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twistedtummies2 · 2 years ago

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The Price May Be Right - Honorable Mentions

Welcome to “The Price May Be Right!” Starting tomorrow, I’ll be counting down My Top 31 Favorite Vincent Price Performances & Appearances! The countdown will cover movies, TV productions, and many more forms of media…and the same goes for today’s post. Before the countdown begins in earnest, today I want to present some Honorable Mentions. These Twisted Ten Performances ALMOST made the cut, but not quite…

1. Dr. Malcolm Wells, from The Bat.

“The Bat” is considered one of Price’s earliest and most iconic successes. It’s a bit ironic because, in the film, Price does not play the main antagonist, nor even the main protagonist, but simply a supporting role. This murder mystery feature focuses on a detective story author, Cornelia Van Gorder – played by Agnes Moorehead – who finds herself hunted by a shadow serial killer known as The Bat. In the story, Dr. Wells is a friend of Van Gorder’s: a physician and scientist who has a strange interest in the study of bats. Right from the start, we know that Wells is not all he seems to be, as – near the beginning of the film – Wells finds out that Van Gorder’s associate, a banker named Fleming, has swindled money from his own bank. He murders Fleming and covers up the crime, intending to find where the man hid the loot and take it all for himself. As it turns out, the Bat is seeking the same treasure, putting the killer and Dr. Wells on a collision course. Despite only playing a supporting part in the story, Price’s fame was already so highly on the rise that he received top billing at the time, and continues to receive it to this day. The film is a simple but effective little “Whodunnit?” with a dark and Gothic edge: it’s no wonder it’s still considered a highlight in the man’s career.

2. Geoffrey Radcliffe, from The Invisible Man Returns.

This was essentially Vincent’s start in the genre where he would be most well-known: horror films. “The Invisible Man Returns” is the sequel to the original 1933 film “The Invisible Man,” starring Claude Rains and based on the H.G. Wells novel of the same name. In this film, Vincent plays Geoffrey Radcliffe: a wrongly condemned gentleman who has been framed for the murder of his brother. Radcliffe meets Frank Griffin – the brother of the original Invisible Man – while in prison, and discovers that Frank somehow learned the secret of the invisibility serum from his brother before Jack eventually went insane and faced his final fate. Seeking revenge on those who framed him and killed and his own brother, Geoffrey convinces Frank to inject him with the serum, and thus goes on a quest to catch the real murderers and clear his name. It’s a race against time, for the drugs used to create the infamous potion cause one to steadily regress in sanity over time: Radcliffe has to fight through the mental-maddening concoction, and find some way to stop the criminals…before he becomes a mad killer himself. The film paces a lot of the same territory as the first movie, but with a few special twists, such as the revenge plot and the fact that Radcliffe actually gets a happy ending in comparison to Jack Griffin. Price was a superb choice to take over for Claude Rains, given his own mellifluous voice and elegant physical performances. Indeed, Price would technically play the character more often than Rains: eight years after the film’s debut, Price would reprise the role for a brief and humorous cameo at the end of the horror-comedy classic, “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein.”

3. His Appearance on Holiday Startime.

“Holiday Startime” was a Christmas variety special that aired in 1970. It featured a series of bizarre and humorous sketches, all played by popular actors of the time period. Arguably the most famous sketch from the special was Vincent Price’s appearance. Price, beyond his work as actor, was known as a gourmet and talented cook. He was also known for his love of wine. The sketch parodies both of these elements, as Price – satirizing popular cooking shows – performs a silly skit where he tries to recycle various holiday leftovers…all while staggeringly intoxicated. The sequence is riotously funny, and – as you would expect with something from Vincent Price – ends with a little jab at his horror career, with a spoof on Jekyll & Hyde that results from Vincent drinking an unusual cocktail. It’s eight-and-a-half minutes of complete silliness that’s well worth looking up.

4. James Reavis, from The Baron of Arizona.

While I don’t think this Western has aged particularly well, due to some of its subject matter, Price’s performance in the picture is still quite laudable. “The Baron of Arizona” tells the (fictionalized, of course) true story of James Reavis: a notorious con artist who tried to convince the United States Government to give him full control over the state of Arizona, by claiming a young girl he is attached to – Sofia – is a long-lost aristocrat with a land claim on the state, and then marrying her once she is old enough, so he can inherit the properties. Both the film and the character carry much ambiguity: Reavis is a scoundrel, and as the film goes on his actions become increasingly despicable, but even up to the very end it’s hard to completely hate him. His motivations for why he does what he does turn out to have some surprising empathy to them, and his relationship with Sofia – while EXTREMELY bizarre – does have its touching moments. While he only sees her as a means to an end at first, as time comes on he does learn to care about her, and she, in turn, admires him. The movie is somewhat forgotten today, but it’s worth checking out, despite its more bizarre elements.

5. The Magic Mirror, from Faerie Tale Theatre.

Price appeared twice on this television series, which adapted numerous classic fairy-tales and fantasy stories in a deliberately theatrical manner, hence its title. Every episode featured an all-star cast to help boost it up. In one episode, “The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers,” Price acts simply as the offscreen narrator; his presence is not a coincidence, as the episode pays subtle homage to classic horror, with actors like David Warner and Christopher Lee having roles in the story, and making numerous references to Dracula and other chillers. However, even more noteworthy than that is Price’s role as the Magic Mirror, in the show’s adaptation of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Left to act with nothing but his face and voice, Price manages to become possibly the best part of the episode, and an excellent foil to Lynn Redgrave’s wildly over-the-top depiction of the Evil Queen. Alongside the Disney version, his Magic Mirror is quite possibly my favorite take on the concept…mostly BECAUSE it’s Vincent Price doing it, to be fair.

6. Michael Bastion, from The Snoop Sisters.

“The Snoop Sisters” was a four-episode-long murder mystery miniseries that aired between December of 1973 and March of 1974. The four episodes were the disconnected adventures of two loveable old biddies – the titular Snoop Sisters – who continuously find themselves roped into “Whodunnit?” plots. (As you do.) In the fourth and final story, “A Black Day for Bluebeard,” Price plays a friend of the sisters, Michael Bastion: a once-renowned but now fading film star who is looking to find a way to rekindle his career. When his wife is murdered, Bastion is accused, and the Sisters need to find a way to save him from persecution. In a way, Bastion is Price playing an exaggerated and humorous self-parody: like Vincent, Bastion is an actor known for his hammy acting style and proficiency in horror movies. Also like Vincent, Bastion is a connoisseur of wine and fine foods. My, what perfect typecasting. :P

7. Oscar Wilde, from Diversions & Delights.

It grieves me to leave this performance out of the main running, but I feel it’s the only fair thing to do. “Diversions & Delights” was a one-man show Price performed on Broadway, late in his career. It was a biographical play about the life and times of Oscar Wilde, as told by Wilde himself. Many critics who saw the performance in its time considered it to be quite possibly Vincent Price’s Magnum Opus: reviews applauded the sensitive and subtle way he portrayed Wilde, while still having a sense of needed flamboyance and charismatic stage presence, befitting both the part and the show. Unfortunately, I’ve never actually SEEN this stage show. I was lucky enough to find an audio recording someone made of the play, but due to both the age/quality of that recording, and the fact that I feel plays really do need to be SEEN to be fully appreciated, I don’t think it’s fair to give Price’s performance here a place in the Top 31. This is the ONLY reason I give this a mere Honorable Mention; if you can find a recording of this show somewhere, I urge you strongly to give it a listen or a watch.

8. Professor Jarrod, from House of Wax.

Much like “The Invisible Man Returns,” this is another classic Price horror outing that many claim jumpstarted his career in fright films. Indeed, Price’s portrayal of Professor Jarrod – the demented master of a wax museum, where people are secretly turned into dummies on display – is considered one of his most recognized and popular performances. Honestly, there’s not much to say here except that, while I DO love Price’s performance in this film, and the film in general, I just like other roles and performances more, or at least find there’s more I have to say about them.

9. Professor Multiple, from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

“Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” was a 1960s TV series that can best be described as “Star Trek, But Underwater.” It focused on the sci-fi adventures of a group of submarine explorers, with stories that ranged from the horrifying to the kooky. Price’s appearance in the episode “The Deadly Dolls” falls somewhere in the middle. In this episode, Price plays master puppeteer Professor Multiple, who is hired to entertain the crew aboard the submarine for a while. (He’s surprisingly good at it.) However, after the show is over, Multiple is revealed to have darker ulterior motives, as his puppets come to life and begin replacing the members of the crew, as the first part of a mad scheme to – you guessed it – take over the world. The mystery of these living puppets, why they’re doing what they do, and where they all come from is what drives the plot. As the story goes on, it becomes clear that Multiple himself is not all he seems…but I mustn’t say more, or I shall spoil the rest of the story.

10. The Narrator, for The Town Too Tough to Die.

This is a very different option on the list, but it’s one I just HAD to bring up. If you go on a trip to Tombstone, Arizona, you will find a little building called “The Historama.” Inside is a theater where you can see a special documentary film called “The Town Too Tough to Die,” which details the history of Tombstone and a lot of its most famous historical events. Not only does the documentary feature footage, but live practical effects in the form of a huge model that takes through different time periods in Tombstone, with working animatronics and effects. All of this is narrated by the late, great Vincent Price. I got to visit this attraction during a trip to Tombstone almost a decade ago, and I have never forgotten it. If you ever get a chance to see this attraction yourself, do so; it’s truly a one-of-a-kind experience.

Like I said, tomorrow, the countdown shall begin with my 31st Favorite Vincent Price Performance. There will be no hints for THIS countdown, so you’ll just have to wait and see what surprises are in store. ;)

#list #countdown #honorable mentions #the price may be right #top 31 vincent price performances #vincent price #actors #acting #theatre #movies #film #tv #animation #music #and more

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reagandunne · 1 year ago

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✦ KATIE MCGRATH, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER ✦ REAGAN DUNNE the THIRTY-FIVE year old has been in Hidehill for TWO DAYS and was a STRANGER to Carter Thompson, one of the shadows. Whispers on the streets are that the LA VELA SECURITY who lives in HIDE SQUARE are said to be MOODY and RESOURCEFUL but I guess we’ll find out for ourselves.

FULL NAME: reagan claude dunne NICKNAMES: reagan, rea, rc AGE: 35 / february 13th, 1988 GENDER & PRONOUNS: cisfemale, she/her FACECLAIM: katie mcgrath HEIGHT: 5’5” SEXUALITY: bisexual OCCUPATION: security at la vela

( tw: infidelity )

reagan claude dunne, born february 13th, 1988, her mother was working as an escort before she finally came to the picture, as her father isn’t in it, a topic which she has prohibited a young reagan to ever talk about. maybe it was the very first thing that has caused the disconnect between the mother and daughter, feeling like her mother was walled up, that she didn’t know her. in return, reagan started to keep things to herself. this has caused a rift on her path, leading her to meet people that would do nothing good in her life. a bad apple is the simplest way that one could ever describe her at a young age, of course, she’d still be in school, but instead of doing the things kids her age usually does, exploring the world, learning, she was also out in the streets, lifting watches, wallets, you name it, it would disappear into thin air and into her pockets. she had learned all these to survive, to, in a way, lighten the burden of her mother providing for the both of them without her knowing, since she’d be working for someone older and would be having her share. the small petty crimes eventually get bigger as she gets older. reagan was a smart, young woman, with her potential wasted in the streets and not where she could be and deserved to be.

reagan slowly moved up to ranks, and she was earning way more than what would get her and her mother through the day, which did make her question her daughter at one point, but believed, trusted that it was clean money, that she was just good at her job, well, of course, reagan was, her mother just didn’t know the whole nature of it. it was where she also met the very person whom she thought was going to be by her side forever, someone she could consider her partner, not just with their work, but her life. they had recently become the brainpower of the whole operation, which reagan was the fence, shipping stolen goods, jewelries, fake artworks, you name it, who made sure things kept moving accordingly to how it should be, somehow the face of it all. everything was going the way reagan had envisioned for it to be, but all of it was just a nice thought, somewhat a dream.

when she was met the slap of reality out of nowhere.

one morning, the couple woke up with their door being kicked down by authorities who had been watching her for months, given how she had been the face, it was her name on the papers, her signatures, she had unknowingly let herself take the fall of it all, with who was supposedly the person she considered her partner washed their hands clean and claimed that they had no idea about the nature of reagan’s work, their work. she had not said a worth throughout, not even with a lawyer, and accepted the consequences. though, before she was sent to prison for her sentence, her mother met with her, and had revealed to her as to why she had never told her anything about her father. reagan was a product of infidelity, and that...she actually has a half-brother. brandon harris. the name lived in her head for years, her mind deadset on meeting him, perhaps the reason she had been released earlier due to good behavior.

it was that very knowledge that had caused for reagan to start cleaning her act up, it may be many years too late, but she wanted for her brother to meet her and not see the way she was before, but what she is trying to change into, for the better. to not be the selfish woman she once was, just live a life as normal as she could. though, would that be possible when she finds out that the town her brother lives in is far from normal itself?

#hidehillintro #infidelity tw

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mcbastardsmausoleum · 2 years ago

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THREE BETWEEN THE SHEETS

ECSTASY (1984) - BLACK VENUS (1983) - MELODY OF PASSION (1985)

Indulge your ‘80s fantasies with two softcore classics produced by Harry Alan Towers (99 Women, Franco’s Count Dracula): In Black Venus, former Miss Bahamas Josephine Jacqueline Jones (Love Circles) leads a sumptuous orgy of Victorian lust co-starring Florence Guérin (Faceless), Karin Schubert (Black Emanuelle), Helga Liné (Black Candles) and Profumo Affair temptress Mandy Rice-Davies. Drive-in goddess Tiffany Bolling (The Candy Snatchers) stars in Ecstasy – also known as Love Scenes – as a Hollywood actress caught between reel passion and her own erotic hungers that include Britt Ekland, Julie Newmar, Monique Gabrielle and Jack Carter. As a Bonus, Austrian centerfold Sonja Martin (Red Heat, Emmanuelle IV) stars in Melody of Passion from director Hubert Frank (Vanessa), with all three features scanned in 2K from their original negatives.

ECSTASY (1984)

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 90 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)

Director: Bud Towsend

Cast: Franc Luz, Tiffany Bolling, Julie Newmar, Jack Carter, Britt Ekland, Daniel Pilon

In the Playboy Channel produced Ecstasy (1984) (aka Love Scenes) up and coming director Peter Binnes (Franc Luz, Ghost Town) has just won a critics choice award, and looking to cash-on this windfall her tries to get a new erotic thriller, penned by Belinda (Julie Newmar, Catwoman from the 60's Batman TV series!), into production, but his cigar-chompin' producer Sidney (Jack Carter, Alligator) says that no studio wants to finance an erotic film without some star power. Luckily Peter's wife Val (Tiffany Bolling, Kingdom of the Spiders) is a renowned actress, but she's never done nudity in film before. After some prompting from her hubby, as well as some reinforcement from a photographer friend Annie (Britt Ekland, The Wicker Man) she agrees to do the film, but with reservations.

Problems soon arise when the leading man in the erotic thriller, Rick (Daniel Pilon, Scanners III - The Takeover), who well-known for being a hand-on lothario ends up unexpectedly igniting Val's libido, and she embarssingly climaxes while film is rolling during their first filmed hook-up. This very real moment of passion exacerbates Val's mundane faked-orgasm sex life with her director-husband. Conflicted by her attraction to her co-star Val worries that her married life is on the rocks, but the self-obsessed Peter is too consumed with making his film to worry too much about his wife's concerns. This is a fun lightweight bit of softcore erotica that is heavy on the daytime soap opera drama vibes, but does feature some titillating softcore nudity, and it's capably directed by Bus Townsend (Nightmare In Wax). The film is less tawdry that I would have liked, and is lousy with sax-heavy score, but plenty entertaining, and getting an eyefull of drive-in goddess Tiffany Bolling (Candy Snatchers, Bonnie's Kids) nude is always a pleasure, and both Ekland and Newmar seem to be having a blast in their non-nude roles,

Special Features:

- Trailer (50 sec)

BLACK VENUS (1983)

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 95 Minutes

Audio: English, French, German DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)

Director: Claude Mulot

Cast: José Antonio Ceinos, Josephine Jacqueline Jones, Florence Guérin, Emiliano Redondo

Another Playboy Channel produced slice of erotica, Black Venus (1984) directed by Claude Mulot (The Blood Rose), is a Victorian era set erotic film that begins with penniless sculptor Armand (José Antonio Ceinos, Leonor) meeting the gorgeouse Venus (Josephine Jacqueline Jones, Christina). Entranced by her beauty she becomes his muse and lover, and he sets about sculpting a statue of her likeness. With no source of income from his artwork Venus begins working as a model at a fashion house, but the attention she draws and the money she makes proves to be a blow to his ego, he drowns his sorrows in drinks, and Venus ends up leaving him, embarking on sexual adventures with a horny wealthy couple, but growing tired of being exploited by others, she teams-up with Louise (Florence Guérin, Faceless) to work at a brothel, until Armand, no longer tortured, returns to reclaim his muse.

Black Venus has some solid period set production value, conjuring the Victorian era convincingly for a low-budget film, it's attractively lensed, and is well-acted, not to mention chock full of nudity and actual erotic scenes that are a turn on. This one also has a bookend scenes of an older gent (Emiliano Redondo, The People Who Own The Dark), who is turned on by being a voyeur, touring a brothel down a secret hallway that allows him to peep through two-way mirrors to witness the sexy cosplay shenanigans happening inside themed rooms where people indulge in fantasies involving pirates, slaves, and kings.

Special Features:

- Trailer

MELODY OF PASSION (1985)

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 91 Minutes

Audio: English or German DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)

Director: Hubert Frank

Cast: Sonja Martin, Montse Bayo, Marina Oroza, Klaus Münster, Martin Garrido

The final titillating softcore delight is Hubert Frank's Melody of Passion (aka La chica que cayó del Cielo) German gal Betty (Sonja Martin, Emmanuelle IV) is notified that she has inherited a family castle in Spain. Arriving there she finds the castle and learns from the lawyer handling the estate, Don Cervantes, that it might be haunted and more trouble than it's worth, and insists that she should sell it to him sight unseen. Now this guy has reasons for wanting the castle, in that he is partnered with a madame and they are running a profitable high-class brothel within it's stone walls!

This is certainly the most offbeat of the bunch this Austrian-Spanish co-production throws a little bit of everything into the mix. We get the expected softcore delights, plentiful nudity, some nice atmosphere, plus a robbery, high-speed car chase, Gothic horror elements and quite a bit more. The tone is uneven to say the least but the unexpected camp-factor and exploitation entertainment quotients are through the roof, making this wild slice of Euro-rotica the best of the bunch in my estimation.

Audio/Video: All three films make their North American Blu-ray debuts from Severin Films on region-Free Blu-ray presented in 1080p HD widescreen. Both Black Venus and Melody of Passion are framed in 1.66:1 while Ecstasy gets 1.85:1. These are advertised as being scanned in 2K from the original negatives, and they look pretty terrific. Film grain is unmolested and organic, colors and skin tones look natural throughout. Audi comes by way of uncompressed DTS-HD MA Mono with optional English subtitles. Ecstasy gets uncompressed English while Melody of Passions has both German and English audio options, with Black Venus sporting English, German, and French audio options. All the tracks are clean and free of issues, a bit limited in range, but clean and well-balanced. Extras are anemic, we only get trailers for Black Venus and Ecstasy, so that is a disappointing, I would have loved commentary tracks on these, but the HD upgrades are appreciated and blow away the previous DVD editions. The three disc release arrives in a black keepcase with a single sides sleeve of artwork, inside a flipper tray houses the three films on separate discs with separate artworks.

If you're looking to indulge in some vintage ‘80s softcore fantasies Severin has you covered with this titillating triple-threat collection. The extras are slim but the A/V is wonderful, and the erotic delights are plentiful. The three films are handsomely produced for what they are and look fantastic in HD. The films range from horny melodrama, to sleazy Victorian debauchery, and bonkers 80's raunchiness - it's a wonderful assortment of vintage erotica that all lovers of softcore should have on their shelf.

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softdealhub · 3 months ago

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govindhtech · 5 months ago

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Try DuckDuckGo AI Chat for Private Conversations

DuckDuckGo AI Chat

AI chatbots are the latest innovation from DuckDuckGo, the search engine that protects user privacy. DuckDuckGo AI Chat, their latest product, prioritises user anonymity while enabling users to communicate with some of the most potent language models out there. As a privacy-aware substitute for current chatbot systems, this action represents a substantial change in the AI field.

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Powerhouse models like this one are renowned for their capacity to translate languages, create original text formats, and provide insightful answers to your queries. It is the tool of choice for ideation, producing many forms of artistic content, and gaining a broad grasp of a subject.

Claude 3 Haiku by Anthropic Art

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DuckDuckGo has pre-programmed prompts to help you get started with typical tasks such as studying a topic, sending an email, or obtaining technical assistance. In addition to helping you make the most of the AI model, these prompts serve as a launchpad for discussion.

Clear Chat History

To maintain privacy, all it takes is a single button click to clear your chat history. By just clicking the “Fire” button, you can erase the entirety of your chat history and guarantee that your interactions stay totally private.

The Prospects for AI Chat on DuckDuckGo

Though it’s still early, DuckDuckGo AI Chat’s future suggests some fascinating opportunities. A preview of what to expect is as follows:

Adding to the Model Library

In order to provide customers with an even greater selection of AI personalities, DuckDuckGo intends to complement their current chat model library with additional models.

Improved Browser Integration

DuckDuckGo is investigating a direct browser integration of AI Chat to create a more seamless experience and make it even simpler to use these potent language models.

Power User Subscription Packages

We’re working on a paid subscription tier that will provide customers access to more sophisticated (and possibly more expensive) conversation models as well as larger daily limits.

An Emerging Era for AI Interaction with a Privacy Focus

For those concerned about their privacy, DuckDuckGo AI Chat is a big step forward. With DuckDuckGo, people can explore AI possibilities on their own terms by providing access to sophisticated language models without sacrificing user privacy.

Read more on Govindhtech.com

#news #technews #technology #openaichatgpt #chatbot #duckduckgo #duckduckgoai #claude3 #chatgpt #govindhtech

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paintsbeast · 1 year ago

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Unlocking Innovation: Exploring the Advancements of Claude AI Pro

In the fast-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, innovative solutions are continuously reshaping how we approach various challenges. Among the emerging players is Claude AI Pro, a cutting-edge AI platform that is making waves in the field. In this article, we delve into the features, applications, and potential impact of Claude AI Pro on industries and everyday life.

Understanding Claude AI Pro:

Claude AI Pro is an advanced artificial intelligence platform designed to offer a wide array of functionalities across different domains. Developed with state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms and a user-friendly interface, Claude AI Pro stands out for its versatility and adaptability.

Key Features:

Natural Language Processing (NLP):

Claude AI Pro boasts powerful natural language processing capabilities, allowing it to understand and interpret human language with remarkable accuracy. This feature enables more intuitive interactions, making it a valuable tool for chatbots, virtual assistants, and customer support systems.

Deep Learning Capabilities:

Leveraging deep learning algorithms, Claude AI Pro excels in handling complex tasks and recognizing intricate patterns. This makes it suitable for applications ranging from image and speech recognition to predictive analytics in various industries.

Customization and Integration:

One of Claude AI Pro's standout features is its adaptability to diverse business needs. Users can customize the platform to meet specific requirements, and it seamlessly integrates with existing systems, enhancing efficiency without disrupting established workflows.

Applications Across Industries:

Customer Service and Support:

With its robust NLP capabilities, Claude AI Pro is well-suited for enhancing customer service operations. It can efficiently handle customer queries, provide relevant information, and streamline issue resolution processes through virtual assistants.

Healthcare Diagnostics:

In the healthcare sector, Claude AI Pro's deep learning capabilities prove invaluable for diagnostics. It can analyze medical images, identify patterns, and assist healthcare professionals in making more accurate and timely diagnoses.

Financial Predictive Analytics:

Financial institutions benefit from Claude AI Pro's predictive analytics features. The platform can analyze vast datasets, identify market trends, and offer insights that assist in making informed investment decisions.

E-commerce Personalization:

E-commerce platforms leverage Claude AI Pro to enhance user experience through personalized recommendations. By understanding user preferences and behavior, the platform suggests products, improving customer satisfaction and boosting sales.

Educational Assistance:

In the education sector, Claude AI Pro can be used for personalized learning experiences. By adapting to individual learning styles, it can provide tailored educational content and support, fostering better understanding and retention.

Future Implications:

As Claude AI Pro continues to evolve, its impact on various industries is likely to expand. The platform's adaptability and multifaceted capabilities position it as a versatile solution for addressing the complex challenges of the digital age.

Conclusion:

Claude AI Pro represents a significant stride forward in the realm of artificial intelligence. Its blend of natural language processing, deep learning capabilities, and customization options make it a standout choice for businesses and industries seeking innovative AI solutions. As the platform continues to evolve, it is poised to play a pivotal role in reshaping how we approach tasks and challenges across diverse sectors, heralding a new era of AI-driven innovation.

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george-stumbaugh · 1 year ago

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Lessons from Claude's Journey: Overcoming Adversity to Achieve Success

The Rise of Claude: A Story of Perseverance and Innovation

Claude, a brand that has taken the AI industry by storm, has a story that is both inspiring and instructive. Founded by a team of experts in the field, Claude has overcome numerous obstacles to become a leader in the industry. From its humble beginnings to its current status as a global brand, Claude's journey is a testament to the power of perseverance and innovation.

The Importance of Innovation in the AI Industry

The AI industry is constantly evolving, and innovation is key to staying ahead of the curve. Claude has been at the forefront of this innovation, developing cutting-edge technology that has revolutionized the industry. By investing in research and development, Claude has been able to stay ahead of its competitors and maintain its position as a leader in the field.

The Role of Diversity in Claude's Success

Claude's success can also be attributed to its commitment to diversity. The company has a diverse team of experts from different backgrounds and cultures, which has allowed it to approach problems from a variety of perspectives. This diversity has also helped Claude to better understand its customers and develop products that meet their needs.

The Future of Claude and the AI Industry

The future looks bright for Claude and the AI industry as a whole. With new advancements in technology and an increasing demand for AI solutions, Claude is well-positioned to continue its growth and success. As the industry continues to evolve, Claude will undoubtedly play a key role in shaping its future. Article by None Shock! It's amazing how magical this thing is claude.

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destinyimage · 2 years ago

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Stomach Issues? Solve Digestion & Constipation by Doing This

Digestion is a process by which food is broken down into smaller pieces so that the body can use these nutrients to build and nourish cells, which provides energy.

As William Beaumont and Claude Bernard first discovered 150 years ago, digestion involves a chemical breakdown of the macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fats) in foods and beverages into smaller and smaller nutrients that the body can absorb, assimilate, and utilize.

The digestive system is made up of the digestive tract, which consists of a long tube of organs that runs from the mouth to the anus—there’s the A word again—and includes the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. While we’re talking about what’s inside the gut, we might as well add the liver, gall bladder, and pancreas, which produce important secretions for digestion that drain into the small intestine. The digestive tract in an adult is about 30 feet long, or the length of a ten-yard sideline marker used on the gridiron. Think about how long your intestine is the next time you watch an NFL umpire stretch the “chains” to see if the team on offense gained enough yardage to earn another first down.

Digestion begins the instant you take a bite of an apple or lift a forkful of food into your mouth, even though digestive secretions can begin when you smell dinner being prepared in the kitchen. Like the choreographed chaos that ensues after a quarterback yells “Hut” to start a play, all sorts of physiological things happen when you begin chewing on food. Saliva, or spit, charges out of its three-point stance and floods the mouth when the salivary glands (located under the tongue and near the lower jaw) begin producing saliva. Saliva moistens food so that it will be easier to swallow and contains a digestive enzyme called ptylin, which is a salivary amylase. Ptylin gets to work breaking down the carbohydrates, or starches and sugars, in each bite of food.

One of the important functions of the mouth is chewing because chewing mashes the food into a soft mass that can be swallowed into the esophagus and travel on to the stomach. Movements by the tongue and mouth push the food to the back of the throat, where a flexible flap called the epiglottis closes over the trachea to ensure the food enters the esophagus and not the windpipe to prevent choking. As you can see, just the act of chewing and swallowing a bite of food is an amazing physiological process.

Down Time

Once chewed food enters the esophagus, wavelike contractions known as peristalsis push the food down through the esophagus to the stomach. A muscular ring called the lower esophageal sphincter allows food to enter the stomach. Then the lower esophageal sphincter squeezes shut to prevent food and fluid from going back up into the esophagus.

With age, stress, or poor physical condition, however, the lower esophageal sphincter can weaken, allowing food and acid to back up the hatch. Result: heartburn and acid reflux. Left untreated, acid reflux can lead to ulcers and bleeding of the esophagus as well as increase the risk of developing cancer of the esophagus.

This juncture where the esophagus and the stomach meet is where digestive distress usually rears its ugly head. Heartburn and acid reflux are quintessential American digestive disorders that have made over-the-counter antacid products like Tums, Rolaids, Pepto-Bismol, and Alka-Seltzer into household names and cloying jingles like “plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is” impossible to get out of our cluttered minds. According to the latest government statistics, 25 million suffer from heartburn daily, while more than 60 million American adults endure occasional occurrences of heartburn. Men and women are affected equally, but the incidence of heartburn increases after age 40.

That’s not good news for a nation that loves to celebrate every occasion with food—and lots of it. From football weekends to festive, holiday dinners, we commemorate life’s richest moments—and even life’s worst times—with the mouth, tongue, and stomach. The problem is that we are indulging rich, processed, fatty foods six days a week and twice on Sunday while washing everything down with generous amounts of soda, caffeine, and alcohol. Maybe a glass of pasteurized milk and chocolate chip cookies for dessert, for all I know.

If the lower esophageal sphincter weakens for some reason, as it sometimes does with those who overeat, ferocious stomach acids can rise into the esophagus, resulting in a burning sensation behind the breastbone lasting from a few minutes to several hours. That’s why heartburn has nothing to do with the heart, even though many experience a quite-noticeable burning sensation in the cardiovascular area. The inflammation or irritation can feel like dancing flames in the upper chest. Some say that when they lie down it feels like lava is eroding their tonsils.

For those fortunate enough not to deal with heartburn or acid reflux, let’s continue to follow the food as the softened mass reaches the stomach, the J-shaped organ that has three functions. The stomach has three tasks:

store the swallowed food and liquids

mix the food and liquids with digestive juices produced by the stomach

and slowly empty its contents into the small intestine

A normal stomach can hold three pints of food or 24 ounces of food, which is a large plate of food. Only a few substances, like water and alcohol, can be absorbed directly by the stomach; the rest must undergo the “wash-and-spin” cycle that the stomach’s known for. The stomach’s strong muscular walls chum the food with acids and enzymes, breaking it into smaller pieces and eventually a semi-liquid form called chyme. About four hours after eating a meal, the chyme is released a little bit at a time through the pyloric sphincter, a thickened muscular ring between the stomach and the small intestine.

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More digestion and absorption of food happens in the small intestine, which extends to about 20 feet of length, or two-thirds of the entire digestive system. The small intestine’s twisting tubes occupy most of the lower abdomen between the stomach and the beginning of the large intestine.

You’d think that the heavy lifting in digestion happens in the large intestine, but that’s not the case. Glands in the small intestine’s walls secrete enzymes to finish the breakdown of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Any undigested material—like fiber from fruits and vegetables—travels next to the large intestine.

The large intestine forms an upside-down U over the coiled small intestine. With a length of five to six feet—the length of your body!—the large intestine is comprised of three parts: the cecum, the colon, and the rectum. The cecum is a pouch at the beginning of the large intestine that allows food to pass from the small intestine to the large intestine. The middle part, the colon, is where fluids and salts are absorbed as the waste material makes its final journey to the rectum, and it’s also where the feces is stored before being expelled from the body through the anus as a bowel movement.

The storage of feces inside the body—or I should say, the excess storage—is half the reason why The Probiotic Diet needs to be read and followed. When transit time for feces slows to a snail’s pace, your body’s waste stays in the colon longer, where it putrefies and results in toxins entering the bloodstream through the intestinal wall. This can lead to a condition called autointoxification, which can cause everything from headaches to autoimmune disorders.

I’ve long felt that autointoxication is a form of self-poisoning that results in bloating, indigestion, gas, body odor, and a lengthy list of maladies. Colon cancer, the second leading cause of death in the United States, could result from years of autointoxication. Even the traditional medical community recognizes the connection between constipation and serious disease. The Lancet, a prestigious British medical journal, reported that women who are constipated are four times more likely to develop breast cancer.

When the eliminative system of the human body is not in top-notch working order, sluggish and clogged as a kitchen sink full of oatmeal, the digestive tract cannot properly process and eliminate food wastes and toxins.

This virtually guarantees toxic build-up in the colon, which, over time, results in serious illness or chronic degenerative disease. Health statistics show that more North Americans are hospitalized due to intestinal tract illnesses than for any other group of disorders. The medical costs of these diseases are estimated to be $20 billion or more per year, and the bloated market for laxatives, antacids, and antihemmorrhoidals tops $2 billion each year.

The idea that putrefaction of the stools causes diseases such as intestinal autointoxication originated with physicians in ancient Egypt, according to a National Institutes of Health study. The ancient Egyptians believed that a putrefactive principle associated with feces was absorbed into the general circulation, where it acted to produce fever and pus. “The ancient Greeks extended the concept of putrefaction to involve not only the residues of food, but also those of bile, phlegm, and blood, incorporating it into their humoral theory of disease,” the NIH study declared.

Many factors lead to a constipated colon, including a glaring lack of probiotics, which we’ll get into shortly. But let’s face it: autointoxication occurs because Americans have a love affair with crap, as signified by this acronym:

Coffee and cruddy foods

Refined sugar and starches

Alcohol

Processed foods

Autointoxication symptoms can also be extenuated by a lack of exercise, which cuts off lymphatic flow. A good workout has a way of stimulating a good bowel movement, although, in my experience, jumping on a mini-trampoline or rebounder for ten to 20 minutes is the best form of exercise to improve lymphatic flow and speed elimination. A brisk morning walk can also do the trick. President Harry Truman was famous for his “morning constitutional” walks around Lafayette Park next to the White House, accompanied by a single Secret Service agent. (Those simple days are long gone, of course.)

These days, many medications, especially antibiotics, cause constipation. Changing your routine—like traveling to San Francisco from the East Coast—can disrupt normal bowel habits. Not giving the body enough time to let peristalsis work—that series of organized muscle contractions that often occur after eating—is a common route to autointoxication. In the morning, too many people rush out the front door after grabbing a bowl of cereal, topped with pasteurized and homogenized milk. As they start up the car, they feel a slight urge to eliminate, but since they’re running late, they’re too busy to act upon that inclination. And so the seeds of constipation are sown.

We’re Talking Trillions

I hope you were taking notes during Human Digestion 101. Now that you have the basics of digestion down, let me add some technical information that will help you understand better why you need to intentionally add probiotic foods and supplements to your terrain.

Inside your digestive tract, you have trillions of microorganisms swimming around, colonizing every nook and cranny, every millimeter of surface space, from the tip of your tongue to your… well, you know what end I’m talking about. You’ve been living with these microorganisms ever since you were born. “You may have been a sterile, singular being in the womb, but once you entered the birth canal and then the world of nipples and hands and bed sheets, you picked up an ark of microbial handmaidens,” said Jennifer Ackerman, author of Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream. “Soon the little buggers were everywhere, like words filling a page, in folds of skin, in orifices of nose and ears, and especially in the warm, cozy tunnels of your digestive tract, from mouth to anus.” Breastfed infants have significantly higher amounts of beneficial microbes in their guts than do formula fed infants. This is most likely due to a combination of contact with the mother’s skin and the contents of the breast milk itself.

Our son Samuel didn’t receive the beneficial bacteria that come from intimate contact with the mother and consistent breastfeeding. Samuel had developed a nasty case of eczema by the time we were able to complete the formal adoption arrangements, and his skin didn’t get better until I put him on a probiotic-rich infant formula. Samuel is not alone with his eczema problem: a study at Lund University in Sweden showed that children with only a limited variety of bacteria in their feces after birth often develop eczema by the age of the 18 months.

We know that when Samuel grows up big and strong, his body will consist of 10 trillion cells. To help you put a trillion in perspective—timely, since the politicians in Washington, DC, have no problem running a trillion-dollar deficit these days—here’s a good analogy: you could spend $1 million a day—every day—since the day Jesus Christ was born up to today and still not reach a trillion dollars. (The actual total is $734 billion, give or take a few billion.)

Yes, 10 trillion is an astronomical number, but your gut has ten times the number of microorganisms circulating in your terrain. We call these digestive tract microorganisms “intestinal flora.” Even though flora refers to plants, this term seems to have stuck for these microbial cells inhabiting the gut. Of these trillions and trillions of intestinal “bugs,” it’s been estimated that about 500 different bacterial species are swimming around in your abdominal area. These bacteria make up most of the flora in the colon and 60 percent of the dry mass of feces. Taken together en masse, the total weight of this microbial zoo is between two and three pounds.

These tiny microorganisms are your friends—or at least, most of them should be. “Your intestinal tract is surprisingly smart, versatile, and brain-like,” said author Jennifer Ackerman. “Your resident bacteria play a far larger role in digestion than ever imagined.”

Intestinal flora perform a host of useful functions, such as helping you digest and absorb your food, shore up your immune system, detoxify noxious compounds, and even contribute to the manufacture of essential vitamins that your body needs. All your intestinal flora need is a hospitable environment, where they can flourish, help with digestion, and deal with rogue bacteria roaming around your terrain.

Inside your terrain, however, billions of unfriendly intestinal flora lurk, like bandits crouched behind rocks, waiting to surprise the next pioneer wagon train coming around the bend. These impaired or imbalanced flora can take the form of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoans, and their fingerprints are all over heart disease, allergies and asthma, skin disorders, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, urinary tract infections—a whole host of acute conditions and chronic diseases. An imbalance of intestinal flora crops up after antibiotic treatments or when a powerful flu bug makes the rounds, resulting in constipation or diarrhea.

This Wild, Wild West scene is apropos to what’s happening in your terrain. At this moment, while you’re reading these words, there’s a white-hat-versus-black-hat standoff on Main Street in Dodge City. Over at the Crystal Palace Saloon, the good, bad, and indifferent bacteria are duking it out like one of those old-time Westerns where wingback chairs are tossed about, bottles of whiskey crash against heads, and haymaker punches are landed.

That’s a good description of the tussle going on every second of your life inside your terrain. Friendly bacteria in your gut are doing their darnedest to keep the bad bacteria in check as each side seeks an upper hand. When the good guys are winning, you should have a balance of 85 percent “white hat” intestinal flora and 15 percent “black hat” organisms in the intestinal tract.

The problem is that our modern lifestyle, with its heavy reliance on antibiotics, consumption of too much sugary foods, drinking too much alcohol and soft drinks, and cavalier attitude about chemical food additives kills off zillions of beneficial bacteria. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could flip that 85:15 ratio on its head for all the millions of Americans experiencing autointoxication or chronic digestive problems like irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn’s disease.

Following the Probiotic Diet will introduce live bacteria cultures into your gut and be a preventive and therapeutic measure to help you keep the balance of intestinal flora in your terrain tipped toward the positive side.

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xtruss · 2 years ago

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Analysis: Will Brazil Destroy the Amazon to Save the Climate? Brazil’s Mineral Wealth Could Power the Energy Transition, But Mining is a Very Dirty Business.

— April 22, 2023 | Foreign Policy

An aerial view shows a mining site in Para state, Brazil, on Aug. 6, 2013. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Via Getty Images

Whether it was gold, diamonds, or iron, the history of Brazil has been shaped for centuries by the hunt for minerals. Colonial fortune hunters and their legions of pick-and-pan-wielding slaves dredged up 800 to 850 tons of gold in the 18th century alone, filling the coffers of the Portuguese crown. In the early 1800s, gold financed the war chest of the Brazilian independence movement.

The search for minerals expanded in the 20th century, turning Brazil into a mining colossus. The country still draws waves of “adventurers, madmen, and starvelings,” as French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss called prospectors. Many scour the Amazon for paydirt, so much the worse for the world’s largest rainforest and the Indigenous communities that depend on it for survival.

But the coming treasure hunt may trump them all. The 21st century’s prizes are cobalt, lithium, nickel, niobium, and the other critical strategic minerals of which high-tech gadgets and green energy technology are built. To produce an equal amount of power, photovoltaic generation consumes 40 times more copper than fossil fuel combustion and wind power up to 14 times more iron, according to a forthcoming Igarapé Institute report. To meet the burgeoning global demand for green energy technologies—including a massive switch to electric batteries—the World Bank estimates that 3 billion tons of critical strategic minerals will be needed by 2050.

That this scramble for resources is centered on the Amazon lays bare an uncomfortable truth: Climate policy and environmental protection are not the same thing, and as the energy transition gathers pace, that trade-off is becoming increasingly evident. Indonesian rainforests have been cleared for palm oil plantations producing biofuels, and West African forests are felled for wood pellets to heat green homes in Europe. Open-pit mining is one of humanity’s most ruinous industries, razing everything in its path—while toxic runoff, tailings, and waste products can poison rivers and wreak havoc for miles.

How Brazil handles the energy transition’s burgeoning hunger for resources will help determine whether our policies to save the planet will leave us with a planet left to save.

Owing to its vast expanse and favorable geology, Brazil is exceedingly well endowed with highly valuable critical minerals. It sits on 94 percent of the world’s niobium, a bright, white metal crucial to strengthening steel; 22 percent of all graphite; and 16 percent of known reserves of rare-earth metals. The latter comprise 17 scarce elements, many of which are indispensable for clean energy and other technological hardware.

Right now, most of these mineral deposits are still in the ground. Brazil is not yet mining enough of them to even rank among the world’s major producers of strategic minerals or rare earths. That could soon change, driven by rising global demand and Brazil’s centuries-old engineering and geological acumen—after all, it was independence hero and mineralogist José Bonifácio who discovered lithium. Brazil already mines 70 minerals, worth $62 billion in 2021. And whereas Asia’s and Africa’s potential is comparatively well known and researched, much of Brazil’s critical mineral bounty has yet to be mapped.

Critical minerals bring the promise of fabulous wealth but also a bevy of existential challenges. One is the peril of abundance: Like oil does in petrostates, critical minerals could flood the economy with gushers of cash and its corruptive effects. New mines could also deepen Brazil’s dependence on trading raw materials, which already account for some 64 percent of exports. In 2021, only 2 percent of Brazil’s exports were high-tech goods, compared with 12 percent in 2000.

But the most consequential dilemma is how to unearth, refine, and ship these valuable assets without razing forests, eroding biodiversity, and devastating Indigenous and riverine communities. Close to one-third of Brazil’s critical minerals wealth—including one of the world’s largest deposits of rare earths—lies cached beneath the Amazon Basin. The region has scant infrastructure and public institutions to manage conflicts or tensions arising over resource competition. Official data shows that close to 15 percent of known deposits lie in protected conservation areas across Brazil and more than 4 percent within Indigenous lands.

Clearly, no government can forgo a mother lode, especially when the world is scrambling for these resources. Consider that to achieve the climate goals in the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world will need to quadruple—yes, quadruple—mineral production through 2040, according to the International Energy Agency. Surging demand will especially affect Latin America, which has 40 percent of global copper reserves as well as a large share of the world’s cobalt and nickel. Just three countries—Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile—control two-thirds of the global supply of lithium. The pressure to mine rare earths will grow as well, especially as China, the world’s largest producer, moves to restrict exports and as other countries work to lessen their strategic dependence on Beijing.

How Brazil manages a vast expansion of its mining industry and handles the attendant environmental, social, and other negative consequences could therefore shape the rules and red lines of an expanding global mining sector for years to come.

Then-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro sought to boost the mining sector in 2021 with his landmark Pro-Strategic Minerals Policy. This was a marquee initiative of the country’s public-private investment program, which holds that government entities have a duty to expedite priority investments. It gives the government discretion to waive regulatory restrictions designed to protect the environment and Indigenous communities if the project is deemed to be in the “national interest.” The gates were opened to fast-tracking critical minerals exploration and mining permits.

It was a policy of dig, baby, dig. Environmental preservation was never a priority for Bolsonaro and his backers, who mostly saw the rainforest and its Indigenous inhabitants as speed bumps to progress. Unsurprisingly, the Bolsonaro government greenlit 19 of the 26 critical minerals projects it vetted between 2018 and 2022. Many of these were in the so-called Legal Amazon, a Brazilian region already besieged by deforestation and degradation.

Even before he took office in January 2023, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vowed to rewrite the script. He pledged to make the Amazon the centerpiece of Brazil’s green reset while also committing to prioritizing the search for vital minerals. Lula talked up mining in recent meetings with both the United States, which wants exclusive access to some of Brazil’s critical minerals, and China, which is hoovering up raw materials from everywhere. Whether Brazil will be able to lock in a good deal without mortgaging the rainforest to global superpowers is another matter. How Lula finesses those competing demands may shape the direction of the global green energy transition.

To be sure, Lula cannot escape the trade-offs that come with wanting to accelerate mining of critical strategic minerals on the one hand and protect the rainforest and its people on the other. At a minimum, his administration will need to uphold its promises to reinstate environmental and Indigenous rights protections dismantled during Bolsonaro’s tenure. This will be challenging, not least since ambitious mining projects could exacerbate simmering tensions. According to the Environmental Justice Atlas, roughly 4.5 percent of reported environmental conflicts worldwide already occur in Brazil.

Moreover, tightening oversight, enforcement, and compliance could also stimulate the illicit minerals market, where organized crime, dark money, and violence already abound. Even more worrisome, extracting and processing critical minerals and rare earths can exact a heavy environmental toll, from releasing carbon dioxide stored in the subsoil to spilling toxic mercury used to amalgamate gold into the rivers and food chain. Limiting these effects will be especially difficult in the vast Brazilian Amazon, an area that has long been troubled by poor governance and outright lawlessness.

More positively, Lula seems intent on reinstating the regulations and consultation processes that his predecessor weakened or scuttled outright. Ratification of the Escazú Agreement, signed by Brazil in 2018, would go a long way to institutionalizing these protections, including safeguarding environmental defenders and Indigenous peoples in the Amazon.

Efforts are also underway to lock in private sector commitments to the terms of a new green deal in Brazil. Some forward-looking investors are already on board: They increasingly recognize that cutting corners to fatten the bottom line is a corporate own-goal, especially in an era when corporations face pressures from activist investors and the public to adhere to environmental, social, and governance standards. What’s more, big-ticket projects that fail to benefit local populations are a common driver of social unrest, with protests halting mining operations or slowing new developments. In fact, one of the chief reasons large mining companies are hesitant to engage in early-stage exploration and extraction in the Amazon is that they want to avoid conflict with local communities.

Nevertheless, holding the country’s mining giants to account is a work in progress. Brazil’s five largest prospectors all produce lucrative critical minerals such as gold, copper, manganese, niobium, and uranium, which guarantee Brazil a reliable trade surplus. Mega-miner Vale last year signed a long-term agreement to supply nickel to Tesla, while Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad has called for Brazil to open up its mining sector to meet surging global demand.

Encouragingly, private operators are also increasingly facing growing pressures to do good while doing well. Last December, for example, Canada-based Indigenous groups and supporters launched the Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance, calling on countries to protect against unsustainable mining in the Amazon by honoring their agreements to safekeep at least 80 percent of the river basin by 2025.

Ultimately, that decision will fall to Brazil. If the country manages to create productive strategies for delivering both wealth and well-being, this land of prospectors has a shot at reinventing the rules for sustainable, socially responsible enterprise and its own history as well.

— Nicholas Pope contributed to this article. He is a postdoctoral research fellow at King’s College, a consultant to the Igarapé Institute, and a co-author of a forthcoming report on critical minerals in Brazil.

— Robert Muggah is a principal at the SecDev Group, a co-founder of the Igarapé Institute, and the author, with Ian Goldin, of Terra Incognita: 100 Maps to Survive the Next 100 Years.

— Mac Margolis is a Brazil-based journalist, an advisor at the Igarapé Institute, and the author of The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier.

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animeyanderelover · 3 years ago

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Can we have platonic Sebastian, ceil, Alois, claud, and agni with a young (teen) reader? Like, under 18, I wanna see some more platonic yanderes, there isn't much of those :((

Also where is the anonymous button did they .. DID TUMBLR CANCEL IT??

I love platonic Yandere as well. To your question regarding the anonymous button, I never activated it in the first place. I often thought about activating it, but I never did it in the end.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessiveness, obsessiveness, delusions, paranoia overprotective behavior, stalking, intimidation

Platonic Hc’s

Ciel Phantomhive

☕️He needs some time to truly warm up to the point where he entrusts someone with some secrets and feelings he has so you’ll have to be someone he meets very often and has known for a longer time. Maybe he took you in as a servant of his, maybe he knew you already before he formed a contract with Sebastian. In either case, Ciel has a bond comparable to the one siblings have with you. You’re someone precious he often wants to spend time with, enjoy some tea with and share some stories with. The Phantomhive is protective, mainly because you’re still so young and out of the belief of his that he knows, from gruesome experiences and his job, better.

☕️Ciel berates you here and there when you did something that is in his opinion stupid and offers you often his own advice. He’d appreciate it if you would seek him out when you need someone’s opinion or someone’s help, he’ll always help. Even if you did something exceptionally dumb for which he will belittle you accurately. He pays for your education if you shouldn’t be able to do it yourself and teaches you some things himself rather than asking the demon butler. Overall rather supportive, even if he expects you to ask him if you experience any sort of troubles and he keeps a rather sharp eye on those who might show interest in you or the other way around.

☕️The thought does not sit too well with him and any future partner will have to go through a long and exhausting test and interrogation of his. He’ll always offer you a workplace and a place in his household, though he knows with his chaotic servants it might not the safest idea, we’ll skip the part of all the assaults attempted to kill him. Ciel won’t have too much against you living alone when you’re older though, he would want to meet you at least once a day though. Just to se you in person, he keeps tabs on you anyways.

Sebastian Michaelis

🐈‍⬛He feels unusually protective over this little human there, genuinely caring about their well-being and happiness. Initially a bit irritating, but also really interesting and most of all refreshing for a creature who always acted out of selfishness. Who might you be for gaining a soft spot in his ink-black heart? A servant of the household maybe? A good acquaintance of Ciel? Whoever you are, the demon finds himself attached to you in a way really close friends would be. He engages in occasional smalltalk with you, remembers your favorite flavor of tea or sweets and always prepares it when you come to visit and remembers the details.

🐈‍⬛He’s not entirely sure how to approach you behind all of this. So far he’s had a talent in seducing other women and men probably as well, but he desires something differently with you. The demon…just wants to be seen as someone you can talk freely to and seek out in times of need. Looking on your young and tender age, offering to teach you the things you might not have learned due to poor education or just didn’t understand seems like a good option. You probably disagree after your first few lessons with him, Sebastian keen on enabling you to own a good amount of knowledge and for that he’s accordingly strict.

🐈‍⬛If you don’t understand something he’ll repeat it with you until your head starts smoking. There’s some light teasing here and there to brighten up your grumpy mood here and there, otherwise his lessons are productive and hard. He rewards you when you succeeded and wrote good grades though, be that with your favorite food or arranging something you’ve always wanted to try out. He likes mocking you a bit, just enough to make you mad a bit which earns him a light slap on the arm from you in private. If he has free time, he likes to just talk with you. Senses when you’re upset about something and tries to help as good as he can with his collected knowledge about humans and emotions.

Alois Trancy

👅He has some trust issues since he believes people only care about him because he’s rich. You’re no exception to all of this, your caring nature and your equally kind actions initially are believed to be all fake by him. But the poor boy needs someone who doesn’t ignore him like Claude, he only has Hannah who truly cares about him and once you manage to break through his bratty walls, he gets attached quickly. Sure, he still acts like a child, but not bratty and entitled anymore. Suddenly he appears more needy for love and affection he never got as a child, caring maternal feelings inside of you and that is what Alois somewhat ends up viewing you as well.

👅You’re someone who is sincerely worried for him and wants him to be happy and he appreciates that more than words could ever express. His attachment comes with certain disadvantages as well though. He fears that you might be taken away from him and now that you’ve given something that no money in the world could ever buy, he wants to somehow repay that favor. So he ends up offering you to live with him, he can give you a better life anyways. He has the money, the servants and can help you achieving pretty much every goal you might want to achieve. Incredibly hurt if you were to reject him and he’s always terrified that you might not care about him in the end, he can be calmed down though.

👅He’s still a monopolizer and needs a certain amount of hours he can spend with you every day, not really caring what else might preoccupy you on that day. He likes playing games with his darling, hide-and-seek for example. Oh boy, if he hears that someone bullies you or treats you bad this noble will be pissed and throw hands. Has Hannah secretly watching over you sometimes when he feels paranoid again. Alois ends up making your whole life easier wherever he can and even if you don’t want it, he’ll end up doing it anyways. Be that helping you with your school or getting you a good job later. As long as you stay as his friend, he’ll do anything.

Claude Faustus

🕷Claude here acts at the beginning so cold simply because he does not like admitting that he might have started worrying for a frail human such as you. He has his pride and already his hands full with his young majesty, he doesn’t need another human in his life. Now, who are you? Looking on how demanding Alois is of Claude’s time, you might be someone Alois has a good connection with which would make things easier. You could be someone who Claude meets frequently somewhere else though which would make things a bit more complicated, nothing the demon butler can’t handle though.

🕷He observes rather than he interacts at first, you’ll never be able to get more then one or two sentences out of him. He just glances often at you, trying to figure out what makes you so special? Your soul perhaps, no, not that. What else is it then? The spider demon likes to know what’s going on so he can prepare for it, so best believe that he’ll one day approach you as soon as he found out what this weird wish inside of him is. He wants to befriend you, it’s still somewhat hard to believe for him but that’s apparently it. He’s more stiff and not that lighthearted as Sebastian, his expectations are a little bit higher as well.

🕷You have so much potential in his opinion and he wants you to be able to use it all which is why he pours every bit of his knowledge inside of you in long teaching sessions. It gives you a headache and he voices critique, but it will definitely improve your education enormously. He’s not completely heartless after all, he treats you to little traits when he deems that you’ve done something very well. If you do know his master, he tends to get a little bit annoyed since Alois is…Alois. If you don’t know Alois, he never plans on introducing you to this little brat. Believe him, it’s better that way for him and you.

Agni

🤜Agni is nothing but respectful to you even if you’re younger than him. He treats all people that way unless they are not rude to the people he cares about which includes you. He puts high value in the fact that everyone you meet and interact with shows you a certain level of respect since this is how people should treat others. If this condition is not fulfilled, he always steps in and gives a warning. How could he have met you? Well, it’s either that you’re close to Soma or that he met you during his time in London with Ciel and Sebastian. Agni, whether romantic or not, is naturally a very protective guy and the same counts for you.

🤜You become like a younger sibling who he would love to shield from all harm in this world, just like Soma, though he knows that’s not possible. He works hard though, helping you wherever he can, teaching you as good as he can and getting to know the things that make you uncomfortable or you fear to try to let you never encounter those. In case you did not know Soma and him before they visited England, he’ll definitely wish for his master and you to get to know each other and have a good relationship with each other.

🤜Soma is overall a friendly person though, so he’ll most likely like you and knowing that Agni sees you like a young sibling, he wants to befriend you quickly as well. The servant is highly supportive of the dreams and goals you have and encourages you and helps you whenever he can, listens to all the problems you have if you decide to tell him and gives you his own opinion and his comfort when you need it. Appreciates every little thing you make for him, he it a small doodle that you don’t like at all, he never throws away what you made for him. Immensely proud when you achieved something of which you can be proud of and him and Soma celebrate it, Soma in a more exaggerated way than him.

#yandere black butler #yandere kuroshitsuji #yandere ciel #yandere ciel phantomhive #yandere sebastian #yandere sebastian michaelis #yandere alois #yandere alois trancy #yandere claude #yandere claude faustus #yandere agni

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omgkalyppso · 2 years ago

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I want to share more now. Here's a letter from Lorenz to Hilda which will one day be part of the next chapter of my hilorenz fic if I ever post it:

Dearest Hilda,

Enbarr is beautiful at this time of year. Less so the company; Ministers and Dukes of every measure seek to use Gloucester as an influence in Garreg Mach, or an authority in Leicester.

Whether this is a vote of confidence or an expectation of my ineptitude, I can hardly say. Perhaps both.

Yet they treated me with far more respect in Ferdinand’s company than I’ve come to expect back home, and I found my stay to be a productive and diverting visit.

I am uncertain to what degree Hubert may think things between he and I are settled, but he was more forthcoming than I would have hoped when it came to ferreting out lingering secrets.

I am also uncertain what he may be withholding. His multiplicity speaks volumes of the secrets he yet holds, and I wonder at the breadth of information he maintains with which to bargain and blackmail.

He was … much like himself, for better or worse. The coastal air must have been comforting — or perhaps horrifying; I cannot measure such assumptions in his character.

I worry now that it may sound as though I had him released to Ferdinand for my own benefit — but I was not aware — I would never have assumed to do so without being transparent of such a thing. With you and Faedolyn, if no one else.

Are there ghosts in Goneril as well as Gloucester? The war has shaped every farm from the rivers to the coast. I did not expect to follow our path to Adrestia, to remember the adrenaline — the fear — the hope.

I dreamed I’d died there, to forever walk that path, with life and peace unattainable in eternity…

I remembered objecting to Claude’s decision to divert a portion of our forces, as we were so few, when forcing our way so deep into Adrestian territory. He was right, certainly, as he often was. How often then, was I wrong?

A walking contradiction. An embarrassment to my father.

I can only hope that the challenges around me are signs that I struggle as a good man, and not a fool.

Perhaps I will confide more of these challenges before the next roundtable, if only to seek your opinion. Even your mockery would be welcome. I admire how you carve your path and your opinion through your nobility — you make it look effortless, and you surely wield that easy decorum just as well to your advantage. Crafting your lax and demure reputation.

I miss when you would let it slip. When you would inject yourself in conversations because you sought to share the zeal of your passion on a particular subject. I have not a single memory of ridicule for your hobbies or interests, unlike my own. Most of which I have never needed nor expected approval of, but which I think now would benefit from council.

If you are overtaxed by your own responsibilities and can spare no time for me, then know that I am not without options, nor so weak-willed as to be paralyzed with indecision barring aid.

I simply miss you.

Is that too plain? I miss everyone, but Saints how I miss you.

You help me remember myself, even in brief, even if only the ideal to which I strive. I am better for knowing you, and … I long to be reunited. A glimpse of your kindness would do much to restore me.

It is disorienting in the extreme to have gone from fighting by your side for years on end to imagining a future where we might meet so rarely…

Your devoted friend, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester

#hilorenz #hilda valentine goneril #lorenz hellman gloucester #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem #long post #my writing

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agent-cupcake · 3 years ago

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As a resident Claudefucker, I know am curious to know what our fave charming schemer is doing during this Mafia!AU. He'd look lovely in a suit.

~It was quite the headline when Godfrey Riegan died. The details are a little hazy, a little convenient, but people don't talk about that sort of thing. Car accidents are common. Tragic, but not unreasonable. There’s no reason to smear a man’s perfectly respectable political career for the sake of some sensational gossip.

~In the right circles, however, there was a huge uproar, questions about who was going to take over the Riegan family when the elderly boss Oswald died. The Riegan’s had been dominating Leicester for quite some time, but a lot of people began to predict that the Gloucester family was going to move in. They had powerful friends, it seemed. Friends with money, no less.

~Claude Riegan, grandson of Oswald, appeared out of nowhere just when he was needed. Stories of the lost daughter Tiana still circulated, sure, but there were still a lot of questions about Claude’s origins when nobody except Oswald were able to vouch for him. He obviously had military leadership experience—his skill with guns and ability to lead was just too excellent for any other explanation—but he dismissed the question out of hand. There’s no documentation of him, either, leading some to wonder if even his name was false. But Oswald said he was family, and that was that.

~Claude was quick to establish himself, in any case. Despite his cavalier attitude, his efficacy in overhauling the power dynamics of Leicester were profound.

~He decided, first and foremost, that the way to win the people over was to invigorate the local culture, which had seen a sharp decline as a result of new laws that were unfavorable to business, Adrestia’s growing market monopolies, and the bad reputation of the red light district Ailell. This included some perfectly legitimate campaigning and some under the table type schemes.

~The result was a flourishing Derdriu Street. While it lacks the prestige of Enbarr Square in Adrestia, it welcomes entertainment that would be considered too “low brow” like comedy, trendy new restaurants, and music venues. Even better, all of it is built on the recently cleaned up river. The Riegan family is involved in all of it, of course.

~Casino owner Claude. This exists solely to thirst but maybe it was preexisting and he took it over due to its poor management? If there’s going to be gambling anyway, it should be done right. The extra money’s not so bad, either. But, Claude lounging in a big leather chair in a dark blue blazer with gold brocade, his white shirt unbuttoned low enough to see enough his chest. Enough to make you drool. Enough that you’d definitely get caught staring and probably called out for it because he can’t help himself. Claude with his elbows on the arm rests and fingers folded in front of him as he considers you, gold rings winking because he’s just that ostentatious and appearances are important. Claude asking you how you feel about taking risks in a way that really feels like it has nothing to do with cards, staring at you with a friendly smile that doesn’t meet those calculating eyes—eyes that you know will pick up on every tell.

~Claude also struck a deal with the Kupala Distillery. They’d been fighting to keep hold of their historic business for years, and Claude offered to help them with that. You know, not for free, but he’s good at making deals that leave everybody happy.

~The second biggest thing he tackled was the drug trade. For the most part, no one family had ever had a complete handle on that market. The Goneril’s had a hold over the docks for years, but the Edmunds had been moving in and working with the Gloucester family to bolster their power. Distribution was scattered and hard to keep track of as it ultimately circulated wherever there was a profit to be made. Looking at it like this, Claude decided that the only way to fix things was to take control over all of it. In his line of work, shady things like the drug trade are impossible to avoid. At the very least, if he has control over it, he can ensure the product is clean and expel far more unsavory ventures.

~Through these escapades, Claude was able to make alliances with all of the major families. A lot of them had only remained loyal to the Gloucester family out of fear so as soon as they had an alternative, they bolted. This has an unfortunate side effect of revealing how his power is perceived. Every day is a balancing act for Claude. He allows each family to function as they please as long as they’re aware they do so at his mercy. It’s better to keep friends than to control enemies, but even that requires a delicate maneuvering of power.

~However, Claude likes the conflict. He enjoys the game and he especially enjoys winning the game. There’s a certain level of his excusing amorality for the sake of his family and Leicester, but there’s an equal part of him that understands his wrongdoings and deals with it separately. He wouldn’t hold to the naïve “ends justify the means” idea to excuse himself, but he would still argue that his actions have value and are even necessary. If it weren’t him, it would be somebody a lot worse than him. That’s probably something that would linger in the back of everybody’s minds whenever they shook his hand or paid their respects, whenever they began to think of how easy it would be to take him out. Fear, too. So far, Claude’s never done anything shockingly bad, only what was necessary. But with his power and intellect, it’s always a question of what he could do.

~If someone asked him that, Claude would smile that friendly smile and tell them that he would do anything to see his vision made real. Whether or not that’s true remains to be seen.

~Luckily, Claude’s not alone! Hilda is the stereotypical crime family princess. She joined Claude because he offered her freedom from the overbearing control of her father and brother. Her skill in manipulating everybody around her combined with her reputation as a ditzy rich girl makes her fantastic at gathering information, assuming Claude can get her to do so. But, as long as he’s not being too forceful, she’s surprisingly motivated to weave her way through social circles and charm everyone. Although she would never say it, the order he brought to Leicester, not to mention the entertainment, made everything a lot better for her and her family. Plus, she likes being useful after spending her entire life watching Holst give his heart and soul to family while she did nothing. Ultimately, the information she provides is essential and her relationship with Claude is one of the few either have that’s built on trust, respect, and loyalty. That said, sometimes even Claude gets a little shiver as he watches how easily Hilda can manipulate people.

~Lorenz was one of Claude’s most disdainful detractors, although a part of that was jealousy. Claude just swept in and did things that Lorenz had been waiting and planning to do once he became the head of the Gloucester family. Even after being on the receiving ends of such vicious attacks, once Claude undeniably had the upper hand in Leicester, he went behind the Gloucester boss’s back to Lorenz and told him that they were going to be friends or enemies, it was Lorenz’s choice. Not threatening him, just pointing out that the fall of the Gloucester family was inevitable under his father’s leadership and that Lorenz didn’t have to suffer for his father’s sins. Probably over mimosas and brunch. Lorenz is proud and has no appreciation for Claude, but he’s not stupid. After they worked out their disagreements and more or less accepted each other, Lorenz and Claude became pretty close. Claude knows that having someone to openly and aggressively disagree with him isn’t a bad thing. Not only that, but Lorenz’s a solid ally with a better grasp on some of the things Claude has difficulty with due to not being a native. Lorenz is willing to admit that Claude is a good leader.

~Marianne is well educated in the realm of the law and political action. The reason the Edmund family saw such success despite their lesser status was because of her adopted father’s genius. which he made sure to share with Marianne. She is invaluable in aiding Claude on the perfectly legitimate side of his business, and helping him hide his tracks for the shady stuff. Raphael is the muscle. Lysithea is a computer genius. Being a sickly shut in with issues that only recently saw treatment, she’s on the Mr. Robot level of hacker mode activated. Ignatz is an architect which is useful since so much of Claude’s power is in the property and infrastructure. He also designed a lot of places to have some neat-o hidey holes. Claude loves buildings that have secrets. Leonie is manages a lot of the physical and pettier side of the work. If someone’s stirring up trouble, she’s likely to pay them a visit as a warning before Claude has to get involved. She used to be a mercenary but being on Claude’s payroll is a lot better of a gig.

~As for the suits, one thing is very important. Claude would not, under any circumstances, wear something tight on his thighs. I actually kind of like the idea of him going for a 1980′s style modernized. In his post timeskip outfit, he’s already got a hint of that going on with how oversized his outfit looks. The 80′s (rightfully) gets a bad rep for fashion, but it’s also very iconic with those wide-collared suit jackets, matchy-matchy three piece suits, sportscoats with a fun patterned shirt underneath, open blazers, pleated pants with an oversized jacket, and—in particular—the trend of summer suits in shades of tan and cream with colored shirts underneath. Then, combine that with a pair of Ray-Ban Aviators and a topless convertible and you’ve got a distinctly recognizable mob boss who doubles as a devastating heartthrob. I’m not saying he’d do a 1:1 recreation, but you’d definitely see references to the fashion of the era in his outfits. He would wear oxfords or ankle boots. Whatever it was, they’d have to be comfortable. He also doesn’t shy away from jewelry. The earring, of course, and rings when he's feeling particularly decadent. When he’s wearing his shirts unbuttoned Claude could possibly wear a gold chain. I mean, what are you gonna say, no? That gold doesn’t look gorgeous against his skin? That it’s tacky? You’re talking to the man who wore quilted pants. Claude’s not afraid to stand out because he knows he will anyway, nor is he afraid to be seen as unfashionable because he doesn’t particularly care about trends. I also enjoy the idea of him emulating the 80′s as someone who didn’t grow up in a western culture and thus mainly saw things through the lens of movies. Whatever he wears, however, he would look very handsome.

#claude von riegan #fe claude #claude von riegan headcanons #fe claude headcanons #claude von riegan x reader #fe claude x reader #fe3h #fire emblem three houses #headcanons #did i put too much thought into this? yes #do i regret it? a little #but this has been festering in my mind

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brotherslayer · 3 years ago

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talking ab us isekaing, what would you do if you were penelope? like would you go along with the original plot? or perhaps, never get engaged to claude in the first place…? or kill him? or ana? 😳 what would you do to survive?

we’re talking about the lp timeline right?

if i were a maid i think i would do my best to raise athy not to be pitiful i think. um. more resilient? or to think about herself first? idk how to put it. like i believe she was a product of her environment. since she was neglected and unloved. she thought she could only be loved by her father who wasn’t even there by the time she was nine(? that’s how i see it though. i may be wrong. but she was not loved by anyone, i would do my best to raise her with love and make her pursue an education in case things went downhill 👉👈 i would also try to make her and claude connect before she is five, but carefully because who knows how he would react. for all we know he may kill us both 😭 also look out for lucas at all costs so he doesn’t mess anything up. if we fail, then avoiding jennette could be useful. athy helping jennette wasn’t really necessary? jenny will be fine on her own. but one mistake and athanasia will be hanged and then i would too. running away with athy is another option, it’s risky but it was also wmmap athy’s original plan ☠️ we could leave hidden and out of that place before that time bomb went off and claude got killed 😭 that’s where an education would be useful to athy i think. so she can survive and live more comfortably(?

if i were a mage i would try to avoid lucas because iirc the dude didn’t treat his fellow magicians well. if it’s during athy’s childhood it would be a little easier. if it’s during claude’s childhood perhaps there’s a way to avoid anastacius getting possessed and so there’s no feud between the brothers. i could pose as anything depending on my abilities as a magician. but i wouldn’t let anyone know lol. i think i would secretly kill ana’s mother or slowly poison her so it looks like she died of an illness. and i could manipulate things so that claude gets a happy childhood if i can’t be close enough to raise him myself…? i don’t think i could get rid of aeternitas alone because canon says that lucas will always be the most powerful magician but then again aety looked so very weak in that chapter it was disappointing 😭☠️ so maybe? i can win?

My original plan was to give Claude the love he never got, I would maintain the engagement until he meets Diana. And I wouldn't give him false hope (so no kisses!). I would keep up bounderies and regulary remind him that this isn't a love marriage and he'll always have the chance to opt out if he doesn't want to marry me. But no matter what happens I'll always continue to love and support him (in a platonic way).

As for Ana...well I won't exactly turn him down, but I'll make one thing clear: no sex before marriage! This could ruin a girl in the medieval era and I'm not in the mood to become his concubine or whatever. I'm gonna make Ana and Claude drink their respect woman juice: no cheating! don't make any weird experiments with our baby daughter! and no talking to weird strangers that promise you the secrets to the universe!

I teach them that family love matters more than the throne and that you shouldn't instrumentalise a girl for revenge. And just to make sure that neither goes down the wrong path I'll set every book about dark magic that comes in close proximity to these two on fire.

Actually I'm torn between preventing Claude from learning how to wield magic (because if he never tries Ana will never see his potential and become jealous) or actively pushing him to study, so he has the knowledge to drive out the evil spirit of Ana's body should he ever try to possess him. Maybe it's the best to tell Claude to study in secret.

My absolutely last resort would be to seek out Lucas. If I tell him the Imperial family is in danger because of him he'll has to intervene. I think his pride would not allow him not to teach Aety a lesson after he stole Lucas' mana.

Should I still manage to mess up somehow and the story turns into the direction of the lp verse I would kidnap baby Athy when the security was still loose. (ofc with Lily's consent) and let them both live in one of the many manors owned by the Judiths far away from the capital.

#anon #answered asks

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starshine583 · 4 years ago

Text

New Girl on the Block (3)

(Hey guys! finally got around to posting chapter three of this! There’s a second, mini series connected to this that’s called Journal Entries. You don’t have to read it to understand the plot, but I felt like it would be fun to write so enjoy it if you like!)

Ch. 1 / Ch. 2 / Ch. 4

Chapter 3: There’s a First Time for Everything

Adrien tapped his pencil against his notebook paper and nestled his cheek into his open palm with a sigh. It’s been a little over a week since Marinette exchanged schools, and he’s yet to talk with her about it. He tried visiting her the day Ms. Bustier informed them of the transfer, but Marinette wasn’t home. Naturally, he tried again the next day and actually managed to catch her, but then she ran off. Ran off! Adrien still couldn’t believe it. Why would she run from him?

“Dude, you okay?” Nino asked, giving him a light nudge.

Adrien straightened slightly. “Ah, yeah, just.. Just thinking.”

Alya scoffed behind him. “Don’t tell me you’re still moping about Marinette.”

Needless to say, the class didn’t exactly share Adrien’s sentiment about Marinette’s leaving. With all of Lila’s stories circling around, they were overjoyed that the “bully” was gone. Alya was low-key furious, ranting about “injustices” and “letting Marinette run from the consequences of her actions”, but other than that, everyone was pleased with the outcome.

Everyone except Adrien.

Adrien knew better. The class may think that they’re better off without the bluenette, but he knew for certain that they were all going to drown without her. Marinette organized the budgets, supplied the goods for bake sales, signed off all of the paperwork for their trips- she even made dresses for the girls on special occasions. They needed her. That’s why he had to get her back. If only he could find time out of his packed schedule to visit her again..

“Alright, everyone, settle down.” Ms. Bustier spoke up. “The results for the new class president are in.”

Adrien sunk further into his seat. Ah, yes. The new class president, another reason Marinette should have stayed. With her gone, they had to make an impromptu election. Chloe, of course, ran again, but Lila decided to run as well. With the class’ obvious loyalty towards Lila, it’s a wonder Ms. Bustier didn’t announce the brunette as the president right there and save everyone the trouble.

Ms. Bustier pulled out a small card with the results and cleared her throat. “With a near-unanimous vote, the new class president will be Lila Rossi.”

The class cheered, and Lila gasped as if she hadn’t expected this to happen.

“Thank you all so much!” She beamed.

Alya slung her arm around Lila’s shoulders. “You deserve it, girl.”

Chloe scoffed from her seat and crossed her arms, but no one acknowledged the show of disdain. They were too busy congratulating their beloved Lila.

“Congratulations Lila. You can visit Marinette after school to get the paperwork from her.” Ms. Bustier said, setting her cards aside.

Adrien straightened. Someone had to go visit Marinette? “I’ll do it!”

The classroom paused at the outburst.

“Oh, Adrien you don’t have to do that for me.” Lila remarked with a grateful tone.

“Oh, no, it’s my pleasure.” Adrien was quick to reply.

A hint of annoyance flicked across Lila’s features, but it quickly vanished when Alya said, “Yeah, Lila, you shouldn’t have to suffer through that.”

A smile forced its way onto the Italian girl’s lips. “Thanks, but I think it’s only right that I meet with her in person. Class president to Class president and all.”

Alya frowned. “Well, at least let me go with you. I don’t want her trying to pull anything.”

“Oh, Alya,” Lila sighed, patting the red-head’s hand, “It’s just a small visit. I’m sure Marinette and I can be civil about this.”

Alya reluctantly agreed, but if anyone had actually been paying attention, they might have seen Lila’s smirk.

~~~~~~

The soft rhythm of Felix and Allegra’s instruments floated around the music room as they played. Marinette never imagined the violin and the flute sounding well together, but the way Felix and Allegra harmonized had her swaying back and forth with the melody. It was a lovely song, and she couldn’t help closing her eyes to fully relish the masterpiece.

Her eyes snapped open a second later, though, as her entire body jolted from the large calamity of piano keys that was suddenly pounded on by Claude. Felix startled as well, his violin flying off key, and Allegra nearly dropped her flute.

“Again, Claude?” Allegra sighed, placing her hands on her hips.

Claude leaned back on the piano stool with his palms and flashed them an innocent smile. “What? I was only helping.”

Marinette held back a smile, but Felix wasn’t amused.

“I told you to stop doing that.” He scolded with a scowl. “You’re going to get our music room privileges revoked!”

“Good. You guys practice too much, anyway.”

Allegra gave Claude a flat look. “We need to practice if we’re going to get better.”

“But you already sound great.”

“Because we practice.” Felix replied pointedly.

Marinette subtly nodded in agreement. She didn’t want to get directly involved in their arguments, as that never seemed to go well.

Claude huffed a sigh and rolled his eyes. “Fine. Whatever. Waste your time on endless practice. I’m gonna do something more productive with my time.”

Felix narrowed his eyes. “Like what?”

Claude turned to lay across the piano bench while throwing Marinette a smile. “Like making croissants! We’re still coming to your house, right?”

Marinette returned his smile, secretly relieved that he didn’t ask her to do something outrageous like going to chase pigeons around the park while on roller blades. (Yes, that’s happened several times in the past week, and yes, each time she’s said no.)

“Yeah, but you guys are coming over tomorrow.” She told him.

He pumped a fist into the air. “Yes! I can’t wait!!”

“Neither can I.” Allegra admitted. “Your parents sound splendid.”

Marinette’s smile widened. “I’m sure you’ll all get along great.”

“Yes, I’m sure.. If we can practice enough to go straight to your house after classes tomorrow.” Felix remarked, shooting Claude another look.

Claude tisked, waving a hand at him. “Yeah, yeah. Get back to your music already.”

Allegra gave a short laugh, sarcastically stating, “Oh, thank you so much. I was wondering when you would give us permission to play.”

“I know, I’m such a generous person.” Claude joked back.

Allegra playfully rolled her eyes and held up her flute to resume playing. Felix followed along, and Marinette went back to swaying as their song continued.

The familiar ring of the customer bell brought a smile to Marinette’s lips as she opened the bakery door.

Her mother, Sabine, looked up from the cashier desk with a warm smile. “Marinette! How was music practice?”

“It was wonderful, Maman. Felix and Allegra play beautifully.” Marinette answered as she walked inside. She set her bag next to the counter and gave her mother a quick peck on the cheek. “Is everything ready for them to come over tomorrow?”

Sabine nodded. “Tom’s got the ingredients and tables ready for when they get here. He’s so excited to meet them, and so am I.”

Marinette chuckled. “They’re excited to meet you guys too.”

Sabine’s smile widened at the comment, but then her expression darkened as she said, “Hopefully they’re not two-faced and backstabbing like your previous classmates.”

Marinette gasped. “Mom!”

“Well, it’s true!” Sabine replied defensively.

It was true, but that didn’t mean Marinette was any less surprised to hear her maman talk that way. Of course, Sabine did tend to speak her mind when Marinette’s feelings were involved.

Before she could respond, the doorbell rang again, signaling a new customer’s arrival. Marinette turned with her mother to offer them a greeting, but stopped short when she saw exactly who the new customer was.

Lila Rossi stood in the doorway, a smug smirk on her lips as she eyed Marinette up and down. “I see you’re doing well.”

Sabine was in front of Marinette in the blink of an eye. “You are not welcome in this bakery. Leave immediately before I call the cops.”

A look of feigned hurt crossed the Italian girl’s expression. “How rude! I only came here per Mme Bustier’s request. I have to get the formal papers from our previous class president.”

Marinette narrowed her eyes, stepping around Sabine with crossed arms. “I suppose you’re the new class president then?”

Lila’s smile returned, sharp and triumphant. “By a near-unanimous vote. Alya is still the deputy though, since she practically begged me to let her help.”

Marinette’s lips tightened into a thin line. That sounded about right. “How nice for you. You two really do deserve each other.”

When Lila first came around, Marinette had been torn and heartbroken about her friends abandoning her for a stranger. It didn’t help that Adrien kept assuring her that everything would be fine, that they didn’t mean what they said. He gave her false hope, and it made it all the harder to find the courage to leave.

Now, she’s realized how toxic her old environment had become, and though it still hurt her to think about it, Marinette knew she couldn’t let them affect her anymore.

Lila faltered at Marinette’s uncaring tone. “Uh.. right. Where are those papers again?”

“Up in my room.” Marinette moved towards the stairs, bringing Sabine back behind the counter as she did. “I’ll go get them now.”

“Good.” Lila said, sounding satisfied. “I’ll be waiting outside, but don’t take your time. I’m supposed to go meet Alya and the girls for a girl’s night out.”

Marinette rolled her eyes at the obvious jab, but continued up the stairs anyway. The sooner she got the papers, the sooner that lying leech could leave.

She swiftly ran up to her room and gathered the papers to stuff them into the large, blue binder she’d been given only two semesters ago. It sunk into her arms as she picked it up, and the sheer weight of the packed binder made her smile as she brought it back outside, especially when she saw Lila’s panicked expression.

“Um.. What is that?” The brunette asked, pointed at the binder.

“Oh, this?” Marinette replied innocently. “This is just the binder that holds all the formal papers you need. Being class president takes a lot of work you know.”

Lila nearly toppled over when Marinette dropped the binder into her arms.

“That’s allergies, budgets, complaints, schedules, and trips!” Marinette told her with a grin. “But don’t forget to give Mme Bustier and Principle Damocles the proper reports each semester.”

Lila shot her a scowl, but quickly recovered, slipping on a smile of her own. “No need to be petty, Marinette. It’s fine to admit you’re breaking inside. Losing all your friends can be a hard thing to go through.”

Marinette’s grin faded slightly, knowing that Lila was right. She’d lost everything. All of her childhood friends, her crush, her fun teachers, anything she used to hold dear.

But maybe that was a good thing.

“Have fun sorting through the binder.” She said, spinning on her heel and walking inside. She had better things to do than listen to someone who had to lie just to get people to like them.

The bakery door closed behind her, and Marinette saw Lila leave out of the corner of her eye, taking the painful memories with her.

~~~~~~

Friday afternoon. 4:45pm.

Felix stared at the bakery door, unsure how to proceed. The group had originally agreed to walk straight to Marinette’s house after school, but they changed the plan last minute to come back at five, an hour after school ended. It gave Marinette’s parents time to finish up the preparations, and the rest of the group time to drop off their school bags at their homes.

Felix, as usual, arrived at the Dupain-Cheng’s early, but now he was doubting his actions. On one hand, he would get to meet the Dupain-Cheng’s without the chaos that the trio tended to bring. It would be a nice way for him to get a quick impression of the family over-all.

On the other hand, he’s at Marinette’s house before the time she specifically told them to come, which could be considered rude in some cases. Should he go inside or wait in a nearby cafe?

After a few more minutes of debating, Felix stepped forward and knocked on the door. If they really needed him to wait until five, he would apologize and come back in ten minutes. The opportunity to meet the Dupain-Cheng’s on a one-on-one basis was too good to pass up.

It only took a moment for the door to open, and a short, asain woman greeted him with a sweet smile. “Hello! I’m assuming you’re one of Marinette’s friends from school?”

Felix nodded, noting her raven hair that matched Marinette’s perfectly. “Yes, ma’am. I’m Felix.”

He stiffened slightly when she reached forward to take his hand in both of hers. “It’s great to finally meet you! Marinette has told us so much about you all.”

A small smile passed his lips. For some reason, that knowledge gave him a satisfied feeling. Assuming that the talk was good, that is. “She’s talked a lot about you as well. I’m assuming you’re Mme Dupain-Cheng?”

The woman waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, please, call me Sabine.”

‘Sabine’ showed him inside, where baked goods lined the walls in glass cases. Claude was going to lose his mind when he got here. The overwhelming scent of vanilla and cinnamon alone was going to be enough to make the brunette’s mouth water.

“This is my husband, Tom.” Sabine introduced, gesturing to a tall, burly man at the cashier desk. “Tom, this is one of Marinette’s friends, Felix.”

Felix would be lying if he said he wasn’t intimidated by the man. His head almost grazed the ceiling as he approached them, making Sabine look like a dwarf in comparison. Felix felt like a dwarf in comparison.

Tom offered a wide, hearty grin, though that didn’t help Felix’s unease. “Ah, Felix! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!”

The man scooped Felix up into a bear hug, squeezing him tightly to his chest. Felix would have replied to his greeting had he been able to breathe.

“Oh, Papa!”

Felix glanced over Tom’s shoulder- he’d been raised that high -and saw Marinette standing in another doorway behind the cashier counter, a slight cringe in her expression.

“Papa, put poor Felix down before he passes out from lack of oxygen!” She insisted, walking forward to tug on her father’s arm.

“Oh that’s.. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?” Felix wheezed as Tom set him down.

Marinette’s hands hovered around him for a moment, then she nervously clasped them together. “I-I’m so sorry, I should have warned you. I thought I was going to be down here when you guys arrived.”

Felix shook his head and bent over slightly to catch his breath. “No, no, you’re fine. They actually remind me of my own mother. She’s a rather adamant hugger herself.”

A relieved smile came to Marinette’s lips. “Really? I didn’t think anyone could be as ‘homely’ as my parents.”

Felix chuckled, but the customer bell jingled again before he could reply. Claude sauntered inside a second later, his arms spread as wide as his grin.

“We’re here~!” The brunette sang, looking around the shop. His gaze found Felix’s flat one almost immediately.

“Hey!” Claude gasped, pointing accusingly at Felix. “He beat us here!”

Allegra stepped out from behind Claude, wearing a curious expression. That quickly changed to knowing smirk, though, as she shot him a playfully scolding look. “Why, Felix! I’m surprised at you! You should know more than anyone how rude it is to arrive at someone’s house early.”

Felix grimaced at the reminder of his bad manners and quickly turned to apologize.

“Oh don’t be silly!” Sabine said before he could get a word out. “Any friends of Marinette are friends of ours. You guys are welcome here anytime.”

Claude lit up at the sentiment. “I’m gonna be here a lot then.”

Allan popped out from behind Claude and Allegra. “Thank you for hosting us, M. and Mme Dupain-Cheng.”

Felix held back a smirk. He’d wondered when Allan would show himself.

“Please, call us Tom and Sabine.” Tom replied in a casual, yet booming voice. It highly contradicted his wife and daughter, who tended to speak in soft tones. “Follow me. I’ll show you where the kitchen is.”

The group was led into a room in the back where three islands stood in the center, each equally parted from each other. A large counter lined the wall to the left as well, and two, large ovens sat on each end of said counter.

“Do you guys want to start from scratch or start with pre-made dough?” Tom asked.

“Oh! Scratch! I want to be able to make these at home!” Claude answered eagerly.

Tom smiled. “Alright! Scratch it is. Everyone take the needed ingredients on the counter.”

The group took a moment to pass around the items, then they separated to find a counter. Allan took the first counter with Tom, and Allegra and Claude stole the last counter, leaving the middle counter for Marinette and Felix.

“I’m glad you guys got to come.” Marinette commented as they aligned their ingredients on the shared countertop.

Felix nodded. “I think Claude’s going to get a sugar-crash before we leave.”

Marinette snorted. “With all of those baked goods in the other room? I’d be surprised if he makes it to supper.”

Felix spared her a glance. “Are we staying for supper?”

Marinette paused, having to think out her answer. She must not have noticed the implication when she said it. “Uh.. I mean.. I wouldn’t mind. Do you guys want to stay for supper?”

Felix shrugged, though the idea sounded perfect. It would give him more time to understand the Dupain-Cheng’s lifestyle. “I’m sure Allegra and Claude will be ecstatic over the news. I’d have to contact my mother about the change in schedule, though.”

“Oh, were you planning something with her tonight?” Marinette asked, worry lacing her tone. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

“No, I want to.” Felix hastily amended. “I simply need to tell my mother that I won’t be home for supper tonight. We always have a family dinner when everyone is available.”

“And you won’t miss it?”

“Well, it sounds like it’s a special occasion, but everyone’s available more often than you’d expect.”

Marinette tilted her head up and mouthed an ‘oh’. “I’ll tell Maman that you’re staying, then. She was sort of planning supper for all of you anyway.”

Felix smiled. Given the daily croissants that the group’s received since their first lunch with Marinette, that didn’t surprise him. Mme Sabine had proven to be an extremely kind and charitable person, much like her daughter.

Tom, once his own ingredients were in order, regained the room’s attention and began showing them how to make the croissants. Because he was in the front, it was easy to see how the ingredients were supposed to be thrown in and follow along. That said, Felix found himself extremely grateful to have Marinette as a partner. Her little tips on how to mix the dough helped him immensely, especially since she told him when his mixing was sufficient.

“Alright,” Tom sighed as he set his bowl to the side, “Now that the dough is done, we’re going to start the hard part. Everyone needs to get some flour so we can start rolling the dough and folding it. Marinette, if you would.”

Marinette sprang from her place next to Felix and crossed the room to a cabinet. She pulled it open and grabbed a large bag of flour that appeared to be at least a fourth full, then carried it to the long counter against the wall and set it down with a huff.

“Here’s the flour that you all are going to be using.” Tom explained. “That should be plenty, but if you need more-”

A light knock on the doorframe ahead of them caused Tom to trail off. Felix glanced at the door to see Mme Sabine standing there, holding a sheepish smile.

“Tom, dear. I know you’re busy, but could you help me with this customer real quick?” She asked politely. “They’re being.. difficult.”

Felix noted the sharpness of her smile, along with the iron grip she had on the doorframe. It appeared that the sweet, loving mother also had a temperance, though he didn’t blame her. Customers had a tendency to be massive pains for retail workers. (That included himself on a few shameful occasions.)

M. Tom’s nervous smile said it all as he joined his wife at the door. “Oh, of course. Uh.. children, just- just keep doing what you’re doing. Marinette will show you how to roll the dough if necessary.”

The parents left the room, causing the rest of the group to turn to Marinette for instruction.

Marinette, who had returned to Felix’s side by that point, shrank slightly at the sudden attention. “Oh, uhm.. Do any of you know how to fold dough?”

A short laugh came from Allegra in the back. “Mari, I’m quite certain that none of us have even touched uncooked food before.”

“That’s the price you pay for being rich.” Allan agreed, putting a hand to his chest and shaking his head with feigned grief.

Felix opted not to comment. His mother rather enjoyed cooking, much to their butler’s dismay. She often cooked their family meals, and every now and then, Felix found himself helping. “It’s a necessary skill.” she would tell him. “Your future wife will thank me and so will you.”

Why his mother assumed he would be able to tolerate anyone long enough to marry them was beyond him.

“Oh, how horrible for you.” Marinette retorted with a playful eye roll. “I guess I’ll show you how to fold dough then. For your sakes.”

“We are forever grateful.” Claude joked.

Marinette laughed and scooped up her bowl, bringing it to the front with Allan for all of them to see.

“Now, everyone needs to get some flour. We’ll start with Claude and Allegra getting some. That way, the flour will work its way to the front by the time we’re done.” She instructed.

Felix nodded. That sounded like a reasonable plan.

Claude walked over to grab the bag as told and hauled it back to his and Allegra’s table. “How much are we going to need?”

“Oh, not much.” Marinette answered. “You only need some on the table and some on the dou- Claude, wait!”

Claude tipped the bag of flour upwards, expecting it to slide smoothly onto the table. Instead, the flimsy ingredient smacked into the table in a large clump, causing white dust to explode into the air. Felix scrunched up his nose in annoyance. How were they supposed to mix that? How easily did it spread? He knew he should have worn something less formal. (Oh, who was he kidding? Felix didn’t have anything less formal.)

An apologetic whimper came from Marinette, as if any of this was her fault. Claude and Allegra quickly fell into a coughing fit as Claude dropped the flour bag onto the ground. Of course, dropping the bag only threw more dust into the air.

The two attempted to wave the dust away, but it only partly worked. When the dust did finally clear, though, Claude and Allegra were left with a small pile of flour on their table. The rest of the flour was either in the air or draped across their clothes and hair.

“Wow.” Felix stated dryly. “I’m impressed. You actually managed to wait until M. Tom left before making a complete mess of yourselves and the room.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it u-” Claude’s retort was cut off by another coughing fit, but Allegra continued it for him.

“I don’t see you rolling out your dough in a perfectly clean and pristine manner.”

“That’s because you used up the rest of the flour.” Felix shot back.

Marinette gasped. “Is it really all gone?”

Claude and Allegra, suddenly dawning a sheepish expression, looked down at the bag that was still on the floor. Claude reached down to pick it up, but, as if the situation weren’t bad enough already, he grabbed the wrong end and pulled it up upside down.

The last bits of flour trickled to the floor, spreading across the brunette’s legs.

“...Yeah. It’s all-” He let out another cough “-gone.”

Allan’s eyes widened, a mixture of admiration and mortification swirling onto his features. “How did you waste an entire bag of flour on one spill?”

“You’d be surprised.” Marinette muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“We can reimburse you.” Allegra was quick to offer. “How much did the flour cost? Do you take checks?”

A light chuckle fell from Marinette’s lips. “No, no, that’s not necessary. I’ve.. actually done worse.”

Claude’s eyes bulged out of his head. “You’ve done worse?”

Felix thought over the many falls that Marinette had had over the past week. Her clumsiness certainly made it possible to have more extreme accidents.

“What do we do now that the flour is gone?” He asked, trying to get the group back on track. The sooner they finished baking the croissants, the sooner he could examine the rest of Marinette’s house instead of sitting in the kitchen. The Dupain-Chengs appeared to be a lively, fun-loving family, but he’d only gotten a small taste of their life, only seen the tip of the iceberg. Felix wanted to absorb as many details as possible before leaving.

Marinette straightened. “Oh! There’s actually more flour in the back! I’ll go get it.”

Before Felix could offer any assistance- his curiosity piqued about where they might store more food -the ravenette had already left the room, disappearing through another doorway in the back.

A moment later, she returned, another large bag of flour in her hands. This time, however, the bag was full. Felix vaguely wondered how heavy the bags must weigh for her to be wobbling over with one so easily. Wasn’t flour supposed to be heavy?

“Here’s a fresh bag of flo-ou-ah!” Marinette’s words jumbled into jargon when her foot caught on her ankle. Her body lunged forward from the momentum, and Felix stepped up to catch her on reflex.

Bad idea.

Due to the weight of the flour bag yanking her downwards, Marinette crashed into Felix’s and dragged him to the floor with her. His back hit the floor with a painful *thud*, immediately sucking all of the air from his lungs.

Of course, the flour bag popped open upon impact, sending more white dust directly into his face. Between the weight of Marinette and the flour, along with his aching lungs and the suffocating dust, Felix was convinced that he was about to die right then and there on the bakery floor.

Felix Culpa: tragically taken from this world by a bag of flour and a clumsy classmate. What a way to go.

“Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Felix. Are you okay??” Marinette asked frantically, pushing herself off of him.

Felix coughed out a weak response with what little oxygen he had. Even without Marinette, the flour bag pressed into his chest like a block of concrete. How had she been carrying this without breaking a sweat earlier?

Marinette hauled the bag off of him, and Felix sucked in a deep breath despite the flour still cluttering the atmosphere. All he needed right now was some sweet, blessed air. Infected or no.

It wasn’t until he regained enough of his senses to push himself up into a sitting position that he heard Claude’s howling laughter.

“Oh, man!” The brunette cackled. “And you thought we were bad! Look at you, Fe! You’re a ghost!”

Felix glanced down at his clothes, which were indeed covered in white. He could even feel the weight of the flour in his hair. How long was this going to take to wash out? Was he going to have to buy new clothes before going home?

A snort brought his gaze upwards, where Marinette stood with the bag of flour. She had a hand on her mouth- holding the bag of flour with one hand -and a barely contained smile on her lips that she was obviously trying to hide.

That’s when Felix knew that he must be looking ridiculous.

“At least I wasn’t the one to cause the mess.” Felix grumbled in response to Claude. He reached up to start brushing some of the flour out of his hair, finding a bit of comfort in the fact that Marinette was white with flour as well. It might have been irksome if she had escaped her fall unscathed while he appeared to be a freshly made snowman.

“I am. So sorry.” Marinette apologized again, this time offering him her hand to help him up.

Felix took it, his bafflement towards her uncanny amount of strength only growing as she managed to pull him up with one arm and keep the bag of flour steady in her other arm.

“It’s..” not your fault. Was what he was about to say, except that would be a lie. It was entirely her fault.

“It’s fine.” He said instead. “It’s just clothes.”

“Wow~” Allegra sang, immediately latching onto Felix’s nerves. “‘It’s just clothes’? That’s a first.”

“Remember that time Felix threatened to sue us for enough money to buy a new wardrobe if we ‘got so much as one drop of food on his vest’?” Allan chimed in.

Embarrassment coiled around Felix’s stomach, though he wasn’t sure why. That designer outfit was expensive! And the trio was acting especially chaotic that day. Who knows what might have happened had he not put his foot down when they started joking about a food fight.

Felix whipped around to Allan to explain that exact reasoning, but something caught his attention, causing him to pause. Allan was still at the front of the room, the farthest position from the chaos that had just ensued. Aside from the stray dust still fluttering around the room, the man was completely untouched as far as flour was concerned.

“Marinette,” He said, catching the girl’s eye, “I do believe that Allan hasn’t gotten his flour yet.”

Marinette’s gaze flicked to Allan, then to the bag, and Felix prayed that he assessed her correctly. Because if Allan didn’t get flour on him this instant, Felix might be tempted to do something foolish. Like attempting to throw a bag of flour that was, without a doubt, too heavy for him to even lift on his own.

The barest hints of amusement lit up Marinette’s features. “You know what? I think you’re right.”

Felix smiled, feeling a devilish satisfaction. Yes!

Allan took a step back, suddenly looking very concerned.

“Woah, w-wait a second, guys.” He squeaked, holding up his hands as Marinette inched forward. “L-Let’s talk about this!”

“One of us. One of us.” Claude began chanting behind them. “One of us! One of us!”

Allegra joined in, and, in the spirit of things, Felix joined in as well, if only to push Marinette further towards his goal.

Allan bumped into his assigned counter while trying to put useless distance between himself and Marinette. “Please, no! It’s rare that I come out of these things unscathed!”

Marinette’s grin was downright predatory as she held up the bag of flour. “I can’t imagine why.”

Allan’s scream was the last thing Felix heard before Marinette swung the flour bag forward.

The entire room erupted into uncontrollable laughter as Allan coughed out at least half the bag. He was now stark white from head to toe, and Felix couldn’t be prouder. It served him right for poking the bear.

Allan hung his head in defeat, a bit of flour falling off of his head from the action. This only made the group laugh harder. Claude started to say something about the “set being complete”, but before he could finish-

“What is going on?!”

M. Tom reappeared in the doorway, his eyes wide and puzzled as he stared at the flour-covered room.

Felix froze. Right. They were supposed to be baking with Marinette’s parents.

Marinette set the flour bag down immediately. “I’m sorry, Papa, this is all my fault.”

“No, that’s not fair!” Claude protested. “Allegra and I spilled the flour bag first!”

“So she had to go get more!” Allegra continued the explanation.

“I’m the one who told her to throw the fresh flour at Allan.” Felix added. If anyone was to get in trouble, it should certainly be him. He was the only one who actually spilled the flour on purpose. Marinette didn’t deserve to take the blame for his petty actions.

M. Tom furrowed at the near-simultaneous remarks, but then let out a hearty laugh.

“I see you’ve all gotten into the baking spirit!” He declared. “Now who wants to learn how to actually fold dough?”

Felix blinked. He’d expected the man to be at least a little upset. Did this sort of thing happen often? Or was Marinette’s father simply that forgiving? M. Tom did refer to the mess as ‘the baking spirit’.. Whatever that means.

“Yeah we do!” Claude shouted enthusiastically, taking Felix from his thoughts.

“Great! Let’s start with putting the flour on the table.” Tom smiled, going back to his original spot next to Allan.

Felix followed the notion, going back to his original spot as well. He tried brushing more of the flour off of his vest, but, as expected, it didn’t help much. He was probably going to get more flour on him during the folding process anyway.

“Don’t worry.” Marinette whispered as she reclaimed her spot next to him. “I’ll let you guys wash up in the bathroom after this. If you want to, that is.”

Felix nodded. “I would be eternally grateful.”

Marinette giggled. “..So did you really threaten to sue them over your clothes?”

Felix paused his kneading long enough to sigh. Freaking Allan. That idiot deserved every speck of flour dust that he had on him.

Tag List: @artbyknigit @athena452 @nickristus-dreamer @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @arsaem @abrx2002 @neakco @pawsitivelymiraculous @too0bsessedformyowngood @nathleigh @lusicing @officiallydarkgeek @all-mights-asscheeks @tbehartoo @woe-is-me0 @raeuberprinzessin @lazuli-11 @miss-chaos27 @trippingovermyfeet @sadpotatoondrugs @ladybug-182

#Felinette #Rosemary AU #New Girl on the Block #Marinette #Felix Culpa #Quantic Kids

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