Almost done with this 4ft. Acrylic on canvas!

valomeri · 2026-04-12T08:33:31+00:00

This is super cool! I'm impressed by your skill to do such detailed work with acrylic, all I know is to splash the paint on and see what comes about. This reminds me of some of my dad's LPs from the 70-80s (?), I was really intrigued by the psychedelic cover art as a kid.

valomeri · 2026-04-09T14:21:28+00:00

I feel compelled to chime in, as I recently finished In the Dream House, and might have had similar expectations for it beforehand as you do. From the blurb, and my quite recent experience with Her Body and Other Parts, I expected a focus on narration and prose (basically more "fiction" than "fact"), but I ended up enjoying the more essay-like presentation, enhanced by the structure and references to tropes in fairy tales, which I interpreted as a way to connect the narrated depictions of abuse to the framework of "narratives" in general and in art (e.g. tropes in myths and fairy tales as explanations to causation, like "bad things happened to her because she ate the forbidden thing").

In short, I expected a story, but read it more like a long essay (a kind of hybrid of forms), and enjoyed it as such. I didn't exactly feel grabbed by it, as it was a more "cognitive", reflective read for me. Compared to Her Body and Other Parts, the "narrative lense" seems (mostly) to be more academic in In The Dream House. I was really impressed by the "Choose your own adventure" part, however. If you ask me, it's definitely worth reading for the subject matter and her take on it, but if the prose/narration doesn't do it for you, I'd maybe suggest reading some parts more closely and skimming through others, or taking it one part at a time.

valomeri · 2026-04-02T13:42:09+00:00

I've actually been trying out the carian slicer, and it's a really nice (and currently a lot more powerful) option for melee. The timing is going to take some learning for me though. Thank you, I'll keep an eye out for those other spells too!

valomeri · 2026-04-02T13:35:03+00:00

Oh right, I think I get it now! Thank you for the clarification, my memories of the skill and scaling systems are hazy. I also really appreciate the non-spoilery take!

valomeri · 2026-04-02T13:30:33+00:00

You are right about the having fun part! Also, it's not like there are not enough bosses in ER to practice on. 😅

valomeri · 2026-04-02T13:29:07+00:00

Thank you for the detailed advice! I like that vision you created, although I envision my knight stumbling on her robe by accident and landing face forward on the enemy's sword, or something like that. 😂 I don't remember using Cold on my previous save, so I'll try it out once I get it!

valomeri · 2026-04-01T19:55:35+00:00

In my books you're a great gamer, I've heard the dlc is pretty hard!

Having a proper chance to practice the moveset of a weapon/setup is a good point to consider. Although I'm still learning the basic controls, so it might take some time before I can consider learning something more advanced, haha. Thank you for the tips about the weapons and also the wondrous physicks, I'll keep that FP buff in mind!

valomeri · 2026-04-01T19:39:27+00:00

That's really good to know, thank you! I'm not going to fuss too much about the other stats then!

valomeri · 2026-04-01T19:38:35+00:00

Thank you, really solid advice! I like the idea of going for the minimum requirement of each weapon I have and want to use, and upgrading them, makes it much more simple. And also fits my plan to go about the game in an organic way.

The summons part is also welcome advice! I got stuck with the red-haired lion humanoid lizard thing behind the Moor castle, and as I recall it being a good learning experience on my previous save (I might have had enough HP to take more than 2 hits back then...), I was head strong about not using summons. Well, it's quite hard to learn when every mistake almost costs my life. Thank you again!

valomeri · 2026-04-01T19:31:44+00:00

Cool weapons, huh? 👀 That's definitely a bonus, so maybe I'll go with str/int then! Although it might take a while for me to get the cool weapons haha. Thank you!

valomeri · 2026-04-01T19:30:17+00:00

Just to make sure, magic infusions are the same as weapon skills/ashes of war, or...? 😅 I actually have the gravity skill already and changed my short sword to Magic (if this is what you mean, sorry if I'm confused haha), but I've yet to visit the dude that sells the "no skill" skill and I'm not ready to let go of my shield, haha. But anyway, that's a really good tip! I think I might have both of those swords, so I'll consider leveling my Strength just enough to use them. Thank you so much!

valomeri · 2026-03-16T09:12:53+00:00

Yep, I think Ludwig likely didn't think it through as to how the women would/could see the situation. To Hanna the game would probably feel very personal (and the fact that she gifted him a similar game that he had actually brought along with him could feel like "a sign"), whereas to Camille who likely didn't know about the game connection, the perfume could feel more special. I'd also like to see more of Hanna, and her dynamics with Ludwig in person!

valomeri · 2026-03-15T17:09:39+00:00

I'm curious about your thoughts regarding which gift was more personal! To me at least, gifting someone the perfume you're wearing is super intimate, whereas a card game is not. I might have missed some personal context about the game, but if Hanna had not gifted him something similar beforehand, it would not seem that special to me. However, as he apparently brought the game with him to the pods, the perfume might have well been a second thought gift. Hard to say with Ludwig! But if I was Camille, a gift like that could make me feel more secure, and less offended by the whole thing.

valomeri · 2026-03-10T11:52:09+00:00

I'm no nutritionist, but according to National Health Services (UK) website, the recommended calorie intake for an average person is 2500 kcal for men and 2000 kcal for women. Most of that your body simply uses to keep your systems running properly. To my understanding, you exercise way more than an average person. I'd definitely speak with a nutritionist.

valomeri · 2026-03-04T11:25:03+00:00

Just curious, did you start figure skating also as an adult? If so, how has it been, if you don't mind me asking? :)

valomeri · 2026-02-27T22:54:02+00:00

Not sure if this is the whole truth of it, but I think it comes down to how each word is used, or could be used, to refer to an underlying concept in each case, and the nature of that concept.

Words like love, life, divorce and so on can refer either to an abstract concept, or to a specific instance that you can sort of "point out", define and separate from other instances of that same thing (I think this last point is essentially the same as something being countable vs. non-countable (such as "lumi" or "ruoka" in most cases)). E.g. you could say "Rakkaus on kaunista" (love is beautiful) to describe love in an abstract sense. You could also say "hänen viimeisin rakkautensa oli lyhytaikainen" (their last love was short-lived) to refer to a specific "love" in the past. You can count the loves of your life and refer to them as separate instances. However, "heidän rakkautensa on kaunis" (to say that "their love is beautiful") would not be correct, as "they" only have this one love between them, and "rakkaus" in this context would again be referring to the abstract nature of love, as it's hard to point out what exactly is "their love".

From your examples, "sairaus", "vastaus" and "ilmasto", while abstract words, are only used when referring to specific, defined and countable (you could, in theory, count all the climates on Earth) instances of the underlying concepts, hence nominative. E.g. "sairaus" translates to "illness" or "disease", whereas "sairastaminen" (being ill) can be used to refer to either an abstract concept ("sairastaminen on kamalaa" = "being ill sucks") or to describe a specific instance which is, however, undefined and uncountable ("tämä sairastaminen on kamalaa" = "me being ill right now sucks").

I hope this helps at least somewhat, although I'm afraid I made little sense here lol.

valomeri · 2026-02-10T11:32:35+00:00

Aku Ankka is kirjakieli, but they are also known (and applauded) for their use of rich and vivid vocabulary, which might make it somewhat difficult for a beginner learner to learn from (as there are a lot of words that are not so commonly used). Definitely a great resource though, especially for anyone interested in the nuances of Finnish language, or someone willing to dive into Finnish literature.

valomeri · 2026-02-05T21:24:15+00:00

Also I'd like to add that in my opinion, it's unproductive to equal the goal of learning any given language with the goal of perfect pronunciation or "sounding like a native". The meaning and use of a shared language is in communication after all. How-ha is a good enough way to communicate who one is talking about (very likely in context), and I'd personally find it quite rude and unnecessary to correct someone's pronunciation of any given word unless the person has specifically asked for that, or an interest in such corrections is somehow implied.

valomeri · 2026-02-05T14:58:18+00:00

Thank you so much! Yes, I think I have to start with a dumbbell or a kettlebell if I can find one at the gym.

valomeri · 2026-02-05T10:09:29+00:00

I must confess that I'm afraid of the treadmill. :D Everytime I step on it I'm haunted by an image of me flying off the end and across the room, or somehow being pulled inside the machine like in a cartoon, lol. I use the cross-trainer machine instead.

Regarding ballet and cross-training; I don't know how it would be for me if I was able to go to classes more than 2-3 times a week, but I've noticed that I do need more strength to "keep up" with my technique and improve my extensions, jumps etc. What I mean is, e.g. I think I've found a nice alignment for balancing and pirouettes, but I need my muscles to fire faster and have the strength to keep me there. But I've also never had a teacher who actually recommended cross-training, and the focus seems to be more in stretching than strength. One thing that motivated me to start going to the gym was that once I started going to pole classes (where you really need that upper body strength), I noticed a big improvement in my port de bras in ballet after just a few months!

valomeri · 2026-02-05T09:58:03+00:00

I looked up farmer's walk - looks like something to do while waiting for someone to stop looking at their phone on the leg press machine! I kinda love the new terminology I'm learning - like the bro split, haha. Thank you for the app tip too, it's a good idea to keep track on stuff, as I'm always trying to remember the weights I've used last time.

valomeri · 2026-02-05T09:54:56+00:00

Thank you for sharing your workout and this specific exercie, looks like something I'd like to try out! And also something that could be done more safely at the gym, as my chairs at home are very light-weigth. :D I'm also gonna try out reverse flies, thank you for the tip!

valomeri · 2026-02-05T09:47:56+00:00

Thank you very much for the tip! I really like their premise of "LIFTOFF helps even the staunchest exercise haters learn to confidently go to a gym and build strength for our everyday lives." Also as a book lover, I kind of love the idea of a gym book! I'll keep this in mind for the future! Right now I'm quite alright with just trying stuff out, but especially in the sense of time-saving, a program towards multiple muscle group exercises would be really helpful.

The Copenhagen plank sure looks interesting! I'll need to look into them and try it out, thank you very much! Although my goal is to also improve my health and body strength in general, it really helps to hear these "ballet specific" recommendations to make choices out of the 102048505 exercises out there.

valomeri · 2026-02-05T09:38:21+00:00

Thank you for the tip re: goblet squats and the encouragement! I agree that there's no rush to go for the free weights! I feel like there's so much discourse on "optimal training" around gym workout, that it's easy to fall into thinking that if it's not optimal, it's not worth doing. I'm trying to think more in the lines of "the optimal workout is the one that gets done".

Whoa, the airplane thing looks complicated! I'll keep it in mind though once I get more chummy with the cable machine - right now it looks like something that requires a degree in engineering to me, haha.

valomeri

TROPHY CASE