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Psychiatry | Psychiatrist | Psychiatric Problems - VVFIT.COM

Psychiatry : Bio Medical Global Health IoT Automated Network — VVFIT.COM

How do we define psychiatry?

Definition of Psychiatry : Psychiatry is an important part of modern medical science. It mainly studies the etiology, symptom characteristics and clinical consultation, clinical diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, social management, judicial appraisal and assessment of mental disorders.

What does psychiatry mean?

Meaning of Psychiatry : Modern psychiatry includes the diagnosis and treatment of various mental disorders, neurosis, psychosomatic diseases or mental disorders accompanied by physical diseases, communication adaptation disorders, personality disorders, sexual psychological biases and many types of children’s intellectual or moral developmental disorders. Psychiatry theoretically involves medical genetics, psychological development and social sciences and is combined with psychological counseling in clinical practice.

Common Disease Name:Psychology

English Name:Psychiatry

Medical Department:Psychiatry

Psychiatry Degree: MD for full fledged practice

Common Symptoms in psychiatric problems

Different degrees of mental developmental disorders characterize clinical manifestations.

Genetic defects: Genetic mutations, polygenic inheritance are the main factors. Cultural background, physical condition, and personality characteristics are genetically predisposable.

Environmental Induction: Individual life experience, social status, cultural background, etc. may be induced to varying degrees to affect the patient’s disease and life.

Perception is feeling and perception. Various attributes of objective things in the human brain and by means of past experience form the complete impression.

1. Sensory Disorders

These are more common in organic diseases of the nervous system and snoring:

i. Sensitization Allergies increase the sensitivity to general external stimuli, such as the harshness of sunlight, the harshness of sound and the uncomfortable feeling of touching the skin. This is more common in neurosis, menopause syndrome and so on.

ii. Decreased sensation is reduced sensitivity to general external stimuli, and the sensory threshold is increased. Patients are slightly or completely unable to perceive strong stimuli (the latter is called anesthesia). Seen in depression, stupor, and disturbance of consciousness. We can see deprivation of sensation n hysteria and is called switching symptoms such as blindness and deafness.

iii. Internal perceptual discomforts are all kinds of uncomfortable and / or unbearable strange sensations that happen to generate inside the body, such as pulling, squeezing, swimming, and ants crawling. The nature is difficult to describe. There is no clear local positioning, and the concept of suspected disease can be secondary. More common in neurosis, schizophrenia, depression and somatization disorders.

2. Perceptual Disorders

Changes in the strength and nature of perception:

Intensity: Patients show better feelings than usual during manic episodes. The opposite is true during depressive episodes with worse feelings than usual.

Nature: Often unpleasant or with distortion. As some patients with schizophrenia describe, the taste of flowers is particularly irritating and spicy, and the taste of food is particularly unpleasant.

I. Illusion is an object’s wrong perception of objective things: Illusions can occur in normal people, but after the conditions are improve or are explained. Normal people’s illusions can quickly recognize errors and correct them quickly. Illusions usually occur in the following four situations.

i. Illness occurs when the sensory stimulus level is reduced due to poor sensory conditions.

ii. Illusion occurs when the inte lligibility of perception is reduced due to fatigue and inattention.

iii. Illness occurs when the consciousness level of the object decreases.

iv. Illusion occurs when the emotion is in a certain strong state.

II. Hallucination is a kind of perceptual experience that occurs when an object person lacks the corresponding external stimuli acting on the sensory organs. Hallucinations have two characteristics:

i. realistic perception experience, not imagination

ii. Most hallucinations come from the outside world. Normal people can also experience hallucinations which mainly occur before falling asleep and after waking up. Normal hallucinations are usually transient and simple, such as hearing a bell or a person’s name.

a. Auditory hallucination: Auditory hallucination m eans that the patient can hear various sounds when there is no sounding object. This is one of the most common hallucinations. If what the patient hears is speech conversation, it is called speech auditory hallucination. If the speech content is a review of the patient’s words and actions, it is called a critical auditory hallucination. If the content of the speech is to order the patient to do something, it is called an imperative auditory hallucination. Speech auditory hallucinations, especially critical auditory hallucinations and command auditory hallucinations, are more common in schizophrenia.

Thinking ringing or thinking sound means that the patient hears his thoughts when he thinks about them. Functional auditory hallucination refers to the fact that when the patient hears the stimulus of the actual object, the auditory hallucination occurs. The auditory hallucination and the realistic stimulus coexist and disappear simultaneously. Functional auditory hallucinations are mainly found in schizophrenia.

b. Visual hallucinations: Visual hallucinations refer to patients seeing objects when no object appears in front of their eyes. Visual hallucinations often appear alongside other hallucinations. Visual hallucinations are rich and diverse, and the image of an object can be clear and indistinct. There are objects with large hallucinations (giant hallucinations) and small hallucinations (both villain hallucinations). Patients’ attitudes towards visual hallucinations can be participants or bystanders. Visual hallucinations are more common in organic disorders such as delirium, poisoning, and epilepsy, but also in functional mental disorders such as schizophrenia.

c. Olfactory hallucinations: Olfactory hallucinations refer to patients who smell special odors without objective material stimulation. Smell is usually an unpleasant taste for some patients. In schizophrenia, olfactory hallucinations are often in combination with other hallucinations and delusions. For a single phantom smell, temporal lobe epilepsy or temporal lobe organic damage needs to be considerable.

d. Taste hallucinations: Taste hallucinations refer to patients who have a special taste without objective material stimulation. Most taste hallucinations are things that patients have come across before, such as unpleasant tastes. Common in patients with schizophrenia and epilepsy.

e. Tactile hallucination: Tactile hallucination refers to the feeling that the skin and mucous membranes are touching when there is no objective material stimulation. The patient feel s contact, acupuncture, insect crawling, and electrical inductance on or under the skin or mucous membranes. Tactile hallucinations are more common in schizophrenia, but also in peripheral neuritis and poisoning. Sexual organ contact sensation, called sexual hallucinations, can be found in schizophrenia and hysteria.

If the patient feels that the lips are moving, it is called speech motor hallucinations. If you feel that your limbs and torso are moving, it is called psychomotor hallucination. If the patient feels out of balance. It is called vestibular hallucination when you are on the inclined or rotating ground and hold the armrest tightly. Motor hallucinations are found in schizophrenia and organic diseases of the brain stem.

g. Reflective hallucinations: Reflective hallucinations refer to the hallucinations that occur when one sensory organ of a patient is stimulated , and the other hallucinations are seen in schizophrenia and hysteria.

In short, hallucinations can occur in various mental disorders, occasionally in normal people. However, taste hallucinations, olfactory hallucinations, proprioception hallucinations, thinking sounds or thought-making sounds, functional hallucinations and reflex hallucinations are more common in schizophrenia.

According to the source of hallucination experience, it is divided into true hallucination and pseudo hallucination.

True hallucinations: Hallucinations that patients experience are vivid, just like the external objective image, exist in the external objective space, and patients obtain them through the sense organs. Patients often recount that this was what they saw and heard. As a result, patients are often convinced and respond to the hallucinations accordingly.

Pseudo hallucinations: The hallucinations are not vivid and vivid, and their generation takes place in the subjective space of the patient, such as the brain and the body. Hallucinations are not obtained through sensory organs. If you hear voices in your belly, you can see a human figure in your head without your own eyes. Although the image of hallucinations is different from general perception, the patient often believes that he did hear or see it with a high degree of conviction.

According to the conditions produced by hallucinations, they can be divided into functional hallucinations, reflex hallucinations, hallucinations before going to bed and psychogenic hallucinations.

Psychogenic hallucinations are hallucinations that occur under the influence of strong psychological factors. The contents of hallucinations are closely relatable to psychological factors and we can find them in psychogenic psychosis and hysteria.

Pre-sleeping hallucinations: This kind of hallucinations occur before falling asleep. Patients can see the hallucinations by closing their eyes. Most of them are hallucinations, such as various animals, landscapes or individual parts of the human body. It is similar to the experience of sleeping.

Functional Illusion in Psychiatry

Reflex hallucinations Reflex hallucinations refer to the hallucinations that a sensory organ of a patient produces when they are stimulated.

III. Perceptual Comprehensive Disorder in Psychiatry

This refers to patients who can perceive objective things, but they have wrong perceptions of certain individual attributes such as size, shape, color, distance and spatial location, which are more common in epilepsy:

a. Deformed Vision

Patients feel that the surrounding people or objects have changed in size, shape, and volume. Seeing an object’s image larger than it actually is called a visually significant disease. For example, seeing his father becomes a giant with his head on the roof. For example: an adult male patient feels that the bed he sleeps is the size of a crib, and thinks that he cannot sit on his own body while sleeping.

ii. Disorder of spatial perception: The patient feels that the distance of things around has changed, for example, the car has entered the platform while waiting, and the patient still feels that the car is far away from him.

iii. Comprehensive disorder of time perception: Patients experience incorrect perception of the speed of time. If you feel that time is passing, you seem to be in a “space-time tunnel”, and things in the outside world change unusually fast. Or you may feel that there is solidification in time. The years are no longer passing, and things outside are stagnating.

iv. Non-photorealistic patients feel that the surrounding things and environment have changed and become unreal. The visual object is like a layer of curtains, like a stage set, and the surrounding houses, trees, etc. are made of cardboard and lifeless. People around seem like lifeless puppets, etc. This patient has self-awareness. We can find them in depression, neurosis and schizophrenia.

Thinking is the indirect and generalized reflection of objective things by the human brain, an important feature of human spiritual activity, and an advanced stage of the cognitive process. Thinking is based on feelings and perceptions, and is expressed through words and words. Thinking includes analysis, comparison, synthesis, abstraction, generalization, judgment, reasoning and other processes. The thinking of a normal person has the following characteristics:

i. Purposefulness in psychiatry which means that thinking is carried out consciously around a certain purpose

ii. Coherence in psychiatry which means that concepts in the thinking process are connected and interconnected

iii. Logic in psychiatry means the thinking process. There is some truth and logic.

iv. Practicality, correct thinking can be tested by objective practice. The clinical manifestations of thinking disorders are various, including thinking form disorders, thinking content disorders and thinking attribute disorders.

I. Thinking form obstacles include associative obstacles and thinking logic obstacles. The common symptoms are as follows:

i. Thinking Ben Yi, also known as idea drifting, refers to the accelerated association of thinking and the increase in the number of associations. It is manifested that the patient’s thinking and conversation are very fast. One concept followed another, and a large number of concepts emerge, so that sometimes the patient has no time to express, or the listener cannot keep up with the patient’s speed. When speaking, the amount of speech increases significantly, the speed of speech becomes faster, and the flow of words continues. Often accompanied by the transfer of the environment, the sound is connected. Common in mania, but also in schizophrenia.

ii. Slow thinking, which means inhibition of association, refers to the slow association of thinking. It is characterized by a markedly slow amount of thinking activity, difficulty in association, difficulty in thinking, and slow response. The patient showed reduced speech volume, slow speaking speed, slow response, and a feeling of clumsy brain. More common in depression, but also in schizophrenia.

iii. Poor thinking Refers to empty thinking content and poor concepts and vocabulary. When patients answer questions, the main content is simple and empty. Patients often have a sense of emptiness in their brains. It is more common in schizophrenia, depression, cerebral organic mental disorders and mental retardation.

iv. Divergent thinking Refers to the purpose, coherence and logical obstacles of thinking. Each sentence of the patient can be established, and then there is no logical connection between the words and the words, so that others cannot understand what they are trying to explain. It is mainly seen in schizophrenia, but also in people with severe anxiety and reduced intelligence.

v. Breaking thinking Severe thinking is called breakup of thinking. It is mainly manifested in that each sentence of the patient is not a sentence, but it is shown as a pile of words and mixed words. This is more common in schizophrenia. For example, mixed words appear in the context of impaired consciousness, which is called incoherent thinking.

vi. Pathological repetitiveness Refers to the theme of the patient’s thinking process is sticky, staying on some minor issues. Can’t catch the main link. Patients add many unnecessary details when narrating one thing, and they cannot make things or questions concise. Mainly seen in epilepsy, but also in cerebral organic and senile mental disorders.

vii. Interruption of thinking aka thinking block / blockage: The patient’s consciousness was clear without obvious external interference, and the thinking process suddenly interrupted in a short time, or the speech suddenly stopped. It appears as a sudden pause when the patient speaks, and then start another topic. If the patient feels that the thinking at that time is being taken away by some external force, it is said that the thinking is taken away. Both symptoms are important symptoms in the diagnosis of schizophrenia, and can also be seen in normal people with fatigue, distracted attention, and patients with neurosis.

Pathological symbolic thinking refers to the use of concrete concepts that are not commonly understood by patients to represent abstract concepts, which cannot be understood by others without the patient’s interpretation. Belongs to the logic of thinking. This is common in schizophrenia.

New words and expressions refers to patients who create some words, graphics, and symbols, and give special meaning. Sometimes patients piece together irrelevant words into new words that represent some new meaning. Mainly seen in schizophrenia.

Logical perverted thinking: The main feature is that the reasoning lacks logic, neither premise nor basis, or inversion of cause and effect. The reasoning is strange and strange and incomprehensible. For example, a patient said, “I’m going to die because the computer is infected with a virus.” Can be seen in schizophrenia and paranoia.

Continuous speech refers to the patient repeating the answer to the first question continuously while answering the question. It is mainly seen in organic disorders such as dementia, but also in other mental disorders.

Stereotyped language means that the patient mechanically repeats some meaningless words or sentences. This is mainly seen in schizophrenia.

Imitation language means that the patient imitates the words of the people around him, and what the people say, the patient repeats. This is mainly seen in schizophrenia.

viii. Obsessive-compulsive thinking or compulsive thinking refers to a concept or the same content of thinking that repeatedly appears in the patient’s brain, knowing that it is not necessary, but it cannot be rid of. Compulsive thinking can be expressed as certain thoughts, repeated recall (compulsive recall), repeated thinking of meaningless problems (compulsive poor thinking), some opposing thoughts in the brain (compulsive opposing thinking), total It is to doubt whether your actions are correct (compulsive doubt). Compulsive thinking is often accompanied by compulsive actions. Seen in obsessive-compulsive disorder, it is different from compulsive thinking. The former is clearly its own thoughts, appear repeatedly, and the content is repeated. The latter experiences that thinking is alien.

ix. Thinking Voices: When thinking, patients experience their thoughts and become voices, which can be heard by themselves and others. This is more common in schizophrenia.

Delusion in Psychiatry

Delusion is a pathological belief whose content is inconsistent with the facts and does not match the patient’s cultural level and social background. However, the patient is convinced that it is difficult to correct by using facts and reasoning. Paranoia is a content disorder.

Delusions are individual psychological phenomena, and collective beliefs, although unreasonable, sometimes cannot be attributed to delusions, such as religious superstition.

The difference between social life phenomena and delusions (prejudice, superstition, fantasy and overvalued ideas)

Prejudices: Prejudices are caused by people’s incorrect thinking methods or restrictions on their level of knowledge.

The concept of superstition was related to the social and cultural background of the time.

Imaginary content may be bizarre, but people can distinguish from reality and are not convinced.

The concept of overprice is a preconception with a strong emotional color, and it has a dominant position for a long time, but it can disappear when the emotional stability or the objective environment changes.

(3) Impairment of thinking attributes in Psychiatry: Normal people never doubt whether their thoughts belong to themselves or to others. Nor do they doubt whether their thoughts are not known by others. Common thinking attribute disorders are:

Thinking insertion refers to patients who think that certain ideas in their brains do not belong to themselves, but that someone from the outside world puts them into their brains through some technology or power. Often accompanied by victim delusions. If the patient experiences a compulsive emergence of a large number of unrealistic associations, it is called compulsive thinking. Both symptoms often appear suddenly and disappear quickly. It is of great significance for the diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Mind abstraction / stolen mind means that the patient thinks that his mind is gone and has been extracted and stolen by someone using some technique. Stolen patients often experience disruptions, in schizophrenia.

Dissemination of thoughts Patients feel that their thoughts are spread out in a special way, as if broadcasting has become known. Even if you don’t say your own thoughts, others will know that patients who are spreading their minds often show nervousness, are afraid to go out, and are accompanied by depression. Found in schizophrenia.

4. Forced ideas

Forced ideas are repetitive, continuous thoughts, impulses, or imaginations. Although they are clearly wrong, unnecessary, and unreasonable, it is difficult for patients to overcome and get rid of them. The content of forced thinking is unpleasant and painful. Patients think that these ideas are meaningless, ridiculous, and even unspeakable, so patients often feel pain. Resistance is a characteristic of obsessive ideas and a point of identification with delusion. Patients with obsessive-compulsive ideas often have anxiety and depression. The contents of compulsive thinking are: fear of getting dirty or getting sick, impulsive or aggressive behavior, cleansing, suspecting that you are sick, imagination or thoughts of sexual behavior, blasphemy thoughts.

The concept of coercion can be divided into the following types according to its expression.

Obsessive-compulsive thinking refers to the patient’s repeated and continuous emergence of some ideas.

Obsessive compulsive exhaustion means that the patient thinks over and over again, knowing that such thinking is unnecessary, but thinks over and over again.

Compulsive suspicion refers to the patient’s constant doubt or concern about what has been done, such as whether the door is closed.

Forced impulse / compulsive intention refers to the patient’s repetitive desire for some kind of impulse. Although he never takes concrete action, it makes the patient feel very nervous. Regardless of impulse desires, patients realize that this is unreasonable and restrained and never take action, which is the main point to distinguish from delusion.

Forced recall refers to the patient repeatedly recalling past events and experiences, knowing that it has no practical meaning, but cannot get rid of it, and constantly recall.

The concept of overprice is a misconception that predominates in consciousness, and its occurrence is generally based on facts. This kind of concept is one-sided and extreme, with strong emotional color, which obviously affects the patient’s behavior and other psychological activities. Its formation has a certain personality and realistic basis, and there are no logical reasoning errors. The difference between overvalued ideas and delusions is that their formation has a certain personality basis and realistic basis, the content is more in line with objective reality, and accompanied by a strong emotional experience. More common in personality disorders and psychogenic disorders.

Pathological jealousy syndrome, also known as Othello syndrome, is a psychiatric syndrome with a central symptom of jealousy and delusion of suspected spouse. The typical situation is seen in a person with a morbid personality. There are similar and lighter situations. The predisposing age is 30 to 40 years old, and the patient proves that his spouse has a new love with many plausible evidences, but often cannot tell the specific object. Repeated reconnaissance, interrogation, tracking, and torture for this purpose can last for several years. Attacks can occur and even spouses can be killed, just like Othello described by Shakespeare.

Emotions: The more basic inner experiences that are mainly associated with the physiological activities of the body and accompanied by obvious autonomic nervous responses are called emotions. Such as the pleasant feeling produced when watching a wonderful performance. Its duration is short and its stability is contextual.

Emotions: The high-level inner experiences associated with social and psychological activities are called emotions, such as friendship, aesthetics, love, and morality. It lasts for a long time and is both contextual and stable and long-term.

Mood: A lasting emotional state that affects an individual’s internal experience and behavior.

In psychiatric clinics, patients’ emotional disorders and affective disorders often appear at the same time, which is difficult to subdivide. Therefore, clinically, emotions and feelings are often used together.

In mental illness, affective disorder usually manifests in three forms, that is, changes in the nature of emotions, changes in emotional volatility, and changes in emotional coordination.

I. Emotional disorders refer to pathological emotional states that occupy a significant predominant position in a patient’s mental activity, whose intensity and duration are not compatible with the actual environmental stimulus. Mental symptoms can be considered only when the emotional response cannot be explained in terms of its situation and mood background.

i. Emotional high: Emotional high means that the patient’s mood is abnormally high and his mood is particularly pleasant. It is often accompanied by obvious exaggerated colors, which are common in manic episodes, schizoaffective disorders, and cerebral organic diseases. Patients with uneasy and contentious emotionally elevated states are called euphoria, and are more common in cerebral organic diseases or drunkenness.

ii. Depression means that the patient’s mood is abnormally low and his mood is depressed. Often inferiority, self-blame, self-sin, even self-harm, suicide. It is often accompanied by slow thinking, reduced movements, and changes in some physiological functions, such as loss of appetite, sleep disorders, and amenorrhea. Depression is common in depressive episodes, and is also seen in depressive states during schizophrenia and physical illness.

iii. Anxiety Morbid anxiety means that in the absence of corresponding objective factors, the patient has a state of extreme uneasy expectation, often accompanied by autonomic dysfunction and motor disturbance, and severe cases may have panic attacks. Anxiety is accompanied by severe motor disturbances, such as rubbing hands and feet, called agitation. Anxiety symptoms are most common in various anxiety disorders, and are also found in other mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, which can also occur on the basis of hallucinations and delusions.

iv. Fear refers to the anxious reaction that occurs when facing an adverse or dangerous situation. Fears are also accompanied by obvious symptoms of autonomic dysfunction. In severe cases, panic attacks can occur. Fear attacks often lead to resistance and escape. Terror is common in all kinds of phobias. It is also found in hallucinations, delusions, and delusions of other mental disorders.

II. Affective Volatility Disorders: Affective volatility disorders refer to emotional dysfunction, and patients show emotional instability, apathy, irritability, pathological passion and emotional numbness.

i. Irritability means that the patient’s irritable emotional / emotional response can be easily induced, and a slight stimulus can cause a strong emotional / emotional response, or an outbreak of anger. Common in fatigue, personality disorders, neurosis, mania, paranoid psychosis, cerebral organic mental disorder and physical disorders associated with mental disorders.

ii. Emotional instability refers to the poor emotional stability of patients, such as joy, anger, sorrow, and sadness, which can easily change, often fluctuating from one extreme to the other, appear moody, and may not necessarily have clear external factors. Common in cerebral organic mental disorders, epileptic psychosis, alcoholism, personality disorders. Mild emotional instability related to the external environment can be a manifestation of personality. Patients are extremely sad and sentimental, sobbing and crying at every turn, known as emotional fragility, are more common in hysteria, neurasthenia, and depression.

iii. Emotional indifference The patient is indifferent to objective things and his own situation, lacks the due inner experience and emotional response, and is in a state of no emotion. This is common in schizophrenia. If the patient’s emotional response to objective stimuli is significantly slower and the intensity is significantly reduced. It is called emotional retardation. This is common in schizophrenia, physical disorders, mental disorders, and dementia.

iv. Pathological passion refers to the sudden, intense and short-term emotional outbreak of a patient. Often accompanied by impulsive and destructive behavior, which cannot be fully recalled afterwards. Found in cerebral organic mental disorders, physical disorders associated with mental disorders, epilepsy, alcoholism, reactive psychosis, mental retardation associated with mental retardation, schizophrenia.

v. Emotional numbness The patient’s transient and deep state of emotional depression caused by very strong mental stimulation. For example, although the patient is in a state of extreme sadness or panic, but lacks the corresponding emotional experience and emotional response, it appears numb. Common in reactive mental disorders (acute stress disorder), snoring.

III. Barriers to emotional coordination Refer to the patients’ internal experience is not compatible with environmental stimuli and facial expressions, or their internal experience seems contradictory.

i. Emotional inversion refers to the contradiction between the patient’s emotional response and the environment’s non-stimulus, or the facial expression is inconsistent with their inner experience. This is more common in schizophrenia.

ii. Emotional naive means that the patient’s emotional response degenerates to the level of childhood, and is easily affected by intuition and instinctual activities, and lacks restraint. More common in hysteria and dementia.

iii. Patients with emotional contradictions refer to patients who experience two completely opposite emotions at the same time, but the patient does not feel the contradiction and opposition between the two emotions, and does not feel distressed and upset. Contradictory emotional experiences are simultaneously revealed and put into action. Common in schizophrenia.

Will is the mental process by which people consciously determine a purpose and govern their actions to achieve a predetermined goal. Will and emotion are closely related and penetrate each other. In the process of will, the act governed and controlled by the will is called the act of will. Common will disorders are the following:

I. ‘Enhanced will’ refers to the patient’s pathologically confident and stubborn actions. Common in paranoid psychosis, schizophrenia, etc.

II. Weakened refers to the patient’s lack of initiative and progress, and lack of determination and strength to overcome difficulties. Common in depression, schizophrenia, and drug addiction.

III. Lack of will means that the patient’s will requirements significantly diminish or disappear. It is manifested as lack of motivation and requirements for any activity, life is passive, and everyone needs supervision and management everywhere. And often accompanied by emotional apathy and poor thinking. More common in late schizophrenia and dementia.

IV. Contradictory intentions means that the patient has two completely opposite intentions and emotions on the same thing at the same time, but the patient does not feel wrong. Is an important symptom of schizophrenia.

Easily suggestive refers to the lack of subjective intentions of patients, their thoughts and behaviors are often affected by the words and deeds of others, dominated by the hints of others, do not analyze and think, and obey blindly. Common in hysteria and hypnosis, but also in normal people.

Attention is the process by which mental activity is focused on something over a period of time. The directivity of attention shows that people’s psychological activities are selective and maintainable. The concentration of attention makes the object of attention distinct and clear. Attention is closely related to activities such as perception, memory, thinking and consciousness. Attention includes active attention / attention and passive attention / inattention. Active attention is the intentional attention to something, while passive attention is the inadvertent attention to surrounding things. Attention usually refers to active attention. Attention disorder usually manifests as follows:

i. Attention enhancement means that the patient is particularly easily attracted to something or pays particular attention to certain activities. This is common in schizophrenia, mania and suspected conditions.

ii. Attention loss, also known as attention dispersal, refers to the patient’s active attention loss, which is difficult to concentrate or can not last. Loss of attention is more common in neurosis, schizophrenia, ADHD, and fatigue.

iii. Transfer with the border means that the patient’s passive attention / involuntary attention is obviously enhanced. It appears that attention is easily attracted by outside things, and the object of attention often changes. Mainly seen in mania.

iv. Narrowing / Narrowing Attention When the patient’s attention is focused on one thing, he can no longer pay attention to other things. That is, the range of active attention is reduced, the passive attention is weakened, and the patient’s performance is very slow. Common in patients with conscious or mental retardation, when normal people are tired.

v. Inattentive patients Active and passive attention are weakened. External stimuli do not easily attract the patient’s attention. Common in patients with failure and heavy brain organic psychosis.

Simple casual and involuntary movements are called movements. Motivated and purposeful complex random movements are an organic combination of a series of actions, called behaviors. Certain behaviors reflect certain thoughts, motivations, and goals. Patients with mental illness may have motor and behavioral disorders or psychomotor disorders due to cognitive, emotional and will disturbances. Common motor behavior disorders are as follows:

I. Psychomotor excitement means that the patient’s movements and behaviors have increased significantly. Can be divided into coordinated and uncoordinated psychomotor excitement

i. Coordinative psychomotor excitement refers to the increase in patients’ actions and behaviors consistent with the content of their thinking and emotional activities, and the increase in the amount of their thinking and emotional activities. The patient’s behavior is purposeful and understandable, and the movements of various parts of the body are coordinated with the entire mental activity, such as excitement when emotionally agitated, excitement of hypomania, restlessness during anxiety.

ii. Uncoordinated psychomotor excitement refers to an increase in a patient’s movements and behaviors that are inconsistent with their thinking and emotional activities, manifested as monotonous, unmotivated, purposeless, incomprehensible movements, or inconsistent with the patient’s entire mental activity It is also inconsistent with its environment. Such as schizophrenic nervous excitement, youthful stupid behavior, acting strange, making faces, etc. Uncoordinated excitement, such as delirium, can also occur during disturbances of consciousness.

iii. Psychomotor inhibition refers to the inhibition of the patient’s entire mental activity, which is manifested by a significant reduction in the patient’s movements and behaviors. Common psychomotor inhibitions include wood stiffness, waxy flexion mutism and malaise.

a. Researcher Mu Zong refers to the complete suppression or reduction of action and speech activity, and often maintain a fixed posture. Severe stiffness is called stagnation. The patient is silent, motionless, foodless, has a fixed facial expression, retains urine and lacks response to stimuli. If left untreated, it can be maintained for a long time. Mild stupidity is called a stupid state. It is manifested as non-answering, immovable, dull expression, but can automatically eat and urinate when no one is. Severe stiffness is seen in schizophrenia and is called tension stiffness. Mild wood stiffness can be seen in major depression, reactive mental disorders and cerebral organic mental disorders.

b. Wax-like flexion occurs on the basis of wood stiffness. The patient’s limbs are at the mercy of the person. Even in an uncomfortable posture, they remain immobile for a long time like wax. If the patient’s head is lifted like a pillow, the patient does not move, and it can be maintained for a long time. This is called an “air pillow”. At this time, the patient is clearly aware and can recall when he is well. Found in the schizophrenic nervous type.

c. Silence The patient is silent, does not answer questions, and sometimes can indicate by hand. Seen in hysteria and schizophrenia nervous type.

d. Illness Patients not only do not perform the actions required of him, but also show resistance and opposite behaviors. If the patient’s behavioral response is completely contrary to the doctor’s requirements, it is called active violation. For example, when the patient is asked to open his mouth, he closes his mouth. If a patient refuses to respond to a doctor’s request without acting, it is called passive violation. More common in the nervous type of schizophrenia.

Other Special Symptoms

i. Stereotype refers to a patient repeating a monotonous action mechanically, often appearing with stereotyped speech. More common in the nervous type of schizophrenia.

ii. Continuous speech refers to the patient’s meaningless repetition of a purposed and completed speech or action. More common in organic mental disorders.

iii. Imitation action refers to the patient’s purposeless imitation of other people’s actions, often coexisting with imitation speech, seen in the schizophrenic nervous type.

iv. Posture refers to the patients making weird, stupid, childish pretentious movements, postures, gaits and expressions, such as making strange appearances and making funny faces. More common in adolescents with schizophrenia.

v. Forced action is that the patient knows that it is unnecessary, but it is difficult for him to refrain from repeating an action. If he does not repeat, the patient will have serious anxiety. Obsessive-compulsive action is often caused by obsessions. Obsessive-compulsive action is most common in obsessive-compulsive disorder, and is also found in mental disorders such as schizophrenia and depression.

vi. Impulsive behavior Refers to the behavior that the patient suddenly produces, usually causing adverse consequences. It is common in personality disorders, schizophrenia, and normal people when they are particularly emotional.

IV. Instinctual behavior Human instinctual behavior can be summarized into two categories: the instinct to preserve life and the physiological instinct to preserve ethnic continuity. Physiological instincts include safety, diet, sleep, and sexual needs. Abnormal instincts include suicide, eating disorders, sleep disorders, and sexual dysfunction.

i. Suicide is a behavioral disorder that preserves the instinct of life. Common causes of suicide include: strong pressure from the outside world, momentary emotional impulses, in order to achieve a certain purpose, falsehoods come true, etc. Depression is the most common of various mental illnesses, followed by schizophrenia. Self-injury also belongs to instinctual behavior disorder, which refers to self-harm behavior without motive for death or causing consequences of death. It is more common in mental retardation, hysteria, and schizophrenia.

ii. Eating Disorders Means disorders of the behavior of ingesting substances needed for life support.

Loss of appetite: refers to behaviors in which the number and frequency of eating patients are significantly reduced than usual. Common in depression, followed by anorexia nervosa and certain physical diseases.

Hyper appetite: refers to patients who often overeating. More common in mental retardation or schizophrenia, but also in mania, hysteria and so on.

Antifeeding: Refers to the behavior of a person with mental illness who refuses to eat because of suspicion of poisoning, hallucinations, delusions of being victimized, blurred consciousness, and stiffness.

Aliphagia: refers to the behavior of eating things that ordinary people do not eat or do not eat often.

iii. Sleep Disorder Refers to the disorder of sleep and awakening periodically.

Insomnia: usually manifested as difficulty falling asleep, dreaming, awakening, and waking up early. Although some patients had fallen asleep, they did not feel asleep and developed severe anxiety, which is called subjective insomnia.

Drowsiness: often caused by weakness. Some patients show irresistible sleep, but they are short-lived and are more likely to wake up and become narcolepsy.

Sleepwalking: also known as sleepwalking, which refers to a patient who wakes up after sleeping for a while at night, has stupid behavior, unconsciousness, does not answer questions or answers vaguely. After a short period of activity, the patient would fall back to bed and cannot recall the next day. More common in children and hysteria.

iv. Sexual dysfunction

Organic sexual dysfunction: Sexual organs can cause spinal cord disease that often causes organic sexual dysfunction.

Functional dysfunction: caused by psychological factors, personality disorders, neurosis, mania, depression, various mental illnesses.

Common sexual desire disorders are hypersexuality, hyposexuality (impotence, premature ejaculation, etc.), wrong sexual desire (fetish, exposed yin, sadism and abuse).

I. Memory is the process of the information stored in the brain or the process of reproduction, including the four processes of memorization, preservation, recall, and recognition.

i. The Process of Memory

a. Remembering: It is the beginning of the memory process, which refers to the process in which things leave marks in the brain through perception. Good or bad memory depends on the level of consciousness and concentration.

c. Remembrance: refers to the process of recreating the traces stored in the brain when necessary. If the memorization and preservation processes are normal, there are few obstacles to recall.

ii. Form of Memory

a. Immediate memory: refers to the memory of the experience that occurred within a few seconds to 1 to 2 minutes.

b. Short-term memory: memories of experiences that occur within a fe w minutes to 1 hour.

c. R ecent memory: refers to the memory of the experience that occurred in the 24–48h.

d. Remote memory: refers to the memory of the experience of 24 to 48 hours ago.

iii. Memory Content

a. Memory of Perceived Image: What is the object that you see or touch.

b. Memory of word concepts: remember the meaning of the words and concepts learned.

c. E motional memory: remember the emotional connection at the time of an event.

The neurophysiological basis of memory involves the sensory contact areas of the cortex, the temporal lobe, the thalamus, and the entire cerebral cortex. The study found that the limbic system is closely related to memory, and put forward a memory circuit of “hippocampus-fornix-papillary body-nipple optic tract bundle-preoptic nucleus-cingulate gyrus-hippocampus”. The study also found that recent memory and distant memory are responsible for two systems. The memory circuit is mainly related to our recent memory, while distant memory is related to the neurons that control memory activity in the cortex and subcortex. When various stimuli enter the brain, there are two kinds of reactions. One is to activate the stored memory and produce a response corresponding to the situation at the time. The other is to form a new trace connection and establish a new memory to store.

B. Memory Disorders

I. Forgetting Refers to the patient’s partial or complete inability to reproduce past experiences.

i. Psychogenic amnesia: Also known as boundary amnesia, refers to the memory loss associated with a particular period / stage that a patient has experienced in the past. Usually this stage / period occurs when it is associated with unpleasant or intense situations of fear, anger, shame, and is highly selective. More common in hysteria.

Retrograde amnesia: Refers to patients who cannot recall a period of time before a brain injury. It is more common in brain trauma, concussion and acute conscious disturbance. The duration of forgetting is proportional to the severity of brain trauma.

Anterograde amnesia: Refers to patients who cannot recall what happened within a period of time after the onset of illness. Forgetting is caused by the inability of the disease to form a lasting mark. Common in acute organic encephalopathy, such as high fever delirium, epileptic hazy, drunkenness, traumatic brain injury, encephalitis, subarachnoid hemorrhage and so on.

Forgetting recent events: Refers to patients who cannot remember and reappear what happened recently.

Forgetfulness in remote events: Refers to patients who cannot recall and reproduce what happened in the past.

Amnestic Syndrome: Also known as Korsakov Syndrome, refers to patients with three major characteristics of disorientation, fiction and recent forgetting. Lesions in the hypothalamus, especially near the papillary body, cause this syndrome. It is common in patients with chronic diffuse encephalopathy, such as senile dementia, paralytic dementia, chronic alcoholic mental disorders, brain trauma, and brain tumors.

II. Memory Error

ii. Fiction: Refers to the missing part of the patient’s own memory, filled with a fictional set of things, the content is often vivid, changeable, and with an absurd color, but patients often forget instantly.

iv. D elusional memories: refers to patients with delusional memories.

v. Memory enhancement: refers to patients with pathological memory e nhancement. Patients can recall very far and trivial things in the past, often including many details. More common in mania, obsessive-compulsive disorder, paranoid psychosis.

According to Ribot’s law, the more recent things are remembered, the faster they are forgotten. The development of forgetting always progresses from recent memory to distant memory.

Memory loss refers to the general decline of the four basic processes of memory, which are more common clinically. The lighter is the weakening of memories, such as not remembering the person who just met and the meal just eaten. In severe cases, memory also decreases, such as being unable to recall personal experiences. Can be seen in more severe dementia patients. Patients with neurasthenia have less memory loss, but have difficulty remembering. Can also be seen in normal elderly.

Intelligence, also known as intelligence, refers to people’s ability to recognize objective things and use knowledge to solve practical problems. This ability is developed in practice and is a combination of innate quality and acquired practice (social practice and education).

Intelligence includes observation, memory, attention, thinking, and imagination. It involves a series of cognitive processes such as perception, memory, attention, and thinking, and is manifested through the aforementioned psychological processes. According to the different capabilities of these manifestations, intelligence can be divided into abstract intelligence, mechanical intelligence and social intelligence. Abstract intelligence refers to the ability to understand and use concepts and symbols. Mechanical intelligence refers to the ability to understand, create and use machinery. Social intelligence refers to the ability to adapt to take appropriate actions in people’s relationships and social practices.

Clinically, it is often based on an individual’s ability to solve practical problems, using vocabulary, numbers, symbols, graphics and non-verbal materials to form concepts to determine a person’s level of intelligence. Currently, intelligence tests are used to assess an individual’s intelligence level. The commonly used intelligence test in clinical practice is the Wechsler intelligence test, referred to as WAIS. The results of the intelligence test are expressed by numbers, which is called IQ. Most people have IQ values between 90 and 110. IQ higher than 130 is high intelligence, and IQ lower than 70 is low intelligence.

The foundation of normal intelligence is a sound brain and proper learning and practice. Therefore, mental retardation is caused by brain diseases and lack of learning and practice. Learning and practice include not only the environment and teachers, but also the period of learning and practice.

Mental retardation can be divided into two types: mental retardation and dementia.

i. Mental retardation refers to congenital or perinatal period or before growth and maturity (before the age of 18), the development of the brain due to various pathogenic factors, such as heredity, infection, head trauma, endocrine abnormalities or hypoxia, etc. , Make the brain dysplasia or obstruction, intelligent development stays at a specific stage.

ii. Dementia is a syndrome that refers to the comprehensive decline of intelligence caused by various factors such as disease after the brain is fully developed. It is manifested as disability in orientation, memory, understanding, calculation, learning, and judgment. This is common in senile dementia, cerebral arteriosclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, paralytic dementia, encephalitis sequelae, etc. But there is no disturbance of consciousness.

According to the nature of the pathological changes in the brain and the size of the range involved, it can be divided into general dementia and partial dementia.

The brain lesions of generalized dementia are mainly manifested as diffuse organic damage, and all aspects of intelligent activity are damaged, which affects all patients’ mental activities, and personality changes often occur. Disorientation and lack of awareness. Can be seen in Alzheimer’s disease and paralytic dementia.

Partial dementia brain lesions only invade parts of the brain, such as invading the surrounding tissues of the cerebral blood vessels, the patient only produces memory loss, impaired understanding, difficulty in comprehensive analysis, etc., but his personality remains good, his orientation is complete, and he has a certain degree of autonomy Intellectual power can be seen after traumatic brain injury and early in vascular dementia. But when dementia is severe, it is difficult to distinguish clinically from generalized or partial dementia.

Clinically, after severe trauma, it can produce a dementia-like performance, and the brain tissue structure does not have any organic damage, which is called pseudo-dementia. The prognosis is good and can be seen in hysteria and reactive mental disorders.

a. Ganser syndrome in Psychiatry: also known as psychogenic pseudodementia, that is, giving approximate and wrong answers to simple questions, giving people the feeling of deliberate contrition or joking. For example, when a 20-year-old patient was asked how many fingers she had in one hand, she answered “4”, and a simple calculation such as 2 + 3 = 4 gave an approximate answer. The patient understood the meaning of the question, but the answer was incorrect. There can also be errors in behavior, such as turning the key upside down to open the door, but it can correctly solve some complex problems, such as chess and card games, and general life problems can be solved.

b. Childlike dementia in Psychiatry: Childish behavior that mimics the speech and behavior characteristics of young children. That is to say, adult patients behave like childish looks of ordinary children, learning the tone of young children’s speech, claiming to be only 3 years old, and being called an aunt or uncle when they are everyone.

c. Depressive pseudodementia in Psychiatry: refers to patients with severe depression who suffer from cognitive decline in the presence of psychomotor depression, manifested as early symptoms of dementia, such as decreased computing ability, memory, comprehension and judgment Initiative. However, patients with depression experience can be identified. After the depression disappeared, his intelligence recovered completely.

In clinical medicine, consciousness refers to a patient’s ability to correctly recognize and respond to the surrounding environment and himself. Consciousness involves mental activities / mental functions such as level of arousal, attention, perception, thinking, emotion, memory, directional behavior, etc., and is the basis of people’s intelligent activities, random actions and will behaviors. The excitability of the cerebral cortex and reticular activation system plays an important role in maintaining consciousness.

Impaired consciousness refers to the decline of consciousness, the change of consciousness range, and the change of consciousness content. The disturbance of consciousness is caused by the suppression of brain function. Many mental activities are affected during the disturbance of consciousness. These are manifested as an increase in sensory threshold, reduced, incomplete or even inability to perceive intelligibility. Also in decreased active attention, difficulty in or concentration of attention. Further in decreased thinking ability, and difficulty in forming new ones Concepts, loose thinking associations, slow thinking, vague content, abstract thinking and purposeful thinking difficulties. Also in slow and erratic emotional reactions. Also in memory loss, often forgetting delayed behavior and movement, lack of purpose and coherence. This is also in disorientation, involvement, etc. The order is time, place and person. Disorientation is an important sign to judge whether a patient has an unconscious disorder clinically.

Common clinical disorders of consciousness are drowsiness, lethargy, coma, cloudy consciousness, delirium, hazy consciousness, dream-like consciousness and blurred consciousness, etc.

i. Drowsiness means that the patient’s level of consciousness decreases. If no stimulus is given, the patient falls asleep, but can simply respond after calling or awakening. After stopping the stimulation, the patient goes to sleep again. At this point, the patient’s swallowing, pupils, and corneal reflexes were present. Found in functional and cerebral organic diseases.

ii. Drowsiness means that the patient has a lower level of consciousness and loses awareness of the surrounding environment and self-consciousness, but the patient may have a simple and mild reaction under strong stimulation. At this time, the reflections of the cornea and eyelashes are weakened, the light reflection and swallowing reflection still exist, the deep reflection is hyperactive, and the pathological reflection is positive. Involuntary movements and tremors may occur.

iii. In psychiatry, coma refers to the complete loss of consciousness, no response to external stimuli, and random movement disappeared. At this time, swallowing, cornea, cough, sphincter, tendon reflexes, and even light reflections disappear, which can lead to pathological reflexes. More common in the critical period of severe brain and physical diseases.

iv. Obliqueness, in psychiatry, means that the patient’s consciousness is impaired. The patient seems to be awake and unconscious, lacking initiative, and strong stimulation can cause a response. But the patient’s response is slow, simple to answer questions, low and slow speech, and time, place and person orientation. Obstructions include swallowing, cornea and reflection of light. Primitive movements such as licking lips, tongue extension, strong grip, sucking and pathological reflexes may also occur. More common in mental disorders caused by physical diseases.

Delirium At the same time that the consciousness of consciousness is reduced, a large number of illusions and hallucinations appear. The hallucinations are more common, and the contents of hallucinations and visual illusions are more vivid and vivid, such as seeing insects and beasts. Some content is horrible. Patients often have nervous and fearful emotional reactions, and appear uncoordinated psychomotor excitement. Inconsistent thinking, difficulty in understanding, and sometimes fragmented delusions. All or part of the patient’s directional force was lost, and most patients showed self-directed force preservation while the surrounding environment directional force was lost. Delirium is often aggravated at night, and the day is light and the night is heavy. It lasts several hours to several days, and may be partially or completely forgotten after consciousness is restored. Mental disorders caused by physical diseases and mental disorders caused by poisoning are more common.

In psychiatry, dream-like state Refers to a dream-like experience accompanied by a reduction in consciousness. The patient was completely immersed in the hallucinations and lost contact with the outside world, but his appearance seemed sober. The hallucinations are not completely forgotten. Lasts for days or months,

The hazy state refers to the narrowing of the patient’s range of consciousness, accompanied by a decrease in consciousness. Within a narrow range of consciousness, patients may have relatively normal perception and coordinated and coherent complex behaviors, but things outside this range cannot be judged correctly. It is manifested as associative difficulties, dull or confused expressions, or anxiety or euphoria, disorientation, illusions, delusions, delusions, and corresponding behaviors. It often occurs suddenly, abruptly, recurrent, and lasts for several minutes to hours, and is forgotten or partially forgotten afterwards. More common in epilepsy mental disorders, brain trauma, cerebral hypoxia and snoring.

Orientation refers to a person’s ability to recognize time, place, person and one’s state. The former is called the directing force on the surrounding environment and the latter is called the self-directing force. Temporal orientation includes the recognition of the time at the time, location orientation or spatial orientation refers to the recognition of the place, person orientation refers to the identity of the people in the surrounding environment and their relationship with the patient. Also, knowledge of gender, age and occupation. A disability or misunderstanding of the environment or one’s own condition is called disorientation. Orientation disorder is more common in symptomatic psychosis and cerebral organic psychosis with conscious disturbance. Disorientation is an important sign of disturbance of consciousness, but disorientation does not necessarily have to be conscious. For example, patients with alcohol-toxic encephalopathy can have disorientation without consciousness.

Double redirection refers to a double experience of the time, place and characters of the surrounding environment. One experience is correct, while the other experience is related to delusion, which is delusional judgment or interpretation. For example, a patient considers the hospital to be a hospital and a prison, or thinks that it is a hospital but it is actually a prison. Common in toxic mental disorders and epileptic mental disorders.

Self-consciousness disorder in Psychiatry

Self-consciousness or self-experience: refers to the individual’s perception of their own mental and physical conditions. Everyone is aware of their existence and is an independent individual. Your own mental activity is completely controlled by you and known to you. The past me and the present me are the same individuals who are interconnected. Common self-awareness disorders include disintegration of personality, dual personality, barriers to self-limitation and lack of self-awareness.

i. Disintegration of personality means that the patient feels that he or she has made a special change or even no longer exists. Patients feel that the world is becoming unreal or non-existent, and is called a disintegration of reality or a sense of non-reality. Some patients feel that they have lost their emotional resonance with others and cannot produce normal emotions or feelings. More common in depression, but also in schizophrenia and neurosis.

ii. Dual personality means that the patient experiences two completely different psychological activities at different times, has two completely different mental lives and is a disorder of self-singleness. Common in hysteria and schizophrenia.

iii. Self-boundary barriers refer to patients who cannot distinguish themselves from the world around them and therefore feel that mental activities are no longer owned by themselves. Even if their own thinking is not spoken, others will know that it is called insight or thought dissemination. Your own thoughts, emotions, wills, impulses and behaviors are not your own, but are manipulated or imposed by others or some kind of instrument, which is called a sense of being controlled. It is a characteristic symptom of schizophrenia. Self-boundary disorders are occasionally seen in epilepsy and other mental disorders.

Lack of self-awareness in psychiatry: Self-awareness, also known as comprehension or introspection, refers to the ability of patients to judge and recognize their own diseases. A patient’s correct understanding of his mental symptoms is called self-awareness and it is considered that his mental symptoms are not pathological. There are 4 criteria for judging whether there is self-awareness:

a. The patient realizes that there are phenomena that others think are abnormal

b. Patient recognizes that these phenomena are abnormal

c. The patient recognizes that these abnormalities are caused by their own mental illness

d. The patient realizes that they treat these symptoms It’s required. Generally speaking, the clinical symptoms disappear, and knowing that one’s mental symptoms are pathological, that is, the recovery of self-knowledge. Most people with mental illness have incomplete self-knowledge, and most patients with neurosis have self-knowledge. Clinically, the presence or absence of self-awareness and the degree of self-awareness recovery are taken as important indicators for judging the severity and improvement of the disease. The integrity of self-knowledge is one of the important indicators for the recovery of mental illness. Lack of self-awareness is characteristic of mental illness.

People’s understanding of mental phenomena often determines and influences people’s understanding of mental health.

Difficult attitudes, perspectives and methods. The development process of psychiatry not only reflects the process of understanding of mental disorders and their laws, but also reflects the progress of human beings in correcting and reversing discrimination and prejudice against mental disorders.

In the cultural and medical classics of various times in various ethnic groups, all the symptoms of mental disorders, their diagnosis and treatment method and people’s views on these phenomena are recorded. However, in the long period of scientific and cultural backwardness, mental disorders are regarded as grotesque and weird, and patients are regarded as devil-ridden and abused or mutilated.

The development of material civilization science and technology has promoted the change of people’s attitude towards mental disorders. After the French Revolution in the 18th century, Pinel proposed to lift the yoke of patients and treat mental patients with a humanitarian attitude, thereby writing an epoch-making page in the history of psychiatry concepts. And led psychiatry to the threshold of medical science.

Since the early 1950s, psychotropic drugs have been widely used in the field of psychiatry, and the development of psychopharmacology and other brain sciences has promoted the rapid progress of contemporary psychiatry. Many effective measures have been summarized for treating mental disorders. For example, various types of psychotropic treatments largely control or eliminate the symptoms of mental disorders, and thus contribute to the implementation of psychotherapy, work and recreational therapy and social therapy.

With the innovation of medical methods, the atmosphere of the mental hospital has been changed. The closed caretaker management has been changed to open management. This completely lifts the restraint on the patient’s body and is beneficial to the rehabilitation of the patient.

At the same time, diagnostic techniques for mental disorders have also advanced. The application of EEG, brain potential distribution map, brain evoked potential brain computerized tomography scanner, and brain magnetic resonance technology can help to objectively test certain diseases. Many psychological testing, personality testing and intelligent testing methods are more conducive to the development of psychological diagnostic techniques for mental disorders. The popularity of psychiatric epidemiology and social psychiatry has explored the causes of mental disorders from a macro perspective, and social treatment and rehabilitation measures have achieved unprecedented results.

Psychiatry is inextricably linked with clinical departments. For example, many neurological diseases, metabolic, endocrine disorders and visceral diseases may be complicated by mental disorders at different stages and need to be treated. Those with general physical disorders are also prone to some heart problems.

Physical and emotional problems therefore interfere with the diagnosis and treatment of the original disease, need to be identified and treated.

Many research methods in psychiatry, such as personality tests and emotional assessment scales, can be applied to the investigation and research of psychosomatic diseases, or to other clinical departments. In addition, the implementation of mental health counseling and psychological treatment on health and disease in general hospitals is urgently needed by the general public and should be promoted.

The research on the etiology of psychiatry has been extended to many basic fields such as psychology, genetics, physiological psychology, neuropsychoendocrinology, psychopharmacology, neurophysiology and biochemistry. In these different fields, research results on psychological disorders will promote the advancement of relevant basic medicine.

Genetic studies have revealed several causes of mental retardation, such as congenital stupidity caused by chromosomal aberrations. Other genetic metabolic diseases such as phenylpyruvateuria are autosomal recessive, and phenylpropanoic acid is hydroxylated in patients. Enzyme deficiency, phenylpropionic acid cannot be oxidized to tyrosine, which eventually leads to mental retardation. A large number of statistical genetic data show that the expected incidence of children with a family history of schizophrenia is much higher than that of the general population.

Biochemical discussions have also suggested some etiological factors related to mental disorders. For example, the study found:

Emotional psychiatric disease: there are changes in central neurotransmitters at the time of onset, mainly in the synapses of neurons, changes in noradrenaline and serotonin. In the manic state, norepinephrine increased, while the serotonin content was lower than normal in the depressed state.

For another example, in some patients with schizophrenia, the presence of over-methylated biogenic amine metabolites at the time of onset was also confirmed. In other patients, monoamine oxidase activity in platelets was reduced. Psychopharmacology can also provide clues to the pathogenesis of certain mental disorders. For example, dependence on the stimulant amphetamine can cause amphetamine-like toxic psychosis similar to schizophrenia.

Research suggests that amphetamine as a dopamine agonist enhances dopaminergic activity between synapses in central neurons and causes schizophrenia-like psychiatric disorders. However, different classes of antipsychotic drugs reduce dopaminergic activity by blocking dopaminergic receptors, and reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia. This makes people consider that dopaminergic activity may play an important role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia . Many tricyclic antidepressants play a therapeutic role by blocking the reuptake of central monoamine in the presynaptic membrane and indirectly increasing the amine content. Therefore, it is assumed that there is a monoamine metabolism disorder in the onset of endogenous depression.

Due to the continuous innovation of micromorphological research methods and methods, neuropathology has also made great progress in the research of mental disorders caused by cerebral organic diseases. For example, the discovery and research of brown spots in different parts of the brain can help to understand the neuropathological characteristics of senile dementia, and help to differentiate between senile dementia and general aging.

Psychology has always been considered one of the important basic disciplines of psychiatry. Psychology and physiological psychology both have an influence on the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatry and the theoretical discussion. Among them, physiological psychology explores many psychological abnormalities, such as the neurological basis of mood, motivation and memory disorders, and these discussions help to gradually provide a physical and chemical basis for mental abnormalities.

Psychiatry can be divided into many specialties, such as clinical psychiatry, adult psychiatry, child psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, judicial psychiatry, liaison-consultation psychiatry, psychiatry epidemiology, social psychiatry, community psychiatry, occupational psychiatry Learn and more.

The development of psychiatry is getting faster and faster, but the main problem hindering the development of the discipline is still the etiology and pathogenesis of mental disorders that have not yet been clarified. Therefore, the etiology discussion is one of the important issues in the development of psychiatry in the future.

In the discussion of the etiology, people have generally attached importance to the new medical model of biology-medicine-psychology-society, and have paid full attention to the research direction of combining micro and macro in methodology. In microscopic research, attention is paid to the role played by genetics and immunology in a number of mental disorders. At the macro level, epidemiological investigations in populations are also paid attention to in order to discover the laws of disease and the ecological factors of the disease. Many social causes of mental disorders.

At present, many experts believe that the occurrence and development of mental disorders and the prognosis of the old and the genetic factors of individuals, susceptibility, personality characteristics before illness, the state of the body at the time of onset, trauma, environmental triggering factors, and social and cultural backgrounds extensive contacts. Therefore, we should make full use of the development results of natural sciences and social sciences and strengthen comprehensive research in multiple disciplines in order to accumulate data and achieve results.

Discussion on the pathogenesis theory of psychological stimulus factors has now developed to the depth of information theory. It is generally believed that an individual’s awareness, evaluation of the information, and the emotions that result from it will have an impact on health. People have carried out research work on neurophysiology, psycho-biochemistry and psycho-endocrine to clarify the mechanism of psychological abnormalities caused by psychological stimulation factors.

For another example, some mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, have obvious genetic factors, but how the genetic factors work remains to be elucidated. When conducting epidemiological research on mental illness, we must analyze and study the relevant ecological and environmental factors that affect the occurrence, development and outcome of mental illness. We should also seek the causes and laws from a macro perspective.

The treatment of mental disorders usually adopts comprehensive measures, such as various psychotropic medications, psychological treatments, industrial treatments and social rehabilitation treatments. From a medical point of view, a pragmatic and eclectic approach is adopted for different schools of thought. In the implementation of treatment, a treatment team consisting of a psychiatrist, nurse, social worker, occupational therapist and psychologist generally works together.

Community treatment of mental disorders has received widespread attention and attention. Community medicine can reduce the human and material resources to prevent and treat a large number of people with mental disorders, which indicates that the development of contemporary medicine has reached the stage of combining medical and public health. The practice of community mental health needs the sympathy and support of the public. It is also necessary to cooperate with social forces to establish medical facilities. The established medical goals are planned.

Psychiatry Images

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Originally published at https://vvfit.com on November 27, 2019.

#psychiatry #psychology #psychiatrist #psychiatry department #psychiatry degree #psychiatry doctor #psychiatry definition #psychiatry meaning

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analyzingdestiel · 6 years ago

Text

REVIEW OF 8X13: EVERYBODY HATES HITLER

Hello. It's been quite some time since I've worked on analyzing Destiel but I'm here to continue with it. Starting with Season 8, Episode 13: Everybody Hates Hitler.

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SCENE 1

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INT. CAMPUS PUB – DAY

Two ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMEN in matching sports uniforms are sitting across a table from DEAN, who is wearing a suit.

ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMAN 1 He was a really nice old kook.

ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMAN 2 Really nice.

DEAN Kook? How so?

ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMAN 2 You know, he'd talk a lot to us, to himself, to anyone who'd listen. He was always talking about this secret war that nobody knew was going on.

ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMAN 1 Conspiracy stuff – he was obsessed with Nazis.

ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMAN 2 But he said they were "Special Nazis." You know, necromancers.

DEAN Necromancers?

A BEARDED YOUNG MAN carrying a fruity drink with a pink umbrella in it sits down at a table nearby. He appears to be watching DEAN.

ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMAN 2 Yeah, like from that world of whatever-craft that my little brother is always playing.

DEAN Nazi... necromancers.

ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMAN 1 It's sad, isn't it – that old people have to go so crazy?

ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMAN 2 I know. It is sad.

DEAN Hmm.

DEAN looks at the BEARDED YOUNG MAN, who is staring at him. The BEARDED YOUNG MAN smiles and raises a hand.

DEAN You, um... [the BEARDED YOUNG MAN looks away] I'm sorry. You, uh, you both saw the accident?

ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMAN 1 I can still hear his screams.

ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMAN 2 It was like the fire was alive, like – like it was attacking him.

ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMAN 1 It was like watching the most awful movie of the most terrible thing you could possibly see.

ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMAN 2 It was like that.

DEAN Yeah.

DEAN looks at the BEARDED YOUNG MAN again. After meeting DEAN’s eyes for a moment, the BEARDED YOUNG MAN looks down. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REVIEW OF SCENE 1

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To begin, we see that Dean is very distracted by the man in the background. He is focusing more on him, smiling and waving at him, than he is focusing on either of the very attractive ladies or his job at all. He even begins to stutter after having become distracted by the man.

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SCENE 2

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DEAN holds up his FBI badge to the BEARDED YOUNG MAN.

DEAN Special Agent Bolan.

DEAN puts his badge on the table and the BEARDED YOUNG MAN looks at it.

BEARDED YOUNG MAN Oh, really? Wow. I thought you were like a headhunter or something. [He laughs.]

DEAN This is the second, maybe third time I'm seeing you today? Why you following me, Gingerbread?

BEARDED YOUNG MAN Oh, so we, um... we didn't have a thing back there, huh?

DEAN Back where? W-what, now?

BEARDED YOUNG MAN I'm sorry, man. I – I thought – I thought we had a thing back at the quad, you know – a little "eye magic" moment, and I saw you here [DEAN picks up his badge] and I figured I'd wait until you were done with your meeting and then maybe we might, uh...

DEAN Yeah. Uh, okay, but no – uh, no moment. This is a... federal investigation.

BEARDED YOUNG MAN Is that supposed to make you less interesting? No. I – I'm sorry, man. I hope – I hope I didn't freak you out or anything.

DEAN No. No. I – I'm n-not freaked out. It's just a, you know... a federal thing. It's, uh... Okay… [his phone rings] citizen. As you were.

DEAN walks away.

BEARDED YOUNG MAN You have a good night.

DEAN You – you... [ he turns back to the BEARDED YOUNG MAN and bumps into a table, causing glasses to knock against each other] have a – okay.

DEAN leaves the pub. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REVIEW OF SCENE 2

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We find that Dean was distracted by this man because he saw him before, in three different locations. While it originally appeared that Dean was drawn to him for some other reason, we are given the true reason now. I try to take the intention of the writers into consideration when analyzing these scenes and if anything, they may have made the scene previous to this one ambiguous deliberately. Supernatural is very good at keeping things ambiguous at times which is why it's always hard to figure out who the 'bad guy' of the episode is. They give us a tiny bit of information at a time as the episode goes along and I feel that was the case with the scene before this one of Dean being "interested" when, rather, he'd actually seen the man multiple times and was not interested so much as concerned.

That being said, Dean's reaction to thinking the bearded man was homosexual and found him attractive was very interesting. I have said this before but Dean's absolutely terrified of homosexuality, especially when it's directed at him, and one has to wonder why he's so extreme about it. He was entirely flustered during this scene and was doing his best to escape as soon as possible. He wasn't acting disgusted, he was acting frightened. It reminded me of scenes in other shows or movies where a guy, or girl, has a crush and gets flustered to the point of dropping their books or spilling their drink. We've all seen it before. I got the impression that he was running from his own repressed desires more than anything. One doesn't usually react that way just because they're not interested; it's the fear that they may actually be interested that would create such a reaction. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SCENE 3

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DEAN (on phone) Huh. Well, uh, the two very hot co-captains of the women's volleyball team agree that the rabbi's death was very unnatural. I think we still got a case.

SAM (on phone) That would explain why I have something stuck to my shoe.

DEAN (on phone) You being followed?

SAM (on phone) Yeah, I think so.

DEAN (on phone) That's weird. I thought I was being followed earlier. Turned out to be a gay thing.

SAM (on phone) What?

DEAN (on phone) Nothing. You need a hand? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REVIEW OF SCENE 3

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The fact that Dean, just after having panicked over the situation with the gay man, over-compensates by mentioning how very attractive the girls were says something. He didn't show any attraction to them during the scene he was talking to them, and in fact, was focused more on the man. This is almost blatant over-compensating, and why would he feel the need to do that unless he'd had some gay thoughts of his own? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SCENE 4

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DEAN So, wait. What you're saying is that you and me – we, uh, didn't have a moment?

RABBI BASS’ GRANDSON No, man. I was tailing you.

DEAN [to SAM] Told you I was being followed. He was my gay thing. [to RABBI BASS’ GRANDSON] It was really good. You really had me there. It was very smooth. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REVIEW OF SCENE 4

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Dean seems to express some sort of disappointment here for one reason or another. Despite his obvious fear during that scene, perhaps deep down, he was flattered. And Dean saying he was "smooth", could be taken in more ways than one. I feel perhaps he meant "good job, you really knew how to scare me off" or "good job, I really thought you were gay with how well you were hitting on me". ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OVER ALL REVIEW

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Over all, there's nothing made clear during this episode and it is ambiguous as is very often the case with this show. I feel all of what was said or done could be taken as Dean being afraid of his own repressed desire though this could also easily be denied and said that it meant none other than "Dean was afraid of the gay because he's far from it". I personally feel it's more than that but I feel it can be left to the viewer's interpretation. Perhaps the writers did that on purpose - not really crossing over the line enough to upset some viewers, but also coming close enough to that line to leave others questioning.

This isn't exactly related to Destiel but I feel at times that, because Castiel inhabits a male vessel, it may be necessary to point out scenes such as this.

DESTIEL RATING AFTER EPISODE (BASED ON HOW BELIEVABLE): 5/10

#destiel #supernatural #dean winchester #castiel #review #analyzing destiel

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thewakingcloak · 6 years ago

Text

ProtoDungeon: Episode II

(Quasi)Daily Updates Thus Far

Hey all!

ProtoDungeon Episode II (TWC prequel) is coming along nicely, and I’m building out a lot of vital systems for it, future episodes, and The Waking Cloak. I also began a sort-of-daily update on the Discord server that I’ve been meaning to post here but keep forgetting to because I am a scattered, scattered person.

Anyway, uh, yeah, there are a lot of these, lol. I’ll try to post these more regularly in the future, but I hope this is fun and informative for those of you who like reading weirdly specific details about gamedev.

Daily Update - May 24, 2019

Summing up what I've already done before today: -Ring mechanics are done -Day, night, and light sensors are done (though don't have any art) -Created an object that will switch day/night

Today: - Reworking my "interaction" code so that you stop walking after interacting with something during the walk state.

Daily Update - May 25, 2019 -Finally resolved the "interact" code by adding a new player state. Now the player actually stops when interacting with objects instead of just walking into them the whole time. -Fixed a small bug where dialogue boxes would show up with the first message already "fast-forwarded" to the end with no sound. -Started working on polishing up the day/night switcher object (this is what the interact code was for). Should be important in this dungeon since the player won't have the cloak!

Daily Update - May 26, 2019 -I tend to take Sundays easy. I worked on a bed sprite for like ten minutes though!

Daily Update - May 27, 2019 -Added the ring and its upgrades to the test room! We're now technically ready for super early patron alpha testing, which I'll put up sometime in the secret patron channel in the next few days!

Daily Update - May 28, 2019 -Set up the Itch build for pre-alpha patron testing -Worked on figuring out how to clarify the day/night and ring mechanics, visually -Began sketching out dungeon layout, now that I have mechanics set (as opposed to Episode I where I had to retrofit my design a few times after it was mostly done).

Daily Update - May 30, 2019 -Finished the rough draft of the dungeon layout!!!

Daily Update - May 31, 2019 -Finished the second draft of the dungeon map, including several more detailed rooms with puzzle designs

Daily Update - June 1, 2019 - Finished the THIRD draft of the dungeon map, think I've finally got the layout and puzzle locations pretty much settled (it's been a toughie with day/night/dayshift/nightshift)

Daily Update - June 3, 2019 -Updated level 2 of the Ring of Starlight to generate two blocks instead of one block with a dayshift/nightshift effect. This is like what was originally level 3, except the blocks will move in sync with each other -Changed the ring upgrade descriptions. I'm going to try for a more lore-based, somewhat poetic approach for these over a mechanical explanation. (Level 3 is obviously a temporary description) -Pushed the build up to Itch as v0.3.0

For those of you who have access to the pre-alpha and are using the Itch client, updating should be very easy! However, since something got renamed somewhere along the line, you will most likely have to remove the previous version of the game if you don't want it to ask you to select your version when launching the game. I don't think this will happen again... probably. :) I'm still working on the level 3 mechanic, also.

Daily Update - June 5, 2019 -Decided on new lvl3 of the ring -Fixed blocks so they now fall into pits. Long live the king. -Updated Itch app to v0.3.1

Daily Update - June 7, 2019 -Added level 3 of the ring. -Fixed a bug where pushable blocks couldn't be pushed. You had one job, pushable blocks. -Fixed a bug where the player wouldn't fall into a pit after swapping with something that's over the pit. -Fixed a bug where the synced level 2 ring block would not collide with objects when starting from "rest".

Daily Update - June 8, 2019 -Fixed bug where the dialogue box would crash sometimes. I fixed this bug before. I don't know why it came back. The code I used to fix it was gone. Will keep an eye on this code to see if it disappears again. -Updated HUD to display ring and ring level instead of scroll and swap spell level. -Fixed the controls. Space was mapped to both item "A" and item "B", and apparently it doesn't work that way when the item isn't mapped to both slots :P -Fixed a bug where the game would be very, very tiny if it was not in focus when starting in fullscreen mode. I commented out a line of code when updating the application surface resizing and forgot to uncomment it. -Updated v0.3.9 to Itch -Started work on the next draft of the dungeon sketch now that the ring mechanic has been finalized wooooo

Daily Update - June 12, 2019 -Competed new draft of the dungeon, pretty happy with this one. I'll just need to work in the puzzles and make sure the dungeon graph (a la GMTK Boss Keys) works out so players can't get stuck. -Fixed an issue where you could push blocks past the edge of the screen (and a related one where when you tried to do that, you would keep moving through the block while the block stayed still). -Fixed an issue where you could create blocks on top of each other.

Daily Update - June 14, 2019 -Started working on Tiled draft of dungeon -Began experimenting with larger default room sizes. One aspect I liked from Blossom Tales. Still keeping rooms, of course, since that's what counterintuitively makes an overworld feel big, but bumping up their width/height by about 50% each makes them feel that much larger and explorationy. -Updated test room to new room size. -Uploaded v0.3.12 to Itch, which includes the new room size, as well as the fixed bugs from the June 12 daily update

Daily Update - June 16, 2019 -Continued working on Tiled draft of dungeon. Slow work at this stage, but I believe the overall layout is complete. -Started laying out my sticky note version of the dungeon and puzzles. Lots has changed since last time I built puzzles for this dungeon, so reworking it has been fun.

Trying to decide whether the blocks should stay put when you move out the room, or disappear like the Cane of Somaria. Persistent blocks would make for some interesting puzzles.

Also trying to decide how the overworld will map down to the dungeon, since some of the dungeon rooms are a bit small and constrained. I'd like them to line up. Might still make them the same size as the overworld rooms, just with long connecting bits.

Daily Update - June 18, 2019 -Puzzle design is done! -Tiled map draft is coming along much faster now that I know what to fill the rooms with. Already making tweaks to the puzzles (and I'll certainly make more tweaks when building in GameMaker, just how it goes)

Daily Update - June 19, 2019 -Tiled map draft is almost done! Getting verrrry close now.

Daily Update - June 21, 2019 -Tiled map draft is COMPLETE!!!

Daily Update - June 23, 2019 -The actual dungeon in GameMaker is underway and making quick progress. Already improving on the Tiled map, I think! Could be done with the graybox and have it playable for patrons by the end of the week--stay tuned. Lemony Snicket voice "Graybox" here means "with crappy programmer art and white/black tiles"

Daily Update - June 24, 2019 -Made major headway on the dungeon in GameMaker. Very close to wrapping up the graybox tiles, and I've made a bunch of refinements to the existing layout and puzzles!

Daily Update - June 26, 2019 -Layout and graybox tiles are done -Colliders are done -Cliffs are done -Stairs are done -Pits are done -Item upgrades are placed -Some keys are placed -Buttons are placed (not hooked up yet)

Quasidaily Update - June 27, 2019 -Worked on hooking up buttons and bridges and simplified the lvl1 ring room (for me, should be about the same for the player)

Quasidaily Update - June 28, 2019 -Finished doors and hooked up buttons -Fixed various puzzles and rooms that weren't working correctly

Quasidaily Update - June 39, 2019 -Finished the ladder! -Finished bridge collision -Completed... the trap room -Hooked up the doors/buttons I missed (pretty easy to find since I use a red color blend on the offending buttons ingame) I... uh... am just gonna leave that as the 39th Very very close to alpha now, unless those two bugs end up just crushing me

Quasidaily Update - July 1, 2019 -Added day/night blocks -Added a missing teleporter (int/ext door) -Fixed one of the two softlocking bugs (in about 5 minutes)!

Remaining before patron alpha release: -Secret thing -Second bug -Verification that the dungeon is playable from start to finish

Quasidaily Update - July 2, 2019 -The second bug is technically fixed, but it's pretty janky and unpolished. I'll keep working on this tomorrow. -Cleaned up and optimized the block pushing check logic, which had all kinds of duplicate collision checks and wack timers being set all over the place

Quasidaily Update - July 3, 2019 -Finally fixed the second bug. This was a block syncing/pushing issue that would've prevented everyone from completing the dungeon -Began testing the dungeon's playability from beginning to end. Ran into a few more things I fixed: -Added a level 3 ring upgrade description since it actually does something now -Some bridges were missing pits under them, so you could walk across even if the bridge wasn't activated. -Discovered the level 1 and 2 ring blocks don't fall in pits anymore. Oops. Gotta fix this still. Quasidaily Update - July 3, 2019 PART 2 -The dungeon is playable from start to end (except you can't get in the final room yet, but that's a quick fix) -Hooked up MORE buttons/doors that I had missed -Replaced/moved the keys around--I think this will be much more satisfying now -Added the method to get to t h e s e c r e t Pretty pleased with it this time around--I think it's even more cryptic and fun to discover ehehehe "ehehehe" is to be read with a witch's voice

Quasidaily Update - July 4, 2019 -Tweaked t h e s e c r e t entrance ほほほ -Worked on t h e s e c r e t puzzles.... they're pretty devious お~~ほほほ

Quasidaily Update - July 5, 2019 -Fixed broken challenge puzzle. -Fixed bug with lv1 and lv2 ring mechanics--they weren't falling down pits anymore. That just makes this game way too easy. -Fixed a bug with lv3 ring blocks that was also breaking the challenge puzzle -Added some tiles to cover up my greybox "answers" -This wraps up all the changes for alpha. We'll go live with the alpha for patrons early tomorrow!

Quasidaily Update - July 6, 2019 -Released the patron alpha! Woohoo! Rali has been enjoying it at least/ -Released v0.4.2 update: -Fixed two unmarked pits. Kinda sucks to fall into the solid ground. -Game Over now resets only the player, not the entire game.

Quasidaily Update - July 7, 2019 -Released v0.4.4 update: -Added collision around water bridges so you can't walk on or get trapped on the water... -Removed a call to GMLive that may be causing a crash on the PlayerEquipmentRingState script.

Quasidaily Update - July 7, 2019 PART DOS Released v0.4.10 update: -Removed "You got a key!" text because... well, it should be obvious. -Do not freeze player on headstone moving. -Fix stutter when a level 0 equipped item is "used." -Made it so you can't push jars and blocks up stairs. They are TOO HEAVY. -Added an escape route to the challenge room so you don't have to throw yourself in a pit to get back to the start if you get stuck. It doubles as a "skip" for one of the puzzles once it has been opened. -Fixed challenge room exit so you don't get trapped. :)

Quasidaily Update - July 9, 2019 -Fixed colors on the east/west player "use ring" sprite so that the night palette shader doesn't miss it (meaning it would render her skin in the day palette) -Updated teleporters to use channel strings so I don't have to manually set the target coordinates for ALL THE TELEPORTERS AAAAAAAH. -Oh, and yeah, most importantly: released v0.5.0 update! Completed dungeon remodel!! It uses the build-a-final-key method like in Episode I. This allowed me to make the dungeon a bit less linear. It also meant I knocked down a wall or two, added another puzzle or two, and all around made something I'm much more satisfied with.

Quasidaily Update - July 10, 2019 Released v0.5.5 update! -Fixed a crash when attempting to push arrows (read: moving toward an arrow while it's trying to kill you). -Toned down the arrow knockback effect -Fixed awkward/slow interaction with arrows knocking you into pits -Shortened room respawn freeze time -Fixed a bug where the player could walk directly into the arrow and avoid taking damage. Pretty sure that's not how arrows work (this was related to the pushing bug above!).

Quasidaily Update - July 11, 2019 -Starting to place actual tiles over the greybox tiles and gosh it's nice to have real art.

Quasidaily Update - July 12, 2019 -Majority of the final tiles have been placed and it looks great. I still need to make a few interior wall sets and a handful of floor tiles. It really brings the dungeon to life

Quasidaily Update - July 14, 2019 -Released v0.6.0!!! I'm very excited about this one because it's the first of the graphics updates. The majority of the basic final tiles have been placed. There are more graphics updates to come (which you'll note if you play this version), but is the biggest of 'em. Looks great in day and night!

Quasidaily Update - July 15, 2019 -Added new one-way-jump wall tiles -Completed secret room tiles and decorations -Added lighter tall grass

Quasidaily Update - July 16, 2019 -Today was a writing day, mainly. I'd like to have the little snippets of dialogue and bookshelves and so on done in a day or two. It's exciting stuff, showing off the tips of all these icebergs. -Last night I pushed v0.6.4, an update that had lots of good graphics updates. Except I forgot to replace the player back at the start of the level after testing, so neipo had some fun times starting at the END of the level. Fixed and uploaded in v0.6.5!

More! -Uploaded v0.6.6 in which I fixed an arrow issue that I already fixed previously. Except, I had only fixed it for ProtoDungeon I. Which is why @neipo13 ran into it to my great confusion.

More!!! Uploaded v0.6.8: -Fixed one of the lvl3 ring puzzles so it didn't have a ridiculously easy solution (thanks for finding that, neipo). -Fixed description of round key.

Quasidaily Update - July 17, 2019 I intended to do some writing today, but I got more excited about something else.... sooooo, cue the upload of v0.6.13 - The Optimization Patch! - in which the average framerate on my dev laptop is now 260fps up from 120fps. -Moved the half-speed/GIF mode to only be available in debug mode (this was "G" on the keyboard, so people could just press it and not be sure why the game was running so badly). -Scott's [regular & mod on the server] lappy had major framerate issues running the game, so I did some optimization and found out the pits were accounting for 50% of the time of every single frame. The best part: they only needed to run the offending code ONCE. So I moved that code from the step event to a one-time event and voila, framerate is way more stable. -Turned off GMLive entirely and added an easy toggle for me. This is very useful during development, but it likes to make lots of calls when turned on. -Updated the "listener" step event, which was setting a blend mode every single step. In debugger mode, this is so that stuff like buttons and doors turn red if they're not hooked up. Otherwise it "unsets" the blend mode by setting it to -1 every single step (regardless of debug mode). Apparently this has some unexpected overhead, even if the blend mode is ALREADY -1. A quick and easy fix. -Swapped out the existing (non-moving) tombstone objects for different objects. Almost all of the tombstones were instances of the same object as the ones that move, but that came with a lot of additional overhead (my "listener" object still accounts for a lot of time because it's doing some checking with ds_lists every frame for every listener object; the moving tombstones have listeners, the normal tombstones do not). They're behaving themselves now.

Quasidaily Update - July 18, 2019 Uploaded v0.6.14! -Fixed up collision in the secret room -Finished secret room lore dialogue

There's still more writing to do for the headstones, bookshelves, and a certain NPC who isn't in the game yet, but yeah! Getting there!

Quasidaily Update - July 20, 2019 Over the last day or two, I've slowed down a lot--think I'm getting close to burning out, plus not certain I'm satisfied with the story implementation thus far in Episode II (am I too obscure? Revealing too much? Will people care? etc). That said, I've gotten some stuff done, and uploaded v0.6.19 -Fixed some borked collision near the hut (thanks for finding that, Rali) -Fixed tombstones so they could display text -Added text to various tombstones >:) (and bookshelves) -Fixed the interaction check so that you don't interact with objects to the north of you when facing to the east or west.

Today I switched gears and created a batch file that could compile an executable without even opening GameMaker!! This is actually pretty exciting. I could almost, at this point, switch completely to GMEdit, which is significantly faster and more intuitive tham GM workspaces. Oh, and the batch file also uploads the compiled exe to Itch

Quasidaily Update - July 20, 2019 I decided to switch gears again and work on the save game feature. Not done yet, but it IS saving the player/inventory objects, and I'm setting it up to be pretty easily able to take in any set of objects, auto-read all their variables, and set 'em.

Quasidaily Update - July 22, 2019 Been working on the ol' save system still. It's going well. I had to fight a bit with my camera system (like always lol), and now I'm making sure the ring blocks properly reset--currently they crash the game which isn't quite right...

The system as planned for PDII will essentially be an autosave that triggers on entrance of each room. When loading the game, all solved puzzles should remain solved, and ring blocks should remain in place, and you'll appear at the entrance of whatever room you exited the game from. At some point in a later episode I'll include slots and specific save points not unlike bonfires from Dark Souls

Quasidaily Update - July 23, 2019 Saving and Loading Continued Cleaned up the loading--it would snap you back to the load point and the camera had trouble keeping up. Now it's a nice, clean fade transition with no camera moving around.

What's left: -Properly saving blocks and other puzzle elements. Currently it, uh, duplicates them? So that's nice. -For some reason, the ring itself disappears when you reload the game -Need to set up the fadeout transition so it finishes before puzzle elements get reset and the time of day changes -Set up an autosave on room enter -You can actually get stuck in the first ring room by crossing a bridge and having that bridge disappear behind you, then quitting and loading your save. I'm trying to think of a good way to solve it now and in the future without making it easy to miss setting up something manually.

Quasidaily Update - July 25, 2019 Moar Savingz Ring blocks are finally managing their own order, and it's wayyyyy more stable and uses a ton less code than before. Previously, during the player's "use ring" state, it would call the inventory manager to update the order of the blocks, which it stored in two variables. It worked, but occasionally the order would get really weird and so on, plus it was going to be a nightmare for reloading. The problem is that the inventory manager was holding the ring block IDs in those two variables, and IDs are not guaranteed to be the same on re-run.

Solution: ring blocks get an integer variable that stores their order, called order. When a ring block is created, it tells the other block to update its order. If that order is already 2, destroy it. Simple, and easy to save since it's an int.

In a pre-quasidaily update today Daniel learns why his ring blocks aren't loading They are And then they're instantly destroying themselves Because of the code he wrote To tell them to destroy themselves Thank you

Quasidaily Update - July 26, 2019 Uploaded v0.6.22, possibly the final 0.6 version since saving is coming sooooooooooon. BUT. Here's what you guys get: -Fixed some more collisions near the hut (seriously, did I move that entire room over one tile somehow) -Allow jumping off ANY ledge (WOOO) -Fixed occasional crash when creating ring blocks

The save/load system is working also, but not available outside of debug mode yet! As far as I can tell everything is saving and loading properly as expected. There are a couple places you can save scum past, and I have a few ideas for handling those, but that probably won't be something I deal with for a bit. However, the player is not currently able to save or load (unless they're in debug mode, as mentioned), which leads me to the next major update I will be working on: M E N U S and O P T I O N S

Quasidaily Update - July 27, 2019 I'm 25 minutes through a 70 minute series by FriendlyCosmonaut on a menu system. This is a lot lol.

In the process, I did a little bit of reworking/cleaning on my controls system. I now have some global variables that hold all the currently configured controls, instead of hardcoding the controls into the input manager. This was in preparation to allow control remapping!

Quasidaily Update - July 30, 2019 Been quiet for a few days--hard at work on the new menu system. This one is a doozy, you guys. I haven't done this much straight code on the TWC "engine" since Episode I.... maybe even longer.

Finished the FriendlyCosmonaut series, which was a great foundation. Now I'm building off it (and trying to get tons of parts of it to actually work still). I'd ideally like to have it look a lot like the old mockup from my blog post on difficulty settings (many of those difficulty settings will not be used in ProtoDungeon or TWC).

Here's what I got so far. Still a lot of the FriendlyCosmonaut design in this, which is good, but doesn't quite fit with this game.

brightness/contrast do nothing, window actually works pretty well--unless you change the smoothing size, in which case it starts acting up...

vsync.... I think works? I haven't even tried toggling screenshake I want to use the "bouncing arrows" style from the mockup instead of color, fix the on/off to use arrows instead, fix the sliders so they use pixel arrows instead of drawn circles.... so much left to dooooo I just have to remember it was loading a black screen this morning

Quasidaily Update - August 7, 2019 Been alternating between taking breaks and working furiously on menu stuff, as you can see with screenshots.

Spending a lot of time on remapping. There's a lot to polish here, stuff you might not think about on first glance (What happens if a key is already mapped to another? Do you handle the menu not closing while you're remapping the menu key? Do you handle the menu so it doesn't navigate when mapping the back key? Do you include primary and secondary control sets, and if so, how do you display that clearly? Etc.)

Not all these questions have difficult answers, but they add up. So that's basically all I've been working on for the past week or so :)

Today I got the gamepad up and running and the secondary control set as well. I forgot how good it feels to play the game with a controller vs a keyboard. My wife happily exclaimed "You're playing with a controller!" :D

The secondary control set was a back and forth decision. The deciding factor was mainly wanting to ease the initial "time to start" for different players--so you can move with WASD and the arrow keys, or with the dpad and the stick. I have a pretty good idea how the UI will work for this too, so now that the gamepad is working, I'm gonna start on the secondary controls.

Quasidaily Update - August 11, 2019 -Primary and secondary gamepad button remapping are working -Got some cool new gamepad icons, improved thanks to Corvos -Fixed the menu so you couldn't close it on the menu page when starting the game -Added a second, ingame menu with resume/settings/save & quit as options -The new menu will pause all "actors" (objects with states) -Fixed a bug where the secondary gamepad right input was not mapped

Quasidaily Update - August 13, 2019 -"Defaults" option now works for keyboard and gamepad -Fixed an issue where you couldn't remap some of the secondary keyboard inputs (broke it with the gamepad remapping). -Fixed an issue with the menu arrow being in the wrong place (broke it with the gamepad remapping). -Removed light blue coloring on selected menu items. Judging by other menus, arrow seems to be enough by itself. -When remapping, the current selected control will now blink instead of remaining static. -Made sliders more usable--it wasn't really possible to move them 1% at a time, which was unwieldy and annoying. Now they have a "ramping" speed and are much easier to control.

Quasidaily Update - August 13, 2019, Part II -Toned down the strength of the brightness slider just a bit. -Updated the shaders to affect the GUI as well as the game. This should include the menu as well as the HUD, the dialogue box, and, in TWC, the inventory screen. I kinda like this. We'll see if it bothers people. :D

Quasidaily Update - August 17, 2019 -Fixed an issue with menu sliders not being drawn when the shader is applying to GUI elements. Turns out the built-in line drawing doesn't pass texture information to the shader. At this point I'm not sure how to configure the shader correctly, so I just made the lines into sprites instead lol. -Added title to the top-level menu! Yay! -Fixed game loading so it would load the correct room (both GameMaker room and in-game "area"). -Autosave the game on room entrance. -Autosave the game on getting an item (this way you can't cheese certain rooms). At this point, playing the game, quitting, and coming. back to continue is working REALLY WELL. -No longer save "region" (rooms in the game) objects, since these get created and setup perfectly fine on room creation. -Added SOME SECRETS YAY! -Autosave the game on "teleporting"--going through doors, up/down stairs, etc. -Fixed the "circle out" transition, which was apparently not working or used anywhere. -Changed all "teleportation" to use circle-in/circle-out transitions--a little less visually jarring and much nicer looking than a fade-to-wipe-from-center.

Quasidaily Update - August 19, 2019 -Added tiny pause in the middle of the teleportation transition so that it's a bit less jarring -Simultaneously, allowed toggle to camera easing so that I don't have to add fragile pauses to loading and certain transitions and so on (to wait for the camera to finish moving to catch up with the player loaded position). This fixed a small camera jerk when loading the game. This will eventually be an option on the menu for those that don't like the easing (and also because turning off subpixels makes camera easing REALLY BAD). -Fixed issue with audio groups not loading (by loading them, wow). This is probably temporary since next big task is to add the Wandersong audio engine, but the fix let me actually see my debug messages instead of spamming "Audio Group 2 is not loaded" whenever a sound is played lol. -Fixed bug with loading the game on a teleporter (doors, stairs, etc.) where it would immediately take you to the target location. This had multiple parts, but namely 1) just making sure to set the global "isLoading" flag and to not teleport during that, and 2) setting the "isLoading" flag earlier, since the teleporters were faster than my load manager lol. -Fixed "New Game" issue where it would fade to black, start the game, and then fade to black again. Turns out if you call "fade out" twice, it will fade out twice.

#gamedev #indiedev #devlog #devblog #game development #The Waking Cloak #prequel #ProtoDungeon

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thecreaturecodex · 6 years ago

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Reef Masher

“The Sea Wyvern’s Wake Frontispiece” by Ben Wootten, © Paizo Publishing.

[Here’s the first of many, many conversions of obscure 1e monsters. I’ve been mentally referring to this as “the not in the Tome of Horrors” collection, as I’m avoiding revisiting their monsters. I’ll probably do my takes on some of those eventually, but not for the moment.

Many of these critters are obscure because they don’t have illustrations in the original book in which they appeared. I’ve certainly forgotten the masher existed a couple of times. But it did appear in the 2e Monstrous Compendium series, the 3e Savage Tide AP, and @filbypott‘s Creature Chronicle here] I didn’t read Filby’s version until my flavor text was in the bag, and I find it amusing that we both made it a giant lamprey. Unless I had read his version years ago, and this is subconscious plagiarism.]

Reef Masher CR 6 N Animal This worm-like fish has a gaping, circular maw and a crest of long quills growing from its back.

Reef mashers, also called mashers or coral mashers, are enormous jawless fish related to lampreys. Their mouths are a ring of grinding teeth, which they use to pulverize corals, sponges, mollusks and other hard-shelled bottom-dwellers. Reef mashers require plenty of food, and few coral reefs can support more than a single masher. Thus, they are territorial and aggressive towards potential competitors. Most reef mashers will ignore a man-sized creature unless it attacks them, but they have been known to mistake boats for rivals, then smash them to bits. The only time reef mashers can tolerate each other is when seasonal and hormonal conditions are right for mating—the mashers swim out to deep water and spawn in enormous conglomerations.

Reef masher venom is a product of their diet—they pick up defensive compounds from corals and sponges and concentrate them into a potent toxin. Those stuck with a reef masher’s spines suffer horrible rotting wounds, and few natural predators will tangle with a reef masher more than once. Sahuagin value this toxin for making poisoned weapons, and hunt reef mashers for their spines to craft into spears and crossbow bolts. The flesh of the reef masher is favored by certain daring chefs for its delicate flavor, firm texture and dangerous reputation. Only a talented butcher can safely clean reef masher filets to render them harmless on a successful DC 20 Survival or Profession (chef) check. On a failed check, the meat retains the reef masher’s poison, although creatures that eat it have an onset time of 10 minutes before the effects begin.

Reef Mashers as Animal Companions Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 20 ft., swim 40 ft..; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (2d4); Ability Scores Str 9, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 1, Wis 11, Cha 2; Special Qualities low-light vision, quills (1d4 piercing, Dex-based DC) 7th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +3 natural armor; Attack bite (3d4); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex -2, Con +4; Special Qualities poison (Con-based DC), quills (1d6 piercing, Dex-based DC)

Reef Masher CR 6 XP 2,400 N Huge animal (aquatic) Init +2; Senses low-light vision, Perception +11 Defense AC 18, touch 10, flat-footed 16 (-2 size, +2 Dex, +8 natural) hp 76 (8d8+40) Fort +11, Ref +8, Will +4 Defensive Abilities quills Offense Speed 20 ft., swim 40 ft. Melee bite +12 (4d4+10) Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks poison Statistics Str 25, Dex 14, Con 20, Int 1, Wis 11, Cha 2 Base Atk +6; CMB +15; CMD 28 Feats Combat Reflexes, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Perception), Weapon Focus (bite) Skills Perception +11, Swim +20 Ecology Environment warm and temperate oceans Organization solitary or scrum (2-20) Treasure none Special Attacks Poison (Ex) Quill—injury; save Fort DC 18; duration 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1d3 Con damage; cure 2 saves. The save DC is Constitution based. Quills (Ex) Whenever a creature strikes a reef masher with a natural weapon, unarmed strike, touch attack or melee weapon, it must succeed a DC 16 Reflex save or take 1d8+3 points of piercing damage and is exposed to the reef masher’s poison. A weapon with the reach property does not endanger its wielder in this way. The save DC is Dexterity based.

#reef masher #masher #giant fish #pathfinder rpg #D&D

76 notes · View notes

babygirlvanitas · 2 years ago

Note

Alliance n. 1 union or agreement to cooperate, esp. Of states by treaty or families by marriage. 2 (alliance) political coalition party. 3 relationship; friendship. [french: related to *ally]

Allied adj. 1 (also allied) associated in an alliance. 2 connected or related.

Alligator n. Large reptile of the crocodile family with a head broader and shorter than a crocodile's. [spanish el lagarto the lizard]

All-in attrib. Adj. Inclusive of all.

All-in wrestling n. Wrestling with few or no restrictions.

Alliteration n. Repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words (e.g. Cool, calm, and collected). alliterate v. (-ting). Alliterative adj. [latin: related to *letter]

Allocate v. (-ting) (usu. Foll. By to) assign or devote to (a purpose, person, or place). allocation n. [latin: related to *local]

Allot v. (-tt-) apportion or distribute to (a person), esp. As a share or task (they were allotted equal sums). [french a to, *lot]

Allotment n. 1 small piece of land rented by a local authority for cultivation. 2 share. 3 allotting.

Allotropy n. Existence of two or more different physical forms of a chemical element. allotropic adj. [greek allos different, tropos manner]

Allow v. 1 (often foll. By to + infin.) Permit. 2 assign a limited amount etc. (was allowed £500). 3 (usu. Foll. By for) provide or set aside for a purpose; add or deduct in consideration (allow £50 for expenses; allow for wastage). [originally = commend, from french: related to *ad-, latin laudo praise, loco place]

Allowance n. 1 amount or sum allowed, esp. Regularly for a stated purpose. 2 amount allowed in reckoning. 3 deduction or discount. make allowances (often foll. By for) 1 consider (mitigating circumstances). 2 make excuses for (a person, bad behaviour, etc.).

Alloy —n. 1 mixture of two or more metals. 2 inferior metal mixed esp. With gold or silver. —v. 1 mix (metals). 2 debase by admixture. 3 moderate (pleasure alloyed with pain). [french: related to *ally]

All-purpose attrib. Adj. Having many uses.

All-right attrib. Adj. Colloq. Acceptable (an all-right guy).

All-round attrib. Adj. (of a person) versatile.

All-rounder n. Versatile person.

All saints' day n. 1 nov., christian festival in honour of saints.

All souls' day n. 2 nov., roman catholic festival with prayers for the souls of the dead.

Allspice n. 1 aromatic spice obtained from the berry of the pimento plant. 2 the berry.

All-time attrib. Adj. (of a record etc.) Unsurpassed.

Allude v. (-ding) (foll. By to) refer to, esp. Indirectly or briefly. [latin: related to *ad-, ludo play]

Allure —v. (-ring) attract, charm, or entice. —n. Attractiveness, personal charm, fascination. allurement n. [french: related to *ad-, *lure]

Allusion n. (often foll. By to) passing or indirect reference. allusive adj. [latin: related to *allude]

Alluvial —adj. Of alluvium. —n. Alluvium, esp. Containing a precious metal. Alleluia (also hallelujah) —int. God be praised. —n. Song or shout of praise to god. [hebrew]

Allen key n. Propr. Spanner designed to turn an allen screw. [allen, name of the us manufacturer]

Allen screw n. Propr. Screw with a hexagonal socket in the head.

Allergic adj. 1 (foll. By to) a having an allergy to. B colloq. Having a strong dislike for. 2 caused by an allergy.

Allergy n. (pl. -ies) 1 adverse reaction to certain substances, esp. Particular foods, pollen, fur, or dust. 2 colloq. Antipathy. [greek allos other]

Alleviate v. (-ting) make (pain etc.) Less severe. alleviation n. [latin levo raise]

Alley n. (pl. -s) 1 narrow street or passageway. 2 enclosure for skittles, bowling, etc. 3 walk or lane in a park etc. [french aller go]

Alliance n. 1 union or agreement to cooperate, esp. Of states by treaty or families by marriage. 2 (alliance) political coalition party. 3 relationship; friendship. [french: related to *ally]

Allied adj. 1 (also allied) associated in an alliance. 2 connected or related.

Alligator n. Large reptile of the crocodile family with a head broader and shorter than a crocodile's. [spanish el lagarto the lizard]

All-in attrib. Adj. Inclusive of all.

All-in wrestling n. Wrestling with few or no restrictions.

Allocate v. (-ting) (usu. Foll. By to) assign or devote to (a purpose, person, or place). allocation n. [latin: related to *local]

Allot v. (-tt-) apportion or distribute to (a person), esp. As a share or task (they were allotted equal sums). [french a to, *lot]

Allotment n. 1 small piece of land rented by a local authority for cultivation. 2 share. 3 allotting.

Allotropy n. Existence of two or more different physical forms of a chemical element. allotropic adj. [greek allos different, tropos manner]

All-purpose attrib. Adj. Having many uses.

All-right attrib. Adj. Colloq. Acceptable (an all-right guy).

All-round attrib. Adj. (of a person) versatile.

All-rounder n. Versatile person.

All saints' day n. 1 nov., christian festival in honour of saints.

All souls' day n. 2 nov., roman catholic festival with prayers for the souls of the dead.

Allspice n. 1 aromatic spice obtained from the berry of the pimento plant. 2 the berry.

All-time attrib. Adj. (of a record etc.) Unsurpassed.

Allude v. (-ding) (foll. By to) refer to, esp. Indirectly or briefly. [latin: related to *ad-, ludo play]

Allure —v. (-ring) attract, charm, or entice. —n. Attractiveness, personal charm, fascination. allurement n. [french: related to *ad-, *lure]

Allusion n. (often foll. By to) passing or indirect reference. allusive adj. [latin: related to *allude]

Alluvial —adj. Of alluvium. —n. Alluvium, esp. Containing a precious metal. Alluvial —adj. Of alluvium. —n. Alluvium, esp. Containing a precious metal.

Alluvium n. (pl. -via) deposit of usu. Fine fertile soil left behind by a flood, esp. In a river valley. [latin luo wash]

Ally —n. (pl. -ies) state, person, etc., formally cooperating or united with another, esp. (also ally) in war. —v. Also (-ies, -ied) (often refl. And foll. By with) combine in alliance. [latin alligo bind]

Alma mater n. One's university, school, or college. [latin, = bounteous mother]

Almanac n. (also almanack) calendar, usu. With astronomical data. [medieval latin from greek]

Almighty adj. 1 having complete power. 2 (the almighty) god. 3 slang very great (almighty crash). [old english: related to *all, *mighty]

Almond n. 1 nutlike kernel of a fruit allied to the peach and plum. 2 tree bearing this. [greek amugdale]

Almoner n. Social worker attached to a hospital. [french: related to *alms]

Usage the usual term now is medical social worker.

Almost adv. All but; very nearly. [old english: related to *all, *most]

Alms n.pl. Hist. Donation of money or food to the poor. [greek eleemosune pity]

Almshouse n. Hist. Charitable institution for the poor.

Aloe n. 1 plant of the lily family with toothed fleshy leaves. 2 (in pl.) (in full bitter aloes) strong laxative from aloe juice. [old english from greek]

Aloft predic. Adj. & adv. 1 high up, overhead. 2 upwards. [old norse á lopti in air]

Alone —predic. Adj. 1 without the presence or help of others. 2 lonely (felt alone). —adv. Only, exclusively. [earlier al one: related to *all, *one]

Along —prep. Beside or through (part of) the length of. —adv. 1 onward, into a more advanced state (come along; getting along nicely). 2 with oneself or others (bring a book along). 3 beside or through part or the whole length of a thing. along with in addition to; together with. [old english, originally adj. = facing against]

Alongside —adv. At or to the side. —prep. Close to the side of.

Aloof —adj. Distant, unsympathetic. —adv. Away, apart (he kept aloof). [originally naut., from *a2 + *luff]

Aloud adv. Audibly.

Alp n. 1 a high mountain. B (the alps) high range of mountains in switzerland and adjoining countries. 2 pasture land on a swiss mountainside. [originally alps, from greek alpeis]

Alpaca n. 1 shaggy s. American mammal related to the llama. 2 its wool; fabric made from this. [spanish from quechua]

Alpha n. 1 first letter of the greek alphabet (a, a). 2 first-class mark for a piece of work etc. alpha and omega beginning and end. [latin from greek]

Alphabet n. 1 set of letters used in writing a language. 2 symbols or signs for these. alphabetical adj. [greek *alpha, *beta]

Alphanumeric adj. Containing both letters and numbers.

Alpha particle n. Helium nucleus emitted by a radioactive substance.

Alpine —adj. Of mountainous regions or (alpine) the alps. —n. 1 plant growing in mountainous regions. 2 = *rock-plant. [latin: related to *alp]

Already adv. 1 before the time in question (i knew that already). 2 as early or as soon as this (is back already). [from *all, *ready]

Alright adv. = all right (see *all).

Usage although widely used, alright is still non-standard and is considered incorrect by many people.

Alsatian n. Large dog of a breed of wolfhound (also called *german shepherd). [latin alsatia alsace]

Also adv. In addition, besides. [old english: related to *all, *so1]

Also-ran n. 1 loser in a race. 2 undistinguished person.

Altar n. 1 table or flat block for sacrifice or offering to a deity. 2 communion table. [latin altus high]

Altarpiece n. Painting etc. Above or behind an altar.

Alter v. Make or become different; change. alteration n. [latin alter other]

Altercate v. (-ting) (often foll. By with) dispute, wrangle. altercation n. [latin]

Alter ego n. (pl. -s) 1 one's hidden or second self. 2 intimate friend. [latin, = other self] Alter ego n. (pl. -s) 1 one's hidden or second self. 2 intimate friend. [latin, = other self]

Alternate —v. (-ting) 1 (often foll. By with) occur or cause to occur by turns. 2 (foll. By between) go repeatedly from one to another (alternated between hope and fear). —adj. 1 (with noun in pl.) Every other (on alternate days). 2 (of things of two kinds) alternating (alternate joy and misery). alternately adv. Alternation n. [latin alterno do by turns: related to *alter]

Usage see note at alternative.

Alternate angles n.pl. Two angles formed alternately on two sides of a line.

Alternating current n. Electric current reversing its direction at regular intervals.

Alternative —adj. 1 available as another choice (alternative route). 2 unconventional (alternative medicine). —n. 1 any of two or more possibilities. 2 choice (had no alternative but to go). alternatively adv.

Usage the adjective alternative should not be confused with alternate, as in ‘there will be a dance on alternate saturdays’.

Alternator n. Dynamo that generates an alternating current.

Although conj. = *though. [from *all, *though]

Altimeter n. Instrument indicating altitude reached.

Altitude n. Height, esp. Of an object above sea level or above the horizon. [latin altus high]

Alto n. (pl. -s) 1 = *contralto. 2 a highest adult male singing-voice, above tenor. B singer with this voice. 3 instrument pitched second- or third-highest in its family. [italian alto (canto) high (singing)]

Altogether adv. 1 totally, completely. 2 on the whole. 3 in total. in the altogether colloq. Naked. [from *all, *together]

Usage note that altogether means ‘in total’, whereas all together means ‘all at once’ or ‘all in one place’. The phrases six rooms altogether (in total) and six rooms all together (in one place) illustrate the difference.

Altruism n. Unselfishness as a principle of action. altruist n. Altruistic adj. [italian altrui somebody else]

Alum n. Double sulphate of aluminium and potassium. [latin alumen -min-]

Alumina n. Aluminium oxide occurring naturally as corundum and emery.

Aluminium n. (us aluminum) silvery light and malleable metallic element resistant to tarnishing by air.

Aluminize v. (also -ise) (-zing or -sing) coat with aluminium.

Aluminum n. (brit. Aluminium) silvery light and malleable metallic element resistant to tarnishing by air.

Alumnus n. (pl. Alumni; fem. Alumna, pl. Alumnae) former pupil or student. [latin, = nursling, pupil]

Always adv. 1 at all times; on all occasions. 2 whatever the circumstances. 3 repeatedly, often. [from *all, *way]

Alyssum n. Plant with small usu. Yellow or white flowers. [greek, = curing madness]

Alzheimer's disease n. Brain disorder causing senility. [alzheimer, name of a neurologist]

Am abbr. Amplitude modulation.

Am symb. Americium.

Am 1st person sing. Present of *be.

A.m. Abbr. Before noon. [latin ante meridiem]

Amalgam n. 1 mixture or blend. 2 alloy of mercury and another metal, used esp. In dentistry. [greek malagma an emollient]

Amalgamate v. (-ting) 1 mix, unite. 2 (of metals) alloy with mercury. amalgamation n. [medieval latin: related to *amalgam]

Amanuensis n. (pl. -enses) literary assistant, esp. Writing from dictation. [latin a manu ‘at hand’]

Amaranth n. 1 plant with small green, red, or purple tinted flowers. 2 imaginary unfading flower. 3 purple colour. amaranthine adj. [greek amarantos unfading]

Amaryllis n. Bulbous plant with lily-like flowers. [greek, a girl's name]

Amass v. Heap together; accumulate. [french: related to *ad-, *mass1]

Amateur n. Person who engages in a pursuit as a pastime rather than a profession, or performs with limited skill. amateurish adj. Amateurism n. [latin amator lover: related to *amatory]

Amatory adj. Of sexual love. [latin amo love] Amatory adj. Of sexual love. [latin amo love]

Amaze v. (-zing) surprise greatly, fill with wonder. amazement n. Amazing adj. [earlier amase from old english amasod]

Amazon n. 1 female warrior of a mythical race in the black sea area. 2 (amazon) large, strong, or athletic woman. amazonian adj. [latin from greek]

Ambassador n. 1 diplomat sent to live abroad to represent his or her country's interests. 2 promoter (ambassador of peace). ambassadorial adj. [latin ambactus servant]

Amber —n. 1 a yellow translucent fossilized resin used in jewellery. B colour of this. 2 yellow traffic-light meaning caution. —adj. Of or like amber. [french from arabic]

Ambergris n. Waxlike secretion of the sperm whale, found floating in tropical seas and used in perfumes. [french, = grey amber]

Ambidextrous adj. Able to use either hand equally well. [latin ambi- on both sides, *dexter]

Ambience n. Surroundings or atmosphere. [latin ambio go round]

Ambient adj. Surrounding.

Ambiguous adj. 1 having an obscure or double meaning. 2 difficult to classify. ambiguity n. (pl. -ies). [latin ambi- both ways, ago drive]

Ambit n. Scope, extent, or bounds. [latin: related to *ambience]

Ambition n. 1 determination to succeed. 2 object of this. [latin, = canvassing: related to *ambience]

Ambitious adj. 1 full of ambition or high aims. 2 (foll. By of, or to + infin.) Strongly determined.

Ambivalence n. Coexistence of opposing feelings. ambivalent adj. [latin ambo both, *equivalent]

Amble —v. (-ling) move at an easy pace. —n. Such a pace. [latin ambulo walk]

Ambrosia n. 1 (in classical mythology) the food of the gods. 2 sublimely delicious food etc. [greek, = elixir of life]

Ambulance n. 1 vehicle equipped for conveying patients to hospital. 2 mobile hospital serving an army. [latin: related to *amble]

Ambulatory —adj. 1 of or for walking. 2 movable. —n. (pl. -ies) arcade or cloister. [latin: related to *amble]

Ambuscade n. & v. (-ding) = *ambush.

Ambush —n. 1 surprise attack by persons hiding. 2 hiding-place for this. —v. Attack from an ambush; waylay. [french: related to *in-1, *bush1]

Ameliorate v. (-ting) make or become better. amelioration n. Ameliorative adj. [from *ad-, latin melior better]

Amen int. (esp. At the end of a prayer etc.) So be it. [church latin from hebrew, = certainly]

Amenable adj. 1 responsive, docile. 2 (often foll. By to) answerable to law etc. [french: related to *ad-, latin mino drive animals]

Amend v. 1 make minor alterations in to improve. 2 correct an error in (a document etc.). [latin: related to *emend]

Usage amend is often confused with emend, a more technical word used in the context of textual correction.

Amendment n. Minor alteration or addition in a document, resolution, etc.

Amends n. make amends (often foll. By for) compensate (for).

Amenity n. (pl. -ies) 1 pleasant or useful feature or facility. 2 pleasantness (of a place etc.). [latin amoenus pleasant]

American —adj. Of america, esp. The united states. —n. 1 native, citizen, or inhabitant of america, esp. The us. 2 english as used in the us. americanize v. (also -ise) (-zing or -sing). [name of navigator amerigo vespucci]

American dream n. Ideal of democracy and prosperity.

American football n. Football evolved from rugby.

American indian see *indian.

Americanism n. Word etc. Of us origin or usage.

Americium n. Artificial radioactive metallic element. [america, where first made]

Amerind adj. & n. (also amerindian) = *american indian (see *indian).

Amethyst n. Semiprecious stone of a violet or purple variety of quartz. [greek, = preventing drunkenness]

Amharic —n. Official and commercial language of ethiopia. —adj. Of this language. [amhara, region of ethiopia]

Amiable adj. (esp. Of a person) friendly and pleasant, likeable. amiably adv. [latin: related to *amicable] Amiable adj. (esp. Of a person) friendly and pleasant, likeable. amiably adv. [latin: related to *amicable]

Amicable adj. (esp. Of an arrangement, relations, etc.) Friendly. amicably adv. [latin amicus friend]

Amid prep. In the middle of, among. [old english: related to *on, *mid]

Amidships adv. In or into the middle of a ship. [from *amid, alternative form midships]

Amidst var. Of *amid.

Amine n. Compound formed from ammonia by replacement of one or more hydrogen atoms by an organic radical or radicals.

Amino acid n. Biochem. Any of a group of nitrogenous organic acids occurring naturally in plant and animal tissues and forming the basic constituents of proteins. [from *amine, *acid]

Amir var. Of *emir.

Amiss —predic. Adj. Wrong, out of order. —adv. Wrong(ly), inappropriately (everything went amiss). take amiss be offended by. [old norse à mis so as to miss]

Amity n. Friendship. [latin amicus friend]

Ammeter n. Instrument for measuring electric current in amperes. [from *ampere, *-meter]

Ammo n. Slang ammunition. [abbreviation]

Ammonia n. 1 pungent strongly alkaline gas. 2 (in general use) solution of ammonia in water. [as *sal ammoniac]

Ammonite n. Coil-shaped fossil shell. [latin, = horn of jupiter ammon]

Ammunition n. 1 supply of bullets, shells, grenades, etc. 2 information usable in an argument. [french la *munition taken as l'ammu-]

Amnesia n. Loss of memory. amnesiac n. [latin from greek]

Amnesty —n. (pl. -ies) general pardon, esp. For political offences. —v. (-ies, -ied) grant an amnesty to. [greek amnestia oblivion]

Amniocentesis n. (pl. -teses) sampling of amniotic fluid to detect foetal abnormality. [from *amnion, greek kentesis pricking]

Amnion n. (pl. Amnia) innermost membrane enclosing an embryo. amniotic adj. [greek, = caul]

Amoeba n. (pl. -s) microscopic aquatic amorphous one-celled organism. amoebic adj. [greek, = change]

Amok adv. run amok (or amuck) run wild. [malay]

Among prep. (also amongst) 1 surrounded by, with (lived among the trees; be among friends). 2 included in (among us were dissidents). 3 in the category of (among his best works). 4 a between; shared by (divide it among you). B from the joint resources of (among us we can manage it). 5 with one another (talked among themselves). [old english, = in a crowd]

Amoral adj. 1 beyond morality. 2 without moral principles.

Amorous adj. Of, showing, or feeling sexual love. [latin amor love]

Amorphous adj. 1 of no definite shape. 2 vague. 3 mineral. & chem. Non-crystalline. [greek a- not, morphe form]

Amortize v. (also -ise) (-zing or -sing) gradually extinguish (a debt) by regular instalments. [latin ad mortem to death]

Amount —n. Quantity, esp. A total in number, size, value, extent, etc. —v. (foll. By to) be equivalent to in number, significance, etc. [latin ad montem upward]

Amour n. (esp. Secret) love affair. [french, = love]

Amour propre n. Self-respect. [french]

Amp1 n. Ampere. [abbreviation]

Amp2 n. Colloq. Amplifier. [abbreviation]

Ampelopsis n. (pl. Same) climbing plant related to the vine. [greek ampelos vine, opsis appearance]

Amperage n. Strength of an electric current in amperes.

Ampere n. Si base unit of electric current. [ampère, name of a physicist]

Ampersand n. The sign ‘&’ (= and). [corruption of and *per se and]

Amphetamine n. Synthetic drug used esp. As a stimulant. [abbreviation of chemical name]

Amphibian —adj. Of a class of vertebrates (e.g. Frogs) with an aquatic larval stage followed by a terrestrial adult stage. —n. 1 vertebrate of this class. 2 vehicle able to operate both on land and in water. [greek amphi- both, bios life]

Amphibious adj. 1 living or operating on land and in water. 2 involving military forces landed from the sea.

Amphitheatre n. Esp. Circular unroofed building with tiers of seats surrounding a central space. [greek amphi- round] Amphitheatre n. Esp. Circular unroofed building with tiers of seats surrounding a central space. [greek amphi- round]

Amphora n. (pl. -phorae) narrow-necked greek or roman vessel with two handles. [greek amphoreus]

Ample adj. (ampler, amplest) 1 a plentiful, abundant, extensive. B euphem. Large, stout. 2 more than enough. amply adv. [latin amplus]

Amplifier n. Electronic device for increasing the strength of electrical signals, esp. For conversion into sound.

Amplify v. (-ies, -ied) 1 increase the strength of (sound, electrical signals, etc.). 2 add detail to, expand (a story etc.). amplification n. [latin: related to *ample]

Amplitude n. 1 maximum departure from average of an oscillation, alternating current, etc. 2 spaciousness; abundance. [latin: related to *ample]

Amplitude modulation n. Modulation of a wave by variation of its amplitude.

Ampoule n. Small sealed capsule holding a solution for injection. [french: related to *ampulla]

Ampulla n. (pl. -pullae) 1 roman globular flask with two handles. 2 ecclesiastical vessel. [latin]

Amputate v. (-ting) cut off surgically (a limb etc.). amputation n. Amputee n. [latin amb- about, puto prune]

Amuck var. Of *amok.

Amulet n. Charm worn against evil. [latin]

Amuse v. (-sing) 1 cause to laugh or smile. 2 interest or occupy. amusing adj. [french a cause to, muser stare]

Amusement n. 1 thing that amuses. 2 being amused. 3 mechanical device (e.g. A roundabout) for entertainment at a fairground etc.

Amusement arcade n. Indoor area with slot-machines.

An see *a1.

An- see *a-.

-an suffix (also -ian) forming adjectives and nouns, esp. From names of places, systems, classes, etc. (mexican; anglican; crustacean). [french -ain, latin -anus]

Anabaptist n. Member of a religious group believing in baptism only of adults. [greek ana again]

Anabolic steroid n. Synthetic steroid hormone used to increase muscle size.

Anabolism n. Synthesis of complex molecules in living organisms from simpler ones together with the storage of energy. [greek anabole ascent]

Anachronism n. 1 a attribution of a custom, event, etc., to the wrong period. B thing thus attributed. 2 out-of-date person or thing. anachronistic adj. [greek ana- against, khronos time]

Anaconda n. Large non-poisonous snake killing its prey by constriction. [sinhalese]

Anaemia n. (us anemia) deficiency of red blood cells or their haemoglobin, causing pallor and weariness. [greek, = want of blood]

Anaemic adj. (us anemic) 1 of or suffering from anaemia. 2 pale, listless.

Anaesthesia n. (us anes-) absence of sensation, esp. Artificially induced before surgery. [greek]

Anaesthetic (us anes-) —n. Substance producing anaesthesia. —adj. Producing anaesthesia.

Anaesthetist n. (us anes-) specialist in the administration of anaesthetics.

Anaesthetize v. (us anes-) (also -ise) (-zing or -sing) administer an anaesthetic to.

Anagram n. Word or phrase formed by transposing the letters of another. [greek ana again, gramma letter]

Anal adj. Of the anus.

Analgesia n. Absence or relief of pain. [greek]

Analgesic —adj. Relieving pain. —n. Analgesic drug.

Analog n. (brit. Analogue) 1 analogous thing. 2 (attrib.) (usu. Analog) (of a computer etc.) Using physical variables, e.g. Voltage, to represent numbers (cf. *digital).

Analogize v. (also -ise) (-zing or -sing) use, or represent or explain by, analogy.

Analogous adj. (usu. Foll. By to) partially similar or parallel. [greek analogos proportionate]

Analogue n. (us analog) 1 analogous thing. 2 (attrib.) (usu. Analog) (of a computer etc.) Using physical variables, e.g. Voltage, to represent numbers (cf. *digital).

Analogy n. (pl. -ies) 1 correspondence; partial similarity. 2 arguing or reasoning from parallel cases. analogical adj. [greek analogia proportion] Analogy n. (pl. -ies) 1 correspondence; partial similarity. 2 arguing or reasoning from parallel cases. analogical adj. [greek analogia proportion]

Analyse v. (us analyze) (-sing or -zing) 1 examine in detail; ascertain the constituents of (a substance, sentence, etc.). 2 psychoanalyse.

Analysis n. (pl. -lyses) 1 a detailed examination of elements or structure. B statement of the result of this. 2 chem. Determination of the constituent parts of a mixture or compound. 3 psychoanalysis. [greek ana up, luo loose]

Analyst n. 1 person skilled in (esp. Chemical or computer) analysis. 2 psychoanalyst.

Analytical adj. (also analytic) of or using analysis.

Analyze n. (brit. Analyse) 1 examine in detail; ascertain the constituents of (a substance, sentence, etc.). 2 psychoanalyse.

Anapaest n. Metrical foot consisting of two short syllables followed by one long syllable (&anapaest.). [greek anapaistos reversed (dactyl)]

Anarchism n. Political theory that all government and laws should be abolished. [french: related to *anarchy]

Anarchist n. Advocate of anarchism. anarchistic adj.

Anarchy n. Disorder, esp. Political. anarchic adj. [greek an- without, arkhe rule]

Anathema n. (pl. -s) 1 detested thing (is anathema to me). 2 ecclesiastical curse. [greek, = thing devoted (i.e. To evil)]

Anathematize v. (also -ise) (-zing or -sing) curse.

Anatomy n. (pl. -ies) 1 science of animal or plant structure. 2 such a structure. 3 analysis. anatomical adj. Anatomist n. [greek ana- up, temno cut]

Anatto var. Of *annatto.

Anc abbr. African national congress.

-ance suffix forming nouns expressing: 1 quality or state or an instance of one (arrogance; resemblance). 2 action (assistance). [french -ance, latin -antia]

Ancestor n. 1 person, animal, or plant from which another has descended or evolved. 2 prototype or forerunner. [latin ante- before, cedo go]

Ancestral adj. Belonging to or inherited from one's ancestors.

Ancestry n. (pl. -ies) 1 family descent, lineage. 2 ancestors collectively.

Anchor —n. 1 heavy metal weight used to moor a ship or a balloon. 2 stabilizing thing. —v. 1 secure with an anchor. 2 fix firmly. 3 cast anchor. 4 be moored by an anchor. [greek agkura]

Anchorage n. 1 place for anchoring. 2 anchoring or lying at anchor.

Anchorite n. Hermit; religious recluse. [greek anakhoreo retire]

Anchorman n. Coordinator, esp. As compère in a broadcast.

Anchovy n. (pl. -ies) small strong-flavoured fish of the herring family. [spanish and portuguese anchova]

Ancien régime n. (pl. Anciens régimes pronunc. Same) 1 political and social system of pre-revolutionary (before 1787) france. 2 any superseded regime. [french, = old rule]

Ancient adj. 1 of long ago, esp. Before the fall of the roman empire in the west. 2 having lived or existed long. the ancients people of ancient times, esp. The greeks and romans. [latin ante before]

Ancillary —adj. 1 (esp. Of health workers) providing essential support. 2 (often foll. By to) subordinate, subservient. —n. (pl. -ies) 1 ancillary worker. 2 auxiliary or accessory. [latin ancilla handmaid]

-ancy suffix forming nouns denoting a quality (constancy) or state (infancy). [latin -antia]

And conj. 1 a connecting words, clauses, or sentences, to be taken jointly (you and i). B implying progression (better and better). C implying causation (she hit him and he cried). D implying great duration (cried and cried). E implying a great number (miles and miles). F implying addition (two and two). G implying variety (there are books and books). 2 colloq. To (try and come). 3 in relation to (britain and the ec). and/or either or both of two stated alternatives. [old english]

Andante mus. —adv. & adj. In a moderately slow tempo. —n. Such a passage or movement. [italian, = going]

Andiron n. Metal stand (usu. One of a pair) for supporting logs in a fireplace. [french andier] Andiron n. Metal stand (usu. One of a pair) for supporting logs in a fireplace. [french andier]

Androgynous adj. 1 hermaphrodite. 2 bot. With stamens and pistils in the same flower. [greek aner andr- man, gune woman]

Android n. Robot with a human appearance. [greek aner andr- man, *-oid]

Anecdote n. Short, esp. True, account or story. anecdotal adj. [greek anekdota things unpublished]

Anemia n. (brit. Anaemia) deficiency of red blood cells or their haemoglobin, causing pallor and weariness. [greek, = want of blood]

Anemic adj. (brit. Anaemic) 1 of or suffering from anemia. 2 pale, listless.

Anemometer n. Instrument for measuring wind force. [greek anemos wind]

Anemone n. Plant of the buttercup family, with vividly-coloured flowers. [greek, = wind-flower]

Aneroid —adj. (of a barometer) measuring air-pressure by its action on the lid of a box containing a vacuum. —n. Aneroid barometer. [greek a- not, neros water]

Anesthesia n. (brit. Anaes-) absence of sensation, esp. Artificially induced before surgery. [greek]

Anesthetic (brit. Anaes-)—n. Substance producing anesthesia. —adj.producing anesthesia

Aneurysm n. (also aneurism) excessive localized enlargement of an artery. [greek aneuruno widen]

Anew adv. 1 again. 2 in a different way. [earlier of newe]

Angel n. 1 a attendant or messenger of god. B representation of this in human form with wings. 2 virtuous or obliging person. 3 slang financial backer of a play etc. [greek aggelos messenger]

Angel cake n. Light sponge cake.

Angel-fish n. Fish with winglike fins.

Angelic adj. Of or like an angel. angelically adv.

Angelica n. Aromatic plant or its candied stalks. [medieval latin, = angelic (herb)]

Angelus n. 1 roman catholic prayers commemorating the incarnation, said at morning, noon, and sunset. 2 bell announcing this. [latin angelus domini (= the angel of the lord), opening words]

Anger —n. Extreme or passionate displeasure. —v. Make angry. [old norse angr grief]

Angina n. (in full angina pectoris) chest pain brought on by exertion, caused by an inadequate blood supply to the heart. [greek agkhone strangling]

Angiosperm n. Plant producing flowers and reproducing by seeds enclosed within a carpel, including herbaceous plants, grasses, and most trees. [greek aggeion vessel]

Angle n. (usu. In pl.) Member of a n. German tribe that settled in e. Britain in the 5th c. [latin anglus, from the name angul in germany]

Angle1 —n. 1 space between two meeting lines or surfaces, esp. As measured in degrees. 2 corner. 3 point of view. —v. (-ling) 1 move or place obliquely. 2 present (information) in a biased way. [latin angulus]

Angle2 v. (-ling) 1 fish with hook and line. 2 (foll. By for) seek an objective indirectly (angled for a loan). angler n. [old english]

Anglican —adj. Of the church of england. —n. Member of the anglican church. anglicanism n. [latin anglicanus: related to *angle]

Anglicism n. Peculiarly english word or custom. [latin anglicus: related to *angle]

Anglicize v. (also -ise) (-zing or -sing) make english in character etc.

Anglo- comb. Form 1 english. 2 of english origin. 3 english or british and. [latin: related to *angle]

Anglo-catholic —adj. Of a high church anglican wing emphasizing its catholic tradition. —n. Member of this group.

Anglo-french —adj. English (or british) and french. —n. French language as developed in england after the norman conquest.

Anglo-indian —adj. 1 of england and india. 2 of british descent but indian residence. —n. Anglo-indian person.

Anglo-norman —adj. English and norman. —n. Norman dialect used in england after the norman conquest.

Anglophile n. Person who greatly admires england or the english.

Anglo-saxon —adj. 1 of the english saxons before the norman conquest. 2 of english descent. —n. 1 anglo-saxon person. 2 old english. 3 colloq. Plain (esp. Crude) english. Angora n. 1 fabric or wool from the hair of the angora goat or rabbit. 2 long-haired variety of cat, goat, or rabbit. [angora (= ankara) in turkey]

Angostura n. Aromatic bitter bark used as a flavouring. [angostura (= ciudad bolívar) in venezuela]

Angry adj. (-ier, -iest) 1 feeling, showing, or suggesting anger (angry sky). 2 (of a wound etc.) Inflamed, painful. angrily adv.

Angst n. Anxiety, neurotic fear; guilt, remorse. [german]

Angstrom n. Unit of length equal to 10-10 metre. [ångström, name of a physicist]

Anguish n. 1 severe mental suffering. 2 pain, agony. anguished adj. [latin angustia tightness]

Angular adj. 1 having sharp corners or (of a person) features. 2 forming an angle. 3 measured by angle (angular distance). angularity n. [latin: related to *angle1]

Anhydrous adj. Chem. Without water, esp. Water of crystallization. [greek an- without, hudor water]

Aniline n. Colourless oily liquid used in making dyes, drugs, and plastics. [german anil indigo, former source]

Animadvert v. (foll. By on) literary criticize, censure. animadversion n. [latin animus mind, *adverse]

Animal —n. 1 living organism, esp. Other than man, which feeds and usu. Has sense-organs and a nervous system and can move quickly. 2 brutish person. —adj. 1 of or like an animal. 2 bestial; carnal. [latin animalis having breath]

Animalism n. 1 nature and activity of animals. 2 belief that humans are mere animals.

Animality n. 1 the animal world. 2 animal behaviour.

Animalize v. (also -ise) (-zing or -sing) make (a person) bestial, sensualize.

Animate —adj. 1 having life. 2 lively. —v. (-ting) 1 enliven. 2 give life to. [latin anima breath]

Animated adj. 1 lively, vigorous. 2 having life. 3 (of a film etc.) Using animation.

Animation n. 1 vivacity, ardour. 2 being alive. 3 technique of producing a moving picture from a sequence of drawings or puppet poses etc.

Animism n. Belief that inanimate and natural phenomena have souls. animist n. Animistic adj.

Animosity n. (pl. -ies) spirit or feeling of hostility. [latin: related to *animus]

Animus n. Animosity, ill feeling. [latin, = spirit, mind]

Anion n. Negatively charged ion. anionic adj. [greek ana up, *ion]

Anise n. Plant with aromatic seeds. [greek anison]

Aniseed n. Seed of the anise, used for flavouring.

Ankle n. 1 joint connecting the foot with the leg. 2 this part of the leg. [old norse]

Anklet n. Ornament or fetter worn round the ankle.

Ankylosis n. Stiffening of a joint by fusion of the bones. [greek agkulos crooked]

Annals n.pl. 1 narrative of events year by year. 2 historical records. annalist n. [latin annus year]

Annatto n. (also anatto) orange-red dye from the pulp of a tropical fruit, used for colouring foods. [carib name of the fruit-tree]

Anneal v. Heat (metal or glass) and cool slowly, esp. To toughen it. [old english ælan bake]

Annelid n. Segmented worm, e.g. The earthworm. [latin anulus ring]

Annex v. 1 (often foll. By to) add as a subordinate part. 2 incorporate (territory) into one's own. 3 add as a condition or consequence. 4 colloq. Take without right. annexation n. [latin necto bind]

Annexe n. 1 separate or added building. 2 addition to a document.

Annihilate v. (-ting) completely destroy or defeat. annihilation n. [latin nihil nothing]

Anniversary n. (pl. -ies) 1 date of an event in a previous year. 2 celebration of this. [latin annus year, verto vers- turn]

Anno domini adv. Years after christ's birth. [latin, = in the year of the lord]

Annotate v. (-ting) add explanatory notes to. annotation n. [latin nota mark] Announce v. (-cing) 1 make publicly known. 2 make known the arrival or imminence of (a guest, dinner, etc.). 3 be a sign of. announcement n. [latin nuntius messenger]

Announcer n. Person who announces, esp. In broadcasting.

Annoy v. 1 (often in passive) anger or distress slightly (am annoyed with you). 2 molest, harass. annoyance n. [latin in odio hateful]

Annual —adj. 1 reckoned by the year. 2 occurring yearly. 3 living or lasting (only) a year. —n. 1 book etc. Published yearly. 2 plant that lives only a year. annually adv. [latin annus year]

Annualized adj. (of rates of interest etc.) Calculated on an annual basis, as a projection from figures obtained for a shorter period.

Annuity n. (pl. -ies) 1 yearly grant or allowance. 2 investment yielding a fixed annual sum.

Annul v. (-ll-) 1 declare invalid. 2 cancel, abolish. annulment n. [latin nullus none]

Annular adj. Ring-shaped. [latin anulus ring]

Annular eclipse n. Solar eclipse in which a ring of light remains visible.

Annulate adj. Marked with or formed of rings.

Annunciation n. 1 announcement, esp. (annunciation) that made by the angel gabriel to mary. 2 festival of this. [latin: related to *announce]

Anode n. Positive electrode in an electrolytic cell etc. [greek anodos way up]

Anodize v. (also -ise) (-zing or -sing) coat (metal) with a protective layer by electrolysis.

Anodyne —adj. 1 pain-relieving. 2 mentally soothing. —n. Anodyne drug etc. [greek an- without, odune pain]

Anoint v. 1 apply oil or ointment to, esp. Ritually. 2 (usu. Foll. By with) smear. [latin inungo anoint]

Anomalous adj. Irregular, deviant, abnormal. [greek an- not, homalos even]

Anomaly n. (pl. -ies) anomalous thing; irregularity.

Anon adv. Archaic soon, shortly. [old english on an into one]

Anon. Abbr. Anonymous.

Anonymous adj. 1 of unknown name or authorship. 2 without character; featureless. anonymity n. [greek an- without, onoma name]

Anorak n. Waterproof usu. Hooded jacket. [eskimo]

Anorexia n. Lack of appetite, esp. (in full anorexia nervosa) an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. anorexic adj. & n. [greek an- without, orexis appetite]

Another —adj. 1 an additional; one more (another cake). 2 person like (another hitler). 3 a different (another matter). 4 some other (another man's work). —pron. Additional, other, or different person or thing. [earlier an other]

Answer —n. 1 something said or done in reaction to a question, statement, or circumstance. 2 solution to a problem. —v. 1 make an answer or response (to) (answer the door). 2 suit (a purpose or need). 3 (foll. By to, for) be responsible (you will answer to me for your conduct). 4 (foll. By to) correspond, esp. To a description. answer back answer insolently. [old english, = swear against (a charge)]

Answerable adj. 1 (usu. Foll. By to, for) responsible (answerable to them for any accident). 2 that can be answered.

Answering machine n. Tape recorder which answers telephone calls and takes messages.

Answerphone n. = *answering machine.

Ant n. Small usu. Wingless insect living in complex social colonies and proverbial for industry. [old english]

-ant suffix 1 forming adjectives denoting attribution of an action (repentant) or state (arrogant). 2 forming agent nouns (assistant). [latin -ant-, present participial stem of verbs]

Antacid —adj. Preventing or correcting acidity. —n. Antacid agent.

Antagonism n. Active hostility. [french: related to *agony]

Antagonist n. Opponent or adversary. antagonistic adj.

Antagonize v. (also -ise) (-zing or -sing) make hostile; provoke.

Antarctic —adj. Of the south polar regions. —n. This region. [latin: related to *arctic]

Antarctic circle n. Parallel of latitude 66° 32´ s., forming an imaginary line round the antarctic region. Ante —n. 1 stake put up by a player in poker etc. Before receiving cards. 2 amount payable in advance. —v. (-tes, -ted) 1 put up as an ante. 2 us a bet, stake. B (foll. By up) pay.

Ante- prefix before, preceding. [latin, = before]

Anteater n. Any of various mammals feeding on ants and termites.

Antecedent —n. 1 preceding thing or circumstance. 2 gram. Word or phrase etc. To which another word (esp. A relative pronoun) refers. 3 (in pl.) Person's past history or ancestors. —adj. Previous. [latin cedo go]

Antechamber n. Ante-room.

Antedate v. (-ting) 1 precede in time. 2 assign an earlier than actual date to.

Antediluvian adj. 1 of the time before the flood. 2 colloq. Very old or out of date. [from *ante-, latin diluvium deluge]

Antelope n. (pl. Same or -s) swift-moving deerlike ruminant, e.g. The gazelle and gnu. [greek antholops]

Antenatal adj. 1 before birth. 2 of pregnancy.

Antenna n. 1 (pl. -tennae) each of a pair of feelers on the heads of insects, crustaceans, etc. 2 (pl. -s) = *aerial n. [latin, = sail-yard]

Antepenultimate adj. Last but two.

Ante-post adj. (of betting) done at odds determined at the time of betting, in advance of the event concerned. [from *ante-, *post1]

Anterior adj. 1 nearer the front. 2 (often foll. By to) prior. [latin from ante before]

Ante-room n. Small room leading to a main one.

Anthem n. 1 elaborate choral composition usu. Based on a passage of scripture. 2 solemn hymn of praise etc., esp. = *national anthem. [latin: related to *antiphon]

Anther n. Part of a stamen containing pollen. [greek anthos flower]

Anthill n. Moundlike nest built by ants or termites.

Anthology n. (pl. -ies) collection of poems, essays, stories, etc. anthologist n. [greek anthos flower, -logia collection]

Anthracite n. Hard type of coal burning with little flame and smoke. [greek: related to *anthrax]

Anthrax n. Disease of sheep and cattle transmissible to humans. [greek, = coal, carbuncle]

Anthropocentric adj. Regarding mankind as the centre of existence. [greek anthropos man]

Anthropoid —adj. Human in form. —n. Anthropoid ape.

Anthropology n. The study of mankind, esp. Its societies and customs. anthropological adj. Anthropologist n.

Anthropomorphism n. Attribution of human characteristics to a god, animal, or thing. anthropomorphic adj. [greek morphe form]

Anthropomorphous adj. Human in form.

Anti —prep. Opposed to. —n. (pl. -s) person opposed to a policy etc.

Anti- prefix 1 opposed to (anticlerical). 2 preventing (antifreeze). 3 opposite of (anticlimax). 4 unconventional (anti-hero). [greek]

Anti-abortion adj. Opposing abortion. anti-abortionist n.

Anti-aircraft adj. (of a gun or missile) used to attack enemy aircraft.

Antibiotic —n. Substance (e.g. Penicillin) that can inhibit or destroy susceptible micro-organisms. —adj. Functioning as an antibiotic. [greek bios life]

Antibody n. (pl. -ies) a blood protein produced in response to and then counteracting antigens. [translation of german antikörper]

Antic n. (usu. In pl.) Foolish behaviour or action. [italian antico *antique]

Antichrist n. Enemy of christ. antichristian adj.

Anticipate v. (-ting) 1 deal with or use before the proper time. 2 expect, foresee (did not anticipate a problem). 3 forestall (a person or thing). 4 look forward to. anticipation n. Anticipatory adj. [latin anti- before, capio take]

Usage the use of anticipate in sense 2, ‘expect’, ‘foresee’, is well-established in informal use, but is regarded as incorrect by some people.

Anticlerical adj. Opposed to clerical influence, esp. In politics.

Anticlimax n. Disappointingly trivial conclusion to something significant.

Anticlockwise adj. & adv. Moving in a curve opposite in direction to the hands of a clock. Anticyclone n. System of winds rotating outwards from an area of high pressure, producing fine weather.

Antidepressant —n. Drug etc. That alleviates depression. —adj. Alleviating depression.

Antidote n. 1 medicine etc. Used to counteract poison. 2 anything counteracting something unpleasant. [greek antidotos given against]

Antifreeze n. Substance added to water to lower its freezing point, esp. In a vehicle's radiator.

Antigen n. Foreign substance (e.g. Toxin) which causes the body to produce antibodies. [greek -genes of a kind]

Anti-hero n. (pl. -es) central character in a story, lacking conventional heroic qualities.

Antihistamine n. Drug that counteracts the effects of histamine, used esp. In treating allergies.

Antiknock n. Substance added to motor fuel to prevent premature combustion.

Anti-lock attrib. Adj. (of brakes) set up so as to prevent locking and skidding when applied suddenly.

Antilog n. Colloq. = *antilogarithm. [abbreviation]

Antilogarithm n. Number to which a logarithm belongs.

Antimacassar n. Detachable protective cloth for the back of a chair etc.

Antimatter n. Matter composed solely of antiparticles.

Antimony n. Brittle silvery metallic element used esp. In alloys. [medieval latin]

Antinomian —adj. Believing that christians need not obey the moral law. —n. (antinomian) hist. Person believing this. [greek nomos law]

Antinomy n. (pl. -ies) contradiction between two reasonable beliefs or conclusions.

Antinovel n. Novel avoiding the conventions of the form.

Anti-nuclear adj. Opposed to the development of nuclear weapons or power.

Antiparticle n. Elementary particle with the same mass but opposite charge etc. To another particle.

Antipathy n. (pl. -ies) (often foll. By to, for, between) strong aversion or dislike. antipathetic adj. [greek: related to *pathetic]

Antiperspirant n. Substance preventing or reducing perspiration.

OH antichrist thats such a good one !! 10/10 word !

#anon #long post #dic anon

1 note · View note

ryuukia · 7 years ago

Text

[Translation] Tsukino Empire - The Second Fleet「Byakko」

With this I’m done with the migrainuta tsukiuta part, meaning SolidS are next. This post follows Procella’s side and their profiles. For a few explanations regarding the data, check Gravi’s post.

Please give me motivation to work on tsukipro hnnnnn

The proofreading was done by @clearui. Don’t repost my translation.

04. Procellarum - Shimotsuki Shun & Fuduki Kai

Shimotsuki Shun

Cast comment

Greetings, everybody. I’m Shimotsuki Shun, Tsukino Empire’s second prince? … just joking.

This story happens somewhere far away from Earth, it’s a tale about another corner from the Universe. That’s right, as this is a story taking in a distant place, nobody knows… … whether this story is a fiction. That’s because the world is so vast. This is a story about ourselves from another place whom risk their lives for a noble hope. Please, enjoy it.

Story data

Affiliation: Second Fleet (Shiro) ※Commandant Spirit beast: Albion (Byakko1 and Tora2 type) ※First Rank 【STR】★★★★★★★ 【VIT】★★★★★★☆ 【DEX】★★★★★★★ 【INT】★★★★★★★ 【HP】★★★★★★☆ 【MOFU】★★★★☆☆☆

Tsukino Empire’s second prince who appeared to be compatible by birth with one of The First Rank’s spirit beasts,【Byakko】. On top of being an existence covered in mystery by the imperial family itself, as the Legendary Class’s First Rank host, he’s irregular and unconventional in many ways. Due to his origins too, there is nobody stronger than him.

However, he himself doesn’t boast about his origins and he’s very gentle, innocent and open-minded. He says “I love everything”.

His rank in the army is merely nothing but a formality for him. The only one who can command him in the actual sense is “only Hajime?”, and he smiles meaninfully to that even today.

T/N: 白虎 (byakko)1 = The White Tiger 虎型 (tora kata)2 = tiger type

Fuduki Kai

Cast comment

Hello, Fuduki Kai here! Wearing a military uniform, putting on a ring, carrying a device and having companions… there are many peculiar props, so I’ll have fun performing with those. The only difficulty are the lines, which are hard (laughs). During serious scenes, I have to speak difficult lines quickly, so I had to rehearse those daily like chanting spells. I will do my best!

Story data

Affiliation: Second Fleet (Shiro) Spirit beast: Leon (lion type) ※Second Rank 【STR】★★★★★★☆ 【VIT】★★★★★☆☆ 【DEX】★★★☆☆☆☆ 【INT】★★★★☆☆☆ 【HP】★★★★★★☆ 【MOFU】★★★★☆☆☆

The Second Fleet’s reliable older brother. He’s always meticulous and stays unfazed to most things. He is a strong and abrupt man who will cheerfully laugh at everything.

Kai knows Shun since they were in the military academy. He took interest in Shun and Albion (right at first sight), and before he noticed, he and his spirit beast, Leon, were treated as a set together with Shun and his spirit beast.

With a family lineage of soldiers from the Second Military Division, who didn’t have hosts for generations, his father is in the Tenth Fleet’s Headquarters. In one way or another, he’s getting accustomed to being a mediator for the numerous issues between the First Military Division and Second Military Division.

05. Haduki You & Nagatsuki Yoru

Haduki You

Cast comment

Heyo, everybody, how are you? With Tsukipro’s entire appearance, this is a stage play filled with many handsome men. I will do my best to shine the most among them all, so I’m also asking for everyone’s support! My role includes a lot of independent action, in this tale being the fastest character to reach the story’s core. How is it? Only with this much, it’s cool, right? Well, I’ll try my best not die.

Story data

Affiliation: Second Fleet (Shiro) Spirit beast: Kurikara (hitokage3 type) 【STR】★★★★★★☆ 【VIT】★★★★☆☆☆ 【DEX】★★★☆☆☆☆ 【INT】★★★★☆☆☆ 【HP】★★★★☆☆☆ 【MOFU】★☆☆☆☆☆☆

The Second Fleet’s unmotivated acting leader. He often disappears to work under pretexts of gathering intel, but it is unclear whether he is actually working or slacking off.

He’s famous for being a lady-killer. As many of his ex-girlfriends are in the headquarters, he’s trying to keep away from them as much as possible.

Yoru is his childhood friend. Not only he listens but he also retorts to what Yoru tells him.

T/N: 火蜥蜴型 (hitokage kata)3 = salamander type

Nagatsuki Yoru

Cast comment

Hello, I am Nagatsuki Yoru. Welcome to the place where this magnificent story starts… … I tried a little to be cooler, but this is already my second stage play. As this is a wonderful stage with lots of large scale mechanisms, I think it’s enough to be worth seeing, but I also want to liven things up as much as I can. Arai-kun, Raa-kun and me will be in your care.

Story data

Affiliation: Second Fleet (Shiro) Spirit beast: Arai-kun, Raa-kun (raccoon type) ※one pair in two bodies 【STR】★★☆☆☆☆☆ 【VIT】★★★☆☆☆☆ 【DEX】★★★★★☆☆ 【INT】★★★★★★☆ 【HP】★★★☆☆☆☆ 【MOFU】★★★★★☆☆

In order to host the rare spirit beast with two bodies in one pair, he collaborates in the spirit beast research, offering data at any time. Because of that, he’s also in good terms with Aoi’s older brother, who’s in the Medical Care Bureau.

Within the spirit beast, Arai-kun is the positive one and Raa-kun is the shy and slightly negative one.

As the Second Fleet’s operator, he tries desperately to decipher the meaning of Commandant Shun’s orders every day. (※They have no meaning often)

06. Minaduki Rui & Kannaduki Iku

Minaduki Rui

Cast comment

Welcome, to the Empire.

My role holds the key, which leads to the core of the story.

My character is not very talkative and has hardly many lines, but I believe it can convey various things without words. Enjoy the story.

Story data

Affiliation: Second Fleet (Shiro) Spirit beast: Evangile (shiro neko4 type) ※/e.vɑ̃.ʒil/ (it means ‘good news’ in French) 【STR】★★☆☆☆☆☆ 【VIT】★☆☆☆☆☆☆ 【DEX】★★★★★★☆ 【INT】★★★★★★★ 【HP】★★☆☆☆☆☆ 【MOFU】★★★★★☆☆

One of the few relatives that the Imperial family has, with a fairly low rank. Despite that, he has the right of succession to the Imperial throne. He’s been interacting with the direct descendant, Shun, since childhood, so Rui’s quite attached to him.

Due to his natural weak constitution and his parents’ protection he spent most of his childhood in bed. For that reason, he’s ignorant to common sense.

Within the circumstances of having to stay still, he emerged as the host of a mysterious ring with no records in the military custody. After becoming a host, his body got healthier, then he enrolled in the army - in order to comprehend the mysterious ring’s data - and became a research subject, by providing information regularly about it.

T/N: 白猫型 (shiro neko kata)4 = white cat type

Kannaduki Iku

Cast comment

Hi, I’m Kannaduki Iku. The Tsukino Empire is now raising the curtain! With this, we’re unveiling the military uniform costumes. Standing on the scene while wearing this gives me a strange feeling because I’m still not used to wearing this uniform. My highlight scene is in the second half, when Arata-san and me are involved in a quite dynamic and violent action scene. I think you can watch it from that point. Please treat me well!

Story data

Affiliation: Second Fleet (Shiro) Spirit beast: Hokkyoku-kun5 (hokkyoku kuma6 type) 【STR】★★★★★★☆ 【VIT】★★★★☆☆☆ 【DEX】★★★☆☆☆☆ 【INT】★★★☆☆☆☆ 【HP】★★★★★★☆ 【MOFU】★★★★★★☆

The Second Fleet’s most handsome junior, with a promising future. One of his parents’ family had a restaurant, which provided food for the military base, thus he’s been watching battles and the army since a young age.

The mysterious spirit beast he encountered in his childhood at the military base left a strong impression on him and after that, henceforth his compatibility test, he enrolled into the military academy and certified as its host.

His older sister also turned out to be compatible and even though she enrolled into the military academy, she didn’t become a host in the end because the ring chose another cadet.

Currently, she works in the Public Relations Bureau and it seems she’s trying to obtain exclusive coverage from Shun through Iku.

北極 (hokkyoku)5 = North Pole (Iku named his bear ‘North Pole’ lol) ホッキョククマ型 (hokkyoku kuma kata)6 = polar bear type

#tsukiuta #tsukino empire #english translation #shimotsuki shun #fuduki kai #haduki you #nagatsuki yoru #minaduki rui #kannaduki iku #there is one part in Kai's profile which might make some fans scream #although it has the meaning of (he's known Shun since they were in military academy) if I had to translate it directly this would become #he's been in a relationship with shun since they were in the military academy #bye

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maxattack-powell · 7 years ago

Text

Winter Break - Christmas

Winter Break - Christmas (1-17e) NSFW

***This is an original fic that fits in between the Luxury Date special and Book 2/Chapter 1 in my masterlist)***

Masterlist - go here for other chapters and related original fics

Disclaimer: The following are fics (adaptations from actual game chapters AND original works) to Choices: The Freshman and The Sophomore stories. It is a fictional adaptation. I do not work for Pixelberry Studios, the game developer or own the rights to the characters Chris Powell, Nicole or any other IN GAME character. All of the ORIGINAL characters, storylines and events were developed for my adaptation of The Freshman story.

Comments: I enjoyed playing Choices The Freshman… and then I found this awesome group of people and their works - I’ve loved it all, very much so. Deciding that I wanted more interaction than the options allowed, I’ve gone through the first book, chapter by chapter (omg painfully slow) to follow the story (95-99% I’d say) and add to it as I felt would benefit. Now I am doing the same to Book 2 as well.

Basically, I wanted to include certain things that weren’t really full fic worthy, adding more substance to the story. However, I did add some full size fic moments also… some are included in cannon chapters and some are their own full chapters in between. I wanted to see MC and Chris through their freshman year… with more angst, fluff, sweetness, real life and overall detail. So, if you like that pairing then you’ll be satisfied, otherwise sorry James & Kaitlyn fans lol. I even added some parts from Chris’s POV, so that we have a chance to see what he’s thinking, knowing what she experienced.

NSFW moments in this chapter - Mature Readers Only Please

Paring: MC x Chris

POV: ~MC~ or ~Chris~

~Chris~

Chris wakes suddenly due to a loud crashing sound. He turns his head and focuses on his door for a moment, not entirely sure if it was real or he dreamed it. After a moment he hears a pair of pounding footsteps flying by his door, followed quickly another set.

The second, slightly heavier set is also accompanied by his younger brothers angry muffled shouts. “MOM! She won't leave me alone! And she took my Captain figure, again! MOM!”

Chris shakes his head and lightly laughs as he hears his little sister’s cackle from further down the hall as both sets of footsteps fade. He stretches under the covers, suddenly realizing something. He reaches down to adjust himself, finding it futile. He rolls over onto his stomach, attempting to pin his hard length under his weight as he groans into the pillow. He knows it’s not the normal morning bodily function test that he and every other male has learned to deal with since their adolescent days.

No. This time it is from a dream. Or dreams really. Visions of MC are still flying through his mind, even now as he breathes into his pillow. Usually, dreams start to fade the moment a person wakes, but not these. The images, the feelings, the smells, they were all too real. Chris grabs his phone and opens his photos, scrolling through months worth of images, mentally selecting his favorites of her.

He contemplates taking a very cold shower and trying to put it behind him, or the alternative - taking care of it himself, which he knows would probably feel much better that the first option. He thinks about it though, and looks at the time on his phone. It was a few minutes after 10 a.m., which makes sense as to why his younger siblings were just making so much noise. He knows better than to assume he can sleep in while at home, but after last night, he still had hoped.

Deciding against both previous options, now knowing the time, he decides to send MC her morning text, still laying face down on his bed. ‘Merry Christmas Eve, beautiful’

He shifts on the bed as he waits for a reply, knowing she won't make him wait long. He groans as the friction from his movements don't relieve the pressure, but increase it.

He sighs. “Damn it.”

Chris begins to think he should have gone to the shower before he sent her a message, now unsure if he can make it through any interaction with her in his current state. He really wants to talk to MC, but at the moment he hopes she will just send a text so he can fix his grave mistake.

However, Luck decides to watch him squirm instead, as he receives a request for FaceTime. He sighs and hesitates, but only for a moment, knowing he doesn't want to miss the chance to see her eyes. He quickly adjusts again, thinking he may have made it better this time as he slides the screen to accept the call. While it connects, he leans the phone against his headboard so she has a decent view of him as he stretches down the length of his bed.

MC comes into view, her form still curled up under her covers as she waits for him to answer. He can tell she propped her phone up on her nightstand while she huddles under the warm layers. She doesn't notice the call has connected at first, so Chris takes the time to enjoy the wonderful vision in front of him. He even takes a picture of her bundled up form, her face peeking out just enough with her hair covering most of it as she looks down her bed and speaks softly to her dog Max.

She eventually realizes that the ringing has stopped, finally looking up into the screen. Chris was already smiling as he waits for her eyes to meet his, making her startle slightly from his intense yet humorous expression.

“Jesus, Chris. Even from Maine you can sneak up and scared the crap out of me.” She gasps out, her startled eyes wide.

Chris laughs and looks at her defensively. “Who called who, woman? How is this my fault?”

“You should have said something!” She accuses him, a small smile threatening to split her face as she mock glares at him from under the covers.

“What, and ruin my view? No way. I was enjoying myself.” He winks at her and she snorts in response.

“You're incorrigible.” She narrows her eyes at him playfully, peeking out a she tucks her nose under the covers.

“You like it.” He laughs.

MC doesn't respond with words, but rather lowers the covers momentarily as she hisses at him like a cat, her smirk simultaneously annihilating her attempt at a threatening response.

~MC~

She watches as he laughs through the phone with his handsome smile. His hair is disheveled in just the right way, making her want to reach through the screen and run her hands through it. She watches him shift slightly on his bed, causing his brow to crease with concentration as he looks away from the screen for a moment. Confused, she raises an eyebrow and waits.

He finally looks back at the screen and sees her expression. “What…”

“Um, what are you doing?” She scoots a little closer to see his face a little better.

She watches as he blinks a few times, looking anywhere but the phone as he attempts to answer. “I’m… uh, trying to get comfortable.” He lets out a short single laugh, almost more of a scoff directed at himself.

Her eyebrow reaches higher. “Can't you just roll over..? I’m usually not comfortable on my stomach either.”

He closes his eyes and tries not to laugh. “Yeah, that won't help.”

Still confused, MC looks at him questionably. She watches as he becomes highly embarrassed, rubbing his hand roughly across his stubble as he lets out a huff of air.

“Do you want me to show you why… why rolling over it won't help?” He looks at her in a very particular way, trying to get his point across.

After a moment something clicks inside MC, her face flushes hot immediately. “Oh…” She quickly pulls her covers over her head and begins to laugh with her own embarrassment.

Even with her blanket over her head, she can clearly hear him through the covers. “You're laughing? Really? I’ll have you know, MC. This is all your fault.”

She instantly rips the covers off her face, causing her hair to fly wildly around her as she looks at the phone astonished. “What?! How could it possibly? I’m in Connecticut!”

He shakes his head as he lets out a rough sigh, smashing his face into his pillow. She can barely hear his muffled response when he speaks.

“No, you weren't. You’ve been in my head all night. And every time I reached for you, I ended up with a cold pillow.” Chris’s frustration shows as he balls his pillow up, wrapping his bare arms under it as he lays his cheek down to look at her again, his expression one of pleasant surrender as he searches her face.

MC doesn't know how to respond right away, so she just watches him for a second. She absorbs the way his muscular arms are stretched out and under him, making his arms tight as they pull at the muscles down his side, watching as they flex with each breath. Her eyes make their way down his side and then back up his rippling back, finally seaking his eyes again.

“What did you dream about…” She says in almost a whisper, her eyes unwavering as they lock onto his.

“Uh... “ Chris lifts his head up and looks towards his headboard, a nice red flush sliding up his neck and coloring his cheeks enough to be noticable. He clears his throat and swallows hard as he focuses. “You… you really want me to tell you?”

MC feels her face flush to match his when he turns his eyes back to her. “I…” She stammers, now unsure of her question as he watches her contemplate.

Chris shakes his head and looks away again, “I don't want you to think I’m a creep, MC...” He trails off, embarrassed as he face plants back into his pillow.

“I don't.” She whispers. “I’m curious… I want to know what happened in your dreams that affected you so strongly…” She feels her mouth go dry as she acknowledges her wicked thoughts.

His gaze whips back to her steady eyes. “What?”

She gives him a little smirk. “You heard me Powell.”

He lets out a exasperated laugh as chews on his tongue as he tilts his head, a small smile trying to take hold. “You’re killing me.” He groans out.

She waits patiently for him to continue.

“It was just… It was a series of memories, and uh… “ His eyes flick to hers briefly before he shifts them down, suddenly very interested in some fuzz on his pillow. “...thoughts, I’ve had.”

“Like…” MC gently prods.

He shakes his head and looks at her again. “Like… when we first met… when we kissed that night, and every time after… when you were all at my game before I…” His face falls for a moment, but he shakes it off and grins.

“The ‘C’ you painted on your stomach… I have a lot of dreams about that. Apparently my subconscious knew to watch for you, way before the rest of me did.” He laughs at himself, almost in a scolding way.

“Those moments affect you that much..?” She gently asks, feeling her heart rate rise as butterflies fill her stomach.

He clears his throat again, looking down at the offensive fuzz. “Kinda, but… It was probably more the repetitive memories of us in L.A., on the field… and the way my mind continued the night, as if we weren’t interrupted…”

~Chris~

Chris feels his flush burning hotter and higher as it creeps up his chest to his neck, covering his cheeks. He suddenly feels very uncomfortable with her gaze on him. He's not embarrassed that he thinks of her that way, not at all. He can tell she's attracted to him, and he most assuredly knows how he’s attracted to her in return, so it makes sense to him what he's feeling physically.

He is worried though. Worried that MC will think just that - that he’s only interested in her physically, that he wants to use her. He’s thoughts are adamant; that’s not who he is. It never has been, even when he thought he might try it, because of what Nicole did to him. He shakes his head and swallows, worried that he’s possibly someone he doesn't want to be.

“Chris…” He hears her soft voice speak his name, so he takes in a breath and slowly meets her eyes.

“Yes?” He responds tenderly.

She pulls in her bottom lip and chews on it slightly, searching his face for a moment before she speaks. “That’s kinda a turn on…”

He just stares at her, unblinking, for what feels like an eternity. He finally swallows hard, her words completely registering. “Wait, what?”

She’s so still on the screen that he grabs the phone, pulling it close, thinking it's frozen. Then he sees it. The slightest curve at the end of her lips, slowly turning upwards. He lets out the breath he has been holding in a huge rush, his forehead falling onto the mattress while still holding his phone out in front of him.

MC speaks again, almost like she's been holding her breath underwater. “It’s exciting, to know you’ve been thinking about me--”

He groans into the mattress and cuts her off. He lifts his head enough to rest his lips on his left bicep, biting the taut muscle while keeping his eyes closed. “MC, I need to call you back later.”

Without looking he can hear the worry in her voice. “Chris, I’m sorry… I didn't mean--”

He shakes his head violently and opens his eyes, giving her a reassuring smile. “No ma’am. You didn't do anything wrong. I just need a shower. Right now.”

Chris stares at the screen until he sees her posture relax, letting him know that she understands everything is fine. “I really need to go though, talk to you later?”

She gives him a reserved smile, making him wink at her before he ends the call.

He tosses his phone on the bedside table and slams his fist into his pillow, his frustration reaching a new high. He groans and rolls out of bed, quickly grabbing a set of clothes and his phone before he leans out of his door, making sure the coast was clear as he jumps across the hall, hiding his erection behind a handful of clean clothes.

Chris quickly shuts and locks the door, making sure his siblings don't interrupt his time in the bathroom. He was used to them popping up just about anywhere, and this was not a good time for that to accidentally happen. Throwing his stuff on the counter, he turns on the water, but instead of cold he lets it become warm, almost hot.

As he waits for the water to heat up, he removes his boxer briefs and grabs his phone. Steam begins to fill the room as he scrolls through pictures. He looks for MC, some from their first quarter at Hartefeld, such as random times around the suite and on the roof. Others from the formal where his eyes scan up and down her curves wrapped in that perfect dress.

He scrolls again, to more recent pics. A few from their trip to L.A., where he can see her sexy football outfit and a picture he snuck when she was asleep on the plane back to Hartfeld. Her lips were slightly parted as she slept. He remembers her soft breath running across his neck when she was tucked against his chest. He groans as he thinks of those lips, wishing he could taste them now.

Chris continues to scroll, looking at pictures of her she's sent or he’s saved during their conversations on break. A few times she sent him somewhat flirty pictures, where he could see a little cleavage or her exposed hip, like that one from the first night. The memory makes him quickly scroll to that specific picture, knowing the moment he had opened it, that it would be one of his favorites. Forever.

His eyes drift along her fair form, her tousled hair covering half of her face while part of her eyes and smirk remain exposed. He shifts his gaze down her smooth arms, her halfway visible cleavage, her sloping waist into her sharp hip bone, showing just enough of her panties before the photo cuts off. He tosses the phone onto the counter and quickly checks the water, the temp hot enough to almost turn the room into a sauna.

After turning the water temp down slightly, he steps in and leans his head against the wall as the water beats his back. He turns slightly, facing away from the water stream and closes his eyes. He starts imagining being there, in that moment, on the bed, with her. He groans and reaches down, getting a bit of conditioner in his hand before grasping his hardening length. He starts stroking it as he imagines her shifting in front of him, running her hand down his neck and onto his chest. Her touch light on his skin, but heavy enough to build the anticipation as she gives each sculpted muscle its own adoration, slowly making her way down to his lower abdomen.

He fantasizes her running her hand across his hip, down his leg to his mid thigh. Once she runs her fingers down the closest leg, she slowly moves her fingers back up. This time closer to the inside, brushing exceptionally close to his manhood as she goes back up, circling around his belly button and playing with the area above at his elastic band, before trailing back down the other leg. Chris squeezes himself more firmly, slightly speeding up his rhythmic movements as his breathing frequency increases.

He can see her clearly, feel her touch as he imagines her smell, the one he's come to know so well, making him want to taste her. He knows what her lips taste like, what her neck smells like, but he wants to taste her. All of her. He wants to kiss his way down her neck, sucking on her pulse and nipping at her tender flesh until she shivers under him in pleasure. He wants to make her pant with his calculated touches.

Chris imagines moving down her chest before moving to her adorable stomach. The stomach where he always visualizes his red ‘C’, but only for a few moments before he moves even lower. He grunts as he tugs harder as his erection, the heat in his lower abdomen pooling up, making him sweat, even in the shower. He envisions her hand moving back up his other leg, this time directly crossing his extremely hard length as it strains to break free from his restrictive underwear.

Chris gasps in the shower, clenching his eyes tighter as he imagines her reaching up and pulling the edge of his uncomfortably tight boxer briefs down. He would raise his hips slightly, helping the fabric slide over his tense hips. He envisions her running her hands up around his midsection, tracing the V shape his muscles make as they head to his ridgid length.

He speeds up his actions, increasing the friction on his engorged member, now breathing hard as he imagines her hand on him, stroking him with her smaller but firm grip. He knows it would feel a thousand times better than his own calloused hand, but he makes due, and pretends it’s her instead. As he increases the frequency of his strokes, Chris’s eyes close tightly as he fantasizes her warm hands grasping him, pumping feverishly as she gives him a sultry look.

“Ah, MC...” he groans huskily.

He imagines her slowly leaning down, her breath tickling the inside of his thighs as she looks up at him. Her big hazel eyes sinking deep into his. He shakes his head though, knowing that's not what he would do with her first. He would flip her, laying her comfortably on the bed before he removes all of her clothes. As he frees her from the offensive materials, he would run his hands and lips over every square inch of her body until she was writhing under him, begging for more.

That's what he wants.

hat imagery is what does him in, as he continues to stroke himself repeatedly, panting with his eyes closed as he sees her face. Her expression filled with pure pleasure, her lips parted as she arches her back and she flexes towards him, gasping his name. Only his name. Chris suddenly bucks his hips into his hand. He reaches his climax before he actually realizes it’s near, his mind still on her soft skin and engorged lips, while her body moves in waves under him.

He grunts a few times as he pumps through his climax, sighing when he finally finishes, keeping his eyes closed as he envisions her doing the same from his reciprocal touches. After a moment he lets go, turning to face the wall. He leans there for a moment, his forehead still resting on the cool tile as he lets the hot water soothe his tense muscles. After a few minutes he feels his heart rate finally level out, his breathing becoming even and balanced once again.

Chris leans back and lets the water rush through his hair and over his face. He quickly scrubs his body and washes the mess of hair, knowing he has been in the shower too long already and doesn't want to raise any suspicion about it.

When he steps out, Chris wraps a towel around his waist and leans towards the counter to grab his toothbrush. Once Chris finishes with his normal routine, he attempts to dry his hair as much as possible. He knows it's Maine Cold outside. Meaning, the house will have a chill no matter what the temperature inside is set to so it would benefit him to limit his exposure. After he gets dressed, Chris tosses his dirty clothes in his room and pauses in the hall, pulling his phone out of his back pocket.

He thinks back to how quickly he cut MC off, feeling bad about it, and immediately sends her a text. ‘Sorry about earlier, can we FaceTime later - when it turns midnight..? I have a surprise.’

Chris puts the phone back into his pocket and heads to the living room. He finds his little sister on the piece of furniture deemed the ‘timeout chair’ ever since he let their old dog run through the house, completely covered in mud when he was eight. She had the same look on her face that he had on his back then, making it hard for him to hold his laugh in.

The small blonde snapped her gaze towards him, narrowing her eyes at the sound of his laugh.

He shakes his head. “What did you do, Jo…” He asks, more of a statement really, knowing his little sister all too well.

She crosses her arms and juts out her chin towards the kitchen. Chris turns to look in the direction she's glaring in, seeing his brother and mother. His mother looks up from loading the dishwasher, her eyes meeting his with a frown. She sighs as she glances at them both. His brother Kyle is sitting at the kitchen table, shooting daggers back at his little sister. Chris walks over to the counter, keeping an eye on them both as he approaches his mom.

“What is going on? I woke up to crashing sounds and what I assume was a high speed chase down the hallway.” He juts his thumb behind him, towards his room.

His mother reaches for something on the counter and tosses it at him. He easily catches it, his football handling skills coming in handy. He turns it over and realizes that it’s his old Captain America figure.

He turns to them both, his brows creasing with irritation. “This is what I heard earlier? You guys are fighting over this?” His eyebrow arches up as he holds it up for them to clearly see.

When they dont answer and look away from him, Chris becomes a little angry. He’s only been gone for a few months and they are acting like wild animals. He knows his mom doesn’t have the energy to deal with them if they keep it up, not with the hours she has at work.

“Seriously you guys? I leave for one quarter and you both tear the house up and give mom hell?” He sees them both shift uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze.

“Don't make me lock all the cool stuff in my room before I leave.” Both sets of eyes snap up and look at him wide eyed. Finally having their attention he continues, calmer now. “You guys know I’ll do it. I'll go see Kenny at the hardware store and put up ten different locks to keep you jackasses out if I have to.”

Kyle and Jo both look down, regret crossing their faces. Chris just stands there and waits, letting it sink in that this behavior has to stop. They were bad enough when he was around, he knows it has to be tough for his mom without his interference.

“Well? Do I get to spend the rest of my winter break with my sista and brotha, or am I stuck with two hellyans who won't give their motha a break?” His his accent becomes a little more pronounced as he raises his voice slightly, determined to get his point across.

They both look up to him, then to each other, silently agreeing to a truce with a nod. Chris nods as well when he sees it, putting the Captain America figure back on the counter.

“Alright. Get your freaking jackets on you jokers. We’re going out in the snow.” He claps his hands and turns towards his mom, receiving a thankful smile in return.

“Ah, I’ve missed you Christopher.” She laughs and gives him a kiss on the cheek when he comes around the counter and gives her a hug.

Kyle and Jo jump up from their spots and speed walk towards the front door, avoiding causing more trouble by tearing through the house again. Chris grabs a homemade blueberry muffin from a stack further down on the counter as he passes, ingesting it in less than three bites.

He hears his mother cluck behind him as he heads to the front door as well. “Chew your food, Christopher.”

Chris quickly swallows and nods. “I did… three whole times.” He grins at his siblings as they stifle their laughter behind their gloved hands.

He hears her sigh, following with a faint. “I swear…”

Chris gets his jacket and boots on in record time, easily catching up with his younger siblings. He playfully bumps Kyle as he's trying to steady himself as he adjust his pants over his boots. “Come on man, we’ve got some snow to enjoy.”

Kyle laughs and stands up straight, but only for a second before he uses all of his force to shove Chris back. Chris shifts his weight to adjust, but otherwise doesn't budge, making Kyle grunt and push harder against him.

Chris laughs and pats him on the back, noticing that his little brother is becoming noticeably stronger, but almost nothing can move Chris if he doesn't want to. He quickly bends over and grabs his younger brother, tucking him under his arm like a bundle of wood and walks outside as his sister opens the door with a grin splitting her face in two. She sticks her tongue out at Kyle as Chris passes. The oldest doesn't miss the behavior and quickly grabs her the same way, walking outside with them both tucked under his arms, each sporting matching glares.

He turns his head around and yells, “Hey Ma--” But instantly stops when he sees his mother already at the door, grinning at them all as she gives a small wave and shuts it behind them.

Chris walks over to a deep snow drift and drops both his younger siblings in the middle. They let out matching shrieks as they flail around, sputtering as they wipe the snow from their faces.

He keeps walking, towards a specific area of their yard that has forever been the Snowman Section. “I told you two to cut it out.” He yells over his shoulder, not turning to look as they collect themselves and run to catch up.

When they reach his sides he glances at them both, his face turning serious again. “I mean it you guys. Mom doesn’t need this. If I hear that you start acting like that again, we’re going to have a problem. I’ll drive the six hours to prove it too.” His eyes narrow slightly. "You hear me?"

He looks at them both and receives two conformation nods, this time knowing they clearly received the underlying message. He kneels and pulls them towards him, wrapping an arm around each of them. They hug him back, the three of them staying like that for a moment as Chris holds them tight.

“I miss you guys. Do me a favor and behave like I’m here all the time, okay? It’s not easy for me either.” They both nod against him and he pats their backs before he stands again.

He claps his hands and looks around for a good starting spot. “Alright, what's the plan? One huge snowman? Every man for himself?”

The three discuss their options and finally make a decision. Each will create their own snowmen or objects in the snow. His siblings head over to the shed and dig out their different snow tools and decorations. Chris remembers he had sent MC a text a while ago and pulls out his phone. He has yet to receive a response though, making him frown a little, thinking back to all of their conversations so far during the break. She usually replies fairly quickly, until today that is. He starts to wonder if his abrupt reaction ending the call earlier had upset her in some way.

He stares at the screen for a moment, trying to decide if he should say something else or let it go for now. Noticing his sister running back towards him, he decides to wait for now and stuffs the phone into his back pocket. He wasn't ready to tell them about his friend MC. He knows, even at their ages, that his siblings won't take kindly to the news, still having some memories of his behavior shift during his senior year at Cherryfield High. Its just now been over a year since he started down that ugly path.

He definitely wasn't going to bring MC up to his mother, knowing she would probably deeply frown and ask him a lot of personal questions. Questions he didn't know the answer to yet. Questions he and MC would need to cover before he felt comfortable bringing her up to any of his family. Not because he was ashamed or scared to be connected to MC, but because he knows what his behavior did to his family, his friends, his school… the entire town. He sighs and shakes his head, trying to lose the guilt that is starting to creep in.

Chris makes himself busy, helping his siblings collect snow for their projects as well as his own. Halfway through their builds, a black Ford Bronco pulls up. Chris immediately straightens, recognizing his friend Ryan’s ride. He and Ethan step out and walk towards Chris, the three of them giving their typical greeting nod.

Chris looks at Ethan, then the Bronco, and back to his redheaded friend. “Where’s the truck?” He looks at Ethan curiously, knowing how much his friend loves his truck, rarely seeing him without it.

Ethan shrugs it off. “It’s at the shop, radiator went out so Mr. Johnson is replacing it for me. I gotta pay for the part and he’s letting me clean up the shop for the labor.”

“Need any help?” Chris offers, still packing snow into his creation.

Ethan shrugs again, “Nah, I’m almost done with it actually. Thanks though.”

Chris nods and flicks some snow off his glove towards Ryan, hitting him in the face as he watches the kids squabble over whos snow was whos.

He sputters when some makes it into his mouth and brushes off his face. “What the hell man…”

Ethan turns his humorous expression to his slightly shorter friend and snort laughs. “Maybe it will teach you to shut your mouth, standing there looking like a damn Cusk.”

Chris chuckles as Ryan finishes wiping the snow from his face, so he can shoot Ethan a glare. “Don't make me pack snow in your asscrack.” He forcefully points down for emphasis.

Ethan just stands there with a smirk as he crosses his arms, daring his feisty friend to follow through. Chris watches as Ryan attempts to let it go, his chest rising and falling with controlled breaths as he contemplates his next move. He actually does better than Chris would have thought, making him wonder if Ryan has been working on his reactionary behavior during his first quarter at college.

Unfortunately, Ryan only lasts about a minute, maybe a full 90 seconds, before he lunges at Ethan. The slightly taller and wider redhead locks arms with his stocky raven haired friend. They start grappling right there, both digging their legs into the snow and leaning into each other.

Chris sighs and turns to look at his snow sculpture, suddenly worried of their proximity, knowing how quickly things could go south. He decides to move them away, quickly taking a few fast steps in their direction, wrapping his arms around them both and pushing them away, making them lose their footing and tumble over into the snow.

They could care less though, still grappling with each other, now on their sides and completely indifferent of their new perspective from on top of the snow. Chris laughs and turns back to his unique snowman. He doesn't want anything bad to happen to his idea as he has spent a lot of time on it already, and he needs to get it right.

After five exhausting minutes wrestling in the snow, his friends get up and brush themselves off. Both finally conceding to a draw, the usual outcome. They split and head over to Kyle and Jo, offering assistance to Chris’s siblings. Kyle had decided to build a giant snowman, so Ethan helps him collect and roll large snowballs over to add to the ones he had already created. Ryan asks Jo what she’s working on, causing her to put her hands on her hips as she makes a face when he can't tell.

He scrambles for an excuse, telling her that he’s not very creative and can't see what things are until someone tells him. She seems to buy it and relaxes as she shows him what she had been working on. Turns out, once she tells Ryan it was a shark, he could actually see it. Chris just laughs to himself, trying to hurry with his snowman so he can help his siblings and friends.

A few minutes later he steps back, assessing his work. Something was missing. He turns and heads to the flower beds around the house, picking out two tiny and one medium size stones, all black. He walks over and carefully places them in the right spots and steps back again, this time accepting it as done. He pulls out his phone and takes a few pictures, the last few selfies with his work. He pulls up his messages and shoots a few to MC before he heads over to his brothers and sister.

It doesn't take long to receive a response, the message almost unreadable. ‘OMGwhatdidyoumakeisthataSNOWMAX?!’

He laughs quietly, to not draw attention as he replies. ‘He forgives me. Hope you do too.’

MC’s response is a picture of her and Max, both smiling together in front of her Christmas Tree. ‘Nothing to forgive. Thank you for my Snow Max.’

Chris types a reply without thinking. ‘Anytime baby.’ The moment he hits send, he feels instantly cold, his eyes staring at the text while it mocks him from beyond.

“Shit.” He says under his breath.

Ethan is the only one to hear him as he looks at Chris questionably while arching an eyebrow. He receives a quick shake of the head from Chris, brushing it off, while he’s trying to forget what just happened.

Chris tried, but he couldn’t let it go. He wasn't sure how MC would feel about it, and that bothered him a little. Honestly, he wasn't exactly sure how he felt about it, knowing that they weren't officially together, he didn't want to appear like he was pushing himself on her. He was concerned it may come off a little too forward.

He thought about texting something to recover from his slip up, clenching and unclenching his jaw as he stares at the screen. He finally decides to let it slide, hoping she won't notice, and if she does, that she wont have an issue with it.

He sighs as he walks over to his friends and distracts himself with the artworks in front of him.

~MC~

MC is still looking at the pictures Chris sent. Zooming in and looking at all the work he put into the snowman of her beloved dog. It makes her smile. Then of course, she spends some time looking at the selfies he sent. On those she really zooms in, smiling harder as she sees his face. He looks happy, but then… there's something else there. He almost looks apologetic.

She frowns as she ponders why that might be, then she realizes as she scrolls that she missed a text from him earlier. MC immediately feels bad, realizing that he may have thought she was ignoring him after his abrupt departure during their call earlier in the morning. She knows he was already feeling awkward about that conversation, making herself frown.

She wasn't mad or upset about that, at all. Actually, it was more of the opposite. She felt… flattered. There was something about knowing that he wanted her, yet was sticking to his word and giving her control over what they did and when. It helped her feel more and more comfortable around him, knowing that he wasn't going to try anything. She used to think she could trust him, and now he was proving it, making her feel comfortable with the idea of them as exactly that… them.

MC starts typing an apology for missing the text. ‘Sorry, I didn't see your text earlier. I'll be there at midnight. Don't forget about me.’

But before she can hit send, his reply to her thank you for the Snow Max comes through.

‘Anytime baby’ Her breath catches in her throat as she reads it, and rereads it, and rereads it. “Baby…”

He said called her ‘baby’, again. It makes her wonder if he did it on purpose this time. Her body begins to tingle at the thought. After the way he was talking this morning, she hopes it is intentional, the idea becoming quite trilling to her. However, since she isn’t sure, MC decides to send her previously typed response and wait to see if he does it again.

Only a second passed before he sends his reply. ‘Impossible’

She grins and grabs Max, hugging him tightly. She loves her dog, but she can't deny that she’s wishing it was Chris she was hugging instead. Max doesn't mind.

Hours pass as she visits with family members on Christmas Eve. Her mom made a big dinner and invited her Uncle and his family over to join them. Basically the same thing they do every year. She had a great time playing with her cousins and joking with her Aunt and Uncle, but she was eager to talk to Chris. She can’t stop her curiosity from growing all evening, needing to know what he has planned.

Eventually her Uncle’s family leaves, his kids passed out and slung over his shoulders as they walk to their car. She hangs out with her parents for a while, watching different Christmas Specials that are playing such as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Frosty The Snowman, and Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. The last is her favorite. She wonders which special is Chris’s favorite, knowing that someone as excited about Christmas as Chris had to have at least one.

She sends out texts to all of her friends. Including the ones here, at home, and the new ones she's made at Hartfeld. Some respond right away, others take their time, but they all tell her something similar in return and share stories and pictures of their holiday. She smiles as she misses her Hartfeld friends.

Especially Zack, as she has grown even loser to him over the break through their many texts and calls. Sometimes he would ask her about Chris, how things were going with him, if he was behaving. She always picks up on his protective tone or comments, making her smile and feel beyond happy to have such a loyal friend watching her back.

As the time passes, the communications slow, eventually leaving her alone with her thoughts again. Another hour passes and she leans forward on her spot on the couch, checking to see if her parents are still awake. When she determines that they are in fact not, she takes the opportunity to quietly creep around them and slip into her room. Max, of course, was right on her heels, being more stealthy than she ever could.

The time is 11:50 p.m. and she glares at her alarm clock, wishing for the next ten minutes to hurry.

At 11:55 p.m. she fidgets with her phone, still scrolling through FaceBook to burn the time as she looks at pictures of her friend’s holiday experiences. She sees many posted by Kaitlyn and Abbie right away, each sharing multiple albums of images. A few from Zack, Tyler and Brandon cross the screen as well making her grin at their selections to share.

However there were none from James, not that she actually expected to see any. He barely knows how to log into Facebook, forget about uploading pictures or making posts. She laughs at the visual of him struggling with the website for hours, mentally making a note to try to get him more active on the social networking site.

A loud ringing shoots out of her phone as a FaceTime requests pops up, making her jump and clench the phone tightly. “Seriously…” She grumbles, mad at herself for letting it startle her.

She quickly checks her appearance in her dresser mirror and jumps back onto her bed, sliding her thumb across the screen to accept the incoming call. Her eyes eagerly search the screen as she waits for it to connect. When it does, she doesn't see anything except his empty bed. Chris is nowhere to be seen.

A crease forms in her brow as she frowns slightly and looks around the small screen for the person she's been thinking about all day. There's no sound, so she starts to think the call is frozen and reaches to reset the phone, until she hears it. A guitar. A very familiar guitar.

She cant stop the smile from escaping and taking over her entire face. MC does however stop herself from bouncing on her bed as she continues to wait. “Chris!” She finally shouts, unable to wait any longer.

She hears him laugh, a beautiful sound she knows she would never get tired of. He comes into view then, still strumming some cords on his guitar as he settles in front of his phone. “Can you see me alright?”

When she nods he asks another, “How about the sound? Am I clear?”

He flashes her a big smile as she nods again, her eyes glued to his. “What are you up to Powell…”

He shakes his head and winks at her as he raises a finger to his curled lips, instantly silencing her. He adjusts on the bed and clears his throat as his hands find the correct starting positions. MC watches as he starts strumming a familiar sound. She feels her chest swell and pain in her cheeks from smiling as she hears his voice. It’s slow and deep as he looks into her eyes.

“I don't want a lot for Christmas. There's just one thing I need.”

His smile grows, and MC bites her bottom lip, trying to control herself.

“I don't care about those presents, Underneath the Christmas tree. I just want you for my own...”

Chris takes in a deep breath before he continues, his eyes looking deep into hers.

“More than you could eeeever know. Make my wish come truuuuue. You know that all I want for Christmas is yooooou...”

He draws out the last word, his cheeks now tinted a slight red. He continues strumming for a minute before he misses a string, making him laugh as he stops, “I told you I need more practice…”

Chris bites his cheek and focuses again as he picks back up where he left off, his hands moving around hesitantly on the guitar.

“I won't ask for much this Christmas, I won't even wish for snow...”

They both start laughing at that, each having at least 12-14 inches on the ground outside already. He quickly clears his throat and continues.

“No I'm just gonna keep on waiting, Underneath the mistletoe...”

He turns his head and looks behind him slightly before turning back to flash her a huge grin. That's when she sees it. Chris had pinned a piece of mistletoe to the wall behind him. She breaks into a huge gaping smile, making sure to keep quiet as she happily watches his actions.

“There's no sense in haaaaanging stockings”

His voice gets a little husky as he raises it slightly, closing his eyes as he emphasises the words with more feeling.

“There upon the fireplace… cause… Santa he won't make me happy, With a toy on Christmas day.”

He looks at her with a sad but cute pout as he shakes his head. She covers her mouth as she smiles, making herself stay quiet so she can hear.

“I just want you here tonight...”

He nods with much enthusiasm and looks around the room quickly with a ridiculous grin as if he was searching for her. MC squeaks as a single laugh pushes its way out between her hands.

“Hooooolding on to me so tight!”

He closes his eyes as he says sentence with force, his jaw clenching as he shakes his head and lifts his shoulders, pretending she was there doing just that. MC bites her thumbnail as she watches his antics.

“Girl what can I doooooo…”

He opens his eyes and stares into hers as he stretches the sentence out.

“You know that all I want…” He pauses, tilting his head down and lowering his voice slightly. “...for Christmas is…” A smirk appears on his lips, “...you”

Chris loses his place as he stares at her and starts laughing again as he lightly smacks the body of his guitar with mild frustration. “Ugh, okay I really need to practice more…”

He laughs a bit more and shakes his head before continuing, looking up to lock his gaze to hers again, his expression is back to performance happy as he flashes her big smiles.

“And all the lights are shining, So brightly everywhere. Aaaand the sooooound of children's Laughter fills the aiiiiir. And everyone is singing...”

He shrugs as he gestures to himself in a humorous way.

“I can hear those sleigh bells ring~ing...”

Chris nods and scrunches up his face as if he's at a metal concert. MC starts laughing and bobbing her head with him. His expression changes as he quickly tears his eyes away from MC’s and looks down at his hands before he sings the next lines.

“Santa won't you bring me the one I really love, Won't you please bring my baby to me~eeeeeee….”

MC feels the butterflies as they come back in full force, making her stomach do flips as her eyes move back and forth, waiting for him to look up again. She swallows, then a second later he does the same before slowly raising his eyes back to meet hers.

“I don't want a lot for Christmas, This is all I'm asking for. No I just want to seeeee my baby…”

His neutral expression turns into a tiny smirk as he sucks in a deep breath and crushes his eyes closed, his voice becoming louder and more intense as he grinds out the next line.

“Standing right outside my door!”

His eyes slowly open and lock on hers, his expression almost pleading.

“I just want you for my ooooown… More than you could ever knoooow”

Chris gives her a soft warm smile and nods faintly as his pleading eyes stay on hers.

“Make my wish come truuuuue, You know that all I want..” He takes a deep breath, not breaking eye contact, “...for Christmas, Is yooooou…”

His cheeks rise higher as his smile grows. MC feels her face flush and her lower body tingle with the look he's giving her. His voice grows softer as he slows down his guitar.

“Is yoooou….” He strums the last few cords and lets out a small nervous laugh after it becomes quiet again.

~Chris~

Chris leans back a little, stretching his back from its folded position around the guitar as he looks away for a moment. He suddenly feels very self conscious as the silence takes over. He finally gets up the courage to look back at the screen, and is pleasantly surprised.

MC is searching his face, her eyes moving all over as he shifts awkwardly on the edge of the bed. He gives her an anxious grin, and laughs through his nose, unsure of what to say.

Thankfully for Chris, she takes care of it and speaks first. “I wish I was there…”

He lets out a huff of air, making his bangs move a little with the force of it, before he runs his right hand through the tousled mess. Chris clears his throat again and rubs the back of his neck as he watches her, his voice a little shaky and unsure. “Yeah… me too.”

She presses her lips together and gives him a small demur smile. “Merry Christmas, Christopher.”

His eyes crinkle at the corners as he gives her the biggest smile. “Merry Christmas, beautiful.”

She playfully arches an eyebrow. “What, no ‘baby’?”

He blanches for a moment, sucking in a breath as his mouth falls open. He sees her grin grow and he recovers with a warm smile, his confidence in full swing. “I thought you liked beautiful…”

She laughs softly. “I like them both, actually.”

He laughs through his nose and nods. “Well, then… baby...” He pauses and places emphasis on the last word, looking up at her with his head tilted down. “...have a good night, beautiful.”

#chris x mc #chris powell x mc #TheFreshmanChronicles #Chris Powell #Christopher Powell #The Freshman #the sophomore #choices #choices fanfiction #choicestoriesyouplay #choices stories you play #thefreshman #thesophomore #choices the freshman #choices the sophomore #choices the junior #tf/ts/tj

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maxattack-powell · 7 years ago

Text

The Freshman 1-11

Book 1-11

Chapter 11: The Birthday Girl (Part 1)

Masterlist - go here for other chapters and related original fics

Disclaimer: The following are fics (adaptations from actual game chapters AND original works) to Choices: The Freshman and The Sophomore stories. It is a fictional adaptation. I (we) do not work for Pixelberry Studios, the game developer or own the rights to the characters Chris Powell, Nicole or any other IN GAME character. All of the ORIGINAL characters, storylines and events were developed for my adaptation of The Freshman story.

Basically, I wanted to include certain things that weren’t really full fic size worthy, adding to the story. However, I did add some full size fic moments also… some are included in cannon chapters, some are their own full chapters in between. I wanted to see MC and Chris through their freshman year… with more angst, fluff, sweetness, real life and overall detail. So, if you like that pairing then you’ll be satisfied, otherwise sorry James & Kaitlyn fans lol. I even added some parts from Chris’s POV, so that we have a chance to see what he’s thinking, knowing what she experienced.

There will be ADULT and/or NSFW moments in certain chapters - this is a warning lol. I will try my best to make it obvious as it occurs…

Paring: MC x Chris

POV: ~MC~ or ~Chris~

~MC~

It's a few days after the Sorority Ball. MC stretches under her covers, her toes curling as she wakes up. After a few minutes of rolling around for different stretch angles, she gets up and digs around her clothes to pick something to wear. She throws on a casual sundress and heads to the bathroom to fulfill her daily grooming routine. After a few minutes of primping, she emerges and heads to the shared living space. Just then Kaitlyn pops her head out of her bedroom doorway. "Hey MC!" MC frowns slightly. "Hey Kaitlyn..." Kaitlyn's previous smile falters. "Whoa, you've got some serious sad face going." "Yeah, I’m about to tell Vasquez about what happened at the sorority party." She takes a deep breath. Kaitlyn grimaces. "That bad, huh?" She sighs. "I have a feeling Vasquez isn't going to like that I'm not in Kappa Phi." "Aww, well... cheer up! I'm sure you can handle him. Besides, how can you be sad when we're going clubbing tonight for my birthday?!" Her excitement oozes out of her entire body. MC laughs. "That's a good point..." She waves at Kaitlyn and heads to the door, ready to face her fate. A short time later she arrives at Professor Vasquez's office, feeling the weight of her obligation more than ever. James notices as she enters and nods in her direction. "Hey MC."

"MC. Good morning. I read your summary in the events of the Kappa Phi Sigma ball..." His expression appears less than thrilled. She doesn't waver, returning his glare. "And?" "And I'm not impressed. You willfully disobeyed my orders, giving up a golden opportunity to join the most powerful sorority at Hartfeld." He snorts. She feels the hair on the back of her neck bristle. "Yeah, because they were going to reject one of my best friends And I knew Becca wasn't going to let me in. She had already made up her mind to reject me. How can you expect me to play nice with her knowing that?!” "You obviously didn't try very hard. I expect better from you." He slowly shakes his head. "Well, maybe I didn't want to join Kappa Phi Sigma in the first place!" She almost shouts. "MC, you need to look at the bigger picture here, the bigger story. A sorority like Kappa Phi Sigma provides exactly the interpersonal conflict I need for my novel!" Now she was beyond irritated. "Right. Your novel. Well, what about my life, Professor? Did you ever stop to think I might care a little more about that than providing you with drama?" He doesn't take the bait, instead raises the stakes. "What I thought is that you wanted to keep this job and stay in school. I apologize if I was mistaken about that." "Oh, so just because I didn't get you your story, you're going to threaten my scholarship? Real nice, Professor Vasquez." Unable to control herself any longer she lashes out. "Now I see why your daughter doesn't speak to you anymore." His face goes oddly still, his expression unreadable. "What did you just say?" He asks slowly. Still on a roll, unaware of the danger ahead, she continues. "I said--" James cuts her off. "MC, seriously, bad idea." "I said it's no wonder your daughter doesn't speak to you anymore!" She just about schrieks out. Vasquez's eyes narrow. "How do you even know about that?" He demands. She instantly realizes that she's gone too far, tripping over her words as she tries to think of a good response. "I... I read a letter you crumpled up. It was just laying on the floor, and--" He suddenly cuts her off, his face angrier than anything she's seen before, he points to the door abruptly, his words sharp. "Get out." "Excuse me? What about my--" Again, he cuts her off, even sharper than before. "Get. OUT." She blinks and begins to come out of her angry haze. "Seriously? Fine! You want me to go? I'm going." He scoffs at her. "Good. Don't come back." James suddenly moves to block her as she turns angrily towards the door. "Wait. Professor Vasquez... can I just say something?" He angrily clenches his jaw. "If you absolutely must." James looks him directly in the eye. "I get that you're angry, but MC has a right to be angry, too. You asked a lot of her, knowing your assignment would only make her life more difficult." His features twisted slightly then, his eyes never leaving the professors. "You know I respect you, but sometimes... sometimes you lose sight of what's important and only focus on the work." Vasquez defends his position. "Buy the work is what's important... at least to me." He purses his lips briefly and looks away from them both. "MC, you can keep your position... so long as you bring me something emotionally powerful within the week. I need something big for this next chapter." She narrows her eyes at his back as he turns to something behind his desk. "Fine. I'll see what I can do. But life isn't some story that gets exciting right when you want it to, it’s--" James steps towards her and gently grabs her upper arm, tugging her towards the door. "I'd stop while you're ahead, MC. Come on, let's talk outside." Professor Vasquez grumbles behind his shoulder. "Please. I have work to do." As they step outside James gives her an exasperated look. "You just had to bring up his daughter, didn't you?" "Don't give me that look, he was way out of line. I had to say something!" He shakes his head in disbelief. "Believe me, MC, I agree, but growing Gabriela in his face..." He rubs his head. "That's going a little too far." "Why? What do you know about her?" She frowns. "I know enough not to ask, okay? Let's leave it at that." His face is uncharacteristically angry. She lets out a large breath of air. "Come on, James. We have to make him talk to her again." She looks into his eyes. "Family should stick together. I'm sure they are both unhappy about the way things are... even if they don't want to admit it." "Yeah... if Gabriela's anything like Vasquez, she's probably the type to hold a grudge." "That why we need to give them a little push." She nods. "I do have her number, actually... Vasquez had me text her when he changed addresses. But--" "No buts. Give me the number, and I'll call her, maybe I can find out why they aren't speaking... and fix things." "Fine... But don't say I didn't warn you." He frowns and gives MC the number. She enters it into her phone and presses the call button. As it rings she begins to feel a little nervous. "She's not picking up..." "Maybe you could leave a message?" She nods and does just that. "Hey, Gabriela, this is MC... I work with your father at Hartfeld University. If you could give me a call back, is love to talk sometime." As she hangs up, James shrugs. "Well, that'll have to do. By the way... don't tell Vasquez where you got the number." He gives her a very serious look. "My lips are sealed. By the way, James... we're going clubbing for Kaitlyn's birthday tonight. I know it's not really your thing but..." She flashes him a bright smile. "...I won't have any fun if you're not there." He laughs. "Oh really? Well, I'll see if I can clear my calendar." She nods. "You do that. See you tonight." She waves at him before turning towards her dorm. After a brisk walk across campus, she returns to the suite to find Zack and Tyler waiting for her... along with a mountain of textbooks. She stops dead in her tracks. "Oh no." Zack looks up at her with a grin when he hears her speak. "Oh, yes." She pouts. "Don't say it." Tyler sucks in a huge breath before he excitedly cheers. "It's stuuuuuuuudy tiiiiiiime!" She covers her face with both hands, muffling her cry. "Noooooooo!" After an hours worth of studying, Zack pulls out his phone and looks at an unsent text. She tries to read it but he quickly jerks the phone out of her sight, causing her to laugh. "What is that? Thinking of texting a certain good-looking barista?" She gives him a playful look. Tyler throws a balled up piece of paper at Zack. "Dude, just text him already! MC, I've been watching this idiot pull out his phone and think about sending that text all day." "Whoa, when did it become gang up on Zack say? What about you, hypocrite?" He throws the paper ball back at Tyler. "When are you going to ask Abbie out?" Tyler's mouth falls open. "I'm working on it! It's... not that easy, you know?" Zack looks down at his phone and sighs. "Yeah... you could say that again." Tyler turns towards MC. "What about you? From what I hear, your love life's bed pretty interesting lately..." Zack smirks. "It's only been a couple of weeks, and you've already got two of the hottest guys on campus crushing on you! Who's it going to be, Chris or James?" She blushes, her body betraying her. "Uh, well... I suppose I'm interested in Chris. Although..." Tyler's face shows immediate confusion. "Isn't he still with Becca?" Zack shoves him. "Details, details. Am I right, MC?" He winks at her. "Sure Zack... yet things never seem to be that simple." She sighs. He nods and laughs out of his nose. "Amen to that." Tyler looks thoughtful for a moment. "I was halfway thinking you would pick James. From what I can tell, he's pretty cool." "Whoa, sounds like you made the right choice MC... otherwise you would have some competition!" Zack laughs and shakes Tyler by the shoulders. "What? He's nice, he's well-read, and I'm not gonna sit here and pretend like he's not a good-looking guy..." Tyler throws his hands up in defense. MC's smile reaches her eyes. "Wow, you and Abbie have so much in common, she was pretty impressed by him, too." Tyler swallows hard at the thought. Zack looks at MC then turns towards Tyler again. "Maybe you should start a James Ashton fan club so you'll have more opportunities to spend time with her." He officially surrenders, his hands in the air above his head. "Okay, just forget I said anything, all right? James is fine." Just then Kaitlyn comes out of the bathroom, having just finished her hair and making, Zack whistles appreciatively. "Damn! Birthday girl looking fine!" "Thanks, dork. So... are we going clubbing or what?" She addresses the three of them. Abbie appears in the hallway then, a reluctant smile on her face. "You know, I'm not really the clubbing type, but... for you, I'll make an exception." "Aw! I couldn't ask for a better present than your stubborn cooperation!" Kaitlyn laughs. "Hey, you guys already dragged me to that stupid sorority." Abbie defends herself. "I'd say I've been pretty cooperative lately." MC nods. "And we truly appreciate it. Now, are we all ready to go?" Kaitlyn raises her eyebrow at MC. "That depends... are you sure you want to wear that clubbing?" "Oh, crap! I totally forgot to change! I'll just be a second." She rushes back to her room to change. She can hear Kaitlyn yell at her from the living room as she enters her room. "There's no point in going to the club if you're not gonna go all out! I can't wait to see what you wear!" MC digs through her closet and finds her gold sequin, low cut, form fitting dress. This thing always helps her turn heads, so it seems appropriate to wear to a big club birthday bash. She quickly touchups her hair and makeup before leaving her room. As she walks back out to join the others, she poses at the hallway entrance. "How do I look?" Kaitlyn looked actually stunned. "Wow." MC wasn't sure how to take that reaction. "Wow good, or wow bad..?" Kaitlyn's face softens into a huge smile. "Wow amazing... I mean, you always look good, but that dress... wow." Zack was just staring at Kaitlyn. "Hey, Kaitlyn, when you're done drooling, can we finally get this show on the road?" She turns to him quickly, eyes laced with panic. "Zack, shut up!" Tyler awkwardly breaks their tension with his own. "Actually, before we go, I wanted to ask Abbie something..." Everyone besides Tyler and Abbie exchange excited looks while Tyler clears his throat. She looks at him innocently, not picking up on the energy. "Yeah? What's up?" "Oh, I was just wondering if you wanted to like... you know... go to the club together?" He quickly spits out. She looks at him as if he’s crazy, clearly not understanding what he was asking. "Uh, yeah, we're all taking the bus downtown. Of course we're going together." His face falls quickly. "Oh, okay..." Dejected, he heads out the door ahead of the others. "Abbie, you idiot! Tyler meant--" Kaitlyn started before Zack stopped her in mid sentence. "Never mind, Kaitlyn. Let's just go..." His expression almost matched Tyler's defeated one. A short while later they all make it to the club which was only a relatively short bus ride from their dorm. They slide into a booth at the hip club called 'Shade', a popular downtown spot.

Kaitlyn shouts to be heard over the throbbing bass. "Ooooh, this is so awesome! This is just what I was hoping for!" Tyler, obviously still not feeling the outing after Abbie's crushing response, mockingly agrees. "Yeah, its nice... and loud." She pokes at him. "Don't be a spoilsport, Tyler!" Zack decides to try and cheer him up. "Yeah, don't you like having to yell everything?" His face lightens up some, but he still isn't smiling. "It's a dream come true." Abbie cracks a smile at his comment, and Tyler grins back nervously. MC nudges Kaitlyn with her elbow and leans in to whisper. "Okay, I know Abbie was totally clueless back there, but we have to get these two together by the end of the evening. Deal?" Kaitlyn grins. "Deal. I'll consider it a personal failure if they each sleep in their own beds tonight." MC laughs loudly, but no one really noticed due to the loud music. "Oh my god, I can't believe you just said that..." Zack leans across the booth so everyone can hear him. "Isn't this great, guys? We got the whole squad in the club." Abbie scoffs. "Everyone except Chris..." Zack's face suddenly falls. "Right. I forgot..." His face turns somewhat angry. "Ever since he shacked up with Becca he barely has time for us." Tyler, ever the optimist, comes to their missing roommates defense. "I'm sure football keeps him pretty busy, too..." Zack sticks his tongue out at him. "Ugh, don't make excuses for him. I'm pissed. Aren't you pissed, MC?" "Pissed? I supposed I was a little upset… a little heartbroken." She sighs. "But Chris made his choice. Whatever was between us is in the past now." Zack frowns and looks at her apologetically. "Sorry... I didn't mean to bring him up." Kaitlyn turns somber. "Do you really care about him that much..?" MC shrugs. "I don't know... I guess not? Maybe? I can't decide how I feel anymore." She closes her eyes for a second trying to focus. Abbie gets defensive. "Listen MC. Chris had his chance. If he didn't appreciate what he had, that's his problem." "I guess you're right. Let's... let's just focus on giving Kaitlyn the best birthday ever, okay?" She gives them all a pleading look. Kaitlyn smiles brightly. "Works for me!" Just then, Zack gets up and head towards the bar. He returns with the bartender, who sets a line of shot glasses on the table in front of the group. Kaitlyn claps her hands. "I like where this is going..." The bartender winks at Kaitlyn before pouring a perfect line of rainbow shots, transitioning through a vibrant spectrum of colors before their eyes. Kaitlyn's eyes grow huge. "Oh my god. You just became my new favorite person." The bartender laughs and gives her a thumbs up before heading back towards the bar. Zack looks dramatically hurt. "Whoa, what about me?!" She sticks her tongue out. "You can sign be my second-favorite! Now... lets drink!" She pulls a shot glass from each end of the rainbow and swallows one after the other. Everyone looks on in astonishment. "Damn, Kaitlyn... what's the rush?" Abbie gives her a concerned look. Kaitlyn wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and gives an enigmatic smile in response. "I've got big plans for tonight. Need to get my courage up!" MC raises her eyebrows. "What big plans?" Kaitlyn grins but doesn't make eye contact with her. "You'll find out..." "Well, that's certainly intriguing, but don't think for a second you get to drink all of those. The Zackster is ready to get it on!" Abbie gives him a deadpan look. "'The Zackster'?" Tyler let's out a hearty laugh. "Is the Zackster going to text Brandon like he said he would? I don't see him around anywhere..." Zack's face goes pale. "Uh, no... the Zackster chickened out." Tyler gasps. "We can't let this happen! MC, if you don't do something, Zack is totally going to die alone" MC nods. "You're right. If I don't do something about this, no one will..." She looks at Zack. "Hey Zack, I'm calling him. Give me that phone." She lunges for his phone from across the table. "No, MC! What the hell!" Zack panics and tries to take his phone back, failing. "Hey, Brandon? It's MC, I stole Zack's phone." She smiles at Zack while he stares at her wide eyed. Oh the phone, she can almost hear him smile. "Well, at least someone's using it, right? He hasn't even texted me since I gave him my number." She laughs. "Yeah, he's weird like that. That's why I'm taking matters into my own hands." She winks at Zack, causing him to gulp. "Were all downtown at Shade... and we'd all love it if you would stop by. Oh and Zack won't shut up about you." Zack's mouth falls open. "MC!" Brandon hears him and gives a small chuckle. "Yeah? Maybe I'll stop by. I just gotta close the café for the evening, and I'll be right over." "Sounds great. Can't wait." She hangs up the phone and tosses it back to Zack, smiling triumphantly. "He's on his way." Zack about falls out of his seat. "What?!" Tyler laughs and howls. "MC wins this round!" The color finally starts coming back to his face. "Really? It kind of feels like a victory for the Zackster..." He let's out a long held breath. "Now we just need to get you a date, Tyler." Just then, as if she was waiting for those words, Leila appears at their table. "Hey, guys!" She gives Tyler a squeeze on his shoulder. Abbie bristles at the sight. Tyler chokes on his drink. "Hey, Leila! What are you doing here?" "Oh, just out with some friends. You know, I've never actually been to a club before... unless you count gaming lounges!" She laughs at her own joke. Abbie lightly snorts and wrinkles her nose. "Pretty sure those are totally different..." "Oh, hey... Addie, right?" Leila briefly looks in her direction. "Actually, it’s--" Abbie begins, but Leila isn't actually listening anymore. "Listen, Tyler... I didn't exactly bring a date, and I just so happened to overhear the conversation you guys were having..." She looks expectantly at Tyler, who studiously avoids eye contact with Abbie. "Uh... yeah! Yeah, I didn't bring a date either. We could... hang out, I guess?" Tyler stumbles through his response. She smiles warmly at him. "I'd like that." She sinks down in the seat next to him. Abbie goes rigid. "MC, Kaitlyn, I think I need a drink. Bar?" She immediately stands, avoiding Tyler's gaze on her. Kaitlyn looks confused. "But we have all these shots right here..." "Bar. NOW." She doesn't wait for their reply and takes off to the bar. MC's eyes go wide as she jumps up to follow. "Okay!" Kaitlyn joins her, leaving Tyler, Zack and Leila at the booth. Feeling the tension, Kaitlyn slowly begins speaking. "So... what's up Abbie?" Abbie's face scrunches up with anger. "You know what's up, you guys have been teasing me about it since we moved in." MC sighs. "Tyler?" Abbie huffs. "Duh! I know I'm not, like, super outgoing or flirty or whatever, but he had to know how that'd make me feel!" MC raised her eyebrow at her. "Abbie, I'm not sure he did. Tyler literally just asked you out before we left, and you shot him down!" Abbie looks at her as if she was speaking another language for a moment, then suddenly her face changed all together, into a mix of realization and panic. "That's what he meant? I thought he was just being neurotic about carpooling or something..." MC frowns. "Yeah... that's not what he meant at all." Kaitlyn finally pipes in. "Besides, the only time I've seen you act like you're actually interested in him is when Leila's around..." Abbie looks like someone just struck her. "You mean when I insult him and storm off?" Kaitlyn grimaces. "Well... yeah." Abbie sighs, a distraught look covering her face. "I know... I just... I don't know how to say how I feel!" "Well, why don't you practice on us?" MC offers. Abbie gives her a questioning glance. "You mean like, roleplaying? Ew, no thanks." Kaitlyn nudges her. "Come on, it'll be fun. Just... pretend MC is Tyler. Leila's disappears to get a drink or something, and it's your time to strike." She gives them both a weak glare. "Okay, fine... this is stupid, but fine." She takes in a deep breath. "Ahem. Hey, Tyler. Listen, there's something I want to talk to you about, and it has to do with, uh--" Kaitlyn interrupts her, her hand making a chopping motion between the other two. "Cut!" She turns to Abbie. "Way too much mumbling, and your body language was totally frigid. You've gotta be sexy and confident. Go after what you want." Abbie's frown deepens considerably. "Okay, if you're so great at this, why don't you provide a demonstration?!" Kaitlyn laughs. "Maybe I will." She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and sidles up to MC, fluttering her eyelashes. "Hey, MC. I really like being friends with you, but... I'm thinking I might like to be more than that." She reaches out and takes her hand into her own, pulling MC a little closer. MC goes along with it. "Hmmm... I'd like that." She pauses. "Wait, are we still roleplaying?" She unknowingly jokes as Abbie raises an eyebrow. "You would... really?" Kaitlyn's confidence suddenly disappears, replaced with surprise. "I mean... yes. Of course." She shakes her head as if she was in a daze. Abbie's brow furrows. "Really..." She almost questions Kaitlyn then shakes her head. "I thought you were supposed to show me how to sound confident..." MC smiles at Abbie. "Sometimes a little vulnerability can be sexier than always being confident." Kaitlyn smiles and blushes, but Abbie frowns. "Well, I'm not sure I can be either of those things... sorry Kaitlyn, but this wasn't exactly effective... also, you forgot to call MC Tyler." Kaitlyn's face goes flat. "Did I? Oops." The blush grows. Abbie sighs and fidgets with the edge of the bar. "I guess it doesn't matter anyway. I can't be 'sexy' like you, Kaitlyn. Tyler probably isn't even interested in me that way anymore..." "Whaaaat? But you're a total babe!" Kailyn exclaims. MC shakes her head. "Trust me, getting Tyler to want you is not the issue here. You could punch him in the face and ask him out, and he'd probably still say yes." Abbie glares across the club at Leila and Tyler sitting together at their booth and grumbles. "That first part sounds pretty good right about now..." MC joins her gaze. "I know. But I think you should focus on working up the confidence to actually ask him out." Abbie looks at MC with a pout. "Yeah... I know." Kaitlyn steps in, offering her support. "If you need a wingman, I'm totally game, by the way." Abbie waves her off. "No, that's all right... I'll try to tell him how I feel." She chews her bottom lip. "I just... don't know if I can do it tonight." MC gives her arm a squeeze. "It's okay to take your time... but you have to realize he might not be available much longer." Abbie sighs. "Yeah, I know. I do feel a bit better though. Let's go celebrate your birthday, Kaitlyn." Kaitlyn's former excitement returns quickly. "Yes, please!" They rejoin the group back at the booth, finding Leila's squeezed in next to Tyler, laughing at one of Zack's jokes. Zack looks up at them as they approach. "What were you guys talking about over there? Looked like things were getting kinda hot..." He smiles and wiggles his eyebrows. Kaitlyn laughs at him. "Oh, just some role playing." Tyler looks at them all in turn. "Do I want to know..?" MC contemplates. "Probably not. So, what did we miss?" Zack gives her an odd look. "Not what... who." She tilts her head. "What do you mean?" Zack points across the club to the dance floor, where Becca is tightly wrapped around Chris, both moving to the beat. Becca runs her hands down Chris's back, speaking loudly so he can hear over the music. Unfortunately, so can the rest of the group. "Mm, I like the way you move..." "Yeah, well I--" Chris gives her a bashful smile, unaware at first. He shifts his gaze away from Becca, finding MC's in the crowd. His mouth falls open in surprise. "MC!" Becca turns and glares. "Oh, wonderful..." Zack grimaces. "Uh oh. I think he saw you..?" MC gives him a questioning look. "You think?"

He gives her an apologetic shrug and she sighs loudly. "That's not all... they're heading over right now."

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