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alpydk · 9 months ago

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Cabinet of Oddities - Part 4 (Fanfic)

TavxGale (Custom)

Extra time means more writing and I just needed to get some more Gale into this story. (1.8k words - WTF??)

Summary: Gale falls slowly behind the group causing Nana to become concerned.

Ao3 Link - Chapter 4 Ao3 Link (Whole)

Nana didn’t like the Risen Road. The air smelt of goblins and there was no shelter. It was all just open rock and cliff faces. “Are we there yet?” She whined immaturely.

“Do you see a goblin camp anywhere or a one-horned tiefling?” Wyll replied.

“No.” She said dejectedly. “Fine…”

The group had been travelling at a reasonable pace but since reaching the road had begun to spread out. Astarion, trying to be as far from Nana as he could, had moved up to the front with Shadowheart. Wyll had been stuck playing babysitter, as he saw it, and Gale unusually had begun to lag quietly behind. He’d complained of his knees aching a little the day before so nobody thought anything of it but Nana could not shift the nagging feeling in the back of her mind. “Oh no, it appears I have dropped my, um, shoe.” She exclaimed in a long drawn and loud voice.

Wyll sighed exasperatedly “Your shoe? The one that’s on your foot?” He paused momentarily and decided to seize the opportunity for a break. “You know what, you take care of your shoes. You can always catch up.” He walked off at speed to catch up to the others muttering under his breath the words “Gods, give me patience.”

Nana knelt, pretending to play with her shoe, watching him walk away and then turned her head seeing Gale slowly approaching. His handsome face looked different. Like something was weighing him down. Not just in his mind but in his body as well. She felt a pang of concern for him and stood as he got closer. She went to speak but as normal with Gale, the words just struggled to come.

“Nana, as much as I’ve enjoyed talking to you these last few days, today I just need a little peace and tranquillity.” Gale’s voice seemed strained, he grimaced as he walked. Nana knew these features all too well.

“You’re in pain. Your knees again?” She spoke with concern. Her mind was racing, she was fighting the tadpole in her head from accidentally sharing the memories that flooded her brain. The poison is spreading. He’s dying, I can’t save him. Don’t die, please don’t die. She shook her head and looked into Gale’s deep eyes, almost pleading with him to talk to her.

Gale looked away from her, feeling the pressure. Though he’d grown close to the group since the start of his travels, he didn't know if he was ready to share everything with them but the ever-growing hunger in his chest was becoming too much to cope with alone. He’d have to tell them eventually or he would have to leave them. “No, not my knees.” He considered continuing but didn’t know if Nana would even understand what he was going to say.

“I would say maybe it was something you ate, but then you’re the one who does all the cooking and it sure is better than any concoction I make. Last spring I made the most horrible of dishes. That rat was good when I killed it but apparently when I mixed it with grease from that ooze…” She could see the colour draining from Gale’s face. “Sorry, I’m rambling. But I’m guessing it’s not food-related?”

“Not food either.” Gale stopped for a moment and looked at Nana. He saw something in her that he couldn’t explain. He’d seen her try to help everyone they had come across, from tiefling children that she was robbed by, to stepping in front of an arrow to save a goblin who then insulted her. All life seemed precious to her, so maybe his would too. “Nana…Why don’t we take a little break? Allow ourselves a few moments of rest. Gives me a chance to talk to you about something, well, rather important.”

Nana nodded. “Ok, Nana calm calm. It’s just a break. It’s nothing serious. He’s not going to kiss you. Gods, I’d like him to kiss me. His eyes are so dreamy.” Her voice rushed on, just a never-ending stream of thoughts spilt out into reality. She took a seat on a nearby rock and patted a little patch next to her signalling for Gale to join her.

Gale gave a subtle smile as he sat beside her. He wasn’t going to object to the words she said but he wasn’t sure how he felt about her. Especially right now as his muscles ached and his mind tore in two. “Have you ever realised that you say everything out loud?”

“It’s been mentioned to me before. I tried to keep it all in my head but it gets a bit messy after a while. If I say it out loud then it keeps room for the important things.” Nana tried to explain it the best she could. This was the truth. As a changeling trying to keep one form for a long period, trying to keep the memories together, the personalities all separate, and then trying to keep constant control proved to be exhausting and if she kept everything in her head she surely would have gone mad like other changelings had been known to.

“And what important things would they happen to be?” Gale asked with curiosity.

Him. The tadpole flickered in her mind. “Oh you know, cooking recipes and naughty poetry.” She smiled, her green eyes sparkling brightly in the sunlight. “But you wanted to talk to me about something important. I’m guessing it’s neither of those topics.”

Gale gazed into her eyes, lost for a brief moment, and then nodded in recognition of her remark. “We’ve been on the road together for a while now, haven't we? Survived some perils, overcame some obstacles. I’ve seen you demonstrate remarkable guile and courage.”

“I’ve just been doing what I do. I wouldn’t say any of it is courageous. Unless you’re talking about that couple from the shack, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to shake that image.” Nana gave a shudder at the thought of the ogre and bugbear they had encountered the previous day.

“No, no, not that.” He chuckled. “No, I believe, I’ve grown to trust you.” His voice was soft and sincere.

Nana tried to read him but could see no ulterior motive. This was new to her. Her face was one of scepticism and she leaned in slightly to try and hear him better. “Hm, I thought you trusted me anyway, and that's why you let me stir the cooking in the evenings.”

He looked at her with affection and felt the orb hum. He pushed down the painful sensation that ran through his chest and sighed deeply. He needed to tell her. “I did, I do. Either way, the reason I make a point of saying this is that I’ve grown confident enough to tell you something I’ve yet to tell another living soul. Except for my cat.”

Nana stayed quiet listening intently to the words he spoke.

“You see, I have this…condition. Very different from the parasite we share, but just as deadly. Every so often I need to get my hands on a powerful magical item and absorb the Weave inside.” His tone was serious, he had tried to explain it as vaguely and as simply as he could for her and he hoped she would grasp what he was telling her.

“So…You need to eat shoes?”

“Eat shoes? That’s what you took away from that? It’s not so much eating as it is absorbing the magical energies that are within the items. I can say no more on the matter - not now anyway, just trust me when I say it’s all of vital importance.” He stared deep into her eyes, looking for the understanding he sought, hoping she would not reject him in his time of need. The pain in his chest radiated throughout his body and he tried his best to ignore it.

Nana’s face was full of concern for him. All she wanted was to help. “And this is why you’re in pain? You need something magical?”

Gale nodded solemnly in response. “I know it’s a lot to ask of you but I wouldn’t press this without good reason.”

Nana swung around her pack, settling it on her lap and started digging through it. She chucked out random items, books, a music box which gave an off-note clang as it hit the floor, and a half-eaten apple she’d found earlier in the day. Eventually, she pulled out a small magic necklace and offered it over to Gale. “Here, the tiefling girl gave it to me but I’ve no use for it. You can have it.” Gale looked into her eyes. He placed one hand under the locket and the other above her hand and cupped them closely together. Nana could feel the warmth from his touch and her heart began to quicken its beat. Her voice hitched and her cheeks flushed red. “You’re touching me” she gasped.

“Apologies.” Gale lessened his grip and took the locket from her. He held it to the marking on his chest, one that for so long Nana had wanted to run her fingers along, and he leaned back. His face appeared to be in pain and the orb glowed a brilliant purple. A moment later the necklace was gone but Gale sat with a relieved expression. He sighed deeply. “That hit the spot. I can feel it work. The magic is like a lullaby that sings to sleep the demon inside.”

Nana’s face grew concerned. A demon . The tadpole twisted and writhed wanting to share the image in her mind.

“A metaphorical demon I haste to point out. But no less dangerous - and no less bound to wake up again to continue its ravages. Such is the nature of all monsters.”

“You’re going to be okay, aren't you? We can fix it, maybe find a cure?” She gave him a hopeful look.

Gale looked away unsure. He had no answer for this. His year of research and hiding locked in his tower had brought very few answers. He couldn’t expect to find them here. He turned back to her, his face brighter than it had been the previous few days. “Sincerely though: I understand I ask a lot from you with few answers in return, but in time all will be told.”

“I’m just glad it helped. Tell me, if you need anything else, I’ve got quite the collection of nicknacks and doodads in my bag now. I’m sure I can stop you from getting hungry.” Nana pointed the pack at Gale as if to show him proudly of her collection.

He smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind. But now I think we should continue moving. The day is vanishing before our very eyes and the warmth of the sun will no longer lie on our faces.” Gale stood and held out his hand to Nana.

She looked at it briefly but threw her pack over her back and stood without taking it. A brief flash of rejection flashed over Gale's face but he ignored the accompanying thought that came along with it. He would just need to be satisfied with the trust he had gained from her today. Nothing more, nothing less.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 gale #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #gale bg3 #galemance #bg3 fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #changeling #dnd character

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initiumseries · 1 year ago

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Can you list the best asian dramas you ever watched?

Oh 100%. Now this is in no particular order. So I'm gonna combine best and most compelling. Some dramas I watched weren't necessarily "The Best" but they held onto me and I think that's worth noting.

Goblin The Great and Lonely God

This drama, is a drama I'd pay money to have my brain wiped of memories of so I could watch it again for the first time. Everything about it is so good, so emotional, and it's literally changed the landscape of kdramas since.

Touch Your Heart

Lee dong wook and Yoo in na's reunion drama right after goblin is EXACTLY what we needed and it was such a perfect, quintissential romantic comedy drama. Exactly what got me into kdramas in the first place.

Hi Bye Mama

I've said this before, but this drama was...whew. It's weirdly slept on, because it's the first drama that made me CRY, cry. So worth the watch.

Navillera

Not necessarily the best kdrama I've ever watched, but you put young people in need of a parental figure and old people in need of a young person together and you've got me HOOKED. I will watch ANYTHING kdrama related with young folks and their grandparents. I'm very close with my grandfather so this drama MESSED ME UP. So emotional, so good.

Something In the Rain

this drama was like...it took over my life, made me SO FUCKING ANGRY, and then like ruined me. Their chemistry was INSANE, and it elevated the emotionality of their relationship. Also the cinematography was so...thoughtful. They deliberately filmed it so their intimate moments felt like we were spying on them a bit, and I really liked that idea of seeing them behind bookcases while they're cuddling to watch tv etc. They felt like a real couple.

Crash Landing On You

It's just a drama you have to watch. Nothing I can say about it will make sense. But when you watch it and see them AND the second leads together? Bro.

Princess WeiYoung

This was one of the first c-dramas I actually sat through. The backbiting, the scheming, the costumes, the sets, HOOKED me. I was IN. And THEN their chemistry?!?! LOOK at how he's LOOKING at her. Ugh.

The Rise of the Phoenixes

So, I know I'm alone in this, but this was one of the most thorough and intense dramas I've seen. The attention to detail really resonated with me. It's like, the definition of a slow burn, but their chemistry is CRAZY, the acting is top tier, the sets, the costumes, the drama. It was all just such a feast. Even the fact that, there was no dub for this drama, the actors read all the really challenging poems they recited themselves, the meaning behind everything, was sooo cool. The director's cut saved it, I know, but I felt like they could've cut some stuff out to keep it tight. Such a melancholy drama from beginning to end.

The Story of Yanxi Palace

I am a messy bitch who lives for drama and yanxi palace DELIVERS. All the women are insane, and compelling, and NASTY. And I LIVE for that. I've been watching kdramas a long time, and I was so happy when they finally got to the point of making their female leads have personalities and not be doormats. So when I started getting into c-dramas, the thing that hooked me was that the lead female characters were often women with strong personalities, smart, and simply limited by the circumstances of the world they live in, but even with those restrictions, they exercise such power within those boundaries that I LOVE. This drama does all that and more. A+.

Misty

this drama is so tough for me and zalrb. It was SO COMPELLING to watch. Kim Nam Joo is RIVETING to watch, and it was her comeback drama and boy did she come BACK. I remember rushing home from work to watch the next episode because I had NO idea where it was gonna go, and the TENSION between her and the guy not her husband was STRESSFUL. But whew the fucking whiffed it at the end. It's so unfortunate because a tight ending would've sent me over the edge. But alas, this was (minus the ending) one of the most compelling kdramas I've ever watched.

Till the End of the Moon

Jesus christ. This drama was so FRUSTRATING. But their relationship was compelling, HE was compelling. Tantai Jin was SO incredibly interesting to watch and it felt like watching an actor level up as you're watching. I'm generally not a fan of fantasy C-dramas bc the cg is ALWAYS awful. But I just ffwrd through most of that stuff to watch the relationship stuff. I felt like there was a stronger way to tell this story, but they were compelling.

I feel like I might be missing some but these are the ones I thought of right away.

#till the end of the moon #the story of yanxi palace #goblin the lonely and great god #touch your heart #hi bye mama #something in the rain

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freeuselandonorris · 1 year ago

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what do you do when you get stuck in the middle of writing? i have an idea i really like, and i’ve gotten quite a lot down, and i’d love to finish it but i’ve just run out of ideas.

love your stuff so was just wondering if you have any thoughts on this!!

hi anon! first of all, i’m very touched that you’ve asked me for advice 🤍 luckily i have a terrible ADHD goblin brain that regularly gets VERY EXCITED about a thing only to completely give up on me halfway through and leave me floundering.

SO. here’s how i deal with it.

first thing you need to do is figure out what kind of stuck you are, because that’s crucial to figuring out how to address it. my main types of stuck are:

- i know where i want to get to eventually but i don’t know how to get there

- i don’t know where i want to get to and that’s terrifying me (and its related subtype, i know i need to write an ending but oh god endings are hard)

- i am putting myself under undue pressure to do this thing and giving myself the yips

- i have an easily-distracted goblin brain and i don’t want to do this anymore

there are probably other types of stuck, but this covers most of it for me and hopefully you can identify yourself as one of them. from what you’ve said in your ask, it sounds like you’re type 2 (the argh endings type) but i’ll write about the rest of them too cos i love talking about this kind of thing.

here’s what i do to address each of them. (under a cut bc this got LONG i have so many thoughts about writing!!)

i know where i want to get to eventually but i don’t know how to get there

this is the kind of stuck where you’ve got a vague plot outline or idea (i work a lot on like, vibes? so i often get this kind of stuck) so you kinda know how you want your piece to end (even if it’s just “and then they have sex” which is frankly the end point of 99% of my fics) but there’s a whole murky blob in the middle where you have to actually GET THEM to that point. my friend rosie (who is a very experienced novelist and poet and thus knows her shit) calls this the ‘baggy middle’ and claims it is the ultimate writer’s nemesis, because it’s very easy to get stuck there, going round in circles until you give up.

my solution to this is simple: don’t write in order. if you know how it’s going to end, or you’ve got an idea for a scene three quarters of the way through, write that scene. stick a placeholder in your gdoc that says something like XXX MORE STUFF HERE WHERE THEY HAVE FEELINGS or XXX ARGUMENT GOES HERE?? or simply XXX MORE STUFF HAPPENS (the XXX is so you can do a CTRL+F afterwards and find all the placeholders). i used to tie myself in knots trying to force myself to write in an orderly fashion, from beginning to end, but sometimes you need to give yourself something concrete to aim for. often the little details you seed into the scene you do know how to write will spark an idea, and then you can go back later. it can be a tiny detail — oh, i mentioned that lando has bags under his eyes in that scene, maybe he’s not been sleeping recently and they can have a conversation about it two races earlier that makes oscar worry about him, etc.

i don’t know where i want to get to and that’s terrifying me (and its related subtype, i know i need to write an ending but oh god endings are hard)

this is my kryptonite. i HATE writing endings. they’re hard. and for me certainly, a lot of the time when my interest drops off suddenly when i’m about 90% done with a piece? it’s not because i’m out of ideas, it’s because my brain is just going URRGH ENDINGS HARD SCARY NO THANK YOU! WHY NOT START A NEW THING!

but in a weird way, my advice about this is kind of the same as it was for the above: you’ve probably already given yourself the answer earlier on. re-read what you’ve already written, and pay attention to the little details that you put in without even noticing you were doing it.

is there a scene you could see particularly clearly? did someone say something important, or that you weren’t expecting? is there a nice metaphor you chucked in that you could return to? a lot of my fics, especially the longer ones, will return to an earlier theme towards the end. whether it’s a line of dialogue referencing an earlier joke, or an allusion to symbolism (this works well with the metaphors), or answering a question a character might have posed earlier (even if it’s just an internal question e.g. does he actually like me or is he just fucking me because it’s convenient? which is the question at the heart of my current landoscar WIP and is a good one to explore because a lot of people have felt like that at some point, so it has broad appeal).

a side note on endings which is sort of unrelated to your ask but i think useful anyway: sometimes you’ve already written the ending and didn’t notice. read it back and see if there’s a point that feels like an exhale. then read everything past that point and ask yourself if it’s really adding anything to the writing, or if you’re just dragging it out because then you don’t have to tackle the Big Scary Ending you’ve been psyching yourself out over. some of my strongest endings have come about when i’ve deleted about 800 words off the end of a piece and just let it end at a natural point. your strongest writing comes out when you’re not paying attention sometimes.

i am putting myself under undue pressure to do this thing and giving myself the yips

are you writing for an imaginary audience in your head? are you telling yourself you HAVE to get this fic finished by an arbitrary date? are you telling yourself that if you don’t finish this it’s because you’re a useless piece of shit who doesn’t deserve to own a keyboard? you might not be, but they’re all things i tell myself regularly and guess what, they’re not conducive to the writing mindset!

if you ARE telling yourself these things, you need to take the pressure off. if you catch yourself thinking these things, try to gently but firmly tell that bit of your brain to shut the fuck up. i know this is not easy. it is a daily, endless, grinding practice of not allowing the bit of you that hates itself to spew its nonsense everywhere. sometimes you just have to go “okay yeah cool i’m an untalented hack who can barely construct a sentence but luckily i don’t care and this isn’t being submitted for the nobel prize for literature, it’s literally just about middle aged men making their dicks kiss, so let’s not deep it”.

daily writing sessions are very useful for slowly training yourself out of this mindset. make it a chill thing. i do most of my writing in the morning before the rest of the world has had time to sap my energy (i’m lucky in that i work from home currently so am able to do this — i realise it’s not always this easy). start with like 10 minutes, make it chill. if that’s still freaking you out, write one sentence. or better: one and a half, so that when you come back, you don’t have to think of a fresh start to a sentence; just finish what you started.

i have an easily-distracted goblin brain and i don’t want to do this anymore

ahh, ADHD goblin brain my behated. this one gets me a lot, and sometimes there’s nothing i can do about it because the hyperfixation is done and my brain simply does not care anymore.

that doesn’t sound like the situation for you though, so if your brain is more like “ughhh i mean SURE i’d like to finish this but i’ve been looking at it for soooo long” then a tip that has worked really well for me is to simply ALLOW MYSELF TO WORK ON MULTIPLE THINGS AT ONCE.

i don’t know why this felt like a revolutionary act for me but it was like i’d unlocked a cheat code to life. i spent years forcing myself to try and stick with one project at a time because i had it in my head that that’s what you Should Do. doesn’t work for me! what works for me is bouncing between two or three things, sometimes in the same session (my favourite way to work is to split an hour into three 20-minute blocks and either go 1-2-1 or 1-2-3 depending on how many pieces i have on the go). this year alone i have written, i’d estimate, around 150,000 words across fics, poetry, a novel draft, the abandoned beginning of another that i realised was just the first one in disguise, and a screenplay treatment. are all of them finished? god, no. but this is the most productive writing year i’ve had by far.

and a final note spanning all of the above on your point of running out of ideas: get clear on WHY you are writing this thing. even if it’s a total PWP, there is always always some deeper theme i want to explore. whether it’s a particular power dynamic, or the way character X and character Y interact with each other, or how a foot fetish can be a metaphor for the grace of being accepted in all your flaws by someone you love. that WHY is your lodestar. if you don’t understand the underlying reason why you want to write the thing, you’re making it so much harder to then generate a set of ideas or scenes that work coherently together.

wow this got long. apologies if the formatting is all fucked up, i wrote this across three separate devices like a lunatic.

anon, and anyone else who needs it, i hope something in here clicks for you and helps! anon, i have total faith that you’ll get your piece finished. bird by bird, baby, bird by bird. (attn: link downloads a pdf)

#in which sophie gets unnecessarily verbose about writing #writing advice #fic meta #answered

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amelee23 · 1 year ago

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Tadaa ✨✨ Sorry I'm late, I was busy with personal matters 🙏 Kinda looks wonky the more I look at it, but this is the best I can do 😔💔 If I made an attempt to decorate it, I'll probably make it look even more terrible 💀 I swear, you don't know how long it took me to perfect this. One small mistake and into my drawer it goes 🤩 (I'm a hoarder I'm sorry.)

I'll add more of your poems on my wall, mainly because my wall looks depressing and also, I love love LOVE the way you write them. Like hello?? It's so good?? Yesterday I was reading 'I didn't accidentally love you' and was up to the poem part. I was so shocked after reading the poem (Fr though I'm not joking) It's so well thought out and after rereading it multiple times, I felt sad. I can relate to it for sure.

Aside from that, IT'S SO WITTY?? Like I was also shocked when the first letters of every line spelt out "HYUNJIN", I didn't even realise that haha. But yea, def will put that one on my wall too (I'll send you a pic if you want 😗) Looking forward to your upcoming fanfics 💕 Make sure not to force yourself if you don't feel like it. Take breaks if you need to and lastly, hope you're doing great ❤️

You're not late at all!!

Shush it's not wonky! It's perfect 😭 you have very beautiful handwriting! And I appreciate you doing this x3628262828 times it's amazing honestly especially that you put so much effort into making it pretty and all sniwnwkmsk

Thank you so much for reading my works so thoroughly and paying so much attention to the details and the poem 😭 this is the stuff that makes my soul soar through the sky! Breaks my brain really that you like them this much! And thank you for saying it's witty 😭🖤 it's actually funny because I started that fic by writing the poem first. And I sent it over to a friend, for review, since I was trying to make it seem as smooth as possible without forcing it (y'know because the lines had to start with the letters of Hyunjin's name) and my friend actually said it sounded awkward at first so I had to redo it 😂 but the thing is, my friend actually also had no clue about the letter thing! They only found out when I posted the fic, what I was actually (sneakily) doing the entire time! 😂 Also I don't think I should be saying I'm glad you relate to it -- I mean, it's cool it brought out emotions but bad you had to experience them to know them 😂

(and yes yes pls send the compliment goblin more pics if you put more of her poems on the wall. [That's me. I'm the compliment goblin.])

I'm not kidding, this is a first for me. I've never had a poem of mine put on a wall. It's surreal thinking you're gonna be looking at it, at my work, every single day. What is this strange feeling??? I think fulfilment is one way I could describe it. But also strangely I feel like I'll be beside you in spirit! And its so cute sonsiskwdk

I'm not very good at receiving compliments I swear I read them and my brain goes haywire and when I try to write down an answer I just blank

Soooo I did a lil something for you, as a thank you! It was very quick so it's not very good but I hope you like it!

(let me know if you can read it well)

And I'm doing pretty good today! I finally slept so that's nice 😂 I'm just very anxious because I finally got into literature university and a whole new adventure awaits me! 😭

It's very comforting to hear you will be looking forward to my future work. 🖤 I will continue to work hard to deliver high quality fiction and become and even better writer! 😁

I hope you're also doing well and once again thank you! (And you can always dm me if you want.)

#letterbox #feedback #ask #poetry #pdniym #answered

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dragonfruitsoup · 1 year ago

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im sorry you're struggling. these are redundant, things you might already know or have been said already, but man! they have got me through some rough times and sometimes you just need someone to repeat what you already know just to drive it home.

1) shower. or if showering is Too Much that day, wash your face/hair/feet. pick something easy and just scrub down with a washcloth or something. it is ridiculously life changing the difference just feeling clean can make, even if it feels really stupid to say that. shower and change clothes. do not spend more than 24 hours in the same clothes. sitting in your own sweat and sadness can feel like a physical anchor. 11/10 do not recommend.

2) hydrate. doesn't have to be water. plain water sucks, everyone knows that. as long as it's not alcohol or sea water, you're good. dont let anyone harp on you about how 'only plain water hydrates you'. nah. ignore them. you know what you'll drink. worry about making sure its in reach instead. become a beverage goblin and have six drinks on your desk at a time. set a little reminder on your phone or download one of those little tracker apps. there's one that has you water a plant for each glass you drink. some days that is the only reason i remember to consistently consume a liquid. you are the plant. dont forget to water it. doesn't have to be 64 oz total, doesn't have to be every hour on the hour. just a simple 'oh shoot, i've been awake three hours and i still havent drank anything, lemme get on that'. drink the cocoa, drink the soda, drink the overly sweet coffee milkshake thing. whatever puts fluid in your body.

3) related, but eat something. don't have the energy to make food? cool. neither do i most days. buying prepared food is okay. there's no shame in buying frozen dinners or premade meals at the store if it's actually helping you eat. wont have the energy to do things if you physically dont have the means of making energy. a car cannot run if it has no gas, remember that. have all the fixings & stuff to make a sandwich, but don't feel like ACTUALLY making the sandwich itself? cool. life hack : you can just eat the sandwich in pieces. take bite of cheese, take bite of bread. bam. you fed yourself. i'm proud of you. wanna make soup because you can eat it over several days and you've got the Energy right now to do it, but looking at all those veggies and knowing you have to cut them seems daunting? a lot of stores sell precut veggies. usually in packs specifically for soups. 300% no shame in buying precut things. i dont usually have the mental energy to cook a chicken breast and cut up all the things for a salad. but i can pop some frozen chicken tenders in the oven and open a bag of salad mix and call it a day. these things are there to help you. take advantage of them.

4) slow and steady wins the race. sometimes i get frustrated because it feels very patronizing to tell myself to work smaller, when i feel like i should be able to just Do the Thing. but! sometimes that's what you gotta do and there is NO shame in that. need to clean the bathroom but that feels too big? start easy. wipe down the counter. take out the trash. or just put the trash by the door. clear up just one space. even if it's just piling all the clothes from the floor into a basket. physically seeing a clean space can help, even if it feels like tricking your brain. sometimes its just easier to feel productive if something already feels done. even if it's something really really small. clothes picked up? nice. put away socks. just socks. that's it. good job! go take a drink break, eat a chewy bar, and then come back in an hour or whatever and put away tank tops, just tank tops. keep that momentum if you can and if you cant, that's okay.

5) get some sunlight. oh my gooooooood, it feels so goofy to say that but legit, you are the plant. five minutes of fresh air and sun DO, in fact, make a difference. absurd, but true. take some vitamins, get a sun lamp if you're not in a space where you can get consistent sun. but our bodies are a hodgepodge of chemicals and never seem to work right and so sometimes you just gotta help it out.

6) forgive yourself. easily the hardest one, but damn, definitely the most important. sometimes you just Can't. you gotta roll with that. you're not a bad person because you can't get your brain and body on the same page. there are so many people out there that feel the same as you. that struggle with doing a load of laundry or buying new sheets. i spent 4 months without sheets on my bed because i had washed them but didnt have it in me to put them back on the bed. i get it. so does my roommate. so do a dozen other people in just my life alone. they're here on the internet and they're there in your town and they are everywhere, like dandelions. i promise you. it's been said before but seriously, treat yourself like a separate person. a person, a child, a pet. whatever helps you. think of how you speak to yourself when you're struggling. are you gonna talk like that to another person? no? then why would you say it to yourself? would you look at someone struggling and tell them to get their shit together and then just walk away? no? then dont do it to yourself. be patient. be forgiving. be kind.

7) ask for help. yeah, ask for help physically with things. have a loved one come over and help you meal prep for the week so you dont have to try and do mental gymnastics just to feed yourself every day. have someone on the phone with you while you fold clothes or go with you to the store so it's not as lonely picking out body wash and you can maybe grab a fancy coffee/snack since you're already out. but also? just coming online like this and asking for advice because you want to take care of yourself? reaffirming that no, you're not alone in this? genius. look at you. taking care of yourself already. proud of you.

the fact that you want to take care of yourself means the world. don't forget that. it's easy to lose that in the weight of it all. but wanting to take care of yourself is going to make it easier to actually take care of yourself. even if it doesn't always feel that way.

Do you guys have any tips on how to take care of yourself and your environment when you’re kind of at a low point where you have no energy to do anything...pls help

#being human is hard #there's no shame in needing help #something something it takes a village something something #even if the village is just a bunch of randos on tumblr reminding you to drink water #it's okay. i got your back

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donexmiras · 2 years ago

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ALL THE QUESTIONS

I figured you'd ask XD @janeelyakiri also asked for 1, 3 and 17 so I'm tagging them too

what song makes you feel better? Currently listening to “Down under” by SharaX I like her remixes a lot, and it’s a lot more upbeat than what I’ve been listening to otherwise

what’s your feel-good movie? I really like Princess and the Frog honestly

what’s your favorite candle scent? Blueberry or something floral

what flower would you like to be given? Aaaaah I’m a sucker for flowers there are so many! Maybe daylilies or stargazers, lilies are always a fav

who do you feel most you around? My partner, though if I get to meet my two closest friends irl I’d definitely fully unwind around them for sure, go full goblin mode

say three nice things about yourself (three physical and three non-physical). uhhh uh uh, I like my eyes, my hair (fluffiness be damned) and my thicc thighs, and I like my creative brain, suppose I’m decently patient, and mm, I like my sense of humor

what color brings you peace? Orange, just gives me soft vibes

tag someone (or multiple people) who make you feel good. @kuvvydraws @ivyprism @fruitsnackart @the1920sisntaphasemom @a-very-tired-raven @janeelyakiri and you!

what calms you down? I tend to rock a lot or pace

what’s something you’re excited for? opening up comms soon! and the next adoptable, gonna be a spider~

what’s your ideal date? Quality time is usually fine with me, maybe a movie every once in awhile, but sitting in a park just vibing is peak date

how are you? Getting over a meltdown, so I’m at least doing better

what’s your comfort food? Ice cream honestly

favorite feel-good show? The last show I watched was BNA and that was two years ago or so but I remember that I enjoyed it

for every emoji you get, tag someone and describe them in one word.

compliment the person who sent you this number. I love the scenarios you come up with and send me, big brain, very nice, funny and overall a good person ^^

fairy lights or LED lights? LED seem easier on the eyes, I don’t like bright lights

do you still love stuffed animals? Of course! I can’t sleep without one

most important thing in your life? My partner and friends

what do you want most in the world right now? Therapy

if you could tell your past self one thing, what would it be? I’d rather just hug them, no words need to be said

what would you say to your future self? Give them a hug too

favorite piece of clothing? My black hoodie, it’s like my security blanket

what’s something you do to de-stress? Listen to music mostly, but I also just draw and let myself space out

what’s the best personal gift someone could give you (playlist, homemade card, etc.) Literally anything hand made, though I cherish any gift I’m given, dragon mentality

what movie would you want to live in? Hard question I have no idea XD

which character would you want to be? I know this is probably related to the movie thing, but I’m taking it as a general question, which I’d say Link, specifically BoTW

hugs or hand-holding? Hand-holding

morning, afternoon or night? It’s 8 PM so I think I gotta say night

what reminds you of home (doesn’t have to mean house… just things that remind you of the feeling of home)? Open fields, sunsets, the smell of rain, winter under a warm blanket

#ask game

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monstersandmaw · 4 years ago

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This isn't a criticism of yours or any other writers work but I don't get reader inserts at all. Like " He runs his fingers through your long blonde hair " [looks in mirror and sees shaved head]... ya know? It's never as immersive of a story for me as writers think it is? Or am I just missing something here? Genuinely asking for your thoughts and again not trying to insult anyones preferences.

I think you make a lot of valid points, Anon, and there are certainly lots of folks out there who really don’t enjoy second person stories at all. It might surprise you to learn that I’m actually part of that group as a general rule, even though I have written a heck of a lot of them for this blog!

A lot of the issues with second person being jarring to read come from exactly what you’ve said; they’re too specific. It can also be because second person by its very nature is limiting for an author.

When writing a second person story, the author’s own experiences and (often unknown) biases are undoubtedly going to seep through, almost without exception. This happens through dialogue, plot, choice of setting, characters, and descriptions. It’s something I’m not sure you can ever really completely avoid as a writer, and I certainly don’t manage it in mine, even though I aim for neutrality and/or variety. If any one of those elements is ‘off’ then it can put a reader of a second person story right off because it’s fundamentally unrelatable.

Second person stories also require the reader’s imagination to be a little more active than third or first person ones do. Unless you commissioned that story from an author, specifically about you, with lots of extensive discussion about circumstances and details, then it’s not a story about you at all. It is a story which asks you to step into someone else’s shoes, and imagine that the action is taking place around you, to you, as one of the dramatis personae if you like, but not as yourself as you exist in the world, reading that story. You have to pretend; you have to take part actively in the storytelling. This is one of the reasons people enjoy it as a voice. They can be someone else for a while, but still experience the events of the story on a personal level.

For some people, that imaginative leap is an ask too far though, and they find themselves disconnected from the story, and do not want to engage with it. Their preferences lie in reading the stories of other people and living through it more as an observer than a participant. Both preferences are valid, and people may want to read stories in different voices depending on their mood at the time. None of them is ‘better’ than the other. They just require a different state of mind, I think.

Things I’ve learned from writing almost exclusively second person for this blog over the last few years include:

don’t talk about the reader’s hair colour, length or texture in any real detail

same for the colour, shape, and size of eyes, and details about the skin

if you want your 'reader’ to be embarrassed, avoid saying that their cheeks turned red or that they blushed. You could say flushed, I suppose, because that (to me anyway) implies temperature, rather than colour

talk about their height relative to the other characters’ stature but not in isolation - for me it’s easier I realise since I write about monsters who often have distinctive ‘categories’ when it comes to height and size. A minotaur or orc, for example, will pretty much always tower over most humans, even the really tall ones, while a faun, goblin, or other smaller being might well be shorter. It’s not a hard and fast rule that works all the time, but you can definitely be vaguer about heights if you want to be more inclusive with second person

be vague on background details like family. Not everyone is best friends with their mother, or has siblings, but sometimes it might be necessary to the plot to include references to family, so keep it pretty vague and the reader can gloss over those details if they don’t relate personally. I’m an only child, for instance, but I don’t object to a ‘reader’ with a sibling. I can just pretend, but for other people, that might break their immersion.

I hope that helps explain a bit about why some folks enjoy second person stories. Part of it depends on the way it’s written, and part of it depends on the reader themselves.

If you want to add anything to this, folks, feel free! It’s getting late in the day here and my brain is running out of thoughts!

#second person pov #writing advice #writing #writers on tumblr #writing stories #anon ask #writing second person #writing reader inserts #reader insert #reader inserts

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wemlygust · 26 days ago

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See, you're not wrong, but the thing is, once you start applying real-world morality to Batman/DC Comics, the whole thing kinda starts falling apart, imo. So most of us just aren't doing that, because that's usually not the fun part. (I'll read and enjoy the fics that DO do that, though, and there are some.)

It's the same way I'll happily play a video game FPS/beat-em-up/whatever that tells me I'm the good guy, even though if you really look at just how many people Video Game Hero Protagonist just murdered, well, it can look another way.

Ditto for rooting for the Jedi in Star Wars even as they mow down stormtroopers and never shed a single tear for them.

Or almost every classic D&D protagonist/player character ever. Weep not for the goblins, you're the hero, you know? Unless the story is the unusual one that is ABOUT weeping for the goblins, for once.

In order to engage with the stories about a good guy billionaire in a bat suit beating up criminals, and repeatedly throwing said criminals into a blatantly ineffective and deeply fucked up prison that is NOT actually a legit mental health facility, and willing putting multiple children in danger, and so on, I am already suspending a lot of disbelief.

In a real world scenario, there are a LOT of probably much more effective, non-crime-fighting ways he could be spending those billions. He should be paying the Wayne Industries employees much more, for one, so he wouldn't even have hoarded all those billions to begin with. And so on.

So I approach everything in the DC Comics (or similar) setting as being in another universe that does not follow the same rules as ours. It follows comic book rules, or cartoon rules. Logic need not apply, as long as the story and worldbuilding is internally consistent with relation to itself. But the "rule of cool" can apply.

Comic book rules can include 1) Gotham is fundamentally glum and fucked up and unfixable no matter what you do, and 2) people can do wild rooftop acrobatics and crime fighting stunts without any superpowers, even though no real human could do what they do, 3) it is possible to just knock somebody unconscious in an automatically nonlethal manner that won't cause permanent brain injury either, 4) nobody's gonna see the people jumping on rooftops all over Gotham at night, what do you mean drones exist, nope, not gonna think about that, 5) nobody can recognize anybody if they wear a domino mask or put on a pair of glasses or something, that hides identity super effectively in all situations, and 6) often you just need to beat up or murder the fundamentally evil baddie, and then the problem is fixed.

In this context… I am fully willing to temporarily pretend, for the fics that ask me to do so, that the murderous vigilante drug lord Red Hood can be the good guy, and that all those killed drug dealers didn't have families, and that somehow killing people made his area MORE stable instead of LESS, and so on and on.

This does require suspension of disbelief, including suspension of my own sense of what is right or wrong, for the purposes of enjoying the stories. But it is suspension of disbelief that blends easily with all the suspension of disbelief I am already doing in order to enjoy the entire basic premise of classic superhero stories and DC Comics heroes in particular.

It's honestly very hard to find superhero stories that DON'T require this kind of thing, to one degree or another. The concept of superheroes in general, as they are usually portrayed, is quite pro-cop, "tough on crime", breaking and entering and stalking is fine if you mean well, etc, if you look at it from this kind of angle. Though it is possible to subvert this on various levels, even within a framework that requires suspension of disbelief.

And for Batman fic in particular, the canonical pattern of Joker repeatedly escaping and being uncontainable, causing repeated mass murder and torture - not a normal scenario - and Batman repeatedly refusing to kill him, makes Red Hood look more sympathetic, within that context.

I know what I'm potentially getting into when I pick up a Red Hood fic, so I set my expectations and calibrate my initial suspension of disbelief settings accordingly.

Tl;dr: storytelling rules and morality need not match reality rules and morality, and I am willing to suspend a lot of disbelief in order to enjoy superheroes jumping around on rooftops and fighting crime, 'cause it's fun.

#batman fic #fic #fic meta #superhero meta #fanfic #fanfic meta #batman fanon #red hood #jason todd

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ask-spider-man-61610 · 3 years ago

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So I think you’ve talked about your Doc Ock a bit on here... but have you ever encountered any other Ocks in other dimensions? How do they match up to yours?

Yes, I have. Doctor Octopus might not be exactly a universal constant, but it's certainly a common enough title that I've crossed paths with a fair number of them. I'm going to give a short little rundown of each of them, and why they should go to hell. This is gonna be a salty list. If you didn't want that, you should've come to someone else.

The Otto Octavius of Earth-1512 was the first alternate Ock I ever encountered. Unlike most of the Ocks on this list, I don't know or care what his deal is--I just spent an hour in my first ever alternate universe before I saw a man in armored green and yellow throwing cars around with mechanical tentacles. He was also working with the Green Goblin and holding civilians hostage at the time, which in my opinion is reason enough to put him in the ICU like I did. I've never been back to this universe and never will, but presumably he's just doing the same shit every month or so.

The Otto Octavius of Earth-8363, colloquially called God Ock because I guess we can't fucking help but stroke his ego, was the Ock I met during my first outing with what'd eventually be the Cluster. He's a weird edge case. First we fought a robotic duplicate of him, then his actual self after he'd done the dumbest thing I've ever seen an Ock do and integrated an extradimensional energy source into his fucking body in a bid for omnipotence. I suspect he was already basically dead when Gwen ripped the Shard out, but he had a backup personality on a secret hard drive and so we've met his AI self. He agrees it wasn't his smartest move. Still, fuck this guy. He apparently stabbed my alternate self in the back so he deserves what he got.

Oliver Octavius, of Earth-42711a, isn't a doctor. I refuse to call him Doctor Octopus, but he's calling himself that because he claims to be the son of Otto Octavius. Knowing Otto, I'm more than a little skeptical of that claim, but that doesn't change the fact that in a bid to be just like Daddy he dropped out of college to become a supervillain. When Melly noted that this plan was less than stellar he interpreted that as a personal betrayal and has sworn revenge on her. He's temperamental, idolizing of a man he's never met, and has an ego more fragile than sugar glass--and he's not even good at villainy. I walked into his lair, kicked his ass, and walked out again in less than five minutes. Oliver's pathetic. And he knows it, because he's scrambling to compensate with a desperation that anyone with half a brain can see is going to kill him very, very soon.

The Otto Octavius of Earth-22701 needs to fucking leave Morgan alone. The Peter Parker of that universe died like a century ago, and that Otto's engineered a way to stop aging so he doesn't even need to fight superheroes anymore. But no, he reads about a kid in New Orleans with my powers and decides that that's obviously his dead enemy having, I dunno, reincarnated or something. Instead of being the result of the spider-related experiments that he funded. I don't have a lot of respect for this Otto's intelligence. I've only met him in-person once, when I was going on the warpath and beating up everyone who's ever tried to kill Morgan, but for some reason having an actual Peter Parker knock two of his teeth out wasn't enough to deter him from his theory about Morgan being me. I'll try again as soon as I get a chance.

Odyssia Octavius, the Ock of Earth-777, is probably the least scientist and most mad of all the mad scientists here. Also the one who leans the hardest into the Octopus aesthetic, because alone among the Ocks she's a marine biologist. Now, unlike certain counterparts of mine I could mention, I actually don't give a fuck about her decision to serve an eldritch sea monster for power. Nor am I opposed to her overall goal--obviously we gotta save the environment, and obviously we're gonna have to fuck up some industries to make that happen. That's fine. My problems with her are more related to her habit of painfully twisting people she's got a grudge on into horrific monsters and then siccing said monsters on the populace. Even if that wasn't fucking abominable and evil beyond all recompense, it doesn't exactly convey the green message she's trying to go for. Maybe the Writhing One is modifying her logic to suit its own ends, using her as a puppet to get what it wants. Maybe she just fucking sucks. I've only ever spoken to her through the Internet, but if we ever meet face to face I'll be sure to ask which one it is right after I kick her ass and rip off big handfuls of that magic tattoo.

October Otto, the Doctor Octopus of Earth-2, is the only person in this list who I'm not inclined to attack on sight. It took me a little while to get to that point--when the me of Earth-2, Pax, introduced us I was pretty suspicious. But out of all the Ocks I've ever met, this is the only one who's not...nefarious. They're a little eccentric, more than a little shy, but overall a very well-meaning and selfless biologist. I'm glad I met them, even if their tentacles make me a little nauseous to think about. They and I still communicate occasionally, and after what happened to Pax I've been checking in with them to ask about their progress on a cure. This is one of the few people with whom I've ever felt the need to share my files on the Oz virus. I hope it does them good.

With the exception of October, all of these people are fucking awful. But none of them are as dangerous or as detestable as the Otto Octavius of Earth-61610.

The Otto I know is an unrivalled genius. His entire existence is devoted to biorobotics, and over the years he's integrated man and machine on a level that makes the Iron Man armor look like a remote-controlled action figure. He's modified his tentacles to counter my super speed, he's designed and redesigned a zillion different personal helpers, he's made himself the center of a technological superpower controlled solely by his mind. And unlike a lot of Ocks, he's not being manipulated by his tentacles. Nor was he driven insane by the accident that fused them to his body. No, this is a perfectly sane, rational prosthesis engineer who got so frustrated with the bounds of the law that he decided he had the right to start snapping necks.

He's a futurist, is the thing. A man with a grand vision of the technological utopia he could turn the world into, who thinks without a shadow of doubt that he knows what's best for the world and everyone in it, and who's decided that if you try to stop him from realizing that vision that the best thing to do is Remove you from the equation. Worse, he's written off massive swaths of the human race off as expendable--as little people whose lives are a perfectly acceptable sacrifice to bring about his future, who maybe even should be thanking him for the chance to finally mean something.

Every Octobot contains at least a few pieces of human brain. He kidnaps people, lobotomizes them, and integrates parts of their central nervous system into his systems to make his robots more adaptable and independent than purely mechanical systems could be. He's seeded mass-produced medicine with nanotech that hijacked the nervous system of the people who took it and turned them into unconscious parts of a worldwide neural network. On more than one occasion, he's tried to turn entire cities into his own personal laboratories, and everyone inside into lab rats.

Otto Octavius is a monster. No other Ock I've ever met even comes close.

#spider-man #specs #peter parker #ask #spidersona #earth-61610 #Otto Octavius #Doctor Octopus

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aramora · 2 years ago

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Gossip time

(not fandom related, you can skip. It's just family drama but really entraining)

This is totally totally off topic but you know, have always posted my life in here so might as well tell my family's gossip.

Okay this includes me, my mother, and my grandma. You can see where this is going.

I had a difficult relationship with my mom since I can remember, but for the past years I have been actively trying to make it better and it did get better. A lot of therapy, a lot of crying, a lot of reflection. In one of said therapy sessions I went back to a time that I was alone with my grandma and she was telling me how my mother was pushing her away and that she (mom) didn't want to let them (grands) see us. I was 14 at the time so I took it very personal and was even more angry at my mom. And THEN she told me that my mother never really wanted to have kids and never really wanted me. That was it for me and my teen brain. It made me distance myself from my mom even more.

Cut to, past months of therapy I tell my mom this. And she was shook (obvs). I decided to tell her because I have seen her change and I truly wanted our relationship to get better. Also because I am now able to see how manipulative my grandma has always been. Not just with me, with everyone else. Just an example: she asked my mom for money supposedly to help her friend that needed it. When in reality, she asked for money to pay for my aunt's surgery because she (aunt) was mad at my mom and would not talk to her.

Another cut: a couple of week ago my mom told me that she talked to my grandma about the incident. Of course she denied everything. Because of everything, I have distanced myself from my grandma and one day she just sent me a video about 'how to practice gratitude' and texted me "i hope this tells you something and that you can feel something in your heart". Like.that. I only answered "thank you so much gran!". And stopped talking to her.

TODAY I found out that the next day that my mom faced her, she left saying "I'm sorry I'm not the mother you wanted me to be". ???????????? the AUDACITY. I can't. The worst part is that I will se her on Saturday. It is the first time I see her after everything happened. I'm nervous but the goblin inside me is just waiting for drama.

TL;DR: my grandma told me, in secret, that my mom never wanted to have me (not true) and now my mom faced her and she knows. Everything in shambles

#the drama #family drama #gossip #el chisme #tl;dr #me #will update

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flowers-of-io · 4 years ago

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The Legionless

So VoG drops tomorrow and I’ll be trying my best at a Day One run! But most importantly, I wanted to celebrate it with some lore analysis until my theories are proven wrong by canon.

So, Kabr.

1) Aspect

We actually heard from him in D2 at least twice. There’s the Kabr's Glass Aegis jumpship from CoO and the Gnomic chapter from my beloved book Aspect. Aspect is weird in itself, but in short, it’s a story about the Black Garden first and foremost, and how what I believe is the Darkness waking up affects the Sol Divisive. And, of course, what it means to Praedyth and the Ishtar Collective teams stuck in the Vex network.

I think what happens in Gnomic is Kabr slowly losing himself to the Vex. I have no idea why he is/is not walking in the Garden, but my theories about how everything that has ever happened and will ever happen is happening somewhere in the Garden is a thing for another time and I’ll spare you the brainworms for now. Anyway, the sentences are crowded and interweaving and messy and I think it’s the Vex collective mind and Kabr’s mind mixing at this point.

(Watch your six don't worry about me grow grow grow)

Ok buddy Goblin

(Who knows what's listening it's listening it's saying grow grow grow)

GROW GROW GROW this sounds so Vexy. That’s what they do. They possess you and grow inside you (see: Asher). And that’s what the Garden does, it grows, it grows into you and you grow into the Garden. “Everything in the Garden becomes of the Garden”. “Everything grows here,” Jolyon said.

There is a shape that is his mind and the shape is protect the shape is sacrifice the shape is (grow)

This is Kabr realising the final shape, I think--”final shape” as in “the state of the universe the Vex strive towards”. It speaks for itself, the shape is protect the shape and sacrifice for the shape and grow towards the shape and uh remember my aiat essay--

A Titan is a Wall a Shield a Cup filling itself to overflowing. The container changes the shape of its contents but the contents change the nature of the container and the nature is eternity.

This just sounds as something Toland would say. The container changes the shape of its contents but the contents change the nature of the container and the nature is eternity and my brain is on fire???

Okay. Kabr is the container. The radiolaria he so ingeniously drank is the new content. Kabr changes the shape of the Vex but the Vex change Kabr’s nature; and the nature is eternity, so they change the way Kabr relates to it? We know Guardians are immortal and the Vex as a collective also (in a way), but these are two different immortalities. Eternity means different things to them. They have a different relation to it. From what I see, the Vex changed the way Kabr perceives eternity, from the Guardian way to the Vex way. But he changed the shape of the content, so he, in a way, is still Kabr.

He was named too well he is his own grave and the cut on his left hand will never heal.

This is both obvious and intricately weird. ‘Kabr’ means ‘grave’ in Arabic; pretty telling. And the cut on the hand that never heals we see in Legends: The Black Garden Grimoire card, but there it is Pujari who has it:

I am Pujari. These are the visions I have had of the Black Garden. [...]

At the end of the path grew a flower in the shape of a Ghost. I reached out to pluck it and it cut me with a thorn. I bled and the blood was Light. [...]

When my Ghost raised me from the sea there was a thorn-cut in my left hand and it has not healed since.

I’m dying to know what the connection here is. I have no idea. No theory, no explanation.

Also what’s with the ^K^V^s? Green from FFC had an interesting theory about this being some kind of music writing but I didn’t understand it so I won’t quote, but I recommend the FFC episodes on Aspect because they’re fascinating. And, well, we know that Vex and music are strongly connected.

2) Aegis

.................Or is he? Is he losing himself truly?

Relic: The Aegis seems to document Kabr’s last clear thoughts before the Vex interweave themselves with him:

I have destroyed myself to do this. They have taken my Ghost. They are in my blood and brain. But now there is hope. I have made a wound in the Vault. I have pierced it and let in the Light. Bathe in it, and be cleansed. Look to it, and understand: From my own Light and from the thinking flesh of the Vex I made a shield. The shield is your deliverance. It will break the unbreakable. It will change your fate. Bind yourself to the shield. Bind yourself to me. And if you abandon your purpose, let the Vault consume you, as it consumed me. Now it is done. If I speak again, I am not Kabr.

Now let me introduce you to the final line of Kabr's Glass Aegis:

it was/was/was not done i/i speak again and was wrong i am still him and i am now them and THAT IS FUTURE^V^V

DO YOU SEE IT? DO YOU SEE THE PARALLEL? I SEE THE PARALLEL

while joined( Glass, Sky )

The Vex are “glass and silica”, the Sky is another term for the Light.

I guess the “cases” (past, present, future) mentioned in the loretab talk about the Vex’s (im)possibility to return to the primordial Garden, or at least the primordial state before the Winnower threw hands with the Gardener.

case Past:

return( i m p o s s i b l e )

// grazing, rocked, major, distilled.

case Present:

return( v e s t i g i a l )

// vault, aegis, awakened, infinite.

case Future:

// return( i n e v i t a b l e )

// light, truth, dark.

Vestigiality is an occurence when in the evolution process some species’ organs lose their previous function because it is not needed anymore, but retain those organs. Make of that what you will, I have my theories but I can’t quite put them into words.

if( t h e w a r d e n s s e e t h e BRIGHT a s d e a t h ) &&

( t h e THINKERS e q u a t e BLACK w i t h e n d ) then

What is going on??? I guess we’re the Thinkers but who is the Wardens??

their/our/their desire is not malevolent it is survival she is/was/is wrong there is no evil there is no despise there is no SEPARATION there is harmony inside if you/you/you allow it

This, I think, speaks about the Exo Stranger. She said the Vex were “an evil which surpasses all other evil” when she tasked us with destroying the Black Heart. The “there is no separation” seems to be about how the Vex are now Kabr and Kabr is the Vex and the Vex wish to see the world be them and everything to be the pattern as they are the pattern and *gasps for air*

Harmony. I. The music.

Also the final flower pattern was repetitive. Is that harmony? No. Does it hit oddly close to home for me? Yea.

Also the ^K^V^s appear in this entry as well and I still have no idea what they mean.

3) Theory

Kabr is not gone. Kabr is Kabr. The Vex did not eat him up, they have woven themselves into him and they are now one, the Vex and him. I think this is what might have happened to Asher, too.

And I think Kabr will come back, in a way. At least that’s not the last that we’ve heard from him.

(I put this quickly and without thinking much & just riding on the hype, so forgive me if it seems a bit incomprehensible.)

#i like my lore with coffee #kabr #vexed #destiny 2 #vault of glass

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harrysweasleys · 4 years ago

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not so secret admirer // d.m

Summary: Can you write a Draco x reader where she's on top of the class and really sassy and fun, and Draco is lowkey kinda scared or intimidated by her? and Blaise likes to flirt with her and mess around just to make him jealous? thank u!

Warnings: none? hella soft Draco? also not totally proof-read

Word Count: 3.8k

A/N: ah! this took way longer than i thought. but it’s here! enjoy! gif isn’t mine. :)

Draco watched with gritted teeth as Blaise approached you, a smirk on his face and his hands shoved in his pocket, confidence radiating off of him in waves.

“So, Y/N,” Blaise slid into the seat next to you, leaning back on the chair with his arms crossed across his chest. Draco glared holes into the back of his friend’s head, hating the stupid frustration he was feeling upon watching you two interact.

“Hi, Blaise,” you smiled over at the boy next to you, oblivious to the glare you two were receiving from the platinum headed boy across the class.

“Well, you changed up your hair over the Christmas break,” Blaise’s voice was smooth as he complimented you, “I like it.”

Draco wanted to snap his quill in half as he watched the blush rise to your cheeks, the shy smile you gave Blaise as you said ‘thanks, Zabini’ made him turn away and face the people sitting around him. He had also noticed you cut your hair during the break, but hardly found the moment to mention that he liked it too.

“Chill, Malfoy,” Pansy chewed loudly on a piece of gum as she twirled her hair, “Blaise doesn’t settle for just one girl, he’ll leave Y/N alone.”

It was no secret Draco harboured feelings for you. He had spoken to you a few times, and each time, you had intimidated him more than the last..

Draco Malfoy? Intimidated?

He found it hard to believe too. But your quick wit and knowledgeable sense had him double thinking his own personality. The last thing he wanted was to come off too strong or to push you away like he did with most people. You always found a way to top the class without even trying, it was admirable, really.

“I don’t care if Zabini wants to chase her,” Draco tried to play it off cool, “He’s at perfect liberty to go after whoever he wants, is he not?”

Pansy rolled her eyes at him, turning back to face the front of the class.

As Professor Snape stalked into the class, dark robes billowing behind him, Blaise rushed from his seat next to you back into the one next to Draco.

“Didn’t want to sit with your girlfriend?” Draco couldn’t help himself from making a snarky comment, despite the fact that the last thing he wanted was to show he was irritated.

Blaise grinned knowingly, “Y/N? Nah, not my girlfriend. Not my type.”

“You sure about that?” Draco spoke back through gritted teeth, “You complimented her.”

Blaise’s amused expression never faltered, “You were listening in, huh? Come on, you’ve been pining after her for like a year now. Just grow a pair and talk to her. As humans.”

“As humans?” Draco repeated, rolling his eyes in annoyance, “That’s so helpful.”

Shrugging, Blaise leaned closer so Professor Snape didn’t pick up on their private conversation, “Compliment her too. Tell her you like her brain or something. Girls like that — means you notice more than just their looks.”

Shaking his head, Draco didn’t think this was the way to go. How was he supposed to do that? Just walk up to you and say he thought you were smart? He’d look like an idiot.

“Yeah, that’s still useless, Zabini,” Draco leaned away from him, signalling the conversation had come to an end. He found it hard to pay attention to the remainder of the lesson, too busy focusing on the way your tongue would stick out in concentration, and even the way you’d tuck your hair behind your ear when trying to scribble down notes. He found you quite possibly the cutest thing he had ever seen.

“You coming, Malfoy?”

“I—Huh?” Draco’s eyes snapped over to Blaise, who was now standing, packing his books in his bag. He had been too busy thinking about you to realize class was over.

He peered back to your seat and noticed you talking to another Slytherin girl — he didn’t bother rememebring her name — but he didn’t really care at the moment.

“Yeah, coming,” he replied, tearing his eyes away from you and facing his group. He began to walk out of the class, but stopped in his steps when he heard the sound of objects clattering to the floor behind him.

He peered around, noticing you standing near your desk with a pout on your face.

“Damn it, just what I needed,” you leaned over, picking a bunch of books off the floor. Draco noticed your bag, which now had a huge rip on the bottom of it, discarded to the side. Your books, along with your ink, parchment and quill, were all over the floor.

Draco glanced around. Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle were out of sight, and the girl you had just been speaking to was in a conversation with Snape. So, he plucked up his courage and walked over to you.

“Need a hand?” he asked, leaning down to meet your eye level.

Your eyes shot up, a pink tinge to your cheeks as you rushed to pick everything up, “Yeah, thanks. I’ve needed a new bag for a while, guess this is the push I’ve been waiting for.”

He picked up three large textbooks, noticing immediately how heavy they were. And they weren’t even for any of your classes, he could tell they were from the library.

“Did you get these just for casual reading?” he analyzed the front page of the first book, which was titled How The Goblin Rebellion Shaped Wizard-Goblin Relations. He remembered studying the Goblin Rebellion years back, this couldn’t be for a class you were currently taking.

“Oh — yeah,” you grinned sheepishly, finally collecting everything and clutching it all tightly in your arms, “I know it’s weird, but I read that before bed. I guess it’s better than the last book I read which was about dragon enslavement. Not so cheerful.”

“And the Goblin Rebellion was?” he smirked, standing up and holding the books in his arms.

“No, but it had good outcomes,” you replied, standing up as well, “Nothing good came from keeping dragons in cages.”

Draco nodded, admiring the way you absorbed every bit of knowledge you could find. He found it rather annoying when Hermione Granger did it, but when it was you, even he had to admit it was endearing.

“I guess you’re right about that,” he nodded, “Do you want help bringing these back to your dorm?”

He nearly missed the way your lips curved up into a smirk, “Oh, am I about to be blessed with the opportunity of having the Draco Malfoy assist me back to my room?”

Draco’s eyes widened. He didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Oh—I—,”

“I’m kidding,” you tossed your head back, laughing at his dumbfounds expression, “I could use the help, thanks for offering.” You shot a wink his way and started making your way out of the class, leaving Draco still rooted in his spot.

Of course, you found a way of leaving him speechless again.

He fought back a grin and rushed to catch up with you, nearly tripping over his own robe.

“I like the rain,” you said softly once he caught up with you, “It’s calming. Cozy.”

He turned around to face the dark skies, the heavy rain pouring down making it almost difficult for him to hear you properly. He turned to face you, struggling to find the proper words to say.

“I prefer snow.”

You raised an eyebrow, turning your head to face him as the two of you continued down the long corridors, “Snow? I took you more for a raging thunderstorms kind of guy.”

He let out a small laugh, surprised by what you thought of him, “Why’s that?”

“Dunno,” you shrugged, “But I’ve always said you could tell a lot about a person based on their favorite weather.”

Draco looked over at you, fighting back another grin at the way you spoke so openly. You seemed to not care what anyone said about you, and he adored that.

“And what does snow mean? What can you figure out about me?” he wanted to know the answer but didn’t want to seem too eager.

“Well,” you grinned at him, turning back to face forwards, “You’re closed off. You like peace, being alone. You’re not a confrontational type, but you do like to knock people down a peg when given the chance.”

He blinked at you, hating how spot on that description was. Had you really figured all that out just by him saying he liked snow? Really, he liked that you could read him. Most people had no idea what was going on inside his head, and usually he’d love that, but he wanted to be less closed off around you. When given the chance, he found himself being honest around you more than he ever had been with anyone else — his family included.

“That’s... you’re spot on, actually,” he raised his eyebrows, “Colour me impressed.”

You smiled at him, “Oh, I know.”

He smiled back down at you, resisting the urge to blurt out beautiful he thought you were. And you really, really were.

The remainder of the walk was silent. Comfortable, but silent. Draco couldn’t figure out what he wanted to say to you. He loved the sound of your voice, and how into every conversation you got, but he couldn’t find a decent topic to strike up a chat about.

Walking into the common room, Draco glanced over and noticed Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe an Goyle huddled around the fire, all of them pointing at him.

“There you are!” Pansy screeched, sitting up abruptly, “You disappeared!”

Draco fought back a flush, noticing how both of you had stopped in your tracks and your body was close enough to his that he could smell your flowery perfume. It was probably his new favorite smell.

“What — oh, sorry,” he blurted out, ignoring how Pansy’s face broke out into a wide smirk, “I was helping Y/N carry her books back.”

“Yeah, my bag broke, Draco was being a dear,” you nudged him in the side with your elbow, grinning over at the group on the couch, “Don’t let me steal him from you for too long. Once I put these away, he’s all yours.”

“Doubt that,” Pansy mumbled under her breath. Draco shot her a glare, but luckily, you hadn’t heard. You were already walking up to your dormitory, humming a tune that Draco didn’t know. He followed hot on your tail, missing the knowing look that was shared between Blaise and Pansy.

“Just drop them on the bed,” you said once he had entered your room, “I’ll organize them later.”

“Sure thing,” he dropped the books down, glancing around the room. The beds surrounding yours were rather messy, but yours was as organized as could be. Your pillow was fluffed, sheets tucked in tightly, and even your nightstand had everything placed neatly.

“You taking a mental picture of my bedroom, Malfoy?” your voice snapped him out of his trance and he looked over at you, once again, not knowing what to say. You laughed, tossing your head back and poking him in the shoulder.

“Kidding. You should see your face,” your laughter was infectious, Draco found himself chuckling with you, “Now let’s head down.”

Still chuckling, he followed after you and back into the common room. As Draco approached the couch, sitting as far away from a smirking Pansy as he could, you leaned over to talk to him.

“I’ve gotta go meet a friend but I’ll see you around.”

Draco felt he shouldn’t be disappointed after spending a bit of time alone with you, but he was, “No worries.”

You were about to exit the room when Blaise called out, “Oi, gorgeous!”

You spun around on the spot, eyebrow raised and cheeks slightly pink. Draco bit his cheek, silencing himself from saying anything to Blaise.

“Yes?” you placed your hands on your hips.

“Just wanna say you look good,” Blaise shrugged, leaning back into his chair and glancing between Draco and you. Draco knew what he was up to, but he didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of winning, so he continued to sit silently.

“Right,” you laughed, continuing to leave the room, “You’re gorgeous too, Zabini. Catch ya later.”

As your figure disappeared, Draco whipped his head around to stare Blaise down, “Stop coming onto her, it’s pathetic.”

“No,” Blaise raised a finger, “What’s pathetic is the fact that you’re still sitting here stewing in your own love for her and she’s off with no idea.”

Draco opened his mouth to retaliate, but realized that he was right. He knew Blaise didn’t fancy you that way, but hearing him flirt so openly still got his blood boiling. He hated the fact that he was too intimated by you to make a move. You were the only person who had ever caught his eye and he was too much of a coward to do something about it.

“You’re quiet because you know I’m right, right?” Blaise wiggled his eyebrows, “Right?”

“Shut up,” Draco snapped, turning to look out to the water outside the window, his face hard. He wasn’t angry at his friends, but at himself.

He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but of course Blaise was right.

— —

The sun was shining down brightly through the Great Hall windows, signalling the start of the next day. Breakfast was spread across the four House tables and students chatted happily. Draco sat quietly between Goyle and Pansy, who were both too preoccupied stuffing their faces to strike up conversation. Which Draco wasn’t complaining about, he wasn’t in a chatty mood.

The afternoon’s Quidditch match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff had been on Draco’s mind for a while. He had always been slightly nervous before each match — not that he’d ever admit that to anyone, of course.

“Not gonna eat?” Blaise uttered through a mouthful of toast, motioning towards Draco’s empty plate.

Draco shook his head, “Nope.”

Though he was staring out of the large window, eyeing the pleasant weather and clear conditions, he caught sight of you from the corner of his eye.

Trying not to give away that he was staring, he quickly glanced at you before returning to where he was previously staring. Though already nervous, his heart did a little flip in his chest.

You were wearing an emerald green sweater that said ‘Slytherin Quidditch’ on the front, a sign you were bound to come to the game today. You usually did, but he wanted to be sure. Still out of the corner of his eye, he could see you take a seat further up the table with another girl, the two of you emerging into conversation right away.

Draco fought the urge to glance over again, deciding that he’d be too obvious with Blaise and Pansy gazing at him every few seconds.

“Nervous?” Pansy asked upon watching Draco’s leg bounce up and down.

“No,” he replied rather quickly, “Excited. I don’t get nevous.”

She seemed to question him, but didn’t pester him any further. Blaise, on the other hand, seemed to not want to drop the subject.

“So, should we make today’s game more interesting?” he placed his elbows on the table and rested his head in his hands, wiggling his eyebrows.

Draco squinted at him, not sure what he was getting at, “Quidditch is always interesting.”

“Fair point,” Blaise shrugged, “But I have a proposition.”

“How so?”

Blaise leaned back, taking his elbows off the table and motioning his head in your direction, “Well, if we win, you ‘fess up.”

Draco’s eyes widened slightly and his breath faltered. Of course, Blaise was going to force him into telling you his feelings.

“That’s stupid,” Draco scoffed, trying not to think about what would happen if he did confess to you. You could end up liking him back and the two of you could go off and be happy together. Or, you could shut him down and ruin whatever friendship you two had. The latter seemed like too much of a risk.

“No, it’s not,” Blaise’s lips curled up into a smirk, “You’re gonna have to tell her at some point. Why not do it after you’ve won?”

Draco scowled, hating the fact that Blaise did indeed have a point. He glanced over at you, your face broken out into a smile and your hair falling loosely around your face. You looked radiant, and if he didn’t confess to you, he was sure someone else would snatch you up in a heartbeat. The mere thought of you with someone else was enough to send Draco’s heart into slight turmoil.

“Fine,” he stuck his hand out, ready to shake Blaise’s, “But then if we lose, you confess to Daphne.”

Blaise’s prideful expression faltered, “Caught me there. Alright, deal.”

“Deal.”

— —

Draco nearly forgot practice was starting early today, so as tumbled around his room getting ready for the match, he scolded himself for losing track of him.

Once his Quidditch equipment was on and he picked up his broom, he bolted towards the door and down the stairs.

“Woah, slow your roll there, cowboy,” your voice caught Draco off guard and he spun around on the spot, looking at where you were pressed up against the wall to avoid him crashing into you.

“Sorry,” he muttered, his chest feeling tingly as you beamed up at him.

“You forget there was a game or what?”

He shook his head, scanning you quickly. You were still wearing your Quidditch sweater but your hair was now tied back and out of your face and you had your House scarf tied neatly around your neck.

“Well,” you poked him in the chest where his number was situated, “Good luck out there, Draco. I’ll be cheering you on. Hope you win!”

And with that, you were up the stairs and out of view.

“Yeah, me too,” he mumbled quietly, shaking his head once he realized he was even later than before, and took off out of the common room and down to the Quidditch pitch.

When the game started, the sun was gone. The sky had become darker and a cool breeze swept though the pitch. Students huddled together in the stands, wrapped up under blankets and using each other’s sweaters for warmth.

As Draco flew around on his broom, keeping a watchful eye out of the Snitch, he glanced over to where you were sitting, his insides raging in nerves. You were huddled up next to Daphne Greengrass, the two of you wearing matching sweaters and watching the game intently, cheering every time Slytherin scored.

He also noticed how you’d glance up to him every now and then, sending him a smile or a thumbs up. It didn’t really help the anxious feeling in his chest, but it did give him a boost of confidence.

Almost too distracted by the thought of asking you out, he kept having to shake his head to clear his thoughts. It was driving him mad.

And that’s when he spotted it. A tiny golden flutter next to one of the Hufflepuff goal posts. Without missing a beat, Draco took off at full speed, not even bothering to check where the Hufflepuff Seeker was. He didn’t really care.

He got closer and closer and finally, felt the cool metallic feeling of the Snitch between his fingers. His heart did a summersault.

He raised his hand in the air, causing the entire Slytherin section to burst out into loud cheers. His eyes found you, standing up on your feet and clapping loudly. A burst of pride erupted in him, and with confidence, took off on his broom towards your section.

He hadn’t really thought this through, but as he approached where you were seated, he felt as if acting on impulse was going to be better for him anyways.

He stopped his flying, hopping off his broom and into the stands. His eyes were locked on yours, who were staring right back at him with both excitement and confusion. He started walking towards you, ignoring his teammates calling out to him and the stares he was getting from the fellow Slytherins surrounding the two of you.

Once he reached you, he sent you a shy smile, which you immediately returned. Your cheeks were dusted with pink, whether from the cold air or the proximity, he didn’t know.

“Nice catch,” you said quietly, motioning to his hand which was still holding onto the Snitch.

“Thanks,” he replied lamely and breathlessly, “I need to tell you something.”

You cocked an eyebrow af him and he took it as a sign to continue. He wasn’t sure how to say it apart from just being blunt and upfront.

“I like you. A lot.”

He watched your expression change from confusion, to shock, to happy. Your face broke into a massive grin and you stepped closer to him, almost making the space between you two non-existent.

“I know.”

Draco’s eyes widened, “You know?”

You giggled slightly, “Of course. You don’t hide it well.”

Embrassed, Draco began wishing he hadn’t done this in front of such a large crowd. He had confessed his feelings to you, and all you had said back was that you knew about them all along. Did this mean you felt the same? Did it mean you didn’t say anything about them because you didn’t want anything to happen between you two?

“I can see you overthinking,” you brought him back to reality, placing your arms around his neck, shivers rushing down his spine at the contact, “I like you too, you know.”

“Y-You do?” he failed to hide his shock, nearly dropping the Snitch as his hands instinctively wrapped around your waist.

You nodded, “Yep. You’re cute and all, found myself falling for you like a year ago.”

He couldn’t fight the grin that formed on his face at your words, relief spreading through him like a wave. He couldn’t even begin to express how much joy that had brought him, worried that telling you might make you realize how crazy he was about you.

“I have never been more relieved,” he breathed out, resting his forehead against yours, loving the contact, “I was so worried you didn’t feel the same way.”

You chuckled, beginning to run your hands through his messy hair, “Well, tell the worry to go away because I do. Now, are you going to kiss me or what?”

He didn’t even hesitate, “Gladly.”

And leaning down, finally connected his lips to yours.

#draco malfoy #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy imagines #draco malfoy fanfiction #draco malfoy fanfics #draco malfoy one shots #draco malfoy one shot #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy reader insert

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mindmeltonabun-blog · 4 years ago

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Tale of the Nine Tailed: Analysis and Theories of Ep 8

Welcome to another edition of Mind Melt On A Bun’s analysis and theories of TOTNT. I hope you all will enjoy this post, but fair warning it’s once again another VERY LONG POST! So if you want to turn on your thinking cap and face the risk of your brain blowing up into a million pieces then feel free to keep reading!

Snail Bride and Her Husband

Ureongi gaksi (우렁이 각시) or Snail Bride is a Korean legend which tells about a poor farmer who breaks a taboo and marries a woman who is actually a snail. One day while working in the rice paddy field, the farmer says to himself, “Who will I eat this rice with?”. To which a voice replied, “With me.”. Having heard this voice, the man turned around to see who it was, but only saw a snail. After having heard that, the man found that each day after returning home from work, a meal was always prepared for him.

The farmer was curious of who had been preparing his meal. So one day he pretended to go to work in order to catch a sight of whoever it was that had been preparing his meal. To his surprise, he had seen a beautiful woman emerging from the snail shell. Having been blown away by her beauty, he immediately asked her to live with him instead of returning to the snail shell. However, the woman told him it was not time yet and to be patient. Being the persistent man that he was, he eventually got the Snail to marry him.

The farmer became plagued with the fear that his beautiful Snail Bride might one day be taken away from him so he instructed her to never leave the house. The Snail Bride listened to her husband and did as she was told until one day when her mother-in-law told the Snail Bride to go and deliver lunch to the farmer. And so, the Snail bride did as she was told. However, along the way, the Magistrate who was enamoured by her beauty decided to kidnap her and make her his bride. Despite the farmer’s many efforts, he never found his Snail Bride and ended up dying of a broken heart and being reborn as a blue bird. Tragic I know !!!

Anyways, when applying this story to TOTNT, you will find that Ji Ah’s boss had shared many similar characteristics to the farmer from the Snail Bride myth such as persistency. Other clues that supports the ideal that Ji Ah’s boss is the farmer can be seen in the conversation between Green Juice Lady. The first clue is his fear of flying. This could be seen as a side effect of him being reborn in a previous life as a blue bird. I bet if Ji Ah used those Eyebrows of a Tiger Glasses, she would see him as a bird blue.

The second clue was in what the Green Juice Lady said, “ What are you doing here?”. I interpreted this as her knowing him in the past as well as her not expecting to see the farmer’s reincarnated self in the same vicinity as the Snail Bride.

Green Juice Lady Origin

In Korean mythology, there is a creature by the name of “Dueoksini/Dokeoksini” (두억시니는 ) that kills you by crushing your head (figuratively or literally). In Korean mythology, this creature is seen as an in between of a dokkaebi/goblin and a yokai. Because Dueoksinis have been mostly been forgotten throughout Korean literature, they are usually refer to as being a type of Korean Yokai.

Or the way I like to view the Green Juice Lady is that she's basically Pennywise, Freddy Krueger, and the Boggart rolled into one. After all its like Frank Hebert once wrote in Dune: “Fear is the mind killer”.

Taluipa

In TOTNT, the character Taluipa is seen as being the goddess of birth and fate, Sansin Halmoni. Besides having the ability of controlling birth and fate, Taluipa also can also foresee the future as well as grant immortality (i.e her husband). Given all of this, it is likely that her child, Bok Gil, would’ve had some pretty powerful abilities because he came from such a superior mother.

Now not much is known about Taluipa’s son other than he had committed suicide. Furthermore, the act of suicide was seen as a such a bad taboo that ensured he could never be reborn/reincarnated. In the context of TOTNT, it is inferred that even if you sacrifice yourself for the one you love, it is still considered suicide.

Lee Yeon’s Original Plan For the Imoogi

I think originally Lee Yeon had planned to take the Imoogi into himself and subsequently kill himself. However, when faced with the possibility that this would mean Lee Yeon could not be reincarnated, Ah Eum decided it was better that Lee Yeon killed her because at least she could be reincarnated.

Now you may think that well if Ah Eum sacrificed herself for the one she loves, isn’t that contradictory to what I said earlier about how sacrificing yourself for the one you love is still considered suicide and thus meant you couldn’t be reborn? It really doesn’t and here’s why. Remember that at this time, Ah Eum already had the Imoogi inside of her so her death by Lee Yeon’s hands were not seen as a sacrificial suicide. Rather, it was seen as him killing a greater evil and preventing the deaths of hundreds. Thus, this meant that Ah Eum could be reincarnated. Had Ah Eum ran into Lee Yeon’s knife or stabbed herself in the temporary moment she gain back control of her body, then that would’ve been seen as sacrificial suicide.

If both Lee Yeon and Ah Eum were able to find a loop hole at the very last minute that ensured Ah Eum’s reincarnation, I am sure that this time around Lee Yeon will be able to find a better loop hole given that he has had more time to than previously as well as learning from his past mistakes as it pertains to the Imoogi. I largely believe that this loop hole will have something to do with the favor Lee Yeon had asked of Taluipa’s husband. Maybe the favor Lee Yeon is asking Taluipa’s husband for is the elixir of life that is located in the Underworld (Hint: read my posts about Princess Bari). I think that Lee Yeon will want it just in case either him or Ji Ah dies in their battle against the Imoogi. Such an elixir could revive them!

Taluipa’s Son/Bok Gil = The Imoogi

As previously mentioned, I had theorized that Taluipa’s son, Bok Gil, must have been one hell of a powerful being given that his mom was a powerful Goddess herself. As to what those abilities could have been, it is still a mystery. However, I feel like his powers would’ve been connected the ones Taluipa had (i.e birth, fate, and ability to see what others cannot see). Again, not much was mentioned about him other than he committed suicide and that his name was Bok Gil.

Now let’s look at the Imoogi, we know that he has the power of life (bringing the bird back to life), death (sucking the life out of his nannies), and rebirth (being reborn as that boy).

By the way, I think it’s interesting that the cycle of life, death, and rebirth is represented as an “Ouroboros” or a snake eating its tail. Coincidence? I think not.

Anyways back to what else we know about the Imoogi. We know that he was born in a leap year as well as being born in a place between the living and dead (btw Lee Yeon was born in 420AD also a leap year..possible connection somehow?). The Imoogi could also see what others don’t see such as your soul and your deepest emotions.

If you think about it, when Bok Gil committed suicide, his soul/body was neither in the land of the living nor the dead. He was in between those two realms or in limbo. Connecting this to the fact that the Imoogi said he was born in a place between the living and dead, there is a significant possibility that Bok Gil is indeed the Imoogi. Furthermore, if you look at the kinds of power the Imoogi has and the powers that Taluipa has, you will find that they are strangely similar or related. If that doesn’t convince you enough then just compare the voice of Bok Gil to that of the Imoogi!

Imoogi and Lee Yeon

Initially, I had thought the Imoogi had wanted Lee Yeon for his fox bead (a kind of Yeouiju) so that it could become a dragon, but now I am beginning to think there’s more to the story than just Lee Yeon’s bead. If indeed Bok Gil is the Imoogi then I am left to wonder what kind of relationship did Lee Yeon have with Bok Gil before he died. Furthermore, could Lee Yeon have been part of the reason why Bok Gil committed suicide in the first place? If Lee Yeon had been part of the reason why Bok Gil committed suicide, then I can totally understand why Bok Gil/Imoogi would want to try to exact his revenge and/or anger on Lee Yeon. Maybe Bok Gil was jealous of Lee Yeon for getting more attention from his own parents than he was or maybe Lee Yeon got the girl he was interested in or maybe Lee Yeon was really mean and had bullied him or maybe the person who Bok Gil had died for (aka a loved) was somehow connected to Lee Yeon. I don’t know, I’m just purely theorizing and for all we know all the Imoogi wants is just Lee Yeon’s fox bead so that it can become a dragon.

Black and White Imagery

Other things I found interesting is the usage of black and white in Ep 8. For example, the shirts Lee Rang and Lee Yeon wears, the colors of the stones of the “Go Game”, and the cars in the background of the parking lot Lee Yeon was in.

Typically, the color combination of black and white represents Yin/Yang, Good/Evil, and Life/Death. In either cases, the concept is the same. Both represent the concept of dualism or the ideal that everything is interdependent, interconnected, and interrelated. Meaning you can’t have Yin without Yang, Good without Evil, and Life without Death. Or in the case of Lee Yeon standing in between the two cars and the two doors, both Lee Rang and Ah Eum/Ji Ah’s lives and fate were interdependent, interconnected, and interrelated to that of Lee Yeon’s.

Episode 9 Predictions

Lee Yeon will get Lee Rang out of the Forest of the Preta and Lee Rang will realize that his brother never really abandoned him in the first place. Additionally, their time in the Forest of the Preta is like a blessing in disguise because it helped both brothers to resolve the misunderstanding that occurred 600 years ago.

Now with Ji Ah, I think she will overcome her fear of the car accident. However I think she will be faced with another fear of hers which is seeing Lee Yeon die. I think she will overcome this too, but the Green Juice Lady will pull out one last trick out of the bag. Instead of making Ji Ah relieve some of her worst nightmares, she will make Ji Ah live in a world where all her dreams have come true such as having her parents back and Lee Yeon by her side. The Green Juice Lady will do this as a way to make sure that Ji Ah would never want to leave. After all, why leave a world where all your dreams come true right? Plus, Ji Ah’s mentality will become weaker because she will start to believe that the dream world she is living in is a reality. Therefore, in order to win against the Green Juice Lady, one must have a strong mind that is not killed by fear nor weaken by fantastical delusions.

This kind of reminds of the creature, “Black Mercy”, from Super Girl. Briefly, “Black Mercy” is alien parasite that makes its host dream their perfect fantasy world while it feeds off of them. The only way for the host to get the “Black Mercy” to detach itself is for the host to realize that the fantasy world they are living in is not real. So for Ji Ah, maybe she would have to do the same on her own or it would take Lee Yeon coming into her dreamworld in order for her to realize this.

Last Remarks

For all of those who are still left confused as to why Lee Yeon chose to save Lee Rang first, you can check it out here:

https://mindmeltonabun-blog.tumblr.com/post/633271037441818624/tale-of-the-nine-tailed-ep-7-thoughts-and

And if you’re too lazy to click/read all of that post, I’ll put it simply here:

In the past, Lee Yeon chose to go after Ah Eum first instead of saving Lee Rang from the villagers burning down the mountain. So this time around Lee Yeon did not want to make the same mistake twice and also Lee Yeon wanted to atone for his past mistakes. Plus, Lee Yeon knew that between Lee Rang and Ji Ah, Lee Rang had the weaker mentality so he would need more saving than Ji Ah would.

Happy Readings! I need a drink now after writing all of this !

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elvish-sky · 4 years ago

Text

The Temptation of Regality: Home

A.N: Holy crap. This is the last chapter. Thank you all so much for joining me on this little journey! And don’t worry, there’s a decent chance I’ll write an epilogue with them all in Erebor. It was originally supposed to be a whole lot angstier but I felt with how I’d built the character relationships it just didn’t work as well, so there’s just a short bit of angst. Again, thank you guys so much for staying with me. love y’all very much <3. Enjoy!!

Word Count: 1,092

Pairing: Thorin x Reader

Warnings: Fluff, the smallest bit of angst

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

**** Home

The next morning, you blinked open eyes heavy with sleep. Your head was resting on something firm, and you could hear someone else’s breathing. You rolled to the side, noticing that you were fully on a bed even though you couldn’t remember falling asleep the night before. You sat up and glanced to your other side.

“Thorin?!”

The dwarf lying next to you shot up at your yell.

“Y/N? What are you doing- Why are we in the same bed?!” His look of alarm was rather amusing, but you were too busy thinking back over the previous night to remember it.

“We didn’t do anything. You got drunk and I brought you up and put you to bed, and I must have fallen asleep next to you.”

“I got drunk?” He looked worried.

“You didn’t do anything embarrassing. You just thought everyone was trying to murder you and hid under a table for a few hours.”

He still looked embarrassed.

“Seriously, Thorin, that wasn’t the worst thing anyone did last night.” You proceeded to recount Bilbo’s entire handkerchief-related rant, leaving both you and the king crying from laughter.

Fili and Kili burst into the room to see you and their uncle falling on top of each other in laughter. Frozen in the doorway at the sight, Fili finally spoke.

“I see things went a little further than expected last night,” he observed with an eyebrow raised.

You quickly leaped off the bed. “I fell asleep here last night, that’s all. Anyways, where were you two all night?”

“We slept in Bilbo’s room.”

Kili nodded. “We wanted to give you two some privacy.”

Thorin threw a pillow at him, and while he scolded his nephews you washed up, emerging several minutes later in your freshly laundered clothes.

“I’m going to go see if Oin will take a look at my leg before we leave.” Seeing the concerned reactions of the three dwarves, you hurried to clarify.

“It’s not hurting very much, I just want him to make sure it looks good.”

Three heads nodded in understanding, and you left with a wave.

Weeks later, the fact that your leg was healed was just about the only good thing. After narrowly escaping the goblins, and even more narrowly escaping the orcs, everyone was just about exhausted. Now, on the Carrock breathing in a sigh of relief, you reflected on the last few weeks.

After the night at the inn, Thorin had been colder towards you. You didn’t know why, but it hurt. On the mountain, he had saved Bilbo, and you had watched inside the cave as he checked on every member of the company. Except you.

He had protected you in goblin-town, but then they all had. It was just his duty to do so. And while the wargs were attacking he hadn’t even spared you a glance, but that you couldn’t exactly blame him for. Still, you had saved several of the company members by boosting them into trees, you would have thought he might have acknowledged you for that.

And now, watching him hug Bilbo on the Carrock you were jealous. Yes, the hobbit had done amazing things, had saved Thorin, but you wanted Thorin to be hugging you like that. Not to barely acknowledge your presence.

To tell the truth, deep down you wanted him to love you the same way you did him. But if how he had treated you these past weeks was any indication, that would never happen. But you were mad, and the anger clouded your judgment, so you waited until he had finished congratulating the hobbit and stepped forward.

“Y/N-” You cut Dwalin off when he tried to talk as you strode up to the leader.

“Thorin Oakenshield, of all the stupid, reckless, idiotic things to do that was the stupidest, most reckless, most idiotic thing ever.”

Everyone looked dumbstruck.

The king looked shocked that anyone was speaking to him that way, and fired back with anger brimming in his eyes. “Y/N, why do you care?”

“You almost died, Thorin! And I love you and the fact that you’ve been so distant lately is tearing me apart, and yet I cannot do anything about it, cannot leave because I care. I was tempted, and I succumbed, and here we are. But I’m just done. If you don’t care then so be it. I can’t go on like this.”

You strode over to a small rock and sat, head in your hands as you cried. A shuffling sound came close, like footsteps, and you lifted your head to see Thorin standing in front of you. He looked nervous.

“Y/N, I-”

He started speaking and then stopped. It looked as if he was mulling something over in his brain, and you watched as something sparked in his eyes.

He leaned forward, cupping your chin in his hand as he tilted your head up to look him in the eyes.

“If you don’t want me to do this, tell me.”

You stayed silent, gazing up at him, kissing you gently for all of two seconds before suddenly deepening the kiss.

It felt like fireworks.

You tangled your hands through his hair, trying to pull him closer even though there was barely an inch of space between you.

Wolf whistles sounded out around you and you broke apart, flushed, to see the entire company beaming at the two of you from behind Thorin’s back. Except for his nephews, who had their hands over their eyes and were fake gagging.

But you only had eyes for one person.

“You love me?” You asked him, hoping beyond hope for the answer he gave.

“Yes. And I’m sorry I’ve been distant. I didn’t want to give you false hope. We’re on a quest, we could die at any moment, but I see now that it’s more important for us to take what time we have.”

You smiled at him. “I love you, Thorin.”

“I love you too, Y/N.”

You stood, and he entwined his fingers with yours as you walked back to the group. You noticed him catch sight of something in the distance, and you walked to the edge of the rock together.

“Erebor.”

You sucked in a breath as you realized what you were looking at.

“The Lonely Mountain. The last of the great dwarven kingdoms of Middle-Earth,” Gandalf said.

“Our home.” Thorin glanced up at you, squeezing your hand in encouragement.

Looking out into the distance, gazing at your future, you smiled.

“Our home.”

Everything tag 💞: @entishramblings @anjhope1 @boyruins @itgetsatadhazy

Series tag 💕: @bitter-sweet-farmgirl @moony-artnstuff @whiskeywinter89 @beakami @sassyscribbler @yes-captainstark

Thorin tag 💖: @lathalea

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