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painless-innit-colourful · 3 years ago

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Invisible

Potions of invisibility grant the user the ability to disappear, functionally: the concealment of one’s self through magic, distilled into a draught easy to swallow. For better and worse, Tommy’s familiar with the taste.

It tastes sour, primarily.

Looking at the ingredient list, no wonder. Nether wart and fermented spider eye. Gross. There are some things a golden carrot just can't balance out.

It's such a disgusting taste he doesn't notice the shimmering feeling, instead focusing his attention on scraping a thin layer of translucent brown sugar-mushroom-spider ick off his tongue. Not until:

"Tommy?" "Y- Bleh- Yeah?" "Oh!" Tubbo waves his arms in a wild arc, smile growing, before his hand collides with Tommy's arm, and he picks up Tommy's wrist. "It worked!" "What do you- Ohhh..."

If he blurs his vision, Tubbo's fingers circle around nothing. If he looks properly, he can just about see the edges of his wrist, the lines of his shirt sleeve. "Dude, how does that work?" "Which bit?" "Clothes. My clothes didn't drink it too." "Dude, I dunno... My turn!"

They learn to spot the tiny signs of an invisible person. They learn to disguise them. Tommy tries to tackle Tubbo and misses completely, and both of them fall about laughing.

Call that a drug van success story.

---

He sprints past it, hoping they aren’t following, panic filling his bloodstream. He chugs the potion as he runs, drops spilling down his front, staining his navy coat with off-white shadows as he shimmers and disappears into thin air.

Please don’t see me, please don’t see me.

He stumbles into the shallow waters of the lake, wading - disturbing the water, too many signs, you're gonna be seen - towards Tubbo's tunnel. He takes three steps and slips under the surface, landing on his hands and knees on the tunnel floor, waiting, waiting- Where are they?

There's the sound of an arrow seeking its mark and hitting true, and for a split second Tommy sees an arm with deft fingers and a dark blue sleeve fall over the side of the entrance, and then the body is gone and shit shit shit-

Tommy sticks his head back out- Who was that? Wilbur? Tubbo? He feels the shimmering feeling again - "a quick escape", where are the others - and slowly drops back to the tunnel floor.

Make a decision, what if they find you, Little Laddy One Life? He walks away, opting to live to fight another day, hoping that his friends will join him soon.

---

Funnily though, while clothes disappear with the potion, armour doesn't. He doesn't know why; he's not smart enough to. And right now, as he yanks the shoulder straps of his chestplate tight, he doesn't really care.

"Stop!" They don't stop, voices mostly drowned out by the overwhelming sound of rushing water. Dream, his face also hidden, but by his signature mask as opposed to the magic of an invisibility potion, holds his hand towards Tubbo and tells him "I need the disc." Tommy crests the wreckage of the Community House, no longer attempting to stay hidden as the water thunders down around his ankles, pulling him towards the platform in the centre. It's a bizarre version of the Pit. It’s an arena. It's a stage.

"No!" He screams, as Tubbo takes half a step back towards the ender chest. Heads snap to his position, looking at the empty suit of armour that's just appeared beside and above them. Tubbo stutters something in quiet disbelief, and between that and the sudden attention, Tommy falters. If he took off his armour now, could he get out of there? Or would the same fate that once befell Wilbur catch him? The blame for this building is on him, after all.

He jumps in, landing on his feet between Dream and the cabinet of L'Manberg. He is caught in the crossfire of their questions: "Tommy?" "Is that Tommy?"

He shouts, and he screams, and he revolves like a merry-go-round, trying to keep his eyes on everyone, not trusting that his armour'll be enough to protect him from the sheer amount of enemies about. So many people hate him, he realises, it's 30 v 2. Technoblade would like those odds. Technoblade, who's standing beside him, not invisible because he went to get milk. He likes the protection; he thinks.

They don't listen. Tubbo keeps insisting he betrayed them all by teaming with Techno, that he betrayed L'Manberg, but they don't understand, he didn't have a choice, "You don't know what he did to me in exile." Tubbo has the disc in his hands, and without having an inkling of where Dream's eyes are, he watches him consider simply snatching it from Tubbo's hands.

"You're not gonna give him the disc." Tubbo looks at him like it's a dare, and why can't he see? Tommy's practically crying with the effort and exertion of watching his best friend betray him in slow motion, of being this close to his abuser, of being blamed for something he didn't do, of being beaten down every time he gets on his damn feet.

"I don’t need to prove myself to you. This wasn’t me. Trust me. Jesus— for once in your life, Tubbo, trust me." Tubbo's eyes are cold, his mind made up. What happened to us against the world? "I did trust you. Once. The first time all of this happened. And I won’t make the same mistake twice."

There's a little moment where time stops, and everyone draws nearer like a crowd at the coliseum, and Tommy feels his invisibility ripple slightly, warning him it's about to wear off. Who the fuck cares.

Tubbo takes a step towards Dream, and Tommy lunges to put himself between them. "Don't you dare." Tubbo's hand goes to his axe. "You betrayed me, Tubbo, you- Did you just-" Both of their eyes are on Tubbo’s weapon, when he puts the disc away, staring Tommy down plainly with his one hand returning to the axe at his waist, and the other taking out his shield. "I didn't betray you." His voice is level, all business. Okay then, Mr President.

"You betrayed everything that you'd built with presidents prior." Tommy's anger, and hurt, and frustration, and pain finally boils over, so much so that it's visible in the way he shakes as he brings out his axe. "You know what?" He bites into a golden apple, feeling its effects drown out the rushing water and the shimmering sensation of his invis. "You've got your axe up." Technoblade’s tone is surprised but light as he tells Tommy to make this decision wisely, but he’s already gone, his safety and conscience be damned. He throws himself at Tubbo, brandishing his axe as the pigman taught him, like he once practised with the brown-haired boy he’s swinging at, thinking You say I betrayed you? I'll show you a traitor.

Poetically, perhaps, it's less like a fight, and more like a dance. They are a whirlwind - a hurricane - clashing and blocking and pushing and shoving across the otherwise empty floor. Somewhere in the gushing water, Technoblade's bloodlust has seized him, and he's gone for the L'Manbergians and the festival-goers and the unrelated parties that came when they saw the destruction, and he's scattering them this way and that, but who cares about that?

They are not equally matched. Tommy shakes too much: there is too much of him vulnerable here, not just his mortality, something that neither invisibility nor armour can keep from being scratched and damaged. He's losing. He's quite badly losing, despite Tubbo's inferior armour and weapons and allies, and he leaps into the nearest watery wall, letting the Respiration helmet Techno made for him protect him as the water drags him under and away from his attacker. His best friend. He bites into another golden apple, his pleas swallowed by the torrent. He still hears Tubbo's shout though, permeating the water and being relayed through his communicator from wherever Techno is.

"Where are you?"

He pops back up, shaking and soaking wet and sees a familiar sight: an old friend, a brother - once - staring him down with death in his eyes from behind brown hair. He was wrong, oh so wrong, all those weeks ago: at once he is Schlatt, alone at the end of his days, and there's Wilbur, old pals who'll be the death of each other. No.

No.

"I didn’t betray you, you teamed up with the very person that destroyed us the first time!" He feels his invis shimmer one more time, and the timing is immaculate, really. Cinematic, one might say.

"I went for the discs— Tubbo, the discs— The discs were worth more than you ever were!" "No... Wh- Th-" The world stands still, and it feels so good, it's so good to finally say it, to watch Tubbo's face fall, his shield slipping from his hand, listen to the reactions around their little arena, watch as Tubbo shuts his mouth and yanks on the strap of his chestplate and lets it drop to the floor, leaving him defenceless and open to attack and wait- no- wait-

Mutely, Tommy’s gaze drifts skyward, and it should feel good because they know now, they know how he feels, but it's not, it's not good because that- that wasn't true. That wasn't right.

And he looks back at Tubbo, and finally, finally, his invis runs out, and he hopes it shows on his face, that he knows he's fucked up because Tubbo looks destroyed, and a shiver goes through him because he no longer looks angry he just- He just looks sad.

He takes off his helmet, breathing heavily from the ache and exertion, heart burning in regret.

‘The discs were worth more than you ever were.’

How do you fix that? For one crazy moment, he considers the invis again. Turning translucent and running, back to Techno- back to Technoblade who'd congratulate him on 'moving on' and tell Phil like he was proud and probably write that line on the fucking wall, how could he be such a monumental ass-

"Tubbo?" Their eyes meet. Tubbo says nothing.

"Give him the disc."

He looks bewildered, "You want me to give Dream the disc?" He says, the tiniest sliver of something they used to have peeking through, the bearest hint of kindness, and bless him, it's more than Tommy deserves. It makes him want to go invisible again.

He smiles softly, and it can't reach his eyes, but he pours every ounce of good left in him into it and desperately hopes it's enough.

"Yeah." And because he's fucked up, because he knows they can never go back from this: "I'm sorry Tubbo."

---

He's done it again, he keeps fucking up. Sam's hand is holding him down by the shoulder, firm fingers digging into him, keeping him from reaching Ghostbur.

He tried so hard. His throat is sore from not coughing. His muscles hurt from the pure tension and adrenaline coursing through his bloodstream, from his stubborn heart to the ends of his fingers and toes. He thought he'd gotten caught when he drank the potion in the waivers room, and his heart had been beating so loud that he'd thought Sam could hear it.

Yet, they made it. But it doesn't matter, because he pulled out the axe too early, and now he's busted, and Sam's gonna kill him or Wilbur's going to come back or both, and it's all his fault.

Every time he tries. Every time he tries to fix things, or do what's right, or have something for himself, it's taken away, destroyed and he's kicked to the ground. Every time.

It's enough to make anyone want to be invisible.

#and today's writer mood is: liberal use of italics #hell yeah!#so funny story: this was supposed to be a saturday morning ficlet #it ended up being a saturday afternoon fic #oh well lmao #dream smp #dsmp fic #crim writes #tommyinnit #tubbo #this was quite a lot of fun #please rb and comment/reply! it means a lot to have feedback #heaven knows we're all just waiting for validation :)#clingy duo

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tilltheendwilliwrite · 3 years ago

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Cat Got Your Tongue

Chapter One

Master List / Series Master List

A/N: This series is set in the same world as Bare In The Woods (a one-shot were-bear Henry Cavill story). This series will be cross posted between Tumblr and AO3. As Tumblr has no way of preventing minors from reading the smutty bits (and there will be smutty bits) those chapters will only be available on AO3.

My archive work is available to Register Users Only. This means Yes, You Must Have An Account with Archive to read my work. If you'd like more information on how to acquire your Free archive account, please see this post. All you need is an email address to sign up. That's it. Just do it people.

Read on AO3 here!

Summary: The community of Salvation holds many secrets, not the least of which is the diversity of were-folk who call it home. Ember Porosha is one resident for who Salvation isn't just the town's name but her saving grace. After outrunning her past, she's resigned herself to playing surrogate to everyone else's children and never having her own. A mate was not in her future, and she was learning to live with that. Until he walked through the door of The Last Book and Brew.

Thomas Loki Hiddleston wasn't going to be in town long. Here for the naming of Henry and his wife's baby girl and presentation to the weres of Salvation, he planned only to stay a few days. A small town like this could never offer him the outlet he needed for his cat's dark desires, nor could he hide what he was for long. His nature would eventually need an outlet and Salvation held nothing for him. Or so he thought. One wiff of Ember's unique scent and he knew he'd found a long thought lost to him future.

But when she doesn't fall at his feet, and proves more stubborn than a mule, can he resit taking her in hand long enough to win her heart? Or will the bond between true mates not be enough to tame this wild hellcat.

Series warnings: Were-Creatures, Cats, Bears, Smut, Shameless Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Explicit Language, Dom/sub, Blood, Blood Kink, this one could (will) get kinky

***

When the sleek black car drove through town, Ember gave it only a passing glance. It was odd, sure, but anyone who drove a Jag was so far out of her league they were playing on a different ball diamond altogether. The car screamed money, something she cared little about.

Sure she needed it, everyone did, but Ember was content with what she had, and in this sleepy town cradled lovingly between the mountains, she didn't need much. She had her sweet yellow cottage, her bookstore, and a community of friends when she desired company. And now, with the snow falling thick on the ground, she would have another singular pleasure.

Ember's little snow leopard heart leapt at the thought of running through the high passes and sliding down the long slopes, her wide paws keeping her above the snowpack instead of sinking in while her thick coat kept out the cold. It had been too long since she'd last played in her were form, and was looking forward to going out to the ranger station in a few days to visit with Henry, his wife, and their little cub.

The sweet baby girl already had Henry wrapped firmly around her finger, and Ember couldn't help but laugh at the goofy smile that perpetually graced his face when he looked at his family.

If a pang of jealousy jabbed her heart, Ember didn't let it show. She'd resigned herself to a lonely life a long time ago.

The bell over the door of her little shop gave a merry jingle, and she placed the last of the new James Patterson novels on the shelf before dusting off her hands and stepping out from behind the bookshelves to smile at Lorraine, the town's most gossipy raven.

If she was fluttering into The Last Book and Brew, then Ember was about to hear an earful.

***

Tom swept into the charming inn and forced himself to smile at the woman behind the desk. He'd spent a miserable six hours on the road, driven through a blizzard, and killed his cellphone when he'd dropped it in an icy puddle two hours prior as he'd filled the car with petrol. But there was no alternate way to get to Salvation, buried deep in the mountains, except to drive.

And Salvation was where he needed to be.

His old friend, Henry, was celebrating the birth of his first cub, and Tom dropped everything to come and see the little darling Henry was blessed with. And to meet the woman who'd tamed the giant bear after all this time. Sadly, he'd been unable to attend their wedding, but he refused to miss the welcoming of a new were into the community, whether he belonged to the Salvation clan or not.

That didn't mean he wouldn't give Hen the gears for choosing to live in some backwater nowhere even if it was beautiful here.

Still, Tom preferred the city for its indulgences and entertainments. No, he couldn't fall on all fours and run through the concrete jungle he called home, but he'd long come to terms with his destiny. It wasn't as if there was a panther out there waiting to run under the moonlight with him.

He was going to be a lone cat, a bachelor. He'd resigned himself to it, for no matter what anyone said, no one - were or human - had ever submitted wholly to his dark desires and chosen to stay in his possession afterward. They were all far too soft for his liking, ending in no more than a one-and-done.

At least, he could stalk the clubs and play with those unaware of his darkest needs and wants in the city. Tom was not a Dom to be denied, and those who gave in to the allure of his pretty face soon learned all about the devil underneath his Gucci suit.

"Hello, darling," he purred to the desk clerk. "Thomas Loki Hiddleston, checking in. I believe I have a reservation."

She blushed to the roots of her hair, sputtered, and nodded. "Of-of course, sir. If-if you'll sign a few things and put your card on file, I can get you situated on your back- In your room!" she corrected, staring at her hands.

Tom couldn't hide his smile, but he swallowed his laughter. It was always the same. The sweet little birds flocked to him, but they had no idea a predator was stalking them.

He went through the incidentals, signed her documents, collected his key and listened intently when she told him about the room, breakfast, the restaurant, spa, and pool. His ears perked up at the last. He did enjoy a refreshing swim.

"And if you fancy something other than regular coffee or black tea, there is The Last Book and Brew just down the street. Ember makes the best scones and tea."

"Does she now?" he murmured, eyeing Irene - her name on a little plaque pinned to her chest - as she handed him back his credit card. "Perhaps I'll check in on it. A cuppa does sound delightful." The drive had been long, and tea might be just the pick-up he needed before calling round to Henry's.

He nodded to Irene and headed for the stairs instead of the elevator. Three floors were nothing for his long legs, the exertion minimal, as he hiked to the third floor and down to the end where he fit the old-fashioned key into the antique lock and pushed open the door.

Tom was pleasantly surprised to find a mixture of well-kept antiques and modern furnishings decorating the space. While the bed and mattress were new and covered with clean, white duvet and sheets, the dresser - upon which sat a television - was a heavy mahogany buffet with curved Queen Anne legs. The bathroom was a revolution of modern plumbing though a cast iron tub stood on clawed feet beside a glass shower big enough for two. Gilt framed mirrors hung above dual vanities into which water poured from brushed gold fixtures.

It was all very romantic with its old-world charm though the inn was showing its age. Wallpaper lifted at the edges, millwork was chipped and rubbed in places, and a few of the lovely old tiles on the floor in the bathroom were cracked. But with the likely age of the building, it wasn't so surprising. If the gorgeous stone building weren't at minimum a century, he would eat his scarf.

She could be an absolute beauty with effort and enough money. Yes, he would be comfortable here for a time. The Salvation Inn would suit him.

Tom made his way to the windows that looked out on Salvation's main street. The road was a mess of dirty snow, sanded and salted for ease of travel, but the thick white flakes floating down turned the quaint replica gas street lights into white-topped monuments of winter. Storefronts glowed with welcoming light, still running their Autumn displays, creeping toward American Thanksgiving. The commercialization of Christmas had yet to appear, giving everything a cheerful, colourful cast he found pleasing to his senses.

Cars moved without hurry, mimicking the people coming and going about their business. Everyone was bundled up, but no one seemed to mind the cold and the snow. To be expected, he supposed. They lived in the mountains where snow fell early and lasted late.

As his gaze traversed the lane, his attention landed on The Last Book and Brew and caused him to tilt his head, intrigued. Unlike the other traditional storefronts with their brick faces and colourful awnings, gold filigree writing on wooden signs, the little bookstore had a distinctly different feel to it.

The door, window frames, and brickwork that accented the front of the building were painted a shiny, deep black. There was no awning but three stunning lanterns hung above the windows on wrought iron arms, beautifully curved like the elegant lines of a woman's body. A sign in the same black iron hung perpendicular to the door. Shaped like a shield or some family crest, the words The Last Book and Brew glowed crimson outlined in gold, while a raven of the same black iron sat guard, casting judgement on all who entered. Red velvet mounded in the windows, lovingly cradling the displayed books like sacrificial offerings.

Someone knew what they were doing, for that was the sexiest storefront Tom had ever seen.

Utterly enchanted and desperate to see if the interior matched the exterior, he left his leather valise unpacked on the bed, pocketed his key, and headed for the door.

Irene looked up as he passed her, but Tom paid the clerk little mind. He was on a mission, a hunt now, needing to discover the answer to the mystery of just who this Ember of Last Book and Brew was that she could create with such aplomb a store so alluring.

There was no wind when he trotted down the inn's exterior stairs and out into the snowfall. Traffic was light, so he crossed mid-street, avoiding puddles and snowbanks in an attempt to keep the Italian leather of his shoes dry while large flakes of falling snow collected in his dark ginger locks. He reached the door and admired the ornate handle before opening the door into another world.

Tom stepped inside and stared in amazement. He'd never thought a bookstore could be moody, but this one certainly was. The floors were highly polished ebony wood that led into dark railings which spiralled past the sunken first-floor cafe up a short flight of stairs toward the bookstore beyond.

He admired the cobblestone floor in the cafe, again shiny with polish, sealed he suspected to make cleanup easier. Upon them sat a virtual Mad Hatter's Tea Party of chairs, all shapes and sizes separated by wrought iron tables topped with glass. And though the chairs were unique in shape, they matched for colour, upholstered as they were in the blood-red and black brocade that turned them into a sexy indulgence he prayed were as comfortable as they looked.

And hung above it all, like a lady's magnificent fascinator, was a chandelier worthy of the name. Clearly electric, it appeared to drip ropes of black jewels and crystals as long as his palm, lit by three dozen candles that flickered with faux flames. It was spectacular.

Beyond, the cafe counter, like a walnut dream, appeared to be a repurposed and rehabbed saloon bar where elegant scrollwork on a pristine chalkboard announced the daily specials. He could see the cakes and pastries in their glass case, and while his stomach rumbled to remind him of the last meal he'd eaten, Tom was too enthralled with the decadence of the store to allow himself to be led by his nose when a small sign at the foot of the stairs requested no food past that point.

Another small sign asked him to wipe his feet, which he did without thought, before heading up the short but wide curved stairwell to the second floor into the fantasy world of someone's most magnificent mind.

He felt guided by the hand of a fae as he wound his way through ebony bookcases over hardwood floors, beneath more hanging lanterns and delicate chandeliers. The soft white of all the lights allowed him to read titles and leaf through pages without feeling as if the overhead lights would eventually dry out his eyes or buzz their annoyance through his brain. Every so often, he came upon stands of lightly scented candles, or soaps, or lotions made with all-natural products and tingling with the lightest touch of were-magic, causing Tom to look at the store with deeper senses.

The corners and cardinal points of the space had crystal wards, he realized, and the soft pulse of benevolent magic left him at ease. Whoever this Ember was, she bid all who came to her sanctuary welcome.

Even more intrigued than before, Tom found his way toward the counter where voices spoke in hushed tones, intent on finding the owner and congratulating her on the sensual, slightly erotic nature of her store. It left him breathless in a way that was hard for him to come by, and yet even as it pulled at his dark, seductive nature, he knew a family could come into such a place and find it magical, like falling into the rabbit hole of a dark Alice fantasy.

"That's nice, Lorraine, but I don't think Henry would approve of you gossiping about his friend."

Tom stopped in his tracks. Warm brandy and velvet bled over his senses, stroking straight through him to the soul of his cat. The panther purred and preened, wanting the owner of that voice to pet him and whisper words of seduction in his ear.

"Poppycock! Some big-city fella isn't going to care if we mountain folk talk about him."

Ugh, raven. He'd know that grating tone anywhere.

"Besides, he's some fancy lawyer or something," the raven, Lorraine, continued. "I'm sure he's used to people talking about him."

"It is still impolite."

Tom shivered, eyes half-lidding. He had to roll his head, stretching his neck to keep from sprouting fur. What he wouldn't give for one night with the owner of that voice.

Never one to hide in the face of scrutiny, Tom glided out from behind the bookshelf and smiled at the two women. "Actually, I run hotels."

The raven eeped and jumped, spinning to face him. She was older than he'd suspected, her dark hair thoroughly saturated with grey though her eyes remained clear brown orbs. The other, oh, the other, he could not help but stare.

Her face was the kind that would make angels weep with sharp, classic features, high cheekbones and a pointed chin like a sweet little fox. Her big eyes widened in surprise, showing off the shocking green, so pale and light they were almost neon when the light caught them. The heavy fall of thick curls that slipped from her shoulder left his mouth dry with the desire to sink his fingers into the mass that started black at the root and faded into tones of silver and dark grey, hinting at patterns like small rosettes.

A sleek, lithe body lovingly caressed by a sweater of raspberry wool and leggings of black knit glided out from behind the cash desk, her steps silent in small silver ballet flats. "Mr. Hiddleston?"

"Indeed," he purred, accepting her hand when she offered it. He captured it between both of his rather than shaking it as presented and held it lightly. "Thomas Loki Hiddleston, at your service, love. My friends call me Tom."

"Ember Porosha. Welcome to Salvation and The Last Book and Brew." She tilted her head, causing all that lovely hair to slide to the opposite shoulder. "Henry speaks highly of you."

"Mm," he chuckled, adjusting his grip to lightly press his thumb into the palm of her hand as he brought her knuckles to his lips. "Brags, does he?"

"Terribly," she agreed with a smile.

Tom smirked and pressed his lips to her skin. He inhaled and went rigid. That scent, the sweet smell of pine and snow somehow laced with the delicate notes of summer dreams, drowned him, flooding his lungs until he was sure he would never be able to breathe again without breathing in Ember's delectable fragrance.

She tried to retrieve her hand. Tom growled, low and deep, more a purr than a reprimand, and opened eyes he knew would glow green with his cat.

"Well, hello, pet," he smiled. "It seems I was wrong." He wasn't destined to be alone after all.

Sharp claws latched into his hands. "I've no desire to start anything with you, true mate or not."

He dropped her hands and brought his to his mouth to catch the blood seeping from the minor wounds. "We will see about that."

She hissed at him.

Tom threw his head back and laughed before gliding into her personal space and threading his fingers into her hair. "Spit all you like, little kitten. I always get what I want."

"I think it's time you left, Mr. Hiddleston," Ember growled, her hand on his chest to keep him at bay.

"Tea first," he smirked. "I'm gagging for a cuppa. Haven't had a decent one all day!" He stroked the silvery strands before letting them fall through his fingers. "Is your coat just as soft, Kitten?"

She glared daggers at him. "Leave."

He chuckled but stepped back, practically able to see her tail flick in anger. "Until later then, Ember."

***

He turned on his heels and sauntered away, leaving her seething behind him. How dare he. How dare he! How dare he assume such liberties when they'd only just met. When it was clear he was only passing through and would leave nothing but devastation in his wake.

"How dare he!" she hissed and stormed toward the back of the store to her office to calm down, forgetting Lorraine was still there.

Ember didn't slam the door, knowing he was still in the store, and she'd be damned before she gave him that much power over her. She would not be brought to heel like some… some… Kitten!

She growled a low sound and clenched her fists, determined to get control of herself and that snow leopard rolling like a damn hussy inside her.

She'd smelt him the moment he'd stepped beyond the books—dark spice and leather, mandarin and rosewood, with notes of cinnamon and vanilla. Ember's mouth watered with the desire to taste his skin and see if he tasted as good as he smelled.

"No," she said firmly. Her cat scoffed. "He won't stay here. He's a big city panther, and we will never go back." She was determined to live alone, be alone because she was safer that way.

Salvation was, well, their salvation. When she was most desperate for a new start and a place to hide from her past, Salvation was there with open arms, and an established were community.

Her cat settled down with the reminder and left her alone to pick up the phone.

Ember dialed the number by heart and waited for them to answer. "Hey, Henry, it's Ember. About tonight. Something has come up… I'm… not going to make it."

Next Chapter

#cat got your tongue #hiddleston au #Thomas Loki Hiddleston #were creatures

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windblooms · 4 years ago

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matchups.

hihi :’) way overdue – but here are the matchup requests that i received. please check for yours below if it was sent in! ctrl+f on desktop for your mbti/zodiac, or something you remember adding in if the post is too long to scroll through.

Hello! I'm INFP and 98% Type 4 & 92% Type 9. I'm a sun Pisces & moon Aquarius. I'm fairly introverted but can be kinda silly if I'm trying to be social. I'm also empathetic & sympathetic with plenty of self-confidence issues. My main hobbies are playing games, looking into social issues, thinking about game characters,etc. I keep bouncing between visions but Geo might be fitting since current Geo characters are a little more on the introverted side. Not sure if I'm late but wanted to try <3 I'm the INFP Pisces & Aquarius Geo asker and forget to mention that I'd like 1 platonic and 1 romantic!

romantic match-up: kaeya.

although it might be odd at first to pair him with a sensitive and introverted soul such as yourself, on the contrary, kaeya won’t have any issues relating to your emotional nature, even if outwardly it doesn’t seem so (behind his light-hearted and diplomatic dialogue, he’s got a transactional relationship with the knights he’s “loyal” to; his own brother is distasteful towards him; and he’s got an agenda that goes against everything he currently lives with.) he’ll get a knack out of teasing you when the mood is fitting, and while he may not be the one to give you the best of pep-talks, his self-assured disposition does have its uses: confident words soothe over the creases of your worries and troubling thoughts, and when things are more light-hearted, the two of you will bounce off of each others’ playful mannerism.

platonic match-up: barbara.

barbara is a sweetheart who’s incredibly devoted to both her companions and her aspirations. wholesome and energetic, she’s sure to keep you on your toes dancing, whether it be about how beautiful it is outside or the potential of a rainbow after a storm. while she’s a clear extrovert, barbara is also insightful to the feelings of others – after all, an idol must understand her crowd! – so she’s sure to dial down the energy if you’re ever feeling weary that day.

hihi !! can i please submit myself for the matchups ? i'm intp-t, scorpio sun and leo moon. i'm 5'11, female, and am described to be a very energetic person. i like to think optimistically and have a special love for philosophy and chemistry !! my hobbies include reading and writing - i've also recently picked up baking. i think i would have a hydro vision in genshin - hydro users tend to be healers, and i think that's something i would specialize in. can i please have 2 romantic matchups 🥺

i'm the scorpio sun leo moon intp matchup ask !! i forgot to mention that my enneagram type is seven, sorry 😔

romantic match-ups: childe/tartaglia and jean.

childe hyperfixates on individuals he deems strong. while this usually translates into people who have experience on the battle field, in your case, he finds it admirable that you’re able to keep up with so many hobbies and interests. your thirst for new experiences and stimuli is akin to his own sense of adventure, and your devotion to each and every one of them resonates with his own conviction to his aspirations. you’re strong mentally, and when you interact, he always has to dedicate himself to you fully in order to keep up; there’s never a dull moment when you’re around him.

a workaholic in denial, jean’s position as acting grand master never gives her a break. she’ll insist that she’s fine, that she’s content with her oversight of the knights, that they are her priority. and while this is true, when you talk about how your interests range from chemistry to baking, it’ll remind her of the time she doesn’t have to do “normal people things.” again, not that she’s miserable with the knights, far from it – it’s just that your life and spontaneity reminds her of the things outside of the knights that she wishes she could do, too. your genuine energy never fails to make her smile – perhaps you were who she’s been waiting for.

hi, congrats on the 1k followers! i really enjoy your writing and i’m glad to see that you’re doing well! i hope the rest of 2021 goes well for you!

for the matchup event, i’d like one platonic and one romantic relationship. i'm an infp, 6w5, scorpio sun and virgo moon. my attention span isn’t the best and i’m an impulsive dumbass, but i still manage to get good grades somehow. i try to be sociable, but i have a habit of clamming up so i usually just end up sticking to the people i know. i’m kinda all or nothing with the effort i put into things; i run out of steam pretty easily so i tend to leave things unfinished, which i hate, but sometimes i’ll go wild and finish a semester-long project in one afternoon. overall, i really like helping others and being seen as reliable! i was really dependent on others in the past, and although i still kinda am now, i’m trying to be someone others can depend on.

as for hobbies, i mostly just play video games and scary stories. i’m also into a lot of crafts, particularly knitting and bracelet-making. i find the motions relaxing, but i enjoy it the most when i have someone to make things for.

as for my vision, i think hydro suits me best because it seems more support-oriented overall, which is the kind of role i’d like to have. however, that doesn’t mean that it can’t be used to do some serious damage if needed.

has lots of energy that’s hard to direct, but can plow through things they set their mind to. likes security of things they know, and wants to give security as well. creative outlets. seems a bit finicky? but insightful with their own emotions.

romantic match-up: mona.

outwardly stubborn but inwardly self-critical, mona has dedicated her entire life to the stars, and it shows: her masterful grip on astrology is nothing to scoff at, and she’s arguably the most practiced mage in all of teyvat. at first, she’ll be baffled at your impulsiveness and “lack of focus”: how will you ever get anything done? she’ll wonder. but when you prove her time and time again that you can plow right through an obstacle just like scissors through paper, so long as it seizes your interest, she’ll take moments to think about her own outlook on life. when she realizes your comfort in abstract, artistic past-times, she might ask cutely for you to teach her. surely, if she can talk to the stars, she can make bracelets . . . ? o-of course they’d be for you! who else would they be for, if not someone she deems endearing.

platonic match-up: beidou.

the personification of a tidal wave, beidou’s ferocity hits hard and leaves a mark. the two of you will find it easy to bounce off of each others’ ideas – maybe even concerningly so to the rest of the crew – and hell, she might even sway you to sneak into a hilichurl village to steal some carrots if it’ll provide for some overdue fun. lots of pats slaps on the back, and she’ll always beckon you over when she learns about something new, thinking that you might find it interesting, and when she wants someone else’s input. she trusts your judgement like family, and knows that you’ve always got her.

hi! i would like to request a genshin character matchup (2 romantic). my mbti is infj and enneagram 2. i am a cancer sun and aries moon. i am calm and reliable, but i do have a mischievous side and use a lot of dry humor. when it comes to having fun, i like to enable others! i am also deeply passionate about community service. my hobbies include yarn crafting. my genshin vision would be cryo because i am highly motivated by love/emotion, can come off as cold, and love the ice aesthetic! tysm!

romantic match-ups: diluc and lisa.

often broody and contemplative, diluc has a whirlwind of thoughts in that hard head of his. through your first interactions, he’ll piece together your intense devotion towards your loved ones and willingness to help others. he’ll warn you that you should take time to consider yourself, too, and that it shouldn’t always be give, give, give, but those same traits in you that he worries about are the same qualities that draw him in. once, too, he was as uninhibited as you, had the same energy. perhaps it’s because you’re both so similar, both in internal hopes and mannerisms, is why he finds it easier to loosen up – even if he doesn’t immediately let go of that deadpan attitude of his when he knows you can come back just as hard.

she’s enthralled by your willingness to engage in her banter. often, those she teases (flirtatiously or otherwise) leave with a red face and an adorable stutter, but it just so happens that you’re one to fluster her instead. it’s been a long time since she’s met someone who can keep her guessing, yet is incredibly insightful to themselves and those around them. she finds your qualities of fun and sincerity to be charming. you’re a breath of fresh air compared to the stern knights she’s around all day, and she looks forward to meeting you after work, conversing with you as you walk down mondstadtian streets and eat over dinner. there’s never a dull quip from your lips, and she’d love to hear everything on your mind.

hii hope I'm not making this too hard on u lol one romantic and one platonic please! either gender is fine I'm bi as Hecc mbti: enfp-t sun taurus moon aries I think my vision would be cryo because people say it's connected to loss and I've lost some pretty important people to me and also. I hate the heat I really like cards, wolves and the stars, my hobbies include working with robots and the general aesthetic of the mid 2000s, my favorite season is winter and I love buying ppl gifts ♡

platonic match-up: chongyun.

immediately, your avoidance of heat and affinity to the calm will give him someone to relate to, and your attraction to the abstract will pique his interests. (perhaps, once he’s become more confident with his exorcist abilities, he could pick up some of your hobbies?) your practicality, in contrast to his often self-critical mindset, will ground him in times of need, and he’ll always ask you if he can help you out in return. while he looks up to you as an individual, he’s honored to also be your friend, or at least someone you devote time to.

romantic-matchup: ningguang.

you both understand sacrifices and loss. while it’s a rather bleak realization upon getting to know each other, your rationality and perseverance despite the past stirs her respect for you; your mindsets are incredibly alike, and she’ll often input your reasoning into her plans, and deem you a trusted associate of the liyue qixing. in her demanding position, you are someone she can readily relate to and rely on. in times when things are less hectic and the two of you can more freely relax, she’ll indulge in a shopping spree with you. as someone who’s intimate with her in both profession and emotional relations, she’d love to show her gratitude.

hi! i'd like to participate on the match up event!

i'm an infp, and also type six on the enneagram test, my sun sign is aries and my moon sign is pisces. i like arts in general with my favourite ones being music and painting, but i also enjoy writing and i spend a lot of time songwriting! also as a person i'm rlly clumsy and i kind of look mean bc of my resting bitch face lol. i think my vision would be anemo because i think it can be really useful in many ways and i like the reactions it has with other visions. i'd like two romantic match ups! i hope this was understandeable, as my english isn't the best. thank you! 💌

romantic-matchups: mona and zhongli.

mona will find your interest in the arts intriguing. you always seem to get ideas at the most random of times, often startling her with how active your mind is. and despite how she doesn’t reply much in return – she’s not versed in words or drawings, even if she won’t verbally admit it – you seem to be satisfied with her . . . reactions? even if the most she can relate them to is astrology, it seems to be enough for you, so long as she isn’t uptight that day. your creativity and attraction to the abstract gives her comfort: there aren’t many people in mondstadt who appreciate her profession, so even if you aren’t into the exact same things, she’ll at least know that there’s someone who looks forward to seeing her.

on his quest to “learn what being a human” is, zhongli encounters a myriad of occupations. typically, the people of liyue are wound up with economics and realism, but your joy in the possibilities – how you can convey your emotions, through what mediums – of life has to offer reminds him of humanity. with you, he’ll explore what mortals call “the small things” in life: akin to the spark of appreciation for flying lanterns, autumn-colored lights at night, feelings of wonder – that’s what you instill in him.

hello!! id like a matchup please!! im an INTP-T and im Type 5,, im capricorn sun and libra moon. im a reserved person and kind of angry all the time,, and i get overwhelmed easily. im not that good with affection,, but me actually welcoming you into conversation or my room or smthn, or actually responding to you means something. im just scared to be open with affection because its always done me wrong in the past. anyways,, id like a platonic matchup and romantic matchup please!! thank u and congrats!!🥳🥳❤️❤️

hello,, im that Capricorn sun libra moon anon,,, very sorry to disturb you,,, but i didn’t mention what my vision would be!! i think id be pyro,, ive always been a bit cold or i usually shun people away,, so i think id be cryo!!!! or maybe hydro because im constantly having a mental breakdown LMAO(but i fr think id be cryo)

platonic match-up: sucrose.

while she’s constantly on-edge from work, sucrose will always make time to check on her dear friend. after all, you do the same for her, even if you insist that you might not have the right words ready. “partners in stress,” kaeya would teasingly dub the two of you as, but you don’t pay mind to him. as quiet and reserved individuals, you find tranquility within each others’ company.

romantic match-up: venti.

whimsical and regarded as a mere bard by most, venti puts up a convincing front. but it’s just that: a front. the real venti is concealed by a chipper voice and mercurial agenda, when underneath, there’s a solemn musician who’s burdened. you’ll most likely be off-put by his facade, as he’s trained himself to constantly be lively – comes with being a performer – but will soon find that he understands your turmoil. he’s not the best with sentimental words, but will instead convey his sympathies through strums of his lyre. while it isn’t obvious that there’s security in freedom, he’ll be sure to encourage you that there’s a way.

Hello Al! For the match-up event would it be possible for me to ask for 1 romantic and 1 platonic? As for my MBTI I am an INFJ-T. As for the ennseagram I am 98% type five and 90% type 6. I am a Taurus sun and an Aquarius moon. I tend to come off as polite and often times a bit shy/reserved irl. I love learning new things. Conversations that have all parties thinking critically are definitely my favorites. My hobbies are writing, drawing, learning new things, reading, and playing video games. As for Genshin vision I'd have to say cryo. I've taken a quiz on quotev and got a tie between cryo and anemo. Cryo's description seemed to fit my personality better. I also seem to have a connection with the cold. Let me know if you need any more info. Remember to take care of yourself. ~Taylor💙

platonic match-up: albedo.

you both have your inquisitive sides, and albedo is more than willing to talk to you about his discoveries. while he might not proactively reach out to you – more like, if you’re nearby, and he happens to catch you peeping at his work, he’ll engage with you. he finds your takes thought-provoking and your candor respectful; a fellow of agreeable disposition, your calmness and supplementing nature also makes it easy for him to work.

romantic match-up: zhongli.

both intuitive and practical in your approaches, zhongli’s given a new perspective when you converse, or at least, a new thing to ponder over. many regard him as stiff besides his gentlemanly disposition; your focused and insistent care will enrapture him as heartwarming, that there are “acceptable” vulnerabilities, but they’re not weak points at all – far from it. your security and assuredness is harmonious with your emotion insight, making for a stable lifestyle that he easily molds into. the conversations that the two of you engage in are nothing short of provocative. just as much as he learns from you, he also provides with tales of the old days.

Is - is the matchup thing still relevant? If not you can just ignore this message - its ok, i know ur busy :)

If it is still on tho, i wonder if i could get a platonic and romantic one?

Im a INFP-T(??), Type 4, pisces sun sag moon.

Im a dumb nerd with big glasses who loves t shirts with puns ot jokes on it. Im not sure about my hobbies, i just like anything that can make me think - memes, books, music, games with lore. I dont like boring, overly normal stuff. I have shitty sense of direction and i suck at math.

I think that my vision would be anemo since thats (i think) an element that requires both creativity and knowledge to work with, which is very special and interesting to me.

Thank you so much in advance! Or sorry if i sent this too late 😅

platonic match-up: xinyan.

both of you are free-flowing and seek excitement. you’re the gasoline to xinyan’s match: you both feed off of each others’ knack for new things, stimuli, and the bold. you could be walking down the streets of liyue, eating bags of mora meat, and then suddenly run down to the northern wharf to catch passing boats and playfully debate over which snobby aristocrat is being shipped off. there’s never a dull moment between the two of you, and the plan is always no plan. spontaneity is the name of the game, and it’s one that you can go at for ages.

romantic match-up: beidou.

there’s hardly a moment to breathe on the crux fleet, that’s for sure. be prepared to explore the entirety of teyvat with beidou, because she’s got you covered with all of your “new thing” needs, alongside your ocean-borne family. she’ll find it humorous that you’re not practiced in navigation – ironic for a seafarer. but steering is complex, and she’d gladly help you out in learning, just another thing to do in a day’s work.

Hi! For the match up event, I'm 98% type 3 and a 97% type 7, I'm am Intp and my moon sign is scorpio, my sun sign is Pisces. I'm above than average in math and I like to draw from time to time, I've tried to learn the ukelele but ultimately failed. I'd like my vision to be an electro cause my fav color is purple and I like how the electricity sparks and stops my enemies, I'm also a fan fic writer and love manhwas

Hi! I'm the last anon that you reminded that should have put 2 romantic in the ask! Sorry about that, it just completely flew over my head

romantic match-ups: ningguang and childe/tartaglia.

your ambition knows no bounds, and your drive is a force to be reckoned with. some may call your approaches headstrong, but your ability to take initiative is something that ningguang greatly admires. it’s something she professes that you two have in common – granted, even if her economic tendencies are more cutthroat. while the two of you have incredibly firm opinions that might send shocks across the room you’re debating in, ningguang trusts your rational thought and explorative mindset. your like-mindedness, in this instance, brings great relief to her in her position.

childe is also someone who would take interest in you. he’s not one for schemes like the rest of the harbingers, and would appreciate your straightforward approaches and the focused energy you put into each project/obstacle you face. it makes it easier for him to speak his mind, and he’ll find comradery with you fairly easy to come by. gradually, the zeal the two of you share can draw you into more adventures, and he’ll have someone he can call a trustworthy partner.

Hello! For your generous match-up event, could I request two romantic matches please? My MBTI type is INFP and my enneagram type is four. My sun sign is Aries and my moon is Gemini. I am a quiet but curious person who can be really flirty and sarcastic in private. I am very caring to those I love. My hobbies including writing and drawing. For my vision, I think I would be cryo? I’m a secretive person who has trust issues and can be cruel. I love your blog, you’re so skilled! Thank you so much!

romantic match-ups: kaeya and jean.

you’re a trusted soul by all, even if many also regard you as reserved. kaeya isn’t one to grow attached (it’s hindered him in the past), however after being paired with you on multiple missions, he’ll feel more at ease around you due to your good nature. your duality is also a breath of fresh air, and each time he talks to you afterwards, he’s reminded that there are individuals who have others’ best interests at heart. many knights will catch the two of you tossing jokes back and forth at each other, but for once, kaeya isn’t trying to swindle anybody.

the acting grand master has a lot on her plate, but she finds that when she’s in your company, the tray is a little lighter. she relates to your sincerity and good intentions, a welcome refresher in the world of forced diplomacy and tedious hours. you also seem to know just the right things to say to lighten the mood, with a cute smile to top it all off.

hello! Could I request 2 romantic match-up? I'm ENFP, enneagram 2w3. Sun Sagittarius, Moon Scorpio, Asc. Virgo. My hobbies consist of anything generally creative, gaming/anime, hanging out with friends esp!! I'm the type of person to show affection by physical touch and by gentle ribbing-- I love making other people laugh. I'm always down to do things, new or not, and an honest and easy-going person. My Vision would be Geo bc I think it reflects how I am as a person-- stable n loyal :) thank u!!

romantic match-ups: venti and beidou.

no one would’ve thought that you and venti would be a pair – then again, when they consider your tendencies for jokes and charisma, it’ll all come together. wherever the two of you go, laughter follows, like dandelions in the breeze. venti hits it off with you almost immediately after you meet, your natural social nature enabling easy conversation. you’re also very zealous with topics that pique your interest. it’s a genuine, eager curiosity that he can’t help but consider endearing.

the two of you are always searching for new things, be it small islands in the horizon or neat little specialties that you manage to catch in the corner of your eye. there’s never a dull moment when the two of you get going on ideas, and while you may be the more rational, beidou will always insist on adding some more “zest” into whatever you come up with. if you push her, she might accidentally shove you off the boat with the playful enthusiasm of a golden retriever.

Hiya~! Thank you both for doing this! For the character match-up, I'd like to request two (2) Romantic please lmao, with a side of French fries.

I'm an INFP, Libra sun/Scorpio moon. My external personality might lead ppl to think I'm a charismatic extrovert, but that's the face I show for the 5 whole minutes I'm socializing, and then return to my introvert turtle shell for the next week. I cycle through hobbies since I get bored quickly, but I always come back to music since singing is my passion. I know for sure my Vision would be Anemo bc I need to be free to feel comfortable and tend to react rather aggressively when I feel restrained 🤔

I'm deeply emotional, sometimes impulsive, and dislike relying on others. I tend to be cat-like in my affections... sometimes I Love, other times Do Not Want. Except for animals, they always get my love ❤ ehehe....

romantic match-ups: mona and kaeya.

mona considers your nature incredibly easy to grasp. but don’t take it as an insult or offense – in fact, your simplicity is a constant in mona’s life: you like time to yourself, and when you’re alone is when your energy comes out. she doesn’t have to worry about reading too much into your feelings when she can see that you’re independent. your interactions are calm and reassuring; she doesn’t have to be uptight around you, because she knows you trust in her abilities and lifestyle, and security with herself and those she cares about is her top priority.

kaeya’s able to relate to your social tendencies. there’s a front that he puts up in front of his colleagues (purely for professional purposes) before reverting back to his natural state of mind. he finds your distance understandable, and considers it something the two of you have in common. when you talk one-on-one, it’s easy to bounce ideas off of each other about mondstadtian culture and other topics of interest; while your independent natures may lead to some time apart, there will always be fresh experiences waiting when you do meet again.

#matchup reqs

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valuentumbrian · 4 years ago

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ALERT: Bull Raids, Short Squeezes and Highly Unusual Market Activity

We are putting short investors on high alert!

By Brian Nelson, CFA

In late 2018, Valuentum published Value Trap, a book that warned to all that would heed its warning that a collapse in the traditional quant value factor was coming and that excessive volatility in the markets caused by price-agnostic trading--or those that aren’t paying attention to fair value estimate calculations--would only build and build to eventually reach extreme and irrational levels. The book, while hugely successful winning award after award, was largely ignored by the media, despite our best efforts to get the word out. Now, the chickens are coming home to roost.

Image Shown: The book Value Trap warned about the impending collapse of the value factor, and during 2020, the value factor registered its worst performance in history. We continue to believe large cap growth is underpriced. Image Source: Bloomberg.

As you are aware (and probably tired of hearing by now), the “value factor” had its worst showing in history during 2020, as predicted, and while broader market indices continue to reflect somewhat reasonable levels of volatility (following the excessive levels during the COVID-19 crash), we’re now starting to see the type of volatility on individual names that we think will only grow in number to eventually become large enough to impact broader market indices in time. Our “Call to Action” in Value Trap remains, and we encourage regulators to promote the application of active management (and enterprise valuation) via policy regulations that limit dangerous vehicles in a bid to ensure market integrity and stability for posterity. Indexing is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and its bite will leave deep scars in the financial system if not curbed.

To the layman, if you’re a believer in climate change and how this generation is harming the future, it’s far worse what is happening in finance today. Pollution is everywhere. With just ~10% of all trading based on discretionary fundamental fair value analysis, with indexing and quant trading increasing (momentum and trend following algorithms), with mis-education at all-time highs given the documented failures of perceived “truths” in quant finance, future generations may be left with a complete and absolute mess of a financial and market system if we don’t get back to enterprise valuation. Instructors: Teach your students well – teach them enterprise valuation. Make Value Trap required reading.

Gordon Gekko is wrong: Greed is not good. Brokers selling index funds pointing to failed modern portfolio theory as justification and quants running sophisticated algorithms based on short-cut multiple analysis and impractical data will only grow to be a recipe for disaster. Were it not for the swift action of the Fed/Treasury during the depths of the COVID-19 crisis, the financial system would have already witnessed its doom. Many stocks in indexes would have gone to zero, driving underperformance of traditional indexes relative to active management of mammoth proportions, all but securing the demise of Bogle’s folly. Far too many investors are not paying attention to the intrinsic worth of their assets--and counting on the Fed/Treasury to bail out indexers (not active managers) time and time again with tax-payer money is no plan for longevity. Indexing is not free or inexpensive; it has cost the tax payers hundreds of billions, maybe trillions.

We witnessed but a glimpse of irrational market activity and extreme levels of volatility earlier this year. On March 25, 2020, the SEC halted trading in shares of Zoom Technologies (ZOOM) because many were confusing its ticker symbol with a similarly named NASDAQ-listed company, Zoom Video Communications (ZM). More recently, a January 7th tweet by Tesla CEO Elon Musk saying nothing more than “Use Signal” sent shares of the stock Signal Advance (SIGL) over 400%+ higher. The only problem is that Musk was talking about a messaging app called Signal that rivals Facebook’s (FB) Messenger and Apple’s (AAPL) messaging service, not the company listed under the ticker SIGL. Traders may have been engaging in pump-and-dump schemes using misinformation as the tool, as Signal Advance now trades for ~$5.50, down from its irrational high of ~$38 per share.

Image Shown: Shares of Signal Advance (SIGL), a company that uses signal technologies in biomedicine and other areas, shot up aggressively on a tweet from Elon Musk saying to use a completely unrelated messaging app called Signal. Image Source: Yahoo, Twitter.

These are not one-off events. In the early months of 2020, irrational speculation also reached a precipice in the stocks of bankrupt and near-bankrupt companies, as speculators in the popular Robinhood app whipsawed prices of Hertz (HTZ), Whiting Petroleum (WLL), GNC (GNC), and Chesapeake Energy (CHKAQ) around. On June 8, 2020, for example, Hertz’s and Whiting Petroleum’s shares, while still lower significantly on the year, closed approximately 10-fold higher from prices around the time of their respective bankruptcy filings during this mania.

Then there was Hong-Kong listed ArtGo Holdings. The marble-stone miner’s share price ran up 3,800%, nearly 40-fold, during 2019, with the majority coming on news that MSCI would add the stock to its suite of indexes. However, just a couple weeks after the announcement, on November 21, 2019, MSCI pulled a U-turn, saying it would not add the stock to its indexes. The news sent shares of ArtGo Holdings tumbling 98% that Thursday morning, wiping clean an incredible $5.7 billion of market value. The markets are showing signs that the price-discovery mechanism is breaking down, and indexing is not an innocent bystander.

Image Shown: Shares of GameStop have been on an irrationally wild ride recently driven by what looks to have been an orchestrated and highly unethical (and perhaps illegal) short squeeze on the stock. According to some reports, during the pre-market session January 25, GameStop’s shares were up ~80%, and turned red during the trading session, with no fundamental news.

Recent “bull raids,” or aggressive and orchestrated “short squeezes” on stocks, have been the most prominent evidence of excessive volatility and irrational market behavior driven by Reddit WallStreetBets users and Robinhood traders, only exacerbated by price-agnostic trading from traditional quant algorithms. With a short interest of ~150%, GameStop’s (GME) shares, for example, went from a 52-week low of $2.57 in March 2020 to a 52-week high of $159.18 in January, and are now trading at ~$70-$80 per share at the time of this writing--still far above what may be considered to be a fair value estimate of the equity.

There are other instances, too. Other heavily shorted stocks including Express (EXPR), Macerich (MAC), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), and AMC Entertainment (AMC) have been tools of trading madness in recent weeks. At the time of this writing, Express’ shares are up over 90%, Macerich’s are up 16%, Bed Bath & Beyond are up over 8%, and AMC’s are up over 28% -- all on no news other than they are companies with heavy short interest. As with the “fad” of investing in bankrupt companies earlier in 2020, it seems like the trading sharks are circling heavily-shorted names to drive aggressive short-squeezes, often in conjunction with the application of deep out of the money call options.

We’re paying close attention to these dynamics as we monitor our short idea considerations in the Exclusive publication. We’ve put up some tremendous success rates when it comes to short ideas—through October 2020, the success rate for short idea considerations was 92.3% over 52 ideas spanning 52 months--but we’re writing today in part to put our readers on high alert when it comes to short investing. Though we still like our latest two short idea considerations, DoorDash (DASH) and Palantir (PLTR), they have moved against us since we highlighted them. Palantir was up 25% on nothing more than news of a Demo Day. Our thesis on these ideas hasn’t changed, but the market’s behavior certainly has. For short investors, caution is the order of today.

Concluding Thoughts

We believe a fair value estimate on the S&P 500 (SPY) is 3,530-3,920, and with the S&P 500 trading at ~3,825 at the time of this writing, the markets are fairly valued based on common-sense metrics. You can read about how we value the market in our 2020 recap here. We maintain our view that the areas of big cap tech, large cap growth, and the NASDAQ are attractive, and we continue to point to Facebook (FB) and Alphabet (GOOG) as two of the most undervalued stocks on the market. Large cap growth (SCHG) has outperformed small cap value (IWN) roughly 60 percentage points since the beginning of 2019, or about the time that Value Trap was published. Best Ideas Newsletter holding Korn/Ferry (KFY) is one of the biggest fundamental mispricings we see at the moment.

That said, even though markets are fairly priced and we think certain areas offer bargains, systemic risks are increasing as price-agnostic trading in the likes of quant and indexing has now been augmented by trading from Reddit platforms such as WallStreetBets and Robinhood traders looking to make a big score in the market. We’re still playing it cool, and nothing should be surprising to our readers. We called almost every step of the way in 2020, and extreme and irrational levels of volatility are the next chapter in the book Value Trap. The markets won’t get completely out of whack for years yet, however, and we hope Value Trap, in raising awareness of the pitfalls of the ways of indexing and quant investors, will make it so the path to financial destruction will never materialize.

We’re available for any questions.

Most Shorted Stocks, short interest as a % of float: GME, FIZZ, DDS, MAC, BBBY, LGND, AMCX, SRG, GOGO, SPWR, AXDX

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#$GME #$FIZZ #$DDS #$MAC #$BBBY #$LGND #$AMCX #$SRG #$GOGO #$SPWR #$AXDX

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calendulatia · 5 years ago

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[ LFRP ] Canary - ( tumblr/Discord )

❝ we who are born of the earth, rooted in all things, are bound to return to it. ❞

🔓– A lock icon denotes the presence of an additional something significant to be discovered only via roleplay. The more locks there are, the more difficult it will be to learn or come by this information.

☾ General Information ––– -

Name: Canary. 🔓🔓🔓 Epithet: Lichenpeal. Gender: Nonbinary. Age: You can’t be sure, really. 🔓 Race: Nu Mou. Birthplace: Somewhere within the Rak’tika Greatwood, presumably. Current Residence: An overgrown hovel a way’s away from the settlement proper. Were it not for the stone arranged about it, you might have missed the doorway entirely, and even then the masonry has been all but reclaimed by the forest. It seems built into the earth itself, disappearing into the side of the gentle slope leading up and away into the trees... not too unlike a barrow, you realize, with the air around the entrance alive with the presence of the wood. Standing there you suddenly feel a strange tickling at the back of your neck, like a hair or thread dragging lightly across your skin. You look back up. You feel compelled to knock on the door. Relationship Status: Single. Sexual Orientation: Asexual. Occupation: Apothecary. Herbalist. Diviner. Blue Mage. 🔓

☾ Physical Appearance ––– -

Hair + Fur: Straw-colored Thick. Long. Worn loose save for a scattering of braids decorated with thread and bits of bone. The fur on their tail and arms appears crimped like a sheep’s wool and feels much like the same. It’s not unusual for both it be rather unkempt from walks through the wood; they don’t seem to mind the twigs, leaves, and clumps of dirt that cling to them long after they’re home. Eyes: Moss green... although, as you look more closely, the left eye seems lighter than the right. Height: 4 fm 9 im. Distinguishing Marks: White-tipped fingers. Claws that are kept aggressively filed down at all times. Lighter hands than is typical for Nu Mou. Common Accessories: Spools of variously colored threads. Skulls and bones from forest creatures worn on lengths of string. Mushrooms. Lichens. Gold earbands. Earrings fashioned in the style of old church bells that ring with deep, dolorous voices.

☾ Personality & Tidbits ––– -

A strange Nu Mou of indeterminate age beholden to the wood. Though they live apart from others of their kind and people in general, they receive most visitors with a smile and an invitation to share a cup of tea. Quiet and courteous, Canary seems very much the kind of host you would care to have out in the middle of the wild Rat’tika, and yet you cannot help but feel unsettled whenever you stare at them for too long -- as though discovering inconsistencies in a painting that prove it a forgery. Like a smile with too many teeth their presence fills you with the sense of the uncanny, reminding you of a delicious meal that puts you to ill hours later. Something about them seems the conversational equivalent of seeing something always just beyond your field of vision, just at your peripheral, but just as soon as you realize your uneasiness you feel yourself soothed by their comfortable, welcoming manner. After all, it feels this cup has been brewed just for you.

Talents: Tarot spreads. Tea readings. Preparation of herbal medicines. Communing with beasts. Weaknesses: Disruption of the natural order. Things that are unnatural. Voidsent. Tidiness. Virtues: Pleasant. Soft-spoken. Knowledgeable. Intriguing. A natural host. Flaws: Difficult to read. Quietly intimidating. Unmovable when they believe they are right. Perhaps too much of an enigma to be trusted. Spiritual Views: Absolute reverence for life, death, and the natural cycle of one that leads into the other and over again forever and always. They are bound to no specific deities, believing instead in the will of the wood and the inevitability of nature reclaiming that which is rightfully its own. Hobbies: Gathering. “Tending” their garden and mushroom patch. Collecting new teas and bones. Fears: Wide open spaces. Clothing without pockets. Temperament: Phlegmatic-Melancholy. Alignment: Chaotic Neutral.

☾ Traits ––– -

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted

Disorganized / In Between / Organized

Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded

Calm / In Between / Anxious / Spirited

Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable

Cautious / In Between / Reckless

Patient / In Between / Impatient

Outspoken / In Between / Reserved

Leader / In Between / Follower

Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic

Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic

Traditional / In Between / Modern

Hard-working / In Between / Lazy

Cultured / In Between / Uncultured

Loyal / In Between / Disloyal

Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful

☾ Additional information ––– –

Smoking Habit: Rather often, but you’re certain what whatever it is in that pipe, it certainly isn’t tobacco. The fragrance is as uncomfortably sweet as it is spicy; the aroma makes you sick to your stomach. Drugs: The contents of all these vials and jars is a mystery. Whatever labels they once bore have long since worn away or peeled up, leaving you staring at an array of dull, clouded glass bottles haphazardly wrapped in brittle parchment. Really, anything could be inside them. Alcohol: The Nu Mou occasionally reaches for a flash tucked into the sleeve of their robe and takes a quick drink. You can’t see the liquid, but even from here the smell is pungent, and you swear you see the already crimped fur covering their body curl all the bit more with each swig.

☾ Hooks ––– -

Region-related connections.

☆ The Rat’tika Greatwood - The Nu Mou rarely strays beyond the border of the forest, and so those living under the boughs or visiting from afar might have the luck of crossing their path. They do not make it easy to find them, but they also do not make an effort to hide. If you’re meant to encounter them you surely will. After all, anything can happen in the wood...

General connections.

★ Blue Magic - Canary’s Blue Magic shares far more in common with FFXI’s iteration than FFXIV’s, most notably the ever present danger of falling prey to “the beast within” as they assimilate and make use of the essences/souls of creatures. As a result their magic is far more feral and ancient than what has been established in-game, and their combat style + weaponry also differ wildly. They will not give out this knowledge to just anyone who comes by and asks, but they are also not above it... Should someone be willing to prove themselves worthy of the art, Canary might potentially teach them. Barring this, they could be a potential connection for Blue Mages or magic-users in general. ☆ Medicines + Divinations - In need of a reading or some traditional mending? Canary peddles their strange wares out of their forest hovel for a fair price. First divinations are free -- considering it your proper meeting -- but subsequent knowledge requires something equal in exchange... ★ Friendships + Rivals + Enemies - Always open! I am interested in any and all of these as options. ☆ Have an idea for something not already here? - Please feel free to pitch it to me! I would love to hear what you have in mind!

☾ OOC Information ––– -

Genres: Character development! Platonic relationships! Business contacts! Enemies! Rivals! Spooks! I’m into lots of things with my dirty danger muppet! Playstyle: No Nu Mou in-game, so all roleplay with Canary will take place through tumblr and/or Discord. Length: I like to write one paragraph at the absolute least, tending more towards a few to several (or even pages), but I will often do my best to match my partner’s reply length unless encouraged to do otherwise. Server: N/A. Timezone: CST. Availability: Threads will be passed back and forth as our schedules/writing mojos will allow! Contact Information: You are always welcome to poke at me here or my main blog over at @sunlitpeony, be it through asks or messages! I will give my Discord out privately to interested parties.

ft. art by drowsydraws !

#ffxiv #ffxiv rp #;; chants Nu Mou Nu Mou over and over again in the distance

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hearthfeuillemort · 5 years ago

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Self-Discipline

With the mind being such an incredibly mighty tool, one might see the need to focus its power and energy, and not just for the practice of witchcraft. I believe the reader could cite many examples – without applying much effort – of the things that happen to people, society, and culture when the mind is allowed to run wild and be undisciplined: when one remains unaware that all their life they’ve been unconsciously giving all their energy and power away to meaningless or fruitless endeavors, or using their words and actions so recklessly that they cause great harm to others. I believe the first step in the process of self-discipline is to set the mind free: to acknowledge one’s own divinity and the power of their mind to fundamentally shape and change reality.

There are some important concepts to understand as part of this process: the first that I’d like to introduce is the concept of The Word. Previously, I mentioned that all words are magic words: among many other abilities, they can hurt or help, create emotion out of stillness, or put ideas into the minds of others that they may have never thought of on their own. The Word should be used carefully and with intention: words are tools, and like most tools they can be used as weapons even if the user does not intend to wield them as such. It is my belief that my Word should be used for good and for truth, and that my Word is closely tied to my honor and integrity. It is most important to me to never be a hypocrite or speak ill of anyone without good cause. Also, if I make a promise or an oath, I must keep it: the guilt and negativity alone that is associated with breaking one’s Word takes away much of their power and energy.

The next concept I would like the reader to understand is Intention, which is much talked about in the witchcraft community. I would describe Intention (or The Will) as the discipline of focusing one’s mind on a specific desire or outcome. In simpler terms, it could be described as one’s ability to make things happen. In truth, I think Intention is more difficult to define than these attempts, but still a good introduction to the concept. It is most important to understand that lack of Intention can be harmful, or at worst, dangerous.

Using The Word and The Will properly requires one to be introspective, to know one’s self well, to acknowledge one’s faults along with one’s strengths. It also requires the ability to be critical of one’s self and to at least consider the constructive criticisms of others: not in a negative way, necessarily, but in such a way which allows one to acknowledge that they could do things better or more constructively.

I believe that an excellent – and necessary – way to reach this state of mind is through the practice of meditation. Meditation has been proven through countless scientific studies to be effective in sharpening the mind and improving the outlook of those who practice regularly. Meditation is also an integral part of many spiritual beliefs, though it may not necessarily be called “meditation” within those practices.

Meditation, in my Way, has become a necessary daily ritual as part of my personal practice, and I recommend that all people – secular or religious – practice for at least ten minutes each day. There are many different forms and paths of meditation, and each person should try to find the path that works best for them. The important part is the attempt to still the mind, and therefore discipline it; however, I would caution that one should take care not to punish one’s self for becoming distracted, especially when one is first beginning to practice. One should simply acknowledge the fact that they became distracted, and start again. The focus will eventually come, with time and practice, and patience with one’s self.

#self discipline #the mind #witchcraft #the word #intention #meditation #practice #pagan #heathen #paganism #nature worship #philosophy #the will #the gray way

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osmw1 · 6 years ago

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Dimension Wave Chapter 12 — A Shadow Creeping from the Darkness

“Cleaver!”

My Iron Chef’s Knife glows red as I shout the skill name out loud. I begin to spin then use the centrifugal force to cut down the Darkness Lizardman with great strength. Swish! The knife goes cleanly through the Darkness Lizardman’s right hand and, along with the bastard sword it was carrying, it falls to the ground.

“I bagged one. You all good there, Shouko?” “Completely fine! Wild Dance the Second: Bloom!”

Once Shouko opened her glowing fan, flower petals dances through the air like some sort of special effect and tear into the two Darkness Lizardman. One of them gets cut down but the other swings its bastard sword at Shouko. She catches the blade between her fan and cleanly snaps it into two.

“Recharge…”

As Shouko mutters, her fan begins to glow white. Then, she attacks the Darkness Lizardman by thrusting her fan. She probably didn’t need the helping hand, but at the same time, I stab the Darkness Lizardman with my Iron Chef’s Knife. Our combined efforts take down the monster.

“Are you injured, Kizuna?” “No, not at all. I did better than I thought I would but fighting two at once might be too much.”

I did get hit once, but it was nothing. Not to mention, I earned more Energy than I lost, so it’s a net profit. Then suddenly, Shouko’s folding fan glows even brighter. Her offensive skills often need to charge up before they can be used. It can be anywhere from 10 seconds to three minutes. The longer it gets charged, the brighter and more powerful her fan is. While it’s charging, she fights and blocks normally. If I had to nitpick, I’d say that the fan is kinda mediocre at both offense and defense. Most of the offensive skills are area of effect and so it doesn’t do a lot of damage. Plus, it doesn’t block as well as a proper shield would.

“Alright, then I’mma gut them up. Cover me, alright?” “I have your back.”

I point my Iron Chef’s Knife towards the Darkness Lizardman I killed. I start with scaling the monster and quietly mutter out a skill.

“Speed Gutting…”

It takes a lot less time with the skill activated. Plus, it’s not mentioned in the description, but there are two other effects that it grants you. The first one is that it increases the success rate. That’s why even when I do it so quickly, I get as many items as I would when I gut carefully. The second hidden effect is that the user feels a lot lighter and nimble. I’m guessing attack speed and gutting speed are both calculated the same way. Anyway, I gotta hurry up and butcher all three of them. We might be safe now, but who knows what’ll happen.

Clink!

The sound of Shouko parrying the enemy’s attack rings out. She’s already engaged in another fight. Enemies are coming quicker than I expected. Gotta hurry this up. We decided ahead of time that when I’m breaking down corpses and there are less than three baddies, then I’ll finish up before helping to fight. I get that it’s my job, but I’m still getting anxious about ignoring Shouko. I gotta do what I gotta do though.

“All done. And it looks like you’re fine too.”

As I finish gutting the three monsters, Shouko lands the finishing blow on the Darkness Lizardman. Needless to say, I go and cut up that fresh carcass too.

“How are you doing with your Energy levels?” “Aren’t you using skills more than I am?” “I have Energy Production X, so this is no problem to me at all.”

Two levels higher than me, huh? That’s an ex-frontliner for you. Even her skills are way beyond mine. Meanwhile, I finish up gutting and put the items in my inventory.

“Whew…”

I take a deep breath in the middle of this lull. All around us is forest, pitch black. The paper lantern Shouko brought with her is the only light source around. There’s not even a single star to shine down upon us. We’ve set up camp in the cave we found along the way. It’s been two hours since we’ve started, and I think we got the hang of it.

“Kizuna, how are you feeling? Are you tired yet?” “No, I’m good.” “Do not push yourself, okay? Even slight mistakes will cost us our lives as Spirits.” “This is nothing compared to the gaming sessions I was subjected to by Tsugumi.” “I see. Then, shall we continue for another hour?”

According to Shouko, Darkness Lizardmen are pretty good for experience. We’ve encountered a good number of them and so we’ve got a good number of items too. On the contrary, we encountered no other players to far. And, thanks to Shouko, we’ve been steadily chugging along. The biggest weakness right now is how dark it is. Maybe it woulda been better if I’d taken Night Vision. I have more than 20,000 Energy right now and I’m earning more at a good pace.

“…?” “What’s up? Did something happen?”

Shouko has an odd expression on her face. It’s the first time I’ve seen her like that and so I asked.

“No, but I hear something.”

You hear something? I perk up my ears too. Of course, I don’t have any skills or anything for better hearing, so I don’t actually hear any better. But…

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

She’s right. Footsteps of some kind.

“… over there!”

Shouko swings her fan at seemingly nothing. But, as she struck something with an audible smack, a somewhat transparent figure appears with a puff of smoke.

“Please, hold! I am not thine enemy!”

A ninja-looking figure clad in all black appeared. I bet he used a camouflaging skill like Hiding or something. And really? “Thine enemy”? What a clichéd character to roleplay.

“Your lies will not work on me. What are your true intentions for creeping up to us?! Speak!” “’Tis a misunderstanding! I am merely trying to escape a boss monster!” “A pathetic excuse!”

Shouko didn’t relent with her hounding, so I’ll cut it short. In any case, Shouko is being very suspicious of this figure in black and so I try to be the liaison.

“Well, let’s give him a chance to explain himself. Alright?” “If you say so, Kizuna…”

I soothe Shouko’s suspicions as I turn towards the ninja.

“So? Why were you hiding from us?” “Thou art mistaken; I did not mean to hide from thee. As I have said, I had been chased by a boss monster as I was gathering materials with dark attributes. Unfortunately, I encountered something more than I can tackle by myself and so, I escaped with my camouflaging skill to misdirect the monster.” “Hmph. Assuming you’re telling the truth, then where is the boss monster?”

I have a bad feeling about it, so I had to ask.

“It is in front of us, in the cave.” “I knew it…”

I had a feeling that might be the case when I first heard his excuse. Nervously, I take a look at the cave, but I can’t see well since it’s so dark.

“It is visible for me as I have acquired Night Vision.” “I see. Well then, my next question is what do we do about it?”

This Forest of Eternal Darkness blocks players from using teleporting items like “Tome of Returning” to send us back to town. There’s only one path and it leads directly to the cave. And that cave has now been taken over by a boss monster.

“What do you take us for?! We will not so simply perish!”

Shouko is unusually flustered. But she’s right. Us Spirits don’t die. Rather, when we lose all of our Energy, we just get really, really weak. We get sent back to level 1, you could say. Thinking about our situation carefully, it flusters me a little too. If we mess up, then we’ll lose all of the Energy we’ve earned up till now. Anyone got a good idea or anything?

“Please, take me with thee. I shan’t perish either!” “Hold on. I know why we won’t die, but why you too? Other races have penalties for getting defeated, right?” “It is for I am a Spirit.” “…”

I applied my palm directly to my forehead. They say there aren’t many Spirits in this game, yet there are three of us in this dungeon with practically nobody in it? Talk about a miracle.

“So are we.” “Pray tell, are we the same peoples?” “I would say that I am very pleased to meet another one of us, but not under these circumstances.” “I agree.”

If we had only met in different circumstances. Well, whatever. We’re still in this together.

“However, we should brace for this adversity we are about to face, though I do not mean to force it upon you. It is more so whether we are able to or not.” “Yeah, Shouko’s got a point.”

I don’t think any old plan would work against this monster. No matter how weak it might be, it’s still a boss. I’m not sure if our weapons would be any good against it. I really doubt we’d win in a head-on fight. Not to mention, we can’t rely on ninja boy. Why? Well, he literally was just running away from the boss.

“Let me atone for this sin through death!” “Hold your horses. Don’t jump to that from the get go.” “Oh, little Miss…”

… little Miss? I mean, I guess I look like a grade schooler. My character, I mean.

“It’s Kizuna. Don’t call me ‘little Miss’.” “It is my pleasure. Please call me Yamikage.” “… you a ninja or something?” “I did not know there were still ninjas.” “It’s because we’re in a game…” “O-Oh, but of course…”

Our introductions were short, but sweet. The guy clad in all black is Yamikage. Quite the stereotypical ninja. We’ve got a tomboyish GIRL, a traditional Japanese lady, and a old-timey ninja. … god, this is such an embarrassing party.

“Is the boss still in the cave?” “I see no signs of it moving.” “And just to make sure, what’s its name?”

I then quickly give Shouko a look. She always pays attention to the details, so she’d be useful now. But it doesn’t seem like she understands what my glance at her meant. You could almost see the question mark above her head.

No good, huh?

Well, we’ve technically only met today. I guess it was too much to expect to be able to communicate through our eyes. And by the way, what I meant was to check with her whether that name is correct or not. Who knows if Yamikage is laying? Maybe he’ll try to monster player kill or something.

“’Tis the Lizardman Dark Knight.” “The answer’s almost obvious but can the three of us beat it?” “That is unlikely.” “Aye, ‘tis an impossibility.”

It wouldn’t be a boss monster otherwise… It has been decided from time immemorial that boss monsters in MMOs are extremely difficult. Some raid bosses need nearly 10 people at once to be defeated. We might be up against something like that. But it doesn’t mean we’re completely out of ideas yet. It’s just that we might have to resort to cheesing the boss.

“Whatever. Do y’all have any ideas on what we can do?” “Aye. Perhaps we can run past the monster.” “You know, you escaped away from the monster by the skin of your teeth, right? Do you really think we can outrun it?” “’Tis another impossibility.”

So, we can’t escape it. Then, Shouko puts up her hand. I look straight at her.

“What’s your plan?” “How about we have someone act as a decoy?” “It wouldn’t be too difficult. But who’d it be?” “Since I have brought it up, let me take that role.”

It doesn’t sound like a bad plan, but I don’t like it. Shouko had already lost a lot of Energy by being defeated by another boss. It’s just my personal opinion, but I wouldn’t like to have that happen to a Spirit buddy.

“I’m against it.” “Nay for me as well.”

Surprisingly, Yamikage voted against that plan too. Maybe he’s looking at it from a Spirit’s perspective too.

“But why? Is it not our best plan?” “If we were to use Madam Hakoniwa’s plan, then let me be the decoy.” “Forgive me for being rude, but I believe both you and Kizuna lacks the defense. Besides, I have defensive skills with my folding fan. If I am lucky, then I shall be able to escape too.” “But, I had brought this problem to you. I cannot have Spirit comrades sacrifice their—”

I can’t believe that’s what they’re arguing back and forth about. They’re both so willing to make the sacrifice.

“I’m against either of you doing it. Why the hell are you guys so willing to throw down your lives?! What we should be focusing on is how to get all of us out alive, right?”

Both of them stare at the ground. This would totally be an emotional scene if this were a manga or something. Plus, there’s not much meaning to it if no one’s actually dying. We don’t know if Yamikage is going to accidentally MPK us either, let alone plotting doing so. Our first priority is to think of a better plan.

“Oh, right. I forgot to ask, but what skills do you have, Yamikage?” “I possess Night Vision I, Camouflage I, and Drain VII.” “Drain?” “It is dark magic which steals the enemy’s HP and MP.” “Huh. Didn’t know there’s a skill like that.” “Aye, that is correct. And as I am a Spirit, I would be absorbing Energy instead.”

That’s pretty handy, eh? But to have it at rank VII? That’s really high.

“Do you have a lot of Energy or something?” “Nay, such is not the case for me. I am but at around 20,000.” “20,000? That’s pretty much at my level then. How the heck did you get to rank VII already?” “I am losing 3,000 Energy each hour.”

… huh? To put it in other words, Yamikage’s spending Energy just to live? Our skills cost Energy to acquire. But because we can also take as many skills as we want, us Spirits can activate enough skills to be in the red. That’s how Yamikage’s losing 3,000 Energy per hour.

“Can you manage to earn anything?”

I guess you could call this high risk, high reward–style gameplay.

“I profit about 1,000 every day.”

So he says with a smug smile.

“Kizuna, he’s…”

Shouko is totally worried about his situation. I’m sure Yamikage can manage though. Well, I’d like to believe there are quite a few players who would do something like him. You could even say it’d be the more fun that way. By the way, our Energy levels are 20,000, 25,000, and 23,000 for Yamikage, Shouko, and I, respectively. Shouko also produces the most Energy out of all of us. In that case, Shouko’s plan might be our safest plan, but I wouldn’t never go through with it.

“Anyway, we can’t do anything if we can’t see the monster.” “Though, I am able to.” “Seeing is believing, as they say. I’d rather be able to see for myself. Let me get the skill too.”

I open up my menu and check under unacquired skills.

Night Vision I A skill for nighttime action. Activating the skill will counter any nighttime debuff. Consumes 200 Energy per hour. Costs 200 Mana to acquire. Unlock requirement: Be active for more than 24 hours during nighttime. Upgrade requirement: Be active for more than 168 hours during nighttime.

I take the skill and a look towards the cave. Since it’s only level I, it’s still pretty dark all around. But at least now I can see the outlines and silhouettes of the trees and stuff around us. … and there really is a boss monster there. It’s a humongous Lizardman clad in black metallic armor. In its hands are a massive lance and shield. There’s no way the three of us can beat it. And it doesn’t look like a folding fan can break its weapon either. And, did I mention that the guy is gigantic? Its physical appearance is definitely appropriate for a boss.

“… oh!” “Is something the matter?” “Maybe, just maybe…”

I tell them the plan that suddenly popped into my mind.

“Will this truly work?” “Probably. It’s an old trick I got from a game.” “Aye, but how shall we get its aggro?” “I think I might have an idea about that.”

This pinch we’re in might actually prove to be a good chance for us.

contents: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /ch006/ /ch007/ /ch008/ /ch009/ /ch010/ /ch011/ /ch012/ /next/

(please support me on Patreon or Paypal)

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diyalabsindia · 3 years ago

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Machine Learning Is Changing the Future of Software Testing - Ai courses online

The majority of software development teams believe they don't test well. They understand that the effect of quality defects is substantial, and they invest heavily in quality assurance, but they still aren't getting the results they want. This is not due to a lack of talent or effort -- the technology supporting software testing is simply not effective. The industry has been underserved.

There can't be a successful release until software has been properly and thoroughly tested, and testing can sometimes take significant resources considering the amount of time and human effort required to get the job done right. This gaping need is just beginning to be filled.

Machine learning (ML), which has disrupted and improved so many industries, is just starting to make its way into software testing. Heads are turning, and for good reason: the industry is never going to be the same again. While machine learning is still growing and evolving, the software industry is employing it more and more, and its impact is starting to significantly change the way software testing will be done as the technology improves.

Let's delve into the current state of affairs in software testing, review how machine learning has developed, and then explore how ML techniques are radically changing the software testing industry.

Some Background on Software Testing

Software testing is the process of examining whether the software performs the way it was designed to. Functional quality assurance (QA) testing, the form of testing that ensures nothing is fundamentally broken, is executed in three ways: unit, API, and end-to-end testing.

Unit testing is the process of making sure a block of code gives the correct output to each input. API tests call interfaces between code modules to make sure they can communicate. These tests are small, discrete, and meant to ensure the functionality of highly deterministic pieces of code.

End-to-end (E2E) testing makes sure the entire application works when it's all put together and operating in the wild. E2E testing tests how all of the code works together and how the application performs as one product. Testers will interact with the program as a consumer would through core testing (where they test what's done repeatedly) and edge testing (where they test unexpected interactions). These tests discover when the application does not respond in the way a customer would want it to, allowing developers to make repairs.

Conventional E2E testing can be manual or automated. Manual testing requires humans to click through the application every time it's tested. It's time-consuming and error prone. Test automation involves writing scripts to replace the humans, but these scripts tend to function inconsistently, and require a huge time sink of maintenance as the application evolves. Both methods are expensive and rely heavily on human intuition to succeed. The entire E2E testing space is sufficiently dysfunctional that it is ripe for disruption by AI/ML techniques.

What is Machine Learning?

While machine learning is often used synonymously with AI, they're not strictly the same thing. Machine learning uses algorithms to make decisions, and it uses feedback from human input to update those algorithms.

A good example is machine vision. A machine vision application may identify something as a cat when in fact it is a dog. A human corrects it (by telling it, "no, this is a dog") and the set of algorithms that decide whether something is a cat or a dog updates based on this feedback. Machine learning is designed to make better decisions over time based on this continuing feedback from testers and users.

Machine Learning has struggled to reach the world of E2E testing due to the lack of data and feedback. E2E testing is typically built through human intuition about what is important to test, or what features seem important or risky. New applications are using product analytics data to inform and improve test automation, opening the door for machine learning cycles to greatly accelerate test maintenance and construction.

So, What Is the Future of Software Testing?

The future of software testing is faster tests, faster results, and most importantly, tests that learn what really matters to users. Ultimately, all testing is designed to make sure the user experience is wonderful. If we can teach a machine what users care about, we can test better than ever before.

Conventionally, testing lags development, both in speed and utility. Test automation is often a weak spot for engineering teams. ML can help to make it a strength.

What ML means for the future of software testing is autonomy. Smart machines will be able to, using data from current application usage and past testing experience, build, maintain, execute, and interpret tests without human input.

It's likely that not all aspects of software development should be automated. Given a long tradition of E2E testing being driven primarily by human intuition and manpower, the industry as a whole may initially resist handing the process over to machines. Across practically every industry, insiders contend that machines could never do a human's job. Those who have resisted the rise of ML and doubled down on human labor often find themselves left behind.

A familiar story is unfolding in the world of testing: ML-driven test automation is in its infancy today, but it is likely only a few years away from taking over the industry.

Autonomous End-to-End Tests

Machine Learning's core advantage in E2E testing is being able to leverage highly complex product analytics data to identify and anticipate user needs. ML-driven testing is able to watch every single user interaction on a Web application, understand the common (and edge) journeys that users walk through, and make sure these use cases always work as expected.

If that machine is testing many applications, then it can learn from all of those applications to anticipate how new changes to an application will impact the user experience. ML-driven testing can already build better and more meaningful tests than humans thanks to this data.

The tests developed by ML-driven automation are built and maintained faster and far less-expensively than test automation built by humans. Such testing leads to much faster (and higher quality) deployments and is a boon for any VP Engineering's budget.

What About Testers?

What about the people currently doing these jobs?

Quality engineers still have a major role to play in software development. The most efficient way to assure quality in software is to embed quality control into the design and development of the code itself. Testing only exists because that process is imperfect.

As ML takes over the burden of E2E testing from test engineers, those engineers can use their expertise in concert with software engineers to build high-quality code from the ground up. From our own interviews on the matter, it seems most quality engineers would far prefer this to grinding away at test maintenance all day.

The Future Looks Bright

ML offers a more streamlined and effective software testing process. It establishes a process that's better equipped to handle the volume of developments and create the needed specialized tests. Smart software testing means data-based tests, accurate results, and innovative industry development.

We hope this article has helped prepare you for the future of software testing and the amazing things machine learning has in store for our world.

AI courses online can make kids future-ready. The best Artificial Intelligence classes in India have some of the most interactive teaching styles.

#Ai courses online

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elizabethcariasa · 3 years ago

Text

Cryptocurrency's big week: a rider in infrastructure bill & target of SEC regulatory interest

Infrastructure Week finally has arrived on Capitol Hill. This week, the Senate is expected to pass, per Democratic leadership announcements, a long-awaited infrastructure measure that was bipartisanly-negotiated and backed by President Joe Biden.

If the $1 trillion bill does indeed become law, it will provide the largest chunk of federal funds for public works in decades.

The around 2,700-page bill calls for $550 billion in new spending over five years, spread out on projects beyond traditional road and bridge construction and repairs. It also would pay for upgrades to public transit, bolster power grids, add protections for drinking water, expand broadband networks, and improve rail and Amtrak systems. Hey, there's a reason Biden is known as Amtrak Joe.

More info for the IRS: So how will Uncle Sam come up with this cash?

Part of the money will come from increased reporting of cryptocurrency transactions. The bill calls for existing third-party tax reporting rules to be extended to brokers who handle cyber financial moves.

As currently written, cryptocurrency brokers would be required to report such things as purchase and sales prices, transfers between brokers, and transactions of more than $10,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.

Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the added information would help the IRS collect $28 billion over the next decade.

Cryptocurrency community concerns: The cryptocurrency world obviously is not happy with this proposal.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) calls it "a poorly crafted provision that could create new surveillance requirements for many within the blockchain ecosystem. This could include developers and others who do not control digital assets on behalf of users."

Adding to crypto concerns is the speed with which the bill is expected to move.

How the broker reporting actually would work "is still very much an open question," wrote Rainey Reitman, EFF's Chief Program Officer for EFF. "Indeed, perhaps this extremely broad interpretation was not even the intent of the drafters of this language. But given the rapid timeline for the bill’s likely passage, those answers may not be resolved before it hits the Senate floor for a vote," said Reitman.

Alexandra Medina of the Blockchain Advocacy Coalition agrees. She told Tax Notes (per EideBailly's tax blog) that hastily written policy tends to have unintended consequences that subsequently require revision. The infrastructure bill's language follows that trend, she said, and creates more confusion than clarity.

Republican rift, too: It's also causing rifts among Senate Republicans.

"Congress should not rush forward with this hastily-designed tax reporting regime for cryptocurrency, especially without a full understanding of the consequences," said Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-Pennsylvania), who serves on the chamber's banking committee. Toomey has indicated he would offer an amendment to change the bill, which he said as written would give the Biden administration the opportunity to crack down on not just cryptocurrency brokers but also bitcoin miners.

His GOP colleague, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio who help write the bipartisan bill disagrees. Portman plans to speak on the Senate floor to underscore that cryptocurrency miners and software developers would not be targets under the new provision. The Treasury Department reportedly also has been asked to issue informal guidance clarifying the limited scope of the new cryptocurrency reporting proposal.

IRS continued interest in crypto collections: The added scrutiny on cryptocurrency, the general moniker for bitcoin, Ethereum, and the like, is not a surprise.

The IRS has for years been ramping up its efforts to ensure that it gets all the money it's due from cryptocurrency transactions. That includes obtaining as much information as it can from holders of virtual currencies, which the tax agency treats as an asset rather than legal tender. For next tax filing season, the IRS has tweaked the cryptocurrency question it asks of taxpayers at the top of Form 1040.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig in April told the Senate Finance Committee that the current Tax Gap — the amount of tax owed, but that the IRS has not been able to collect — could be as much as $1 trillion. Rettig said a large part of that missing tax money is likely attributable to noncompliance by virtual currency owners.

SEC also calling for crypto action: Today (Aug. 3), Biden's head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) added other federal voice to the crypto conversation, calling for more regulation of the virtual currency.

"We just don't have enough investor protection in crypto. Frankly, at this time, it's more like the Wild West," said SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in prepared remarks to the Aspen Security Forum. "We have taken and will continue to take our authorities as far as they go."

In a Twitter video also posted today, Gensler emphasized his and his agency's investor protection concerns.

If crypto is going to be widely adopted, it needs some rules of the road & a cop on the beat to enforce them. To be clear, I am technology-neutral. What I'm not neutral about: Investor protection. pic.twitter.com/e6GsSAyXhB

— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) August 3, 2021

The SEC's worry, according to Gensler's forum speech, is that much of the cryptocurrency sector operates outside of regulatory frameworks that seek to protect investors and consumers, reduce crime, promote financial stability and protect national security.

"If crypto is going to be widely adopted, it needs some rules of the road & a cop on the beat to enforce them," Gensler added in his social media video.

You also might find these items of interest:

What cryptocurrency's booming values mean to owners' taxes

IRS clarifies when a cryptocurrency transaction isn't a tax transaction

IRS commissioner says Tax Gap likely $1 trillion, thanks largely to cryptocurrency

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sterwood · 7 years ago

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it's wild to see how so much of your content is relatively high-effort (you don't seem to just make claims and make it your audience's task to figure out what the fuck you're saying) and even wilder how homestuckposting is the exception to that. I fundamentally disagree that it's good, and I feel like if you had a good argument to the contrary you'd have posted it by now.

This is such a weird ask to me, since I’ve barely been postinganything of substance lately given that I’ve been so damn busy with grad schoolstuff. (And the stuff I’ve been reading, thinking about, etc., wouldn’t makefor very good posts here, since it’s a lot of stuff about Rawls and pragmatismand I just...don’t care, lmao.)

But at the same time: thank you! That’s a very nice thing to see,that one’s effort is recognized even if the culmination of that effort isdisagreed with.

As far as the homestuck stuff goes though, part of the reason Ihaven’t given any justification of it is that I don’t really see it needing anyjustification, insofar as I’m not often making claims about how great it isoutside of some obviously hyperbolic claims. It’s mostly a private interest,forged out of a depression-fueled quick-read of the comic and the fact that thecomic appeals to a bunch of personal interests/themes/etc. I do think it’sactually great, but I haven’t put forth any effort to flesh out that claim or convinceothers of it in any serious way, mostly because I figure that no one cares.

I’ll attempt to spell out a few reasons that I think it’s very good,or at least important, but I want to recognize at the outset that I’m at adisadvantage in talking about this. You say that you ‘fundamentallydisagree that it’s good’ and that I probably have some ready made argument ofwhy it is, in fact, good. Since you’re anonymous, there’s no set standardbetween us for evaluating this claim (good/bad how?),and so I kind of just have to jump in with some generalities about the comic.If you’re serious with your intent in sending this message though (and I thinkyou are, since you started out with a compliment that shows me that you’veprobably given a looking over at my blog and even, dare I say, follow me onhere), then feel free to message me after with something more specificabout why you don’t think it’s good, so at least there’scommon set of propositions that we’re working with (”I think it’s bad becauseit’s overly convoluted” to which I’d disagree; “I think it’s bad becauseof the whole tumblr parody which was really reactionary” to which I’d agree;etc.) and we could move from there.

Let’s move on though. (This will be along post, and I apologize, especially for those on mobile.)

Reasons why Homestuck is At LeastImportant

There’s two major reasons why I thinkhomestuck (HS) is important, or at least should be regarded as a significantmedia product. Firstly, I think it’s a unique contribution to what mediaproducts can do on the internet;secondly, I think it’s important by virtue of what it contributed to mediaculture generally. Note, in this section I’m not strictly saying why I thinkthe comic is good, but only why I think it’s worth paying attention to,especially if you’re a media studies student, say, or someone interested incultural studies generally or whatever. But let’s turn to both of those points.

A quick reflection: I remember howfrustrated I was growing up when I would read articles online that were aboutmovies or paintings or some piece of visual culture that would only pointtowards the media product. I was frustrated, because there seemed to be noreason to simply talk about mediaproducts when you could actually incorporate them into your discussions. Whyonly talk about a scene in a movie, say, when you could include a clip of thatscene in your essay to provide more exacting context? Media productions andcommentaries weren’t simply bound to text, but writers and creators tended to restrictthemselves to this without need. (There are some reasons for this, especiallywith the state of the internet 9 years ago or so [when homestuck began],principally that pictures and videos loaded slowly and would be overlycumbersome. Still, I was frustrated at the unrealized potential.)

I was similarly frustrated by the typeof content that popped up in most webcomics that I was reading at the time. In2010, I believe, I took an on-campus job working in a geology lab. There waslittle work to be done, and, being nineteen, I stupidly blew off the smallamount of work I had. Even in blowing off that work, though, I still needed tooccupy my time while I was working in the office, and for whatever reason Itook to reading a lot of webcomics. I read all of Questionable Content, xkcd,Diesel Sweeties, Achewood, and (most important for my appreciation of HS,coincidentally) Goats. I didn’t actually read HS at this time (that didn’thappen until 2015), but this set the scene for eventually reading it. And whilereading all of these comics, despite liking them, I was sometimes frustratedhow they still read like traditional comics. It was hard to see how thesecomics were webcomics: I couldn’t seeanything that made them particularly different from normal comics, except forwhere they happened to be located.

In this context, Homestuck is the firstpiece of media that I’m aware of (and certainly the largest) which actually expandedthe ways that a comic could operate. Instead of a series of panels with textincorporated, Homestuck is primarily single panel pages with lots of textattributed to them underneath (of course, this barrage of text is also why manydon’t care for the comic). But it is also a series of flash videos, embeddedvideo games, youtube videos, parody accounts (like the DeviantArt one), albums,etc. It really is astoundingly expansive. Again, this is neither good nor bad,but is a reason for its importance. This is the first media production that I’maware of that attempted to take up the internet as a medium for communicationin its full power (even including user generated actions up through parts ofAct 5). This, alone, would make Homestuck worth paying attention to, even ifonly antagonistically.

Now for the second (shorter) point. Isaw someone joke once that HS is ‘the comic of the Obama era’ since it spansthe whole of his presidency, more-or-less (2009-2016). In that time, it createda *massive* internet presence that simultaneously influenced the content,themes, style, and other aspects of many diverse media forms (the wholeUndertale experience is just one gigantic branch sprouting from this Yggdrasilof memes known as Homestuck). It’s impossible to account for the massive impactthat Andrew Hussie has had on the content and form of the internet as weexperience it today (I mean, for one minor aspect of this, just look atSB&HJ and how those aesthetics have informed a massive amount of memecreation).

In this sense, I think it’s impossibleto regard HS as anything other than important. The pure, impossible to measurecultural impact it has had on media artifacts that we enjoy daily—even if theydon’t seem connected—is hard to overstate. For this reason alone, readingthrough some of HS is probably something worth doing (again, even if it’s onlydone antagonistically). To put this somewhat polemically, at the very leastHomestuck should be read as many novels are: not as a great artistic work, butas a window into a certain kind of cultural logic operating during a given timeperiod. And if that is the approach taken, then it’s hard to try and movepassed HS: I can think of no other media product that has had more of asingular impact, more breadth, and more userinteraction than HS has had on popular culture (except for, perhaps, HarryPotter, though that’s in an entirely different way and also—here’s,potentially, my real polemic—HS is much better).

Now on to some reasons why HS may, infact, actually be good.

Reasons why Homestuck is Good

I’ll break this into a few (hopefullyshort) themes: pacing, conversations, villainy, coherence, characterization, and (most controversially) the ending. (I would urge you—thecollective ‘you’ that may have been foolish enough to get this far—to not readthat last section if you haven’t read the comic. I’m trying to keep thisspoiler free, by and large, because part of my purpose in writing this is tosuggest that you should read it aswell [keep in mind Kant’s claim that aesthetic judgements are normativejudgements, lmao], though I think the ending is too important not to tough onto some extent.)

Pacing.HS does one of the oddest and most interesting things I’ve seen with pacing inany sort of media production. Perhaps this is a reason why some people haven’tenjoyed the comic, but it’s one of the reasons that I find it so thrilling toread, even on my multiple re-reads. The comic tends to move at a snail’s pace,with conversations that drag on and don’t advance the plot much (but they dodevelop characters, so it’s notuseless dialog by any means). This pace is enjoyable, but can get frustratingwhen you can see elements of the story building up to…something. Then, in abrilliant flash, the story erupts with tons of action: many diverse strands ofthe story are woven together into a single tapestry, lending coherence,consistency, and progress to the story. And the contrast between the slowtextual pace and the hyperspeed of the flash videos. The most obvious case ofthis is [S] Cascade, though I’d rather focus on [S] Make Her Pay, because Ithink it’s one of the strongest moments in the comic. (You can see the videohere, if you’re interested: https://www.homestuck.com/story/2578.A warning, though: I believe the video still autoplays, and it has music, sojust beware before opening that link.)

I don’t think I’m spoiling much bypointing to this flash video, since I think that almost everyone that has heardof homestuck at least knows that characters often referred to as ‘the Trolls’play an important part. They show up at the beginning of Act 5, which isperhaps a quarter of the way through the comic (given that [S] Cascade isnearly the halfway point). Their entrance into the story marks a kind of ‘reboot’to the story, where similar themes, tropes, etc. that were built in earlieracts are redeployed with these new characters. Further, it marks a definiteincrease in the complexity of thestory, given that it focuses on 12 difference characters, rather than 4, as thestory had done so far. The whole of Act 5 up until [S] Make Her Pay had beentext-based storytelling: detailing the complicated and twisted history of these‘troll’ characters, their involvement in the ‘game’ that forms the basis forthe whole of HS, and exploring new depths for the comic. But it is alsoslow-moving: the comic even makes reference to this pace in multiple partswhere it coyly talks about how we, the readers, ‘don’t have time’ to exploresome such gag, or go into depth about some story point, or to develop a flashanimation for some aspect of the story (e.g. Karkat’s Strife! with his lusus). This all is cut through with theappearance in the story of [S] Make Her Pay, which weaves the whole of Act 5Act 1 together, filling in many gaps of history that were left intentionallyunexplored at that point, and advancing the story by leaps and bounds. Therhetorical and affective dimensions of this contrast are hard to emphasizeenough: going slowly through all this history, all this plot, all this teen drama, in one of the longesttext-only sequences in the comic, only to have that pace flipped upside down bya single short video that connects so many disparate strands is really,well…exhilarating. It’s one of the things that makes the comic so intenselyenjoyable, dynamic, and, I think, worthwhile. I’ve never seen another piece ofmedia do such wonderful things with pacing.

Conversations.Due to this varied pacing, the majority of the comic is comprised of longdialogues. These dialogues have strong rules of how they’re allowed to beconducted, though. Conversations (until a certain element is introduced intothe story) have to take place through some medium: through a chat client(similar to AOL/MSN messengers), dreams, sprites, hand-written messages, etc.No direct conversations can happen between two people. There’s always somethinggetting in the way of conversations. I’ve never seen anything other than HScapture this element of conversations in the 21st century,especially without taking some condescending tone about how ‘screens rule ourlives’ or something. The fact that all the speech in the comic is mediated bysome form of media isn’t meant as a critique, but an accurate representation ofmany actual dialogues that happen. Perhaps this is only a good part of HSbecause it appeals to some of my sensibilities, so I’ll keep this short, butit’s an aspect that makes me enjoy the comic a lot. Growing up in the late90s/early 00s (I graduated high school in 2009, for a sense of my timelinehere), and having forged many friendships—even with friends I knew‘IRL’—through similar chat clients and such, this aspect of the comic simplyseems very real and intimate to me. I know that weird sense of closeness withpeople that you only, or primarily, know through text, and the kind of yearningthat can engender—and I think HS captures that very well.

Villainy.In sending your message, I assume you were prompted by the post I rebloggedthat mentioned that HS features many of the standard tropes of a literary epic.Of those kinds of tropes, one that wasn’t mentioned (and which tends to beparticular to post-1940s epics or pseudo-epics) is the presence of some kind ofabsolute evil entity which corrupts and destroys beyond any realm ofrationality. A figure of ‘radical evil’ if you will: an evil which is cold,calculating, perhaps even intelligent in many respects, but which displays akind of horrifying excess of humanness which is warped into some kind ofabominable evil. HS has such a figure and fleshes him out very well, and healso ends up being one of the best characters in the story (best in the senseof developed, engaging, important, etc. – not ‘good,’ obviously): Caliborn.

Caliborn (and LE) is a reallyinteresting villain because, as Dave mentions at one point, he hasn’t had muchof a direct evil influence over any aspect of the story (“what kind ofvillain is someone you never met who hardly did anything evil to you or yourfriends directly/or even to anyone in your universe for that matter other thanthrough some vague insidious influence/who even is this guy and why should ihate him” (6385)). By and large, he’s been absent fromany direct engagement with any character in the story, and yet his evil isomnipresent. As his constantly tagline goes “he is already here.”

The major way in which Caliborn is evilis through excessively narcissistic he is, how thoroughly self-involved, andhow he desires to make his will reality in all instances. He bends the fabricof time around himself to propagate and ensure his own existence: hisimmortality is guaranteed simply because he will to continue existing. His evilis systemic: it’s the very (genetic) code of the gaming session that all themain characters of the story occupy, and all of its other instances as well.

Further, there’s a level of ambivalentcruelty mixed with enjoyment that we get in Caliborn’s character that’s hard tosee matched in any other literary figure that comes to my mind. Yes, much ofhis dialogue is full of jokes and statements that make him seem very, verystupid, arrogant, etc. But there are a few scenes where we get a sense that heis a kind of primordial, absolute evil, who sees the very purpose of hisexistence as that of wrecking pain and terror across many instances ofuniverses. Two such scenes suffice here. (Potential spoilers follow in the restof this section.) The first is from when Caliborn enters his own session:consumed with hatred for the only other living being he’s known (albeitdirectly), he kills off a part of himself and awakens with joy. He thenproceeds to remove his own leg forcefully (that kind of dedication through painis frightening), and initiate the game. While everything is being sucked into ablack hole behind him, while the whole of his world and life are beingdestroyed around him, he is seen smiling serenely with his eyes closed. He cansmile, because he knows that this is the beginning of his dominance overeverything: this destruction is a prelude to him carrying out his will todestroy everything forever and in all ways. It is, quite simply, chilling.

The second scene happens in a shortconversation with Jake. This comment comes across almost as a joke, but itreally highlights the depth of evil he occupies. In talking about what it meansto be a ‘Lord’ in terms of his class, and how he came to recognize hispotential within this class, he says that “NOW I KNOW. THAT WHAT ITTAKES FOR ME TO LEARN AND GROW STRONGER./IS EXCRUCIATING EFFORT./SO I HAVE ACHOICE. WHICH IS TO EITHER BE WEAK./WHEN WEAKNESS IS COMPLETELYUNACCEPTABLE./OR TO SUFFER. FOREVER. UNTIL NO ONE ELSE EXISTS.” (5671). Despitethe presentation (Caliborn’s manner of speaking often undercuts the severity ofwhat he’s saying, but it’s important for a reader to keep this in mind), thisidea that Caliborn is willing to endure infinite suffering and pain to ensurethat his will is carried out—a will that desire the utter elimination of allthings throughout all of existence—is honestly terrifying. He is a characterwhose evil isn’t marked by any singular action (again, as Dave mentioned), butby a relentless drive. To be a bit obtuse here, Caliborn is basically theLacanian ‘lamella,’ especially in the sense that the lamella “doesn’t exist,but persists.” Caliborn suffers beyond life and death, as a half-dead creature(I mean, to really put the point explicitly here, the lamella is a half-dead,abject excess of life, and Caliborn is a skull monster who through the sheerforce of will ensures the necessity of his continued existence): he is evilincarnate, and I’ve never seen such a radical evil presented in a better waythan through HS. This is honestly one of the biggest literary achievements ofHS, and that’s why I’m dwelling on it at length. But let’s continue

Coherence.This may seem like an odd category, since I believe that many see HS asexcessively chaotic and unstructured. I thoroughly disagree and thinking thatthe overwhelming coherence of this nearly decade-long story is part of whatmakes it so good. This is apparent in the many jokes and themes that arecarried through the comic, even at a distance of thousands of panels (twoimmediate examples jump out at me: the joke about how Sassacre’s text could‘kill a cat’ that’s realized after about 4500 pages, or the ‘bleating like agoat for ironic purposes’ gag that’s realized in about the same span). Further,this coherence is built into the overall structure of the comic: the fact thatthe first half of the comic takes place within about a day’s time whereas thelatter half takes place over 3 years (punctuated at the end by a lot of actionat the end) shows that the general structure of the comic follows the patternof pacing mentioned above. There is a lot more I could point to that would showjust how wonderfully coherent the whole HS story is, but I’m not sure if that’sa useful exercise upfront. It’d be more useful to talk about coherence inresponse to a dispute over whether some aspect of HS was coherent or not—absentthat, there doesn’t seem to be much of a point in detailing such here, otherthan to note that I do believe that the comic is generally very well puttogether (with the ending being a big bit of punctuation on this point).

Characterization.Andrew Hussie did two primary things with characterization that I appreciateand find worthwhile in the comic. The first thing he did was give a lot ofspace for characterization. We end up knowing a ton of information about thecharacters in the comic and a good 90% of it is relevant in some way to theplot (some of it is just interesting details, which is more or less fine whenyou have a character driven story where the characters are likable). Thesecharacters are dynamic and fully fleshed out in almost all cases (Nepeta is probablythe one major exception to this, though she even got a bit more development inthe end that pulled her away from just being a lolcat meme). Sure, any goodstory should have characterization like this, but I think the length ofhomestuck allows it to happen in really supple and subtle ways: the majority ofcharacters in the story are multi-faceted characters who develop in believableways over time that come into conflicts that sometimes just aren’t resolved.There’s also the willingness to have characters that are just irredeemablyhorrible people, without trying to shoehorn some kind of redemption arc in(Eridan is a nice example of this: he’s a thoroughly detestable and horribleperson, and there is no possible way to see him in a good light in a fairreading of the text [the HS fandom, which is not on trial here and should beexcluded from most all of these statements, has tried to make him into asympathetic character time and time again, and this is only possible becausethey’re reading the comic badly]). Further, and lastly on this point, due tothe depth of characterization, there’s also a lot of great between-characterinteractions in the comic: not great because they’re funny or witty orwhatever, but because they show the depth of character and work and a mutualrecognition of that depth between characters. The speech that Dirk gives aboutRoxy before their session’s versions of Derse and Prospit were destroyed is agreat example of this (and one of the greatest tragedies of the comic, from areader standpoint, is that Dirk never gets to tell Roxy any of that directly,at least not in any manner that we see).

Secondly, and this is heavily relatedto the first point, the depth of characterization that Hussie gives to theplayers in HS allows him to start with kind of obvious and one-dimensionalstereotypes of characters and morph them into something fully fleshed. And hedoes this not by simply inverting the roles of those stereotypes of something(which is common in a lot of ‘ironic’ pieces of media that try and overturn themajor tropes working within a given genre) but by fully fleshing outcharacters. I think this may be most apparent in someone like Dave. He beganthe comic by being a stereotype of some kind of hipster-bro, and almost all ofhis jokes, interactions, and conversations revolved around this stereotype. Itwas even folded into his personal mythology: because he’s the coolest, the mostcapable, etc., he’s the one that’s ‘meant to’ take down LE when all is said anddone. Slowly though, through confronting the stupidity that his mythologyforces him into (like having welsh swords as key items, for some reason) andalso confronting the death of his ‘bro’ and the feelings that stirred in him,he comes much more of a fully fleshed character. And by the end of the entirecomic, as he’s confronting issues of cross-cultural exchange, his ownrelationship to his abusive upbringing, his conflicted feelings about how tosituate his sexuality, etc., Dave has easily become one of the most thoroughlyrealized characters in the entirety of HS. That’s a hard thing to do when you’restarting with stereotypes of characters (which, it should be added, wasnecessary given the types of stories and games that Hussie was trying to riffoff of in developing HS) and end up with something thoroughly real, and HSshould be commended for being able to do such on many different fronts.

[I was going to add another piece aboutthe nice temporal dynamics of the comic, taking place originally over a day andthen over the course of three years, but this is already long enough and I’vementioned this part of HS a bit above, so I’ll let it be.]

TheEnding. I had a literature professor onceremark that the most conservative part of novels is the ending, because itforecloses on all of the openness and contingency at work during the otherparts of the novel. This is true for most pieces of media, and is why theendings of most things are bad (I’m replaying Mass Effect right now and it’sreminded me of two of my least favorite endings in media ever: that game, andBattlestar Galactica). I think HS, in many ways, gets around this problem.

To celebrate the ending of HS iscontentious, I know. It was mostly hated among the fandom. But I really thinkthat the ending is one of the most flawlessly executed pieces of the wholecomic. Many people were mad at the ending because it ‘left so many questions’open—but this is precisely why it’s good. It allows us to see that thecharacters continue to exist in some form or another, that their relationshipsdevelop, but it doesn’t answer every question that the comic poses, nor does iteven attempt to give us a rubric for evaluating those questions in anydefinitive way. Further, the ending is *genuinely surprising.* In a comic that’srevolved around a plot point of a ‘final boss’ that must be faced andvanquished, the comic surprisingly ends without this boss being defeated in anysimple manner. Instead, the main characters simply escape the confines of the ‘game’that they’ve been playing: a game that has brought them isolation, tragedy, andendless fear. The major resolution of the story comes through the charactersjust being allowed to live for a while, to enjoy their lives. That’s why theending text for the story isn’t “and they lived happily ever after” (or somesimilar cliché), but “Thanks for playing”—a sign that the worst is in the pastand that the lives of these characters is now truly beginning in a way that’s totallyup to them. That’s why, in the afterward,we get a snapchat story that shows various pieces of the lives of these characters,up through John’s 21st birthday. It was the best solution to such acomplex, diverse, and nearly decade-spanning comic: to allow the characters tohave some space to actually live on.

It was also the single best way ofdealing with this ‘final boss’—Lord English. In his form as Caliborn, as quotedabove, he’s a character that’s willing to suffer forever if it means that hehas complete control over the existence of the whole of reality. The best wayto ‘destroy’ such a character isn’t to have them killed (that would simply markan endpoint to their terror, but LE wouldn’t experience it as anything bad, torturous,etc.), but to have them trapped within a dimension all to themselves. By theend of the comic, LE is trapped in the game, with no means of escape, and isbound to the rules and logic of such a game. Sure, he’s omnipotent within thatsphere of influence, but all the characters have moved on to something else.This assigns him to a fate worse than death: to suffer forever without, throughthat suffering, attaining control and power over others. In this sense, I feelthat the ending that Hussie designed for HS is the only reasonable ending: andpulling off such a wonderful ending to such a long and complex comic is quitean achievement—especially since, as I’ve mentioned, this ending didn’t simply ‘tieloose ends’ or anything. It resolved the central tension of the story while(intentionally) leaving other tensions and questions unresolved and unanswered.It was—and this is rare for most any piece of media—a fully realized,thoughtful, and incredible ending to a story that I find to be one of the bestI have read in very many, many years.

And so that’s it. I was going toinclude another section about how HS is at least not-bad where I list common reasons that the comic is seen as badand show that they miss the mark, but this is long enough as is (9 pages inword). So I’ll leave this here. This isn’t a total justification of why I likehomestuck or why I think it’s worth paying attention to, I haven’t addressedmany of the major points, but I think I’ve made the case, at least partially,for why I think the comic might be worth taking a look into. Beyond that, I don’treally know what I can do, given that I’m only working with the message placed inmy inbox. But considering that most don’t care….that’s probably more thanenough, lmao.

#I got kind of tired near the end #hence why the responses start going less in depth (whoops)#homestuck #mine #Anonymous

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wineanddinosaur · 4 years ago

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Fictions Not Facts Are Driving Bourbon’s Most Divisive Debate — the Neck Pour

The Beginning Bourbon YouTube channel launched last year as a “one stop shop” for anyone looking to learn the insider lingo of drinking and collecting bourbon. Episodes feature host Brian (last name not given) standing in front of expensive bottles or an idyllic lakeside vista, dissecting trends like infinity bottles and store picks. In one of his earliest episodes, posted Oct. 24, 2020, he unpacks the subject of neck pours.

“When we are referring to a ‘neck pour’ in the bourbon or whiskey world, we’re actually talking about two things,” Brian explains. Firstly, it is the initial pour from an unopened bottle, he says, using a sealed Wild Turkey 101 to demonstrate that most bottles have a neck, and the liquid inside often reaches some way up that space when it hasn’t been opened.

The second aspect of neck pours is much less literal and concerns the flavor of those first few ounces. Drinkers should not expect the “most robust” or “full” experience because whiskey needs time and oxygen to open up, he says. Brian adds that, when sharing the first dram of a bottle with someone who “knows” bourbon, he will always note: “By the way, it’s the neck pour.” This way, he communicates that they shouldn’t judge the whiskey wholly based on that sip.

There is a third and final dimension to neck pours that Brian fails, or chooses, not to mention. That among the whiskey geeks familiar with the term — a particularly “online” subset of drinkers versus all who might consider that they “know” bourbon — opinions on the topic are, at best, divided. In social media groups, online forums, and on whiskey podcasts, drinkers debate if and why the first pour is somehow inferior to the rest of the bottle. Most discussions revolve around exposure to oxygen, though seldom is there uniform agreement on whether oxidation improves or deteriorates a whiskey’s flavor, or makes no difference at all.

One thing no one can argue against, though, is that over the last year, neck pours have slowly become part of many drinkers’ parlance. Search “bourbon neck pour” on Facebook and you’ll encounter scores of posts on publicly viewable whiskey groups, with drinkers sharing amateur reviews using the very same caveat as Beginning Bourbon’s Brian.

“First ever pour of the OWA and I’m hooked, even the neck pour,” one drinker recently posted in the Greensboro Bourbon Society public Facebook group. (Abbreviating bottle names is another surefire way to show fellow bourbon collectors you’re also in the know, with OWA being short for the highly coveted Old Weller Antique.)

“Freshcrack Friday, y’all,” comments another in the also-public Bourbon Society of Greater Cincinnati group. “First time trying the JD SiB BP [Jack Daniels Single Barrel Barrel Proof] and even the neck pour is fantastic. Can’t wait to see how it opens over the next few weeks.”

In many instances, use of the term goes uncontested, which suggests a growing acceptance of the neck pour phenomenon. It could also just be a sign of the more convivial nature of participating in online regional drinking Facebook groups. For, in other arenas — particularly the r/Bourbon subreddit — debate rages. Some users are adamant that their bottles regularly improve with the second and third pours, after they’ve been exposed to more oxygen. Others respond with a barrage of anecdotal and scientific counterarguments, usually noting that what they’re tasting may be valid, but oxidation is not the cause.

“No one that’s been in this hobby or this industry for longer than five years has used the term neck pour or buys into this theory,” says Kristopher Hart, host of the ESPN radio show “Whiskey Neat” and manager of the Houston Bourbon Society.

Hart has become something of an online ambassador against the term and the very notion of neck pours. Rather than believing whiskey evolves with time and exposure to air, he says the differences people experience come from their palates.

“The first pour of any day is oftentimes more aggressive than the next pour because it takes time for your mouth to acclimate to drinking alcohol,” Hart says. (It stands to reason that in many cases, the first ounces of a new bottle will often be the first whiskey one might sip that day.) Hart also points to the less tangible and more emotional aspects of tasting, saying, “There are days that sushi sounds amazing, and there are days where steak sounds amazing.”

Above all, what frustrates him is not that people are experiencing or talking about these subtle differences in flavor, but what they’re attributing them to. “It implies that something’s going on with the neck portion of the bottle and that is just f*cking garbage,” Hart says. “It’s misleading.”

Part of why detractors such as Hart fight so vehemently against the idea of neck pours is that among believers, there is some disagreement over whether oxygen hurts or helps whiskey. There’s no concrete evidence of where and when the neck pour term first gained popularity, but it does seem more likely to have been born from the former stance — the idea that the first pour is actually inferior due to it being more oxidized than the rest of the bottle because it has had an increased exposure to air while sitting in the neck.

Of the two schools of thought, this one now represents the overwhelming minority, which is hardly surprising. As has been frequently pointed out, simple remedies for this hypothetical issue include tipping a bottle upside down, not to mention that the very motion of pouring means the first two ounces that reach a glass are not guaranteed to be those that sat in the bottle’s neck.

“If it was such a clear-cut phenomenon, whiskey makers wouldn’t put anything in the neck,” says Rachna Hukmani, founder and CEO of the (currently virtual) immersive tasting experience Whiskey Stories.

Before starting her business in 2014, Hukmani worked in whiskey innovation for major brands including Pernod Ricard and Edrington. During product prototyping for The Macallan 12 Double Cask, she had tasters open two new bottles and taste them side by side. Invariably, drinkers thought the second sample tasted smoother because their palates had adapted, she says, landing on a similar conclusion to Hart. It’s a phenomenon she’s since witnessed time and time again over the course of thousands of Whiskey Stories experiences.

Though the sheer weight of anecdotal evidence seems to disprove the neck pour theory, I wanted a clear-cut explanation on the impact of oxidation in bottled whiskey. So I reached out to Dr. Pat Heist, the co-owner and chief scientific officer at Kentucky’s Wilderness Trail Distillery and Ferm Solutions, Inc., a company that provides fermentation products, technical support, and training to hundreds of distilleries worldwide.

Heist agrees that there is a lot of support for the idea that whiskey somehow evolves in the bottle, but says there’s still no good answer as to why. Weighing up the potential influence of oxidation, he points to all the moments at which whiskey could oxidize before being bottled versus the little potential there is inside a sealed, almost-full container. There’s: distillation, years of barrel aging, and the vigorous motion of dumping aged whiskey out of the barrel.

“We’ve got all these areas where oxidation could have, should have, and probably did occur prior to even going into the bottle,” Heist says. “So what is there left to easily oxidize?”

So if oxidation isn’t to blame, what else could be causing drinkers to believe their whiskey changes over time, and therefore buy into the notion of neck pours? Heist suggests evaporation.

Due to its volatile nature, alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than water. When it escapes as gas, alcohol occupies all of the available headspace in a bottle, and the proof of the liquid drops ever so slightly. This has the effect of subtly altering the spirit’s profile because different flavor compounds become more or less soluble at different concentrations of alcohol, Heist explains. “It’s like adding a drop of water,” he says.

Still, it’s hard to say whether evaporation is something we can consider in the neck pour debate. The differences Heist mentions are subtle and occur over lengthy periods — not in the time it takes to finish a small dram and start on a second. Not even over the course of a few weeks, months, or a year. (In 2018, Wade Woodard, author of the Tater-Talk blog, published among the most conclusive findings as to whether bourbon changes in the bottle. The results? It doesn’t.)

So all things considered, oxidation is probably the last thing you need to think about when opening a new bottle or revisiting a treasured half-empty one. But at its core, I don’t think that’s what the neck pour conversation is really about.

For some, using the term is probably a means of sounding more knowledgeable about a topic and hobby they care about. Others likely buy into the theory to give them hope that the bottle they spent so hard searching for was worth the effort, even if it disappointed on the first tasting.

On a grander scale, the neck pour debate feels like a distillation of what it’s like to live online in 2021, told through the lens of tasting America’s native spirit. Are those who argue against the neck pour genuinely driven by the aim of improving their fellow enthusiasts’ knowledge? Or is their frustration fueled by the diminishing importance of scientific fact.

Already, the term has achieved meme-like status among non-believers. “I usually just pour out the first half of the bottle into the sink so I can avoid the neck pour at [sic] all the whisky that touched it,” one Reddit user sarcastically commented in a recent thread on the topic. “But what about the whiskey that touched the whiskey that touched the neck pour?” another replied. “I always pour out two thirds of the bottle to be safe.”

All of which leads us to perhaps the only question left worth exploring: Now that the neck pour is out of the bottle, is there any turning back?

My guess is no. For as long as neck pours remain a part of bourbon drinkers’ lingo, they shall very much remain “a thing.” One to be used as a caveat, one to inspire futile debate and snarky Reddit threads, and one to make pseudo-scientific YouTube explainer videos about.

The article Fictions Not Facts Are Driving Bourbon’s Most Divisive Debate — the Neck Pour appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/neck-pour-bourbon/

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johnboothus · 4 years ago

Text

Fictions Not Facts Are Driving Bourbons Most Divisive Debate the Neck Pour

“We’ve got all these areas where oxidation could have, should have, and probably did occur prior to even going into the bottle,” Heist says. “So what is there left to easily oxidize?”

So if oxidation isn’t to blame, what else could be causing drinkers to believe their whiskey changes over time, and therefore buy into the notion of neck pours? Heist suggests evaporation.

All of which leads us to perhaps the only question left worth exploring: Now that the neck pour is out of the bottle, is there any turning back?

The article Fictions Not Facts Are Driving Bourbon’s Most Divisive Debate — the Neck Pour appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/neck-pour-bourbon/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/fictions-not-facts-are-driving-bourbons-most-divisive-debate-the-neck-pour

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