#imagine seeing that circular step sequence up close

[carionto]

It'll be "awesome", the Human said

(Continuation/conclusion to this)

____________________________

After the Coalition delegates had been mindblown enough, it was time for them to finally leave and have a nap. But Captain Knoslark had one more thing he desperately wanted to show them.

"So, like, we're a science vessel and we have three of the biggest reactors, right? Right. So, I wanna show you what we recently figured out we can do. C'mon, it'll be awesome."

Awesome - a word the rest of the Galaxy will soon learn to both admire and run for cover whenever a Human uses it.

With trepidation in their steps, and worry in their breaths, they followed the all too eager Captain, who was almost skipping and humming down the halls, dramatically pointing the way. His crew continued to not give him the satisfaction of ever acknowledging his theatrics.

"Once the reactors are in good enough sync, we'll reconfigure the Radiant Dusk to a circular shape and begin!"

Oh. Yeah. Of course their ships can also transform. Why not. The delegates have given up thinking there are things Human engineering can't accomplish. Also, good enough?

"Eh, don't worry about it, we overbuild everything, so a 1 or 2 percent margin of error is fine, most of the time."

They could not imagine themselves to be more worried. At least not until a few minutes from now.

"Captain, she's ready," Chief Engineer Tameki's tone changed to a total blank deadpan for the next words, "to transform. and. roll. out."

With childlike glee, Captain Knoslark tapped the big red button, specifically designed for his pad only, to begin the sequence.

Distant creaking of metal, anguish at the prospect of bending in ways nature never intended, and the unmistakable jolt of mechanical movement, despite the artificial gravity maintaining the same down throughout, once more instilled primal anxiety for the delegates.

The reactors wound up, turning the almost-buzz like feeling beneath their feet to a true all encompassing sense of absolute power. Three small stars at equidistant points along the now 4km in diameter vessel created a singular feeling of something imminent that should never have been possible. The Universe itself wanted to reject this possibility.

"We tried copying your mass field generators from way back when you did the barrier thing. Wanted to see if we could get close to Black Hole levels, there were some theories that time travels was possible with that kinda pull."

I don't think anyone would be surprised if they had succeeded, but, for once during their entire visit, the Humans said they couldn't get time travel to work. Celebration! Then the Captain kept talking.

"So what happened instead is we accidentally tore a hole in time-space, creating a sort of warp gate." He said with both joy and disappointment.

Then the Universe shrieked. A massive distortion in reality now struggled and failed to restore normality between the ring-shaped ship. Swirling coils of matter flickered in and out, ghostly visages of detonations on a solar scale. A sight never intended to be witnessed.

"Still gotta figure out how to set a destination to anywhere. Right now the only stable connection we can get is with massive gravity wells, so any celestial body with enough mass, smallest one is a red dwarf. Problem is the connection steers towards the center, so not really practical right now."

"If we try to point at empty space the gate just kinda wiggles and you end up getting spaghetti-fied on the other end. Still, once we get enough ships like this one around the galaxy, we'll solve that whole trips taking more than a few hours thing we got with the hyper drives."

At this point the delegates decided to be escorted away, as most had became a crying mess. One stumbled onto a automated cleaning unit and at this the Captain, whose mood had soured a bit now that his time as tour guide was over, rose back to heights unseen before. With his most official sounding, yet at the same time most joy filled tone ever, he declared:

"Sergeant Ying Zhao, issue an official notice. Today at 20:30 ship time there will be a grand ceremony for the promotion of Captain Stabicus to Special Envoy of the Galactic Coalition. Ready all relevant paperwork, and his new badge, and inform the chef to prepare a feast. We have done much today for the sake of Human-Coalition relationships, and so much more for the Radiant Dusk at Everest and her crew and staff. Tonight, we celebrate!"

[indefinableship]

Killing it at practice, per usual.

[beewolfwrites]

And When I am Formulated, Sprawling on a Pin - Chapter One: The Edge of a Diving Board

Hello everyone!

So I haven’t used my Tumblr account in years, but I recently binge watched Alice in Borderland not too long ago and like any sane person, I realised that it was pretty darn amazing.. and that Chishiya was hands-down one of the best characters in the show.

 So while I'm still riding the AIB wave, I decided to dig out my old Tumblr and write something! 

This is just the first chapter, and you can find it here on AO3 too. To be honest, it’s probably better on AO3 because the formatting is a little funny on here. 

I’ve written it in first person, but avoided giving the main character a name, so it can either read as a Chishiya x OC or as a reader-insert depending on how you prefer :) 

Please let me know what you think, and if you do read it, thank you!

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

It was David Foster Wallace who put it best. The world was one big queue leading up to a diving board. You took your place in line, climbed the rankings, and once you got to the top? The end. Process over. Because that’s how life really is: breathe, work, jump off the edge. You fulfil a function and then you’re gone forever.

At least, that’s how I’d always seen it. But the Borderlands changed all of that. Suddenly I was being pushed towards the edge of the diving board when I had thought I was still in the queue.

It happened all at once. I had been in an apartment, laughing over drinks with my brother and his friends. It was our first time in Japan, and we were only visiting for a four-day summer trip. I had only been allowed to go on the premise that he was there. Looking back now, I wish we had chosen Brussels or Amsterdam.

The last time I saw my brother, he was laughing with his friends as I closed the bathroom door behind me. I had turned to the sink, taking a moment to splash cool water on my face.

And that was when the lights went out.

‘Power cut’, I muttered, fumbling around for the door handle and re-entering the living room.

The apartment was dark and cold. I was alone.

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

Tokyo almost looked beautiful without electricity at night, like a ghost city paused in time.

‘Hey!‘ I yelled through the empty streets. ‘誰か’ Anyone?

My Japanese was limited at best, but I had to try. I had to find someone. There was no way this could’ve been a prank. A whole population doesn’t just vanish into thin air, it’s simply not possible.

‘Hey, Is anyone there?’ I tried again.

As if on cue, a light cut through the darkness. I couldn’t help but squint at the large white screen projected across a desolate building. I couldn’t read any of the kanji, but there was one word that stood out clear as day.

GAME

What is this? I asked myself.

Suddenly, the screen changed, this time sporting an arrow pointing to the right. I tried to read the hiragana, but it seemed there was no need. Another light appeared in the distance, glowing ominously over the tops of buildings.

I guess I have to go that way, I thought. Perhaps there’s some kind of big event on and everyone’s gone to watch.

I made my way to the source of the light, which turned out to be an old furniture store. In this sea of darkness, it was as if the electricity had pooled entirely into one two-storey building.

There can’t be an event in a place like this. Where is everyone?

On a wall was a smaller sign with an arrow pointing into the store.

GAME – こちらです

Hesitantly, I followed the arrow up the steps leading to the door. Inside, the hallway was fully lit. The walls were decorated with mirrors and printed canvases, their price tags and sale stickers still attached. Passing beneath an arch that led into a large room, I heard a tiny bleep. It was almost inaudible, but I knew I hadn’t imagined it.

As I peered around, looking for the source of the noise, a voice spoke.

‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you.’

I jumped, turning on my heels.

Leaning inconspicuously against a wall, a man was staring at me curiously. He was wearing a sleeveless grey top and looked to be in his thirties. He didn’t look like it, but perhaps he was the shop owner?

I stepped forward, intent on asking for help. However, I must’ve moved too quickly in my excitement, as my arm wavered, knocking a tiny vase with an artificial flower off a table.

It rolled across the ground, but before I could apologise and pick it up a neon red laser cut through the vase, leaving a singed hole in the plastic soil.

‘I told you not to do that,’ the man repeated, huffing.

I stared, wordless, at the destroyed flower. Lasers? What the hell kind of game was this?

‘Newbie, hm? This’ll be easy.’

It was a new voice this time. Another man, slightly younger, was reclining back in an armchair. I hadn’t noticed him until now as his green shirt blended into the furniture fabric.

‘A foreigner, too. How lucky,’ Green Shirt said.

My mind scrambled to piece together what Japanese it could.

‘すみません… 何がこれ？皆んながどこですか’ Excuse me, what is this? Where is everyone?

Green Shirt raised a brow, whereas the first man huffed once more.

‘It’s a game. You’ve just got to follow the rules.’ He gestured his thumb to a small side table where there were a several phones lined up. ‘You need to take one before registration closes.’

On second inspection, I noticed that they were both clasping phones tightly in their hands. Maybe this was part of the game? Approaching the table, I picked up a smart phone, finding that it sprung to life immediately with a face recognition screen.

‘FACE REGISTRATION IN PROCESS.

PLEASE WAIT FOR THE GAME TO COMMENCE’

A timer on the screen began to tick down from two minutes. Around me, I could feel the two men watching my every move. They seemed to be sussing me out, although I couldn’t figure out what for. Surely, since everyone in Tokyo disappeared, we should all band together and find others.

‘REGISTRATION CLOSED. THE GAME WILL NOW COMMENCE.’

This time, the voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once, as if through an invisible sound system. I looked around at the ceiling, trying to find the speakers, when I realised that at the back of the room all of the furniture had been moved aside to make way for a large circular table and four chairs. In the centre of the table was a stack of cards.

‘GAME – RUMMY

DIFFICULTY – FOUR OF DIAMONDS

TIME LIMIT – ONE HOUR’

Four of Diamonds?

I looked at the phone in my hand, where a picture of the aforementioned card flashed up. None of it made sense. And what did playing cards have to do with this?

The first man and Green Shirt both got up and made their way to the table at the back, leaving me no choice but to follow. They seemed to know what was going on better than I did. The three of us each took a seat, only I chose to a sit as far as possible from the other two. Judging from the deck in the middle of the table, we’d be playing a card game, and I didn’t want anybody close enough to see my hand.

The overhead voice continued.

‘RULES –

PLAYERS MUST COMPLETE A SINGLE GAME OF RUMMY.

THE OBJECTIVE IS TO CLEAR ALL CARDS FROM YOUR HAND. THE FIRST PLAYER TO CLEAR THEIR HAND IS THE WINNER.

THE DECK HAS ALREADY BEEN SHUFFLED.

PLAYERS MUST DESIGNATE ONE PERSON TO BE THE DEALER.

TURNS ARE TAKEN COUNTER-CLOCKWISE, FROM THE LEFT OF THE DEALER.

EACH PLAYER STARTS WITH SEVEN CARDS. AFTER THE CARDS HAVE BEEN DEALT, THE FIRST CARD IN THE DECK MUST BE TURNED OVER AND USED TO START A SEPARATE DISCARD PILE.

PLAYERS MUST ALWAYS DRAW ONE CARD FROM THE PILE, AND DISCARD ONE CARD PER TURN.

PLAYERS MAY PICK UP A CARD FROM THE DISCARD PILE, HOWEVER YOU CANNOT DISCARD THE SAME CARD IN THAT TURN.

PLAYERS MUST CREATE SEQUENCES OF THREE TO FOUR CARDS ARRANGED BY EITHER NUMBER OR SUITE. IF A SET OF THREE OR MORE CARDS IS CREATED, THE PLAYER MAY CHOOSE TO LAY IT DOWN IN FRONT OF THEM.

PLAYERS CAN ADD TO OTHERS’ SEQUENCES PROVIDED THEY HAVE BEEN LAID DOWN ON THE TABLE.

ACE MAY ONLY COUNT AS ONE.

JOKERS CAN BE USED IN PLACE OF ANY CARD.

CLEAR CONDITION – BE THE WINNER.’

Okay, I thought, mulling it over. Okay…

I hadn’t understood most of what the voice had said, but I could pick up enough that I figured it was just a game of standard Rummy. I had never played the game before, and I only knew of it through John Steinbeck’s characters. But I had played something similar, a card-melding game that my parents had taught me when I was a small child. I’d played it countless times, and I knew it like the back of my hand. Sure enough, these rules were slightly different, but it was still a card-melding game, all the same.

I looked up at the two men opposite me. They appeared confused, despite their attempts to hide it. Green Shirt gazed at me curiously, then smirked.

Oh…

‘A foreigner, too? How lucky.’

His previous words rang in my memory. Judging by the way the two men were looking at me, they were both counting on my inability to understand the rules. They were assuming I had no idea how to play, or even what rules were just read out. And yet, the brief glimpses of confusion in their expressions told me everything: they had never played a card-melding game before.

So they’ve already decided that they have the advantage?

I tried not to smile.

‘Do you know how to play?’ the first man asked me.

I paused, considering how I should answer. I didn’t know exactly what the stakes were, but judging by the laser I had just seen, losing the game couldn’t be good. In any case, I decided to keep my cards close to my chest.

‘このガームは知らない.’ I’ve never heard of this game before.

I was aware that my Japanese probably sounded like it came straight from a textbook, but in this situation, I couldn’t care less.

The first man nodded. He looked at Green Shirt, and said, ‘I’ll be the dealer then, if that’s okay?’

Green Shirt just shrugged and sat back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. ‘Hurry up then. The clock’s ticking.’

Sure enough, my phone displayed a timer which read 57 minutes. I didn’t want to find out what happened if we didn’t have a clear winner by the time it hit zero.

The first man picked up the deck, dishing out seven cards each before returning the stack to the centre. He took the first card and turned it over on the table, beginning the discard pile. Picking up a card from the deck, the first man began his turn.

I didn’t pay attention to what he was doing, as I needed to focus on the cards currently in my hand.

King of Spades

Three of Hearts

King of Diamonds

Five of Clubs

Ace of Hearts

Nine of Diamonds

Eight of Clubs

It wasn’t bad. Or at least, it could’ve been a lot worse. The two kings stuck out immediately as a potential meld. I could certainly build around them. However, another thought came to mind. If Rummy was anything like the game I had learned as a child, it meant that players could add to each other’s melds once they were on the table. In that case, I would have to avoid creating sets of consecutive numbers within the same suite, as a three-card combination in this kind of meld would leave two openings for the others to get rid of their cards, rather than just the one.

Glancing up, I noticed it was Green Shirt’s turn, promptly ended as he threw an Ace of Spades into the discard pile.

That meant it was my turn next.

I eyed the Ace he just discarded and remembered hearing the overhead voice say something about Aces. But there was no time to think about it; the other two were watching me closely and waiting for me to pick up a card.

I reached out to the deck.

Seven of Diamonds.

Technically I could’ve used it in conjunction with my nine, but it was too risky. I didn’t have time to wait around in hopes of picking up an Eight of Diamonds. Plus, I’d already decided against consecutive sets.

I tossed it into the discard pile.

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

The game continued for longer than I would’ve liked it to. The clock was ticking, ticking, ticking, and now read 17 minutes.

So far, my hand had started to come together.

King of Spades

King of Diamonds

King of Hearts

Nine of Diamonds

Nine of Spades

Five of Clubs

Ace of Hearts

I could’ve laid down my kings on the table. But there was only three cards in the meld, meaning one of the others could add the remaining king from their own hand. Across from me, neither of the other two had laid down any cards, and until they did, I couldn’t add anything to their melds either.

Green Shirt then took his turn and picked up a card. He glanced once at me, then threw a Nine of Diamonds onto the discard pile.

I must’ve regarded it a second too long because Green Shirt then spoke up.

‘You’re collecting Diamonds, aren’t you?’

I tried not to smile.

‘どうして知っているのですか’ I asked, playing along. How did you know that?

‘Because you always stare at the cards whenever I discard a Diamonds one.’

He must’ve gotten the wrong end of the stick, because whenever he discarded a Diamonds card, my heart sank. The last thing I needed was a Diamonds card.

‘I’ll try and keep a poker face from now on,’ I muttered.

Green Shirt frowned in response and checked the timer on his phone.

Nine minutes.

Nine minutes until game over.

That’s 540 seconds I had to land a good card.

Come on, I thought. Please be a nine. Please be a nine.

I picked up a card from the deck. It was a Two of Spades. I discarded it immediately.

In the back of my mind, I was starting to panic. Judging by this whole setup, we were playing for our lives. After all, what kind of game would have an invisible barrier that kills those who try to back out?

The first man threw away a Six of Clubs. Green Shirt stared at it and scowled. He must’ve been looking for extra cards to add to his meld on the table.  

By now, the two men were starting to become antsy. The first man kept scratching his eyebrow, whereas Green Shirt kept dragging his nails on the table in impatience.

He picked up a card from the deck, then grinned from ear to ear. He proudly lay down a consecutive suite consisting of the Seven and Six of Clubs and a Joker used to represent a five.  

Carelessly, he tossed down a Nine of Clubs.

My heart jumped, and adrenaline shot through me.

He still thinks I’m collecting Diamonds. That’s why he tossed it.

My hand shot out and snatched up the card from the pile before Green Shirt could figure out his mistake. And figure it out, he did, because his eyes widened slightly.

I looked at him squarely.

‘I have something to confess,’ I said in English. ‘I lied. I’m not collecting Diamonds.’

Green Shirt’s smile dropped. He didn’t understand, but he would soon enough. The thing about Jokers is that they’re always a double-edged sword.

Laying down my new trio of nines, I reached over to Green Shirt’s meld and inserted my Five of Clubs, swiping his Joker for myself.

He made a noise of protest, whereas the first man watched on with disbelief, as if hoping that his intuition was wrong.

I added the Joker to my two Kings, creating a new meld which I down on the table.

Their faces told all. They had no idea that Jokers could be swapped. Even though I hadn’t understood the rules outlined at the beginning, it was evident that this was a rule that hadn’t been mentioned.

Watching them shake their heads, wide eyed… it was like watching a penny drop.

‘ごめんなさい,’ I said.

I’m sorry.

I threw the Ace of Hearts onto the discard pile.

The two men shot out of their seats, yelling frantically. I tried to tear my eyes away, but couldn’t, as two lasers pierced through the ceiling and struck them where they stood.

The two bodies crumpled to the ground, and all was still.

‘GAME CLEAR – CONGRATULATIONS!’

I don’t know how long I remained seated in my chair, but I felt that if I moved, I would collapse too. Swallowing, I took two fingers and pressed them to my jugular, feeling for my pulse.

I had won. I was still alive.

I was still here.

The phone on the table beside me flashed with a message. According to this game, I had a four-day visa, whatever that meant.

It didn’t matter though, all I needed right now was to sleep.

Rising unsteadily, I cautiously approached the where the invisible barrier had been. For all I knew it was a one-way system, and I didn’t want to make a stupid mistake after all my effort in the Rummy game. So, as a test, I picked up a tiny vase and threw it across the entrance.

Nothing.

It was like the lasers had just disappeared altogether.

Tentatively reaching my fingers through, I deemed it safe, and made my way back down the hall to the store entrance. I didn’t know where to go, or how to live in a world like this, but if books and movies had taught me anything, I needed to make some kind of camp, perhaps even head to a food store to collect some supplies –

I stopped.

On a small side table near the entrance doors, a card lay facing up. The Four of Diamonds. The same Four of Diamonds that had flashed on the screen on my phone. The game’s difficulty.

But when did it get here? Perhaps someone had come by whilst I was still playing.

Shrugging, I pocketed it and stepped outside into the ghostly darkness of Tokyo. Behind me, the electricity in the furniture store shut off completely.

Whatever kind of games these were, I had a feeling they were only just getting started.

[21burritoseavey]

Like Everybody Else - daniel seavey imagine

a/n: I hope you like this, i didn’t want to make it too sad lol. Also, kinda random but how many of you use :), :( or :/ in texts? cos I do. Let me know what you think.

Song: Lennon Stella, Like Everybody Else

Run fast, run away, run straight into the loneliness

It isn't only home I miss

 “How's tour?” Y/n asked excitedly, taking a seat on the cushioned floor next to Anna. 

 Daniel smiled gently, “It’s...great.” Daniel spoke gingerly. “It would be so much better if you were with me” He continued easily. 

 “Aww, Dani” Y/n’s cheeks flushed bright pink at his sweet words, and she giggled timidly. 

 “Aww, you two are just the cutest” Anna said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. Him and Y/n chuckled lightly on opposite ends of the FaceTime call. 

 “How are you two doing then?” Daniel asked with a tight smile. 

 “We’re doing great! Keri’s gonna take us snowboarding tomorrow with your family!” Y/n spoke positively. Daniel’s eyes lingered fondly on Y/n’s. He happily relished in the feeling of love that played in her toothy smile and soft gaze. 

 Daniel’s blurry, muddled mind cleared as memories of past family adventures emerged at the sight of innocent kids playing in the distant snow from out the window. The snow fell as gracefully as feathers. 

 Daniel turned back to his phone after what seemed like ages. “That’s great. I’m glad you’re having so much fun.” He said quietly. “I miss you guys so much.” He breathed, his voice slightly wavering. The girls didn’t notice the slight sadness etched in his voice. He rushed to end the call, not wanting to fall apart in front of them. “I gotta go. I love you guys!” He rushed out before hanging up. He tossed his phone to the edge of his bunk and set his face in his hands morosely. 

 Like the night all my friends got together

Heard about it afterwards

Didn't think was gunna hurt so much

Daniel trudged out of the interview room tiredly. His bandmates followed close behind with faces full of energy and voices dripping in excitement. The boys’ brand-new freedom allowed for tons of new adventures in the unexplored town and while the other guys almost sprinted out of the building, Daniel wanted nothing more than to be alone with his thoughts. He pulled out his phone from his back pocket and tapped Y/n’s name on messages nearly unknowingly, like it was muscle memory. “Daniel, come on, we’re waiting outside.” Jonah called gently from a few paces away. Daniel lifted his gaze and let a small smile play on his lips as he spoke. “Yeah, just a sec.”

 “Hi” He typed quickly, shuffling his feet slowly toward the elevator. His screen illuminated after a few seconds. 

 “Hey:)” Y/n responded. Daniel’s tense body relaxed at the simple message from his girlfriend, and he let the corners of his lips pull upwards to form a faint smile. 

 “What you up to?” He continued. A moment later he received a photo from Y/n and opened his hesitantly. The image loaded to reveal Y/n with a couple other friends of theirs. The dark atmosphere sparked his memory and he remembered Oscar’s birthday party. Their happy faces shone bright even in the nearly non-existent light of the club. Daniel’s smile faltered at the sight of them and he couldn’t help but feel a great amount of envy swallow his mood. He wanted them to be happy, but he wanted to be happy too. 

 “Daniel,” Jonah whispered sharply again. It was only at that moment that Daniel realised he had barely moved from his initial spot, and he chuckled lightly at his friend’s serious expression. He jogged over. “What’s got you so glum?” Jonah asked teasingly as they headed into the empty elevator. He turned back to see Daniel truthfully upset and his expression quickly broke. “What’s up, man?” He asked earnestly, setting a comforting hand on Daniel’s back. 

 “Y/n...and the others...” Daniel said simply, dropping his gaze to his pink sneakers. 

 Jonah looked a little bewildered. He narrowed his eyes, “What? What do you mean? Did they do something?” He rushed out. 

 “D-don’t worry about it.” Daniel dismissed with a gentle shrug. He averted his gaze to the sign above the door and watched it light up silently as they reached their floor. 

 Why if I'm doin' so well

Did I build a wall between me and the world?

Daniel was sitting up on his bunk bed, leaning against his single pillow with his legs stretched out and ankles crossed lightly. He was still dressed in his outfit - too tired of even changing into something comfier. He stared blankly at his Instagram timeline on his phone, scrolling mindlessly through photos etched with fun and adventure. The high, creaking noise of the door swinging open shot Daniel out of his faint trance, and he looked up expectantly. 

 “Hey, the guys and I are going out to dinner? Wanna come?” Zach asked, making his way further into the narrow hallway of the tour bus. Daniel shook his head lightly. 

“Nah it’s fine” He muttered as casually as he could. He felt a swell of emotion wash over him unexpectedly.

“You sure? You said no last week as well.” Zach asked, peeking a brow at the boy across from him. 

 “Yep” Daniel said quickly, swallowing back the lump in his throat. He pulled a tight smile, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling in his stomach. Zach nodded gently, turning away towards the door, but just before he came to it, he looked over his shoulder one last time to Daniel. He let his eyes linger on his downcast eyes lit up by the screen in front of him before walking forwards and shutting the door behind him. 

 Daniel sighed in relief and dragged his palm over his face tiredly. He kicked off his shoes and watched them drop carelessly on the floor. He tugged the throw blanket at the foot of his bed closer and pulled it right up to his chin tightly, letting his eyes linger to the dark night sky aglow with city lights. He glanced at his cheery bandmates sauntering out of the bus and onto the footpaths with nothing but joy in their step. Daniel wanted to feel like them too, more than they could ever comprehend. 

 Been drilled in my head forever, be better, turns out

I'm just like everybody else

 Daniel burnt the midnight oil often. He usually found daytime band rehearsals too overwhelming to focus. His gentle piano playing broke the serene silence of the night, coaxing a beautiful, soothing melody until it was interrupted by the wrong note, caused by the slip of his finger. Daniel huffed deeply, resting his head aggressively on the keys in annoyance. It produced a muddled sequence of notes and Daniel felt the vibrations buzz through his head. He lifted his head, slouching back on the bench. He finally felt a great swell of anxiety drown his mind. The previous, harsh critiques from Randy reverberated in his head continuously and he couldn’t get his mind to stop spinning with self-doubt. 

 Daniel sighed deeply. He bit his lip in an attempt to stop his frustrated tears from pouring down his face. He looked around the empty and gloomy rehearsal room and let it all go. He hid his face in his hands tiredly while he cried. The dull ache in his heart was all he could think about, but he merely let himself feel the pain he thought he deserved. A few long minutes later, when Daniel thought he’d cried all the tears left in him, Daniel lifted himself up stiffly from the piano. He rubbed his temples gently before flipping the sheet music to the next page and continuing. 

 Don't even go near a mirror, it’ll kill ya

Trust me, you don't wanna see yourself

“Guys” A crew member came back into the dressing room. “You’ve got three minutes.” He reminded before rushing out into the hallway again. Daniel turned back to the mirror as he adjusted the cuffs of his dress shirt again. 

“Does this look alright to you?” He turned to Jack, pointing to his black and white suit. 

“Yeah,” Jack laughed lightly. “It’s fire...for the five - hundredth time” He joked, “why?” 

“Oh, I don’t know.” Daniel started, glaring over his shoulder to Jack again. “Maybe it’s ‘cause we’re going to a red-carpet event.” He said nervously. 

“Don’t sweat it, dude. We’ll be fine.” Jack reassured. 

Daniel nodded. His gaze persisted on the smudged, full length mirror standing in front of him. In truth, it wasn’t just his appearance he was worried about. It was also his talent. The thought of being in the presence of A list celebrities and artists he greatly admired sent everlasting shivers down Daniel’s spine. 

Fuck the noise, It's too late, It's the choices

Now I don't even wanna be someone

 “Dani.” Jack called gently from across the table. “Daniel.” He said blankly after a moment. 

 “Daniel.” Zach’s hand slammed hard on the table causing a loud thump to echo through Daniel’s whirling mind and he looked up from his downcast gaze to his bandmates cluelessly. “It’s your turn” Zach said, gesturing to the Monopoly board set on the table. 

 The dim light of the lamp casted a warm glow to the lounge room. Daniel sat lazily with his legs tossed on the coffee table. Daniel’s face broke into a soft smile. “Oh right. Sorry.” He chuckled. He leaned over, picked up the dice in one hand and rolled it. 

 “You okay, man?” Corbyn inquired honestly, eyes flickering to Daniel.

 “Yeah...you haven’t really…been here tonight.” Jonah asked carefully. His face was brimming with concern. Daniel’s gentle smile faltered, and his eyes wandered nervously before landing on his bandmates again.

“Y-yeah, yeah. I’m just tired.” He shrugged hesitantly, “don’t worry,” he added. He dropped his gaze back to the board and rested his chin in his hands. 

 That's nice, champagne, what a shame, It doesn't work on me

So don't go wastin' your money

Everybody in this room is too hard, too pretty, I'm tired

I just wanna be nobody

Daniel sat awkwardly at a circular table in the fancy, high end restaurant. The cacophony of polite chatter and clattering of fine cutlery filled his ears and he could barely focus on his own table’s conversation. “Daniel.” The sound of his name being called had Daniel diverting his stare to the older man opposite him. His sharp, strong features only complemented his staid personality. 

“Yes.” Daniel spoke as elegantly as he could. He tried not to let his nervousness peak through his calm facade and he wiped his slightly dampened forehead with the back of his hand. 

“Your managers over here tell me you’re quite the song writer.” He stated the faintest hint of a smile present on his lips. Daniel’s face flushed with nervousness. He cleared his throat with a slight chuckle and dropped his fork onto his plate. 

“I try my best.” He grinned. “But yea...I really enjoy it.” He finished shyly. He washed down the tension flooding his body with a sip of his champagne. 

The older man glared at Daniel before honestly saying, “you know, this opportunity is extremely selective. We only pick one applicant a year.” Daniel glanced at him expectantly, trying to ignore the tightening twist of his stomach. “There are many artists that enjoy writing.” He finished. 

“I understand-” Daniel tried but he was interrupted. 

“He’s a great writer, take it from me” Randy intervened swiftly. He shot a glare to Daniel before leaning his elbows on the table to converse gravely with the other man. Daniel reluctantly focused back on his nearly full plate - he barely ate because of his anxiety. He shoved a forkful of food into his mouth. 

What made me think I was special? I'm not special

Turns out I'm like everybody else

This song sounds exactly like 5SOS

They are just a like 1D

Their music sounds the same

Daniel typically took criticism with grace and modestly, but this time was different. The rims of his eyes were red from glaring at Instagram comments under his music announcement post for almost one hour straight. His fingers readily hovered over the word ‘reply’, prepared to sincerely explain how different his band’s songs were and how much work went into producing them. 

In the back of his mind, Daniel couldn’t help but believe their hurtful words. He set down his phone on the floor to the side in an effort to stop his mind from whirling out of control. He drew up his knees in embarrassment and hid his face against them tiredly. He let his anxiety-stricken face relax and tears flowed gently down his face. 

[sebbybooks]

Never Mine

Sebastian Stan x Fanfiction

Part One

"With my dog as my witness, to whoever was riding my ass if they didn't back off my bumper I was going to stop in the middle of the road and rip their windshield wipers completely off!"

That type of anger coiled around me like a snake, because there was nothing that bugged me more than someone driving bumper to bumper. The long and exasperated breath I just released helped ease the tension out of my body temporarily. Just in time for reason to settle in. Though in reality it wasn't like I was actually going to jump out of my car and confront this road demon. Who clearly needed to take a course on etiquettes of the road. What I did know was that whoever was behind the wheel of the car had headlights that were so blinding I am sure extraterrestrials in space could spot them.

Trying to find the calm in the situation I focused on the road ahead of me. What little road I could see for that matter. Which wasn't exactly much. I had checked the forecast earlier in the day with the report of it showing that there was to be only clear and blue skies. By the amount of downpour before me you would think there was a tear in the sky if that was how rain fell. I just needed to hang tight for a few more miles until I reached my exit to stop for the night.

I had been driving for nine consecutive hours and it wasn't until the third hour I realized I was not cut out for long distance driving. The plane ticket I turned down from my father was starting to look like a missed opportunity. I opted out for Cooper's sake. I just rescued the little guy a few short weeks ago and I didn't have the heart to leave him alone so soon.

Despite having only six more hours of this painful drive I needed out of my car. A hot shower and a bed was calling my name like a siren's call was to a dazed sailor at sea. I was fervidly drawn to it. Granted, I wasn't exactly going the speed limit in my own defense. Simply because I chose to be a cautious driver not a careless one unlike the dip shit behind me. Cooper and I were going to get to Sonoma, California in one piece if I had anything to do with it! I had no intention to speed in the rain even if it annoyed the person behind me. After all I was driving down a one lane road there was literally nothing else I could do but drive forward.

Taking a glance up at my trusty Garmin my gps projected that at this rate I wouldn't make it to my hotel for another hour and a half. Ahead of me the sky was starting to look like a terrifying shade of gray and to top it off the dismal weather was becoming more and more hard to drive in. I could barely see the paint on the pavement. My defrosters seemed to have given up on me as I began to notice that my rearview mirror fogged up as though it was twilight hour.

I needed to pull over to try to wait out the heavy rainfall. The only problem was that I did not know where I was nor could I see where the road even had an end. The cheap gas station coffee was starting to wear off and the pep talks could no longer motivate me. The words of encouragement quickly transitioned into self deprecating quips of "I can not fucking do this!"

I was too far from home to turn back now and hearing a lecture from my dad despite being well beyond the ages of even receiving one, certainly would not stop him from scolding at my absence. I am more than certain that fiancée number three would not mind if I missed their prenuptial celebration. Especially if arriving on time meant I would be showing up dismembered. It was official I was going to die in this storm.

All of sudden like I called upon a bad omen my tiny Kia Forte jerked forward. I thought I accidentally stomped on the gas pedal too hard without realizing it. When it happened again I knew exactly what it was. Clearly the driver had mistaken this for a game of bumper cars. I laid the palm of my hand on the center of my steering wheel and relentlessly pressed my horn. Not sure what that was going to necessarily ward off , but I had to try something in the efforts that they would leave me alone.

Cooper's head shot up from his bed in the backseat. He looked just as displeased and annoyed as I felt. Why wouldn't they slow down? Is the question I could not figure out. I don't know if it was all the Stephen King that I read, but my paranoia was increasing as I started to settle on the possibility that they were now following me.

Maybe I was tired?

Maybe my imagination truly was getting the best of me?

Or maybe whoever that person was also suddenly decided to take the same random exit as I was taking.

I didn't think. I veered my car off to the right and got on the first breakaway from this seemingly endless road. I had no idea where I was headed at this point and neither did my Garmin. It made multiple attempts to reroute itself, but even that could not locate where I was. I took an unexpected detour by driving off into the middle of nowhere with a now stalker in my midsts.

Adrenaline now filling up my bloodstream. I gave my steering wheel the death grip and drove as fast as the tire tracks of my car would guide me. On a midsize billboard to my left I saw a logo for a gas station and a non franchised bed & breakfast saying it was right up the road. I was taking a chance by trusting that the establishment was clean and safe. I just needed to go where a crowd of people would be. The battery on my phone was likely dead and yes this was now becoming the opening sequence for a King novel. I'd laugh if my heart wasn't fluttering as fast a hummingbird's wing.

I managed to make out lights ahead as I neared the petrol station first. However, it just about looked abandoned. The dim white lights flickered around the desolate parking lot. I saw only two freight trucks parked side by side and I immediately thought

. . .hell no.

I kept driving forward in the hopes that the bed and breakfast sign wasn't last updated in the early nineties. I nearly combusted from relief when I finally saw it. Several cars and mini vans lined up with people inside of them probably doing the same thing that I was. I didn't plan on staying the night I just planned on staying long enough to hide out from the rain and from the trouble that still followed my trails.

Luckily there were free parking spaces close to the entrance. It was still hard to make out what the place truly looked like. From my view in the car the rain made it look like it was a melting oil painting. In a swift motion I put my car in park, turned my ignition off, reached in the back to grab Cooper and grabbed ahold of my purse in the other arm. I bolted out of my car for the door.

It felt as though I was running through a hurricane. I was completely drenched. I could barely keep my eyes from closing as I ran up the slippery steps in my worn Toms praying that I wouldn't eat concrete. There was an awning over the door that offered relief from the storm's cruel embrace . Looking down at the fuzzy brown welcome mat I noticed a quote was scribbled out on it.

"some beautiful paths

can't be discovered without getting lost."

As I reached for the doorknob I couldn't help but notice the intricate design. I'm aware of how wrong the timing was to fawn over something so utterly mundane. I just could not conceal the fact that I was a sucker for antiques roadshow and architectural designing. Growing up with a dad that built and reconstructed vintage furniture one might pick up on the interest. It was a white privacy doorknob with hand painted roses, with a Victorian long plated silver keyhole. The sound of distant car door slamming snapped me out of my daze. I turned my head in the direction of the sound low and behold it was that same car. Crazy thing is I didn't see anyone by it.

Instinct guided me forward considering my brain was scrambling with worry. I ushered myself inside and it was as though I fell into a pink wonderland. From the pink carpet to the multicolored pink pinstripe wallpaper. Hot pink roses seemed to have been the main theme for the lobby. There were various black and silver picture frames with photos of pink roses hanging on every wall. On every surface my eyes could catch, red and pink plastic roses sat in circular olive green vases. It was certainly....something. I thought I was doing the most logical thing by coming inside, but it quickly dawned on me that I saw no one around.

"Hello?" I cautiously called out.

I paced myself as I walked up to the front desk, simultaneously looking around for any potential red flags. My right arm was going numb, my little guy was tiny but felt like I was lugging around a sack of potatoes. I wandered away from the desk to poke my head around the place. There was a entry way that led to a dinning area with a handful of seats adorned with of course pink table settings. I was standing next to a spiral staircase to what I assumed led to the rooms. There was only one door that held a sign for a bathroom. Perhaps there was a power outlet I could use long enough to charge my phone to call my dad.

The same door I walked in swung open and droplets of rain was blown in by the wind. A shiver rolled down my spine, sending a myriad of sparks that shot through my body. Turning around a strange sensation filled the pits of my stomach. It felt like butterflies and moths had taken up space there. Excitement and fear. I just stood completely mute like I had never seen a man before. Well to my defense I hadn't seen ones that look like him in my town. Without even seeing my reflection I had an inkling as to the state of my appearance. I was utterly perplexed by how he pulled off the kissed by an ocean look. To embarrass myself further of course my dog chose that moment to shake water off of his fur on to me.

"Really Coop?" I tried to hide my disgust, but he got it around the corner of my mouth! The good looking stranger offered a half smile that probably pitied my overall state.

"Is the black Kia parked out yours?" Even his voiced oozed sex appeal. He angled his frame so he could face me. There was about an arm length of distance between us. His eyes practically bore into my face I suppose waiting for me to say something. Must have been the buzzcut, the facial scuff, or the fact that some creep was still parked outside waiting to do who knows what. But my thoughts were not where they should have been.

I blinked and straightened up my posture. "Yeah why?" I finally answered.

It was a causal question, yet it felt completely random like there was something else to it.Neither of us spoke for a few seconds.The silence was so thick it would take a hacksaw to cut through.

"Well I'll be damned! I didn't think I would get to see you until after you got back from your trip in California." A woman most likely in her late sixties came rushing down the stairs for him. She draped her arms around his body clearly taking him by surprise. Her cotton candy colored pink bouffant made up for most of her height. Sebastian returned her embrace. Although it looked extremely awkward considering he stared at me the whole time and I stood there watching.

"Moe's old truck didn't give you too much trouble did it?" She asked.

"No it still got some life left in it." Sebastian's jaw went slack and he looked from her to me once more. Only this time he was looking at me with a cold glare. Realization suddenly crashed into me like a wild horse.

[mariniacipher]

Gone In Sparks And Light

My gift for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange - this was written for @genderqueer-turtle. I really hope you had a merry Christmas and that you will enjoy this gift! 

Summary:  Looking at an artefact he's stolen from the archaeology lab, Remus finds a way to travel back in time, to a place where he might belong- to the people who could be meant for him.

WC: 3,830

Ships: Remus/Virgil/Logan, ment. Roman/Janus 

Warnings: mentions of resurrecting dead animals 

ao3 

~

Remus leaned over the examining table and fiddled with his microscope to examine the shard of periwinkle glass. There had been runes carved into them, and the archaeology lab was being so possessive over it. Something about him destroying the delicate work. As if he’d ever be so careless with something so delightfully strange!  

He scoffed and let his scalpel run over the glass without leaving even the hint of a mark. “No, I wouldn’t,” he muttered, looking back through the lens of the microscope. He’d stolen it after hearing about the commotion they’d all made- he just had to take a look at it! 

Remus startled as he finally recognized the marks on the glass. Fiddled with the microscope’s lens. Examined the piece of glass again. Cursed. 

His scalpel traced over the last rune in a sequence of antiquated letters and numbers and signs that could’ve come from his own lab, if it wasn’t for the fact that whoever had carved this had gone even farther in the convergence of spatial displacement with interplanar conjuring than he ever did. And he’d already revolutionized the field with his out of the box ideas. 

His hands started shaking where they still traced over a small mark in the glass. A small mistake had been made there that set the equation off, a single line missing to turn it into the very formula he’d dedicated his life to discovering after he got his doctorate. 

And now he was just one line away from finishing it, thanks to whoever it was that had carved the periwinkle glass. A laugh escaped him, hysterical and hopeful and disbelieving, shaking his body and- the noise of this scalpel scratching the glass was almost inaudible, but to Remus’ ears it sounded deafening. 

He’d perfected the formula, he realized a moment later. He’d perfected it! He’d finished his life’s work at 27, all thanks to that mysterious soul, that mysterious carver of periwinkle glass whose body must’ve left a trace of DNA on this glass. Who had to be replicable and revivable. They had to be! 

Remus was ready to take apart the glass and grind it into molecular pieces to enlarge and search through, looking for any trace of DNA he could give the necromancy department and bring them back to life, or get the spectral summoning folks on the case- anything! 

This person, this carver-of-periwinkle-glass, they were the only one who could be his match, in a field filled with industrious dimwits and lazy, narrow-minded geniuses. And this shard of glass could lead him to a person with whom he could share his lab. A person who was actually his match, who knew what they were doing just like he did. 

He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes for a moment and murmuring the formula to himself, recognizing the inherent rhythm in it- a spell’s melody. Wrapping his arms around himself, he rocked back in his chair, almost hearing the symphony of magic meeting its capturing, of strings weeping and rejoicing. 

Without noticing, he raised his left hand in the air, as if conducting the magical energy with the scalpel he still held. The tight bracelet around his wrist started to glow, indicating magic to be near him. Remus didn’t notice that though, too focused on repeating the discovery- their shared discovery! After so many years of solitary work, he’d found a worthy partner, perhaps even a potential friend. No matter that time and space had tried to separate them.

He couldn’t imagine what their life had been like, what they had lived like- if they’d been just as lonely, just as severed from the world around them- if they’d wished for a companion just as much as he did. 

His wish, his desire, sent the magic innate to him outward, and the formula gave it a direction. They twisted together and converged to create a beautiful braid of light and sparks, green and dark blue and purple combining with silver thread to hold it all together. It circled in the air, being woven into a circular tapestry that flickered between aether and reality. The silver sparks reflected the light like mirrors, before showing- everything. 

Worlds and universes and planes he’d never imagine before and some he had, so different and bright Remus’ breath stopped as he saw it. 

But he kept repeating the formula, kept thinking of how its creator must’ve lived, and he saw how the silver mirrors showing the growing portal’s destination shifted, narrowing down their focus: First to only showing images of their plane, then to running back in time, then to finally showing him a small village from hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago. Remus could almost see himself there, could almost taste the air and feel the breeze and hear the rain that was pattering down from the sky. 

And just as his yearning reached its zenith, the silver sparks started to migrate into the centre of the circular tapestry, moulding and growing it. The portal turned into a single image of the small village, each raindrop glittering silver, framed by a braid of blue, green and purple that bled together at the edges. Remus stopped for a moment to admire it, the breath stolen from his lungs. 

Then he took a running start and jumped through it. 

~ 

Virgil rightened the wool cape over their shoulders and fidgeted with the broad scarf they’d wrapped around their shoulders and head. They were still drenched to the bone, the rain not giving them any hint of reprieve. The wool weighed heavily, damp and disgusting against their skin. Why did the market have to be so far away? They’d left their village when dawn had still been streaking the night sky with pink and purple stripes, to find the parts that Logan claimed he needed. 

Now, hours later, they were weighed down with a heavy bag filled with scrap metal, it was almost dusk and they were more than ready to let their husband hang up the woollen layers they were wearing and detangle their hair to braid it out of their face with warm, calloused hands afterwards. Their tired muscles ached for Logan’s familiar touch, to kiss and hold-

Why was Roman outside?

The rain and the darkness would usually drive him inside, to work on his costumes or his lines, and besides that Roman had been glued to Janus’ side ever since they confessed. And the snake was nothing if not consistent in their distaste for anything that went against their hedonistic desires. Virgil would know, they loved to watch them pout as they were dragged out of their comfort zone by Roman, pretending not to enjoy it, just like Roman pretended to dislike it when Janus forced him to take a break. If it didn’t devolve into them making out half the time, they would’ve even called the couple cute.  

But Roman seemed to be alone out here, and in what had to be a new costume- it was a stark white robe that shone against the drab houses the storm had turned their village into. It went down to their shins, with a similar white shirt underneath, and Virgil cursed under his breath. Light fabric was expensive, and if his friend had gotten in over his head for his creative vision again- 

“Hey, whatcha watchin’ for, hot stuff? You wanna get a piece of this?” The person- not Roman, not at all Roman- grinned, so wide it looked almost painful, shaking his hips in a way that was probably supposed to be suggestive but just let Virgil worry about his thin figure. There was a weird tension in his frame that Virgil couldn’t name. 

They frowned, hauling their bag higher up their arm to cross them before their chest. “I’ve never seen you here before, are you passing through?”  The white robe wasn’t protecting him from the rain at all and Virgil hoped he had friends in town to take him in. 

But the man shook his head. “Yeah, you could say that…,” he paused, before perking up with sudden enthusiasm. “Would you happen to know any scientists?”  

Virgil mouthed the strange word to himself before shaking their head. “No, I’ve never heard of that- what language even is that? I never… you’re not part of a cult, right?” They changed their grip around their bag again, this time to have a sharp piece of metal in arm’s reach. 

“No! I just- wait, let me think how you’d call it… maybe I should have studied history a bit, before- well, too late now.” The stranger hummed to himself. “I’m looking for a person who’s researching magic! Trying to understand and tame it, all that!” 

Virgil sighed. Of course, the maybe-cultist would look for someone of Logan’s profession; they ignored the curiosity the stranger had piqued within themself. “Then come along.” They led the way up their village’s main street and discarded the potential weapon in their bag. “My husband and I’s house is on the edge of town, and I don’t want you to freeze to death because the others think you’re possessed or something.” 

The stranger followed him, an obvious bounce in his step. “Does that happen often? I heard about possession, but never managed to get it right! I called on so many serial killers, you wouldn’t believe- the whole ritual is so disgusting, imagine how it’d look if it actually worked!” The smile on his face was positively gleeful. “Everything I read sounds positively horrid, absolutely gruesome and-” Virgil bit back a grin at the other’s open excitement. It’d been a while since they’d let themself be so excited about the more macabre side of magic. 

“Oh, you should’ve seen the reception at our wedding. I had gotten a bunch of emus and charmed them to come alive again, to carry some drinks. You should’ve seen the faces of the guests, man, it was great. And they were way better at serving the drinks than the chickens Logan wanted-” Virgil cleared their throat, suddenly growing aware of what they’d said. “Just so you know,” they added, grumbling, shoulders hitching up. 

Remus’ grin didn’t soften, but they perked up, finding the other to mirror his own interest in the dirty parts of magic and science. He leaned forward as he caught up to them with an expectant smile. “I do know now,” they said, “but you didn’t mention what spell you used at all! How am I supposed to reanimate my own flock of emus? Let alone my own flock of geese!” The scientist cackled at the idea of unleashing a flock of geese onto the archaeology department. It would be glorious and he had to get back to the present to do it at least once!

Virgil snorted, imagining their own friends’ reaction if they had to cope with a pack of wild geese. “I think you’d be run out of town for that one,” they muttered, but they were unable to hide their smile, small as it might’ve been. 

“Oh, like that hasn’t happened before! Do you know I’ve been banned from a different mall on each of my birthdays since I turned 13?” Remus bounced on his feet, rubbing his hands together as if he were a supervillain about to explain his devious plan, just to do something with them. 

“I’m Remus,” he added, a moment later, “and I’m pretty sure you’ve no idea what a mall is.” 

Virgil shook their head, but they were smiling. “Nah, but like, they can’t be that good, if they’d throw you out.” 

Remus froze, turning distinctly pink. “Okay. If you say so.” It wasn’t like he didn’t know what flirting was; in the monster romance books he secretly read there was a lot of flirting! He just. Hadn’t really ever been on the receiving end of it. But… looking at the stranger and their smile, their eyes shimmering with mirth, he’d really like to learn. 

Virgil cleared their throat, blushing too. The darkness thankfully did its best to hide it. “I’m Virgil,” they said and hoped they could convince Remus to stay a while. “And my husband’s name is Logan- you’ll love him, he’s great. As long as he’s not forcing me into a storm for his experiments, at least.” They chuckled, more fond than bitter. 

Remus nodded eagerly at the reminder of what had brought him here. “You mind telling me about those?” He leaned forward, “I’d love to hear about it.” 

Virgil laughed, “don’t tell me you’re another one of those logicians- I’ve already got enough with Logan and his attempts to anger the spirits.” 

Remus sputtered. “I don’t want to anger them! Just… get to the bottom of them. Are you honestly telling me that you’re happy with just accepting the ways they work? Just like that?” 

“No, I just- c’mon, we’re almost home, talk to Logan about your attempt to get struck by lightning.” But their smile belied the disinterest of Virgil’s words. Just what they needed, really, another person to anger the ones above and below. 

The two of them had arrived at the top of the hill the village stood on and could look below: the cliff coast, steep and jagged, the grey sea crashing against it, with a small cottage standing at its edge. The thatched roof was dark with rain and the garden around it seemed to be filled with herbs and flowers, some of which Remus had only seen in archaeological texts. 

The scientist ran forward as he spotted those, gasping as he cradled the bloom of a dark blue lily that had supposedly been used to dye clothes with its blooms and season potions with the dried leaves. Remus was almost cackling with glee as he imagined what the people at the archaeological department would say if they heard about missing out on this. 

He turned around from where he’d crouched down on the ground to face Virgil, not paying attention to the house. “What’re these?” 

“My mother always called them gunny’s blossoms,” came the reply from behind him, and Remus could see Virgil roll their eyes before turning around and standing up to face the other man- Virgil’s husband, most likely. 

The man was short- shorter than Remus and definitely shorter than his spouse, wearing a too-big woollen coat that probably belonged to Virgil, under which Remus could spot embroidered robes. He could’ve sworn he recognized some of them from either his textbooks or the designs still so popular in churches and temples, but they were covered up by the man’s crossed arms. “And what should I call you?” 

“Remus!” he introduced himself with a bow, exaggerated and clumsy, but he carried it with confidence. “I cannot say how happy I am to meet you- is it right that you are working with making magic make sense? Your spouse mentioned, but- I’ve got to be sure.” 

Logan looked over at Virgil, face creased with confusion. His spouse merely shrugged. “I am working on capturing the powers that be into clear, replicable form, yes. Are you in the field as well?” 

Remus laughed at the question. “In the field, yes- pioneered a good deal, back in-'' he looked around himself as if fearing to be struck by lightning when speaking his breaking of the laws of time and space aloud. “Can I come in? I’d love to talk to you- you both.” He rocked back and forth on his heels; this was the furthest he’d come in making new frien- acquaintances, right now, he reminded himself, even though it hurt- and he was weirdly jittery. Nerves firing and pores excreting sweat. He would’ve been delighted at the grossness had it been any other time. 

But Logan nodded, his curiosity seeming piqued as he exchanged a look with his spouse. There was a new light in his eyes and even though this was the first time Remus saw it, he wanted to keep it there for as long as possible. Judging by the softness that gentled Virgil’s expression, he wasn’t the only one. 

“Of course,” Logan finally said, turning back to the door. “You’re free to pick some gunny’s blossoms if you’d like. We have more than enough.” 

Remus made a high-pitched noise at the back of his throat, grabbing a handful of them and holding them to his nose. It coloured his face blue and Virgil snorted, not as derisive as they’d wanted to. 

“It tingles!” Remus rubbed at the pollen and colour on his face. 

“Yeah, that’ll be the rash you’re about to get,” Virgil smiled, as though they weren’t already reaching for one of the vials attached to their belt. “Lo, do you-” 

“Yes.” Logan already stood next to them with a rag, wetting it with the tincture Virgil had brewed for their husband less than a week before. They both led Remus inside with ease and the scientist would’ve looked around himself if he hadn’t been so focused on the couple now sitting him down on a chair that had to be freed of fabric- “Virgil, you said you’d clear another chair- and what if someone sat here? The magic you embroidered into this would be completely corrupted!” 

“Well, you didn’t notice until now, did you?” Virgil shook their head, “I’ll bet you didn’t eat lunch either. Besides, my magic isn’t so fragile-” 

“-It is nonetheless worthy of protection!”  

Virgil grumbled in reply to that, but Remus could swear there was a redness to their cheeks that couldn’t be attributed to the cold outside. They crossed the room, folding the piece of fabric as they went. 

Remus tried to catch a look at what was painted onto it- were those runes pre-roman?- but Logan stepped into his line of sight, holding the same rag as before, but now it was covered with some kind of liquid. It was kind of sizzling the wool but didn’t seem to burn it. 

“Do not worry, Virgil’s version is only so bubbly because it is more fitted to human skin- I’d know, I’ve got it on me at least twice a week.” Logan smiled, fond and soft and so close. Remus watched him, for the first time in his life completely stunned, as the other man gently wiped off the colour from the flowers. He didn’t even notice how his grip on those still in his hands slackened until a few hit the floor. But the wood was already so stained- from potion accidents, runic accidents and cooking gone wrong- that it didn’t make a real difference. 

“You, ah-” Remus caught his breath, looking Logan straight in the eyes. They were light brown- a mundane colour, but, for the first time, it reminded Remus of amber, of acorns in the summer, of wilderness in a seemingly calm form. But only seemingly, as the house around him proved. “What’re you working on?” 

Logan’s smile grew at that, his eyes shining. “Oh, it’s fascinating- I’m trying my hand at abstraction! You might’ve heard of some magicians in the cities doing it, and I’ll admit their research gave me the base idea, but, looking at their works I’d noticed how contained they all were by only using the written word-” 

“-as they should,” Virgil interrupted, but it bore no heat and only caused Logan to continue, louder and decidedly looking away from his spouse. 

“BUT by applying some runes and numbers to it I started to get much further ahead- I’m just trying some thought experiments now.” 

Remus nodded. “Yes! Are you by any chance working on travelling spells? Because I found some, in-” he rocked back and forth in his chair, fiddling with the flowers’ stems in his hands- “some glass with inscriptions of it, and it led me here when I wished for its creator- I’m from the future, y’see, and I,” he smiled, looking around the house again. Looking at the work desk covered in glass and gems and fragile tools, the corner covered in heaps of fabrics, and thread and needles alongside paints and brushes. Looking at an easel leaning against the construction of glass and metal that looked like a telescope, the tapestries hanging from some walls with painted and embroidered runes, words and old spells. He could spy into another room that was filled with vials and kettles, a chemist’s lab from a long time ago, and he wondered if Virgil’s paints were magic in themselves. 

“You?” Logan asked as Remus was captured by the house around him, curious in a gentle way. Remus melted at it, leaning into the hand still cradling his head, despite the blue from the flowers already being gone. 

“I’m from the future,” he replied, and something crashed in the background as Virgil turned around quicker than light. 

“You’re what?” Their eyes were wide with wonder and they stalked over to them as fast as their legs would take them. 

“You have to tell us everything- you said you were working on abstracting magic too?” Logan started flapping his hands as he thought, and the obvious stim made Remus rock again, elated to find the other man was like him. “Oh, would you work alongside me? I’ve been simply stuck at trying to find a way to define a natural element and-” 

“-oh, the Gregorian Dilemma? I solved that just a few weeks ago, but you, you figured out how to travel through time and space- you have to explain your process!”

“How do you- I was just about to finish my fine-tuned carving of it-” 

Remus nodded- “on periwinkle glass?” 

“Yes, how did you-” 

“- I found it! It’s what led me here in the first place.” 

Logan laughed, stunned and delighted and Remus joined him easily. 

Virgil snorted fondly at the display. “But, Lo, you didn’t hear the most important thing yet- he never summoned a thing- they lost it, apparently, in the future. I have to show you how we do it, you would love it-” 

“-Yes!” Logan exclaimed. “And you’d get to use-” 

“- The new tapestry of luminous elation? I’d thought so too-” 

“- “what, like the spirit,” Remus interrupted, and the spouses easily slid into explaining and inviting, just as Remus started explaining and accepting. The three of them didn’t even notice how the time went by until the food Logan had prepared before started boiling over, and they all hurried to the kitchen to clean up the mess and Remus ate slightly-burnt stew with them like it was normal, the three of them making space on the dinner table. 

Remus put away the periwinkle glass, enlarged thanks to the cloth it’d been placed on, the formula he’d see through a microscope just hours before now easily legible. It was a magic he had never heard of before, and as he asked Virgil explained, interrupted by additions by Logan and Remus alike but always listened to. 

And Remus found himself fitting right in. 

[prongsisabadger]

The Wolf Pack

Chapter 2

Master Plo's ship was not the first I'd seen, the port at Mos Eisley was full of them; but it was the first ship I boarded that I could remember. Jedi master Plo Koon had been returning from a peacekeeping mission in the outer rim, and had stopped in Tatooine for fuel. It was a coincidence that he heard the Meilooron vendor talking about me. When I told him this, He said it had been the will of the Force. An energy field he had said. Then what had the Force deemed special about me? I asked him this.

"Tell me, Child. What would the tusken say are your best qualities?" He asked in return.

I thought about it for a second.

"Well, I can always tell when someone is following us, or how far a sandstorm is from our position. A'Koba once said I have very good instincts, but I do believe it comes from growing up in the desert." I answered as we walked up the ship's ramp.

"Kriari, the tusken have lived in the dune Sea for eons, if one tells you you have good instincts it is not a hollow complement. And neither is it entirely true." Said master Plo as he took the Pilot's seat and started pushing buttons and turning switches.

This puzzled me.

"How so, Master?" I asked as I took a seat on the copilot's place, still admitting the interior of the beautiful ship. It was much bigger than I'd imagined.

"You are a force sensitive, Child. Your midichlorian count is higher than the average life form, and as such, you have a deeper connection to the Force." he answered absentmindedly, like it was simply a fact of life. "When properly honed, your abilities can allow you to become a Jedi Master and help keep the balance of the universe."

The engine hummed to life as Master Plo pushed one final lever and started the takeoff sequence. I watched it all in awe and with unwavering attention. One day I would be able to pilot a spaceship, one day. Slowly, Mos Eisley started shrinking beneath us, and we approached the sky with every second that passed. The sky, the final frontier, that unreachable place where ships disappeared to, sometimes never to be seen again. The clouds parted before us, light blue turned to navy and then to black, and finally, Tatooine was a terracotta sphere behind us and the absolute emptiness of space was the only thing separating us from both setting suns.

"It's so odd to be so close to them." I muttered.

"Them, Child?"

"The stars, Master. We use them as a reference to navigate the Dune Sea. They are much prettier up close."

Master Plo Chuckled.

We are still very far from them, Kriari. Up close, a collapsing star can be quite daunting, not to mention deadly."

"But are they pretty, Master?" I insisted.

"In their own colossal, terrifying way, Child, yes. They are quite the sight."

The navigation droid that had been standing by the corner plugged in to its station and set the coordinates for our destination. Master Plo looked at me one more time before jumping to hyperspace. I don't remember if he said anything, I was too busy watching the galaxy fly past me.

…

The journey would be long, he told me. We should get started on some training exercise so I don't get cabin fever. And that is how I ended up cross legged on the floor staring at a rock. Master Plo sat by the table, writing his report for the council, he'd said. My mission was to make the rock move using the force. So far, all I'd been getting was eye strain.

"Staring at the rock won't make it move, Child, use the force." Said master Plo, never looking up from his working station.

I sighed in frustration. I would not let my journey end here, it was only beginning. I took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before exhaling it all. I closed my eyes. The force was an energy field in all living things, that bound the universe together. So, technically, the force was inside me too. I didn't have to look at the rock to get it to move, I had to look to myself. Figuring out how the Force worked with my body. It had always been there, so it wouldn't be easy to find, but I had to try. Meditation was not a foreign concept to the Tusken, it took a lot of patience and confidence to wait out a sandstorm. It took a lot of determination and calm to find your way when lost in the Dune Sea. The Sand People might have been ruthless, but they also were a very spiritual people. The desert of Tatooine might be an inhospitable place for some species, but there was a delicate balance to its ecosystems and the Tusken tried their best not to upset it.

Keeping this in mind I started to regulate my breathing, making it longer, deeper. Connecting with my body, with my surroundings, with the Force. There was a sense of total awareness in the stillness of my mind, a certainty of things, of presences, of movement. There was the ship, the droid, Master Plo, the rock. And what if the rock moved? A little to the left at first, slowly, so as not to overdo it. Then, It would move to the right, a little faster, decidedly, with more purpose. And then it would be lifted in the air, level with my head and floating steadily as if held by an invisible hand.

I opened my eyes.

And smiled.

"Good job, Kriari." He said beside me. I dared not look away afraid the rock might fall. "Your focus is strong and steady. Is meditation a part of tusken tradition?"

I shook my head.

"No, Master. But it is common practice to meditate when waiting out a storm or when one is lost. Keeps us from panicking."

"I see. Now try that again with something bigger. It will only be more difficult from here on out."

He said as I let the rock down as gently as I could and took a pair of binoculars from my pack.

Then, I got started.

…

The first time I saw Coruscant I was six years old. The entire planet was like a miniature galaxy of blinking lights against a dark background. In the light of gay, the metallic and glass surfaces reflected the light like water in a pond and ships and speeders alike were like a shoal navigating the currents. It was beautiful, and crowded and busy, and nothing like I'd ever seen before.

The Jedi Temple was, in my childish eyes, the most beautiful structure of them all. The eternal flights of stairs, the massive pillars that flanked the entrance, the numerous structures that combined to form a pyramid-like building. The sun was setting on the city, on the planet, and the orange reflection of the sun rays bounced from one structure to the other. Everything about the temple was beautiful in it's own simple way, it was big, but it was elegant and the shades of white, ivory and tan made it all feel like it was indeed a spiritual place. A place of knowledge and of wisdom, and most of all, a place of calm and strength, and balance.

The guards at the landing platform stood tall and proud at the entrance, and they both acknowledged Master Plo with a nod and nothing more. I followed suit. They did not look at me twice, so I thought I can't have been the first child they'd seen through the gates, nor would I be the last.

"Do not fall behind, Child. We need to report to the council." Said Master Plo when he felt me get distracted.

I picked up the pace so as not to get reprimanded again. If there was something you learned when living with the Tusken was not to make anyone repeat themselves. Ever. The Jedi didn't seem to be the type to discipline children, but I didn't want to find out the hard way. As we walked the never ending corridors, underneath the high ceilings and through the heavy metal doors, we passed many Jedi, and many children as well. Most of the Jedi carried a metal cylinder with them, just like the one Master Plo had hanging from his belt. It seemed to be a symbol of status among these people, the children didn't have one, and neither did the maintenance staff.

We took one of the elevators to the top floor, and it opened to an antechamber lined with ivory seats. On the floor there was a symbol I'd seen in all the Jedi's left shoulder pads. I guess this is it. We stood in the centre of the room and waited. Before long, the doors opened and a Master came out followed by a Togruta child. She could not have been older than four.

The guard ushered us in, and once we made it to the centre of the circular room they closed the doors behind us. There were fifteen seats with their backs to the windows, facing the centre of the room, but only twelve were occupied. Whether the members were absent or dead, I wouldn't ask.

"Master Plo, you have someone to introduce us to, I see." Said a little green life form sitting on one of the chairs.

"That I do, Master Yoda," he said motioning me to step closer. "This is Kriari Foreas, she was living with the Sand People in Tatooine."

"A Zabrak living with the Tusken? I did not think that possible." Said another, his skin dark and his eyes piercing. "How high is her midichlorian count?"

"It is surprisingly high, Master Windu. The Tusken claim her mother left her there for protection. They found her dead in the dune sea a few days later." Answered Master Plo.

Meanwhile, I stood my ground, watching the interaction between them, waiting to be addressed. The other masters whispered in speculation, but none of them spoke up.

"Then, this curious child shall we meet? Hmmm.

I stood forward, and approached the masters until I was a few feet away.

"Tell us, Child, How was your experience with the Tusken? Did they treat you well?" Said the man with the sharp eyes.

"Yes, Sir. I was treated like one of them and helped the trade with the merchants in Mos Eisley."

The masters of the Council exchanged looks.

"Were you not sad to leave?"

"No, Sir. I knew I didn't belong there, not really. I wanted to learn about the galaxy. I still do."

"If we give you a little test, mind you?" Asked the little green one.

"No, Sir." I answered.

Master Windu took out a little pad and had me guess which figures appeared before him. I had to close my eyes for a while, to block out everything else. The nerves, the eyes, the strange place, the strange people. In the end It went well, or so I thought. One image appeared after the other and within a few minutes, the test was over. I opened my eyes and looked back at Master Plo. He put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed lightly.

Well done.

"Her midichlorian count is high, but it is her history with the tusken that concerns me. They are known to be a ruthless people." Said master Windu.

"Discriminated on species before, have we? Hmmm Master Windu?" Asked the one called Yoda.

"No, Master Yoda."

"A decision to make you have then child, want to be a Jedi, you do?" Master Yoda asked me.

"I want to learn how to be the bridge between races and cultures, Master." I answered after a moment's deliberation.

"Made then, the decision is. May the Force be with you, Child."

[konietzko-sylvoran]

The Ephemeral Hazella

At long last we finally made it with time to enjoy The Ephemeral Wagon, a booth put up by miss Hazella whom we met our first night of the faire!

The amazing transient shop was still stocked full with goods she had hidden away making everyone wonder just what lay behind keeping the imagination and curiosity flowing!

Everything about this wagon is whimsical and enchanting just as much as the caravan curator herself!

Like its own festival within a festival, the golden and violet colors are so very attracting to the eye!

But so too is the glowing trees that stand with star-shaped lights and lantrns hanging about with a spicy and herbal aroma!

Despite all the eye catching curiosities that lay within we came to take a risk and see what mystery and stories could be played out by spinning the Ephemeral Prize Wheel!

Of course I was first to step up! I never pass up a challenge like this. The huge circular wheel was so intricately decorated!

Painted with all of my favored colors and celestial symbols along the rim! 

As I spun the wheel it lit up in a ring of lights glowing yellow as music started to play! Spinning faster and faster the colors started creating dazzling rainbow spirals!

With the smell of jasmine incense in the air it finally stopped landing on a single gold star. The moment it stopped a portal opened in the middle of the wheel as a spectral hand reached out with a closed fist and threw a handful of glitter! 

The next thing I knew it was exploding into a shower of gold sparkles with a pillar of light beaming down on me as a winner!   

Shocked and amazed by the animated show from the wheel and miss Hazella herself! I was rewarded with a lucky necklace and a box of dark chocolate truffles!

I was so elated with this unique prize, I simply can’t wait to see what it does but I have been waiting to put it on. I am told it will whisper encouraging words to me, light knows I will need them this week to come! A hug was deserved, given and happily received. 

Next it was a turn for @fyrrefly ! She stepped up and braved the wheel only to see it pulse as it spun and go pitch black!

The wheel started ticking after vibrating and expelling another round of dazzling arcane energy and lights! As we spotted a full moon glowing on where it landed she was showered with purple confetti and glitter as like a true Tart Fyre was showered in it all! Another winner!

Winning a golden ticket she was awarded the chance to return to the shop to spend the ticket on whatever item she pleased from the caravan itself!

We looked on in awe and pride for our dear friend!

At last we got Ra’sen to step up! @sirensdxn was a little weary at first but he took ahold of the wheel and gave it a spin!

Sadly our luck was not strong enough for our dear reverend as the wheel quite literally fell apart and broke down from his spin!

He was crushed, though even Hazella said she had never seen this before but the fate of the wheel was not at its end yet!

The wheel did not wish to budge, and we looked on with sympathy for our dear friend.

With some positive encouragement and reinforcement not all hope was lost. But such is the game of chance, it seems our dear friend has little luck in this arena.

In no time Hazella fixed the wheel and at last it was @talthorn-sylvoran turn!

When one eccentric magi meets an ephemeral lass such as this we knew we were in for a show!

Talthorn was so fascinated with the work of art in this wheel that he could not help but take a moment to study the runes and read what he could from them. But finally he conjured new luck for the wheel and took a spin!

Once more the wheel creaked to life as star shaped lights burst into glowing yellow life in sequence one after the other until the entire ring was fully lit and then went off!

The wheel started to interestingly enough attune to nature magic this time!

Flashing into emerald lights now glimmering and flickering, green motes of light would rise around the wheel stand itself!

The wheel glimmered and glowed with the light of the Dream spinning in a dreamy, serene, hypnotic pace before it stopped flicking with green sparkles! 

Stopping on a purple wedge a cheering sound rang out as it exploded into purple glitter and a tiny moon and leaf shaped confetti rained along Talthorn!

Pulling out from the prize box came.... a Yu’lon kite, Green Dance sticks and a pack of cards or omens!

Talthorn was so mesmerized and touched he was speachless!

Another hug was awarded after such an amazing show and wonderful prize given! Talthorn was truly... elated. 

The kite flew high into the sly overhead, Tatlhorn was so happy and elated and it looked amazing up there. 

We would be walking about the faire for some time with his prize and our own, smiles on our faces and eyes still alive with the amazing experience that this vendor and kind woman gifted to us of her time. All in all... it was worth every second spent waiting in line. Hats off to you Hazella, we will meet again.

The events too place at the World’s Fair Carnival and was a fun coverage for such a wonderful, creative and kind vendor who not only delivers a show but makes her own TRP3 items to continue the show after you visit! Her games invite you to return or play as she is not just your average vendor. @wfc-official​

[thisisthepartwhereyou]

BEASTARS MINI-STORY #4: “A Different kind of Charity pt. 2” by JCL

--- Several male admirers of varying, herbivore-species are crowding around Juno. Juno smiles politely, but it looks she is starting to get a little uncomfortable with all the attention she is getting. DUCK: "Who is this fetching young lady?" SEYMOUR: "Louis friend, from the drama club." TOM: "She's a dancer!" DUCK: "In that case, you gotta save me a dance for tonight." KOALA: "With your flat duck-feet? Get real!" One of them, a LLAMA (llama, 27 years old, dressed in a black suit with a green shirt and black bowtie) who appears to quite drunk, is taking a keen interest in Juno's posterior. He is reaching for it with an open hand. LLAMA: (My, my, what cute little ass she's got...!) Suddenly, Louis grabs the llama's arm by the wrist and pulls it away from its intended target. Louis fixes him with a pair of murderous eyes atop a stiff smile.   LOUIS: "I LIKE YOUR WATCH. IS IT SWISS?" He refers to the expensive-looking watch on the llamas arm. The llama looks terrified. LLAMA: "N-n-n-no?" LOUIS: "I see." Louis lets go of his hand. The llama and a few of the admirers takes steps back. Louis moves closer to Juno and extends his arm. LOUIS: "Juno, shall we find our seats?" Juno blinks a little in surprise. After a second she grabs it, like she did when they first walked in. The two walk away toward the restaurant-section. Seymour, Tom and the rest of the admirers gives each other nervous looks as they leave. --- We skip ahead and see that Juno and Louis are now sitting opposite each other at a round table in the restuarant-section, looking through a menu each. Suddenly, Juno puts her menu down to look at Louis. JUNO: "So what happened to not being 'touchy-feely?'" Louis's focus remains on his menu. LOUIS: "I changed my mind." JUNO: "Why?" Louis raises the menu a little higher, like he is shielding himself from her look. LOUIS: "Those guys didn't folllow the same rules. It may have bothered me a bit." Juno looks confused. JUNO: "Not follow the same rules? What do you-" However, her thoughts suddenly illustrate the whole previous scene with cute chibi-versions of everyone involved. She imagines Chibi-Louis moving the chibi-llama's hand away from Chibi-Juno. As he does, she visualises a circular arrow appearing between the llama's hand and Chibi-Juno's behind, and from there on calculate what Louis meant. As the chibi-sequence dissappears, Juno attains a look of realization. JUNO: "Oh! Oh...!" Juno then stares at Louis. Behind the menu we can see that he looks embarrassed. LOUIS: (This is ridiculous!) --- We go over to a flashback, where a 7-year-old Louis is sitting at a long dinnertable. He is looking over a series of cutlery lined out next to his plate and seems to struggle with differentiating between five different kinds of forks. His tutor, a proper-looking penguin, seems to lecture him as he picks up a table fork instead of a salad fork. LOUIS: (After Oguma took me home, I got everything. Wealth, education, manners, purpose...) --- LOUIS: (Despite this, there's been plenty of times where I've been envious...) We see a flashback of Louis and Legosi fighting over Haru's kidnapping. LOUIS: (I was envious of Legosi for his strenght, and I was envious of Juno for winning over all the members of the club at such a short length of time) This transitions over to another flashback where Louis shoots Juno an annoyed look as she happily greets the other members of the club. --- We flash forward to just recently at the UniFeed charity. We see Louis observing Juno as the crowd of male admirers gather around her, greeting and complimenting her. LOUIS: (This is something different though. I didn't care that she won those people over so fast. No, it's when they were getting too close... And the way they looked at her...) He observes that several of these admirers are starting to get a little too friendly for a group of strangers; Gestures like a hand on her shoulder, kissing her hand and looking a little too keenly at her exposed back. LOUIS: (IT MADE MY BLOOD BOIL!) Louis hand tightens into a fist, and he glares at the group. LOUIS: (Jealousy... That was jealousy!) --- Louis looks panicked and regretful behind his menu. LOUIS: (How could I have acted so stupid?! She probably could've managed just fine without me coming to her rescue. She's a big girl, not some damsel in distress!) Juno reaches out and grabs his menu, lowering it so that she can see his face. JUNO: "Louis-senpai, did you get jealous back there?" At first, Louis looks completely stone-faced. LOUIS: "No." However, as Juno continues to stare, this facade begins to crack and he looks away. LOUIS: "... Maybe." Finally, he sighs and meets her gaze. LOUIS: "A bit...!" Juno crosses her arms and gives Louis a bothered look. JUNO: "You know, I can't help but to notice the irony: You worried that I would be the one to act less than platonic, but so far, you're the one being awfully non-platonic. So how do you want it? It's a bit annoying when you jump back and forth, so... Hands on, or hands off?" Louis seems to ponder about this, before giving an answer. LOUIS: "Hands on. At least to ward off other hands from inappropriate places." Juno rolls her eyes and begins to speak in an ironic fashion. JUNO: "Okay master, but I still need to shake hands and give an occasional hug, otherwise it'll just be rude. Is that alright with you or should I go and fetch my leash first?" She mimes having a leash around her neck which is getting pulled. Louis looks really annoyed at this. LOUIS: "I am not a fricking taliban! Of course it's alright!" Juno laughs at this. JUNO: "Good. And you don't have to worry about my innapropriate places..." She leans forward and gives him a seductive look. JUNO: "... Since you've clearly called shotgun." Louis eyes widen and he looks away with a blush on his face. LOUIS: "I have not! I mean, I did not-" They are then approached by a DOG WAITRESS (Cocker Spaniel, 25 years old, black and white waitress clothes). DOG WAITRESS: "Are you ready to order?" Louis coughs and takes up his menu. LOUIS: "Ehum, yes. I'll be having a greek salad, some garlic-bread and a glass of ginger ale." The waitress begins to write the order down on the notebook. Meanwhile, Juno grimaces as she hears the word 'garlic-bread.' JUNO: (Ew, garlic!) The waitress then turns her attention to Juno. DOG WAITRESS: "And the lady?" Juno looks a bit weirded out at being referred to as a 'lady' despite being younger than the waitress. JUNO: (Lady?) "I'll have a spinach and mushroom omelette. And some orange juice." DOG WAITRESS: "Got it." The waitress writes this down as well and then takes the two menus. She walks away. Juno suddenly looks self-conscious about something. JUNO: "I didn't think to ask, am I supposed to tip the servers?" LOUIS: "Don't worry, I'll take care of that." Juno looks surprised and gives off a wide grin. JUNO: "Louis, always so generous!" Louis smiles and shakes his head in feigned annoyance. LOUIS: "Juno, always the leech." A litte vein appears on Juno's head and she looks a bit offended. JUNO: "Hey, I wouldn't mind paying!" She then swiftly shifts into a theatrical, feminine pose, hand over her heart and everything. JUNO: "But if we are to go by traditional gender roles anyway..." Louis sweatdrops at this. LOUIS: "It's hard to imagine you being a traditional ANYTHING." (And what's with that pose?) Juno then leans forward and leans her chin on her hand. JUNO: "Anyway, how does the program look? Are we supposed to sit here all night?" LOUIS: "Of course not. It's a charity, so there's a number of events to go by, including dance, a couple of performances from the band, speeches held by the hosts and speakers from UniFeed. Then there's always the gambling table, the bar and mingling." JUNO: "I look forward to the dancing. It's been a while." Louis looks a little reluctant as she mentions this, thinking back to when he danced with Juno the last time. LOUIS: "Yes... Though maybe it won't go as smooth as last time, on account of my leg." JUNO: "You still have problems with it?" Louis looks up, but then, he notices something across the room: A lion that appears to be a member of the Shishigumi, the criminal group he formerly led. He immediately gets up and walks toward him, leaving a confused-looking Juno behind. LOUIS: "I am sorry, I just saw someone I need to talk to. I'll be back shortly." JUNO: "Ah- What...?" Louis quickly disappears out of sight. Juno blinks and then puffs her cheeks in annoyance as she is left alone. JUNO: (Jeez, he sure blows hot and cold!) Then she begins to look kind of sly though. JUNO: (But all in all, I think things are going pretty well. I didn't expect him to get all green-eyed, but considering the circumstances, that could work more to my benefit rather than against me. All in all, Juno's seduction plan, aka operation 'Good Moon Rising,' phase 2, is progressing according to plan. So far, there hasn't been anything I can't handle) OGUMA: "Young lady, if I may bother you." Juno looks up to see that she has been approached by Louis's father, Oguma. Accompanying him is SHIGURE (Capybara, female, ca 35 years old, glasses and grey blazer over a white shirt and a long skirt). OGUMA: "I saw you with my son as you entered. You wouldn't happen to accompany him for the night?" Juno's eyes widen. JUNO: "...!" (Louis father?) TO BE CONTINUED...!

[halfbloodglader]

What about an imagine with Minho where Reader is his running partner and ends up pushing him out of the way of a griever attack but ends up getting stung herself? Angst?

Minho x Reader -1,116 words

They were almost there. After three years, Minho and his closest friends were almost out of the maze. All that was left was to get past a fleet of grievers and to safety outside of the maze, which would be their biggest challenge yet. How many people would make it…? Everyone tried not to think about it.

By his side was Minho’s longest standing and best running partner. Y/N. He trusted her more than anyone else here and care more about her more than he knew was safe for himself to. 

“We get through this together or we die trying.” Thomas said, a fierce look in his eyes intertwined with fear and doubt. 

Knowing it might be his last chance, the keeper of runners reached down and squeezed Y/N’s hand. If this was where their fight were to end, Minho was glad he got to share it with Y/N. She was all that really mattered to him in this unforgiving place. 

The group had charged the grievers and all fought together with a fervour which actually brought them close to the maze exit. Chuck and Teresa were typing in the code as Minho screamed the sequence of the maze at them as loud as he could. 

Y/N was keeping a close eye on Minho as he hollered out the numbers, knowing he’d be slightly distracted. Her worst fear came true when she saw a griever tail whipping overhead of Minho and she knew he hadn’t noticed it. 

Just in time, Y/N shoved Minho out of the way. Instead of him, the griever had stuck Y/N in the back, sending her down lifelessly into the concrete. 

Jeff took his chance to save his friends and charged the griever threatening Y/N and Minho. He was defenceless against the creature on his own and it took him down before anyone could step in and save him. The medjacks choice had given Minho just enough time to pick Y/N up by the arms and drag her back to the rest of their friends inside the doorway.

“Hurry up!” Minho screamed at Teresa who was still typing in the rest of the numbers. Finally, she did it and stone walls came crashing down inside of the corridor, crushing grievers into the concrete. Then, the circular door closed all around them and everything went dark. 

While they waited and the ground shook around them, Minho could still feel Y/N’s heart beating in her chest. She was alive, but for how much longer, he didn’t know. 

When a door behind them finally opened, Minho dragged Y/N out into the flickering lights of the hallway. He lifted her shirt to see the griever sting which was now spreading ever so slowly. 

“Teresa!” Minho cried, his voice breaking. “Give me the other vile!”

“Are you crazy?” She snapped at him. “What if we need it later?”

Minho nearly blew up on the spot. His body began to burn with anger and his fists clenched. “You want her to die?!” He screamed, catching the attention of all those in the hallway.

“Give it to him!” Thomas demanded. He, better than anyone here knew that Y/N was the one thing Minho relied on to survive. Losing her now might just spend him down a spiral he’d never come out of.

Teresa hesitated but Minho wasn’t having it. “I SWEAR TO GOD TERESA!“ He cursed, eyes narrow and dark. “I’ll kill you for it if I have to. Hand it over now.”

“Fine,” She seethed, quickly handing off the vile and turning away. “But if we need it later, it’s your fault.” 

Minho didn’t care right now. Y/N needed help and this was their best option to get her out alive. 

Thomas could see how Minho’s hands were shaking and how he hesitated to inject Y/N. So, he stole the vile and plunged it into Y/N’s back. Minho looked to him with thanks.

“You shank,” The runner rolled Y/N over and held her up in his arms. His heart ached inside of his chest and his limbs felt cold. The fear of the maze, the grievers and what the outside world was like never even came close to how terrified he was of losing Y/N in this very moment. “I told you to never do that.”

____

The next time Minho got to see her, they were in a facility they’d been brought to by a group of men who’d picked them up in a helicopter. A knock came at the door of the Gladers bunks and Newt hesitantly went to open it. There stood Y/N with a tired smile and a nurse who helped hold her up while they walked inside the room.

“Y/N?” Minho caught sight of what was going on and jumped up from his bed, bounding over to the girl. He uncaringly pushed the nurse off of Y/N and put his own arms around her, taking her to sit on his bed. 

“Y/N are you okay?” He asked desperately, pushing the hair out of her eyes and forcing her to look up at him. Minho felt a slight jolt of relief when her eyes were the same as they always had been, not cloudy or twisted. She was, however, lacking the certain energy and life Minho had grown to adore. 

Y/N nodded slowly and rest her head in his hands. “I’m going to be okay.”

Minho’s heart broke a little and he was trying not to cry. “What you did was stupid, you know that? You could have died.” Shaking her head lightly, Minho was so overwhelmed with emotion he could hardly breathe.

“And if I didn’t do it, you would be dead.” Y/N said back with more force than Minho had expected, making him feel guilty. He couldn’t stop himself from scolding her out of the fear of losing her rather than simply thanking her for saving his life. “We’re running parters. That’s what we do for each other.”

Minho let out a sharp breath through his teeth and shook his head. “Don’t do that again, Y/N. I can’t live without you now, not after what we’ve been through.” He held her face tight, eyes focused on hers. 

“…I can’t do any of this without my running partner.” He stifled a sob, finally lowering his gaze and gripping Y/N’s shoulders tight. 

“You’re not losing me that easy,” Y/N quipped, making the smallest of smiles rise on Minho’s face. 

The boy purser his lips and shook his head, holding back a bigger smile from forming. “I’ll hold you to it.”

[harrisonsloman]

Is Being ‘Good’ Not Enough for You?

Is Being ‘Good’ Not Enough for You?

How to be the BEST at Krav Maga

I’m not going to lie and tell you this article is about being nice and dandy. It’s not! I know you want to be the best you can be and you want to be able to kick anyone’s ass in any situation, you want to be untouchable (though you don’t admit it freely). It’s natural, we’ve all watched too much television and grown up in a world where violence has been glorified. We want to see ourselves as the hero who can function effectively in the face of adversity and stick-it to the villains of the world.

Reality is never that perfectly written, and without trying to get to the root causes of such desires, I’m just going to offer some pathways for you to get yourself closer to that destination. If you really want it, you need consistency, dedication and clear focus. On top of that, having, passion to fuel you is important.

First of all, I do not condone inappropriate use of force and actions in violent situations and conflict. Imi, the Founder of Krav Maga was a big advocate of his students being ‘good citizens’, and we hold that core value very close to our hearts.

Never-the-less, here’s an overview of my tips to becoming the Krav Maga weapon you’ve always wanted to be…

Please note that what I’m listing below isn’t for everyone! If you’re willing to go the extra mile, then you’re in for a good shot.

Train In Your Krav Maga Gym for a Minimum 5 Hours a Week. Whether you do a few classes back to back, or spread it over a few sessions, it’s important that you’re getting good exposure to training. If you see the opportunity to do more, then do more!

Get Super Fit.

Sure you don’t need to be an athlete to defend yourself, but if you want to be a WOMD then I suggest you get super fit and agile. Do lots of running, skipping, ladder drills, pad rounds, HIIT, strength work, etc. Do as much as you can so that you have the ability to defend and attack from any position effortlessly. Make sure whatever you do is functional so that it transfers to your Krav Maga.

Acclimatisation Drilling.

I first learned about this topic from Deane Lawler. The most basic way for me to explain is that it teaches you to ignore the shock of an attack and go on the offensive as quickly as possible (if not simultaneously in the worst case situation).

How does it work? The attacker will aim to stun you to simulate the shock of being hit, and you’re job is to disregard the shock and strike back. The aim is to create a pattern of instinctive countering. It becomes subconscious and really, REALLY, REALLY works magic! If there was just one idea you’d take out of this out of this whole article, it’s acclimatization.

How to drill it: Have your partner hold two focus mitts in their hands. They will attack you to the head with circular hand strikes. You must do a head cover/gunt and an immediate, powerful counter to focus mitts (remember, power is derived from speed, mass and distribution/technique; you can modify this to suit your needs, and we’ll release videos to show variations).

It resonates with me and the focus I put on teaching and training. It’s inline with Krav Maga principles and with my personal experiences in the real world. As someone who has been in many real violent situations, I can say that this form of training really gets you conditioned to the reality of these situations and to the reality of what it takes to survive.

Get The Killer Instinct.

If you don’t develop this, you’ll likely be in shit. You need to have a real brutal and vicious machine inside you, ready to switch into a bloodthirsty, cannibalistic animal that refuses to be taken down. You have to be badder than the bad. You need to get in touch with your dark side, and really embrace it to help you fight for the forces of light. If you’re too nice, you might need to work on this!

To survive real conflict, you need to be able to lift your game to a whole new intensity and you need aggression, determination, courage and a fair bit of ‘crazy’ to get through it.

Work on developing strong intentions and actions to what you need to do. Meaning paint in your mind and in your training all the tools to be brutally effective. While doing this always aim to create a mind that cannot be distracted from the task and that will do whatever it takes.

Do 30-60 minutes of Shadow Krav Maga Daily.

You can call this whatever you want. Just ensure you’re working on your Krav Maga in a way where you’re practising your striking, footwork, and defences in the air. Focus on good form, having flow, and on working from natural positions/points in time. You want to give yourself a good contextual understanding of Krav Maga and doing it like this will help you make it all natural. You may feel awkward doing it initially, but that’s part of the process when integrating your movements so they become like second-nature to you. Remember that perfect practice makes perfect, so go in with the right attitude, energy and focus so that you have good awareness of yourself.

Repetition is only good if your technique is good. If you do it wrong, you just drilled a bad habit, so stay aware.

Ensure You’re Pressure Testing And Scenario Drilling.

You need to be running live testing drills that simulate reality as close as possible. You’ll hopefully get lots of drills in class, but if not, just organise a little group and do it somewhere on the side. I’d be looking at doing this at least 1-2 hours a week and doing as many multiple attacker rounds as possible. *Remember to always put safety first. Do it realistically, but do it responsibly.*

Do Pad Rounds.

If you don’t do enough in class, consider doing them elsewhere. You should do at least 18 x 1-2 minute rounds a week. Mix it up so that the intensity is always changing.

Spar More Than A Few Rounds A Weeks.

If you’re not sparring and trying your skills against other resisting opponents, then good luck when you deal with it for the first (and possibly last) time on the street. You can extend this to all pressure drills, multiple attackers and so on with full safety gear on.

Condition your mind.

Visualise and practice concepts like NLP (Neural Linguistic Programming; a mental patterning tool) to condition yourself for the success you’re after. Visualise all aspects of any situation, any attribute and so on to improve your mental comprehension. It has been proven that athletes who visualise and work on their mindset learn faster and perform better than those that do not.

Get A Full Contact Job.

Go be a bouncer, or take up a job as a hired hand with the Mafia. Just kidding! Working in a situation where you’re practising all your skills, including de-escalation and conflict resolution will help you. Just don’t get killed and don’t break the law! For most people this will be unreasonable, and I understand, but some of you will feel that you need to take this step, especially if you’ve never been in a real fight in your life. The alternative is to go start some fights, but we don’t advocate that at all, so don’t!

Practice 1 or 2 Showstopper Techniques.

Have 1 or 2 techniques you can use to preemptively strike and take out a threat. Something simple and direct, aimed at vital points to neutralise the threat quickly and with maximum efficiency, with minimum time and energy. Practice these techniques from positions where you look non-threatening and non-telegraphic.

Learn How To Retzev.

You need to have a good compound attack (a sequence of attacks that do not stop). The only thing with this one is that you want to keep it very simple and, like the show stopper techniques, you need to be able to drill it and rely on it. Start with a good sequence of powerful hand attacks, that goes forward relentlessly, viciously and with the prime objection to overwhelm and destroy the opponent.

Toughen Up Your Tools.

Most people will probably disagree with me, but who cares! Toughen up your shins, knuckles, forearms and body through conditioning work and hitting things. You know how it feels when you collide with someone’s shin, or their forearm on outside defences right? Well imagine it barely hurt you. I can’t tell you how many times people have wacked into my shins, and it hasn’t even fazed me, while they’re walking off to the side with regret on their faces. (All because I spent my teenage years kicking poles).

Record Yourself.

Use your camera phone, or your camera and record yourself doing different types of training. Refer to it often and use it to fix areas of concern, and/or refine upon something.

Be Open To Learning From Others.

I think to really get a holistic understanding of any topic that we need to have an open mind and not just conform and keep a status quo. Yes, if you’re really passionate about Krav Maga, increase your world-view on the topic. Learning from more than one source is not a bad thing. It can help validate things, expand knowledge and so much more. We do our best in Krav Maga Systems to give as much of a holistic approach as possible, but still, if you really want to understand the world of Krav Maga, you need to do some research and ask lots of questions.

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall.

Yeah, I say it all the time and I’ll say it again. Train in front of a mirror! You will see what you do and be able to correct it there are then. Every exceptional Kravist, fighters or martial artists I know does this!

Watch Lots Of Real Life CCTV & Combat Sports.

Balance these out. Look at how real life conflict starts and escalates and what it looks like. Establish a good grounds for reality, even if you’ve been there and done that. Train with those situations in mind, and feel free to recreate them in a scenario. Learn from them to understand the mind of you potential enemy.

Practice De-escalation In Training.

Probably the most important thing one needs is a good skills in de-escalation. Think of it as your own personal Iron Dome. The Iron Dome intercepts and destroys missiles that are aimed at targets within Israel. Your Iron Dome is constantly looking for threats in the awareness stages, but if something gets into its path it intercepts it without fail.

Look at this intercept as a pattern interrupt or a pattern change instead and make sure you’re training in how to talk down a potential threat first where it is possible. This is very important in your training and sits in the realm of knowing your stages of conflict, force continuum, and a whole lot of other things.

If you’re a bit shy in training, practice it solo (in the mirror is a good place to start). Having more than just physical skills is important. I often think about how I could talk my way out of a lot of situations because I understand what’s happening and where I am in the stages of conflict. Having such knowledge and being to apply it is really important!

Anyway, I could just keep on going, but I’ll leave it at that. These are some tips for you and I hope they help you greatly. May you walk in peace dear friend!

Source URL: https://kravmagasystems.com.au/is-being-good-not-enough-for-you/

[vitmelbourne]

A multimedia course in Melbourne makes Common Steps in Pre-production in 3D Animation

Creating a full-length animated movie can be a complicated and expensive process. Sometimes, it can be more expensive than creating a live action film. Many people like graphic designers, animators, writers, voice talents, and cinematographers are required for creating animated character and accomplish a movie project with Multimedia courses in Melbourne.

 With the help of motion capture, many realistic movements and emotions of animated characters in many 3D movies are made. The bodily movements like walking and facial expressions are digitized and manipulated to create realistic characters like humans, aliens or monsters with 3D Animation in Multimedia courses in Melbourne course.

 3D Animation Production Stages

 In most of the 3D animation production, the process can be divided into 3 main stages

 ·       Pre-production

 ·       Production

 ·       Post-production

 What is Pre-Production?

 Pre-production is the phase where ideas are developed and planning is done prior to the process of production. In a live action movie, it is the period before filming starts. In an animation movie, it is the period before any real animating takes place you can also learn this in Multimedia courses in Melbourne course.

 Steps Involved in Pre-Production

 Before creation of an animated film could start, the initial pre-production steps must begun. Irrespective of the intricacy and length of an animated film, it undergoes the basic preproduction steps that can be summarized in the general steps explained below.

 Step 1: Concept Design - This is the first step that will serve as the stimulus for creating an animated film. Whether you are making any short or a full-length animated film, portion of live action-shots everything begins with the concept design. The concept design could be inspired from anything like current events, classic literature, and ordinary objects or by innovative ideas, it’s one of the chapter in Multimedia courses in Melbourne course.

 For example, in the movie Toy Story, concept design was based on mundane or ordinary objects, i.e., toys in a boy's room. The storyline, script and animation all progressed from that basic concept design. This process also typically comprises the initial sketches of characters and settings. Concept designs are produced after having various brainstorming sessions from among the writers and artists.

 Step 2: Storyboarding - After the concept design is made, the storyline is finalized using storyboards. Just as done in concept design, sequences of brainstorming activities might be conducted to come out with a storyboard. There might be times when a group of artists would individualistically write and illustrate their storyboards for later approval and combination of ideas.

 Basically, a storyboard is like a comic strip that is complete with dialogs. It includes a storyline and major scenes. This whole process will become the base of the script and movie sequences. Storyboards play an important role as a guide for interdependent teams its one of the chapter in Multimedia training program.

 Step 3: Finalizing Layouts - In this step, the approved storyboards are sent to the layout department. The artistic team of the department is the one that work together closely with the director in finalizing the scenes, costumes and appearance of the characters, it’s one of the chapter in Multimedia courses in Melbourne course.

 Step 4: Model Sheets Creation - They are drawn precisely for uniformity of the characters. Model sheets are groups of pictures that portray the range of imaginable facial expressions and body movements that a character can make. After model sheets are prepared, they are sent to the modeling department for creating the final models. These could be in the form of clay models, puppets or digital models of the characters.

 Step 5: Animatics - This is the last or final stage of pre-production, where the complex animation sequences and VFX-heavy scenes are envisaged in simplified forms or mock-ups known as anima tics. In this process, a better grasp of the motion and timing is established. It helps the director to enhance the overall scenes and visual affects its one of the chapter in Multimedia courses in Melbourne course.

 It is recommended to revisit all the stages more than once. The main reason is because each stage may either reveal a flaw in the work to date or highlight how an aspect of the project could be further developed. Having the right skill set, understanding of minute details, patience to recognize and make modifications when suitable is the key for success and creating quality animation.

3D Animation in Multimedia courses in Melbourne Makes Better Designs for Your Dime

Transitioning into the planet of 3D animation has been an exciting adventure for several studios across the planet. The chance to realize inspiration from an entire new perspective is essentially an excellent gift, but has proven to be slightly problematic for more classic companies. Disney itself was in a minor crisis because Mickey was always drawn with two circular ears that were visible from all angles to preserve its characteristic silhouette.

 Translating that into a fully dimensional model posed a huge obstacle- whether his ears would now be normally attached to his head, or if a complex solution could be found to keep his ears facing the camera at all times. Of course, there was no way for them to understand this problem when he was first created, but designs created in current times should be mindful of the method.

 Planning in 3D Animation in Multimedia courses in Melbourne is likely the most challenging part of 3D animation design. Creating turnaround sheets of characters, in order that they have full-clad designs from all possible viewing angles, has always been an important step in 3d animation production. This ensures the character will look consistent throughout, regardless of what pose or position they're in. However, scenery and background objects are often designed from just one angle, so converting a project would involve conceptualizing each component once again.

 Of course, there are clear advantages to the Multimedia courses in Melbourne that can save vast amounts of time and effort. Lighting effects are generated entirely within the program, so no effort is required on the artist's part to figure out which sections of the scene would catch the light, or be cast in shadow. Likewise, the set and characters consist of fully realized models, so shape inconsistencies and coloring errors can be easily avoided.

 Another reason to fully plan out the piece in advanced is the fact that not all angles must be accounted for, if the camera is never going to see it. For example, the back of a building can be left blank if only the front entrance will be seen. And while this might seem funny from a real-life perspective, the conservative approach can drastically hamper the time and costs involved in 3d animation production.

 That being said, virtually any project possible can be converted into 3D animation in Multimedia courses in Melbourne. Planning the output from the start simply prevents most design issues from surfacing, and allows for more focused creative thinking. Converting a 2D cartoon concept after it has been full-clad would be like making a sculpture based off of a painted portrait- The likeness is there, but only in one dimension.

 The process would have run much more smoothly if the Multimedia courses plans were set from the beginning. On top of that, knowing the artistic direction of the piece can often help the creative ideas flow far more easily, and garner even better concepts. Planning for it from the outset could just allow the time to show an honest idea into an everlasting masterpiece.

 For getting more information visit here VIT - Victorian Institute of Technology.

14/123 Queen St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

1300 17 17 55 (or) support@vit.edu.au

[ropergillt-blog]

Do I Look Like I Care? - About Physics

Figure1: Liftoff, 3 steps in cartoon form

When you've been around the block a few times, you don't need to know Newton's laws to understand how stuff works. If you stop spinning the rope it will fall to the floor OK? That was enough to get me by for a while, our brains are really good at learning a lot of things without really needing to know the nitty gritty details. Try spinning faster, slower, pull it up when it's on the left, make a flick with your wrist and see what happens - whatever the motion may be that makes the rope dance how you want it to, you start to get the hang of it after enough trial and error. To be honest, knowing the nitty gritty can sometimes even get in the way or at least not really help you to learn a trick better or quicker anyway. But to contradict my own point, without giving you any equations and numbers I'll proceed to go into a light discussion on the ups and downs of the forces at play while spinning a rope. It can't hurt to think about, and it might just help a little.

If you want equations and numbers then you'll love this quite amazing scientific paper from the research of Brun, Ribe, Audoly - An introduction to the mechanics of the lasso. It's quite a doozie, and they only even analyze the flat loop! Expert roper Jesus Garcilazo makes a cameo appearance in the paper. Think of all the head exploding that would go on if they wrote a paper on the butterfly or body rolls or something tricky like that, but who would even put themselves through such analysis? You're better off picking up a rope and doing a few months of straight wood-shedding to develop some amazing new trick that couldn't be put into an equation even by all the world's supercomputers.

Another reference I must mention is Carey Bunks' The Lasso, A Rational Guide To Trick Roping. It's a long standing free online book which you have likely already come across, an extensive explanation and guide for learning many tricks with the rope, he also gives his take on the mechanics of it in a not-too-rigorous way and therefore it can probably be useful to a lot of people.

In my rebirth of roping, my second wind, I have found occasion where I dissect a subtle motion or rethink the speed at which I spin the rope during a particular section of a trick in order to get it more solid, or to increase the success rate of the trick (or to even get a first success). And with good results too, so I believe it does pay to take the effort to put a critical eye on your methods while still sticking to rough and ready trial and error technique to really learn the thing on the street. Go at the concepts with broad strokes and let your miracle brain work out the exact finesse behind the curtain of grey matter, that's my approach.

The loop always has this angular momentum which just means it's spinning in a circle, it will keep spinning in this behavior on its own for a short time but it's constantly being diminished by gravity and air resistance a little so it needs your hand to keep nudging it in the right direction. You can feel some tension where the rope is pulling back on you through the spoke, greater tension when the speed of the loop is faster. This tension is a good thing, it means that you can control where the rope goes next. If you slow down too much or pull on the rope in the wrong direction then you can feel this tension die and you no longer will be able to influence the rope, it will just fizzle out, close up, or go limp unless you make a larger motion in time to correct it and get the control back.

I'll give a crack at a layman's description of what keeps a spinning loop open: Looking down at a loop from above we have a spinning loop (spoke omitted).

Figure2: counterclockwise loop

Newton said something about an object in motion will just keep on goin' how it's been goin' unless you give it some contrary force. Well that means if it's moving it will go in a straight line unless something pushes it to turn it, speed it up, or slow it down. A loop is going in a circle so it's always turning, therefore there must always be some force maintained on the loop to keep it always turning around and around. I can't really understand all of that unless I imagine the loop not as one rope but as a bunch of little connected points. These points happen to be connected as a rope so they end up pulling and pushing each other along in a circle but if they were disconnected from each other let's imagine what they would do. Every point on that loop will want to just keep going straight, here's a diagram to show what would happen if these points were not connected and allowed to keep going straight.

Figure3: independent points on a spinning loop

They would spread out and make a bigger circle. This in essence is the force that keeps pushing the loop open, a centrifugal force as it may be called. Since the rope is all connected together it's not so easy for the loop to open up though. You should feel this pulling force as you spin the spoke and you exert a force pulling back against it to keep the loop going at a constant size.

Speed does matter, spin a faster loop and the outward pull is greater, you'll feel more tension pulling on your spoke hand and have to exert a little more force to keep that loop in place. If your spoke is allowed to freely slip through the honda then you should see changes in the size of your loop corresponding to how fast and abrupt you are spinning. The loop will increase in radius but at the expense of the spoke length. A growing loop eats up spoke so it must either raise up towards the hand as the spoke length decreases or you must feed it more rope if you have any extra bunched up in your other hand. Spinning speed is not a linear correlation to loop radius though, because the friction of the rope rubbing on the honda will make the loop less responsive to speed changes. So up to a certain point you can have small changes in acceleration and the loop will stay about the same.

I've bored you up to this point but now I'll give you something more interesting. I learned a trick as a kid which I could do good enough most of the time but my loop would sometimes close up and I'd have to spin like the dickens to get it to open up again. It was lifting off from a wedding ring to a flat loop in front of you. Follow the sequence in images below. 1. it starts with a wedding ring. 2. take it down to a single handshake. 3. pull it up from the handshake with a good upward tug. 4-5. pop it up directly above the head. 6-7. pull it out to the right side as it starts to come down. 8. *transition from spoke under loop to spoke above loop, pulling the spoke to the side of the loop while in transition. 9. loop comes to lower position and you continue spinning. 10. settled into flat loop.

Photo: The Liftoff Sequence, 10 steps

The transition at step 8 gave me problems stemming from the fact that the spinning hand must move from it's position in the middle of the circle and go outside the circumference of the loop for a bit before being able to move your spoke hand back to the center of the loop's circle when the loop is in the down position in front of you again. My problem was that I was tugging the rope to get it to move down but I wasn't tugging at the right time in the circular phase of the spin to keep the loop open and my rope would get to the floor as a closed up mess.

The upward and downward motion is one aspect of the trick but all the while you must keep the cyclical spinning motion going and not do any tugging on the rope at a time when your pull will cause the loop to close. Before I knew exactly how to correct myself  I thought about how the rope must move and about what might be causing the problem. I figured I was either flicking the rope to the side at the wrong time or not aggressively enough to keep the loop open. Most problems are usually a matter of timing or spinning speed. So I started experimenting with pulling down sooner/later and with different flicks of the arm and wrist at different times. I became much more aware of the cycle of the loop, meaning the position of the honda in relation to the loop's circle and after a bit of trial and error I had an awakening.

When the loop goes to the side it's critical where the honda is, if it's about to go around the far side of the loop then a motion to pull towards you will close up your loop. You can only coax the rope into certain positions when the time is right. Sometimes you have to wait and let the spin ride out till the honda is good and ready, this was integral to learning the butterfly also. It's a good feeling to get that connection with the rope and although awkward at first, with concentrated practice and a fair amount of trial and error I'm starting to get in a comfortable groove. I know physics is busy at work in it all but whenever possible I prefer to just keep it in my subconscious while I physically develop a fluid one-ness with the rope.

[giveuselife-blog]

Killer Resumes - 7 Power Resume Tips For Company

New Post has been published on https://giveuselife.org/killer-resumes-7-power-resume-tips-for-company/

Killer Resumes - 7 Power Resume Tips For Company

A tight economy forces a competitive job market. What people are now finding is that they are competing for administrative jobs with over-educated and over-qualified job applicants.

Now is the time to turn up the heat on your resume.

If you haven’t written a resume for awhile, or find yourself in the midst of a layoff, or just need to beef up what you already have then these tips will help give you that opportunity.

My former company received over 200 resumes a day and it was my job to separate the ‘good’ from the ‘bad.’ It is an acquired skill to be able to read a resume by dragging your finger down the middle of the resume page and deciding if it goes into the in-basket or the circular file.

Just as important as they are now, they were also at least that important back then. Key Words. I am talking about keywords, except back then they were known as “Power Words.” Most professional resume readers can make a decision to keep a resume in less than two minutes. Your resume had better be good for that only reason. Right now for every one job opening, there are 100 PLUS resumes and applications being turned in – And those statistics only count if the job is not advertised.

If you have not considered starting your own business by now, then you might give it a toss to see if it would be worth your while. The reason is because this economy is the best to start a business in. You are allowed many more opportunities to see if you can succeed or not. You get more chances to fail in this type of economy and the failure ‘penalties’ aren’t as rigid as they are in a thriving economy.

The best way to succeed is to gain as many failures under your belt as you can. A sure path to success is one failure at a time. Just like my golf instructor told us, “The best game you have is because you are moving forward – Always be moving forward!”

But, for those who are more interested in getting their resume put together (you will need it for your business plan anyway – when you start your own company), here are some killer tips.

1 –

Write great content. No, not story-telling content – Great content! Use words you would use that are descriptive, not dull (boring). If you need help, use some free internet keyword tools like Google Free Keyword Tool.

Write down a list of the things you did for each of your jobs – You’ll want at least four main points per job. Think about what you really did in a way that helped your company. This is your time to shine, so you better make your words count. Words are often the only armor you have to get your foot in the door.

Example: BEFORE

SKILLS:

TEAM PLAYER WORK WITHOUT SUPERVISION WROTE EMPLOYEE MANUALS

Example: AFTER

SKILLS:

Effective Team Director For Multi-Cultural Environment Established Validity in Successful Team Projects Awarded Direct Supervision Of Work Projects To Prosperous Completion Implemented Superior Supervision Techniques Resulting In Completion of Projects On Time And Under Budget, Saving Company Revenues an average of eight percent per project. Streamlined Employee Manuals to Increase Company Efficiency, resulting in 22.3 percent savings in payroll costs.

Don’t make things up – Big “No-No,” and you will get slapped for it in an interview situation. Use statistics whenever you can to make a visually graphic point about how you work. Most resume readers see words in pictures and they like numbers. Can’t think of a word – Look up a synonym on the internet.

TIP –

Market yourself as if you were your own product. If you were in charge of something or someone – Payroll, for instance, then do not say you were a payroll manager. Write your title down in more descriptive terms – Payroll Specialist For 50-employee Technician Unit.

2 –

Resume Design Format must be sharp and consistent. Read your resume over and over and over again to check for typos, and off-alignments in spacing, tabs, holding, dates, consistency. If you say you pay attention to detail and you miss even one of these items – your resume goes in the circular file. You want to avoid the visual clutter that forces the eyes to skip jaggedly along your resume – the read should be clean and easy with no skips to snag the eyes away.

Let another person read your resume before you send it to anyone. The second set of eyes will always catch those things you miss.

Good Example: Good spacing, plus this resume reads well, and is easy on the eye to follow down the page without interruption or changing spacing sequences, or other visual cues.

EXPERIENCE:

Catering Business Owner 2005-2010 Newport, California 1. Job Responsibility 2. Job Responsibility 3. Job Responsibility 4. Job Responsibility

Dog Walking Business Owner 2004-2005 Ensenada, California 1. Job Responsibility 2. Job Responsibility 3. Job Responsibility 4. Job Responsibility

POOR EXAMPLE: Spacing, tabs are jagged, (notice spacing too – see dashes between years – 1 has to space and 1 does not), indents – All are uneven and inconsistent formatting leaves the reader hopping around the page like a bunny. The impression you leave an employer is that you are lazy, unreliable, and high maintenance. Business owners and Human Resource personnel do not have time to decipher sloppy resumes.

EXPERIENCE: (poorly spaced, typos, grammar, punctuation, etc.)

Dog Walking Business Gurl 2004 – 2005 Ensenada, California

1 Job Responsibility -Job Responsibility 3 Job Responsibility

– Job Responsibility

3 –

If you struggle to find the right words then take the job description you have and take the words from that description and duplicate those same words in your resume. Trained eyes are looking for that kind of information.

TIP – State and Federal job applications are especially notorious for using this technique in choosing job applicants to interview.

If you really do not have the experience but have relevant experience that prepared you for that job duty – Put it down.

It is called transferable skills and those skills can keep you in the applicant pool or get you tossed out. If the skills you put down are NOT truly transferable, then you will look ignorant and lack good sense for listing them. It says that you did not read the job description before you applied and if you are sending out a lot of resumes it can be the kiss of death if the same person gets your resume twice for two different jobs.

Example: from the website – 50 state jobs (dot)com:

“Work closely with law enforcement, District Attorneys, Patient Attorneys, public advocate organizations and other DHS agencies throughout the state, and the Oregon State Police, Drug Enforcement Division, whose role it is to enforce the program’s statutes and rules. Monitor, track and/or respond to:”

Buzz words to use from this job description paragraph – “Work closely with,” “role it is” “to enforce the program’s statutes and rules,” “Monitor, track and/or respond to”

4 –

Make sure you match the job description and your bullet points in the same order so that you are using what the employer considers to be important with what you consider to be important – If the job description lists a hierarchy of duties, have your resume bullets in the same hierarchy of importance.

5 –

Sell yourself. Do you truly want a beginning position in a company, or would you be over-qualified, get bored and quit if you had to start at the beginning with those parameters?

Imagine what would happen if you put on your resume that you were, “Seeking management of a company division operating with $50,000 __________ you fill in the blank (in receivable accounts, net sales profit,… ), instead of, “Seeking a starting position with a growing company. Being humble only has openings for mail clerks and messengers.

6 –

Do your homework. Go online and find out what the company you are applying for really does and create more than one resume. Use your research for a better resume. Write a cover letter directly targeting specific niches, specific keywords, specific duties, specific companies and divisions within companies – Know who owns the company and some one thing about that person. Ask for an interview in your cover letter.

Example: “I am available for an interview Monday through Wednesday, _______ (date) from 8:00 am-12:00 noon. Please contact me at ____________ (phone, email) to arrange a date and time to discuss my qualifications and your needs.” “I look forward to hearing from you.”

One woman I know was thrilled to see an opening for a company she just loved and could not wait to apply for the job. With about half an hour of research, she found out that they were horrid to work for and found a better position with one of their competitors in a position she still has and still loves ten years later.

7 –

Call you references AHEAD OF TIME. Make sure you have a current phone number, address and email information on your Professional and Personal reference sheet. You would be so completely surprised how quickly out-of-date these things become and how FEW people bother to check their information for accuracy. This step should be a no-brainer, but sadly it is not.

TIP – Send a copy of your resume to your references so they know what to say on your behalf (coach them).

[vitmelbourne]

3D Animation in Multimedia Courses in Australia - Make Better Designs For Your Dime

Transitioning into the world of 3D animation has been an exciting adventure for many studios across the world. The chance to gain inspiration from a whole new perspective is largely a great gift, but has proven to be slightly problematic for more classic companies. Disney itself was in a minor crisis because Mickey was always drawn with two circular ears that were visible from all angles to preserve its characteristic silhouette.

Translating that into a fully dimensional model posed a huge obstacle- whether his ears would now be normally attached to his head, or if a complex solution could be found to keep his ears facing the camera at all times. Of course, there was no way for them to realize this problem when he was first created, but designs created in current times should always be mindful of the process.

Planning in 3D Animation in Multimedia Courses in Australia is likely the most challenging part of 3D animation design. Creating turnaround sheets of characters, so they have fleshed out designs from all possible viewing angles, has always been a crucial step in 3d animation production. This ensures the character will look consistent throughout, no matter what pose or position they are in. However, scenery and background objects are often designed from only one angle, so converting a project would involve conceptualizing each component over again.

Of course, there are clear advantages to the Multimedia Courses in Australia that can save vast amounts of time and effort. Lighting effects are generated entirely within the program, so no effort is required on the artist's part to figure out which sections of the scene would catch the light, or be cast in shadow. Likewise, the set and characters consist of fully realized models, so shape inconsistencies and colouring errors can be easily avoided.

Another reason to fully plan out the piece in advanced is the fact that not all angles must be accounted for, if the camera is never going to see it. For example, the back of a building can be left blank if only the front entrance will be seen. And while this may seem funny from a real-life perspective, the conservative approach can drastically cut down the time and costs involved in 3d animation production.

That being said, virtually any project possible can be converted into 3D animation in Multimedia Courses in Australia. Planning the output from the start simply prevents most design issues from surfacing, and allows for more focused creative thinking. Converting a 2D cartoon concept after it's been fleshed out would be like making a sculpture based off of a painted portrait- The likeness is there, but only in one dimension.

The process would have run much more smoothly if the Multimedia Courses in Australia course plans were set from the beginning. On top of that, knowing the artistic direction of the piece can often help the creative ideas flow much more easily, and garner even better concepts. Planning for it from the outset could just allow the time to turn a good idea into an enduring masterpiece.

Multimedia Courses in Australia - Common Steps in Pre-production in 3D Animation

Creating a full-length animated movie can be a complicated and expensive process. Sometimes, it can be more expensive than creating a live action film. Many people like graphic designers, animators, writers, voice talents, and cinematographers are required for creating animated character and accomplish a movie project with Multimedia Courses in Australia course.

With the help of motion capture, many realistic movements and emotions of animated characters in many 3D movies are made. The bodily movements like walking and facial expressions are digitized and manipulated to create realistic characters like humans, aliens or monsters with 3D Animation in Multimedia Courses in Australia course.

3D Animation Production Stages

In most of the 3D animation production, the process can be divided into 3 main stages;

·         pre-production

·         production

·         post-production

What is Pre-Production?

Pre-production is the phase where ideas are developed and planning is done prior to the process of production. In a live action movie, it is the period before filming starts. In an animation movie, it is the period before any real animating takes place you can also learn this in Multimedia Courses in Australia course.

Steps Involved in Pre-Production

Before creation of an animated film could start, the initial pre-production steps must begun. Irrespective of the intricacy and length of an animated film, it undergoes the basic preproduction steps that can be summarized in the general steps explained below.

Step 1: Concept Design - This is the first step that will serve as the stimulus for creating an animatedfilm. Whether you are making any short or a full-length animated film, portion of live action-shots everything begins with the concept design. The concept design could be inspired from anything like current events, classic literature, ordinary objects or by innovative ideas, its one of the chapter in Multimedia Courses in Australia course.

For example, in the movie Toy Story, concept design was based on mundane or ordinary objects, i.e., toys in a boy's room. The storyline, script and animation all progressed from that basic concept design. This process also typically comprises the initial sketches of characters and settings. Concept designs are produced after having various brainstorming sessions from among the writers and artists.

Step 2: Storyboarding - After the concept design is made, the storyline is finalized using storyboards. Just as done in concept design, sequences of brainstorming activities might be conducted to come out with a storyboard. There might be times when a group of artists would individualistically write and illustrate their storyboards for later approval and combination of ideas.

Basically, a storyboard is like a comic strip that is complete with dialogs. It includes a storyline and major scenes. This whole process will become the base of the script and movie sequences. Storyboards plays an important role as a guide for interdependent teams its one of the chapter in Multimedia Courses in Australia course.

Step 3: Finalizing Layouts - In this step, the approved storyboards are sent to the layout department. The artistic team of the department is the one that work together closely with the director in finalizing the scenes, costumes and appearance of the characters, its one of the chapter in Multimedia Courses in Australia course.

Step 4: Model Sheets Creation - They are drawn precisely for uniformity of the characters. Model sheets are groups of pictures that portray the range of imaginable facial expressions and body movements that a character can make. After model sheets are prepared, they are sent to the modeling department for creating the final models. These could be in the form of clay models, puppets or digital models of the characters.

 Step 5: Animatics - This is the last or final stage of pre-production, where the complex animation sequences and VFX-heavy scenes are envisaged in simplified forms or mock-ups known as animatics. In this process, a better grasp of the motion and timing is established. It helps the director to enhance the overall scenes and visual effects its one of the chapter in Multimedia Courses in Australia course.

It is recommended to revisit all the stages more than once. The main reason is because each stage may either reveal a flaw in the work to date or highlight how an aspect of the project could be further developed. Having the right skill set, understanding of minute details, patience to recognize and make modifications when suitable is the key for success and creating quality animation.

For getting  more information visit here VIT -  Victorian Institute of Technology.

14/123 Queen St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

1300 17 17 55 (or) support@vit.edu.au