#this is the advice from someone who has run checks notes 2 episodes of MASKS

[heybiji]

hi!!! i just wanted to say i really love all of your MASKS stuff. i'm something of a newbie when it comes to the TTRPG community, but MASKS seems to be not very well-known and i think that's a real shame. i'm a huge fan of old-school superhero-adjacent stuff, especially the silver- and bronze-age ones!

by the way, i was wondering if you'd be willing to share some tips for a first-time GM? you don't have to if you'd rather not! i just figured i'd try asking since i was planning on GMing a MASKS campaign for some of my friends later, but despite my decade's worth of roleplaying experience i've never been in a TTRPG campaign nor a GM (or similar) role before

Thank you so much!! I was just lamenting about how I felt bad for the MASKS tag because it is now flooded with all my npc nonsense hahah so this is really nice to hear.

It's awesome you're planning on running a MASKS game for your friends!! There is an indispensable post on twitter I saw that has a LOT of great tips for running MASKS that I recommend checking out. But for my own personal tips that are just me things, here's what I got. Sorry it's gonna be extremely long-winded, it may take a few months to read through it.

(Note: I am also hugely into RP and probably put more into it than what is necessary, especially with MASKS which is meant to be able to be played out of the box. It was definitely not played out of the box in our case because I require a lot out of myself and everyone else to feel good about running something. if anyone else wants to continue seeing me as a normal human being please don't click the Keep Reading)

Since you're running it, make the world interesting to you. If the world runs around themes you're personally interested in then you'll have a much easier time coming up with answers on the fly. For me, themes I'm interested in that lend themselves well to a superhero world: money, power, family, celebrity, media, the 24 hour news cycle and the desensitization of violence. Because I'm interested in this stuff anyway, wrapping a world around them makes it much simpler for me to figure out how the world ticks and thus how the characters fit into it and how the world reacts to them, and I am DESPERATE to find out how the characters react to all the questions and expectations the world is imposing upon them.

Make sure your players have a good grasp of the tone of story so they can make characters that gel well within it. For me the tone is a lil more adult because I'm not personally into younger morality tale stories in tone, it's pretty grounded, and I think comedy and tragedy work hand in hand so I lean into them.

Talk. A lot. Talk about the characters, talk about the world. MASKS is fun because it's a LOT of talking and figuring out the narrative together. It's not a lot of crunchy mechanics, it's all around seeing how the characters react to the world narratively, all hurt and comfort and emotions which (for me) requires people to have a good grasp on their characters and the world. I like to give my players "homework" where I ask them a question involving their characters in some way like "what hero did your character look up to as a child?" so they get to come up with past heroes, or "How does your character feel about _____?" etc etc. The only fans are gonna be your table and fans love to talk so be the biggest fans of the PCs!!

Figure out your framing. I know in MASKS they suggest framing it like a comic book, and basically talking about the frames on screen. For me, because I'm more into movies and tv than comics, I frame it like that. So I have an active "camera" in play during sessions and will ask things like "would anyone like to grab the camera?" to encourage the players to put the character into a scene or "what does the audience see as the camera focuses in on your character in this emotional moment?" There is a LOT of playing up to the camera and framing the sessions as episodes of a show, so it's like, okay, you have several options but what is going to be interesting for the audience to see? I find this encourages the players to have their characters take bigger swings and feel comfortable letting us into how their character is feeling because it all looks GREAT on camera. The camera loves it. The PCs are the story after all.

Because I frame it a show, I also like to play individual ending songs over the "credits" at the end of each episode. So I asked my players to make playlists for their characters so if I feel an episode had a lot of emotional focus on one character in particular, I can play one of their songs at the end of the episode! I also made a general MASKS playlist with a bunch of songs from the era we set it in (2004) to pull from. It's a fun little addition that I really enjoy and that I hope makes it all feel more special.

The Dino Donut Effect: create landmarks in your world. (OK THIS IS GONNA BE LONG BUT WORK WITH ME HERE) They don't have to be locations, more solid landmarks of the story that the characters can refer back to and lean on to make the world feel more "real." I call it the Dino Donut Effect because in our world the thing that made everything click into place was talking out the backstory of one of the PC's figuring out they had the power negation ability. We were talking one night trying to figure it out; we wanted the character to fall out of a building and be caught by a flying superhero and accidentally turn off their powers, so they toss the kid to another flying supe whose powers also get turned off. But we were like... holy shit what is the height of a building needed that can handle this much action in the air without them hitting the ground in 3 seconds. So after a long night of talking about terminal velocity and looking at Splat Calculators we figured out the height of the building, and we needed them to crash into something that wouldn't fuckin kill them. The first suggestion was a truck full of bananas. Nah. We landed on a giant balloon that could take the impact. And the balloon became a giant T-Rex holding a donut that was the mascot of the city's beloved decades old donut shop Dino Donut. And so we decided that one of the two flying supes grabbed onto the kid and the other and flew into the giant balloon to try and keep them all alive, which destroyed the balloon, which was a city institution, and there was a crowd of children there that day that saw their friend Dino Donut die. Killed by a superhero. The balloon deflated loudly so it sounded like Dino Donut was screaming in agony. All the kids were traumatized (screaming crying throwing up), the city was furious because everyone loved Dino Donut, it was constantly in the news cycle, and it ruined the career of the supe that "killed Dino Donut." AND THEN THEY REPLACED THE DINO DONUT BALLOON WITH A LAME "UPDATED DESIGN" DINO DONUT STATUE which everyone hates and people consider to be a memorial to the old Dino Donut. ANYWAY, the Dino Donut effect is that now all the PCs have one single incident to refer back to that they all have feelings about. A couple of them were there that day and heard Dino Donut scream, one is now the protege of the disgraced superhero that killed Dino Donut so she feels uncomfortable talking about it, there's the kid that was saved that day but was sworn to secrecy by the supe so no one would find out about his power negation ability, and then there's the kid that wasn't there because she's an alien that just arrived to earth and now the kids have to explain the incident to her with all their varying opinions. Now the PCs' meeting spot is at a Dino Donut. Having this one solid incident that is both funny and kind of goes into the themes of the world has been an absolute treat. Creating "landmarks" like that in the world has done so much and now I'm like okay I'm gonna try to do this moving forward with any other thing I run.

anyway these are my extremely specific to me tips. my RP standards are kind of high which makes me a bit of a terror but also when the flowers bloom from it it feels GREAT. i'm not sure if this will help but hopefully there is something there that can be useful!

MASKS is fun and simple once you get the hang of it, though, so I'm sure whatever you do you and your players will have a lot of fun! especially if you're someone who is into RP which is the background I'm coming from too; MASKS is extremely narrative! i'll be looking in the tag for your game hehe

(The Day Dino Donut Died art by JD)

#masks: a new generation #ttrpg #text post #biji text #i am so sorry this is incredibly long but i just really really really like RP SLKDGM #also another tip: make the npcs hot #hot npcs are great okay #this is the advice from someone who has run checks notes 2 episodes of MASKS #2 episodes but like 7 sessions in total because what it is time management #i've also known my players for a many years and we met in an RP group so i felt more comfortable being this level of intense with them #otherwise i would have tried to be a lil more laid back and normal........... #but also as the GM you're going to be doing a LOT of work so it's fair to ask your players to do some work too to help lighten the load! #have fun!!!! MASKS is a lot of fun!!!

[jq37]

The Royal Report– A Crown of Candy Ep 5  Lapin’s Big Day

Aftermath

Right before the stream for this episode started, I saw the title and I thought, “Lapin’s Big Day? After last episode, how could it get any bigger?”

…

So, anyway, as you remember, while Lapin was mic dropping over at the jail, with Theo and Cruller, the rest of the candy crew were en route to their quarters and everyone is feeling the gravity of the situation. Jet is trying to stand in the prime position to protect anyone who might need protection. Ruby (who has given one of the watersteel daggers she took--and which were apparently never confiscated from her--to Jet) is vigilantly looking for escape routes as they walk and she’s so anxious that Yak flies up and starts helping her scout. 

As Jet talks about the changes she wants to make once she’s “king” (including considering installing Ruby as queen--platonically--which Ruby feels sends too Lannister a message) the more magically inclined members of the party (Ruby and Liam) feel a swell of magic. Liam feels like the earth around them is speaking and Ruby feels a welling up of Candian magic. Not only that, she sees a ghostly glimpse of both Lazuli and Rococco (who is smiling at Jet), but she thinks she might be seeing things and doesn’t tell Jet.

Liam asks Amethar if he’s in trouble and wonders again if he should just take off. Amethar says that they’ll protect him and, if he has to run, they’ll find him. 

When they reach their quarters, they’re met by Amethar’s cheese friends who are clearly upset by the assassination attempt and offer their protection. Amethar says they can handle themselves and they should worry about Primsy. Once inside the room, the kids start full Home Alone-ing it full of booby traps and Amethar sends for Cruller, Lapin, and Theo. 

And, speaking of, they, along with Grissini and a garrison of imperial soldiers are on their way to arrest Alfredi. Grissini is clearly nervous and asks Lapin to tag-team the arrest with him so it will have the weight of the church. Cruller thinks it will look bad if there are too many Candians involved in this arrest so, when the Tartguard shows up looking for them, he decides to leave Alfredi to them. Before he goes, Lapin suggests he look into boats for a possible speedy exit in the near future. Lucky for them (presumably, though I guess we’ll see) the people most likely to have spare boats are their friends, the Dairy Islanders.

Everybody else enters the Great Food Pyramid where Alfredi is talking to Senator Ciabatta in the presence of a bunch of Ceresian military (the actual Ceresian military, not Imperials like Grissini). Grissini goes into business mode and starts the formal arrest and Alfredi isn’t pressed about it until Lapin jumps in and asserts his authority as Primogen at which point she is suddenly outraged. Lapin publicly asserts that she made the daggers (gasps from the crowd) which she denies. Ciabatta for his part steps aside and lets the arrest happen. Alfredi tries to run but Grissini’s men tackle her and perp walk her out.     

Ciabatta is being awfully chill about this whole thing and he kinda seems like he’s waiting for everyone to leave so he can talk to Lapin. Theo goes to make sure Alfredi gets properly jailed. Once they’re gone, Ciabatta says that Lapin was very bold to come in and arrest Alfredi basically on her home turf, a compliment Lapin demurs. Ciabatta suggests taking a walk and Lapin agrees. Before they leave, Ciabatta looks at some of the other senators who were also with them but on a Nat 1, gleans no info. Ciabatta says that it’s a little odd that with all the might of Ceresia, no one thinks they’re a big enough target to take down with back to back assassination attempts. He does not seem to have a high opinion of Alfredi and offers Lapin a chance to come with him on a sneak mission (along with anyone Lapin wants to bring) to figure out what’s what on Alfredi. Lapin agrees and gives him a card with Illusory Script so that whatever messenger he sends will hand it back to him as a calling card and he can verify it’s legit.

He tries to get a read on Ciabatta to see what this guy is about and on a 19 Insight and a 24 History, he knows that he clawed his way from the bottom of the social pecking order to become a senator 4 years ago. He’s a great fighter, a war hero, and he “rules”.

At the jail, Theo makes sure Alfredi is secured (she’s gagged in addition to being bound so she can’t cast spells) and then heads back to the Candian quarters.

Rewards and Recon 

Once everyone is back together, Amethar sends Lady Donetta to entertain the Swirlies so he only has the people he truly trusts in the room. They lock the door, Ruby magics up some music to mask their conversation, and then Amethar declares that, as of now, secretly but officially, they are at war with whoever is trying to kill him. The kids all offer themselves up as spies/protection but Amethar is not about them risking themselves like that. 

As they discuss that, a Tartguard shows up and announces that the winners of the unfinished tournament are being honored, meaning Theo (who unhorsed--unmeeped?--Plumbline) and Liam (who was leading the archery competition) have been summoned to the emperor to receive their boons. Liam’s is just a cabinet appointment basically but Theo’s requires thought because he gets to nominate a candidate for emperor. They consider nominating Plumbeline as a good faith gesture but Amethar thinks it will probably be bad for politics to have an unbroken line of succession. Ruby think about Annabelle but they all agree it’s a bad idea (and she’s cool enough as is). Theo suggests Caramelinda but Jet, knowing her mom and her isolationist tendencies, thinks it’s a bad idea. Theo’s name is thrown in but he doesn’t think it’s a good idea and Liam suggests his traitor dad which Cruller full, like, soda out of his nose laughs at. Cruller also suggests nominating Amethar himself as a safe option, even though he’s already a lock, because there are some legal/procedural protections he gets that way. 

Lapin tells everyone about the meeting with Ciabatta and Ruby and Jet volunteer to go with him (when Ciabatta sends for him) and Amethar goes with Theo/Liam to the emperor while Cruller holds down the fort. Liam casts Pass Without Trace on everyone for some extra sneaking mojo.  

The winners and Amethar make their way to see the emperor and run into Annabelle, the other champion, on the way. Plumbeline is there too and she apologizes to Theo who accepts it gracefully. Liam fully puts his foot in his mouth and asks Annabelle why she didn’t want to marry and she just goes off on him and his lack of tact, finishing with some Charm School 101 and the advice that he should, when he meets someone, give a simple compliment not related to appearance or anything personal and then bail from the conversation. Advice that he immediately uses in the next scene when he meets the emperor and says, “I really like your infrastructure,” and I cannot explain to you how good that setup/payoff was, you just have to watch it.

Annabelle says that there are two things she really wants (one for herself and one for her country) then asks that the emperor request that the Pontifex release Stilton Cordeau (the suspicious little cheese dude Primsy was flirting with) from his Bulbian vows (including celibacy)--he entered the clergy young and then his older brothers died at sea--so he can marry Primsy. The Candians gathered are flipping out internally but can’t really say anything without causing a huge scene and probably an international incident (AGAIN). Theo’s turn is next and he has a lot of angst about who he's gonna nominate to be emp--lol no I’m kidding. Murph pulls out a pre-made scroll irl, unrolls it, and rattles off all of Amethar’s titles, nominating him, obviously.

Official business taken care of, everyone but Amethar and Plumbeline leave. Once outside, Liam expresses surprise to Annabelle that Primsy has a love interest (I half expected Annabelle to accuse him of TMI again) and Annabelle says they’ve kind of been seeing each other since they were young but it was complicated what with her having other official suitors and him being promised to the church. Theo thinks this is a way for the Bulbian church to get into politics more directly by putting one of their guys in power but Annabelle thinks they’re pretty in it already. When asked by Theo, Annabelle says she doesn’t really care about Cordeau but she’s OK with him if he makes Primsy happy. When asked by Theo if she cares about Primsy (Charisma Check, disadvantage--rolls a 2) she gets really upset and basically tells him to F off and leaves.

Back in the room, Uvano tells Amethar point blank, get ready buddy. It’s you. Amethar asks if he can appoint Plumeline to his council and she seems very happy about that. Uvano tells his daughter to get the official papers to declare it but Plumbeline says the Pontifex is holding on to them for some reason. He says to get them, even if she has to disturb her.         

Speaking of, Onionpatch (the Primogen from Greenhold) shows up at the Candian Quarters to fetch Lapin on behalf of the Pontifex. That’s basically a summons from God so he has to go, even though he has that meeting with Ciabatta. He trusts Ruby and Jet to go in his stead and leaves with him. 

Ruby and Jet have a little chat about how they’re always treated like children (though it’s probably partially their fault) and Cruller is like girls, we let you in on the war council today and you’re going on a spy mission in like ten minutes. We respect you.  

A Tartguard shows up with Lapin’s note (Zac, with a successful roll, retcons that he in the moment made it so that his friends could read his secret message/watermark too) now with added info, the symbol of a bakery. They sneak over to the bakery (Ruby the rogue getting a crazy 36) and they spot Ciabatta dressed in peasant clothes (as they also are). They sneak to an abandoned but gated palazzo (big, fancy, Italian-y house) outside the Great Food Pyramid and break in. As they enter, an assassin tries to get the drop on them but Ciabatta ices him immediately and takes the guard as proof that this is Alfredi’s secret house. There’s a lot of Bulbian imagery but Ruby can tell that they’re mismatched and BS, like painting random hieroglyphs on a set piece for flavor.   

Ciabatta opens a door at the top of a set of stairs and they find themselves in an alchemical lab that’s just full of interesting stuff:

Ruby finds pure water and Jet finds mold both super deadly weapons. These are like tools for bioterrorism. They talk about how to get rid of it and Ciabatta says they’ll leave an anonymous tip to someone who can safely handle it. 

Ciabatta finds eye-droppers and, upon using them, his eyes glow like Alfredi’s do, exposing her as a fraud of a miracle worker (I wonder if she has artificer stats).  

Jet finds the schematics for making the water daggers and Ruby can tell that it’s instructions on how to make milk silk in a weird mix of Lacra and Fructerano (both languages she speaks--she must have paid SOME attention in school, or hung out with a bunch of multilingual circus peeps I guess) that would be common in the Yogurt Shoals. The recipe for milk silk is the same as how to make water steel, you just sub some ingredients. Also, Yogurt Shoals is the home of House Bleu! Home of Stilton--the heir--who is now, suddenly, able to marry. Emily feels very vindicated with her pasta/cheese connection from earlier.

Ciabatta finds a bunch of papers and starts burning them or taking them with him. He says that Alfredi was an expert on blackmail collecting (s/t very common in Ceresia) and the room is full of blackmail. He takes the Ceresian blackmail and implies that he’s gonna use it to clean house back home so Cersia can be honest again. 

Jet looks for Candian blackmail and finds none, though she finds notes from the Pontifex about the Profidian Heresy and the Ramsian Doctrine--two terms she doesn���t recognize. 

Anyway, they sneak back out, Ciabatta stone cold carves up the assassin's body for the birds (which begs the question of what the birds are made of but we still have a lot to get through so let’s just keep moving right along) and they part ways. 

Lapin’s Big Day (Part 2)

Lapin is brought to the Pontifex who is, in a word, livid. She asks Lapin where the power of the church comes from and his answer of, “The Bulb and those it shines on,” does not make her any happier. She full SLAPS him and starts ripping him apart for publicly arresting Alfredi--making fools of them and weakening their position with the public--instead of letting the church handle it privately. Lapin says, since Alfredi and Kerradin are in the church, he doesn’t have a lot of faith that the church, as it stands, can handle their own business which was NOT the right thing to say.

The Pontifex gives him an ultimatum: Are you a Candian or a Bulbian official first? Lapin, doing as he’s always done, lies and swears to the church. The Pontifex says that this situation can still be salvaged. Alfredi will be tried privately and hanged publicly (gonna be a real fig leaf of a trial it seems) and then there’s the matter of Candia which is not in good standing with the church. There’s still that little matter of the magic on the Sucrosi Road. Lapin is quick to defend Ruby but it isn’t Ruby she’s targeting. It’s the much easier scapegoat: Liam, the traitor’s son who publicly did magic earlier the same day. She tells Lapin that he will arrest Liam immediately who will be put on trial for witchcraft, a crime with the penalty of death. Obviously torn (to us anyway) Lapin agrees to do it with an, “As you see fit.” He walks out with a group of knights to get the job done.

Back at base, Ruby and Jet fill in everyone on what happened and ask about the two religious terms they saw in the letter from the Pontifex. Nobody knows but there would be records of this stuff in a cathedral somewhere--it’s a big city. Based on what Amethar knows about Pangranos (which he says swings between an ineffective democracy and a destructive imperitorship) it seems like he’s going to try and install himself as imperator--Cersian senators are notoriously corrupt we learned in an earlier episode. They discuss whether the church is trying to get Stilton on the throne for the aforementioned reasons which leads to the news that Amethar was named emperor coming up and everyone is really happy for him.

And then there’s a knock at the door. 

They open up and it’s Lapin with a whole mess of soldiers. The head soldier cedes to Lapin and lets him formally charge Liam of witchcraft on behalf of the church. Amethar (and Jet) are like absolutely not and stand in front of Liam to protect him. Theo Messages Lapin like, “Bro, what is happening? Please tell me this is some kind of plan,” and, Lapin, who knows that he can at least assure Liam a real trial with actual due process and that he won’t get disappeared in the night, thinks this is the lesser of all evils. So instead of fighting, Theo asks if she can give up his weapons and stay with Liam in jail overnight. The request is granted. Liam, in a delayed reaction, flips out (valid) and the princesses promise that they’re gonna be A+ witnesses for him. He asks if he can bring Preston to jail and I thought they would have a problem with that seeing as familiars are a thing but nope. The pig is all good.

Before he’s marched out, Amethar brings Liam close. Liam, so deer in headlights, whispers, “Don’t let them kill me.” Amethar responds that he would die before he let them kill him.    

Liam (with Theo keeping watch) spends the night in a jail cell and wakes up to the sound of bells. The emperor is dead. And, guess what? The papers were never signed. 

The Rocks family goes to the Emperor's chambers where Plumbeline is crying. Amethar comforts her. Jet says that she only took a short rest so she could look up those two religious terms from the letter. She found a book with the info but if she reads it now, she’ll miss Liam’s trial so she takes it with her. Amethar offers Plumbeline an out from going to the church but she wipes her tears and insists on going.     

Liam is brought out. The Pontifex speaks and says the trial is being slightly postponed to deal with the emperor's death. She days the paperwork wasn’t finished but a successor was reportedly named. Amethar kinda prompts Plumbeline who stands and says that she was there when the Emperor named as his successor...Ciabatta. 

Ruby instantly calls her a liar and Amethar stands up and makes his claim (not happy to have to speak against Plumbeline but also not happy with whatever BS she’s pulling). Ciabatta, btw, is not present for this. 

With two competing claims, the Pontifex brings out the Book of Leaves--a Bublian artifact formerly belonging to Amethar’s sister, St. Citrina--which basically has Lasso of Truth powers. Lapin does a check to make sure it’s the real book and not tampered with in any way and on a Nat 20, knows that it’s the real deal *and* that he can glean info about the true nature of the Bulb from it with some more time. While this is going down, Jet is reading and she learns that the Profidian Heresy is an old belief of the church that the Hungry One is as powerful as the Bulb and they eventually decided that couldn’t be true and it was discarded as an official belief. 

Back to the action. The Pontifex asks Plumbeline if her dad really named Ciabatta emperor and she is compelled to tell the truth. No, he didn’t. Amethar comes in for his easy lay-up but, as he walks up, in a little side room, he sees that Manta Ray Jack is chained up and he’s had the crap beat out of him. And the Pontifex has a different question for him: Who is your lawful wedded wife?   

Amethar hems and haws but eventually is forced to admit that he legally married a woman from the Dairy Islands when he was younger and it was technically never annulled because of the war making things complicated.

The Pontifex, who is playing 4-D lightning chess, says that because he never actually divorced his previous wife, his marriage to Caramelinda was never valid which means that Ruby and Jet as bastards and he’s an adulterer in the eyes of the church, grounds for excommunication which she performs at once. Excommunication means no ability to hold land or title which means the crown of Candia moves to the next in line which happens to be Joren Jawbreaker (Liam’s dad--Ruby and Jet can’t inherit bc they’re bastards and Caramelinda has no claim since the marriage wasn’t official) who is in open rebellion with the rest of Calorum. Which means that all of Candia is now in open rebellion with the rest of Calorum. Which means everyone in the room can now be arrested as enemies of the state! 

You *know* everybody’s rolling for initiative, and I’m trying to not hold my breath because it’s gonna be a LONG wait until next Wednesday.       

Things I’m Concerned About

I almost feel like I should have a Things I’m Not Concerned About list this week to save time. What a roller coaster of absolutely insanity. And it’s only episode 5 people. It’s episode 5! You know that chart we all learned in school about rising action, climax, falling action? We’re still way on the bottom of the rising action part! There’s still so much buildup left but where is there left to go? This is like the end of act two of another story! What is happening!? 

Annabelle said she had one request for her and one for her country. Then she asked for something for Primsy which sounds like the country one but I’m not convinced it is. Like, it certainly could be but the phrasing of that and lack of clarification has me wary. 

I’m concerned Jet only got a short rest going into this battle. She got hurt at least some during the fight and I know she doesn’t need to regain spell slots but, like, a million NPCs are gonna be at this fight. This is not the one to come in nerfed. Like, I trust Emily to make judgement calls and Jet probably doesn’t have that much HP so a short rest might have done it but mmm, don’t love this. (Upon rewatch, she did get another short rest during the “who do we nominate” scene so maybe it’s fine but still...). 

I really don’t see a scenario where everyone leaves this fight alive/OK. You know that Smash Bros screen where it’s like, “Everyone’s Here!” That’s what this is like. Like, can you imagine trying to escape the White House surrounded by secret service? Gah, I really feel like I’m gonna be writing a eulogy for a piece of candy this time next week. And, for everybody else, this isn’t a fight you win. This is a fight you escape. I really hope Calroy made good on getting that boat.

Gah, there are so many potentially shady NPCs to talk about. It’s not gonna dig too deep into any of them but just a quick look on where my head’s at:

Ciabatta: Is he corrupt? And it just within his country (and thus, not really the concern of the Candians), or did he put up Plumbeline to nom him? Where was he? Was he not at the trial because it was none of his business or did he not want to be there when things went crazy. What docs did he burn? Just the blackmail on him? What has he done?

Plumbeline: Who put her up to putting up Ciabatta? What does she have to gain from doing that (or lose from not doing it)? It was enough to give up a seat on the council and contravene her father’s dying wish. Did Ciabatta have blackmail on her? Did the church make her do it to have an excuse to question Amethar (maybe when she went to get the papers signed)? What did Ruby miss on her 7 Insight check right before they went to the trial?

Annabelle: Did she really make Stilton a viable heir just for Primsy’s sake or does she have ulterior motives? And are those motives personal or fully in league with some kind of conspiracy--possibly the cheese one in particular.

Pontifex B: OK, so obviously the church is shady. We got that. But what is their angle here? Is it as simple as Candia is doing the magic they don’t like, let’s remove them? And which parts of this (or, more likely, *these*--there’s got to be multiple things in play here) is she actually puppet mastering? I’m sure some of it is just the church being shady just because it is. 

Stilton: I simply do not vibe with anything about him.

Just to put a fine point on it, if I--me irl--was attacked by people back to back, I would assume the attacks were related, but Amethar is a BIG target. It’s very likely multiple sets of people are independently gunning for him and multiple gunners always makes a mystery harder to solve.

Lord and Lady Swirlie are always around but being sidelined. Brennan keeps mentioning them and Amethar keeps stiff-arming them. I don’t know if they keep coming up because they’re secretly relevant or if Brennan is just a good DM (second is true regardless) but hmm. Related but not really a concern per se, I would like to know what Lady Donetta is like. She’s rarely around because she’s usually keeping the Swirlies busy. 

OK, so Lapin. Yikes. He was in a bad position to start with but now, I don’t even know where he stands. He’s a Candian, but just the day before he said he was a Primogen first, right? So, hypothetically, he should be able to escape this and stand with the Pontifex. After all, he’s a miracle worker for all she knows (unless she *actually* knows). You would give your official who was specifically chosen by your god the chance to do the “right thing” right? Would that be a wise choice to make? I could see him doing that so he can be their man on the inside. Lapin doesn’t die but Zac has to use his backup because Lapin is MIA. But if he sides with the Candians, he’s fully persona non grata with the church and he’s already on pretty thin ice. Also, if the worst happens as I suspect and one of the Rocks’ family falls, what position does that put him in with his patron? Yeesh, I would *not* want to be Zac next fight.

Just to also highlight this, very possible that even if we have no deaths, someone gets captured, stuck in a dungeon, and put out of commission for a long stretch of eps. I don’t think the church wants them dead necessarily. Except for Liam who they for sure want dead.

I don’t know how fast news travels in Calorum but Caramelinda is in for a SHOCK. Also, I wonder what was meant by, “What the world took from her”? (Caramelinda’s reason for not really caring about the rest of the world when they’re discussing whether she should be nom’d). Like, is it just general war stuff or something specific? Oh and, in case it wasn’t mentioned before, she’s originally from House Meringue, and that’s her house again now that her marriage is legally invalid. 

I think it was said that Gustavo was a little more lucid this time then when they talked. Then the Pontifex gets the papers and he just dies? Could just be a coincidence, but poison has been established in this story already at least twice and Liam even thought to check for poison (though he wasn’t able to) so I’m keeping an eye out. 

OK, this episode was A Lot so, this week, I’m adding a section to shout out the funniest parts of this episode and it’s called:

Sunny Side Up

Theo barking at the Tartguard, “DO A SADDER DANCE” had me DYING.

As did Murph going through the motions of the nomination conversation like he didn’t have a scroll ready to go that he’d made in advance.

When they Home Alone their room, Ally says, “I have a bunch of micromachines and they’re peppermint.”

When Brennan/Ciabatta was going through pronouns and Jet was like, “Or a spaghetti person,” and Ciabatta was like, “Tbh, that will prob be the case regardless.” Also, the very Brennan double peace signs at the end.

When they’re like, “We should make Preston King,” and Calroy is like, “Emperor,” like that’s the only wrong part of that.

Five A Lot More Things

Lol at Brennan going through the mechanics of the trial like there was ever gonna be a trial. 

Grissini, man. He’s at the fight and while I would not blame him for following orders I would love for him to be exactly who I hope he is and if not fully defect, maybe throw the Candians a sneaky Help action. I know hope only exists to be destroyed in shows like this but I want what I want, OK?

What an exquisitely DM’d episode. Giving the players an agonizing political minefield of a decision in disguise as a reward is brilliant. The jump between the spy stuff and the church stuff and then the whole lead up to the arrest? Like, I knew Liam was gonna take the fall for Ruby from last episode and that was still a gut punch. And then making it seem like Liam’s head was on the chopping block and then BOOM, nope. It’s actually everybody? The uno post by @aydaspastlives is both the funniest D20 post this week and the best description on the insanity that we saw. Most fun I’ve ever had being womped. Well done Brennan.

I realized this episode when I accidentally typed Pete instead of Liam because of the Peppermint alliteration that Pete had a peppermint tooth from like episode 2 onward of TUC. Connections! 

If you follow me for non D&D stuff know I’m very into Six the musical and I can’t hear the word excommunicated with doing it in my head like in Don’t Lose Ur Head which was jarring, as I’m sure you can imagine. 

We were all bracing for bastards but the bastards were with us all along! Very wild. I wonder if/how that reveal would have gone down if Amethar had died. And I really wonder if there is still another child. The Pontifex didn’t mention, but that could be a good pawn for later, both for her or for Brennan. Or someone’s second character, who knows? Also, I very much want to know more about this milk maid and how literal that description is. 

Edit: I can’t believe I forgot to mention this before but the delicious monkey paw-ness of Ruby and Jet continually talking about how they don’t want to be royal and then suddenly being branded bastards in front of everyone? Amazing. Also the little, “Call me that one more time,” from Ruby. So good.

I wonder if the protections Amethar got by Theo naming him do him any good in this situation.  

What does bread bleed, Brennan? Please? Why are you doing this to me? Why are you making me consider this? Also, why would Ciabatta just stick his hand in water like that? My guy, there are better ways to check the deadly poison other than directly handling it. 

Brennan really likes naming important religious concepts, huh? No shade, I genuinely think it’s great. 

I don’t know why I heard, “bacon steel” and I was like, “Plausible,” and then I heard “fruit iron” and I was like, “Absolutely not.”

Oh and just a quick note: Ruby and Jet double leveled last fight so I think they’re all caught up with everyone else now (but Liam might still be one level behind).

One More Thing!

This has absolutely nothing to do with Crown of Candy but I am still, as always, on my BS re: the Abernants and y’all should check out this amazing animatic by @crayfishcoffee. It is, hands down, my favorite piece of D20 fan art, absolutely period. I could literally go off for another thousand words but I’m being indulgent as is so I’ll shut up now. Go watch it! 

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #a crown of candy #a crown of candy spoilers #the royal report #I wanted to get this up early considering how much there is to process #also please watch that animatic #I'm gonna reblog it later so I can gush in the tags it's so so good

[llama-of-pangea]

Staying healthy & helping others in this weird time we live in

(updated March 31, 2020 for more up-to-date links and information)

I’m not normally one for serious posts, but I did want to make a post about the present situation (mostly in the US, but elsewhere too!) -- because it’s important to stay informed about COVID-19/novel coronavirus, especially when there’s so much misinformation out there:

Wash your hands. I know everyone keeps saying this, but it really is one of the most effective things you can do for reducing the spread of disease. Wash your hands with soap, often, for at least 20 seconds. Soap breaks up oil, destroys the cells of many viruses and bacteria, and gloms on to other particles on your hands, helping to get them really clean. It’s worth doing. Social distancing, not touching your face, staying home as much as possible, changing and washing clothes right away when you do come home, and disinfecting commonly-used spaces and surfaces in your home as often as possible are other things you can and should do. [source: CDC guidelines]

Be mindful of others. Many of us on tumblr here are young and so are less likely to suffer a serious case of COVID-19. But just because you’re not experiencing symptoms, or have mild symptoms, does not mean you should not be thinking of others’ wellbeing. Grandparents, older parents, the immune-comprimised (such as those with cancer or other immune-deficiencies), and those with certain health conditions are at risk more than the rest of us. So protect them as much as you can. Practice those good health tips always, but especially in spaces you may share with those who may be at greater risk. And also, be considerate of those with jobs that don’t allow them to isolate, like grocery store employees and bus drivers; this is extra hard for them, so do what you can to be kind, courteous, and considerate to them for all they’re doing for the rest of us [source: CDC at-risk statement].

Be responsible when shopping. If you can, have some food and necessities at home -- ideally enough to get through a week or two. Don’t panic-buy, and don’t hoard. A package of disinfectant wipes or spray, and some soap, will get you through; if you’re unable to find these items, you can often find soaps for refillable bottles at natural stores or online. Don’t fill your cart with toilet paper or sanitizer, which just denies others these items and stops them from protecting the community. And practice good health practices while in the store (remember, this is a common area! be considerate of hardworking employees, and other shoppers).

Help as much as you can. The elderly and people with weakened immune systems may be scared right now. You might be scared. Your parents or siblings or friends or coworkers might be scared. Stay in touch with people -- find ways to connect remotely so you and those you care about don’t feel isolated. Be supportive of those who are struggling to handle this. Donate blood through the Red Cross, or supplies like masks and gloves to hospitals, if you’re able to. And if you can, help those who need it; do a grocery run for someone who’s at risk, help them disinfect, or just call someone who may need cheering up. And don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

Don’t panic. But also, don’t ignore the situation. Try to stay up to date with things, and be aware of your local situation. There’s so much misinformation out there, so be critical of what you see. Avoid falling into pitfalls of prejudice. And take care, and be kind! Everything’s going to be okay if we all look after ourselves and one another.

Check under the cut for links to helpful health & safety advice, news, and discussions about COVID-19:

Where to find updates and well-sourced information:

updates from the CDC and WHO

for those in the US and Canada, this website has done an incredible job of monitoring cases, news, school closings, and other information in real-time

Helpful discussions with reliable information:

reporting by Last Week Tonight -- part 1 || part 2 || part 3

the Sawbones podcast (hosted by Dr. Sydney McElroy & Justin McElroy) has 3 really good episodes discussing the origin of the virus, the role of quarantine in containing the spread of illnesses, and the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic as of March 22nd

tips for talking to your kids about COVID-19

---------------------------

How to determine if something is bullshit (a short guide): ask the following questions: 

(1) Are there sources included with the statement? (2) Are the sources credible (namely, are they from a primary source, such as a research group, recognized health agency, or other medical institution)? (3) Can I find more than one account of the information? (4) Is the statement objective (meaning ‘based on fact’, rather than subjective or ‘based on emotion or feeling’, which creates a bias)?

If the answer to any of those 4 questions is “no”, there’s a chance the information could be bullshit, OR, at the very least, it may be incomplete.

In health news, be skeptical of things involving very small test groups (a test on 12 people does not speak for the general public!) or made by for-profit laboratories. Big pharma can make great things, but it can also be unethical. Read the literature from sources that are not invested in the product (again, the CDC, WHO, and FDA are good places to start) to get a better sense of how reliable, safe, or effective a thing is.

---------------------------

Speaking of misinformation...:

There is not yet a vaccine or official treatment for COVID-19, though work is in progress around the world.

No, you can’t protect yourself with a detox treatment (and shame on the influencers pushing this).

No, you cannot “self-test” for COVID-19 by holding your breath. The claim that you can self-test by attempting to hold your breath for 10 seconds is a social media hoax which gained some traction when it was perpetuated on Fox News. It has been completely debunked.

Be skeptical of home tests. Produced primarily by Everlywell, they are expensive, and the chance for a false negative is very high (they require swabbing VERY far up your own nose, which is painful and difficult to do on yourself if you’re not a medical professional or someone with experience doing so). If you’re worried that you may be sick, call your doctor; there are also lots of drive-in testing locations around the country.

Hand sanitizers made with only essential oils do not work -- essential oils do not disinfect. Beware of DIY hand sanitizer, as it is easy to make an ineffective one. Soap and water are the most effective means of disinfecting your hands.

It’s unclear if ibuprofen can worsen cases of COVID-19 -- this information was circulated by the French Health Minister, but there is no scientific data to support their claim. Ibuprofen is probably still safe to take. If you have any doubts, then you can take Tylenol, paracetamol, naproxen sodium, or aspirin instead.

COVID-19 has nothing to do with beer or eating meat.

Beware of conspiracy theories in general.

Beware of phishing scams pretending to be official press releases. Many appear from fake CDC emails.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites are struggling to stop misinformation campaigns. Don’t consider these sites a reliable source of information -- look for the primary source to confirm what you see online, and do what you can to report or remove false information.

Beware articles or sources that use the current situation to excuse discrimination or prejudice. It is wrong to blame Asians and Asian culture for COVID-19 -- that’s just racism. Similarly, stories blaming migrants are just as wrongly biased.

---------------------------

*** Note: I’m not a doctor or any other type of medical professional. I am a geologist who knows a lot about source evaluation and is worried about people being misinformed

#covid #covid2019 #covid19 #coronavirus #misinformation #please do what you can to be informed #and take care of each other! #i'm just trying to help #health and safety #public health #CDC #WHO #fake news #updated #self reblob

[stardust-and-blades]

*looks at s7 and s8′s writing of allurance and throws it away”

Okay yall here are ways I, a klancer, would have made Allurance so much more sweeter:

--Season 1 allura @ Lance: Your ears are hideous!” --by the end of season 1: “You know, your ears aren’t so bad. They are actually kind of cute.” --Switch Shiro out with Lance. Yes I loved the mission they went on with each other but consider this hot take: Lance immediately swooning when Allura beats the shit out of a sentry and steals his gun hEART EYES MOTHERFUCKER --*yeets lance into escape pod* Lance: Allura no! It should be me, not you! *cue aNGST* --Lance and Coran viciously tracking down where Allura could be and Lance and Pidge sneaking in without a hint of comic relief bc this is a dire situation and he is worriedTM --Pidge: “She’s going to be okay, Lance. Something tells me they wont dispose of her right away. We have time.” Lance: *cocking gun* Then we better get moving --Pidge and hunk actually gossiping about the possible relationship between Allura and Lance rather than uhhhhh being mean --When Allura first gets captured Keith pulls him aside to check up on him because he is a worried friend and knows what it’s like to have someone--a friend--be in danger --”What do you care, mullet?”  “Listen, I know you’re hurting. We all care for Allura and I was in the same state when Shiro was captured” (he is speaking from a platonic lens but regardless of platonic or romantic it applies in terms of emotions) --Bc I’m a feminist I like the idea of Allura breaking herself out and meeting up with Pidge and Lance. and they end up meeting a whole slew of Galra trying to stop them from escaping Allura is thrown Lance’s weapon as a strategy and it tURNS INTO A SPEAR --DUAL WIELDING COUPLE? YES. THEY SWITCH THE WEAPON AROUND WHILE ALSO INITIATING COMBAT AGAIN COMBAT COUPLE ACTIVATED --#PidgeAndKeithShooketh --Hunk and Shiro: :3 --Coran: -_- --Coran: “That’s weird the bayards are only supposed to be used through one chosen person not two” --Allura: ??? Lance: *clueless as fuq* --When Lance gives Allura his bayard since she is the next blue paladin he cracks a joke and she laughs. Is happy to give blue to her bc he trusts her --Lance gets himself in a pickle during a fight scene and Allura comes in with her lion like pew pew bish don’t fUCK WITH HIM --When Allura had to sacrifice her father’s memories for the good of the castle, Lance lent out a hug bc he too, may experience loss since he is away from his family and not sure if they are alive. And they in turn are not sure he is alive. --When Allura is being harsh to Keith about his Galran heritage, he pulls her over and explains to her the past of Earth similar to her background, but that hating doesn’t solve anything. what is important is to love others for who they are, not their ethnic background. He even brings up the evil Alteans, that no one is all pure and no one is all evil.  --When one of the evil altean sentry’s almost shot lance (but sven jumped in), Allura hears and checks up on him, going all healer mode. Same with sven (altean magic biiiiissshhhh where wAS IT THE REST OF THE SEASONS IM DISTRAUGHT) --Lance doesn’t really flirt with the mermaids in season 2 and when plaxum goes to kiss him on the mouth he gets distracted and she gets his cheek --Lance: O_O surprised but also going “why do am I not a fan of that??? I should be? @ God explain” --When Lance unlocks his sword bayard she teaches him all sorts of sword techniques since Keith is gone and when Keith does return, the two of them teach him. Allura demonstrates with Keith so Lance can analyze and Keith most of the time doesn’t react to Allura “attacking” and touching him bc again, ACE AS FUQ. --Lance: Man I wish that were me Allura: *literally flings Keith across the room with one well planned kick to the solar plexus* Lance: Man I wish that were me --Lance at Keith: I need relationship advice Keith mcfucking knife kogane: what’s a relationship Lance: God I need to set you up on dates. What about that acxa chick Keith: nah I’m good *goes back to book* --Lance at hunk: i need relationship advice Hunk: say no more *whips out countless of poetry and song lists for lance to use to wooTM Allura* --When lotor comes in fuck jealousy. Fuck it I hate the jealousy trait so Lance is sitting there, seeing them interact, and is confused as to why it slightly hurts but he is willing to let go --When you love someone so much you see them happy with someone else, you let them go bc you care about their happiness more than forcing a happy ending for yourself (cue more langst rip SHE LIKES YOU YOU SILLY BOY) --While I am a lotura shipper since this is strictly Allurance rewrite, Lotor is ace as fuq and sees Allura as a friend and she in turn thinks the same thing --As they are looking into alchemy and shit they stumble upon Honerva’s entry on Zarkon and her growing affection of him and Allura is like “Love is both beautiful and chaotic Lotor: Maybe, but it is what warms the heart and sparks endless passion Allura: Do you love anyone? Lotor: I love my generals. Not romantically, but they are my family. Allura: What is romantic love like? Lotor: That, my dear, is something you must find out on your own. Alchemy can only take you so far. Allura: *crISIS* -When Allura saved Lance from death’s grasp she is checking on him like, every hour  “Allura I’m okay” Allura: you dIED Lance: But your sweet talking brought me back to life *cue goofy grin* Allura: I don’t know if I should smack you or kiss you Lance: What Allura: whAT --Fuck the fight with Lotor bc they are now best friends and allura goes to him for advice and gossip and be like “what is this feeling so sudden and new” --Lotor: :3 --Lance one night is walking around the castle with his face mask on and runs into Allura and she sCREECHES “WHAT IS THAT” “IT’S A FACE MASK” “WHY IS IT EATING YOUR FACE OH MY GOD LANCE TAKE IT OFF” *Cue Lance informing her of what a face mask is and, when he removes it, she can’t stop stroking his cheeks and he’s livingTM) -They have a night of talking about their families and Lance putting a face mask on her to help her skin and braids her hair. It soothes her from all the stress she has been dealing, especially as a diplomat and paladin of voltron. --Hunk even made them altean brownies in the shape of hearts awwww --They fall asleep next to each other and the mice inbetween them --They were spooning until fucking pidge barges into Allura’s room and stARTS PLAYING THE HORN TO WAKE THEM UP PIDGE WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS --They scream, I scream, we all scream bc pidge is a shit --They don’t kiss in season 8 no no no they actually kiss in like, season 5 or 6 as the finale and it’s under the stars in the castle and all pretty and despite my bitterness over the red and blue and pink stars being completely thrown out the window, the blue and pink stars glow -three words: Space Mall Date --He gets her something sparkly at said mall or on earth and she marvels over it.  --On earth he gets her a rose quartz necklace and she loves it and never takes it off. She tucks it under her armor and when Coran advises it would be best to take it off she refuses  --When they crash land on earth after honerva’s fucking weird ass altean mech attacked for like, two episodes, Lance is sleeping by Allura’s side bc he woke up first and when she wakes up she pats his head. --She frames his drawing what do you mean it isn’t nice it is pure ART --Lance makes her another tiara as a replica of the one she sacrificed for Shiro. He gets Shiro’s help in finding the perfect stone to resemble the one she gave Shiro --It sparkles. Cue brownie points --They get in like, one argument and its about who the space mice are traveling with when they were in the voidTM --Lance doesn’t know how to dance but Shiro and hunk teach him so he can woo the socks off Allura --There is a ball episode. She enters in a beautiful dress and Lance is pure mush holy shit thats mY GIRLFRIEND --She even hAS THE NECKLACE HE GAVE HER RATHER THAN THE DIAMOND ONES ROMELLE FOUND OOF --Allura? Dying?? No the lions are sacrificed or there is no sacrifice at all bc Honerva alone should have been the one to have died only, not Allura. Dying is Dumb. --The alteans see through Honerva’s lies and actually overthrow her and Allura takes over the Altean colony because she deserves to be with her people and get to know them and yes that is her human boyfriend what about it. --They have a pretty wedding and she has juniberries as her bouquet. Shiro catches it. Adam isn’t dead bc like I said DYING IS DUMB. --They rule new altea together and explore the universe and help other planets learn to be independent and no longer used to Galra control. They help find proper galra diplomats (like the blades and kolivan and krolia and Keith) --They still have to fight the living supporters of Sendak bc the fires of purification yea what happened to them did they die --Peace is a long road for them but they achieve their dreams, love each other, and have fantastic friends  --side note lotor still not dead bc again he is a diplomat for both alteans and galrans and is as valuable as Allura is with diplomacy

EVERYONE LIVES HAPPILY EVER AFTER WHADDUP THATS MY TAKE HOPE YOU LIKED IT AND UUUUUUHHH YEAH FUCK CANON BYYYYYYYYE

#shania writes #allurance #allura #lance mcclain #VLD #voltron #yeah it isn't in depth but listen still better than all of season 7 and 8 suck my dick producers

[elenasescape1-blog]

Good morning ✨

So now we are pretty much in an official lockdown in the UK; the confirmed cases and death toll are increasing daily... I want to talk about where I think this virus REALLY came from, as I truly believe this was not spread like how everyone thinks.

I really do believe this virus was man made; I believe this was a big distraction from what really was going on. Current wars in other countries have been completely forgotten about! World War 3 was about to break out but suddenly we don’t hear about it anymore because the only thing spoken about in any form of media is Covid-19... not sure if this is any use to anyone but Covid-19 translated into Hebrew then back to English is “Kobe”. Which celebrity death was all over the media then got taken over by Covid-19? Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s. Now this takes me to a couple of episodes from The Simpson’s, where they have predicted many things to have come true.. 9/11, Donald Trump’s presidency... how weird is it that they predicted Kobe’s death? Even weirder, they predicted both the Coronavirus and Tom Hanks’ isolation... and that’s all I’ll say on The Simpson’s, they seem to have predicted many things to have happened in the last 20-30 years... just food for thought with that one. Lastly on predictions, I’m sure many people have seen a picture on Twitter which has even been retweeted by Kim Kardashian West; it’s a snippet of a book written many years ago, stating “in 2020 a pneumonia like virus will attack the globe, vanishing just as quickly as initial onset”. Still not think it’s somewhat man made?

Let’s also think about what’s really in those chemtrails we see in the sky; yes we see them at certain times of the day because of air pressure and weather etc, but do we really and truly know what’s in them? One more thing to think about, how convenient that all this Brexit stuff went on for nearly 4 years and then we formally left the EU January 31st 2020? Brexit now means that the Covid-19 vaccine won’t be available in the UK as quickly as other countries... weird timing, right?

I don’t believe this was necessarily spread through Chinese people from Wuhan eating bats or whatever it was. Yes the first cases came from Wuhan, but why weren’t flights from China suspended straight away? I believe this virus was planted in the food markets as a way for them to have population control over China, where let’s not forget for a while the families were restricted to one child each as their population was over 1billion. Flights were not suspended to other countries to allow the spread, which they knew would be very easy and very quick. This, in my eyes, was a way for the governments to have some form of population control and also climate control, now that everyone is staying home much more of the time, pollution levels have decreased a lot, so much so that there are fish back in the canals of Venice. I expect to see dolphins in the river Thames within the next month (🙄).

Anyway, here’s a video I thought I’d include that I came across on Facebook yesterday - it reiterates a lot of what I’ve said and it’s really interesting.

https://www.facebook.com/124411634236128/posts/3136593436351251/?vh=e&d=n

Now moving on to mental health during isolation. I used to hate constantly being at home, being left alone just me with my anxious thoughts. This is going to be a testing time for many people who also feel this way. It’s important that we do not disconnect ourselves from our circles; yes we may not be able to physically see the people we want to be around, but we are so lucky to have the technology we do where we can call, video call (with more than one person at a time now) and stay in touch via social media - had this outbreak happened 20 years ago we would have been far worse off in this sense. Most importantly, if you do feel low, REACH OUT! Talk to anyone you can! Now that everyone is at home in the same boat, many more people have more time now to put into conversations. Remember, this is not going to last forever. I just personally hope that we don’t have a pandemic of social anxiety once everything goes back to normal - people will be so used to staying indoors most of the time and in the comfort of their own homes that they may feel anxious being back out into the world, unable to re-adjust to usual life as quickly as others. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it...

For those that do struggle with anxious thoughts & being at home for much of the time, or even for those who just get really bored and restless easily, here are 12 things for you to do during your day to keep yourselves busy!

1. Learn to cook

- this a great new skill to take up and one that can keep you occupied for a few hours during your day! Here’s a site with some apps (most of which are free) that give you cooking recipes, advice and can even show you recipes with what you can make do with what’s in your cupboards right now! There are also some great YouTube tutorials out there!

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-recipe-apps/%3famp

2. Learn a new language

- How cool would it be to come out of isolation billingual?! Okay not completely billingual, but beginning to speak a new language? This is a great task to put your minds to! Here are a couple of free apps that have been rated 4 stars or more on the App Store for iPhone. If they aren’t available on Androids, these apps have websites and there are plenty of other apps for Android too!

3. Find 5 films of different genres to watch and watch one a day.

4. Find 3 series with a decent amount of episodes/seasons and spread throughout the week.

- this goes for both 3 & 4; I believe binge watching in a time like this is not ideal! Imagine completing the series or film marathon you love in a whole day and then feeling like you have nothing else to watch! Spread the episodes/films out so you have something to do each day!

5. Pamper

- whilst taking care of ourselves mentally, we can’t forget that we have to take care of our skin too! Aside from drinking plenty of water, morning/nightly skincare routines are important to keep your glow, check out YouTube for some tips if you need them! Stay consistent too! You can even make homemade face masks, which are also on YouTube. Giving yourself a mani/pedi should take up a decent amount of time - your skin feels amazingly soft after too!

6. Exercise!

- we have no excuse for not doing exercise now! For those that love a walk or a jog, we are still allowed to leave the house to do this, whether it be around the block or in the park (which will be patrolled). Finding yourself a home exercise routine is a great way to keep occupied and feel good, as we know when we get that endorphin rush after a workout! There are many routines you can find online, and if you’re already a member in a gym and have their app, I’m sure there are routines on there too. If you have kids then you can all do this together! Joe Wickes AKA the Body Coach is doing online PE lessons for kids, so now you can all keep active. I’ll link his YouTube channel below:

https://www.youtube.com/user/thebodycoach1

7. Meditate

- For those with anxiety, meditation is so important! Meditation trains the mind to keep calm with racing thoughts and to have a mind over matter overall thought process. Here are some great apps below, which I have also used (they really are amazing):

8. Draw/be creative

- drawing/painting/sculpting - all so therapeutic and calming. They really allow you to put your mind to a task for a lengthy period of time and allow yourself to explore your creative side! A great way to learn new things about yourself if you never knew you had a creative side 😝

9. Vlog/blog your day/keep a journal

- write/express your feelings! If you are feeling low this is so important - this way you can understand your emotions more logically and your form of expression allows you to release them too. For those who are simply just getting bored, this is a fun way to keep occupied throughout the day! You can blog about what you’re doing, vlog your exercise routine etc. It’s great fun!

10. Organise/clear out cupboards/draws/wardrobes

- ever seen Stacey Solomon’s “Tap to Tidy” stories on Instagram? So satisfying! You could do the same. This is a pretty lengthy task and a great way to escape anxious thoughts by putting order in place!

11. Read

- reading is a lovely form of escapism where we can go into our own world for however long we want. It gives us a story to focus on and really become engrossed in the situation and characters, whether it be fiction or non-fiction. If you don’t own books, there are audiobooks, e-books and google books all online where you can find whichever book you want to read/listen to!

12. Find one thing to learn about each day and spend some time researching and learning loads.

- interested in space? Astrology? Egyptian history? Well grab a notebook and YouTube! Find anything in the entire world that you want to learn more about and watch some YouTube videos on it. I say YouTube videos because I personally believe this is the least boring way to learn about something. Write down some notes or draw visual notes on it, whichever way you learn best!

Basically, what all these tasks have in common is that it puts your mind to something fun, that you can really focus on for a decent period of time! Don’t leave yourself anxious or bored in isolation, keep your relationships with others both physically and virtually where you can. Keep yourself to doing something, stay as busy as you can/want! Don’t forget, if you’re feeling low or any type of way, please reach out and talk to someone/anyone, do not let yourself run away with these thoughts over something temporary!

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