#The monsters' name be spoketh

[codenamehazard]

.:Ruffled Feathers:.

Chapter 11: Ruffled Feathers

Hey guys! This one was a trip to write, lots of redos and rewrites, but I think the end result is well worth trying to figure out where all the kinks in this hose were and fix them.

A big thank you goes out to @rogueshadeaux as always for her help! It means a lot to me and you deserve every bit of praise for your help, kindness and encouragement!

Without delay, let's jump in!

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The sun is setting over the horizon as the jeep roars over the dust and dirt. Pangolin flooring the gas as we escape the now collapsing hell-mine and Kestrel laying back and covering her eyes with her arm. My head’s still throbbing from the botched Ionic Drain and the rough ride did nothing to alleviate it. Going at such high speeds made rocks and bumps feel like we were going over the surface of the goddamn Moon. I press my head into the back of the seat in pain, hoping the pressure will ease it some.

I think back to those… Things. Their broken bodies with swollen backs, their tainted energy that sickened me when I drain them. What were those things and more importantly, why the hell did none of the Misfits give me a straight answer on what they were? Especially since they were as big of a nightmare as they claimed to be? It made no sense, especially with Kestrel being a vague bitch. She of all of them should have been the one giving it to me straight. Another bump causes the seat to jolt up into my forehead, I curse in pain and hold my head as the impact worsens my headache.

I feel a sudden lurch as Pangolin stops by a long since abandoned gas-station and parks. I look up at him with a questioning look. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Kestrel sit up and give him the same questioning look I have.

“Why the hell did we stop?” I question with a bit of bite in my voice.

“We’ve lost a lot of daylight, guys.” He states. “I know you two are eager to sleep in the Conclave, but the hordes become really active at night and the nights are very dark. We need to camp out.” I groan in frustration. I wanted to get back to Droptown and get my gun made, but with that logic, I can’t argue. I don’t wanna go another round with those things, at least not right now. I let out an annoyed sigh through my nose, but I didn’t say anything. I watch the bitchy bird flop back into her seat and groan, but she seems to have the same sentiments as I.

With everyone seeming to be on the same page. I hop out and stretch my legs while Kestrel and Pangolin unload some tents, bedrolls and firewood.

The tents and bedrolls were distributed and I head off to set up mine. The air is thick with tension between the bird and I, she would shoot me seething glares and growl under her breath and I would just roll my eyes. Tch, what a bitch. I don’t care how much she hates me, she better get over herself in a hurry because I ain’t gonna let her out of my sight once she starts working on my weapon. Just to make sure she doesn’t screw me over like she tried to do in the mines.

After setting up my tent, I look to see Pangolin finishing up his. I head over so I can talk to him. I need to get my Amp back from him and to ask him a few questions about… Whatever the hell those things were. With a quick chat, we head back to the jeep with me giving him the pickaxe. Once there, he puts the mining tool in the trunk and hands over my treasured Amp. I look it over with a critical eye and to my satisfaction (and a hint of relief), no harm has come to it. At least I know there’s another person in that motley crew I can somewhat trust.

I nod to him and give him a quiet “Thanks” before we get back to talking again. Nothing important really, just shooting the shit until I can squeeze the question I really want to ask.

“Pangolin, those things in the mines. What were they?” With that question, Pango looks at me questioningly. I wasn’t gonna ask Kestrel because I know sure as shit she won’t tell me anything useful.

“Wait, you mean Kestrel didn’t tell you?” Pangolin questioned in kind, looking shocked.

“I wouldn’t be asking if she did. Only thing she told me is that whatever they were, they were dangerous and that was it.” That answer makes the Brick Spartan facepalm.

“Ooooh Kestrel… What am I going to do with you.” Pangolin mutters in the tone a disappointed older brother would take when talking about the latest stunt the younger sibling pulled. “Those things are essentially zombies made real. We call them “The Warped.” Nasty fuckers, they are.”

No shit; they’re zombies. I thought to myself before I nod my head at him. “Figured as much, but what exactly are they?” I ask.

“They used to be Conduits.” Pangolin sighs with sadness and… A touch of grief? Hmm… Must be some history there, but now’s not the time to ask. “There are a few ways that a Warped can come to be, but typically it’s from exposure to a newly discovered metal. The shit fucks up your powers, practically turns them into a cancer where they just eat your body from the inside out. If the corruption doesn’t kill ‘em, they become those things. The ones you fought? They’re typically called “Shamblers” or “Husks.” Barely alive and starving, so desperate to eat anything with any kind of energy that they’ll even eat raw Rayacite just to stay alive.”

I frown at this. A metal that can warp a Conduit’s powers so bad that it’ll parasitize the user? God, that sounds like Bertrand’s wet dream. Something that not only turns Conduits into…. That… But also has a chance to kill them to boot? Jesus Christ. Then there’s the fact that those I fought are literally eating rocks and metal just to cling to whatever life is left in their bodies.

“Husks have lost their ability to use their powers at all and are very weak and frail.” Pangolin continues. “However, they make up for this in ferocity, hunger and numbers. Many a scav have become Warped food because they underestimated them.”

Normally I would have taken that as a pointed comment, but with the matter-of-fact way he stated that nugget of information gives me the impression he is just laying out the facts and nothing more.

“Jesus Christ.” Is all I can utter as I process the information. With one question asked, Ten more have popped up in its place. He said they’re a few ways that those Warped things come to be, what were they? Is this contagious? Are humans affected? So many questions.

“Yeah, and it doesn’t help that they’re attra-”

“They’re attracted to RFE.” I turn my head sharply to see Kestrel walking over after loudly butting in. Her face curled in irritation and eyes glowing hot. “You know? The same kind of energy that Conduits naturally produce when using their powers? The same kind of energy you just slung around like a goddamn free-for-all that basically rang the dinner bell for every single Warped inside that damn warren?? Oh! And to add onto that, I don’t know what the fuck you did, but they were going extra crazy on your ass!!” Her voice drips with venom and I curl my lips into a teeth-baring snarl. Oh so the bitch wants to get her ass kicked, huh?

“HAH!!” She exclaims as she gets right into my face, baring her hyena teeth at me. “Like you would have believed me! Me! The bitch you have the biggest hate-boner for that you don’t trust to boot!” She snarls before walking back and starts dancing around like an utter child. 

“Tch!” I scoff loudly, sparking my arms up in irritation and readying myself for a fight. “Maybe if a certain feather-brained dumbass girl wasn’t being so fucking cryptic and actually told me what these things are, then maybe; juuuuuuust maybe… I would have taken your creepy ass warning more seriously!” I snap at her, a growl tinging my voice as I stare the bird-bitch down, but she doesn’t back down.

“Oh, don’t you be using your powers in these mines, mister! There’s spooky scary zombies that want to turn you into a goddamn power-filled human juice pouch!!” The absolutely infuriating child of a woman chides in a mocking tone as she continues to dance around like an idiot before getting in my face again. I growl deeply as the sparks popping off of my arms grow more intense. As much as I hate to admit it, she is right. I wouldn’t have believed her, but I wouldn’t dare say anything. Right now, her dumb ass is making my headache even worse and I just want to shut her up for good. I give her a good and hard shove before getting right in her face, see how she likes that.

“Like you have any room to lecture me about what I do with my powers when you left me for dead at the first sign of real danger.” I snarl in her face. She snarls back, trying to look big and scary. Oooh, I am shaking in my fucking boots.

“I came back, didn’t I?” She rebuts, smoke seeping from her mouth. “Came back to bail your greedy ass out before you got swarmed and turned into Warped chow when I could have easily just continued on without you and you’d have nobody to blame but your dumb ass for getting yourself killed!!” Without thinking, I grab at her shirt to pull her up to my face level, but as soon as I do, she bites my nose.

“AAGH!!” I yell out in pain before snarling. “You little bitch.” I growl out as I try to get my hands around her throat as she gets out her claws and starts scratching at me. What we couldn’t see was Pangolin pinching his nose in pure annoyance before walking over.

“ENOUGH!!!” Pangolin barks out in a voice reminiscent of the deep brass of a drill sergeant before he yanks the two of us apart violently, damn near tossing the smaller and lighter bird to the ground. Before either of us could recover and get back to throttling the other, two brick cages enclose both us as well as a literal brick block encasing our feet. I try to break the bricks, but no dice.

The look on Pangolin’s face is all too familiar to me, practically straight from my father’s face whenever he’d go on about something I did. I could feel my blood burn with anger as I watch those disappointed eyes scan Kestrel and I. That look infuriates me to no end as I know it always leads to some sort of lecture. If he thinks he can parent me, he has another thing coming.

“Now that you two aren’t trying to kill each-other… Let’s get this shit sorted out.” He sighs as he starts pacing. He looks at me. “Cole, from your expression and from what Mako has told me, you absolutely can’t stand being told what to do….” He looks to Kestrel next. “And the two of you hate each-other’s guts… But there are some serious issues that need to be addressed if there is going to be any hope of any future cooperation at all and yes, this is including the construction of your firearm, Cole.” My eye twitches and I let out a low growl. “First off, your unwillingness to listen to any of Kestrel’s warnings and your recklessness almost got both of you killed in that min-”

“And why should I listen to an unreliable and vague pigeon like that bitch?” I interrupt. “I don’t know if you were listening or your ears were too full of mortar to actually hear me when I said Kestrel was gonna leave me for dea-”

“I heard you, Cole.” He growls. “And once you were dead, who’s the one running around with several shards and a core in her backpack?” He looks over at Kestrel with a glare and she flinches. “Fact of the matter is that a lone Conduit in those mines is a dead Conduit, but that’s not the point. Point is that because of your greed, recklessness and unwillingness to cooperate. You caused a situation that could have gotten both of you killed as well as now because you both had to force a cave-in, we’ve lost a Rayacite source as well.” My thoughts chew on the information. He’s right. If I died, they would have come after her next and if what she’s saying about the RFE is true, they’d flock to her just as hard. Kestrel looks like she’s about to say something when Pangolin chucks a brick at her head and it hits with a satisfying tink and a yelp of pain from the girl.

“Kestrel Morrison.” His voice goes low as he walks over to her. “You. Know. Better.” Those three words cause the bird to flinch and shrink. “This whole plan. This was your idea. As such, the bulk of the responsibilities of making sure nothing goes wrong is on your shoulders.” I watch her continue to shrink as Pangolin circles her cage. Memories of my own father doing the same to me flicker in my mind as I watch Pangolin rip Kestrel a new asshole. Part of me revels in seeing her so miserable, yet… I can’t fully enjoy it because of the intruding memories.

“I-” Kestrel tries to speak up, but Pangolin gives her the knife-hand.

“Don’t.” He growls. “I do not want to hear any excuses. There is no excuse for your piss poor conduct. As de-facto leader of this little expedition, it is your responsibility to make sure that all important information is given in a clear and concise manner. Whether or not your teammates believe you is irrelevant because what they do with the information is up to them, but because of your failure to do so, your vagueness caused an avoidable situation.” She looks away and at the ground, looking so small and pitiful, but by the look on the Spartan's face, he was far from done.

“And that’s not the worst of it… Kestrel. You, you, out of ALL of us should know the importance of having your teammates’ back. YOU! And yet you were going to leave Cole, your teammate, to die in one of the worst ways imaginable.”

“But I came b-” The bird tries to interject again before Pangolin shuts her down again.

“I don’t care that you came back, you shouldn’t have left in the first place!” He roars in anger. “You left him to die, it doesn’t matter that you came back. What if you came back and it was too late? Did you think about that?!” He glares down at Kestrel hard, the girl is quiet. “Answer me!”

“N-no…” She responds pitifully.

“I didn’t think so.” He growls before sighing. “Look, I know you hate Cole’s guts, but you have been acting completely out of character for you ever since he showed up and I understand that saying you both have bad blood is an understatement, but whatever the hell has gotten into you, you need to knock it off. You of all people know how much of a slippery slope this behavior is and next time you let your anger and spite run you, you might hurt someone you care about. Understood?”

“Y-yes…” Kestrel says with a weak nod.

“I can’t even put into words how disappointed I am in you, Kestrel.” Pangolin states as he steps back. Looking at the girl’s face. She looks like shit. A pang of… Sadness… Echoes in my head as the memories flicker again. Memories of myself being torn down by my father. Memories of my brother experiencing the same… And the memories of Zeke when I tore into him about his own reckless behavior over the Alden incident. He is right, both of us were at fault for this mess, but Jesus Christ. I wasn’t expecting Pangolin to rip into his own so viciously.

There was a pregnant pause in the air as silence falls over the camp. Pangolin stares at us expectantly. I look over at Kestrel and she only glances over at me from her downward gaze. The brick Spartan lets out an exasperated sigh releasing the foot anchors. 

“Look you two, I will reiterate that I understand you both hate each-other, but that doesn’t excuse either of you of your actions and behaviors.” He states. “Both of you made the conscious choice to go in together as a team, as such, you two should have put your differences aside and acted like a team. Understood?” I let out an annoyed grumble, but I nod. Kestrel on the other hand? She barely moves her head in acknowledgement. There is another pause before he sighs once more.

“I suppose I’ve gotten all of that through your stubborn heads. I’ll let you both out.” I step forward, but the brick Spartan holds his hand up. “Under one condition.” I groan, of course there was a caveat.

“And what might that be?” I question. Pangolin gives me a pointed look.

“You drop the topic. Last thing I need is for you two to be holding this over each-other’s heads as an excuse to turn into rabid dogs, understood?” I groan and roll my eyes, but I nod in agreement, at the very least I can be let out of this stupid electricity proof cage. With a nod from Kestrel, Pangolin calls off the cages, setting us free. “Now, you two shake on it.” He gestures. Another eye-roll from me, but Kestrel and I walk over and we shake hands. Her grip is surprisingly firm despite her poor emotional state. Respectable.

With the shake sealing the deal, we were dismissed from our scolding to nurse our aching heads and pride.

—

The moon climbs the sky as the smell of fire waffs into my nose. Comforting and familiar.

With my tent set up and bedroll out, I follow the smell to the center of the camp to find the Kestrel made a campfire and is tending to it dutifully, her body language is listless, but her eyes is focused on the fire, almost entranced by the flickering flames. Pangolin has gone back to the jeep, probably to grab something. I sit down on the ground and stretch my legs before crossing them.

Pangolin returns with a few brown plastic bags with “MRE” printed on it. He passes one to me and then gives one to Kestrel, who he has to shake out of her thoughts… Whatever they are.

I look at the package to see what it is, some sort of rice and beans. I shrug and open it to tuck in, it’s better than those god-awful protein bars and it’s a step closer to actual food. As I eat my ration, I observe the others.

The meal is silent between us all, but instead of the tension-filled awkward silence that permeated the ride to the mine, it was a heavy, almost sad silence. Like grey clouds threatening to rain. Pangolin would glance over at the woman, but then sigh, sometimes muttering about if he went about it the right way before taking a bite of rice. It baffles me that he went so hard on Kestrel, one of his own, instead of laying into me. Someone who is an outsider. I might ask about this later, but I can see now is not the time.

I glance over at the bird in question and the sight I saw is just… Sad.

She didn’t look up much, just darting glances before looking away. Shoulders slumped and eyes glazed over. If I thought she looked pitiful after getting her ass chewed out by Mako, this just takes it to another level. She picks at her food, barely eating anything unless prompted by Pangolin. Absolutely listless. I hate to admit it, but I couldn’t help but to feel a little sorry for her. It is always a sad sight to see someone so bursting with energy and fire in such a lethargic state. Pain in my ass or not.

There is an odd feeling that I haven’t felt in a long time. It is actually… Nice… To share a meal with other people, even with the less than jovial situation. Damn, how long has it been since I’ve actually eaten in the company of others? Months? Years maybe? Who knows.

It made a small part of me feel… Like a person.

My thoughts were interrupted by Pangolin finishing his meal and tossing his trash into a rusted bin. Kestrel barely moves while I look.

“Don’t stay up too much longer, you two. We’re going to be up bright and early so we can get back to Droptown as soon as possible. The sooner we get back, the sooner we can get the project finished.” Pangolin states as he stretches his back. “I’m heading to bed, good night.”

Kestrel gives a grunt and a wave while I nod my head in confirmation. Pangolin gives one more worried glance at the bird before he crawls into his tent to turn in for the night.

Time passes in the same heavy silence, both of us staring at flickering embers that’s occasionally fed by Kestrel tossing some dry wood onto it. The way her glazed over eyes gaze into the flame, it’s like the fire would give her the answers to… Whatever’s going on in her head.

Maybe it might hold some answers for me too, I don’t know.

Among the chorus of night creatures and the crackling of flames, a tiny voice squeaks out.

“I’m sorry.”

I turn my head to look at the source of the sound and see it’s Kestrel, her eyes still staring into the fire.

“What?” I question as I stare. My mind racing as I process those two words that came out of her mouth. Did… Did she just… Apologize again?? I blink as I watch her. This time I know nobody put her up to this.

“I… I’m sorry for…” She starts before letting out a sad sigh. “I’m sorry for not being as clear as I should have been about the Warped… And for… Leaving you in the thick of the warren.” Her eyes glance over at me for a quick second, but she still doesn’t look me in the eye.

It takes a while for me to process the words, part of me still thinks she’s only doing this because she got in trouble again, but… That look in her eyes, the tone of her voice and the fact that it was completely and utterly unprompted… There is a sincerity that can’t be denied, hell, she even told me what it is for.. The apology, for the most part, is a genuine one. A genuine, honest to God, apology. But why?

Then again, did the world make sense anymore?

It didn’t make any sense. She’s supposed to hate me, right? Despise me, even. While yeah, she fucked me over and fucked up in general, I’m the last person she would want to own up to and apologize to, right? Right?? This isn’t making any sense, she doesn’t make sense!

I rub my temples and give an exhausted sigh, the headache is still lingering and the mind-fuck that Kestrel gave me isn’t helping any.

“I guess… I’m sorry too.” I mutter as I glance over to the burn-scarred woman, now it was her turn to look at me like a damn trout. I give another sigh before continuing. “Sorry for… Getting caught up in everything and stirring up the nest.” I mean, I guess I am sorry? I don’t necessarily feel bad for the chaos I caused and for the most part, I’m apologizing because my ass got chewed out, but I would be lying if the pitiful sight of the fire-cracker of a bird looking so... Broken… Didn’t pang my heart. It reminds me of Nix when she would be dealing with the thoughts of her loss. Didn’t matter, regardless of how genuine it is, Kestrel seems to accept with a nod of her head.

A still moment of watching the fire slowly dim passes when I find my tongue again.

“Hey, Kestrel.” I begin. The bird lifts her head to look at me. “You were one hell of a fighter back there… Thanks for the save.” Her eyes widen as I can see her brain misfiring. Looks like it’s her turn to be completely befuddled. I know I’m a selfish bastard and I delight in the misery of those I can’t stand, but I’m also an honest bastard. Regardless if I hate someone or not, if someone’s a good fighter, I tell them. Credit where credit is due.

Though if people were to mistake my honesty and willingness to give kudos as weakness, I would be more than happy to set them straight personally.

“Thanks…” Kestrel eeks out in a quiet mumble, her hands grasping and tugging at her cloak. Most likely to sooth her own nerves. “You… Gave them hell too.” I nod at the compliment, a silent sign of acceptance.

Not much else happens after that, but there is a noticeable change. Some of the heaviness lifts as we watch the fire die.

When all that’s left of the fire was nothing but a flicker, enough to keep the camp warm but not enough to burn everything, I decide to turn in for the night myself. I stand up and stretch before turning to head to my tent. I look back to see Kestrel slowly get up and turn back to her own before I continue on.

I crawl into my tent and flop onto my bedroll with a pained groan. Putting my hand to my head, I rub my forehead to try and deal with the dull ache that remained of my headache. My body feels heavy and drained now that I’m finally laying down. Those “Warped” really did a number on me. All I can really hope for is that whatever the fuck their energy did to me will wear off by tomorrow. Like how Sasha’s tar wore off. I curl up into the fetal position, using my arm to cover my eyes. I feel my eyelids growing heavier and heavier until they finally close. In my mind, I silently hope that this is the start of a restful slumber.

With everything that happened over the past 24 hours? I really, really need it.

[vera-invenire]

VnC Liveblog - Chapter 7

.All chapter liveblogs are linked HERE.

Hey, note for people following along: the last two chapters (5 and 6) didn’t show up on the main Vanitas no Carte tags because Tumblr filters out any posts that have outside links in them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But they’re done and the links for them are right up there. ^

Now, on to chapter 7!

Methinks MochiJun is running out of art for the chapter covers. That’s okay, I like this guy’s face.

OH MY GOD ARE WE GETTING WORLDBUILDING I AM EXCITED

So. Paracelsus. Famed physician and alchemist, called the Luther of medicine. He’s got a wikipedia page that I’m not gonna link to here *shakes tiny fist at tumblr* but probably the most interesting thing about him (if not the most important, in this context) is that ‘Paracelsus’ was his pen name. His real name?

Theophrastus von Hohenheim. Yeah. That von Hohenheim. Or at least the original one he was named after.

More pertinent, I think, is the fact that Paracelsus was a doctor, like our main character. He had a reputation for disdaining conventional medical thought (as this was the 1500s, this was not unwarranted) and for prioritizing practical experience over unproven theories preached by people with silly titles. Going by Vanitas’ fight with Orlok, I think he would have liked Paracelsus.

With Paracelsus involved, we now have a timeline for Babel -- it occurred sometime during the first half of the 1500s, creating vampires, astermite, the border, and, apparently, a number of disasters.

(the sudden appearance of vampires among the human population might have been disastrous enough, but I wonder if there were other things that were thrown out of wack.)

I don’t...quite get this formula business yet, so I’m gonna wait to comment on that until it’s more clear.

Nice job breaking it, Hohenheim.

This is like the tenth time the church has been mentioned, when are they gonna show up?

Hello, Creepy Teacher. Still without eyes, I see.

But not all coal and not all humans were altered.

And what is that on Teacher’s lapel, a clock with wings --

...time flies. You think you’re clever, don’t you.

...he’s planning on using Noé, the last Archiviste. Noé is key to something. What are you planning, Creepy Teacher.

Memoire 7 Bal Masque

Night of Sneering Masks

Lord Ruthven has a real swanky place, don’t he.

On the one hand, I want to go to a ball like this. On the other, it is full of vampires. Who, admittedly, seem like fairly decent people on average -- when they’re not losing their minds and going on murderous rampages.

Kinda looks like the Charlatan parade, though, no?

Hm, Domi is a bit shorter than Noé than I thought she was.

...wait, wait, wait, hold up. let’s zoom in here.

that’s Domi??? that looks like Unnerving Boy. crap, is she Unnerving Boy? i was joking about that before.

Glad I’m not the only one making that connection. The narrative wants this decadence to remind us of Charlatan. re: we shouldn’t trust it.

Domi: That guy’s gonna keep a low profile, right?

Vanitas: *seducing ALL the ladies at the ball*

Y’all knew he was an unrepentant grandstander. What did you expect.

(note: Vanitas knows sleight of hand)

(note: vampires can smell humans)

Hahahahaha, “I don’t understand how vampires define ‘friend’“ is my new favorite line, right along with “several different kinds of unfortunate”.

So my question is, can he only see the memories while he’s drinking? Or can he revisit them whenever he wants?

Vanitas adapted to the usefulness of that collar real quick.

I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN, I KNEW THAT DUM-DUM WOULD LEAVE THESE TWO ALONE AND SHIT WOULD HIT THE FAN

this is gonna be good

So spoketh Dominique de Sade. Never has a character been more aptly named.

(yo, is that Ada’s iron maiden. and a tortured stuffed white rabbit in the corner, too. the spirit of Vincent is alive and well.)

Meanwhile...Noé has found a new toy.

precious cinnamon roll, too pure, etc etc

ohoho, I think we know this kid.

HI, LUCA. And Jeanne can’t be that far away.

These guys are bodyguards, or retainers? Dressed like plague doctors, nice touch.

Luca (Lucius?), this is the man who held you hostage, why you lying.

Uh-oh. Something is clearly wrong with Jeanne.

...you might even say, she should probably see a doctor. *baddum-ting* (I think she’d prefer to die of consumption)

But it seems to be something she’s suffered from before? Is it her breathing or her throat?

Likely the same sister who lent Domi the collar and chain. Sister has interesting hobbies.

“I was all excited!” Yeah, this game is gonna be called Ha Ha, Surprise, I’m Kinkier Than You.

Point, Vanitas.

But Domi rallies nicely.

This is where we start getting real; Domi doesn’t fuck around when it comes to Noé. But does she really need to threaten to carve out Vanitas’ eye with a knife??

...throw more knives at him, Domi.

This is why you need to learn to keep your mouth shut, Vanitas. (also check the misogyny, I don’t want you to turn into Vincent, please)

She brings up some very good points.

Ooo, and it looks like something she said hit home. ...or one of the knives stabbed him. Nah, the black border means a brief flashback of some kind.

...Vanitas hates the Vampire of the Blue Moon. Well, well.

So why did he take his name?? And his Book???

(omg, did he steal the Book)

He’s cracked. He’s gonna do something stupid and/or reckless.

HE’S GONNA THROW HIMSELF BACKWARD OFF THE BALCONY. 

Well, he did say he was gonna get their attention.

(”you’re worried about Vanitas? you should be worried about me.” “no, wait, i mean, i’m here to save vampires. yes. out of the goodness of my bitter heart.”)

The chandelier’s made of bones, it’s a vampire ball, why wouldn’t it be.

Poor Domi’s like, ‘crap, I pushed the punk too far.’

The cajones on this kid.

Like, seriously, isn’t he supposed to be hiding the fact that he’s human...?

This is revenge for always wandering off and disappearing, Noé.

The gloves are coming off again and this time it’s not a bluff.

Holy crap, that’s a lot more extensive than I thought it’d be. Looks a lot like the moon and spider-webbed sky above Altus Paris, doesn’t it? And this mark is lower on his arm than we saw earlier.

Actually, let’s go back and compare. This is from chapter 4 --

So in chapter 4, we saw marks on his left arm. But...is it the same kind of mark? And how many marks does he have?

Branding is something you do to livestock.

The eyes look like the moon look like the brand. (ha, how much you want to bet the moon over Altus Paris is red and Vanitas’ mark is blue)

And the hourglass is front and center once again. He wears that thing for a reason and that reason is connected to the Vampire of the Blue Moon.

So was he really granted some kind of power, or is this another bluff? Then again, the power could be the ability to use the Book.

I’m starting to think the Vampire of the Blue Moon isn’t the only one who hates vampires...

(”fighting monsters is best left to other monsters”)

I would not trust a doctor who looked at me with a face like that, i’m just saying

And now this crusade to save the vampires makes much more sense.

In doing this, not only will Vanitas get the pleasure of having the vampires he’s curing at his mercy, but with each vampire he saves he sticks it to the Vampire of the Blue Moon.

This was never a charitable cause. This is a fuck you to the entire world, the original Vanitas in particular.

Everyone: “oh shit, this guy’s even crazier than we thought.”

Did he...not mean to say that part out loud...? Or did he see something in the crowd?

Guess we find out next chapter! Which is -- HERE.

[sr15txbrock-blog]

Audience Studies (3P18) Blog Post #1

In the course so far we have dealt with three main ideas, in the first week we discussed the history and the concept of the audience alongside Livingstone’s article about the critical role of the interview in the history of audience research. Week 2 dove into the effects of media messages with Brown’s article on the four processes of audience involvement with media personae and last week was about public opinion and audience citizenship where we read Neubaum’s article which discussed the expected sanctions for expressing minority opinions online and offline. I will address all three of these weeks and give the first example of an audience experience that comes to mind with each topic.

It’s obvious that the history of audience research is key when thinking and discussing audiences and the experiences they bring/create. Livingstone spokethe importance of knowing your audience andof interviewing audiences as a way to open up new forms of analysis, (ethnographic research, if you will) he states “…it helped explain why the universalistic claims of media effects theories only ever apply contingently, for media influence always depends on the context. In short, drawing on a rich mixture of semiotic theory, cultural critique, anthropological methods, and the feminist revalorization of the ‘‘everyday,’’ audience reception studies, accompanied by audience ethnographies, launched a successful challenge to hitherto dominant theories of mass communication.”(Livingstone,2010, P.568). Figuring out what audiences think and understand is crucial to being able to use an audience to your advantage. We can use a Trump rally as an example of an audience experience for this topic. It’s no secret that President Donald Trump has expressed many (questionable) opinions to his audience, which is not only the United States but him becoming president has become such a strange and shocking moment in history that his presidency and unfortunately his ideologies have been expressed internationally through the media. His rallies are a good example of interviewing audiences to use them to his advantage because at these rally’s he interacts with different, large groups of people, majority of whom support him and his opinions (however negative and problematic they may me), but by interacting with them and meeting them it allows him to receive positive and negative feedback. He learns about what they agree with and like and what they don’t like, he seems how far he can push boundaries and ultimately learns what to do to become the highlight in the media thus bringing him more publicity and once again becoming a hot topic of conversation. In lecture for this week, we spoke of the Trump inauguration crowd photos which had been edited to show fewer amount of people present – we also touched on the “plaid shirt guy” who was removed from one of Trumps rallies due to his lack of enthusiasm. Things like this go viral, and going viral means you are now being spoken about and discussed internationally through media. “Outcome sees people as being acted upon by media. Typically, it reflects a concern about the power of media to produce detrimental effects on individuals, and by implication on society as a whole” (Sullivan) These Trump rallies created many viral videos and photos that were spoken of endlessly. CNN compiled a list of the most outrageous things Trump has said during his rallies and I will share the link to prove how absurd some of the things he has said to a mass audience has been. But his interviewing audience skills are so well that the people who back him up and support him will in return defend his honour against the rest of the world that thinks he’s a bit of a knob. One of the quotes from the CNN link show that Trump had said “We're building the wall. It's going up." – In relation to immigrants and not allowing them into the USA. He creates these negative ideologies and feeds them to his audience and since he knows that his audience accepts it, they just eat it up and all it does is create a mass audience of negativity and it’s scary. But that just goes to show the power of knowing your audience and knowing what to say to reach them.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/03/politics/donald-trump-mississippi-speech-christine-blasey-ford/index.html

Now, I’m going to use the same audience experience for week 2 and 3 because I have a lot to say about it as it was HUGE in the media and is still continuing to be relevant. “Cooley was one of the first intellectuals to link the development of individuals’ psyches and worldviews with their immediate surroundings, including social feedback from peers, parents, and other authority figures; and messages carried by communications media via print, telegraph, telephones, to name a few” (Sullivan, p. 27).  These two weeks dealt with a common theme of public opinion, the effects of media messages and the overall power of an audience when it comes to expressing opinions. Brown’s article touched on the influence that well-known people (such as celebrities) can have on audiences and the emotional and psychological participation these audiences share with these personae’s. He examined four main ideas:Transportationwhich Brown describes as “the involvement in a story and involvement with the characters of a story, noting that attachment to characters may play a critical role in narrative-based belief change” (Brown, 2015, P. 262). He also used the phrase “transportation into a narrative world”. Parasocial Interactionwhich he describes as a “self-defined one-way relationship” in a self-made imaginary interaction created between the audience member and the personae they admire. Identificationis what Brown describes as “the internalization of the attitudes, beliefs, and values of the object of identification by the person who is being influenced”. And finally, worship which he says is “the most recently conceptualized and most intense form of involvement with media personae is identified as worship. Focusing on audience involvement with celebrities and how media consumers tend to idolize celebrity personae, even to degree that they consider such involvement to emulate worship”. (Brown, 2015, P. 266).

In Neubaum’s article about expressing minority opinions in offline and online communities, he discusses the fear people may have in expressing a minority opinion across social media or in social situations and the fear people have in general of voicing their opinions. Surely by this point we have all heard about the #MeToo movement. The Me-Too movement started as a hashtag on social media in late 2017 which was used to create a movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault. People would share their personal stories of struggle and abuse and overcoming and would hashtag #MeToo. It went viral and before you knew it, it had millions of people backing it and contributing – as well as celebrities. It became a support system for people who have shared these experiences and were brave enough to come forward and speak about it. A lot of the people coming forward were of minority groups – including LGBT, women of colour and women in general which is how I connected it to week 3’s theme of public opinion and minority opinions expressed online and in the media. The Me Too movement recieved a lot of back lash from anti-liberals, sexists, racists and I hate to say it but unfortunately a lot of them were men who didn’t see the point in this movement. So, some of these victims might have been afraid to come forward and spread their stories online hashtagging #MeToo because it was so viral that someone who might already be sensitive to cruel words and has already dealt with a lot of struggle and abuse in their life would get the courage to tell their story only to have it be scrutinized online by some internet trolls. I understand the fear in being vulnerable, however, there were more people being positive about the Me-Too movement then there were people being negative. Since many celebrities (Lady Gaga, Sophia Bush, Rosario Dawson…to name a few) had come forward with their stories and their support of the Me Too movement online, a lot of their audience had seen that as inspiring and helped themselves come forward as well. This connects to week 2’s idea of media messages, media personae and audience involvement. Lady Gaga was a huge member of this movement and did a lot of great things to help inspire and support #MeToo. Lady Gaga also has an incredibly large following, he fans are so devout and loyal, they even have a specific name – they call themselves her “Monsters”. Her fans, or her “monsters” are an excellent example of Brown’s four processes of audience involvement, specifically worshipand identification because her fans treat Lady Gaga like their lord and savior and whatever she does, they do. She has that much power and she uses the power she has over her audience for good and promoting postivie things such as the Me Too movement.

https://metoomvmt.org

https://www.avclub.com/an-incomplete-depressingly-long-list-of-celebrities-se-1819628519

These audience experiences connected well to the readings and the lectures. It’s clear that there are many example of audience experiences for each topic we’ve covered so far in class – however these were the two that I thought of as soon as I heard about this assignment.