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I didn’t see Jessica again; I just couldn’t find her. Not that I was looking. Part of me wanted to search for her, hold her close the way I couldn’t before, whisper my apologies, and make everything ok again. But it wasn’t ok. The other part of my brain knew that.
After school, Maryanna stayed with Jessica while Will accompanied me to the bike rack.
We were quiet for a while, before I decided to break the obviously uncomfortable silence.
“Do you think I was wrong?”
Will just looked at me and said, “No.”
“You don’t?”
“Nope.”
“I hurt her though.”
“She hurt you.”
“So now it’s ok?”
“It was always ok, Ethan.” replied Will casually. “You expressed yourself. Never regret that.”
He’d read my mind; I know it.
We reached the bike rack, and right away I became angry again. I stared at where my bike was supposed to be, where I’d left it that morning, and found myself staring at empty space
Will looked curiously around. “Where’s your bike?”
I reached into my pocket for my key-ring. I flipped through each key, but couldn’t find the one for my bike lock.
"Ethan?” Will asked. ”What’s up?”
“I’m trying to figure that out.” I said irritably, patting myself down in a frantic search. “I can’t find my key, Dude.”
“Huh?”
“My key’s gone.” I said. “I don’t know, I must’ve…” I trailed off, realizing what I must have done, and for the second time that day, slammed my head into the wall.
“Ethan!?” Will said, alarmed.
“My key.” I muttered. ”I left it in the lock on my bike.”
“…Well, that was pretty stupid of you.” Will stated the obvious.
“I didn’t do it on purpose.” I said. “I was just really out of it this morning…” That was a bit of an understatement. Because I’d been stupid, I’d left the key in my now stolen bike. Because I had been stupid, I’d have to walk all the way home in the sweltering afternoon.
Yet another reason to be upset.
 Nymphic Malloren · Sat Feb 10, 2007 @ 05:24am · 0 Comments |
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My high school, McConnell high, is relatively new. It was built eight years ago, and is still pretty clean. It’s got all the necessities; at least two courts for every sport imaginable with all the equipment needed. We even have a pool. Our swim team is famous around here. I would know; I’m the captain.
Life at school had always been perfect, just like everything else. I always had great grades, and the idolized social life. Everyone seemed to know me, even when I had no idea who they were. I guess that means I’m popular. Yay for me.
I got to school at about 6:30.Class began at 7:00 o’clock. I chained my bike to my place in the bike rack. I guess I wasn’t really paying attention, because I blinked, and I was walking away with from my locker. With my algebra book. What was I thinking? I didn’t need it until after lunch, when I’d turn it in... Damn. I went back to my locker and slammed my head against it. What a shithole my life was becoming; the banging felt good compared to the feelings I knew I’d have in the future. Jessica would be in France. Slam. For a year. Slam. School was over. Slam. I’d have nothing to do for the summer. Slam. I faced three months of boredom. Slam. Slam. SLAM!
“Ethan!?”
I stopped. ‘Hey,’ I thought. ‘That’s me.’
“I’m Ethan.” I said aloud, looking around. But there were two people already there.
Will had a hand on my shoulder and was pulling me away from the locker. Will was my best friend, unique in several ways. I could always come to Will with my problems, and he would listen every time. Will has this natural ability to heal. He called it ‘good vibes’. Just his energy, his air, was enough to make all the bad things go away. William Thomas has died his hair blue a long time ago, saying blue stood for patience, cooperation, wisdom, and loyalty. That was Will to a ‘T’. He’d always been into that stuff; astrology, fortune-telling, all that jazz. His blue hair matches his eyes, and, like me, he was a pretty small guy.
“Dude,” Will said, pulling me back. “What are you doing?”
I looked at the floor, at my algebra book. I’d dropped it. I didn’t care, so I didn’t try to get it. I didn’t answer Will, either.
I saw a pair of hands with black-painted fingernails reach for my book instead. They were delicate hands, deeply tanned. I followed the mesh-top covered arms and found myself looking at the face of Maryanna Thomas, Will’s twin sister.
Maryanna’s outlook could be described in one word: gothic. Around the time Will turned his hair blue, Maryanna’s went black with purple tips that hardly reached her shoulders. All she ever wore was black, with splashes of purple more often than not. She even wore purple contact lenses. It was a little warped, but Maryanna’s mind was filled to the brim with thoughts of the ideal eccentric.
A lot of people see Maryanna and think, “Oh, she must be on of the punks who hate everything and want to die.” Its true, Maryanna was picky, but she never wanted to die. “I’ll die later,” she said. “For now, I’ll make the most of life.”
And I could see in her deep violet eyes that she was concerned for me.
“Having fun?’ she asked.
“I was until two weeks ago.” I muttered.
“Still upset about Jess?” asked Will.
I just stared at him.
“She’s here early.” Maryanna said. “Probably wants to spend time with you.”
“Good for her.” I grunted.
Maryanna raised a suspicious eyebrow. “You sound angry.” She said cynically.
“Wouldn’t you be?”
“No.” she said. “I’d be glad.”
“Glad for a year of absence?” I snapped.
“Glad for a happy, healthy girlfriend.” Maryanna said with an irritated tone. I could tell I was setting her off. I didn’t care. “She’ll miss you too, you know.” She added.
“Yeah, I’m sure Jess’ll really miss me while she’s on her back under some French pretty-boy.”
That did it. I hadn’t really meant to say it, nor did I honestly believe Jessica would cheat on me. She loved me…right? Of course she did. Besides, I’m sure I was just looking for another excuse to feel bad. Victimizing myself so that others would be sympathetic.
Obviously that didn’t work. I’d pressed Maryanna’s button. She glared at me for a moment, and then threw my algebra book at me. It hit me in the face, and I stumbled. I actually fell on my back when I felt a sharp pain on my leg; Maryanna had kicked me, and she was wearing her heavy boots. I blinked up at the ceiling as Maryanna stomped off. Will was laughing his a** off.
Maybe now’s a good time to explain something fairly important. It might make the reason I was kicked a little clearer: Maryanna and Jessica were best friends, and has been for some time. In fact, the only reason I ever met Jessica was because of Maryanna. So of course, Maryanna would be upset at my comment.
The past two weeks were building up on me. I was going from King of the Pleasant Folk to Jerk-off of the Year.
Will was still laughing when I got up. I stalked away, ignoring the pain in my head and leg.
“Hey wait!” Will called, chuckling and running to catch up. “You forgot your book-“
“******** it.” I replied. I don’t really need it anyways until after lunch. We’re just turning our books in.”
“But we have algebra first today. Block schedules, remember? What about the fifty dollar fine?”
I stopped, sighed, and turned around to get my book.
Shithole.
~~~
I stared over Jessica’s shoulder. I could smell the fresh scent of flowers in her hair. She had her arms around my neck.
‘Wait a sec.’ I thought. ‘Wasn’t I just at my locker?’ Great. I was missing periods of time. Not good.
“Ethan,” came Jessica’s whisper in my ear. “Are you that upset?”
“Huh?”
“Normally you’d hug me back.”
I blinked, realizing that my hands were hanging limply at my sides. I started to bring them up, to return her embrace, and then paused. ‘I don’t want to hold her.’ I thought. ‘For two weeks, I’ve been stressing over how I won’t see her. She’s here now though…and I can’t do it.’ My arms felt twenty-no-fifty times heavier. I tried focusing on something else, hoping I’d feel better if I stopped thinking about how I couldn’t hold the one I loved close to me. I saw Will and Maryanna sitting, talking, looking much happier than I felt.
Jessica pulled away, and watched me with sorrow-filled eyes. I stared into the, those gorgeous blue doorways to an even more beautiful soul, and wanted to cry.
“I’m upset.” I admitted my voice cracking.
Jessica smiled sadly. “I know.”
“…You want to go, don’t you?” I asked.
“Yes…”Jessica sighed. “I wouldn’t lie to you Ethan. I love you too much…I want to go to Paris with all my heart.”
I suddenly found I couldn’t even look at her. I lowered my gaze. “Even though it means leaving me behind.”
Jessica cupped my face in her hands, forcing me to look at her. “I’m not staying forever.”
“A year is a long time.”
“But not forever.” Jessica said. “It’ll be over before you know it. A year goes by fast.”
“…Jess…” I sighed. My eyes were burning, but I held them back. Boys don’t cry.
“Ethan, don’t.” Jessica said. “Please don’t”
“Don’t what?”
“Cry.” she said. “I want this to be happy.”
“What’s happy about this?” I asked. “This is the last time I’ll see you for a year.”
“You’re crying”
“I’m not crying.” I said.
“Then what are these?” She wiped my eyes with her thumbs. Wow. I guess I was crying.
But boys don’t cry.
“It must be raining.” I said.
“Indoors?”
Damn. I couldn’t even lie right anymore.
“Jess,” I said again. “…This hurts.”
“I know.” she whispered.
“No you don’t.” I said. “You don’t know anything. You have no idea.”
Jessica stared me. “What?”
“You’re going to France, Jessica. You just admitted that you wanted to go. You have something to look forward to this year. What do I have? Nothing.”
“…You’ll have me…” Jess whispered. “…when I get back…”
“…I don’t think I want it.” I said.
Jerk-off of the year. Why is it you always regret saying what you really feel?
Jessica stared at me for what seemed like an eternity. I saw her eyes well up with tears, saw her shoulders shake. Then she reached down, grabbed her bag, turned, and ran. Just ran. She ran down the hall, past Will and Maryanna. They watched her until she disappeared, and then stared at me.
I realized my hands were still at my sides.
Nymphic Malloren · Sat Feb 10, 2007 @ 05:20am · 0 Comments |
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I never took much interest in colors. What was blue was blue, and what was red was red. It was just the way things were, and it couldn’t be changed, so what difference did it make? The grass would always be green, the sky would always be blue, and it didn’t really matter. It would always be the same, despite whatever people did, so I didn’t pay any attention. Life went on, and I did what I was supposed to, never stopping to realize just how red that rose was, or how vibrant that shade of yellow seemed…
I woke up that morning in June feeling depressed, just like I had every day for the past two weeks. I had no reason to be feeling otherwise. True, it was the last day of school, and I faced three months of vacation time, but it marked the last day of my time with Jessica.
Jessica…God, how I loved her. She was always filled with good advice, and always willing to listen. And she was so beautiful, with honey blonde hair that fell over her shoulders to her waist, with gorgeous blue eyes that always appeared to see right through everything.
Jessica was going to be spending the next year in France as a foreign exchange student. She was that clever. She left the first day of summer vacation; tomorrow. After that, I wouldn’t see my girlfriend for an entire year.
I sat up with a yawn and reached around the floor for some clothes. I felt a pair of jeans, and tiredly pulled them on over my plaid boxers. I noticed that my room had gotten increasingly dirty over the last two weeks, since Jessica told me she was going to Paris...I stood up to pull the jeans over my a**, when I gave the world another loud, shuddering yawn and suddenly found myself flipping over off my bed and onto the floor, lying on my back, and staring at the ceiling.
“…I fell.” I said aloud to confirm.
I was really tired.
~~~
A few minutes later, I was staring at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I wasn’t arrogant about it, but I thought I was pretty good looking. My hair was a sandy brown that was almost blonde. I had hazel eyes. Pretty basic complexion. Nothing fancy, but I got by. My build was moderate, slender but firm. I was healthy, and if Jessica didn’t have to leave, I’d have been happy too.
I looked down at my toothbrush. I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. It would be stupid if I brushed my teeth now, then ate, and have to brush them again…I sighed, and decided to just brush. I wasn’t that hungry and I had a bad taste in my mouth anyways…
~~~
I grabbed my bag at the door, and went into the garage to get my bike. I’d always ridden that thing to school, my red Haro with four pegs, to school. It was good exercise, I told myself, and it beat loud kids chewing gum and throwing wads of paper everywhere on the school bus.
As I pedaled down the road, my thoughts went back home, to my dirty bedroom, the two weeks of filth on the carpet. I knew I’d have to clean it later. ‘But not today,’ I thought. ‘Today, only Jessica matters.’
Two weeks ago, Jessica told me the bad news. She said she’s miss me, but that she was really looking forward to the trip. After all, it was Paris. I smiled, and told her I was happy for her, but I couldn’t ignore the feelings that my insides were plummeting into a bottomless pit. I went home and cried.
Since then, I was a vegetable. I didn’t care if my room was dirty or clean, or if my homework was finished. Normally these were things I stressed. I was a perfectionist, a neat-freak. I always had been. I just did what I was told, or what was expected of me, and people thought I was great for it. Things needed order. That’s how it is.
I turned the corner onto a dirt road, a street called Eithne Avenue. It was pronounced ‘enya’, like the trance singer, and meant ‘little flame’ in some other language. Celtic or Gaelic I think. Still, nobody ever calls it that. Everyone knows it as Pyro’s Path.
I remember it. Ten years ago, one house caught fire, and it spread to every house on the street before authorities could contain it. Everyone suffered serious burns, and soon after, reports flashed that a little girl had even gone missing. The cause of the fire, though investigated, was never determined in all certainty. Rumors drifted around involving arson. Others said it was just a really hot day on dead grass in a yard. I was six, and ready to believe anything, but even now, at ago sixteen, I’ll hear ghost stories about Pyro’s Path.
Ghost stories suited the place just fine. None of the houses were ever rebuilt, so the only things left were charred remains, dead trees, and dirt mixed with ashes on the floor. Over ten years, some new plants and grown to form a dense thicket of vegetation. It was, overall, a creepy place. I knew that, but I still passed by every day. It was the quickest way to school.
I was sure, though, that I was the only person who ever came down this way.
But at the same time, every kid in the area knew the story of Red.
The legend of Red was tied to the stories of arson on Pyro’s Path. Red was a person, an arsonist, and was supposedly responsible for every fire in town. Nobody knew who this person was. No one knew what he looked like, how old he was nothing. The only thing we know is that he always wears a scarf, no matter the weather. A red scarf with skull-and-crossbones on it. As you can imagine, the red scarf is one reason we call him ‘Red’. Another, he’s an arsonist, a fire-starter. Since the color red can be associated with flames, we call him his color. Others say he always uses a red lighter, or red-headed matches. You can believe anything, but that doesn’t make it true. If somebody knew anything about Red, or how the rumors began, they were being very secretive about it.
I began pedaling faster until I reached the end of Pyro’s Path, where I took a sharp right towards school. I wasn’t scared. Of course not…Though the place always looked eerie, especially in the rising sun’s light, and I don’t want to sound like a freaked-out kid or anything, but I had the distinct feeling that someone was watching me.
‘But that’s stupid.’ I thought to myself. ‘There’s never anyone on Pyro’s Path…’
Nymphic Malloren · Sat Feb 10, 2007 @ 05:14am · 0 Comments |
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RESEARCH: COLOR PSYCHOLOGY II |
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The Meaning of Colors
Medical science has proven that different colors have definite and various effects upon our nervous system and that they act quite independently of our eyes or minds. All matter emits vibrations. A human being also radiates subtle emanations of everything of which he is composed. A person with extra sensitive sight is able to see the colors of these rays known as a person's aura. Colors are of the deepest significance to us throughout all phases of our life. They have more influence on us then we can possibly imagine. If we use them intelligently, they can help us by strengthening, soothing, and inspiring us. Dark, drab and dingy colors can harm our spirits and health. Strong bright colors may bring out the best in us, physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally.
Quickly select your favorite color and click on it to read a personal evaluation of your personality based on the color you chose!
Red:
Attributes: Strength, force, power, control and leadership. Stimulation, warmth, excitement. Good health, physical energy, love, sex, passion, courage, protection. Birth, life and death, birth and volcanic eruptions. Red is the chief color in any herbs or medicines having a heating and stimulating effect, such as cayenne, cloves or musk.
Characteristics: A person who likes red can express many personality traits. The positive ones being passion, energy, and money making. The darker manifestations of those who favor reddish-brown colors can be addictions such as drugs, alcohol, eating disorders or emotional instability. Red-oranges are dynamic people persons who love the outdoors. High emotions are characteristic of those who like red with blue overtones. They can be energetic people to be with. Red personalities are seductive. Men are attracted to a woman wearing red regardless of how good looking she may be. Business people who wish to stand out wear red to meetings, expressing their desire for power and control. They crave the attention. The red personality makes others feel more energetic and vital. This personality may have a volatile temperament but cools off just as quickly. A bit of a know-it-all, the red person is quick to give others answers to any question. What they don't know, they will find out, as they are terrified of appearing stupid. They want everything done in a hurry. They are expert power nappers when they run out of energy and then bounce back as before.
Red personalities feel all powerful and convince others that they are but they do not make good leaders. Under proper direction, they do make good followers and have no problems doing whatever needs doing to finish a job. A bit scattered, red personalities can go off on tangents, their attention span being limited. Quick minded, bright people, when focused, they can be very determined.
Orange:
Attributes: The color of nature, warm, invigorating, confident and courageous. Encouragement, helpfulness, concentration, attraction, adaptability, stimulation.
Characteristics: As nature lovers, orange people love being outdoors, whether walking in the forest or participating in sports. Nature invigorates them and being housebound depresses them. They feel an affinity for both flora and fauna, recognizing that all people are also part of nature. Well thought of by others, orange personalities make good friends and excel at careers such as farming or ranching, wilderness guides or professional sports.
They may sometimes make others mad but it is short-lived, it usually doesn't last very long. Most are the nicest people but it's not smart to put them in a corner as they will bite. They are generally considered good lovers with a decidedly kinky side, in that they are completely open to try anything to please a partner. Egalitarian, they like to support the underdog and are very much good Samaritans. They do talk a lot, project their voices loudly and are not afraid to express opinions on anything. Learning from past mistakes, orange people are thoughtful and very aware of their actions and surroundings. Orange personalities are completely secure in knowing that what they wish for in life is theirs for the taking and that they deserve the best.
Yellow:
Attributes: Intellectual, wise, quick witted, confident, divinity, communicative, eloquent, full of movement, luminous, thoughtful and royal. Attractive, persuasive, trustworthy and charming. Yellow is the main color in all herbs which are purgatives or nerve-stimulants, such as senna, sulfur, fig juice, tartar, castor oil.
Characteristics: Yellow is the color of the Buddha and His followers. Yellow people make good leaders as they are methodical in their thinking and decisive. They analyze before acting.
People with yellow personalities are very business minded and like to be thought of as educated. They use their minds to achieve their goals and as a result, love games and are particularly good at chess. Yellow people can be stubborn and if they favor mustard yellow, they can be pompous and cause suspicion. The darkest characteristic of yellow is deceit and cowardice.
Yellow personalities consider all points of view prior to making decisions. They can bury their emotions when they are feeling stressed out, believing it to be a sign of weakness and refuse to allow others to see them this way. They are insular, keeping their circle of intimate friends very small and limited to those who are also business types. Even having friends, yellow people depend only on themselves. Both males and females are considered clothes horses, liking to look good at all times.
Green:
Attributes: Stability, harmony, pacifism, luminosity, quietude and peace of mind. Money, luck, success, prosperity, abundance, employment, fertility, healing, growth and cooperation.
Characteristics: Green personalities are nurturers. They wish to help, heal, or mother others. As such, these people can be found in the medical profession or social work. Others view them as good listeners and trustworthy as they keep their thoughts to themselves. As natural observers, they make excellent guidance counselors, human resource people, psychologists and psychiatrists. They can see all sides to issues and respect all positions.
Green personalities treat others as they wish to be treated and can put others at ease with no effort. Loving harmony makes them born peacemakers. Their homes reflect this by being comfortable and warm for visitors. If one likes dark green the person may be envious or overly concerned with the lives of others. In some cases they have to help others to feel good about themselves, which in its extreme form is codependent. As sometimes over-functionary, they must avoid the tendency to become martyrs.
All in all, green personalities make excellent friends because they are happy, caring and trustworthy. Needless to say, they are natural gardeners and pet lovers.
Blue:
Attributes: Love, devotion and harmony. Healing, peace, psychic ability, patience, happiness. Symbolic of the ocean, sleep, twilight, and the sky.
Characteristics: Blue people are emotional and stay within themselves. They tend to not trust others as they carefully watch them. Pale blue is the color of devotion and reflects one who prefers things to be in order. As blue becomes darker, it becomes moody and depressed, hence the term, 'the blues'. Lovers of royal blue can be on either a large high or in a deep pit of emotion. Navy blue is favored by those who are very emotional but wish to conceal it. They tend to indulge themselves in their emotions and can, in extreme cases, become obsessed. Being feelers, they cry when they are happy or sad and as a result leave themselves wide open to others. They can easily gauge the mood of any person they are around regardless of their state of mind. Blue personalities can't explain the range of their emotions, as they are products of their environment. Looking for sympathy in others, blue people can be miserable to be with when they expect you to be down with them. Co dependently, they need you to feel as they do. Too much blue around will create depression so it needs other colors to balance it.
Purple:
Attributes: Nobility, spiritual aspiration, honor and self-esteem. Magnetic, tense, powerful, healing, spiritual, meditative, religious, royal and divine. Medically, it cools the nerves and is antiseptic.
Characteristics: Purple personalities strive to better themselves spiritually, mentally and emotionally. They are voracious readers, constantly seeking knowledge, particularly in tales of the lives of others. Wanting a greater spiritual connection, they love the subjects of theology and religion. Thus armed, they love to spread their findings to others to help them on their spiritual paths.
Being perfectionists, they are prone to self-sabotage by being overly critical of themselves. In an extreme form, those who like the muted shades of purple can become religious zealots who feel the God given right to judge others and mete out retribution. The search for spirit is lost in their fanaticism.
Those who favor darker purple work to find inner peace and love and a connection to God or their higher power. As givers, they are fine friends as they don't seem to ask much for themselves. If they do seek help from another and are not clear in their desire, they may resent the fact that their request is not forthcoming. They can develop a hard-done-by attitude in this case. Over-functional resenting under-functional.
Pink:
Attributes: Peace, love, friendship, compassion, relaxation. Gentle emotions and unions. Overcoming evil, honor, morality, friendship and success.
Characteristics: People who love the color pink either seek or already enjoy a peaceful state of grace or bliss. They smile constantly which can sometimes irk others who are not in the same space. These people try to see and bring out the best in others, truly loving everyone. If they don't believe someone is essentially good, and then you can be sure there is a valid reason they would conclude this.
Pink people are very intelligent and contemplative. They study, analyze the best way to go about something before they take action. They may appear slow as a result, but are merely methodical in their thoughts and hard working... Sometimes overly optimistic, these people tend to look younger than their years. They view the world in such a positive light it can be dazzling. Shy, they would like to be more active but fear precipitous action, choosing not to make mistakes because they do not wish to be judged unfairly by others. Humor is a tool pink people use to make others happy although they may not be rautious or ribald, instead possessing a dry wit.
White:
Attributes: Protection, purification, freshness, cold, and potential. Spiritual strength, faith, truth and sincerity. White reflects all light rays and is therefore cooling and restful. It is the sum of all colors.
Characteristics: White is the color of purity, of new snow or heavenly light. Despite outward appearances, those who favor white may have flaws not apparent to others. They observe others and camouflage themselves in their environment, seeing themselves as special and above it all. Sometimes these people show a false sense of shyness, waiting to be noticed so that they may express their very outspoken thoughts.
Regardless of their behavior, white people express a virginal attitude and are known for this by others. They examine others critically while not making them feel judged. Once approved, they tend to be happy at their appraisal. White personalities are reluctant to discuss their beliefs with others despite firmly holding to their beliefs. They are confident and assured in their self-awareness which is not to say they are not pleased when another acknowledges their beliefs as truth. Self-importance then, is integral to their personality and can be both a positive attribute and negative depending on the individual.
Black:
Attributes: Negativity or the removal of negativity. Outer space, the universe, night. Fertility, wisdom, sadness, mourning, loss, death, discord, confusion, fear and evil. Black is the absence of colors, absorbing all the light of the spectrum.
Characteristics: Black personalities are methodical statisticians who want every thing done in detail. The make fine accountants and tax IRS auditors and collection agents. They always finish what they begin. Although not leaders, under direction, they are hard-working fixers who zero in on the essence of any problem. They tenaciously love to find the mistakes and faults of others like detectives or puzzle fans.
People who like black hold things inside and do not want to be touched. They put a barrier between themselves and others, keeping their strength inside so that they can better protect their emotions. They want no one to take advantage of their sensitivity despite their wish to be part of the world around them.
For many, black is a 'comfort' color, making them feel at ease and when necessary, allows them to hide from world. The 'evil' aspects of black are largely and historically religious in nature in our western culture. Other people use black for celebration and marriage attire. The irony is that we wear black to funerals but also to the most elevated of formal affairs.
Nymphic Malloren · Sat Feb 10, 2007 @ 05:09am · 0 Comments |
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RESEARCH: COLOR PSYCHOLOGY I |
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The emotion triggered by a color depends on nationality, past experiences, and sometimes personal preference. However, studies have shown that specific colors and combinations can psychologically affect the majority of people regardless of their culture or past. Below you will learn which colors trigger which emotions. Determining which colors you should use depends on your objective and targeted market. Using a color simply because you like it (for instance "black" wink is not always the best choice when you have a specific goal or targeted audience in mind. An extreme example of this would be to use a black background on a site that sold baby products. Got the idea of where we are going? When using combinations of colors (no more than two primary with two accent colors), choose colors on opposite sides of the color wheel from each other.
Red is the first primary color of the spectrum. It emotionally triggers the sense of power, impulsively, sexuality and increases one's appetite. Be careful how you use red. It can also shout anger, forcefulness, impatience, intimidation, conquest, violence and vengefulness.
Yellow is one of the three primary colors. Visually it is the most difficult for your eyes to focus on. It is actually brighter than white and stronger in its emotional impact. It also has a stimulating impact on your memory. (Remember the popularity of the yellow notepads and pale yellow Post-It Notes?) It triggers the following emotions: intelligence, joy, and organization. Its opposite effects when used in the wrong manner or with the wrong combination of other colors can create feelings of criticism, laziness, or cynicism. Splashes of pale yellow are the best choice since many tones/shades of yellow are difficult for the human eye to focus on for very long. However, if used with short burst of text as a background, it grabs your attention and helps hold what you read in your memory banks. smile
Blue is a primary color. It is the easiest color for the eyes to focus. It generates feelings of tranquility, love, acceptance, patience, understanding and cooperation. Its negative qualities if used inappropriately are fear, coldness, passivity and depression. Blue is a favorite color choice among all age groups.
Orange is a secondary color comprised of the primary colors, yellow and red. It emotionally triggers steadfastness, courage, confidence, friendliness, and cheerfulness. Its opposite effects are ignorance, inferiority, sluggishness and superiority. Orange is generally considered a social color but used in the wrong manner and with the wrong color combinations could create the opposite effects listed.
Green is the combination of two primary colors, yellow and blue. It includes all the qualities of yellow and blue and the emotion it triggers depends on which of the two primary colors is dominating. Green triggers the following positive emotions: hope, growth, good health, freshness, soothing, sharing, and responsiveness. Its negative attributes are envy, greed, constriction, guilt, jealousy and disorder.
Nymphic Malloren · Sat Feb 10, 2007 @ 05:02am · 0 Comments |
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BLUE: An Author's Introduction |
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The next few entries will be a collection of research based on color psychology for my story BLUE, a story that I developed alongside my dear fiend and editor Katie.
Katie helped me create the premise, characters, settings, etc. We came up with the basics together, but it seems that I'm the only one actually writing sweatdrop I really don't mind; I prefer it this way, in fact.
ANYWAYS!
BLUE is a story of self-discovery, told from the point of view of Ethan, a teenager who starts out with everything he could ever want. But it isn't until he loses the love of his life, Jessica, that he realizes how much he hates that. Jessica has left to spend a year in France, and Ethan feels abandoned. How could she leave him here alone? True, this is the chance of a lifetime, where foreign education would look great on a college applicaion for future careers...That's it. This is for her future.
And Ethan realizes that he's sick of it.
All cities have urban legends. Here, it's the story if Red, a secretive arsonist who burned down an entire neighborhood.
It's while he's waiting for Jessica, and his way of life, to return to him that he meets Red.
Red can help Ethan change everything. But does he really hate it as much as he thinks?
As usual, I'm open to constructive criticism. But I have a good idea of how I want this to be. It's difficult to describe; you'll just have to read it.
An entry to the actual story will be added as soon as I get some research done on Color Psychology. 3nodding
Nymphic Malloren · Sat Feb 10, 2007 @ 05:00am · 0 Comments |
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