So, yeah, talking about the only, and I mean only, officially-released Lord of the Rings-related modern work of media that I subjectively despise.
By now, news has circulated about how poor the work conditions were and just what led to the massive delays, regressive gameplay mechanics and general lack of focus in all aspects. So I don't really feel right in giving the designers that much crap after what they've been through and I hope they do find work again on better, fairer projects.
However, I've been more interested in the questionable design choices for story and character design than gameplay as well as voice-acting. Because, honestly, in something connected with Lord of the Rings, I think people would have been more forgiving (Probably not enough to save it but at least give it a better chance) if the story, characters and performances were interesting despite the horrendous gameplay.
But...well...they're not.
(Keep in mind that I don't actually know how to bring up the images online without getting flagged for something so whoever hasn't seen the designs for the Gollum Game's Gollum, Gandalf, Thranduil, Mouth of Sauron and Shelob, please find at any general game publishing site or just do a quick sweep of Google Images. If there is a way to show up the images with no worries, please tell me.)
Let's start with Gollum himself. Now, what's weird about the Gollum Game is that they seem to be trying to emulate the Peter Jackson/Andy Serkis Gollum in all but the things that actually makes the character work. Let's get this out of the way, yes, that version of Gollum is the best we're ever going to see and nothing can top that. But it is still possible to make your own Gollum work with little relation to the most popular adaptation. Before Lord of the Rings was popularised, Gollum tended to resemble a sort of swamp-thing. The Rankin-Bass adaptation and 2003's The Hobbit Game make him look froggish, almost Morlock-like, which rather suits the themes he gives off. Admittedly, these both came before the Peter Jackson films but still, they worked with the character.
The Gollum game instead seems to resemble a copy of Andy Serkis's Gollum if someone just changed their mind half-way through. Everything about his appearance screams 'We Just Weren't Sure Anymore!'. Even getting past how his facial expressions barely work and the godawful affair that his his hair, he just comes out looking like the OG Gollum's edgy tween cousin. In a way, the more human/hobbit he looks, the less appealing he looks. Compare him to the more froggy-looking Gollums he's just unpleasant to look at and not in the way the character should be. What's sad is that early designs make him look better, more 'Grey-Alien'-ish which probably would have been easier to model.
So yeah, Mearas falls at the first hurdle on that front. Let's talk about the less-meme-worthy character designs and their stories, such as they are.
Gandalf. Hoo boy. Where exactly do you go from once you've decided to make Gandalf the Grey a goddamn brunette?! Did you just not want Gollum to feel left out in the stupid hair department?! Admittedly, that may be more a problem with the graphics than the actual design, he is grey-bearded in concept models. But disregarding that for a moment, Gandalf's apparel just doesn't seem to work. He seems to be dressed in almost Nomad-looking garb with a hat that looks folded in on itself and adorned with baubles and feathers, a furry-collar around a rough-spun cloak and a curved sword (CURVED...SWORD! There, I said it). I might be getting the wrong vibes here but he looks way too rustic and weathered to really suit the aesthetic Gandalf is supposed to give off. He looks more like how Radagast might look in a non-movie-related work. In fact, a lot of people might prefer this design over the one in the Hobbit Movies (I wouldn't. I loved McCoy's Radagast but I understand I might not be in the majority there).
Worse still is that there wasn't really any reason for this. The long grey beard and pointy hat are entirely canon with the Tolkien-verse. You could have just gone with a regular-looking wizard-type appearance and it would have worked better. It wouldn't have looked very original but that's the least of your worries!
And then Thranduil. Now, admittedly, this is not the goofiest-looking design for the King of the Wood Elves, Rankin-Bass still holds that honour. But that's still not a good enough reason to make your character literally look small trees are growing out of his head! Yes, I realise that the intent is for him to look like he has stag horns and leaves and flowers are growing over them but it just doesn't work. The fans on the side of his shoulder-blades look for all the world like toadstools from a certain angle and he seems to actually have the same 'curved...sword' as Gandalf and in almost the exact same position to the point where I'm fairly certain it's a copy-paste job. But what really lets the whole thing down is his face. Looking at that face, what springs to mind, because when I see that, I imagine him as the Elf-equivalent of the Squeaky-Voiced Teen. The modelling on his face makes him look like one of the more dorky characters from Fable, combined with the Goldilocks haircut (What is with this game and hair?!) and you have a character we just can't take seriously.
And that's the main problem because this game is demanding we take it seriously. With the bleak, edgy seriousness of the game, the over-the-top design doesn't really fit. In fact, to some extent, the fact that he looks less goofy than Rankin-Bass is a downside because the vibes are telling us he shouldn't look goofy at all. Then at least we'd know where we stood in terms of intended atmosphere.
And finally, the Mouth of Sauron. Now, he's hard to get down, honestly, he's sort of an enigma in Middle-Earth and that's one of the things that makes him so interesting and I was actually pretty interested in the idea that we'd see how he oversees his domain first-hand. So I don't know what exactly I was expecting from his general appearance...but I was not expecting this! What do I say to this?
I mean, where's his tall, black helm? That's in the book, that's part of who he is, literally, all but implied that his suit of armour has sort of become his prison. This guy has pointed ears. Isn't he supposed to be a human? I admit, I kind of like the whole Nosferatu-ish look he has with his spindly build and ornate, vampirish collar but I just don't think it suited The Mouth of Sauron. This guy probably would have made a more interesting secondary villain in place of the Candle Man.
I can honestly say I rather liked the Shelob design. She's the only character in this game that doesn't like a Horizon Zero Dawn concept art exhibition threw up. I got almost Starcraft-ish vibes off of her but it works, she's alien, she's unnatural and she's intimidating.
You know what's sad? These designs are all interesting in their own way, it's all quite intricate and probably had a lot of work put into it. But it all makes it less relatable and, ironically, almost less interesting. And I wouldn't be surprised if the overly elaborate designs hurt the frame-rate all the more. You probably could have toned down the designs and made them look more grounded and it would have improved things.
I do want to put it on record that these designs aren't bad in themselves. To be completely honest, I'm quite impressed by them. As art, it's actually really good and there's a post from TheGamer from someone who was present for the Digital Art Exhibition for the Gollum Game who pointed out that whoever was doing the design certainly cared a lot more than the game's lead-developers and publishers. And it's very likely that the shortcomings the game had in terms of graphics and modelling hampered what could have been impressive character design. But in terms of tone, it's all over the place. With the very stripped-down gameplay and vague story, the over-the-top designs just feel out of place and highlight just how poor the priorities were here. I like it on its own but it just doesn't work with the game.
So that's the recognisable characters at least. If I do make a part two of this post, it'll be about the OCs, such as they are. And I am working to find something on the lore of these characters without having to purchase the DLC because I absolutely refuse to go down that route. So there you go, my two-cents.

• Four leaf clover ears
• Sparkling crow crown
• Christmas celebration headband
• Festive hair bow
• Soft plush antlers
• Jeweled choker neckalce
• Trip to the market hat
• Light-up ornament necklace
• Pumpkin autum earrings
• Don't pick me please
• Spinning web boppers
• Kawaii reaper
• Lucky bow pin
• Froggy bucket hat
• Elf helper hat
• Bouquet of clovers
• Kitty candy bag 2022 (SOLD)
• Bunny bonnet headband
• Easter ehh top hat
• Dragging skirt helper: tilit-be-gone-o-matic!
• Reindeer crossbody
• Darling valentina playful puppy ears
• Vampire's heir
• Midnight's strike popstar astral hair bow (SOLD)
• Ghost head (SOLD)
• Woodland faun ears and antlers
• overgrowth vines ear cuffs
• Spring horns
• Nine-tail

Bodice

• Sleigh it bodice (SOLD)

Heels

• Woodland faun hooves

Skirt

• Miniskirt
• North pole presents skirt
• rr skirt

Platform(s): PC Flash Game
Genre: Beat em up
Estimated year of release: possibly around 2006-2009?
Graphics/art style: a simple, cartoon-y, almost vectorized style with lots of simple shapes, bright colors and visuals
Notable characters: there were four characters but two fighting styles in the whole game, a green ogre person with a cone shaped hat who attacked with a wooden club, hitting rocks like a baseball or slamming the ground with it, a woodsman character with a robin hood like hat and a brown beard who used throwing axes and occasionally slammed his axe on the ground, a princess with red/brown long hair and a pink dress and a cone shaped hat who attacked with little kisses and occasionally swept at the ground with her lipstick and a yellow lemon shaped headed elf/goblin like guy, with yellowish skin and brown clothes who attacked with tiny throwing knifes and occasionally swept at the ground with his knives.
Notable gameplay mechanics: you would fight multiple enemies before eventually reaching a boss at the end of the level. There were three different levels from what I remember, a fiery volcano area, a simple green forest and a snowy area.
Other details: I think I found this game on y8 but I'm not too sure. Also if it helps, I believe some of the enemies in the levels were Rabbits in the forest and Snowmen in the snowy area and then a giant yeti was the big Boss in the Snow area.

Well my google and reddit search terms are failing me so I come hat in hand to the community for help.
Back in the last GenCon PC (pre-covid) we found a game that was basically a battle royale with miniatures. Everyone was randomly assigned a character and it ranged from Elf Ranger, to Beholder, to Bugbear, etc etc.
You could team up if you knew another player IRL or wanted to just help each other out but otherwise it was every person for themselves and it was at least 20 players around a huge dungeon. The thing was probably 12'x8' if memory serves.
Anyway, its been 5 years and I want to play again with my buddies but I cannot remember what it is called and searching for the event has proven fruitless.
Can I get an assist?

Hi I am a new knitter, working on my 3rd pair of socks. I have been dealing with ladders and have made adjustments accordingly (switching from 2 cable needles to 9 inch shorties has helped so much!) but I have noticed that when using stitch markers, they can cause a little bit of laddering. Is this a thing or not really? Does this mean I’m a tight knitter?
Another question - I want to make a hat and I have a yarn from my stash in mind. The pattern calls for DK weight and I have fingering. I’ve heard you can mix two yarns together to get to the bigger weight, what can I add to the fingering to make it DK weight? Or any other tips for what yarn would be good to mix with the fingering that looks nice but not itchy on the forehead?
And last question - I want to make my first sweater, I am comfortable with increasing and decreasing, short rows, German short rows, Kitchener stitch, etc. I would say I am a motivated and ambitious beginner not afraid of a challenge, and I have support in person if necessary for mistakes etc. So I feel confident in making my first sweater and I love PetiteKnit on Ravelry. If anyone is familiar with the Petiteknit patterns, the ones I’m interested in are the cumulus blouse, marble sweater, louvre sweater, or Wednesday sweater. If anyone has any input on which of these would be a better fit for a first sweater I would really appreciate it!
Thank you for taking the time to read this and help a newbie with her new hobby!

Hier wurde gegendert -> https://reddit.com/de/comments/1cqwlqj/bucci_ϵ_an_der_berliner_schaubühne_kücheninsel/l3u1fxx/ :
Für die erste Folge von BUCCI × ϵ ( • ͜ • ) ϶ im Februar haben Musiol und Spielpartner Marcus Peter Tesch einen Therapeuten eingeladen. Die beiden scheinen während der Sitzung auf der Bühne einen ungefähren Plan zu haben, über was sie mit dem Therapeuten – ein gemütlich wirkender Herr mit brauner Cordhose, großer Brille und fescher Cap – sprechen möchten, werden in der direkten Konfrontation dann aber doch immer wieder von dieser ursprünglichen Idee abgebracht. Die Verhältnisse kippen, mal geplant, mal ungeplant. Der Therapeut gibt schließlich lachend zu bedenken, dass er ja eigentlich angewiesen worden sei, selbst den größten Redeanteil zu übernehmen, während Musiol und Tesch doch gar nicht so viel sprechen, sondern eher nur Fragen stellen wollten.
So wirkt es dann auch eher wie nebenbei als unangenehm belehrend, wenn Fragen aufkommen, über die man auch noch im Nachgang des Abends nachdenken muss: Besteht das Ziel der Psychotherapie eigentlich darin, hin zu einem „Normalzustand“ therapiert zu werden? Wer definiert den? Und läuft man Gefahr, durch die Therapie als vermeintliche Kompliz*in von staatlicher Erziehungsarbeit die eigene Queerness zu verlieren?
Anders als zum Beispiel die Autorinnen Didier Eribon, Annie Ernaux oder Édouard Louis, deren autofiktionale Aufsteigerinnen-Literatur auch an der Schaubühne inszeniert wird, geht Musiol für BUCCI × ϵ ( • ͜ • ) ϶ nicht direkt von der eigenen Biografie aus, um soziale Unterschiede auf der gesellschaftlichen Ebene sichtbar zu machen. Dey startet stattdessen mit einer These, einem Begriff oder einer eigenen Alltagserfahrung – und eigentlich immer mit einem Handwerk.
In der ersten Ausgabe von BUCCI × ϵ ( • ͜ • ) ϶ war dieses Handwerk die Therapie als Arbeit am Selbst. In der zweiten Folge, Mitte April, kurz nach dem Gespräch, ging es um das sogenannte Layern, wie Musiol es nennt, also das Schichten von Hautpflegeprodukten – und den Zusammenhang von Self Care und Klimawandel. „Ich liebe es, mir Schminktutorials und Morgenroutinen-Videos anzuschauen, aber natürlich ist es absurd, so viel Zeit in die eigene Pflege zu stecken, während man sie eigentlich in die Community-Arbeit und das Klima stecken sollte“, umreißt Musiol das Thema.
Der Aufhänger der dritten Ausgabe, die am 15. Mai zu sehen sein wird, ist der Butch Cut, eine Frisur, für die die Haare bis auf wenige Millimeter kurz geschoren werden – das Handwerk ist hier das Haareschneiden. Musiol selbst trägt die dunklen Haare zwar kurz, aber nicht raspelkurz. Von deren regelmäßigen Besuchen beim Barber-Shop schwärmt dey: „Ich liebe die vielen Aufsätze für die Rasierer und das Gefühl, wenn der Kopf rasiert wird.“ Es soll darum gehen, wie man sich durch das Äußere als queer definiert, erklärt Musiol und zupft sich dabei demonstrativ am weiten Hemd. Außerdem sollen „Cuts“ im Leben zur Sprache kommen, also biografische Brüche.
„Genau solche Zweideutigkeiten interessieren mich.“ Und die will dey mit dem Publikum weiterdenken. Wobei Musiol selbst nie im Gespräch von „dem Publikum“ spricht, sondern immer von „euch“ und von „uns“. Ob Absicht oder nicht, die direkte Ansprache impliziert eine andere Vorstellung vom Publikum – nicht als abgeschottete, gesichtslose Entität, an die möglichst viele Karten verkauft werden sollen, sondern als zahlreiche Individuen, die allesamt Teil des Theaters sind, egal ob auf der Bühne, dahinter oder davor.
Vorne sitzt, wer zahlen kann: In einem Interview im Spielzeitheft der Schaubühne sagte Musiol: „Ich habe nie eine klassistischere Institution kennengelernt als das Theater.“ Natürlich ist das zugespitzt, und natürlich spricht Musiol selbst, wie dey sagt, aus einer privilegierten Position – „als weiße Person mit deutschem Pass“. Aber die Realität am Theater sieht, wie Musiol sagt, trotzdem so aus, dass die vorderen Reihen am teuersten sind, dass es große Macht- und Lohngefälle gibt, und dass die Karten am ersten Werktag eines Monats um elf Uhr über den Webshop verkauft werden, sodass, wer ein Ticket ergattern will, um diese Zeit am Laptop sitzen können muss.
Die Tickets für BUCCI × ϵ ( • ͜ • ) ϶ kosten nur sechs Euro und im Studio, wo das Stück aufgeführt wird, gilt freie Platzwahl. Vom Theater als Community-Center mit einem Grundstock an Soli-Karten, das Musiol vorschwebt, ist das aber noch weit entfernt.
Jüngst hat Musiol sich ein neues Ziel gesetzt, und zwar, die eigene queere Theaterarbeit zu archivieren. Also das Wissen, das dabei entsteht, auch Menschen zugänglich zu machen, die nicht an den Theaterabenden teilnehmen können. „Wie genau das funktionieren könnte, ist noch unklar.“ Aber genau in dem Dazwischen von Utopie und Ausprobieren steckt ja auch die Kraft von BUCCI × ϵ ( • ͜ • ) ϶.

"The nature of the soul is not knowable." ---Souls, Black and White

I initially wrote much of this as a response to a post yesterday by the inimitable, inestimable, incomparable, and approx. 45 degree tilted u/Crooked_Cock, but it became ridiculously long for a mere comment. "Long", as in, covering basically as much ground as the lore permits.
The purpose of this post is to interrogate (NOT answer) the following question: how the fuck do souls and soul gems work? Forgive my vulgarity, but I cannot think of another aspect of the setting's lore that is as muddled and confused as souls (also known as "anima", singular "animus"). For the purposes of this post, I am trying not to rely on unofficial lore when it comes to various anachronisms, though I will reference official material developed as a direct consequence of (and in the context of) pre-existing UOL.
TL;DR of the TL:DR - The lore around souls/soul gems is almost completely incoherent, and is saturated with fundamentally unresolvable contradictions.
TL;DR - There are two main theories the lore community often uses to explain the distinction between white and black souls, and neither really works. This is mostly due to conflicting information from the lore itself rather than a lack of skill on part of the community. While we can try and suspend disbelief for many of the things that are portrayed in-game despite what the lore says (e.g., Whiterun's population of ~70 people), there comes a point where you just have to acknowledge the lore itself inherits and is inherited by the games' contradictions.

What the games show us

As regards the division between white and black souls, we should assemble a glossary of facts that the games present us (some of which you may wish to discard later as poorly conceived or simply errors on part of the devs). Firstly, the soul-trap effect used by certain spells and items.
In Daggerfall, soul-trap is a % success spell that traps the soul of an enemy when they die. There is no distinction (that I can recall) between Petty-Lesser-Common-Greater-Grand white souls, nor Black souls. However, there was the absolutely fucking rad mechanic that I can't believe they abandoned where, depending on the being the soul was harvested from, your weapon/armoitem would gain a creature-specific effect. For example, binding an item with an Earth Atronach's soul gives you extra defense, but makes the item weigh more. Additionally, when the item breaks, the creature is released and then attacks you. (ES fans really sleep on how cool Daggerfall was.)
In Morrowind, things change to resemble what most of us are familiar with: the (white) Soul Gems you get in-game are capable of only capturing the souls of (most) creatures. NPC souls (excluding most NPCs designated by the game as creatures) cannot be captured, with the batshit insane exceptions of Vivec and Almalexia, who can be trapped in Azura's Star. (Keep in mind that the Black Star, the version of Azura's Star that can hold Black Souls, was theorized by Malyn Varen in the 4th era. This implies the False Gods of the Tribunal have white souls, which is... bonkers.)
In Oblivion, we get Black Soul Gems that can trap NPCs, which (unlike Morrowind) includes Dremora for some reason. (Skyrim would not repeat this mistake.) Skyrim's implementation is mostly identical to Oblivion's, and introduces the existence of the Black Star, conclusively proving that Azura's Star is not capable of holding Black Souls (for whatever reason).
ESO has expanded on animancy (soul magic) a bit by giving us more information on Daedric vestiges and anima, but nothing that fundamentally answers this question definitively. Of specific note is the fact that there are not divisions of soul gems in ESO, there is only Soul Gem (and the ever-elusive and never-again-seen Crown Soul Gem, whose alleged existence puzzles Tamrielic historians).
With these basic facts laid out, I now want to point out that there are a bunch of particular theories I've often seen presented in this sub (and in the lore community as a whole) as an answer to this post's central question that is very, VERY commonly asked. The answers I have seen can basically be collapsed into two main central ideas.

Theory #1 - The division between "white" and "black" souls is artificial, almost certainly invented by the Mages Guild.

"Furthermore, I propose that for the purposes of soul-trapping we categorize all souls into two classes: the legal, or 'White' souls, those smaller essences that are captured from beasts and animals, and illegal, or 'Black' souls, which are derived from sentient mortals. And we will teach only those spells that can capture White souls, forbidding our students to use the larger soul gems on sentients." ---Vanus Galerion, Guild Memo on Soul-Trapping

This is the theory that at first seems to make the most sense, but then the breadth of the available lore pretty quickly makes it an overly simplistic (and in my personal opinion, extremely poor) explanation.
There are two big pieces of evidence commonly brought to support this theory: Guildmaster Emeritus Vanus Galerion's Guild Memo on Soul-Trapping (read here) and the indistinct soul gems of ESO.
In ESO (c. 2E 582), there are no gradients of soul gems nor black soul gems; there are only soul gems. This seems to make sense, but we know that soul-trapping spells date far earlier, and the Mages Guild had been using their version of the spell in the early 2nd era at least (shortly after its founding), centuries before ESO's time. Their version(s) evidently refused to allow for sentient souls to be captured, at least according to Vanus Galerion. We also know that black soul gems exist by this time, and that soul gems aren't in fact uniform as they are in the game, but we can suspend our disbelief for this minor sin.
(Edit: u/Misticsan has reminded me of the long-lost lore of the year of our lord 2016 (the One Tamriel update), in which there were different variations of (white?) soul gems corresponding to level ranges within levels 1-50. Mortal souls were trappable in these soul gems as well, as I recall.)

"Centuries of experimentation has demonstrated that there are black souls and white souls. Only the rare black soul gem can hold the soul of a higher creature, such as a man or an elf." ---Souls, Black and White

At issue with this theory fundamentally is that it isn't clear in the lore whether black and white souls are truly qualitatively distinct (meaning the difference isn't actually artificial), if soul gems are qualitatively distinct (meaning it's the soul gem itself that can only capture a white/black soul), if soul-trap spells vary so widely as to trap what other spells cannot, or all three together somehow. Each of these ideas has limited support in the lore, which makes the prognosis for this theory grim, in my opinion.
It's rumored that Sotha Sil was the first to actually create Black Soul Gems through reverse engineering regular soul gems, which would seem to imply the distinction isn't truly artificial since the average anima geode fragment is unable to reliably contain the qualitatively distinct mortal soul. Yet, why does, for example, the Mace of Molag Bal obey the Guild's soul-trapping rules and trap black souls only if you have black soul gems? This would seem to imply that it's the soul gems themselves that are distinct rather than the souls, for I doubt that the Lord of Domination would deliberately enchant his own mace with the Guild's version of soultrap. (Morrowind's version does not cast soultrap on hit, interestingly enough.)
To complicate things further, black soul gems are stated to be the only gems capable of trapping "the most willful souls" thereby bypassing the restrictions of the standard Mages Guild's version(s) of soultrap. This implies both souls and soul gems are not artificially distinct. Add to this Mannimarco's first retrieval and use of this unique kind of soul gem (capable of the then-impossible/difficult task of trapping willful souls) predates Galerion's Guild Memo on Soul Trapping, since the memo mentions Mannimarco and his Worm Cult explicitly. The Memo states this despite black soul gems from Coldharbour being retrieved prior to Mannimarco's expulsion from the Psijics.
In other words, Mannimarco (through his then-ally Vastarie) retrieved Black Soul Gems, which were notable only because they were much betteexclusively capable (it's not really clear) of capturing mortal souls. This happened prior to Galerion's Guild Memo, which proposed the division between White and Black souls in the first place. Viz., mortal souls are more "willful" than white souls, which necessitates a Black Soul Gem in order to capture mortal (black) souls. Yet, the Guild Memo wants to change the soul-trap spell so that one cannot trap a mortal soul, despite the fact that Black Soul Gems bypass the restriction anyway. Why would Galerion propose a division between white and black souls (to design a new soultrap spell) if black soul gems (1) bypass the spell's restrictions anyway and (2) are the only gems capable of holding black souls?
And if black soul gems aren't the only gems that can hold mortal souls, then the existence of black soul gems prior to the Guild Memo implies that there actually is a difference between white and black souls, and the difference isn't artificial at all. Under no possible combination can it be said without serious contradiction that the difference between white and black souls was invented by Vanus Galerion.
Returning to direct game evidence, Soultrap in Morrowind is incapable of capturing mortal souls (in support of the theory) yet the inverse is true in Skyrim, and Oblivion (against the theory). In ESO, you don't even require a black soul gem. For Skyrim, maybe the dissolution of the Guild swiftly brought necromancy-friendly soultrap spells back? But, again, why can they only be trapped in black soul gems? Why does Azura's Star restrict itself to white souls if the difference is completely artificial? Maybe a Daedric Prince genuinely cares strongly about preventing the trapping of mortal play-things' souls, but this still implies a difference in both white/black souls and white/black soul gems.
I am loathe to completely ignore the differences in every games' mechanics to make this theory begin to work, because that requires editing/ignoring an awful lot of content/lore. There are some differences we have to suspend disbelief to make sense of, but we can't very well suspend all of the disbelief possible. Making this theory work also requires flatly ignoring large portions of the available lore-text, or placing them anachronistically after the publication of the Guild Memo.

^{TL;DR - Galerion's Guild Memo implies that the very categorization of souls into white and black originates with the Guild's creation of the soul-trap spell, yet there is very mixed evidence as to whether sentient souls and soul gems are qualitatively distinct from non-sentient souls and black soul gems respectively. Black Soul Gems, uniquely capable of reliably trapping mortal souls, predate the Guild Memo. After all, in Skyrim, the degenerated Falmer give white souls while the surviving Falmer Gelebor and Vyrthur give black souls, and in Morrowind, you can't trap NPCs' souls at all. Did Galerion anticipate surviving Snow Elves that hadn't degenerated into the Betrayed?}

Theory #2 - Arkay, the Lord of the Wheel of Life, makes some mortal souls impossible to soultrap without Black Soul Gems.

"...Arkay has given us his Three Consecrations:
• Arkay's Grace, which we bestow upon birth, to protect the souls of the innocent until they are old enough to exercise their own volition.
• Arkay's Blessing, which we bestow upon the dying, to prevent their souls from being used without consent.
• Arkay's Law, which we bestow upon the deceased, that their corporeal forms may not be raised to unlawful servitude." ---Punctilius Tyrus, The Consecrations of Arkay

This theory is perhaps less convoluted, if for no other reason than because we lack a huge amount of contradicting details. It might also be able to coexist with the idea that both souls and soul gems are qualitatively distinct, though it does make the Guild Memo even more out of place if we assume so. After all, what need would Galerion have to distinguish white from black souls if the only way to bypass Arkay's protection was through Black Soul Gems? And if a big enough normal soul gem can capture a mortal soul with Arkay's protection... of what value is that protection really? But I digress.
Firstly, (and please point out if I am missing exceptions), a living, not-undead mortal will have Arkay's protection, which can only be bypassed by Black Soul Gems. For this purpose, vampires are not real true and honest 100% undead. This has its problems (as we'll see in a moment), but the logic of this theory demands we stick with it for now. (Also, don't forget we can soultrap Vivec and Almalexia. Arkay must be fucking pissed.)
The Corpse Preparation volumes tie widespread worship of Arkay (as is the case in Hammerfell) to the strength of "Arkay's Law"; the sanctification of dead bodies by Priests of Arkay prevents their resurrection as undead. Or, at least, that's what some people believe... despite a dearth of in-game evidence to the contrary.
Maybe the sanctification rites need to be repeated, and the Halls of the Dead we see in Skyrim are just constantly understaffed, and even so are staffed by incompetents who leave their damn amulet behind. Or maybe by quantity of worship, it is meant as the amount of priests (and thereby the sanctification rituals). Or maybe, as concerns Hammerful, it's just because the Ansei are (and this is true) super fucking cool.
Even so, there yet remains a very obnoxious thorn in this theory's side: draugr.
Draugr (maybe?) do not have Arkay's protection, because for most of them their burial was prior to the worship of Arkay and the Eight Divines generally. I say "maybe" because under the Nords' totemic religion, Orkey was a Testing God to guard against, and only seems to have become associated with sanctification against undeath as imperial religion was slowly imported into Skyrim (or perhaps ancient Nords wanted to guard against his protection??). I say "for most of them" because there are draugr in Solitude's Catacombs (who can speak dovahzul, no less) who were possibly buried when Potema was. And, if not, they would have been buried contemporaneous to (allegedly) a pre-Harald Temple of the Divines in Solitude, if you take Ysogar's journal very literally. Though perhaps more likely is that Potema was sealed in the Catacombs which had not been sanctified ever, if it indeed does date back to the early centuries of the First Era. This, in my opinion, makes no goddamn sense. "Hey guys, you know this necromancer Wolf Queen that nearly brought the Septim Empire to its knees in a brutal civil war? Let's throw her in the Catacombs which we specifically don't sanctify with Arkay's Consecrations. That won't come up later, I'm sure."
None of the aforementioned religious distinctions between the totemic religion, the late-1st and early-2nd era Nord-imperial hybrid, and the Imperial Pantheon existed in the official lore at the time of Skyrim's release, but it mostly conforms to what we see in later developments regardless: the draugr evidently did not have Arkay's protection, and decayed into the rotting knock-knee'd dragon-talking ambulators that we see in old Nordic ruins because of that.
The beings which we can safely presume don't have Arkay's protection either didn't worship him and use his sanctification practices (e.g., Nords of the Dragon Cult, Ayleids) or are so degenerated from the average mortal as to be little more than a beast in Arkay's eyes (e.g., giants and Falmer (not Snow Elves)). It's still odd that vampires have his protection (perhaps because it can be cured) but extremely more odd that Vivec and Almalexia can get soul trapped. Ignore that for now hopefully forever.
With even all of that aside, the single biggest issue (aside from all the evidence for the previous theory) in my opinion is that, as one example, Olaf One-Eye is present in Sovngarde, as well as on Mundus. The soul that animates his corpse is a white soul, despite Olaf very clearly being present in Aetherius. With what we've gone over in the previous paragraphs, draugr have white souls likely because they are simply the unsanctified mortal souls of the very bodies we are looking at (that's what this whole Arkay's Law is about, after all). Perhaps, in this one instance, Olaf's unsanctified white soul went to Sovngarde (Orkey plays favorites, I guess) and his body became a receptacle for some other, powerful white soul? After all, we can capture the soul animating his undead body and he's still hanging out in the Hall of Valor. Or maybe, when the remnant of his mortal body is roused from its slumber, his soul temporarily returns to his body? Probably not, since trapping it doesn't stop him from scarfing down endless food and mead in Aetherius' local beer hall.
Or maybe his presence in Sovngarde is completely unrelated to his soul somehow, in contrast to basically everything we know about how Aetherius and the afterlife seem to work? You can trap Ulfric, Galmar, and Rikke's souls and they'll still be in Sovngarde#:~:text=Depends%20on%20how%20far%20you%20have%20advanced%20through%20the%20Skyrim%20civil%20war%2C%20and%20the%20side%20that%20you%20have%20chosen) when you go there during Alduin's Bane. I can't even begin to reconcile that fact with most of what I've put to text already. Perhaps there are specific aspects of the soul (neither white nor black) that go to Aetherius, and some degenerated animus remains behind? How would we square that possibility with the souls in the Soul Cairn? And if what Valerica theorized is true (that trapping black souls in black soul gems sends them to the Soul Cairn), why does trapping Ulfric/GalmaRikke in a Black Soul Gem still allow them to go to Sovngarde? Maybe Shor prevents the Ideal Masters from snatching the soul (even if you used it to power an enchantment)? Or maybe they only go to the Soul Cairn specifically in deals with the Ideal Masters? (If so, poor, poor Jiub.)

^{TL;DR - If it is indeed Arkay's Consecrations which protects only some mortal souls from being trapped, then there is no difference absent those protections that distinguish white from black souls. If it is mortality itself that Arkay protects, then he seemingly arbitrarily and without good reason defines mortality in such a way as to exclude great portions of Tamriel's mortal population, alive, dead, or undead. The Falmer are an even greater mystery: why would Arkay change their souls to that of beasts? And are the draugr animated by the souls of the mortals who once lived within, or have those souls passed to Aetherius? Is some ambient aetherial creatia possessing the draugr?}

Final notes

We could independently conceive of a theoretical framework (with basically no real evidence) capable of distinguishing between certain aspects of a soul, since we know that souls are a little bit more complicated than just a person's spirit. Perhaps the capability of soul-trapping a daedroth (thereby preventing their reformation in Oblivion) indicates that some anuic aspect (which Daedra lack) transcends the capabilities of soul-trapping? This might help explain the Olaf/Ulfric/GalmeRikke issue, but still makes it difficult to explain the souls trapped in the Soul Cairn. Perhaps they are mere vestiges, and their "true" AE is somewhere else? Is it this anuic aspect that transcends even Arkay's Law, perhaps more simply being a function of the setting's underlying metaphysics?
And how would we square this with the Vestige's soul, which is probably (after the events of the MQ) now housed within a Daedric vestige?
Perhaps as a dissertation for a PhD in Tamrielic Studies, I'll reconcile all of this with an unprecedented level of textual and historical analysis. I'd... rather not, though, for reasons that have now hopefully become clear.

(P.S. - The Falmer)

I couldn't fit this organically elsewhere, but I wanted to make note of an idea I see somewhat commonly throughout threads regarding this question.
Supporters of theory #1 often suggest that the Betrayed (degenerated Falmer) have white souls because Galerion's soultrap spell did not consider them sentient (basically like that of animals). Yet, Arch-Curate Vyrthur yields a black soul when you kill him. Did Galerion anticipate potential survivors of the Snow-Elf genocide? Is this an oversight we're intended to just ignore?
Others suggest a theory I am more partial to, if only because it fits the Dwemer's history of manipulating souls, strings tones, and divinity. Perhaps the Falmer (not the Snow Elves) have white souls because the Dwemer degenerated the Falmer metaphysically to better serve as a slave race. I doubt the Glowing Mushrooms were the only thing the Dwemer used to subjugate the Falmer, and I also doubt a fungus's ability to downgrade one's own soul. This theory resolves the aforementioned problems under theory #1, and (if one believes theory #2) shows the Dwemer's capability of defying Arkay. It also serves as the thematic precursor to their (possible) ambitions of achieving a higher gradient of existence (divinity through the Brass God). Not that this resolves any of the problems with theory #2, but I wanted to put it here to mention how much I like the idea.

Hello!
My coworker is pregnant and I asked if I could knit some clothes for her upcoming baby (a boy but she definitely doesn't care about gendered stuff so I only say that because I'm not actively looking at dresses currently but she might not even care about that!) and she got very excited and (jokingly and with love) was like "if you can make him look stupid that would be even better" so I am wondering if anyone has pattern recommendations for baby clothes with silly patterns/clashing colors/things that are a little weird?
I'm on Ravelry of course but finding so many beautiful patterns and not enough that are just ridiculous. Give me your recommendations please!
Edited to add: I am an advanced knitter who has worked in a yarn store, complex patterns are completely fine and welcome.
Second edit: the main thing I have thought of so far is Fish Hat (Dead or Alive?) by Thelma Egberts but the pattern doesn't have a baby size! Just for an idea of silly things I am looking for.
Third edit: I work at a vegan establishment. I am not a vegan at all (and my coworker knows this) but I respect the vibe and totally didn't think about that when I mentioned the dead fish hat. Probably not looking for dead animal themed things just to be safe! That one is on me, whoops.

gegen die B-Elf des BVB zu gewinnen.. und sich jetzt hinstellen und den Auftritt des BVB als “peinlich” hinzustellen, obwohl der ORIGINAL DAS SELBE gemacht hat.. nur das Mainz es halt besser gemacht hat als Augsburg?
Diese Presselandschaft und das Gehate ist einfach komplett peinlich. Kommt ins CL-Finale und macht es dann besser mit der B-Elf.. ansonsten erstmal Klappe halten angesagt. 🤫

~ Here’s my list of items I am looking for! ~

• Goth Lolita Sleeves ✨
• Vamp tote ✨
• Bat pack ✨
• Kitty crossbody ✨
• SP belt
• Nocturnal kitty ears
• Magical broomstick
• SP skirt
• WW bodice ✨
• WW hat ✨
• DV cuffs
• Fabulous Fur Boa ✨
• Cherry blossom + fluttery frozen fan
• Celebration Balloon
• Snow powder coat ✨
• Worm bodice ✨
• 2020 lunar rat ears
• droopy elf ears
• Cozy Sweater
• Bunny slippers
• Halloween 18, 19, or 20! (Offering Win 21 for one of them :3) ✨(I got Hal 20 lol)

Budget: 505k! (For the items Not halos)

You're travelling on a road between one town and another. You've travelled this road before many times, in fact you were here just a few days ago. And now, on your way back, someone has built an entire mansion, and you can see the roof sticking up above some of the trees. You unfortunately picked a poor day to travel, as a storm is approaching, and the wind is picking up. This fateful choice will lead to an intriguing string of events, leading you to meet an elf named Claudius Ozarus. This story will come in multiple parts, so feel free to make a series of it!
Claudius has a very silly, eccentric, flamboyant and overall over the top personality. Almost seems like he's the overtired type of chatty, or perhaps trying to distract from something. But! When he's talking with just himself he usually sounds calm and melancholic, total opposite of his personality around other people.
Totally fine to monetize with credit in the video or audio, Just make sure to send it to me cause I definitely would want to see it!! Please don't make any edits to the script without checking in with me! If you'd like me to make a secondary version of the script designed for two people, I absolutely can, or add narration if you think it would be difficult to follow the story otherwise, just let me know!
[I'll do sound effects like this] [And character or background descriptions or actions like this, like someone running or something levitating or moving for example, or tips for how lines should be read] Character: Character dialogue will look like this.
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Script
[The wind whistles and howls, slightly distant thunder and rain]
Claudius: [Sighs] Ah... a storm like this brings back memories... albeit unpleasant ones. How long has it been since I've seen a storm like that roll through...? And especially today of all days... [small ironic chuckle] must be fate. Or perhaps she's calling to me. I hear you loud and clear... I always do. I'm afraid though I can't stay out in this weather much longer, I don't fancy getting hit in the face with another stick. [He notices something] Hm...? Someone... on the road? What an utterly foolish day for a stroll, an average human will be picked up and carried off in winds like this!
[The wind picks up and the rain gets closer slowly. Soft footsteps crunch on the dirt road approaching the mansion]
Listener: ....
Claudius: Oh, why hello! You've certainly chosen an unfortunate day to travel this road, now haven't you?
Listener: ....
Claudius: Oh, my home? Well, yes I suppose it must be new to you if you've come through here before. It has a rather unique way of... well, that's hardly important at this very moment. Would you like to come inside, and wait out the storm? You're welcome to stay the night if you must, I certainly like your chances in there better than your chances in whatever your little travel pack has to offer for shelter. [He laughs]
Listener: ....
Claudius: A stranger? Indeed I am. But as are you, and yet here I am, providing you with humble invitation to my dwelling. For all I know you could be playing on my good will! I invite you in, me, a peaceful man of lavish means who lives all alone! You could rob me blind and leave me for dead and no one would be around to miss me! I doubt anyone would find my poor cadaver stuffed in an armoire for days, weeks perhaps! [Small laugh as his dramatic line delivery calms down] Only teasing, of course. If I thought you would do me any harm, I'd let you stay in the wine cellar, not a spare bedroom. Now, would you like to come in before this rain soaks through to your very bones? I find storms such as these... terribly unpleasant.
Listener: ....
Claudius: [He claps his hands together] Excellent! Allow me, then. [Sound of a large wooden door opening, then closing, and the rain and wind is quieter now being heard from inside] What do you think?
Listener: ....
Claudius: Ah, yes, that small detail. Well you see, this home of mine was a gift from a very powerful woman, many many years ago. I always enjoyed travel, so she made me a house designed to do exactly that. She called it the wandering keep, a rather simple name for something as complex as this. The house will always provide everything I need to live comfortably, and pursue my interests. And additionally, as long as I know where I'm going, I can teleport it anywhere. Just wonderful, isn't it?
Listener: ....
Claudius: Hm? You don't believe me? I promise, it's true! In fact, I could prove it right now. Name one place you want to go, anywhere in the world! Truly, I mean it. Name anywhere you'd like to go, I'll take you there, free of charge!
Listener: ...
Claudius: Ah, excellent! That's not far from here... is that perhaps where you were on your way to? Silly question I suppose, it must be. Alright then, brace yourself! [Claudius touches the ground. A sound like a whoosh and a rush of energy is heard. Sound dies down, wind and rain still audible] ....ah, see? Go check the window!
Listener: ....
Claudius: [Sounding somewhat excited to be showing off the house's power] Incredible, right? I know, I must say it's the best gift I have ever had the pleasure of receiving! [Quietly] Well... second best, perhaps... oh, nothing! Simply making conversation with myself! In any case, it looks like we didn't travel far enough to escape the storm's radius, so it would appear you're still stuck here for a while! Shall I show you around then? At least to the guest rooms, I doubt you'll be staying long enough to need to know where the library is, or anything like that.
Listener: ....
Claudius: What? Of course there's a library! What could possibly be more important to have in a home than a library! Well... perhaps a study. But outside of that, a library is a must! I'm a... researcher, of sorts, that's the reason, in part, as to why I travel as much as I do. One piece of scripture leads me to another, then another, to a map, to an artifact of interest, to a treasure trove, all sorts of things. Perhaps you could even call me an adventurer. But truly, what I seek is knowledge.
Listener: ....
Claudius: [Shocked and appalled] Boring?! Excuse me, there's nothing boring about knowledge! Reading the life's work of others who have died seeking the things I'm after is exceptionally entertaining! You'd be surprised what all they include as necessary to their research, honestly. For example one man who's journals I acquired happened to include the dirty details of his bitter separation from his wife. [Said in a mischievous tone]
Listener: ....
Claudius: Well if he didn't want me to read it he shouldn't have left it in with his journals! Although... I suppose that particular notebook was labelled diary... oh come now, no need to look so appalled! The man's been dead for well over a century, he'd hardly care now.
Listener: ....
[Listener turns and walks away]
Claudius: Wha... hold on now, you can't go out there, you'll catch your death! [Sigh] I apologize, I shouldn't make light of the deceased in such a way. I'm a touch out of practice socializing with others I'm afraid, my work forces me to lead a rather solitary lifestyle. But I don't want my ineptitude to cause you to brave the storm, so please, allow me to show you to your room.
Listener: ....
Claudius: [Small laugh] Why thank you, your benevolence is enchanting. Come, the guest rooms are this way. [Footsteps walking down a hall] Here we are! [Sound of a door opening] It hardly matters which room you stay in, there's plenty of extras. Should you need me for any reason, I spend most of my days in my study. It's up the stairs you saw when you came in, down the right hallway, second door on the right. As for food, you'll find the dining room to the left of the door where you came in. Food will appear thrice daily. In the morning, at noon, and in the evening. Don't miss it though! Anything that doesn't get eaten will simply disappear an hour after it first graces the table. I promise you'll find something you like. It's mostly sweets these days, cakes and treats and the like. Perhaps you can guess my weak spot when it comes to food. [He laughs] But, there's plenty of other things for you to try as well, it's not all creampuffs, I swear. Well, I believe that's all the information you'll need for a single night stay at the wandering keep!
Listener: ....
Claudius: Oh yes of course! My apologies, it completely slipped my mind. Claudius Ozarus, pleasure to meet you. And you are...?
Listener: ....
Claudius: Ah... names have changed with the times, I see. Well, I'm glad I could be of service to you, my friend. Make yourself comfortable, and take as long as you need. There is a washroom adjacent to your room, take a bath if you wish while you wait for the storm to pass. Pleasant dreams, traveler!
[Footsteps walking away, scene fades out]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Rain and wind can still be heard, silverware clashing with a plate from someone eating]
Claudius: Good morning! Did you sleep well?
Listener: ....
Claudius: Wonderful I'm glad to hear it! Help yourself to some breakfast! You look surprised. The house always creates grand feasts like this at meal time. In all honesty, I'm not entirely certain why. I only need enough food for myself, and yet here is all this, enough to feed a small army. Ah well, I do appreciate the variety.
Listener: ....
Claudius: Why is there no bread...? Hm, I suppose there isn't any. Presumably for the same reason I'm eating a slice of strawberry shortcake when it's still early morning. This place knows what I like. I despise bread, I suppose the house knows I would never eat it.
Listener: ....
Claudius: [Amused scoff] Yes yes, I imagine it would sound silly to despise such a mundane, every day food. I can't stand it though, no matter what, it always tastes like mold to me. I haven't had a piece of bread I could stomach since childhood and let me tell you, that was not yesterday. [Small laugh]
Listener: ....
Claudius: [Said slyly, like he's going to make a game of it] Hm, well how old do you think I am?
Listener: ....
Claudius: Ooh, very close! You're a little over four hundred years off, though! [He laughs] Does that surprise you? I'm told I don't quite look my age. Well, my hair has been silver since the day I was born, so that doesn't quite count. It's typical among elves, we never seem to look much older than thirty or forty.
Listener: ....
Claudius: The pointy ears didn't give it away? Well, I suppose they're not as pointy as some people in my family, and I do have a lot of hair... but anyway yes, I'm an elf. We live quite a long time, and our looks never fade. Feels a bit like cheating to you I'm sure. Now please, sit. Have something to eat. The storm is slowing, so I'm sure you'll be able to leave soon enough. What brings to you this town anyway?
Listener: ....
Claudius: Oh, really? A kindred spirit then, adventuring certainly is rewarding. You'll find things you've never seen, in places many people will never be. It's interesting to consider really, what you may see in your lifetime, compared to what others will see. Tell me, have you ever been to the gods temple in Naruvia?
Listener: ....
Claudius: It's quite a fantastical sight. Built on water, which is impressive on its own, but it's absolutely enormous, and the architecture is inspiring. Almost makes me want to spruce up this old shack. That's where the last of the Candor family lives, the guardians who care for the temple. I'm always baffled by the number of people who don't know this, but the Candor family really can communicate with the gods.
Listener: ....
Claudius: No really, it's true! I've seen him do it, it's quite a miraculous thing. I haven't been back at the temple in a decade or so, I imagine the boy is all grown up now. Poor thing was left with his mother's legacy quite young. But enough of that dreariness, tell me, where does a free spirit like yourself plan to go next?
Listener: ....
Claudius: I'm sorry... what did you say?
Listener: ....
Claudius: You... that's what I thought you said but... well I'm afraid I have to ask why? Travelling with me is logical from a first glance of course, you have food, a bed, an efficient means of transportation. But... why would you want to travel with someone you only just met? I have my own agenda, you'd only be accompanying me to dusty old tombs and deep forests and caves. I can't see why you would want to do that over travelling on your own. It's the difference between a guided tour drawn out of a hat someone handing you a bag and the reigns to a horse and saying 'go wild!'.
Listener: ....
Claudius: You... seem to have put some thought into this. You're positive there's no ulterior motives? You aren't planning to take advantage of me are you? Perhaps steal all my research and trinkets for yourself? [Teasing]
Listener: ....
Claudius: They are not old and dusty! They are precious priceless artifacts, all of which are invaluable towards!- Well, on second thought... never mind all that. Hm... if you truly wish to stay, I suppose I can stand to have a guest for a while longer. But in that case, I have some rules! They must be followed for you to stay in this house, if you break a rule, you'll have to leave, got it?
Listener: ....
Claudius: Yes, rules! Now, the first rule, never enter my room or my study without knocking, and waiting to receive permission to enter. My second rule, never bring anyone back to this house without my express instruction or permission. And my third rule, and this is the absolute most important! Never, ever, disturb me on the day or night of a full moon. Do you understand? No matter what you need or what you hear, never enter my study on a full moon. Is that expressly clear?
Listener: ....
Claudius: Wha- no I'm not a werewolf! It's simply a day on which I attend to very important business in my study, and I can't focus if there are any distractions. If you can follow these rules, you're welcome to stay here for as long as you like. Do we have a deal?
Listener: ....
Claudius: Splendid! In that case, Attend to your business here in town, I'll be busy today. We can leave tomorrow, if you're ready by then, and go on to our next location. I'm sure by the time you're done your... is that... is that what you're eating...?
Listener: ....
Claudius: [Laughing hard] My goodness we truly are alike! An entire pumpkin pie, really? Even I have the restraint not to eat the whole shortcake. Oh and a handful of creampuffs? Well I suppose I did say help yourself. Why not enjoy the treats when they're right there in front of you. I have no room to talk, I do very much the same. Alright then Creampuff-
Listener: ....
Claudius: Oh my humblest apologies, what would you have me call you then? Shortcake? Sweet tooth?
Listener: ....
Claudius: Your name? Well that's hardly any fun! Pumpkin Pie is more amus- [Listener throws fork, sound of fork clattering to the ground] Woah, hey! You could have taken my eye out! Perhaps Cinnamon stick is more fitting for you, given the spice in your personality... O-Okay okay I'm done put the knife down! Hah... well with that crisis averted, as I was saying, by the time you finish your breakfast, or rather dessert, the storm should have passed enough for you to do what you need to do [He takes the last bite of food] Well, that's plenty for me, I'll be up in my study or the library should you need anything. [Claudius gets up and leaves the room, Footsteps exit, door opens and closes]
Claudius: [Sigh, footsteps] Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea... only time will tell, the outcome shouldn't really be of any consequence either way. I'll just sit back and see how things unfold from here. [Laughs to himself] Cinnamon stick...
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Hope you enjoyed part one! I have no idea how to gage things yet so I'm really hoping this wasn't too long or too short! Additionally, if anyone would like to do an audio for this story and would like to know a little bit more about the mystery and what's going on behind the scenes for character acting, please feel free to message me! I'm happy to share, but I don't want to spoil the mystery for anyone who wants to follow as it goes along.
Thank you so much for reading!!

Hi! I've knit a few projects like scarves, hats, and mittens, and am doing my first large-scale product with the Inga Embraknit dress pattern. I bought the pattern and translated it into English, but having knit stockinette in the round for a while I'm ready to move on to sleeves, but I'm really confused about the pattern. My friend who is an advanced knitter agrees it's maybe missing a few steps. I emailed the company for the English translation which has since been released and they didn't reply : (
When you all look at this pattern, do you agree that a step or two might be missing?

Cast on 152 (160) 168 (176) 184 stitches on needle 5 in the color green. Knit garter stitch with the following pattern: *4 rounds of green, 4 rounds of pink*. Repeat *-* the entire work. Note: if you are knitting a plain dress, you follow the pattern by measurement. Knit the pattern until the piece measures approx. 76 (78) 80 (82) 84 cm. The work will now be divided into the front and the back piece, a total of 76 (80) 84 (88) 92 stitches per part. Note: if you want a longer dress, knit a couple of extra cm before dividing. If you want a shorter model, you knit fewer rounds. Tip: measure from the armhole down to how long you want the dress to be. Then knit the desired cm before you parts of the work. Start with the front piece and place a marker in the middle of the work. There must be the same number of stitches on each side of the work – 38 (40) 42 (44) 46 stitches per part. Knit each side separately. Knit with the pattern while decreasing stitches from the right side. It shall join a total of 14 (15) 16 (17) 18 times, 2 stitches on each needle; 1 stitch at the start and 1 stitch at the end. All dec is done on the right side, purl back. When there are 10 stitches left on the needle, it should knit until the piece measures approx. 106 (109) 112 (115) 118 cm (or desired length). Knit the back piece in the same way as the front piece. When all of you are the same length, the front and the back should stitched together (see tips on how to "stitch together" on YouTube). 

If anyone's knit the Inga and has any tips on where to go after knitting the base of the dress in the round, I'd love to hear it—or, if you have another pattern handy that's pretty beginner-friendly that I could use after knitting my dress base in the round, I'd love to hear that too! If you use the photos for reference, I have the bottom half done, but am stuck based on these above instructions on how to do the top.

Long time crocheter - first time loom knitter
I can never get knitting o have tried so many times and failed, but testing my smaller round loom has been awesome and easy so far! But what the heck can I make with a 36 peg without having to follow a pattern? Like mindless stuff, example, with crochet scarves hats and granny squares are nice mindless crafts, I want something similar with this if possible?

Hi, long-time lurker & occasional knitter (hides) with a nibling on the way.
I'm considering crocheting a lil sheep & sewing it to a green blankie ('grass') as a gift. Plenty of time to do so, and unlike a hat/booties, unsized, so hoping it might be appreciated.
I know it shouldn't be wool (itchy), and that I should aim for something machine washable. Is there anything else I should think about?

Hi! I just stumbled upon this subreddit and everyone here seems like incredibly awesome generous people, I don't expect anything of this post, but I figure I may aswell throw my hat into the ring
I'm going to be blunt and say right now that this game costs $50 digitally, and about $30 physically, so if that's unreasonable you can stop reading now and avoid my sappy story 🙏
I've been into skylanders for 8 years now, since my brother got skylanders superchargers for the playstation 3 back in 2016. we bonded a lot through that game, he'd main spitfire and I would always go with super shot stealth elf, before eventually buying my own first skylander, dive clops, who remains to this day my favorite skylander
as stupid kids, we slowly stumbled our way through the story mode, and I don't remember if we did it together or if I was alone, because I remember returning to the game after a long time, beat the final boss of the game. I vaguely remember the moments of the final cutscene, it felt so special and strange to finally beat the game after an unreasonable amount of time
my memory is fuzzy and I'm not sure if all of this is completely correct, but the one thing I do remember is wanting to beat the game on the highest difficulty. I have a small army of skylanders so it wasn't completely unreasonable, but sadly I never got around to it, and I no longer have access to the playstation 3. I want to finally do it on the playstation 4 version and do what I wanted to as a kid. not only that, but just relive the moments of my childhood, from one of my favorite games of all time
not only that, but I've aquired many new skylanders from randomly finding them at thrift stores, including a SEALED VARIANT OF DIVE CLOPS 😭🙏
I have many, many skylanders that I've never gotten the opportunity to use, (unless you count the 3ds versions but iykyk 💀) and skylanders superchargers is the only game that's reasonable to purchase on the playstation 4
when skylanders swap force and skylanders trap team (the games before superchargers) released, the playstation 4 was a new, next generation console, so not many people owned one. this caused copies of the game to not sell very well on the ps4 specifically, making them rare, and VERY expensive. as much as I'd like to own either of these games for the ps4, it's just unreasonable
as for imaginators, it's not rare and it's worth about the same as superchargers, but for some reason the only skylanders game you can buy digitally is skylanders superchargers, which is why I'm asking for this version specifically. it's unfortunate, but fortunate at the same time as superchargers is my favorite :D
TLDR I had skylanders superchargers on the ps3 as a kid, no more ps3, game is expensive on ps4, am broke, and have lots of skylanders I may never get to use in game 🙏
game: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0002-CUSA01988_00-SKYLANDER2015PS4
psn: https://psnprofiles.com/Vaporeon231
this is my first post here I'm sorry if I broke any rules I read all of them and tried my best to follow 😭
second post cuz first one got automatically removed 🥲