I don't want to step on anybody's toes here, but the amount of non-dad jokes here in this subreddit really annoys me. First of all, dad jokes CAN be NSFW, it clearly says so in the sub rules. Secondly, it doesn't automatically make it a dad joke if it's from a conversation between you and your child. Most importantly, the jokes that your CHILDREN tell YOU are not dad jokes. The point of a dad joke is that it's so cheesy only a dad who's trying to be funny would make such a joke. That's it. They are stupid plays on words, lame puns and so on. There has to be a clever pun or wordplay for it to be considered a dad joke.

Again, to all the fellow dads, I apologise if I'm sounding too harsh. But I just needed to get it off my chest.

Hi everybody!! I've been fully obsessed with indies for the last year (this community saved me from going crazy in this pandemic!) and have started to amass quite the collection - particularly from my #1 favorite house, Solstice Scents. I totally get why the brand is so well-loved here. The aesthetic, the blends, everything about Solstice just does it for me. I've got the best hit rate with them, bar none. At least of the houses I've tried so far. I've been meaning to do this for a while but I just keep collecting more samples 😅

A bit about my tastes - I'm a certified vanilla freak. I also love woods, green scents, atmospherics, ambers, gourmands...the list goes on. I'm open to a lot. My biggest death notes are licorice, marshmallow, and red musk.

I'm rating everything according to my own personal taste and wearability. Everything I've tried is very well blended, true to description, and would work for someone. I have a mix of EDPs and oils, I'll indicate which I have for each. If I've got a scent in both formats I'll write how they differ. The longevity for all of these is about the same between oils and EDPs, btw. 3-4 hours for oils and 5-6 hours for EDP, unless otherwise specified. All right, buckle up, people. Here we go!

-Cardamom Rose Sugar (Brown Sugar, Cardamom EO, Moroccan Rose, and Bulgarian Rose) I hate to start off on a bad note (no pun intended) but this is one of the few scents that did not work for me at all. I found the rose to be metallic and sharp, mixed with cloying maple syrup. The cardamom is there and it is SPICY. It's spot-on, I think I just like the smell of cardamom + rose + sugar less than I thought I would. I have this in oil format. 4/10

-Conjure (Vanilla, Amber, Cedar, Spices, & Cauldron Smoke) The ultimate Stevie Nicks-long-hair-flowing-dress-casting spells scent. When I first got it it was nothing but a baby powder bomb, as I had read in other reviews. I heeded the advice of just leaving it alone for ~6 weeks and this baby transformed. It went from one note powder to a layered, perfectly balanced witch scent. And it keeps getting better with age! The spices are punchy, mostly allspice. Not too heavy on clove. The smoke is subtle and not BBQ at all. It dries down to a slightly powdery amber/woody vanilla. I love it but I don't reach for it much, honestly. I wear it when I do rituals or dress like Stevie 😂 I have this in oil. 8/10

-Foxcroft *(Decaying Leaves, Rich Black Soil, Dry Leaves, Fall Air

I really digged through, so mine are:

S1: Parker Posey. Just a Posey stan here. Rosie Perez. Always happy to see. Bridey Elliot as Chantal's neighbor. That was crazy funny. Both she and Clare McNulty who plays Chantal were in Bliss/Rogers debut movie "Fort Tilden", SP basicly grew our of it. (Also just found out Jiggly Caliente was in the pilot!)

S2: Jo Firestone (Elliot's group therapy). I fell in love with her thanks to "Shrill" series and then found out she was in SP too. And what a scene! Jason Greene (Elliot's group therapy) & Patti Harrison (political campaign staff). Lovely trans representation this season!

S3: Shalita Grant as Cassidy. She was over the top and I lived for every second of that. Hallie Haas as Dory's friend from the past, season premier. "We made it!" Rofl Chelsea Peretti as Elliot's lawer. They had so much chemistry together, and the whole interogation scene with the detective (Nina Hellman) changing clothes and trying her speech was comedy gold.

S4: Cole Escola is a genius ♡ Chloe Fineman screaming and the whole deadly book sequence, probably the most laugh out loud moment of the season (the other one would be the circling cars). Pat Regan, the shrimp twink. Nailed it!!! Ruby McCollister, the ice cream worker. Never faded in the backround with all those huge co-stars. Special mention: Chantal/Clare McNulty, her episode was brilliant.

S5: John Waters is a legend! Jackie Hoffman as Chantal's psychotherapist (and she survived). Julio Torres, the pool boy. I'm happy he was in SP too, his comedy style is so unique. Just a few drops of lavender oil lol Jesper society, I mean, wow, Lou Diamond Phillips! Illeana Douglas!

Fun fact. Charles Rogers, SP co-writer and co-director, played 4 different roles through seasons!

You can sign up and read a formatted version here: https://pj-vogt.mailchimpsites.com/

Text below.

Proof of life

Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter, and thanks to anyone who has written an email. Some people have asked what I’m up to.

I've been helping edit other people’s work. I’ve been reading a lot. And I’ve been trying to figure out what kind of story I want to tell next and in what form. That’s going to take some time. If I had to describe the inside of my brain I would say… splinter factory?

But in the meantime, I miss writing to strangers, and I have some stage fright to get over, and so I figured, maybe I’d just try a newsletter.  How often will it come out? No clue. What can people expect? I don’t know. I can promise typo’s.  But for starters, how about some recommendations? Other people’s stories, other people’s art has always been what’s kept me afloat, this year, any year.  Here are some things I encountered lately that I loved.

 Just for Us by Alex Edelman This is a great and strange internet story that unfortunately you need to be in New York to experience. But basically — Alex Edelman is a very funny comedian and also Jewish, and that means he spends a lot of time on Twitter and sometimes gets into online scraps with the Nazis who live there.  Because Alex is Alex, his preferred move is to add those Nazis to a custom Twitter list called “Jewish National Fund Donors.” They get a notification when they’re added to his Twitter list, and it drives them crazy.  One day, Alex is bored and following his Nazi Twitter list and he sees that that very night, there is an open invitation meeting of white nationalists at an apartment in Queens. The address is posted on Twitter. And Alex being Alex, decides to go.  What happens next I won’t spoil for you, but it is really fascinating. And the show is not just about the meeting — there are very funny stories about growing up in an Orthodox household with an Olympian brother, there’s a very good bit about Koko the Gorilla contending with enormous grief, there’s a lot.   Anyway — if you’re in New York, you should go. I laughed the whole time, and I also kept thinking — wow, I'm probably not going to get another chance to see this guy perform in a theater this size. It felt special.  The show is on a short break due to the global pandemic, season 7. But they just released tickets for late Jan/early Feb, when it seems that the wave should have crested, at least here. I’ll probably go again onc

collection

After a solid year of involvement in this hobby and the *fragrance community* I wanted to share my collection of 8 bottles, a handful of minis, and a whole lot of decants and samples. Top row is more spring/summer, middle fall/winter, bottom row is oils and minis, and you can see a small portion of my decants in the other pic. The samples are stored in a vintage lipstick holder! I mostly go for rose, incense, some spices, amber.

JF Schwarzlose Trance: sexy jammy rose with wormwood and spice, possibly my most "extroverted" perfume. It's kind of heavy and sweet and Fragrantica users seems to think this is for fall and winter, but I wore it mostly on summer nights (possibly just because socializing was happening then and now we are back to quasi-lockdown). This is the only thing I own that I would call a "feminine" "date night" perfume, though I'd love to smell it on anyone in any sort of fun context.

Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin: this was an unexpected gift and I really treasure it ❤️It's a fresher rose than Trance, but still has a slight jamminess. But it's mostly realistic, geranium-leaning, very "red." The honey note gives it a smooth beeswaxy sort of texture. The "fille" (girl) in the name is funny because to me it is ageless and elegant, not girlish at all. When I smell it I get an image of being in a rose garden in a crisp white shirt and a chignon. I'm older, but all is well.

DS & Durga Coriander: an unconventional freshie and summer staple. It's green and herbal without being too bitter, and has great sillage. I like the idea of green fragrances but I don't love galbanum, so this makes me happy. Sort of has a hip synthetic vibe, a la Le Labo or ELDO. I think the litsea note is what makes it almost citrusy but without the usual sharpness (I'm one of those people who often associates citrus notes with cleaning products).

Eau de Jane: under-the-radar gem of a chypre. Walks the vintage/modern line perfectly. Nicely balanced between citrus, green and floral, natural and synthetic. It opens with a fun banana-ylang note but doesn't veer into over-ripeness. Another spring/summer daytime go-to.

Chanel N. 5 EDC (vintage): this was my mom's and I will always keep it, even though I never wear it. It is fun to smell from the bottle or put the tiniest bit on my hand, as the ingredients are incredibly rich and round and complex. Circa 1980 so I guess there is real civet and oakmoss in

Do your worst!

It’s always been a nightmare of mine. Getting kicked out.

When I was a kid I had this weird obsession with dreaming about being thrown out, which didn’t make sense because my parents are good people—and yet my younger self saw them as terrible monsters.

My mom and dad supported me through my childhood but still, there I was, dreaming my father was throwing me onto the streets at 7 years old with nothing but my SpongeBob backpack, spilling an unnecessary amount of books and a dozen candy bars. It was always snowing in my dreams, and I was ankle deep in the stuff but I was never cold. It’s a well-known fact that you can feel what happens in your dreams, whether it’s being stuck in a flurry of swirling white snow or being stabbed in the gut by the boogieman under your bed.  I never felt the cold of the snow or the numbness of my bare fingers and toes. I didn’t feel anything. There was never a reason for these dreams. I loved my parents and my vanilla life of playing with dolls and arguing with my brother over whose turn it was on the PS3.

In my mind, I knew I was safe.

I had parents that loved me and a roof over my head. I would always have that security.  The dreams didn’t scare me but they did make me wonder if there was something wrong—deep, deep down. That wasn’t normal for a seven-year-old, right? I remember being into the Nancy Drew books. Anything which was mystery or fantasy—of course read to me by mom—I ate it up. All those imaginary worlds fascinated me and I was bored with my own mundane life.  Maybe I craved my very own adventures.

Like the ones in those fictional worlds.

Or I was a fucking psychopath.

I don’t know. I never really thought about it again.

Until 11 years later.

“Issac.” I knocked again. Harder this time. “Let me in.”

I was surprised how calm my tone was considering the situation; I’d already been having a pretty shitty day. Sleeping through my alarm was bad, but I wasn’t ready for what the day had in store for me. I’d managed to forget my jacket in sub-zero temperatures, been yelled at in class for not fully paying attention, and then I’d had to present a group presentation on my own—after my teammates bailed on me last minute. That went as well as you would expect, considering I’d done all the work the night before which was the primary reason why I was so out of it. The cherry on the top of my day from hell came much later when I found myself locked out of the student house I shared with three others.

I’m not going to s

So I started getting super into indie perfumes around September 2021, and I randomly started thinking about what types of perfumes my family members would wear. I started coming up with ideas of perfumes based on things they’re interested in and thought it’d be funny to find a perfume that replicates that thing in uncanny indie fashion. My family members never really wear perfumes so I was mostly guessing how to go about it, but it was still a fun experience, so I wanted to write down some reviews for what I ended up getting them. IMAM was my greatest source for ideas, so big thanks to the saints who write up reviews/suggestions.

My idea was to get them two perfumes each: one being a “weird”/realistic perfume that’s trying to replicate something specific they like, and the other being a general perfume that I thought they might like. I knew I was only going to get sample sizes because a) I was guessing what they might like, and b) they don’t really wear perfumes so my assumption was they would sniff it, say “neat” and then tuck it away on a shelf. Which is fine by me as this was mostly for my amusement anyway.

---

For my mom:

• Fyrinnae: Hyakinthos - sweet hyacinth dominates gentle notes of patchouli, resins, Himalayan and Atlas cedarwoods, oud, and amber

One of my mom’s favorite flowers is hyacinth, so I decided pretty early that I wanted to get a hyacinth perfume for her. I honestly thought that would be a pretty simple task, but there’s a surprisingly limited amount of perfumes that both focused on hyacinth and were currently available (I was looking for this during the fall, after all, and not the spring). I found several perfumes that did have hyacinth, but it seemed to be a secondary note or the perfume just seemed like it would smell like a jumble of flowers. I also don’t really know what hyacinth smells like. I’ve definitely smelled it before, but it’s hard to remember, and it’s only a spring flower so I couldn’t really sniff for reference. When searching for hyacinth perfume recommendations, Alchemic Muse’s Ostara (a mix of hyacinth blossoms, myrtle, and wild heather fused with the soft green foliage of moss and ivy, gently grounded by a warm and earthy base of clove, cinnamon, and myrrh) was the one that kept popping up, so that was the first one I tried. However, when I got it it smelled rather soapy to me, so I looked for other ideas. Alkemia’s Floralis (*spring rain, a breath of fresh aldehydes, a mist of water musk sett

I'm surprised it hasn't decade.

(thumbnail pic, pay no attention)

I miss the sneaker renaissance of the late 90s/early 2000s (can you miss something you were an infant for?) It wasn’t unlike the smartphone boom a few years later, with the iPhone starting the technological pissing contest over who can create the fastest, thinnest, and most powerful pocket screen possible. In both cases, the race to outdo one another and win customers was taken over by basic brand loyalty and designs that work well enough. This isn’t to say innovation isn’t still happening in some circles, smaller manufacturers trying to put their own spin on things, but design booms inevitably plateau into what can reliably satisfy customers. So, to reiterate, I miss when sneaker companies were trying out really weird shit.

High risks didn’t always pay off, but the race to create a shoe of the nebulous “future” inspired plenty of designs and technologies still used today. Whether the appeal of these kicks was to make a statement about the self or simply look different from everyone else (until everybody else also had them), the turn of the millennium was a time where a new, head-scratching shoe was around every corner. An argument can be made that Nike lead the charge in this regard, as is the case with any other industry comprised of big-money players, but for me, no other company exemplifies the loud experimentation of this era than Mountain Dew-flavored skate brand Osiris. And Osiris would be catapulted into the stratosphere of skate apparel, for better or for worse, with the release of their most famous sneaker, the D3.

(Technically it was the D3 2001, a revision on the original D3, but details, details…)

Osiris

Osiris quickly made a name for itself in the skate community with a savvy design finger placed firmly on the pulse of the nineties skating world. Helping them out in doing so was their roster of signed pro skaters who would flaunt their products in competition and highlight videos. This is standard practice for any ambitious skate company, but it was their catalog of unabashedly 90s and unashamedly baggy apparel that caught the eye of the community at large. They never sponsored anyone with Tony Hawk levels of recognizability, but who did? If you were deep into skate culture in the late 90s to the early 2000s, you know both the O

For context I'm a Refuse Driver (Garbage man) & today I was on food waste. After I'd tipped I was checking the wagon for any defects when I spotted a lone pea balanced on the lifts.

I said "hey look, an escaPEA"

No one near me but it didn't half make me laugh for a good hour or so!

Edit: I can't believe how much this has blown up. Thank you everyone I've had a blast reading through the replies 😂

It really does, I swear!

Because she wanted to see the task manager.

Heard they've been doing some shady business.

Book One l First l Previous l Next

Discord

Merry Christmas eve everyone! I hope you are enjoying the company of family and friends this holiday and will get everything you asked for from Santa. I'm going to take a few days off to enjoy the holiday and a short break to just do nothing. I encourage you all to do the same to whatever extent you are able to and will see you after the holidays. Enjoy!

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was only about another hour before we reached the edge of the wildlands. In that time, I had made all the bodily changes to myself that were required, much to the wonder and amusement of the others, particularly the brothers, who saw fit to poke fun at me and ask if I had lengthened other parts of myself in a not-so-subtle allusion. I admit that I laughed at it, not just because it was funny crude humor, but because that was probably something I could very well do, and I found the whole idea of it ridiculous.

The trees started to thin, the roads improved from the beat-up trails that we were on, and signs of others having passed through this area became more present. I only hoped that we would not run into any patrols while exiting the wildlands. As far as we could see, there was no one down the road or anywhere nearby, and it remained that way for the next half hour. Well, at least it seems like I still have a little luck. As we traveled, I heard Kala start talking to the others in the back of the cart.

“Stop tugging at your collar.”

“But it’s aggravating, and I have an itch I can’t reach.” It was Jorn’s voice that replied.

“You have to get used to it, tugging at your collar is seen as defiance and usually punished by a beating. Unless you want to force James to do such a thing if someone catches you, stop.”

There was a dejected sigh but no more arguing from the back seat. There will have to be an adjustment period for them, and I hoped they would all get over it

You can call me Father Grey, or Padre Grey. Awhile ago I began to share some of my stories from my years as an Exorcist. The continuation of this second, tragic story answers some questions but poses many more. If you recognize me or my nickname I ask you to please keep it private. As I tie up these loose ends you can begin your journey here.

...

CK walked next to Lavender, comforting her in her panic at our recognition of the figure on the screen. I continued to stare, taking in every feature and detail I could. It was unmistakable. The possessed figure in front of me was Dr. Harold Mangrove, the same man who had previously assisted us in the exorcism of the man in Chinatown. I slumped into an interior contemplation.

Like most fields, the practice of exorcism is one which no amount of theory and study can properly prepare you for. You have to be dropped in, boots on the ground and running full speed, to truly understand it. My own short studies in Rome, done over the span of a few months and entirely limited to lectures and classroom practia, seemed to be woefully inadequate. CK and I had, for the second time in a month, stumbled upon what appeared to be a genuine case.

After composing ourselves from the reaction of seeing Harold in the security footage we immediately conferred about his appearance. Even in my novicial state and watching through the grainy, slightly-unsaturated security footage I could recognize a telltale sign in his eyes. Eyes are the lamps of the body, the words of Jesus himself in the Sermon on the Mount. If the soul is in darkness the eyes will reflect it, and this is entirely true for the possessed.

Like the possessed man in Chinatown, Harold’s eyes were unnaturally piercing. His pupils seemed to be black holes, drawing everything in. The whites had become a characteristic off-white. Beyond that, the feeling which he imposed through his glance was something which the mind itself could somehow express - animistic panic from the deep recesses of the unconscious, the pervading feeling that those eyes belonged to something... false. Something only pretending to be human. Whether from a need to survive neanderthalic encounters, or a prevalence of the demonic, or some other horror entirely, at some point in ancient days before history was ever written our minds developed to recognize such beings - those which appear to be human...

https://preview.redd.it/w685y9s9ipa81.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=d825313acc072b9e2c33f914ac183de6bef79bf9

Now we're really getting into Summer with the first major set introduced. Really surprised that only one of the scents is a returning scent (Sea Salt & Lavender). Berry Waffle Cone though has been known elsewhere like candles and wallflowers and soaps. Regardless, this was an interesting set.

Packaging: One of the best introduced in the year, I love the different designs on each scent. It's very summery and beach and outside which is always nice. Though it is funny that all of the scents are warm colors with the exception of Midnight Swim (there always has to be one outliner huh?). Still great designs for sure!

Scents:

• Midnight Swim (Blue Waters, Beach Flower, Fresh Coastal Air) - No surprise that Midnight Swim would also be the one that's floral-focused here with the beach flower being the leading scent note here. It smells so clean and aquatic and floral in once scent and I kind of fell in love with it. It may be a little cologne-y but the scent for me is just nice and while doesn't fully suit the summery vibes it should have, it's still good!
• Sunkissed (Sun-Drenched Orange Blossom, Sparkling Sea Salt, Vanilla Breeze) - So take the coconut out and replace it with orange blossom and you pretty much get Sunkissed it seems. It kind of smells like Suntan, but in body care...but there's something I'm not fully enjoying out of this one. It just doesn't really work with me it feels like...a little too lotion for me?
• Berry Waffle Cone (Sweet Summer Berries, Golden Waffle Cone, Creamy Vanilla) - I'm not sure what happened with this one to be honest. It definitely doesn't smell like any of the other times it was released outside of body care. It's such an interesting scent though since it's kind of the only foody one in the mix. Like after the spray, all I can get is the waffle cone and not enough of the berries or vanilla. Like while it's not what I expected, the scent is nice enough for me.
• Sea Salt & Lavender (Fresh Sea Salt, Blooming Lavender, Sun-Drenched Sands) - Since I missed this scent until the end of the year, I had to catch up what this one is about. While Midnight Swim had the aquatic mood about it, this one was more pure floral. This one kind of flew over my head it seems like because while I'm not the biggest lavender fan, this scent just kind of one that really

They’re on standbi

BamBOO!

Hey everyone!

So with 2021 drawing to a close, I wanted to once again to a yearly lore recap. However, because of how lore was done this year, I’m going to be splitting this up, and omitting some stuff.

I’ll be structuring this to talk about this year’s short stories, then Legends of Runeterra’s stuff, as it often expands heavily on the lore in specific areas, and then I’ll touch on Rise of the Sentinels briefly, something I can do because Riot more or less did it for me with their big blog post recently.

I won’t be talking about Riot Forge titles or Arcane, for these reasons:

• They’re all very recent paid content and I don’t want to spoil that for those who haven’t gotten in to it yet
• I haven’t beaten Ruined King to properly summarize it
• I couldn’t tell you if Hextech Mania is canon or not
• Arcane isn’t canon

So with that out of the way, let’s get in to it!

Redeemed

Starring: Senna, Lucian, Thresh, Isolde

This story immediately leads in to “Ruination”.

With plans to continue their work against the Black Mist, Senna is assailed by magic, and arrives in a hellish landscape, remarkably like Thresh’s lantern. As it turns out he’s attacking her from afar for some unknown purpose. While inside, Senna comes face to face with the thing that gave her the “Curse of Life”, none other than a fragment of Isolde’s soul.

As a child, this piece of Isolde had found her as the Mist came to Senna’s island home, and stayed with her to keep her safe, though this in turn drew the Mist to young Senna relentlessly. The two reconcile, and together break free of Thresh’s magic, though Isolde warns of events transpiring in Bilgewater, and of Viego’s return.

TL;DR: Senna has a heart to heart with Isolde.

She

Starring: Viego

Tortured by the memory of Isolde, for he cannot remember her in the exact, perfect capacity he desires, he sets out from his throne in the Shadow Isles to find her. Seeking out a fragment of her soul, he winds up at a coastal city, letting the Mist lay waste to it. Within, guarded by a king, is a music box containing a piece of her. He offers the king a chance to surrender it, leaving the king dumbfounded, only for Viego to kill him anyway and take it.

TL;DR: Viego claims the first piece of Isolde’s soul.

With Teeth

Starring: Renekton, Raz Bloodmane

This story is set a few weeks after “Bloodline”.

Following Xerath’s devastation of the city of Vekaura, the “Sandthrashers”, a group of Shuriman raiders, are taking their

Pilot on me!!

Christopher Walken

Nothing, he was gladiator.

Contrary to popular belief, lucid dreaming is a highly common phenomenon.

Lucid dreaming, for clarification, is a different kind of dreaming. The sleeper is aware that they are dreaming. They have full control over their movements, their dream. They are no longer a helpless onlooker, watching the dream, simply following the narrative. They know they are in the dream.

They have control.

People usually believe it takes a certain kind of person, under the exact circumstances in order to trigger one. Scientists and fanatics on the subject clash often on this. Some say it’s bad to have lucid dreams. It distorts perception of reality. Others say it increases creativity.

Some say it causes delusions, hallucinations. Delirium.

Disorientation.

But lucid dreaming, for me?

Well. It changed my life.

For the better or for the worse, that's up to you to decide.

But before I start to ramble too far, I suppose I should start at the Beginning.

He says starting at the beginning is always best.

||

My mother always said I had an active imagination. I was a creative kid. When I was younger, I used to have amazingly creative dreams. I would tell my parents all about them, the adventures I had been on, the things I had seen.

But I also had terrifying nightmares.

When I was young, fourth grade or so, my nightmares began to delve further. I no longer had nightmares about falling off of things, or coming to school without pants, writing the wrong answer on the board at school.

No, they got much worse than that. In fact, it was actually the same thing, over and over again. Night after night. Plaguing my sleep. My dreams.

Plaguing my mind.

They started the same. It was me. I was sitting in a grassy field, somewhere I didn’t recognize.

It was warm, and sunny. It felt like summer. The grass would tickle me on the exposed skin that wasn’t being covered by my shorts, the warmth spreading over me like a second skin.

I was sitting in the field, that’s how it would start.

I would sit there for a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity. But it was peaceful. Silent. The only noises were those of critters and insects, the occasional wave of a light breeze making the grass around me flutter. Eventually however, the silence was always broken. Broken by footsteps. They would come from behind, small and light, a child’s footsteps.

In the dream, I never turned around. I waited until the footsteps came around to the front of me. Of course however, I couldn’t do anything. I cou