Solo Beetlejuice

[Amelia]

34th Fall, 514AV
Maeki Cho's Animation Studio

“So, Amelia. You have returned.”

Maeki Cho’s words were not a question, but nevertheless Amliea replied with a gentle nod and quiet reply: ”Yes. I have.”

The older woman beamed and offered her student more tea, which Amelia accepted eagerly. “I’m glad. Now, you mentioned that you had a specific project in mind?”

Again, the blonde student nodded. From her bag she retracted a small brooch that was approximately the length of her index finger. It was shaped like a bug, and featured a small, round head from which erupted two crooked little antennae. The body of the beetle was dominated by a pair of wings that Amelia demonstrated could open to reveal a small mother-of-pearl underneath. ”This.” She said simply, passing the brooch to her instructor.

Maeki investigated the piece of metal carefully. Eventually she nodded. “A pretty brooch.” She returned it to Amelia’s open hands. “What were you thinking of doing with it?”

”I’d like the wings to open. And maybe the antennae to wiggle. Nothing too complex.” Amelia added hastily. She was cautious about the many risks one took when stepping into magic. During her first lesson with Maeki ten days ago, she had been informed that poorly animated objects could go ‘berserk’ — and whatever that was, Amelia knew it was something to avoid. She remembered the pulling sensation she had felt those few days ago, when she first experienced animation. The creation of Soulcore, the very giving of something that had been her own. It had been exhausting, emotional; far from a pleasant experience.

“Sounds wonderful.” Maeki commented before leaning onto the edge of her seat to take a piece of parchment from her cluttered desk. “Before you start, however, I’d like you to think about what directives you plan on giving your animation.” The parchment and quill was passed between the two females.

Amelia had already given this some consideration. Simplicity was key here, especially with her distinct lack of experience and confidence. “The first should be about the wings. Maybe to open them when something certain happens, like when I say a word. The second—”

Her words were cut short. Maeki held up a hand, sipped her tea, and remarked, “a piece of advice: verbal instructions are fine for certain things, but for something such as a brooch, which presumably will be used whilst there are others around, they may not be ideal. What would happen if you said your verbal instruction without intending to? You may well find that your beetle brooch tries to fly off your dress.” She smiled at her own humour.

Amelia’s lips pouted in thought. ”In that case, perhaps after a certain amount of time they should move their wings?”

“And how would you give your animation the concept of time?” It was not so much an outright rejection of Amelia’s suggestion. Maeki’s expertise armed her with the ability to anticipate any potential risks or danger before it even happened. “Keep things simple, Amelia. Make use of what your brooch has on it’s own without adding too much.”

With that sage advice, Amelia turned her attention to the brooch. It had been her mother’s, but ever since she was a girl Amelia had fancied it for herself. And now she was old enough, her mother claimed, to have earned possessing it herself. It was attached to one’s garment by a clasp at the back, on what would be the underbelly of the beetle if had been real. She toyed with the clasp for a tick or so, opening and closing it silently until the thought came to her:

”When the clasp is closed, it should move it’s wing for a number of times. Then… I can tap it to restart the cycle.”

Maeki considered the idea, the possibilities and risks associated with this plan. Eventually she nodded. “Yes. That would work. Simple, but clear.” Nodding, she rose from her seat and directed Amelia towards the aNimation circles that were chalked permanently onto the floor of her Animation lab. “Shall we begin?”

[Amelia]

The first bit was Amelia’s least favourite of the Animation process. She placed the brooch in the larger of the circles, the one that would serve as the destination circle for Amelia’s efforts as the source. Then, with the aid of Maeki and the small dagger she proffered, Amelia made a tiny cut her index finger, wincing as if the wound was mortal and deep. A brief pause to recollect her thoughts and plans, and then Amelia pressed her finger to the chalked line. The circles were activated, awakened and buzzing with energy.

Amelia seated herself down on the floor, her movements slow and breath steady. She needed a clear mind, a slow heart. She would be giving herself to a part of this animation, after all, and had to be in control over the situations. Animations can be greedy, Maeki had told her during that first lesson, before Amelia had experienced the Animation process for herself. At the time, the young blonde had scoffed and wondered how on Mizahar an object could be greedy. But then she had felt the needy tug of her first creation, which had been a candle that lit itself upon the order of ignite. It wasn’t a physical tiredness that had struck Amelia, but an emotional exhaustion similar to, she imagined, how it might feel if she had spent the entire night sobbing her eyes out. She’d been raw, but strangely bonded to the candle. That item contained a tiny piece of her now, and it had caused some difficult for her to pull herself away.

Closing her eyes, Amelia allowed herself to open up to the Animation process. She felt that first tentative suckle of Soulcore shifting from herself and passing towards the inanimate brooch. But the demand increased sharply, and soon Amelia found herself struggling to differentiate the growing Soulcore of the Animation and her own, so quick and desperate was the process becoming.

Somewhere, in the outside world that was not structured by Amelia’s own self, Maeki grimaced and murmured, “be slow. Be calm.” To her student. She could see the panic flicker across Amelia’s face, but there was little she could do. To step inside either of the circles would risk this entire effort and process — and Amelia’s brooch, as well.

To Amelia, the Soulcore continued to be pulled from her, snowballing away and dragging her along with it. She nibbled her lip, she winced at the effort and inhaled sharply. This had grown out of control and now she struggled to find command of the situation. She yanked herself away, denying the Animation the Soulcore it so desperately craved. After several moments, her comprehension of the situation improved.

Yes, now she could identify herself as, well, herself, and the animation as itself. Indeed, the greedy suckling of her Soulcore had given the brooch almost enough. But it was still too dynamic and unstable to exist on it’s own. Amelia underwent another five chimes of giving before she could sense that sweet spot; the moment in which the Soulcore of the Animation had stabled out.

Closing off that connection was no easy task. Like a litter of hungry kittens, the Animation continued to tried and reach for more Soulcore, but Amelia pushed it back whilst pulling herself away. When she opened her eyes, they stung with tears and her hairline was damp with sweat.

“You did it.” Maeki whispered, finally releasing that panicked breath that had worked up inside herself.

Amelia said nothing, too tired and emotional to put what she had just experienced into words. She licked her lips, shifted her position on the floor and lay down, knees drawn up and head to her chest. If Amelia were to be utterly honest, she felt wretched. For a chime or so, she remained in this fetal potion, full of self pity and emotional imbalance. The girl felt torn: between herself and the object in the other circle.

Eventually she could shape two parched words with her lips: “Tea, please.”

[Amelia]

Amelia remained in her chalked prison, knowing that to step out of the circle would make a waste of her efforts so far. The idea of redoing that first horrid process made her skin crawl and Amelia whimpered at the mere thought of it.

Several chimes passed by, and eventually she sat herself upright. Her head was heavy and her eyes itchy, but after a yawn and stretch, Amelia pushed herself onwards.

“Now for the directives.” Maeki said gently, her tone low and patient. She was all too aware of the exhaustion that followed giving Soulcore to an object, particularly for beginners such as Amelia. But more needed to be done, and her student was required to think clearly. “Consider what you want of your brooch. Remember that simplicity is best at this stage.”

Amelia’s mind was fuzzy, but she remembered their earlier conversation. “I want the brooch to open and close its wings on instruction,” she said vaguely, her tongue thick and furry in her mouth. “So it needs to know what it means when the clasp is closed and when fingers have tapped on it.”

Maeki gave a sage nod and remained silent. She would interject only if she felt Amelia had made a grave error, and as yet that had not occurred. So she sat back down at her desk, craning her neck forward to observe her student.

Amelia shifted in her seating position, keeping her knees bent and legs tucked underneath her. Her eyes flickered to a close, and she reached out to the Soulcore of the brooch. First she would need to apply the directive relating to the clasp, which was the initial requirement for the animation to move.

She willed up the image of the clasp in her mind, how it appeared when open and also when closed and worn as an accessory. The latter in particular she paid attention to, weighing upon the importance of this state to the Soulcore of the brooch. The words Only when closed were repeated again and again in both her mind and on her lips. It was such a simple concept to Amelia that she found herself struggling to focus, to keep her concentration on repeating and formulating this simple instruction. But to complicate things now might result in her brooch going berserk, and flapping its wings at all times instead of only when it was being worn.

So the blonde pulled her attention back into herself, forcing her imagination to be filled only with images of the clasp, and how the Animation needed only to move when it was closed. Time was lost to her, and the world consisted only of the clasp and it’s meaning.

Slowly the brooch began to recognise this, and Amelia found a mirror image of the directive being given back to her from the other Animation circle. Still she concentrated, ensuring that the message had been clearly and not been confused by the other thoughts that escaped into her mind, unbidden and unwanted.

When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see how the light filtering in from the window had changed in positon. “How long—”

“Two bells.” Maeki said quietly, amusement fringing her words. “You seemed very peaceful.”

[Amelia]

“Do you have a clear second directive?”

“Yes.” Amelia replied blearily, rubbing her eyes and twisting to look at her teacher. ”That it will open it’s wings 50 times and then stop. And the third directive will be that this process will restart when the brooch is tapped twice.”

“Remember to be as specific as possible. Where on the brooch will it be tapped?”

Amelia had not considered this. She looked to the brooch, the black head of the beetle and the white peal that was hidden beneath the wings, revealed only when they opened. ”On the pearl.” She decided. And then, in a tick of self doubt: ”So the brooch will have to finish it’s cycle of animation with the wings open.”

“Yes. It would.” Maeki said.

This would require four directives instead of the three Amelia had planned to give the Animation. She grazed her bottom lip, fretting already that this project was grander and more complex than she could manage. The last thing she wanted was to destroy the brooch.

Recognising the concern worn on her student’s face, Maeki rose from her chair and stepped around her desk, coming to the side of the circle in which Amelia sat. “Be patient, and calm. Be clear. Be precise and all will be fine.”

Easy for you to say. Amelia thought bitterly, but slowly she nodded and gave a weak smile. ”I better get on with it, in that case.”

When Maeki had returned to her seat, Amelia refocused herself. She needed to give the second directive that would result in the beetle brooch opening and closing its metal wings fifty times before stopping. Unlike the first directive, this seemed more complicated and would surely take more time. Firstly, she would need to teach the Animation what it meant to activate a precise number of number of times: what exactly fifty activations looked like. And then, after this, she needed to inform it to stop, but in a certain position with it’s wings open.

With a heavy sigh, she began.

The seamstress conjured up the image of the beetle brooch, paying particular attention to the closed clasp (in line with the previous directive), and the opening and closing of the wings. Open, close. Open, close. She tried to time each individual action of opening and closing equally, but after twenty or so closings, she was losing track of pace and time.

Onwards she went, straining to count fifty actions before giving the instruction for the Animation to stop.

The cycle was repeated several times, Amelia pushing the concept of opening, closing and stopping onto the beetle. She felt the Animation start to recognise and repeat the instruction, taking her directive and learning it. But this directive took more time than the last, just as Amelia had expected. She counted fifty actions several times, patient but exhausted. It was important to be consistent, she knew, but the counting was monotonous and Amelia was quite sure she had made mistakes along the way.

After another unknown length of time, the brooch reflected the directive to Amelia, not quite perfect in it’s timing of opening and closing the wings, but nevertheless doing the action she desired.

The third directive was blessedly more simple: she merely had to focus on the Animation coming to a stop with the wings open. She considered the relaxing of the hinge that controlled the wings, the revealing of the pearl and the frozen inactivation of the brooch. Still, this process took over a bell, and by the time Amelia opened her eyes and looked confusedly around, Syna’s glow was burning orange with the evening.

[Amelia]

“One directive left?”

“Yes.” This final instruction she planned to impart upon the brooch would mean that it would restart the cycle of opening and closing its wings upon being tapped twice on the pearl. She would need to introduce the concept of touch to the brooch, the feel of fingers on the pearl so it would recognise what the gesture meant and felt like.

Though she was exhausted, Amelia continued onwards with her project. It was a slow process indeed, made even more so thanks to her lack of expertise and confidence. Self-assurance had always been a favourite accessory worn by Amelia, draped over her shoulders regardless of the occasion. But now there was no denying her lack of skill and know-how. She was by a student, in a class that posed quite the risk should something go wrong.

She refocused herself, inhaling deeply and counting three ticks before exhaling. To concentrate, she needed to steady her nerves and panicked heart. Inhalation, exhalation… It was several moments before she felt her muscles relax, her apprehension and anxiety wasting away to almost nothingness.

And then Amelia began yet again.

The Animation now knew what it meant to open and close when the clasp was closed, and so thankfully there was little Amelia needed to impart upon it in this regard. But the essence of touch was a new concept to the brooch, and she would need to focus on this for some time. It was a strange thing to consider what it was to be touched, how the pressure might feel. And it was even stranger to try and convey this sensation to the Animated brooch.

It started with the stationary hold of the brooch, with the wings held open and the central pearl that formed the abdomen of the beetle revealed. This position was recognised by the Animation, and so Amelia added the sensation of touch; a cold fingertip, light pressure tapping twice on the white pearl. And then, after the tapping, the beetle would repeat its previously taught cycle of opening and the wings.

The pressure and of a single finger tapping on the pearl replayed in Amelia’s mind, focusing her attention wholly upon it. She imagined it visually, but attempted to also convey how the tapping might feel upon the scarab beetle brooch. And then, subsequently, the importance of restarting the previously taught directive based on this sensation.

Tap, restart. Tap, restart. The words played over and over in her head. She hoped that by repeatedly associating the sensation of the tapping and the restarting, this final directive would take less time than those previous.

Once again, the Animated Brooch began to recognise the information Amelia was sharing with it. When she felt that it adequately understood the concept and instruction, she pulled herself away and opened her eyes.

”Now for the final stage.” She said with a dry mouth.

[Amelia]

“You are quite correct.” Maeki said gently, silhouetted against the dying light of Syna. “Remember to be as accurate and clear as possible, as I’m sure you have been so far.”

Creating the astral body for the Animated brooch would allow it to fulfil and follow the directives Amelia had previously given it. As Maeki had said, it was crucial that Amelia was precise over what exactly she wanted to the Beetle to do. Should she confuse herself and the brooch, it would not properly open and close its wings, and instead might do some other gesture. Better to be overly cautious than too cocky.

Berserk accessories were not exactly stylish.

Finally, she would also need to teach the brooch to recognise the gesture she had previously included in her last directive. There was no point in giving an instruction if the Animation could not perceive or even feel the tapping.

She settled herself comfortable one final time and drew her attention back to breathing slowly. Eyes were closed, muscles relaxed. She listened to the humdrum of the world outside and tried to inhale as slowly as possible. In through the nose, out through the mouth. The wooden floor beneath her was chilly, but Amelia tried to pay this sensation no mind. Lose your physical self, she thought, recalling the many incantations her mother hummed out during meditation.

When she felt ready, Amelia turned her slow and meandering attention to the final stage of her project. She was incredibly familiar with the brooch, having admired it as a possession of her mother’s before the scarab beetle fell into her own hands. As a child she had pretended it was a real beetle, but instead of being repulsed by the glinting insect she had played endlessly with it, unclasping the wings and pretending the beetle was flying.

As such it was with relative ease that she imagined the tiny hinges relaxing and contracting, subsequently opening and closing the wings. When the wings came together, she could even hear the metallic little tink in her mind that had once been the soundtrack of her childhood games.

The development of sensation within the pearl was more abstract. As before Amelia visualised a finger prodding the small gemstone, the heat and pressure upon it’s glistening surface. But that alone would not be enough for the brooch to recognise touch as an order. She needed to delve deeper, to consider what the basic sensation of being touched was like.

Eventually she settled on focusing on a change in temperature, as the pearl itself was usually cool to the touch and her hands typically warm. She conveyed the sensation of heat pressing twice down upon the pearl, how the brooch would knock slightly against whatever she was wearing at the time with the force of her tapping.

It took several chimes, the best part of a bell in fact, but eventually Amelia felt that click, that shift in situation that indicated her brooch had developed and accepted the Astral body. At this moment, Amelia’s eyes started open with surprise. “It’s finished.” She said, her voice hoarse.

Maeki also seemed surprised, and hurried from behind her desk to aid Amelia back to her feet. The blonde felt stiff and exhausted, but pleased. She felt she had achieved a lot that day, but the proof was in testing her work.

Picking up the brooch, she closed the clasp on the underside of the beetle and gave a gasp of delight as it instantly began flickering it’s wings open and closed. There was no real pattern or obvious timing to the cycle, but at that point Amelia didn’t care. She was too thrilled with her progress to even bother that the action she had directed the brooch to do was somewhat… erratic. ”It works!”

[Pulren Marsh]

A Grade is Coming
Your Wave

Animation, it's not just for death robots on Sahova anymore.

 

Amelia

XP

• Observation 5
• Animation 5
• Meditation 3

Lores

• Animation: Directives Need to be Precise
• Animation: Directives Need to Be Simple at Novice Levels
• Animation: Overgiving is Taxing

Miscellaneous

• Animated Beetle Brooch
  *Upon tapping the pearl, the wings open and close fifty times. After this cycle, another tapping will restart the opening and closing process.

Your Grader,


Pulren Marsh