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thewertsearch · 2 years

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Asks Compilation 11/08

@elkian asked: You've happened upon a very interesting read of Tavros and AG's FLARP history there. I hadn't considered that she would be furious not to manage an unquestionable win over him, even if she 'wins' in most of the ways the game thinks matters. []

Vriska is a no items/Final Destination girl, and Tavros’s ‘escapes’ probably feel like getting killed by a janky stage hazard. People aren’t allowed to win against her - even if, by her standards, it doesn’t count as a real win.

Given what we now know about her home life, any kind of loss probably sets off alarm bells in her head.

That’s actually a good point. We haven’t really talked about gender on Alternia - I’ve been saving it for later on, when we have more cultural context - but all of what I’d call the most dangerous trolls are girls.

The only exception - sort of - is Sollux. But his destructive abilities seem to be a outlier - and the only time he’s used them is when Aradia’s own machinations required it. He doesn’t seem all that dangerous by nature.

Or even my sprite.

I’m picturing the tech-flavored Midnight Crew sitting in Gamer Chairs on Derse, scanning everything on my land for vulnerabilities. Jack hates it - it’s such an indirect way to attack someone, that he cringes when someone even calls it an attack.

What if you just straight-up prototyped an AI? It would be interesting to see how the kernel’s ‘intelligence-boosting’ effect which we saw with Jaspers would work on an artificial mind.

My intuition is that even the best contemporary AI models would result in an inert sprite, but I do wonder if this could turn something that’s almost an AGI into the real thing.

Maybe the fireflies are actually related to Sollux’s computing bees, and they also interface with technology in some way.

I like the idea that they could act as data relays, blinking to each other in binary code to transmit data wirelessly. It’d be a good ‘biotech’ answer to short-range communication technologies, like Bluetooth.

@poipahcoinkel asked: Hey! I don’t know if the askbox is a cool place to send homestuck related memes, but I saw this one and I couldn’t resist

I love your liveblog so much and I can’t wait to see you react to [REDACTED] and even [REDACTED]

Jade would do this. Look at all that pocket Space!

I have seen just enough of Sollux to know that.

He would be so mad if he had to dance the Carmelldansen.

He would do it. Not all the time, and not just for anyone, but he’d absolutely do it if one of his friends caught him in the right mood. You’d never know in advance how he was going to react, but if the stars aligned and you asked him to join in, he’d just stand up and start, albeit complaining the whole time. His dance choreography is perfect.

Love it. That’s how I approach complex story ideas like this - just throw out all the ideas you have, and see how they gel with the evidence!

I’ll take it as a compliment. >:)

Nepeta is interesting to me, because, moreso than any other troll we’ve seen, she really acts like an early 2000s internet archetype. The fact that she actively roleplays suggests one of two things.

Alternia, despite the massive cultural differences between itself and Earth, has an online RP scene roughly analogous to ours. Do you think they roleplay as lusi?

Alternatively, Nepeta invented roleplay.

Could be either, could be both. The fact that a non-corpse kernelsprite is rare suggests that something is actively preventing it from happening, but I guess that could just be good old-fashioned predestination at work.

Maybe the Harlequin's mischievousness is just how the ‘usually a corpse’ rule was enforced in this case, and other sprites were discouraged from breaking it in other ways.

One Homestuck fanfic (in Russian) called "metatime" what you call "Pebble Theory". Traveling though time is predestined by metatime, but some entities with super powerful control over time can theoretically change the metatime itself, from a hypothetical previous iterations of events. [] - RM

‘Metatime’ is a good framework to understanding a lot of time-travel plots, I think. It’s a good example of how a simple change in perspective really can drastically aid your understanding of a concept.

@typhoontroubadour asked: Something funny I noticed about your Raspberry Pi sprite is that is kinda has an animal/dog looking face to it to me! Here's an image hopefully pointing out what I see.

What do you know - turns out I’m joining the ‘animal sprite’ club after all!

Essentially, the difference is thus:

CT: I was born better than you, because I have blue blood.

Vriska: I was born better than you because I’m Vriska!!!!!!!!

As am I. It’s probably hard to guess the hypothetical Title of someone who’s not actually interreacting with those systems through playing Sburb.

Granted, I don’t yet understand how, exactly, your Title relates to how you interact with the game...

That’s great, it’s got such an early 2000s vibe to it. I wish I’d been around in the early days, when your entire internet experience was customizable to that degree...

[ thank the anon who reminded me about this a few weeks ago xD - C ]

I was very close to this happening naturally. I wasn’t sure, on the 8th, whether I was going to do asks or update the liveblog, but Cat was like “you have to liveblog today, I’ll tell you why later.”

Happy belated Vriska Day to all who celebrate!

I begrudgingly accept this, but might stick with Lusi, as it rolls off the tongue easier.

[ when you got to Vriska, @69420coolman posted: ]

youtube

[ and also this, with this picture, lol: - C ]

youtube

askjlasjlksjdks

Lovin’ it! One thing I am looking forward to is, when I’m finished the comic, looking back on the original reactions and theories when the comic was posted live. It’ll be fun to compare my interpretations to other people’s.

It’s another one I’m kind of happy I didn’t guess. It’s fun to be thrown for a loop in this comic, especially when it’s with a twist that makes total sense in hindsight!

I dunno, it just feels right to me? Maybe it’s my accent, or something, but I’m definitely parsing it as though there’s a ‘h’ in there. I’m notoriously kind of bad at pronouncing things, but I’ve arbitrarily decided that I’m going to die on this hill.

#I think tumblr's issue with these comps is their length #so i'm gonna try and post smaller/more frequent ones #homestucksona #classpect #asks #full liveblog #act 5

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funkymbtifiction · 2 years

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Hi Charity again! I’m going to start apologizing for being annoying and asking so much questions. I also wanted to thank you for the clarification about the 9 vs 1 fix, it was so so so helpful to discover my sister type and understanding the differences in general. I wanted to ask some questions (it is not personal this time, is about the enneagram in general) and hope this can help other people too, feel free to not answer if you think is too much.

1. Overthinking is usually associated with the head types, right? But if you’re Ne and not a head type core, can you feel like you are (a head type)? How can we know for sure our core type?

9 ENPs think over things less and trust their gut instincts more; they are at home with their strong intuition and don't second guess it or anticipate what they will be doing next as much. I would say if you aggressively "think-think-think" without knowing how not to, you are a head type. If not, you're not.

2. Still about head types, 7s are more simple to figure it out to me, but 5s and 6s seems kinda similar. Both need to be secure, both are always looking for knowledge. 6s are more future oriented, but if you have a 3 fix, you are goal oriented as well. 5s are self sufficient, but if you have a 9 or 2 fix you are more “people oriented”. Sometimes I think that 6s are more likely to read about useful things (because they’re afraid of the future) and 5s usually read about everything (because they’re afraid of being stupid). But I don't know if this is correct and I don't think that everyone that reads a lot about everything have a 5 fix. How could we break them apart?

IDK. I read about everything cuz it's interesting to me (Ne/6w7).

I see 6 and 5 as being oriented toward or against people. 6s move toward people, 5s don't. 6s doubt themselves, 5s don't. The sin of the 6 is fear/paranoia, the sin of the 5 is avarice (selfishness). 6s are less morbid than 5s, who trust their own logic more than 6s. I mostly look for a super-ego (right/wrong thinking) vs. withdrawn (separate) stance. 5s feel like they don't belong, 6s want to belong.

3. I was thinking about characters that are types 3 and 4. It seems that the 3s (core and fix) are the “popular girl/boy” ones or have the desire to be (probably 2s too, because they need to be loved and appreciated), but the 4s (core and fix) seems like the “bad girl/boy” that doesn't want to fit in. Do you think this is usually true or just a coincidence (and 4s also have the desire for popularity that is usually associated to 3s)?

4s don't want to be popular necessarily because if everyone loves something, everyone is being "basic." They don't want to be basic, common, or easily understood. 4s are more self-absorbed (and unapologetic about it) and interested in being separate from everyone else (you're not like me, and my problems can't be fixed).

4. My last question is if you have Ne (specially ENP) and are a core 3 (or other "action" type), can you be more about “planning”, but procrastinating and doing less?

The 3 ENPs I know are pretty driven to accomplish things and look good while doing it. I think Charles Dickens in The Man Who Invented Christmas is a really good example of a driven 3 ENFP. Decides he wants to revitalize Christmas, designs his own book "just so" (only the best illustrations), and gets it all written in a few weeks, then goes on to promote it and make a lot of money off it (but he's so deep in debt, sadly, it doesn't help him much). Presentation of ideas would matter the most to a 3 ENP.

#question #mbti

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mel-ash-books · 1 year

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Factors You Need To Consider Before Making Any Big Decisions

Last year I participated in a coaching program, and here's the most interesting thing I learned: The key to making better business and personal decisions is quite simple: you should ask yourself better questions.

When you live a super hectic lifestyle it's easy to get obsessed with creating and inventing and doing everything every minute of the day. You're efficient and organized when it comes time to get back to work, which boosts your productivity. You're also aware that you (and many of us) aren't great in. Noodling. Marinating. Pondering. To find out extra information about FS D4 Dice, you must browse 4 sided dice roller site.

This is a crucial skill when it comes to big life decisions. To make educated decisions and make intelligent choices, you have to be able both to think critically and consider the options from multiple angles before making the decision.

If you're at the point of making a major decision, such as whether to accept a job you've been offered , or to introduce a new product on the market, here are a few aspects you can take into consideration to evaluate your options, inspired by Tony Stoltzfus' book, Coaching Questions: A Coach's Guide to Powerful asking skills.

1. Rationality

The rational, analytical side of your brain must first think about this choice. Examine the advantages and disadvantages of each choice. If you're making a decision about whether to take on a new position, for instance, you could consider "more money" as a benefit and "less time at the home" as a negative.

2. Intuition

If you are unsure between several choices, your intuition can be one of the most effective decision-making tools. In a moment, be present with your gut feeling and stop thinking about other matters. Just sit in a calm place for a few minutes and think about the decision. What feelings are you experiencing? Happy ones? Perhaps the heebie jeebies?

3. Relationships

Whether you're married or single and have children or don't have children, live by yourself or share a room with six others Your choices affect people closest to you. In order to help you evaluate the decision you're about take, think about how the decision would affect your family members.

For example what if the new job mean you spend less time with your spouse? Or would it mean your husband might quit work due to the pay increase?

4. Alignment

You want any decision you make to be aligned with your values, passions and priorities, or it's not going to be a satisfying feeling to know that you did the right thing. Before you determine whether your decision is alignment with the things that matter most to you, it's crucial to identify what those passions and values are. Then, make an inventory of the ways that your decision is aligned (or isn't aligned) with them.

5. Counsel

You're clear about how your decision will affect the people around you. But what do those same people think about how the decision you're about make will impact you? Discuss your options with your spouse or family members, your friends, colleagues as well as mentors and colleagues. What are their thoughts?

6. Negative drivers

Many times, people make decisions based on their fears. You might be worried that you won't ever find the perfect job, so you choose the one you're least interested in. You've already got the job offer and it's a certain thing. Maybe you're scared that no one will sign up for your company's first event, which is why you postpone it a year.

Which fears are influencing your decision? While you don't need to confront all your concerns immediately, knowing the factors that impact your decisions can assist you in evaluating your choices in a way that is objective.

When you are used to working at a million miles an hour, it can be very difficult to reduce your speed. It is important to set a timeframe for your decision to ensure you have enough time to think about all of the options. So, the uneasy part of your brain -- and anyone else waiting on your decision, for instance, a prospective employer will be aware there's a decision date coming up, and you can give you the chance to consider your options and pick the best, truest one.

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albatris · 2 years

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hello

it is 11pm on saturday but technically it IS saturday and i think?? maybe?? you're doing STS?? so yeah. happy storyteller saturday, may i here about the rental car gang's newest additon

well. it's now 11pm on Friday! whoops! but running late is nothing new to me, this is standard, this is standard, my apologies for the delay

thank you for the ask and ABSOLUTELY you can hear about the rental car gang's newest addition!

so, there are a bunch of things about her that are still missing from my brain, but hopefully she'll chat to me more as I write about her :3

onwards!

her name is Zeke! does she have a surname? maybe! do I know what it is? nope!

she's. hm. by day she's a romance novelist under the pen name Alannah Meadows and by night she's a renowned and deadly vampire hunter. or more likely she's both simultaneously at all hours of the day and night, balanced poorly, living mostly on energy drinks and instant ramen. when does she sleep? idk. but as long as she can manage to keep up the appearance that she's totally cool and under control and absolutely not spiraling into near-constant burnout and crisis, she's fine!

romance-novel-wise, she's pretty good at what she does! vampire-hunter-wise, she's fuckin EXCELLENT at what she does! most of the time! idk quite what her methods entail but I know they're a little bit. offbeat and peculiar and make a lot of other vampire hunters go "huh??? that's stupid" until they actually see her in action. she's also broke a lot so can't afford any fancy equipment n has to get a little inventive

her great grandma on her mum's side was also a rather infamous vampire hunter. both her grandparents on her mum's side were rather infamous vampire hunters. her own parents are........

an accountant, an ornithologist, and a funeral director!

(there are three of them, and I mean this in a polyamorous way and not a complicated divorce way)

Zeke has mixed feelings about their professions, just like they have mixed feelings about her following in the footsteps of her ancestors rather than..... not.... doing that. on one hand, she likes her 'rents and wants them to be happy, and they are! on the other, she's peeved that no one taught her ruthless survival skills and how to decapitate someone when she was like four years old and that she had to self-teach most of her vampire-hunting skills. which I guess is why her strategies are a little bit unusual and not exactly the industry standard

but yeah, her parents are all sweet folks, though none of them are super keen on their daughter being involved in such a dangerous and violent profession. and her mum has some capital B Baggage about the vampire hunting line of work due to her experiences with her own parents

now, about Zeke as a person........

hm, well, she's all about calmness and focus and intuition and balance..... she's all about meditation and higher forces and listening to the voice of the universe...... I think she fancies herself a bit of a psychic, actually, or at the very least she's someone who sees herself as having a Unique And Special Connection (read: more powerful than other, NORMAL people's connections) to the world around her. whether or not this is true or just in her head is up for debate :P but yes, she's constantly going on about how important it is to be in control of your emotions and to find balance within yourself and focus your mind....... calm your soul and centre yourself and feel the pull of the universe..... it's all very funny because she has MAJOR fucking anger management issues and explodes on a regular basis. and she's never been patient or calm in her life for more than, like, ten minutes

like she tries SO hard to be the cool calm collected wise sagelike type. but GOD everything is just so irritating how can she be expected to

peace and love and harmony on planet earth <3 but also Zeke is going to fucking deck you if you piss her off

anyway, she has rather big shoes to fill given the reputations of her grandparents and great grandma, and though she's doing a pretty good job of filling said shoes already, she really wants to make a bang in the vampire-hunting profession and achieve some cool shit no one's seen before. she tries many different avenues for this, but hops from one to the next rapidly because she quickly gets bored with stuff and loses interest. recently she's been engaged in a lot of intense research into the well-known vampire urban legend of the Garble, 'cause what could cause more of a Bang than taking down fucking vampire god? this earns her. a lot of laughter from her rivals and colleagues. because the Garble objectively does not exist, it's just a dumb spooky story, obviously

but yes, this is what eventually leads her to Darwelaide and what kicks off her investigations into the city's vampire population, and subsequently her becoming entangled with Quinn :P

she is, in fact, responsible for the two super early-book attempts on Quinn's life, one of which results in the death of expendable bit character Leo (RIP)

Quinn is! irritated! by her presence, because as soon as word gets around that Fucking Vampire Hunter Zeke is in the city, a fair few of their vampire customers and lackeys are suddenly like "oh, I forgot I have to go very very far away from Darwelaide right now immediately for an indeterminate amount of time" which puts a bit of a strain on Quinn's resources

Zeke not only believes Quinn is a vampire (fair) but also that they're basically THE vampire of Darwelaide, and most other vamps are either Quinn's allies or fucking terrified of them and staying as far out of their way as possible (also fair)

but yes, Zeke begins as a rather formidable antagonist but eventually becomes a begrudging ally to the team since their goal ALSO happens to be "murder the Garble". though she's not too pleased when this goal shifts focus slightly, they talk her 'round after a while because the end result will still be the same, it'll just take a little longer to get there. but that's spoilers! hahahaha

eventually, much to her disgust she becomes a beloved member of the gang. tragically they are her friends. regrettably she cares about them

she and Nat have a dicey relationship at first, she and Quinn have a dicier relationship, she and Yvonne are............ fine, ish, but that's a whole other kettle of fish. she thoroughly believes Alex is human to begin with because...... yeah, in the same way people look at Quinn and are like "that's a fucking evil dramatic rich gay vampire if I've ever seen one", people look at Alex and they're like "that's the epitome of Just Some Guy"

Alex fucking exudes Regular Human Energy tbh

it is important to my heart that Zeke and Alex do end up proper best friends. like. even after she finds out it's a vampire. after the Adjustment Period. like this is a reeaaaaally slowburn friendship but the payoff's gonna be. mwah. chefs kiss

man I just think they'd get along fantastically and have some interesting perspectives to share with each other, y'know?

but yeah, Zeke starts off SUPER scary and looming and threatening, this kind of.... mysterious force to take very seriously. but the tone shifts to shenanigans later. there's a lot of, like, ridiculous melodramatic homoerotic nonsense with Quinn, lots of back-and-forth hero-villain-esque banter, lots of very casual murder attempts from both parties

also "Zeke has homoerotic tension with Quinn" means nothing, Quinn has homoerotic tension with basically everyone

once she's part of the gang but still super fuckin grumpy about it, it's sort of just like....... y'know, are these legitimate murder attempts, is it all in good fun, is it just to keep the gang on their toes? no one is entirely certain. but that's just Zeke for you. she's their murder friend and they love and appreciate her <3

she finds out eventually that Quinn is actually just a regular human person and she's fuckin PISSED

also I think it's really funny given the ending of the book that Zeke gets to be like. fuck yeah. everyone look at me. I helped take down motherfucking vampire god. who's the best vampire hunter now. idiots. I'm better than all of you. gaze upon my work and weep

but what she's essentially done is just, like, doom vampire-hunting as a business and put everyone out of work so everyone is lowkey SUPER mad at her lmao

she doesn't care because she fuckin Won

anyway, this is what I know about Zeke so far!! thanks for tuning in!!

#zeke <3 #i'm so emotionally attached to her already #a rental car takes a left down rake street and disappears #sts #storyteller saturday #most ppl are miserable in this line of work #zeke is here for HONOUR and GLORY and RIGHTEOUS VIOLENCE #in her opinion she's the only one with valid motives lmao #she has a bit of a superiority complex maybe #like UGH she doesn't do this for MONEY she does it because it's her DUTY it's her PURPOSE #she's. also very dramatic

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ave-aria · 4 years

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Rewind

Ectober Week 2020 Day 3: Rewind Summary: Maddie can't believe what she's seeing on the security tape. In shock, she hits rewind. Tags: Reveal fic, Blood, Angst, Implications of character death, Tragedy, Trauma, Oneshot

Rewind.

Maddie keeps her eyes on the tv screen as the figures wind their way backwards to the start of the video. She won't look away. Can't. Doesn't dare.

If she looks away, she'll have to focus on something else. The quiet, dusty lab around her. The uncleaned ecto-weapons by the door. The green blood smattered on the blade.

The hollow, empty house looming over her head…

The video hiccups a bit as she hits the start of the feed. Old VHS tapes are odd like that, buzzing out with static where the film wore thin from too many pauses and restarts. It's a sign she's hit the beginning. Maddie presses play.

"Mom and Dad would kill me if they knew I let you down here."

It was an old security tape, filched from the lab. Onscreen, three teenagers, her son at the lead, slip into the camera's field of view. Maddie leans closer, enraptured by the movement, even though she's seen this moment enough times to have it seared into her brain.

Maybe, if she focuses hard enough, she can learn the secret - how to rewind her own mistakes, go back to a time when none of it has happened, just like in the video.

"Whoa, check it out! This thing's huge! I can't believe your parents built this!" A pause, while the kid adjusts his glasses. "Bummer that it doesn't work though, dude."

"Damn. Was it really supposed to open a portal to the underworld?"

"It's 'The Ghost Zone,' Sam. And yeah. My parents were pretty heartbroken when it didn't work. It kinda just… fizzled out. I hope they're not too upset."

The detached, clinical angle of the shot doesn't do the moment justice. Danny'd always been such a kind boy, thoughtful and empathetic to a fault. Maddie's throat closes up a little, leaving her struggling to breathe. They had been upset. Unbearably so. Their life's work - as Danny put it - fizzled out before their very eyes. It'd been a hard loss to take, one that she and Jack might never have recovered from, had the Portal not miraculously started working on its own, days later.

God. Now she almost wishes it hadn't.

A bright flash draws her from her reverie. Maddie blinks at the screen. A camera flash. In her distraction, she's missed part of the video; Tucker's casual "Lighten up, dude,", Sam's request for a photo op, Danny grabbing a hazmat suit to pose with while she dug the device from her backpack.

"—Got it," Sam waves the printed Polaroid to air out the negative.

"Okay. I showed you the portal. Can we get out of here now? My parents could be back here any minute."

Where had they been that day, anyway? Maddie wonders. Grocery shopping? Visiting the park? Moping, as they tried anything to get their minds off of their most recent failure? If they'd been there —

If they'd been there—

"Come on, Danny," comes Sam's voice, treacherous in its fascination. "A Ghost Zone? Aren't you curious?"

Danny looks into the Portal, clutching the custom white suit made specially for him. Sam smirks, knowing. "You gotta check it out."

Maddie hits pause.

Rewind.

"You gotta check it out."

Pause. Rewind.

"You gotta check it out."

Rewind.

"—gotta check it out."

The remote feels cold and heavy, like ice in her hand. In that moment, a selfishness grips her. She could blame Sam. For all if it. Everything that happened, it all started here, and it started because—

—But she can't blame Sam, because the next moment, Danny turns back, his eyes sparkling with an adventurous spirit. It's a spark of curiosity, brimming at the thought of the unknown; a look she's all too familiar with, one she's seen often on her daughter's face, her husband's - even her own, in the mirror.

"You know what? You're right. Who knows what kind of awesome, super cool things exist on the other side of that Portal?"

That curiosity, it's a Fenton trait, not one that needs to be stoked like a fire. That spark's been burning within him, since the cradle.

"Don't go in," she whispers, as if her advice could change the course of history. Even if he could hear her, though, it would be no use. He can no more resist the call than he can resist breathing.

He pulls on the hazmat suit. Skintight, white with black edging. It's like staring at a photo-negative. Watching her son, Maddie's stomach twists.

How couldn't she see it before?

"Alright. I'm going in." He says. His first footsteps echo, loud, in the hollow of the blacked out Portal…

Maddie's breath shudders in. She grips the remote and, before she can stop herself, hits the button.

Rewind.

She watches as her son walks backwards, double-time, out of the entrance to the Portal. The panic that gripped her fades.

"Mads?" From somewhere up above, echoing down the staircase, comes her husband's voice. Maddie is glued to the video screen, and almost doesn't hear him. Regardless, she definitely can't answer. What would she even say?

"Maddie?" His heavy footsteps echo in the stairwell, trudging closer. "Are you down there?"

A hitch in the tape. Maddie presses play.

"Mom and Dad would kill me if they knew I let you down here."

Drawn by the sound, Jack trudges the rest of the way down the narrow staircase. She feels a slight reverberation in the floor when he reaches the landing behind her. She doesn't turn around.

"The police called back. Officer McNally said he'd file a missing persons report, and they promised to keep their eyes open. But—" she hears the way uncertainty causes his voice to die in his throat when she doesn't turn to greet him. After a long moment of silence, he draws up to her side. "What are you watching?" he asks at last.

"It kinda just… fizzled out. I hope they're not too upset."

Question. He'd asked a question. Maddie swallows and struggles to answer. "Security tapes," she chokes out.

Understanding, an incomplete kind, dawns on Jack, and vigor jumps back into his bones. "Mads, that's brilliant!" he booms. "Why didn't I think of it? He comes into the lab all the time! We can use the security tapes to see when he last—"

"I found this tape in Danny's room," she interrupts.

Again, his voice falters in confusion.

"Under the bed," she elaborates, as if that will help. And continues watching, detached.

"Can we get out of here now? My parents could be back any minute."

The flickering light of the tv fills the lab, ominous in its glow. Jack hesitates. Maybe he's picked up on the subtext by now. Maddie can picture his eyes drifting from the staticy screen to the items in front of it, scattered across the table. He reaches out fro the shoebox sitting beside the tv. Taped to its front, written in the cursive, unmistakable scrawl of their son's handwriting, is a note that reads:

'If I Never Come Home'

"Maddie, what is this." Jack's voice is uncharacteristically heavy. Looking to her for guidance. For answers.

For once, she has none to give.

"Watch," Maddie whispers, still trapped by the screen. Automatic, her fingers hit the button.

Rewind.

With no other options to grasp at, he does.

"Mom and Dad would kill me if they knew I let you down here."

Watches as the kids approach the Portal.

"Aren't you curious?"

Watches as their son zips up the hazmat suit.

"Alright, I'm going in."

Watches as he disappears into the empty cavity of their greatest invention.

Click.

Watches as it thrums to life, with a scream.

"Da—Danny no!" Jack yells in tandem with the two remaining teens. He lurches forward, hand outstretched, to stop the agony onscreen. "He's not - when did he -"

"It's old, Jack," Maddie whispers. "From when the Portal started working."

Jack spins to stare at her. "You mean - Danny's the one who—" he's visibly struggling with the information, the same way she did, on her first viewing. "But—he never said—"

Right, Madie thinks. He never said anything. Jack's confusion is laughable, though. Why Danny never told them—that much is painfully clear.

"Guys?" Over the yelling and the panicking and the electric cackle from the Portal, their son's terrified voice cuts through the din. "G-guys help, what's happening?!"

Tucker and Sam are black silhouettes stumbling backwards from a swirling green glow, but they freeze and scramble to right themselves, lurching forward to catch someone as he stumbles through the gate.

Phantom - Danny - emerges from the portal, falling to his knees.

"…No," Jack says. Disbelief is thick in his voice. "That can't be… no."

Maddie lifts the remote.

Rewind.

A flash of light. A curdling scream. A shock of confusion, panic, scramble.

Danny Phantom stumbles from the portal.

Jack stares for a long time. Then he reaches out, snatching the lid of the shoebox for a second look at the evidence. The note, accusatory, stares back at them.

"This is how he tells us." Jack doesn't often whisper, but it seems like he can't do anything else. Her husband looks at the empty shoebox, the screen, the VCR. "Our son is Danny Phantom, and this is how he tells us. I…" he trails off.

Maddie almost can't believe it, how easily Jack arrives at the conclusion. It took her twelve viewings for her to wrap her mind around it, and it still hasn't really sunk in. But then, that's always been Jack's strong poing - those intuitive leaps of logic. Ones every scientist both loathed and envied.

"Did it kill him?" he moves seamlessly onto the next question that tripped her. Somehow, Jack's voice is even quieter this time.

Maddie shakes her head no. If they watch the video long enough, about ten minutes in, Danny manages to change his way back to human. If their invention did kill him, it wasn't permanent. Not that time, at least.

She's too close to thinking about it.

Rewind.

"But—" she can't stop Jack from thinking, though. He barrels on, heedless of breaking the fragile grasp Maddie has on her sanity. "But if all this time — Phantom—"

A hitch in the tape.

"We've been—"

Press play.

"Mom and Dad would kill me if they knew I let you down here."

"—Don't tell me we've been trying to waste our own kid—"

If Maddie weren't so detached, she might laugh. Waste. God, he can't even say it.

"Trying?" she asks instead. Bitter, the word sticks to her tongue.

She's not looking at the tape now. She's looking at him. And Jack, oh, Jack, he just stares down at her, a dark horror growing in his eyes.

He whips around to look at the bloodied weapons sitting at the base of the stairs.

Exactly where they left them two days ago, after that nasty ghost fight. When they came home to find a broken house, their daughter crying at the kitchen table, and their son just - gone.

"No." Jack backs up a step. "No no no no no no no—"

A flash of light. A curdling scream—

In an instant, Jack is moving. He snatches up weapons, whatever he can find, and bolts for the staircase, vaulting his way up to ground floor. Distantly, Maddie hears the doors slam. The RV thrumming to life. The screech of tires as Jack peels out of the driveway.

In the cold wake of his departure, Maddie turns back to the tv. She should go after him, she knows. But she's not quite done watching. Jack's always been a man of action, after all, but she's the analytical one, who studies, who marvels, who gathers the facts she sees.

Phantom, onscreen, slumps against his friends while he drips ectoplasm to the floor. He stares down at his white-gloved hands, his glowing green eyes wide in shock. Maddie wonders if he knew, then, what would become of him. What his parents, who raised him, who swore to protect him, would do.

She can't face those questions. Not yet. Not yet. Instead, she lifts the remote.

And rewinds.

A good scientist, a rational scientist, never draws conclusions while she's still gathering evidence. So as long as she's still watching—

A hitch in the tape. She's at the beginning. Maddie presses play.

"Mom and Dad would kill me if they knew I let you down here."

As long as she keeps watching, she doesn't have to do anything with this information. All she has to do is watch.

So she watches. She rewinds. And she plays. She can't look away—

"Mom and Dad would kill me if they knew I let you down here—"

She doesn't dare.

"Mom and Dad would kill me if they knew I let you down h—"

All she can do is rewind—

"Mom and Dad would kill me if they knew I let y—"

And rewind—and rewind—

"Mom and Dad would kill me if—"

Until she finds evidence contrary to her theory…

"Mom and Dad would kill me—"

Or she finds Its inevitable End.

"Mom and Dad would kill me if they knew I let you down here."

Rewind.

"Mom and Dad would kill me if they—"

Rewind.

"Mom—"

Rewind.

"Mom—"

Rewind.

"Mom—"

[AO3] [FFN]

#Danny Phantom #Ectober #EctoberWeek2020 #Rewind #Reveal Fic #Identity Reveal #Maddie Fenton #Jack Fenton #Character Death #sorry for the length #oneshot

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ask-purpled-and-blued · 3 years

Text

Vigilante

Not once has Purpled ever called himself a hero.

He wants that on record, wants to say it up front. He’s never had any delusions about what he is and what he’s doing.

He doesn’t have the license for it, doesn’t have the morals for it. He’s not even saving that many people.

He’s just some kid running around in pro hero cosplay with his shoddy homemade support gear.

So riddle him this: why the fuck is his vigilante name trending on Twitter under #Swag_forHeroCon?

(—This one’s got a high-stress moment and the briefest panic attack known to man somewhere in the middle. Mind the post’s tags and reply if it needs more.—)

—

It started about a year ago. It’s sophomore year and he’s looking at his options for next year’s classes.

Of course he’s taking AP Calc and everything he thinks colleges wanna see. That’s a given and a no-brainer and he’s not gonna go into detail about that.

No, what matters is that his junior and senior year let him take career classes.

Hero-related career classes.

Because not only is this a private nerd school that he needs his scholarship to afford. It’s a private nerd school that has a dual-enrollment type thing with a nearby heroics school.

And one with a pretty good support course that is now available to him.

He’s always been interested in math and engineering. Support courses are just using both of those to make cool shit for heroes and make hella money while doing so.

He’s done his research. Support gear can cost anywhere from a couple thousand dollars to an arm and a leg and both your kidneys.

And it’s his dream to make that kinda money.

So he talks to his counselor about it, fills out the applications and waivers, takes the program’s entrance exam. And within a week he’s got his new schedule that’s got an extra two hours slapped onto the end of the day.

It’s gonna be so worth it.

—

And it really was.

The beginning of the year was covering what they should make support gear for, how to take the quirks and ideas of the heroes they’re working for and make them actually work.

But also the design process, how to research stuff, lab safety. How to make something look nice while not compromising its utility, costume design, branding. Different materials and their uses, different materials and how to work with them. How to deal with mistakes and set-backs. Avoiding burnout and getting literally burn.

The class was amazing. But his favorite part came later in the year.

The final project.

They were given a made up hero student’s profile and were told to create a support item for them. The file came with their name, measurements, hero name, quirk description, and several sketches of what the fake person looked like and of them using their quirk.

They were given a few deadlines and some profiles came with design requests, but for the most part they were allowed to go ham.

And go ham he did.

His assignment was a kid whose quirk was being able to float just himself. He got a couple sketches of what the kid’s costume already had and it looked like there was a bee theme going on.

So, naturally, he decided to give this kid a pneumatic nail gun.

...

Alright so maybe that wasn’t as intuitive as he thought it was. But the kid didn’t have any sort of weapon on him in any of the sketches!

And there wasn’t any sort of close combat abilities listed in the biography like some of his classmates’s people had, so the further this kid could be from the action while still packing a punch the better.

Hence the nail gun he was designing to look like a stinger.

He did his research. Looked up where the body’s vital organs are and read up on acupuncture. Looked up the damage that stab wounds can do and how fast a thing had to be going to go right through you.

Printed out some human outlines and wrote up a couple sheets that pointed out the “no-no spots.” And basically wrote a manual on how to use the thing and half an essay on why certain safety features were implemented to keep him and the fake kid from being sued.

And then halfway through actually building the thing he got the idea to add a paralytic substance.

And then he hated himself a little bit because he had to find a substance that would be non-lethal and would have the desired affect. And then he had to go to his teacher during his office hours to sit down and explain that yes he had this idea but he’s not entirely sure if it’s a good one.

And he wrote another almost-essay about what he chose as the paralytic substance and why he chose it and what the max amount the average person could take was so that he wouldn’t be liable if it was used improperly.

And then he recorded himself reading all of his paperwork both for extra credit and because apparently the kid’s bio said he was dyslexic and the teacher wanted them to do this as realistically as possible.

Probably would’ve been easier to just change the font but he’s come this far, might as well go the extra mile.

He paints the thing. Gathers up all his research and his concept sketches and his blueprints and his explanations and his recordings.

And he dumps them on the teacher’s desk and enjoys the lull in the class as the final projects get reviewed and graded.

They get to watch movies and Netflix with the TA while the teacher sits in the other room grading them.

He loved this class.

—

He still loves the class but it loses points for the fucking heart attack it just gave him.

Apparently the hero students they made shit for we’re real hero students. Actual, physical people who applied to the heroics department and got in. And may possibly one day be heroes if they didn’t fail.

And were going to come in and see the shit they made that passed inspections. And would be given said shit to use as part of their hero costumes.

In hindsight it should’ve been obvious, but Purpled cut himself some slack there.

At least his guy was nice. A little too excited at 4pm on a Thursday, but given the fact that Purpled just handed him a gun and said he could shoot people, it was understandable.

Purpled felt really good as he walked this Tubbo guy through the instructions again. Apparently he’d already been sent the paperwork and the audio before this. So all that was left to do was remind him about it the important stuff and then taking five wide steps back and letting him shoot at a practice dummy.

...

Well, Tubbo’s aim wasn’t his problem.

F to any villains and civilians in his way.

—

At this point, there’s probably some confusion.

“Purpled, why did you become a vigilante if your support gear inventing future looked bright?”

He’s getting to that!

He needs to talk about his junior year to give context for his senior year.

Which sucked absolute ass.

—

For one, Purpled’s quirk came in.

Now, normally that would be a pretty good thing. Somewhere around 80% of America’s population had quirks.

Four out of every five people had some sort of ability or abnormality that ranged from being able to detach your ear to having super strength. Getting one that wasn’t detrimental to your health, even at his age, was generally a positive thing.

Except Purpled’s actually sucked. Sucked so fucking bad.

Yeah, he was lucky in that he didn’t suddenly grow gills and need to live underwater for the rest of his life or something. But he honestly wished he could go back to a week ago when he didn’t have this quirk.

When he wasn’t constantly being forgotten by the people in his life because of a quirk he couldn’t turn off.

If it wasn’t for the fact that the quirk counselor’s quirk let them detect the use of quirks, he would’ve thought he’d lost it.

People forgetting his face, his name, his existence over the span of a week was hell. He had to show his mother his birth certificate and social security card and his baby pictures so that she’s remember she had another son. Let alone everyone else in his life that he only saw at school.

Oh god his fucking school.

The lengths he had to go to to keep his fucking scholarship was fucking nuts.

Classes were a nightmare with the teachers forgetting about him by the end of the period.

Things eventually got easier when he realized it was an area of effect thing and that he could shorten it to affect people within a few feet of him.

From that point on he just had to social distance from people like his life depended on it. Because his social and academic lives did depend on it.

He didn’t experiment with his quirk beyond that though. He hated it. He did everything in his power to keep it as tightly controlled as he could.

Until the one time he didn’t.

—

He was out to get another notebook because he’d severely underestimated how many notes he’d need to take for one of his classes. It was just supposed to be a quick stop on his way home.

He’d sat on the bus home with his quirk pulled in tightly around him, the force of it a buzzing weight on his skin that he refused to let go of.

He got off at a stop that wasn’t his but was closer to the dollar store he had in mind. He honestly didn’t expect to take more than ten minutes.

Then a guy walked in and loudly told the cashiers to hand over the money.

Purpled wasn’t that close to the front, but he peeked around the aisle and watched the robbery unfold.

The dude had what looked like leaves for hair and was holding the cashiers at gunpoint. There were two of them at adjacent checkouts, neither of them with any visible mutations. They actually might not have quirks.

Purpled has no idea what to do with this information.

His best bet was to wait for the heroes to arrive and stay quiet-

One of the cashiers was looking right at him. Robber guy noticed.

Turned around and pointed his gun at Purpled. Told him to get out from where he was hiding and to kneel on the ground in the open.

And Purpled was scared. He couldn’t move, he’d frozen.

The guy got loud and mad and he still had the gun pointed at him.

Purpled was panicking. His chest felt too tight and his quirk was freaking out. Buzzing harder than it ever has.

He couldn’t hold it. He let go.

...

For a moment, everything was still and everything was quiet.

Purpled felt light, he felt more at ease than he had in months.

Because his quirk was free and loose and everyone else in the room looked so fucking confused. Like they had no idea what was going on.

Like they just forgot what was going on.

And then the heroes arrived. How they knew to be here was anyone’s guess.

Purpled should probably give his statement.

Purpled was probably in shock though. So he forgave himself for shoplifting and not pulling his quirk back in. For just walking right out of the store and down the street.

Nobody shouted at him or called him back, so he assumed they forgot he was there.

He wished he could forget he was in the store for that moment too.

—

There’s a lot of other little things that lead up to Purpled being a vigilante, but those things don’t matter as much.

He drops out. It’s not hard to make people forget he even went to school.

He regularly breaks back into school to steal tools and materials for his projects and just wipes the people who walk in on him doing that shit.

Makes a costume but scraps it and decides to make several replicas of the top twenty’s costumes.

Because he’s realized that the wider he makes his range the less of an effect his quirk has on all those in range. Vice versa.

So the pro gamer move here is to make people forget what they saw the person in the pro hero costume doing instead of trying to make them forget they saw an unfamiliar figure doing shit.

Memory is reconstructive after all. Easily manipulated even without a quirk like his.

And he’s good at making his costumes and altering his appearance.

He probably won’t always do a good job wiping people’s memories though, so he lets it stick that there’s a vigilante that impersonates pro heroes. One that constantly shifts their appearance.

He even gets bold and makes a name for himself.

Swag_.

...

Listen he didn’t say it was a good name-

—

He doesn’t stop a lot of crime. And the people he does save often think they were saved by someone else.

But there’s always that one moment after he managed to save someone where they look at him. And they see him.

And that’s worth everything.

It’s not a selfless motive. It’s not a heroic motive.

But it’s enough of a motive for Purpled.

—

He doesn’t know how he got a following. Doesn’t know how he never noticed.

But he likes it. After the initial shock of seeing himself trending fades, he lets himself soak up all the positive attention.

And then he gets back to work.

#text post #lore post #ask purpled and blued #vigilante!purpled #purpled #purpled bedwars #superhero Au #gun mention #tw gun mention #ask to tag #long post #not proofreading this one

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 5 years

Text

Humans are Space Orcs “Duct Tape”

I was challenged and the challenge was accepted. Thank you @cyberstrikebeast for the suggestion! Also thanks and credit to @impalalord for the original post where the idea was suggested to me, and the original inspiration.

https://impalalord.tumblr.com/post/187591145361/finds-duct-tape-humans-were-here

The intergalactic technology summit was an annual event, or at least it happened once every agreed cycle. Members of the GA excitedly brought forward their best advances in the past year to share with the convention center. This was the first year that the humans had been invited. Of course, at such short notice the humans had only been able to send a few delegates, who were ordered to ‘pay attention, take notes, and most of all, see if there is anyone who would be willing to let us test it out.

For that reason, Commander Vir of the UNSC accompanied Earth’s representative rocket scientist. At first, the two humans had been a bit wary of each other one being primarily a military man and the other being primarily a rocket scientist. First impressions were a bit deflated as the scientist assumed the big, muscular soldier would be bored, stuffy, and kind of dumb, while the soldier assumed the small, tweed-wearing scientist would be boring, stuffy, and kind of condescending. Of course, upon spending the next ten minutes with each other it turned out that geeks come from all walks of life, and by the time they reached the summit, a friendship was forming.

They stepped through the doors with their badges on and allowed both of their mouths to drop open. It was no secret that humans were not far on the end of the technology spectrum. In fact most of their gear was rudimentary if not laughable to other species like the Vrul or the Runid who used anti gravity systems instead of engines to propel their rockets into the sky. There were entire rows dedicated to the advancement of medical science which made humans look like an automobile chop shop where people go to get sequentially dismembered by rusty saw blades.

The Geek fest that followed would have been laughable for an outsider, but with the two of them it was simply a reason for excitement. They pranced about the convention, the rocket scientist asking dozens of questions in an attempt to understand the technology, while the soldier took every opportunity he could to test the object personally no matter how dangerous it may have been. Generally, together, they made a decent team, and the scientist came to find that the soldier was not, as it originally seemed, and idiot. Any technology involving aviation, despite him being a rocket scientist, was quickly overshadowed by the knowledge of this man, who had operated, fixed and MacGyvered most machines without a comprehensive knowledge of physics.

They were sitting down to lunch as the soldier was explaining, “And that’s why the T-8 doesnt work despite being good on paper simply because of human error. Its counter-intuitive and unless trained out of old habits, the pilot is going to crash it.”

The scientist frowned, “Well alright, but the T-8 system is the perfect model. It works with the least amount of energy drop-off, and can be cooled faster and more efficiently than other systems. Its use would revolutionize space flight.”

“And I get that obviously, its super awesome in theory, but I’m telling you the T-8 is not compatible to the way that pilots think, especially under stressful situations. The brain sort of goes back to its original programming while the T-8 forces you to do internal calculations, which is the reason that they constantly crash. I flew one once for like ten minutes and wanted to smash my head into wall after using it.”

“Well…. I suppose-”

“Try to automate the thing, and I bet a computer will fly it just fine, but keep out the human component-” At that moment, the scientist opened his mouth to speak when a group of aliens walked up from ne of the isles, a vrul, a rundi, a tesraki, and a finnari.

“Good morning humans, we are pleased to see that you were able to arrive today.”

The scientist squirmed in his seat nervous and out of sorts, but the soldier simply smiled and launched into his greeting with the ease of a born extrovert, “And it’s a pleasure to be here. I have to say that we are beyond impressed at what we have seen today.”

Together the aliens hummed in appreciation, “we are pleased to find that there is something we can do that you humans haven't already mastered.”

With a wave of his hand the human brushed off the complement returning it, “Please, you give us too much credit. Our science is practically in its infancy in comparison.”

They spoke for a few more minutes before the aliens paused looking at them expectantly. The scientists glanced over at the soldier with a confused expression which was unnervingly returned in equal measure.

“Well?” The Vrul wondered.

“Well what?”

“Well, where is your piece of technology. That is what this conference is for after all, to share your inventions with the world.”

Together the human’s hearts dropped into their stomachs and they glanced at each other with wide panicked eyes, “We were supposed to bring an invention?”

“Of course….” The aliens glanced at each other, “Do you no have one.”

“Well I n-”

“Of course we do! Just messing with you, obviously.” The scientist turned to look at the soldier with a panicked expression of warning eyebrows raised almost to his hairline.

“Don’t tell me you forgot about our invention, Dr. I mean it is one of the most important pieces of technology in human history.” He continued to glower in panic, what was this blabbermouth doing. It was like watching a man stand with a shovel in a hole seven feet deep and insist he wasn’t digging his own grave.

This was going to be the single most embarrassing moment of his career.

The soldier nudged his ribs, “You know, THAT technology.”

He cleared his throat in frustration and nodded, “Oh yes of course….. I’m sorry I just got so….. Excited that I blanked for a moment. Why don’t YOU show them. You are so much better at these things than me.”

“Er….” The soldier began, “Of course I will. Hold on and let me grab it real quick.” He stood up setting his bag on the table and then began rummaging through it.

The scientist put his head in his hands, unless he had an antimatter core shoved in his bag they were fucked.

The human held up a finger as the aliens looked on expectantly, “Hold on just have to find it first…..” The scientist felt as if he was about to puke. Then the soldier’s eyes lit up, and his face was crossed with a massive grin. “Ah there it is.” The scientist looked on in confusion

The aliens leaned forward as the human stood taller hand still shoved in his bag.

“What I am about to show you may well be one of the most important inventions is the history of humanity, Nay! The history of the galaxy, single handedly responsible for human innovation

Beyond the warp core, beyond life support and anti gravity, this is the single most important invention to ever grace the field of human scientific knowledge. Its application is endless as a multipurpose tool and is so adaptable it can be used for ANY, and I mean ANY application.”

The aliens sat wide eyed and the scientist leaned forward with bated breath. What could be so grand that the soldier could spin a lie like that and get away with it. He didn't appear to even be breaking a sweat.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and distinguished others, I present to you the….. The multifunctional Universal Unilateral Bonding Strop.” With a theatrical flourish worthy of a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, the soldier withdrew his arm from the bag and raised his hand high into the air, where light from the ceiling caught and reflected off its shiny silver surface….

“Duct-tape.” The scientist blurted in consternation. Voice cracking with near laughter and disbelief.

The soldier gave him a warning look and then nodded, “Yes, of course, Dr. More formally known as duct tape.”

The aliens gathered closer in curiosity, “It doesn’t look like much.” One of them pointed out

But the soldier looked at him with an expression of hurt consternation, “I assure you, it's everything I said it is and more, originally invented in 1943 by a Vesta Stoudt, who was trying to find an acceptable replacement for less durable cloth tape. It was originally intended for use in sealing ammunition boxes, but soldiers later determined that this little miracle could fix anything from achinery to boots, to weaponry. I guarantee you wont find a human that doesn't have some.”

He stepped forward proffering the material for closer inspection.

“What is it made from.” One of the aliens wondered.

The soldier paused then stammered, “Well I…. Um its made of.”

“Well it can actually be made of any number of things.” The scientists piped up, “It is very versatile that way. The woven fabric base can be made of anything from cotton to nylon to fiberglass, specifically designed for flexibility. The back was originally coated with waterproof polyurethane and then coated with the adhesive. The same process is generally used though there are many different varieties. The more plastic the adhesive backing, the more water tight and so can be used to stop leakes, repair pipes, seal gaps and any number of other applications. They even make a more durable reflective variety that is heat resistant, so can be utilized at high temperatures.”

He turned to glance at the soldier who was beaming openly at him, winking his one remaining eye before turning to the aliens.

“You said it can be used in all applications. Explain.”

“Well I am glad you asked.” The soldier began taking a deep breath, “I've personally seen it used to repair shoes, cars, machinery, pipes, clothing. It has the ability to incapacitate a human ...” He paused there to let that sink in, “It is used to make art, and clothing, hold things together, seal packages. In large concentration it is strong enough to hold a grown man off the ground. I’ve seen it used to make a boat, and once, an entire airplane, with additional equipment of course. Pretty sure someone made a cannon using it once, but that could just be a myth.”

“Point is.” Said the scientists, “Humans use this for everything, and though it is an old invention it is one that deserves to be shared across the galaxy.”

The Vrul crossed his arms, “That is a big claim to make for such an object.”

“Yes.” A Tesraki piped in, “You sell well, but business is business. If the product isn’t up to scratch than how can we trust it.”

“We must have a demonstration.”

The human grinned in response, “Well, I am glad you asked.” He held the roll of tape up picking at the edge with a fingernail before withdrawing a long strip. The sound it made was a satisfying sccriiiitch and then tear as he pulled a piece off sliding the roll over his hand to hold it on his wrist. He held the two ends between his fingers and flexed the strip between his fingers, “See completely and entirely flexible.

One of the aliens frowned, “I thought you said it was supposed to be durable, but you just tore it in half.”

The human frowned, “Well that is one of the great parts of this tape, tear it just right, and anyone can use it, but exposed to pulling or twisting forces it is difficult to break. Let me demonstrate.” He grabbed the piece of tape by either end and then began to wrestle with it. Instead of breaking the tape stretched and strained slowly pulling apart until eventually it snapped causing the human to stagger a bit.

“See now imagine multiple strips all working together.”

The aliens muttered. The scientist stared on in awe, they were actually coming around. He glanced towards the soldier with a look of disbelief. The bastard had done it, he had actually done it. Sold a 2,000 year old invention as the most important piece of technology in human history.

The soldier was grinning as he tore a few more strips from the tape handing them out, “Here take a pice, try it out for yourself.”

The aliens tentatively did as told and what ensued was an amusing spectacle of aliens confusedly trying to unstick the tape from their fingers, accidentally sticking it to themselves, and then begging for help in getting it off. A Vrul danced around in circle shaking his hand but the tape wouldn’t let go . This little show had drawn a crowd, and others came forward to curiously sample the strange human invention.

Warp reactors, and medical science was ignored in favor of the humans and their single roll of tape.

When they finally got the hang of using the sticky one sided adhesive the aliens suddenly became obsessed with what they could stick together. Chairs were hung upside down to tables, people’s hands were tied together. One of the Vrul was taped to the floor. The front doors to the convention were sealed shut.

Pandemonium ensued as tape was wrapped around anything that seemed even mildly broken.

To everyone’s surprise, a vrul who had recently received an injury to his helium sack, sealed the hole with a piece of tape, and was able to return to floating within a matter of seconds.

Somewhere in there the Commander and the rocket scientist lost sight of the role, only to find a rundi taped to the wall looking slightly beleaguered a few minutes later.

They stood together at the center of the convention floor staring around as aliens stuck things to other things, waved their hands about, and generally turned the center into a house of complete chaos.

The rocket scientist leaned in, “What have you done.”

Wide eyed the soldier turned to look at him with a grimace, “Er….. I have no idea.”

They looked around surveying the carnage made by one role of tape. There was a slight ripping noise and they turned to see the doors finally opening strings of cut tape billowing in the air rushing out onto the street. Drev security walked in accompanied by a Rundi oversee who paused in the doorway in consternation staring at the carnage.

Aliens everywhere, and two well-behaved humans standing in the middle of it.

He rubbed his eyes and rechecked as if he was seeing things. Generally when something like this happens you would expect to find the humans being destructive, not the other, generally mild species.

The soldier shrugged raising his hands in a ‘we had nothing to do with this’ sort of gesture. The rundi didn’t seem convinced.

It took several hours to deal with the aftermath, and it only stopped when a Tesraki returned to the soldier holding the cardboard center of the role looking saddened by it’s loss, “Do you have more.”

The soldier rubbed the back of his head, “Afraid you used my whole role, but I am sure we could come to an agreement about getting you some.” The Tesraki nodded in a subdued sort of way, handed him the used up role and then slunk away. The Rundi overseer glowered at him with an ‘i knew it’ sort of expression.

Walking out of the convention well into the night after being forced to help clean things up, the scientist looked over at his companion, “That was some serious silver tongue shit back there. How did you do it.”

The soldier simply smiled and shrugged, “Sort of just came to me.”

“If that hadn't worked, we would have been screwed.”

He waved a hand, “Nah, I wasn't worried.”

“Speak for yourself. I was close to pissing myself.

Just then the scientists phone began to ring. He was getting a patched in transmission from his superior back on earth and motioned the soldier to stay quiet. He answer the call and put it on speaker, “Yes sir.”

“I’m just calling to see how the convention went?”

“Uh….. well it went fine considering the circumstances.” The scientist stuttered.

There was a pause over the other end of the line, “What does that mean.”

He shuffled his feet nervously not entirely sure how to say this, “Well, as it turns out that being invited to this thing meant we were expected to bring an invention.”

He heard shuffling on the other end of the line and some muffled cursing, “Shit, I had no idea. I’m so sorry. How did you handle that mess?”

He scratched the back of his head feeling a smile broke out across his face, “Ur…. well lets just say we should make a note to the UN that, if anyone asks, duct tape is the most important piece of technology ever invented.”

#humans are insane #humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #humans are spaceoddities #earth is a deathworld #Earth is space Ausralia #HUMANS ARE WEIRD

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hyperfixationtimego · 3 years

Note

IDK IF YOU MEANT JUNKO IS HER GF AND BEST FRIEND BUT!!! Celeste/Kyoto friendship, they’re both man haters 💜 /j

I remember a game night thing back then, Clue reinvigorates Celeste’s interest in murder mysteries and she honestly impresses Kyoto when she tricks Togami into revealing his cards (mainly questioning his truthfulness/credibility)

After that, Kyoto and Celeste try to find videos, games, and books of murder mysteries to solve, but with Celeste able to figure out who’s lying and Kyoto’s detecting ability, they’re unstoppable. Junko likes to nitpick the murder mysteries too, even though she likely has no idea who the murderer is.

After a while of their regular things being too easy, one day they walk into the kitchen area to find Chihiro and Sonia (again no idea if this is in character but her cosplayers are always cute) putting some fake blood on Ibuki. Makoto is upsetting the area, like knocking over the knife holder and such. They’re super confused, until Makoto says (very unconvincingly) “:O someone killed Ibuki!!! you guys gotta figure it out”

That becomes the new regular thing, like every other week they make a new murder mystery for the two and they have to solve it (including the fact that some stuff will be inaccurate, and just how the group thinks it would happen). Peko isn’t that fond of it, but she’ll do it if Chihiro gives her the 🥺 look, and both Miu and Leon absolutely love the chance to play characters (I forgot her name but if Peko does it, Tsumugi/blue hair will do it too, she just prefers to be the victim) - queer eye anon

HDBSBSBS NO U WERE RIGHT I MEANT IT LIKE JUNKO’S HER GF AND KYOKO’S HER BEST FRIEND HDBSBSBD DON’T WORRY!!

and yes yes they are 😌

and also !! legit 👀 like. it pisses Togami off to no end (seriously, how did she do that?? how could he be tricked so easily???) but Kyoko’s like “,,,,,oh my god,,,,,,,,such manipulation,,,,,,,such incredible deductive skills,,,,,”

long story short kirigiri develops a squish (platonic equivalent of a crush) on this weird mean goth bitch and just starts hanging around her more often until eventually Celeste is like,,,,,,,,,fine, if I simply MUST adopt you as a best friend, I suppose I will, seeing as I have ABSOLUTELY NO CHOICE in the matter :)

so they start spending more time together, and Kyoko’s usually the one who’s like “hey I found another murder mystery thing we could try-” to which Celeste’s response tends to be more lighthearted “oh, very well, if I absolutely must-”

It’s incredible - no piece of mystery media stands a chance against them <3

also a little off topic and might be a bit ooc, but I think we should all consider buzzfeed unsolved!kyoko and Celeste because that just seems goddamn hilarious to me ndndbdbdbddbd

and BDBSB YEAH THEY’RE SO SWEET?? Makoto came up with the idea, but Sonia and Chihiro are absolutely essential to the operation as a whole.

Sonia’s interest in serial killers provides a necessary take for the psychological perspective of real life cases, so they know for certain it’ll be stimulating for the detective of the two, meanwhile Chihiro’s brainpower allows for both creative and logical placement of clues, red herrings, and more!

Plus, all three of them are absolute sweethearts that most people have trouble saying no to <3 (they’ve even gotten Byakuya to participate once or twice! Celeste and Kirigiri were both delighted and bewildered!)

THEY ALSO GET OUMA INVOLVED BECAUSE HE’S THE ONLY ONE THAT EVER GIVES CELESTE ANY TROUBLE IN DECIPHERING LIES FHSBSBDBSBS (she usually gets it right on account of her own luck, and if she gets it wrong, It tends to be either salvageable or ambiguous enough that she can pretend she was right and nobody can tell they were ever on the wrong track)

Miu pretends like she needs fujisaki, nevermind, and naegi to beg her for her participation, but she’s honestly more than willing because!!! She gets to yell and be loud and have fun and play weirdos!!!! And sometimes she even invents new things for practical effects, just ‘cause she can! And she knows it makes her friends happy!

Leon’s a pretty good actor until Celeste stares him down - then he immediately either loses his nerve or fucks something up ❤️

and dhsbsbdbsbdb Peko!!!! Peko and Fuyuhiko get involved because a) chihiro gave them both the 🥺 face, as you said, and b) fuyuhiko,,,,,,,thinks the concept,,,,,,,,is fun,,,,,,,👉👈 but shut up he’d never admit that!!!

Tsumugi makes costumes!!!! And totally loses herself in the roles!!! She gives the BEST performances, and Celeste and Kyoko are often left sitting there like “wow ok” because hdbdbdvdvdvdvdvddv????

They get Nagito involved a lot, both due to his luck and the fact that he’s very easy to convince (and often comes up with more cool ideas for the scene of the crime/evidence/general concepts!) though, if he’s involved, then Hajime needs to be as well, becauee everyone can only take maeda’s self-deprecating bullshit for so long until they need someone to shut him up hdbdbdbdb

Hiyoko acts like she thinks it’s dumb, but actually really wants to be included 🥺 👉👈 so mahiru takes it upon herself to “force” her into helping

Sakura and Hina love to help however they can! :D I don’t rlly have anything specific for them, I simply think they’re very cool and would be very eager to help because they love their friends <3

Sayaka is INCREDIBLE when it comes to thinking up “murder” plots! Motives, manipulation, the likelihood of certain actions being taken.....+ due to her high intuition, she’s able to discern what types of things kyoko and celeste prefer during their little games! She also provides insight into emotional response for the actors, which helps to make it a lot more immersive!

Mikan gets very very very nervous as a performer and is usually very unreliable in that aspect, but she gives pointers on whether or not certain wounds would be enough to kill a person! She also provides emphasis on vital organs and helps with anatomical accuracy!

Gundham adores being able to give monologues, and the three in charge of everything do their best to give him macabre, weird roles so he can speak and confuse the two girls to his heart’s content ❤️

if they ever need to talk to chiaki during an investigation, they usually need to wake her up, or get her to stop playing a video game (which she’s not supposed to be playing!!!!) in order to interrogate her (she also forgets a lot of the details and evidence she’s supposed to give them shdbsndbsnsb)

she also likes to give chihiro ideas for plots and things, though mostly uses her games as inspiration !

Shuichi and kyoko are friends so he’s like “yyyeah okay I’ll do it” and so by the same token, Kaede is automatically (and emphatically!) involved as well

Kirumi gets involved because if it’s a request, she’ll do it 💛 plus she kinda loves being involved with this stuff ngl jsnsbsn meanwhile ryoma is like this is dumb but if it’ll make u guys happy then I guess I have no choice

Maki’s pretty difficult to convince, ngl, but if kaito pesters her enough, she might drop by to give her two cents on some of the most plausible and effective methods of getting rid of evidence, as well as what she would do if she were in the position of the murderer (makoto and co. are like wow maki thank u very cool we are absolutely terrified)

shinguji makes it a point in the anthology to embarrass himself at the drop of a hat for his friends’ benefits regarding things like this, so they’re obviously in hbdbdbd plus they love being able to study kyoko and celeste’s behavior while working on each “case,” because without a doubt they are two of the most interesting specimens of human thought patterns and processes he’s ever SEEN <3

since it’s for the sake of two girls, Tenko’s very excited to do whatever Sonia or Chihiro asks of her (she’ll do things that Makoto asks, too, but it takes some convincing....) and Himiko.....isn’t a particularly convincing liar to begin with, but her experience with stage trickery comes in handy pretty often! (though they have to practically drag the information out of her shdbsndn)

Angie agrees to participate on the grounds that all of her characters get to bring up and endorse Atua. she gets picked for murder victim quite a lot bsbssbdb

also highkey 👀 the canon cases get re-enacted at some point (for the first game’s third case, they actually let Celeste be in on it as a little treat for Kyoko! it was absolutely bonkers and they both had literally so much fun!!!)

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astrology-with-charu · 3 years

Text

New Moon at 23º Pisces and 2022 Preview

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New Moon in Pisces brings an opportunity to all of us to mutate, to change, shift, see a new perspective. The last two weeks of Virgo full moon brought up tasks to finish, problems to address, order to be maintained, health to take care of, responsibilities to cater to. We move from there to the opposite side to give the situation another perspective.

I find Pisces perspective always the end of the life scenario but not the morbid kind, more of if you were at the end of life would you be doing this, would you be holding onto this, would you be making enemies or showing compassion. Different perspective same problems. Adding color of love and enjoyment to life. Colouring daily chores, making an uninviting prospect into fun production.

Bookmark this post - http://emailabuddy.com/blog/?p=936

Try to give it an aim over next two weeks so you can seed this and see it grow over next 6 months. Writing, advertisement, marketing, service in healing, life coach, theatre, inspiration, art, music, drama, dance, video, telepathy, entertainment, love, care, devotion, deep sensuality, meditation, philanthropy, films, media, psychic signs, channeling, psychology, naturopathy, self development, volunteering, gardening, paranormal interests, hidden mysteries of life - so many ways to activate & honour this ethereal energy which would stimulate your imagination.

Imagination fuels invention right now, lateral thinking opens a door to something rational. Pisces sitting in between the Sagittarius south node and Gemini north node activates the need to balance the left brain and right brain. Things that seem like creative distractions or even self indulgence can help create specific oneness of focus and bring a much needed bend in the road much like a yoga session, meditation, a swim, emotive music or art does.

Venus Neptune Conjunct New moon

==============================

I will though warn on financial and romantic matters - we could be very much idealising some financing and romantic situations - no muss if you do it flexi Pisces style and stay open to possibilities of things changing. Pisces always see the world that should exist in our dreams cause they are here to create heaven on earth but we should remember this during financial and romantic declarations right now we could be walking thin line.

I always say with Neptune aspect Idealise life not people - idealise the life path, the synchronicity that got you to the right person the right time, the right money, value, creative idea at the right time. Idealise your life path not the person you meet on the path. He or she may not be perfect but your life path is - it’s giving you who you need in that moment.

Heaven or Hell

============

All dual signs have the superpower to create heaven or hell - they can divert their immense ability to change directions and situations to shift the current in either direction. Pisces archetype do that with emotions and intentions.

23º Pisces in Sabian symbols stands for “A Materialising Medium giving a seance” This new moon gives opportunity to each one of us to induce our vital energy to substantiate either our conscious ideals or our unconscious desires. If you feel you have a gift, a mission, a mandate in life - we all do - a gift that can be of value to community - you and me need to substantiate that belief with results. In the seance the medium gives her everything - her body, her energy, her soul to what she is creating. There is an underlying sacrifice of self always embedded in Pisces - Neptune life. People don’t acknowledge this fact too many times, but Pisces face many unexplained circumstance in life that don’t allow them to live on the surface. They learn this devotion to life’s meaning and have very clear knowing of life’s fragility. This is realism but not the kind Virgo archetype holds or shines on - this is realism of life - of understanding of life - the kind of understanding & clarity normal humans only get at the end of life of what really matters. Soul enlightenment. Now from that place - what would you create - what you give your life energy to, all of it. All consuming that will survive death of body.

Duality though gives us two roads - heaven or hell - constructive aspect leads to substantiation of a dream an ideal. Shadow aspect leads to deception - sometimes self delusion. What is the motive induced into your seance cause that would determine what we create.

You will seek something beyond your daily experience - we may not know where it is leading. Intuition and faith is a muscle and Pisces new moon helps us flex it strengthen it with a practice. Saddle of Pegasus the winged horse is what the star Markab is called at 23º Pisces. A steady point within us - which helps us go to bigger things - a steady force within you from which will come focused action, knowledge, learning and a new world view of service. We would look at old problems with new glasses, new prespective. We find our saddle in Pisces practices - yoga, meditation, swimming, art, fashion, creation, music, emote - all things that balance our left brain and right brain. That shake off the rigidity, opening our muscles, our body, our chakras - releasing trapped energy - inviting fresh energy of upcoming fire season - new vitality in each part of our body.

2019-2020-2021 : The bridge

=======================

I see 2020 as the bridge between 2019 and 2021 - most of the new moon full moon we are in process of right now - we went through those degrees of activations in 2019. Like this new moon is happening close to the degree of full moon in Sept 2019. So if anything was completed, ended, declared, announced in Sept 2019, you will get a new perspective on it now and you will make a different choice. 2020 changed the structure of our existence, the rules we follow of our life that help us decide the forward course. So when presented with similar choices, you would choose differently now.

2022 Next Cycle

===================

Neptune would go retrograde at this degree of new moon on 25th June 2021 so some of the idealistic quality of this new beginning will come for discoveries after that - there will be things we would be missing right now. Neptune retrogrades opens those blind spots to us so we have that coming and we should be ready for that. Some of the demystifying idealism is coming up in June - we would be a bit rosy in March but thats part of the charm of Pisces - live a little dream and creativity is killed if its bombarded with reality checks. But in financial matters know that we may not have the full picture.

Jupiter the planet of expansion is moving into Pisces fully after 28th Dec and it will meet Neptune at yes at this spot on 12th April 2022 which would be a outer planet meet colouring global events of 2022. This is a once in 166 years of divine cycle when optimism hits up our dreams and inflated expectations are very much at root of this cycle. We are seeding that cycle right now with this new moon so a bit of inflated expectations are in. But so are prospects for creative genius, compassion, inspiration, positive thinking, divinity. In 1856 when this cycle was last seen in Pisces - Sigmund Freud was born; Frank Baum the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was born ...Robert Peary who claimed discovery of North Pole was born... I can go on... Nikolas Tesla was born - creative genius underlines this cycle which is about to begin in 2022.

But there would also be delusional leaders, bad intention false hopes and inflation which would come with this. Seeds of that also is being planted now in inflated expectations and idealism. This cycle has deep implications for change in religion and spirituality. Also on weather patterns especially linked to floods, hurricanes - the Last Island Hurricane in US which destroyed Last Island was part of last cycle as was a massive church explosion. This was also first year when the Third Party in US called “Know nothing American Party” fought elections. Seeds of American civil war were grown in this cycle as well back in 1856.

End of March - Mars Conjunct North Node

==================================

Mars will be in Gemini for 6 months next year when it would be making a hard aspect to both Jupiter and Neptune. Infact Mars would in conjunction with North Node end of March on 26th March. Words would be said. Last time Mars in Gemini Conjunct North Node was in Jan 2002 - Axis of Evil speech. So time after 21st March when Mars comes close to Rahu or north node and it goes out of bound, it would give us immense energy to get over our fears, its fearless strength which helps us go beyond our bounds but it also makes us go beyond our bounds in words - we can get a bit impulsive reckless and hurtful - be careful of that around 26th March and we would see that pan out in public sphere. World’s most famous whistle blower - Edward Snowden was born with this aspect so you know what I am talking about - we will hear about it in news. But I do expect another Axis of Evil speech from US on Russia with this aspect possibly. Words have power and force and they can be used for intellect at work or imbalance in world.

As I said all dual signs have super power of ability to create heaven or hell - for Gemini that super power is in words. Channel this immense superpower wisely during this time.

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syms-things-5 · 4 years

Text

Clear The Area - Chapter Fifteen (Part Three)

Previous chapter here

Warnings: language, some suggestive sexuality, and some good old angst

Tags: @jennmurawski13 @kelbabyblue Thanks for the support!

Notes: Hope you enjoy this, and apologies for my poor spelling and grammar.

Chapter Fifteen: Part Three

She woke up earlier than him.

It was half six when she stepped into the shower having given up on her sleep. It had been a hot, rather uncomfortable night and the aircon barely broke a chill through the suite.

It was taking some getting used to, this sharing a bed, especially with someone who insisted on snuggling into the back of her. Sarah wasn’t much of a cuddler and Chris knew this. She would much rather wrap herself up in blankets and drift off to sleep but it didn’t stop him from slowly inching his body towards her throughout the night. It was a case of putting up with it for fear of falling off the end and breaking something.

She barely moved under the shower head except to allow the water to rain down on her skin and hopefully liven her up for the day. She was anxious, more anxious than she anticipated she would be. She was always able to keep her cool under test conditions, probably why she became a nurse in the first place, but something about this particular exam was hitting differently and she wasn’t sure why.

She eventually got dressed and went back into the bedroom to sort her hair. He would be annoyed she’d woken up before him now that he had decided he was single-handedly responsible for all her breakfast needs that week. Admittedly, though, it felt nice being looked after in this way. Really, really nice. It was like having her own PA.

He was sleeping flat on his stomach, one leg poking out from underneath the covers. He had wrapped his arms around a pillow and his low snore was rumbling through the warm air in the room. It was confusing how anyone could find that position comfortable and not wake up having lost all feeling down one side of his body. His back muscles were relaxed but still resembled something Michelangelo could only dream of painting. He was, in all honesty, a ridiculous specimen of a man. A man that told her he wanted her to get some good rest and sleep as much as possible. Who had closed her textbooks, ran her a hot bath, and climbed in behind her to massage her shoulders. Potential lingered in the air last night but he was going to stick to his word and not get in the way of her work. He told her he was glad he was with her and happily settled for stroking her hair as she fell asleep. Her head was lying on his chest but when she felt his heartbeat settle and his arms loosen around her, she softly rolled away from him like he knew she inevitably would.

At various times, they found themselves getting into a very comfortable and, dare she say it, enjoyable routine. It was surprisingly easy to do so when the door was locked. He had used the hotel gym to give her some peace for a few hours each morning. He had kept her fed and hydrated when she would have most likely forgotten both having had her nose stuck in her books for hours on end. He had watched daytime television in the bedroom and failed to hide his tears when a charity had rebuilt an elderly man’s home following a flood. When she asked, he had helped to test her using the notes she’d prepped for the exam. He read scripts as soon as they had landed in his inbox. His team was politely shocked at his new-found efficiency.

When they weren’t fooling around on the sofa in the evenings, she had taken a break to read over some lines with him. While at first he was very kind and promising with his notes, especially with some kissing scenes he’d invented, they both knew she was definitely not suited for a life in front of the camera.

“Don’t overthink it too much. Just go with your instincts.” he encouraged her to continue reading with him for fun but she had given up when he had fallen into a fit of laughter as she attempted to arrest him.

“Yeh, no, my brain doesn’t really work like that.” she responded, holding up her hands in defeat.

“Please? I’m sorry, I promise I won’t laugh.” he pleaded. “Again.”

It was easy to get used to having him around but she finally realised how and why women fell for him hard. There was something very childlike about him, something innocent even if he was anything but when they dimmed the lights. He was gentler and quieter than she knew him to be, less sure of himself at times than perhaps the impression he wilfully gave away to the public. She heard the criticisms he levelled at himself when reading his lines out loud and saw first-hand the pressure he placed upon himself where his career was concerned. But for every committed step them took forwards as they learned more about each other, even after all these years, something started to pull her back.

“Hey...”

She was broken from her contemplation by his groggy drawl. He turned on to his side and laid his hand in the space she had previously occupied. One eye had yet to open and his hair was pointing in all different directions.

“It’s far too early to get up, y’know.” He stretched his arm out to connect with her leg curled up underneath her as she looked back at him. “Oh shit. I forgot. Is it really this morning already?”

She stayed looking at him from where she was sat before nodding. “I should only be a couple of hours but I’ll swing by that bakery down the street and pick us up something nice for lunch. They do those almond croissants you like.”

He sighed, taking her in and smiling. She’d tied her hair in a side plait and was wearing a slightly fluffy striped sweater that he wanted to run his hands over. “Yeh, that sounds really nice, Bernette.” He didn’t miss a beat. “I could meet you afterwards? We could go for a walk through the Park?”

“I might just want to come home and cry.”

“Hey now, you’re gonna ace this test. I can feel it.” He was fully awake now, purposeful in his movements towards her to help put her mind at ease. “if I was your patient, I would be ecstatic to have you working on me.”

She chuckled to herself. He was always so confident expressing himself. She was jealous of that. She wished she could be as confident and as sure of herself, like the rest of the family were. It was one thing in her that stood out in stark contrast.

“What have you eaten? I didn’t hear any room service.” He probed, a serious look now glazing over his features.

“Oh it’s fine, I’ll grab something on the way. I’m not all that hungry to tell you the truth.” She tried to brush off his protests but it only served to make him more concerned.

“You’ve got time yet, let me order something up.” He made for the phone but was stopped as she got up from the bed. “You need to eat something, Sarah. You’re gonna be sat there for hours. I don’t want you passing out.”

“Alright, thank you, Dad!” she laughed. “It’s fine! This is not my first exam. I know what it’s like and I promise you I will get something from Starbucks on somewhere else on the way.”

“You’re going now?!”

“Yeh, I could do with a walk to clear my hear. I always found that helpful when back in school.” She was talking from the lounge as she tried to locate her boots. Something else Shanna had chucked into her suitcase without her realising, but she wasn’t as annoyed with this one.

“Give me ten minutes and I’ll come with you.”

She re-entered the bedroom to find him rifling through his bag for new clothes. “Why?”

“Because I wanna support my girlfriend! Jesus!” He was sharper than he had intended but carried on with his search for fresh boxers, throwing out some old stuff in haste like he was searching for long lost buried treasure.

She just looked at him. He’d never used that word before. They’d never talked about it. He acknowledged her silence and stopped to look at her, jeans in hand. He saw her awkward stance and instantly felt like shit. This was not the morning to lay this on her. He knew the very next words out of his mouth would determine how they moved forward.

He paused before chucking his jeans on the chair in front of him. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” she responded but she wasn’t sure it was.

“If you wanna head off, that’s totally cool. I’ll be here if you need me. Just text me when you’re done, yeh?”

She nodded at him, offered him as reassuring a smile as she could manage before leaving the bedroom to gather her things. He didn’t follow her; she heard the bed creak slightly so he must have chosen to stay put instead. It was probably for the best. She didn’t want the image of his pitiful face to be her last memory before sitting in silence for 90 minutes, trying in vain to concentrate as hard as she could.

The test went about as well as expected, if what she had expected was to doubt her basic entry-level abilities. She was one of seven that morning, six if you discount the gentleman that walked out fifteen minutes after he sat down.

It was multiple choice. It really shouldn’t have been that difficult. The answer was hiding in plain sight after all. She was reminded of something her tutor once told her and her graduating class before they left the relative comfort of their college:

“There will always be someone who knows more than we do.”

He didn’t mean it in a disparaging way - at least she didn’t think he did - but more that you go from being one of the best in your class to being surrounded by people who are equally as bright and as intuitive as you may be, and who will all have had different experiences. He wanted to say that sometimes, there is no one right answer. It was more than passing a test and qualifying; you have to adapt. You had to soak everything up like a sponge or else you risk becoming redundant in the very profession you devoted your life to. No wonder Medicine had the highest quit ratio. Boy, had she been naive.

Shanna 11.41am: OK OK I kno ur probably still super busy bt i’m dying to kno how it went?? Txt me when you get a sec babe xxxxx

She smiled down at her phone before typing a series of vomiting emojis. That should just about sum up her feelings. Scanning her phone again, she found a couple of messages from Audrey but none from Chris. She was surprised but would be lying if she didn’t admit to being relieved.

She meandered down the street towards the subway, thoughts swaying between reliving stupid mistakes she had convinced herself she had made, to what kind of mood Chris might be in. She texted him that she was finished and heading back like she promised she would, then the train was bang on time so she didn’t even have the luxury of blaming delays. Her legs weighed like lead as she approached the suite doorway, her lack of sleep the night before finally catching up with her.

Everything was deathly quiet when she entered. She paused after shutting the door behind her but still couldn’t hear anything. Certainly no trace of another person being present. Confused, she walked into the bedroom and found a note left on the comforter. He’d gone to the gym and told her to message him when she got back. This might give her the excuse she’d been seeking to grab five minutes alone.

She flopped on to the bed and turned to the side to catch the pile of notes and textbooks he’d shoved there the night before. So much promise contained in those few pages. So much knowledge that it felt like she had no business attempting to absorb it for her own personal gain. Many highly accomplished physicians and scientists had bound their entire lives to the duty of finding answers to the human body’s potential for extreme trauma. What exactly would a young, angst-ridden girl from Michigan bring to the table?

The door went a few moments later and she realised she had closed her eyes. She was lying on her back with her legs hanging off the end of the bed as he walked in, slightly sweaty but nevertheless a sight for sore eyes. Seeing him in this state was the nicest thing that had happened to her all day and she regretted their tense conversation earlier.

“Dude...” he muttered as he dropped his towel on the chair by the door and joined her on the bed. He flopped down alongside her with a heavy sigh.

“Good workout?” she finally offered.

“Yeh, all good. Nothing too strenuous.” He replied like it was the most normal conversation in the world. “Good exam?”

“Oh yeh, same.” she replied just as casual as him before they both fell into a fit of giggles.

“Wanna talk about it?” he asked after they had both calmed down.

She took a deep breath. “Not really.”

“You want me to guess?”

“Chris...”

“What?” his voice was a little whinier than he would have liked at this particular time. “I know you. You’re writing yourself off before you know what’s happened.”

“Who said I was writing myself off?” She pushed back. “It’s normal to feel like this. It’s just...nerves or whatever.”

“Yeh, well, there’s no point worrying about something twice.”

She didn’t want to talk about this right now. She was silently hoping he would make a move on her after refraining from touching her the night before when she was definitely in the mood for him. “It’s just...it’s hard to explain.” She got up from the bed and shuffled into the bathroom to remove what little make-up she had put on that morning.

“Try and tell me about it. What was it like? How many questions were there? How many people turned up?”

She threw the face wipe in the bin and ran the tap water to wash her hands. She knew he wasn’t going to budge from his trajectory. She knew he wasn’t going to stop picking at her to talk about it. She leaned her hands on the marble top and took a deep breath.

“It was harder than I imagined it would be. I think I just froze. Like, basic stuff I do day in and day out just wasn’t coming to me.”

“If doing auditions has taught me anything it’s that you always think you’ve done worse than you have. It’s just natural. The brain works in strange ways sometimes. It can trick you.” he reasoned, finally moving into the bathroom but not daring to reach out to her. He settled for backing up against the wall inside the doorway.

“I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be a good result, thought.”

“You don’t know that for sure.” He spoke softly, comfortingly. “You’re so smart and so capable of doing this. You just gotta believe in yourself.”

She nodded in acceptable of what he was trying to say and looked at him face-on. His brow was defined with those worry lines again which made feel a little crap, but he still had a boyish shine about him, no doubt because of the glow from his workout. She would have been a heaving red mess.

“What are you thnking about?” he asked.

She continued studying him, trying to arrange her thoughts. “Is this all there is to life?” she asked after another moment had passed. “You find something you like to do and that’s it, you just coast for 40 years?”

He contemplated her question for a second. “Yeh. Pretty much.”

Sarah huffed out a laugh, not fully appreciating his brutal honest at this moment in time.

“But not everyone is lucky to even get that far.” He moved into the bathroom to stand closer to her. “People can go years with no real clue of what it is they wanna do. You’re one of the lucky ones, Sarah. You figured it out when you were young, you did what you had to do and now you’re doing it for real. That’s less common that you think.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate what he was trying to do, it’s just that often she had multiple anxieties convincing her of the opposite. It’s easy for him to say this, he’s already at the top of his game. He doesn’t have to other with the real world if he doesn’t want to. Most people don’t have the financial luxury of stopping to retrain as something different and Chris had always alluded to quitting acting while he was still young in order to take up something else, like carpentry or simply staying behind the scenes. He always figured he would stop when he had his first child but the reality for everyone else couldn’t afford them that same privilege.

“You are where you’re supposed to be.” He continued. “I don’t believe there is anyone better qualified at what it is they do than you. I believe that and I believe that you know that, too, deep down. You just gotta find the other stuff that keeps you happy in the meantime. Whatever it is that keeps you going.”

“What makes you happy?”

He smiled at her. “Well...what you see if what you get. Family, football, beer. Not necessarily in that order.” He was glad she was smiling again. “Spending time with the people I love. Recognising that I love them and that they love me back and that that love is wonderful.”

“You’re so lucky you don’t second guess yourself all the time.”

“Oh, believe me, I do.” he impressed. “It’s just that I learned some things a few years ago that helped me now. Like taking a deep breath and letting it wash over you. It’s natural to feel doubt but it’s what happens afterwards that really matters. It’s how we choose to perceive the things that happen to us, and how we move forward.”

“Anything has gotta be easier than feeling like this.”

“It’s not always a good thing. Sometimes you have to wait for other people to catch up.” He leaned onto the counter next to her, the mirror in front of them spotlighting them both and making them both appear a little pathetic in their current gait.

“I should start packing.” She whispered after a few more silent moments had passed by.

Neither of them made the effort to move but check-out was 2pm at the latest if Chris had bought it and she was almost certain he had. She would eventually need to make her way to the station and presumably Chris would simply head home in his car. Back to Boston. Back to reality.

“We still have some time. We could order up some lunch if you want to? I’m not entirely convinced you ate anything this morning.”

She watched him in the mirror as he turned to face her, a sterner look in his eyes. He was pretty certain he could read her face this time and her lip-bite told him he was right.

“Or we could do something else with the little time we have left.” He reached out his hand to touch hers, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. She didn’t more away so he chanced his arm and pulled her closer to him before kissing the inside of her palm and wrist. “It was so hard last night.”

She smirked at him before it dawned on him. “I mean...you know what I mean.” He rolled his eyes. “It was hard for me to lie so close to you and not touch you. I really meant what I said, about you getting a good night’s rest but fuck me, it was difficult.”

“I know. It was hard for me, too.”

“We don’t get this kind of time together,” he looked down at her hands, held tightly in his. “And I’ve really, really enjoyed myself. I feel more normal around you. I can’t explain it.”

“It’s OK. You don’t need to say anything.”

This was the type of conversation Sarah would ordinarily run a mile from had it been with anyone else. Chris seemed to understand as well as he stopped himself from talking some more. She was being held in place by the literal limited space around her as he planted himself in her way. He looked down at her causing her to freeze up and, mentally, she began checking if she could feel her feet.

She slowly ran her hands up and down his arms in an attempt to sooth him. She saw him glance down at her lips and she hoped he would end the silence by kissing her but there was no such luck. He was trying to figure something out but what, she didn’t know. He was waiting for her next move.

“I don’t think we’ve thought this much about what happens, when...” he paused, gauging her for a response or an indication that she was OK with what he was about to say. Perhaps even anticipating it in some way. “Sarah, I have these feelings for you and they’re getting stronger and these past few days have told me that I’m right. Do you know what I mean?”

She did know. She didn’t much want to know, but she did. “Let’s pause this and figure it out another time, yeh?” He hands rubbed up to the rest of his shoulders. “Let’s just enjoy this while it lasts. There’ll be another time for talking.”

He wasn’t convinced but assuaged enough to kiss her again, a little harder this time. His hand slipped into her hair to hold her to him and she responded by wrapping her arms around his neck. They had time.

She should have known he would have had the idea to drive them both back home. Yes, there was no need for her to sit on a busy commuter train for three hours but still. She did almost say yes but she would feel awkward asking him to drop her off blocks away from her home and he would inevitably disagree and they’d argue. Not argue per se. They never really argued, but it would become a thing and she didn’t have the heart to disappoint him a third time that day.

They were in happy moods by the time they checked out. All ideas of having a more serious conversation had evaporated quickly after she pushed him onto the bed and climbed on top of him. He had them both naked in record time even for him, and she made a point to memorise his face and the rush of red through his skin when she watched him cum hard underneath her.

She’d bought him a coffee from the cafe bar inside the reception and he’d thanked her with a gentle peck on the lips before slipping away via the underground garage, ball cap pulled down low over his eyes. She felt the light bruises form on her thighs and smiled to herself at the memory of where his hands had been when she walked into the apartment to find Shanna in tears. She froze on the spot.

“Oh my god, what the hell happened?” Finally finding her voice when registering the scene in front of her. Sarah dropped her bags and ran to the couch to wrap an arm around her friend. “Why are you crying?”

“I didn’t think you’d be back so soon. Sorry, I’m...” Shanna tried to gather her thoughts. “It’s stupid really. I don’t even know what I’m crying.”

“Well, it’s not stupid. It’s obviously something because it’s made you upset.” She pulled her hand inside the sleeve of her hoodie and used it to wipe away her tears. “Do you wanna talk about it? Is it something I can help with?”

“Not really.” This wasn’t the feisty Shan Sarah knew. “Turns out Robbie wasn’t interested in me after all because he’s asked somebody else out. I should have known really. He definitely wouldn’t be interested in me.”

“Oh love,” Sarah empathised.

“It’s not even like I was really all that bothered about him, honestly.” She continued. “It’s just, it’s been a while since someone decent asked me out on a date, y’know? Someone smart who had potential. Normally, they have to be drunk to even approach me and they just end up being dickheads. All of them.”

Knowing Shanna as well as she did, she knew Shanna wouldn’t appreciate an empty platitude. “I think it happens to the best of us. You should hear some of the tales Audrey has. She’s experienced some crazy shit.”

“Yeh? How did she meet Michael?”

“She didn’t make it easy for him that’s for sure!” she chuckled and felt relief at the grin now showing on Shan’s face. “The way she tells it, she stopped looking. Just stopped going to bars and clubs, spent more time doing the things she enjoyed and more time with her friends and family. Randomly met him at a march in the city, can you believe that? He wasn’t even supposed to be there but his brother dragged him along apparently.”

“I think she was right to concentrate on her friends and family. I should take a leaf out of her book. At least you can count on them to keep you sane.”

A sense of unease found its way into Sarah’s head. “Yeh, definitely. You never know when a good thing will strike and maybe this shows you that you know what you don’t want anymore. That’s gotta be a positive thing, right?”

“Yeh, it just feels a bit crap but I’ll probably feel better in the morning.” Shanna got up from the couch and Sarah sense it was more so to hide a few more tears. “I got some wine earlier, do you fancy a glass?”

“Uh yeh sounds good. I’ll just go and sort my stuff out.”

“Oh fucking hell!” Shanna smacked her hand to her face. “I’m so sorry! How did it go?”

Sarah held her bag loosely in her hand, her attempt at making a quick getaway to her room without discussing the exam a failure. “Oh, it was what it was. I won’t find out for a little while so no point worrying about it twice, right?”

“Huh, you sound just like Chris.” Shanna said before walking back into the kitchen. “I’m sure you did great, though. You always do.”

“Thanks.” She carried on to her room to dump her stuff. She would sort it out tomorrow. Right now, she figured Shan would want to get a little bit drunk and Sarah was on a late tomorrow anyway, so...it wouldn’t do them any harm.

“Hey, Sarah?” Shan called from the kitchen.

“Yeh?”

“Who did you have coffee with?”

Confusion set in as Sarah tried to figure out what Shanna was talking about. She peered her head round the door. “What?”

“Coffee today?” Shanna responded, holding a crumpled piece of paper in her hand. “This dropped out of your coat, I think. Coffee for two?”

Confusion quickly turned into full-blown panic as she realised what she had done. Fuck. “Oh, um, I just...” She stumbled over herself and felt her skin redden and get hotter. She must have looked a sight. “Um...it wasn’t...”

“Hey, listen, you don’t need to explain anything.”

“Oh no that’s not what it is-”

“-At least one of us is having better luck in the romance department.”

“Shan, it’s not-”

“-I’m so glad you and Greg are getting on well.” Shanna handed over the receipt to Sarah before regarding what must have looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. “I mean that. He seems nice and you absolutely deserve to have some fun for a change. I know I haven’t been very supportive of this whole thing with Charlotte but I worry about you a little bit sometimes. After everything that’s happened, I guess I just didn’t wanna see you hurt again.”

Sarah was frozen to the spot. Numb. Shanna had put two and two together and thought the best of her friend. Sarah didn’t deserve that.

“He seems like he’s being really supportive right now and being the person that I should perhaps be. I will try to be better, I promise.” Shanna apologised.

Sarah looked down at the slip of paper in her hand and then to the floor, a little bit of feeling starting to return to her legs. “Shan,” she started quietly, so quietly that she missed it entirely and when she looked back up, Shanna was walking back into the kitchen.

“I mean it. You’ve always been amazing to me. Picking me up when I need it and looking after me. Everyone says I take you for granted sometimes and they’re absolutely right so I just wanted to say that I will back you up 100% from now on. No excuses. You and me against the world, right?”

Shanna flashed her a broad and hopeful grin and all Sarah could do was return a limp version in response.

“Let’s get that wine opened and you can tell me all about it.”

Shanna disappeared into the kitchen again. If she had stayed a second longer she would have seen tears form in Sarah’s eyes at the knowledge that she screwed everything up. She and Chris had diverted a conversation on the promise of having it another time but that was never going to happen. Not now.

How could it?

#Chris Evans #Sarah Bernette #chris evans x original female character #clear the area #evans fic #chris evans fic #fanfiction

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clowite · 3 years

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What's your favorite thing about each of your friends?

Everyone???? B-because, um, that's a lot of people!

But I'll try my best!

Syaoran-kun worries about everyone, even when nobody asks him to! He cares so deeply about everyone and everything. Every person he meets leaves a mark on him just as much as he leaves a mark on them.

Kurogane-san knows when to step in, but never treats anyone like a child. He lets people figure things out for themselves, but does his best to make sure nobody gets hurt. We have met deities who treat people with less respect than he does, even when he tries to be all gruff about it.

Fai-san has such ambition to try new things! Even before things happened in that world he came from, he was always living life as if there were always new things to explore, new things to fall in love with. New recipes to try, new technology to tinker with, new people to meet! There's always a new experience waiting to happen!

Moko-chan is so funny! Of course, um, Mokona-chan has many other qualities, like Moko-chan's 108 secret techniques, but those aren't secrets I can just write on my blog (even if they are super special)! When we first met- or, when I first woke up along the journey, I used to be worried that Moko-chan was pushing too hard on the jabs with Kurogane-san- but it turned out Moko-chan knew what Moko-chan was doing all along. Is that another technique! Oh, gosh.

Tomoyo-chan is so creative! I don't know how she does it! Every time I hear word of her, she's invented new things, or designed new outfits, or thought up elaborate schemes of weddings galore! It's embarrassing sometimes, having all that attention on me, but her creativity is a magic of its own!

Yuuko-san has such wit and intuition! Sometimes, I can't tell if I'm being taken advantage of in a situation, and I think of how Yuuko-san would do it. She always has quips to reply to people with, or knows what people want before they even ask for it, or knows just what to say. How can she know what balances out the universe from her shop? Was it a learned skill or is it a type of magic I don't know?

Watanuki-kun's best quality is..

Chii-chan was so.. umm.. innocent, but not naïve. She just assumed the best of everyone, like it was beyond her that someone wasn't a naturally good person.

Chitose-san is another creative type! Did you know Outo Country was apparently a virtual world? I didn't find out until much later. That's amazing, everything felt so real!

Yukito-kun is so.. tolerant. Um. There's a lot I could write here, but my favorite quality is how he can occupy Touya's time so he stops pestering me instead! I'm not going to terrorize Clow once I become High Priestess! But I might terrorize him just because I can!!!!

Masayoshi-kun was so kind. I didn't know him very much, but he stopped into the cafe a few times. He always had such nice things to say about all the other demon hunters, even if he doubted his own skills a lot. I think he was in a different country, too, but I don't remember..

Chu-nyan-chan had such a spark for a personality! She knew she was being treated unfairly, she knew she had to speak up, and it didn't matter if she was alone in her passion.

Ryuou-kun was so passionate. He seemed to act on impulse, but he went at it with his whole heart, even if it was just becoming someone's friend.

Yuzuriha-chan was similarly passionate. Um, I never admitted this before, but I'm glad we met in Outo Country. Later on, I had to use a gun, and I just tried to emulate how confident she was in using it, shooting at the demons. If I had known the demons of Outo weren't real, I may have taken up a weapon to learn to defend myself back then. I think Yuzuriha-chan would have been a great guide!

Um, speaking of guide..

Subaru-san was so gentle. I remember his voice in my dreams, back in that awful place. I think he helped wake me up- and I'm still nervous to think about what would have happened if I had just slept through it all.

I don't know Kamui-san very well, but he helped Fai-san and Kurogane-san. For that, I consider him a friend.

I've been told Fuuma-san has helped my friends out in the past, as well, but I don't know him well enough to have an opinion. I know one day he might come to Clow, and I'll be sure to greet him appropriately when he arrives.

Fai-kun tried so hard. I hear him sometimes, grieving. I don't know how to help, yet. I don't know if I'll ever be able to. I'm going to try my best, as I always do. He deserves it, if nothing else. They both do.

Umm.

Did I forget anyone?

#long post cw #velosarahptor #Thank you for asking!

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josy72 · 4 years

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Portrait of a Lady on Fire 🔥

Intervista del 14 /02/ 2020

The Black List Interview: Noémie Merlant & Céline Sciamma on PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE

Kate Hagen

My favorite movie-going experience in 2019 may have been seeing Céline Sciamma’s exquisite PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE at the 105-year old Prytania Theatre in New Orleans as a part of the New Orleans Film Festival. Being in an ancient theater only added to my immersion in the film’s sumptuous, sensual world, created by Sciamma and her incredible lead actresses, Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel. I spoke to Merlant and Sciamma about how they built a welcoming atmosphere on set, the power of the female gaze in narrative, secrets in cinema, and much more.

Noémie Merlant

What was your experience like reading this script for the first time? What resonated with you about the portrayal of Marianne?

It was a huge experience reading this script, because what I felt is that it represented something we’ve missed — these images, representations, and stories that we’ve been missing so much of. I realized that while I was reading that because we’re in a society and culture that is so inside the male gaze that we don’t even notice that this is the male gaze, this is one gaze — while I was reading it I realized that. And then, everything was so detailed — everything was in the script so the script was alive. There was all the breathing, the looks, the movements, the desire that was crawling…it was slow, and it was taking the time to build this love story of a woman and it was all about details taking the time, building excitement, expectations and desire slowly with new images, like the sex scene.

And so I realized the power of this love story. Marianne touched me really deeply because she’s a really modern character. She’s a curious voyeur, she’s a painter, she doesn’t want to get married. She is modern in that way, and that represents all these women that we’ve forgotten and erased from society and history. These painters — hundreds of women from that period were just erased. Through this love story with Heloise (Adèle Haenel) she finds her style of portraiture, because of their collaboration. She feels so grateful to be a painter that she’s stuck in the rules and the ideas and the way of “do a portrait that’s very good” and she’s stuck in this vision.Heloise wakes her up: “This is not me, this is not you, this is not us. This is not a woman, this portrait is not representing us.” And at that point, my mind changed. This script, for me, was what Heloise was for Marianne.

Throughout the film, we’re breaking out of that idea of the male gaze too — challenging rules by the old masters to create something entirely different. What was the most challenging part of creating this character for you? What was your favorite part about playing her?

There was not one scene that was particularly harder than another. What was hard was to keep something, a feeling, present from the beginning to the end of shooting the movie — there was a lot of restriction because of the period and the costumes and the dialogue and the light and the focus, it’s candle-lit. Every movement was written. I was finding a way to make it alive, and include me and my vision as an artist, too. I knew that I couldn’t move much while I was sitting, that I had to say the lines and do a smile or a gaze…But it was really trying to find a new way to look at Heloise each time, to find a new way to breathe. As the story grows and the desire grows too: Having a smile more open, more large, having movement more free, dresses less tight, and everyone smiling more.

I think the film does a great job of exploring the necessity of the collaboration among women that happens around art, but I also really loved that the film is about female kinship on all levels. Whether that’s making a meal together, sleeping together spending time together. What was the atmosphere like on set as you guys were creating that little bubble of the three of you in the house spending time together?

On set, the way that Celiné works is to create an environment of respect and kindness. But it’s about having fun too— we’re of course being serious because we’re working, but at the same time, we’re having fun. For this movie, we were all together in a house, we called it “Champs Mer.” Like the movie, we were all together in this house, the girls were together, and we were always together in creating and discussing what we did. It was really a parallel of the movie and the experience of the movie.

What do you hope modern audiences take away from PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, which is a very different take on a period film than we’ve ever seen before.

Despite the fact that it’s a period film, it’s modern because it shows things like the abortion scene that we’re not used to seeing. The sex scene is an entirely new image, a new representation of the lesbian story which has of course existed before, but has never been present enough. The female gaze and intimacy of women…that’s a story that hasn’t been told, with the woman as subject and not as object. This feeling of creating mirrors this new experience of love — the excitement of imagination and artist collaboration, and the desire that grows slowly in details and images.

Céline Sciamma

How did the initial idea for this film spark within you? What was your writing process like knowing you were going be directing the film as well?

Well, I wanted to write a love story, I wanted to dedicate a film to love and to desire. And to have these two emotions embodied very patiently — what the process of falling in love actually looks like, moving away from the conventional idea of love at first sight and romance.

The chemistry between Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel in this film stars with a smolder then becomes incendiary, as you mentioned. How did you work with the two of them in pre-production and on set to make their relationship be viscerally felt on screen?

This chemistry definitely burst in front of my eyes during the casting process. First, I met Noémie alone with my casting director — she made a strong impression. Then during callbacks, the second round was with Adèle, and when I saw the both of them in the frame I knew that this was right.There was this strong physical contrast that I was looking for, very cinematic, but there was a strong also sense of equality, since they’re the same age, same height, and both have very strong intensity. We stopped there! We didn’t rehearse at all, so that they would actually meet on the set and during pre-production. Sometimes I rehearse before shooting, it depends on the film — WATER LILIES we rehearsed a lot, GIRLHOOD we rehearsed a lot, TOMBOY not at all, and PORTRAIT not at all. Because it was about love and all the danger of the unknown, it felt right for all of us to actually also be in that position.

There’s a sort of pervasive sensuality in this film — whether its a smear of paint or crumb of bread, we’re immersed in the same sensual world that the three leads are in. How did you work with your various department heads to make the world of this film come alive?

By being really minimalist regarding set design. It’s a paradox — even though this film is period piece, this is a film where I had less innovation on the set design because we’d come to this castle in the Parisian periphery where we shot most of the film, and it was untouched for… 150 years? So, the color of the walls…we didn’t choose that. [laughs] We entered this room, and we decided that we were gonna leave it that way. And there was a vibe from the past that actually made me super confident — so whereas in my previous film [GIRLHOOD] there was a lot of set construction, even the teenager’s rooms, there was no fourth wall, so then we decided to put very few things in the frame, just wooden boxes and fabric that was very low-key: linen, cotton. This also extended to the costume design, but with fabrics that were silky. To anchor the film and the sociology of that particular moment in Brittany— period pieces are often mundane, you know. We built the bed, we built the table in the kitchen, we felt we were inventing very minimalist furniture.

There are so many elements in this film that reflect modernity and almost an otherworldliness that we don’t often see in period films, whether that’s the abortion scene or the ghostly visions, or the psychedelic sequence. At what point did you decide to bring in these contemporary trappings to a tradition period film?

They all came up along the way, like “Oh, I want Adèle to appear because it’s mostly about ideas. I want Adèle to appear as a ghost because it’s the present of a love story, but also a memory of a love story, the contagion of these two layers.” The idea behind this is the fact that the minute Noémie falls in love and she knows it, she’s already haunted by the last image that she will see of Adèle. And then, when you have this idea, you try to really be brave about it and be generous about it, not make it this little anecdote, but put it all over. That what happens with Orpheus and Eurydice for instance — I was looking for a scene, a sort of “Netflix and chill” scene between the three girls where they would be super involved in a climatic bit of fiction, and then talk about it, and do a whole show of suspense. And then I thought, it’s also a way to see the myth from a woman’s perspective, and from the perspective of Eurydice. Sometimes it’s just an image — like for instance, Adèle on fire is an image that came out of nowhere, but was immediately like “I want this.” Suddenly, it gives you the title, suddenly, you have to find, “Why would she be set on fire?” So it should be outside, it should be a great fire, and then it’s “Maybe it should be a bonfire!” It’s strange to believe in your intuition and connect things that are not supposed to be connected. You begin to build the plot around strong desire for certain images that have mystery, and suddenly, you bring enough in to not rely on the mystery, but to connect them and to build the narrative around them.

Your last four films have been about developing the female identity, however that may look. Do you feel like you’re making a films in similar thematic territory, or is each film its own thing?

Well, after the the sort of adolescence trilogy (WATER LILIES, TOMBOY, and GIRLHOOD) I really felt like I was departing with PORTRAIT because it’s a story about grown-ups, with professional actresses and a love story that is fully lived, whereas before there was always a love interest, but it was mostly desire as a way to discover yourself. With this one, even though they are discovering themselves, it’s about this iconic couple, this duo and how a love story involves immense patience.

I’m still thinking about the last ten minutes of this film — that art show sequence is so breathtaking, especially as it concludes with the book in Heloise’s hand. You were speaking earlier about finding images before finding the plot — did you already have the images in mind for that ending sequence at the start of the film?

The last scene I had in mind since the beginning, I basically did the film to land there. But I didn’t actually think about the fact that there would be three endings, because there are three endings of the film. For instance, from the book, the page 28 reference, that’s a totally different process — it’s really about looking at a lot of painting at the time and the art of portraiture. I liked the fact that there were little secrets involved, and I decided I had to hide a secret in the painting. I thought it would be in the painting that Marianne would do, but then maybe it could be in the painting that Marianne would see. I had a list of different types of secrets, it’s very codified — for instance, in painting at the time, especially for marriage portraits, there’s a cage and a bird inside, if the door is open, it means she’s not a virgin anymore, if it’s closed, she is. I was finding our own little secret code, and also relying on the audience’s pleasure and intelligence that I’m always trying to think the audience has, that the viewers are the most intelligent person. It’s also knowing that the pleasure of being a viewer in cinema is about being immersed in a film and speaking the language of the film, and as the film goes more and more and more, you speak the language of the film, and the page… it’s a fucking number, but suddenly it means something for you as much as it means something for the character. That’s the kind of thing I’m always looking for — I thought about it for months, finding just the right treasure.

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internetandnetwork · 3 years

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Understanding Consumer Psychology: The Key to Making a Web Design That Wins

Have you come across dubious pop-up ads and notifications while browsing websites? How many times has that happened? Plenty, we guess.

Back when businesses had just started out with online marketing, frauds and flashy emails became quite common. Internet users would be continuously flooded with exasperating and aggressive ads that didn’t make any sense at all.

And do you know what the worst part about all this was? These apparently senseless and infuriating ads actually worked! Users would click on these dubious pop-ups expecting to win a free iPhone, millions of dollars, and so on.

But today, things have changed entirely. People have become smarter than ever. Even though users are still flooded with such in-your-face ads, they are no longer naive enough to even think for a moment that somebody wants to give them a million dollars or the latest iPhone out of the blue.

Why? Well, to begin with, gone are the days when aggressive ads, shallow marketing, and poor web design were a thing. In addition to this, nowadays, user engagement is all about human-centered user interface and user experience design while minimizing the spam as much as possible.

Today, what you need to do is design your website in a way that strikes the right chord with your target audience, and for that, you have to appeal to their best emotions. Wondering how exactly you would do this? It’s quite simple, actually – by using the right web design elements like font, content, typography, colors, graphics, etc., depending on the fundamentals of consumer psychology.

While the majority of website design companies know how web designing psychology works, building a site that wins requires much more than just understanding the fundamentals of how visuals and colors work.

We wouldn’t deny the fact that human brains are incredibly complex, and it is indeed challenging to impress the average consumer. But with just a little bit of practice, you can fine-tune your website to distinguish yourself from the crowd genuinely.

In this blog, we will look at how web design psychology can help you enhance your user experience.

WHAT IS THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WEB DESIGN?

Before we start discussing how you should use consumer psychology, let us first talk about what psychology is and why it plays a vital role in website design.

In simple words, psychology refers to the study of how the human mind works. Since our thoughts and minds control almost everything we do, it only seems logical for us to first understand consumer psychology so that we can develop powerful branding strategies and website design.

In order to understand the fundamental part psychology plays in a user-friendly web design, take this into account:

The limbic system is responsible for our memories and the way we react to positive experiences. Now, if you could help the users associate with your site on a positive note, there are better chances of them revisiting your website and recommending it to their peers as well.

The neocortex is the part of the human brain which is responsible for ‘thinking,’ and this is the one component of web design psychology that designers feel the most comfortable with. Why? Because it is the most logical part of our brain that craves loads of information that makes sense. Therefore, incorporating lots of useful and informative content within your site could be an excellent way to appeal to the users’ neocortex.

The way we think and process information is known as cognition. Nevertheless, making the audience think and like your content simultaneously is neither easy nor cheap. What the average user expects is an easy but pleasant experience from your website or app. Grasping how cognition helps can actually go a long way into building an engaging web design and boosting conversions.

Well, now that you know how web design psychology works, let’s discuss some ways you can channel the power of psychology to build a web design that wins!

MINIMIZE STRESS ON COGNITION

Today most people have limited patience levels and increasingly reduced attention spans. Hence, minimizing cognitive stress sounds like a brilliant idea because the average user can’t handle too much information all at once.

Plus, if you are considering delivering a positive user experience, you need to ensure that your UI and UX design are intuitive, simple, and easy to grasp.

For starters, you can explore pre-existing schemas and mental models. From the typical search button to sign in and checkout processes, these could be anything. Incorporate forms that your site visitors can fill out quickly and ensure that all the components on your web page are in rational groupings.

The majority of people scan things rather than reading them online, so it only sounds logical to include super simple banners, headings, and keywords.

If you are thinking about building a persuasive eCommerce web design, ensure that your site visitors fulfill their goal of purchasing products via a smooth process. There are a couple of things you can do to enhance your overall user experience, such as streamlining your search bar, minimizing the number of primary categories, and modifying the look of your input field.

INCLUDE SOCIAL PROOF

As human beings, we all love things that we can personally relate to. We are all hardwired to think what other people like might be beneficial to us too. What could justify this better than reviews and star ratings? Whole organizations have expanded their businesses based on social validation (for example, reviews and ratings on IMDb, food reviews on Zomato, etc.).

Social proof has emerged as a crucial marketing tool that significant companies take advantage of in their website design as well as customer support. Now and again, we succumb to these biases and wind up purchasing products we were not even planning to buy in the first place.

You can include social proof on your website using images, reviews, star ratings, and customer testimonials to convey how consumers loved your products or services. Doing so will help you motivate your site visitors and potential customers to take the desired action or engage with your brand further.

TYPOGRAPHY AND FONT PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE

Just the way colors matter a big deal when it comes to engaging your site visitors, so do typography and font. Both are closely connected to our emotions and can evoke various feelings.

There is a wide range of fonts and styles available for you to pick from – based on the type of emotion you want to elicit when users interact with your website, you can select the one that aptly reflects your brand voice and ethos.

For example, specific fonts such as Sans Serif fonts seem sophisticated, elegant, and classic. In contrast, the Irvin typeface used in The New Yorker emits serious yet innovative, artistic vibes.

WRAPPING IT UP

By now, you must have got a pretty good idea of how psychology matters in web design and how you can utilize it to build a web design that wins. All you need to do is take care of these points while designing your website to make sure it attracts and engages your target audience in the best way possible. Whether you have a web designer in your organization or are hiring a freelancer to do it for you, make sure they pay attention to these details to create a web design that actually works for your brand.

Hariom Balhara is an inventive person who has been doing intensive research in particular topics and writing blogs and articles for E Global Soft Solutions. E Global Soft Solutions is a Digital Marketing, SEO, SMO, PPC and Web Development company that comes with massive experiences. We specialize in digital marketing, Web Designing and development, graphic design, and a lot more.

SOURCE : Consumer Psychology

#Consumer Psychology #Web Design #website #uiux design #website designing #E Global Soft Solutions #digital marketing #eglobalsoftsolutions

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a-dandelion-dreamer · 4 years

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Word Wanderings Post #1 – The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

This is the beginning of a reread. I’ve loved this author for years and The Raven Cycle is a particular favourite of mine. Please note that if you haven’t read this book, this post will definitely contain spoilers!

The Raven Boys is the first book in a quartet and juggles a multitude of characters, including our four main characters (Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Blue) and our plus one (Noah). While it does have some external conflict, it is mainly driven by the characters and their relationships with one another. This book is complex and dense with detail, with a structure that is a little unusual. Most books or series have a driving hook that catches readers right at the beginning and is the selling tagline. For example, in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, it’s Percy finding out he’s secretly a demigod, which directly turns into monsters attacking him and his mom disappearing. In the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, it’s the existence of a game that forces children to fight to the death and then subsequently Katniss volunteering to take her sister’s place at the Reaping. In Six of Crows, it’s a crew of six misfits embarking upon an impossible heist.

Ostensibly, the hook of this book is that Blue is destined to kill her true love with a kiss. That’s what it says on the back of the book, and it’s certainly an overarching threat present for the rest of the series. Tied in as well is Gansey’s search for Glendower, a sleeping king Gansey believes is buried somewhere on a ley line. This is another whole-series thread. The real heart of the story, however, is the boys and Blue and their friendship and their interactions with the other messy pieces of their lives and their search to find meaning and happiness. This type of storytelling is not for everyone, especially those who might enjoy more action-driven tales, but it’s the kind of storytelling I love.

(And in writing and other personal creative projects, I think it’s important to let what you love drive you forwards).

Here are three points I took away from reading this book:

Point #1: Keeping readers interested by embedding small mysteries

The trick is to make your readers want to know what happens next. This is something I have trouble with and therefore I’m particularly interested in seeing how other books handle it.

Each chapter in this book is written from a different character’s perspective. I’ll include the first and last lines (which I think are brilliantly done) in the form: (first line/last line). Following that, I’ll describe some mysteries that the chapter raises.

Prologue: Blue (“Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she’d been told that she would kill her true love.”/”’You’re Maura’s daughter,’ Neeve said, and before Blue could answer, she added, “this is the year you’ll fall in love.’”) – pg. 1-4

We’re introduced to the idea that Blue will kill her true love if she kisses him

Which immediately raises the question: who is he? And how does she get from being determined not to fall in love to killing someone with a kiss?

We learn about Blue’s psychic family, which I think is super interesting

Blue’s half-aunt Neeve comes to town and really hits us with that: “This is the year you’ll fall in love.” Pay attention, that line says.

Chapter 1: Blue (“It was freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrived.”/“’There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve, Blue. Either you’re his true love,’ Neeve said, ‘or you killed him.’”) – pg. 5-16

Blue and Neeve watch for the future dead

Blue, the only non-psychic in her family, sees a spirit for the first time

The guy she’s destined to kill or fall in love with (or both)

His name is Gansey, and now we’re wondering who he is

Chapter 2: Gansey (“’It’s me,’ said Gansey.”/”’That seems obvious,’ he answered. ‘We find out who you were talking to.’”) – pg. 17-28

Brilliant cut to Gansey

This guy is very real and because of the previous scene, we want to know who he is

We learn about his quest, which adds another layer of mystery

Gansey also heard Blue, on his recorder, so now he’s wondering about her

We ask ourselves: how will these two meet?

Also, introduces Gansey’s friends Adam and Ronan

Ronan has a tumultuous relationship with his brother Declan

THEY HAVE A NUMBER FOR A PSYCHIC (guess who belongs to a psychic family)

Chapter 3: Blue (“Mornings at 300 Fox Way were fearful, jumbled things.”/”’Blue,’ Maura said finally. ‘I don’t have to tell you not to kiss anyone, right?’”) – pgs. 29-37

Introduces Blue’s house

Introduces Blue’s relationship with her mother Maura

Neeve scries and learns that something is strange about Henrietta

Again, we wonder how Blue and Gansey will meet. And also, is it possible to save Gansey from his fate?

Chapter 4: Adam (“Adam Parrish had been Gansey’s friend for eighteen months, and he knew that certain things came along with that friendship.”/”’Excelsior’, said Gansey, and shut the door behind them.”) – pg. 38-51

Introduces Monmouth Manufacturing

Delves further into Gansey’s quest (will Gansey find what he’s looking for?)

Adam is suspicious that someone is spying on their search

Develops tension between Ronan and Declan

Chapter 5: Whelk (“Barrington Whelk was feeling less than sprightly as he slouched down the hall of Whitman House, the Aglionby admin building.”/”It was possible that Czerny’s death wasn’t for nothing after all.”) – pg. 52-56

Adam was suspicious in the previous chapter and now here’s Whelk, being suspicious

What is this guy’s deal?

Whelk hears Gansey is researching ley lines and suddenly gets very interested

Who is Czerny and how did he die?

Chapter 6: Blue (“Blue wouldn’t really describe herself as a waitress.”/”Neeve had to be wrong. She’d never fall in love with one of them.”) – pg. 57-64

Blue goes to work at Nino’s, the same place Gansey and his crew are going

Blue’s mother calls: Gansey has scheduled a reading

THEY MEET! This is great. They meet and they both dislike each other. They immediately conflict and neither realizes the other is the person they’re looking for.

The dramatic irony is fantastic

Adam is interested in Blue and Blue is a little bit interested in him

How does Blue end up liking Gansey, who she currently hates?

Truly, a mystery

WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN THE TWO MEET AGAIN AT THE PSYCHIC READING???

I could do this for the whole book, but you get the picture. There’s always something the reader is left wondering, even if it’s something small, or a future interaction they’re looking forwards to.

A note: this is particularly effective when it’s tied to personal agency. You want to see what your characters will do, and this means more if you have dynamic characters who make choices.

Point #2: Atmosphere and memorable locations

Another big strength of this book is the personality that it imbues its settings with. Take three examples: 300 Fox Way, Monmouth Manufacturing and Cabeswater.

300 Fox Way – the chaotic, full-to-the-brim house where Blue lives with her mom and her aunt and her mom’s two best friends Persephone and Calla and a multitude of other psychic women, all showcased through background details. I love this house and its aesthetic.

Quote: “Mornings at 300 Fox Way were fearful, jumbled things. Elbows in sides and lines for the bathroom and people snapping over tea bags placed into cups that already had tea bags in them. There was school for Blue and work for some of the more productive (or less intuitive) aunts. Toast got burned, cereal went soggy the refrigerator door hung open and expectant for minutes at a time. Keys jingled as car pools were hastily decided.” – pg 29

Monmouth Manufacturing – the abandoned factory that Gansey, Ronan and Noah have made their home. They live on the upper floor and the description of the space really doubles as a character portrait for Gansey. Use settings to reveal and further describe your characters!

Quote: “The high ceiling soared above them, exposed iron beams holding up the roof. Gansey’s invented apartment was a dreamer’s laboratory. The entire second floor, thousands of square feet, spread out before them. Two of the walls were made up of old windows—dozens of tiny, warped panes, except for a few clear ones Gansey had replaced—and the other two walls were covered with maps: the mountains of Virginia, of Wales, of Europe. Marker lines arced across each of them. Across the floor, a telescope peered at the Western sky; at its feet lay piles of arcane electronics meant to measure magnetic activity.

And everywhere, everywhere, there were books. Not the tidy stacks of an intellectual attempting to impress, but the slumping piles of a scholar obsessed. Some of the books weren’t in English. Some of the books were dictionaries for the languages that some of the other books were in. Some of the books were actually Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editions.” – pg 41

Cabeswater — a magical, sentient forest. I love this forest so much. I love the overall portrayal of magic in this series and this forest is my favourite example of that. The trees speak Latin, time is fluid and sometimes the very air manifests your thoughts, so keep a watch on them.

Quote: “The stream trickled sluggishly out of the woods from between two diamond-barked dogwoods. With Gansey in the lead, they all followed the water into the trees. Immediately, the temperature dropped several degrees. Blue hadn’t realized how much insect noise there was in the field until it was replaced by occasional birdsong under the trees. This was a beautiful, old wood, all massive oak and ash trees finding footing among great slabs of cracked stone. Ferns sprang from rocks and verdant moss grew up the sides of the tree trunks. The air itself was scented with green and growing and water. The light was golden through the leaves. Everything was alive, alive.” – pg 219

What can I take away from this? Using small, specific details to make a setting unique and memorable can add atmosphere to your novel, showcase characters and make a reader fall in love with a particular place.

Point #3: Evolving arcs

This story contains a lot of interwoven plot threads. This can be hard to balance (I know from personal experience) but I think this novel pulls it off. It’s very, very good at doing many things at once. The important thing to think about is a beginning, middle and end for different story arcs that you introduce. Here’s one example (of many) from this book.

Example 1: Noah

Oh Noah. Noah is a brilliant example of an arc in this book and also one of my favourite demonstrations of the fact that sometimes you can hide things right in the open.

First mention (pg. 26). Noah goes out for pizza with the crew, but there is no mention of him going to school or otherwise having a life. This theme will continue: while Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Blue have conflict and fleshed-out internal worlds, Noah is a static character. The first time I read this book, I was like Gansey. I didn’t notice how much Noah was missing until it was explicitly called out.

First line of dialogue: “I’ve been dead for seven years,” Noah said. “That’s as warm as they get.” (pg. 47) (IT’S RIGHT THERE, but yet I didn’t pick up on it. Clever, clever.)

Noah’s room is also described as ‘meticulous’. As in, practically unused.

“Noah, we won’t make you eat,” says Gansey. “Need some more alone time?” says Ronan. More little hints.

The character descriptions are honestly so good, worth a study all in themselves.

Noah doesn’t come to the psychic’s reading or the helicopter trip, which the other boys do

Somehow, he has a canny knack for knowing things and sharing secrets.

“Don’t throw it away.” (pg. 165) (to Gansey)

Gansey calls for Noah but he’s not there (pg. 233)

“Blue permitted Noah to pet the crazy tufts of her hair” (pg. 238). Not particularly arc related but SUPER CUTE.

The gang visits Cabeswater again and finds Noah’s old abandoned car, a red Mustang (not that they realize it yet). In the trunk is a dowsing rod, a sign someone else is looking for ley lines. Noah throws up (from the trauma of his murder).

Blue and Gansey visit the old church and find a body. “The face on the driver’s license was Noah’s.” (pg. 274)

THE BIG SCENE IN WHICH NOAH IS REVEALED AS A GHOST (what a brilliant scene)

“Adam,” he demanded, “what is Noah’s last name?”

“Tell me,” Gansey said, “which classes you share with Noah.”

“When does he eat? Have you ever seen him eat?”

“Does he pay rent? When did he move in? Have you ever questioned it?”

These are all questions Gansey asks his friends, but are also questions we must ask ourselves. We have been fooled in the same way as they have.

“I told you,” Noah said. “I told everyone.” (pg. 278)

“The question is: Who killed you?” (pg. 279)

Noah acts like a real ghost (disappears, reappears, knocks objects off desks)

“Maybe moving it off the ley line had stolen his energy.” (pg. 298) (in regards to Noah’s body)

Noah appears, using Blue’s energy. “I want you to know,” Noah said, “I was…more…when I was alive.” (pg. 305)

“You were the sacrifice, weren’t you Noah? Someone killed you for this.” (pg. 307). It turns out Noah, the friend they didn’t realize was dead, was killed in a ritual similar to the one that is attempted at the end of the novel by their Latin teacher, and is the reason Gansey is alive.

Remember: “Someone else on the ley line is dying when they should not, and so you will live when you should not.” (pg. 271).

It’s all very circular and interwoven and very good plotting.

Noah said, “But you already know.” (pg. 309) (In regards to who killed him) JUMPCUTS to a scene with Whelk

“I’m going to fix Noah. Somehow.” (pg. 335) (says Gansey)

She allowed him to pet her hair with his icy fingers. “Not so spiky as usual,” he said sadly. (pg. 353)

“Don’t throw it away,” Noah whispered. (pg. 371) To Adam, this time.

Noah warns Gansey that Adam is gone (he is now 100% a spooky ghost boy)

THE MURDERED/REMEMBERED SCENE (breaks my heart). They’re all in Cabeswater again for the climax of the novel and Noah, who doesn’t exist in bodily form, traces words into the dust on his old car

Noah’s funeral: “Please say something to them.” / “Mrs. Czerny, he’s sorry for drinking your birthday schnapps.” (pg. 406-407) (ouch, my heart)

They dig up his bones and rebury them on the ley line

“Can we go home? This place is so creepy.” … ”Noah!” Gansey cried gladly. Blue hurled his arms around his neck. He looked alarmed, and then pleased, and then he pet the tufts of her hair. (pg 408)

Broadly, the arc looks like this (look how actions lead to consequences which lead to further actions):

The boys have a friend named Noah, who is sometimes there and sometimes not

LOTS OF FORESHADOWING

They find Noah’s dead body

They confront Noah and find out he’s a ghost

The police move his bones so he starts acting like a real ghost

They figure out he was used in an attempted ritual and also that their Latin teacher killed him

The dig up his bones and rebury them on the ley line

Noah comes back

Given what happens later in this series, it’s very important to me that we remember Noah.

In conclusion

What this book does well:

Keeping readers interested by embedding small mysteries

Atmosphere and memorable locations

Evolving arcs

These are just a few things I noticed on my read-through of The Raven Boys. Stay tuned for further Word Wanderings posts and feel free to give suggestions for books you’d like me to analyze!

Personal Challenge: Pick a book you’re currently reading or an old favorite and try to figure out what keeps you reading, whether it’s little mysteries, character dilemmas or rising tension.

#the raven cycle #trc #maggie stiefvater #the raven boys #writing #writing advice #writers on tumblr #blue sargent #noah czerny #gansey #adam parrish #ronan lynch #word wanderings #my post

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