#and parenthesis

[raisin-gran]

my fellow brick readers, i have a question. what was your least favorite book(s) to read in the whole thing.

[ohnonotthehorrors]

Can I... talk about the theory that winners help craft the next game?

Because, and I really can not say this enough, it puts So Much into perspective.

Everything starts out Normal. Three lives, simple, cut and dry, there hasn't been a winner yet. No one to help craft the game. (And there's something to be said about how simple it really was. Not even a real expectation of the world becoming pvp or combative. No idea of the war to come)

Then Grian wins. The green killer, the man who vowed his first life to the one whose life he took. The next game the boogie man is born. A mechanic that allows and, in fact, demands, a green kill. People can trade lives back and forth, currency and debt wrapped up in one. (can we still be friends? Said the red partner. A life time later and reds are hostile, alone. Maybe it's an answer: No. Not anymore)

Scott wins this time. He refuses to play the game. He will not kill his team, he will love and he will do so fiercely and with all of himself. The next game people are attached through to their very souls. Every bit of damage to one soul is done to its twin. There is no boogeyman. (There is no way for a widow to be left without their love)

Pearl wins and she wins a blood bath. Spent the game draped in red, only wolves for company. Sitting in her tower, shivering in ice, maybe she wanted it to end. To see where it would. Limited life rewards you for killing, limited life has a clock tick tick ticking down, you always no how long you have. A curse yes, but a blessing too.

Now It's Martyn's turn.

And what a turn it is.

Keep your secrets, says the disloyal man, keep them well. Everything hurts, everything Matters, says the man fracturing with every loss. (What if we could love each other without hurting? Says The Hand, who never wanted to be coated in blood)

More importantly, Martyn has always seen the watchers below the surface. Now, they're right here in front of him. Something that could almost... be rebelled against, no? Something that someone else could finally point to and say: hey, hey isn't that familiar?

[hello-from-nrc-infirmary]

Pam? Where are the um... mandrake leaves?

(Oh, uh... I think the last of them were used when you were sleeping that illness off the other day)

I'll umm.. go see about getting some extra from the alchemy lab. Remember to um... quite it down next time

(Okay! Take your lunch, too!)

*Vern nods as he leaves the infirmary. He's behind on several tasks today, so perhaps he will stop by Sam's or see if he can grab something light to go in the cafeteria. The sun is warm and welcoming today.*

*his phone rings a familiar tone. Vern's stomach drops as he takes a breath before answering*

Hello...

Hey, Sweetheart. A little birdie came back.. anything you want to tell me?

*Vern visibly pales, unable to make a sound*

Mmm... there will be a meeting tomorrow, mandatory for founders. I'll see you there.

*Vern's stomach churns, even as the call is ended. He... will need some more magic stored up. Taking an unsteady breath, he quickly types, deletes, retypes, and sends a text to Silver*

Text: "Aster... something came up and I won't be around campus tonight or tomorrow"

*it's vague, but he hopes it won't worry Silver too much... Skipping lunch, he sends a crocus back to Pam with some spare mandrake leaves, and hurries of to go pack a few things. He'll have to take Koa*

@aurora-retainer-silver

[rbtlvr]

this is genuinely fucking devastating to me btw. they quite literally saved siffrin's life by helping the party get to him

honestly unless siffrin looped back again (which. idk if they could have looped back if the party hadn't stopped them from giving up when they did, but who knows) loop also saved not only the party (making sure they actually made it to the king and didn't die to a trap or a sadness or the king himself) but also the entirety of vaugarde (if the party didnt make it who would be left to fight back against the king?)

so they saved siffrins life AT MINIMUM and possibly also all of vaugarde and yet theyre so surprised at being thanked. at the fact that their part in all of this could possibly be important. i cant do this

[hopegrasping]

WHEN YOU CLEAN THINGS PROPERLY THEY AREN'T GROSS ANYMORE STOP SHAMING PEOPLE FOR BUYING SHIT SECOND HAND!!

DESTIGMATIZE REFURBISHING AND PURCHASING PREVIOUSLY LOVED PERSONAL ITEMS, NO ONE IS MAKING YOU BUY THEM!! LEAVE PEOPLE ALONE!! STOP GOING OUT OF YOUR WAY TO TELL PEOPLE YOU THINK THEY'RE GROSS BC THEY MADE A PERSONAL DECISION THAT HAPPENS TO DOUBLE AS A NET POSITIVE FOR THE PLANET OMGG

THERE IS LITTLE TO NO EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE, IF IT CAN BE CLEANED, ASSUME THE PERSON WITH THE ITEM HAS CLEANED IT, OR JUST DON'T TOUCH IT! AND IF YOU'RE THE BUYER, THEN GIVE IT ONE MORE GOOD WIPE DOWN/THOROUGH CLEANING JUST TO BE SURE YOURE GTG! BUT OTHERWISE WE NEED GET A GRIP!!

It's okay to pick the scrunchie off the ground just wash it extremely well and dunk it in some alcohol. The secondhand socks won't kill you, did you know they make color safe bleach if you're a frequent thrifter?? It works! Yoga mats, shoes, headphones, gloves, glasses, underwear, food, you can make the personal decision to decide they feel like a less safe option for parts of your body you want to keep very safe, but you can do that while recognizing you have the privilege to make that choice for yourself while others flat out Don't. Assume whatever you think you would do to avoid the situation has been done. Assume you Aren't more clever than the poor person. This is the reality and there's no hypothetical where they come out on top, it's important to me that we realize this is happening all around us and we just don't know it. why are we demonizing poor people for basically using the scraps of others when We're The Ones Donating The Shit, Yanno?? You just gotta not be mean! Just don't say anything. it won't kill you to not absolutely salivate and slobber at the opportunity to shame someone for doing something that isn't even bad. You don't have to clap, just don't boo.

[majinbangus]

When you and little Simon come knocking on his door during Halloween wearing skeleton-themed costumes that lack a skull mask, big Simon gives some of his extra balaclavas to complete the look.

And when little Simon invites big Simon to go trick-or-treating, he wears his Ghost get up and little Simon thinks it's the coolest thing ever.

Meanwhile, you're wondering why big Simon has so many masks.

("I gotta ask," You inquire with the best nonjudgmental voice you got, but Simon can see the amusement playing on your lips, "why do you have so many skull masks?"

"Can't a bloke have his proclivities?" Simon answers as dryly as he can. "Maybe I just really love bones.")

[lesbianaelwen]

from the FAQ!

[yolllari]

Belated happy birthday, honey(

[uwmspeccoll]

Typography Tuesday

Cathedral of Type

This 32-inch long typographic broadside was printed at The Press of Robert LoMascolo in Aurora, N. Y. and is included in the portfolio of the deluxe edition of Parenthesis 27 (Autumn 2014), the journal of the Fine Press Book Association, in a limited edition of 125. LoMascolo writes:

A typosignet, or type picture, is an image composed of typographic ornaments, type, and rule. As a painter may use brush strokes to create a visual illusion, so too may the adventurous typographer use type to paint a picture. Whether composed of metal type, or digitally, the creation process is a tedious one of trial and error. This unusual form of art was perhaps brought to a climax by the talents of Albert Schiller, 1899-1970, but is carried on in this small way by The Press of Robert LoMascolo.

Our issues of Parenthesis are another donation from the estate of our late friend Dennis Bayuzick.

View more posts from Parenthesis.

View our other Typography Tuesday posts.

[clowns0cks]

I think it's really interesting how the master is a character you can describe as a constant bomb of emotions that can't regulate the way he feels cause he feels too much and it's also easier for him to open up, contrary to the doctor. Despite the doctor actually having friends he trusts and which he can count on and knows they are there for him, he represses everything. Keen on solving his problem on his own without anyone knowing he's struggling. Now I'm not saying the master doesn't repress how he feels. On the contrary, he represses A LOT. But not to others, not because he doesn't want others to know, but because he doesn't want to admit it to himself. Once he accepts he has a problem with something, everyone in the room is gonna know cause he's gonna make it EVERYONE'S problem. Listening to self-help gave me more perspective on this cause if the doctor found himself on like a therapy spaceship he would NEVER let anyone know he's struggling. He would insist he's fine and suppress anything he's feeling. The master on the other hand doesn't gaf. Those people want to help? Okay, why not, let's try, if it doesn't work he could always kill them. But he doesn't hesitate on opening up to these strangers and crying in front of them. He doesn't hide in any way to anyone the way he feels (except the things he still doesn't wanna acknowledge to himself). He's a fuse ready to blow at all times. He feels everything 100% more strongly than anyone and he doesn't care who knows. You could say "yeah he can make himself vulnerable because he knows he will kill those people in the end" except he didn't. He let them go. Once he admits to himself that he's feeling something (which is hard, as I said. He still hides things from himself, so this doesn't happen very often) the whole world is gonna know. He will set fire to everything and everyone who comes close

[janmisali]

spot the differences

[flos-obsessivus]

Pegging Lillian headcanons??

It's a big yes for him! Bend him over, pin him down, make him suck on your strap, what ever position it is, he's doing it. He's very open to whatever kink you have but this is one of his bigger kinks, closely related to his breeding kink —for both sides, though this time it's him getting bred. Plus points if it's one of those straps that can ejaculate fake cum.

After the breeding session, he tends to keep you in place—as well as your strap— to keep your cum deep inside, effectively cockwarming the strap.

[dreemurr-skelememer]

quick little gift for @monster-kind and her boy latte!

[stygiansauce]

Hey gamers! I'm gonna give you an entire lesson on hyphens, Em dashes and En dashes via tumblr, right now.

Lets preface with this: Grammar has two modes of use.

Prescriptive: A set of rules that dictate how a language "should" be used.

Descriptive: How grammar/language is ACTUALLY used.

This is an important distinction for this lesson because I am going to start with a powerpoint that explains the rules/uses of hyphens and dashes. THEN after, we will talk about the rhetorical effects dashes have on readers and how authors can use them to their advantage. COOL lets begin.

The first thing you all need to know about hyphens and dashes is what they look like.

Please note how the EM dash is the longest, the EN is next, then the minus, and the hyphen. The sizing and name of these dashes was historically decided because Em dashes were the size of an M and an En was the size of an N.

This is wonky now considering typing and fonts and all that jazz, but the size still matters (haha).

These are how you type them! I am a google docs user, and the short cuts in docs are weird. You will want to go into Insert then go down to special characters. Type in the dash you need, and click it to insert.

Hyphens so these things! What is a modifier? It's a word that MODIFIES the noun. like a light rain, or a long drive. these are adjectives/adverbs (depending)

Hyphens can link two modifiers. They can also link compound nouns.

These are the things Em dashes do! If you take a gander through Margin of Error (Chapter 4 would be best because that's where I learned the special character function) you'll see all of these examples in action!

En dashes aren't as common as EM dashes or hyphens. These are used strictly in a prescriptive sense. From my knowledge there is no way to use these rhetorically. only for clarity and these are the three times you'll see them.

COOL! Now lets talk about how Em dashes are used rhetorically. What does an Em dash do to your writing? How does it effect a reader?

Emphasis Em dashes create pauses in speech. If I were talking to you and I wanted to pause-- or cut myself off, I could use either an elipses or an Em dash. Where an elipses is more of a trail off... the Em dash draws the readers eye. It makes the reader stop and look at what is around them.

THATS IT! Thats what it does! It's more emphasis than a comma or a parenthetical. You could in theory use a comma, but think of how much stress you want on something.

FOR EXAMPLE, in this line from Margin of Error.

With no Puncuation: “Ah well Grian and I weren’t really getting along at the time…” He trails off in a way that screams I’m done talking about this something he does a lot when talking about his family so Tango moves the conversation in a different direction.

With Commas: “Ah, well, Grian and I weren’t really getting along at the time…” He trails off in a way that screams I’m done talking about this, something he does a lot when talking about his family, so Tango moves the conversation in a different direction.

With Em dashes: “Ah—well, Grian and I weren’t really getting along at the time…” He trails off in a way that screams I’m done talking about this—something he does a lot when talking about his family—so Tango moves the conversation in a different direction.

Notice how it's different? The commas certainly do their job at making the reader pause. They help insert the phrase, but its not the same as the dashes. The dashes make the reader LOOK at what is between them. it becomes the focus of the sentence. We are no longer worries about what Jimmy's tone is, but that he uses it often when talkin about his family.

Look at this example with parenthesis too, and see how those change the effect.

With parenthesis: “Ah—well, Grian and I weren’t really getting along at the time…” He trails off in a way that screams I’m done talking about this (something he does a lot when talking about his family) so Tango moves the conversation in a different direction.

Seeeee? it makes a difference! The parenthesis make it more of a passive thought. Something for the reader to consider, but is overall not important to the story. This is why us authors sometimes hem and haw over grammar! I certainly think that Em dashes can be used based off vibes (I do this all the time) but now you know what its really doing for your reader! I want to look at one more example of this before we wrap up.

With no Puncuation: “Your eyes are pretty.” Jimmy says wistfully suddenly like he can’t hold it in any longer

With Commas: “Your eyes are pretty.” Jimmy says wistfully, suddenly, like he can’t hold it in any longer

With Em dashes: “Your eyes are pretty.” Jimmy says wistfully—suddenly—like he can’t hold it in any longer

With Parenthesis: “Your eyes are pretty.” Jimmy says wistfully (suddenly) like he can’t hold it in any longer.

TADA! You can now use hyphens, em dashes and en dashes!!! Thank you for coming to class. Your homework is to play around with these in your writing. I will accpet questions via the Ask box or the comments of this post. Happy writing nerds, go use your new toy.

xoxo Ms. Sauce

[quicksilversnails]

I think it's neat how many of ISAT's tracks have very similar titles, only using parenthesis to differentiate themselves. It's a structure that actually reminds me a lot of the dialogue in-game. Even though the game's events and dialogue repeat over and over, Siffrin's thoughts, written in parenthesis, change with time.

So what if the parenthesis in the titles actually represented Siffrin's thoughts while the track plays? Looking at some of the tracks with this in mind:

Friend Quest vs Friend Quest (Solo). The added parenthesis are technically accurate, as the track is actually transcribed to solo piano, but they also generally invokes the idea of a solo performance. You could interpret Siffrin as the soloist, performing his script with a growing sense of detachment from his family. Alternatively, the party members could be the soloists, being the only ones developing in these scenes, the only ones emotionally present.

Do You Remember (King's Theme) vs (Our Country) vs (We've Been Through This Before). It starts out as a simple descriptor assigning the theme to the King, which is also used for Loop's Theme or the Battle Theme. The later two tracks uses the added text as a continuation of the question (Do you remember our country? Do you remember we've been through this before?). While the question in (King's Theme) is initially asked by the King to Siffrin, the later tracks leave more ambiguity: (Our Country) could be asked by either, while (We've Been Through This Before) could be from Siffrin to the King, or even Siffrin to themself. There's also something about how the question itself - Do You Remember? - can be spoken, but the subject of it can only be thought, never said out loud

The House (Floors 1-3) vs The House (Trapped). Similarly, the simple descriptors of the floor numbers shift with Siffrin's mental state. The floors can no longer be differentiated from one another; it's all the same prison anyway

Game Over vs Game Over (Don't Leave Me Alone Here). This one is genuinely so sad to me, with the parenthesis containing a cry for help, calling out to somebody, anybody, nobody. By the nature of it being in parenthesis, it remains in Siffrin's mind, left unspoken and unheard.

It's Finally Over... vs It's Finally Over... (Reprise). Finally one with a positive spin lol. The choice of the term "Reprise" here is really interesting to me because it refers to the repetition or return of a musical idea, when this track only plays once the loop is finally broken. They're often used in musicals to call back to earlier events and highlight any changes or development since the first iteration of the song, which is fitting for Act 6. Even though they're at a similar place compared to the end of Act 2 (King defeated, loop (seemingly) broken), Siffrin's changed so much since then. He's suffered immensely, but he also finally got to share his wish... there's much more resolution to the Act 6 ending and the music reflects this.

[lemonycranberries]

of course “gregory house (soulmate)” is listed under “lovers” on wilson’s page on the house md wiki. of course it is