenticity and grace that are rarely paired so well.

Red Dead Redemption 2

If the holidays are a time for rest and reflection, heading into the new year means taking on new challenges. Red Dead Redemption 2 is great for both. It’s a laid back beautiful game that at times feels much more like a movie than a game, and yet the sheer volume of the game is most certainly a vast undertaking. It follows the story of a man, Arthur Morgan, but also the story of a time and place.

Brooklinen sheets

Growing up, my parents’ bed was always the best bed in the house. Not only was it a giant California King (which feels like a cruise ship to a six-year-old), but it was beautiful and had the most luxurious, soft sheets. The older I get, the more I feel pushed to make my bed just as luxurious, and Brooklinen has paved the way. The mix-and-match sheet sets are adorable, and they feel amazing. Plus, they’re pretty affordable.

Lucas Matney, Writer

Apple HomePod

I am what most would call a smart speaker power user. Despite living in an apartment with few distinct rooms, I’ve somehow gotten addicted and am situated with a dwelling that has twice as many smart speakers as it does doors.

As such, I was super intrigued by the HomePod when it came out. I was already an Apple Music user because of the enhanced support for other devices, but I’ve really enjoyed the capabilities of the HomePod beyond its nepotistic relationship with Apple Music. The voice command isolation usurps similarly priced speakers, and the speaker is incredibly well-balanced, with solid bass and volume that fits my needs. Siri’s capabilities are getting there and hopefully Apple gets a little bit more aggressive with what bits are Siri-enabled in the next iOS release. Overall, I am still a big fan of Siri’s most custom-built hardware home.

Logitech Harmony Home Hub

Combining home theater gear into a unified smart system is often the most frustrating tech task you can attempt. This year I picked up a Harmony Home Hub for about $50 and made everything a lot easier. The idea of controlling all of your gear with your phone is sometimes better in theory than it is in practice, but by using the IFTTT app you can create custom Google Assistant or Alexa controls for the Harmony Hub so that you can easily switch between audio and video outputs. I still keep my remotes around, but I’m able to do a good chunk of what I want with my voice.

Oculus Go

The perfect flight companion. I have spent a ton of time with VR headsets and, for the most part, it’s been time I wish I could get back. That being said, I’ve really liked traveling with Facebook’s Oculus Go headset on my last couple long-haul flights. A lack of self-awareness is something Santa can’t put under your tree, but spending 7 or 8 hours with a VR headset strapped to your face binging movies on an airplane is borderline magical if you can stomach the fact that you’ll end up being ridiculed in about a dozen tweets by the end of your flight.

Anthony Ha, Writer

The Leftovers

Friends — and regular listeners of our Original Content podcast — know that it takes a lot for me to stick around for more than one season of a TV show, even a show that I’m enjoying. (There’s just so much else to watch!) But this year, I finally caught up on seasons two or three of HBO’s The Leftovers, and I can now confidently state that it’s one of the best shows ever made.

Aside from maybe Twin Peaks, I can’t think of anything else that mixes goofy humor and existential despair, the surreal and the mundane, so effectively. Carrie Coon delivers an all-time great performance as Nora Durst, a woman whose entire family disappeared in the mysterious Sudden Departure, and when Justin Theroux sings “Homeward Bound,” it’s probably the most emotionally devastating karaoke performance you’ll ever see.

Forest

Like everyone whose working life has moved online, my concentration has been shot to hell, which is why I’ll happily try out anything with a halfway-decent chance of making me less distractible and more productive.

The Pomodoro technique (basically: you work without interruption in 25-minute intervals, then take short breaks) turns out to be less-than-ideal for covering breaking news, but it’s great for other, longer-form writing, like fiction. And while there are plenty of Pomodoro timers in the App Store, Forest has become my favorite, thanks to its playful design, and the cheerful scolding you get when you’re tempted to break concentration by checking your phone.

via TechCrunch

#IFTTT #TechCrunch

[fmservers]

TechCrunch’s Favorite Things of 2018

2018! We did it! Way to go, Earth! We’re number one! We’re number one!

As we do each year, the TechCrunch Staff — our writers, our illustrators, our editors and more — have gathered together and come up with a mega list of our favorite things of 2018.

“Things” here is intentionally defined rather loosely. “Things” here can be a book, or a game, or a concept, or a thought, or an album, or anything else. It can be something that popped up for the first time in 2018, or it can be something we’ve had for a while but found a new appreciation for this year. We tried to limit it to things you, too, might be able to enjoy (so no people from our respective lives, for example) — but beyond that, if it left a positive mark in our lives in 2018, it can make the list.

Here goes!

Greg Kumparak, Editor

Google’s Night Sight Mode

Google recently added a low-light photography mode to its Pixel phones, and it’s just ridiculously good. It’s one of those “Hahaha there’s no way it really works like thaaaOH MY GOD WAIT HOW DID IT DO THAT” features. Other phone makers will be chasing this feature in 2019.

The magical combo that is the Kindle Oasis with a PopSocket

I liked my Kindle Oasis in 2017. It’s light! It’s waterproof! The battery lasts for-freakin’-ever! But the more I use it, the less certain I am that it was actually designed for human hands. The back is slippery smooth, with a weird ridge that looks like it should be easy to hold onto for extended periods of time but isn’t really.

In 2018 I stuck a PopSocket on the back and it changed everything — I’m reading more often, and for much longer stretches. My Kindle has gone from something that lives on my nightstand to something that is always with me. Between the light weight of the Oasis and the flexibility of the PopSocket, it’s the most comfortable reading experience I’ve ever had.

99% Invisible

I’ve been commuting more this year, with the upside being that I’m finally able to catch up on a thousand podcasts I’ve been wanting to listen to forever.

My favorite right now is 99% Invisible — it’s one that friends have been suggesting to me for years, and now I’m sort of mad I didn’t start listening sooner. Each episode focuses on something that we tend to overlook; the history of the places around us, the clothes we wear, the tools we use, etc. They start most episodes with a bit of narrative, then throw you face-first into a rabbit hole. They present a little dangling thread, then spend the next 20-30 minutes tugging on it until your understanding of that thing unravels and reforms. I’m hooked.

Spider-Man for PS4

This game. Just… damn.

I can’t remember the last single player game I enjoyed quite this much. It’s the first game that convinced me to pre-order all of the DLC long before I was even done with the main campaign. It’s the first game I’ve been drawn back to after completing every storyline, side quest and collectible.

There’s too much right about this game to fit into a little blurb like this, but above it all: that webswinging, though. Insomniac Games built a webswinging system that’s intuitive enough to immediately make sense, but complex enough that you can get more adept and precise every time you sit down to play. What could’ve been deeply frustrating instead feels very natural and, before long, wired in. Sequel please.

Devin Coldewey, Writer

Return of the Obra Dinn

At once an interactive storybook, a maddening logic puzzle and a beautiful game, Lucas Pope’s Return of the Obra Dinn bucks pretty much every gaming trend and is a resounding success. Tasked with investigating the fates of all hands aboard the derelict Obra Dinn using an artifact that shows you the scenes of their deaths, you work your way backwards and forward through a strange, compelling story told in freeze frame, snippets of audio and your imagination. Not for quitters — this game is hard.

Vita Nostra

I’ve been disappointed by modern sci-fi, fantasy and magical realism for years, and thought I’d try my luck with this newly translated novel touted as “Harry Potter meets metaphysics in backwater Russia.” A girl is approached by a mysterious stranger offering entrance to a mysterious school… but instead of magic the students seem to be having their minds systematically broken. I was very pleasantly surprised by the freshness, weirdness and intelligence of Vita Nostra, which is nothing like anything else I’ve read, and certainly not in the increasingly overcrowded YA genre, which this only barely fits into. I’d recommend this to anyone over 16 who’s okay with having their mind bent a bit.

My trusty iPhone SE

As everyone in the world fusses about the latest, largest phones, which notch is best and how to get the most out of your virtual assistant, I’m content with my years-old, pocket-sized iPhone SE, in my opinion the zenith of Apple’s design philosophy. It’s been discontinued (I suspect because it was still showing up newer models) and that’s a shame. I wish more things in the tech world worked as well and lasted as long as this phone.

Catherine Shu, Writer

Trekz Air

I belong to a group for fans of true crime podcasts who are also parents of young children. We were wondering how to indulge that interest without traumatizing our offspring and someone suggested bone-conduction headphones, which send sound vibrations through the bones of your cheeks and jaw, keeping your ears open so you remain aware of surrounding noises.

I bought a pair of wireless Trekz Air and they have totally changed my life. Fine, that’s hyperbole, but I love being able to listen to things while keeping an ear out for my toddler, deliveries or traffic. Not surprisingly, the sound quality doesn’t match traditional headphones, but it’s more than clear enough for spoken words. Trekz Air are lightweight and a good option for people who find earbuds uncomfortable but don’t want to lug around over-the-ear headphones. The vibrations tickle at first, but you get used to them.

Paprika (the app, not the spice)

Before downloading Paprika, using online recipes meant printing them out or smearing grease, flour and possible traces of salmonella on my iPhone. Paprika makes everything easier by downloading recipes, cutting out the 2,000 word essays and dozens of photos many food sites publish, and sorting ingredients and directions into organized sections. You also can keep an inventory of ingredients you already own and match that against meal or menu plans to automatically create grocery shopping lists. The iOS and Android apps cost a very reasonable $4.99.

NPR’s Believed podcast

Believed is often painful to listen to, but it is one of the most important podcasts released this year. Through interviews with survivors, their parents, advocates and law enforcement officials, Michigan Radio reporters Kate Wells and Lindsey Smith not only examine how Larry Nassar was able to get away with sexually abusing hundreds of girls and women for so many years, but also how his young victims eventually found their voices and succeeded in bringing him to justice. (For people raising kids, the “Gaslighting” and “The Parents” episodes are essential listening.)

BBC Radio 3 Slow Radio’s episode “Forgotten Sounds”

The episode captures many of the noises that once formed the ambient soundtrack of daily life, but are disappearing as technology advances, including typewriters, printing machines and looms. All are combined by composer Iain Chambers into a gentle medley that’s awesome for background noise if you find music too distracting while you work.

Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee

Lee, a designer, breaks down the aesthetic elements that induce feelings of contentment, wonder and glee: lush bouquets and bright colors, balloons bobbing in the air, gardens hidden in the city neighborhoods, the glow of sunlight against pale yellow walls, a silly pair of socks, the perfect harmony of a Rockettes’ kick line. Her book makes a solid argument for the link between good design and social well-being, while serving as a guide for how you can create more moments of transcendence and joy in your life.

Rookie on Love edited by Tavi Gevinson

I’m more than a decade older than their target age bracket, but I loved Rookie, the online magazine for teenagers edited by Tavi Gevinson, because it was the kind of thing I longed for in high school and I was just happy it existed. It also brought exposure to an amazing group of young writers and artists, including Jenny Zhang, Hazel Cills, Petra Collins and Rachel Hodgson (to name just a very truncated list).

Though the site recently announced it will stop publishing new content, this year also marked the release of  Rookie on Love, an anthology of essays, interviews and comics about all kinds of love — romantic, platonic, familial, self — and heartbreak. It is just as remarkable as the Rookie Yearbook series and cements the legacy Gevinson and her colleagues built over the last seven years.

Bougainvillea

Photo by Leonora (Ellie) Enking

Want a plant you can’t kill? Screw succulents. Get a bougainvillea instead. I bought four potted ones and they make me feel like a gardening genius. The bright pink perennial blooms also add a happy note to my balcony on cold and grey days.

Romain Dillet, Writer

VanMoof bike

2018 has been an interesting year for people living in Paris and who love bikes. In 2017, I was using Paris’ bike-sharing system (Vélib) constantly, but couldn’t anymore because the new provider made the whole system unusable.

After a lot of Ofo and Mobike rides, I became frustrated with the unpredictable nature of free-floating services. Will I find a bike? Is the bike broken? And let’s be honest, those bikes tend to suck.

So I switched to a VanMoof Smart X and I love this bike. It’s a solid, connected bike that doesn’t need a ton of attention.

People

This weekend, maybe you can leave your phone in your pocket and talk with people around you. After countless examples of Facebook missteps, multiple digital well-being dashboards and many #quitfacebook hashtags, it’s time to act.

If you were waiting for proof that social networks, ad companies and addictive engagement tricks were hurting your social behavior, now you have it. A tiny little red number shouldn’t stop you from engaging in an interesting conversation with your family, your neighbor, your Uber driver or the person waiting in line in front of you for a concert.

I’m not perfect on this front. The goal isn’t to reach perfection — being mediocre at something is OK. But trying to talk a tiny bit more with people around you is already better than clearing your Instagram feed multiple times a day.

Natasha Lomas, Writer

Open DMs on Twitter

It’s a bit of a love-hate “favorite” because my Twitter account’s noise to signal ratio has inexorably taken a (small) hit after I opened up DMs this year. But, on balance, having to tune out a bit of spam PR/worthless crypto pitches/random “suspicious” photo-messages (which are helpfully autoblocked from being displayed by Twitter anyway) has been worth it to allow some interesting new signals to filter through via direct message.

Email is an alternative channel for this, of course. But the level of inbox noise makes it challenging for this type of “alien signal” to break through. Ditto LinkedIn, which also only offers the messaging feature to paying users or existing contacts. So Twitter — at least for now — offers a decent alternative where interesting strangers can whisper in your ear. There’s no predicting what might happen to the calibre and cadence of these alien signals in the future though. Much like Slack used to claim to aid productivity until it became a self-replicating, attention-sucking virus, comms technologies work until they break from overuse (and/or corporate growth targets…).

Travis Bernard, Audience Development

Sonos’ 5.1 Surround Sound Set

My sound system stopped working this year, so I looked into getting a Sonos system. The price was initially a turn-off, but after using it for the last few months I can honestly say it’s well worth the steep price tag. The sound is stellar, but what’s more impressive was that it only took 30 minutes to set up a 5.1 surround sound system.

Megan Rose Dickey, Writer

OWL Two-way Dash Cam

It’s an always-on camera for my car that gives me peace of mind that no one is smashing my windows or towing my car.

Otter, a transcription service

These transcriptions are the actual best. This tool has become my go-to for transcribing recorded interviews.

Super Mario Party for Nintendo Switch

It’s a fun, pick-up-and-play kind of game that’s great for groups — even if half the group isn’t usually super into games.

Brian Heater, Writer

Hell-On by Neko Case

“God is not a contract or a guy / God is an unspecified tide” is one of the great opening lines, on-par with Patti Smith’s “Gloria” and Nick Cave’s “Into My Arms.”

I don’t know how, but seven records into her solo career, the sometime New Pornographer keeps getting better. Hell-On is an intricately layered and deeply personal expression from an immensely talented singer-songwriter.

Sorry to Bother You

If you haven’t had this spoiled yet, congrats. Turn off all internet notifications and go watch it immediately. Sorry to Bother You is such a beautiful brainfuck in ways the trailer, thankfully, doesn’t begin to approach. True, there’s all of the social commentary one would expect from the directorial debut of Coup frontman Boots Riley, but the movie explores the subjects through shockingly hilarious unexpected avenues.

Muse 2 headset

I’m bad at meditation. Like really, really bad. I may be the only person in the world who actually gets MORE anxious when I sit quietly with my thoughts. I’ve had mixed results with apps (Calm has been my go-to, of late), and while I initially balked at the idea of gamifying the process, I’ve actually found this wearable a useful tool in helping regain my focus, even when not wearing it.

Nancy by Olivia Jaimes

Nancy, Olivia Jaimes’ take on the octogenarian newspaper strip, feels too good for this world. Or at very least, too good for the hate-spewing comments section that follows it around on GoComics.com. You see, newspaper strips are like Ghostbusters or Star Wars. People want a fresh take on something familiar that’s somehow exactly the same as the original. Jaimes has the unenviable task of being the first woman to take on Ernie Bushmiller’s beloved strip, and some of the angrier corners of the internet have not been so kind — causing her to take on a forced anonymity. It’s not for lack of brilliance. Her take on the strip is often hilarious and frequently meta — exactly the sort of stuff we’d hope for Nancy and Sluggo.

Sharp Objects

I travel a lot and do around 75 percent of my movie watching on planes. Turns out you run out of reasonable movie choices pretty fast. Thankfully, I discovered this Showtime series at the beginning of a 16-hour flight back from Hong Kong and proceeded to watch the entire thing, front to back in one leg-cramping binge. It’s the only show that’s held my increasingly short attention span since last year’s Twin Peaks reunion. Sharp Objects leans less on the weird, but has enough left-field twists and turns to make it one of the most engaging series in recent memory.

Sarah Perez, Writer

DoublePane for macOS

I’ve used this for years as a window manager for when I have to drop from 2 screens to 1. I realized how important it was to me this year, when it was one of the first installs on a new Mac.

This $11 clear case for my iPhone XR

I mean, I drop my phone a lot and it’s not cracked yet, but feel free to spend 3x more on Apple’s version.

(also, +1 to what Greg said about PopSockets)

Bryce Durbin, Illustrator

All the Answers by Michael Kupperman

Michael Kupperman is known for hilarious, absurd comics such as Snake ‘n’ Bacon and Mark Twain’s Autobiography 1910-2010, but the author opens up about his own family history in this graphic memoir. His father is “quiz kid” Joel Kupperman, who became world-famous in his youth but retreated from the spotlight after adolescence. The memoir is beautifully rendered in stark black and white drawings as Kupperman tells his father’s life story in an effort to understand his own. Buy it here.

Meet My Friends The Friends

Meet My Friends The Friends is ostensibly a recap podcast about Friends, but you don’t have to like or know the ’90s sitcom to enjoy this.

Tom Scharpling (who also hosts The Best Show) tries to run a smooth ship that seems to be coming apart right from its launch due to infighting with his engineer(s). Running jokes about music cues, sound effects bumpers and fake ads for ridiculous companies and products build throughout the series. Unlike the sprawling Best Show, each episode of MMFTF is about 15 minutes.

Jordan Crook, Editor

Nanette by Hannah Gadsby

I’m a huge fan of stand-up comedy, but no special has ever touched my heart the way that Nanette did. Hannah Gadsby reimagines what a stand-up special can be. She feeds information to the audience bite by bite, whether it’s the sad reality of art history legends or her own personal stories, all the while narrating the underlying meaning of the special. Bottom line: Is it funny? Yes. Very. Does it go beyond funny to something more meaningful? Indeed, it does, and with a combination of authenticity and grace that are rarely paired so well.

Red Dead Redemption 2

If the holidays are a time for rest and reflection, heading into the new year means taking on new challenges. Red Dead Redemption 2 is great for both. It’s a laid back beautiful game that at times feels much more like a movie than a game, and yet the sheer volume of the game is most certainly a vast undertaking. It follows the story of a man, Arthur Morgan, but also the story of a time and place.

Brooklinen sheets

Growing up, my parents’ bed was always the best bed in the house. Not only was it a giant California King (which feels like a cruise ship to a six-year-old), but it was beautiful and had the most luxurious, soft sheets. The older I get, the more I feel pushed to make my bed just as luxurious, and Brooklinen has paved the way. The mix-and-match sheet sets are adorable, and they feel amazing. Plus, they’re pretty affordable.

Lucas Matney, Writer

Apple HomePod

I am what most would call a smart speaker power user. Despite living in an apartment with few distinct rooms, I’ve somehow gotten addicted and am situated with a dwelling that has twice as many smart speakers as it does doors.

As such, I was super intrigued by the HomePod when it came out. I was already an Apple Music user because of the enhanced support for other devices, but I’ve really enjoyed the capabilities of the HomePod beyond its nepotistic relationship with Apple Music. The voice command isolation usurps similarly priced speakers, and the speaker is incredibly well-balanced, with solid bass and volume that fits my needs. Siri’s capabilities are getting there and hopefully Apple gets a little bit more aggressive with what bits are Siri-enabled in the next iOS release. Overall, I am still a big fan of Siri’s most custom-built hardware home.

Logitech Harmony Home Hub

Combining home theater gear into a unified smart system is often the most frustrating tech task you can attempt. This year I picked up a Harmony Home Hub for about $50 and made everything a lot easier. The idea of controlling all of your gear with your phone is sometimes better in theory than it is in practice, but by using the IFTTT app you can create custom Google Assistant or Alexa controls for the Harmony Hub so that you can easily switch between audio and video outputs. I still keep my remotes around, but I’m able to do a good chunk of what I want with my voice.

Oculus Go

The perfect flight companion. I have spent a ton of time with VR headsets and, for the most part, it’s been time I wish I could get back. That being said, I’ve really liked traveling with Facebook’s Oculus Go headset on my last couple long-haul flights. A lack of self-awareness is something Santa can’t put under your tree, but spending 7 or 8 hours with a VR headset strapped to your face binging movies on an airplane is borderline magical if you can stomach the fact that you’ll end up being ridiculed in about a dozen tweets by the end of your flight.

Anthony Ha, Writer

The Leftovers

Friends — and regular listeners of our Original Content podcast — know that it takes a lot for me to stick around for more than one season of a TV show, even a show that I’m enjoying. (There’s just so much else to watch!) But this year, I finally caught up on seasons two or three of HBO’s The Leftovers, and I can now confidently state that it’s one of the best shows ever made.

Aside from maybe Twin Peaks, I can’t think of anything else that mixes goofy humor and existential despair, the surreal and the mundane, so effectively. Carrie Coon delivers an all-time great performance as Nora Durst, a woman whose entire family disappeared in the mysterious Sudden Departure, and when Justin Theroux sings “Homeward Bound,” it’s probably the most emotionally devastating karaoke performance you’ll ever see.

Forest

Like everyone whose working life has moved online, my concentration has been shot to hell, which is why I’ll happily try out anything with a halfway-decent chance of making me less distractible and more productive.

The Pomodoro technique (basically: you work without interruption in 25-minute intervals, then take short breaks) turns out to be less-than-ideal for covering breaking news, but it’s great for other, longer-form writing, like fiction. And while there are plenty of Pomodoro timers in the App Store, Forest has become my favorite, thanks to its playful design, and the cheerful scolding you get when you’re tempted to break concentration by checking your phone.

Via Greg Kumparak https://techcrunch.com

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