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joyfulexperiment · 2 years

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Joyful Experiment, Day #1: "Anna" Study, charcoal

"So I'll walk through this night Stumbling blindly toward the light And do the next right thing."

Art diary (and excuses, explanations) under the cut.

All things considered, I think this is a good start to the month. It's not polished by any means, but it's better than usual. Let me tell you the story of "the usual."

I drew all the time as a kid, but primarily for the sake of telling stories. I didn't make "hang-on-the-fridge" art. I made comics and magazines and newspapers and storyboards and scenes for computer games. Plenty of OC's, but I stole my style from 80's cartoons.

(Not my art, but very much the style I was learning from. Credit to Peyo, image from "Johan and Peewit")

Around eleven we moved to another province, and my pencil crayons disappeared amongst the luggage for months. I focused on writing instead, and write my first little novel that year. And thus I became a writer, not an artist. I honed my author craft religiously throughout my teens, and if I ever drew, it was mindless doodling during family read alouds - doodles of people who still looked weirdly like Smurfs and Care Bears despite being human. I went through a fortnight of sketching historical costumes out of a book, mostly for the validation from my parents, who loved them, but little of the experience stayed.

Then, I took an art history course that required us to sketch ten acknowledged masterpieces of the past. Our professor was not particularly picky about skill, as there was no artistic instruction in the course, and it was only necessary to produce something that demonstrated you'd looked at some art.

Nonetheless, perfectionist that I am, I spent ages on every one of those sketches. I made grids with a hundred squares and painstakingly reproduced every detail of the "Starry Night" and the "Muse of Comedy" and the Michelangelo-inspired philosopher in Raphael's "School of Athens." Several audiobooks sketched themselves into those works in the process - for me Rudyard Kipling and E. Nesbit are still heavily associated with charcoal fingers.

By the time I turned in my portofolio, I had rather astounded myself, because, while the work was nowhere near excellent, it was mindblowingly better than anything I had produced before. Because I was actually looking at the shapes and using reference carefully. My professor told me that though my art was rough there was something there and I should pursue it.

Reader, I did not pursue it. I seldom do aught but doodle, and I am capable of drawing two poses: Standing up straight with hands at sides, or with hands behind back. I cannot eyeball proportions, even making a character hold out a hand reveals that I have never seen a human arm in my life, shading tends to look a bit like leprosy -and just - it's a mess. Here's a good example of what my art looks like when I'm actually trying:

(It wouldn't be too bad if the character in question wasn't supposed to be a grown man...)

Things turn out a little bit better if I use reference, but frankly, I'm afraid to use reference that isn't someone else's art. Drawing from life or photos is HARD, because someone else hasn't made the artistic choices for me, hasn't chosen which lines are needed and which can be left out. But, that kind of thing is generally frowned on as intellectual property theft unless you keep the art strictly to yourself.

I want to start drawing from photos. I want to start mixing and matching elements from multiple photos. I want to mix ideas out of my head with appropriate reference. So... I picked a middle ground for this starting sketch. I picked a Disney CGI movie, because it's a bit like drawing from a photo, but still with a number of artistic choices already clear on the screen. (Also Disney is so huge I don't mind doing studies of their screencaps and posting them the same way I would just finding an Indie artist and doing a study of their work.)

It's a stepping stone - I don't want to stay stuck doing this kind of thing, but it's what I need to get the ball rolling. I'm not especially a "Frozen" fan, but I do have a soft spot for Anna.

Disclosures: When I uploaded the sketches I arranged them to be closer together for a more pleasing look, and I increased the clarity by 25% to make up for the greying/fading my scanner causes. Otherwise, this is the art as it looks on the page. For the large image of Anna, I did permit myself to cheat by tracing rudimentary markings to show the distance from eye to eye, from top to bottom of the face, etc, but I tried to avoid any major tracing. (It's from a screencap, not from lineart so there wasn't much in the way of lines to trace anyway.)

#art challenge #anna #frozen #traditional art #fanart

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jonathankatwhatever · 2 years

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This is very strange: I just opened up the article on the Hodge Conjecture, read the introduction, and found myself wondering where the conjecture is because this is clear in grid squares. Like of course you can study holes by fitting objects inside them, around them, across them, and so on. This is what we’ve been defining. So, unless I’m not seeing something, and without technical detail, it looks like the Conjecture is not a conjecture at all.

How many problems is that? 3 or 4? I think 3.

I think we have a shot at Navier-Stokes. I’m talking high level only. No chance with current level of understanding to reach Yang-Mills. I’m not sure what the issues are there at all. I mean the mass gap is the layer at which you become sensitive to the existence of the complexity which was hidden behind the x,yK. We’ve talked about that. In fact, the thinking over the past few days reminds me a lot of the strategy group meetings. Sensitive to the existence of complexity. Use of overwhelming force because the math meant you didn’t actually lose anyone, applying infinity to reduce the importance of any single negative engagement, which is the same as identifying the positive pathways, the ways forward, the stories that emerge from those, however weird. Working out how an eruption here relates to something over there which is yet unseen, meaning we need to trace the linkages on the other side, which we can only do either by statistical probability matching, or by inverting ourselves over the dividing line, which can only be done accurately by approaching that divider as close as possible, or rather to the attachment point which abstracts their disk, both at its center pole and in its expansion potential. I used to wonder why these meetings were so fascinating. I remember spending a lot of time talking about how to visualize the issue, and coming up with the idea that you could see down to a certain level, down close to the dividing line, so you were in fact enveloped but not completely cut off by that line, meaning you retained that essential portion of you, which explains the dreams, both the escape and the being yanked to safety ones,

Wow. I am either completely crazy or I really need to accept that this is all true. It makes sense. AMT today was about things like how a gestural M has a 1Space meaning. So, M is that as you draw the line under the M, that connects the opposite Ends so one side is divided into 2 1Segments. Then I could see how this makes a space by making an M above, and then flipping it, meaning we’ve now separated the two axis lines by a double sized space. You can see the Hodge Conjecture in gestural.

I also saw how A represents the Aleph concept which is actually a pyramid on legs, meaning it extends down and it raises up. This would be a close representation of the source of ideas like Jacob’s Ladder: the rungs are that pyramid rising up toward disappearing and coming down until you can put your foot on the lowest step.

That image just drew out as projecting, equal, bigger or smaller, meaning still or moving at or away. Which means inverting over that implied axis.

You know I have held out understanding gestural as the great test. AMT got into it. I remember seeing R form, which didn’t make much sense for a moment, until I saw that it can make a diamond of triangles with legs. In other words, I’m seeing the shapes act as shapes. That means the shape of a word may at times approach the gestural meaning of the word, which would be a gestural lookalike, sort of a homonym. And that connects to my art fun times when I’d paint a word like nervous to be nervous or I’d flip them, and I’d makes series of universes in various stages of placid to chaos.

I’m going to the farm for the weekend. Have never been.

I am entirely in your hands. I mean that. As part of AMT, I realized I was drawing mentally with my right hand, so I switched, and a bunch of interesting things occurred, including the realization that my left hand can be observed, needs to be observed differently, and that comparison is this process, and this is hard to get out, the time lag in my left reduces past the label of non-left perspective and that bips. Which means the left functions better when I remove even the notational existence of right hand control, passing it entirely over. My mind almost immediately detaches and the physical process operates better while I’m consciously making observations about what is going on. It’s nice to experience, and my ability to trigger this as a response has become noticeable. As in, I can say to myself that I have the body of a 17 year old and no matter how untrue that is I react internally as though this were true, which immediately relaxes the tension that time added to that age.

It really has become second nature to do stuff like a kid. I can’t remember the last time I put on socks sitting down. And now I only put my shoes on standing. But to continue with the left side transfer, this handing over works because that is my natural side, and it’s nice to be home, because stuff makes a lot more sense from this side. Example: walking along the river, I found myself walking on the edge of the path, turning left, right, doing cool moves, trying to act normal, and then I realized that when I turned so my left led, as I handed over control to the left foot, I no longer needed to look at what my feet and indeed most of my body was doing. I was looking at the rocks, at the way the ground looked and the patterns in the contours, and how pretty it was, and completely trusted that my body would function using the information available, which was minimized to peripheral by literally imposing a focus on the far side of the line, which was also down at a variable distance, against an uneven, wavering surface.

It was a glimpse into natural athletics from the perspective of someone who couldn’t be one because everything was flipped around inside, so there’d be bursts and other moments when the right perspective would be in the right alignment to enable the natural left to function efficiently. So much of my life has been this misalignment of internal control. I used to get excited by the glimpses, and I’d pursue the paths that resisted because I could not accept that was all I could achieve.

So now, I can turn and twist and bend my knees without fear of pain or injury. And when pain occurs, I treat it like I did when I was 17, as an annoyance you work around.

I need a break.

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lemliv · 3 years

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You know what I’ve got time so uhhh here’s some basic art tips I’ve learned while at Art School™

This is gonna be long and I namely specialize in digital figure drawing but this can apply to traditional as well. These are also just 5 guidelines off of 2 years of knowledge so forgive me if they seem scattered these are just the ones that most impacted me.

quick definitions

Contour lines: These are the lines that define the outline of a shape. Think most cartoon line art - it gives you enough information on the features.

Cross contour lines: define the shape. Think of drawing a bottle with tape on it in a gridded pattern. The tape isn’t straight across - its curved. These help your drawings look more 3D

- Never reference other people’s art for poses

In fact if possible, work from life. That’s not an option for everyone especially now a days so just make sure you’re working from photos of real people. Whether you mean to or not your brain will pull from their style and whatever mistakes or decisions they made you will make. Drawing inspiration from others art is fine !! There’s just lines of befitting you in the short term versus the long term. That being said...

- Trace what you like. Do it. (Just don’t post it as if it’s your own)

This is like the one thing artists tell you not to do. It’s A LIE!!!! Kinda... Tracing over photos or art helps understand proportions and what makes them work. The kicker is you don’t want to do just do the contour lines - do everything and then some. Figure out how the limbs are connecting, the direction of the hair, if it’s a landscape figure out the vanishing point. Get some real information off of it to see how they solved problems. And then Do Not Post It. If you happen to post it directly credit the artist you drew and if they’re from the renaissance say it’s a (the artist) masterwork study.

- Fail fast and hard

This one is probably the most important, at least to me. Last year I did probably over 50 large scale figure drawings in a quarter long class and I think only like ONE. But they all helped me improve my speed, realize what was off with my proportions, and allowed me to be critical without destroying myself. Some of them I was only allowed 3 minutes to do and so it’s easier to accept what’s wrong and then work to not make that mistake when it takes you 3 minutes. Not everyone can work with charcoal from a model so the at home alternative that I still do today is going on to timed poses sites and trying to draw those in the time limit given. I recommend traditional just because it’s typically faster for this type of thing. You might not be able to keep up - that’s okay, allow it to be unfinished and continue. The sites at the end usually display the photos back to you so you can fix them later if wanted.The point is just for practice so no one has to see - and please don’t compare yourself to others. Instead compare it to the work you did yesterday and you’ll see the improvements.

- Art Styles are a solution to a problem

Technically I learned this online, but I was in art school so it probably counts. I think a lot of people online are obsessed with having a pretty art style or looking like their favorite artists. When what art styles are is basically you as an artist deciding what you want to draw and what you don’t. Think animation - typically it’s more cartoony / simplified because no one wants to draw all that detail for thousands of frames. So maybe you don’t want to draw every hair strand - simplify it into groups. You don’t want to draw a complex torso so you translate it into a square like shape. It’s all making decisions that help you ! Because sure, you could draw like Da Vinci did but why the fuck would you ??? (Unless you want to - and if so good for you I do not have the patience /gen) so when looking at other artists work see how they solved the problem of that complex forms we see every day rather than just seeing parts of a whole you want to take.

And this one is just a personal rule that I have myself

- Know when to be critical, and when to just have fun

I’ve seen so many of my friends stop doing personal art because they’ve forgotten how to not be critical of it. Not every moment is a race to make your best piece and for it to be perfect or even “correct.” Have art that helps you grow and learn more, the stuff that shows your technical skills. And then have art that makes you happy. That you do for yourself or for fun. Art schools often ask for both because they recognize that that detailed study of a bowl of fruit isn’t who you are as a person, but it does show you know your way around some value. Art is ultimately self expression! There’s the starting points and rules but they are there so you can learn them and then break them!

There’s so so much more I could say and I know this is so much !! But for now this is my knowledge for today !!! Also due to the nature of art, not everyone is gonna pledge by these rules and that’s okay. This is just what worked for me and kept me sane :]

I didn’t proof read this! Because my class starts soon!! I hope it’s comprehensive!!!

#art #art tips #lemliv speaks #drawing tips #drawing #art school knowledge #idk what else to tag

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enthusiastic-nimrod · 4 years

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Hey I'm Fred's fourth daddy anon! I sent that to you, and what felt like five minutes later you came in with that gorgeous sketch. Do you have any art tips or videos that have taught you cause I've been stuck draw trying to draw anything not resembling a lump for two years. Also yeah it was whirlwind episode, f*ck Rose, and Fred should have turned that loon in.

Hey FD Anon, thanks so much! I don’t draw a lot of “horror” art so I’m really happy with it’s progress so far!

While I do agree with you that Rose is The Worst, I think she added in an interesting dynamic and I’d be happy if she became a recurring character in the Scooby mythos at large. As for Fred not turning his dad in... I agree, but I also understand why he didn’t.

The episode went out of it’s way to show off how frightening and weird he is but Fred made it very clear that when he wasn’t wearing the mask he was a good parent, and that all of his crimes were shown as nonviolent. He didn’t seem to steal anything (unless I missed that line?) he just liked messing with people by confusing them.

As for art tips, I... honestly never expected anybody to ask for advice from me? That’s super flattering wow.

Okay, so I’m still pretty much a novice, but lemme give you some of my best tips and tricks:

1) Notice how my last sketch had a grey background? This wasn’t just for that sketch, this is how I use ALL of my digital canvases. I do this because the grey causes less strain to my eyes, and allows me to work longer and more easily. Being so close to a screen, especially a blue or white one, can make it harder to work for long periods of time.

2) If you want to do digital art, you need to learn “traditional art” (pencil and paper) first. It makes transitioning to digital more easy and it’s pretty much what any art teacher would recommend, for good reason.

3) Using one method of art not only limits you, but stops you from learning other techniques which can be incorporated into what you typically prefer. Not only that, but you can also discover a medium you really love that you never would have thought of before!

4) Whenever you get the chance, work in black and white or monochrome. This is a great way to help yourself learn about values and intensity, and just looks cool in general.

5) Piggybacking on that last point, if you’re ever worried about your shading, values, etc becoming muddled either A] take a picture and use a filter to make it black and white, or B] create another, pure white layer on top of the others and change it from “Normal” to “Hue”. Doing this can really help change your approach to coloring (black and white effect may be different for every art program).

6) If you want to get better at realistic faces, I was taught using the grid system. You have squares on your reference picture, squares on your paper, and then match up the body parts to the squares. I personally didn’t like this method, but it’s a really solid style of learning.

7) Start with the torso instead of the head. what you start with the head, the body may end up becoming wonky and having the neck stretched out at an odd angle or having a too small cranium. This is easier to fix in digital art but I suggest just remembering the importance of that rib cage (this is something I’m still training myself out of).

8) Asking for feedback can be an invaluable tool. For example, last year I had this really weird thing where I drew my eyes way too close together- I never noticed until I had it pointed out to me, and it took MONTHS to break this habit.

9) References are very useful, and one fun technique I’ve found great use in is to draw a pose, first with no reference, and then following that reference very strictly. This can be helpful when you want to see where you are developmentally.

10) Every now and then while drawing, you want to put the pencil down, prop up your paper, and walk away so that you can see the full image from a distance. If you’re working digitally, you zoom out a great deal so that the image appears smaller. This is a GREAT tool for seeing which sections of the piece need the most attention and how those smaller details hold up.

11) If you have the opportunity, you REALLY want to participate in an actual art class. Having a teacher that can see what you’re doing in real time and knows where you’re at skill-wise is an INVALUABLE thing to have- these people were specifically taught how to teach you these skills, recognize your problems and how to fix them. Don’t be afraid to talk to them and ask for advice about non-classwork art, either! You can’t receive help if you don’t ask for it.

12) Flip your canvas! I know you’ve probably heard this before, but this is one of the best ways to check for anatomy inconsistencies.

13) When it comes to youtube artists, I don’t really actively follow any, but I do know of some!

Mark Crilley: While I don’t watch his videos much now, I used to follow his videos RELIGIOUSLY. He’s got some really solid advice on how to map out comics and mangas, and he taught me the importance of silent scenes and keeping your work from getting too wordy. He mostly does the soft anime look, but he also does some pretty stellar realism.

mikeymegamega: I’m not going to lie to you, anon- this man likes his cheesecake. This guy is all about the cute anime girls, so if you’re not looking for that, skip him, but I really can’t recommend his videos on hands, feet, and faces enough.

Proko: Has a video about best drawing exorcises and is the guy you turn to when you want to know about figure drawing. He tends to focus on the more realistic anatomy, and while his videos may be long he’s got some good advice. I’d say to check out his studying anatomy correctly video, and then just kinda scroll through his pages.

Ethan Becker: THE KNIFE MAN. The first time I clicked on him I thought he was making a troll video- but then he Got Into It and my dudes, my guys, he has some CRAZY good advice. The way he words things and shows you examples in his videos are amazing and I really can’t recommend him enough. He did a video called “Fixing PROKO's LAZY Drawings“ and while you’d think it would be a bash fest his advice on shading in it is just so incredibly useful. Click on pretty much any of his videos and you’ll be entertained and learning.

I'd also suggest watching speedpaints. Even if it was unintentional, I’ve learned several really solid art hacks from speedpaint and storytime videos- so always be aware that you have an option for that.

…. Oh! And also, practice! I know you’ve probably been given this advice from everyone already, but it’s worth remembering.

Sorry if this got a bit long, I just figured I’d try to give you some good hacks- and even if you have already heard of most of these, I hope I could at the very least entertain!

#ask #response #anon #art advice #art tips #scooby doo #fred jones #professor huh #bcsd

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darkmindsthinktwistedthoughts · 4 years

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Devil’s Trust pt1

Thank you for joining me once more for the concluding part of Moblords.

Warnings: Strong language, Moblord styling warlords.

Masterlist

*Artwork by me please don’t claim as your own reblog is fine.

---

Chapter 1

The strained sound of the car engine as it revved high into sixth gear, drowned out the classical music playing on his radio. To call this a breakdown in communication would be putting it mildly. He counted three, one had been on his tail since before he even arrived at the agreed upon location which served to let him know the agenda for today was going to get interesting and he smiled to himself as he casually raced through the cross-town traffic.

It had taken a couple of miles but the original pursuer had finally moved into action drawing nearer to him so he couldn’t double back. The other two had moved alongside to flank him in an effort to guide him to wherever it was they felt they could hold an advantage over him. Ducking and weaving through the other cars felt as if someone had the world around him on pause. He drifted past the moving vehicles as easily as if they had been parked. Skilfully navigating himself away from any direct line of attack designed to contain him. It’s such a lovely day for a drive.

---

“Can you turn that down? I can’t hear myself think.” Ieyasu snapped as he finally gave up trying to take in the contents of the latest test findings on some new pharmaceuticals he had been working on.

“Guys?” Masa turned away from the screen, remote in hand. He had turned on the TV in the meeting room and was sitting with his legs propped up on the glass table while they waited for Nobu to return. “Where did he go again?”

“Who?” The young fluffy-haired blonde huffed and dropped the documents onto the table giving up on his plan of getting any work done as clearly, the volume was not changing.

“He who must not be named for fear of triggering Sir-worries-a-lot.” Masa tilted his chin in the vague direction of the other man in the room that had been fussing over emails on his laptop since his arrival.

“Don’t know. We never know where he is.” Hideyoshi grumbled half-heartedly taking part in the conversation even as his eyes scanned over the details of departmental expenditures for the last quarter.

“We do now.” Masa laughed out loud causing Hideyoshi to look up from his computer and see the high-speed chase taking part in the city. Four cars were in involved and a local drone for the news network channel was capturing it all in a live broadcast. An unassuming black salon was snaking its way easily through the streets keeping far enough in front of its pursuers to avoid an accident. A very familiar unassuming black salon.

“I’ll kill him!” Hideyoshi was trembling as he snatched his mobile from next to him leaving the room as he began speed dialling the centre of this PR nightmare.

The chase continued under the breaking news headline of “High-Speed pursuit in progress.” Masa had planted his feet back on the floor and was almost hanging off the edge of his chair engrossed in the action playing out. After a few moments, he turned his singular blue eye in the direction of Ieyasu who had also become captivated by the reckless driving enough to forget to close his mouth as he gaped at the screen.

“Whatever you are thinking, no!” Sensing Masa’s gaze on him Ieyasu was quick to shut down any growing ideas the other man might have.

“Oh, come on!”

“No!”

---

“Hi, Mum.” Mitsuhide calmly answered an incoming call with his hands-free device. The cars behind him were pressing closer paying little attention to the innocent general public. Some people have no concept of basic courtesy.

“Don’t hi Mum me! Do you have any idea what is on TV right now?” Hideyoshi’s bellowing voice threatened to burst his eardrum. Had his hands not currently been busy with the steering wheel and gear shift he might have been tempted to pull the earpiece free of his head. Even if I tossed the thing into the backseat, I should still be able to hear him clearly enough. Still… the fact he is bringing up the television at this time cannot be mere coincidence. His citrine eyes flicked from mirror to mirror checking for clearance from his pursuers as he nonchalantly continued the call.

“I’m sorry did I forget to record one of your programmes again? I’m a little busy right now.” He kept a familiar teasing tone as he tried to keep his focus on the traffic he was moving around in and attempting to angle a mirror towards the sky. CCTV shouldn’t be a massive problem around here and speed cameras will just flash and take still shots that don’t make for interesting viewing.

“Did you seriously just answer your phone when driving? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?” Hideyoshi began to rapid-fire questions. The anger from moments before was converted into worry at a laughable speed.

“Honestly Hideyoshi make up your mind. You complain when I don’t answer your calls, you complain when I do…” Successfully moving the mirror he was quick enough to catch the very edge of a news drone hovering above. Of course, at this time of day when traffic reports are due, there would be one of those pests buzzing around.

– Bang –

It had only been for a fraction of a second but it was long enough for him to miscalculate the aim one of the flanking cars had as it began to ram into his rear offside. The impact of metal on metal at this speed felt less like a warning and more like a demand.

“What was that?” The voice on the end of the line sounded almost frantic now.

“Well, I did say I was a little busy. Don’t worry so much, you’ll live longer.” Mitsuhide adjusted his grip on the wheel and pulled himself back from the slight drift he had been forced into as his car fishtailed after the impact. His rear tyres bounced as they clipped the curb.

“But the TV…” The emotion in Hideyoshi’s voice made it clear that he didn’t know if he should be angry or worried right now. Mitsuhide knew there was a good chance if the worst should happen the group's mother hen wouldn’t be able to stop themselves from clucking and blaming themselves for making the last things, they ever said to him into something that was an angry complaint.

“I’ll fix it.”

“Mitsuhi--!” Was all he heard from the other man as he disconnected the call, cutting him off before he could elongate the conversation further. The cars behind were drawing closer and this was escalating from reckless driving to desperate on their behalf. He had no desire to explain casualties in this to anyone. He had to get out of here.

His car barrelled straight through a small vendor's cart. He was powerless to avoid it. Mercifully the vender and his patrons had escaped injury but this was really getting too much for the main thoroughfare of the city.

– Sigh –

It would be a lot easier to get out of here if I didn’t have eyes in the sky on me. That being said who do I know who could crash a city network grid and provide some coverage? The smile returned to his face as he asked his phone to call a contact. It didn’t even finish ringing once before it was answered.

“Sasuke? It’s me.”

---

The comforting melody in the club washed over him like waves on a shore. He allowed himself to drift, attempting to belay the unrest he felt inside threatening to break his composure. Twice now this had happened, someone was pulling strings in the shadows dragging snares with jagged thorns in on him, tightening just enough for him to feel them. They hampered his movements and drew attention to him in all the worst possible ways. He was used to being the centre of attention but this was not a party he had helped set up, this was not his circus and he was not the ringmaster. He felt like he was being put on display, played with and that was not something the Devil King revelled in.

His thumb played with the edge of the smartphone placed on the table in front of him. The light from the screen glowing at the same brightness as the candle in the centrepiece. Those damnable digital letters floating in their luminescent glory taunting him. “If you want to play a game. You have to first know what game you’re playing.” A message decoded and left like a calling card for them all to see.

That company wouldn’t yield, Esshu Industries should be gone under after the CEO was gunned down, it should have crumbled with him. The whole business was obviously a front from that other cartel that dared move into his city. Why when the beasts head is cut off did the body not die with it? What kind of hydra was he facing? Someone was still pulling strings and making puppets jump. But who?

Tempo shifted in the room as the act on stage changed performer. Soft clicking of stiletto heels moved closer to him over the partly uncarpeted floor. A swish of opulent emerald silk brushed over his arm as the woman wearing it reached for his hand resting on the table.

“You are not yourself tonight.” A calming soft voice trickled out over ruby red lips, her warm hand gently embracing his.

“Carana?” He hadn’t noticed her arrival at his side as he usually did, he hadn’t even registered the fact her performance had ended. She was right he wasn’t himself. His mind was more occupied than usual and even her beautiful voice had failed to penetrate it and dominate him completely as it usually did.

“Did my performance displease you?” She remained standing looking at him from upturned eyes, searching him for something. He had caused her to worry about him, he knew that but he also knew in the same way she did that he could not show or admit to weakness openly.

As safe as the birdcage was it was also first and foremost a black-market trading hub. News that he was unsettled might not amount to much among most people but he knew it only took one person to take an interest in such things and it could be just enough to make a move.

“My little bird never fails to entertain. Work is…” He gave her a reassuring smile but his words were cut off as she placed a long elegant, impeccably manicured finger to his lips.

“Work. You need not say more I am aware.” She slid next to him, her thigh brushing his as she took a seat in the booth. His eyes tracked a slow path from that brief connecting point on their bodies, following her outline. All her curves visible through the figure-hugging dress, his mind making connections to what he knew to be hidden beneath the layers of fabric. By the time his eyes had found hers the red of them had darkened enough for them to match her lipstick.

“You heard?” Nobu knew there was no way what had been happening could be contained as a lot of it had already hit the public domain.

“Who do you think I am exactly?” Carana gave a wry laugh and shot a glance over to the young bartender who nodded in reply and began mixing ingredients together with youthful exuberance.

“I am chasing shadows in the wind. Nothing points in a clear direction.” Nobu turned his eyes away from her muttering to himself looking at the phone again. He was really not himself tonight. Carana placed a hand on his leg and patted it like she was reassuring a small child, drawing his focus expertly back to her.

“I shall see what I can find out.” Extending her reach a little further she tapped the phone screen and Nobu watched as it went blank. How long had he been sitting there looking at that thing and not been able to do that? Not for the first time, Nobu wondered exactly how often this woman had helped to save him. Did she know what she did?

“Are you drinking tonight?” Nobu asked when a waitress placed two fresh drinks on the table. The twist of lemon peel sat on top of the ice in the two tumblers. His usual dry martini reduced to nothing more than a drunk olive in an empty container was removed.

“I could. If you are looking for company that is?” She leaned over and took both glasses in her hands offering one to him.

He could sense what she was doing. She was offering an oasis in a desert to a struggling man. But it was not out of pity. He knew better than to think that, he knew her. This was her way of getting him to relax without pressure, leaving work at the door for both of them and enjoying a rare chance of imbibing a drink without fear of attack.

The phone vibrated on the tabletop caller ID revealing who it was and he felt that ominous feeling as it attempted to ensnare him again. He tapped the screen sending the caller to voicemail, and turned off his phone sliding it back into his jacket pocket.

“I would be a fool to turn you down.”

“So, don’t.” Carana chinked their glasses together and they both took a sip. The citrus of the lemon balanced with the sweet honey allowing the mellow warmth of bourbon to melt his anxiety. This was their drink and it was a shot of sunshine in the oppressive darkness he felt around him.

---

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demyrie · 5 years

Text

Throwing Spells Together: Workplace Protection

As I was making this happen, I knew that some shy free-range (without a dedicated system of organized practice or "religion") witches out there could benefit from seeing a problem solved step by step in a witchy way that works for me.

So, problem. I travel a lot for work (medical field), to different locations, and am constantly amazed by how my experience differs with patient population. Some places are insanely busy, but the patients are sweet and understanding and I work hard and have a good time; others, it could be a slow day but the patients are aggressive and rude and want to yell at me for things out of my control (and thus stop me from doing my actual job of assisting those I CAN help, which makes me absolutely hysterical).

When I learned I would be subbing at one particular location for two weeks, my ONE THOUGHT was "oh Lord please say it's not that one".

Guess what. Yep. That one. For two weeks.

This particular location, I had been bullied by patients at every previous visit and I was filled with dread at the idea of withstanding non-stop wheedling, aggression and general disrespect for that long of a stint. It was so disheartening, I almost cried, but I thought I should take a stand in what way I could and "protect" my workspace.

Spell design: what's the root of the problem?

There's no "hey please make work fun or not terrible" spell, and an intention so unfocused won't get you anywhere. So, with @rainbowstarbird's help, I found the lynchpin to my bad experience: I just didn't want to be bullied. I wanted to claim my space inside this building, this practice, and make it clear I would not be disrespected. Anything beyond that, I could deal with.

Materials

Gems (as desired), 3 bottles and 1 candle. Invite 1 friend if available :3

My plan was to assemble a little forcefield around my workplace by placing tiny jars of stones around it, charged by intention (candle, singing)

I picked out a number of gems that represented what I wanted to invoke: obsidian and hematite and black tourmaline for grounding/protection, carnelian for strength/fire/conviction, quartz for amplification and clarity, and bloodstone for, you guessed it, more grounding, but of the earthy nurturing kind. I also stuck a dried yellow rose petal into each jar, for good intentions and general friendliness, because I wanted to retain the energy that I WAS there to help folks, if they would LET me help them.

So we assembled three identical jars (three is a good number for stability; I initially laid out 4 and my intuition went NOPE) and sat them between us. I lit a candle for power, centered myself. I kept coming back to the thing that was so distressing to me, and what I wanted to say to those folks: I don't want to deal with any of your nonsense. Don't come in here looking to pick a fight, because this is MY space.

So, grinning, I sang: fuck off, fuck off, fuckofffuckofffuckoff, I don't wanna deal with any of your shit fuck offfffff (fuckofffuckofffuckoff)

I sang it to the tune of, ironically or appropriately, "HI HO, HI HO (it's off to work we go)" and Rae joined in, laughing with me and projecting all of the righteous indignation we could muster.

Magic note: A thing I think folks tangle with more than necessary is the assumed aloofness or alienness of ceremony. While it's important to create a space and time separate from normal life in order to focus, things that are effortlessly familiar to us are also very sacred. High ceremony woos may disagree, but it works for us. We both knew the song (it's from snow white haha), we didn't have to THINK about the tune and the message was fairly simple : GO AWAY IF YOU WANT TO MAKE TROUBLE! laughter is also a very powerful energy, and gives you confidence 💕 don't be afraid to rely on images or feelings or songs that are very familiar and seemingly mundane for you. They can evoke a very powerful reaction, and too often folks get tripped up on memorizing a difficult new spell or Saying the Right Thing when the most important thing to spellwork is FEELING the right thing.

Set up!

The next day at my workplace, I tucked the three jars into the three corners of my space. I drew a line between them (with a blade of selenite, but that's just because I'm a dramatic ho and draw on crystal gridding to do my work), marking out what was MY SPACE, and kept mentally chanting "this is my space. I am deserving of respect. No shenanigans will be allowed. This is my space and you will not start shit in my space." Then (again, drawing on seemingly incongruous or mundane imagery) I imagined the corners flashing out and gridding the area like a force field in a video game. Those who aimed to make trouble would be repelled.

I renewed it every morning with the same intention, and while the location is still exhausting, there haven't been any blow ups or severe aggression since I placed it. I've met fabulous patients, had a great time, I'm more confident after taking steps to protect myself.

When I dispelled the protection grid the other day, I said thank you so much for your energy, thank you for helping me maintain the space and respect that I deserve. Now the spell bottles sit happily humming on our dining room table, still offering reassurance that we deserve space and respect. It's nice!

So, that's one of the practical ways that I woo. Feel free to ask any questions or clarifications, although I'll be late in answering them because I'm taking a mini haitus from the internet for creative reasons!

Happy Ostara to you and yours! May the coming days be filled with more and more love as the light arrives 🌻

#demyrie incants #spells #magic #wiccan #pagan #woo #how to #gemstones #protection #book of shadows

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ryanmeft · 5 years

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Ranking the Marvel Cinematic Universe, part 3

Part 1: https://ryanmeft.tumblr.com/post/183962601514/ranking-the-marvel-cinematic-universe-part-1 Part 2: https://ryanmeft.tumblr.com/post/184208179827/ranking-the-marvel-cinematic-universe-part-2

10. Avengers: Age of Ultron

Yes, the third act goes on way too long, and is uninspired and even a bit dull. It deserves the criticism it gets. Thing is, that’s pretty much all this one deserves criticism for. Right up until that final showdown, everything in the movie clicked. It starts right off with the Avengers already a team, in a semi-cold open where every member just works. Throughout the movie, Joss Whedon proves he deserves his reputation for snappy dialogue, as nearly every exchange between every character zings. The additions of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver may not feel like the most vital parts of the formula, but they work every bit as well as they need to, and the defeated Avengers retreating to an off-the-grid hideout to hash out their issues is still among the franchises’ best sequences, more than worth the silly Ragnarok tie-in Whedon had to trade for it.

It also has a great, underrated villain. While it does seem that no one really planned in advance to have Ultron in the MCU, he works perfectly, backed up by the voice and personality of James Spader. He never comes across as a robot, but rather as artificial life, dropped into a supremely messed up world and taking---well, can we really say the wrong interpretation? Skewed, perhaps, but driven by the very true reality of mankind’s brutal nature. It seems obvious Whedon got tired by the end of the film, but everything prior to that is gold. Unless you’re one of those people who watches the original on repeat, it’s now hard to deny that the sequel tops it.

9. Iron Man 3

Fanboy cries of “they didn’t do the Mandarin right” have unfairly dogged this one since release. I don’t read the comics regularly anymore, and I find that after more than a decade outside of regular readership I have the glorious freedom of judging a movie apart from whether it matches the comics’ often-contradictory and confusing continuity. So, with that out of the way: Iron Man 3 is genuinely good. Recovering from the train wreck that was Iron Man 2 with new director Shane Black and co-writer Drew Pearce, this one decided to de-glamorize the hard-party aspect of the character and let his frat-boy nature lead him to near-ruin, getting his home destroyed and his suit crippled by a mad terrorist. That led to an excellent middle act in which Tony has to make a go of things without his vaunted suits to help him, against a mysterious villain. When the nature of that villain is revealed, it’s actually quite clever (while also being a way to avoid massively ticking off the all-important Asian box office). The new supporting cast, especially Ben Kingsley and Guy Pearce, add a lot, while returning favorites get actual development. The third act goes on a little too long, but the device of having Tony manipulate multiple suits of armor at once is a clever twist on the usual Marvel shtick of an army of bad guys vs. one hero. As Marvel’s first post-Avengers movie, this one needed to prove the MCU concept still had gas in it even though the big event it had been building to was come and gone. It succeeded.

8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

Which Guardians is better? They’re both some of the more pure fun movies in the MCU, kind of like Suicide Squad, but not shitty, and in space. Some people prefer the first one for sheer irreverence and comedic chemistry, while others appreciate the more personal story and stakes in the sequel. I had a raging debate with myself on this (there were injuries) but ultimately, more personal won out. The first movie has a bunch of misfits who get together to stop a generic cosmic evil baddie bad guy seemingly for no other reason than the heck of it. The second gives them actual reasons to be together, with a truly interesting threat to fight. Peter Quill’s dad Ego, played with just the right amount of swagger and just the right gleam in his eye by Kurt Russell, is the lightning this team needed to really live. There’s a lot of “Oh, come on, stop pretending he’s not the bad guy” in movies, but in this case you really don’t want him to be; he’s the kind of guy you’d like to have a beer with, and you get the sense he really cares for his son in his own twisted way. That’s villain gold.

The family themes don’t end there, with Gamora and Nebula working out their differences and Rocket learning to be (slightly less of) a little shit and appreciating his adoptive family more. And, of course, there’s Yondu’s emotional death. In fact, one of the more interesting takes I read casts the movie in the light of overcoming abusive relationships. That may seem a little grand for a superhero popcorn flick, but tilt your head a bit and you can see it. The greater amount of heart on display in this entry makes up for some occasionally ramshackle plotting, and provides a worthy sequel.

7. Black Panther

One of the few superhero movies that genuinely created a believable world, the land of Wakanda comes to vivid and incredible life, a more visually varied, colorful and detailed setting than anything in the MCU or even the Marvel catalogue; there’s nothing else like it in the genre. Ritual battles for the throne are fought amid towering waterfalls, while light speed trains blast by beneath the rural African facade. The action in this amazing setting is driven by two great characters. Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa is a doubtful king, unsure of his country’s place in the world or even his own necessity to his country. Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger is a radical with a reason; his motivations feel genuine and his rage earned.

Ultimately, the supporting cast decided this one’s ranking. Other than fan favorite Shuri, the secondary players in this one are…well, dull. Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett and Danai Gurira are given minimal-if-any character development, and it’s impossible to ignore the fact that in the age of MeToo, all of the women here are subservient to a man. The third act devolves into an obligatory battle scene, when it could have been so much more given what it had to work with. By any measure, it’s an excellent tights flick, but we’re going to have to wait for the sequel to see what the setting is really capable of.

6. Captain America: The First Avenger

Just in case you were wondering if this list were biased, here’s my personal favorite MCU movie, down here at #6. One of the few films in the studio’s catalog that feels it was made entirely by humans with visions and not a marketing committee, Joe Johnston lends this one a feel that is a distinct mix of genuine World War II and the boys magazine vibe that originally birthed Cap. The result is a superhero film that stands as unique in the genre. Actual scenes of warfare are mostly avoided due to that PG-13 rating, but the costs of war are seen in relatively realistic depictions of refugee soldiers returning from a doomed mission, or the jaded responses of hardened troops to Cap’s USO-style shows. Light elements of camp come in with the deliciously over-the-top performance of Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull and that wonderfully hammy montage of Cap selling war bonds. The whole thing is tied together by Chris Evans playing the MCU’s most naturally likable protagonist, who gets a last line that, for my money, easily tops “I am Iron Man”.

5. Thor: Ragnarok

It may not be the weightiest film in the MCU, and the apocalyptic, full-stakes tone of the Asgardian story occasionally clashes strangely with the full-comedic tone of the Planet Hulk-inspired material, but Ragnarok was nonetheless the tonic we all needed in a world where blockbusters often don’t know how to relax. Sure, there’s plenty of humor in other MCU films, but it can occasionally feel as though a committee of people is sitting around with a page of one-liners and a stamp. Taika Waititi’s material does not feel like that. From the banter between Loki and everyone else to the fact that Hemsworth is finally allowed to tap into his comedic abilities, it feels like kids having fun, which we need more of. Cate Blanchett completely devours her role as Hela, while Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster is a preening drunk who gets some of the best lines. It pretty much erases the previous Thor continuity---including the only clever bit of plotting from Dark World---but what we lose is more than made up for by the fun we gain in the process. Oh, and visually, it may be the only MCU film other than Doctor Strange which fully taps into that wonderfully bizarre 60’s Marvel vibe.

4. Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man’s long-awaited starring debut in the MCU may not have been quite as earth-shattering as some hoped, but then, it wasn’t supposed to be. Of all the heroes in Marvel’s vast catalog, Spidey is the most like us. He has girl troubles, he can’t pay the rent, his boss is a jerk, and there’s always someone in the bathroom when he really needs to go (probably). Many of the hallmarks of the classic character didn’t make the transition, but the spirit is alive. Peter comes across as a hyperactive, overconfident millennial, which is what he’d be these days, and his classmates are updated from a rotating roster of stock characters straight out of 1950’s pamphlets on The Modern Teenager to a varied group of personalities that connect with today’s kids. Most crucial of all, though, is the Vulture, widely regarded at the time as the best MCU villain to date (and still this writer’s favorite). He doesn’t want to rule the world, he just wants to make a living, and that makes him the perfect opponent for Peter. Michael Keaton was the ideal choice for his casting. This is a case where a pretty darn good movie is bumped several slots simply because of how great the villain is. Sure, Downey seems to be phoning in his support role at times, and some great comedic actors are relegated to tiny roles, but these are flyspecks on the movie that redeemed the Spider-Man name after a decade of cinematic missteps.

3. Iron Man

The original and…still the best? Not quite, but it’s up there. At the time Iron Man released, it seemed flawless in part because of the odds against it. It’s hard to imagine a time now when Shellhead wasn’t a household name, but when Marvel decided to launch their new line of films with him, he was second-tier at best. The success of the movie and, crucially, Robert Downey Jr.’s casting elevated him to essential. The impact was so great that if you go and read a modern Marvel comic, you’ll find them pretending he was always front and center. It all started here, and it started because the movie was so good. It not only rehabilitated Downey’s image, it cast the great Jeff Bridges as a villain who seems to plausibly believe his version of events, and a pre-Goop Gwyneth Paltrow as an effective romantic foil for Tony. The humor, the action, the pathos all clicked. Looking back now, the decision to have Stane go completely evil by the end of the film cheapens it a bit, especially compared to truly complex villains like The Vulture and Loki, and the character himself has evolved beyond these beginnings---despite his moral conflicts, he still revels in being an irresponsible playboy here. These are incredibly minor quibbles, but ten years later, they stand out just enough to cost it a couple rungs on the ladder.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The popular favorite for the best MCU movie slides in at #2, and before you hit me, it’s all because of Marvel’s need to insert cookie cutter, blockbuster endings in their movies, regardless of what kind of movie it is. They’ve gotten better as time goes on, but the giant ships over the city, flaming and falling from the sky while superpeople jump on, in, over and around them was incongruous with the slower, more measured spy stuff of the rest of the movie, and felt obligatory, causing this to lose the top spot. Still, it had to have ranked second for a reason. The plot up until the third act may be the tightest and most tense of any MCU film, with genuine mysteries unfolding and an unexpected payoff when we get to the what’s-really-going-on-here moment. New additions Anthony Mackie and Robert Redford fit well, while Black Widow is such a perfect compliment to Cap that it’s a crime they didn’t team up more often without all those other hangers-on (and there’s an unexplored romantic chemistry that seems much more apt than that between Cap and Sharon Carter). The first two acts of this one define what the MCU is capable of.

1. Captain America: Civil War

Civil War plays like one of those old Marvel Annuals, with the double-sized page count and the promises of things you wouldn’t normally see. Unlike those annuals, the movie isn’t padded out with recycled material, either. It gives audiences exactly what they’re expecting: the answer to what would happen if the good guys turned on each other.

That answer, of course, is: one hell of a fight. The airport battle in particular shows off the powers of every available hero, including the newly introduced Black Panther and Spider-Man, and the Russos (with their small army of effects people) come up with every trick and use of the hero’s powers they can for this lengthy sequence. In many ways, it’s the best of the Avengers movies.

Yet despite some wags who say it isn’t really a Captain America movie, it is. The story heavily involves both him and Winter Soldier, and Rogers ends up being the one whose decisions shape the outcome. The stakes may involve everyone at first, but they eventually come down to a very personal battle between Iron Man and Cap, after a highly clever fake-out by Daniel Bruhl’s Zemo. The ads may have promised fireworks, but just like the other Cap movies, it’s the personal stuff that makes this one work so well.

#Avengers #marvel #robert downey jr.#black panther #spider-man #guardians of the galaxy #Chris Evans #thor #tom hiddleston #captain america #movies

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kakosindustries · 5 years

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Kakos Industries is ad-free. To help keep it that way, please visit KakosIndustries.com/Patreon, that’s p-a-t-r-e-o-n, and consider a pledge of a dollar or more a month.

Intro: What you are about to hear is gonna make that booty work work work work.

Junior: Hello and welcome to the Kakos Industries corporate shareholder announcements. At Kakos Industries, we squeeze every last ounce of Evil out of every person on the planet, and then we feed it back to them in preparation of beginning the process again. My name is Junior and I am a consultant here at Kakos Industries. Perhaps the best consultant. Everyone’s favorite consultant. Just the other day, they took a poll and I came out as the number one consultant in the building. You see, it’s because I’m so smart. I have the intellect of dozens of ordinary humans, leading to emergent properties of thought that you cannot even imagine. I know of one other mind that might be able to fathom my depths, but she spends all of her time making crossword puzzles.

Things have been in a slight disarray around Kakos Industries recently for obvious reasons, but I have decided that it is my responsibility to make sure that our responsibilities to you, shareholders, are being met. You see, while many of our employees have experience podcasting, because everyone has a podcast, I have slightly more experience doing actual broadcast like this. I’ve interrupted Corin so many times that I technically have more on air experience than just about anyone. Combine that with my vast intellect, and I am the obvious choice, albeit self-appointed.

What are you trying to tell me, Soundman? Oh, I shouldn’t be here? And what about you? Should you be here? You should be cowering in your home overcome with grief and guilt.

Today, our broadcast is coming to you from a fancy new cellular device you should have received in the mail. This cellular device is the new Evilixia 7, coming to us from the collaboration between our Division of Distraction and DigInfoDox, a company that will give you anything for free as long as you tell it your darkest secrets. While this is very nearly the production model of the Evilixia 7, it is slightly different in that it is much cheaper, and many of the functions were removed or never added so that it would be a perfect vessel for this very transmission and nothing else. The broadcast, as you may have noticed, has come to you as a phone call you couldn’t ignore, and now you must hold the cellular device to your ear and pretend like you’re having a conversation so that those around you will not be in any danger of finding out about us here at Kakos Industries before they’re ready. Be sure to pepper in some uh-huhs and some for sures and some yes daddys to make it believable. If you happened to have answered this call on behalf of a shareholder, or because you’re a snooping jealous lover, then I am afraid I must tell you now that you will have some difficulty putting this device down before its self-destruct mechanism is activated at the end of the broadcast. To save your life, you must now do something extraordinarily Evil and selfish to become a shareholder before your doom. We’ll give you some time to get creative. It may help you to land on our new and noteworthy list.

Now, I do not believe we still have an Automobile Celebration every year, but just recently, there were a lot of you shareholders and a handful of our employees who showed up to the building in modified and incredibly fast vehicles to do donuts in the parking lot and generally cause a ruckus. It seems that some people miss this festival. I do not. I do not fit in automobiles. When I need to get places, I use a helicopter. If you have never gone to the grocery store in a helicopter, I can firmly recommend it.

The Festival of Darkness was a smashing success as always. This one was even darker than normal. We painted the walls of the basement ballroom with pigments that absorb all light. We took away your cell phones and digital devices. Those of you who glow or have blinking lights just below your skin were placed in enormous black bags to keep any light from emerging. And then you were ushered down into the still and quiet room. You were placed on a special rug and allowed to spread out. We moved through the room quietly to make sure that everyone was behaving. Then, we walked through with a collection of man-eating beasts held on a tight leash. We have no reports of any of the handler making mistakes, but we would also have no way of knowing if they did as it was dark and quiet down there. If one of you shareholders disappeared, we would have no way of knowing. Perhaps you just never arrived. We can’t be certain. People disappear so often these days. Probably gone off the grid, I wager.

We also recently had the Festival of Genes. I believe it is technically the Festival of Genes Mark III. I’m not sure why we began to number them, but there you are. This festival holds a special place in my heart because I have genes. A whole lot of them in fact. More Evil genes than any other known living creature. It’s what makes me so smart and so great at everything, and so Evil. It’s always interesting for me to see what augmentations humans choose to get. Longer limbs. Enhanced bosoms. Softer elbows. At this year’s festivities, we wanted to make things a little more interesting. We allowed people to line up based on the type of changes they might like, and then we drew a genetic modification out of a hat and gave them that one. It would be in the right conceptual family, but not always what they wanted. We had one young woman get in line for cheek bones, hoping to get larger cheek bones, but instead, we gave her three more. She was quite displeased, but I personally found it to be very hot. A man waited in line for something to do with fire, hoping he could perhaps create fire with his mind or with some sort of secretion, but instead he became fire. That was something to see, although it didn’t last very long. We also had someone get in line for a tail, and end up with six tails. Some people find this to be unpalatable, but I can firmly get behind tails, if you know what I mean. We wrote “medley” on one of the slips of paper and mixed it into a random hat. When that one was drawn, we gave that person a huge number of modifications, so many that it should take a physiology as strong as mine to handle them. But the woman in question, Dana Govern, is still alive. She doesn’t seem to have changed much as of yet, but we’re keeping a close eye on her. I will say that something about her aroma has changed, and I find this change to be… alluring. No one else seems to be able to smell the difference, but I can’t get it out of my nose. I can tell where she has been, and I can find her in a crowd, and soon, I may even speak to her.

Coming up, we have the Shareholders’ Ball! This is one of my favorite celebrations. It is possible that this is because I have an enormous share in Kakos Industries. It is also possible that it is just the wildest, most debauched event we throw. This year, we will have grilled abominations as the main course. These abominations are anything that comes out of one of our genetic modification labs that we cannot suffer to live. Some have been on ice for a long while in preparation for this feast. We would love to tell you what sort of flavors to expect, but we cannot. We can only tell you that these creatures lived short and painful lives, and now we will consume them so that we can pretend that they never existed. There will, of course, be veggie options as well. The entertainment will be a combination of ventriloquism and puppetry that is certain to unsettle everyone in the audience. The dolls that the Puppetto Miserables troupe use reach an astounding 297 MegaNopes on the standard freakiness scale. But we will not nope out of there. We will stay, and we will witness, and our skin will crawl, and our anuses will pucker, and we will feel a strange arousal of a possibly sexual nature. I personally cannot wait. Following the show from Puppetto Miserables, we will have the blood orgy. This year, I am proud to announce the creation of the Blood Monster, an unfeeling, unthinking creation that produces incredible amounts of blood. It would possibly be useful in transfusions, or other medical applications, but instead we will poke a hole in it and allow its hot, red circulatory fluid to rain over all of us as we get busy. And get busy we shall. Those of you who are interested in doing the horizontal tango with me had better make arrangements soon, as my dance card fills up quickly.

We also have the Chili Cookoff coming up. I assume that many of you will create chili-as-performance-art again this year. And I will eat it all the same because my hunger will not be conquered.

Corin: Junior? What are you doing?

Junior: I’m doing the announcements. I wasn’t sure…

Corin: You weren’t sure what?

Junior: I wasn’t sure if you would be ready.

Corin: I was at work all day, Junior. I’m fine. I promise. I was just running around ten minutes late.

Junior: You should really take it easy.

Corin: I really appreciate that, but I’ve been fine for weeks. Everyone just keeps telling me that I should rest, and take it easy, and allow myself time to recover, but I’m totally fine. I don’t even need the crutches anymore.

Junior: I can see that.

Corin: So, please let me take over. This is my job.

Junior: Yes. Of course.

Corin: So where were we… What’s that, Soundman? He already did the Shareholders’ Ball? For fuck’s sake, Junior, it’s the best part of the announcements all year! Come on.

Junior: I think we can all agree that I did a fantastically Evil job selling it to the shareholders.

Corin: You don’t have to sell it to the shareholders. They’re already going to be there. It’s more of a victory lap. A chance to brag. A chance to tell them what they mean to us. What’s that Soundman? Well, okay, I guess you did okay, Junior. Been doing a lot of things okay.

Junior: What’s that?

Corin: Well, I know you took over a chunk of my workload while I was out of commission. No complaints, I hear.

Junior: I did my best, of course, and, as you know, my best is astronomically great.

Corin: I know. I just… I don’t like feeling replaceable.

Junior: Continue the announcements. While everything I do is amazing and better than anyone else could do it, I do not wish to step on your toes.

Corin: I feel like I owe you an update, shareholders. I took a little bit of unexpected time off recently after… Soundman shot me. I survived. I assume. I could be a clone of some sort, but I don’t think that was necessary. Soundman, in the throes of some sort of power fantasy, was pointing his firearm at my genital region when he had a terrible sneeze, or maybe some sort of whole body climax, that led to the gun going off. His aim is not that great, so he actually grazed my thigh. I was sitting at the time, so it grazed my thigh longways. It nicked the femoral artery, I assume, or something that bleeds like crazy in that area. I don’t actually know. I contend that I passed out due to blood loss, but they tell me it was far more likely the sight of the blood that caused me to lose consciousness. Then I hit my head. I was unconscious for a few days, but the speedy response of my medical team had me patched up in no time. If you’re keeping score at home, this means that Soundman came far closer to killing me than I did him. And let me tell you, our very own Soundman de Sade has had an unyielding erection ever since. It nearly tore through his pants when I hit the floor, I’m told. I understand that this detail is a source of great shame for Soundman, but I’m just happy to have him back at 110%. I am told that his return to his original stature has increased productivity here at Kakos Industries so much that it completely offset the month plus that I took off, and with Junior taking over some of my responsibilities, me getting shot was a greater boon to Evil than if I had just come to work in that time. I can tell you that feels great to know. I can personally think of no better way to enter my fifth year as CEO than from a hospital bed with the smallest hole in my leg slowly healing itself up. They even left the carpet bloody in here, which is really cute.

Here’s the strange thing about my time in the hospital. There was this beautiful woman taking care of me. A nurse practitioner, but I think I may have been her only patient. Striking eyes. One of those colors of gray violet-ish green that makes you think one of their grandparents had to be a space alien. I was sedated to some extent, probably unnecessarily, for the first week as my support staff tried to get me to take a break by any means necessary, so I only barely remember interacting with her. But she was so kind. I don’t believe I’ve ever been so doted on in my life. When I was getting ready to go home to finish my recovery, she offered to come check on me. She handed me a card with all of her contact information on it. I smiled and told her that I would be happy to see her. She walked away and I kind of laughed to myself until I looked down to see that her name was Tabitha.

Kimzzzzzzzzzzz has made a new decree. Apparently, in order to be sexy now, you must dye exactly half of your hair red. If your hair is already red, you have to make half redder. I think I’m just going to sit this one out. I’ve seen enough red for a little while.

Our drones down in hell have found Meredith Gorgoro’s left arm. We are unsure as of yet if this is the only remaining piece of her after some dramatic battle, or if the rest of her is still out there fighting monsters. We are hopeful, of course, but it cannot be easy to survive down there with this new disability, even for her.

I stopped by the Division of Erotic Experiences earlier to check on Jasmine Aashna and Dr. Dunkelwissen. They are still trying to answer the question “What is most sex?” They were both asleep in their boardroom with their heads down on the table while a very bored and very naked pair were sitting inside of an observation room you could see through a large window in one wall. I looked at the white board beside the sleeping duo. It simply said “putting it all the way in?” with a bunch of question marks at the end. It seems that they have been working tirelessly on this one, and it doesn’t look good. I don’t know what “it” is, and I don’t know where “it” is going all the way into, though I can imagine, and something tells me that’s not the answer to their question. I will keep you updated.

The Division of Figuring Out What All These Keys Go To has unchained a monster. In fairness, the monster was quite communicative and persuasive. In unfairness, it has since eaten three people and mailed their teeth to their loved ones. The missile they launched is still MIA.

They say that Evil once toured the planet in a traveling carnival. Its attraction was sitting quietly in a room full of people and making all of them feel gut-wrenching, insurmountable terror. This is Things We’re Taking Credit for Now. Today, we are taking credit for plastic litter, the aroma of decomposition, and the fact that your body is basically decomposing at all times. As always, some of these things are kind of big, and it’s difficult to tell if we actually caused them, but we did. And if you disagree, you’ll start to decompose a little faster than the rest of us.

Jonathan Ulrich has won today’s Ruin-A-Life Drawing. As a result, the life of Zweelee TeeHee Me Three will be ruined. We assume that Zweelee is Jonathan’s nemesis, but really that’s not strictly a requirement, though we often make it sound like it. We spun the wheel of misery in the same direction as Earth’s rotation and it landed on the space for covetous. From this day forward, Zweelee will be 90% more covetous, leading to an ever greater amassing of objects and lovers. For Evil measure, Jonathan Ulrich will be 13% less covetous, which might just push Jonathan over the edge to not having much interest in stuff at all. That could be trouble. Congratulations on the win, and best of luck.

This brings us to the end of today’s broadcast. Your Evilixia 7 will now self-destruct momentarily. If you’re not a shareholder yet, and that phone is stuck to your ear, it would probably be a smart idea to do something Evil quick. Like headbutting someone who would really be a lot better off without being headbutted, or telling your pet that they have been very, very bad, when in fact they have been completely obedient. The numbers are next.

337

Corin: Hey, Junior.

Junior: Yes?

Corin: Thanks.

Junior: Glad to help. You know, you can always give me more to do.

Corin: You know they don’t like that.

Junior: Yes. I know.

Credits: Kakos Industries is written and produced by Conrad Miszuk, who is also the voice of Corin Deeth, and the composer of the music. The introduction is read by Kim Aiello, and the credits are read by Kelsey Kemmer, the second most interesting conversationalist in the room. Any room. Please visit KakosIndustries.com for news, extras, and more episodes. There are also transcriptions on the website if you’d like to read along with the Kakos Industries announcements. That’s K-A-K-O-S-I-N-D-U-S-T-R-I-E-S dot com. Please visit store.KakosIndustries.com for merchandise and special offers and get wonderful benefits by becoming a subscription donor at kakosindustries.com/patreon. Questions, comments, or a strong desire to collaborate? Drop us a line at [email protected]. If you like Kakos Industries, be sure to rate and review us on your favorite podcasting service, and connect with us on YouTube (YouTube.com/KakosIndustries), Facebook (facebook.com/kakosindustries), Tumblr (kakosindustries.tumblr.com), and Twitter (@KakosIndustries). We encourage fan art and listener participation on all our social media platforms. Please visit our website for cast details and the credits for all of our social media contributors. We’ve recently expanded our social media team, so please visit the website to view their credits and current projects.

Special thanks to our esteemed shareholders Iain Croall, Dan Shumway, William Brandon, and Jack Attack. Also thanks to honored employee Dorkpool Dorkuss, who chewed enough gum to blow an enormous bubble, which saved the woman falling from the window of the Division of Defenestration, and Chris Leclerc, who scooted all of the glassware a little further away from the edge of the countertop moments before the earthquake. And thanks to our division heads Britney Garcia, head of The Division of Beanies, Booties, and Construction Projects That Are Probably Too Large for Yarn, Valerie Koop, Director of the Division of Inappropriate Games to Play in Public, Patrick Green, head of The Division of Oceanic Micro-Cryptozoology, Lynne Herman, director of the Division of Increasingly Improbable Slash Fiction, Carl H, Director of the Division of Unanswered Messages, Xavier Jarman, Director of The Division of We Know Magic Doesn’t Exist But We’re Going to Keep on Trying, Craig Czyz, director of the Division of Obscure Vintage Technology, And Lady Squidney, Director of the Division of Cephalopod Psychology. The Division of Beanies, Booties, and Construction Projects That Are Probably Too Large for Yarn has run out of Ultra Yarn in Dayglo Yellow. Everything in the building seems to have a dayglo koozie wrapped around it. The Division of Inappropriate Games to Play in Public has introduced public park mud wrestling. We looked it up. Mud wrestling is pretty much always pornographic in nature. The Division of Oceanic Micro-Cryptozoology claims they have found the puddle-cabra, a rare cryptid that lurks in small puddles, and resembles a goat, kind of. They say that it is very shy and doesn’t like being looked at too much.. The Division of Increasingly Improbable Slash Fiction has started shipping keeping things nice with having a thriving arts culture. There’s gotta be a give and take there somewhere. The Division of Unanswered Messages has left a “You up?” text message unanswered so long that the person who sent it is now monogamously married. It seems unnecessary to say that they never RSVP’d to the wedding either. The Division of We Know Magic Doesn’t Exist But We’re Going to Keep on Trying has given up on the hunt for magic words for now, but instead they are looking for ancient scrolls with some kind of power. They’ve gone right through our dry storage trying to read the paper towels. The Division of Obscure Vintage Technology has found a box of old brass finger screws. They’re not as hard as steel ones, but they still hurt like hell when applied to fingers. The Division of Cephalopod Psychology has discovered that the exectopuses do feel quite a bit, but usually they feel jealousy and frustration and anger. They tend to clam up when asked why. Clams are not cephalopods, in case you were expecting a pun there. Our esteemed shareholders, honored employees, division heads, and other Patreon patrons are the best. If you want a thank you in the credits, your own division, or other great rewards that help to keep this show running, please head to Kakosindustries.com/patreon. That’s Patreon: p-a-t-r-e-o-n.

Kakos Industries can be heavy sometimes. Try volunteering with a secular charity to bolster your indie cred.

#IFTTT #Kakos Industries #Do Evil Better

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redrobinfection · 6 years

Text

(11) Stormy Night

SociallyAwkwardFox’s Spooktober - Day 11 “Stormy Night”

AN: this is set during Tim’s 90s Robin run, and the scene is set accordingly: This is a Gotham before the wide use of cellphones or cell networks. B and his cohort use early cell phones and satellite phones, but you better believe those were pretty unreliable in extreme weather conditions. This is the map of Gotham I refer to when I write.

~*~

"N-twing, this- Ag--t A. Do-- copy?"

"Hey, A, I can hear you but you're breaking up," Dick called back over the comms. "Hey, can you hear me? Interference from the storm is breaking you up."

For the moment Nightwing was huddled into the sheltered eave of a municipal building. The thunder and lightning that would have demanded he stay close to the ground and under cover had long since passed, but rain was still coming down in stinging sheets and the wind came in such strong gusts that made it hard on to swing from building to building. ‘Twas a dark and stormy night, indeed.

"I repeat, Ni---, do you--? This is --- A?"

Dick sighed and left cover in hopes of getting better signal out in the open. "I can hear you, Agent A. Go ahead."

"Thank heavens. I was start- to think I'd nev- reach you."

"Yeah, the storm is still causing a bit of interference, but I can hear you. What's up?"

"We've lost all contact wi-- Robin. It's been almost an ----- you check up on him? Last we heard, he was down in the Upper West Side, along the usual rou--"

Dick frowned. "Hey, lost you there for a second. How long did you say? On his usual route, you said?"

"An hour and yes," Alfred replied. Even through the crackling connection Dick could hear the elderly man's worry. An hour was a long time for one of them to fall out of contact on a night like this. Especially a 14-year-old Robin patrolling solo while Batman is in Europe. Now Dick was very glad he had agreed to come back to Gotham while Bruce was away.

"Have you or Oracle activated his tracers? Any clues as to where I should start looking?"

"Oracle and I lost contact aroun- ---time. We activated trackers in the suit and -- mask but--"

"I'm sorry, A, please repeat." Dick bit his lip. At this rate he was going to lose radio contact with the Cave too.

"No ping from any trackers. Oracle's surveillance grid partially knocked out. No eyes on Robin or clues to last location," Alfred enunciated slowly and loudly over the line to cut across the static and breakage.

Dick grimaced and began pulling his gear out in preparation to fly. "Copy that, Agent A. I'm on my way now."

"Th-nk --ness."

"We may lose contact as I enter Tim's area. If that happens I'll find a payphone and give you a call as soon as I find him," Dick reassured him.

"Very good. Good luck, Night--"

---

Twenty minutes later, Dick pulled the Batmobile into a shadowy corner of the Upper West Side. He was lucky that he'd almost made it back to where he'd left it that night---up by Gotham U--by the time the storm had peaked in intensity and forced him to take shelter. Remote call to bring the car was great, but only if you had the uninterrupted signal to make the call. It was also fortunate that Gotham U was just across the Finger River from the Upper West side.

Dick hopped out and began tracing Batman and Robin's patrol route, starting at the bridge on the north side. Tim would have been coming up from the South, so hopefully he'd find him somewhere in between and soon.

After thirty minutes of swinging with no sign of Robin anywhere, he was starting to worry. He'd lost contact with Alfred-- far off in the Cave at Wayne Manor to the northeast--but the Clocktower was just one burrough over, and they were having no trouble hearing each other. If Tim was in the area, then he should definitely be in range of Oracle, too. He was just about to ask Babs to try Tim's trackers or check her surveillance cameras one more time when a flash of green on a rooftop caught his eye.

He swooped down onto the rooftop and felt a matching swoop of relief in his gut as he confirmed that it was indeed Robin, partially tucked away between an air conditioning unit and a roof access stairway, but he felt a new zing of worry as he approached. Robin was slumped against the air conditioner, legs splayed, and seemingly oblivious to Nightwing's approach. Unconscious? Maybe worse?

Dick crouched down just out of kicking distance and called out to him while looking for obvious signs of injury or the telltale dark stains of blood pooling on the rooftop.

"Robin? Robin! If you're awake, answer me."

Dick breathed a sigh of relief as Tim groaned and shifted.

"D-dick? 'S-s-s about time."

Dick smiled. "Yeah, it's me. Names, T."

"S-s-sorry," Tim chattered back. Dick noted as he drew closer that Tim’s lips were starting to turn blue with the cold, and he began searching Tim’s body in earnest for injuries. He carefully tapped the side of Tim's face then slowly peeled off the mask.

"You hurt anywhere, T?"

Tim groaned and pulled himself up further against the wall. "Ankle. An’ m-my head."

Dick whipped out a mini pen light and shone it into Tim's eyes. The boy hissed and turned away. "Why'd you stop answering Oracle and Agent A's calls, T? Did you pass out?"

Tim shook his head, then groaned and lifted a gauntleted hand to his forehead. "No, and stop that! I have a minor concussion and I twisted my ankle, that's all."

"And you're turning blue with the cold, don't forget that," Dick reminded him cheekily.

"Yeah, well, this rain is freezing and my suit is soaked. You'd turn blue too, if you were me. More blue than you already are, at least," he teased weakly, shakily gesturing to the fingerstripes.

Dick chuckled and waggled his fingers playfully. "Okay, if that’s so, then why did you drop under the radar? Why didn't you activate your emergency beacon?"

Tim gaped at him. "Wh-wha-whaddyou mean why didn't I activate my beacon? I did!" He unlocked and removed his shuriken R to show that the LED indicator on the beacon sewn into his suit underneath was indeed lit up. "I've been waiting here for almost two hours hoping that someone would come along to give me a lift home!”

Tim paused to draw a breath then went on in a heated tone. "I dropped off comms because the guy that gave me my concussion literally broke my communicator! And then my spare shorted out in the rain. I managed to haul myself up here after I activated my beacon with the hope that eventually someone would get the message so I wouldn't be forced to limp my way through three blocks of gang territory--with a concussion--to the nearest functional payphone just to call for a ride!"

Dick grimaced and looked away, ashamed. "Oh. Sorry, T. The storm has been messing with our transmissions all night. I only knew to come down here because Agent A and Oracle lost touch with you and couldn't get a ping on your suit trackers."

The annoyance and frustration on Tim's face melted away, leaving only exhaustion. "Oh, jeez. I didn't realize it had gotten that bad. I could hear Oracle just fine before I lost my comm. That's weird that my beacon didn't get through to her receiver, at the very least."

Dick frowned. "Yeah, it is." He stood up and offered a hand to Tim. The younger boy gladly let Dick pull him to his feet. "Well, that's a mystery we'll have to work out later. For now, let's focus on getting out of this rain." Tim nodded and hobbled forward awkwardly, favoring his right ankle as his face twisted in discomfort. "Oh! Don’t forget the mask," Dick remembered at the last second, returning Tim’s domino.

Tim shoved it over his eyes with a shudder and leaned heavily into Dick. "Okay. Let's get out of here," he hissed in a tight voice.

Dick huffed a laugh. "Wow, T, you got banged up good, didn’t you? I'm glad you didn't actually try to walk to that payphone. The petty criminals around here would have eaten you alive."

Tim stuck out his tongue then gasped when his bad ankle gave out on him. Dick squatted down, took one of Tim's arms over his shoulder, and stopped him just before he fell onto his face. "T-thanks," Tim gritted out, his expression caught between relief and agony.

"No problem. Let's get out of here. We need to get you back ASAP so A can take a look at that ankle, not to mention your head," Dick admitted soberly. "It's a shame you didn't make it just a little further north; then you would have been able to limp back to the car on your own. Probably."

"Yeah, but I still would have had to cross the bridge, and I don't think that would have gone too well between my leg slowing me down and the world spinning like a top every time I move my head," Tim admitted wryly as Dick helped him hop along the rooftop.

Dick grinned down at him fondly, then paused. "Wait. So how did you roll your ankle? Was it in the fight with that guy or-?"

Tim made a sound of distress and shook his head minutely. He turned his gaze away, but Dick could swear he saw color rising on Tim's cheeks in the dim light.

“I, uhh, I… tripped over a bottle in the alleyway while I was trying to sneak up on him. He was trying to mug another guy, and I didn’t see the bottle, tripped over it, it rolled under my foot, and then when I stepped down on it, my ankle rolled. My ankle made this really awful popping sound that both guys totally heard. They both turned around and just stared for, like, ten seconds.”

Dick tried to stifle his laughter but it bubbled out. “Oh nooo, Timmy, that’s so… I’m so sorry, man.”

“Names,” Tim snapped quietly. He sighed. “At least the distraction gave the victim a chance to get away. I, uh… I almost ate it during the ensuing fight, and then when I stumbled, the guy managed to get pretty hard blow in. Knocked me silly. If I hadn’t gotten my bo out and between us in time, I might not have made it up to that rooftop at all,” Tim admitted grimly.

Dick gave him a gentle noogie. “Ah, don’t beat yourself up about it, T. You saved a guy, you got away from the other one, and everything worked out okay in the end.”

Tim grunted. “I’m just glad Batman wasn’t here to see any of that.”

“Haha, yeah…” Dick cringed in sympathetic embarrassment. “That was probably for the best.”

Tim’s one-legged hopping faltered and Dick pulled hard on Tim’s arm to keep him from falling forward. Tim’s masked face whipped up to look at him in alarm. “You won’t tell him, will you?”

Dick shook his head. “Of course not, T. What happens between Robins stays between Robins.

"Or Alfred?”

Dick chuckled nervously. “Ahhh, well, I won’t say anything to him, but you know how Alfred is: he’ll get the truth out of you one way or another.”

Tim blanched and nodded. Dick patted him on the shoulder consolingly. “But I know he won’t tell B, either,” he reassured. “We’ve got your back, T.”

Tim smiled up at him. “Thanks.”

—

The storm picked up around them as he drove them back, mostly in silence. He spent most of the drive considering the critical errors of that night’s patrol.

First, going out during a forecasted nor'easter was a pretty novice mistake; Tim could be excused for it, but Alfred and Dick should have known better.

Second, and more importantly, they needed to discuss the serious flaws in the emergency communication system. They got lucky tonight. Things could have played out very differently, say, if Alfred hadn’t been paying closle attention to the comms, if Nightwing hadn’t been nearby, or if the storm had been any worse than it had been. Any situation in which Robin’s comm malfunctions, or his beacon fails to transmit, or the suit trackers don’t ping--or some perfect storm of the three, which is what happened tonight--is a potential recipe for (another) tragedy. Dick shuddered to think about what could have happened. He didn’t want to think about the very real possibility of Robin bleeding out in some dark alley, waiting with full faith for help that would never come, just because they hadn’t taken due precautions with their communications grid.

Dick glanced over at the teenager in the passenger seat and sighed. Tim had nodded off, his mouth hanging open slightly, his mask discarded on the dash. His eyelashes fluttered softly in his sleep. Dick’s heart clenched at the sight. Tim could have died tonight, had his injuries been any worse - if he’d been shot, if he’d been stabbed, if the concussion had resulted in a brain bleed - or if help had never come and he’d succumbed to hypothermia.

Dick cranked up the heat a few more notches and pushed the car just a couple miles per hour faster, feeling a desperate urge to get them back to the safety of the Cave before any more dark and stormy misfortunes could prey upon them. He tapped the steering wheel thoughtfully for a few moments, then began laying out his plan of attack for when Bruce returned.

He and Bruce would have to have a talk. They needed backup comms, redundant trackers, multi-point relay stations, and, most importantly, two or more emergency beacons on each of them. That was just a start. They would need to discuss further measures to ensure that help would never be out of range for any Bat. For a man whose paranoia was legendary, one who had already lost so much, you would have thought that these precautions would already be in place, but when it came to Bruce...

Dick frowned. Bruce would bristle at these suggestions and they would argue, no doubt, but after tonight, after so many close calls--after Jason--considering everything they could stand to lose for something as small as a broken comm or inadequate emergency beacons, Dick could not afford not to convince Bruce to see reason. He glanced over at Tim once more and his expression hardened. Yes, Dick thought grimly, one way or another, he would get Batman to see sense. Hell or high water. That was, after all, a Robin’s job.

#my writing #christmasriverswrites #sociallyawkwardfoxwriter #saf's spooktober prompts #dick and tim #dick grayson #tim drake #gen #brotherly bonding #angst #fluff #barely edited #(who am i kidding - barely *written*; i whipped this out so fast i should have whiplash)#i've written a lot of jaytim already; had to get some other people in on the spooktober fun ;3 #edited: 2019.09.30 #only took a year 😅

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yourewelcomeforbeingmyfriend · 6 years

Text

Dear Friend - Part 1

Dean x Reader

Summary: Dean meets a girl on a new hunter website and begins an online romance. The only problem is, they don’t know who the other person is. Could their love for one another last only in the confines of the computer screen or will their desire for something more lead them to finally meet?

Warnings: None

A/N: This is a send up to my favorite movie - “You’ve Got Mail.” It’s also inspired by the movies “Shop Around the Corner,” “In the Good Old Summertime,” and the musical “She Loves Me,” which are all based on the same play. If you know any of those, then you probably know how this story will go, but it’s got a hunter twist to it, of course. I absolutely loved writing this so I hope you all enjoy it, too. A huge thanks to @hannahindie for letting me run thoughts by her and for betaing this for me.

There were very few things in Dean’s life nowadays that brought him pleasure: Led Zeppelin on the radio during their usual cross-country drives; that first bite of a burger – the crunch of the crisp lettuce mixing with the tenderness of the patty; that moment right before falling asleep when everything was quiet and at peace. Over the past six months, however, a new pleasure had crept into his life: the joy of receiving a message from her, HellsBelle25.

HellsBelle25 was all he knew her as, this woman who had in such a short amount of time stolen his heart. They met on a new internet forum for hunters. She had helped him with a spell he found in an old book. The page it was on had been so worn holes had poked through it, leaving the spell little more than a macabre Mad-Lib for anyone to fill in the blanks. Thankfully, this woman knew the book and apparently had a copy of her own to complete the missing pieces.

He’d never be able to say what drove him to it, but after her help literally saved his and Sam’s asses, something deep within in him told him to reach out and personally thank her.

Thanks for helping with that spell. We would’ve been toast if it weren’t for you. What’s your name, by the way? Maybe we’ve crossed paths before. – BabyDriver67

Anytime. Maybe one day you’ll be able to return the favor. But let’s not go through the trouble of names. Hunters’ lives are short enough as it is. Why not fill them with a little mystery ;) – HellsBelle25

And that was how his correspondence with HellsBelle25 started. In the following months they exchanged all sorts of things with each other. Tips on how to best kill various monsters, stories of their latest kills, interesting lore they’ve come across. Everything except their names. It drove Dean mad. Who was this woman he was falling so hard for? His mind’s eye went crazy with speculation. He longed to simply know her name so he could have the pleasure of letting it pass his lips. HellsBelle25, as endearing as it was, did not have the same melodious effect.

But still he pressed on, deciding it was better to have her and not know her name than risk losing her for the sake of that one identifier. Instead he continued talking to her about different aspects of his life.

Hey there,

I have a brother. I won’t let you know his name either, for the sake of mystery, but we’re really close. Right now he’s sawing logs on the bed here in our motel room. He’s a good hunter. Hard headed, but he always strives to do what’s right. He almost got out of the life when we were younger. He got into a good college and almost made something of himself. I was so mad at him when he left for school. My dad was, too. He was my best friend and he was abandoning me. Looking back on it, though, I wish it would’ve worked out for him to stay. The fact that he got into college after living most of our lives on the road is amazing. I hated school. It was just in the way of my freedom, but he was really good at it. I think right now he’s doing something great in the grand scheme of things, fighting monsters and that sort of thing, but he could’ve done something even greater if he had gotten out. But he said it was the right thing to do – leaving school when he did. That’s my brother for you, always doing the right thing. He’s a better man than me and you’d probably like him.

I know we said no names and no details and I’ll abide by that, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I look forward to your messages on here. There are few things in my life that I look forward to nowadays. Hell, there’s probably not been much I’ve ever looked forward to, isn’t that depressing? But logging on to this thing and seeing the little message notification makes my day better, because I know a message from you will make it better. Sorry, I know that might be weird to say, but it’s true.

There it was, Dean beginning to bear his soul to a mysterious stranger. He felt as though he just drew down his collar and exposed his jugular for the kill. After he hit send he immediately regretted it, but it was gone now, flitting off into hyperspace.

What made matters worse was how she took three days to respond. Every chance he got, he logged in to the site to see if she replied. He cursed inwardly, and once outwardly only to be met with confusion by Sam. One evening he logged in again, a last bit of hope before shutting himself off completely from future prospects, and found what he had been waiting for; a little number one positioned over an envelope icon. He had a new message. He could feel the vein in his temple throb with every beat of his heart as he clicked the icon and saw that the message was, in fact, from her.

Dear Friend,

I feel completely awful for letting such a message sit in my inbox for so long. I’m sure in other lines of business, saying you’ve been off the grid and unable to get to it seems like a lie, but I swear to you it’s the truth. Did you hear about the haunting in the Appalachians that’s been happening? Who knew that a small secluded section of the woods could be so infested with ghosts? It makes me think twice before going camping again.

Your brother sounds like a great man. I’m sure you’re proud of him, but from what you’ve told me about yourself, I’m sure he’s proud to have you as a brother, too. Try not to sell yourself so short. I have a brother, too. He’s not in the life like us, so I don’t get to see him all the time, but when I do it’s great. He’s got a wife and a cute little kid. Seeing him with his family, especially my little niece, reminds me why I’m doing all of this. It’s a crap life most days but it’s all to protect people like them.

As for the rest of it, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t agree. I find myself thinking about you. I pretend like we’re the oldest and dearest of friends, instead of what we really are: strangers who met over a summoning spell on the internet. There are times where I’ll be doing something mundane like making a sandwich or even reading through lore and I find myself wondering if you’re doing the same. What kind of sandwich does he like best? What is he hunting this week? What will he say next? I sit and wait impatiently for the impossibly slow motel internet to bring up the site so I can see if you’ve written. My foot shakes with impatience and I bite at my nails – a terrible habit that I’ve had since I was a child. I hold my breath as I wait to see that little envelope icon with a number over it. The rest of the world falls away to me. Monsters and ghosts be damned. I have a message – a message from you.

It’s becoming borderline dangerous. One day I could find myself trying to kill a vampire and my mind could slip to you, then boom – I could be the vampire’s treat.

You’re bad for business, BabyDriver67.

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#spn fanfic #dean x reader #dean winchester x reader #supernatural reader insert #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester fanfiction #stuff i wrote

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jonathankatwhatever · 6 months

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It’s now 28 Nov 2023, and I feel like I’m in a play-ay-ay anyway-ay-ay. I fear there’s something deeply wrong with me that I can’t identify, an irrationality within myself, but wait: is that the right concept or is it a paste? I think it’s a cut and paste, like in visual dreams when the background is something different from the narrative action, like when the background would become my childhood house’s yard. Why the yard? Because I walked it, crawled it, rolled in it until a map existed which layered the whole and many pieces of it so it acted as a set or series of constructed Ends with various meanings that drew, like sheets of paper or something more flexible so you can imagine topologies on these sheets. The reason for the topologies is not to say it is this or that this interpretation of the Ends is fixed ordinally, but rather to indicate that the relationships drawn across the Ends construct, and that means, for example, that each threading possible, each Pathway, since that is a permutation which constructs not merely as a permutation going in one way but both ways, as the 1-0Segment in DC&R. Think of the permutation as 1Segments to get the idea. This is how the Pauli exclusion principle works: it excludes because a field manifests a 1-0Segment. In fact, all this construction and creation of objects in dimensional structure necessitates that their behavior is also constructed, meaning how objects behave constructs using the same rules as in the construction of the objects. Sorry if this is too wordy, but the glow from the screen distracts me.

The same rules means we have both permutations and Pathways. The p with a small p and the P with a capital P. We do that a lot. Example is that grid squares is a regular square before and after the regular square’s existence, no matter when measured or how. A gs is Irreducible to an rs and an rs is Irreducible to a gs. That’s D4 in grid squares becoming that intermediate, constructed state, the 3rd End, both individually and generally, which manifests 3 dimensional states in motion. As noted, this gives rise to different perceptions of the passage of time, as well as the existence of an objective clock tied to the Informational Limit.

You can now see why the IL maps to SBE, which is inherently Triangular, rather than directly to grid squares: it limits into and out of rs through a process I’m fairly certain we’ve drawn - yes, we did - in which each side of a grid square and thus of a regular square forms as the 1-0Segment connecting a 3rd End which is outside the square. That led to some interesting work about inversion over that side into the square itself: since the height of a bT is only root3/4, you get 4 Ends within the grid square, with these overlapping but wait a second: there’s a bifurcation, a K’ing we did not see before. That is the square root of .75 is around .866, while the square root of ¾ is root3/2. I haven’t thought about this at all before. Let’s see.

We did do this, but not in much detail because so much else was coming together. This makes an orthogonal 3Square over the fD, so if you think of these as ovelapping within an enclosing square, you get a cross of overlapping ortho 3Squares. You can see the overlap because each of these 3Squares projects as a line, so we get .134, and this appears at each End, meaning each sticks out into the other’s space for all but .134 at each End. So subtract and we get .732 overlapping. That makes an orthogonal square of .536 and thus a cross of those inside the larger cross. I’m unsure how to label these squares. This is a step away from an integer nSquare. And that process continues because each definition in projection becomes some level in count of steps away from the integer nSquare.

This is the same modularity process as generally exists. You can see resonance in this, and thus again Inmanation and Emanation, because that maps to the wave which conveys the effect so it can be inferred backwards, meaning it generates that causal chain which we trace back.

BTW, this is why I was actually excited about today: I realized and hoped for the level of intelligent analysis which I get when you’re just a bit away, as opposed to the overwhelming presence effects. Not a preference but something good to look forward to, to experience, and badly needed after the days of excessive work. Also, I have definitely become a bit clumsier doing basic things like carrying because my vision now alternates between reading glasses and not, so my eye-hand coordination is more general and less fixed. I can overcome with greater focus, but that tends to fail when rushed, exactly like I see in athletes not matching up to the mental demands of a higher level game. Oh and I’ve been doing some really cool movement stuff. Lots of cool knee work and just found a deep abdominal contraction which enabled super pure, friction free high knee raises and a walk.

Just had some new thoughts: a short scene of a you character being extremely distressed and hyper worried, fear, which is sometimes just a startle reflex to be awake upon touch, so a mismatch of intent, which may be absent, and perception.

I’m going back to bed. I note that the construction of a gs by Triangular, which I also now remember as connecting the idea of Triangular over gs, which is key to the grid, also invokes layers, and invokes the conception that squares, both g and r, are stretched open 1-0Segments.

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visualcommblog · 3 years

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Brand Guidelines Final Project

Ideation

So to start, for my final project I decided to do a personal brand identity. I have collected some images as a moodboard to serve me as inspiration to ideate my identity, following a rough idea about myself. As I like vibrant colours, I would try to incorporate bright colours into my branding.

And as I love to illustrate and am a visual person, I was thinking of including shapes or something visual to convey my identity in a creative and visual way rather than just a name.

So this personal brand is to represent myself as a vibrant, creative and colourful person. So I’ve been thinking of incorporating colourful tiles and shapes into my identity. Specifically, these shapes could also be constructed into the form of my name and into a tile as my logo.

This are just some examples of shapes that I thought could work as a logo. The colours I have chosen are vibrant and bright, which I personally feel relates to me as a person.

I also picked a few logo identities which features their name in some way within the logo itself. I especially liked the Open Architects Identity as they utilised shapes to create the name of the brand within the logo tile. And I think I’d like to incorporate my name in a similar way, but reflecting more colour and vibrancy into my personal tile logo.

Sketches

From my ideation, these are three sketches that I have come up with for my logo. For 1, it’s similar to the Open Architects inspiration logo where the use of my first and last initials is included in the logo. However, I thought it could be too plain, since I’m incorporating quite a few colours. For 2, it’s an upgrade from the first, as I included my full first name in the tiles. I’ve also experimented with lower case letters to visualise the difference. For 3, I became super experimental and challenged myself to incorporate my whole first name into a tile. The 3rd one is a bit more conceptualised and required a bit more planning as I had to be strategic to place the alphabets of my name in the tile.

After Week 10′s forum post, I went ahead and designed logos 1 and 3 for Week 11′s peer review. This was what I designed:

This was an improvement of logo 1. I incorporated a few shapes other than my initials as it was looking too plain. I also experimented with the use of strokes and no strokes to compare the two. Feedback was given based on the elements and colour. My classmates were fine with the colours chosen as it followed my ideation. However, for the elements, my classmates advised that the shapes around my initials were looking a bit too random, and seemed like an extra afterthought than something that complements my logo.

This was an improvement of logo 2. Previously there was a horizontal line cutting through the tile as a ‘H’. However, by including that line, the facets became more complex with more shapes included in the logo. The ‘H’ can instead be depicted as a flipped ‘H’ through the short lines in the middle as illustrated below. Similar to logo 1, I also experimented with the use of strokes and no strokes to compare the two. Feedback regarding this logo was relatively positive. Most of my classmates preferred the one without an outline as it looked more pleasing to the eye than the one with outlines. They also commented that this logo portrayed my personal branding much more than the one above. Thus, I chose to go with this logo for my brand.

Construction of Logo

Before diving into the elements of my personal branding project, I created my logo first as it was the backbone of the whole project. This was how I constructed my logo:

Before I start, I first selected the ‘Show Grid’ option so that I can design my logo with guided lines.

With the grid up, I used the square shape as the backing of my logo before going in with a pen tool.

All of lines need to be closed as a shape before I can fill them in with colour. For the letter ‘D’, I had to do a curve, which I drew a circle and then cut into half. The circle would have to be of similar height to the square and be positioned off to the side in order to cut the letter.

With my position of the circle confirmed, I sliced the circle with the middle line of the tile, using ‘Divide’ option on Pathfinder the thus creating my logo.

With this, my logo is complete. After the construction of the logo, I added colours into the shapes and removed the outlines of the tile for a clean look.

With my logo done, I focused on my other elements of my personal branding such as the resume, the name card, the brand’s typography, the layout and logo guidelines to prepare for Week 12′s critique.

Critique

This was my presentation deck in the forum for the critique. Apparently, I messed up and didn’t submit a proper deck (so sorry Zicheng!) so I had to rectify that. Most of the comments from my classmates and tutors were positive, and there are only minor tweaks and edits to be made for the final submission.

Improvements after Critique

This is my finalised changes after taking into account the feedback given from the critique:

I have received a lot of great comments on how I can improve my personal branding. Most of them were about the clarity of information on certain backgrounds in some of my slides, so I changed the to fit those comments for better contrast and viewing.

These are some of the pages where I had to change colours of the background and the typeface colours:

A classmate also commented on my logo page where I wrote several ‘Types’ which he assumes would mean like a restriction. Thus, I changed ‘Types’ to ‘Variations’ for viewers to understand that the logo could have several variations following the established colour scheme.

Another change I had to make is the shifting of text where previously I intentionally made it go off the bleed. This is to make it more consistent and pleasing to the eye as it is aligned to the top text as well.

Lastly, there was also comments to improve my resume. As it is a bit awkward to split my name in half using my logo, I took away my logo and centralised my name as there is also patterns at the side of my resume which exudes my logo. I have also sectioned ‘Experience’ and ‘Education’ into two separate columns to reduce white space and make the resume more balanced.

Reflection after critique

All in all, this was a fun and enjoyable process to do up my personal branding. While the task seemed daunting, it was really interesting to experiment different techniques and trying different colours that best suit my personal branding. The comments that my classmates and TA provided were also really helpful in improving and elevating my work as sometimes working on it for too long makes you numb to the possible problems of your design. Therefore, I am really thankful for their comments and feedback.

Lastly, I would like to thank Zicheng for being a very helpful and resourceful TA, for providing examples before every submission (I realised my friends’ classes don’t have that!) and gave constructive criticism that help us elevate our work. I really appreciate everything that you’ve done for us. Thank you!!!!

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