#noir writes

[autistic-cat-with-a-book]

Hello there. I have written a story, which I am now sharing with the keepblr fandom. Enjoy it. Please. (It's a slightly alternate ending for Neverseen, if you were curious.) Tagging @permanently-stressed because I've been torturing her with crumbs of this for the whole week, so it's only fitting she gets tagged.

okay bye

Sophie was about to step into the shimmering beam of her pathfinder when she noticed the small yellow crystal in Keefe’s hand. She barely hesitated before grabbing his shoulders and letting the light carry both of them away.

“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!” Keefe shouted as they reappeared by a lake the color of blood. Tall, foggy mountains surrounded the area, and the whole place gave Sophie the creeps. Nothing good could come of this.

“I could ask you the same thing!” She snapped. “Why are you leaping–illegally– to the Forbidden Cities? Are you seriously going to try to break into an ogre prison?” 

Keefe turned away. “Go home, Sophie.”

“Not unless you explain what’s going on here!”

Keefe opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by three flashes of light. Three dark cloaks with a white eye symbol on the sleeve.

The Neverseen were here.

“Keefe,” Sophie started as the figures slowly walked towards them, “What did you do? What did you do?”

“I…” his voice trailed off.

“How are we going to escape this?” She hissed.

“Simple answer,” said the first figure, throwing back his hood. “You don’t.”

With growing horror, Sophie found the name the voice belonged to. Fintan was here. So were Brant and Alvar. They were trapped.

Fintan held up his hands, a smile spreading across his thin lips. “My, my, Keefe. You’ve really outdone yourself. Sophie is such an excellent addition to our bargain.” His eyes narrowed as he said that last part and a chill went up Sophie’s spine.

What bargain is he talking about? Sophie transmitted.

“She is not part of this deal. Let. Her. Go,” Keefe said, ignoring Sophie’s question.

“Tsk, tsk. If only we could. But now that she’s here, I’d be so sad to see her go,” Fintan said, glee dripping from every word. A small flame flickered to life in Brant’s hand, and Keefe shrank back.

“If you hurt her, I won’t give you the cache!” Sophie heard this but didn’t have time to react before strong invisible arms wrapped around her neck in a chokehold. 

“Keefe,” she gasped hoarsely, “What are you talking about?”

But she has a sinking feeling in her stomach. There are better, safer ways to rescue your mom. You don’t have to trade the cache for this. Please, Keefe. A tear rolled silently down her cheek.

This is the only way, Foster. You wouldn’t be here if you had just gone home!

You know I couldn’t do that.

Fintan ordered Keefe to get the cache, and Sophie watched as Keefe quietly said, “Two twenty-one B Baker Street,” shock and betrayal coursing through her veins.

The cache popped into Keefe's hand, and Alvar immediately grabbed it, tucking it into a concealed pocket on his robe.

How could you? Sophie’s mental question was more sad than angry, but Keefe still didn’t respond.

“Miss Foster, I assume you and Mr. Sencen are communicating telepathically. Much fun as it is to watch you silently struggle, this would go a lot quicker if you would both listen to the terms at hand.” Fintan said, gesturing to Brant.

The scarred elf stepped closer, the heat of the Everblaze in his hand making Sophie sweat. “All you have to do,” he said to Keefe, grabbing Sophie’s monocle pendant and holding it in his fire, “is take this pretty little swan and brand your moonlark. If you do that, we’ll let her go free and you come with us.”

“If not,” Alvar interrupted, “Fintan will start giving Sophie some very painful scars.”

Keefe’s face crumpled and he transmitted, I’m so sorry. I know you’re going to hate me now.

I could never hate you,  she assured him, although she grew less and less sure of that as he took the pendant and stepped up to Sophie.

His ice-blue eyes were glassy with unshed tears, and Sophie tried one last time. “Please, Keefe. Why are you doing this?”

“Last night…I got more memories back,” he whispered. 

“I still don’t understand why you would join them,” she said. Alvar was nearly choking her, and she was getting very lightheaded. 

“You were raised to be the hero. I was raised to be something…else.” He brushed his hand over her necklace. “I wanted you to have this, in case someday–”

“Heartwarming as this is,” Fintan cut in, “We’re running out of time. And patience.” The last word had a deadly undertone and the tears in Keefe’s eyes spilled over as he raised the pendant to Sophie’s face. It was glowing red from the Everblaze. Sophie didn’t want to imagine how much pain it would cause.

But she didn’t have to imagine. 

All of a sudden, Keefe squeezed his eyes closed and pressed the red-hot swan against the side of Sophie’s neck. She screamed, thrashing in Alvar’s arms, but he held her tight. Bright white pain exploded behind her eyes, and she wanted it to take her far, far away.

 To a place where she wouldn’t have to deal with the Neverseen, or the Black Swan, or Keefe.

The white light promised rest.

Calm.

Peace.

But all too soon, she was ripped back to reality. Sophie could feel blisters bubbling up on her skin, and when she opened her eyes, Keefe had dropped the pendant. Smoke was rising from it, and her mind shied away from picturing what her neck looked like. 

Brant still had a sphere of Everblaze floating above his palm, the flames crackling ominously. 

“Okay,” Keefe said, his voice shaky, “I did what you asked. You have the cache. Now please, let Sophie go home.” 

“Oh, did we say anything about letting her go home?” Fintan asked the others with a laugh. “Mr. Sencen, we merely said we would free her. We never specified where she would be released.”

In one fluid motion, Alvar let go of Sophie, pulled out his Pathfinder, and said, “Have fun, you four!” Then raised the crystal to the setting sun and stepped into the beam of light.

While that was happening, Fintan had summoned a ring of fire around himself, Brant, Keefe, and Sophie, and the flames were taller than she was. 

No escape.

It was hard to think through the searing pain, but she was able to stay standing. Keefe held her shoulders and yelled, “You promised!” at the ancient Pyrokinetic.

“Come on,” Fintan scoffed, “Surely you’ve known us long enough to know that we don’t play fair.” With that, Fintan pulled Keefe away from Sophie and Brant took a small cloth out of his cloak. Sophie could smell the stench of the sedative, and she tried to run, but there was nowhere to go. Brant grinned as he pressed the fabric over her nose and mouth, flooding her brain with the sickeningly sweet smell. 

The last thing she saw was Keefe’s anguished face, and his thoughts whispering, It’s for the best, as he and the two pyrokinetics lept away.

Then she collapsed as the ring of fire grew even taller around her.

Heat. So much heat. Her neck, her arms, her back. They were all so, so hot.

 Sophie peeled her eyes open, coughing on the smoke and ash. She managed to sit up on the gritty sand, noting that she wasn’t actually on fire. But the Everblaze was raging all around her, making its way to the mountains in the distance. She guessed that a few hours had passed since–

Nope. She was not going to think about Keefe. Sophie cautiously reached up to feel her neck, then winced as she brushed her fingers over the blisters. That was going to be a permanent scar. 

“Help,” she croaked, pushing herself off of the ground. The lake was nearby, promising cool water, but she didn’t trust the bloodred color. “Help,” she repeated, louder this time. Her throat scratched and her muscles ached and her mouth tasted all kinds of disgusting, but that didn’t stop her. 

Anything, anyone, would be a welcome presence. With the moon high in the sky and the smoke billowing through the air, the whole place was even creepier than it was in the daytime, which was saying a lot. 

She crawled to where Keefe had been standing and noticed… what was that?

Sophie picked up a small glittering bead, noting the way it shimmered in the moonlight. Was this a leaping crystal? Why had he left it–oh. It must have been for her, in case she followed him here. 

Sophie let out a bark of laughter. This would have been useful a few hours ago before she got the sign of the swan branded on her neck. But…what if it wasn’t from Keefe? Maybe it led to a trap. The Neverseen could have left it here, hoping she’d leap right into one of their hideouts. But then why wouldn’t they just take her along with Keefe?

She brought the bead closer, looking for a clue. It seemed pretty ordinary, just an orb of shimmery compacted powder, but there– she saw a tiny, tiny K painted on the side. 

It was from Keefe. Wow. He really thought of everything. 

She held the tiny crystal up to the moonlight, hoping hoping hoping that it would work. A weak beam of light appeared, and Sophie nearly cried in relief. She stepped into the path, concentrating on the warm feathery rush of the leap as her body dissolved. 

She re-formed at the entrance to Havenfield.

Home, home, safe, safe! Her mind cheered. She limped up to her house, every muscle aching. Edaline and Grady were sitting on the enormous couch, and they both leaped up when she pushed the massive doors open. Edaline rushed to give Sophie a hug while Grady said, “What happened to you?”

“I…” her voice trailed off, a lump forming in her throat. “The Neverseen,” she whispered, gently removing herself from her adoptive mom’s embrace. 

“Oh, Sophie,” Edaline said, running a hand over Sophie’s cuts and bruises. She avoided the burn on her nack, and Sophie was hit with a rush of affection for her mom. 

Grady rushed to their extensive medicine cabinet, grabbing an armful of elixirs and balms. Soon enough, Sophie was lying on her bed, and Elwin –in his fuzzy T-rex pajamas– was treating all of her injuries. He thankfully didn’t ask too many questions, instead letting her relax and calm down from the day’s events. 

After Elwin left, Grady and Edaline brought up a cool cloth for her neck and a small vial of shimmery liquid. “It’s somnalene,” Edaline explained. “It’ll help you sleep. You need it.”

“It’s not a sedative, right?” Sophie asked.

“No, kiddo. These are like sparkly eye drops that make you feel very peaceful,” Grady explained, filling the eyedropper and positioning it over Sophie’s eye. 

“You sure you’re okay with this?” Edaline asked, concern clearly written all over her expression.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, Mom.”

Grady squeezed the somnalene into Sophie’s eyes, and immediately little twinkling colored lights appeared in her vision. Shortly after she settled down, her parents left, leaving her with her thoughts– and Iggy’s lawnmower-esque snore. Despite her long–long– day she was asleep in minutes.

The next morning, Sophie somehow managed to get dressed, eat breakfast, and meet with the Collective without collapsing or breaking into a fit of tears. Her neck still throbbed and her back hurt and her heart was broken, but she was going to be okay. 

She was the Moonlark. 

“So,” Mr. Forkle said with a sigh, “Let’s go through this again. Keefe took you to the Neverseen–”

“He didn’t take me, I grabbed onto him as he was leaping away,” Sophie interjected.

“Right. So then the Neverseen forced him to hand over the cache, and made him…” He looked quickly at the burn on her neck, his voice cracking.

Everyone got silent after that. After a moment, Granite continued quietly, “So Fintan, Brant, Alvar, and Keefe all light leaped away while you were sedated and surrounded by Everblaze.”

Grady and Sandor both looked like they wanted to punch something, so Sophie said, “But Keefe didn’t know that would happen! It was my fault.”

Edaline hugged Sophie, whispering, “What happened was not your fault. It never will be, so please don’t blame yourself.”

“I’ll try not to,” she whispered back. 

Sophie straightened up, clearing her throat to prepare for what she was about to say. “Do you think Keefe is….bad?”

“I think Mr. Sencen is confused, and desperate, and afraid. But I do not think he is bad, Miss Foster,” Mr. Forkle assured her. 

“So you think his guilt is making him do this.”

“Yes. He has chosen a difficult path, but I think he knows that what he is doing is incredibly reckless,” Wraith added.

“I wouldn’t be too quick to trust him,” Grady advised from the corner.

“Especially not after–that thing,” Squall said, pointing her frosty fingers at Sophie’s burn.

“What about the cache?” Sophie wondered aloud.

“We’ll deal with that later. For now, there is news I must share with you all.” Mr. Forkle said. 

Sophie's mind flashed through dozens of possibilities, but nothing could have prepared her for what Mr. Forkle said next. 

“Prentice is awake.”

[twentysnoir]

Um desabafo sincero — É possível um RPG sobreviver quando os players não escutam?

Que as comunidades, especialmente no Xwitter, estão durando cada vez menos não é novidade. Inclusive, já fiz um texto sobre isso. Eu, particularmente, não tenho sido uma player tão assídua quanto já fui, mas, com a pouca experiência que tive nos últimos meses, notei algo em comum que resultava no fim de todas elas: a falta de escuta. É possível ter uma comunidade acolhedora e duradoura se players não escutam uns aos outros ou, em alguns casos, a própria moderação?

A resposta básica é "não". Depois disso, poderiam subir os créditos para anunciarem o fim do texto. Contudo, quero ir além. É necessário destrinchar alguns acontecimentos recorrentes que não só desanimam quem quer jogar, como a própria moderação.

Como player, acredito que sempre deva existir uma relação amigável e respeitosa entre os players e moderação. Quase sempre que eu saio de uma comunidade, gosto de dar um feedback do motivo da saída. Nas últimas comunidades que participei, percebi que, ao passar esse feedback para os moderadores, eles me retornaram que também estavam desanimados pelo mesmo motivo: a falta de colaboração dos players.

Alguns tópicos merecem ser trabalhados ao longo do texto. Trabalharei em cada um, de acordo com o que eu tenho observado.

Panelinhas: O que já foi considerado o maior dos problemas do RPBR não é algo que eu tenho visto com tanta frequência mais, porém isso não quer dizer que não exista. Não sei se já mencionei sobre o assunto aqui, mas costumo entrar nas comunidades sozinha. Ultimamente, tenho entrado com um ou dois amigos, mas ainda assim nunca foi um problema para mim. Tenho uma técnica infalível que consiste em comentar nas fotos de todas as pessoas, algumas pessoas acabam ignorando, só que isso nunca foi um problema relevante, porque, na maioria das vezes, consigo uma boa interação. Teve uma única comunidade em particular que, ao realizar isso, recebia respostas ríspidas das pessoas, o que eu achava compreensível, já que nem todos iriam gostar da personagem. Considerando que toda ação tem uma reação, minha personagem poderia ser ríspida de volta, mas eu tinha medo, porque houveram outras situações que, ao atacarem uma das pessoas daquele grupo, todos surgiam para brigar, como um ataque em bando. Foi desestimulante, mas, como eu disse, foi um caso em específico e não acho que seja esse o problema.

Ignorarem personagens: Acredito fielmente que todos possam escolher com quem querem ou não interagir. Existem personagens que eu acho que trazem estereótipos e comportamentos problemáticos e, pelo bem da minha saúde mental, eu ignoro. O problema, no entanto, vem quando as pessoas ignoram uma grande porção de uma comunidade, reduzindo suas interações a meia dúzia de pessoas, seja porque querem ficar com aquele personagem ou por usarem um FC que o OOC gosta.

Ignorarem a moderação: Apesar de já ter notado esse tipo de comportamento no passado, acho que nunca foi tão intenso quanto nos últimos tempos. Apesar de ver pessoas ignorando a moderação, é a primeira vez que eu vejo players ignorando tudo, incluindo o plot da comunidade. Plot drop? Não participam. Tasks? Não querem. Clima e outros detalhes menores? Aí é que realmente nem se interessam. Parece que a única vontade é farrear virtualmente — e nunca na vida real — utilizando uma foto de idol.

Plot calls: Apesar de uma parte disso estar incluída em ignorarem personagens, uma vez que a quantidade de likes em um plot call não chega nem a 10% dos personagens de uma comunidade, nem mesmo as calls de DM IC, onde seu único trabalho é curtir e responder a DM recebida, quero incluir também os plot calls compulsórios. Entendam que fazer plot calls não é obrigatório. Você, como player ou personagem, não vai ser punido se não fizer, então, caso faça, é necessário fazer a sua parte também. E qual seria a parte do player? Chamar a pessoa que curtiu. Uma reclamação frequente em comunidades, até mesmo em atuais que estão ativas e com boa durabilidade, é que as pessoas não chamam aqueles que curtiram seus plot calls. E se a pessoa não vai chamar, seria muito mais fácil não fazer.

Entendam que aqui não coloco os moderadores como santos imaculados que não erram, porque eles são falhos com todo ser humano, mas, na maioria dos casos, a culpa das comunidades não durarem é dos próprios players desinteressados em jogarem.

Como player, é triste e doloroso estar escrevendo isso. Sei que não são todos os players da tag que se encaixam nessas coisas que falei, mas acho que vale a pena a reflexão. Todos possuem o direito de jogar com quem quiserem e da maneira que quiserem, mas, existindo tantas possibilidades, como o nxn, 1x1 e afins, por que insistem em ir para comunidades e arruinarem as experiências alheias?

Este texto foi pesado, mas também foi um desabafo. Não queria retomar as atividades desta maneira, mas eu realmente precisava colocar para fora. Obrigada quem leu até aqui e vamos tornar a tag um lugar melhor!

[chatxkilluaxnoir]

I Have a New Ko-Fi Post Posted

If you want to check it out!

I preview and talk about a new fic I am writing.

Specifically a new Gravity Falls Transcendence AU Fic!

I am very inspired to write this fic, and I hope to get it done as soon as I can!

Excited to share with ya guys once I am almost done with or done with it!

Here is the link to that new ko-fi post I mentioned!:

https://ko-fi.com/post/Preview-For-a-Gravity-Falls-Transcendence-AU-Fic-I-C0C4DFHH3

[hadleyfrasergender]

suddenly i'm holding the world in my arms

a ramleyjoltaire inspired fanfic. very fluffy, but with some angst, set during drink with me.

...

Enjolras' eyes stared intensely and worryingly at Grantaire as he finished his contributions to the reminiscing at the barricades. It wasn't quite what they needed, at all. at first Enjolras was something approaching proud of Grantaire participating. but then Grantaire's eyes went dull and his slight smile faded and there were tears and Enjolras' pride in him was washed away by disappointment.

Until Grantaire glanced at him, and there was fear in his eyes. Enjolras didn't want r to be scared of him. He wanted to talk to Grantaire. Just. Talk.

Grantaire turned away and Enjolras grabbed, almost desperate, onto his arm. Which he jerked away.

'Don't leave.' Enjolras said. 'You don't have too.'

Grantaire stared at him, hope and wonder in his eyes.

Enjolras saw Grantaire raise his hand up to touch his cheek, and Enjolras grabbed onto it, squeezing gently, and allowed it to rest there.

Enjolras turned his head, without breaking eye contact, to kiss Grantaire's palm.

There were tears in Grantaire's eyes, and Enjolras held even more tightly onto his hand and he leaned over to kiss Grantaire.

Grantaire for a few seconds didn't move, but then held Enjolras' face to his even closer, and Enjolras' hand slid down his wrist as his other arm wrapped around Grantaire's waist and Grantaire's other hand clasped onto his shoulder.

Enjolras didn't think he would ever quite experience something as good as this for the rest of his life. Grantaire was warm and soft and pretty and everything that Enjolras needed right now.

When they at last pulled away enjy stared into Grantaire's eyes for a moment-and they were quite pretty eyes too-before Grantaire laughed (beautifully) quietly and hugged him tightly around his neck, and Enjolras' heart felt as though it couldn't quite contain his joy and he held Grantaire and hugged him closely and almost lifted him off the ground. Enjolras leaned over and let his chin rest on Grantaire's shoulder.

Grantaire kissed his hair, right above his ear, and a fresh wave of joy washed over Enjolras again.

Enjolras had never been... attracted to anyone before. But something in Grantaire draw him. not in the way Courfeyrac was drawn to people (regardless of gender) but in another way. He had never been in love before. Well, in love with a person. But Grantaire... he was the exception. again. not in any kind of... bodily sense, but in a loving and, he supposed, a romantic sense too.

And he had a very nice face too.

He loosened his hold on Grantaire to stare into his eyes again, smiling brightly.

Grantaire was smiling too, and it was the most amazing smile Enjolras had seen. it was a smile that could light up the world. but Enjolras noticed the tears remaining in his eyes, too, and bought up a hand to wipe them away. He then kissed Grantaire's cheek and whispered, 'Do you want to go talk somewhere else?'

Grantajre held onto his hand as well, kissing his palm (Enjolras' heart felt as though it would burst) and nodded.

So Enjolras put an arm around his shoulders, kissed the top of his head, and together, they walked away.

...

a/n so you know that one scene in infinity war when vision and wanda are talking to each other and vision holds onto her hand and kisses her palm and you're lying if you say you didn't want to be vision in that moment? i actually had another example of this but i forgot so... here it is! ramleyjoltaire edition. featuring smilely, in-love raminjolras and hadleyr with attachment issues. basically it's a pretty natural thing to happen during that scene because uhm. *gestures at them* also the only valid universe in which enjy is taller than r in ramleyjoltaire.

i hope you enjoyed it! constructive criticism is appreciated but it's my first time posting this pairing (not even ramleyjoltaire, enjoltaire in general) so please go easy. reblogs are appreciated. thanks!

[noiroux]

So, I thought of this little tidbit this morning while I was running late for work lmfao. Obviously it’s D//evil M//ay C//ry related and it makes for a nice intro to a fic but not really??? Like I honestly have no idea where I would take it from here. I do like the concept of it being narrated in a series of text posts. But it probably wouldn’t get far lol. 

–

Um, so I hit someone with my car this morning…

It was about 8:30 in the morning when it happened. First of all, I was late for work and second, I didn’t bother to turn around to look behind me because what kind of freak lurks around in the back parking of an apartment complex?

The handsome kind apparently.

So, I get out of my car and he’s just laying on the ground and not moving so I’m like “Well fuck, fuck, fuck. Not only am I late for work but I just murdered someone.” And yeah, I try to get him to wake up??? Less asking if he was okay and more like panicked, “Please don’t be dead. I’m already late for work and murder was not on my list of things to do today.”

And of all the things he does to indicate he’s alive is to laugh. Which obviously scares the shit out of me. But nonetheless he gets up and dusts himself off.

So I go through the human decency procedure like “Are you okay? Do you need me to call you an ambulance or drive you to an urgent care etc etc.” But he sorta just waves me off and is like “I’m fine, I’m fine.” and my mind is definitely agreeing with that statement like hoo boy, you definitely are fine bUT UM ANYWAY…

So I do what any decent human being does and give him my number??? Like I told him, “Look. I know you said you’re okay but like if the shock wears off and you are injured I’m not going to leave you to deal with it.” and he takes my number and looks at it and gives me this look sO I PANICKED AND WAS LIKE, “DON’T GET ME WRONG. I DON’T HIT PEOPLE WITH MY CAR SO I CAN HIT ON THEM…” AND HE SMILES AND I WANTED TO FUCKING DIE BECAUSE I’M THE MOST EMBARRASSING PERSON ON THE PLANET JESUS CHRIST.

BUT YEAH. I just honestly wanted to fucking leave at that point so I told him my name and he tells me his and I honestly haven’t stopped thinking about it????

Dante…

God, I really wish I hadn’t hit him with my car….

[autistic-cat-with-a-book]

I was prompted to make this for @permanently-stressed (I had fun, thanks for the suggestion!)

It's called Too Far to Reach =) enjoy!

Jolie knocked on Brant’s door, noting the singular light shining through the bedroom window. “Brant? Are you home?”

The door opened a moment later and his handsome face peered out. He smiled when he saw her. “Jolie? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at Foxfire?”

“I snuck out to see you!” Jolie said joyfully. 

Jolie remembered she still had her Black Swan monocle pendant on as soon as he reached to touch it. “This is new,” he said– and was that…suspicion in his voice?

“Oh!” Jolie laughed, but internally she was scrambling to come up with a lie. The Black Swan was an illegal rebellion. Probably best that Brant didn’t know she was a member. “My friend found it in Atlantis and gave it to me.”

“I see….”

“So, um, do you want to eat some dinner?” she asked.

“Sure, love. But can we talk first?” Jolie nodded as Brant led her inside. His singular couch stood alone in the living room, but there was a glorious view of the ocean through the floor-to-ceiling windows. They sat, and he turned to face her. 

“I need to tell you something. Have you ever heard of the Neverseen?”

Jolie's breath quickened. She was undercover in the Neverseen, posing as a member while reporting back to the Black Swan. This couldn’t end well.

“No, never. What is it?” She lied.

Brant narrowed his eyes. “I think you have…”

“Okay, fine. They’ve reached out to me before, I think. I keep hearing voices in the shadows. It sounds like they were trying to recruit me,” she widened her eyes, feigning innocence. 

“Oh, they’ve more than reached out to you.” His voice hid an angry undertone, and Jolie squirmed in her seat. “You’ve done things for u–them.” Jolie noticed his slip. Had Brant been about to say…us?

“How do you know that?” she whispered, nervously snapping her fingers and making a small plate of butterblasts appear and disappear. 

“But that would mean…” Brant muttered to himself. “That would mean you’re not a real member!” He lunged, grabbing her monocle pendant as she screamed. Brant loved her, surely he wouldn’t hurt her, surely… What was happening???

A small ball of fire was hovering over his hand, and he was melting her pendant in it. “You’ve been in the Black Swan all along,” he spat. 

Brant was a pyrokinetic???

That explained the sparse furniture. He probably didn’t want to burn his house down every time he lost control.

“So you’ve been in the Black Swan, doing everything we told you to do in the dark because you wanted to infiltrate us?” Brant yelled.

“No, I–Did you just say, ‘us’?”

Brant covered his mouth and laughed darkly. “Well, I suppose there’s no reason to keep it a secret now.”

Jolie’s mind flashed through all of the horrible things the Neverseen handmade her do, all the nights meeting in secret, and the whispers… “That was you, in the tower? Telling me to join?”

“It was me, yes. And a few…others.”

“Why?” Her voice was quiet. Scared.

“Because our world isn’t perfect! Look at me, labeled Talentless when I can do this.” He muttered a few strange words and a glowing ball of neon-yellow flames burned through the stone ceiling, leaving a gaping hole with smoke rising from the edges. Jolie gasped. “This is power. This is a valuable ability.”

“Can’t you just go to the council with your concerns?” Jolie pleaded. Tiny flames were circling the ceiling now, licking at the edges and creeping closer. 

“The council won’t do anything. They never will. That’s why Fintan created the Neverseen.”

“Fintan?” The ancient elf who’d been one of the first councilors to exist made the organization that burned down human buildings for fun?

The flames were getting larger now. More determined. Brant didn’t seem to notice, still staring at his hovering yellow fire. 

“I can’t believe you’ve been a part of the Black Swan. The puny rebellion, destined to fail.” Brant scoffed as the flames slowly ate at the walls.

“And you’ve been spying on us…reporting our plans…telling them all of our secrets. What a good liar you are.” 

 Jolie didn’t think that was a compliment. 

Then Brant seemed to notice what was going on around him. In a panic, he dropped his ball of fire, which immediately sprang up, devouring the couch in its eagerness. Brant sprinted to the door, not looking back. Jolie was left behind, and now…she was trapped. 

Fire everywhere else she looked. It was getting very smokey, and her eyes were burning, her throat aching, someone please help, I’m trapped, please, “get me out!”

She didn’t realize that she’d said that out loud. She couldn’t think, could barely breathe. Her head was getting very foggy, and she collapsed to the ground, screaming as the fire whispered across her skin. She was on fire. 

She tried to push herself up, but her arms felt strangely detached. Jolie gasped for air, choking on the smoke. The flames had consumed almost the entire interior of the house.

She heard a distant pounding on the door, but her eyes were fluttering closed. Jolie felt strong arms picking her up, running, the door slammed behind them, she was lying on the dry grass, the stars were so high above her–

“Jolie. Stay with me. I love you... Please…. Please, you have to stay here, be with me, you can’t leave me…” that was Brant. So he did still care about her.

Her chest ached and her head was pounding. Her arms felt scorched.

The pain was only a distant feeling.

Everything seemed so very far away.

Too

far

to

reach

back.

and, since past experience proves that Tumblr hates formatting, here is a screenshot in case that last sentence didn't work correctly:

cool, right?

[twentysnoir]

Chat GPT e RPG — Como utilizar a ferramenta sem ser antiético?

A tecnologia tem se aprimorado cada vez mais, surgindo na vida de todos nós com a premissa de ajudar. No entanto, ano passado surgiu uma ferramenta que assustou muitos: o Chat GPT. Músicos, escritores e artistas em geral se preocuparam — "será que perderei meu emprego?", era o que tinham em mente. Contudo, apesar dos diversos aspectos antiéticos relacionados ao uso descomedido da ferramenta, precisamos lembrar do motivo que ela surgiu: nos ajudar. Assim sendo, tem como utilizar o Chat GPT e ser ético ao mesmo tempo?

A preocupação da tecnologia tomar os empregos dos seres humanos já vem de muito tempo; podemos citar, como exemplo, o uso de máquinas nas indústrias, que faziam o emprego de cinco pessoas, mas utilizando apenas uma para operar. No sistema capitalista, onde visam o lucro acima de tudo, mandaram as outras quatro embora. Logo, em um setor onde tinham vinte trabalhadores, sobraram quatro, gerando dezesseis desempregados.

Se um exemplo não é o suficiente, podemos citar outro, frequentemente presente em nossos livros didáticos: o êxodo rural. No momento em que as máquinas tomaram conta dos campos, agilizando o trabalho, diversas pessoas tiveram que ir para as cidades, buscando melhores oportunidades. É claro que não deu tão certo assim e, com isso, temos o surgimento das favelas e demais residências periféricas. O resto é história e não cabe neste texto, mas é fácil de ser aprofundado com o material adequado.

Com o histórico bem problemático das pessoas querendo pagar o mínimo possível pela maior quantidade de trabalho, o medo do Chat GPT é real e palpável. Entretanto, devemos utilizar a tecnologia como nossa aliada. Por exemplo, quando estamos entediados, assistimos televisão. Quando vamos caminhar, ouvimos música em nosso celular. Quando precisamos esquentar a comida de forma rápida, utilizamos o micro-ondas. Enfim, são tantos exemplos... E tudo isso que foi citado é antiético? De forma alguma. Sabendo utilizar, temos um grande aliado.

Por conta das recentes polêmicas, venho com exemplos práticos de como utilizar o Chat GPT a seu favor para te auxiliar na criação de plots e personagens.

Vamos começar com o básico: o personagem.

Primeiro passo: sugestão de FC. Eu dei uma breve descrição do que pensei, o nome, a idade que eu desejo... Mas, ainda assim, é possível ver falhas. Pedi pessoas nascidas entre 1998 e 2000, mas listaram pessoas nascidas em 1992, 1990 e até mesmo 1986! Certo, é um bot, é inteligência artificial, mas já podemos ver que não é tão confiável assim.

Tentei mais uma vez, sendo ainda mais explícita, mas os erros continuam acontecendo. Mas eu posso separar as pessoas listadas que estejam dentro das características manualmente, certo?

Bom, ainda não sabia quem escolher, então pedi ajuda novamente. Segundo o Chat GPT, devo escolher a atriz Kim Youjung para Ana.

Agora que tenho um rosto, sinto que ela precisa de um sobrenome. Mas eu não quero mais do mesmo... Kim, Lee... Não! Quero um sobrenome diferente.

Mais ainda são muitas opções... Continuo precisando de ajuda.

Gostei do sobrenome! Mas o nome Ana... Não sei, é comum demais. Vou buscar alternativas.

Ana agora tem um nome coreano: Yoon Soojin. Mas sinto que ela está perfeitinha demais...

Oh, não! Como sou indecisa! Ainda não sei qual escolher...

Certo, a personagem Soojin é teimosa, perfeccionista e indecisa. Só que faltam qualidades, certo? Vamos lá novamente.

Agora vamos para os detalhes de vida da Soojin, como, por exemplo, a classe social.

Mas ela precisa trabalhar, não é mesmo? Só não consigo pensar em um emprego...

Gostei de artista visual! Mas decidi que a família de Soojin não a apoia nisso. Eles querem que ela vá para a faculdade em uma outra área.

Acho que seria legal se Soojin cursasse Medicina, mesmo que contra sua vontade. E o Chat GPT deu uma ideia bem legal no final, que quero colocar aqui:

E assim surgiu a personagem: Yoon Soojin (FC: Kim Youjung), 25 anos, com os defeitos e qualidades citados acima, que quer só vender sua arte, mas foi obrigada a cursar medicina pela família.

Agora vamos para a outra vertente. Quero criar uma comunidade, mas não sei qual plot quero fazer... Vou pedir uma ajudinha.

Olha! Um rpg de cidade costeira seria bem legal. Mas acho que seria legal adicionar alguns probleminhas para os jogadores se divertirem desenvolvendo.

Certo, acho que vai ter bastante coisa para desenvolvimento, mas é necessário alguns locais para os jogadores se divertirem também, né? Afinal ninguém aguenta só sofrimento na vida.

Prontinho! Agora que tenho a base do meu plot, é só escrever.

"Ah, mas qual é o problema do Chat GPT escrever?"

Bom, primeiramente, temos algo que já está explícito na ferramenta:

Além disso, o Chat GPT compila e retira textos já prontos da internet. Não, não é nada criado ali. Ele só é alimentado com diversos materiais e os utiliza para montar respostas. Ou seja, o seu plot inofensivo criado pelo Chat GPT acaba sendo plágio, e você pode, sim, ser processado por isso.

E o último motivo, mas talvez o mais importante: o rpg de texto é para escrever! Qual o objetivo de você entrar ou querer criar um rpg de texto se não quer fazer o mínimo, que é escrever? Não existe apenas esta forma de jogar rpg e, se você não gosta de escrever, aconselho que procure as outras formas de diversão, como os rpgs que ocorrem no Discord, por exemplo, através de áudio.

Então, sim, tem como você utilizar o Chat GPT para agregar em seu plot, mas não ser antiético. Basta saber utilizar a tecnologia para extrair o seu melhor.

P.S: Sei que muitos utilizam o Chat GPT para corrigir turnos, mas esta não é a sua função. Ele não foi criado para ser uma ferramenta para ajudar na escrita, apesar de corrigir, sim, algumas coisas. Para corrigir os turnos, recomendo aplicativos do próprio Windows, como o Word, ou então sites criados para isso, como o Language Tool.

[twentysnoir]

"O desenvolvimento do cérebro é completado aos 24 anos de idade" — a visão de uma pesquisadora e educadora.

Olá! Meu nome é Noir, tenho 26 anos, sou formada em magistério (posso dar aula da creche até o Ensino Fundamental I), graduada em Medicina Veterinária com uma bolsa PIBIC/CNPq por participar de um grupo de pesquisa e, atualmente, mestranda na área da Educação. Sei que o professor não é nada bem-remunerado no Brasil, mas faço isso por gostar de ensinar, então senti que deveria vir aqui falar sobre o assunto. Gostaria de ressaltar que meu mestrado é multidisciplinar, sendo assim, tenho na minha turma médicos, advogados, professores, dentistas, enfermeiros, etc. Isso não tem a ver com o assunto que está pegando fogo no Tumblr, mas, sim, sobre uma das justificativas utilizada. Agora que contextualizei, vamos falar sobre ciência, sim?

A primeira coisa que você aprende quando quer se tornar pesquisador é que qualquer um pode publicar qualquer coisa: basta escrever nas normas da revista e pagar o valor pedido. Sim, existem muitas pesquisas enviesadas que são publicadas, patrocinadas principalmente pela indústria farmacêutica, que visa vender seus medicamentos, ou simplesmente por pessoas que querem publicar qualquer coisa apenas para falar que publicou. Não é algo ético, mas acontece. Entretanto, não estou criticando a revista The Lancet, apenas falando que, para saber de um assunto, deve-se procurar vários artigos que confirmem aquilo.

O estudo citado aqui foi, na verdade, publicado em março de 2018, seu nome é “The age of adolescence”. Citando o resumo do artigo em questão, em tradução livre: “A adolescência abrange elementos de crescimento biológico e grandes transições de papéis sociais, ambos os quais mudaram no século passado. A puberdade precoce acelerou o início da adolescência em quase todas as populações, enquanto a compreensão do crescimento contínuo elevou a sua idade final para os 20 anos. Paralelamente, o atraso nas transições de papéis, incluindo a conclusão da educação, o casamento e a paternidade, continua a mudar as percepções populares sobre quando começa a idade adulta.” Como pesquisadora, também aprendi a não ler apenas o resumo, então, sim, li todo o artigo em questão, o que você pode fazer clicando aqui. Está em inglês, mas, com o Google Tradutor, dá para entender o que é falado. Vou listar e falar sobre alguns pontos que achei importantes:

“A Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre os Direitos da Criança define criança como um indivíduo com idade entre 0 e 18 anos e, com o tempo, a ONU passou a definir formalmente a adolescência como o período entre os 10 e os 19 anos de idade.”

Não apenas a ONU, como a Organização Mundial de Saúde também considera a adolescência como o período entre os 10 aos 19 anos de idade, diferentemente da lei brasileira.

“A puberdade consiste em uma série de cascatas hormonais distintas, mas interligadas, que consistem em adrenarca (a ativação dos hormônios do estresse adrenal que começa entre 6 e 9 anos de idade), o surto de crescimento e a gonadarca (quando as gonadotrofinas hipofisárias desencadeiam alterações gonadais)."

A puberdade é considerada a entrada na adolescência. Como podemos ver, são uma série de fatores e não apenas um único — como a menarca, por exemplo, tendo em vista que existem pessoas que não menstruam. 10 anos seria a idade "média", para ajudar em estudos e leis, porém, como biologia não é matemática, a idade pode variar, tendo pessoas que vão passar por tudo isso antes ou depois, por isso é importante considerar cada indivíduo como ser único e não compará-lo com os demais.

"(...) embora a maturação do raciocínio lógico seja considerada completa a partir dos 16 anos de idade, o desenvolvimento de uma regulação mais madura dos afetos, das relações sociais e do funcionamento executivo continua por pelo menos mais uma década. A integração destas perspectivas sugere que a adolescência pode ser conceituada como uma fase de crescimento cerebral que começa antes dos sinais visíveis da puberdade (por volta dos 6-8 anos de idade) e continua por mais duas décadas."

Confesso que fiquei intrigada com essa parte, então visitei os artigos utilizados como fonte (1, 2), porém a idade máxima que eu achei nos dois foi de 20 anos, então, caso alguém tenha achado algo que indique o que foi escrito e puder me elucidar, ficarei grata.

A extensão ascendente do calendário das transições de papéis para a idade adulta tem sido seguida por mudanças nos ambientes sociais em que os adolescentes estão a amadurecer. O mundo social em que os adolescentes crescem está mais urbanizado, móvel e globalmente interligado do que nunca.

Nesse parágrafo, dá para ver que as mudanças ambientais estão afetando o amadurecimento. Como também mencionado no texto, as pessoas estão casando mais tarde, começando a trabalhar mais tarde (porque muitas conseguem cursar o curso superior agora), tendo filhos mais tarde, etc. Isso é um ótimo sinal, porque a pessoa tem que estar preparada para tomar essas decisões.

As definições de idade são sempre arbitrárias e as abordagens cronológicas para a definição de adolescência continuarão a ser moldadas pela cultura e pelo contexto. No entanto, a puberdade marca um ponto importante de descontinuidade, com a próxima fase de crescimento e maturação neurocognitiva continuando após os 20 anos de idade. Ligada ao adiamento amplamente difundido das transições de papéis para a idade adulta, a nossa definição atual de adolescência é excessivamente restrita. As idades de 10 a 24 anos se adaptam melhor ao desenvolvimento dos adolescentes hoje em dia.

Ali cita o que eu já falei: a adolescência não pode se basear em idade cronológica, porque varia para cada indivíduo; a idade base só é estabelecida para ajudar em algumas leis e estudos. É claro, o corpo continua evoluindo após os 20 anos de idade, mas continua por toda a nossa vida, não? Por último, os autores ligam o fim da adolescência com o início da responsabilidade financeira adulta, que seria, em média, por volta dos 24 anos. Hora nenhuma no artigo é mencionado que o cérebro completa seu desenvolvimento, até porque o cérebro continua se desenvolvendo até o dia em que morremos, confirmado por estudos da neurociência e de alguns educadores, como Paulo Freire — o patrono da educação brasileira e o grande defensor da educação de jovens e adultos — e Feuerstein.

Logo no mês seguinte, em abril de 2018, a mesma revista publicou o estudo "The age of adolescence... and young adult" ("A idade da adolescência... e jovem adulto", em tradução livre), explicando a problemática de alterar uma definição que já existe. Quem quiser ler o artigo, pode clicar aqui. Para o post não ficar mais longo do que já está e, caso vocês queiram, posso destrinchar e comentar o artigo mais tarde, assim como falar de vários pensadores que estudei.

De qualquer forma, o post é para incentivar que vocês leiam o artigo original em vez de ler apenas uma matéria na internet e propagar notícias falsas.

Quem leu até aqui, eu agradeço imensamente a atenção. Um beijo no coração de cada um.