#Those endcaps were PERFECT

[pointycorgiears]

Speaking as someone who once worked in several Target stores, all I can say is the backgrounds from the latest episode are A++++++++!!!

It's like I was at work again lol

Even the shopping carts were accurate!

[fleckcmscott]

Frills and Thrills

Summary: A typical night becomes anything but typical.

Words: 1,398

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: This piece was inspired by the below behind-the-scenes photo; the cinematography of One From the Heart (thanks, Lawrence Sher!); and this very 80s song. No, I am still not looking forward to the sequel - but I will take a hot Arthur Fleck anytime. 😎 Please enjoy! Special thanks to @sweet-nothings04 for her help and support! A very tardy Christmas piece is on the way!

If you have any thoughts or questions, please comment, feel free to message me, or send me an ask. Requests for Arthur and WWH are open!

"That'll be $43.67."

Arthur counted out the bills in his wallet. Before transferring his three prescriptions to Groves Pharmacy - a brisk nine-minute walk from his Burnley address - he'd called for the beige and blue tablets' prices. With his lack of Gothamcare, he'd hoped they'd be cheaper than at Helms. "Disappointed but not surprised" was that night's journal entry.

He'd try the new insomnia pills first, get a fourteen-day supply of the other two whenever he could. See if a good night's sleep in the bed he was almost used to would encourage positive thoughts, lighten black moods to grey. After all, they'd improved since Y/N. Still there, still a teeter on the edge of an abyss. But with a guide rope in the shape of a woman's hand.

Leaving $2.41 in his pocket, he surrendered exact change. Took the white paper bag with blue lettering. Offered a quiet thanks and sidestepped from the pharmacist's counter.

Y/N waited in the cosmetics section, purse on her shoulder, a passive expression on her face. He recognized the creams on the top shelf, a flicker from when he'd shopped for Penny. The silhouette logo, the black label, the rounded corners of the jar. Anti-wrinkle Oil of Olay, then, when money was too tight, the knock-off poured into her Oil of Olay jar. His subtle subterfuge had gone undetected. Wrinkles continued to form in the usual fashion. He'd continued to save a quarter and make the swap.

As Y/N picked up a pink compact, Arthur slinked behind her to speak in her ear. "You're already pretty."

Giggling, she hung the rouge in its spot between concealer and cream foundation. "You make me blush enough already. Did you get what you needed?"

A crooked half-smile. "I think so." He entwined their fingers and started towards the exit, an attempt to halt any further questions that might lead to med and money talk.

Aisle three's endcap had an Easter display, a thousand plastic wrappers crying out for attention. Jolly Jack chocolate bunnies and Cadbury mini-eggs, pastel baskets and cellophane grass. The plush baby chicks were awfully cute, perfect the kids at the children's clinic. He'd jot a reminder to come back after the holiday, grab some plastic eggs and props at half price.

"My parents used to dress us up and take us to our grandparents for a picnic and Easter egg hunt," Y/N said, crouching to browse a set of die cut decorations. "Do you want to do anything for Easter?"

In spite of his mother watching a televised mass and sharing a bag of jellybeans, the day hadn't ever been personal. The Fleck household was anathema to miracles. Even with the miracle he was currently living, he had no desire to celebrate a victory he didn't believe in. "No. Why?"

"You've got a heavy eye on the Peeps - my little sister likes to put them in cocoa. And I thought you were Catholic. Or at least raised Catholic, with all the prayer candles and icons in your apartment."

The answer came firmer than intended. "Those were Penny's."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed. You wouldn't have hung a Madonna over the bed. I bet you weren't responsible for that ugly cat candle, either."

Snorting, he rolled his eyes, recalling all he times he'd dusted his mother's knickknacks. The sculpted candles were the worst. They'd developed a weird film sticker than nicotine stains, and grime stuck in every crevice. On bad days he'd been tempted to throw them out. On good days he'd care for them, because Penny loved them so. Inklings of whimsy in a life of indifference.

The never indifferent woman at his side rose to walk with him. Grove's automatic doors opened and they spilled onto the busy sidewalk.

Two blocks up, a light sprinkling began, lent the pavement a velveteen sheen. With each step that sprinkling grew heavier. From a drizzle to a patter to an outright shower. Puddles formed beneath their feet, threatening shoe seams with leaks. Arthur crumpled his paper bag, shoved it in his tan jacket's pocket, and jerked his hood over his head.

The toe of Y/N's kitten heel skidded past a pool as she hopped to the right. "The weather report didn't mention rain!" she cried, ambles escalating to a jog.

A fierce gust sent sheets of water sideways, whipped the hem of her pleated skirt to flash her thighs. Arthur looped his arm through hers, pulled her into an alley to take refuge under the canary, corner awning of Mott's Spirits. Cigarette smoke drifted from the crowd gathered along the storefront. Her wrinkled nose kept him from lighting up himself.

She gathered the collar of her wool coat. "Well, I'd like us to do something small, if that's all right. It's been years since I've celebrated anything, really. I want to put all that behind me again, like last Christmas. Easter Parade's playing at the Majestic this week. I haven't seen it but the summary sounded like you. A song-and-dance romantic classic."

How could he argue with the sweetness of her reasoning? That he was the reason she wanted to celebrate? He gave a little nod. "I think Tuesdays are half price."

Just then, a bell rang out, crisp and clear despite the downpour. A bicycle messenger sped their way, a dozen plastic bags hanging from the ten-speed's handles. Arthur darted in front of Y/N, sought to protect her from the incoming splash. She yanked him tighter, out of the menace's path.

But it was no use. Muddled water pelted the back of his trousers, liquid ice soaked through white socks. He jolted to his tiptoes, teeth clenched against the stinging cold.

Y/N bent to survey the damage. A groan left her, which quickly became a laugh. "What an asshole," she said, then laughed all the harder. The warmth of it loosened his stance, and he found he had no choice but to join in. She settled back against the shop's window, stuck out her lower lip to blow a damp lock of hair from her forehead. The lock remained in place. "If only I'd had my umbrella."

Neon light from a Gotham Lottery sign spilled across her face. "Winners aren't born. They're made!" was the lotto's slogan, and Arthur had finally found a winning ticket. Orange accentuated the tawny flecks of her irises, rounded the curves of her cheeks. A perfect frame even an imagination as vivid as his couldn't improve.

A drop trickled down his scalp, skimmed the side of his neck, sneaked beneath his collar. He'd caught Easter Parade on television years ago. Studied Astaire's steps, how he'd slipped a diamond ring on the leading lady's finger. What would Y/N look like, Arthur wondered, in a lace bonnet, its ribbons tied under her chin? A hat he could loosen while they kissed, hold as a shield against prying eyes?

A couple of swells like them would make a beautiful pair, better than any Vanderbilt or Wayne.

When his thumb traced her jaw, her full lips parted, as if about to ask for a dance. Dark brows raised, her pupils dilated, full of unquenchable life. The affection in them, the openness. The caring curiosity and eager readiness to accept all of him made him tremble. Her love felt like rain on his skin, and for once he understood why someone might sing in it.

He leaned closer, until her breath brushed his lips. "Kiss me."

Her arms wound about him in an instant, a sudden, welcome pressure on his ribs. He cupped her face. Guiding, following, bracing. Their mouths a messy collision of desire and devotion and dreams. Her frame vibrated against his, the pulse under his fingertips beating to the rhythm of his heart.

At last, a wave of giggles broke them apart. Arthur pushed himself to stretch beyond his shy nature towards the forward, confident instinct he was learning to polish. His eyes flitted between hers, a demure smile adorning his cheeks. "I'd like to make love, if you wouldn't mind."

The blush he caused so easily crept across her face anew. "Last one home is on top," she said, and pressed the tip of her nose to his. "Give me a head start."

With that, Y/N held her purse horizontally above her head and sprinted into the deluge.

~~~~~

Tag list (Let me know if you want to be added!): @harmonioussolve​​​​​ @ithinkimaperson​​​​​ @sweet-nothings04​​​​​ @stephieraptorr​​​​ @rommies​​​​​ @fallenstarsabyss @gruffle1 @another-day-in-chuckletown​ @hhandley80​​​​​ @jokerownsmysoul​​​​​ @rafaelbottom @ralugraphics​​​​​ @iartsometimes​​​​​ @fleckficgirl

[fbfh]

light up the dark [VI] - leo x reader

genre: mid adventure domestic fluff overture, romance, smutty lemony bit towards the end

word count: 3k

pairing: Leo x gothy!child of eros!fem reader

requested: very much so, yes

warnings: magic manipulation powers, feelings are hard and weird and scary, some innuendos, the phrase hot gusher out of context, the word dirty talk, trying to "proposition [someone] in front of two for one cookie crisp", brief credit card theft, jason thinks ketchup is spicy and gets clowned on for it, one use of the word lube in reference to mechanical lubricant, shirtless leo remember that one piece of shirtless leo viria art?????? remember the caption?????, your facade is beginning to crack, deadpan joke about being dead in space, making out, whole lotta sexual tension, brief mention of a boner, teeny tiny bit of grinding, getting interrupted, c*lypso

summary: after an extensive shopping trip, you, Leo, and Jason settle into your airbnb and wait for the others to arrive. Jason takes a nap, and Leo helps you dye your hair. You return the favor by helping him make dinner which leads to two things; a well timed boner, and a poorly timed visitor.

listen to: power and control - marina, 100 bad days - ajr, all I ask - adele

a/n: let's play spot the zack and cody reference within the first paragraph

also surprise the series isn't dead!! a shock to all but mostly me!!

as with all smexy smutty nsfw content, all characters are aged up to 18+

Standing in front of a wall of hair dye taller than you are should have been exciting. It would have been, except for the fact that all the colors were various shades of honey mist auburn. You really don’t want to have to make a separate trip to a beauty store for hair dye. Your eyes land on a firetruck red box, and gratefully, you realize you won’t have to.

“Perfect,” you muse, throwing it into your cart, along with the other stuff on the list you’d divided between you. You grab a few other things from the beauty section while you’re there; some makeup, eyeliner, a glass nail file, and a tiny pair of oil slick cuticle scissors.

Nearby is a guy a little older than you in a varsity hoodie and sweatpants squinting at a two in one shampoo label.

Perfect, you think, beginning to approach. You work your magic - literally - and within a few minutes you have his credit card. It takes way less time than it used to. You also didn’t have to smile and flirt nearly as much as you used to. You’re relieved that you don’t have to fake enthusiasm around rich douchebags the way you used to, and a new inky drop of fear begins to stain the corners of your mind. You can’t even bear to admit it to yourself, but you’re kind of scared. Before you can begin to question if you know what love is and if you’re capable of experiencing it without the influence of your divine heritage, you shove it all away. Not the place, not the time. You speed up a little, passing an endcap of candy, and knock a box into your cart.

On the other side of the store, Jason checks off items from their half of the list as Leo tosses items in the cart, talking along the way. Of course, you came up in conversation rather quickly.

“She’s… a real piece of work.” Jason says, treading lightly.

“You said it, man,” Leo agrees, sliding a pack of coke onto the bottom of the cart. Jason thinks for a moment before continuing.

“She seems to,” he tries to figure out how to phrase their dynamic, “not hate you as much as everyone else.” Leo laughs at the accuracy of the statement. He can tell Jason has something else to say, so he’s quiet while putting paper plates and napkins into the cart.

“Hey, Leo?”

“Yeah?”

“Just… don’t let her hurt you, okay?”

He stops for a second. He’s so lucky to have a friend like Jason, one that will genuinely look out for him, but sometimes people caring for him still catches him off guard. Really off guard. With no idea how to begin to verbalize that complicated mess, he takes a split second to collect himself.

“Thanks, man.”

His smile is sincere.

Don’t let her hurt you. Can he just do that? Not let someone hurt him? Especially someone like you. He’s only had a few long term crushes before, all just out of reach and only getting further away. Only one had amounted to something - not that he could call what he had with Calypso ‘something’. She certainly wouldn’t. He looks around, trying to shake off the sting. He starts to get that unsettled, itchy feeling when he focuses on stuff like that for too long.

‘At least I got some good stories out of it,’ he thinks, messing with the back of his hair and fixing his hoodie strings.

“Here.”

He turns around, coming face to face with you, holding out a box very close to him.

“Hot gusher.” You say softly. What? His cheeks heat up, pulse speeding up suddenly. He glances at Jason, who’s at the other end of the aisle asking an employee something. Are you implying something? Are you trying to proposition him in front of two for one cookie crisp? He’s unable to look away from your gaze, intense and striking. You couldn’t possibly mean what he thinks you mean. Your fingers brush and he’s struggling to find an elegant way to say ‘hey, maybe the grocery store isn’t an ideal place for dirty talk’.

“W- uh, sorry, what?” he says, laughing in an equally hushed tone, needing to make sure you meant what he thought you did. You glance down, then back up.

“They’re spicy gushers. I thought you’d like them.” the feeling is gone in a split second, the same time it took to arrive, and is replaced with relief. He looks down at the box, realizing he’d taken it from you at some point. He laughs at the ridiculousness of his previous panic.

“Thanks,” he says, a reflective smile on his face.

You realize how comforted you are to see him smile, really smile, when you catch yourself having to keep a neutral face. One of the first times your resting bitch face has been intentional. Before you can say you’re welcome, Jason comes back over. You hand him the card.

“Pin number’s 0401.”

They both stare at you, skimming the label of a granola bar, completely unperturbed.

“How…”

“Credit card theft.”

The logical part of Leo’s brain starts to speak up, telling him to raise his guard, that his stomach should be twisting. If you can just take someone’s credit card without a hint of remorse, who knows what the hell kind of damage you could do to him if he got closer to you? And he really wants to get closer to you.

“Oh,” you pull a small pop top tube out of your cart and hand it to Leo, “this is for you too. You know, since you don’t like coffee,” you trail off as he reads the label. Caffeine and electrolyte drink tablets, red berry rampage flavor. He looks up at you, feeling warm and… something else, something ineffable, at the gesture.

You stare at each other, eyes locked, surprised at the strangely intimate feeling stirring in both of you.

“What are those?” Jason asks, snapping you out of whatever that was.

“Spicy gushers,” Leo says, smiling again, “I didn’t even know they made those.”

“Hot mango,” Jason reads from the side of the box, “that actually sounds pretty good.”

“No way dude, you can’t handle spicy food.” He starts to protest, and Leo continues, “You think ketchup is spicy!” He looks shocked.

“Okay, that was one time! It was a weird brand and there was way too much pepper in it!”

You bite back a giggle at their bickering, taking note of how much better Leo seems to be doing and finding surprising comfort in their banter.

It doesn’t take long to get to the airbnb and get set up. You all dump your bags in your rooms, bring in the groceries, and shove everything into the cabinets in a reasonably organized manner.

Jason heads upstairs to unpack and call Piper, announcing a few minutes later that they should be here in less than two hours.

“Perfect,” you pull out your hair dye from the last bag. It’s not exactly the manic panic wildfire red you’d initially wanted, but it’s definitely better than nothing. You stare at the box for a second, then up at Leo who’s trying to get one more bag of chips to fit in with the others.

“Hey,” you say, just loud enough to get his attention, “do you… can you get the back of my head?” He looks at you, questioning, and you hold up the box dye. He smiles, once again noting your softened edges around him.

“Yeah,” he agrees, and minutes later you’re in the bathroom, adorned in a big tee shirt covered in all your previous hair colors. He’s staring at your shirt, eyes dancing over the swirls and splatters of color. It reminds him of a painting he’d seen once, unable to remember the name.

You shake the bottle, skimming the instructions again, then start speaking to him, eyes still on the box.

“Take a section of hair, about this much,” you demonstrate, holding out a section of hair, “rub in the dye like this…”

You hand him the second bottle of red dye, and he starts on the back. His fingertips start separating out a section of your hair, and you still, a shiver running up your spine. He hesitates for a moment, then continues, and you hope he hadn’t noticed. His breath fans your ear, and you can feel the heat radiating off his chest. Your lungs are shallow suddenly, squeezed tight like a bouquet clutched in a shaking hand. You find it almost impossible to focus on dying the front half of your hair.

You don’t want it to stop, you realize. His fingertips dancing along your hair, the glimpses of his incredibly focused face in the bathroom mirror, the way he’ll gently turn your head to make sure he didn’t miss a spot.

“Shit,” he leans back, hunching forward. You look behind you, eyes landing immediately on the spot of red dye on his shirt.

“Shit,” you echo. He looks back at you, waiting to see how he’ll react.

“Oh, it’s all good - no worries. I already have a ton of motor oil and lube - lubricant… machine grade, petroleum based engine lubricant-” he laughs, “stains on this shirt anyway. Don’t sweat it.”

You almost laugh. A giggle bubbles up from your chest and stomach, but catches in your throat. Before it can come out, he slips off his dye stained gloves, and tugs off his dye stained shirt from the back. It seems to happen in slow motion. In a mere moment, your eyes engraving every detail, every line and curve and freckle to memory.

There’s really no delicate way to put it; he’s fucking jacked. Deceptively so. You’re frozen in place, cheeks flushed. You suddenly wonder what it would be like to be wrapped up in his arms, held so close to him.

You snap yourself out of the thought, all of that occurring in just a few seconds. He leans past you, setting the dye stained shirt carefully on the counter, glancing at you intensely.

“Are you checking me out?”

You make yourself roll your eyes and turn away, replying, “I’m sure you’d love that.”

Angled away from him, you momentarily reprimand yourself, squeezing your eyes shut and mouthing oh my god. You turn back to him, not recalling the last time you had to deliberately keep up your aloof front around someone like this.

“So, are we finishing my hair or just gonna leave it like this?” you ask rhetorically, motioning to your half done hair.

He watches you do this, confirming his suspicion that you’re really not as cold as you let on. A smile blooms on his face, and he doesn’t think he’s ever seen anything as… cute as that.

“Yeah,” he replies, slipping his gloves back on. The things you do around him seem to mean more now. He notices the way your eyes flutter closed for a moment when he plays with your hair, working in the dye, or the way you still for a split second when he gets a little too close to the side of your face, checking that he didn’t miss a spot.

He doesn’t want this to end either. But eventually, your hair is fully saturated with dye, the timer on your phone counting down slowly. There’s still some dye left. He sits on the closed toilet.

“Your turn. Do me.”

“What?” you laugh.

“Yeah, a little streak - up here.” He leans forward, sectioning off a part of his hair.

“Seriously?” you ask.

“Yeah. Unless you don’t want to match…” he muses. Your eyes get this dreamy look for the briefest second, then you’re turning back to shake the bottle some more.

“I guess… I mean there’s too much dye to throw out, we might as well do something with it.”

It’s his turn, now, to feel the warmth from your body, your hands running through his hair. His eyes want to close, and bask in the feeling, but he refuses to miss out on the view of you so soft, so close to him. It doesn’t last nearly long enough for either of you, and much too soon you’re pulling away and throwing away the gloves and empty bottles.

By the time you finish cleaning up and throw out the garbage, it’s time to rinse your hair. Hanging your head over the tub, you let the water flow over your head until Leo tells you it’s running clear. He does the same, and you point out too late that he only had to rinse the dyed part, not his whole head.

You both laugh as you wrap a towel around your hair, teaching him how to do the same.

“Sweet, I’ve always wondered how to do the spa snail towel thing.”

“The spa snail towel thing?” You try in vain to fight another laugh.

“Yeah, you know… cause it looks like a snail, and they do it at spas…”

“Oh… my gods…” you laugh, exiting the bathroom and heading down the hall, “I”m going to get changed.” you call.

“Am I wrong?” he asks after you, and you bite your lip to stop yourself from laughing. He heads to his room to do the same.

A few minutes later, you’re carefully pulling on your top, when he calls through your door.

“Hey, I’m gonna be in the kitchen, come down when you’re ready.”

“...Okay,” you agree.

You check your outfit in the mirror. You can still feel his fingers brushing your neck. Your head tilts at the memory. Snapshots of him pulling off his shirt in slow motion flash in your memory.

You realize how much of an affect the last hour has had on you. Your stomach drops.

You can’t possibly be falling in love. No way. Not a snowball’s chance in hell.

You’re not the falling in love type. At most, you’d hook up with someone a couple times on the rare occasion you thought they were hot, too.

Oh, you decide, that must be what’s happening. I just think he’s hot. I mean, duh. Of course he’s hot. Did you see him in there?

That’s all you have to do; hook up with him once, maybe twice, then you’ll get over it. It’ll make his ex jealous, and they’ll get back together. It will go just like it always has. Then you can move on to whatever the next crisis is.

You take a breath, resolving to follow the plan, exit your room. You throw yours and Leo’s old clothes and towels in the hamper, and head down stairs. He greets you, and pulls you into the kitchen.

“I have something to ask you.” Your brow furrows.

“...Okay.”

He takes your hand in his, the other behind his back.

“Will you…” he looks at you, gaze piercing, “...be my sous-chef.” he finishes, holding out an apron, matching his.

You study him, a hopeful, surprisingly confident look on his face. His hair is still damp. You’re sure yours is, too. You wait a beat, before replying slowly.

“Yes. But I’m not wearing that.”

“That’s fair,” he says, setting the apron on the counter, “I will have to dock your pay for being out of uniform, though.” You let out a puff of air from your nose, biting back a laugh. He pulls out a skillet, bowl, and oil, and begins preheating the pan. You watch him pull out more ingredients, and begin to set things up.

“Right now we’re waiting on that,” he says nodding at the stove. You nod, inspecting a bottle of seasoning he’d pulled out, and settle into a comfortable silence.

He thinks back to the last time you had time like this - playing twenty questions at your apartment. A pit forms in his stomach as he remembers the conversation veering to Calypso, as it always seemed to. He shoves it away. Not this time. He steadies his nerves. “So, you want to play twenty questions?”

You agree, coming closer to him.

“If you could go anywhere, where would you go?”

Your eyes flick over to the clock. You have a solid hour, hour and a half before the others are supposed to get here. You stare at him, brushing hair out of his face.

“I’d be dead in the endless void of deep space.”

He cracks a smile at how on brand that response was. Your fingertips trail down to his neck, rethen shoulder. The smile doesn’t leave his face, not completely. Your heart beats loudly in anticipation.

“My turn. Do you want to make out?”

His head snaps up, eyes locked with yours, trying to tell if you’re serious or if this is another example of your distinct sense of humor. But he can tell it’s not - there’s something a little too close to the surface in your eyes.

“Yeah. Yes, totally-”

You grab his collar, pulling him in for a kiss, and leaning back against the empty counter.

His lips are soft and warm, moving gracefully with yours. You barely register that the first kiss ends before you dive back in. You angle your head, deepening the kiss. He plants one hand on the counter, the other making its way to the small of your back. You flick your tongue past his lips, and his grip on your waist tightens. You clutch his collar tighter, other hand moving through his hair, still damp at the ends.

You can tell he’s enjoying what you do by the way his mouth quirks up ever so slightly at the corners, and by the way he starts to harden beneath you. You roll your hips into his, and he falters, sighing, breath fanning your lips. Not quite a moan, but you’re getting there.

The front door opens before you can.

Leo pulls away reluctantly, very reluctantly, and turns off the stove.

“That was fast,” he says, panting slightly and still very flushed. They’re not supposed to be here for a while, still.

A tall girl enters the kitchen, dark strawberry blonde hair pulled over her shoulder. She looks between you and Leo with a sour expression on her face.

“Calypso,” Leo says.

"...Hi."

[zmediaoutlet]

How are you doing? What did you think about the final?

fam, I’m doing fuckin great.

Like-- okay, I’m just gonna ramble.

A while back I made a really bitter post about how, for me, Supernatural was already over. It’s no secret I think that I’ve found the Dabb years... trying. Individual things were fine but it seemed like the grasp of how stories are built and arcs handled and themes threaded through all of that had completely gone out the window. That, to be clear, I still think is true--there’s a way in which the thing that made SPN itself cracked in two, maybe somewhere in like... s12 or s13, and it never really recovered. I was so eager/relieved when they announced that they were ending with s15 because I thought -- oh, thank god, at least they’ll have a real endpoint to work towards. Then, s15 started happening, and it was so amateurish and terrible that I just stopped watching because frankly it was just a form of self-harm. I kept up with gifs, but that’s about it.

Last night, I went and dug up something I’d said a while back in our discord:

I was right about the first part -- and I’m so, so happy to have been wrong about the last part.

The thing about writing is that you have to make choices. A lot of what the Dabb Era has been is a lack of choices. Kill someone off but immediately bring them back; strip sacrifice of meaning; try to have your cake and eat it too. I’ve gotten actually-angry about it, to the point that I had to like step back and regain perspective about how this is a low-rent sci-fi show on the CW. But writing’s important to me, as a craft, and I couldn’t understand how it was going so badly.

The best thing about finales is that those choices are real. No matter what--there’s an ending, and this is the only ending it’s gonna be. With most shows/movies, this is fine--you watch it, you’re done, you move on. With rabid fanbases this can go very badly, because the various too-invested factions have been writing the ending in their head for so long that the choice the writer makes--no matter what choice it is--will be wrong and bad and evil, because in contradicts their expectations. (Here I remember the phrase: those are very nice receipts, but you wrote them yourself.)

What was totally shocking to me last night, as I was watching live (for the first time ever, with SPN), was how strongly and clearly and completely Dabb was managing to nail this landing. He made a choice and he stuck to it, and it turned out that here was the show I’d been missing, all this time. Here was the SPN I thought about when I remembered Dark Side of the Moon, or All Hell Breaks Loose, or Head of a Pin. It was fully invested in the two main characters, and it was generous to them, and it was generous to us, all at the same time. And all those actual decisions were backed up with the most skill the crew has shown in yeeeeeaaaars -- from editing to camerawork to acting to lighting, everyone brought their absolute A-game, when it seemed like they’d been phoning it in all year. (Except The Wig. I feel like I could write a full essay about The Wig, but you know what, I love that wacky thing too.)

What’s further shocking to me, and absolutely kind, is how open the ending is, too. We have an unspecified length of time between 5.19 and 5.20, and we have no idea how many mornings might’ve been just like that one we got in their sweet domestic montage. Look at all the story you can fit into there. Dean got to be purely happy, before the end. Sam was, too. Everything about the barn scene, which is fodder for a billion fics. That kind, kind heaven, where you can make it what you need it to be to feel right. The opportunity for those who need it for Castiel to be free; the opportunity for those who need it to let Sam have another life. Hell, Sam basically had a reader-insert fic delivered in 5 minutes, and you can fit any interpretation at all into that. For a season about stories, it was pretty shittily delivered, but somehow the endcap was exactly what it needed to be: a gentle, kind way to say hey: this is our story, but you can make it what you need it to be. Like that line in Fan Fiction, all over again.

And then--that ending. All I needed. A bittersweet singing joy to it. I’m just being hammered all over again by--yeah. It was just kind. For that, it was just about perfect. I’m not interested in quibbling over details or fandomite wars, and tbh it’s been depressing as I find out who I need to unfollow or even block, but I’m glad. My show pulled it off, inexplicably, right at the end. Very Winchester of them. :)

[ryqoshay]

Tri-Arame: Valentine’s Day

Primary Pairing Trio: YuuAyuSetsu Words: ~4.2k Rating: G, mostly. I’ll leave the T/M’ish stuff to your imagination... Time Frame: February of their 2nd year in high school Story Arc: Stand Alone

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Author’s Note: I couldn’t quite get this one done in time for the official holiday. I kept interrupting the flow with what I believed to be too much introspection, but I didn’t want to cut it completely, so I would write a new part to include it. And I still ended up dumping a bunch at the end. Que zura, zura...  At least it’s still February, so... better late than never?

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“Ayumu-sa~n!” a voice called from behind.

The redhead turned to see a raven-haired girl walking briskly to catch up, waving wildly as if it would make it easier to spot her in the mostly empty hall. Running would likely have been quicker, and her excited aura made it seem like she wanted to do so. However, Setsuna was a rule follower, or at least tried to present herself as such, so hastened walking was her best solution.

“What’s up, Setsuna-chan?” Ayumu asked, pausing by the clubroom door.

“I finished my book, so you and Yuu-san can borrow it now.”

“That was quick.”

Setsuna grinned as she reached the other girl. “It was so good I couldn’t put it down.”

Ayumu leaned down a little. “Did you stay up too late again to do so?” She asked, noticing poorly concealed dark spots under cendrée eyes.

Had the other girl really gone around all day looking like that? Ayumu would have probably said something in the morning had they walked to school together like most mornings recently. However, Yuu had made them late and they had missed their usual train.

“Uhm… maybe…?”

“Geez, what am I going to do with you two?” Ayumu sighed.

“Two?”

“Yuu-chan stayed up too late last night as well, working on a new song again.” Ayumu explained. “Then, she overslept. That’s why we couldn’t meet you this morning.”

Setsuna’s eyes sparkled in a way that made it harder to tell she was actually sleep deprived. “I can’t wait to hear it.” Apparently, her excitement for a new song had overridden her disappointment in not being able to walk together.

“That wasn’t the point.” Ayumu shook her head but couldn’t help smiling at her friend’s enthusiasm anyway. “You two need to take better care of yourselves.” Though she’d fussed over her childhood friend for years, over the last few months, Ayumu had found herself worrying over Setsuna as well, since both girls shared a few bad habits.

“Thank you for your concern.” Setsuna acknowledged honestly, something Ayumu appreciated as Yuu wasn’t quite as responsive in that area. “But I’ll be fine once I move around a bit more.” She made a few motions mimicking the upcoming practice session. “And before I forget…” She reached into her bag.

“Oh, what’s that?” Fluttering paper caught Ayumu’s eye as the other girl pulled out her book.

“What’s wha…” Setsuna looked down. “Eh? Nothing!” She dropped down to fetch what looked like a flyer from a local store. “It’s nothing!” She repeated, stuffing the page back in her bag. “Please forget you saw that.”

“Was that an advertisement for a Valentine’s Day sale?” Ayumu felt a little bad about pressing the issue that the other girl seemed desperate to avoid, but she couldn’t ignore the alarm that suddenly chimed in the back of her mind. “I think I got the same one the other day.”

Pink blossomed across Setsuna’s cheeks as she held Ayumu’s gaze. “… Yes…” She admitted after a moment. “But, uhm… please don’t tell the others, alright? I was hoping to keep it a secret that I was going to make chocolates for everyone.”

The tiny bells became a blaring klaxon. “Do you want to make them together?” Ayumu offered. “I was planning on picking up supplies on my way home today since Yuu-chan has to stay late on cleaning duty. We can make everything at my place if you want.”

The last part seemed to catch Setsuna’s attention. “Do you already have molds and mixing bowls and that kind of stuff?”

Ayumu nodded. “I’ve made chocolates for Yuu-chan for many years, but with exception of the molds, the rest of the equipment is fairly standard for baking.”

“That would save me the expense of buying my own…” Setsuna mused.

Ayumu tiled her head with curiosity. “You don’t already have…?”

“Oh, sorry, we don’t do much cooking at my place since my parents are often busy with work.” Setsuna explained. “We have a few of the basics, but nothing like the double boilers and such that I saw recommended online.”

Ayumu nodded. “We have those.”

“So, you’re alright letting me use your equipment?”

“Of course.” Ayumu smiled. “And I think it will also be more fun to bake together as well.” She decided not to explain her ulterior motive of keeping an eye on the exceedingly enthusiastic experimenter. “If you don’t mind keeping my own secret of what I’ll be making for everyone.”

Setsuna laughed. “My lips will be sealed.” She made a motion as though pulling a zipper closed over her mouth.

With that decided, the two girls entered the club room to begin practice.

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“Ah, here we go.” Ayumu pulled a few bars off the shelf. “I’ve used this brand before and it works well.” She made sure the other girl saw the items before she put them in her basket.

Setsuna nodded in affirmation but continued to scan the shelves.

“Anything in particular you’re looking for?” Ayumu inquired.

“The ones in the ad…”

“Oh, those will probably on display at the end of the aisle. Shall we check?”

“Alright.”

The two made their way to the endcap display.

“After I saw them in the flyer, I checked online and found some good reviews.” Setsuna explained as she picked up a few packages.

“That is dark chocolate,” Ayumu observed “so it won’t be as sweet as milk. But we have plenty of sugar at home if you decide you want to add some.”

“Alright.” Setsuna acknowledged. “Next up is bacon.”

“Bacon?” A new siren wailed in Ayumu’s mind. “Why would you need…?”

“Another reviewer linked to some recipes that suggested adding creative things like bacon instead of normal sea salt.”

“I think, for Valentine’s Day chocolate given to friends, we should stick to the <K.I.S.S.> principle.” Ayumu said the acronym in English.

“<Kiss?>” Setsuna repeated as a question.

“<Keep It Simple.>”

“What about the other S?”

Oh, right… Ayumu suddenly worried if Setsuna would take it as an insult. “<Keep It Simple, Stupid.>” She explained somewhat reluctantly.

“<Keep It Simple Stupid.>” Setsuna considered for a moment. “That makes sense. Love is complicated enough as it is, as shown so often in anime. And Valentine’s episodes always include some sort of drama or misunderstanding. So, keeping things simple is probably a good idea. And kisses are associated with Valentine’s as well. Yes, it definitely all makes sense.” She nodded, having reached her conclusion. “Alright, I’ll keep it simple.”

Well, that wasn’t exactly the explanation I would have gone with… Ayumu thought to herself, but if it works for her and keeps her out of trouble in the kitchen… She also found herself amused by how Setsuna always seemed to view the world through the lens of anime. Or idols. One or the other, sometimes both. It was rather cute, despite its absurdity, or perhaps… maybe because of it?

“I guess that also means no Tabasco sauce, parmesan or pickles?” Setsuna suddenly added.

“No. Definitely not.” Ayumu shook her head. What the heck kind of article suggested putting those kinds of things in Valentine’s chocolate?

“Hrm, I read the Tabasco or any sort of chili could represent burning passion.”

“Are you looking to convey burning passion to the others in the club?”

Setsuna blinked as though having just realized the implication. “Well… burning passionate friendship maybe?”

“Maybe Setsuna-chan is capable of that kind of thing.” Ayumu laughed. “But for now, why don’t we stick with the <K.I.S.S> principle?”

“Alright.” Thankfully, Setsuna didn’t seem too disappointed by having her ideas dismissed.

“So, shall we look at things to use for decoration?” Ayumu offered.

“Yes.” Setsuna agreed with a smile.

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“You know, I’m surprised you don’t do this with Yuu-san.” Setsuna commented as the two girls were setting up in Ayumu’s kitchen.

“Yuu-chan doesn’t have much interest in baking, or cooking, really.” Ayumu explained. “For Valentine’s, she just buys chocolate from the store.” She chuckled at memories. “However, she has actually made a bit of a tradition of buying the same kind for a few years now.”

“I can understand that. Traditions are fun.” Setsuna nodded. “And I had originally intended to buy chocolates for everyone this year, but then I got that flyer and it inspired me. I started researching things and got even more ideas and the more ideas I got the more I wanted to try making them myself.” She smiled. “Thank you again for letting me use your kitchen and equipment.”

“You’re most welcome, Setsuna-chan.”

With double boilers arranged on the stove and molds on the counter, the girls got to work. All the while, Ayumu kept a careful eye on what was being put in each pot, ensuring no extraneous ingredients were added. Thankfully, Setsuna seemed to be content with the items they had purchased. Perhaps the K.I.S.S. principle really had struck a chord with her?

Setsuna hummed happily to herself as she stirred her pot of chocolate before dipping in the thermometer as Ayumu had shown her a few minutes ago. “Oh, 31.5 degrees.” She announced.

“Perfect.” Ayumu responded, moving over to the stove. “Let’s give it a quick taste.” She dipped in a spoon. “That’s wonderful, Setsuna-chan. I hadn’t considered using dark chocolate before, but this is really good.” She smiled as the other girl bounced with excitement at the praise. “There’s a boldness that really suits you.”

“Boldness?”

“Here.” Ayumu held out what was left on the spoon. “Taste for yourself.”

“That is really good.” Setsuna agreed. “So, how is it different from yours?”

“Let’s find out.” Ayumu found a different spoon, dipped it into her pot and tasted it before holding it as well.

“Hrm… If mine is bold, then Ayumu-san’s is sweet.” Setsuna giggled as a thought occurred to her. “Not all that different from us on stage as school idols, don’t you think?”

Ayumu felt heat rise in her cheeks. “Maybe…”

“Anyway, yours is really good too, Ayumu-san.”

“Probably not as good as one made by someone like Kanata-chan.” Ayumu thought out loud.

“Ayumu-san.” Setsuna’s voice suddenly became stern.

“Eh?”

“That’s no good.” Furrowing her brow and putting a hand on her hip, Setsuna took on a commanding aura that made her seem bigger than her otherwise diminutive stature. It was something at which she excelled when performing on stage, but this was different. “You should have more confidence in yourself, Ayumu-san. Your chocolate is wonderful, and everyone will be grateful to receive it.”

“Oh…”

Setsuna didn’t seem satisfied with that response. “And I don’t just mean confidence here in the kitchen, by the way. You’re one of the hardest workers in the club, both academically and in school idol activities.” She paused for a moment. “Though I suppose I have read a lot of comments from your fans about how they think your bashfulness is cute and part of your charm. But they also appreciate your determination, so even they would have to agree that you should have more confidence in your abilities. Anyway, my point is that Yuu-san is going to love your chocolates. So will Kanata-san. And Kasumi-san. And all of the others.”

“And Setsuna-chan?” Ayumu couldn’t help a bit of hopefulness in her voice.

That seemed to throw Setsuna off. “I… Well…” Her hand fell from her hip and her brow unknitted. “Of course, myself as well. I just tasted it and told you it was good, right?” She paused again. “It’s not going to change in flavor when it hardens, right?”

“Not really, if we did things right, which it looks like we did. It won’t have as strong a smell when it’s solid, but it will still be good.” Ayumu assured with a chuckle. “Some of the toppings and decorations we’ll add in a bit will compliment things, but the chocolate itself will remain essentially the same as it now.”

“Oh, alright, that’s good.”

“Shall we get this stuff in the molds before it hardens in the pot?”

Setsuna nodded in agreement and the two began the next phase of their project.

“So, how long will these take to cool so we can reuse the molds?” Setsuna asked as she set a tray in the fridge.

“Reuse?”

“For the next batch.”

Ayumu realized that Setsuna still had several bars of unused chocolate. “How many were you planning on making?”

“I wanted to make some for the student counsel as well. And one more.”

“One more?”

“Is that the biggest mold you have?” Setsuna indicated one far larger than the others.

“I think so.” Ayumu picked up the tray in question. She had not personally ever used it for chocolate due to its size, rather for baking small cakes or cookies. “Who would this be for?” As soon as the question left her mouth, she began dreading the answer.

“Oh, uhm…” Pink dusted Setsuna’s cheeks. “I wanted to make a special one for Yuu-san” Ayumu’s breath hitched. Of course it would be for… “and Ayumu-san.” Oh… “If you two don’t mind sharing, of course.”

“No… that’s fine…” A different type of regret crept through Ayumu’s mind.

“I consider you two my best friends.” Setsuna admitted, glancing away somewhat sheepishly. “Of course I cherish the friendships I’ve made with the others in the club, but you two are different, and I wanted to do something different to show that. I actually had you two in mind when I first considered making all these.” She looked up. “Sorry for spoiling the surprise, but I guess that was inevitable when I agreed to come here for this project.”

“Well, it will still be a surprise for Yuu-chan.” Ayumu offered, as she attempted to suppress her unease.

“That’s true.” Setsuna agreed. “I hope you two like it.”

“I’ve already tasted it, so you already know what I think.” Ayumu pointed out.

Setsuna grinned as her usual cheerfulness came back on the rise. And as was often the case, her smile was contagious, so Ayumu couldn’t help returning one of her own, which made her feel better as well.

“Alright, let’s prepare some of the decorations while the first batch cools.” Ayumu said, moving over to the counter.

“Right.” Setsuna agreed as she followed.

----------

“Good morning, Yuu-chan.” Ayumu greeted her childhood friend on the other balcony.

“Mornin’ Ayumu…” Yuu yawned in return, rubbing at her eyes.

“Another late night?”

“Mmm…”

“What am I going to do with you two?” Ayumu sighed.

“Mm? Two?”

Huh, déjà vu. “Setsuna-chan stayed up too late the other night finishing her book.”

Yuu’s eyes lit up. “Oh, she said she was going to let us borrow it when she was done.”

“She gave it to me already.” Ayumu explained. “I’ll let you have it this weekend when it doesn’t matter as much if you stay up too late.”

Yuu pouted and Ayumu couldn’t help laughing lightly at the adorable reaction.

“Anyway, it’s good you’re up in time today. Setsuna-chan and I worked hard yesterday and want to give you your gifts as soon as possible.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. One sec…” Yuu turned as if to head back into her room.

“Just go ahead and get ready, Yuu-chan.” Ayumu called after her friend. “I’ll see you at the stairs in a few.”

“Alright!” came the response from the other side of the divider.

Not more than fifteen minutes later, Yuu came barreling down the stairs, buttered toast in her mouth like she was cosplaying an anime character.

“Yuu-chan, your ribbon is wrong…” Ayumu stopped her friend so she could adjust the bow. “There we go.”

“Thanks Ayumu.” Yuu replied with a chewing grin.

“Geez, and you’re getting crumbs…” Ayumu picked two pieces off Yuu’s cheek and ate them.

As if not even noticing, Yuu finished her breakfast and reached into her bag. “Happy Valentine’s, Ayumu!” She said, proudly presenting a package.

“Thank you, Yuu-chan.” Ayumu accepted the chocolate.

Sure enough, they were the same as years prior. She loved the tradition and as such, the brand had become one of her favorites, though she only indulged in it once a year. And, as per tradition, she quickly opened the package, removed one piece and ate it. She then took out a second piece and offered it to the person who had just given them to her.

“Mm, those are always so good.” Yuu commented. “I’d say they’re my favorite, but there is one kind that is better.”

Ayumu smiled as she knew the implications of the compliment, as if Yuu’s expectantly excited expression wasn’t enough of a giveaway. Thus, she reached into her own bag and produced one of the chocolates she had made the previous evening.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Yuu-chan.”

“That looks as amazing as ever.” Yuu observed as she accepted the chocolate. After quickly opening the package, she broke off a sizable piece, split it in two and offered one back to Ayumu. Same as the year before, and the year before that. “Yes, Ayumu’s chocolates really are the best.” Yuu said after swallowing.

“Shall we go meet up with Setsuna-chan?” Ayumu asked.

“Of course!” Yuu agreed as the two headed toward the station.

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“Setsuna-chan!” Yuu called, spotting their friend leaning against the same pillar as every morning since the three of them started walking to school together.

“Good morning, Yuu-san, Ayumu-san.” Setsuna bowed politely as the two approached.

“Good morning.” Ayumu replied with a smile.

“Happy Valentine’s!” Yuu cried, pulling out a package that looked to be the same size as the one she had given Ayumu a little while ago.

“Thank you.” Setsua accepted with a smile that rivaled the size of the gift. “May I open it now?”

Yuu laughed. “Of course!”

Ayumu couldn’t help paying close attention as the paper was removed to reveal… sure enough, it was the same brand. Yuu had given them both identical gifts. And that bothered… no wait, did it actually bother her? Strange. Several months ago, it absolutely would have. But now…

“These are really good.” Setsuna’s voice caught Ayumu’s attention again. “Want one?” She held out a pair.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Yuu replied.

Ayumu dismissed her initial thought to point out that she already had some of her own, due to Yuu having given her a box back home. Instead, she smiled and accepted the offer. Setsuna had melded all but seamlessly into their habits of sharing snacks so of course she would continue now.

“Thank you.” She said before taking a bite.

“Ayumu already knows, because she helped me make it, but I have something for you two as well.” Setsuna reached into her bag.

“Woah, that’s not just for…” Yuu started.

“It’s for both of you.” Setsuna finished.

“Oh, yeah, that makes more sense.” Yuu started unwrapping. “Still, this is amazing, Setsuna-chan. You put a lot of work into this.” She admired the decorations for a few moments.

Ayumu couldn’t disagree. She’d watched Setsuna pour her heart into practically professional level details. What she lacked in traditional taste, Setsuna more than made up for with an exceptional, though esoteric aesthetic.

“It’s almost a shame to eat something like this.” Yuu continued.

Setsuna laughed. “It’s fine. Eating it is the point. I hope you like it.”

“I’m sure it will be fine. Let’s see…” In a similar manner to what she had done with Ayumu’s chocolate, Yuu broke off a piece, but this time divided it into three. “There we go.”

Setsuna and Ayumu accepted their shares and the three popped their pieces into their mouths at the same time.

Yuu started to chuckle after she swallowed. “Looks like the brand I’ve been giving is going to be bumped down another notch.”

Setsuna tilted her head and blinked with a silent question.

“Ayumu’s is already ahead on my favorites list, but now Setsuna-chan’s is as well.” Yuu explained.

Ayumu found herself wondering about her own list of favorites. Setsuna’s chocolate really was delicious and Ayumu took a bit of pride in knowing she had helped rein in the adventurous chef so as to produce something that good. Also, Yuu was correct that it was better than the store-bought kind she gave. But was that all enough to edge out the sense of nostalgia Ayumu felt every year from Yuu’s gift? Or did it simply bring them both to the same level? Would she feel the same if she had left Setsuna to her own devices where she would have likely used bacon, Tabasco – seriously, what was her obsession with Tabasco? – paremesan, pickels and deities only knew what else?

“Oh, is that the time?” Yuu asked, her attention focused on one of the various displays around the platform. “We should get going so we’re not late to class.”

“Wait,” Ayumu spoke up before the other two started moving “I still have to give mine.”

Even though she likely knew it was coming, even though she had already helped taste test the batch and witnessed the decoration process, Setsuna bounced a little with an excitedly expectant energy. Ayumu noted how similar the behavior was to Yuu’s earlier reaction.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Setsuna-chan.”

Setsuna tore into the package with equal enthusiasm as with the first from Yuu. And like before, a piece was broken off and shared among the three before they started walking toward their school.

While her two friends seemed filled with festive fervor, something else held Ayumu’s thoughts. Certainly, she was happy that her friends were happy, and she was sure to smile when either directed their attention toward her, but something felt off. And not only was it different than what she had felt in months before, she couldn’t decide if it was better or worse.

----------

So, the packages of chocolates Yuu had given the other girls in the club had indeed been the same brand, but in smaller packages. And she had given Ayumu and Setsuna the same size. Did that mean that Yuu viewed them the same?

Ayumu pondered the day’s events as she made her way to her room to prepare for her bath.

Yuu had said, months ago, that Setsuna was not more important to her than Ayumu. And while Ayumu had trouble believing the statement at first, as more was revealed, she came to realize the truth in Yuu’s statement. However, that still did not rule out the possibility that Yuu considered the two of them equally important.

Thus, Ayumu found herself conflicted. On the one hand, there was the old familiar feeling of fear that she might lose Yuu to someone else… not that Yuu was actually hers, but… It was the feeling that had spiked in the days before the festival due to that misunderstanding with Setsuna and the same one she had tried hard to quash after things were made clear.

She didn’t want to be upset with Setsuna though, because as far as she could tell, the other girl had no intentions of stealing Yuu away from her. In fact, Setsuna had been nothing but honest and sincere in her desire to be close friends with both of them.

And that lead to the other hand, where Ayumu had come to truly enjoy the time the three spent together, often missing Setsuna’s presence when it was just her and Yuu. Heck, inviting Setsuna over to make chocolates wasn’t even the first time they had spent time together without Yuu, and there was no denying how much fun Ayumu had that evening.

So, did Yuu see her and Setsuna the same? Did Setsuna see her and Yuu the same? For that matter, did Ayumu see the other two the same? And if they did all see each other the same, what did that mean for them as friends… or lov…?

Despite there being no witnesses around to see her face, Ayumu felt like she needed to hide the fact that she was blushing at the thought of a relationship beyond what she already had with her two friends. And some of the activities that might be involved with such a relationship.

Certainly, this wasn’t the first time she had imagined such things between herself and Yuu, but it was the first time Setsuna had made an appearance in such fantasies. And Ayumu couldn’t deny that the ideas held an amount of appeal. Quite a bit of appeal, actually. Far more than she anticipated.

Ayumu leaned back in the tub and allowed her thoughts to continue meandering through various scenarios, several of which became more than slightly sensual. By the time she was finished with her bath, she was quite ready to crawl under the covers and fall asleep.

But first, she needed to send her nightly message to Yuu. After hitting Send, she was about to set down her phone and don her pajamas when a thought occurred to her. She switched conversation threads and sent a similar good night message to Setsuna. Then, with a smile, she placed the device by her pillow and finished getting ready for bed.

The two other girls had responded by the time Ayumu crawled into bed so she read their messages before pulling up the covers. Finally, as sleep started to take over, Ayumu found herself looking forward to the next day so she could see Yuu, and Setsuna, again.

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Author’s Note Continued in Followup Post

[isisparker]

In light of the “Game of Thrones” of it all...

I’ve seen a lot of people comment that some of the best “plot twists” are the ones that are either 1. planned and foreshadowed properly and/or 2. are stated at the beginning and thus creators BUILD up on the twist.

[bonus if the creators of said media also doesn’t treat their audiences like proper idiots for figuring out their game plan and instead celebrate alongside them for catching on!]

The new Ducktales reboot does both of those points quite well (and the bonus too).

And the way they do it can be summed up in three simple words/phrases:

“Whoa... Wait, what?... AHHHH!!!”

Ducktales 2017 does this method of storytelling and they execute it SO. WELL. [season 1 had so many Whoa... Wait, what?... Ahhh!!! moments but a lot of us didn’t recognize it for what it was until season 2′s premiere, as explained in-universe by Louie Duck, and then further expanded by Scrooge McDuck as a way to compliment why noticing things like that is a good thing, and of course Frank Angones, one of the producers/writers, essentially confirms those Whoa, Wait What? Ahhh!!! theories on his blog].

“Whoa” is served at the beginning of the arc; either a twist or a necessary [and impressive] plot point is revealed. Season 1 of Ducktales 2017 did that in the premiere episode by revealing the existence of Huey/Dewey/Louie’s mother, Della, in Ducktales ‘verse (a thing mainstream media didn’t necessarily know about, nor was it truly explored about in Ducktales canon except a mention or two in comics). Another Whoa moment happened in season 1 with the reveal that Darkwing Duck exists in this Ducktales universe (a thing that fans wanted in the original but it couldn’t be done).

“Wait, what?” is when the Whoa reveal is further explained or built upon, giving the people information as to what the Whoa reveal means to canon/universe. One of the significant Wait, What? moment in the Della storyline happened mid-season 1 when it was revealed Why/When/How Della disappeared from their lives. It was a perfect example of Wait, What? because not only did they reveal details as to When/How she disappeared, but how the Why affected the family of those she left behind. It explained why in the pilot Donald and Scrooge were estranged and somewhat hostile towards each other. It explained little details like how small Scooge’s piles of gold was compared to the original. It also had the consequential response of the triplets becoming hostile towards Scrooge once the truth came out (essentially the What? part to endcap the Wait reveal that was the Spear of Selene secret). As for the Darkwing Duck arc, the season 1 Wait, What? moment was them revealing that Darkwing Duck was a fictional in-verse TV show that Launchpad McQuack grew up watching and loving as a kid [there’s a LOT of meta happening in this show].

The “Aaaahh!!!” moment is the payoff, the results, the consequences due to the build up that was started by Whoa and laid by the groundwork that is Wait, What. Season 1′s biggest Aaahh!! moment did come at the season finale when they revealed that Della is alive and stuck on the goddamn MOON of all places! 

I also mentioned Darkwing Duck alongside the Della example because this arc was also a masterclass in storytelling for that particular Aaaahh!!! moment was handled in ONE ENITRE EPISODE in season 2 called “The Duck Knight Returns.” At a fan signing event, Launchpad (and us viewers) finally meet the actor, Jim Starling, that plays Darkwing Duck. We discover (alongside them) that a movie reboot is being made on the Darkwing Duck franchise. Things happen and the climactic reveal at the end wasn’t just the fact that this episode served as an origin story to DT2017′s reboot of Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard... but also an origin story/intro to one of DW’s biggest foes: Negaduck.

[cue AAHHHHH!!!!]

I honestly don’t think people hate plot twists or “surprise!” moments.... They just hate how some of them are executed, what it means for the characters, and what essentially you’re telling (and or how you’re treating) the fans.

Because when a plot twist is done right, when it’s executed in a way that isn’t a disservice to the characters/story and that doesn’t talk down or treat their fans like morons, you end up having people that will love and celebrate the story as much as the creators that worked their asses off to give us said story/media/art.

[novantinuum]

jen’s doctor who s11 review

On the whole!

I really enjoyed series 11 for its nice change in pace and especially the relationship built up between Graham and Ryan. I really liked how many of the episodes were lighter and kinda more adventure-y in nature than in past, instead of constant “the world is gonna end” danger. Like I love those kinds of episodes, believe me, but the lighter tone is very welcomed after many series of heart wrenching angst ahahahah! 

I loved how they handled the historical episodes this series, and really dug into the truth of human condition within those time periods, and took risks there. I actually learned a lot about the time periods they visited- for example, I never really heard much about the Pakistan partition in school. 

Thirteen is precious and I want to hug her. She’s so full of hope and that makes me so happy! :DDD I love how she’s a sciency tinkerer and likes cobbling stuff together out of whatever loose ends she can find. I’m still waiting for her to snap, though- maybe that’s just me as an angst lord talking, but I want to see her super super angry. The scene in The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos with her sternly disagreeing with Graham was very good though. But anyways, I love her positivity and her quirky alien charm, and her character feels like a natural progression of where the Doctor left off at the end of Twice Upon a Time. The Doctor has gone through a lot of healing since the Time War, a lot of self reflection and forgiving themself, and Thirteen is absolutely a product of that and it shows. It’s so nice to see them back on their feet, unshackled by that guilt finally, just wandering about the universe like they always did. 

Yasmin is so sweet and so loyal, and h o h boy if there’s anyone I can see sticking with the Doctor until the bitter end out of this crew it’s her. (*nervous laughter*) Out of all the crew she’s the one who’s had the least development though, so I’m looking forward to seeing where she goes as a character moving forward. Also, I hope we see her family more, I like them! Maybe in the New Years special, we’ll see. I’ve absolutely hit the “ADOPT KID” button on Ryan, the more I think about him the more I love him- just, all this time he’s been looking for belonging, for people who aren’t gonna leave him behind like his dad, and he had that with his nan Grace- but he didn’t know if Graham was gonna be the same or if he was only there for him bc of association with Grace. But now through all these adventures through space and time he has absolute proof that Graham will be there for him, and so he’s made the conscious decision to make Graham his family. And Graham, hhh... his grieving throughout the series, while not acting as a shadow on it, was always woven through and it’s nice to see both him and Ryan actually make peace with things through seeing Tim Shaw again and giving him his humble pie. 

In the end when it comes to this series, I love the strong found family vibes it gives. Graham and Ryan and Yaz, they all knew each other in some way before, but they didn’t truly know each other. And through being thrown together with the Doctor, entering her wild adventurous life, they got to grow closer as friends, but more importantly, as a family. The whole series the Doctor was looking for a word to describe her little ragtag group, and she wasn’t exactly sure if “fam” was the right one, but in the end it’s what she settles on because this has become a family. 

Now, what I’m hoping to see more of in the future! 

1) I’d love to see more extended domestic-y TARDIS scenes! We’ve got a lot of pre/post endcap TARDIS scenes, but I’d love to see more small little convos between characters on the way to their destinations, in between, etc. For as long as these episodes were I feel like so much time was spent providing exposition and story for the plot, but I’d love to see more fun nonsense. More glimpses at what they get up to in between, if that makes any sense. (As an example of what I mean, we got a bit of this in The Tsuranga Conundrum, at the very beginning when they were just poking about a junkyard planet, and I quite liked that.)

2) As the characters keep developing I’d love to see more conflict arise between them to test their friendships. We saw some good moments of this with the Doctor telling Ryan to stay behind with Hanne in It Takes You Away after he made a kinda narrow-minded comment about her disability, and when the Doctor flat out told Graham that if he killed Tim Shaw he wouldn’t be traveling with her anymore in the finale. I’d love to see more of this.

3) This may just be because I’m really queer, but I want the Doctor to snap and yell and get really angry at something. That’s the ONE thing that felt entirely missing from this series. In the end I get the sense that this Doctor has a far greater reign on her emotions and self because she’s healed quite a bit, but I still know she’s capable of that righteous anger and I’d love to see Jodie show off her full range with a scene like that.

4) We’ll probably get this in the New Years special, but I’m super anticipating Thirteen facing the Daleks. This is a quintessential thing for every Doctor, in my opinion, and I can’t wait for when they (hopefully!) eventually do that.

5) More of a plot arc. I definitely know the lack of a tight plot arc was because they wanted it to be more accessible for people to just tune in and watch without context,, as they’re gaining some new fans, but I hope that there’s more of a return to an ongoing series plot arc with this next series since everything’s been established. I personally really like those, because I get to be a plot arc detective! I will say that I’m very pleased that Tim Shaw was brought back for the finale, though- that acted as a very nice bookend and helped tie up all the emotional threads.

6) Also not exactly anything I can fault this series for, because I can tell one of the points/themes of it was “not everything is what it seems on the surface” and “sometimes the real monsters,,, are humanity” and I very much respect that, but I do wanna see some more just... alien baddies who ARE baddies and not misunderstood. Listen,, I’m a simple minded person. Love me some monsters! 

My rankings! 

For context, I’m generally very easy with my ratings. I’m not rating them on how critically perfect they are as plots or anything, this is purely based on how much I enjoyed them. I’ve only actually rated nine episodes of Doctor Who 2005-present with scores of 6 or below.

10- Absolutely SUPERB  9- Excellent! 8- Great! 7- Good 6- Okay

1) Demons of the Punjab    (10) This ep made me cry more than any episode of Doctor Who has in a very long time. Incredibly poignant, stunning music and cinematography. Taught me a whole lot I never knew about the partition and how it affected everyday people. I liked how the Doctor assumed the whole time that these aliens were  A good Yaz centric ep, too. It ranks 7th in my list of all-time favorites.  

2) It Takes You Away   (9.5) Wowee, another very poignant one! Some FANTASTIC acting from Jodie in this ep, and a very trippy concept with the sentient universe. Loved getting to see each companion getting a good role to play. ALSO CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH I STAN THAT FROG??? AND THE DOCTOR SEDUCING AN ENTIRE UNIVERSE???? B R U H. Hanne’s actress did a wonderful job too! 

3) Kerblam!   (9) What a heckin fun episode! This one will definitely become one of my comfort eps, I can already tell. The secondary characters were all lovely, and the bots were delightfully unsettling too! I spent the whole thing going “wow I totally experienced this working at Amazon” and I thought that was pretty funny. Also, I might highlight all the wonderful Graham snark we got in this one. 

4) Rosa    (9) Gahhh this was a hard one to watch, but very truthful in its depiction of the time period, and a lovely tribute to an incredibly courageous woman. Shout out to how the ep forced Graham to recognize and accept his white privilege (and the Doctor too for that matter), the scene with Ryan and Yaz discussing racism they’ve had to endure, and also for the scene with the Doctor making jokes about Banksy. That made me laugh. “Banksy doesn’t have one of these! Or do I?”

5) The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos    (9) I was VERY glad to see Tim Shaw return for some finished business, and how it allowed Graham and Ryan to finally get a bit of peace for what happened to Grace because of him. This was a solid ep, with some SOLID character moments between Graham and the Doctor and Graham and Ryan. The Ux were interesting, too.

6) The Woman Who Fell to Earth    (8.5) Solid, fun episode. It wastes no time in setting up who Thirteen will be. Still one of my favorite scenes in this whole series so far is when she builds her own sonic screwdriver- GOD the music there is so damn iconic. And gahhh I love Grace so much. How dare they make me love a character so much and then let her die? Rude. That’s homophobia. XD

7) The Witchfinders   (8.5) The Doctor gets dunked in water and has soaked hair. Dare I say more? No, but I was glad to see an ep with an alien danger that actually IS an alien danger that seeks to destroy and conquer, I always love those- and this one, with weird sentient mud that can fill corpses, was delightfully grim. Willow was a great secondary character, too- loved her especially. 8) The Ghost Monument   (8) Okay so I really loved how slice-of-life this episode was? We actually got to know our secondary characters Angstrom and Epzo and I appreciated that. The bit with the Doctor thinking the TARDIS was gone forever at the end... hhhhhhng... that was such a good scene. You could just see the hope drained from her face, and then to see it all rush back as she finally found her?? W o w I’m so emo, y’all ;D;

9) The Tsuranga Conundrum  (7) So I enjoyed this one, but there were some kinda oddly phrased bits of dialogue in it that marks it down for me. The Pting is a delightfully weird and cursed creature, 10/10, would yeet out of a spacecraft. I already mentioned this, but I LOVE the scene in the junkyard and how slice-of-life it was. I also appreciate how someone called out the Doctor on being selfish during this. 10) Arachnids in the UK   (6.5) So this episode was riding right on the edge of “ehh” for me, but it still has some great moments in it, with the Doctor awkwardly interacting with Yasmin’s family and all those heckin spiders bee-boppin down the hallways to the tune of rap music. XD I can’t exactly pick out why it was an “eh” for me, but it just didn’t click. Maybe I was just hoping it’d be an alien thing and was kinda left wanting with the way the episode felt kinda... unfinished. Like, there’s still a bunch of giant spiders? They didn’t solve that. They just- trapped them and left. I dunno I was left wanting with this ep.

[spaceexp]

NASA Twins Study Confirms Preliminary Findings

ISS - The Twins Study patch. Feb. 1, 2018 The Twin Study propelled NASA into the genomics era of space travel. It was a ground-breaking study comparing what happened to astronaut Scott Kelly, in space, to his identical twin brother, Mark, who remained on Earth. The perfect nature versus nurture study was born. The Twins Study brought ten research teams from around the country together to accomplish one goal: discover what happens to the human body after spending one year in space. NASA has a grasp on what happens to the body after the standard-duration six-month missions aboard the International Space Station, but Scott Kelly’s one-year mission is a stepping stone to a three-year mission to Mars.

Image above: Identical twin astronauts, Scott and Mark Kelly, are subjects of NASA’s Twins Study. Scott (right) spent a year in space while Mark (left) stayed on Earth as a control subject. Researchers looked at the effects of space travel on the human body. Credit: NASA. Image Credit: NASA. If the results of the Twins Study are like a play, Act 1 began at NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) 2017 Investigators’ Workshop (IWS), where the ten teams presented their preliminary findings. Reports included data on what happened to Scott Kelly, physiologically and psychologically, while he was in space, and compared the data to Mark Kelly, as a control subject on Earth. The 2018 IWS is Act 2, where findings from 2017 were corroborated, with some additions. Researchers also presented what happened to Scott after he returned to Earth, again while making comparisons to Mark. Act 3 will be debuted later in 2018 when an integrated summary publication is expected to be released. By measuring large numbers of metabolites, cytokines, and proteins, researchers learned that spaceflight is associated with oxygen deprivation stress, increased inflammation, and dramatic nutrient shifts that affect gene expression. After returning to Earth, Scott started the process of readapting to Earth’s gravity. Most of the biological changes he experienced in space quickly returned to nearly his preflight status. Some changes returned to baseline within hours or days of landing, while a few persisted after six months. Scott’s telomeres (endcaps of chromosomes that shorten as one ages) actually became significantly longer in space. While this finding was presented in 2017, the team verified this unexpected change with multiple assays and genomics testing. Additionally, a new finding is that the majority of those telomeres shortened within two days of Scott’s return to Earth.

Image above: The Twins Study Investigators came from around the country to meet and share their final research results at the annual Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop held in Galveston, Texas. Image Credit: NASA. Another interesting finding concerned what some call the “space gene��, which was alluded to in 2017. Researchers now know that 93% of Scott’s genes returned to normal after landing. However, the remaining 7% point to possible longer term changes in genes related to his immune system, DNA repair, bone formation networks, hypoxia, and hypercapnia. Increasing mission duration from the typical six-month ISS mission to one year resulted in no significant decreases in Scott’s cognitive performance while inflight and relative to his twin brother Mark on the ground. However, a more pronounced decrease in speed and accuracy was reported postflight, possibly due to re-exposure and adjustment to Earth’s gravity, and the busy schedule that enveloped Scott after his mission. For additional detail on preliminary findings, visit NASA Twins Study Investigators to Release Integrated Paper in 2018. All of these findings are being integrated and summarized by the research teams; researchers are also evaluating the possible impact that these findings will have on future space travel beyond low Earth orbit. The next step for Twins Study investigators is Act 3, as referenced above. An integrated summary paper will be published later this year. A series of smaller papers grouped by related research areas will also be released.

Image above: Graphic illustration of the path the individual Twins Study research takes from research to integration to one summary paper to several companion papers. Image Credit: NASA. The Twins Study has benefited NASA by providing the first application of genomics to evaluate potential risks to the human body in space. The NASA Twins Study also presented a unique opportunity for investigators to collaborate, participating in a team approach to HRP research. Observations guide development of future hypotheses. Research from the landmark Twins Study will inform NASA’s Human Research Program studies for years to come, as NASA continues to prioritize the health and safety of astronauts on spaceflight missions. NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) is dedicated to discovering the best methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. HRP enables space exploration by reducing the risks to astronaut health and performance using ground research facilities, the International Space Station, and analog environments. This leads to the development and delivery of an exploration biomedical program focused on: informing human health, performance, and habitability standards; the development of countermeasures and risk mitigation solutions; and advanced habitability and medical support technologies. HRP supports innovative, scientific human research by funding more than 300 research grants to respected universities, hospitals, and NASA centers to over 200 researchers in more than 30 states. Related links: Twins Study: https://www.nasa.gov/twins-study NASA Twins Study Investigators to Release Integrated Paper in 2018: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-twins-study-investigators-to-release-integrated-paper-in-2018 Human Research Program: http://www.nasa.gov/hrp Journey to Mars: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/index.html Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Timothy Gushanas/Human Research Program/Monica Edwards/Laurie Abadie. Best regards, Orbiter.ch Full article

[cloudydreamforecast]

Swing Away: Partial Draft (01/21)

“Your destination is ahead on the right,” chimed the artificial British woman living inside the dashboard. The dry, dusty summer heat hung heavy upon the nondescript strip mall. The sun was beginning to set, but the heat lingered as Howard and Jann Becker haphazardly parked their Range Rover. Only ¾ of the car landed with space. 

“Fuck, I’m so excited for this party. It’s Jerry’s dirty thirty! We’ve gotta make it as trashy as humanly possible,” shouted Howard, trying to make himself heard over the trunk-rattling bass. 

“Don’t worry, it’s gonna be ridiculous. My friend Cindy told me about this dollar store a couple weeks back, she said it’s just… weird and cringey and perfect. Do you wanna kill this?” Jann replied, offering the her husband the butt of their shared cigarette.

Howard shooed away the smoke and got out of the car. He surveyed the shopping center and thought to himself, ‘Wow, what a dump.’ Only about half of the storefronts had signage, only about half of those signs appeared to be working, and the remaining shops windows had been boarded up and covered in graffiti, ranging from hearts containing names to blatant hate speech.

The couple approached the shop, aptly named BuckAPop. “Doesn’t look all that weird to me,” said Howard, “just like any other dollar store really. I wonder if it’s one of those dollar stores where things are actually a dollar or if it’s just cheap.” Jann opened the door and gestured towards her husband, bowing overdramatically. She followed him into the shop and they both stood there, dumbfounded.

“It’s…  perfect,” they exhaled in unison.

The shop lived up to Cindy’s recommendation. Every corner, shelf and display seemed to be covered in cobwebs, both the fake kind used as halloween decorations and legitimate indicators of disrepair.  Every single fluorescent bulb flickered, suggesting that at any second, someone wearing a mask could jump and slit your throat. The security cameras were hopelessly outdated, not the little black domes so commonplace these days, but the kind that resembled home camcorders and the wires showed visible fraying. Despite the state of decay that appeared to consume the entire shop, the shelves were completely stocked and to answer Howards question; yes, everything cost 1 dollar. Perhaps most concerning was the fact there did not seem to be a soul inhabiting the establishment. The silence was palpable and the couple wouldn’t be surprised to see a tumbleweed rolling down the isles. 

Howard and Jann smiled wide, grabbed a cart, and began strolling through the store. Streamers and a pink birthday banner: check. Tiny party hats: check. Snap-on bracelets: check. Toys vaguely resembling the most recent marvel films: check. Kazoos that unfurl and other assorted noise makers: check. 3 liter bottles of generic soda, oversalted potato chips that cut in the inside of your mouth, and ripoff Girl Scout cookies: check, check, and check. Quickly their cart began to fill with all the necessary accessories for a trashy birthday party, but they felt that something was still missing. Then, they saw it.

At the back corner of the store, near the small tubs of laundry detergent and bundles of hangers, was a barren endcap. Top shelves, empty. Bottom shelves, empty. Yet, there at the center, sat a pinata. If you pictured a pinata in you mind, this is what you would see. In the shape of a donkey, or perhaps a llama, with a color scheme consisting of pink, blue and yellow pastels. 

“Holy shit. This is the icing on the cake. A pinata! And from a dollar store no less, so I’m sure the candy inside is garbage,” said Howard with a chuckle under his voice. “I think that’s it then, yeah?”

“We can probably call it. With this and the REAL party favors at the house, I’d say we’re ready to go babe,” Jann answered as she pushed their overflowing cart up to the cash register. Still, no one was there. No staff, no other customers, not even an aesthetically fitting cockroach. There was a small bell on the checkout counter with a sticky note affixed that read ‘RING THREE TIMES FOR SERVICE’. 

“Are you fucking kidding me? This place doesn’t cease to amaze,” laughed Jann.

She rang the bell thrice with force. 

From behind them came an ominous squeak of old hinges. They turned to see an obscured office door cover in outdated corporate propaganda slowly swing open, and what appeared to be a child of only 6 or 7 years emerged. But… this child, dear god, this child. The fact that he was employed at all was terrifying enough, but he also looked to be severely abuse. His hair grew in grey patches along the side of his head, with the top of his skull being entirely bald. The top of his head and most of his face was covered in deep dark red scarring, visibly fresh and tender to sensation. His face also showed signs of premature aging, with his skin sagging beneath his eyes, or perhaps more correctly, eye. In his left eyesocket sat a black glass replacement, piercing and omniscient. He walked using a knotted wooden can and slowly hobbled over to the cash register, finally climbing onto a stool and facing the now emotionally distraught/slightly entertained young couple.

“What can I do for you today?” hissed the child in a raspy baritone.

[wwithoutwords]

As was foretold, here is the exclusive interview in full with outstandingly pleasant and extremely talented guitarist of This Patch of Sky, Kit Day! I highly recommend listening to the linked song, “Her Beating Wings”, while enjoying the following. Hidden within is even an announcement of a new work coming from them in the near future(!!) Huge thanks to Kit for granting me this chance even though we missed each other at Dunk!USA. I simply can’t wait to hear more from the group in the future!

"These Small Spaces" just dropped just over a month ago and the response seems to be pretty outstanding so far. I’ve heard more than a couple people saying “album of the year”, which is especially meaningful given both Godspeed and Do Make Say Think just released new albums too. How do you feel about all this?

It’s a bit surreal, honestly. We love the record, but, it always strikes us odd to hear things like that being said about it. To be compared to our influences and (dare I say it) heroes is nothing short of humbling. We are determined to make a sound that we, as a group, want to hear. The idea that it can mean something to others is a literal dream come true. We are all excited, hungry and thankful for all of the love and support. As for “album of the year”, I suppose that depends on who’s listening and what they take from it. Our goal is just to make the most beautiful music we can.

What do you think makes "These Small Spaces" different from your self-titled (and prior works)? It certainly doesn’t feel like “more of the same”.

We really set out to do something different, purposefully trying to create something bigger and more beautiful then anything in the past, and we believe we achieved our goal.  You’ll notice a trend of past albums how quickly we released material (about a year between each release), and this album took a span of 3 years to release after S/T.  We really took our time with each song on These Small Spaces instead of just rushing into the studio to quickly record.  After we had all the songs written for this album we spent another 6 months of creating full pre-production recordings of each song.  This really helped us dive into each song to make it the best we could before recording the real thing.  

The amount of time you spent honing these tracks really shows in the final product, so thank you for taking the time to really perfect the sound. Since it was about 3 years from S/T to These Small Spaces, should fans sit tight waiting for the next full-length? Or do you think the next work might be a little quicker out the gates?

We’re already spitting out ideas and writing some new stuff.  I don’t think it will be another 3 years before we release a follow up to These Small Spaces, but don’t hold me to that!

What is the significance of the coordinates given in the song “Coordinates”?

The title “Coordinates” pin points a favorite hiking spot many people in our home state of Oregon visit regularly.  When on top of the mountains, you this sense of being able to conquer anything while basking in breathtaking views of where we live.  Oregon will always hold our hearts as home.  

What was the process for getting This Will Destroy You to remix “Pale Lights” for the release? It is a really solid endcap to the album.

A few of us had become friends with the guys in TWDY years ago while playing in a previous band named Chiaroscuro, touring with them during the release of Tunnel Blanket. We have always been a huge fan of what TWDY does and have always wanted to work with them on a project. After we wrote and recorded Pale lights we felt like it was a perfect song for them to do a remix for! We contacted them and immediately they were stoked about it.  The end result gave the song a whole new feeling without losing the backbone of the original version.  

What with the success of the TWDY remix of Pale Lights, can we look forward to more collaborations like that in the future? I think a lot of fans get hyped to see some of their favorite artists interacting with each other.

This was such a fun process for us we definitely would love to do this more with other artists we follow (stay tuned for one more remix to be released in early 2018).  I know we’d definitely love to do remixes for other artists as well!

I know it’s tough, but if you had to pick a “favorite child” track from the new album, which would it be? Or maybe which one encapsulates the current iteration of This Patch of Sky best?

The overall favorite track from the band is 'Her Beating Wings'. This song specifically went through a huge metamorphosis over the span of 6+ months and is by far the most complicated to play. The original idea for the song I (Kit) wrote shortly before my daughter was born which is the original inspiration for this song. The heartbeats you hear throughout are a representation of her and new life being created.

Thank you so much for sharing the story of "Her Beating Wings", it's absolutely beautiful. Everyone I've discussed the album with cites that one as being a standout among standouts. Can you expand a bit on what makes it complicated to play live?

This is so cool to hear that people are saying that about this song!  There’s so many little layers and parts that make up this song, especially in the final build up, we’d want to make sure it was done right when we play it live.  Ultimately our goal is to play this song live with brass and one other string player.

Can you tell me about the music scene out in Eugene? What is it like for an act of your style?

The Eugene music scene as a whole has rapidly been growing the last 5 years.  When we first started TPOS there was maybe 1-2 other instrumental bands in our area.  Over the last few years there has been more and more popping up which has been amazing to see, and instrumental music is becoming more and more “accepted” in Eugene and Portland.  Eugene has a great mix of genres, and since we’re a college town there’s always new bands popping up.  

Along those lines, I’m always curious what it’s like for bands who know they have a style of music that lends itself to procuring a small but devoted following. What is it like knowing this particular form of art may never result in the group “striking it big”?

This is definitely a loaded question!  I’ve been playing in bands since the age of 13 (almost 20 years now), and when I started TPOS it was the first time in my life that I no longer was trying to pursue music as a full time gig.  The band simply was for fun and really never meant to go anywhere.  Somewhere along the way people kinda started liking us so we kept playing.  So odd enough, when I stopped trying to pursue music full time, I somehow created a band that has been the most successful one I’ve ever played in.  We certainly aren’t anywhere near “striking it big”, and odds are we will never get there, but this band is a personal victory in my own life.  I’ll forever be grateful for every opportunity given to us and the thousands of people who listen to our music.  

Finally, it may be a challenge, but we have to know.... What is the best pet and why? Dog, Cat, Reptile, or Other?

Gunna have to go with a dog for this one!  Cats are dumb and reptiles do nothing.  Dog’s are loyal, fun to play with, and are easy to train.

[lokgifsandmusings]

Definitive Ranking of Book 4 Episodes, #2/13

2. 4x13 The Last Stand

Kuvira tears off her arm. Mako makes a Heroic Sacrifice and no one will heal him. Korra and Kuvira fight, until Korra freakin’ bends pure energy, rips apart the city, and demonstrates her growth in one quick spirit world conversation. Hasook fulfills his clarinetist destiny. We get the most ambiguous ending everrrrr.

You know, after going back through this whole season, I’m realizing that there were a lot of flaws with Book 4. A lot. It’s  not to the point where I feel this episode ranking as second highest is unearned, but it is making really wonder about “what would this have looked like had Bryke been given more time?”

The thing is, with this episode, the emotional beats are nearly perfect for Korra. And that’s really what matters, given that the show is...well...the legend of *her*. Even for most other characters, this conclusion was (dare I say it?) dramatically satisfying. Thematically satisfying, too.

But at the same time, what didn’t work is only more and more glaring with each revisit, and especially after thinking through it.

Kuvira is probably the hardest character to reconcile, because she’s the primary antagonist, and yet up until Korra dropped the “oh you’re an orphan” truth-bomb that explained ~~all~~ of Kuvira’s actions, there was every indication that her guiding motivation was much more about her perceived rejection by Suyin, or a desperation to prove her wrong, or a mentor’s fall from grace when an inherent hypocrisy was shown...

Honestly, from just the perspective of Kuvira’s arc, dismissing everything as “you were sad about your parents (who you never talked about once) leaving you with the creepy thought-policing matriarch and you didn’t want to ditch the EK in the same way” is almost insulting. Kuvira like...made compelling points in the Suyin-filtered flashback about why Su should accept Raiko and Tenzin’s offer, and it seemed to be coming from a place of pure pragmatism, not compensation for abandonment or a way of gaining control. Actually, she framed it about sharing prosperity:

Kuvira: Suyin, I know this isn't my place, but I think you should do this. Zaofu has always been a beacon of modern progress, and now you can share that with everyone.

Suyin: What would you have me do? March into Ba Sing Se with an army? We'd be seen as conquerors and greeted with nothing but war.

Kuvira: There are already wars. The Earth Queen nearly destroyed our nation. This is our opportunity to change things.

Also, fun fact: Suyin didn’t even tell Korra that Kuvira was an orphan; she barely even implied it.

Korra: How did things get so bad between you and Kuvira? I thought she was your protégé.

Suyin: She was more than that. She was like a daughter to me. I took her in when she was eight years old and nourished her talents. Kuvira was smart, a natural leader, and quickly rose through the ranks. I saw myself in her.

Like, this could have meant anything. Maybe she took her into her School of Metalbending Dancing and Narcissism. Maybe this is a nitpick, but it just amuses me if there was some version of this scene where Korra is like “it must have been so hard being an orphan,” and Kuvira goes, “...wtf my parents are FINE.”

Back the main point here, the difficulty in parsing out Kuvira’s guiding motivations and meaning of her own arc is not made better by the fact that her political position and military campaign were incredibly poorly defined. This is nothing new for Bryke, but with regard to this episode specifically, there’s still the question of why Kuvira was even interested in reclaiming UR land when she was supposedly just a technocrat that opposed the Earth Queen’s unjust rule, and had spent a painstaking amount of time laying down tracks to connect the two nations in what seemed like a cooperative measure and to truly bring the EK up to speed with the rest of the world. Was storming Republic City always her plan? Would she have been able to without the super laser that she didn’t know was being invented (Varrick was just looking for clean energy, remember)? After successfully taking Republic City, was she going to lock up every citizen there not of EK origin?

The general idea is that she was supposed to be earnestly committed to restoring stability in the Earth Kingdom, while also pushing forth innovation, and that when Korra pointed out how horrible and out-of-balance she was, it was a comeuppance and reality slap. I guess in this respect, the broader strokes make sense, but then there was so much that seemed so personally motivated, like...everything to do with Zaofu (she even made a point of saying “when I return I’ll be greeted with open arms), and then wrecking all of Republic City.

Even ignoring motivations, there’s logistics, because Kuvira’s disappearing army (and the disappearing United Forces) was still very much evident here, especially since mecha tank officers came clomping back into view at the end, and she needed to instruct them to stand-down. It kind of makes me giggle to think that Varrick powered down these suits, and the morons just lay on the ground helplessly until they were up and running again. But there were also all those ground troops and shit, so...

Oh yeah, and Raiko formally surrendered. There should have been an entire platoon sent to the island as soon as Kuvira realized Baatar had been captured while traveling there.

None of this is a specific issue to “The Last Stand,” but it does make the resolution feel a little...convenient. As though all these things were just dismissed and swept under the rug. This is best exemplified in Suyin’s line as a response to Kuvira’s apology, where she goes, “you’re going to answer for everything you’ve done!” Like, that didn’t even follow what Kuvira had said! Though there’s also a chance that this was a place-holder line they never bothered to change (or ran out of time to change). It’s not the only one with this vibe.

At the end of the day, Kuvira worked fine for Korra. But the way she had been scripted herself, there was really no telling how she’d react to a given situation until after the fact. I could have seen her, stirring from the rubble, having the same exact spirit world conversation with Korra, rather than running away to find Chekhov’s very literal gun. She trashed an entire fucking city and nearly died already just with Mega Maid’s explosion, after all.

Most of the other challenges of this episode have to do with the wrap party, because it was pretty clear that Bryke had a case of “we have X minutes to conclude all of this.” Enter bizarre conversation after bizarre conversation.

It’s not exactly a secret that I’m currently writing on a fic that tries to make sense of “why the hell does this wedding feel as though it is simultaneously the day after the fight, and two months down the road?” Word of God is that the wedding is 2 weeks later, which may or may not have been made up by Mike on the spot. But it’s just all so wonky. Korra is acting as though she hasn’t talked to anyone, Wu and Mako certainly haven’t seen each other since the evacuation, Tenzin only just talked to Raiko, and yet Zhurrick planned an entire wedding and somehow world leaders were able to travel to the still utterly destroyed city to enjoy it.

It’s WONKY, I’m telling you. The worst case offender?

This is a terrible fucking idea. I get that it’s a Y7 American show and we have to be pro ~~democracy~~ as a general concept, but the logistics behind it make no sense. I suppose in the context of Wu’s arc, him stepping aside because he doesn’t feel qualified is fitting. Granted, I thought the whole “you were calm during the evacuation and also badger moles like you” stuff was to show how he does have leadership potential, so long as he plays to his strengths and allows those more informed than him to take the lead on other matters. But I suppose we can say it was part of a bigger picture: Wu learning to be less of an entitled asshole. He pushed himself and stepped up when the world needed him to, but in the end “sometimes a good evacuation is its own reward.” Nice.

Now go and create a horrible panic by tossing the EK’s political and legal structures out the window!

The Mako/Korra conversation was a very nice endcap to Mako’s season-long arc, and the series long relationship between these two characters. They were incompatible as romantic partners, but Mako found meaning in their platonic friendship, looking to Korra as inspiration to be more selfless. It’s just nice. And it’s nice to see exes being nice and not jealous or still hurt or pining or whatnot. Nice.

That said, Wu’s role in Mako’s arc is a headscratcher. Mako definitely had an influence on him, but the other way around...I’ve got nothin’. Unless we consider Wuko a possibility, because IT IS THERE, DAMNIT. Except, I really don’t think Bryke meant for it to be there. Which means that Mako played a bit more of a supporting role for Wu than the other way around. Wu had diddly squat to do with Mako feeling inspired and self-sacrificial...that was a decision Mako reached inside Mega Maid as a result of watching a clip show about his relationship with Korra.

And yeah, let’s actually talk about that moment, because it was probably the second most emotional point of the episode. For those who don’t know, it’s also the point where I realized, at 5:50 in the morning, that I was going to start bawling in the middle of Planet Fitness if I stayed, so I cut that short and went home to finish out the episode.

It was touching, even if Bolin’s “This isn't the time to prove how awesome you are. I already know how awesome you are... you're awesome.” lines were incredibly odd. However... Looking back, this was probably the dumbest thing Mako could have done in this moment.

The weapon was disabled (he knew Su and Lin were taking care of that), and Korra was in the “head” having a fight to the death. There was no pressing need to power down Mega Maid at that point (Kuvira initiated lockdown as soon as they got in, actually), and the only thing he knew was that he could probably get it to explode. With everyone still inside. All things considered, how Mako didn’t just kill everyone inside the tank is beyond me. How Mako didn’t die is equally beyond me, cause dude got shot squarely in the chest. I mean yes, Bolin came back for him (where did he even dump the other bodies? The legs?), but Mako has a heart and stuff.

I don’t want to detract from the message of “Mako is an incredibly selfless hero,” but the logistics get in the way. It’s like Bryke wanted him to have this moment, but they didn’t take the time to figure out a realistic way it could unfold, so it just happened. Which is jarring, especially since this immediately followed Hiroshi’s sacrifice from the previous episode. Snaps for Mako, but 10 points from Brykendor for the contrivance.

Also as a side note: poor Bolin, this episode. I mean yes, he’s in a good place, and he got to marry Zhurrick (I can confirm: officiating a wedding is mad fun), but the dude didn’t even get a Conversation of Significance with anyone. Needless to say I’m going to be fixing that with my final chapter...

Let’s just round out the Krew then and discuss Asami. And I 👏👏don’t👏👏fucking👏👏know👏👏 what to do with her.  

I mean, you know what Asami means to me as a character at this point. And Korrasami. But going back through and watching this season, there’s a few things that are blindingly clear.

1. The scripting is bizarre. Not just for Asami—across the board. There are lines that feel outright unedited. For instance:

“When the queen fell, and everyone was asking you to help keep the Earth Kingdom from falling apart, all you wanted to do was hide in Zaofu, and let others deal with the consequences.”

It’s not as though lines like that don’t work, but it’s the kind of thing where if that were in fic I was beta-reading, I’d highlight “fell” and “falling” so the author would know to take out one of the repetitive phrases.

For characters with a lot of lines, the lack of polish can be overlooked, for the most part. For Asami, who had an incredibly limited screen presence during Book 4, things stick out.

2. Seychelle Gabriel’s voice acting was...different. It wasn’t bad, but some of her lines had a certain stilted quality to them. I’ve actually noticed that with just about every character in Book 4 that wasn’t Varrick or Bolin (that’s just John Michael Higgins and PJ Byrne falling back on their comedic chops), with a big exception in Korra. I sort of think Janet Varney didn’t settle into a consistent voice for her *until* Book 4, but that’s a whole other story, and yes, deeply subjective.

The best example I can point to for Gabriel is the way she delivers, “Thank you. I'm just glad I was able to forgive him.” It just had this awkwardness about it, and a good thing too, since I’m 95% certain that’s what spawned @progmanx’s entire fic, as well as my own views on her characterization (oh hey, we’re of one mind with that).

3. There really could have been more to Korrasami. Even with Russian TV restrictions. But I already talked about in my “Reunion” piece, so I won’t rehash here.

4. Asami’s scripting was pure *convenience*. I touch on it here for “Enemy at the Gates” and here for “Day of Colossus.” But it’s not really hard to recap.

Asami needs to open the lines of communication to her dad, so she does, and it is wonderfully, realistically hard on her. Then in a ridiculous scene, she spots a happy father and daughter, and decides she wants to work to forgive the man who tried to fucking kill her. We can assume she’s feeling conflicted about it because she snaps at Korra over it, but really, we have to just assume, because this shit is never talked about on-screen. Then Hiroshi pops in to save the day with his oddly specific technical knowledge of stuff he wasn’t working on. Then Asami tells him that she loves him before they go into a flying mecha suit to battle potentially to the death, and then Hiroshi dies.

And yes, I’ve talked a lot about what an internal character Asami is, so it would have just been odd if she suddenly started expositing on why she was feeling the way she did, but at the same time... When *did* she decide to forgive him? Was it just because he was willing to save the city? Does she even know if he’s changed his opinion of benders, or if he just regrets not having her in her life? Does she regret not seeing him sooner? Did she ever READ THOSE DAMN LETTERS?

So for her to sit her ass down next to Korra and say that she’s super sad but glad she forgave him... Well yeah, of course she’s sad. But she’d probably also be confused and conflicted and angry and guilty and a million other things just by how inherently fucked up this situation is. The last time she and her dad were in a mecha suit at the same time, he TRIED TO KILL HER. This isn’t hyperbole. He also saved the city from being destroyed *this time*, despite being the man who bombed it before. You see what I’m saying???

I think this is coming at a bad time, because I am working over and beyond to make sense of Asami’s headspace during this specific point in the story right now with ‘Half the Pieces’. I even gave her and Hiroshi another pai sho match so they could talk this shit over, and am kind of getting at the idea of her forgiving him as more of like, she really wants to have forgiven him and to have that closure after three years of incredible pain relating to him. But for what we got on our screens, it feels rushed, there’s just no other way around it. Rushed and simplified.

The most frustrating thing about Asami’s character is her wasted potential—the way they could have been using her as a foil to Korra so much sooner, the way her unique position as an industrialist went largely untouched, the way there is so much packed into her and given a little space, she will come and wallop you with a bag of feels (“you tainted our past and destroyed our future together”). 

Yes, she’s in a support role, and I’m not advocating her being foregrounded over anyone else on the Krew, and certainly not over Tenzin. But keep in mind, this was the season that gave a very complete and detailed arc to Varrick and Wu, while also pushing Kuvira & the Beifong Family Drama as the main tension. So excuse me for just a little annoyance with what could have been.

What *was* for Asami here was...fine. It’s not like I can’t remember what her conversation with Korra felt like the first time, or how could it felt that for once in her craptastic life, she was getting to be happy for a little. And for Korra too, realizing she had been disconnected for too long, realizing through her letters and the distance that she was in love, realizing she can take time for herself—it just all made for a beautiful moment, even if I do think that it felt a tad clipped. Given how much ground Bryke needed to cover here, it’s not shocking.

As a last note before I get to Korra and begin explaining why this episode is #2, I want to briefly touch on Tenzin. He was simply not a major player in this season, and I guess that’s fine. His relationship to Korra was in focus for Book 2, with her becoming *her own Avatar* at the end, and then his relationship to his daughter and the Air Nation at large was Book 3. I don’t feel like anything was incomplete with Tenzin here on a larger scale, though it was a notable decision. I wonder if Book 4 had been given another pass, would there have been a more imaginative way to utilize his character?

I think that may have detracted from the impact of his final conversation with Korra, too. Or maybe that’s why it almost felt like it had bizarrely romantic undertones for a second, because it was hard to have a handle on where *they* were at with how they related to each other. Also he said the phrase “big bumpy ride” so...

And that conversation was the most, “let’s wrap up this Y7 show yup yup” that fell victim to extremely unfortunate wording. The idea was to show that Korra had found meaning in what she had been through, harkening back to Katara’s remark that Aang “chose to find meaning in his suffering and eventually found peace.” What Katara did not say was that Aang NEEDED TO EXPERIENCE THE GENOCIDE TO FIND PEACE. Because who the hell would say something like that.

There are negative implications of Korra saying she “needed” to suffer to be more compassionate, especially since compassion was never a department she was lacking in before. However, as a result of what she went through her approaches to situations did change, and her “go-to” mode of operation, altered. We saw her trying to fight against the “old me” in Zaofu, and that was simply ineffective. In this final chapter, we saw her take action as she needed to, only to finally talk the antagonist down in the end. It wasn’t an increase in compassion, but it was a result of her empathizing over the fear of being vulnerable—a fear we’ve seen Korra struggle with since the start.

“I may not have been an orphan, but believe me, I understand what it feels like to be afraid. [Sits down so she is at eye level with Kuvira.] After I was poisoned, I would have done anything to feel in control.”

Look, there’s a wonderful narrative here, and it just...fell over itself on the way to our screens, and that’s unfortunate. Because it would have required so little to fix.

If you’ll allow myself and @progmanx to be hubristic here, we actually did rewrite this for my upcoming chapter (not finalized yet, but it will be something along these lines):

“I know I was in a pretty dark place after I was poisoned; all I wanted to do was feel like myself again. And I think it took seeing Kuvira being so angry and scared of letting everyone down, just like I used to be, for me to finally realize what I already knew: I can never just go back and to being that person again, and I don’t want to be. I’ve seen now what fear can do and what it can drive people to...what it drove me to do, even if it didn’t hurt as many people. That’s a part of me, and there’s no undoing it. I don’t think I want to undo it, either. Your mom told me that Aang found meaning in his suffering. I guess if I’ve found mine, that’s it. We’re all afraid sometimes, but that doesn’t make us weak. In fact, it’s what makes us stronger.”

It’s almost as if I like A Song of Ice and Fire, or something.

Would a more diverse writers’ room have resulted in a different end line? Who can say. But this at least demonstrates why a diversity of voices and a willingness to think through the implications (something Bryke aren’t incapable of) is helpful.

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll notice that #1 on this list is going to be “Korra Alone.” So I’m going to save fully gushing about Korra’s healing arc there. 

But what I will say is that “The Last Stand” brought the series to a thematically apt, and rather uplifting conclusion. The season was about balance, but you could just as easily say that the series was too. This also tapped into “light in the dark,” only Book 4 took the time to explore that darkness rather than blow by it.

Seeing Korra so...at peace, was truly remarkable. We’ve seen her so insecure at many points in the series, and it really was just heartening to watch her be so decisive, so proactive, and also so *effective*, even if that meant switching approaches on the fly or, idk, leaping in front of a giant cannon and ripping open a hole in the universe and by doing so being so impressive that there was an instantly humbling effect on the megalomaniacal dictator to the point where Korra was able to talk her down with words alone.

It kind of makes me laugh, thinking of some of the Discourse™ as the finale ended: that Korra was “neutered” or “tamed.” Yeah those are great adjectives to attach to someone who threw themselves in front of a firing spirit cannon on an instinct. What we saw is a deeply matured and strategic Korra.

Remember, she was the over-eager hero who was told that the world didn’t need her. Her narrative was never going to be “I saved the day therefore I am,” but rather “Who am I when I’m not saving the day, and does that matter?”

Yes.

As for Korra, the world’s most powerful bender/spiritual leader of the masses/ with her ancient wisdom and sheltered upbringing ending up with the wealthy nonbending driver of modern innovation from the world’s biggest metropolis, well... that’s just the perfect endcap to the all-subtle balance theme. Nice.

Edit: 4/11/2017:

This entire piece wound up a little more focused on negatives than I wanted, so please read this reblog commentary for clarification/a few more notes on what was really great here.

#13: 4x08 “Remembrances”

#12: 4x11 “Kuvira’s Gambit”

#11: 4x09 “Beyond the Wilds”

#10: 4x07 “Reunion”

#9: 4x06 The “Battle of Zaofu”

#8. 4x12 “Day of Colossus”

#7 4x01 “After All These Years”

#6 4x03 “The Coronation”

#5 4x04 “The Calling”

#4 4x05 “Enemy at the Gates”

#3 4x10 “Operation Beifong”

Book 2 ranking/essays found here

[shonikado]

Possible solution to the level 30 problem: the modifier caps at 19, but you automatically get an extra advantage for each point beyond that?

Also, for my D&D5e-wrangling purposes specifically: players always succeed if d20+mod >= 20, and just let them win ties?

Possible thought: only creatures benefit from the "nat 20 is auto-success" rule? (Though the above change invalidates the nat 20 rule)

This one is NOT well-organized and is ramble-y, so, advising against the readmore

it’s sorta like, the bullet points above are my solutions, and everything below is showing my work. Or concept art. Except it’s less interesting and more word-eresting.

So the three points above the readmore were extracted from this post. Originally it was just the "level 30 problem" thing, then near the end I added the two other ideas. So, keep that in mind, as we now enter the unedited post:

bounded accuracy arguably holds. Like, if you wanted to land one attack on that Lv.30 god per turn, I think you'd need: * About 40 peasants/fighters (Lv.0 or Lv.1) * About 20 heroes (Lv.11) * About 6 legendary heroes (Lv.20) which seems reasonable to me.

an unfortunate note arises, though - once you're converting modifier differences into advantages, it means you can't just let the players add whatever stats or item bonuses they like without involving them in the system. Because if they have a +1 to Strength while hitting that god, that changes the number of advantages involved. Unless modifiers and level bonuses are treated separately somehow, which, ugh,

Really though this is only a concern because I'd like level 1 players to look at a level 20 dungeon, then look at a level 30 dungeon, and be able to differentiate the 30 as being harder than the other. Instead of "these are both equally difficult because we're that low-leveled, if we wanted to try one we may as well do the 30". And additionally, the idea of saying "you'll totally fail going into either" bothers me because if they WANT to risk it, they should be able to.

sigh

I mean what I -could- do is say that level stuff all works as-is but player modifiers change how likely you are to get a crit - like, if you have +1 to Strength, then 19+1 is a crit just as much as 20+1 is a crit. Except when comparing crits, which would need more rules, possibly like "highest natural number wins, if it's a tie then highest modifier wins, if THAT'S a tie then see whatever your rules are for ties". How would that impact the probabilities of success now that there's an entirely separate thing mucking it up? Will it be weird if I don't also give enemies the same stat boosts? Will it be weird if I do? But then I have to track potentially small numbers again. But they might significantly skew the probabilities otherwise.

I feel like this is the obvious result of trying to reconcile two different systems in a way that restricts me from imposing new rules on players

also I feel like my problems mostly arise from the fact that I very very enjoy the idea of a system that doesn't impose limits, so things can go on forever. This is only a problem if I say I want level 30s, but I could just stick with 20s. And there's possibly solutions to the 30s that don't affect the players (increase THEIR crit range?) but then what about 40s? 50s? 100s? There is no satisfying my desire to put increasingly bigger numbers on the table

but where does it end, really

0 has meaning, you're not adventurey - 1 has meaning, you're just starting. 20 has meaning, you're a legendary badass. 30 has meaning, you're a god. What is 40? God-dad? Is 50 the universe? 60's the multiverse? This isn't like a game where a level is just "I can fight things also this level", this is a game where the level is a representation of how powerful that character is in relation to the world. So there HAS to be a cap, where the most powerful thing you can interact with is.

which is probably not gods, if we're gonna be honest. 20 seems like a totally fair endcap for "the most powerful beings of the mortal realm" and anything beyond that is just beyond levels to begin with

and we can simulate level 0s by making them level 1s with a "civilian" or "small animal" trait that just gives them disadvantage always. Done.

oh but there's still the concern of player stats other than level, then

mothrfk

ALSO I STILL HAVEN'T WRITTEN THE SUMMARIES I NEED TO DO THAT but I've been busy actually planning D&D and doing Productive Things (job hunting!) so. That'll happen... Eventually.

okay but if we say player-added modifiers can increase crit chance, maybe that's good enough. Maybe that's fine. Except for the characters who have +11 stealth even though they're only level 5 because they min-max'd super hard and are going to end up with... Hm. 6*2+5=17? Which means they'd crit on absolutely any valUE SHIT ROLLING ATTACKS TO HIT THE PLAYERS. I can't devalue their AC and I can't devalue monster AC either probably can I. I don't think I can.

well there you go. AC has to stay. It was always a special case anyway, not super surprised or bothered. (I am bothered.)

But yeah, if you can add +17 to a roll, possibly more, and 20+ counts as a crit, that's a 90% chance to crit, meaning a 90% chance to succeed regardless of who you're up against if they aren't also employing crit-boosting. Barring complex crit-discerning rules. The running theme here is that I don't actually know the probabilities, that's what I write programs for!

If a level 1 with +4 to stealth goes up against a level 30 with no stealth bonus, the level 1 has a 25% chance to crit while the level 30 has, like. A 43% chance to crit because they get a shitton of bonus so let's scale back and instead talk about a level 20. Who only has a 5% chance to crit.

I think maybe what I should do here is look at it from the perspective of "what effect would this have had when added in addition to levels" and if it matches up reasonably, then I'm fine taking it to whatever logical extreme it ends up going towards. To do that I will need to math a bit.

oh, well, there's a concern. If critting means "20 or higher", what happens when your bonus is +19? You always crit. Unless 1 is an auto-fail. But anyway, if you always crit, and enemies can also do the same, then it means you'll both never crit because you always have it and that means it goes towards regular ties. Unless 20 is a "true crit" that beats any other crit, except for cases where they're both natural 20s, in which case the higher number wins as usual, with ties sometimes happening. Which is. Maybe complicated.

Maybe, making things worse, there's crit tiers? So, for starters, check for nat 20s. If those are not present, check what each roll's crit level is. 1-19 is a 0 - 20-39 is 1 - etc., just divide by 20 rounding down. If someone's higher, they win. Otherwise, if it's a tie, compare modifiers. Wait. If someone's crit tier was higher then they'd have already won by having a higher number, right? Wait, no. It doesn't increase the actual number, it increases... something... ... okay so. Level is an entirely separate deal. These modifiers DIRECTLY modify the die. If neither person rolled a natural 20 then it's just... It's just a strict comparison, isn't it? Wait. The idea is that if both people crit, it's a comparison, meaning you can't have more crit than, the other, person. ... if I have +19 and roll a 1, I have 20. That's a crit. If you have +16 and roll a 5, that's a 25, you crit. We're both critting, so we strictly compare numbers. Yours is higher, you win. Why is 20 a crit, then? What's different between me rolling a 20 and you rolling oh. Modifiers. Right. Wait. Okay so a 20 is automatically a win. And if that doesn't happen then we compare the numbers. We're saying you can win with a lesser number than 20 with your modifier. Because it makes the number higher. no no the level modifier is basically saying "you must win by this much" and a 20 is saying "nah I win anyway" but we can compare numbers so let's do that so I roll a 16, you roll a 12 but you're 5 levels higher. So you get a 17(12) and I have a 16. If you roll a 17 and get 22(17) and I have a 20 then I win. But I can make it so I win on a 19 AND a 20 by using that modifier. So I guess there's Natural, Bonus, and Final? Natural 20 beats Bonus 20, Bonus 20+ beats Final Anything, or something how does this shake out once I have a +19 bonus, only X(20) can beat me, even from high-leveled things. Let's format this as... Natural->Skill->Level? Maybe Luck->Skill->Practice so, if I'm level 5, have a +19 bonus and roll a 1, that's 1->20->25 A singular lucky 20 wins. A singular skillful 20 wins. Lucky 20s being opposed just means "ignore them". Skillful 20s being ignored means going beyond +19 is pointless. Let's compare these two: 10->30->35 15->30->35 They're both skill crits, in the same tier if we're doing the tier thing. Well, what does 19 mean? It means you're absurdly skillful. Maybe the most skillful you can possibly be. There's no way to be more skilled at what you're doing. Again - caps are needed to explain the world. So a +19 means you've achieved perfection. There is nowhere left to go. Except if I can find a way to make +20 meaningful that'd be nice Well, against someone else with skill, you'd both be in crit territory, meaning it'd come down to who rolled higher. Note: having a high bonus may result from being decked out with magic items or being under some sort of buff. Maybe we just can't cap that bonus? But it obviously stops being relevant to anyone except for people who have rivaling bonuses. The super-buffed person can still lose if their opponent gets a nat 20 and buffperson doesn't. But that is the "0 is just as good as 11" issue from earlier... Except I'm not sure how bothered I am by -this- case. Once you're impossibly good at something, being even more impossibly good won't chance the little unknown consequences popping up. Although strength is a question, for things like picking up a rock. The rock can't win. It's a rock. Maybe only creatures can nat 20? Or, again, it's luck getting involved. I think for static challenges, dropping their nat 20 might be fine. You have +20 intelligence and are trying to remember something you have a chance of remembering? Cool, you remember it. No question. They should still be contests to allow for DM fudging, though. Anyway. So where does this leave us? Level is separate from personal modifiers. Personal modifiers can drive up crit rate, which drives up chances of winning. If no monster has stats like players, then it's easy to explain personal modifiers always winning - monsters never go higher than 20, they can't contest you without also hitting 20. If monsters have stats like players that complicates things a little bit. Players don't need to know about the critical system - just that a 20 or higher will always win for them. It can be ignored for enemies if you're in a player-centric game. This also means that having high stats means a guaranteed increase in consistency, although that's not new, I think. Well. I mean. If the idea with the level stuff was that their stats now served a new purpose if they went into higher-leveled territory, that's been shot. We've just made a way for their low rolls to not be so certainly doomed. If an enemy rolls a 24, it's level-based, and the player rolling even a 21 via mods would win because the enemy (assuming their modifier is +5 or more) didn't hit a 20. So now we've gone in the opposite direction of saying high rolls will ALWAYS succeed and we can't fudge them failing. Although, let's be fair - I don't think there's any time where I should be fudging failing to begin with, at least in my campaign. I'm trying to have things be accurate and if a player wants to do something and I let them and they roll well, they should get it. We've already done that. It was a good idea. I mean, if I'm prepared to accept the result on a 20, then I should be prepared to accept it on less. The only weird thing I guess is making level no longer matter. Whether you're up against a dragon or a kobold, if you've got +9 to stealth, you've got about 50% odds of succeeding in your stealthery. also again if monsters never have bonuses themselves then once you hit +19 there's no reason to go further but... oh well? I'll just compromise to keep things clean, the important thing is being able to make my current campaign move as quickly, smoothly and fun-ly as possible without letting players onto all of the shortcuts I'm taking behind the screen.

[rikrakyarnncrafts]

Interchangeable Tips Sale: Excuses Perfectly Good Reasons

You might be asking yourself: why would I need to buy individual interchangeable tips? Even during a SALE where I can get any individual pair of intechangeable tips for 20% off if I buy before June 12th, I have my interchangeable set (you do, don’t you?), surely I have every needle I need. What else could I possibly want?

O Fictional Straw Person, I was once like you. Please. Learn from my mistakes.

I am definitely not shy about my love for interchangeable needles. I bought my Caspian set long before I came to work for Knit Picks and it was a surprisingly momentous day in my life. Gone were the days of buying needles only as I needed them, adding needle cost to every project. Everything was possible and the world was my fiber-wrapped oyster. I was going to Knit All The Things and I would never need to buy another needle again. (Cue ominous sound effect)

Then I started a worsted weight garter stitch blanket.

It’s become my TV knitting. My fried-and-brainless therapy knitting. It’s huge, and it’s taking FOREVER. Which is a problem, because it trapped my lovely size 6 Caspians.

First, it was a hat. I unscrewed the tips from the blanket, which I endcapped, to cast on. Hats go quickly, so I finished and transferred the needles back to the blanket before I knew it. Easy peasy. No big deal.

Then it was gloves. I’d been telling my roommate I’d knit her gloves for a while and I’d been wanting to try the Glove pattern from Knits for Everybody 2 (FYI, it’s great). So, I capped the blanket again, and cast on. And the gloves dragged on. And on. And I started missing my destress knitting. I switched that one pair of poor, over-worked 6s back and forth several times before it finally occurred to me: I should get a second pair.

Again: learn from my mistakes.

Even if you’re just throwing them onto a larger order to get you over the free shipping threshold, there are plenty of solid reasons to buy some extra tips, and at 20% off, there’s no better time than now.

Try a New Colorway

I love my Caspians, but when it came time to get duplicate sizes, I decided to branch out. First, I tried Majestics. You can say they’re basically the same as Caspians, since they only vary in color, but you really do have to see them with your own eyes before you appreciate just how vibrant they are. My next duplicate pair, I got Sunstrucks. Caspians are my favorite because I love green, which also happens to show up in a lot of my projects. I never realized how much easier it is to see what you’re doing when your yarn and needles aren’t basically the same color. What a concept.

Remember, as Otto Von Bismarck so famously said: Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.

Try a New Material

While our Try It sets are a great option to try both wood and metal needles for anyone exploring interchangeables, I skipped right over them and went straight to a full wood interchangeable set. Eventually I tried Knit Picks’ metal needles, which was a pretty significant find, since I tend to knit tightly and the glossy finish of our Nickel Plated needles is so much smoother than other metal needles that I’ve tried. Particularly if you’re used to cheap aluminum needles, you’re in for a treat with the Nickel Plated. After getting a few tips in odd sizes, I eventually decided to get a whole set of them!

Go Square

One of the more surprising things I’ve learned working yarn shows for Knit Picks is the number of people that know about square needles, but have never actually tried our Foursquares. Most people seem interested, but are hesitant to actually buy something they haven’t had in their hands. Or they’ve tried other companies square needles and didn’t care for them. Once we get a pair of Foursquares into their hands, an awful lot of people in both of these groups loved them. At 20% off, why not add a pair to your order just to see how you like them? Maybe you’ll decide that you need a whole set!

Get Those Odd Sizes

While our interchangeable sets do contain the most popular sizes and a great many people might never need anything bigger, it’s still worth noting that the sets don’t have every size of tip available, so even if you already have a set, this sale is a perfect opportunity to fill out your size selection. The 11s that come in the set should be good up to most Bulky weight yarns, but you’ll need something a little bigger to tackle the biggest stuff (I’m looking at you Dapple, you soft, squishy delight you). All of the largest sizes, 13, 15, and 17 (9-12mm), are on sale in almost every colorway from Sunstruck to Majestic. (Sorry, Radiant needles are not included in the sale.)

Being more of a lace knitter myself, it was a long time before I made a point of getting these larger needles, even though I was definitely interested in some of those bigger yarns! After getting those larger sizes, I learned just how nice it is to be able to take a break from a huge lace project and just bang out a quick hat in a day!

One Word: Jumbo

And then we have the REALLY big needles. At 15mm, 20mm, and 25mm (also known as basically an inch thick) these are really only for specialty Jumbo yarns like Super Tuff Puff or Momo. It’s not exactly something that everyone necessarily needs just lying around, but if there’s a project you’ve been thinking about for a while, the tips sale makes it that much easier. If you’ve had your eye on some Super Tuff Puff, now is definitely the time, with the yarn on clearance and the needles on sale.

—

And that’s all just in case you needed some perfectly legitimate reasons (and totally not at all excuses) to buy yourself more needles. At 20% off, you’re not likely to find a better time to experiment with our full range of interchangeable tips. Just be sure to get all the extra pairs that you want before June 12th, when the sale ends!

  (Bonus tip: You might also want to grab one of our gorgeous and handy embossed needle cases to organize your haul from this sale. With 20 pockets for needles, it will hold up to 11 pairs *in addition* to your full interchangeable set.)

The post Interchangeable Tips Sale: <del>Excuses</del> Perfectly Good Reasons appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

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[dawnajaynes32]

The Power of Lenticular Printing

by Greg Schuman, World3D Lenticular Printing

When printers and creative teams are tasked with grabbing attention and telling the story of a product, they need to reach into their proverbial bag of tricks. One of the best tools that print has to offer has a name that most people, even those in the creative world, can’t come up with. Lenticular printing has been around for at least 70 years and yet only recently have designers and advertisers started to harness its power as a serious marketing tool.

What Exactly Is Lenticular Printing?

You have likely seen a printed image animate in your hands or as you walk by a retail display. If you’re old enough you may remember 3D baseball cards in Kellogg’s cereal boxes. It’s less likely that you knew to call it lenticular printing.

For many years, lenticular images were used as tchotchke—just a fun toy for kids. However, in recent years as advancements in both software and print technology have made for better and better lenticular quality, people have started to use the medium as a tool to convey marketing messages.

Lenticular printing, by definition involves printing onto lenticules, which are tiny lenses embossed on to the surface of a plastic sheet. That’s where it gets that odd name. A lenticular printer like World3D takes multiple images and interlaces them together to create a single digital file. That file is then printed directly onto the back of the lenticular lens sheet. When the viewer looks at the front of that printed sheet, the lenses (those tiny ridges) block all but one of the images from view. As the viewer turns the card, the lenses hide the first image and reveal the next image. This progression of images creates an animation.

Conveying a Message with Movement

Animation allows for telling a story without the use of copy. While the animation itself can grab attention, the real power comes from being able to convey a message with movement. Lenticular in the past was the fun of a character dancing across a card. Lenticular now is as likely to show an industrial valve opening and closing in a unique way; the animation showing the functionality and telling a story that can’t otherwise be told in print.

Sometimes the fun character is the message. When Hasbro was releasing its latest product related to “Transformers: The Last Knight,” they worked with World3D Lenticular Printing to create a large-format lenticular poster. This was used as the centerpiece of a display that appeared in the endcap of every Walmart in the U.S. As shoppers walked past the display, they saw the character “transform” from a Chevy Camaro into the Bumblebee character. With this display they worked to grab the attention of shoppers but also to tell the story of both the character and the toy. 

While large-format lenticulars can fill up a giant architectural space or a retail environment, more common applications include lenticular postcards, premiums, magazine inserts and trade show giveaways. In general, any project that can use traditional litho print can use lenticular printing.

A Hologram? No, It’s 3D Lenticular

Along with animation, the other trick that lenticular printing can perform is to create an illusion of 3D depth. This is why lenticular often gets mistaken for a hologram or referred to as “holographic printing.” The 3D effect is created when a lenticular printer interlaces a layered Photoshop file in a way that creates a stereoscopic pair of images. As with the animated version, that interlaced file is printed onto the back of the lens sheet. However in this case, the lenticules are run vertically and serve to show a different image to each of the viewer’s eyes.

That difference between what is seen by the viewer’s left and right eyes creates an illusion of depth, and it can be quite impressive. While 3D lenticular images don’t quite tell a story, they can be a perfect match when marketing a 3D movie or product or even trying to convey a more realistic image of a landscape.

Lenticular Design

Lenticular design is not significantly different from other print mediums. A good lenticular printer can help you choose the optimal number of frames to use and guide you on best design practices. For example, it’s best to avoid solid white backgrounds in order to prevent burn in from previous frames. Also, it’s best to minimize the contrast between the elements that appear in one frame compared to the elements in the frames next to it. There are practically no size limitations either. Lenticular printing has been used to create everything from postage stamps to billboards.

So the next time you’re trying to grab attention and convey a message, just reach into your bag of tricks. Now that lenticular printing is part of your toolbox, you’ll be prepared.

Discover all the features of the newest version of single-user font manager, Suitcase Fusion, in this FREE live webcast on Dec. 7. Reserve your spot today!

  The post The Power of Lenticular Printing appeared first on HOW Design.

The Power of Lenticular Printing syndicated post

[layladorine]

Monday Mini Short Story

Lactose Intolerant

Layla Dorine

 Groaning in despair, Devlin closed the cupboard door and glared across the room in the direction of the refrigerator. His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten yet this morning, which with his enhanced metabolism meant that he'd start feeling the effects sooner rather than later. Hoping against hope that there was actually something edible inside the chrome appliance, Devlin yanked open the door and blinked at the brightness of the light that greeted him. The top shelf was pretty pathetic, empty save for the crusty bottle of mustard shoved to the back and an egg carton that upon closer inspection revealed one lone, solitary egg.

Still, if he had cheese to go with it, he could make a sandwich, thanks to those two end pieces of bread in plastic on the counter. Unfortunately, the cheese was dotted with a spectacular shade of green mold, and his search for bacon or sausage proved fruitless. His efforts did produce three ketchup packets, a bottle of soy sauce with about an inch of dark brown liquid in the bottom, some limp, wilted and slightly slimy lettuce, a tablespoon of butter half smooshed to the wrapper, and an overturned carton from the Chinese place down the street. It was leaking something that smelled like rotten garlic. Wrinkling his nose, he pinched the metal handle between his thumb and forefinger and quickly threw it away, along with the rotting lettuce, washing his hands when he was done.

He returned the refrigerator with a soapy sponge and quickly cleaned up the mess, splattering droplets on the note he'd left himself, he wasn't sure when. It simply read "Buy milk, dammit, cereal with tang is getting disgusting and P.S. We're almost out of tang."

Must have been written a few days before, seeing as how they were now officially out of tang and had the last bowl of cereal with water the day before. By them, of course, he meant himself and his perfectly conjoined twin, two halves that shared one merged body so well that it was only their hair and eyes that were a giveaway of their unique condition. Sometimes he wondered if it might not be easier to just dye the lighter half darker and wear a contact, but it went against his nature, and since Naill wasn’t about to lighten his side or conceal his own eye color, they just left them alone and let people think whatever they wished. Which generally meant that they got mistaken for goth or punk or some other practitioner of an alternate lifestyle.

Sighing, he closed the door and scrubbed a hand down over his face. This is what they got for allowing themselves to get so busy fighting crime and attempting to help people who shied away from them in the light of day. At least at night, hidden beneath a mask and hood, their oddities went unnoticed, folks were generally too busy trying to figure out why some super maneuverable vigilante had appeared to save them.

His stomach rumbled again, and he was forced to listen to Naill curse at the thought of yet another fast food meal.

Not only are they getting quite expensive but they’re rather unhealthy to boot,” Naill pointed out.

“I get it, you’ve only said it about a million times.”

“Perhaps someday you’ll listen.”

Devlin rubbed his temples, trying to ease the tension there. He was pretty sure the only thing stopping them from topping the scales at over three hundred pounds was the fact that their amazing metabolism fed their super sharp reflexes, allowing them to burn a ton of calories with how fast they moved.

He swayed and reached out to grab the refrigerator door, closed his eyes against the spots that danced in front of them and cursed again. Stupid lightheadedness, so stupid, they should have checked the fridge and the cupboards last night, at least then they could dive into a bowl of cereal, rather than a sad, pathetic egg. Still it was sustenance and would get them to the burger joint four blocks away where they could get a proper meal.

Yanking open the door, he grabbed the egg, butter and a ketchup packet. He grabbed the cheese too, only so he could throw it away before it stank up the entire appliance. Making short work of frying up the egg, he shoved it between two pieces of toasted bread, squirted the ketchup on it, and wolfed it down in six big bites, chewing the last one as he slid his wallet in his pocket and headed out the door.

Halfway down the block he encountered one of his neighbors sweeping her front porch in blue fuzzy slippers and a threadbare aqua bathrobe. Her steel gray hair was up in curlers save for one spiraling strand she kept shoving out of her face. He waved as he went buy, and pretended to ignore the way she narrowed her eyes at him and muttered about "crazy god damned freaks mucking up the neighbor, making good folks scared to come out of their houses at night."

If only she knew just how much they did to insure that the good folks on this side of town were safer, even if it seemed like the guys they took down and left tied up for police rarely spent more than a couple months in jail before they were out terrorizing folks again. It was thankless work, hell; even their day job answering insurance claim calls for one of the biggest firms in the city afforded them more praise than catching criminals. Good thing they wasn't in it for the glory or they'd be sorely disappointed.

Ducking into his favorite fast food place he order a couple breakfast sandwiches, two hash browns and an orange juice to go, munching as he walked down the street. It was almost fall, a crisp chilly wind blowing, causing the leaves to swirl in mini tornados down the block. He loved the reds and golds of the trees, and reminded himself to just take a weekend to head up into the hills, camp out and roast hot dogs over the fire.

Disgusting, Naill muttered, “if we are going to roast anything it ought to be steaks pan seared to perfection.”

He chuckled at that and conceded, declaring he could go along with that as long as they could have melting marshmallows between fudge stripped cookies for desert, rather than traditional s’mores, since the marshmallows never seemed to get hot enough to melt the chocolate completely. Of course Naill argued that it was because he always chose to purchase the king sized chocolate bars rather than the regular ones, owing to his addition to all things junk food, another source of contention between them.

Muttering to himself as he walked down the street was likely another reason folks looked at them strangely, but it gave him less of a headache than having the entire debate inside the brain they shared.

As with most of their internal monologues, one of them ended up the winner and the other ended up with their feelings hurt, which made Devlin wonder how they’d managed to live twenty-six years without trying to cause serious bodily harm to one another. The answer to that was simple, really, in those moments he was being honest with himself. He loved his brother and knew that his brother loved him, it was no fault of their own that they'd been born forced to co-exist in a single body, just like they hadn't been responsible for whatever cells had mutated inside them that allowed them to eat whatever they wishes without gaining a pound.

Still, maybe his brother was right and they needed to start eating healthier all the way around. Certainly with the help of the internet and the cooking channel they could manage passable meals.

“Thank you,” Naill replied and Devlin could feel that side of their mouth quirk up in a smile.

"If you wanna do the shopping go ahead," Devlin offered. "It's not as if I'd know what to buy anyway."

And that was how they ended up stepping through the automated doors of the grocery store with Naill in charge of their little shopping expedition. It[D1]  afforded Devlin the opportunity to people watch, starting with a leggy brunette in the football jersey who was rummaging around in her bag, muttering to herself about never having a stupid pen.

"I can relate," he chuckled as they went by; pausing only so he could pass her the only pen they had on them.

Not like they had a list anyway. She smiled and thanked him while Naill grumbled about Devlin never being prepared for anything. That wasn't true and his brother knew it, he kept a condom in his wallet, right next to a little packet of lube. Equal opportunity and all that jazz, if there was one thing their unique existence had taught him was to never limit themselves in anything.

“Which is why we are one honey bun away from actually needing to do exercise,” Nail muttered furiously as they headed for the aisle marked canned fruits and vegetables. Devlin simply whistled a happy tune and pushed the cart, breathing in the scent of chicken frying over in the deli. A pyramid of mushrooms stood beside the endcap, picture perfect with all of the labels facing in the same direction.

"They'd be pretty good on pizza," Devlin remarked, eyeing up the cans.

"Fresh ones are better and we're not making pizza, we're not making anything that comes from a drive through or can be delivered to our door."

"You do know that we get cranky when we're hungry."

"Thought you agreed to shut up and let me handle this?"

Devlin grumbled and narrowed his eye. "Fine," he snapped, but that didn't stop him from reaching out and snagging a can as they went past. Unfortunately, the rapid, jerky movement sparked an avalanche of cans and a gasp from Naill. In a flurry of motion, they grabbed at the cans, gathering them all back up before they could hit the ground in a cacophony of noise. Unfortunately, putting them back so fast meant that they ended up in a precariously balanced pile, nothing like the precise placement they'd been in before Devlin happened past.

"You just couldn't resist, could you? Naill grumbled.

"One can isn't going to hurt us, besides, we can throw it into a pot of spaghetti or something," Devlin pointed out, the offending can still clutched in his grasp.

Naill let out a long suffering sigh and rolled his eye. "Fine, but from here on out, you keep your hand to yourself."

Smirking, Devlin placed the can in the cart and made an x with his fingers across his chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die"

"So I'd wish, but that would be suicide," Naill complained as he took charge of their direction, wandering down the aisle and adding cans of pineapples and apricots. They'd hardly gone a few steps when a woman fussing at her child to slow down and stay beside her took the turn, and distracted, bumped into the stand, sending mushroom cans everywhere. The crash was spectacular, cans rolling down the aisle and bouncing with loud clangs off metal shelves. Naill cringed, pushing the cart a little faster.

"Shit, cleanup on aisle three," Devlin muttered, hiding a snicker behind his hand.

"It ain't funny."

"Yeah, it kinda is," Devlin remarked as the woman tried to corral the out of control kid, dodging cans and nearly tripping on them while she made a grab for him. "Maybe she'll put the kid in a cart from now on."

"Wish I could shove you in a cart, you're old enough to know better."

"So's the kid, or he would be, if she'd teach him some manners."

"Yeah, 'cause you know all about raising kids, right?"

"I'm just saying, maybe if some folks taught these brats young, they wouldn't grow up to be little assholes who run around robbing corner stores, spray painting other people's property and beating up folks for their money."

"Maybe..."

Naill grabbed a couple bags of dried beans, studying them awhile as he debated which would be best in a pot of chili, before finally deciding on the canned beans, uncertain if it would be worth the effort of having to soak them overnight, then boil them before they'd be of any use.

"Chili does sound good; think we can figure out cornbread?"

"It shouldn't be too hard," Naill replied, grateful that Devlin was finally getting with the program; they headed into the aisle with the baking products only to discover that there were way more kinds of flour than they'd ever imagined.

"Ummm," Devlin stammered as they walked slowly past bags of rye and wheat, bleached, gluten free, rice flour, oat flour, all-purpose, self-rising, and finally, corn meal.

"Pretty sure we need this," Naill stated as he picked up the corn meal. Turning the package over revealed a recipe for corn bread, so he made short work of grabbing the all-purpose flour, honey, and sugar they also needed from the aisle.

"Hey, if we grab some vanilla extract maybe we can figure out how to bake a cake, don't all those cooking shows talk about vanilla extract?" Devlin supplied.

"No cake, even homemade counts as junk food," Naill pointed out. He grabbed a small bottle of cooking oil, then paused at the spice rack, selecting several items and adding them to the cart.

"Do you even know what those are used for? Devlin asked, as Naill added jars of sage, rosemary, thyme, basil, and oregano.

"Nope, but we're going to figure it out."

"Joy."

Devlin's eyes lit up when they reached the cereal aisle. Reaching for a box of sugary goodness, he was stopped by Naill's admonishment.

"Don't even think about it."

"But..."

Groaning, he dropped his hand, pouting as Naill selected several varieties of shredded wheat and flakes with nuts and dried fruit bits in them.

"What's the point of having a super metabolism if you won't even let us enjoy it a little," Devlin moaned as they passed his favorite cereal, the colorful box depicting several varieties of oddly shaped grain bits and marshmallows.

"It won't kill you to eat this for one week."

"You don't know that. It just might."

Lite syrup and whole wheat pancake mix soon joined the cereal in the cart. Naill stared at the oatmeal selections, trying to decide between the organics, gluten frees, lites, instant, steal cut, old fashioned and sugar-free. Devlin would have selected the flavored packages of fruits and cream or maple and brown sugar, Naill of course, grabbed the gluten free, likely because it looked the least appealing of all of them.

As he was tossing it in the cart, they both happened to notice an older gentleman trying to get the last box of cereal down off the top shelf with his cane. Hurrying over, they leapt, propelling themselves off one of the bottom shelves to get greater height, easily snagging the box and landing back beside the old man with a grin. It was quickly wiped away when he rapped Naill on the wrist with his cane hard enough to make him drop the box, right into the cart the crafty old codger had deftly maneuvered into place. Naill grabbed his wrist, shaking it out while the old man waved his cane at them.

"Think you was being smart, didn't ja, you young whipper snapper. Well let me tell you something, no little punk is going to steal my cereal and get away with it. You ought to be ashamed of yourself; didn't your folks ever teach you to respect your elders? You just wait, one day you'll be old and bent and let’s see how you like it when folks just push you aside like you ain't even there anymore. I know you saw me grabbing that box. What right do you think you've got to try and take it away? You want a box; you go ask them if they got some more in the back, this one is mine. Have some damned respect for descent folks who just wanna get on back home without any trouble."

Naill opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't manage to find the words before the old man hobbled away pushing his cart, muttering under his breath about kids these days.

“Unbelievable." Naill muttered.

"Why? Look at what happened with the purse snatching we stopped last week. We step in and keep those two girls from mugging the lady, leave them tied up in the alley and even offer to escort the woman home so she made it there safely, and she turns around and beats on us with that damned heavy assed handbag, yelling at us about putting our hands on those girls. Like they weren't about to beat the hell outta her if she didn't given them everything she had."

"True.” Naill conceded. “He didn't even give us a chance to explain."

"Why, when he'd already made up his mind about our intentions the moment we stepped in. Let's face it, people are jaded. It’s easier for them to see the bad in everyone than to expect something good."

"Tell me again why we bother?"

"I guess so we don't become as disillusioned as the rest of them. Besides, what's the point of having lightning reflexes if we can't do anything with them? It’s not like we can take all of our martial arts training and complete in tournaments or even fight pro, it wouldn’t be fair, we'd always be able to anticipate where the strikes would land, so we'd always counter them, where's the challenge in that?"

"Where's the challenge now?"

"True, but at least we're doing something good, even if most people don't appreciate it."

"Umm, excuse me sir, but are you okay?"

The soft, feminine voice startled them out of their conversation. Glancing around they suddenly found themselves face to face with a middle aged woman who was clutching her daughter close.

"Umm yeah, We…err, I’m fine," Naill replied, looking away.

"Then can you please move? I've been trying to get to that shelf for the past few minutes. I even said excuse me several times, but it didn't seem like you heard a word of it."

"Sorry," Devlin replied, and felt his face heat up, he sure hoped Naill was blushing too or they were going to look pretty odd. Shuffling left, they moved so the little girl could get her box of cereal, one of the beautiful, sugary kinds Devlin would have loved to have.

"Fine, one," Naill finally relented once the woman and her little girl were on their way.

Giddy, Devlin reached out and snatched up the same kind as the little girl, placing it in the cart with a loving pat before they continued down the aisle.

In the produce section, they loaded up on fresh veggies and fruits, Devlin wrinkling his nose at the broccoli and making gagging noises at the Brussel sprouts. Naill moved on undaunted however, getting fresh mushrooms as he'd set out to, red seedless grapes and ginger root. He grabbed wonton wrappers, carrots and bean sprouts, green onions, shallots and garlic too.

"Thought we weren't getting anything that can be delivered," Devlin challenged.

"I'm gonna make lumpia," Naill determined.

"What the hell is that?"

"Filipino style of egg roll, totally different fillings from the crap you get from the Chinese place downtown."

"Keep telling yourself that," Devlin chuckled, then let it drop.

In the drink aisle they bought bottled water and drink packets to flavor it, like what the hell were they gonna do with zero calorie anything but try telling Naill that. This healthy living shit was gonna kill them both and it was only the first day.

Heading down the pasta aisle they caught sight of a woman in a pea green oversized coat, several pockets adorning the front and a few inside judging from the way she swiped a package of orzo from the shelf and tucked it away. You couldn't even see the lump.

She grabbed three envelopes of sauce mix and slipped them in an outer pocket, then turned, studying the packages of summer sausage and other meats. They swiped the envelopes from her pocket as she was pondering the peperoni, and when her jacket swung open as she tucked the peperoni in, they snagged the orzo too, putting both back on the shelf. Whistling, they pretended to study the boxes of pasta, adding fettuccini and linguini to the cart while discreetly trailing her.

They liberated the peperoni from her pocket, and the pack of crust mix all while she was placing a container of parmesan cheese in her basket. When she glanced their way, they tossed a loaf of French bread in the cart on top of a couple jars of sauce, and then maneuvered around her, pretending to ignore the looks she shot their way.

To her own basket she added a small container of red pepper flakes, then gasped, when store security grabbed her arm.

"Ma'am, you need to empty your pockets," the officer said, the pointed look on his face making the woman cringe.

"I...what's the meaning of this?" she stammered.

"I think you know," the officer told her, his stern expression turning to shock as she turned each of her pockets out one by one only to reveal there was nothing in them.

"Doh," Naill muttered, face palming and shaking his head.

"How were we supposed to know they were doing their jobs," Devlin grumbled.

"Yeah, ‘cause assuming they weren't just worked out so well. Can we please learn a lesson from all this. Let's just our shopping done and go home. We can't police everyone."

"Wasn't trying to police anyone, just looking to keep the prices down. Companies gotta make up for theft loss someway, how do you think they do it; they pass it on to the consumer, that's how. I just didn't wanna end up paying for her pizza, especially when you won't even let me have one."

"For a week, one miserable week. You keep this up and we can make it a month."

"Yeah, you can fuck right off with that shit too."

"Don't you wish?"

Left with no choice, the security guard apologized and let her go, frowning and rubbing the back of his neck as he watched her hurry to the checkout counter and pay for the items in her basket. Was too much to hope she'd chalk it up to a lesson learned, some strange twist of fate that had kept her from getting arrested. Was more likely she'd head to another store and lift the shit she'd failed to get.

What the hell did they bother for anyway[D2] ?

Rounding the corner to the organic section, they found the island with the coffees, teas and nuts, a long row of dispensers with plastic baggies to collect dried goods in. Grabbing two at a time they filled them with green tea leaves and light roast beans, tied them off and grabbed two more. Expresso beans this time and red rooibos tea, the packages stacked on top of the other two. The third time around they shoved the bags beneath the yogurt covered raisins, 'yogurt covered rat droppings,' Devlin complained, and the chamomile blossoms, like some tea was gonna be enough to relax them and lull them to sleep, but whatever. The shit tasted like sucking on grass but Naill seemed to like it and sometimes sharing a body meant putting up with things he'd rather not taste.

Flicking the levers closed produced a grinding sound from the raisins, and flicking it again only produced a dull, metallic clunk before raisins poured over the edge of the bag and onto the floor. They tried to stop them, using both hands to try and hold the raisins in but all that managed to do was send the blossoms flying, till it was raining chamomile into the ever growing pile on the floor.

Groaning, he tried to shuffle away, booted foot landing on a pile of raisins that caused his ankle to roll, spilling him sideways. The only thing to grab on to was the dispensers, one hand smacking into the lever, sending a hail of pistachios onto the floor. Throwing up his hands in frustration, he slunk away as carefully as he could, hurrying to the checkout line so he could get the hell out of there before something else went wrong.

At this point fast food would have been easier and far less stressful and if the checkout girl didn't hurry up and get him out of there before someone discovered the mess on the floor then it was going to prove to be a lot cheaper too.

"Told you so," Devlin giggled.

"Sometimes I think you do this shit on purpose," Naill bemoaned. "Every time you don't want to do something you turn it into a disaster."

"Consider it a hidden talent."

"Wish you'd keep it hidden, forever preferably, why do you have to do these things."

"In all truth and fairness, the whole, let's use our hyper reflexes to fill the bags faster thing was your idea, which proved to be an epic fail."

There was no way to argue that point so Naill let it slide, made much easier by the fact that the checkout clerk was dragging the final item across the scanner, the can of mushrooms that had started it all.

"Sixty-three dollars and fourteen cents is your total," she declared. "Do you have a food saver card?"

"No."

"Would you like to apply for one, you can do it today and start saving right away, it will take five percent off your total." she rambled, as Devlin caught sight of the store manager and the security guard heading for the coffee dispenser aisle.

"Umm no thanks, not today, we’ve gotta be going" Naill explained as he hastily swiped his card, punched in his pen number and gathered up the bags as the receipt started to flow out of the machine.

"Would you like your receipt," she called after them as they briskly headed for the door.

"No thanks," Naill called back over his shoulder.

The automatic doors seemed as if they couldn't open quickly enough and the second set seemed to take even longer, they'd nearly walked into the glass before it parted in front of their noses, sending a blast of frigid wind whipping around them.

Naill sighed and shifted the bags he carried, trying to better distribute the load. "Holy shit that was close."

"I would not wanna be the guy whose gotta do the cleanup."

"Yeah I'm sure he'd going to be loving you."

"Loving us you mean."

Nail just counted backwards peppering the numbers with the occasional curse.

"Okay chef, since this is still your show why don't you tell me what we're having for dinner, hope its something high carb and cheesy, we're supposed to patrol tonight."

"Shit."

"I'm not liking the sound of that."

"I forgot to get cheese."

"Awe come on man, seriously."

"Hey, it’s your fault, if you hadn't kept getting us into shit, I might not have forgotten anything."

"Come to think of it, we kind of forgot the eggs too."

"Oh for fuck's sake, Devlin."

"Hey, this was your show, remember,"

"And you're never gonna let me live it down, are you?"

"Nope."

"God, sometimes I hate you."

Fall leaves rustled and crunched beneath their feet, riled up by the cars that rushed past. Devlin kicked a can out of his path, watched it spin, clattering against the concrete before it finally struck a wall and ricochet off, smacking into the dull brown loafers of a man chattering away on his phone.

"Hey watch it!" the man complained, returning to his phone call moments later with complaints about even the sidewalks not being safe. Seemed like nothing today was destined to go right. In the distance, they could see their apartment looming; maybe tonight they should just stay in. Devlin was just about to suggest it when Naill paused, causing Devlin to stagger.

"Son of a bitch." Naill rasped with such venom in his voice that Devlin flinched. "SON OF A FUCKIN' BITCH!"

In an explosion of flapping wings the pigeons on the rooftop took to flight, a dark cloud rapidly fleeing into the distance.

"Language!" An older woman snapped from where she sat on her porch doing the crossword.

"Sorry ma'am," Devlin replied, giving her his most charming smile.

"Dude", he muttered under his breath, "what the hell was that all about?"

"I give up," Naill replied, hurrying them on their way to their apartment again. "All that shit we went through and guess what we forgot?"

"What?"

"The milk."

 *END*

[dawnajaynes32]

The Power of Lenticular Printing

by Greg Schuman, World3D Lenticular Printing

When printers and creative teams are tasked with grabbing attention and telling the story of a product, they need to reach into their proverbial bag of tricks. One of the best tools that print has to offer has a name that most people, even those in the creative world, can’t come up with. Lenticular printing has been around for at least 70 years and yet only recently have designers and advertisers started to harness its power as a serious marketing tool.

What Exactly Is Lenticular Printing?

You have likely seen a printed image animate in your hands or as you walk by a retail display. If you’re old enough you may remember 3D baseball cards in Kellogg’s cereal boxes. It’s less likely that you knew to call it lenticular printing.

For many years, lenticular images were used as tchotchke—just a fun toy for kids. However, in recent years as advancements in both software and print technology have made for better and better lenticular quality, people have started to use the medium as a tool to convey marketing messages.

Lenticular printing, by definition involves printing onto lenticules, which are tiny lenses embossed on to the surface of a plastic sheet. That’s where it gets that odd name. A lenticular printer like World3D takes multiple images and interlaces them together to create a single digital file. That file is then printed directly onto the back of the lenticular lens sheet. When the viewer looks at the front of that printed sheet, the lenses (those tiny ridges) block all but one of the images from view. As the viewer turns the card, the lenses hide the first image and reveal the next image. This progression of images creates an animation.

Conveying a Message with Movement

Animation allows for telling a story without the use of copy. While the animation itself can grab attention, the real power comes from being able to convey a message with movement. Lenticular in the past was the fun of a character dancing across a card. Lenticular now is as likely to show an industrial valve opening and closing in a unique way; the animation showing the functionality and telling a story that can’t otherwise be told in print.

Sometimes the fun character is the message. When Hasbro was releasing its latest product related to “Transformers: The Last Knight,” they worked with World3D Lenticular Printing to create a large-format lenticular poster. This was used as the centerpiece of a display that appeared in the endcap of every Walmart in the U.S. As shoppers walked past the display, they saw the character “transform” from a Chevy Camaro into the Bumblebee character. With this display they worked to grab the attention of shoppers but also to tell the story of both the character and the toy. 

While large-format lenticulars can fill up a giant architectural space or a retail environment, more common applications include lenticular postcards, premiums, magazine inserts and trade show giveaways. In general, any project that can use traditional litho print can use lenticular printing.

A Hologram? No, It’s 3D Lenticular

Along with animation, the other trick that lenticular printing can perform is to create an illusion of 3D depth. This is why lenticular often gets mistaken for a hologram or referred to as “holographic printing.” The 3D effect is created when a lenticular printer interlaces a layered Photoshop file in a way that creates a stereoscopic pair of images. As with the animated version, that interlaced file is printed onto the back of the lens sheet. However in this case, the lenticules are run vertically and serve to show a different image to each of the viewer’s eyes.

That difference between what is seen by the viewer’s left and right eyes creates an illusion of depth, and it can be quite impressive. While 3D lenticular images don’t quite tell a story, they can be a perfect match when marketing a 3D movie or product or even trying to convey a more realistic image of a landscape.

Lenticular Design

Lenticular design is not significantly different from other print mediums. A good lenticular printer can help you choose the optimal number of frames to use and guide you on best design practices. For example, it’s best to avoid solid white backgrounds in order to prevent burn in from previous frames. Also, it’s best to minimize the contrast between the elements that appear in one frame compared to the elements in the frames next to it. There are practically no size limitations either. Lenticular printing has been used to create everything from postage stamps to billboards.

So the next time you’re trying to grab attention and convey a message, just reach into your bag of tricks. Now that lenticular printing is part of your toolbox, you’ll be prepared.

Discover all the features of the newest version of single-user font manager, Suitcase Fusion, in this FREE live webcast on Dec. 7. Reserve your spot today!

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