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sleepylixie · 4 years ago

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Only Fools Rush In

Crown Prince! Jeongin X fem! Reader

Fantasy AU, Loose retelling of Sleeping Beauty.

7k words, Platonic pairing, Beware of non-graphic mentions of death( only mentions, with respect to curses and dark magical behaviour ), slight violence in fight scenes (not explicit at all), NO mentions of blood.

Songs: Can’t Help Falling in Love(DARK) - Tommee Profitt // Tomorrow We Fight - Tommee Profitt ft. Svrcina

|| Prologue ||

A/N: @magicbehindwords hello, Carolyn! Tis me, your Secret Santa!! Man, you have the chillest vibes, I really enjoyed figuring out this fic for you! I had something entirely different planned, but you saying you enjoyed a good high fantasy read ended with me happily derailing and plunging into the Fantasy Woods instead xD I hope you enjoy this offering(I know it’s really late hhh I’m vv sorry T^T)

There will be one more fic joining my pair of Christmas gift fics! As a part of @hanflix With Love, Chistmas holiday collab, I will be posting a Jisung fic soon! Anyways, onto the fic!! Do let me know what you think, my ask box is open! ~

Drop me an Ask! || Masterlist

It’s been very rare to have known you, very strange and wonderful. - F. Scott Fitzgerald

1-JEONGIN

“.....Crown Princess of the Western Isles.”

An elegantly dressed young lady stood before Jeongin, her hair falling over her shoulders as she sank into a neat curtsy. He cursed himself for not catching her name during her herald. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Your Highness,” her voice was a smooth serenade, the words rising and falling in an unfamiliar accent . Her eyes didn’t flit away from his gaze or widen in flirtation, but maintained a steady gaze akin to his own. Jeongin’s brow arched slightly- she was brazen, playfully so.

“The pleasure is all mine, my lady.” He bowed back slightly, suppressing a sigh at the repeated action he was forced to perform. He had been meeting the multitude of ladies Ataloria had to offer for what felt like time immemorial. It was the same old thing, over and over again- bow, exchange pleasantries, have them whisked away by the herald before speaking about anything of consequence. The hall was abuzz with quiet laughter and chatter, the excitement palpable for the biggest celebration the kingdom had seen in centuries- The Rose Gala.

Ataloria was a kingdom ruled by women ever since it’s conception- queens of enormous power, wealth and cunning who turned the once tiny valley town into the biggest empire of its confederation. While a queen could rule Ataloria solo, a royal son would require a woman in wedlock to rule with him, cementing his place on the throne for him. To make sure their kingdom’s prince found a suitable wife before his coronation, the tradition of The Rose Gala was born.

In the son’s 18th year, a celebration would be held in Ataloria inviting ladies from every corner of the kingdom to the Rose Palace(his home) for a chance at the Crown Prince’s hand. Such was the fairness of the bygone queens- they believed that nobility was a reflection of character, not blood.

“May I have this dance, Your Highness?” Jeongin met the princess’ eyes, surprised- none of the previous ladies he’d met had yet to ask him for a dance, but here was this princess, her twinkling eyes matching her smile as she held her gloved hand out. A smile pulled up the side of his lips as he accepted her hand, leading her into the centre of the dance floor. She was bold, playfully so- he liked it.

The band picked up a soulful waltz piece as Jeongin swept the princess into his arms, the two of them melting naturally against each other as they began to move. She was well- trained, Jeongin noted, because she moved with fluid ease, balancing her movements with his despite this being their first dance together.

“How has the Gala been so far, Your Highness?” Her accent was less pronounced than it was before, but Jeonign shrugged it off. It was likely because he was getting accustomed to it. “It has been quite an interesting affair, my lady. I hope the preparations for your arrival and living have been up to your standards.”

“You live in a beautiful city, Your Highness” she giggled lightly as Jeongin twirled her out and back into his arms, unfaltering in their motions. “Yes, the capital of Ataloria has lived up to the many expectations that us outlanders had of it… But I wonder, Are you always this formal?” He allowed a smile of his own to creep up his face- her stubbornly casual behaviour intrigued him more than he’d like to admit. “If you insist on thinking me formal, I must insist that you address me by my chosen name and not by my title… your name, my lady?”

An amused grin lit up the princess’ face, her hand tightening almost infinitesimally on his shoulder as the music crescendoed to a high.

“Y/N, Your Highness. My name is Y/N.”

2-JEONGIN

The moon was creeping higher in the sky when Jeongin slipped into the highest tower in the north wing. It had been a struggle to slip away from The Rose Gala, a faked headache finally allowing him to rush back to his chambers and gather up his belongings so he could sneak his way to the North Tower.

His previous princely outfit had been exchanged to lighter, more rugged garments of the darkest black, embroidered with threads of silver. A snicker bubbled to his lips at the thought of the ladies in the Rose Hall, of how they’d react if they saw their sweet yet aloof prince like this- scratching a pentagram onto the stone floor with an air of familiarity he hadn’t exhibited to them.

Spellcasting had been a guilty passion for Jeongin ever since he sat in on his mother’s meeting with the silver-eyed spellcaster coven that resided just outside Ataloria’s borders, thoroughly intrigued by how they wove enchantment into words and items like it was second nature. He was forbidden from interacting with them, however. His mother told him that some knowledge was beyond the ears of an ordinary mortal and such boundaries must be respected without error.

However, curiosity had driven him to swipe a few books from the coven elders, fascinated by all the information that lay between the covers. It became a habit to steal some of the spellcasters’ books during their visits, replicate them as soon as possible and return them to their original resting place in the coven’s temporary living chambers.

Over time and innumerable incidents of trial and error, he learnt to wield the energy that thrummed in the world around him. Starting from simple levitation, he worked his way through more and more complex spells as his capabilities expanded. Not a single soul knew about the prince’s penchant for spellcasting- it was a secret he guarded fiercely, for fear that he would be frowned upon and misunderstood for communing with dark spirits.

Sitting back on his haunches, Jeongin admired his handiwork- purple candles decorating the cardinal directions on the pentagram, the flames flickering a warm yellow. 5 crystals lay in a circle in the center of the pentagram, all identical in shape but unique in shade. Sigils of protection, enhancement and power decorated the edges and also littered the floor in a circle around him.

Since most of his arcane knowledge came more from reading than practicing, he’d spent months in this very tower room, mouthing the incantations until he was fluent in the foreign language and practicing drawing the sigils until he could draw them in his sleep. There was too much at stake with this spell to get something wrong- the safety of Ataloria, to be specific.

Saying the first words of the incantation out loud stirred something wild in his veins, instantly feeling every wave of energy throbbing around him. It was darker, stronger, almost turbulent in nature, unlike the freely flowing, easily shaped energy he’d always encountered before. But he would endure, because this spell was not a question of just his capabilities, but also the country he’d one day rule.

This Winter Solstice night, he would cast the biggest spell of his short life as a spellcaster.

This Winter Solstice night, he would cast a warding spell around the Atalorian borders.

If everything went perfectly, the warding spell would need no renewal- it would transcend the life of the caster and instead be latched to the power of the kingdom’s crown.

Shivers of cold anticipation slid over his body as the energy began to swirl around the pentagram, his focus honed to a razor sharp edge as his words began to bend it to his will. It was time.

3-JEONGIN

Jeongin knew that something was wrong the second he stepped out of the tower. The Rose Gala wasn’t the quietest affair; the muted sounds of string instruments and chatter had rung through the walls until he cast a sound-dampening spell around the North Tower. Now, despite lifting the spell and stepping out… an eerie silence hung in the air, heavy and stifling. There was none of the merry-making that he’d heard before.

Keeping to the shadows, he crept down the corridor towards the main staircase and stopped short. The guards posted near the sliding doors of the north wing were fast asleep, leaning against the wall and slumped onto the floor. A shiver slithered down Jeongin’s spine. This wasn’t normal. The guards in the palace were nowhere close to lax in security, especially during nights of revelry.

Catching hold of one guard’s shoulder, he shook him hard, hoping that the jostling would wake him up. But he only crumpled to the floor, completely unaware of the world. Almost like he was….no, He couldn’t be. Jeongin fell to his knees before the man, scrabbling for a pulse at the man’s wrist- no, he was alive. Very much so. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he got to his feet, warily scanning the top of the main staircase on the other side of the sliding doors. The silence was almost deafening as he made his way towards the staircase, looking down at the main lobby of the castle-

Everybody was asleep.

It was almost like a wave of sleep had taken over every guard, guest and staff in the palace, rendering them silent and slumped on the floor the second they encountered it. A maid was leant against a pillar, a tray of champagne lying toppled next to her. A herald lay on the floor, curled up next to the skirts of a slumbering lady in red silk.

Stumbling away from the bannister, he collapsed on the top stair, a rush of panic overwhelming him- was he at fault for this? Surely he wasn’t… But what if he was? What had he done wrong? Was the timing off? How was he to fix this?? What was he going to do-

That was when he heard it.

Cutting through the thick silence was a husky, haunting melody, singing words that tore through his mind, bringing back faded childhood memories. He remembered being afraid first, finding solace next in the voice and its wistful song. As he grew up, his slumber came faster and deeper, rendering him unable to listen to the walls’ song. But he didn’t forget the words. He never did.

However, the voice didn’t echo from the walls the way he remembered- this time, it was coming from the very hall The Rose Gala was held in.

“Wise men say only fools rush in...

But I can’t help falling in love with you…”

The voice continued singing the same lines as Jeongin hurried down the staircase and towards the hall, the open doors spilling the chandeliers’ lights into the modestly candle lit corridor. The marble floor of the hall was laden with ladies’ skirts and gentlemen’s capes and cloaks, every single person including his dear parents and family fast asleep- except for one.

Y/N.

Jeongin watched as she sang to herself, her arms held out almost as if she was… she was waltzing with somebody. There was something so haunting about the sight to Jeongin- maybe it was the song that spilled so easily from her lips or the way she danced with nobody but the air to accompany her. Her skirts clutched in one hand, she swept back and forth in front of one of the windows, the only person awake amongst a sea of sleeping people.

“Wise men say only fools rush in...

But I can’t help falling in love with you…”

“You can come in, Your Highness.” her voice lacked the Isle accent he heard before-if anything, she had the exact same accent as his own. “This is, after all, your palace.”

So much for staying hidden. Jeongin cautiously stepped into the hall, eyes narrow as he marked her every movement. But she was calm as she dropped her arms to her sides, turning to face him from across the hall, her smile the exact same as before- brazen, confident, playful.

“Do you have something to do with this, Y/N?” He demanded, his voice quivering with the pent-up panic he was struggling to control. “Oh no, Your Highness,” Y/N responded, beginning to pick her way across the sleeping people towards him. “That’s the question I must ask you. What did you do to my home?”

Jeongin instantly stiffened, one hand going to his belt for his dagger and the other, encompassed in ice-cold hoarfrost. There was no point in hiding his powers, especially if he was alone with…. Whoever she was. To his shock, her eyes lit up in joyous surprise. “Oh, I see you’ve learnt to conjure the elements. You’ve come far in your spellcasting studies, Your Highness.”

“Greetings, Your Highness. I am Y/N, the guardian of the Rose Palace.”

“Oh, this sweet girl?” she raised her arm before brushing back her intricately curled hair with an uncaring flick of her hand. “ Her name is Yelina. She asked me to… assist her in courting you. I assure you, Your Highness, I’m not from the Western Isles nor do I have the need to spy on you.”

“Assist? Yelin- What are you going on about?” Jeongin’s temper finally reached a fever pitch, his voice raising in frustration. “I expect a straight answer from you, whatever your name is. Who are you, and do you have anything to do with this?”

The young lady in front of him dipped into a bow- it wasn’t the neat curtsy he’d seen at the beginning of the night. This was a deep, sweeping bow, almost mocking in nature as she nearly knelt to the floor and rose in one fluid motion.

Her eyes were silver when they met his, a stark contrast from the dark eyes that had peered out of her face before. “And you, young prince, have just caused trouble you might not be able to mend.”

“How do you know that, Y/N?” Jeongin’s voice was as cold as the ice wreathing his fingers, his jaw tightening as he struggled to keep his rising anger in check. “Do the Western Isles dare to spy on its future monarch?”

Just as Jeongin began to advance toward her, his eyes blazing with fury at her twisted answers, a velvet soft laugh from the doors cut through his haze of anger. He caught the way Y/N’s face paled, her demeanour stiffening as she caught sight of who stood behind him. Whirling around, he saw a man walk into the hall, his plump lips pulled back in a satisfied smirk.

“How very quaint of you, guardian.”

His voice was dark, almost sensual in it’s smoothness, a terrible age ringing in every syllable. His hair was a deep purple, drizzled with streaks of white that hung inelegantly over his eyes. A dark cloak fastened at one shoulder fluttered around his feet as he moved further into the hall. There was something wrong with this man, Jeongin realized as his grip tightened on his dagger. The energy in the room had taken a nosedive with his arrival, leaving him with barely a few strands to hold onto.

“Nobody nor the stars give a damn about your opinion, Chris.”

Jeongin started at Y/N’s cold voice ringing from next to him, her eyes narrowed in derision as she stared down the purple-haired man. However, the man wasn’t fazed in the least, his smile only widening in response. “Is that any way to talk to your elder, young one?”

That was when Jeongin noticed the flash of quicksilver in Chris’ eyes- identical to Y/N’s.

Spellcasters.

4- Y/N

“You’re no more my elder than that band of heathens you used to lead.” you spit, stepping in front of Jeongin. You could sense his surprise as he watched your form change- hair turning white, your forehead wreathed with icy blue flames. It probably must be quite overwhelming for him, but you couldn’t spare that much throught- Chris was not to touch a single strand of his hair, stars be damned.

“You’re not welcome here, Chris. Begone.”

“When has that ever stopped me, little one?” Chris’ silver eyes narrowed in a sardonic smile- only, it wasn’t a smile but a soulless show of teeth. “Besides,the intention of my visit was only to extend a hand of gratitude to the crown prince behind you.”

To his credit, Jeongin didn’t so much as flinch, matching Chris’s stare for icy stare. “From the guardian’s stance, I presume your hand of gratitude isn’t one to clamour for.” A rueful smile dragged your lips upward; Jeongin had never been the type to mince his words.

“I must insist, Your Majesty,” Chris’ very stance glittered with the stench of malice, your magic tingling unpleasantly around you. “Or must I call you Jeongin, for you will not remain a royal much longer?”

“I’ll stop you right there.” You growled, fists clenching as blue flames sparked alive in your hands again. “Do not speak of the crown prince that way.”

“Or what, little one?” Chris laughed aloud. “Will your sweet crown prince run his country to doom yet again?”

“W-What-” Jeongin spluttered behind you, confused and bewildered. Chris cut through his stammered sentence, his words carrying over Jeongin’s. “Your spell backfired, princeling. Instead of protecting your kingdom, you sent them all to the one place where they’d never be harmed- their sleep. If only you knew the nuances of spellcasting. Stolen knowledge can only do so much, you know. I allowed you to steal the books, foolish mortal boy. Did you really think you were sneaky enough to swipe from spellcasters??” Chris snarled mockingly at you and Jeongin. You could sense the terror rippling off your prince; taste it like copper on your tongue.

“ Your kingdom will fall to death soon, all because you couldn’t keep your sticky mortal hands to yourself and mess with power you don’t deserve to know, princeling. All of this,” he exclaimed, throwing his arms out wide in sinful exultation, “Will belong to the heathens Y/N spoke about-” And a spear of fire threw him off his feet, sending him flying and crumpling against the far wall.

Stalking towards his prone figure, you pulled him up and slammed him against the wall, your hands clutching his cloak. A line of blue blood trickled down from his hairline to your sick satisfaction, his lips pulled back in a pained snarl. A snake of your flames bound his arms together as you stared him down, silver for silver.

“This kingdom has never been yours, neither will it ever be.” Your voice was soft, icy, pointed. “It belongs to Ataloria now and stars be damned if I don’t make sure it stays that way.”

“You’re a traitor to your own kind, Y/N.” Chris spat in your face, struggling against the flames around his wrists. “Do what you wish to stop this. You and I both know this curse will be fulfilled by that foolish mortal you protect. You’ll get your comeuppance when your princeling’s folly renders this kingdom obsolete,little one. That’s a promise.”

With those final jarring words, he disappeared in a plume of red smoke, leaving you alone with a shell-shocked Jeongin and Ataloria’s sleeping citizens.

5- Y/N

“The land that Ataloria stands on is home to a lot more history than you know, Your Highness.” You bustled into the basement kitchen with the prince at your heels. Jeongin slumped in a chair at the wooden table, his head hidden in his hands. You couldn’t recognize if it was fear, regret or anger, because the only thing you could sense from the prince was a mixture of emotions too complex to gauge.

The both of you had spent the last couple of hours placing temporary warding charms over the entirety of Ataloria- If your brother could break in, god knows what else could. It was no mean feat, especially for two spellcasters and a vast country. But Jeongin rose to the task, his brow furrowed with concentration as he burned perfectly drawn sigils onto the map and spoke incantations with a clear, soulless tongue. The sun rose as you worked on the warding charms- it was bordering early afternoon by the time you led him to the kitchen. It fascinated you how easily the craft came to him; it wasn’t natural for a mortal with no magic in his veins.

“I don’t want to hear it, Y/N.” He sounded small, exhausted, shattered. The night must have been extremely overwhelming for him, you realized. The pressure of being responsible for an entire kingdom’s destruction must not be the easiest weight to carry. “If you’re guardian of this palace, then why didn’t you do something to stop me?” You could hear the blame, the self-loathing in every sentence, but you let him speak. “All these years, you watched me through the walls, sang me lullabies, but didn’t bother to stop me from digging myself a spellcaster grave.”

You gulped, pulling yourself together as you took a seat next to Jeongin. This was not going to be an easy story.

“Your Highness-”

“Call me Jeongin.”

“This story possibly holds the key to righting the wrongs of the night past. Do yourself the favour of listening, Jeongin.” A wave of his hand and straightened posture signalled you to speak, the only response you received.

“The entirety of the Southern Sphere was ruled by spellcasters, their power much greater than those of the spellcasters in your country. Then, this area was called Erus Nox. The spellcasters ruled with great pride and fairness- mortal and Spellcaster coexisting amongst each other with great peace. The capital was not too far from what you now call the Western Isles. Over the centuries, corruption began to take root as it did in any great empire. Many spellcasters did not believe that mortals deserved rights equal to their own, that mortals were the inferior race because of the magic their veins couldn’t hold.

“Soon enough, there were mortal killings in the bowels of the city.News reached my- the Spellcaster King and he ordered his cavalry to round up the perpetrators and have them publicly sentenced to the gallows for breaking the peace. That decision didn’t sit well with the spellcaster nobility, who were now driven to believe that the King.. our king favoured the mortals more than his own blood. Rumors were circulated that the royal family were weak beings, pandering to the whims of their mortal population...it wasn’t true. None of it was. But it spread like wildfire, and suddenly there were mass killings in the suburban areas and the noble circle every other day.”

“Wait, how do you know so much about this?” Jeongin asked you suspiciously, his eyes narrowed. “This clearly isn’t common information. Were you.. Were you one of the rebel forces?!”

“No, you impatient brat.” You bit out, your clenched fists creasing crescent shaped indents into your palms as Jeongin stopped short at your unfamiliar, condescending tone. “If you absolutely must know, I was the crown princess of Erus Nox. Don’t interrupt me, or I will freeze your mouth shut.” A glimmer of amusement flashed past Jeongin eyes at the barely-veiled threat, aware of how different you sounded from barely minutes ago. He nodded at you to continue, so you did.

“My father and I were particularly outspoken against the heathens ravaging the country. We did everything in our power to curb the nonsense, the fanaticism of the rabid spellcaster rebellion. Towards the final days of the… the era, my family and I rallied the mortals and sent them to the closest mortal-dominated towns in the country. By the time the last human group left, it was too late.

“The rebels broke down the wards and- and sent nearly my entire family to the darkness. My father and I fought until we were forcibly subdued. I was made to watch as my father breathed his last, strung up to the throne I was meant to inherit.”

“From his last dying breaths, my father cursed the entire kingdom to fall apart the second he passed. He cursed the land to only cater to a mortal queen when the right lady stepped up, and continue to have only queens in power- may the masses be ruled by the very race they considered inferior. But before he could complete his incantation, he passed into the darkness.”

“Because of the holes his incomplete incantation left behind, the rebel forces brought in Chris to lighten the weight of the curse.- my trusted advisor and confidant,” You shook your head bitterly, the betrayal still ice in your spine. “He was my trusted advisor and confidant, a spellcaster inferior in power only to my family.

“He had no choice but to let the mortal queens part run its course- but he wrote into existence that one day, a mortal prince with a penchant for spellcasting would be born. When he came of age, he would prick himself on the sharp edge that is the art of spellcasting and bring down disaster upon the kingdom as he knows it. At which point, the crown-less kingdom would be ripe for the spellcasters’ picking, heralding the royal son’s folly as a reason for the mortals’ inability to rule- Erus Nox would be restored in all it’s bloody glory for these savage, power-drunk hordes.”

“As for me, well,” You let out a bitter laugh. “Chris had other plans for me. He had resented being my subordinate all along, and took the opportunity to even out his petty grudge. He bound my soul to the castle that was meant to become my home after my coronation, forcing me to watch Erus Nox’s destruction from what was meant to be my chosen headquarters.”

You sighed as you struggled to keep your voice steady, bluntly ignoring the glance of pity that Jeongin sent to you. “He magically sewed my lips shut, forbade me from speaking about the curse and the crusade to anybody, destroying most of my magic reserve and reducing me to.. Well, Guardian of the Rose Palace. But it seems,” you grinned wickedly, your demeanour switching instantly from forlorn to...wild and wicked. “Chris has always had a chronic problem of underestimating me, despite having to trail after my skirts for decades on end. He weakened his curse on me in the heat of the moment back in the hall, when he told me to do what I wish to stop him.” Jeongin’s eyes widened, his jaw dropping in surprise.

“S-So, you’re free?”

“Well,” you cocked your head in thought. “As free as I can be, without a body to inhabit. This young lady’s body is already quite tired out from the exertion I put her through…. But that’s besides the point.” Your eyes glittered in thinly veiled joy, tinged with malice. “This time, he’s truly going to get what’s coming for him.”

6- JEONGIN

“Chris left a glaring loophole in his incantation. It was a possibility he didn’t entertain, because it was a sheer impossibility in his eyes.” Jeongin listened closely as Y/N laid out the information she’d gathered over the years, and the conclusions she’d arrived at from it. The two of them were still sitting at the table where Y/N told him about the story of Erus Nox. His heart was heavy from the pain he felt from her words- being a prisoner in the same castle you were meant to rule from must have been the worst kind of pain to bear.

“..He did not consider the possibility of the mortal prince being alive to right the wrong he had committed.”

Jeongin gasped, sitting up straight in surprise. “That seems like a stupid possibility to overlook.”

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Jeongin.” You chuckled. “It was quite by chance that I noticed the discrepancy, but yes. Chris’ curse will be obsolete if you undo the spell you wrongly cast.”

He shrugged, leaning back against the chair. “How do you propose we do that?”

Y/N’s fingertips pressed against each other, her elbows balanced on the table edge. “That warding spell you tried to cast- show me what you did. If we were to find out where you went wrong and undo it, Ataloria must likely be revived.”

Jeongin rubbed the back of his neck in thought, processing Y/N’s words. “How long will it take for you to find my errors?”

“Depends on how long the incantation is. ”

“Then what are we waiting for? You know where the North Tower is.”

“Stars above, Chris is a nasty hellhound for letting you swipe this book,” Y/N cursed, carefully taking the book from him and flipping it open. “This book contains incantations that even the most seasoned spellcasters of the current age can’t cast right.” Jeongin’s shoulders slumped as he took a seat on the floor next to her kneeling form.

Stepping carefully over the throngs of peacefully slumbering people, Jeongin led Y/N up to the North Tower. The room was as he’d left it- chalk smudges and bits of purple wax dotting the floor. Pulling open a dusty drawer, Jeongin picked out the book he’d taken the incantation from.

“I really should have kept my nose out of spellcasting. “He muttered softly, watching her turn the brittle browned pages carefully. “Would have saved the world a lot of trouble.”

“You’re such a self-absorbed little thing,” Y/N quipped, still absorbed in the pages of the spellbook. “This was your destiny, one that Chris wrote for you. You’d have come across spellcasting and fallen in love with its craft in one way or another. Besides, you’re in the presence of a master spellcaster- Oh, is it this one?” Y/N pointed at the page in front of her.

Jeongin nodded miserably. “Yes, that’s the one. This is the modification I came up with.” He pulled out a dog-eared, heavily scribbled piece of paper from between the book’s leaves, handing it to her.

“You’ve got some balls trying this incantation without any formal training, that too with modifications!!” Y/N exclaimed, scanning the pages of the incantation. “I’m surprised that an eternal sleep is all you caused after ruining it.If you had cast this right, it would have completely removed the possibility of a siege on Ataloria’s borders ever again.”

“I know. That was why I took the risk of casting it. It would have been ideal to protect the borders.”

“No, you don’t get it.” She spared him a glance laden with calculated curiosity, “This spell is extremely volatile, because of the number of variables it includes- even more so with your changes. It’s strong enough to ward away any mortal or spellcaster who isn’t welcome within its borders. This could decimate the spellcaster siege, if you recast it right. It’s… It’s genius. You’re better than I anticipated.”

“It was all for naught, I ruined it regardless,” Jeongin sighed. “If you’re that good of a spellcaster, can you undo and recast the spell instead?”

“I am still a spirit, so the doors to these kinds of spellcasting are closed to me.” You frowned. “It will take me a long time and power I am yet to find to cast a body for myself, so the fastest way to revive Ataloria would be for you to undo the spell with my guidance.”

An iceberg lodged itself into Jeongin’s heart at the thought of having to cast a spell again. He swallowed thickly, the fear turning his thoughts slow and sluggish. “I’m not sure that is a good idea. I’m clearly not meant to dabble in spellcasting, I’m but a mortal-”

“Does spellcasting make your blood sing, Jeongin?”

It only took Jeongin a split- second’s thought to answer her question. “Yes.”

“Then why must you be scared of failure?” Y/N’s eyebrow arched. “Even spellcasters make mistakes. That doesn’t stop us from pursuing the craft, does it? Also..you’re not alone now, Jeongin.” She placed a warm hand on his shoulder. “ This craft was never meant to be exclusive. I knew mortal spellcasters who bent energy to their will much better than many spellcasters by blood. You’re a natural at this. I believe in you.”

Jeongin’s face crumpled as a few tears escaped his eyes unbidden. The idea of pursuing spellcasting beyond a hidden passion sent a thrill through his body despite the havoc his previous attempt had caused. The possibility of failure, as daunting as it was, only pushed him to practice more, be better- He wiped the tears away. If not for himself, at least for the good of Ataloria...

“Are you certain that this spell could protect Ataloria from future harm?”

“Absolutely. I’m sure of it.” she sounded confident; Jeongin had no reason to distrust her.

“You truly believe that I can undo the spell ?”

Y/N stood up, the book in one hand as she held out the other for him to take. “I do. Are you up for the challenge, Your Highness?” She used the title like a teasing nickname, her eyes creasing into a smile as Jeongin took her hand, hauling himself to his feet.

“As much as I’ll ever be.”

7-JEONGIN

“Do you remember everything I told you?” Y/N leaned against the door of the North Tower, watching closely as Jeongin went through the same preparations as last night. The pentagram and sigils drawn, the crystals and candles laid out, Y/N’s paper of corrections and developments on the new spell clutched in Jeongin’s hand.

“Yes, I think so.” He huffed out a breath, the air fogging in front of him. The sun had set, giving way to the twilight darkness. This night was eerily similar to the night before- the sun was high in the sky, the stars against the cloudless sky. But tonight, his kingdom’s fate hung in the balance, because a group of magical elitists couldn’t admit defeat.

“Thank you, Y/N.” His gratitude clearly caught Y/N off-guard, judging from her widened eyes and parted lips. “Oh- I-”

His thoughts wandered to the people that lay deep in slumber around the castle and the kingdom- his people. Their fate and safety lay in his untrained novice spellcaster hands. Jeongin’s jaw tightened, his resolve strengthened. He would do everything right this time around, no matter what it took. For his people.

Before she could answer, a resounding boom ripped through the tower, shaking the floor under their feet. Amidst the pebbles and tiles falling from the ceiling, Jeongin saw Y/N hurry to the window in the tower wall, her expression shifting from confusion to fury.

“Chris realized his mistake.” The words sent a chill down Jeongin’s spine. The energy-sucking feeling he’d felt in Chris’ presence was one he did not wish to encounter again-

“I’ll hold him off,” Y/N’s brow and wrists blazed in the same icy blue fire he’d seen that morning, her silver eyes flashing dangerously. “No matter what, don’t step out of the room, do you understand?”

That was when Jeongin saw the silver line etched at the entrance of the door, a flare of silvery energy encompassing the entire room around him- A forcefield. Y/N stood on the other side, her voice loud yet muffled as another explosion rocked the foundations of the tower. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND, JEONGIN??”

The energy that picked up around him was as wild as he remembered, a hurricane almost throwing him off his feet from the time he uttered the first words. If anything, it was almost chaotic, the wind screaming in his ears as he struggled to keep the incantation running. It was almost like the energy did not wish to be undone, rebelling against his attempts to right the wrong.

“YES, YES I DO!” He yelled, lunging for the spellbook that had fallen to the floor. He had no time to spare, maybe if he worked the incantation fast enough no harm would befall Y/N or his people, there were his people in the castle, he couldn’t mess up-

He could hear the distant crackle of fire and the screech of metal outside the forcefield- Y/N was making good on her word. It would only be fitting if he did the same.

8- Y/N

You dodged another arrow of ice, a hiss slipping through your teeth as you pulled yourself to your feet. “Tired already little one?” Chris called out, his fists ablaze with red-tinted ice. His eyes blazed a bright silver, almost white as he advanced towards you.

“You wish, blood traitor,” You snarled back, tossing a wave of shadow energy at Chris, but he only danced out of range. “It seems to be so!” He cackled, another gust of energy pushing you backwards on the smooth marble.

The two of you stood at the entrance to the North Tower, right outside the forcefield you’d left around Jeongin. You could only hope that he was doing everything you told him to do. You gritted your teeth, rallying what was left of your magic. Yelina’s body was strong, but she wasn’t a spellcaster. The constant magic use was taking a toll on her while the stress of inhabiting a mortal body taking a toll on you. Your magic wasn’t made to inhabit a mortal body for too long-you could only hope that the two of you held out long enough to give Jeongin the time he needed…It was time for some old-fashioned trickery.

“You can’t get through the forcefield I put around him even if you get past me, Chris. It’s beyond your capabilities.” You grinned at the way Chris’ eyes narrowed. You’d hit the right nerve. “I know for a fact you’re too proud to bring any of your heathens with you,” you taunted further, revelling in his clenched fists. “Keep your nasty tongue to yourself, Y/N-”

“You were embarrassed by the loophole you left, weren’t you?” the mocking sweetness in your tone had a growl ripping out of Chris’ throat, an angry vine of energy flying towards you. You ducked, allowing it to break through the plaster and cement of the wall behind you, a raucous laugh bubbling up your throat. Keep him occupied, keep him occupied until Jeongin completes the incantation-

“You came here alone to fix it. You’re just as I remember, Courtesan,” you exclaimed, dancing out of the way of Chris’ attacks, until one flash of lightning caught you unawares, slamming you against the wall. Chris’s purple hair was almost black in the darkness as he materialized in front of you, his snarl showing pulled back teeth ready to pounce. His hand tightened around your neck, squeezing slowly. “I should have killed you that day in the throne room-”

“ Social climbing, greedy, proud,” you choked on the little remaining air you had left in your lungs, defiantly staring Chris down. “Always overshadowed, can’t do a single thing right-”

“You little-”

Your eyes screwed shut, waiting for the final blow- which never came.

9-JEONGIN

“You- There’s no way you reversed the spell-” Chris screamed, his silvery bright eyes almost white in the moonlight darkness. He could feel Chris’ magic rebel against his own, the intensity almost enough to make Jeongin see stars, but he held on. His magic’s grip tightened on Chris, who choked and spluttered to silence.

“You’re not welcome here, Chris.” Jeongin’s voice was louder than he thought, bolts of magic bodily pulling him away from Y/N. She slumped to the ground, coughing and spluttering, but his attention was speared upon the thrashing man in the clutches of Jeongin’s roiling magic.

“Y/N told me you had a chronic problem of underestimating people.” He sounded calm, almost conversational to his own ears. How was he so calm?

“I must agree for tonight, a foolish mortal boy will be the reason for your downfall. I hope your entire association remembers that before ever thinking of laying siege upon my kingdom again. Leave, Chris. And never return.”

“I would not lay my bets on that, mortal scum.” Chris snarled, finally finding his tongue before dissolving into thin air, Jeongin’s magic letting him leave. The castle was alive yet again, with faint murmurs and loud screams. He could hear the sound of life everywhere- and it finally hit him. He succeeded.

An incredulous laugh spilled from his throat, almost instinctively moving towards Y/N as his grin grew wider. He’d succeeded, he saved them, he did it all by himself-

He knelt before her, gently helping her sit up and open her eyes.. Dark eyes that were decidedly not the silver he’d gotten accustomed to. It was Yelina that stared back at him, not Y/N- her eyes narrowed in exhaustion, the previous injuries inflicted by the fight against Chris nowhere to be seen.

“Y-Your Highness?” Yelina’s Isles accent was back in full force, and it was all he could do to school his face into a mask of bland relief. His tongue instantly cooked up a suitable lie for their location while his mind raced- where was Y/N? Why did she disappear ? Did he do something wrong again?

Until he heard it.

A husky, haunting melody that seemed to echo from within the walls of the castle, the sad melody sounding unmistakably joyous to his ears. Y/N hadn’t left, he realized. She was right here, as she always was. Her curse was weakened, she’d said- not broken. She was still a prisoner of The Rose Palace.

Jeongin smiled a secret smile to himself as he led Yelina back into the castle, a quiet promise made between him and the moon- one day soon, he’d break the curse on Y/N. And that day would come very, very soon.

Wise men say, only fools rush in

Thank you for reading! :)

But I can’t help falling in love with you..

///

Taglist: @aliceu @skzctnightnight @seraplantery @rebecca-noona @decembermoonskz @straykidsownmysoul @soya-zz @stellarmonsterr @malai-barfi @fylithia

Network Tag: @inkidz @districtninewriters @starryktown @bystay

Do let me know what you think! - Elliana.

#skznta2020 #stray kids #skz #stray kids imagines #skz jeongin #jeongin x reader #skz fantasy au #skz fluff #stray kids fluff #skz x reader #stray kids au #stray kids scenarios #skz scenarios #jeongin #yang jeongin #kpop #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #ellaskz

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sclfmastery · 6 years ago

Text

✨ element.

LINK.

✨You are Lava! (Fire/Earth)

Tagged by: @canspotatimeagent

Tagging: Steal it!

The Volcanic element combines the will-power, courage, and brilliant vision of Fire with the diligence, stability, and common sense of earth. That is an excellent recipe for success. Lava combines the abstract, big-picture vision of Fire and the detailed precision of Earth to get things done. Lava enjoys setting bold, daring, nearly impossible goals, then slowly but surely making it happen – all perfectly according to plan. Everything in Lava’s life goes to serve The Plan: an extremely complex life-long plan for success that incorporates every foreseeable variable and contingency. Often, Lava begins making The Plan while still a small child and continues to refine it and re-work it across his or her life. Their ability to predict the future is mysterious and can be either inspiring or terrifying depending on whether Lava is a friend or enemy. In some, this predictive power is based on a deep, abstract understanding of the universe and its patterns and meanings. In others, it is due to a keen memory, concrete reasoning, and an ability to predict the future by analyzing past behavior. Lava is also family-oriented; it uses its tremendous energy and consistent devotion to serve and love friends and family. Beneath the fierce, stubborn exterior is a real, genuine, human warmth and a loyal love that will never die. Those lucky enough to be in Lava’s inner circle are blessed indeed. They are fiercely protective of those they love and would do absolutely anything for them. Respect, honor, integrity, and courage matter a great deal to Lava. Such respect is earned, never given. Since this Mixed Element combines the two dry elements (Fire and Earth), Lava will tend to be very dry. Here, “dryness” refers to being resistant to change or outside forces – i.e. being decisive, consistent, logical, and stubborn.

Core Strengths: Lava is brave, bold, ambitious, strong-willed, energetic, charismatic, honest, loyal, just, honorable, dedicated, stable, practical, orderly, structured, fair-minded, patient, rational, respectful, and dependable. Possible Weaknesses: When immature, Lava might be arrogant, angry, harsh, bitter, jealous, greedy, stiff, callous, have judgmental tendencies, bossy, excessively competitive, and too focused.

Lava can be made by Fire and Earth in many ways. INTJ can be thought of as a cool Fire – just as ambitious, bold, visionary, abstract, and driven, but with a calmer, more patient, more introverted nature. In the alternative, INTJs can be thought of as a more ambitious and much more abstract version of Earth. INTJ may occasionally show up as Ice if the INTJ in question is introverted enough. ESTJ can be thought of as Earth heated up – just as practical, diligent, stubborn, and stable, but with much more ambition, drive, and extroversion. In the alternative, ESTJ can be thought of as a much more concrete, practical, and methodical version of Fire. ENTJs and ISTJs may occasionally show up as Lava, though they are normally pure Fire and pure Earth respectively. Functions: Extroverted Thinking, Introverted Sensing, Introverted Intuition, and introverted feeling Enneagram Types: 1, 3, 5, 6, and 8 Platonic Solid: Pyramid (Tetrahedron) and Cube (Hexahedron) Aristotelian Environment: Dry (Either Hot or Cool) Temperament: Choleric/Melancholic or Melancholic/Choleric Cardinal Virtue: Courage (Fortitudo) Yin-Yang: Full Yang and New Yin Opposite Element: Mist/Cloud/Rain (Air/Water) – While Lava is the element of law, order, stability, practicality, diligence, tradition, bravery, willpower, liveliness, and long-term vision, Mist is spontaneous, free, adaptable, idealistic, cosmopolitan, caution, compassion, calm, and artistic.

Fire Summary: Fire is the element of will-power, courage, and vision. Fire is an active, focused, goal-oriented element. It is courageous, bold, strong-willed, passionate, ambitious, and fiercely dedicated. Fire insists on always moving onward and upward, always boldly going somewhere. It needs a goal, a direction, a dream to pursue. When given a noble goal, nothing is more majestic than Fire as it breaks through all obstacles, transcends all boundaries, and forges ahead through all hardships to make dreams into reality. Fire has a strong sense of justice, honor, and integrity. Fire is the spark of inspiration, flashes of deep insight, and bold visions for the future. It is creativity, plans, goals, intuition, patterns, archetypes, and the sense of a cosmic driving purpose. Fire is passion, so apathy is a foreign concept to it. Fire has strong opinions and beliefs about pretty much everything. This passion carries over into all areas of life, whether it is work, school, hobbies or personal relations. There is no more fiercely dedicated friend, lover, or enemy than Fire. Fire can be the warm-hearted fireplace to give warmth to the weary, the torch to give light and direction in darkness, the Sun that brings life and light to the world, the Promethean Fire that inspires invention and science, the forge that drives industry onward, or the raging fire that annihilates every enemy in its path. It has such tremendous mental and emotional energy that other elements often feel overwhelmed. However, just like physical fire without fuel turns to ash, so Fiery people sink into deep, restless depression when they lose their drive and have no dream and no goal to pursue. Also, Fire’s single-minded zeal can at times turn into arrogance and a tendency to belittle and devalue anything or anyone that stands in the way of Fire’s Goal. Immature Fire can also have issues with anger, harshness, being judgmental, bossiness, hasty decisions, and being excessively competitive. Earth Summary: Earth is the element of stability, law, and order. It is the most closely tied to the physical reality. It is also the most enduring. Earth people are known for their steady, patient strength – enduring all hardship, weathering all change. They are strong and stable, honest and loyal, fair-minded and rational, orderly and reliable. Under stress and pressure that would break anyone else, Earth still stands. It can be the tall, strong, majestic mountain; the nurturing soil that makes things grow; the stone wall that withstands the enemy’s fire; the castle that protects those within; the cave that shelters from the storm; the precise, organized, and beautiful gemstone; the deep canyon; the brick and stone that make up mighty towers and humble homes alike; or the caverns of the deep that guard the earth’s riches. Earth is a practical element and enjoys building things and helping things grow. Earth is common sense, memory, organization, details, patience, maturity, and perceptiveness. It is also known as the most family-oriented of the elements and frequently takes on a parental or big sibling role when dealing with younger people. Connected with that is a deep respect for the elderly, for tradition, and for anything that has withstood the test of time. Earning respect is key to earth. Because of its stability and desire for permanence, a close relationship with an Earthen person is likely to last a lifetime. Earth’s greatest strength and weakness lies in its inertia: it changes very slowly and resists all outside influences. This gives it its great strength, stability, and calm, but it also makes it rigid, inflexible, and extremely stubborn. For good or ill, Earth is what it is and that is unlikely to change.

#this is freaky deaky accurate you guys #headcanons #bow down

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braverytaught · 6 years ago

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four elements quiz

tagged by: @lamentedhope tagging: @lcgilimens / @aurorscorned / @holmesdepot for whoever you’re feeling / idk literally everybody

YOU ARE LAVA (FIRE/EARTH) !

The Volcanic element combines the will-power, courage, and brilliant vision of Fire with the diligence, stability, and common sense of earth. That is an excellent recipe for success. Lava combines the abstract, big-picture vision of Fire and the detailed precision of Earth to get things done. Lava enjoys setting bold, daring, nearly impossible goals, then slowly but surely making it happen -- all perfectly according to plan. Everything in Lava’s life goes to serve The Plan: an extremely complex life-long plan for success that incorporates every foreseeable variable and contingency. Often, Lava begins making The Plan while still a small child and continues to refine it and re-work it across his or her life. Their ability to predict the future is mysterious and can be either inspiring or terrifying depending on whether Lava is a friend or enemy. In some, this predictive power is based on a deep, abstract understanding of the universe and its patterns and meanings. In others, it is due to a keen memory, concrete reasoning, and an ability to predict the future by analyzing past behavior. Lava is also family-oriented; it uses its tremendous energy and consistent devotion to serve and love friends and family. Beneath the fierce, stubborn exterior is a real, geniune, human warmth and a loyal love that will never die. Those lucky enough to be in Lava’s inner circle are blessed indeed. They are fiercely protective of those they love and would do absolutely anything for them. Respect, honor, integrity, and courage matter a great deal to Lava. Such respect is earned, never given. Since this Mixed Element combines the two dry elements (Fre and Earth), Lava will tend to be very dry. Here, “dryness” refers to being resistant to change or outside forces -- i.e. being decisive, consistent, logical, and stubborn.

ESTJ can be thought of as Earth heated up -- just as practical, diligent, stubborn, and stable, but with much more ambition, drive, and extroversion. In the alternative, ESTJ can be thought of as a much more concrete, practical, and methodical version of Fire.

Functions: Extroverted Thinking, Introverted Sensing, Introverted Intuition, and Introverted Feeling Enneagram Types: 1, 3, 5, 6, and 8 Platonic Solid: Pyramid (Tetrahedron) and Cube (Hexahedron) Aristotelian Environment: Dry (Either Hot or Cool) Temperament: Choleric/Melancholic or Melancholic/Choleric Cardinal Virtue: Courage (Fortitudo) Yin-Yang: Full Yang and New Yin Opposite Element: Mist/Cloud/Rain (Air/Water) -- While Lava is the element of law, order, stability, practicality, diligence, tradition, bravery, willpower, liveliness, and long-term vision, Mist is spontaneous, free, adaptable, idealistic, cosmopolitan, caution, compassion, calm, and artistic. Core Strengths: Lava is brave, bold, ambitious, strong-willed, energetic, charismatic, honest, loyal, just, honorable, dedicated, stable, practical, orderly, structured, fair-minded, patient, rational, respectful, and dependable. Possible Weaknesses: When immature, Lava might be arrogant, angry, harsh, bitter, jealous, greedy, stiff, callous, have judgmental tendencies, bossy, excessively competitive, and too focused.

Fire Summary:

Fire is the element of will-power, courage, and vision. Fire is an active, focused, goal-oriented element. It is courageous, bold, strong-willed, passionate, ambitious, and fiercely dedicated. Fire insists on always moving onward and upward, always boldly going somewhere. It needs a goal, a direction, a dream to pursue. When given a noble goal, nothing is more majestic than Fire as it breaks through all obstacles, transcends all boundaries, and forges ahead through all hardships to make dreams into reality. Fire has a strong sense of justice, honor, and integrity. Fire is the spark of inspiration, flashes of deep insight, and bold visions for the future. It is creativity, plans, goals, intuition, patterns, archetypes, and the sense of a cosmic driving purpose. Fire is passion, so apathy is a foreign concept to it. Fire has strong opinions and beliefs about pretty much everything. This passion carries over into all areas of life, whether it is work, school, hobbies, or personal relations. There is no more fiercely dedicated friend, lover, or enemy than Fire. Fire can be the warm-hearted fireplace to give warmth to the weary, the torch to give light and direction in darkness, the Sun that brings life and light to the world, the Promethean Fire that inspires invention and science, the forge that drives industry onward, or the raging fire that annihilates every enemy in its path. It has such tremendous mental and emotional energy that other elements often feel overwhelmed. However, just like physical fire without fuel turns to ash, so Fiery people sink into dee, restless depression when they lose their drive and have no dream and no goal to pursue. Also, Fire’s single-minded zeal can at times turn into arrogance and a tendency to belittle and devalue anything or anyone that stands in the way of Fire’s Goal. Immature Fire can also have issues with anger, harshness, being judgmental, bossiness, hasty decisions, and being excessively competitive.

Earth Summary:

Earth is the element of stability, law, and order. It is the most closely tied to the physical reality. It is also the most enduring. Earth people are known for their steady, patient strength – enduring all hardship, weathering all change. They are strong and stable, honest and loyal, fair-minded and rational, orderly and reliable. Under stress and pressure that would break anyone else, Earth still stands. It can be the tall, strong, majestic mountain; the nurturing soil that makes things grow; the stone wall that withstands the enemy’s fire; the castle that protects those within; the cave that shelters from the storm; the precise, organized, and beautiful gemstone; the deep canyon; the brick and stone that make up mighty towers and humble homes alike; or the caverns of the deep that guard the earth’s riches. Earth is a practical element and enjoys building things and helping things grow. Earth is common sense, memory, organization, details, patience, maturity, and perceptiveness. It is also known as the most family-oriented of the elements and frequently takes on a parental or big sibling role when dealing with younger people. Connected with that is a deep respect for the elderly, for tradition, and for anything that has withstood the test of time. Earning respect is key to earth. Because of its stability and desire for permanence, a close relationship with an Earthen person is likely to last a lifetime. Earth’s greatest strength and weakness lies in its inertia: it changes very slowly and resists all outside influences. This gives it its great strength, stability, and calm, but it also makes it rigid, inflexible, and extremely stubborn. For good or ill, Earth is what it is and that is unlikely to change.

#; that explains a great deal ( headcanons. )#i know this is long but hey i fuckin love this #do i not always say that she's both earth and fire??? here u go then #a lot of this is really accurate. got the estj and choleric in there too #i also really like the bit in the fire section about becoming depressed when they don't have a clear goal and dream to pursue #bc that's. very much the two years minerva suffered through at the ministry #when she wasn't pursuing the right dreams #yeah. good shit

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dievmesti · 6 years ago

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four elements quiz.

you are lava ( fire / earth ) !!

the volcanic element combines the will - power , courage , & brilliant vision of fire with the diligence , stability , & common sense of earth . that is an excellent recipe for success . lava combines the abstract , big - picture vision of fire & the detailed precision of earth to get things done . lava enjoys setting bold , daring , nearly impossible goals , then slowly but surely making it happen ------ all perfectly according to plan . everything in lava’s life goes to serve the plan : an extremely complex life - long plan for success that incorporates every foreseeable variable & contingency . often , lava begins making the plan while still a small child & continues to refine it & re - work it across their life . their ability to predict the future is mysterious & can be either inspiring or terrifying depending on whether lava is a friend or enemy . in some , this predictive power is based on a deep , abstract understanding of the universe & its patterns & meanings . in others , it is due to a keen memory , concrete reasoning , & an ability to predict the future by analyzing past behavior . lava is also family - oriented ; it uses its tremendous energy & consistent devotion to serve & love friends & family . beneath the fierce , stubborn exterior is a real , genuine , human warmth & a loyal love that will never die . those lucky enough to be in lava’s inner circle are blessed indeed . they are fiercely protective of those they love & would do absolutely anything for them . respect , honor , integrity , & courage matter a great deal to lava . such respect is earned , never given .

since this mixed element combines the two dry elements ( fire & earth ) , lava will tend to be very dry . here , “ dryness ” refers to being resistant to change or outside forces ------ i .e . being decisive , consistent , logical , & stubborn .

lava can be made by fire & earth in many ways .

mbti : intj can be thought of as a cool fire ------ just as ambitious , bold , visionary , abstract , & driven , but with a calmer , more patient , more introverted nature . in the alternative , intjs can be thought of as a more ambitious & much more abstract version of earth . intj may occasionally show up as ice if the intj in question is introverted enough . estj can be thought of as earth heated up ------ just as practical , diligent , stubborn , & stable , but with much more ambition , drive , & extroversion . in the alternative , estj can be thought of as a much more concrete , practical , & methodical version of fire . entjs & istjs may occasionally show up as lava , though they are normally pure fire & pure earth respectively . functions : extroverted thinking , introverted sensing , introverted intuition , & introverted feeling . enneagram types : 1 , --- , 5 , 6 , & 8 . platonic solid : pyramid ( tetrahedron ) & cube ( hexahedron ) . aristotelian environment : dry ( either hot or cool ) . temperament : choleric / melancholic or melancholic / choleric . cardinal virtue : courage ( fortitudo ) . yin - yang : full yang & new yin . opposite element : mist / cloud / rain ( air / water ) ------ while lava is the element of law , order , stability , practicality , diligence , tradition , bravery , willpower , liveliness , & long - term vision , mist is spontaneous , free , adaptable , idealistic , cosmopolitan , caution , compassion , calm , & artistic . core strengths : lava is brave , bold , ambitious , strong - willed , energetic , charismatic , honest , loyal , just , honorable , dedicated , stable , practical , orderly , structured , fair - minded , patient , rational , respectful , & dependable . possible weaknesses : when immature , lava might be arrogant , angry , harsh , bitter , jealous , greedy , stiff , callous , have judgmental tendencies , bossy , excessively competitive , & too focused . fire summary : fire is the element of will - power , courage , & vision . fire is an active , focused , goal - oriented element . it is courageous , bold , strong - willed , passionate , ambitious , & fiercely dedicated . fire insists on always moving onward & upward , always boldly going somewhere . it needs a goal , a direction , a dream to pursue . when given a noble goal , nothing is more majestic than fire as it breaks through all obstacles , transcends all boundaries , & forges ahead through all hardships to make dreams into reality . fire has a strong sense of justice , honor , & integrity . fire is the spark of inspiration , flashes of deep insight , & bold visions for the future . it is creativity , plans , goals , intuition , patterns , archetypes , & the sense of a cosmic driving purpose . fire is passion , so apathy is a foreign concept to it . fire has strong opinions & beliefs about pretty much everything . this passion carries over into all areas of life , whether it is work , school , hobbies or personal relations . there is no more fiercely dedicated friend , lover , or enemy than fire . fire can be the warm - hearted fireplace to give warmth to the weary , the torch to give light & direction in darkness , the sun that brings life & light to the world , the promethean fire that inspires invention & science , the forge that drives industry onward , or the raging fire that annihilates every enemy in its path . it has such tremendous mental & emotional energy that other elements often feel overwhelmed . however , just like physical fire without fuel turns to ash , so fiery people sink into deep , restless depression when they lose their drive & have no dream & no goal to pursue . also , fire’s single - minded zeal can at times turn into arrogance & a tendency to belittle & devalue anything or anyone that stands in the way of fire’s goal . immature fire can also have issues with anger , harshness , being judgmental , bossiness , hasty decisions , & being excessively competitive . earth summary : earth is the element of stability , law , & order . it is the most closely tied to the physical reality . it is also the most enduring . earth people are known for their steady , patient strength ------ enduring all hardship , weathering all change . they are strong & stable , honest & loyal , fair - minded & rational , orderly & reliable . under stress & pressure that would break anyone else , earth still stands . it can be the tall , strong , majestic mountain ; the nurturing soil that makes things grow ; the stone wall that withstands the enemy’s fire ; the castle that protects those within ; the cave that shelters from the storm ; the precise , organized , & beautiful gemstone ; the deep canyon ; the brick & stone that make up mighty towers & humble homes alike ; or the caverns of the deep that guard the earth’s riches . earth is a practical element & enjoys building things & helping things grow . earth is common sense , memory , organization , details , patience , maturity , & perceptiveness . it is also known as the most family - oriented of the elements & frequently takes on a parental or big sibling role when dealing with younger people . connected with that is a deep respect for the elderly , for tradition , & for anything that has withstood the test of time . earning respect is key to earth . because of its stability & desire for permanence , a close relationship with an earthen person is likely to last a lifetime . earth’s greatest strength & weakness lies in its inertia : it changes very slowly & resists all outside influences . this gives it its great strength , stability , & calm , but it also makes it rigid , inflexible , & extremely stubborn . for good or ill , earth is what it is & that is unlikely to change .

#* !! study.#yea i'd say p much all of this is accurate #i would disagree with the earth part of disliking change but at the same time they do like their stability & sudden changes are def a big No #* !! real gamers major in minecraft.

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k00233706 · 4 years ago

Text

James Hillman On Mythology

Notes taken from an online lecture https://youtu.be/blF0NdSm1lQ

Rousseau on the Child.

The child perceives differs because the child reaches down into prehistoric, archetypal, mythical experiences, an imaginal realm which provides the child with its own way of seeing. This mode of thinking also found in primitive mad and artists. The childhood of persons become merged with childhoods of people.

Hillman…we don’t know what they are in themselves unadulterated by our need as carriers for the imaginal …

Freud…the child has no super ego, does not free associate because it does not have enough experiences so it goes back into prehistoric mythical events and stories, the child’s problems and parents are external rather than internal, absence of personal conscious

He gave the child primacy…

He gave the child body…emotional, desires

He gave the child pathology….it was our suffering

Dickens children had little passion no sexuality

Perversity in dickens came from adults and society

Jung actual child is abandoned …it lay prejudice always inclined to identify child motif with the concrete experience child. The mythological child is emphatically not a copy of the empirical child

Child archetype motif in collective …the child is all that is abandoned and exposed and at the same time divinely powerful…the eternal child in man is an indescribable experience and a divine prerogative.

Futurity…the child points to future

Divine heroic invincibility

Hermaphrodite

Beginning and end

Abandonment

Archaic mythical thinking Blissfulness of paradise appears

Mother Archetype appears

Creative child

Freud Feces child penis…a little thing that can become separated from its body

Hillman Christian Child…child refers to simple niave poor and common the orphan of society and psyce…precondition for salvation…feeling of heart than learning of rhe mind..child in the manger ,,,suffer the children to come onto me

Classical tradition…configurations of masculine psychology Zeus, Hermes Dionysus, Oedipus Hercules….child motif kept distinct from the mother archetype….gods who appears in child form

Jung child motif exist in distant past and now…purpose is to compensate and correct the extravagances of conscious mind …a psychological corrector…it is important to bring the child back (jung)from abandonment (freud)

Abandoned child Hillman as it appears in dreams

In modern dreams where we ourselves, a child of ours or one unknown child is in danger neglected forgotten the child makes its presence known through dreams although abandoned we can still hear it

Endangered by drowning animals’ traffic being left behind in a car truck, pram or supermarket cart, kidnappers

Illness crippling mental retardation idiot child motif

War flood or fire

Dreamers response is acute worry I must do something

Infant we must keep this child with us…. a moral lesson I out to do different

But this guilt puts the burden on the ego. The dreamer is the child and in charge of the child…feelings of responsibility obscure the feelings of loss and fear

The more we worry the less they reach us…so reacting from ego guilt, moral lessons we reinforce ego, emphasis parent child division

Crucial in dream integration…not interpretation…standing with it….is the emotional experience of all its parts… Gestalt demands we feel ourselves into all the parts…the distraught parent and the wild dogs, flooding river…interpretation may strengthen the parent at the expense of the child…may never reach the child that is abandoned…attempting tasks beyond strength….The abandoned child can be better found by moving closer to subjective misery and noting exactly how it feels where it is

Interpretation reason distance us from the child

Abandonment in marriage…marriage unavoidably evoke the child…a basket for the abandon child transforms the actual home into a psychic home in which we may be safely exposes…at home we are not only mother who embraces but also a child…what is rejected everywhere is accepted here….adults indulge their own child regressed collapse weak wanting…of course we hate beat our own children because the become rivals…not just idealizations of union but finding a place for the two inner children who come into the home. Where else can the child go…more important to wife and husband are mother and father. The archetypal child needs to rehears premarital

Divorce threatens the actual children and the abandoned children…. concertation of abandonment

Why study mythology

Mythical deficiency + fundamentalism

Our lives start of as mythical mind…I want a story about something…in other cultures there is no distinction

Is it true is a question that arises out of the child abused by the intellectual life of the culture?

You can’t explain myths without destroying them and they don’t explain either they may deepen tantalize confuse prove but they don’t explain anything

“Prescientific explanations was western mind interpretation

Other verbs provoke tantalize puzzle interest delight…the aesthetic importance of the myths…we don’t have anesthetic culture…it is decorative aesthetic aesthetics not built into the imagination of the culture…first thing to be cut out of school budgets…midnight basketball was cut out as an idea for crime prevention…pleasure fun ridiculous the beauty of the movements…but plenty of money for a prison stay

Because we don’t have an aesthetic culture myth are functional but they are not functional they explain nothing advance nothing…well are there any new myths…our culture asks…no one would ask this in other cultures. New and improved myths…it would have to stay…we think of everything timebound and not eternal…then we get into theology …. a gardener eternal…they just come back…something simple…it doesn’t have to be coopted by the church.

The figures of the myths never were but always are

Historical claims subject to proof and disproof…

Levels of Literalism Perseus has 47 different versions no one version different takes on different mythemes.

Myths Never were but always are

Ever-present not only eternal not (not platonic meaning) always in our midst, the ride the room with us

Study myth to recognize them and learn the names and can’t keep it in your mind not even Hillman, impossibility oof how they fade in and out…you can’t keep them in the realm of fact…they can’t be caught in a net…suggest they are alive

Always are, where are they?

They are not typologies …but it can approach…I am not only caused by my history genetics…there is also a mythical aspect at work…figures at work in my life…there are styles of existences…the gods and goddesses are styles …helpful to identify styles and boundaries…don’t step in other gods bounds…

Always +eternity

Are here and now

They are not in me…has a humanist flavor…like we don’t manipulate God for our own purposes…not in Platonic world as metaphysical literal real figures

They are in life

Persephone…innocence and violence…forest Gump…insidious praising of ignorance. All you need to do is be uncomplicated the more innocence you have the more violence you constellate…you can’t get out of the violence by returning to innocence…you can’t…new world was an ideal new and innocence but full of violence. Innocence keeps us from looking at the soil and what’s in it…. what’s in the soil is constantly affecting you…Greeks blood guilt…Ancient Greeks believed in miasma, 'spiritual pollution' or 'blood guilt'. A crime would infect the criminal with miasma, cursing them to suffer, whether or not the crime was intentional. Only spiritually-purifying acts would alleviate the pollution. ... Blood always claims more blood

Very deep question…innocence constellates violence…

Transcendent idealism…Nazi…purification…people in the Nazi camp split between not knowing and purity

Innocence is the sin …Socrates.

Not knowing what you do does not deserve forgiveness. most innocent is the most sadistic

If there is enough shadow in society you don’t need satanism as such

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what-a-novelty · 4 years ago

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On incommunicability

I recently came across this footnote in The Hero with a Thousand Faces:

"The point is that Buddhahood, Enlightenment, cannot be communicated, but only the way to Enlightenment. This doctrine of the incommunicability of the Truth which is beyond names and forms is basic to the great Oriental, as well as to the Platonic, traditions. Whereas the truths of science are communicable, being demonstrable hypotheses rationally founded on observable facts, ritual, mythology, and metaphysics are but guides to the brink of a transcendent illumination, the final step to which must be taken by each in his own silent experience..."

This reminded me of some recent conversations I've had with D, one while watching the Neuralink announcement, and the other while we were sitting on the porch, looking out at the trees and clouds. I asked if he thought it was possible to think without language, since when I try to conceive of a thought that is inexpressible, I find myself grasping at the nebulous form of something I'm not even sure is there.

I've seen two dominant perspectives in popular discourse: (1) what is truly sublime, important, and of meaning, lies beyond the realm of rationality, therefore does not lend itself to linguistic expression and communication; (2) the material world is all there is, there is nothing transcendent, everything can be understood (eventually).

Within the first camp, there's a dramatic insistence of something outside the realm of ordinary experience. In myth, in poetry, in religion and all our ancient stories, we speak of an unseen world. Dmitry in The Brothers Karamazov touches it. William James' definition of mystical experiences includes ineffability: that "no adequate report of its contents can be given in words".

One finds shades of this in mental breakthroughs and epiphanies: you can convey your path, but the emotional weight, the revelation itself, is lost. Likewise for value judgements that don't arise from articulable first principles: how does one explain why beauty, justice, and truth are important? It's baseless assertions all the way down.

The latter belief (let's call it, the rationalist's belief) still lends itself to the possibility that some things are incommunicable, or at least, hard to communicate, whether for lack of understanding (something to be discovered and refined, or proven wrong) or due to the limitations of language (low bandwidth; multiplicity – and fluidity – of definitions, meanings, and interpretations; contextual limitations).

One of my favorite short stories by Greg Egan describes a technology that can rapidly and precisely communicate one's position in conceptual space to another, thus circumventing this:

"But at the leading edge, now, we're creating words for concepts, emotions, states of mind, which might once have defied description altogether. With TAP, ultimately there's nothing a human being can experience which needs to remain ... ineffable, mysterious, incommunicable. Nothing is beyond discussion. Nothing is beyond analysis. Nothing is 'unspeakable'... And maybe in the long run, all the trial-and-error and misunderstandings, all the folk remedies of smiles and gestures, all the clumsy imperfect well-meaning attempts to bridge the gap, would be swept away by the dazzling torrent of communication without bounds."

Since this technology doesn't exist (yet), we use alternative means to demarcate the boundaries of our thought: offering example after example to encircle our positions, providing heaps of context and definition, using metaphor and poetry to convey the true weight of something...

I withhold judgement on whether all things will eventually fall into the communicable. At the least, I think it would require an evolution of our communication technologies and (probably) our epistemology. Time will tell whether we keep saying the same things over and over, in hope that one day we may finally say what we mean.

“In reality it is just the clearest, the most concrete, and most indubitable realities which escape language: not because they are vague but because language is… Poetry I take to be the continual effort to bring language back to the actual.” (CSL)

#thoughts #bookmarks

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37thknight · 8 years ago

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okay, so i’m borderline cross with this whole ordeal so here’s my take on it

Y’ALL LIKE JUICY ANALYSIS, RIGHT?

this “jeonlous mouth thing” have been around for sometime now and i dont honestly get the negative feedback people are starting to impose on its name these days ?????

shipping in general, as much as it leaves so much of a bad taste in our mouths and as much as i hate to admit it myself, is run by the delusional (read: responsible for delusion) cogs in our minds, lubricated by the teeny-tiniest details of the pairing’s words, actions, quirks and personalities to fulfill our wild desires to prove “TRUST ME, THEY’RE BANGING EACH OTHER ” and to act as supporting evidences to back-up this “constructed reality” of what we want them to be.

the thing with jikook // koomin otp, as most other kpop pairings are, is that they’re members of the same group or band or whatever you want to classify BTS as. one way or another, they’re bound to have a relationship, may it be purely for their careers (a business relationship, as described by SHINee’s Jonghyun in one of their Happy Together guestings) or an established platonic one, heightened by the difficulties they’ve dealt with and the feats they’ve achieved as a group.

from this, we can branch out to a ton of “stuff” for a lack of better word, and i can only discuss (read: rant) so much

EXHIBIT A

bts members are friends more than co-workers and we are very much aware of that, as opposed to those groups with their contracts sufficing as the adhesive to weave each other together (c’mon, this is not a shade). i dont know about you but in a squad (a group of friends rather, if you don’t like seeing that word), it’s most probably mapped out that as humans, we’ll be drawn particularly to one of them; hence, the best friend phenomenon.

so...are they best friends? well, there’s still taehyung in the equation and there’s no way we can dismiss him like that. (side remark here: the three of them can just be each other’s best friends, you know? im aware that this is an actual, real life thing that happens to other people...but i’ve been in that circumstance and it’ll be hard juggling your attention and love equally that it's more deteriorating than beneficial to all ends) now, taking into consideration how much emphasis the whole korean culture put into respect and age, the maknae line just transcends through all that , BUT

1. jimin and taehyung are close (even regarding each other as soulmates in one of their recent fanmeetings) esp because of the fact that they’re of the same age, meaning, the level of comfort with each other is as much as korean society expects them to have. they’re not just “comfortable” brothers more than chingus though, they’re that comfortable with each other it’s beyond classifications (like there are classifications, but you get the point).

2. maknaes are very much endeared in the whole korean “age-and-respect-and-authority-and-hierarchy” landscape (can it even be called that?). jimin has shown how much he cherishes jungkook even tracing back to their predebut days up until now, successfully fulfilling the role of hyungs in korean standard whose role among many others is to take care of those younger than they are. other members also treat jungkook fairly similar or sometimes even topping jimin’s treatment to the maknae aka taehyung, whose life source is probably skinship + aegyo with other members (we’ll get to that) and the whole reason im confused who’s whose when it comes to this best friend thing

3. still in the korean view of age, you address those older than you with respect by how? c’mon, we’re all nuts about kpop how must we not know? there’s oppa, unnie, hyung and noona (this addressing thing is more of an asian thing than mere korean, really). now, here’s the catch: jungkook calls jimin hyung borderline merely (read: close to the bare minimum). a mere slip-up? a moment of the perfect mask idols need to sport, carelessly put aside? more than anything, it just fuels the fire in this situation. jungkook addresses his other hyungs with the names they need to be called, even taehyung he’s very close with. and this just show that jungkook considers jimin a chingu, one he can comfortably act towards, (just like jimin and taehyung’s relationship, being the actual chingus here) despite the apparent age difference.

i dont know if i’ve gotten to anything at this point, but i’m lenient to the concept of jimin and jungkook being the best friends which explains most of the things they do together which leads us to:

EXHIBIT B

skinship between friends, more specifically friends belonging to the same sex (gender’s a bit more complicated concept, you guys), is the most normal thing in korea. they probably are most expressive with each other to the point that it baffles foreign onlookers, a good example of which are the int’l fans.

remember what i said about taehyung? all males in korea are practically like him, even stemming from young age, being touchy-feely here and there with friends.now, ever wondered why apparently jikook is not a huge, blown out of proportion ship in korea as opposed to its stance in the international fanbase? yup, that’s because for koreans, seeing jimin and jungkook’s interaction with each other is like seeing the average same sex chingus walking downtown or their buddies at school as they do everyday. holding hands, feeling each other up, sitting on laps, pecks on the cheek (less observed), and even touching thighs, crossing the boundaries of what foreigners would deem appropriate, is common and normal (have i made my point about this issue yet? i’ve become a broken record,my goodness).basically, there is no such thing as personal space in korean culture of friends; thus, skinship is prevalent.

a very much related issue to that is korea’s view on homosexuality. no matter how peppered with the stereotypical gay (not meant to be taken offensively, guys im also a queer folk hi) interactions and copious displays of affection korea is, homophobia is still present. it’s too ridiculous that it’s become funny. you can tell me how korea has become liberated and all that shit but the thing is, they’re not. korea is just downright a conservative country (is this an offense too? oh god). korea is still anchored to the concept that people are only and only and only limited to a man-loving woman and woman-loving man. topmost reason why idols cannot come out and identify as different from the two because to deviate from the norm is supposedly throwing away tradition and rude and can spite everyone around them that they’ll lose their job.

i dont know where im going but i still am in check of what im talking about. bottomline of this exhibit is holding onto the contradicting persona of korea, jikook is all but nothing more (this is proper grammar, you guys) than a thing of delusion.

EXHIBIT C

kpop idols love to treat their fans and bts is not a loser in the game. they give back quite warmly to the fans. they deem armys highly because, nonverbatim, bts is nothing without their fans. fans are the reason among others (to dismiss their hardwork is plain rude) why they’ve made it this big. so they’ve got fanservice in store for us, the majestic element of them all, leaving us in a baffled rut whether or not our otp’s interaction are candid or sheer fanservice. THEY ALL KNOW THAT THEY’RE PAIRED WITH EACH OTHER. a gift for the fans? publicity stunts to gain the favor of their audience? whatever meaning fanservices hold in the hearts of our dear bts members, it just ups the notch of the level of our delusion when it comes to our ships

(it’s heartbreaking, i know. i didn’t even want to write this part out. if you can just sense my unwillingness to write on the matter ㅠㅠ)

EXHIBIT D

let’s go back to what actually irked me and cross me so much that it driven me nuts to the point that i actually spend my time writing this long ass rant.

“jeonlous” = a jealous jeon jungkook

now, this has gathered a negative connotation primarily but is not limited to two things:

a. “this jeonlous thing manifests a relationship with an abusive undertone” (okay, so i constructed that sentence to make their claims much more rational than it fucking is)

b. it does not make sense for jungkook (and even jimin) to get jealous of other members/fans/other people not them in general

firstly, what does it mean to be JEALOUS (can you see my eyes rolling?)

in the evolutionary, biological scale, is the exhibited response to the threats to the relationship they are in because monogamy that’s why (a reality that’s manifested almost throughout all the animal kingdom)

in psychology, is the complex emotion that’s not just about anger, abandonment, fear or sadness; it’s the simmer that’s aroused when a valued relationship is somehow not in its standard state and there is raw desire to regain the affection and/or attention. it’s even described as “a necessary emotion because it preserves social bonds. it motivates people to engage in behaviors that maintain an important relationship.” a clinical psychologist characterizes jealousy as something we don’t have much control over, and that it is a natural, instinctive emotion that everyone experiences at one point in their lives.

it just follows that when jealousy is at hand, people tend to do things that has become seemingly second nature tics to them. now, this is a good reason to back up the jeonlous mouth/tongue thing, how much of a mere coincidence it may be. jealousy is not bound to romantic tones; it can encompass siblings fighting for their parents’ attention or even in friendships. so that’s a yes, yup, jungkook can get jealous of other members because he has that valued relationship (refer to exhibit a) with jimin and there will be a lingering longing in him for jimin to get back at being jimin again (read: showing him affection and attention; emphasis on him)

don’t get me started at this abusive, emotionally manipulative relationship issue here because it’s just absurd and this rant will be longer than my lifespan i dont even know anymore (ok but the insecurity that is woven in the ambiguity of jealousy may also be responsible in driving someone to emotionally manipulate his partner to the point of abuse BUT JK JUST WANTS JIMIN’S ATTENTION BACK SO WHAT’S ABUSIVE HERE calling this whole ordeal abusive is too much of a stretch like really? really? y’all are actually taking this into consideration? really?)

(okay this rant had high hopes in presenting evidences to support my claims but i havent slept a wink yet and im also half angry ????)

the thing is, as much as we’re delusional in shipping jikook, y’all are just delusional claiming that the fucking quirk jungkook exhibits is abusive WHAT DO WE EVEN KNOW ABOUT WHAT THEIR ACTUAL STATUS IS IN THE FIRST PLACE goodbye y’all im just im--ugh this is so dumb

you wanna know the catch about this jeonlous thing that gets me every single time? IT’S THAT IT’S FUCKING CUTE. AND I’M SHIPPING THEM TO MY PLEASURE THAT IT GIVES ME JOY TO SEE THESE MOMENTS WHICH GIVES ME LITTLE SPARKS OF HOPE THAT MAYBE THEY’RE MORE THAN FRIENDS YEAH I KNOW IM DELUSIONAL BUT MOSTLY BECAUSE IT’S CUTE and that’s good enough reason for me to fawn over their “supposed” romance

y’all are hypocrites enjoying the jeonlous thing one second then next second, condemning it after reading a post and riding the mainstream. Y’ALL NEED TO SIT THE FUCK DOWN (also reevaluate the hypocrisy but oh well)

#jikook #jimin #jungkook #kookmin #bangtan #bts #kpop #rant #im ready to take the bullets #come at me bitches HAHAHA

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zainapbaraketcaryl · 8 years ago

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‘The Walking Dead’: Carol and Daryl, A Match Made in Hell?

02-21-2017

Carol and Daryl on ‘The Walking Dead’ are soulmates, but does that mean they’ll go canon?

The Walking Dead puts it’s characters and by extension the fandom through the ringer. Season seven started off on a particularly devastating note, and throughout the first eight episodes, things looked beyond bleak for our faves.

There’s certainly an argument for the gratuitousness of all the pain and suffering endured throughout just about any season. But the thing is, it’s all a bit more manageable when Team Family is all together. Since season four, the show has relied on separating our faves and taking them through emotional journeys that generally lead to major character development. In the season seven midseason finale, hope was restored to the group when they were reunited at Hilltop.

In fact, most of the undertaking of separating different characters from the larger group comes from how earned the reunions feel later. Who could forget the feelings of relief when Michonne (Danai Gurira) followed the tracks to the house where Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Carl (Chandler Riggs) were recuperating or when Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Glenn (Steven Yeun) found each other in season four?

The Walking Dead is at it’s best when it’s bringing characters together and there is almost nothing that compares to what we got with Carol (Melissa McBride) and Daryl’s (Norman Reedus) reunion in “New Best Friends” (S7Ee10).

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Considering the deep bond Carol and Daryl share, the episode gave us a lot to discuss. With characters as popular as Daryl and Carol, it’s no surprise that not everyone interprets the Caryl bond in the same way. So I’ve brought my colleague Erin Qualey (go read her The Walking Dead recaps!) here to assist in another discussion!

What’s the possibility of seeing Caryl go canon like other romantic couples we’ve seen on the show?

Julie: So, for me “New Best Friends” is essentially my new favorite episode. It’s only rival at this point is “No Sanctuary” (S5E1). The obvious similarities are the Daryl and Carol reunions but I fell in love with that relationship in season two, when he brings her the Cherokee Rose. I can admit my bias but given everything we know about Daryl and Carol’s past, I think the show made a pretty airtight argument that Daryl and Carol love each other on a very deep, very emotional, very romantic level that goes beyond the physicality that might be necessary to consider a ship canon. I guess what I’m wondering, is what’s missing for you in that bond?

Julie: They’re definitely soulmates. And I like your transcendent interpretation. I’d even agree with it except for one thing. Daryl isn’t a touchy-feely kind of guy and he is almost always touching Carol and there is almost never anything entirely chaste or innocuous about those moments. Daryl might be an oblivious flirt but he gravitates toward her like no one else. I mean look how far we’ve come from season two after Daryl fails to save Sophia. He yells at Carol and tells her “Just go, I don’t want you here” and four seasons later he’s at her door and his voice breaks when he asks her, “Why’d you go?” (Ugh, it’ll be a long time before that line stops giving me chills and making me tear up. A+ acting on Norman’s part!) I just can’t imagine a scenario where Daryl is as comfortable with a woman as he is with Carol. It stands to reason that the emotional intimacy between them will eventually translate to physical intimacy.

Erin: But isn’t Daryl kind of in the friend zone at this point? It’s been awhile, and the two have had plenty of opportunity to make it official. Yes, Daryl gets kidnapped a lot, and Carol has been trying to run away for ages, but they’ve had opportunities along the way. Carol even propositioned Daryl back when they were settling into the prison, and he brushed her advance away like a joke. So I guess I’m just left wondering if Daryl is truly just that awkward or if he doesn’t actually want to be with Carol after all. And Carol hasn’t made a move since then either, so she seems just fine with the status quo. I guess to me, at this point, they seem like family members, and that makes the idea of adding sex into the mix somewhat off putting.

Ultimately, I think that both Daryl and Carol can find sexual release elsewhere while still maintaining their deep connection. It’s the apocalypse. They transcend traditional labels because they can.

Julie: The friend zone is a myth invented by “nice guys” who think they should be repaid in sexual favors every time they do something nice for a girl they find attractive. I don’t hug my friends or family the way Daryl and Carol hug each other. Daryl is the most eligible bachelor in the apocalypse, if he wasn’t that awkward why wouldn’t he be out and about screwing with the wrong people? And we’ve seen Carol try and use a relationship to hide her feelings. The whole point when Carol was with Tobin is that it felt completely disingenuous to the characters. It could never quite work because Carol is only truly herself with Daryl. It backfired spectacularly and precipitated her leaving her home (a noteworthy point that she still referred to Alexandria as home).

Erin: I think Carol and Daryl do transcend traditional labels as a romantic relationship. Okay, sure there are three men in Carol’s life. But two of which absolutely already fulfill the platonic male/female relationship. She’s clearly not interested. Carol told Morgan (Lennie James) to tell Rick and Co. that she was gone and she literally shut the door on Ezekiel only to open it a moment later to Daryl, whose presence completely took her breath away. What makes those options so much more compelling?

Erin: Hmm, I might disagree with you on your friend zone theory. I think that it’s natural for a pair of friends to pass a point where it would become difficult for them to become romantically involved. But even if we set the friend zone thing aside for a second, I still believe that Daryl isn’t necessarily the best person for Carol to end up with in a romantic sense.

Here’s where I open the floodgates and admit that I’m definitely an Ezecarol (Carekiel?) shipper. Yes, he won’t leave her alone, and that might be perceived as wrong, but he only continues to bug her because he’s honestly and truly concerned for her safety. If the Saviors found Carol, it’s very likely that she wouldn’t be able to protect herself, even with all of her battle prowess.

Ultimately, I think that Carol and Daryl are too alike for a relationship to succeed long term. Ezekiel pushes the boundaries with Carol because he knows she has walls up, and he actively wants to help her tear them down. Sure, that’s not his job, but he’s fully willing to challenge Carol in order to help her be her best self. Conversely, Daryl rarely, if ever, pushes Carol to deal with anything because he hasn’t even dealt with his own stuff. Since they’re both introverted survivors of trauma, their continued special relationship gives them implicit permission to keep everything bottled up instead of actively working through their issues. The Caryl friendship is a beautiful one but, if we look at it through a different lens, it’s actually an unhealthy co-dependent relationship that prevents either one of them from moving on from their respective traumatic pasts.

Julie: Ah ha! Now this is a quality discussion! Cherokee Roses will win over pomegranates in my book any day. But Ezekiel has a vested interest in keeping Carol safe because she knows his secret. If Carol wanted to, she could bring down the Kingdom. But when he let his act go, he tells her not to run away from whatever she’s running from: life, love. They barely know each other at that point, he’s not speaking about himself, yes he’s trying to get her to open up but it’s the same thing Morgan tells Daryl about finding something/someone to hold onto.

Erin: It’s interesting you would characterize Carol and Daryl as unhealthy (it’s probably a little co-dependent but like they established they literally can’t live in a world where the other doesn’t exist, is there a more romantic trope?) when it’s the healthiest, kindest relationship these two have ever known. And Carol didn’t look like she was bottling anything up when we finally caught up with her in front of the fire (but like seriously Gimple I need to know what happened in the hours between it went from afternoon to night in the house).

In fact, that whole moment when she talks about about fighting the Saviors if the family needed her was a callback to “Consumed.” Complete with fire imagery and the “burned away” line. With the biggest difference being that this time she was feeling it. She was crying. So much that to make it better Daryl makes her laugh and smile despite the tears. Daryl did that. And he’s the only one who ever has. When have we ever heard Daryl or Carol be humorous except with each other? Daryl even makes a joke about Ezekiel’s advances and Carol tells him to “shut up,” which is eerily similar to every other time she’s flirted with him. Can’t be too far from the romance novel Carol was reading right before her husband came back from war. Nevermind the undeniable body language in that second hug where he kisses her shoulder and she runs her fingers through his hair!

They’ve been trying to sort themselves out (i.e. Daryl taking the book on child abuse). Carol has isolated herself because she feels like she’s losing herself. In fact the brief but significant tearful conversation before their candlelight dinner is a blatant attempt to protect Carol from the devastating truth. If he wanted to push her, why wouldn’t he tell her? Daryl was also completely isolated from the group after the immediate aftermath of Negan’s (Jeffery Dean Morgan) line-up. Why wouldn’t he use the opportunity to sit and mourn with her? Except that it wasn’t about Negan or the Saviors of the loss of Abe and Glenn. It was about Daryl and Carol finally getting a respite from the constant assault that their lives have been. And the episode indicated that they’re finally ready to admit they’re what each other is holding onto, they’re what’s worth the fight to survive.

Erin: I can see what you’re saying, and I agree that perhaps “unhealthy” wasn’t the best choice of phrasing earlier. However, I maintain my argument that there’s not a ton of open discussion between Carol and Daryl about the traumas they’ve experienced in the past. They both have certainly made progress due to the support they feel from one another but, as regulated by them, the healing process is quite slow. Case in point, when Carol saw Daryl with the book on child abuse back in Atlanta, she didn’t say a word. She didn’t really support him or encourage him to talk about the issue, mostly because she didn’t want to talk about her own stuff. The mutual and unspoken understanding is there, but with that understanding, they lose the follow through necessary for true healing.

There’s no denying that Daryl and Carol’s relationship is one of the most genuine and unique relationships on TV. Like I mentioned before, I wouldn’t be upset if they ended up together, but I do think that they each may be better served by finding mates that aren’t concerned with protecting the secrets that haunt their lives. And even if their relationship never becomes sexual, they’ll still always have a place in my heart as two of the best soulmates on TV.

Julie: We know we’re not going to change the others mind. I would be disappointed not to see Caryl go canon. It just feels really earned at this point but I do appreciate the alternative perspective because like I mentioned, I know I’m beyond biased at this point. My final thought on the subject is that there’s this basic continuity editing rule. It’s often employed in film and operates on the idea that if it’s significant in scene five it should show up again in scene 15. It works in a more longer-form capacity for TV but we’ve had a lot of Daryl and Carol moments repeated back that always deepens their development. Except the one scene they have yet to recreate in a new way is the two sharing space on the bunk bed in “Consumed.” Don’t for one second think that isn’t deliberate.

http://hiddenremote.com/2017/02/21/walking-dead-carol-and-daryl-match-made-in-hell/

#caryl #caryl is love #norman reedus #Melissa McBride

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