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maircries · 3 months ago

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So if there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I abhor AI

And I mean this in every way possible. Chat GPT? AI art? Garbage. AI to do maths is on thin fucking ice. Fictional AI? Despise it. God forbid the day we are faced with a conscious AI system, and I struggle to appreciate and sympathize with conscious AI characters. Which has been a really interesting feeling to have now that I’m really immersed in podcasts and podcast fandoms, because it feels like a LOT of podcasts have AI characters.

The weirdest thing about this for me, however, has been the realization of how okay I am with other forms of higher intelligence.

This thought process was brought on by thinking of the Penumbra Podcast (my friend is mid-season 2 and I was having Thoughts), how viscerally I hated the THEIA from the moment Juno accepted the eye compared to how much I adore the Ruby.

My whole basis for despising conscious AI is that I have zero faith that there is a world where an AI system “wakes up” and humanity survives. But how different is an unknown alien consciousness from an AI consciousness? At the end of the day, what will be our undoing is a lack of, for better wording, humanity in these opposing consciousnesses. And that really did get me thinking about why I feel so strongly about the one and not the other.

If there was a podcast I had anticipated changing my mind on AI as characters or potentially awakened AI, all evidence seemed to point to Wolf 359 and Hera. Which, yeah, I did generally enjoy and empathize with Hera as a character, but I struggled to actually like her. She would form relationships and have moments that were so very human, but then I’d remember that she’s not, and it always put me off. So after finishing Wolf 359 and not being turned on AI, I assumed I would always remain firm in my opinions.

Then I listened to Moonbase Theta: Out, and things started to click for me. We are introduced to an “artificial consciousness” (rather than AI) named Tumnus. Not only are we introduced, we actually get to watch her journey into waking up. This is where my feelings started to make sense. Moonbase Theta: Out is similar to Wolf 359 in that a large part of the narration happens through a communications officer, one who is so painfully human and obviously there just to do a job. Tumnus “wakes up” during a period of time in which her only contact is with comms officer Roger, who only wants to get home to his husband and reads and writes poetry. Tumnus grows and learns to be “human” through one of the most objectionably human characters; through someone who believes wholeheartedly in love and dependence on one another and humanity. Should Tumnus have developed in the presence of her creator or, god forbid, the corporations, she would have become a very different person and I would have despised her.

I think characters like Hera unsettle me not because they are inhumane or unknowable, but rather because we know the people they were developed by. Sure, Dr. Pryce took steps to cut Hera down, but she still attempted at least once in her early life to achieve consciousness, and she even, despite being very comfortable with the inhabitants of the station and having close personal relationships with most of them, attempted to see if she had the capabilities to hack the systems that could kill them, just because she was curious. I think there’s a direct correlation between her surroundings as she developed and the actions she took.

Which really makes me think about what I dislike so much about AI and conscious AI systems. I always thought it was because I had no faith in our ability to develop something with a conscious that wouldn’t turn around and immediately bite us in the ass. This is where my feelings of other alternate higher consciousnesses ties in: I don’t immediately fear and assume the worst of other alien intelligences because I have no reason to assume they were developed in a manner that would lead to inherent harm to humanity. Sure, it’s terrifying in the sense that any unknown element is terrifying, but it’s honestly comparable to the idea that anyone with a bad home environment could become a serial killer. There’s nothing anyone not in the immediate impact zone can do to change the situation. Alien intelligence in reality and character in real life are just a thing that exists that we have no impact over. I despised the idea of an artificial conscious because I believed that we would immediately fuck it up by sticking our fingers in it.

Tumnus made me realize that it’s not a fear of humanity’s capabilities, or a lack of faith in humanity in general. Quite the contrary actually; I think that a conscious AI that developed in the presence of a random, normal person actually would be capable of coexisting with humanity. What makes conscious AI so terrifying to think about is the fact that those AI wouldn’t develop with your average Joe. They would develop and learn from a creator and whatever capitalist billionaire or government had the most money to be there. They would learn from the smallest and worst class of people that humanity has to offer, and thus we would see the fall of society to AI.

This is a 2am tangent that wouldn’t let me sleep, so thanks for entertaining me if you got this far. It was just a fascinating realization to have as someone who really is so staunchly against artificial intelligence in general, conscious or not. And it was refreshing to realize that I do actually still have hope for humanity as a whole, no longer excluding the potential for conscious creation.

Who said fiction podcasts weren’t worthwhile?

#podcast #wolf 359 #moonbase theta out #hera #hera wolf 359 #hera w359 #Tumnus #ai #alien #humanity #the penumbra podcast #maircries #ramblings #2am thoughts

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twilightxsun · 8 months ago

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there's no calculus without "us"

You're struggling with your homework from the Calculus class you're taking at Macabria University. Raven, who loves math, takes it upon himself to tutor you.

some spoilers for chapter 30+

content warnings: kissing, sexual tension

rating: teen and up

word count: 1,540

ao3

For all the monsters you’ve slain and challenges you’ve overcome, you never considered that calculus might be your downfall.

It’s not that you’re bad at math—really, it’s not. You’re perfectly capable of understanding the concepts and performing the problems given to you. It’s just that there’s a learning curve, and sometimes the equations and theories seem like Greek to you.

“That’s because it is Greek,” Raven drawls. “Theta, sigma, alpha—and onward. You know that.”

“Obviously,” you reply, feeling a bit flushed as the admonishment. Taking classes at the local Macabrian university seemed like a great idea until you realized you have to manage your studies alongside the rest of the kingdom. It doesn’t matter that you’re Dracula’s designated heir; no legitimate professor will give you a slide on slipping grades, even if you did have to protect the town from an onslaught of rebel werewolves.

At least your Calculus II professor is understanding enough, and gives you extensions on the homework should there be a true emergency. That doesn’t excuse you completely, however, and so now you’re forced to spend the whole night at your desk catching up to meet the new deadline.

Thankfully, Raven is here to help. He caught you earlier in the library, peering over your shoulder to notice you struggling with integration by parts. At first he snarked at you, but then took a serious tone as he realized the severity of the situation. As much as he enjoys teasing and lording over you, he loves math even more—at wouldn’t shirk an opportunity to show off his skills to you, even if it does mean helping you pass your class.

You look down at your assignment. Only five more questions to go on this one, and then you’re moving on to trigonometric substitution. But that’s getting ahead of yourself—you’re still trying to understand how to integrate multiplied by sin(x).

“Look, it’s simple,” he tries to explain. “The function only seems like you’ll endlessly integrate. There’s a trick to it. I’ll show you.”

You nod, and watch as he scribes on a piece of paper. You’ve been a little distracted by him; his lithe hands, the angular knuckles and long fingers. The sheen of his pale skin under your lamplight. How his eyelashes flutter when he looks down to concentrate on a question. You wonder how those hands might feel entwined in your own, or how they might trail down your body… the line of thought leaves you somewhat heated, and you force yourself to focus on what he’s doing.

You watch him integrate the function once, but it leads to another integral.

“Hang on,” you say.

He looks up expectantly.

“I never remember what order to put the U, V, dV, and dU in,” you admit, “what is it again?”

Raven gives you an expression that’s a mixture of exasperation and barely concealed smugness. For a tutor, he’s exceedingly arrogant, and it would annoy you if he didn’t proceed to carefully explain what you’re confused by every time.

“Think of it like this,” he tells you. “UV light, minus voodoo. U times V, then subtract the integral V du. That’s how I remembered it.”

“UV light, minus voodoo,” you repeat. “I can remember that.”

“You’d better. Don’t you have an examination this week?”

“Yeah,” you sigh. “I’m not sure how I’ll do.”

His gaze sharpens on you, and he puts his pen down. He lifts his hand up to your chin, and turns your head to look straight at him. “You’ll do excellently,” he says confidently, “you have my help.”

You hold his gaze. “Are you expecting to take the credit if I pass?”

He laughs. “Considering that you’d never pass without me, I absolutely will.”

You pull back. “Never pass?” you say in mock outrage. “You have so little faith in me?”

“Fine,” he amends, “perhaps you’d barely pass.”

You roll your eyes. His fingers are still on your chin, and after a moment, his hand moves forward to caress your jaw. It’s an intimate gesture, and sends a spark of warmth through your body.

You want to lean into the feeling, but responsibility drags you back to the paper in front of you. Reluctantly, you pull out of his grasp and recenter your focus on your homework.

If he looks disappointed, you don’t see it; your eyes are back on the problem. “You can continue your explanation.”

He’s quiet for a moment, then resumes as if nothing happened. “As I was saying, you integrate twice with integration by parts. First the whole function, then only the term with an integral sign. It produces two terms that don’t need to be integrated, and one integral matching the other side of the equation. Do you see?”

You nod.

“What do you think happens next?” he quizzes you.

Looking at the equation, you consider the possibilities. “Do you add the integral of e to the x times sin of x to the other side? That would give you two of them on the left…”

He looks pleasantly surprised. “That’s it—maybe there’s more hope for you than I thought. What then?”

You think about it. “If you divide by two, is the right side of the equation the final answer?”

He grins. “Well, look at that. You got it right. It seems you have been paying attention.”

You smile in return, gratified that you’re finally getting it. “I always pay attention to you,” you confess.

His eyes gleam in the dim light of your room. “Do you, now?”

Raven’s expression has gone from pleased to knowing. There’s a hungry glint in his eyes, and the look sends a shiver through you. You turn towards him, setting your assignments aside for now.

“Let’s take a break,” you suggest. “We’ve been working for hours.”

“Fine by me,” he says, “anything in mind?”

“Well,” you say, “I was thinking… I should thank you, somehow.”

He leans forwards, intrigued. Your knees knock together with his, and you keep them there. The contact is activating—drawing you closer. You find yourself near his face, and your gaze drifts to his lips. He does the same, lidded eyes glancing up and down before meeting your own.

Tension rises between you, taut like a bowstring. You observed him all evening, unable to deny the magnetism that draws you toward him. You know you’re not alone in the feeling; he’s been looking back at you. It’s why you make the final move, pressing forward to catch his lips in a sweet kiss.

It’s not the first, or the second; but it is the only time you’ve been completely alone together. True intimacy is difficult when you’re with a group, especially when Alexis was right there, watching you give into desire for somebody else. There’s a shred of guilt at the thought, but you push it away. They know you’ve never been one for exclusivity. Still, you know it hurt them when Raven dragged you in for a hard, claiming kiss in front of everyone; and again, when Alexis chose to appease Percy while you sat off to the side, indulging Raven.

You can’t help it. He’s a burning flame, and you’re the moth, unable to resist his dangerous light. You think you can taste the fire on his lips, as heat washes through you. The kiss starts slow, but quickly evolves into something more passionate. His touch taps open a dark want in you, riveting your senses like no one else can.

It’s not like with Alexis, who’s been your steadiest and most loyal companion for years. Their love is leisurely and unchallenging; you’re pretty sure they scored 99% vanilla on the BDSM test, but they hid the results from you, so you’re only speculating.

Raven is wild; undulating rapids, the roaring whirlpool sucking you into dark, hidden depths. You crave that excitement, the all-consuming blaze. It’s a terrible want that only satiates when his lips press against yours, and you hate to admit it, but you’ve been pining in the weeks since your last encounter like this.

For minutes, you just kiss. You find yourself in his lap, thighs around his. Your fingers tangle in his hair, and his hands wrap around your waist, pulling you flush against his body. Teeth clash together and he sucks on your tongue, and you breathe heavily between kisses. You wish the heady feeling you’re overcome with would never end, but alas: the unfinished homework sitting on your desk calls out your name.

Regretfully, you break away. He looks dazed, pupils blown in his cobalt blue eyes; hair mussed, lips swollen from kissing—and some biting. Self-satisfied at his unkempt appearance, you smirk. He raises an eyebrow.

“Well,” he says, a little breathlessly, “that was unexpected.”

“Oh, come on,” you croon, “you didn’t think I was going to send you away without a reward?”

He smirks back. “The night’s still young, Lord Protector, and you’ve quite a bit more to do. Would I be right in assuming you’ll have a grander thank you later for me?”

You laugh lowly. “Mmm… maybe if you help me pass my exam.”

He laughs back. “Oh, trust me. You’re going to ace it.”

#game of vampires: twilight sun #raven x gender neutral lord protector #raven #raven (twilight sun)#raven x reader #vampire #vampires #fanfiction #x reader #vampire x reader #rating: t #twilightxsun

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beatricebidelaire · 1 year ago

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but sometimes it’s so easy to fall into the feeling that you are the combination of the negative traits of two different things. it happens with so many dichotomies. not just neither my mother nor my father but a third worse thing.

say, i have none of the traditional feminine traits that people traditionally look for in a girlfriend nor the traditionally masculine traits people look for in a boyfriend. neither the literary sense of a student in literary fields nor the math/science acumen of someone from stem fields. bilingual but feeling like you aren’t proficient in either. i’m not a good cook but neither am i good mechanic or fixing things that are broken. i don’t get classic literature references nor advanced calculus. my english is not as good as native speaker and my chinese feels like it’s in decline. i’d joke that i’m good at neither languages but that’s okay i’m an engineer anyway that’s stereotypical of us isn’t it the languages i understand best are actually c++ and python but actually i’m so basic at those too look at all friends who solve coding problems so much faster and as a hobby. but it’s not like that, not really, or at least i hope not, or maybe i’m kidding myself or whatever. but i’d like to think that maybe i’m just mediocre enough at all things that i could still scrap by in general and enough background knowledge in just the vaguest sense that if i want to delve into something deeper then i can go from there. yeah i’m not a good cook but i can still feed myself cook for myself it’s just that i don’t think anyone else would want to eat what i cooked but the truth is that people have, just not that often. i still know a few dishes, simple as they are and i can survive on that. i don’t know how to fix things intuitively but i could still give it a try if i liked it up online and follow the step by step, it may be trial and error in a lot of cases but it can still be done, unless it can’t which happens sometimes but when can you do. and my friends ask me to look over their english essays or SOPs when they apply for schools and i know i can actually give constructive feedback wrt not just grammar errors but also how the thing overall reads, or when i travel with my family and is the one to talk to people to buy thing or resolve issues over the phone or whatever and it occurs to me that other people actually think my english is pretty okay as a non native speaker and i read books in two languages regularly and granted they’re not of deep complex literature stuff they’re often just murder mystery and sci-fi and nonfiction books where the language are straightforward but at least on i’ve learned quite a few technical terms related to forensic science (thank you, mr deaver) which admittedly i probably won’t get a chance to use in real life but whatever. and i can read both traditional chinese and simplified chinese characters even though writing them feels a little rusty. and i can code, not well enough but well enough to trick my colleagues into believing i am capable i can’t write code as quickly and effortlessly but i can still put together something that works if i spend some extra time behind the scenes secretly, because that’s the trick to being an imposter like if you need longer time you do it on your own time and pretend you didn’t and it can seem like you did it in the same speed as others would have. like i am just mediocre at many skills but i’d like to think, or i’d like to pretend that it’s just with enough background knowledge that when i do want to do something or learn a concept like trying to fix a broken thing or understand a math proof or solve this leetcode problem that if i take a little time i can likely get it, maybe, probably, or at least i’m trying. sometimes that has to be enough. maybe, i don’t know.

ofc that’s all skillwise and knowledge stuff, when it comes to gender presentation things it’s like. well. mother tells me i need to grow my hair longer that it’ll look prettier and more attractive, that i should learn to wear at least a little bit, the most basic makeup such as eyebrows and lipstick but i neither want to grow my hair longer nor wear makeup ever except i don’t look even a little bit masculine at all either, i’m like genderless but unlike everyone else who is genderless they’re all genderless in a cool way i just look genderless in a ….. like a kid who hasn’t grown into anything, way. except i’m in my late 20s. absolutely swagless, one might say. although if i’m like, the only one swagless and uncool one maybe that makes me cool if in a unique way because it’s like the interesting number paradox, isn’t it? the smallest of all uninteresting numbers is interesting in the sense that it the smallest uninteresting number! hey, that’s unique. which removes it from the uninteresting numbers, therefore in the new set there’s a new smallest uninteresting number…… and so on and so forth so there’s no uninteresting number. we’re all interesting in our own way.

but i digress.

because at the end of the day it’s like yeah i’m not attractive but it’s like, whatever, i do have some skills and that’s enough for me and yeah they’re mediocre but i’m good enough at being an imposter that i can sort of just, be okay, enough to go through the motions, it’s like, fake it till you make it, you know. you just gotta keep faking it. i have successfully tricked some very competent colleague for years into believing i am capable at solving the problems by just using the most basic trial and error style debugging and looking up the errors from the compiler and heavily reliant on stackoverflow and duckduckgoing the syntaxes and keywords when i need to find information. but also, maybe that’s just adulthood. it doesn’t matter that you need to look up more stuff than the others as long as you look them up and know how to use them when it’s needed.

i keep getting away from my point. what was i talking about.

oh right. i am still neither my mother nor my father but a third worse thing (their daughter). but. oh well. whatever. at least i possibly am so swagless that it’s almost cool and there’s a reasonable chance that i can name more nordic noir detectives than you can (no it doesn’t have any practical use unless we’re like, stuck in a room and to unlock the door and get out we need to answer 3 questions about scandinavian crime fiction)

#vera.txt

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blackberrysummerblog · 2 years ago

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15 Questions

Thanks so much for the tags, @thewholelemon and @alleycat0306! And I’m sorry it took me an age to get around to replying, I’ve been meaning to I swear!

1. Are you named after anyone? I’m named after the title character in a historical romance novel, of all things 😜 I got chicken pox when I was 13 or so and my mom finally let me read it; the character has a very eventful life without ever getting the one thing she really wants, so…thanks Mom lol

2. When was the last time you cried? Ugh, I cry all the time. Happy, sad, angry…it all gets me going. The last time was probably a day ago after an extremely dumb argument with my husband and it was over 3 minutes later

3. Do you have kids? Two almost-adults! Yikes

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? I don’t think so? I tend to be pretty earnest I guess. I don’t dislike it, though

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people? I spent way too much time thinking about this, mainly because I’m going to *first* notice whatever stands out. If you have spaghetti sauce all over the front of your shirt I’m going to notice that before nice hair or eyes, right? I think beyond that, physically, I’d take note of a contagious smile, and on a personality level I’d notice if someone were particularly sunshiney or grumpy. I have a weird and desperate love for both, in real life as well as fiction

6. What’s your eye color? Gray, though the kind that often gets called blue. It’s not a very exciting color

7. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings every time. I can appreciate an open or tragic ending for its realism and/or artistic message, but it’s kind of the same as seeing a deeply ugly or tragic piece of visual art that you can appreciate the skill, vision, and message of in a museum, but do you want it on the wall of your home to look at all the time?…I mean, some people definitely would, but it’s not me. I like an ending that makes me feel happy or at least hopeful (I’m capable of and have written endings that aren’t, but these days I’m not very likely to, at least in fanfic). As for scary movies, I like the idea of them but seldom get on with them. I don’t like gore full stop, and while I do enjoy tension and jump scares, it can get overwhelming. I’m very much the person who will sit there burying their face and/or literally jumping in the air when I’m startled

8. Any special talents? I like to think I’m a decent writer, and I used to be a pretty good artist, but I’ve let it go a long time and these days when I sketch something I’m kind of appalled at how the skill atrophied. I’m sure it would improve again if I worked on it—I’m good at really visualizing something in my mind, which I think is the most important thing about being able to create any kind of art. On a more quotidian note, I’m really good at research and I’m a fairly good cook. I love love love to eat, so that helps motivate me in the kitchen lol

9. Where were you born? Arkansas

10. What are your hobbies? Reading, writing, walking, cooking, looking at art, trying new food. Classic introvert

11. Do you have any pets? Five dogs and two cats, it’s a proper zoo up in here

12. What sports do you play/did you used to play? *tries not to laugh*

13. How tall are you? Just barely over 5 feet

14. Favorite subject at school? I started listing my faves and it turns out it was pretty much everything but math, which I feel like I’m bad at but my test scores always indicated I was slightly above the average, so I suppose I must be ok at it. I like learning and enjoyed most of my liberal arts and science courses, but I’m going to narrow it down and say literature

15. Dream job? Writer! (I would very much not be good at this because left to my own devices I procrastinate like hell) I’ve had a lot of jobs over the years that I found interesting though, and I like doing work that I find meaningful. My current job lets me feel like I’m doing good in my community and the world, and most of the time it’s an extremely full work day, which is honestly better than having too much time on my hands.

Gah, I’ve really not been on tumblr much in the past week or so, so probably every single person I’ll tag has already done this. Please don’t think too badly of me (and if you haven’t done it and don’t have the energy, no big deal. Take care of yourselves!) @papierhakuphoto @shutup-andletme_go @captain-arealias @onepintobean @j-nipper-95 @rwithoutaspoon @martsonmars @cutestkilla @maedhrosrussandol

#tag game #15 questions

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adulatingsaraswati · 1 year ago

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You never know when something you say is going to be repeated. I was told something that my grandpa said about me a few days ago and i’ve been smiling about it ever since.

When I was young I struggled in school, had a speech impediment, struggled with basic concepts-reading, math especially. My adhd didn’t help. My mom spent many nights doing what she could to help me in the living room floor.

I didn’t hear a whole lot about me being smart. I thought something was wrong with me for the longest time. I didn’t have confidence academically nor think that I was capable. No knock on my family, it just wasn’t something i heard nor believed when I did hear it.

It wasnt until Middle school that I started getting better. Struggling a bit less. Learning what kind of studying worked for me. What I had to do to make it academically. Having a smart best friend and step sister to live up to gave me some motivation thankfully.

It took a long time to believe compliments, to believe someone was serious when they said nice and supportive things to me - especially about my intellectual capabilities.

It wasn’t until college that I started thinking and believing that I may not be in the lower end of the spectrum, that I might not be intellectually limited. It wasn’t until I realized one day that the entire class was using my study guide to pass the test. It wasn’t until I made the first 100 in 4 years with a specific professor. It wasn’t until I realized that I knew more about a subject than a professor that I realized intellectual capabilities are not so white and black.

I won’t say what my grandfather said but hearing it second hand I think makes it that much more believable and now I’m sitting here just feeling appreciative that I have overcame the negative self talk that kept me from doing SO MUCH when I was younger. Thankful that I have such love and support from the people around me.

I love my family so much. Yall be supportive and nice to each other!

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knockyasocksoff2022 · 1 year ago

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More Than You Know || Soukoku

Chapter One: Nakahara VS Mori (2,553 words)

(A/N: For this context, Dazai’s surname is Mori so Chuuya calls him Mori and calls Ougai, Mr. Mori/Mori-san)

Chuuya's Perspective:

I’m the only one here and the courtyard is still quiet, the only sounds are the birds chirping, the creaking of the gate, and the swishing of the trees that hide Kafka Academy from the gritty rest of Yokohama.

I like it this way, here I can actually study, which I suppose is the point of my enrollment here, at any rate, it’s better than home. I know Kuoyou tries her best but ever since our parents died in a lab accident, and my brother ran off to France, it’s been hard.

Kuoyou is in university and works as a secretary at Yokohama Port Corporation, and I studied my ass off for this scholarship.

My head flicks up from my maths textbook when I hear the gate opening. It piques my interest until I recognise the car. I curse myself for letting myself get distracted on this particularly difficult problem. Still, I can’t look away. The car is a limousine, pretty standard for the types of kids here, but this car has the Mori family crest on the grill.

Mori Ougai is the CEO of Yokohama Port Corporation, his son Mori Osamu goes here and we have all our classes together. Unfortunately for me, he’s an annoying little shit. But, fortunately for me, he’s usually only here just before the bell rings.

He steps out of the car, says something to the driver, and then to my horror starts marching right up to me, swinging his hips like some kind of model. Rich, spoilt brat!

When he reaches me he glances down at my textbook and then says “The answer to that one is 3,459.”

I should be used to it by now but I’m not, “What!”

“You were close though.”

His words snap me out of my shock, how dare he patronise me? “Don’t tell me the answer, then I won’t learn!” It feels stupid after I’ve said it.

“I’m just telling you the answer, not telling you how to get to it. Besides, even if I did, it’s not like the teacher checks the textbooks anyway.” he looks genuinely confused at why I would actually want to do more work and it makes me want to punch him.

“Well, some of us actually care if people think we’re lazy and spoilt. You know, some of us aren’t born arrogant geniuses, and I actually want to learn. Go flirt with the garbage bin, or whatever it is that makes you late every day.”

I expect him to tease me back but instead, he sits down beside me and stares at the maths book. “Yes, you’re a very passionate dedicated student, and person in general, so willing to try everything and do it with all of your heart, it’s what makes you so admirable.”

I can tell he’s talking to me but his words don’t make a shred of sense, “What the hell!? Stop that, are you high?”

He only laughs, “No, I’m flirting with garbage, just like you told me to.”

I can feel the heat rising in my chest and my blood pulsing in my ears, my capabilities of rational thought disappearing as the anger takes over “Oh, really? Ya’ know what? . . .”

The punch lands squarely on his left eye and he falls to the ground, not dramatically, he just falls with an empty-sounding thud, I expect him to spring up but he just stays there, after a few seconds he’s still motionless.

As I walk away I realise it’s the first time I’ve really hit him like that, with all of my power, and intention to hurt. I mean I’ve hit him loads of times before but this feels different, for one thing, he didn’t hit back, even if just to play the victim. Shit! I wonder if he’ll tell. I’ve always been so careful with my temper, of course, this bastard is the one who made me mess up. I could get kicked out and lose my scholarship for this.

I look around, but nobody’s there yet, except the driver. I wonder distantly why he didn’t leave, but more importantly, if he’ll report this to Mori-san.

Pushing down all of my pride in favour of saving my reputation, I plaster the best sad expression on my face that I possibly can and walk back towards the boy on the ground.

He’s still on the ground and completely still, should I say something? I hate that I’m actually worried about this when I should be worried about the beating Kuoyou’s gonna give me for this. But what if I actually hurt him, I’ll definitely lose my scholarship for this.

Panic starts to rise in my chest, and I fight to maintain my usual teasing tone, “Come on you lazy bastard, get up.”

He makes no move, I nudge him with my foot, and try to bait him into getting back up and arguing with me, “Did I knock you down that easily? Wow, so it was really this easy huh? I should’ve done this a long time ago.”

Finally, he stirs. I expect him to make some big announcement about how hearing my annoying voice brought him back from the dead but instead, he just mumbles something into the quiet morning air.

Because I know the driver is watching I extend my hand, and to my surprise he actually takes it. I bring him to his feet and he lets go of me immediately, probably disgusted to be touching someone who doesn’t live in the fanciest part of the city.

He walks away, not towards the school, but back to the car. Is he ditching? Just because I punched him? Whatever, what do I care?

I watch nervously as the driver says something to him, looking at me like I’m a bomb that could go off at any second. I would make a crack about how I didn’t know rich people spoke to their help but I can’t afford to make this any worse. Mori answers the driver and gets back into the car.

It pulls out of the gate the same way as it came in, and then he’s gone.

After he’s gone the worry settles in my chest. Of course, he left, he’s probably going to tell his dad that I ‘mortally wounded’ him, and then they’ll sue the hell out of us.

I try to go back to my maths to distract myself but I can’t focus so I just stare off into space.

—

Eventually a hand waves in front of my face, for a second I think it’s one of the Mori family’s goons come to arrest me but then I realise that the hand is covered in bandages.

“Wha-”

It’s Mori. He must have scraped his hand when he fell, but I didn’t see any scrapes so he’s probably faking for attention. “Hey, Chibi! Did you finally figure it out?”

“Figure what out?” it comes out in the aggressive tone I usually use with him but I try to soften it on the slim chance he’s still making up his mind and hasn’t told on me yet. His fringe is over his face, particularly his left eye, my punch definitely left a bruise.

“The maths problem, of course. I’d offer to help you, but you seem to be in a handsy mood this morning and I’m afraid I’m not really looking for that right now.” The way he phrases it makes it sound like I did something . . . sexual.

“It wasn’t fucking “handsy” I fucking punched you, you perv!” So much for being gentle, “And I don’t need your fucking help!”

“Suit yourself.” He shrugs in the way he does that says ‘Whatever, I’m so superior anyways.’ and walks back toward the school.

The bell rings and I grab my maths book and head to my locker.

When I arrive in the English classroom Mori is already there, in the seat next to mine. Well, we don’t have assigned seats but I always sit there, and he knows it.

“What d-” I remember I’m supposed to be sucking up, for the sake of my scholarship. My tongue burns with all the words I want to throw at him right now but instead, I say, “Do you need something?” with as little aggression as I can possibly manage.

He looks at me for a long moment and then blinks, “You may speak normally, Nakahara-san.” The sudden formality is clearly him mocking me but it sounds right on him, fitting, like this is how someone like him should talk, not throwing kid-ish insults every chance he gets. I’ve never heard him talk like this before, almost like he’s pulling rank on me, but not like he usually does, shoving me and calling me a dog. At the same time, the elegance sounds weird coming from him, despite his aristocratic status, the words are like a suit that doesn’t quite fit. I’m used to him teasing me like a child, and it makes me realise how stiff it must sound coming from me. That was probably his intention.

It’s true it would seem hella suspicious if I all of a sudden started being sweet to him, I’ll have to try to find a balance. “Well, what do you want?”

“Nothing, I’m just sitting here, we still have free seating you know.”

I take a breath not trusting myself to forcefully relocate him to another seat by throwing him across the room. “Yeah well, just don’t bother me okay?”

He gasps dramatically, throwing a hand over his chest, “Of course not!”

The relief is immediate, to be honest it was actually kinda creepy hearing him talk like some fancy businessman.

English goes well, and true to his word Osamu doesn’t bother me once, not even to correct the mistakes I’m sure I must be making. It’s relaxing.

But, as soon as I step out of the classroom door, he’s beside me. “You didn’t make nearly as many mistakes as usual, Nakahara-san, have you been studying more?”

I can tell he’s still teasing me about being stiff earlier. “No, It’s because you weren’t bothering me the entire class. If you keep this up I’ll kick your ass out of that top spot!” I almost regret saying that, god forbid I give him more incentive to pester me. As if anyone could ever touch his ranking.

“As if, Chibi can’t even reach that high.” he echoes my thoughts and I can’t help but laugh just because it’s so true that I can even forgive the height jab. I shake my head and head to my locker.

The next class is maths, just before I enter the room someone catches my shoulder. I turn. It’s a tall blond boy with glasses, he holds a green notebook with the word “Ideals” written neatly on the cover in fancy script. I think his name is Kumiya or something like that.

He looks concerned and whispers as he speaks, “What did you say to Mori-san in the corridor, he looked like he’d just seen a ghost?”

“Huh, what’d ya mean?”

“I have English with you and right after you walked away he looked like he might faint.”

The boy’s words confuse me, and I have seriously no idea what I could’ve said to shock him so much. “He must have realised he forgot to turn his oven off or something.”

Shaking off the strange encounter I head into the class

In maths, we do have assignment seats, and Mori’s is right next to mine. It’s hell. He’s always holding his stupid IQ over my head.

When the professor releases us to do work he does his work with ease, finishing before me and the rest of the class. But that’s not enough, no, then he turns to me and scans my paper.

He frowns, “You’re still doing it wrong. I can help you if you like.”

“No, I don’t need your help.”

“But, you clearly don’t know how to do it?”

“You think I don’t know that you smug asshole!”

“Well, if you know you’re not doing it correctly then, why–”

The argument goes on until the work timer goes off, scaring the ever-loving shit out of me and making me fall out of my seat. I mutter a curse. And gather my worksheets, releasing rather belatedly that most of them are less than half done.

To my horror the teacher is walking down rows, he isn’t collecting the paper but I see that he’s checking it, I take out my maths book and pretend to be consulting the text. I glance over and see that Mori has his book out too and is dutifully “checking his work”. Of course, he’s done nothing wrong.

Professor Tsushimura approaches us and looks disapprovingly down at my mostly blank papers.

“Is there a reason, Nakahara-san, that your work has gone undone?”

I look over at Mori, the smug bastard.

“Yes sir actually, Mori-san wouldn’t stop bothering me. He repeatedly took my materials and refused to return them.”

At this accusation, Mori looks up but directs his gaze back down before the professor notices.

“Ah, I see. Well, seeing as you’re such a hard worker Nakahara-san I’ll let you off with a warning, and I’ll be moving your seat, come see me when you get to class tomorrow for your new seating assignment. And Mori-san,” the boy looks up looking innocent, “while I did not witness your transgressions myself I’m sure you will be fine with another person next to you and cleaning the blackboard and desks during your free period today.”

“Of course, professor.” Mori just nods making no effort to deny my mostly false claims. I’ll admit I expected him to come after me and the fact that he didn’t startles me and leaves an almost uneasy feeling in my stomach. He must be planning his revenge. I hope that maybe he just wanted to suck up, but I know that isn’t true.

The professor nods, pats me on the and heads back to his desk, dismissing the class just as the bell rings.

I cram the worksheets hurriedly into my bag and head off to the library to complete them.

By the end of the free hour, the concept starts to make sense. I think I’ll be able to finish them at home.

The next class is Science.

I sit next to Mori in this class too, it’s because we have M and N surnames and the seating chart is alphabetised. When I sit down Mori looks away.

He doesn’t look at me for the rest of science.

I ignore his eerie silence as best as I can and focus on my worksheet. The work is easy because we have a substitute teacher (Some old guy with a monocle) so I finish quickly. I want to work on my maths a bit more but when I finish I find myself turning to look at Mori. He’s on his phone, playing one of those mindless candy-crush-type games.

Soon my maths is abandoned as I watch him engrossed in something on his phone, he almost looks like a normal kid.

Before I know it the bell is ringing and I curse myself once again allowing Mori to distract me.

In History the same thing happens, it’s kind of creeping me out and I know whatever he must have planned is going to make my life hell.

But by Physical Education, our last class of the day nothing has happened.

Maybe he just decided to stop wasting his time on a peasant or something but either way, I’ll keep my guard up.

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jonathankatwhatever · 1 year ago

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It’s 5AM on 26 Nov 2023, and I’m just starting to get into the understanding ring, the knowable ring reducing to a finite set which then counts in very basic form I’m seeing better when I think of you, good and bad, as a binary form, as a series of pairings, meaning translation of the glittering surface conception with all the facets I was hypnotized by, each acting as both a generator and a reflector, as you giving out what an outsider sees in you, which led to the great love conception in which I saw you identifying not only with the GL, which I just realized says H I J K, but as embodying it in the exact way needed to deepen understanding, which means following that Pathway by interacting with and through you, and that explains something very deep inside me. I knew it was you, because that unites both traditions, the Jesus character talking to me while the Mohammed character was talking to me, able to occupy the same space because the former took the words while the latter took the form.

That happened through gender identity. That is, the words and the forms Alternate over the various existences to become the limited set of choices, of actions, of thoughts and understandings, we can have, can see, can experience, at one time. That, I now remember, is the work we did showing how grid squares is that process, that it generates into D3-4 Space within D-structure. The generation of objects within a dimensional structure. That’s a really good title. Says nothing and says everything.

That title is already organizing material.

I meant to say above that gender identity has poles and it started to click that the Mobius concept translates comutatively with that, not because it’s 1 and 0 and -1 but because I finally can see the Triangular I’ve been resisting. It took translating the Mobius function into 1-0Segments. Those segments were, as I remember - it’s so hard to remember short-term ideas that haven’t fully formed, which haven’t generated a Boundary as opposed to an Attachment. That’s a slippery idea, so I’ll try to catch it. An Attachment is a partial Boundary. Like if you’re hit by a drop of water in the day with no clouds, it may be a bird. Like when you learn a new task, like when you’re in some sense virginal or inexperienced, or when you’re otherwise unready, meaning you may have the capabilities, the knowledge, the experience but be taken by surprise, in either a good or a bad sense. That’s a lot of binary connections making chains across that space. You can see theme in the sentence: exposure to something is an Attachment if it carries with it certain inferences. These inferences fit into forms, which is why we infer from them, which the J and M conception above embodies, which shows the way Storyline enacts into maths over decades of my life, which shows how deeply motivated I am by this Mission and by GL and by the HC, which would be the motivation, together I mean because GL acts on the forms and the states contained within the HC, which means they make an LC. That gets me lost and I can’t afford to do that, given how tired that kind of unfocused thinking gets. It’s nice to expand to say: we increase the potential to include messages drawn no matter how unlikely in literal letters because it worked the one time just now with hijk, but if we start searching, the space is obviously huge from this perspective, which is division of the space by looking for possible modularities, which means checking lots of words and ideas. And the space includes positive and negative, which is exponential because each side develops and that is literal 2^n. To see that, I imagine the Extent dividing the sides, meaning the yK. And oh this is beautiful: the xK is Irreducible, meaning it’s unstated or hidden and thus is constructed in this perspective because we are counting over both directions.

Wow. That fills in a huge amount of understanding regarding I//I. Wow. What a great connection, too. I mean, it’s: here is exponential space, and thus a way of seeing time complexity because the inferred Irreducible, here the xK, counts over the exponential space. Stuff is coming in super fast. Slow it down.

Lost a bunch of great stuff, but what a dramatic moment to experience. I know those ideas will return. It’s the form in the music. And that was another clue, a huge one, that fine grained ability to be on both sides of a genre divide. You are the only one I’ve ever seen with that kind of classical understanding, that it’s in the echoes, the resonances, and how you can pin them so the gap between forms a Triangular, like described above. So let’s say you make something and someone hears it. That’s an fD and the Between 1-0Segment now manifests the Inmanation and Emanation. That notation now FINALLY comes into play. You know how much I resist it.

In-m and E-m, just to note have to type them, represent the Pathways. That’s interesting: I just saw them make a rational using wheels, because you spin to the E-m and that gets picked up in a response loop which meters, meaning the loop defines or becomes forms, or simply uses forms which carry the meaning within the forms. That’s why we can have drama and farce. Like the old joke about the guy who always wanted a singing telegram, so when he gets a telegram he insist the guy sing it and it’s something like da da da da da da your mother’s dead. The misfits of the forms to the LC, to the context in which this 2 Thing structure exists.

So the Between Ends construct. How does that work in ideas to make a 1-0Segment? The Ends are Bips because they literally don’t exist unless the loop exists. It’s like saying between actor there is a script, a scene, with a performance of some sort being the enacting of these other pieces.

This is why partials are so hard, isn’t it? I mean if you look at the potential outcomes, the codomain, then the enacting is the range, right? I’m trying to say that if you get close, you can’t see the form and when you look at the form, then you don’t see the detail clearly. This increases the inference potential. I can’t get into that more now. Too many ideas. Let them be.

The generation of objects within a dimensional structure.

It’s 6:25 and I’m starting to get tired.

So the idea of Mobius is to make a Triangular of evens and odds, where the count is of the literal number of prime factors, meaning we’re restricting using gs process to eliminate, to count as 0 and thus ‘remove’, so the primes all do that, which makes them -1, meaning when we look at the individual count as being an Irreducible root of its own modularity, then in this way of counting, that removes the modularity, meaning we cross those off the list of gs primes. That line in the middle is thus of removal, which is an Extent, and thus yK with the Irreducible xK (or simply I(x) and thus maybe I-xK?).

And the construction part is then clearer: the 0 is multiples of the same, not just multiples of numbers. The phrase restricts from both directions: from multiples in general to same and from same to check if multiple is not same. That’s an oddly phrased way of saying coprime because they can’t be the same factor and the larger construction, meaning the count of primes up to n or something like that, goes to 0 if there is a square or higher. So the gs prime is constrained twice in a coprime, which means there is always a midline over which one is considered the same or not. That can be modular. Or rather, it’s always modular but it can appear more fluid or otherwise continuous. Remember: we did some work on turbulence recently, and saw this there, that a modularity carries forward, which identifies those critical places where the modularity can shift, etc.

One way of looking at this is to say that one Irreducible of an fD is form over the dividing 1-0Segment with the existence at the single Ends. And flip. So meaning and form I//I. And you can really see I//I clearly now.

So it makes sense Mobius appears in close connection to the zeta series. I’d love to be able to articulate that, but it may be beyond me for now. So if we apply I//I, and think gs: then we see both the D4 form, with the midlines of Triangular now appearing as hypotenuses of the right triangles with sides of 1-0Segments, and the more obvious now but otherwise hidden 3rd End for each.

This generates up to D8 and D12 fairly easily.

So, since the complex zeta series constructs a prime pole at the Bip, then the Mobius counts out that process too, which enables a translation form. I’m grasping the space. It’s now after 7AM and I need to get a bit of sleep. We have a truck rented for the day and I’ll be lifting and carrying a lot. And I still need to do laundry!

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thebrethrenpost · 2 years ago

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Essentials for Humans

The world is cruel. No doubt about that. The unfairness and injustices we continue to experience are likely inevitable and won’t disappear anytime soon. Why? Because it always has been. As George Bernard Shaw once said; “We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience.” Since humans have a limited lifespan, it lacks the experience of the needed learning in life to change their telestial nature. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Man is evil, we can say they’re poor, dumb or immature as they tend to choose their self-interest and safety rather than the common good. And yet that’s when I realized the despite that there are things that are still essential for humans. And these what I’ve come up with:

Kindness

We start at the core of our character and that is our intention to do good to the world all around us. Kindness is the most attainable characteristic in your human hood. In fact, kindness is already there in your nature. Knowing you have a conscience that makes you feel happy when you did something right or troubled if you did something wrong is already a piece of evidence that you are a rational being capable of being a good person. However, I want you to learn beyond this type of kindness. Kindness is not just being proactive in doing something morally right. It is also how to effectively react within the given situation around us. It’s learning how to face adversaries, learning how to struggle well and also dealing with other people better. As Ted Koppel once said; “Aspire to decency. Practice civility toward one another. Admire and emulate ethical behavior wherever you find it. Apply a rigid standard of morality to your lives; and if, periodically, you fail as you surely will adjust your lives, not the standards”. I believe these are essentials to us for our survival and well-being. By learning these skills, you will improve your life with peace and joy whatever the circumstances.

Strength

Strength is one of the characteristics that made the human being survive in this earth. If people are strong, they are capable of doing and successfully achieving their goals. Although strength is often represented as the extreme physical aspects, such as lifting something heavy, enduring a painful experience or winning a fight. Strength can also resemble other simple things. It's also about maintaining small simple habits so you won't go weak for long periods of time. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is one of them. Eating a proper diet, getting enough exercise and having enough sleep are common but important ways to maintain strength. You must do everything you can to improve your health and well-being both physically and mentally. Because what doesn't kill may make us stronger in the short run but actually deteriorates us in the long run. So eat your greens and live longer as you try to survive.

Wisdom

When I talk about wisdom I'm not talking about having a high IQ, good reasoning skills or math. I was more talking about having a growth mindset. Which means dealing with your unknowing and honestly learning something. I commended people who acknowledge that they're 'idiots' and yet has that strong enthusiasm for learning. Usually, these are the people that are likely willing to adapt and change for the better. This also builds innovation that will greatly contribute to society than those who are complacent. Another factor of wisdom is the ability to think independently. Thinking independently will allow you to build curiosity and challenge the existing knowledge that is already accepted as the conventional truth. This results in the Innovation that I just mentioned. Having a growth mindset and the ability to think independently will advance you to gain more wisdom than others. You will fail, improve and excel. And no matter how many times you're proven wrong if you only became right one time. It'll make you a genius and legend.

So far, these are the 3 things essential for humans. Although there a lot more that I can think of. This should give you a good start on what to reflect for yourself and what area you can improve on. I still struggle the 2nd one but hey, that’s what makes us human. :)

#thebrethrenpost lifeskills

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davidhatter · 2 years ago

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Getting Into Knives || Hatfish

baenxietydad:

“Yeah, I’ve been bartending since I got married and moved to Seoul, so that’s…math. I was eighteen, I’m forty-one now so awhile. It’s how I picked up Japanese, English, passable basic French, and some Russian…and a few others.” Marlin said as he grabbed a circular cutter to cut the dough into mandu skins. “I worked at places frequented by foreigners. The late 90s and early 2000s is when South Korea really became, like, an international tourist destination. I learned quickly that more places would overlook me being a fairy if I could speak to the expats and tourists well.”

He huffed a laugh.

It’s kind of an elaborate form of begging if you think about it. If I speak one more language, will you see me as a person? If I’m really, really smart, will you like me? A thought he’d best keep to himself.

“It’s nice working for other fairies, even if it’s a nightclub. Noisy, and I’m the oldest person working there by tenish years, but I’ve gotten attached to those kids. I’m sure it’s the same for you and the uni students that work for you. You kind of inevitably become their Designated Adult.”

Well that was very impressive to all be said so casually. This guy knew all those languages? Just from picking it up? He must have been terribly smart, to the point that Hatter probably bored him to tears. How was he supposed to ever have a decent conversation with someone with those sorts of capabilities? All Hatter could to was crack an egg or boil some water. That intimidation that had been looming on the horizon had now washed over.

Why on Earth did Mr. Bae even want his company? Or was this some sort of pity thing? In which case, Hatter was very sorry.

“I doubt that,” he said, referring to the kids in his employment thinking of him as their...anything, really. Well, other than their boss. Hatter did care for them, of course he did, and looked out for them as best he could, but he didn’t think he played a bigger role in their life than what he was. But he fully believed that Mr. Bae was that role, given the dedication he had for his son and life in general. He was probably what everyone looked for in a person to gravitate toward.

“Do you like it? Making the drinks, I mean.”

#title: (getting into knives)#ch: (mu-yeol bae)#(hatfish)

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copperbadge · 3 years ago

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When I was ten, I was an absolute nightmare for one single, specific school year.

I was fine with my parents and friends, but in class I was disruptive and low-achieving, I cheated constantly, and I was generally a pain in the ass. I was in a progressive school where I’d been for two years without any issues, so everyone was bewildered by this, understandably so.

I hadn’t thought about it for decades until recently, with the ADHD diagnosis. Not that I’m blaming my behavior on ADHD; I did what I did deliberately, consciously, and it set a pattern for later acting out as a teen -- self-sabotage as a method of getting attention. If I’d had different family or different teachers later on it might have worked and I’d still be doing it, but in high school it never got me an ounce more attention, good or bad, so eventually I stopped. And I got through high school and got two college degrees, so I guess in a screwed-up way, ignoring me worked.

When I was ten I was a genuinely smart and good-natured kid. I was doing fine in most subjects, but I began to fail in math. And when I began to be told I must be doing it on purpose because it wasn’t like it was hard math (multiplication), I thought, if you want to see failure, let’s go.

I bombed on everything from biology to music appreciation. That’s how bad it got. Because fuck you, that’s why! I couldn’t verbalize that yet but that’s what it was. You want me to do one thing I’m not capable of doing and you won’t believe me when I say I can’t? Fine. I won’t do anything you want me to do. What a little shit! I'm kind of proud of him, even as fucked up as it was.

I keep thinking about it now because above and beyond anyone else, that teacher is the one who should have seen it, who should have comprehended that this was not just a behavioral problem. I don't know if anyone was truly capable of catching my learning disability but if anyone was going to, it was going to be her. That teacher should have seen this bright, friendly little kid throwing himself at a brick wall -- and then throwing himself off a cliff -- and said, “There’s something truly wrong here. He can’t do this. Let’s find out why.”

Instead she gave me a poster with a fucked up poem on it.

She told my parents I was at a difficult age, and they also had a kid with autism and not a lot of emotional resources to spare for me, who had never needed it before. So it was easy to believe her, send me to my room (which was full of books, so I went quite happily) and beg the school to move me up a grade with my cohort so I wouldn’t continue to be poorly socialized. They said I was smart, I’d catch up, and the school agreed. And I did. Mostly. Still can’t do multiplication, but it’s remarkable how infrequently I need to. Partly I caught up because the next teacher looked at my record and said, “It seems like you’re not very into math. Just do what you can,” never gave me a math test, and graded me on my own personal curve when it came to numbers. Crisis averted for the moment.

I’m not angry with my parents or the therapists they sent me to or the educational system. But I’m still a little mad at that one teacher who told me I was too smart to fail unless I was doing it deliberately. She might not even deserve it; she had 20 kids to manage and I’m sure she was angry with me and thought I was a liar. In her place I might not have worked it out either, though I think I would have been less of a sanctimonious dickhead about it.

But that’s the thing about this kind of journey. You don’t really get to choose who you’re mad at or why. You only ever get to choose what to do about it.

She has since passed, and the school combined with another school a few years ago so it doesn’t exist. I could reach out to one of my other early teachers, who I think would remember me, and ask him about it, but I don’t know what the point would be. I’ve dealt with the habit I had of fucking up my own life worse than anyone else could fuck it up for me, I don’t do that and haven’t in a long time, so there’s nothing...lingering, I suppose. I’m not traumatized by it. I think the word is annoyed. I’m annoyed by it.

So I guess I just think about it until I come up with something to do or until I've thought about it enough.

#sam has adhd

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cyberstole · 3 years ago

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SENTENCE STARTERS : ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER BY OLIVIE BLAKE

PART ONE, BEFORES

❛ they see you closer than you are, but you’re further from reach than either you or they can imagine. ❜

❛ what are you thinking about today? ❜

❛ maybe tomorrow, everything would be different. ❜

❛ take me home, stranger. ❜

❛ maybe we should break up. ❜

❛ you’re one of those brainy fucks, right? ❜

❛ your future self will always see what your present self is blind to. ❜

❛ cigarettes are extremely out of fashion. and they’re bad for you. ❜

PART TWO, CONVERSATIONS

❛ you’re obviously a very good liar, ❜

❛ if i were a liar, wouldn’t my lies be extremely valuable currency to me? ❜

❛ i don’t think we’re really capable of loving the things our parents love. ❜

❛ can you make this less like an interview, please? ❜

❛ the point is, you’re observing me too closely. ❜

❛ i was formerly a thief. ❜

❛ did you get the lies you came for? ❜

❛ you want to puzzle me out like a math problem. ❜

❛ crime doesn’t make a person complex, everyone has a history. ❜

❛ do you want me to leave you alone? ❜

❛ i want to see what you see. ❜

❛ are you interested in me? ❜

❛ i’m not trying to predict you. i’m trying to understand you. ❜

❛ couldn’t you predict me if you understood me? ❜

❛ i like it, your brain. ❜

❛ right, one impossibility at a time. ❜

❛ i wasn’t really thinking about you, to be honest. ❜

❛ it’s very… austere, isn’t it? ❜

❛ i could study you for a lifetime, carrying all of your peculiarities and discretions in the webs of my spidery palms, and still feel empty-handed. ❜

❛ don’t hold hands with anyone ever again. ❜

❛ there she is. queen of chaos. ❜

❛ don’t worry, you’ll fit perfectly. don’t worry, there’s nothing here for you to break. ❜

❛ there, now it looks like somebody cares about you. ❜

❛ there is nothing worse than being predictable. nothing smaller than feeling ordinary. ❜

❛ so don’t speak. just stay here with me, just breathe. ❜

❛ haven’t you been paying enough attention to run? ❜

❛ don’t go, just stay. settle over me like the tide, cover me like a blanket, wrap around me like the sun.❜

❛ i think that, for someone to get close to you, you must have to give them one key at a time. and even then, only one level can be opened at once. ❜

❛ you know, it’s poor form to accuse a lady of lying all the time.❜

PART THREE, KEYS

❛ do you imagine things? Is your life a dream or a chart? ❜

❛ come closer, let’s see what happens, let’s see how the stars shine on your skin. ❜

❛ i know you’re not stupid. that’s the worst part. ❜

❛ all this time we’ve been talking and you’ve been syncopating your breath to mine and your pulse to mine and your thoughts to my thoughts, you’ve been learning how to love me, haven’t you? ❜

❛ if i am a lover of impossible problems then you will have loved me for my impossibilities. ❜

❛ what else matters but this, me, us? ❜

❛ am i imagining this? ❜

❛ i want to see your art. ❜

❛ this night is stolen, i want grand larceny and this is petty theft. ❜

❛ austere. it’s a cold word. ❜

❛ you have never understood beauty and all the worse for you, you never will. ❜

❛ i am more addicted to the thought of your name on my tongue than i am to any other form of vice. ❜

❛ the thought of having you is more dangerous than any cocktail of drugs, the idea of belonging to you endlessly destructive. ❜

❛ it’s a fire. i used to burn out, now i just burn.❜

❛ his name is written on my skin, he scarred me. ❜

❛ you just seem like you’re looking for something to overwhelm you.❜

❛ you can’t fix me. ❜

❛ i don’t see anything to fix. ❜

❛ thank you for the shape you took in my life but it’s over now, it doesn’t fit. ❜

PART FOUR, FIRSTS

❛ something is wrong with us, we are unwell, no one has ever felt any of this without destruction. ❜

❛ empires have fallen like this. ❜

❛ my god, what a waste of time doing anything else but holding you. ❜

❛ jesusfuckingchrist what have you done to me? ❜

❛ go on, ruin me. wreck me, please. ❜

❛ am i the girl who stays while others leave? ❜

❛ i love your brain.❜

❛ can you love my brain even when it is small? when it is malevolent? when it’s violent? can you love it when it doesn’t love me? ❜

❛ i’m going to tell you my secrets. ❜

❛ come home with me. ❜

❛ i want your future, i want it for me. ❜

❛ i’m going to replace those memories, i’m taking them back for me. ❜

❛ i want you to say everything, anything. i want to have your thoughts, i want to bottle them, i want to put them in my drawer for safekeeping. ❜

❛ jesus, we’re fucked, aren’t we? ❜

PART FIVE, VARIABLES

❛ come outside, come look at the stars. ❜

❛ i worry that if you try to keep up with her, you’ll burn out. ❜

❛ you’re wrong about her. ❜

❛ ether is what they called the air in the realm of the gods. a shining, fluid substance. ❜

❛ you poor thing, what a curse. i wonder which god you angered.❜

❛ you can’t just live in your past lives. ❜

❛ so this is what it is to love something you cannot control, it feels precisely like terror. ❜

❛ i thought you’d be sick of me by now. ❜

❛ every time you love, pieces of you break off and get replaced by something you steal from someone else. ❜

❛ yes, it is perilously wonderful to suffer so sweetly with you. ❜

❛ can’t you see how intangibly i exist, and how perilously? ❜

❛ will I always fear him as much as I love him? ❜

PART SIX, TURNS

❛ you really haven’t changed, have you? ❜

❛ you can always undream me, unbelieve me. ❜

❛ i’m strange, okay we’re both strange, nobody understands us except for us. ❜

❛ you think i don’t know that there’s something wrong with me? ❜

❛ i think you need me more than you want me. ❜

❛ there’s a difference between cravings and compulsions. ❜

❛ i love your brain even when i fear it. ❜

❛ have i already destroyed this little fledgling thing i tried to nurture? ❜

❛ whatever you are made of, i am made of it, too. ❜

❛ it isn’t pretty, it’s lonely, it’s desolate, it’s a chilling portrait of vastness. ❜

❛ she does burn me, she ignites me. ❜

❛ she is my hope and for that she is dangerous, unequivocally, but she is also alive, unreservedly. ❜

❛ it’s you and me right now, stranger ❜

❛ it’s you and me alone in the ether, and you don’t even know it yet. ❜

❛ this is what it looks like to love you; it looks like an abyss. ❜

❛ all falls come with danger, but not us. not us, we float. ❜

❛ because you and i, we are so different, aren’t we, and yet we are more like each other than the rest of the world is like us. ❜

#sentence starters #dialogue prompts #dialogue prompt #rp starters #rp meme #book starters #inbox memes #inbox prompts #olivie blake #alone with you in the ether

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mariacallous · 2 years ago

Text

When Russian students returned to school this week, many of them learned that Mondays are now going to look a little different from what they’re used to. First of all, each week will start with a flag-raising ceremony and the Russian national anthem. After that, the Education Ministry wants teachers to give lessons from the new government-designed curriculum package “Conversations About What’s Important.” The class is intended to teach students about topics “related to key aspects of life in modern Russia” — including the war in Ukraine.

In late August, Meduza published an overview of what the new patriotism lessons will entail. Now, to get an idea of how regular Russians are feeling about the changes, Meduza has compiled a list of reactions that students, parents, and teachers posted online.

What students are saying

First thing in the morning, we have “Conversations About What’s Important.” After that, we have all that unimportant crap — like math, physics, and Russian.

***

Every Monday at our school, they’re going to raise the flag and have “Conversations About What’s Important” in first period. A great excuse to sleep in.

***

I just learned about “Conversations About What’s Important” and the Monday assemblies. Sounds about right. I’m in the tenth grade, and there’s nothing for me to do except listen to someone tell me for the hundredth time about how fucking magnificant our country is and how all the others are nothing to write home about.

***

My sister goes, “We have a new class.”

I ask, “Conversations About What’s Important?”

Her: “Yeah.”

Me: “And what did they teach you?”

Her: “I don’t know. Nobody was listening.”

***

“Conversations About What’s Important,” the national anthem, and the flag-waving [...] isn’t turning students into patriots — it’s turning them into stand-up comedians.

***

My version of “Conversations About What’s Important” would include first aid training, self-defense lessons for women, sex ed classes, sessions with a child psychologist, and those kinds of things. That would be a lot more useful than what we’re doing now.

***

In the future, I think “Conversations About Things That Matter” should be replaced with a sex ed class. They can call it “Conversations About Things That Splatter.”

What parents are saying

I asked my daughter, “Have you already started ‘Conversations About What’s Important?’” She said, “That class where they’re planning to brainwash us? Yeah, we had it today.”

***

“Lev, it sounds like you’re going to have a new class. ‘Conversations About What’s Important’ or something.”

“Yeah, I already read about it, Mom. I’m not going.”

“Alright. If they give you any grief, tell them to talk to me.”

***

Our new class, “Conversations About What's Important,” is a load of BS. But Mom said I can skip it! Hooray!

***

When I told my mom we’re going to have “Conversations About What’s Important” and that I was extremely unhappy about it, she said it’s a good thing, that they’re going to tell us the truth, and that otherwise I’ll just “fill my brain with those Ukro-Nazi Tiktoks.”

What teachers are saying

I never enter into conversations with my students about provocative topics like these, of course, unless I’m being extremely careful or my students are already grown and capable of critical thinking. But if — or, more likely, when — I teach this class, I certainly won’t follow any fascist curriculum guides. I think my options will be to either try to refuse to teach the class, to address the topics honestly and with decent messages, to talk about something else, or to leave the state school system altogether and get a job at a private school. But then again, if everybody leaves, what kind of cannibalistic monsters will be left to teach the kids? Who will they grow up to be? And what kind of future will that leave us?

***

They’re adding a new class called “Conversations About What’s Important." It starts in the second grade. I’m just beside myself. I don’t want to have to tell children about the “Russian world.”

***

Our new teacher said, “You probably heard that they’ve introduced a new class called “Conversations About What’s Important.” We decided it doesn’t make sense to have those lessons here. If there’s anything important, I’ll tell you during recess.

***

We made an agreement with our teacher: only half the class has to come to the “Conversations About What’s Important,” and we’ll just alternate each week. I like how even our teacher wants to scam the school administrators.

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ragingbookdragon · 3 years ago

Text

She's A Bird! She's A Plane! She's...Spiderwoman?

Justice League x Reader One-Shot

Word Count: 3.3K Warnings: Explicit Language

Author's Note: IDK where this came from but I was watching ITSV, so...there's that. Enjoy! -Thorne

**********************************************************************

“This is your fault,” Barry griped, hacking away at the glowing fauna with the makeshift machete—in reality it was just a really big stick that had a really sharp rock tied to the end. “I told you our trajectory was off and what did you do? You said, ‘I’m Hal Jordan, the greatest pilot in the world. Watch my big head crash us on an alien planet where our central battery gets displaced during the impromptu crash land and thrown miles from our position’.”

“Do you want some cheese with all that whine, Bar?” Hal asked, an unimpressed scowl on his face as he illuminated their footpath. “It’s not my fault the orbital windspeeds were faster than the sensors picked up on. Blame the tech, not me.”

“That sounds like you’re just trying to pass off the blame,” he shot back, swiping down at another vine that wriggled like a dying snake and spat out fluorescent blue liquid on the broken end. “Y’know? Like you do best?”

“Seriously, find a better thing to do than complain, Flash. We’ve got bigger fish to fry than blaming each other.”

“Each other? I didn’t do anything! This was all you!” Barry spun on Hal and glared at him.

They glowered at each other when a clicking sound echoed above them and they both jumped a foot in the air, spinning back-to-back as they looked around in every direction, up and down and side to side.

“What the hell was that?” Hal worried.

“I don’t know,” Barry replied, just as concerned. “It sounded like clacking.”

“That did not sound like a chicken.”

“Clacking, Hal, not clucking.”

“Same thing,” he retorted, lifting his arm in the air, shining a bright green light amongst the glowing red treetops. A bunch of branches, neon red leaves and purple flowers, a darting limb—a darting limb?

Hal shifted the light back, jolting Barry’s shoulder in the process. “What is it?”

“There’s something above us,” he whispered, watching with cautious eyes as something shifted on the main branch of the tree, the outline of a dark head coming out, just enough to catch the edge of their bright gold eye. “It’s watching us.”

The something shifted back into cover, the clacking sounding once more, then the treetop ruffled, dropping red and purple fauna on the two men as it jumped to another tree. Hal tried to follow it, but it was too fast for his eyes; the only thing it left behind though was a string of long white webbing, hanging down from the blue tree branch. And Hal being the idiot he was, decided to touch it to see if he could figure out what it was, and only managed to get it all over his hands.

He pouted, trying to pull apart his hands. “It’s sticky.”

Barry let out a long and heavy sigh, placing one hand at the small of his best friend’s back, the other holding the machete. “Come on, dumb-dumb. Let’s go find that thing again.”

“Isn’t that the opposite of how the survivors live? I know we’re white, but I didn’t think we were that white.” He was half tempted to see if he could gnaw the webbing with his teeth. “This shit isn’t coming off.”

“Here,” Barry said, vibrating his hand as fast as he could and to Hal’s surprise, the webbing cut, falling to the ground.

“Thanks!” he chirped, holding his arm out again to shine his ring. “What do you think that thing was?”

“Alien lifeform.”

“No shit, Sherlock. What gave it away? The alien world?”

“I’ve just about had it with you,” Barry growled, cutting through another rough patch of vines. As the path cleared, they stepped out of the heavily forested area to see one older tree in the center of the circle. It rested atop what looked like an ancient cave, the rocks crumbling around the front.

“I’m not going in there,” Hal immediately stated. “You couldn’t pay me all the money the US owes in debt to go in there. Fuck that.”

“You’re such a big baby,” Barry chuckled, walking up to the entrance; it was about the twelve feet high and ten feet wide, big enough for the two of them to walk in. “Come on. It went in here.”

“Barry, please! Why aren’t you more worried about this?” Hal begged. “You should be more worried!”

“Hal, if it wanted to hurt us, it would’ve done so already.”

“Or maybe it’s luring us to our deaths!” he countered, even though he was following Barry into the cave.

There was more webbing along the walls of the cave, swirling around patterns of purple and blue. The farther they walked the stickier it got, and at one point, they were struggling to lift their feet off the cave floor to take the next step.

“Christ, what is this stuff?” Hal asked and Barry bent down, poking at the webbing.

“It’s like spider webbing, but stickier and stronger.” He vibrated his hand to dislodge it from the strings, then did it around Hal’s feet. “You might wanna float for now. I’ll vibrate my feet to keep from sticking.”

“Good idea,” Hal agreed, lifting a few inches off the ground. “Do you think the lifeform is intelligent?”

“Intelligent us or just intelligent?”

“Intelligent us.”

“Anything’s possible. It seemed sentient so I believe it’s probably intelligent.”

“What do you define as intelligent, Barry?” Hal questioned and the forensic scientist hummed.

“If it’s capable of calculus it’s intelligent.”

“Really? If it can do math homework you think it’s worthy?”

“Calculus is a difficult skill. You need the ability to think and to calculate in order to solve and understand it. That requires sentience and intellige—oh shit!” Barry’s words tipped into a yelp as the ground gave way beneath him and he sunk down, shouting all the way.

Hal’s eyes shot wide, and he flew down the hole. “Barry!” he yelled. “Barry where are—oof!” he collided with more of the webbing, this time enough that the entire left side of his body was stuck to it.

“Hal! You okay!”

He looked over, seeing Barry stuck on his back. “I’m okay? You!”

Barry nodded. “I’ve been better. What is this?” they looked around the best they could. Spiral upon spiral of iridescent webbings surrounded them, stuck to the walls for support, them in the center.

Hal’s eyes narrowed and he glowered at Barry. “I fucking told you it was luring us here.”

“Shut u—”

The clacking sounded above them and with panic, they both turned their eyes to the ceiling, watching as the alien lowered down near them. It looked like a human, two arms and two legs, no extra limbs at all. Hell, it didn’t even look like an alien spider; it just looked like a normal human, gazing down at them with two normal eyes. That was until it opened all six of its golden eyes and stared down at them with it’s mouth open, two one-inch fangs protruding from where the canines were.

“Ohshitohshitohshit,” Hal whispered, about to shit himself in terror.

The alien reached for Barry, and he watched as his friend sunk back into the webbing from the outstretched hand. Except he couldn’t go any farther and turned his head to the side, quietly whimpering as the long black claws touched his cheek.

“Barry!” Hal hissed and blue eyes met his, then,

“Friends!” the alien shouted. “New friends for Rhiezheveir to have!”

Their expressions pinched in confusion as the being started to twirl in the air, one hand holding to the webbing they’d lowered down on, the other elegantly flowing in the air.

“You can understand us?” Barry wondered and they looked down.

“Yes!” leaning down, they got in his face, and he saw the rather feminine looking features. “Rhiezheveir saw the ship come in the sky and land! I waited until you left it to search! The ship’s memory functions in this language!” she seemed rather excited. “Rhiezheveir found the core you were looking for! I did not know how to get you here to return it!”

She climbed up the webbing, disappearing quickly only to reappear with the ship’s core under her free arm. “Here it is! Rhiezheveir brought it back!”

“Why do you keep saying that?” Hal inquired and she lowered down next to his face, hers right in front of his.

“Saying what?”

“Rhieza-something-reservoir?”

“Rhiezheveir?” she offered, and he nodded.

“Yeah, that.”

“Rhiezheveir is my name! I am named after the brightest star in the Kosialaran sky!”

“In the what sky?” Barry asked.

“Kosialaran!” she answered. “This planet’s name! My planet!”

“Are there more of you?” Hal questioned. “You’re the only intelligent life we’ve seen besides bloodthirsty beats trying to eat us.”

“Yes, I saw you fight with the Erqurcus. They are not nice lizards. They like to bite Rhiezheveir when she tries to feed them.”

“Why do you refer to yourself in the third person?” Barry piped up. “Sometimes you use first too.”

“In Aissaveed culture, we commonly refer to ourselves in the third, though I learned from watching, that humans use first. Rhiezheveir is learning to mix them.” She smiled and the clacking sounded again.

Hal tried to look at her. “What is that noise?”

Bending down to his face again, she flashed her fangs. “They click when I get excited!”

Barry cleared his throat. “Um, Rhiezheveir, are there more of your kind in the area?”

“Not here. On the other side of the planet there is. Rhiezheveir has travelled far to get away from her people’s hunters. They do not like me.”

“How come?”

“Rhiezheveir broke tradition. Refused to be royal consort. Fled and hid here.” She let the tips of her toes touch the delicate silk webbing and then crouched, the web bouncing lightly with the weight. “Rhiezheveir is not welcome amongst her people anymore. I am alone now.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Barry murmured, even empathetical of the alien. “You’re here all alone?”

“Yes! Though not anymore!” she patted both Hal and Barry’s thighs. “New friends!”

Hal wiggled. “I hate to break it to you, Reservoir, but—”

“Rhiezheveir,” she corrected, and he sighed.

“Rhiezheveir. But we have to get back to our own planet. We have responsibilities.”

Barry nodded. “We need to get back to our ship.” he tugged against the webbing. “Can you help us get out of this? We’re stuck.”

“Of course!” she chirped, starting to snip the webbing with her claws.

“Wait a second!” Hal exclaimed. “There’s nothing underneath meAHHHHH!” the last thread snapped, and Hal tumbled down the dark and dimly lit cavern.

“Rhiezheveir!” Barry yelled. “What are you doing!”

She held up a finger in a wait motion, then a wet plop sounded, followed by, “NEVERMIND! I’M OKAY! THIS WATER SMELLS FUNNY THOUGH!”

The Speedster sighed. “Oh, there’s water down there.”

She looked at Barry oddly. “Rhiezheveir would not try to kill her new friends. That is not nice.” Snipping the lines around him, she held on as he fell and she let out a squeal as they dropped, though as Barry hit the water, she merely held on to the web in her hand, just above the body.

Barry broke the water and spit out the remaining in his mouth. “Water tastes funny too.”

Hal rolled his eyes. “Rhiezheveir, how do we get out of here?”

She smiled. “Follow me!” she shot out her free hand and another string of webbing left her hand, attaching to the roof of the cavern; letting go with her other hand, she swung like a monkey on a vine, then repeated the process, alternating her hands. And boy she was fast. Barry and Hal had to freehand like they were in the Olympics to keep up, and even then, it wasn’t fast enough.

***

By the time they made it back to the ship, their hair and clothes had dried off. They noticed that she didn’t like to be on the ground and crawled along the tree limbs above them. Bioluminescent flower petals shook from the branches every time she moved, creating an aura of beautiful red and purple around them.

Barry took the battery from her and slot it back into place, watching as they ship powered back to life; he walked over to Hal who was sitting in the first seat. “Everything good?”

Hal nodded. “A few nicks here and there, but the engine and all other vital systems are good.” He looked up. “We should be good to go once the power levels reach operational.”

The Speedster smiled and turned to her. “Well, Rhiezheveir, this is goodbye.”

She merely blinked. “What do you mean goodbye? I am coming with you.”

“There’s not enough room,” Hal said, and she smiled, those fangs clacking as she raised her arms.

“I will make myself small!” her dark body illuminated in a bright gold, then the shape began to shrink and shift, eight long legs appearing out of the main shape that had evolved into two orb like shapes. When the glow dispersed, she raised her front legs and waved, then skittered up Barry’s leg and body to his head.

“I have a spider on my head.” He said dumbly. “I have an alien spider nuzzling my hair.” Barry looked at Hal. “There’s a spider in my hair.”

Hal shrugged. “So long as it stays on you, we’re good.” He peered at her. “Rhiezheveir, can you understand us in there?”

She waved her front legs as Barry climbed into the ship, sitting on his seat; she scurried down his head to his shoulder and sat there, perfectly balanced, her beady golden eyes occasionally blinking.

“That’s a big ass spider,” Hal noted.

“She reminds me of a Goliath birdeater.”

“A what now?”

“Goliath birdeater. It’s the biggest spider on earth.” He examined her. “But her legs are so long…like a huntsman spiders’. I wonder if she’s got the abilities of different species?”

Barry reached up, holding out his hand and she climbed on it, letting him lower her to his lap. “Can you sit there while we take off, Rhiezheveir? Once were out of atmosphere, you can wander around the cockpit.”

All she merely did was raise her front legs and wave them once more before settling on his thighs, curling her legs in contently; he smiled down at her, then the realization of what bringing her meant and he blurted out, “I have no idea how we’re going to explain this to the others.”

“What do you mean?” Hal questioned.

Barry looked at him. “The crash land will be easy—you’re an idiot.” He ignored Hal’s outcry of offense and gestured to her. “How do we explain we picked up a shapeshifting spider…lady?”

Hal shrugged. “Hostile environment navigated by a peaceful intelligent lifeform who managed to be a stowaway?”

“I like the first half up until ‘who’.” Barry met his gaze. “She was threatened by her own people and begged to help her flee?”

The pilot pursed his lips. “We’ll need to use her reasoning for leaving. The whole royal consort business.”

“Sounds good.” Barry glanced down at her. “Rhiezheveir, does that sound—oh…I think she’s asleep.”

Hal looked down to Barry’s lap and sure enough, the hand-sized spider wasn’t moving on his legs other than the occasional leg twitch. “Sure she didn’t die?”

“Hal!” Barry hissed. “Don’t be mean!” he gently scratched her the top of her abdomen with his pointer finger.

“You’ve pack-bonded with a spider,” Hal noted. “Nice job, buddy.”

“Oh, come on. Like you don’t find her friendly.”

“She’s a spider.”

“She’s an alien who turns into a spider.” He watched the planet get smaller and smaller as they exited the orbit and into the stars. “Bruce isn’t going to be happy that we brought an alien back.”

“I think the pressing matter is that we have no idea what she eats.”

“Bugs?”

“You said she was an alien who turns into a spider, Bar. What’s she going to eat when she’s human…like?”

“Meat?” Barry wiggled his fingers in Hal’s side. “Man-flesh.”

Hal choked on a laugh, batting at the hand against his ribs. “Stop that.” He steered the ship through a debrief field with ease. “We’d better figure out or she’ll eat somebody in the middle of a fight.”

“In a fight?” Barry asked.

Hal shot him a look. “We didn’t take this Lady Spider with us just to get her off her home-world. She’s gonna help out somewhere.” He shrugged. “Might as well stick her in the Justice League.”

Barry’s lips pulled satisfactory. “That’s…actually a good idea.” He smiled. “I can’t wait to show her to Bruce. You know he doesn’t like spiders?”

“He’s scared of spiders?”

“I didn’t say he was scared of them, Hal. He just doesn’t like them. I think creepy crawlies make his skin crawl.”

Hal shoved him in the arm. “Don’t call her creepy crawly. She’s a pretty spider.”

“What happened to making fun of her?” Barry smirked. “You pack-bonded with the pretty alien spider lady, didn’t you?”

“Shut up,” Hal griped, going still when she shifted and crawled up the dash of the ship and stared out the window; she turned, waving her front legs. “Yeah Rhiezheveir? What is it?”

She pointed to the stars, drawing her front legs in downward arcs as if to say, “Wow!”

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Barry murmured and she did it again; he looked curiously at her. “Hey Rhiezheveir, you can understand us, right?”

She waved.

“Okay. Since you can’t talk to us until we get back, how about this—front legs up is ‘yes’ and front legs down is ‘no’. Do you understand?”

She lifted her legs up and he grinned.

“Good. Now, do you like warm places?”

Her legs went up, then down.

“Sort of?”

Up.

“You like warm and cool weather?”

Up.

“We’re going back to our world. There’re many habitats there. Some really hot and really cold. Others are in the middle.” He explained, watching her almost nod. “We’ll be meeting the group Hal and I work with on another ship. You’ll have to stay there for the time being. Is that okay?”

She lifted her legs up.

Hal leaned over. “Rhiezheveir, are you a spider that sometimes turns into a lady?”

Her legs stayed down.

“So, you’re a lady that sometimes turns into a spider?”

Up.

“Nice. Can you fight?”

Up and waving wildly.

Barry looked at Hal then back to her. “You said you refused the position of royal consort. Were you chosen because you could fight?”

Up.

“So, you escaped because you didn’t want to be forced into that position?”

Still up.

Barry nodded solemnly. “Rest assured, Rhiezheveir, you won’t be forced into anything like that on Earth. You’ll be free and able to live openly and not in hiding.”

Her legs stilled in the air, then the curled and Hal muttered, “I think you overwhelmed her emotionally.”

The Speedster cupped the spider in his hands, letting her crawl back into his lap. “Sorry, Rhiezheveir. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She merely snuggled into his lap and stayed there.

“Rhiezheveir,” Hal started. “Your name is really complicated for humans to say. While I think it would be a good identity for a superhero life, I think you should find an easier name for people to use.”

She waved a single leg, signaling she was listening.

“How about (Y/N)?”

Barry smiled. “Ooo, I like (Y/N). That’s a pretty name.”

She raised her front legs and waved them excitedly.

“I think Rhiezheveir likes it too.” He scratched her torso. “Welcome to the Justice League (Y/N). You’re gonna fit in perfectly.”

(Y/N) waved her front legs, rearing up on her back.

“HOLY FUCK LOOK AT THE SIZE OF HER FANGS!” Hal shouted.

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