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#which is more about the impact of words rather than the appearance itself

flashyfools · 16 days

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months ago, while mindlessly scrolling through twitter, i came across an analysis of this particular panel from chapter 434 (i can’t remember who wrote the thread, i’m so sorry </3), and i really want to talk about it too.

(EDIT: original author of the thread is @goingbuggy!!! go check out their metas, they're amazing)

the thread was focusing on the way the speech bubble covers shanks's scar completely, and how it can be seen as a sign of vulnerability. oda is using shanks’s own words to hide his suffering, letting his physical scars be representative of his emotional ones, even though the event he’s talking about is completely unrelated to the way he got his scar.

in fact, we know shanks is not ashamed of the scar, since just a couple of pages after this one he mentions it directly as a way to start the conversation about blackbeard:

he doesn’t have a problem with the marking itself, it’s just used as a narrative device, a tool to highlight (in an extradiegetic way) his emotional wounds and the pain he always tries so hard to hide, in an effort to keep his usual composure.

the original author of the thread compared the panel from chapter 434 to another, way older one, from the very first chapter:

this takes place right after shanks loses his left arm to save luffy’s life. it’s obviously a very emotionally charged moment, which means the best thing to do would be showing a close-up of shanks’s reaction to everything that’s unfolding in front of him at that moment (luffy’s cries, or even his own reaction to his sacrifice). oda, however, chooses not to do that; instead, he hides half of shanks’s face, just like he did in chapter 434. the way the moment is portrayed tells the reader shanks is willing to hide his pain in an even deeper way than what he’s showing by smiling at luffy right after getting his arm chopped off.

it’s a great way to explain an important characteristic without stating it right away. it's a focal point of shanks's character: it's his way of showing luffy he cares about him and would much rather hide his suffering than pass it onto him, but it's also oda's way of conveying that shanks is much more vulnerable than what he allows himself to show.

having said that, the reason oda chose to bring back this framing in chapter 434 appears obvious: shanks misses buggy.

it’s plain to see, especially if we look at the whole page.

shanks tries so hard to act collected when talking about buggy, but it’s obvious that he’s hurting. his wording makes it clear he’s trying to detach from him (“that’s the end of it” + “rumors have it”); he acts like buggy doesn’t exist in his thoughts anymore, when it’s obvious he still does. he feels remorse, he regrets letting buggy go. he’s scared he might have been in the wrong. he knows he hurt buggy, but he desperately wishes he didn’t.

all of this weighs on him in a way he isn’t used to, so he locks these feelings up, thinking of them only in relation to something that happened in the past, and as so, stays in the past. he smiles while talking about him and buggy, but it’s a remorseful smile. he cuts the conversation short even though he vividly remembers what happened between them, and as he does so, his words hide the scar. he desperately tries to patch things up in his mind by exclusively clinging onto the good memories they share, but the remorse always creeps up on him. he always smiles when talking about buggy, even when he’s talking directly to him. but his smile always ends up looking sour.

this is exactly why i hate it when people say shanks doesn’t care about buggy. oda wouldn’t have given these panels so much depth if he didn’t want to show just how much shanks actually cares. even just the fact the panel we are focusing on directly mirrors a panel from the first chapter, one so important and impactful, should tell you everything you need to know.

buggy will always be shanks’s weakness. caring so much about someone when you’re a pirate of that caliber is difficult in itself, even more so when that someone is so far away from you now.

#one piece #shuggy #red haired shanks #buggy the clown #shanks #buggy #one piece meta #? i guess?#if you're the author of the original thread please PLEASE tell me so i can credit you properly!!!#fun fact: whitebeard mentions shanks's missing arm right after he's done talking about buggy. that's funny right #the fact oda chose to bring back That framing for shuggy is so positively insane to me #star yaps #i. still don't know how tumblr works

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animehouse-moe · 9 months

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Link Click Season Two Episode 3: Two Funerals

After the initial two episode fare of this season, episode three certainly feels like it slows things down. Which is not a bad thing. It gives the story time to establish itself, to provide mystery and unspoken curiosities to the world, to allow for exploration of the new characters and their roles in the story, and it gives Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi time to work their magic. So certainly quite a bit to chat about with this episode!

I think the first thing that really tickles my brain is the oddities of the production for Link Click. Not that it's a bad thing, but that it's just decidedly different when compared to anime. Stuff like the letterboxing and the camera movement leave it very telling that this is a donghua rather than an anime. Bit hard to explain over words, but check out this panning shot. Feels.... wrong, right? Well, that's because of how it's shot. The way that the pan stops during the scene is different than what you'd normally see with anime, which continue the pan right to the end typically (or at the very least have it slow down before coming to a stop).

Similarly, the production vastly prefers depth to breadth, which is an interesting idea. Considering the share of horizontal to vertical space, you might have thought the latter, but instead they choose the former. Detail doesn't come from side to side, rather it likes to appear from front to back. Take this layout for example.

Typically, if you're operating on breadth instead of depth, you'd be more inclined to place the focus (the older characters in track suits on the right) towards the center of the frame, while placing the supporting characters and details on either side of them. Focusing on depth first however allows for far more different shots that feel more grounded in 3-dimensional space.

Anyways, the episode itself. We start with the older characters and/or masters of Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi waiting around in a hospital. Nothing too special, just establishing their characters and why they showed up to help Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi. Though I have to admit, some of the pieces through their short time here are comical as they have a run in with an incredibly drunk person.

Of course, the trio of elderly leave this hospital and arrive at Lu Guang's (in style, obviously) to take on the mob that has surrounded Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi. I was really looking forward to some crazy action, but I also wasn't surprised when they kept things simple and skipped most of it. They gave two crazy action sequences back to back, so I think they can afford a bit of a break. Still, they delivered some cool and interesting sequences and a fun impact frame or two.

Also, fun little detail here. During this sequence, and before the impact frames, the father of the other two actually disappears in frame for a brief second. Fun little bit to give to people paying close attention.

Also also, this gif provides an excellent example of that depth-first approach for the production. Rather than the left to right or vice versa you might usually see, they place the camera at an arbitrary spot in 3D space, and have the mob of characters run through the camera. Pieces like this really help establish Link Click's visual style.

A similar example can be found in a follow-up scene of Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi after the fight. It really does look good, it's just that it might take a bit to get used to because of the letterboxing. Certainly makes me curious about the choice for it to be a consistent visual restraint considering how much they might be able to accomplish with a full scene.

I haven't really talked about the story, have I? Well, up until this point it hasn't been anything super crazy, truthfully. The bad guys got beat up and are being interrogated, and Xiao Li comes to apologize to Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi. There's nothing crazy or important yet. That is, until Liu Min's father and entourage show up and butt heads with our current trio.

The back and forth is more performative than substantive, but Qian Jin's interactions are most certainly the focal point. Establishing his prior history as a police officer, and the past that he shares with Xiao Li, an odd rivalry brews between him and Cheng Xiaoshi.

It makes you really curious as to what led Qian Jin to his current station in life, and what it was that happened in this flashback we're shown by Xiao Li.

Anyways, the arguments come and go, and Qiao Ling ends it all with an incredibly satisfying slap that gets the first reaction out of Qian Jin in the whole conversation.

It's an incredibly subtle difference, but his default grin does widen a bit after the interaction. I think it adds a good deal to the sort of slimy and snake-like personality that Qian Jin wields so far. Very curious to see how his role plays out given that his lackey is being detained.

We move forward, and into Chen Bin's funeral. They do well with it as an emotional moment and bring out the best in Chen's now-widow to help give Cheng Xiaoshi the push he needs to solidify his desire to go back and prevent Chen Bin's death. I do think the emotional beat is well done, it's just that I'm not really one to be "all-in" on this sort of stuff myself, so I don't have too many words to say about it.

What I do have words to say about though is how Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang interact as the latter goes back in time. Also, just more of that whole Black and White/Ying and Yang theme here.

Anyways, the biggest thing is how Cheng Xiaoshi asks Lu Guang for his help. He says that he wants to help the pair, which appeals to Lu Guang through the guilt they share for being the cause of Chen Bin's death. It's a great moment that establishes the hesitation the pair have in the use of their powers currently, and their overall intent in their reasoning for using them. A solid shift from their original purpose through season 1, though of course the natural conclusion of their experiences with it anyways.

Of course, we end the episode on a cliffhanger though. That red-eyed guest from the prior episode? They didn't come to take over Lu Guang, they came to deliver a picture. Are they the same person that inhabited Qiao Ling at the end of S1/start of S2? It's hard to say, but the idea of the red eyes does beg quite the question.

The back of the photo is even more interesting when you know what it says. "Don't Die, Good Brother". Specifically "Gege" which is elder brother. Together with the drawing on the back of the young girl in the photo with an older brother, does it really mean what viewers might think it does? Is Lu Guang related to this pink haired girl somehow? Does she expect him and Cheng Xiaoshi to use the photo and learn something from it?

A far more intriguing ending than the episode itself might let on, this third episode works very hard to slow things down and draw them out so that viewers can have time to get attached to and understand the stories and characters that appear within. Of course, the quality is still way up there in terms of animation and direction, so it seems overall we've settled in for the long haul with a long term story compared to the more episodic approach of season 1. Really interested to see what they do with more time.

#link click #time agents #shi guang dai li ren #shiguang dailiren #时光代理人 #cheng xiaoshi #lu guang #qiao ling #donghua #shiguang daili ren #anime recommendation #anime review #anime and manga #anime #shiguang #link click spoilers

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dollyyun · 1 month

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𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒔 | chap 07

SYPNOSIS: wherein Hwang Stella's life is tangled in a predicament involving her clandestine identity as a racer, her seemingly daily life as the official heir to the Hwang Empire, and seven guys with whom she has a complex history with.

PAIRING: enhypen members x fem oc.

GENRE: 18+ (mdni), reverse harem, chaebols, semi-college & racing, eventual adulthood, non-idol au, eventual enha being f1 drivers, multiple pov (this fic is written in first pov).

WARNINGS: expletives, angst, heartbreaks, drama, heavy suggestive themes.

WORD COUNT: 7k+

TAGLIST: @aishigrey @kgneptun

🍒MASTERLIST🍒

After Sunghoon and I have rekindled our friendship, we decide to catch up on what we have missed in each other's lives. On campus, Sunghoon and I are seen hanging out and conversing with each other like we used to, which draws attention from some of the students since almost everyone here knows about our friendship's fallout.

Words do spread out fast here, which explains why Jungwon, Sunoo, and Ni-Ki come running to our old spot and are genuinely shocked when they see us in one room without strangling each other.

After our lecture ended, Sunghoon and I decided to hang out here. It is a lodging room that is twice as big as the lecture hall. In the centre of the room are three blue velvet couches that face the marbled coffee table, while there are also other activities we can do, such as arcade games, chess, and XBOX. This is only meant for the seven of us since Sunoo is the owner. His mother is on the board of directors, so that explains why we get special treatment.

"You guys look like fucking idiots." Sunghoon scoffs, but a grin appears on his lips right after. "Get in here."

"What the hell happened? And why are you two being civil?" Ni-Ki asks in disbelief as they head inside.

"We're more than civil now." Sunghoon slings an arm around my shoulder. "We're best friends again."

Jungwon offers us a big grin before running towards us. A grunt leaves my lips at the impact as soon as he engulfs us in a hug. "I'm genuinely glad that you two are back."

"Me too! This calls for a celebration!" Sunoo beams, taking out his phone from his pocket. He presses his phone against his ear before speaking to someone on the line. "I need you to buy some drinks and snacks."

We look at him with confusion while he appears to be delighted, even though we can hear a muffled shout from his phone. "I don't care. You're my servant, remember? I'll let you know where we're at."

"Who did you call?" Sunghoon asks, looking bewildered.

A sly grin arises on Sunoo's lips while mischievousness glints in his eye. "Just a certain someone. You'll see in awhile."

"Oh, boy," Ni-Ki heaves a deep sigh as he pinches the nose of his bridge. "This ought to be good."

I don't know what is going on, but warmth and relief spread throughout my chest from being surrounded by my best friends. But then comes the familiar pinch. I haven't sorted things out with Heeseung and Jake yet.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Sunghoon is still telling them what really happened while I am at the side, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed over my chest. The sight itself amuses me as my lips upturn into a smirk. It looks like Sunghoon is a grandfather who tells the story to his three grandchildren instead.

"─and that's why we fought." Sunghoon finishes off. "I'd say that we're rather fools for being blinded to the fact that our fathers were the enemies, not us."

"Agreed." Ni-Ki nods his head before darting his eyes at me, the curiosity in his eyes glimmering. "So what happens now?"

I raise my eyebrow inquisitively. "What do you mean?"

"You still have unfinished business with Jake," Ni-Ki points out knowingly. "And with Heeseung, the last time we remember was that the two of you fought because of Stella."

Right. But I'm no longer feeling the resentment I had towards Heeseung. It was my fault for starting the fight. It was rather foolish of me to worsen the cold and distance between Heeseung and me.

They look at me expectantly. Before I can open my mouth, the door swings open, startling us. When my eyes divert to her, they widen in surprise, while she doesn't seem to notice me yet.

"I came here as fast as I could." She appears to be panting, as though she ran all the way here. In her hands are brown paper bags. Her eyes, filled with pure annoyance, drill straight into Sunoo's as she trudges inside. "Kim Sunoo, you're lucky that I'm nice enough."

Sunoo pouts his lips. "You're never nice to me!"

"Wait a minute." Sunghoon rises from the couch, his eyes darting between Sunoo and Stella, before he stares at Sunoo in amusement. "Stella's your servant?"

"I am not his servant." Stella counters firmly before setting the paper bags on the table. For a minute, I notice hesitation in her gaze. "I just owe him something."

"Uhuh." Sunghoon seems skeptical. "What is that something?"

"Nothing that concerns you." She answers curtly.

"Thanks, Stel." Ni-Ki grabs one of the drinks, giving Stella a grin while the latter has a small smile on her lips.

"Yeah, thank you." Jungwon takes us by surprise when he embraces Stella in a side hug before planting a kiss on her crown.

Jungwon is the brother I wish I had, but why am I feeling uneasy and a growing bitterness in my heart upon seeing how close they are? Even worse is when Stella's cheeks turn a hint of pink while she accepts Jungwon's affection.

"Am I missing something?" Sunoo inquires with a frown as he walks towards them before slinging an arm around Stella. He eyes Jungwon. "Since when did you become close with my darling servant?"

"Kim Sunoo!" Stella struggles in Sunoo's grip.

I can see the dissatisfaction in Jungwon's eyes. "We're childhood best friends."

"Ex childhood best friends. Something happened." Stella shoves Sunoo away from her, though the impact doesn't affect Sunoo that much. She looks at the rest of us, her eyes seem to linger a little longer on mine. "But we've reconciled."

"My, my. It appears that Hwang Stella here has more connections to us than we thought." Sunghoon tuts.

"Just eat the damn snacks and drinks I bought for you." Stella sighs, rubbing her temple. "Now that my service here is done, I'll get going."

"Join us." I find myself finally speaking up after being an observer. When her eyes meet mine, I feel the familiar electricity between us. "Since you're here, you might as well hang out with us."

"I agree." Sunoo sips on his drink. "Besides, you haven't been here before, right?" He asks Stella.

Stella avoids our gazes, appearing sheepish for some reason, as if she has been caught for going against the rules. "Actually, I've been here more than once."

"What?" Ni-Ki looks at her incredulously. "Since when?"

"Of course." Sunghoon chuckles, though I detect an odd sense of bitterness. "With Jake Sim. Please don't tell me that y'all fucked here."

Her cheeks turn rosier, eliciting a loud groan from Sunghoon. "That's it! I'm going to have these couches washed and sanitised in every part of this room!"

"Hey! I'm the owner! So I get to decide!" Sunoo exclaims at a scowling Sunghoon.

"Let's just move on, please." Stella still avoids our eyes as she bends down to grab a drink.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

I haven't gotten the chance to have a conversation with Stella due to how preoccupied she is with the others. She plays arcade games with Ni-Ki, chess with Sunoo, speaks with Jungwon, and even engages in banter with Sunghoon.

I can't help but turn sulky as I sit on a bean bag in the corner. I just want her to spare a glance at me, even for a second.

"Hey, Jay." My heart almost jumps out of my chest when she greets me, towering over my figure. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all." I answer her quickly when I shouldn't even display my eagerness. She sits down on an extra bean bag next to mine without saying a word.

"So," She starts off, awkwardness filling the air around us. "How are you?"

"I've been fine. Things between Sunghoon and me have been going great too." I say. "It's just that I can't stop thinking about Heeseung and Jake." And you.

Stella nods her head, and there is sympathy in her pretty eyes. "Right. You, Heeseung, and Jake used to be close. But what exactly happened between you and Jake?"

I take a glance at her face. "Isn't it obvious? He's mad because I went after you."

"But why would he be mad?" She asks, looking incredulous. "He and I are no longer tied to each other."

I smirk faintly. "I guess you're just simply unforgettable, Stella. Heck, if I were in his shoes, I would be mad at me too."

Her eyes turn downcast. "Jake fell out of love for me, Jay."

"No." I don't hesitate to grab her hand and gently hold it in my grasp while she lifts her head to stare into my eyes. "You're wrong. He has never truly moved on from you."

"Don't, Jay." She shakes her head at me. "Don't tell me lies just to soothe my broken heart."

"I would never lie to you," Baby. "You should know the full truth."

"What truth?" She sighs sadly. "I already know what I wanted to know."

"Jay's right." Sunghoon appears next to Stella, while the latter jolts in surprise. "You need to know too, just as we did."

The others come to gather around us. Confusion resides in her gaze, but stubbornness does too. "I don't love him anymore, so it doesn't matter what you all say. Even if there was a reason, it doesn't justify the fact that he broke up with me over a text and got together with Rena weeks later."

"That's the thing, Stella." Ni-Ki bends down on one knee right in front of her, his eyes softening as he meets her glossy ones. "Jake was forced to date Rena."

At once, her eyes go wide as a socket. "What?"

"Jake was forced to date Rena by his mother."

"He had no choice because he had his reasons, but one thing is for sure, Jake is not in love with Rena."

The revelation has shaken me, despite my collected demeanour. I left after the guys unravelled the truth, at least based on their understanding and views. Now, I am driving mindlessly on the road, riding my blue Yamaha YZF-R1M, and my grip on the clutches tightens.

I don't know where I am headed, but I just keep driving on until I find myself at the ice cream parlour. Jake and I went after having dinner at a restaurant for our first anniversary. Maybe eating ice cream would alleviate the tension in my head a little better.

I turn off the indignation before removing my helmet. I adjust my dishevelled hair and get off the bike, which I parked by the curb. My gaze settles on the parlour, the ornamental window glass allows me to see the inside.

Considering it's past eight, there are fewer and fewer customers, with some already leaving. But what I don't expect is to see my ex seated by the window alone.

A part of me wants to leave, but I know that I shouldn't run away. I can't deny the fact that I need to listen to his side story. I need to hear the truth from him.

And so, I find myself stepping inside the parlour. As the ring chimes. Jaeyun snaps his head up and meets my eyes. My heart races in anticipation, yet I am uncertain of the outcome. I scan his countenance briefly, and I feel a tug in my heart upon noticing how he looks as though he has lost all hope.

Mustering the courage, I walk towards him. "We need to talk." I tell him firmly, despite how my voice almost wavers.

"No, we don't." He mutters, looking away from me, before rising from the seat.

"Oh, yes, we do." My hand grabs his just as he walks past me. "If I'm done running from my problems, so should you."

Jake doesn't turn around to look at me, but he doesn't feel bothered by me grabbing his hand either. We stay in that position briefly before he finally looks back at me. I feel him squeezing my hand and holding it firmly. "Not here."

In an instant, he drags me with him until we are out of the parlour. I expect him to let go of my hand, but he continues to hold it.

"Sunghoon and the others told me what happened." I break the ice between us as we stand on the pavement. I swallow the familiar lump in my throat while the backs of my eyes start to sting. "But I need to hear the truth from you. Were they right?"

Jake doesn't meet my eyes, but he doesn't let go of my hand either. "Yes."

My vision starts to blur as I blink while my chest hurts. "You should've told me the truth instead of breaking up with me. I thought we trusted each other."

"That's the thing, I couldn't even if I wanted to." He looks at me, and his jaw tightens. "My hands and mouth were tied. You have no idea how fucked it is to have been controlled by those with power."

"You think I don't?" I chuckle in disbelief. "I've spent months trying to hate you, but my heart couldn't let you go. You were my first in everything, Jaeyun. Did you really think that I could move on from you just so easily?"

"No, I don't." He sighs. "You were my first in everything too."

I ignore the tear that is rolling down my cheek. "I hate you for breaking my heart."

"I know." A sad smile appears on his handsome face.

"Most of all, I hate that I still love you." A soft sob leaves my lips before I can stop it. With my other hand, I form it into a fist before punching him weakly in the chest. "I hate you, Sim Jaeyun."

Before I can punch him again, he grabs my fist, firmly yet gently, as he opens it back. The sad smile still persists on his lips. "That's my girl." He plants a soft kiss on my palm. "Hate me all you want. It's easier that way."

More sobs leave my lips while the tears are relentless. "Please tell me that you still love me."

"I do, I still do, love. But we can never be together for as long as I'm tied to Rena." He cradles my face in between his palms. "Not unless I'm done settling my business."

"Jaeyun." My knees feel weak at the moment he embraces me into his arms, which once felt like home.

"I love you, Stella." He confesses with such raw emotions that it has me in shambles as I desperately cling onto him. I feel him planting a kiss on my crown. "You'll always be my girl."

Just like that, the warmth of Sim Jaeyun disappears as he leaves me in the cold under a starless sky.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

My mind is unstable after what happened, yet I find myself standing outside his apartment. Instead of looking for others, I look for him. Follow your heart, as they say. But my heart doesn't know what it fucking wants.

"Stella." He greets me, looking genuinely surprised, after opening the door. His eyes seem to scan my face before a frown dawns on his pink lips. "What happened?"

"Nothing." I say nonchalantly. "I'm sorry for coming here at this hour. Were you asleep?"

"It's fine. Like I said, you're always welcomed here." He steps aside, allowing me to enter. "I haven't seen you in awhile."

"You know, busy with assignments and projects." I answer curtly, and being near him makes me realise that we haven't talked after the heated kiss we had. I sigh before turning around to look at him. "Heeseung, about that kiss─"

"Don't worry about it. It was a mistake." Heeseung gives me a tight smile. "We were in a heat of moment."

I don't know why I feel disappointed upon hearing his statement. "Right."

"What's wrong?" He asks with a frown, stepping closer to me.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that you declared our kiss a mistake, but you kissed me like you meant it." Sarcasm drips into my tone.

A muscle ticks in his jaw. "What would you want me to say? You even insisted that we're friends, and friends don't kiss the way we did."

"I don't know! But hearing you say our kiss was a mistake─" Frustration blinds my judgement. "You know what? Coming here was my mistake."

"Wait." Heeseung grabs my hand just as I turn my back on him. "Don't go."

"Why not?" I ask coldly.

"Because I've missed you." He tugs me towards him, prompting me to look at him in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of it."

My breath hitches in my throat as he tucks a fallen lock of hair behind my ear, while there is a familiar desire in his alluring eyes. "Truth be told, I couldn't stop thinking about you and our kiss." He confesses. "At that time, I was holding myself back."

"Then don't." My voice drops to a whisper as he slowly leans in. "Don't hold yourself back around me."

"I must." His breath fans above my lips. "You have no idea what you're doing to me, sweetheart. My mind is intoxicated by the thought of you, your lips, and your body."

"Hee." Our lips brush lightly against each other. "Kiss me."

He presses his lips on mine in an instant, a symphony of desire and longing. He kisses me slowly, as though he is taking time to savour the feeling. My hands slither upward to tug on his hair, while his hands go lower until they stop around my thighs.

"Jump." He rasps against my lips, and I comply, locking my legs around his waist.

I don't know where he's taking me as I get utterly lost in the kiss. When he gently lowers me until my back hits the mattress, I realise that we're in his room.

As we pull away from the kiss, I pant heavily and look at him with my half-hooded eyelids. His eyes seem to be darkening each second with desire and danger. My hand tugs at the hems of his black shirt.

"I need to be one of your girls." The desperation in my voice is apparent, but I am too far gone to care. "Just for tonight."

"No, not just one of my girls." He presses his lips on my neck while his hands go underneath my top. Chills run down my spine upon feeling the warmth of his hands. "My only girl."

"Liar." I roll my eyes to the back in pleasure as his lips press on the sensitive part of my neck. "Heeseung─" He continues to pepper kisses on my skin before going down on me, pulling up my top, which I remove and toss aside.

My cheeks are flushed as he stares at me with such hunger. Butterflies erupt in my tummy as he presses a gentle kiss on top of my belly button. "You're so fucking gorgeous, sweetheart."

"Hee, enough foreplay." I whine. clenching my thighs together to suppress the heat.

"This will be my first, you know?" He pauses to remove his shirt, and my mouth begins to water at his fine glory. "But I've learned some moves on the internet."

I feel genuinely surprised by the fact that he will be losing his virginity to me. "Like?" Intoxication fills my head as I pull him down to connect our lips again.

"How about I show you instead?" He rasps against my lips, his deep yet husky voice turns me on further. "But first, gentle or rough?"

"I don't care." A moan leaves my lips upon feeling his knee pressing into my heat. "I just need you to take my pain away."

"So I was right." He murmurs. "Something did happen to you."

A soft gasp emits from me as soon as I feel his hand wrap around my neck—enough not to suffocate me but enough to show his dominance. Instead of feeling afraid, I feel even more turned on. He gazes deeply into my eyes while his lips unfurl a soft smirk. "You have no idea what you've just let in, sweetheart."

I've been awake since Aera called me earlier, and I can't even fall back asleep, not when there is a gorgeous goddess next to me. She is still sound asleep as she faces me, giving me a view of her angelic face.

Right now, Stella doesn't look anything like what others describe her as─ cold, heartless, or arrogant. In this state, she looks harmless. I mean, I'm not saying that she's capable of harming anyone, but she looks utterly serene. Her long lashes kiss under her eyes, her sculpted nose that tempts me to plant a kiss on, her naturally tinted pink lips that are kissable, and her rosy cheeks. She looks like a goddess. My Goddess.

A flashback of last night replays in my mind. It was fucking unreal that my virginity had been taken by my crush. The whole experience was more than amazing. With her consent, she allowed me to do anything I wanted, but I held myself back, though not entirely. She was so exquisite that I wasn't getting enough of her.

I have to admit that I was nervous at first, but with Stella, I felt as though I was a natural at it. She even complimented me before falling asleep. Envy slowly wraps itself around my heart at the thought that Jay and Jake have already tasted her.

I glance down at her once more, and my heart rate starts to spike. My crush is wearing my white shirt, which looks big and adorable on her figure. Her body is curved as she holds the duvet close to her chest.

My hand reaches out to caress her cheek, but stops mid-air when I recall how vacant her eyes looked yet filled with hurt as soon as I opened the door for her. A part of me knows better than to pry, but I need to know what happened and who hurt her.

Stella's movement as she stirs in her sleep, and I continue to watch her until her eyes flutter open. Still looking drowsy, her eyes slowly find their way to meet mine. Thus, my heart beats faster and pounds harder.

"Hey." She greets me softly. Fuck, does she know what she did to me?

My lips curve into a grin while I gaze into her beautiful eyes. "Good afternoon, sweetheart."

Stella stretches her limbs out like a cat. "It's noon already?"

"I mean, we did finish way too late." I drawl lazily, smirking as I see how diffident she looks and avoids my gaze. "Last night was amazing."

"Yeah," She clears her throat before attempting to sit up, but winces lightly as she moves her legs. "Thanks for last night. I needed that."

"Hey, Stella?" I call out to her just before I can stop myself.

"Yeah?" She asks, grabbing her hair tie on the nightstand before tying her hair up into a messy bun.

What are we? "What exactly happened before you came over?"

Thank God I didn't say that out loud, or I'll just worsen the progress of our friendship status. Yeah, we're just friends. We can never be anything more. Not when I have an ulterior motive that my parents deem important, or else I'll face the consequences.

Stella heaves a deep sigh before turning around to meet my eyes. "I met Jake."

I ignore the stinging pain in my heart. Of course. I should've recognised the familiar pain in her eyes.

"Sunghoon and the others revealed the entire truth to me, but I needed to hear from Jake himself." She bites her lower lip, eyes downcast. "When I heard it from him, I felt furious, sad, and betrayed. Most of all, I felt regretful. I've spent months trying to hate him for hurting me and leaving me broken."

"Don't let the truth invalidate what you've felt and suffered." I move closer to her, and before I can stop myself, my hand goes to cradle the side of her face. "Allow yourself to acknowledge what you truly felt. He had reasons, yes, but at the end of the day, he still broke your heart."

As Stella leans into my touch, I feel my heart soar. "Thank you for the assurance, Heeseung."

"Of course." I smile, though my heart starts to ache. "We're friends, aren't we?"

I don't miss the disappointment that befalls her angelic face, but I brush it off. I'm probably seeing things.

"Heeseung─"

"Guess who's here!" Aera's shrill voice startles us, as does when she swings the door open. "Heeseung─ Ah! What the hell?!"

"Aera!" I groan in annoyance, my palm no longer feeling the softness of Stella's cheek, while Stella appears embarrassed as she looks down. "How many times do I have to tell you to knock?"

"Brother!" Aera's eyes dart between us, but amidst the shock, I can see how her lips twitch into a grin. "Did you two?!"

"Aera." Stella buries her face into her palms.

"Am I going to have nieces and nephews?!" Aera exclaims rather avidly with a stupid grin on her face.

"Lee Aera, get out!" I grab a pillow before aiming at where she is, but she immediately disappears as soon as I throw the pillow, causing it to hit the door instead.

"I'm sorry about that." I rub my face. "I had no idea she'd be coming here."

"It's fine." Stella's rosy cheeks tempt me to kiss them. "By the way, your sister knows about me being a racer too."

I raise my eyebrow inquisitively. "Since when?"

"It's complicated." She gives me a sheepish smile. "But she promised to keep it a secret as well."

"Did she ask you to give her a ride in one of your motorsport vehicles?" Knowing my sister, she probably did.

"Yup." Stella answers with a chuckle, while my heart flutters upon hearing that chuckle of hers.

The damn butterflies.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

"So what are you doing here, exactly?" I ask, staring at my sister with annoyance as she sprawls across the couch.

Though I'm glad that my sister is no longer cold to me, I can't help but feel annoyed by her coming here unannounced, especially when I still want to spend some alone time with Stella before she returns home.

Aera, unmoving from her position, gives me a pout, to which I give her a look of disgust. "Can't I visit my favourite brother?"

"I'm your only brother, idiot." I state flatly. "So what do you want? Money? A car? Oh, wait, you don't have a driving licence."

Aera shoots me a scowl. "First of all, how could you assume that I came here for money?" She pauses for awhile before a sheepish smile appears on her lips. "Actually, I do need some money."

I heave a sigh. "Did Father freeze your card? Again?"

"That mean old man." Aera rolls her eyes. "Yup. Hence, I went to look for you! Please, Oppa? Help out your baby sis."

"Fine." I grab my wallet on the table before taking one of the credit cards and giving it to her. "Just don't spend on unnecessary stuff."

Thankfully, money always rolls into my accounts due to my investments and the competition I've won in racing, despite the fact that my father does send me money every now and then.

"So..." Aera draws my attention as she raises her eyebrow suggestively. "You and Stella?"

I scoff. "We're just friends."

"Bullshit. You're literally head over heels for her." Aera points out. "She's the girl whom you saw at the library years ago, right?"

"Whatever you say, Aera." I merely brush her off, but as soon as I turn my head to the side, I spot Stella coming out of my room, dressed in her previous attire.

"Stel!" Aera greets her cheerily. "We were just talking about you!"

"Really?" Stella looks at us curiously.

"Yes!" Aera says delightfully. "Do you know that Heeseung had a crush on─"

I quickly grab a cushion pillow before throwing it directly at her face, successfully hitting her. "Get out."

"Hey! You can't kick out your sister!"

My phone starts to ring on the table, drawing our attention to it. I walk towards the table and grab it before seeing the caller ID. My eyebrows jump in surprise, but I answer his call anyway.

"Heeseung." He greets me. "Before you hang up on me, we need to talk. It's been long overdue. Meet me at the arena."

The resentment I had for Jay has long since faded after the incident. I tried putting myself in his shoes and understood why he felt that way. But that didn't mean my pride hurt any less, given how he got a good piece of me.

"Who was it?" Stella asks softly, walking towards me.

"Jay," I breathe out. "He said to meet him at the arena."

"Oh! Can I come? Stella can give me a ride!" Aera asks me, staring at me with hope.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Stella states. "It's bad enough that half of them already know who I am. I don't want Jay, Jake, and Sunghoon to know too."

"She has a point." I tell Aera. "Till next time, sis."

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Instead of pulling up at my usual station, I stop right next to Jay's motorcycle, where he is also waiting for me as he remains seated on his bike. I turn off the ignition before removing my helmet. I ruffle my tousled dark locks and briefly scan the arena. There are some other racers practicing on track, while I also spot Ni-Ki, Sunoo, and Sunghoon from afar.

Sunghoon catches my eye and gives me a nod of acknowledgment before proceeding to converse with the rest. I'll probably ask him to practice with me on track after this.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" I ask Jay curtly as I face him while still remaining seated on my bike.

Jay heaves a sigh. He appears somewhat apologetic. "I'm sorry for what happened at Hoon's party. I shouldn't have lashed out to you."

"You were furious because I was with Stella." I point out. "But I'm sorry as well for punching you first."

"I deserved that." Jay chuckles breathily, running his fingers through his hair. "I don't know why the hell I was so enraged when Stella wasn't mine to begin with."

"The answer is obvious, Park." I smirk at him, though I feel uneasy. "You like Stella."

"Damn right, I do." Jay doesn't hesitate to answer. "It took me awhile to acknowledge and admit my feelings towards her."

I bite my lip. I feel kind of bad for him because the girl he likes just spent the night with me.

"Unlucky for you, I like Stella as well." I give him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Fight me again?"

"No." Jay rolls his eyes. "I'm tired of fighting. So that's why I'm here. I want to reconcile with you. I've missed our bond."

I've known Jay since high school, but we only got close when we entered university. Whenever he had problems or needed advice, he would always come to me. Plus, we have the same set of shitty parents, so we could always relate to each other.

"But we like the same girl." I state, eyeing him cautiously. "What if a fight happens between us again because of her?"

"I can assure you that we won't have to fight for her." Jay answers firmly while his eyes reflect a familiar sentiment I know too well. "Besides, we can never compete, not when there's Jake, who is her first love."

"A punch to the gut, Jay." I roll my eyes jokingly. "Speaking of Jake, he's been avoiding the rest as well. Though he's an ass, I've missed him."

"I don't know how long he's going to keep that up." Jay sighs. "But one thing is for sure: We need him back in the group."

"I like the idea of that." I smile. "It's about time the gang got back together again."

Jay mirrors my smile before it transitions into a smirk. "So, wanna race?"

"Music to my ears." A smirk tugs at my lips before I wear my helmet. "The loser has to do fifty push-ups."

"Get ready to lose, Heeseung." Jay wears his helmet before starting the ignition at the same time as I do. With both my hands on the clutches, I take a glance at him to see him looking at me. Then, we speed off.

The view of the familiar manor greets me as the gate opens before I start to make my way to the garage, driving my white Suzuki bike. Behind this visor, a smirk tugs at my lips. Home, sweet home.

My parents have alerted me about the dinner with the Nishimuras tonight. Growing up, my parents showered me with love and affection to the point where I became a spoiled brat, wanting everything and getting everything my way, while my younger brother and sister were forsaken by my parents.

I know that tonight's dinner is unlike any other familial dinner. It'll be where I need to report to them about what is happening and the progress of our plan. Well, I guess it can be considered my plan since I voluntarily agreed to take part in the first place.

"Finally. I've been waiting for you to arrive." Ni-Ki announces just as I pull up next to his vehicle.

"You should've come with me instead." I roll my eyes as I remove my helmet. "Besides, your parents are inside, so why are you out here?"

A muscle ticks in his jaw. "You know well enough that I don't get along with them, at least not anymore."

I know the reason, and I can't help but disprove it. My parents were right. Love is a weakness and will inevitably cause the downfall of any member of this high society of ours.

"Let's go." I pat Ni-Ki's back before we proceed to enter the building. As we enter, I am surprised to see the sight of my siblings, who are fraternal twins, Kim Daehyun and Kim Sihyeon. They are currently in their last years of high school. I don't have a great bond with them, but I don't hate them either.

"What are you doing here?" I ask with a frown as we stop in front of them. Given the fact that my parents have forsaken them, they voluntarily chose to leave the manor and live with my aunt instead.

"Nice meeting you too, Hyung." Daehyun rolls his eyes. Brat.

"Mother and father wanted us to come." Sihyeon says, though her eyes seem to be lingering on Ni-Ki instead. "For dinner."

"My children! You've arrived." My mother announces, drawing our attention to the older adults. "Come! Let's have dinner!"

My mother is elegant as ever. Though everyone perceives her as kind, I know how manipulative and cunning she is beneath her facade, but no one can ever suspect her schemes due to her elegancy. My father, on the other hand, is renowned for being ruthless and merciless when it comes to business. Both complement each other well.

"Ni-Ki." Ni-Ki's father greets him, but the guy ignores his parents and walks right past them.

"Oppa, who is your friend?" Sihyeon whispers to me as we walk. "He's handsome."

"Don't even think about it." I warn her. "Plus, he already has his eyes on someone."

And that someone just so happens to be a pawn.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

"Daehyun, Sihyeon." My mother dabs the corner of her mouth with a white handkerchief. "Since you two have finished your meals, can you give the adults some privacy?"

Throughout the whole dinner, Ni-Ki remains unresponsive, keeping to himself, whereas I have had to step in to entertain his parents. Our parents do talk about businesses in front of us, but it has nothing to do with us. Meanwhile, my siblings keep themselves occupied by conversing with each other and playing games discreetly, though my mother often glares at them for not having proper dining etiquette.

My patience is starting to run thin. This has got to be a mundane dinner.

"Why can't we listen?" Daehyun asks ardently, to which I smirk as I take sips of my drinks. He really takes after me.

"Because the next session is not about any of your concerns." My father answers him coldly, and his piercing gaze causes my sister to flinch. "Leave."

"Come on, Dae." Sihyeon says nervously as she tugs at his sleeves. "Let's just leave."

"Whatever. This dinner sucks anyway." Daehyun scoffs, standing as his chair makes a loud screech. Sihyeon looks at me before going after Daehyun.

"I apologise for my son's improper behaviour." My mother informs the Nishimuras. "He's not usually like that."

I hold back a smirk. Oh, mother, you don't know Daehyun at all. None of us do.

"It's fine. Teenagers these days." Ni-Ki's father chuckles lightheartedly. "So, shall we start?"

"Of course." My mother smiles before turning to me. "Report."

"Things are going rather smoothly." I start off, and from my peripheral vision, I notice Ni-Ki clenching a fist. "Day by day, she's getting closer to us and seems rather distracted. In fact, I don't think she's been doing her duties as the heir, considering how occupied she is with us."

"Ni-Ki?" Ni-Ki's mother looks at him. "What's your report?"

"Just as Sunoo said," Ni-Ki's tone sounds deadly, as does the aura he emits. "Everything is going smoothly."

"Ni-Ki, we really need you to be on board with this." Ni-Ki's father sighs. "You must not allow your feelings for that girl to hinder your goal."

"My goal?" Ni-Ki's laughter sounds sharp, enough to make me flinch lightly. "You mean it's your goal."

I decide to intervene before this could escalate further. "I have information that we may use if this plan fails."

"Oh?" Intrigued, my father leans forward. "What is it, son?"

"Sunoo, don't." Ni-Ki shakes his head, a warning glint in his eye.

But I ignore him. "Stella is a racer as well. She has been keeping her identity a secret, and she trusts us enough to let us know." A half-lie, but whatever.

"This is great!" My mother seems gleeful. "We have to inform the others about this plan B."

"Wait, what do you mean by others?" Ni-Ki asks sternly.

"Ask your friends, dear." My mother informs. "Despite all of our differences, the goal is to bring downfall to the Hwang empire. Starting with their precious heir."

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

"Come on, Ni-Ki." Annoyance is turning into frustration as I go after Ni-Ki. "They would never allow us to leave for as long as we provided them with a better solution."

Ni-Ki stops abruptly before turning around to glare at me. "So telling them that Stella's a racer was a better solution? She trusted us enough that we would keep her identity a secret! We even gave our word to her!"

Guilt tugs at my cold heart, but my demeanour remains collected. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

I scoff. "After years of not talking, you suddenly decided to approach her out of the blue. Why? Because you were following your parents' orders."

Ni-Ki clenches his jaw. "There's a difference between you and me. I'm sincere in being her friend, always been, while you're being a snobby jerk for having her as your servant."

"It's not meant to be serious! That's just a way for me to get closer to her!" I throw my hands up in frustration. "Damn it, Riks! Why do you have to be so difficult?!"

"Because I love her!" He confesses, the pain is evident in his eyes. "You would never understand, Sunoo. The pain of betraying my first love."

My eyes turn steely cold. "And I'm glad I would never understand it. Love is a fucking weakness, and it'll get you nowhere. Besides, you should give up." A smirk appears on my lips. "Hwang Stella will never love you."

"I pity you. You don't understand how great love is, even if it means that the person you love won't ever notice you."

"Love is a waste of time, Riks." I walk past him, making my way to the garage. "Besides, do you really want to risk racing over Stella?"

It's a rhetorical question. I already know his answer, and it's similar to the rest of us, including me.

My phone chimes in my pocket, prompting me to read the message. I raise my eyebrow while a smirk returns to my lips.

STELLA: The others are too busy to race. Wanna join me?

I guess it isn't so hard to get closer to her after all.

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#enhypen #enhypen fanfic #enhypen poly #heeseung #jay #jake #sunghoon #sunoo #jungwon #ni-ki

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novacarinae-fr · 2 years

Text

Sornieth Solar System

Sornieth is the fourth planet in its solar system, though it is the only one of its family of seven that is known to be artificial. Understanding Sornieth’s true nature as a constructed planet, and being able to observe our sister worlds without interference from Sornieth’s atmosphere, has allowed us to gain a much more detailed understanding of our solar system.

For a long time, the four inner planets were the only ones known to dragonkind, due to Sornieth’s unique atmospheric distortion and the strange 25-AU gap between Sornieth and the next furthest planet. It was only when we were able to observe from outside the atmosphere that we were able to assemble a truly accurate picture.

(For ease of reading, I will be using Earth as a reference for measurements. 1 AU = distance between Earth and Sun, about 93 million miles or 150 million km.)

SUN

The star of Sornieth’s solar system is a rather ordinary K-type, Population I, main sequence orange dwarf star.

Spectral Type: K2V

Mass: 0.830 solar masses

Radius: 0.785 solar radii

Luminosity: 0.37 solar luminosities

Effective temperature: 5120K

Lifespan: 16 billion years

Age: 10 billion years

Other info / notable details: N/A

Tlinieth

The first planet from the Sun, Tlinieth was once a gas giant. However, its extreme proximity to the star stripped away its atmosphere, leaving behind only its metallic core. The planet is currently extremely dense, though it is in the process of decompressing. From Sornieth, the planet is far too close to the sun to be visible, but its transits cause measurable dips in the Sun’s brightness.

Mass: 30 Earth masses

Radius: 8 Earth radii

Orbital radius: 0.025 AU

Orbital eccentricity: 0.008 (nearly perfectly circular)

Year length: 1.58 days

Day length: 1.58 days (tidally locked)

Composition: Rocky

Atmosphere: None

Moons: None

Other: Astronomers knew of the planet’s existence for thousands of years due to its gravitational influence and slight dips in the Sun’s brightness, but were unable to actually observe it due to its proximity to the star until quite recently. Although recently discovered, its name is derived from the ancient Draconic words meaning “burning planet”.

Kirnieth

Kirnieth, second planet from the Sun, is a small rocky planet with a highly eccentric orbit; it’s theorized the planet may have started out more circular, and had its orbit disrupted by the migration of Tlinieth through the inner solar system. It lacks an atmosphere, and its dark surface is covered in glowing cracks where gravitational stress and asteroid impacts have taken their toll on the crust, exposing the molten mantle.

Mass: 0.10 Earth masses

Radius: 0.44 Earth radii

Semimajor Axis: 0.37 AU

Orbital eccentricity: 0.21 (high eccentricity)

Year length: 90 days

Day length: 16 days

Composition: Rocky

Atmosphere: Very thin, mostly carbon dioxide

Moons: none

Other: Its name is derived from the ancient Draconic words for “dancing planet”, due to its swift motion through the sky and difficulties in predicting its position in ancient times.

Merakai

Merakai has, in the past decade, gone from one of the least interesting planets to the most fascinating. The planet is much more within the star’s habitable zone than Sornieth itself- and is the only other world known to support life. Through the lenses of our best telescopes on Sornieth, the planet’s surface has appeared a smooth, hazy, featureless tan. Upon closer inspection, however, we found the othermost layer of the planet to be riddled with tunnels and rooms too small for any dragons much larger than a skydancer, unmistakably artificial and incredibly ancient- older than Sornieth itself. This planet once supported a vast technologically advanced society. The planet-wide underground complex, which is now known as the Labyrinth, seems to have begun as a crude construction at least 5 million years ago, but was rapidly expanded to cover the whole planet and then even more rapidly abandoned over the total course of 1000-1500 years, 1 million years ago. Why the Labyrinth Builders disappeared is still unknown. Although the planet is no longer home to any megafauna, small ‘plants’, ‘animals’, and microbes continue to thrive.

Mass: 1.21 Earth masses

Radius: 1.10 Earth radii

Orbital radius: 0.5 AU

Orbital eccentricity: 0.018 (near-circular)

Year length: 142 days

Day length: 28 hours

Composition: Rocky

Atmosphere: Nitrogen, oxygen, and other trace gases; slightly thinner than Sornieth. Breathable, but irritates lungs of dragons after prolonged exposure. Beastclans seem to be able to breathe the air indefinitely.

Moons: 13 known small, irregular moons in an impressive ring system

Other: Merakai is the only inner planet whose common name is Beastclan in origin, rather than draconic, though scholars continue to argue about the origins and meaning of the name. It is also the only other currently inhabited planet in the solar system; The Company have been traversing its atmosphere in airships for a few years, and intend to eventually build a permanent base. The Company have also been at the forefront of exploring the Labyrinth and researching those who came before. A few of the researchers believe Merakai was home to the spacefaring common ancestors of many Beastclans long before dragonkind ever existed. A few decades ago, all of us would’ve called this idea madness. Now, we agree it is at least worth a serious investigation.

Sornieth

Sornieth is an extremely recent newcomer to the system, at least on cosmic timescales. The planet is only about 1 million years old, compared to the 10 billion year age of the system. Currently, we believe the planet was constructed from material gathered from the asteroid belt just beyond the planet’s orbit. The planet is hollow, or at least mostly hollow- we don’t know whether the cavity contains air, vacuum, or low-density support structures, but we do know the Rift opening is at the planet’s core, powering all magic on the planet. We are, essentially, living on the outside of a small Dyson sphere.

Mass: 1.87 Earth masses

Radius: 1.6 Earth radii

Orbital radius: 0.94 AU; on the cold outskirts of the star’s habitable zone. The heat that makes liquid water possible at this distance comes from the inside. Our current theory is that, rather than the planet’s distance being a design flaw the Eleven need to divert energy to, Sornieth was created farther away from the Sun intentionally so the gods could use the planet to dissipate excess Rift energy as heat. Perhaps simply building the planet farther away and letting the Rift heat it internally was easier and more efficient than finding a way to limit the flow of energy or cool the core.

Orbital eccentricity: 0.000 (perfectly circular according to our current best measurements)

Year length: 365 days

Day length: 24 hours

Composition: Very dense rocky shell (about 1/10th of total radius); hollow interior. Relatively thin crust over a thin layer of mantle; plate tectonics are extremely slow, with most volcanoes caused by hot spots.

Atmosphere: Nitrogen, oxygen, and other trace gases

Moons: 2 “twin” moons- the Weaver’s Eye and the Binder’s Eye. They are the same size (0.15 Earth radii, 0.01 Earth masses), perfectly spherical, and have seemingly identical color and composition, though the Binder’s Eye is farther away and appears smaller. They are currently unexplored in any detail due to difficulties presented by force field distortion- like trying to make out writing a mile away through a haze of hot air. It’s unknown whether these moons are natural satellites the planet captured, or constructions like Sornieth itself. There have been some indications of structures on the surface, but we haven’t been able to eliminate the possibility that this is simply due to the unique distortion.

Other: Name is ancient Draconic for “our planet”. One of two planets in our solar system known to harbor life. Why the Eleven built it is unknown. Sornieth is the only planet in the system that can sustain magic, due to the Rift. The Rift itself remains mysterious in origin, but what little we know is this: the Rift is a hole between universes, connecting the center of Sornieth to the core of a star in a parallel universe. The Rift leeches energy from the star, which is what makes magic possible here- energy from ‘nothing’, with the Eleven acting as conduits. However, this has destabilized the star and accelerated its demise. The residents of this parallel universe created the Shade as a weapon of self-defense. We are unable to make the details of our research public for security reasons; for more information on the Rift, Shade, or Riftkind, it is necessary to contact the Vigilance personally.

Void Belt

For thousands of years, the solar system was believed to consist only of the four inner planets, with Sornieth marking its outer edge and nothing but asteroids and comets beyond. It’s understandable that scholars believed this to be the case; the idea of there being a nearly 4-billion-kilometer gap between Sornieth and the next planet would’ve been difficult to take seriously, especially without much visible evidence. The outer planets orbit slowly, and with atmospheric distortion, most of them are invisible to the naked eye and nearly impossible to spot even with a telescope. It wasn’t until we were able to observe our solar system from space that these planets were discovered. The 25-AU gap- which we call the Void Belt- contains several asteroid belts and swarms of comets, but nothing large enough to qualify as a dwarf planet.

Shanieth

Shanieth is a frozen water world, the closest of the recently discovered Outer Planets. Although we have sent a probe to explore it, it will be decades before that probe arrives. Unless we can build something faster, or spare a large amount of resources to send Horizon Seeker, it will be a long time before Shanieth reveals her mysteries.

Mass: 2.3 Earth masses

Radius: 1.3 Earth radii

Orbital radius: 26 AU

Orbital eccentricity: 0.07

Year length: 217.9 years

Day length: 19.4 hours

Composition: Rocky, with thick outer layer of ice/water.

Atmosphere: Thick; nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor and carbon dioxide. Greenhouse effect makes the planet somewhat warmer, but not enough to make it habitable for any known macroscopic life.

Moons: None; three very thin rings.

Other: Name is ancient Draconic for “frozen planet”, to accompany Tlinieth. It’s likely the planet’s water layer is not frozen all the way through, but has a several-kilometer-deep ice ‘shell’ with an extremely deep liquid ocean beneath heated by pressure and the planet’s interior. It’s theorized this ocean may sustain some extremely strange alien life, but so far we don’t have conclusive evidence either way.

Xai

Xai is a brilliant blue gas giant with a large, beautiful icy ring system, and is the second largest planet.

Mass: 69 Earth masses

Radius: 4.2 Earth radii

Orbital radius: 30 AU

Orbital eccentricity: 0.05

Year length: 270.1 years

Day length: 11 hours

Composition: Gas giant; primarily hydrogen, helium

Moons: 28 known

Other: The name is derived from an ancient Maren sky deity.

Osoba

Osoba is a small brown dwarf, an object between the largest gas giants and the smallest stars; large enough to fuse deuterium, but not massive enough to fuse hydrogen to helium in their cores like proper stars. It glows a dim magenta, and has a surface temperature of about 600K. It is not visible with the naked eye from Sornieth and is barely visible as an extremely faint magenta object through telescopes. Osoba is younger than the rest of the solar system, which coupled with its highly eccentric orbit suggests this may in fact be a failed star captured by the Sun, rather than something that formed in the solar system. We’ve been unable to explore it in much detail; we plan to send the Horizon Seeker there as a test run of its deep space travel capabilities before we attempt a mission to another star system.

Mass: 9550 Earth masses

Radius: 11.5 Earth radii

Semimajor axis: 60 AU

Orbital eccentricity: 0.25

Year length: 764 years

Day length: uncertain

Composition: Mostly hydrogen, helium

Moons: 34 known, 4 of them large enough that they could be considered dwarf or small planets if they weren’t moons.

Other: Name derived from the ruler of the Serthis underworld.

#flight rising #flight rising lore #fr lore #flightrising #straka’s lore

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sprout-fics · 1 year

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Jesus Christ all you care about is numbers, isn’t it? Let people write what they want and how they want, there’s literally no need to be rude and rag on other people’a writing just because it’s “popular”. Like how do you expect people to get better at writing and want to continue writing if all you’re going to do is shame them for how they write? If someone’s fics are getting more attention then yours, maybe it’s because they don’t guilt trip people into reblogs and put down other writers.

Anon when have I EVER done anything other than encourage other writers and tell them to do exactly that- to write whatever they want? Give me an instance where I have shamed another writer for doing how they please, I'll wait. I actively encourage people to pursue writing as a hobby and to have faith in themselves when they are trying to improve, no matter what skill level they are at. You are putting words in my mouth that do not belong there. That and your tune is incredibly uncordial and I do not appreciate it.

I think you were set off by that post, the one which you either did not correctly read or blatantly chose to ignore the message of. The post was encouraging writers who do not get to see their fics become 'popular', which is a completely arbitrary distinction that has no impact on the quality of the work itself. It is NOT saying popular fics are only popular because they are shallowly written or have poor writing. what it IS saying is that there are some fics that are not 'popular' that are just as good as those fics that may appear on the first page of AO3 results.

I say this as someone who's fic is currently 2nd in Kudos in Din x Reader. Sure, I am proud of that honor. But in the end it doesn't matter because there are so many fics that are just as good if not wildly better than my own. There's so many hidden gems with beautiful and stunning prose that are wildly unappreciated, which is the point of that post that you seem to have misread.

As for your accusation about 'numbers'. I could care less. I write for myself. I write things that I want to because I find writing to be a fulfilling hobby that I enjoy. I continue to establish on this blog that you are allowed to be writing explicitly for numbers, but that at the end of the day you should be writing because it is a hobby that you enjoy and that you find fulfilling. Write badly, write well, write however you damn well please. I'm proud of you for simply opening a draft and jotting down a story idea. I'm proud of the people who appear on the first or last page of fic results. We are all writers, and we should be encouraging and lifting up each other rather than attacking each other.

Don't put words in my mouth that don't belong.

#congratulations #anon privileges have been revoked because of you #absolute shame on you for trying to twist that post into making me something I am not #I am so furious with this

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sygol · 10 months

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hey sy so about 3 days ago i woke up in the middle of the night scared and immediately went feral and used my teeth and hands to completely rip apart a pillowcase and after i tore it open i went back to bed in like 3 minutes. you seem like the type of person who could know why the fuck that happened so i came here

A felt sense is not a mental experience but a physical one. Physical. A bodily awareness of a situation or person or event. An internal aura that encompasses everything you feel and know about the given subject at a given time—encompasses it and communicates it to you all at once rather than detail by detail. Think of it as a taste, if you like, or a great musical chord that makes you feel a powerful impact, a big round unclear feeling. A felt sense doesn’t come to you in the form of thoughts or words or other separate units, but as a single (though often puzzling and very complex) bodily feeling. Since a felt sense doesn’t communicate itself in words, it isn’t easy to describe in words. It is an unfamiliar, deep-down level of awareness...

-Gendlin, Eugene T. Focusing, 1978

We want to begin to tap into our instinctual voices. The first step is learning to use the felt sense to listen to that voice. The most helpful attribute in this journey is gentleness. Contacting the instinctual self is powerful stuff. Never try to force it. Take it easy, take it slow. If you feel overwhelmed at any time, you may have overdone it. The next time you come to that curve, slow down. This is definitely one time that you will get there faster by going slower. Sometimes, the felt sense appears slowly; other times you are hit by a flash of understanding and the whole thing becomes clear to you in an instant. The best approach is to maintain an open and curious attitude. Don't try to interpret, analyze, or explain what is happening; just experience and note it. It is also unnecessary to dredge up memories, emotions, insights, or anything else, for that matter. If they come that's fine, but it is more important to observe them without interpretation or emotional attachment; observe them and let them go. "Take it as it comes" is the best way to learn the language of your felt sense. Information will come to you in the form of words, pictures, insights, and emotions, which invariably will be accompanied by another layer of sensations. These sensations can be elusive yet recognizable when you learn how to pay attention on a very subtle level. Learning to know yourself through the felt sense is a first step toward healing trauma... ...In many ways, the felt sense is like a stream moving through an ever-changing landscape. It alters its character in resonance with its surroundings. When the land is rugged and steep, the stream moves with vigor and energy, swirling and bubbling as it crashes over rocks and debris. Out on the plains, the stream meanders so slowly that one might wonder whether it is moving at all. Rains and spring thaw can rapidly increase its volume, even flood nearby land. In the same way, once the setting has been interpreted and defined by the felt sense, we will blend into whatever conditions we find ourselves. This amazing sense encompasses both the content and climate of our internal and external environments. Like the stream, it shapes itself to fit those environments.

-Levine, Peter A. Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, 1997

#asks #quote

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cylisse-ae · 7 months

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AQW Father's Day 2022 NPC Thread

Alright I'm going to just copy and paste everything verbatim from the twitter thread posted last year for /DreadForest, typos and all. Forgive me and the zilch amount of time I got

Omg all the time I had to censor words like kill and dead cause twitter would shadow ban you:

This isn't a Writer's Thread, just some extras for fun! 90% of the NPCs in the Father's Day release were already characters I had on hand I'll share where they came from as they may not reappear. They're DF Fan-OCs btw so info in the source material is non-canon to DF and AQW

If you've been here a while, you already know the dealio. Most of the one-shot concepts I turn into releases originated as Drakath/Hero Fanfiction. This Father's Day release is different in that the story itself is completely new and based on AQW canon, but includes DF OCs.

Lord Reignolds was originally a side character in the "Frog Fic" iykyk its available to everyone He got a downgrade from Duke to Lord but his abilities as a Necromancer got a boost in exchange to fit his purpose for the Telease. The details of that will be in the Writer's Thread

Within DF (non-canon fanfic, remember that), was a real wuss during the Rebellion. He's too squeamish to ever raise a corpse, and preferred to live quietly and not get himself into any trouble with the new King because of how terrified he is of Alteon

His paranoia is a constant but in the canon of AQW, Lord Reignolds' conspiracy crazy room had basis in fact while DF OC Reignolds was very much off of his rocker

Also in contrast- AQW Reignolds was able to bounce and take Marigold with him before King Alteon could find out about his unlawful activities. DF OC Reignolds was caught by Alteon when Marigold was much younger

As Chaos has no impact or presence in DF, Lord Reignolds did not become a Court Mage so that saved his daughter a lot of heartache DF OC Mari is removed from her father's care by Alteon earlier in her life so she's more expressive whereas her AQW version is sullen

DF OC Reignolds family has an estate where the flowers are care for more than the people who live on his land. And Mari is a curious and active child that has difficulties learning in conventional ways, which drove her Father crazy and made the servants protective of her

Within the "Frog Fic," Alteon puts his crown on the shelf for a moment and makes a decision as a Father. He wasn't comfortable giving custody of Mari to another, potentially opportunistic, noble. Rather, he arranged for Lady Celestia to find a quieter place for her to be raised.

Maybe I'll save the details for AQW Mari for later, since it also goes with what her purpose was for the Release

Moving on to Edward Vaughn who is also a pre-existing character I had on hand who would fulfil the needs for the release. Rather than specifically Ed who was the focus, his family and siblings are the main antags of the "Frog Fic" Ed himself is a special case however.

First though, thank you very much for your kind words! I have a lot of fun with any space I'm allowed to write in, and I find a lot of enjoyment creating scumbags like Ed! Funny you should say no face though

Edward has made no prior appearances in works I've made public. It's his brothers Henry and Richard (who's naming theme is based off of the House of Plantagenet) that are more active than he is as DF OC characters. Rather, Edward is solely an AQW Legion OC originally

Edward's family in general are supporters and big fans of the DF Hero, but are more subtle about their scumminess and deep hatred towards Alteon and the previous King But Ed gets no mention. He was far less subtle, was eventually caught for his crimes, and lost his head to a mob

As an AQW OC, Edward follows the conventions of his family where if they lose their heads, they'll still come back He manages to crawl out of his grave as a headless undead, and falls in with the Legion through unconventional means. None of his peers like him.

If you have something he wants, like gold or a pretty face, he'll act similarly to how he was in the release. But unmotivated, he's a lazy lout, enjoys picking on people weaker than him, and disrespecting his superiors. Idk he, wears a basketball as a fake head during meetings

Worse yet, he's a powerful fighter but will jump ship immediately if there's a paladin, warrior of good, or sweet hearted cleric that's cute around. "Bye guys, I'm a changed man, see you never." 6 months later, Ed comes back, said things didn't work out, does not elaborate.

As for Queen Eleanor and Ophelia, they are also DF OCs which we will have to go back...omg 9 years??? 9 years ago I made my first Modern AU fic that, of course, was Drakath/Hero At the time, I was making up placeholders thinking DF will eventually show Drakath's history.

WELL! 9 years later and here we are, the placeholders are now part of AQW's canon. I did talk with Cray about this and checked in with what AQ was doing. Messaged DF devs as well but didn't get a reply, then got scared, and didn't follow up with them

I promise I'll pull myself together in the future for the sake of AQW's lore quality. Lore is not the same across the AE games but checking in with each other, I feel, would be beneficial to get a robust understanding of characters as well as learn from different perspectives

I'm getting off track lol DF OC Eleanor is the wife of Drakath's father but is not his mother. Her family is affluent, rich, and a favorable marriage candidate. Problem was that she was unable to have children, but couldn't get a divorce because of the public shame.

Eleanor is a name come back to a lot because I really like Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was imprisoned by her 2nd husband (King Henry of England) and set free by her son Richard the Lionhearted. DF OC Eleanor feels that not only is she her husband's prisoner, Dkath is too

(remember this is all fanfic area that I made a long time ago, not canon unless something is expressly stated in-game) DF OC Eleanor holds no ill will towards Dkath, actually has affection for him as a son, and adopts a shivering/angry little dog that reminds her of him.

AQW Queen Eleanor was also married for her status and wealth. When Dethrix I successfully found and made a Vessel, he had her k*lled and framed it to look like she passed during childbirth. That way, there would be less suspicion on Dkath's origins

As for DF OC Ophelia, she was a teenage runaway who was too ashamed to return to her awful family when she realized that getting by on $200 she stole from her mom wasn't possible Eventually she finds work as a maid for Eleanor, but runs away when she realizes she's with child.

DF OC Ophelia is a scared, self-loathing person that makes big lies about how amazing, smart, and pretty she is. It's a way to force herself to get to that level, and eventually make those lies true. Fake it till you make it. Unfortunately, she's very unlucky.

Anyone named Ophelia is in danger of that cause of Bill the Bard, doomed to unfortunate and lonely ends which is why I have an affection for the name. DF OC Pheli would be a tool for her parents to gain wealth, wanted love but was only given fake affection if she was useful

She believes herself to be ugly, dull witted, and clumsy. A lonely and drab wreck that you'd have to put up with instead of want to be around. Having Dkath was actually a big turning point in her life, she cared for him a lot, and her life was a lot happier for a little while.

Then Dethrix's men found and threatened Ophelia into giving Drakath up. She only complied knowing that Dethrix was going to pass the baby off as his and his real wife's son. That way, he'd get to live like a Prince instead of having a cardboard box as a cradle.

After that, she fades into obscurity, once again alone in the world. In contrast to Drakath, she's a noble person in the ways of the heart but is invisible to others because of her poverty and unfortunate situation in life No one will notice or care if something happens to her

Meanwhile, no one will care if something happens to Drakath because he's a pathetic loser (Affectionate) Anyways, me and my friends joke that Drakath is cute while his dad looks like he spent too long in an air frier so we attributed Dkath's good looks to his unknown mother

That's how DF OC Ophelia, and now AQW Ophelia, came to be as a concept. She originally was a woman with black hair and pink irises but for AQW, they're green to better show the blood link to her son.

Bill is a completely new character for AQW, and softened things for AQW Ophelia. In the original concepts, he never existed so Ophelia really was all on her own. He could have been named Laertes but that's too on the nose and noble sounding. Bill is more down to earth sounding

That turned into a long but fun thread for me to make

This is all early concept/fanwork stuff outside of the context of AQW If you read this far,thanks for reading and I hoped you found stuff interesting! The Writer's Thread with Lore confirmations will be up on Monday

#Extra Thread #Father's Day #Dreadforest #AQW #Drakath #Bill #Ophelia #Edward Vaughn #Lord Reignolds #Marigold Reignolds #Actually this is gonna be great to organize

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philosophicalconservatism · 2 years

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Response To Post On The "Transitioning" Of Children.

a greywlf

"Nobody is pushing"

Philosophical Conservatism

Let us be clear about the meaning of the word "pushing". Pushing does not merely refer to situations in which a child is entirely unwilling to do something. Consider the classic example of the sports parent. There are some children who take an interest in a sport and eventually begin to play in a children's sports league of some kind. But subsequently one of the child's parents (usually the father) begin to push the child even more in this direction. This is "pushing " despite the fact that the child was the one who originally expressed an interest.

In the case of the young child today who states that he or she is the opposite sex/gender, what we often see are parents enthusiastically confirming as a permanent identity whatever their young child reports to them, rather than at the most, simply giving the child space. The words, behaviors, and opinions of a parent significantly impact their child; while the child itself is often uncertain and confused about what they are feeling at a young age (which is why, as already mentioned in previous posts, the majority of young children outgrow these feelings when left to themselves, including those who are literally diagnosed) .

Yet today we see cases in mainstream media in which parents are "socially transitioning" children at the age 4, and legally renaming them while they are still in Kindergarten. And increasingly we hear talk of young children being described as "on the path" to hormone therapy and other treatments (once they are old enough), again indicating the expectations of the adults around them. The mother of Noella Mcmaher (a boy recently in the news for appearing on the runway as a child transgender model) was discussing her future plans to allow him to undergo such treatments later in life when he was still 7. All of this is "pushing".

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divinekangaroo · 6 months

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also, i do feel i genuinely suck at meta/analytical writing or explanations of my thinking/feeling, because for meta to be meaningfully read there has to be a certain clarity and precision in the use of words, as well as sharing of (or alternatively, unnpacking of) a very specific context and language between meta writer and reader. And I am not very good at this sort of precision, because so much of what I feel in consuming media and then sublimate and then write is actually, despite appearances, quite instinctual/intuitive and leveraging both personal and the media's context, rather than consciously considered and crafted.

(Like, reading what I've just put up, which is specifically unpacking one paragraph only, I'm still thinking ugh I've left a chunk out of my explanation which relates to the on-screen representation of Tommy's life, and of-the-time and some contemporary thoughts and stereotypes about the inevitability of criminality but also men committing rape specifically in both the working class and Romani people. So everything I meta-wrote about criminality/rape charge being of a concern to him doesn't really carry the dagger that it should unless the above is known. And there's also the fact that the weight of this concern is only one element related to one paragraph in the overarching fic.)

Which is why I think I like trying to write this more through fanfic rather than meta, particularly for PB which by S6 carries so much symbolism it starts using its own canon for that symbolism. In fic, symbol and story allows people to engage from their own contexts so the edges can be blurry, while the weight of the story itself still carries impact.

I do still like trying to write/explain/analyse, but I do feel I make so many mistakes in doing so, so if something jars in my meta I'm always happy to try to clarify.

#my writing

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parallel-awhite · 7 months

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#Slump #Lump

Slump at Lump Gallery / Curated by Jerstin Crosby based on conversations with New York-based artist and LabSpace gallery co-director Julie Torres

SLUMP. Some words do more heavy lifting than others, and I am rather in awe of the sheer tonnage this single-word title manages to bench-press, with meanings that cover "slack," "flaccid," "weak", "defeated," "pathetic," "depressed," "low ebb," and "doldrums" not to mention "bad posture" and "a period of time marked by failure."* This is a show that registers high on the coherence-of-curatorial-intention meter. A show with this title could have ended up as a zone of airless claustrophobic overwhelm, gallery as hoarder space, due to the sheer surfeit of potential work that could have been slotted within the “Slump” rubric. Instead the show is edited with drum-tight precision, each work positioned in the space for maximum flow and impact. This is a show that breathes. Good feng shui. It’s thus paradoxical: a show called "Slump" that is in itself highly articulated - crisp, concise, highly engaged and engaging. Go figure.

An overall note on influence: Mike Kelley's splayed societal/ cultural/ subliminal abjections have inoculated the bloodstream of the body politic of contemporary art, a tribute to the necessary-ness of that artist’s efforts, the validity of which is evidenced by the spectral array of vital and meaningful work that has been made and likely will continue to be made in its wake: artist as shiner-of-light on psychic detritus that has been relegated to the societal dust heap due to collective denial, blindness, greed or best practices. It is thus no surprise that much of the physical [and nonphysical for that matter] material employed in Slump is multiplex and often recycled, repurposed or reconsidered.

Raymond Padrón’s revelatory “Tube Sock” (2023), while made of painted wood (and not literal recycled material), embodies “that which has been lost or discarded.” The single sock that evades capture holds near-mythical status in the unwritten history of laundry. The highly visible tube sock reclining on someone’s floor is another well-known trope. I will add that while “Tube Sock” in its supremely casual and might I add believable pose [why not anthropomorphize a sock?] (as for said pose, I buy its slump-ness, its nonchalance, its actual real-life tossed-ness – it’s a sculptural tour-de-force) as Padrón has rendered it appears clean enough, I cannot stop the onslaught of sock associations, which include dirt and smell. This sensory response to a monumental relief work aggrandizing a single item of bit-player clothing is a win.

Another win: the placement of “Tube Sock” adjacent to Julia Gartrell’s indelible sculptural work “Rib” [undated]. These two works by two artists working within their own bubble of slumpness manage to converge in uncannily similar shaping and sense of weight distribution. “Rib” is a work that manages to immediately attach to the mind like a parasite. I mean this admiringly. Like “Tube Sock,” it is both hilarious and beautiful, surreal and gritty, utterly evident in what it is and yet also deeply mysterious. The premise of “Rib” is simple: a single boot [(the artist’s boot) that carries questions about and signals a uselessness similar to Padrón’s single sock] with a Ruth Asawa-esque reed basketry leg figuration that sort of floats off into nothingness – no body – tethered to no world in particular, to sudden, unexpected abstraction.

Bill Thelen's untitled limp wrist project covers much of the Drawing Room annex wall. These are interactive drawings based on photos people sent to the artist in response to his request for shots of their limp wrists. The project is a canny power move by Thelen – up there with the reclaiming of the term queer in the 80s. The visual reclaiming of body-language cliché epithet celebrates and recalibrates what has historically functioned as a denigrating trope of [specifically gay, male] flamboyance** by creating what feels like a solidarity wall papered over with drawing upon drawing of images of limp wrists en repose, i.e., held aloft, hand and fingers relinquished downward to gravitational pull. The works are not gender-coded, and they’re not color coded; they’re disencoded.*** There is an expanded iteration of the project as part of the exhibition proper, a single outsized limp wrist outlined in relief with woven embroidery floss, tape and pins.

I could write in-depth on each of the works in this substantial and generous show, which was appropriately allowed to inhabit both gallery rooms. But given that it’s the last day of the show and would be nice to post it with at least a few hours left – and in light of inherent limitations of the person writing this – will list the artists here:

Amanda Barr

April Childers

Bill Thelen

Brandon Boan

Celia Gray

Conner Calhoun

Ellen Letcher

Fred Smith

Jasmine Best

Jessica Langley

Julia Gartrell

Julie Torres

Maria Britton

Nico Smith

Rachel Bernstein

Raymond Padron

Skully Gustafson

Terry Hoff

Tonya Solley Thornton

A few final thoughts: As in the conundrumical universe of curatorial practice, every piece in this show held the potential to live within infinite other parallel universes of thought. The “Slump” mindset, however, focuses the mind like hunger – or a strong need one did not know held sway within until it was met. The clarity of intention in this show was so strong it felt like I was walking around the space wearing one of those museum guided-tour headsets.

Can I just add: Slump also works as a riff on the gallery name: Lump. I read this as a kind of evolutionary equation whereby Lump [L] = Lumpen/Unformed ∆ Lump + S/ = S/lump = Slump [SL]

And another thing: A slump is a temporary condition. That will at some point turn around. Hence it posits an undercurrent of hope. With the evolutionary outcome not being verticality or a *straightening* [aka devolving / attaining regressive rigidity] but some mode of as-yet unidentified [fluid] expansion.

April Childers / Brandon Boan

Bill Thelen / Maria Britton

Amanda Barr / Celia Gray

Jasmine Best / Skully Gustafson

Tonya Solley Thornton / Tonya Solley Thornton

Ellen Letcher / Lump Gallery (installation view)

Raymond Padrón / Julia Gartrell

Bill Thelen / Bill Thelen [Drawing Room]

Skully Gustafson / Skully Gustafson

Fred Smith / Fred Smith

___________

* I typically write about work before reading gallery copy and have only just now encountered a list of related salient adjectives supplied by Crosby, which are available elsewhere. However, the fact that there are few overlapping terms in the two lists underscores the fertile elasticity of the premise.

** A word that pings in my head thusly: [flimsy/ flim-flam/ flambé/ flaming/ boy/ buoyancy/ bouyance/ clairvoyance/ (disco ball) dance].

*** My text my rules yes I just made up that word.

#contemporary art #raleigh #gallery #art criticism #thought process #experience #slump #lump gallery

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singerj2002 · 2 years

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Bonnie Profile

So I decided that it would be best to give a little bit of background info on my OC Bonnie so I decided to make a little profile for her in my duskwood fic. I did get some inspiration from @03patrickstar and @lyon-amore for some of the questions and such and I have talked about Bonnie (and developed the Kratos family) with @a-little-theatrical-back-then so I hope you get a real feel for Bonnie and if you have any questions about her or about her dynamic with other characters please ask away!!

The Basics:

Name: Biote “Bonnie” Kratos (Davies) Birthday: October 13th Age: 24 Gender: Technically a girl but also isn't at the same time. Some gender apathy and a connection to feminity that is hard to break. Uses She/Her pronouns and also says Trans Rights. Zodiac: Libra Sun, Sag Moon Ethnicity: Jewish, Greek

Appearance:

Hair: Curly, Dark Golden Blonde that's almost brunette (Her natural hair is a darker brunette) Eyes: Her eyes are a dark blue-green and she has central heterochromia so there is a ring of brown circling her iris. Also she has big eyes. Height: She was born early so her height is about 5’1 Skin: Her skin is olive toned and she has freckles and notable scars on her knees, a scratch on her right cheek, scars and ink marks on her fingers, and a writer's callus on her left hand. Tattoos/Tattoos I Think She Would Want: Medusa tattoo, cat playing the fiddle, Artemis and Apollo with heads melting together, Sextant diagram.

Personality

Vocal Quirks: Talks very fast and sometimes in half sentences when trying to figure something out, Swears a lot especially when emotions are high (she has been the reason her niece and/or nephew’s first word was fuck or shit). She rants and goes on tangents a lot, especially with people she is comfortable with but can be very quiet otherwise. Selectively Mute. 3 Words To Describe Her: Passionate, Curious, Determined What is Something She should fear, but doesn’t?: Death. The idea of dying in itself, she has a view similar to the line from J.M. Barrie “To die will be an awfully big adventure.” She also views it as the one constant in her, many people have died around her and she has seen a lot of death, so it is something she welcomes with curiosity and wonder. However, she would prefer not to die young, but once she is old and was able to live her life and make a difference in the world. But also she would prefer to die by her own choices rather than anyone else's, so if she walked into a situation that she loved and happened to die she would be more ok with that because the death was made by her own hand. She also believes that what makes death harder is the people you left behind because they are the ones who will miss you and be missed. She doesn’t fear death because that is what makes life whole in a sense because it is something no one can avoid. She values life a lot and doesn’t like when people say that young people dying is a life wasted or things of that sense because they still have time in the world and made an impact on others whether good or bad, and that is much better than never living at all (kinda like ride the cyclone).

Strengths:

- She is an optimist and believes that there is good in everyone and that everyone has the capacity to do something good. - Is known for her kindness and curiosity for everyone she meets, because of this she tries to look at everyone with an open heart and will be as kind as possible. - Incredibly passionate about life itself and views it as this beautiful and amazing creation and wants to learn all she can. - Insatiably curious and adventurous, she wants to know so much and very little can stop her. The phrase “Insatiably Curious, Insufferably Bright, and pretty much friendless at school” from Peter and The Starcatcher particularly comes to mind. - Very resourceful and will notice small details that other people might not, which is why she was so helpful in the investigation. - She is incredibly loyal and would do anything for the people that she cares about, even if they have stopped caring for her.

Weaknesses:

- When she feels emotions or finds someone or something to latch onto, she takes that feeling and makes a home in it, she dwells in those feeling until it takes up all her senses - Tends to overlook red flags because of her tendency to try to see the good in most people which has led to situations where she has gotten hurt - Is a bit of a flight risk and has a hard time making long-term connections to people, she has manic pixie dream girl energy and has taken this to heart in a sense and has taken up this role of someone who comes into people's lives as a way to help them and then disappears as soon as she isn't needed anymore, kinda like Mary Poppins - While she is insanely kind and has a great heart, she puts others before herself. She is so generous that it ends up hurting her because she puts all she has into something and gets barely a quarter of that in return. - Very much falls into the category of Toxic Positivity, won’t let other people help her with her pain because she believes that it’s genuinely less important than what other people are feeling

Relationships:

Family Dynamic: I will be getting more into this in the fic but her family situation is right out of a soap opera it’s not even funny (it's actually hilarious) But the basics are that she came from a wealthy family and was the second youngest of 10 siblings (the youngest being her twin brother) and her parents were like Robert California from the office and Lucille Bluth from Arrested Development but since she was an accident she basically had to take up the older sister role and sorta act and the emotional core. However, when she was about 13 there was an event that I will be going more into depth within the story and was adopted by the Davies family and given the nickname Bonnie. There is so much more to unpack with the Kratos and Davies family and I cannot wait to show y'all that hot mess because it's hilarious and brings me so much joy and sadness simultaneously. Relationship Status: Technically Single, she has a habit of pursuing a bunch of flings because she finds the person interesting and wants to learn more about them. She is a little bit of a slut in the most loving way possible. Sexuality: Queer, she prefers not to label her sexuality because it's a lot to explain to people and it is very complicated and nuanced. The best way to describe it is being somewhere on the aromantic spectrum and pansexual. It’s honestly something that is very difficult to really explain so she uses the term queer most of the time.

Other:

- Autistic and possible also has ADHD - At first, she can seem like she is the epitome of the “I’m not like other girls” type but in reality, she isn’t like other girls but wants to be so bad because other girls are so cool. - Pink is one of her favorite colors, along with olive green, midnight blue, teal, and others but she can never actually pick a favorite color because all of them are so nice - Is catching her sweater on a doorknob away from having a complete mental breakdown - Cannot whistle - Can technically drive a car but has been warned against it, it is why she drives a motorcycle most of the time - Forensic Anthropologist and currently working on her masters - Theatre Kid in Recovery - Loves the shows Twin Peaks, Penny Dreadful, and Pushing Daisies - Comes off as responsible at first but is honestly pretty chaotic at times

#duskwood mc #duskwood #duskwood everbyte #duskwood richy #duskwood jake #duskwood jessy #duskwood dan #duskwood lilly #duskwood cleo #duskwood phil #duskwood game

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world-cinema-research · 1 year

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World Cinema Blog by Natalyn Wakeling

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - How my Perspective Changed

I was enticed to watch the Boy in the Striped Pajamas after I read the novel in my 7th grade class. This was the first time I had ever truly gained insight into what the Holocaust was and the everlasting impacts it has had on our society. I could not fathom how a society as a whole could come to the consensus of attempting to wipe out an entire human population. The morality behind this was weighing very heavily on my mind, which is why I chose to gain more perspective by watching the film which was released in 2008.

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When I first watched this movie, I thought it was incredibly sad and tragic, but I was too emotionally immature to fully grasp what had really happened in the end and what the movie was really portraying. What really moved me the first time I watched this film was watching the forbidden bond of Shmuel and Bruno so tragically end. I was young and this is when I was first beginning to understand evil in the world, and I believe that is why this film really moved me.

In terms of how this film performed critically and commercially, the reviews are mixed. On Amazon, the film had a perfect 5 star review from the viewers.

This is a screenshot taken off my laptop as I was in shock to see that Amazon viewers rated this movie so highly after seeing the feedback it received from certain critics such as Roger Ebert. He rated this movie 3 1/2 stars.

This was shocking to me because Ebert doesn't really define why this movie doesn't earn more credit in his review. The brutal plot line regarding human behavior and horrific ending are usually factors that would earn a much higher rating from a film critic.

Commercially, however, this movie appears to have struck pretty well with the viewers. From the five star Prime Video rating to the immense profit $44,083,403 was the world wide revenue this movie estimated to produce. With a 12.5 million dollar budget, this movie clearly produced a great profit.

In terms of how this movie became a commercial success, there are multiple factors to consider. One, there was already a novel that was well known before the movie, which advertises for itself in a way. People who enjoyed the story are going to be inclined to watch the film. Another way is the emotional impact the movie had on many viewers is going to raise conversation. Having a tragically twisted ending to a film is going to stay in peoples minds and creates a lot of word-of-mouth advertising. This movie could've reached even more people if it was not obviously advertised as a holocaust film. The sad reality is that movies on historical events don't always do commercially the best because there is a biased that these films are trying to be more informative rather than entertaining or potentially perspective changing.

It is hard to define this movie as either unconventional or conventional. It can be seen as conventional due to the story already being in a popular novel. Obviously this gave reason to make the movie a high budget and production project. However, the storyline is not one that we se of many conventional movies. There is no enticing romance, sex appeal, or insane action production that make up many of the movies that do strongly in the commercial aspect of a film. It is a film on a historical event which is much more difficult to market and expect a high profit off of.

When I first watched this film, it didn't register to me that this event was actually quite recent in the grand timeline of historical events. I did not watch this film until about 2017, but it was released in 2008 when Obama was just becoming president. From the release date to the end of the holocaust was only a 63 year gap. In my brain, this event was so inhumane and unfathomable that I believed it to be even centuries ago. It hasn't even been a century to todays year when the holocaust ended. Part of this film being released during this year could have had partially to do with the election of Barack Obama. Obama was an activist, who also happened to be very concerned with education, so it makes sense for a film like this to be released during this time.

Rewatching the film was a very different experience this time around. It has been about 6 years since I watched the film, and I have gone through a lot of life experience and cognitive development in this period of time. One thing I can surely say is that when I used to watch movies I wouldn't really extract the abstract themes that were being presented. As I said before, the first time I watched this film I had only scratched the surface of emotional depth it really brought. All I could remember thinking about was how tragically Bruno and Shmuel went out. While this is a huge part of the film, it is not the theme. The theme is morality vs society. Even in the midst of having an entire society telling him that the Jewish were evil and "hardly human", Bruno still had the moral compass to question the validity of this. However, Bruno isn't the only person dealing with this plight throughout the film. You can see the sickening effects the true intentions of the Nazi soldiers had on Bruno's mother. She also to her best ability puts her moral compass above society's beliefs. One of the most hard scenes to watch in the movie is her screams when she comes to the realization that her son was gone due to the actions of this society. The sheer emptiness and silence that is felt when the camera keeps panning back onto the doors of where the Jewish and Bruno were brought for their final moments is what really makes this movie memorable for me. Still to this day it is one of the most sickening and twisted endings to a film I have ever seen.

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A comment on a more recent review of this film said "Using the innocency of a child to convey the sad outcome of the movie is mind-blowing". This is truly what the movie encompasses for me is that this event in history tragically effected so many innocent people, and I don't really believe that is ever truly displayed enough. The simplicity of this movie really makes the message louder to me. Recently released movies often all have a Hollywood feel to them that makes them feel unauthentic. That is why in this movie the raw acting and sheer tragedy is well displayed without feeling too tacky or "Hollywood".

Even though the Holocaust is over, the theme of this movie is still relevant. Morality vs. Society is something that challenges our minds everyday. Just because something is normalized does not make it ethical, and we see this on smaller scales to this day.

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hirocimacruiser · 2 years

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Thoroughly sticking to the style... The current mecha style is just casual, but the IMPUL 733S has a thorough commitment and perfection to the running. The VIP & BIG boom that seems to have swept the world of aftermarket parts now is so powerful that it is almost impossible to open a new one. It's not bad to strongly appeal to the outside, but it's a car that's inherently "driving". It seems that the sedan boom has finally entered its second phase. For example, the Hoshino Impul Cima introduced here is exactly what it is. As you know if you are an avid reader of the sports newspaper, this Cima is the ORIX Ichiro player of the game gave me something. It's the same thing as a car. The Cima is not only decorated with aero parts, but also pays close attention to the suspension and exhaust system. In other words, the tuning that is absolutely necessary for running is often included. In order to focus on driving, the aero is quite modest... but on the contrary, it strengthens the presence of this car! In the current flow of aero parts for VIP & BIG sedans, when considering the uniqueness of the aero parts, the point is how much fine tuning can be applied to the car itself, rather than the appearance of the appearance. The reason is that even if it is a sedan, as long as the car is still a car, it should not change. I think that's the biggest keyword. Impul has done a great job of realizing this idea. Now, let me explain in detail how well the Cima created by Impul has been refined. "First of all, regarding the engine, we have made it original, swapped to a normal-shaped sports air cleaner, and replaced the computer with an original one, so from the point of view of an enthusiastic tuning fan, it is just a light tune. However, even though it is a light tune, by optimizing the intake and exhaust system and the computer, which are most effective, we have created an engine characteristic with excellent response compared to the normal one. The suspension that supports the engine is also given a sporty flavor that is typical of the Impul. It has been optimized.In addition, by combining this with the original SHIYOKU that has its own flavor, it promises performance that exceeds the normal. It has been subjected to the best fine tuning. Hoshino Impul IMPUL 733S Anyway, the commitment to running is what Impul can do. Whether the base is a sports car or a sedan, this is the part where Hoshino Impul's firm determination can be seen, and this is the design taste of Impul! It can be said that Impul has created so far a car with a shape that is necessary for that purpose. In particular, the car with aero parts is not only aero parts that individualize the design, but also the design that is necessary to run even if you go to Nishidai. The same goes for the light accents on the front. Originally, for example, I think that the design of the bumper is better. From the point of view of whether the design is extremely beautiful or not, it's not this, it's more simply beautiful, but it's just a rum with or without impact. However, if you say that it is a quiet mouth with a casualness, or if you talk only from where you look at it, the decept does not change at all for this Cima. Whether it was a truck or a sedan, the base car existed as a sports vice. It can be said that it is a characteristic part. The car released by Impul looks beautiful even at the first glance.This is good. Anyway, you can't miss the point that who treats it with what kind of values. The side and rear are exactly the same. Seki is adopted in pursuit of balance. In addition, while adopting a design to pursue the perfect body balance, the general idea of Impul is to respond with light like this if it's about to put a no

#Impul #Impul 733S #Impul Cima #Y33 Cima #Impul Y33 #Nissan Cima #JDM

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mightydragoon · 2 years

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Thought process behind SOAB and a bit on Amity Park and the Ghosts

Something I found interesting in a lot of Harry Potter and Danny Phantom fics is the lack of focus on Amity Park itself even early on ,we just immediately move to the wizarding world in England and Scotland. I have a time period where I want Danny and Harry to meet. (It’s 3rd year)

Amity Park is weird is not a new thing but the impact of it helped with the concept of the Blur/Glitch/Blip with how I wanted to see this weird ass town and how it makes it impossible for people to be detected for magic in both good and bad ways, just spiralled and evovled.

It was a simple thing and it would make sense but things and ideas just jumped from it and including that was the Witch community in Amity Park which I reckon would be a decent size, epecially in a country like America. All because I thought to myself with how big Amity Park is there was bound to be mroe than a few witches here and there. And with the natural blur in memories and magic, it was bound to mean there was people who lived or currently living in a place where magic couldn’t be detected and MAN did that have potential, especially for a future story and how it could connect with Canon.

But I also had concerns about how Danny himself and how he might appear OOC or Harry and the others. Like with his accident and him being MUCH younger at eleven might seem like a stretch at times.

So I decided for a complete rewrite but I knew rewritting it wasn’t the only issue. It was what I was going to keep, edit or just move on. We all know about Skulker and Technus and those episodes while fun didn’t interest me or I find suited the wider story, not to mention I already have around 103890 words for this fic currently (as of CH15)

It also meant any romantic endeavour will be held back on and rather trauma and other pyschological aspects explored upon.

Because of that it made sense to focus on worldbuilding and character development, which was partially why I wanted to do the rewrite.

I wanted to focus on episodes and build on character developments and story beats that would’ve been interesting to delve into. Like Sidney Pointdexter and Dora, since they had a friendship going in Regin Storm I wanted to incoporate in that early

Or in Sidney’s episode rewrite the conclusion and moral into something a lot more satisfying and fitting. Because of how hypocritcally the original moral was from both Sam and Sidney. Rather “Where do you draw the line.” Seems more appropriate, a warning, how far are you willing to go and where should you draw the line.

I also wanted for the ghosts to have a world beyond just Danny and their own friendships and dynamics going. We haven’t really gotten to that yet but we will soon.

It was one of the things I was working in during my hiatus too, as well as something I’m suprised hasn’t been even considered in regards to Ghosts and Harry Potter but just like the witches the Ghosts will have their own stories and lives to tell, if they lived them.

Along with any other potential Allies in the Zone and while a lot of time the mundane perspective might be ignored I hope I can do a storyline that might cover something a little different.

I also didn’t want Danny to purely just a be a hero, but just a kid trying his damned best to keep existing, keeping a bit more of his inital reluctance and is why he tries to make peace with his demons partially so they’ll leave him alone.

Since I am going to spend some time in Amity Park, I also wanted to show a world beyond Hogwarts and use Amity Park as means to do so with its secret witch community. I have no plans of them overshadowing the main cast, rather I want them to show a different perspective and story beyond what is known. Along with the different ways magic can be seen and viewed.

Like Felicia Corey for instance as a magical leader, she’s not Dumbledore but she is a foil in ways not obvious yet. She honestly could have gone onto greener pastures due to her talent and abilities, but because of her connection and dedication to Amity Park, she stays for the people and her duty there. She just an unoffical secret Mayor who helps people with their day to day business, is in her 70s and is herself helpless depsite her power in the face of many of the ghosts.

Or Ovid Baines just a guy who escaped the war in Britian and is just trying his best to be a music teacher and secretly teach kids in secret about magic, despite the limitations.

Point is I want to enhance but not completely overwhelm or bog down the place with OCs nor creating them simply to make them centre stage. There will be interludes with them but they are there simply to build ideas and introduce future plot elements.

#soab #storms of a butterfly #my fics #my post #not an ask but technically yes #my posts #my work #My writing #Danny Phantom #dp #writing #my writings #harry potter #hp #dp au #dp and hp #crossover #my stuff

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bisamwilson · 2 years

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hi mak!! ✨️🦋💭💛 for the ask game <33

hi a!!! thanks for the ask, dear <3

(from this list)

✨️ Out of the comments you’ve received on your fics, what are two or three of your favorites?

a few of them are actually yours, a, but one of my favorites in particular that i like to reread on bad days is from i slithered here from eden (just to sit outside your door)

I needed several breaks reading this. It left me breathless more than once, gorgeously written as it is.

just like. the idea of my words/thoughts/ideas/etc having that much of an effect on a reader (especially when said reader is also an author i really admire <3) made me very happy and proud of myself

another comment from someone else on that same fic included:

Damn, this really might be one of the best fics I’ve read.

and

And it’s leaving me wistful for a love like theirs.

which like, what an HONOR to have both of those sentences written to me. i almost cried when i read that first line

another one of my personal favorites from la vie en rose:

Sooooo after reading this for like the 100th time, I finally decided to log in for the first time in forever and leave my first comment on AO3 (gonna change that from now on!), to let you know that, holy shit! I'm obsessed.

bc someone liking a fic i wrote enough to change their commenting habits and leave their first comment ever????? i was over the MOON when i got this email

🦋 Which character is your favorite to write?

oh, sam, so easily. there’s SO much there to explore and anthony mackie plays him in such a way that we know those emotions and feelings and memories are under the surface and so subtly expressed, and getting to deep dive into all the things sam as a character keeps hidden is one of my favorite things to do

i also really like writing clint as a side character, though, bc i’ve made it my mission to usually make him as much as a goofy disaster as possible to make up for what mcu clint has been in most of his pre-hawkeye appearances

💭 What inspires you and your writing?

other people and stories! i take a lot of inspo from other writers i admire and adore, and i’m constantly getting ideas from various friends on tumblr and discord. i feel like every time i watch/read a piece of media i’ve got some kind of fodder for an au, and so much of my writing stems from those places

💛 What is the most impactful lesson you’ve learned about writing?

i’m my own harshest critic. just because i think something could be better or i should’ve/could’ve/would’ve done something else in my fic to make it the absolutely unattainable idea of perfection i’ve built up in my head doesn’t mean my fic isn’t worth sharing or posting, because chances are someone is going to really like it, if not love it. the angel au is the biggest example of this, but honestly the princess diaries 2 au is also pretty high up there. i got so close to not publishing either of them bc i was so in my own head about their flaws rather than their pros, and now that i have, both of them have received so much love that i’m so grateful for, to the point it’s starting to change/has changed my mind about them.

basically the act of creation is enough in itself, and someone is going to find merit in the things you’ve created, even if you’re so far into it that you can’t.

#thanks for the ask a #<3 #ask #ask game #fanfic writer asks #livingincolorsagain

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