#hilariously when i looked him up on google images the first two results were of CD instead nobody gaf abt this man at all huh | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

husbandohunter · 3 years

Note

Dottore with short drabble “You only ever brought me pain and I’m sick of it.”

Something angsty pls? Thank you!

Tainted Glass [Dottore x Reader/Genshin Impact]

Synopsis: Can you escape the prison you made?

(A twisted Cinderella story. The girl was covered in cinders because she was fatally addicted to drowning in flames.)

Warnings: angst, emotional abuse, violence, death

(A/n): To be honest anon, I didn’t know what the word ‘drabble’ means until I googled it. I uh...hope you don’t mind the length :>

-----------------------

You fell back against the cold hard floor with your arms bent and head turned sideways. The stinging pain spreads across your cheek. It burns. But your mind was still trying to register what had just came into fruition.

Why?

The thought was so foreign somehow as if you could hardly believe he was doing this. But then the scene plays in your head again. You froze, your gaze enlarged and clueless while staring at the pale ground as it slowly begins to darken in the seeping movement of his menacing, haunting shadow.

"Insolent woman, you wretch!" He spat in a disgusted tone, "How dare you speak to me in such demanding manner? Have I already told you, only talk when you have something important to say?"

You didn't respond, rather you merely let the strands fall in front of your vision as you gingerly pressed your hand against the place where he hit you.

I…don't quite understand…

Dottore glowers down at your hunched form. He was never a man known for the virtue of patience. This man, the one who calls him your husband, you learned a long time ago to not meet his eyes as they would signal a hint of dominance amidst his authority, especially during moments like these. You came to feel his eyes instead, they were usually intense and full of wrath, sometimes crazed and curious while looking at his finest creations. He always loved experimenting in his labratory. After all, it was the only thing that could truly make the madman smile.

What is it that I'm missing? Where did I go wrong?

And you would do anything to obtain at least a fraction of the love he had left in his heart.

He marches onward with heavy footsteps, paying no mind to your well-being, "Tch get out of my sight. I don't have the time to entertain with anymore these theatrics."

At the sound of him leaving you darted your attention towards him, "Wait, come back. Come back, " you plea softly, "Hector…" But he ignores your call. The back of your fiance disappears behind the door and slams it with a resounding thud. He was gone. You couldn't save him.

"No," As a result, you burried your face into your palms and cried.

“I'm sorry.”

…

What is love?

Being raised in one of the most prestigious bloodlines of Fontaine, a life filled with riches since your parents were well known scholars throughout Teyvat, they provided you and your family with everything you needed. From exquisite dishes to priceless jewelry, yet even among those riches you never did find an answer to your question. They were tangibles and short-lasting, eventually leaving you with nothing until the glass of your heart was filled empty. They seemed to have cared more about their fortune along with the brightest child of their family line, your brother, a male heir, someone who fulfilled their expectations where you couldn't do so. And because he was able to give them what they wanted, he was loved.

I see, love is conditional.

Realizing that you possessed no talent to achieve what your brother had accomplished, you came to accept that you were undeserving of their love. Love was for the smart. Love was for the gifted. Love was for everything you are not. There was no place for your kind and thus you locked yourself up in your bedroom chambers along with your fragile heart where no one would try to find you, picking up the books upon the shelves and getting lost in their fantasies.

They told you many beautiful things about the world and many reasons why it was so tragic. Because they weren't real. The story begins with a princess who was a kind-hearted soul, deprived from the care of her evil stepmother and dreams of marrying a prince from a land far far away. They often end on a happily ever after with the princes finding her one true love. You've never seen anything like it. Where two people, despite the struggles they went through, loved each other unconditionally.

Unconditional love only exists in dreams.

Or so you thought to believe.

One day a man marched right at the doorsteps of your mansion. He was a student coming all the way from Sumeru Academia and had high hopes of building a business partnership with your father. The man was declined of course, you watched from the garden bushes as he was sent off back into his carriage. He stops abruptly and turns his head ajar to catch your figure, his inquisitive eyes were both striking and sharp. Like thorns of a rose that was ready to prick anyone who dares to come close. Even so, they made a very lasting impression.

Red eyes.

It was the first time that someone had looked your way.

Couple of months later, the government had arranged a grand ball where all nobles would gather and commit to building their social circle. Useless events. There was no reason for you to engage. While your parents were occupied with the latest gossips and your brother surrounded by fathers who were eager to marry their daughters to him, you snuck outside to the balcony and hid away from the crowd. Quiet at last. And as things should be. The moon was your only friend because she was just like you; half empty. Maybe that was why you still had a glimmer of hope for the other half to be filled.

Part white, you inquired, pristine and untainted. From far away it looked similar to snow.

"My, how pleasantly surprising."

While the other part was stained with black cinders.

You glanced over your shoulder to see a man leaning against the pillar. His mint coloured bangs were slicked back in a trendy fashion, complimenting the white suit he adorned himself with. The golden chains hanging around his ebony boots dangled and clanged with each step he took forward until the light finally reveals his face.

"You seem familiar," you say while squinting your eyes, "Are you the person my father rejected back in February?"

He quirks one brow and you were afraid if you had offended him. But before you could utter an apology, the man splits his lips into a toothy grin and bursts out into a maniac-like laughter. He was completely insane, you thought to yourself. Though he paid no mind to your discomfort and continued to dwell in his amusement, "Hahaha straightforward, I like it! So what if I am? Is it a requirement to be a noble for me to simply have a chat?"

"And if I may ask why?"

"Hmmm, why?" The man reaches for the balcony and presses his back there. He threw his head backward before drilling his ruby gaze into yours, "I too am not fond of annoying crowds. Those snobbish fools thinking they're above everyone else just because they have a couple of mora when that is all they are worth. It's almost too hilarious for my own good."

You could tell there was disdain in his tone. Mainly towards your father who were one of the many unkind nobles of Fontaine and was only liked because of his success. Gripping your hands upon the stone railings, you looked down at the distant trees below while the wind rustled them apart, "I can't deny that," you say dissapointedly, "It's common for nobles not to associate with lower classes as it could potentially ruin their image. Though I may not have been there but I'm sure you had much to offer in terms of your brilliance, erm, Mister…?"

"Hector," Hector placed a palm on his chest with a polite bow following suit, "Hector Dufour-Lapointé. It is a pleasure to make you an acquaintance Lady (Y/n)."

"You know my name?"

"How could I not?" Hector smirks lazily as he danced around you, "I saw you before hiding behind the rose bushes back in your estate. Quite curious why you didn't attempt to say hello."

He even remembers that too. You fiddled with the fabric of your dress, "My apologies. I'm not use to socializing so much."

“Is that so? I think you're not giving yourself enough credit," he complimented while shrugging, "This is much more entertaining than hanging in that insufferably crowded room, it was an unexpected occurence to meet you here of all places. However, I must say time can fly if I'm able to enjoy myself."

You shifted away from his stare, "You flatter me. We've only been talking for a few minutes."

"I have yet to realize it then" Hector's cheerfulness remains at stance despite your gloomy response. He leans forward like a curious child and tosses you a question, "Then allow me to ask, what brings you out here Lady (Y/n)? I don't see any reason when your family are such highly respected people of Fontaine."

"I'm not like them!" You retort instantly, causing the man to glance at you with skepticism, "I mean, I have nothing to do with them and they have nothing to do with me. That's just how it is. They already have Clement after all…"

Why am I telling him this?

"Ah your brother I assume. Yes so I've heard much about his genius mind. There were a few instances where he and I collaborated at Sumeru Academia," Hector speaks as if regarding to his unpleasant memories, "Although he never said anything about having a sister."

"We're not that close. And I'm not very fond of him," you confessed bluntly.

"Neither am I," Hector agreed with a scowl, "He claims his position using the knowledge derived from history books but never tries to think beyond the norm. That ignorant mindset of his will surely be his downfall one day."

"Ignorance can lead to anyone's downfall. If they turn a blind eye to the truth, so much can be taken from them," you paused shortly from rambling too much, "That's what I read in books at least."

"As expected of your lineage," he sighs whimsically, "Such avid readers."

"Well my family prefers documents and research. I've gone through them too but I will always love reading fiction."

"Ha! Seems you really are trying to be different from the rest of your family."

Seconds turn to minutes and minutes to hours, you had already forgotten about the cold breeze despite your dress being less than ideal for the outdoors. The man, although he can be a little to blathering at times, was more than what seemed to be on the surface. At first you thought of him as someone here to take advantage of your relations to your father but he seemed so sincere when listening to your stories, so eager while expressing his thoughts and even made you laugh a couple of times. You didn't realize that the clock had already struck twelve as the guests were preparing to leave but you just weren't ready to do the same.

"Until next time (Y/n)," he takes your fingers and pressed a kiss on top of them, though you were more struck by how he addressed you without honorifics, "I look forward to speaking with you again."

A warm smile graces your lips as you cursty, "Likewise Hector. Thank you for listening to me. I know I must have taken a long time."

Hector sneered but you already learned that it was simply his way of expressing amusement, "Hardly. I was thoroughly entertained."

When your parents found out about your meeting with him, they made it clear that you would never see him again. Hector Dufour-Lapointé is what he calls himself but the real name behind this man was Hector Valliere who came from a village hidden in the west of Fontaine. Rumours said that he was chased out of his hometown by an angry mob, claiming him to be a madman conducting unethical experiments on humans. Shortly after his arrival in Sumeru, he abandoned his past identity and replaced it with a new one in order to enter the academy under legal supervision. Associating with a man of a suspicious reputation would only cause harm to your family's name. Though you could barely care much about their reputation. There was nothing for you to benefit from it.

Few weeks have passed and you evetually gave up on the thought of hearing from Hector. They were only fleeting moments, nothing more. Your routine would stay the same as you kept on plucking more books off the shelves, killing whatever time you had. However the activities you used to enjoy somehow lost it's flair and there would be a slight pain in your chest whenever you turn to a page with the princess as she is surrounded by her friends. What exactly changed? Your family still treated you the same. Did you suddenly grow bored from doing the same thing everyday? Why is it that you feel much more lonelier despite being alone for so long? It was hard to tell in a singular perspective. If only there was someone here to give you some insights on things you couldn't see…

A silver bird lands by your front window and you nearly fell out of your chair as it flapped their wings violently. A machine?! They dropped what seems to be an envelope within the thick bushes before taking off and buzzing into the evening sky. You switched off the lock and lifted the glass within a single movement, snatching the piece of paper so that the wind wouldn't blow it away. Hastily you opened it. Both curious and cautious of why would anyone send you mail in such a discreet approach.

Chère Mademoiselle (Y/n),

I can only imagine the shock of your expression once reading this letter. I'm only writing to you since I assume that your father had already told you those nasty rumours about my past. No matter. I trust that you have a good head on your shoulders to not prejudge people using such miniscule details. I wish to speak with you again. Unless you have other plans staying in that stuffy room of yours, meet me behind the clock tower at 11:00 p.m. Don't be late.

Bien à vous,

"It really is him!" The happiness spreads all across your features as you clutched the letter to your chest. For some reason, your heart wouldn't stop racing. It was a simple yet thoughful action on his part but despite how short his greeting was, every word held the weight of a thousand sparks, "I…I can't stop smiling."

And without hesitation, you prepared to leave. No one noticed your absence.

-------

It was only halfway where you realized that Hector didn't give many details redgarding why he planned this sudden event. You caught sight of him standing under the roofs with his hands hidden behind his back. He had on his signature lopsided grin, brows uneven as he glanced at you casually.

"How very punctual, were you so eager that you couldn't wait?" He teases.

"I was surprised when your bird knocked upon my window," you inform, "Is it something urgent?"

"Not at all. I merely wanted to catch up with old times," Hector tilts forward to emphasize his suggestion, "Care to indulge me for a bit?"

You crossed your arms, "Then what is it that you're hiding behind your back?"

"Hmm?" He hums, "You mean this?"

"Ah!"

Roses. A bouquet of bright red flowers were presented to you, nicely wrapped in fabric. In the language of Fontaine, recieving them could mean multiple of things and you couldn't help but feel hesitant despite his thoughtful gesture, "Why are you giving me this?"

"Is it so wrong for me to be a gentleman? I thought it would be best to prepare you a gift after you put all that effort to come out in such a late hour," Hector mused to himself, "Especially when you had to make sure no prying eyes would catch us."

You let out a small laugh before accepting the bouquet, "I wouldn't go as far to say that."

"Oh?" Although it was hard to see, Hector managed to catch a glimpse of your flushed cheeks hidden behind the flowers. A darken smirk climbs onto his face at the inviting thought of what it could mean, "Tell me more."

The whole night you both spent walking around the empty plaza with only the stars as your guide. They paved a silver path reflected in the horizon above, free flowing like one of the many watercolour paintings hung in your chambers, uncertain where they may lead but you followed them regardless. If it weren't for Hector's inivtation you might have never known about the parts of your city due to the restricted lifestyle you lived. He listened to every one of them. The stories you had to tell when there was no one for you to talk to and the complaints about your brother whenever he wanted to snitch on your actions just to get the praise out of your father. You expressed your frustrations when speaking about your incompetences, joy after reading a good fairytale book written by your favourite author, there was so much to say that you were worried if Hector soon grew tired from them.

"Go on. I'm listening."

And your heart flutters again. Suddenly everything felt so light with each step you took, it was as if you walked across the stars in the sky rather than the heavy pavement of the ground you called your home. But even if happiness was a bliss, it tormented you. Because companionship made you realize how poor your were all along. That you had everything yet you had nothing, slowly withering away like the roses you held in your hand. Convinced that your existence was worth nothing more than nothing itself. Doomed to be dismissed and forgotten. Rotting away...Hector stays by your side as you cried softly into the night.

From a distance the bell rings and echoes just like the time before during Fontaine's grand ball. Hector shows you a secret route so that no one could find you.

"Will you write to me again?"

The request was so innocent, purely from genuine intentions and devoided of anything he had in mind. Hector would always laugh in these situations when things have gone unexpectedly yet pleasingly his way but held back knowing that it would be foolish to waste such a priceless opportunity. And so he gave you his smile, one full of secrets where you had mistakened it as a promise, "Of course my dear."

Every night you could no longer fall asleep since he had occupied your thoughts completely. Sometimes you'd dream of him and their tales would unfold similarly to the ones you have read. It gone to the point where the maids would have to wake you up during late afternoons due to the dramatic change in your sleep schedule. Though, you didn't care what they did to you. As long as no one found out about your secret rendezvous.

You never thought that there'd be a day where you would voluntarily give up reading your beloved fairytales. They were now replaced by a stash of his letters that have been accumulated over the past few months. You read them each day, pacing back and forth within the walls of your room, whispering his sentences as if he were the one saying them to you. He made you feel special. You were addicted to this feeling. Eventually you managed to memorize his words by heart.

The pages of your diary were filled with notes. Like your very own fairytale carved into reality. From the rose petal, now dried, to the hairpin he snatched from a distracted merchant and a single strand of his hair you found within your cloak after a warm embrace, all of these items, a remnant of the man you loved were taped up in these pages. Sometimes you could even feel his prescence because it was all you needed. It didn't matter if Clement threw insults about how worthless your existence was, your parents could lock you in this prison if they wanted to but they shall never take away Hector from you. Never. You swear it. He was your whole world and the prince who saved you from a life made of aching emptiness. You would do anything to keep him by your side. Anything to gain his affection.

Anything.

"I had a feeling that you were the culprit dear sister."

Your arms stutters as they clutched tightly on the scrolls you took off from the shelves. The light crept into the room like arms reaching out to clutch around your ankles, warning you for trespassing. You turned around dreadfully to see Clement pressing his shoulder against the doorframe with his arms folded and a wicked expression aimed at your pitiful state.

"Why…Why are you still awake?" You say in disbelief, "I thought everyone was asleep."

"Please. Not only are you shameless but hypocritical as well. You truly are a dissapointment to our family."

"Wait," taking a step forward, you stopped him before he makes his exit, "I'll put them back. Just don't tell father about this."

But like your parents, your brother was unkind. Clement doubles over and hugs his torso, cackling through his teeth, "Is that how it is?" He swipes his arm up and you see a parchment paper held between his fingers.

"No!"

"Ma chérie (Y/n). I must say all this tenacious effort of sneaking in my letters to your window is becoming more and more tiresome. But of course, you are an exception. I want the scrolls you've mentioned the other day at my lair tomorrow evening. Make sure no one discovers this. I'm counting on you. Cordialement! Hector."

"No…" you whispered, feeling the weight of the world fall upon your shoulders as it shattered apart. Hector. If possible, you hoped that the pieces could just crush you right then and there. Your knees felt weak and a fright takes over but despite your turmoil, Clement didn't show a shred of sympathy.

"So this is why you've been acting odd lately. Pathetic," he flaps the paper tauntingly in his grasp, "I can't decide if I should be impressed or baffled by your actions. A secret romance with a criminal and the bloodline of Fontaine's most respected government associates? Even though you've hit rock bottom, you still decided to dig deeper."

"Clement you don't understand!" Stumbling upon your footsteps, you desperately tried to convey your predicament even if it meant feeding his ego, "Hector is not the man you think. He was shunned by the people of his hometown, treating him as if he were nothing. They…They ignored him! All this time he needed someone to recognize his brilliance, someone to understand." Shakily, you brought your tensed arms to your chest and screamed a silent whisper, "Someone to listen but no one did. He must have felt so alone…"

Clement flinches when you suddenly clutched onto his biceps. When he looked into your eyes, a shiver ran down his spine.

"Hector is counting on me. I'm the only one who can save him. No one else. He needs me Clement, he needs me!"

"Tch."

An ear-splitting scream of his hand against your face echoes across the room. It knocked you out of your stance and you bumped into the table, grunting while the scrolls to tumbled to the floor.

"Crazy woman, I'm embarassed to be related to you!"

While you were still trying to regain your balance, your brother had already ran off. It wouldn't be long before he alerted your parents, the clock ticking away like sand until the final hour leaves you with nothing but an empty glass.

"No," despair swallows the strength away from your legs and you crawled towards where he used to stand, "Don't take him away from me…I need him…"

I can't live without him.

Tears begin to form by the corners of your eyes as you clenched your teeth. This was no time to cry. Balling your fists, you sprinted out of the room, pushing whatever stood in your way as if you were running for your life.

And if you considered everything else, it wasn't that far from the truth.

-------

"Hector! Hector are you there?" After arriving upon his house, you began knocking on his door aggressively. The lock clicks and you were greeted by an evidently annoyed man gnawing his teeth together.

"Tsk. There better be a good reason-"

"They're coming for us! We have to go. Now. Before it's too late. My father is probably already waking and making arrangements for you to-"

"Enough, I can't even catch what you're saying," He pinches the bridge of his nose while you were still stuck in a frenzy state. He takes a step back and opens the door wider, gesturing for you to come inside, "Get in already. I have a feeling that this will be a long night."

Hector observes intently at the words you tell him.

Not out of concern but akin to the way he watches the insects react when he exposes them to a different environment.

He was a scientist after all. A madman in which you deliberately fell in love with, so much to the point that he was able to feel pity for once. How you trusted him wholeheartedly with all of your vulnerabilities, emotions and secrets like handing him your parts just so he could put you back together again. Tinkering was always one of his favourite hobbies and he couldn't help but feel a twisted sense of pride at the thought of you being completely wrapped around his finger.

Perhaps that was the reason why he loved you. Because he didn't love you. He loved you in parts.

"It was only a matter of time," Hector sighs. He sneaks his grasp into yours, knowing how much it affects you and puts on an invisible mask of deciet, "I already knew this day would happen long before anyone could have predicted it."

"You did?" With worried eyes you gazed at him, "What shall we do then?"

Knowing he hit the target, his lips begin to curl up towards his ears, showing his sharp white teeth that shone against the dim-litted room. Hector asks, "Do you love me?"

A silly question. You didn't hesitate to answer, "Of course I do. I've said it many times."

"Prove it to me," Forcing his forehead against yours, Hector commands in a dangerously low tone, "Kill your brother and only then you can truly be mine."

Your brain sutters, trying to absorb what he had just said. Kill? As in to take a life? It sounded wrong. But...was it wrong if the life belonged to someone who ruined yours?

Dumbfoundedly, you glanced into the bloody orbs of your lover, his black pupils thinning into knives while burning in the hellfire of his true colours. Hector runs a hand from the scalp of your hair, down to your cheek before gingerly sliding his fingers at your jawline. He pulled you close and whispered into your ear.

"Are you scared?"

Ah, this wasn't about your feelings. This was about him and your future and there could be no future you without him by your side.

You let your eyelids drop and leaned into his touch, "I could never be scared of you Hector. Whether it is within my power or not, I will make sure no one gets in our way. I swear it."

"Good," he continues to have you feed on his affection, "I knew I could count on you."

-----------

The news of your brother's death filled every headline Fontain had to offer. He was driven off a cliff while making a trip towards Sumeru. No one survived. The remains were so crushed to the point that authorities had trouble identifying their bodies. The only explanation they could come up with by observing the leftover tracks was that the horse must have gone out of control and ended up dragging the carriage along with it.

Ha. Serves him right.

Food poisoning. The vial Hector made was very effective. You made sure to bury it away from your mansion.

With no other choice, you became your family's next heir. Hector notifies you that he would be away for several months to solidify a unique connection with a man hailing from Snezhnaya. You didn't think he would arrive at your doorsteps with so much authority. Fatui soldiers followed from behind as the staff paved a way for them to enter. Your father was clearly displeased by his outrageous approach but he knew he was in no place to deny.

"Upon the agreement between Fontaine and Snezhnaya, Lady (Y/n) will become Harbinger Il Dottore's wife," the Duke announces, "This news will be publicly announced at the end of October."

Dottore? Is that what he calls himself?

As if claiming his victory, Dottore shoots your father a devilish smile. You could feel the dining table shake when he kept pressing his fist against the smooth surface, begrudingly congratulating you both for the new engagement. Your mother bursted into tears.

Was it worth it?

You watched both of your parents mourn silently in their own manner. Perfectly knowing that you were the main cause. But you weren't able to feel any sadness because in the end, you now had everything you've ever wanted.

The inheritance.

Their attention.

But most of all, him.

And when you were convinced that this was your happily ever after, that fairytales were not just beautiful lies for the sake of comfort, you didn't realize you were already living a life made of beautiful lies conjured by your own mind for the sake of your own comfort.

"You're nothing without me."

Dried and calloused hands squeezed around your throat as you flailed your legs against the soft fabric of the carpet floor. He encases you in a straddling position, enjoying the sight of your tortured and clenched face. Hector…no, Dottore hated it when you disobeyed him. He despised it when his creations don't work the way he wanted them to and he had no use for things that are broken.

"G-hka--k..-"

"How many times do I have to remind you to not use my birthname. Do those ears of you even function properly? Or must I fix them myself?"

You gasped for air when he relaxed his grip. Vision a blur, you coughed a few times before he pulls your arm so that you lay flushed against his chest.

"Don't forget who saved you dear (Y/n). Because of me you were able to escape that miserable life you've despised for years. I expect the utmost gratitude on your part at all times, it is only fair that I punish you for not meeting my requirements, don't you agree?" Dottore lifts his hand up to pinch your cheeks, pulling your head to stare at your eyes, "After all, there is no one else in this world who can put up with you…but me."

His words were poison in which you drank like a woman starved. It made you feel numb to the pain the more you drowned in their alluring scent, the taste was sweet, a remedy for the bitterness of reality where the man of your dreams was nothing but a cruel monster. You came to believe that the reason why he treated you so harshly was because he was scared of losing you. You were caught in the trap of what seemed to be love and devotion when truly, you were just a toy to be used at a means end. He breaks you and he puts you back together, over and over again, filling in between the cracks formed in your glass heart with the phrases you loved to hear. Just like how he filled the other holes of your life where no one else did. You called it kindness. He saw it as entertainment.

Most people pay attention to the flower's beauty but they never acknowledge the thorns hidden beneath it's blossom. That is why they bleed. They get hurt. Though, you didn't mind shedding blood if it was for his sake.

Because you would do anything for him.

You would do anything to bring back the memories of Hector Dufour-Lapointé and save him from the Harbinger that ruined his life. Your life. It wasn't his fault. You knew you could change him to what he was before because you were in love with him, that he might still in there. Somewhere.

Right?

…

Please come back.

Time continues to flow like the tears of your dying heart despite yearning for it to turn at the past. Dottore already left the room a long time ago but you didn't. Raising your head away from your hands, you peered at the door in front of you, begging desperately through a chanting record of despondence.

Come back. Come back. Come back. Come back. Come back. Come back. Come back. Come back. Come back.

Images, they slipped through your fingers, slowly becoming more distant until your mind began to see them as illusions. Dreams. Things that were not real. Telling you that your life was a lie.

"Come back to me…Hector."

Because the man you loved was withering in your memories and you couldn't do anything to save him.

A dry croak robbed you of your breath as you turned to look in the mirror.

Worthless. You were always worthless, it was what your parents told you since birth. It was what you became when he wasn't at your side because without him, your existence was worthless. You lied for him, you stole for him you, took a life for him. You destroyed yourself for him to point that it was hard to believe you were even looking at yourself.

Worthless. It's who I am.

And despite it all, you couldn't obtain his love.

(Crack).

Worthless things don’t deserved to be loved.

(Crack. Crack).

But what if it’s because I’m worthless, that he won’t love me back?

(Crack).

Your eyes jolted open, causing you to gasp sharply. When the sweet lies dispersed in your head and cleansed you of deceit, everything started to make sene. You came to realize why your wish was impossible all along.

Dottore...no, Hector, the reason wasn't because he didn't return your feelings. Neither was it due to the fact that he hurt you through his actions. Nor when he made you cry or scream for help before feeding you with more lies, thinking he would never hurt you again. It was none of those things.

It was because the man you loved this whole time was someone who could love no one but himself.

"Ha...haha," sucking in your breath, a sinister laugh escapes your mouth, "Hahahahahahaha.....!"

Everything was worthless.

You grabbed a nearby hairbrush and threw it at the mirror, watching yourself shatter into a million pieces.

There was only one thing left to do.

------

"Ugh, where is it?!"

It was late into the night where every staff had gone to sleep. The Harbinger fumbles with his keys while standing at the door of his basement as he was too busy proceeding with his research rather than considering the thought of rest. Usually he acted upon them on his own will, performing various experiments for enjoyment. However, ever since the Snezhnayan court had requested him to look into the ancient arts of alchemy, Dottore was forced to carry it out before the deadline approached. Otherwise his position as Harbinger would be revoked.

"What a bunch of self-centered blockheads. Can't they understand that it take quality time to get quality results?"

Most of his important documents were stored on the otherside. Half of it came from his father-in-law's library. He had you to thank for that.

"Ah finally," he mutters, though still dissatisfied, "I should have a word with my butler for misplacing them."

Dottore shoves the key into the lock but instead of twisting the knob he noticed something strange. It was old and had yet to be fixed but somehow he didn't have any trouble adjusting his wrist. Then he saw there were a set of freshly made fingerprints upon the smooth metallic surface. However, the only person awake at this time would be him-

An intruder!

Dottore drops everything to the ground and yanks the door open. He skittered down the stone stairs while cursing under his breath. Using the delusion gifted by the Tsaritsa, the Harbinger activated his lazer-like pillars as he took advantage of their glow to light up the unlit room.

"What in the abyss...?!"

Except it wasn't dark.

"All of these scrolls, I recognize them," without sparing a single glance, you spoke nostalgically towards the bookshelves, "It brings me so much memories..."

Dottore clenches his teeth together as his eyes shone an angry red, you were holding a torch dangerously close to his hard-earned collection, "What do you think you're doing?!" He fumed, "Put that out, AT ONCE! Don't make me repeat myself!

"They're precious to you aren't they?" You finally shifted to face him, "More than me."

"What has gotten into you?" He was about to hurl at you until he saw your torch lowering, causing him to retreat. You were strangely noncholant and he couldn't help the feeling of disturbance. Accepting that he didn't have the upperhand, Dottore decided to use a different approach, "(Y/n)."

The sound of your name falls from his lips. You faltered.

"I'm sorry for what I have done. I know I was dishonourable to you, as your husband and lover, and that you didn't deserve to see me so aggressive. You have every right to express your anger, my dear. I was in the wrong."

It was only a mask. You knew it well. But seeing him with softened eyes and a tone so comforting, made you desperately wanting to run into his arms so he could wipe away your sorrows just like once upon a time. To live happily ever after.

Hector.

Dottore runs his fingers through his hairstrands in frustration and sighs, "However the Tsarista needed me to do something very important and I can't seem to fulfill her request no matter how hard I try. It angers me. If I don't finish this, there would be no place for us to stay."

"Hector..." you sniffled quietly. He looks so much like him right now.

"Can't you see I'm doing this for you?" He consoles, yet his weapons still remain, "I only intended to make you happy and there's nothing I won't do to achieve that. How about I show-"

"Enough."

Dottore froze upon your sudden command. He didn't sense a hint of subjugation and it seemed that you had perfect control of your emotions. How very inquisitive. Did you grow immune to the style of his voice? In such a short period of time? The facade he had on was now replaced with a growling animal-like expression. You looked at him dissapointedly. His Harbinger self returned. Hector was no more.

"Ha, you're the same as always. Even before the time you became a Harbinger. The same man that I fell in love with but it is me who will never be the same again," For a moment you averted your gaze as if trying hard to swallow your own words, "Remember when we first met at the balcony? That I told you my favourite books to read are fiction? I knew they weren't real but deep down, I wanted to believe in them anyways. And you know what? They did come true, to some degree..."

As the memories come flashing back, he defenselessly watches your expression contort from sadness to a calm contemplation and finally, enraged disgust, "But you only ever brought me pain and I'm sick of it!"

Swaying the torch to the side, Dottore flinches forward but he didn't dare to come close when your current state was unpredictable to him, "I JUST WANTED YOU TO LOVE ME," you wail, I just wanted to be loved, bringing a clawed hand against your forehead and trembling upon contact, "It's all that I ask for..."

Dottore narrowed his brows. Perhaps he may have gotten too far.

"But I know it's impossible. The world is a cruel place and there's no point in trying anymore. That is why I'm going to set us free."

"...What do you mean?"

You shut your eyes closed and tossed the flaming torch to the ground. A horrified expression takes over his features. It didn't take long for the fire to begin spreading amongst the room.

"NO!" Dottore yelled powerfully, he frantically darts his gaze at all directions as they continued to flicker and blend into his precious documents. You stood still and watched him grab the ones that were intact, savouring the most he could but they slip out of his arms every time he moved. Dottore glances behind him to see a rising cage of hellfire. Then he turns to you.

" 'Til death do us part!" you laughed maniacally.

The madman looked back with angry dismay, "You're out of your mind!"

Abandoning whatever he held in his hand, Dottore spins around towards the staircase. He covers his face with his sleeve and did whatever he could to prevent the fire from touching him. However, he accidentally stumbled on his footsteps and something fell off the heights, knocking him in the face. He grunts painfully.

"That will leave a scar," you smile while he clutches at his injury, "I can break you too.��

Just like how you broke me.

Knowing that you've managed to leave a mark of your existence on him in someway, you peacefully watched your lover wobble between the hell you created. But the hell you knew was not made of scorching heat and thundering flames. Hell was empty. Hell was a void. This feeling was far too gentle to be considered hell. If he can't return your love, then at least let these caging arms bask you in the warmth you’ve always desired.

Lifting your head, you looked towards the ceiling and closed your eyes.

Ah, this cannot be death.

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outlanderalien · 5 years

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@fullheartedlyprovocative

Very good point! Many people who aren’t from the UK are probably not aware of the impending disaster that is Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

I keep describing him as a clown, incompetent and overall destructive to society as a whole, but i’ve failed to go into detail. And the reason is simple: There’s just far too much to cover in a concise and efficient way. It is very literally a massive rabbit hole that knows no end.

But i should probably collate some of his more memorable moments, so that everyone can get a rough idea about who he is exactly and why we’re all dead inside.

Bojo is often described as clownish, but don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s harmless. He’s as Machiavellian as a politician can get, and he weaponises his clownish behaviour in order to cover up his corruption. He has this down to an Art.

A recent example of his perception manipulation:

During the Brexit referendum, Boris was heavily campaigning for Leave, and he infamously commissioned a big red Bus with this message on it, claiming that the 350 million currently going to EU membership will be redirected to the UKs NHS (National Health Service), this was a massive deal and fueled the leave campaign.

This was also a massive lie, and he was (rightly) hated for it.

The Bus Lie hung over Boris long after the referendum. When you’d type up Boris Johnson on Google, it would suggest the Bus scandal as an auto-complete search, bringing up countless articles on the lie that had clearly tarnished Boris’ reputation.

However, during the leadership campaign, Boris did something extraordinary. While being interviewed about his leadership bid, he was asked what he does for fun. This was his response:

youtube

Hilarious. Ridiculous. Blustering. Making it up as he went along. It quickly became an interview widely mocked across social media and news outlets. Why did he make himself sound like such an idiot? Why buses? This is why:

He is not only immune to being mocked, he has weaponised it to cover up his biggest controversies. Typing up “Boris Johnson Bus” now yields funny clips of him struggling to get through an interview talking about painting little buses. His Bus Scandal has almost been entirely pushed out of the picture.

That is only the tip of the Boris shaped iceberg.

His clowning has gotten him national and international mockery. Who can forget that time Boris (while Mayor of London) got stuck on a zip-line because he was too heavy?

Or that time that he got overly competitive in a game of rugby against kids and tackled a child.

Or that time during a recent Leadership debate where he pulled out a literal Kipper and waved it about, declaring that “we will get our Kippers BACK when we leave the EU!”

What a silly man. How completely harmless he must be.

Well while the nation struggles to get these images out of their heads, collectively we have forgotten many of his greatest sins.

One sin still hangs above him... An ongoing scandal that has endangered the life of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

In 2017 Nazanin had travelled to Iran from the UK to visit her parents, when she was detained by authorities under suspicion of coming to Iran in order to train journalists. In 2017 when Boris was Foreign Secretary and during Nazanins trial, Boris made this statement to the news:

“When I look at what Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was doing, she was simply teaching people journalism, as I understand it,”

This was considered damning evidence that was used against Nazanin. She is still imprisoned today. Her husband in the UK has been tirelessly campaigning for her release, going on a joint hunger-strike with her. Boris refuses to take any responsibility for his comments or apologise for what he has caused.

This isn’t the first or last time Boris has been reckless with his words.

Very recently, Sir Kim Darroch (the UKs (now former) ambassador to the US) suffered a memo leak, in which unflattering remarks regarding Donald Trumps presidency surfaced. The leak was unfortunate, but the comments made were not unprofessional and entirely expected from a foreign diplomat. But Trump wasn’t happy and applied pressure to the UK government to fire Darroch for doing his job. The entire UK government united behind Darroch and supported him...... well... almost the entire government. During a live debate, the final two leadership candidates were asked about the Darroch situation, and whether Darroch would remain in his job if they become PM. Boris refused to comment and avoided the question as usual. However since Boris was the favourite to win, Darroch realised he had no hope, so he resigned. Boris was cited as the main reason and was widely criticised.

Before Boris was a politician, he was a journalist. And in recent years, a very unsavoury recording surfaced from his time as a Journalist in 1990...A phone recording between him and Darius Guppy, where the two conspired to have a reporter physically hurt. (Somehow this is the only youtube video available on this...)

youtube

Boris has also been known to have absolutely no filter and speaks before he thinks. Such comments are a result of this.

He had referred to black people as “Piccaninnies” with “watermelon smiles”

In 2018 he had referred to Muslim women wearing burkas as looking like “letter-boxes”

At a conference on Libya in 2017 he claimed that the country could become a thriving luxury resort once they “cleared the dead bodies away”

In 2013 he claimed that Malyasian women went to University because they “have to find men to marry”

In 2006 he claimed that Barack Obama had an “ancestral dislike of the British empire – of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender”

All of this... and we haven’t even covered his politics yet.

This is the big reason why he’s becoming PM and it’s simple. He’s lying to everyone.

He’s promising everything to everyone. He’s promised a soft brexit to some, a hard brexit to others. But he refuses to explain how he would achieve either. He’s only now clearly settling on the side of a hard-brexit, or what’s considered a No-Deal brexit (walking away from the EU without striking a trade deal), but he has no answers for any questions posed to him.

His debating strategy, and interview strategy is to make people laugh until they forget what they asked him.

When asked "Is austerity a dead duck at this point?” he ended up rambling about ducks for a solid minute and making the audience giggle before giving a very vague and nothing answer

When debating with leadership rival Jeremy Hunt, he won over the audiences heart by interrupting Hunt with immature jokes.

After declaring that he knows exactly what he’s doing in regards to a No-Deal brexit, he tells everyone that he will follow “Paragraph 5B” of a document that will supposedly solve the Brexit crisis. He repeats “Paragraph 5B” constantly, giving the impression that he’s a man of detail and knows the entire document like the back of his hand. When asked if he knew what was in Paragraph 5C, he simply states “no” and tries to play it off like it’s funny. Without a studio audience to laugh at him, he was simply left in the silence of an astounded interviewer. This is one of the many reasons why he had avoided as many interviews as possible during his leadership campaign.

The fact is, no one knows what he really stands for, no one knows what he’ll really do. He’s a wild-card, or more appropriately, the Joker card. He seems crazy enough and chaotic enough to go through with No-Deal that people are voting for him. But so many people are going to be disappointed. This is a man who says he’s always wanted to be Prime Minister ever since he was 15. He wants power for the sake of power. And for some reason, the Tory party are handing him that power.

There’s so much more to go into, but this is a good initial crash-course into Bojo, the literal clown.

#Boris Johnson #uk politics #brexit #uk #politics

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jcisthebestfightme · 4 years

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5 times gg/dd show they love each other

This is completely my own analysis. Do not take this seriously. These are just my top 5 favorite “episodes.”

1. Pancake - DD is very proud of his ability to make Chinese pancake, although he does state that he needs to buy frozen, prepared pancakes. He bragged about this 4 separate times (mag interview, ttyxs, detergent commercial, and on the surfing show). Many interesting things about his recipe: 1) He said he uses cheese and butter. Most Chinese families don’t have these ingredients. Also, this very Western style of cooking means he didn’t learn this recipe from his parents. However, we know that gg likes to bake cookies, bread, cakes, etc. so he would have butter and he also loves cheese. 2) DD said that you need to add butter at the end when the pancake is almost done. If you know how to cook, you would know that it’s because butter has a low melting point so you add it quickly at the end to give the pancake flavor and color. I doubt a person that didn’t know you need to wait for water to boil to cook noodles will instinctively know this. And this is pretty high level knowledge and only people who bakes will know. 3) DD said that the pancake is easy but you need to add fried eggs and bacon to it. He said this part so casually that it sounds like someone prepared those for him and he just added it to the pancake. My conclusion is that he just heats up the frozen pancake and gg prepared all the other stuff for him. But dd thinks he “cooked” it so he loves bragging about it and I think that’s hilarious. Also, what makes someone who notoriously is known for not knowing how to cook suddenly so happy about being able to make 1 dish?

Easter egg: if you Google or Baidu “溫婉居家” (meaning homey, a phrase gg always use to describe his ideal partner), the picture of dd pops out as the first image result.

2. “Dead duck mouth hard” - This is the literal translation, an idiom meaning someone who is unwilling to admit they’re wrong. What is interesting here is that gg said that he says this phrase to JC a lot but he doesn’t want to say this to dd because it’s “not good” to say it to him. Why? It’s because of the word “dead.” Dd has very dangerous hobbies (motorcycle, skateboard, etc.) and gg is very superstitious. He thinks that saying any word with the connotations of “death” to dd is bad omen so he avoids it.

Easter egg: Dd is also very superstitious. He once got mad in a show because people were joking about putting motorcycle helmets on the floor, a very bad omen for cyclist. So I think he would be very touched about gg’s care for him.

3. Art museum - When dd went to London, he visited the London art museum. (He was caught on video by an international student.) Rumor has it that there was a car exhibit (with motorcycle) next door but he chose to go to the museum instead. Afterwards, he was caught talking on phone. Speculations is that he visited the museum for gg.

Easter egg: That museum has a painting “Venus and Mars.” Gg has use “Venus” to refer to dd during the BZ photoshoot and dd has use “Mars” to refer to gg (because Mars = “Zhan” shen).

4. Dance - When gg went to ttxs’s 11th anniversary, the two of them did a dance. We all know how much dd cares about dancing and he’s very meticulous about keeping to the beats. However, because of reasons (see Bombology), they have to learn this dance on the spot and perform it. Gg tries his best to learn the choreography (can see him practicing over and over again backstage, but during the performance, there was one instance where he wasn’t on tempo. What does dd do? He looked at him and just repeated the move to match up with him. During the whole performance, he watches gg and just dance to whatever speed he was on.

Easter egg: Later on during this show’s filming, audience keep asking gg to dance freestyle, which he wasn’t comfortable with. Gg being super courteous didn’t know how to refuse. Dd first came out to dance by himself to diffuse the tension. When that didn’t work, he said “why don’t he sing instead?” Dd always speaks up to protect his gg.

5. Artwork - I personally believe that artists are very truthful to their work (song, painting, dance, etc.) so I love analyzing gg’s artwork. His painting of his ideal life was one of the most romantic and domestic thing (very fitting of his personality.) It showed himself with his cat. But at the far end, there’s another person approaching him (coming into his life?) This person is a tall, slander man (?) Next to him, is a bicycle, although the shadow looks more like a motorcycle. I find this interesting because we all know gg doesn’t really know how to ride a bike so for him to include it in his ideal world is strange. And then there’s a speculation that the waves spell out “WYB”.

Easter egg: I remember my art teacher from the past teaching us to put in our names secretly in our work as an easter egg. Some fans speculate that gg’s signature is a dot (can see it in the V-day and Dragonboat drawings). In another one of his painting, (boy holding lantern), you can see the letters “WYB” around a flower and “XZ” around another flower. The shadow in the lantern also overlays almost perfectly with a photo of them from xgds. This is all speculations though.

Just thought I would share my favorite moments.

#bjyx #yizhan

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tessatechaitea · 4 years

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Cerebus #2 (1978)

Is this the one where Cerebus becomes so obsessed with feeding coins into this devil thing to receive slips of paper with his future on them that he becomes unable to make any decisions at all?

Deni's essay on the inside cover of Issue #2 mostly just points out that comic books are weird and dumb and the fans are huge nerds. She ends it saying, "Comics is a crazy business, but you know something? I wouldn't want to be anyplace else. That is if I had a choice." Six years later, her choice was to get the fuck out of her marriage with Dave Sim. Although she still published comics at her new company Renegade Press. I'm not sure what she did after she closed up shop on that sometime around 1989, I think. Maybe she realized she did have a choice and somehow got the fuck away from comic books. I am not frantically trying to find her phone number on the Internet right now asking her how she did it. I'm too busy re-reading all of my old comic books, most of which I didn't even like the first time. Dave Sim's essay about Cerebus #2 printed in the Swords of Cerebus compilation is a bloodcurdling breath of honesty. Unless I meant refreshing? Is refreshing or bloodcurdling the description used to entice people to buy gum?

You should probably figure out how to enlarge this on whatever crutch of a device you're reading this on so that you can read it because it's entertaining.

As a reader, you instinctively realize that most artists hate drawing the boring stuff in the background. Those that fill the scene in with lots of nice little details are probably a joy to work with but they're also probably insane when you realize the deadlines they're under and they can't help drawing a fiddly little tea service on an antique hutch next to a couple of exotic potted plants. You know, things that will probably need to be drawn repeatedly across several panels from different angles! But what I hadn't really thought about was how the writer part of Dave Sim was initially so lazy about writing humorous stories and dialogue. When I think of Cerebus, it's the funny moments and hilarious character interactions which I think of first. Or maybe second. The first thing I think of is Sandman Roach sucking himself off with his weird Sandman mask. I guess the main thing I learned from Sim's introduction is that I'm not going to be reading a funny issue now. Not that the first issue was terribly funny. It was much like Sim writes in this one, really. The comedy comes across in the first few pages as the readers yuck it up over a tough aardvark chopping off hands and threatening bartenders (the bartender's line where he changes up his "I won't serve you. You're a...guest! And I serve guests at their table" was probably the best line of the first issue). The rest is so solidly Conan invading a wizard's tower that you're not expecting any jokes. Although Sim tries to lighten the mood by making the wizard a bit of a bumbling, aging middle-management type who just seems tired of having his work space invaded by thieves. The narrator opens this issue describing some of Cerebus's travels since the end of the last issue. In that blurb, we get the first hints of the geography of Estarcion.

At some point, we'll get a map. But it won't matter much since most of issues 26-110 or so take place in the city-state of Iest (hell, maybe 90% of Cerebus takes place in Iest up until Guys).

Do we ever find out any more about the Blood Wars? I don't think so. Remember, a lot of the early issues are setting a sword and sorcery mood. Sim will revisit some of the characters and places in these first 25 issues but only sparingly and usually in new contexts, thus making the overall story seem more layered and fully fleshed out than it initially was.

The first issue set the mood with Cerebus bouncing around on the back of a horse as he pulled into town; this one sets a slightly different tone.

Notice how Cerebus has two swords in this picture? I think Dave remembers that at some point in the future and comments (either through The Judge or through Sim's guest appearance itself) on how Cerebus losing one messes up his future or something. It's also possible I'm remembering that wrong! But I'm pretty sure we get a short history of Cerebus's accessories and their import (his helmet, the necklace, his swords). Cerebus is captured by the Boreleans who decide to sell him to a freak show in Gurann. I don't know where Gurann is. I also don't know where Borelea is. Or Tansubal. Or Estarcion. In response to the Chieftain's plans, Cerebus curses him in Paranian. I also don't know where Parania is. Cerebus's curse is "Comne ye tama stet fegria!" It translates roughly to "You can shove the freak show up your asshole." What I'm saying is that we all now sort of know the Paranian word for asshole. It's probably "fegria." Doing a Google search of the word "fegria" and "cerebus" resulted in a blog from 2017 which planned to do a critical review of every issue of Cerebus. It made it three issues. But in glancing over the blog, I noticed a quote that was footnoted as being by Tim Kreider in an essay from The Comic Journal #301. I fucking love Tim Kreider and now I need to get my hands on that issue. Anybody have a copy they want to send me?! Before Dave Sim gets to the part of the story without any jokes, he makes this classic joke when Cerebus battles to prove himself worthy of joining the Boreleans.

Ha ha! Look at how funny the little aardvark guy looks!

Two issues in and we already see how Dave is using the fantasy setting to satire real life. Previously, he showed how easily the powerful, entrenched wizard was defeated because he was just a blowhard hiding behind illusions which made him seem more powerful than he really was. Here, we see a couple of guys quickly reworking sacred traditions on the fly to cater to their current needs. Maybe they're just jokes but they tell the story of who this young Dave Sim probably was: an atheist with a mistrust of authority, status quo, and almost certainly mainstream comic book publishers. Just wait until that young Dave Sim suddenly isn't atheist any more and has decided he's the authority of everything! Boy do those issues suck dog turds that were turded out of dogs who sucked on dog turds. I'm specifically thinking about the Latter Days explication of Genesis as a story about a lying female god's power struggle with the real, upright male God. At least I think that's what was happening. I might have slept through 85% of time I was reading it. Cerebus wins the knife fight with an unorthodox yet apparently known well enough to be dreaded Earth Pig move.

So dreaded that I don't think Cerebus ever uses it again. Granted, his snout gets much shorter and less effective as the series goes on.

I'm sorry I scanned that panel because the really good joke comes immediately on the next page where the Chieftain is all, "You're from the South so you probably have a moral code against killing an unarmed combatant which means sacred tradition will..." at which point he's interrupted by Cerebus stabbing Klog in the face. Cerebus's moral and ethical code are pretty animalistic. Probably because he's an animal? Although you can't argue with some of his wisdom when he becomes Pope. I mean, "One less mouth to feed is one less mouth to feed," is some thoughtful shit, especially after you've just thrown a baby fifty yards. Cerebus spends two days marching with the Boreleans before the army is overrun by an army of ensorcelled men. Cerebus understands magic enough to completely mistrust it so instead of fighting, he slides down a snowy cliff to escape. That was the part of the story where Dave Sim's writing persona was all, "I can't be funny any more. Let's put Cerebus in a hole where he has to deal with something serious." So now it's basically a new story. If I remember the Conan books I read when I was younger, the narrative structure isn't too far off from those. The books just seemed like a bunch of scenes that didn't really have any plot thread connecting them. Probably because they were just a bunch of short stories from pulp magazines shoved together in book form. What? You expect me to actually do research on a memory from my past instead of just speculating?! How not lazy do you think I am?! As Cerebus wanders the dark caves under the ice, he remembers an old legend about The Eye of Terim guarded by the Demon Khem lying underground in Borelea. Could this be the place?! Could he be walking into deadly danger? Or extravagant riches?! Did Dave Sim forget that Tarim was spelled with an "a" which birthed Terim later because he wouldn't admit to a mistake? Did this duality of Tarim and Terim cause him to believe the religions of The People of the Book were infected with the same duality? And when did he decide the split was down gender lines?! That last question was a rhetorical question but also one that can be answered: he made that decision when he was interviewing mothers and daughters for his story "Mothers & Daughters." At that time, he realized women he didn't want to fuck were vapid and uninteresting. His conclusion was that this was an issue with women and not an issue of self. I guess his reasoning was "I don't want to fuck men but I find them interesting therefore women must not be interesting!" Don't worry! According to Dave, that's not a sexist conclusion. It's a completely rational one because he's a man and he came to it.

Cerebus climbing down a pillar of faces, descending deep into the Earth. Later, he'll do the exact opposite. I don't mean to suggest it means anything! It's just a nice callforward!

This is only the second issue and Dave is already using the comic medium for all its worth. The pillar remains static so he's able to split the image into panels which then allocate separate time intervals. You can tell he's a long time fan of comics. We learn that the Eye of Terim is the "most precious of the five spheres of the Gods." So now we know there are five spheres of the Gods. What are they for? Where are they? Will Cerebus pursue more of them? Or will he just be told about them later when he goes into outer space? Probably that last one. Cerebus does utter an oath to Tarim so Dave probably finally remembered how he originally spelled it but only after inking the previous pages. Remember the essay from last issue that you didn't read? He described his process of fully completing each page before moving on to the next one. So now he's got a problem! The better solution would probably be to fix the previous errors. But that's a solution that takes more work. An easier solution is to suddenly decide that there are two confusing Gods with pretty much the same name only they're pronounced differently. How are they pronounced? I don't fucking know. Comic books aren't audio! Look, I'm a cynical dick! It's entirely possible that Dave Sim had already decided that Terim was the name of God in the North and Tarim was the name of God in the South and that was what caused so much strife. I could give Dave the benefit of the doubt on this. I suppose I will although it's less fun to believe Dave knew what he was doing than to pretend he's made tons of stupid mistakes.

It turns out the Eye of Terim was actually a succubus trying to trap prey.

Maybe Dave Sim is a genius who, from Issue #2, was already working toward his "Mothers & Daughters" themes and his Tangent essay! Here we see a woman lying in wait to steal Cerebus's soul and tempt him from his righteous path of reason! I'd say this is technically the first female character in Cerebus and it's kind of ideologically on point with the rest of the series! Also, we learn aardvarks don't have souls. I think that's the really important bit. I can't leave this bit yet! Look at how the encounter is worded: "For the first time in centuries a prey has broken the succubus' spell -- has seen it in its original form." It's as if Dave is saying, "See? I'm the first guy to have noticed that these hot women aren't just hot women! They're traps! I mean Cerebus was the first to see it!" And as the succubus becomes unable to destroy Cerebus's mind and reason and rationality, it becomes desperate. It becomes emotional! It screams and rants and raves! Wow. I didn't think I'd have to deal with Dave Sim's philosophy about the Marxist/feminist/homosexual axis for at least another hundred and fifty issues! Maybe I should just pretend I'm reading too deeply into what's basically a Dungeons & Dragons encounter. Cerebus tumbles in the dark and awakens lying in the snow next to the Eye of Terim, now just a plain iron sphere. He notices he's amid the dead of the battle and realizes the ensorcelled men were victims of the succubus who have now been freed. I guess the succubus died when it tried to suck the soul of a soulless creature*. *Necromancer's Compendium. Page 63. Maybe this story was how Dave Sim eventually saw his magnum opus: he was Cerebus trying to free the minds of all the other men who were ensorcelled by women! You might not agree with his message but if he had it since Issue #2 and continued on to Issue #300, you can probably maybe say at least one small, positive word about his sticktoitiveness. That's a hard word to spell. I'm going to write and draw three hundred issues of a comic book about how difficult it was to spell that and then the trauma of knowing it was spelled right but Spellcheck insisting that it's not. I'm reading the bi-weekly version of Issue #2 so along with the Aardvark Comment letters page is this note from Dave:

So even when he was an atheist, he had the guilt of a religious person.

In one of Dave Sim's fake letters, he brings up how the plot of Issue #1 was quite similar to Robert E. Howard's Conan story, "Tower of the Elephant." So Dave Sim uses a fake name to call himself out on borrowing bits of a previous story? He also answers the accusation by saying, "Yeah, I read it a long time ago so I guess some of that stuff stuck in my head." I guess this is something Dave and I have in common: we often have lengthy conversations with pretend people about our flaws. Dave also asks himself why Cerebus always swears by Clovis. Apparently that was the pen name of his wife Deni's brother. Mystery solved! Hopefully in a future letter, Dave will explain why he has Terim and Tarim! Cerebus #2 Rating: B. Another solid B in that the art is still that of a somewhat better than amateur artist and the writing is consistent enough to be memorable in places and not Ann Nocenti confusing in all the others. Grade B praise indeed! My main feeling when rereading the early Cerebus stories from the first 25 issues is that I'm eagerly anticipating "High Society" and the introduction of The Regency Elf. I also look forward to the day Gerhard arrives and the backgrounds become gorgeous works of almost certainly intense labor.

#Cerebus #Dave Sim

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michelemoore · 5 years

Photo

Takhuk

May 28, 2019

Michele Moore Veldhoen

Glow Worms, Men in Stone, Boiled Octopus, and More...

Hello, I hope you are well and heading in your intended direction!

As for me, I am enjoying the wonder of the shrubs in the nearby forest releasing their green scent, and watching a great horned owl mother guard her growing owlet.

Meanwhile, Rogerio and I have been scratching our travel itch.

Whenever we talk about where we might go next, we like to recall past adventures. We make it a rigorous mental exercise, beginning with trying to identify the actual departure date. (I’m happy just coming up with the right year.) Then, before consulting Google Earth we try to name each place we visited, how long we stayed, and what we did there. This is the biggest challenge because we are usually gone for a month or more and travel by train, car, bus, and boat to see a country or a chunk of a country.

Of course the pleasure in this re-take on our trips is remembering the details. The things we did, the human activity we observed, and the amazing natural landscapes we witnessed. Such as, on a pitch black night, finding our way through Australia’s stunning Otway Forest to Melba Gully in hopes the glow worms (not actually worms but rather gnat larvae) would be on display. Which they were. Imagine standing in total darkness, on a wooden boardwalk in a cool damp rainforest hollow (likely crawling with poisonous snakes and spiders), under a forest roof made of leaves the size of picnic benches, surrounded by millions of twinkling white lights. Above, below, and beside us, glow worms displayed their bioluminescent magic, creating a sense of floating in space enveloped by stars. A miraculous display of nature’s playfulness.

Another bright image in my mind is sitting at the top of the centre stadium at Rome’s Foro Italico, a sports complex (originally named Foro Mussolini) watching Swiss tennis legend (and my favourite player) Roger Federer perform his ballet like moves in a match against French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. While the unexpected (and dirt cheap) opportunity to see Federer had me giggling on the bus all the way to the Foro, it was the setting of the match that sent me into fits of joy. We were at the very top of the stadium which seemed as steep as the Coliseum, and the sun was just beginning to set. Decorating the perimeter of the stadium were classic Italian marble statues, all of scandalously over-sized muscular male athletes. (Not sure if Mussolini was making a tribute to himself or the Gods). I happen to love love love the marble statues of Italy, so this view of incredible male form in stone lit in all their splendor by the setting sun, along with the living version down on the court, was almost more than I could bear. I giggled so much at the spectacle the hot calzone in my hand that I had grabbed on the street on my way in became stone cold.

There are stories of hilarity too. Like the crazy bus driver (we thought he was drunk) in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, who either did not understand or did not care that in the dark night and pouring rain we could not be sure of our bus stop. Wanting to get as close as possible to our hotel, we requested the help of others on the bus to try to figure out the right corner. This resulted in several false stops, each of which caused an increase in the driver’s voluminous expressions of contempt. His shouting and cursing (I’m sure he was cursing), did not seem to be disturbing the Vietnamese people on the bus, nor even the other English speaking people trying to help us. Meanwhile, I was whispering to Rogerio that it might be better to ‘just get off the bus right now before the driver slams into a cluster of motorcycles’. But Rogerio was not to be dissuaded, the rain was coming down in sheets and we had no umbrella. (It helps to travel through insane cities like Saigon with someone raised in Rio).

As we squinted out the dirty steamed up windows trying to identify a landmark, the driver seemed to be getting angrier. Suddenly, he hit the brakes and came to a squealing halt, opened the doors, shouted and swung his arm. We looked blankly at the people around us. “He wants you to get off”, someone said. Below us on the road was a pool of water deep and wide as the bus itself. “No no!” we called out, “not here, not here!” But this time the bus driver was not to be dissuaded. With a demented laugh he yelled at us while millions of motorcycles and cars ripped by, lights flashing, and brakes and engines screeching. “Rogerio, we have to get off!” We stepped down into the shin deep lake of rainwater and ran through it and toward the nearest building before the driver could douse us in more water. We looked at each other and laughed. Our hotel was around the corner.

But on the hilarious scale nothing can top the octopus story.

Octopus is a very popular appetizer, or tapas, in Spain. On our trip to the Spanish Canary Islands, we first spent a week in Madrid, where we discovered a tapas dish called pulpo a la gallega, which is boiled octopus served in bite sized pieces each floating in delicious olive oil and sea salt, and topped with something (pimento?) to become this chewy, sweet and salty snack served appealingly on a wooden board. I have never liked octopus but learned in Madrid that when it is truly fresh and properly prepared, it can be delicious.

Octopus and all seafood also happens to be one of Rogerio’s favourite things to eat. So when he discovered on Gran Canaria Island that fresh octopus is as plentiful and cheap as bananas, he went overboard. Meaning he decided he wanted to make and eat his own pulpo a la gallega – everyday.

When we arrived at our little apartment tucked away in the far southwestern reach of Gran Canaria, we went grocery shopping. While I went about selecting the basics, coffee, bread, milk, and so on, Rogerio beelined it to the seafood department. “I’m just going to see what they have”, he said. We agreed to meet at the checkout and I tried to caution him not to buy anything complicated for dinner that night.

Twenty minutes later my basket was filled and I was in the queue waiting for Rogerio. When it was almost my turn and he still had not appeared I abandoned my position and went to the seafood department.

There he was, with the kind of childlike Christmas morning grin on his face he only gets when he has discovered something that I know I am not going to be excited about.

“Michele, look at this octopus, did you get olive oil? I’m going to make it the same way they did in Madrid!”

I looked at the case of ice on top of which lay a display of freshly caught squid and sardines and, in the middle, stars of the display, were at least a half a dozen huge creamy pink octopuses, laid out to showcase their key body part, the tentacles.

“Oh no, not tonight, please Rogerio, it’s too complicated. Let’s have something simple or just go out.”

“Don’t worry, you can relax, I’ll do all the work.”

“How much did you buy?”

“It’s so cheap I bought a whole one!”

He pointed to a man in a white apron hunched over a cutting table, working a big knife around the limp body of an octopus.

“That’s Alberto*, he’s chopping it for me, isn’t that great!”

“But you don’t know anything about how to prepare it properly.”

“Alberto gave me a lesson, no problem, you just boil it!”

I stood by, dreaming of a simple dinner of chorizo, cheese, bread, and wine, while Rogerio shouted to Alberto in Spanish something or other, and Alberto laughed and nodded as he handed over a large white plastic bag so heavy he kept one hand under the bag to pass it over the seafood case.

“My God Rogerio how many pounds is that?”

“I think maybe 6 or 7, it’s a lot I know, but it was so cheap Michele!”

“Rogerio, I am not going to eat octopus every day. I want you to know that right now.”

“That’s okay, don’t worry, I’ll eat it.”

Then he dropped the bag in my basket and said, “I’ll meet you at the checkout.”

He had gone to find plastic containers for the 6 or 7 pounds of chopped octopus we were taking home.

Unfortunately, Alberto’s advice to just ‘boil it’, was not the entire story of how to properly prepare pulpo a la gallega. However, Rogerio came up with his own twist and was immensely satisfied with his results. I stuck to the cheese and bread, and stayed out of the kitchen.

Two weeks later, when we took a three day trip to another island, Rogerio packed the two remaining containers of his now frozen because he could not eat it all himself concoction and took them with us. “But Rogerio”, I said, “we will be there only three days let’s just eat out, it will take too much time to shop and cook.”

“What, you want me to throw it out?”

And so, by car and ferry, we travelled between islands with our light luggage and Rogerio’s frozen containers of boiled octopus.

In the end, he did have to throw out some of his octopus but this did not prevent him from wanting to buy another one when we were back on Gran Canaria for another two weeks.

“If you buy another octopus I’m going out to eat every single night, with or without you.”

Fortunately, in our new location in the mountains, there were no octopuses for sale. Up in those delightful mountain villages, one must be satisfied with chicken or pork with one’s gofio and papas arrugadas and mojo picón. All of which was beyond delicious!

We have all known for decades that tourism brings economic benefits to both developed and developing countries and increases collaboration and co-operation (and therefore peace) in the world. But we also know that there have been devastating environmental outcomes from tourism. I have thought a lot about this in the past couple of years, as I watch the world struggle more and more with huge environmental challenges. The good news is that travelers are aware of this and choosing to visit countries that are addressing these problems. It seems tourism has become a key driver of environmental remediation and protection. Certainly this is the case in famous examples such as Uruguay and Costa Rica. In Africa, game parks that cover vast areas anchor that continent’s hope for a burgeoning commitment to sustainability. And then there’s home. Canada attracts millions of visitors because of our sustained commitment to preservation through our national park system. In fact, there are more and more countries seeking recognition as sustainable destinations. For more information take a look at the website for a non-profit that has been tracking these issues for years: Ethical Traveler.

Great to be writing to you, thanks for reading!

www.thetreeswallow.com

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sinsandfanfic · 6 years

Text

Can’t you see

I’m reuploading my old fics so soz for the christmas theme

Summary: it was Christmas day, this was’nt any festive holiday, it’s the day Dan and Phil admint their feelings to each other and the world.

Word Count: 1594

My phanficitons

It was Christmas day, this wasn't any festive holiday, it's the day Dan and Phil admit their feelings to each other and the world.

A small collection of youtubers had gathered in Dan and Phil’s apartment, stuffing their faces with food and dancing along to festive songs. For the past few months Chris one of Dan and Phil’s closest friends had seen Dan and Phil’s relationship grow bigger and bigger. He knew if he didn’t do something about it they would just stay friends and he believed that wasn’t what Dan and Phil wanted, but they still hid their love for each other. So he decided to consult is dear friend Pj, they both agreed something had to be done. Pj suggested truth or dare, everyone was happy to play but Dan and Phil didn’t look so intrigued. "I’ll sit this one out." They said in unison, looking at each other awkwardly. But Chris and Pj where having none of it and persuaded them to join in. First up was Marzia and Felix. "truth or dare." Marzia asked Felix. "dare.” he replied. "ok do a hand stand against the wall and sing 'we are all in this together' " Marzia giggled making everyone in the room laugh. “challenge accepted!” Felix said enthusiastically. Of course Felix did the dare and successfully did the full chorus from high school musical. But then fell into a big heap on the floor when 'attempting' to get down. Everyone burst out laughing even Dan and Phil did a little giggle. "how about me and Dan?" Pj said. He could see the fear in Dan’s eye but chose to continue. "erm, well… ok" Dan said sighing. "right truth or dare?" "truth" "have you ever made out with a man?" Embarrassment and fear cascaded over Dan and also phil’s faces. They both shared glimpses but no words. "no, no i haven’t." Phil’s face filled with sadness and betrayal. "So I mean nothing to you, that kiss ment nothing to you." "not know phil." Dan whispered, through gritted teeth. "no, I’m not going to keep quiet, when I kissed you I thought, finally i don’t have to hide my feelings inside but no you said to act like it didn’t happen that you have to think, i appreciated that thought you needed to feel ready but no you're just humiliated with me." "it’s not like that phil." "yes it is, it's exactly like that isn't it, i don’t even know why i thought you'd want to be with me the laughing the staring that fear is way more than your love for me." Phil broke into tears. Dan falls to his side trying to comfort him. " no Phil you've got it all wrong." "no i haven’t your just worried that if you come out no one will be friends with you and the internet will hate you, but it’s not true Dan wake up and see what you've got!" Phil runs out of the room crying. All eyes are staring at Dan making a blanket of heat come over him. Dan goes and sits next to Chris on the sofa. “well, that failed” he whispered under his breath. "what failed?" Dan said curiously looking up at his friend, eyes full of sorrow. "well me and Pj could see you and Phil weren't like your usual selves so we tried to reveal your love for each other" "wait... You knew me and Phil like each other." Dan questioned, confusion covering his features. "Dan this whole room knows." "you do?" Dan looked up at everyone, they all nodded. "Dan there's a whole fandom of people who think you like each other and I’ll prove it." Chris grabbed Dan’s phone soon un locking it and going on to twitter. "what are you doing?" "proving to you it’s not just you and Phil who know you like each other." Chris went onto google and searched phan proof, resulting in millions of images to load of various edits and suspicious screenshots. “see, these people spend their lives trying to find proof you are together” "I’ve made a big mistake." Dan gets to his feet and of towards Phil’s room. As he's about to open the door he can hear Phil sobbing and mutter words he can’t understand. Dan opens the door to phil on his laptop in the browsing position (of course) crying and utter the words "just fiction." Dan looked confused but soon realised what Phil was talking about. He was reading fanfiction most like about him and Dan. Dan sat beside him, the touch of Dan’s warm skin against Phil’s pale cold body made him shiver. Dan didn’t know what to say so he just sat there in silence...

Dan’s eyes flickered open, he had fallen asleep, he was laid on Phil’s lap who was staring at him. His eyes were full of warmth despite the ice blue pigment. They didn’t say a word they just laid there taking in each other’s warmth. There was no tension, no awkwardness just two anti-social boys who loved each other and nothing could change that. Dan tried to speak words of apology but Phil just shushed him knowing he was sorry. They were staring into each other's eyes subconsciously getting closer and closer now inches apart. Phil hesitated and said " I’m sorry i shouldn’t be pressuring you into something you don’t want to do." Phil started to walk to the door and open it but was closed shut. Dan pinned Phil against the wall holding his wrists tight. Dan got closer and closer with a smirk draw across his face. Their foreheads touched and Dan whisper "who said i didn’t want to?" then pressing his soft lips against Phil’s, butterflies filling his stomach. Phil deepened the kiss coursing Dan’s grip on his wrists to loosen. Phil's arms became free moving down Dan’s body to his waist. Phil broke the kiss making worry and confusion cover Dan’s face. "what’s wrong don’t you like it, am i a bad kisser?" Phil giggled taking the opportunity of Dan’s weakened grip and pinned him against the wall. "no i just wanted to say... That phan is real." they both laugh.

What felt like seconds became hours. Dan and Phil had not been seen for 1 and a half hours and not realized it. There was a knock at the door, it was Marzia! "hey guys you've been in there for ages we were just wondering if everything was ok." they both realized they were both naked and scurried out of bed and got their clothes on trying to be as quick as possible without face planting the floor (something Dan did). They opened the door and had big smiles across their faces. "sorry we lost track of time we went on Tumblr and got sucked in." "yeah ok." when they walked into the living room all eyes became attract to Dan and Phil like moths to light. Dan looked over to Phil and he nodding reassuring him. "we not gonna tell you guys anything, you noisy twats." Dan laughed trying to sound amused. They sighed in disappointment and Dan started laughing. "ok, ok I’ll tell you this, you don’t have to keep trying to set us up, Chris!" "hey i was only trying to get you guys to admit your feeling and i think i succeeded!" Chris laughed. "hey it's getting late we should go and leave Dan and Phil in piece." Marcus said with a cheeky grin. Dan and Phil’s faces turn red.

Alfie was the last to leave, with Zoë, "i expect there to be a new video out soon" Phil replied "maybe... Just maybe" he gave an innocent smirk to Alfie and closed the door. Peace at last. “My room? Dan suggested biting his lip. “Of course” Phil replied excitedly.

~The next day~ Phil's POV

I woke up to the smell of pancakes. I suddenly realised i wasn’t in my room confused i tried to search for my glasses, once successfully been able to see i realized i was in Dan’s room. The memories came flooding Back to me, like a dam had broken, but this wasn’t a damaging flood, a small wave of happiness can over me and a permanent smile on my face. I decided to go see Dan. He was in the kitchen back faced to me. This was the opportunity to scare him. Hey I’m not evil he's pulled on me before one word: hair dryer. A tip toed towards him trying not to make a sound and wrapped my arms around him shouting "what you doing?" he literally jumped out of his skin. Well not literally but close enough. I burst into laughing but could see he had a serious but innocent glare. "I’m sorry... But that was... Hilarious." I said trying to catch my breath after having a laughing fit. "you can laugh all you want but you're not getting any pancakes." i gave him a glare back. "I’m sure there's a way i can make it up to you." we were slowly moving closer together like to magnets. "Oh really?" "definitely" i giggled. I pulled him in and kissed his plump lips. He kissed back smiling with forgiveness. Dam whispered into my ear "apology accepted." we both giggled. “right i do love kissing you an' all but if we carry on the pancakes will go cold." I smiled and gave him a light kiss and went to sit down at the table. ‘I could get used to this’ Phil thought.

My phanfictions

#phanfiction #phan #dan and phil #phandom #fanfiction #fanfic

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trendingnewsb · 7 years

Text

Software Developer Shares His Worst Client Stories, And It’s Hilariously Entertaining

Those who had the “pleasure” of working directly with clients know a thing or two about how a clumsy communication can have grave consequences.

Software developer and an Imgur user BackDoorNoBaby, shed some light on these humorous situations and misunderstandings that often occur with clueless clients. Because we all have our niche interests and specializations, and it’s easy to sneer at the plebs who just don’t get it. To be fair though, dealing with unrealistic demands by clients who have no real understanding of what you do must get pretty frustrating at times, and if you work in IT, you’ll surely have come across at least one of these situations before.

What we have here are the daily trials and tribulations of an IT worker. Clients that read the latest trends in a tech magazine and want it right now. Business people who think that because they have the money, solutions should magically materialize. Clients that complain about something not functioning properly, when they clearly don’t have a clue how to use it properly. We all know these kind of clients, and these kind of ‘horror’ stories are part of what makes working in IT so special. Sometimes humor is the only suitable response.

Scroll down below to check them out for yourself and please, add your own funny work stories in the comments below!

Built a website for a client

“It runs on your laptop there! Why do I need to put that on a server?! Can’t I just send them a link to that?”

Explaining this was… a hassle… to say the least.

Image credits: BackDoorNoBaby

Blockchain…Blockchain…Blockchain…

I had to listen to blockchain crap for about 3 weeks straight before it started to die down. Even went to a few meetings with some of the business people and management to listen to them talk about how “Blockchain can improve our business.” Got a whole bunch of claps, but it was blatantly obvious nobody in that meeting knew what it was.

*Edit: To elaborate, and give a shortened explanation, blockchain is a software coding method implemented by crypto-currencies, ie: bitcoin, which is super popular right now. (remember the tea company that added blockchain to its name and got a massive bump in stock prices?)

Image credits: BackDoorNoBaby

Client made the decision to switch engines in the middle of development

The client ended up getting a deal (without consulting us) for a license to a new engine that we weren’t developing on, and added requirements to change to the new engine. We explained to them that it’s a large move, and it would take time to do. But, we forgot to explain EXACTLY how much time it would take…

They assumed it was just copy/paste, and that “taking time” meant “about a week”. It all worked out in the end, but there was a decent amount of yelling during that first meeting back after the change, and I was just sitting in the meeting like: http://ift.tt/2tjgzz2

Image credits: BackDoorNoBaby

Client asked for an android application to be built. Gave design details, features, Google integration, etc…

The conversation went along the lines of: * Employee: “It doesn’t quite work that way… They are two different types of – ” * Client: “It should! App “XYZ” works on both! Why not yours?!” * Employee: [Wanting to strangle him intensifies]

Explaining this one was a hassle as well. Oddly enough, he paid us to develop on iOS as well, but didn’t renew the contract once we were done.

Image credits: BackDoorNoBaby

Hired by a client to build a cross-platform app for phones: gives good direction, good design choices, etc…

One of the first times we’ve had a new client with a clear direction. Though, after two weeks of working on the application, we found out about the other one. None of us had used or seen the other application, and had only heard of it (yup. we all live under a rock), so we had no idea how it looked or worked.

They said they’d run it by the legal department to sort things out… Never heard from them again.

Image credits: BackDoorNoBaby

Client we work with requires we use their “custom packages” to implement our code

Basically, We weren’t supposed to be able to “see” the code, but we knew the method names to use, and the result of each. We initially spent 2 days trying to figure out why things weren’t working (thinking the problem was on our end), and finally got on the phone with the client to figure it out. The client finally gave us their code to look at, after a bit of a fuss, and almost every other word in the client’s code was misspelled. The best part was that everything on the code’s documentation was spelled correctly, which added to the confusion.

IE: “StartNavigationService()” is very different from “StartNavagationSirvice()”

This was one of many, MANY, problems we had with the client. We probably won’t be picking up this contract again.

Image credits: BackDoorNoBaby

Built software for a client with a requirement that it gets updated about every three months, and the client consistently complains about the software not working

Constant issue with this client. Continuously behind on latest updates, and keeps filing bug reports and complaints for things already fixed. We even created pre-configured settings for the client (not part of the requirements, just a sanity check for us) so that it would be harder for the client to not update, or mis-configure the service — and the client still mis-configures the service.

Personally, I think they are looking for a way to weasel out of the contract and blame us for it – we’re apparently expensive.

Image credits: BackDoorNoBaby

Company I no longer work for decided the IT department cost too much, and wasn’t doing enough

They tried to get us to solve the issue first, but we aren’t networking or IT, despite what the business management people would like to think – those are entirely different fields.

The company’s total loss was estimated at just under 5 million.

One of the fired employees offered to come in as a consultant at $500,000 towards the end of the two weeks. Officially, he got hired for an ‘undisclosed’ price. Unofficially he’s going to have a nice vacation from working for the next few years.

Image credits: BackDoorNoBaby

Client keeps getting his server “hacked”

Ever wonder why you need to admin or root access to open or move something on a machine you own? This is why. It’s a sort of self-protection for the system. Never run as root. Never run as Admin. There are obviously a few exceptions to that rule, but mostly it just makes it easier for malicious software or “hackers” to ruin your computer.

Image credits: BackDoorNoBaby

I can’t sign my name blatantly on the software for everyone to see

Personal win for myself. I was excited that I created, or helped create, something that would be used in a large-scale production environment, and used almost globally, AND I GOT TO PUT MY NAME ON IT.

If you are the average user, you’ll probably never see it, devs – maybe, but I still count it as a win.

Image credits: BackDoorNoBaby

from Viral News HQ http://ift.tt/2HhGTeH via Viral News HQ

#IFTTT #Viral News HQ

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topicprinter · 7 years

Link

Hi /r/Entrepreneur, it's Pat from Starter Story again, where I do interviews with successful e-commerce entrepreneurs.Here is my interview with David Lombardo, the founder of ATC Memes/RadarContact.com, a meme website and e-commerce store. David is also a redditor, I found him on here!TLDR:He found a super specific niche, and capitalized on it.Built up an FB page to 181k followers, Instagram to 63k followers.He quit his job as an air traffic controller to focus on the business.Built an audience first, then built a business around it.David is grossing $34k/month and recently quit his job to go full-time on the business.BackgroundHi, my name is David Lombardo and I am one of the founding members of a website called ATC Memes.ATC Memes originally started as a social media site that was geared towards air traffic controllers sharing stories and joke images known as ‘memes’.Over the years, the concept evolved into an online store called RadarContact.com, where we sell many unique and niche types of merchandise catering to those who are involved with or have an interest in the aviation industry.My backstoryEver since I was a kid, I have been interested in aviation. For most of my youth, I was obsessed with video games; specifically simulation games. I was borderline addicted to Microsoft’s Flight Simulator and the online WWII dogfighting game Fighter Ace. It was these two games that really got me into flying. I thought I wanted to be a pilot, and it was all I dreamed about.I decided to attend Purdue University, which was a great mix of all of my interests. I majored in aviation management, but I still had a social life and was involved with music. I had a band, and I also ran a music venue with the same band simply called ‘The Venue’. My classes on the other hand, were aviation based. It was as great balance.After graduating, I returned home and taught music for a few years. I had many students on both guitar and drums. I had eventually applied to become an air traffic controller, however. To make an extremely long story short, I was finally hired by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2014, attended the training academy in Oklahoma City, and was assigned to the New York Center, which is located on Long Island, New York.One night after coming home from an evening shift at my new air traffic control job, I sat down on my computer and sent a message to an old friend who had started a page for air traffic controllers to share funny and silly images known as ‘memes’. At the time, the page was pretty small but doing well for what it was.“Hey man, long time no talk. Do you mind if I add some content? I can help you moderate it?”“Sure.”How I accidentally made my first meme.One night, when helping someone mix a song on Cubase, a digital audio workstation program (remotely via the internet), I had a website called ‘LiveATC’ open in the background. I was actually monitoring the frequencies for a sector I was to be trained on in the coming months and trying to memorize as much chatter as I could for frequencies and restrictions pilots received. However, when I played back the song I was mixing, I realized that I had inadvertently recorded the LiveATC transmissions. I played it back and put it through a whole effects rack worth of stuff, and the result was that the audio of the pilot's chatter sounded totally weird, almost ‘fake’.Suddenly, a huge idea hit me with a spark of inspiration I had not felt since the days of flying that plane over Saratoga Lake; I would create my own ATC transmissions. And these wouldn’t be normal ATC, they would be intentionally hilarious. I envisioned scenarios that air traffic controllers could relate to, and make them ridiculous.In the weeks to come I wrote a few basic comedy scripts during breaks at work based on events I had experienced and in the evening recorded it using a few microphones I had around my apartment. In using my recording techniques I had learned in the years prior, I was quickly able to re-create very realistic sounding recordings.I made these assuming that people would know they were fake. In uploading some of the recordings to Facebook and YouTube, however, it became increasingly apparent that some people (even those who were aviation professionals) had no idea if they were in fact real or not. People began to share them, tag their friends, and comment on them. In one week, the ATC Memes page went from 8,000 fans to over 40,000. People also began to submit more and more of their own creations and memes. People were also sharing the memes, which also helped create buzz and a more social effect for our page. We were viral.Building our social media meme accounts and starting to sell products.After a few months of establishing ourselves on multiple platforms (including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, a blog, and others), my partners and I decided to try to monetize the page. At this point, we had over 140,000 followers and a very loyal following at that.We designed and sold some t-shirts, and then some stickers, but nothing was significant. It was beer money. However, like the realization with the audio I had months before, on one evening in Winter 2016, another idea came to us, women’s apparel.For many years aviation apparel had been pretty popular like shirts with aircraft references and airplanes on them, but it was all mostly for men. Women were (and still are) a minority in the aviation world. I am not entirely sure where the idea came from but one day I realized I had a huge PNG image file of the New York airspace on my desktop and I decided to upload it and see what it would look like on women’s leggings, of all things.Within hours we had sold over $2,000 worth of these leggings. Suddenly I realized we had a lot of work to do, and this was only selling the products with the New York airspace. We wanted customers to have the option of every inch of airspace in the world. We also began offering custom products.Sales are still going strong, and we have also added a variety of different products. We offer lanyards, hats, bags, phone cases, skirts, ties, shoes, dresses, and even blankets! In late 2017, we changed the name of our store to Radar Contact, a phrase that better reflected all of aviation and not just ATC.Product validation, and expansion to new products.To be honest, the product came together itself because the idea of having authentic airspace printed on clothing was a very specific and strange niche.The market research required was already encapsulated within our own fan base. That is to say, we just had to post a few mock images, and gauge the reaction from our already loyal fans.This is perhaps one of the single biggest advantages in the modern world of social media. There is little risk of doing some basic market teasing and testing if you’ve already won over the attention of the audience through other means, memes in our case.If we had tried to do it the other direction (that is, sell something before building the rapport of an entertainment page), I don’t think it would have worked; or at the very least, it wouldn’t have been as successful. People want to establish a relationship with your brand and in 2018, sometimes this means they want to get to know the people behind the page. Entertainment (specifically humor) on social media offers a sort of social bond that blatant, old-school marketing cannot achieve. It was the glue that established the framework for the entire business itself.We have since expanded not only the types of products that we offer but the designs of the products as well. We sell many types of apparel not related to the airspace map line of products, but they continue to be what we are known for. As for manufacturing, everything is done via on-demand printing through an online platform, and our suppliers all painstakingly worked with us to ensure that the quality was impeccable. We rejected some mock-up designs because they weren’t what we envisioned. We wanted everything to be readable, down to every little number and letter on the map.How we attract new customers.We have experimented with many marketing techniques and avenues, but the most effective method by far is good old viral social media.To this day we all continually work to try to have great comedy content to ensure authentic traffic to the site. We also keep our fans involved by sharing submitted images of them wearing our clothes and sporting our stickers, lanyards, ties, etc. This builds an absolutely huge community and sense of camaraderie between users.I have also found an incredibly positive response from live video. In the past year or so this has become a vital asset for many online marketers with now nearly all platforms offering some form of live video feed for pages. I usually “go live” to talk about recent aviation news, recent memes/videos we’ve made, and of course our new products.The results are mind-blowing. Sometimes we will make over 100 sales in a 15-minute live video broadcast. One time one of the partners went live on a flight and a fan was sitting a few rows behind him on the same aircraft! There are countless awesome tips and tricks for creating the best live broadcast possible that you can find by just doing a Google search. However, the secret to a good live broadcast is energetic and consistent interaction with the fans. Period. People want to be heard and live platforms allow you to listen to a virtually limitless number of people all at once. That’s a marketing superpower.With respect to a more traditional advertising route, Facebook Ads has proven to be valuable in the information it provides, especially with the Pixel algorithms which have helped us realize what types of ads work and which do not.Google Analytics has also been absolutely essential to understanding the impact of our marketing and the overall aggregate behaviors of our users, sometimes in real time. It's also fascinating to see A/B comparisons. For example, we have found that things as trivial as the color of a button can have a substantial impact on the conversion percentage.A lot of it comes down to just experimentation. But before experimenting, it's import to build a customer base first. It’s better to build a base of loyal fans that you can experiment with to see what works as opposed to experimenting without any real dedicated influence. Follow the rules first, start small, and then have fun.Finally, never discredit email. Our email list, gathered from our conversions, is one of the most responsive part of our business structure. It’s a good idea to immediately begin to build an email list. It’s authentic traffic that is “your control”, as an air traffic controller might say!Would I do anything differently if I could go back?It sounds incredibly cliché, but I wouldn’t really have done anything differently, not in this business and not in life.One thing I wish I knew ahead of time was the challenge of handling sizing issues of the clothing. Sizing, especially in the world of women’s apparel and online apparel, can be notoriously tricky. We offer exchanges on all of our sizes and our returns are under 1-2%. Still, it becomes a logistical nightmare if 30 people all of a sudden want another shipment. These are things we never thought about. So I would recommend having an accurate sizing chart and that you confirm is “true to fit” by inquiring with your customers.Finally, get used to criticism; it’s going to happen. It’s easy to be subjected to criticism because people hide behind a computer. It’s a rush to get thousands of positive reviews but it’s equally a rush (albeit a negative one) to get a one-star roaster that calls you and your business worthless. But don’t always respond to it.You have to choose your battles wisely and being in small business is all about which battles to fight. Whether you’re directing a battlefield or designing stickers, the idea is pretty much always the same; minimize your moves and use your energy to achieve goals and values.Do not jump at your rivals, especially in the beginning stages of a business. It’s best to lay as low as possible. Don’t intentionally rock the boat for a cheap thrill when the energy should be used to propel you and your business closer to your goals. Finally, it’s important to remember that the harshest critics can be total jerks, but some can offer some decent advice if you see past their cynicism. Conserve your energy for the stuff that matters. Also, for the love of god, conserve your money. Fighting battles can be really, really expensive.Lessons learned.I have learned that you can always sell more product. It’s increasingly difficult to maintain people’s attention; especially in a world full of ever-increasing distractions. We had the attention of our fans though and that was entirely due to our memes and community. All of us were involved in aviation so we also had the knowledge of the industry.Having said all of this, I have learned through many experiments that just because you have a lot of attention doesn’t necessarily mean your fans are all going to want to share your products to their social circle. The most difficult part of this process was promoting products and still trying to maintain our status as an entertainment page. However, by marketing to our current followers and integrating the products into references and jokes already established, many people caught on quick. Our fans were enthusiastic, and nearly all of them were already aviation professionals and/or enthusiasts, so this meant that news of the merchandise did in fact spread like wildfire.Sometimes, if a web community pushes conversions too hard, the reaction can be less than favorable (“you sellouts!”), but I have found that if you are tasteful and careful, the results are actually the contrary. Most people, so long as you are making relevant products and offers, are genuinely pretty curious. They want to know more.I would say the most important thing is to start small and conquer a small niche before expanding; set realistic goals. Also, and perhaps most profound in my realization, is that there is really no such thing as a wasted talent if you put it to use, however humble. ATC Memes would not have been the same if I had not gone into air traffic control, and it certainly wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t spent the time as a 16-year-old kid messing around with electric guitar sounds. The audio was a fundamental part as to why this page became as successful as it did.Customer service is also absolutely imperative. If you sell a lot of product, I have learned that you’re going to be dealing with a lot of issues. There is no way around this. However, by planning ahead and being ready to answer questions at a moments notice, you’ll help your brand tremendously. Set up auto-responders to let customers know you’ll get back to them ASAP.; set up contact forms; get a P.O. box to accept returns and snail-mail, etc. We also purchased a phone number which forwards to our cell phones. Customers are almost always surprised when a real live human answers. This in itself has led to countless conversions. Don’t overlook the human interaction! It’s rare in 2018.Also, I try not to obsess about success and trivial matters like gossip and opinion. Our society is way too concerned about achievement, success, failure, and the matter of others. Rather it’s exponentially more important to stay true to your values instead of focusing on blatant achievements to compare yourself to others. As far as I’m concerned, anyone who wakes up and strives to be just a bit better than yesterday is already successful. It has nothing to do with other people and everything to do with yourself. This is as true for life as it is for business, and it cannot be stressed enough. Compete with yourself fiercer than anyone else!Finally, but certainly not least, I am very lucky to have found good partners to run my business with. The guys I work with at ATC Memes are unbelievably creative, passionate, and truly gifted people who are always open to authentic communication and downright real discussion. They’re also funny as hell, and great guys to hang out with.Leaving the FAA, and how the future looks for us.In 2017 I made the tough decision to leave the FAA. Ultimately, I could not see myself doing that job for the rest of my life and knew that if I didn’t want to become handcuffed to it, I had to act now while I still had time to build a new career. I think a lot about the future of social media and how it has had such an undeniable effect on society. I often wonder what the next few years will bring as more businesses harness the power of the platforms and more players get into the game. There is most definitely an art to it, as millions compete to be heard, seen, and understood on a virtual stage.Still, while it’s important to stay relevant, it’s just as important to disconnect now and then to focus on the things in life that really matter. Instead of focusing on “keeping up with Joneses” focus on what makes you and your business unique. You’ll never be as successful living in something else’s shadow as you will be if you dare to be different and cast your own shadow. Spending time nourishing my creative outlets like music and writing comedy is important in keeping our business unique and interesting to our fans.In terms of networking, we will be doing interviews and making appearances at popular aviation events. I also hope to keep expanding the brand to new and exciting locations, including doing more B2B with companies (like airports and flight schools) that will stock some of our products.There is a lot of potential growth and with that comes the promise of new relationships with amazing people, which is perhaps what I enjoy the most.Tools I use.While we’ve experimented with a lot of different tools we have never used any automation tools. Most of the tools we have used are related to business promotions, organization, CRM, audio, and video.The main e-commerce platform for our store is predominantly built on Shopify. We have also used WooCommerce. The software/products I am currently using are:ShopifyMailChimpLinkedInTrelloSalesforceGoogle AnalyticsFacebook BusinessWordPressXMindBasecampSlackAdobe PhotoshopAdobe PremiereCubaseWaves VSTEvernoteBooks I recommend.This is honestly one of the hardest questions of this interview. I have had so many books and people influence me. Two books that have had a recent and significant impact on me are Peter Thiel’s ‘Zero to One’ and ‘Everybody Lies’ by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz; the latter had me actually re-reading certain sections in an effort to get more out of them, something I rarely do. While I find a lot of non-fiction literature to be fluffy, even superfluous at times, nothing within these two books seems to be without value. Every word is helpful.Some works have had an influence on certain parts of my life specifically. For example, the Stephen Dubner ‘Freakonomics Radio’ episode on The Upside of Quitting helped encourage me to quit my job at the FAA.In a similar reference, Kashdan’s ‘The Upside of Your Darkside’ helped show me that it is ok to have self-doubt and anxiety, in spite of a world always telling us that negative emotions are somehow bad (spoiler alert: they’re not).The Miguel Ruiz classic ‘The Four Agreements’ helped explain to me that great works, at their core, are quite often paradoxically inspired by stark simplicity, and ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ was a near perfect description of how things aren’t always so black-and-white. This idea of balance between extremes is also perfectly summed up in the classroom scene in the 2001 film ‘Donnie Darko’. While some of these references can be taken as obscure, they are fundamental to business and creative works.One of the most influential works of literature I have ever encountered in business and in life is undoubtedly Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’, published in 1999. It is a book that inspires creation and curiosity and reinforces the idea that no matter who you are or what your circumstance is, you have a story. Don’t waste it. You may be surprised to find out how many people are willing to listen if you’re willing to create and bring your stories to life.Advice for other entrepreneurs.The most important advice I can tell anyone is to just be yourself.It is also important to have some sort of rapport with your customers. Again, start small, and work your way into new avenues of adventure. Don’t try to take on too much at once. The riches are in the niches.Also, don’t be afraid to want to learn more. I constantly find myself worried that I don’t know enough, and I think this perpetual state of heightened anxiety actually has been one of my biggest assets when it comes to critical thinking and learning.Enjoy your success! But don’t get too comfortable. Never stop learning, and never stop growing. Good luck, and most of all, HAVE FUN!If you have any questions, drop a comment!

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

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doycetopia · 7 years

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Masks "Menagerie" Campaign - Session 6 to 10

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about our ongoing Masks game (superhero antics in the vein of Young Justice, Teen Titans, or Avengers Academy), but that in no way means the game itself has slowed. Quite the opposite.

So, if only for the sake of bragging, I thought I’d catch things up.

The last time, I covered sessions 0 though 5. This time, it’s sessions 6 to 15, so buckle up.

Before I get rolling, I want to recognize two resources that have made this broad overview far more manageable.

The first is the forum that is automatically made available for any campaign you set up on Roll20.net. (Our game is played online, and while the voice chat isn’t able to handle our group’s particular challenges, the other tools it provides are invaluable.) The forum lives here, and sees continuous, nigh-daily activity in the form of fiction, world-building, general discussion, and (of course) the blow-by-blow Actual Play summaries – usually authored by Dave Hill – which supplement if not completely stand in for my spotty recollection.

(Said forum has been made even more valuable with the addition of a custom coded search/scraper that Bill forced around roll20’s forum code at great personal effort.)

The second tool is a more recent addition to our electronic tool box, a wiki built and customized (again, mostly) by two of the players, Bill and Mike. Thanks to the organization of the wiki (and downright sexy layout), I’m able to excavate all kinds of trivia and bits of game lore that might otherwise have flared and died within minutes of being introduced into a session.

With that out of the way…

When We Last Left Our Heroes…

Sessions 1 though 5 were mostly about introducing the heroes to the people of Halcyon, and the players (and myself) to the Masks system. They had a morning show interview, a downtown brawl with some bad guys, and then rode the fallout from those events, (including the speedster getting temporarily lost in an alternate, devastated version of Earth.)

Session five saw the team looking forward or inward – taking stock of the problems they had on their plate and making plans to deal with them.

It also saw their team coming to the attention of AEGIS, the SHIELD-esque organization of the Masks universe.

Issue 6

Issue 6 recording on YouTube

AP Report

One of the directives for a Masks GM is presenting adults as supportive but short-sighted; willing to help but always pushing their own vision and agenda on the teen heroes – help with strings attached. Okay.

Enter Agent Ted Waters (who’s probably going to be the most supportive, least strings-attached adult in the game – though that’s a low bar), an experienced AEGIS agent and the father-figure/handler for Link (whose actual father is super-villain Rossum the Minion Maker). Waters shows up at Quill Industries (the ‘sanctum’ for the team’s Doomed character) with paperwork in hand that will officially recognize the team by AEGIS… a move AEGIS hasn’t… umm…. actually sanctioned?

This paperwork is simple – it merely requires the team pick a name and an official leader. Easy, right?

The name had been under discussion via in-character posts on the forum, but we hadn’t brought it to the forefront yet. This was meant to facilitate that. They tell Ted the team will be the Menagerie and it gets the expected, bemused response from the older man (a good sign you’re on the right track in a teen-oriented game).

The ‘strings’ attached to this bit of help were more meta-level than an actual condition offered by Waters – the team had to pick a leader; a requirement I thought might generate some drama/angst/hand-wringing/reflection/et cetera.

It did all those things, so yay. 🙂

The team eventually settled on Jason Quill (the Doomed, played by Dave), a decision which the team treated with varying levels of seriousness. (Jason on one end of the panic-stricken-with-the-weighty-responsibility spectrum; speedster Mercury (Kay) providing the ‘whatever man paperwork is boring just write something in it doesn’t matter’ counterbalance.)

While Jason continued to process this development, Ghost Girl went and got herself in one kind of trouble (attacked by someone who saw her as a dangerous menace, starting both an arc and introducing her current Mundane-vs-Freak Hook), while Like found another (investigating a mutual friend’s disappearance and running afoul their supernatural kidnapper).

This development brought us to the end of the session with the team rushing to help GG, but split (“where the hell is Link?”), and under a leader (technically) who was still a bit in shock.

Issue 7: If the Graveyard Be My Destiny!

Issue 7 on YouTube

AP Report

(All credit to Dave for the comic-book-classic session titles.

This session was meant to introduce one of Ghost Girl’s issues and a sort-of nemesis; Ghostheart (one of the characters from the Masks Deck of Villains) whose main deal is obsessively keeping living people over THERE, and dead people over THERE, and NO TOUCHING NO TOUCHING NOT EVER.

Charlotte is all about connecting with people amongst both the living and dead (she’s playing the Outsider playbook, and filled with wonder at the modern world in which she now finds herself), so Ghostheart seemed almost a custom-written enemy for her.

Most of the session was a nighttime fight at GG’s home cemetery against Ghostheart and a couple of his summoned demonic henchthings – Rawhide and I-Didnt-Catch-the-Other-Guy’s-Name. After the fight (and some really stilted, useless, uncomfortable leadership, beautifully delivered by Dave), the heroes (reunited, since Link was tussling with Rawhide on his own, initially) tracked down and rescued the kidnappee “@powerpony” – an online-mutual of both Link and GG’s (PC-NPC-PC relationship triangles are good – need more of those).

Offscreen

The players conducted a couple Google-Doc-based scenes after this session, simply to get them done in satisfying fashion without taking up too much in-game time.

The first was Link talking with green-lantern/Blue-beetle-esque Concord about the details of the kid’s powers.

The second was between Link and Jason – an often tense but ultimately fruitful and relationship-building ‘discussion’ about what kind of leadership the team really needed (and what kind Jason could legitimately provide).

Both scenes were great, and the ‘offline’ RP option proved a good one, though we try not to use it too much, as it tends to move characters whose players have the mid-week bandwidth for such things further center stage, in a play environment (online, short sessions) where it already seems someone ends up drawing the Spotlight Short Straw every week.

Issue 8: Lo, There Shall Be an Evening of Character Interaction!

Issue 8 on YouTube

AP Report

As a means of exploring GG’s current Hook (her Mundane connections with others, versus the Freak nature of her powers), we also learned a bit more about why Ghostheart wanted GG out of public circulation – her interactions with the Living were creating some kind of ectoplasmic catnip that would inevitably attract a terrible entity known as Pandemonium to the material world.

The only way she could guarantee her living friends’ safety was stay away from them. Which sucks.

AEGIS rolled back into the picture much sooner than anyone expected, as the team called them back to take Ghostheart into custody. (The team opts NOT to go the morally-and logically-questionable route of the Flash CW show, with villains held without due process, inside a particle accelerator, and fed Big Belly Burgers on a… mostly daily schedule.)

The rest of the session involved the team either trying to help each other out with Comfort and Support-based roleplaying (with mixed but fascinating and sometimes hilarious results), or working through their own problems; Link’s robotic not-girlfriend Pneuma announced she was departing Halcyon for a bit to visit ‘someone’ in Japan, while Jason went down a digital rabbit hole, investigating how and why his nemesis Alycia Chin infiltrated Quill Compound as a lowly warehouse employee for a month.

Jason’s investigation led to a great scene where he uses his nanobots and latent genius to analyze Alycia Chin’s actions, and gets knocked cold in the process via some kind of latent … mental … something … Alycia left behind in the video recordings of her activities. Remote Memetic Programming, maybe? Image-gestalt boobytrap? That would be bad.

Issue 9: Sizzling Big Adult-Influence Issue!

The Beginning of the Day From Hell

Issue 9 on YouTube

AP Report

Morning! The second Weekday of the campaign, and time once again for all good heroes to… get to school.

(Assuming they aren’t a ghost from the civil war, or unconscious, of course.)

A while back, Concord’s player had started a discussion on the forum where we all talked about whether the Nova playbook was working for him, and we collectively came to the conclusion that the Janus playbook worked better. So we retconned it.

This session was the one where we started to get into that ‘dual identity’ drama a bit more, very literally in this case (because I am a ham-fisted hack) with Concord trying to help Link with an unconscious Jason (via an energy construct copy of himself) while simultaneously attending school in his ‘real’ body. He didn’t exactly balance this out well, and ended up being sent to the principal’s office when he confused his multiple mouths and remonstrated his English teacher for being a ‘walking deceit’ when he meant to be talking to the vision of Alycia Chin in Jason’s head.

I’d call this situation a solid B effort on my part. Maybe a B-. We get better at this in short order, though, so I’m not going to beat myself up too much.

Meanwhile, Mercury and Ghost Girl spent the morning reaching out to adults for advice and input, before Mercury had to get to school.

Harry’s dad-joking, eggplant-emoji-texting dad, Silver Streak.

This is always a fraught situation in Masks – going into a scene with an adult or adults in Masks carries an undercurrent of threat akin to an armed parley with A-level super-villains. Honestly I’ve never done as much broad-spectrum damage to the team with a bad guy as I have in scenes with their well-meaning mentors dispensing advice, constructive feedback, and (horror of horrors) heartfelt praise.

It didn’t really go better here, with both Harry’s dad and the retired ‘grail knight’ Armiger (Lucius, owner/operator of the Has Beans coffee shop, downtown) kicking in their two cents about Ghost Girl’s ongoing Ghostheart/Pandemonium problem, what they thought the kids should do about it (and, ultimately, who they thought the kids should be.) They got what they were after, but Ghost Girl at least wasn’t feeling great about it afterwards, which lead to some Condition-clearing reckless behavior later. (As it should.)

Issue 10: Halcyon High-Jinks (Hell Day, Part 2)

Issue 10 on Youtube

AP Report

Dave, Margie, and Katherine were all out of town, which left Jason recovering from his tussle with not-Alycia, Ghost Girl roaming the city doing reckless things without consulting the team, and Harry actually attending Gardner Academy (the private high school that tends to specialize in rich kids and publicly recognized supers).

Concord and Link, on the other hand, are on their way to HHS – Halcyon High South – part of the public school system, where they academically toil in relative anonymity.

Bill and Mike (and I) were excited to play around with that classic of teen superhero comics, the high school, so we had a good time with this. First order of business was to establish the normal day, and I had fun introducing some of the faculty, and went to the players to fill in NPCs (which gave us the wonderful Ms. “No!” Rodriguez, Leo’s lab partner.

I also introduced Taz, a new transfer and tech-nerd who seemed to either be a bit on the spectrum or way over-informed about Leo, or both. She showed up both in Leo’s chem class as well as at lunch with Leo and Adam, and was generally fun to play, freaked out the players a skosh, and has more going on that I’m looking forward to getting into.

With the norm established, it was time to get some Concord-grade villains on the stage, and that mean “galactic” villains. For this, I went back to the Deck of Villainy and pulled out The Farlander (who is just too weird looking and fun to play) and Sablestar who, by sheer coincidence in visual design, seemed to be … related to Concord and his powers in some way. There’s some vague hand-waving on her card about being a member of the Void Collective and something of a space-anarchist, but I already have an anarchist villain, so Sablestar and the VC became a kind of counter-(if not anti-)Concordance, in my head. We’ll see how that fleshes out over time.

So: a bit of fighting at the school with The Farlander, and the introduction of Sablestar, and as things get complicated we call it for the night, ready to bring in the rest of the team next session as things heat up.

That’s five of the ten sessions I wanted to cover, so I’ll stop here and do 11 to 15 in the next post. More soon!

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#masks #masks rpg #pbta #roll20 #randomaverage

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