#intrique's thoughts

[intriq]

just need to think of a name for the ak jason fic and i can post chapter 1

why is naming shit so hard guys

why

why is it

im gettin some of my discord pals to help me find lyrics to name the fic bc man. im lookin thru the playlist im gonna write this fic to and this shit HARD

@fallingwaynes

[intriq]

me staring at my friends AND mutuals

REBLOG if you have amazing, talented WRITER friends.

Because I certainly do, and I love every single one of them and their work.

[danystargaryens]

Wtf is saltburn about…is this an erotic thriller, is it gay, why is so english, wtf is happening

[konakoro]

Reading up on the Cascadia independence/secession movement and the thing that kills me is the desire to make May 18th "Cascadia Day" in honor of the eruption of Mt St Helens.

Maybe it's me and having spent my life hearing first hand accounts of the aftermath of the eruption from my parents and family friends (not to mention the hours in both science and local history classes about it), but that just makes me laugh my ass off. Yes, let's celebrate the notion of our independence from the United States and Canada on the day one of our volcanoes fucking exploded and caused a worldwide ecological nightmare. 10/10, no notes

[yanderetheumbrellaacademy]

Prompt 301, 195 and 118 with Yandere Five?

Prompt 118: “I’ll make you want me, just you see.” Prompt 195: “Controlling myself around you is so fucking hard.” Prompt 301: “I’m going to have you in the end, you know?” Tw: Different backgrounds/Poor vs Rich

You and Five did not get along when you first meet. He had snuck out of his house one night when he was irritated with his father and that's when he met you. You were hanging outside of an apartment complex and he had run into you, literally.

"Hey, jackass watch it!"

He turns back to you annoyed, but he doesn't respond outside of that.

Over the years you had multiple interactions with him and they always went wrong. You always ended up pissing the other off. There were times when one of you tried to make bygones, but it never worked. You two were just so similar that you happened to butt heads.

It didn't help that you came from different backgrounds. He lived in a mansion and your family lived on the poverty line. You hated the pompous life that he got to live, but otherwise, you couldn't have cared less about those kids. You only hated him because you've interacted with him.

---

You weren't listening to your friends. Instead your eyes were focused on the house of those kids. You knew they'd be out soon- There was always something happening.

Your thoughts were proven when the group quickly hasted out of the house in their stupid getups. Your eyes were lead to the boy you were thinking of- that Five kid. And his eyes met yours too, not that you could really tell with their masks, but you knew.

---

You heard something being thrown at your window, which woke you up. You crankly walked towards your window and looked out, only to be surprised when seeing Five.

You opened the window to ask him what he's doing, but he decided to take that opportunity to transport into your room. You quickly turned around, angry that he would invade your privacy like that.

"Cute stuff animals."

"What do you want?"

"From you? Nothing."

"God, you are so pretentious."

"Perhaps," He grabs a snow globe that was sitting on one of your shelves, fiddling with it.

"Well, if you don't need anything, you can leave."

He turns to you, an unreadable expression. "Leave? I should. I will. That's a great idea."

"I mean my house."

He looks around your room, before making a face of disgust, "House? That might be an overstatement."

"Excuse you?"

"Nevermind. I just wanted to see you before I do leave."

"You're leaving? Where are you going?" Not like you cared, but you were kind of intriqued.

"Through time."

"I don't know what that means, but okay."

---

Five fiddled with the things on your desk. You really should keep your windows locked, but he was kind of glad you didn't. It made it easier to break into your apartment. It was nice, to a fault, still... Your roots really showed.

It was very humble. He kind of liked it. He wished he could of had a life like this. He was jealous.

He perked up when hearing the door being unlocked and some groaning. He put down the coffee he had been drinking and stared at the door waiting for you to open it.

Something was off about your house. You had a feeling someone was in your house. Your suspicions were confirmed when seeing your kitchen light on. You grab a lamp and slowly go towards the door.

When you push the door open, your surprised to see Five? But young?

"Oh, nice weapon."

"Fuck off, what are you doing in my apartment?"

"I wanted to see you."

"See me? We never got along. We hated each other."

"Hate?" He looks at you confused. "I never hated you."

You look be fumbled by his words, "What?"

"Why would I go to see you if I hated you?"

You roll your eyes and go to your fridge, getting yourself a drink.

"You don't seem surprised to see me. As this... Boy."

"I heard through the grapevine you were back."

He watched you grab your milk jug and gulp it down straight from the bottle. He watches, his eyes going down.

"So, Five, you still go by Five?"

"Yeah."

"What do you want?"

"I don't know. You?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. I always liked you, Y/n."

You laugh, before realizing he was dead serious. "You're a little kid."

"I'm not a kid. I'm older than you by decades. It was hard to control myself around you, so fucking hard, when we were younger, and it's not any better now."

"Are you drunk?"

His brows frown, realizing you weren't taking him seriously. "I love you."

"Five. You've been gone for like twenty-"

"Forty-Five."

"What?"

"It was forty-five years. For me, at least."

"Okay. Still, it's been a long time. How do you even know if I'm not with someone?"

"I've been watching you."

"Excuse me?"

"You made it so easy. Everything about you at the swipe of a finger." He smirks, leaning on the table, knowing you were trapped in his palm.

You take a step back, your back hitting the wall. "What do you want? Seriously."

"You. I want you. And I'll make you want me, just you see."

"You're delusional."

"I wouldn't count on delusionals for any sense of reality, Y/n. Just know, that I'm going to have you in the end. Whether you like it or not."

His words slowly become fuzzy as your vison goes black.

"Oh, and I forgot to tell you that your jug has some sleeping powder in it. Oops."

You let out a huff, as it was all you could do, before your body went limp and you fell asleep.

[intriq]

this is also me.

this is me all day

[eitwrites]

Brown eyes that mirror thoughts; eyes that round up when intriqued, eyes that close to almost a slit when playful, eyes that sparkle with mischief even before the words come out of her mouth.

I play along when she has a joke in mind, she doesn't know her eyes are giving it all away. The way her lips curl up and the way her nose crinkles, the way her voice carries her intent- light and full of laughter. She doesn't know i've spent years learning her and can read her through and through.

Here she comes, those coffee powder eyes with twinkling lights beneath it. Here she comes and starts with "Hey have you heard. . ?" Here she comes and there's happiness in my blood, it's going all around.

[intriq]

me randomly checking who was following me on a whim after one of my favorite fic authors comes into my askbox and i see im being followed back by TWO OF THEM?? HELP?? HI I SWEAR IM NORMAL

[korpikorppi]

Some thoughts on the origins of Jin Guangyao's sword, Hensheng, in the Untamed

Saw this excellent set of gifs from ep23 by @zelkam and went "Wait! Wait wait wait. That's a soft sword!"

So I went to check ep23 and indeed, Meng Yao kills Wen Ruohan with a soft sword:

Then I recalled (been a while too long since I last rewatched these episodes 😅) that this is actually confirmed by Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao's discussion during the victory banquet (in ep23):

JGY: You seemed to want to say something to me as we were greeting rach other.

WWX: It's nothing. Just that the weapon you used to kill Wen Ruohan on that day of the Sunshot Campaign seemed to be a flexible blade. Why doesn't Young Master Jin carry it today?

JGY: Young Master Wei, sorry to have made (it) a show. It was just a random blade I picked up. Later, as I found out it had dark energy, I threw it away.

(As a side note, how observant Wei Wuxian is! He was exhausted from using the Tiger Seal, choked by Wen Ruohan, about to lose consciousness, and yet he noticed that!)

Yeah, right. We all believe you, Jin Guangyao 🙄. Soft swords (rare as they are) just tend to lie around. And that soft sword looks very - very - similar to Hensheng:

In ep23, the blade has fittings that are clearly Wen, with dark-tarnished metal parts and a dark-red handle:

And as we see in ep41, for example, Hensheng has white, gold and green fittings that are very clearly Jin, as befitting Jin Guangyao's status.

But fittings can easily be changed, and the overall similarity is so great that it is quite clear (or at least I am convinced) that it is the same blade (and as already mentioned, soft swords are not that common). I am also quite convinced that it was not "just a random blade" he picked up.

If that is so, when did Meng Yao acquire the sword? Did he acquire it at some point after his banishment from Unclean Realm? Or did he acquire it during his time in Nightless City, a hidden sword for a last line of defence in an enemy stronghold? Or, was it a gift from Wen Ruohan?

As I mentioned, soft swords are not that common and high-class spiritual swords do not come cheap, so it is unlikely that Meng Yao would have been able to acquire one after his banisment, when his means must have been quite limited. It is more feasible that he could have acquired one sometime during his stay in the Nightless City, but I think I am most intriqued by the last possibility. Meng Yao seemed to have gained a high status and a position as some kind of advisor or right-hand man to Wen Ruohan, so it is feasible that he gifted the sword to his servant. This would be supported, firstly, by the custom made Wen fittings (no standard fittings for that type of blade!) and, secondly, by Jin Guangyao's mention that the sword had "dark energy" (translated sometimes as the sword being sinister) and by his eagerness to downplay the whole thing as "just a random sword I threw away" (can you just imagine Nie Mingjue's reaction to that piece of information in the aftermath of the Sunshot Campaign...).

Also, I have always found Hensheng (恨生, Hènshēng), to hate/regret life, to be a bit peculiar name for a cultivator's blade (even for Jin Guangyao's blade), but if the origin of the blade would indeed lie here, it would add an entire new dimension to why Jin Guangyao chose to name it so. Or was the blade named for him?

So in the end, if what I am speculating here is right, Wen Ruohan had his own weapons turned against him, in more ways than one.

And as an end note, there is no mention about the origin of the blade in the MDZS wiki, so it is not mentioned in the novel? Anyone remember if there is anything implied? Also, Hensheng definitely is a soft sword in The Untamed, contrary to what is written in the wiki.

[intriq]

noo jon thats damian w rabies put him doownn

[tutanchanup]

Do you wanna know what sparked that post here?

Because it's quite an interesting story.

I was thinking about how I'll write Vlad being tortured in my next story (I don't know the results of this poll yet, but given how not many people have read so far the story of Vampirized Vlad I concluded it's quite probable the historical one will win).

And I was musing - I think this man wouldn't let them break him. How could he achieve that? What mindset he would have to have?

And I made a little psychoanalysis like I always do and I think I came up with the answer.

But then something unexpected happened.

I was invited to join a historical LARP. In real castle, with complicated scenario, intriques, etc., you basically got dressed in historical clothes and for three days lived as a historical person, ate historical food, had historical conversations. It was amazing. I have never been to one of these before.

But there was also a real historical torture room. Equipped with a real professional in that field (where he came from I don't know, maybe some BDSM parlor?) . And so I talked to this guy before hand and told him about my theory, that maybe I've created a mindset which would enable me to survive unscathed. And he told me that we could put this to a real test in praxis.

And so we did 😄

When my character found itself in the torture room (which was inevitable thanks to the plot), the inquisitors started working. And as a player you had an opportunity at any time to say a safe word and they'd stop. Available levels of intimidation were 1-4 (1 being scary sounds, 4 being real pain).

But with me, they gradually worked up to level 7. And I was surprised, that even though I had absolutely no previous experience with such pain, that I was able to resist.

Not that it didn't hurt, it did like hell. But once I realised I was safe in that they won't do anything that would be permanent, and adapted the mindset I thought Vlad would have, I just... became immune to the process. They weren't able to break me. And when they finished because they run out of time, I walked out of there totally unscathed, no trauma at all, thinking it was an interesting experience.

And then because of the plot, they decided that my character would end up there again, and it would be worse. And I just... felt NO FEAR. Not in the slightest.

And it was intense! There was like hot wax at first, but gradually worked up to hair pulling, whipping, strangling, hitting with a rope, putting a chisel under your nails, pushing a metal point into your joints. FUCK IT HURT!!!!!!!! But that guy was amazing, like all this didn't leave a single mark, I still can't believe it.

But I just didn't feel the need to call for mercy. I endured all, even though I have no experience with such a pain, and I didn't love it, I am definitely not a masochist. But by adopting the mindset I deduced Vlad would have, I have become unbreakable.

Btw this is what I base my psychoanalyses on Vlad on. I make a theory, and then I test it in real life. Everything I've written here is tested, and I am using it in my life every day.

(this one in particular in the modern equivalent of public execution - the state exams - like you even have the public humiliation and basting in your own fear before the date of execution inevitably comes, it's a perfect parallel! And the fear of death I am testing while doing rock climbing, parkour and freediving)

That's why I am so damn sure about my findings, even though I do not have a degree in psychology.

And of course, I couldn't keep this recent experience with medieval torture to myself! I was so happy that not only I had the opportunity to test something so rare like this in real life, but THAT IT FUCKING WORKED!!!!!!!

And so today I talked about it in real life. And the reaction?

"Hm, I don't think it works..."

Me: "Yeah, but it does. I just tested it!!!"

"Hm, but I don't think you're right. You shouldn't be so sure about yourself."

Me: "Then tell me what I did wrong! Give me a concrete point so I can think about it!"

"You'll just see in time. Trust me. You'll know when you'll be older."

Me: "asdfghs@#$! give me a concrete point why do you think I am wrong!!! I need something to work with!!!!!"

"Nah, I just wanted to plant the seed of doubt so you're not so sure about yourself."

Ah.

[diagoose]

First drawings for Au-Vember!!!

wanted to play with a cannon divergence au, where leigh is not shipped off to be a child soldier, but instead is raised to be a player in the human royal courts and be her grandfather's heir as Dutchess of Amswrath. say yay for never leaving behind the very toxic dynamic of her family.

Griffin is abandoned on the streets and picked up by the tielfing mafia for his growing psychic abilities, and gets to have the proper training to use his psychic abilities as a style of casting(abbarent mind reflavoring)... also gets to be involved in organized crime yay.

also leigh kills her grandfather in this au.

may do more doodles of this au this month i am having fun.

more lore beyond the cut:

the two would still meet thought court intrique and politics, i am still leaning toward them knowing eachother in childhood, but the relationship has evolved into something less sweet.

this is a bad au for them, as these would bring out the worst in them. Leigh, who would not have the confidence instilled in her by Saerdis, but still has ambitions and survivalist mentality, is a wolf in sheeps clothing. she's rutheless and ultimately acting withing her and only her best interests.

Griffin who was not raised in catholic shame in this universe, gets to have his hot girl summer every summer. but he would be using that to drown out and hide from his own morality as he pushes ahead for his own survival. he would also be very bitter and self victimizing, and use that to justify using people for his own ends.

very toxic and ultimately selfish relationship, where they absolutely use eachother. i think there is love there, but they certainly ignore it. which makes me saad, go be nicer to eachother

[disney15ish]

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Thoughts

This is the first time a next generation has been made for a show that's nostalgic to me. It was one of the last Disney Channel shows me and my younger siblings watched together. As we didn't have cable, we watched through the Netflix disc on the Wii whenever episodes would be added on there. We would catch random episodes of That's So Raven on ABC Saturday Morning blocks, but nothing really more than that. So it's the closest connection I've had to one of this shows that's gotten this treatment

The biggest trouble with next generation shows like this is having to find a middle ground of being both a sequel and a new show and try something different within the universe, and I think this show so far has done a really great job so far doing it. The references are fun for original fans but don't overstay their welcome to feel alien to the new audience. Seeing Justin and Alex together again in the first episode was really well done, both of them getting right back into character. And then the next returning guest be Jerry was a nice touch of him having now being in his dad's position having discussions with him. (Side note: likely a coincidence but I find it funny how E7 of this show has the kids flying in the air on a float, when E6 of the original was the flying carpet episode)

I've seen some people complain about how "Justin wouldn't get fired from WizTech.." but I think it's a nice, dare I say probably realistic conclusion. Putting basically a teenager in charge of an entire school probably wouldn't turn out well. And it's good intrique of what the "unicorn incident" was, whether it's set up to be revealed or just a fill in the holes yourself moment.

The kids have been great so far, and have really grown into their roles quickly imo. I do hope that despite the "powers can skip a generation" line from Roman in E9, I hope that's just to set up a reveal at the end of the season of him and Milo getting powers at the end.

My guess (or hope) is S1 is going to end with a big climatic fight and while resting after everything goes down, Justin comments about being lucky about only having one kid to teach, cut to Roman and Milo getting powers with I "I had to say something", and episode ends, S2 status quo set up.. Maybe the "skip a generation" thing was just Justin's wishful thinking of not wanting his kids to go through the same rivalry and competition he had to.

[cuntstable]

george rr martin loooves to creatively invent, emphathetically portray and compellingly explore the most crazy good awesome intriquing characters ever that like take over your mind and thoughts for like literally decades only for him to always be like Oh yeah my personal favourites of my characters are the deeply uncompelling and unlikable guys and im hopelessly addicted to them. ✌️

[theyilinglaozus]

I mentioned this briefly over on MDL yesterday, but since I'm back from my theatre trip I figured I'd say a little something about the Shōgun finale here too.

I've seen quite the divide in how people felt about the ending; some hated it whilst others, myself included, loved it.

I think one of the things that some people feel disappointed by is the fact we never got to see the battle of Sekigahara that the show was building up to. Yet the truth is that Shōgun was never going to show it, because in terms of the story the viewer didn't need to see the battle to know the outcome.

The story was always about Toranaga and the journey he takes towards becoming Shōgun. He is a master strategist, and has been playing the game of war from the very start, just silently and through methods of politics rather than by the sword. He uses every person to his advantage, moving them like pieces on a board for his endgame, even those who he is closest to. Sure, there are moments he likely doesn't account for - the death of his son and the appearance of Blackthorne, for instance - but like any strategist of his level he either adapts them into his plans, or finds a way to use the moment in his advantage. That's what strategists do.

We don't need to see the battle of Sekigahara, because by the end of the show Toranaga has already won. This is what he tries to tell Yabushige before his death. Toranaga's explanation here reminds me to the moment he's talking to his son, with this quote:

'Why is it that only those who have never fought in battle are so eager to be in one?'

War is inevitable, but Toranaga is trying to minimize the number of those who have to die because of it. After all, his goal is for a peaceful era for Japan.

Mariko's death was the final act of Crimson Sky. Her death shakes the foundations enough to cause action to happen, because her death should not have been allowed to happen. Ishido knows this, which is why he sends his ronin to capture, not kill. Mariko's death, while tragic, is the final nail that sparks change. Ochiba, mourning the death of her childhood friend, decides to tell Toranaga in secret not to send the Heir's army to aid Ishido in battle, meaning that without his banner Ishido's war is no longer a lawful one.

While Mariko's death is a tragic one, it is not a meaningless one. It does not feel cheap, and the finale episode allows the viewers to mourn with those who knew and loved or respected her. I thought this was quite beautifully done, as even though she wasn't present in the episode, her spirit was still there, so she was still very much there. Some of the cinematography beautifully alluded to this, especially in moments like when Blackthorne and Fuji are sitting together in silence, yet there's one seat left -- Mariko's. Blackthorne even says then, 'no translator', because once Mariko had been a bridge of communication and understanding between them.

Another thing which I see a lot of confusion upon is Blackthrone's flash-forward scenes -- did he ever return to England? The answer, in my opinion, is told in the finale episode too. No, he didn't. Toranaga tells Yabushige that Blackthorne will never leave Japan, and in the scenes with an older Blackthorne, we see he's holding Mariko's cross. Yet he drops it into the water, showing that he lets it go. The episode title is 'a dream of a dream', and that's what Blackthorne's flash-forwards are: dreams. Another life, another path - but not this one.

The characters of Shōgun are based on real-life people in history -- it's actually really fascinating, and I've been learning more and more about their real-life counterparts whilst following this gem of a show. If you're interested in learning more, look up names like Tokugawa Ieyasu, Miura Anjin (William Adams) and Hosokawa Gracia (Akechi Tama).

All in all, Shōgun to me leaned more into the political intrique side of war, which for some people will be fascinating, and for others, not so much. But this show has so many layers and so much hidden within it, I can see it being one that's analysed for years to come.

[pikaapapow]

Hi Juniper /bright smiles/! I saw your reblog with the pie chart about “why is every animal video ever showing an animal that is stressed or in a bad situation”, and it reminded me of one of my favourite blogs from back in 2017– so I wanted to share it with you because I thought you might also really enjoy it! It is a blog called why-animals-do-the-thing, and people used to send in Asks inquiring for advice about animal behaviour, or ping the blog in a reblog about an animal post they weren’t sure about, and they would ask things like “what is actually happening here with this behavior; is the animal stressed? happy?” or just general animals questions since the blog owner knows a ton! A lot of these “animal advice!” posts were back in 2017, it looks like they are doing a lot of Animal Index work now; so !! here is their archive from that time for your browsing pleasure /beaming grins!!/ https://why-animals-do-the-thing.tumblr.com/archive/2017/1

Ooh! Oh also I used to really like this blog which is run by a veterinarian in Australia; it looks like she is doing a lot of body horror stuff now but she used to do super cool “sharing veterinary tales” posts like this one (actually I guess this one is pretty sad but I found it so inTRIQUING) around that same 2017 era https://drferox.tumblr.com/post/162619079489/just-one-litter . . . also I might as well complete the trifecta of animal blogs I used to really really like; Pangur and Grim was/is also a good one and seems to still be active in approximately the same capacity that I remember :33 https://pangur-and-grim.tumblr.com College kind of broke my brain when it came to animal stuff, but I’m really glad to get the occasional moment where I get to nostalgically revisit my old special interest in the topic, hahaha so I just felt very share-y.

ouh okay!! this sounds cool ill be sure to check it out :D